Busy! Busy! What Else Is New?

I looked to see when I blogged last. It's been over a week! It was rather crazy last week. I was trying to get  stuff together for a 4 day scrapbook/spiritual retreat. It's always hard for me to figure out what I want to take to work on so I end up taking WAY MORE than I use. Once again I didn't get to 75 percent of what I took. I have got to come up with a better system and more realistic expectations! I did not get as much done this trip as I have in the past but I did get some done so I will choose to call that successful. If nothing else it was a time of refreshing for me and that's a good thing. This retreat is different and not part of my LSS (Cat's Creations Scrapbooks) retreats that I participate in. There is no store to raid and no new product to buy while I'm there so I have to be sure to have all I need when I go. Also although internet was available I was having a terrible time trying to just check email and FB much less my blog!

It's WOW Wednesday over at Cat's Blog.  She is giving away blog candy to a random participant or commenter. All you have to do to be eligible is to post a project that you have created. You can use your blog or online gallery such as Flickr or Splitcoaststampers. If you use your blog be sure to mention WOW Wednesday in your post and let your readers know that blog candy will be given away to a random participant or commenter. 

I have managed to create something since I've been home. I needed a birthday card for a friend whose birthday is Friday. I was feeling a bit brain dead so I checked my favorite place for card sketches for some inspiration (Operation Write Home). Here's the sketch I used.

Here is my card.

For this card I used Authentique's birthday line. These were scraps from a page layout I did. The stamp I think I picked up at a $1 bin. I colored the butterfly with my Copic Markers.

Before I left for the retreat I stopped at the store to pickup some last minute card stock and other items. New product had arrived at the store from Carta Bella  "Alphabet Junction". I knew this paper would work perfect with the pics I had of my granddaughter Kennedy of her first day at "Mother's Day Out".

 For the left side of this layout I used last week's sketch #334 from Sketch Inspiration.

Here is the right side.

I went on a couple of walks while I was at the retreat. It's good for stretching my legs and clearing my head! Here is a sampling of some of the photos I took.

The first day I walked the sky was full of white fluffy clouds making for great scenic backgrounds!

Saw lots of beautiful horses. That of course made me smile!

There is something about seeing a road like this that bids me come walk it to see where it goes. What you can't see is the gate I shot this picture through holding me at bay. This road was on private property.

This is the property that road belong to. That road was to the right of this gate way. I try not to drool every time I walk by this place. It's kind of like my dream of a country place.

Here is another view. Isn't it beautiful?!

Saw these little beauties along the road.

As I was walking, I heard the sound of galloping. I peered through the trees and discovered this!

I'll share more in another blog. Don't forget to hop over to Cat's blog and link up or at least check out the ones who have. You'll be inspired! Have a good one!.

You Are A Deer

Hello Bloggers!

It's time for a new sketch at Seems A Little Sketchy!

This challenge #20 is sponsored by My Grafico. Their images are just adorable. For my card I chose the deer.

The brown background is Bazzill Dotted Swiss. The DP is left overs from a scrapbook layout. It is MME "So Sophie" collection from a couple of years ago (I think. I tend to lose track!). I colored the deer with my Copic markers and added a googly eye. I also popped the deer with an action wobble. The ribbon was from my stash. I plan to give this card to Operation Write Home. I think a hero would love sending this card to their little boy or girl.


This will be my last appearance as an August Guest Designer. This was my first time to do something like this. It has been fun!

Have a good one!

Hot Days Make for Creativity

I'm an "outdoor" kind of girl but our 100+  degree days are keeping me inside where its cool...therefore more crafting is taking place! I may get scarce when fall comes! I had been wanting to make some "masculine" cards for OWH. Each month Our Daily Bread Designs has a card challenge. For every 50 cards made they ship for free 2 boxes of handmade cards to our Heroes! August's Challenge is Masculine cards. For this card I used a Stampin Up image and sentiment. Papers were scraps of card stock and Bo Bunny (I think) or maybe Fancy Pants. I used sketch#133 from OWH.

I really liked this card! Probably because it has a horse on it! I used the same sketch just flipped it because I wanted the horse to look in to the sentiment and not out. The image and sentiment is also Stampin Up. I was thrilled to see a horse stamp set and I had to buy it! Once again I used scraps left from page layouts. These papers are Echo Park. To give the card a little dimension I put chipboard behind the horse and added some twine for the look of rope.

I had fun making this card. This card is for Digi Haven's Challenge Yummy in my tummy. I LOVE strawberries so when I ran across this little guy from Elizabeth O. Dulemba. She has some great free digital images for all sorts of crafting or children's projects. I recently made another card for last weeks Digi Haven Challenge which was to make a card for school. I used a squirrel image. You can see it here.  Elizabeth Dulemba highlighted my card! I was surprised and thrilled! You can see that here. For this card I used more scraps. I believe this is "Little Girl" Paperie. I came up with my own sentiment and stamped with my "Just Rite" 25pt Times Roman Alpha stamps. After cutting out the words, I inked with a Powder Puff Midnight Confession and popped with foam tape. I colored the strawberry with my copic markers and cut him out. For fun I popped him with a wobble action. I was going to put googly eyes too but I didn't have any small enough.

