For the Art of It

Gallery Idol 2011 Submission

2011-07-04T23:54:00.003-05:00

Well, I decided to create a card for the PaperCrafts Gallery Idol 2011 contest. Today.

My sister and her husband are buying their first home. I'm really excited for them and so I thought I would make a congrats card for them tonight.

As I was thinking about what to create, I remembered a card I made (waaay back) here and decided to use that same idea. This time I used my Cricut and Gypsy to create the base, welding and flipping so that I would have a pocket which was much easier than the last time!

I cut the roof off the outer pocket and cut another house to create the insert. Since my sister's bedding is a grey with bright pops of colors I decided to pair some grey script paper with some Basic Grey papers. All from my stash. I love the little crystal doorknob and wreath on the door. And the lace trim.

Happy Birthday!

2011-07-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

My brother celebrated his 30th birthday this year and suggested golf stuff or gift cards to golf as ideas from his wish list. I was able to make his card this morning before we all gathered for lunch to celebrate his day and the Fourth of July.

The image is from Magenta; not sure if they still make it or not as I've had it for years. It was fun to sit and color and my little man sitting nearby creating a card for his uncle at the same time, sharing colored pencils and listening as he learned to draw a flag from his daddy. I think my brother was pretty impressed with that card....might have been his favorite although my sister got him a singing one that brought back great memories of our childhood so there might have been a tie!

Hope your day was wonderful for our nation's birthday! Our time with family was terrific but now we are home and I'm figuring out what to do next. Normally we would be heading to the local fireworks show in an hour or so. The rains just have not come this spring and early summer so not only have fireworks been banned in the city (they usually are) they are banned completely. Someone told me from the whole state but I'm not sure if that is true or not. Either way, no fireworks this year. The city is doing a laser light show instead and I have to say I just think that is ~~lame~~ LAME. I hope they bring back the fireworks next year!

Waiting

2011-06-16T22:53:00.000-05:00

is not one of my strengths.

I received word this week that two recent swaps are winging their way back to me. Can't wait to spend some time in my rocker soaking up all the beauty from this swap and then time in my creative corner creating with tidbits from this one.

I also can't wait for this swap to come in. I love bling and perhaps wearing this while I do the dishes will make the task more pleasant?

I did manage to get a set of ATCs completed for my local stamp club. Our theme this month was "Domestic Animal". There was quite a bit of debate last month on what was meant by the theme - domestic, domesticated, domestic to where (or should that be who? whom?)

I found this sweet old childrens book at an estate sale awhile back and even though the covers were missing and it had pencil lines on almost every page, I snagged it because I knew that my little man would get lots of giggles out of the story of a puppy named Wiggletail.

And I was right.

I scanned in one of the pages, resized him and cut him out. Applied color to my watercolor paper base in a variety of ways - just playing around - to get the look of sky. Then added some vintage book paper colored with ink to simulate the grass and the sun.

It's very one-dimensional and I wish I could've thought of what else to add. Days later I think of a collar of course. My little man awoke from naptime about the time I was thinking of sentiments. I asked him once what he thought the little puppy was saying and for the next 15 minutes he had me in stitches. Of course, they got more elaborate so I just stuck with a simple please.

I hope you've had a chance to giggle this week too!

Swapping

2011-06-09T22:32:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd share what I sent Jessica for her Very Vintage Spring Ephemera Swap. I had it in my head it was due mid-month but I think I might have mixed that date up with the Birdsong Tag swap.

A few weeks ago I found a really large sized dictionary at an estate sale along with some sheet music.

I ended up putting my items together in a page protector. I also added some grocery stamps and a booklet, an old canceled check* and a playing card (I bought them for the case and was happy when Jessica announced this swap as I knew they would be my submission).

We were supposed to include a ___ with our information on it. I scanned the ATC I made last month for my local stamp club and printed off my info on the back.

* Please tell me that you think an old canceled check is cool. My DH thinks I'm loco and that nobody would want some old check.

Parle de Fleur - A Tiny Book Swap

2011-06-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share what I sent off for Michelle's Tiny Book Swap.

By folding and cutting, you get the above to form a little book. I sent off all my little books so can't really show you what it looks like all folded up.

I hemmed and hawed over what theme to choose before finally settling on using these vintage flower images.

I also wanted to use image transfers. It's a technique that I have done many times in the past. But apparently I've lost my edge. I can't even tell you how many mess-ups I had. The above photo is the front and back cover. Same flower image - although the one on the front was a 'mess-up' that I decided wasn't too bad.

I'm not sure how accurate my French is but I do like it. I don't feel too terribly bad as I'm fairly certain that if my college French professor saw it she would just shake her head and laugh. My Texas drawl used to crack everyone up. However, my sister is pretty affluent in French and I'd bet the farm (if I had one) that she is cringing right now.

I had to finally settle on printing my images on transparencies and using them that way as I was flat out of time to mess with pulling off transfers any longer. Lots of ink and layers on all the pages.

I tried to keep everything cohesive by using the same two colors, two laces and two papers (text and music) on each page.

I really love how the pages took shape and came together. Folding them was a challenge and I'm still trying to figure out why my last page is off. But that's for another day.

Petite Inspiration Box Spring Swap

2011-06-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

Heather @ Speckled Egg hosted another Petite Inspiration Box swap with a Spring theme and I was blessed to be paired with two sweet girls. First I'll share the items I swapped with Jessica @ Kids Napping? I'm Scrapping

The theme was Spring and I grabbed some moss in a sheet and planned to do flowers and birds for the outside of my boxes. But then --- I ended up going in a completely different direction! I was wandering through a Wal-Mart and spied some strawberry labels with the canning supplies. I knew that Jessica liked strawberries because she told me so and I also knew that she has a serious obsession* for labels.
* her word, not mine.

And since I love the arrival of Spring Strawberries in the Supermarket I figured that would work as a theme! I found a bag of trims at the local thrift store. I bought the whole bag just for some pink ball trim for this swap. Both my partners received some but you'll have to spy a glimpse in Lisa's photos tomorrow. Also in the bag was the big aqua bow. Totally cool. I wanted to keep it for myself. And then I found that enameled pink and tied it all on with some pink tulle so that Jessica could salvage then and use them on other projects if she wanted.

Jessica is a Button Floozy and so I was digging around in my button box and found that weird looking thing on the left. But I wondered what would happen if I painted it? Would it look like a strawberry?

A little? Right? And some more buttons and such that I included for her. See that one in the middle. I saw a strawberry button on etsy but couldn't make myself pay that much for a button. So imagine my glee when I saw that one in my button box one day. It was a little present from God and I got totally giddy. I left the patina on it as Jessica is a Button Floozy and would know (1) if it should stay or go and (2) how to make it go if she wanted far better than I. See that sparkly one in the lower right? What a saga to get that little bit. I found them on ebay and there were several in there and the price was a steal. So I nabbed them so that I could put one in Jessica's box and one in Lorraine's Things with Wings box (later post). Then I noticed they were coming from Hong Kong. They took soooo long to get here. I held off Lorraine's box waiting for them -- and then finally sent it without it. They finally arrived just as I was ready to send this box off. Talk about bad timing!

You can see the labels that started this box in the center. I also included some vintage papers in both boxes, rolled up with some vintage pink ribbon. I made sure that Jessica got dictionary pages for "berry" in her pack.

I also was paired with Lisa from Happily Scrappin' Today. Oh I had such a fun, FUN time putting her box together too! I went reading through her blog and found pictures of her scrap space. She told me she liked pink and dress forms --- and her space really showed that!

Why does Blogger do that? I used some vintage flowers and a miniature dress form to decorate Lisa's box. I thought that would fit in the box --- but it was a little tall. I also decided to paint and shabby chic the dress form up too. I layered lots of paint on it and finally achieved a look I was happy with! I sure hope Lisa loved it too!

I used a vintage hankie to wrap up the goodies in each box.

I knew that Lisa liked milk glass and angels. I couldn't pass up that little milk glass sugar bowl. Again, I thought it would fit in the matchbox and again, I was a little off on estimating my sizes. I found the pom-pom trim at the thrift store in a bag of trims. There was the pink stuff, some very cool brown embroidered ribbon, odds and ends and a really weird yellow yarn octopus. The little aqua envelope is a "zipper helper". It is marked Blackburns on the back which is a department store that we used to have here years and years ago. Often times I'll see hat boxes and such with Blackburns on it at estate sales in the area.

I can't wait for you to see what I received from Jessica and Lisa. They are both vintage and awesome and completely me!

A Little of This and A Little of That

2011-05-24T15:06:00.003-05:00

Hmm.

How do you start a blog post when you haven't posted in almost a year?

I have been creating; not as much as I was or as frequently but some here and there. I really wanted to share with you a few swaps that I've recently finished.

First, I'm gathering up items for this swap and if you love shabby and vintage, you should check it out!

The first one was an Altered Matchbox swap hosted by Vintage Dragonfly. The theme was Things with Wings and was so much fun to put together. I created this little treasure for Lorraine at Over the Rainebeau.

I knew Lorraine liked aqua and pink and all sorts of things with wings. I spied that little birdie one day and decided to just focus on birds. Although I had the hardest time getting the bird to stay on the nest! And the little matchbox was filled with all kinds of goodies!

JoAnne, the swap hostess, sent a magical box to me!

It's so darling and I love it! She decorated the outside with tons of embellishments and has that over the top look that I love (but never seem to be able to actually do). So much inspiration packed into a little box. She also sent me this gorgeous tag:

The next swap was a seaside theme and I opted not to participate this round. But I have seen some of the photos in the Flickr group and they are beautiful! If you are interested in a swap like this, check it out - she'll post the next theme soon.

The Diedrich Dare: Out with a Bang!

2010-07-07T00:01:00.020-05:00

Hello girls! Long time no see!

I did make a card this week for the Diedrich Dare challenge for July. During the summer, the challenge is just once a month. And sadly, this is the last challenge for Whimsical Wednesdays. Jessica and her kids decided to end the challenge. They are exploring new avenues of creativity. This was such fun in the time that we had. I met Jessica, seems like forever ago, when we were on a design team for a now defunct company. She is sweet and caring and genuine and I feel incredibly lucky to know her, to have designed with her and to call her friend. I actually feel that way about all the girls that are DareDevils - past and present.

SO...

...let's talk about the challenge. It's an inspiration challenge this week using this photo from therecipegirl.com :

Oh man! It's a cupcake which is wonderful. But the fact that it's a Fourth of July cupcake is SUPER wonderful! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays! I was inspired originally by the frosting and intended to use the Shaving Cream background somehow but that idea got swept aside as time whittled away. And in staying true to my style, I kept it clean and simple.

I used my Cricut to cut the cupcake, layered it, tied a bow and popped it onto the kraft base. Now I just need to find a friend with a Fourth of July birthday! Hmmm - oh yeah! THIS lovely lady that I get to work with on the Cuttlebug Challenge fits the bill I do believe! Happy Belated Birthday sweetie!

Jessica has put together a terrific prize package for our final challenge! Here's the list of prizes:

♥ Choice of TWO digi stamps from Baby Bud Designs

♥ "Sweet Message" stamp set from The Greeting Farm (4x6 set)

♥ "A Good Book" stamp from {Ippity} stamps

We'd love to see your creation inspired by the image this week. You've got one week to upload a link over at The Diedrich Dare before we close our doors on Wednesday, July 14th.

Sugar Creek Hollow June Blog Hop

2010-06-05T00:00:00.005-05:00

HeLLo girLs! Sugar Creek HoLLow is kicking off June with a fabuLous bLog hop for you today! We are aLL using the same sketch and you reaLLy must take the time to go and see aLL the designers (Linked beLow) and their creations - they are SUPERB!!! You can start the hop at Joan's bLog if you need to go back. You shouLd have come from Donna's bLog - and oh.my.WORD. Wasn't her card FAAAABuLOUUUUS!?!?!?!?
I Loved it (aLthough I've Loved aLL the sneak peeks from the team to be honest). You wiLL coLLect a Letter at each bLog that wiLL speLL out a very speciaL word so it's a good idea to start from the beginning! The prize is a big basket of crinkLe ribbon, images and cards from the design team!

Here is the sketch our precious DT Coordinator JoseLine created for our hop today!

Father's Day is right around the corner and Tracy has designed a great set to commemorate this day! Father's Day was used on this card of mine and I wanted to use it again for today's card too. I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for awhiLe and this was a perfect chance to get it out! It's aLso a perfect exampLe of how you can use this set for more than just a Father's Day card. More bang for your buck - that's a popuLar Texas saying around here!

I don't have a pink cowboy hat but I think it wouLd be pretty fun to wear one. I do have red cowboy boots; they were quite the rage back when I was growing up! LOL!!But CowgirL Up is another famiLiar saying you hear from time to time here in Texas and I wanted to pay homage to that idea. Today's Texas GirL is sassy and feminine and resourcefuL! That being said, I'm aLso going to Link this card up for Texas Tuesday!

Before you head on over to Mary's bLog to see her creation and get the next Letter, pLease Leave me a comment Letting me know what you think of my girLy use of this mascuLine set - AND Let me know what Letter my bLog has for your secret word! Mary is joining us as our June Guest Designer so be sure to Leave her a note of weLcome!

And in case you've gotten a LittLe Lost, here's the compLete List in order:
Joan

Marsha

Dani

Stephanie

Loretta

Linda

Kristina

Donna

Cassie - You are HERE!

Mary (http://moejoedesigns.blogspot.com/)

JoseLine

KeLLy

Nancy

Tracy

Sugar Creek HoLLow BLog

The Diedrich Dare: All About Inspiration

2010-06-02T06:25:00.003-05:00

Good morning girls! The DIEDRICH DARE will be taking a bit of a break....HOWEVER....we are issuing a challenge TODAY AND the 1st week of July to keep you busy...and just to keep you intrigued? We have one HECK of a PRIZE!

Today's Challenge is a WONDERFUL inspiration piece that sweet DareDevil Sara sent because she knew Jessica would love what it said. It just so happens it makes for an EXCELLENT summer challenge too! Here's the photo:

I immediately loved the colors. I always admire bright, happy colors although I don't typically create with them. And so I decided to really step out of my comfort zone and use bright, happy colors!

The stamp is an old PSX stamp; do ya'll miss PSX as much as I do? I'm not a big Alice in Wonderland fan but I've always loved this quote about imagining impossible things. Love it in the Lime Green. Love the polka dot ribbon even more I think!

I hope this card makes you feel bright and happy!

