Seven Challenges

I did go out last night for a few hours with a couple of my friends, and we had fun. But I KNEW they were going to try to keep me out later than I wanted to be, and thankfully we were close to my house so Jeremy came to get me. I am a bigtime early bird. I had a good time, though, we always laugh a lot. A few of us are going to see Paranormal Activity next Friday night, too. Should be fun.

So anyway, here are some challenge cards...

For little Miss Madelynn's Diederich Dare Whimsical Wednesday's really cool color pallet challenge, I used Ai Factory's digi image Ella at Peace along with a Stampin' Up! image of a Chinese symbol for peace:

This one is for Stamping Bella's Birthday Sketch Challenge:

I am not a big fan of making different-shaped cards, but I figured a heart shape couldn't be tooooo hard to do, right? LOL This one is for the Whimsie Doodles Whimsie Wednesday Challenge on Paper Craft Planet, which was to make a card with any shape other than a heart. I am also using it for the Dare U 2 Digi Stamp Friday challenge, which is to use hearts or make a Valentine:

inside of card:

This little cutie, Merman Ian by The Greeting Farm, is my entry for the Farm Fresh Friday Monochromatic challenge:

This is probably my favorite one, I must admit.... isn't she sweet? It's Lollipop Anya and I am entering her into 2 challenges:
Club Anya's Monday Mania Color Challenge and
Crazy 4 Challenges 22 - challenge was to use lollipops

Off to finish up my last few, which I will post tomorrow. Peace!

Anya Challenges and Friday Sketchers

It's, like, ten degrees out. That's just wrong. UGH. And my friends are making me go out tonight. *sigh* I know I'll have fun once I get out, but I so do not feel like getting dressed and putting on make-up and venturing outside where my eyeballs freeze. ROFL Oh well - a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

My entry for the Anyone For Anya Hearts 4 Heart's Sake challenge which was to use... you guessed it! Hearts! This is Hope/Grace's Rain Rain digi image by the Greeting Farm:

And just because I printed out a bunch of these images, I figured I'd use her for another couple of challenges, too. So this card below is for 2 challenges:
Anya Ink - no printed papers
Friday Sketchers sketch challenge

I'll be back tomorrow to fill you in on my night out and to share some more challenge cards... there are 11 more challenges I want to try to participate in this weekend! hee hee Wish me luck! Peace.

Valentine's Day cards

Here are some Valentine's Day cards I have been working on, believe it or not these have not been entered into any challenges! LOL I simply made them for personal use!

These first couple cards use Whimsie Doodles images:

Now this card is an old card I had made when I first started stamping (image from Stampin' Up!) - I found it and decided to jazz it up a bit before sending it out, so I added the "Be Mine" words, I colored the heart in his mouth red and I added the buttons and the silver brads and PRESTO! Just what it needed:

Image from Pink Cat Studio:

And this one is my fave - this is another Whimsie Doodles image, Cloud 9 Cupid:

Come back tomorrow for more challenge cards! Stay warm! Peace.

Prince Ian and.... it's over!

First off - a plug for some blog candy you can win - go check it out here!

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the TGF Digi Relay Challenge was such a hit that it had to end early! Apparently, all of us crazy stampers crashed the gallery uploading our cards and some folks weren't really paying attention to the rules and were making it hard on the awesome moderators to keep up and all that soooooo... all good things must come to an end, but it was sooooo much fun while it lasted! LOL Here is my card using the free digi Prince Ian (which you can snag for free also if you click here):


And - our fearless leaders, Jessica and Marie, have promised us they have something special for us when they get back. LOL They are the sweetest and I'm sure it will be something cool! There are so many stamping, crafting, card-making magazines, websites, chat rooms, etc., out there - it can get overwhelming! And I don't know if it's just me, but some of them feel almost... cultish, for crying out loud. LOL Some of the sites I've visited and tried to get "into", I just didn't get a good vibe from. It was like the people who were regulars were "clique-y" or something, and I didn't feel like I fit in. The Greeting Farm is just not like that - it's such a down-to-earth company and blog - they are just the nicest group of ladies! I'm talking about the women who run it AND all of the fabulous women who participate in the challenges and leave comments, etc. I really appreciate that! Peace.

