From Our Home to Yours

Greetings! Thanks for stopping by my blog. The weekend is almost here. Tomorrow is my short day at work, so I'm a happy camper. This weekend I hope to make pesto sauce. My basil bush is about the only thing that really produced this year. The deer ate everything else. There are a couple green beans to pick tomorrow and I have a couple zucchini that will likely be ready this weekend. Tonight we had zucchini meatballs from SkinnyTaste.com. DH thought they had  a little different texture but he liked the meatballs so I'll definitely keep that recipe.
My card tonight didn't end up the way I thought it might. Usually nothing ends up quite the way I envision it when I start. But this one I tried to salvage after a little craft accident.

The lantern is a free Christmas image from Beccy's Place. I colored the image with Copics and cut it out with Spellbinder's circle dies. I used the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch.

The lantern actually has a very pretty bow at the top. I wanted to use my new Wink of Stella pen to add some sparkle to the bow but in getting the pen to work it erupted all over the bow and it looked awful. So I added a little Wink of Stella pen on the flowers and cut the bow off the top. Added the ribbon and sentiment and a few pearls to finish it off. Not quite my best card ever but I think it will be okay.
I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's challenge: Christmas in July
• Sweet Sunday Sketch: sketch
• Crafty Hazelnut Patterned Paper challenge: use patterned paper
• Hiding in my Craft Room: any holiday
• Penny's Paper-Crafty challenge: use ribbon or twine

Heading into the weekend, I hope you are looking forward to it. Our weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend. Although we are supposed to have warm temperatures, the humidity is supposed to be very low which makes for much nicer weather. Wherever you are I hope the weather is pleasant, you can relax and find some time to craft.

Donna

Sweetest Baby

Happy Hump Day, friends! Where do these weeks go? I've been so busy at work this week that the time goes by quickly, which I really like when I'm at work. The faster the better. LOL! Our weather has been stifling. Hot, humid and oppressive! Not my favorite kind of weather for sure. It's been fairly nice until recently so I'm missing the nice weather. It will come back again, I'm sure.
I don't think I've mentioned my big news. My daughter announced she was pregnant so I'm going to be grandma for the first time. I'm already looking for projects to get started on. I haven't had much opportunity to make baby things before. So I thought I'd start with a congrats card for my daughter and son-in-law.

I used a recent free sentiment from Create with TLC. I cut that out of Spellbinder's Beaded Ovals and inked that with Cracked Pistachio distress ink. Since we don't know if the baby is a boy or girl yet I wanted to use more neutral colors. I used a Gina K set called Wee Tees, which has either been retired or it's out of stock, for the "bear" background. I stamped the teddies with a light gray ink. I used the Tuesday Morning Sketch sketch for the card.

The banner pieces are from a Simon Says stamp kit. The pin and duck are cute little embellishments that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby a while ago. I think they are adorable! I'm getting more excited about the thought of being a grandma for the first time. She isn't due until the beginning of February but it will be here before you know it. Tom's sisters are already thinking about a baby shower for her at Christmas time when everyone is home. 

I am entering this card in these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: the sketch
• Simon Says challenge: anything goes
• Crafty Sentiments Designs: baby
• Creative Card Crew: banner or flag
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope wherever you are that the weather is nicer than here. Make the rest of your week awesome!

Donna

From the Whole Herd

Happy Monday! I started cleaning out my craft closet today. It's a good size closet so I thought I would do it in two sessions. I did the side shelves today and will continue next Monday when I am off work again. Over the weekend I finished reorganizing my clear stamps and my buttons so I feel like I am making progress. But it will definitely take some time. So I only had time for one card today.

This is my last progressive challenge image, I hope. The image of the boy was drawn by Jen Lee from Blueberry Bear Digistamps. The challenge is the Outlawz July Progressive challenge. Isn't that guy just adorable? I paired him up with a Gina K set called Funny Farm. I heat embossed the sentiment from Funny Farm and mirror images the pig once for the herd. I used  a new die that I just got in the mail today from Simon Says Stamps called Stitched Slopes and Hills. Now I just need to get some cloud dies instead of drawing them in myself. I'm not terribly good at drawing.
I am entering these challenges:

• Outlawz Progressive challenge: use the Blueberry Bear image
• Digital Delights: anything goes

I hope your week is off to a great start. It's back to work tomorrow for me. Make it a great Tuesday!

Donna

Relax With Your Favorite Drink

I am a little late posting today but I wanted to show you the new challenge over at the Outlawz CAS. This week we are relaxing with our favorite drink. I love chocolate. So while I am not a fan of snow and cold weather, I chose hot chocolate for my drink to relax with. Nothing better than a cup of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter day.

The image is from our July sponsor, DeeDee's Digis called Whole Latte Love. I used Copic markers to color the image. I used the sketch from Try Stampin' on Tuesday.

The embossing folder was Cuttlebug Flurries. The sentiment is from a stamp company that is no longer in business. I add some Christmas ribbon to complete the card. The hot chocolate image is popped up for more texture.

So I hope you'll stop by the Outlawz CAS challenge this week and show us what your favorite beverage is.

I am entering these challenges:

• Try Stampin' On Tuesday: sketch
• Friday Mashup: food or drink and use markers to color.
• Rudolph Days: anything goes for Christmas
• Inspiration Destination: anything goesSo tomorrow I hope to get some crafting time in. 

This weekend I finished organizing my clear stamps but I still have my wood block stamps to do yet. I also want to do my dies too. So tomorrow I hope to get some crafting time in. Thanks for stopping by today and I'll be back really soon. Make it a wonderful week.

