Happy New Year!

May 2011 be a year of hope and blessings for everyone!  I pray that peace and happiness fill your home this new year!

My card for today has the perfect sentiment for the first day of a brand new year!  This is the debut of Lizzie Anne's new single, Wise Man's Treasure.  I hope you'll visit The Daily Dare to join in the 8th Day of Christmas challenge that Tricia and Meredith have issued, to make a card about your New Year's resolutions.  You can read about mine here.

Tag, You're It!

Today on The Daily Dare, my friend Kendra is hosting a tag challenge for the 6th Day of Christmas...we each made samples using the Our Craft Lounge set, No Peeking, which is the prize for the day.  This set is obviously geared for Christmas, but with a substitution of a sentiment from another set, the gift box tag becomes much more versatile.  Here I colored it in non-traditional pink and green with a sentiment from another OCL set, Love Notes, which makes it appropriate for either Christmas or a romantic birthday from a guy to his girl.  It would have been just as easy to color it in masculine birthday colors or Valentine's Day pinks.  I love being able to get more mileage out of my holiday sets, and I'm sure you do too!

As I've mentioned before, this set is a great set to get in some practice with the Copic markers to improve your feathering skills!  I am excited to say that I just applied and was accepted to the intermediate Copic certification class, so I'll be on my way to CHA-LA at the end of January!  Wahoooooooo!

Notes:
No Peeking, Love Notes
Copic markers
silver metallic ribbon
silver metallic gel pen

Happy Holidays Sketch

I have hardly gotten to stamp at all for the last several weeks, and I'm behind even in playing The Daily Dare challenges that I've invited my friends to host for the 12 Days of Christmas. This card was made for Day 2, to make a card using purple...no bonus points for me because I left off the olive and grey, but  I still am pleased with the way this turned out, so soft and elegant.  I adore this snowflakes designer paper, and the SCS sketch from yesterday seemed perfect for showing off this lovely Lizzie Anne sentiment from December's mix, Warmest Wishes.  Everything was sponged lightly with Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink, which gives it a warm glow even though the design captures the chill of Winter!

Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and Blog Hop!

Welcome to this week's Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and blog hop! Maybe you made it here from Vicki's!

I am so thrilled that today, Jeanne, our design team coordinator, and my Flower Soft friends are joining me in celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas on The Daily Dare, and Flower Soft is providing a gorgeous prize package not only for two FS Sprinkle Challenge winners, as usual, but also for one special winner from The Daily Dare!

This week’s Flower Soft Sprinkle Challenge and Hop (FSC18) – Winter Chill!

My team mates have created some gorgeous inspiration for you, so visit the Flower Soft blog to begin the blog hop.  After you have finished hopping, visit The Daily Dare for information on how to have another chance to win a fabulous Flower Soft prize!!!   There are challenges for each of the 12 days of Christmas, each with wonderful inspiration from talented designers and fabulous prizes from some amazing sponsors.

As I previously mentioned, we’ll be choosing two winners this week (plus I will pick a third for The Daily Dare)...one random winner from someone who comments on one of the hop blogs and a SCS winner.  All winners will receive this prize:

SCS entries must be uploaded to the SCS gallery and use at least one Flower Soft product (Flower Soft, toppers, stamps) to be eligible to win. Please use the keyword FSC18 and flowersoft (one word) when uploading to the gallery so we can find your project. Entries will be accepted for the challenge until 6:00 am CT on January 7th. The SCS winner’s card will be featured on the Flower Soft blog on January 7th!

Please note that the challenge on The Daily Dare has its own separate keyword.  The winner of the 5th Day of Christmas challenge will be posted on January 10th on The Daily Dare along with the winners for each of the other 12 days.

Want even more inspiration? There is a new episode of Flower Soft TV every Friday. To register for announcements, contests and specials at Flower Soft TV go to http://www.flower-soft.tv/#information.html and then click green "REGISTER" button.

My card for today features a beautiful sepia Charlie's Ark card topper that I tinted with pale Copic markers.  I softly distressed the edges with distress ink, and added a bit of Flower Soft Diamond Range Polar White snow.  I just love the way these card toppers look, even "naked," but they also look lovely when a tiny bit of color is added, and they're so easy!  The images are so soft and sweet, and they capture the beauty of Winter so perfectly!

