Surprise Coming on Monday

Stay tuned for a big surprise on Monday!  I cannot reveal the details yet, but I'm very excited!  See you Monday!

Kisses and Hugs

Today's little sweetie is Leah's Secret by Whimsie Doodles.  Yes, I know she's supposed to be keeping a secret, but to me she looked like she was blowing kisses.  I kinda used the Mojo Monday Sketch 245 as a layout for the card.  After moving the pieces around, this is what I came up with.  Not quite what the sketch mapped out, but I'm happy with the way the card looks.  The yellow dotted paper is from Bo Bunny and the other papers are from Die Cuts With a View Spring Fling.  The yellow pearls were colored with a copic marker to match the yellow paper.  Sending you all Kisses and Hugs for a fabulous weekend!

Water, Water Everywhere!

The past several days, thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, have been wet, wet, wet!  Do not really like what I call a "wash out" day, but we needed the rain, and it did give me a great excuse to hunker down in my craft room.  Today's card was influenced by all that torrential rain.  This paper was part of an old Me & My Big Ideas pad (everyone say it with me..."honey, I'm using my stash"...okay, I promise no more teasing my very tolerant husband...at least for a few days, lol).  Cordelia by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps seems to float among the reeds as I attached her with foam dots and cut out some extra reeds to place around her.  She does blend a little into the background, but maybe that's to keep her safe from predators.  Do mermaids have predators?  Hmmmm...

2nd Christmas Card

Okay today we're back to cute!  This little pixie was so much fun to color and craft into a card.  She's Christmas Pixy Two from A Day for Daisies.  The papers are a mix from several companies published last year (see honey, again, I'm using my stash!)  I'm not sure it really shows up in the photo, but I glitter flocked the ends of the pixie's scarf and the pompoms on her boots.  The little trees were handcut, adhered to red cardstock, and hand trimmed.  They were then attached to the card with foam dots to give the card some dimension.

Oh!  Before I forget, I need to publicly thank Tammy Thompson from A Day for Daisies.  There were some issues with ordering at her shop and she took care of the matter and kept in contact until the issues were resolved.  Kudos to her for such attention to customer service!

For the Golf Enthusiast

Figured I'd take a small break from the cuteness today and show you a card I made for a golf buff.  The image is Big Guy Golfing from Mo's Digital Pencil.  Since this card is crafted for a male, I decided to go uber simple on the design (hubby often calls my cards "too busy"...I think I need to show him some of the more decorated cards on the web, lol.)  The argyle paper was purchased at Michaels Craft Store eons ago (see honey, I'm actually using some of my stash!)

For those of you who were wondering, so far Tropical Storm Debby has not caused us any problems.  We are getting some much needed rain, but no tornadoes or flooding in our area.  Thank you for the concern!

Copic Marker Europe Blog 1st Birthday!

Happy Monday!  And Happy First Birthday to the Copic Marker Europe Blog!  The ladies there are celebrating with lots of fabulously colored cards and lots of presents for us.  Please go and check out their blog.  I think you'll like what you see!

One of their gifts to us included two digis, one by Sylvia Zet, and one by Krista Smith of Saturated Canary.  Here's a card I made using the adorable wee one by Sylvia.  Love her little feetie pjs! 

The second card uses Traveling Colors by Krista.  The cutouts were made using the My Favorite Things Rainbow Die-namic and an old cloud die from Quick Kutz.  Enjoy!

Princess Ilyse

While cleaning up my craft room, I uncovered this paper from an old Basic Grey pad titled Wisteria.  Purple is not a color I typically gravitate to, but the soft lavender and dreamy quality of the paper called out to be used in a card.  I knew the paper would make the perfect backdrop for the right image.  With her long dress, flowing hair, and demure pose, fair Princess Ilyse from Sweet November seemed like she was made for this paper.  Letting the image and paper take center stage, all I had to do was add a saying, a few butterflies, and pearls and the card was complete.  No finding coordinating papers or agonizing over item placement. This card was a joy to make!  Oh, and like many of Amy's images, Ilyse was easy peasy to cut out.  Certainly a plus for me!  Hope you all enjoy the card.

