Time for Perfect Sentiment's 3rd Challenge Reveal!

Well ladies, last night was the deadline to enter last week's challenge at The Perfect Sentiment. We had so many lovely entries of Friendship Cards that were based on the amazing inspiration picture.  Don't forget to check back Friday to see who was chosen as The Perfect 3 and who won the random drawing.  It will be soooo hard to choose  The Perfect 3 - that's for sure!

Now on to this week's challenge! You are to make a Get Well Card (or a card that expresses this in some form or fashion). The twist (Remember, there's always a twist on our challenges!) is to use some type of embossing on your card. You may do dry embossing or heat embossing or even both!
If you like embossing, this is the challenge for you!

Plus, this week, besides having the chance to be chosen as one of  The Perfect 3 and posting that badge on your blog, we also have a sponsor who is giving a prize to our random drawing winner!
This week Sarah from My Little Somethings  is giving away a grab bag of various crafting items with a minimum value of $15. Whooohoooo!  Now that's a nice prize. If you get a chance, stop by Sarah's blog and thank her for her generosity!. Sorry -  USA participants only for this prize, due to the high cost of shipping internationally. 

  Here is what I came up with for the challenge:

                                                                       
My image is a digi that was created by my friend, Sam Erozan, who is a very talented artist. We considered going into business together selling his digital stamps, but things didn't work out that way. I do have several of his digis, and I love them all. I decided to use his "Fairy Dog" as a "The Get Well Fairy"!  lol  I generated that part of the sentiment on my computer,  and printed it and the image. I colored the image in bright, cheerful colors, using pencils, Copics, and Stickles. I printed the sentiment on pink cardstock that I had dry embossed with the Sizzix Impressabilities "Flourish" embossing plate. The rest of the sentiment, at the bottom of the page, was created with a rubber stamp from a My Sentiments Exactly set onto the same embossed paper. Each of the 2 parts of the sentiment were then punched out, and I inked the edges.
My base card is yellow (obviously!), with a layer of pink dp from my stash. On top of that is a blue cs from my stash, and I dry embossed this also. This time I used the Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folder in "Starry Night".  I used a Martha Stewart punch on the top of this, distressed the edges of the pink and blue paper, and inked the edges of the blue embossed cs using Distress Ink. I added some pearls and pillow butterfly stickers from K & Co.
I do like to use Bible verses on my cards whenever possible, so I used a stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs on the inside of the card that says "A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine; Proverbs 17:22" and underneath that is a simple "Get Well Soon" stamp from My Sentiments Exactly.  I thought that the Get Well Fairy was so cute and funny that it would be good medicine for anyone who needed to get well!  If you would like to see lots of inspiration for this challenge, here are the links to the blogs of everyone on the DT.  You can see their cards at The Perfect Sentiment Blog, but if you go to their blogs, you can get some ideas about how they made their cards. If you are like me, I am always interested in seeing how someone made their creation.


Jan’s blog
http://www.tweetybugshouse.blogspot.com/

Kimberly's Blog
http://hellocutiecrafts.blogspot.com

 Paper Expressions  owner
Jennipher’s Blog
http://www.jennipherlowery.com

Rochelle's Blog
http://www.twotearsinmybucket.blogspot.com

Samantha (DT Coordinator)
http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/

Sarah's Blog
http://my-little-somethings.blogspot.com/

Shelly’s blog http://www.geminivisionsart.blogspot.com


Stacey's Creative Corner
Stacey's Blog
http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com

Theresa’s Blog
http://thepaperpeasant.com

With All My Heart
Tere's Blog
http://www.tereazua.com

 Shaunna’s Blog
http://shaunnarooskie.com

ScrappinAbby
http://scrappin-abby.blogspot.com/


I hope you have been inspired to join in our challenge this week.  Remember, you  have until Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. to get your entry in. We will be choosing winners and posting them the following Friday.   Also, please remember to link your blog post with your entry directly to our blog, and use keywords PSC03 this week. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Please leave comments and let me know what you think about my Get Well Fairy!

Time for the 2nd Challenge from The Perfect Sentiment!

Oh ladies, I hope you all had a chance to stop by The Perfect Sentiment Challenge Blog this past week, even if you didn't join in the challenge. If you did, you saw some gorgeous inspiration cards by the DT along with some awesome entries for our first challenge. You have to go by and see who got chosen for out Perfect 3 this week, and to see who won the prize from the random drawing! I'm not even telling you who, because I want you to click on the link above or on my sidebar and have a look!  Besides, you simply HAVE to stop by today, as we unveil our SECOND CHALLENGE!!  Whoooohoooo!

