New Goodies = New Creations!!!

   I've  had a great time the past two days working on new cards, trying out new techniques and playing with some of my newest craft goodies.   Today, I here to share my latest cards and to also enter them into some of my favorite challenges.

   First, I'll start with some card that were created for fun and these were made yesterday in my Card Club, which I go to once a month at my LSS.  It's like a combination of a class, learning about new techniques and also trying out some of the new products and trends on the market.

   I'm starting with this card, which was created with using a two layer stamping technique.  We first stamped out large floral image onto a piece of Pattern Paper (our background) and then carefully layered on, a wonderful Chevron Die from MFT, which was carefully lined up with the background image and themn stamped again in the same Memento Danube Blue Ink.   Once I came home, I finished off my card by adding to a pretty "Shallow" colored card base (Hero Arts) and created a different Sentiment in Pink "Rose Bud"  Luxe ink, with one of my new Hero Clear Sets (CL738 - Message with Flourish).   Our focus on Card club was to make a nice set of Get Well and Sympathy cards, as I call the hard cards, because there is so much additional meaning to them.

      Next, is this very pretty bird card, that would actually be used on almost any occasion.   I am sorry to stay that I don't know who created the stamp or the sentiment, but will be happy to update this post, if you happen to know,  please share!!    We started by stamping  the Bird image with a Gray Memento Ink (London Fog), we then used a combination of Copic 0000 colors, (known as the Quads) and lightly added a hint of color to his belly, beak and wings.  In person, it almost has an iridescent look, which I also added more to, by coating the image with a Clear Wink of Stella Marker.  

  And next is another card club inspired card that I changed around a bit, after messing up my "water-color" look background.  I had misted mine too heavily and didn't like how the end result looked, and because I did not have the stencil we used at home, I instead die cuts form leaves, with this wonderful  "Clustered Leaves" die from SSS.

 And next I have another card that I created today, also somewhat inspired by the cards in card class, but also changed again to work out perfect for the rand new "Anything goes with Pearls" themed challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog.   This card also features some smaller die cut leaves and I used the Negative piece, (thanks to Ellen's great idea) as a stencil and first added some leaved using Distress Ink to the card base.   The window piece was created with a cut on Yellow cardstock and then layered over the stenciled leaves and I then stuck in the die cut leaves and covered the with two shades of green pearls.   I stamped my Get Well, from a Paper Smooches " Healthy Vibes" Set and cut it out with small circle punch and then used a larger scalloped circle punch to add a frame for the sentiments. I finished off this card by tied on a matched green and white bow

   My next card was another technique based card and this one was inspired in class as well as the fun techniques class I had taken over the weekend.   This again started by using a Stencil along with some Liquitex Gel, which I scraped over the stencil onto a piece of water color paper.  I left that to dry, but it can be heat set and moved on to my next project, the "With Sympathy" card in yellow and green, that also had another strip of watercolor paper that was stenciled and painted in the same way, only cut down to be add onto some matching patterned paper and finished off with a "With Sympathy" die cut.

    This background also has some white layers that were embossed on after the painting and stenciling was done.  The colors I used to paint were red and orange and once they dried, I randomly used some Versamark on the piece and coated it with white embossing powder, which was then heat set.   I cut these pretty daisy flowers with one of my SSS Dies and the colors them with Wink of Stella Markers.  I used the same "Healing" Message, which I stamped on white in Versafine Black Onyx and cut to fit the front on my card.  I loved how you can use these same techniques to make cards and/or more dimensional canvases.

   I am submitting this card to the latest challenge over at The Card Concept and this one is what I consider to be a  "Freestyle Collage", which you can read about at the link that also shares all the card types!!  . Our theme for this challenge is "Floral Themes" and he is a photo the the inspiration image, which inspired me to pick these colors and to color my die cut to match.   

 And this is the second card where I again used the same technique, (Stenciling and Silk Paints), only time time I chose to use Green and Gold and created the smaller element that is used as a strip on top of  some matching patterned paper.   

   

  Next is a new card I created today to get done in time for the current challenge over a Addicted to CAS, where our theme is, Coffee!

