You Want Bling? You Got It!

I fell in love with this new Tiddly Inks princess digi image the minute I saw her - and of course I had to also have the cute frog prince, princess, etc. LOL But anyway, I love to use sketches and I thought she was perfect for the latest Tiddly Inks challenge, so I made this card for 2 challenges:

Tiddly Inks - use BLING

Friday Sketchers sketch challenge

I used SU! cardstock in Real Red and Whisper White. I used DP in Real Red and also some DP in black & white. I colored her hair with SU! markers in So Saffron and More Mustard, her skin and dress were colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. Her crown & dress are also colored in layers of red glitter and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. SU! clear gemstone brads are fastened all around image to frame it.

I just love the way this one came out - hope you like it, too. :)

Peace.

Beach Bum - TPE Orange & Fab n Funky Sketch challenges

I could not W*A*I*T to play with this new rubber stamp set I got from My Favorite Things, I simply adore the Pure Innocence line by Heather Ellis, and this little cutie was crying out to me to be paper-pieced. Truth be told, it's really the main reason I chose her out of all of the adorable PI images! Her bathing suit is just so paper-piece-able! hee hee So anyway, I made this card with 2 challenges in mind:

The Pink Elephant - use ORANGE as a focal point

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - sketch challenge

I used SU! Pumpkin Pie cardstock and DP in Pumpkin Pie with some Brilliant Blue and Garden Green. I colored her hair and skin with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol and used the SU! Pumpkin Pie marker on the heart in her hair and for the sentiment. Sand castle is stamped on SU! Sahara Sand cardstock.

So I'm thinking about buying a new camera and so far, the Canon Rebel seems to be top on my list. I use my camera mostly for taking pictures of my cards and artwork, and also for taking pics of friends and family. However, I was also considering taking a photography course - I just love the camera and would love to learn more about how to use the funky settings, etc. So do any of you have any advice or suggestions? What do you use and why do you like it? I'd love to hear from you. :)

So today is our big bash - I pretty much got everything ready last night, so all I have to do now is get a ton of ice, shower and wait for people to show up. Hope you all have a great Sunday. Peace.

Digital Tuesday - Cute People

Today's card uses The Greeting Farm's digi images of Wild Sprouts Ebony, both the "regular" version and the dressy version. I love Ebony - I think she reminds me of myself... funky and maybe a little goth but still girlie. :) Anyway, I made this card for the

Digital Tuesday - Cute People challenge

I used mostly SU! cardstock, DP, and markers in Pumpkin Pie and Not Quite Navy but also used my Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. As you probably know by now, I am completely addicted to adding glittery eye shadow to my characters, and Ebony was no exception.

I can't believe it's Saturday! I cannot believe a whole week has gone by - it's been such a blur. We are having our big annual Memorial Day cookout on Sunday (hello?!? TOMORROW!!!!) and we haven't done a damn thing to prepare for it yet. Jeremy's mom has been in town for the funeral of her nephew Todd (Jeremy's cousin), so we've been busy with her for the last few days. Last night we were taken to dinner with her family - 18 of us - and it was a more than 3-hour dinner. It was really nice, though, since we don't see any of them very often. Todd's sister Tracy lives in Marin County, California, and I do believe this was the first time that we had actually met - she's really nice. She has 3 little kids who were angels throughout all of the calling hours/services and dinners. And we chatted a bit about us moving to California...

I'm not sure I can do it. Jeremy and I talked a little more about it yesterday and I am starting to think it's not going to happen - not this year, anyway. Cassidy is very upset about it and does not want to move at all. She's at a really tough age - 15 - and I understand. I have been having a rough time with it, too, but I have been trying to keep it to myself because if it's what is best for our family, then I'll make the necessary sacrifices. But I have to admit that I was sitting in my yard for a few minutes yesterday just enjoying the sunshine, and as I sat there, I started thinking "this might be our last annual Memorial Day party..." and then I started thinking about leaving my sister, my cousin Angela, my friends... Missy and I went and got pedicures yesterday and went to Walmart. I hate shopping alone. Who am I going to shop with if I'm 3000 miles away? I know I'll make new friends, I'm a very social person - but I've got tears rolling down my face just typing this. This really sucks, actually. I absolutely love California - but I wish we could move our family and all of Cassidy's and my friends with us... LOL

Another thing that has really made me think twice about the move is my friend Melanie passing away last week - I really needed to be around my friends, to hug them and feel their love and support. I'm an extremely emotional and sensitive person and I just cannot imagine being across the country if something like this happened again - and let's face it, none of us are getting any younger and tragedies and deaths will happen. So will marriages, births, and joyous events - and I want to be a part of them with my friends!

