FTTC22

The Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge this week is to use chalks. I only have a small selection of pastel chalks, so I use them on black because they show up better. I used the sweet pea stamp for this card and layered it with Nesties on black and Aqua Mist cardstock with Blush Blossom as the base. I stamped it in versamark and embossed it with white ep, then colored in with chalks. I added a bow, some Blush pearls, stamped the sentiment and this was done in less than 1/2 an hour! The phone rang just as I was stamping the sentiment and I stamped it a little crooked. ARGH!! I hate when that happens, but hopefully the recipient won't notice!
Thanks for dropping by today, make it a great Tuesday!

Carol

Extremes!

If you saw my card yesterday, you know I was supposed to add distressing to meet the Viva La Verve July01 sketch challenge. I forgot to distress, so when I saw today's technique challenge over on SCS to make Faux Burnt Edges I thought hmm......... I wonder if I could combine both challenges in one card? Well this is that extreme result and I hope you get a chuckle or two out of it. I took this card a slight bit {LOL} over the top with the burnt edges look, but this is just where my mind went with it. After I sponged the first top note diecut piece with inks, I thought wow, that looks like it really went through a fire! I decided to take a piece of bright orange cardstock to make the bottom top note layer since that reminded me of flames. After I sponged that one, I thought wow, this looks like it burnt to a crisp! I took a piece of orange ribbon and sponged that with black and walnut inks to give it that crispy look too :) Then I wondered what on earth I'd use for a sentiment for something like this?! As I looked through my stamps, I found this little chihuahua stamp and remembered posting a card with this image on SCS some time ago. One lady commented that it looked like Paris Hilton's dog Tinkerbelle. Ok, we all know Paris's trademark answer to everything, right? THAT'S HOT! That was an aha moment for me. Honestly, I never planned on making a card like this......especially for a VERVE challenge! Verve makes the most elegant stamps while this one might be categorized as shabby grunge! I computer generated the sentiment since Verve makes nothing appropriate for this type of card! *snort* Oh well, I had a good laugh over the results and I hope it brings a smile to your face too :) We once had 2 chihuahuas and they brought so much joy to our lives, so perhaps that's why I find this one so amusing. I miss those little guys too!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Monday :)

Carol

stamps - Doggie Bag by A Muse artstamps, Technique Tuesday
paper - cottonwood, orange, black
inks - versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Walnut, Antique Linen, and Black , White Craft Ink, Soft Gray Wool
accessories - top note die, TOmbow markers, Clear ep, ribbon, sponges

A Big Oops!

I made this card for the Viva La Verve July1 sketch challenge with a twist, but there's one gigantic mistake. The twist this week was to use distressing. That's right, I followed the sketch meticulously, but as I was creating this one, I completely forgot to add distressing! *sigh* Oh well, I liked this card just the way it turned out, so I'll have to try the challenge a 2nd time the RIGHT way! I think I'm sleep deprived?!
Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for stopping by.

Carol

stamps - Verve
paper - gable green, black, cottonwood, lovely leaves dsp (unknown mfr)
inks - Versafine onyx black
accessories - crocheted lace, Swiss dots and leaf branches CB folders, sheer ivory ribbon, mini flower, Kaiser pearl

Stampin'Bees Challenge #12

Good Afternoon everyone!
I made time today to play the Stampin' Bee's challenge # 12 to use both wet and dry embossing on a card. I am seriously challenged when it comes to photographing white cards, so you'll have to overlook my wonky photo until I can learn how to master that technique. It's a crisp white and soft lavender color combo.
Anyhoo....I embossed the heart with white pearls ep on white cardstock. It gives it a bit of an elegant look IRL. I also embossed the sentiment with silver ep and colored the dove with a Tombow marker. The dry embossing is the vertical panel that was done with the Swiss dots ef. I layered everything with Prism magestic purple light card stock. The wedding bells image is a sticker. I added a few faux wedding rings with some silver cording beneath the bow. It really didn't take long at all to make this card, and I guess that's why I got a challenge done on the day it was intended?! LOL
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Carol

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday on Thursday!

