Bah! Humbug! Challenge #34---Christmas Carol

Ah, Bah! Humbug! girls! Now we're gettin' down to some serious Christmas business --- the CAROLS!!  I love the Christmas music sooooo much!!  Let's see, today is September 8.  Is it too soon to start playing carols?  I don't think so!  One of the largest playlists on my iPod is holiday tunes!

Anywho.... this Mo Manning image of the children's choir is just so cute for this challenge.  They are all so adorable with their little mouths in perfect Os.  My guess is that they are singing "O Christmas Tree".  Since that is the sheet music I placed behind them, that would be a pretty good guess! ;-)

These little cherubs are colored with Copics and I sparkled it up with gold Spica on the star and silver Spica on the music books.  The gold ribbon is from my stash and the music embossing on the red card stock base is Cuttlebug.

The Season of Peace will soon be here, though I know we all pray for peace each and every day. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to hop over to Bah! Humbug!  Anne, Ann, Irene, and Max will have you jingling bells and roasting chestnuts!

Fresh Brewed Designs September Blog Hop --- Shades of Brown and New Releases

Good Morning! **YAWN STRETCH** Can you believe our month off has gone by already and we are well into September? School is already started for most of the little ones. Moms are all busy and getting up early, always on the go. We know how you are feeling. TRUST US! We know! This blog hop / image release was created with you in mind.

Ready for a hint? Here is a little poem for you:

Coffee and spice, Lattes are nice

That's what this girl's made of!

HEHEHE!!!

You guessed it, we have some fun coffee images to share with you. LOTS of caffeinated fun... just the boost you need for the mid-week slump. You will find some relaxing images, some sassy "woohoo the kids are gone" (lol) images... but most of all you will find these images are perfect images for someone you love. They are centered around love and romance with a dash of sass. Intrigued?

Wait no longer, here is the card I created using two of the new images:

I used some paper piecing and Copics coloring for each image.  Coloring the coffee and chocolate candies late at night had me craving both!  I settled for Yoplait Chocolate Whip yogurt...... yum! 

I love this image and both "cups" have coffee in them.  But when I use this image for a lovey-dovey card for my honey I will have to put hot chocolate in his cup.  Can you believe he doesn't like coffee??!!!  Well, I love him anyway and he does grant my every coffee-whim, including driving into town to get me a Starbuck's -- extra hot so I don't have to microwave it when he gets home.

These chocolate bon-bons are the best accompianment for coffee, don't you think?  Hmm, caramel filled, nougat, chocolate creme... or my favorite chocolate covered cherries!  What a time to have only M&M Pretzels in the house!

Now, on to the hop!  Be sure to complete the hop in full! The DT has created some lovely cards you will not want to miss! AND one lucky winner will receive two free images of choice just for hopping!

Start with our fearless leader and creator of these high octane caffeinated images.........

Heather
Jeanette
Jenn
Kelly
Barb (me!)
Scrappy (Guest)
Rhonda
After you hop, be sure to stop by the Freshly Brewed Challenges blog to check out the newest challenge!
 

Digital Pencil Challenge and Copic Certified!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend with some fun end-of-summer activities!  Now, bring on the cool days and fall colors!

First, I am so excited to say that I am finally Copic Certified!! Woo! Hoo!  After missing two other classes in Kansas City and Des Moines, I was thrilled when I saw the Branson class scheduled.  It was a small class of 17 fun and talented ladies.  Lori Craig was our facilitator and showed us some terrific techniques.  She did a great job and I have never had a 9:00-4:00 class go by so fast!

Now, on to my card for this week's Digital Pencil Challenge, which is shades of brown and aged/antiqued.  I chose the adorable Punkin and put him in 3D with 4 layers.  Of course, he is colored with Copics.  I pulled out my box of Autumn papers and embellies, which I'm sure I'll be using quite a bit during the next few weeks.  The leaves are from silk stems I recently purchased at Michaels. 

Here's a close-up of Punkin............. 

This close-up side view shows the layers........

I did color all the layers for depth from all angles.  It takes some time but I love the effect.

