So does this keep me from going Crazy?!

YES!! I had an insane week at work last week & today didn't go too much better. I guess the good thing is that the more directions I am pulled in & the busier I am, the faster the day goes by. The sad thing is, last week I was so wiped out, I didn't get to create as much as I would have liked. This crazy "habit" is a great stress reliever- hard to think about everything left to do at work when I am focusing on paper, bling, ink, & coloring! And this sweet little Charlotte image from Kraftin Kimmies ALWAYS makes me smile. Just something about her face... A little mischievous, little innocent. And I have to say I have been really loving this color combo! IRL the blue bling flower centers are the same color as the dark teal accents

Supplies: light teal cardstock, brown cardstock, DP: brown? from stash, DCWV (squares) Colorbok (dots), rub on-Pebbles inc, bling ? I think from Michael's, flowers-Prima, teal paper twine- not sure, came in a kit from QVC. I colored Charlotte w/ chalks & a blender pen, plus some colored pencils

I am uploading to:
Kraftin Kimmies : Scoopy Scallops

Cute Card Thursday : Sketch
Sentimental Sunday: Anything Goes
Fab N Funky : Recipe, 1 image, 2 embellishments, 3 papers
Do You Stack Up : Anything goes
Stamp Something: Flowers

Get Well Wishes

It seems like this time of year everyone is sick. A nasty sinus cold bug has been circulating thru my office. I am finally feeling like myself again after 4 long weeks of fighting it. Ugg! And the few people who have been lucky enough to not come down with it seem to sick & tired of the winter weather & grouchy over that. Not a fun place to be! LOL! (Is work ever a fun place?!)
So I thought it was a perfect timingto play along with the current challenge at Catch the Bug and at Aly's Sunday Challenge where the theme is "Get Well"

I can't wait to give this one away! I love how it turned out! The striped DP is DCWV, I used green, brown, tan & white cardstock, ink is CTMH in Pear, Dutch Blue, Sky & Tsukineko Brilliance in Coffee Bean, stamps (flowers & sentiment) are from The {Stamps} of Life & I colored the image w/ pencils & a blender dipped in the ink colors, then chalked the "sky" behind her. The sparkly flowers are from K & Co.
This sweet card is also being loaded onto the following:

CPS #206

CPS sketch #206
Totally Stampalicious color challenge: Brown, green & blue
Lexi's Creations Flowers
Sweet Stamps Flowers
Simon Says Stamps and Show Some stripes!

Happy Wednesday! One day closer to the weekend Woo Hoo!

One of those days!

I can really relate to this little Angry Ballerina from Kraftin Kimmies! I have had one of those days today! The challenge this week at Kraftin Kimmies Blog is a sketch, a fun one at that! For this sweet girl, I used a blender pen dipped in ink to color using CTMH Gypsy & SU Almost Amethyst for the purple colors & then Ranger Ind distressing ink in Mustard Seed & also some chalk for the yellows. Her hair is colored w/ chalks & I added glitter here & there because all tutu's should be sparkly! I used my cricut to cut the circles, Bazzill card stock, recollections tiny lavender pearls& I am not sure who the dotted papers are by- they both came out of my hoarders pile lol!
 I am also entering this over at Do You Stack Up? for challenge #7, Dots & at Crafty Sentiments where the challenge is to use Lemon & Lilac colors
Let's hope things are better tomorrow-otherwise I will be in trouble by Monday

I miss you beary much!

The sweet image is from Stamp Fairy & the sentiments are from The {Stamps} of Life. Bling is from Michael's I think. I colored him in w/ chalks & dipped a blender pen on the chalk & used to add a little dimension. Added glossy accent to the center of the flower & his cute lil nose. Ink is Dutch Blue from Close To My Heart

I made this lil cutie for my very bestest buddy that I grew up with. She lives all the way out in Montana(probably at least 700 miles away) & we only get to see each other once a year if we are lucky. Last year was not a lucky year :( so it has been a while. She is my sista from another mother lol! Our birthdays are only 3 days apart.
Any how... a very clean, simple card that fits into the following challenges:
Stamp Fairy white w/ a splash of color

The Crafty Ho's Brown & Blue w/ optional sketch (I came pretty close to it)
Lexi's Creations Bears (First time playing along here)

Walk Beside Me

I just love this sentiment! I found it thru Free Digital Stamps at Sentimental Sundays a few weeks ago & have been just waiting for the right inspiration to hit me so I could put it on a card. Lucky for me, it hit me last night lol! The over all "recipe" is this week's sketch at The Sweet Stop. At both Fab-N-Funky & Simon Says Stamp this week's challenge is to make your own embellishment- mine is the little butterfly. It is a rub on from Dooblebug & I applied it to plain paper, cut it out, added the little pearls to the middle & then glued a knotted scrap of embroidery floss behind for the "feelers". The top & bottom of the "framed" sentiment is a frame I cut out w/ my Cricut & then altered to fit. (not sure which cartridge I used-I have an envelope of stuff I cut out & hold on to until I need it) I am also entering this one on Going Grey w/ Scrap Creations where the challenge is Spring & at Kraftin Kimmies where this week's challenge is a recipe: 3 main colors, 2 patterned papers & 1 button. DP used: flowers Bo Bunny, Alissa Twirls & Basic Grey, Two Scoops, Very Berry Sundae; black & turquoise card stock, black pearls from Michaels, Prima flowers, embroidery floss, button from my huge hoarders bucket lol!

