I'm a Senior!

Good morning everyone and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!  May I take this moment to say thank you to all of the military families and military personnel who serve this great country.  Your daily sacrifices do not go unnoticed!

Now...the post title.  No, I'm not in school.  No, I'm not a senior citizen either.  I'm a Senior Design Team Member at The Digi Shack!  Toni has decided to keep me around a little longer.  :O)  Head over to The Digi Shack to see who else is on the team, or check my sidebar!

I have an adorable card to share with you today.  Our very own Marlene, of Disguised as a Grown-Up, has created this big hunk of burning love for our June release!  You will be able to purchase King Phat on June 5th! 

A Flowery Feel Better Card

scoopy (Emily) was the featured stamper over at Split Coast Stampers today - she has a gallery full of wonderful clean and simple cards - the kind of design I tend to gravitate towards!

I chose her pretty daisies in a row card to CASE today. I used different stamps and sentiment, and stamped my flowers on a panel framed by an embossed Nestability square.

My flowers and sentiment are by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Fun news! - The Waltzingmouse Design Team will be having a DT Blog Waltz on Tuesday June 1 highlighting some of Claire's first stamp sets. There will be WMS sets to win by leaving comments so be sure to come by!!!


Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - flowers - Pic-Nic Patterns, sentiment - Asian Garden
Paper: Melon Berry, white - PTI
Ink: Ripe avocado, melon berry - PTI, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: square nestabilities, cuttlebug, foam dimensionals, black pearls - Amuse

Flowers with Dustin Pike

Good morning everyone!  I hope that you all are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and that you were able to participate in the Operation Write Home blog hop yesterday (see my previous post)!  It was amazing!  :O)

Today is the time for another challenge at Doodle Dragon Studios Challenge Blog.  This one involves flowers!  Any kind of flower you want...it could be in the digital image, designer paper, ribbon, Primas...whatever your heart desires!  Just remember that you must use a DDS image to qualify!  There are tons of freebies on Dustin's Blog!

I used an oldie, but a goodie for my card today.  Tea party is so cute, eh?  How many of you used to have tea parties with your stuffed animals?  *grin*  I used some Kaiser Crafts DP, nesties, mulberry flowers and my trusty Copics to color!

This challenge runs through June 12th...we would love to see you play along!  Be sure to check out the creations from the other DT members too...links are on my sidebar!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day tomorrow!  Stay safe and remember what the day is all about!

An Awesome Son

Happy Memorial Day to everyone who lives in the US! Today we remember and thank all those who have served or lost their lives in the Military Service protecting our country and it's freedoms. ETA: sorry - I'm two days ahead of myself with celebrating Memorial Day! It's the 31st of course - but our town parade is held on Saturday - so I get confused !! LOL!!! and actually we celebrate the whole long-weekend I guess depending on when people have cookouts etc!!
The inspiration challenge today on Split Coast was the Crate & Barrel web site store. I wanted to make something patriotic so I searched the site for 'stars' and found these fun cup cake holders.
And here's the card I created from that inspiration.

I used my Fiskars Crimper to simulate the ridges in the cupcake holders. I thought these wonderful blooms looked a lot like fireworks when stamped randomly on the panel.

Here's what I put on the inside of my card today. My sentiments are from the set Free Spirit-Sentiments from Waltzingmouse.

This card will go to my son who served in the US Army for 6 years. And I am so proud of him for serving his country.

My card also fits Sharon's Friday Stamp Simply challenge - to use the colors of your countrys' flag on your card.

And here is a picture of our friend Steve, who is a member of a military reenactment group. Today he marched in our town's Memorial Day Parade in his Civil War uniform - and then he stationed himself in the Civil War section of our town cemetary during the services there.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Big Blooms, Free Spirit-Sentiments

Paper: white, enchanted evening, pure poppy - PTI

Ink: Enchanged evening, pure poppy - PTI

Accessories: sponge, red twill, curly label & designer label - SU, foam dimensionals, crimper - Fiskars, lge star punch - Fiskars, small star punch - McGill

OPERATION WRITE HOME BLOG HOP!!!

Good morning and happy Memorial Day weekend to you all!  Today is the day of the Operation Write Home (formerly Cards for Heroes) Blog Hop!!!