Thank you for stopping by today!  Be sure to hop over to Digital Pencil Challenge for inspiration from the uber-talented design team.

Cards for 4-year old and New Baby Girl; I {Heart} to Stamp Sketch

My stepson has an adorable little boy who just turned four years old ...... AND he became the proud father of a baby girl on 8-9-10!  He is one happy man!  I am running late with cards for them (they live in Pennsylvania) but they are sweet enough to understand.

This is the birthday card for the four-year old.  He loves cars and trucks so this image from Mo Manning was perfect.  Leland isn't a red head, but I had already colored this, and the dp looks great with it.  The image is colored with Copics and the gold racing stripe is covered with Spica gold gel pen.  The rest of the car is covered with Spica clear.  Gotta jazz up the little hot rods!  I am also entering this in the "I Heart 2 Stamp" sketch challenge this week. 

I found these cute little smilie faces in my sticker drawer (yet to be organized) and love the way they look on the circles.  Along with the card Leland will be getting some books (he loves to "read" and just started pre-school.)  One of the books is all about BIG trucks like his "Pop pop" drives.

I don't have many chances to make cards for new arrivals so I couldn't wait to use this Mo Manning digital image to welcome Sydney.  I especially love that I get to make a PINK card.  The baby is colored with Copics and mounted on Nesties labels cut from Bazzill cs.  The card base is Bazzill cs with the Martha Stewart butterfly border embossing punch.  The punch is repeated on the inside with the darker pink as a border on the right side.  These gorgeous butterfly stickers are from Michael's Recollections collections.  It is so hard for me to keep a card simple, but this one comes close.

 Along with this card Sydney is getting a package full of pink one-sies, pants, little bitty socks and a bright pink jumper outfit.  Once I ger out of the "joy of pink" mood, she'll get more of a variety, like denim with little pink hearts on the pockets.  :-)

To my friends on the east coast, especially North Carolina, please keep safe as the hurricane roars by.  One of my favorite places is the Outer Banks, expecially the Hatteras Light House.  My prayers are for the safety of everyone out there.  My husband is headed to New Jersey and Virginia, so I keep praying they can clear the area before the weather gets bad.  Interestingly, this hurricane bears the same name as my dear Uncle Earl, who is the kindest hearted person you would ever meet.  In 1999 hurricane Floyd was notorious for damage along the southeastern Atlantic coast.  My dad's name was Floyd and, like his brother Earl, dad was kind and gentle, though a bit mischievous at times, I hear.  Let's hope this hurricane Earl has a quick change of heart and runs out to sea without doing damage. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Bah! Humbug! Challenge --- Charms

Can you believe Christmas is less than 4 months away?  More to the point, Thanksgiving is less than 3 months away --- that's about the time that many folks start sending out Christmas cards and decorating for the festivities of the season.  Soooo, time to get really serious about reaching my goal of 100 Christmas cards.

Bah! Humbug! Challenge has been stoking those holiday fires all year long and this week the theme is charms.  I love using charms on cards, but when I started this card my drawer of charms has everything BUT holiday bling.  I did find these pretty little silver snowflake charms, though, and found just the spot on the card.  As luck would have it, the snowflake on the dp just happened to be directly over the Eskimo-kissing cuties, so I hung the charm there, sort of like mistletoe. 

The Eskimo couple are from Mo Manning Digital Pencil and colored with Copics. Aren't they just adorable? They are sitting on a background of shimmery cardstock embossed with swirls in the Cuttlebug.  The white beaded flowers are from the Michaels bridal department, and the rhinestone swirls and ribbon are from my stash.  I haven't decided on a sentiment yet.... depends on who I send this too.

They look so snuggly in their furry parkas!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to visit Bah! Humbug! if you haven't already.  The DT's projects are gorgeous!  Very inspiring!

A Card and Bookmark for My Aunt's 89th Birthday

My "bit of a break" has most certainly been much longer than I had intended.  I'm happy to be playing with my toys again, so I thought I would start with my aunt's 89th birthday card.  She is probably my biggest fan and I always love making something truly special for her.

