Z is for Zebra

Z is for Zebra . . . Zebra print, that is.

{ Black & White Cake Pops - Stacey Cakes Bakery }

{ Ruffled Purse - Wishful Gifts }

{ Pot - JMN Pottery }

{ Dog Collar - Studio 1070 }

Mom

I created this CAS card for my mama. Did you create something special for your mom? I'd love for you to share!

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

My Time To Craft: Challenge #178 - Gardening Gems

Pollycraft: Challenge #137 - Sketch

The Pixie Cottage: Challenge #118 - Mom Or A Special Lady

Y is for Yellow

Y is for oh, sweet, wonderful yellow! This color is happy, light & just so much fun.

{ Sun & Cherry Distressed Clothes Pins }

{ Mustard Seed Boutique Bow }

{ Sunshine Sparkle Tile Ring }

{ Sunshine Dust Thumb Tacks }

Sticking Around Blog Hop Is ON!

The Sticking Around Blog Hop is up & running! Join Tuesday Alchemy along with four other fabulous blogs for a little trip around the arts & crafts world, or rather a little piece of it as it is a big, big world.

Every blog is offering up a prize & if you want to win, it's as easy as a few clicks, comments and, of course, smiles & fun!

Go to Tuesday Alchemy to start your journey! Or if you like to forge your own path, you can start with any of these blogs:

Scrappy Distractions

Tangle's Treasures

Scrap This, Save That

The Cissy and Fran Show

Sticking Around Blog Hop Tomorrow!

I will be the host at Tuesday Alchemy tomorrow for their first blog hop. TA will be joining a splendid group of bloggers for a blog hop on April 28th from 7am - 9pm CST. Who will we be joining? Well, I am so glad you asked:

Cissy & Fran, The Cissy And Fran Show
Amy, Scrap This, Save That
Lisa, Scrappy Distractions
Rebekah, Tangle's Treasures

It is a fantastic way to meet new people, view a variety of blogs AND win prizes! We welcome everyone to stop by and say "Hi!" - The more, the merrier!

X is for XOXO

X is for XOXO . . .

{ Source: Vinyl Wall Decal, Tasty Suite }

{ Source: Baby Shower Banner, Beantown Baby Crafts }

{ Source: Authentic French Ephemera, ART Chix Studio }

{ Source: Eco-friendly Snack Bag, House Jewels }

{ Source: Pottery Napkin Rings, Symmetrical Pottery }

W is for Wild

W is for wild - Wild animal, that is. This card is all about the wild animal print. Flowers have layers of cardstock AND fabric with animal print on them. The highlight? A super cute zebra holds two flowers by the stems.

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

Little Red Wagon: Challenge #130 - At Least 3 Flowers

Paper Pretties: Challenge #203 - Clean & Simple (CAS, baby, yeah!)

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

Spring At The Beach

This card was created using Spring colors, but I also tossed in a little beach with the turquoise. (Thanks to Paper Minutes great color scheme!)

For the middle flower, I painted a chipboard shape in brown, added the polka dot detail then covered in clear glaze. I had made this piece previously, so I added more polka dots with turquoise paint to bring more of that beachy color to this piece.

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

Paper Minutes: Challenge #214 - Pink, Turquoise, Brown & White

Stamp With Fun: Challenge # 158 - Sketch

Use It Tuesday: Challenge #30 - April Showers

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

Lily (A Tuesday Alchemy Sneak Preview)

Tuesday Alchemy has a new sponsor & I am very excited to introduce you to them! Pink Cat Studio will be offering a prize for Tuesday Alchemy's next challenge (starts Tuesday, May 1st.) Woohoo!

In this card, I used one of their delightful digital stamps, Lily Holding Flowers. Isn't she super sweet?

For the background, I cut squares out of the same striped paper & simply switched up the direction that the stripes go. For Lily's pigtails, I added cute little bows. I brought the same blue to the dots on her skirt to tie the color scheme together.

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

Make It Monday: Challenge #86 - Anything Goes

Mojo Monday: MOJO238 - Sketch

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

V is for Vegweb

What is Vegweb? Well, I am oh, so happy to tell you about it. Vegweb is a site that is dedicated to providing 100% vegan recipes. The best part (besides it being vegan, of course) is that REAL people post the recipes and REAL people comment on the recipes. They even tell you little tips to make the recipe better or alternatives to try. You can also see pictures from those same REAL people who tried the recipe.

I've been vegan for 6 years now and this is my go to site. There is every type of recipe! Most are super easy, quick & use ingredients that are already in your kitchen, especially if you are a vegan.

Here are links to a few of my favorites - Maybe you'll give 'em a try. If you do, I'd love to hear about your experience!

Cashew Gravy (I make this every Thanksgiving. My non-vegan family absolutely loves it!)

Crunchy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thanksgiving Meat Loaf

BIG Buttons

I had this idea to create my own paper buttons. For a challenge, I needed to go BIG or go home, so this would be perfect for that. It was simple enough: A circle, two punched holes & ribbon.

Ok, I did it. It didn't quite turn out as fantastic as I wanted. I'm going to try different ways to make the paper buttons pop more, but for now I think these will work just fine.