My head has been spinning for weeks and I just want it to stop. My job is miserable and I was really looking forward to giving my notice, but I also love the people I work with and I am very leery of giving up my financial independence. Jeremy is a wonderful husband and father - but he's not great with money. For me to give up being the primary breadwinner and insurance provider would be a huge leap of faith - and I would end up angry and resentful if it didn't work out. I talked to Jeremy about this the other day and I think it made him really think - this isn't like him being 22 years old and just going out there without a care in the world, knowing he could come back if he wanted to... this would be uprooting our family, our lives, and starting over again 3000 miles away from everyone and everything that we know. It's scary. We still haven't made up our minds 100% yet. Jeremy will be disappointed if we don't go, but he does want what's best for all of us in the long run. Trevor will be very disappointed if we don't go, but I do think staying here for at least his last year of high school would be what is best for him. I told him he can certainly go stay out there for the summer if that's what he wants to do, and that once he graduates high school and turns 18, he can make his own decisions (with guidance from us, of course). So much to consider - and the bottom line (for me, anyway) is that we either go in July/August, or we don't go until Cassidy at least graduates from high school. So much to consider and as usual, I will of course let you all know once we've really made a decision. Wish me luck.

Sooooo - yeah - good times. On top of it all, I have raging PMS - fun! Not. ;) Jeremy and I are leaving soon to drive his mom to TF Green airport in Rhode Island, and then we are hitting the Super Walmart and getting ready for our big bash tomorrow. We will then come home and start cleaning/cooking and getting the yard ready... and before you know it, tomorrow will be here. And that's another thing - I am still struggling with life going on without Mel. I know it sounds silly, but it's true. I feel a little guilty - how can we celebrate when our friend is gone? But you know what? Mel would have WANTED us to celebrate - to celebrate her life, her soul, her bravery... and I certainly think we all need a day of fun after all the sadness. I'm really looking forward to it. But I won't lie - I really wish Mel would be here. :( Maybe we'll see a yellow butterfly - I hope so. That would just be so cool (did I tell you about the yellow butterflies? LOL A giant one buzzed around me, Jeremy and our friend Missy the day of Mel's funeral - we later found out it happened to 2 or 3 other people that day and has continued to happen - butterflies don't normally interact with people, do they? LOL)

Last - it's Memorial Day weekend - please remember the vets who gave their lives for you and this country. This is the first Memorial Day without Jeremy's grandpa being with us, and Trevor has talked about him a lot this week - his birthday would have been last weekend, too. We miss him a lot - but we keep his memory alive by talking about him quite often, which is nice. We have nothing but good memories - what more can you really ask for?

Hope you all have a great long weekend - remember to tell the people you love what they mean to you, you just never know what tomorrow will bring. Peace.

Club Anya Saturday Sketch

It's been a tough week. *sigh* As you probably know, we had my friend Mel's calling hours Monday night and then a bunch of us met at a local restaurant after. Her funeral was Tuesday... and it was rough. Then on Thursday afternoon (yesterday), we went to calling hours and a memorial service for Jeremy's cousin Todd, who was only 49 years old. Todd lived in Hawaii and was very adventurous - he had gone hiking and didn't come back and his girlfriend called the authorities. A hunter found him propped up against a tree as if he had sat down to rest and had a heart attack.
In addition to all that, last night I found out that one of my cousin's nephews, who was only 3 years old, passed away this week after fighting cancer. :( It's just not fair, you know? What a week!
Makes you think - life is just so fleeting, you know?

I now have a few days off from work to rest, recuperate, and get ready for our big Memorial Day cookout/party. I'm really looking forward to having some fun - I desperately need it after all this sadness.

