DDIC#30

Here is the image Lori, our fearless leader, chose for us as our inspiration this week. It comes to us from a place called Nostalgia Organics .

I thought the shape of the plate was really interesting, and I just loved the little rim of flowers and the bird. There were a lot of items to choose from, as well as the colors. I thought this one was very interesting!

Here is my card. I used Tapestry dowel stamps to make the ring of flowers. The bird is a punch by SU, and the tiny birds are tiny punches I got at M's.

I hope you will join us in making a card or project using the picture as inspirations, and that you will check out the DT on my sidebar to see theirs. If you post to SCS, please add DDIC to your keyword.

Hang in There!

This is my card for the Sketch Challenge today. I have had this digi image for a while, and have been just dying to paint it. Isn't it a hoot? Doncha love this fun tree frog?

I have an easy day today......DH is gone most of it. Today is the day before the Math finals at the High School, and as a volunteer tutor, he will be helping kids get ready. Since he retired, after teaching Math for 40 years, he is at the school almost every morning to give one on one to any kid who wants his services. They LOVE him (and well they should!)

Have a fun day yourself. Don't forget to take a look below, and wish Ashley Bowen a Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Blog Hop for Ashley!

Today is Ashley Bowen's birthday! She is the owner of Treehouse Stamps, and those of us on the DT wanted to send her BIG wishes by blog hopping our cards for her big day!



This card uses the set "Happy Dragon", one of the four sets that are being revealed tomorrow. I paper pieced her(she's PINK!), and added a big bow and flower to make this festive for Ashley.



Here is the list of Design Team members taking part in this special day. Be sure to check out what they have done, and be sure to send your best wishes along to Ashley!

Neva McMullen

Kelly Hampton

Maria Levine

Yaneri Rodriguez

Gloria Morizen

Katie Tate

Heather Prince

Kimberly Lowery

Stephanie Serrano

and ME! (you are already here!)

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Be sure to check in with us tomorrow for our regular Thursday Treehouse Challenge!

RED Roses and Hugs, and a Teapot Poem!

If you know me at all, you know today I am a happy camper. The CC is banana, moss and RED! That makes my whole day!

The roses are stamped on banana, colored with markers and painted, and framed. Wasn't I lucky to have this wonderful striped paper in my stash? Can you imagine the amount of dp I have with some RED in it?? The only pile bigger is white, of course.

Hope you like my card for today. I'll be back in my addict...erm....craft room in a minute to do the Teapot Tuesday challenge too. If you have time, come back later to see. Have a great day!

And now for the zany Teapot Tuesday story: The RED bus and 42,000 pencils.

Do not laugh and do not smirk,

We've been warned by Sgt. Burke.

No more pencils. That's not cool...

Break's the city's littering rule.

Breaking rules, we say, is fun.

On this bus we've just begun.

Burke, he tells us, without fail,

Any more and we're in jail!

In jail we know there is no tea,

Just BARS - hey wait! Sounds good to me!

(I'll have a wine spritzer please!)

(Sincere apologies to Dr. Seuss)

A Little Humor........

Are these cannibal images KILLER or what??????? I bought them from a company called BEEZink in Warner NH while I was on vacation. I had to have them, although there was no sentiment to go with them, and I had no idea how I would use them. BUT......I HAD to have them. Today as I was considering what I would do for the StampinB's challenge (Beach theme), I knew what I would use. As I have a number of friends who have need of get well cards, it says "Better Get..... " and on the inside, "......Better!". I think a little humor is fun for a get well card.

There. I have proved how really nutty I am. I'm not even sorry for the opening line of my comments here!! The pun was intended! Have a great day, and if YOU are not feeling so well, I hope this gives you a smile!

Combining Monday Challenges!

The challenges today on SCS were close enough that I could combine them. TLC - One layer wonder, CAS - something that flies.

Sponging around the image was the hardest part of this card. I used Chickadees and Ferns from

Mark's Finest Papers for the image, and the word "everyday", and Believe in You for the word "friend".

The only extra was to punch tiny holes for the ribbon to go through, and that took the most time!!! This will go to my friend who just had mastectomy surgery.

Have a lovely day!

Red for our FS!

This is my card for LeAnne, our FS175 today. I had lots of cards of hers I wanted to case, and really needed to do something in RED, so this is the result.

I changed her card by orientation, color, and used ribbon in place of brads.

I liked the simplicity of the layout, and will do this one again.

Have a great day.

