Congrats to Denise

My SBS3 sis Denise is celebrating her first blogoversary in style!! Her blog is one of my favorites and I'm not just saying that because she's my sis! She is really talented and posts the cutest stuff. Plus, she started a challenge blog that generates lots of wonderful artwork too! Be sure to stop by if she's not already on your read list! Lots of goodies there and I'd love for you to see the CTMH set of frogs and snails and stuff I'm gonna win (don't I NEED that with the little man running around?)- that's right, I'm thinking positive!! But I'll be thrilled if YOU win too!!!

GO HERE!!!

Scalloped ATC Swap

I love swapping! And sometimes I just get in a big whirlwind of signing up for lots of them for a time. A gal hosted an ATC swap that required Scallops on it and since I think scallops are so fun, I had to join! HAD TO!!

This is the card that I sent along. That image is from Dreams du Jour and is my favorite from the set! I glittered it in pink, green and yellow although you don't see the sparkle on the screen. I also added glitter on the pink panel as well and a gem in the corner. I just love that bright green lace!! I can't imagine what kind of outfit it would go on, but I think it looks just wonderful on a card!

Also, I am still waiting on some new images from Simply Sista's so we have moved our Showcase to Friday this week. We got to see a few of the new sets coming out and they are so cute! It was hard to pick one!!

And, just in case you were dying to know about our fall foliage tour, I'll talk about that too! It was a wonderful day!! My dad and my youngest brother went - and he brought his new girlfriend!! She is super cute and seems really nice! The trees were just beginning to turn so lots of yellow, some orangey-yellow and very little red. We don't get a lot of red in the trees here in town so I'm not sure about up there. There is a small lake that we drove around and even hiked a short trail to see an OLD cottonwood that was HUGE!! I'll have to post a picture when hubby gets the pics off his camera and I'll tell you how big it was then! I can't wait to see them as I am hoping that maybe it'll be a good pic to send out to family! Then we ate at this restaurant called The Cattle Exchange. SO good! A steak was $25 (which may seem normal to some but I thought was expensive!!) But it WAS HUGE!!! And very tasty!! And the dessert is included in the price. Hubby has been there before and told me about the bread pudding. I was skeptical as the thought of soggy bread doesn't really sound great --- but it was TOO DIE FOR!! I just remembered my mom bought a gallon to bring home - wonder if there is any left??? They also had apple cobbler which had the most yummy crust!! The guys were very patient while we shopped and shopped and walked the small town. All in all, a beautiful day!! I just love getting to spend time with my family - don't you?

Have a beautiful day and come back on Friday to get a sneak peek of a new Simply Sista's image. You can see some sneak peeks of new sets coming on Amy's blog!

Silk Happiness

This is another card I created using the faux silk technique and the Happiness Always set. I really enjoy making my own prints and patterns that coordinate beautifully with my paper! Not much to say about it really other than that I love how it turned out! I am so ready for the crisp, cool (not cold) days of fall. Tomorrow we are going up north a little ways to see the changing trees with my sister, her hubby and my mom. I don't know if the guys (dad and brothers) are going or not. It should be lots of fun and I'm really looking forward to it!!

As always, I hope you have a beautiful day!! Be sure to come back and I have several cards in my "edited" folder to share!

Simply Sista's Showcase

It's Wednesday again!! This is one of my most favorite days of the week: it's in the middle, it's MDO day for the little man which means it's lots of crafty time for me!! First, I want to announce the winner of the first Simply Sista's challenge I posted last week: Janna from Stamps, Paper, Glitter, Oh My! Congrats girl!!

Our challenge this week was to use one of the new digi images released this month for Halloween. Halloween is all about candy, right?!?! But candy is good any time of the year!! (I feel pretty silly writing that actually, as I don't eat candy really; in fact I recently threw out a bunch leftover from Valentines! I know, I know, I have sent you chocolate lovers into shock!! I'm sorry...please keep reading!) But anyway, candy is around us all year long!! So I wanted to showcase this set as a great set to use year-round!! When I saw the sketch challenge last week at SCS I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. So I've fiddled around with this card all week. I finally went and bought a circle cutter to help. I opted for the Martha Stewart one and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Not so happy with how I cut my circles in half, but I haven't figured out a way to blame that on anyone but me!! *wink*

I did use Diamond Glaze on my pieces of candy to make them super shiny and popped all the pieces up on dimensionals. I used a corner rounder on my circle and printed off the sentiment for the perfect coordination! You can shop for these digi images at Card Scents. If you play along in our challenge, please leave a link here so I can check it out!!