Our second challenge is another one that I know you will want to enter - Friendship Inspiration!  We would like you to make a card having to do with FRIENDSHIP, and we want you to use colors inspired by this awesome photo that Jennipher found:

 

Wow, aren't these just yummy colors?  I love them.  Here is the card that I was inspired to make from the colors in this photo:

                                                                                                                                               
I had some trouble with the lighting on this, but my dp really is the same teal color as the Maya Road Ribbon that I used at the bottom. I love, love, love that ribbon. I wish I had it in every color. It kind of looks like it overpowers the card in this pic, but it really doesn't. It has to do with the angle of the card in the photo, I think. My base card is made from teal cardstock that I cut to the 5 1/2 x
5 1/2 size that I make so often. I then used some gorgeous paper from My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Two" Collection. I was really inspired by the photo, because I wasn't only thinking of color, but I was thinking of the layers of the covers. So my next layer is some yummy chocolate cs with brown hearts on it. I distressed the edges of both of these layers. Then I got to cheat, because the frame (including the birdie) was cut out from the MME dp. It even had the teal glitter on the edge of the frame! How cool is that?   I then stamped the sentiment (from Our Daily Bread Designs Friendship Set) in brown Inkadinkado Ink onto cream colored Neenah Paper, and I heat embossed it with Ranger Clear Embossing Powder. I simply adhered it to the back of the cut out frame and added the little flower embellie from my stash. I added a brown photo corner from my stash and a Prima flower to one corner and teal self-adhesive pearls to the other. Finally, I added layered a light blue heart rub-on over a  brown background rub-on, both from Pink Paislee. Oh yes, can't forget the Teal Stickles! lol    Here is a close-up so you can see the glimmer a little better:

                                                                                
Now that you have seen my card, here are the links to the blogs of the other members of the DT. Go by their blogs, and you will REALLY see some awesome cards to inspire you:

Jan's blog
http://www.tweetybugshouse.blogspot.com/

Kimberly's Blog
http://hellocutiecrafts.blogspot.com/

 Paper Expressions  owner
Jennipher's Blog
http://www.jennipherlowery.com/

Rochelle's Blog
Two Tears in my Bucket
http://www.twotearsinmybucket.blogspot.com/

Samantha (DT Coordinator)
Crafty Couple's Corner
http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/

Shelly Kane's blog
Gemini Visions Art
http://www.geminivisionsart.blogspot.com/

Stacey's Creative Corner
Stacey's Blog
http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Theresas Calderini's Blog
The Paper Peasant
http://thepaperpeasant.com

With All My Heart
Tere's Blog
http://www.tereazua.com

 shaunnaRooskie's Blog
http://shaunnarooskie.com

ScrappinAbby
Paper crafting blog
http://scrappin-abby.blogspot.com/

After seeing all the inspiration at all of the blogs of these talented ladies,  here is something else to inspire you to play along with us this week. We have a super sponsor! Heart Song Designs is giving a digi from their gorgeous collection to the lucky winner of our random drawing!    Stop by their shop and have a look at their awesome digis. That way, in case you are the winner of the random drawing, you will be know what you want! lol  Ummmm, I have a feeling you will be wanting many more of their lovely creations. I know I do!

One more bit of important info. You now have until Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. to get your entry in. We will be choosing winners and posting them the following Friday.  So get your entry in by Tuesday night, then check back on Friday to see if YOU may have been chosen as one of  The Perfect 3 or perhaps won the random drawing.  Please remember to link your blog post with your entry directly to our blog, and use keywords PSC02 on your blog or if your post elsewhere this week.

I know this has been a long post! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I sure hope to see you this week at The Perfect Sentiment!                   


                         

The Perfect Sentiment Challenge Blog Launches Today!

Good morning everyone! I have lots of exciting news today!  First, I had mentioned that Jennipher Lowery was starting a new weekly challenge blog called The Perfect Sentiment, and she was looking for a DT. I haven't had a chance to post the news that she now has her DT, and I have been chosen to be a Senior Designer on the Executive Design Team for this exciting new blog!!!! WHOOOO-HOOOOOO!  You may have noticed the badge in my sidebar - that was a clue! lol  Can you tell how happy I am? : )  Jennifer and Sami, who is also on the Executive Team and is the DT Coordinator, have done a fabulous job chosing several very talented ladies for this team. Not to mention that they are so talented themselves! You will be truly inspired, I know.
Soooooooo.........drum roll please.........the next big news is that The Perfect Sentiment Challenge Blog officially begins today, October 5th. I am loving the first challenge, PSC01, which is to make a Sympathy Card, and the twist is - it must have lace of some type on it.  This is how all of the challenges will run.  Each Wednesday, you will be challenged to make a type of card - Sympathy, Get Well, Missing You, and who knows what else, but you will be given an added "something" to challenge you.  Doesn't that sound like FUN?!!!  Yep! lol

Every week that you enter, your card might get picked as one of the Perfect 3! Click on the PS Challenge link above and have a look at the lovely badge you get to post on your blog if your entry gets chosen for this honor.  To top it all off, we are proud to say that we have a sponsor for our very first week!    Our sponsor this week is GLITTERBABE DIGIS.  Stef, the owner, has been extremely generous and is offering a $10 gift certificate to her store if your name is drawn. That is enough to buy 3 of her fantastic digis!!  Click on her shop name above and have a look at her lovely images. You will want some!!!
So here is the card I made for PSC01 using one of those beautiful digis:

