Hot Summer Fun Penguin

Coffee of the Day - Texas Turtle (pecan, caramel, & choco)

I have another card for one of the challenges over at The Outlawz to show you. I am also giving this to Mick's girlfriend, Jocelyn. the college she attends has a penguin for a mascot, so this is perfect for a 'summer break' card for her! :)


image is from Digi Darla, senti is Create with TLC, papers are from Basic Grey Plumeria collection, silver/natural twine is Maya Road, roses are Prima, wave die is MFT, floral leaf die is Cheery Lynn. lots of accents with the white gel pen and spica clear gel pen on main image. also dots of stickles and digi shell painted with shimmerz. rock candy distress stickles on edges and wave tops.

See you in the morning!

Challenges:
Catch the Bug - summer or July 4th
Di's Digi Downloads - summertime
Emergency Crafters - summer sun
Raise the Bar - summer
4 Crafty Chicks - school's out
Inky Impressions - beach fun
Deep Ocean - welcome summer
Digital Tuesday - amazing animals
Sassy Cheryl - summer

Dilly Beans - Tag, it's Christmas!

Scared ya there for a second, didn't I?! sorry, but I do make holiday cards year 'round, so it seemed appropriate to create one for the new challenge going on over at Dilly Beans - tags. even though my project isn't an actual tag, it has several ON it....


I used both the candy border and gingerbread house images from Megan to create this card. papers are My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas, washi tapes are My Mind's Eye, poinsettia is Prima, bingo tile is Maya Road. lots of glimmer mist and stickles were used on here as well. fabby tag on the tag comes from Mish's shop on Etsy. may just have to go back and get more of these, 'cause I think it won't take long for me to use up the ones I have. ;) I am really having fun playing around with the washi tape. you will see more on another project coming up this weekend!

Challenges:
365 Cards - sparkle & shine 2 ways (2 types of stickles & glimmer mist)
CCEE - tags or tag on card
Crimbo Crackers - anything goes
Divas by Design - tag, you're it!
Clear it Out - anything goes plus 2 or more ribbons from your stash
Holly Jolly Christmas - bingo: free (tags), red, ribbon

Thank You! :)

Coffee of the Day - White Chocolate Coconut

Happy Friday! Phew.... did you ever think we would make it to the weekend? what a week! Today's card is for all of YOU! not only is it made with an image that is very special to me, but it is made for some of the most wonderful, kind, generous, loving people I have ever had the chance to NOT meet! tee hee! You have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that behind every dark cloud, there is most certainly a beautiful rainbow ready to shine down upon us. You have also reminded me that I can not look at the negative that has been sent my way. I can look at the dirt, or I can see the sunshine. So many have reached out to me in various ways - cards, emails, flowers, some have even sent little treasure gifts that have so touched my heart. but understand this, YOU MATTER TO ME! YOU HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE! and I thank you! :) I dedicate today's post and card to YOU! :)


Jellypark has a new challenge starting today as well as some cute new images being released. Btw - this is the most AWESOME group of ladies I have ever had the chance to be part of a team with, next to my Pile it On teamies. they soooo rock! :) The new challenge at Jellypark is called Waving, in honor of the upcoming USA holiday of July 4th. you can create any kind of a project that shows things that wave: hands, flags, banners, oceans, whatever you can think of!


I chose this very precious fundraiser image Claire has drawn for her Little Havens charity. You can read more about it here on the store site. She has a special line of stamps created just for this wonderful childrens' hospice center. Claire also is a volunteer there and has told me some fantastic stories about her times at this center. Thanks to the kindness of all of you, the goal Claire set at the beginning of the year has already been met! wooooo hoooooo! but I told her that we can't stop and need to keep going! sure, we can reach a million! ;) Each month the winner over at Jellypark Juniors chooses what image they would like Claire to draw. That new image gets added to the fundraiser collection for Little Havens. how cool is that?

