Good Bye Summer.....

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! It's a good day here, because it's Friday however I'm just a little sad..... so hard to believe it is the LAST Friday of the summer. WHERE DID TIME GO? Seems like I didn't have nearly as much play time this summer & have worked way too much. Guess I will have to make up for it by playing extra hard this winter....

Ok, now on to the business at hand ;) I don't get to make baby cards very often, so it was quite fun to get the chance to make one. In fact, I will need to make a second one soon lol! two different friends of the family have announced grand babies coming soon. For this one, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to do & it took just a little work with positioning to get it to translate onto cardstock. I really wanted to have the baby peeking out of the buggy & was going to merge the images, but then I thought it would be way cuter to punch a window & have the baby on the inside of the card

here is the inside. the "congrats" sentiment is from a {Stamps} of Life set

The baby buggy is a digi I found online when I first started using digi's & I did not save where I found it.. sorry. it is a cute one & I had fun coloring it. the sweet bunting baby image is from Bugaboo. Have you checked out their new website? Lots of very cool stuff going on there! All the papers are from my scrap pile & I have no clue who they are by. The sentiment stamp on the front is from a Studio G set.

here is a view of the enter front

I am entering on the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp, anything goes. Oh my goodness, before I forget..they are also having a big celebration with a blog hop & some absolutely  FABBY b;log candy & prizes!!!! be sure to check them out!!
Going Grey with Scrap Creations, Finish the inside of your card
Make it Monday, anything goes + linky party
Cute Card Thursday, use at least 1 punch
Stamp Something, Digi days

And one last little tid bit of fun... Head on over to the Lili of the Valley blog Ideas to Inspire. They are getting ready to release a new Christmas set & they are giving away 2 stamps every day for the next 5 days! HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

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.

Happiness

This is the last birthday card I needed to make for all the office birthdays this month. When I saw this incredibly adorable image called Shire at Mo's Digital Pencil I knew it would be PERFECT for this person.


I used my pencils to color the main part of the image using the Gamsol method & then used markers for the fence, grass & to add a little dimension to the dirt. Then I used chalk ink for the dirt & the cloudy sky. The sentiment is a rub on, i believe by Making memories 



The challenge last week at Crazy4challenges was to make a Joy fold card & even tho I wasn't able to get in on the challenge, I really wanted to try it since I haven't made a lot of cards w/ specialty folds. How fun! This week's sketch at CPS fit perfect w/ the idea I had in mind for the front of this card

Here is the inside



For the inside, I cropped the main image down to focus on their sweet faces, used a circle punch & then doodled around it. I was trying to do a bit of a barbed wire look w/ it to keep w/ the country/western horsey theme.



close up.  I forgot to add the sentiment inside before I photographed :(   It read:  "Wishing you a day filled with all the things that bring you happiness & joy. Happy Birthday".   I attached it to the right of the girl & horse image.

So I was very good & got all the info together on the makers of the dp because I used so many different patterns & then I left my little sticky note at home on my craft desk :(  I am pretty sure the double sided brown swirl/lt blue is American Crafts, I know the horse is a Debbie Mumm design but I can't remember the company, & the word DP on the inside I really can't remember.

I really really love how this card turned out! & my co-worker/friend just loved it too! YAY! I think I will definitely be making more joy fold cards in the future!

I am playing along with the following:

CPS, Sketch

Cardmadfairys, Girly

Divas By Design, Summer

The Spotted Chick, TKT#52

Make it Monday, Anything goes + linky party

Totally Stampalicious, Anything goes

and for the first time, I followed the recipe- My ingredients are in blue

The Catered Crop

Here's your FTR17 recipe. With the combined ingredients, it's almost an anything goes challenge, so have fun!

• Colors – red, white, green, blue, gray, kraft
• Stamps and Stickers – strawberries, sentiment, aliens/monsters, scientists or science subjects
• Patterns – Circles, checked/gingham, scallops
• Color Mediums – markers (ProMarker, Copics, White Signo Pen)
• Embellishments – clear gloss, glitter, charms, brads, ribbon
• Tools – corner rounder punch, border punch, die cut shapes
• Techniques – faux stitching, doodling/drawing, make an easel card
• Theme – birthday, just hello/because

Wow What a Week!

I have been so crafty this week! And I have actually been able to steal a few minutes here & there to actually post what I've made! yay! The last few weeks have been kind of hard, busy, & un-inspired so it REALLY feels sooo good to back at my craft desk. So here is my second card for the day:

Its for my nephew's 17th birthday this weekend. I'm glad that July is near an end because I have had A LOT of birthday cards to make! I think only 1 or 2 more to go. My son's birthday is tomorrow (he is pretty happy that he is the older one between him & my nephew.. by 1 whoppin day lol!) and he is not a sentimental kind of kid so I gave up on giving him any kind of card at any time. The cake image was a freebie I found on Dustin Pike's blog... He has some very fun stuff! both dp's are Imaginesce. I inked around the edges of the circle piece w/ some Navy Martha Stewart ink. I colored a second candle & applied it over the other w/ foam tape just for fun.

I got my start with the Mojo Monday sketch #200, but used the mini clothes pins in place of the bow... figured it would up the "manly" factor lol! I am also going to play along at The Pixie Cottage where the theme is Fun with Food & at Card Makin Mamas where the theme is Food & Drink.

So that's it for me! Have a great weekend everyone! And hopefully I can keep up this momentum for next week too!

Cozy Winter Wishes

This sweet image reminds me of the pure, simple joy Christmas brought when I was a kid. My sister & I would turn all the lights off in the house & lay under the tree to watch the lights reflect off the limbs and the ceiling. (the tinsel too..remember the good ole tinsel from the 70's?!!! Couldn't put it too close to the lights or it would melt to them)
 Good times!

It's Friday YAY!! But also a little sad :( I have been having a lot of fun this week playing along with the Christmas in July mini challenges at Catch the Bug (today is anything goes) & I now have 5 more holiday cards in my file for this December. WOO HOO! I really like how this simple card turned out so I do believe I will be making a few more very similar. I may actually end up with enough homemade cards for my entire holiday card list this year! Hee Hee.... I have been pressed for time the past few years, so I have not sent out as many cards as I really wanted.
So on to the details! The sweet image is by Jodie over at Bugaboo, I colored with my Bic markers & then sponged a little chalk ink around him. I used some liquid applique for the "fuzzy" parts on the hat & the cuffs, added a chunk of ribbon, then added a little rub-on for the sentiment. The dp came from the same pack, but once again, I failed to pay attention to who it was by..I promiss to be better :)

I am also playing along with:

CPS, Their great CAS sketches work well with my crafting style
The Spotted Chick, That's Krafty Thursday #52
Sassy Studio Designs, Dare to be Sassy Thursday #82, CAS

Don't be surprised if you see me back again today... I have been on a creative spree this week! If not, HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!