      

For those of you who may not know me, you may be surprised when I say that for me this card is actually on the CAS side! I decided not to load it up with my usual embellies and bling since it is a Sympathy Card, although everyone may not feel this way at all.   Notice that you don't have to use the word "Sympathy" in your sentiment.  I used a sentiment stamp that conveys sympathy from Our Daily Bread Designs. I stamped it with pink pigment ink and heat embossed it with Ranger Clear Embossing Powder. The paper I stamped it on is a piece of cardstock that I colored using the "shaving cream with alcohol ink technique".  It is hard to see the paper in this picture, but it has all the colors that are in the rest of the card. If anyone is interested in this technique, let me know and I will post a tutorial. I adhered my sentiment to a rosey-pink cs, then adhered the whole thing with 3D Dots over my lace ribbon (There's my lace requirement!), which also has Prima flowers glued to it.  The pretty striped dp is from Sassafraslass, and I used an EK Success border punch on the bottom. I adhered this to a 5 x 7 blue card base.  The lovely waterlily I used is (as I mentioned) one of Glitterbabe's lovely digi's. I printed it out on Neenah paper, colored it with a combination of Copics, Prismacolor Pencils used with Googone (I use Googone instead of Mineral Spirits all the time - are you familiar with this?), Smooch, and chalks for the background. I use a Spellbinders Label Nestie to cut it out, and to cut the rose Little Yellow Bicycle cs under it. I inked the edges of both of these and adhered these both with 3D Dots for dimension. I finally added some flat-backed pearls in each upper corner. I can't help it - I always have to have a pearl somewhere!

I hope you will join in our challenge! Get started with us right at the beginning. Remember, link your blog post with your entry to THE PERFECT SENTIMENT CHALLENGE BLOG, and please use keyword  PSC01. Deadline for your entry is Sunday at 10 pm EST.
Also, if you decide to enter, why not stop by Stef's blog, GLITTERBABE GREETINGS, and leave her some love for her generosity to us.

As I mentioned, when you stop by the PSCB, you will definitely be inspired by the DT. There are links there to all the blogs, but for your convenience, I am going to list the DT blogs here also, just to make it easy for you to stop by. I promise you will be inspired! Here they are:

Jan's blog

http://www.tweetybugshouse.blogspot.com/


Kimberly's Blog
http://hellocutiecrafts.blogspot.com/ 


Paper Expressions
Jennipher's Blog (owner)
http://www.jennipherlowery.com/


Rochelle's Blog
Two Tears in my Bucket
http://www.twotearsinmybucket.blogspot.com/


Samantha (DT Coordinator)
Crafty Couple's Corner
http://kania-amusestudio.blogspot.com/


Sarah's Blog
My Little Somethings
http://my-little-somethings.blogspot.com/   
 
Shelly's blog
Gemini Visions Art
http://www.geminivisionsart.blogspot.com/


Stacey's Creative Corner
Stacey's Blog
http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/


Theresa's Blog
The Paper Peasant
http://thepaperpeasant.com/


With All My Heart
Tere's Blog
http://www.tereazua.com/


Shaunna's Blog
http://shaunnarooskie.com/


ScrappinAbby
http://scrappin-abby.blogspot.com/                                                                


I hope I didn't leave anyone out! I also hope to see your creations at The Perfect Sentiment! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Let me know what you think about any of this - including any questions or ideas about my card.  I love to read your comments!

A "Beary" Special Angel

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long! You know how it is when real life interferes with your crafty time! lol Anyway, today I have a card to share with you that I am entering in several challenges having to do with backgrounds, layers, and things of that nature. I believe this one will fit.

This darling Angel Bear is a digi stamp from I Brake for Digis. I printed it, colored it with Copics, colored the wings with Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Shabby Pink, and cut it out. The original digi has a cute little bee flying around it, but I cut it off for this card. The other stamp I used is the sentiment stamp which is from Our Daily Bread Designs "Friendship" set. I love this sentiment, and use it quite often!

One of the challenges I am entering this card in is from Joan's Gardens, which is new to me. Joan has a wonderful store, plus she and Selma have a challenge blog that they have taken a break from for a few months. This month they are starting their challenges again, so I am entering challenge #1. They have quite a recipe for this: use 2 different dies & 2 DIFFERENT embossing folders to create a background,  a sentiment and pearls. So I used Basic Grey Phoebe dp on my 5 x 7 base card, then I layered pp that I made using the shaving cream and alcohol ink technique (I have so much fun making my own pp with this technique! If anyone would like instructions, let me know and I'll post a tutorial.). Before adhering my "shaving cream" layer, I embossed it using Sizzix Impressabilities "Flourish" die, plus I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the right side. I added a piece of crocheted teal ribbon at the bottom of this piece. Next I took a piece of blue scrap paper and embossed it with the same "Flourish" Impressability. I sanded it slightly, so that the embossing would show. I used a Spellbinder's Nestie Oval to cut this piece out.   So next I took a teal piece of scrap paper, and to follow my recipe correctly, I embossed it with a Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folder in "Starry Night", slighly sanded it, and used a Spellbinders Long Rectangle Nestie to cut it out. Btw, the Textured Impressions Embossing Folder REALLY makes a strong impression on your paper. If you haven't had much success with embossing folders, give this one a try!

