Best. Dad. Ever.

This is my second post of the day. for my Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra project, please go here. :)

Today we have a new challenge starting over at Crafts Galore Encore with an 'Anything Goes' theme! our sponsor is the fabulous Kenny K Stamps!  I hope you'll play along with us!

as soon as I saw this great 'Old Time Bartender' image, I knew it would make the perfect Father's Day card for my husband. the sentiment is also from Kenny K, from a Father's Day set.

you know how much I love to re-purpose things, so you will see a bit of cardboard that has been inked and torn on here, an old belt loop from a pair of blue jeans headed for the trash, and a beer label. they add such neat touches, don't you think? :)

papers are from the Basic Grey Boxer collection and navy burlap string from Really Reasonable Ribbon. liquid applique was added to the beer foam. it's so much fun to use!

thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a most amazing day! :)

Challenges:
Inspiration Destination - anything goes
Moo-Mania - masculine
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Father's Day/masculine
TTCRD - anything goes
Di's Digi Designs - for the boys
Creative Fingers - anything goes

What is a Weekend?

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice (my all time fave flavor!)

My second post for the day, it's time for a new challenge over at Crafts Galore Encore. Our theme this month is 'Make a Card.' easy peasy, right? our sponsor is the fabby Kenny K! you know you want to win some of those distinctive images!

I am a HUGE fan of Downton Abbey. have you ever watched it? even my hubby loves the show. we will be quite sad when the last episode airs this coming Sunday. so my card today is somewhat a tribute.

The Dowager makes me smile every time she is on screen. she truly has some of the best lines. as I was researching some of her quotes, I giggled when I came across this one. of course my mind thought them all in her voice.... you have to put the accent on the last syllable of the word 'weekEND' just as she did.

I used the images 'Valet' and 'Dowager Countess' on my card. digital papers are from Far Far Hill, flowers & leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts, buttons are from my vintage stash, and pink wired grosgrain is also a stash item.

the gorgeous die along the side is by Find It Trading, main image die is from SU!, and little banner is a punch from SU! also. lace is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

I do hope you will join our fun challenge! thank you so very much for stopping by my blog. enjoy your day! :)

Challenges:
Inky Chicks - ribbon and/or lace
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
Crafty Boots - something for the lady
Outlawz Mon Greeting - anything goes with a sentiment
Creative Craft Cottage - pearls and/or lace
Natalie and Amy - fancy borders

Best Friends with my Dog

Coffee of the Day - White Chocolate Mousse

Today begins a new challenge over at Top Tip Tuesdays. We want to see you use office supplies on your projects. Our sponsors are Kenny K and Crimson Cloud. it's really fun to add these fun little embellies to your projects, especially for those hard to make guy cards. hope you will play along with us! :)

My card uses the Kenny K image Dog Walk, Echo Park digi papers and elements from the Brothers mini theme kit (it's on sale right now!), and sentiment from Create with TLC. my office supplies are standard twine, staples, mini clips, paper clip (hey, it's shaped like a dog bone. office supplies can be whimsical!), tag cut from clear packaging, and a sticker made with notebook paper. I just added some buttons and a bit of ribbon. a few little accents with my white gel pen as well as the woodgrain on the main image complete the card. sorry the brightness is a bit off. the metal clips made it hard to get a good scan.

I am giving this to my hunny bunny. I painted the dog to look like Latte. they have this hysterical love/hate relationship. Mocha has always been his 'shadow', (and she is doing much better right now! thanks for the well wishes for her btw!), but Latte is my 'princess pup' who really intimidates Dave at times. we laugh about it. but poor Dave also gets the night-time dog duty, so that will make this card extra appropriate for him.

Everyone stay as cool as you can in this summer heat. NOW you know why I like snow so much! tee hee! when you don't have a/c, you'll take any excuse to stay cool you can! enjoy your day!

Challenges:
Kenny K - anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - fur or feathers
Card Mania - kraft paper
Kraft Journal - inks, paints, or markers (I watercolored with inks)
Paper Nest - animal love
Use Your Stuff - office supplies
Glitter & Sparkle - tag it
Little Claire - male theme
One Stop Crafts - for a friend
Die Cut Divas - die cut and boy/male
Stampin' with the Dragon - anything goes
Art Impressions - masculine
Delightful - raise the banner
Here Come the Boys - let's go dotty
Lia Stampz - anything goes

An Alphabet Christmas Card!

