Sunday Challenge Day!

I love lazy weekends when I can spend most of my time making cards. Today I have a bunch of cards for several challenges, hope you like them!

I am using this card with the adorable Cheeky Cherry "Cheeky Shooter" stamp for two challenges:
Anyone for Anya's Sketch #7 Challenge and
Embellish Magazine's color challenge with borders

I was thrilled with the way this next one came out - this is some of that paper I told you about yesterday that I am trying to use up, I think it went perfectly with this TGF digital image of Charlotte.
This is for the Club Anya's Sketchy Saturday challenge:

Next up is another card I am able to use for 2 challenges:

The Unscripted Sketches #44 challenge and...

Pixie Dust Studio Birthday Card Challenge, which was set by my friend Shelly who is on their design team. When I decided to buy a couple Pixie Dust digital images, I could not resist Wink the Jester cuz he reminds me of one of the Grateful Dead's Dancing Bears! LOL So here he is all done up in Tempting Turquoise & Certainly Celery:

Some more of that paper I referred to earlier, and I think this adorable Bugaboo Brat looks just as cute all done up in these colors! This card is for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #42 at PriscillaStyles blog:

And last for today is a card I made using Stamping Bella's Pookie Lollipop by Lori Boyd. This one is for the Doodle Palace's Sketch Challenge, where everyone who participates gets a free digital image:

PHEW! I hope you like them all - I will be back tomorrow with a few more. Peace.

Bugaboo Green & Blogabella Polka Dot challenges

I recently discovered this fantastic digital stamp company and blog called Bugaboo Stamps. This weekend the challenge is a blog hop combined with a challenge to create something "green" and you could interpret that however you wanted to. Here's my card using one of their adorable Skelekinz images:

Next up is my entry for Stamping Bella Blogabella's Polka Dots Big & Small challenge:

I used Stamping Bella's Ella Lollipop designed by Lori Boyd along with Stampin' Up! cardstock in Not Quite Navy and Whisper White. The ribbon is also Not Quite Navy and is from SU! The designer series background paper is from a retired package and I'm trying to use it all up. I only have a teeny bit left, so you might see it again in the next couple of days. :) The button is from my stash.
Be back tomorrow with hopefully a lot more challenge cards. Peace.

Digital Tuesday Something for Mum

Sad day - Jeremy and I have to attend the wake of a friend of ours who fought a long and hard battle against Ewing's Sarcoma. He was 36 years old. R.I.P. Scott. I've said it many times before - cancer just plain old sucks.

Today's card is for the Digital Tuesday challenge, a card for mum:

I love these adorable Pure Innocence digital images by Heather Ellis. I used Stampin' Up! WW, Lovely Lilac, and Tempting Turquoise cardstock, along with coordinating designer series background papers.
More tomorrow! Peace.

Final Freebie for February

This is my card using the final freebie digi image for February, Birday Party, from Designed2Delight digital stamps. You can read about the challenge blog here: Delightful Inspiration:

I kept it pretty simple, actually, but I like it. I thought the cool cloud paper was enough embellishment along with the ribbon. I love the striped paper. Hope you like it! Peace.

Pixie Cottage & Quixotic Challenges

After bleaching the bathroom and taking care of Cassidy most of the day, I finally had a few minutes to myself. So of course I decided to make a card for a couple of challenges. :) I love this Softpencil digi image, Michu is a Magician. I am using this card for 2 challenges:

Pixie Cottage Sketch Challenge 10 and
Quixotic Challenges #15 - One For the Boys

I used SU! Basic Black, Whisper White, and Real Red cardstock, as well as Designer Series background paper. Black ribbon, rub-on sentiment, and red glitter also by SU! Peace.

Sketch Challenges

I used this adorable digi image by SoftPencil to make this card for Priscilla Styles Midnight Madness sketch challenge:

And this card is for the Unscripted Sketches #43 sketch challenge/color combo, using Queen For a Day by Stamping Bella:

Just Us Girls & More Challenges

I absolutely love the way this card came out - I was practically foaming at the mouth to get my hands on some of the Lollipops stamps by Lori Boyd (sold by Stamping Bella here) and I finally got my order this past week! I just had to use one of them for a challenge this week.

