Happy Snowman

I just love this snowman image from Holly Berry House!! He's so jolly! Even though he's a pain in the **** to color, I always love the results. Today he is bright with markers, and the RED really makes a statement, don't you think??? I had fun doing the new Easel Card technique, and it's so easy, I'm sure I'll make more of them. I'm getting a good dent in the number of Christmas cards I need to make.......when we go to NH in November, that's the only stuff I'll take with me.
We had a wonderful day yesterday, watching three of our grandchildren perform. John and Tommy play Pop Warner Football. The day was bright and sunny, but chilly with a pretty good wind. At eight and nine, they are so cute in their football pads and helmets with these little bottoms in spandex pants! DH took lots of pictures. I'll have to post those later. Granddaughter Erin, who is 12, had a cheerleading competition at Assumption College in Worcester. It was fascinating to see what these girls can do! Her team got a first place Trophy!! It was in the gym, so it was pretty loud (and so was the guy I was sitting next to!!!), but I could see everything!! Such fun!!

Today is R & R time. It's chilly here, leaves are changing quickly, and I dread the winter ahead. I think I'll just focus on today. Have a great one, and thanks for joining me here. Hugs.

Parisian Peacock

I don't always do the Inspiration Challenge, but today when I looked at the incredible choices, I fell in love with the glass wall hanging of the peacock. I took a picture of it so you could see how closely I followed the design. After two days of no stamping, I was entertaining thoughts of doing something in my favorite color, but this piece was too beautiful to pass up. DH and I have had a busy couple of days, in spite of the fact that he has a pulled muscle in his groin (EEEEEEEEEWWW!!), and has a terrible head cold. We managed to go off our diets, but are still within reach of our goals. I have less than 6 pounds to go, and I am feeling better in my body.

I woke up with a headache, but I never let that stop me from stamping. I have two design team cards to make for the middle of next week, so I'll be working on those today. Tomorrow we are going to watch the DGS's (age 8 and 9) play Pop Warner football, and DGD's Cheerleading competition. If I get a chance to do the FS it will be late. Have a great weekend my friends, and thanks for looking here again. Hugs.

Round Two, B/W/ and RED!

I really did like the sketch challenge this morning. The snowman card I made got me to thinking about how many Christmas cards I have made, and how many I need. I like to do each one differently, and that takes time. October isn't too soon to start. I checked my list, and I am not even halfway there, so here is another card for the sketch.

I love silhouette stamps, and I think this one from The Paper Garden is wonderful. I wanted to add something with a little pizzazz, and pomegranate ribbon seemed to work the best...........and you know how I adore any shade of RED. I have no idea what the company is that made the bg print.....I had just a little piece left.

I like this one a lot. I hope you do too. the rest of the day I'll be glued to the TV.......baseball at its best!! I just love the playoffs!! Bye!

Unassembled Snowmen

For the SC today, I had some Christmas dp right on top of my table. I love this saying, and this snowman paper seemed to be just perfect. I had to just cut one out and pop it up.

I also had my new MA snowflake punch there, and went nuts using it. All the extras that punched out got used too.

Yesterday after all our errands, we went out to lunch (falling off the diet), but we were so good! Steak and veggies, a glass of wine, and I still lost weight! How great is that??! Today I promise to be good.

Have a great day! Hugs to you all!

Doubledog Dare Challenge

Today I am the hostess for the Doubledog Dare Challenge. I challenge you to make a masculine Get Well card. No ribbon or flowers allowed. Anything else goes. If you play along, please put DDC in your keyword. Mine is here, combined with the CC on SCS.

The colors for today are mellow moss, kraft, and white craft ink. I really like this combination, and it was so easy to use with the DDC. I love this ship stamp from Post Modern Design (it's a cube!), and it shows up better than I thought it would with the white ink. I made some waves, added brads and a hand written sentiment, and that was enough.

We are off to the grocery store and a few errands, so I'll be checking back in with you this afternoon. Happy stamping!

Animals for a Monday!

Happy Monday! Well, that weekend really flew by! Mom was here and enjoyed the WCMD Challenges, and so did I. We got the first group of them done before company came for dinner. I did the rest after she went home in the morning.

The cards for today are for two different challenges. The leopard is for the CAS35, which had a wonderful website from which to choose inspiration. I chose a pillow that was done in a leopard pattern. Luckily, last week I had gone to M's, and they had a sale on animal print ribbons. Gimme some of those!!! Bought some for me and some for Mom too. I love the In The Wild set..........great leopard, don't you think???