As you can tell, I am VERY happy to be back to my usual style of crafting again. boy howdy that CAS stuff is just so not me.... ;) Papers here are Basic Grey PB & J, little trim snippet & rose are Prima, buttons are October Afternoon, ruler sticker is Jenni Bowlin. banner on image was painted with shimmerz while accents were made with my white gel pen. I do think this pennant punch by SU! is one of my very faves.

thank you again for all you do! have a most wonderful weekend! :)

Challenges:
oh my giddy Aunt Franny, I can't believe I am putting on my Brave Boots and entering this card at Moxie Fab in the 'thank you' card challenge...... eeeek!
Stampin Sisters in Christ - flags or banners
Paper Play - flags, pennants, or banners
Bearly Mine - anything goes
Paper Makeup Stamps Digi Makeover - anything goes (waving hi to my old teamies!!!)
Tammy's Scrappin Corner - anything goes
Incy Wincy - anything goes
Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards - anything goes

Texas Sized Birthday

Just put together my first ever card using a pre-colored digi image. almost seems like cheating, but gosh, this one sure is cute! I am trying to catch up on a few more of the challenges over at The Outlawz that I mentioned in my post this morning. This card is for a 'where are you from?' challenge.


The image is currently a freebie from The Doodle Pantry. (hint hint hint....you should go check out all of the cutie ones that are available for free right now. wow!) papers are K & Co. Americana, rustic ribbon is May Arts, linen thread is SU!, and star sticker strip down middle is Jenni Bowlin. buttons are just from my stash jar.

Even though it has been years since this Texas gal has been to her home state, there will always be a part of the Lone Star that resides in my heart no matter where I live. :)

Kaboodle Doodles - colors of your nation's flag
Moving Along with the Times - birthday
Crafts and Me - birthday
Celebrate the Occasion - birthday

My attempt at a CAS card.... please don't laugh! ;)

Coffee of the day - Caramel Pecan

Hello! I would be remiss if I didn't stop and thank every one of you who left the most heart warming, touching comments for me yesterday. Thank you so very much! :) I honestly had no idea that so many of you would take time from your busy days to leave such kind and touching comments for me. I can't tell you how many times I was brought to tears by the things you said. There are by far sooooooooooo many more kind people than the other in our crafty community. and I don't think of those DT people as unkind, just not understanding of how someone on the other end might be feeling....

So on to happier things like cards and crafting! :)


Today brings a new showcase over at Milk Coffee. We are featuring the cute, but shy CoCo. It is quite appropriate that I was given CoCo with her bird to create with. There also happens to be a BUNCH of fun challenges going on over at The Outlawz right now to celebrate the 2000 members. So I put on my brave girl boots (how I love that saying!!!) and tried to make a CAS card..... yep, it's not really a CAS card, but for me, it REALLY is! ;)

Can you believe this card has NO patterned paper on it anywhere? how weird is that for me? the embossing is a pretty SU! folder, twine is from My Mind's Eye, the flowers are real, dried ones that just seemed the perfect way to finish the card.

Again, thank you to all of you for being so good to me! :) back with more tomorrow!
love to you! Jennifer

Challenges:
Fab 'n Funky - cute and girly
Papercraft Star - embossing
365 Cards - mailable (not bulky)
LEJ Designs - summer is here (flowers & birds mean summer to me!)
Cupcake Craft - brds of a feather
Daisy Doodles - anything goes (2nd entry)
Love to Create - anything goes
Whoopsi Daisy - things with wings

Kindness Matters

Coffee of the Day - White Chocolate Coconut

This post has been a long time coming....it's going to be a bit long and nothing crafty about it, so please bear with me. jump right over it if you would like. or just flat out don't read it. won't hurt my feelings any. you do have that right, just as I have the right to type what I choose on my blog. I try to be kind and as positive as I can be during whatever is going on in my life at the time - but let's face it, life is not always easy, kind. or fair. it's our own reaction to it and the choice we make in those responses that makes the differences. Kindness does still matter, folks.

