One Last Verve Sketch

I wanted to get my last Verve 6x6 one sheet wonder in before the challenge ends. I really enjoyed this challenge and I will continue to use the sketches to make cards.

I used the embossing folder called Grace Frame for the background. The 6x6 paper sheet that I used was from Authentique. The image is pre-colored from Imagine That! I used one of the sketches from the Verve challenge.

I am entering these challenges:

• Verve 6x6 one sheet wonder challenge: sketch
• Imagine That: use any Imagine That! image

Back to my desk to get more cards done. Thanks for stopping by!

Donna

Tuesday Card

Happy Tuesday everyone! I've been crafting today and beginning to feel like I am human again. I gave out several "good fors" for Christmas this year for sets of cards. So now I have to get a move on to get them done. It's going to take me some time but I am determined to get them out soon. Today I am sharing another card from the Verve 6x6  one sheet wonder challenge.

I had this image already colored in my stash. I used one of the Verve sketches and embossed the sentiment with black embossing powder and then colored the holly leaves with colored pencils. I added some sparkle with Crystal Stickles.

I am entering these challenges:

• Verve One Sheet Wonder challenge: sketch
• Simon Says: Winter Inspiration
• Glory of Christmas: anything goes
• Friday Outlawz challenge: anything goes with Christmas twist
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

I may be back later with another card I've been working on today. Hope you are having a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by.

Donna

Stamp of the Month

I am trying to get caught up on some of my progressive challenges before I run out of time. LOL! I am coming down to the wire here. This card is made with From the Heart Stamp of the Month progressive challenge stamp.

The image is Christmas Spirit Birdbrain. LOL! I just love him. I colored him with Copics, Bics and Distressed markers, cut him out with Spellbinders Circle die and inked the edges with Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery. I backed it with Spellbinders Large Octogon die. The background paper is from Authentique Paper. The tag sentiment is also from the same set. I added the flower and some burgundy Stickles for the nose.

I am entering these challenges:

• From the Heart Stamp of the Month: use the stamp
• Outlawz Wednesday challenge: sketch
• Creative Knockouts: anything goes
• Weekly Christmas Card Challenge: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my therapy. My crafting is helping me through the holiday season.

Hugs,

Donna

Treasure the Memories

How was your Christmas? I hope it was something special for you and your family. Our Christmas was really different this year. My MIL passed away last Monday. The funeral was Friday. While it was really nice to have all the family home for Christmas (including all my kids who were not going to be home this year) the celebration was very subdued and sad this year. I just never got into the Christmas spirit. So today Tom and I took Christmas down and moved onto other things. So different than other years. Out neighbor passed away last week and this is the card that I made for them.

The image is from Gina K's A Year of Flowers. The sentiment is from A Piece of Heart blog. The image is colored with Copics. I embellished with self-adhesive pearls.
I am entering these challenges:

• Hiding in my Craft Room: freestyle but no Christmas
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Outlawz Thursday challenge: anything goes

Hope your week is off to a great start. I am going to be crafting this week I hope. So more to post soon.

Hugs,

Donna

Santa Pouches

I've been working today on some treats for the little ones that come to our Christmas celebration. We usually don;t buy presents for the kids of our nieces and nephews (it would cost a fortune). But I like to have something for them to open during the celebration. So I found this Santa suit made out of a paper bag at Flowerbug Inkspot's blog..

The red papers measured the width of the paper bag and the height was 3 and 3/4 inches. The black belt was 1and 1/2 by the width of the bag. The buckle I made from green glitter paper measuring 1 and 1/2 by 1 and 1/2 with a 1 by 1 inch square for the middle. I punched two small button from black paper and used a gel pen to make the light reflection.

The round tags were made from Lawn Fawn's stitched dies. I stamped a snowflake on the tag and then my sentiment and I write the name of each of the kids on their tag. I put a bag of M&M treats in each pouch tied with red and green twine.

I am entering these challenges:

• Sweet Stamps: anything but a card
• Sentimental Sunday: anything but a card
• Papertake Weekly: anything goes Christmas
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room: freestyle

Thanks for stopping by tonight. Our family mourns tonight. My MIL passed away this evening. She is now at peace and her struggles are over. She's with the Lord. Please tell someone you love them today. Have a wonderful week!

Donna

Verve Sketch

Greetings to you on this Monday morning. Not a very happy Monday at our house. My MIL has been given a very short lease on life. Take time this holiday season to hug your loved ones and let them know how much you love them. It will be a very somber holiday for us this year.
I continue with Christmas cards. I like the way this one turned out.

