A Big Snowman Thank You

Winner at Paper Sweeties

Coffee of the Day - Dulche de Leche

Today I am honored to be the Guest Designer over at My Sheri Crafts! thank you so much for having me! :) the theme for the new challenge is "Let's Build a Snowman."

I am always in need of thank you cards, but most especially at this time of year. I thought it would be fun to incorporate a winter theme with my thanks, and it's always fun to create a shaped card!

I started with a base of Paper Temptress  Desert Storm Kraft cs and cut out my Shape EZ snowflake template. other shapes were cut from Basic Grey Aspen Frost paper. edges were covered with either Prima chalk ink or white acrylic paint and stickles. the white pure elegance organza ribbon ties such pretty bows, and you can see how the iridescent stripes catch the light! just gorgeous!  the absolutely precious red satin with white polka dot 1/8" ribbon ties a few little twigs to the bow, mimicking the snow angel's arms stretched ever so wide. :)

cutey snowman angel image is by Sassy Cheryl, sentiment is from Create with TLC, flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts, and cute little dew drops are from Double Click Skittles. I just received them in the mail as part of a prize package I had won. couldn't wait to put them to use! :) stickles on main image for snow and wink of stella pen on wings for some sparkle. he sits on a ticket and is surrounded by mini doilies from Etsy.

whew.... lots going on, but it turned out so nice, I think. :) perfect way to say thank you to someone for their kindness!

Challenges:
Double Click Skittles - something new (my skittles and new stamps from them!)
Di's Digi Designs - new to you (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Allsorts - what's new (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Card Mania - winter fun
Cute Card Thurs - anything goes
Pile it On - anything Christmas/Winter
Crafty Calendar - something new (skittles and stamps on sentiment piece)
Bastel-traum - winter
World Wide Open DT Ch - anything goes
Paper Sweeties - photo inspiration
As You Like It - anything goes
Star Stampz - Winter Wonderland
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Crafty Boots - snow and sparkle
Eureka - snowman or snowflakes

Happy Bear with Leaves

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice

I have the honor today to have been invited as a Guest Designer over at Crafting By Designs! thank you so much for the privilege of joining in with your team for this week's "Autumn Colors" challenge theme! I had such fun making my project. :)

I started with a wonderful leaf card template by ShapeEZ by TLC using papers from the Basic Grey Pyrus collection. the cutey bear with autumn leaves image is by Sassy Cheryl. ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts, and buttons are from my vintage stash. fun little doily is from Etsy. the leaves on the main image were covered in distress stickles, and I added a few dots along the card base with my marker.

I do hope you will join the challenge with all of us! there are so many neat projects you can make for fall! :)

thanks so much for stopping by! we are still on the look-out for another vehicle, so I'll be around to visit all of you later. :)

Challenges:
Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes with a handmade bow
Eureka - autumn leaves/colors of fall
Simon Says Stamp Mon Ch - autumn is in the air
TTCRD - anything goes
Pile it On - 1, 2, 3 recipe (1 image or doily, 2 ribbons or dec. papers, 3 buttons)
Robyn's Fetish - real or faux leaves
Fussy and Fancy - autumn colors
Simply Create Too - autumn splendor
Scrap & Craft - colors of autumn
Creative Moments - anything goes with autumn colors
Mod Squad - get your fall on

Quiet Moments with My Coffee

Coffee of the Day - Vanilla Nut Cream

It's yet another installment of cards for the Fall Coffee Lover's Blog Hop.... I think I could probably make a coffee themed card every day of the year and not duplicate a stamp or digi image! tee hee! does that stop me from collecting them? oh, good golly, no!!! :)

I decided to go 'cute' for today's card, using an adorable image from Sassy Cheryl, that she so kindly had on sale this weekend! :) papers are from the Basic Grey Grand Bazaar collection, sentiment stamp is by Prima (sprayed with clear sparkle mist), as is the big orange flower, other 2 flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts, and little leaf is Petaloo. whew.... crazy I can remember all of that when everything is all mixed in together. buttons are from my vintage stash and sequins are from Simon Says Stamp. linen thread is SU!, while ticket & ribbon are from my stash.  I added a few touches with both my white gel pen and a wisteria marker. sure wish they had in color markers when vintage violet was out....

anyhow, hope to get more crafting done today. may your week overflow with happiness and blessings! :)  be sure to sign up for my coffee blog candy at this post!

