Lovely Bouquet

Hello everyone.  I have been having fun today making paper flowers.  I love to make them.  Since being on my search and find adventure I have come across a lot of things I haven't used in a long time.  Well here is another one that was a perfect match for paper flowers.  It's a die cut vase that was screaming "Give me flowers", lol!  Here is the result of the flowers and vase.

Thanx for stopping by and have a lovely day.

Entered in the following challenges:

Auroa Wings Challenge #14 ~ Flowers

Deep Ocean Challenge #103 ~ Flowers

Shopping our Stash #202 ~ Big, Bold & Beautiful

Sweet Stamps #220 ~ For Mom

Tuesday Throwdown #243 ~ Flowers For Her

Fab N' Funky #258 ~ May Flowers

Moo-Mania ~ Flowers

CCEE Stampers #519 ~ Self Made Flower and More

Crafting With An Attitude #3 ~ Anything Goes/Spring Fever

Crimbo Crackers #80 ~ Die Cuts

Fun Find!

Hello and welcome.  Thanx so much for stopping by.

At the moment I am on a search and find expedition, lol.  What I mean is, going through lots of things and finding all kinds of goodies that I have gotten and never used!  I have to admit, I am a paper crafter hoarder!  Paper, stamps, embellishments, you name it, I probably have it.  BUT, that is not all bad!  When I get an idea, I have a LOT to choose from.

This lovely layered stamp set was purchased at a scrapbook convention a year ago.  I put it in a plastic box with lots of other stamps and it has not seen the light of day until yesterday ~ ooops!  What a fun discovery!  I immediately quit what I was doing and got to work.  I really love the layered stamps, they are so versatile.  You can use so many color combos.  This is what I created.

After I stamped the layers I used a bit of green Copic ink on the stems.  Then I sprinkled on some Frantage ~ love that stuff!  I mounted it in a nice die cut frame, and added the little flower.  Next I printed out the background paper I found on line and blurred it to soften the design.  Then I ran it through my paper crimper and assembled it all.

I bet you have some fun hidden goodies you haven't seen in a while that will inspire you.  I highly suggest going on a treasure hunt!

Happy Hunting!

Learning A New Craft ~ Parchment Paper Crafting

Welcome friends.  Today I had a fun time.  I am taking up Parchment Paper Crafting.  I finally got my parchment paper in the mail that I ordered.  I set up all my tools, found an easy pattern to start with and away I went!  It is a lot of fun, and takes a bit of concentration and time.  I also learned that like any other craft, when doing it the first time you learn a lot!

a)  You must have the right tools and supplies

b)  Take your time, don't rush

c)  Practice, practice, practice!

Here is my first try!

I need to order a few more tools, and then look out!  I will really get into it.  Here is how I used the above piece to make a card.

The lower flowers and sentiment are stamps that I heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I am so anxious to do a lot more of this!

ONWARD!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #90 Spring Has Sprung

Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and Mother Nature is in her glory.  It MUST be Spring!  So over at CC&CC we are celebrating this beautiful 

time of year.

Our great sponsor A Day For Daisies has so many images that fit into this theme.  It was hard to choose just one.  But I managed to pick this lovely image called "Cherry Blossom Cluster".  Now I have to tell you, this card gave me a real headache.  I wanted to do a parchment paper design using the parchment technique.  BUT, after going to 6 different stores trying to find parchment paper - NOT vellum - I couldn't find any.  OK, so let's order it on line.  Sounds fine right - wrong!  I found a place to order it and the paper would arrive in time to make the card.  Another BUT - after I placed the order I was told they are going on vacation and the paper would not arrive until after the 1st of May.  Gee thanx for telling me that AFTER I order it, lol!  I'll step off my soap box now.

I ended up printing the image on vellum and colored it on the back.  It did not turn out as soft as I wanted, but it's ok.  I love the background paper though.  It's a lovely piece of oriental rice paper I purchased years ago when living in Hawaii.  I think that it helped save the card!  What do you think?

I am so anxious to get the parchment paper.  I think I will try using it for this image.  Hopefully it will turn out better than this one, lol.

Creative Knockoutts #87 ~ Finish The Inside

Hello and welcome blog friends!

When you make a card, do you finish off the inside to match the front of your card?  I really love to do that, but I must admit I don't don't always do it as lavishly as the outside, lol.  Well, here is your chance to do just that - Finish The Inside!  Play along with us at Creative Knockouts.