I discovered a few days ago that I have been let go from yet another DT without any notification whatsoever. I get that I am not a constant contributor. you don't have to tell me that. no one knows better than I that I am not the best DT member in town. I have no problem at all with a store or company or challenge blog letting me go, please understand that first and foremost. what I do have a hard time understanding is that this is the 3rd or 4th (I've lost count in the past few months....) DT that has let me go with no communication at all. no emails, no phone calls, no contact. just suddenly I am locked out of a group or removed from the blog site with no advance warning. It seems a bit cold.

In this day and age of instant everything, it only takes 2 or 3 minutes to send an email or text. if that long. I guess I don't understand why everyone thinks that it is acceptable to just ignore the fat bald woman who is sick..... do they think that just because I am dying that my feelings are dead, too?

I am trying the very best I can every day to get through. it is not easy. my family is gone for the summer. I see them for a few short hours on Saturday before they return to Camp. Chemo has made me more sick than you can possibly imagine. We have discovered that there may be permanent damage caused by the chemo treatments, but won't know for certain for several months. I craft when I can because I NEED to. I only wish I could do it more....so I craft as much as I can when I can to try to do my best for the DTs I am still a part of. and because I need to keep my mind as busy as possible to keep from sliding into the black hole of depression. my body feels like crap, but I push myself to stay out of bed as much as possible. yes, I sleep and rest. but if I were to stay in bed as much as I wanted to, I would never get out. and that is mentally not a good place for me to be.....

every time I look in a mirror I am reminded that I am fighting a battle right now. my skin is grey and covered in horrible sores. teeth have fallen out, and the ones I have left are a scary color. obviously I have no hair. I have puffed up life a butterball because of all of the medications given to counteract the reactions to the chemo. my fingernails and toenails are brittle and fall apart. there is nothing feminine about me remaining. I don't recognize this thing in the mirror. cancer truly is a monster and yet people have told me that I am lucky to have it, another that it is a gift from God. no, I don't think it is any of these things.

I MUST look for the blessings every day or this monster will win. I must show my children that there is a reason to smile every day, even if you have to search and search and search to find out what that reason is. so call me silly for finding joy in the birds singing. laugh at me or call me names for enjoying the taste of my coffee.

but understand this, every single person in this world has some kind of mountain they must climb; some kind of battle they must fight, some kind of cross they must carry. and to that person it is a struggle. please understand that even the smallest showing of compassion can lighten the load or give the extra bit of courage to carry on. it takes so little kindness to light the fire of hope. Kindness matters.

We make the Perfect Blend!

Coffee of the Day - Girlfriend Blend (cinnamon, hazelnut, chestnut, & vanilla)

Oh my lawsie, this morning has started off with a bang! my coffee maker is on it's way out .....and you can only imagine the horror that brings to me and my household! yikes! it took over 30 min. for it to brew one pot, so I'm thinking it's time to get the French Press back out. Then the big trash trucks were out doing their thing before 6 a.m., so it was noisy noisy noisy. We have an annual trash collection day here in our little village, and today is the big day. tree lawns overflow with stuff people want to get rid of, so the trash collectors start EARLY to begin the rounds. just when I really needed my coffee! ;)


okay, we are done with that.... on to fun crafty stuff! Several of us who are DT members at Pile it On were asked to do a fun DT swap with Bugaboo today. They are the sponsor for PIO beginning tomorrow. We get to play in their challenge and they get to play in ours - how fun! :) So of course I chose to use this cutey cute cute coffee image and matching senti for my card. The challenge at Bugaboo this week is a recipe one: buttons, twine, and a senti.

Papers are from My Mind's Eye Blink of an Eye collection, little tag is Maya Road, big blue button is SU!, while other buttons are from my vintage stash, twine is K & Co. (LOVE this color combo in the twist!). I used shimmerz paint on the spoon, heart, and the girl coffee cup's cheeks, a clear spica glitter pen to hightlight the steam, and my white gel pen to add some accents to her cup. I then put on my brave boots and grabbed my black sharpie to add some little squiggles to both the man's coffee cup and the card edges.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Chocolate, Coffee, & Cards - coffee & cream
Crafty Catz - pastels
Delightful Challenges - anything goes
Paper Play - use a die
Crafts and Me - anything goes
Divas by Design - die cuts
Fab 'n Funky - polka dots
Digital Tuesday - tag it
Paper Take Weekly - bingo (buttons, free space, punches)
Daisy Doodles - anything goes
Corrosive Challenges - feeling punchy (border & tag)
Great Impressions - die cuts or punches

Happy Birthday random Blog Follower Candy Winner....

