Clear It Out Challenge #20

Good Morning friends and followers.  Welcome to my blog today.  It's cold here in NEPA but, Thank God, the snow missed us.  I'm sick of all that white stuff now.  It's Spring and I'm ready for some warm weather.

Today, over at Clear It Out, we have a new challenge for you.  Since it's officially Spring here in the US, how about a color challenge?  GREEN!! That's the challenge for this week.  

The stash item: Anything from your collection that is green.  We have a great sponsor this week, too.

It's very exciting having Stitchy Bear as a sponsor because you never know which designers you will be working with so you get to sample alot of different styles of design.  This week the three designers are:

Make sure you head over the store and visit these wonderful designers plus the others that are in the store.

Here's what I came up with for this challenge:

I just thought of Spring when I saw this cute digi.  I used lots of green in the background of this one. It just screams warm to me.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope y'all have a great Tuesday and God bless.  Remember, you are too blessed to be stressed!

Recipe:

Image: Nature Bear by Reeces

Sentiment: Stampendous Clearly Words

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Coloring Medium: Colored Pencils, Gamsol

Cardstock: no name Hunter Green

Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Cutterbee Scissors, Pop Dots

PAM Challenge

Hello peeps.  I am just a tad late posting this card. Our new challenge over at Paper A La Mode at the Outlaws this week is "To Use Something on Your Card that Starts with the FIRST Letter of Your Name."  Our generous sponsor this week is Scrapbook Stamp Society.  Make sure to stop by and show some love to Sherry.

For my card, I used an image called Ella Bella Buttons and the color Eggplant.

I love Sherry's images.  They are so cute.  I used a new stamp set from The Stamps of Life to make the daisy flower and the sentiment is also from that same set.

Thanks so much for joining me today.  I hope to see your entry this week at PAM.

Have a wonderful day and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Ella Bella Buttons from SSS
Sentiment: The Stamps of Life  Crazy4Daisies set
Stamps: Crazy4Dasies by The Stamps of Life
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Distressed Ink Dusty Concord, Victorian Velvet
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, Clear Star Sakura Glitter Pen
Cardstock: Recollections
Paper: Recollections
Gems: Queen and Co
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Pop Dots, Spellbinders Labels 10 Dies, Crazie4Daisies Dies (The Stamps of Life), Stamp Block, Inking Tool, White Gel Pen, Zig Writer in Black

New Challenge at QKR Stampede

Hello there.  Happy Friday.  Boy has this week flown by.  It's hard to believe it's the weekend already. 

Since it's Friday, that means a new challenge at QKR Stampede.  This week our challenge theme is: "A Little Birdie Told Me".  We want to see cards and projects featuring birds.  They can be real birds or cartoon birds.  Whatever kind of birds your heart desires.  As long as it's classified as a bird.

Remember, we now have two winners each week. One winner for using a QKR image and one using any image.  We also have our Top 5.

I used Blue Jays to make my card.  I actually had to look up a picture of a blue jays online to be able to color this image.  I had no idea they had so many shades of blue in them.  They truly are beautiful birds.  To bad they are so mean.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Hopefully we will see your entry this week at QKR Stampede. 

Have a great day and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Digi # 6305 Blue Jays QKR Stampede
Sentiment: QKR files
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, chalk, Sakura Clear Star pen
Cardstock: Colorbok, Recollections
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Birds and Swirls Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic Circles dies, Spellbinders Lacy Circles dies, pop dots

Challenges:
Cards and More--Sketch
Fantastic Tuesday--#27 Anything Goes
Party Time Tuesday--#164 Animals
Crafting for All Seasons--#73 No Designer Paper
4 Crafty Chicks--#186 No Patterned Paper
Creative Knockouts--#29 Things with Wings

First Post at a DT with Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges

Happy Hump Day!!!  I'm so happy to be back to crafting and blogging.  I have missed it terribly.  As you can tell from the title of this post, I am now on the Penny's Paper Crafting design team.  I'm so excited to be part of this great team.

Our challenge for this week is "Buttons and Bow". We have two great sponsors for this week:




and 


 


I used Bugaboo to make my card for today.

Purple and Green have to be one of my favorite color combos to use with flowers.  I love this word block from Bugaboo.  There are quite a few of them in the store.  Stay tuned because I will be using a few more of them on upcoming cards.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I sure hope y'all will join us for this great challenge this week at Penny's.  Have a wonderful day and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Thank You block from Bugaboo
Coloring Medium: Chromatix Alcohol Ink Markers, chalk
Cardstock: Green and Purple-Recollections
Papers: Recollections Bold Basics Stack
Twine: My Stash
Buttons: My Stash
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Pop Dots, Scotch Tape (to hold down twine on back)

Getting My Craft On

Good Morning Friends.  Guess what day it is?  Yep, you guessed it...it's Hump Day!!!  Dang, I still love that commercial. :)

I want to thank all of my friends and followers who left the sweetest thoughts for me during the last two weeks as I went through one of the saddest times of my life.  All of y'all's prayers meant so much to me.  I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.  