If you have arrived from Katlyn's Blog, you're on the right track!  If not, please start at the beginning at the Stars and Stamps Blog so you don't miss anything!  There will be freebies/blog candy scattered throughout the hop!

I would like to challenge any of my friends or followers who stop by today to send in a batch of cards or a donation for postage...get the addresses HERE! (Right hand sidebar)  I have donated 40 cards this month...how many will you send?

Need some inspiration?  Check out the HERO BLOG that is filled with letters from heroes and their families.  Hear what they have to say about receiving all of our great cards!

I made the following card with a sweet image from Wink Wink Ink.  Melanie, the owner and artist, is amazing!  She made this digital image just for the blog hop today.  Be sure you didn't miss her!

I cannot find the words to appropriately express how grateful my family and I are that so many Heroes are putting themselves in harm's way to protect us and our country every single day.  The U.S.A. is the land of the free and the home of the brave...but only because of the courageous men and women who serve.  We wish them and their fellow troop members complete safety throughout their tour of duty.  May they return home soon to a TRUE HERO'S welcome!  Their sacrifices do not go unnoticed!


Do you have a family member or friend deployed?  If the answer is yes, please let them know that we said "THANK YOU!"

I have candy for you as well...anyone who becomes a follower (sometimes being a follower is fun!) and leaves a comment here will be entered to win this Close to my Heart acrylic stamp set!  Please comment by 12:00PM (noon) CST on Memorial Day!

Next stop on the hop route is Diane!  

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day!

No Words Can Really Ease the Loss

I'd appreciate your prayers for my dear mother-in-law, Marjorie, who went to be with God Wednesday night. She would have been 95 this July 6th. She had been pretty healthy and active until about 6 months ago when she began a decline and had to move from assisted living to a nursing home.

Here is Marjorie just last Sunday when Kent and I visited her and brought her a chocolate ice cream soda (her favorite!)

We are thankful that God wrapped his arms around her so quickly and took her home - free of her tired human body.

Stamps: With Sympathy - PTI

Paper: White, Lavender Moon - PTI

Ink: Lavender Moon, Ripe Avocado, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, glue pen.

Vintage Summer with Wink Wink Ink

Hello all my lovely peeps!  Happy Thursday!  Friday's almost here...Memorial Day Weekend!  I want to take one second to thank ALL the soldiers out there who fight for us every day.  Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed!  Come back on Saturday at 9:00AM CST for an awesome blog hop for Operation Write Home!

I made this adorable card yesterday featuring the latest digital image "Pearl" by Wink Wink Ink.  She is so darling!  I used the Mojo Monday sketch and I am really loving the way it turned out.  I picked the paper and went off coloring with my Copics...happy as can be.  I put it all together and the white shape at the bottom didn't have anything in it...just looked strange.  I went digging through my stash and what did I find?  A brand new pack of Fancy Free rub-ons from Fancy Pants!  The perfect colors and the perfect phrase!  Don't you {LOVE} it when you luck into something like that?  :O)  I added the pearls and here she is!

Check out the Wink Wink Ink Shop to buy Pearl...and lots of other cuties too!  ;O)

Inktegrity New Release & Sketch...

***This is my 3rd post today...please scroll down for The Digi Shack & Flutter By Wednesday posts!***

This will be the last post for the Spring design team at Inktegrity.  Joni has decided to take the summer off to spend plenty of time with her kiddos.  I think that's wonderful!  I want to take a second to say thanks to Joni and the design team members.  It has been a blast working with you all and getting to know you all a little better.  I do hope we can still visit from time to time!

Inktegrity is having their last release until the summer is over...be sure to head over and see what Joni came up with for us!  She asked us to request any image we wanted and I got her to make this awesome, whimsical tree with a tire swing.  If you head over there right now, you could win this image just for commenting!  Also, don't forget to "swing" by the Challenge blog...Diane gave us another great sketch that I used here.  :O)

Check out all the great creations from my teamies...links on my sidebar!

Bye Bye Flutter By!