  After all the Get Well and Sympathy cards, I really wanted to do something comical and funny and that led me directly to this cute little digital image, which I had in my files for a long time.  I have to admit that I don't remember exactly where I found or bought this one, but I think the little dog with his Morning Cup of Joe, is simply adorable and looks and acts much like me when I first wake up, kind of a bit confused and I definitely NEED some time with my coffee, before you ask too much form me.   I don't' have any cute little "Bunny Slippers" like this guy, but I think they are part of what I love about the image!!    He's been colored with m Copics and then layered onto to Blue/White checked paper and then onto another layer or turquoise, where I added my "Seriously" enlistment, another favorite from Paper Smooches!!    I LOVE so many of their humorous sentiments and also love the fun fonts --- they are happy letters!!  

  And my last card today is another favorite and I found a totally in LOVE with pretty much everything in the new 2014 Spring line" Happy Everything" Penny Black.   You can download the new catalog "Happy Everything" at this link, so you can start saving!!    Luckily, the owner of my LSS, also felts the same and she bought everything into the store, needless to say, I added quite a few new things to my stash and you'll be seeing them over the next few weeks.  I'm also taking an ALL day Penny Black, cardmaking class later in March and can't wait to make the cards I saw on their inspiration boards!   -- Gorgeous!!

  This is the first of more to come and this was a super easy card, as I created it with one of the brand new sets of Stickeroos, which I have always loves.  They make beautiful cards and they make it so easy, because all the coloring is done.  You simply pick a sticker or day and decide how you want to use it on your card!!  This is mine for today and I'm IN love with the set "Promise of Spring"  --- I actually have already bought two because you just don't want to run out!  

   For my card, pulled out some matching "Olive Green" cardstock to create my card base and then simply place my sticker onto some black cardstock and cut it down to frame the image.  After that I was so happy with the look, that I simply tied on a pretty matching now and my card was done!   Love Love Love this set and there is a second set - "Timeless" that is equally as pretty!  And Yes, if you want to know, I did but that too, along with 3 new wooden stamps, 2 gorgeous clings stamps, this adorable Clear Set, a and a lovely Poppy Stencil.    Every flower is gorgeous and with this awful winter, I think seeing these stunning flowers is going to make a lot of people smile!   I am saving for a few new dies now too....and hope to buy them the next time I hit my LSS!!

  This card is also being submitted to the current "Clean and Simple" Challenge being hosted this week over at Addicted to Stamps!!   Come on over and play along!!

    Have a wonderful evening and hope to be back tomorrow with more new cards!!   In the meantime, if any of YOU are huge fans of the Online Card Classes, then you'll want to be sure to head on over to the classroom now and sign up for the next class "Clean and Simple 3" which starts on March 10th!   I signed up the very first day and can hardly wait!!   See you all in class and in the meantime -- Happy 

Creating!!

My Marvelous Monday....!

....I'll bet some of you may NOT think Monday is such a marvelous day and I know there were many Mondays that I felt that same way.  But, this Monday is extra special for me, as today I have been invited to be the Guest Designer over at the "Muse Card Club"!   WOOHOO!!   It also happens to be one of my favorite challenges and that is the BIG SURPRISE I have been waiting to share with you all!

    Needless to say when Arydth asked me if I would be interested in a creating a card for a upcoming challenge, I was not only super excited but also felt honored to have the opportunity.   I'm sure you've probably already can see that I did use my favorite color "Purple" of course, but I have to admit, I wasn't sure I would when I first started.   I've also now grown a fond love of aqua and teal and also love working with pretty pastel colors, especially after a long and dreary winter!!  -   I went with a fairly simple "Clean and Simple" card, which has now become my style of choice.  It's also a card that really can be used for many occasions and I think that's because of the wonderful sentiment, which I just love.  It's called Kindness Matters and is was one of the first sets I bought from  "Neat and Tangled"!  

Muse Challenge #56

    I started with a plain white card base and then grabbed a piece of this adorable light purple polka-dotted cardstock from Memory Box!    My next step was to come up with a design and I had the idea of creating a window card, which turned out to be three little windows all created with this wonderful "Tri Circle" die, an exclusive die from Simon Says Stamp.   It was at this time, that I chose my Sentiment and also came up with the idea of creating three little hearts to go in each of the windows.  Two were created with a retired Stampin' Up punch and the third was cut with the smallest heart die, from this Simon Says Heart set.   I colored the center in to match the card with my Copics, and also used the same shade BV02, to color in part of the sentiment!