I know that my Granny is in a much better place and as one of my DT team mates said to me, she's saving me a seat in Heaven.  The service was absolutely beautiful.  It was just what she would have wanted. 

So, I have been able to get back to crafting.  I sure missed it while I was gone.  I hate being away from my craft room.  It's my relaxation and decompression area.

Today begins a new challenge at The Crafter's Cafe. Our theme this week is to "Make a Square Card." That was pretty easy for me since most of my cards are square ones.   

We have two wonderful sponsors this week:
                              

I am using Fred She Said Designs for my card today.  Are y'all ready to meet Rosy??

I think she's adorable.  I decided to make this a Mother's Day card and used a stamp from SU for the sentiment.  Rosy is decoupaged with 4 layers.  I'm not sure how much you can tell it.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today.  I hope y'all will continue to keep up with me now that I am back and getting crafty.  

Have a wonderful day and God bless y'all.

Recipe:
Image: Fred She Said Designs Rosy with Flower digi
Sentiment: Stampin' Up  More Great Greetings (1993)
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Green--Recollections, Pink--Colorbok
Paper: DCWV
Buttons: My stash
Ribbon: My stash
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Glue Dots, Pop Dots

Challenges:
Ladybug Crafts Ink--For a Special Lady
Paper Take Weekly--For Mom/Special Lady
Party Time Tuesday--#164 Animals
Shopping Our Stash--#143 Buttons and Bows

End of an Era

Hello my friends.  It is with a broken heart that I write this blog post.  My wonderful Granny, Kitty, passed away last night.  She fought the good fight and is now resting in the arms of Jesus. 

This is very hard for me to write.  As I sit here, tears streaming down my cheeks, I can see Granny's beautiful smile and hear her laugh.  She was the most wonderful Grandmother a girl could ask for.  She had a personality that outshined most people's. She would bend over backwards to help people and always had a smile at the ready for someone.

Being raised by this wonderful woman has shaped me into the woman I am today.  She instilled in me values, morals and an understanding of the world.  She took me to church at 5 days old for the first time and never stopped taking me.  She raised me to view people with understanding, and to always give people the benefit of the doubt.

I will miss this woman more than words can say.  Even though my heart is broken and I will always miss her, it is a comfort to know that she is walking the streets of Heaven, fully whole physically.  My Grandfather and my Father met her at the Pearly Gates.  She is now happier than she has ever been in her life.  Jesus opened up His arms last night at 6:17 pm and welcomed her to her everlasting home. 

Until I see you again, Granny, know that I love you and will miss  you every day of my life.  Kierstynne will miss you too and she loves you.  You were an amazing woman!

Clear It out Blog Hop Winner

Good Morning, my friends.  I hope y'all are having a great day so far.  I'm afraid that I brought the snow with me to Virginia.  I couldn't believe it.  I wanted to get away from all that cold and snow, but dang if it isn't cold and snowy here.  Go figure.

So, on to why y'all have stopped in today.  I am using Random.org to pick a winner.  So, here we go:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result: 21 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 

That's you: Susan Renshaw.  Congratulations! Please email me at timandem2000 at yahoo dot com with your mailing address.  I am in Virginia right now visiting with my Grandmother who is comfort care, so I will not be able to mail your package until I get back home, and unfortunately I cannot give you a date as to when that will be.  I will send you an email when I know more for sure.  We are just playing the waiting game with Granny right now.  So, Susan, as soon as I know a definitely time that I will get home, I will let you know.  Congratulations again.

 

Thanks to all the new followers and for those who left a comment on my blog.  I truly appreciate it. 

Have a wonderful day and God bless y'all.

Update on Granny

Good morning friends.  I just wanted to jump on here and give y'all an update.  I made it to VA yesterday around 2pm.  It was a nice drive down.  Got to spend some time chatting with my sister as we traveled back. 

I went to see Granny last night and was pleasantly surprised.  She was asleep when I got there, but I woke her up to visit.  She was a bit confused when I first woke her, but then the fog cleared and she grinned all over her face and said, "Lord have mercy look whose here."  It was funny.  When she saw Kierstynne her face just glowed and she said, "Oh my baby.  Lookie here."  She was thrilled to see her. 