Now...here's the deal. You have ALL MONTH to play along. There are NO restrictions on number of entries, etc. You just have to link it up here and we have to be able to see the inspiration piece somewhere on your card or project.

Entries will be accepted until JUNE 30th, 2010 at 8pm CST.
The catch? Well, ok, it's NOT a catch..it's more like LOOT....TONS OF IT! CHECK THIS OUT:

ONE lucky winner will receive:

*TWO Kraftin' Kimmie stamps of Choice, sponsored by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!
*This HUGE prize from Tamiko's:
1. Spellbinders Frameabilities Scalloped Edge Frame
2. 1/4" Scorepal tape
3. Sticky thumb adhesive tape
4. Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
5. Robin's nest tear drops
6. Robin's nest dew drop
7. Robin's nest mini dew drops
8. 2-3 bags of Lion coffee (a little something from Hawaii)
*A FREE Digital Image sponsored by Daredevil herself, Sara Henton
*TWO Rubber Stamps from a newly released BabyBud Designs (manuf. by C.C. Designs) sponsored by
Daredevil Krista VanTol!
* ONE 4x6 Set of choice from The Greeting Farm

Can you BELIEVE the generosity of these sponsors??? I am SUPER stoked for this and it's nothing we've ever had the privilege to offer our players before. I cannot WAIT to see who the random winner is! Thank you to each and every one!!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this month. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

Graduation Card

2010-06-01T10:43:00.001-05:00

My niece graduated from high school this past weekend. It's hard to believe she's all grown up; I remember first meeting her and was like 6!! It was a wonderful ceremony though and lots of family in so that was really nice too!

I used the Vintage Graduation set from Sugar Creek Hollow for her card. My niece is not a girly-girl and real fussy, very laid-back and down to earth so I wanted something that was elegant but not froufy! I eliminated the text circle around the mortarboard and printed an extra copy so I could pop up the flat part. I also digitally erased the tassel so that I could add a tassel I made from embroidery thread.

I really love how it turned out! Simple knots instead of bows and some embossing on the base for texture and interest. I hope my niece likes it!

And then I used on of the sentiments for the inside of the card. I didn't do anything fancy to decorate the inside as I had a LOT I wanted to write to her ----

Thanks for stopping by today!

Challenges: Midnight Madness Sketch 56

Fabulous Friday: Recessed Window Card

2010-05-28T05:47:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday girls! Around here that means it's the last day of school! Even though I'm not teaching anymore, I still celebrate this day in spirit with all my friends that are! Friday also brings other reasons to celebrate: the weekend of course and a new free image up over at Sugar Creek Hollow - and oh! it's a fabulous one!! So be sure to go over and grab it!

This week the designers are showcasing Recessed Window cards. I've seen sneak peeks and oh they are incredible this week!

I have wanted to make a frame out of the line of ants in the Summer Picnic set. I simply used Photoshop to rotate the image and transferred it to a new canvas. The basket has been colored and popped up. The cloth was printed on some vintage Anna Griffin paper and then added to the image. I had printed it and then needed to re-print my center a little smaller. As a result, the cloth was bigger than my picnic basket. So I just added some folds so that it would fit. I actually love the way it looks - very much like a large tablecloth spilling out of the basket in a natural way! I could've re-printed but I love trying to just "make it work" as Tim Gunn would say! Here's a close-up of the basket and an awesome vintage button I could not resist adding to my card!

And then I added the sentiment on the inside - leaving room to add a verse of encouragement for when I decide to send it out. It is so true isn't it? Picnics are wonderful and represent all the terrific things that happen in our lives. Sometimes though the picnic (life) has moments that are invaded by hardships and difficult times (the ants). Fortunately, we can rely on God's word to uplift as we deal with the ants!

Be sure to visit the rest of the designers. If you don't, you will be missing out on some seriously gorgeous creations! I think I might say that every week, but it's true every week. Each of these ladies is soooo tremendously talented!!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

May Guest Designer

Bernadette

One last thing before you go. Tracy, the owner and designer behind Sugar Creek Hollow could use your votes! The Midnight Madness Challenge has selected their favorite 20 cards from the last year. The card with the most reader votes will receive the "Priscilla Award".

Tracy is a beautiful woman and beautiful creations come out of her hands! Please GO HERE AND VOTE for her - #9 She does sooo much for sooo many people - I'd really love to see her blessed with this award! Thank you!!!

P.S. While you are at Midnight Madness, be sure to register for the amazing blog candy she has up for her one year anniversary - it's incredible!!

The Diedrich Dare: iSparkle

2010-05-26T06:45:00.003-05:00

Good morning girls! Today we have an incredible challenge from DT member Kim's kiddos Kaeli and Emilie.

iSparkle.
Do You?

The girls want us to make cards (or another project perhaps) that SPARKLE!

I made a scrappy card for one of my closest friends and I hope she likes it! She mentioned earlier today that she loves polka dots so I have a feeling she will!

I used a scrap of polka dot paper and paired it with some glitter covered chipboard tab and letters. Added some stickers for "happy" and a rubon for "birthday". Quick and simple which really fit my time frame for creating this card!

As this is the last week of May, I want to say thank you again to Sweet Pea Stamps for being our sponsor this month! I am very thrilled to have some of the ching chou-kiuk stamps and look forward to playing with them again soon! It all came together because our girl Randi helped make it happen!

Over the summer, the Dare is running ONE challenge for the entire month - and oh giiirl! The prizes are amazing! I can't wait for ya'll to see all the info next week! In the meantime, take a moment to visit the rest of the DareDevils and see how they are SPARKLING today!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

Also, be sure to visit Cuttlebug Challenge and see all the projects for this week's challenge: Pennants

Parties All Around

2010-05-23T22:24:00.001-05:00

Hi girls! The end of the school year seems to bring party fever on! My sister and I have birthdays a week apart so that's 2 right away. A dear friend of mine is celebrating her birthday next week. My niece and nephew have birthdays a day apart right at the start of June. Those are parties that occur every year! I had a baby shower yesterday and my niece is graduating this weekend so that's another party. And the other day I started wandering in blogland; was so lost I have no idea how I ended up where I was! I found a Garage Salen' Party and thought I'd share what I found at an estate sale yesterday.

Estate sales always make me a little sad - the items that a family passes over when their loved ones are gone. Several weeks ago I cruised through one and there was a 50th anniversary plate left. 50 years. A lifetime of joy and sorrow. Successes and failures. I just can't imagine leaving behind my parents 50th anniversary plate. I hope for the chance to have my own 50th anniversary plate. But I digress.

Here's the treasures I manages to snag. I always try to go to estate sales at the end when they have reduced prices. Makes my dollar stretch further!

I've been wanting a nice lace tablecloth for my dining room table; most I've seen have stains or rips. But this one is in perfect condition. I don't know how old it is - it could quite possible by fairly new. But either way, I love it. It's already been laundered and will be on my table soon!

I always look for the books first. I am a bit of a bookworm. I L.O.V.E. to read. And I can read just about anything. This house had the largest library I've ever seen. And buried in the master bedroom (all the rooms had books) were several children's books. The one above almost got passed over; but I picked it up again and looked inside!

Do you see it? It's a counting book about all these brown animals that live on a farm! I love to create with brown and I really think that I might have glanced around furtively to make sure no one else was lurking behind me to snatch it away! LOL!! Pictured here are some very adorable paper/cloth books. Ratted and wrinkled and frayed but the illustrations are unbelievable!

Got these too. See that one on the bottom: Manners to Grow On. It was published in 1955 and while I'm not certain I'm completely sold on the idea of homeschooling my child, this will definitely be a course of study in our home. I'm not sure when it became okay to not have manners. And I know that I certainly am not a perfectionist when it comes to all manners, but I certainly try. And by golly so will my kids.

I also grabbed these. Mostly for cutting up and such. I'll read The Hour Awaits first. I'm not sure what it's about. I picked it up because of the title. Do you do that? And the top one is Mental Arithmetic. We'll work that one too although not for several years admittedly. Am I corny for loving that it's called arithmetic and not math?

I also found some vintage silver Christmas ornaments but they've already been put up with the Christmas stuff.

Finally, I remembered how I found this Garage Salen' Party - by clicking on a link for a giveaway! You should go have a look-see as it's for a designer purse!

Fabulous Friday: Thank You

2010-05-21T06:37:00.008-05:00

Happy Fabulous Friday girls! This week the Sugar Creek Hollow designers are showcasing their favorite image. Do you have a hard time picking a "favorite"? I do! I loathe "picking" - whether it's a favorite of anything, where to eat and then what to eat, what to put on a gift list, et cetera. I'm not good at. There was hemming and hawing about which image to use. I have several favorites.

I need to make some thank you cards and as I was thinking about this darling birdie my SIL gave me last week for my birthday, I decided to use the Barn Swallow image from Sugar Creek Hollow. You can see that I placed the little thing up on my TV cabinet with my collection of white birdhouses. (They are white despite the fact that the photo has some blue tones. I do love all white cards and over the last week or so have seen some pretty ones so I was inspired to make use of white as well.

I did add lots of interest and texture with the two styles of embossing (Swiss Dots IS my favorite embossing folder, that I know without any hemming and hawing) and the silk bow.

I colored the swallow in greys and yellows, not only because it matches the birdie on my cabinet, but because the other day I saw a bird with a yellow breast flying by with a stick in it's beak. All the birds are busy building their nests right now. Just colored pencils, layered on each other. No blending agent at all. I like this look. I was hoping for a bit of a vintage feel; wanted to add some glitter but couldn't really decide where.

Take a moment and visit the rest of the team to see their favorite images in use.

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

May Guest Designer
Bernadette

The Diedrich Dare: A Double Sketch

2010-05-19T07:33:00.006-05:00

Post #2 - please keep scrolling for my Cuttlebug Challenge project!

The Diedrich Dare this week is bringing you not one but TWO sketches drawn by DT member Heather's two sweet girls Willow and Piper. I used Willow's sketch. Piper has a terrific sketch too and she said butterflies weren't required but she would love to see them. So I used an image from Sweet Pea Stamps (our fabulous sponsor this month) that features a butterfly*. Here are their sketches:

Aren't those the sweetest? I love their little notes to us! I was flipping through my scrap drawer and saw some yellow paper and instantly thought of a card I saw in Stamp It months ago that was mostly yellow. I don't remember if it had Kraft and/or Black but it struck a cord with me and I decided to use this color combo and use up this paper. I don't design with yellow much AT ALL; who knows why I even bought it in the first place!?!

I know we've really been showcasing The ching chou-kuik line from Sweet Pea Stamps this month here at The Dare, but she has lots of other lines as well, including this artistic, elegant line and a really cute line called Gum Drop Gang!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

That's it for me today! Be sure to keep scrolling for my Cuttlebug Challenge card below!

*I may be able to enter this in Flutter By Wednesday too - I miss creating with those girls every week!

Be Inspired

2010-05-19T07:30:00.010-05:00

Good morning girls! I hope ya'll are having a wonderful day! I certainly am! I have a little bit of spending money and decided that I was going to pick up a set or two from Flourishes. I've been admiring their line for well over a year now. And God has just blessed me, let me tell ya! They have a weekly challenge and my sweet DT sister Linda pointed out that my Sugar Creek Hollow card fit their challenge. And I was the random winner this week. So I think I'll be able to get 3 sets -- or maybe just 2 and something else. Either way, I've already started shopping and trying to make up my mind (which we'll talk more about on Friday)!
Thank you so much Flourishes!!

ON a side note, I'm getting distracted by the TV; Food Network is showing Chopped and they were given Black Eyed Peas. Now, I'm a southern girl so I like Black Eyed Peas. I have fond memories of my grandmother cooking them for New Years and they tasted sooo good. The men in my household were less than thrilled. Didn't help that they didn't taste as good as my grandmother's!

The designers at Cuttlebug Challenge were asked to create something with pictures this week. My little man brought home a picture paperweight as a Mothers Day gift that he made in Sunday School. I decided to gussy it up a bit, as one might say here in Texas!

I just punched a border, embossed it and adhered it with Red Liner Tape. A bit of ribbon and flower to add a little pretty without being too girly. I wanted to add some magnets to the back so I could hang it on my fridge but I can't find my good magnets. But I'll do that soon.

Oh how I love this boy! He has a hard time staying still for a picture and I just see him, captured here mid-sentence for all time.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I really appreciate each of you that do and your sweet comments too! Take a moment to visit the Cuttlebug Challenge blog and see what the other girls have come up with today! They are the BEST and every week just amaze me!

Fabulous Friday: Vintage Cowboy

2010-05-14T05:40:00.041-05:00

Good morning girls! It's Fabulous Friday with Sugar Creek Hollow again! This week the girls and I were challenged with COLOR! Joseline, our super sweet and encouraging DT leader, gave us a combo of Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky.

Oh. My. Woooord.

Love these colors together!

Seriously regretting my decision a few years ago to get rid of my "old" in-color inks. I had Blue Bayou once upon a time - no paper or anything left. Is it one of the colors coming back?

Nancy so kindly clued me in that Blue Bayou was similar to a denim color. Being a Texas girl, denim and cowboys go hand in hand so this was a perfect time to use the new set: Rootin' Tootin' Father's Day.
I knew that I had some vintage paper that looked like patchworked pieces of denim and dug that out. I distressed all the edges for this week's Ways to Use it challenge and also added some chocolate chip ink on the edges too. The cowboy image was a vintage image I found online and printed out on Kraft cardstock. A little string to add some interest....not too much since this is a manly card. Oh - one other thing. I used this week's sketch challenge too from SCS. I know the top layer she said couldn't be a circle since she wanted the "tilt" to remain....but I'm squeaking it in since I did "tilt" my badge.

Friday brings a Free Image at Sugar Creek Hollow - you can visit the link here to grab them. I know that Tracy and her family are on vacation. A vacation that she planned to intentionally be "un-plugged" so I'm not sure if it will be a new image or not. (ETA: There is a beautiful hummingbird up today!) I know it involved sun and water and so I can completely understand why she wants to just soak up beautiful nature from God and her family. But you better check just to make sure! Right?

I'm also linking this card up for Texas Tuesdays - even though it's Friday. Being a Texas girl and loving all things Texas, I HAVE to participate! Really great projects so I hope you'll take a moment and check them out! And for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday to use a photo.