This is Pookie Lollipop and this card is for the Just Us Girls color challenge - colors being ivory, raspberry, chocolate, and coral:

This adorable teapot image below is called "Teapot Cheer" and is by Designed2Delight. The Delightful Inspiration Challenge blog offers a relay-type challenge every month, and if you participate from the beginning and don't skip a week, you keep getting the digi images for free. I love this image - so I decided to use this card for 2 other challenges, as well:

Crazy4Challenges #25 sketch challenge and
Quixotic Challenges #14 - Something for Mum

And last for today is my card for the Sweet Stop Sketch 44 challenge. I absolutely ADORE these sweet felt pieces from Stampin' Up! called Sweet Pea. The Designer Series Background paper is also called Sweet Pea and coordinates perfectly. I MUST buy more!

Be back tomorrow. Peace.

Digital Tuesday All Things Girly Challenge

Happy Saturday!!! Today's card is for the Digital Tuesday "All Things Girly" challenge #46. I used a Whimsie Doodles digi image from the Mini Valentines collection:

Colors are SU! Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and So Saffron. I used a chipboard heart and covered it with designer series background paper - used the same paper to make the "frame" - I love how this one came out, actually.

So - I am floating on air today. We booked our family's trip to California yesterday! The 4 of us are going in April to stay with my hubby's mom, it's in northern California. We are planning to visit the Redwood Forest and Santa Cruz, among other things. Jeremy has been there a few times, and Trevor has gone by himself the last few summers, but Cassidy and I have never been. Due to work and school restraints, we can only go for 6 days, but I'm super excited anyway!

THEN - last night we bought a new living room set! Can you tell it's tax refund time? LOL We have not bought new furniture in F*O*R*E*V*E*R!!! We have been married for almost 17 years, and we JUST bought a new mattress last year! I have been wanting a new living room set for a few years now, and we finally just did it. It's really pretty, the couch and love seat are brown and it came with a coffee table, 2 end tables, and 2 lamps. I also got a really pretty patchwork area rug to go with it. It's all being delivered on Tuesday and I just can't wait!!!

Tonight is Girls' Night Out for me and my friends. I don't know how much card-making I'll get done this weekend but I'll be back tomorrow with a few challenge cards at the very least. I'm looking forward to tonight and I'm sure I'll have some pics to post tomorrow, as well. Have a great weekend! Peace.

The Pink Elephant - Use Ribbon

I absolutely love this free digi image that I got from Bugaboo Stamps, she's a tooth fairy! I am using this card for the Pink Elephant's Recipe challenge this week, which is simply to use ribbon. I used ribbon on the side and also made little ribbon tags for around the image:

Soooo - digi images. *sigh* I am so in love with them. But I realize that many people still don't even know what I'm talking about when I say "digis", so I'm going to explain here. Being addicted to my ink pads and embossing tools and such, I resisted the digital craze. But it's no use - I got sucked in and eventually, so will you! Digital images are images that you purchase and/or find for free (click here for a cool blog that lists tons of freebies for you) and download to your computer. I have gone from "well, maybe I'll try ONE" to compiling literally HUNDREDS of them. There are pros and cons to them, of course. The cons are that it's difficult to use embossing powder, and I find that without being able to to do that, sometimes the ink bleeds when I color my images. But if I let them dry long enough after printing, it's not usually a big deal. It's better to use darker colors for coloring, just to be safe. The pros, though - oh the pros!

INSTANT GRATIFICATION, baby. I don't know about you, but when I see new stuff come out, I want it NOW NOW NOW! LOL Buying digital is just about as instant as you can get. Most sites and companies either e-mail you the image right away, or offer a direct link to download it after you pay. Print that sucker out, and you're off.

NO INKY FINGERS! I don't know about you all, but I get soooooo irritated when I stamp an image with ink perfectly, only to pick it up and realize there is black ink on my fingers and I just smeared a big old fingerprint across the image. This does not happen with digi images.

SIZING OPTIONS - oh man, you can make little tiny mini versions of your image, you can make giant size versions, there is just no limit to what you can do. You can print the image once or a hundred million times (as long as you are not re-distributing them, that is a big NO-NO).

OK I hope I have convinced you to give digi images a try if you have not yet! I also found a program called Irfanview that helps with converting the files if you have trouble opening them. Try downloading it if you have any problems. Good luck! Peace.

Club Anya, Anyone For Anya, & Anya Ink!

OK yeah, I'm a little bit Anya-crazy. hee hee :) I was able to use this cutie pie for 3 different Anya-related challenges this week:
Club Anya's Sketchy Saturday
Anyone for Anya Flower Power challenge
Anya Ink Monochromatic Challenge

Peace.

