Paper Piecing Take Two

This has been the craftiest weekend I've had in a very long time. It's like I'm trying to get it all done, so I don't miss out on any of the fun. As it is, I'm off today to help rebuild a friend's company books in his new computer. His old one got struck by lightning last week, and he hadn't backed up his files in a very long time. That's two lessons in one. Have a VERY GOOD surge protector and some type of backup preferably off line. I'm looking into that one, although I do have an extra external drive.
So back to the Paper Piecing. When the DT at Phindy's Place Challenge Blog named this as the challenge, I got busy looking for papers. Both the "Just Hanging Around" image I used yesterday and the "Hopscotch" image I'm using today are two that I have been wanting to use in cards, so image wasn't a problem. You really need to check out all the images that Phindy has in her STORE. She does children that so remind me of growing up and babbies that remind me of both my grandchildren and all my nieces and nephews as babies, I simply can't resist them.

The papers that I used for this card are from a fabulous digital kit called Denim and Daisies and are from Just So Scrappy 2. It was a bargain, too and has some great papers in it. The word art is again something I created in Photoshop just for this card. I'm posting it below. Again, you're welcome to use it. If you can't click on it, and get the enlarged version, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.


Don't forget to check out the Blog Hop that's going on on the Challenge Blog to celebrate the Blog's 1 Year Anniversary. There's an extra $10 coupon up for grabs along with the usual random and Pick of the Week winners. The DT has created some awesome projects, and I promise you're in for a treat.

Thanks for stopping by. I have to head out the door and meet my walking buddy. I need some exercise after this past weekend of crafting and eating. Hope you all have a wonderful week.

Paper Piecing Per Phindy's Place

I couldn't help it with the title. This challenge just called for some alliteration in the title of my blog. I know I'm a bit strange like that.LOL At any rate, this week over at the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog there's a celebration going on. It's the One Year Birthday of the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog. There's a DT Blog Hop going on over there. If you play along, there's a chance of you winning a $10 coupon from the Phindy's Place Store. That makes 3 prizes up for grabs including the regular challenge prizes, one for random entry and one for the Pick of the Week. How can you not play along? Head over to the Hop and join the fun. You don't want to miss the fantastic cards the DT has put together either.

This week the challenge is to create a project using paper piecing. I hadn't done much of this until I became acquainted with PCP Phriend Katie. She taught me all I know about paper piecing, and I figure if she could do it holding a baby, it should be within my skill set.

I have been wanting to use this image ever since it fell in my cart. Appropriately enough, it's called "Just Hanging Around" and is one of Phindy's Summer Cuties. I can remember hanging on the side bar of the swing set like this, and once I even fell from the top of a tree(I was a full fledged tomboy), but caught myself like this on one of the lower limbs(thank goodness). I went with camouflage for his overalls, as I have a 4 1/2 year old grandson that only wants to dress like a cowboy or a hunter. Needless to say, he has lots of camouflage clothing.

The paper is all from a free kit from Summer Driggs called Courage. The brown paper in the kit was even perfect for paper piecing the tree. I finished it off with a few branchs using my Marthat Stewart branch punch.

If you've ever hung upside down, like our little friend here, you know that the world takes on a completely different perspective. I created the word art in Photoshop with that in mind. It's a little hard to read in this picture, so here's a close up of it. If the click and enlarge feature works(for some reason it's intermittent with blogger and me), you're welcome to it.

I've got another card planned, so I'm off to have some more Phindy Phun. Thanks for stopping by.

A Sassy Cheryl Sketch Challenge

Dawn picked the challenge this week over at the Sassy Cheryls Challenge Blog, and it's a Sketch Challenge this week. I love sketch challenges. I am always amazed to see how you can take one sketch and create so many cards that look so totally different.
I chose this image from the Sassy Cheryl's Store called Dancing Day. I couldn't resist her, she's just so cute and she's doing one of my favorite things DANCING! She's colored with Copics, of course.

The papers are from a free kit called Shabby Mommy from Shabby Princess. I love the papers in this kit with the almost orange pink and the yellows. The flourishes are a Sissix die cut that I found on sale the other day at Michael's for a ridiculously low price. I couldn't pass it up now could I? The flower was a white daisy that I colored with my Copics to match the colors in my papers.

It sure feels good to have my challenge card made and blogged on Saturday instead of minutes before the Mr. Linksy closes on Mondays. Wonder if I can keep this up?

Could We See a Little Stitching Please?

This week the DT at the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog has challenged us to submit a project that has some stitching. Now it doesn't have to be real stitching. So if you're not good with a sewing machine or a needle and thread, you can always create some faux stitching. Oh and just so you know there are papers and images in the Tiddly Inks store that already have stitching on them, so no excuses, just come join the fun.