Victorian Fern

This card is for the IC at SCS today, a beautiful site of Victorian lovely stuff. I chose to use my Stampabilities template because it looked so lacy, as did most of what I looked at.

It's also for Speedy's Friends Challenge #7: make your own DP. I crinkled up a piece of plastic wrap, and pounced it on my celery ink pad, then on white cs. Then I used olive ink for stamping ferns from Mark's Finest Papers set called Chickadees and Fern. I'm sure you can figure out the rest without my help. If you'd care to join us, you could win a stamp set by uploading to Mr. Linky at the blog.

Busy day today. I'm off shortly to see Jake (our almost 11 yr. old DGS) get his Blue belt. Then some cooking, as we are having our favorite Saturday friends, Tom and Cheryl, to come and eat, and play some cards. I will comment where I can, and do some more tomorrow. Have fun!

MFP Blog Hop Final Day!

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop! All 4 sets are available TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on June 8, 9, 10, and 11th, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12. 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day.) (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!)

The 4 winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!




Here is my card. The images come from the set called Cupcake Birthday. This is a tent topper with the big cupcake paper pieced, and glued to a big scalloped circle that is punched. The leaf and stem are out of the box! How cool is that??? The dp is from Basic Grey, and the scallop edge and candle punch are by EK SUCCESS. I used RED and green markers, and gold glitter glue. For my last card of the Blog Hop I just had to use my favorite colors!!


Be sure to visit the blogs of the Design team here:

Samantha - June Guest Designer
Nancyruth
Lois
Vicky
Jeanne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Vicki
Liz
Claudine
Dawn
Mark's Finest Papers

Thanks for taking a look, and I hope you took part in the Blog Hop! Four winners will be so glad they did!!!

MFP Blog Hop Day 3

Mark's Finest papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop! All 4 sets are available TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on June 8, 9, 10, and 11th. On Saturday, (June 12, 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day.) (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!)

The 4 winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Here is my card for the third day of the Blog Hop. The image comes from the set called More of Speedy the Cat's Friends. I used pink and white paper, with some pink rose dp for the bg. Black ink, with some highlights of pink and blue added to the cat. The accessories are: markers, punch, nesties, cb, scalloped scissors, gold cord, dimensionals and a gold cat charm.

Here are the Design Team Members to visit:
Samantha - June Guest designer
Nancyruth
Lois
Vicky
Jeanne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Vicki
Claudine
Liz
Mark's Finest Papers

Come back tomorrow for the last day of the Blog Hop!

THT053 My Colors!

What fun! I got to pick the theme for this week's TreeHouse Thursday challenge ......... so of course I chose my favorite color combination, RED, white, and black.

The set I used is called Embrace Life, and is one of the new sets from Treehouse Stamps that was just released. I copied the rose four times, cut parts out and popped them for dimension. The bg is Dotted Swiss, with a layer of punched holes. I painted the stem in celery, backed it with a black nestie, and added a ribbon, a sentiment froom the set, and some brads.

I hope you like what I did, and that you will join us in making something and adding it to Mr. Linky. Please look for us again next Thursday.

MFP BLOG HOP Day 2

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop! All 4 sets are available TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on June 8, 9, 10, and 11th, 2010. On Saturday (June 12, 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day.)(THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!)

The 4 winners will be announced on Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Here is my card for today, from the set Pears and Hollyhock. I used Basic Grey and black paper. The inks are black, summer sun, mustard, moss, and caramel. The accessories are: cb, D'Vine Swirls, punch, piercer, brads, ribbon, and dimensionals.

Here are the links to visit today:

Samantha - Guest Designer

Nancyruth

Lois

Vicky

Jeanne

Debbie

Peggysue

Faith

Vicki

Joanne

Julia

Cathleen

Claudine

Mark's Finest Papers

See you tomorrow for Blog Hop #3.

Creative Belli Challenge #93

The Belli Challenge for this week is to use rub-ons. We all have them. Why is it that we don't use them very often??? My Mom gave me these a while ago, and I put them in the box with my butterfly images, and have looked at them a few times, but they have sat there until today. I have done a shameful case of Cathleen (ctorina) and her fabulous layout! The lattice punch is so feminine, and I thought the roses and butterfly would be perfect with it. I hope you like it.

Please join us in using your rub-ons that have been just sitting around like mine. Be sure to add your card to the Creative Belli Blog via Mr. Linky, and check out the cards and projects of the rest of the Design Team. See you for the next challenge in two weeks.

