Mojo Monday 184 Sketch Challenge : Round or Square

Good morning! Welcome to another Monday , the last one of this month! You know what that means? It's round or square time at Mojo Monday and designer Teresa Kline has provided us with a great sketch to work with. I always admire the talent of Mojo's DT... they come up with some fantastic sketches and this one is no exception! Here it is......

I don't normally make round cards, as I find them too fussy for me, but Julee Tilman has a post on her blog on how to make these round cards super quick and easy!!! So , for this week , I'm gonna try round!!

It was easy to make!!! *** woot-woot!!***

This is my first attempt at a twisted ribbon rose ( so much fun to make and easy,too!!) and I can see that they are gonna be a fav! You can find tuttorials for this technique on YouTube. I made the frame with my Cindy Loo cartridge / Cricut , cut at 3 inches with Real Dial Size on. The DP is from MME and is soooo old !!!! But I thought it coordinated pretty nicely with  the SU! retired Dusty Durango and Buckaroo Blue cardstock , don't you? The ribbon and pearls and the butterfly sizzlit die ( I used the other side of MME paper for it ) are all from SU!,too. The sentiment is from SU's Occasional Quotes.

So there's my card for Mojo Monday..... hope you enjoy!!!

Until next time....... Happy crafting!!!

Sunday scrappin'.

Hello,I hope you're enjoying a nice relaxin' Sunday. After a busy week , it sure is nice to slow things down and find time for the things I enjoy. Since we are in the middle of a spring snow storm , our whole family is taking it easy indoors today! We watched a couple of movies and then each person wandered off to do their own thing. Me, I tackled the ever growing pile of laundry , but I still found time to esacpe to my craft room !!! As I look around my room I keep thinking, "Is my room shrinking???" .... maybe not!! LOL But the bins of scrap paper has mysteriously grown ( hmmmm) and some finished and not-so-finished projects are taking up way too much space!!! Time to tidy up and organize!!! First of all, are the scrap pages I've been working on. I really need to find more time for this , as my pictures are all over the place, right now! I did finish a few pages this week, mostly Christmas and a couple vacation layouts. I have several started but I seemed to be stuck for inspiration.
Here's the layouts that are ready to go in their albums....

I custom made my own title using my Gypsy and Cricut ( Alphalisciuos cart) . The background is inked with Pumpkin Pie ink ... just applied directly withg inkpad for a painted effect , but no dry time! The elements are leftover Simply Scrappin' long since retired from Stampin' Up!

This layout was inspired by the card I made for this week's Jingle Belles challenge. Isn't it great when you can use a card sketch for a card and a layout?????

I used the rest of the accents from My Minds Eye for this layout. I kept it simple, just a little stitching and a bit of leftover scrap DP.

I have more pics to post but I'll save that for another day!!!!

Have a great day and until next time.......

Happy Crafting!!!

Jingle Belles : The Holly and The Ivy

Hi again! I'm back, cause it's Friday and that means another Jingle Belles challenge!!! Woot-Woot!!! This is one of my fav challenge blogs ( love Cricut Cardz Challenge ,too!!!) 'cause it gets me using my stash of supplies all the while I'm making these cards for a good purpose.... I'm gonna be sooooo  ready for Christmas this year .... okay maybe I'll only have all my cards made and I'll still have to rush about shopping ..... hmmm, is there a blog challenge for this, I wonder????
So this week, I'm playing around with my creative style. With so many fabulous cards being posted every week, I thought I'd break out of my comfort zone a little and try something different. Here's what I made this week.....

With the exception of the sentiment , there is absolutely no stamping on this card!!! The tags are all from My Mind's Eye collection and I cut the holly leaf from my Season's Of Joy cartridge, and the red background die is cut from the Cindy Loo cart. The doilie is from the dollar store and you probably can't tell, but it's all shimmery 'cause I Glimmer Misted it! I inked the tags and card layer in River Rock ink from Stampin' Up! ( also card layer).

 So now I have another card for my Christmas card list this year!!!! Yay!!!

Have yourself a super fantastic weekend!!!!

Until next time..... happy crafting!!!

Cricut Cardz Challenge #67: Spring in pink,green and white!

