It's Just Me

Red Solo Cup and a tropical card

2012-02-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

For my first card, I used the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 152

and the inspiration for the Scrapbookers Paradise Ponderings challenge which is to include song lyrics or title as the text, title or theme of an project.

Well, I could have picked many, many songs. The song I picked was one my children introduced me to on the country western station--Red Solo Cup. Yes, folks, there is an actual song about the beloved (?) red solo cup. lol

My card:

PPC53, SSSD152

Inside says: Let's have a party! Happy Birthday. Everything but the Happy Birthday is lyrics from the song. Gotta love country music.

My second card is for the Ribbon Carousel Challenge 40 sketch

and the Old Back Porch 52 pick--week 6.

My card:

RCC40

I'm thinking I really need the new ribbon machine that came out at CHA that cuts and fuses the ends of ribbon all at one time.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Grey Rose

2012-02-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

My card for tonight will be a valentine for my hubby. I used the colors from the picture inspiration from the Inspired By #10 challenge

and the sketch from the My Favorite Things Challenge #58

and came up with my card

MFTWSC58, Inspired by #10

The red heart is a 3D heart I made by punching lots of hearts, folding them in half, and glueing the halves together, then fanning them out in a flat honeycomb type formation. It looks pretty neat to me.

Thanks for looking and good night.

Couldn't sleep so I made cards

2012-02-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time sleeping and I can't just lay in bed so I made two more cards.

The first card is a simple card for the Lawnscaping Challenge #27 with a photo inspiration (I was inspired by the red and hearts)

and the Simon Says Challenge of Love in the Air (heart represents love) and for the Simply Handmade facebook page (it's a valentine).

My card:

I've discovered the joy of embossing folders. I definitely need to get more of those little babies. Love the ease of use and the added texture they give to a card.

My next card is for the Alley Way stamp challenge.

I was inspired by the bright and fun patterned quilt on the bed. I found the image and sentiment under their freebies on their blog and colored it with my copics. Don't you just love the pun? lol When I read it, I knew I had to make a card with it.

TAWS #1

Thanks for looking. I'm off to bed to try to get some sleep. Have a good night.

Rock star and an old lady

2012-02-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

I don't think you can go any farther in different directions than a rockstar theme and an old lady theme for cards. lol

My first card is using Lisa Somerville's Blogger's Challenge of the theme In Bloom and the Mojo Monday 227 sketch.

My card:

Mojo227 (outside)

Mojo227 (inside)

What does the old lady have to do with an In Bloom theme? Well, she's in her second "bloom" of youth, of course! lol I hope when I get really old, I'll have the gumption and self-confidence to get on the pony ride outside of a store and have fun without a thought of what other people think.

My second card is my rockstar card. I used the inspiration piece for the Inspiration Hop on stampTV hosted by Gina K stamps.

Isn't it a gorgeous painting? The first thing that struck me were the rich, deep colors of the painting. Love those colors so that was the inspiration I used for my card.

I also used the sketch on Unscripted Sketches 145.

My card:

Although I'm not the rock and roll type, I do love this stamp set. It's not as "rock n roll grunge" as I would have liked it, but it's a good step outside my comfort zone.

Blogger's Challenge closes in 4 more days.

Inspiration blog closes Monday.

Unscripted Sketches posts a new sketch every Saturday.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Ribbon Carousel Challenge and giveaway info

2012-02-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

I am a little ribbon inept. lol For some unknown reason, I have a difficult time using ribbon. It's either too wide or too thin, not the right color or design, too sheer or not sheer enough. I'm bound and determined to break through my "ribbon wall". I have tons of ribbon and I need to use it! When I came across the Ribbon Carousel challenge blog, I figured this would be perfect to make a break through.

This week's Ribbon Carousel Challenge is "anything goes." Great way to start off. I usually start off with picking my paper, but since my ribbon is what gives me trouble, I started with that and I was on my way.

rcc39

I made this card for a masculine birthday. Nothing fancy with the ribbon, but it's there and not sitting in a box in my craftroom. Gotta take baby steps, you know? :)

By the way, Create is giving away a Ribbon Carousel and Whisker Graphic's Middy Bitty Bags! Head on over to the Create blog for all the details. You have until Wednesday, 12 am MST, to enter so what are you waiting for?

Thanks for looking!

Wee Memories Purge Giveaway

2012-02-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Jenny Suchin at Wee Memories is having a craft room purge giveaway. The prize package is worth over $50 and includes stamps, ribbon and lots of goodies! You have until the end of tonight at 11:59 PST to enter so hurry and click on the link: Craft Room Purge giveaway.

JUGS and Runway Inspired card

2012-02-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

I love blue and when I saw the Runway Inspired Challenge picture this week, blue is the first thing I noticed.

Then I saw the awesome sketch for the Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge

and I knew the two were meant for each other. I have to admit that this one is one of my favorite cards. I love how the flower turned out and the colors are a perfect match for the paper.

JUGS122

I took the color blue from the inspiration photo as well as the blocks. If you look closely at the model's blouse, it has a block pattern to it. I also used the airy, dainty look which inspired me to make the lace edge border thanks to a new EK Success punch.