Silke came up with a wonderful sketch challenge for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge found here. I had to tweak the sketch a little bit because I had no room left for a sentiment on the bottom. I used this great stamp set Life, Love and Lemons that I won by posting a comment on the Flourishes blog during it's release week. I love working with these images and lately I find myself reaching for shades of yellow, where I rarely ever used that color at all! I stamped the image on wc paper with Versafine Onyx black ink, and colored it with Tombow markers. I covered the entire image with Versamark ink, embossed it with clear ep, and then cut it out and popped it up on the oval with dimentionals. I also made an extra leaf and placed that underneath the oval for added interest. The hardware is from SU! and it WAS antique brass until I versamarked that and dipped it in black ep and heated it. Now it's black and matches the brads. The dsp from SU! is a soft yellow tone which looks much better IRL than my photo shows. If you click on it, you can probably see the detail. The ribbon is may arts and the cardstock is PTI white.
Thanks for stopping by as always :)

Carol

VSJUN04 and VSJUN05 Verve Sketches

Here are my final 2 cards for the Verve Release 5 sketch challenges. This one was done in shades of teal and pale green. I used a sheet of My Mind's Eye dsp and flipped it for the top portion. The image is from Penny Black, and was colored using Tombows. I used always artichoke and taken with teal, and the cupcake was made with a MS punch, using liquid applique and dazzling diamonds for the frosting. The corners were made with a Quickutz. The sentiment is from a G studio stamp. I used a white gel pen to draw lines on the cupcake, making it look like crimped paper cupcake liners.

This is the 5th and final sketch in the challenge. I used Cool Caribbean and Chocolate Chip for this one. I found this AWESOME ribbon at AC Moore the other day and it perfectly matches the cool caribbean and even has a tiny brown diagonal stripe to match the chocolate chip! I have just a tiny scrap of the Sweet Always dsp left and I thought it worked well with this card. The sentiment is by SU! from Seeing Spots, the small flower in the sentiment circle is from Verve's Because of You set. It's embossed and popped up with a Kaiser chocolate pearl in the center. The larger flower was white and I colored it with Cool Caribbean reinker and an aquapen. The border was done with the MS doily punch and the ribbon bow was made with the bow-easy. I hope that gets easier to use in time........for now I can't seem to get my center piece to lay flat. I'll keep trying though!

Have a cool day wherever you are. We're getting some serious humidity today in PA, so I think I'm just going to chill indoors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

CTD#48

Here's my entry for the Color Throwdown #48. LeAnne chose the colors of Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette and Kraft for this week's challenge. I love how they look together and I'm really going to miss these "IN" colors once they're gone. I used the Echoes of Kindness stamp set and colored it with reinker and markers, and sponged it with Pink Pirouette. I layered it with Baja Breeze using my petite Nesties and popped it up on a top note die cut from the pink. The ribbon may be Pretty in Pink, but it matches. I pierced around the edges of the cardstock and added a computer generated sentiment cut with the word window punch.
Thanks for a wonderful color challenge to the ladies of the CTD blog and I hope you're all having a fun Wednesday!

Carol

Blog Candy Winner!

JD is the winner! Thanks so much for everyone who participated! Oh, this is Miss Ainsley, who was more than thrilled to pick from the hat!

Verve Sketch Challenge June Release

I've been working on some sketch cards for Verve's new release for June 2009. Julee has left 5 sketches to be done by week's end before her latest release, and I love playing along with Verve whenever I can. Their sketches are fantastic to work with, and their stamps are awesome too! If you want to play along, there's still time and you can find all the information here.
The first sketch is VSJUN01 and was done with Fancy Pants dsp and 2 sets of Verve stamps. I added some tiny paper flowers, gemstones and SU taffeta ribbon (I LOVE that ribbon!) I colored the stamp with Tombows because it matched the dsp better to be a little lighter in areas. Very quick and easy to make.
Next up is the VSJUN02 sketch. It's all done in black, white, and Cool Caribbean. The sentiment is by Imaginisce, and the flower is from the Because of you set by Verve. The flower was stamped with Versamark on white cardstock, embossed with black ep, and colored with reinker. I colored the loops in the sentiment with the reinker, and added some Kaiser bliss pearls.
This is the VSJUN03 sketch. All done in Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze dsp, Chocolate Chip and Cottonwood. If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see the soft floral image on the sentiment panel that I stamped in Beige Sand. That's from the Because of You stamp set by Verve. The sentiment is done in Chocolate Chip and that's from the Thoughts and Prayers set by SU!. The ribbon is from SU! and I made it with the Bow-Easy. I have quite a learning curve to master with that tool, but it should get easier as I go along. The sentiment panel was cut with Nesties petite ovals.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great Wednesday.
Since our counter went past 10,000 hits already, the blog candy has now closed. The winner will be announced as soon as one of us can round up our granddaughter to draw a name! Thanks for playing along!