More challenges

The Digi Kitty is doing one of those "relay-race" type challenges that I love so much - go here to get the free digi, participate in the challenge and you'll get another freebie. Here is my card for the challenge, using the free Give a Hoot owl digi (please note my recycled soda pop top embellishment - hee hee):

I used this cute little Softpencil digi image for the Embellish Birthday color challenge this week, which was to use pink, brown, blue, and green:

For the Card Patterns Sketch 51 this week, I bought my very first Stamping Boutique digi image (they are sponsoring it). She's called a "Doll Pocket Patootie" - isn't she adorable?

I used TGF's digi image Rain Rain for the Whimsical Wednesday sketch challenge this week, colors are Very Vanilla, gold and Always Artichoke:

And last - this one is for 2 challenges using TGF's digi image Ebony
Just Us Girls Challenge #20, the Split Negative Technique
Friday Sketchers: Friday Sketch Challenge:

Hope to see you back here tomorrow! :) Peace.

Sketch challenges & Delightful Inspiration

I got this digi crown image on Melissa's Stamp It, Scrap It, Share It blog a few weeks ago, and I apologize for making anyone nervous thinking it was being re-distributed. I simply forgot where I had purchased it, and I'd been on a roll buying digis and finding freebies. The image was designed by Joni at Inktegrity and was designed as a fundraiser to benefit a friend of Melissa's whose child passed away. Please consider purchasing this image (click here). Thank you.

I am using this card for the Unscripted Sketches challenge #42 this week:


This card is for the Sweet Stop Sketch #43, using a digi image called Teapot by Shirleys2Girls:

I just love these little Super Hero characters from the Amazing Duo set - this is for the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge this week:

And last, but definitely not least, is my card for the Delightful Inspiration challenge - we get a free digi for every time we play, it's really cool! This is the freebie I got last week for playing (click here to see that card) - and this one uses the new digis along with all designer series background papers, some ribbon and glitter:

Be back tomorrow, I love long weekends! Peace.

You're Super & Night Out

Got the absolutely adorable Amazing Duo set by The Greeting Farm last week and finally had a chance to ink it up today. I am using this card for 2 challenges:
Crazy4Challenges 24 - Use red as the main color
Quixotic Challenges #13 - Tag It!

The star in the upper right corner is embossed with silver, it's hard to see without clicking on the picture and opening it up to full size. I used Real Red & Night of Navy along with Very Vanilla cardstocks. The tag is from a pair of Seven7 brand jeans, I told you I am a HOARDER - I save EVERYTHING!

So last night Jeremy and I went over to our friends' house, Tim & Shannon, along with a few other couples. We always play the Wii when we go - Shannon had mentioned playing Rock Band and Jeremy was like "I am NOT playing Rock Band!" LOL Well, Jeremy also usually wants to leave and come home by 10:00 p.m. Let's just say it was 1:00 a.m. by the time I dragged his butt away from the guitar and drums! hee hee We had a blast - below are some pics from the night.

This is Shannon and me:

Tim & Jeremy, my 2 favorite guys:

Me and Missy:

This is Missy's husband Dan - he pretends to be shy for a little while and then he turns into a superstar - hee hee:
This is my other friend Dan, he is really a drummer but he did not do well at Rock Band. He was ready to boycott the game by the end of the night, LOL:

And this is Dan's wife Jen with me, she's awesome:

This is my friend Rhonda - she kicked everyone's butt in Rock Band all night long:
This is Rhonda's husband George with Shannon:

and here's Shan and Mis at the end of the night, doin' the duet:

This would be Tim, and this is why I love him:

Missy and Jeremy:We had a blast - I laughed so hard that my stomach still hurt when I woke up this morning. Those are the best times, don't you think?
Be back tomorrow! Peace.

Plane Fun Ribbon Border card!

I follow a LOT of blogs, I love getting ideas and inspiration from my fellow crafters. One of the blogs I follow is Willow & Paisley - check out this blog post about creating a ribbon border with your scraps of ribbon!