Thanks for looking. If I can get rid of this sinus headache, I might have another card to post.

House Mouse card

2012-02-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

House Mouse has always been one of my favorite stamps. They are just so cute! I have to be careful because I find it very difficult to pass on a House Mouse stamp.

This card is for two challenges: Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is an animal antic theme and Scrapbooker's Paradise Challenge (PPC52) with this sketch:

I picked my two favorite House Mouse stamps I owned and came up with this card:

Love that saying! It brings a smile to my face everytime I see it which is why both of these stamps on a wall display in my craftroom.

Thanks for looking and good night.

Dress card

2012-02-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

After spending a weekend scrapping with my friends out of town, I am full of inspiration. I truly love spending time with friends that understand the fun of being creative and who all have different styles and tastes. It helps me step outside of my comfort zone and try something new which is the same reason I love challenges.

The card for today is for the Stepping Stones Design challenge #113 (SSD113) with this sketch:

and the Inspired by #9 picture challenge.

I took the dress shop window as my inspiration as well as the color red and the very leggy Minnie who is definitely "hot stuff" being all dressed up and ready for a party.

SSD113

This card is also for the 52 Card pickup challenge on the Old Back Porch blog.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

One more card for the day

2012-02-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

This is a three-fer card. Yep, I challenged myself to combine three challenges together to make one great card. I am entering this card in the CAS-ual Friday challenge (CFC37) for the sketch, the Stampin' Sisterhood's color challenge (purple), and the Scrapbooker's Paradise challenge theme (clean and simple with hearts).

What I came up with:

CFC37, SS8, PPC#51

I'm proud to say I'm getting the hang of shading with my wonderful new copics. The "flowers" are made from hearts that I shaded and glittered up for a little sparkle.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Two cards for today

2012-02-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

I have two cards for today since I haven't posted for a while. Extremely busy.

Anyway, my first card is for the Sweet Sunday Sketch #151. I went for the monochromatic look using paper I had forever! Here's the sketch:

SSSC151

I think I can get to like red butterflies. Certainly a different look.

My second card is for the My Favorite Things sketch challenge.

MFTWSC56

I played with my copics a little. I wanted to give her hat a worn look, so I pushed darker colors around to get the effect. I also stamped, colored, and cut out the flowers to match. :::sigh::: I will be buying more copics. They are so much fun and give great results.

Thanks for looking. I'll be back with one more card later on today.

Another valentine and a mini card

2012-01-29T19:20:00.000-08:00

Two valentines in one year. That's a new record for me. The first card was made with a stamp I bought a long time ago when I first started stamping. I made this card using the Simply Create Too #5 "Love is in the Air" challenge and Young Crafters United Challenge #6 sketch.

SCT5 and YCU #6

Using up my miscellaneous paper, trying out new border punches, getting cards made, and still keeping my new year's resolution. That's pretty good, if you ask me.

The next card is a mini card for a sketch and inspiration challenge. The sketch is from Unscripted Sketches #143. The color inspiration is from the CASE Study challenge #75.

My card:

Unscripted Sketch 143 and CSC75

Love the bright colors of the inspiration photo, so that's the part I used in my card. I flipped the sketch over so the design is on the fold. Simple, but cheerful.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Sparkle Creations card

2012-01-28T22:27:00.000-08:00

I started this card so I can play with my new skin tone copic markers. I need more practice with them, so I went the embossing route to give the stamp a different look. I was imitating the colors of asian lacquer pieces which are usually black, gold, and accents of red. This card is for the Sparkle Creation sketch challenge #71.

My card for SCRSC71.

The banner is pop-dotted and says "It's always springtime in a happy heart" which is the perfect sentiment for this image.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Valentine card

2012-01-28T19:31:00.000-08:00

I usually don't make valentines. Deep in my heart, I'm a romantic; but I always feel kind of goofy when I try for romance and lace. With Valentine's day around the corner, though, I put myself to the challenging task of making a valentine. It turned out fun and bright although I had started out with the plans for romantic vintage. lol See how easily I get sidetracked? I do like the way it turned out, so I can't complain.

The card was created for the There She Goes challenge #140 for the hearts and love part of the card, the Stampin' Sisterhood/Sisterhood Sunday #7 photo inspiration challenge (I picked the beautiful pink roses as part of my card),

and the design is based on the Skipping Stones Design #112 sketch challenge. Very awesome sketch!

So, without further ado, my card:

SSD112 , SS7, TSG140

Thanks for looking and have a good night!

Ribbon carousel

2012-01-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was strolling through my email when my eye caught this picture in an email post.

It's called the Ribbon Carousel and you can find information about it at the Ribbon Carousel blog. Doesn't it look fabulous?! I don't have one (yet) but I'm thinking this could very well solve my ribbon problems. Ribbon Carousel is also having a Carousel giveaway. Yes, they are actually giving away one of these little babies!! Click on over to their blog and enter to win.

While you are there, visit their shop and look at all the new colors of twine and wide variety of ribbons that are available.

Thanks for reading and have a good day.

