Smile!

I must admit that I colored "Patch Tilda" sometime ago and had the papers chosen and everything, but life took over, and I didn't get to her until last week! Now, what did I use.... I colored with my copics and inked the edges of the blush CS with brown ink. The polkadot paper is from Three bugs in a rug and was actually leftovers from a scrapbook page I made back in the winter. The buttons are from a varitey of sources - just had to have buttons on there! I used Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge Sketch, here, from two weeks ago for inspiration, so the layout is similar to this card that I made for the challenge.

I must admit, my favorite part of this post is the smiley face that "appeared" thru my camera lens at the last second! He was pretty pleased with himself for managing to sneak into my photo! Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for all your comments, they make my day!

Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge Week 30

I'm so thrilled that I've been able to complete Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge again this week! There was another sketch this week, and I've really been enjoying playing with sketches, so here is what I came up with. With the exception of the card base, all of the DSP was from my scrap bin - it always feels good to use up some scraps. I recieved the Riley images on a swap thread at Splitcoast - he was so fun to color! The little tags I used for the sentiment on the front were cut out on my cricut, but again were from my scrap pile as they were leftover from a scrapbook page. The sentiment on the inside is from Hero Arts' "Owl Christmas" set. As you can see, each one is a little different since I was using scraps - it's fun to make them unique though. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Cowgirl Ava

Good morning! I have created another card using the Weiman Wrangler Set. This time I used Cowgirl Ava and took the My time to color challenge on Lauren's Blog. I must admit, at first I had a hard time with the colors, but now that it has come together, I am thrilled with the result. It just so happens that I had the right color ribbon in my stash too - you see, there is a really good reason why I hoard so much ribbon!!! I used my Stampin Up scallop punch and inked the edges of the Autumn Terracota CS with Cocoa ink. The other colors are New England Ivy and Cocoa from CTMH. The sentiment is Stampin Up. The ribbon is Cider from American Crafts and the baubles are from Stamping Bella - I just got these and love them!

Sorry my photo is not that great today, it is raining here, so no going outdoors to take pictures. Well, it is officially "tackle the garage day" so please wish me luck!!! Happy Sunday and thanks for stopping by!

Weiman Wrangler Challenge

Good evening,

I follow Lauren Meader's blog, and when she posted last week telling us all how she hoped to help raise money for Make a Wish in memory of little Cowboy Ethan who passed away recently following a courageous battle with cancer, I checked it out right away. This fabulous image, along with three others in the set, were created by Pink Cat Studio and are being sold as digi stamps to raise money for Make a Wish. I purchased them right away -not only are the proceeds going to a great cause, but there are many horse lovers in my circle or friends and family. I couldn't wait to play with this adorable image, and this is what I came up with. The DSP is from my stash. I had fun using this brown embossed paper, though much of it is hidden! I also used my tag punch from Stampin Up! The sentiment is from CTMH. I used Mojo Monday sketch 70 to help me create this card.

If you are interested in purchasing these cute digital images, click HERE. There are also loads of fun samples to check out, just scroll down on the same page. There is also lots of info on Lauren's blog HERE. Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by. You will probably see more of this cute little cowboy as Lauren has posted a new challenge. Off to do some stamping....

Happy Birthday

Good morning! This is a belated Birthday card for my husband's Grandmother. I just love this little Whiff of Joy girl, but can't remember her name. I received her from the Canadian Express Image swap at Splitcoast and had a great time colouring her. Gee, I don't have much info to offer on this post since I can't even remember where the patterned paper is from! The cardstock is CTMH as well as the sentiment. I did follow a Mojo Monday sketch from quite some time ago. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you are having lovely weekend!

Teacher Note Card Set

Happy Wednesday! Here is the set of notecards I made for my eldest son's teacher this year. They are very similar to the card that I posted here awhile back. The fun patterned paper is from "Grade School" from Die Cuts with a View. I loved this paper so much, I just had to keep using it. Again, I used rub-ons and Kaiser rhinestones to embellish. These were fun to make.

