Artful Sentiments CC #22 / Rainy Day

Hey, friends... hoping you are having a terrific Thursday. This card is made with My Favorite Things " Rainy Day" set . What a fun set to color. I've used Copics E57, E31, G94,YG17, YG03, V15, R27, Y11, Y17, Y19 and O on this card. Artful Sentiments CC is to use the three greens listed above. The paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel pack. Twine was added for a drawstring for her hood and buttons added to her rain slicker. I've used a pale blue colored pencil to lightly color the image panel and then a silver metallic pencil to add some raindrops. They don't show up very well in the photo. If you have any questions, just email me. That's all for today. I'll be back with more this week. { hugs !}

Timeless Tuesday challenge/Your Kindness Leaves ....

Is it Wednesday already ... wow ... I had hoped to post this card on Monday but the camera battery went dead then couldn't find the charger from vacation, then... but then I know you know how it goes ! Life is filled with the unexpected ... Here's my card for today... a really simple thank you. I love this paper from the K&C Wild Raspberry pack and with Fall soon upon us, I wanted to use this summery gorgeous floral while it was still " in season". The background mat and frame is Ruby Red . The frame is from Spellbinders Classic Frames and was cut out and embossed. The sentiment is from Verses and was stamped on a scrap of dp and positioned to the back of the frame. The Timeless Tuesday challenge at Flourishes this week is to use pearls. I've added pearls to the corners of the frame and to the butterfly. The pearls were colored with a Copic marker (BG15). The butterfly was cut out from a scrap of dp then Stickles were added . I had to resist adding ribbon and other embellies , instead letting the glittery dp have center stage. Hope you like it . I'll be back with more later . Have a super rest of Wednesday. Hugs !

Friday Flourishes is Distressing !

Hi Everyone ! I'm "playing" another challenge today ( woo hoo) which is the Friday Flourishes Challenge. This week it is to make a card with distressing.

I buy paper already distressed when I need that rough hewn look so hardly ever think to distress a good piece of paper but I tried it here. This gorgeous paper is by Graphic 45 and I've used both sides. I've taken super fine sandpaper and roughened the edges, especially the corners. It doesn't seem to show up very well in the photo . Next , I pulled out this old sentiment from Stampin Up 's retired " All I Have Seen" set and stamped it with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Very Vanilla. I then pulled out this nifty potted plant from Flourishes " Chairs" set and stamped it alongside then colored in with Copics. The image and mat were cut out with Labels 4 and popped up with dimensionals. I used Distress Ink " Antique Linen" and sponged around the edges of the panel. I've also layered strips of the dp which also doesn't show up very well in the photo. Next , I took this sheer ribbon and tied it over the image. If you look closely ( click on the picture for a close up) you can see that this sheer ribbon lies over the words ..." for all I have not seen..." I think that gives such a visual picture... our vision of the future is cloudy ... we can not see or know what our future holds but our Creator knows and we can trust Him . Finally, tiny gems were added to the image and that does it for this card. Have a wonderful summer weekend and thanks again for stopping by . I'll see you back here on Monday . { hugs !}

Blog Award to Pass Along

Good morning, everyone ! I received this beautiful award from Grace

which is just the sweetest because she is such a sweetheart... an inspiration to me too ! What more, her blog is gorgeous ... you must run over and take a peek if you haven't already!

The rules for this award are that I must list five things I love to do and then pass it along to five other people.

Now this is going to take some thought because I love to do SO many things but here are five :

1. I love doing things with my family. Humor reigns in my house!

2. I love to create beautiful things... whether it be stamping or decorating, I take alot of joy in the visual arts.

3. I love to travel. Going overseas is quite an experience but even more, I'm loving seeing more of the USA.

4. I love shopping for bags, and shoes and stamps/ supplies and kitchen gadgets and flowers and ... I'm probably more of a window shopper than a buyer ... I don't need/ want to have them all ... does that make sense ?!

5. I love to show hospitality, as the Bible says we should. I bake, cook and take great joy in opening my home to others whether for a week or when they drop in. And yes, I've had to learn to relax my standards and just welcome and enjoy and love the people , not worry about the dust bunnies or the pile of newspapers.