Simple with a little bling

2012-01-27T19:26:00.000-08:00

The minute I read about the Stampendous Bling challenge, these stamps popped in my mind. I knew they would be perfect with a rhinestone right in the middle for a little added sparkle and glitter.
I really like the simplicity of the black and white. The big bonus was the easy color matching. LOL Kind of a no-brainer with this color scheme.

I also made this card for the "Anything Goes" Simon Says Challenge. This challenge is open until Wednesday, February 1. The Stampendous Bling challenge is open until February 2. Still plenty of time to enter both challenges! Go check them out.

This card is also for the 52 Card Pick-up--Week 4 on the Old Back Porch blog. The idea is to make a card every week for a year hence the name 52 Card Pick-Up. No requirements, sketches or color limits, just sharing a card a week simply for the sake of creating. Come join the fun.

One more card and I'm calling it a night

2012-01-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

This card is a sketch challenge from Sketchbook Saturday challenge.

SSC46

I followed the sketch fairly closely, changing out the sentiment banner for a ribbon and flowers for the butterflies.

This challenge still has one more day left, so go check it out and enter a creation of your own.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Time rolls on

2012-01-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

My card for tonight is for the Blogger's time theme challenge and the Mojo Monday #225 sketch challenge. Nothing fancy because I really wanted the message to stand out.

Mojo225

Thanks for looking and goodnight.

Purple Onion Designs Giveaway ends tonight! Hurry!

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

Purple Onion Designs is having a giveaway!

Details:

Tell if you are a tea drinker or a coffee drinker. Leave a comment on their blog telling which you drink. One person out of every 25 comments to win the following "To Go Cup" and Hopscotch Sentiment stamps.

You have till the end of day (11:00 pst) Wednesday, January 25th to leave a comment.

You still have time!!! Quick, head on over and enter into the drawing for a set of awesome stamps/.

Rainbow challenge with a sketch

2012-01-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Unscripted Sketches had a piggyback sketch challenge this week and Runway Inspired Challenges had an inspiration challenge.

Sketch Runway Inspired

Challenge photo

I can honestly say I could not and would not wear that dress. lol I like the rainbow affect, but not quite my style.

I wasn't sure what I wanted in my pocket when I began making my card. When I make a card, I tend to play and let it develop instead of having a design in mind. I then found this awesome stamp and knew exactly what I wanted in that pocket.

card bookmark

The dress is completely covered in glitter. It looks beautiful in real life.

Thanks for looking and good night.

Winter card challenge

2012-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

First, I love polar bears. I love all animals, but polar bears are an awesome, amazing animal! When I read about the Lawnscaping winter challenge, I knew it wanted the focal point to be a polar bear. I used The Craft's Meow sketch to design the card.

my card

I used paper that I had in my stash forever. YEAH! I'm trying to be very good and use up my old stash so I can organize my craftroom a little better and to buy new supplies without the guilt. This is one of my favorite images. It's so sweet with the mama bear and her cub.

You still have time to enter both challenges. The Lawnscaping Challenge is open until January 25 and the Craft's Meow sketch challenge is open until February 14. Click on over to the blogs and check out all cute cards and enter a card of your own!

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

One card for today

2012-01-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

This card I made by combining two challenges, one for Moxie Fab World and one for My Favorite Things.

Moxie Fab World's challenge was to use maps. My Favorite Thing had an awesome sketch to follow.

The result:

MFTWSC55 and map challenge

I love this sentiment. Perfect for a little pick-me-up for a friend having a hard day.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Amy Tangerine LIttle Things Daybook giveaway

2012-01-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

Laurel from Paper Crafts by Laurel is giving away a cute little DayBook called Little Things on her blog.

Click on the link to get to her blog and enter for a chance to win. You have until Wednesday, January 28, to enter for a chance to win this cool book.

Two-fer cards

2012-01-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

Today I combined the Inspired by #7 photo inspiration with the Simon Says Sketch Challenge. I chose the wedding part of the photo (although I would love a pair of those tennis shoes) with the colors--blue, white, and yellow and then threw in the pink for the sweet happiness of a wedding. The sketch was fun to play with. I used my blending pen with my ink pads to color the rose so it matches as close as possible.

The next card is a combination of Just Us Girls #120 and the Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge #368. Another fun sketch full of possibilities and an awesome color challenge consisting of pink, red, and white. Although I could have made a Valentine's card, I elected to make another birthday card. In a family of seven sibling, six of us have birthdays in March plus we have my parent's wedding anniversary in the same month. I need the birthday cards. lol

JUGS120 and SC368

Thanks for looking and have a good night!

Wee Memories giveaway

2012-01-20T22:44:00.000-08:00

Jenny over at Wee Memories is having a giveaway with lots of goodies.

SO here are the GIVEAWAY details:

She is giving away:
1 of my new stamp sets from The Crafts MeowA HUGE paper stack from Graphic 451 stamp set from Graphic 451 stamp from Unity Stamp Co.1 stamp set from Your Next Stamp1 PRINT of your choice from my Etsy ShopSome twine and misc. embellishmentsand some surprise goodies!!
A HUGE prize worth over $80!! You have until January 26 at 11:59 pm to enter into the drawing for all these goodies. Good luck!

