HOC - Friendship

Howdy!

Wow, can you believe tomorrow is October 1st already?!  I swear time is going so fast, I feel like I'm missing a few days somewhere.  The woman I was hired to replace, announced her retirement a couple weeks ago.  Her last day is tomorrow.  To say that I'm stressed is an understatement, but I've been running the show on my own for a couple months now.  I guess it's just the realization that I'm losing my "safety net", that's causing my stress.  I've interviewed a couple people for the admin assistant position I have available, but so far no one has been a good fit.  I hope someone qualified will apply soon.  Until then, I'll be working from sun up, to sun down, trying to get everything accomplished.  I'm used to that, so no sweat.  I'm thankful that my daughter understands my situation, and is patient, and unaffected by my lack of presence.  I'll make it up to her when things calm down though.  She can count on that.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. lol  I have a new House of Cards project for you.  This week is the 5th week, so it's your choice of style with a photo for inspiration.  For all of the details, click HERE.  Here is the inspiration photo we have to work with.  I love the beautiful fall feel to it.

And here is my card.

I think it turned out nicely.  This card is a bit more special than any other I've ever made.  If you look at the top of the card, I have a strip of multicolor orange tatting, under the bakers twine.  This tatting was from an old pillow case that my great grandmother made for my mother.  When the actual fabric of the pillow case fell apart, my mom carefully removed the tatting.  When we were looking through some old boxes, she came across it and asked if I wanted a piece.  I doubt this card will be donated to anyone, ever, but I am happy with being able to use it creatively. 

I'm happy to be able to combine the following challenges in my card:

Delightful Challenge - Happy Fall Y'all!
2 Sisters Challenge #163 - Anything Goes
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards #49 - Flowers
Come and Get It - Fall Colors
Pile It On #39 - Leaves

I do hope you'll head over to see what the other DT have made for you.  They will be showcased throughout the week, so you'll have plenty of eye candy.  And, they're all pretty fabulous! 

I'm off to start another busy week.  Hope yours is a good one!
Hugs!

House of Cards - Happy Anniversary

Hi!

I hope you had a great weekend, and that your week is starting off well.  I dislike Monday's, but I've got quite a bit going on today, that it should go by quickly. 

Today is the next challenge at House of Cards.  This is the 5th week in the month, so it's a photo inspiration challenge, and you get to pick whichever style you like.  For all of the details, click HERE.  Check out the inspiration photo.

And here's what I created.

I needed a card for an anniversary coming up, so this is what I made.  I LOVE these crochet mats I bought from Jessi Fogan.  They are gorgeous!  I kept it simple, to focus on the sentiment panel.  I'm hoping it will make it through the mail ok, considering it's quite bulky.  I guess we'll see, huh? lol 

Anyway, I hope you'll head over to the House of Cards blog to see what has been posted.  Throughout the week, all of the DT's projects will be posted.  Lots of eye candy this week for you!

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Use Your Words - Sweet

Good day!

I hope you've had a good weekend, and are rested, before heading back to work tomorrow.  It was a nice weekend around here.  We went to the Clay County Fair yesterday, and boy did we have a great time.  We walked around and saw everything, then I let the girls do their thing.  They ate tons of fair food, and rode every ride on the midway, quite a few times.  To say that they were exhausted is an understatement.  Having that much fun is a lot of work, apparently! lol

Since today is the 15th, there is a new challenge posted at Use Your Words.  Our challenge this week is the word Sweet.  For all of the details, click HERE.  Here is what I came up with.

I needed a card for a friend, who doesn't speak English.  The word "dulce" in my sentiment, means sweet.  A direct translation of this sentiment is, you're so sweet.  I thought it worked perfectly, even if it was in a different language.  I received my Simon Says Stamp card kit not too long ago, and this is the first time I've had to play with it.  The colors and papers, and elements are beautiful!  Since I'll be mailing this card to my friend, I kept it simple.  Hopefully, she'll like it.