It's a Cupcake Kinda Day

I love this image from Bugaboo! Dottie is so sassy & sweet & fun. And she looks good in any color!

Today she is in pink (colored w/ chalks & a few highlight added w/ pencils)  & accompanied by bling topped cupcakes that I fussy cut from Imaginesce paper (All Kinds of Happy pack). The DP is: Basic Grey, 2 Scoops, in Very Berry & Sundae Swirl, & Imaginesce, All Kinds of Happy along with pink, white & a pink toned red cardstock (looks more red irl) I added glossy accent to the cherry on top of her cupcake & also to her lips, bling for ear rings, her bow center, on top of the little cupcakes & to accent the sentiment. Sentiment is computer generated (can't remember the font). To add just a little more dimension, I used pop dots behind Dottie & the small cupcakes. I also added some glitter to the frosting on her cupcake, makes it look a little like sparkly sprinkles LOL! 

Dottie & her cupcake up close

I have thrown this together for the following:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday

Sentimental Sundays use pink, red & white

Totally Stampalicious Bling, glitter, sparkly

Paper Take Weekly Puttin on the Glitz (1st time playing along here)

Craft Your Passion Pink

Stamping Vacation NO! no flowers

I admit it, I never really liked the Wizard of Oz

I know, I know... every kid is supposed to like the Wizard of Oz right?! I never did. I thought Dorothy was a little on the whiny side & quite honestly those flying monkeys FREAKED me out! LOL! I have to say though, I AM IN LOVE  with the new set of digi's A Little Bit of Oz over at Bugaboo! Super duper cute & guess what... No flying monkeys! hee hee!





I chose an actual line from the movie for my sentiment & typed it out using a font called Storybook. I colored the little sweetie in w/ chalks & then added a touch of glossy accent here & there to add a little shine to his tin.



Close up of sentiment. Could be a Valentine or a thank you for someone who did something extra sweet. Or even a "pick me up" card. I can't wait for a reason to give this guy away, but will be sad to see him go! I really liked how it turned out

 Very simple card, not too many supplies used. Sparkly paper came from a DCWV stack pack, black, grey, white cardstock & black pearls came from Michael's. I made him using this week's CPS sketch & for the Catch the Bug anything goes theme.
I am also posting to:
Stamp Something "Something for your Valentine"
Crafty Cardmakers  "Hearts"

A little bit western





OK, so I am not sure why this sentiment from Stamp Fairy hit me with an old school western vibe.. maybe it is the circular shape & the stars that make it look a little like a concho.. maybe it was just one of those days where planets were in a certain alignment & western was in the air, maybe it was something the kids were watching on TV. Who knows! So I took that whim of inspiration & this is what I did with it



DP: faux leather unknown, denim blue from scrap pile, stars My Minds Eye,

I did a basting stitch in the lace & then pulled it to make it bunch up into the circle shape then I stitched it to the sentiment & glued the entire piece onto the card front. I colored the angel in w/ my pencils & used a silver glitter gel pen on her wings. This card is for Stamp Fairy Challenge where the challenge was to use ribbon, lace & hearts & no pink or red and the sketch "recipe" is from The Sweet Stop . I am also posting at Fab-n-Funky where the challenge is "Tempting Texture"

With a happy heart

I absolutely fell in love with this image as soon as I saw it! I have been checking out the links on Free Digital Stamps whenever I get a chance since digi stamping is so new to me & I am kinda a little obsessed with it (ok a lot obsessed.. I am LOVING it!) and I just KNEW that this one was perfect for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch. She is from My Grafico. I also stepped out of my box a little & tried a new technique for coloring. I used a blender pen & "dipped" it on an ink pad & then colored. Very fun!


Sentiment is from Hero Arts, the hearts are from The {Stamps} of Life. I used Ranger Ind distressing ink in Firebrick & several colors from CTMH to color in the image, DP in My Minds Eye. I chalked the background in greys & blues to make it look like a gloomy rainy day & then added glossy accent to look like rain drops falling & dripping down the umbrella. Finally I added some firey red glitter glue to the heart in her hand



I am also entering on:
Stamp Something where it is "Digi Days"
Totally Stampalicious where the challenge is 3 hearts
The Crafty Ho's Where they have a "love" theme
Sentimental Sundays "Love + a sentiment"
Do You Stack Up where the theme is "Red Hot"
Bee Crafty "Love"
Catch the Bug "Anything goes"
My Grafico "Anything goes"
Crazy 4 Challenges C4C73, "Valentine's Day Card"
Cardmadfairy's Digi Challenge "Romance"

Seeing Red!