After inking the edges,  I adhered my two diecuts with 3D dots for dimension, then adhered my Angel Bear with 3D dots for even more dimension. So I have lots of layers, which is what the Pile It On Challenge is about this week, so I am entering it, too. Also, I Brake for Challenges is about backgrounds. I have really worked on the background for this card, so I am entering their challenge also. Plus I got my cute digi from them, after all. : )

So that you can see some of this better,  here is a closeup:

I think you can see the embossing fairly well in this pic, as well as that cute digi.  Next, here is a pic of the sentiment that I stamped, heat embossed, and distressed the edges before adhering with 3D dots. You can see some of the embossed shaving cream paper, too.

I always tried to give you a good view of what the shine you get with the Smooch on the wings. You may be able to see it better here:

I love the Smooch! How perfect for angel wings! I also used it on the halo.

I finished off the whole card with a small rose that I embellished with some Pink Stickles. Plus I added a small piece of paper flower ribbon at the top of the page, a pillow butterfly and some teal pearls.

I hope you like my layered card.  Besides the challenges I have already mentioned, I am also sending it into Stamp Something for their VERY LAST CHALLENGE! They have been around a long time, and I hate to see them go. They have provided all of us with so many great challenges and so much inspiration. Their challenge to say goodbye to us is Anything we want,  so I think I've met that! lol

Before I go, I want to add that my friend and former DT member, Jennipher Lowery, is starting a brand new challenge blog soon. It is called The Perfect Sentiment, and I am so excited about it. She is currently looking for DT members. Click on the link here or in my sidebar to find out more. Plus, I will be writing more about it soon. This post has been so long, I think I'd better wait until next time to say anymore! lol Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

                                                                           

A Vintage plus Black for 365 Cards' Vintage Week

I am making a really quick post. I have been watching the 365 Cards Challange Blog this past week, and each day the challenge was to make a vintage card plus a particular predominant color. Even though I have been really busy, I was SO SURE that I would get at least 3 or 4 of their challenges done. I have been cruising by Gloria Stengel's blog to look at her awesome entries, and she is giving the fab prize for the name drawn from vintage week. I would tell you all about it, but I did NOT have the time to make several cards. I managed to do one card - vintage plus black as the main color. However, entries are supposed to be in tonight, so I need to get this posted! I may already be too late, but I did have fun making it. Here it is:

I started with a black card base, then added some Rhonna Farrer dp from my stash. Then I found some real vintage music from my old piano bench, adhered 2 pieces that I tore out of a music book (plus the title of a musical piece which I used as my title - "Flower Song"), and took a dry brush and swiped gesso over it all to sort of bring it all together. I used a scalloped punch to cut a piece of cream cs, inked the edges, added some little flower stickers and gemstones, then adhered it with 3D dots for dimension. The birdie was cut from a book I have of vintage silhouettes. I added some black and frosted stickles to it, plus a pearl for the eye. To finish, I added some lovely Prima pearl swirls. I love those. I could just put those on everything! lol

So I HOPE that I finishied this in time to add this to 365 Cards Vintage plus Black challenge, as I previously mentioned. We shall see. Be sure and go and have a look there. So much inspiration! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

                                                                             

Have a blessed week,
Lynn

Yet Another Christmas Card - Christmas Joy

Hello all. It's been tooo long since my last post. Before I share today's card with you, I want to tell you that I am so excited about the last layout I created in memory of my awesome mom (2 posts down). I am excited because I entered it in Our Daily Bread's Let Your Light Shine Scrapbook Challenge, and I was so honored to be the Let Your Light Shine Award Winner for that month! You can read all about that here, and of course, I now have my award posted in my sidebar. I was so pleased that it was a layout about my mom that won. SHE deserves the award! : )  OK, I could go on and on, but I promise I won't. Just had to share my excitement with you, but now on to today's creation......