You can see here the wobble action spring under Mr. Strawberry.

I've also been creating some page layouts. I'm trying very hard to get Kennedy's "1st year" completed. She's about 7 months old here. I used My Mind's Eye new collection called "The Sweetest Thing" - Honey. I also used sketches out of Sketch Inspiration's Sketch books volume 1 & 2.

A little closer look.

I managed to get these done while at the birthday crop for Cathy & the store (Cat's Creations). She bought the store 8 years ago on her birthday! What a present! I've been to every birthday celebration and I've worked 6 of those 8 years! It has been a blast and looking forward to many more!

On that note...it's WOW Wednesday over at Cat's Blog. Hop on over and see some fabulous creations by our customers. If you have a blog...link up so we can see your work. You don't have to have a blog to leave a comment and have a chance to win some great prizes! Have a good one!

Samples of New Product

Wednesday sure rolls around in a hurry! I've been feverishly working to complete some layouts using new product from the store (Cat's Creations) to give you some inspiration. Bear in mind, even I need help with inspiration so I go to my excellent source Sketch Inspiration.

For this layout I used last week's sketch #331. (I'm caught up again!) The papers I used are Carta Bella's "Paris Girl" by Samantha Walker.  Here's a couple of photos for a closer look

Left side

Me and my granddaughters Remi and Kennedy.

Right side

Everything you see can be purchased at the store.

For  this layout I used two sketches from Sketch Inspiration. Sketch #117 and #128. These are from volume 1 of the sketch book. You can also buy those at the store.

Left side

My granddaughters again. We were at my youngest niece's high school graduation. Great time to get family pictures!

Right side

Another source of inspiration are the customers at the Store. Today is WOW Wednesday at Cat's Creations Blog. Do you have a blog? Link up at Cat's Creations blog and show your creativity. Cat is offering blog candy for those who participate and you don't have to have a blog to do it! It's a win, win!

Hope you're having a great Wednesday. See ya at the store!

On Your First Day

Digi Haven's challenge this time was a real challenge for me! This challenge is called "Back to School". We are to find a free digital image that is "forever free" or is "free" as long as the challenge is in process.

 I have never sent or received any cards for school. I wanted to participate but I really had to think about it. There is, of course (as always) some great inspiration provided by the DT! One of those is a good friend of mine. She had mentioned that she had gotten her free digital image from Elizabeth O. Dulemba. Elizabeth has many GREAT digitals for coloring!

I decided to use "Back to school Squirrel".

The papers are from We R Memory Keepers "Show & Tell" Collection". I had these papers left over from a mini-album class I did at my LSS Cat's Creations Scrapbooks a year or two ago.

These are the copic markers I used on the image.

I wasn't sure how the card was going to come together but once I found the papers I got excited! Then I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for a sentiment. Hmmm...I was stumped again. A sentiment came to mind but I wasn't sure how I was going to put it on the card. I have some Just Rite very small alphabet stamps I could use but I really didn't want to go to that much trouble. Then I remember I had very small sticker words thanks to Authentique's stickers they include with their collections! It worked! The only word I didn't have was "your". If you look close you can see where I spliced together to sticker words to get the one I wanted!

Maybe not the prettiest or cutest card I ever made but I'm pleased with my final result! Hope you are too! Now to figure out who will be the recipient of this card!

Have a good one!

Seems A Little Sketchy #19

I am so excited to be chosen as a August Guest Designer for Seems A Little Sketchy.  This two week challenge is sponsored by Stamping Dragon Designs and The Robin's Nest. There are some goodies up for grabs but you have to enter to be eligible. Here's sketch #19.

 Here's my card.

The image I chose was "Jiggy goes to the pool". I wanted to put "Jiggy" on the beach so I used a combination of embossing powders (Chunky white Embossing enamel, Aged taupe embossing enamel and silver crashed glass glitter all from Stampendous) to make the beach on this card. I colored Jiggy with my copic markers YG03 and Y21. Jiggy's inner tube I colored with R24. The beach ball I colored with Y08, B28, Y68. I used glossy accents on the inner tube and beach ball. The DP I used is Little Yellow Bicycle's "Splash" Collection. The dark blue card stock is Worldwin Metallic Saphire. The sentiment is a Unity stamp but I don't recall what set it's from. I finished off the card with dew drops.

Thank you for stopping by to visit.  Why don't you hop on over to Seems A Little Sketchy and join us for this the current challenge.

Have a good one!

Top 3!

