Sunday Sketch & Stamp #14 -- Ger's Sketch

(I apologize for this post being so late today. The scheduler can be so unpredictable and, wouldn't you know, on the day I didn't get to the computer right away, the scheduler failed me.)

Many, many thanks to everyone who participated in the Sunday Sketch and Stamp #13! What wonderful creations!! We are so glad you played along this past fortnight and look forward to seeing your projects for Challenge #14.

Challenge #14 is not only Ger's fun sketch, but we also have a sponsor! Our sponsor this fortnight is Your Next Stamp, a digistamp company with very fun images. The Sunday Sketch and Stamp design team and guest designers are using some of YNS in our cards this week, so be sure to take a look. They are so creative!

So, on to my card. First, Ger's sketch. She challenged us with a big circle this time and it worked out really well!

Isn't this a fun Halloween card? I used a black blank card, then mounted a purple circle. Purple is such a great color for Halloween. Instead of the rectangles, I used a couple of circles cut from glitter papers to give the illusion of the moon. Flying over the moon is the image "Cute Witch", which she certainly is! She is colored with Copics. The rickety fence is cut on my Cricut using the Paper Doll Cut Outs cartridge. The smiling pumpkin, also from YNS is colored with Copics. To finish it off I used the Halloween greeting from YNS.

I had so much fun with this card. Thank you, Ger, for a great sketch and Karen at Your Next Stamp for the adorable images to play with.

Now, y'all need to pop right on over to Sunday Sketch and Stamp for more fun and details about this challenge. We all visit the participants' blogs so, I'll be watching ---- bwaaaahhaahhahhhaa!

Barb

In God We Trust

Color Create Challenge #30 -- All White!

If there is one thing I love to do it is to play with color combinations. I usually color up a bunch of images, then match them to paper later.

Well, I found a new challenge called Color Create and had to jump in! So the first week I do the challenge they have --- NO color!! All white, except the image. No problem! I love to do that, too. In fact I had this pretty little note card done a week or so ago but hadn't posted it yet. This is the perfect time.

Now, for whatever reason, the photo decided to take on a pink glow, but, as you can see in the detail shot below, the card really is layers of white.

Beautiful Whiff of Joy Willow is colored with Copics (and I lost my list of colors), my favorite medium. She is sitting pretty on two layers of Nestibilities die cuts, the bottom one embossed with Cuttlebug folder Bubbles. The base layer is Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing folder. The sprigs of fir are Martha Stewart punch.

I do like layers of white and will probably be doing more with my Christmas cards. It is such a clean look and so wintery, too.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your weekend is full of fun and good weather.

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #52 -- Heather's Sketch

When Heather has a sketch for Whiff of Joy Challenges I just can't wait to get on it! So, last night I finally had some time to get busy and here is my rendition of her wonderful sketch.

When it comes to snowmen, Herb is a favorite of mine! Herb with a Tea Cup warmed me up as I pulled out my reddest reds and greenest greens Copics for some rich winter coloring. For the layout I used a piece of sweet candy cane glitter ribbon that I just couldn't resist at Michael's. (I know that not much of this yummy trim shows here, but you will no doubt be seeing much more of it in the weeks to come!) The candy cane stripes for the horizontal ribbons was just a perfect compliment. Here's the list of ingredients:

Card blank: shimmery white card stock

White glitter paper for front

Image colored with Copics

Glittery snowflake flowers from Marcella of K & Company

Candy cane glitter ribbon and candy cane stripes from Michael's

Red star brad from K & Company

Poinsettia from Prisma flowers

And here is Heather's terrific sketch! Another keeper, Heather!! Thank you for the inspiration!

So, if you haven't already, hop on over to WOJ Challenges and see all the gorgeous projects from this ultra-talented design team. And the participants are awesome, too!

Thanks for stopping by! Your visits are very much appreciated!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #20

This week Inky Impressions has a fun sketch for us. I chose Angelica Bunny Hugs to color and coordinated her with some beautiful fall paper. We've had such gorgeous colors here this fall and I just had to carry that into this card.

Materials:

Image colored with Copics

DP from Recollections (Michaels) Autumn collection

Flowers die cuts from Spellbinders Shapeabilities Daisy Heads

Brads in centers of flowers and on sentiment from Recollections Autumn coordinates

Sentiment from K & Company stickers

Here is the sketch:

This is a fun sketch to use, a definite keeper. Hop on over to Inky Impressions and see the wonderful projects by the design team. While you're at it, why not play along! This is a rapidly growing challenge with very creative folks!