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice ('cause it's my birthday and it's my fave!)

image courtesy of Vintage Holiday Crafts

Surprise surprise surprise!!! Today is my birthday and I did a random drawing for a few crafty goodies from my followers. nope, you had no idea I was going to do it and the package will (hopefully!) be filled with a few treats to make someone very happy!

All of you who have been so kind and gracious to me while I go through this cancer journey truly touch my heart. I know you originally didn't sign on to hear about chemo yuckies and such, but you have walked this path with me & it means a lot to me. :)

so even if your name wasn't chosen this time, know you touch my heart with your comments, emails, cards, and expressions of friendship!

so without further chatter, the winner of my Birthday blog candy is:

The randomly picked number is: 253
Linda W. of Lindys Maid Wid luv
Please send me an email at jenscull at yahoo dot com with your mailing addy and I'll get your package ready and shipped! :) you will have until Sunday, June 24 to contact me or else I will choose another winner.

(number chosen by Violet Cottage number generator)

most of you know that the majority of my craft supplies come from the most part through challenge wins and blog candy. I have been very blessed and am happy to share what I have with you! I will try to do another one of these fun, random giveaways in the next month or so.

I'll be back later in the week to share updates from chemo today. received another bit of not so happy news, but am pressing on. today is a day for joy, so we are NOT going to focus on any ick...
grab your loved ones and give them big ol' sloppy smoochies as well as big tight bear hugs! sure, they'll look at you funny, but then again, when DON'T they?! tee hee!

Let's Go Fly a Kite with Jellypark Friends

Coffee of the Day - German Chocolate Cake

Well here is the last of the cards I was able to get made while I was feeling good....so happy to be able to share it with all of you!

Real quick before I start in about the post, I want to say a big thank you to those of you who have recently sent me cards to add to the basket at the chemo treatment center. I'll take them along with me when I go for my treatment next week. Everyone is having such fun going through the basket, 'ooooohing' and 'aaaaaahing' over all of the pretties, and then making the tough final choices of which ones they want to take home. They get so excited when I bring in a new batch to refresh the basket, so thank you very much on behalf of everyone there! :)


A new challenge and new release images start today ove at Jellypark Friends Friday Challenges. I am so happy to have been able to play along in the new challenge - 'Let's Go Fly a Kite'. all you have to do is add kite images, die cuts, strings or twine, kite bg papers, or anything kite related to your papercraft project.

I LOVED flying kites when I was a little girl. of course I never had typical 'girl' kites - my fave ones were the eagle and Batman ones I had.... sounds kinda like me, doesn't it?! grins! my boys enjoyed kites as well when they were young. don't see too many people flying them around here these days though. how about you? did you fly kites? have a favorite? gosh, I would spend hours out in the fields....


my card today is going to a very special person. Last weekend I came across a blog post that truly touched my heart. A grand-mother was asking for cards to be sent to her 7 year old grand-son Matthew, who had just been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. He has just started chemo and this poor family is really having a tough time wrapping their minds around all that is going on. oh my goodness, of course I just HAD to make a card for him. not only do I know exactly what he is going through with the cancer & chemo, but I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster that family is on. So I poured as much love and as many prayers as I possibly could into this card for Matthew. I received permission to post a link to their story here for any of you interested.

deets for the card - used a combo of images: cutey new robot with sign and the kite from Let's Fly Away. papers are Basic Grey What's Up collection, senti is Create with TLC, clouds were cut with a die from My Favorite Things, little tab punch is from Jenni Bowlin, and my spica clear gel pen was used all over for accent. the main image bg was spritzed with Mr. Huey white after painting blue to help give the effect of clouds.