Challenges:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Classy Cards 'n Such - Feeling Fall-ish
Choux Choux Paper Art - Halloween Blog Hop Linky Party (fall project)
Come and Get It - clear it out: ticket, ribbon, and leaf are stash items
Eureka - anything goes
Crafting with Dragonflies - any card goes
Art by Miran - anything goes
Morgan's Art World - ribbons
Hanna and Friends - favorite stamp (I just love my coffee themed stamps! grins!)
Fresh Brewed Designs - 3 or more patterned papers
Craft Your Passion - anything goes
Ooh La La - get krafty (kraft cs base)
CCC Digi Creations - anything goes

OWH Memorial Day Thank You Blog Hop!

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Raspberry

Today starts the super fun Operation Write Home Memorial Day blog hop! The idea is to create thank you cards for the soldiers, either for them to send home or to tell THEM thank you for all they are doing for us here at home. I absolutely love everything OWH stands for, but it's been far too long since I've been able to send any cards to them. when I heard about today's blog hop, I knew then and there I wanted to play along if I was feeling well enough.

I believe that all participating blogs can be found at the OWH blog..... please stop by if you get a chance. not  only are individuals like me playing along, but you will find some businesses from the crafty community in the hop, too!

here is the sketch that I used for my card. you know me, I can't just 'use' a sketch, I have to twist it up a bit. so this one was flipped on it's side.

Main image is from Sassy Cheryl at Squigglefly. I did cut away the boots because I didn't want to give the impression of a sad card, and I'll be honest that I don't know enough to know if it would offend a soldier who is deployed. I thought better to err on the cautious side, so I've saved them for another project. sentiment is from Create with TLC, papers & embellishment stickers are Authentique Glory, embossing folder is Tim Holtz, buttons are from my stash. banner is a piece of clear packaging that was edged in acrylic paint.

I plan to get everyone in the family to sign this so that we can send it off. I realize that my card doesn't look like a typical thank you, but it's going to 'Any Hero' with a note of appreciation inside. my family intends to pour out our thanks on the inside, not to worry! :)

now let me get you a cup of this yummy chocolate raspberry coffee so you can start hopping! :)
love to you! Jennifer

Challenges:
Pattie's Creations - red, white, and blue
Inky Impressions - distress
Whimsy - anything goes
WAW - anything goes with encouraging verse
Celebrate the Occasion - Memorial Day
Crafty Sentiments - buttons
Ribbon Carousel - celebrations
Artistic Inspirations - cards for men
My Craft Spot - ribbon or twine
Paper Playtime - buttons or brads
Squigglefly - man up
Victorine Originals - buttons and bows
Great Impressions - celebrations
That Craft Place - makes for men
Little Scrap Pieces - red, white, and blue
Kraft Journal - celebrations

St. Patty's Bear with Blessing

Coffee of the Day - White Chocolate Coconut

I managed to make a card today, using the fun cupcakes at Cupcake Inspirations Challenges as my inspiration. I had saved this free Irish blessing from Michelle Perkett last week, and knew it would be perfect to go with this cute Irish bear from Sassy Cheryl. all the makings for a perfect St. Patrick's card! :)

Papers are Basic Grey Origins, flowers are Prima, buttons are vintage as is lace. the bear's tie and clover centers are dotted with distress stickles in peeled paint, a lovely shade of green. I painted the edges of the card this time, rather than using craft ink like I usually do. the edges of the blessing were carefully burned.

Challenges:
Sassy Cheryl - flowers everywhere
Party Time Tuesdays - die cuts
QKR Stampede - 3 of something (3 designer papers & 3 buttons)
Celebrate the Occasion - Luck of the Irish
Clear it Out - St. Patrick's Day stash (papers and flowers are OLD! grins!)
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - go green
Twisted Tuesday - springlike and green
Digi Darla's - green
Stamp and Create - fur or feathers
Great Impressions - going green
One Stitch at a Time - green
Basic Grey - anything goes with Basic Grey
Hiding in my Craft Room - green
Digi Haven - green
Broken Box Stock - St. Patrick's Day
Card Makin' Mamas - green

You are my Sunshine

Coffee of the Day - Eggnog

Happy Monday to ya!
We had a wonderful visit with the whole fam, but as usual it went by way toooo quick. I spent a great deal of time tucked away in my craft room because the guys were out in the living room working on D & D characters - something that evidently takes hours and hours and days and days to do..... just in case you were wondering! ;) so I left them to it while they had Mythbusters playing in the background and made a few projects for the Love Fest challenges going on over at Split Coast Stampers. I found that if I came into the room and tried talking to them, they never heard a word I said, so it was easier to just stay in my craft room playing. :)  just felt good knowing they were all right outside the door! my fever was spiking all weekend, so I wasn't sleeping well - which is really icky since I had high hopes of getting lots of rest.  oh well, at least I could craft! grins!

