On The Eleventh Day of Christmas...

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Guten Morgen!

Have you been playing along with the 12 days of Christmas challenge over at The Greeting Farm? I hope so because tomorrow is the last day of the challenge and release day for TGF so it's going to be crazy day! Today however, is the eleventh day of Christmas and you can check out the fabulous sketch.....HERE!

Notice anything different about this card?! Here's a hint: there A LOT of one particular color that I am slightly afraid of. It's all blue!! Seriously, I'm not a big fan of blue on my cards. I just can't warm up to it but for some reason, I was immediately drawn to create this all blue card! Weird, isn't it?! But how smoking hot does Miss Savannah Wild Sprout look in this little blue number?! So adorable! And this sheet of dp from the Basic Grey 'Marrakesh' collection just worked so well with this sketch. It doesn't happen often, but every now and then a card comes together easily and this card was one of them! So sweet when it does happen! :)

Tomorrow I have one last card for you as a Gardener for The Greeting Farm. :( I've had such a fabulous time these past three months. Thank you to those who stopped by my blog and left sweet comments during my term. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing all my TGF creations with you over these few months and I have really appreciated your support. TGF fans are FABULOUS!! *mwah*

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Wild Sprout Savannah' and 'Light Up - retired'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black, Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Soft Sky, Almost Amethyst, Not Quite Navy, Appealing Apricot, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Marrakesh Collection'
Access: Adhesive Rhinestones, Ranger Stickles, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG 35: Is It Spring Break Yet!

A happy New Years Eve to you all!

I can't believe it'll be January 1st 2010 tomorrow! Has it crept up on you too? So crazy isn't it?! Do you make New Years resolutions? I haven't in the past for the simple reason that you're asking for them to be broken, but for some reason I really want to try keep this one. I want to be better about emailing people back in a more timely manner. I read emails right away, but for some reason I tell myself I don't have the time right there and then to write a response, so I put it off for a while. Sometimes a little to long! So next year I am resolving to reply to emails within an hour of receiving them. It bugs me, so I'm really going to try keep this one.

This week's There She Goes challenge (TSG35) is all about flowers and had this Garden of Friends set not been released last week, I would have used the Bloom set (because it's my other favorite floral set). But this GOF set is soooo sweet and perfect for a card to send to a friend.

I am starting to detest winter already. There's no fresh air in the house and my skin is starting to dry out. :( I need a bit of a Spring break! *sigh* I guess a vase of flowers will have to suffice for now.

The layout came from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketches Challenge (SSSC50) and it was perfect for showcasing the lovely watering can of fresh cut flowers. I was so excited to create this card because I got to use, for the first time, some October Afternoon paper!! :D My sweet and dear friend sent me some for my stash! :D I looove it so and now I think I HAVE TO HAVE some more of it! But I think I might wait until after CHA this January in case they decide to release more collections. There's a pretty good bet that they will. Doesn't every company?!

Here's a close up of the watercoloring on the image. It's such a great image that lends itself to the watercoloring style. Weathered tin isn't just gray, so I added dots and streaks of More Mustard and Ballet Blue to the can to make it more realistic.

Remember, if you play along with this week's challenge, then post a link to your card on this week's challenge post and you could win a gift certificate to the There She Goes store!

I have one more post this morning, so keep an eye out for it!


Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Garden of Friends'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, More Mustard, Almost Amethyst, Ballet Blue, Sahara Sand

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP = October Afternoon 'Farm Fresh'

Access: Ribbon, EK Success Edge Punch, Paper Piercer, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Dimensionals

Whimsical Wednesday

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Good Morning!

So yesterday was a pretty productive day for me. I took down the Christmas tree, put all the ornaments and decorations away in their boxes, hurled the dried up tree off our second story balcony and propped it up against the dumpster. Thank goodness no one was around to see me do that! LOL

It feels like forever since I played along with a Whimsical Wednesday Challenge! With the holidays and what not, I wasn't able to play last week. But I'm back and rearing to go! This week's artist is Nicky Diedrich and you can check out his sketch on today's WW:DD post.

The Loads of Fun set from There She Goes hasn't left the top of my craft table since the release last week. I am having so much fun with it! When I saw today's sketch, I knew one of the images from this set would be perfect for it. Aren't those undies cute?! Sadly, you will not find those in my underwear drawer! LOL I did *kind of* tweaked the sketch a little. :) Well, I just moved the focal point off center a wee bit and instead of two tabs on either side of the image, I just made a continuous tag that runs across the middle. A sketch is just a guide, right?? ;) LOVE that sentiment! You could it as a segway some kind of hot, juicy gossip, like for instance... I'm now a Senior Trendsetter for There She Goes!! :D

I'm so thrilled (and a little shocked!) to be a part of the Senior team and amongst such a great deal of talent! Thank you Jess for this fantastic opportunity!

And now for the bigger announcement...Starting January, this blog will be sponsored EACH MONTH which means there will be a PRIZE EVERY MONTH!! Woohooooo! Next week we will announce the first sponsor of 2010. Tune in next week to find out what you can win!!

