What a Week!!!

What a week. I have been so busy at work, that I was not able to stamp until today. This card is for Jen's Sketch For You To Try from Saturday over on her blog http://www.iheart2stamp.com/ This is one challenge I try to do every week. The cardstock is Bazzill and the designer paper is from Making Memories. The ribbon is from Stampin Up and so is the image. The set I used is called Peace and Hope. It is an older set, but I use it a lot. The baubles are from Stampin Bella. The techniques I used were layering and masking. I colored the image with my chalks. I have not done this in quite a while. I had forgotten how much fun the chalks were.



The two newbies I would like to spotlight today are: Jami's blog
http://jamiscrazedthoughts.blogspot.com/ Her kids are precious and her artwork is neat. She has been blogging for a while, but I just found her. The other is a new stampin store fixing to get going. It is called Spiral Whisper and the stamp sets they are showing are great. The address is http://spiralwhisper.blogspot.com/ Go give them a look and let them know what a good job they are doing.



I am including all my weekly usuals in today's post. Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow, but we are short handed at work due to vacations and people on maternity leave, so you never know. This week we had 2-3 other people calling in sick each day, so that killed us. I even had to work on my day off. I hope this week will be better.



This week's encouragement is:
"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." Aldous Huxley



I hope ya'll have a great week. Enjoy the Fourth, but be safe. Take care of all your friends and family. Be healthy and happy. Hug all those you love, and God bless ya'll!!!

Painted Cross

A little something different today. I painted this cross for my daughter the other day. She has been having a little difficulty in her personal life lately and I thought this would help cheer her up. It did!! She loves crosses, and has several throughout her house, so I made this one for her bedroom. I have done some of these for gifts lately and love doing them.

I am on call again this weekend, so I do not know if I will have time to post a lot, but I will try. Ya'll have a great time this weekend. Be safe, be happy, be healthy. Hug those loved ones, and God bless ya'll!!

Color Challenge Entry

While blog hopping this evening, I saw this color challenge on Bela's blog
http://belascreatingplace.blogspot.com/. There were three different challenges--sheet challenge, hammock challenge, and outdoor party challenge. They are all color challenges. The winners will get a High Hopes stamp. I submitted this for the outdoor party color challenge. I made the card using Bazzill CS. The DP is from Pink Paislee and K &Co. The stamped image and sentiment are from MFT. The flower embellishment and the ribbon are random from my stash. The image is paper pieced except for the skin and it was colored with my CTMH markers. This challenge closes out tomorrow at midnight. It is a great challenge and her blog is wonderful. She is really creative. Go look and see. Hope ya'll have a good evening and God bless ya'll!!!!

Today's card is one I made a couple of days ago. I saw a card similar to this while browsing, with the basic brown and off white cs and background and then a hint of color added. I am so sorry, but I cannot remember where I saw it, but I did comment to the person about how much I loved this. If the technique is cased from you, please let me know so I can go back and give you credit. The CS is from Bazzill and the Dp is from Jenni Bowlin Studio. The ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment and stamp are from the Stampin Up set "Thanks from the Heart". The baubles were used as an accent embellishment. The fibers are also some scraps from my stash.

This week's encouragement is: "Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others"---------Plato

I would also like to let you know about two newbies today also: the first is not brand new, but I think it is a good one that should be highlighted. It is

http://fortheartofit.blogspot.com/... The other is not brand new either, but deserves some recognition. It is http://inking-obsessions.blogspot.com/ Both ladies have awesome talent and neat life conversations. Time has come for me to get ready for work. Take care! Be healthy, be happy, be safe and hug those loved ones. May God bless ya'll!!!

