Monday, February 28, 2011

Stampin' Royalty #60 & Tiddly Inks Shaker Card!

Heyyyy - wanted to get these posted in time for their deadlines.  First up:

The DP's are from Stampin' Up!  Ribbon is from my stash - sentiment is a digi.
I used cardstock and designer papers from Stampin' Up!

Next up is something that was really a challenge for me - 



I had never made a shaker card before, but it was actually fun.  It's really pretty - I'm going to save it for my friend's daughter's 11th birthday in May, I know she'll love it.  I used "Cast Your Spell" from Tiddly Inks (she's one of my favorites), she's colored with Prismacolor pencils, blended with Gamsol.  Buttons are from Stampin' Up! and Beary Scraps - cardstock, ribbon and glitter are from SU!  See you tomorrow!  Peace.

Lollipop Crafts - Think Spring!

Let me tell ya, I could REALLY relate to this challenge today...




We have had more than our fair share of Winter here in Massachusetts and it doesn't seem to be over yet.  I am really looking forward to opening windows and seeing some sunshine.  I didn't do any stamping on this card, I used cardstock, designer papers, and ribbon from Stampin' Up! and adhered a little silver charm that says "Believe" on the front - to me, it's saying "Believe that Spring will get here... eventually."  LOL

Have a great week, friends.  Peace.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Papertake Weekly with Sasha

Good morning, happy Saturday, etc.  :)  This cold I have seems to have taken up residence in my chest, it's a good thing it doesn't take a lot of energy to make cards.  LOL  I get exhausted after just throwing a load of laundry in, for crying out loud.

So I showed you the other day the absolutely precious new CREEPIN' KIT by the Greeting Farm - I could not wait to use these adorable stamps, so I used Sasha from the kit to make this card for the:



I have been using this 5.5 inch square size card lately, I like the extra space it gives you to work.  Glitter, flower brad, and other supplies by Stampin' Up! in the following colors: Pixie Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue. Her skin, hair, the pink part of her dress, and her boots are colored with Prismacolor pencils blended with Gamsol.  

Have a great weekend, friends.  Peace. 

Friday, February 25, 2011

Michelle Perkett DT Call

I'm baaaaaack!  ;)

Michelle Perkett is a fabulous woman who I was lucky enough to "meet" in cyberland!  Michelle designs digital stamps that are just absolutely gorgeous - she's got her own unique style that I just adore.  Although I already have several of her beautiful images, she provided me with a freebie for this DT call and I decided to use the freebie for this purpose.  Here is what I came up with:



I used paper from Die Cuts With a View for the actual card itself and the oval.  Image is printed on Bella's Bestest white cardstock from Stamping Bella.  I wish you could see how glittery and pretty it really is - the papers themselves have glitter on them, and I used Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the dragonfly, the word Dream and the outline.  I mounted the dragonfly with 3-D dimensional stickers, so it "pops" .  Dragonfly brad was in my stash.

I may be back to post again later today, depending on how much I get done.  We got a little more snow last night and this morning, and now it's raining.  Yucky, but leaves not much else to do but create.  :)
Peace.

Case Dismissed and NEW STUFF!

So just to update anyone who is wondering - Jeremy's dad had court yesterday for the ridiculous criminal charge that was brought against him when his wife died in a tragic motorcycle ACCIDENT last Memorial Day weekend.  The judge dismissed the case - rightfully so.  I know there is someone out there reading this blog who is probably expecting me to say more, but all I'll say is what I've said before and what my husband said in the courtroom yesterday - you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I'll be back later today with some cards - I have a beauty (well, I think so anyway!) for the Michelle Perkett's DT call AND... guess what showed up in the mail yesterday???

The new CREEPIN' KIT from The Greeting Farm!  I had to buy it from an online store called Scrapy Land (and shouldn't that be Scrappy Land?  hee hee  I can't help it!), because TGF won't have it available until April 1 - BUT they are having a one-day only pre-sale on March 1 for the discounted price of $40.00 - so if you gotta have it, make sure you snag it then, cuz when it releases on April 1 it's going up to $48.00! 

OK - off to wait for the sun to come up!  :)
Peace.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Paper Pretties Challenge #142

After taking care of a sick daughter and sick husband, the germs have taken up residence in my head.  UGH.  So today, it's a short and sweet post - this is for the:

This is another card made with the adorable Fairy image from the Pure Innocence line at My Favorite Things.  They have some new PI sets coming out with their next release, too - cannot wait!
That's all for today - back to the couch, my tissues, and my puff (comforter).  :)
Peace.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pile It On with...