I chose this image called Some Bunny for my card. I've colored her with my Copics. The papers are from my scrap stash. I drew off a diamond pattern on the back of the blue paper and then used my sewing machine and sewed along the lines. I then zigzag stitched the blue to a yellow background. The sentiment was from a pack of embellishments I found in the Dollar bins at Michaels. I went for simplicity on this one, and it works for me.

Write This Show Me Down in the Book

Yep, it's Thursday, and I'm actually blogging and posting my workspace. You better write it down, because the chance of it happening again are slim to none, leaning heavy on none. If you've stumbled on my blog and wonder what I'm talking about let me explain. Each week nosey Sassy Cheryl sponsors a challenge on her Sassy Cheryl's Blog to show the rest of us nosey Sassettes(thank you Linda for the name) what's going on in our crafting space, or kitchen or yard or wherever we're working at the time. For being willing to share, you have a chance to win a free Sassy Cheryls' image from the Sassy Cheryl Store. The way I look at it, it's a Win, Win. After all who doesn't like being nosey, and who wouldn't want one of Sassy Cheryls delightful images. There's definitely something for everyone.

So here's my workspace this Thursday night. I really had planned on working on a challenge card that had to be done today. However, due to bad weather and a friend's computer getting fried, I had to forego the crafting hat and the crafting to put on my technical funnel(Do you remember Tom Terrific from Captain Kangaroo?). I had my image and my papers all picked out. I had my sketch book out trying to decide on a layout. It's all moot now, as I've run out of time.

Check back next week and hopefully I'll have something really creative going on.

Make it Purple and Teal at Phindy's Place

This week's challenge over at the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog was to create a project using purple and teal. I was so excited to be able to play this week, so it was a delight that I also get to use one of my favorite color combinations.

Add to purple and teal that you get to use one of the cute Wee Babbies, and color me happy. This image is called "Special Day", and it's one of the newest Wee Babbies to be found at the Phindy's Place Store. She's such a sweet heart with that little top knot of hair that just had to be colored red. She's colored with copics.

The paper is from a digital paper kit. I'm not at home while I'm writing this, and don't have access to the external drive where my paper is stored. I will come back and tell you who to credit for this great paper.

Hopefully, tomorrow when I get home, I'll have time to make a second challenge card.

Spring is HERE!

Spring really has arrived here in Mississippi. Even though we're still having some chilly days(after all Easter hasn't passed yet), but we've also had some days that were more like summer. You ask how I know Spring is really here. Simple, the pecan trees are leafing out and they're the very last tree to leaf around here. This week's challenge on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog is to create a Spring Project. I chose this image called Buttercup Suzy to use for my card. She actually looks a lot like I did as a little girl. Here's a pic of me around the second grade I think. My hair is pulled back in a pony tail, but you can definitely see the freckles.

My image iscolored with Copics. Sassy Cheryl has added a whole slew of new images, so picking one for the challenge was a bit difficult. Be sure to check out the Sassy Cheryl's Store.

Instead of buttercups, I went for geraniums. I love geraniums. They just make me happy. The papers are from a digital paper kit called Nanny's Garden from Raspberry Road Designs. I think it was free, but if it wasn't, it was very inexpensive. Don't these colors just scream SPRING to you(especially with using my Martha Stewart hydrangea punch to create the blooms for my geraniums. I free hand cut the leaves and embossed them, and then added the glass beads to the flower centers. This card is going in a package to a friend this week. She also makes me happy, so I hope that I can return the favor.

Thanks for stopping by.

Show Me Thursday #19

Have I got a Show Me Thursday for you all this evening. In January of 2003, I became a member of Weight Watchers. In July of that same year after making Lifetime, I discovered and became a member of the WeightWatchers boards. I found a group on there called the 10K Posse, a group that wears a pedometer and strives to get 10000 steps a day. They're the ones that gave me the nickname Taz, short for the Tasmanian Devil, to whom they often compare me.