The Wild Bunch

The weather held off and we had a great birthday!! This is the wild bunch. Really they were great. The drive was 1 hour 45 minutes each way, and they were real angels. The water park is so neat. We will be going back before summer ends. Simon had a blast. The first two pics are from the water park, which I do not have a lot of because I left the water proof camera here and only had my digital. The last pic was when we got home. They rolled out of the car and started wrestling in the front yard. I think they bottled up all their energy until we got home. We did the cake and ice cream thing after we got back home. Thanks for all the prayers for great weather and the birthday well wishes. He thought that was so neat that people he did not know where wishing him happy birthday. I will be back later to post a card, but I have to get to work now. Take care, be healthy, be happy, and be safe. God bless ya'll, and have a great day!!

Beate's Challenge #52

I am on vacation today and tomorrow, because my little one turns 10 tomorrow. The plan is to take 4 or 5 of his friends to the water park. We are leaving here at 8:30 in the am--park opens at 10:30, and it is a 2 hour drive--stay all day and come here late tomorrow for cake and ice cream. He is so excited. We have run into a few kinks though. #1-his best friends are off at camp, #2- it may rain, #3- baseball games. I hope it all works out for him. He is so excited. I am fixing to go and finish making his cake. I did have time this a.m. to make this card for Beate's Challenge. It is a very simple design. The only hard part was the water coloring. If you visit my blog much, you know I am a paper piecer, not a colorer. It turned out better than I thought. The cardstock is from Bazzill and the DP is from Daisy D's. The image is from an old Stampin Up set called "Friends". I used my CTMH inks to color. Ya'll have a great day. I close with my usual--Be safe, be healthy, be happy--Hug your loved ones--and by far the most important--God bless ya'll!!!!

Jen's Sketch Challenge-June 14th

Ok, this will probably be my last card for today. This is for Jen del Muro's weekly sketch challenge. I used Brazzill cardstock, and my DP is from Doodlebug Designs. The image and sentiment are from MFT-Think Pink. The flowers are from Petaloo, and the brads are some I have had for a while. I love her sketch challenges. They always get your brain working. I will chat with ya'll later. God bless ya'll!!!!

Our Creative Corner Challenge #1

This is my take on the Our Creative Corner Challenge for this week. This is a new group of very talented ladies who have begun their own corner of blog land. They will be posting challenges weekly. Todays challenge was designed my Cindy Haffner http://cindyhaffnerscorner.blogspot.com/ I used Bazzill cardstock with Ki Memories DP. The brads are from Heidi Grace. The image is Savvyshoppabella from Stampin Bella. The flower is from Doodlebugs. All the image was paper pieced except the face and hair, and I used my CTMH markers for this. Go check out their site for the sketch and more inspirations http://www.ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ I am going to work on some of the weekend challenges today and wait on hubby. God bless ya'll!!!

Father's Day

This is the card I made for hubby. I got the shirt pattern off Lil Scrapper's http://www.lilscrappers.ca/catalog/index.php This site has great ideas and help with projects. They also have a neat store. This DP is from CTMH as well as the brads. It was real easy to make. The second pic is the insert that slips inside the shirt. We got him several pairs of new shorts for the summer and gave them to him yesterday because he needed them to wear somewhere, but we are saving the card for today. He is going to love it. I think he has already seen the card because I saw where he had been snooping around my craft desk and the computer, but I did not do the insert until now, so he will be surprised. Hope ya'll have a great day with your family. We have very little planned. Take care, be safe, be happy, be healthy. Hug your loved ones! God bless ya'll!!

Happy Birthday!!

I was playing with my bellas today, and realized I had never inked this one. The stamp is "Partygirlabella" Isn't she cute and happy? The card stock and designer paper came in my new monthly kit from Paper Posies

http://www.paperposies.com/ It is full of fun things to use. The DP is from K&Co., and the cardstock is from Bazzill. The fibers I used on this card are from the Two Scoops Collection from Basic Grey. The eyelets are watermelon from CTMH. Other embellishments I used are Cotton Candy Stickles and Baubles. Just a little happy card.

Today is the day I highlight 2 new blogsites I have found while browsing. The first one is: http://craftingforsanity.blogspot.com/ Kimmie is doing a great job. She is real creative. The other one is :

http://lil-bittacreativity.blogspot.com/ Theresa is also very creative, and doing an awesome job with her blog. Go give these girls some comments and let them know how good they are.