Two more cards for tonight then off to bed

2012-01-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

CASE study challenge blog has a really fun card for inspiration. I loved the retro geometric pattern of the card and that is what I based my card on. This would be an easy card to mass produce if needed.

CSC74

You still have time to play in this fun challenge. It doesn't close until Tuesday at midnight EST. Check out the inspiration card and be inspired!

I also made a card for Mojo Monday 224. They have another fabulous sketch to work with this week.

Inspiration sketch

mojo224

Isn't this sketch just fabulous?! This sketch challenge is still open to participants. You have until this Sunday at 8:00 Mountain time to create and submit your card. I can't wait to see all your creations.

Thanks for looking and good night.

Skipping Stones Sketch Design card

2012-01-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

So far today, this is the only card I made. I went for the tongue-in-cheek approach with a pun and visual funny for the card. I made it based on the sketch challenge by Skipping Stones design. You still have time to enter. The challenge doesn't end until Monday.

Inspiration sketch

my card for SSD #111

I thought this was funny. When I saw the sketch, the first thing I saw was the four circles. As I went through my stamps, I saw this shoe stamp which is one of my favorites. That is when the "Just 4 Shoe" (Just for you) hit me and I went with it. It's kind of goofy, but that's what happens when I make cards while taking Nyquil. lol

Thanks for looking.

Treasured Moment layout and a card

2012-01-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

I made this layout for the Studio Calico Sunday Sketch challenge. I used my favorite picture of my kids. We were on a "photo shoot" when the kids found this tree that they thought was so cool. They started goofing around and I continued to shoot. After coming home, I found this little gem. It captured each child's personality so completely all at the exact moment! When I saw the sketch, I knew this was the photo I wanted to highlight.

STUDIO CALICO SUNDAY SKETCH:

My layout based on the sketch:

My card is for the Blockhead's Out of the Box Diecut challenge. This was a new technique for me which means I had to try it right away. lol It was a lot easier than I anticipated and I will use it in the future.

Thanks for looking!

Unscripted Sketch 141

2012-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

This card is for Unscripted Sketch 141. It's a nice sketch with lots of possibilities. I flipped it to get a horizontal placement which is what I wanted for this card.

My card

I didn't care for it until I added the ribbon, That was the perfect touch to complete it.

Thanks for looking!

Love being creative

2012-01-18T20:51:00.000-08:00

I'm very proud that I've kept my New Year's resolution to be more creative and keep up with the blog. I usually don't make passed the first week. lol

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge is up and running. I love the sketch this week.

the sketch

my card SSSC150

I had to think a little outside the box for the scrolls. Those are actually capital Vs from the Yarn sizzlit font.

The next card if for the Studio Calico sketch challenge. Another wonderful sketch. I love the simplicity of this one.

the sketch

my card

Since I loved the sketch so much, I just followed the sketch.

Thanks for looking and good night!

Two more cards then off to bed!

2012-01-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I've loving my copics. I'm just starting to use them, so my coloring is very basic, but they are so fun to use! I've already decided to buy 2-3 copics every payday so I can fill out my colors to start practicing shading and highlighting.

That being said, my first card is for Paper Smooches. They are having a guest designer search for the month of February. I used one of their digi stamps (and copics) to make my card.
The digi stamp was a bee and I made it a fish with a little fussy cutting to go with my saying.

The next card is for a Sketch For You To Try. This sketch challenge is usually open until midnight EST on the last day of the month so you still have plenty of time to play if you choose to do so.

Inspiration sketch

My card (SFYTTjanuary 2012)

You can't really see it in the picture, but the S is stickled for a little sparkle. I played around with my new Martha Stewart punch, too. I need to invest in several of the spellbinder scrolled frames. I love the look of them. In the meantime, I have to make do with what I have on hand.

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Simon Says and Blogger Challenge

2012-01-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Simon Says has a challenge going using spots and stripes. Anything goes as long as it includes spots and stripes. I LOVE spots and stripes so this one was really fun. I wanted to use a stamp I haven't used before. When I went through my paper and saw this combo, I immediately thought of the sea and everything fell into place.

Simon Says Spots and Stripes Challenge

I lightly chalked the image to give it a little interest. I thought the sentiment was perfect for this card.

My Blogger's Challenge card was a little more...well, challenging. I wanted to emboss the image on vellum, but it lack pizzazz. That's when I colored on the back and added rhinestones because, quite frankly, rhinestones add just the right amount of bling to anything. lol

Blogger's Challenge

Thanks for looking.

Simply Create Too card

2012-01-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Simply Create Too has a challenge going on. The challenge is layers--lots of layers. The challenge ends January 19, so you still have plenty of time to participate.

This is one of my favorite stamps from The Angel Company. All the fun and beauty of collage without the pain. lol I'm very collage deficient, although I do like the look, so stamps like this are a blessing, :)

Thanks for looking.

Really Reasonable Ribbon giveaway

2012-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Really Reasonable Ribbon is celebrating the 2nd blogoversary. In honor of their two years of blogging, they are giving someone a chance to win an awesome prize package loaded with lots of goodies. If you like ribbon or twine, you will love Really Reasonable ribbon. Click on the link and go check it out.