I'm now taking care of a sick husband - which as far as I am concerned, is worse than TEN sick kids.  HMPH.  So in between doing laundry, making TheraFlu drinks, and feeling a little punkish myself, I managed to make the below card for the following challenges:




I used Tuesday from the Creeper Crew collection at the Greeting Farm, colored in with SU! markers - I did a kind of "patchwork look" with a bunch of different DP's from SU!  Dazzling Diamonds glitter also from SU!  Button and sentiment are from my stash.

Peace.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

SNR Staff Member Announcement!

I am SUPER excited to share some big news with you all today - big news for me, anyway!  I am happy to report that I was one of 13 applicants chosen out of a pool of over 100 for a staff position at Scrapbook News & Review magazine!  You can see the official announcement here.  Please join me in welcoming the following new staff members:

Azura Alyssa
Judy Applegarth
Jenn Borjeson (that's me!)
Christy Butters
Gini Cagle
Barb Craft
Sarah Denham
Corrie Jones
Maureen Esquillo-Kao
Amanda Kuykendall
Candace Lawlor
Fabiane Ormerod
Tracey Wilson

Part of the application process was to submit a scrapbook page with the theme "About Me"... seeing how I don't really scrapbook, and I wanted to make sure this page really reflected me (so I didn't want to give any false pretenses that I was a big scrapbooker), I decided to do my page like a big card.  LOL  Here is the page I made for submission, using the angel from the Greeting Farm's Naughty or Nice set and Stamping Anya (I altered them to combine them into one image, Stamping Angel Anya - ha!):
I am really looking forward to this new endeavor and I would especially like to thank Dan & Kate Koch, the Executive Editors of SNR, who really made us newbies feel welcome and "at home" right away.  I can't wait to get started!

I will be back tomorrow with more challenge cards.  I never realized how many challenge blogs there were out in Cyber-Land until I had time to actually start searching for new ones - holy cow!  There are endless choices for card-making challenges, everything from sketches to themes to colors to.... you get the idea!  I prefer to participate in challenges that accept a blog link to the challenge card, I am not crazy about the "gallery challenges" where you post your card in a gallery somewhere with a tag or keyword.  The reason for this is that I find very few people actually look at those cards or leave comments - and I don't know about you all, but one of the reasons I enjoy my craft so much is that I get to share it with others who appreciate it.  I make a point to visit certain galleries that are sorely neglected and leave comments, just because I know how much it means to the crafter to know that someone likes what they did.  If you're going to take the time to participate in a challenge, you want to know that someone is at least looking at your card.  This is why I love the TiddlyInks challenge blog so much, to be honest... their entire design team makes a point to try to visit and comment on every single entry (blog post).  Not only that - they actually take the time to answer any questions or address any issues that crafters may comment about on their blog - I think that's awesome and I wanted to publicly thank all of the Design Team members, along with Christy (head TiddlyInker!) for that!

Peace. 

Monday, February 21, 2011

SPCC#88 - I'm a Guest Designer

Happy Monday!  Mondays mean it's time for another challenge at...

I am a Guest Designer for them this week, a result of winning Challenge #85.  It was great fun participating in this, Samantha runs this challenge and I always enjoy playing along.  :)  This card uses "Annie Has a Prezzie", a digi image from Tiddly Inks... cardstock, DP, & ribbon from SU!  Buttons and funky fiber (LOVE it) are from my stash.

Peace.
 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Creative Inspirations

Ugh - had a migraine Friday night, which left me basically useless yesterday.  Luckily, I prepare my blog posts ahead of time!  Today I plan to spend the day at my table making a bunch of cards for challenges.  For now, this card is for the:



This is another of the cards I made for my friend - using the Fairy from the Pure Innocence line at My Favorite Things.   Colors are SU! Whisper White and Pretty in Pink.

