CYAO OF THE WEEK!

Yes, it's that time already.  Time for another Paper Secrets CYAO challenge.  For this week's challenge there was a sketch by Decontructing Jen plus we had to include three of the following:

 *transparency *chevrons  *corrugated paper/cardboard  
*washi tape  *hand/machine stitch your edges  *Thickers

I started by putting a layer of silver patterned paper, then I cut some red glitter paper in the shape of a tag.  I topped that off with a doily, a piece of transparency stained with alcohol inks, a circle of corrugated, a strip of washi tape and a sentiment.

And here it is:

Thanks for stopping by!

I LOVE TO CREATE

so I was thrilled when I was asked to be the guest designer this week on the Love to Create Challenge Blog.   

The sponsor of the challenge this week is QKR Stampede.  They have a great selection of stamps which come as digital or unmounted red rubber.  I chose this adorable sledding bear to go along with this week's theme of Winter Fun.  I colored the image with some glitter gel pens and alcohol markers.  I cut around the image with a Creative Memories oval cutter and mounted it on an oval cardstock.  I used the same cardstock for the base of the card and topped it with a layer of SEI patterned paper.  

Isn't he adorable?  Please stop by the Love to Create Challenge Blog to see the wonderful creations from their Design Team as well as to enter a creation of your own.  Don't forget to check out the fun stamps at QKR Stampede.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

JINGLE BELL HOP!

Welcome to the Colorful Creations Jingle Bell Blog Hop!  If you have come here from Janet's blog then welcome! If you have stumbled across this by chance and want to play along then please go back to COLORFUL CREATIONS and start from the beginning.      There is a challenge there that you don't want to miss out on as there is a wonderful prize for one lucky randomly selected winner.  There will also be some great games and other prizes.

I know that we ALL have someone on our holiday list that has just about everything and we aren't sure what the best gift for them will be so we decide upon a gift card.  I found this great simple tutorial for a cute little gift card holder that I want to share with you.  It's all done with one piece of paper and some easy folds.  

Here's the link:

SIMPLE GIFT CARD HOLDER

Now hop on over to Tabitha's blog to see what she has in store for you.  Below is our lineup list in case you get lost along the way.  Have fun and don't forget to search for the clues on each team member's blogs, they will be in BOLD.

Line up:

CC

Rachael

Brandi

Libby

Anne

Fi

Janet

Paula

Tabitha

Brenshevia

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope that you will have a chance to use that simple gift card holder this season.  I know I will!  Have a peaceful and blessed Christmas.

IT'S TIME FOR CYAO AGAIN!

Here we are again - time for another week of Paper Secrets CYAO challenge.  

This week's challenge was to use this sketch:

plus three of the following:

*heat embossing *transparency  *pearls

*grungeboard/grungepaper  *washi tape  *machine stitching

For my card this week I used hunter green paper.  I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment onto this.  On top I used some gold cardstock with more of the green for the smaller boxes. I stamped and heat embossed my dove on white paper and fussy cut it. The swirl is grungeboard which I painted with a gold dauber.  I added three metallic pearls and a bunch of stickles.  And that was all three!

Here's the outcome:

Thanks for stopping by.  I should have more Christmas cards coming during the week!

CHRISTMAS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Christmas Blog Hop. 

Today you will get to see more than 15 wonderful Christmas projects - cards, layouts, mixed media pieces. 

You should have arrived here from Teresa at http://freshandrenewed.blogspot.com  

If by chance you just came by to see me please be sure to go back and start with our Hostess, Ashley at http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com to get the skinny on blog candy and sponsor prizes.

For my project today I opted to make a simple card. I used a sketch from Always Playing with Paper, Merry Monday #1 and some chipboard for the Creative Card Challege over on Colorful Creations.

