Where did the time go?

For the LAST Sketch Challenge of the YEAR(!!) at The Outlawz I made the card above. I colored this image last January during a snow storm... I know I'm not the only one who colors things then takes forever to get them on cards! ;D  The cute girl and her pup are from Michelle Perkett, our sponsor for December. The sentiment was made with Sally's ABCs from Lawn Fawn. (Got 'em at Oozak...) If you'd like to play along for a chance to win some digis from Michelle Perkett or one of the site-wide prizes ($50 at Oozak.com, $25 GC to SCACD, and more!), here is the sketch:

If sketches aren't your thing, you can also join one of the other days' challenges to be entered for the site-wide prizes...

Don't forget to pick up some stamps at the Boxing Day Sale at Guylou's Inimitability and to go get your free Saffron digi from Little Miss Muffet!

Boxing Day! + Rambling!

In case you haven't made it over, Guylou's Inimitability is having a Boxing Day sale this week! My personal favorites are the digis in the Gabrielle Series. And since you might be ready to start on Valentine's Day card already, I would take a look a Cupid and the Love Seat digis, too! Until the 31st you get half off with coupon code 2011-BOXINGWEEK!

I have been enjoying my break. So far, I've watched a number of movies. I saw Bad Teacher (crude yet funny), Horrible Bosses (also raunchy, very hilarious), and Conan the Barbarian (actually enjoyable, but I had really low expectations).

Also, since I wasn't smart enough to pre-schedule a post, I now have to tell you that I hope you had a great Christmas! A special Christmas shout-out to my new Secret Pal! I just got your card... You are on it! I've barely thought about next year's SP stuff, but your card will encourage me to get something together... Here are some of the last Christmas cards I made for this year!

This SEI paper did all the work!

Love this image from Mo Manning!

Cute Karber digi in a card for Oct/Nov issue of Ready, Set, Create!

Ah, speaking of Ready, Set, Create, you can get the current issue half off until the 29th! And if you're interested in submitting some work for the upcoming issue, check this page for the calls! You have until Jan 10, 2012 to get some projects in for publication!

Anything Goes + DT Call + Freebie!!

That's right - Little Miss Muffet Stamps has an Anything Goes challenge and a DT call going right now! For my card, I finally finished coloring Ginger; I started her for a project two challenges ago! :(

When I was busy taking care of my cousin during her cancer treatment, she had a really great nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. I know my cousin just went in for scans a few days ago, but I'm not sure if she ever thanked her nurse. My cousin just graduated with her Bachelors Degree on Saturday, and I want to thank the nurse for all her everything she did for us during the time we saw her regularly. There may not have been a graduation had she not been such a sweet, caring person! (Yes, there were plenty of other nurses involved in my cousin's care, and they all did a great job. This nurse, however, was our point person...) I also scanned the colored stamp and made some charms. They have a program at CHOA that gives the kids beads when they complete procedures/treatments. The nurses wear the necklaces, too, and I thought it would be cool to have a little nurse bead!

And because Barbara is so awesome, she's giving away a new stamp!

Saffron is dressed for the cold and is super cute! Head on over to the challenge to see how to add her to your collection! Then make sure to become a follower and enter the Anything Goes challenge!

Challenges: Bearly Mine Challenges - Anything Goes, Try it on Tuesday - Anything Goes, The Cutie Pie Challenge - Use a Sentiment

Repeat for the Sketch Challenge!

I ran away for the weekend and didn't make my card for this week's Sketch Challenge at The Outlawz before I left. I was really happy to see that I had a card from last year that was kind of close to the sketch. Even better was that the card featured a digi from our sponsor this month at the Sketch Challenge, Michelle Perkett!

Here are the sketch and my card:

I hope to see you in the challenge! Remember, we have Michelle Perkett sponsoring the Sketch Challenge, plus Oozak, SCACD, Paper Temptress, Gilli Rubber Stamps, and Anita Be Stampin are our site-wide sponsors for December!! I saw that Tiddly Inks and EK Success are also sponsoring challenges this month. You'll have to poke around the site to figure out where they are!

