'Candy Made Me Do It' Halloween Crow

Top 3 at Sweet Stampin'
Winner at Fabrika Fantasy
Honorable Mention at Lavinia World
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Hazelnut Vanilla coffee

Hello to all of you!
I am sharing a card that I made for one of my son's and his wife for Halloween. we always send them candy for the holiday, even though they are all grown and have moved away. some traditions just last long beyond the nest. ;)

my crafting is extremely slow these days, so it's taking me lots longer to get these made. hopefully I will have the others finished tomorrow so they can get in the mail.

I had a great time creating the bg on this card. it's a combination of numerous distress oxide sprays in addition to regular distress ink. the main images were stamped with Memento ink. in lighter ink that matches the card base I stamped the Prima script stamp I have been using lately. it might not show in the photo, but irl it peeks through ever so slightly, which is exactly what I wanted. :) stamps used are from the Tim Holtz 'Regions Beyond' and 'Tiny Things 2' sets. the Tim Holtz flame stencil was also used before distressing the edges.

The crow was embossed with black ep. both it and the sentiment are from a special collaboration stamp set between Simon Says Stamp and Tim Holtz. I actually bought the set because of these stamps. :) it originally was one stamp, but I cut the sentiments apart from all of the images. that way I can get more use from them and it's easier to stamp one or the other. I lightly watercolored the crow after fussy cutting. it is popped up on a double thickness of foam tape. sentiment is embossed with white ep on black cs.

the candy bingo card is by Jenni Bowlin and is a digital download from Snap Click Supply. if you don't yet, check them out every Wednesday for their dollar specials. it's the best deal around!  they also have some kind of promotion that runs every weekend, ranging from 50% off certain brands to a sale on new products. I am not a rep for them, just a very happy customer! :) the card is edged in black soot distress stickles. they are also added to the flower by the sentiment.

both moth images are from The Graphics Fairy, ribbons and trim are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, flower is by Wild Orchid Crafts, and little candies are from a QuicKutz die. boy howdy, did those little goodies almost do me in! I also added a few twigs for the crow to rest upon. gosh, I just realized that I didn't add any vintage buttons! what is up with that?! :)

I hope all of you have had a wonderful weekend! bring on Monday. :)
take care!
Jennifer

Challenges:
SSS Monday Ch - spooky
Dragonfly Dreams - use black
Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends - anything goes
Allsorts - make your own bg
Crafty Calendar - Autumn colors/Halloween
Crafty Friends - embossing, wet or dry
Di's Digis - Halloween or Harvest
Sweet Stampin' - Halloween or black and orange
Shopping Our Stash - Halloween
Daring Cardmakers - make it spooky
CRAFT - Halloween/Thanksgiving/Bonfire Night
Lavina World - anything goes using stamping
Fabrika Fantasy - Halloween

Thinking of You Sympathy Window

Coffee of the Day - Vanilla Macadamia


Today begins a new challenge over at Crafts Galore Encore with a fun theme of 'Anything Goes'! We are sponsored by Beccy's Place this month. I hope you will play along with us. it's such an easy theme and gives you lots of options for linking. :)

I have used the pretty 'Spring Window' image on my card, using it for one of the many sympathy cards I need. paper is from the Basic Grey Dear Heart collection, lace & buttons are vintage little pink seam binding snippet in the upper corner is from Really Reasonable Ribbon, and flowers aer from Wild Orchid Crafts. leaf flourish die is by Cheery Lynn. card base is embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder.

thanks so very much for stopping by today! :)

Challenges:
Classic Design Team Open Ch - anything goes
4 Crafty Chicks - anything goes
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
Southern Girls - anything goes
Paradise of Stamps - ribbon or lace
Left of Center - embossing (card base)

Christmas Love with Trimmings

A new challenge begins over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra blog, so let's get those jingle bells jingling! a reminder to those of you here in the USA that the challenge blog is based in the UK, so I have to share my post early to coincide with everything going live across the pond.

Bugaboo Stamps is our fabby sponsor every month, so be sure to play along for the chance to win a gift certificate to shop in their store.

