Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Creeping by...

... just to say Hi!

I love the sentiment inside the card I made, so I'm going to show you the inside first.



This sentiment comes from a very old Stampin' UP! stamp set - Web Wishes


I didn't use an image from that stamp set, though. Instead I used an adorable little witch image from Bugaboo - AKV Witch Kitty



Isn't she a cutie???


Image: Bugaboo AKV Witch Kitty
Sentiment: Stampin' UP! Web Wishes
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black, Marigold Morning, and Pumpkin Pie
Designer Paper: vendor unknown
Embellishments: Button, Crochet Thread, and Ribbon (vendor unknown)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sail Away with Me

This is an exciting day... and an exciting post!

1. It's the 28th, so the card I'm going to show you is a Calendar Girl Challenge card. Deb is the hostess this month, and just wait until you hear what she challenged us to do.

2. This is Tuesday, so the card I'm going to show you is a Twisted Tuesday Challenge card. The theme this week (and the twist) is such fun!

3. If that's not enough... I also have BIG news to share with you about Twisted Tuesday Challenges.

Soooooooooooooo... let's get started.

First... Calendar Girls. Here's Deb's Challenge...


Calendar Girls Olympics!

Since the Summer Olympics are now going on, I decided the theme for this month would be our very own Calendar Girls Olympic challenge. There are two parts to this month’s theme:

1. The colors of the rings on the Olympic flag are: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Your card must have at least one embellishment and it must be in one of those colors.

2. Please make a card based on one of the Olympic events. The events in this summer’s Olympics are: Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Soccer, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Track and Field, Trampoline, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling.

So, here are some examples…I have a stamp of a women jogging, making a card with this stamp, my card represents the Track and Field Event. That one is pretty obvious.

But in case you think you don’t have a stamp that you can use to make a card…look again, and this time, think outside of the box. That means…you may have a horse stamp, a card with that image represents the Equestrian event. You have Bikini Sophie, she could either be representing the Swimming event or perhaps she is waiting for her Beach Volleyball event to start. You have a sporting set so you use the basketball, your card is representing Basketball. You have sailboat image, your card is representing the Sailing event. You get the idea!!!

Or you have those cute Riley Travel Sticker stamps. So your card is going to represent the Olympic Opening Ceremony representing the USA, or Australia, etc. Or make a card representing the host country, Great Britain.

And lastly, when posting to your blog, please let us know what your card represents about the Olympics.

Please get creative with what you have. Use die cuts, stickers, stamps, whatever you have. I do not want anyone to have to go out and buy something.

Have fun!!!

Looking forward to seeing all your gold medal winning creations!
Deb (Miss August)


I'm not the athletic type, nor are my family members... so I had to search and search for something to use. I finally found a VERY old Stampin' UP! stamp set with a sailboat (so I'm representing the Sailing event).




  Now, lest you wonder how this card also fits the Twisted Tuesday Challenge, here are the details for that...



   



August 28 - September 3

Theme: Cooling Off  (With Autumn just around the corner let's make a "cooler" creation. Wherever your mind takes you with that.)

The Twist: I want to see some inked edges.


As you can see from my card, my idea of cooling off is hanging out on a sailboat.      




I love those fish brads so much that I put two more of them inside...


    Now, for the THIRD thing I told you I had to put in this blog post... the BIG news! Here it is....


Twisted Tuesday Challenge is having a Design Team Call!!! You really should consider applying. It is such fun being a Twisted Tuesday Design Team Member! The details can be found here.


Okay... I know this blog post is long............ but you really MUST go and check out the other Calendar Girl blogs and see their challenge cards. It's going to be great fun! You can find the links to their blogs in my left sidebar. Enjoy the CALENDAR GIRL OLYMPICS!


And don't forget to play along with this week's Twisted Tuesday Challenge!



Image: Stampin' UP! Simply Summer


Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (image and inked edges), A Muse Winter Sky (sponged on for the sky), and Copic Markers

Cardstock: all from my scrap file

Designer Paper: didn't use any (*gasp!)

Special Technique: waves created by randomly punching with a 1 1/4" circle punch

Embellishments: Fishy Ribbon and Brads (vendor unknown)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

It Is Well With My Soul

This has long been one of my favoritie hymns:

It Is Well With My Soul
by Horatio G. Spafford

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.


Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.


My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!


For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.


But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!


And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.


It is a beautiful hymn. And the story behind it is so touching.

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer named Horatio G. Spafford. The words were not written during the happiest period of his life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.


Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in Chicago in the 1860’s, not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors, but also because they were prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870 the Spaffords faced great sadness. Their only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four and a year later, the infamous Chicago fire struck, completely wiping out all of the Spaffords’ real estate investments on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. Not only did they need the rest; their good friend DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in

late 1873. As they prepared for their trip, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, he persuaded his family to go as planned, promising them that he would join them later. With this decided, Anna and their four daughters set sail for Europe. Just nine days later, Horatio received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, their ship had collided with an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people, including Horatio and Anna’s four daughters. Anna was only saved from the fate of their daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up.

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. The ship’s captain kindly told Horatio when they reached the place where the earlier ship had wrecked. Horatio returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics to “It Is Well With My Soul”.


Our Daily Bread is a stamp company that specializes in Christian images, quotes, and scripture verses. I was so excited to find their stamp with the words/music to It Is Well With My Soul at the Stamp Show I went to this weekend. I purchased it and the Anchor stamp set from them and created the card for this week's Twisted Tuesday Challenge, using these stamps.





August 21 - 27




The Challenge: Sketch (see above)

The Twist: Don't use any ribbon or trims



Here's my card:






I used a Scripture stamp on the inside:




        Images/Scripture: Our Daily Bread (It Is Well With My Soul and Anchors)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (for stamping the stamps) and A Muse Latte (for distressing the edges)
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Kraft and Very Vanilla and scraps from my scrap file
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

Friday, August 17, 2012

I'm a Designer Paper Addict

I do love Designer Paper. You should see my stash! Me oh my!!!

I have all my single sheets filed in Sterilite drawer units, by theme. It works. But the pads/stacks of paper don't work well there and my storage options were frustrating me. (I have several of those Cropper Hopper holders, but thought they were flimsy and my designer paper was beginning to bow due to the leaning of the holders.

What's a paper crafter to do? Ask her friends for advice. Check. I did that. My online friends tried to help. Nothing seemed quite right for my situation.

What's a paper crafter to do? Go shopping. Check. I went to Walmart - actually went there for the zero calorie Raspberry Syrup that I like to put in my glass of iced tea... but had to peruse the school supplies, too. Just because.

I found something intriguing! Sterilite Locker Crates. On the label it read, "Fits a standard size 12" locker." What that said in MY mind was 'Fits a standard size 12" DESIGNER PAPER." Soooooo... I bought three! (I knew I could return them if they didn't work.)


It worked!!!

These are exactly 12" so they hold the designer paper just fine!



The downside is... all that designer paper is HEAVY... and I don't want to lift the crate off the shelf every time I want to use one of the paper stacks. No problem! I can store these crates on their side, which allows me to thumb through the pads a wee bit, choose which one I want to use, and then pull out the paper pad/stack that I need. Easy peasy!


Yes! All three crates are full! (The red one has the Christmas/holiday papers in it. On the end of the shelf are 4 of those Cropper Hopper paper holders. Two of them have Stampin' UP! papers in them, one has Archiver's and Assorted 12" cardstock in it, and the fourth one has a variety of papers in it.

I am one happy lady!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bingo!


  I am so excited! Today is finally here!



BINGO!!!






I have waited and waited for this day. Why? Because it is our Dueling Darling day... and this month Kelly and I are the hostesses. That means we got to choose the theme (we collaborated, but basically Kelly let me take over. Sorry, Kelly! I hope you like the theme!) Then we secretively put together our respective kits and sent them out to our team members - mine to the Dazzlers and Kelly's to the Diva's. And today we get to see what they made!


BINGO!
    Okay, now lest you think we chose the theme "Bingo" let me explain.   We did some research… wondered what is special about August 15, since that’s today's date. We discovered August 15th is Best Friends Day, National Relaxation Day, and National Failures Day.

August 15th is also in the middle of Elvis Week (Be still, my heart!), National Aviation Week, National Scrabble Week, and Weird Contest Week.

Sooooooooo many choices. What did we choose? In honor of National Scrabble Week, our theme is…

Are You Game?



As a little extra CHALLENGE this month, we’d like the Dueling Darlings to try something new with their kit/creation – something they’ve never done before (IF THEY’RE GAME!)

I chose the Art Impressions Bingo image/sentiment for the Dazzler's game-themed kit. I also included embossed papers with game tickets, Bingo cards, and distressed rays (Ellison's Tim Holtz line offers this mini set). And of course there were designer papers and embellishments, too.

For something different (the challenge!) I decided to try a fold I've never done before - the Double-Z fold. It was quite fun.


Here's a picture of my card when it's held closed:



Here is is in a more comfortable pose:



It really didn't want to stay closed (I had to clip it together for that first picture).