Here's the sketch I used:

and here is my card:

Now it's time for you to hop on over to visit An'Jenic at http://anjenicgibson.blogspot.com

In case you get lost anywhere along the way here is the complete lineup:

Ashley - http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com 

Marji - http://www.fstampaholic.blogspot.com/ 

Beth-  http://motherandaughterdesigns.blogspot.com/

Cindy- http://www.cindys-greencricut.blogspot.com/

Teresa- http://freshandrenewed.blogspot.com/

Paula - http://preciouspagesbypaula.blogspot.com/

An'Jenic-http://anjenicgibson.blogspot.com/

Sandy - http://simplycraftycreationsbysandys.blogspot.com/

Sam-  http://scrappingwithpirkie.blogspot.com/

Elaine - http://ExpressionsByElaine.blogspot.com

Christine- http://hotberrydesigns.blogspot.com/

Amanda - http://a-prata-design.blogspot.com

Liz Mullen- http://scrapiliciouslife.blogspot.com

Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com

Anita~  http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com  

Hope that you find all the inspiration you need to get your Christmas projects rocking! Thanks for stopping by!

ANOTHER ROUND OF CYAO!

Well, the challenges are certainly getting harder on Paper Secrets CYAO!  For this week we had this great sketch:

on which we needed to do 3 from the following list:

*music sheet pattern/pages *epoxy stickers  *velvet 

*dry embossing  *paint  *hand/machine stitching

I struggled with deciding which 3 to do and finally ended up with music sheet patterned paper, velvet patterned paper and dry embossing.

and now it's nearly time for bed so I will wish you all sweet dreams.  See you again soon!

WINTER WONDERLAND BLOG HOP

Brought to you by the Krazy Crafting Crew, our last hop of the year saying goodbye to the old and in with the new.  Next year will get even better with more specific projects and themes, to share with you!

What a beautiful time of year it is for most of us, and a great time to craft! 

Today we will be hopping through many different winter projects!

If you have arrived from Pam ~ www.mzlavr2.blogspot.com you are in the right place!  If you have just stumbled upon the hop, please start with our hostess at

So Many Crafts So Little Time 

So you don't miss a thing!

Don’t forget to check out the blog candy throughout the hop to and read the rules for each one as every blog has different requirements.  Your host Lissa Marie is giving out a mini calendar to those who are followers of her blog (confirmation is required or she won’t see that you have signed up if you are new) She will make it just for you to help you schedule your appointments or if you are a blogger you can schedule all your hops all right next to your monitor!  All you have to do is tell her your favorite colors!

Another great reason to comment so you can also win with

Our sponsor, Scrapbook Stamp Society

They would love to reward one special blog visitor with a prize from their store. To be qualified for their drawing, please comment on all participating blogs and let them know you have.

You can receive extra entries for following them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/205539419562521/

and for commenting on the Scrapbook Stamp Society blog

http://addicted-to-stamps.blogspot.com/).

For my projects today I decided to create two winter cards.  

The first was using a sketch from Always Playing with Paper Merry Monday challenge.

The sketch:

My card:

My next card was done using a sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.

The sketch:

My card:

Thank you for taking the time out to check out my projects, you are encouraged to keep clicking for more Winter Wonderland.

Your next stop is

Lucy ~ www.love2createitall.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for hopping through our
Winter Wonderland!

Here is the full line up in case you need to navigate

You’re Host

Lissa Marie ~ www.somanycrafts.com

Ellen ~ www.cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com

Jamie ~ www.jamielindstromdesigns.com

Liz ~ www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com

Robin ~  www.scrapandchat.blogspot.com

Jearise ~ www.lorbysworld.blogspot.com

Cicily ~ www.pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com

Katina ~ www.twochicsandacricut.blogspot.com

Pam ~ www.mzlavr2.blogspot.com

Paula ~ www.preciouspagesbypaula.blogspot.com

Lucy ~ www.love2createitall.blogspot.com

BACK TO THOMAS' BIRTHDAY

I still had a few photos left from Thomas' 14th Birthday celebrations.  I found a few sketches and put a dent in what was left.  The first was using this sketch from Let's Get Sketchy which I rotated 1/4 turn right to accommodate the photos.

On Sunday of his birthday weekend Michael took us out to dinner at TGIFridays.

