Happy Valentine's Day

Hiya, and welcome. Big Hugs & lots of good wishes that each of you will have a super happy day spent with your Sweetie (and family too), and that it can just be a very loving day. I wanted to post a Valentine to all my wonderful followers along with the above wishes. Also will finish sharing the rest of the V. cards that I did.

For all who visit here today! This one's for you along with some big hugs.

Now for the rest of those heart cards:

 

 

 

(looks like the silver trim is coming off in this photo. I did press it firmly back down prior to mailing this card. The interior red backing is from a snippet of Gelli play with some sprays over it. Didn't photo all that well, as it does not look orange-y IRL. )

 

There, that's all until next year. Don't think I've posted any of these cards twice, but if so, please overlook it.

It's sunny here in Upstate South Carolina this morning. Windy though & quite brisk. We watched some tiny yellow finches at the bird feeder this morning. Each day their coloration is changing from the dull of winter to their spring feathers. Also saw quite a few of the finches with red heads...which are called purple finches in our area. Dunno why ...but that's what the locals tell me these are. DH just went out to shake up the Nyger seeds..they seem to be ignoring that in favor of the sunflower seeds. He thought perhaps their feeder had clogged. We'll see if they go back to the Nyger. It's too expensive to waste!!!

Have a grand day. Stay warm. (we're going to Olive Garden this evening for some good Zuppa de Tosca (potato soup) and the O/G salad. Not all that romantic as far as a restaurant goes, but we both like the food. My #2 Bro & SIL are going with us). Big Hugs.

Penny Black Kissing Hedgies

Hi & welcome. Yet another Valentine...this one was sent to DD with the idea that she might give it to her DH. He liked the Christmas card I did for him, so I hope he'll like this one. I did! Love these little Hedgies, you know.

- PBlack Hedgehog kisses cling stamp, colored with Copics, WoS on the balloons.

- Hearts EF, snippets from an earlier Valentine card

- S/B corner die (this is a real oldie...forgot I had this set, and saw it when I was looking for somethin' else. Happens to me a lot :-)

The inside is a little mushy, so if DD doesn't give it to SIL, it may not get used. The others I sent her were a different purpose.

Hope you like it, and come again when you have time. Stay warm if it's cold in your part of the world. Big Hugs.

Penny Black Roses on the Run

Yahooo! Powered up the computer tonight and saw the 300 follower show up in the followers list. Whoo-ee! Candy time!! A big, warm welcome to UTs Hobby Time (sorry I don't know the blogger's name just yet).  Thanks so much for helping me reach this astounding milestone (well it is to me anyway!).

Sorry that I've been MIA for the last few days. I've received some lovely comments on the last couple of posts which made me feel so pleased. Had some other things going on in life & just haven't had a lot of time to spend on the computer lately. Also DD had requested some Valentine cards when she saw what I was coloring over our Christmas visit. Been working on those in the evenings, since she needed them soon in order  to send them out in a timely manner.  I'm sharing one here tonight:

- PBlack Roses on the Run, colored with copics & WoStella.

- S/B Decorative Labels 34 for the shape and some stencil coloring in the fancy edges.

- MBox Twisted hearts die; inserted the cut out pieces back in the die. Backed the red paper with some Elizabeth Craft double side tape (a new to me product, and it's a bit thinner than the Sookwang, so a tad easier to die cut. Made placing the cut out bits into the outline quite easy). Some VOSdimensional EK heart stickers were in the Valentine stamp drawer, so using some old stash too.

- Cheery Lynn sentiment cut from the same sticky paper as the hearts.

- Paper Studio 6x6 Love Struck paper pack.

Hope the DD will like this, and yes, I did finish off the inside. Even included envelopes for each card that was placed in the package sent to her.

As soon as I can catch up all the comments that are waiting on a return visit from me, I will be doing the Random Generator. It won't be long - I'll do my best to get it done and announced very shortly.

Thanks for joining me tonight, after another beautiful day. It was mammogram and bone density scan time for me - so I'm glad that's done for the year. Ya'll have a lovely evening. Big Hugs.

DeeDee's Digis - From the Heart

Good Afternoon from drizzly, gray & damp South Carolina. First order of business is to welcome some lovely new followers:

Tiziana Biagioli of Sweet and Colored

Viv of Viv's Visuals

Barbara C of BJ Crafty 

NanaConnie of Grammy's Attic 

Kath B of Handmade by Kath

Margaret M of Em's Paperdaze 

Janis of Her Peaceful Garden

 Oh my goodness, do I love having new friends to get to know, and thanks so much to all of you for becoming followers here.
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The latest goal of 300 followers is drawing near. I'm excited enough to share a picture of the Blog Candy that will be going out when that face pops into the Followers list with 300 above it!  If you should follow via Bloglovin, but are not in the 'Followers List' at the top of the blog, please do join there as well. I don't have a way (er...know how ...) to track Bloglovin followers. When new faces appear, that follower's name and blog(if I can find one)  is added to my data base and that's what is used for the Random Generator when Blog Candy is given away.

 

Win requirements will be: (1)regular follower of this blog** (2) Share the Candy picture on your own blog with a link back to this blog (3)There will be 3 winners when the Random drawing is done and announcement will be made when this is to be done.

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In the Cards by Friends section, shared some more of the wonderful Christmas cards we were blessed to receive this past Christmas; please do take a few minutes to enjoy those too.

Today's card uses a DeeDee's Digi image - From the Heart (currently on sale for $1.00). Papers, sentiment and image are all from this set. I think it made a cute (and Easy!) Valentine card. There's so much more that could be done with the set, but I just wanted to get a fast card made to do a post. DeeDee's has a new DT member, Faith Anderson of Daffodil Cards, and Faith does some awesome work in Photo Shop using these digis. The beauty of these designs (at least in my opinion) is that you can jazz them up as desired, or use as is, and still have a delightful card.