I have to tell you a story, because it really touched me.  The friend I am making these cards for, her name is Sherry.  Sherry lost her young daughter Katie to cancer years ago, and we actually became friends through a cancer organization we both volunteered with about 10 years ago.  When she asked me to make her some cards, I had her look at some of my galleries and my blog to see what she liked, and she chose this fairy.  In Friday's post, I mentioned that this fairy is from the Pure Innocence line at My Favorite Things.  Sherry e-mailed me saying that she felt this was a sign from Katie, as Katie loved the song "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music, she made Sherry sing it to her over and over during her last 24 hours.  I didn't even know this, but I got goosebumps as I read her e-mail.  Unfortunately, I have lost too many loved ones to cancer - and I do believe that Katie was sending this little message of love through me, like Sherry said.  It was just... awesome.  :)

Hope you all have a relaxing, happy Sunday.  :)  Peace.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Mojo Monday Sketch - for Cassidy

My sweet daughter Cassidy is almost 16 years old - she's at "that age" where one minute she wants to be an adult and the next, she wants to be a child.  :)  I don't mind at all - this is part of growing up, I know that... it's actually quite fascinating watching it all as a parent and remembering being that age myself.  hee hee  So anyway - Cass has a recent obsession with baby seals, of all things.  She squeals with delight whenever she sees one - and tried to convince us to let her get one for a pet.  LOL  I had to explain that baby seals grow up into BIG seals... :)  So anyway-  I was cleaning out my digi files yesterday on my computer, I had way too many digital images that I don't use, and was starting to be unable to find the ones I do use!  So a file purge was in order!  I found this adorable baby seal digi image by Digital Delights by Louby Loo, and I had to make Cass a card!  I wanted to use this card for a challenge, too, so I followed the sketch for the:

I used white Fun Flock to make the baby seal all fluffy-looking, it's much cuter in real life!  Cardstock is from my stash - background papers, brads, and ribbons by Stampin' Up!

Kids are on February vacation this week, but we don't have much planned.  I have some exciting news to share with you all on Monday... I'm soooo not good at keeping a secret!  hee hee 
Have a great weekend, friends.
Peace.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Cardabilities Sketch Challenge & RAK's

Happy Friday!  :)

My friend asked me to make her a set of 10 cards using this adorable fairy image from My Favorite Things' Pure Innocence line.  This is one of the cards I made, and I used the sketch from the:


Cardabilities Sketch Challenge




 Colors are SU!  Rose Red and Pretty Pink, I paper-pieced her dress.

 Check out TiddlyInks challenge blog today - this card below is featured today as a Fabulous Inky Friday find :


 This card is for one of Christy's (the artist) friends, who is turning 40 next month.  I used SU! colors in Whisper White, Basic Black, and Real Red.

So I stumbled across this blog the other day and I was inspired.  I decided to do something along the same lines... I want to compliment someone every day for the next 2 weeks.  I started yesterday - it has to be someone random, and it has to be a genuine compliment that will make the person feel good... not just "oh I like your shirt."  For example, yesterday I was on Facebook and an old friend from high school posted something, which made her picture pop up on my wall.  I thought to myself "gosh, she's so pretty - she gets prettier every time I see a picture of her!"  Then I thought to myself "why do we THINK things like this, but rarely actually SAY it?"  So I did - I posted a comment on her Facebook wall saying exactly that - "every time I see a picture of you, you get prettier and prettier."  And you know what?  She wrote back on MY wall thanking me, and saying that I made her day.  That made ME feel good.  See where I'm going with this?  Making other people feel good is contagious... So I'm going to keep it up - for at least 2 weeks, I will do that every single day.  I'll let you know what happens.  Peace.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tiddly Inks & JUGS

Good morning!  I wanted to start today by letting you all know how much I LOVE your comments, and I so appreciate them.  I read every one of them, and will always respond if you have a question.  Lynne commented on this post and mentioned that she can never find that adorable Alice image I used there when she goes to the Tiddly Inks site.  I did e-mail Lynne, but wanted to make sure everyone knew where they can find that image - simply go to Tiddly Inks and click on the link that says "All Inked Up - Girls" and she's on page 3, she's called "Time for Tea."  Or here is the direct link.  Enjoy!


On to business!  :)  First up is a card is for the:

I just love monochromatic challenges!  LOL  I had fun with this one, as I do with most of the Tiddly Inks challenges.  There is such a wide variety of stamps to choose from, I have a hard time not buying them all!  For this card, I used Gossmere and kept it simple - I chose blue for my monochromatic color scheme.

