Mo's DP2 Challenge -- Give Thanks!

Mo's DP2 Challenge this week is "Give Thanks" and since Friday is Veteran's Day I chose to make a card thanking the veterans.  Here in Branson, Veteran's week started last Friday, kicked off with a show by Tony Orlando and the display of the traveling Viet Nam Wall.  Branson is the most appreciative town I know when it comes to the veterans.  All shows include patriotic numbers and salute the veterans as well as the active military.  I'm very proud of the programs here and those who make this a memorable experience for the tens of thousands of veterans who visit during Veteran's Week each year.

Two of the first images I fell in love with at Mo's are these adorable kids in the Support the Troops set.  I have a couple of scrapbooking boxes full of military, especially Navy, papers and embellies for when I get around to catching up with my son's career.  In the meantime, those papers are great for this card.

The images just make me tear up, reminding me of all the kids I see sending their dad or mom off to a foreign country fighting for freedom.  Then more tears when they come home.  I'm a sucker for homecomings and will cry buckets every time!

Inside this card is a photo of my son in Kuwait.  It was June 2006 and he was waiting for transportation to Baghdad, Iraq, where he spent the next year. 

I will give him this card Friday when he and his wife come to visit for the weekend, but I can hear him now, "Oh, Mommmmm!"  He gets real embarrassed when I gush over how proud I am of him.  But, gush over him I will, and any other veteran and active military person I see this week!

Thank a vet, shake their hand, smile and pat your hand on your heart.... they will know what that means.  

Bah! Humbug! #43 --- Snowmen

Oh my gosh! I just noticed I haven't posted for almost a week!  Where did the days go?  I do remember spending one luxurious day coloring images..... now I'd better get busy making them into cards! I missed a couple of favorite challenges, again, but I'm able to get this one in for the Bah! Humbug! Challenge.  This week we are celebrating SNOWMEN!  Snowmen and Snowladies are some of my favorite people and they are such cheerful characters on Christmas/Winter/Holiday cards.  

It's not hard to find adorable stamps of snowpeople, but it is difficult to match the unique creations of Sassy Cheryl.  I am using one of her many characters, "Cappuccino, Anyone?"   

I kept the card quite simple.  The snowflake background is made with Martha Stewart's new snowflake "punch all over the page."  I bought one of the first ones she offered, but it was difficult to line up the pattern to make a lacy grid like this one.  The new style has the pattern engraved around the base, like on the border punches, so making this nine-snowflake pattern was easy-peasy!  Michael's had a bunch of these new punches.

Here is the new MS punch and you can see the patterns all around.

I colored the snowman with Copics.  Hmmmmm, that trademark green apron has me thirsty for a Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte!  The card base and oval die cut are made from a semi-glossy red card stock.  The image is also cut with a Nestie.  

I hope you all are having a great week and taking good care of yourselves.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to hop over to Bah! Humbug! for more cheerful goodness in the form of snowmen!

Bah! Humbug! #43 --- Die Cuts

Here it is November making Christmas NEXT MONTH!  Yikes!  Thanks to the ladies of Humbug Hall I have many cards already made.  The weekly Bah! Humbug! challenges have provided a variety of lovely cards.  Now, who to send them to.... hmmm.  But, I digress.  We still have several weeks of challenges to look forward to, and this week's card has been very fun to make.

The die cut I used is Spellbinders poinsettias which I added veins of red glitter to and a center of micro pearls.  Each die cut is layered using 3D Dots, doubled in the centers for deeper dimension. The swirl of rhinestones adds more glitz.  The dp is actually from the same sheet that I used on my card that I posted Sunday, only this time you can see more of this beautiful paper from The Paper Studio. 

Here's more of the poinsettia.  The micro pearls in the center are piled on a dot of glue, which at the time I took the photo was still sticky.  It has now dried to clear.  I was chasing the natural lighting to catch the photo!  That's what I get for sliding in under the wire again!

The tag is also a die cut from the Cuttlebug tag folder.  I lightly sanded the embossing to make it more noticable.  The sentiment is by Cornish Heritage Farms and is embossed red glitter.

If you are working on your holiday cards and need some inspiration Bah! Humbug! is the place to go!  Play along with us, too, with your die cut cards.  Have a great week and take care of yourselves. 