Last post, I made a Christmas card using a lovely stamp from I Brake for Stamps. I have several lovely Christmas stamps from them, and I love them all. I wanted to make a card using one of their images again, which means that I made another Christmas card. I need to get started on them, after all! I was pretty happy with this one, especially the sparkle that I was actually able to capture on my camera to some degree.  Here's the card:

I swiped some white acrylic paint onto some green dp in my stash, cut it out with Spellbinder's Nesties Label 4, inked the edges with CTMH White Daisy Ink, and raised it with 3D Dots. I arranged some gorgeous Prima pearl swirls onto the card, added 3 more pearls in the upper right corner, plus a snowflake  and ribbon from my stash, and a "Joy" tag from K & Co which I altered a bit. I also wrote the word "Christmas" with a white gel pen on cs, inked the edges, and adhered it to the ribbon. The poinsetta image is from I Brake for Stamps, as I mentioned previously.  Here is a closeup:

You can see the shimmer, but it has even more shimmer irl! I stamped the image with black pigment ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I know that everyone advises not doing this with Copics, but it helps me to stay in the lines! lol  I just have to be careful to try to stay away from the ep. So far it works for me!  I colored the poinsettas with Copics RV02, R83, and R85. I then went over that with Smooch - 2 shades of pink and a white frosted top coat (actually, it's almost clear with just a frosty shimmer that's SO PRETTY) called Illuminate. I LOVE the Smooch Pearlized Accent Inks and wish I had all of them! I especially like the Pearlized Top Coat, Illuminate, as you get a very glimmery look without going all out and using glitter. I used it to touch up the snowflake from my stash, so that it would match the pink and green theme.  It's so pretty and so EASY. Maybe "easy" is why I like Smooch so much! lol  Oh, and btw, I colored the leaves with 3 shades of Copics also, and used a shade of gold Smooch in the center of each flower. I then "fussy cut" the image and adhered it with 3D Dots to the label. Finally, here is a closup of the "Joy" tag:

I gave the pink side some extra gleem with a bit of Smooch, and edged it and made the swirls with Liquid Pearls. I then added some pearls and gemstones. I think that about does it.

I'm so glad you stopped by my blog. I would love it if you would leave a comment and tell me what you think. I am entering this card in 2 challenges:

The first is Sparkle Creations Christmas Card Challenges. They have Christmas card challenges every week! This week they want Christmas Cheer or any Christmas card. I am also entering another challenge site that is new to me. It is Fab and Funky Challenges, and this week their theme is "It's Christmas!".  Both of these are in my sidebar, in case there is a problem with the links.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

                                                                                     

Christmas in July at I Brake for Stamps Challenge Blog

I Brake for Stamps now has a challenge blog (I'm  happy to say!), and this week's challenge has been to make a Christmas card. I was SOOOO happy to hear that, since most of the stamps I have from them happen to be Christmas stamps. I finally decided to use their "Cardinals on Holly" stamp. I hadn't used this one yet, and I just love the stamp, but every time I color a cardinal, it looks mean when I get finished with it! lol  Have a look:

I used the "Merry Christmas" stamp from the I Brake for Stamp Christmas plate too. I stamped it and heat embossed it with some slightly glittery embossing powder, which did not show up in this not so wonderful photo. I'm trying to get this in at the last second however, so I couldn't take the time to take a good photo.

Back to the card, the designer paper is from Cosmo Cricket. I used some other dp from my stash to make a tab behind the cardinal panel and to put a musical score at the top of the card. I figure birds sing, so I needed something musical in there! lol  I colored the cardinals and holly with Copics, and chalked the background with some pastel blue and green. I added a button, a piece of lace across the bottom of the card, some rhinestones, and a K & Co. 3D metallic flower next to the sentiment, which I tore out and raised with 3D Dots.

I better to hurry to get this in! As I said, I am entering this in the

I Brake for Stamps Christmas in July Challenge. There is a link to their blog on my side bar also. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! have a blessed day!

                                                                              

A Layout Remembering my Beautiful Mother with ODBD Stamps

July's Let Your Light Shine Scrapbook Challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs is to create a page using circles and your fav color (or a color from the photo you use).  ODBD stamps are to be used also. I LOVE ODBD stamps! I have a few sets, but there are SO MANY that I would love to have!!! Like.....all of them! lol  Perhaps I will get lucky and win the awesome $25 to use in their store. Of course that could be a problem, since it would take me forever to choose just one set. What a great problem to have......teehee.

Anyway, even if I don't win, I really enjoyed working on this layout of my mom. There are 2 photos on this page. One in particular is not the best quality, but considering that these are the originals from 1945, I think they look pretty good. The photos are of my mom at age 23 in her first MINK coat! Yes, mink. Now I am a big animal advocate, and I know that is not politically correct. In fact, my mom (who passed away in 2001) was also an animal lover and wouldn't have bought a real fur for as far back as I can remember, but I suspect things were different in 1945.  Before I go on, I suppose I could show you the layout! : )

The fav color that I used is a teal blue - don't know if you can tell how "teal" it is on various monitors, but I promise that irl, most of the blue in this lo is a teal shade - especially my circles. The circles in the title and under the birdie are chipboard that I inked with various shades, especially Brilliance Sky Blue, and then sprayed with "Glacier" Glimmer Mist for shimmer, plus it added to the teal color.

