Crafty Gals April Challenge

Good Morning!
Geez, where does the time go?  It has been a month since I posted & I truly apologize....I'll explain in another post later.  I'm just glad to have the opportunity to share a quick project with you this morning!!!

As the title of my post says; this card is for the Crafty Gals Challenge.  Our host this month is Diane & her challenge is as follows: Since April is supposed to be a rainy month in most of the country, I thought we would try a "water" challenge. My challenge to you is to incorporate water in some way on your card. It can be rain, puddles, ocean, sea, beach, lake, bathtub or anything else you can think of. In addition to the water, I want you to use ribbon, brads and patterned paper on your card. I can't wait to see your creations and I hope you all enjoy this month's challenge.

Soooo, I decided to use one of my fave retired Stampin' Up! sets called Bubble Queen because this card is also for my girlfriend Kathy's daughter Stephanie who's turning 19 on Easter.  I kept my design very simple but I did enjoy coloring that image & adding glitter to the bubbles....that's always a LOT of fun!  I hope you enjoy my lil' project as well as the rest of the Crafty Gals:
Melina
Tracie
Athina
Carolina
Barb
Diane
Lela
Heather
Patty
Jeanette

Well, I'm off to start my day & finish up the kiddos Easter Treats.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,
 
Supplies:  Bubble Queen & Teeny Tiny Wishes Stampset; Very Vanilla & Real Red Cardstock; Basic Black Ink; Real Red, Pink Pirouette & Pretty in Pink SU! Markers; Real Red Satin Ribbon; Dazzling Diamonds Glitter; Vintage Brads; Large Oval Punch; Dimensionals

Crafty Gals March Challenge

Good Afternoon Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was fantastic!!!!  We spent Friday with our son Reginald who graduated from Navy Boot Camp & he's now in Florida!  It was so great to see him & we've been talking on the phone ever since....I can't wait to get his new address so I can continue to send him happy mail!  Friday was also Bianca's 12th birthday & she was so excited to spend the day with her big brother!  He totally spoiled her too.....took her on an awesome shopping spree which took her by total surprise!  I'm so glad that he's doing very well & has such a level head....I couldn't be prouder of him!

Anywhooo, onto my post for today.  My creation was made for this month's Crafty Gals challenge.  Melina asked us to make a project with Blessings in mind using 2 different shades of green along with a thankfulness or blessings sentiment.  We had to make sure there was a nature element included and she really just wanted us to go green with our challenge so as you can see, I used Garden Green & Wild Wasabi cardstock & ink colors.  I threw in some white as my balancing color, added a couple of brads & ribbon along with a bit of texture as my finishing touches and my creation is done!  Please be sure to check out the rest of the girls creativity & leave them some love:
Melina
Tracie
Athina
Carolina
Barb
Diane
Lela
Heather
Patty
Jeanette

Well, I'm off to get ready for this weekend's Stampin' Up! regional in Milwaukee.  I need to make some swaps....nothing like working under pressure!!!  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Apothecary Art & Thank You Kindly Stampsets; En Francais Background Stamp; Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White & Confetti White Cardstock; Garden Green & Wild Wasabi Ink; Big Shot; Labels Framelits; Stripes Embossing Folder; Whisper White Satin Ribbon; Metallic Brads; Decorative Label & Scallop Oval Punches; White Gel Pen; Dimensionals

Crafters of Faith February Challenge Card

Good Morning!
I hope you've all been well.  I did have this post all typed up & ready to post on Leap Year but as you may have noticed; I have been absent from my blog for almost a month.  After mulling over the right words to say & as you may also know.....I'm always quite honest about my feelings so this is what's been going on in my neck of the woods these last few weeks......

After several phone calls informing us that a loved one has passed away; I had to take a leave of absence to get my head & heart right.  I think any normal person can deal with 1 or 2 deaths but several?!!!  We were beginning to think that there was some evil conspiracy going on!  Even though words can't really express how we feel right now; I can say that we're doing much better as a family despite the tremendous hurdles we've encountered.  You know that saying that God doesn't put more on you than you can handle?  Well, we're beginning to question that just a bit but we're still going strong despite everything that's happening outside our walls.  We realize that we have no control over who lives or dies & we're just taking it one day at a time.  I myself personally have not attended any funerals since my brothers' and that doesn't mean that I don't care.....I'm just emotionally drained when it comes to that.  Honestly, I am still pretty raw inside when it comes to my brother & even though I'm in a much better place emotionally; I alone know my limits and refuse to let *the world* tell me how to grieve for other family members.  I'm choosing to remember people in my own way through memories & photos and if they don't understand; well, that's too bad.  I have to do things the best way that I see fit & this is how I'm dealing with everything.  My husband completely understands where I'm coming from & he appreciates my show of support for him through this very difficult time even though I'm not attending funerals with him.  I thank you for sticking with me through my ups & downs and I'm very happy to be able to show a bit of creativity with you today!!!

I am the February host for our blog group Crafters of Faith & I challenged everyone to come up with a LOVE creation using non traditional Valentine colors with a nature theme & have a circle shape somewhere on their card/project.  Sounds fun right?  Well, as you can see; I used Early Espresso & Wild Wasabi along with Confetti White for my color scheme and I grabbed Kind & Caring Thoughts stamp set to fulfill the nature part of my challenge.  I went with a pretty basic layout, some awesome hardware & cute butterfly along with some scrumptious ribbon to finish it off and this lil' baby is ready to mailed off to my son when I get his new address.....yes; there was definitely an ulterior motive to my challenge LOL!!!  Enjoy the rest of the creations as well & be sure to leave them some love:
Patti Sue
Carolina
Olga
LizW
Melina
Cynthia
Liz D
Linda
Carol
Kelly

Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Kind & Caring Thoughts & Three Little Words Stampsets; Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi & Confetti White Cardstock; Wild Wasabi & Early Espresso Ink; Antique Brads; Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon; Big Shot; Stripes Embossing Folder; Beautiful Wings Butterfly Die; 1 3/4" Circle & 1 1/2" Circle Punches; Dimensionals

Crafty Gals February Challenge

Good Sunday Morning Friends!