The second card I made was for the Technique Lover's Challenge. Today Lynn had us make Faux Suede, and IRL it looks like it! Very simple.......rub the CS against a table or anything with a hard edge and break the fibers. Then when you separate them, the inside looks like suede, and you get two sheets. I love this image of the peacock. I cut the thank you off the front and put it on the side of the wood so I could use the image alone. Works great!. I used my favorite MS border punch and a couple of brads. Very easy. Actually, I guess I made TWO CAS cards today.

Our leaves are turning, and lots are already falling. Our friend Cheryl looked at the driveway as they were leaving Saturday, and said, "Your tree threw up!" That's how many leaves are down!! Have a wonderful Autumn day. Hugs to you all.

World Card Making Day

What a fun day! The card posted yesterday, and all the cards that are here today were made for the World Card Making Day challenges at SCS. One was posted every hour, and I worked like crazy. When the break came at 4:00, I cleaned up, and was it ever a mess!! We had our friends Tom and Cheryl coming to join us for dinner and cards, so the kitchen absolutely had to be clear of scraps, stamps, punches, scor-pal, daubers,.......etc. you know!! Mom was here until noontime today, and she loved following along with what I was making. She is really incredible.........her 87 year-old fingers are still very nimble!! She likes to copy (CASE) what I make, so she went home with a bunch of new cards to send out.

Some of these challenges were A REAL challenge, but all in all, they were great fun. I hope you enjoy looking at what I have done. I planned to take the rest of the day off, but I looked to see who the Featured Stamper was, and when I discovered it was Lois Bak (clownmom), I knew I would be at it again!!

The deets for these cards ore on my SCS gallery if you care to look. I'll be back later with my card honoring Lois!!

By the way, I did manage to sneak in a RED card here and there! LOL!

World Card Making Day

Today is World card Making day, and Mom and I just finished the first challenge, using the sentiment as the focus......maybe the flower is a bit of a focus too, but we like what we have done. We will do a few of these, and still have time to play with a few techniques we have yet to try. Check back with us later, there may be more here to see.

These cards will be sent to the troops. Do some of the challenges for those guys and gals who can't rush off to a store to get one for a special occasion!!

I'll Have a RED Christmas!

I love Elvis's song, "Blue Christmas", but that's NOT my idea of the holiday.............mine is RED. Now isn't that a big fat surprise!!

The LSC today was to make a card or project with a Christmas tree on it. I love this big tree image by Paper Inspirations, and Versamarked it on a piece of RED paint chip. I had a whole bunch of assorted gems...little ones....that were left over from other things, and some wonderful new Martha Stewart ribbon. How's that for limited supplies and CAS?

Mom is on her way to spend the weekend, so my time for commenting is a little short, but be assured I am checking out your blogs and SCS with her.

Thanks for looking. Have a fun day.

A Nutty Morning!

Literally from the sublime to the ridiculous! The WT challenge this morning was to pizzazz up your sentiment. I thought I would look in my sentiment drawer for a word or two, and came up with "Greetings From the Nut House", which this is at all times. In place of the nut, I stamped an acorn to match this wonderful paper from The Paper Patch. Then I dug out my MOMR faceless Mona Lisa, and my favorite Groucho face, put one over the other, and voila - a card for a friend who will think this is funny.

I was in that kind of mood this morning....you know, the one where everything strikes you as hilarious???? I seem to have a lot of them (could it relate to being retired???)

Anyway, I hope you get a smile or a chuckle out of this. Don't let me be the only one who sees the humor in it.

Have a great day. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal, or at least more normal!

Divine Divas Inspiration Challenge #13

The DDIC this week comes from art.com and the painting below called "Golden Day II" by Jo Moulton. I really love the soft hazy quality of the colors, and the squared off layout with the leaves and swirls.



My card on the right continues the Autumn theme, but with some changes. Rather than keep the tile-like background, I used a soft dp and burlap. I liked the branch and abstract designs, so I put those in mine too. My single tree is sponged to give it the same look as the painting. Couldn't resist adding an organdy ribbon, could I? I hope you like it.



Please be sure to check out the blogs and galleries of the design team, to see their cards and projects inspired by this fabulous art (located on the left side of my blog), by highlighting their names.



If you would like to use this art piece as inspiration for a card or project of your own, Please upload it to SCS with the keyword DDIC.



Join me here again for the next DDIC in two weeks, on October 15th.

Two Challenges - SC248 and Belli (below)!

A day for challenges!! If you know me at all, you know I can't go many days without making a card with some RED......so here it is. No stamping today on this one, just a variety of punches. I've had this wonderful RED plaid paper for ages, and it sure was time to bring it out. I couldn't resist using a fabulous ribbon, and at the last minute stuck a little snowflake (punched of course) on it as well. Hope you like it, and that you will look below at my card for the Belli Challenge too.