The image is from Dearie Dolls and I used another one of the Verve sketches to make the card. I used the snowflake embossing folder for the background. And popped most of the pieces with black card stock.

I am entering these challenges:

• Viv la Verve one sheet wonder challenge: sketch
• 613 Avenue Create: use a snowflake
• Outlawz Thursday challenge: first day of winter
• Simon Says: winter inspiration

I have some Christmas projects in the works that I hope to get cracking on today. I think I will be giving lots of  'good-fors ' this year and I'll have a very busy January. Oh well, such is life. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas week. Take care and tell someone you love them!

Donna

More Christmas

Oh my gosh! I am still trying to get out my Christmas cards. Ugh! I stayed home this weekend while Tom is in Cincinnati helping with his Mom who remains hospitalized. The new s has not been good. Keep her in your prayers, please. So I finally started Christmas shopping today. Yup, I am so far behind. To help me with the rest of my Christmas cards I found this One Sheet Wonder challenge at Verve. From one sheet of 6x6 paper you can make 4 cards. I love these kind of challenges. Here's one of the cards I made.

My image is from Bugaboo (Unfortunately I don't have any Verve stamps) and the sentiment is from Gina K. I used the Holly Swirl embossing folder for the background. I used one of the sketches from Verve. I added Burgundy and Golden Rod Stickles for some sparkle.

I am entering these challenges:

• Verve One Sheet Wonder challenge: use the sketches
• Hiding in my Craft Room: free style
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Papertake Weekly: Christmas

Thanks for stopping by today. I am off to wrap what little I got bought today and make a list fro tomorrow. Hope your weekend is spectacular. Wishing you a wonderful holiday week!

 Donna

Magi

Happy Tuesday! A cold, gray, rainy day here. They say we could get snow on the weekend. Tis the season for a white Christmas, right? I am trying to get my progressive challenges in before we have to go back to Cincinnati for hospital duty again. The card tonight is courtesy of DigiStamps4Joy.

I used the image from DigiStamps4Joy and colored it with Bic and Copic markers. The sentiment is from Desert Diva. I die cit the sentiment with Spellbinder's oval and then backed it with Spellbinder's beaded oval. I stenciled the sentiment with my star stencil from Simon Says. I used the star embossing folder to emboss the purple background. The lovely ribbon that you can hardly see is from Webster's Pages. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. I used a flower for embellishment and about half a bottle of Starry Night Stickles on the card. LOL!

I am entering these challenges:

• DigiStamps4Joy Progressive Christmas challenge: image
• Tuesday Morning sketches: sketch
• Papertake Weekly: Christmas: anything goes
• Sweet Stamps: nontraditional Christmas colors
• Pile it On: Christmas anything goes
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

That's it for tonight. Hope your week is off to a great start. Hang in there. The weekend (and Christmas) is fast approaching. Don;t panic!

Hugs,

Donna

Christmas Birthday

Greeting for Monday! Hope your weekend was great! I wasn't happy with my weekend, but we were where we needed to be. No crafting and sitting in a hospital is rather stressful. My MIL is still hospitalized and her surgery is still scheduled for December 22nd. Please say a prayer for her. She isn't a very good patient and it's sometimes very frustrating for everyone. Thanks! Friday I found out I had an infection so I am now on antibiotics. They are working and I am feeling better. Got home Sunday night to get ready to return to work, opened my laptop and my screen cracked down the middle. When it rains it pours. But I have to say I am so blessed! I really shouldn't be complaining. So if you see tons of spelling errors in this post, I am trying to work around a cracked screen. LOL!

I have a dear friend whose birthday is right before Christmas so I made her a Christmas-y birthday card this year.

The jar image is from Imagine That! It's the pre-colored image since my time to so short right now. I embossed the sentiment from Gina K is heat embossed with a powder called Winter Wonderland. It has some awesome sparkles in it and looks really nice IRL. The background is all scraps from my scrap box.  Easy peasy is about all I can manage right now.
I am entering these challenges:

• Outlawz Thursday: anything goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room: super scraps
• Imagine That: use one of their images
• Seize the Birthday: anything goes

Hope your week is off to a roaring start. I have tons to do this week before we head back home to the hospital for our turn to stay with Mom. I have nothing yet for Christmas. I took my Christmas cards to Boston and then to the hospital last weekend and I still don't have them out.  It's going to be a very different Christmas this year.
Oh, by the way. I have my verification turned off for comments but for some reason it is coming up. But I did find out that it will leave the comment without the verification so just skip it. I do so love to hear what you think. Thanks so much!