Thanks for stopping by! Your visit is greatly appreciated!

Barb

In God We Trust

A Different Kind of Card --- A Tribute to Heroes

I'm taking a bit of a break tonight from my usual stamped cards to share a set of cards I am very proud of. Some of you might have seen this on one of my other blogs, but since I wrote this it has taken on a life of its own.

Called "When Our Sons Become Our Heroes" this was inspired by a conversation I had with a blogger many of us know and love, the very talented and warm-hearted Carolyn at PMS, etc. Her son recently joined the Army and will be deployed to Afghanistan. My son has been in the Navy 13 years and has been deployed all over the world, including a year in Iraq. As we talked we reminisced, sharing stories of our boys. The next morning I woke up with this on my heart. Within 20 minutes it was on my computer. Carolyn was the first one to see this, and I continue to dedicate it to her and Jonathon and my son Scott.

Since writing this I have made cards and posters, selling many of each. I was even asked to autograph two of them yesterday! There is also a slightly modified version for "Daughters". This week I am going with a friend, a veteran, to the Veterans' Museum here in Branson to donate a framed poster-size of each tribute. I have also been invited to a local high school's Veteran's Day banquet where students will read these as part of the program. I am just blown away by this. As my Aunt Lorraine said "God put this in your heart for it to come out at the right time." And I am grateful.


My mother wrote a description for the back of the card that tells how this all came about.

As I write this, my 84-year old uncle, a WWII Navy veteran, is preparing for a trip to Washington, DC to visit the WWII Memorial. He is battling cancer, but this trip has him so excited he is giddy! Des Moines, IA-based Hy-Vee food stores is sponsoring these trips for the veterans. God bless our vets, and Hy-Vee!

God bless all our troops, at home and abroad.

Thanks for stopping by. Your visits are always appreciated.

Barb

The Glad Bells

On a recent treasure hunt through antique stores I found a couple of very old music books. One was published in 1902 and the other about 1969. I love the yellowed edges, especially in the older book, and the notations from past music directors.

These books didn't contain many Christmas hymns, but this page of "The Glad Bells" is quite seasonal. The page was a perfect fit for a 5x7 mat with a 4x6 opening. Behind the music is a card stock blank for a personal note. I colored "Willow with a Lantern" in Copics and 3d mounted her image on the music. Just a few simple pearls around each corner and I have another mailable-frameable card for Christmas.

The week is starting off great! We have bright sunshine and the leaves are changing to every color in the fall palette. My camera is ready to go!!

I hope your week is off to a terrific start, too! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you return soon.

Barb

In God We Trust

What Makes an Old Milking Shed Spooky?

In the woods, not far from our house, is this very old, run down milking shed. The dairy cows are long gone, but now and then a deer or two will saunter by on their way to a nearby watering hole. It really is a peaceful little spot under thick trees.

But, a few Photoshop tricks, some Cricut cutouts of skeletons and ghouls, plus a few stickers turn this peaceful little shed into a Halloween haunted house. I made a few quick little cards. I just couldn't resist.

Happy Halloween, everyone! (A bit early!)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all are having a great weekend!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #19 and an Anniversary Card

Tonight I have two cards to show. The first is for Inky Impressions Challenge #19 and the second is an Anniversary Card I was commissioned to make.

First, the Inky Impressions card. This week instead of a sketch we have a yummy recipe with lots of sweet ingredients:

- 1 Image
- 1 Sentiment
- 2 Ribbons
- 3 Layers
- 3 Embellishments

I chose the image Lili's Prayer and colored her in the rich fall colors the we love so much this time of year. For one of the layers I used a wide ribbon, luscious with a harvest pattern, then added ribbon #2 of the recipe.

Here are my ingredients for the recipe:

• 1 Image - Lili's Prayer colored with Copics
• 1 Sentiment - Autumn Greetings heat embossed with copper powder
• 2 ribbons - Wide Autumn Print and ecru sheer w/woven edges
• 3 layers - ribbons, Lili showcased on cardstock die cuts from Nestibilities, Sentiment on die cuts from Nestibilities
• 3 embellishments - Autumn leaves brads
• The background paper is new from My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas

Be sure to hop over to Inky Impressions and take a look at the design team's wonderful projects and the participants, too. In fact, why not join in?