Saturated Canary Challenge #3

Yep, I'm smiling like the canary that swallowed the cat!  The Saturated Canary images by Krista Smith have me hooked! I so love all my favorite artists, and now there is one more for me to keep my Copics flowing!  Here for Challenge #3 is my very first Saturated Canary finished image:

Meet Frizzy Jynx!  She is my inner wild child! If I could be unabashedly wacky I want to be Frizzy Jynx!  The challenge this week is to make a card or paper project as easy as 1 - 2 - 3, one image, two patterned papers, and three embellies.  The papers are from the DCWV Hippie Chic matstack and this time I actually chose the paper before I colored the image!  This paper was perfect for this wild child!  The embellies are from Making Memories Chloe's Closet -- yep, I still have a bunch of that! Who'd have thought it would go so well with the papers?  I have to give credit to Jen del Muro for the sketch, even though it is from October LAST YEAR!  Never let a great sketch go to waste!

 Frizzy Jynx close up, colored with Copics.  I know I was smiling the whole time I colored her, and I think I even let out a giggle as I squiggled ink on her hair!

If you haven't met Krista yet you are in for a treat, and she has a top-notch design team, too!

Have a great day and take care of yourself!

Mo's DP2 Challenge 106 - Any Holiday or Celebration

This time of year brings many holidays and celebrations and since Christmas is just around the corner I am really focusing on getting cards made to sell or send.  Mo is always one of my "go to" sites for new and precious images.  The image I used for this week's DP2 challenge is one such image. This is Ragged Angel.  She is so beautiful and just right for vintage-style cards.

I used vintage dp of Christmas scenes (which I have nearly covered over) and sheet music (which I love for Christmas cards) and distressed the edges.  I piled on the antique lace, poinsettias, bling and extra little goodies.  

She is colored with Copics and sprinkled with Stickles for snowflakes.  I really enjoyed coloring this image and will likely do another one, or two. 

I found this lovely sketch at Sasya's Sketches (not sure of the name of the blog -- it is in Russian).  This is an amazing design team and I love looking at their work.  I used one of their sketches for this card, I just turned it on its side.  This week they are doing Christmas cards for children in support of children in orphanages. I wish I could send dozens of angels like Ragged Angel to help those kids.  But for now, I will enter this card in their challenge, too.  

I actually made three cards today, but posting two of them is all I have time for.  The third one will come later and is an image from a fantastic artist who is quickly becoming very popular --- and you will see why tomorrow.  In the meantime, be sure to visit Mo's DP2 and Sasya's Sketches for loads of inspiration. 

Have a great week and take care of yourself.

Sassy Cheryl Challenge #87 - Pink and a Bit of Inspiration

Throughout the month of October Sassy Cheryl and the DT have been including pink for breast cancer awareness in the challenge.  This week an additional inspiration has been added in the form of the photo below:

Not only are these dishes beautiful inspiration for this week's challenge, but what a gorgeous table they set!  Anyway, I have been AWOL the past few weeks so I wanted to be sure to get an entry in this week. 

I just got this adorable Christmas images, Lucy Lou and Her Big Ornament Trouble over at Sassy Cheryl's and colored it with Copics and added clear Stickles for some shimmer. The DP is from a DCWV Christmas Stack that I've been using for a couple of years.  I love the papers, but I have promised my bank account no new papers until I use up anything that is two years old or more.  So you just might be seeing more of this!

Here's a close up of the image.  

The sketch is from Sketch 'n' Stash #73 and I thought it was perfect for this image.  The circles, scalloped circle and tag are Nestabilities.  This card has lots of layers!  I haven't done that lately.  I'm posting it to the SNS challenge, too.   

Thank you for stopping by today.  For some really inspiring projects hop on over to Sassy Cheryl's and Sketch and Stash.  Have a great week and take care of yourself. 

Bah! Humbug! #42 --- With Men In Mind

Cards for men are always a challenge for us, it seems.  So the ladies at Humbug Hall have us tackling this challenge this week.  I am sliding in under the wire this week, so I'll just get right to the card.

Mo Manning's image Little Present  came to mind to put on a card for a gal to give a guy.  In this case I added the sentiment "Got Mistletoe?" as an innocent, ahem, invitation.  The papers I used are from the Basic Grey "Mistletoe and Pears" stack that I have been using for a couple of years.  The borders are two of Martha Stewart's and layered with strips of ribbon.  I used The Deconstructed Sketch for this card, so I'm also entering it in this week's challenge over there.  

I used Copics to color the image and added a few Stickle dots to the background area. 

This was a pretty easy card to put together..... once I got to it!  It seems I am back in "catch-up mode".  But I am ever so grateful you stopped by to have a look!  Please take a moment to hop over to Bah! Humbug! to see the wonderful projects by the DT and the participants.  

Birthday Card for My Brother

Still a classic....................

............ after all these years!

