Hats and Hats

You know what takes the sting out of Monday?? Making CAS cards! The challenge today was to make a masculine card. I love this set of men's hats, and I love my scor-pal. Finding the right ribbon was the hardest part, and with the amount I have, it took about 4 seconds!! We had a great weekend, and now that I have posted, I have a chance to look around this morning.

We are expecting the H-H-H day (hazy, hot, humid), so I will be spending some time by the pool. Paul, Debbie, and Jake will be here later this morning. We love to have them come. That's it for me, now off to see you. Have a great day, my friends!!

Hoot If You Love RED!

Well, darn! I had no intention of doing the IC today, so I just took a quick peek, and I saw this baby owl stitch kit: http://www.curiosityshoppeonline.com/baowlstkit.html and that's all it took! If you go there and look, you'll see how cute and RED it is! I really didn't have time to do it, but I squeaked out a few minutes, and here it is. We are off for the weekend, so no commenting today, but I'll be back on Monday. I put this in the RedDivas gallery as well, if you want to go there. Bye!

Third and FINAL post!!

These two cards are for the other CASDT challenges. I think you could see them better on my SCS Gallery! Once I had the stuff out, I figured there was no reason not to! I harbor no illusions that I will be chosen to be a CAS team member, but I have enjoyed so much making CAS cards in the past few months.

I appreciate your interest in looking at my blog. Now I'm off to look at yours!! Have a great day!!

Ladybug Autumn......2nd post today

I took a look at Miss Boo's DT Challenge call, and was hooked by the second challenge.........a clean and simple card with shades of brown and one tiny spot of RED. Well, if you know me, you'll know the clincher was the tiny spot of RED! I used three different colors of brown, plus the satin brown ribbon, which I love. For the RED, I used a small brad with tiny dots of black which I made with a sharpie. I love this look!! I also love the new set, Autumn Days. I hope you like it too! Please take a look below for my first post.......my DGD's smiling face!

Samantha's Braces Are Gone!

This is my granddaughter Samantha, who is 12. She called us yesterday with wonderful news...... she is OUT of braces!! Her teeth are beautiful!! I asked her how it felt, and she said she had a lot of room in her mouth, all of a sudden. I asked her what she was going to do about that, and she replied,"Fill it up!" I figure she will be eating Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter sandwiches, gummy bears, and all the things she hasn't been able to eat for quite a while!! I thought you might like to see this happy and smiling face!!

Autumn Trees

How cool is this.......a wood bg for autumn trees!! I just noticed it (obviously I'm not smart enough to plan that!!)! This is for the WT today - variegated something. I chose to use variegated ink, which I think makes FABULOUS FALL cards. Thanks for joining me here today. Make it a good one! Oh! Almost forgot....I put this in the RedDivas Gallery on SCS because I thought there was enough to qualify. PLMK if you think that's okay, or if I should remove it. Hugs!

Out-of-the-box Baby Giraffe

This card is doing double duty today. The sketch at SCS is easy, and so different. I wanted to make a nontraditional card for my cousin's baby boy, and I think these colors are great together!

This is also for the Doubledog Dare Challenge, and I am this week's hostess. I dared the group to make an out-of-the-box card.......no other requirements. I love the look, and seldom do it......I wonder why that is??? Anyway, if you would like to join us in this challenge, just put DDC in your keyword. Simple.

Have a wonderful day. Hugs. And if you didn't see my BIG NEWS yesterday, check below.

Big News!!

I am pleased to announce I have been asked to join the Divine Divas! Lori Rider contacted me, and I promptly accepted the new challenge! The Divine Divas Inspiration Challenge (DDIC) posts every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. Above is the Badge I am adding to my blog sidebar, and this is the list of members of the DDIC Team:

Angela Jones

Chat Wszelaki

Chris Olsen

Julie Warner

Keri Brown

Lori Rider

and ME!

I am so honored to be a part of this fabulous group of creative artists! Watch for the DDIC here on August 20th. That's when I submit my first post. YAY!

Bleached Trees

I have to admit that this is my all-time favorite SU set, Lovely As A Tree! Whenever I'm stuck for an idea, this set jogs my memory. The CC today was very interesting..........bleach, take the color that comes from it, and add a neutral. I chose a very dark RED, and the vanilla it became with the bleach, and black as a neutral. Instead of doing a bg, I used the image itself as my focus, and had this fabulous matching dp to go with it! I had a little trouble with what to do with embellishments. I didn't want to overwhelm the trees, but it looked a little bare. I hope you don't think the corners are over the top.......the ribbon works really well I think. Anyhow, I am pleased with the results. I decided to also post this card in the RedDivas gallery. It's dark, but still the right color, don't you agree??? Have a great day. Hugs to you all.

Bling Anniversary in RED!

Happy Monday! The headache I woke up with is finally gone, and I have been to my addict...ahem...craft room for the CAS challenge. Today we had to use BLING, and I think this anniversary card says it all. I even used my xyron for the FIRST TIME....can you believe it?? The dress is paper pieced, and I knew I could never get the glitter to stick with just my glue pen, and then I remembered that I had that sticky machine. Now that I have used it, I think I'll leave it out. Who knows what will hapen next?? I HAD to do RED today. Isn't her dress glamorous in the RED glitter??? I also used gold metallic for the stars and under both the image and the heart punched border. This card also qualifies for the RedDivas, and if you make a card (in my favorite color), you can add it to that gallery here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=all&si=RedDivas&what=keywords

The only requirement for the RedDivas is that you have used RED.

Thanks for looking, and have a great day!!