And be sure to visit the other Sugar Creek Hollow designers to see their take on the color challenge!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

May Guest Designer
Bernadette

A Color Book with Texture

2010-05-12T07:30:00.015-05:00

Happy Wonderful Wednesday girls! Be sure to scroll down for my Diedrich Dare card today too!

Up first is my Cuttlebug Challenge project for today. This week we were to supposed to make something with the kids in mind! I thought and thought and was coming up blank. And then I woke up early one morning and as I was dozing, hoping to go back to sleep, an idea came to me. I'm really, really happy with how it came out. And it was came together QUICK!

Here's a look at each page in case you are interested.

I assembly-lined each step as much as I could. Cut the Kraft bases. Then cut the circles using my Cuttlebug and a Spellbinders die. Then embossed them all. Adhered and stamped the names. Attached the eyelets. Doing it that way made it much quicker than doing one page at a time.

I do think this would be a neat gift for a new mom or a 1st birthday present. I can absolutely see myself making some more of them, adding different themes as well. I do think in the future I will laminate them before adding the eyelets so that a little one could knaw on it without paper disintegrating --- ewww! We all know that it only takes a second with your back turned for them to do something like that!

Be sure to swing by the Cuttlebug Challenge and see what the other girls came up with!

Here are the embossing folders that I used:
Swiss Dots, Houndstooth, Argyle, Swirls, Spots & Dots, Owl Flourish, Perfectly Paisley, Allegro, Snowflakes, Oriental Weave, Heart Blocks

And don't forget to scroll down for my Diedrich Dare card today!

The Diedrach Dare: Another Sweet Pea Creation

2010-05-12T07:28:00.006-05:00

Good morning girls! This is my first post today - I hope you'll take a look at my Cuttlebug Challenge project as well!

Sweet Pea Stamps is our sponsor this month and I have a card using another of the Ching-Chou Kuik images for you today! And sweet Kyah drew up our sketch for this week! You can totally tell that she makes cards along with her mom!

I used the Dance of the Butterfly image for my card today. I thought for sure I wanted to use the Swirls embossing folder on the circle portion so I chose one of the mermaid images. The main panel is from my local stamp club. One of the girls (hi Marilyn!) showed us how to make these panels with crayons and an iron. I have done the technique where you melt crayons on wax paper but this was different - more like using encaustic wax. SO FUN! SO VERY COOL!

And totally terrific for an image like this when you don't want to color! I love it, love it, love it! I was talking to Heather (hey girl!) on the phone while I was putting this together and adhered the circle to the blue without embossing. So I just embossed all of it and popped it up like I meant for it to be that way!

I've got to wrap this up! Be sure to visit the rest of the DareDevils and see what they created using the sketch this week!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

Jam Jar

2010-05-11T11:19:00.000-05:00

Good morning girls! I wanted to show you a card I made last week using one of the new releases from Sugar Creek Hollow! This is such a fun set and I hope you've seen what the other designers have done with it - truly fabulous!

I found this cheery paper in my stash and it just reminded me of the patterns from the 40's and 50's. Kinda retro and kinda modern at the same time! I paper pieced the lid, colored the bow with a white gel pen and added it to my jar. Kept the vintage vibe going by mounting it on a doily and then added the polka dot flower and gingham ribbon some modern flair! I LOVE polka dots and gingham!

Visit Sugar Creek Hollow and see all the new releases Here!

I'll see you tomorrow - I have a project for the Cuttlebug Challenge that I am so excited about and can't wait to show you. Plus it's another DareDevil sketch day too!

Another Vintage Giveaway

2010-05-08T06:26:00.001-05:00

I know some of you love vintage as much as I do and I discovered a new blog today. She is having a plethora of vintage giveaways! Just gorgeous, GorgeouS stuff! Go check them all out here!!

Fabulous Friday: Another Mother's Day Card

2010-05-07T05:47:00.002-05:00

Good morning girls! It's Friday!!! And that means so many fabulous things doesn't it?
1. Free image over at Sugar Creek Hollow on the blog.
2. And the store is now located on it's on website here's the NEW LINK to the store - Tracy just released the new images for May. You've got to see all the creations from the team today and then head to the store. The sets are perfect for Father's Day and Summer and Graduation. So many uses for them. I have what seems like a thousand ideas in my head for these sets. Now to just get them to fruition!!
3. The weekend is upon us! My sister and her husband will be coming to town for Mother's Day and her birthday so I'm really, really excited about getting to spend some time with the family! You? Big plans?
4. It's the Mother's Day Carnival over at Craft Critique!

Today the designers have created an easel card for Mother's Day. I chose to use one of the images from Summer Picnic and a play on words to create this card today.

I have been on such a red and black kick lately huh? Hope you are liking it as much as me! I used Prismacolor Pencils and baby oil to color the rind on my watermelon and then pieced the red dotted paper over it. This card has two of my favorite things: polka dots and gingham!! Can't get enough of it!! I kept the layout simple and matted the watermelon on some white cardstock that I embossed using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I love this clean and crisp and simple look!

The sentiment was computer generated and then cut out and matted for the inside. I popped it up on dimensionals just a bit so that it would help hold the card up when it's in the easel formation.

Go see what the rest of the designers have created today. I know Linda and Kelly aren't posting a card today but there is still plenty of beauty out there to see!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

May Guest Designer

Bernadette

Don't forget that the Sugar Creek Hollow blog is still intact. That's where you want to go and grab your free image on Fabulous Friday and where you'll find lots of inspiration cards from the designers. The store is now located on it's on site - Sugar Creek Hollow. You'll find single images and lots of sets too - a real bargain for the number of images you get for around $5! And Tracy has added hand-dyed crinkle ribbon as well!

Be sure to visit Craft Critique for the Mother's Day Carnival too - lots of wonderful projects and inspiration. I am looking forward to finding lots of new fabulous blogs to add to my reader!

Thanks sooooo much for stopping by today. Your visit is greatly appreciated and I love your comments - they always make me smile!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired: Mothers Day Card

2010-05-05T07:30:00.003-05:00

Note: 2nd post today: Scroll down for my Diedrich Dare card!
Hello girls! I hope you are enjoying a great Wednesday morning. It's been so pretty around here the last week. A bit windy, but that's pretty much the norm here in the Texas Panhandle so I don't really think about it much. I've been enjoying the fact that some of my iris' actually sent out blooms this year. I have several that put out the leaf part, but not the bloom. They are HUGE too! Loving that. Although trying to explain the whole "bloom" process to a 3 year old has been a challenge. We are definitely in that "why" stage* and this mommy just doesn't have an answer most of the time! So my standard answer has become: "Well, buddy, I don't know. That's just the way God made it". *He doesn't actually ask just "why" though; it's always a more complete sentence or "what's _(insert any and every word you can think of here)_ mean?"

It's been several weeks since I've had a Cuttlebug Challenge project to share. So I'm VERY HAPPY to be participating this week! We were to create something for Mother's Day - anything goes - so I just made a card. And a blast doing it. I used my Cuttlebug this week for it's original purpose - to die cut! No embossing on this card. Crazy!!

As I was sitting at my desk, thinking of what to create, I knew that I wanted to make a flower of some sort and I wanted to use one of the free images from Sugar Creek Hollow last Friday. I noticed some crepe paper and doilies on one of my shelves and decided to use those too. That heart doily is 6" across so this card is BIG!! The only 12x12 cardstock I could find was a grey scrap - so I paired it with some black velvet flocked paper to work with the red.

The flower was sooo easy to create. I used my cuttlebug and one of the bonus dies from an alphabet set to cut out 12 small scalloped circles. I was able to cut 4 layers at a time - probably could've done even more layers. The big flower has 8 of the circles, stacked together. Then a brad in the middle and some scrunching up! The crepe paper is so thin that it scrunches easily! The little flower is just 4 circles, and I scrunched them much more as I wanted it to look like a bud, just starting to bloom. I finished it off with some gems and glitter Mom stickers!

Here's the inside of my card. I used some scraps along with the free Mother's Day Sentiment that Tracy posted on Friday at Sugar Creek Hollow. There is also a round image that I think would make a cute "envelope seal". Be sure to grab them by Thursday if you haven't already. You can view the store here too!

I hope you'll swing by the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to see all the other fabulous creations. They ladies on that team always create the most beautiful projects! And there's ALWAYS a contest of some sort going on to win great prizes!!

And be sure to scroll down for this week's Diedrich Dare challenge!

The Diedrich Dare: Sweet Pea Pirate

2010-05-05T07:28:00.001-05:00

Hello girls! Today is the first Whimsical Wednesday: Diedrich Dare challenge for the month of May!!! There are soooo many exciting things going on right now for the dare! First, our challenge for the month of May -

Are you squealing too? If not, you will be when I tell you that Lynette has graciously and generously donated a $20 gift certificate to her store for one lucky participant this week! I know huh?!!?

Sweet Pea Stamps range anywhere from whimsical to artistic. They are made of hiqh quality, unmounted red rubber. They have an amazing collection of images from three talented fantasy artists: Ching-Chou
Kuik, Elaine Cox, and Lisa Victoria. If you would like to see more samples, please check out the Sweet Pea Stamps blog.

I also want to add that Lynette is a wonderful owner. I ordered some stamps from her and had an issue and she was so quick to fix it! Above and beyond customer service so I'm really happy to recommend her and her stamps to you!

Okay, the other exciting thing going on in May is that The Diedrich Dare is welcoming not one but FOUR guest sketch artists! It's gonna be a great month! This week Kaitlyn has drawn a wonderful sketch for us. Her mom is fellow DareDevil Andrea.

Isn't that the cutest?!?! She did want to add that your image doesn't have to be a girl and the ribbon doesn't have to be polka dotted. Kids totally get the whole "not limiting creativity" thing don't they?

Lynette was so generous and sent the team some stamps to play with - thank you so much Lynette! I used Ching-chou kuik's Caribbean Treasure image** (which I noticed is on sale right now) for my card today. My pirate girl has a little sassy girly-ness that shines through despite being on a pirate boat.

This is the first image I've colored from the Ching-chou kuik line and I think I goofed on a few bits, but don't look at those, okay? Check out the stickles I added to her tail fin instead!!! LOL!!!!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! I know I can't wait to see their creations this week!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

**You can find this image HERE - all the way at the bottom of the page.
And be sure to check out my Cuttlebug Challenge card for today too - it's in the post above!

Fabulous Friday: You are a Woman of Beautiful Countenance

2010-04-30T00:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday girls! By the time you read this, I'll be enjoying some time with a few dear friends that are coming over in the morning with their little ones for a playdate! I'm so excited to get to spend time with them as they are lovely women who I cherish so dearly!

This week the designers from Sugar Creek Hollow are sharing a Mother's Day Card with you. It'll be here before you know it! I used the Mirror image along with one of the Cameo ladies from the Cameo set released in April to create my focal image. I simply spent some time selecting the woman image and transferring her to a transparent background and layered her over my mirror image. I did have to erase a bit of her collar to fit --- much like "masking" if this was a card made using traditional methods. Then I used the text tool to add my sentiment. It's based on Genesis 12:11. I thought it was perfect for the recipient of my card! Her beautiful smile always brings me joy!

Please take a moment and visit the rest of the Sugar Creek Hollow designers for their creations. I've seen some peeks and they are so lovely! You'll be happy you took the time! Be sure to visit Martha (linked below), our April guest designer with well-wishes. I also want to welcome Bernadette, our May guest designer (also linked below). Please go see her!! She is very new to blogging but not to creating! Her cards are so pretty and she is a lovely person as well! So go leave her some blog love. And then leave everyone else some love too!!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

April Guest Designer
Martha
May Guest Designer
Bernadette

Don't forget to visit the store blog! There is a free image today and you HAVE to see Tracy's card using it! AH! Sooo gorgeous! And keep checking back as there is a new release just around the corner!

The Diedrich Dare: Spring Fever!

2010-04-28T01:47:00.000-05:00

Hello girls! It's so good to see you! For this week's Diedrich Dare challenge, Madelynn challenged us to create a spring card!

The Greeting Farm has been our super wonderful, so generous sponsor this month. I can't remember if Nurse Anya was my first or second Anya but she's absolutely a favorite! As I was thinking about this challenge, the concept of spring fever came to mind. I taught high school for 11 years. And I know Jessica recently posted a card she made for Madelynn on her blog wishing her luck with the state tests. Those are happening *this* week here in Texas and I remember how spring fever set in after they were over. It was like you could heave a big sigh of relief. And with the warmer weather, my kids would came alive and beg to have class outside. So that was my inspiration for today!

I had a lot of fun paper piecing Nurse Anya's "scrubs". Isn't it so fun to see all the bright and happy patterns that nurses wear? At least the pediatric nurses which are the ones I have the most interaction with these days!
I'm really happy with my coloring on this card. I watercolored her and was channeling DareDevil Alumni Sandra the whole time! I even got some pink cheeks on her that look halfway decent! I hate to toot my own horn, but this is definitely a skill that has to be developed so I feel like I made a big leap here!

And here's the inside:

So - how will spring inspire you today? Create a spring card of your own and link it up over at the Dare blog! Be sure to visit the rest of the DareDevils too and see their spring cards!

Kris is the featured team member this week and her card is so stinkin' adorable!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

Fabulous Friday: Barn Swallow Card

2010-04-23T12:10:00.000-05:00

Hi girls! It's another Fabulous Friday - here at home and certainly over at Sugar Creek Hollow! Part of the fun is a free digital image that Tracy posts each week. This weeks is a really cute image perfect for summer! Be sure to go over and pick it up!

I have used the sketch for tomorrow for today's card --- and I have to say that I went a little overboard on this card. It's also one of my favorite cards ever! I really love how it turned out!

Yep - look at all those rhinestones. And I edged my flower in stickles. And some rhinestone swirls. And lace. And flowers - TWO of them!

I used the Barn Swallow image from Sugar Creek Hollow, one of my favorite images. I flipped it in Photoshop before printing it out so that my little birdie was facing the direction I wanted for my card.

Before I sat down to create this card, I went to the Daily Dare and decided to see if I could find any other challenges that I could incorporate into my card. I had a basic idea of what I was going to use. I found an old hymnal at a thrift store earlier in the week and knew that would factor in. As I explored each challenge, my card began to take shape --- and amazingly, I actually remembered each little thought that I had!!!!

Another look at my card -- this one all fancied up with a background and stuff. Which do you prefer, a blank background or the "styled" background?

Okay, here are all the challenges that I incorporated into my card!
Sugar Creek Hollow - sketch - it will post tomorrow on the store blog, but you can get a jump start today!