I made another set "stationary" style for my youngest son's teacher, but forgot to photograph them! Ooops, oh well. I have been working on some Birthday cards for my stash as the last time I went looking for a Birthday card, all I found were masculine or kiddie ones - usually it's the other way around! I'll likely be back tomorrow with a girly Birthday card. An exciting day tomorrow for my boys as it is the last day of school before summer holidays! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Father's Day

Here are the cards I made this year for Father's Day. The first was for my husband. I used a super cute image from High Hopes that I rec'd on the Canadian Swap thread at Splitcoast. This is my interpretation of Mojo Monday Sketch #75. I had so much fun coloring this image. (My hubby and two boys are avid fishermen, so it fit perfectly!) The sentiment on the outside is from CTMH and the inside is from Stampendous. Believe it or not, the DSP is scrap from my stash so I cannot remember where it is from, but it was one of my favorites.

The second card was for my Dad and I have to admit this is not my best work. I was having a hard time getting my mojo back and this was the first one I'd made in awhile. It didn't help that I was under pressure to get it done and in the mail. However, I struggled so much with it that it was sent super late and he probably won't receive it until this Thursday! In retrospect, I think one of the biggest problems was that I had stamped Beerafella on white CS rather than on off-white, and just maybe I was trying too hard to use the cool "fun Father Words" paper from my stash. Oh well, I guess you can't love them all! (But, lesson learned, I'll try not to leave it so late next year and avoid the whole pressure thing!)

Thanks, by the way, for all your encouraging comments, it is so fun to read what people have to say! I know there are some lurkers out there, and that is okay too - except for you Sis! Hey, Kris if you are reading this, let me know you've visited me! If you don't, I love you anyhow and I'll talk to you soon! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Placing the star

Happy Sunday everyone! Today, I actually managed to complete Sparkle's Christmas card challenge! I'm so happy, not only to complete it today but also to manage to get it posted too! I rec'd this cute image on a swap at Splitcoast. I had colored this image awhile back when I first got some copics, but was limited on colors and must admit I struggled to match everything up, but I think it came out okay in the end. The base is Cocoa CTMH and the DSP is "Arctic Star" by Reminisce (on I'd had in my stash for awhile!) I inked up the edges of the DSP before adhering to my base. I also sanded the Cocoa strip and the dutch blue piece with piercing on it. Then I had a little fun with the inside of this one too, cutting out some stars from the DSP and adding them.

Hope you are all having a great weekend and Happy Father's Day!

p.s. The second photo is a little far away to see the sentiment clearly, it looks better when you click on it. Sorry about that!

Is that a cupcake on my head?

Here is a Birthday card I made up awhile ago. I have had this cute stamp from Stamping Bella for quite some time and wanted to make a card with her, so this was what I came up with. The DSP is called "Winter Gem" by Bo Bunny. The sentiment is CTMH. I colored her with my copics and though it is hard to see, I had to add Stickles to the cherry on top.

Well, the nice (summer-like) weather has finally come to Thunder Bay - knock on wood, I dont' want to jinx it! My boys literally spent from 10 am until 5 pm outdoors with their friends from up the street, the only exception being that they came in for lunch. Did they ever have fun - it was warm enough that they spent the entire day swinging, splashing, sliding, squirting and otherwise having fun with water. I'm thinking they are going to have a good sleep tonight - sure hope so since my eldest is sleeping over up the street and I hope he doesn't get up super early and wake the whole house! Oh yeah, and my friend Danielle's daughter said the cutest thing today while the children were sitting down for a snack. Oh, I should say first off that Danielle's two and my two children have pretty much grown up together. The two older children went to the same daycare for the first 2-3 years of their lives and then about 18 months ago, we moved into a house that is literally a stone's throw away. So, they all get together this morning first in our yard, then in for lunch, then I drove my youngest to a birthday party while the other three head up the street to Danielle's. So, I drop him off at the party and head to Danielle's as there are five children in her yard. After a little while, two head home and the three that are left (her two and my eldest) sit down to a snack on the patio. Danielle's eldest daughter says to my son "I wish your brother was here, I miss him" and my son says "Yeah, me too." So while I'm going "Awww" how cute, my son double thinks it and says, "No, not really!" Man, kids are so cute! Just had to share that one! Thanks for stopping by, hope you are having a great weekend!