This card was made for a color challenge as well as the sketch challenge at Sassy Cheryl's. I hadn't used one of her images in way too long, so it was fun to color one up. Cheryl is expanding into rubber stamps soon, so  she is opening a new store that will accommodate those in addition to her digis. her old store will be closing, so quite a few digital images have been marked down in price before they are discontinued the end of this month.

Papers are MME Stella & Rose Mabel, lace is vintage, images are both from Sassy Cheryl, flower is Prima. sentiment banner was sprayed with 2 shades of glimmer mist. you see I had to add some of my fave washi tapes! a little faux stitching & fun, big button complete the card.

Challenges:
Sassy Cheryl - sketch
OSAAT - use a digi
My Time to Craft - song or film inspired: 'You are my sunshine', of course! ;)
Lady Anne's - anything goes with a sentiment
Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards - buttons and bows
Daisy Doodles - anything goes
Creative Creations - song inspired: 'You are my sunshine' :)
Whoopsi Daisy - add a sentiment

Happy 4th with PIE! :)

Coffee of the Day - Maple Pecan

Happy 4th of July to all of my friends who live here in the good ol' USA!!!!! hello to all the rest of you, too! :) As I mentioned in a previous post, I am so proud to be an American. Last night David & I watched Extreme Home Makeover. They were honoring a soldier who was shot in the deadly spree of Ft. Hood, TX back in 2009. Oh, how we teared up watching all that this young man had been through. Such courage & bravery from both he & his fiancee. I do pray for our troops stationed both here at home & overseas. I can not even imagine all that they endure for us. Please please, if you have never done so in the past, I encourage you to look into Operation Write Home. This is such a phenom organization that collects cards to send to our troops so that they in turn can have a homemade card to send back home.




I have a card to share with you today with a delightful patriotic image from Sassy Cheryl. you can also find it at Squigglefly. We love our pie here in the Scull family, and since I couldn't be with my family today, it seemed fitting that I send them a pie somehow! ;) Papers are from the Americana collection by K & Co. used a button salvaged from David's shirt, the banners were die cut from card board & writing paper. the bases were edged in white craft and then stickles. the writing paper was sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. On the pie, the hearts & button were painted with shimmerz. the polka dots were accented with stickles. A prima flower & ribbon finish off the card. Hope my family likes their 'American Pie' for the holiday! :)

have a wonderful day celebrating with your family & friends!
love ya dearly! Jennifer

p.s. I just saw that my Patriotic Butterfly card for Paper Cupcakes is being featured on the blog today for the sketch challenge. play along if you get the chance! thanks, Nina, for showing my card! You are so kind! :) she has some cute freebie patriotic tickets available for the week, too, so be sure to stop by!

Heart Song - red, white, & blue and/or paper piecing
Come & Get it - patriotic
Creative Inspiration - red, white, & blue
Ellephantastic - July Celebrations
Mark's Finest Paper - patriotic
Our Creative Corner - last minute July 4th or Christmas in July (made only a few hours before it went off to Camp with hubby!)
Stamp, Scrap, & Doodle - stars & stripes
Sugar Creek Hollow - patriotic w/your country's colors
Alota Rubber Stamps - Star Spangled Banner (broad stripes & bright stars, banner itself)
Fairy Tale - America
Stamp Something - digi
Aud Sentiments - food or drink
Pixie Dust - red, white, & blue with optional stars
Rainbow Lady - July 4th
Crafting for All Seasons - red, white, & blue
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - red, white, & blue
Little Red Wagon - patriotic
Party Time Tuesdays - July 4th
Amber's Crafts & Stuff - red, white, & blue
Shabby Tea Room - photo inspiration

Oh No........