 

 

- Image fussy cut, and portions of a 2nd image were used to add a little dimension. Minimal shading on the chocolate heart done with copics. Glossy accents added on the bow in Bunny's hair.

 

- S/B Oval Bliss cut the oval mat, Large Petite Scalloped Oval for the sentiment, and MS heart punch did the border. Two little punchout hearts had a drop of G.Accents added. That's it...card is DONE and ready for mailing. Couldn't have been easier.

 

Thanks for visitin' this afternoon, and please do pop round to my new friends - say a big Howdy, and let them know I sent you if you would. Additionally, check out the pretty cards being added to the Friends' Cards section. The Blog Candy will be in the sidebar shortly. I hope it will make you drool a bit!! Big Hugs, stay warm. God Bless.

**Please don't become a follower just to be eligible for the Blog Candy. I hope all of my followers enjoy what I post, and come to visit as their time permits. Thank you.

DeeDee's Digis - Mix It Up - Digi of the Month

Good afternoon & welcome. How do you like the new blog Look? It's thanks to Kylie who has been working hard to create a new seasonal look here. If you like it, give Kylie a shout out & talk with her about what you might have in mind. Her link is over on the side bar too.

Today's card is one of DeeDee's Digi of the Month images. I was trying to get it finished in time to play in the challenge, but {sigh} - it didn't happen.** On the plus side, I did accomplish organizing some new dies, cleaning some stamps & getting off the desk & some general pickup. Still got snippets to store away though...from 3 surfaces! In the evenings, DH has been coming downstairs to enjoy watching Blue Bloods on Netflix. Oh do I like Tom Selleck!!! Usually DH watches his preference on another tv, then goes to bed early. It's been pleasant to have him downstairs to watch something we both like. The down side of this is he doesn't want me moving about in the room while he's watching tv. So....by the time he goes upstairs to bed, my motivation has sort of faded into lazy. But anyway......

Check out the links to DeeDee's Digis to see the newest releases, find out how you can get the digi of the month at a great price and browse all the wonderful holiday images that are available for such reasonable prices. There's also a really cute freebie available through November 21. The images come precolored or as line art, so you can choose your own colors...there's sentiments appropriate to each set and many of the sets have digi papers included. They are very easy to use to make cards or other projects. Here's my card using the Digi of the Month:

 

 

- Precolored image of Miss Moose Mix It Up was shaded with copics and some WoS. Die cut with S/B label 4, shaded while in the die. Mixing bowls were from the Mix It Up set, as was the sentiment and background paper. There are 3 pretty papers in this set.

 

- Background paper was embossed with a SU EF that waiting to be stored. Shaded the embossing with Tidal Pool Hero Arts Shadow ink.

 

- PBlack holly berries die was on the desk. Snipped it apart to add as trim.

 

Starform outline stickers were added around the edges for a little sparkle, and that's it! Can't get any easier to make a card than this.

 

So do pop over to DeeDee's Digis, have a look round & be sure to check out the Snowman Soup freebie. He's a cutie!

 

Thanks for joining me and have a wonderful afternoon. If it's colder where you are this afternoon, stay cozy. It's a sunny but crisp day here where we are in Upstate South Carolina, but we're told that some rain (and possibly snow flurries) could be on the way. Big Hugs. 

 

**A very alert blog follower caught my boo-boo about DeeDee's Digi of the Month challenge date. Thought I had read something about it ending on the 11th, but after reading the comment, rechecked & this challenge ends on Nov 30, so this one will be linked at DeeDee Digi of the Month Challenge! I think I'm just hurrying way too much. I'm either being way too lazy or rushing way too much. C'mon and get this delicious set & play along if you've got time!

DeeDee's Digis Halloween Pirate YoHoHo

Good afternoon, and please help me welcome some lovely new followers:

Lynn Platt (and I'm sorry I don't have a blog link - so Lynn if you will contact me with that info, I can add your link in a later post)

Laurie of Stamping up North

Lucy Woods of Little Lucy's Handmade Cards

Brenda of Floral Fantasies  (Brenda has several blogs so I hope I've linked to the correct one)

Lynn B. of Crafty Linby

 

I saw the numbers in the followers' section change, but could only account for the names shown above. If you are a new follower here, and I missed giving you a shout out for your blog, please let me know so I can be sure to do that. I appreciate all my followers - hope you like what you see here, and it's always so lovely to meet new folks and see their work too. It's equally nice to be able to invite readers to visit some inspirational blogs to get new ideas and enjoy crafters' work. So thanks for taking time to become a follower here.

 

Secondly, in trying to add the Hover P (Pinterest button) to cards I post, with help from the very kind Lisa  of A Mermaid's Craft, I've discovered that some of the blog HTML code in this blog, is rather hosed up. If anyone knows how to repair HTML code, I'd love to have some help. Lisa was very helpful in her suggestions & advice, but then we became concerned that our 'fixing' would damage the blog. I don't want to lose my posts, and even more importantly, all my lovely followers. So I need someone who knows how to edit code to give me a shout if you would. If you know of someone who designs blogs, I'd appreciate a contact. Thanks so very much to Lisa for her time in trying to help me with this, and thanks to anyone else who might be willing to give some assistance.

 

Now onto my card for today.

 



_DeeDee's Digi's Freebie for World Card Making Day . DeeDee offered this really cute puppy pirate and his parrot companion free over this past weekend. Didn't get my card finished & posted in time to celebrate World Card Day, but the image is still available in the store Newest Releases and is priced very reasonably. Do check out these newest images, as there are some adorable sets for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also for October's Digi of the month, there is another cute set available for just $1.25 and the challenge is open until November 2. It's a great way to build up your digi stash. Some of the talented DT have presented some wonderful inspiration for the October Digi to give ideas of how the set can be used.

