Summer time, summer time, sum-sum-summer time

Okay, sing with me now! You can sure tell it's summer time here. HOT, HOT, and HOT. I can't tell you when we had rain last. When I watch the news I pray that the tropical storms will head for Indiana. Tomorrow we are predicted at 102. On a good note I picked a bowl of green beans last night, my first two tomatoes and a jalapeno pepper. Not bad for still being in June.
My card tonight is all about summer time. This hot weather makes me think about the beach. We aren't anywhere near a beach here in Indiana but I always associate the summer and being at the beach. We do have a big lake nearby but I haven't been to the beach there in a very long time. So here's my summer time card.

Bunches of birthdays coming up and I am just about out of cards so I put summer time and birthdays together. I used the colors on the flip flop to accent the card and added some gems. It's difficult to see but I scored the edges on three sides with two lines about 1/8th inch apart. It gives it a framed look. A very CAS card and it came together very quickly since I had the image already colored. So I am entering these challenges:

• Party Time Tuesday challenge: Anything goes
• Outlawz CAS Party challenge: CAS theme with the season that your area is in right now (SUMMER!)
• Speedy Fox and Friends challenge: Scored lines.
• Delightful challenge: Anything goes

Don't forget about the Outlawz 2000 Member Party going on right now. They have extended it a week to accommodate those on vacation. So come join the fun!
Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope you are staying cool or dry wherever you are. We are on the down-side of the work week and I am ever so grateful for that. Take care!

Donna

Star Spangled America

Well, things didn't progress quite the way I planned yesterday. I did get a card finished but the Stickles just didn't dry so I couldn't photograph the card until this evening. Tom decided yesterday that he would help clean the house so who was I to argue when he volunteered. So we spent a big part of the day getting the house back in shape. It's been a long couple weeks with the surgery and then day camp. So the house was pretty much a disaster area. But I am thrilled we found the time to get a few things done. So, now that we have that cleared up, here's my card!

Happy Birthday America! I have to get my cards ready to send out for the 4th of July. So I chose this set from Doodle Pantry called Fireworks Birdie to make my card. The bird is popped up off the branch with pop dots. I used the already colored version of the image but added lots of Stickles to the fireworks to make them pop off the page. I also added Stickles to the leaves and bird wings. This card really sparkles! The sentiment is also from the same set. The red background isn't embossed but the paper has a texture to it.

I am entering these challenges:

• Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge: Where in the world are you from with a patriotic twist. (Hmmm, I am from the USA, specifically Indiana and I think I nailed the patriotic part!)
• Sketches by Carly: the sketch
• Paper Makeup Stamps: anything goes with a digi

Now if you haven't seen the announcement over on the right hand side of my blog you might want to check out the big celebration over at the Outlawz this week. We are celebrating 2000 members and there are lots of prizes to be won. Don't miss your chance to play along and win. Check out the YouTube video made especially for the party. Let the fun begin!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to be back with more creations this week. It feels good to be back to crafting.

Donna

Operation Write Home Sponsorship

It's so good to be back among the "normal." Girl Scout Day Camp is over and everything went smoothly. Crafts were a hit this year and I think all the girls had a great time. We had 254 girls and over 50 adults helped. So another camp goes into the history books and we start working on next year. The girls voted to have the theme "Critter Camp" next year so that segue ways perfectly into my card today for the Operation Write Home challenge which Doodle Pantry is sponsoring. It's a sketch challenge:

If you don't know about Operation Write Home you need to check them out. They support our service men and women who are deployed over seas by sending cards for them to keep in touch with their families back at home. Such a worth while cause. And here is my take on the sketch.

I used Doodle Pantry Kite Ants, a new set for June. Both of the patterned papers that you see here are included in the set as well as the sentiment I used. I paper pieced the kite and sponged a cloud background on both the popped up panel and the background card itself. Those ants are always up to something. They are colored with Bic Mark It markers. Please take a peek at the Operation Write Home challenge and support them by sending them a few cards. It's very easy!

I'll be getting some creating time today so I'll be back with something else new later in the day. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful week!

Donna

Quick Thank You

This past weekend and all this week I will be getting ready for Girl Scout day camp that runs from June 18th - 24th. So I don't have very much time to craft right now. But I did make another very quick Thank You card for a friend at work who sent me a gorgeous hanging basket of flowers after my surgery.

I believe the image and sentiment was a freebie from Michelle Perkett. I added a Spellbinders die cut butterfly out of striped paper and borders are ala Martha Stewart.

Surgery update: My stitches are out and this was my first day without bandages. I am pretty much back to normal schedule now so things are going well. Just a little past two weeks since the surgery. I'm thrilled to be bakc up to speed again.

Sorry this is so short. I'll be back as soon as I can. I am already missing my crafting time but although camp is a lot of work I love doing it for the smiles on the girls' faces when they are carrying a craft home or really enjoyed an activity that we do. I'll be back as soon as I find some time to make something new. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Donna

Happy Wednesday

Just a quick note tonight to let you know that I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon today. Everything is progressing fine and he removed the stitches. I am so grateful! He did replace the stitched with butterfly bandages that need to stay on for a week. I can live with that. And he said to take it easy for another week. No 25 mile hikes and he pointed looked at my husband so maybe after the surgery they had a conversation about hiking? Who knows. LOL! Anyway, I am a happy camper. The only thing that could make it better is if he had said I should take another week off. Getting ready for day camp is a huge undertaking so right now is may busiest time. Camp starts June 18th.

I do have another card for you tonight. I made this last weekend.

Another graduation card that my daughter needed for someone. I love the butterfly with the Stickles added. It really stands out on the card.

That's it for me today. I am beat and headed for bed. Hope you all have a wonderful end to your week. I'll be working on day camp all weekend.Tom's parents are coming out to Baby Creek to help out. So we'll be bagging bird seed and cutting yarn and taping the ends and lots of other things to get ready. I hope you have a marvelous weekend!

Hugs,

Donna

Thank You

Since my surgery I have gotten several lovely gifts and needed some thank you cards. So I am working on those right now. My card today is for my boss who made dinner for us one night. I appreciated that so I made this card for her.

I used a new wreath die that I got about a month ago and never had a chance to try it out. I punched some flowers and embellished them with self-adhesive rhinestones and decorated the tips with either Cotton Candy or Grape Stickles. The butterfly is a Cheery Lynn die and embellished with Cotton Candy Stickles. The sentiment is stamped with purple Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. It didn't photograph well though.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

• Flourishes challenge: a thank you card
• Crazy 4 challenge: add a butterfly to your creation
• CAS-ual Friday challenge: use bling
• Outlawz Sunday challenge: happy and joyful colors

I am starting back to work full time tomorrow but I will still be working from home one more day. I wanted to work a full day and in case I get tired it will be easy to lay down for a few minutes. I'm hoping things go well when I see the doctor for a follow-up on Wednesday.
Thank you for stopping by. I hope your week is wonderful.

Donna

Sentimental Sunday

Happy Sunday! Doodle Pantry is sponsoring the new challenge this week at Sentimental Sunday. The challenge this week is "Show me your spots!" Of course for this challenge you also need a sentiment on the front of your card. I used a set from the Doodle Pantry new release called Quirky Elephant.

I used the Paper Players sketch from last week but too late to join in their challenge. But I thought the sketch was adorable. The "It's Your Day" sentiment, images and dotted paper are all from the Quirky Elephant set. I used the Swiss Dots folder to emboss the solid blue sheet. Now this birthday card is just up my alley. When Tom and I were first married and his nephews were much younger, Tom's Dad asked one of the boys, "Who likes peanuts?" And he answered, "Elephants and Aunt Donna." Okay I do confess, I'd have a tough time getting through the day without nuts, chocolate and cheese. So I really love this set. Do you think I have enough spots on it? LOL! I hope you will pop over and check out the challenge at Sentimental Sunday and join in the fun!
I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful!

Hugs,
Donna

Sherry K Design Giveaway

Check out the June giveaway at Sherry K Designs:

Use this link: http://www.sherykdesigns.com/shop/promotions/info_6.html.

New Release at Doodle Pantry

Today is release day at the Doodle Pantry. What an exciting set of digital stamps Laurie has for you this month! I wasn't going to do a release project this month since my surgery last weekend but I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with the very cool sets. So my project features the new set called USA Birdie.

 The images, sentiment and background starred paper is all part of the set. I used Coordinations Paper with the stars embossing folder and then sanded the stars. The corner embellishments are from Corner Accents svg files.

I used the sketch from Sketches by Carly for the card. Love her sketches!

Don't forget to check out the Doodle Pantry challenge which will be posted later today. If you participate this month you will receive a new set called Kite Ants. See what the newest set of ants is up to this time. So cute! Laurie also has a summer special going on that you will want to check out.

Thanks for stopping by today and checking out the new release. To see all the sets check out my DT sisters. Lots of inspiration there! Have a wonderful Friday!

Donna