Next is a technique that I LOVE but don't use often enough - this is for the:

Just Us Girls Challenge #71 - SPOTLIGHTING technique!

and also for the:

Bellarific Friday Sketch Challenge



I used ADDY 'tude Loves to Sparkle from Stamping Bella, papers are SU! in colors So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White.  Glitter and gemstone brads also from SU! I love the way this looks, the clean black and white with a touch of color... so pretty.  I'll have to try to remember to use this more often.  Peace.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

DYSU #6 - Ribbon & By Lori Designs #4

I have 2 super-cute cards to share today.

I love playing with ribbon, so I was psyched to see this challenge at the 

I have had this image colored for a while, but wasn't sure what to do with her.  I thought she was perfect for this challenge:


I used Teddy Emma from All That Scraps (digi image), cardstocks and designer papers are by SU! in Pretty in Pink & Certainly Celery.  I used all different types and colors of ribbon, tied some in bows and used others as tags... I used a white rub-on for the sentiments, part is on the cardstock and the rest is on the brown ribbon "you make me..." and then "laugh!" and
"happy".


Next up - this is for the:



This one uses SU! colors in Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, and Bashful Blue. Buttons from my stash - gemstone stickies from the Beary Scrap Paper Crafting Boutique.  

I have been thinking about starting an art journal - Emily at Stamping Bella (da queen Bella...) has been blogging about hers, and it's making me itch to start my own.  I actually have the perfect book, too, it's a blank journal that I can decorate completely and make it allll ME. I will be sure to share some of it with you all if/when I finally get started.  :)

Peace.  

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

US#93 & Sweet Stop #95

Wow - February vacation is next week for the kids!  I can hardly believe it - we've had so many snow days, the time between Christmas and now has just flown by!

For today, I have a couple of cards for a couple of different challenges, both are a little different from my typical style. First, this is for the:


I loved the "uniqueness" of this sketch - fresh and new.  I decided to step away from my usual "cutesy" style and went with this moon image and the sentiment "Life is a mystery to be explored, not a problem to be solved."

Next up is a card for the:

Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge #95




The only part of this card that is actually stamped is the tag (by Stampin' Up!)... the birds are cut from SU! designer paper (Sweet Pea, one of my all-time favorites).  Colors are mostly Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, and So Saffron. 

Peace. 

Monday, February 14, 2011

SPCC#87

2nd post for today...
I won a challenge at SPCC a couple of weeks ago (with this card/challenge here) - and the prize was to be a guest designer for a week - I will be doing that next week, for the SPCC#88 (how exciting!!!).  For now, I have a card for this week's color challenge, too...



and here is my card using this pretty color combo, which is also showcased on the SPCC blog here:


I used Sending Happy Mail from the Pure Innocence line at My Favorite Things, her dress is paper-pieced. Peace.

Happy Valentine's Day

I <3  Happy Valentine's Day!  <3

For today, I have a card for the Altered Alice: Chapter 1 Challenge - Changes in Form or Dress Forms

My card changes from a card....


into a bookmark:
All you have to do is untie the knot and pull the bookmark away from the card, then re-tie the knot in the ribbon.  :)
The Alice image is a Tiddly Inks digital image colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with Gamsol - papers and ribbon are from my stash - gemstone brads by SU!  Hope you all have a fabulous week.

Peace.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

C*H*A*L*L*E*N*G*E*S

Trev got his report card the other day and did great, I wouldn't be surprised if he graduated this year with all A's and B's, I'm so proud of him.  I have such great kids.  :)

I absolutely loved the way this card came out, I am using it for:



I stamped my Cheeky Glamour stamp on SU! Kraft cardstock and embossed her with clear embossing powder.  I colored her in with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol, the effect on the Kraft cardstock is just softer, it's so pretty, dontcha think?  I used SU! ribbon and brads - pink glitter on boa is Sparkly Fluff by Our Craft Lounge.  The buttons, twine, and designer papers are from my stash.  I crumpled up the image a little, tore the paper in places on the edges, and inked it up a bit with some brown ink, trying to give it the look of an aged photograph.  I had fun making this card.