Here's how it works:
If you are new to the Digi of the Month challenges, it's not too late to join in the fun! This is a monthly progressive freebie challenge. You can purchase this month's featured set for just $1.25 in the shop, or get it for FREE with any $10 purchase of Deedee's Digis products. NOTE: Deedee will email this set to you after payment clearance of your qualifying purchase. Create and share any wholesome project made with this set by the challenge deadline, and you will be sent  next month's featured set for FREE. Keep playing, and keep collecting freebies -- it's as easy as that! :-)  

image was printed twice, one die cut with a S/B label and airbrushed with various copic colors while still in the die. Second image fussy cut, and shaded with copics and some Spica pens. Used a stylus on the pumpkins, hat & the puppy's ears, but don't think the photo shows this. Did the same treatment on the treasure map.

- background was 2 triangular snippets used from a previous project, and liked the colors with my puppy's background.

- Washi tape covers the paper join and the sentiment is washi as well.

A very, very easy card - once I got started on the process! Life has just been getting in the way of card making & posting. I'm sure all of you know how that goes! Since this card has some snippets, and since some nice prizes are on offer, I'm off to visit the Snippets Playground, Week 145 . 

Thanks for joining me this afternoon. I hope to get some more cards finished up and posted. Halloween is getting closer & there's cards to get ready! Have a wonderful afternoon, and if you have time, please do visit my lovely new followers, DeeDee's Digis & the Snippet Playground. You'll be glad you did! Big Hugs.

DeeDee's Digis - Daniel's Tree

Good evening, and I'm back with just one more DeeDee's Digis card to end out the month of July.
This is the last week to participate in the July Digi of the Month challenge. The August set is ready and waiting to send to anyone who participates by the deadline (Sunday, 2 August), so don't miss out!
Edit:   My error: that should have read Sunday, 3 August. Thanks Pippa for catching this boo-boo!

This cute digi can be found right here. The set has a pre-colored image (fast card making, let me tell you & I don't work fast), line art for choosing your own colors and some very nice sentiments too. Remember that all these digi images can be resized to fit whatever size you may need for a particular card motif.

Here's what I did with Daniel's Tree:

 

(1) Inserted the digi image into a Word Document, resized this little goofball duck, along with the sentiments.
(2)Die cut the image with a S/B Label 1. Created a faux mat by cutting the outside edge of the die, using paper from a Colorbok Water Color theme pack (my $5 Walmart find - 12x12 sheets in a paper pad). I've seen Daniel's Tree used by some  of the other DT members and thought he was just the cutest guy, with a rather foolish look about him. Is he lost or what? (I've seen this look on DH's face on some of our trips...usually after we've driven miles out of our way, so maybe that's why this image appealed to me so much!). With those outstretched wings, I imagine that Daniel is saying "Ok, now where do I go with this tree?".
(3)Did a bit of shading with copics, added some spica on the scarf colors, his purple headband and his little boots.  Some Sakura Silver Star on the snow, and some Stickles snow falling. Also used a smaller Label 1 to remove the center portion of the mat.

(4) papers are from 6x6 BoBunny Mistletoe Collection (top panel) and American Crafts Peppermint Express (bottom panel).

(5)S/B In Spades border die from a DCWV 6x6 glitter pack.

(6) Memory Box stocking die - cut 2 shapes from 2 colors-same glitter pack. Clear rhinestones for a bit of bling; used part of one of the sentiments, which was shaded with just a tiny bit of DI Dusty Concord.

Easy Peasy, and the hardest part was selecting papers to make Daniel happy as he finds his way home. Hope you'll enjoy the card, and perhaps join in the fun at DeeDee's July Challenge of the month.

Remember August 2 is the deadline to participate. If you haven't discovered the  Digi of the Month challenges yet, you are missing out! Each month a featured set is offered that is available in the shop for just $1.25 (or FREE with your purchase of $10 or more). Make a project using this featured set and link it up to the challenge post, and you'll get the next month's featured set for FREE! This is a great way to build your digi collection at little to no cost, plus it gives you something fun to look forward to each month. What have you got to lose?

Thanks for popping in this evening, and come again when you have time! Many hugs.

Dashing Through the Snow - with DeeDee's Digis

Hip, Hip Hooray, Monday is over!!! When I worked, that thought used to really brighten my mood, as I always dreaded Monday - and even though I'm retired now, there's still a bit of psychological holdover to those blue Mondays.

Finished up a card last evening using a really cute DeeDee's Digi . It's called Dashing Through the Snow. This is the last week for the July Digi of the Month Challenge, so you still have a few days to download a digi and play along with a card. Remember: the set -- "So Cool"-- used on this card-- is available for just $1.25 this month, or FREE with your order of $10 or more. If you link up what you make with it to our challenge post by 2 August, you'll get next month's set for FREE. It's as easy as that to get this So Cool dude.

I fell in love with these adorable penguins and worked up a pretty fast card - after printing out 2 copies of the digi. Fussy cut one, did a little copic shading, adding some WoS and stickles for a little glamour. Used a stylus on the backside of the cut out to create a bit of shaping, glued it down on #2 image, which had been die cut with a Lil Inkers rectangle die.

Might be slightly prejudiced, but I think this image is just plain ole cute! Don't these little guys look as though they are enjoying the snow & having a terrific time?

-Top trim dies are: Sue Wilson Austrian Collection Salzburg ovals - decorative die on top, plain oval (red) under that. Bottom die is a Cheery Lynn Kaleidescope doily. (The SWilson die was part of a recent Crop Stop order). Each die was cut as needed to fit the area.