Carol

It's Blog Candy Time!!

We’re thrilled that so many of you enjoy visiting our blog, and as we approach 10,000 hits we’ve decided to offer up some goodies for one lucky visitor. Everyone has a chance to win, but what is the catch you ask? We want you to leave a link to a blog that you read regularly and tell us what you enjoy about it. Everyone who leaves a comment with a link will have their name go into the drawing. We'll have one of our granddaughters select the winner once we reach 10,000 hits and the winner will be announced. If you're one of our current followers or sign up to become one, we'll put your name in twice, so you'll have TWO chances to win!

One comment per person please, duplicates will be disqualified. You’ll have to check back to see if you’ve won, unless you prefer to leave your contact information in your posted comment. You’ll be safer from spam by posting your email address like this: abcd at g mail dot com.

If you don’t leave your contact information and don’t return to see if you’ve won within 3 days of the drawing, another name will be randomly chosen.

You can find any of these goodies at StampersDream. If you're looking for exceptional customer service and super fast shipping, check out Michelle's store and tell her Heidi and Carol sent you!

Good luck and thanks for visiting us!



Heidi and Carol

VLVJun04 Sketch Challenge w/twist

Good Monday morning everyone!
I finally found time to make my 4th and final card for the Viva La Verve June sketch challenges with a twist. The twist this week was to add just one piece of dsp and draw inspiration from it. I chose a piece of Basic Grey Wisteria because it has my favorite color purple in it! I love the purple and blues together. I stamped off the small flowers once in eggplant and added some 3mm pearls to the centers. I used my coluzzle to cut the dsp and then used a Nestie to cut the scalloped mat behind it. The ribbons are both by SU! and the stamp set I used is called "because of you" by Verve. The embellishments are cardstock pieces cut with a hole punch and covered with CTMH liquid glass.
I hope you all had a great weekend and I wish you a great week ahead. It's Monday and the sun is actually shining, could it be any better?!

Carol

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to all you dads out there!
Since my son is such a huge Phillies phan (gotta be from Philly to spell it like that), I made him this post-it note holder that his daughter will give him tomorrow. The medallion is actually from a can of Coca Cola that featured the team logo after they won the world series last year. I cut it out with scissors, layered it on a red piece of cardstock cut with a Nesties, and adhered it to the baseball dsp. It slides right into the acrylic picture frame and is secured with the ribbon. The post-it note pad is attached with red line tape.
This is the box I made for the notepad. I used the remainder of the baseball dsp to decorate the top and sides, and made this cute little tag with stickers. Inside there is a scalloped medallion with a baseball sticker in the center. The glare doesn't allow the phillies logo on the bottom left to be visible but you might be able to see it better if you click on the picture. The number 3 is for my granddaughter's age. I wish I could be there to see her present this to her daddy, but unfortunately they went back home today *sigh*. It was great having them here all week, but the time went too fast. If you're by some chance reading this Jim, have a happy father's day! You really are a great dad and we're so proud of you!
Thanks to all of you for stopping by and be sure to tell your father how much he means to you on this special day!

Carol

Another great smile!

I should apologize for posting pictures of the grandkids because you come here to see cards, but equal time is only fair, right? You'll have to indulge me for one more day ;) This is my older granddaughter Rachel that was happily working at making some of her own cards yesterday. She stayed overnight along with her cousin Cory and she was a big help to me. I turned her loose in my craft area and let her do her own thing. She likes all my punches as much as I do, so she went home with a bagful of punched images, some pieces of dsp and ribbon, and 6 cards she made all by herself.
I'll be back to making and posting cards soon, so have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

What a Smile!!