This card doesn't have a stamped and colored image, though I do have plenty of them ready and waiting for just the right card.  The photograph is one I took of wild flowers along our road.  It was interesting to me that this little bunch resembled a heart.  I used one 12 x 12 sheet of K & Company Que Sera Sera double-sided cardstock.  The colors and designs are so beautiful! 

With remaining pieces of the dp I made this corner bookmark.  I've seen these in several and have been making quite a few as gifts and for the shop.  I almost always have enough leftovers from a card to make a matching bookmark.  The photo was printed smaller for this.

This is the back of the bookmark, with a birthday wish to make every day special for my aunt.

Other material used:

rhinestone swirls

Prima flowers

Basic Grey brads

heart charm

white mulberry paper

orange ribbon

shapes cut with Nestibilities

leaves from Martha Stewart punch

I sure appreciate you coming back for a visit!  You're welcome to comment and let me know you were here, then I can pay you a visit in return.

Have a blessed week!

I'll Be Back Soon!

Well, my break has been a bit longer than expected, not that it has been a "break" in the relaxation sense of the word.  I've done quite a lot of sorting and organizing, helping to unclutter my work area, including my computer, and, hopefully, unclutter my creativity.  Boxes of scrapbooking magazines from 2004 are going to the local thrift shop.  My stepdaughter took home about 10 pounds of scrapbook paper, which her daughter immediately dove into!  I have a bit more to do before I can declare victory over the mess, but this has been a very productive break.

One thing that will come out of this overhaul is that many of my cards will be for sale in the "Card Boutique", a new tab that will soon appear on this blog.  I also plan on opening a "Shop Handmade" site as well as eBay.

I've sure missed blogging and, of course, card making.  I'm ready to get back to it! 

I'll Be Taking a Bit of a Break

I have some projects to work on, most of which will make my studio even more of a disaster area than it already is!  I have to get this place reorganized!  At the end of all this I plan to have a Shop Handmade site, an eBay store, and a "yard sale" here on this blog.  Somewhere here in Branson will be a thrift store with a truck load of craft magazines and materials that someone else can put to better use.

This does not mean I'm "going out of business".  On the contrary, I hope to be more creative and productive when all is done.  Who knows?  There might even be a new designer in the neighborhood.

I'll be checking in from time to time because I just can't be away from all this creativity for very long!  I might even have a new card to post now and then.  Hopefully I'll have all this done in the next week or so.

Hugs to all,

Fresh Brewed Designs August Blog Hop

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means for Fresh Brewed Designs ... another blog hop and image release. The HOP starts with Rhonda, so be sure to go there first! If you are hopping and got here from Amanda 's blog, then you are good to go!

This hop will not be your ordinary hop... it is full of secrets and smiles, wonder and amazement. Magical things happen when you get a group of ladies together. What kind of magic you ask? The only magic worth seeking, wanting, cherishing... the kind of magic you find in true friendship. Today we have a little bit of magical enchantment to share with you in these newest Fresh Brewed Designs images. Each tells a little story, a little mystery, a little fun, and adds just a little bit of fantasy to each creation you will see during this hop.

As children we remember those Fairy Tales about mermaids and magical worlds where fairies live. We would lay in the grass and wonder if the patch of wildflowers was full of life, if mermaids swam in the sea beneath us. It is always fun to imagine and dream.

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again” ---- CS Lewis

For my card I used Tiana with the lovely Lilies of the Valley on her wings.  I remember finding these delicate flowers in both of my grandmothers' gardens.  The way they bloom in clusters, facing downward like little bells, they must produce sweet music heard only by the fairies of the gardens.

I colored Tiana with Copics and made the card with a purple and green color scheme.  The background paper is from the Basic Grey Wisteria collection.  The green and lavender trim papers are punched with three of the Martha Stewart border punches: wrought iron, pansies, and branches. The Lilies of the Valley are silk picks from Hobby Lobby wedding department and the ribbon from my stash.

Thank you so much for hopping, fluttering, or splashing by today. Please continue your journey by stopping by Jenn 's blog to see her beautiful creation. There is more magic and fun to come. Be sure to complete the hop in full, you will not want to miss the surprise at the end!!!
 

