Christmas Joy

He's not liking it, but he's tolerating it. Major isn't really a fan of things on his head, but I think he posed for these pictures pretty darn good for a 5 month old.

It's Been a Long Time

It's been forever since I posted. There has been alot going on in our lives............good and bad. I suffered all of the summer and most of the fall with my Ulcerative Colitis and the side effects from the Prednisone.
The great news is that we added a member to our family. Major was added in September, and what a blessing he is!!! It's been 4 years since our beloved Ben went up to heaven, and the time was right. He is a Black Lab and is full of energy. We are gearing up for a wonderful Christmas this year.
I have been creating cards and projects here and there. I'm hoping the New Year brings better health nad more crafting.

This is our sketch challenge this week at ISC. I changed it up a bit this week and flipped it on it's side. The tag is not my creation........I got it from someone at some point in time, maybe an RAK or a swap??? The artist put her initials on it, but unfortunately that didn't help me. Since the tag looked a bit vintage to me, I decided to go vintage with the reast of it. I distressed the edges of the card with the distressing tool from SU. I also inked th edges because they looked to plain.

Well, I think that's it. As always, if you have any questions for me.......just ask and I'll try and get back with you. TFL!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

Katherine is our challenge hostess this week at ISC. She challenged us to make a card with the faux silk technique. I've done this technique before, but it's been awile. I had alot of fun doing this card, I just wish the photo would've picked up the texture more. Oh well!! TFL!

Swap Time

I'm not much of a swapper, but I was very interested in this one. It is a swap for extra postage. One would include this with her swap with her return postage inside. I usually just toss the stamps in myself. What a cute little idea.

The pansy is actually the "Butterfly" punch from Stampin' Up. I used the aqua painter and ink refills for the coloring. The actual envelope is from the "Two Tags" die cut from Stampin' Up. TFL!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

Faith is our hostess for our weekly challenge at ISC this week. She asked us to make a masculine card. I already had both of my Father's Day cards prepared, so this one will have to be for a birthday or something.

I have such trouble making masculine cards because.......................I.................LOVE.............BLING!!!!

I think the embossing really pops due to the ink I sponged on it. The stamp set is "Lovely As A Tree" from Stampin' Up. TFL!

ISC Weekly Sketch Challenge

We now have weekly sketch challenges at ISC!! Robin has been working her hiney off to get some sketches together and some sponsors for prizes. This is our very first week and boy was I inspired!!!

I stuck to the sketch as much as I possibly could. I am very pleased with the results. The three pairs of flip flops are actually in beer bottle caps (Oberon to be exact......yummy!). The stamp set is "Just Beachy" from Stampin' Up (with exception of the word SUMMER). The ribbon was sent to me by my dear friend Lisa, and the gold fish charm was sent to me by Robin herself. The bling was sent to me by my BFF Vicky.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment, and thanks for stopping by!!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

Chris is our challenge hostess this week over at ISC. She had a technique challenge in store for us this week. The technique she asked us to try was...............MASKING!!! I have done this in the past, but I guess I'm just too darn lazy to do it more. It is a very fun technique and packs alot of punch. Here is my card. TFL!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

Jessie is our challenge hostess at ISC this week, and I am finally feeling up to making a card. She wanted a card using the following: 3 patterned papers, 3 flowers, 1 ribbon, 1 punch, and SUMMERY!!!!! I think I have all the requirements. It was a very challenging challenge........it really made me think. Thanks for the fun Jessie!!

Challenge card, and.......it's been awhile!!!

Hello!! It's been quiet a long time since my last post. Here is the challenge card for ISC this week. Cheryl is hosting and requested only white cardstock be used and to stamp in only black. The other requirements were silver or clear bling; black, white, gold or silver ribbon.

I've been MIA due to a flare up of my Ulcerative Colitis. It's quite hard to do anything when you are always in the powder room. If anyone has any Ulcerative Colitis "tips", I would love to hear them. This has been a really long road for me, and I hope that soon we will find a medicine combo that works.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Candy!!!

My dear friend Lisa has some great blog candy up for grabs!!! Please visit her blog for more information and to sign up for it!!

Mary had a little lamb, bunny and chick....

I just got done making some cute spring paper characters. You may remember me making some Thanksgiving and Christmas characters last year. I can't take credit for the idea as I found them at Dream, Create and Share. Tammy has some great tutorial on her blog.

I didn't have the exact same punches as her, so I had to improvise. I think they turned out pretty nice. TFL.

Shadow Box Card

Laying on it's back. You can pull the sides out and it will be perfectly flat for mailing.

I had to include this view because it shows the embossing. It's standing up.

A view from the top.

Here is a pretty neat card that I found a tutorial for over at SCS. It was a fun card to make and not all that hard either. TFL!!