Three more challenge cards

2012-01-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

The inspiration photo for the Inspired by #6 is this photo:

I immediately thought of spring/summer outdoor fun, the color blue, and the straight shelving in the background. These are the elements I took for my card.

Inspired by #6

My next card is for the final Wee Memories challenge. Very sad since I just discovered them at the beginning of January! The challenge for this one is to use this awesome sketch:

I had fun with this sketch plus I was able to use my new ek Success border punch that I love!

WMC83

Finally, my card for the Case Study Challenge #73. This was a new technique for me. It's a window card. Once I wrapped my brain around it, it wasn't too bad plus I did keep it a little on the simple side which helped a lot.

Outside Inside

CSC73 CSC73

Well, that's it for now. Good night and thanks for looking!

Scrapbooker's Paradise card

2012-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Scrapbooker's Paradise has a challenge using a tic-tac-toe grid.

I chose the top row--text, bling and flower. I love these kind of challenges because there are so many possibilities. Very fun. Here is the card I made:

PPC 49

Now, I'm not usually a pink girl, but this card just screamed pink to me. lol I'm very pleased with how it came out. In fact, I think this might be one of my favorites.

Thanks for looking!

Do-What-You-Want Saturdays

2012-01-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

I love Saturdays where nothing is planned for the day. No sporting events to get the kids to, no appointments, nothing. I spent my day being creative which doesn't happen very often. The family wasn't neglected while I was playing. The kids and daddy enjoyed the day watching movies, playing on the x-box, and just relaxing. I even made blueberry muffins to start the day off right.

Here is what my creative day produced. The first card is for the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamp Challenge #70. The challenge was to use something new. See that lovely border ribbon? New punch!! Whoo-hoo! I love this image although I do have a hard time coloring her. I'm still working and practicing with my prismacolor pencils and my copics.

SCRSC70

My next card is for Mojo Monday 223. Here is the inspiration sketch:

My card:

Mojo223

Lots of distressing done with this card. I don't normally do "vintage", but this one really needed the distressing and inking to give it personality. I have discovered that I really need to invest in several large circle dies.

This one is for the Young Crafters Unit challenge #5. Clean and simple was the challenge. You would think clean and simple would also mean quick. lol Not in my case. This card (although not all that complicated) seem to take me forever!!

Thanks for looking!

Wee Memories and Sketchbook Saturday challenge

2012-01-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

Wee Memories has a challenge for mini cards. Now, this is something new for me because I usually do the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 size cards since you can get two good size cards with no waste. The one thing I learned doing mini cards--scale down. The first focal point I did for the mini card was bigger than the card itself! LOL Lesson learned. After the first mistake, I decided to go simple and came up with this card.

WMC82

Three stamps, two inks, corner rounder and rhinestones. The card was done in about 15 minutes from start to finish. New record for me! :)

Visit the Wee Memories Challenge blog to see all the wonderful mini delights other participants created to fulfill the challenge.

My next card is for the Sketchbook Saturday Challenge. The sketch inspiration:

My card:

SSC44

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment. It's very much appreciated.

One more then off to bed.

2012-01-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

This is a quick card I made for the Unscripted Sketch #140 challenge. It's an okay card, but I wish I had a funkier U.

Unscripted Sketch #140

Even though it's not my favorite, it's another thank you card made and ready to send. Once I beef up my thank you cards, I'll start working on birthday. My goal for the next school year is to give everyone at my workplace a homemade birthday card for their birthday.

Well, off to bed! Nite, nite!

Busy, busy but still making it.

2012-01-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how life gets busy so quickly! Kids and their homework, school, taking an online class, working, . . .

I still managed to make a card for a challenge. I find challenges inspiring and fun. They are making me try new things and techniques I haven't tried before which is great! I love trying and learning new things. Keeps the creative juices flowing.

This card is for the Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge 149. The cute stamp is from Sparkle Creations rubber stamps. This is the first time I used her and the first time I tried paper piecing with a stamp. I love how this one turned out even if it has orange on it! lol

Thanks for looking and have a good night.

Work, dentist, and still managed to make a card

2012-01-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Made it through the first day back at work after the holidays--YEAH!! I had to make a trip to the dentist to finish off a root canal. Usually not too bad, but this time part of the tooth would not cooperate. :::sigh::: At least it's done.

Despite the busy and slightly traumatic day, I managed to get a card done. This one is for the Inspired By #5 challenge.

The inspiration:

My card:

I took the obvious route and based my card on winter. You'd think this card would be very quick and easy. I don't know, maybe it was the novicaine, but it took me four tries and over 45 minutes to get it done! My hubby was snickering at me reminding me to breath and to laugh about it. After much anguish, it is done and (thankfully) I like it because I'm not doing it over yet again. lol

You can't tell on the picture, but on either side of the border stamp is an embossed line. Looks pretty neat in real life.

Thanks for looking!

Another new (for me) technique

2012-01-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

The first card is for the Lawnscaping challenge. The very cute digital stamps were designed by Melanie Deasy and you can find the download on the Lawnscaping blog. Please give her credit when using them. This is the first time I used digital stamps, but it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my new Copics! It's my first set. My hubby gave them to me for Christmas so I've been looking forward to trying them out. I had a good time playing with the colors and figuring out what they can do.

