Hope You Can Cling To

Well, I am on my way over the mountains to take care of some "business" at home. My Dad is being admitted to the hospital on Tuesday for his second total knee replacement surgery. My Mom will be admitted tomorrow to the care center waiting for my Dad to join her. I am thankful that between my Dad, family, and local health services, my parents have been able to live at home. With Mom in a wheelchair, she has been helped tremendously with home health providing everyday care needs like showers...but now that Dad won't be there to help, she has opted to go there. The thing about my Mom is...she is a blessing wherever she goes. She is cheerful, sunny, encouraging, gentle...my only regret in this visit is I will be sharing her with the care staff instead of able to spend some one-on-one time which is very rare! (as in not once in the last 20 years. So I am feeling a bit sentimental right now.
Anyway, it will be good to be there and help out for a few days!
Today's card is for two challenges on Splitcoast Stampers (SCS)...one by my friend, Cindy, (Mothermark), for this month's Breast Cancer Awareness drive..."Hope you can cling to." What a fun challenge, "Let's Dabble in some Scrabble" make a square card with at least 4 squares and some letters...well I got some of that right! Oh, and of course pink...and today's inspiration to be inspired by this cookie site here.

My inspiration cookie is the top row, second from the left! And it is guilty, I tell ya, of making me hungry for one. Now, aren't you glad I identified the culprit?
Thanks for stopping in...until next time~

SSIC Challenge 39 , ODBDSlC13

This week's sketch challenge on SCS was the starting point of the first card here for Stamping Sisters in Christ challenge blog. This week the scripture verse was :
Psalms 95:1-3 a
"O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God..."
You can read Grace's wonderful words by clicking on the SSIC blog (see sidebar). When our girls were little I always had Christian music playing and my sweet daughters would twirl and dance in their dress up clothes or holding their dolls. Many of those songs still run through my head, and have helped me evn now to memorize scripture because they are set to a tune. What a wonderful gift music is to us...it can elevate a mood, recall a memory, and sometimes aids in healing with our tears.

This is an encouragement card made with some of the same paper on my desk from the last one. I used one of my very first stamp sets, Feathered Friends for this. I love birds, and bird-watching, and have been enjoying their music lately. Well, except for the 5 a.m. variety show that wakes me up too early!

Thanks to Grace from ODBD, I decided to submit the second card to Our Daily Bread Design's blog challenge this week to use flowers. I love ODBD stamps, but don't think I have any with flowers on it, so am using this set from SU, "Vintage Vogue."


Thanks for stopping by my blog today...hope you are enjoying some uplifting music. For me it is the birds singing outside our windows...they seem to be very happy and making all kinds of racket out there!!

Teapot Tuesday, Feel Better!

This week's Teapot Tuesday is taken from a quilted inspiration of a teapot with calicoes and gingham in pinks, greens, and blues.

The "soft side" of the challenge was to make a card for a local (to me) woman of 22 years who has just recently been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemo treatments. My heart goes out to her, and this will be sent to help her feel the love and encouragement knowing others are praying for her.

I am making one just like this only in blues for our daughter who is going to have surgery in two days for skin cancer which was just recently diagnosed as melanoma. While melanoma or any cancer is frightening in terminology, we are encouraged that it is in the early stages, and normally responds favorably to removal. Although no surgery is fun at all...so I am nervous for her. It's a mama thing. I am so grateful that I can send cards to others who are going through trials even more difficult than ours...it really does help ease a burden to reach out to someone else.

If you'd like to read more of Lindsey's story as told by Mothermark (Cindy) you can go here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=483090

Thanks for stopping in...

I used impression obsession stamps for this and some beautiful paper that I'd like to wrap myself up in from a good friend...made by Melissa Frances, and some polar white flower soft applied with Allene's quick grab glue for the shawl collar, cuffs, and pockets. Don't you wish you had some bunny slippers just like these?