Folded Paper Frame Card

I saw a tutorial for this over at SCS. It's soooooo easy!!! I think it add a great effect! TFL!!

St. Patty's Day Cards

Here are just a few of my St. Patty's Day cards for this year. I know it's early, but it will be here before you know it!! TFL!!

Matchbook Cards

For a Designer's Lottery Challenge over at ISC, we are being challenged to make a matchbook card. Here are two that I made. I am submitting the one with the tree for the challenge. They are fun and easy to make. TFL!

Follow Your Heart

I finally had a chance to participate in this week's sketch challenge over at Stamping 411. I used my new clear stamps from SU (the sentiment). They are more like cling stamps than clear, but it is pretty easy to place the image. The big thing about these stamps is that your clear block has to be very, very clean in order for the stamp to stick to it well. I'm guilty of not keeping them clean so this will be a big adjustment for me. I have found that rubbing alcohol works the best so far. I have tried baby wipes, but they seem to leave a slight residue that prevents them from sticking as best they can. Thanks for stopping by!!!

This Month's SU Projects

Sucker holder. This would be great for a child's school party and could be converted to any holiday. I'm not sure where my SU demo found this idea. If you are interested, leave a comment and I can give a more detailed description.

Outside of matchbook candy holder. There is a tutuoial at Splitcoaststampers if you are interested.

This is the inside of the candy holder.

Here is a Criss Cross Card. There is also a tutorial for this over at SCS.

For this card, we did something a little different. We used a slot punch (not sure if this is the right name) so the front of the card tucks into the back of the card. If you look really close, you can see this in the image near the bottom. There is a tutorial for the flower over at.......yup, you guessed it........SCS.

I was hostess for our SU gathering this month. We had alot of fun with great projects and delicious food. We made four projects, each one was alot of fun to make and they all turned out great. TFL!!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

This week our challenge hostess, Jessie, challenged us to make an Easter card. Here is mine. TFL!

Queenly Challenge Cards

Our Queen at ISC has challenged us to do many things this week. Here are some cards I made for the challenges. The above card was made for the challenge to make a card that had both polka dots and flowers. I just got this stamp from my BFF Vicky in a PIF. Isn't it just adorable!?!?? The purples actually match in real life, but for some reason the camera makes it look like they don't match at all.

This is a card I made for our Queen's challenge to make a card that made you happy. I think the sentiment plus the image are too funny. The image is "Golden Oldies" from Stampin' Up. The sentiment card is from my dear friend Patti.

This card is for our Queen's challenge to make a card that has pink and green. I downloaded the image from 1st Floor Flat Freebies. And I went a bit crazy with my cuttlebug. I decided to get a little vintage/Tim Holtz thing going and grunge/antique everthing.

Our Queen also challenged us to make a summer card......beaches, sandals, summer holidays. I chose to use my stamp set that I purchased on ebay and make a 4th of July card.

This time our Queen asked us to make a card with pink and white. The PP is from DCWV.......I can't remember the exact name of the stack, but it's the Oriental one. Again, I purchased this stamp set on ebay. I just have to share this part.......I got it for $10 less than what it's in the catty for. The seller said it was used, but I was hard pressed to find any evidence of any ink on any of the stamps.

This Week's Challenge at ISC

My roomie at the Former Queen's Retirement Home, Siouxsie, is challenge hostess this week. She gave us the dimensions of this card for our challenge. I changed the dimentions just a bit to suit my image...........shhhhhh........don't tell her!!!! TFL!!

Vicky's Queen ATC for the Queen

Cindy is our Queen of the Week and she challenged us to make an ATC with a Queen theme. Well, for some reason the site isn't accepting this picture of Vicky's ATC, so I am posting it here. It really tickles my gizzard!!!! Great job Vicky!!!

This Week's Challenge at ISC

Your's truly is this week's challenge hostess at ISC. I challenged the ladies to make an Easel Card. This was a fun card to make........mine lays a little far back, but oh well. I used a tutorial off of a blog to make mine, but a few weeks later SCS came up with one that had clearer instructions...........just my luck. The recipient of one of these cards can easily display it on a desk, shelf, table etc. They do stand up nicely.

The first picture is what it looks like all unfolded and ready for display. The second is a picture of it unfolded, and from the side. The third picture is of it folded up and ready to go in the envelope. It fits in a standard A2 envie!!! TFL!!

Weekly Challenge at ISC

Robin is our challenge hostess this week at ISC. She challenged us to make a "sailor" themed card without using the colors blue or green. I picked up this free vintage image from The Vintage Moth. I think it works well. The blog owner has quite a few vintage pictures that you may use for free...........go check it out!!! Thanks for stopping by!!