Our inspiration:

My card--outside:

and inside:

My second card is a mini card for the Blogger's Challenge. We had to use the colors green, blue, purple, black, and vanilla or white.

Tomorrow is my first day back to work with kids. Time for bed! Good night and thanks for looking.

My Favorite Things challenge card

2012-01-08T03:19:00.000-08:00

This card is for the My Favorite Things sketch challenge. This one came together fairly quickly for me. Everything just seem to click without a hitch. I LOVE when that happens. lol Usually something goes wrong or I struggle with something. Anyway, here it is. This is one of my all-time favorites for me.

MFTWSC53

Thanks for looking!

Aimee Fleck has new blog

2012-01-05T04:37:00.000-08:00

Aimee Fleck has a new blog called Aimee's Art and Scraps. Aimee is a Certified Ranger Educator with a quirky sense of humor, an etsy shop and a big love for little weiner dogs. Right now she has some blog candy up for grabs, so take a minute to check out her new blog .

Two more cards

2012-01-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

The first card is for the Wee Memories and the Simon Says Stamp challenge. The theme was "New". On this card, I used my new distressing inks and a new-to-me stamp. Sorry about the picture, but I couldn't get a clearer photo for some odd reason.

WMC81

My next card is a celebration card for the Viva Las Vegas Stamp challenge. What do you celebrate every year? Your birthday! So I made a birthday card.

Thanks for looking!

I had one more in me.

2012-01-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

One more card. This one is for the Inspired by #4 challenge. I took my inspiration from the colors of the card. I love the clean contrast of the yellow, black and white.

Since it was based on a New Year's invitation, I also added a little bling with the rhinestones.

Now I am off to bed. I need to get up early to enjoy my last day of my holiday vacation before going back to school.

Keep on Rolling!

2012-01-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's only January 3, and I've made 5 cards already! Whoo-hoo for me. lol Hopefully I can keep this going even after I have to go back to work. I would like to throw in a layout or two as well. We'll see. Anyway, here's my recent cards.

For the Skipping Stones Design Sketch Challenge :

For the Mojo Monday #222 challenge:

For the Cupcake's Creation Color Challenge:

The Inspiration

My card

I really don't like to work with orange, but somehow I ended up with two orange cards. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? lol

Thanks for looking!

Trying to start the year off right.

2012-01-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

This year I'm trying to start the year off on the right creative foot. I made these two cards for the Gina K new release party.

For the flower challenge I used distress inks for the background and coloring the stem of the flower, Tombow watercolor markers for the flower itself, The Angel Company stamps (flower), fiskars border punch, floss, button, Creating Keepsakes sticker, and bazzill paper.

For the make-your-own-background challenge I used distressing ink for distressing and stamping, The Angel Company stamp (leaves), Stamps by Judith stamp (tri-dot), twine, and stickles glitter glue.

To check out Gina K stamps, you can find them here http://www.shop.ginakdesigns.com/. They have wonderful stamps designs. I recently discovered them and working on getting my first stamp order ready to place on their website.

The Angel Company (TAC) Card

2011-02-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Since we've had a week off from school, I've been making cards to keep myself occupied while the kids play their Wii. I found a piece of scrapbook paper I'm sick of seeing so I decided to make it into cards. This card was made with an image and sentiment from The Angel Company also know as TAC (http://www.theangelcompany.net/). I chalked with SU! chalk the image and inked around the circle with Close To My Heart ink. Patterned paper from a Mat Stack, cardstock from DieCuts With a View, punch from Paper Shapers, ribbon and rhinestones from unknown source.

We have winter!

2011-02-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

We've had a week of snow days this week! It started Tuesday with ice and sleet making the roads dangerous. Not only that, but high was 21 and the low was 9! What?! Here in Texas we never knew the thermometer had single digits--we thought it was an urban legend. LOL It finally snowed last night. It's been snowing throughout the day, too, which is another new experience for us. I thought I would share a couple of pics of the kids and dogs enjoying the snow. Lily (the big dog) wasn't sure about the snow because this is her first winter, but she now loves it!

Lily

Rosie

my kids

Our street

Have a great day and stay warm!

Science Fair Winner!

2011-02-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of my little one. She won first place in her grade level at her elementary school's science fair. The judging was done by independent people outside of the school so the judging would be fair and unbaised. It's funny because she wasn't expecting to win. She did her project simply for fun. She wanted to know how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. :) Yep, you remember that commercial, right? After doing the experiment, we discovered it took on average 426 licks. If I had to eat another tootsie roll pop, I would have gotten sick!

A picture of her, her project, and her medal that she is extremely proud to show off.

More cards

2011-01-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

I may not be getting much scrapbooking done, but at least I'm doing something creative. :) Here are a couple more cards I made with Kitchen Sink Stamps. I know I already said it, but I love these stamps! It's so much fun to play with the colors plus I'm actually using all the Close To My Heart inks that I bought when I was in a stampers' club! Anyway, without further ado, here are my cards:

I think my favorite is the longhorn card. It's also the card that took me the longest! It took me a while to get the colors just right to match what I was seeing in my head.