    I hope you all enjoy the card and have fun using it to create a card for this week's challenge!   I would be honored if some of my wonderful craft friends join in in this week's MUSE Challenge.    I'm very excited to have had this special opportunity and it's made me realize how much I enjoy creating cards as a Guest Designer or as a member of a  Design Team.    It's been awesome having the last year and a half "off"......but, I do feel like I really want to get back into being a part of a team and it's something I'm very happy about.     I have already submitted one application and have also been invited to Guest DT spot coming up in May!   Please wish me luck and hopefully I'll find a group that is looking for new team members who love to work and create with the products and styles I truly LOVE!!

    My thanks again to Arydth and the MUSE team for inviting me to join them and for always coming up with such creative challenges.  I look forward to them every week and that is why it's extra special for me to be part of their challenge this week!! 

      Update:  In addition to the MUSE challenge it was pointed out to me that this card would also work out very well for the current challenge over at Cas(E) this Sketch and now that I am looking at the Sketch, I am very happy to agree and will be submitting it to that challenge too!!  I am also included a copy of this week's sketch in the hopes that you will play along too!!

CTS # 65

Mixed Media Mania -- and a BIG surprise...??

  I spent most of the day on Saturday at my LSS "Absolutely Everything" taking a fabulous Mixed Media class that was based on the techniques and designs of Prima Designer - Anna Dabrowska, which you can see on her blog!!   If you visit this page of her blog, you'll see the amazing wall design that she created while teaching her own workshop at AE, earlier in the month.

  As much as I am number one a card-maker, I always enjoy trying new things and learning new techniques and these techniques could also be applied to cards, in a more intricate way!   All of the paints we used in this class are called "Silks", by LuminArte and I luckily already own some in amazing colors, but admit, I have now bought a few more. I first found out about Silks, from my friend, Marti, who loves to create mixed media projects.   We also LuminArte's "Primary Elements" both dry and in a mixed mist, along with Black and White Gesso and as our adhesive we used a Gel Medium from Liquitex in a high gloss finish.   All of these items I have linked to share pictures and I purchased by first Silks and Primary Elements from "Dreaming In Color", which thanks again to Marti for telling me about these products and the store.   Now, for those of you who are local, Kate has now added this line to the store and you can purchase them all at AE.

    Being a full day class, the main focus to was create four different projects, each teaching us new technique and different ways to work with each of the Mediums as well as the amazing Prima embellishments, which you can see in these pictures.   This is the first project we completed and this was done on a small 4" Mini Canvas and I used a combination of Eggplant, Pink and Gold Silks on this, along with a Stenciled background that we did to add more dimension.

Canvas One

  Our second project was actually created on a piece of chipboard and was started by adding on a piece of Prima's designer papers and then adding a layer of stenciling on top using the Gel Medium.   After that was all heat seat, we added a layer of Black Gesso over all the embellishments and dry brushed it onto our background.  That too was heat set and the final step was painting over the embellishments with some Silk Iridescent Paints, I used blue and green shades, which also matched the background paper.

Project Two

  That brought us to the afternoon session where we learned two more fun techniques, which brought in the use of the "Primary Elements" both in dry powdered form, as well as in a mist mixture.  These colors are so vibrant and the sparkle and shimmer and amazing.  I LOVED every color and will be adding more of these to my stash to make more shimmer sprays!!  The mica in these is the most concentrated I have ever seen and there is nothing else, as gorgeous on the market!!  These ROCK!!

Mini Burlap Canvas # 3

(My personal favorite)

  And my final project of the day, with was created on a flat mini canvas, that (like the project above), was first covered with layers of cloth, fabric and lace for some wonderful texture.   I also used some of my all time favorite colors on this piece, including Purple, (of course), Teal, and a gorgeous Pink which were used in the dry form with a heavy mist of water to create the background.  The elements were then painted in a complimentary color, and I chose the pink, but this kind of was my fail project and I think the pink needed to be a bit lighter, but I have to admit, the photo also does not do this piece any justice.  It's actually prettier in person, but I think I may add more color to lighten it up a bit?  

  Needless to say, it was an amazing day, but it's leaving me totally wiped out today, so I'm not doing to much.  As a matter of fact, I still have not finished un-packing my class bags and still have some cards I want to work on, so we shall see, if I can dig up some energy.