Butterfly Tree

Hi, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I am feeling the pinch to get this card up on my blog and just a bit to say before I have to sign off as my husband will soon be taking the computer away for tax purposes!!
Today's card is a submission for two challenges. The SCS inspiration challenge and this week's Stamping Sisters in Christ verse from 1John 4:10.

The verse, "This is real love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
The challenge was to make a card that shows God's love for us. I don't know any better way to show God's love than prayer...I am always so encouraged when someone says they are praying for a specific need or heartache and it is humbling for me if I can pray for someone else. Prayers are like these butterflies that light on the soul and ease a burden.

This is a 4 1/4 inch square card. If you want to see the original inspiration, it is from the site, Lark. What cute vintage stuff, and you might get a kick reading some of the notebook titles.
Here is the card: http://www.larkmade.com.au/products/paper-goods/foliage-and-birds-card.html
Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping in!

Boquet for Featured Stamper!!

Today is Featured Stamper Day on SCS, a day where one stamper is honored by CASEing a card. I loved Karen's gallery and her style is one that I would love to aspire to. Having a love for florals and rich colors, I was drawn to a Victorian style...this used a technique called "Black Magic." The most difficult part of this for me was trying to figure out how to mat a frame so it opens to the inside and the image is actually on the inside of the card. That was my challenge to myself and I don't think I did it right, but if someone knows how to do that and can give me a picture, I'd try it again. Other than that, I love the colors and technique used today.

I think I will be referring to Karen's gallery often, I learned so much just in the short time I was there!!

Thank you for looking, and hope you have a blessed and restful Sunday!!

Love Love Love...Coffee Anyone??

Love is in the air...well, at least at my house, there is uaually a strong aroma of fresh coffee, and I love that!! Today, in honor of SCS Featured Stamper Sunday, I chose to CASE a card from Anne (jdmommy)'s gallery!!
One of Anne's cards gave me the start I needed, featuring cut-out hearts in the corner. I just received these cute already glittered-up hearts and the ribbon from my friend, Dawn (flowergal36) and the Coffee and Sentiment stamp set from my good friend Charlene...and haven't even found them a home yet in my stamp room. I didn't want to put them away without finding a fun card to put them on!!
So, this sentiment, "You're the Cream in my Coffee" is one of my favorites. I must have read it when I opened this package up and then put it in the back of my mind, because later I was thinking about Valentine's and my love for coffee and wouldn 't this be a great sentiment to put on a Valentine?? I mean, I thought I had just made it up, and thought I would have to try to computer-generate it just to go with a Valentine in my head?? How excited I was when I looked at the coffee set, and there it was. Must be those brain cells in decline...I wish they would manufacture a coffee that has memory capabilities as part of the coffee beans!!
Thanks for popping in, and the coffee pot is on just for you today!!

SCS Inspiration Challenge

Today was the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers! My card was inspired by a goofy Cat clock...well, I had this house mouse image so went with that, but the colors are there!!
Here is a link to the clock:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19686290

This card is also for the Crazy4Challenges #18 Polka Dots challenge...I had fun with this one...you'll have to look and see how many polka dots I have...
Here is a link to the challenge:
http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/

Thanks for coming by my blog today, Happy Stamping as always!!

Dashing through the Snow!! Teapot Tuesday

This week's Teapot Tuesday challenge was to make a card of one of your favorite Christmas memories, or what you would most want to get for Christmas.

I made my card using last week's sketch challenge, giving my little friends and me a hill to ride our toboggan on. This stamp is my first ever Whipper Snapper and is so cute, I love it. I had ordered this along with some Magnolia images about 3 months ago...these penguins have been around the globe a few times, I think. The order was from the UK and I have no idea where the package went but finally had to go to the post office to pick it up.

It reminds me of my going to Disney World one year with our kids in January just after Christmas. While my two young daughters and their Dad were being whirled around on those really fast rides, I was riding by myself in one of those boats through the canals of "It's a Small World "...ya know the one with the singing people from various countries donned in their heritage costumes...I am sure that is just demented to some of you...and I am proud to say that I did make it down the Log Ride but seriously was looking for a place to jump off at the top of the mountain!! I was holding our oldest daughter's hand and she was having to reassure me...

well, so back to this card.

