HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hey, it's not quite 2011 here yet, but I didn't want to end up forgetting to wish you all a blessed new year - a year full of love, happiness, health, and prosperity!

And since I'm at it, I'm going to share a few more cards I made for Christmas. I figure once the new year hits, I really shouldn't still be posting these...  :D

Merry Christmas!

I seem to be extra late wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. My Google Reader hasn't seen many posts the last couple of days; everyone already said it and went on blog vacation...  I'm about to start cooking Christmas Eve dinner, but I couldn't skip telling YOU to have a great Christmas! I won't stay gone long...  :)

Not My Babies!!

No, not any real babies - my cards. I just started making cards in the summer, and while I hadn't planned for them to live with me forever, parting with them is so hard! There are cards I've made for specific people; I don't mind giving them up. It's the cards that I made just because I loved an image or wanted to try a technique that I have a problem handing over. Last week, my bf asked me to make some cards for people at his job. (First commission gig!!) I made extra cards but gave him the option to pick from all of the winter-y/Christmas cards I've ever made. Some of the ones he picked were my favorites, and I'm sad that I'll never be able to go to hold them again.  :)  Is this just me? Do you ever make cards that you love so much you want to keep?

So, one of the cards I made especially for him that he picked is this one:

The digi stamp is Holly the Christmas Friendship Fairy from Michelle Perkett Studio. She's colored with Copics and outlined with colored pencil + OMS. There are a gang of Stickles, but I don't know what colors they are. I got the multipack of big bottles from Michaels, but they don't have any name or other indicator of color on them. (Help me out. They're both white in the bottle. One has gold glitter; the other has blue. The other one from the pack has green glitter.) The little pearls just arrived the other day as part of a Christmas present from my friend Theresa... I really like how this card came out and hope you do too!

Challenges: Michelle Perkett Studio Challenge - Let it Snow, Pollycraft Monday Challenge - #74 All White or Snowy Scene, Bunny Zoe's Crafts - #7 Sparkle and Shine, Bizzy Becs Store Challenge - Christmas

Turn that Smile Upside Down... Smile Challenge at Guylou's Inimitability!

I'm one of those people who is really silly and loves to laugh BUT walks around with a mean mug. It's not usually on purpose. Sometimes I'm busy trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing; other times I might be singing a song or replaying a conversation in my head. Whatever the case, random folks like telling me to smile...

Anyway... The new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is "Smile" themed! To participate, you can make any kind of card you'd like (bday, thinking of you, get well, friend, you get the point) using GI's Smile Bingo Card below and another digi stamp. If you want to be in the running for a FREE GI digi and a guest design team member spot (which will score you another digi), your second stamp needs to be from Guylou's. If you don't have any, you can purchase one/some from the GI store, OR you can sign up to follow the GI blog or join our group on CDAC and get a FREE digi stamp.  The challenge is open until 10 pm (EST) on January 6.

Here's my card for the challenge; my second stamp is Bernadette.

If any of you are in good with Santa, please ask him to drop me off some more DeLovely paper from Cosmo Cricket. I love that pack! If you care to know, Bernadette was colored with Copics, her dress is paper pieced, the butterfly punch is MS, the smiley face heart stamp is from American Girl, the pearls are Recollections, font from kevinandamanda.com, and the bingo card was colorized using The Gimp!

Okay, you made it! Here's the Smile Bingo Card:

To save the image on your computer, right click on the image and select "Save LINK  as..." so you get the large version.

Make sure you enter your project by 10 pm on Jan 6, 2011, at Guylou's Inimitability!

I can't wait to see what you make; I know it will make me smile! :D

Challenges: Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes, OSAAT - Anything Goes, AI Factory - #61 Anything Goes

Electronic Santa

First, I would like to thank two very talented ladies who have recently given away candy that I happened to win!! Lorie at The Peddler's Gallery gave away some Copic markers on her blog last weekend. There aren't any markers to win right now, but I think you should mosey on over there to see the beautiful projects she makes! Plus, you never know when she might have some other goodies... :)  The second person who deserves a big thanks is Fern from Fern's Creations. You may have seen her badge in my sidebar; she was giving away $100 and a pack of M&Ms. This morning, while still laying in the bed, I opened Reader in my phone, clicked a link, and saw my name in bright red letters as the winner of her candy! You wanna talk about excited?! Thank you both so much!!

Second, I did go download those Christmas songs from Target. I sing along with You'll Never Find My Christmas when it's on tv, but Electronic Santa is my song! :) I know it sounds crazy, but I listened to that song about twenty times in a row last night. (I was working, and it's only about two and half minutes.) I just heard it for, like, the seventeenth consecutive time but turned it off because The Sing-Off came on. I thought about embedding it on the page, but I hate when my computer gets slowed down because it's trying to load a playlist or song as I'm surfing...

And now, because I don't think the few of you who come here do it to read my dribble, here's a card!