Next up - this is for 3 challenges:

Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo #86




Sketch N Stash #54


Top Tip Tuesday #21 (Frame It)



OK - so the deal with the Sketch N Stash challenge is that you are supposed to use something new and/OR neglected on your card - so I used this neglected stamp, Summer, from the Roll Call kit from the Greeting Farm. I also used some SU! cardstock that was VERY neglected - it's my Confetti Cream cardstock.  I tend to stamp and color on Whisper White, but when I used the Kraft cardstock this weekend, it inspired me to use other bases as well.  I like the way it came out - the other colors are SU! Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, and Crumb Cake).  Brads and ribbon by SU!

Peace.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Some Odd Girl Saturday Digi Day Challenges/Lollipop Crafts #25

2nd post for today - I have been playing along with the Some Odd Girls stamps Digi Day at SNR



I stamped Mae's Bouquet from Some Odd Girl onto Kraft cardstock and colored her with a combination of Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol and Prismacolor markers.  Kraft cardstock, ribbon, and designer papers by SU!  Buttons from my stash.  I like challenges that force me to do something "different" and the combination of stamping on Kraft and using these colors did exactly that!

I also entered the Some Odd Girl Early Bird Challenge this morning, which was to make a bookmark for myself - here is what I came up with using Tiny Tia from Some Odd Girl:


 Colors are SU!  Green Galore, Only Orange, and Pretty in Pink.  I am also entering this in the

Lollipop Crafts Challenge #25 - Anything But a Card

Peace.

13 Challenges - One Card

When I started looking at challenges to participate in this week, it seemed like all I could find were Valentine, heart, and love-related themes!  LOL  So I decided to make this one card and see how many challenges I could enter it into - I know a lot of people do that all the time, but I like to make different cards for each challenge, I guess it keeps me feeling creative.  Today's card was originally made for the first challenge listed here, but is also being entered into the others - here goes:












(thanks, Melissa!)  ;)

PHEW!  LOL  I am looking forward to finding some NON-heart/love/Valentine related challenges to work on today!  hee hee  But anyway - here's the card for all of these entries:



I used this adorable freebie that I got from the PCP group at Tiddly Inks, but was drawn by Kiara, she's an adorable angel bunny, and I thought she was perfect for these challenges.  :)  I colored her with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with Gamsol.  I used SU! papers, ribbon, gemstone brads, and heart-punches.  Cotton candy pink sparkly fluff is on her wings, I think I got that from My Favorite Things.

Hope you all have a great weekend.  Peace.






Friday, February 11, 2011

CDAC 5000 Member Celebrations & US92

Crafters Digital Art Center (CDAC) is having their 5000th member celebration!

Here are the cool prizes you can win:


Click on the link to read all about it.  Good luck!

For today, I have a card for the:


This cool image is from Torico's, it's a freebie.  I paper-pieced her - used SU! colors in Perfect Plum, Old Olive, and Whisper White.

Peace.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Baby Bud Designs

Today's card is for a new challenge  - new to me, anyway.  :)  I have picked up a few Baby Bud Designs freebies and decided to play along with the:



 Along with the sweet image, I used SU! cardstock in Whisper White & Almost Amethyst and SU! orange gemstone brads.  The background paper is from DCWV and the ribbon is from my stash.

Now I have to share a personal story with you, proud mama moment and all.  :)   Yesterday at school, my daughter Cassidy (who will be 16 in April) noticed a boy sitting alone at a lunch table in the cafeteria looking sad.  She noticed the principal walk over to him and try to speak to him, and the boy waved him away.  So Cassidy and her friend called over to him to come sit with them, which he did after their repeated invitations - but he sat with his backs to them.  Cass had never spoken to him before, but had seen him and knew he was in one of the special education programs at the school.  Cass and her friend engaged him in conversation and he finally turned around and started talking to them.  He told them that he is being severely bullied by a girl in his class - that he can't eat, he can't sleep, he can't even think... he was so upset.  Cassidy's friend said "I'm not sure what to say, I've never been in a situation like that."  This made him even more upset and he said "See?  NO ONE UNDERSTANDS..."  So Cass said "Wait - I understand.  My brother was bullied and you HAVE TO tell someone, you have to talk about it or it's never going to get better."  She told him that the girl probably only does it because it makes her feel better about herself, and that he shouldn't listen to her.  He got right up from the table, went up to the principal, and told him what was going on.  Then he walked back over to Cassidy, gave her a big hug in the middle of the cafeteria, and said "Thank you for being nice to me."