Ok, wanna check out more inspiration from the Daredevils? Check out their blogs:

Darla Wilson
Debbie Lee
Jacqueline Nordaune
Jacquie Peifer
Kim Ross (will be posting later this evening)
Kris Palakiko
Randi Wall
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra MacLean

Thanks so much for stopping by today! :)


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Loads Of Fun'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Morning Marigold, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Tea Dye'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP = Cosmo Cricket 'Boyfriend Collection'
Access: Marvey Scalloped Square Punch, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

On The Nineth Day of Christmas...

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Good Morning!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas Day and you got to enjoy some time with your families and loved ones. We had a great Christmas - Syd has the best reactions when she opens presents and that was the only gift I wanted that day. Her face lit up every time she opened a gift and she kept saying thank you and giving us hugs all morning....*sigh*. It was such a great morning!

We spent Christmas evening, as we usually do, with Scott's aunts, uncles and cousins. For the past few years we've done a Yankee swap thing between everyone and one year Scott's crazy Uncle Rick decided to disguise a wooden box that used to house the ashes of their father's dog. Now it's become a tradition that whomever opens that gift with Suzy the Dog in it, has to bring it back the following year to be swapped out again. Well, last year we got stuck with Suzy, so we thought we were being clever this year and bought an el cheapo DVD player and hid Suzy's box inside that box all covered up with the proper wrapping. We figured everyone would be trading it all night so they could get their hands on the DVD player and then in the end, they'd find out that they were trading Suzy all night! The plan would have worked too except for the fact that Uncle Rick picked that present early on and our precious little girl blurted out "My daddy wrapped that present!" The room roared with laughter and they eventually found Suzy's box. Mental note for future years: Never wrap anything for anyone with your little ones in the room! LOL

The Greeting Farm is celebrating the Ninth day of Christmas today and the sketch is perfect for just about any TGF stamp!


I used the absolutely adorable Miss Anya from the Miss Anya Love set for my card. She sits perfectly inside an oval nestie. Since the whole card was so blue, I jazzed it up by putting Miss Anya in a red hot little number! Hehe

If you haven't heard the news yet, there are three new Farmers sowing some seeds of love over at The Greeting Farm and I couldn't be more happier for them! I can't wait to see what they've all done with the new Sproutlets being released this Friday! I know I'll be lining up for them - I LOVE my Sprouts!

I'm looking forward to taking the Christmas Tree down so I can have my big picture window back. I have missed the natural light...and so have my photos! LOL Here's a before and after picture of Syd opening one of her presents (and wearing one of them) on Christmas Day. Is that not the best reaction?! :) Gotta love that kid!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

EDIT: I've added a bunch of new cards to my store today! And if you ever see a card on my blog you just HAVE TO HAVE, just send me an email! :)


Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Miss Anya Love'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp, Pretty In Pink, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP = Prima Marketing 'Aurora Collection'
Access: Buttons, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Spellbinders Small Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestibilities, Sponges, Dimensionals

On The Sixth Day of Christmas...

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Good Morning!


Forgive me for being a little sad today because you see, this is my last Farm Fresh Friday challenge as a Gardener. :( *sob sob* I can't believe how fast those three months flew by! But as the song goes...I had the time of my life! :) It's been such a GREAT experience being on this team with Marie, Jess and the Farmers - fabulous communication and organization! So I just want to give a shout out to Marie and Jess for giving me this AWESOME opportunity - THANK YOU SWEETIES! *mwah*


Today is Day Six of the 12 Days of Christmas challenge and it's another fabulous sketch for you all! I decided to pull out those cute little snowmen from the Keep Cozy set for this one because of their size - perfect for this sketch!


Mr. Snowman was colored with reinkers and an aquapainter brush and then I added some yummy crystal snow glitter to the scene - love that glitter! Not really sure if this is a Christmas card or not but it may just be the last time I use Cosmo Cricket paper this year. :( It's a bit of a sad moment really. Don't be surprised if you see this paper again next year! ;)

Well, Christmas is almost here and 2010 is right around the corner and I've had a lot of time lately to reflect on all the things that has happened this year. I have had THE MOST amazing opportunities given to me from this hobby and I got to share them all with you. So to everyone who follows my blog or subscribes to it, to those who leave sweet comments and to those that just pop in for a peek, I want to say a very heartfelt thank you. You encourage and inspire me to keep going with this fun hobby. Thank you for sharing all the highs and lows with me. I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a wonderful and fruitful New Year. *mwah*

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Keep Cozy', There She Goes 'Penguin Love'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Cool Caribbean, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Taken With Teal, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Cosmo Cricket 'Holly By Golly'

Access: Ribbon, Spellbinders Tags Trio, EK Success Corner Punch, Stampendous Crystal Snow Glitter, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG Loads Of Fun Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to the There She Goes 'Loads of Love' blog hop!!

This is your second last stop on the hop and if you've swung by here via the super lovely Maki Jones's blog, then you're on the right track. And if you haven't, but would like to play along on this loads of fun hop, then head over to the TSG blog to begin the spin cycle there!