I hope you've enjoyed seeing it! Now, let's rush over to the other Dueling Darlings blogs to see their cards!    
DAZZLERS
 
April
 
Darlene
 
Deb
 
Melina
 
Michelle
 
Paola
 
Terry
 
 
DIVAS
 
Barb
 
Carol
 
Jamie
 
Judy
 
Kelly
 
LJ
 
Tami              
 
Image: Art Impressions Bingo
Ink: Copic Markers and Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black, Pumpkin Pie, and Tempting Turquoise and scraps from my scrap file
Designer Paper: Tessa Collins Freestyle Collection
Bingo Card Embossing Folder: Ellison Tim Holtz Collection
Embellishments: Studio 18 Rhinestones and Buttons and Star-Shaped Brad (vendor unknown)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Are You Blue?

No, the title of this post isn't suggesting that we paper-crafters are depressed. Not at all!

Are You Blue? is the title of this week's Twisted Tuesday Challenge


August 14 - 20

Your creation needs to be mostly blue in color.
The Twist ~ Try to only use one other color besides blue.


I went with a tranquil blue and green color combination...




I used one of my all-time favorite Stampin' UP! stamp sets -
Lovely As a Tree
 
 






I'd love to see what your blues look like! Be sure to create a mostly blue card and play along with this week's Twisted Tuesday Challenge!



Images: Stampin' UP! Lovely As a Tree
Ink: Stampin' UP! Always Artichoke
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Buckaroo Blue and Sage Shadow
Designer Paper: from my scrap file
Embellishment: Ribbon (vendor unknown)

Friday, August 10, 2012

Take Time to Smell the Flowers

Barb (SCS's barbaralynn) organized a swap group with unidentified images. Every other month, the group of swappers receive identical images from that round's hostess. It is great fun to see how different swappers use the same image.

Janet (SCS's JanetJ) is the hostess this round. She selected a House Mouse image for us to use.

In keeping with the Unidentied Swappers guidelines, we cannot post our cards to our blogs/gallaries until the due date. They are due today, so here is my card...





Here is the inside:


I am sure Janet is enjoying all the packages arriving in her mailbox, since the swappers are a very talented group of ladies. I'm so glad I get to be part of this fun group!


Image: House Mouse Take Time to Smell the Flowers
Ink: Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Basic Black, Crushed Curry, and Pixie Pink
Designer Paper: Prima Sasha Paper Collection and Recollections Bold Basics Pad
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

School Days

It's time for a new Twisted Tuesday Challenge...



Theme: School Days
Twist: You have to use chalks somewhere on your creation.

August 7 - 13


You're going to have to look closely to find the "chalk" on my card:



Did you find the chalk?

Here's a hint:


The very subtle coloring on the pages of the books was done with Pebbles, Inc. chalks.

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to Roxane for gifting me the actual library card that I used on this card. She works at a library and knew I wanted some old library cards, so she mailed me a bundle of them. THANK YOU, Roxane! You're a great friend!!!




Here's the inside of my card:




Now let's see your school creations, complete with chalk.


Image: Artful Inkables Think Big
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers
Chalk: Pebbles, Inc.
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Basic Black, Marigold Morning, and Riding Hood Red
Designer Paper: Paper Studio Four Seasons Collection and an actual library card
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones

Monday, August 6, 2012

Butterflies Take Flight

Linda hosted her annual Butterfly Card Swap in memory of the young son she and her family lost many years ago. I was delighted to be able to join her swap.

I decided to go with a neutral card with just a dash of color to add some pizzazz to it. I hope Linda likes it.






I can't wait to show you the inside. I did something a bit different than my usual inside... and I love it!



Isn't that fun?!?!


Butterfly Images: A Muse Papillon
Flower Image: A Muse Avian Notes
Sentiment: A Muse Sunny Side of Life
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Paper Company Black and Boysenberry and Stampin' UP! Very Vanilla
Designer Paper: DCWV The Far East Stack and Paper Studio Butterflies Glitter
Embellishment: Michael's Organdy Ribbon

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Animal Birthdays

On the 5th of every month, the Crafty Gals blog group has a sheduled post. This month, Carolina is the hostess. She gave us a GREAT challenge

Animal Birthdays

In Carolina's words, "Two of my sons are having birthdays this next month. Since we didn't do any b-day cards, I challenge you all to do one using an animal character and four shapes of any sort somewhere in the card plus colours red and blue. Is this too much to ask???"

Of course it isn't too much to ask, Carolina... it's such fun to create to your specifications!


Here's my card:


My "shapes" are four die cut ovals which I turned into balloons.




Here's the inside of my card:


THANKS for stopping by my blog today! I appreciate you!!!

Be sure to check out the other Crafty Gals blogs to see what they created. You can find the links in my left-hand sidebar.


Image: Stampin' UP! Hedgehog Happiness
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Brilliant Blue, Glorious Green, Real Red, Whisper White, and Yo Yo Yellow
Designer Paper: from my scrap file
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones and three colors of thread/yarn (vendor unknown)