I have used the cutey 'Kidz Reindeer' image on my card, along with papers from the Basic Grey Juniper Berry collection. dies are by Spellbinders, and sentiment is from Create with TLC. punch for sentiment & little banner are by SU! and tab punch is Jenni Bowlin.

ribbon snippet is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. buttons are from my vintage stash. stickles was added to the main image for snow. a marker was used for faux stitching and accent dots.

I hope to see you in the new challenge! and thanks so very much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Stella Says Sketch - sketch
Crimbo Crackers - cute kids
ABC Christmas - G for green or gold (used both here)
Winter Wonderland - for a child
Pile it On - stitching
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Cute Christmas

God Will Lift You...and So Will I

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice (you know it's my fave!)

one of the cards I have on my list to make is for a very dear friend who has just recently received some devastating news. I want her to know that I am here for her. This sentiment today at Create with TLC summed it all up so perfectly.

I'm also using some beautiful free digital items available over at the Crafty Secrets blog. both the bg paper and post card image can be be found there. I hope it creates the peaceful, but encouraging feel that my friend needs right now.

a frame was cut for the postcard image using Spellbinders dies, flowers are a combo of Prima, Wild Orchid Crafts, and my stash, buttons are vintage and stash, twine is from The Twinery, burlap ribbon snippet is from May Arts, vintage sheet music was cut with a Jenni Bowlin punch, and doily is from my stash. distressing and faux stitching complete the card.

I forgot to add that after I cut the frame, I stamped it with a SU! woodgrain bg stamp. there is also a little piece of a ticket hiding under the sentiment banner.

I'm putting together my blog candy and will get that posted soon! hope many of you sign up! welcome to my new followers, too!!!!  :)

Challenges:
Crafty Secrets - April linky party (ribbon: May Arts, twine: Twinery)
613 Ave Create - create your own challenge (square card, encouragement/thinking of you, burlap)
Crafty Calendar - add a sentiment
Pile it On - fancy frames and/or beautiful borders
Robyn's Fetish - use baker's twine
Inksprational - photo inspiration: eggs (nest on postcard) and colors
Brown Sugar - distress
Sister Act - any card goes
Red Rubber Inspirationals - spring flowers
Whimsy Inspiration - use a die cut
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Just Inspirational - stitching
Party Time Tues - anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Tues Throwdown - friendship
Mema's - anything goes w/die or punch

Summer Fun at the Beach

Coffee of the Day - Caramel Creme

Today begins the new challenge for the month over at Whimsy Stamps Inspiration Challenges and our theme is 'Summer'! we want to see what summer means to you! :)  You don't have to use a Whimsy stamp or digi to play along, so get busy creating! you could win one of several cool prizes. please stop by the challenge blog to see all of the great projects made by the team to inspire your creativity!

I am using the newly released 'Beachie' image by Marika Collins on my card, along with a sentiment from the Summer Memories Sentiment set. The Daisy Doily Die was used for the pink piece behind the main image, and it just happens to be on sale at the moment. in fact, you can get quite a few great deals in the sale area right now. hint, hint, hint!

papers are from the Authentique Favorite collection. waves were cut with a MFT die, sentiment punch is Jenni Bowlin, sun is made from star and circle punches, and Martha Stewart leaf punch was used to mimic seaweed. little seahorse flair & flower are Prima, linen thread is SU!, and buttons are vintage.

Challenges:
Mojo Mon. - sketch (turned on side)
Outlawz Paper a la Mode - outdoor fun
Digi Choosday - punches and/or dies (both)
Scrap Creations - water
Fan-tastic Tues. - anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Craft and Smash - seashells, sand, and sea
Crafting Musketeers - summertime
Die Cut Divas - buttons and bows
Natalie and Amy - summertime
Craftin' Desert Divas - 'summer' linky party
Eureka - vacation
Incy Wincy - summertime activities
Kraft Journal - sea and sand (kraft card base)
Crazy Challenge - summer vacation
Come and Get It - cool things for summer
Catch the Bug - anything goes
Crafty Calendar - summertime fun
Di's Digis - summer fun
Hiding in My Craft Room - think summer
Open Minded Crafting - water, water, everywhere
Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards - summer days
Creative Corners - outdoors
Digitally Sweet - day at the beach
Fussy and Fancy - summertime
Wags 'n Whiskers - summer fun
Time Out Ch - fun in the sun
Moving Along With the Times - girls just wanna have fun
Inky Impression - summer fun

Summer Flowers For You!