Coffee of the Day - Vanilla Macadamia

There is a story behind this card ~ I colored this image about a year ago and then tucked it away in my pack of Basic Grey Origins paper. it was for a challenge over at Sassy Cheryl, the designer of this cutie pie image, and I ended up being late getting something put together. (okay, stop snickering. yes, I know I am frequently late for challenges...... :p) so I was working on a card for Thursday for Shady Tree (yep, anticipation folks!!!) when I came across this precious patiently waiting for my return. You must understand that when I typed out this sentiment, it was something I was quite known for saying myself. have I improved over the past year? nope, not one itty bitty bit. sigh........ maybe by next year. but then again..... maybe not. tee hee!

I am glad I have at least one card with this image, since I no longer have it. and she asked me ever so politely if she could wear her fave in the whole wide world pink tennies. how could I possibly tell her 'no'? I know how much I love every single pair of my pink shoes, and yes, I have more than one! :) as mentioned above, papers are Basic Grey Origins, buttons are all from my vintage stash, little yellow rose is Prima painted with just a touch of shimmerz, and a bit of crochet trim. her shoes, socks, and bow were also painted with shimmerz. I used my gold glitter pen to outline the flowers on the border die. have I mentioned today how much I am enjoying my Big Shot?!

have a most glorious day! love ya!

Jennifer

challenge:

Stampin with the Dragon - green, yellow/gold, white

Crafty Ho's - green, gold, white

Stamp Fairy - show us your green

Whimsie Doodles - use green

Happy for our Libraries!

Coffee of the Day - Maple Pecan

Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend is starting off beautifully! It is a gorgeous one here - temps in the 40's, clear skies, sun peeking through the clouds, kittens chasing leaves that blow across the driveway...... truly enough to make your heart smile!

I would like to share a card with you that I have made for our local library as a way to say thank you for all that they do. We recently had a huge tax levy on the ballots for our county. thankfully it passed, as our libraries are crucial in my opinion. I don't think a week goes by that we aren't there checking out books, movies, or CD's. I made this card to fit into a legal sized envie - large enough so that everyone in our family could jot a note of thanks. The image, Avid Reader, is by Cheryl Alger for Squigglefly. oh, I so remember the days of lying in that same exact position, caught up in the magic of a book. I am still that way. I MUST read every day. I probably go through 3 or 4 books a week. and thankfully everyone in our family reads as well.

Papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Togetherness collection. lots of little buttons were added, as was an actual library card. remember those?! grins! a little netting bow and homemade flower finish it off. can't wait to drop this off later today.

• Sassy Cheryl - use tulle or ribbon

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! :)

Bunnies are Angels Too! :)

Coffee of the Day - Tiramisu

Sorry to be so late posting today. for those of you who aren't aware, today is World Card Making Day!!!! woooo hooo! doing the old lady fist pump over here... btw, that is becoming my signature move much to the delight (cough, cough, sputter, sputter) of my beloved family. hey, I figure at 46 years of age, I need a signature move. so why not the fist pump that so many 'noted' celebrities have adopted as their own? I can be so ghetto right along with them! ;)

anyhow, I think we need to start a petition stating that all take-out should be free and there should be mandatory pedis on WCMD. anyone want to be the first to sign? I have a pen right here.......

okay, on to my card -
the other day I was blessed beyond belief to discover I had won the challenge over at Sassy Cheryl's. so on a shopping spree I went! this adorable angel bunny was the first image that went into my cart. it is my new fave digi by her! isn't this little cutie just as precious as can be? I sparkled her up with so much glittery shimmer shine, but of course none of it came through the scan.... sigh.....

the wings were painted with opal shimmerz and then sprinkled with white glitter. I rubbed off a bit of the glitter to add to the prim feel. the hearts on her dress are painted with the same opal shimmerz, stars with sunny shimmerz, and dress lace with candlelight. I made a flower from pink tissue and a portion of a hymnal page that were all sprayed with pearl glimmer mist. The glitter leaves behind the flower are Prima. Papers are Basic Grey Figgy, pearly buttons are from my vintage stash, little baby tag is Making Memories, and vintage seam binding finishes it off. oh yes, can't forget the doily!

I am trying to get back involved over at SCS, so was reading about some of the WCMD challenges going on over there today. I will be sending this card off to the cancer hospital in Texas as part of their month long drive. I know I will be making more cards for this great cause, so will have more info for you in future posts.

