It's Halloween!

I hope you're having a wonderful day regardless of your feelings about Halloween! I tell you, it would be nice if we don't have any trick-or-treaters so I can continue snacking on these Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Reese's Pieces! I so shouldn't have opened that bag early...

Here are some cards I made for Halloween. I went the easy route and used the same colors and paper pad for all three. My table was a hot mess before I started, so I tried to keep from adding too much more to it.

Halloween Helga from Talula Girl Stamps.

Image from Digi Stamps 4 Joy

Sneaker Witch digi by me from Guylou's Inimitability

Bingo at Guylou's Inimitability!

Hey there! I'm blogging from the hospital. Don't worry; I'm ok. My mom has pneumonia and is about to get some fluid drained from around her lung. (She's mostly okay, too, just in case you're worried.) **Update! We're back home and all is well. My mom says she can breathe again even though the doctor didn't drain all of the fluid. Supposedly, he got about a liter.

Just wanted to tell you about the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. This time Kim has given us BINGO! Not related to this challenge, but typing that reminded me of my grandma. One of the times she came to visit, I took her to the VFW around the corner from my house, and we spent the night playing bingo... :D

Lotus is Perplexed (digi stamp) from Guylou's Inimitability, Happy Go Lucky paper from My Mind's Eye

Anyway, I used my Copics to color up one of G's newest images for my card. My bingo is on the buttons, bling, and starts with G line. I kind of cheated with some button paper! My "G" is glitter; you might not be able to see it, but there is glitter on her eyelashes and over the sentiment.

Well, looks like we're about to get going up here. I'll be back with the rest! **If you'd like to play along, you have until 10 p.m. EST on February 28 to enter your card on the challenge blog. You don't have to use a Guylou's Inimitability stamp to enter, but there are always some freebies to be found somewhere in the store!

Off Color Challenge at Guylou's!

For some reason, my dear neighbor and DT buddy Chana decided that we needed a challenging challenge this go around at Guylou's Inimitability. As usual, I managed to forget about the challenge despite writing it down multiple times and still being on the sick and shut in list this week. (FYI - I felt way better this morning. Thanks for all the well wishes...) You'd think being home for two weeks that I would have created all sorts of cards, but eh?

Anyway, our new challenge is to use gray, blue, and orange with a humorous sentiment. Thank goodness for Split Coast Samplers; there's a spreadsheet somewhere on that site with a ton of sentiments arranged by type. I couldn't tell you where because I saved it onto my Google Drive when I first saw it, but know it's worth it if you're frugal like I am. After I read some, I found a great image to go with one I liked. So here's Francesca with a quote from Ellen! (I'm going to test that Google Drive link; it might work...)

You have two weeks to get your challenge card linked up for a chance at a GDT spot and some free digis from Guylou's Inimitability!

**Challenges: Digi Stamps 4 Joy - Anything Goes, Creative Belli Challenges - Rhinestones (I always forget to look in the bins behind my crafting area for buttons, brads, and rhinestones...), Inkspirational - Anything Goes (see pic)

I See Spots at Guylou's Inimitability

Thank you, G, for helping me knock down my paper stash a little! Guylou decided that our first challenge of the year at Guylou's Inimitability was going to be I See Dots. Well, I pulled out some of the sheets from Basic Grey's Olivia pad and colored up this super cute new image Matilda and made it work! (Guylou used this image too, and her card is SO cute!!)

If you'd like to play along, you have until 10 pm EST on January 31 to get your project linked up. AND... G is giving away her new house stamp until tomorrow (1/20) night. Stop by the blog to find out how to get it!

Snow Challenge at Guylou's Inimitability

Seriously? My tech is so not working with me today. My phone claimed that I'd posted a post, then it never showed up. Once I found it, all the text was gone! BOO!!!! Oh, and would you believe that just now a message popped up to tell me an error code to enter into the Blogger Support Group. And another one! We'll see if this post actually makes it online this morning...

But yeah, I just realized earlier that I hadn't posted about the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. I had my card finished in time to enjoy Thursday's shows (Last Resort, Grey's, Scandal!), but completely forgot about the post. You know what? That **ing error thing keeps giving me error codes. I'm just going to hit Publish to see what happens...

Okay, it wouldn't work so I copied everything I'd already typed, opened Chrome, and pasted into a new blog post. Problem solved! Very strange...

Anyway, I used part of an image, Roger and Chuck Get a Christmas Tree, for this card. Being able to alter is one thing I love about digital stamps. Sometimes I just want to color a little or blow something up huge...

Something with snow is easy, so I expect to see YOU in the challenge! You have until 10 pm EST on December 27 to get your project uploaded. You could win some digis and be a GDT in a challenge!