Welcome to Friday! The  first full week of spring here in western Newfoundland started out with somewhat springlike weather ( hey, it was in the plus-es!!!!) but today and yesterday the temps have dropped and it's even snowing!!!! What was the saying ,"  March : in like a lion, out like a lamb?" Hmm, maybe not here!!!  Thankfully, the DT at Cricut Cardz Challenge are helping us get in the mood for spring with this week's challenge. This week we 've been presented with the colors Pink, Green and White to make a card and we can use any cartridge we'd like! And , just in case you need some help with ideas, check out the DT#2 fabulous samples! It's pretty cool to see how people can take this prompt and come up such amazing creations!
 I started out with a concept and halfway through I tossed it!!! Back to the drawing board for me!!!

Here's what I came with for this week's challenge......

I used my new cart Freshly Picked for this one. The gazebo is cut in Real Size at 4.5 inches. I originally had cut it in white but it was too plain against the floral DP , so I cut it in two shades of green , I think it looks much better this way!!! Instead of using the matching flowers I used my SU flower brads and added a mini pearl to each center.The sentiment is from SU. I also used my butterfly embosslit , cause my Cricut just cannot cut those teensy weensy butterflies! I had rickrack on the side , but again, I didn't like it , so I kept it fairly plain, as all those flower and butterflies add more than enough details!!

Here's another view of the flower and butterfly accents......

So , there's my card for this week's challenge! I hope you enjoy and please take a moment to go and check out all those fabulous entries!!

Have a great day and until next time........

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!!

Jingles Belles : Sketchy Holiday

Happy Monday!! I'm a bit late in posting my card for Jingle Belles Sketchy Holiday challenge, but , hey,better late than never!!!
Anyhoo, here's Allison's  awesome sketch.....

I played around with a new stamp set I got on clearance at Michaels ( I sooooo love sales!!!!) and My Minds Eye DP.

I love snowmen.... and this one is my new favorite!!!I stamped this guy in Baja Breeze and used Crumb Cake ( kraft) , Early Expresso and Riding Hood inks /papers to coordinate with the DP. The fabric is from SU!'s  2010 Holiday mini. I stiched it  so it was scrunched up and then sprayed it with Glimmer Mist, I wish you could see how it adds just a wee hint of glimmer , but the photo just doesn't show it well!!!! You'll have to take my word for it!!!! :) I used a strip of blue MME paper , which I misted and scrunched up before adhering to the card. The sentiment is stamped in Riding Hood red and handcut and popdotted up to stand out from the layers. Oh, and there's lot's of inking here,too! On the card edges, aroound the snowmman and even on the sentiment! If I could find a place to ink, I did!!!! And those little pearls on my snowguy.... they are a fabulous find at my local dollar store!!! I have a whole bunch of them and I sure love to use'em,too!!!! I machine stitched the DP and a few glimmer brads on the edge and I think I'm just about outta room to add anymore layers!!!

This is a busy card, but it really was pretty quick to make.... honestly!! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

For more inspiration , go check out all those awesome entries at Jingle Belles!!!

Until next time..... Happy Crafting!!

Moment Of Silence : Japan Disaster Relief

It's everywhere you look.... on TV, the internet, newspapers and people are talking about the absolute devastation in Japan. The tsnumai that struck has claimed thousands of lives and has destroyed villages. As I read/watch these stories I am saddened by the terrible suffering of the Japanese people but am proud to see so many countries including my own , Canada, step forward and offer assistance. Today while I was bolg hopping around I found this on Stamping Royalty blog  ....

Please, donate today! Send our love to the victems of this disaster!!

Cricut Cardz Challenge #66: Blue, Yellow and White Thank You card

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Hope everyone remembered to wear green today!!! Signs of spring are here... the snow is almost all gone and it's raining !!  I can't wait!
Have you checked out the latest challenge at Cricut Cardz Challenge? The DT has given a recipe challenge this week ; first use only the colors yellow, blue and white. Second, the card needs to be a thank you card and third, you need to use your Cricut to cut a border for you card. The DT ladies have given us some great samples to jumpstart our creativity.... go check them out!!!!

Here's my card for this challenge......

Since spring is literally just around the corner, I made my "thank you" card very springlike. The colors are soft and my DP is floral patterned... really couldn't get  much more spring-y than that!!! I used my Gypsy to create the edge ( qualifies as a border, I hope!!!) for the card. I welded a bracket shape ( Gypsy Wanderings) to a basic rectangle shape , and voila!, I have my own unique shaped card!!!! I used my Cindy Loo cartridge for the flourish , which I outlined with my chaulk . The sentiment is from CTMH and the oval punches as well as the satin ribbon are from SU!

 Hope you're all having a great Paddy's Day!!!!