This set is flat out HILARIOUS! It has great laundry puns and the images are perfect for all of them. I used the large laundry basket for this first card and one of the awesomely funny sentiments. The sketch is from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (SSSC49).

I couldn't resist making this second card! How true is that sentiment?! There have been a few times in my 9 years of marriage when I've thought "I so didn't sign up for this!" So this sentiment rang true for me. The washer and dryer images are really cute and all I did for this card was put them in a scene by drawing in a wall and base trim with a Micro pen. The layout is this week's Mojo Sketch Challenge (MOJO118).

Your next stop along this hop is the lovely Wendy Bond's blog! Thanks so much for hopping along with us today!

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: There She Goes 'Loads of Fun'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray,Buckaroo Blue, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Sahara Sand, Almost Amethyst, Ballet Blue
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Scenic Route
Access: Buttons, Martha Stewart Edge Punch, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2
Stamps: There She Goes 'Loads of Fun'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Certain Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Almost Amethyst, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Bo Bunny
Access: Ribbon, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, EK Success Circle Punches, Sponges, Dimensionals

On The Fifth Day of Christmas...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

My true love gave to me...a task! To bake 8 mini loaves of bread for the technicians at his work. Seriously! Have I not done enough baking already with all the cookies (5 different types) that went to school with Syd today?? All I can say is: There had better be something sparkly in my stocking this year! LOL It can be fake too honey, I just want something sparkly! ;)


Anyway...LOL! Today is Sketch 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas challenge going on over at The Greeting Farm blog. Have you all been playing along?? I hope so because there are some SERIOUS prizes at stake!

You can find today's sketch on TGF blog but here's my sample using the sketch. I used the adorable Library Mouse stamp from author/illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba. I've had this MME paper for yeeeears! But you can never really get rid of paper right? Because one day, that perfect card or project will come along that fits that paper and voila! A match made in heaven! ;)

Ok, now it's your turn. Get busy creating your card with this sketch and upload it to the Sketch 5 gallery in TGF galleria.

I have to make another card this morning then I'm having lunch with my MIL, then over to Target for some last minute stocking stuffers for The Man and some gift cards for the family, then it's back home for hopefully a relaxing evening. :)

Hope you have a great day!

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Library Mouse', There She Goes 'Craftier Taglines'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Morning Marigold, Ruby Red, More Mustard, Buckaroo Blue, Almost Amethyst, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Cool Caribbean
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Mind's Eye 'Magnolia and Wild Aparagus Collection'
Access: Buttons, EK Success Circle Punch, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG Garden Of Friends Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the There She Goes 'Garden of Friends' Blog Hop!

We're showing you sneak peeks all week long of the new sets being released for January and you won't want to miss a single day! If you've stopped by my blog from the uber talented Maki Jones's blog, then you're on the right track, but if you've stopped here by chance and would like to play along on this hop, just head over to TSG blog and start your journey there.Today's hop is all about the new Garden of Friends set! It's such a beautiful set!

I really wanted to create an elegant card and a fun, summery card so you could see the versatility of this set. This first card is very elegant and vintage looking. With the help of some K&Company paper and the Labels Four nestibilities, it was easy to frame out this beautiful sentiment. I know I sound like a broken record, but Jess has done it again with the beautiful fonts in this set! I really love using the sentiments as the focal point on cards - especially when the fonts are as good as these! :)

The main image in this set is this beautiful watering can with a bunch of fresh cut flowers in it. Jess actually turned a photograph of her friend's flower display into this stamp! Crazy good isn't it?! It's just as beautiful to color too. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch (MTSC53) for this layout.

So do ya wanna win this awesome new set?! Head back to the TSG blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of the Garden of Friends post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own set! The winner will be announced Saturday (Dec. 26th) during the Release Party Chat.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Supplies

Card 1

Stamps: There She Goes 'Garden of Friends'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Soft Sky, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company

Access: Ribbon, Spellbinders Labels Four Nestibilities, Kaiser Adhesive Pearls, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2

Stamps: There She Goes 'Garden of Friends'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Almost Amethyst, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company
Access: Ribbon, Spellbinders Large Circle Nestibilties, EK Success Circle Punches, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG Sale Blog Hop!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

With only three more shopping days until Christmas I hope most of you have your shopping all done and are enjoying the company of family and friends this week. I have a few more things to get but they're mostly stocking stuffer things for The Man, so nothing that requires going to the Mall for, thank goodness for that!

If you're home this week, you won't want to miss the new release blog hops There She Goes has in store for you all! Our first one is today and without further ado...

Welcome to the There She Goes Changing Of The Seasons Blog Hop!

Yesterday was officially the start of Winter and with every season change, There She Goes marks the event with a sale! There are five sets on sale starting yesterday through to Sunday, Dec 27th. On the blog hop today you can check out what the Trendsetters have created with them! If you've stopped by here from Maki's blog, then you're on the right path, but if you haven't and would like to play along with us, then head over to the TSG blog and start your merry hop there!

