Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been quite a while since I have been on here.  I sure miss all of my blogging buddies.  

My time has been crazy!  I had an auction and estate sale and got rid of SO MUCH stuff.  Then the house sold SUPER quick!  It was put on the market on a Friday evening and was sold the next by 1 pm, full asking price in cash.  I was so happy!  All of my belongings are in storage waiting to be shipped up to Oregon.  But there has been a big delay on the finish date of my house. . .

The manufacturer is WAY behind.  It was supposed to be finished by the end of November, now we are looking at MID JANUARY!!  I am so disappointed as I really wanted to spend Christmas in my new home.

So, now I am getting an apartment up near my daughter in OR for a couple months to wait till the house is done.  She would love to have me stay with her, but she has 5 cats and I don't think my Zazu would get along with them very well, LOL!

I send big hugs to all of you and wish you many blessings this Thanksgiving.

Joanne

Good News!

Just a quick note to tell you my good news.

My house went on the market Friday the 23rd of October at 7 pm, and was sold for the full asking price the next day by 1 in the afternoon!  I was stunned and amazed!!!  Escrow will close on 11/20 and then the race is on!

I hope to be up and card making sometime in the beginning of 2016 - WOW, that sounds SO far away!  I sure miss my crafting!

Sure do miss all of you and visiting your blogs.  I send lots of hugs to all of you!

So Sad. . .

Well, its official - ALL my craft supplies are packed.  I don't have a lot of spare time right now, but when I do I sure miss my card making!  I figure I won't be back to it until after the beginning of next year, HEAVY SIGH!  In the meantime I have started doing some cross stitching.  The supplies are very small as I have several projects that were kits.  I have to have something crafty to keep my hands busy lol!

What a mess I have been working in - just one small corner.  Can't wait to have a REAL craft room in my new house!

Making progress!

Take care my friends!

Chocolate, Coffee & Card Challenges #100 ~ CELEBRATE

Hello friends.  I can hardly believe that CC&CC is on

CHALLENGE #100!

I was a DT member for the very first challenge at CC&CC, and at challenge #34 I became the owner and coordinator for the blog.  It has been a FAB experience!  I have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful gals from all over the world who served as DT members and helped to make CC&CC the fun place it is today to come and create.
I thank them all!

Our sponsor for this challenge is The Paper Shelter.  I chose a special image to showcase our 100th.  It is called "Seeking Inspiration".  I loved that I could put my sentiment on her canvas.

I am also celebrating the news that my new home will be completed around the end of November, YIPEEE!  Then it is the big move to Oregon!  Because I am really starting to pack things up, and my house here is on the market, this will be my last card until. . .  I don't know when, lol!  Probably the 1st of next year.  I will be so busy getting settled in, I just won't have the time to create.  I am REALLY going to miss it.  But I just keep dreaming of finally having a CRAFT ROOM!  That is a real first for me, and I can't wait!  In the meantime, I will still be running things at CC&CC for our challenges.

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of YOU for your support of my blog and your kind comments about my creations.  I have made so many friends and am thankful for each and everyone of you!  Hopefully I will be able to visit you from time to time.  Just know that you are in my thoughts and I can't wait to return here full time.  God Bless, much love, BIG hugs and
HAPPY CRAFTING!

Joanne

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #99 ~ Feminine & Fancy

Hello blog friends, good to have you stop by!

I haven't had much time for card making lately, and I had to quit as DT  member at Creative Knockouts.  I'm so busy with getting the house on the market and building the new one that my spare time is very limited.  I will be going back up to OR next week to meet with the contractors at my lot for the final details.  Should be interesting!  Also will be having to pack up my crafting supplies soon, boo hoo!  I sure will miss it!  No hand made cards for friends and loved ones this Halloween or Thanksgiving.  I might get a few done for Christmas if I get settled into my new house in time, but I don't count on it!

ANYHOW, on to my card for CC&CC!  Feminine & Fancy, love that theme!  We have the perfect sponsor for this challenge, A Day For Daisies.  They have the most beautiful images!  I used "Powder Room" for my card and did it in a monochromatic style.  I love the image, she looks very "Art Deco" era to me.