I used this adorable little guy called "Fishing Peter" from our great sponsor Color Ink.  I used my Copics for the coloring and for my papers I used a new set of printable papers I bought over at Nitwits.  They are called "Gone Fishing" and were perfect for this image.

And here is the inside:

So what do YOU have on the inside of your latest creation?  Join us at Creative Knockouts and show us.  You may even win a great prize for all your effort.

Sympathy Card

We lost an old friend very unexpectedly last week.  It's so hard to lose someone you have known for over 30 years, it leaves you shaken and so sad.  The man who passed away was a co-worker from years ago who became a real friend.  He and his family even visited us in Hawaii when we lived there.  His memorial service is today, and I feel so for his wife and 4 children.  His two daughters were adopted from China - they had cleft pallets and were unwanted.  They brought them to the US and they had surgery and are lovely girls, both are very bright.  The family went to China numerous times to teach the girls about their culture.  They even lived there for 2 years and taught english in a small school.  He will be very missed, and he left this world way too soon.

Garden Fence

Spring is here in a lot of places in the US.  My daughter lives in OR and she has been planning her garden for this year.  I sent her a package full of all kinds of goodies; seeds, bulbs, wind chimes, solar tulips. yes they light up at night, lol!  I did this card for her and included it in the box. All the flowers, fence and the bird house are die cuts.  It was great fun to put this together.

I just had to giggle - i realized that I didn't put any little birds on the birdhouse!  Oh well, too late now!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge #89 ~ Die Cuts

Sorry this post is a bit late.  I am still having quite the time cleaning out the house and looking for a new home.  It is going to take a BIT longer than I had hoped, lol!

ANYHOW, onward to our new challenge at CC&CC.  Our fab sponsor is Rick St Dennis.  We always love using his different and great images.  I chose this adorable cat roasting his mice!  It really made me giggle.  It is called  
Bar B Que.

My die cuts are the frames around the image and also the sentiment.

I hope you come join us for this fun die cut challenge.

Creative Knockouts Challenge #85 ~ Texture

Welcome to another challenge over at Creative Knockouts.  How about adding some kind of texture to your card.  It can be through embossing on your paper or maybe you would like to add something that creates texture like I did with glitter.  Our super sponsor is A Day For Daisies, and they will be awarding our lucky winner a great prize.  Their image that I used is called "Cat Fish".  What a cute little kitty mermaid!

 So what will you use to for texture on your card?  Come on and join us and show us your idea!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #88 ~ Use A Doily

Happy Friday.  Time for another 2 week challenge over at CC&CC.  This time we are honoring the Doily!  They are used a lot in all kinds of paper crafting, and especially on cards.  Our sponsor The Paper Shelter will be awarding our lucky winner a $15 gift certificate for use on their site.

For my card I used one on their images called "Summer Attitude".  It is such a fun image and to me just screams SUMMER!  I colored the image with Copics, and used doily layered die cuts.  The flower is also made from die cut pieces.

So pop on over to CC&CC and join us for this great challenge.  Just remember to use a doily on your card.  Have fun and see you there.

Happy Crafting!

Creative Knockouts Challenge #83 Die Cuts/Punch Frenzy

Hello!  Are you all ready for Easter?  I hope that you have a very blessed Easter Sunday.  And in celebration of Easter, I decided to do a gate fold Easter card for this FUN challenge over at Creative Knockouts.  

Our super sponsor is Stitchy Bear, and the image is called "Pick You".

I have to admit, I think I got a bit carried away with all the punches on this one, lol!  But hey, they said a FRENZY!!  ALL of the flowers were made from punches, as was the frame for the image.  My image was colored with Copics. 

On the inside paper edges I used a daisy edge punch.

I really had a LOT of fun making this card!  Won't you come join us and show us your die cuts and punches?!

Happy Crafting!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #87 Something Yummy To Eat OR Drink

Greetings everyone!  So glad you took time out of your busy day to stop by.  Today's post is for our current challenge at CC&CC.  We are looking for cards that show Something Yummy To Eat OR Drink.  That's a pretty broad theme!  Lots of possibilities.  Come join us and show us your favorite goodie.

Our sponsor Deedee's Digis is a new one for us, and we really enjoyed using their images.  Mine is called "Lemonade Stand".  I really like her, she so reminded me of summer.  Like many of their images, the papers I used are also included with the digi!  That made it even more fun!  She is colored with my Copics.  I then added the button flowers and the ticket.

Come on over to CC&CC and show us your favorite goodies to eat or drink!