For today, just sharing the card I had made for last Saturday's Club Anya Saturday Sketch Challenge (#19) (there was no folder set up for Sketch 19 in the gallery, so we just added our cards to the main Club Anya Saturday Sketches gallery)

I used one of the Wild Sprouts from the Roll Call set, her name is Nahla. I have a cat with the same name but we spell it Nala. :) Anyway, I think she's super cute. I used Prismacolor color pencils blended with Gamsol and SU! markers to color her. Various DP's and ribbons.

Hope you all have a great weekend and I hope next week is better than this one. Peace.

Softpencil Anniversary Blog Hop & C4C38

Welcome to the Softpencil Anniversary blog hop!


You should have arrived here from Dawn's blog, Cherry Tree Studio. If not, go back to the Softpencil blog and start at the beginning. You won't want to miss it. :)

I decided to use a sketch so I could also enter this card for the:

Crazy4Challenges # 38 Sketch Challenge

I used this sweet ladybug and flower digi image by Softpencil and colored it with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. Cardstock is SU! in Basic Black and Real Red, with a plastic-like clear cardstock that has black polka dots over it layered over the Real Red - ribbon by SU! Ladybug DP and button from my stash.

Next stop on the hop is Lisa's Stampin For Sanity. Have fun hopping!

Peace.

Oh, Alice! and Mo's Digital Pencil

I've got 2 cards to share with you today for 2 separate challenge blogs. First up is my entry for the Oh, Alice! sketch challenge 14:

And next is my card for the Mo's Digital Pencil challenge, which was to use LOVE as a theme:

This has been a very sad week for me, and I will say again that stamping and making cards is truly therapeutic for me. I have done so much thinking over the past few weeks and I am really leaning towards making the decision to move across country... I keep thinking that this is my home and what's the worst that could happen? We could decide to come back? Big deal! I'll let you know the details when I know them... it's exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!

Peace.

Embellish & Sweet Stop

I made this card with 2 challenges in mind:

The Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge

Embellish Magazine - color challenge (kraft, black, and celery) with butterflies

I really like this color combo - the sentiment and butterfly stamps are from The Greeting Farm, cardstock, DP, brads and ribbon by Stampin' Up!

Today is Mel's funeral - last night was tough, the calling hours - this stuff is really hard to go through. I have never had to experience this as an adult yet, losing a friend. It's just not right to have to see someone's little sister in a coffin, damn it. There were beautiful pictures of her all around the funeral home, and it was just so nice to look at them... she was such a beautiful girl, both inside and out, and you could just see that.

I am so thankful for my friends, really. For the past 4 days, I have gotten text messages, e-mails, Facebook messages at random times throughout the days - from people who are thinking about me and worrying about me. Friends - people I do and don't talk to on a daily basis, but who I know love me and truly care no matter what. That helps so very much, it really does. Just knowing people care about you helps you get through each and every day. I am so blessed, and I know that. So today we say goodbye to Mel and we lay her to rest, and life will go on even though it seems nearly impossible that it will. Rest in peace, baby girl. We will always love you.

Peace.

Delightful Inspirations - Sympathy

Happy Birthday to my fantabulous husband, Jeremy. Unfortunately, we have to spend Jeremy's birthday attending the calling hours of our dear friend Melanie. I decided to use my Designed2Delight freebie for the Delightful Inspirations challenge to make a sympathy card for Mel's husband and kids:

Jeremy and I will celebrate his birthday later in the week, after we've had a chance to grieve a little bit. Hug your loved ones today, and tell them that you love them every chance you get. Life is just so fleeting and precious. Peace.

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge 54

My heart is heavy with grief, but I find that stamping really is therapeutic for me. Although I had to stop for crying breaks, I did manage to complete a couple of cards yesterday. This one is for the

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #54

This is one of the Sugar Nellies Gorjuss Girls images that I told you about earlier, she's called Flower Girl. She's colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol along with SU! markers. The buttons are from My Favorite Things and the ribbon, cardstock, DP, and rub-on sentiment are all from SU!

Services for my dear friend Mel will be tomorrow night and Tuesday, it's going to be a rough few days ahead. Luckily, I have a great husband and wonderful group of friends and we'll just all have to help each other get through it. In the meantime, the tears are just flowing freely and I'm letting them. It helps.

Peace.