We chatted and visited for about an hour.  I managed to get her to eat about 6 pieces of mandarin orange and 1/2 of a container of grape juice.  She asked if she could have some orange juice, so when the nurse brought it, she drank about 1/2 of that too.  They had brought her fish and rice for dinner and she doesn't like either of these.  The nurse told me that she has refused almost every meal since she got back to the nursing home from the hospital.

Granny has an infection raging through her body and blood that the doctors can't figure out the root cause of.  She only has one leg because she lost the other to Vascular Disease in 2002.  Well, that remaining foot now has gangrene in it.  It's very painful for her. She says it hurts all the time.  She's lost down to 105 pounds and looks like a little kid laying in the hospital bed.

They have put her into what is called comfort care.  That means they are just doing what they can to keep her comfortable while she lives out her last days.  They have taken her off all meds, including her heart medication, blood pressure pill, cholesterol pill and one other, but I don't remember what that is for.  The only thing she is on is pain meds.  She has refused a feeding tube and has signed a NRO and Living Will.  So, we are just basically waiting.  The nurse did tell me last night when I asked her if we had months, weeks, days, what..that we definitely didn't have months.

So, that's what is going on so far.  I will keep y'all updated on the situation as it unfolds.  Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.  My family and I truly appreciate them.  Have a wonderful Son-day and God bless.

Welcome to our weekly challenge.  This week our challenge is "Anything but a Square".  Let's see some of those creative oval, circle, triangle cards this week. 

Remember, we now have two winners per challenge plus a top 5.  

I made my first ever circle easel card for this challenge.  I think I did it right, but who knows.  It turned out ok so that's all that matters, right?

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see some of your projects over at QKR Stampede this week.  Have a great weekend and God bless.

Recipe:

Image: Flying Mouse by QKR Stampede

Sentiment: Birthday Candles by QKR Stampede

Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, BIC Marker

Cardstock: Neenah Solar White, Recollections

Papers: The Paper Studio

Gems: Studio G, Queen and Co

Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Pop Dots, Glossy Accents, Fiskar's Circle Cutter, Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Circles, Classic Scalloped Circles, Cuttlebug

From the Heart February Challenge

This is going to be a very short post.  I have been working my butt off today.  I made 15 cards in the last two days.  My fingers are tired.  I have been working to make sure my DT obligations are fulfilled before I leave for VA tomorrow.  I will blog all my cards when I get back, unless I get a chance to do some tomorrow.  Most of them are for next week and some for the week after, but I'm not sure when I will be back.

I will miss doing my challenges for the next couple of weeks, but I need to go visit with my Granny.  I will always have challenges but I won't always have her.  I'm sure y'all understand.

This card is for the From the Heart Progressive Monthly Freebie Challenge.  I love the Birdbrains. :)

I hope y'all have a great weekend and I will see y'all when I get back!!  God bless each and every one of you.

Sad News

Hello my faithful followers.  I have some sad news that I want to share with y'all.  My Granny, who raised me, is living out her last days.  She is in comfort care now and pretty much just existing. She can't eat, can't really move around, has an infection that the doctors cannot find, three bed sores and gangrene has set in on her remaining foot.  I am leaving for Virginia on Saturday to go see her.  I was able to speak with her on the phone this morning and let her know that I am coming and that I love her.  I'm not sure how much posting I will get done.  I am trying to catch up and get ahead on my design team cards so that I will not have to worry about them for a few weeks.  

I will be back as soon as possible here on my blog. Take care of yourselves and God bless y'all.

Clear It Out Blog Hop

Welcome, friends, to Clear It Out's 3rd Anniversary
Blog Hop.  We have a great line up for y'all today. Please take the time to visit each of the design team's blogs and see what they have created.

Each blog hop stop will have some prizes.  There are also prizes on the Clear It Out blog.



Our theme this week is Birthdays and our stash item is Bling.

We have two great sponsors for our hop.  First up, we have 


They are offering three (3) images for one random winner.

Secondly, we have


They have three (3) images for one random winner, also.

 Winners will be announced on the CIO blog next Tuesday.


Here is the card that I made using a Scribbles Designs image.

