The Crafter's Cafe Challenge

Happy Wednesday.  I hope all is well with everyone. Is it still snowing where you live?  I don't think we will ever see spring here in NEPA.

Today, being Wednesday, means a new challenge over at The Crafter's Cafe.  Our new theme is "Vintage/Shabby Chic.   This week, it's Team B's chance to show off some of their projects.  We have an amazing sponsor this week... Rick St. Dennis.  If y'all haven't worked with any of his images, boy are y'all missing out.  I LOVE his images.

I used "I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues" digi to make my project.

I decided not to make a card this week.  This is a 5x7 canvas.  I am going to give it to my MIL for her birthday later this month.  I just have to get a hanger for it.

When I do Rick's images, if they have a lot of detail in them, which most of them do, I print out the image in a 8x10 size.  I then color it, scan it into the computer and print it out at the size I need.  I add my glitter after I print it out in the correct size.  I'm left with the original large colored images, but I can save them in a folder in my desk and if I want to use that image again, I just rescan it into the computer.  I can also frame them and hang them in my craft room.  You can do this with any image that has a lot of detail and you want to make sure you get all the little details that are hard to see. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I'm sure I will have more for y'all later today.  Have a wonderful Wednesday and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Rick St. Dennis
Sentiment: Annie's Little Footprints (Walt Disney)
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, BIC Markers, Sakura Glitter Gel Pens
Cardstock: Hunter Green (given to me by a friend)
Paper: DCWV
Rose Trim: The Paper Studio
Pearl Trim: Jo Ann's
Pearls: Michael's
Roses: Handmade with a punch
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Scotch Quick Dry Glue, Glossy Accents, Hot Glue, Pop Dots, 5 Petal Flower Punch-EK Success (Large and Medium), X-Cuts Scalloped Rectangle Dies, Cuttlebug

Paper A La Mode's New Challenge--Valentine's

Hello my friends.  It's Saturday and that means a new challenges over at Paper A La Mode.  We had some great entries last week for the Hugs and Kisses challenge.  

This week's challenge is Valentine's and our sponsor is Rick St. Dennis.

I used Rick's Hunny Tru Love image to make my card.  I think she's just darling.  I added some sparkle just because she needed to be a bit sassy.

I hope y'all will join us this week with a Valentine's project.  Thanks for stopping by today and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: RSD Hunny Tru Love
Sentiment: My Stash
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, Sakura Glitter Gel pens, BIC Marker
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Lady Bug, Crayola Gray Marker, Crayola Red Marker (for outlining images and sentiment)
Cardstock: Red: Gina K Designs, White: GP
Papers: Love You pad from The Paper Studio
Gems: Queen and Co.
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, pop dots, Cutterbee Scissors, X-acto Centering Ruler

Challenges:
Sunflower Fields--#1 Valentine's/Hearts
Cupcake Inspirations--Fushia, Cream, Gray
Scrapbook, Stamp Society--#34 Anything Goes w/optional twist: Use a heart
Tuesday Throwdown--#181 Sketch
4 Crafty Chicks--#180 Flags/ Banners
Creative Knockouts--#23 Be Mine
In the Pink--#37 Valentine's A Little Pink Love
Crafts 4 Eternity--#162 With Love
Digi Haven--Valentine's Day
Totally Paper Crafts--#205  Hey Cutie
A Creative Romance--Show Some Love
Crafty Catz--#217 Love
The Challenge Blog--Hearts

2013 in Review

Hello, my friends.  Today is New Year's Eve.  The last day of 2013.  As I sit here, looking back on this year, I see alot of things.  Good things, bad things, sad things, happy things and every where in between.  This has been a hard year for my family.  We've struggled with deaths in our family.  My dad passed away on Memorial Day from cancer, my uncle passed away two weeks after that from cancer, and we lost my 23 year old cousin to a drunk driving accident in July.  We've struggled financially, emotionally, and physically.  During the first few months of this year I was recovering from a broken neck and neck surgery, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and for Christmas, I had the Shingles.

But, on the bright side, my husband and I have a stronger relationship, my daughter is doing great in 4th grade and I have three new design team positions for the new year.  I have been enjoying my current design team positions and have been stretching my boundaries with my card making.

