Belated Birthday Greetings

I made this belated birthday card using a free digi image from Marlene of Disguised as a Grownup. Marlene has a wicked sense of humor, and you can find so many hilarious images and sentiments when you follow her blog. I needed a few belated birthday images in my stash, so I paper pieced this image with Wild Asparagus dp and matted everything with black. She's colored with Copics and the sentiment was computer generated. The inside reads "this is the message that should have been sent before your birthday came and went!" (thanks to Mary Anne for the inside sentiment). I think I'm going to make several of these to keep on hand, as I forget birthdays now more than ever!

Enjoy your day everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

We made it!

We made it through hurricane Irene and although Saturday night was very stressful, we're fine. The tornado warnings went on long into the night, so I never went to bed or tried to sleep. We have minimal damage and no flooding, so we consider ourselves extremely fortunate! I'm hoping for a better week ahead. An earthquake, a hurricane, and tornadoes touching down in one week is extremely difficult to imagine, but it happened, and I'm glad it's behind us now! I think mother nature might be a little ticked!

On to my cards. First up is my entry for the Sweet Stop SSS123 sketch challenge found here. I used this cute Cocoa mouse image and colored it with Copics, and fussy cut it out. Oops! I accidentally snipped off the curly end of his tiny tail..........ouch!! I used some BG dp from the Jovial pack, and some red and green scraps from my stash. The sentiment is a sticker, and I added some yellow stickles to the star, and some liquid applique to the fur on his stocking.
This is my take on the OWH Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #83 found here. I used this adorable Sarah Kay image, and colored her with Copics in shades of purple and green. I added some PTI green leaf and plum pudding card stock for the mats, and some matching green leaf polka dot ribbon. The embossed panel was done with the SU! square lattice ef. I left the sentiment off because this can be used for many different occasions.

I haven't spent a lot of time on the computer lately so I have a lot of catching up to do. I hope your Monday is a great one for you, and thanks so much for stopping by :)

Carol

SNSDC17 My Favorite Color Combo

The challenge this week over at the SNSDC17 is to use your favorite color combination! For me it's purple and green.....any shades of those two colors work for me. I'm using this adorable Rhubarb's Balloons image and I colored him with Copics. I used DP from Echo Park and added some glossy accents to the balloons for interest. The ribbon was from my stash, and the sentiment is a digi from SNSS.

The announcement was made recently that you may now use ANY digi image to play along with our challenges. It is no longer required to use a SNSS image for this challenge, but we sure love to see them when you use them!

Grab those digis and your favorite colors and come play along with us! When you link to our galleries (or on SCS) use the keyword SNSDC17.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Carol

C4C12 - Use Some Stripes!

There's another new Crazy4Cocoa & Friends challenge over on the SNSS Connection this week, and this time we're asking you to use some stripes on your card! You can use some striped designer paper, or you could even use some scraps of card stock to create stripes, so let your imagination run wild and get creative! I used this cute SNSS Helping Hand digital image for my card, coloring with Copics. The dp is from the Memory Box enchanted collection and I used navy and leaf green card stock, along with a SU! border punch. The clouds were added using a sponge and some Ranger tumbled glass ink.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you'll take some time to play along with us this week. Please use the keyword C4C12 when uploading to the galleries.

Carol

Anything Goes!

There's another challenge at the Stamps R Us blog and this time the challenge is "anything goes!" That makes it easy enough for all of us :) The last time I went to a stamp meet, I stamped a couple of these images for future use, but there was no name on the stamp, so I'm sorry but I don't know who makes it. I stamped it with Memento ink, colored it with Copics, added scraps of blue card stock and yellow checkered dp, and finished it off with some ribbon. The photo doesn't show it too well, but I added glossy accents to the boots, puddles and umbrella. If you click the photo to enlarge it, you might be able to see those details.

Come join us and enter your "anything goes" card and you too might just end up being a lucky winner!

Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a great day.......even if it is raining :)

Carol

OWH Sketch Challenge #83

I made this super quick card for the Stars and Stamps blog sketch#83 found here. You'll have to excuse the quality of my photos as I'm now using PSE and it's like a foreign language to me after using such a user-friendly and easy-to-use program for years. I don't think I got the color quite right on this one, but it will have to do for now until I'm able to figure things out.