Yes, I am bawling.  Yes, I cried when she told me the story.  And I gave her the biggest hug and told her that she made me more proud than if she was a straight-A star athlete who was the star of the play.... LOL   I cannot tell you how much it means to me to realize that my daughter has been paying attention - that maybe something positive came out of what Trevor went through as a young teenager.  I want to believe that if other kids saw what she did, maybe the compassion will spread. But no matter what, I know that MY child has a heart of gold.  And to me, that is what is important.  I told her that this kid will probably never forget her, that one simple act of kindness that she did - I know that Trevor still remembers every person who showed him kindness - it's easy when there are so few, unfortunately, and it means so very much.  When I told Trev the story, even he got teary-eyed.  He said "I'm NOT crying - I'm just happy that she did that."  LOL   He even told her how proud he was of her and what a nice thing that was to do.  My babies are growing up - and I think I must have done something right.  ;)


Practice tolerance and acceptance today - smile at someone who might be different, it might make a world of difference to them.

Peace.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Sweet Stop Sketch 94

I am heading out shopping today with Jeremy's gram - Macy's has down-alternative comforters on sale from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. - any size from twin to king for $39.99 - I usually only see them this cheap on Black Friday, so I decided to scoop one up today.  I might get a new pair of jeans, too.  It's just going to be nice to get out of the house and breathe some fresh (cold) air.  :)

Today's card is for the:

I used a digi image from Pixie Dust Studios.  If you can't see it clearly, the rub-on sentiment in the lower left corner (in white) says "think happy thoughts".  I used SU! cardstock in Barely Banana and Bashful Blue and SU! white brads - the ribbon and designer paper are from my stash.  

Peace. 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Mama Bear

No matter what else is going on my life, my kids are what get me through each and every day.  They are growing up so fast, I can hardly believe it - I mean, teenagers?  High school graduations?  Weren't they just losing their first teef (hee hee) and starting kindergarten?  I guess I was feeling sentimental when I stumbled across this cute image of Christy Croll's mama bear with her cubs:
 
I used SU! Very Vanilla, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Chocolate Chip colors (markers, cardstock, and DP).  I also used Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol for the bears fur.

 I spent yesterday trying to organize my stamps from the Greeting Farm - I can hardly believe how many I have.  I love them all, and I realized that I hardly ever use them because they are not organized well, so I can't find what I want easily.  I decided to separate them by type - all the Wild Sprouts are now in a 3-ring binder, the Anyas and Ians are in one box, and the Creepers and others are in another box.  Much easier and it made me feel accomplished.

Off to create some more.  Winter sure is good for creating, if nothing else.  ;)  Peace.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Tiddly Inks - Round Card

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?
Our beloved Patriots are not playing in the Superbowl, so I am not as excited as I would have been, but it's still a pretty big day.  I started watching football when I was pregnant with Trevor 18 years ago, and I realized I really liked it.  My husband Jeremy is a sports guy, but I grew up in a home that could have cared less - so it was new and fun for me to learn about sports when I met Jeremy.  He took me to my first Patriots game and also to my first Celtics game, which was in 1993 and was against the Orlando Magic back when Shaq was just starting out, and I was a BIG Shaq fan.  I thought it was great when the Celtics signed him on recently.  So anyway, we'll be watching the Superbowl this evening and eating snack foods and we're rooting for the Packers today.  :)

In the meantime - here is a card I made for Christy's "sample contest" at Tiddly Inks.  I never make round cards, but Christy uses round cards for her front page of her blog, so I decided to give it a whirl and I was pleasantly surprised at how it came out - you like?


I used the adorable Versabugg digi from Tiddly Inks along with SU! buttons, glitter, ribbon, and papers in Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive and So Saffron.

Have a great day, everyone.  If you're going to a Super Bowl party, be careful - no drinking and driving!  :)  xoxoxo
Peace.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Tiddly Inks - Kiss Me, You Fool!

Heading to a baby shower today, but wanted to get this posted for the:

I used this sweet image called, appropriately enough, Kiss Me, from the Tiddly Inks shop.  She is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol.  Ribbon is from my stash.  Cardstock/designer paper is from the Once Upon a Time mat stack from Die Cuts With a View.

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Peace.

Friday, February 4, 2011

All That Scraps & US

Second post for today because I wanted to get this card posted in time for the 


And I am also using it for the 


 

This little cutie is a digi image from All That Scraps and is called Goth Girl.  I used SU! colors in Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive & So Saffron (markers and coordinating papers).

