Some Heart to Heart, a Dutch Dare Does Double Duty and Boy, Do I Need to Clean Up My Work Table!

I finally finished my card for Carolyn King's Heart to Heart (be still my beating heart) Blog Candy Extravaganza Giveaway (yeah, I came up with that name). The card is going to my mom--she has a lovely neighbor named Lucy who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Lucy doesn't have any children or grandchildren to help her out and there isn't anyone in her extended family who makes sure she remembers to eat and pay her bills. So, my mom takes her dinner every night and spends some time with her. Lucy usually remembers who mom is and she's always very grateful. She's the nicest lady and she has lived in my mom's apartment complex for longer even than my mom has, over 20 years probably. I've known her for about 16 years and I say a pray for her everyday. The saddest thing is to see when she gets that moment of clarity, she still gets them, and she realizes that she has to have help--you can see her inner struggle. So this card is for my mom.



This next card is for the Dutch Dare challenge this week. The challenge was to make a card for a boy or a man. My friend's nephew is turning 11 tomorrow and Caitlin and Collin are going to send this card to him in the mail. Kids LOVE to get mail. I know, the robots have rhinestones...I had to, shut up! :)



Finally, the aforementioned friend has a wedding to go to tomorrow and she asked me to make an accordion album for the bride--the pictures she gave me weren't the greatest, so I decided to make two smaller picture thingies (help, word please?). I love how these turned out! The bride is a real girlie girl, she'll love them.




See the mess underneath my card photos? I need a bulldozer, I've been working on so many projects with no time to clean up in between. Also, I've used about 20 bucks worth of GLUE this week...can someone help me with a cheap glue the isn't messy and actually sticks? Thanks so much for stopping by, I'm going to try to get the 10 cards I designed for HoneyD photographed and edited tomorrow.



thank you so very much: PTI kraft, SU! red, Cosmo Cricket patterned, American Crafts rub-on sentiment

you're cool: PTI kraft, Ampad black, Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo PP, Doodle Factory Sentiment

I May Have Redeemed Myself

So, I tried the latest My Favorite Things sketch, hosted by Cindy Haffner (GODDESS OF PAPER!!). I stamped and embossed (two ways) on vellum and I even shirred my own ribbon. I'm very pleased with the result, and I'm lovin' the color combo.



kraft base by PTI
colored stock by paperbilities
vellum by fiskars
stamp by inkadinkado
buttons and patterned paper by cosmo cricket
ribbon by offray
cuttlebug and folder
shape template and cutter
corner rounder
xyron sticker maker for vellum




excuse the bright photo, i had to use my flash



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Doublin' Up M'Challenges

Lazy crafter's dream: one card, two challenges! :)

This is for Dutch Dare #6--use a product from 7 Kids College Fund web store AND for Our Creative Corner--dry embossing. I got it all in there, but please, it is a right hot mess.

Seriously, everything that could go wrong with it, did! I cut the paper wrong, it took me FIVE impressions to get a good one, I scorched the focal image with my heat gun...I finally just gave up and stuck it to my card base!

lily and milo first love-rachelle anne miller for stampavie; paper-colorbok, PTI, best occasions: ink-stazon timber brown; accessories-cuttlebug and spots and dots, martha stewart table setting kit for scallop, vintage ribbon, fiskars shape cutter and oval template (don't even wanna talk about the hot mess that was!)





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Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #24

No cupcake, but there is a volcano. LOL I used my Starving Artist Stamps Doodle Factory Tropics Collection again for this one. There is my entry plus a "Less Is More" version, which I prefer. My friend Donna has her eye on this one, I'm sure. She probably even thinks it's for her, or something.




The patterned paper is Arctic Frog and the kraft is PTI.




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Starving Artists, Dutch Dare #5 and some Mojo :)

Let me tell you, last night these 3 cards were pristine and exactly how I imagined they'd turn out. Factor in one very quiet two-year-old and a mommy who didn't caffeinate this morning, and you get missing embellis, creased focal images and really terrible pictures! Sorry about that, but I think you'll get the idea. LOL

All stamps are by Starving Artists Stamps. Recently I won their Tropics collection from the Doodle Factory line along with a BAJILLION sentiments! Jennifer from Cuppy Cake says that I'm nothin' but a big ol' sentiment ho, but for real, I was so giddy with this blog candy win! I picked my 3 favorite sentiments and an image to go with each one to play with last night. I wanted to enter a few challenges, and did enter all but one I had planned. (Chipboard is not my friend, yet)

This first one is for the Mothers and Daughters Creations Challenge.
I really like how this one turned out, it's my favorite of the bunch. The sentiment and the drunk penguin are stamped onto parchment and heat embossed. The patterned paper is Making Memories, the kraft is PTI and the ribbon is Offray.