Creative Belli Blog#75

The Belli challenge this week is sponsored by SHIRLEY'S2GIRLS, who provided us with this fun image. Make some time to go and look at their fabulous website!!!Our challenge was to use this image to create a Halloween card with glitter or bling. I wish you could see how glittery and glitzy the bg dp with the stripes is.........perhaps I should have covered up less of it.

The purple bg is done in stripes with the cb folder, and the main panel and the dp stripes(DCWV) were cut with a Nestability. The image is colored with markers, and she is holding a tag in her hand with a spider (which I find yucky!). I finished it up with a couple of bat brads, and a variety of ribbons to match the colors.

If you would like to join us, make a card with what you have on hand - just be sure it's Halloween themed with bling! Be sure to put CBC75 in your keyword when you upload to SCS. Also, link it to our blog so we don't miss it.

Don't forget to check out the other cards made by the Belli Team. You'll find links to their blogs on the left side of mine.

A 3rd Post! Can You Believe It???

Teapot Tuesday goes on in the absence of our fearless leader. MariLynn has suggested we still have our Tea Parties while we wait for Cindy to return. She posted a lovely Autumn beauty to inspire us, keeping in mind our party will involve hayrides and warm spiced cider. Doesn't that sound heavenly?? I'm packed (a toothbrush and a change of undies!) and ready to go. The Fall leaves on the teapot made me think of Autumn Days, the new set from SU. This is an envelope card, and the two pictures show how it looks closed, and the inside piece as it comes out.

The design is by Wendy Weixler (wendybell) who graciously called me on the phone from Utah to give me the directions. I think this is such a wonderful presentation for even the simplest card. Thanks so much Wendy.........I'll be making a lot of these!!

See you tomorrow. I'm done for the day - FOR SURE!!

2nd Post for the DDC and the CC

Right after I posted my first card today (which is below), I saw that our Doubledog Dare Challenge had been posted too. I like to combine the challenges when I can, so I went back to creating.

Out Hostess for the DDC today is Beverly (beestamper), who dared us to use a sketch she uploaded to the SCS forum. If you would like to join us,please put DDCin your keyword.

Hope you like this one.

Happy Snowman - Better photo? than below???

Happy Snowman

I guess I could have chosen a better bg to photo my CC card for today. I wanted to gray to show up, and the glitter to shine. I guess it does.

I love this image from Holly Berry House! It was a good thing I got up really early this morning, because it took FOREVAH to paint. I wanted to wait for each color to dry so they woouldn't beed into each other. I like to use nontraditional colors for Christmas (in fact any holliday), so the CC this morning was just right for me.

Have a wonderful day. Hugs to you all.

2nd Post - for CAS

I decided to also do the CAS today as it was a color challenge. I thought this Make An Impression stamp of butterflies was just right. Maybe I should have used a lighter pink marker? I was afraid it would be washed out, but maybe I was wrong.

Anyway, it was fun to do while we are waiting. Great things happening here today! The guys are coming to pump out our septic system (STINKY!), and a guy is coming to measure to replace the glass in one of our sliding glass doors (we have 3 sets, and one part is cloudy). Isn't that fabulous? As a result (and because we have lost weight - 10# for me, 20# for DH) we are celebrating by blowing the diet entirely with lunch out, and dinner at DS's. Back to the diet tomorrow.

If you are still reading along, please take a look at the funny card I made earlier this morning below.

Shameless Case!

This card is a shameless case of someone from a wonderful card on SCS, but I don't know who made it. if it's yours, PLMK. The TLC today is the foil embossing technique, and how cool!....I just got the Diamond Tool folder for my CB.

The sentiment is computer generated.

My Uncle Warren is a wooden toy maker. How great is this card for him??? I have already made his birthday card, so this will just be a whatever one, which is okay. he loves to get these creations from me, and saves EVERY ONE!

Have a great day. hugs to you all.

For Nancyruth, a Story

I was so happy to see that Nancyruth Levine was the SCS Featured Stamper today! She was the first person whose card I commented on, and she sent it to me!! that's how I knew SCS was a wonderful place. How fitting that she be honored today, and with a purple card for the purple one she sent me, so long ago.

I changed the main color and image, the tie to a bow, the butterfly in place of a button, and left off the sentiment. The layout was so pretty I kept it, along with the punched edge.

I spent a busy day yesterday with DH, watched some of the RedSox before company came for dinner, and we all played cards until bedtime. Being retired is exhausting stuff!!!