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Peppermint

Today's letter for the ABC Christmas challenge is 'K for Kept Safe'. we are being challenged to actually use those things we have been hoarding for so long! my card has several of those, but it also has another little letter on it - 'S is for Snow'! :) We are sponsored this fortnight by Kenny K.

I am using the fun little snowman digi from Kenny K on my card, in addition to the color palette they have on their challenge blog right now.

Papers are My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas, little piece of aqua twine cord is May Arts, circle sentiment is Create with TLC sprayed with Dewey Mr. Huey's mist, and tab die is MFT. the snowman is paper pieced and sits in stickles snow. stickles also edges the sentiment circle. some buttons & faux stitching complete the card. it's fairly simple, but oh, so easy to mail!

my 'kept safe' items include the cord, which is almost at its end.... boo hoo! I have 1 more little piece the same size as this one and have been holding on to it for dear life! tee hee! the Mr. Huey's Dewey mist is almost gone because I REALLY love this color, so I find I don't use it as much. and finally, I have had the MFT mini tab dies for over a year and never used them before, so this seemed like the perfect time to get them out! this one is part of a set of 4. they're pretty cute! I'm almost out of my stickles, too, but y'all know I use that ALL the time! no hoarding there! ha!

Challenges:
Kenny K - color palette
Crafting by Design - anything goes
Crafty Sentiments - stitching, real or faux
Holly Jolly Christmas - add 3 embellishments (3 buttons)
Loves Rubberstamps - bow
Bearly Mine - color challenge
Artistic Inspiration - paper piercing or piecing
Creative Creations - paper piecing
Get Inky - glitter (stickles)
Christmas Card Ch - stitching, real or faux

Happy Valentine's Day!

Coffee of the Day - Santa's White Christmas (caramel, coconut, vanilla, & nuts - read below for the story!)

Happy Valentine's Day to each and every one of you! May you know that you are loved, truly, deeply! :)

My coffee today may seem a bit odd, but it has a little story. Believe it or not, there was a time in my life when I really wasn't a coffee drinker. shocked?! yep, it's true! Before living in Ohio, we spent 10 years in Florida. Those were back in Dave's golf pro days..... anyhow, in the malls there used to be this fabulous coffee place called Barnies. they sold not only hot coffee drinks, but the most wonderful packaged flavored coffees and teas. As you were walking along the mall, you could always tell when you were getting close to Barnies because the aromas were fantastic!  So David and I became hooked on their flavored coffees. His favorite was always 'Santa's White Christmas'. year 'round he could drink it, and thankfully they carried it all year, too.  Well imagine our dismay to discover that Barnies wasn't in Ohio once we moved up here! for several years I would order our favorite flavors as a special treat, but then life changed in the Scull household and mail order coffee was no longer a viable treat.

So the other day I was traipsing along through WalMart picking up a few necessary grocery items when I came to the coffee aisle. had to get some coffee filters..... there on the shelf was ONE bag of Barnies Santa's White Christmas coffee. if a spotlight had been shining down on it and trumpets sounding, I would not have been surprised! I knew that would make the perfect Valentine for my dear hubby! so as he is out getting bagels for our breakfast this morning, I am making him a pot of special coffee. it isn't much, but he will understand. and that is really what a day like today is all about. those special moments that keep our love going from day to day...... through the mountain top moments and the walking through the valley times such as a cancer diagnosis exactly one year ago..... a pot of coffee. :)

now I share with you Ryan's Valentine card. he has been and always will be our Super Ry....

image by Kenny K, papers from Basic Grey Fact collection, sentiment from Create with TLC. a few washi tapes, some linen thread, a vintage button, and some glimmer mist. simple, but the focus is on the fab Super Hero!

Stay tuned for a big announcement from me coming soon.....