Creative Knockouts Challenge #81 ~ Shaped Card

Hello and welcome.  Today is another challenge over at Creative Knockouts.  We are looking for cards that are shaped.  Our sponsor Meljen's Designs gave us a choice of some great digis for this challenge.  I used this cute little guy called "Birthday Cup Mouse".  I decided to make a star triangle fold which I have never done before.  It was fun and has a lot of surfaces to decorate.  I colored the image with Copic's and mounted him on a die cut.

We would love to have you join us and show us your shaped card!  Hop on over and see the great cards our DT have created to give you some inspiration.  They did a fab job!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #86 For A Child

How about having some fun creating a card for a child?!?  I really like to make these types of cards, but I don't get much of a chance to make them as I don't have a lot of small children in my life.  So when I do create one, it is soooo much fun!

Our great sponsor, Bugaboo, is offering 7 FREE digis to the winner of this challenge!  I used their image called "Ladybug Birthday".  What a pleasure it was to work with!  It was colored with my Copics, and I used a die cut for the frame.  Then I added the banner and some cute little buttons and ladybugs.

Come join us over at CC&CC and show us your card creation for a child.  You may even be the lucky winner!

Creative Knockouts #79 Border Time

Here we go again with another fun challenge over at Creative Knockouts. This time we want to see Borders.  The digi is by The Paper Shelter and is called “OhMY!” I really loved working with this image, it is sooooo adorable! What a couple of cuties!  I used another set of printable papers, this time from Nitwit. The group is called “Petal Fresh”. Such pretty little flowers and checkered pieces. I really like how they all coordinate together. It sure makes it easy!

 

 So now it's your turn!  join us for a fun challenge and maybe win a great prize from The Paper Shelter.

Bunny With Flowers

Happy Sunday blog buddies.  I hope you are having a good weekend.  I have been busy trying to get my Easter cards done.  I have to do them early because of all the cleaning out and packing I am doing at my father's house.  So much stuff has accumulated ~ well I would guess so!  My family moved into the house in 1959!  I would love to get moved to Oregon before the HOT summer sets in here in Phoenix!

ANYHOW. .  .  I tried something new!  I have never done any of the pre-printed cards that come with all the goodies to put together.  I see quite a few of them and really like the way they look.  My blog buddy Jacee does them and they are FAB!  Thanx for the inspiration Jacee!

Today I received an email from Pink Gem Designs and checked out their goodies.  They specialize in these type of cards.  Sooooo, I decided to try one!  I got this cute little guy in a Topper Set, he is called "Bunny With Flowers".  I enjoyed working with the images and doing the layering.  The only set back is you have to cut out all the layered pieces by hand.  Otherwise I really liked it.

I love the 3D look.  It gives it a nice dimension, and it is so easy to do.  Also, the inside piece of the card looks great.  I must say was surprised at the print quality too.  I would have to say that I will do some others.  I will be looking for some nice flower designs!

Thanx so much for stopping by.  I hope you try this if you haven't already, it' a lot of fun and looks great!

Beach Penguin

Welcome and thanx for stopping by.  I hope all is well in your world.

This card is for my BFF in Hawaii.  I miss her SO much.  She is a HUGE lover of penguins, and has quite a collection of all types of them.  When I saw this image I knew it would be perfect for her birthday.

I colored the image with my Copics, added some real sand (from HI of course, lol) and then added the tiny buttons and the sun.  I got the idea for it from Crystal who is on my DT at CC&CC.  She used it on a card and I loved it!  Mine was cut on my Silhouette as I didn't have a die cut for a sun.  But it came our just fine.

The inside greeting was printed from my computer.

Relax & enjoy your day!

Happy Crafting

Entered in the following challenges:

Artistic Inspirations ~ Anything Goes With A Twist Of Sunshine
Eureka Stamps ~ Birthday Cards
Marker Pop ~ Use Bright Colors
 Paper Minutes ~ Birds
Little Red Wagon ~ Beachy Keen
Scrap & Craft ~ Birthday

Paper Pattern Rose

I am giggling as I write this post ~ I have to give credit to my CAT for this card, lol!  He was scampering about and landed on my computer keyboard, and the image of this rose popped up from one of my files.  I looked at it and thought, hmmmm, I have an idea for this . . .   Thanx so much Zazu for the great inspiration!  Meow!

It will be a perfect card for an upcoming birthday of a dear friend.

 

We NEVER KNOW where the inspiration for our next project will come from!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #85 Layout

Welcome to another challenge over at CC&CC.  We hope you enjoy using this great layout.  I really like it because it can be used for a clean and simple look, or dress it up for a more frilly look.  I chose the CAS.