SCS Ways to Use It: Mixing Patterns
SCS Free for All: Take a Vacation - for the last few summers, my family has gone to the mountains. I love the peace and quiet. I love the less hurried pace. I LOVE waking up in the morning to a cool, crisp morning and hearing the birds sing. Watching the through the mountains....hence the hymn I chose - Behold the Dawn.
Something Completely Different: H - I knew I was going to use a humn in my sketch - that counts, right?
Dare U 2 Digi: Use Flowers
Clearly iStamp: Use ribbon - I used lace, that's the same, right?
S2G - Use flowers
The ABC Challenge: S is for Sparkle - I don't know if you can see in the photo, but the paper I pieced my bird on -- has a shimmer to it. It's really cool! It's from a GCD stack I got at Hobby Lobby.
The Belli Challenge: Use Die Cuts - my little branch for my birdie. I trimmed him off the branch he's drawn on and mounted him to this instead.
Fab 'n Funky: Get it All Out - use a guilty stash item. The stickpin is mine. It's a Making Memories that I bought forever and ever ago. It's one of those things that I find hard to use --- because then what if I don't have it in the future? Crazy, huh? I did add a little rhinestone to it as well.
Little Red Wagon: Ruffles -- this is the first time I've done this I think. Wow. That took some time! Worth it though, don't you think!?!
The Pixie Cottage: Make a card for Mother's Day or a Special Lady
Stampotique: Make a girly girl card. It's not pink but I think it's pretty girly!
Tellen's Place: Ink Distressing I did quite a bit of that on this one. The gingham in the background was black and white - I just smeared it with Antique Linen ink. Inked the edges of the decorative left panel and the hymn block. The gingham flower was also white and I inked it with a copic marker to darken it so it would match.
Wild Flower Patch - use paper piecing. Can you resist a polka dot bird? I sure can't!

Thanks so much for stopping by today ladies! I just love seeing that you swing by for a look-see. Don't foget to head over to Sugar Creek Hollow and pick up today's free image (click on the Fabulous Friday tag on the left). You can also shop for lots of digital images, including my barn swallow from today. For just a few dollars**, you can have instant gratification. We'd love to see you join in the sketch challenge too!
**Did you know that Sugar Creek Hollow funds a ministry at Tracy's church that feeds the hungry in her community? That's pretty cool in my opinion!

You should also go see what the other designers have for you today!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly

April Guest Designer
Martha

Girlfriends share all the good stuff!

2010-04-22T23:42:00.000-05:00

Hey girls!

Oh my gosh --- I just came across the sweetest little blog candy offering. I HAD to sign up! Had to! I really want you to go see it also --- if you love shabby, vintage then you'll love it as much as me I'm sure!

GO HERE!!!!

Jen is just opening her vintage store Vintage Distractions and the candy is in celebration of her opening!

Bee-uatiful Color Combo

2010-04-21T01:09:00.001-05:00

Hi girls! Time for another Diedrich Dare on this Whimsical Wednesday! This week we have a color challenge. These always stretch me outside of my comfort zone. I really think this is a great combo and hope that you'll join in with us this week! Be sure to link up your card over at the Dare blog!

I used the Bee Tile from Sugar Creek Hollow that was the free image this past week. This is one of my favorite images from SCH. I love the collage look and this is already done for me! Got to love that! I used this week's sketch from SCS for the layout.

I added a little color to the flowers and vine with some colored pencils. The bumblebee body was colored with a Dove blender and Pearl Ex and the wings were painted with Radiant Pearls. It's very sparkly in real life - perhaps you can get an idea from this next photo:

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton

Another Sketch Saturday by Sugar Creek Hollow

2010-04-17T01:00:00.002-05:00

Have you seen the sketches Tracy is putting out over at Sugar Creek Hollow? They are wonderful for layering and embellishements galore. We'd love to have you play along! Here is this week's sketch; upload a link to your creation using the sketch over at the store blog!

I used the apron and one of the sentiments from Mama's Apron Strings, a set from the latest release. This apron was made for paper piecing! I thought it would look really neat to have the retro design made up using modern papers. This is such a fun image to use to celebrate Mother's Day!

You can find this set along with all the others from this release HERE under the New Releases. Make sure to click on the Fabulous Fridays tab too for the free digi images!

Vintage Baby Dress

2010-04-16T03:07:00.000-05:00

Hello girls! Did you survive the week? I did get our taxes done and the extra time and effort really paid off. But I am glad that it's over!
Today is Friday and that means it's Fabulous Friday at Sugar Creek Hollow. One reason they are Fabulous is because Tracy gives away a free image on Fridays. Sometimes two - like today! So be sure to head over and grab them. I know one is making an encore because so many missed it the first time. And you can also pick up this sweet little dress for free today too.

Please visit the rest of the designers from Sugar Creek Hollow to see what they are sharing today. Today is the last day to enter your card for this week's sketch. There will be a new one up tomorrow, Saturday, April 17th.

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly
April Guest Designer
Martha

Spring Doorway

2010-04-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning girls! Spring is my favorite season. I love the warm/cool temperatures and the way the plants come back to life. The Diedrich Dare has another great sketch this week to play along with. I love how basic and simple it is. Love all the layers although I think I eliminated one or two.

I used a little bit of flower soft on the flowers in the basket. Someone sent me some ages ago and a gal used it last night at stamp club. Her projects were just gorgeous and so I decided to use an image that would work with the mix that I had.

I'm sorry this is up later in the morning. I was embossing my green layer when my little man woke up not exactly screaming, but crying so very hard. I'm still not sure if it was a bad dream or his tummy hurting. Regardless, he launched himself into my arms and asked to go to my bed. I added my favorite script stamp to the base for more dimension/texture/interest and assembled it this morning. Hope ya'll have a wonderful day!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Ask, Seek, Knock

2010-04-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a card I made using one of the newest releases from Sugar Creek Hollow.

I love the way Tracy laid out this verse from Matthew. And the door image is just wonderful too. Be sure to go see the rest of the images that come in the set!

A little Note from Cassie - via friend Heather

2010-04-07T10:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

This is Cassies friend Heather here she called me this morning from her Mother In Law's House and is having Computer issues she can not get into her computer files or on the Internet.

She just wanted me to pop on and let you all know she will be posting her creations when she gets back home tonight and can connect to the Internet again!!!!

Drive Safe Cassie Girl!!!

Heather

Thanks Heather! I didn't have a chance to complete a card using traditional methods before leaving town for a bit so I opted to create a digital card for this week's Dare challenge. This week is an inspiration challenge using the photo below. I loved the pink and brown with all the white. My card doesn't have white like I would've used if I'd used traditional methods but I'm still learning so much about Photoshop.

The Greeting Farm is sponsoring the Diedrich Dare this month and I used one of the Ebony digi stamps. The sketch is from this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers and all the digi papers are from Summertime Designs.

Thanks for looking! I hope you've been by to see the rest of the Daredevils to see how they were inspired by the photo!

Sugar Creek Hollow Blog Hop

2010-04-02T02:04:00.001-05:00

Hello girls! Today is a brand new day at Sugar Creek Hollow. We have some exciting news, new digis and a blog hop game to play today. And don't forget to pick up this week's free digi image. Oh my goodness girls it is SPECTACULAR!
First up, we want to welcome Martha from Creating Is Fun as our April Guest Designer. We also want to share that Kelly our March GD from Sandcastle Stamper has joined the SCH family as a full time designer. Please help me welcome these talented ladies to the team!

Now it's time to play and have some fun!!! Today is new release day. And Tracy is providing the sweetest prize pictured below along with 2 digi images from the store.

To win, you need to play along in our game! Start HERE at Stephanie's blog if you haven't already.
Each designer has a secret letter hidden on their blog. Leave a comment on each blog with their letter.
Put all the letters together (in order) and you'll have the secret word. (My letter is L)
Once you have found the secret word, post the entire word on the Sugar Creek Hollow website.

I used the frame from the Cameo Ladies set and layered one of the sentiments from Mama's Apron Strings set to create a card for my mom for mother's day. She mentioned the other day that she loved blue and yellow together so that inspired my color combo. The papers are Anna Griffin and I've distressed the edges with Old Paper and Tea Dye ink. Some ribbon, pearls and flowers finish it off.

We were given the option of sharing our favorite verse and for the last several months mine has been Jeremiah 29:13-14a

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity;"

Click the button below to visit the next blog on the list! And in case that doesn't work, click HERE!

Kindness

2010-03-31T07:30:00.002-05:00

Hello girls! Are you having a terrific day?! Since it's Wednesday, there are a handful of challenges I am highlighting today.

Cuttlebug Challenge - Popups
The Diedrich Dare - sketch by Jack below
~~Flutterby Wednesday~~ - use blue,green, white - oops! I did use butterflies, but the wrong colors! If you play along, be sure to link your direct blog POST. Danni's trying a new link system this week too.

I love this sketch and took some liberty to simplify it a little by eliminating a layer and using the fruits at the bottom of my image for the row of buttons in the sketch.

Pretty simple construction. I used some Coredinations cardstock for the coral layer and just distressed the edges. And that ribbon. Oh it's sooooo luxorious. It's the nicest ribbon I've ever owned. My fellow Daredevil Rebecca ordered some months and months ago; I shared some of the yardage with her of some skinnier ribbon and just a little of this. It's so nice I've been hoarding it but finally convinced myself to just use it. There is always more to get should i need it, right?

And then the popup on the inside is using the spiral popup method. This is the first popup I've created using this method. I left it off to the side so there would be plenty of room to write a message.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! We have a new Daredevil this week - please be sure to visit Krista Vantol and welcome her to the team!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Krista Vantol ♥ Randi Wall ♥

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

And be sure to visit the Cuttlebug Challenge blog too to see all the inspiration over there as well.

I hope you'll play along with us this week!

He is Risen!

2010-03-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

Good morning girls! I'm so glad you stopped by today. I am very excited about the card I have to share today and have a lot to say about it (for a change) so make sure you have your coffee and settle in for a chat!

This week the designers at Sugar Creek Hollow are creating Easter cards, using the sketch below.

I wanted to use the eggs image that was last week's free image and started doing some research on the symbolism of Easter eggs. I learned that originally, the eggs were dyed red to symbolize the blood of Jesus and I immediately thought it would be neat to make red eggs. I also saw a photo of the (Ukranian?) eggs that are decorated with wax before being dyed to reveal the pattern. This is an easy thing to recreate on paper using the wax resist technique.

My final color combo of red, black and white was inspired by a bag of jelly beans that my little man brought home from MDO earlier in the week. Each color symbolized something and I was thinking of the black symbolizing our sins and the white symbolizing how the blood Christ shed cleanses us. The greatest sacrifice of all. I hope that you experienced Jesus' love and His sacrifice for you.

Other than that, lots of layers and embellishments. This card is also larger than normal - about 5 x 6 1/2.

A couple of reminders for Sugar Creek Hollow - today is Friday so be sure to go grab this week's free image - it's just wonderful for spring! There is a bit of time left to enter this week's Sensational Saturday Sketch challenge. And a new sketch posted tomorrow that I hope you'll create with as well. Be sure to link your cards up so we can see them! New Releases coming up and a blog hop too! Lots of excitement - hope to see you there! There is a great tutorial on creating vintage style cards over at the store blog too if you've been wondering how to "vintage-ize" your card be sure to take a peek - Linda did a terrific job with it!
Be sure to see what the other designers have done with this sketch. I've been able to have a sneak peek and you will not be disappointed!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly
April Guest Designer
Martha

I am also entering this card in a few other challenges today!
Of course, it fits the Cuttlebug Challenge for this week
Sew Many Challenges - use punches
Stampin for the Weekend - Easter
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Easter
Cute Card Thursday - Dimension
I Love Digi - Easter
PaperPlay - Easter
ABC Challenge - Q is for Quote
Stamp with Fun - Easter
PaperCutz - Easter

Cuttlebug Be Inspired 76: Easter Dresses

2010-03-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

Hello again girls. This week's theme for the Cuttlebug Challenge is all about Easter. I remember being a little girl and the easter dresses my mom would sew for me. Dresses that were pretty, pastel, and definitely designed for warm weather. Easter Sunday ends up being chilly here half the time! But that never deterred me from wearing that new dress.

I can just imagine this little girl in her new Easter dress, waiting for the egg hunt to begin. I mentioned in the post below that I wanted to use this week's DareDevil sketch in a new way --- and this is it. Completely different take on the layers and all and I love it! Be sure to scroll down to see that post as well, okay!?! And since I added a butterfly at the last moment, I can use this for Flutter By Wednesday as well!

My card uses some cardstock from the Coredinations White Wash line. Such a fun paper - I love how soft and muted the color is with the white wash finish over it. We have a new official glue sponsor for the Cuttlebug Challenge - Beacon Adhesives. One of their products is Zip Dry and I used that on my card today. One thing I've had issues with in the past is getting layers to adhere to my card when I emboss the base (or layer below it) like I did on today's card. My Tombow tape runner just doesn't seem to get a strong bond. But the Zip Dry did the trick today. It's a great glue for paper crafting as it dries without wrinkling - one of the biggest issues with using liquid glues with paper. I remember using it a few years ago in a Karen Russell class but then forgor about it until now.

Head over to the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to see the rest of the designers creations. Be sure to upload a link to your creation so we can see how you intepret the theme!

The Diedrich Dare: Polka Dots and Puppy Dogs

2010-03-24T08:06:00.001-05:00

Hi girls! Could anything be cuter than polka dots and puppy dogs? This image is my favorite from The Character Cafe, our sponsor for this month. This week's sketch for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare is a great, simple layout by Jack.

I always seem to look at sketches one way -- and then after I've finished the sketch I see it another way. I can't wait to see how the other girls interpreted this one. And I hope to use this sketch again in a different way real soon too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Take a moment to go see the rest of the team and see their creations today.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross

Kris Palakiko ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Fabulous Friday: Stitching

2010-03-19T01:46:00.000-05:00

Good morning girls! I hope this Friday finds you well and blessed. It should be a beautiful spring day here --- right before we get hit with cold and snow tomorrow. I hope that the forecast doesn't hold and our garage sale is a big hit.

This week the Sugar Creek Hollow team was asked to create something using stitching - either real or faux. I have still got some limited access to my stamp desk so I decided to create a digital card for this week's challenge. Our women's bible study at church is studying Revelation with Beth Moore and we were asked to memorize a verse for the study - going so far as to make a card that we could carry and use for that purpose. I'll have this printed off on photo paper and can use it to help commit this verse to memory.