I do hope you'll head over to the Use Your Words blog, and check out the other projects posted today.  They're gorgeous!  I'll be back with my next project tomorrow.  Hope you'll check back then to see what I've got for ya.

Have a great day!
Hugs!

Thank You Tombow!

Hey y'all!

How's your holiday weekend going?  I did have to work a bit yesterday morning, but I'm glad that I did.  I will be ahead of the game when I get back to work tomorrow, and things are crazy, which they always are after a holiday.  I did, however, get time to make a card.  Yay!

Recently, the wonderful people at Tombow gifted me some of their awesome goodies, in celebration of their 100th birthday.  I received some lovely bright markers, some really nice colored pencils and some adhesive.  Check it out!



I wanted to use all of these items on the card I was going to make, but wasn't sure what to do.  Then, I saw the CAS-ual Fridays challenge (from two weeks ago...yep, I'm behind lol) and loved the color combo of aqua, green & orange.  So, here's what I made.

I stamped the large butterfly, twice, and colored them with the colored pencils.  I then stamped the small butterfly, and colored it with the markers.  I layered them together and added a pearl.  The dimension on this butterfly is SO awesome!  I love how it turned out.  I was excited that the colored pencils matched the background chevron paper almost perfectly.  I added a pop of yellow, teal and orange, and my card was good to go.  It's simple, and lovely. 

If you get the opportunity, check out the festivities at the Tombow blog.  In celebration, they're donating to the Council for Arts Education.  What a great thing to do!

I'll be back soon, with another something crafty. 

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Use Your Words - Tough

Hi!

I hope you're having a great holiday weekend, so far!  I'm excited to have a day off, and be able to sleep in for three days straight.  Sometimes it's the little things, right? lol  We don't have much planned for this weekend.  I was hoping to take a road trip, but I couldn't make my budget work.  I'm blessed to have a wonderful daughter, who doesn't complain or get upset when things don't work out as planned.  She really is an amazing person.  So, we're going to cook lots of good food, and watch tons of movies together.  That's pretty cool, in my opinion.  I'm thankful that at almost 17, she still enjoys doing things with me.  Gosh, I love my girl!

Anyway,  it's the start of a new month (can you believe it's September already?!) and we have a new challenge posted over at the Use Your Words blog.  For all of the details, click HERE.

The challenge word this time, is TOUGH.  I knew I wanted to include a picture of my daughter.  I wanted to document how far we've come over the last year, and how tough she is to overcome everything she's endured over the last few years.  But, she's very private and doesn't speak to anyone but my mother and I about things she's struggling with, which makes it difficult to journal sometimes.  I didn't want to expose her in any way.  I decided that I would just include my feelings on the journey we've been on, and how she's maintained her composure, and strength, no matter what has happened.  I really like how this turned out, but I did have a bit of a time trying to get a good picture.  I love this photo of her, doing what she loves...swimming.  I took this picture of her while we were in Denver.  In my opinion, you can see the calm strength in her eyes.  I am thankful my new Studio Calico kit arrived shortly before I created this.  It had lots of great elements in it.  I used THIS sketch, although the challenge is now closed.  I tried not to overdo anything, as I wanted to focus on the photo and the meaning behind the layout.  She loved it, so I'm good. :-)   

I was able to combine the following challenges in my layout today.

Crafts Too Challenge You #2 - Sumer Days (Twist: Beach Colors)
Inspire Me Fridays #118 - Anything Goes
Happy Campers Challenge #21 - Use A Stamp
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon # 200 - Pretty Polka Dots

I do hope you'll head over to see what my friends have created over at the Use Your Words blog.  As always, they're absolutely gorgeous!

Have a safe and happy rest of your holiday weekend!
Hugs!   

Rejoice

Hola!

Happy Humpday!  I hope your week is going as well as mine is.  School started on Monday, and because my daughter is a pretty good teenager, we've already gotten into our daily routine without any trouble at all.  What a year it has been for us, and I'm thankful that things continue to get better. 