Saying goodbye to a friend...

This is the hardest post I've ever had to write. It sucks, actually. But here goes:

Melanie Ridler Desiata
December 30, 1975 - May 21, 2010

I have known Melanie since I was about 13 and she was about 9. Her brother Kevin and I went to school together and she was just the most adorable little sister. She loved us "big kids" - when I was in high school, she used to tell girls her age they better not mess with her or they would have to deal with "the Blakeney sisters" (my sister and I). And she was right. :)
Melanie was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. I won't dignify cancer with descriptions of it and what it did to her - but she fought it to the end. We had a benefit for her where she just completely shined - was the life of the party. It was a blast. Then we had a 40th anniversary party for her parents last year, when we got this awesome picture of a group of us:

This is Tim, Jeremy, Kev (Mel's brother), Shannon, me, and Mel. Isn't she gorgeous? She's even more beautiful on the inside.

When Mel walks into a room, she makes an entrance. She doesn't even have to try to do it - it just comes naturally to her. She's been a dancer her whole life - she walks like a dancer, graceful. This is us being silly that same night, I think we were pretending to be Charlie's Angels... hee hee:

You NEVER would have known what was going on if she didn't tell you. She could have spent the last 6 months in bed - but she didn't. She spent her time LIVING. She did all kinds of stuff - she went to parties and took her kids on trips and just enjoyed life. She continued to worry about everyone else, always trying to make everyone around her happy. She was usually successful, too - how could you not smile when you were with Mel? Look at her infectious toothy grin:
That was from my birthday last year - a bunch of us went to a local bar to see a band, and Mel had recently not been feeling good but she never let it bring her down. She always kept that smile on her face.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her and I from that night:

Mel finally earned her angel wings yesterday morning - she's finally at peace, free of pain, and she doesn't have to worry about us anymore. There are many tears flowing this weekend at the loss of this beautiful girl who many called friend. I haven't gone an hour without sobbing yet - I'm sure that in time, we'll all be able to talk about her with smiles on our faces, remembering the good times and cherishing our memories. But for now, the grief is fresh and the pain is raw. My heart literally hurts. I can't understand how life can go on without her. And I never EVER considered that she might not make it - I never for a second let myself consider any other outcome other than Melanie kicking cancer's ass. I don't think she did, either, not until just recently.

She left behind parents who cherished her, the kind of parents who all of Kev & Mel's friends love. She left behind 3 beautiful little kids - a daughter and 2 sons. My heart breaks for them. She left behind a brother who I simply adore, and my heart breaks for him just as badly - they were very close. This is him and her:The services are going to be tough to get through, but get through it we will. Someone said to me that it's rare for a group of childhood friends to remain so close into adulthood - we have a rather large group of friends that have been like family since we were little kids. It doesn't matter if a day, a week, a month, a year, or ten years go by - when we are together again, it's like no time passed at all. When we celebrate life's happy events, we celebrate together - and when we suffer tragedies, we feel each others pain. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rest in peace, sweet angel Melanie. You will live on in our hearts and memories forever. Only the good die young, baby. xoxoxoxo

U Rock!

Get it? U "rock"? His shirt has a "U" on it and he's holding a rock... hee hee Please tell me you got it... ;)

Anyway - this card was made for 4 challenges:

Tiddly Inks - no designer paper

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - no patterned paper

Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge # 56 - make a card for the guys

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday Challenge #40 - masculine card

I was late posting for the last 2 but wanted to share anyway. I used SU! cardstock & markers in Bordering Blue, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy, and Sage Shadow. That's a wide piece of sage-colored grosgrain ribbon on the bottom of the Not Quite Navy cardstock.

I used a 1" punch to punch out the circles, and I will admit to doing a wee little bit of hyperventilating at the thought of using no DP for Christy's challenge at Tiddly Inks, but I think I managed just fine! I actually like the way this looks, and I am going to use this card for my Audrey's Umbrella little boy, Anderson.

Peace.

Bella Challenge

Do you visit da Bella's blog? Not today, maybe tomorrow? ha ha ha See now - you'd GET that if you read Stamping Bella's blog. ;) Emily is the queen Bella and she is a freaking hoot. I love reading her blog - she makes me laugh right out loud. This cheerful friendship card is for the

Stamping Bella Friday challenge - sketch

I used up some more SU! DP scraps in Lavender Lace, Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery... the green dot things are from Stamping Bella, and that is actually a much lighter shade of purple ribbon than it looks in this picture, I swear!