All papers from the Carta Bella 6x6 paper pad Winter Fun - (stash). Sentiment is part of the digi set, hand cut from a snippet using a Lil Inker V die to get it straight on the v's. Edged using a finger dauber and Memento Teal Zeal and tiny red rhinestones.

Baker's Twine & a silver Elizabeth Craft snowflake - a snippet too, clear rhinestone in the center, and Bob's ya' Oncle, and tis done.

Do take time to check out DeeDee's Digi of the Month and start building your collection now! It's that simple.

Thanks to all who provided some plant-ant suggestions! I'll let you know what we try and how it works.

I should clarify on the clogged up sprayer....this was not a 'purchased' spray. It was a bottle which had some some thickened acrylic paint dropped in it - then lots of added water. This paint had some gold glimmer in it, and I did not clean the nozzle after I last used it. So it is more Operator Error at fault here than the spray paint. Some of the Dylusions do occasionally have to get the caps removed and rinsed out, but so far (knock on wood) when caps are rinsed, it clears up the clog.

Thanks for the visit, come again when you can...always love to have your comments & thoughts. I have one more committed card to finish, then I'm going to take a little break and do a bunch of blog visits - {sigh - I'm BE-hind uh-gin}. Ya'll be good and lots of hugs. G'nite.

 

DeeDee's Digis - So Cool Penguin

Hello and back to share a cute, cool DeeDee's Digi card. It's week 3 over at DeeDee's July Digi of the Month Challenge. Birthday cards are just one of the many ways you could use this month's featured set. Remember, the set -- "So Cool" -- is available for just $1.25 this month, or FREE with your order of $10 or more, and if you link up what you make with it to our challenge post by 2 August, you'll get next month's set for FREE. It's as easy as that to get this cool dude.

Here's how I chose to use chillin' Mr. P - who comes pre-colored, line art if you want to choose your own colors, and various sentiments.

 

 

- Digi printed twice on Neenah paper; one image die cut with S/B Label 5, edged with DI Broken China. Shading on tub and penguin with copics. Cut out the flippers and beak of #2 print, shaped with a medium stylus and reglued for some dimension. Diamond Stickles added to ice cubes to add a chill feel.

 

- background paper from Colorbok Bright Splash water color pack (Note: this is not water color paper, that's just what it was called. This was a $5 12x12 pack found in local Walmart and the colors grabbed my eye). Embossed with Sizzix Swirly Vine - just 'cause it reminded me of wave ripples. Did some DI sponging on the edges and corners with DI Tumbled Glass.

 

- sentiment is from the So Cool set, sponged with the Tumbled Glass, dabbed some Diamond Stickles around.

 

- Bakers Twine glued under the sentiment. Fiskars wave punch from the tiny strip of perforated edge of the DP - where it is fastened into the pack. Was just the right size to fit the punch, and then dabbed on some Diamond Stickles. This was one easy card once I decided where I was going with it. This will be for one of our August family birthdays.

 

Please check out DeeDee's Digi of the Month and start building your collection now! It's that simple.

 

On another note: Remember there was going to be a surprise when the followers list reached 250? Mr. RG selected #89 in the database where I list the names (and the blog link if I can find one) of each 'face' that shows up in the list at the top of the blog. #89 corresponded to Christine H. of  Christine's Cards and Crafts. So Christine, please contact me with your mailing info by July 18 so that I can mail some goodies to you, as a thank you for being such a loyal follower. Comment moderation is on, so if you choose to leave this info as a comment, no one but myself will see your data. If Christine does not respond by July 18, then RG will have another go.

 

 

Now I'm off to do another post with the promised pictures of what we're doing in the basement room for my stamping organization. That will be scheduled later this evening. So big Hugs and have a wonderful Wednesday. God Bless. 

Christmas Teddy

Good evening and thanks so very much for all the wonderful thoughts & wishes for our anniversary yesterday. It was a quiet day, but pleasant. DH did some moving around in the garage yesterday - cleaned out some bookcase type affairs. This afternoon, we dusted those out, and moved some into my stamp area. I had other things I wanted to do today, but hey, I don't turn down help when it is offered. I've been wanting a higher table for my Genesis cutter, as standing for long periods of time makes my back unhappy. DH used a heavy counter-top that had covered some cabinets, added some metal legs to the height that I need for comfort..and soon my cutter will have a new home. All of my punches can rest in the new bookcases - where I'm trying to arrange these by season. The table is high enough I can store plastic boxes of 'stuff' under it, and still leave a space for a sit stool. The table is next to the air brush table, which has a high stool, so that can serve both places.  I'll try to take some pictures of the re-arranged area and share. It's not 'pretty', but I think it's going to work better for me. (nothing matches and I'm not the greatest decorator/room arranger either).

SIL took us out to dinner last night (DD is in Fla, but called later in the evening). We had come home for dessert and the fellas watched Gravity - which is not my kind of movie. Today we spent moving things around in what used to be a basement bedroom. Gave away that bed and now it's MY room. I was gradually encroaching on the room anyway, but it's great to not have to pile stuff on the bed.

Today's theme for our bi-monthly Christmas Card Club was chosen by our sweet Miss Sue P. and she selected Teddies. Ok by me, as I knew exactly the Ted I wanted to use. (oh yes, Miss Sue had a birthday yesterday too - so Happy Birthday Sue.)

Here goes:

- PBlack Give Us a Kiss image, colored with copics and WoS. Hat fur is Sparkle n Sprinkle Twinkling Clouds - which works great for snow. Also added to the snow where Ted is standing. Ted looks a little moth-eaten in the photo, but I used the image on the stamp as a guide for coloring.

- Cottage Cutz holly flourish, from green glitter paper, shaded just a bit with dark green copic, berries colored with a red Smooch. (it looks dark in the photo, but is a ruby red color IRL; the holly shading is not that dark either).