So I decided to give it a whirl - I used adhesive instead of staples on my ribbon and I challenged myself even more by making it a boy card. I have been volunteering for many years with organizations that send "happy mail" to kids (and adults, I usually focus on the kids though) who are suffering from cancer, brain diseases, etc. For the past couple of years, the organization I have been volunteering for is called Audrey's Umbrella. We get assigned to a person for a "season" and simply send them cards and small gifts during that time. My current assignment is a toddler boy with an older sister, so I always include her as well. This card will be for him:

And here is a close-up of the ribbon border:

This was a lot of fun and I will definitely use this technique again. I really did dig through my stash to see what scraps I had - I don't normally keep such small scraps, but I can tell you that I will be from now on! As if I don't hoard ENOUGH! ha ha ha Thanks, Charlene! :)

Well - it's F*R*I*D*A*Y!!!!! Not only that, but it's the Friday before a long weekend, and there is so much in blog-land going on this weekend! Blog hops at Whimsie Doodles today - another blog hop at TGF on Sunday night - and oh the challenges! We are going to a friends' house for a few drinks and snacks tonight and then the rest of my long weekend will be consumed by creating! Yay! We are also planning our April trip to California (northern) and I am getting so excited! Have a happy Friday everyone! See you tomorrow! Peace.

Je Taime

I took advantage of my 1/2 day "snow day" yesterday and used this cute digi image by Wendymade to create this card for a couple challenges:
"Just Us Girls" Sketch challenge
Stampotique "Love Themed" card

I used Stampin' Up! colors Rose Red and Regal Rose. Have a great day - tomorrow's Friday! :) Peace.

Club Anya Saturday Sketch & Anyone for Anya Color challenge

My last card for the weekend - I am using this one for 2 challenges:
Club Anya Sketchy Saturday sketch challenge
Here is the sketch:

and...
Anyone for Anya "Good Enough to Eat" challenge (make a card using "food" colors such as lemon/lime, coffee/cream, etc. - I chose chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry!)-

I mixed up the sketch a bit, I had fun making ribbon tags instead of using scalloped edges, I just love ribbon and ribbon tags are one of my favorite embellishments. I love the soft, subtle look of this card and I just adore her sparkly pink eyeshadow. LOL I tend to gravitate towards bright and cheery colors, so it's fun to force myself to do something different every now and then.

Have a great week, everyone! Peace.

Sunday Challenges

I discovered the Delightful Inspiration challenge blog, and was hooked by the concept immediately. It's sort of like the relay that TGF did - click here to read about it and see the challenge/free digi for February. Here is my entry:

I made this adorable card below for 2 challenges -
Spoonful of Sugar challenge #89, which is a sketch challenge and
Crazy4Challenges challenge #23, Be My Valentine

I used AiFactory Ella I Wuv You digi image, and SU! cardstock in Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White:

For Stamping Bella's Be My Valentine challenge this week:

For the Stamp, Scrap, and Doodle Saturdays challenge, which is to make a Valentine without using the color red, I used a Whimsie Doodles digi image and the colors are mostly turquoise and brown:

For the Friday Sketchers #88 sketch challenge, I used this adorable Princess Anya image by The Greeting Farm - colors are mostly SU! Pretty in Pink and Whisper White:

I made this card for a follower of my blog, who asked me to make a card for her daughter's graduation from college. She calls her the pink princess, so I thought this would be appropriate. I hope she likes it!

I have a couple left to do - will post those tomorrow. Peace.

Farm Fresh Friday Gettin' Sketchy & Shopping

Happy Saturday! I made this card this morning and took a pic, and then I went out for the day and never had a chance to upload it! I am normally quite a home-body, I spend most of my weekends making cards and participating in challenges. LOL But today, I spent the day with my sister, my son Trevor, and my nephew Josh, who is 12. More on that later - here's the card I made for the Farm Fresh Friday Gettin' Sketchy challenge:

I used TGF's digi image Joseph, and the cardstock is SU! Old Olive, Ruby Red & Night of Navy, along with some assorted background paper. Brads are SU! Ruby Red.

So Shell (sis), Trev, Josh and I went to lunch at TGI Friday's, then we went to the mall and I kind of splurged and bought myself some new clothes for work - 3 pairs of pants and 5 shirts. LOL I had a blast. Then we went to the movies and saw 2012, it was really good. We were out all day and we just had a blast - Trevor is 16 and I'm so glad he still enjoys spending time with me. He even said when we got home, "that was a fun day!" LOL THAT made my day! :) Tomorrow I will be back to my stamping room to do some challenges. Hope you're all having a nice weekend. Peace.