I used the Truth digital kit from Summertime Designs for my base paper and little lace accent. It was a free kit and is just lovely! I think I'll use it several times. And there's nothing that says digi images are only for printing and using in a traditional method.

The verse is framed with an image from Sugar Creek Hollow that Tracy gave to the design team as a little gift. There are several frames similar to this available in the store and they are wonderful for framing a verse, sentiment or another image. I converted the image to white so that it would really stand out on the blue background. And I added faux stitching to the edges as a final touch.

Take a moment and see what the rest of the designers have created for this week's challenge. Starting next week, Sugar Creek Hollow will be bringing you a sketch challenge every Saturday.

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥ Kelly (who is joining the team full-time)

April Guest Designer
Martha

Update

2010-03-17T11:28:00.001-05:00

Good morning girls! Hope you are having a beautiful Wednesday wherever you are!
I wanted to pop on real quick and let you know that there are a few challenges today you should check out!
The Diedrich Dare - a really cute sketch which will pair perfectly with the Cuttlebug Challenge. And of course, Wednesday wouldn't be complete without Flutter By Wednesday - this week's theme is green - and Paper Makeup Stamps has a terrific prize as the sponsor so be sure to check it out.

Also, Sugar Creek Hollow will be starting a sketch challenge this Saturday so keep that in mind and come back and play along with us then!

Perhaps I'll be back with some creations later today. We have been getting ready for a garage sale around here for this Saturday and it's taken up all my energy. Plus my stamp desk is a mess as things get found in one part of the house and dumped there to be put away later. My desk is NOT one of the perfectly neat ones by any stretch of the imagination, but there does come a point when there is too much and I can't even focus. And it's crossed that line.

Hubby pulled down some more stuff from the attic so I'm off to sort through that stuff. Have a beautiful day!

Fabulous Friday: Buttons

2010-03-12T17:40:00.000-06:00

Hello girls! I'm sorry that this is going up so late in the day. I honestly can not seem to get my act together this week. It's so bad. On a good note though, we are almost ready for a big garage sale we are doing with my sis and I cleaned out the office which I know has made my husband happy.

This week the Sugar Creek Hollow challenge is all about buttons! I chose one of my favorite images, the victorian styled shoes for this card, printed on some kraft packing tape. I crumpled the image and the patterned paper as well as distressed the edges. I added some gold embossing powder to the edges of my image panel and also sprinkled some directly on the image. Love that look! What do you think of it? Do you like it or do you think it looks hokey? The buttons are from a stash I picked up years ago in an antique store.

Spend some time visiting the rest of the team and see how they incorporated buttons into today's creation! Also, there is a really cute Easter set up at the store - 3 really cute images for only $5 and today's Friday Freebie is 3 sentiments to coordinate with them. So stop by the store today!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly
April Guest Designer
Martha

Fabulous Friday: A Color Challenge

2010-03-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday girls!

Besides Friday being the kickoff to the weekend, they are also the day that the Sugar Creek Hollow designers all post creations for you! I tell ya, these girls are A-Mazing! I want you to be sure to visit the store blog - there is a new design and it's oh, so Fabulous! Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see some honors that have been bestowed on two of the designers. Congrats ladies! While you are there - be sure to click on the Friday Freebie button (left column) and grab these week's free images - yes, there are two!!

Before you dash off, let me show you my card. This week Joseline (our Magnificent DT Coordinator - congrats to you, sweet girl, on your new ministry position!) gave us a color challenge. When there is more than 2 colors, I have to map these out on paper otherwise I forget to use all the colors! I'd love to see what you can create with these colors too!

And yes, two of the colors are In Colors from last year; they are some of Joseline's favorites. And I have to agree. Baja Breeze is one of my most favorite blues of all time. I'm wishin' and hopin' that Stampin Up will bring it back somehow.

Editing my photo I wasn't too sure about the layout of the colors....thinking I might be happier if the pink border and red base were switched. But I'm not going to worry about it. The focus is really the verse and I hope it will be a wonderful reminder of how close God is to us via His word to a dear friend of mine that is going through a rough patch.

You won't want to miss the other designers take on this color challenge - trust me!!! They did outstanding work as always!!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly

Cuttlebug Be Inspired 73: Embossing

2010-03-03T07:00:00.001-06:00

Hello girls! I am so super excited to share this card with you today. This week our theme is embossing - use the cracked glass, faux metal, etc techniques in your project!

I love cracked glass - it's such a neat effect! And so that's what I used today! Check it out! Here's what I used on today's card:

I love those embossing powders - they are not a solid color and so the effect is really dimensional!

And here's some alternate shots:

Be sure to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge blog, your source for teaching and inspiration in addition to challenges, to see what the other designers came up with! Be sure to link up your creation incorporating wet embossing in Mr Linky over there!

A New Creation

2010-03-01T06:41:00.003-06:00

I wanted to take a moment and share my Cuttlebug project from last week with you. The Cuttlebug Challenge blog is much more than just a challenge blog - it's a teaching and inspiration blog too!

We were challenged to create a wall hanging and as I was thinking about what to create, the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 came to mind: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" And I thought of butterflies, who undergo a complete transformation in their lifetime. And how God is transforming me every day. Our family is certainly facing some trials right now and it's easy to get discouraged. But then I remember that He is guiding my path and I should trust Him. So I made a simple wall plaque to remind me that though I face failures, they are not the end of the world. That I am a new creation in Christ.

What do you think of that lime green swirl? It's some packing tape I picked up in the dollar section at Michaels. Very cool stuff. I adhered it to some white cardstock since my base was embossed. I love that shade of green paired with that deep red!

Thanks for stopping by!

Faith Hope and Love

2010-02-28T23:40:00.003-06:00

It's Grand Opening at Sugar Creek Hollow!!!! I am so excited to be part of the celebration and Design Team!! They are the neatest bunch of women, full of encouragement and love for the Lord!

We are kicking off the Grand Opening with a Grand Celebration!!! For today only, we are offering a free digi for for EVERY $10 spent. Spend $10 you get one free digi, spent $20 you get 2 free digis, spent $30...well you know the rest!

All of the proceeds made at Sugar Creek Hollow today will go to Tracy's (the owner) church at Tree of Life Ministries to help stock our food pantry which feed our homeless and under employed. There are many children in this city that would go to bed hungry without this service. We GIVE AWAY over 10,000 loaves of bread and serve over 300 families with food boxes/hot meals per week. Please help her, help them. It is such a privilege to be involved in this endeavor! Thanks so much Tracy!

The Design Team has created a card for you to see these beautiful digis in use. Here's my card.

Since these images are digi stamps, it's very easy to lay out several of them, perfectly lined up. I was also able to easily add the text inside each heart.
Now go visit the rest of the DT to see their beautiful cards. Then, go to Sugar Creek Hollow's website to purchase your favorite digis!!

I added some red embossing powder along the edges and then the red crepe paper frame. At this point, my card took a different turn, I have to admit it. It ended up being much bigger than I had intended.

I couldn't find a single sheet of 12 x 12 black cardstock so I decided to make an easel card instead.

I wanted to use this for an anniversary card. My husband and I will be celebrating 10 years in March so I decided the ruffle was enough - I didn't want it to be too girly!

Now go visit the rest of the DT to see their beautiful cards. Then, go to Sugar Creek Hollow's website to purchase your favorite digis!! If you aren't already a follower, be sure to sign up at the blog - one lucky follower will win a $50 gift certificate to the store!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly

Thou, O Lord, Art My Shield

2010-02-27T00:00:00.003-06:00

Good morning girls! I hope your Saturday is a beautiful one. Today I am so excited to share with you that Our Creative Corner has asked Sugar Creek Hollow to sponsor their challenge this week!!! The challenge is to use this sketch:

One lucky winner will receive $10 to appply to a purchase at SCH. Now make sure to play and link your card over at Our Creative Corner. You might be the lucky WINNER!!

Let me share my card with you! I loved this image from the first moment I saw it. This verse is such a wonderful promise from God to us. He doesn't promise us a life without trials or hardships, but that He will be a shield to protect us.

I paired this with some papers from the Indian Summer DCWV pad. I know they are fall colors and we are all tired of fall - but the rich colors really convey a sense of strength to me and that's what I wanted my card to convey.
I do hope you'll take a moment to create something with this sketch as well. And stay tuned for Monday - it's the Grand Opening Blog Hop for Sugar Creek Hollow! I've been able to have a bit of a peek at the creations the team has for you and they are phenomenal!!!
For now, take a moment and visit the rest of the designers and see their creations with this sketch!

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly

Got Flowers?

2010-02-26T22:05:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't you love to win $100 in Prima products?

I sure would!

They have something BIG coming soon - and in the meantime, they are having a big giveaway! GO HERE to check it out and see how you can earn a chance to win!

Happy Blogaversary Joanne Basile!

2010-02-24T20:14:00.002-06:00

I created another card for this week's challenge (paper piecing) for Joanne Basile's blogaversary.
I apologize for the photos - I was in a rush and didn't even take the time to set up a backdrop!

The papers are from the Linen Closet DCWV pad and I used a MFT stamp that Kim so graciously sent the Cuttlebug Challenge team back in the summer. The main image is mounted on some vellum - the sentiment is embossed on it with white embossing powder. It didn't take me long to re-create that look from my Flutter By post of this morning.

Looking forward to seeing the next challenge for Joanne's blogaversary celebration! I saw her card today and am thinking it will require something that I rarely do. I would say never but I did make a card earlier this week that used it! Stay tuned!

A Fluttering Birthday

2010-02-24T00:31:00.000-06:00

Hello again! Be sure to scroll down for my Diedrich Dare post! This week is an open challenge for Flutter By Wednesday - just be sure to include a butterfly, fairy or angel on your card/project.

I needed some birthday cards for a few girls in bible study today and since I've been feeling under the weather, I thought I'd see what I already had in my stash.

I did find this card that I started of, I can't even remember when! I knew that I could easily add a sentiment and a butterfly to the base. I also added some pearls to dress it up a bit. I really love the white embossing on the vellum that I did. It's nice to be reminded of that technique/look and I think I'll be using it again very soon!

Take a spin over to the Flutter By Blog and leave a link with your creation!

Cupcakes Forever!

2010-02-24T00:30:00.001-06:00

Good morning girls! It snowed here again on Monday/Monday night. I think we got between 2 and 3 inches although most of it has melted off by now. Still, I have had enough snow to last a decade of winters! What about you?

I do have a few cards to share today. I have been battling a sore throat for several days so I don't know how I feel about this first card.

The sketch for this week's Diedrich Dare is a great one; I'm just not sure I've done it justice. The heart paper was sitting out on my desk, leftover from valentine's and the cupcake stamp was the first one I grabbed.

You can see that I changed things a little from the sketch. I didn't really mean too, I just forgot what direction the angle was and then had to make the other elements work. I paper pieced the frosting on the cupcake for this week's challenge at Joanne Basile's blog - to paper piece.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! This week we are welcoming Andrea Murdock to the group. Be sure to leave her a welcome note too won't you?

Andrea Murdock ♥ Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

God Keeps His Promises

2010-02-19T08:56:00.000-06:00

Good morning girls! It's finally Friday and even though I no longer work outside the home, it's still a day to look forward to!

I am thrilled to get to share with you my first Friday creation for Sugar Creek Hollow with you! Even though the Grand Opening isn't until March 1st, you can pre-shop now!

Over the past few weeks, I keep getting news that is discouraging or upsetting to me. Not major things - just little things really but the other day I saw this little stamp: God Keeps His Promises. (on clearance for 97 cents no less) and it just felt like a warm hug from God himself. A little reminder in the world that He is faithful, He has my back and that He Loves Me. A prefect pairing with this flourish heart from Sugar Creek Hollow.

I saw a new challenge the other day: I Love Digis and they wanted to see pink for their first challenge. Not a problem, I happen to like pink!! And I also have been wanting to play along in the Midnight Madness challenge so I used their sketch for the layout. I paper pieced my heart with that adorable polka dot paper. I have just a little smidge of it left now.

I encourage you to take a visit over to the rest of the designers blogs. We all have creations to share today. They are such a talented, loving group of women. I have been so blessed to have been asked to be part of the team.

Cheri ♥ Dani ♥ Donna ♥ Joan
Joseline ♥ Kristina ♥ Linda ♥ Loretta

Marsha ♥ Nancy ♥ Sarah

Stephanie ♥ Tracy ♥

March Guest Designer

Kelly

Whimsical & Flutter By Wednesday: Are You Ready For Spring?

2010-02-17T08:59:00.001-06:00

ETA: My pictures - I would like to say I can't believe I forgot to add them, but that is exactly something a scatterbrain like me would do! Thanks Heather for the heads up!

Hello again girls! This is my second post today - please keep scrolling to see my quilt card for the Cuttlebug Challenge.

I have combined several challenges in this card.
Flutter By Wednesday, use hearts along with butterfly/fairy/angel
Mojo Monday Sketch from this week.
Whimsical Wednesday, a color challenge.

Color challenges are definitely a challenge for me but I am pretty happy with how this one turned out!
It's pretty basic; I did use watercolor for my image on this card.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too! Debbie has stepped down from the team - I'm happy to have been able to design with her for a bit. And last week I forgot to mention that Sara Henton has joined our crazy, fun bunch!

Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Cuttlebug Challenge: Stitched Quilt

2010-02-17T08:50:00.001-06:00

Good morning girls! So happy to be able to share this card with you this morning. This week the Cuttlebug Challenge is adding stitching to our cards.

I have used the quilt image from Sugar Creek Hollow again; I have so many ideas for this stamp so you'll be seeing some more of it! LOL! I used the Ring It In digital kit by Summer Driggs to piece the quilt and then adding faux stitching to the quilt and the background squares. It's a little hard to see the stitching on the quilt.

I also embossed each of the squares to get that puffy, quilt look.

The Sweet Sunday sketch was my inspiration for the layout although I omitted the circular layer on top. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Take a moment and head over to the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with!

Sugar Creek Hollow Preview Week

2010-02-11T00:26:00.000-06:00

Hello sweet, dear readers.
I'm so excited to share a card using a new release from Sugar Creek Hollow with you. This week has been full of sneak peeks from the design team. Please take a moment to visit the store blog and the designer's blogs to learn more about them. You can find the list at the bottom of my post.