TGF Digi Relay - Day 3

Here is my entry for Day 3 of the Greeting Farm's Digi Relay Challenge, using the free digi I got for participating in yesterday's challenge, Toby Cub:

I am having fun with this challenge, and it's forcing me to stamp after work - I hardly ever do that! LOL Peace.

TGF Digi Relay - Day 2

Here is my entry for Day 2 of The Greeting Farm's Digi Relay... this is the free digi that I got for participating in Day 1. Later today they will send me a 3rd free digi and if I create a card with that one and upload it by tomorrow evening, I'll get a 4th... and so on, throughout the week! So here is Charlotte, in black & white and Ruby Red:

Peace!

Stampin' Sunday!

Actually, EVERY Sunday is Stampin' Sunday for me! LOL
I am in love with this new TGF digi image, HG Rain Rain, isn't she the sweetest? This is for 2 challenges....
the Play Date Cafe's Challenge 13 (color challenge - click link to see colors) and -
Club Anya's Sketchy Saturday challenge(click to see sketch), I altered the sketch a bit by replacing the heart with a giant raindrop, I hope you all like it:

The Greeting Farm is having a Digi Relay challenge in honor of CHA this week - if you go here quickly and snag the free digi, you have until 6:00 CST tomorrow evening to upload a card to the gallery using this image (Merman Ian) to receive the next digi image for free, this is going on all week. Of course I'm a sucker for a free digi image, so I'm definitely playing! I made this card using him along with Mermaid Anya:

Next is my entry for the Pixie Dust Studio's Challenge, which was to use glitter and sparkle:

For the Quixotic Challenge #10, which was to ink up an old stamp, I made this card:

And lastly, for the Tuesday Morning Sketches #29, this is my entry:

PHEW! I will hopefully be back tomorrow night with my next card for the digi relay. Wish me luck! :) Peace.

Tuesday/Thursday challenges

Ooooh - isn't she just precious? I made her a ginger, I thought it went well with the coloring! Anyway, this is for the Digital Tuesday Sketch Challenge #42. This is also Ella at Peace by the AiFactory, but this one is in a set so it comes separately with the image of Ella, the image of the water lily, a circle with a dove in it, and the word PEACE (the one I previously blogged about was one image of Ella with the flowers and lily combined):

I had used some old retired designer series background papers with one of the old In Colors, so I used my PrismaColor pencils to get her shirt and flowers to match. I used that same color for her eyeshadow and put Dazzling Diamonds glitter on her eyes and the lilies, as well.

Below is my entry for the Cute Card Thursday Fairy Fantastic challenge:

I used the Greeting Farm's digi image Summer Fairy, and the colors are Very Vanilla and Real Red. Her dress is colored with red glitter. Her wings are outlined in red and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter, which is also on her eyelids.

More later! Peace.

More Challenge Cards!

For Club Anya's Monday Mania challenge, which was to use the colors pink, olive green, brown and SPARKLE:

This one here is for 2 challenges:
TGF's Sunny Send-Off for Farm Fresh Friday and...
The Sweet Stop's Sketch Challenge #40

and last for today, because the sun is fading and I won't get any more good pics, is also for 2 challenges:
Just Magnolia's Sketch Challenge and....
Crazy 4 Challenges 21 Pretty in Pink challenge

Enjoy! More tomorrow. Peace.

Purple & Orange Happy Birthday

I'm not sure if you knew, but I am actually a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I don't really do much with it except keep myself in business - Ha! - but it definitely keeps my craft room overflowing with paper. Ever since I discovered digital images and then all of the other stamp companies that I am now oh-so-in-love-with, I began fulfilling my quarterly sales quota by simply stocking up on papers, inks, cardstocks, and things like punches and ribbons. In the last Occasions catalog, they had this paper called "Pawsitively Prints" and it went with the Build-A-Bear Workshop stamp set that they have. I loved the papers and thought the colors were cool, so I bought it. Funny, though, the catalog said the colors included Bashful Blue, but when I got the paper, it's actually Almost Amethyst and the colors just look really pretty together! What do you think?

I used another Pure Innocence image by Heather Ellis, a white rub-on sentiment by Stampin' Up! and the circles were cut out using a 2 3/4" punch that my mom bought me for Christmas and that I just love!