I placed my card topper over some Memory Box Mistletoe designer paper, accented with a strip of fabric-textured designer paper, some KaiserCraft lace, and a big Mitten Weather button.

Your next stop on our blog hop is Cibele's.  Can't wait to see what she's made!  Her stuff is always amazing!

On the First Day of Christmas...

This is a super simple recycled bag with an empty sleigh (Santa is pooped!) and punny sentiment using two Our Craft Lounge stamp sets.  This quick and easy project was made for the first of the challenges for the 12 Days of Christmas which are being hosted on The Daily Dare.  Please, join us!  You might win a prize!  Lots of fabulous stampers and wonderful companies are sharing inspiration and products!

I recycled Ralph Lauren!

To my husband's dismay, I am always saving things that I think might become *useful.* Several months ago he decided to throw away a well-worn designer shirt, and I just couldn't stand the thought of getting rid of it! It seemed to me that there had to be some perfectly good use for this worn out shirt, so I quickly (when he wasn't looking, or it would have been an argument *wink*) threw it into the corner of my craft closet.

When Dawn issued her challenge to reuse or recycle something in today's limited supplies card, I knew right where to look! Just a snip and a rip and it was ready to go! I also clipped the buttons off, but they were too pale for this rich plaid paper so they'll have to wait their turn! These Moxxie burgundy buttons are from one of my favorite LSS, Scrap n Stuff.


This Studio G $1 stamp is one of the treasures from my shopping trip to Michael's yesterday! The paper is left over from two Christmases ago. I straight-stitched and zig-zagged, tied on some raffia, and I think I'm finished! I kept trying to add more but it just didn't seem to fit, so I quit!

Here's a close-up of the raggedy edges and machine stitching. This one will cost way more to mail than it was to make! ;)

Happy Stamping!

A Baker's Dozen!

Today is the last of PCP's 12 Days of Christmas challenges. I really hate to see them come to a close. I have enjoyed them so much and they have added some fun cards to my Christmas and every-day card stashes. I was very happy to be able to combine today's PCP challenge with SCS's Color Challenge for this card.

Season of Friendship is probably my favorite set from this year's holiday mini. It's so versatile! Today I sponged in some clouds using a mask, then stamped the tree in chocolate chip and added some taken with teal snowflakes. PCP's challenge called for 12 embellishments, but there's an extra snowflake here! I stamped the bird in real red, cut it out, and tucked him in the bare branches. The sentiment was stamped in two colors using markers directly to the stamp, and the card was finished off with some punched snowflakes, pretty ribbon, and lots of bling and stickles. A simple design, but I really like how it turned out!

I'm off to the first Christmas party of the season! Blessings!

Harmony!

I have been having so much fun with the PCP 12 Days of Christmas challenges, and I think, so far, this is probably my favorite of all the cards that I've made for them. Y'all know how much I love music! Today's card is very simple, but all the iridescent papers and gold/bronze inks make it elegant, and I just adore how lovely the image is in the first place. I wish I could have captured the shimmer in the photo...maybe I'll try again later in the day to see if I can get a better shot.

I colored Stampendous' Harmony Angel stamp with a combination of prismas with baby oil, gold and bronze gel pens, and markers. This Basic Grey Wassail paper from i {heart} papers is so beautiful, but it was a challenge to color-match! I think that this mix of colors worked out in the end! The sketch is Mojo #64. The muted colors of the paper, the simplicity of the design and the elegance of the shimmery embellishments make this a very serene and peaceful card. I hope you like it!

Day 10 at PCP

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is sponsoring today's 12 Days of Christmas challenge over at Paper Craft Planet. The theme is 10 Lords a Leaping, and we were challenged to use a boy stamp on our cards. This fun fella is the scientist from Korin's set, You're a Genius. I stamped him in Palette Noir ink, then colored him with prisma pencils and baby oil. I wanted him to be neon bright and wacky fun! Most of what I used is from deep in the dark recesses of my stash...I have had those dingbrads for over a year! Do you do that? Buy something you just *HAVE* to have and then hoard it forever!?