We are supposed to share a little bit about ourselves as part of this week long blog hop. I find it so hard to talk about myself. I'd much rather hear all about you. But here goes.
I've been married to hubby for 10 years in March and we are so lucky to have a little man in our life who is 3 and is my heart's joy. We have 3 furry pups that belong to us as well.
(and here I sit softly tapping the keys of my laptop, the blogging equivalent of twiddling ones thumbs)
I started stamping almost a decade ago too. And after taking a hiatus for about 5 years, I discovered it again once I became a stay-at-home mom. I love being able to take a peek at what other stampers are creating and share my creations too. I'm looking for 2010 to bring new ways to bless someone with the talents that the Lord has given me.
I am ♥ thrilled ♥ to be designing with the other girls at Sugar Creek Hollow. It's such a delight to be part of a group of women who love God - they inspire me every day, they lift me up every day. I know that it is a little gift from God to me to be part of something this special. I'd love to thank Tracy for selecting me to be part of her first team and the rest of the girls for their love, support and creativity. They are so amazingly, awesomely talented.
Besides stamping, I love to read. Growing up I always had my nose buried in a book. I'll read just about anything if I'm bored enough. I used to be strictly a mystery (Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden anyone) or romance (I like knowing there is a happy ending one the last page) girl until I took a Juvenile Literature class in college. We were required to read every genre out there it opened up whole new worlds to me. While Science Fiction isn't the first thing I reach for, I no longer turn my nose up at it. Lately I've completely wrapped up in what I think of as "guy" lit -- Tom Clancy, James Patterson and those Sue Grafton alphabet murders. Sudoku is one of the coolest games. Mahjong also - if I could find a handheld version of that to play in bed I'd be a happy girl.
I'm way too analytical, fiercely loyal until you break my heart for 478th time, and really good at keeping secrets. I have bad traits too but I don't feel like sharing them today. LOL!

This quilting set was such fun to work with. There are so many ways to use this set.

I began by opening the quilt in Photoshop and proceeded to "paper piece" or "quilt" the design using some free digital papers from Shabby Princess (Happy Go Lucky kit). Then I printed it out on some cardstock that had a slight texture, trimmed and mounted it to my card base.

I played with adding some buttons but they just looked out of place to me. I really liked the quilt image alone on the base. It reminds me of quilts on display.

There are 3 images in this set and Joseline, our DT coordinator, challenged us to use all 3 on a card. I added the other 2 stamps on the inside. Take a look.

That's it from me for now. I am pretty sure it's the longest post I've ever written. I hope you enjoyed it!

The Diedrich Dare: Walk Humbly in the Lord

2010-02-10T19:57:00.000-06:00

This is my 2nd post today -- please scroll down for my Flutter By Wednesday post.

This week we had a terrific sketch by sweet Ava; it's a great basic sketch that can be interpreted in so many ways!

My card uses another image from Sugar Creek Hollow. I love the look of vintage boots. I'm pretty sure that no Victorian lady wore a size 11 so I'll never be able to experience what they are like to wear. But aren't they gorgeous!?! I love this pair with it's elegant and whimsical details. This could absolutely be used in a vintage way or in a more modern way. My card today is a mix of the two!

I watercolored the boots and then cut them out using a Quickutz tag die. Faux stiching, a polka dot flower paired with the organza flower and the bits of lace are a mix of different eras.

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson (on hiatus) ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune (on hiatus) ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Sara Henton ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Flutter By Wednesday: Simple Butterfly Beauty

2010-02-10T19:41:00.002-06:00

Good ~~morning~~ ~~afternoon~~ evening girls! I am sooo sorry my post is up so late today. I put off finishing up my little man's valentines for his MDO today until the last moment so that was my focus last night. And then time at bible study, with hubby and back for the party - well, here it is after dinner and I am finally having a moment to type this up.

Today I have a one layer card to share with you for today's challenge. It has just occurred to me that I maybe should've checked to see if we had a specific challenge for this week. Hold on - let me do that! Ohh - yep, this week it's a Love Theme --- using of course a butterfly, fairy or angel. Well, I love simple cards. And I love kraft paired with just about anything. And love is a beautiful gift. So perhaps I managed to slide in on this one.

The butterfly is a free digi stamp posted over at Sugar Creek Hollow (check the freebies tab every Friday). I changed the color in Photoshop and then transferred it to my kraft cardstock. Lots of detailing with my white gel pen. Speaking of Sugar Creek Hollow, if you haven't already, sign up as a follower - there is a $50 gift certificate that will be given away at Grand Opening. And this week there is a week long blog hop introducing a few of the designers each day. Start at the store blog each day and then visit their blogs to learn more about them. I also am entering this in the Curtain Call, Act 16 challenge to use Kraft, Red and Vanilla.

Won't you take a moment to visit the rest of the Flutter By team and see what beautiful creations they have for you this week!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Karen ♥ Kimberly

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam

and our Guest Designers

Debby ♥ Jeanette ♥ Shana ♥ Suzie

Sugar Creek Hollow Preview Week

2010-02-07T11:17:00.000-06:00

Hello girls!
Having a marvelous Monday? Even though I'm writing this late Sunday evening, I'm fairly confident that my Monday is going to be terrific. In spite of the snow that is now falling and has blanketed the sidewalk. This is our 5th snowfall now this season. That's a lot. For here. I know those of you in the north are laughing, shaking your heads thinking "that Texas girl doesn't know what snow is". And you are right. Thankfully. I don't know how ya'll do it! LOL!!

I ended up rooting for the Saints. When I asked my dad and brother who they were rooting for and my dilemna - the response was "are you kidding?" Apparently for them and my little man, the Saints were a no-brainer choice. I thought it was a terrific game. No turnover until the last portion of the game and very few penalties. My mom put on a terrific spread. The only thing missing was my sister and brother-in-law.

I wanted to let you know that today kicks off Preview Week and a week long blog hop at Sugar Creek Hollow. The set is one you'll get "sew" much use out of! Don't miss the freebie that you'll get when you purchase the set! You really must* take a moment to visit the store blog and meet the team and see the cards we've all been working on the past week. Each day you'll meet 2-3 of the designers and learn a little about each of us. You'll be so blessed as you meet each beautiful woman!

*That's not a "bossy" must. It's a "you're my friend and I don't want you to miss out on this wonderful thing" must.

2RedBananas: A Valentine Card

2010-02-07T09:01:00.000-06:00

Good morning girls!
Are you staying warm. I have a few friends back east that I know are snowed in deep. I was happy to hear this morning that one of them still had power at least! We are supposed to get some more snow today and tomorrow. This winter has been the strangest so far!

I'm so excited to have been able to play along with this week's 2RedBananas challenge. We were asked to make a valentine. This stamp set is perfect for valentine's in my opinion - and I really wanted to use it. During my stamp space cleanout, I made sure to put all my 2RB sets in the same box. There are about 7 boxes of stamps to still sort through - and I could not find the one with my 2RedBananas stamps. Ugh.

But wait! 2RedBananas carries more than just stamps - she has amazing ribbon and papers too! So I used this fabulous polka dot paper I ordered from the store.

Well, I am off to church and then getting ready for the big game! Still not sure which team I'll be rooting for since the Vikings aren't in the Super Bowl.
I could root for the Colts since the Saints defeated the Vikings.
I always love rooting for the underdog so I could root for the Saints.
I love gold jewelry with black accents so I could root for the Saints.
Peyton Manning is a great quarterback so I could root for the Colts.
(that does not mean that the other guy isn't)
I could ask my little man who he wants to root for: Colts or Saints.

Oh - and for my family members *that read this blog: the little man wanted to get his picture taken when I was taking a picture of my card the other day. He kept coming up with all these silly faces we should do. Lots of giggles and fun.

*friends too that want to know. And I'm not even scared to share it with ya'll despite the lack of makeup and curled hair.

Have a lovely day dear readers!

Freebie Friday!

2010-02-05T09:22:00.000-06:00

Hello girls!

Hope you are having a great day; the sun is shining bright here so I'm looking forward to some good snow-melting today! Plus I am hosting Girls Night Out tonight at my house.

I don't have a card to share with you today but I did want to let you know that Sugar Creek Hollow will be posting a free image every Friday! Just look for the Freebies tab in the sidebar. Today's little gift - a lacy and elegant butterfly! Perfect for Flutter By Wednesday! And any other day too!

I can't wait for ya'll to see the set that is being previewed starting Monday from Sugar Creek Hollow! These stamps are so fun, pretty and unique. Tracy does a wonderful job with the "vintage" and "primitive" style -- something that I haven't seen much in digi-stamps so I'm just loving it. To me, they capture so well what it means to be a woman.

Go grab your freebie! Have a beautiful day! Stay warm if you have snow headed your way!

Flutter By Wednesday: Collage Butterflies

2010-02-03T07:28:00.001-06:00

Good morning girls! This is my second post today - scroll down to see my card for The Diedrich Dare.

This week is an "open" week at Flutter By Wednesday - so create anything you want as long as you use a butterfly or a fairy.

A few weeks ago, I saw some wonderful vintage/collage $1 stamps at Michaels. They fit my budget so I scooped them up right away! Just some simple stamping, sponging, embossing today. I really intended this card to be flat - - but I just couldn't resist popping up that final layer.

Please visit the rest of the Flutter By team to see what beautiful creations they have for you this week!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Karen ♥ Kimberly

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam

and our Guest Designers

Debby ♥ Jeanette ♥ Shana ♥ Suzie

Thy Word Vintage Card

2010-02-02T07:47:00.002-06:00

Happy Wednesday morning girls! So happy to see you! I am thrilled to have a card to share with you today! It's been a looong time since I played along with The DareDevils. Jack has a great sketch this week (easy to ease me back into creating *wink*).

I used one of the images that will be available at Sugar Creek Hollow on March 1st. (Have you signed up as a follower over there yet? There is a chance at a sweet prize!) This verse is one of my favorites!

The patterned paper in the background is some 'vintage'** K & Co paper I found in my stash. I used lots of distress inks and created a shabby vintage look. I meant to add pearls in the corner and as I'm typing this I see that they are missing. That's what happens when your 3 year old wants to make a card with you - you forget what you were going to do next! LOL!! I am not going to complain though - I love it that he wants to be with me creating and coloring! Here's a close-up to show some dimension:

Please take a moment to visit the rest of The DareDevils - you know they will have some wonderful creations to share with you. I can't wait to see them myself!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week.

Heather Schlatter ♥ Jacquie Nordaune

Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall

Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sandra MacLean

Valerie Urtiaga

**I know 'vintage' normally refers to items that are at least 50 years old. However, when it comes to scrapbooking paper, I think it's fair to say anything over 3 years old is 'vintage'.

At least that's my story - and I'm stickin' to it!!

CHA Winter 2010 Projects: Gifts from the Kitchen & Fourth of July

2010-02-01T18:00:00.009-06:00

I just saw this sitting in my post lineup - in draft mode, I didn't even realize it hadn't posted!

I'm so excited to finally get to share the projects that I created for the Provo Craft booth at CHA this past weekend. Thank you so much Provo Craft for the chance to work with you! Thank you also to Maggie for all the help you give us and for representing the entire team at CHA! I would also like to send out a sincere thank you to Provo Craft for the chance to work with the new folders, Coredinations for their sponsorship and providing cardstock and to Adornit for the great patterned papers you sent to design with as well!

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Maggie asked me to create projects in two themes: Fourth of July and Gifts from the Kitchen. I'm going to start with my Gifts from the Kitchen sets.

When she asked me to create some items to fit this theme I knew right away what I wanted to do! My first project is for Firecrackers! My mom made this at Christmas this year and they have been an instant hit with the family! My husband is a big fan and we've made several batches since the holidays. They are very easy and a great snack!

I really wanted the firecrackers to show through and so I found this box that they could stack nicely and neatly in (I hope they traveled well) and then just made a simple band to wrap around the middle. I embossed some red Coredinations paper using one of the new Asian folders debuting at CHA. I opted not to sand on this project and just let the design remain very crisp. The sentiment was generated on my computer and punched out; there are so many you could use with this recipe - "You're on Fire!" "You're Hot!" - you get the idea! The firecrackers were sooo simple! I just took some metallic pipe cleaners, cut them down and rolled them up in some of that Adornit patterned paper.

Supply List: Asian embossing folders (Provo Craft), cardstock (Coredinations), patterned paper (Adornit), punch & ribbon (Stampin' Up!), glue dots, red sticky tape, pipe cleaners, box - I found at the comic book store.

Firecrackers Recipe:
1 box of unsalted saltine crackers (we prefer the generic over the name brand for this)
1 1/2 c. of canola oil
3 Tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes
1 packet Ranch Dressing mix

In a large sealable tub, place all the crackers. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients well. Pour over crackers. Seal and turn tub gently to coat crackers. Turn the tub every 15 minutes for an hour or so. Open tub and let air dry for a bit.

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My second Gift from the Kitchen was to make Teriyaki Walnuts. I packaged them in a box using a template from My Time Made Easy. I used two of the new Asian folders on this project and love how simple yet "wow" it looks! Since my box base was white, I sanded the Coredinations cardstock on this project to bring in some white on the decor as well. The box is kept closed with some velcro circles.

And then here's the back of the box; I think it's a nice touch to finish it all the way around.

Supply List: Asian embossing folders (Provo Craft), cardstock (Coredinations), patterned paper (Adornit), punch & ribbon (Stampin' Up!), red sticky tape, sanding block, velcro closure

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My final Gift from the Kitchen is a thank you gift for someone who's just been a great friend. There are tons of "gifts in a jar" recipes out there that are easy to put together. This is for Confetti Bean Soup. You are supposed to layer the beans which looks really nice. But I knew that they would get all mixed up in route to CHA so I just mixed them to begin with. I think it works since it's "confetti".

I kept the jar itself pretty simple - just an embossed circle to cover the top, some ribbon and a really neat tag. The embossing just looks so sharp in this little slide frame.

The card is more in-depth. I used another new Asian folder for the main embossing, again on Coredinations cardstock. Instead of sanding, I distressed by lightly inking the paper with some black ink and distressing the edges. The little sentiment panel uses a graphic from Crafty Secrets. The inside of the card features the instructions on a pull out card.

Supply List: Asian embossing folders (Provo Craft), cardstock (Coredinations), stickers (Making Memories), Crafty Secrets, frame & glass slides (Ranger), black ink, edge distresser (Heidi Swapp),

ribbon (Stampin' Up!), brads,

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Okay, now let's shift gears and jump ahead about 6 months. Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays; I'm so proud to be an American - thankful too - and the patriotism that swells at that time of year just makes me happy!