And just in case you haven't been to The Outlawz in a minute, Sandi and Anne from the DT have been putting out great FREE digis. We also have an active blogging group full of encouraging crafters who check in and comment at each others' blogs and an ever-growing list of tutorials! See you around!

Oh, before I forget again... Thank you Shonda (former Secret Pal) for that awesome Christmas card! My bf was over here trying to work out the mechanics behind that wobble you used for Santa! And thank you Naomi for the surprise card and GC! I'll be posting your cards later this week! :D

I'm So Sorry!

I didn't manage to make a single thing last week until Friday afternoon! That really sucked since I had two DT projects due (sorry) and orders due this week for Christmas cards... I was really suffering from major blahs; my hormones had me in a seriously crappy place. Thankfully, I feel way better now! I went to on online crafty friend's house on Saturday for some crafting (Hey Trish!), and I went shopping at Michaels, Blitsy, and Oozak yesterday... (YAY!!) At least I'll have some things to show you all this week...

And to start, here's one for the Christmas set I owe. It's serving double duty as my card for the Sketch Challenge this week at The Outlawz.

It's shinier than this picture shows. Glittery paper and Stickles...  See?

Here is this week's sketch if you'd like to play along:

This month, the Sketch Challenge is sponsored by Michelle Perkett. She's giving away some of her awesome digis! Plus, we have our monthly site-wide sponsors, Oozak, Paper Temptress, SCACD, and Gilli Rubber Stamps! OH, and it looks like Anita Be Stampin' is a site-wide sponsor this month, too! Remember, we pick all of our winners randomly; whether you're just starting or have been crafting forever makes no difference! We just want you to hang out and have a good time with us. Hope I see you there! :D

Challenges: Going Gray with Scrap-Creations - First Snow, Digital Tuesday Challenge - Winter Wonderland, Creative Card Crew - Tis the Season

**Birdie, your profile isn't set to show me your email address on the page or when you comment. The colors of the tree are  YG95/97/99...

Guylou's Inimitability Christmas Hop

Welcome, welcome, welcome! If you're here from Tracy's blog, you are on the right path. If not, then please start at Guylou’s Inimitability or refer to the blog hop list at the end of this post to get you on the right track. The hop will open today at 9:00am EST and end at 9:00pm EST tonight.

 

Before I share my card, I want to give a big welcome our new DT member Chana. Chana is such a sweet person, an awesome card maker, and someone who probably sees my smiling face every time she goes online! We run in a lot of the same circles, don't we?

 
Now, here is my card. I had an idea that I could not get to work out; I'm going to try again before Christmas, though! Even if I mess up again, I love this image and won't be too upset about making a magillion cards with it before I get it right! (And yes, this is the image I used for last year's holiday hop...)

I couldn't get a good pic anywhere! :S

Please take a moment to leave me a comment; someone will win the  "Gabrielle and Lamb" digi I used for my card!

 

Blog Hop prizes:

If you started at the beginning of the hop, you know that there is another prize for everyone who wants it! We also have a couple of grand prizes! For a chance at a $25 gift certificate and a $15 gift certificate from Guylou's Inimitability Online Store, figure out the secret phrase and enter it in the Inlinkz on Guylou's Inimitability.  Here's my piece of the pie... "MERRY AND" 

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed it! Your next stop is Kim; she has an awesome project! 

 

Blog Hop Order:
Guylou's Inimitability

Chana
Gina
Sara
Tracy
Trina <-- Estas aqui!
Kim
Carmen
Guylou

Guylou's Inimitability

Little Miss Muffet New Releases - Payton/Allison & Abby

I'm having a hard time figuring out why I still haven't finished my card/project for the Thank You Challenge going on right now at Little Miss Muffet Stamps. Projects for people I know always take me too long! When I have no one in mind for a card or whatever, I can just put whatever I want on it, color it however I feel, etc... If you want to make some thank you cards - maybe you can get a super jump on thank you notes for the holidays - please feel free to enter the challenge!