The card is for a lady in one of the groups I'm in online. I think she got married the other day, but I can't remember when her date is/was... The card is really simple: Wedding Veil digi stamp from A Day for Daisies colored with Copics and glittered, a piece of embossing with a Fiskars Scrap Boss sheet, and some pink cardstock! (If you're interested, ADFD is giving away a free digi to the first 300 people who sign up to follow the new blog using FeedBurner...) 

Sorry this was so long!

Challenges: CES Challenge Blog - #16 Anything but a Christmas Card, Karber Weekly Challenge - #18 Anything Goes Using a Digi

Grr...

Darn Blogger's trying to ruin surprises! If you saw that, ignore it... Ugh!

Is it really almost Christmas?

First things first, I am really diggin' those weird Christmas songs that Target has on their commercials this year! I am seriously debating whether I'm going to the site to download the songs... Also, I want to say Thanks!! to my buddy Claire for giving me a Stylish Blogger Award. I just realized she gave it to me the other day!

So, I know I shouldn't post this card online until late next year. If you know why, just hush if you know the person I'm sending it to. If she happens to post it online or you know her personally, just act like you've never seen it before. If you don't know what I'm talking about, stick around until next October and all will be revealed...  :)

Anyway, I made this card with last week's Monday freebie from Marker Guru/Gurukity. She's been really sweet about giving cute digis on Mondays. The one this week is TOO adorable; you should go pick it up now then check out the goodies in the store...  Also, if you're into Copic coloring, she has some really neat tutorials including one on coloring darker skin tones. Trust me, it's way more than your usual E11/13/15 tutorial... I CASEd the card on the Repeat Impression's blog to come up with this little guy.  That paper is from DCWV, and the coloring is a mix of Copics, colored pencils, and pastels. Oh hey, I finally picked up some Stickles! (I used my coupon at Michael's...)

Challenges: Repeat Impressions - CASE #D8,  Stamp Something - Anything Goes (digi), 2 Sisters Challenge - Twas the Night Before Christmas (...not a creature was stirring...), Digis with Attitude! - Anything Goes (digi)

You Shouldn't Have...

Have you ever gotten a present that completely underwhelmed you? Something that made you want to slap the person who "thought so much" of you?  If so, you'll understand how this little guy feels...

Oh goodness, his little screw face is too much! This is Chihuahua-dolf from Digis With Attitude!, and I needed him in my life...  I made a card using sketch #168 from Mojo Monday and a perfect, FREE sentiment from Create with TLC.

In case you haven't seen it everywhere, that paper is from the Eskimo Kisses pack by Basic Grey. It made so much sense with this little reindog... (Oh, umm, Dorcas if you decide to visit, I'm borrowing your blue outlining technique because I like it so much!)

Challenges: Digi Doodle Shop's Best - #37 Animals/Insects, Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - #44 Merry Christmas, Dutch Dare Card Challenges - #92 Christmas or Winter Themed Projects, and Mojo Monday (listed above)

Stylish Blogger Award

 
Recently my online buddies Ruby from Ruby's Impressions and Lisa at Land of enCRAFTment  surprised me by giving me a Stylish Blogger Award.  Thank you both so much! To accept this award, there are a few duties I have to fulfill:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.
2. Share 8 things about yourself.
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered.
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards.

Number 1 - Check!
Number 2 - Here goes...

     1. I have a problem sharing my info on the internet; you never know who's out there!
     2. I'm a military brat.
     3. Noodles are my go to food when I'm feeling down.
     4 - 7. I'm a bit of a dork. I enjoy reading comic books, graphic novels, manga, and YA fantasy novels, taught science, and love gadgets! (Is that cheating?)
     8. I used to cry when I saw road kill.  :)

Number 3 - I read so many blogs regularly that this is a little hard, but...

     Sara - Sara's Sugar and Spice
     Barb - The Buzz
     Chris - Chris' Scrappin Fun
     Starla - Star's Stuff...
     Lorie - The Peddler's Gallery
     Dale - Dale's Treasured Moments
     Gina - Gina speak
     Pryn - So Not Mocha-vated

On to number 4! Hopefully, all of these ladies will accept their award....

I am so BLESSED!

You know how every day you know you are blessed but some days you feel it more than others? I'm having one of those days.  Sure, I had to take my uncle to the doctor and sit for hours today. And yeah, I was a little annoyed when I had to make another appointment for him for this week, another next week, and one in the beginning of January. But overall, I'm having a great day! I got a good night's sleep, had breakfast with some of my family, found out I won some goodies from the Jesus is the Reason blog hop I mentioned the other day, heard Order My Steps and the fast version of Donny Hathaway's This Christmas today (I don't like the slow one...), and got a package full of blog candy from one of my favorite card makers, Piali, in the mail today. I was also unexpectedly gifted some digi stamps the other day, and two of my online buddies gave me a Stylish Blogger Award recently. (I guess I'll do my part for that since I'm at the computer now...) Anyway, just wanted to share. We all seem extra busy right now, but go ahead and recognize your blessings big and small. It'll make you feel better!

Guylou's Christmas Challenge!