This is for Julee's Mojo Monday. It's a sketch challenge. I stamped straight on the kraft and colored him in, I think this is a really neat look with the colored pencils on the kraft paper, look for this technique a great deal in the future. :) I really like this layout/sketch and I am sure I'll use it again and again. The patterned paper is Making Memories and the green velveteen is my precious and beloved vintage.


This sentiment is definitely my favorite! I need more stamps that will fit this sentiment, literal or pirate-y, I don't care! LOL My treasure chest is over flowing, HELLO. Hurry and pick 'em up, arrrr. The paper on this one is Cosmo Cricket and the rhinestones are a mix of Me&My Big Ideas and some cell phone bling. This is my entry for Dutch Dare #5, but the two above will fit that challenge too--use only ONE kind of patterned paper. So not a problem for me.



Thanks so much, for readin', lookin' and definitely for commenting! My inbox was FULL of comments this morning and it made me very happy. :)Have a super day, I'm off to take a nap, this bloggin' thing wears me out--or maybe it's the quiet (but deadly) two-year-old!

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For Crooked Stamper's Contest

Crooked Stamper, Leslie (Hi, Leslie), has reached a blogging milestone, and to celebrate she's issued a challenge...i actually made these all on the day of the challenge, but i just got to photograph them today. Also, I didn't realize there were so many! All of my sentiments are rub-ons, bless the heart of the person who invented the rub-on! Here they go--all with green and some ribbon:


















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Dutch Dare #4

Seems like these Dutch Dares are all I find time to do lately, but I guess it's better than nothing. I enjoy the challenge.

I'm not really keen on this, so I think I'll give this sketch another go this week.



the patterned paper is cosmo cricket, the craft is PTI, the stamp is Inkadinkado, the chipboard is cosmo cricket, i colored in with KIN's and GooGone, the buttons and twine are from everyone's favorite local discount store RME






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Some Stuff

Today I decided since I was going outside to photograph yesterday's challenge card, I'd twiddle with my camera and see if I can't winkle some decent images out of it. (For those of you keeping track, this is actually the camera that was out of commission recently--when I rearranged my office, I found some mini CD's lurking in the dark recesses of my desk--who knew?)

I'm pleased to report that in natural sunlight I CAN achieve a clear, crisp photo. Woot.

I photographed a handful of cards for posting in my Etsy shop (check my sidebar for the link).

I also found a sympathy card I made for my mom, but she decided to use a different one that I had on hand. It's made with the Anna Griffin '70's sheet set' paper that I love so much.

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 17

This is the first time I've participated in Taylor's challenge--heck, it's only the 2nd challenge I've done, PEE. REE. UDD.

I really like what I came up with, though. I was inspired! I have a ton of these tiny images from the $ sets by studioG. I got this idea to make a stack--I did a stack of cupcakes too, but this stack of presents turned out the nicest and with the least finger smudgies. (Me and the stamping--still not getting along!)

I used a craft base, making memories patterned paper and GP white for my image, which I stamped with Color Box pigment. I colored in the presents to coordinate with the paper, but I don't have an orange red so the bows are a bit TOO red (and my shadow is aaaaaaaaaaall kinds of wrong). The ribbon is Offray and the brads are Making Memories too, I believe. Since I put the sentiment on the image, I rearranged bits of the sketch to balance better for my eye.

I dont' know what I'll do when I run out of these stripes and dots!

***sorry for the crappy scan, I'll try to photograph the card in the sunlight tomorrow, look for an edit***

*********NEW PHOTO, WOOT*********

Thanks So Much

Ok, today my copic markers arrived. WOOT! So, I colored some Lily images that I won in a blog candy from {jillb}, incidentally the first 3 copics were in this blog candy too. She is totally my main copic enabler. LOL I do realize that these didn't turn out great--I still love them and WILL definitely be using them later. The whimsy, it's the whimsy. Also, copics are going to take practice and many many hours watching youtube how to videos. I'm ok with that. LOL Here's my first foray into the world of copics. I was pretty willy-nilly when it came to choosing colors, I was just getting my feet wet.




Also, I've been introduced to a new challenge blog! Woot--it's called Stamp Something. This weeks challenge is to make a 'thank you'. Well, I just so happened to make a half dozen tonight--remember all that blog candy I won last week? The cards turned out great, the photo did not.



Thanks So Much Ingredients:
card base, GP white
textured CS, ColorBok
DP, Making Memories Boho Chic 6x6 paper pad
Cuttlebug and D'Vine Swirls embossing folder
stamps, Anniversary birds by Verve Visuals & Studio G for sentiment
Ink, Color Box Pigment Black
scallop, EK Success corner rounder
lg flower, blog candy from Lauri in Paperville (thx)
sm flower, American Crafts
Pearls, target $ spot
adhesives, small zots, scotch tape runner, cosmo cricket foam dimension tape