The first project I'm going to share is a decorated insulated mug. I wanted to create a mug appropriate for a military wife - they sacrifice so much as well for our country. I'm incredibly grateful and thankful for the journey they take to support their husband as they do battle on my behalf.

That being said, this project gave me such grief. I was literally like "Good Grief" (charlie brown).

What I have to share is the 3rd version of this project that I did.

I used some star printed paper on the bottom, embossed with the stars embossing folder and then brushed with white craft ink. The top had a blue patterned paper and then I cut up bits to create some sentiments.

Supply List: Stars embossing folders (Provo Craft), cardstock (Coredinations), patterned paper (Adornit), red sticky tape, insulated coffee mug

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My next project is a jewelry piece that I created with another frame and glass slides from Ranger.

I embossed Coredinations paper, and then trimmed out the Statue of Liberty image from the Adornit paper. Computer generated sentiment. I layered that all on one glass slide and inserted in the frame. Then I covered it with some crackle medium --- which makes it very difficult to see the embossing in the photo now. While it was still wet I sprinkled in some glitter flakes I had to mimic fireworks!

This is the first project I've made with these materials and it was a lot of fun! Very easy and I can't wait to get some more frames!

Supply List: Asian embossing folders (Provo Craft), cardstock (Coredinations), patterned paper (Adornit), frame & glass slides & crackle medium (Ranger), glitter flakes, chain

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I picked up a wooden star box at Michaels. I thought it would be a wonderful little keepsake box for dog tags. The box was painted and then patterned paper cut to fit the top. I embossed it using just the swirls from the Koi embossing folder. You'll have to look close to see it as it flattened out quite a bit when I was adhering the paper to the top.

I also cut out some other icons and words from the Adornit paper to decorate the box - including a sentiment on the inside.

Supply List: embossing folder (Provo Craft), patterned paper (Adornit), acrylic paint, glue, dimensionals

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My final project is my favorite that I created: a decorated canvas. The shipping tags were embossed with the stars folder and trimmed in length a bit to fit the canvas. I looooove how those manila tags look embossed - it might be my new favorite thing to emboss!

I had some chipboard letters in my stash that I peeled the paper off of and recovered with the Adornit papers. I sponged some ink around the edges to distress them a little bit. For the fourth tag, I cut out a star and embossed it with the swiss dots folder. I sanded them as I really wanted them to stand out. Using a sentiment trimmed from the paper and button and twine I decorated the star for a little fancy ending!

Supply List: embossing folders (Provo Craft), patterned paper (Adornit), cardstock (Coredinations), manila shipping tags, dimensionals, button, thread, paint, sanding block, canvas

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If you've read this far - THANK YOU! There was a lot to share and I am so appreciative that you take the time to visit - please leave a comment letting me know what you think! Which project is your favorite?

My Comeback Card!

2010-01-30T07:00:00.001-06:00

Good morning girls! I am so excited to be able to share this card with you today!!! The Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team and I have been working hard behind the scene creating cards to share with you for the Grand Opening. We couldn't resist holding back!! We want to share with you just a preview of what is to come.

I used Fall-to-Layout 75 for my card. After being off pretty much the entire month of January, it was so nice to have some help with the layout! I am really thankful that so many of you have stuck around - your patience and your encouragement put a smile on my face and in my heart!

I used the Barn Swallow image from Sugar Creek Hollow - at this moment, it's my favorite image! But ya'll know me --- my favorite always seems to change almost daily. When I first saw this image, I immediately thought of this passage in Matthew that tells us not to worry: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6: 26-27"
Powerful words from Jesus himself. And so true - worrying doesn't accomplish much that is positive. I have always found that when I am beginning to worry about something - usually late at night when I'm trying to sleep, a simple prayer asking God to take that away and grant me rest is amazing. Within minutes, I can feel the stress leaving my body. Isn't He just amazing in His faithfulness to help us follow His word?

Overstamping is one of my favorite looks. And I love to create with grey and pink! I changed the color of my swallow to pink and then added another layer over with my verse in a dark grey. The card base was partially embossed and then lightly sponged with grey ink. The main image panel was also distressed. What do you think? I'm really happy with "my come-back card!" hahaha!

CLICK HERE and visit the page with all the design team members - you don't want to miss their blog posts as they are sharing their favorite creation so far!

Want to earn this digi for FREE? Become a Sugar Creek Hollow Follower. Be the 150th or 200th follower and you will receive a FREE digi of your choice!!!

Deadline is February 7th at 10pm eastern time. The winner will be announced on February 8th Preview Week!

Flutter By Blog Hop Winner

2010-01-20T22:23:00.000-06:00

Good morning - um, evening!! I hope your Wednesday was fabulous! We went on a quick trip with my SIL to meet my MIL for lunch - it was great to see her - I know she enjoyed the chance to see my little man and her was certainly excited to get to see her! It's been go, go, go all day until just this moment!

I do want to announce the winner of my blog candy.

Burt first, a little bit about my picture. I wanted my prize to be a surprise and so I went in search of a question mark clip art.

And found the Question Mark Butterfly!

Crazy huh?

This is a photo of the butterfly in the spring phase (found here)

But you see the Question Mark when it's wings are up - see the next photo (found here)

Do you see it? It's not a perfect question mark shape and it is upside down where the dot is on top. But look in the middle of the upper wing and you should see it!

Random.org generated #39 as the winner of my prize. Thanks so much to each and every one who visited and/or left a comment. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

#39 - Georgia Ehrmann! Congrats girl!

FLutter By Wednesday: A Hunt for Butterflies

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000-06:00

Good morning girls!
I hope you day is off to a beautiful start!
Today we are hunting for butterflies as part of Flutter By Wednesday!

As you visit each of the Flutter By team members, look for a butterfly in their post - if you see one, that means they have blog candy for this week! Visit the challenge blog to see a complete list of who is posting today!

So, yes, I have a little somethin' somethin' I'm going to send out to a lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment. I really appreciate all the sweet little words that ya'll leave so thank you!

Have fun fluttering around blogland today! Be sure to make Cuttlebug Challenge and The Diedrich Dare as part of your rounds. Also take a moment to visit Sugar Creek Hollow in anticipation of the stores grand opening!

Just some Cool Info

2010-01-10T07:40:00.001-06:00

Good morning everyone!
I hope your weekend has been wonderful! It's been a cold snap here - but the last few days it warmed up nicely. High 20's --- but after the bitter cold, it felt downright balmy!

The first thing I want to share with you is that 2 Red Bananas is BACK! For the first challenge of 2010 we want you to THINK ROUND! Create something with curves. I actually am anxious to participate in this challenge and am bummed to not have an example to share with ya'll today. My little man opened some birthday presents this evening and the wrapping paper totally inspired me! So hopefully I'll be able to find some time (and stuff) to bring my vision to life! In the meantime, please visit the 2RedBananas blog to see what the rest of the bunch came up with!

And before I go, I wanted to share another little somethin' somethin' with you. I loved being a part of the Paper Popsicles team last fall and as you know, some really big exciting changes are planned for 2010! One of my favorite products is Melissa's shaped card templates. And guess what. As the countdown begins for the New Launch on January 15th, she's got a free template up for everyone! Head on over to grab it while you can! You can find it HERE!! I hope you'll grab it and upload a link over at the blog - I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with! It's perfect for a CHA assignment I've got!

Flutter By Wednesday Blog Hop

2010-01-06T06:42:00.001-06:00

Hello girls!
I am pre-posting this and when you read it it will be 2010! I am amazed at how quickly the last 10 years have gone by - it seems like just 3 or 4, not TEN!!!

I am looking forward to 2010 and all that the new year will bring.

It's Wednesday and that means it is time for 3 new challenges from 3 of the teams that I am privileged to design for. I am (more than likely) still on hiatus. Please see The Diedrich Dare for the new challenge there (the new year brings a prize each month!) and the Cuttlebug Challenge blog returns today with some NEW folders being released shortly at CHA - so be sure to see the inspiration there!

Wednesday is also Flutter By day and today it is the FIRST Flutter By Blog Hop. It's been in the works for awhile so I acutally made a card before the holiday hit as I didn't want to miss out on this. You can find the entire list on the NEW Flutter By Wednesday BLOG. If you are just visiting here, be sure to swing over there and get the links for the rest of the girls and see their cards for today.

Since I was on limited time (nothing new) and have been in purge and re-organize mode (definitely something new) I kept my card pretty Clean and Simple. Not a surprise really as it seems like ALL my creations for Flutter By Wednesday are CAS.

The layout was from FTL 72 at the clean&simple blog. I used up some scraps in my scrap drawer for this. The theme is supposed to be new --- something I didn't remember to consider when I sat down to create. SOOOO, we'll just say that this is a NEW creation with some OLD supply. Yeah. That'll work!

I love the theme of NEW for our challenge this week. It brings to mind the verse from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

It always seems like such a letdown after Christmas is over, the gifts are unwrapped and the decorations are put away. We must remember the everlasting gift that we each received so long ago. It was the moment that ultimately leads to our HOPE and PEACE and JOY. The end of the holiday has no power to lead me into sadness since I know that Jesus has the power to create a NEW me. A better me. It's kind of a cliche' saying but it's a great one because it rings so true: He isn't finished with me yet. Thank you Jesus for that!

Have a beautiful day and may you feel God's arms wrapped around you today!

Sugar Creek Hollow

2010-01-03T20:10:00.001-06:00

Hello girls!
Are you having a terrific weekend? It's wrapping up and we've been enjoying the beginning of the New Year!

I wanted to pop on real quick and let you know that there Sugar Creek Hollow will be opening on March 1, 2010. I'm really honored to have been asked to be part of the team and can't wait to share some creations with you. Doesn't the name just grab you - Sugar Creek Hollow? It did me! And I was really thrilled to learn that it's a company with a Christian focus and that there will be scripture and religious offerings. The Lord really convicted me last fall to use my talent and creativity to bless other women and to bring Him glory. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about this new venture!

Click on over to visit the Sugar Creek Hollow blog/store. Sign up as a follower so that you won't miss out on any of Grand Opening festivities. You'll also see how you can win a $50 gift certificate to the store. I look forward to seeing you there!

On another note, I have been working on some things that I can't share yet and should be back to my normal posting schedule in the next few weeks. In the meantime, have a beautiful Monday and know that you are loved!

Blessings to you during this Christmas Season

2009-12-23T09:10:00.000-06:00

Good morning girls!
It's Wednesday!!! I don't have any projects today for you BUT did want to remind you of what's up with the challenges that I usually post on Wednesday! I decided yesterday morning to take a break for a few weeks....more on that later in case you are just insanely curious! LOL!

Cuttlebug Challenge - no challenge today. I do hope you got to see the 12 Days of Christmas inspired projects that we all did. You can see mine HERE in case you missed it.

The Diedrich Dare - on holiday break as well. But there will be a challenge next week AND really great
news coming in January!!!

FlutterBy Wednesday - there is a challenge this week. Use a butterfly, fairy or angel to create a card or project. Be sure to upload your creation over on Danni's site. You can also see what the rest of the girls are up to as well.

Please visit the rest of the Flutter By team to see what beautiful creations they have for you this week!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Heather ♥ Jodi ♥ Karen

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam

I want to leave you with a wish for a Merry Christmas. I hope that as you go through the hustle and bustle of the season, that you have time to reflect on the true spirit of Christmas. So long ago, we received the greatest gift of all time. God sent His son, to be with us here on earth, to love us and ultimately to die for us, paying the price for our sins. I hope that you have unwrapped that gift. That you know how loved you are by Our Heavenly Father.
Perhaps you haven't invited Jesus into your heart and have a relationship with Him. Or maybe you've just been bogged down in the worldly trappings of Christmas. Either way, The Purpose of Christmas is a wonderful book. We read it in one of my bible studies and whether you are lost or just need to be uplifted, this book will do the trick. Pick it up. Read it. Even if you don't get to it till December 26th.

So Merry Christmas dear readers and friends.

Some Q & A

2009-12-18T09:58:00.000-06:00

I'm so glad you visited this week and enjoyed my card for The Diedrach Dare. I had a few questions -- but no way to answer you directly -- so I'll post them here!

One reader asked how I got the text to be different colors on my stamp - she wondered if it was done digitally. I know that you can do that with digital images...but this is a rubber stamp. So I just used 2 markers to color each section. Then I huffed to re-moisten the ink and stamped. It's a VERY easy way to get color in your images and get a WOW effect.

Another reader wanted to know where to buy the gems in the corners. I pick those up at 2 places consistently: Michaels and Hobby Lobby. The ones I used on this card were found at Michaels in their dollar bin. And then I also buy gems at Hobby Lobby when they run them on sale. Hobby Lobby doesn't tend to have too many colored gems but you can color a clear gem with a copic marker (or any other alcohol ink) and get a custom match.

Hope that helps! Thanks SO MUCH for stopping by and leaving a comment. It's a sweet spot in my day! Have a beautiful day girls!!

Have you been checking out the 12 Days of Christmas over at the Cuttlebug Challenge blog? Lots of good stuff over there!!

Flutter By Wednesday: A Mercy Sketch

2009-12-16T06:45:00.008-06:00

Post 2 - please scroll down for my Diedrach Dare blog. It's the 12 Days of Christmas at Cuttlebug Challenge so head there to see what is up over there.
This week we are sooo lucky to get to create with a sketch designed just for us by Mercy!! As always, we are to use a butterfly or fairy or even an angel during the holidays. Every week when I am writing up my post I think "Next week I'm going to use an angel". And then I forget.

Until today!

And here's my take on the sketch:

I still think Baja Breeze is one of the prettiest blues ever! I have about 6 full sheets left. I paired it with some paper from my scrap drawer. The angel was embossed and I painted her wings with (appropriately) Angel Wings Shimmerz. The blue flower is one of my favorite things that you can find in the 2RedBananas store. The embellishments on this card seem over the top to me - definitely outside of what I normally do. But I see sooo many other gals doing it that I thought I'd give it a whirl. Let me know what you think.....

Please visit the rest of the Flutter By team to see what beautiful creations they have for you this week!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Heather ♥ Jodi ♥ Karen

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam ♥ Stef

And then be sure to upload your creation using the sketch and either a butterfly, fairy or angel over at Danni's blog!

The Diedrach Dare: Hope

2009-12-16T06:43:00.002-06:00

Post 1 - please see my Flutter By card above too!

