and remember all of those brave soldiers who have given their lives to protect our beloved United States and keep us safe. I pray for those troops currently on duty who selflessly put their lives on the line every day so that we might know freedom. thank you! and my family says thank you! we will forever be in your debt.
haven't the projects along the hop been fabby so far?! so much talent for such a great cause!
party!!!!" and Ann's sentiment from her line at Raindrop Echo Designs agreed! tee hee! don't ya just want a sweater like this one, too?! of course the shoes are all sparkly shiny compliments of shimmerz paint. the bows on the gifts & the party hat, too! the banner was cut with a fancy die from My Favorite Things. easy peasy! the papers were sprayed with sparkle shimmer spray, as were the Prima roses. trim comes from Etsy and buttons are from my stash.
be sure to stop by the other blogs taking part in this big day!
Happy 3rd Birthday Pink Saturday!!!!! Coffee of the Day - Caramel Creme
our country and around the world, blogging woes pale in comparison. my prayers to all of those affected.Be prepared - in the next few days (again, crossing fingers Blogger co-operates!) you are going to be bombarded with lots of papercrafting posts here! so grab your coffee or tea and get ready! :)
This evening's card uses a fun cupcake turtle image from Whimsy & Stars. I paired it with a sentiment from Raindrop Echo, which was sprayed with candy apple glimmer mist. the cupcake icing, hat ruffle & pompom have been covered in stickles. the candle flame was painted with shimmerz. papers are from the new Basic Grey Hellow Luscious collection - what a fabby one!!!!! The gorgeous flower is a Prima. buttons were salvaged from a shirt David was throwing away...... love to do that!
see y'all tomorrow! love ya!I read about a young 9 year old boy named Dylan with some serious health problems over on Dustin Pike's blog last week and was inspired to 
make a card to send off to him. Since all of my compy woes wiped out my stash of digis, I was rummaging through my little bag of 'already printed out images' for something that might work. I came across this Super Hero from Mo at Digital Pencil that just seemed perfect! I know it isn't one of Dustin's, but hope that it will work nonetheless.
Papers are from the K & Co. Americana collection. not sure where the baker's twine is from as I purchased it on Etsy a while back. buttons are just part of my ever-growing collection. as soon as I un-earth the proper letters, I will place a monogram on his chest in the circle using stickers. I haven't found the right colors in my collection yet, but will keep digging.
Everyone have a most glorious weekend! love to you all! :).......... it REALLY gets away from ya! ;)
things have been so crazy around here. I must begin by saying thank you so very much to those of you who have emailed me or left comments expressing your kind thoughts and prayers for my family. life is starting to 'adjust' I guess would be the best word to use. David is still getting used to his diagnosis, as are we, and the rest of the guys are doing great. Ryan only has minimal bruising and a small bump left on his arm from the hematoma. Tyler has finished his final exams and returns home this weekend. he just might have made Dean's list again....... woooo hooooo! Mick's finals are next week. I know he will ace them as well. I am blessed with such smart sons! summer camp starts up in just a few weeks, so I won't have them around for long, but will treasure each and every moment we have together.now on to my card! I haven't had much access to a compy, but did make a Mother's Day card for Dave's mom. I pulled out some of my ab fab fave Daisy D's paper from the Beacon Hill collection
and paired it with this pretty daisy/sunflower from Shady Tree Studio. the flower is actually part of the fall set, Come to me Autumn, but it worked perfectly for a bright springy card, too. the main tag flower was accented with red glass glitter and green stickles. I also stamped the flower in the lower right hand corner as a bg accent on the decorative paper, using the masking technique. the big flower is a Prima, buttons are from my vintage stash, and the tea tag is one I saved to use as a fun embellie. the sentiment is a SU! rub-on.
Just wanted to thank all of you who have left such kind and thoughtful comments and emails. My family & I truly appreciate your love and heartfelt wishes! Seems this past week has been filled with travels back and forth to hospitals and doctors' appts. - for almost everyone in the family but myself.