I used all papers from a K&Co autumn stack, and the sentiment panel was done with an EK punch and a SU! large oval punch. The sentiment is from SNSS done in Really Rust, and the tiny leaves and acorns were from an EK border punch. I'm definitely using this sketch often because it's not only quick and easy, but it's a great way to use those tiny scraps you have been accumulating.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a pleasant Sunday!

Carol

Two for Saturday

I posted a couple of cards on SCS yesterday but never got around to sharing them here. First up is the card I made for the QFTD74 to honor snowmanqueen/Carolyn. I used this SU! Bloomin Beautiful image, colored it with Copics and added some embossing done with a Sizzix ef, and a punched black panel done with en EK punch. The sentiment was done on a Spellbinders Fancy tag, but the ends got torn trying to remove it from the die, so I just trimmed it into an oval. The ribbon is by Offrey.
This is a sympathy card I made and posted for the F4A78 challenge to make embossing the focal point of the card. I used this SU! ef and adorned it with some punched flowers done with a Carl sakura punch. I added some Kaiser blush pearls and the sentiment is from MSE done with CTMH grey wool ink. Very easy to do but it has quite an appeal IMHO.

I hope you're having a great weekend, and I'll be back soon with more :)

Carol

Back to School Time!

The SNSDC16 challenge over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi challenges this week is to make a "back to school" card. I used this darling Rhubarb image for my card, coloring him with Copics and using papers, ribbon, a brad and a sticker from an Imaginisce scrapbook kit. This went together quickly since I had all the back-to-school themed items I needed.
Please check out all the other great sample cards from the DT right here. Keep in mind that when playing this challenge, you must use a SNSS digi image. When uploading cards to our gallery, please use the keyword SNSDC16.
It's hard to imagine that some children are already back in school in some areas, while others are just getting ready to head back within a week or two. Either way, it means summer is drawing to a close and Autumn is on the way. I come alive in Autumn, so I'm really looking forward to that beautiful time of the year.
Have a great TGIF day and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

C4C11 Crazy4Cocoa&Friends - Add some Green!

The Crazy4Cocoa&Friends challenge over at the SNSS Connection this week is to add some green to your card. I used this Milton Mouse image which is now included in the Simple Pleasures stamp set you can earn for FREE when you purchase $50 in SNSS clear stamps during the month of August. See the details here.
I colored Milton with Copics and layered the image on Labels 10 dies, adding some texture with square lattice and swiss dots embossing folders, and some greenery done with Spellbinders foliage dies. The tiny butterfly was done with a sizzix embosslit and colored with a black marker.
Grab those Cocoa, Rhubarb or any other cute SNSS animal images you have and come play along with us! If you upload to the gallery over on the connection, please use the keyword C4C11.
I hope your day is fabulous!!

Carol

SNSSAUG11RP01

Sweet'nSassy stamps had their first release party on Monday night over on SCS, and Taylor gave us this sketch challenge for the party. I made mine easy and simple and used SNSS Polka Dot Silhouettes and Poppies and Greetings stamp sets to create this card. I used Memento Tangelo, Grape Jelly, Bahama Blue and LadyBug Red for the floral colors and Versafine Onyx black for the sentiment. I added some dots with a fine marker and some small brads to the flower centers and this card was done in a flash!
I hope you have time to play along with the challenge before Thursday's deadline. The keywords for the challenge are SNSSAUG11RP01.
Have a happy day and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Turning 50

I recently had a request to make a 50th birthday card for someone who gave me a picture of her sister printed on copy paper! I had no clue how to work with that delicate piece of paper, but this is what I came up with. I distressed the photo by carefully sponging it with vintage photo ink and layered it with ovals and beaded ovals. I found 2 matching ribbons in my stash and wove them through the layers for some vintage interest. The vertical strip was done with 2 pieces of lace and a piece of narrow ribbon between them. The numbers were done with my Quickutz and all the papers are from the Mirabelle stack by the paper studio.
This card is going into the Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge #68 to add distressing.
Thanks for stopping by and may your day be a great one!

Carol

SSS121

My card is for the Sweet Stop Sketch 121 found here. I used a SU! set called "Open Sea" for my card, stamping the background piece with Ranger vintage photo ink, and sponging with Soft Suede. The colors are Pacific Point and Soft Suede, with a piece of BG kraft dp. I added the spiral punched border using a SU punch and added some hemp tied into a sailor's knot. I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed it wutg clear detail ep, and then sponged it and added more detailed color work with Copics. I used a white Sharpie to highlight some of the waves in the water. The sentiment was computer generated and this will be going into my next OWH box.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a great Monday!