***This is my 2nd post today...please scroll down for Sketchbook Wednesday by The Digi Shack!***

Good morning again everyone and Happy Hump Day!  It's time for Flutter By Wednesday...a sad one for me, but it was time to give the other ladies their time on the team.  Today is my last post as a Design Team member for Flutter By Wednesday.  I've been along for the ride watching this challenge grow week by week for over a year now.  Danni has been the best leader and working with all the girls has been a real joy.  Thank you all for your awesome comments and your friendships.  I do hope that you'll continue to come by to see me.

Okay, now on to my card.  This week is an open week, so all you need to do is use a butterfly, fairy or angel on your creation.  I used this awesome glitter paper from BoBunny, Martha Stewart punch and the sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You.

Be sure to check out the rest of the creations by the design team...links on my sidebar.  Stop by the Flutter By Wednesday blog to see the beautiful new look too!  :O)

Mahalo (Thank You) for Summer

Here is my Clean and Simple card for this weeks CAS challenge over on Split Coast which was 'Think Summer'.

What should have been a simple no layer card done quickly turned into a simple no layer card being stamped 3 times! The first time I got a smudge of blue sky on the sand and on the 2nd try I got a streak of black in the sky from the sentiment - Yikes!!! Then my Chai ink cube dried up and so the 'sand' on this third rendition looks much darker than the first two.

So here it is - a sunny day at the beach! I punched a circle for a stencil and sponged the sun, then I covered the sun with the circle and cut a curvy mask with Eclipse tape to sponge the sky in two colors of blue. Then I inked the beach with a cube ink pad direct to paper to give it a little texture from the lines of the cube. My surf board and sentiment stamps are from Waltzingmouse Stamps . Mahalo is 'thank you' in Hawaiian.

Mahalo for finally letting me finish this card without a smudge on it!!

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Free Spirit - Boy, Free Spirit Sentiments
Paper: White - PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Chai Ink Cube - PTI, Apricot appeal, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky - SU, Adirondack Watermelon & Raisin
Accessories: sponge, Eclipse Masking tape, circle punch

TDS Sketchbook Wednesday...Upcycled!

Good morning everyone!  It's time for Sketchbook Wednesday at The Digi Shack!  Woot!  Toni gave us another great sketch to work with...come and join in on the FUN!  We would love for you to use one of our images (most are only a dollar!), but it's not required...any digital image will suffice.

I used FLOWER BUNCH from The Digi Shack for my card today and colored it a bit non-traditionally.  I colored the leaves and such all in gray.  I really love the way it turned out.  The color combo came from a "card" that I got from Office Max with my Max Rewards coupon.  I love the black on black design and the pop of yellow, so I decided to upcycle it!  I added some rub-ons and pearls...a little dry embossing...some scruffing up and voila!  What do you think of it?

Be sure to check out my teamie's creations too!  Links are on my sidebar!

Butterflies Thinking of You

NCSUNikki was the featured stamper this week over at Split Coast and I chose her pretty Thoughts of You card to CASE.

I used different stamps, a different edge punch and didn't tie a bow on my ribbon - but the main essence is her card!

I love this top note style card - my card base is 5 1/2" x 3 5/8" and my top note is 3 5/8" x 4"

My stamps are from Asian Garden by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Asian Garden
Paper: White, plum pudding - PTI, black - SU
Ink: memento tuxedo black, plum pudding & Dark chocolate - PTI,
Accessories: Martha Stewart butterfly punches, EK success edge punch, glue dots, ribbon - PTI

Together Always

Wow - what exciting and beautiful cakes and table settings on the inspiration site, Amy Atlas Events, for Saturdays Split Coast Challenge! I chose this pretty Mother's Day Table setting to inspire my card.I embossed my background stamp with white EP and stamped my sentiment on a Spellbinders Fancy Tags that I sponged with spring moss before removing it from the die.I added three buttons to suggest the candies in the jars on the inspriation picture.This will go to my college roommate who's anniversary was Friday (woops!) so it will be a tad late!

Inside says Happy Anniversary overstamped with a spring moss heart.

I was a bridesmaid in their wedding and was 5 months pregnant with my son - and he will be 33 in Sept so I always remember how many years they have been married even if I forget the date!

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps: Asian Garden, Fancy Phrases, Sweethearts
Paper: white, spring moss, ripe avocado - PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, spring moss - PTI
Accessories: fancy tags - Spellbinders, vintage buttons and ribbon - PTI, white EP, hot gun, sponge, glue dots, foam dimensionals

Say Hello to Zenfangle With Buttons and a Bow!