Challenges:
Ink it Pink - masculine
Delightful Challenges - for the boys
Do You Stack Up - for men or boys
Little Miss Muffet - loads of layers
Paper Play - for a guy with twine
Cookin' it up with Katie (hi Katie!!! waving!!!) - for a special guy, texture, metal
Crafting for All Seasons - for a man (hope for a boy works, too....)
Divas by Design - summertime
Always Crafting/Creative Mondays - summer
Incy Wincy - more than one digi
Pink Elephant - masculine
There's Magic in the Air (wavin' hi to my former teamies! I miss y'all!!!) - one for the boys
Crafty Pad - let's hear it for the boys
Di's Digi Designs - male inspired
Fussy and Fancy - boy attitude

Happy Flag Day and a Freebie Alert....

Coffee of the Day - Vanilla Nut


for those of you living in the USA, Happy Flag Day! I am so proud of our flag and all that it stands for. I may not always agree with the politics of our country or the people in the government, but good golly, I am proud to be an American! I love what this country was founded upon and the kind, generous spirit you find in so many people here. Don't get me wrong, I have met some amazing people from ALL around the world, and I love them to bits, but I will stand up when the flag passes, proudly sing my National Anthem, and wave my flag with honor every chance I get. :) interesting history about the day posted below, taken from Vintage Holiday Crafts website..... wonderful image also came from there.

Flag Day is the anniversary of the official adoption of the American flag by the Marine Committee of the Continental Congress in 1777. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as the first official National Flag Day in 1916 but it wasn’t until 1949 that an Act of Congress was signed to formally establish the holiday. Interestingly, though, Flag Day isn’t a given; it’s at the president’s discretion to officially proclaim the observance each year. That is unless you live in Pennsylvania, which is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday.

so glad I crafted on those 2 days last week. I have been icky sicky ever since then.... sleeping my days away and stuck in bed for the most part. do NOT like chemo, Sam I am....can not keep down green eggs and ham. Happy Birthday to me, I get chemo as a giftie next week. but at least it's closer to being over, so that is a good thing.

I wanted to let you know about a precious freebie from Claire at Jellypark real quick..... she has created this amazing app and to celebrate is offering a free coloring page for a limited time. check it out here. A new challenge and releases debut tomorrow over on the Jellypark blog, so be sure to check it all out with us. yep, I did get a project done for that, so I'm happy to be able to play along again. :)

Mechanical Men....

Coffee of the Day - Toasted Coconut (what is it about summer that just says I must drink coconut coffee? grins!)

As I mentioned the other day, I was able to get a few DT cards made over the weekend. So today I'm playing along with Party Time Tuesdays in the new challenge - All things Mechanical, Father's Day. Sponsors this week are Robin's Nest, The Stamping Boutique, and Robyn's Fetish. I hope you will play along with everyone!


I used papers from Robin's Nest, and image from The Stamping Boutique, and a fun senti from Create with TLC that just seemed to go perfectly with this ice cream truck! :) Hubby let me order a few goodies from My Favorite Things for my birthday, one of which is this coolio chevron border die. isn't it fun? lots of sparkly accents were added with shimmerz paint and my clear spica glitter pen. distress stickles were added over the top of the chocolate ice cream and look almost like sprinkles! a few buttons and some wrinkled seam tape finish off the card. perfect to give to hubby! :)

enjoy your week and see you in a few days! :)

Challenges:
Pink Elephant - masculine
Dream Valley Challenges - for that special guy (hubby!)
One Stitch at a Time - man in your life
Alphabet Challenge - ice cream
Cardmad Fairy - Father's Day/masculine
Crafty Catz - Summer Time
Delicious Doodles - for the fellas

A Fun Color Challenge with Milk Coffee

Coffee of the Day - Toasted Coconut

Hello! I have been feeling a bit better, so have been crafting up a storm. be prepared over the next few days to get hit like a storm with projects! :) it's a good thing, in my mind anyway, as I have missed my time away from the craft table. you can't even imagine just how therapeutic crafting is for me, so to get back to it is fantastic!