Oh my goodness! For the second time I have made the "Top 3" at Digi Haven! I am so surprised! I feel very honored as there are SO MANY talented crafters out there! Although I am getting more comfortable with entering my creations in card challenges I still feel very much like a "rookie"! There is something very deep and personal about sharing your own creativity. There is still just a twinge of insecurity in me that wonders if anyone will like what I do! Silly, I know, but its the truth. I'm still letting Father God work on that one!

Here's a layout that I did this afternoon. These are some pics of my granddaughter Kennedy when she was 7 months old. Yep...I still haven't scrapbooked all the pics I have. I've done some along the way so I'm not totally behind. Since she is my first I kinda went overboard taking pics. I took pictures almost everyday of her first year! I'm getting better about being more selective of the pics I take.

Cathy asked me to make some pages to put up in the store showcasing the new paper. This is Authentique's "Baby Girl" collection. I just love this because the papers are very versatile and can be used for any layout. There are some "baby" specific stickers but the paper is generic. The letters I used for the title came with this collection. At the bottom of the layout is a quote which reads "She is my joy and heart's delight" by Robert Weaver. This quote is on the strip that contains the bar code on each paper. Authentique does this on each collection. I think that is pretty cool! To help with my creativity I used this weeks sketch #332 from Sketch Inspiration.

Thanks for visiting! If you like what you see leave me a comment! Have a good one!

O is for Open it Up

ABC Christmas Challenge is "O" for Open it Up. This challenge was to decorate the inside of a card. I wanted to do something a little different than a traditional card so I went to my favorite source for ideas Splitcoaststampers. This card is called a "Double Z fold".

Here is the card closed. The DP is We R Christmas Collection last year. The ribbon is crepe. I didn't have the right color so I used my Copic Marker to color it to match my card. The ornament diecut is a Tim Holtz Alterations die.

I didn't do much to decorate on the inside. I stamped the sentiment and embossed it. Then used a scalloped punch. I used bling on the sentiment. Once again I didn't have the right color so used clear bling and colored with my Copic Marker to match and tied the gold ribbon at the top. It reminds me of a Christmas wreath.

Here is a close up of the inside. The sentiment reads "Christmas is the simple joy of giving."  I am entering this card in the ABC Christmas Challenge: O is for Open it up. 

Last night on my way home from church I couldn't resist stopping to snap a few pics of the moon. I don't know why I am so fascinated by it. I only had the camera on my cell phone but I was surprised at how well the pictures turned out. I just love God's handy work! I knew of a windmill not far out of my way so I drove there to see if I could get the windmill with the moon in the background.

If only I had thought to park further up the road so my truck wasn't in the picture!

Then I turned around and saw more of God's handy work. Oh, my what a wonderful artist He is and I'm such a sucker for sunsets! I have enough pictures of sunsets to fill a room in my house with scrapbooks full!

Taking photos of sunsets (or sunrises) is kind of like eating potato chips. You take just one! Or at least I can't! And just when I think I'm through I start to leave, look again and the colors have changed. It is so fun to watch the Master Artist paint on the sky like a canvas!

One more shot of the moon before I go home. I just loved this view through the fence.

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you liked my card and hope you got a little inspiration today! Have a good one!

 

You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

This lyric has been going through my mind for several days. I thought it would make a great sentiment for a card but I needed the right image. Well...I found it!  I made this card using Seems A Little Sketch sketch#18.

Here is my card

I got this adorable little mouse at Cruzines. I colored her with my Copic Markers. I used Distress Stickles "Picket Fence" for the ruffle on her dress and put a bling in her bow. The papers are from Authentique's "Lively" Collection. The ribbon was from my stash. This card just makes me smile! I am entering this card in SALS Challenge.

Now....I have some big news! I have been chosen to be a guest designer for SALS in August! Yep! Little ole' me! I am thrilled and nervous all at once! SALS put out a call for guest designers. The thought had crossed my mine but I dismissed it just as quickly.  Then I talked to my friend Sandy T. She encouraged me to do it. I have my card made for the first challenge but you'll have to wait to see it.

This card I made using a sketch from Paper Take Weekly #70.

Here is my card using this sketch

I got this adorable little puppy from Sliekje digi Stamps. I just love her images and I appreciate so much her sharing them. I made this card a 6x6 as the sketch wasn't working for me on an A2 size card. I colored the mage with my copic markers. The paper is some old Bo Bunny I had. The brads I've had for years. The ribbon I found in my stash. The sentiment is a Unity stamp but I don't have a clue what set it came with. I am entering this card in Papertake's Weekly Challenge and Digi Haven: It's a Dogs World Challenge.

It's WOW Wednesday at Cat's Creations Blog. You have a chance to win some goodies if you mention her and link up your site. You might even find some inspiration there! I always do! Not to mention the wonderful people I have met and made friends with!

I got a call from my Lil' Peanut this afternoon. She said "I want to see you. Come see me!" Of course I dropped what I was doing! We colored and played. On my way home I noticed the moon. It's not quite full but looks full. I love how it looks this time of year. I stopped to snap this picture.

Lovely end to a great day....

Have a good one!