Last oops! at Guylou's

I also forgot my post at Guylou's Inimitability! :s  The challenge is to make a Christmas card using nontraditional Christmas colors. You have a week left! I'm using my phone to post so I'll have to add some good stuff when I can put it all in the right places...

Okay! I used a super cropped version of Bernadette for this card and some American Crafts papers that definitely don't look like Christmas.  I sure hope you join us for the challenge; you have until December 13 to get linked up at the Challenge Blog!

Challenges: Try Stamping on Tuesday - #95 Sketch, Charisma Cardz - Christmas, Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes

Yankee Doodle at Guylou's Inimitability

As I was thinking about what to make for the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability, I couldn't stop myself from singing Yankee Doodle! Why? Well, the challenge is for you to put a FEATHER on your project, and my brain thought of Yankee Doodle sticking a feather on his hat... (If I could map how my brain goes everywhere with a simple thought, you'd be amazed at what you saw.)  But wouldn't you know after all that singing, I couldn't find a single blank-ing feather?! I know I have some. My dear pal Theresa sent me some quite a while back. I found everything but those feathers.

SO... I cheated! I used a bird image! :D I figured I should get a pass for making a non-cute spooky card for the last challenge.

Super cropped Serena and the Little Bird digi from Guylou's Inimitability + BasicGrey's Hopscotch papers

If you'd like to play along for a chance at some free digis, you have until 10 pm EST on November 15 to link up your feathered project!

**Challenges: BasicGrey Challenges - Anything Goes, Mema's Crafts - Anything Goes, Papercraft Junkies - Things with Wings

123...Can You Scare Me?

Be prepared. The card below isn't my normal cute card.  The new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is a recipe challenge called "123...Can You Scare Me?". As such, I had to attempt to make something scary following the 1 ribbon, 2 embellishments, and 3 patterned papers recipe.  Here's what I came up with using the Lotus is a Bride digi...

Yeah, I had fun with this one... :D

G is such a sweetie pie; she tried to draw up some images for this challenge, and everything she came up with is CUTE! (Franken-Miguel, Felicia Witch, and my Sneaker Witch) After seeing how my LMMS leader Barbara changed up those Magnolia stamps, I figured I could turn one of Guylou's adorable stamps into something spooky! Plus, I got the stash down a little bit more!! :D

If you'd like to play in the recipe challenge, you have until 10 pm EST on Nov 1 to get your spooky, dark, or gothic project linked up. I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

**Challenges: Crafting for All Seasons - Spooky, Divas by Design - Spooky, LEJ Designs - Gothic/Dark, Simon Says Stamp - Eerie Inspiration (see photo below)

Barely Made It!

Well, it's still World Card Making Day somewhere! I made a card for the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability; Chana challenged us to use our favorite fancy die. I used the adorable Felicia Witch with Pumpkin (comes with 2 images and a bonus for just $2!!) and the Mini Film Strip die from Die-namics. I told you I was going to start using my Halloween stash - those little pics in the film strip came from a sheet of paper that came in one of those Target Dollar Bin paper packs. Agh! I was about to type that I need to see if they have any new ones this year. Um... Trina, you don't NEED more Halloween paper! I'm so bad...  ;D

Hope to see you in the challenge! You could win some free digis and a guest design team spot!

How's Your Weather?

Rainy Day Bear from Guylou's Inimitability. Outfit paper pieced w/my fav Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely then coated with Glossy Accents. Sentiment by Inkadinkado. Cloud brads from Recollections.

 Hey, I'm hosting the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability and want to see your weather-related projects! The challenge runs until 10 pm EST on October 4. One random winner will win a $10 gift certificate from Guylou's Online Store and will have the option of being a guest designer on an upcoming challenge!

I feel like I should say more since this is MY challenge, but I'm pooped! I have to get up early to go work with a gang of 4 year olds, so...

I can't wait to see what you make for the challenge!

Boo! I'm sick again!

I am so sorry. I still haven't posted Wednesday or Thursday's stuff, and now I'm sick. A teeny storm came through yesterday and messed up my sinuses. After I got off this afternoon, I took an ibuprofin, ate a bowl of noodles, and jumped right into bed. Considering how sweaty-wet I am and how cool it is in my room, I think I may have had a fever earlier... (I keep falling asleep. Must finish quickly!)

New challenge - ABC. Apple Red, Bling, and a Charm.

Anyway, I hope this Blogger app works. I didn't like the result the last time I used it, but I'm using it - from the bed - since Guylou has a LIMITED-TIME freebie that I don't want you to miss... Go to guylousinimitability.blogspot.com for the freebie code.
 
**Challenges: Feeling Sketchy - #23, The Poodles Parlour - Here Come the Girls, Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes

Carpet's Done!