Supplies:

Longhorn card: Texas Long Horn (Kitchen Sink Stamps), CTMH inks, miscellaneous patterned paper, DCWV cardstock, American craft brads, Fiskars deco scissors.

Butterfly card: Shamrocks and Clovers stamp (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Bluebonnet stamps (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Texas Long Horn stamps (Kitchen Sink Stamps), pigma pen, CTMH ink, CM circle cutter.

Thanks card: Cowboy Hat stamps (Kitchen Sink Stamps), CTMH ink, prima flowers, Ranger distressing ink, American craft brads, DCWV patterned paper, unknown cardstock.

Bluebonnet card: Bluebonnet stamps (Kitchen Sink Stamps), Cowboy hat stamps (Kitchen Sink Stamps), red line tape, Jimmy Jem's powderz glitter, DCWV cardstock, CTMH inks, white ric rac.

Love Kitchen Sink Stamps!

2011-01-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday break, I found a fabulous stamp company with the coolest concept in stamps. Kitchen Sink Stamps makes stamp sets where the layering of the stamps does the coloring and shading for you! It's wonderful! Here is my first card every with the stamps from my first order.

This was a card I made for a 10 minute challenge. I had it finished in 9 minutes and a couple of seconds. :) Not bad for the first time. The flowers were actually clovers, but I thought they look pretty in purple.

To make the card: Texas Longhorns from Kitchen Sink Stamps, Shamrocks and Clover from Kitchen Sink Stamps, Close to My Heart inks, card base Georgia Pacific cardstock, DCWV cardstock, Offray ribbon, and rhinestones.

Link: http://www.kitchensinkstamps.com/

Color Challenge Card

2011-01-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

I decided one of the best ways to increase my creativity this year is to participate in a challenge. I found the Color Challenge which is hosted by Mona Pendleton. Very fun because she gives you the color scheme and it's up to you to create something out of it. Very cool and very stress free with lots of room for creativity.

The colors for this week were pink, yellow, and salmon. Admittedly, not my choice of colors. Pastel colors are not my thing, but I worked with it and came up with this. It's very simple, but there is something about it that appeals to me. I used Heidi Swapp rub-ons, Endless Love sizzlets, stickles, prima flowers, mustard distressing ink, DCWV cardstock, Stack patterned paper and white mini brads.

Here is the link to her blog if you would like to check it out:

http://cr84fncolorchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/01/cr84fn9.html

Thanks for looking!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

Now that hubby gifted me with a laptop computer all my own, it means (hopefully) I can keep up with my blog which is one of my goals for 2011. I also decided I am indulging my hobby of scrapbooking and cardmaking this year. I consider it only fair since hubby gets one day a week virtually every week all year long to play golf which is his hobby of choice. Since I don't have to wait forever to get my turn on the computer, I'll be able to share my projects. I'm just a wee bit excited about that! LOL Usually the only people I share with is the person I make something for and my family.

Summer Movie Time

2008-06-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of the year when all the good movies hit the theaters. I can't complain. I'd rather watch a movie in a nice, air-conditioned building than sweat out every bit of water in my body in 100 degree heat.

The Hulk--Much better than the last one. It had some surprise cameos in it that made you chuckle. This time around, the Hulk is more humanized than made out to be a big destructive monster. I liked that. Of course, if General Ross would get off his butt, Bruce wouldn't have to change into Hulk, right? You think if the guy was smart enough to become a general, he would be smart enough to realize Hulk will always be able to kick his hiney.

Iron Man--Robert Downey Jr. was excellent as Tony Stark. Good movie, too. Lots of action although parts of it could be a bit slow for kids. Donovan loved it. He said he would definitely go see it again. From what I saw of the few Iron Man cartoons, it stayed true to form.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--I was very hyped about going to see this movie. I have to admit, I walked away a little disappointed about it. I didn't really consider the storyline a Indiana Jones type story. I thought they should have stayed with the Nazis and Hitler being the main adversaries since there has been a sort of "relationship" between Indiana and Hitler from the beginning of the movies. I also didn't like where the crystal skull came from. To me, it was a little "out-there" even for Indiana Jones. (I'm trying not to ruin the movie if you haven't seen it.) I definitely didn't like the end because it changed the whole persona of Indiana Jones. I also found in this episode, that Indiana didn't explain anything. In all the other movies, he explained to his sidekicks why something happened or what things were. In this one, that didn't occur so sometimes you were left wondering, "What the...?"

Yep, I'm a bad blogger

2008-04-14T05:54:00.001-07:00

Well, that's what you get with three kids, a full-time job, hubby, a dog, and (now) three gerbils--a fight for the computer and no time to blog. I guess I should be happy I don't have to fight for the computer with the animals (that would be the dog and gerbils; NOT the hubby and children, but I digress).

The elementary school my children attend has hired me as an kindergarten assistant. Love the job. It's funny. When I planned my future, I never thought "Get your finger out of your nose. There's no gold up there" would be a phrase I would use with great frequency. I've learned life has a way of throwing curve balls at you when it comes to kids.