Hey! I am so happy that it's that time of the year when Christmas songs are on the radio. I swear I've heard The Temptations' Silent Night almost every day since Thanksgiving, and I am very happy about it!  In the spirit of the season, the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is to make a Christmas card. (I'm sure if you make a Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Epiphany, Islamic New Year, Boxing Day, etc. card, it will be ok too...)  Here's my card for the challenge:

 

I used Guylou's Cowboy Snowman digi stamp, Copic markers, a MS snowflake punch, some Recollections pearls, Celebrate It ribbon, DCWV paper, Colorbox ink, and my pastels to make this card. I hope you like it...

Now, I know you're busy making holiday cards, so make sure to enter at least one of them in the challenge!  You can use any stamp to enter, but in order to win a free GI stamp and a guest DT spot, you'll need to use a Guylou's Inimitability digi stamp.  (There are plenty of ways to get a free one if your money is tight like mine... Click "guylou's" in the tag list if you're interested.) I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Time to Get Back to Work!

So, I really slacked off on card making over the holiday. I had to move all my supplies out of the dining room, and toting things from an upstairs room back downstairs then running up and down for all the supplies I forgot the first seven times is not the easiest way to make cards...  I'm getting the hang of it though. I want to get the stuff organized upstairs and not bring it back to the dining room. (Christmas is coming and I don't want to start back over...)

Anyway, I made two cards yesterday. One I can't show you until the 3rd. It's for an upcoming challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. (Have you made your elegant card yet? I know you've made something that's classy/classic/elegant in the last week... Link it up!)  The second card I made was for a challenge at Copic Challenge Corner on Simply Scrapping Crafts. We were supposed to use our Copics and some other coloring medium. Here's what I made...

The image is digi stamp called A Special Gift from A Day for Daisies. I colored Mary, Jesus, and the star with Copic markers, then used my colored pencils and OMS for the background. It's simple, but I just felt like the image was enough; it didn't really need any embellishing or a sentiment. I have a feeling that I'll end up making some more copies of this card...

PaperAddict Catherine and some other bloggers are having a "Jesus is the Reason" blog hop that started this morning. I'm heading over to hit that up right now. They have a spot for faith-based Christmas projects at the end, and I'm planning to put my card there.

Blog Hop Winner!

Thank you all so much for hopping along with us and all the sweet comments about my card.  Unfortunately, I can only give away one free digi from the new release. :(  I wrote everyone's name who commented minus the other ladies on the Guylou's Inimitability DT, numbered them, then went to random.org to pick a winner. The lucky new owner of a brand new GI digi stamp is...

#19 - Renee!!

  

Renee, I sent you an email this morning with the address you have on your blogger profile. If you didn't get it, please send me a message at trina.willis at gmail dot com so that I can make sure you get your free digi... Thanks again everyone!

 

Guylou’s Christmas Digis Blog Hop!

Hey, this is Trina, the last designer on Guylou’s Inimitability Christmas Digistamps Blog Hop. I'm so excited!! We are kicking things off at Guylou’s Inimitability where you will start and end the blog hop. If you are here from Tracy's blog, you’re doing great! If not, please start at Guylou’s Inimitability or refer to the blog hop list at the bottom of this post to find your way. The hop will be open through Sunday, November 28th at 9:00pm EST.  

Guylou’s got some adorable new Christmas images to show you which are available NOW at Guylou’s Inimitability Online Store!

 

What is a blog hop without a prize??? One lucky winner will be drawn at random from the comments on this blog post to receive one digistamp of her/his choice from Guylou’s new releases, and a grand winner will be selected on Guylou’s Inimitability Blog to win all five new releases. You must comment on all the blogs participating in this blog hop in order to qualify to win the grand prize.

 

Eight designers are hopping along, each creating something amazing with Guylou’s new Christmas digistamps. I created my card with the darling digi called “Gabrielle with Lamb.”

I think this is a perfect image for Christmas. I colored her robe with what has to be the least cooperative Copic marker ever made... :-s  At a different angle her wings look really glittery since I used a Sakura Star Dust pen on them, and her lamb has some Studio G flock on it. The ticket is from Tim Holtz, and in the background is one of my favorite songs, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." (I really love a bunch of Christmas songs. One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is that it is the beginning of Christmas songs on the radio!)

 

Hope you enjoyed my card! Don't forget to hop along with us and leave us some love; you could end up a winner!!  If you started at the beginning, your next (and FINAL) hop is back to Guylou's Inimitability! Hope you've had fun!

The blog hop goes like this...

1.       Starts at Guylou’s Inimitability Blog

2.       Brenda

3.       Carmen

4.       Dale

5.       Gina

6.       Guylou

7.       Kim

8.       Tracy  

9.       Trina <= That's me!

10.   Finishes at Guylou’s Inimitability

Scraps of Color

Well, I did make it out this morning. My mother, cousin & I rolled out and were surprised that there weren't big crowds at any of the stores we went to. I got a new all-in-one printer, but I have to check it out online before I take it out of the box... You know!

And now here's a little something for you!

Get your FREE subscription to Scraps of Color Scrapbook Magazine today!  All you need to do is visit their site at http://www.scrapsofcolor.com and sign up!  That's it, no strings attached!  They have a SUPER Creative Team ready to thrill and delight you throughout 2011!  First issue arrives February 2011!