Hope you are all ready for a fun weekend. I have a couple of friends coming over to stamp tonight - NON-STAMPERS! They saw my cards on Facebook and on my blog and asked me if I could teach them - I almost fainted. I have been stamping/card-making for 8 years now and no one has ever expressed any interest so I was pleasantly surprised! Should be fun - stamping, chatting, drinking, eating... my kind of night!
Peace.

Just Us Girls - Red, White, Blue & Kraft

I love these sweet Creepy Cake images from The Greeting Farm - and I had fun making this one into a patriotic Creeper! This is for the:

Just Us Girls #33 - Red, White, Blue & Kraft

I used SU! Kraft, Real Red, and Brilliant Blue cardstock along with my Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. Gingham brads from my stash - ribbon, glitter, & red/blue brads by SU!
Peace.

Delightful Inspiration & Friday Sketchers

I love the image we got last week from Designed2Delight's challenge blog, this bear holding a flower is just too cute and can be used for so many occasions! I am using this card for 2 challenges:

Delightful Inspirations

Friday Sketchers #102

I used some of my DP scraps in Old Olive, Almost Amethyst, and So Saffron and I kept this card simple. The image is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. Peace.

Mojo: Found

Yeah, I seemed to have lost my mojo this past weekend - I was really struggling to stay motivated and that is so not like me! But I think I found it! LOL I have been on a roll today, and was able to make this card with 3 separate challenges in mind:

The Sugar Bowl Sketch Challenge - use something recycled

Fab N' Funky Challenges #23 - use metal

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #83 - use metal

I previously only owned a couple of Sugar Nellies stamps - the cost and shipping from the UK is prohibitive, but I had gotten the Frog Prince stamp for free a while ago for participating in a blog hop, and I fell in love with the Diane Duda images. I wanted this one, Believe, for a while - so when I decided I also had to have a couple of the Gorjuss Girls, I decided to splurge. I'll use the Gorjuss Girls for other challenges and hopefully be able to share them with you this week - they are so cute.

Colors on this card are SU! Not Quite Navy and Old Olive. The "believe" metal charm is recycled off of an old charm bracelet. That olive-colored tissue-like paper was recycled off an old card and it's been sitting in my box of embellishments for literally years! LOL

Peace.

Stampavie & More PINK

Happy Monday! I placed an order for a few more of these Pure Innocence cuties from My Favorite Things a few weeks ago. I can't wait to get them - they were from the new release collection and must have sold out quickly because they were on back-order right away! I'm not surprised, since they are so stinkin' cute! Anyway, for now, I used the only Pure Innocence image that I actually own in rubber (I have several digi images too) - this is for the

Stampavie & More challenge - use PINK

Hope your week flies by quickly (and mine...). ;)
Peace.

Roll Call - Pink Elephant Yellow & Buttons

I was sooooo excited to order the Roll Call set from The Greeting Farm when it was available as a pre-order a few weeks ago. It became available to everyone yesterday, but I gots mine already! hee hee :) See?

The rubber came on a 8 x 12 sheet and I had so much fun cutting out all the adorable Sprouts:

So of course I had to use one for a challenge this weekend! This is Jade, and the card is for the

Pink Elephant Challenge 66 - use yellow, designer paper, and buttons

I found this yummy Martha Stewart designer paper that looks like bandannas at Walmart - it comes in all bright colors - yellow, red, pink, blue, green, orange...the buttons are from my stash.
Peace.

MelJen's Flowers Challenge

Happy Sunday! First things first - I made this card for the

MelJen's Challenge # 7 - Flowers & Blooms

I just love the way Melissa draws, aren't her characters simply precious?