I am delighted to tell you that I have been given another award! My friend and fellow challenge stalker, Jackie, has blessed me with the Kreativ Blogger Award! I hope, Jackie, that you and Riley (see yesterday's post) understand how honored I am to be given awards by stampers whose work I love and admire and whose friendships I treasure!

I will have the pleasure of nominating 5 of my friends for this award, but right now I am dashing off to take Matthew to meet the church youth for a benefit concert. Please whisper a prayer for a young man named Jacob who was injured in a freak accident several weeks ago. He is a foster child with no medical insurance, and suffered a cervical fracture...he currently has no motion in his lower extremities and also has limited sensation. He needs a miracle...

Nine Ladies Dancing!

Today's card is for PCP's 12 Days of Christmas challenge...I've had this idea in my head all week, and was surprised to see that it sorta fits today's SCS Inspiration Challenge too. I have other girl stamps that I could have used, but really wanted to have the chance to use this particular image again...it is one of my favorite Halloween stamps and I thought it would be fun to use it for something other than Halloween. I stamped it on shrink plastic, colored it with markers and a white gel pen, then hit it with the heat gun. No matter how old you get, shrink plastic is still fascinating to watch!

I am so excited to tell you that I have received an award! My friend Riley gave me this beautiful Butterfly Award! I am thrilled that she would think my blog is a cool blog, because I think hers is wonderful!

I, in turn, have the privilege of passing the award on to the creators of 10 more cool blogs...most of these bloggers are friends and fellow challenge s/talkers. Some are new friends that I've met in the short time since I've started blogging. The list is in reverse alphabetical order because Wendy just *had* to be first...she's all about butterflies!

• Wendy
• Vicki
• Silvia
• Shelly
• Lorraine
• Juliana
• Judy
• Jami
• Debi
• Angel

Have fun visiting all these fabulous stampers' websites! Thanks for visiting mine!

On the 6th day of Christmas...

I don't have any geese stamps except for a small one that says *from the kitchen of...* that I didn't want to use for this card! I have to laugh, because when we (the DTs of the companies sponsoring prizes at PCP) were told in advance what these challenges would be, I had prepared a *defense* about my choice of stamps for this challenge. We were to make a card regarding geese, hunting, wildlife, etc., so I decided that my strategy would be to point out the fact that owls are great hunters, and that this particular romantic guy had searched high and low to find his one true love! ;) I thought I was gonna have to work hard to sell my logic.

As it turns out, they posted this challenge differently than they did the original call...they challenged us to use birds, so I don't have to try to convince you that this works after all!

These adorable lovebirds are from a new set, Owlentine, recently released at Tree House Stamps. I used Ashley's recent sketch with some left-over designer paper for my layout, and watercolored the owls...don't you love their blingy eyes and her blue eyeshadow?!

Thanks for visiting! Tomorrow the swans'll be swimming.....

Five Golden Rings!

Paper Craft Planet's daily challenge has me singing this song on a daily basis too! ;) Today's theme was to create a card that has circles or rings. I still have lots of this Basic Grey Wassail...even the striped print has circles in it, so I decided to start with that and make another of Becca's circle medallions to go with it. I put a little bling in the center of the snowflake and in the dots of the vertical stripe to give it a little sparkle. I distress inked the edges of the Mellow Moss medallion in hopes that it would better harmonize with the distressed background...I usually LOVE that look but this time it made the color appear to be Old Olive, and I'm not too thrilled about that but it's too late now! A bow tied with my favorite faux suede ribbon made me feel a little better about it!

If you haven't been playing along, today would be a GREAT day to start! Today's PCP challenge is being sponsored by i {heart} papers, and Kate is giving away some Nesties to today's winner! So go get busy!

Notes:
Stamps: SEI Alpine Frost
Paper: SU! Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Basic Grey Wassail DP
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Accessories: Mellow Moss marker, May Arts faux suede ribbon, corner punch, bling

Three French...

...roosters! This was as close as I could come to three French hens for the PCP 12 Days of Christmas challenge today! This is a combo card for the FS challenge at SCS also! Congratulations, Dawn!

Gotta run to our church's Hanging of the Greens service, so I'll come back later to give more details!