Coffee of the Day - Moon Pie (just enough left for half a cup!)

It has been ages since I used one of Mo's cutey pie images to make anything, so it was time to fix that. I popped over to the challenge blog to see what the theme was, and then I headed off to my craft room to get busy. this is what I came up with for their 'Summer Flowers' challenge.

I chose the precious 'Thanks' image and papers from the Basic Grey Capture collection. sentiment stamp is SU!, cut with a Jenni Bowlin punch. sunflower is from Factory Direct Crafts, while roses are by Prima. belt loops were cut from some jeans headed to the trash. you know how I love to re-purpose! :) twine is some I saved from the dog food bag. love the bright red of it, so I use it all the time.

make sure you enter my Nifty at Fifty Birthday Blog Candy. you have until the end of the month to get your name  in the draw. yep, today is my birthday. I'm wearing my fancy tiara as I sit and type, 'cause that is just how I roll. ;)

enjoy your weekend!

Challenges:
A Little Bit Crafty - Child's Play
A Creative Need - anything goes
Craft for the Craic - something summery or with flowers (both!)
Crafts Galore Encore - use a stamp
Crafting Musketeers - stamped image
Let's Craft and Create - spots or stripes
Loves Rubberstamps - spots and dots
Brown Sugar - dots and/or stripes
Divas by Design - 3 or more layers
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes w/patterned paper
Creative Craft Cottage - digi/flowers

Father's Day Truck

Coffee of the Day - Coconut Pecan

Happy Father's Day to every Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle out there! My life has been so very blessed in that not only did I have a most amazing father, but Dave is a wonderful father to our sons. he is also the best husband I could ever ask for. :)

This is the card I made for Dave for me to give him for Father's Day. I tried to match the coloring to the truck he drives out at Camp. I had Tyler take a photo and send it to me so I could match it up as best I could.

papers are from the Basic Grey Hipster collection, image is by Tiddly Inks, flower is Petaloo, tab punch is Jenni Bowlin, main die is Spellbinders. I added a few highlights with my clear spica gel pen. faux stitching is added with a white gel pen, and woodgrain bg stamp on card base is by SU!

I'll be back shortly to add some info about my Birthday blog candy. one item that will be part of the giveaway is this fun digi set by Faith at From the Heart Stamps - 'French Mustache Birdbrain.'  see you soon! :)

Challenges:
Sketch File - sketch
Pumpkin Spice - masculine
Totally Gorjuss - Dad
Creative Corner - just for boys
Delicious Doodles - stitch it (faux for me!)
Jo's Scrap Shack - Father's Day
Pattie's Creations - wedding or Father's Day
DL Art - masculine
Hobbybook - for Dad or male
The Male Room - Father's Day
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Ladybug Crafts Ink - for him
Oldie but a Goodie - Father's Day/masculine (buttons & punch are old)
Papertake Weekly - for the boys
Tues. Throwdown - special man
Craft Your Passion - for the boys
Digi Sketch - for the men
Mema's Crafts - only  men allowed
Digi Makeover - for the men
Incy Wincy - faux techniques (faux stitching)
Eclectic Ellapu - for a man
That Craft Place - men
Glitter 'n Sparkle - Father's Day/men

Lovey Dovey Birds

Coffee of the Day - Oatmeal Cookie Crumble

Today I am sharing with you the last of the cards I made for my guest designer stint over at Inky Antics. this one never did get shown on their blog, but I like the way it turned out. everyone has different tastes.....I understand. hope wherever it ended up, someone is enjoying it. ;)

I used the Swirly Birds stamp set, stamped on kraft cs. I never know how the different card stocks are going to take the watercoloring each time, so it's always a surprise to me to see how it turns out. papers are from the Basic Grey Kissing Booth collection. the border was cut with a Tim Holtz die. the tab is a Jenni Bowlin punch. sorry the leaf got a bit wonky in my scan. whoops! I used a re-purposed postage stamp that seemed absolutely perfect for this card. I'm always saving them whenever I can, much to David's dismay. grins! but I have a great old muffin tin that keeps them tucked away for me until I'm ready to put them on a project. the heart is from Webster's Pages. not sure where the flower came from because I mailed this out to Inky Antics so long ago. I think it is from some blog candy I won.....sorry I don't have more info for you.