If you'd like a  little inspiration to get you going, this week's new releases include a reading duo, Allison and Abby...

and a pigtailed fisher, Payton...

*I'll have to take another pic of this after the sun comes up. My orange looks like weird yellow in all of my normal picture-taking spots...

There are two more new stamps being showcased by the team tomorrow!

Easy Sketch This Week...

I just want to let you know that we have a simple sketch this week at The Outlawz. I used a digi from Torico/Birdie Brown to make a quick, CAS (for me) card...

Sandi will be giving away some of her digis to November's sketch challenge winner, and we have site-wide prizes from Oozak, SCACD and Anita Be Stampin! You have until the clock rolls into next Wednesday to get your projects in for a chance to win!

Don't forget that I'll be in a blog hop this weekend for Guylou's Inimitability! Not only am I on her team, she's one of my teammates at The Outlawz! ;D

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! If you don't celebrate, have a great Thursday! I'm on the road and hoping that I finished setting up this mobile thing correctly. the new challenge at little miss muffett is thanks. I have a project that I was not able to finish that will, hopefully, wind up as awesome as I want it to be. Guess which little miss muffett stamp I am using for my project; when I return on saturday, I will pick 1 of the guesses as a winner to get the stamp and some goodies! leave a comment! Have a great day!

Seen Any Good Movies?

So, I really want to see the new Muppet movie, but I'm scared it won't be as good as the old ones. And even though I didn't read Breaking Dawn, I want to see it, too. I did see Immortals in 3D and loved it! Granted, I'm a bloody action kind of chick; I love awesome fights in movies!  Hugo? Puss in Boots? Happy Feet Two? Arthur Christmas? In Time? Have you seen any of these? (Yes, I love kids' movies, too...)

Well, as it is Wednesday,  I have a new sketch from The Outlawz to share with you.

Here is my card using a seriously cute digi from Tiddly Inks:

I'd love for you to join us in the Sketch Challenge - or any of the challenges at The Outlawz, really. We have a new challenge that Sandi and Anne started; they're giving digis that they've drawn to folks who create projects with their stamps... They do great work! And who could ever have too many digis?

Challenges: Tiddly Inks - Anything Goes

C'mon Black Friday!

Really, I'm excited about Black Friday. I usually go shopping with my mom in the wee hours of the morning; lately, though, we haven't found any deals worth getting up at 3 a.m. for. BUT, this year I'm excited because this darn Kohl's commercial will stop playing! I LOVE Kohl's! I mean, I've made MVC status in one trip before, but this Black Friday commercial is driving me insane and seems to come on every break... (I hope Rebecca Black got paid a grip for this. I had never seen her video for Friday until a minute ago.)

And just since I want to act mad about things... I ordered some Copic refills from Two Peas during the sale a couple of weekends ago. They've been floating around Atlanta since last Thursday and finally showed up at my house today. Let me show you some ridiculous nonsense...

Eight little bottles of refills in a 12x12x3 box??  I like Two Peas, but the shipping cost on these refills that take up less than an eighth of the box seems a bit crazy to me...

On a sweeter note, since I know that no one comes here just to read my rambling, here are a couple of cards I made for the June/July issue of Ready, Set, Create:

Heather Ellis digi + altered sentiment from TLC Creations

Best Friends digi from Whimsy and Stars Studio

Lindsay's Stamp Stuff sentiment with Cowboy Tobie from Some Odd Girl and digi paper from Peppermint Creative

The new issue is only a few days away!

Oh, Guylou's Inimitability is having a blog hop on Dec 3. It's only one day, so mark your calendar! There will be goodies all around!

New Releases

This week's new releases from Little Miss Muffet Stamps include a cute (?) snake, a fish and his bowl, and two lovely ladies. Here is Hope; she looks like she could be one of my friends with her awesome idea for taking off some pounds!