Here is a closeup of the title:

Wow - that doesn't even look teal on my monitor! Oh well, the chipboard letters in MOM are from Fiskars and K & Co. I wrote the other words on white cardstock, cut them out & adhered them to the chipboard. Obviously, I covered the heart with self-adhesive pearls.

My mom truly did have a merry heart. My childhood was often pretty crazy, due to the very serious problems my dad had that resulted in EXTREMELY abusive behavior toward Mama. She was always upbeat and even able to make jokes to lighten some really bad times. I attribute what sanity I have to her! (I know some of you may think that my sanity is questionable! lol) We were so close. I have missed her so much since she passed away. Here is a closeup of the photos. They were taken 10 years before I was born.

Below is the closeup of the stamp I used from ODBD's "Get Well" set:

                                                                              This panel is layered over a length of lovely blue lace from my stash. I did the stamping with brown pigment ink on cardstock that was dry embossed with the Butterfly Spellbinder's Impressability. I then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I did the same with the other stamp below the right photo, using ODBD's Praying for You set:

That scripture is so appropriate! I DO always thank the Lord for my mother, though she is now in heaven. Btw, you will notice that the circle theme is carried out by the circular rhinestones and the Fiskars punch that I used on both sides of the largest piece of  patterned paper, plus the other teal chipboard circle with a diecut birdie on it.  It is also carried out by this Colorbok diecut that I did a little journaling on:

I popped this up on 3D dots and added teal (Yes, irl they are teal!) rhinestones to it. Since I did not have much room for journaling, and I wanted to tell the whole story of this day for Matt, my only son, and for anyone else who might be interested after I am no longer around to tell the story, I typed a whole page of journaling and put it in the pocket I made underneath the photos. You pull out the page with the "Memories sticker that you see here:

I stamped around it with the flourish part of the butterfly with flourishes stamp found in the ODBD's Friendship set. I thought it looked weird to just stop the flourishes part of the way down, so I decided to stamp it all the way down! See:

I stamped it with brown ink, obviously. I rather liked the way it turned out! : )  Here is the whole journaling page opened:

Sorry for the poor pic! As you can see - I typed most of the page, then added my own handwriting, and ended it with another scripture stamp and dragonfly. This one is from ODBD's "Praying for You" set. You can see it more clearly here:

This verse was the perfect ending. Although the typed portion described my mom's day in 1945, the part that was hand written had a little about her death and missing her. What better way to end than to remind the reader that there will be no more death or tears in heaven! I hope my future grandchildren will feel the joy of knowing that when they get to heaven,  they will see Jesus and the great-grandmother they never had the privilege of knowing here on earth!

That's it! I added an inked Prima flower lots of Prima pearl flourishes. I think this might be the longest post I have ever made about one project! lol  Please forgive the length. Be sure and have a look at ODBD's July Let Your Light Shine Scrapbook Challenge, where I am entering this page. You will see lots of creativity on their blog, I promise!  

                                                        Thanks for stopping by!                                                             

CASEing My Own Card to Make a CAS Card!

Well, I thought my title was just so cutesy, until it dawned on me that not everyone knows what CASE and CAS stand for! So much for being clever.......

Anyway,  in papercrafting, to CASE means to Copy and Share Everything. In other words, you find a card you really like, and you make one like it. For today's card, I CASEd my own card from my last post. I made my first easel card then, and I ended my post saying that I was starting on another one already. That's exactly what I did.  I was so pleased with my last card (especially the stamps I used on it from ODBD!) that I made another one a great deal like it, except that I made this one CAS - which is NOT my usual style!  CAS stands for Clean and Simple, btw. lol   Here it is:

As I said, I used ODBD stamps again. These are all from the Friendship Set. I used the same white base card and red cardstock for the front base as I did for my first easel card. The dp is also the same - from Sassafraslass. I simply flipped it over and used the striped side.  This already gave my card a more CAS look, so I kind of got the idea at that point. I tied the dp with the rest of my red dotted ribbon.  Instead of a doily like I used in the last card, I used a larger Spellbinder's Scalloped Oval cut from plain white cardstock. I stamped the lovely swirly butterfly on red mulberry paper again with CTMH White Dasiy ink, which I heat embossed with white embossing powder. This time I painted the edge with blue acrylic paint.  I used the same white ink and ep with the "Thank you for being my friend" sentiment. I think you'll notice that I do lots of heat embossing. It has to be my favorite technique - I love the look it gives!

The verse from Corinthians was stamped on a piece of cardstock from my stash with Brilliance Mediterranean Blue ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder - of course! : ) I painted the cardstock with blue acrylic paint first, btw. So their is plenty of red, white and blue!  Here is a closeup of the inside:

I added a piece of the dp (turned in the other direction) to the bottom half of the inside before adhering the cardstock verse. Finally, I had to add a few pearls! That is as CAS as I can get! lol

I am entering this in the following challenges:

ODBD Shining the Light Challenge - red, white and blue

Pile It On - favorite technique

Stamping, Scrapping Challenge Central - a CAS project

If any of the above links don't work for any reason, they are all in my sidebar. I hope you enjoyed my CAS CASE card! Thanks so much for stopping by.