Mojo Monday 182 Sketch Challenge

Good evening! Well it's Monday and that means the DT at Mojo Monday have another sketch challenge for us!! The  super talented Julee Tilman has provided this week's sketch:

Already, there are so many amazing entries for this sketch! Last week's sketch really got me thinking about how I could use my stash of stamps and DP that had been basically negelected for so long!! This card , once again, uses a stamp I bought at a local craft store but it has not seen ink since I got it!!! The DP was actually intended for a scrappage but now that I've actually cut it **GASP**** , it looks much better as a card layer!!

Here's my card:                                                          

The DP for both layers is the same, just reversed. The background is actually textured and distressed , it just doesn't show that well in this pic. I used my circle sissors for the stamp circle and mat as none of my punches were big enough. I originally had intended this to be a A5 card but when I had the circles cut , they were too large , so now it's a 51/4 X 51/4 card.

Anyways.... there's my card ! Head on over to Mojo Monday and check out all those other great entries !!!

Until next time.... happy crafting!!!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 108

Good  Sunday evening everyone! As I was searching through some of my favorite sketch blogs, looking for  some inspiration, I came across this sketch on Sweet Sunday Sketch and thought it was just what I needed to get creating. My family has a ton of birthdays coming up, lots of nieces and nephews as well as my own darling children! My stash of birthday cards takes a big hit this time of year , so I need to get a few made, just to keep up!!!

Here's the sketch, I just love this design! This sketch has so much versatlity!!

Since  I have birthday cards on the brain, I wanted a card that was bright and fun! Nothing specific for a boy or girl. Dosen't  the Ice Cream Parlor DSP from Stampin' Up!'s latest mini seemed to be perfect for this???!!

I didn't wander from the sketch at all... I like the neat clean lines of the design. From beginning to end , it only took me less than 20 minutes to complete and that included me pulling out my circle sissors and finding the right size punches!!!

There are so many fun sketch challenges out there in blogland ...... tons and tons of inspiration just waiting to be discovered!!!!

Until next time.....happy crafting!!

Birthday Card Makeover

Welcome to Saturday! Today is the perfect day to stay inside and play around in my craftroom.... it's super windy outside ( 120km/hr!!!) . I had this card lying around my stash of old cards and to be quite honest I'm surprised I still have it! I made it over 4 years ago and I didn't even like it then!!!!I tried something different and it just did absolutely nothing for me, but I still hung on to it!!! It has survived two moves and it keeps showing up..... I decided I either must do something with it or toss it!!! Now really, how could I just throw it out now that I've hung on to it for so long, right??

Here's what I originally made.....

Okay, so it's not thaaaat bad, but it certainly isn't great, either! I can't even remember what stamp set I had used for this one, I think it was a Hostess set from SU, but not really sure. Kinda bland isn't it??

I tweaked it a little and now I'm okay with it! ( Still not lovin' it ,though!!!)

I trimmed off the cardbase and rounded the corners and added a few matching ( well, as I best I could!!) brads.

I stitched the layer to the base and repositioned the ribbon to the centre and added a small sentiment to the top tab. All in all, just a few simple changes and now this card is a keeper, until I give it away!!!!

Thaks for looking ! Until next time.........

 Happy Crafting!!

Jingle Belles Cool Yule and Mojo Monday 181

Hello again! This week, I'm using this card for two blog challenges ..

 Here is the Mojo Monday sketch:

Jingle Belles's guest designer Leslie gave us this color palette to work with:

Here's what I came up with:

I love using non-traditional colors for my Christmas cards and blues and browns combos are my favorite. My pale blue is Baja Breeze ,which goes barutifully with Crumb Cake ( aka. kraft) and white. I embossed the Crumb Cake background and sponged it with Crumb Cake ink for some dimension.The snowflake flourish stamp I purchased at a local scrapbook store  and it's actually a journalling stamp. I just added a 2.5" circle to cover the journallling area.I Glimmer Misted the flourish as well as the Baja Breeze strip.The sentiment and handcut snowflakes are from Stampin' Up!'s Snow Swirled set. The DSP strip is retired SU.

Finally, I added a few pearls ( Kaiser Craft) to the snowflakes and used the scallop border punch for the trim.

So I completed two challenges with just one card!!!! yay!

Have a great weekend and happy crafting!!!

Bahamas Vacation pics

Good Friday morning everyone!! Hope you're having a great one so far!!! I woke up this morning with a cough *again!* and a bit of a sore throat.... it seems this winter I've been battling a cold all season!!! Urgh!!! It's been a week since we got back from our trip to the Bahamas and already I'm missing it soooo much!!!! Who wouldn't miss those crystal clear waters and all that sunshine!!!  Today, I'd thought I'd share a few pics of our trip .