So, I created this card, just for fun.  I wanted to try a couple things, and I wanted to use colors that I probably never would have combined, had I not been challenged by them.  This is definitely out of my comfort zone, but it's growing on me.  Here's my card.

This is my very first attempt at a one layer card.  I think the butterflies might disqualify me from being a true one layer, but it needed something.  Everything else is stamped on the main panel of my card.  I used a stencil/mask from one of my Simon Says Stamp card kits, and think the added design works well enough.  I stamped my sentiment in the masked center panel, and then I stamped the flourish on the side.  I liked how it seemed to appear layered with all of the elements, but it was still in need of something.  That's when I added the butterflies.  In all, I like my card, even though I don't know if I'd use these colors together again.  I can't lie though, it is pretty bright and bold, and cheerful. :)

I've combined the following challenge in my card today:

Card Crafters Circle #88 - Winged Things
Stampin for the Weekend - Butterflies
Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #224 - Lime, Berry & Eggplant
The Paper Players #159 - One Layer Card (this was my first attempt, not sure I pulled it off though)
Pile It On #33 - No Designer Paper

I hope you have a great rest of the week.  I hope to be back soon, with another crafty project.  It's going to be a busy weekend though, as we've got our last trip planned for this weekend.  Guess we'll see what happens.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Happy Birthday!

Good day!

How's it going?  I hope you had a great weekend, hopefully, filled with lots of crafty time.  My house was filled with teenage gossip, laughter, and snacking.  All of my daughters friends who stayed with us over the weekend, call me mom, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  It is a bit like herding cattle though, at times.  They had me running in all different directions on Friday night.  Fortunately, they were at the pool for most of the day on Saturday, and then the mall on Sunday.  Thank goodness for small breaks in the action.  I'm getting old, and my body told me this on several occasions throughout the weekend.  lol  I'm glad everyone had a great time though.  School started today, and my daughter was more than excited to go back.  I'm lucky that my child loves school.  I have a feeling this year is going to be a great one.  Can't believe she's a sophomore already though.  Wow!

Anyway, onto why you're here, right?   I have a new card to share with you for our latest House of Cards challenge.  This month there is a sketch, and this weeks challenge is Classic & Elegant.  For all of the details, click HERE.

I have lots of birthdays coming up this fall, so I wanted to get a head start on the cards for everyone.  I was able to get a few cards made for my stash, but mostly I made birthday cards for specific people in our family.  I really like how this card turned out.  I used a page from an extra bible we had in the house.  I just randomly tore one out.  I stamped the leaves on it in two different colors of green and then double matted it in white and blue, which you can't really see that well in my photo (sorry).  I then used my handy dandy distress inks and Nestabilities, to create the sentiment, then added a bit of twine and was done.  Also, I outlined the inside of the Nestie while the paper was still in the die, for added dimension, but you can't really see that in this photo either.  In real life it's really cool and sparkly.  I hope the recipient of this card enjoys it.  I tried to combine many things I thought they'd enjoy.

I've combined the following challenge in my card today:

Sieze the Birthday - Always Anything Goes (Birthday related)
One Crazy Stamper August Challenge - Birthday
Just For Fun Challenge #1 - Anything Goes
Daring Cardmakers - Colors of the Sea

As always, the other cards posted today are stunning!  I do hope you'll head over to see them, and maybe get to play along with us this week.  I'll be back with another something crafty soon.

Enjoy your day!
Hugs!

Two For One

Hello!

How's your day going?  I'm enjoying a bit of a break from the chaos that is 4 teenage girls sleeping over, while they're at the pool.  I can only imagine that they're going to come back sunburned and/or "crispy" from being there most of the afternoon. lol  In the nice, quiet, alone time I have had, I created two cards.  I usually only post one at a time, but I wanted to share both of these right now.  I was a bit impatient in sharing these. :-)

Here is the first.