                                                                                 

At Last - My First Easel Card!

I can't believe with all the techniques I love to try that I have never made a simple easel card until now! I really like the look of these cards, and the fact that the recipient has an easy way to display the card to share it with others. I made a very basic type of card, with the base card base being 5 1/2" square. You can find tutorials all over the web for a basic easel card if you just google it.

The stamps I used for this card are from ODBD. The butterfly is from their Friendship Set, and the Thinking of You stamp, along with the sentiment on the inside is from their Thinking of You Set.   Here is the card:

Here is a side view so you can see the "easel" part:

ODBD's Shining the Light Challenge this week is to use red, white and blue. I used red cardstock, and layered it with dp from Sassafrass Lass. I have really been using the dp quite a bit. I distressed the edge of the dp, and then tied white satin ribbon with red polka dots around this layer. I then found a white doily in my stash and inked it here and there with some blue Distressing Ink - just so it would show up and adhered it.  The other dp is a red mulberry paper. I'm not sure who made it, as I have been saving it!  I stamped it with the butterfly and the Thinking of You sentiment, using CTMH Daisy White ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. The butterfly was cut out with an oval scalloped Spellbinder's Nestie, and the sentiment with their long rectangle Nesties. I then added some lovely gemstone swirls that I got at Hobby Lobby.  I loved how they turned out.  Here is a closer look at the inside:

I used the blue tiles from my stash popped up on 3D Dots to prop of the front of the card. I added some K and Co. butterflies and another one of the swirls from the front page for consistency. As I said, the inside sentiment is from ODBD's Thinking of You Set, and I simply used scalloped scissors to cut it out.

I hope you liked my first easel card! I was so pleased with it, that I have already started on a similar one! I am entering this one in the following challenges:

ODBD's Shining the Light Challenge - red, white, and blue

Allsorts Challenge Blog - free and easy July (meaning anything goes)

Stampin for the Weekend - wings and things

                                                     Stamp Something - bugs and butterflies

If for any reason any of the above links don't work, don't worry - they are all in my sidebar. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Feel free to leave a comment. I love to read them!

An Elephant Never Forgets a Birthday - Right?

Right. That is why I am not an elephant! lol  But I do have this adorable elephant stamp that I got from I Brake for Stamps. They have so many stamps that I LOVE. Most of the ones I have right now are their Christmas stamps, but I'm hoping to change that. Their stamps are NOT run of the mill, that's for sure.

I Brake for Stamps now has a challenge blog. I will put the link below, and it is also in my sidebar. I am really excited that they are starting to have challenges. This week they wanted a birthday theme. That worked out well for me, since one of the few stamps I have from them that is not Christmasy is a Rick St. Dennis exclusive called "Party Elephant". It is one of my favorite stamps! I was also able to use another new stamp I have from a set by Glitz. It is also an elephant stamp. So I"ve had fun playing. Here is the card:

The musical notes dp is from Sassafrass Lass, and that includes the pretty floral border at the top of the card that came with the music notes paper. I love the way several companies have been adding those borders. The other dp has some glittery stars - perfect for celebrating a birthday. It is from We Are Memory Keepers. I computer generated the "I could never forget....", and the birthday sentiment, which was stamped and heat embossed with clear ep, is from a set by Inkadinkado. I already mentioned the elephant stamps. I colored the Rick St. Dennis stamp with Copics, with some Stickles on the candle flame, and chalked the background with a soft rose color. I chalked the background of both of the sentiments, also, and inked their edges.  I diecut my Party Elephant with a Spellbinders Label 4 Nestie. I used 3D Dots on it and both sentiments for some dimension. 

I stamped the small Glitz elehant with various colors of Brilliance pigment inks, heat embossed it with clear ep, and punched it with a 2" scallop punch. Here are closeups of both elephants:

I just think both of these elephants are so cute! I might start an elephant fetish! : )  As you can see, I added some pink pearl flourishes and a lovely Prima flower to finish off my card.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

I Brake for Stamps - Happy Birthday (use one of their stamps)

Stampin for the Weekend - Your Favorite Things (my new stamp, Prima

flowers, pearls, Nesties, and the colors I used!)

Simon Says Stamp and Show - show a flourish! My pearls are my flourish.

Allsorts Challenge Blog - free and easy July (or do what you want!)

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Please leave a comment if you have a minute. I love to see what you have to say!

                                                                       

A Perfect Thank You for July 4th Weekend

Hello everyone. I have a card to share with you that uses red, white, and blue colors, since this is the 4th after all. It is a Thank You card, and I got to use stamps from 2 new sets I just got recently. So I had lots of fun. Here is my card:

I have to say that I was happy with the way this turned out. I don't usually use these colors, and I'm definitely going to start using them now! I also was happy with my new stamp sets. The sewing machine is from the Stella and Rose "Mabel So Sweet" set from My Mind's Eye. I stamped it with CTMH's White Daisy Ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. The ruler is from The Girl's Paperie "Paper Girl" set. I stamped it with the same white ink on red cs and also heat embossed it with white ep. The "Thank You" sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly and the rest of the sentiment are alpha stickers from Pink Paislee.