I used the absolutely MUST HAVE 'Spread Your Wings' set for this card. Everything from the sentiments to the beautiful butterflies to the font used in this set is just breathtaking! Everyone needs a bit of encouragement and support every now and then and this set is perfect for that. I used one of the butterflies from the set and the cracked glass technique to make this (almost) 'twinchy'. Love that technique and the butterflies really make for great twinchies! :)

Ok, your next stop is back to the TSG blog where you can leave your name in the Mr. Linky at the end of the post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own sale set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Dec. 26th) during the Release Party Chat (in the TSG forum).

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Spread Your Wings'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Soft Sky, Old Olive, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap', Versamark
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Crate Paper 'Prudence Collection'
Access: Ribbon, UTEE Embossing Enamel, Sponges, Dimensional

On The Third Day of Christmas...

Monday, December 21, 2009

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a great weekend! We were expecting to get slammed with snow yesterday but we didn't get a single snowflake! So disappointing. The Man was looking forward to testing out the new tires on the truck too. :) Men will always be boys, right? hehe

I hope you all found some time this weekend to play with the first two sketches for The Greeting Farm's 12 Days of Christmas challenge. Today is Day 3 of the challenge and Mercy has created a great sketch for everyone! You can check out the sketch over at TGF blog.

I spent most of yesterday baking cookies, peanut brittle, etc for Syd's daycare teachers (and our stash!), but found some time afterwards to color up this cutie for today's challenge. This is Chibi Drink digi from illustrator, Jessica Hymas. She's so sweet with her big eyes and all those layers in her dress!

I kept pretty true to Mercy's sketch, except I added some scalloped borders and some buttons to fill the void in the top right hand corner. Whenever I work on a card that has multiple panels, I gravitate (a lot) towards my 6x6 collection pads because I know I'll have matching patterned papers to choose from. But sometimes dumb luck comes into play and I stumble on multiple 12x12 sheets from a collection in my stash. That happened yesterday when I didn't even realize that I had two double sided sheets of this old SEI paper. My paper collection is a mess. I used to have it all organized by company, but with all the cards I've made this year, it's just in shambles now. I think I need to take some time over the next couple of week so sort it all out. We'll see how that goes! LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a great day!

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Chibi Drink - digi', Stamping Bella 'Bottom's Up'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp, Sahara Sand, Cool Caribbean, Morning Marigold, Pumpkin Pie, Pretty In Pink, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'

Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - SEI 'Penelope's Potpourri'

Access: Ribbon, Buttons, EK Success Corner Punch, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Rangers Glossy Accents and Stickles, Sponges, Dimensionals

Bellarific Friday: Faux and Sew

Friday, December 18, 2009

Hi again!

I couldn't resist whipping up a card and playing along in this week's Bellarific Friday challenge because I bought a bunch of images a while back and haven't had a chance to ink them up yet - how wrong is that?!

So this week's challenge was all about sewing, or faux sewing. I love to sew on my cards, so this was a no brainer and well, I needed that this week! I colored up Suck It Up Stella with reinkers and an aquapainter and while coloring her, I decided to dedicate this card to me. :) I've moped long enough over my recent employment status and it's time to SUCK IT UP SISTAH! :) I used my sewing machine and did some straight and zigzag stitching all over that yummy K&Company paper.

Thank you to those who left words of encouragement and support. It really did help me yesterday. :) I'm truly grateful to all of you.

Next week, I have sneak peeks for the new stamps from There She Goes, so stay tuned!


Supplies
Stamps: Stamping Bella 'SuckitupStella'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, Sahara Sand, Going Gray, Morning Marigold, Ruby Red
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - K&Company 'Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse Collection'
Access: Ribbon, Spellbinders Label Four Nestibilities, Machine Stitching, Stickles, Dimensionals

FFF: On The First Day of Christmas....

Good Morning!

I'm actually a little sad to bring you today's FFF challenge since it's my second last one before my term is done as part of the Fall Gardener team. I've had just the BEST time these past few months and I wish it wasn't coming to an end. :( The year is almost at an end too, but what better way to ring it in than a HUGE TGF Contest!??

Introducing....TGF's 12 Days of Sketches Contest!

TGF will be posting Twelve Days of Sketches on the TGF BLOG starting with today's Farm Fresh Friday! With the exception of Sundays and Christmas Day, TGF be indulging your stamping addiction with TWELVE awesome sketches designed by DT girls Cindy Haffner, Mercy Kerin, Jessica and Marie! Each day a different sketch will be posted and you can also find a place to upload them in the TGF galleria. Our 12th sketch will be revealed on New Year's Day with a HUGE all-day CELEBRATION...stay tuned for details on that! Our next two FFF's will proceed as normal and a prize will be given out to a random winner. In addition, anyone who completes ALL TWELVE sketches (you will have until Sunday 1/3/10 at 8pm CST to complete them and upload them to the appropriate galleries) will be entered into a drawing to win the ENTIRE TGF JANUARY RELEASE!!! Awesome right?!

