You are Amazing, for a sloth! :)

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge (it's Maple Festival weekend here in Chardon, Ohio! we are the Maple Syrup Capitol of Ohio! grins!)

It might be Spring everywhere else, but here in NE Ohio, it's cold and rainy, because it's the Maple Festival. :) it is almost always yucky weather for it, that is just tradition! the first two days had sunshine, but now it's our standard overcast, rain, and cold. some years we have had snow, but then again, we can have snow into May. that is NE Ohio for ya! but I love it here. :)

and I love the maple caramel corn and maple stirs and maple ice cream and maple flavored EVERYTHING!!!!! :)

anyhow, I am here to share with you the card I  made for the fun Tiddly Inks Springtime blog hop. be sure to head over to the Tiddly Inks blog to check out everyone's projects in the links. there will be so many amazing things to see, I am sure! :)

I have merged the oh, so adorable sloth's life image with the pretty quince floral image to make it look as if this cutey is hanging from a flower branch. I also flipped the sloth. I added a few of the extra flower images that come in the quince set. digis are so much fun to play with. :)

You might want to click on the card image to see any of the details in a larger photo. it will take you to a separate page when you do that. ;)

that fun little fella took me about an hour to paint all on his own. but I love the way he turned out. Mick's girlfriend, Lauren, loves sloths. so guess who is getting this card? yep. we are going to see them this weekend so I'll be delivering it tomorrow!

papers are from the Carta Bella Cowboy Country collection, sentiment is by Create with TLC, flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, buttons & lace trim are from my vintage stash, twine is by Webster's Pages, ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon, and beautiful die is by Spellbinders. everything else is stash stuff. :)  the sloth's little claws are covered in crystal effects to help them stand out a bit.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you know that YOU are amazing, too! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
CRAFT - add a charm
Tic Tac Toe - floral, metallic (charm), punch/die cut
Craftaholics R Us - charm
Creative Craft Cottage - include an animal
Bastel-traum - Mother's Day/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

You are Toad-ally Amazing!

Coffee of the Day - Red Velvet Cake

Today begins a new challenge over at Top Tip Tuesdays - hexagons and/or circles. We are sponsored by Fred She Said and Tiddly Inks. Annette has put together a great tutorial for a circle side step card if you would like to give it a go.... I really need to try this one out! stop by the blog to see all of the great projects made by the DT! you will surely be inspired! :)

my post is going to be short, so you'll have to excuse me please. I am so very sick right now....not much crafting getting done, so I'm thankful for what I had done ahead of time.

I used the image from Tiddly Inks, 'Little Hopper', on my card. he is soooo cute! digital papers are from Design House Digital called 'Celebrate Today'. the scalloped circle notecard I picked up from Target a while back. it is edged in white paint. circle/bubble die is CC Designs. some buttons from my stash, linen thread, and wooden clip complete the card. oh yes, our froggy friend's tiny little spots were accented with distress stickle.

Challenges:
Creative Card Crew - great outdoors ( I prefer to keep my frogs outside, personally!)
Loves Rubber Stamps - hoarded item (have had the scalloped note card since before Christmas! eek!)
Cards for Men - bingo: twine, image, & die cuts
Cupcake Craft - anything but square
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner - animals
There She Goes - animals
Ladybug Crafts - fave embelishment (prob my buttons!)
Tok Bobok - animal friends with love
No Matter Which - anything goes
Corrosive - shape up

Trick or Treat Ellie

Two Posts in one day! woooo hooooo!

Trying to make a few cards to send off to the guys away at school..... thought they might like a box full of candy treats, no tricks at least if Mom has anything to say about it. Dad is another story entirely!!! :D

This cute little jester elephant from Tiddly Inks out trick-or-treating caught my eye as a fun one to use to send. Since I had to resist the urge to 'paint' the toenails, I went with 'emo' black. grins! perfect for Halloween, don't you think?!?! I added just a few touches of shimmerz paint on his pumpkin bucket and jester's hat. The boo bat rub on is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry oldie from Basic Grey that I found at the bottom of my drawer....... but it turned out perfect for here! Seems I only use the BG Ambrosia papers for Halloween, but I do love them for this. hard to believe it was last year when I last pulled them out. The seam tape scrap was the last bit remaining from my card posted earlier today. I pulled a few strings off of the ends to make them raggedy. It was stapled to the ticket (another oldie but goody - you can actually see where the sun has discolored it... sheesh, I am so bad about using up some of my stash) with my tiny attacher. I don't know if any of you have this amazing little tool, but it is a must have for any of you who like to staple. these itty bitty staples are so super-dee-super cute and fit into the tiniest places! A simple button and some Maya Road pom pom trim finish off the card. not too much to the card, but it is going to a guy....... always have to remember the no fuss, no frills rule the guys have imposed on me for their 'manly' cards!

catch up with you tomorrow!