Another Something a Little Different

My mother, artist and crafter (you may catch a glimpse a part of one of her mini paintings in the background of some of my card photos as there are four of them hanging in my craft space), showed me these little boxes she's making by re-purposing greeting cards.  Instant love!  Of course I had to claim these three for myself!  Mom wasn't sure what to call them, but I think they should be called Wish Boxes.  Type, stamp, or hand write a wish or message and send it off to a friend.  How sweet is that?  These adorable little boxes are between 2 and 3 inches...just the right size for a cheery greeting and maybe a small trinket.  Might have to dig out my old cards and get crafty!  Thanks Mom!

Something a Little Different

Prior to attempting my hand at card making, I did a fair amount of scrapbooking.  Both my husband and I enjoy taking pictures of special events and vacations (you should see the number of images I have on disc and my computer...I hope I live long enough to edit and scrap them all).  And if there's a flower around, I have to photograph it!  Taking a break from the card making, I pulled up a couple of old photos, one from the Smoky Mountains and one from the Florida Botanical Gardens, and digitally altered them to look like painted images.  What do you think?  I rather like the look and am eager to add the printed copies to our latest scrapbook.  Although, I am not sure if I want to print them as 8x8 or 12x12.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sunshiney Days

Good morning!  Seems we have an unusual batch of rain showers hanging around for the next couple of days, so let's bring the sunshine in with this card.  The flamingo is a Dustin Pike image and the tropical paper is from an old Me & My Big Ideas pad.

Have a fabulous Thursday!  And thank you to those who've left such nice comments.  I really do appreciate it!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Have I mentioned it is HOT here in SW Florida?  With that thought in mind this card was born.  The image, Step On It, by Birdie Brown has a scale under her feet, but I couldn't resist trimming off the scale and putting her on a beach.  This image reminds me of all the first timers to the Gulf beaches.  Poor souls!  They have no idea how hot the sand can get.  You can see them tippy toeing quickly back to their towels or shoes with pained expressions on their faces.  I'll be sending this card to a friend up North, with the sentiment, "Wish you were here!"

Christmas Card

It's difficult to think of Christmas when the temperatures outside are in the 80's and 90's, but since "hot and humid" is the norm here in SW Florida, I suppose it could be Christmas any time of year.  This little Snowflake Fairy, Neva, is one of Amy Young's Sweet November images available at All That Scraps.  She is my favorite of the myriad Amy has released!  Her face and body pose are so endearingly sweet.  She tugs at my heart and brings a smile to my face each time I look at her.  Have you ever marveled at the stillness and beauty of a chilly winter's night when the newly fallen snow is sparkling under a full moon?  Neva evokes memories of just such nights.   In an attempt to capture the essence of those nights, I colored her unitard in dark blue and used dark blue card stock which I embossed as a background.  And of course I couldn't forget the sparkles!   Her skirt and  snowflakes are covered with silver glitter, and gems were added to the points on her skirt and the centers of the snowflakes as well as scattered over the background.  I flocked her cuffs and sleeve caps. Ribbons of blue edged with silver and white tied in a bow finished off the card.

One Christmas card done,  many more to make!

Speaking of Amy, for those of you that may or may not know, she's a very sweet lady with a wealth of talent whose mother is currently ill.  Please keep her and her mother in your thoughts and prayers!  If you want to read more about Amy and see her fabulous creations please go to her blog, A Thousand Sheets of Paper.  