MFP Blog Hop!

Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a Blog Hop! All 4 sets are available TODAY!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on June 8, 9, 10, and 11th, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12th, 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day.) (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!)

The 4 Winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!




Here is my card, using the set, Believe In You. I used Basic Grey Paper and white to showcase the wonderful image of flowers and a hummingbird. The accessories are an EK Success punch, ribbon, gold cord, dimensionals, and a charm from MFP.

Here are the links to the rest of the Design Team:
Samantha - June Guest Designer
Nancyruth
Lois
Vicky
Jeanne
Debbie
Peggysue
Faith
Vicki
Mark's Finest Papers

Please join me here tomorrow for the second day of our Blog Hop!

Erin's Rose

I really had no intention of uploading anything else today, but when I saw what had happened in our perennial garden, I changed my mind.

This rosebush was bought a few years ago when my DGD Erin's favorite color was PINK. Every year it has lots of buds, but this year it has exceeded our expectations!!! There are so many, and it smells so delicious!, that I just had to share it with all of you.

Home from Baltimore

Gee it's nice to be home!! We had a three day bus tour that took us to Baltimore MD. The reason we wanted to go was that it was expressly to see two RED Sox games. There were a lot of extras, like the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Inner Harbor, and everyone's favorite, the tour of Camden Yards that included being in the dugout, and the expensive suites at the ballpark.

The weather was just right - hot, humid, typical MD summer - and the Sox won both games. We met fabulous people, ate WAAAAAAAAAY too much, and came home at midnight last night thoroughly exhausted!! Back on the diet today. BOO!!!!!!!

Now to reality.......... I spent an hour catching up on messages, and had time to make a card that covers three challenges. Here it is.

Speedy's Friends Challenge was to use Buttons and Bows. Check.

CAS70 was to use a favorite sentiment. Who could resist Mae West and ANY of her comments? Check.

TLC276 Getting Personal/Favorite Technique. Check. I just love Clean and Simple cards and punches. I also love watercoloring and coloring with markers (I think I spent my childhood with crayons and coloring books!). The reasoon I chose MFP's Cupcake Birthday image is beacuse we are a family of chocolate cake lovers. DGD Tommy only eats chocolate cake. DD Amy eats the cake but not the frosting. DIL Debbie eats the frosting, so they swap plates!! DGD Erin LOVES cherries, and finds excuses to put them on or in anything. How could I resist using this image!!

That's it. I gotta put stuff away from our trip, and lots of stuff to catch up on. Have a fun day.

We're off!

quick note..... it's 5:30. Ready to go, hear there are T-storms all weekend in Baltimore!! see you Monday!

Challenges - FINAL upload! Phew!

Here are the cards I made for the challenges today on SCS. I'm pretty sure you won't need any help figuring out which is which!

For StampinB's - a masculine card (I think this works for a guy of any age ....all together now, "we all live in a yellow submarine"..sorry!)

For the Ways to use it - there's no place like home. I love this Victorian charmer! Nice to have that fab SU paper of houses to go with it. I bet the gallery will be full of it today!

That's all from me. Tomorrow bright and early we leave for Baltimore for three days .... two Red Sox games, tour of Annapolis, the Inner Harbor, and EATING. That may be the best part for me. Seeya.

THT052 Beach Vacation

The Treehouse Thursday Challenge this week is to make something that comes under the heading of Beach Vacation.

I couldn't resist using this cute octopus......he/she is surely at the beach. This is one of the new images in the set called Octopus Friend.

I think this is probably a girl, she has pink cheeks, and has some flowers she will certainly be putting in her...hair? Maybe she will wear them in a lei?

Please join us and add your project to Mr. Linky at the Treehouse Blog, and add THT052 to your keyword at SCS and PCP. See you next week!

DDIC#29 Butterflies

The Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge this week takes a look here at this bedroom set in Better Homes and Gardens.

The colors are so beautiful! I chose to stay with the colors of lavender, turquoise, and white. I used a new EK Success punch of a simple flower and flourish to add a little texture and interest.

I hope you will want to join us in the challenge. Please check out the other DT cards and projects to see how they have interpolated the inspiration challenge. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please add DDIC to your Keyword. See you in two weeks.

Pears and Hollyhock from MFP

I love Wednesdays! Not because the week is halfway over (when you're retired every day is Saturday!LOL!), but because the sketch challenge is posted on SCS.