The card base is white with red and white striped paper by daisy d's adhered to it using my ATG Gun. (I love my ATG Gun, btw! lol) The blue and white striped paper is from We R Memory Keepers. I punched the right edge with a Martha Stewart punch. The red flowered piece is a die cut from my stash. I also added buttons (which I threaded with white floss)  and pearls from my stash.

I think you can tell that I distressed and inked the edges of the larger pieces of dp. I am entering this in the following challenges:

Scrapping Stamping Challenge Central - use red, white and blue

Crafty Creations Challenges - make a Thank You card

Tuesday Throwdown - use red, white, and blue

If for any reason these links don't work, you can find all of these listed in my sidebar. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. Hope you all have a Happy 4th!

                                                

Follow Rainbows and Chase Moonbeams

Hello all. I wanted to share with you a card I made using Magnolia's Flying Tilda, which I colored with Copics and added a soft shine to the wings by painting on several colors of shimmery Smooch. I have had this Tilda for a while, and for some reason haven't gotten around to using this stamp until now. I'm so glad I did. I love the fairy wings!

I think you can tell that I stamped her on a separate sheet of cardstock, then colored and cut her out. I added her with 3D Dots for dimension. It is hard to see the lovely shimmer of the Smooch, so I took a closeup, but even so, I don't think it really shows the shimmer very well. You'll just have to take my word for it! : )

See what I mean? Oh well......The base card is made with Bobunny "dotted swiss" paper, and the gorgeous stitched paper (NOT stitched by me!) is from Prima's SEW cute stitched collection of dp. I cut it to make 2 triangles - just to add some character to the look. On top of that is a circle that I cut out of some Heidi Grace glitter paper - more subtle bling. I added some pink ribbon, flowers, and pearls from my stash. I colored the flowers with Copics to match Tilda's dress. See - that's just another reason that I love my Copics. Wish I had LOTS more!   Back to the card, I THINK that beautiful pink glittery butterfly is from K & Co. The sentiment is actually written on a clear peel off that was also in my stash. I'm not sure who made it, but I do love the thought. I adhered it to a piece of cardstock that I cut out, inked the edges, and popped up using 3D Dots again.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

My Grafico - Anything Goes

Pile It On - Use Circles

Crafty Creations - Let It Shine

Just Magnolia - Butterflies

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! Please leave a comment if you have a minute. I love to read what you have to say!

                                                         

A Lovely Sentiment from ODBD

Hello all. I finally had time to post a card for a few challenges. I have been busy working on some scrapbooks for my sil's and a mini-album for a friend,  but all of these things are secret....shhhhh.......so I can't post anything about them yet!
I missed my card making, and then a friend needed a card for her mil, who had been in the hospital, so here is the card I made using a stamp from ODBD's With Heartfelt Sympathy set.

Here is a closeup of the lovely sentiment, which I stamped with black pigment ink and heat embossed with Ranger clear embossing powder. I then punched it out with a 3 inch scalloped punch and added a drop of Stickles (in a color I really like called Patina) in each scallop. I raised the whole sentiment up on 3D Dots. That is a Spellbinders Pendant Shapeability underneath.

                                                                                
                                                                                   Who wouldn't love to get a card expressing such a sentiment? How nice to know you mean so much to someone! ODBD has so many great sentiment sets, including some brand new ones that I really want! This card happens to fit their current Shining the Light Challenge 63 which is a Sentiment Only Challenge.
                                                                                     In addition, this week Linda Lucas is hosting Stamping Sisters in Christ's Challenge #92, which is based on John 13:34-35. Here Jesus is giving us a NEW commandment to love one another as He has loved us. So Linda has cleverly turned this into asking us to use something NEW TO US on our creation. In my case, the lavendar dp is new to me (and I have already forgotten who made it!!!), as is the lovely Prima flower (which I have been saving for just the right creation), and the beautiful Floral Butterfly Ribbon Round from The Paper Company is new to me also. So I have all sorts of new goodies on this card for this challenge! Oh, btw, I did want to add that the pale green floral dp is from K & Co. - specifically from a collection by Brenda Walton. She always designs the most beautiful vintage-look creations!
                                                                                      I am also entering Shabby Tea Room's current challenge #65 (Technique Week), where the technique is to use wet or dry embossing. I used wet (or heat) embossing on my sentiment, as I mentioned previously. 
                                                                                      If for any reasons any of these links don't work, please look in my sidebar. They are listed there under my fav scrappy places.  Thanks for stopping by my blog! I hope you'll take the time to leave a comment - I love to read them! Have a wonderful day.