You can go to the TGF blog to get all the details and check out the sketch. Here's my attempt at the sketch. I have just had so much fun coloring this stamp by award winning author and illustrator, Elizabeth Dulemba! The watercoloring medium helps add to the whimsy feel of this image, don't you think? I 'tweeked' the sketch just a little by rotating it and moving the detail, or embellishment, to the bottom of the card.

Now it's your turn! Create your card and upload it to the Sketch One gallery. But don't rest on your laurel's because Sketch Two is coming your way tomorrow!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be on the look out for one more post today...I couldn't resist. :)

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Reading Fairy'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Almost Amethyst, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Frayed Burlap'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Wisteria and Perhaps Collection'
Access: Ribbon, PTI Rustic Button - Cream, PTI Rustic Button Twine, Spellbinders Large Oval Nestibilities, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG33: Layers, Layers, Layers!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Good Morning!

I'm so sorry I've been MIA this week. I got some news last Friday that really threw me for a loop. The architects I work for told everyone that last Friday was our last day of work. Since February we had all been working three days a week to keep the business going, but I guess they decided that they could no longer continue this way. So it wasn't a complete shock, but they way they were acting, we all thought they were just going to continue this way until things turned around. Anyway, so now I find myself unemployed for the first time in 15 years. It's a weird feeling to say the least. Finding a replacement job in our little town is highly unlikely too, so I'm not sure what the future holds for us, but I told myself I'm not going to think about it too much now and tackle this head on in the New Year. I'm just going to enjoy this festive season and focus on what's important to me right now - my family.

Ok, onto today's card! This week's There She Goes challenge (TSG33) was given to us by the uber talented Wendy Bond, and it's all about layers! The more, the merrier! There's a minimum of three layers, but you get brownie points if you use more. :)

Well, I think you all know by now that I love my layers, so this challenge was a little bit easy peesy for me. I pulled the Craftier Taglines set and used this week's Sketch For You To Try for my layout since it had A LOT of layers! :) Sketch challenges really are a godsend to me because I still feel like a newbie to this hobby and layouts never come easily to me.

I sponged the circle panel with a bunch of distress inks and machine stitched it to a chocolate cardstock layer. The other layers of patterned paper were sponged and machine stitched to the chocolate cardstock. In all I managed to pull together 9 layers on this card. No bad hey?? :)

Now it's your turn. Create a card with a minimum of 3 layers and leave a link to your creation on this TSG post in the Mr Linky provided. You have a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to the TSG store! If you really want a challenge, this week There She Goes is sponsoring the Color Throwdown Challenge #73 and you can double your chances to win some TSG stamps!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Craftier Taglines'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain'
Papers: Very Vanilla, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Mind's Eye
Access: Prima Marketing Flowers, Raffia, PTI Rustic Button Twine, PTI Rustic Buttons - Cream, Spellbinders Large Circle Nestibilities, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Club Anya Holiday Blog Hop!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Hello and welcome to the Club Anya Holiday Blog Hop!!

Hasn't the eye candy so far been PHENOM?!?!! I am always in complete awe at what Anya fans create with these awesome characters! Seeing all your jaw dropping cards everyday makes me question my skills on a daily basis, so I hope you all enjoy this card as much as I enjoy seeing all of yours. :)

I needed a Christmas card to give my daughter's preschool teachers next week, so I decided to team up one of my favorite Anyas, Teacher Anya and this week's Card Patterns #45 sketch to create this card for them. This past summer, one of her teachers had streaks of purple throughout her hair (because she likes the highlights it left after the color faded) so I had to add the strip of purple to the brunette Anya! Her other teacher is a blonde. Syd's class also has an assistant teacher, so when I have some time this week, I'm going to add one more Anya to the inside of the card to finish it off.

Syd and I are baking some cookies this weekend for her teachers and the kids in her class to go along with this card, so this will be the pièce de résistance! Oh who am I kidding?! The cookies are the icing on the cake! LOL

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Teacher Anya', There She Goes 'Holiday Tags'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Morning Marigold, More Mustard, Soft Sky, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen' Tea Dye, Vintage Photo'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Cosmo Cricket 'Holly By Golly'
Access: Ribbon, Martha Stewart Edge Punch, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Live your Bliss...Anyway You Can!

Friday, December 11, 2009

A very happy Friday to you all!

Last night we went to a jazz concert put on by the local college students and we had a ball! We've been every year since Syd was 6 months old. This year's theme was the Silver Screen and songs from some big hits. They played 'Over The Rainbow' and the theme song to 'The Pink Panther' - it was such a great night! Anyway...

This card is for today's Farm Fresh Friday challenge over at The Greeting Farm! This week's challenge is to go 'old school' - go back to a time when we didn't have Cuttlebugs and those lovely Nesties (that wasn't all that long ago for me!) or those awesome edge punches. Yes my friends, it's time to create a card using what you had before those sweet inventions - create your card using only your cutting board!! *GASP* Without Nesties?!!? hehe And before you all gong me - I think decorative scissors are allowed since they've been around since before the dawn of time! ;) (That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it!)

