Leprechaun Oliver

Good day!!! 

Today is day ONE of Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps February previews! 

Sparkle will be releasing 2 new SCRS stamps with matching sentiments 

and 1 new Karber Clear Stamp Set on 

Saturday, February 11th :)

I'm so happy to finally show you "Leprechaun Oliver"...  

Oliver looks so jolly :) 

I colored Oliver with my Copics and used some more of my new Crate Paper DP... 

I found these old Doodlebug Design brads at the bottom of my jar, lol, thought that they would make a cute match with the theme of the card! 

Be sure to visit the awesome SCRS DT for more Oliver peeks today! 

Sparkle will be giving away one Leprechaun Oliver rubber stamp, so be sure to visit everyone and leave your comments on their blogs! 

You have until midnight EST tonight to hop along :)  to one lucky commenter! 

Alice Wertz

Amber Hight
Danielle Lounds
Kerri Michaud
Kim Yu
Margie Cortina
Pam Varnell {February Guest Designer}
Savannah O'Gwynn
Shaela Odd
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft

Enjoy the new release :) 

xoxo 

Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas 

and 

Happy Holidays to all :) 

xoxo 

Warm Wishes

Good evening everyone :) 

I totally forgot to post my card for today, ooops! 

This week's Pixie Dust Studio Challenge is to 

use THREE pattern papers!!! 

That's suppose to be easy, right?! lol! 

The small piece of green paper on top is really part of the pattern paper, it really is! 

The scallop and border green is cardstock, okay :)  hee, hee! 

This cute little image is called "Smore Candle Treats"... 

I honestly don't know what he is, my boys keep going back and forth saying that the Smore-guy is either an Ant or a Cricket - possibly a Snowman of sorts, lol! Oh boy, Kathy is going to whip us ;) hee, hee!!! 

I hope everyone is all done with the Holiday stuffs and getting ready to relax and enjoy the Holiday this weekend :)  I have a few last minute things to take care of first thing Friday morning, but nothing to stress about which is always a bonus :) 

Have a wonderful night!
I'll be back in the morning with my Spy Day card for The Greeting Farm Challenge!!! 

xoxo 

TGF's 3rd Annual Customer Blog Hop!!!

Happy Holidays everyone :)
and welcome to The Greeting Farm's Third Annual Customer Blog Hop!!!
To start the hop from the beginning and for the whole blog/link list, please refer to
The Greeting Farm's Blog for all the details :)
Especially to find out how you can win one of THREE grand prizes!!!

So for today's hop, I created (hopefully) my last Holiday card for this year!
Here is Holiday Anya... 

This is the perfect paper to paper-piece her dress! 

She looks so fun and festive :)  

My next card is definitely my last holiday card of 2011, hee hee!!! 

This card is for this week's TGF Monday Fun-Day Recipe Challenge - 

you are to use Kraft Cardstock, Twine and a Button(s) on your card/project!!! 

My three favorite go-to things to create a card!!! 

I decided to use my "Keep Cozy" stamp set again 

and came up with this easel card :) 

This just happens to be the card that I taught to my Scrappy friends last Friday night :)
They loved the easel card concept!!! It was so much fun!!!

That's it for me today :)
Happy Hopping!!!
xoxo

Holiday Anya

Keep Cozy

InLinkz.com

Dear Santa... and How I take my Card Pics!

All I want for Christmas is... {fill in the blank!} 

I don't know what I want for Christmas, lol! 

SO many things, I can't decide :)

*Please scroll down to see my card for 
Pixie Dust Studio's latest 'stitching' challenge, thanks!!! 

I wanted to share a quick little boy card that I created 

with one of Amy's latest Sweet November Stamps called "Max"!!! 

I was SO lucky to win this sweet boy and some goodies during Amy's preview days!

Yay!!! for more boy stamps!!! 

Isn't he the cutest little mischief you've ever seen?! hee, hee!!! 

Wonder if this little Max will be getting coal or toys for Christmas... 

I guess it depends were that snowball lands ;) 

***

I've had a few comments asking me how I take my card pics :)
I don't really do anything special - as a matter of fact, I really don't think they come out that good, lol! I always feel that they're a bit too dark... this is how I take my pics...

I just move my card and Ott-lite around until I get the right angle with no shadows.
I adjust my setting on my camera;
I have a simple Kodak Touch and I set it on Close-Up and then I zoom in...
I then upload my pics to Picasa - this is where I choose which pics I like best and crop them down.
and then lastly, I use PhotoScape to adjust the lighting/size and add my watermark!
All done!!!