Have a great day. Hugs to you all, and thank you for all your nice comments and responses to my cards. I love to hear from you!!

For two challenges today.

Yesterday DH and I spent the day cleaning. Phew! Were we ever tired!! I'll tell you how tired I was, I was too tired to stamp!!!

Today I am rested up, and back in my addic...um....stamp room. This card is for two challenges. The LSC today is really fun. We had to use things that began with the letters SOS. I used: S - swiss Dots cb folder, and So Saffron; O - I used the out-of-the-box technique; S - Scallop punches and scissors, and striped paper. For the Stampin' B's, the order of the day was watercoloring. I love to do that.

Thanks for looking and joining me here. Aren't you surprised I used yellow and green? I thought we ALL needed a break from my usual RED!! Have a great day, all!! Hugs!

Snowman in RED!

Today I combined the SC with the Doubledog Dare Challenge. The hostess for this week is Itsapassion (the Other Anne), who challenged us to make a card using the reverse punch technique. In case you don't know, that's to punch out shape(s), and use the bg. In this instance, I used both the reverse and the punched out snowflakes. If you would like to join us, put DDC in your keyword.

I also put this in the RedDivas Gallery since this card is just about all RED. And of course, I'm sure you're so surprised I would use my favorite color again!!!

The snowman on this card is a cutout I saved from a card I received last year. How green is that???

Have a great day, hugs to you all.

Happy Birthday, Dude!

Yesterday's FS, Heather, had a lot of cards I wanted to case. I decided to combine one of them with the color challenge for today. I really loved her layout, but of course I had to change some things, notably the colors! DUH!! I love the new Rich Razzleberry, and used a bunch of my punches......not much stamping involved. I hope you like it. I think it's a great guy card.

We spent the morning doing errands, and then DS and DDIL came for a quick visit, so I am only now getting to upload. The diet continues to go well, but I am starting to think about candy. Life is hard!! Have a great day, all!! Hugs!

Heeeeeeere's RED!

You just knew I couldn't go very long without making something in RED, right? Today I tried a new Technique called 5 layer button. It's really easy! The only hard part is being patient while the Crystal Effects dries! I am NOT good at waiting! Getting the floss into the holes was a good trick too, and now that I look at it, the tied floss looks like a bow tie. Hm. Didn't plan that. IRL the ribbon is a fab match to the dp. Lighting is not very good this morning. Have a wonderful day, all! (six pounds gone!)

Hooray for Heather!

Hooray for Heather Klump, she is the Featured Stamper at SCS this morning! Heather is a special friend at SCS, and she has a FABULOUS gallery! the hardest part of this challenge is deciding which card to CASE. I chose a card that was done in blues and browns, and I'm sure you're surprised I didn't do one in RED. There's always tomorrow!!

Today the pool is closing, *sigh* and grass seed is being put down where we had some stumps removed, so I'll be outside most of the day. DH and sons will allow me to watch, and that's my favorite thing!! Have a great day!

Toile Blossom for IC198

My card this morning is for the Inspiration Challenge at SCS. the item I chose was this one, a laptop cover :http://lamadesigns.com/store/show/a_o6?cat=office. This card is very simple, and it never hurts to have one available for a sympathy or even birthday. I hope you like it.

My cold is better, and I am still keeping a low profile. Friends we see every Saturday are going to be coming tonight for dinner as usual.......he has a bad cold too. What the heck, we can share our germs. WAIT!! Maybe that's where I got the cold in the first place. Hmmmmm.......

We (the Royal WE) are closing the pool tomorrow. DS #1 and #2 are coming to help. Summer really is over. DARN! Have a great weekend!!

Spooky Iris......(my 2nd post today)

Today's Limited Supplies Challenge was to make something with spooky Halloween colors. I guess it would be hard to put some RED in here, so I went with purple, green and white. I'm kinda tired of making holiday cards, and a simple floral can be used for almost everything but kids and men. I used my favorite punch, and a gorgeous piece of ribbon to add only limited supplies, and kinda like the results. I hope you do too. My headache is finally gone, I have lost 4 pounds, and the sun is shining. What more could one ask???? Have a great day!

Blog Awards

I was sent these blog awards from my partner in crime at DDC, Joan Ervin. Aren't they beautiful!!! My job is to share them with five others, and list five things I love to do. Here they are:

1. Eat brownies and chips for lunch (that's why I'm on a diet!)

2. Sit in my hot tub and pool with a glass of wine at the end of the day

3. Spend time with my grands

4. Talk to my DH and laugh (we do that a lot!)

5. Send and receive cards!

Now I pass this along to: Anne Harada, Beverly Cole, Julia Aston, Kristin Moore, and Stef Hughes. I love all your blogs and galleries!!