Donna

Christmas Joy

It's been a whirlwind around here lately. Had a lovely visit with our son in Boston and arrived home yesterday afternoon. I started laundry and ran to the grocery. My daughter called said she had an accident at work and she needed me to take her to the ER. So off I went and several hours later she is fine and taking today off of work. She should be back at it tomorrow. My MIL is still hospitalized and as soon as we finish work tomorrow we will be off to help and visit with her for the weekend. Christmas may be very sad this year. I have absolutely nothing done. Maybe I will just take everyone out for a shopping spree after Christmas. Is at down at my desk tonight and spotted this image that I had printed. I decided I needed a little craft therapy. Life seems out of control right now.

The image is the progressive stamp this month at Imagine That! I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. I usually post the sketch but kind of in a hurry so I can pack and get ready for tomorrow. The sketch also came with a bingo compnent: I used ribbon, embossing and flowers. The ribbon is a textured ribbon toward the bottom of the card under the tag and flowers. Kind of difficult to see. The image is die cut with Spellbinders Labels 13 and the sentiment is cut with a Spellbinders tag die.

I am entering these challenges:

• Imagine That Stamp of the Month: use the provided digi.
• Tuesday Morning Sketch: sketch
• Creative Knockouts: tis the season
• Sentimental Sunday: embossing
• Outlawz Paper ala Mode: anything goes with favorite color combination

That's it for today. Hope your weekend is special. Not much crafting here as I will be sitting in a hospital all weekend. Take care.

Donna

In My Thoughts

Happy weekend! I am in Boston to see my son. So while I don't have much time for crafts I'm getting in some family time. Dan won't be able to make it home to Christmas this year so we are celebrating Christmas this weekend with him and his lovely girl friend. Last night we got to meet her lovely parents. Tonight we had dinner with Tom's brother from Connecticut. That was fun. We don't get to see him often. Tom's Mom was admitted to the hospital earlier this week so I made a quick get well card before I left.

The image is from Doodle Pantry and called Sweet Pea. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps and embossed with black embossing powder. I embellished with three banners and some pearls by Zva Creative. The background paper is from Basic Grey.

I am entering these challenges:

• Outlawz Wednesday challenge: sketch
• Doodle Pantry challenge: use a Doodle Pantry image; anything goes
• Party Time Tuesday: anything goes
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope your weekend is awesome. I'll beheading back home later this week and hope to get back to creating. Make it a great week!

Donna

Santa's Reindeer

Happy Hump Day! We had snow on the ground this morning but fortunately it all melted away during the day today. This will be a short post I hope as I have a bunch of things to do yet tonight. I have a card tonight for a special friend of ours - a dog. During the year we dog sit on occasion and Margo is such a sweet, big, furry black dog. A couple years ago I started sending Margo a Christmas card and a Valentine and her owners got such a big kick out of it that I continued doing it. So here is this year's Christmas card for Margo, our big, furry friend.

This is a Bugaboo image I won through a challenge. I thought it was perfect for Margo.  The sentiment and image are from the same set. The image is colored with Copic markers. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches for the layout.

I used the snowflake embossing folder to emboss the banner and add Crystal Stickles to some of the embossed snowflakes and the image itself. I punched some snowflakes from green glitter paper.

I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch
• Paper Players: tic tac toe (patterned paper, embossing,snow flakes)
• Outlawz Friday: anything goes with Christmas twist

Well, on to other things this evening. Hope you had a great Wednesday. Make it an awesome Thursday. And thanks for stopping by.

Donna

Thank Full Jar

Happy Monday and welcome to December. Can you believe it? Where does the time go? Tonight I have a than you card for my Christmas gifts. This is the first year that I've been able to make any thank yous before Christmas. Usually I am scrambling when we get home from traveling at Christmastime. So I think this will be my design for this year and I'll make number of these.

I love this set from Imagine That Digital Stamps called Jars of Cheer. The image and sentiment are from the set. I am using up scraps of Christmas paper so I used it on the inside and outside of the card. I used a Martha Stewart border punch so that when the card was closed, you could see the paper from the outside. I coated the image with VersaMark ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder twice so it gave it  a real shine. I embellished with some Stickles for the berries on the bow and then mimicked it on the sentiment tag.

I am entering these challenges:

• Imagine That challenge: use any IT digi
• Outlawz CAS: thankful
• Open Minded Crafting: grateful
• Hiding in my Craft Room: freestyle

I am working to get my Christmas cards out. Hope to be ahead of the game this year. Take care. Thanks for stopping by and make it an awesome week.