I'm sure that there is probably an easier way to do all the 'photoshopping' stuffs, but this is what I've been doing for the last year, it's a quick and simple enough routine for me - it works :)

Please feel free to share your pic methods with me too!
Thanks!!! and thanks for stopping by today too!!! xo 

"This is not Rudolph..." {hee hee!}

'tis the season to be jolly... and have a red nose! ha! 

It seems that there are a lot of sickies out there right now, so sorry!!! 

I am happy to say that I am finally feeling so much better :) Yay!!! 

Here's to a healthy holiday and New Year to all!!! 

Today is Thursday!!! Which means another Pixie Dust Studio Challenge!!! 

and for this week's challenge, we need to use some sort of stitching on our cards/projects! 

This is "Socket the Reindeer", he is one of my fave holiday images from Pixie Dust Studio :) 

My little guy was a bit upset with me that I didn't make him a 'Rudolph' with a red glowing nose, lol! ooops! Didn't cross my mind, even with all the red I was using on the card, lol! 

and look! I embossed, again! Go me! Starting to put these folders into use ;) 

I also did some faux stitching! I have only done that twice before, and I am liking how it looks :)
It really adds something to the card, right?!

Please be sure to check out the Pixies stitched up creations too :) 

• Cat
• Erin
• Jessica
• Karen
• Mary J
• Sammi
• Suzi

Happy Thursday :)
xoxo 

Happy Snowman Tags :)

It's Wednesday!!!
It's also my big boys 8th birthday!!! and hubs day off!!!
So while our kiddos are in school, we're off to try to finish off our holiday to-do list!!!
And then after school, we will be taking them to go see Santa, and then big boy's choice of either the Disney Store or Build-a-Bear, and then his fave spot to eat :)  Fun!!!

And since it's the FIRST Wednesday of the month! It also means that it's time for another
Retro-Fresh Challenge at The Greeting Farm Challenge Blog!!! 
Retro-Fresh is when we get to dust off our older Greeting Farm stamps (at least 6months old or older) and play along with a challenge; and this month's challenge is to create a TAG(s)!!! 
AND, you have ALL month long to complete the challenge! Yay!!! 

I pulled out my "Keep Cozy" stamp set and old Greeting Farm Christmas DP to create a few holiday tags... which have disappeared onto our Christmas tree! lol! I wonder who stuck them on there ;) 

I had so much fun with this girly color combo!
and yet, the snow man makes it not so girly if I need an extra tag for something boy-ish ;)

Thanks so much for passing by today!!!
Be sure to check out the rest of the DT and see their amazing creations too!!!
Jessica Diedrich 

April Davis

Joni Wilson

Lisa Gobea

Sharette Smith 

Enjoy your day!!! xoxo

"Percy as Max"

Happy Tuesday!!! 

... I don't like to whine, but I still have this cold, and it won't go away!
I have been SO frustrated and moody, lol! I'm sure that the stress of meeting deadlines, the holidays and birthdays too, are not helping right now, but it is what it is! Right?!

No sense in dwelling ;) Onto the fun stuffs!!! 

For today's Riley and Company Challenge, 

Joy is asking us to create a Holiday themed card/project... 

I have fallen head over heels over Riley's new best friend, Percy the Penguin!!! 

I just haaad to use "Percy as Max" for my holiday card today :) 

Ummm, so you all know who Max is, right??? It's okay if you don't... 

Max is The Grinch's little dog with the one antler... 

it's okay if you didn't, hubs didn't remember him and was completely confused thinking that Percy may have been making fun of Riley with an antler joke of some sort, lol!!!

Even funnier, that hubs is so knowledgeable of who Riley is ;) 

Here's Percy... 

Isn't he a cutie?!?! 

Please be sure to visit the rest of the Moosemates 

and see what Holiday wonderfulness they've been up to too!!! 

• cindy haffner
• frances byrne
• jovita torres
• joy stagg
• kelly santi
• laurie clout
• michele l.
• silke kittmann

Thanks so much for stopping by :) 

Enjoy!!! xo

Scootin' by for a Special Delivery!

Good morning!!! 

Well, I have to admit, trying to make a Monday into a Saturday yesterday was truly unsuccessful, lol! Both of my kiddos woke up sick, and starting at 430am, the day just kept on going downhill from there, sigh... but at last, it seems that they are already feeling a bit better! So for today, we will be hiding on the couch with our crackers, juice and ginger ale, and will probably watch the Polar Express and Cars 2 movies :) Perfect way to rest and hopefully, finally get rid of alllll these germs!!! We have HUUUGE plans for tomorrow and everyone needs to be at 100% or there is going to be a lot of sad faces around here, hee hee!!! 