We are still smiling though! and Easter is just around the corner!!!! :)
production Friday as he was in the Emergency Room. he has a hematoma on his arm that we are carefully watching. all that we can figure is that it is from a fall he took several weeks ago that had just recently caused blood vessels to rupture. the feeling in his fingers is gone, so that has me concerned, but his outlook is good and he was more concerned about letting everyone down in the musical. what a guy!
wanted to create a chocolate bunny and Easter Peep with them. Hopefully I have accomplished that look here. I embossed the images by first stamping in versamark ink and then into the various SU! classic inks. I did this because I don't have craft inks that correspond to the colors I wanted to use - marigold morning and early espresso. this is a great trick I learned from the master, Michelle Zindorf. gosh, that woman is truly a master!Coffee of the Day - Texas Turtle
Happy Monday to you! it is pouring down rain over here in Ohio..... but I happen to really love rainy days, so this one brings a smile to my face. and if it's cold, even better! I think it is going to warm up quite a bit, well at least for here.... into the 60's today. should be good for the maple trees and tree tapping. Our big Maple Festival that celebrates the maple syrup our county is known far & wide for is coming up, so we pay attention to these kinds of things......
okay, on to the crafty! Don't let my title mislead you..... I actually spend a LOT of time hand washing dishes these days. our dishwasher broke several years ago, so Dawn detergent & I are close buds. I must admit that I don't put on my pretty dress to wash mine though.... although I did get a spunky short hair cut over the weekend, so I guess I look a bit more like this wonderful vintage image from A Day for Daisies. Working on getting as thin as she is, too! :) 
I was thrilled when I found this digi in my stash of 'already printed off, but waiting to color' things that I keep in a big Ziploc bag. I no longer have this image since my old compy died, so this was exciting indeed! after watercoloring, I sponged over the apron with my white craft ink to give a little distressed look - almost like denim. Papers are Basic Grey Marjolaine, pretty resin flower is from SU!, buttons are from my vintage stash, stitched ribbon is retired SU!, and baby flower in bow is a Prima. the doily behind the image was sprayed with both walnut ink & walnut gold glimmer mist. a Martha Stewart border punch was used as well.
Believe it or not, washing dishes really does make me happy. I have learned that it is a perfect time to relax, ponder things going on in my life, pray, look out my back window at the trees & wildlife in my backyard, and just do a small thing that helps to take care of my family. so the tag is appropriate! for me anyhow......... just don't ask me to iron! giggles!
Challenges:
it up anyhow. She was so kind to gift it to me, plus gosh, it is CUTE! ;)
Here are my inspiration photos from XS Baggage Co.
that sad?!Coffee of the Day - Caramel Truffle
yep, it's been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I last posted a card or any crafty project over here on my blog. sorry about that. stuff going on here at home with illness in the fam and dr. visits, weekend guests, Tyler coming home from school :), snow+snow, and just other stuff that seemed to keep me from crafting. but have no fear, I am back tonight to remedy that!
My card uses stamps from the beautiful 'Eastertide' set by Shady Tree Studio. You know how much I have enjoyed playing around with this set. I did decide it was high time I made another actual EASTER card since the holiday is just around the corner. Today a lovely little envie of seam binding arrived from one of my fave Etsy stores, ChristopherPines, in this pretty purple card. 
I decided to repurpose it by making this card! ;)
I pulled out one of my embossing folder, ran it through my most beloved Big Shot, sponged white craft ink over the embossed portions, sprayed it with purple glimmer mist, and then lightely highlighted certain portions with my white craft ink pad. gorgeous irl!!!! shimmers, white that sits on top but also seems to glow from underneath, & little splashes of purple on the lavender bg. The only bit of patterned paper is a floral piece from Basic Grey, Porcelain collection, cut with my Spellbinders frame die, as was the white cs of the main image. the Basic Grey matted piece was accented with champagne chunky glass glitter by SU!. The Prima flower was spritzed with the same purple glimmer mist and a bit of glitter added to the center. the leaves were sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. The gold lace net trim is Webster's Pages. some lavender scrunched seam binding and a pearl pin finish this off. Enjoy your weekend and I hope to see you again before it's all over! :)
even we ourselves see us. So I often will text Joce when she is down and ask her if she is wearing her tiara. 