Bah! Humbug! Challenge --- Paper Tearing

I so love the ladies at Bah! Humbug!  Last week I referred to them as the "Trio of  Tinsel" and Max commented that she hoped that "it refers to how we sparkle rather than that you'd like to hang us up LOL!"  I'm sure it's a rhetorical question, but it most definitely is because Max, Ann and Irene sparkle!  They pick very creative guest designers, too.  Just hop over to Bah! Humbug! and see for yourself!

Every week I look forward to the new challenge because they come up with truly creative themes and techniques.  This week they have us tearing and ripping paper!  I love the look of torn papers and distressing, though too often I try too hard to make it a "perfect" tear, whatever that may be.  So, I gave myself an additional challenge:  to tear paper that has a mind of its own, such as mulberry or handmade paper.  I selected three sheets of papers handmade in Nepal.  They are actually part of a notepaper and envelope set I bought at Barnes and Noble book store.  It proved to be up to the challenge, giving me a truly random tear.  I layered the ivory, dark pink and light pink Nepal papers onto a card base of ivory card stock, also tearing the right edge.

The image, Christmas Fairy Holly, is from Mo Manning Digital Pencil. I had already colored her so finding the Nepal paper in my stash was, once again, a very lucky find! I used the Nesties Deckle Edge die to frame her. There is a piece of gold mulberry paper underneath the image. Prima flowers that are sprinkled with sugary glittery, a sentiment fromK & Co, and gold cord top it all off.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Now, do yourself a favor and visit Bah! Humbug!  I promise you won't find Scrooge there, but you will find inspiration for the fast approaching holiday season!

Mo's Challenge Blog --- Christmas In July

Today is the last day of July --- 218 days of 2010 have passed already!  That means there are only 147 days until Christmas!!  Whoa!  Where does the time go??  Thoughts are turning to the holidays and with good reason ---- summertime heat gets pretty intense about now and images of snow and holiday scenes help to turn down the temps.  But then, I like Christmas cards all year long!

This week Mo Manning's challenge is Christmas in July, so I took two images I had already colored and put them on cards.  I just couldn't break up this adorable pair, so I am showing both cards here.

First is "Noelle Bearing Gifts" and I love her fun coat!  She is colored with Copics and framed with Nesties labels.  I used red metallic paper to match the sentiment sticker.  The sentiment sticker is from a set I found at Hobby Lobby and matched the Nestie perfectly!  I used the extra wide lattice border punch from Martha Stewart on ivory cardstock topped with holiday gingham ribbon.  The poinsettias are from my basketful of odds and ends and I placed ivory Prima roses in the centers.

She is such a cutie and I can't wait to see what's in those packages!

Here is "Nicholas Bearing Gifts" and it looks like he's all dressed up for a fun Christmas party. This card is a little simpler than Noelle's. Nicholas is colored with Copics. The crinkle paper in the background adds texture (I love texture) and the light blue square was run through the Cuttlebug with the Swirls embossing folder.  The deckle-edge Nesties seemed to complement the other textures nicely.  Those awesome snowflake stickers are from the Recollections line at Michaels.  I love the frosty look of them!  And the sentiment is a silver peel-off. 

Nicholas is quite a dapper young fellow, don't you think?

I'm so glad you stopped by today!  Is it hot where you are?  We are having unusual heat here in Missouri, so do what I do and "Think Snow!"

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

I shared this card on Mo Manning's Facebook a few days ago and now I will reveal who I made it for, as the wonderful birthday girl has received it.

For the first time in 24 years I get to celebrate my step-daughter's birthday.  Confused?  Well, it's a simple story, really, and what is important --- and the best part --- is now.  Without filling in the details, Audrey became part of my life when she was 11 years old and I watched her grow to be a young woman off to college.  Things happened, 1600 miles separated us, then 24 years later Audrey found me on Facebook.  She also found that I now live about 70 miles from her.  We reunited a few months ago, I met her wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters, and we have spent hours and hours catching up.  Having her back in my life is truly one of my greatest blessings, for me and my family.  I'm so proud of her and love her so much!