Stars & Stamps Sketch 82

My card is for the S&S sketch challenge #82 found here. I used a new SNSS digi image called Rhubarb's Scarecrow and colored it with Copics. The DP is Bo Bunny Jazmyne and this couldn't have been an easier sketch to make a card with. I added a clip with a hank of twill colored with Copics to match and this was done! There's no sun here in PA today so the colors on the picture are not that great, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances. I can't complain because we've needed rain for quite a while and it's finally here.
Thanks for stopping by today and I wish you all a great week ahead!

Carol

SNSDC15 Add Lace

It's Friday and time for another SNSS digi challenge. This week we're adding lace to our cards.
I used this fun Melanie Mouse pre-colored digi which really makes for a quick card. While the image was still in the beaded ovals die, I colored inside the tiny ovals with a Copic marker. Then I took a fine black marker and went around the edge to create some faux stitching which really made the image pop. All DP is from Bo Bunny and I added a strip of DP on the inside of the lace panel. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see all of those teeny tiny hearts on the dp. Love that! The sentiment is from SNSS and I stamped a tiny red heart image over the word "heart" just for a little interest.
I hope you'll grab your Sweet'n Sassy stamps along with some lace and join us for this challenge. You can find lots of inspiration from my fellow DT members right here.
Have a fabulous Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

C4C10 & Friends Make a Bow

Hello and happy Thursday to everyone! It's time for another Crazy4Cocoa & Friends challenge, and today we want you to add a bow to your cards! It can be made of ribbon, twine, raffia, or you can use one of those cute bow punches and make it from paper. Just have fun with it and be creative!
You can use any Cocoa or friends image........which includes any of the cute animal images you can find over at SNSS. Today I'm using Rhubarbs Snowy Day for my card and I added a panel of retired DP along with some stickles on the snow, and a gingham ribbon bow. I added some liquid applique on his furry little hat, let it dry overnight, and then fluffed it up with the heat gun. The image was colored with Copics and it made me feel a little cooler just thinking about snow!
If you play along with us and upload to the galleries on the SNSS connection, please use the keyword C4C10.
Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!

Carol

Playing with New Stamps!

I've been playing with a new SU! stamp set called Field Flowers for a little while now, and today I used the SC345 sketch challenge to make another card with them. I stamped the image with Memento dandelion and tangelo inks and the stalk was done with always artichoke. The sentiment is from Sweet'nSassy's Your Friendship stamp set and all the card stock and dp is from PTI's summer sunrise and ripe avocado.
Here's one I made and mailed to a sweet friend last week, and this one is done with Plum Pudding and Old Olive colors. The sentiment is from SU's Whimsical words. The flowers were done with SU! pale plum and perfect plum inks.
I hope you're having a great day doing something you enjoy!

Carol

OWH MidWeek Throwdown

The mid-week throwdown over at the Stars and Stamps blog has a "thinking of you" challenge today. This card went together very quickly using scraps of DP and the SNSS Your Friendship stamp set for the floral image. I stamped the flower and leaves using Versafine Onyx Black ink on some PTI bitty box basics dp, then embossed it with clear detail ep and fussy cut them out. I added a big brad to the center. The sentiment is from MFP's Thankful Mums and Pumpkins stamp set. Embossing was done with the SU! square lattice ef.
This is the sentiment I use more than anything on my OWH cards, because I'm sure our service personnel is constantly thinking of their loved ones back home.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Carol

Encore Presentation

The challenge over at the Stamps R Us blog this week is an encore presentation! That means we're using a favorite, older card we previously made and posted, and we're posting it again! The prize for this challenge is a guest designer spot on the Stamps R Us blog!
I originally posted this card in October 2009 and made it for my neighbor's birthday. She has a dachshund that she'd just rescued at the time, so I knew she'd like this image. She liked the card so much she framed it! Now doesn't that just make your day special when someone frames a card you made for them?! We had a precious dachshund for many years too, so this card also has a special place in our hearts as well.
If you need the supply details for this card, please check the original post here.
Be sure and check my other DT members Encore Presentation cards too by clicking here, or finding them on my sidebar.
Thanks for stopping by and we'll be looking for your encore presentations too!