This is me and my stamping buddies...I am the one on the end and you can't see, but my flipper is dragging in the snow on the other side trying to slow the sled down. My friend, Charlene (Bertie) is on the top of the hill hurling snowballs at us...and we are dodging them coming down the hill. Oh what fun!!

And you, my friends, reading this, are the ones in front...we are having a good time, aren't we??

Thanks for coming along, I promise I won't drag my flipper the whole way...

What is your favorite winter time activity??

What's the Weather like where you live???

As I've mentioned more than a few times (anyone tired of hearing of our weather??) the weather here has been snowy...like setting records. Today's challenge on SCS by Judy (Joy in a Jar) was to make a card depicting the weather. I had made this card front a little while ago practicing the brayered sky look. It just seemed plain, so I had never done anything with it.

Today when I was flipping through my blue cardstock, I found a card front with this Irish blessing script already stamped, another discard. I decided to use my Top Note die on the script cardfront, and then played around with it and decided to put it on the side with the moon peeking out behind it.

Well, you put two discards together, and you get one pretty decent card. I really like it when that happens, as I don't like anything to be wasted. So, this is what I came up with and it will most likely be used as a sympathy card.

I hope you enjoy it, and hope you are able to use your discards today!! Thanks again for stopping by...

And really, what's the weather like at your house today???

Purple Pretties

Yesterday I wore my purple cabled sweater and a two tone purple/lavendar coat. The challenge on SCS was to make a card using purple, and the inspiration carried over into my wardrobe!

So this snowman was an image sent to me by my good friend, Pat Smethers, along with a pile of others. The white buckle is a piece of Maya Road chipboard that I painted and added a dusting of glitter. The ribbon is a lavendar polka dotand an aqua button is tied to the bow with floss...Layout is simple, I love simple layouts, and was this week's MojoMonday sketch, seen in my sidebar. Just click on the logo! I like the whimsy in this card, it makes me smile.

We had at least a few more inches of snow yesterday will have to look at the paper for the final numbers, but at least 20 inches total of snow here. I was so ready to get out of the house yesterday after being inside for 3 days...it was great~ With the upcoming weather forecast in the 50's, most of it should melt off in the next few days.

Thanks for popping in, and hope you're having a great day!!

Just sharing a treat with you!!

Today's inspiration challenge on SCS is from a children's clothing site~~ Talk about cute!!

I found my inspiration at the bottom of the screen with this adorable little outfit that featured a pumpkin! Since I had already colored my hedgie and pumpkin, all that was left was assemble it, and the colors and designer paper came after seeing the inspiration! I guess that's why they call it inspiration challenge! Hee~

Also, sharon on Notimetostamp's Friday's blog challenge was to make a Halloween card. I don't make cards to celebrate Halloween, but I love the idea of Fall cards, and this image fit the bill on both counts. Not too scary, I don't think.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Tulip for Joanne (JoJot)

Today is Featured Stamper today on Splitcoast Stampers...and this time I even know the featured stamper!! I have been a long time admirer of Joanne's ability to stamp at least or sometimes more than once a day. I looked in her gallery, and there were over 1,000 cards!! (all beautiful, by the way~)That alone tells me she is heads and shoulders better than me, as it takes me that long to usually find my stamp set. Here's an example...this morning I log on to see that Joanne is featured stamper. Yipee!! After spending at least an hour in her gallery, I decide to CASE one of her many examples using the Snow Swirled set. I spend at least two hours turning my stamp room upside down looking for the Snow Swirled stamp set. By about noon, I am questioning whether I ever actually bought this set...maybe I am imagining stamping with it, or maybe I made a card at stamp class?? I do this way too often, being such a visual person, I can see myself stamping with this set. I just can't see where I put it when I was done.
Meanwhile, Joanne has probably stamped a few stacks of gift sets...something she probably does in her sleep!!