- IO snowflake die from silver glitter paper.

- holly paper from a 6x6 BoBunny Rejoice Collection from stash. Opening die cut with S/B Label 4.

- red & white dot paper from 6x6 Pebbles Welcome Christmas paper. Opening die cut with S/B Gold Label 4. Edged with gold WofLuna, 2 coats. Dried, then edged with a Pentel fine tip gold pen.

- SU punch for the sentiment, then used the same punch on the holly paper, cut in half, to add to each end for a matting look.

You can find the links to the other members of this Christmas Card Club in the sidebar, so do please give them a visit for some great Christmas inspiration. As always, thanks for spending some time with me this evening. Have a great week, and many hugs.

Carolling Penguins

Good afternoon and Happy Father's Day to those readers for whom this would be appropriate. Thanks so much for visiting this afternoon. Our Christmas Challenge theme of penguins was chosen by Carol  and here's my challenge entry:

- PBlack Slapstick image (40-034-Carolling Penguins), stamped on Xpress paper with Memento Tuxedo Black, colored with Copics. Used some Opal Liquid Pearls diluted with water to paint the white areas of the penquins which gives a nice glimmer IRL. Sparkle n Sprinkle Cloud Nine Velvet Glitter was added to the fur and pompoms on the hats to give some texture.

- Sakura Silver Star dotted around on the snowflakes in the background, and added some sparkly Stickles around the area under the feet. Also added a bit more of the Cloud Nine for a little snow effect.

- die cut image with S/B Majestic Label 25. Faux cut a black mat using the outer edge of the same die.

- Dylusions background created with Calypso Teal diluted with White Linen and the same color diluted with just water. Added in some of the new Slate Gray, which was diluted with white, and this made some nice snowy blobs of color. Sprayed just a bit of Tattered Angels gold that has an iridescent look. After drying, embossed with the Kars snowflake EF.

- MBox Snowflake border die cut using some 6x6 DCWV glitter paper. This has a sort of 'plastic' backing, but is more lightweight than a lot of the glitter papers. However, even though the metal shim was used, several rolls through the Big Shot took place, I still had to fiddle about with scissors to get a nice cut. This die cuts nicely, but this paper was probably not the best choice for such an intricate die. Selectively cut the border to place bits of it where I thought it looked nice, and added the tiny punch out stars from the die around on the card front.

Please do check out the other members of the Christmas Club group to see what beauties they submitted this week. You can find the members listed on the sidebar.

Back later with a Father's Day card. Have a wonderful afternoon, God Bless. Hugs

DeeDee's June Digi of the Month

Good morning, and welcome.

Big news to share...I am thrilled to announce I was accepted as a new Design Team member over at DeeDee's Digi Designs.  I follow several bloggers who are wonderful designers for DeeDee's designs, so that is how I found her work. Last year I needed a cooking theme stamp for a project, and found the perfect image (on this card). The lovely part was that I had the option to use pre-colored designs or line drawings which I could color myself. I chose to use the pre-colored (which made a fast card!). There's a wide range of design themes and the prices are extremely reasonable too. (we all like that!). So needless to say, I was over the moon at being asked to be part of the very talented  bloggers who make up the Design Team.

It's time for a new "Digi of the Month" challenge at Deedee's Digis! The featured set for June Challenge at DeeDee's is Life's a Beach,  and is totally adorable. . You can purchase this month's featured set for just $1.25, or you can get it for FREE with any $10 purchase of Deedee's Digis products from the shop. (NOTE: To receive this set for free with your qualifying order, you must enter this code, minus quotes, in the comment area of the checkout form: "DDOM-10.") Create and share any wholesome project made with this set by the challenge deadline, and Deedee will email you next month's featured set for free. Keep playing, and keep collecting freebies -- it's as easy as that!

I had selected another digi set that just really made me smile (Bigelow's Bounty). Of course it has the precolored images, line drawings, sentiments and even some designer paper. Here's the card that resulted, and explanations are below the picture.

 

 

- precolored DeeDee's Bigelow Bunny was printed 2 times. One fussy cut - one die cut with a S/B label die.

 

- background was made using some 'fabric paper' that wrapped our new laptop. Started to toss the paper and thought 'hmm, what if I used some Dylusions spray on it? Would make great texture'. So I tried, spraying the paper several times, letting it dry, spraying again, dripping some spray ink in spots on the green. (This paper is not tearable, was a bit difficult to cut with a trimmer and sort of sawed when I cut the grass edge. It did create some fab texture however, and the Dylusions did give a nice effect. Not sure if it shows well in the photo, but IRL looks nice). You know I like to experiment when I'm in the mood...LOL.

 

Colored the die cut  background to blend in with the textured background.

 

Die cut MB Arboscello Tree in 2 layers - using a snippet of brown stripe dp for the entire tree, with a second layer of green dp only at the top foliage. Used copics to add some color on both cuts. Green foliage glued behind the brown tree, offset just a tad (again this effect looks better IRL than in the photo). Adhered the tree over the die cut bunny image. Placed the fussy cut Bigelow over the top of the tree (so the tree would be behind him). A bonus of this was that I didn't have to try to fussy cut the carrot tops...you can see these showing on the bottom image.

 

- MB Garden Tools were die cut from a snippet of Dylusions sprayed paper that was handy.

 

- IO DIE068-A clouds were die cut from cloud pattered dp.

 

- Bigelow digi set sentiment was printed out and die cut with a Little Inker stitched banner die, and an old button from my stash was added, with a bit of twine tied.

 

This was a fun card to make, (easy too, with the cute digi), and I hope you like it. Do check out the June Challenge over at DeeDee's.  And see what some of the awesome DT members have created for your enjoyment.