My post for today is for the Crafty Gals February Challenge which required us to show off our recipe for love & to make sure we added a heart or two.  As you can see, I went with a pretty basic layout using Pink Pirouette & Basic Gray for my color scheme.  I also decided to add a bit of bling to my hearts....I almost textured them but changed my mind at the last minute since this lil' cutie is being sent off to my son tomorrow.  When I talked to him last week; he told me that it doesn't matter what colors the cards are that I send to him....just keep 'em coming so with that in mind---my challenge card came together quite quickly!  I'm sure he's going to enjoy this & I hope you all do as well!  Please be sure to check out the rest of the Crafty Gals cards & leave them some love:
Athina
Barb
Carolina
Diane
Heather
Jeanette
Lela
Melina
Tracie

Thanks so much for stopping by today & have a great rest of the weekend!  I'll be back with another post on Tuesday!!!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Apothecary Art & Curvy Verses Stampsets; Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray & Whisper White Cardstock; Twitterpatted DSP; Basic Gray Ink; Big Shot; Labels Framelits; Decorative Label & Heart to Heart Punches; SU! Rhinestone Jewels; White Gel Pen & Dimensionals

Crafters of Faith Monthly Challenge Card

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday Everyone!
I hope you all had a great weekend....mine was extremely busy as always but nice.  I spent yesterday making sure I have everything ready for class this Friday evening in my home & I'm pretty excited about that!  I can't wait to share my love of rubber stamping with my new friends!!!

Anywhooo, my post for today is featuring a creation I made for a blog group I belong to called Crafters of Faith.  Our leader Kelly  asked us to make something with the book of Genesis in mind while using the colors green, brown or yellow and as many embellishments as we wanted to use.  I decided to use flowers, different shades of green & brown along with pearls and some luscious seam binding ribbon to make my card.  My design is pretty simple but since it's also doubling as a card for my son.....I think it's perfect!  Please check out the rest of the creations from the group & leave them some love:
Carol
Carolina
Cynthia
Kelly
Linda
Liz
Liz
Melina
Olga
Patti

Well, I'm off to figure out dinner....I know it's really early but my DH is on a crazy schedule right now so I have to cook very early so he'll have dinner when he gets home today.  Thanks so much for stopping by & I hope you have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Flower Fancy, En Francais & Three Little Words Stampsets; Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso & Whisper White Cardstock; Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip & Early Espresso Ink; Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon; Decorative Label, Large Scallop Oval & Large Oval Punches; White Gel Pen; SU! Pearls; Dimensionals

Vintage Valentine Greetings

Good Morning & Happy Thursday Friends!
Brandon is much better & back to school this morning and I am recovering from whatever bug he had....no matter how much I wash my hands & wipe things down---I always catch his bug!  Bianca is my healthy child!  She may catch a sniffle & stay in bed but she bounces back so quickly.....kind of urks me LOL!!!

Anywhoo, my post for today is featuring my SU! Diva Swap card.  I've told you before that I'm a member of a group of SU! Demos from all over the US & we swap cards each month.  January's theme was to make a Valentine's card & I decided to go with non-traditional colors to make my creation.  I finally broke into my packages of Beau Chateau & First Edition Specialty DSP while making this card & I'm quite pleased with how it all came together.  I can't wait to get return mail & oogle at everyone else's creations!!!

Well, I'm off to take some medicine & make sure I'm not forgetting anything for my class in Bourbonnais tomorrow evening.  I haven't seen my friends since we moved & I'm very excited to be with them and have a great time!  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!!!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Supplies:  Grateful Greetings Stampset; Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette & Very Vanilla Cardstock; Soft Suede Ink; Beau Chateau & First Edition Specialty DSP; Antique Brads; Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon; Big Shot; Labels Framelits Collection; Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder; Decorative Label & Large Scallop Oval Punches; Dimensionals & Sponge

Crafters of Faith Color Challenge Card

Good Afternoon Friends!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Mine was busy as usual getting sick children back healthy, spending time with my hubby & doing my best to not get sick in the meantime.  I'm not going to jump too far ahead of myself but so far; so good with me not catching the sickies!!!!!

Anywhooo; my post for today is for a blog group that I belong to called Crafters of Faith.  Kelly, our fearless leader has challenged us to come up with different color combos for each member to make a card with....as you can see my colors were light blue, light green & light yellow.  When I first saw them; I immediately pictured a baby card but since I send my son cards just about every other day, I figured I'd make this one  for him.  He won't care about the soft colors....he'll just be happy to get mail from home!  I kept my design very simple & since I couldn't add any bling; I paper pierced the upper corners.  Don't forget to check out the rest of the ladies' work....the links are on my sidebar!

Well, it's time for me to get back to work so I'm signing off for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by & have a great rest of the day!
Until Next Time,
Hugs & Love,

Hello Blossoms Stampset; Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White & Bashful Blue Cardstock; Certainly Celery Ink; Labels Framelits; Whisper White Satin Ribbon; Dimensionals; Mat Pack & Paper Piercer