This is Joanne's card I chose to case:
here:


Oh, well, so I turned to Joann's signature style of red and black...ohh...la lah...And I do have the perfect tulip from Flourishes. So coloring this was the quickest part of my card...the rest was cutting and making layers, another thing I don't do often enough. This baby is layered up, for sure!! But I did it all for Joanne, and I stretched myself with those layers!! Oh, and I made my own designer paper using black paper and a white craft stamp pad run across the inside of my cuttlebug folder. I liked that part...it was fast!!
I really enjoy featured stamper day, and Joanne's style is one that I hope I can CASE more of. Congratulations Joanne!! Enjoy your day...
And now back to my stamp room to search for my lost set.
Thanks for stopping by today!!

Uncle Beeford and the Boys in Booneville!!

The teapot party has been seen in swarms moving south to Booneville, Mississippi! According to Mothermark, we are requested to not worry about rsvp'ing but just bring on the bees!! I don't know why, I can never understand her stories, but they are hilarious, and entertain everyone week after week!

My card was also for today's sketch challenge issued by Rox on SCS.

To participate in this week's Teapot Tuesday and read the story and see the most creative cards in the beehive...click on the Teapot Tuesday button on my sidebar!!

Thanks for looking, hope to see ya at the party!

Feathered Friends

Thanks for joining me on a Saturday afternoon! Today's card is my inspiration found on SCS's Inspiration Challenge using Bellacor Vases as your starting point. I love the deep rich colors of this vase found at the top of this post next to my card.


I combined this with Sharon Johnson's (notimetostamp) weekly challenge to make a card for a friend, and it had to have the word "friend" on the card. This is Sharon Johnson's 99th week of challenges, which means next week will be a big one. To see the excitement, visit her blog, found on my sidebar.

This image is from a favorite set of mine, "Feathered Hope" and was stamped on watercolor paper, watercolored with WC crayons then cut out with the oval nestabilities. Before removing the die, I added some yellow ink to brighten up the birds. The birds were matted with Always Artichoke. The chocolate chip mat was embossed on one side with the Cuttlebug strips, it went perfectly with the leaves in the stamps. These were rubbed with Encore Gold metallic ink to highlight, along with the sides of the brown base. Second layer was really rust, then Papertrey's Rustic white cardstock, which gives a nice flecked card inside for writing. The green gingham ribbon is from May Arts, I believe. Three gold dome pearls were added on each side of the ovals.

I love bird stamps, and watercoloring, and have missed both...so hope you like this. Thanks for popping in, and I would love to read your comments.
Hope you get a chance to stamp soon, can't wait to see what you make!!

Look Ma, no Ink!!!

Happy Sunday!! It's a good thing the VSN challenge this weekend issued by my friend, Peggysue, was limited to 45 minutes! I set my timer, and I found myself reaching for one more ribbon just as the buzzer buzzed!! The challenge was to make a card using no ink...the idea behind it that you are on a limited diet!! I know all about limited diets, we just recently came off a no-iodine diet at our home. It was part of my husband's thyroid removal treatment and that was a lot bigger challenge than this card. Did you know iodine is in everything?
Anyways, on to the card...I had seen these fan-fold flowers at the bottom of this week's tutorial for a tri-shutter card. I loved the idea of making your own flowers, and so gave it a whirl. Other than the fact my flower just kept popping up like a tiddly-wink every time I tried to tame it down to put the backing on, this was fun! I do like the end result. The only problem I see is there is absolutely no way this will ever fit in an envelope...it is either a box card or hand-delivered type of card! Oh and if you look closely between those two black ribbons, there is a rub-on sentiment, "Make a Wish."
This was also made for today's featured stamper on SCS, VA. Sunshine! She has amazing talent, and gave me the color inspiration for my creation!
So the fan fold technique is here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/fanfoldflower


Just in case you feel like playing tiddly-winks!!
Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday, and thanks for stopping by!! Could you please do me a favor before you leave and sign my guest book at the bottom of the page?? I somehow lost the first one, don't know how that happened! But sure would love to see you here!