I haven't been making many cards lately and this charming little girl is the reason. This is my youngest granddaughter Cory, (she's 3) who is visiting us from Indiana this week (along with Mommy and Daddy of course)! The day this picture was taken, we were busily (and happily) making Play-Doh cookies. Just before she served them to her parents, she allowed me to take this picture, proudly showing off her cookie-making skills. I'm going to miss her so much when she goes back home in a couple days.........sniff sniff. I don't get to spend nearly as much time with her as I'd like to since she lives so far away..........but I'm grateful for moments like these that I can cherish forever through photographs:)
Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by:)

Carol

Color Throwdown #47 - USPS Goes Anywhere!

Good Morning! The colors were great this morning on the Color Throwdown Challenge, located HERE. It was the perfect inspiration to make my husband's Father's Day Card! We fish and fish and fish (don't worry, no fish are harmed in this sport...all catch and release), and most weekends you will only find us on the river or a lake somewhere. A fishing theme is perfect for Jim.

I used all High Hopes Stamps, designed by Crissy Armstrong. She is such a talented artist and her stamps always make me grin. All images were watercolored with Tombow markers, which can be bought at an AWESOME price at Stamper's Dream. I wanted to add the cute diver, delivering Mr. Cod his Father's Day card. The diver actually works for the U.S. Postal Service...see they deliver anywhere! I made a tie for my Cod, out of SU designer paper, that had a touch of Cameo Coral in it. The water background is just paper drenched in water, smeared with SU reinkers (Tempting Turquoise, Bashful Blue, & Bordering Blue). The bubbles were done first, using embossing powder. The Kiwi Kiss paper was stamped with SU Crosshatch background stamp and I did the greeting bordered in Cameo Coral & added a metallic Turquoise heart. Everything cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The little card is just a scrapbooking embellishment, I had on hand. The card base is Old Olive. Inside is the diver again, holding a Gander Mt. gift card....he should like that!

Thanks as always for stopping by! Have a wonderful Wednesday

Heidi

Kitchen Sink Stamps Challenge #14

I finally came up with an idea for Lynn's Kitchen Sink Stamps challenge #14, which is to Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle.........they're going GREEN! We're supposed to reuse something instead of throwing it out. Well I thought long and hard over this one and kept coming up with nothing! Then the other day I saw an empty soft drink can sitting on the counter and I realized I could use the tab for a ribbon slide! I rubbed the tab into my Versamark ink pad and then dipped it into some copper embossing powder and hit it with a heat gun. The silver turned to a beautiful copper color that went well with the flower colors, so I pulled out a roll of white tulle and wove it into the "slide" and then tied the sentiment panel on with copper cording. The flowers are from the beautiful Hibiscus stamp set and the sentiment is a combination of 2 stamps from the Honey Bunny set. I used Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, and white cardstock for the card base. Inks were blush, coral, potters clay, cranberry, chestnut brown, new sprout, bamboo leaves, and cottage ivy. Thanks for the great challenge Lynn, and thanks to everyone for stopping by :)

Carol

Tuesday Flourishes Challenge FTTC20

Good Morning! I made this card for my Dad, for Father's Day. Dad passed away in 2004, but he's always with me...I look in the mirror and see him in my face. He's in my heart and etched deep in my soul. I saw the challenge today and thought of the Poppy set, from Flourishes, that I had just bought from Michelle Rodgers at Stampers Dream. I have never made a distressed "old fashioned" card before, but I wanted to include some personal things, for Dad. You see, he hoarded papers, all kinds, and doo dads too. Mom and I have been sorting now for years, and I used a ledger sheet he had saved, along with a little button, probably from a garment that my Mom must have owned long ago. When we go to Northern Wisconsin, for our family vacation, this summer, the card will be placed in the lake, where Dad's ashes were spread. I always bring his card up and "give" it to him, even though it's months late. Until we go, I'll leave it on our mantel, for us to enjoy. Oh! That picture is me, at 7 months old, taken in the old cabin. He'll enjoy that!

I used SU Kraft cardstock for the base, some random DP I had laying around. The cool frame is from my buddy Carol (I love ya!) as well as the clip. The image is colored with only 3 tombow markers and a brush. I distressed it with Tim Holtz Cordorouy ink. The saying is from SU (thanks Deanna!).