A few weeks ago I saw a card posted using a crochet mat.  I did some investigating, and found that Jessi Fogan, makes AND sells them.  I was super excited to place my order, and was even more excited when they arrived so quickly at my house the other day (she's awesome!).  I've asked her to try to find some neon thread.  Wouldn't they be awesome?!  It had been a while since I'd created anything but a square card, so I went with round for this one.  My peach/white flourish panel is actually the emboss resist technique, which I really should do more often.  I matted it in a pale yellow, and added it to my sage green crochet mat.  I then added a wood veneer banner that came in one of my Simon Says Stamp card kits, a twine bow, a hand crocheted flower I ordered on Etsy, and a few sequins.  In all, I think this card took me 20 minutes to complete, and I love it!

I've combined the following challenges in this card:

Stampin Royalty #189 - Photo Inspiration (hope I got close enough to the colors)
Drunken Stampers #137 - Twine (Hi Jessi!!)
Totally Gorjuss #197 - Die Cuts/Punches (my shaped card was made with dies)

And, here is the second card. 

If you know me, you know I LOVE blue.  I reminded myself about the need to continue my use of the emboss resist technique, and wound up with this beauty.  I made two identical panels, only one is embossed with snowflakes and has Mr. Huey's mist on it.  For a bit of added interest, I matted them in opposite directions.  The bottom layer starts with the darker colors at the top, and the focal panel starts with the lighter colors at the top.  I have to say, this turned out much better than I expected.  I added an MFT snowflake, a beautiful I Am Roses paper flower, and some cork paper leaves on top of my ribbon and sentiment, and was finished.  I think the emboss resist technique will be used again this afternoon, for some gift tags.  Or maybe a couple of bookmarks.  Ooooh, yeah...that would work!

I've combined the following challenges in this card:

Cards Galore August Challenge - Bingo (embossing/masks, sprays/inks, ribbon)
Cardabilities #81 - Sketch
Jingle Belles - Tic Tac Toe (embossing heat or dry, ribbon, stamping)
Just Add Ink #178 - Just Add Snowflakes
Just Us Girls #202 - Monochromatic Blues

Now that my long post is done, I've got a question to ask you awesome crafty people!  I recently started thinking that I might want to try my hand at getting published.  I've added it to my bucket list, but am in no hurry.  What advice would you give someone who's never tried this?  Any tips or hints at anything to help me out would be greatly appreciated. 

I'm off to try to create something else to share later in the week.  I'll be back on Monday with my next House of Cards project.  Hopefully, you'll get the chance to stop by and check out what I've made for that.  I do hope the rest of your weekend is fantastic!

Stay crafty my friends!

Believe In Miracles

Hi there!

I hope your week has been going pretty well.  It's been nice for me, but I'm sure that won't last long.  Nothing in transportation ever stays the same.  School starts on Monday, and I'm going to have a house full of teenage girls for the weekend, so I'm hoping to be able to hide and get a few cards made to add to my stash.  Guess we'll see how that goes. lol

It's the 15th of August, and I have a new Use Your Words project for you.  Our challenge word is: Believe.  For all of the details, click HERE.

I was really trying to focus on making more layouts for this DT, but I couldn't find any photos or papers that really went together, for me.  It just wasn't clicking.  So, I did what I usually do, and made a card.  I LOVE my new Simon Says Stamp Card Kit papers and couldn't wait to dive into them.  I think they are gorgeous.  I'm very happy to report that I have a friend who sent an email a couple weeks ago, stating that her latest check up shows no sign of cancer, after a year.  She is officially a survivor, according to her.  Amen!  I wanted to send her some happy mail, and let her know that I'm still praying for her.  What amazing news though. *happy sigh*  When we were hanging out in Dallas, I remember going to the fair with her, just about every year.  How perfect that these papers have a carousel on them.  And, the Believe stamp set from Verve was perfect for this card.  I know she'll love it!