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The second card is for my husband's partner to give to his wife for their 20th anniversary. Her favorite color is orange and she loves hummingbirds. I also had the go-ahead to make the card very sentimental. I had a lot of fun with this card and I used the frame-ready matted style that I have come to really enjoy. This card is ready to pop right into a 5 x 7 frame, but I'll let Sam pick that out.

Here is my recipe for this card:

• Card blank made from peach Bazzill cardstock and attached to oval cut mat
• Stampabilities Hummingbird stamp colored with Copics (R27, R59, G00, G21, W1, W3, W7, YR21, 100)
• 2 hearts cut from ivory Papertrey cardstock, embossed with Cuttlebug dotted swiss and script embossing folders, cut with Nestibilities Heart dies.
• Flower bunches from Michael's wedding department
• "To Love and To Cherish" stamp (source unknown) heat embossed on Nesties die cut
• Pearl embellies.

The inside of the card has a heartfelt sentiment computer printed on onion skin paper.

I'm fairly certain that Sam's wife will like this card!

Thank you for stopping by! It has been a busy week and I do have more cards to post. It took some computer shifting to get back to work since my wireless router quit on me and files needed to be transferred to my only PC with internet access at this point. (Isn't it amazing that 20 years ago a home computer was a novelty, but now I literally have more working computers in the house that televisions!)

Have a great weekend!

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #51 --- Die Cuts

It's Wednesday and that means a new Whiff of Joy Challenge! The really big news is that I have a card ready on the first day of the challenge! This week the focus is on die cuts, one of my favorite tools!

For my cards I colored the fun fall image of Charlotte. This time I used the Nestibilities Scalloped Circle die as a frame on the patterned paper and slipped the image underneath.

Materials:

Image colored with Copics (I always pencil the colors onto the back of the Papertrey paper for reverence later, but attached this to the card before copying down the colors. So, suffice to say I used a lot of fall colors and Charlotte's outfit is B0000 and B01.)

DP from Recollections at Michaels

Brad on Prima flowers is from Recollections

Ribbon and twine from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by!! I hope you visit the Whiff of Joy Challenge blog and take a look at the Design Team's fabulous projects and the participants' creativity, as well! Hey, why not join in, too?

Barb

In God We Trust

Winners of the Busy Beauties Blog Hop

I want to thank everyone who participated in the Busy Beauties Blog Hop. We had an incredible turnout and lots of fun. I know Carolyn in on Cloud Nine!!

So, now to the winners:

Grand Prize Winner~ Martha Kay (theneon)
Runners Up:
from Catherine's Blog~Adrina
from Kelly's Blog~Marysanders123
from Grace's Blog~Carlie M.
from Annita's Blog~Pamela
from Karen's Blog~Callie
from Rachel's Blog~SugarBeanz
from Heather's Blog~Susan
from Lauri's Blog~craft_princess
from my Blog~Nancy
from Carolyn's Blog~Penni

Congratulations everyone! Please send your email to Carolyn at TheMadScrapper@nc.rr.com so she can send your prizes.

Now that we are off to such a great start you can be sure there is even more to come!

Have a wonderful week and remember, we are all busy beauties!!

Barb

In God We Trust

Sunday Sketch and Stamp #13 --- Clare's Sketch

I've been looking at all the fantastic projects from the last Sunday Sketch and Stamp challenge and, I must say, I am blown away by all the creative uses of the sketch and the beautiful projects! It was a fun sketch for me to put together and so much more fun to see so many renditions of it. Thank you for participating!

Now on to Sketch #14 from our lovely Clare! She also gave us a sketch that is fun to work with and a real keeper! I know I'll be using it again!

My card features Sarah Kay's "Joy Noel" stamp. I love the rich colors of winter so I colored her in velvety teal and copper. I'm in the Christmas mood already because I have so many cards to make, but I know this sketch will look great in any theme!

Materials:

Image: Sarah Kay "Joy Noel"

Colored with Copics: Skin E000, E00; Hair E08; Coat & Hat BG18, BG78; Dress E07, E41, E37; Shoes E37; Mailbox B29, B39

Cardstock: Glimmer copper

Ribbon: from my stash

Flowers: Prima

Gold medallion and accent: Spellbinders Lattice Pendant set

And here is Clare's wonderful sketch. As you can see, I stretched it. You can do the same, or rotate it, as long as we can see the original sketch. Give it a go! Join us at Sunday Sketch and Stamp!!

