SMT #39

Well here it is Wednesday, and I'm about to miss another Show Me Thursday. It's not because I've been sitting on my duff doing nothing, just the opposite in fact. In case you're new here, Sassy Cheryl hosts a challenge on her Blog each week where the random winner gets a free Sassy Cheryl image. All you have to do is snap a shot of what you've been working on during the week and post it on her blog, you're entered. Over the 39 weeks, I've been participating, it's given me a chance to make new friends and get some great ideas. So being nosey isn't a bad thing. I'm just going to post pictures with captions for a recap of my week.

Sunday morning started off with an early morning kayak trip with my DH if you look just to the right of the tree snag, you'll see the head of a deer that we startled. He's swimming to get away.

Sunday afternoon two of my nieces came down with their babies to work on a birthday party invitation for the Coleman's first birthday.

 

Corbin 8 months old in the chair and Coleman 11 1/2 months old standing. Coleman is just before trying to pull Corbin out of what he considers HIS chair.

Coleman's Birthday Party invitation. I created this from a free coloring page for Clifford and some additions in Photoshop.

This is a pair of Indian pants and a vest(cowboy) I've made for a friend of mine's little boy. I had to make another one for my daughter to take to Scotland for one of MM's cousins. They sent MM a kilt when he was born, so DD is taking a western outfit for this 3 year old cousin.

Finally these are money envelopes that I've made for my BFF for she and her DH to give to their children, son-in-laws and grandchildren to celebrate BFF and her DH's 50th Wedding Anniversary. Talk about doing it backwards, but she said their family is the fruit of their marriage. I love that thought.

So get out your camera sang a shot of what you have going on and post it HERE. You win regardless, if you go check out the other entries spaces.

Purple and Green Combo with a little Yellow Thrown in

The challenge this week on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog was set by ever so delightful Judy. The challenge is a color combo of Purple and Green. I just happen to love those two colors together, but decided I had to use a girly image, since I don't know too many boys impressed with those two colors on themselves. As usual, I'm down to the wire getting this done, but it isn't because I've been goofing off. I've had other commitments(birthday party invitations for one of my great nephew's 1st birthday party and getting a box of OWH cards in the mail). Now with having this done, I'm headed to the sewing machine to make a couple of cowboy vests. How did I ever work full time and get anything done?

At any rate, the image I chose is a fairly recent Sassy Cheryl Digi called Day Dreamer Girl. I mostly colored in Copics. However, I decided she needed a print top so threw in a little paper piecing. The DP backgrounds were some free tiles that Fred She Said offered for a freebie well over a year ago, but the colors were too perfect not to make a paper out of them. WalMart must have known about Judy planning this, because when I went in there last week, they had spools of purple and green ribbon. Quite timely don't you think? My sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps and was in one of the sets I won from the Lungs for Life raffle. Thanks again Cheryl. I love these two sets.

Now I'm off to get it entered in the challenge before time runs out.

Something New At Phindy's Place

The Phindy's Place DT has challenged us this week to created a card for something new.  Phindy has several images that would be great for a new baby including some new ones with a Guardian Angel over at the Phindy's Place Store. However, I have to say that when I first saw this image called Come On In, I fell in love. I thought at it would be perfect New Home card. I agree with Phindy though that there are several uses for this image including any kind of party(thanks to those balloons).

My image is colored with Copics. The papers were some I found in the stack of digitals I had printed out on my desk. Believe it or not, I actually know where they came from. They are from a free kit called Prego designed by Maya De Groot and found at Oscraps. Finally the word art is some I created in Photoshop(I've since added a flourish). Feel free to grab it. I figure it can be used for lots of different cards.

Give Me An Inch and I'll Take An Inch and a Half

This week the Tiddly Inks Challenge DT tried to stump me with an Inchie Challenge. I had never heard of Inchies, so I did a Google on it and found that they are (and I quote) "the thumbnails of paper crafting". In fact there is a company called Inchie Arts that is dedicated to Inchie crafting.  Basically you create a card using 1" squares, but they can also be just small squares. Since coloring with Copics on very small areas seems to be virtually impossible for me, I upped my size to 1 1/2".