I would like to revisit some of my most favorite cards of 2013.  These are the ones that I think turned out the best.  I hope y'all enjoy this trip down memory lane.

This one was made for Sassy Studio Designs PCP challenge

I followed a sketch challenge to create this card.

Using a new star burst technique

One of the cards made for Teapot Tuesday over at Splitcoast Stampers

Kenny K's wonderful talent just inspires me

I made this card for my dad's 65th birthday, but never got to give it to him.

Another beautiful Kenny K creation

I think this has to be my most favorite of the whole year.  I just love how this one turned out.

Using a Dustin Pike image.

I love sunflowers, and this Fred She Said set is just beautiful.

Beccy Muir created this amazing birdhouse.  It was one of the first cards that added all those flowers to.

This is one of my first tries at Gothic art.  Terri's image is just beautiful.

This was my design team call entry for Kenny K.

Using the same image from Delicious Doodles as I did previously shows the versatility of Teri's images.

My first Gothic inspired altered project.  I joined the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop with Smeared and Smudged this year and this was one of the projects.

A wonderful image from Rick St. Dennis.  His images are so fun.

QKR Design Team entry during October

This beautiful little girl is a QKR Design Team entry that you will see next week, but I just love it and since I created it in 2013, I wanted to showcase it.

Thank you for taking this trip down memory lane with me.  There are tons more cards that I love and have enjoyed making, but I didn't want to burn out your retinas.  I look forward to seeing each and every one of you in the new year and being able to showcase my work for another year.  Thank you for being my followers.  I have made it almost up to 100.  I'm very humbled that I have that many people interested in my work.  I truly appreciate all the wonderful comments y'all have left for me during this past year and I look forward to seeing alot more.  I love reading them.  My New Year's wish for all my friends in blog land is:

May you always have sunshine in your face, food on your table, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, family and friends surrounding you, enough faith to sustain you, and may your crafting always make you happy.

Happy New Year!

12 Days of Creepmas Day 12

Welcome to my blog and the last post for the 12 Days of Creepmas.  It's rather bittersweet that this is the last post for this holiday blog hop.  Now I have wait a whole year to do another.  I sure hope y'all have enjoyed these last twelve days of beautiful projects created by our Jolly Bloggers.  Also, a big thank you to Terra and Tori for all their hard work in putting this together.

Today, I finally get to use a Smeared and Smudged stamp.  I received my first shipment a few weeks ago, from the Smeared and Smudged Rubber Stamp Club.  I am using three of the images from the Dark Holidaze set by Rick St. Dennis.

I began by stamping all three images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I masked off the bottoms of each image and stamped some snow drifts.  I colored these images with Crayola colored pencils and Gamsol as well as a couple of BIC Markers. I then inked the whole thing with DI Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo to age it.  The papers are from Harper's Bazaar and Luca and Lola from the Paper Studio.  I should have added a sentiment but I forgot. :)

I sure hope y'all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I will continue to be posting different projects for my design teams.  I do have an announcement.  I have been selected to be part of three new teams beginning in January.  Open Minded Crafting, Clear it Out Challenges, and I am part of the Core 4 at Kenny K's.  How exciting is my new year going to be?  Stay tuned for some great DT examples. :)

Saturday at Paper A La Mode

Good Morning, peeps.  Today is Saturday and that means a new challenge over at Paper A La Mode.  Last week's challenge, "Last Minute Christmas Cards" was a complete success.  We saw some amazingly beautiful cards.

This week our new challenge is an "Anything Goes" challenge and our sponsor is Rick St. Dennis.  The Design Team used Rick's images to create their cards, but you don't have to.  We love to see them though.  The winner of this week's challenge will win 2 images of their choice from Rick's zibbet store.

I used "1890's Holiday Gown" image to create my card.

I used my Crayola's and OMS to color in this beautiful lady.  I added some Sakura Glitter pen to the image to give her some sparkle.  The papers are from a DCWV stack from last year.  Using a vertical sentiment is a bit different for me.  I added a Prima bauble to the bottom of the sentiment and then added a Dark Red swirl to cover up the hole from adding the charm.  The card base is a very Dark Red from Recollections.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope that maybe y'all will take a minute and stop by Paper A La Mode and enter a project.  We would love to see it.

Have a wonderful day and God bless!