Hope you all have a magnificent day! My heart is light and happy, thinking of Dad always makes me feel that way!

OOPS! I was suppose to mention the poster that inspired this card...here it is!

Heidi

Mojo Challenge #91

Loved the Mojo Challenge for this Monday, June 15th found here . I was giving up stamping, mainly because life has been just so busy. I had already cleaned out a good portion of my stamping room when our Granddaughters came over to stay last week. Avery could have cared less, since she's only 7 weeks old, but Ainsley had a total breakdown! "Stamps, stamps, stamps???" "Grandma, where's our stamps???" Needless to say, Ainsley and I worked furiously to get some stamps out and put them back on the shelves. She is a craft fanatic and I guess I didn't realize how much she loved spending time in "our" room, creating so many different things. Well, now that I've been brought back to my senses, by a 2 year old, I figured I might as well create again. I got this fabulous stamp set, Violets by Flourishes, from Stamper's Dream, owned by Michelle Rodgers. I HIGHLY recommend her store to everyone, the ordering is flawless and the service is exceptional!

Used Tombows and brush to color the images, all paper is SU. Ribbon and buttons are just something I had on hand. Since I did the mojo challenge, I always try to tweak the same image and make a second card. Below the Mojo challenge card is what I came up with.

Thank you, my little Ainsley, for telling Grandma that this is not only important to you, but to me too! I forgot how relaxing creating is!

Heidi

Viva La Verve June week 3

Here's my card for the VLVJune03 sketch challenge with a twist of white! Amber wants to see lots of white space on our cards this week. My DH came in the room when I was wrapping this up and said "Oh, that's a nice card, but it's too much white!" ROFL!!
I used Cuttlebug happy birthday and swiss dots embossing folders. The sentiment is by Verve and the crocheted flower is by yours truly. I added some red Geo Sparklers here and there for interest and a piece of SU ribbon.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Friday!

Carol

21st birthday card

A friend ordered this card for a young lady who is about to celebrate her 21st birthday. I used PTI Aqua Mist cardstock and polka dot ribbon with a hint of black. I love this sketch and use it frequently because the possibilities are endless. The punched border was done with the EK Fleur de lis punch. The numbers are stickers from my stash and the sentiment is by SU!
Have a great Thursday and thanks for stopping on by ;)

Carol

SCS232, CTD#46

Here's a double challenge card for the SCS sketch challenge 232, and the Color Throwdown challenge to use Saffron, Celery, Brocade and Bashful blues. I used all SU! papers except for the water color paper. I colored the image with SU! & Tombow markers. The brocade blue squares were embossed with a CB embossing folder. I sponged the edges of the focal panel with Saffron and distressed them. A few topaz gemstones and some Saffron ribbon and it was done!
Thanks for the great challenges ladies and thanks for dropping by today :)

Carol

Another Fifth Avenue Floral

I must admit I'm totally addicted to making these water colored flowers now and I can't seem to stop myself! LOL This card is going to my daughter on her birthday later this month. She's having a milestone birthday and if she has a problem with the number, you can only imagine how old it makes me feel! LOL I don't concern myself with numbers anymore though....I've learned that age is simply a state of mind and as long as I still have my mind, it's a good birthday :)
This was done with Cameo Coral, Old Olive, white and black. 2 shades of pink reinkers were used to color the embossed flowers. I used the SU embossing folder and trimmed around the top edge to reveal the black underneath. I used Bliss colored pearls by Kaiser on the flowers and a word window punch for the sentiment. The sentiment stamp is by Imaginisce and the taffeta ribbon is from SU!
Enjoy your day and thanks for dropping by:)

Carol

Flourishes Easy Breezy Challenge

I needed to make a masculine birthday card for someone, so I decided to use the Easy Breezy Flourishes challenge to make a card that takes no more than 10 minutes to create. With a guys' card, the less fuss the better. I only have 2 flourishes stamp sets (Poppy & Sweet Pea) so neither of those were appropriate for a man's card :) I used Trendy trees for the image and used a combination of punches and Nesties to layer it in the window. When the card is closed, the scallops are perfectly aligned, although it doesn't appear that way when it's open. The sentiment was done with an Imaginisce stamp and daubers. I added a bit of piercing and had a card done in actually less than 10 minutes. I thought of a tree when I saw the word "breezy" so this was my inspiration for this challenge.