I colored her with my Copics and did several layers of papers, die cuts and then added some bling, pearls and roses.

I apologize for not getting around to visit all my blog buddies.  Hopefully I will be able to get some visiting time in soon.  I haven't forgotten any of you!  Hugs!

CC&CC #98 ~ Use A Sentiment and Other Musings

Hello blog friends!  Well, at last I am back and doing fine.  The concussion was a real experience.  Let's just say, if you hit your head and have some type of reaction, go see the doctor!  I tripped over a speed bump in a parking lot and fell on my right side.  When I did, my head jerked left then whip lashed to the right slamming onto the pavement.  WOW, I saw stars!  Thought all was ok, but the next day I had dizzy spells, headache, and almost fainted a couple times.  Off to the Dr. right away!

And I am just BURSTING with news about my new home journey!  I found my lot and it is bought and paid for!  It's almost a half acre and at the end of a very quiet road.  You enter the lot through a drive way that is like a tree tunnel, then opens up to what I named 

"Pine Meadow"!

I just finalized all the plans for the house and construction is due to begin VERY soon.  God willing, it will be done by about the 2nd week of November.  CANT WAIT!  I keep thinking how wonderful it will be to spend Christmas in my new home, sitting in front of my fireplace with a warm cup of cocoa and watching it snow, AWESOME!

OK, now for my card LOL!  Our theme is "Use A Sentiment".  Inky Impressions gave us 3  images to choose from.  I used "Kimmy's Letter".

We would love to have you join us!  Take a look at the lovely cards the DT have done to inspire your mojo!  AND, you may win some free digis.

Take care my friends, I hope to be visiting you all again soon!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #97 ~ Frame It!

Time for another CC&CC challenge.  This will be short because I have a concussion (will explain later) and the Dr. said no on the computer, texting, writing, video games, watching TV; you get the picture.  SO here is my card and I will be back on line soon!

Sponsor:  BUGABOO

Image:  Scene It Cow Trio

Creative Knockouts Challenge #101 ~ Friendship

Welcome friends.  It is with sadness that I have to announce that this is my last post with Creative Knockouts.  My lot has been purchased (YAY!) and I have so many details to take care of with the building of my new house.  I just don't have the time to do my own blog (Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges) and Creative Knockouts too.  It has been GREAT creating with them, and hopefully I will be able to return with them sometime in the future.

Here is my card using the image "Baby On Board" by A Random Fan.

I used a die cut for the background frame and also for the sentiment.  The image was colored with Copic's, and then I added the flowers.  Simple but I like it.  Take a look over at CK and check out all the great cards by the FAB DT!  They are a super group of creative ladies!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #96 ~ A Flower In Your Image

It's Friday and time for another challenge at CC&CC.  This time we are asking you to use A Flower In Your Image.  Our Sponsor, Deedee's Digis, let each of our DT choose an image for our card.  My choice is "My Life Is Blessed".  I used their color image, sentiment and printed paper.  I added a die cut frame for the image and the sentiment, then added some pearls.  I really like the vibrant colors.

Please stop by CC&CC and have a look at all the great cards the gals have done.  They are really lovely!  And be sure to join in our challenge.

Creative Knockouts Challenge #99 ~ Paper Piecing

My First Explosion Box

Welcome blogging buddies.  Thanx so much for stopping by.

This project is something that I have wanted to try for quite some time.  I have put it off as I have felt a bit intimidated by it.  Well, I gathered up my courage and gave it a go!

The theme at Creative Knockouts this challenge is "Paper Piecing".  So I thought it would be the perfect time to have at it with the box, lol!  I got the pattern from online and it was very easy to follow.  Some of the boxes have several layers, but I decided to keep it simple with one layer for my first try.  I found it's like making a bunch of cards and putting them all together with a theme.  Mine is flowers.  I used LOTS of die punches and cuts using my Silhouette.  It was great fun, but I worked on it for several days.  Think. . . work. . . think ~  you get the idea!  Here is the result.