Hubby and I are off to Ocean State Job Lot this morning, they have accessories for the Wii (steering wheel, tennis racket, etc.) for $5 each! I also have to do some food shopping, one of the young men in my son's class (he's a junior in high school) has family in Haiti. He is having a bake sale on Monday to raise money for them, so Trev asked me if I'd make some of my "yummy brownies" - I told him I'd make 100 if he wants me to. Trevor has a heart of gold, he's the kind of kid who just cares about people and wants to help and he makes me so very proud. I think most of you know I am the Bursar at a small local private college. We have several students who also have family in Haiti. The money they normally use to pay their tuition is being tied up trying to get their family members over here to the United States. It's heartbreaking, and I so wish I was rich so I could just pay their bills. The least I can do is allow them time to get their payments in without incurring late fees or getting in "trouble". I also suggested to the higher-ups that we do something tangible for these students, help them pay for their books or give them some additional grants to help cover their tuition. I am waiting for a response and hopeful that they will do SOMETHING.

And lastly, the young lady I told you about earlier from a neighboring town who is missing in Haiti has still not been found. She turned 20 years old yesterday, wherever she is. Her family, after flying to Florida last week when mistakenly told that she had been found, finally returned home last night. No one has given up hope yet, but it's obviously very disheartening. Her name is Britney and she was in Haiti on a volunteer mission with her college and there are 3 other students and 2 staff members still missing along with her. Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Have a great weekend - be back later with some challenge cards! Peace.

Christopher card

I snagged the special early-release edition of the Happy Day stamp set by the Greeting Farm, and here is a card I made using Christopher:

Isn't he precious? This stamp set will be released again in March. I actually made this card for a challenge but realized the deadline had passed when I went to upload it, so I saved it for a later date. The colors are mostly Bashful Blue and So Saffron, with some Old Olive and Certainly Celery thrown in for the dinosaurs. :) TGIF peeps - more tomorrow! Peace.

Pure Innocence

Just sharing a cute card I made using a Pure Innocence by Heather Ellis digi image:

I so wish I was going to CHA next week. Some day.... Are any of you going? If you are, have a BLAST!!! Peace.

Peaceful Wishes

Here is another card I made using Ella at Peace from AiFactory. I am telling you, I could make endless cards with this little cutie. And I may. Here she is in Tempting Turquoise and So Saffron:

I'm sure most of you are aware that Haiti was rocked by yet another earthquake this morning, this one a 6.0 on the Richter scale. The young lady I told you about, Britney Gengel, has still not been found. She has been missing along with 3 of her classmates and 2 professors. Everyone around here is holding out hope for miracles, but it's very disheartening. Life is so fragile, it's so fleeting. This has really made me do a lot of thinking this past week.

You know, I'm a happy person - I just enjoy being happy. I've always lived with the philosophy that being happy is what is most important. So that could mean many different things to different people. What makes me happy might not be what makes you happy - and that's OK! But I've realized over the past few months that as I've moved up into management at work, I've become very unhappy. There are a lot of reasons, there has been a lot of change and a loss of staff that has left the remaining employees really struggling. I have worked since I was 14, I really enjoy working. I've always loved my jobs and given them my all. But it's really difficult to give your all to a job where you don't feel acknowledged or appreciated. *sigh* I won't bore you with all the details, this post could be awfully long if I did. But I will tell you that I'm re-evaluating my job, my career, my life. I know what makes me happy - my family, my friends, making cards, writing, making other people happy. I wish I could make a real living doing those things. No matter what, though, I am going to be happy. I deserve to be happy and my family deserves to have a happy mom/wife/sister/daughter!!!

So much to think about. Peace.

Red and black and white thing...

I realized as posting this that I have been using a lot of black and red and white. I don't know why, I guess I've just been in a black, red, and white kinda mood! Hope you likey! :)

My last 2 challenges of the long weekend....
For Sparkle Creations 2010 Christmas Card challenge week 7, I used a freebie digi image from AiFactory:

And for the Pink Elephant's sketch challenge this week, I used an adorable Pure Innocence digi image by Heather Ellis:

I will be back later in the week to share some Valentine creations - can you believe it's that time already? Didn't we JUST have Christmas?!? The older I get, the faster it goes by! Peace. :)

Busy Challenge Day!

I'm quite pleased with myself today - I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed making them!