Donna

Cheers to You

Happy Sunday! Gray and gloomy here today but at least a little warmer before the cold sets back in. I took a long walk this morning and got almost 10,000 steps in. My daughter and son-in-law are coming for dinner so I am trying to post before I head up to cook. And the Colts are winning so it's an amazing day, even with the gloomy weather. The bummer is I have to go back to work tomorrow. But only a 4 day week.
My card today is for a birthday. I'm not happy with the photography. What looks blue is really purple.

This was a free image from DeeDee's Digis as a freebie at the Outlawz. The sentiment is from the same set. Both the image and sentiment are cut with Spellbinders dies. I used the sketch from the Outlawz Wednesday challenge. I added some twine and some star brads to complete the card.

I am entering these challenges:

• Seize the Birthday: anything goes
• Sentimental Sunday: lots of layers
• Outlawz Wednesday challenge: sketch
• Hiding in my Craft Room: free style
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

Well, I am off to start cooking. My Colts won and I am a happy camper. Hope your Sunday is wonderful too!

Donna

Glad Tidings

Today I had time for one card. I need to knock a few more cards out this weekend so I am ahead of the game when we leave for Boston next week. So I had one more progressive challenge to go in November. Cutting it pretty close here but wanted to get it in for the From the Heart Progressive challenge.

I chose to use lots of bling on this card. The image and sentiment are from the November Stamp of the Month from From the Heart. I paper pieced the ornament with my daughter's paper from her wedding invitations (so I think this will be her Christmas card this year). I colored the image with a mixture of Copics and Bic markers. I inked the sentiment piece with Certainly Celery Stampin' Up! ink. I added some bling that I recently found at Michael's and a piece of ribbon. I used my white gel pen for some faux stitching around the base of the card.
I am entering these challenges:

• From the Heart Stamp of the Month: use the stamp of the month
• 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown: pick a previous sketch (I used sketch #32, September 2014)
• Beccy's Place: baubles
• Outlawz Sunday challenge: bling it on

Hope your weekend is going well. I am not looking forward to going back to work but we only have a four day week this coming week so maybe it won;t be so bad.! Happy Saturday!

Donna

Brighten my Day

Happy Black Friday! Did you do any shopping today. I went out with some of my sister-in-laws for our annual Girls Day Out. We had lunch and then walked through some shops. I didn't buy anything. So I still have all my Christmas shopping to do. Hmmm.
I have a card for you today.

This is a Simon Says card. I used pieces from Simon Says card kits, with the exception of the ribbon which comes from my stash. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.

I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch
• Simon Says: anything goes
• Outlaw Monday: anything goes

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We drove home this evening after our Girls Day Out so I am now hoping for some crafting time this weekend. Happy weekend to you!

Donna

New Challenge at the Outlawz

I tries to post earlier today but since we are visiting with Tom's family, my Internet connection wasn't working. He finally had to reboot the network connection. I am just glad that the connection came back before I needed to post my last guest designer post for the Thursday Outlawz Challenge. I want to thank Pat and the design team for having me as a guest designer this month. I've enjoyed my time immensely and it's been so fun. So this week's challenge is sparkles for Christmas. So here is my card.

Our sponsor this month is Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps. My main image is from Stitchy Bear, colored with Copics and embellished with lots of Burgundy Stickles. I used some faux stitching around the main image. I used a Martha Stewart border punch above the image and added a ribbon and bow. The holly leaf and candy piece are stickers embellished with some Stickles. The background paper is from Authentique. The sentiment is from a set I won in a blog candy but has no name on the set. I used the Paper Players sketch as inspiration.
I am entering these challenges:

• Paper Players challenge: sketch
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

I hope you will check out this fun challenge and play along this week. The Outlawz is such a fun place with challenges 7 days a week.  Always something fun going on.
Today is Thanksgiving and before I go I'd like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful day full of fun and food but remember, the people are more important than the food. Best wishes for a great weekend!

Donna

Reindeer Greetings

Happy Saturday! The weather has taken a turn for the better here. We made it into the 50s today without any rain so far. Although they say the rain is coming. But I am just enjoying the warmer temperatures. Our snow is disappearing so maybe we won;t have a white Thanksgiving after all. LOL!
So my card for tonight has some reindeer on it. I jazzed them up a but.

The image and sentiment is from Bugaboo Digital Stamps. I just love the reindeer with that "what the heck" look. I used the Bugaboo Stella Sketch to mae the card. The dotted background paper is from Close to my Heart. The other two papers are from my scrap box. I think both of them came from Hobby Lobby so they are probably Paper Studio. I colored the image with Copics and added Gold and Yellow Stickels and self-adhesive rhinestones for some bling!
I am entering these challenges:

• Stella Sketch: sketch
• Creative Knockouts: bling is the thing
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper challenge: cover the card in patterned paper
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas challenge: anything goes

Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far. Yesterday was my last day of work until December. I am on vacation. Yippee! I am hoping for some serious crafting time this week. I cleaned the house today so I am getting my ducks in a row. Happy weekend. Take care!