How cool is that!  I'm already signed up!

Stay tuned for their page call announcement and a wonderful December filled with ideas and inspiration by the fabulous SOC Girls and a super BIG BLOG GIVEAWAY!  Don't miss a minute of the scrappy inspiration!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, I hope all of you in the States had a good Thanksgiving holiday. If you aren't here or didn't celebrate, I hope you had a great day anyway. I did good and didn't completely overeat, but I still ate enough to feel like it was around 11 p.m. when it was really only 7:30! I spent most of the day cooking and cleaning, and it is definitely catching up with me...  And I'm debating if I'm going Back Friday shopping. My laser printer and scanner both died on me recently. My old inkjet is still kicking, but I really need some replacements!

Okey dokey, I'm thinking about hitting the hay.  I hope to see you on Saturday for Guylou's Inimitability's blog hop!

Sharing...

Hey out there! I have a few things to share with you today...

First, I got another card from my Secret Pal! She is a much better SP than I am because I forgot that post takes time and didn't make a card for my SP for Thanksgiving! My SP sent me a very cute Thanksgiving card. Thank you!!

Next, is a card I made today for my BF's mom. A few weeks ago we all went on a trip together. She saw me coloring and asked if I like those "big-eyed things." (I was coloring a page of Some Odd Girl digis.) I took that as a hint to not use any cartoon-y images on her card.  :)  The stamp on the card is from The Paper Studio's Botanicals & Birds set. I was amazed to see that it's the same butterfly on one of the pages in DCWV's Garden Party stack. For some reason I keep forgetting that I got a gang of Colorbox inks from eBay; I used it for the butterfly, CTMH mini hearts, and ticket edges. A ticket from Tim Holtz, ribbon from Michael's, and a Rose Quartz Love Letter flower from Prima round out the supplies used for this one... I think this is the first card I've made without coloring. And I found challenges! Top Tip Tuesday - Layer Upon Layer and A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes

The last card I made last week but wasn't sure if I was going to send it to my Secret Pal. I think I can manage to make a few of these since it's only a 3x3 card. The stamp is from the dollar section at Michael's. (I'll put the company's name later; I forgot to bring my notepad downstairs with me...) The angel is colored with Copics and a Sakura Star Dust pen. I used the pen to go over the stripes on the argyle paper too. (Paper from DCWV.) And challenges for this one too - Incy Wincy Designs - #69 Blue & White and Pollycraft Monday Challenge - #71 Blue.

Thanks for reading through all that! Don't forget the Elegant Challenge at Guylou's and the blog hop this weekend!

16 minutes...

According to the linky thing, that's how long I have to edit this card and get it submitted to the first Anita Be Stampin Challenge. The image is a free digi named Missy; she's available to members of the ABS group on PCP. I colored her with Copics and used some pastels to smear some color in the background. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I'm going to finish editing in Picnik and pray that the colors look right. (Monitor issues...)

I got it in with a few minutes (seven) to spare... This was a sketch challenge, and hopefully, no one will mention that I skipped the ribbon and bow and used a flower instead. Y'all know I just started making cards in the summer and don't have that many supplies. I do what I can...

Exciting News!!

Guylou's Inimitability has new digis just in time for Christmas card making! To celebrate, the DT is hosting a blog hop! The fun will go from 7 a.m. (EST) on Nov 27 to 9 p.m. EST on Nov 28.  Did I mention there will be prizes? One commenter on each blog will receive a digi from the new release, AND if you comment on all the blogs in the hop, you'll qualify to win all five new digis! 

Now I know you might be full of turkey on those days, but there are only ten stops on this hop. Unlike some hops, it won't take you the full two days to get through it. (You can take breaks if you want to...) Plus, there will be prizes! Make sure you put it on your calendar now because I'm expecting to see your beautiful face in my comments section this weekend!

Candy Alert!

If you're like me, you see most blogs via Reader. I have subscribed to what seems like a million blogs, but I actually want to read and see what these folks have going on. If you visit my blog like that, I want to take a sec to let you know about two candies in my sidebar...

First, Dawn from Dawn's Craft Place has some serious progressive candy she's giving away. She's adding a prize for every 50 new followers she gets. The very first prize she's giving away... a netbook! You have until Nov 25 to enter... She had a mini giveaway last weekend to make sure people who signed up for the giveaway have read and followed the directions. I entered that too and won a shirt! It came in the mail today. Thanks Dawn!!

The second candy I want to tell you about is at Wee Memories. They're giving two prizes full of great stuff. You have until Nov 30 to enter. So far, the stats are still good for winning. Today there are less than 70 entrants... Get on over there!

Guylou's Elegant Challenge!