Just to let you know, I have left almost all of my Design Teams. I'm not feeling that whippy right now and feel stretched pretty thin with my crafting. I have some guest positions coming up that have me excited, and that is about as much as I can handle with the few teams that remain.

Hope all of you have a most wonderful weekend! find the joy in the day! :)

Challenges:
Brown Sugar - animals
Crafts Too Challenge You - texture with a twist (texture: heart & fringe trim, my style: shabby)
Art Impressions - bird brains
Lady Anne's - anything goes
Penny's Paper Crafty - spooled items (ric rack & fringe trim)
Simon Says - animal antics
Whimsical Designs - something old (postage stamp, papers, die, punch), something new (stamps)
City Crafter - birds and blue
Creative Card Crew - things with wings
Loves Rubberstamps - anything goes
Emma's Cards - birds
Oozak - anything goes with die cuts and punches
613 Avenue Create - anything goes with optional twist
Basic Grey - anything goes with BG (you have no idea how easy that is for me!!!)
Bugaboo - anything goes

Never Give Up!

Coffee of the Day - Salted Caramel Pecan

I must begin this post by saying thank you. Thank you to every one of you who stopped by my blog to leave a kind message of encouragement. you are loved more than you can know! consider yourself hugged BIG! :)


When I first came upon this wonderful sentiment over at Word Art Wednesday, it really touched a special place in my heart. oh how easy it is to just give in, to give in to 'whatever'. we each have that 'whatever' that plagues us....it tempts us.... it tries to tackle us to the ground and make us cry Uncle. but we can't let that 'whatever' rule us or keep us from finding the beauty and joy EVERY single day brings with the sunrise.

So dear friend, grab your Brave Boots. you know you have a pair, they just might be hiding in the closet somewhere. put those boots on and hold your head high! You can do this! Because I am right there, wearing my boots, too, right along beside you, holding your hand, as we take those steps into this beautiful world. Never give up! We can do this! :)

My card was created for the new challenge over at Jellypark Friends Friday Challenges - Olympics/Sports. Papers are Basic Grey Clippings and memo receipt card is Jenni Bowlin. lots of punches and dies, buttons from stash, washi tape from Etsy, and office supply clip holds vintage seam tape. be sure to check out the new Jellypark Club at the store, too. lots of fun benefits to joining! and it's FREE!

Challenges:
Paper Play - sports/Olympics
SJ Papercrafts - Olympics
Crafty Creations - buttons
Little Red Wagon - chevrons
Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
Jacksons Digital Expressons - anything goes
One Stop Craft - Olympics/sports
Cute Card Thursday - distressing (both ink and paper)

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

Back to School with Paper Cupcakes

for my Kaboodle Doodles post, please click here.

Hello! I was so excited when I saw that the new challenge at Paper Cupcakes for this week was Back to School. I really enjoy Nina's images and thought that this country girl would be perfect for a prim-feel card. You are welcome to use any images in the challenge, but Nina always offers a freebie over on the Paper Cupcakes blog. One winner will receive their choice of 2 images from the Paper Cupcakes store, so be sure to play along with us! :)


I decided to add elements to my card that would give it a back to school, as well as a country/primitive feel. Most of the embellies come from Making Memories. Papers are Basic Grey Recess and Jenni Bowlin Red & Black. that great burlap flower is from Prima. buttons are all from my vintage stash. and oh how I love to use my label maker! :)

Come and Get It - back to school
Cardmad Fairy - add flowers
Pile it On - buttons & brad
Cuddly Buddly - vintage, distressing, flowers
Crazy 4 Challenges - back to school
Through the Craft Room Door - textures

Hold onto your seats, there's a buncha cards in this post......

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice, of course! ;)

I have been busy trying to play in as many of the Hope You Can Cling To challenges over at SCS, so hang on while I show you several of my latest creations. All images can be found at Squigglefly.