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge

Good Morning.  Welcome to another Crafter's Cafe challenge.  This week, the DT is using images from Rick St. Dennis.  The theme?  You can never have too many embellishments.  This is right up my alley.  I love embellies.

I am using Esmeralda 2 for my card.

I decided to use purples on this card, well, just because it's one of my favorite colors.  I used my Crayola colored pencils to add some life to Esmeralda.  I then trimmed down the image, rounded the corners and inked it with Dusty Concord DI.  I used two papers from DCWV Violet Leaf 6x6 paper pad.  I cut those to 2" x 5" and rounded just the inner two corners.  I used two colors of purple card stock from Colorbok and some black Recollections card stock.  The flowers are all The Paper Studio and the leaves are die cuts from a friend of mine..Hi Jan!  I added a few little purple epoxy dots to finish it off.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today.  I hope to see one of your cards in our challenge this week.  God bless! 

Saturdays with Paper A La Mode

Good morning.  Welcome to my blog on this beautiful Saturday morning.  Today starts a new challenge over at Paper A La Mode.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Rick St. Dennis.  We are so super excited to have him as our sponsor.  Rick's artwork is amazing.  

For my card, I used this cute Santa and Mrs. Claus image:

I used my trusty ole Crayola's and Sakura Glitter pens to add some sparkle.  I pulled out one of my MME paper pads from last year for the patterned paper. The card stock is Recollections. The holly and berry embellishments are from K & Co.

I have been working hard trying to get some sponsors for our little group on the Outlawz and have succeeded a bit.  Each month our sponsor prizes will be awarded.  So, if you enter this challenge, at the end of November our winners will be picked and the prizes awarded at the beginning of December.  You should come join us, you could win 2 of Rick's images.

Thanks for stopping by this morning.  I hope y'all have a great weekend.

November Freebie with Rick St. Dennis

Happy Friday.  Today I have a card that I created using the November Freebie from Rick's newsletter..Priscilla Pilgrim.  Isn't she just the cutest little mouse?

I colored her with Crayola colored pencils and OMS. I picked papers from a Me and My Big Ideas Layered paper pack.  I followed  the Seems a Little Sketchy #51 sketch to make this card.  The ribbon and button are from my stash.  I printed out the sentiment.  Each piece was inked with DI Vintage Photo.

I am also entering this card in the following challenges:
Seems a Little Sketchy
Robyn's Fetish--Thanksgiving
Sentimental Sundays--Falling into Autumn
Penny's Paper Crafty--Lots of Layers
Card Makin Mamas-  Sentiments
V's Sweet Ideas--Color Challenge


Thank y'all for stopping by today.  Have a wonderfully blessed weekend.

Day 31 of the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop

Well my Horrifying Hoppers, the time has come.  Today is the last day of our month long hop.  I can't believe it has been a whole month already.  Man, I guess it's true what they say...Time flies when you are having fun.

Before I show you what I have created for today, I have to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby.  Yep, he's a Halloween baby.  He turns 36 today!  He's edging closer to the age I am now..lol  Happy Birthday honey.  I love you!

So, I had 6 images that I wanted to use, but didn't have enough days to use them.  So, I decided at the last minute to make a little 5x5 chipboard book.  My idea was bigger than the time I had available.  I still have to go back and do some embellishing, but I have the basics done.

This is kind of a long post so grab a cuppa and get comfortable.

This is the first page using a Delicious Doodles image that I won earlier in the Scavenger Hunt.  I used Crayola colored pencils and OMS.  The paper is from a piece of Teresa Collins collage paper that I cut apart, inked and added randomly.  The sentiment says, "Blue eyes can be very deceptive.  We can be sweet as as blue summer sky, but make sure you run if they turn dark and stormy."

The backside of this page is an image from Jade Draggone.  I used the same coloring medium but added some Glossy Accents to the lantern.

I haven't come up with a sentiment for this one yet.  My brain was getting tired. :)

Page 3 uses  another image from Jade Draggone.  I used alcohol markers on this one.  I fussy cut her out and inked the edges with DI Vintage Photo.  The sentiment says, "Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you have to fit a mold.  You are an individual! You are special just the way you are.  Don't change just to please someone else!"  The paper is from Recollections.