Guylou's Inimitability has a new challenge! This challenge is about elegance, and the DT was given this fabulous digi named Gertrude to make our projects with. Miss Gertrude so reminds me of my grandma in her wedding pic. They're both rocking the side part and curls, and my grandma has on her gloves... I swear they even have on the same shoes! :)

My grandparents' wedding pic

To enter the challenge, you need to make a card/project that you think is elegant. You don't have to use a GI image to join the fun. (If you'd like to use a GI digi on your card, you can find them in the store AND/OR you can become a follower of  the GI blog or join the CDAC group and get a free one!) You have until 11:59 pm EST on Dec 2 to link up your elegant entry. I can't wait to see what you make!

Oh, I want to thank the creator of this video which taught me that I can make flowers using those Prima e. Line flowers! Mine didn't quite come out like I wanted, but I think they look so much more elegant like this!

Challenges: Freshly Brewed Challenges - Show Us Your Style, Digi Doodle Shop - #34 Anything Goes, Hodge Podge Shop - #4 Anything Goes, Paper Romance - #25 Your Favorite Things (digi stamps and glitter), Simon Says Stamp! - Sparkle, Crafty Purple Frog - Flowers

I'm Sorry!

I forgot to put in my post yesterday that if you join the A Day for Daisies group on CDAC or SSC, you will get a free digi. If you sign up to get the newsletter, you can pick your own freebie. Plus, there's a freebie for the current challenge on the ADFD blog!

Also, if you become a follower of the blog for Guylou's Inimitability or join the CDAC group, you can get a free digi!

You know I like to keep you up on free things, BUT don't just get your free stuff and disappear on the wonderful artists who share with you. Leave them some love, show them what you make with their images, and buy something when you find spare change around your house!

It's Growing On Me...

I made a card last night simply because I needed to make a card. I only made one thing last week, and looking at this week, I knew last night was the best chance for me to sit down and finish a card. Well, after I finished, I wasn't feeling it. But I put it up in the Copic Challenge Corner on Simply Scrapping Crafts and got good feedback. I retook pictures of the card in today's wonderful sunlight, and I'm liking it more than yesterday... I even found some challenges to put it in last night! I think I'm going to send this card to the relative of a friend who has cancer. The sentiment inside is from Elzybells; I think it says, "wishing you all the best things," but I'd have to look to be sure...

 

The image is Born from Blossoms from A Day for Daisies. She was colored with Copics and her wings have a coating of that good ol' Elmers glitter. The papers are from Basic Grey's Olivia collection and Twitterpated from CTMH.

Challenges: SSC Copic Challenge Corner Nov 3 - Winged Image, Fairy Tale Challenges - Anything Goes, 365 Cards - #254 Wishes, The Crazy Challenge - #40 Things with Wings, and Little Red Wagon - Do it in 3s

New GI Challenge!

Guylou's Inimitability has a new challenge! Since Thanksgiving is coming, the challenge is to use "Happy Thanksgiving," "Thank you," or "Thanks" on a project. You'll need a GI digi for your project; if you don't have any, go to the GI store or check out the CDAC group for a freebie.  The challenge is on until November 18, and you'll receive a free digi stamp if you're the winner! For all the details and to enter the challenge, head on over to Guylou's Inimitability's blog!

This is my card for the challenge. It uses two GI digis - Cowboy Chuck and Autumn Scene. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches and made the sentiment border and stars using Microsoft Word. I know it doesn't look like it, but the circle and the plaid paper are the same color orange. (It was a bit cloudy the day I took the pic.) I used Copics, pastels, a Sakura glaze pen and an unnamed gold glitter pen to color the card.

Okay, you have until the 18th... I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Challenges:  Tuesday Morning Sketches #66, Freshly Brewed Challenges - Anything Goes, Papertake Weekly - For Boys/Men, Tuesday Throwdown - Give Thanks, 365 Cards - Loud and Clear, Digi's with Attitude! Challenges - #5 Giddy Up!! Anything Western

Meet the Design Team at Guylou's Inimitability!

Whoo! As much as I love the digis at Guylou's Inimitability, I hate typing the name!  :)  I just wanted to let you know that I've been gone for a few days; I will have some cards popping up in the next few days. In the meantime, go over to the GI blog and check out the ladies on the design team!

Louise - Part Two

I used Louise to make another card! I love that I can easily crop and resize digital stamps! This one is using sketch #65 from Tuesday Morning Sketches. When I saw the sketch, it reminded me of a card I made earlier this week with another great Guylou digi. Remember, Louise and Gabrielle are both available now as freebies at CDAC but not for much longer! If you want to get your hands on some of the other digis Guylou has, check out her store!

Paper Sundaes says that I can enter their challenge 3 times, so I'm putting both of my Louise cards in their current challenge, #41 - A Natural Woman. She's also going to hang out at the Anything Goes challenge at Crafty Purple Frog Challenge and Crafty Cardmarkers since Challenge 32 is to use a freebie!

Louise - Part One

Guylou's Inimitability gave us another cute freebie over at CDAC. This one's named Louise, and she was given to all members to use for this period's embellishment challenge. Guylou wanted us to use buttons and bows to make our cards. Well, I realized that I may need to hit up Goodwill or something because trying to find a brown button that I knew I would never need again was challenging! I tried coloring a white button and a metal button, and neither looked right when I finished. I found a tutorial for making a ribbon flower thinking that we were supposed to use ribbons and buttons... Oops! Once I finished, I didn't like that big ol' flower down there, so...