First card up is one made for the Four by Four challenge - Four embellies, 4" square, 4 layers. Balloon Fun image is by Cheryl Alger. Papers are Basic Grey Cupcake. the balloon was painted with sparkle spritz shimmer spray as I have mentioned in posts earlier this week. It is a simple card because I made 2 - one is going to a little boy who has spina bifida. a fellow DT member of mine from Baby Bud Designs is doing a card drive on her blog. For more info, please visit Giovana and see if you can contribute a card. I know it would mean so much to these children! :)

Next card is a paper pieced birthday card. I used a new image from Teresa Ward called Flamenco Dancer. The papers are Jenni Bowlin Grandma's Apron. I used both the mini and standard 12x12 size on the card. The dancer's blouse and scarf were painted with the sparkle spritz shimmer spray. the rose was sprayed with the same. gorgeous trim comes from Etsy, little tag was tea stained, and prima leaves were sprayed with graphite glimmer mist. vintage button is from my stash.

and lastly I have a shaped card with another image by Cheryl Alger. this is also for the challenge going on over at her blog. I love this cute little Prim Annie! Cosmo Cricket paper was applied to a chipboard star and then distressed. the card base is SU! red riding hood, but doesn't show in the scan. the prima rose was sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. the bow, star, and blouse on main image were painted with shimmerz. I punched mini stars for more patriotic fun! a little snippet of crochet trim, button, and finally the twine line with clothespins were added. This was a treat to work on! I haven't done prim in a while, so need to get back to it more often.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)

Baked with Love for YOU! :)

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice (from my dwindling stash....)

Hello! I hope you have had a wonderful day so far. I am finally starting to see that there is a life beyond pneumonia - yipppeeee! I hated that I had to miss the wonderful stamping convention in Akron this weekend, but on the other hand, I wasn't in the hospital like my dr. wanted me to be either, so home was a happy medium. :)

I wanted to play again in the challenge going on over at Isabella's Sketchbook challenge blog this week. the challenge was to create a project using a food image. I love this one of this precious little girl baking something yummy. It reminds me of the times I would visit my great-grandmother and we would make her wonderful applesauce cookies. Those were the BEST cookies! She was always asked to bring them to church. How blessed I was that she was able to meet Tyler, our oldest son, before she passed away. She was the one who introduced me to Jesus, too. oh goodness, that woman spent so much time on her knees for me. She saw me baptised at church camp one summer. What glorious memories!

The papers on my card come from the Jenni Bowlin Farmer's Wife collection. Just perfect for the vintage feel of this image, don't ya think? I colored the utensils on the table to match some that I have hanging on my wall that I picked up at several antique stores around here. The recipes I found online, printed, tore the edges, and then distressed with ink. Of course the buttons had to come from my vintage stash!

Enjoy the rest of your day! Take a little walk down memory land yourself, and then say a big 'thank you' to those wonderful people in your family tree who have helped make you who you are today! :)

Coffee with a Cuddly Bear

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice


Today is a brand new challenge over at IldiCo. and my first challenge as a Guest DT member! woooo hooooooo! So of course I had to use the cutie coffee bear (1 of 2 of them ..... maybe you will see the other in days to come?!?! hmmmmmmmm....... gotta check back! grins!) I mean how else would I start my inaugural adventure with them than with a coffee card?! :)


Kept the card fairly simple, but modified the sketch a tad - flipped it over on its side and scooched the circle elements closer together. The papers I used are from the Jenni Bowlin mini pack, Red/Black Line Extension. used my stitching stamp across the edge where they join. The Starbucks' circles actually come from the bags they use to hold cookies, scones, etc. I punched them out and saved them for a future project - TA DA!!! the trim is one of my remnant finds, the mat of the main image is distressed, and the buttons were added right below a cute sentiment I use ALL the time 'cause I love it so!

wanted to fill you in a bit about how I colored our bear friend - did my usual watercoloring, but then took 2 different shades of ink and a dry watercolor brush to stipple ink over the bear. this helps to give him a furry look with more dimension. just a little tip for something fun to do! The card base is more of my coffee paper. I think it is my last sheet, so it's time to make some more! :) Dave really likes this card so I think it's heading with him to work........ :) gotta keep MY honey bear happy, too!


have a great day! love ya!
Jennifer