As always, have a beautiful day!!

A couple of months ago it was my turn to host Girls Night Out for my Bunko group. Since our group size has diminished somewhat we decided that we didn't always have to play Bunko - it was hostess choice!! I have to say that I love to play Bunko but it's been fun to do other stuff too - something different every month. Anyway, for my month I decided that we would make cards - one of my favorite things to do!! This is one of the cards we made that night, using a Cuttlebug folder on the bottom half of the card and stamping the bird from Always above in White Craft Ink. I love this big satin ribbon in this shade of green! Hope you are having a great day! It rained here last night so it's still kinda overcast this morning. We've got some errands to run so I'll keep this short and see you tomorrow!! In the meantime, you know what to do --- Have a BEAUTIFUL day!!

Is It Thursday?!?!

It sure seems like it - because that is usually Emily's day over on Stamps, Paper and Ink. She is the Featured Stamper (FS89) this week on SCS. As I faithfully read her mom's blog - and thus her too - every week, I knew that I *had* to make time to participate this week. Normally, I just browse and *intend* to play along.

It was hard to pick just one card of Emily's; I adore her style and would like to re-make every card she does - SERIOUSLY!! I decided to copy a magnet frame she posted and flipped it for my card. I don't own a good polka dot background stamp but I do like using the dotted lines stamp from the Live Your Dream set so I inked it in Creamy Caramel for a subtle look. The epoxy stickers were from the $1 spot at JoAnn's and the ribbon was $1 at Michael's that I picked up just yesterday! Yea - an inspired purchase!!

Congrats on being featured Emily - you are a rockin' artist and totally deserve it!! Thanks for all the inspiration you share every week!!

What's Up Moose?

The challenge this past week on the MFT forum for What's Up Wednesday was to make a box. I used the template that was provided (see post here) and one of the free MFT stamp sets that I recently won! Somehow, I knew that the 2 I received were the 2 that I would get! Or maybe it was just wishful thinking; either way, I was a happy camper with what I won!!

I stamped the moose twice and colored him in. I cut out one and popped him up and then decided I would do the same for the frame. I love the look but I'm not sure I would take the time to cut that frame out very often! I wanted a box that was bright and fun and non-traditional looking when it came to Christmas! I hope this fits the bill!! I'll put it aside until December and then fill with some treats for a friend!

I hope you had a great weekend! My friend and I had scheduled time to stamp on Saturday! I made a rustic pizza for lunch, got a little stamping done and then we went shopping!!! The deals were too good to pass up!! My LSS celebrated it's 2nd birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! - and we enjoyed some yummy cake and got some cute stuff. Then on to Michaels where paper was on sale and I kept finding a new sheet I *had* to have!! And then off to Joann's, where I swore I wouldn't buy anything --- until they DID HAVE a glitter stack on sale. I snagged the last one before my friend could grab it. I should probably give it to her as it was not a very sweet thing to do and I'm really trying to be sweet these days. Oh, it was such a gorgeous fall day! Then my dad watched the little man while we went to the MAZE with my mom and brothers!! Lots of fun and it was great traipsing through the mud! We lost half the crew at one point and while waiting for them to catch up (they never did) the boys snuck off .... and then I was standing there all by myself. As I set off to find the boys, my "little" brother (he's younger than me by 14 years but he's about 5 inches taller!) jumped out and scared me!! Too funny!! I think my mom was game to go through the Haunted Maze but didn't want to wait in the L-O-N-G line! I never knew my mom liked scary things as we weren't allowed to be around that growing up!! "For good reason" said my other "little" brother (who is 8 years younger, 8 inches taller

[do you know that I'm 5'11"?] and was a Marine!) Cracked me up when he said that!!! He loves to act tough - and he is tough, but he also has a heart of gold - both of my brothers do!

Anyway, enough rattling on by me! I'll see you back here soon and in the meantime, have a beautiful day!!