For My Fisherman

The WT challenge at SCS today is to make a card using numbers. My sweet SIL, Tom, is having a birthday the end of this month. He is a fisherman, when he gets the chance. He is about to be 45, and not terribly thrilled over the number. This card will go to him, and I am going through the GREAT DEBATE about what to put inside. I am tempted to put "45 is not OVER the hill, it's at the lake and OVER THE FALLS!" Do you think he will laugh? Do you think it's funny or insensitive? Let me know what you think.

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #12

This week's inspiration for the Divine Divas comes from this website of beautiful cakes http://www.letthemeatcake.net/index.php . We were to use the above wedding cake to help us make our cards. What a gorgeous and yummy looking two colors of chocolate!! And you know I LOVE to add RED, so this was easy for me! The hard part was not eating any candy bars in the process!!

Please check out the other Divas by highlighting their names on the left side of my blog to see what they have done with this fabulous cake! If you should want to join us at SCS, please put DDIC12 in your keyword. Our next challenge will be Oct.1st!!

Back to RED.........and check the CBC below too!

What a day! I have a terrible head cold, and started the morning with a mammogram. How awful is that???? To make myself feel better, I made a RED card today........I know you have been wondering when I would come back to RED!

The SC today uses a layout by my GF jojot (Joanne!), and since her fav colors are RED, black, and white, I also did this for her. Hi Joanne!!

Now there is a story with this card............ My DH has a cousin who couldn't pronounce pussywillow. Of course he can now, but not when he was little. I just had to have this stamp set when I saw the flowers because I had no pussywillows. In our house we call them POCK-A-LULUs and think of Bobby every time!! (As an Attorney in Washington DC, I'm sure he wouldn't want to reminded, but we think it's very funny/cute). That's my story. I'm going to spend this dark and dreary day with a cup of tea, continue my diet, and read. I NEED to feel better!!

CBC#74

The Creative Belli Challenge this week is to make a Fall or Halloween card, incorporating something from our sponsor, Creative Cuts and More. I chose this fun little velvet frame to show off some Fall leaves. I just loved the bg dp, and couldn't resist some ribbons and a row of brads.

Please join us in this challenge, using what you have on hand.......these challenges are meant to use what you already have!! And please check out the other girls' entries! You'll find them on the left side of my blog.......just click on their names (or see them all at the BLOG!) While you're at it, go see Creative Cuts and More.......their die cuts are incredible!!

Check out the BIG PRIZE you might win for joining in the challenge. If you should want to post to SCS, be sure to put CBC#74 iin you keyword.

2nd post......MMTPT

This is my entry for MMTPT64. You can read Mothermark's story and my comments on SCS in my gallery. This is the first time I have inked up this wonderful bear, and a first time for using a set of Camping buttons I bought ages ago. Sometimes it's a good idea to go through your stuff, and be surprised by what you have! Have a wonderful day!!

DDC and Color Challenge

This week's hostess for the Doubledog Dare Challenge is LilLuvsStampin (Charlene) who dared us to use the Crayon Resist technique. The colors that are sponged on the glossy paper are pretty in pink and soft suede. They change a little on the glossy, but they really are the same colors as the bg dp. I had some wonderful antique lace and a ribbon that matched the two colors.......that and some punching, and done. I hope you like it. I'm off to do the Teapot Tuesday #64 next!

CAS Wedding Card

I know, I know. Two days without a RED card from me. You must all be feeling my withdrawal!! Maybe tomorrow. For today, the challenge was to do a clean and simple card for a Wedding. I love to emboss, and I love the cuttlebug, and I love ribbon, and I love beads and pins. Looks like it took 5 minutes, right? WRONG!!! I labored over this!!

Do you think it was hard for me because today DH and I started our diet? We went to the grocery store first thing this morning.......there was literally NOTHING we could eat in the pantry or fridge. We really need to do this, especially after the binge we went on during the reunion!!! Back to reality.......this AM I weighed 142. YUCK!!! I'll keep you posted. Have a great day.

Come Sit By Me.......

........"If you don't have anything nice to say!" How's that for a fun sentiment??? This is the card for the FS I cased this afternoon. I had no problem finding a card I loved on the very first page!! Shannon's gallery is wonderful, so I kept the layout, and changed only the colors, image and sentiment. I hope she likes what I have done! If you check out my gallery you can compare our cards.

We had a FABULOUSLY AWESOME time at the reunion, we were all hoarse, laughed until we hurt, and got NO sleep. Perfect! Good to be home, but we had such fun!

Have a great day.