   One more thing before I go and rest for a bit, I also wanted to share a picture of the prize package that I won from Hero Arts after their 2014 Spring Catalog Blop Hop.  My surprise box a couple of days ago and I am very happy to show you my new goodies, with special thanks again to Hero Arts for being so kind and generous!!

   As you can see, I won all of these treats, which are all new products from the Spring Catalog.  A Stencil set, a great set of  "Birthday Clear Stamps", the beautiful new "Ultra Pink" Mid tone Ink and three new Wooden stamps.    

  And my last little tidbit of the day sis that I want to share a big surprise and that will be coming up tomorrow. Something I have been pretty excited about and will be happy for you to see!   I am inviting everyone to stop back by tomorrow and see for yourself!  I hope that you will be as happy and excited as I am and that once you see what I have to share, you'll eve want to join me!   Hum?  Does that have you curious, I know I would be!   I hope to see you all tomorrow and in the meantime, have a wonderful day!!

Don't you just LOVE Sales.....

   No doubt, if you are anything like me, you LOVE a good sale, especially if it's for new craft supplies including some of my all time favorites from Hero Arts!!   And not only am I inviting you to this awesome sale, you can also take part if a very fun BLOG HOP, with a chance to win a gift card to do even MORE shopping!!  Woohoo!!

 To start on the Blog Hop,  please head right over to Elizabeth's' Blog -

VisionsOfPaper.blogspot.com

Let’s face it, with the winter most of us have had, I think this fun little blog hop

 and some shopping for new craft goodies, is the perfect way to –

BEAT THE WINTER BLUES!!!

Today is the first day of a two-day blog hop, celebrating this

big sale at one of my online craft stores –

A2ZScrapbooking

    After you’d completed the Bog Hop, be sure to head on over to the A2Z Etsy Store, for their awesome sale.   Be sure to stop in the special SALE section, full of Hero Arts items currently at 50% off!!  Woohoo!!    And if that isn't enough to start your spree, you can also earn an additional 20% off, on all orders of $25 and up!!!!    For all the sale details and a chance to WIN a great Blog Hop prize please start HERE!!

     I hope you have fun and also take some time to take a peek at the wonderful creations that all the friends of A2Z have designed to share with you showcasing some of the awesome goodies you can fine in the store!!

      Here are a few of the cards I have created, all with products that you can find NOW in the store and ALL at great prices.   This card features some of my very favorites including this gorgeous cling called "Leafy Vines" CG509, which in this card was first stamped onto Watercolor paper, then heat embossed in white, and later inked over in a this Distress ink to come out with this really pretty design.  This stamp always makes the most gorgeous cards!  You'll LOVE IT!

Circle of Love

    And this is one of my all time favorite stamps, and one I know I'll use many in the future!!   I simply adore all the these adorable Trees, including this one "Shari's Tree #3, designed by the fabulous Shari Carroll.  And this one is one you can find in the "50% off" Section --- I'm even thinking of buying more to use for extra gifts!   I LOVE and happily own all three of  Shari's Trees!!

Shari's Tree Card #3

And this is another, featuring "Tree 2"!!   Love love love!!

All in Pinks and Purple, my favorites, of course!!

   And before I sign off and head over to the store, I have one more to share and this is a another wonderful pretty birthday card that again features the gorgeous Leafy Vines stamp!  I used two colors of pink this time after again first heart embossing this with White Hero Arts Powder.   very pretty flower themed stamp that can be used in so many ways.  For this card, I simply inked it up in two colors and covered the entire card front with the image. 

Happy Birthday!

   Be sure to also check out all the newest goodies from the most recent Hero Arts release.  I'm going to be picked up some of these fabulous new Pastel Pigment inks and some of the new Sprays to add to my wonderful collection of Hero Arts Products!!!   

   For those of you playing in the Blog Hop, please be sure to leave a comment on each of the blogs you visit for you change to win a gift certificate to the store, for even MORE shopping!   Hope you all have a fun day "Hopping and Shopping"!!

Are you ready for Spring???

    I'd be willing to bet if you live in most part of the US, at this point you are very sick and tired of snow and cold and very much ready for some nice warm and sunny weather.   Two weeks ago one of my friends mentioned that she had heard a long range weather forecast and it said that for the new few weeks we were likely to have a storm every couple of days.  Of course, I really didn't pay much attention to it, but it turned out to be right on and that's exactly how our weather has been for the past two weeks.  A day of snow/rain and then a day off and right back to another stormy day again!!
 