Strawberries in a Basket

This is one of those cards that is cuter in person...I made this for today's challenge on SCS, "Seeing Double" where you needed to have two of one thing. What better way to showcase this new set, "Strawberries" from flourishes? I was excited about this card because it was the first time I attempted the basket technique with my Scor-Pal, and it sure does add a lot to a card like this...plus was able to use some gingham ribbon...what is it about gingham that makes me think of summer and sweetness and innocent days gone by?
Anyway, I hope you like this card...and that you are having a happy relatively care-free summer! Thanks for stopping by, and we're having strawberry lemonade on the porch!!

Life's a Beach

Today is the sketch challenge on SCS, and I decided since I just received this set, Beach Life, from Flourishes, to try it out.

The technique used for the beach/sky scene is called "Smackin Acetate" and is found here:

http://stamptv.ning.com/ This site has been very helpful with learning new techniques, and is called StampTV with Gina K!

I tried this with copics and spraying with rubbing alcohol which has worked in the past, but it didn't this time...so I switched to regular SU markers, and even though my supply is limited, it did what I needed it to do and we have a psychedelic sunset...which I kinda like. So much for serene, this is one bright card...but it does remind me of the sunsets on the beach...I just couldn't get the shoreline to cooperate...so that will be more practice for another day!

Oh there is a boat out there, see it?

Thanks for stopping by and I have a Bahama Mama in the blender...ask my good friend from Cuba, she can tell you what's in it...but it's guaranteed to soothe the mind if it doesn't put you under the table first. The drink reminds me of this sunset, it's colorful and full of lots of Caribbean flavor!I always ask to make mine "light."

Tea at Botanical Gardens in Dublin

TE

The other day our daughter told me after taking out the boat that the local reservoir (normally a dry arid place) looked "just like Ireland, it was so green!" That made me giggle, she has never been to Ireland and neither have I, but today I get to go and meet the other Tea Partiers at the Botanical Gardens!! Oh, and did I mention Dublin? Someday I'd like to go there for a real visit, but for today, it's an imaginary trip where you are only limited by your imagination. And the nice thing is, no jet lag!!

It is Tuesday's Teapot Challenge at Mothermark's Blog...and this was my card I made in honor of the big day!

You can see the teapot challenge here on Cindy (Mothermark's) blog:

http://www.mothermark.blogspot.com/

This was a piece of vellum cardstock run through the Birds and Vines Embossing folder paired with a single Inkadinkadoo stamp that I just love...only in the photograph the coloring looks much darker, but the card has very subtle pastels in real life. The vellum was flipped to the reverse side and lightly gone over with mellow moss, barely banana, regal rose, and almost amethyst. I framed the tree in three ovals using barely banana and mellow moss. Then added some tiny Kaiser pearls and a white taffeta ribbon bow at the base. I've never seen a pink bird, but this is make-believe and I kinda like it!

Thanks for stopping by and you know we are having tea, and it is on the terrace today overlooking the rose gardens!!

Oh Sweet Pea!

I just returned from our trip to check out today's Featured Stamper challenge on SCS. Sandra, B-Gin-R had a wonderful gallery to CASE a card...so I pulled out this Sweet Pea image I colored earlier with my copics and paired it up with the oh so bright Raspberry Fizz paper and ribbon from PaperTrey.

The background is a stamp called Reverse Damask from Flourishes. Neither of these stamps had seen ink yet, and I was surprised how compatible they were!~

Still need to unpack my suitcase, but thanks for stopping in and hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!!

Color Challenge Quickie

I thought I'd be on the road by now, but as I was packing up a few things to make the trip with, (like copics, you really can't leave home without them...) I decided to make a quick card using today's color challenge on SCS colors: Kraft, Night of Navy, and So Saffron.
For this, I used my Scor Pal for the kraft panel, I outlined the leaves in navy marker, and used the birds and vines embossing folder. I had one single bit of ribbon that sported these nautical colors of navy and yellow!
And there you have my quick card...but I love these colors together.
Thanks for stopping by!