• Tiddly Inks - Halloween
• Creative Belli - Pumpkins
• Papertake Weekly - Three of a Kind (decorative papers)
• Pile it On - Things in Threes (decorative papers)

U Rock!

Coffee of the Day - French Vanilla

U Rock! Every Day! grins! just in case someone hasn't told you that today, I thought I would let you know. and I am sending this card off to Mick to let him know I think he rocks as well.

This image from Tiddly Inks always cracks me up. David thought it was a muffin. Even though I did everything I could to make this card look 'rockish' to go with Mick's love for rock climbing, David looked at me and asked, "You muffin?" I just rolled my eyes and took the card over to Ryan. he got it. phew.... I haven't completely lost it.... yet.

The rock bg paper was fun to make. Christy had offered up a freebie on the Tiddly Inks PCP group last week of some crinkly paper. I printed it out in b & W, sponged it with shades of browns & greys, sprayed it with graphite & walnut gold glimmer mist, wrinkled it up really good and tight while it was still wet, hit it quick with a heat gun, then sponged it with crystal effects. after this was dry, I sponged white craft ink over the top. voila! a rock face! perfect for my rock climber! Ryan knew it was rock paper immediately. I still am holding out hope for my hubster...... it has great texture and shine irl.

The papers are Basic Grey Boxer. I had forgotten how fab this collection is. The little ROCK in the boy's hand is also sponged with crystal effects. the zipper pull is actually repurposed from the pocket on a pair of Mick's shorts. he will get a kick out of seeing it here.

• Tiddly Inks - Diamond Glaze/crackle accent

Peaceful Wishes

Coffee of the Day - Creme Brulee

Hello to all of you! I hope today finds you full of beauty and love!

I am trying to get a head start on my Christmas cards. I figure if I do one or two a week that will definitely give me a boost before the holiday season arrives.

I found this precious image over at Tiddly Inks the other day and just had to have it. It is called, 'Watch Over Us'. I knew I would be going with a vintage feel for the overall card to match the Basic Grey Jovial papers, so before I began coloring the image, I first painted the entire piece of cs with butter cream shimmerz. This gives such a gorgeous shine, but also old world look when the image is watercolored. Distress stickles were added to her wings and halo. David has already set this one aside to go to the Church District office as one of the cards for them. so I know he likes it! :)

You know how much I like Basic Grey, but I really do think that this collection, Jovial, and the one I showed you yesterday, Pyrus, are my 2 new faves from them. I love the colors and designs so much! The prima rose shown here is another fave because it is actually made with velvet like the millnery flowers of old. be still my heart!

All of you have a wonderful weekend! I hope to spend mine crafting if at all possible. Mick is off on a big rock climbing trip with the climbing group at Bowling Green. Ryan is joining the indoor soccer team for his school. and Tyler just might be changing his major to pre-med, honors even! wow! I am so proud of my guys! I am one blessed lady! and I know you are, too! :)

• Tiddly Inks - sketch

Ode to a Glue Stick....

Coffee of the Day - vanilla Macadamia Nut with Coconut

Yes, it is a strange blog post title, but I will explain -

I have discovered this week that my ab fab favorite ever in the entire world as we know it glue stick has been discontinued. I even contacted the manufacturer. Yes, hubby was mortified. He couldn't believe the lengths I would go to in order to keep my now almost depleted supply of glue sticks in tact. He just doesn't understand crafters......

I only use glue sticks to adhere my cs. no, not a tape runner, ATG gun, nothing other than my handy dandy glue stick made by that famous Duck brand. everything else falls short. I can't tell you how many people I have addicted to those amazing sticks of adhesive..... and now they have been discontinued. I must say that the people in Customer Service are as top notch as they come! Do you know that they even went so far as to send me a link to the remaining online store to still have some in stock? yep, above and beyond.....