Wow! Can you believe that Valentine's Day is next week?! Wasn't it just Christmas! LOL! Seems that time just flies by! Valentine's Day is not a big thing at my house, in fact most years it gets overlooked. Having my blog & searching out all of these fun challenges has really put me in the "mood" to celebrate it this year!

This creation was inspired when I found the sentiment on Sentimental Sundays which I found through Free Digital Stamps. (Let me tell you, this blog is awesome!) I instantly saw lots of red glitter & flames or swirls every where! (the flames didn't turn out how I saw in my mind so they got scrapped!) I used: Bazzil cardstock in Ruby Slipper, DP is My Minds Eye (except for the red hearts, it came from my scrap pile), red glitter glue, the swirls & the hearts are stamps from The {Stamps} of Life, the bling is from my stock pile, flower is Prima, Glossy Accent, chalks, & I applied Ranger Ind distressing ink in Firebrick behind the words love & fire using a blender pen.

Challenges that inspired me:

Do You Stack Up? Red Hot!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday

The Crafty Ho's "Love Theme"

The Creative Cowgirls "Love is in the Air"

Kraftin Kimmies Seeing Red

Bee Crafty "Love"

Stamp Something "Digi Days"

Sentimental Sundays "Love"

By the Cute & Girly "Red"

Crazy4Challenges "Valentines Day"

Oh, For the Love of Coffee!

Ok, so I admit it.. I do so LOVE my coffee! The very smell of it makes me smile & feel a little giddy. So when I was sitting last night very uninspired & thinking I would just go to bed early & forget about the challenges I wanted to play in I looked one more time thru my images that I had in front of me & BAM! the idea for this card hit me:

The super sassy image of Ruby(colored w/ pencils & then chalked around edges) is from Bugaboo If you get a chance pop over there & check out the great Freebies Jodie is offering from her new Wizrd of Oz collection-very cute! The sentiment I printed out using Microsoft Publisher (can't remember the font) the brown dp is from My Minds Eye & the blue is a scrap from my stash from year's ago.. not sure where it came from. The ribbon is off of a Christmas package (reuse!) and of the course the coffee beans are from my pantry lol!

The challenges that helped inspire me are:

CPS #203

Sketch from CPS

Theme "Friends" at Going Grey with Scrap-Creations

Colors "Chocolate & Blue" at Fab -n- Funky (this is my first time playing along w/ them-I just found them)

And then "reduce & re-use" challenge at Kraftin Kimmies (also my first time playing along-my reuse items are the blue dp, ribbon & the coffee beans-but I have been casing the blog for a while) Oh & if you hurry, drop by  Kraftin Kimmies Stamps before the end of the day.. It is Kimmies birthday & she is offering a discount! Yippee! Happy birthday Kimmie! (BTW.. I will be celebrating that milestone next year:))

I'm on a roll! ATC #2

So now that I know what an ATC is, I have decided I REALLY like them! SO much fun! And so easy to knock out fast (of course that is once I get a general direction/idea in my head lol!) I am so glad that the gals at Catch The Bug had this for the challenge this week. So here is my second shot at an ATC:

Products used: card stock, colored pencils, super sweet image from Bugaboo & sentiment from The {Stamps} of Life. I broke out some of my old sewing supplies to distress the paper: a seam ripper for the edges & a tracing wheel to add faux stitching on the light tan panel. I glittered the edges of the navy after I distressed w/ the seam ripper-this looks much better in person

I am also uploading to the following:
Going Grey w/ Scrap-Creations where the theme this week is "friends"
The Crafty Ho's where the theme is "no patterned/design paper"
Crafty Sentiments Where the challenge is to use a bear on your card
One Stop Craft Challenge Where they are doing an ATC Challenge also

WOO HOO! Tomorrow's Friday! :)

ATC's Oh Boy!



SO here is something new! I had never even heard of ATC's (Artist trading cards) until this week's challenge at Catch The Bug. How fun! These sweet little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 cards are a blast to play with however I learned very quickly that the little space can be a bit difficult to fill with my big ideas! This is not quite what I had envisioned, but close!

OK, so this was not only a try at something new but it was a great way to use stuff from my stash pile. I honestly have no idea where any of the supplies came from. The image is from Bugaboo (one of my fave's!) & I colored in w/ pencils



The "recipe" is this weeks sketch at The Sweet Stop

I am also posting at The Creative Cowgirls Where the challenge is "love is in the air"

and at Bee Crafty where the the theme is "hearts"