     We had a storm yesterday, which thankfully at least turned to rain, and today it's been better, but guess what...I just read my email and it looks like we due for yet another storm tomorrow, which could give us several more inches of snow!   UGH!!   Needless to say, that makes this girl more ready for Spring than EVER!!

     When I first saw this sketch for this week's Cas(E) this Sketch Challenge, I kind of chuckled because snow is all that I seem to hear about lately.  But, it also gave me the chance to color up a few more of my favorite "snow people" digi images before I retired them for the Winter and at this point, that me be quite a bit longer.  And once I started, I had so much fun with these cuties that I actually made a couple different cards.

     My first started with this cute snowman, which is from Bugaboo Stamps.  I colored him up in red, white and blue, hoping the US continues to do well in the Olympics.   I also used my Wink of Stella Markers to add some extra sparkle and then coated that with Glossy Accents for some extra shine and dimension!!
First, I start by sharing a copy of the Sketch, which is #64.

CTS # 64

My Card

    My second card was also inspired by the same challenge and ended up being created for fun, but I think it came out really cute and since this digi image is from Pink Gem Designs.   The image was created to be a winter Robin holding some Mistletoe, but I simply changed some colors and made him into a sweet little Blue Bird, hoping that Spring was coming soon.   The sentiment is one I made up and added directly under the "image" before I printed it out!!  I will also be submitting this as my second card for the CTS Challenge!!

   And happily, I have now "fixed " my error and gone back and re-created a new card for the "Get Krafty" challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog.   You may remember that I "thought" I had a card all done using "Memory Box" dies as that's what the DT was featuring, but that was NOT the correct challenge, LOL!!   That's me and my sometimes Fibro Fogged brain!!  I was very happy that I did get time to make this new card and also use some of my brand new "Retro Fresh" DSP, (love love love), from Stampin' Up...   Be sure to check out some of the newest papers, they are all gorgeous and very on trend.    If you would like to see them hop on over to my friend Carol's Stampin' UP online store HERE!   If you happen to need a Stampin' Up demo, I highly recommend Carol.  See'a great about keeping us all updated on all the awesome sales and promos and is also one of OWH Cardmakers and you can visit her blog-- HERE!! 

   Typically, and I can't really say why, I don't make a lot of cards using Kraft, but after being very happy with how this one came out and how well some of the newest SU papers match with Kraft, I think you'll be seeing quite a few more coming up.  I also love the combination of Kraft, Teal and Orange and found it worked perfectly for this card.  My die "Amana Circle", is also one from my Memory Box collection and the "What's Up" Sentiment is from the "Just Hello" stamp set from Neat and Tangled.  My Kraft cardstock is by Neenah, their very popular Desert Storm.

  And that brings me to another sweet little digital "Snow Lady" image, one that I found in my digi file, but I have to admit, I do not recall where I bought this one.  I believe it was part of a larger set, but my memory can be awful.  Either way, it makes a sweet little card and I went with a very Vibrant and Bold color scheme, after being inspired the current challenge over at CASology.

   I started with my cute little "Snow Lady" and colored her up with Copics and my Wink of Stella Markers. I also again had added this digital sentiment, at the time I was printing my images.   I use Microsoft Word for all my digi printing and love that I can also add my own sentiments, either by typing them, as I did for this card, or by inserting them as a picture file, like I do when it's a sentiment that comes in a PNG or JPEG File. This is also the same way I do any type of Digital Paper-Piecing and find it works so easily for me.   On the first snowman card at the top of this post, I actually added my snowman on top of the red and white checked digital paper and it comes out looking like I fussy cut him, yet no scissors were involved.  He printed out in black and white, all ready to be colored!   Love it!!  I've never been one who can figure out how to use Photo Shop and gave up on trying after being so frustrated with the free editions!   I would some day love to learn how to use the program, but will definitely need classes, as it's not at all user-friendly, in my very humble opinion. 

    Now I'm ready to share the last card for today, which was inspired by the new challenge over at the Fusion Card Challenge.  What I really love about this Challenge is that you have the option of using a sketch or photo inspiration, or you can "Fuse" both together and create a card that features both, which is what I did this time.   I'll start by sharing a copy of this week's inspiration sheet --

My Card

    As you can see I used my favorite colors and also combined my own take of the sketch and incorporated in the Butterfly from the photo inspiration!!   This was a super easy and fun card to create and also one I truly LOVE!!  It does remind me of Spring and thankfully we all know that Winter can't lost forever, so Spring will come and I am READY!!