Priceless Faux Silk

My local stamp club met this week and I demoed the faux silk technique. One of the gals in the group brought her Priceless set and since I don't have that one, I used it to stamp up some panels using Pale Plum and a silver Colorbox. The challenge over at Stamp Simply is to create something for a friend. I assembled it into this card and will mail it to another gal in our group. She recently went on a bus tour through the northeast and saw all the gorgeous leaves changing colors. Her pictures were so vibrant and lovely. Inspiring as well since she made us all these really pretty bookmarks using the colors of fall. I'll send this to her as a thank you for a being such a sweet friend!! It's been almost a year that I've been making the time for stamp club again and I am so thankful that I am. It is a really neat bunch of ladies and I feel blessed to have their friendship and to be able to share our stamping and all together!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I hope you have recovered from the shock of having 2 posts in ONE DAY - a rarity for me!! Have a beautiful evening, I'm planning on snuggling with my honey watching the office tonight - the only tv show we both like!!

Chic Polka Dots

I joined an ATC swap over on SCS that was required the use of Polka Dots! I love polka dots and so didn't even stop to think about signing up - I *knew* I wanted in!! When I sat down to work on my creation, I had just gotten in the Tres Chic background and was aching to use it. And I had pulled out this polka dot ribbon as well. I paired it with Apricot Appeal - a color that I now think is chic and a pink - not sure which one this is!. I stamped in Apricot Appeal and then used my Versamarker to highlight certain words and then embossed with the sparkly embossing powder. It is hard to see the glisten but it is there!

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a few moments with me! Isn't it fun to share our art with each other? Have a beautiful day!!

Singing in the Rain

Good morning everyone!! Wednesdays on my blog will now be devoted to Simply Sista's and Card Scents. Each week the design team will have a challenge and I would love for you to participate as well!! Be sure to read to the very end to find out how you could win this card! Yes, I'm actually going to have a giveaway this week!

The challenge this week was a color challenge - to use Pink, Black and White. It was also the Color Challenge on SCS this week - yay, a two-fer!! I used another digital image called In the Rain this week because we have had solid rain since Saturday! Every thirty minutes, it would start raining - pretty hard too! Very unusual for this semi-arid part of Texas. The roses are in bloom again so that's a bonus!! The sun did come out today so I think we are on our way to drying out! I always think those galoshes you see everywhere are so cute - but there is not really a need for them here. But at least I can still stamp galoshes!!

I colored her with my prismascolor pencils and then layered her on some patterned paper. Can you tell that the base card was run through my Swiss Dot folder? Be sure to stop by the other gals blogs and see what they came up with; you'll find their blogs over in my sidebar!

Now, create a card using pink, black and white. Leave a comment here linking to your card (direct link please) by Tuesday, October 21. I'll randomly draw a winner! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Have a beautiful day!! I'll see you soon!

Flowers?

This is a card I created several months ago for my secret sister and feel safe sharing it now. The challenge was to create flowers out of a non-flower image. This is what I came up with. I used 3 different Stampin Up! sets on this card - a first for me I think!! My favorite thing on this card is the dotted line stamp I used behind the flowers - look close and you should see it.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! It's been raining off and on here pretty much for 2 days now. Heavy, steady rain too! Lots of flooding - not major flooding, just over the curbs and stuff. I spent a few hours yesterday working a Twinkling H2Os demo at the local scrapbook store here in town. It was fun, but not as busy as I had expected - I think due to the rain!!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon! Have a beautiful week!

Good morning girls!! (I assume everyone that reads my blog is a woman so if there are any male readers - speak up!) Anyway, I created this card many weekends ago when my friend Bridget and I had stamp day! I had been wanting to paper piece this truck and thought this plaid made it kinda "manly". I also think it will be really cute in polka dots so that's on my "to try" list! Boy is that list getting L--O--N--GGGGGG!! A very basic card without a lot of frills and froofs. I hope you enjoyed looking! Do you own this set?? What is your favorite thing to do with it??

Sydney Series

I spent last week working on some cards for Simply Sistas. This is Sydney and she is one of my favorite images. As you know, I am not a scrap saver, so I really wanted to use this patterned paper but it is so pretty and glittery that I didn't want to waste it so I went in with the idea to create a whole series of cards.