This image and sentiment come from a new set from MFP called Pears and Hollyhock. The papers come from there too. I love this pear .... perfect for all kinds of things, including anniversaries. It's cut out and popped up to give it more dimension, and the sentiment is popped as well as wired to hang from the fence.

Thanks for joining me here today. Have a good one.

Hooray for Summer!!

Summer was on my mind this morning after a gorgeous sunny weekend. This card of a Pacific island of huts and palm trees is for two challenges.

The Speedy's Friends Challenge #5 is to use a silhouette. If you would like to join us, you can link your card here. This is also for the CC on SCS today.

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day celebration. We were away for part of it, then brought our DGD Erin back with us, and she stayed for a couple of days to swim, hot tub, and craft. She also did some baking, which she loves. Her cards are shown below, and I know she would love for you to comment on them. She just turned 13, and is VERY talented!! Thanks for looking, and have a lovely day.

Cards Made By Erin, age 13

Here are the cards made by my sweet granddaughter Erin, who came and stayed with us for the weekend.

She loves to make cards, and she is a wonderful cook!! She and Grampy made popovers for breakfast this morning, and yesterday she made a chocolate cake with me.

We made a nice variety of cards. Some of these techniques were new to her. Doesn't she do a fabulous job? If you leave comments here for her, she can get them on her computer at home.

Enjoy the rest of the Memorial day weekend. We are enjoying the pool and hot tub, and Grampy at the grill!

Painting for WT272

Today I tried out Yasutomo metallic paints for the first time. They are beautiful, go on easily, and are very hard to photograph.

This card will be for DH for Father's Day. He loves this kind of dog, though he would never have one!

This is a sneak peek of a new set for June from Mark's Finest Papers, and is called More of Speedy the Cat's Friends.

I used MFP papers, and added my own bone charm with copper cord on the grosgrain ribbon. The dog is popped on top of nesties. Inside it will say, "You're STILL my hero!".

Thanks for looking. Hugs to you all.

THT051 Sketch!

Isn't this a fabulous sketch for the Treehouse Thursday challenge?? Ashley gave us a beauty to work with!

I used the owl from the Graduation set at Treehouse Stamps and also one of the sentiments for this card. Mr. Graduating Owl is paper pieced and colored just a little. Isn't he cute?

There are Five new sets being released at midnight:

Embrace Life, Celebrate in Style, Beacon of Hope, Friends and Flowers, and Octopus Friend. Be sure to check them out.

Add your card to our blog via Mr. Linky, and add THT051 to your keyword. See you next week!

Sketch Challenge and the CBC (below)

The Sketch Challenge today on SCS was very simple. I used the layout to give you a sneak peek of one of four sets that will be released in June by Mark's Finest Papers.

This set is called Hollyhock and Pears.

I watercolored the hollyhock and hummingbird, punched a fence to add the sentiment, sponged the background, and added some glitter and brads for texture.

I hope you like what I've done with the sketch and images, and that you will check out MFP!

Creative Belli Challenge #92

The Belli Challenge this time is to make something using Sketch #2, and to use only FLAT embellishments. This is the layout ---------->

What I really love about the Belli Challenge is that every challenge calls for using what you already have in your stash..... no need to go out and buy something else! In this case, I had to put on my thinking cap, because I love to add bumpy layers. Making something flat is alien to me. I used a stamp I've had forever and punched it with the ticket punch as the embellishment. The sentiment (which is tiny) came from a miniscule part of a SU stamp in the set called Card Games.

I hope you will feel moved to join us this week. Please check out the DT entries, and please add your own with Mr. Linky to the http://www.bellichallenge.blogspot.com/. See you again in two weeks!

REAL RED for the CC today!

I just love it when the CC involves my favorite color!! Today, the additions to Real RED were Kraft, Bermuda Bay, and ruled paper for dessert. I had this wonderful kindergarten paper, and made a kindergartener to match.

This is one of the new images I got on vacation. I think this little girl from MFT is just so sweet. I'll be sending this to my BFF in Northport FL, who I miss every day, especially when I'm in the hot tub with my coffee in the morning. She loves to do that too, so I have her in mind daily!

I haven't made a flap card in a long time. I didn't really plan it, it just took on a life of its own. I hope you like it. Hugs to you all .... have a fun day.

Black Magic in RED!

What fun to be back to do the challenges!! Today, Holly chose to have us use the Black Magic technique.

Of course I had to use a very dark RED, which in morning light looks brighter than it actually is.