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday - encouraging anything goes
Kenny K - to the one I love
Crafty Creations - love and/or hearts
Divas by Design - love and romance
Inky Impressions - ribbon or twine
Little Red Wagon - the word 'love'
Paper Shelter - be my Valentine
Can You Digi It - love is in the air
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes
Cards for Men - all my love
Daisy Doodles - Valentine for a guy
Forever Friends - anything goes
Lexi's Creations - love
Spark Your Creativity - anything goes
V's Sweet Ideas - love

Tag! You're it!

for my Paper Cupcakes post, please click here.
for my Happileigh Scrappin' post, please click here.

The new challenge this week over at Kaboodle Doodles is tag it or bag it, sponsored by Kenny K. One entrant will win a $10 gift certificate to the store, so be sure to play along!

My tag has already been gifted, a few weeks ago in fact! While Ryan was at Band Camp, each day they had different themes for spirit. One day was Super Hero Day. We have always called Ryan, 'Super Ry' after his addiction to all things Superman related. so when I found out about this challenge and Kenny K being the sponsor, this 'Huge Hero' image went right into my shopping cart! The first day of Band Camp Ryan received an award for outstanding showmanship and team support. So to reward him, I thought he deserved a Super Ry tag!


I cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a tag and then separated the layers. This was then inked with white craft. Papers are Basic Grey Oxford, did you think I would actually go a day without a Basic Grey creation SOMEWHERE?!?!?! tee hee! hey, I was getting worried myself..... I added some fun brads across the bottom, linen thread, button, and ribbon. that fabby sentiment once again comes from Paulette over at Create with TLC. I then wrote my message on the flip side of the tag and presented along with a bag of Ryan's fave candy. he was happy! and I am proud, once again, of my amazing sons! :)

I do hope you will play along in this fun challenge! be sure to see what the rest of the DT have created to inspire you!

Cards for Men - anything goes
Craft Your Passion - ABC
Crazy Challenge - movies (Superman, of course!)
Paper Playtime - anything goes
One Stitch at a Time - anything goes
Sparkles Forum - for the boys
Sew Many Cards - 3 or more brads
Crafting for All Seasons - tag

Enjoy Every Moment

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

Good morning! I'll be back in just a bit with my blog candy post. just need to take a piccy of all the goodies I have for you! :)

in the mean time I have a birthday card to share with you. A friend of ours is celebrating a birthday next week so of course that meant I needed to make him a card. grins! While doing some upcoming DT work, I came across Kenny K images. I had seen several of their images on projects throughout blogland, but this was the first time I had decided to browse through the shop. some of the digis were perfect for what I am needing. I have a certain 'niche' in the people I make cards for that seems to be tough to find images for - guys middle school age and up. There are so many absolutely precious images in blogland for young boys, but it gets harder and harder to find really nice images for young men and those ..... ahem...... not quite as young as they used to be. ;) That was one of the things I liked about Kenny K. quite a few of their images fit right into this category.

so onto my card ~


This friend of ours has a pool in their back yard, yes, how wonderful would THAT be in all of the hot weather we have all been having?! so this guy in his inner tube seemed just the thing for his birthday card. I paper pieced with Basic Grey Lauderdale papers. The sentiment comes from the most fabby on high Paulette over at Create with TLC. the water was made shiny with a light painting of sparkle smooch spray. I think I paint with that one more than I actually spray with it! tee hee! yes, I did get permission from hubby to add the Prima - always have to check with whatever guys are around before I add a flower to any 'man' card. really rolling my eyes over here, but thank goodness no manly men are at home to see me........ some faux stitching and buttons finish off the card.

Have a most glorious day! I'll be right back with my blog candy post.... well, after I finish my first cup of coffee. I do have to get these eyelids open first ya know! ;)

Stamp Something - digi
Delightful Challenges - stitching
Stamping Boutique - birthday for young male
Art Impressions - for the boys
Crafting for All Seasons - beach/ocean (I think this would qualify...)
Divas by Design - summer
Creative Craft - summertime
Tuesday Throwdown - summer
Always Something Creative - water
Really Reasonable Ribbon - sizzlin summer
Alota Rubber Stamps - tic tac toe (either ribbons, stitching, & distress or buttons, stamp, & stitching)