Good morning girls! Wednesday again already - the days just fly by! I'm so thrilled to get to share today's Diedrach Dare challenge with you today. This week Jack gave us a terrific sketch to work with.

And my take on it

I created my card as a personal message to one of my fellow DareDevils, Sandra. It's a message for you too if there is uncertainty of confusion or discouragement in your life. I hope you know how amazingly precious to God you are. His plans are not to harm us, but to uplift us.

This is the final Dare of the year - so you'll have 2 weeks to work on this challenge. Pretty neat since one of the DareDevils, Randi Wall, is giving away a single unmounted image from the Sweet Pea Fantasy Art Collection by Ching-Chou-Kuik plus one of my cards. Now, I have a piece of artwork from Randi and so owning a card from her is some serious stamping treasure! Be sure to leave a link to your card at the blog for your chance to win! And good luck!! I also hear that a little something might be up for grabs over at Jessica's blog too!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Valerie Urtiaga

Banana Split Sunday: Tree Inspiration

2009-12-13T07:49:00.002-06:00

Good morning girls! It's Sunday and time for another Banana Split Sunday challenge. This week it's an inspiration challenge.....What can you create with a tree?

I had so many ideas on what to create for this challenge. And as usually happens, what I ended up with is drastically different from what I first sat down to create. I was going to use ribbons ... and then I thought maybe eyelets or gems. Then I decided to use words since text fascinates me so much. I couldn't get quite the look I wanted so I thought and thought some more.

And then I had an idea. And asked my little man to come help me.

This is what we created together. It's so simple it's almost amateurish --- but it's personal and a little piece of him that is now frozen in time. LOVE THAT!!

I sketched out a simple triangle for my tree shape and then used Olive Pastel chalk ink and his thumb, pointer and pinky fingers to create the tree. The trunk is stamped in Memories Chestnut Roan. The sentiment is from the Winter Wishes set at 2RedBananas. I really wanted to keep the focus on my little guy's fingerprints so I matted it and used dimensionals to attach it to a white card base.

Join in the fun this week and show us what you can create with a tree! We've loved all the participation!! Spend some time visiting the rest of The Banana Bunch and see their take on this challenge!

Lynette Neus-Guest Designer

And I'll leave you with a picture of the proud artist - he's in front of our tree that we decorated this morning. You might see lots of open space at the top. I let him put up most of the ornaments and so they are all at the bottom. And I'm leaving them ---- it's not very many years that you get to have a lopsided-ly decorated tree and I intend to enjoy every one of them!

Have a blessed Sunday!
p.s. I'm pre-posting this and my little guy just came in and said "I have to tell you Good Night and about my life". And then he proceeded to jabber on about all sorts of things. I'm off to tuck this little guy in for the night.

Flutter By Wednesday: Winter Theme

2009-12-10T14:34:00.000-06:00

Good afternoon girls! I have my Flutter By card for you today. This week we were challenged to create a winter theme project, being sure to use a butterfly, fairy or angel (during the holidays angels are fluttering too!) on our cards.

I created a snowglobe first yesterday morning. It's pretty cute ---- except for the fact that there is so much glitter constantly in the water --- you can't really see the picture. My little man discovered it this morning though and was so excited. He couldn't care less if the picture was visible or not!

So after the day full of activities and getting the little guy down (we slept fever free for the first time in I forget how many days - thank you Lord!) I set out to create a second project - this time a card.

I stamped the tree in some Olive Colorbox Chalk ink and then added some Tulip Dimensional paint in all the "open" spots for snow. It is white in the tube and came out white. It took forever to dry which is why I'm just now posting it. As you can see - it dried clear. Hmph. Not the effect I wanted. I did scatter more glitter over it when it was wet so it's pretty sparkly like snow. Then I just decorated my tree with butterflies. My little man declared it beautiful this morning. I have to confess that I agree - I am really liking the simplicity of it. And the idea of it. Imagine lots of pretty butterflies adorning a tree in nature, in celebration of the birth of our King.

I hope that with the busyness of the season, you get to reflect and enjoy the whole reason for it: Jesus' birth.

If you haven't already, take a moment to visit the rest of the Flutter By girls and see their creations. I'm off to do the same myself!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Heather ♥ Jodi ♥ Karen

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam ♥ Stef

The Diedrach Dare: Out of my Comfort Zone

2009-12-09T01:02:00.000-06:00

Good Wednesday morning girls! I hope you are having a terrific day! We are in the middle of the third straight week of a cold snap. Very unusual for here; I'll be happy when we return to our normal winter temps in the 60s.

Since it's Wednesday, there is a lot going on here at the blog.... first up is my post for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare. Madelynn brought us an inspiration challenge this week. These are the hardest challenges for me and I'm really steppin' out with the BRIGHT color scheme. Here's what she chose:

She loves the fun, funky style of the Alex, the main gal on Wizards of Waverly Place. I can see why she does. I love how cheerful bright colors are even though I don't wear them, decorate with them or create with them very often. I chose to use the colors and the white blossoms on the plate as my inspiration.

I am not even sure what colors these papers are. I got them in a color family stack from Stampin Up and I'm pretty sure that I have every sheet still! But I do love that blue color - it might be Taken with Teal? I stamped the snowflakes in Craft White and then embossed in white as well. The pink panel is popped up on dimensionals but you can't really see the dimension in this photo.

The layout is pretty simple. I was originally going to have a sentiment, but every one I tried just didn't look right. So I finally said: "okay - no sentiment. just ribbon and gems". And now the card and I are both happy!!

Please take a moment to check out The Diedrich Dare blog --- and upload your creation using the inspiration piece as well. Then see what the rest of the DareDevils have done. Debbie isn't participating this week; she's been swamped at work. (bummer.) BUT -- we do get to welcome 2 new DareDevils to the team: Jacquie and Valerie. I'm so excited to get to design with Val again and really can't wait to get to know Jacquie well too!

Darla Wilson ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Nordaune ♥ Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich

Kim Ross ♥ Kris ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie

Sandra MacLean ♥ Valerie Urtiaga

Come back later* as I have a FlutterBy Wednesday post coming up too! The Cuttlebug Challenge team is on hiatus this week as we prepare for our next Big Event coming up in just a few days!

*MUCH later as I've just realized it's Wednesday and I forgot to create that card earlier today!

Turn the Ordinary into the Special

2009-12-06T11:38:00.000-06:00

I have a project posted over at the Cuttlebug Challenge today - take a spin over there to see it!

And scroll down to see my card for Banana Split Sunday today!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Banana Split Sunday: Warmth

2009-12-06T11:36:00.000-06:00

Good morning everyone! Or at least Good Afternoon! I'm sorry this post is up late today: my little one woke up crying as I was working on my post at Cuttlebug Challenge. He had a fever over 104 so needless to say he took up most of my time and evening last night. I did get that post finished but was just too tired to work on one here. And knowing that I'd be up throughout the night checking on him, I figured any sleep I could snag was more important! I know all you moms totally get that!

The challenge this week at the 2RedBananas blog is to create a card that reflects WARMTH. I used Penny PJs for my card today - she's one of the new releases coming up for 2RedBananas - this release is one of the Best Yet!! Seriously. Anyway, back to my card - I know my paper is more of the cool tones, but what is more warm and cozy feeling than putting on those soft fuzzy footed pajamas, and baking fresh cookies. Maybe Penny is just having a snack before bed. Maybe she's putting out a plate of cookies for Santa. I colored her pjs in pink and then covered them in blue flock; I just love the colors in the paper and wanted to use both of them - what can I say? I'm not good at making a decision.

I hope you'll play along this week too! Be sure to link up your creation over at the 2RedBananas blog. This week one lucky participant will win a House Mouse stamp!

Flutter By Wednesday: Blessings

2009-12-02T07:32:00.001-06:00

This is my 2nd post today - please scroll down for my Cuttlebug Challenge and Diedrich Dare post!

This week the challenge is an open one for FlutterBy Wednesday - you can do anything you want as long as you use a butterfly, fairy or angel (for the holiday season) on your creation. We also have a terrific guest designer this week - Mercy! Can't wait to see what she has for us!

I created an ATC this week using pink - I was wearing pink when I created it so it seemed fitting somehow. LOL!! I hope that you are having a wonderful day and that you feel the blessings of God around you! Be sure to link up your creation over at Danni's blog!

Be sure to visit the rest of the Flutter By team - Taylor has stepped down - she's getting closer to welcoming a new bundle into their home - I wish her all the best!!! Leave her a little love this week, K?

Please visit the rest of the Flutter By team to see what beautiful creations they have for you this week!

Ann ♥ Chris ♥ Christine ♥ Danni

Harriet ♥ Heather ♥ Jodi ♥ Karen

Kris ♥ Kristie ♥ Lelia ♥ Michelle

Nancy ♥ Nicola ♥ Pam ♥ Stef ♥ Taylor

The Diedrich Dare: It's December Already?!?

2009-12-02T07:30:00.002-06:00

Happy Wednesday girls! Can you believe it is December already? It seems like it was just summer!

This week for Whimsical Wednesday: The Diedrich Dare, we are being challenged with a great sketch by Nicky! Take a look at this layout - imagine all the possibilities!

He wants you to know that the circles in the corners are buttons!!

Here is my take on the sketch - a little simplified!

I had scraps out on my desk and really wanted to get them used up instead of stashing them in a drawer. This card has some of my favorite things on it: velvet ribbon, gems, distressing, embossing. I hope you'll play along with us this week - be sure to visit the rest of the girls too and see how they rocked this sketch! We are so excited to welcome a new DareDevil this week to the group! Please say hello to Kris and check out her blog HERE!

You do see those snowflakes embossed on the main panel, yes? Oh My Crafts is the sponsor at Cuttlebug Challenge - last week's challenge is running through this week too --- they are giving away 15 prizes this week so be sure to head over there and complete the challenge for your chance to win!

Take a spin over to the Diedrich Dare blog to see the featured team member (it's me!) this week. And check out the rest of the team members too!

Darla Wilson ♥ Debbie Lee ♥ Heather Schlatter

Jacquie Peifer ♥ Jessica Diedrich ♥ Kim Ross ♥ Kris

Lisa Slusser ♥ Randi Wall ♥ Rebecca Ednie ♥ Sandra MacLean

Have a beautiful day!!

Wednesday Posts

2009-11-25T06:13:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone!

I normally have 3 challenges that I post on Wednesdays. With the holiday this week and going out of town, I don't have anything to share with you.

However, I do encourage you to check out the following challenges and see what my teammates were able to create.

Cuttlebug Challenge - Something Christmas Themed.

The Diedrich Dare - a great sketch this week! Be sure to visit Lisa - this is her last week to create with us. Also, Club Anya is giving away a prize this week if you participate!! An Anya or Ian of your choice (in stock please!) so be sure to play along!

Flutter By Wednesdays - this week we are using circles in addition to a Butterfly, a Fairy or an Angel (for the holidays). And a belated welcome to our 3 newest designers: Karen, Pam and Kris. Be sure to visit Harriet and wish her a Happy Birthday this week!

Have a beautiful, restful, blessed Thanksgiving holiday. I am so thankful for a multitude of things - you my readers are definitely on the list! Thanks for visiting and thanks for the sweet words of encouragement that you leave! ~C

Festival of Lights - Updated Download Link

2009-11-22T11:21:00.000-06:00

Here is a new link for the blog hop map. The other one reached it's maximum number of downloads. We apologize for that but are so happy that so many of you are taking this walk with us!

Here is the new link!

Please scroll down for my Banana Split Sunday challenge and my Gingerbread House for the Festival of Lights.

Banana Split Sunday: Sew Thankful

2009-11-22T09:02:00.001-06:00

Good morning!

Please scroll down to see my Festival of Lights projects: Gingerbread House, Blog Hop Lighted Tree and Clear Ornaments video.

Today's Banana Split Sunday challenge was to create with the theme "thankful" in mind.

I used one of the House Mouse images Jeanette sent me and colored them with my prismascolors and baby oil. The needle was colored with a silver gel pen. Since they are sewing, I added some faux sewing to my card as well.

Please visit the 2RedBananas blog to see the rest of the teams thankful cards this week!

Festival of Lights - Gingerbread House

2009-11-22T09:00:00.002-06:00

Good Morning!!
If you are looking for my Festival of Lights Blog Hop post and Video Blog Hop post - please scroll down!

Today I have my featured post from the Cuttlebug Challenge blog!

Cassie here this morning to kick off the projects for today. Several of the Senior Design Team will be sharing projects centered around the theme of

Santa's Sweet Shoppe.

One of the traditional symbols surrounding the Christmas season is the Gingerbread House. I love the smell of gingerbread - in cookie or cake form! I don't remember ever decorating gingerbread houses as a child but my mother-in-law has done it with her grandkids for as long as I can remember. My little man (not quite 2 last year) got to "help" last Christmas --- which was eating more than anything! One thing I've always been amazed at is the willingness of people to put so much effort into something that is just thrown away after the holiday. But a gingerbread house out of paper would last from year to year!

Supplies:

house form/box/template

decorative papers

Cuttlebug & embossing folders (Victoria, Snowflake)

craft knife

strong adhesive

liquid adhesive (Crystal Effects)

glitter (Perfect fX in Sparkling Champagne)

ink

trims - lace, buttons, pearls

I started with a box I found in the shape of a gingerbread house. It contained cookie cutters but I bought it for the form!

After opening the box at the top, I peeled off the slick printed layer of the house. I wanted a good surface for my adhesive to adhere to and also didn't want any of the printing to potentially show. After that, I used an inkpad to add color to all the edges that matched my base paper.

I cut my paper into strips and embossed them using my Cuttlebug and embossing folders. The roof paper was sanded to reveal the white core of the paper. The siding was lightly rubbed with the ink pad to bring out the embossing. The edges were also inked on the side pieces.

Then came the fun part - adding in all the details! I used a third patterned paper for the door and windows, using a pen to add some detail. Instead of traditional "candy", I used "candy" that crafters find "yummy"! Buttons along the base, pearls on the roof.

I used Crystal Effects along the edges of the sides and the windows/doors and then sprinkled it with glitter - some Perfect fX flakes I have from when I first started stamping.

And a final closeup shot - can you see the embossing on the sides? This was really easy to make since I already had a form to use. It was just a matter of cutting, embossing, adhering and decorating! One thing I wish I'd done was go over *all* my edges on the room instead of just the two ends. But I'll just remember that for the next one!

I hope you enjoyed my project today!

Have a beautiful day!! ~Cassie