Thanks for stopping by and please join us during the next fortnight by posting your projects on the challenge blog. And, by all means, pop over and see the DT's gorgeous creations! We are introducing our three new guest designers and their talent is off the charts!

Barb

In God We Trust

Announcing the GRAND OPENING of Busy Beauties DigiStamps!!

In our wonderful world of craft blogging there are extraordinarily talented people. One of those is bubbly, generous, and uber-creative Carolyn Bounds at P.M.S. etc. Today is a very special one for her --- and the rest of us! Here's why:

Announcing Busy Beauties DigiStamps!

Welcome to the Grand Opening Blog Hop! If you arrived here from Lauri's blog, then you are on the right track! To start at the beginning you can visit Catherine's blog.

Carolyn and her friend Thomas have been working on new creations that are now available! These exciting digistamps are fun representations of everyday life and the applications of these images are endless!

I am thrilled and honored to be part of the launch of Busy Beauties Designs. I have known Carolyn for over a year, having met her here on this fabulous forum called the blogosphere. She is a very active participant on design teams and is a generous commenter. This new venture is a natural next step for this extraordinary lady. Please join me in congratulating Carolyn and wishing her great success!

Now I would like to show you a couple of the Busy Beauties.

My first card uses this image of a young lady and is called "Back 2 School" and looks like she is back to the books, imagining possibilities, and cheering on the varsity team!

Take a closer look. She is terrific!

Materials:

Paper and embellishments from the Pretty Poppies collection from Autumn Leaves

Image stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Papertrey White, colored with Copics

Tools: Martha Stewart border punch

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My second card uses an image perfect for Halloween: "Here Comes The Bride". This beauty is busy trick-or-treating and has already dipped into her bag of goodies. The chocolate bar makes me giggle as that could be a trademark of Carolyn and the rest of us --- we love chocolate!

Here's a closer look. I hope that bag contains only candy!

Materials:

Paper: Halloween DP from my stash

Image stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Papertrey White, colored with Copics

Tools: tree and castle cut with Cricut using Paper Doll Cutouts cartridge; fence is Martha Stewart punch (my favorite!)

Now you have to see the rest!! Your next stop is Carolyn's.

To find out how to make these digistamps your own go to http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Busybeauties.

And I almost forgot,

there is a G-I-V-E-A-W-A-Y !

If you leave a little love on every blog in the hop, you have a chance to win every digi stamp that is currently in the Busy Beauties Boutique. That's right...one randomly selected person who comments on each of the blogs on the hop will win every digi in the shop... AND that's not all!!! There are still ten more opportunities to win some free digis. One randomly chosen commenter from each blog will also have a chance to win three digi stamps of their choosing.

Thanks for joining us on this exciting day. We hope you like what you see!

Barb

In God We Trust

Sneak to a Big Announcement!!

It this a terrific image or what!? Do you want to see more? Do you want to know how to get one of your own? How about a towel-wrapped busy beauty? Or a sad little Halloween trick-or-treater? Even a champagne bottle of bubbly --- but what kind of bubbly?
Check back tomorrow for the scoop!! That's all you get for now!! Bwahhahahahah!

Barb

In God We Trust

Matted and Ready for Framing

This project is one I have been wanting to do for awhile. It has a hidden secret! Looking at the front you see this adorable couple from Sarah Kay exchanging holiday greetings. They are framed with a mat; all they need now is a lovely gold frame to make it a special Christmas accent for a side table or wall. So, what is the secret? Behind the image is a full sized card, lined with white parchment for a personal note. It all fits into a 5 x 7 envelope, ready for mailing or personal delivery.

Images like these are just so beautiful when colored that they are frameable. Every card we make, with a creative layout and pretty embellishments, are works of art and worthy of display.

When I named my creative venture "Made For Keeps" I meant it. What better way to keep a special card than to frame it?

I hope you like my "frameable-mailable" card. Give it a try! I'll bet your recipients will love it!

Thanks for stopping by! Your visits and comments are very much appreciated!

Barb

In God We Trust

Harvest Time Colored With Copics and Prismacolors

The trees here in southwest Missouri are taking on some pretty colors, showing the promise of a beautiful autumn. With the nights getting quite chilly I am beginning to smell the warm aromas from fireplaces. What a great time of year!