I woke up this am to hubby saying that the air conditioning was off when he got up!! He cleaned the coils and washed out the grass thrown from the lawnmower on the grates. So far everything has been fine today, and it is 93 degrees outside. I have do have the repair man on speed dial if it goes bad. Hope everyone has a great day filled with love and laughter. Be healthy, be happy, be safe. Hug those you love and God bless ya'll!!

Sick Friend

Happy Tuesday. I did not get to post my encouragments on Sunday because I was on call and had to go in to work. Then when I got home, I had to cook for a party yesterday at work. One of our employees turned 60 yesterday, and we had a little party. He is one of my dearest co-workers and friend. He has just found out that he is sick, and I wanted this birthday to be special. He lives at home and takes care of his 98 y/o mother. Please include him in your prayers. We go to the doctor tomorrow to schedule some more treatments he is going to have to have. He does not have anyone to take care of him, so I am his caregiver. I go with him to his appointments when I can, so I can help him better understand what is going on. I got several of the other people at work to cook something also--you know those that you can always depend on. He really enjoyed it and he had a great happy day.

The encouragement I picked for this week is simple---

Be aware of wonder-Live a balanced life-Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday some-------Robert Fulgham

The card is one I threw together this weekend. The cardstock is from Bazzill. The DP is from Pink Paislee. The sentiment is from Sweet N Sassy Stamps--Trust in the Lord. The ribbon is some I won in a blog candy give away. The cross is one I use for my pottery and I decided to use it on my card. I hope ya'll have had a great day. Be safe, happy healthy. Hug your loved ones, and God bless ya'll!!!!!

Jen's Sketch Challenge-June 7th

Jen del Muro's sketch challenge for this week was a little tricky for me. It needed a big circle or oval and I do not have any real large punches. I did have this one from my Sizzix, but it is really a frame punch. Oh well, I think it came out ok. This entire project is from Paper Trey Ink except the baubles, and they are from Stampin Bella. The card stock colors are Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet. The stamp set is Out On a Limb. The ribbon is sweet blush dot swiss, and the baubles are a Squeeze of Lime. Fun! Fun! Fun! These challenges are getting my mojo back. See ya'll later, and God bless ya'll.

Beate's Sketch Challenge # 51

Beate's sketch challenge for this week was really neat. I received this paper in the mail today. It was the March Paper Pretties box. Cannot tell you why it came today, but I was glad it did. I was working on another challenge when the mailman came, and I immediately started on this. Love this paper. The cardstock is Bazzill. The DP is from The Paper Company Studio--Multidot and Floral Stripe. The ribbon also came from here. The baubles are from Stampin Bella, and if you have not looked lately, there were some new bellas released this week. Hope ya'll are having a great weekend. Be safe, be happy, be healthy and hug your loved ones. God bless ya'll!!

Another MFT card!

I love MFT stamps. I have had this one for a while, but never inked until the other day. The DP and cardstock are scraps from a page I did for my daughter's senior year scrapbook about 3 years ago. I have no idea where I got them, or what company makes them. Sorry!!! The stamped images and sentiment are from the "By The Seashore" stamp set by MFT--they have some really neat new stamps just out. If you have not seen them you should go look http://www.mftstamps.com/home/homepage.html I paper pieced the main image--imagine that!! I used my corner rounder to scallop the edges of the DP. I hope you enjoy looking!! Not much going on today. Oh, my daughter started her first IV today at work. In nursing this is a biggie. I will be back tomorrow with some new stuff I have done. Be safe, be happy, and be healthy. Hug those you love--maybe an extra time! God bless ya'll!!

Newbies!!