What a fun technique for us to try this week for the Ways to Use It challenge on Split Coast! Guest Host Beverly (ruby-hearted mom) introduced us to the art called Zentangle using pen and ink -black ink!

Here's my humble first attempt at the technique. An upscale doodling if you will - I used my micron 01 pen, a Sharpie, a white gel pen (just a tad!) and a grey copic. I hand wrote the 'hello'

My image is on a 4" square that I framed with black, grey and white.

I always used to doodle on the sides of my notebooks in school (didn't we all?!?!) - this art form really takes it to the next level!

Beverly is visiting in Boston this week (from TX!) and I work in Boston - so I PM'd her to see where she was and we were able to get together for lunch! We'd never met but 'knew' each other from Split Coast. We hit it off like long lost friends - isn't the stamping community a great one to be involved in!?! Here we are enjoying a great lunch at Jacob Wirth's in the theater district of Boston. Then we walked around the Boston Public Garden, saw the swan boats, and hit a couple of shops!

Stamps: none
Paper: white - PTI, black - SU, Bazzill white and grey
Ink: none
Accessories: grey copic N2, white gel pen, foam dimensionals, Mircon 01 black pen, black Sharpie

And here's my card for Friday's Free 4 All Challenge at Split Coast - to use Buttons and Bows.

My stamps are from a beautiful set from Waltzingmouse Stamps called Asian Garden. I layered some extra tree leaves on the tree with foam dimensionals. I chose my colors based on the pretty DP.

I used this weeks Taylored Expressions sketch for my card.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Asian Garden
Paper: White - PTI, DP GCD Studios/miniflowers/SUnny Days Collection, Coredinations/Oxford Ink: Enchanted Evening- PTI, Sunset Orange - Adirondack, Apricot Appeal - SU
Accessories: glue dots, foam dimensionals, sponge, vintage buttons-PTI, circle & scalloped circle nestabilities

The Zoo Has Arrived...

Good morning all.  It's time for another super cute release from Dustin Pike / Doodle Dragon Studios!  It's the much anticipated Zoo release.  These guys are too darned cute!  There are 24 images in the set and he's even throwing in colored ones too.  All for the low price of $5!  Get them while you can!  ;O)

Before I forget...I told you that I would share a photo of Jake and I on his 13th birthday...here we are.  Following that is the birthday card I made for him.  The image from Digital Pencil Too was perfect since you can ALWAYS find him playing the Xbox 360.  Orange is his fave color, so that's the color of his shirt, the chip bag would be sour cream and cheddar, the soda can is Mt. Dew Live Wire and the candy bar is Butterfinger.  All his favorites...he looks at the card every morning...that makes me grin!  I used the current sketch from Mojo Monday.

Here is the layout I made with the elephant, hippo and rhino from the DDS Zoo Release.  ;O)

Page 1 (above)

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT's creations too...links are on my sidebar.  (If the release isn't posted on Dustin's blog yet, be patient...it'll be there!)  Have a great day!

Ahoy!

Ahoy Mateys!! This little sailboat card is for the Split Coast Teaparty challenge - to help Seth the Sailor who's alone and lost. This little sailboat is on it's way to help him find his way - you can see the 42,000 waves in the background (although I meant to mount the paper the other way up - OOPS!!) The beautiful nestie frame is helping tame the waves for Seth.

I'm going to be a great- aunt for the first time to a little baby boy in September (whoo hoo!!!). I'm starting to practice making baby boy cards so I'll be ready for the big event! This is also for Monday's SCS technique challenge - to use a frame on your card.

Here's what I stamped on the inside. All the stamps are from Bitty Baby Blessings by PTI. It's a great set for baby projects and has sentiments for twins and adoptions.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Bitty Baby Blessings
Paper: white, hawaiian shores - PTI, Bazzill brown, DP Bo Bunny/Sea foam dots, American Crafts/Backyard Splash
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, So Saffron - SU
Accessories: sponge, Classic Frames - Spellbinders, Labels 10 Nestabilities, distresser, tiny gems - Taylored expressions, glue pen, foam dimensionals, saddle stitched ribbon - PTI