 

A happy and lucky day!!!

   What a joy it was to be reading my emails this morning and find one that hinted that I should go over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog and take a peek at the Winner post!  Of course, I quickly hopped on over and was delighted to find that I was the VERY lucky randomly drawn winner of last week's "Have a Heart" challenge.  And the prize is awesome for me, because it's a store credit for $50 and I always have a wish list of new goodies piling up!!   My thanks to everyone at Simon Say Stamp for this awesome gift!!   You made my day start perfectly.   I'm also happy to share another photo of this card, and also owe a shout out to "Vicki Dutcher" who's card inspired this one that I created for the SSS Challenge along with last week's MUSE Challenge!!
   

    That card, sadly came in very handy after one of my friends lost her Mom over the weekend.   And the sadness seems to continue as today a very close friend called me to let me know her Mom had passed in the night.  The only saving grace is that both of these wonderful women had been sick for a very long time and also have been in Nursing Homes, something neither family was happy about.  They also lived many happy years and both had wonderful families filled with magical moments with their children and grandchildren and these types are deaths are a bit easier to handle than sudden and tragic deaths, that we all know far too well.  My heart goes out to both families and I know they will always cherish the memories of their Moms.

  When I started to make a second card, for Patty this morning, I decided that I wanted it to be much like the card above, because I have received so many wonderful comments on it.  This is that card and I think she will like it very much!!  There was a time that Patty used to be into cardmaking and that was back when we both we first learning.  We spent a lot of time together creating, taking classes, and of course shopping for our supplies.  I really WISH she would try it again, but she kind of stopped when she actually had her Mom living for her for over a year.  She also works full-time and has three adorable grandchildren to keep her very busy.  Something I do hope I will someday have too!!

   My next card was created for with a few challenges in mind, the first being the latest challenge over at the  Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog where the them is create cards/projects that feature Memory Box products, which is a JOY to me, because I love their dies and also am a big fan of their stamps and their papers!!!  My all time favorite paper pad if Viola by Memory Box and I still am 'hoarding' a small amount.    

    OOPS!!  My Mistake --  UPDATE:  I just now realized that I did not exactly have the theme correct --- it's actually called "Get Krafty" and the idea was to use Kraft cardstock with the option of adding Memory Box dies!!   So, this card will not be submitted, as planned, but I do hope to make something new with the Kraft them too!  

    However,  I am very happy and excited to be submitting  this card to the current "Anything Goes" challenge over at "Through the Craftroom Door".  I welcome you all to join me and come on over and play and/or sign up to subscribe to the publication, which is the owned and created by one of my long time craft friends -- Colleen Holmes, who also is created "The Outlawz Challenges" a wonderful online challenge site that offer a new challenge every day of the week!!

     My "Heartfelt Wishes" card is also being submitted to the "Sketch Or "Use the Color Green" challenge, being hosted over at the "Digi Sketch Challenge", which is brand new to me and one I have now added to my bookmarks!! 

   My next card was also inspired by another of my favorite challenges, and this one is for the current MUSE challenge, which you'll find on their blog here!!   This week's MUSE is Therese Calvird and she made this very fun and very creative water-color card, which I have copied over to share!!

Therese's MUSE Card

My Take

   My card was created with a older digi image from "A Day For Daisies", that I actually duplicated to make it long enough to g across the card.   I then printed it out onto Cryogen white cardstock (my personal favorite for Copic Coloring) and colored the flowers to match the colors on Therese's card.  I then added two thin black border, a fun little sentiment from Hero Arts (Find Joy-CL497) and finished it off by adding some matching bling.  I actually colored the white pearls to match the card.  

   That card made me think of Spring so I took another digi image, also a row of flowers, this one from Digi Stamp Boutique and created another card using the same basic design.   I chose a pretty pink background for this one and also added a digi sentiment, which is perfect for Spring.   I will be submitting this one to DSB's February Customer Challenge, which you'll find on their design team blog  HERE!!    