Milk Coffee is starting something fun and new today - a monthly color challenge! You will be provided a gorgeous color combo from Design Seeds (you already know how much I love them!!!). just choose a few colors from the palette, pick a Milk Coffee image (a freebie will always be provided for you!), and color it up! you don't even have to make a complete project if you don't have the time. we just want to see how you use the colors provided. Everyone who plays has a chance to win 3 digis from the Milk Coffee Etsy store.


I chose the soft & pretty Celine Praying image for my card. she is highlighted with distress stickles - sorry I can't remember which of the pink ones I used.... papers are Glitz Pretty in Pink, buttons are vintage as is the pretty little pink trim at the bottom of the main image. some cardboard was first inked with vanilla craft and then sprayed with pink cadillac glimmer mist. the senti from TLC was printed onto the dsp and then cut with a Spellbinder die. a pretty pink flower with leaves was added to finish it off. :)
I hope you play along in this fun challenge with us!

Challenges:
Ink it Pink - words as bg
Gingerloft - vintage
Great Impressions - die cuts or punches
Sunday Stamper - pretty in pink
Ribbon Girls - use ribbon or lace
Craft Your Days Away - bingo (buttons, die cuts, ribbon/lace)
Crafty Ann - it's a girl thing
Polka Doodles - lots of flowers (on image, papers, and mulberry flower added)
Paper Craft Journey - hand colored image

Update....

Coffee of the day - Caramel Hazelnut

I have sent this message to my Yahoo DT groups:

thought I would let all of you know -it appears after all of yesterday's tests, scans, mashings, etc. that the cancer beastie has been contained!!!!!! no spreading! whoop whoop whoop! doing the party over here! yes, tequila was consumed last night, but I was good and didn't have....well.....TOO much! grins!
thank you for the prayers and good wishes. your friendship and support has been a crucial factor in all of this, let me tell you! 2 more chemo treatments to go and then my 6 weeks of radiation. we are getting there, ladies! phew!
had to celebrate with my besties! :) love ya!

so many prayers of thanksgiving are being said. so many tears of joy are being cried. and oh my lawsie, the smiles just keep a comin'!!!! the doctors say I won't officially be out of the woods until I hit my 5 year mark, but no matter what happens, God is good. for this moment I don't have to go through any more surgeries, biopsies, etc., and for that I am so very grateful. all of you are absolutely wonderful! no, we aren't done with this journey yet, but the sun is most certainly shining a little bit brighter today.

btw - cancer doctors should check out the medicinal qualities of tequila and coffee.... just sayin'! ;)

Some Great and not so great news....

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice (because I really needed my fave comfort coffee right now)

oh the days they are full of changes....some so bittersweet, some that just make you sit back and pause. but never for one moment do I feel alone or bitter. for that I am so thankful.


Tonight we go to Ryan's baccalaureate service. He is one of the speakers. Tomorrow is his high school graduation. I couldn't be more proud of my 3 sons. Tyler received his letter in the mail a few days ago announcing that he has once again made the Dean's List. Mick is dating one of the most wonderful young women I have ever had the chance to know who will some day join our family. These children God entrusts to us grow up oh, so quickly. I sit here with tears streaming down my face as I think of the journeys we have been through together, the laughter we have shared. and I have been so blessed to be called their mother. more than I could ever deserve.

and yesterday I had to tell them that I have found another lump....it would seem that the cancer is spreading in the midst of the chemo. I have an appt. with my surgeon on Monday so that all of the chaos can begin once again. Just a few days ago I was thinking that I was getting close to being done with chemo. Had another bad reaction to the treatment while I was there and we were saying it was a good thing I was almost done. Instead my family is numb....we just don't know how to react other than to bind together as God has so often told us to do.

so this mom asks you to pray, not for herself, but for her family. for that is what is most precious in all this world to me. I will be fine, whatever the outcome. of that I am most certain. my hope lies in God and His promises to never leave us or forsake us, even when life seems the most desolate. but oh, how I ache for my husband and children. so if you could please say a prayer for them, I would be so very thankful to you.
Jennifer