My brother loves motorcycles.  He rides a Harley, thus the orange and silver/black color theme of this card.  But I think he will appreciate this handsome digi of a vintage Norton that I found at Delicious Doodles.

No coloring here, but I did darken the image just a bit before printing because I wanted it to stand out against the silver and black.  I used the Cuttlebug Diamond Plate embossing folder on the metallic silver card stock.  The film strip is Spellbinders die. Odds and ends of brads and papers finish it off.

I think he will like this.  He is three years younger than I so I can get by with this sentiment.  But it is true of him anyway.  He is a classic and a great guy.  I love him a lot!  Happy birthday, little brother!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I will be hopping on when I can this weekend.  I have company and five weddings to photograph!  It's a miracle I got this card in today!  

Design D.I.V.A.S. Oldies But Goodies Blog Hop

It's the third Wednesday of October which means it's time for the Facebook chapter of the Design D.I.V.A.S. to have our Oldies But Goodies (OBD) Blog Hop.

 This is when we use neglected and forgotten items from our stashes.  The Design D.I.V.A.S. is a private Facebook group, which is a branch of the Original Design D.I.V.A.S. on the Splitcoaststampers website. The acronym for the D.I.V.A.S is, Divine, Inspirational, Virtuous, Artistic (or annointed) Sistahs. This is a very talented and supportive group, which I'm blessed to be a part of . October is a busy month for everyone, but we have four die-hard D.I.V.A.S. participating. 

Our lovely Mary at My Stampin' Hide-Away

Happy dancing Sue at Sue's Sentiments

Lil old Me --- here

Delightful Cindy at Stamp With Me Cindy G

 I've been reorganizing my studio and found lots of neglected stamps and papers that I wanted to let see the light of day.  I pulled out this adorable Stampin' Up set from 2004 and used DCWV glitter paper that I've had for a few years.  So, I would say these definitely qualify as OBDs.

 Yep, I still have the original box.

I didn't get this done in time to use natural lighting for the photo, so please excuse the glare.  It is glittery paper.  I used a Martha Stewart snowflake border punch on the burgundy glitter paper.

 Now this is one serious shopper! She is colored with Copics and rhinestones baubles on her clever Christmas tree dress.  If our winter is like last year I might be wearing skates to shop, too --- hahahaha! 

The sentiment on the inside of the card is part of the set.  Cute, huh!

Thanks for stopping by today. Please be sure to visit my sistahs Mary, Sue, and Cindy and leave them some love, too.

Endless Reorganizing -- Part 2

Although I really wanted to do some creating this weekend I found myself going into the next phase of reorganizing my studio.  Back in September I reorganized my ribbons so that I could select the colors more easily --- and determine what colors I needed to pick up at the next big Michael's sale.  You can see that post here. 

Last week my DH was home for a few days so I was able to get another pegboard panel put up where I could display my wooden stamps.  

 This is not necessarily a "before" picture, but more of a "during" picture.  I've had most of my wood mounted stamps in boxes similar to these sitting on top of my Ikea unit.  This unit is nearly 5 feet high and I am nearly 5 foot 3 inches high. Whenever I thought about using a particular stamp I would look up at this tower of boxes and think "Nah, digital again today." This system was not working! 

 I've often coveted the shelves of neatly displayed wood mounted stamps.   So....

 Here is my new stamp wall in progress.  I can go up a couple more rows of shelves.  Now that I can see some of my stamps I don't think I'll have much trouble looking for something for my Oldies But Goodies blog hop entry this week!  The Craftsman work table sitting below the pegboard is currently covered with other things I have yet to put away.  But it will be used primarily for preparing packages for mailing.

 I also made room for my Martha Stewart punches, saving valuable workbench space.  My DH looked at these punches lined up and thought they looked like little toilets.  I guess they do!

 They are actually the punch around sets!  

Many of my cling stamps are housed in CD jewel cases sitting in the wire baskets that the rolls of ribbon used to be in.  Below this wall is a handy Craftsman cabinet that I have set up for stamping.

 Also accomplished this weekend was to move these three cabinets and tool chests so they are all together on one wall.  I love these tool chests!  They are like the mechanics chests made of oak that can cost hundreds of dollars.  I found these at Lowe's Home Improvement a few years ago for a fraction of that.  

The tops open so I make sure not to put things on top of them.  In this chest the top is filled with small punches of assorted shapes and uses.  The drawers are shallow but perfect for packages of  rhinestones, brads, stickers, and embellies.  The cabinets below hold a variety of things from magazines to Stickles. 

 It's important to me to have my materials out in the open where I can easily see them. Now that I am accomplishing that mission there are many materials that I have forgotten about, don't need any more, or simply don't want any longer.  I still have lots of stamps and other materials to put away, but many of them will probably end up for sale or at the local thrift store. 

