Sugar Creek Hollow June Blog Hop

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

Graduation Card

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

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!!

Fabulous Friday: Thank You

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

Fabulous Friday: Vintage Cowboy

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

Jam Jar

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!

Fabulous Friday: Another Mother's Day Card

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

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!

Fabulous Friday: You are a Woman of Beautiful Countenance

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!

Fabulous Friday: Barn Swallow Card

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

Bee-uatiful Color Combo

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

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

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

Ask, Seek, Knock

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!

Sugar Creek Hollow Blog Hop

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!

He is Risen!

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

Fabulous Friday: Stitching

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

Fabulous Friday: Buttons

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

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

Faith Hope and Love

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