Today is the second half to Sparkle Creations last challenge for the year!!! 

Can you believe it!? and no, I have not started my Christmas shopping yet, eeek!!! 

Anyways, lol, for this challenge you are to use a Sparkle or Karber stamp and this sketch : 

I just have to ask, have you ever had one of those card/projects that looks good in person but you just can't capture it in a picture? Yup, that's what's going on here! I just couldn't get the lighting to work on this one... sigh... 

Here's Scooter Chloe... 

I used my newest pad of My Mind's Eye called Love Me! 

This is truly my most fave pad EVERRRR!!! There is not one sheet or pattern that I don't like! Don't ya love when you know you finally purchased the right thing to play with?! lol! 

To play along in our challenge, please upload a photo of your project to the SCRS gallery. If you haven't registered yet, it just takes a few seconds to create a login and upload your photo. Deadline for this challenge is Sunday, December 11th @ 9 PM PST.

Additionally, if you want to upload to use an online gallery (e.g. Splitcoast), please use the Keyword SparkleCreations (no spaces) so that your card will be included in the SCRS gallery. If you have a Facebook account and are a fan of Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps, you can also upload there. However, please note that contest entries will be pulled only from the SCRS Photo Gallery.

Please be sure to check out the rest of the DT's amazing cards for this week :) 

Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Store
Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog
Margie Cortina
Mary Johnson
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Tuesday!!! 

BOTTLE CAP Ornaments!!!

Hello again! I'm back to share with you some ornaments that I created this week! 

Claudia and Company has these Maya Road Bottle Caps! 

They come in three different sizes: 2, 3, and 4 inches! 

There are so many creative ideas to do with these - magnets, ornaments, picture frames, note pads, calendars, etc!!! 

I decided to make mine into ornaments! 

In my house, you can never ever have too many ornaments on our huge tree ;)  

Here is a 'before' pic of me putting things together! 

These bottle caps are SO durable and sturdy - such good quality! and how do I know that??? LOL, come on! You all know how clumsy I can be with things - I must have dropped these about a billion times! and not one ding or dent happened! Yay! 

Of course, I just had to add pics of my boys! 

And yes, these are summer pics, but I just loved their poses and sweetness, I had to use them :) 

Do you see that I finally used my Stickles and Liquid Pearls here too?

My pearls look like Hershey-squirts! and my stickles completely flattened out! LOL! 

I guess I need to practice more ;)  but I love how it all turned out!!! 

For my next two I just had to use some of my favorite Holiday stamps!
The Shepherd Boy is another one of The Greeting Farm's retired stamp sets! I am SO happy that I bought this one when it came out, he is truly one of the cutest ones I have :)

The next stamp is also from The Greeting Farm that was just recently released, Holiday Anya... 

and look! More Stickles and Liquid Pearls, hee hee!!! 

Bottle Caps!!! 

What would you create with them???

AND!!! For a limited time ONLY!!! 

Maya Road is offering a FREE Holiday printout with every Bottle Cap purchase!!!

How cool is that?! 

You can see more details on the Claudia and Company Blog today!!! 

Thanks for stopping by again!
I truly do appreciate all of you that follow and comment regularly :) 

xoxo 

PS.... I am tryyyying to do My December Daily for 2011, too!!! 

I am a newbie and am totally unsure as to what I am doing with it, lol! 

I only took ONE pic yesterday, bummer! and here it is! 

My sister helped me out by creating a super cool book for me to finish up and add my pics and journaling too! I hope to keep up! Especially since I never get to finish anything for myself or for my own family, eeek! This will definitely be a nice present for my boys and hubs on New Years Day :) 

How are you doing your December Daily's?!?! 

Any ideas/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!! 

Thank you!!! 

Merry 2011 Mini Book

What the...??? 

It's already Thursday??? and for some odd reason, I was thinking that it was Friday already, lol! and OH my goodness - it's the FIRST of December too! 

The weeks have flown by and I have been overwhelmed with all kinds of good and crafty things and unfortunately, unable to pop in continuously this week and share the things I have been up to!
I have another blog candy to post on my birthday! Yay! and I have a some super great things to reveal and share towards the end of this month, so be on the lookout ;) hee, hee!!! 

Here's one thing that I managed to start, but has not been finished yet - and I have to make TWO, lol! 

I needed to create to more Santa Wish List books :) 

I wanted to use paper bags to create a 5x5 mini book, but didn't like the 'brown' look... and then I found WHITE paper bags at Target the other day! (They had navy blue too, but wasn't feeling it, lol!) 