Soooo - I can hardly believe it, but I think there's really a good chance we are going to move all the way across the country - from Massachusetts to California. My husband Jeremy has wanted to go for years - his mother lives there, northern California (click here to see pics from our visit). I could never imagine doing it - until I visited. I instantly fell in love and felt like I just "fit in." Jeremy's mom and husband want to down-size, so we are thinking about moving into their house when they move out. If we do, I think it will end up being around the end of July or early August - we have to go early enough to have time to get the kids enrolled in schools, but I also can't go too early because I have a few commitments around here to take care of before we go. Cassidy and I need time to say goodbye to our friends and family - Trevor and Jeremy could deal with saying goodbye via a phone call on the way there! LOL

We haven't really told anyone how serious we are about this yet - a few people know, but I think most people think it's just talk, dreams... that's how I felt when my husband talked about it for a long time. But my mother-in-law has a job lined up for me where I can work from home doing computer work and accounting for her Food Safety business, and my husband has several job opportunities - more than he's had here in over a year. I can be home when the kids come home from school - I can focus more on selling my cards and things, and I am seriously considering writing a book. I'm really excited but also nervous, of course. I'm very close with my sister and a few very good friends - it'll be hard not to be able to see them for extended periods of time. Thankfully, we have the Internet, though. And texting. LOL So that's what has been on my mind lately. I will, of course, keep you updated as to our plans as soon as I know more. :) Wish me luck!

Peace.

A Gem of a Challenge

I thought this was a cool color combination, but one I probably wouldn't have come up with on my own! Pink, burgundy, and green - this is for the:

Pink Gem Designs - A Gem of a Challenge

I love this cute digi image from Pink Gem Designs, isn't she sweet? Today has been a busy day, but I managed to squeeze in some card-making time. My plan tomorrow is to spend my entire day in my stamping room, cranking out challenge cards. :) See you then. Peace.

Bellarific Friday

This is my entry for the

Bellarific Friday challenge - use soft pink, celery green & chocolate chip

I used Stamping Bella's "You are Unique" stamp and sentiment. DP, ribbon, punches, and gemstone brads by Stampin' Up! Colored with SU! markers and Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol.

I have been eating chocolate all week. I made the mistake of saying something like "I don't want anything fancy like jewelry for Mother's Day, I'd be happy with a chocolate bar." Five pounds of chocolate later... hee hee Have you had the Cadbury Fruit & Nut milk chocolate bars? Oh my heavenly.

OK - see you tomorrow! Peace.

Delightful Inspirations - Watering Can with Flowers

OMG - what a week! Today is my Friday - I have tomorrow off, thankfully. Spending the day with a friend, hopefully the evening with my daughter doing some shopping, and then stamping the rest of the weekend! :)

We got this pretty watering can with flowers digi image by Designed2Delight for the Delightful Inspirations Challenge:

Colors are SU! Almost Amethyst and So Saffron. Watering can colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. Assorted ribbon & stick-on sentiment from my stash. Peace.

Cute Card Thursday & Stamp Something

For the Greeting Farm's Saturday Sketch challenge, I had fun making this cute card with one of the Cheeky Girls from TGF:

Colors are SU! So Saffron and Pretty in Pink. Ribbon & gemstone brads also by SU!

Today I used a cute digi image from Bugaboo Stamps for this card for 2 challenges:

Stamp Something Challenge #100 - birthday

Cute Card Thursday Challenge - make a card for boys/men

Colors are Stampin' Up! Not Quite Navy and Old Olive. Image colored with Prismacolor colored pencils, blended with Gamsol. Buttons from my stash.

I've been feeling very "blue" this week. My daughter Cassidy is 15 and it's such a difficult age. I remember being her age... (shudder) It's so hard to keep up with her hormones and emotions - one minute she acts like she's 25 and the next minute she acts like she's 5. There should be medication for parents to get through the teenage years with a daughter. LOL But get through it we will. :) Peace.

Pixie Dust & Friday Sketchers Challenges

Happy Tuesday! I have 2 cards for 2 challenges today but both using images by Pixie Dust Studios.

The first card/challenge uses May Pixie and is for:

Pixie Dust Studio challenge - use Kraft

The 2nd card/challenge uses April Pixie and is for:

Friday Sketchers sketch challenge

I am trying to use up this old DP by Stampin' Up! so I paper-pieced her hat and jacket with it. Colors are Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac, Tempting Turquoise, and Certainly Celery.

Peace.

DUDS37 - Drama Queen

For today's card, I used another adorable digi image from Tiddly Inks called Drama Queen.