Around the outside of the box in blue letters it says, "Thinking of You, Believe, Hope, Dream.

When you open the box and it falls open it reveals all the goodies inside.  I really like the tall flowers on wires ~ they wiggle when it's opened!

Here are pictures of the individual panels:

This is one of those projects that I would call a "labor of love".  Now that I have done one box, I know I will do more and try using more layers ~ if I can think up ideas to fill all the panels!

We hope you stop by Creative Knockouts and see all the great projects the DT have done, and join in our challenge.
Again, thanx for your visit.

CIAO!

Well, my suitcase is all packed and I am ready to return to Oregon again.  This time I will hopefully buy the lot, hire the contractor and have them start building!  But before I leave, I HAD to finish this card for a very special BFF who is going to Italy for her birthday!  We had planed to go together a few years back, but then life got in the way, lol.  She wanted me to go this trip, but of course I can't because of getting my house built.  But I have no doubt that I WILL make it there some day!

The stamp of the little gal is by Little Blue Button Stamps and is called "Miss Lilly Reporter".  I colored her with my Copics.  The background map I found online and printed it.  I love the "old world" look of it.  I also found the banner on line and then added the word "ciao" to it in my paint program.  I cut it out and raised it and my image with pop dots.  I inked the edges of the map and there we have it!

 I hope I have lots of good news to tell you when I return in 10 days.

 Wish me luck!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge #95 ~ 1 Button & 1 Bow

Hello, and welcome to a new challenge at CC&CC!

How about making a card using 1 Button & 1 Bow.

Our fab sponsor, The Paper Shelter, gave us two super images to use for this challenge.  I chose "The Sweet Gardener".  Drop by their store and have a look at all the great digis they have.  A LOT of them even have matching printable paper to coordinate with your image!

I used their color image and some printable paper from my collection to do the frame my image is on and also for the layered flowers.  I krimped the one paper background layer and them added my button & bow.

Come see all the lovely cards the gals have done for your inspiration for this challenge.  They have done a FAB job - as always!  LOVE my DT!

Creative Knockouts Challenge #97 ~ Summer Fun

HI!  So glad to have you stop by for a visit.  I am home from my home hunting adventure in Oregon and trying to get back in the swing of things.  Buying property takes a lot of time and research!  But hopefully I am on the right path!

I did manage to get my cards done on time that were due for this week, whew!  It was a real race to finish them, but I succeeded!  Creative Knockouts has a really fun theme for this challenge, Summer Fun.  I sure hope your summer is going well and you are having plenty of fun!  My image is from our sponsor 

The Stamping Boutique, and is called "Summer Laundry Line".

It was a LOT of fun to create with.  I did a raised frame around the image which I ran through my paper krimper.  My image was colored with my Copics.  I cut the word summer on my Silhouette, and then added a lot of premade stickers on the frame - I told you I was hurrying to get the card done, lol!  But I really do like the result.

We would love to have you come join us for this fun celebration of Summer.  Show us what you like to do during this fun time of year!

HELLO FRIENDS!

I just wanted to take a moment to give a "group" hello to all of you.  I have not been able to visit you because I am up in Oregon looking for my new home!  I have decided to buy a lot and build because the homes that are available in my price range are either too small or need a lot of money to fix.  SO, on to plan B!

Here are a few pics from my trip!  This is RIGHT BY where I will be!

Mt. Hood

Across from Mt. Hood is another mountain where they also ski.  We took time out to ride up to the top on the ski lift.  It was AWESOME!

It was perfect weather, so clear and gorgeous views!

Having a great time with my daughter!  Love her so!

You all take care, and I will be home soon and try to get some crafting done and get the time to visit you!  xox

Creative Knockouts Challenge #95

Are you ready for another challenge?  Well if you are, come and join us over at 
Creative Knockouts.  
Our theme is "Use Buttons".  Fred She Said is our sponsor, and the image I used is called
  "Doodled Flower Trio".

I hope you join us!

1st Time Using A Grid

Hello, and Happy Monday!  The start of a brand new week.

I'm starting mine off by showing you my latest new experience with my parchment craft progress.  I have seen some LOVELY designs and found out that they were made with grids.  So, I decided to order one and see how they work.  Well, I can tell you it was sheer pleasure!  It made things a lot easier, but not without it's mishaps - such as having your tool slip out of the hole in the grid you are using.  I also found that the GREAT Perga Cutter sniper tool I bought was worth every penny I paid for it!  My edges look soooo much better!  And as always, the key was take it slow and relax!  My project has several mistakes, but over all I was pretty satisfied.

So now it's onward and upward, more practice and more fun!  I have all my correct tools, good lighting and a comfy chair at my desk.  I couldn't ask for more!  
I'm a very happy camper!

Happy Crafting, and have a great week!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #93 ~ Use Pearls

Hello!  So happy to have you stop by for a visit.  Today I am introducing another great challenge over at CC&CC.  I think you will enjoy this one, we are using pearls on our cards.  Our super sponsor Lacy Sunshine has the perfect images for this theme!  So many of their designs are so girly and you can really dress them up!

My image is call "Cordelia Sea Ethereal Enchantress", real cute little gal dressed like a fairy mermaid.  It was perfect!  I do think I did get a bit carried away with the pearls though, lol!  But it sure was fun.  She is colored with my Copic's, and set off by a shimmering die cut frame.  The background is watercolor paper and watercolor paints.  I added some big bubbles by using a bit of white ink rubbed in cut out circles.  (They are a bit hard to see.)

So there you have it!  Drop on by CC&CC and look at the FAB cards the gals have done for you, they are beautiful!

Creative Knockouts #93 ~ Use Your Stash

Hello there, and welcome to another fun challenge over at Creative Knockouts!

If you are like me, I hate to throw away left over paper scraps from my projects.  They come in so handy for a lot of things when making new creations.  When making paper flowers I usually use scraps and I always make  extras.  Then they are ready for the next time I need them.  It also saves time too.  Well, here is your chance to use up some of those left overs!  Our theme is "Use Your Stash".  That can be papers, ribbons, embellies, whatever you have laying around.  I have a drawer where I put my printed paper scraps, and a file cabinet with drawers that are perfect for color coded plain papers.

When I pulled out the drawer to find what I wanted to use Zazu decided he would use the space for his new cave!

This is my file for plain paper.

Now on to my card!  The image is called "Rolling By" and it is from our sponsor 

Art By Marin.  I colored the image with my Copics and all the paper used (including the flowers) were in my stash.  The frame the image is on was in there too and I just printed my digi on it.  I did print out the two diner signs on my computer.  Here is the result.

So why don't you join us and use some goodies from your stash!

See you there!

Swan and Flowers

LA DE DAH!!!  I am so in love with parchment crafting!  I had SO much fun doing this card!  I incorporated some other card basics; used pop dots to raise the image, and made parchment flowers!  The parchment paper curls just like regular paper when used with a stylist.  I used my new shading tool, and it made it so much easier!

I still haven't received my pen and ink for tracing that I ordered, so I have just been laying the parchment over the printed design and doing the work.  I know when I do it the right way with the white ink it will look a whole lot better.  I also used a larger needle for the edges.  I have a pair of parchment snipers ordered too, so I am anxious to use them and see it my edges get better.

I'm really getting afraid that I will not want to do my regular cards any more, lol!  This is just such a delightful craft!

My 1st Coloring on Parchment

Hello and welcome, so glad you stopped by.  But you can be glad you are not stopping by my home for a visit.  It's going to be a scorcher the next few days ~ 105 today and 107 tomorrow!  I will be inside the house relaxing and crafting that's for sure!

On this card I wanted to try coloring my design on the parchment.  I like the result ok, but again, I need lots of practice.  It's not real hard, just a bit tricky.  I have water color pens that I prefer on the parchment paper better than my Copics.  They just seem to be easier to work with.  The alcohol ink moves around too much while trying to blend on the slicker paper and leaves too many streaks. Next time I color, I am going to try my watercolor pencils, more experimenting!

I just had a fun opening my mail!  A couple new Pergamano tools that I ordered arrived!  So off I go to do some more fun practicing on my parchment craft.  Have a fun weekend!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #93 ~ Summer Fun

Well, I don't know about where you are, but it sure is summer here!  Our temperature this weekend is going to be 105 degrees!  YUCK!  I am NOT a fan of weather that hot, but when you live in the desert, this is what you get in summer!

Our Summer Fun challenge is on over at CC&CC.  We would love to see how you like to enjoy this fun time of year.  Do you go swimming, travel, hiking, go to the beach, or just relax at home?  Any or all of these sound great to me!  Our super sponsor Make It Crafty is offering a $10 gift certificate to our lucky winner.  And thanx to them for letting us choose a digi of our choce to create with.  My choice is this fun gal called "Adventure Girl".  I colored her with my Copics and used papers from a pack that I bought ages ago (more finds from my clean out saga, lol!)  The sky was sponged on and I added some other extra graphics for the trail scenery.

I really like this card, because it reminds me that when I finally get moved to Oregon, this will be me!

Happy Summer!

Creative Knockouts #91 ~ Tic Tac Toe

Hello and welcome to another 2 week challenge over at Creative Knockouts.

How about a game of TIC TAC TOE!  Here are your choices, and the ones I used marked with an "X".

Our super sponsor is Bugaboo,who is one of my all time faves!  I used their image "Coffee Time - Thanks A Latte".  The papers are from a digital pack by Nitwits called "Coffee Talk Collection".  It was a fun card to make.

Come join in for this fun game of Tic Tac Toe, and Thanks A Latte for playing along with us!

Parchment Craft CARD #3

Hello again.  I hope you are all having a great Memorial Day weekend.

Mine is very quiet and I love it!  I have been crafting for 3 days!  I am working on my parchment craft skills, lot of fun!  Thank you SO MUCH Jackie for putting me in touch with the very talented Alison!  I am learning a lot from her BEAUTIFUL work, and tips of info.  I also came across a FAB site called Gemini Crafts run by a parchment crafter named Wendy Walters.  It is filled with videos, tutorials, free patterns and so much more.  So between these two super ladies I have a real goldmine at my fingertips!

OK, so on to my third attempt.  There are so many mistakes, but as I said before, I am REALLY learning by doing!  I won't bore you with all I did wrong, but let's just say there are a bunch of mess ups, LOL!

The perforated edges are still a thorn in my side, but I made a break through after I finished this project.  I experimented with a bigger needle tool and the edges look so much better, more defined like a lacy edge.  Hopefully on my next project you will see some improvement, lol!

Another Metallic Butterfly Card

I don't know what it is, but my mojo is really working overtime, lol!  I have so many ideas rumbling around in my head.  I think it started when cleaning things out and finding items that had not been used in ages.  It was like getting new goodies, and now I have so much I want to play with.

I loved doing the embossed metallic butterflies.  When I came across the paper I used on this card I knew it was perfect for another one.  All I did was add the one small metallic butterfly on the right, and the circle sentiment.  The rest was already on the paper!

Thanx for stopping by!  Happy Crafting!

Parchment Craft Card #2

WOW!  I am hooked on this craft!  My new tools finally arrived from the "other side of the pond", and I couldn't wait to jump right in on a new project using the correct tools!  It is so much fun to me and very relaxing.  It reminds me of years ago when all I did was cross stitch.

It will be a lesson every time I work on a new piece of parchment.  Shading is so important and I will need to focus on that.  But the hardest part for me is using the perforation tool along the edges.  I used the "perforation tool" with the 2 needles closest together and it was really tough!  After looking at other pictures of projects other have done, it looks to me as if they were done with a regular 2 needle tool and then "snipped" between the tiny holes.  So next time, I will try that.  Here is today's result.

I have a loooong way to go, but I can't wait to be on the journey.  If any of you do parchment crafting and have any suggestions or special blogs that you like on this craft, I would welcome any input!

Thanx & hugs!