Carol

Stamps - Trendy Trees, Imaginisce
Paper - Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, White
Inks - Hunter green, Chocolate Chip
Accessories - Nesties circles, Marvy Punch, SU Punch, Piercing tool

Viva La Verve June week 2

I made this card for my granddaughter to give to her Mom on her birthday later this month. It was made for the VLVJun02 sketch challenge with a twist. This week's twist is to use something "new". What's new on this card are 2 Verve stamps I just bought. One is the Because of You set, and the other is a single flower image that matches those in the set. I stamped them with Versamark, embossed them with white ep and then colored them in with some Cool Caribbean reinker and an aqua brush. I cut them out and popped them up on foam tape and added a couple turquoise gemstones. The leaves were made with an oval punch and run through the crimper. The blue dsp is by Basic Grey (2 scoops) and I also used Prismatics Birchtone in shades of light and dark. The tiny scalloped border was done with an EK border punch, and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see the piercing I did along the edges of the white cardstock base. Ribbon was from my stash.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Carol

Father's Day Card

I know this style of card was done many times before, but I always make a few more each time Father's Day rolls around. I love the little origami necktie and clip! I used the shortcut method to create the shirt because it's faster to make, it's bigger, and it stays flat for mailing compared to the smaller folded version with sleeves. I made this one for my granddaughter to give her Daddy. All paper is by SU! and the clip and tiny button brads were in my stash.
Thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

2 sketches 4 you

I made this card to enter the 1st Annual 2 Sketches 4 You Ultimate Card Showdown. They're celebrating their first anniversary with a huge contest with some incredible prizes. Where have I been for the past year I wonder? I just found this blog 2 days ago!! Click the link above and it will take you there for all the details.
Anyhoo.....on to the details. I used a combination of Prismatics Candleglow cardstock in light, medium and dark shades, with a touch of black and Old Olive. The flowers are from Fifth Avenue Floral by SU! I stamped them with Versamark, embossed them with with white embossing powder and then watercolored them with reinkers (So Saffron & Barely Banana). After cutting them out I applied a few drops of Glue to the centers and added some microbeads. I popped them up on some foam tape and made the leaves with oval punches and a paper crimper. The gold beads were from a dollar bin and the punched borders were done with a Fiskars border punch. The black ribbon was in my stash and the beautiful sentiment was made with a stamp from Verve.
Thanks for stopping by on this rainy, dismal Friday here in PA. Hopefully the sunny colors in this card will help to remind us of sunny days that are coming soon:)

Carol

SC231

I made this card for the SCS sketch challenge today. It's all done in white and Soft Sky. The flower was embossed with white ep and water colored using Soft Sky reinker. The panels were embossed with a cuttlebug ef. Pearls by Kaiser, Sentiment by Imaginisce, Flower by Fifth Avenue Florals (SU!) Ferns by MS and EK punches.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

FTTC18, CTD45

Good Wednesday morning to you all. Here's a card I was working on for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge to use a frame, when I realized the colors were close enough to use it for the Color Throwdown challenge too. Today's CTD challenge is to use Chocolate Chip, Green Galore, and Pink Passion. I don't have any green galore or pink passion, so I used Sage card stock and a pink prima. The card base was cuttlebugged on the top half with the swiss dots ef and there's a score line just above the sentiment panel which didn't photograph well at all. The frame was made with 2 EK Fleur de lis punches, while the center panel is a piece of Cosmo Cricket dsp. The flowers and brad were from my stash and the ribbon is by Heidi Swapp. The sentiment panel was cut from a Nesties and the sentiment is from Verve.

Thanks for two fun challenges ladies and thanks for stopping by to say "hey!"

Carol

What a gift from Carol!