Donna

Fowl Play

Last night when I posted I was kind of in a hurry and forgot what card I was posting.I have CRS: can't remember sh... (stuff)!  So I titled my post the wrong thing and had to go back and correct it. Well, tonight I do have the fowl play card to post. The first time I saw the sentiment I knew I had to use it. I laughed out loud!

The sketch was the Tuesday Morning Sketch from last week (I must have liked it a lot!) The sentiment is from Create with TLC. And the turkey is from Crafty Paws. The background papers are scraps from my scrap box. I used a Martha Stewart corner punch and Spellbinder's Labels 13 for the sentiment. I added a few self-adhesive gems. I hope you like it as much as I do. I laugh every time I look at it.
I am entering these challenges:

• Creative Knockout challenge: bling is the thing
• Delightful Challenge: you're a gem
• Simon Says: thanks/Thanksgiving
• Cut It Up: let's talk turkey
• Outlawz Monday: Happy Thanksgiving

Still below freezing here, but I am thankful for not much snow and the promise of a little warm up on the weekend. If you are in upstate New York, my prayers are with you. I can't imagine all that snow. Thanks for stopping by today and remember..... don't get arrested for fowl play this holiday season.

Donna

Challenge at the Outalwz

Happy Thursday! I am again a guest designer for the Thursday Outalwz challenge. This week the challenge is really easy: use your favorite colors at Christmas time. The challenge is always anything goes with a twist. If you use the twist (your favorite Christmas colors) you are entered twice for the prize. Our sponsor this month is Stitchy Bear digital stamps. Here's my card.

I am very traditional for my favorite Christmas colors. I love red and green but I also like to add a pop of gold. My image is from Floppy Latte Designs. I colored it with Bic and Copic markers. The image was cut and backed with Spellbinders Circle and Scalloped Circles and I used faux stitching around the image. The sentiment is from a Gina K stamp set. It was embossed with gold embossing powder. I embossed the dark green background card stock with the holly swirl embossing folder. And of course, my favorite plaid paper in the background. My embellishments are a gold button and gold ribbon. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.

I really hope you will check out the Thursday Outlawz challenge and join us. Everyone can use another Christmas card to send out to friends or family this year. I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: the sketch
• Sentimental Sunday: brads, buttons or bows
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Love to Create: make it for Christmas

Thanks for stopping by. We are on the down side of the week. Two more days to work and I am on vacation! Hurray. Still very cold but at least during the day it gets up to the freezing mark. Haha!

Donna

It's the Grinch!

Still bitterly cold today. I think tomorrow we might get to 30 degrees. That would be a real warming trend. We got a little more snow but not much. Just enough to make the roads really slippery again. Usually we wish for a white Christmas. This year we might see a white Thanksgiving. I can't ever remember having snow on the ground for Thanksgiving.

I was thinking Christmas tonight and decided to keep it CAS.

 I found these tags of movie quotes at the Happy Tulip. The one from "The Grinch that Stole Christmas" caught my eye and I thought it would make a cute card. I cut out the tag and punched the hole and added the ribbon and the flower. I love plaid paper and this was on my desk.

Entering these challenges:

• Outlawz CAS: take us to the movies
• C.R.A.F.T. challenge: Christmas
• Party Times Tuesday: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by tonight. Hope you are keeping warm and being crafty!

Donna

Fall Thanks

Our fall has quickly turned to winter. We got several inches of snow although not as much as they were predicting. Tonight and tomorrow night we could be looking at below zero wind chills. It's just way too early for this. The roads were icy this morning and it's snowing again tonight. The winter is going to be really long I'm thinking.

Back to fall for my card tonight.

I used this sketch last week and really liked the results so I tried it again. After I printed this I lost who did this image. So if I find it I will correct this post. I colored the image with Copics and used Spellbinders circles and scalloped circles to cut it out. I used the French Scroll punch to cut the border. The patterned paper is Basic grey. Another CAS card!
I am entering these challenges:

• Stamping Boutique: thankful
• Outlawz Friday: thanks or Thanksgiving
• Hiding in my Craft Room: think fall

Hope your week is off to a great start. Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm and safe!