This first one I used for Jen's SFYTT from this past weekend. It's a cute sketch and I'm super happy with how she turned out. I colored her with prismascolors and baby oil.

For this card I used my SU Markers on. I was hoping my chair would end up looking like suede, you know, with the brush marks in it. Sydney's top is covered with Diamond Dust glitter which you can't see very well, but it's oh so sparkly!! I used the sketch from a card I found by Anna Wight as my layout inspiration!

When I first moved out on my own, I bought an old recliner at a garage sale that belonged to a family friend. It was cheap and filled a need but there was a sofa and loveseat set at a local furniture store that was faded denim. I loved it and decided to save money so I could buy it! Sadly, a gal that I worked with bought it before I was able to. As I was coloring these I thought of that set for some reason and decided to fulfill my dream on paper!! She is also colored with prismacolors and baby oil.

Here is the last card in the series. Today, if I just had some expendable cash to blow on a big purchase (and a spare corner) I would order a pink crushed velvet comfy chair in a heartbeat!! Since that will not happen anytime soon, I decided that I'd just give Sydney a totally girly-girl chair. I love flocked anything - I guess b/c I'm such a texture girl. I am always touching things to get the feel of it.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today!! I love it that you do!! My little man and I baked a zucchini cake this morning and I can smell it now - what a yummy treat we'll have later today! Have a beautiful day!!

WCMD - No P's Please

I love, loVE, LOVE this card!! I am so happy with how it turned out. This was the second challenge from WCMD that I was able to complete. In the last few weeks, as I've been browsing the gallery at SCS, cher2008 has just been making me oooh and aaah over her cards. So as I was looking for some ribbon to add to my card, I saw this yellow striped that was really wide and thought of her cards. I wanted to attempt the same look and this is what I got. I am so happy with it!! Seriously, I just want to look at and I don't know if I'll ever be able to part with it! Does this ever happen to you???

Anyway, the challenge was no patterned paper and no pastels. That suits me fine - I have tons of patterned paper, but I never want to use it. I love using stamps to make my own patterned paper. Silly, huh! This purple CS was on the top of the stack - Orchid Opulence - crazy color!!! Luckily this stamp set seems to work with whatever colors you use it with. Bright yellow paired with it and some black accents to tame it all down! What do you think - is this card a winner? Keep checking in as I have some other cards I haven't had a chance to share with you yet! I so appreciate it when you "swoop by" too!!

Swooping By

Hey girls!! I am definitely "swooping by" real quick to post this card. I didn't manage to get too many cards made on Saturday, World Card Making Day!! I was working but got home as quick as I could after my party, slipped into my pj's, scoped out some challenges at SCS and got to work!

Simply Sistas just released some new images for Halloween. They are all digital - which means 1) you get them instantly - no waiting and stalking the postlady and 2) you can size them to fit your project perfectly! I love her hair!! Of course, she's a witch so she probably just spoke some spell and had it look fabulous like that!!

I used the WCMD sketch for this one! I also paper pieced her; which was fun, but did involve some tongue clenching moments!! I'm totally thrilled with how she came out!! And isn't she just a proper lady, riding her broom sidesaddle?

I have several other cards to share over the coming days. I did sit down and photograph them all today, but I don't want to edit them all right now ---- so....come back and see what else I came up with! I'm gonna hop off now and go work on some ATC's for a "Pink for the Cure" Swap I joined.

Happy Birthday!

Here is a happy birthday card I created!! It's very simple but I love it!! Pink vellum from my stash for the bottom panel, embossed with my Cuttlebug! Pink is one of my favorite colors - I love it paired with almost anything - but especially a NEUTRAL - like kraft or GREY!!! OH. MY. Wait until you see the ATC I made for my Stamp Club this month!! (I know - it's already done and we don't meet for 2 more Tuesdays!)

Where was I? Ah yes, my card: A yummy birthday cake - with sparkly stickles. I don't know if you can see them or not. I photographed this at night trying to beat a deadline!! You see, I want to enter THIS GIVEAWAY!!! Back to sparkly cakes - did you know that you can get edible glitter for your cakes and cookies?!? I find mine in the Wilton aisle at Michaels.

So Happy Birthday Lesa!! I hope it is beautiful and full of exactly what you want!!