The sentiment is a freebie from Paper Makeup Stamps. A big thank you  to the ladies at Feline Playful and at Pals Paper Arts for helping with a sketch to get this card finished! I was cutting shapes and moving them around for a while before I decided to see if I could find a sketch. (smart, right??) :D

Check out the blog to see what the rest of the team came up with this week! These ladies come up with awesome stuff every week!!

Wreath Challenge at GI!

The new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is to use a wreath on your card. I used one of the new wreath images from GI to make a super simple CAS holiday card!

I went with non-traditional colors because I always love seeing wreaths in the store that aren't just green. I might go back and put some more glitter on this... (Love those atyou Spica pens!) My sentiment isn't quite as light as it looks in the picture; I put some glitter on it which didn't help it photo well...

If you want to join in the last GI challenge for 2011, please post your project on the blog before 10 p.m EST on December 1. The team has some awesome projects for this challenge! I just checked them out and can't wait to go visit their blogs!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Woohoo! Two more Christmas cards down! The first I made just because I saw this cute sheet in DCWV's Doodlin' Around stack and knew it would make for an easy, fun card...

That's Bright Lights Kaylee from Some Odd Girl getting her tree-trimming on! This card was really simple since all I had to do was color and cut out Kaylee and stamp a sentiment!

Challenges: Creative Craft Challenges - Minimalistic, Digital Tuesday Challenge - Christmas Time, Daisy Doodles - Anything Goes + a Digi

My second card is for this week's sketch at The Outlawz. Here is the sketch:

I used some paper (American Crafts + Dear Lizzy), a stamp and a snowflake sticker that were all on clearance back in the spring. I recently got some vellum, and this is pretty much the first time I've used it. After watching Kathy at The Daily Marker with all her vellum tricks, I went ahead and stamped and embossed my sentiment. The dew drop things I got from the awesome Piali last year with some Christmas goodies she gave away on her blog. Thanks again!

Challenges: Oldie But a Goodie - Let it Snow, Shopping Our Stash - Never Been Inked (sentiment)

Doors + Little Miss Muffet Challenge!

Have you ever actually looked at your doors? I don't think I pay much attention to them other than to clean seriously obvious smudges. I had to look to try to find a door that could get some decent light while not showcasing the need for a new coat of paint... :D And why was I looking so hard for this door, you ask? Well, for the new challenge at Little Miss Muffet!

The new challenge is to create something simple and add a charm. I made a door hanger to let someone's kids (not mine; they're still eggs) know that Mommy is having "me time."

The stamp is Sarah, a digi from Little Miss Muffet Stamps; she was a new release last week. The charm was sent to me by my wonderful buddy Flatback Pearl aka Theresa. It is a little book that has"ABC" engraved on it. Thanks, Theresa!

I hope to see you in the challenge! It's an easy one this time! :D

Challenges: The Paper Variety - Family,Creative Craft Challenge - Minimalist, Crafty Cardmakers - Pink, Brown, Cream, Cupcake Craft Challenges - Textalicious, Cutie Pie Challenge - Use a Charm

Marker Winner!

Hey all! I hope you had a great weekend, and if you're in the US, that Daylight Savings Time is being good to you! The winner of my set of Marvy Uchida  Le Plume Permanent Markers is...

Naomi!

Naomi, I know you're on The Outlawz, so I'm going to send you a message there in order to get your address.

Thanks to all of you who entered!

Trick or Treat!

Now, I know some of you don't "do" Halloween, but, I love it! (Free chocolate, awesome makeup, costumes!) This, however, is not a Halloween post. It is a treat, though!