Another Teacher card

Good evening! I'm posting one more teacher card tonight. I have been wanting to use Teachabella on a card for so long, and I finally got around to doing it! Bella is colored with my copics and the DSP is DCWV on a black card base, the apple brad is from the same line. I love these fun colours! I am scrapbooking/stamping with my good friend Danielle tomorrow, so should have some more fun stuff to share after a day of creating! Have a great evening!

p.s. I forgot to say that I based this card loosely on Mojo Monday Sketch #88.

Thank you, thank you, and thanks again...

Thanks Danielle, for the prompt to post - "So, when ya gonna post something?" Okay, yes I've been distracted - house guests are gone, but then the garden and the warm weather was calling, and I worked overtime yesterday. Anyhow, good thing I have a few photos saved because the truth is I've made only one card in the last couple of weeks and that was a sympathy card that I forgot to photograph!

Anyhow, the first is the thank you for my eldest son's piano teacher as lessons wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. It is a very basic card as I wanted to focus on the patterned paper. As you can see, I simply repeated the design on the other two cards - super easy, but I like the effect and now I have two extra cards in my stash. The patterned paper on the first and third cards are from my stash and I can't recall which company made them. On the second card, I used paper from The Glitter Stack by DCWV. This paper is just so fun, especially in real life! On the third card, I had to add a couple of rhinestones from Kaiser - I just love these little things!

Wishing you all a great rest of the week, hopefully I'll be back soon with some more cards. Cheers!

Chocolate Chip anyone?

Good evening, I had guests arrive early Sunday morning and had lots to do to prepare - we had a new furnace installed awhile back which meant we had to move lots of stuff from the furnace/storage room - what a mess! Anyhow, I was so glad when I found out I would have guests arriving this past weekend as it gave me the push I needed to finally get things put back in order downstairs! However, it also means I've been distracted and have neglected my blog...

Anyhow, this is a card I made awhile back and never got around to posting. I had made it for a friend of mine and didn't want to post it before her birthday, then sort of forgot. I just love this "Willow with Cookies" image from Whiff of Joy - I rec'd this image from one of the swapping threads at Splitcoast. Ink and paper is CTMH, paper is from "More to Adore", and the "yummy" brown ribbon is from the stash I picked on last September's Scrapfest trip. Have I told you how much I adore (and NEED to collect) ribbon?? The edges of the More to Adore paper was distressed, so once I cut, I continued around the edges to finish it off. I have to admit that I liked this image and card enough that I went ahead and made two more -not exactly the same, but pretty close. Well, have a great evening everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

For Teacher

It's that time of year again... I cannot believe it's June already! And, I feel like I missed the first three days of the month because I was on a road trip for work. It's like I've missed the days when I'm away (at least with my family), and it takes me a day or two to find my bearings again.

Anyhow, about my cards. I have had this "Grade School" Stack (with glitter & foil) from DCWV for awhile now and finally got around to playing and making some cards with it. I was in the mood to do teacher stuff, so thought I'd go ahead and get some cards done ahead of time - yeah, it doesn't happen that often! I had so much fun with these! There is glitter on the "apple" patterned paper, hard to see in the photos, but looks so nice in real life. On the one with the orangey coloured background, the sentiment is from CTMH's September word puzzle (love these!). The ABC on the darker card are from a chipboard set from Cosmo Cricket. I added some rub ons from a swatch book for detail and stapled on some "ruler" ribbon along the top. I still can't decide if I like the black background or the orangey background better. The orange background is bazzil bling. Although these are pretty basic cards, I had a great time making them and playing with such fun, bright colours.

By the way, I had a good time photographing these ones too, thanks to Lauren. I was blog surfing recently, when I came across Lauren Meader's blog. I enjoyed viewing her artwork and reading her posts, and was inspired by the way she took her photographs. Click here to visit Lauren, you'll be glad you did. :) Now that it is finally spring, I thought I'd try taking my cards outdoors and photographing them. Let me know what you think. I feel like it changes things up a bit and makes it more interesting!