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

(The image is Mo Manning's Penelope's Party Wagon, which I colored with Copics.  The DP, rub-on swirls, and butterflies are from K&Co Wild Saffron collection.) 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned!

Lucky Streak!

I am absolutely blown away at my streak of good luck lately!  This morning I was checking the Whiff of Joy Challenge blog for the new theme and found out that I won the drawing for the fabulous WOJ Fun in the Sun stamp kit!  Wow!  How fun is this?  I can't wait to get them!  Thank you, Katharina!

Bah! Humbug! Challenge #28 --- A Christmas Scene

This week at Bah! Humbug! the "Trio of Tinsel" --- that would be Max, Irene, and Ann --- have challenged us to create a project with a Christmas Scene.  I love receiving Christmas cards with a lovely holiday or wintry scene, especially those with lots of snow!

For my card I mixed media.  The illustration of the father and son carrying evergreen boughs for the wreath is from Mo Manning and I could see it on a background of snow-covered trees in an open field.  I found the perfect background in the graphics of Print Shop 21, which I usually use for my labels, business cards, and such.  I added crystal Stickles to the snow on the branches and the boughs for lots of sparkle.  The image of father and son are colored with Copics and is mounted on the background with 3-D foam. Lesson learned here:  natural light is perfect for photographing the card, but when it is too close to dusk that 3-D mounting casts a long shadow!  The Merry Christmas ribbon is from my stash.

I love the little boy looking over his shoulder!

Now that we are nearly through July those of us who make lots and lots of cards for friends and family, or, like me, for sale in a shop, are going into full gear to have enough cards for the season.  I love that I already have 25 brand new cards already!  Hop on over to Bah! Humbug! and see the beautiful projects by the DT, and add yours to the comments!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you are having a happy week!

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge --- Paper Piecing

Yesterday I was so excited to find that I had won the weekly drawing at Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge blog.  (Thank you, Peggy, for the heads up!)  The prize was an image of my choice and, since I had just fallen head over heels for the new "Angel with a Puppy", that was what I chose. We recently lost our oldest Shih Tzu, Cookie, and I've been wanting to do a special book or memorial photo of her.  This image was my motivation and inspiration for a photo frame.

I covered a plain white 8 x 10 mat with a piece of scrapbook paper showing Cookie's favorite treats. Then I mounted a smaller gold mat behind that to accomodate a 4 x 6 photo of our little girl.  This photo was taken when she was about 12 years old, just before she started to get really sick. She was in need of a haircut, but this was so typical of Cookie, showing her silky hair.

I colored the Angel with Copics, except for her robe and wings which are cut from scrapbook paper of white fluffy clouds on a blue sky.  Then I cut two hearts with my Nesties from the same paper to continue the heavenly illusion.  Her hair is highlighted with gold Spica gel glitter pen and the dress and wings with clear and silver Spica. 

With this precious angel our sweet Cookie is a happy puppy again.  Thank you, Mo, for the perfect illustration to pay tribute to our Cookie, our companion for 13 years. 

Fresh Brewed Designs Challenge Sketch

It's time for Fresh Brewed Designs July sketch challenge.  Heather has a fun and versatile sketch for everyone this week.

Heather has also been very busy creating a LOT of fun images for summer.  I've had this young baseball player, Tommy, on hold just for this sketch and now he gets to make his debut on my blog.  There was just something about the sketch that made me think of a baseball field.  Maybe it's because the "boys of summer" are in full swing (pardon the pun) and I do love baseball.  I colored Tommy with Copics in the colors of Missouri's two major league baseball teams, the Kansas City Royals (Blue) and the St. Louis Cardinals (red). 

The grass dp is from my stash of scrapbook paper and I picked up the baseball ribbon at Walmart.  The bat and cap buttons are also from Walmart.  Home plate is cut out of heavy white cardboard.

Tommy is just one of many summertime images from the very talented Heather Dennis at Fresh Brewed Designs.  Please jog on over to the FBD Challenge blog to see more of the DT's creations and details of this week's challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have an awesome day!