All of this rearranging is also giving me more space which I hope will be enough to bring in my favorite chair. I get tired of sitting at the computer or drafting table all the time.  With my favorite chair I might NEVER leave the studio!  Now, where to put the coffee pot and mini-firdge?

Four GRAND Reasons I've Been AWOL

It's been a week since I've posted or even worked in my studio!  Mom and I just got back from a trip to northwest Iowa to see some of my family.  Here are four of my GRAND nephews and nieces:

 Zander, nearly 5 years old

 Dylan (Zander's brother), 3 years old (going on 13!)

 Sienna, nearly 5 years old

Cohen (Sienna's brother), 3 months old

It is always so much fun to be with these little ones.  Zander always makes sure I have my camera with me.  Dylan is full of surprises. He had on a Batman t-shirt because he loves super heroes.  I asked him if he (Dylan) was Robin and he very firmly said "Robin is not a super hero! Only Batman is!"

Sienna likes to play coy at first, then she gets flirty with the camera.  Cohen, well he just sleeps -- sometimes! 

Dylan, Zander and Sienna playing a game with the biggest kid, my brother "Uncle Andy". 

I've been trying to keep up with everyone on Google Reader --- Wow, y'all have been busy!  I'll catch up soon, I hope! 

Birthday Card for a Friend

A quick post tonight to show a card I made today for a dear friend who's birthday is tomorrow. (Lots of birthdays this month!)

 The focus is on the scripture, which came from Our Daily Bread Designs Scripture Collection I.  The papers are from DCWV Latte Matstack.  I've had that stack for a long time but always forgot to use it! Now I have it out where I can see it and USE it!  The green card stock is Bazzill.  And the flowers are also some I've had for awhile and came from a set of Spare Parts by the Paper Studio.  They turned out to be the perfect colors! 

I used Memento Olive for the stamp.  My inspiration for this card comes from favorite designers like Becca Feeken and Betty Wright. They make such gorgeous inspirational cards.

Speaking of birthdays, today is my birthday and I have had a very nice day!  Lots of phone calls, lovely cards, and many emails and Facebook messages.  Thanks, everyone, for all your kind wishes.  It's hard to admit to this age ------ so I won't!  heheheheh!

Come Hither

That look...... you know the one I mean.  It makes you swoon. You go weak in the knees, your hands get all clammy and you lose all sense of reality.  It's that look..... come hither...............

Come Hither

That's the name of this haunting image by Mo Manning.  This isn't for any particular challenge, I just LOVE the new images by Mo.  Another one I did recently was "Dare". They are sexy, sultry and just a bit naughty! For this card I used a silver textured metallic card stock for the card base and a layer of the medallion by Nestabilities.  The black is not metallic, but more like patent leather, very shiny.  The red of the medallion is a very shiny metallic.  The swirly ribbon is actually from the new Christmas collection at Michael's and works perfectly here. Swirls of red and crystal rhinestones add to the dizzying effect.  The butterfly is from a vintage download I had laying out for another project, but it just magically flew onto this card!  Spooooooky!

Close up details of the Copic coloring and more of Mo's rich depth in the cape. 

Whew! This is getting too hot to handle --- I can't wait to color up another one!!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Mo's DP2 Challenge #102 -- Our Furry Friends

My three little furry friends really like Mo's challenge this week.  Especially Mattie who loves going to Grandma's house, just like Little Red Riding Hood.  

Red and her furry friend are merrily on their way to grandmother's house.  I kept the card simple because there is so much going on in the image with her beautiful red cape, the basket full of goodies, and her little dog grabbing at the gingham napkin on the basket.  The red background is embossed with one of the embossing folders in the "Once Upon A Princess" Cricut Complements set by Cuttlebug.  The other paper accents are from scraps. I found the red checkered rickrack in a box that had been packed away.  It's a great find, except that it is a very large skein of the stuff! My guess is at least 10 yards!! I see lots of red checkered rickrack accents in my future --- ugh!

I forgot to mention that the sketch came from Deconstructed Sketch so I am entering their challenge, too.

Well, I love the image and she was so much fun to color! It did take awhile but one of my favorite things about coloring Mo's images is the luscious folds and draping in the clothing.  Of course I used Copics and what would I do without the colorless blender? 

For more inspiration and magnificent coloring with all sorts of media be sure to hop over to Mo's DP2 challenge.  Lots of furry friends, too.  And by the way, here is my little Mattie -- always ready to go to Grandma's house!

Thanks for stopping by!