Thank goodness!! The upstairs carpet is finally complete! I am on a vacuuming break right now and am completely sweat-soaked. It's hot up there and vacuums let off car-exhaust type heat. I've spent the last couple of days trying to figure out how I can rearrange my room to make space for my crafting stuff. Not that we eat in the dining room often, but I feel like I should start clearing this area out a bit. When I'm busy through a week making stuff it looks kind of like those rooms I shared the other day!

Anyway, here's a card that helped me make the dining room look a little bit worse!

I used real blush to color her cheeks. They aren't quite that pink in life, but for some reason, makeup has a tendency to really show in sunlight...

I used one of MY digis from Guylou's Inimitability for this card with some stuff I got at the recent Scrapbook Expo. Luckily, I hadn't taken the stuff out of the bag so I  could put my hands on it without rooting through the mounds of everything that now need to be put up...

Welp, back to the vacuum! (I'm letting this be today's workout...) I hope you have a great weekend!

**Challenges: Joyful Stamper - Inspire Me Fridays/AG, The Poodle Parlour - Anything Goes, Simply Create Too - Anything Goes 

A Little Something Different...

Do you ever type words then think that they look misspelled? I just typed "different" as the title of this post and was just waiting for the squiggly red lines to pop up! DOES is another word like that for me. I can't tell you how many times I've written that word and been seriously confused after... :D

Anyway, I've been working for most of the week to clear out my room in preparation for new carpet. Despite the clutter of drawers in my living room and the baskets of clothes that I've moved, the room still looks a hot mess! The man is supposed to start tomorrow, though, so I guess I'll have to move into a higher gear to get that room under control! I do have issues at times with large projects; I need something else to keep me going so I don't end up overwhelmed. So, on my moving breaks, I worked to create a little encouraging piece of art.

The colors are all a bit wonky. I could not manage to get the purple to photo right on my digital camera inside, outside, natural light, direct light, OttLite - anywhere! My phone photos with a red dot in the middle, but the shots looked way better than my camera's.

Thanks to my dear friend Dana, I transformed a Kashi bar box into a piece of shelf art to inspire me. I used a digi from Guylou's Inimitability (that I drew) then went crazy on the box. I have to say that I'm a bit amazed at how many supplies I have around the house. Granted, I used to sponsor an art club at my mother's school and was given some supplies by a very supportive, arty ex-bf quite a few years ago.  But yeah, I like her and hope you do too!

**Challenges: Come & Get It Challenges - Anything but a Card, One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi, Sentimental Sundays - Paints/Inks, Color Me Creative Classroom - AG with a Girly Twist

A Sketch with Something Trina Made!

Hey! I got to use one of my own stamps from Guylou's Inimitability for this week's sketch challenge at The Outlawz!!

Photo frame & letter stamps from Lawn Fawn - I love them!

Here's the sketch if you want to play along:

This month the sketch challenge has a $20 gift certificate to Oozak.com sponsored by our own Pat & a 20 pack of Cryogen White Cardstock sponsored by Paper Temptress as prizes. There are also the usual site-wide monthly prizes! Come on over!

**Challenges: Lia Stampz - Anything Goes, Creative Card Challenge - Black Card Stock, Jackson's Digital Expressions - Anything Goes, LEJ Designs - Anything Goes, Papertake Weekly - All Things Girly

EXCITEMENT!!

AAAHHH!! I'm super excited!! When I was brand new as a card maker, I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of awesome folks. They were all very sweet and encouraging. One of them was Guylou; she put me on my first design team and has never complained when I turn in my projects 10 minutes before the challenge is set to go live. (I work best when the pressure is on, but sometimes the time gets away from me...)  Well, a long time ago she and I were talking about digi stamps, and I told her that I wanted to draw some stuff but hadn't. She told me way back then if I ever drew something, she'd put it in her store for me. Then time went on and on...

Until a couple of weeks ago when my darling friend Dana put up an awesome video of her transforming a cracker box into a mixed media dream! She had been posting her awesomely drawn images for a while, but watching that video made me want to do all sorts of arty things. I told her so, and she told me to go for it! But I still didn't do anything.

Until...I watched a video by Marti Wills daughter who is lovingly known as Pezza. During the video, Pezza said, "I'm just a beginner artist, but I'm a good artist." Well, dang! Out of the mouth of babes, right?! So, I reclaimed my sketchbook from the mounds of stuff in the basement, watched some videos, and started drawing! And I didn't hate what I drew! (That was a feat, because I don't tend to draw people and haven't drawn anything more than a doodle in a very long time!)

So now, on to today. I have THREE stamps at Guylou's Inimitability!

Now I need to learn how to draw a body!! :D

Sharp Objects are NOT My Friends!