I've combined the following challenges in my card today:

Card Mania #27 - Your Favorite Embellishment (Love my twine!)
Scrapping Everyday Miracles August Main Challenge #31 - An Accomplishment
Creative Craft Challenges2 #16 - Tic, Tac, Toe (I chose twine, ivory, distress)
Ribbon Carousel Challenge #84 - Summertime Fun (hoping my patterned papers will work)

That's all for me.  I do hope you'll head over to the Use Your Words blog to see the beautiful projects the other designers have posted.  I'm lucky to be on a team with such talented women.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Blue Skies

Greetings!

I hope everyone is having a good week, so far!  It was a lazy weekend around our house, but I was able to get a couple of crafty things done.  Here is a card I made for a friend in need of encouragement.

I wanted to try a technique that Dawn McVey introduced on a weekly tutorial for PTI, that uses two different background stamps together.  You can barely see the light pink polka dots in my photo, but in real life, they're pretty cool.  I have a feeling I'll be trying this technique again.  It's easy.  I've had this stamp in my stash forever, and decided it was time to ink her up after neglecting her for about a year.  I paper pieced the umbrella, and cut her out so I could pop her up.  I think this card is bright, and cheerful, and I'm hoping it will bring a smile to my friend.

I've combined the following challenges in my card today:

Crazy 4 Challenges #197 - Paper Piecing
Sketchbook Saturday #102 - Sketch
Dynamic Duos #64 - Strawberry Slush & Daffodil Delight (I tried to get as close as I could)
Our Creative Corner - Words, Words, Words
Kaboodle Doodles #183 - Anything With Scallops (my lace has scallops)
The Pink Elephant #211 - Texture
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #232 - Backgrounds (using your stamps)

I am hoping to get more crafting done this week, as we're expecting rain over the next few days.  Great time to make a bit pot of homemade veggie beef soup too, I think.

Have a great day!
Hugs!

Use Your Words - Moment

Hi everyone!

How's your week been?  Mine has been pretty good, considering I was on vacation for three days.  Luckily, I was able to work ahead, which made it nice and easy for me when I returned and there was nothing major going on. 

I'm excited to bring you the next prompt for Use Your Words.  Our word for this challenge is: Moment.  For all of the details, click HERE.

For my layout, I broke out some old photos of my mother and I at the beach, from when I was about 4 years old.  We lived in South Texas, and the beach was about 20 minutes from our house.  I loved going there with my parents.  How I wish I were young, and carefree again.  Thank goodness I received my Studio Calico scrapbook kit, as these papers worked perfectly.  I tried to portray the sun with the yellow scalloped circle border and the waves with the blue chevron paper.  It looks a bit plain, but I dig it.

I just found out that I had been chosen as a Favorite Peep, over at The Hybrid Chick, for THIS card.  So excited!

I do hope you'll head over to the Use Your Words blog to see the other amazing layouts posted.  They're gorgeous!

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Be Kind

Hi!

I hope you've all had a great weekend, filled with fun things.  We got home from our vacation to Denver last night, and I already want to go back.  I LOVE Denver!!  I lived there for a few years, a while back, and I have been trying to get back ever since.  It just feels like "home" to me, almost like I'm supposed to be there.  It was awesome to catch up with old friends, and meet new ones.  This was my daughter's first trip to Colorado, and she has now fallen in love with Denver as well.  She did everything possible, in an effort to get me to extend our stay. lol  I'm fairly certain we'll be back there sooner than later. :o)

Now, onto today's crafty goodness.  I am happy to bring you my next card for the latest House of Cards challenge.  For all of the details on this weeks challenge, click HERE.

Since there are 5 Monday's in this month, this weeks challenge is an all play, so to say.  This means that all of the different design teams are participating.  There's an inspiration photo and you get to choose the type of style of your choice.  For this week, I chose CAS, again.  I'd really like to get better at CAS cards, and the only way to do that, is to keep making them.  I struggle with the color orange, so when I saw the inspiration photo, I was a bit stressed.  I decided that CAS was definitely the way to go, for me.  I really love this Be stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  It was perfect in portraying the message I wanted to send to someone who's always struggling with anger issues. 