 

Thanks for visiting today, and also many thanks for the wonderful emails while I've been puny. Hugs.

House Mouse on Willows

Happy Friday afternoon on another glorious sunny day. Started off rather cool but warmed nicely by mid afternoon. I had to be out early for lab work that I missed yesterday. My veins are difficult to find.  The lab tech who was so expert at doing this for years in our doctor's office, had retired since my last visit. Wasn't sure what to expect this morning, but the youngster replacement did a super job. (I say youngster, she's got 3 kids and prob'ly in her mid 30's or older. But a youngster to me at any rate!). She was very pleasant and it was practically painless.

Warm welcomes extended to Miss Anne of Stamps and Paper who has become my latest follower. We met at the Snippets Playground. There's the nicest & most talented folks who hang out there, so if you've never had the pleasure of a visit there, you really should take time to check it out. Fun place. Lots of inspiration.

In the recent snippet cleanup, I found a bunch of stamped images from ?who knows how long ago? - way back when I was in a Thursday stamping group. Today's card was done from a discovery of stamped images - don't know who owned the stamp. My photography is terrible, because I was really pleased with the willow buds IRL but the colors just don't show up nicely in the photo. This was a pretty fast card to make up too. (and I don't work fast either :) )

 

 

- House Mouse design (guess it could be a snippet? It's found in the stash!). Love these cuties, but never feel that I do justice to coloring the mouse if I use brown family colors. Normally I reach for the copic grays.  I tried again with the earthtones, then blended using the gray. S/Binder die cut, edged with a gold copic - which really looks more like a mustard color to me. I didn't want to mat this die cut, but it needed some definition at the edges.

 

- started with R0000 on the stems & buds. Came back along some areas of the stem with some pale YG and then blended in darker grays. On the buds & 'blossoms' did the same pinks & YG (not blending - just added touches of color), then blended with a C00. In the shadow part I added C02. Used a silver Wink of Stella over the blossoms, and they sparkle like dew. I'm disappointed the photo didn't capture this.

 

- butterflies were from a snippet of vellum, scribbled the same previous pinks & greens. Had to go to darker shades to get something dark enough when punched, that it would show up. Stayed in the pink & green family though. Punched with a multi size MS punch. The lower butterflies are covering up a smudge so just added the top 2 for balance. Pearl bodies.

 

- snippet grass die cut from an Impression Obsession die, top layer mounted on foam tape to create some depth.

 

- S/B curved bracket for the cutout and a lavender snippet taped under this so that the white card base would not show.



- the card front is from a 6x6 Colorbox pack found in Walmart, and it had lots of bright spring colors. I can't resist paper, so it came home. Will add the appropriate die cut sentiment at the bottom edge as needed.

No new papers were harmed in the making of this card, but a few snippets did get used up. So off to the Snippet Playground I will go. Week 122 is still open for 14 more hours. Don't you want to come along for a visit?

Thanks for popping in this afternoon.  Hugs.

Pandas and Bamboo

Happy Friday evening and welcome to my world. Been MIA for a couple of days. Wednesday we drove up to Greensboro, North Carolina to meet my blog buddy, Candee. We met at Betty's Scrapbooking Store and our DH's had a good ole chitchat while we shopped & visited. We had a fast lunch of southern style Turkey BBQ. Yummy. The weather was rainy as we left South Carolina and had a couple of slow-downs enroute, so not the best driving conditions. The rain had ceased on the return trip, but the wind was gusting over 40mph. That was not a pleasant drive coming home either. Yesterday we just veg'ed out and today was pretty much the same.

Extending a warm Southern Welcome to Nicky of Stiggy's Crafts who has joined as my latest follower. Thanks, Nicky for jumping in the list; please do pop over to say Hi to Nicky and enjoy her fabulous blog.

Here's a card to share. 

-  PurpleDaisyDesigns image - think I got this at a stamp show. I love Pandas & Koalas - but don't find either easy images to color. Even looking at a picture. Stamped on a white snippet of Xpress paper. Matted with a kraft snippet from a stamping boo-boo which was large enough to mat this image. Used Copic C110 black to outline around the kraft edge & raised on dimensional foam.

- C/Bug Bamboo EF brayered (lightly) with Memento Pear Tart, then Bamboo Leaves. Was trying for a streaky sort of look to the background to allow white embossed bamboo to take center stage. (the white glare up in the top left corner is because I snapped the photo at night with an Ott light and the way the picture had to be positioned, created this glare. There is a lighter coloration up in that area anyway).

- Kraft snippet mat for the Elizabeth Craft sentiment - die cut is also a snippet. C110 black edging around this piece, and popped up with dimensionals. Pretty easy card.

With several snippets, I'm off to see what's doing over at the Snippet Playground where the gates are still open for just a few more hours. I'm hoping Little Parsnip will like these bears, and let me  in. Why not get something done quickly ( I know you have some snippets!) and hop on over the pond to see what the gang is up to? There's sure to be fun and always lovely folks who have shared some awesome cards & projects. Plus a little cuddly white bear to make you welcome! C'mon OVER!

As always - thanks for stopping in, and have a wonderful evening. Hugs.

Friday Fun Day Challenge

Hello and here it is Friday - Uh-gin...so you know there's a new Friday Fun Day #36 challenge over at Jo's Scrap Shack where this week's theme is Anything Goes. Our sponsors are Paper Nest Dolls and Bugaboo. I'm Team A, so my sponsor was Paper Nest Dolls and my chosen digi was Circus Seal Sammy .