Good Morning! Now, normally I don't post RAK's, for the reason that they are so very special to me, so personal. I love sitting and touching the cards or gifts, thinking to myself what made this wonderful person, who entered my life, send me something so spectacular? What made her think of me, of spending hours and hours creating such a fantastic treat for me?
This memory book was just too awesome not to share, made with sheer love, with memories I've shared with CAROL, with photo's we send back and forth. Carol has captured so many
dear and unforgettable moments with me, this book I will treasure forever, looking back at not only the photos, but the love, time and wonderment that went into creating such
a beautiful gift for me. Carol, you're my heart, my soul.
I love you, forever and ever!

This is the front and back covers, of my memory book. She created it out of a childrens book, then scrapbooked the pages. The detail on everything is incredible! Look closely and enjoy each page. I'm still finding new little bits and pieces, all added with skill and love!

This is the book open, tied with the cutest material! What a treasure!
It sits out, upon my living room table, which holds pictures
of all I hold dear. It will stay there forever,
for everyone who enters our home to enjoy!

Page one, hahaha, the memory of my Mattie, getting her nose stamped and markered, by our oldest Granddaughter, Ainsley. Of Ainsley and our Annie, opening a gift from Carol, and Ainsley having to wear her mud boots winter, spring, summer and fall!
My little Cowgirl, sweet "cone" eater, and flower picker!
Look at all the wonderous details! Stunning!

Awwww, our newest Granddaughter, Avery, born in April. Grandpa is so proud and happy and I'm just moved to tears, knowing I have another little one to show all
the cool things in nature and in life that await her!
Beautiful page colors, the papers are GORGEOUS and wow, the time it took to create this
masterpiece!

Now this is a tear jerker. We lost Mattie in February, to a sudden and rapid illness.
Our hearts still break, tears flow, but Carol created this page so
perfectly, it brings comfort to our hearts and makes us grin.
Mattie's smiles always brought joy to us!
Carol's creations do the same thing!

Our Granddaughters with us, Ainsley a tractor driver, living on that vehicle when she visits, driving to see all the new life that graces our property.
Our brand new Avery, now a plump 12 lbs, in one short month.
There's nothing like being a Grandparent, it's the ultimate love!
Look at all the details on this page, it's unbelievable!
It's just beautiful Carol! We look at the book over and over again!

Here's my Dad, my hero. He taught me there was nothing I couldn't do.
I miss him so, miss that grin, miss his hugs, miss his love.
But he's with me always, he's a part of me, I'm a part of him.
I love you Dad!
Carol, you've captured Dad in the purest form, his love of nature,
his love of fishing, he flies high with the eagles, watching
over his family...

My love, my best friend, my husband.
The story behind this picture is awesome, but I can't share it now, I'll cry.
Let's just say my Dad gave Jim the greatest gift a man could give another...
A giant fish, love, and knowing Dad is still with us.


There is a couple of things I know about life. Love your family, hold them close.
And when you find a friend like Carol, hold on tight, never let go!
You're in my heart forever and I can't thank you enough for this beautiful gift!
I love you Carol, I love you!!!

Heidi

MoJo89

Here's my entry for the Mojo89 sketch challenge. I used my new Verve stamp set "Because of You" and I just LOVE it! I dug into my stash of retired dsp and cardstock for this one using Bali Breeze and Purely Pomegranate. I promised myself I was going to stop hoarding all these gorgeous papers and actually USE them, so this is a good start. I stamped the silhouette image in Blush Blossom on white, and did the sentiment in Turquoise and Pomegranate inks. The big bling flower is by Kaiser and the pearl is by Martha Stewart. The flower was one I found in my stash and the ribbon is from SU!
Thanks for having a lookie see :)

Carol

Black Tie Wedding

I made this card for a Black Tie Wedding. I started with a piece of tulle and wrapped it around a piece of black card stock. I punched 2 holes and ran thread through to secure the tulle, and then added a crocheted flower (made by yours truly) and a beautiful, fancy brad (a gift from Heidi). I wanted something to bring out the gold in the brad, so I found a scrap of gold mirror cardstock and cut 2 nesties and layered them and embossed the sentiment with gold EP. I punched a couple of tiny hearts and added 2 gold beads. I outlined the black cardstock edges with a gold opaque pen, holding a ruler along the edge to keep it straight. It's just enough gold to make it very formal and elegant and I hope the recipients enjoy it:)
Thanks for stopping by on this incredibly beautiful Monday!

Carol