Roses For My Sweet Joanne!

My VERY DEAR FRIEND Joanne (sleepyinseattle) is the FS at SCS today!! How wonderful, and about time, too! Joanne is so fabulously creative, and so willing to share her expertise with us all! Congratulations Joanne! I am in and out of her gallery, so it was especially hard for me to choose a card to case, but I finally chose this one called Here For You :

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1359230?&cat=500&ppuser=14567

Joanne makes such beautifully embossed roses. Rather than try to replicate hers, I changed the image to one that is smaller, and used two roses. Never again will I emboss white on white and then try to cut it out!! I had to keep turning it to catch the light so I could see where to put my scissors!! Oh well, live and learn! I also reversed the colors and orientation. I hope you like my version of her card, although I could never do what she does!! Congratulations again, Joanne!!!

Sage is food, right?

The challenge today was to use only food colors and a food as a theme. I figure a take-out box of rice covers the theme, and I used Vanilla and Sage as colors. They are spices, but I think they are food too, aren't they? My friend Heather K. (tankgrl) sent me the template for the box, and I just love it! Thanks, GF!

Mom arrives this morning for the weekend. We are planning a quick trip to Ink About It, then back here for a day with son Paul and family. Tomorrow we go to DGD's Irish Step-Dancing Competition, then to friends' for dinner. In between, mom and I will make....oh....maybe some cards!!

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by. Hugs to all.

Pleated Harlequin

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! This card was a real nightmare! The challenge was to make a card with pleats. Sounds simple, right? WRONG! I thought I had this great idea to make the skirt and neck ruff in pleats, and it would be fun and cute. I couldn't get the pleats to stay down. I must have tried every kind of glue, paste, tape, and sticky stuff in the universe, and I'm still not pleased. Needless to say, this will not be repeated! I love this image, I love the print pattern stamp for the bg, I love the RED as you well know, and I love punches and gold metallic paper. I don't love pleats.

This card is also for the RedDivas, a group of us who really love one color, and whenever we make a card in this color, we put that in our keywords. If you would like to be one of the RedDivas, the next time you make a card that fits, please join us. We have a fun gallery on SCS. Take a look.

Have a great day.......we have errands, I'll be reading by the pool, and then to DS's for a corned beef dinner......he's been corning the beef himself for a few days! (He's a wonderful cook!) Hugs to you all.

CBC#71 Wood is the Theme!

The theme of the Creative Belli Blog this week is WOOD. I got a little crazy, and decided to make a wooden 'out-back' house that is virtually IN the forest. I made a bg of leaves, then ran the cs through the cb of Forest Branches after I rubbed it with brown. You can figure out the rest. The girls of the Belli Blog have made some amazing cards. Please check them out, and if you care to join us, post your card to CBC. We'd love to see what you can add to ours!!

Time Runs...........

I am no longer suffering withdrawal! The sketch challenge today gave me an opportunity to use a stamp I bought in NH in May. Isn't it incredible????????? My only dilemma was in choosing which of my RED markers and paper I would use! The clock and the main panel are distressed, and the sickle is silver embossed. I had lots of fun making this card today, and I hope you get a kick out of it too. Oh! and it is also for the RED Divas! Thanks for joining me today.

CLOSE TO RED Roses for the DARE!

Is Cameo close to RED???????????

A twofer today.......for the CC aat SCS, and the Dare. This week's hostess, Beverly (beestamper) gave us this sketch to follow, so I thought I'd combine the two. Please join us...the sketch is wonderful! I spent a lot of time on this card, and now that I see it blown up, there are some things I would change if I were doing it again. For one thing, I would make the panel smaller so you could see the roses by the trellis THAT TOOK SO LONG TO CUT OUT! And I would use a thinner ribbon so things were easier to see. The sentiment is a little off......well, you get the gist.

Another lovely day......DS and family are coming back with steaks for the grill. We'll be outside all day, and they will probably stay to play cards and listen to the RED Sox, so I may not get to your blogs today.

Enjoy the summer......it's going FAST!! Hugs.

Black and White and NO RED!

A quick card this morning. It's going to be a perfect pool day, and I have just heard from #2 son Paul. He and family and a little friend of Jake's will come and enjoy the day. We had nothing planned, so this will be fun and relaxing. We will cook on the grill and just be laid back. Have a wonderful day too. See you tomorrow.

Daisies Make Me Smile!

Teresa Kline is the FS at SCS today! I love her gallery.......her layouts are simple and clean. She combines wonderful colors and images, so it was very easy to case her card. I changed the colors and sentiment, and the shape of the card to accommodate the image I chose. I saved a bunch of her cards to case later. I hope you like what I have done, and that you have a wonderful day.

Quilled and Die Cut Extravaganza!

Okay. I have NO idea in the world what possessed me to get involved in this card. It started out all right, but it took on a life of its own as it grew and grew! This is for the Limited Supplies Challenge at SCS. The supplies really are limited........only die cuts and one sentiment. This was nothing but trouble, and I really have to apologize to all the people who are great quillers (especially MariLynn!). This was my first, and probably LAST attempt. What a pain #$@%$##!! Anyway, this will never fit in an envie, and I guess it will be hand delivered to someone who will appreciate the TIME and WORK in this. I like it, but I'll never take on such a project again!! Hugs to you all!

Hello Office Friend

Here is my card for the WT today. Below is my DGS Jake, who is spending the day. We'll be playing with the star wars stuff we gave him for his B'day, and watching Indiana Jones movies. No time to check in with you today. Have a great one.