I've been trying to find a reason to use this old Basic Grey paper for quite some time now. In fact, I think I picked it up at that New Years Day Scrapbook store sale I went to at the beginning of the year (Remember the one where I stood in line for 4 hours. Yeah, that one.) And I just had to give Sassy Suzie some rocking blue hair! You know, I think these wild sprouts look better with funky colored hair than they do with realistic hair tones, don't you??

Now it's your turn to create a card using only your cutting board! Upload your creation to TGF Gallery by Wednesday December 16th to be in the running to win some stamps from TGF! Check out what the other DT girls have created for this challenge:

Jessica
Cheryl
Cindy
Kadie
Kim
Mercy
Lisa
Lynda
Sandra
Gabby

Thanks so much for stopping by all this week! We are off to see The Princess and the Frog movie tonight since Syd has been just dying to see it for a few weeks now. Enjoy your weekend!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Sassy Suzie Wild Sprout' & PTI 'Mixed Messages'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Cool Caribbean, Buckaroo Blue, Certain Celery, Old Olive, Taken With Teal, Not Quite Navy, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand, Distress Inks 'Black Soot and Broken China'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Eva Collection'
Access: Ribbon, Buttons, Sponges, Decorative Scissors, Dimensionala

Dollar Find Friday!

Here's a sneak peek at my Dollar Find Friday idea!

You can check out all the details over at the There She Goes blog!

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Quick! Make A Wish!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Good Morning!

It's time for another Whimsical Wednesday challenge and we have two new Daredevils to introduce to you this week! Please help me welcome Jacquie and Valerie to the team! Can't wait to get to know you both!

Ok, this week's challenge is brought to us by Madelynn Diedrich and her challenge is an inspiration image. You can find it and all the details over at today's Whimsical Wednesday post. While you're there, check out what featured Daredevil Darla Wilson has created this week!

I borrowed the colors from the image and made a birthday card using the cute, new Chibi images from The Greeting Farm. These images were created by illustrator Jessica Hymas are they are really growing on me! I think I might have to color up a few more this weekend! :) The sketch was from this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge #81.

Do yourself a favor and check out what the other Daredevils have created with this inspiration image!

Cassie Larson
Darla Wilson
Debbie Lee
Heather Schlatter
Jacquie Nordaune
Jacquie Peifer
Jessica Diedrich
Kim Ross
Kris Palakiko
Randi Wall
Rebecca Ednie
Valerie Urtiaga

Ok, I'm off to check out what the girls have done. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Chibi Cake - digi', Stamping Bella 'Make A Wish'

Inks: Creamy Caramel, Morning Marigold, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain'

Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Minds Eye

Access: Prima Marketing Flowers, Making Memories Brads, Sponges, Spellbinders Large Circle Nestibilities and Tags Trio, EK Success Corner Punch, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

Mini Watercoloring Tutorial

Wanna see this card in full and a mini watercoloring tutorial??

Check out today's Wednesday Trend over at There She Goes!

Just Tag It!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Good Morning!

We FINALLY got our first snowfall of the season on Saturday! Everyone one around us has had some snow except us. I hear it's because our town lies in an ancient lake bed and we're surrounded by mountains, so the bad weather hits all the higher elevations instead. That is usually fine by me, but it's December and we hadn't had any snow! It wasn't much of a snowfall - 1-2 inches, but at least it was something! You watch though; I'll take it all back when we get our first Nor-easter! LOL

Ok, onto today's tags. Yes, tags! Today's There She Goes challenge is brought to you by yours truly and it's to make a tag! Any shape, any size, any way - just make one!

I couldn't decide what style of tag to do, so I made three of them for you! Aren't I nice?! ;) LOL This first tag is one for a wine bottle. It was really quick and easy to make! I used the candy cane image from the Holiday Tags set and popped it up off a little oval nestie medallion. Cute right?

This second tag was one I couldn't not do. I've seen a few ornaments created in blogland using the nesties, so I had to make one for myself too! The sentiment is from last month's HSH Holiday Additions set and I used some (really) old SEI Christmas paper with some yummy white glitter paper, which I found at Michaels. I hung it on my tree for the photo because I have no Christmas presents wrapped yet...or bought for that matter, but lets not go there today! LOL

Now this next card/tag kind of came to me after seeing this week's Sketch For You To Try. I wanted to use some of those wooden snowflakes you can find at Michaels for a tag and when I saw the sketch this week, I immediately thought of a tag or ornament you can remove off a card to use and/or recycle. Isn't this a great idea?! I try not to think about the fact that some people eventually throw away handmade cards they've received (don't get me started on that one either!) so I love the idea that you can remove the tag and reuse it elsewhere! A pure stroke of genius on my part people! LMBO! Just kidding. Now, I haven't seen this done anywhere before, but I can't imagine this idea is a first anywhere, but how cool is this? I mean, in an age where recycling is a part of everyday life (and is even taught in preschools - my 4 yr old recognizes the recycle symbol!), recycling a card should be as normal as recycling plastic. So anyway, I tucked the ties behind the rectangle panel and when you pull the tag off the card, you're all set to use it on something else. I ended up putting one of the full sentiments from the HSH Holiday Additions set on the inside of the card since it wouldn't fit on the front.