I switched it up! I used the current sketch (#47) from Sketch and Stash. Louise is part of my newest stash! She can be part of yours too if you hop on over to the challenge before Nov 3!

Paper Sundaes says that I can enter their challenge 3 times, so I'm putting both of my Louise cards in their current challenge, #41 - A Natural Woman. She's also going over to the Anything Goes challenge at Top Tip Tuesdays.

Scarecrow

I'm laughing to myself because I was really about to start with "So" again. Then I was wondering about a title and thought about that show Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I don't remember anything about the show (except that I used to watch it with my mother), but it popped into my head as soon as I typed "Scarecrow" as this post's title... (I'm dorky; I just Google'd it.)

Anyway, a few days ago I got a gang of stamped images from an image swap on PCP. Can I just say that I fell in love with Neenah paper when I started coloring some of the images? I usually use Recollections or GP cardstock without issue, but I now know why people love this paper...

This cute scarecrow was one of the images I received; I wrote down who made the stamp but can't find my note... Ha! I didn't need it. The stamp is Scarecrow Boy from Serendipity Stamps; they have some really nice stamps. They even have quarter and dollar stamps!

The sketch I used is #90 from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I got my first Glimmer Mist when I went to Archiver's this weekend. It was my first time there, and I'm very happy it's so far from my house! If only I had too much money... :) He was given a quick spritz, and now I know why y'all love that stuff! I also used two new Sakura pens I got from Theresa as part of my SSC blog hop prize to accent the argyle, buttons, and leaf border.

I'm throwing him into challenge 29 at Craft Your Passion. This week is add glitter/sparkles... He's also joining in the fun over at The Pink Elephant (challenge 86 - Brown & Orange), Top Tip Tuesday's Anything Goes challenge, and Crafty Ho's picture-inspired challenge for the week.

*Don't turn your Glimmer Mist upside down!  Anyone know how to get that stuff out of fabric?  :)

Guylou's Cute Freebie...

I like to start stories with "So." I'm not sure why, but it seems like that's the word I'm typing every time I start a blog post... So, anyway, remember that cute freebie I told you that Guylou gave us for having over 200 members in her group on CDAC? Well, I made a card with her today. This angel's name is Gabrielle, and I love that happy look on her face. (She's available FREE until Nov 12 so get on over and join the group!)

 

Yes, those squares are seriously crooked on the top row... Would you believe I actually drew a pencil line before I started so that I could line them up?! You know, I have a brown stamp marker; I think my sentiment would have looked better brown. There's always next time, right?

** Since my crafty friends are being nice, I'm going to enter this card in challenge 26 at  I Did It Creations. This week is "Anything Goes." She's also hanging out a Simon Says Stamp (Simon Says - Give Thanks!), No Time to Stamp - #162 Count Your Blessings, and Stamp Something's October Digi Day Challenge.

Guess What?

I just got a message letting me know that I was chosen as one of the new DT members for Guylou's Inimitability! I love the images Guylou makes, especially the new line of manga digis. Plus, everyone in the GI group on CDAC is so nice! I don't know if any of my followers aren't members of CDAC, but you should all be. (You are such a lovely group of twenty...) You won't be sorry if you join the GI group, talk to the other members, and start cranking out projects with GI digis! ...psst, there's a really cute freebie right now since the group has 200+ members!

I never win anything...

If you're like me, you see blog candy and never believe you'll win. You enter, but you really don't think anything will come of it... Well, I can personally assure you that it is possible to get goodies from some of these nice people in blogland! Just this month I've won:

• a free digi from Anita Be Stampin from her PCP group, 
• a candle from the wonderful Miss Barb for being a follower on her blog, The Buzz,
• free images from priscillastyles for completing a digital artist blog hop on CDAC,
• an awesome set of goodies from Theresa on her blog, The Procrastinating Scrapper, as a prize for participating in Simply Scrapping Crafts' 1st Annual Haunted Blog Hop,
• some cute Halloween stamps from Marcy on her blog, The Ardent Scrapper, during the Breast Cancer Awareness Blog Hop that Unscripted Sketches had over the weekend,
• and a free Inktegrity digi from Candy on her blog, Purple Card Lady!

Thanks again to everyone who shares their work, time, and goodies with the rest of us! Now, if you're looking for someplace where you might win, check out:

• my buddy Theresa at Crafts/Friends/Angels. She's giving away a bag full of goodies!
• another buddy of mine, Joynana, is celebrating her one year blogaversary at Love That Paper with a great set of goodies!
• Bev at All the Things I Love has 2 sets of Promarkers and 2 LOTV stamps she's giving away!
• Tracey at The Stamping Boutique has $250 in candy!

There are also some giveaways in the sidebar. Good luck!!

2 in 1!

It's after midnight, but I did finish this card before yesterday was over. I haven't put my batteries on the charger so the phone camera is still on duty. I've been trying to edit the pic in Picnik and since my monitor never shows pics right, I have to keep checking my changes on the phone... This picture looks like absolute garbage on my monitor.