• City Crafter - frills & flowers
• Ellen Hutson - EHWCMD4 glitter
• Little Red Wagon - make your own embellies
• Paper Sundaes - things with wings
• The Shabby Tea Room - Pearls & Pastels
• Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Peace
• Sassy Cheryl - fave image
• Flutter by Wed. - glitter

You have to kiss a lot of men...... ;)

Coffee of the Day - Texas Turtle

I have wanting to make a card with this cute image, Almost a Prince, by Cheryl Alger for a long time. So I decided to join the sketch challenge going on over on her blog this week and pair it with of my all time fave sentiments. I just love this saying! You can find this adorable image and more of Cheryl's over at Squigglefly.

I haven't used much of the Basic Grey Kioshi paper, so thought I would try it out here. I plan to send this card to Mick's girlfriend, and she loves purple, so the colors in these papers were perfect. I sprayed some vintage tatted bits with this gorgeous shade of glimmer mist, as well as the sentiment piece. some pretty organza ribbon, crochet trim, vintage buttons, & seam binding complete the card.

btw - Mick loves frogs. when he was growing up he could always be found outside hunting frogs to play with. thus, the ideal girlfriend card! giggles!

enjoy your evening! :)

Love Bear Brings Flowers for YOU! :)

I sure hope my posts are popping up as schedued..... if not, they are drifting off in cyberspace on some grand vaca and will hopefully send postcards from beyond! :D

My next card for today features a cutie image from Sassy Cheryl. This little fella reminds me again of those delightful bouquets of flowers my boys would bring me when they were younger! The papers are Basic Grey Junebug and the flowers have been painted with shimmerz. The bee and his trail were also given the special shimmerz treatment! bees tend to get a bad break, but our gardens really need them. :) Flowers are primas that have stickles dotted in the centers. trims and ribbons are a hodge podge. LOVE the punch I found on sale a while back at JoAnn's. The button stack comes from my lovely vintage treasure chest. gotta love those vintage buttons! don't know what I would do without them!

I hope y'all are taking good care of yourselves. know that you are loved deeply!

Crafts 4 Eternity - sketch (swapped sentiment & embellies portions)

Sassy Cheryl's - photo inspiration

Your Next Stamp - going dotty

Crafty Pad - ribbons

Cupcake Crafts - recipe of 3's

An Easter Egg for You!

Coffee of the Day - Tiramisu

Good morning! Are you getting ready for Easter? I haven't even started yet... our middle son, Mick, is heading off on a rock climbing trip the end of next week (eek!) that snuck up on me out of the blue, we've had an invite for dinner, and this is just the 2nd card I have made. how is that for not being the least bit prepared... oh well, we will get there - ready or not. :) I hope you are doing better than I!!!

This adorable image is created by Cheryl Alger and can be found at both her store and Squigglefly. Speaking of SF, they have some fun new images being released today, including a new line called "Inside Outs". Be sure to take a look! Cheryl has her own challenge blog that has recently started, so I am entering this.

I must say this card did create a challenge for me. I realized that I only have one Easter SF image, and thankfully it was one of Cheryl's. Since it IS going to be sent to a little boy, I tried to keep it less girly than I typically make, which proved to be more difficult than I thought it would. Usually I don't have a problem with guy cards, so maybe it is coming out of my time off from crafting for so long. Anyhow, in the end I gave in and added the paper flowers in the corner. It just seemed so bare without it! :) Since the little boy is only 5, I hope he won't mind. ;) I tried to keep the colors boy-friendly though. My guys will have kittens when they see it, so I am gearing up for that confrontation. oh well...... I do think it turned out fairly cute.

Do you realize this is the first pair of shoes I have colored in ages that aren't PINK?! giggles! in case you have never noticed, I have a thing about making all of the girls' shoes PINK in the cards I make. look at yesterday's post... and if you check back to almost every single one, the shoes are all PINK! :D so making his plain ol' brown was another one of the challenges for this card. but no way, no how was I giving this guy pink shoes. forget the kittens, my guys woulda had cows! I soooooooooo wanted to add glitter to the little baby flower and egg, but I didn't 'cause of the whole boy factor.... man, they are HARD to make a card for! :p guess I had better girly me up a card QUICK!


Y'all have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you tomorrow!