So for today's color challenge at Pixie Dust Studio, 

(there are TWO fabulous Christmas-y color combos to choose from!) 

I used "Sweet Santa" and the challenges Holiday Cheer Color Combination... 

 and this is how far I got with the first mini book... 

I created the front cover using Echo Park's Dots and Stripes Christmas Collection 6x6

2 different snowflake punches, nesties and Pink Paislee chipboard stickers... 

I was also able to add some paper to a few inside pages, 

and that is it for now, lol! I need to finish these over the weekend! eek! 

I just looove this Santa image! 

He looks so jolly and cute :) 

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Please be sure to visit the rest of the Pixies today too!!! 

xoxo 

PS - Don't forget to enter to win my TGF Clear Stamp Blog Candy!!! 

A Merry Lil' Elf!

It's Monday! It's Monday! 

***Don't forget to enter to win my Blog Candy of FOUR TGF Clear Stamps HERE!!!

and a belated Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrated this weekend :) 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family! and then my lil guy came down with the virus that I had earlier last week :(  It took him almost 3 days to get over it! but I'm happy to say that he pepped up yesterday and went to school with his big bro :)  Here's hoping that there are no more germ attacks for the rest of the Winter season ;) hee hee!!! 

Today is Monday Fun-Day at The Greeting Farm Challenge Blog!!! 

and for this week, we challenge you to use THREE of something on your card/project! 

I decided to make an easel card - it's been so long since I've done one, and I just love how I can display them on my bookshelf... my "three" are the pearls that I used, even though I did use three more on the inside too, lol! 

Here's my card using "Elf Anya"... 

... and some more scraps of some old Echo Park Christmas DP :) 

Love this stuff!!! 

Thanks for stopping by and looking today!!! 

Happy Monday :) 

{Happy Thanksgiving!} Riley's Winter/Christmas Release and Blog Hop!!!

Good evening everyone!!!
I hope that those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving today had a beautiful and blessed one with your lovies :) 

It's time for Riley and Company's latest release and blog hop!!! 

If you just came here from Jovita's Blog, then you're on the right track ;) 

If not, and would like to start from the beginning - please go HERE!!! 

While you are hopping - don't forget to leave a comment on each blog! Each designer will draw one random name after 24 hours, from all the posts. The winner get's their choice of free Riley rubber!

When you are done with the hop - make sure you go back to our home page to shop because ALL orders placed in the first 24 hours gets a FREE limited edition MINI RIley stamp!

AND - there is FREE shipping all weekend on all orders! But hurry - it's only until Sunday night!

First I would like to share my card using "Riley and Percy Dancing"... 

and for my next card, I used "Percy Snow Angel" ...

and for my last card, I used "Elf Riley"...

and here's the inside to Elf Riley's card: 

Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Your next stop in the hop is Michelle L!!!  
Happy Hopping :) 

Snow Moose, a Postage Stamp and My FIRST Publication :)

Good {late} Wednesday morning to you!!! 

How are you all doing today??? 

I have to say, November has not been my friend this year, geesh! 

but hopefully he will make it up to me with a germ free Holiday weekend :) 

Much to be thankful for! Plus, it would be nice to be able to go with my boys to see the new Muppets movie ;) hee, hee!!! 

I have 2 more Riley and Company sneak peeks to share with you today!!! 

It is officially day 4 of sneak peeks - 

17 NEW Winter/Christmas themed stamps aaand 2 matching sentiment stamp sets too!!! 

The release is tomorrow, Thursday 11/24th 10pm EST - during our blog hop :) 

Be sure to hop for your chance to win a Winter/Christmas Riley stamp of your choice ;) 

Here is my first card for today... featuring "Snow Moose" 

I looove Snowmen! and Riley as a Snow Moose is even cuter! 

Definitely a new favorite for me ;) 

For my next card, I used "Postage Stamp Riley"... 

I never thought that I would fall in love with a Moose! LOL!
He is just too sweet, and I love the snowman in the background :) 

Be sure to check out the rest of the Moosemates and see what they have been up to with their sneak peeks this week, and our guest, Kelli Hull! 

 Cindy Haffner

Frances Byrne

Silke Kittman

Laurie Clout

Michelle L

Kelly Santi

Jovita Torres

Joy Stagg

PS:  SQUEEEEEing!!! 

Thanks to Tanya owner of Riley and Company, and now Cornish Heritage Farms! 

TWO of my cards have been published in here: 

Woo Hoo!!! 

It's my first publication and I am over the moooon about it :) 

Now, if I could just get my hands on a copy, lol! 

I have been trying to, and have yet to find it locally, eeek!!! 