This card is for the

Dare You to Digi Stamp Friday challenge 37 - anything goes

I pulled out some Halloween DP from SU! in Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive, and I colored the image to match. Ribbon and brads also by SU! This image cracked me up when I saw it - I have a fifteen-year-old daughter who is SUCH a drama queen, so of course I had to have it. LOL

Thank you to Lorraine for this beautiful Sunshine Award - she always leaves me the sweetest comments and I really appreciate that she visits my blog so often! Click the picture to visit her blog, Coldwaters2:

Thanks again, Lorraine!
Peace.

Stampavie & More Sketch Challenge

Happy Mother's Day! I had a nice day - we went to breakfast at a local American Legion hall, then back to Jeremy's gram's house for coffee cake, danish, and coffee. I was home by noon and stamping away, which is what I consider a perfect day. Jeremy is cooking me some Cajun shrimp on the grill, along with asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes for dinner. YUM!

I promised I'd be back to share some cards made with Christy Kroll's Tiddly Inks digi images, and here is one of them, this is for the

Stampavie & More Challenge - sketch challenge

Cardstock is SU! Pretty in Pink along with coordinating DP in Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, and So Saffron. Buttons from my stash. Coloring is done with SU! markers & Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. I used that awesome pink glittery fluffy stuff on her hair bow.

I have my "company picnic" tomorrow, which is especially nice because it essentially means it's like a 2-hour workday for me. I should be home by 1:00 or so - yay! AND - I have Friday off. Double yay! :) I'm spending Friday doing lunch and a little shopping with my dear friend Linda from Behind My Red Door (if you like prim stuff, you MUST check out her site). I am really looking forward to it.

Peace.

Bridal Shower Card

My cousin Nick is getting married this summer, and his bride-to-be, Aimee, is having her bridal shower in a few weeks. I love Aimee, so I wanted to make her card for her. I decided to make this card for a couple of challenges:

All That Scraps Wednesday challenge - use pink and brown

Stretch N' Bubbles sketch challenge

I used a digi image from All That Scraps Sugarplums collection. The colors are Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, and Pretty in Pink. Cardstock, DP, brads, ribbon, and rub-on sentiment all by SU!

Be back tomorrow! Peace.

Tiddly Inks!

I fell in love with Tiddly Inks when I first laid eyes on their rubber stamps on the Stamping Bella site. Imagine my delight when I discovered Christy Kroll, artist of Tiddly Inks, has DIGI IMAGES available on her site now.... oh my happiness! :) I am in the middle of purchasing some new digis now, but wanted to share a card I had made for a friend who needed a wedding card, I just LOVE how this came out, the colors were black and cream, so I used those with the Togethah Forevah stamp:

Christy is so sweet - she offers a freebie on her Paper Craft Planet group, so go join! She also does a blog challenge every week here. What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

The college I work at is having it's graduation ceremony tomorrow morning, and I have to go work for a couple of hours. I'll be back in the afternoon to post a new entry - hope you all have a nice Mother's Day weekend! Peace.

Delightful Designs - Frog Prince

I love all of the Designed2Delight digi images, but I must admit I am particularly fond of this one! LOL This is for the Delightful Inspiration challenge:

I know this DP probably looks familiar, I've used it quite often this past week! It's so pretty, it's from a company called Scrapbook Wizard, it's from an old 12x12 pad that I have and I just love the colors! I colored the frog with SU! Certainly Celery and used matching gemstone brads.

Soooo - I noticed my followers are creeeeeping up there, and that is so cool. I'm thinking when I hit 50 followers, I'm going to have to do some kind of give-away or prize. So when it happens, I guess I'll tell you more! hee hee ;)

Peace.

SFTW - Cool Challenge!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! :)

When I saw the current Stampin For the Weekend challenge, I knew I had to participate. The challenge was called "Getting To Know You Through Your Favorite Book." I chose The Dark Tower, by Stephen King, a story which happens to be 7 books long and is my absolute favorite story ever :

The castle stamp is from the SU! set Dreams & Dragons. The rest of the images are from The Greeting Farm - they are supposed to represent the characters Roland, Susannah Dean & Eddie Dean. You might notice that I altered Cheeky Shooter's legs - Susannah lost both legs at the knee, so I tried to make her a true representation. Colors are mostly SU! Kraft, Elegant Eggplant, and Ruby Red. I also used my Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Gamsol. DP is from Die Cuts With a View.