I used this beautiful butterfly image from Tiddly Inks for my card, and then colored them with my Copics. I obviously reversed the color scheme on one just so they wouldn't all look alike(or too different from each other from my coloring skills). The purple paper is some I printed and that was in my scrap box. The orange DP is from a kit of Paper that I bought at Sam's more years ago than I care to remember. The sentiment was on a Rubber stamp I had, that was so small that you wouldn't have been able to read it, so once again Photoshop comes to the rescue(you can find it at the bottom of the post). I printed it directly on the DP(I'm beginning to really like doing this, as it doesn't add a layer that distracts from the image.

I have another card I made yesterday with a Tiddly Inks image called Orchid.  This card is for a note to parents whose 16 year old was in a diving accident a little over a week ago and is now paralyzed. I wanted to send them something that invoked beauty, simplicity and a feeling of serenity, as I'm sure they're feeling like they're on the worst ride of their life right now. I put the message on the inside of the card.  The song "His Eye is on the Sparrow" is one of the most uplifting songs to me, as it is a constant reminder that God is watching over all of us even the sparrow, and that He has a plan for us(whether we understand what's going on or not).

If you are a praying person, would you take a minute and say a prayer for Cole and his family. They have a long road ahead, but life is not over for any of them. I actually have a friend whose oldest son was paralyzed at 18 from the shoulders down from a diving accident. Clay is now in his mid 40's, is a CPA, married to a wonderful woman and the father(yes they are his) of 3 boys( one set of twin boys and then another boy).

Here are both Word Arts if you'd like them.

Show Me A Little Stitching Please

Surprise, here it is Saturday night and not Monday afternoon, and I have a challenge card to enter in the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog. Pick yourselves up off the floor, and don't worry, I doubt seriously I've turned over a new leaf.

This card is serving a double purpose. It's going to a special young man who was recently paralyzed in a diving accident. It's certainly not a Get Well card, but I did want him to know that he was in my thoughts and prayers. I chose to use this image from the Sassy Cheryl Digi Store called Flower Bear. He just is the sweetest thing, and who doesn't love a bear. I've colored him with Copics.

Yes, you have seen this paper and very recently. It's from the Urban Kiwi kit by The Shabby Princess.  This is a free kit. I do love printing my paper, since it gives me the option to make the pattern the size I want it. My sentiment was something I quickly whipped up in Photoshop using the flag function in text. The stitching was done with my sewing machine, and the sketch was from a card I saw in this month's Paper  Creations.

A Show Me and OWH cards

Can you believe, it's only Friday and I'm doing my Show Me Thursday post for the week. Are you impressed? You should be. Just in case you're wondering what Show Me Thursday is let me explain. It's pretty simple. It's a chance for each of us do a nosey around in other peoples spaces. Just for showing your space, the delightful Miss Sassy Cheryl puts up a chance for a free image from the Sassy Cheryl Digi Store.  Just head over to the Sassy Cheryl Blog and post a picture of what you have going on in your life this week(it doesn't have to be your crafting place).

I've been really busy this week making Operation Write Home cards to be sent to our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This is what my desktop looked like after I finished the last set of cards before I cleaned up. This is the mess from just one set of cards.

Here are the cards that I've created.

Music Paper: Carol Anne's Boutique
Sentiment: Mine, so feel free to grab it
Embellishments: Letter Delights  Music SVGs; Paper Studio's Music Embossing Folder

Designer Papers: from my scrap box
Sentiment: Make A Wish from Hampton Arts
Embellishments: ribbons from my stash

Designer Papers:I'm still looking for my source LOL
Sentiment: Elegant Word Art
Embellishments: Ribbon from my  stash

Designer Papers: Baby Cakes Kit from Summer Driggs
Sentiment: Create with TLC
Embellishments:Ribbons with my stash.

Designer Papers: Victorian Sunflowers from I don't know where
Image: WinkWink Ink(closed)
Sentiment: Simple Doodles
Embellishments: Ribbons and buttons from my stash

Just so you know, before I left Tazmania, I cleaned up and got the cards ready for me to stamp with the OWH logo and stuff in envelopes. Now I'm off to watch some TV and read. I think I've earned a little relaxation.

Vintage? Retro? or Both?

This week the challenge on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog was to create a Vintage project. I am vintage, but didn't think a photo of me would work. I had several ideas of images to use, but when Phindy posted this image in the Phindy's Place store earlier in the week called Looking Good, I had to have it and use it. I'm not sure if this qualifies for vintage but I think it does. Black and lace are  so very vintage and yet at the same time timeless.

What part of her that's colored is done with Copics. The dress is paper pieced. I created the paper using a free lace pattern I found on the internet last night. Her stole is colored with Copics, and then I colored over the top with Crayola glitter. Her shoes and hand handbag were colored with my black Spica pen. She's finished off with some seed pearls for her necklace and earrings. She's definitely looking good and ready for a night on the town.

The papers are from a free digital kit called Urban Kiwi that I downloaded from The Shabby Princess. I loved this paper the first time I saw it. It just seems so Retro to me. I used my Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace Edge punch  to create the frame around the picture and the sentiment. The flowers were created by first taking my black ink pad and daubing it all over some white cardstock. I cut the flowers out with my Cricut, did a little embossing to give them shape, assembled and added a black baby button center. The word art is some I quickly whipped up in Photoshop. Feel free to grab it(it's in jpg format).

Now for the best part, I know exactly who is going to get this card. My neighbor across the road has lost 60 pounds over the past year. We ran into her in the store the other day(I'm used to only seeing her in her car and that's a head shot), and you could seriously tell she was looking good. The only problem is that her clothes are way too big. She says she's not through losing, so she doesn't want to invest too much money in clothes she's going to undergrow. I'm sending her this card as encouragement and as a pat on the back for the wonderful job she's doing.

Three For One

It's Sassy Cheryl's Challenges in the barrel today, and I got really industrious. I didn't make one card, but two. Along with that, it's also time for the Show Me Thursday Challenge. I decided I'd give my faithful followers a break and only make them drop in one time instead of three. You can see I'm a very accommodating blogger(we won't mention the fact that I only had to type up one blog instead of three).

Sassy Flip-Flop Jeni set the challenge this week on the Sassy Cheryl  Challenge Blog  to "What's Buggin You?" Too bad I didn't get this message last week when I made my card challenge using the Ladybug bear. This week, I couldn't make up my mind between two images, so I decided to make a card with each. Since these are going in my Operation Write Home box, it's all good. I used the same sketch using a ladybug paper that I think came from Cuddly Buddly, and solid papers that I made to match using Photoshop.  The first image I chose was the Thinking of You Boy image  and the second image is called Gentle Friends. Both are colored with Copics. Both images can be found at the Sassy Cheryl's Digi Store.

Thinking of You

Gentle Friends

The Thinking of You image was a freebie from MelJen's and the Am I Bugging You? sentiment is one I created for my sister to use on a card. Feel free to grab it if you like.

Needless to say that with making two cards at the same time and using different colored Copics, I had quite the mess going in Tazmania. I'm also using this blog post to enter the  Show Me Thursday, where just by showing your work space you can enter Sassy Cheryl's Blog Challenge for a free image. Well I want you all to see my workspace as I left it this afternoon after making the two cards above. Yep, I cleaned it all up. I know Cheryl is going to be so proud of me. Now I'm ready to go start working on another project. Thanks for stopping by.

My coloring and assembly area

Cutting end of the table, that's usually piled high with paper scraps

I even cleaned up the area around my computer

Are you all suitably impressed, that even my tall table top is clean

Music for the Soul

Recently Phindy O'Neill introduced a new set of images called Two Seven Oh int the Phindy's Place Store. These are simple things from everyday life and quick to color(or maybe not). At any rate, I absolutely loved this image called Skeins. It reminds me of one of my dearest friends, who is an avid knitter. Then when I found this Word Art over at Create with TLC, I knew I had to make a card for her. Her life is often chaotic, because she's the BEST Grandmother in the world and has 12, yes I said 12 grandchildren. I know that a day doesn't go by that she doesn't take a few minutes, usually at night to sit and knit. Knitting is truly music that feeds her soul.

The papers are digital and are from a kit called Sunday Gardens by Coreen Silke from Computer Scrapbook.Com. These soft greens and yellows are so tranquil to me and definitely put me in a happy place.

This is my second entry in the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog Anything Goes as long as it's a Phindy's image.

It's Anything Goes With A Phindy's Place Image

It's the first week of the month and over on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog, it's the Anything Goes as long as you use a Phindy's Place image. I love it, and can't understand why you wouldn't want to do a Phindy's Place image every week.

For what I hope is just my first card for the challenge(I have all the parts for a second one, just need to find the time to get it done), I chose this sweet image called Melon Baby. There's not a Cutie or Wee Babbie image at the Phindy's Place Store, that I don't have. They are just too cute and REAL to me. I've colored her with Copics.

The papers are digital and were from two kits. One kit is called Fruity Papers and is from Zenware Designs from My Grafico. I have to say that when I saw this paper, I had to have it, because I knew it was perfect for Melon Baby. The second kit is called Watermelon Patch from Sprouting Seeds Studio. and the sentiment is from Create with TLC.

A Tag, A Fold and a Little Gel Please

I think the DTs are out to make sure they test my metal. Last week the challenge was for Tags and/or Tickets on the Tiddly Inks Challenge Blog. This week it's to use Gel, and I don't mean a gel pen either. We're talking hair gel or the hand sanitizer.  Since I also had a challenge this week to do a less than basic fold, I decided for this card, I'd just do them all. tag, fold and gel.

There is a story behind this card. This is a picture of my cousin Peggy with her Cairn, Charlie. Charlie has an ottoman in the dining room at their house. It sits right in front of the window, so that he can lay and watch the road waiting for Peggy to come home. After enjoying seeing her every day this summer, I'm sure he's on that ottoman looking pretty sad right now, as she returned to Auburn last Friday for her sophomore year of college.

Christy has this delightful image called Kiki that looks a lot like Charlie. Kiki is a freebie image that can be found at the Tiddly Inks Store, but be sure you check out all of the images when you drop in to grab him. I decided to do a scene with Charlie sitting on his ottoman and looking out the window. It was perfect for the gel concept. Now lest you think this is something terribly difficult to do, here's a link to Meredith's Tutorial, that made it not a very difficult challenge at all. I drew the ottoman in and colored it all with Copics.

I printed these digital papers out from a kit by Vicki Stegall Designs called Just Breathe that I found for free at Oscraps. I love this set of papers. I decided that this card needed to be something that would stand up, and since I just learned how to do a center step card, I decided to do another one. It was perfect for displaying the window, that I created with my MTC software. I also created my box for my gel with the software. I used a tag to insert Charlie behind the window.

Finally, I used the MTC software to create the circle word art and then brought it into Photoshop to add the Missing you.   I finished my project off with some pearl embellishments.  I'm going to take this card to Peggy's mom, so she can send a note to Peggy from Charlie. Hopefully it will make her homesick enough that she decides to come home before Thanksgiving. I'm glad she loves school, but she could miss us all a little more.

Not Your Ususal Fold

And definitely not in my comfort zone. Thank you Jeni, I needed to venture out. This week on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog, Sassy Jeni Flip-Flop challenged us to create a card with a non-standard fold card.  I chose to do a center step card. I watched a lot of tutorials, so I can't give one person credit.

For my card, I chose this adorable image from the Sassy Cheryls Store called Ladybug Bear. He and his friends are colored with Copics. The papers are from a digital kit from Sherry K. Designs appropriately enough called Ladybug tghat I found on My Grafico. I created the word art in Photoshop. I saved it as a JPEG file, so hopefully those having problems won't now.

Oh and I want to be sure and welcome Pat Frank to the Sassy Cheryl DT.

Show Me Thursday # 36

It's nosey parker time again. Thank you Miss Sassy Cheryl, for giving me the opportunity to have a peak at the lives of other crafters. It's always a fun time as you never know just what you're going to see. As if it's not enough for nosey, we all get a chance at a free Sassy Cheryl image, just by sharing what we have going on in our lives and posting it on the Sassy Cheryl Blog.

I have a cousin whose more like my sister than my cousin that lives here in Columbus. For the past almost 20 years, since the birth of her daughter, we've spent a majority of Friday night's dining out with them and watching Peggy grow up. She's more like my child or niece than my 1st cousin once removed. She's an incredible young lady and today her parents and she left in two vehicles(she got a 15 min head start and will be there 1/2 hour before her parents get there) back to Auburn University to help her and her roommates get set up in their  first apartment.  My DH and I were invited over last night for her last supper at home before going back to school for her sophomore year.

She is so my child, in that she has developed quite the taste for lattes. I found a great deal on an Espresso Machine for her that's serving as her Back to School, Housewarming, Birthday(October 13) and Christmas present for this year. I spent Wednesday and Thursday decorating the package to cover all the events. I first wrapped the package in Brown Paper and then used scrapbooking papers with a Back to School, Christmas or Birthday theme to cover the brown paper. I then went to my MTC software and found some already created Die Cuts as well as some I made myself. She loved the package, and I had to open it for her so that it didn't get destroyed(made me happy she wanted to preserve it since I spent so much time on decorating it), and she loved her machine. She says she'll be a hit at school for sure, and she'll save some money(now you're talking) by not having to buy her latte. So here are pictures of the package from all sides and finally  with her hamming it up with the machine.

Happy Everything Top

Back to School

Congrats on the Cool Digs

Hamming it up with her new machine and she'd kill m if she knew I posted this.

So come on and show us what you have going on. It doesn't have to be your work space or even a card. We are curious after all.

More Than a Challenge Card

Have you ever checked out the size of a receiving blanket that you buy at the store? It's only big enough to wrap around the baby about the first week of life. It exasperated my Mama so much, that she started making flannel blankets when her grandkids were babies. However she went one step farther than just making them bigger, she doubled them and made them at least a 45" square. Some were longer than 45".  She started out making them for the grandkids, but pretty soon it became her signature gift to new babies. The mothers loved them, because they'll cover a child until they're at least 5, if not longer. I took up the tradition before she passed away, and I never make a blanket that I don't think of my Mama and remember the way that she loved to do for people. I've found she was on the right track with this gift. Friends to whom I gifted their grandbabies with the blankets, tell me how they're still be used. In the last year, I started adding a crocheted edging. It takes a little longer, but it adds a nice touch.

So you're sitting here wondering what all this has to do with the price of eggs and card challenges aren't you? It's simple, I recently finished a blanket for a friend's first grandchild, and I needed a card to go with the gift. Phindy's Place image, Brand New with  that sweet, sweet baby sleeping on her blanket was perfect for the card and for the Die Cut Challenge over on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog this week. I hope that Phindy doesn't mind that I took the stars out of the blanket in her image, so that I could paper piece a butterfly blanket to match the blanket I made(card is on the blanket).

I created the butterfly paper in Photoshop along with the Word Art(grab it below). The purple background paper is embossed with a Spellbinders embossing plate called Butterflies(you know I am a theme type person). I created  a Pink Eyelet strip with a Martha Stewart edge punch , added some lace and topped with some ribbon and a bow. A few pearls to finish it off and voila, a baby card.

I can never say enough about how wonderful all of Phindy's images are, but I am especially drawn to the way she so realistically displays children. Be sure to check out all of her images over at Phindy's Place. You still have time to enter the challenge, and remember, if you use a Phindy's image(and isn't that the nice thing to do for a challenge she sponsors), you get two entries instead of one.

Just a note. The Word Art is in png format. If there's a problem with using it, I can send it to you in jpg format, just send me an e-mail and include Blog Word Art in the Subject line.