This will go to Mom as a thank you for all she did for us on vacation ..... after all, it is her condo!! Thanks for looking, and don't forget to check out the Halloween cards we made together below.

Back From Vacation.....Here's the PROOF!

Gee it's nice to be home! I love going away, but after a while, HOME sure sounds good!

Here is the proof that Mom and I made Halloween cards. We got a really good start on the number we have to make, but we need to do a lot separately, as we send to many of the same people ..... especially little ones. We were fairly frugal with the number of stamps we took, and we promised each other we wouldn't bring a lot of paper, but you know how much we all LOVE paper. I brought no RED, since I couldn't justify a RED Halloween card, but I did manage to sneak in a pink one of little pigs (you know, Pig Out. It's Halloween!)

Now I'm ready to get back in harness with challenges.....Boy! Did I miss those. I'm also ready to be looking at all your blogs and galleries. A slow laptop just didn't cut it, and besides, we had other things to do, like SHOP. I got lots of new wonderful stamps and some embellishments, and only bought 4 sheets of paper. Wow! was I good.

I missed you all. I want to thank those of you who sent me such beautiful (and mostly RED) carrds for my birthday. They were all so appreciated. Back later with a challenge. Hugs!!

THT050 CC by Yaneri

It's Thursday, and the Treehouse challenge today is colors, chosen by Yaneri! Pink, sky blue, cream, and brown are her choices.

I used www.treehousestamps.com image of a sandcastle from the set called Fun In The Sun.

We hope you will join us. Be sure to add THT050 to your keyword, Add to Mr. Linky on our blog, and remember to look at the entries made by the rest of the DT. See you next week!

DDIC#28 Simple Flowers

The Divine Inspiration Challenge this week comes from an advertisement for Clinique. I really liked the white background and the beautiful flowers. I wanted to keep that simple theme, and all I added was the lavender butterfly.

I hope you will join us in the challenge, and will upload to http://www.divastamper.blogspot.com/ and link your project so we can see what you have done. You can also see the DT's entries by clicking on oour names. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please add DDIC to your keyword.

On Vacation But BIG NEWS

We are starting our second and final week of vacation in NH. We have had great weather, great food, and are spending our money as fast as we can. We have gotten some FABULOUS stuff, some much needed containers, and are still at it!


The BIG NEWS is that I am officially a DT member of Mark's Finest Papers. Faith made the announcement yesterday on the BLOG, and I will be using her wonderful images, papers, charms, ribbon, and what-have-you for the next six months! I am very excited to begin!


Mom and I have been making Halloween cards, and when I get home will post our fun creations. stay tuned.

THT049 RELAX!!

It's Thursday again, and time for the latest TreeHouse Thursday challenge. Today, the theme is Masculine cards or projects.

How fabulous to relax with a hot cup. My DH brings his coffee to the porch every morning (and mine too!) to enjoy the start of the new day.

I chose to combine two different TreehouseStamps sets.... Fun in the Sun, and Friends and Lattes. I think this is a card for a guy because it tells him (0r ALLOWS him) to relax. No guilt!!

Feel free to join us. Add THT049 to your keyword, and check in with the DT to see what they've done!

Belli Challenge #91 Holes! and My Birthday!

As you see this card for the CBC today, I am on Vacation in NH, and

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

The theme for this week is HOLES. They can be punches, eyelets, etc., whatever you have in your stash that makes a hole.

This week we are sponsored by

http://www.sewmanycards.com/. We were kindly sent images to use for this challenge, and I chose these frogs, called Freddie and Frieda. They are printed on dp and cut out. I think they're kinda cute, in a froggie way! Please visit our sponsor, and tell them we sent you.

Also, please check out the rest of the design team, upload your own entry to Mr. Linky at our blog, and you could win some neat stuff!! Please put CBC91 in your keyword at SCS. See you in two weeks when I'll be home!

Speedy's Friends Challenge #2

Today is Speedy's Friends Challenge, to use corner punches. I couldn't resist doing one last card, even though I have put most of my supplies away to take on vacation.

What you see here is NOT going with me, except for the stamps. I got out my crimper, which doesn't get a lot of attention, to give a little texture to this paper pieced flower from MFP. This set, called Camellias and Apples will be released this summer.

Please join us in the challenge. Link your entry to Mark's Finest Papers blog, and you may win a stamp set of your choice!!

Bye all. See you on the 24th, when we return.

Inspiration Challenge

The inspiration challenge today at SCS takes us to a site called HUSET, a Scandinavian store selling items for home and family. I found a wonderful RED candelabra to use for this card, and just had to surround it with my Dala (Swedish horses).

I actually combined this challenge with the QFTD08, which was posted yesterday. The chosen queen was Lynn (allee), who has the most beautiful gallery, and she is known for her layered images. Her card that I cased however is CAS one, that I felt really worked with this Huset one.

Today I am packing for our vacation. We leave early in the morning. I'll be picking up Mom on the way with her stuff (mostly crafts like me!), and we'll meet DH at a restaurant for lunch. He'll have a computer so I can upload, but my comments will be few as we will be off and running. Be back home on the 23rd. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Cherry on Top Birthday

I hope you can see the shine on the cherry and leaves. They were done with Sakura Gelly Roll pens. The challenge today was to be 'gellin'', so I used both those and my white gel pen as faux stitching.

It seems I never have enough birthday cards, so I was glad to add one to my stash.

The cupcake is paper pieced, and came from the June release of "Cupcake Birthday" at

Mark's Finest Papers. This is a really fun set, with cake slices, lots of sentiments.......be sure to check it out!

I am starting to pick out the things I'm taking from my craft room for vacation. So hard to make choices!! working with just a few things is so different than having everything at your fingertips!! Packing the clothes for two weeks is easy.....and I am ready for whatever weather NH has to offer!

Third and LAST post for today!

The problems at SCS continue. Here's hoping that by being shut down today, they can resolve the glitches!!

This morning, Julia posted early, so a few of us got a chance to post our entries for today's challenge, PINS.

I used Mark's Finest Papers paper, ribbon, and charm, and a fabulous image from the set called Pears and Hollyhock, that will be available next month.

A little framing, some painting, a little Asian character from Inkadinkado, some gold cord, and pin completes the card today. I hope you like it.

Please look below for the Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge, and for the TreehouseThursday Challenge. They were both fun!!

DDIC #27 Inspired butterflies

Today's Inspiration Challenge for the Divine Divas comes from The Inglenook Decor Photo gallery and has some really interesting bits and pieces to choose from. Frames, butterflies, shells, silver jewelry, necklaces.....WOW!







I chose to go with the lacy frames and butterfly images, and used only the white and silver metallic. I used no stamps or ink, but had fun with my piercer, nestabilities, and punches.



Just for fun I added some silver pearls, and a strip of Martha stewart paper lace flowers I've had for eons.



Please feel free to join us in the challenge, and be sure to check out what the other Divas have done with this by going to my sidebar and clicking on their names.

see you in two weeks with another fun Inspiration piece!!

THT048 Sketch

It's Thursday again, time for the Treehouse Thursday Challenge. This week we have a sketch as our project. I used the palm tree from the new digi set called

FUN IN THE SUN!

The colors are all from Stampin' Up, before some of them are retired. I tried to get in all the elements of the beach on a summer's day......sky, water, sand. The additions are raffia and brads.

Please join in on the challenge, upload to Mr. Linky at
http://www.treehousestamps.blogspot.com/. You just might win some wonderful images!! Check out the DT's cards and projects too! See you next week.

Back to RED today!

I just LOVE the sketch challenge today......an easy layout, and wide open to any color or image!!

My granddaughter Samantha, an incredible animal lover of cats, dogs, horses, etc., is turning 13!! on the 27th of this month. This card is for her. It will certainly put a smile on her beautiful face!

All supplies are from Mark's Finest Papers. The image of the cat is from a set that will be available next month, called MORE OF SPEEDY THE CAT'S FRIENDS.

I hope you think this card will be fun for Sam, and that you are happy to see RED again from me!! Have a wonderful day my friends!!

Final Mother's Day Card for Mom #7

This one finishes the cards I send to Mom for the week of Mother's Day. I had intended (and had promised) to make a RED card, and then I saw the challenges today at SCS, and here's my story (to coin a Mothermark phrase):

The colors prescribed were Gable Green, Lovely Lilac, and Cameo Coral. Very hard to sneak a little RED into that mix, so I just went with those colors, plus my neutral white.

The MMTPT92, however was a different story! The theme is Hocus Pocus, what is missing? In my case, what is missing (you guessed it) is the RED! There were 42,000 RED blossoms on this exotic lilac tree, and when the blooms were picked, all 42,000 of those little bitty flowers fell apart. Honestly!! David Copperfield couldn't even make them reappear!! That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it! LOL!