Hippie Love

When Michael's craft store has a sale on paper, I like to pick up a few odds and ends that I think might make for an interesting card or scrapbook page background.  On one of these trips I spied this rad 60's paper with the peace signs, VW van, and funky flowers.  Remembering that Saturated Canary had this adorable little girl, Hippie Love, I had to buy the paper and pair the two.  Rather than make a card, I'm going to use the image and paper for a scrapbook layout about my early childhood.  Now before you get the wrong impression, no, my parents were not Hippies.  In fact, as a military officer and wife, my parents were definitely not free spirits, lol.  However, while we were living in California my mom did try a few of the fads of the time....owl decor and macramé just to name a couple.  But the worst of the bunch was the wheat germ craze.  I'm sorry, Mom, but the words wheat germ and chocolate shake should never be mentioned in the same sentence!  Yuck!  And the same goes for chocolate chip cookies!  For years afterwards we were scared to eat mom's cookies.  There is a reason the Toll House Cookie recipe is a classic, and you don't mess with a classic.  The only modifications allowed are nuts (although one of my sisters would totally disagree with me here), and substituting margarine for part of the butter to make a softer cookie.  Despite the experimentation with our food, lol, the 60's were a wonderful decade. 

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

It is said that if you don't try, you'll never succeed.  So with that thought in mind, I'm going to submit the following entry for Krista's Saturated Canary Challenge Blog's guest summer DT.  With so many fabulous card makers out there and many who have well established blogs, my chances of being given one of only two spots is slim to none, but I haven't lost anything if I don't make the grade.

This is actually not a card, but part of a set of four framed pieces I've made for my niece's birthday present (shhhh...don't tell her!).  They are mounted on white mat board and framed in black.  After I gift them to her later this month, I'll show you the remaining three.

Don't you just love the sassiness of this little lady?   I couldn't resist paper piecing her pants and adding the coordinating pink hounds-tooth to the background.  The papers are from a Recollections 6x6 multipack.

Fairy Simple Card

I have a particular affinity for fairies that I share or maybe inherited from my mother.  Both she and I collect and display fairy artwork of various mediums throughout our homes (both hubbies tolerate our Fae affliction, lol).  Today's card showcases one of Sylvia Zet's sweet wee ones, Silver Fairy.  Green is my favorite and go to color, so she had to be wearing green.  I played with several patterned papers before deciding on this softly muted one.  It was a scrap so I have no clue what line it came from, but it gave the card the vibe I was looking for.  Added a light and dark ribbon, some white and green flowers, and a few leaves and this card was complete.  Happy Saturday everyone!

TGIF and Second Card!

I so enjoy Fridays!  Not for the usual reason of a prelude to the weekend (as I am now retired), but because my husband and I have made Fridays our day to spend together...no chores, no family or friends, and limited cell phone usage.  Today we spent the day at the beach!  The water was glassy and a lovely shade of turquoise, and a light breeze kept the humidity from being oppressive.  It was a perfect day to take advantage of living so close to the Gulf.

My card is one of several I made for Father's Day.  After I made them, I had to choose one to send to my dad.  While I really like this one, it didn't make the cut this year as I sent him a BBQ themed card for his birthday a couple of months prior.  He doesn't read blogs, so I think I'll be safe in showing this card to you all and saving it for next year.

The design is Big Guy Grilling from Mo's Digital Pencil, and the papers are A Boy's Life by Echo Park.  This image reminds me of summer afternoons when Dad would get out the grill and cook us up some tasty burgers, hot dogs, and chicken...YUM!  After eating we'd play badminton, croquet (yes, people really do play that game, lol), or bean bag toss.  Good times!

First Card to Share

Well, I am finally taking the plunge!  Straight into the deep end!  After many months of reading others' blogs and admiring their lovely, crafty handiwork, I've decided to join the blogging world as a participant.  Oh, and I was encouraged by both Krista Smith and Mo Manning to create a blog and post pictures of my cards.  Thank you ladies!  Now maybe I'll be able to join some of the fun challenges out there in blogland.

Today's card, using the Saturated Canary image Party Hardy, is one my mother commissioned for a dear friend whose birthday is July 4th.  While Krista's images are not necessarily easy for me to color, I enjoyed the challenge and love the end result.

The papers used on this card are from We R Memory Keepers Yankee Doodles line and the banners are made from scraps of Moxie's The Red White & Blue.  The sentiment was a freebie from last year (sorry I don't recall who designed it).