I've combined the following challenges in my card today:

Inspired By #85 - Inspiration Photo
Annabelle Stamps #168 - Sketch (my very loose interpretation)
Glitter & Sparkle #43 - CAS
Pile It On #30 - Anything Goes

I do hope you'll head over to the HOC blog to see all of the gorgeous cards that are posted today.  There are TONS and they're all pretty wonderful.  Maybe you'll get the chance to join us this week too!

I'll leave you with a few photos I took of our trip into the mountains.  This was Sydney's first time, and the look on her face was priceless!  She had a huge smile on her face the whole time we were up there.  That makes me happy.

 

Oh!  And before I forget, I was really excited to meet one of my favorite papercrafting idols, Laura Davis (A Day In The Life of The Paper Poppy, @healthy_mama).  I've been a huge fan since the early 2 Sketches 4 You days, so this was truly a highlight for me.  She was kind enough to fit us into her schedule, and joined us for lunch.  Let me tell you, she's even more beautiful in person, and she is as beautiful of a person on the inside as well.  We had a lovely time, and I'm so glad that I got to meet her.  Thanks again Laura!

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

A Man's Heart

Good day!

How's it going?  I hope you had a good weekend, and are starting your week off well also.  It was a nice, relaxing weekend in the Castro house.  We didn't do anything but go see the movie The Conjuring on Friday.  My daughter and I are huge scary movie fans, so this was a must see for us.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be that scary, but there were some great moments.  I think we'll see it again, once it's on DVD.  We've begun our vacation countdown as well.  In 3 days we'll be in my favorite place, Denver!  I am dying to get there already, and am finding it more and more difficult to be patient. lol  If any of my crafty friends are in the Denver area, and want to have lunch or something, let me know!  It would be awesome to meet any of you!

Anyway, I'm back with another House of Cards project for you.  This weeks theme is Shabby & Vintage.  I've gotten better at CAS, which means that Shabby and Vintage are now two styles that I really struggle with.  For this weeks challenge, click HERE.  Below is the card I created.

I really distressed all of my edges, and I tried to make it look "vintage" with my inking.  I do hope it's close to being considered shabby and vintage.  I really wanted to support this weeks group, so I am just going to go with it.  I've got another card for my stash now too.

I've also combined the following challenges in my card:

WordArt Wednesday #89 - Anything Goes
The Paper Players #155 - Sketch (I flipped it)
Addicted to Stamps #60 - Lots of Layers (I've got 8)
The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan #46 - Red, White & Blue

I do hope you'll head over to see what the HOC Shabby & Vintage DT have created for you this week.  They're beautiful! 

Have a good day!
Hugs!

HOC Month One - Classic & Elegant

Hiya!

This is my second post for the day.  To see what else I've been up to, please scroll down.

It's Monday, which brings us to the next challenge at House of Cards.  I've been participating with them since the first post went live, at the beginning of the month, but this week is focused on my group - Classic and Elegant.  Below is the theme for this month.  For this weeks challenge, click HERE. 

And here is what I created:

I LOVE butterflies!  These Verve butterflies are among my favorite, and when I saw the theme for this months color challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.  I colored them with my Copics, in the colors matching the theme, and then cut them out.  I don't like to fussy cut, much, but they're exactly what I hoped they'd be, once I put them on my card.  I used THIS sketch, even though the challenge is now closed, because it was perfect for what I wanted to do.  And, I'm happy to have another card to add to my stash, yay! 

I have also combined the following challenges in my card today:

Totally Papercrafts #175 - All of a Flutter
Speedy Fox & Friends #168 - Favorite Technique (dry embossing)
Robyn's Fetish #168 - Things With Wings
Hybrid Chick Card Caravan #46 - Red, White & Blue

I do hope you'll head over to the House of Cards challenge blog to see what my friends have created for you today as well.  They're pretty fantastic!