Boy, would I love to pass this on to EVERYONE on my blog list as reading your answers would be so fun and enlightening ! OK , probably not feasible for me to do that so how about these five :

Connie

Lisa

Betty

Rita

Jane

I'll be back to post a card later on. Have a blessed day ! { hugs !}

Stampin Sisters in Christ ( SSC) Challenge #1

WooHoo ... two cards posted in two days ! That's a good feeling ! First , I want to apologize for the " busy" photo. I take my shots in my stamping room right by the big picture window which ,unfortunately, is also where my mess is, so I really hope you can see the card for the clutter ! One day I'll get the photo "cube" which should make things better. Now onto the card. This card was made for the Stampin Sisters in Christ #1 challenge which is use to food or drink on your card. I've had this cookie stamp ( Mail Expressions) for years and thought it would be fun to ink it up again. The sentiment( Darcies ) was broken up into two . Both the cookies and the sentiment were stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa. The sentiments were cut out with a tag Nestie. The cookies were embossed slightly and then the chips were colored in with a Chocolate Chip ( !) marker to make them pop a little. They were then cut out and popped up with dimensionals. The papers are by K&C 's Wild Saffron pack. The upper left corner of the dp was paper pierced on reverse to make it stand out a little better. Buttons ( Hero Arts ) and ribbon finish off the look . I would so love to have some real chocolate chip cookies today( yum, yum ) but gotta watch that cholesterol !

Have a good Wednesday !

II Timothy 1:7

It's starting to feel like summer is winding down with the boys getting ready to go back to college and school thus my time in the stamping room will increase. I am SO looking forward to that ! Now don't get me wrong, I love having the boys home, they are just the best but a woman has to have some stamping time ya know! I love the Scripture collections from ODBD and this one from this set is the first I've inked up. I've pulled the dp's from the K&C " Wild Raspberry" pack. The white punched borders are from a Martha Stewart punch. The image was stamped on Barely Banana and then cut out and embossed with circle Nesties. I then cut and embossed the two separate mats with large pinking circle Nesties. The bird is from a MS punch also. Ribbon and dew drops were added to finish it off. What do you think ? The forecast is calling for rain for the next few days which will be welcome here. What better thing to do on a rainy day then to stamp! I love that you've chosen to stop by today! Have a good one now, ya hear !

Vintage Lottie and an award

Hi All ! Hope you are having a fantastic week. I am sorry to have been MIA. My days are filled to the brim with activity and must - do's as I'm sure yours are too. My card today is a little on the vintage side; a style that's not very " me" but with this sophisticated " Lottie" from Impression Obsession, I wanted to give it a go. The image was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Very Vanilla cs and then colored with Prismacolor pencils. I then added tiny beads to her ribbon choker . The image was cut out and embossed with Spellbinders oval Nesties as well as the mat behind the image. The background paper is from K & C's McKenna pack. Beaded trim and satiny ribbon trim was added and the sentiment ( computer generated) was cut out with a Nestie's tag and then added. You can click on the image for a close -up. Next ...

Christina recently sent me this award which I am thrilled to receive . Thank you so much , dear friend ! It's taken me awhile to post and pass along. Here's the rest of the scoop:

To pick up the Circle of Friends Blog Award :

Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog. Nominate at least five other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends. Link to your nominees , within your blog post and include these instructions on how to pick up the award on your blog post. To show your appreciation to the person who gave you the award, link back to their blog. Finally, comment on the recipents blogs to let them know they've received the award.

OK , here are my five nominees:

NinaB

Dottie

Grace

Laurie

Lisa

It was certainly hard to choose just five because I consider all of you such great stamping friends... what an awesome bunch of women ! Thanks for stopping by ! Have a good Friday and weekend. I'll be back early next week with more.

Blog Candy you won't want to miss !

http://http://stephaniecastrodesigns.blogspot.com/2009/08/some-thank-you-blog-candy.html

http://http://bevscrafts.blogspot.com/2009/08/thank-you-collab-blog-candy.html

Tea-licious !

Hi friends ! How wonderful to be back ! We had a fabulous vacation overseas ! The wedding, the weather, the sightseeing, the resort ... everything made for a memorable time we won't soon forget. A group of us women met one day in Melbourne for afternoon tea and scones. Talk about a beautiful table and yummy food not to mention the laughter and conversation. The card above is a thank you I'll be sending way Down Under to the dear lady who hosted the tea. I've used paper from the new Basic Grey Lemonade pack. The stamp and sentiment are from My Favorite Things. The image was colored with Copics , sponged while in a Nestie and then cut out. Candlelite Shimmerz was brushed over the image and then Stickles were lightly added to the teacup. The yellow mat was run through a CB folder to resemble a tablecloth and then everything mounted up with dimensionals . Dew drops and ribbon were added and that's it !

I look forward to doing some serious blog hopping in the next few days. Can't wait to see all the wonderful creations you've been putting out . { hugs !}