For the Play Date Cafe's color challenge #12:

For the Just Magnolia and the Lili of the Valley challenge blogs, which were both to make a thank-you card (the sentiment is a white rub-on along the top side of the card, on the yellow):

I created this card for the Sugar Bowl's sketch challenge, and they asked us to please include distressing... I had fun with this one, as I had to use colors I don't normally use:

Here is a close-up of the charm I used for this one:

And last, but definitely not least, is my entry for the sketch challenge at Stampin For the Weekend:I used that adorable Ella at Peace digi image from AiFactory again - paired with all black and white papers, and colored with So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, and Old Olive. I just adore this little girl!
That's probably all for today, gotta save something for tomorrow! Peace.

Black, White, and Red Fairy

I expect to have a couple of postings today - first up is my challenge card using TGF's digi image Winter Fairy, I just love these fairies! This card is for the following challenges:

Anyone for Anya - Black & White + 1
Dare U 2 Digi Stamp Friday Challenge 29 - use buttons

I used my new Stampin' Up! black and white designer series papers, which I just adore, combined with black and red ribbon, black and red buttons, red glitter for her wings and Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the bodice of her dress. Hope you like!

We have today off for Martin Luther King day - woke up to several inches of snow on the ground so it's a perfect day for me to stay in my pj's and make cards for challenges. :) I will be back in a bit. Peace.

2 cards - 5 challenges!

About 2 weeks ago, I stumbled across this digital stamp company called AiFactory and holy cow, I started hyperventilating. As most of you are aware of my undying love for all things cute and adorable, this company captured my heart immediately. I had to have several images and just wait until you see how cute they are. Here is what I am sharing today, the image is called Ella at Peace and I made her for 2 challenges:
AiFactory Graphics & Cliparts challenge to use their new Love is in the Air image (also on this card) and
Crazy 4 Challenges sketch challenge (Sketch C4C20 - click to see sketch)


And this card below was also made using an image from a company I recently stumbled across and fell in love with, Heather Ellis
I made this card for 3 challenges...
Tuesday Morning Sketches (use buttons and bows)
Dutch Dare sketch challenge (click to see sketch)
Cute Card Thursday (pink and grey color combo)

I think these both came out quite adorably, if I do say so myself. I am definitely partial to the pink and grey color combo, so that was fun and easy. I have 5 more challenges I'd like to participate in so I'm off to do some more creating! Peace.

Charming Peace Sign

WHEW - I am finally getting a chance to sit down!!! This week has been a whirlwind. Work has been extremely busy, and I'm sure you are all aware of the devastating earthquake that happened in Haiti. Well, a young lady from a neighboring town had just arrived in Haiti an hour earlier on a missionary-type tour with her college and she is still missing. One of my best friends lives in that town, and the entire area is just heartbroken. You've probably seen them on the news, the Gengel family. They are from Rutland, Massachusetts. Britney is still missing - please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

I had a chance to do a little stamping today, and made this card for two challenges.
Anyone For Anya's "That's Charming" challenge and
Club Anya's Saturday Sketches sketch challenge:

I colored her in with my Prismacolor colored pencils, blended with Gamsol. Papers are Stampin' Up! designer series background papers. Miscellaneous ribbon, peace sign charm from Stampin' Bella.
Peace. :)

Farm Fresh Friday - Glue & Glitter

Happy Tuesday! Today's card is for last Friday's Farm Fresh Challenge at the Greeting Farm. The challenge was to use lots of glue and glitter, so I colored the Autumn Fairy's dress light blue and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter, then left her wings white and sprinkled with light blue glitter. I used a white rub-on for the sentiment "a little note of thanks" but you can't see it very well.... the ribbon is just a sheer white ribbon from my stash:

Hope you like her!

So I have been on a mission to buy a Wii for the past week or so.... my sister's Christmas gift to me was a Wii game and an extra controller, but I could not find the actual Wii anywhere! They were sold out at Sam's Club, Walmart, Target, BJ's, and Best Buy - so a friend of mine called Toys R Us yesterday and they had some (thanks, Aimee!)!!! I was so thrilled, I came home from work and grabbed hubby and off we went - sure that it was some kind of mistake! LOL But nope, they had about 30 of them! So I got my Wii - and the game that my sis bought me was Super Mario Bros. Jeremy and I came home and hooked it up and we played that silly game with the kids for about 2 hours! We fought, we laughed, we yelled - it was a lot of fun! Even Trevor, who swore that the Wii could never measure up to his XBOX360 Live.... hee hee So anyway, I'm glad we got it! Even though I'm realizing that my daughter is extremely competitive - I guess I'm going to have to practice when I'm alone so I can kick her butt... hee hee
Off to work I go - have a great day!