Ok, now it's your turn to create your own tag! Upload it to your blog or SCS gallery and leave a link to it on Mr Linky, located at the bottom of today's challenge post. Then you'll have a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to the TSG store. Can't wait to see your creations!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Tag 1

Stamps: There She Goes 'Holiday Tags'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Ruby Red, Cool Caribbean, Morning Marigold, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Tea Dye'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics

Access: Ribbon, Button, Gold Twine, Spellbinders Oval Nestibilities, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals, Sponges

Tag 2

Stamps: There She Goes 'Home Sweet Home Holiday Additions'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black'

Papers: Bazzil Basics, White Glitter, PP - SEI

Access: Button, Taylors Tiny Twinkles, Spellbinders Labels Four and Oval Nestibilities, Decorative Scissors, Ribbon, Silver Twine, Dimensionals

Tag 3

Stamps: There She Goes 'Holiday Tags'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo'

Papers: Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Grey 'Wassail Collection', Memory Box 'Spice Berry Collection'

Access: Wooden Snowflake, Ribbon, Making Memories Brad, Gold Twine, Button, Martha Stewart Mica Glass Glitter, Sponges

Tweet This!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Good Morning!

I totally meant to post this card yesterday, but I slept in and had to rush out the door - and I mean rush! I woke up at 8am and I was freshened up, dressed, got Syd fed and dressed and out the door by 8.35! How crazy is that?! It's a good thing I am allowed to wear jeans to work every now and then! LOL I have to start going to bed before midnight; all these late nights are starting to get to me.

Anyway, I meant to take a picture of my card yesterday morning but there was definitely no time to squeeze that in! hahaha So now you have a surprise Saturday post from me! :)

I wanted to use this sentiment as soon as I saw it in the set, Birdie Wishes, recently released by There She Goes! Not that I tweet or anything, but I think the whole 'tweeting' thing is pretty well known now and if it isn't in the dictionary yet, I bet it will be soon! It really is such a cute set and I'm pretty sure it'll be my go-to set for a long, long time!

I just had to use the Earth Love paper again with this set! They just seem to go together - like peanut butter and fluff! :) I also tried my hand at stitching around the Labels Four Nestie and let me tell you - that might be the last time I do that! Man was that hard! LOL

Ok, I'm off to color some images for a custom card order and get my little Syd to gymnastics. Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Birdie Wishes'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Certain Celery, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen'
Papers: Very Vanilla, Bazzil Basics, PP - Cosmo Cricket 'Earth Love Collection'
Access: Ribbon, Making Memories Decorative Brad, Spellbinders Labels 4 Nestibilities, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

FFF Color Challenge

Friday, December 4, 2009

A very happy Friday to you all!

I'm so glad you all enjoyed yesterday's hilarious conversation with my little one. :) She's quite the handful at times, but I wouldn't want it any other way. It makes her who she is. :) Funnily enough, the only thing that snaps her out of her nightmares at night is when I sing her a lullaby. Although, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing anymore! LOL

It's time for another Farm Fresh Friday challenge and this week we have a color combo challenge for you! The colors you see in the swatch refer to SU's Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss (Or Old Olive), Baja Breeze and Whisper White. Now, normally I stay away from color challenges because I don't own any SU paper but the girls have said it's A-OK to use Bazzil or Prisma cardstock, just as long as you get keep to these color families! Phew!

I have to apologize for the bad photo. You see, a certain 'festive tree' is hogging all the daylight my big picture window brings into our teeny tiny apartment and combined with some overcast weather yesterday morning, this is about as good I could get it! Sorry! Anywho, I inked up the cute little Library Mouse that was just released from The Greeting Farm this week. He really is a strong little mouse isn't he?? Carrying all those books! I colored him with reinkers and an aquapainter brush on Strathmore Bristol Vellum. I am getting used to how to color on this stuff and very rarely use watercolor paper anymore. It absorbs the ink and water a whole lot more quicker than the watercolor paper does, so I just have to work a lot quicker and more deliberately. The sentiment is from Stamping Bella and I thought it just went perfectly with this image. I used this week's Mojo Sketch #115 for the layout.

Ok, now it's your turn to show us what you can do with this color combo!! Create your card and upload it to TGF gallery by Wednesday Dec. 9th for a chance to win some TGF stamps! Can't wait to see them all!

Got any plans for the weekend?? I'm hoping to get some custom cards finished night, then Saturday I want to complete some projects to show you next week, then Sunday is baking day! Syd and I are making banana bread and some cheese pepper bread for her teachers at school.

Have a great weekend!

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Library Mouse', Stamping Bella sentiment (retired?)
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, Taken With Teal, Old Olive, True Thyme, Close To Cocoa, More Mustard, Really Rust, Buckaroo Blue
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Minds Eye 'Dreamy Street Collection'
Access: Ribbon, Button, PTI Rustic Button Twine, Spellbinders Large Circle Nestibilities, Decorative Scissors, Fiskar's Circle Cutter, Sponges, Dimensionals

No Card But A Funny Conversation...