A few weeks ago I won some of the new Marvy Uchida Le Plume Permanent Markers. (They're kind of like Copics - brush tip, alcohol-based ink, made in Japan.) Well, there was some sort of mix up, and I ended up with two sets of 24 markers! I called over and over until I got to speak with someone, and she told me that I could do whatever I wanted with the second set. SO... I'm going to give them to one of you! Having said that, please note that you will not get to pick which colors you want; I can only give away what I have. There are a bunch of pinks as I was lacking in that area with my Copics. Maybe I'll type the list after work tonight... Maybe...

If you're one of my followers and are interested in picking up this set, please put your name in the Mr. Linky list below.  I'll let random.org pick a winner next Monday, Nov 7. Good luck!

Turkey Challenge!

The new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is to make a Thank You or Thanksgiving card with a turkey on it! If you want to play along, you don't have to use a GI stamp, but she does have a couple of freebies floating around. There's also a $10 prize and a Guest DT spot up for grabs! Post your project over on the blog before 10 p.m. EST on Nov. 17 for your chance to win!

**Um... I should have used the same card I made for the last challenge because it worked perfectly. This week's card was so hard since I was trying not to use the same image again this week. I had to make myself not put "Thanks for everything, you ol' turkey" as the sentiment... :D By the way, the turkey is a Dover image that I printed on the Shrinky Dinks you can use in your printer.

Challenges: Freshly Brewed Challenges - Anything Goes, Paper Crafting Journey - Use a Digi, My Mums Craft Shop - With Thanks, Inky Impressions - Photo Inspiration

New Releases at Little Miss Muffet!

Yesterday Little Miss Muffet Stamps released two new images, Sparks and Sarah. Today there are another two new stamps - another Hatter and Chloe! That's Chloe in the uplifting (ha!) card above...

If you're interested in picking up any of the new stamps - or some of the older ones - now's the time to pick them up! Barbara won't be able to send any stamp orders until Sunday night. To make up for the wait, she's giving everyone who orders $10 or more a free stamp! Just include which stamp you want as the freebie in the comments section of your order.

Oh! The Clouds challenge is still going! You have a few more days to get your projects in on the challenge blog!

Challenges: Sarah Hurley - Use More Than Two Images, Freshly Brewed Challenges - Anything Goes, Paper Crafting Journey - Use a Digi, Forever Friends - Something Old, Something New (old balloon clear stamps, new digi stamp)

Rinne Has Candy + TO Sketch!

My blog buddy Rinne has been cleaning her craft area and has a big heap of awesomeness that she's planning to give away! Her candy is open until Dec 20 or 175 followers. You want to be in on this one!

Okay, today happens to be Wednesday and time for a new sketch challenge at The Outlawz!

I used Nurse Anya from The Greeting Farm, DCWV's Super Stack 7, and some Copic-colored flowers from I Am Roses.

I normally crop tight, but I didn't want you all to miss that fall action in the background...

This image has been in my bag of colored images since I started with Copics last year. I did add a little extra shading; when I originally colored her I only had that one blue and darkened the shadow by going over it a few times with that one color. This card came together pretty quickly - after the mad dash to find paper and a mini glue gun burn! That is Ice Stickles on the flowers, Distress Ink on the circle, and trim from Wrights.

I hope to see you at The Outlawz! Remember, we have a different challenge EVERY day! You're sure to find one or two or seven that you want to get in on!

Cloud Challenge!

There's a new challenge at Little Miss Muffet! If I show you my card, do you think you can guess what the challenge is? :D

Got it?? The new challenge is Clouds! Yes, you can make more realistic-looking clouds than mine.

Are you ready for the story of how I messed up on this one? Well, actually, this was a computer error. No, really; it was the computer... For some reason, one of my monsters printed out larger than the other two. I tried again by moving one of the monsters into the same place as the original large monster. Same problem! I had already colored my monster to layer her (sparkly nail polish = girl monster) so I had to improvise. I colored all the edges of the bottom monster black which is why you can see that thick edge in some areas. But look, I did manage something slightly cool on my monster:

I hope you come play along!

Challenges: Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes, The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes, Digistamps4Joy - Double Embellishment, PaperCrafting Journey - Use a Digi, Forever Friends - Anything Goes, Charisma Cardz -  Anything Goes

I Really Want Some Oreos!