I chose a random selection of buttons from my stash & layered them across the button. I decided to spend the time stringing them, too. This is always a major decision for me as sometimes I just want to get things done!

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

The Pink Elephant: TPE145 - Hello, Sunshine!

Totally Papercrafts: Challenge #113 - All Buttoned Up
Use Your Stuff: Go Big Or Go Home

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

U is for Umbrella

U is for . . . uh . . . I am really tired today & I have been busy, busy, busy in establishing my challenge blog, Tuesday Alchemy. I highly recommend checking it out if you like to create ANYTHING or you like to win prizes or you'd like to be on a design team. Ok, ok, enough with self-promotion.

I decided to give myself a little mini break & do some web window shopping. Here are some wonderful umbrellas that might just tempt you to spend your hard-earned cash OR at least take a look and dream.

How sweet are these invites?

{ Source: Something Printable }

This art print was made for children, but don't let that stop you.

It would be adorable for any whimsical woman.

{ Source: rkdesign88 }

Be unique with this beautiful umbrella necklace!

{ Source: Revelle Rose Jewelry }

This crochet umbrella is handmade from 100% cotton.

Spectacular! Yes, I want it now :)

{ Source: kolus79 }

Bunny Bath Time

A golden bunny takes a little "me" time in a bubble-filled bath with a cup of tea. Aaww . . can't you just feel the happiness & relaxation?

For the flower, I added glitter glue to the center before attaching beaded trim underneath it.

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

Charisma Cards: Challenge #15 - Shabby Chic

Cute Card Thursday: Challenge #213 - Metallica

PaperPlay: Challenge #16 - Animal Antics

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

{PIN}spirational Chaleenge #4: Photo Inspiration

This is my first official week as a DT member of {PIN}spirational Challenges - Yeah! It's a fantastic challenge blog that challenges you to create with a photo found on Pinterest. You can also find wonderful links to freebies to help you with the challenge. How awesome is that?

Using the same embellishments & layout, I created a box AND a card for this challenge. It is also a part of my Mission 2012: Use It! I successfully used a variety of supplies from the owl (which I'd made previously) to the gorgeous rose.

The owl features rhinestone eyes & a pearl belly button - Very cute and super sweet! Instead of a latch for closure on this box, I opted for a strands of pearls.

Below is the card version of this design. I distressed the brown card base with paint. Yes! You can use paint on your cards. I find that it's a great way to coordinate colors if you don't have a particular one in cardstock or paper.

The flower had more yellow than pink, so I inked it up with pink & added pink glitter glue to the center. It toned down the yellow & tied the flower into the overall color scheme, which is pink, blue & brown.

We have a wonderful sponsor for this week's challenge, so definitely join in the fun & submit your own inspired piece at {PIN}spirational Challenges for a chance to win & create!

Tuesday Alchemy Challenge #11: Black & White

Did you see my sneak preview? Did you guess correctly? It's all about black & white! I created a box with lots of those two basic colors. It has a collection of buttons, boutique bow, satin ribbon & delicate yellow roses. Shabby chic & sweet!

This week at Tuesday Alchemy is VERY SPECIAL! We have first sponsored challenged, so you can win a prize by joining us for the challenge. Karen's Scraps And Graphics has generously offered a $10 coupon to their shop AND has signed up to be our regular sponsor - Woohoo!

I opted for sparkling rhinestone details instead of a latch.

T is for Tags

My partner shop, The Moonglade Garden, offers a lovely variety of handmade parcel tags. They are perfect for embellishments, favor tags, journaling spots & all occasion gift wrap. Tags come in a wide range of colors, embossing & are always made from archival, acid & lignin free cardstock.

Pink Bird, Green Leaf, Red Sky

This card was created with simplicity. I only used three colors: green, pink & red. The embellishments are brads, leaves and ribbon.

For the squares, I embossed pink cardstock with a bird design & a bark design. It's a unique color combination & leaves a lot of empty space because you don't always have to fill up a card.

This card was submitted to wonderful challenge blogs - See below for links & details, so you can create your own & join in the fun!

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC49 - Sketch

Twisted Tuesday: 2TC3 - Green, Pink & Red/Use 3 Brads And 1 Ribbon

This card is available for FREE! Yep, it's free. Click here if you'd like to have it as your very own.

S is for Sneak Preview

S is for Sneak Preview & that is what I'm giving you today. We are coming up on our 11th challenge at Tuesday Alchemy - Can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday that I started this challenge blog. If you haven't participated, I highly recommend joining us. It is open to ANY craft and you can enter as many times as you'd like and submit it to as many other blogs, too.

This week's challenge at Tuesday Alchemy will offer a prize! Our wonderful sponsor is Karen's Scraps And Graphics, which I am very excited to have join us. They are a mother & daughter team, who create an abundance of fantastic digital graphics.

Here is the preview photo. Can you guess what our next challenge will be? You can find out if you're right & join in by going to Tuesday Alchemy on Tuesday, April 25.

Don't forget to check out our upcoming sponsor, Karen's Scraps And Graphics, too!

R is for Roses

Roses . . . They are beautiful flowers & they actually can be quite easy to grow. I have quite a few in my backyard as they make excellent cut flowers.

These tea light holders were embellished with roses for a shabby chic, romantic look.