The other photos are from him opening presents from his brother Robert and girlfriend Kathryn.  They couldn't decide between a paint ball gun and a Nerf gun so they got him both!  Thomas was very excited.

The sketch is from Scrapping Everyday Miracles and had a twist that you needed to put a number on the layout so I stacked the date in the right corner circle.

There are still a few more photos in the envelope so watch for another upcoming post or two to complete the celebration.

INCY WINCY WEEK FOUR!

I'm back for my last week as Guest Designer at Incy Wincy Designs.  This week the theme is mystical and the digital stamp came from Delicious Doodles.  I chose the girl with the polar bear and the snow since Christmas and winter are nearly here.  I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and Derwent Inktense blocks and did the snowflakes with a silver gel pen.  I chose a simple dotted cardstock for background and added the word Peace at the bottom which I also highlighted with silver gel pen.  I created a frame around the design with felt rickrack.

Here is my card:

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I have created for Incy Wincy this month.  It was fun having the opportunity to design for them.  I don't often work with digi stamps so each week truly was a challenge.

CYAO TIME AGAIN!

We had a week off last week but we are back again with Paper Secrets CYAO!  And this week it really was a challenge for me.  There was a great sketch but to pick 3 of the following items was rough...  

 *brackets  *woodgrain/whitewash  *1" thick+ ribbon 

*dry embossing

*glossy accents  *2+ handmade flowers

Here is the sketch:

I ended up going with a background page which I dry embossed, a 1" thick ribbon and I added glossy accents covering the circle that my sentiment is stamped on.  In addition to the requirements there is some patterned paper and 2 poinsettias.

Here is my creation:

Hope that you have enjoyed this peek at another of my seasonal cards.

SCRUBBY DUBBY FUN!

I know I have not been very creative this week but hope to be getting back on track now that Thanksgiving has passed.  Thomas and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in Carlisle, PA.  We don't get to see them often but we always have a good time when we do.

When I got home and started wading through the many emails in my box I discovered that I was invited to try out for a Guest Designer spot at a new challenge blog, the Red Carpet Studio. When I went to check out the site I saw that the current challenge was about pets and I had some fun photos of our new guinea pigs, Beavis and Butthead, getting their first bath. I went to my stash and found some cute bath time paper and embellishments and put together a simple page using 6 of the photos.  I normally do more detail but wanted to be able to use all of the photos.

The Say it with Words Challenge over at Colorful Creations this month was to use the word 'fun' on a layout so I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to complete that challenge as well.

And now, here is some scrubby dubby fun!

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope that you have enjoyed sharing in another moment in the lives of Beavis & Butthead!

INCY WINCY WEEK THREE!

Back again for another week as Guest Designer at Incy Wincy.  This week's images are from the Stamp Fairy.  I thought this little teddy bear was just the cutest!  The theme of the week was Hip to Be Square so my creation is square.  I used a solid green cardstock for my base and a pretty mint green patterned paper for my inner square which I inked the edges and then mounted my fussy cut image.  A stamp and some pretty red ribbon and it was all done.

Isn't he the cutest?  Thanks for dropping by!

TIC TAC TOE

3 in a row!

Welcome to the Scraps to Treasure 

Tic Tac Toe Blog Hop.  

Today's hop started with Cicily.  If for some reason you arrived here first please hop back to Cicily so that you don't miss out on anything important.

Our group leader has blog candy for a random hopper who commented on all blogs on the hop.  It is the Close to My Heart stamp set shown here:

For our hop this month we are to use our scraps and stash and choose a row from the tic tac toe board to create a project to show off!  

Here's the board:

I opted to make a card using the diagonal row Butterflies, Tag, Ribbon.

I used some pretty patterned paper with butterflies, trimmed a shipping tag down to fit, cut a greeting, inked up the edges of my tag and added a pretty ribbon.

This was such a simple quick card I opted to choose another row and create another card.  This time I chose the bottom horizontal row Buttons, Mist or Paint, Ribbon.