And a congrats to my fellow Moosemate, Frances! 

Her card was also published, and it's that one on the bottom right of the cover :)

Here are the 2 cards that were published :)

You can find this first one on the index page!!! 

"Garden Chair" 

and you can find this card on page 34!!! 

"Holly Snowman"

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Enjoy :) 

xo 

Merry Christmas, Anya!

Hi again :)
It's me, just trying to catch up and have some extra fun tonight! hee, hee!!!

My second sketch for The Greeting Farm's Mondy Fun-Day Challenge is up!!! 

Here's my card using the new Holiday Anya... 

I am in loooove with this Anya! She's so adorable!
I am still playing around with which Copics to mix together to make up a good 'blonde hair' combo, any suggestions would greatly be appreciated! I tried google-ing and YouTube-ing, but I didn't have half the colors that they were using in their mix, lol! So I figured I would just play around and create a wishlist of must have numbers to get for the new year ;)

... and here's my sketch :) 

I hope you'll play along with us!!! 

Be sure to take a peek at what the rest of the DT has been up to too!!! 

Jessica Diedrich

April Davis

Joni Wilson

Lisa Gobea

Sharette Smith  

Enjoy your Monday night :) 

Holiday Anya

Echo Park

Copic Markers

Neenah Paper

Medium Scallop Border Die

InLinkz.com

Hello?! and So Thankful :)

Hello everyone :) 

Is it really Monday already?!?! Eeek!!! I am a tad bit behind on so many things - in order for me to catch up, I need to prioritize my to-do list and then go backwards with it! LOL! Does that make sense ;) 

Definitely sounds like fun, right!? hee, hee!!! 

So today I am starting with my first 2 cards for 

Riley and Company's sneak peek week!!! 

 Riley is getting ready to introduce a new friend on the Company :)

There will be 17 NEW Holiday stamps and 2 sentiment stamp sets to match!!! 

For my first card, I would like to introduce you to Riley's new friend...

Percy the Penguin!!! 


My mojo seems to be playing peek-a-boo with me lately :(
So I went on the hunt for some new challenges to play with and here's what I used to help me create Percy's card...

- Card Patterns Sketch #142

Now, if you know my Nicky - he looooves PENGUINS!!! 

and isn't Percy the cutest penguin-angel :)

SO happy that we now have a Penguin to join The Moose family ;) 

For my second card, I used Pilgrim Riley and Sophie...
I also used these challenges for my card too:
- The Pink Elephant Challenge #126: Giving Thanks
- Card Makin Mamas Challenge #33: Thanks
- Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #137 

Aren't they the sweetest pair?!

Thanksgiving is this week (for those of us in the U.S.), 

and I have not prepared nor decorated yet, oops! 

Must get my cleaning done asap!!!
I know that it's not important as to whether or not my home is clean, organized, decorated, etc. but I am SO very grateful for my family and feel that they deserve something nice to enjoy our Holiday this year :)
AND there better be some balloons flying about Macy's parade this year!!! Rumor has it that it may be too windy out there and there has been too many mishaps in the last few years!!! I'm sorry, but you may as well just cancel the whole parade if there aren't going to be any balloons! Just sayin'!!! hee, hee!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!! 

More Riley and Company sneak peeks are going on throughout the week!
Be sure to visit the rest of the Moosemates to see what other holiday stamps and sentiments are being released on Thursday, November 24th 10pm EST!!! 

Cindy Haffner
Frances Byrne
Silke Kittman
Laurie Clout
Michelle L
Kelly Santi
Jovita Torres
Margie Cortina
Joy Stagg

Three Snowmen, HO HO HO!!!

It's Thursdaaaaay!!! My favorite day of the week :)
Why? Just because :) hee hee!

It's also time for a Pixie Dust Studio Challenge!!!
It's also Pixie's 100TH CHALLENGE!!!
In celebration of our 100th challenge, Pixie will be giving away a few extra prizes!

For this week's challenge, I used one of the latest images from the
"A Pixie Christmas" Collection called "T is for Trio"... 

Our challenge is to create a card/project inspired by Jessica's lovely inspiration pic:
This just happens to be one of my most fave color combos too :)

I also used Sketch For You To Try November 2011 Sketch:
I had to turn it on its side ;)

Don't ya just love quick and simple cards and posts :)
Got lots of housework to do today! eeek!
Enjoy yours!!! xoxo

PS!!! Calling all Twilight fans!!!
If you love Twilight! and your love Pixie Dust Studio!
Why not play along with our hop next week?!?!
Please email me by Sunday, November 13th for more details, thanks!!!