Winners!

First things first - WINNERS!!!

The 2 winners of any digi image of their choosing from The Greeting Farm are....

Kathy said...

Jenn, these cards are super fun. Love your use of colors. What a fun way to start the year!!:)

and....

Tina said...

Cute cards! Tough challenge, I may have to try this one ;) Thanks for the chance at winning some candy!

So ladies - please visit The Greeting Farm's digital shop and then send me an e-mail at JennBorj@yahoo.com and let me know which image you'd like. I will then have it e-mailed directly to you. Here are some examples of cards I've made with TGF digi images:

I want to thank everyone for the comments, for becoming a follower of my blog, and for playing along!

Peace.

Tuesday...

I have not had ANY time for stamping this week, Jeremy's mom was here from California and we visited and I had a party to attend and I was starting to have card-making-withdrawals! LOL So anyway, I finally sat down to do some challenges today - I made this one for 2 challenges, the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge and the Digital Tuesday challenge, which was to create a Valentine card or project:

I used an adorable new digi image from Pink Cat Studio, and some yummy Designer Series background paper from Stampin' Up! and I colored the image using my Prismacolor colored pencils and Gamsol along with Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write markers. I had these pink heart-shaped buttons in my stash. Hope you all had a great weekend and that your week goes by fast! :) Peace.

Magical, Magnificent, Marvelous MONDAY MANIA!

BLOG CANDY ALERT - BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!
Read all the way to the end for the chance to win some yummy candy!

I am SUPER excited to be the first challenge hostess for the brand new Club Anya & Friends Monday Mania challenge! This week-long contest has a theme, of course, and the theme is....
Monochromatic Monday.... or One-Color Wonder! As of today, we can now use Anya's, Wild Sprouts, Hope and Grace, or the new Oliver and Amelia line that comes out in March (but that I got a chance to purchase on New Year's Day, so you will see some cards made with them VERY soon!) in our challenge submissions. Please visit CA&F for the deets and to play along! Here is my card for the challenge, I chose the color purple and used digi image Dressy Ebony:

Now what's funny about this is that when Jess contacted me about being hostess, I was sooooo excited that I COMPLETELY forgot about the fact that I was supposed to be using an Anya image since it was Club ANYA I was doing this for! They had not yet announced the "& Friends" part at the time. I'm just so in love with The Greeting Farm's images, and was so excited about the opportunity to hostess, that I wasn't even thinking. Jess was such a sweetheart, she felt so bad that she had to tell me to make a new one.... but I relish any excuse to play with my stamps, so I didn't mind one bit! AND she told me about the fact that Club Anya was going to now be Club Anya and Friends, and that I could use a Wild Sprout or Hope/Grace image if I wanted to! I was thrilled to have a chance to show off one of the first non-Anya projects on the brand new CA&F! So anyway, here is the card I actually made first, using digi image Summer Fairy:

Both cards use Stampin' Up! papers and inks, in WW, Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac, Orchid Opulence, Pale Plum and Perfect Plum. I used purple glitter, ribbon, and gemstone brads. The fairy card also has Crystal Effects on the flower, with some glitter sprinkled in.

Then, just because I wanted to see how tough the challenge would be using another color, I decided to make a card with pinks, this one uses '80's Anya:

Now for some candy... leave a comment on this post AND become a follower of my blog by Sunday, January 10, 5:00 p.m., and I will choose 2 winners who will receive any one digi image from The Greeting Farm of their choice. Winners will be posted Monday morning, January 11.

**UPDATE** Please remember that if you are commenting or following as "anonymous", I have no way to know who you are, so you cannot win. Please make sure you have a user name and a way for me to know who you are and contact you if you want a chance to win. Thanks! :)

Have a great week - peace.

Challenges and contests/blog candy

Here is my entry for TWO challenges:

the Play Date Cafe's color challenge of turquoise/brown/regal rose:
AND...
the Sweet Stop's Sketch Challenge SSS37:

I used a digi image from Heather Ellis, I fell in love with her designs when I stumbled across them by accident! LOL

And check out these blogs for some chances to win blog candy!
Teri's Cards & Toppers
Sending You a Little Smile

That's all for now! Peace.