Donna

Merry & Bright

It's snowing away here as I type. It's beautiful outside but I wouldn't want to drive around right now. We'll be having Thanksgiving dinner tonight with my daughter and new son-in-law. We have dinner with them on Sundays and next week we have other things to do. So we are doing it a but early. The turkey is in the oven and I still need to make the sweet potatoes.
With the snow I was thinking Christmas today. I'm not sure that I like this card but I'm not sure what else to do.

I don't really have a Christmas border punch so I used this French Scroll punch to make a number of border strips out of scraps. I layered those on the card and added the punched star with a Gina K sentiment. I inked the edges of the star and the card and added some gems. Pretty simple. What do you think? What does it need?

I am entering this into these challenges:

• Simon Says challenge: we're seeing stars
• Beccy's Place: border punches
• Crafty Hazelnut: Go Green

I just looked at our weather forecast. We have a winter weather advisory as the snow teams down until mid morning tomorrow. So we;ll see how that goes. It's very early for snow around here. Here's hoping you are safe and warm and crafty today.

Donna

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I can't believe how cold it was today. I don't think we got above 30 today and it was windy and snowy most of the day. We didn't get much accumulation but it's a little early for snow around here. We have another cold one tomorrow. I think at least Saturday we are supposed to get above freezing. We are having Thanksgiving here on Sunday since next Sunday I have a baby shower and we have to travel for the actual day. We'll celebrate with my daughter and son-in-law this weekend and then watch the Colt hopefully beat the Patriots. Oh that would make me sooooo happy!

One of my co-workers had surgery to replace her knee so I made a card for her for everyone to sign. Veru simple but I really like it.

Isn't that cookie jar adorable? This is from the progressive stamp set for this month at Imagine That. I love the little tag: Chocolate is a girl's best friend. If I had surgery I'd want a lot of chocolate. I used a scrap from my stash and added the little banner with the embossed sentiment. The sketch is close to the Sweet Sunday Sketch. I popped up the cute little cookie jar.

I am entering these challenges:

• Imagine That: use the stamp from the progressive challenge
• Sweet Sunday Sketch: the sketch
• Hiding in my Craftroom: Super Scrap Saturday

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you are warm and cozy. Please stay safe!

Donna

Outlawz Thursday Challenge

Happy Thursday! I am back with another challenge this week at the Outlawz. This week we are being Thankful. Thanksgiving isn't very far away and I am thankful for so many things. Thanksgiving dinner with our family has alwasy been one of my favorite times. Here's the card I made for the challenge.

The image is a pre-colored image from Dearie Dolls and the sentiment is from Create with TLC. The Backgroud patterned paper is from Basic Grey. I inked the sentiment after cutting it with Spellbinders squares. I added some ribbon and a few self-adhesive gems. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketch with the twist of leaves and pumpkins.

I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch
• DigiStamps4Joy: Preparing for the Holiday/Fall
• Bugaboo: show us your food
• Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes

Today is my maintenance  class and my weigh in this month. Yikes I am glad that pumpkin pie is only an image and not for real. LOL! My wish for you is happy times with family and friends this Thanksgiving season. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Thursday!

Donna

It's a Cupcake Birthday

Happy Monday. We had beautiful weather today. The temps weren't too bad. I went for a long walk at lunch time. The temps are supposed to dip for the rest of the week. So I'll have to get my exercise inside. My next weigh in is on Thursday. Hope I at least maintained my weight. With holidays coming quickly it's going to be hard to hold it together. But at least I know how to get it back down if I do gain a few pounds. So onto my card tonight. I needed a birthday card for my BIL later this week. So here's his card.

The image is from Bugaboo. I used the Stella sketch to make the card. I used some Die-namics border dies and Spellbinders scalloped Oval. The image is colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I printed the plaid paper from a free fall plaid set but I don't know where I got it from. None of the paperwork that accompanies the set has the company name. So I am entering these challenges:

• Stella Challenges: sketch
• Pile It On: special occasion
• Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes

Hope your Monday has been great! Stay warm and comfy! And have a super week.

Donna

A Merry Little Tag

Sadly, the weekend is coming to an end. I got a lot of cooking done today but not as much crafting as I hoped to do. I did make a trip to Michael's and picked up a few things that I needed. I did manage to get one card completed. Another Christmas card. The tag was created for the progressive challenge at DigiStamps4Joy.

The cute little tag is from DigiStamps4Joy and I added the sentiment from Creative Vision. The image is colored with Copics and I added some faux stitching around the tag. The background is all scraps from my scrap box. I embossed the strips with the Holly Swirl embossing folder. And I used Berry Lace die cut for the border. I also added some candy cane ribbon to the tag. The tree is decorated with some Stickles.