Every time I look at this pic, it makes me smile.... my little boy eating his lunch in the water!! Actually, he was keeping his sand toys from washing away!!! It's like an ad for McDonalds!!!!

This is the small beach across from the condo we stayed in.... lots of time spent here palying in the ocean and soaking up some much needed sun!!!!

Downtown Nassau....... experiencing some of the unique culture of the Carribean.

And of course, I checked out the one and only scrapbook store in Nassau, The Scrapbook Cottage !!!!

These are just a few ( I took hundreds!!!) of photos of our trip!  Hope you enjoy!

Cricut Cardz Challenge: Tall Card ( 9X4)

Good evening!! I cannot believe that it's Thursday evening already!!! Seriously, where has the week gone???  I had so many grand plans to spend some much needed time in my craft room this week and this is the first evening I actually made it here!!! My creativity seems to be still on vacation!!! Thankfully , the DT at Cricut Cardz Challenge has posted a new challenge that got me dusting off my papercrafting supplies !!!
This week , we've been presented with the challenge to make a tall card ( 9X4)  using any cartridge we desire.
Since I'm still feeling a little blah in the creativity department, I thought I'd stick with a pretty basic design. Not a lot of glitz and glam here, but you know what... I really like how it turned out!!!

I pulled out my Cindy Loo cart and as I flipped through it I found this pretty flower ( looks a lot like a tulip to me !!) . It didn't need a lot of fancy touches , which suits me just fine right now!! :):):)   I cut it at 3.5 inches.

I did use a little Smooch spray for the leaves ( a girls ' gotta have  a little bling, right???) and some UTEE for the flower. A few brads and this flower is complete. I also used the same cart for the sentiment , which I cut at 1 inch. A stitched border for the card base and I'm done!!!

It feels good to create again......

Now I'm off to check out those other  fabulous cards; you should ,too!!!!

Until next time..... happy crafting!!

Christmas scrap book layout class

Good morning! We got back home on Friday  from our trip and it's just been a hectic weekend.... no time for crafting for me!!! I am teaching my first ever scrapbook layout class tonight. The class is designed for a new scrapbooker,and I'm really hoping that I can start teaching these classes on a regular basis.

Holidays layouts are always a popular choice for scrappers , so I though we would do a couple of quick layouts.

The first is a Christmas page....

The DSP and red/green/vanilla  cardstock are all  from Stampin' UP! , as well as the ink, ribbon, punched shapes and stamp sentiment. The journalling circle and border on the upper photo mat are from from non-SU stash and the glitter rim is Making Memories.The pearl is from Kaiser Craft.

Thanks for looking!

Until next time..... happy crafting!!!!

Blogger Award

Hi all! We're back from our trip to the beautiful Bahamas ... it was sooooo nice  there, all warm and sunny! I'll post some pics later on!!But now I'm home to SNOW!!!! UGH!! Didn't the groundhog promise an early spring???? There's no sign of it coming any time soon!
 I missed some many great challenges while I was away , but I did get a pleasant surprise while I was gone. The  talented Theresa  gave me my first ever blog award!!! Thank you so much Theresa! Go check out her blog.... you'll find loads of inspiration there, I promise!!!

We're supoosed to share eight things about oursellf and  then forward this award to eight bloggers.

Hmmmm, lets see, eight things about me....

1) My favorite season is fall , cause I love all those colors!!

2) I love to my music super loud and I sing along ( somewhat badly, but I don't really care!!!)

3) I love taking pictures and I always have my camera with me.

4) Whenever we go on vacation, I visit the local scrapbook store ( if possible).

5) I hate ( and am terrified of) scary movies!!!

6) I like things organized but I never seem to stay that way!

7) I hang on to way too many pieces of scrappaper..... could this be an addiction??? LOL

and finally......

8) My IPad is my favorite electronic device!!

Now  , to share this award with eight talented bloggers........

Patricia @ http://www.mycraftycreationspatricia.blogspot/.com

Julie @ http://www.thetuckerwolekclan.blogspot.com/

Lauren @ http://www.llaurenb.blogspot.com/

Pauline@ http://www.thepursuitofstampiness.blogspot.com/

Norma @ http://www.pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com/

Anita @ http://www.scrappingwithglitter.blogspot.com/

June @ http://www.simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Melissa @ http://www.melissa-moecreations.blogspot.com/

Please visit these ladies blogs, they are all amazing and talented!!