 

 

- printed 4 images of Sammy on Xpress paper, let dry overnight, then heat set. Used the oval piece of the S/B Filigree Design (card creator series) to cut Sammy out. Colored with C family copics and had a smear at the bottom where his flippers are. Even though this was a gray color, it didn't seem to want to clear up as usual with the colorless blender. Sooo...I colored the remaining images, cut them out and mounted each with dimensionals, and made sure to do a strong shadow around Sam. This successfully hid the smudge made when I tried to blend away the boo-boo. Printed an image on DP, cut out to paper piece his ruffle collar. I should have colored the spots on his collar, but that's hindsight. Used 3D crystal effects on the ball and collar spots.* The background of the oval was colored with BV0000, shadow was BV000, and used some BG0000 & BG000 underneath to ground him (or should that be 'water him'?).

 

- background was a circus print found on the internet, printed out & diecut with another piece of the S/B Filigree Design. I had chosen Sammy because I had some G45 Circus theme paper...but could I find it? Nope.

 

- Card base covered with some orange-tone mirror c/s from a paper pack. No sentiment but I did add some green rhinestones. This will probably be a birthday card later in the year.

 

*Opened the packaging for the Crystal effects purchased last Saturday. I knew it had tiny pieces so opened carefully over a white paper. The tiny pin that is meant to keep in the applicator top when not in use was missing. On Monday I emailed Sakura, and within an hour had a reply. They are sending me the missing pin! How good is that for customer service?! Just sayin'.

 

OK, that's my card for today, so if you can, why not play along with our Friday Fun Day challenge? 

 



Link up using the linky at the bottom of Jo's blog for your chance to win top 3 and get entered into our monthly prize drawing.

Challenge Rules

1. Please post a direct link to your card/project post that includes your challenge, 

    using the linky tool at Jo's blog.

2. Be sure to include a link on your own post back to our challenge

3. 3 entries per person and you must post a separate blog post for each entry.

4. All entries must be NEW and created for the current challenge.

5. You may combine with other challenges as long as you link back to us in your post.

 All entries that do not meet the challenge requirements 

Will not be eligible for top 3 or random/monthly wins.

The monthly prize drawings will only be mailed within the US and Canada only.

 

Starts: Friday, February 7th, 12:00AM
Ends: Friday, February 14th 6PM

Thanks for joining me today, and have a fabulous weekend. Hugs.

             

 

 

Dylusions Seascape with Ryn Bubbles Stamp

Good morning sweet visitor. Warm welcomes to all but especially to a new follower, Maureen of Mau's Place. I had been seeing links to this lovely blog as I swooped around some other blogs; followed a link, paid a visit, and found a new friend. What a joy! Please give yourself a treat, and check out Mau's Place. Now if I just knew how to do all that fancy-schmancy stuff Miz Darnell has started doing of late, where she not only provides the links to her new buddies, but also posts a picture, I'd try to do that too! It's such a sweet touch to add for her new friends!  And if you don't know our Darnell, well...you're missing out on your blogging experience. She's not only a skilled cardster, but she's funny too, and what a vocabulary. She of the NBUS word. (Don't tell me you don't know what NBUS stands for? Gosh, you'd better visit Darnell!) I always leave her place after some good chuckles and inspiration. Thanks Darnell for all you do!

One other tidbit: If you notice in the sidebar, our favorite Miss Pixie - of Crafty Snippets Playground fame - created a button for us--Keys to the Playground! Check it out, and do come & visit in the Playground when you can. You'll enjoy it, I promise.

Anyhoo, we are meeting some old high school buddies for lunch in a few minutes; then I have to zip back home, brush my teeth super well, and head to the dentist. At best I will be having a crown...at worst - I may need a root canal.

So here goes with an experimental card that started with no idea beyond using a previously created Dylusions background.

 



- Dylusions blue sprays, think there may have been one of the purple sprays too. This was created quite a while back.

- the wonderful Ryn Water Droplets Stamp* was added after stamping the sea scape stamp*, which also had a few bubbles, but not as many as I wanted.  (EDIT:  sorry - it was Rising Bubbles. Both were on my desk, but until I cleaned stamps that evening I was mistaken in which I had used! ..Fish scene is Fish Friends by Artful Stamper.)

- fish & plants colored with Spicas & gelly roll pens. Wink of Stella pen over places for added glitz.

- Die-Versions Whisper die Sweet Seahorse die cut from a snippet of turquoise-teal that was just the right size to fit the die. Smooshed into a Versamark ink pad, then sprinkled Ranger Snowflakes sparkle EP over it. The turquoise-teal color just didn't look 'right' after I placed it against the card, so I played with the EP. IRL it sparkles very nicely, but I don't like the white look against the blue. I had hoped some of the paper color might come through the EP, but -- it didn't! Remember I said I was experimenting!

Yesterday I received an order from Joggles, and had some of the Wink of Stella pens (not the brush tip, but a marker tip). I think I'm going to like these pens. Again, I had some fast shipping, so that made me happy!

Ya'll enjoy the day, and hope if any of you are where the storms are wreaking such havoc, that you are staying warm and not having to shovel too much snow. Thanks for stopping by, and many big Hugs!

*If you're interested I can provide the stamp manufacturer.

Winter Wonderland - 3 Twenty Crafts Tuesday Blog Hop

Hello & Happy Tuesday.  Welcome to day 2 of Jo’s Scrap Shack’s Surprise Blog Hop!

Today’s hop is day 2 of a 4 day hop and the launch and release of a brand new company called “3 Twenty Crafts”!

For those of you who missed the news yesterday, Jo has decided to launch her very own company & stamp line!!! It's very exciting, yes?? Each day we will show you a brand new stamp set from 3 Twenty Crafts and truly, you don’t want to miss this! 

The stamp set that we feature each day will be given away to one lucky winner, but in order to win the set you must hop along and visit each design team member’s blog, leave a comment and then comment on Jo’s blog and let her know that you have completed the hop. The winner will be randomly chosen and we have no idea which blog the winner will be chosen from. So make sure to visit each blog and leave some bloggy love!