  And that's it for today!   I am now heading downstairs to feed to pups and also think about what I am going to make for dinner!!    I am also going to re-print out the challenge information for the SSS challenge and "highlight" the words Kraft, so I can hopefully get started on another card tomorrow!!   We are expecting another nasty day....they are still not sure if we'll have snow to rain, all snow, or maybe even all rain, but either way, it's going to be a stormy day with high winds and that's never good here on the coast.  I'll be fine as long as we don't lose the power and I can enough the dogs to go out, as needed.  But, if all else fails, all I can say is thank goodness for Puppy Pads!!  

...Spring and then back to winter....

...after the lovely bright sunshine, which can almost make you think that Spring might be coming, we are back into the cold and gray days of winter and even had a dusting of snow, again overnight.  On top of that there is even MORE of that silly snow coming tonight, but the good news is that it's not going to be the major "Nor'easter" that they were thinking it could be earlier in the week.

    I'm so ready for spring and can't wait for all this snow to be melted away.   I'm very happy that February is already going by fairly fast and know that it won't be too much longer...the upside is that we are slowly heading into my favorite seasons and that's much better than when we are heading into Winter.

    I had a lot of fun in yesterday's Scramble at Hero Arts and am happy to share those cards today, along with another new one I have for the current MUSE challenge, which I am starting with first.  When I started this card, I knew that I not only want to use the MUSE card that designed by Vicki Dutcher, I also wanted to make a card that would work for the current "Have a Heart" themed Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.

  First, let me start by sharing Vicki's wonderful MUSE card.  She's an amazing designers and before she was on the MUSE DT, she often played in the challenge and was one who received many of my votes, now it's harder and harder every week to vote because they are so many awesome cards.

MUSE Card by Vicki

My Card

   I decided to create a card using Vicki's design and theme, but then changed around the colors and some of the elements.   I wanted to use this wonderful new Heart Doily Die, which is one of the SSS Exclusives.  I also used one of my favorite colors "Pool" by Hero Arts, which was used for my card base, as well as my heart.  My patterned papers are lefts overs from my stash and my Sentiment is one I love from a new set by Reverse Confetti. 

   The next two cards are both Valentine's and both were inspired by a very creative 90 Minute Scramble theme that Barb hosted yesterday at the Flickr Group.   Here challenge was for us to created a card, using the colors "Pink and Silver" -- the only other colors allowed were black, Kraft and white. As always in any Hero Scramble, it's a requirement to use at least ONE Hero Stamp as a main imagine on your card, and the last part of this challenge was to also include at least one heart, but you did NOT have to create a Valentine.   If you would like to see all the amazing cards that were created, please go HERE!!  I quickly learned that I LOVE this color combination and it's makes such pretty cards.  

    I was able to create two cards in the time frame, which is always my goal and something that I try to do each time and this time I started by picking out my Background Stamp, which is a large cling called "Heartfelt Background - CG404".  I stamped it in Hero's Silver Shadow ink and then quickly coated in clear embossed powder and heat set it.  I also stamped a second section in some Rose Bud Pink ink, which is one of my favorite pinks, by Memento Luxe.  This too, was heat embossed in clear and then I hand cut the heart section and added it to front on my card.   My sentiment is also from Hero Arts (CL586 - XO), and was also stamped and embossed with the same pretty ink. The two small hearts are from another clear set (CL673 Love Jar), which I added at the end, with a tiny bit of pink bling!  

  My second card, was created using the same background stamps, and again, I heat embossed it and then cut this one down a bit and matted it on white and then onto a Pink card base.   The die cut is called Renaissance Heart and is from Hero Arts.  I started that by taking another piece of pink cardstock and using the same Pink Luxe Ink, I stamped it with the Tiny Flags wooden stamp, one of my newest favorites from Hero.  One it was dry I put it in my Vagabond and quickly had this pretty heart all done.  I created my Sentiment, us the same XO clear stamp set and completed my card by adding some Hero Diamond Gems on top of my heart -- it's cool how they took on a rainbow look when I took my photo, and it makes them look as if they are all different colors!!   

  

   This card is also being entered into the newest challenge over at Die Cut Diva's Challenge which you'll find HERE!  The theme this month is "Girl's Night Out" with a twist of Pink.  You must make a pretty "girlie girl" style card, using the color pink at at least one die cut!!  

   I actually finished up one more card, but that one is a "Secret" for now --- you'll simply have to stay tuned for more details on that!!   I can say that it was a really fun card to make and it includes my favorite color?   Hum?   Does that you have thinking?   I know it would me, since I tend to be one who is very curious!