This is the Blog Hop List:

Barbara
Sujin
Emily---You are Here!! :)
Kathy
Jenni
Judith
Erin
Laura
Clear It Out


Like I said earlier, each person has something to give away on their blog.  For my prize, I have a surprise embellishment package.  What do you have to do to win you ask? Become a follower and leave a comment on this post and I will have my daughter pick a winner from the entries.  I will post the winner on my CIO blog post next Tuesday.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope y'all enjoy the hop and make sure to leave some love for all the design team.  Have a wonderful day and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Scribbles Designs
Sentiment: Sizzix Die and Stamp set by Stephanie Barnard
Ink: Memento Bahama Blue, Versafine Black Onyx
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, Sakura Glitter Clear Star Pen, BIC Marker
Cardstock: Recollections, GP
Papers: The Paper Studio
Bling: Queen and Co
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Pop Dots, The Paper Studio Wood Grain Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Ovals, Banner die from Sizzix set


Challenges I would like to enter:
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge--#247 Recipe Challenge
Card Making Mamas--Stack It Up
Craftitude--#59 Music Themed (I used the song, "What Does the Fox Say" for my card)
Crazy 4 Challenges--#224 Inspired by Music (the song, "What Does the Fox Say?" inspired me)
Glitter and Sparkle--#73 Bright Funky Colors
Card Mania--Use a Sentiment
Incy Wincy--Birthdays
Love to Create--#104  Anything Goes

Just a Note

Hello friends.  I just wanted to post a little blurb to let y'all know that Kierstynne's card was spotlighted on Delicious Doodles last Friday.  She was so excited.  She's looking forward to creating more cards and entering more challenges.

If any of you know of a challenge blog that will allow junior design team members, please let me know. She's driving me nuts to be part of a design team like her mommy.

New Challenge at Art by Miran

Hello folks.  I have another card for y'all tonight. This one uses an image from Art by Miran.  You can find her art by clicking the link or by checking out her FB page here.

I made a center step card for this one.  If you would like to have this image, I think it's still available for free if you go to Miran's FB page and request it.  I made the flowers to coordinate with the papers.  

Thanks, guys, for always stopping in and leaving me some love.  I really appreciate the time y'all take out of your busy days to come see what I have been up to.  Have a great day and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Art by Miran
Sentiment: Cardz TV
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tangelo
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, BIC Markers
Cardstock: Colorbok, GP, Recollections
Papers: Colorbok
Flowers: Handmade by me with a punch, Jolie's, Jo Ann's
Greenery: Sent to me by a friend
Gems:  Studio G
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, Ruler, X-acto Knife, ATG Gun, Pop dots, Hot Glue Gun, 

Challenges:
Ladybugs Crafts--Flowers Galore
Shopping Our Stash--#139 Make Your Own Embellishments
Inspired by Stamping--Monthly Challenge: Flowers
Penny's Challenges--#165 Lots of Layers
Crafty Girls--Anything Goes
Creative Fingers--#24 Anything Goes
Pinspirational Challenge--Anything Goes

New Paper A La Mode Challenge

Happy Saturday, friends.  Today is a busy day for me.  I've got tons of errands to run and my daughter is cashing in one of her Christmas coupons for lunch.  I made her a coupon book and gave it to her for Christmas.  There are coupons for lunches together, playdates at the park, game nights, snuggling and a movie.  Just different things so that she can pick when we spend time together.  We are together all day every day, but I figured this way, she would feel special being able to cash in her coupon and have Mommy's attention all to herself.

Our new challenge over at Paper A La Mode (must become a member of The Outlawz to participate) is "Flowers".  Our sponsor this week is Scrapbook Stamp Society and the prize is 2 images from Sherry's store.

The Design Team used Sherry's images and this is what I came up with:

This little cutie is called Sweet Marylou Bestie.  I have really gotten into making my own flowers.  I don't know how to make anything but roses, but I can make them in the colors, patterns or sizes I need them.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope to see some of y'all's entries over at Paper A La  Mode this week.  Have a great weekend and God bless.

Recipe:
Image: Scrapbook Stamp Society
Sentiment: Cards TV
Coloring Medium: Crayola Colored Pencils, Gamsol, Sakura Glitter Pens, BIC Marker
Cardstock: SU, Colorbok
Paper: not sure--it's from my stash before I started keeping my paper pads together
Roses: handmade with a punch, (greenery from a friend)
Pearls: Queen and Co.
Tools: Fiskar's Trimmer, ATG Gun, Pop Dots, Hot Glue Gun, Spellbinders Classic Circles Large, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles Petite, EK Success 5 petal flower punch, 

Challenges:
Avenue 613--#59  Anything Goes
Besties--Bingo Challenge: Flowers, Ribbon, Pink
Crafting from the Heart--#7 Anything Goes/Use Flowers
Scrapbook Stamp Society--#35 Make Your Own Flowers
Papertake Weekly--Lovely Layers
CMC Copics Challenge--February Anything Goes
Kitty Bee Designs--#17 Red/Pink