It is absolutely ridiculous how many times I've managed to accidentally cut myself this summer! The Ninja, random times while cutting vegetables and washing dishes, and so on... Well, yesterday I bought a mandolin to try a recipe I had seen for zucchini noodles. (I'm cutting sugar for the summer...)  Okay, so I was washing all the pieces that came with it, and I was really being careful. You know that voice that some of us have problems listening to? It told me that this one blade was clean, but I decided to keep washing. Swiped the rag across the blade, BUT WAIT! Where was the rag?? It was underneath my thumb but not in the place it needed to be to prevent me from slicing my thumb open. Coloring, typing, and using a slide paper trimmer are a lot less fun when your thumb is out of commission... I'm making it though! In fact, I even managed to make a card for the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability - Same Old Song and Dance...

That's Serena Plays Her Guitar! There are some clear embossed butterflies from Layers of Color in the background.

You have until July 26 to play along! After this challenge, we'll be having a mini summer break so you need to get on over now!

New Challenge and a Freebie!!

We just started a new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability - Pearls and Swirls!! This challenge should be easy for a lot of you, but last night, I could not get it together! The last few days all I've wanted to do was nothing! I have so many images printed up on my table, but...

Anyway, here's my card using the new Lotus is a Bride digi!

Got too happy with the blue marker!

I expect to see a lot of you in the challenge. You don't need to use a Guylou's Inimitability digi to play along, BUT G has a freebie until tomorrow night!!

Please visit www.guylou.com, add Princess Tara at the Ball to your cart and apply the code 201206-FREEBIE-PRINCESS at check out to get it free.


**Totally not related to this post, but Blitsy has the Summer pack of Distress Inks for lower than any of the other stores I checked. I'm a bargain shopper and believe in making sure I'm getting a good deal when shopping online. I have a feeling they're going to sell out of these quickly, so get on over there!

**Challenges: Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Anything Goes, Crafty Ann's Challenges - Memories are Made of This,  Totally Papercrafts Friday Challenge -  Use a Digi

CAS + Kraft!

The ladies at Scraps of Color told me that this digi looks like me. I think she does too - about 70 pounds ago! :D

So the challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is CAS + Kraft. Is this CAS enough? :D  I used one of the new images, Francesca and Ice Cream. I originally tried printing the digi right on my card, but then I COMPLETELY messed it up by trying to use my colored pencils on it. I have to find my Prismacolor pencils, because my Staedtlers and kraft paper is just a bleeping mess!

As this is an easy challenge, I am hoping that some of my lovely followers will join in! You have until 10 pm EST on June 28 to get your project in. You don't have to use a Guylou's Inimitability digi stamp to win the challenge, but if you win, you'll get some! There are freebies and plenty of amazing stamps in the store if you'd like to use a GI image and get two entries into the challenge!

Alright, get your kraft paper out and show us some CAS!


**Challenges: Stampin with the Dragon - Anything Goes, Moving Along with the Times - Let's Get Krafty, Paper Pretties - Summer Inspiration,  Crafty Ann's Challenge - It's a Girl Thing, Jackson's Digital Expressions - AG with some coloring

Me? Make a Tag??

It is very rare that I venture out of the card-making zone. It's not that I don't want to, but I really don't know how I can make the things that speak to me that I've seen other people make. One thing I see a lot as I'm out surfing through blogland is the tag. I like tags, but the idea of them is a challenge for me. Well, my lovely teammate Roxann decided that tags would be our challenge this go round at Guylou's Inimitability! No!! :D

How the heck do you photograph these things when they have floppy fibers up top??

I survived and even managed to make a simple tag that works for me.  I used GI's Baby Bear digi and some CTMH Cherry-O papers that had the colors I thought would look nice for a baby tag.

I know a lot of you are good at tag, and I know that some of you are like me and are a bit leery of them. Either way, you should come play along! You might wind up as a GDT and the recipient of some free digis!!Remember, you don't have to use a Guylou's Inimitability digi, but if you do you get an additional entry in the drawing. Plus, G has some freebies floating around if you want to try her digis out! I hope to see you in the challenge. You have until 10 pm EST on June 14 to link up your tag!

TGIF!!

WHOO!! I'm so happy it's Friday! Today was a seriously trying day at work, and I am more than happy to be home. I am overdue for The Avengers and some margaritas, mojitos, or moscato!

On a crafty note, the new challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is up. We're challenging you to use doilies! Lucky for me, I won my fellow GI DTmate Gina's blog candy a little while ago, and she hooked me up with some doilies. I used one of them (with the middle cut out in an extra attempt at frugality- yep!) along with Leah and Bra from Guylou's Inimitability for my card.

You have until 10 pm, May 31 to link up your project with a doily or two. I sure hope to see you in the challenge! There's a $10 GC and a GDT spot for the challenge winner!!

And just because I keep hearing this as I'm in the other room crafting...

 It makes me smile!

**Challenges: Lexi's Creations - Black, White + One Color, Hot Shot Craft - Die Cuts, Stamp and Create - For the Ladies