I am entering these challenges:

• DigiStamps4Joy Christmas Progressive challenge: us the progressive digital stamp
• Hiding in my Craftroom: Super Scrap Saturday
• Paper Players: colors: cherry cobbler, very vanilla, mossy meadow

As the weekends ends I am hoping that you've had time to relax and craft. And hoping that the week ahead is productive! Take care!

Donna

CAS Snowman Christmas

Happy Saturday! One of my rare posts on the weekend. Although during the winter that may happen more often. When the weather gets cold and snowy I don;t go out to our other property as much. And I would happily go if I had an Internet connection out there. I don't miss the television but I do miss Internet. I've been keeping an eye on Beccy's Place this week. She is showcasing Christmas this month. She posts a holiday card each day and one commenter wins one of her digital stamps. And each day she posts a challenge to go with the card and on Saturday you can win additional stamps if you've joined in the challenges. So this is the first one that I've done. The first day was a CAS card and here's mine.

The snowman is a Beccy's Place image. The image was pre-colored. I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  He's against a snowflake embossed background that was inked over with another color to try and lighten the snowflakes. Then I added some enamel dots and a sentiment. I tied the twine after wrapping it around the background a few times. I like the finished card!

I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's Place a Month of Holiday Cards: CAS
• Freshly Made Sketches: sketch
• C.R.A.F.T. challenge: winter
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge: keep it flat
• Outlawz Paper ala Mode: cute Christmas

Thank you stopping by. I hope your weekend is going well. I am working on getting my handouts and training ready for our Girl Scout event next week. I hope to finish early tomorrow so I can go back to crafting and get a little cooking done for this week. Hope you find time to get crafty too.

Donna

Eat Beef

Welcome to the deep freeze! Today was cold, windy and wet. We aren't supposed to get much above 40 this weekend. Now I know that's not really the deep freeze but it feels really cold here. I did the treadmill inside tonight instead of doing my outside route. I need to keep up with my exercise. I have to weigh in next Thursday at my maintenance class and with Thanksgiving and the holidays coming up I have to make good choices. Speaking of Thanksgiving, here's a card for you tonight.

The image is from CraftyPaws, a freebie from last week. I colored him with Copic markers. The background paper is one of my shaving cream technique sheets I made. The other papers are from Doodle Pantry. The pearl swirls are from Zva and I used some extra from the swirl to decorate the Beaded Ovals from Spellbinders. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.
I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch
• Outlawz Monday: fall colors
• Sweet Stamps: stripes
• Delightful challenge: include patterned paper
• Bugaboo: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are staying warm. Have an awesome weekend!

Donna

Guest Designer at Outlawz Thursday Challenge

I am honored this month to be a guest designer at the Outlawz Thursday challenge. Each of the next few Thursdays I'll have a card that follows the great challenge. Our sponsor this month is Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps. This week the challenge is to use a button or buttons. So here's my card.

I am using a Stitchy Bear image. My original thought was to use buttons for the snowman's eyes and the buttons on the coat but I would have had to blow the image up pretty big. I really love this image. I think it's adorable! As I was putting it together it brought back memories of winters when I was a little girl. My Mom would always tell us to "Button Up!" before going out the door to play. So I decided to use that on my card. I found the ribbon in my stash. The sentiment I cut out with a Spellbinder's tag. The background behind the image is embossed with the snowflake embossing folder. The image is colored with Copics. I added the buttons with a little twine tied into them as embellishments.
I hope you will join us this week for the challenge. Add a button or buttons to your project and play along with us!

I am entering these challenges:

• Part Time Tuesday: anything goes
• Sentimental Sunday: anything goes
• Pile It On: feeling cool
• Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your week is going well. Halfway to the weekend.

Donna

Cause for Celebration

How is the weekend over already? I swear weekends go so fast while the weekdays go so slow. I am grateful for my job. My SIL has been out of a job for over a year and she just found a new one so I made her this card.

I made an easel card to celebrate her new job. The wine bottle image is from Beccy's Place. I colored it with a combination of Copic and Bic markers. I used the Spellbinder's Heart Pendant to showcase the sentiment from Create with TLC. I dressed up the pendant with some emerald green Stickles. The inside sentiment was something I drummed up on the computer. and embellished it with some Stickles also. I sponged some red ink on the inside sentiment too.
I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's Place challenge: use an image from Beccy's Place
• Outlawz Thursday challenge: easel card
• Delightful Challenge: swirls and curls
• Simon Says: anything goes

That's it for tonight. Wish I had found more time this weekend to  make cards but it just went too fast. Hope your weekend, Halloween and the start to November was a great oner. Make it an awesome week!