This is Ice Cream Tia from Some Odd Girl. I used sketch #77 from Unscripted Sketches. They had a breast cancer awareness blog hop last weekend sponsored by my online buddy Anita from Anita Be Stampin. There were some great projects shown by the DT over there, and I won a prize!

I entered this card into Challenge 40 at Paper Sundaes - For Someone Little.

Spinning Wheels...

Hopefully, this will only be today's first card. I have so many cards floating in my head, and I'm doing a bad job of making them happen. My friend Hope asked me to make some cards for a bunch of different situations. We used to teach together, and a lot of the cards would be for school-related things. I've already colored some images and picked paper to go with them; however, I was trying to find a sketch or two to use to make sure I like the layout in the end.

I started this card with a sketch but didn't like how it was going. So, I just made it how I wanted. (Why not?) This little guy is Super Tobie from Some Odd Girl. Is he not just the cutest thing with undies outside of his pants? (Sorry the pic is a bit fuzzy. My rechargeable batteries need to be plugged in so I used my phone's camera. I think there's probably some oily finger goo on the lens, but I'm not planning to take the pic again right now. Maybe I'll change it later... Maybe. Nope! Unsharp Mask is my friend! Well, actually I did it too far, but...) Tobie was colored with a combination of Copics and my Staedtler colored pencils. I have some pastels that softened up his background. The paper is from Colorbok, but I couldn't find a name on the package. I got it from Target for a dollar... I used the ribbon loop punch from MS for the little border around Tobie, and the "WOW!" stamp is from Recollections.

One down!!  :)

Goodies

Still no cards to post, but I do have some things you might want to check out if you're a fan of free!

1. Christy @ Tiddly Inks is giving away some great candy. The best part of her giveaway is a CD with your choice of $50 of Tiddly Inks digital stamps! You have until November 4 to enter...

2. Snappy Stampin' w/Arielle has a free breast cancer awareness digi available TODAY only! You'll need to leave her a comment or send her an email to get it...

3. Jane's Lovely Cards has chosen some gorgeous poinsettias for this week's Friday Flowers from Simon Says Stamp. She'll draw the winner on Friday, October 22, 2010.

4. Bev at All the Things I Love  is giving away a Blueberry Magnolia stamp from Simon Says Stamp. She gives away something every weekend I think. You can enter the drawing until Sunday night in the UK. I'm around 3:30 p.m. EST right now, and the Mr. Linky says you have about 23.5 hours.

5. Create with TLC is having a scavenger hunt right now...

Where did the week go?

I think I made one card this week, and I can't figure out where the time has gone. I've been running family around a lot and haven't been able to just sit and create anything. I have been coloring though. A friend asked me to put some cards together for her (Thanks Hope!), and I've colored up some stuff for them. I've been working on some cards for my Secret Pal on PCP.  And I'm planning to start working on something for the new challenge at A Day for Daisies. The challenge is Black Out, and there's a cute, FREE!! digi if you want to participate!

Since I don't have any cards to post (yet), I'm sharing the cards I got the other day from my Secret Pal... She also sent me a rubber stamp. My Secret Pal is awesome!

UPDATE: I did finish two cards for my secret pal. I hate that I can't show them to you; I don't know how hard my pal will try to figure out who's sending her stuff and don't want to make it easy... I'm going to make a post for next Oct (!) when we all reveal ourselves. I'm just gonna update it every time I make something for her.

Let It Snow

I'm having a moment. I can't think of anything I want to say about this card. I like it; I think it came out really cute. I just don't feel like thinking about something to say...

 

The cute digi is Hot Co Co from A Day for Daisies. It's one I picked when I won the challenges the other day. (FYI - Every day is "the other day" for me...) Hope you can see the little pink nose & cheeks from the cold, snowy air! The sketch is #27 from Craft Your Passion Challenges.

I'm trying to make a few more cards this week, so I'm going to try not to enter this card into every challenge that I know it fits into... :)  I am going for Craft Your Passion - Sketch 27, Alphabet Challenge Blog's X is for Xmas, Craftalicious Challenge - #10 Anything Goes, Paper Sundaes - #39 A Change of Season, Stamp Something - Something Punchy, A Spoon Full of Sugar - #125 Winter Wonderland, and Ooh La La Creations Challenges - #64 Nothing Floral.

And in case you were wondering... Papers: DCWV - Christmas Combo & Glitter, atd - Christmas Party; "Let it Snow" - Mary Engelbrett; Copics; Colorbox Ink - Baby's Breath (blue); Sakura Gelly Roll pen (white), unnamed silver gel pen; MS Snowflake punch

It's Coming!

My Inkie Fingers: Digi's With Attitude! Challenge Blog launches this Friday! There's a 3 digi giveaway going on before the launch...

I live in the South...