Carol

Dual Sketches

I had time to play along with 2 challenges while the race was on this afternoon, and here's what I came up with. First up is my card for the Sweet Stop Sketch SSS120. I flipped the sketch to make my card, using the Rhubarb's Sunflower digi image from SNSS. The DP is from BG origins and I matted with SU! chocolate chip on all the panels. The sentiment is from the SNSS Your Friendship. I added Glossy Accents to the flower just for a little interest.
This is for the sketch #81 over at the Stars and Stamps blog. I've had this top note die cut in a box for a long time, so today I pulled it out and embossed it for the sketch challenge. I used a flower from the SNSS Your Friendship stamp set, embossing with Versamark and black ep on a piece of retired DP from SU! I added some black accents with the leaves and sentiment panel and this was done super quick and easy.
I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing weekend!

Carol

Friendship SNSDC14

The theme for this weeks SNSSDC14 is "friendship." I used the SNSS bluebird digi image for this and colored it with Copics. I hand-cut a portion of the bottom and put an embossed circle of green cardstock underneath. The punched border was done with a MS punch (thanks Mary Anne) and to make it stand out against the white background, I added punched black and green circles to the back. The background was embossed with a TH bricked ef, and the sentiment is a digi from the Helping Hand stamp set.
I hope you'll check out the rest of the DT's fabulous creations by clicking here and find some time to play along. When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword SNSDC14, and remember to use only SNSS digi images for your cards!
Have a great day and have fun creating!

Carol

Catching Up!

I'm really running behind on my challenge cards, and hope I can find time to play with all of my favorite challenges before they expire! This one is for the mid-week throwdown over at the Stars and Stamps blog. This week we're honoring our OWH mascot and beloved pooch Ciara, who recently became an honorary soldier!! You can read the details here....too adorable!! Since she's now known as private Ciara, we're making K-9 themed cards in her honor! Go Ciara!
I used a free digi found on the OWH blog and colored it with Copics. The DP came from a dollar store pack that I've had forever and I added some side tabs and brads done with a fancy label punch from SU!
This card was made for the Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge #66 which is to use anything but ribbon. I love this MFP Southwest Cowboy stamp set, so I got to work and made a masculine card using BG granola paper and some brads and hemp. I stamped the images off once, then stamped onto the background using Memento London Fog ink. The paper was distressed to begin with, so half the job was done for me. I added 2 thin strips of coordinating solid color DP to the striped panel for a little interest. The image was embossed first with clear ep, then colored with Copics and matted with coordinating dp.
Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope to get back in the full swing of things again soon!

Carol

Crazy4Cocoa9 Let's Have a Ball!

My card today is for the SNSS C4C9 challenge found here. We've made some exciting changes to the Crazy4Cocoa challenge and now you can use ANY cute critter image from SNSS - including the latest line of adorable Rhubarb stamps! We'll be calling it the Crazy for Cocoa and Friends challenge which includes not only Rhubarb, but also Bethany Bunny and many more! This should add to the fun and give us a wider range of images with which to create cards! Have you seen any of those 25 cute Rhubarb images yet? If you haven't, you definitely need to :) There's also 4 sets of sentiments to choose from for your Rhubarb teddy bear cards!
This week the challenge is to "have a ball!" We're using any kind of a ball image on our cards. There are a variety of Cocoa images that already have some type of ball, or you can use any Cocoa or friends image and create a ball of your own. For instance, you could make a golf ball with a circle of white card stock and emboss it. For my image I used the digi SNSS Cocoa loves baseball image and added a sentiment with my Quickutz and peg stamps. If you play along with us, please use the keyword C4C9 when uploading to our galleries.
Thanks so much for stopping by....... now let's go play ball!

Carol

Stars and Stamps Sketch #80

I know I've been MIA for a few days, but my creative spark has fizzled. I just felt burned out, so I've been working on a scrapbook project in the meantime. I made time to do the OWH stars and stamps sketch challenge#80, and this is what I came up with although it doesn't completely fit the sketch. Ah well, they say a sketch is just a starting point, so that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! LOL
I pulled out some scraps for this one, and used an inchie stamp from SU, coloring it with markers before stamping. The white panel underneath the ribbon strips was scored on the Scor-pal for a little added interest. I originally used a large metal flower brad to gather the ribbons, but after it was all glued down it was much too small, so I got out the metal glue and adhered a flower with a matching brad right over the top. It worked and it's fastened permanently now, so I can't change my mind again :)
I'm going in search of my mojo now, so if anyone sees it, please send it back home! Thanks! Have a fantastic day!

Carol