We are big fans of Duck brand products here in our house. They donated a ton of their Duck brand duct tape to Camp several years ago for summer craft projects. returning campers still rave about how wonderful crafts were that summer! we attend their big Duck Tape Festival held Father's Day weekend each year. Talk about a lot of fun!

So in honor of this news, I created a card featuring a cutie duck image from Tiddly Inks. I kept the card upbeat though..... ;) 'cause really this is a fantastic company. and David and I had some fun times driving here, there, and everywhere trying to find these elusive glue sticks in the past year as supplies dwindled. he really does put up with a lot with me, doesn't he?!

and as a side note, when I was in HS, I had a pet duck. Her name was Grace. I DID NOT name her. My Dad named her, and it was with the greatest hint of satire that she was bestowed this grand name. He said she took after me. 6 years of ballet, tap, and other various dance lessons did not teach me poise and 'grace'. I still trip over air molecules and constantly fall down stairs. Alas, poor Grace the Duck was the same. She never outgrew it either..... Neither have I.....

Paper and acetate overlay are from K & Company Handmade collection.

Thanks for letting me ramble today..... I will now go pause for a moment of silence.... sigh..... okay, time to craft again! life is too short to get caught up in the little things. tee hee!

• Tiddly Inks - pet
• Crafty Creations - music and/or dance (hymn - Oh Happy Day, one of my faves!)

A 'Berry' Late Birthday Card

Well if you read my post from earlier today, you know that I was working on a card for Tyler all last week..... but what I didn't mention was that I also had a 'berry' belated birthday card in the works as well...... pardon the pun but you will see what I mean here in a second......

I happened to miss an important birthday the end of August. well I have missed more than my share of birthdays this year, but we soooooooooo aren't gonna go there today. Tiddly Inks has a challenge ending today to make a birthday card, so in my process of trying to figure out what to do for Tyler, I was also tossing around ideas for this belated card. This is what ended up getting finished today.

I used this cute little assorted berries image from Tiddly Inks and typed in my own sentiment prior to printing. oh, the joys of digis! :D I had this wonderful quilted heart sitting on my craft table just begging to be used for longer than I care to mention, and the Basic Grey Olivia papers happened to match up perfectly along with the colors I added for the berries. It's kinda busy, but I like the way it turned out! shabby and messy and oh, so like me! some faux stitching seemed appropriate as well as a bitty baby prima and some spica glitter pen accents. just love the way the black makes everything pop!

have you hugged those near and dear to you yet? well, whadda ya waiting for? go get 'em! wet, sloppy kisses and hugs that let 'em know you mean it! :D mwah!

• Paper Sundaes - minimum 3 embellies (quilted heart, buttons, ribbon, prima, thread)
• Stampin Sisters in Christ - stitching (faux and real on quilted heart)
• Cute Card Thursday - play on words

I Fall For You

Wow! 2 days this week with double posts.... what is UP with THAT?! grins!

I am actually loving loving being crafty again! so hopefully all of you are enjoying the things I am showing as well.....

I wanted to play in the challenge going on over at Tiddly Inks this week, but also make a card for Tyler to give his girlfriend. yes, I know I am not allowed to talk about the guys and their love lives on my blog, so that is as much as I will say...... but he is very excited about presenting this card to her this weekend when they get together, so that makes me happy! :)

I don't have many Tiddly Inks images yet, but hope to acquire more over the next few months. They do so make my heart giggle. The theme for this week's challenge is the end of summer. Well what better paper for me to pull out than my favorite Basic Grey Indian Summer. I think I went through 3 of the 6x6 paper packs last fall, that is how much I love this line! The little hearts have been touched with shimmerz paints, and the cuppy icing was covered in lavender distress stickles. I added the fun glitter leaf (which is gold irl, sorry for the funky scan) and these fun trims from May Arts. I am sooooo digging (pardon the pun!!!) this wonderful tulle ribbon edged in gold. it is just as fabby as it looks! I did cut the loops of the bow off in the scan 'cause it reallllllllllllllllllllllly hangs out there! tee hee! gotta add that girly bling!

will be back in the next day or so with more to share. we head out to Bowling Green tomorrow to bring Mick home for the long weekend. Tyler will be home in time to ride along with us! what a surprise that will be for his bro! :) how glorious glorious to have the whole fam together again! pure bliss!