Random, right? I've been eating a lot more fruits and veggies after watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix a few weeks ago. (Yes, I realize how people can turn data into just about whatever they want to, but I like having reasons to make myself eat better...) I just had a bowl of tomato soup and really want some Oreos now! I guess it's good I don't have any in the house; I can roll through half a row really quickly...

Anyway, I have a lot to share and don't want to make separate posts for all of it. So here we go!

First, a super big THANK YOU to:

• My former Secret Pal, Shonda! She sent me an awesome Halloween card! (I think I haven't shared the card she sent before this, but I did get it, Shonda!)

• BreAnn! I still haven't found the pics from the cards I sent her... She is a sweetie pie; she sent me a really cute Halloween card and bracelet that I'm almost too "fluffy" to wear. (see Oreo discussion above)  :D

 

 

• Celeste, Yolie, and Gaby! I won a prize during Link Up for Pink; it arrived yesterday!
• Bizzy Becs! I bought some images for the fundraiser for Lyndall and won a goodie bag! Sorry for the poor picture...

Next on the agenda is the new Sketch Challenge on The Outlawz.  I am still battling sinus issues brought on by the low pressure that ran through here last week. As such, I'm not really feeling well. I never seem to be at 100% (sinus issues, year-round allergies) so this really doesn't help... I didn't feel like getting out of bed to much before going to work yesterday. I had to throw my card together quickly before rushing out to work. No coloring this time! Some old K&Co paper and chipboard stickers I got on clearance last year came to my rescue!!

This is the sketch:

I have some bookmarks, too, but I'm going to save them until this weekend. I don't want to bore you to death!

Challenges: The Sisterhood of Crafters - Halloween, Tip Top Tuesday - Trick or Treat, Use it Tuesday - Colors - Orange, Black, or Purple, The Stamping Boutique - Spooky Scary Halloween

FALL Challenge! & a DT Call!

, There's a new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability! Gina has issued us a FALL challenge! This one is a recipe challenge - Fabric, Amber, Lace, and Leaves. If you want to join in the fun, you have until 10 p.m. EST on November 3 to put your project in the Inlinkz at Guylou's Inimitability.

Now, I'm not going to lie - lace and fabric were throwing me for a loop when I was putting this card together. I have some lace I bought recently, but it's black. I'd already picked out the papers, and black wasn't matching. Then I was wondering if I could  claim that lacey fabric would knock out both of those pieces of the challenge. Well, I lucked out and remembered some items in my stash... I used a lace sticker I got from Korea (via eBay) and some muslin that I bought years ago to line the inside of some pillows. And with that, here's my card using Leah Cooks a Turkey:

Apparently I like this card design. (This is almost the same as my Agent Popcorn card that was made  a few hours after this one was...)  Now, if you'd like to help inspire me with your awesomeness so that I might be able to make different styled card, maybe you should enter the DT Call at Guylou's Inimitability! The directions are here.

I hope to see you in the challenge and entered in the DT call! Thanks Paulette for the sentiment!

Challenges: CCEE Stampers - Fall, The Paper Shelter - Harvest, C.R.A.F.T Challenge - Autumn, Art Impressions Stamps - Lace

Agent Popcorn!

There are two more new stamps from Little Miss Muffet Stamps today! Agent Popcorn is the newest Operation: Treehouse girl! You can get her shooting popcorn with a slingshot or eating popcorn...

Umm... Why did this super easy card take me hours to put together?? I colored the image before I went to work then spent HOURS pulling out sheets of paper only to decide that I didn't like the pattern, color, or combo. The other ladies on the team made fabulous cards; I hope they aren't wondering how I made it! :D

Thanks again Joanne B. for sending me the filmstrip and file tab dies PLUS the MFT stamp set that the sentiment above came from!

Challenges: Shelly's Images - Anything Goes