I'll be back with more crafty goodness soon...
Hugs!

Use Your Words - Story

Hello!

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a good weekend, and are having a decent start to your week.  I'm excited to bring you my first post as a new DT member for Use Your Words.  Seeing as how I have TONS of photos and hoarded supplies, this is going to be a great push for me to use them.  In case you haven't heard of them, here is a bit of information about them.

Our challenges will be posted on the 1st and  15th of each month.  You will have until the 29th of the month to complete the challenge.  On the 1st and 15th you will be given  a challenge inspiration word. This word can be used as your title or in your journaling.  We MUST see the word somewhere on your project.

Our challenge this week is the word Story.  For all of the details, click HERE.  Here is my interpretation...

As you can see, there are no photos on my layout.  I wanted to do something that was close to my heart and had been an idea in the back of my mind for a while.  This is a VERY personal situation for me.  I was baptized as a baby in a Catholic church, but I chose to become a Christian on December 3, 2011.  I'm still considered a "baby Christian" by many friends who have been Christians for a lot longer, but I am just as dedicated to living the same, faithful life as they are.  I wanted to make sure that my daughter was being guided in the right direction as well, and am thankful that He has shown her the way too.   

On this layout, I used some new goodies from the Studio Calico Roundabout kit.  It's travel based, but I really thought the papers would go well with my theme.  I also combined them with one of my favorite Verve stamps (Philippians 4:13 plain jane), and some items I got in my Simon Says Stamp June card kit.  The stamp in the bottom right was a perfect fit for this.  A bit of Mister Hueys mist, some washi tape, and some stitching and I was done. 

To be honest, I was a LOT nervous about this first layout, as it's the first I've created in over two years.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make anything that was even close to the amazing projects that my fellow DT friends have created for you today.  I decided to keep it simple, and do what made me happy, and am satisfied with how it turned out. 

I do hope you'll head over to see the gorgeous projects posted on the Use Your Words challenge blog.  They're gorgeous!

Back soon with another crafty post!
Hugs!

Birthday Wishes

Hola y'all!

I hope you've had a wonderful Saturday, and that the weather is being nicer to you than it is to us here in NW Iowa.  I've got three teenage girls who have been at the pool for most of the day, and they're headed back for the midnight swim around 9pm.  I'm glad they're keeping themselves cool, and entertained. lol

I needed a birthday card for a friend, and this is what I came up with.  It's not too girly for a guy, is it?

If you know me, you know I have a difficult time with masculine cards.  I have taken on the approach that if I keep it simple, it works out better.  This is a good example of that, I believe.

I've combined the following challenges in my card:

Creative Belli #173 - Stars
Color Throwdown #250 - Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo & So Saffron (I used colors I thought were close)
Freshly Made Sketches #94 - Sketch
CASual Fridays #109 - Polka Dots
Annabelle Stamps #167 - Polka Dots

I'm going to take the girls to dinner, then we're having shaved ice, before they head back to the pool.  I'll be back soon with another something fun.  I know Monday I've got two really cool posts going up for some new DT work.

Hope you'll check back soon!
Hugs!

All of My Love

Greetings!

It's been a busy week, but I have managed to get some crafty time in.  I'm excited that tomorrow's Friday, but my goodness, time sure is going by VERY quickly!  In two weeks from today, I'll be basking in the breathtaking views with my favorite girl.  We're headed to the Denver area for a nice, extended weekend getaway, with my mom, sister and brother in law.  I can't wait to see her face when she sees the mountains.  This is her first trip to Colorado, and I sure hope she loves it as much as I do.  Maybe I can talk her into applying to the University of Colorado? *crossing my fingers*

Anyway, here is a card I put together before bed the other night.