OK wanna laugh? So yeah, as I was getting ready to post this, I was chomping on chocolate-covered pretzels. All of a sudden, I realize I can feel a HUGE HOLE IN MY BACK TOOTH. Years ago, I was told I needed a root canal. Long story short, I am terrified of the dentist. I made myself go, and the dentist was awful and "could not find the roots"- it was painful and awful and he packed it with something temporary and told me I had to go see a "specialist" and so I just pretended it never happened and I never went back. I'm talking like 5-6 YEARS ago. I have had cleanings since then, but I won't ever let them touch the tooth with the hole in it. It never really bothered me, this little tiny hole in my tooth. We just co-existed, ya know what I'm sayin? It is now a rather large hole, I am afraid. I do not think this can continue to be ignored, and I am NOT happy. UGH! I hate dentists!!! OK I do see the silver lining or bright side or WHATEVA - at least it's a BACK tooth! :) UGH - I keep sticking my tongue in it and thinking "OMG." LOL
Peace.

Oh, Alice! Challenge

I love anything with a prince/princess, knight-in-shining-armor kind of theme... I have quite a few images, both rubber and dig, related to that kind of thing. I decided to use this Bugaboo Stamps digi image called Princess Charlie for the first time for the

Oh, Alice! Challenge - create a card for a child

I used Stampin' Up! cardstock, DP, and grosgrain ribbon in Certainly Celery. Pink buttons from my stash. SU! glitter on her dress, hair bows, and the crowns - also used a tiny gemstone brad in Certainly Celery on the princess' crown. I printed the image out a bit large, as I really wanted it to be the focus of the card, I think it worked. I used a rub-on sentiment, "for you", so I could use the card for any occasion that might come up.

That's all for today! Peace.

Little Red Wagon - Sympathy

Running late this morning, sorry for the short post! This card is for the

Little Red Wagon Challenge - create a sympathy card

I love the subtle DP and the simpleness of this card. I used Pumpkin Pie brads to hold that piece of tied ribbon on. Sentiment is stamped on Bashful Blue cs and the DP is Taken with Teal from the Sweet Pea DP by SU!
Peace.

Pixie Dust Studio & SSDS38

Hello there! I have been feeling so creative lately - I can barely contain myself. hee hee I've been trying to use styles and techniques that I don't usually use. So when I saw a challenge for easel cards on the

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday Challenge 38 (make an easel card)

I just had to join in! Now I do most of my blog surfing on Saturday mornings and participate in as many challenges as I can. When I saw the challenge for the

Pixie Dust Studio - inspiration challenge

I knew exactly what DP I was going to use to participate. Here is the picture we were supposed to draw our inspiration from:

I wanted it to be really pretty and unique, and that's when I decided to combine it with the SSDS38 easel card challenge! OK enough chatter - on to the goods:

I used a freebie digi image from Pixie Dust studio that was on the Paper Craft Planet group for followers. Colors are mostly pink and green - I used SU! Pretty in Pink & Gable Green cardstock. Assorted DP, ribbons, and glitter. Pink & white houndstooth brads from SU! Rub-on sentiment from SU! says "April showers bring May flowers." Mini rubber ducky. Do you guys think this is as cute as I think it is? LOL

Hope you enjoyed looking at this card as much as I enjoyed making it, it really was a fun one! Peace.

Play Date Cafe & Sweet Stop

It's absolutely beautiful outside today, so I'm going to enjoy some of it before the day is gone. I had to clean bathrooms today (a chore I despise), so I only had time to make one card. I'm using this one for 2 challenges:

Play Date Cafe Challenge 27 - color challenge (light blue, light green, and off-white)

Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge 54

I used Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla cardstock along with DP from DCWV called Nana's Kids. The light blue and light green brads are from SU! Butterfly brads from my stash. The sweet image is a digi image from The Greeting Farm called Freaky Flutter, she's one of the Creepy Cakes girls.

See you tomorrow - hope you're all enjoying some nice Spring weather! Peace.