In the Spring of 2004, two of the members came to visit me for a few days at our camp house, prior to the three of us travelling to meet some other WeightWatchers at a gathering in Raleigh, NC. One of them is a self-proclaimed non-cook, so she was amazed to see how easy it was to fix some WeightWatchers friendly recipes that actually taste wonderful. We also spent time on nature walks. In 2004, two more joined us and Camp Taz was born. All members of the 10K Posse are invited(there's not an axe murderer among us). We're all now in our late 50s and our 60s. We now do two camps a year, spring and fall, and it lasts from Wednesday through the following Tuesday. We hike, kayak, play Wii, do yoga, watch videos and do a whole bunch of talking and laughing(and laughing and laughing). We also eat some phenomenally delicious foods. These are pictures from this year's CT(Camp Taz) that ended this morning. It was a smaller crew than usual, but it was a fabulous camp. The picture above is how I love to start a day. Out on the water in a kayak with a LARGE Caramel Skinny Latte. I think my hat is going to require some elastic to keep it off of my ears. The picture above is a pic of the Sunday kayaking trip down Catalpa Creek into Tibbee Creek to the boat ramp at the Bluff(location of the family camp houses). This is our long run, about 4 miles. The woman on the far right is our newbie and is the neighbor of one of the regulars. She's just turned 40, has a 12 year old, a 3 year old and a 22 month old. She left them with her DH, and came for some girl time. Needless to say, she had a fantastic time. These campers are from Colorado, California and Alabama. Our photographer who doesn't kayak is from TX. Camp has become a Mastercard Weekend. The biggest expense is getting here. The rest, cost wise is ridiculously low, but the fellowship and support is PRICELESS. It's good to be home, and I'm looking forward to getting some crafting time in.

Phindy's Easter/Spring Challenge

First off I have to apologize to the DT team at Phindy's Place. They selected me for Guest Designer of the Week, something of which I consider that greatest of honors. I failed however to get my blog written and posted by the deadline. I had plenty of time to get it done last night, and I tried and tried and tried, but the internet at the camphouse, would not let me connect. I even tried at 3:30 this morning. I could receive e-mail, but couldn't send it and also couldn't connect to any sites. Finally I'm back on and playing catch up.The challenge this week over on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog is to create a card or a Project with a spring or Easter Design. Since it's April, and here in the South, it seems to be raining on a more than regular basis(in fact we had a tremendous storm the afternoon I put this card together), I chose an April Showers theme.

This delightful image is called "Rainy Day Friend" and is perfect for my spring April Showers bring May Flowers card. This is a great image for lots of different sentiments, from sympathy to get better soon. You can find it and a world of some of the cutest images(and I'm not just talking about the wee babbies) at the Phindy's Place Store.

The papers are from a kit called April Showers from Just So Scrappy Too. The kit wasn't free, but it was inexpensive. It had so many great papers in it, and I was also able to use some of the elements like the rainbow and the clouds. I created the sentiment in Photoshop and then Printed it on the Cloud. The sketch was one I had saved, but since I'm not at home, I can't remember who to credit for it. I cut a white picked fence out with my Cricut using my MTC software, and layed it out along the curve. I cut the flowers from the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge to "plant" along the bottom of the fence. The last touch was the sun shaped background for my image.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks again to the Design Team at Phindy's for my making my week, and maybe even my year. It's back to camp.

Sassy and Sketchy

It's a sassy sketch challenge over on the Sassy Cheryls Challenge Blog this week. Here's a picture of the sketch that Tracy came up with for us to use this week in making our challenge project. This little cutie is called Sweet Indulgence and you can find her at the Sassy Cheryls Store HERE. I love a person that loves her ice cream, since it's a favorite of mine. She's, of course, colored with Copics.

The papers are a from a lot of different places. The plaid background paper is from the Paper Studios So-So Sweet Glitter Paper Stack. All the other papers are from my scrap box. I created the Word Art in Photoshop, and I alternated the color of the letters to match the colors of two of my favorite flavors of ice cream, strawberry and chocolate.

While I'm blogging, I decided I'd also do my SMT challenge, since I didn't seem to get last week's posted. When I finished with the card above, I cleaned up my work space(putting all the Copics in their space) and filing all my scrap paper. The photo book that you see on my table is where I file pictures of card sketches. It helps me when I'm trying to come up with a game plan for a card.Don't forget all you have to do is post a picture of your workspace over on the Sassy Cheryl's blog and you're in the hunt to win a free image. Hey you don't even have to clean up your space. In fact, some of us like it better if you don't(makes us feel better).

Okay, off to get this uploaded to the challenge sites and then on to finishing fixing dinner(the hot meal of the day).

Red, White and Black

That's the color combination that the TIddly Inks DT came up with for this week's Blog Challenge. Christy has designed some new images that really work well for this challenge. Be sure to check them out at the Tiddly Inks Store.The image I've used is called "Heartbroke Happy" I think she's quite gorgeous, and I colored her with my Copics.

The black and white heart background paper is from the Doodle Me Hearts Paper set from Tiddly inks. The other papers are from the Dance With Me Kit and the So This Is Love Kit by Summer Driggs. The word heart was included with the image from Tiddly Inks, and I chose to break the hearts for a little more emphasis. The satin flowers are some I found at WalMart and were perfect with the rose background paper.

This was an easy and a fun challenge to do.