Page 4 uses a Heather Valentin image colored with alcohol markers.  The papers are from DCWV and the sentiment reads, "Everyone needs that one friend who loves you regardless.  Nothing can break the bond of that friendship!!"

Page 5 uses a RSD image and a Teresa Collins paper. This beautiful lady is colored with Crayola colored pencils and OMS.  She's fussy cut and inked with DI Vintage Photo.  Sentiment is, "Always listen to yourself.  You don't always need someone else to give you advice.  You are your own best advice giver!"

And, Page 6 is another RSD image.  I love this witch.  I colored her with Crayola and I am a heavy handed colorer, so I used a kneadable eraser to remove some of the black on her dress.  This one uses DCWV paper and the sentiment says, "Some days you just have to let your inner witch out!"

Tomorrow I am going to try and make the covers for this book and put it together.  But, whenever I do get it finished, I am going to post the completed book. 

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to every one of you who left comments on my blog these past 31 days.  Your wonderful comments kept me going when I wanted to throw in the towel.  I truly appreciate the time that you spent looking at my creations.  I have had such a wonderful time making these "out of my comfort zone" creations and sharing them with all of you.  I have "followed" I think all of the Wicked Bloggers blogs.  I want to make sure that I keep up with what all of you are creating.  I have my favorite artists, as all of us do, and I don't want to lose track of y'all.  I have learned so much this past month and have an arsenal of ideas to try in the upcoming months.  Because of this blog hop, I am now a Stampin' Up Demonstrator and am starting a new avenue in  my life.  I hope I can make it succeed, but if not, hey, a discount on Stampin' Up is always good, right.

Make sure to stay tuned to Terra's blog in the next few days for the remaining winners of the Scavenger Hunt as well as the grand prize winner...Oh I so want to win...my daughter wants the pj's..LOL.  Take care, stay well and keep on cranking out those amazing projects.!!

Giveaway Winners.

Hello there my friends.  I am posting today to reveal the winners of the giveaway.  My daughter has tracheal bronchitis, so she isn't feeling so well.  So, that leaves me to pick the winners.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to leave the house to go to the Post Office to mail these out to you ladies until Thursday. I'm sorry that these won't make it to your homes' until after Halloween, but you will have it for next year..right??:)

I put all three names in a bowl and drew two winners.  So, since both of you wanted in the drawing for both items, the first person to email me with your address gets to pick which one you would like to have.

So, the two items were the Green and Black 8x10 canvas and the 5x7 Rick St. Dennis images canvas.  Here we goooooo!!!!!

The two winners are:

Mo  and Lisa.  Congrats ladies.

I will be watching my email to see who contacts me first.  My email is timandem2000atyahoodotcom.

Day 9 of the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop

So glad to see all of the Horrifying Hoppers.  Are y'all getting tired yet?  I know I'm not.  I can't wait every morning to see what my Wicked Blogger buddies have created.  Remember to stop in and see each one of them..you can get the entire blog roll on the right of this post.  Also, are y'all searching for the hidden images each day?  Make sure to stop by Terra's blog for a list of winners as well as the complete list of rules and sponsors.

Now, on to today's eye candy.  As I have been making my way through the blogs every day, I have been inspired to create some more altered art.  I haven't done but only 4 pieces since I have been scrapbooking and card making, so this makes #4.  It's a wall hanging and my daughter has already called dibs on it.  She wasn't too happy with me because I offered up my Haunted Bird House for a giveaway, but I assured her we would create another one for her room before Halloween, so she was ok with that.

Let me apologize for the darkness of the photo, but i didn't finish this until after 10 pm last night, so I had to use what light I had.  I started with a blank wooden plaque from Wal-mart and painted it flat black.  I used papers from Teresa Collins and American Crafts.  After adhering them to the plaque, I used my Tim Holtz sander and distressed all four edges.  I then inked them with DI Vintage Photo.  Both stamped images are from RSD. (Witch's Cottage and Countess Van Bloot).  I colored them with colored pencils and OMS. On the cottage, I used a gray BIC Marker to add the shadows.  I added some Sakura glitter gel pen to the Countess.  The tree and the bat are from Martha Stewart and are acetate stickers.  The three black flowers are from Wal-mart.

I hope y'all enjoyed your visit today.  Now, get hopping over to Lisa's blog to see what she has in store for ya today.