Floral Thank you

I know that I have told Y'all before just how much I love being a club member of The {Stamps} of Life. It is SOOOO much fun getting brand spankin' new rubba in the mail the first of every month. But I have to admit, I have been bad lately. Some how this summer has turned into the craziest, busiest ever & for the past few months, the new stamps have came in, been lovingly placed on my craft desk  & then not touched again. So sad! So when the opportunity came up to craft last night, I had to reach for my August set to redeem myself before the month was over! And here is what I came up with

The set is called branches4flowers & boy was it a fun set to play with & it has a ton of great sentiments with it. I used CTMH ink in Gypsy & new England Ivy as well as a lavender colored chalk ink that I picked up at Michael's for the flowers & the leaves. I inked the edges first in Vintage Photo distress ink & then I went over it w/ a sand colored chalk ink to blend it in & give it the look I wanted. I still am working on my technique- haven't quite got the sponging down the way I would like it to be. I cut a few of the larger flowers out, bent the edges a bit & then glued them on for a bit more dimension. I love how it turned out! 

The ribbon is some I picked up at Walmart & the little half pearls are Recollections from Michael's. I used black, white & lavender.
I am entering this on the following challenges:

CPS, (their sketch this week is sponsored by The {Stamps} of Life, play along to win some!
The Spotted Chick, Thats Krafty Thursday #53
Make it Monday, Anything Goes + linky party
Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge, Thank you
Stamp Something, Thank you
Do You Stack Up, thank you
The Poodles Parlour, Anything goes

Here is the entire set, go to The {Stamps} of Life to check it out plus all the other great sets Stephanie has. They are WONDERFUL quality, stamp great the first time out & are clear so you can see where you are putting them! And as a bonus, the price is fantastic!

For the Love of a Fur Baby

I'm not sure why I decided that I needed to add a heeler to my family. I don't know who told me that they were wonderful, smart dogs. All I do know is that they are WAY different from the black lab that we had before.... My sweet little fur baby has been with me for a little over 3 years now & let me tell you there were days when I wasn't sure if he would make it with our family! If you have never had the pleasure of being in the "pack" of a heeler then you are not going to relate. OMGosh, it is a different world! If they are bored, or unhappy, everyone is unhappy & they will find ways to keep themselves occupied & the activities they find on their own are not always family approved! (I believe as a pup my guy chewed thru 4 garden hoses & could not keep the stuffing inside any bed I ever brought home for him) But now I have a special friend who wants to mind & behave -after that initial rush of excitement that he is no longer alone..no one has EVER been so happy to see me! And I am truly the center of his world.

I fell in love with the Bronte images at Mo's Digital Pencil because they remind me so much of my Rhett. Of course he hasn't quite acquired the stocky body yet, but the looks Mo captures are spot on for his personality. The challenge this week at Mo's Digital Challenge is to make an easel card w/ an animal on it so I had to use one w/ Bronte

I tried really hard to get my coloring to match my baby's markings, not sure I hit the mark, but came close!

Here is a close up of him & here is the "real" baby

The sentiment is from Create with TLC, I just cut it into sections & then popped up on circles that I punched out & put together to mimic the circles on the DP

I am also entering on :

Sweet Stop, the front panel was inspired by this week's sketch

Stamp Something, Digi days

Make it Monday, anything goes

The Crafty Ho's, last challenge :( Anything goes

Quickie Card

I love it so much when an idea comes together & I especially love it when it comes together quickly! I needed a quick lil sumthin sumthin to pop in the mail & wanted to play along with a couple challenges while I was at it & YAY! here it is!

I colored little miss Cherry w/ my pencils & then blended w/ paper stumps & some goo gone. I used my markers on the cherries & the basket

I recently found some great digi stamps that I LOVE, by Mo Manning. Oh my gosh, I could spend an entire pay check on her images! They are all too sweet-I especially love her Bronte images, they remind me so much of my stinky, hairy Red Heeler fur baby Rhett! I will be coloring up some of those later, can't wait! So any how there is a challenge blog for her stuff Bronte & Bellas Challenge & the challenge this week is something sweet but it must be food related. How sweet is lil miss Cherry?! I am head over heels for this image (this is the second card I've made using her)

I used this weeks Sweet Stop Sketch for a starting point & the DP is from DCWV Sweet pad. The sentiment is from a DCWV Friends sticker pad. I am also playing along with Make It Monday, anything goes & ABC Challenge, A is for auburn.