So, this past weekend was seriously like my crafting birthday. I won the second Flower Basket Challenge at A Day for Daisies. (Challenge 3 - Lots of Layers is on now...) My name was pulled for the September Show Us Your Stuff Challenge in the A Day for Daisies group on CDAC. Michelle Perkett was so awesome and put one of my Snow Goddess cards on her blog for the big blog hop at CDAC. AND, I won a free digi from a new stamp company, Anita Be Stampin! I was way too excited all weekend... :)

Since it's been almost a week since I made anything, I really wanted to get to my new Tallulah digi from Anita Be Stampin. Anita & I sent a couple of emails back and forth after I found out I won, and I was telling her how this stamp reminds me of the Kentucky Derby and Designing Women. (Don't you miss that show?) I live in GA; this woman is - without question - a Southerner. I used Mojo Monday's Sketch #159 and came up with...

Leopard, right? Owww... She couldn't just be plain with that big ol' hat on! :) I called myself paper piecing that dress but didn't like how it came out. (The paper was too thick.) So I ended up free handing those leopard spots. And as football and Lisa @The Purple Place have recently reminded me, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so she got some pink too, Sugah!

I'm entering this card in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #159, Karber's Challenge 8 - Go Digital, Paper Playtime's Challenge #19 - Ribbons, Buttons, or Rhinestones, Cowgirl's Sunday Stamp'en Challenge - Anything Goes, Crafty Emma's #6 - Get A Hat, Stamp, Scrap, and Doodle Saturdays - Open, Fab N Funky Challenges #43 - Use a Digi, and Freshly Brewed's Anything Goes/Girlie Challenge. Also, Anita from Anita Be Stampin is giving one of her rubber stamps away in a challenge she has on PCP. To enter, all you have to do is make a card using one of her images before midnight (CT) on Saturday; she even has a free one waiting there...

**Totally unrelated, but if you use Picnik to edit your pictures, have you seen the stuff they have for Halloween? Fangs, fake beards, spiderwebs, eyeball frames, ghoulish fonts... They set it out. Picnik even has the pink Breast Cancer Awareness Frame that I used...

You Wanna Check Out...

1. Bev @ All the Things I Love is giving away some mega candy for getting over a million hits. If you aren't one of the 800+ folks who have already signed up, go check it out... There's a little less than 4 more days to enter.

2. Jane @ Jane's Lovely Cards is giving away some BEAUTIFUL flowers from Simon Says Stamp. You have until next Friday to enter.

3. Creations with Cristina is hosting a bunch of challenges for World Cardmaking Day. She also has 8!! giveaways just for leaving comments on the giveaway posts. I think the challenges are only good today, but the giveaways are accepting comments until Oct 4...

Super Short Notice!

Hey, not much time left on this giveaway, but if you're one of my couple of followers you may make it... My Inkie Fingers is launching a new digi line, Digis with Attitude. She's got some really cute Grumpy Gretchens already designed and is getting ready for full launch in a few days. If you see this before midnight tonight (Pacific Time), go to this page, sign up to follow, leave a comment, and throw a post on your blog for a chance to win 5!! free digis. (Right now, only 15 folks have left comments so we've all got a good chance to win...)

Snow Goddess x2

So after I shared my card with Michelle Perkett's Snow Goddess with her group on CDAC, the ladies there were encouraging me to enter the challenge on her blog. The challenge for this week is "Girlie with Bling." Well, I posted my card a little too early for that challenge, and I didn't want people to feel like I cheated. I told them I'd just make another card... Well, I made two cards! (And now I don't know which one to enter into the challenge...)

This is the first one. I colored the image practically the same as the first one. I was trying to use sketch #61 from Tuesday Morning Sketches; hopefully, I stayed true enough to the sketch for them. I'm also throwing this card into this week's challenge at Tuesday Throwdown. The challenge is punches, and I'm adding it even though I only used one punch... The Creative Cottage Challenge Blog's theme this week is "Bling," and I even though you can't see the sparkle well (she looks freckled), she's glittery! (The snowflake and ribbon too...) Creative Inspirations' Challenge is Christmas in September; I don't have a sentiment, but this is Christmas for me.

Supplies: Snow Goddess (digi) - Michelle Perkett Studio, Copic markers, Staedtler colored pencils, Celebrate It ribbon from Michael's, Stickopatomus stickers, Marvy Uchida Giga Snowflake punch, DCWV paper, MS Circle Cutter

This is the second card I made today with Michelle's Snow Goddess digi. I thought the woman looked like a winter bride, and I wanted to give her some bright colors to make this not look like a Christmas card. I used sketch #73 from priscillastyles's Midnight Madness Challenge blog. My card is somewhere between the fancy and CAS sketches.

I'm putting this card into the Midnight Madness challenge, as well as 365 Cards - #212 Girl, Green, Glisten, Crazy 4 Challenges - #56 Bling and Simple Doodles #27 - Pink & Green Photo Challenge.

Supplies: Snow Goddess (digi) - Michelle Perkett Studio, Copic markers, Staedtler colored pencils, Prima flower, DCWV paper (Nana's Nursery & something else?), Prima Sasha Collection Paper, Flat-backed pearls (colored with Copic marker) - a present from Theresa, Glossy Accents on holly leaves