Thursday, December 3, 2009

I didn't do much prep work this weekend to get a card made for today, but I really wanted to share a conversation that happened yesterday on the way to daycare and work between Syd and I.

Syd has been addicted to the Mama Mia movie lately and we bought ABBA's greatest hits so we could listen to them in the car on the way to school in the mornings. Usually I have to fight to get to sing the choruses because little Miss Songstress doesn't appreciate sharing the limelight, so yesterday's conversation went something like this...

Me: *singing to Emotions* #"Don't got sharing your emoooooootions,..."# as I turn my head to see Syd's reaction
Syd: Says nothing except she signs the word 'Stop'!
Me: Huh?! "Excuse me?! I am allowed to sing the song too ya know!"
Syd: "Sorry Mama."
Me: #"Lay all your love on meeeeeeeeeee"# as I turn to see her reaction again...
Syd: "Mama. I love you, but you can't sing."

And who made this 4 year old an Idol judge?!?!?

Whimsical Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Good Morning!

I just have to say thank you to everyone who played along on yesterday's TGF blog hop! What an amazing turnout we got! And a BIG personal thank you from me for all your sweet comments about my work. I am truly thankful for them and for you all. I have been in a very 'bah humbug' mood of late. Mainly due to homesickness and not having seen my parents in over 5 years, so it was really touching to read all your wonderful comments. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. :)

Ok, onto today's Whimsical Wednesday Challenge! This week's sketch is a doozy! You can see it over at the Whimsical Wednesday website and don't forget to leave some love for this week's featured Daredevil, Cassie Larson! I hummed and haaed over this sketch for the longest time. It looks a little tricky, but I ended up rotated the sketch and omited the the two strips that wrap around each side with the stars. Then I used a ribbon to represent the strip running straight across the front of the sketch.

The sketch really didn't show a place for a stamp image, and I wasn't going to use one, but I couldn't bring myself to do it and ended up coloring this cute Christmas package image from Whipper Snapper Designs.

We'd love to have you play along with us this week, but before you do, check out what the other girls have created with this sketch:

Cassie Larson
Darla Wilson
Heather Schlatter
Jacquie Peifer
Jessica Diedrich
Kim Ross
Lisa Hjulberg
Randi Wall
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra MacLean

And this week please give a warm, whimsical welcome to our newest Daredevil Kris Palakiko!! Welcome Kris! We're so excited to have you on board Kris!

Yesterday, Rebecca sent me this awesome YouTube video of the muppets and if you love Queen or the Muppets, you have to check it out!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs 'Lovely Xmas Presents' and 'Season's Greetings'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Cool Caribbean, Sahara Sand, Old Olve, True Thyme, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp, Ballet Blue, Morning Marigold, More Mustard

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Mind's Eye

Access: Ribbon, Buttons, PTI Rustic Button Twine, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals, Stickles, Stampendous Crystal Snow Glitter

Sweet Messages Blog Hop!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Hello and WELCOME to our Sweet Message BLOG HOP!

We are so excited that today is the day! The Greeting Farm is releasing SIX new rubber stamps and/or stamp sets and TEN new digis! This is a HUGE release, just in time for the holidays, and there are some prizes along the way so be sure to cover your bases and visit everyone's blogs today! We are extra excited to have our December Guest Designer, Gabby helping kick off our blog hop and are so happy to have her with us! That's just one of a few exciting things going on at TGF...you will be SO glad you're a friend of the Farm!

Since today's blog hop is celebrating the Sweet Messages set designed by the talented Marina Neira, I wanted to show you as much of the set as possible. This first card uses the little guy from the set and one of the sentiments. And the card below uses the little girl from the set and another sentiment.

Now...prizes.....Did someone say PRIZES??? Well, to help celebrate the two new sets by Marina Neira that TGF is releasing today, GABBY will be giving away both sets to ONE LUCKY commenter on her blog!

Your next stop is back at The Greeting Farm's blog. Leave a comment letting Marie and Jess know you've completed it....because ONE RANDOM WINNER will receive the ENTIRE December RELEASE!!!! That's sixteen releases in total.... 4 singles, 2 sets, and 10 digis!! And if that's NOT ENOUGH, then as a token of Marina's appreciation for the love you've shown her, you will find a freebie digi stamp on TGF for you!! Woohoooo! Don't you just love TGF??

In case you get lost along the way, here is the list of blogs to visist:

Gabby
Jessica
Cheryl
Cindy
Kadie
Kim
Mercy
Lisa
Lynda
Sandra
TGF BLOG

Have fun and GOOD LUCK! And don't forget, the releases are ALL available now in the TGF Store! Have a great day and happy shopping!

Stamps: The Greeting Farm 'Sweet Messages'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink, Morning Marigold, More Mustard, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Taken With Teal, Ballet Blue
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bassil Basics, PP - My Mind's Eye 'In Bloom Collection'
Access: Ribbon, Buttons, PTI Rustic Button Twine, Spellbinders Rectangle and Circle Nestibilities, Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals