Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A OWH Card Making Marathon for SMT

With MM back in AZ, it was questionable what I was going to do for my SMT post for Sassy Cheryls Show Me Thursday Challenge. All you have to do is submit a photo of what you've got going on in your life and enter it from the Sassy Cheryls Store.

For the past two months, my SMT posts have centered around MM and his activities, but this week I went on a tear making cards for Operation Write Home. I had decided I was going to do something to use up some of my stash of scraps and I started at the back with the scrap Halloween Paper.  So yesterday I headed out to TM and got started my card making marathon. These are the cards that I made with the Halloween Scraps.




I also had these 6 cards finished except for the small butterflies, so yesterday I used my Memory Box Butterfly die and finished them up.

When I went looking for some embellishments for Halloween, I found some gold stars, so I used them with an extra card base that I had left over from my Sassy Cheryl challenge cards for this card.

Today I got rained out on my early morning walk, so headed out to TM earlier than usual. This Halloween card was made using  my Silhouette Cameo and it's print and cut features to create this Halloween card. The papers are from the Halloween Kit from Shery K Designs.

Once I had worked through the Halloween scrap stash, I headed into the birthday paper scraps. These cards are what I put together using them.


This is a picture of all the cards I've finished in the last two days, and the final picture is my table and work space when I left this afternoon. Cheryl, you should be impressed as I've cleaned up after myself the last two days.


Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow I'm headed out to help my niece whose moving into their new home today.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Polka Dots Everywhere

Now could Sassy Judy have picked a better them for a challenge than Polka Dots on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog. I love Polka Dots, so no challenge for me.

As you all know, I make my cards for Operation Write Home, and I've starting making multiples of all my challenge card.. With the print and cut feature of the Silhouette Cameo, it's so easy to make multiples. I can even print my images and then cut out a shape around them.

The image I chose for my challenge card is Lucy Lou's Hanging on a Star from the Sassy Cheryl's Store. I've colored her with Copics.

The papers are from Shery K Designs Christmas 6-20 kit.

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate your taking the time.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Fancy Borders at Sassy Cheryls

Miz Sassy Judy set the challenge theme to use Fancy Borders on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog. The DT  did an amazing job with some inspirational creations.

For my card I started with creating a card base. I started in my stash box creating a trellis with the Martha Stewart Deep Lattice Edge punch and the Hydrangea border punch. I inked the edges of the hydrangeas to  make them stand out. From there I decided to add the Laurel Leaf punch to make it look like a vine growing on the lattice and finished off with the Eyelet lace punch and turn it vertically.

The last three cards were back with the horizontal theme.

The images is Sassy Sally with her Butterfly from the Sassy Cheryl Store. I've colored her with Copics. The papers in the last 4 cards are from the Garden Path digital kit from Raspberry Roads. The sentiment was a $1 stamp from Michaels.

I ended up with 5 cards and only 3 of them are exactly alike. I've added 9 cards to my OWH collection this weekend so that's a good thing.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you'll stop in again.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Button It At Phindy's Place

This week the theme on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog is Button It.

 I happened across a blog today called Unique Greetings By Susan and saw this wonderful Christmas Stocking. When I saw the button on it, I knew immediately the perfect Phindy's Place image to use. The image is called Surprise, and she's one of wonderful Winter Cuties to be found in the Phindys Place Store. She's colored with Copics.

I was able to create a cut file of the Christmas stocking with my Make the Cut, and then used my Silhouette Cameo to do print and cuts of not only the stocking, but also the card base and topper card. I filled the cut files with papers from  the  Christmas 2-20 Kit from Shery K Designs. The embossing folders are Christmas Trees by Sissix and Holly Ribbons by Cuttlebug.

I am working on a box of OWH cards, so decided to create multiples of the cards while I was at it.

Stand by, I have another great layout that's going to be perfect for this Button It Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Treasure Chest

In last week's SMT post for Sassy Cheryls' Blog, I mentioned DH kindly taking charge of MM for a whole day while I worked on the Anniversary Card/Book. This week, I want to share the treasure chest with you all.

MM and his parents live in Arizona and have been here for the past month and a half. His parents being able to telecommute, decided to give him a summer in Mississippi since he starts kindergarten in August and anytime trips will definitely not be taking place. He goes to day care two and a half days a week. The other two and a half days his Grandpa and I have him. It's worked out great as it still gives both DH and myself time to get our things done as well as time to spend with him.

MM is one very imaginative as well as active child. He honestly would stay outside all day long in spite of the fact that his skin seems to be a delicacy for the chiggers or red bugs. Doesn't matter how well we cover him  with bug spray, he's got bites EVERYWHERE! It hasn't slowed him down at all. I've told DH that this summer is one that MM will remember for the rest of his life just because of all the things that he's gotten to do and learn. I've told MM he's very fortunate to have two crafty grandparents.

So onto the story of the treasure chest. When Grandpa was minding him last week, MM must have watched a pirate cartoon, because he was all about treasure chests. MM wanted to know if they could build a treasure chest and bury it. DH informed him that the termites would eat the box up, so they put eleven cents in a drink can, glued another one to it and buried it in the back yard. They then each drew a map to the buried treasure.

After lunch DH and MM went to work building a wooden treasure chest for his keepsakes. At one point DH is cutting boards with the table saw, when MM comes and informs me that he(MM) could build the top better than Grandpa(think rounded top as opposed to flat). Once it was assembled MM got to paint his box. You can see one of the chigger bites on his neck.

Then we added some embossed metal to the corners of the box and some metal corners and embossed initials to the top(this was to make up for the fact that the top of the chest was flat and not rounded like a REAL treasure chest). I finished it with a sealer, and then MM was allowed to screw the handles back on to the sides of the chest.

While DH and I were finishing up adding the hinges and clasp, MM was into dressing up in his Halloween costume that arrived in the mail. You'll notice the wonderful posture that he has in this picture. That posture is due to the way  the plastic chest plates cuts off oxygen supply at his throat if he doesn't stand up straight. When I suggested that perhaps the costume needed to be sent back, I was informed that it was okay, he was getting used to it(sitting up straight or not breathing, I'm not sure).

Final box outside and in. I decided to line it with some felt and add some gold trim. A perfect box for treasures which as I informed MM don't necessarily mean gold or money, but things that are favorite keepsakes, like arrowheads, special rocks and shells. As I pointed out to MM, he's my treasure, but I can't keep him in a chest, but he'll always be my treasure.

It's been a great summer for Grandpa and me, as we too, have made memories to last a  lifetime. Thanks for stopping by.

Now don't forget to snap a picture of what you've got going on in your life and post it on the Sassy Chery's Graphics Blog for a chance at a free Sassy Cheryl Image and to get to see what's happening in the lives of other crafters.

Friday, July 13, 2012

The Challenge to Top All Challenges

WOOOOOOOO! What a week. I've done challenges before, but my BFF gave me the challenge of all challenges this week. Back in May, she told me she and her DD had written a poem for one of the couples in her Supper Club who would be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary in July. She asked me if I'd help create a card for it, and she wanted to come over and spend the day working on it. I told her just to name the day as long as it wasn't Tuesday or Friday as those are MM days.

She called last Thursday, and asked what she could bring to the Shrimp Boil. I asked her about the anniversary card and when was the party? Well seems it was last night, one week away from when we talked. With the Shrimp Boil on Saturday and company abounding, the earliest we could start on it was Monday of this week.  She arrived around 1:30 Monday afternoon and had broken the poem into 11 sections that she wanted a page per section along with the cover, so now we're talking a book instead of a card. She had brought pictures that she thought she could use, but there weren't enough and when I started showing her digital images, the whole game plan changed. Now it's all images and no photographs. We spent until early evening picking out images and looking for papers. She went home, and I kept working on getting papers ready to print along with finalizing image selection.

Tuesday after my walk, I hit the ground running. At this point in time I have to interject that DH had to take care of MM and entertain him all day long as I was in TM madly coloring and creating. He did an admirable job. They buried treasure and drew a map, so they could find the treasure. Then they went on to build a wooden treasure chest. MM informed me(as DH would cutting boards with the table saw) that he could have built it himself, and that Grandpa wasn't doing the top right(seems he wanted a rounded top for the chest and that wasn't happening). DH let MM hammer and help screw on the handles. Now they've got to paint the box and add the hinges to the top and the clasp, and that's a this afternoon project. MM informed at the end of the day that I owed Grandpa. I informed MM that my BFF owed Grandpa. She informed MM that she fixed me up with Grandpa, so no one owes anyone.

So back to the saga of the card turned book. At this point it's not looking good for me to participate in any of my usual challenges with a regular card. That said, Phindy's Place, Sassy Cheryl's, Tiddly Inks and Mo's Digital Pencils had images that were perfect to go along with the poem.

The Phindy's Place Challenge Blog this week challenged us to use things that started with our initials. Well my initials are SS so there were scissors, digi stamps and Spellbinders used throughout the book. Thanks girls for making it a two week challenge so I get an entry in.

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog was to create a summer creation. I have this one more than covered and  one of them is even a Sassy Cheryl Image called Farmer Sally, and I guess you can have a jester anytime of the year.

BFF picked the card/book up yesterday at 1 o'clock just 5 hours before the party(totally delighted and excited about the finished project) and left me with another project she needed today. While I've been working on the card, she's been canning figs, preparing for the party,  visiting one of our elder members of our church whose in the hospital to help serve communion to the lady and fixing foods for a luncheon that she's doing for another elderly member of our church's birthday. The last project was happies to give to the 9 attendees.

So along with the Phindy's Place Challenge and the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge, I'm also covering the Show Me Thursday Challenge on Sassy Cheryl's blog. I did not post a picture of TM when I finished the book(words and pictures could not possibly do the mess justice). I have now got it cleaned up though, and I don't want another "project" for at least a week.LOL

So here are the pics of the Anniversary Project. Forgive the bad photos, as I was  in a rush and the lighting is terrible.
Cover and Page 1 - Silhouette images and Cameo used to cut these.


Page 2 - Start of the poem


Page 3 - Farmer Sally from Sassy Cheryls. Scissors were used to cut the image out.
Page 4 - BFF loved the card I created like this so it had to be duplicated. Summer Challenge and Intial challenge since scissors were again used. Image is Phindy's Place Daring Diver.
Page 5 - Summer Bare Image from Phindy's Place. Summer Challenge and Phindy's Place since Spellbinders were used.
Page 6 -  Serving Up Hearts by Sassy Cheryl
Page 7 - Baby New Year from Tiddly Inks


Page 8 - The April Fool from Sassy Cheryls. Coloring concept was CASEd from Cathy E. Thanks GF.
Page 9 - image is Jill from Mo's Digital Pencil




Page 10 - the images used here were found online and cut out with scissors




Page 11 - Dress Up fro Sassy Cheryls. Spellbinders were used.
Page 12 - Combined  Shy Guy and Babbie Bride from Phindy's Place and the second image is Together from Phindy's Place

 Well, I hope you made it through this saga and enjoyed the visit. I don't plan on duplicating this anytime soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

A Yankee Doodle Dandy Show Me Thursday

Well, it's time for another Show Me Thursday on Sassy Cheryl's Blog. All you have to do is post a pic of what you've got going on and you're entered to win a free Sassy Cheryl Digital Image. It's totally fun and very educational.

This week I thought I'd share my on personal Uncle Sam with you. MM loves dressing up and has a ton of costumes and hats(sure hope he doesn't want to become an actor). He only brought one costume for the summer, but it was special. His parents are instilling in him a history and pride in his country with trips to Washington and Boston. When he found out that his day care was having a 4th of July party on his regular Gran and Grandpa Tuesday, he opted to go to school, at least for the party. He went dressed for the occasion.

I took this picture last night before he went to bed which is why he's barefooted. His normal shoes for this outfit are his John Deere boots. Without further adieu, here's my own Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Summertime

The challenge this week on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog is Summer. Well believe, me based on heat along summer has arrived in Mississippi in a major way. The only thing that made this challenge difficult for me,  is the fact that it's so hot, I really don't want to leave my house to go to Tazmania.

At any rate, I worked on getting all my my card parts set up in Make the  Cut yesterday, even though I never got out to TM. I didn't give myself a chance to talk myself out of going out there today.

For my image, I had to use this image called Sassy Sally in Her Inner Tube from the Sassy Cheryls Store. If you're going to be outside, the only way is to be on the water. There's nothing quite so relaxing as tubing down a creek. in summer. I've colored Sally with Copics and paper pieced her her inner tube rather than the old tire inner tube I had. Cheryl, I just had to give her some freckles.

The papers are  digital and from two kits from Just So Scrappy 2. One kit is Aloha and the other is Pool Party.

The fun part is that I used my Make the Cut software and my Black Cat cutter to actually cut out my images of Sally in her inner tube. It saved me a ton of time.. I also used it to create the water and print and cut the sentiment.



I'm trying to get some OWH cards created and since I had the Black Cat cutting out the images, so I used this time saver to create 6 cards for my OWH box. Just showing y'all I really was busy today being creative.