I was really excited to be the "weekly bonus winner" chosen randomly at the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge this week (#88)!   The prize was a $20.00 gift voucher at the Beary Scrap Paper Paper Crafting Boutique, which took me all of 5 minutes to spend... hee hee   Thank you very much to them - what a nice surprise it was!

Peace.

Snowmobilin'

I took a little break from making cards yesterday, just needed a day to clean the house (holy DUST!) and all that.  Jeremy has a snowmobile and the kids have been itching to ride it, so he let them both take a spin yesterday afternoon.  We have several feet of snow piled up around here, as you can see (actually, these pics don't really do it justice... the paths that are snow-blowed have about 3 feet of snow on each side of them!) - and Jeremy made a "track" around the backyard to drive the snowmobile around.  Here's Cassidy (she's almost 16):







(BTW, we're New Englanders - we don't need coats....HA!)

And here is Trevor (he's 17):






They would love to just get on and GO but we have to pretty much be in the middle of a blizzard for them to do that - maybe this weekend, at the rate we've been getting snow!  They are saying we will get more snow on Saturday and then the "possibility of a big storm next Thursday".  We have had big storms on Wednesday/Thursday for the past 4 weeks in a row!  They are starting to talk about how the schools are going to make up all the missed time - possibly extended days or canceling one of their vacations (April?)... but I don't see how they can do that when so very many people make plans for vacations.  Would a child be penalized for the absences if their parents already bought and paid for non-refundable plane tickets?  I guess we shall see!

Have a wonderful Friday, my friends.  I've got a bunch of card ideas I want to try out today - which was an unexpected benefit of taking the day off yesterday, I actually had time to think and plan what I wanted to create today.  :)  Peace.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Tiddly Inks and Stuff

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling absolutely awful.  Not sick - just miserable.  I couldn't really put my finger on why I felt so badly (PMS never helps, of course...), but I just kept wanting to cry.  I finally took a nice, hot shower (see, Christy, I should have done that earlier... hee hee) and while I was in there crying, I realized something.  A year ago today, I was the Bursar of a local private college - I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and involved in all kinds of things.  Then I quit my job for the big move to California that didn't end up happening, and I quit being a SU! demo because I was informed that I couldn't promote other stamp companies while representing SU!  We had already given up the home we rented, so we had to stay with Jeremy's 80-year-old grandmother for a few months - which was super nice of her to let us do, but definitely NOT fun and not easy with 2 teenagers and a cat.

During the Summer, I had been busy helping Jeremy's dad (he is the one who was in the horrible motorcycle accident last Spring and lost his wife), helping Jeremy's gram, and getting the kids enrolled in school.  During the Fall, I was busy getting our new apartment ready, figuring out how we were going to celebrate Christmas, and still helping Jeremy's dad out.  So what I realized is that now that we're settled, now that Jeremy's dad doesn't need as much help, I feel like I am not really a part of anything. It made me feel kind of lost, I guess.  So then I started throwing myself into doing challenges and basing my own self-worth on whether I "won" or not.  So silly, I know.  *sigh*  Geez, what our emotions can do to us, huh?

Anyway - I slapped myself upside the head and decided to get involved with stuff again, now that I have the time.  More stuff.  Stuff that makes me feel good because it makes other people feel good.  ChemoAngels and writing (I have had several things published in the past, I'm proud to say, but couldn't devote any time to writing once I started working full-time), for a start.  And stamping for FUN - cuz that's what it is really all about.  Creating for OTHERS. Someone had to remind me of that, and I greatly appreciate the gentle and sweet way she did.  :)  When I make cards, I consider it artwork but I also consider it my therapy.  I truly enjoy doing it, everything from choosing the image and the papers to the coloring and deciding on what embellishments to use, etc.  I truly love it.  And I love the fact that I've "met" so many wonderful and talented women who share my passion.

 So in that spirit, I created a card for a little contest that one of my favorite artists, Christy Croll, is having at Tiddly Inks.  You can read about it here.  



This is an image called "By Royal Decree" and I just adore her!  I used Stampin' Up! designer paper from the Kaleidoscope pack, orange gemstone brads on her crown, and paper-pieced her clothes and boots.  The fiber/ribbon and buttons are from my stash.


Hope you are all creating with love, and with a smile in your heart.  Peace.