Donna

Stirring up a Batch of Fun

Happy November! Where did October go? Christmas is creeping up too fast! And of course I am not ready. LOL! I think if someone is ready for Christmas now I really dislike them. Haha! I had a little time today to do a card.

I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. The image and sentiment is from Doodle Pantry colored with Copics. I used a chevron embossing folder to give texture to the red background strip. I inked the Spellbinder's tag die that I used for the sentiment. Then I added the little gingerbread men as embellishments. These were two little buttons that I took the backs off. I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: the sketch
• Doodle Pantry challenge: use a Doodle Pantry image; anything goes

I still need to do my handouts for my Math & Science training. I am hoping to finish that off tomorrow. But I'd love to get more crafting in too. Have a wonderful Sunday! Hope your weekend is going well.

Donna

Halloween Coffins

Are you getting ready for Halloween? Our weather forecast for Friday evening is supposed to be cold, windy with a chance of (are your ready for this?) SNOW flurries! Who would have thought that word would be in the forecast this early in the season. Oh my!
Because of my weight loss this year, I've decided not to give out candy this year. So I found little packages of pretzels to give out. I hope the kids like them. We really don't get too many kids anymore. We used to get about 100 but lately it's been more like 20-25. I do like to give my co-workers something. So tonight I finished my project for my co-workers.

I made little coffins and originally I just had the RIP on the front but it looked too plain. So I found this pumpkin by Beccy. I put the R on top of the pumpkin. I'm going to fill them with pretzels.
I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's challenge: use an image from Beccy's Place
• Inky Impressions challenge: Halloween
• Love to Create: more than one fold
• Paper Makeup: pumpkins

That's it for tonight. I am looking forward to the weekend and hoping to get  a bunch of crafting time.  But every time I plan that something always comes up. I do have to make a handout for a Girl Scout science and math training I have coming up. Always something to keep me busy. Have a wonderful Thursday!

Donna

Sharing Your Grief

Lots of rain today but by late afternoon we saw some sunshine. Cooler temperatures for the rest of the week. And they are saying our first hard freeze will be Friday night. Hot tub and sitting by the fire sounds heavenly for the weekend. Have you ever had a day where it just seems you put out fires all day and nothing gets accomplished. That was today at work. I am hoping to be able to get something done tomorrow.
 One of my co-workers lost her mother last weekend so I needed a card. I do wish I would make these ahead of time since I always do these kinds of cards in such a rush.

I am not always great at CAS but I really like the way this turned out. I used a Simon Says Stamp Kit. I embossed the roses and leaves with gold embossing powder and then water colored them. I added the sentiment from Close to Your Heart. And then I added a few enamel dots.
I am entering these challenges:

• Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes
• Outlawz Monday challenge: anything goes
• CAS on Sunday: one layer wonder

I am hoping that my co-worker will find some comfort from the card. Tomorrow is Wednesday already. Happy Hump Day! Hope your week is goign well. Thanks for stopping by.

Donna

With Love on Thanksgiving

Ha! I had a couple minutes tonight to do another quick CAS card. I colored this Bugaboo image over the weekend and saw the Paper Players sketch when I got home this evening and I thought the two matched up really well. My first Thanksgiving card for this year.

The image was a free Bugaboo image a couple weeks ago. I thought she was adorable for a Thanksgiving Day card. I colored her with Copics and then added some silver Spica pen under her feet and some Spica gold pen on the turkey. So in real life it has a little sparkle to it. I embossed the border with the "With Love" embossing border and inked it with Vintage Photo distress ink. I added the flower according to the Player Player's sketch.

I am entering these challenges:

• Outlawz Paper ala Mode challenge: anything goes
• Paper Players challenge: sketch
• Hiding in my Craftroom: any holiday

Okay, this is definitely my last for today.  Have to head for bed so I am ready to work tomorrow. Take care!

Donna

Aged to Perfection

Today is the last day for the Outlawz party so I wanted to get another card in. This is a sketch challenge card.

I used the star embossing folder to give the background some texture. The image is from Doodle Pantry. The sentiment is from the same set. The sentiment is cut from a Spellbinder's tag die. Added a little ribbon with some circles and some veneer car cut outs.
I am entering this card in these challenges:

• Outlawz sketch challenge: sketch
• Seize the Birthday: anything goes
• Through the Craftroom Door: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. I do hope you got some time to play along at the Outlawz this week. And I hope that you win one of the great prizes. Have a wonderful last week of October!!!

Donna