I used one of them as the focal point for my card. The paper is some old Basic Grey from the Lollipop Shoppe collection. the lace is from a very very old piece David and I found in an antique shop in Akron when we were down visiting Tyler this past fall. I trimmed a bit off, but you will see more in upcoming projects. the beautiful glitter rose is a Prima, the ticket was a gift from an Etsy seller, so I apologize that I don't know any deets on stamp mfg., and the buttons come from my vintage stash. the butterflies and bg paper were sprayed with frost shimmer spray. I added some of the new SU! champagne glass glitter to the main image. oh my stars, I am falling in love with this stuff! sure hope it is in the new catty! :)
Basic Grey Lilykate. I added a BG rub-on to the cachepot the violets are in. (please don't look to close, as the rub-on isn't as centered as I would like..... oh well, can't fix it though I wish I could!) the sentiment piece was sprayed with 2 shades of glimmer mist and then outlined with little dots from my white gel pen. I dotted the brown paper as well to mimic the ones found on that same paper. the flower is Prima with a Recollection rose center. the buttons are more from my vintage stash. the heart doily was sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist, too. the violets on the main image were accented with stickles for some glittery shine.Challenges: Doodle Pantry - use a DP image
Fresh Brewed Designs - spots & dots
MelJens - dots
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 
loving this egg for all sorts of neat, out of the box things! what better way to celebrate St. Patty's than with a shamrock. I found some retired SU! vintage verdigris embossing powder that seemed just the perfect shade on the natural cs. the bits of gold really add a true life sparkle. the stem comes from the flower trio in "Backyard Springtime". I used a versamarker pen to go over just the stem, and then embossed from there. the gold button is from my vintage stash. it seemed perfect for the celtic theme! paper is Basic Grey Origins. some lace trim and a few green holographic sequins finish this off. this is the most CAS card I have done in a while. and yes, for me, this IS CAS. grins!
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!
crystal effects to the cherries and some wonderful glass glitter from Meyer Imports to the heart on the bowl. the papers are Cosmo Cricket Early Bird. the border punch is from SU! & I have to say that I am absolutely in love with my new Big Shot!!!!! it is the best prize (other than hubby! tee hee!) I have ever won!!! the frames were obviously cut using a die, Cherry Pickin' is the name I believe, and it is so cool because it actually embossed these adorable little cherries around the border. they show up much better irl. I added a collection of my beloved vintage buttons and this fun pom pom trim.
petals. so this was one of the first cards I made when the set arrived. I used some retired SU! embossing powder, blue enamelware, to emboss the egg on Stampin' Up!'s natural ivory cs. I then watercolored the flowers and leaves prior to cutting each one out. I used an old zipper saved from a pair of jeans that was being tossed as the flower center. I love this look and will most certainly do it again! the flower has an almost cloisonne look to it irl. so neat!!! as you can see I saved the pocket from the jeans as well. I used the 'joy' sentiment as a pocket label, adding a bit of faux stitching. Daisy D's paper, crochet trim, and vintage buttons finish off the card. I know just who to deliver this one to! :)
gorgeous set, Eastertide, to play with. My projects today are of an Easter theme, but then for the next few days I will show you how you can get fun and creative with this versatile set!
do something a little different and make something other than a card with this fun easter egg basket image, so I decorated a candy bar. this one happens to be an XL Butterfinger bar. I love the bright yellow colors! and I know it will be yummy as well! :) some bright yellow crepe paper was folded and then topped with Prima trim. the candy bar was topped with daffodil paper from Flair Designs. I made a little flower using some old ones from my stash that were pinched together at the base. it scunched up a bit in the scan, but irl it pops up so pretty. ;) fairly simple, but a fun way to dress up a gift!See you tomorrow!
without further adieu, here are several cards featuring images from Nicecrane Designs. I really enjoy Ignacio's vintage work!
from noticing the blue bow on the side.... well at least it is a BLUE bow..... and there is manly burlap on the card! grins! but the card really just needed that extra little bit of color and texture.... REALLY! tee hee! speaking of blue - Mick and David painted our upstairs hallway that same shade of blue as is in the paper. isn't it yummy? it looks beautiful and oh, so soothing with the white ceiling and baseboard trim.
Just a quickie post today to introduce all of you to a fun new store called 'Heart Song Designs'. Some of the images might look familiar to you. Leah used to design some of the digis for Sweet & Sassy, where I was blessed to be a Guest Designer last year. When I heard she had opened her own store, I was super-dee-duper excited! I hope you get a chance to visit both her store and blog. She has a fantastic DT on board as well.
then those same chicks mature and fly away. The nests are created from all kinds of treasures found around our yard.