I'm not a huge pink fan, but I really wanted to use the floral paper, that I've been hoarding for a couple years now.  Everything came together rather easily.  I like how it turned out, and now I've got another card for my stash.  I've combined the following challenges in my card today:

Mojo Monday #301 - Sketch
ODBDSLC161 - Love, Wedding or Anniversary
Papertake Weekly - Old, New, Borrowed or Blue (my patterned papers are old, but the die cut is a new die I just got)
Kaboodle Blog #179 - Anything French (the green background stamp on one of the panels is the French Script stamp from SU!)

I was excited to find out that I was chosen as a Pals Paper Arts Pick.  Thanks a bunch!

I'm off to watch a movie and hang out with my girl, before heading to bed early.  I'm exhausted and I have an early conference call in the morning.  I hope all of you have a wonderful evening!

Hugs!

Use Your Words

Hello, hello!

It's a wonderful day here, and I can't wait to be done with my work day, so that I can come home and play with some more new goodies.  We got a much needed rain shower this morning, but now it's going to be hot and humid.  A couple months ago, when it snowed in May, I was longing for the warm Texas weather.  Now that we've got the heat and humidity, I am almost regretful I missed it. lol  Anyway, I'll move on to why I'm posting today. 

I have tons of photos that I haven't done anything with, in ages.  I haven't even created a scrapbook layout in probably two years.  What's bad about that, is that I have tons of supplies, and photos, but I'm not doing anything with them.  I'm even subscribed to the monthly Scrapbook Kit at Studio Calico.  When my new box arrives each month, I oooh, and ahhh, over everything and then put it in my scrap room with the rest of them, where they have began to collect dust.  I've been afraid to create any kind of layout, due to my lack of creating them, and therefore just let the boxes continue to collect dust. 

I'm happy to announce that I'm dusting off all of my goodies, and photos, and jumping into the scrapbooking world again.  Thanks to Brenshevia, over at the Use Your Words challenge blog, I have been given an opportunity to use up some of my stuff, and finally use the photos I've been collecting.  She has kindly invited me onto her design team, and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm nervous, but still excited. lol  I'll include a bit about the challenge site below, so that you can get a feel for what we're going to be doing.

Our challenges will be posted on the 1st and  15th of each month.  You will have until the 29th of the month to complete the challenge.  On the 1st and 15th you will be given  a challenge inspiration word. This word can be used as your title or in your journaling.  We MUST see the word somewhere on your project.  

I will be back on the 15th with my first reveal as a new DT member.  I do hope you'll join me on this new journey, and use up some of your neglected goodies and photos as well.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!

Hugs & Kisses

Howdy y'all!

I hope your weekend was a good one!  I would have loved an extra day to sleep in, but alas, it's back to the bump and grind of a regular work week.  The good thing, is that I don't have to be at work all week, until 10am.  I don't mind going in a bit later, but working later has its disadvantages.  Thank goodness it's only temporary. 

Today is week two of challenges over at House of Cards.  Even though my cards aren't due until the third week of the month, in support of their first month, I will be attempting to create a card each week.  This weeks challenge is CAS.  Here is what I created.

The color combo is the same the first four weeks, but the style of card is different each week.  I love this shimmery paper, with distressed inks on it.  It makes the color shimmery as well, once you've added them.  CAS is a style that I have always loved, but haven't really been able to create well.  I always want to keep adding stuff to my cards, rather than letting them be simple and lovely.  I do love how this turned out, and I am going to continue to try to create more CAS type cards.  I used THIS sketch, even though it's from a while back.  I really thought it would be perfect for today's CAS theme.  I hope the recipient of this card enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

I've combined the following challenges in my card today:

2 Sisters #151 - Red, White & Blue
Totally Gorjuss #191 - Anything goes, with circles
The Shabby Tea Room #174 - Inspiration Photo

I'm off to get ready for work, and start my day.  I do hope you'll head over to the HOC blog, to see the gorgeous CAS cards that are posted for you today.  They're wonderful!  Also, I hope you'll stop by tomorrow.  I've got another post scheduled, with some interesting news.

Have a great day!
Hugs!