Our sponsor is the FAB A Day For Daisies.  I LOVE their images drawn by Tammy Siemers Thompson.  I used this beauty called "Green Lady".  But I did not do her in green . . . 

I colored her with my Copics, added some Frantage around her and mounted her on a die cut frame.  I used gold embossing for the lanterns and symbol.  I love the clean look of this card, no muss, no fuss, lol.

We would love to have you join us for this layout challenge.  I'm sure it will get your creative juices flowing!

Creative Knockouts # ~ Spots & Dots

Hello, so glad you stopped by.  Your visits mean a lot to me!

We are on to a new challenge at Creative Knockouts, and this time it is to use "Spots & Dots".  This cute image I used is from our sponsor Drawn With Character, and is called "Dancing Spring Chick".  When I saw this little cutie I immediately thought of Spring, Easter and polka dots, lol.

I had a lot of fun using a new paper pack called "Pebbles" by Family Ties.  My image was colored using my Copics and mounted on a die cut frame.  Then I added the flowers from my stash.

Why don't you come join us for this fun challenge and show us your 

Spots & Dots ~ see you there!

Get It Right The First Time, LOL!

Welcome and happy Friday!

This card I am posting is for a sweet cousin of mine who just started a new job.  I know she will get a giggle from it.  I love these images by Bugaboo that are called Crabby Cathy.  They are so cute!  This one is called "
Crabby Cathy - first time" and was just what I needed.

For some reason I am on a polka dot kick!  I love them, and I really like to combine them with stripes, and I love this color combo!  I colored my image with my Copics and then added the sentiment and bow.

I hope you have a GREAT weekend and get a bit time to do 
some crafting.  ENJOY!

Entered in the following challenges:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends ~ Anything Goes
Suzi Bee's Bloomin' Challenge ~ Anything Goes and Add A Bow
Digi Galore ~ Anything Goes
Kitty Bee Designs ~ Color Combo

Friends Are Like Thighs . .

Time for another card, and one that is not for my challenge blogs, lol.  I just purchased several new stamps and was so anxious to use this one.  It is by Stampingbella from their "Senior" collection with Mildred and Maud.  When I saw it it made me laugh out loud.  I knew I had to have it, and I had the perfect friend in mind to make it for.  It was a delight to work with!

It was colored with my Copics and I set it off with some really fun polka dot papers, and added the polka dot flower just for fun!  The sentiment just cracks me up!

Thanx for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your week.

Happy Crafting!

What's Cooking

Welcome to my bit of blog land.  I would like to share a card that I did that is a copy of one of my favorite carfters, KittyKraft.  Her work is absolutely incredible and ALWAYS inspires me.  I especially love this card because of its clean and simple look and the lovely striped paper she used.  You can see her original creation here.  This is my take on the same card.

I cut the chickens our with my Silhouette, used a border punch and added the little cooking utensils.  I like this card so much that I bought several sheets of paper that match each other to make more of them.  It's a great card to send to friends you haven't heard from in a while or just to say hi and ask what's up!

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges #84 Love Is In The Air

Welcome all!

Valentine's day is just around the corner.  So over at CC&CC we are hosting our Love Is In The Air challenge. We have a great new sponsor,

LACY SUNSHINE.

We sure did enjoy creating with their adorable digis!  My little gal is called "Elenor's Heart Balloons".  I colored her with my Copics, and used a new heart die cut that I just love.  I did several layers of clear heat embossing on it to give it a bit of shine.  I used a punch for the edge of the image base and added some rhinestone hearts.  My last touch was the tiny key.

 

We would love to have you join in and share your lovely Valentine's with us!
You will have a chance to win 3 digis from Lacy Sunshine.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Creative Knockouts ~ Hearts A Flutter

Hello and Welcome!  We are into February, and that means time for Valentines!  Over at Creative Knockouts our challenge theme is "Hearts A Flutter" use a heart on your card.  We are being sponsored by All Dressed Up.  What a super collection of digis they have!  I have used their image called

 "Flowers For You".

She is colored with my Copics and I used die cuts for the fence and heart flowers.

We would love to have you join us for our Hearts A Flutter challenge.  You could even win a prize from All Dressed Up!

This card is entered in the following challenges:
Art Impressions ~ Have A Heart
Aud Sentiments Challenge ~ Valentine or Love Sentiment
In the Pink ~ Love Is In The Air
Little Miss Muffet Challenge ~ All You Need Is Love
Scrap & Craft ~ Flowery Cards