The Fall 2009 stamps from Whiff of Joy provide the perfect images to celebrate this colorful turning point of the year. For this card I chose Willow with a Basket of Corn and masked the image against the fence, one of their new accessory stamps. With red gingham paper from the Recollections collection of fall prints I cut the background with the Nestibilities large label, and cut the image a size smaller. The card base is Kraft card stock and the corner leaves are from scraps cut with Cuttlebug leaf dies. The gingham ribbon is some I have used before and was a perfect match for the paper. I love this ribbon and hope to find more before I run out it.

Copics used for Willow: Skin E00; Hair E49, E41; Dress R39; Blouse C01, C03.
For the fence I used so many Copics trying to get the effect I wanted that I lost track. I also added PrismaColors to sharpen the grain in the wood. The blades of tall grass are also sharpened with PrismaColors. I like the effect I am getting with the combination of the two mediums. It is subtle yet the PrismaColors add just the right finishing touch.


I hope you all are having a good week and that fall colors are decorating your lives, wherever you are. Lots of holidays coming up! Busy times, good times!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #17 --- Gift

Through the month of September Nicole (Inky's Mama) has been celebrating her birthday. This week's challenge wraps up this fun celebration with the theme "gift". So, instead of making a card I made this Sleep-Over Party Favor. What better way to celebrate a birthday than an all-night sleep-over? Remember, no sleeping allowed!

Here Lili is all set with a big bowl of popcorn and her bear. I wonder what is in the box? A carmel apple? A noise maker to keep everyone awake? Or an adorable Inky Impressions stamp to color into the wee hours of the night!

Happy Birthday, Nicole! I hope you had a great month!

Thanks for stopping by everyone! I appreciate the time you spend on my blog and the comments you leave.

Barb

In God We Trust

House Mouse Challenge #53 --- Buttons!

I haven't done a House Mouse challenge for awhile. Actually, I've had the cards made, just didn't get them on the blog in time. Well, this time I am ready! Not only do I have a card for Challenge #53, but also a matching gift tag! The theme is buttons and I have them --- and they are BIG! This was a fun project!

If it seems I'm on a Christmas theme, well, I am, sort of. I need to have a lot of cards in my shop by next month since many people start their card sending right after Thanksgiving. So, this card features those adorable mice busily wrapping a pile of packages. (They must be in a whole different economical universe!)

Making a matching gift tag is a great use of scraps. This tag is a bit large. I'll be making them a tad smaller in the future. The template for the tag is cut with the Cricut. If I use paper scraps rather than card stock, I put a light weight card stock as a backing. The back of this tag is white with plenty of room for the "To" and "From" and a short note.

I'm still on this mission to color the HM & friends with Copics, but I really do have so much more success with the Prismacolors. This image is colored in Copics. In the near future I will be posting images that are a combination of both Copics and Prismacolors. What a great combo that is!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you hop over to the House Mouse & Friends blog to see what the Design Team has come up with. They are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Join in the fun, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

Whiff of Joy Challenge #50 --- Rachel's Sketch

This week's Whiff of Joy Challenge is a sketch by the wonderfully talented Rachel. Her sketch was fun and a definite keeper.

For my card I used the beautiful Shy Willow from the Summer Stamp Kit. She is one of my favorites for coloring because her skirt is so full of folds and appears to sway.

I have a somewhat unorthodox method of making my cards. Some days I just sit and color images with no particular patterned paper in mind. I just put together colors that appeal to me at the time, or I am eager to use some new Copics. So, that creates a challenge when choosing the papers for the card. Thankfully I have quite a stash of paper and usually find just the right pieces. This card is quite a combination of designers but I am very pleased with it. I hope you like it, too.

Materials:

Designer Papers: June Bug by Basic Grey and Chloe's Closet by Making Memories

Tag: Chloe's Closet by Making Memories

Strawberries: Martha Stewart

Copics: Skin E000, E00; Hair E08, E41, E29; Dress R0000, R00, R02; Apron YR0000, YR00, YR04; Berries R20, R17; Apples YG00, YG03

Ever since I got the new Copics pastels I use them often. I love the translucence of the colors.

And here is Rachel's wonderful sketch -- easy and elegant!

There is more exciting new from Whiff of Joy: the Winter Stamp Kit is now available for pre-order! If it is anything like the others it will be over-the-top awesomely gorgeous! (I've ordered mine!) Remember Willow's flowing gown from last year? I can't wait to see what she is wearing this year!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the Whiff of Joy Challenge blog to see the Design Teams amazing cards! Join in, too! And, there is a blog hop going on today (Oct 3) to celebrate their one-year anniversary! The fun just never ends!!

Barb

In God We Trust