I finished my day stamping. We just finished supper, and I am getting ready to go to bed. I get up on the days I go to work at 4:30, this is my quiet time to drink my coffee, check my email, and just enjoy the silence. They called me from work earlier and told me tomorrow was bad--lots of cases, so I am going to bed soon. I hope ya'lls day has been as pleasent as mine. I did forget to do something earlier when I posted, and that was to highlight 2 new blogs. The first one I have chosen is:
http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com/ I found it today while scoping blogworld. She has some cute, cute stuff. Let her know how good she is doing. Comments are an inspiration!! The next one I chose is:
http://cardsandcreationsbychristine.blogspot.com/ Awesome artwork and creativity. Please go visit and let them know you have been there. I better get going. Take care, be healthy, happy and safe. God bless ya'll!!

Jen's Sketch Challenge

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!! The sun is shining here, which is great since lately we have had lots of rain. I started that new shift about 3 weeks ago, and today is the first day that I really did not have to do anything but play. I am working 4- 10 hour days and am off one day a week. I have done this shift before and it is the best for my life. Boy did I ever play. I have made several cards that I will show over the next few days. This card is for Jen's Sketch for You to Try from Saturday. This is the link to this challenge:
http://iheart2stamp.com/2008/05/31/special-edition-of-sketch-for-you-to-try/ She and all the girls used Bellas or a stamp from Stampin Bella. I have been needing to ink this one, so I chose it. The cardstock is from Bazzill, the designer paper is from K & Co. The image is "Sweetybellas". The saying is from Studio G. The eyelets are Garden Green from CTMH, and the only coloring that was done was with CTMH markers-Garden Green, Cranberry, and Flesh. The buttons are from S.E.I.-Wiinnie's Walls Collection. I used the paper piecing and layering techniques. The fibers are some scraps I had in my fiber drawer. Guess I will get back to my cardmaking. See ya'll soon. Be safe, happy, healthy. Hug your loved ones, and God bless ya'll!!!!!!!!

Great Blog Candies

No artwork ready to post, but I did want to let ya'll know about these great blog candy giveaways. The first is over at Lil Deb's Happy Place
http://lildebstampscrap.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-candy.html and the other is over at Lisbet's Scrapmagasinet and the link to her's is
http://scrapmagasinet.blogspot.com/2008/06/blogcandy.html Both these women are extremely talented. Go see how creative they are. I will be back tomorrow with artwork and new blogs to visit. Take care, hug those you love, and God bless ya'll. Have a great day!!

Wow, June 1st!

Wow, I cannot believe today is June 1st. My baby will be 10 in a few weeks. Time is going by too fast. Today has been quiet for me and the weekend call. Jack and Simon went to church, the end of VBS program was today. I don't usually go when on call, because of the need to take two cars and beepers. I hate to have to get up in the middle of something and leave. I picked up lunch for us at my favorite restaurent, and I plan on doing nothing the rest of the day, hopefully. When I finally got home yesterday, and sat down, I crashed. We ended up working 8 1/2 hours.



The card above is one I did this a.m., while everyone was gone. I may use it for a challenge I have been given this month, but not sure yet. The cardstock is from Archivers. My good friend and bella sistah, LeAnne,
http://milehighstampandscrap.blogspot.com/ sent this papercrafting kit to me not to long ago, and I could not wait to use it. I love the papers and colors. The DP is from Daisy D's Chasing Butterflies Collection. The stamps are from MFT www.mftstamps.com and it is called "Say Charge". The ribbon is from my stash, and the flower and button brads are from Bazzill "imaginisce"---Crotched Flowers and Evening Surf Button Brads. I used the paper piercing technique on the main stamped image. It is like playing with paper dolls again. Everything on the image is pp except the shoes, and they are colored with my CTMH markers-Cranberry, Moonstruck, and New England Ivy. The other technique I used is layering. I combined all three primary colors from the DP to make the layering.

One last thing for today is my Sunday Encouragement---------------
"I have learned from experience that the greater part of our
happiness or misery, depends on our dispositions and not our
circumstances---------Martha Washington"
Take care, hug your loved ones, and God bless ya'll!!!