I started with a striped patterned paper.  I applied some Lime Twist Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist to it.  I added a pleated white ribbon on top.  To that I added a greeting cut from my sheet.  I cut a second greeting, mounted it on a scrap of white cardstock and inked the edges.  I found two small white buttons in my button box to add to the sides of the ribbon and another simple card completed!

Here's the line-up for the entire hop:

1. Cicily - www.pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com/  YOU CAME FROM HERE

2. Paula - http://preciouspagesbypaula.blogspot.com/  YOU ARE HERE NOW!

3. Lucy - http://love2createitall.com GO HERE NEXT

4. Tara - http://craftindesertdivas.blogspot.com/

5. Robin S. - http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com

6. Suzanne - http://www.zannieberry.blogspot.com

7.Lissa Marie - www.somanycrafts.com/

8.Tahi - http://tahisscrapcorner.blogspot.com

9. Robin C. - http://cutonedesignsbyrobin.blogspot.com/

10. Pam http://mzlavr2.blogspot.com/

11. Liz Cline - http://tryin2craft.blogspot.com

12. Robin L. - http://create-a-latte.blogspot.com/

13. Camille - http://shortonideasaz.blogspot.com/

Happy Hopping!

MORE CHRISTMAS CHEER!

I have another trio of Christmas cards ready to share with you.  I used a few different sketches for inspiration as well as some bright paper and fun metal Christmas brads I've had in my stash.

The first uses a sketch from Always Playing with Paper Merry Monday and is also for the Colorful Creations  Creative Cards using Metal challenge.

the sketch:

card #1:

My next card uses the sketch from Mojo Monday

the sketch:

.
card #2:

The last card in this trio uses the sketch from Feeling Sketchy:

the sketch:

card #3:

Hope this bit of Christmas cheer is getting you thinking about getting ready to celebrate the season!

INCY WINCY WEEK TWO!

For my second week as Guest Designer for Incy Wincy I was given some digital images by Kenny K to work with and the theme was Girl Power.  Although October Breast Cancer Awareness Month is over I decided to go for the Breast Cancer Fighter Gal.  I coupled it with some ribbon I have that reads "Perhaps I am Stronger Than I Think".  I put a strip of this diagonally above the image and then the part of the ribbon that reads "I Am Stronger Than I Think'" underneath the image.  It was mounted on some coordinating paper, I added a flower and a bit of bling and voila complete!

Thanks for stopping by.

ANOTHER FROM THE DAY AT RIDLEY PARK

Tonight I chose another photo from our afternoon at Ridley Park along with the sketch of the week from Scrapbook News and Reviews Blog.

I chose several different fall colored patterned papers and some Distress Inks Walnut Stain Ink which I used on all the edges as well as randomly all over the finished layout.

Here is the sketch:

and here is my layout:

There are still more photos from Ridley Park so be sure to follow along this week to see the others.  

MERRY & BRIGHT!

Here are a few merry and bright Christmas cards.  For ABC Christmas Challenge this week was V is for Vibrant so I used some vibrant colors to create my cards, as well as sketches by Waltzing Mouse and a sketch and ribbon for 3 Girl Jam.

First sketch:

First card:

Second sketch:

Second card:

I hope you have enjoyed this little burst of merry & bright!  Have a great evening!

IN EVERYTHING...

GIVE THANKS...

Here's a quick Thanksgiving card I just created using this week's scripture from Word Art Wednesday, a sketch from Unscripted Sketches, autumn leaves for Tuesday Throwdown, Shades of Autumn for Love to Create. and the colors from the inspiration photo at Inspired By Challenges.

The sketch:

Inspiration photo:

My card:

Hope that you are having a blessed restful Sunday!  Thanks for stopping by.

The 2012 Women of Faith

Tonight's layout is a photo from the 2012 Women of Faith Conference in Philadelphia.  It was spectacular!  For my layout inspiration I used the colors pink, black and white for the Colorful Creations Plus Two Challenge as well as for the very first sketch and color palette combo challenge at the new site Sketches with Color.

The sketch:

The color palette:

and finally - my layout:

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you will come back again soon!