Today we are showing you the new and awesome stamp set “Winter Wonderland”

 

  

This is what I created on my first card using Winter Wonderland.

 

I wanted to try out as many of these differently designed trees as I could so went for a winter forest scene, using different colors of green ink for each tree. It's hard to see in the photo, but then I used pan pastels in light blues to create snow drifts and a sky. I used a mylar stencil with some Popcorn Color Box Chalk & a sponge to do the clouds (as with all my photos, it looks better IRL!). Added some twiggy Impression Obsession die twigs(glitter snippets) along the side for the grazing deer(snippets from a small piece of Dylusions spray background), and I hope their footprints show up in the photo. Also added some coloring with Inktense pencils on the trees, some stickles for some sparkle. Shaded the deer just a bit with a dark brown copic marker.

 

Since there were more trees in the set that I had not stamped, I did another fast card (and I'm not fast making cards either!). Stamped this little darling with Versamark, embossed with Queen's Gold, on green patterned paper. Colored in the baubles with a Viva Décor pen after I had everything finished, added a punched glitter paper star. (Did you know punches do NOT like the regular weight glitter paper? No they do not!) Mounted the tree on a S/B circle die cut from a Kringle & Co. 6x6 (American Crafts); glued that to a larger circle from 6x6 DCWV Metallic pack. Used a green from Paper Company's Farm House 6x6 pack to emboss the card front with a Crafts Too Pine Tree Scene EF after I had die cut the circle in the position I needed. Apiece of the red pattern paper behind the tree circles covered the gap between the gold circle & green front. The sentiment is gold embossed on the same red paper & punched with SU oval; Delicata Gold sponged lightly over the embossed trees. Credit for the tree design goes to this card. Thanks Lynn, because when I saw your card, I knew one of the trees from Winter Wonderland would be perfect in this raised design.

Friends, that is my project for today.

 

In order to win Winter Wonderland, visit each blog along the hop and leave a comment! Also, all four sets that will be released this week will be available for purchasing on Thursday, November 21st at 3pm and will ship out on Monday, November 25th!

Soooo are you ready for some Blog Hoppin Fun???

I'm the last stop on the hop  so remember if you get lost along the way, just start at Jo's Scrap Shack at the beginning! Don't forget to stop by Jo's blog to leave a comment that you have visited all the Team blogs in order to be eligible to win this so very versatile Winter Wonderland stamp set.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hopping with us today and make sure to join us tomorrow for another sneak peak at another great stamp set by 3 Twenty Crafts!



Friday Fun Day Challenge #26

Hi and welcome to another Friday Fun Day at Jo's Scrap Shack, where our sponsor for Challenge #26 is Fitztown Digi Stamps.  I chose Wild #8 (here) to use on the card for today's Anything Goes theme.

- Wild #8 was colored with copics using a snippet of Copic Xpress paper. Used BG0000 as a base color. Chose various earth shades for the brownish fur tones, then started adding in some warm grays. Changed to cool grays where I thought those would look better. Printed out a color photo of a wolf to see as I colored. Used some Silver Star gelly pen around in places just for a little sparkle - and oh yes, on his icy blue eyes.

- Die cut image with a S/B deckled oval, and smudged DI Iced Spruce around the edges. Used  BV0000 to shade the image background, switching to BV01 for the shadow around his head.

Friday Fun Day at Jo's Scrap Shack

Hello and welcome to another Funday Friday at Jo's Scrap Shack, where Team A's sponsor is Bugaboo Digi Stamps.  Let me give you a heads up that freebies are posted every Friday along with new releases every Tuesday. I'm new to the world of digi stamping, but so far, it's been a fun journey. I've learned something with each image I've used to date. (1)which paper my printer likes best; (2) figuring out how to resize the image to what I need, and what program will work best at doing that for me (3)digi-s are much easier to store & find on my computer.

Without further chit-chat, here's the card I created using the sketch provided for this week's Funday Friday Challenge #15.



Sketch for FFC #15

Image is Poppin Penguin - surfing.  I sized him & printed on Xpress paper, colored with copics. Added some spica pen on his board.  His shades were done with Cool grays, added just a touch of the YG000, for that surfer look. Red spica for the rim of the sunglasses. Created the sand effect by using different Earthtones, going from light to darker shades -  just using a 'dot motion'. Lastly I dotted some Clear Star gelli roll pen to get the sparkle that you see on a bright sunny beach day. Background for water & sky was just doodling some BG0000 around over the S/B circle shape.

Rudolph Day

Happy Sunday afternoon and a lovely one it is again in our area. It's so pleasant to have cooler temperatures, especially since we're so far behind on tending our yard. Neither of us can handle the heat. (Don't forget we lived in So. Fla for over 42 yrs, but we weren't as bothered by the heat then. Also we worked in the yard early or late when it was summer, and we usually had a very nice breeze as well). DH was outside all day yesterday, edging, weed-eating, spraying some of the weeds. I was out for about 3 hours, working hard - but at the end of the task, didn't seem as though I had accomplished a lot. Had a hugh yard bag full of weeds though. I'm charged with pulling the weeds around the house flower beds, as it's too hard to spray in those areas and not spritz those 'weeds' we want to keep.

Ok, just so you know, today starts Rudolph Day over at Stamping for Pleasure. I realized we are heading into the 9th month of the year, so this is a good motivator to work on some more Christmas cards. So why not join us - submit your Christmas creation,  maybe win a cute stamp, and add one more card to your December stash?

Here's mine:

- stamp is labeled N227, Peter Penguin, JRL Design Co. and I've had it for a while. Had colored up PPenguin some months ago (UFO?) so dragged him out of the pile to finish. Then had to hunt up the stamp from the Christmas stamp drawers :-) so I could provide specs.