Donovan made a perfect score on his TAKS test. YEAH!! You don't know how his teacher and I sweated while he was taking it. Why the sweating? The kid made a 49 on a practice test (benchmark) because he didn't finish it! ARGH!! Sometimes I think he does stuff like that to get even for all the broccoli we make him eat for dinner. I also think he eats beans for the same reason. The child will eat three bowls of beans for dinner without blinking an eye. By midday, the teacher is asking me what he had for dinner. Oddly enough, her eyes are watering and a strange green fog is hovering over her classroom. Go figure.

I'm home today because my little one isn't feeling well. She was sick right before going to school. Poor little one. She went right to sleep after I put her back to bed--that's how I know she's not faking. If she was faking, she'd be up, watching TV, asking for hot tea, crackers, and anything else her little mind can conjure up.

Well, I'm off to catch up on laundry. Oh, joy!

Summer movies

2007-06-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Summer movies. One of the reasons I love summer. Sequels, kid movies, animation, action--I love to watch them all.

This summer's list-to-see includes Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates 3, Fantastic Four 2, Transformers, Die Hard 4, Harry Potter (can't remember the number), plus any other movie that happens to catch my eye.

My family and I usually go to the Movie Tavern. Love this place. Pizza, popcorn, soda and a movie all in one place. Excellent pizza, too. It's a perfect movie experience. lol We have an older Tavern, but the new ones even have waiters! Definitely very cool!

Anyway, from the list, we've seen Spiderman (pretty good), Shrek (I liked the first one better, but the rest of the family really liked it), Pirates (IMO, not as good as the first but better than the second), and Fantastic Four (excellent!).

Dallas World Aquarium

2007-06-16T21:24:00.001-07:00

After our trip to see the JFK museum and memorial, we strolled down to the Dallas World Aquarium. I have to say I was surprised to learn of an aquarium in the middle of a big city. Seems just a tad bit unusual. lol

It was actually very good although rather pricey considering there is five of us. When you walk in, you go up a ramp and, BAM, you're in the middle of a rainforest complete with a beautiful waterfall. You see brightly colored birds, mischievous monkeys who like to drive photographers crazy, crocodiles, spiders, bats, penguins, ocelot, ect.

Despite all the wonderful animals on exhibit, the family favorite has to be the manatees. They are amazing! The aquarium acquired them after the manatees were accidently caught in fishing lines in Venezuela and their mothers could not be found. One of the manatees is a ham. He likes to play by the big underground window. He scratches his back on a rock, swim up and down and back and forth by the window. The kids had a wonderful time watching him and pressing their little faces and hands on the window as he swam by.

When I get the time, I'll post a couple of pictures to share with you.

Visit to the JFK museum

2007-06-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Let me first say I hate Dallas traffic. I hate driving it, I hate riding in any vehicle that is in it. For me, it's a white-knuckle ride until we get to our destination.

After a hearty breakfast the IHOP, we went to the JFK museum off Dealey Plaza (first photo). It was a very informative and thought-provoking experience. The museum is located on the sixth floor of the book depository--the same floor Oswald positioned himself and hot at the president. They actually had the window and book storage boxes, which were positioned exactly the way the pictures depicted on that fateful day, plexiglassed off so it could not be disturbed. It had the complete history of Kennedy from childhood until his death. It detailed the social highlights of the time including the public reaction to the young president and the ground-breaking steps he was taking in dealing with Russia and communism. A part of the Berlin wall was included in the exhibit, cameras and pictures from various people taken during the assassination, a scaled miniature model to determine the angle and position of the shooters, computer enhanced photos from that time showing unidentified shadowy forms in the legendary grassy knoll, even the conflicting information which further stirred the already murky waters of possible suspects.

On the floor above the JFK museum, the Dallas police has an exhibit relating the assassination from their point of view. It includes the actual door of the interrogation room Oswald was taken to, transcripts from officers who were looking for suspects immediately after the shooting, information about the officer Oswald shot after he ran from the scene, and personal thoughts and reactions of officers on the scene.

After the museum, we took a walk on the grassy knoll. It wasn't until I looked at another picture did I discovered I was standing in the exact spot an unidentified figure dressed in black was standing when the president was fatally shot. I thought that was just a little bit freaky.

We also walked behind the Dallas Courthouse to see the JFK memorial that was erected (second photo). It was huge! It was simply an open structure with no roof, but the proportions were amazing.

Visual DNA

2007-06-11T17:06:00.001-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

My first post.

2007-06-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Gosh, how intimating. lol After reading several posts concerning blogging, I decided to give it a go.

I've been scrapping since 2001 although I've kept scrapbooks all my life of newspaper articles, postcards and vacation memorabilia, birthday cards and various items signifying important events in my life. Even my photo albums had identifiers for people and places although I didn't have the fancy paper and embellishments like we have now.

I've lived overseas for several years because I'm a military brat. I would love to go back. Once you start traveling, you'll wonder how you ever lived in one place. lol I still get the urge to travel every year. Thank goodness for summer vacations.

I work as a substitute teacher during the school year and love it! I never thought of myself as a teacher, but now that I have tried it, I feel it's something I was meant to do.