Donna

Sweet Friend

Happy almost weekend. It's been a busy week at work as I catch up from being on vacation. There is no shortage of things to do there. I haven't gotten much crafting done this week. My job for the weekend is to continue organizing my stamps. But I hope to get a card or two done too. My card for tonight is a Christmas card and one of my monthly progressive challenges.

The image is the stamp of the month from Imagine That! called Treat Stand. I used the individual outline images and combined two images to make this card. The image is colored with Copic markers and die cut and embossed with Spellbinders Standard Rectangles. The sentiment is from the same set. I die cut and embossed that with Spellbinders Tag Trio and inked it with Salty Ocean Distress Ink. I added a chevron Christmas paper in the background and a piece of Christmas ribbon around the tag. I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. I am entering these challenges:

• Imagine That! July Digi of the Month: use Treat Stand
• Freshly Made Sketches: sketch
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Decosse's Dynamite Doodles: Christmas or winter theme

Hope your week is going well and your weekend will be even better. The rain has stopped for a while here and we've had a few really nice days. I am loving the sunshine and nice days. Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Donna

Merry & Bright

Back from vacation and sadly I have to go back to work tomorrow. It was a really nice trip. Lots of driving but a fairly inexpensive trip since we had places to stay and only ate out once a day. So my weight didn't get too out of hand. My garden is out of control. I picked 4 zucchini that look like clubs and 10 cucumbers. And a dish pan full of tomatoes. Tomorrow after work I'll have to pick green beans. I didn't get to that tonight. I used one of the images I colored while away to make a quick card this evening. This is one of the scrap backgrounds that I made earlier in the year.

The cute bear image is from Beccy's Place. I colored him with Copic Markers and then added the sentiment from a Gina K set called Blessed is the Season. As I said above, I used one of the scrap backgrounds that I made earlier this year mounted on a red card stock background. I used some Christmas ribbon to create another layer behind the popped up image of the bear. Just an easy put together card for tonight. I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's Place challenge: Christmas in July
• Cards in Envy: Christmas in July
• Pile It On: Winter/Christmas in July
• Hiding in my Craft Room: Lots of Layers

That's about it for me tonight. I have laundry to finish and I'm hoping to fall into bed early tonight. I probably should get a good night's sleep before heading back to work tomorrow. It will likely be a very busy day of catch up. I hope your week is off to a great start. Looking forward to get back into the swing of crafting! Make it an awesome Tuesday.

Donna

Teddy Bear Picnic

Happy Sunday, my friends. I am still away in Maryland but not for too much longer. We'll be leaving to drive the first leg home and then tomorrow we'll be returning home. I have missed crafting a lot, although I brought some crocheting with me and also have colored some images while I've been away. Can't wait to get back and put them on cards. We had some awesome side trips while visiting our son, Dan. On Thursday we went to Atlantic City. I'd never been there before so the boardwalk, beach and lots of sun were fun. We did walk through some casinos but I can't take the cigarette smoke so we didn't stay long.
Yesterday we traveled into Washington D.C. and walked to every memorial in sight. We had over 20,000 steps yesterday. But we saw some memorials I didn't know existed. My favorite was the Franklin Roosevelt memorial. He said some very inspiring things. And the waterfalls were beautiful. And of course we saw the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Monuments along with the War Memorials and Martin Luther King Memorial. There are probably a couple other ones thrown in there too. LOL!
Today over at the Outlawz CAS challenge we are having a teddy bear picnic. Do you remember having a picnic with your dolls and teddy bears when you were a kid? Those were the days!

Our sponsor this month is DeeDee's Digis. I used DeeDee's Fall Teddies for my card. I bought a new watercolor paint set a few weeks ago and used it for the background here. I added a sentiment and tied a patterned ribbon. Easy peasy! That's it for me today. Depending On what time we get home tomorrow and how much laundry, grocery shopping and gardening I have to do immediately, I'll see if I can get in  a quick card. Hope your weekend was awesome!

Donna

Life's A Picnic

Welcome to the CAS challenge at the Outlawz. Today was my second post for the challenge and out theme is a really fun one. July is National Blueberry Month so the challenge is to use a fruit as your image or in your sentiment. The design team has outdone themselves with some great CAS projects. Be sure you check them out. Here's my card.

Our sponsor this month is DeeDee's Digis and you can win a $25 gift certificate. I used DeeDee's Life's A Picnic stamp set. Isn't the circular ant border fun? I popped up the ant image and the watermelon seeds. I inked the sentiment with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. Most of the pieces are from my scrap box.
I am entering these challenges:

• Friday Mashup: summer picnic
• Scrapping4fun: summer or winter
• Hiding in my Craft Room: super scraps Saturday

I hope you'll come and join us for our fruit themed challenge. And maybe enjoy a fruity snack while you are crafting. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

Donna

Happily Ever After

One of our neighbors got married this week so I needed a wedding card for them. So here's what I made.

The sentiment is from Create with TLC and the ring image is from Beccy's Place. The background is embossed with Spellbinder's Embossabilities witha gold layer underneath. The image and sentiment are die cut from Spellbinder's Beaded Ovals and inked with Salty Ocean Distress Ink. I added some grosgrain ribbon and a couple flowers from my stash.
I am entering these challenges:

• CAS-UAL Chic: embossing
• Cut It Up: word/phrase
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Tuesday Throwdown: no patterned paper
• Papertake Weekly: anything goes

Well, the weekend is here. I am thrilled because I am on vacation for the next week. No work! Yeah! And I get to visit my son this week. Here's hoping that your weekend is awesome!

Donna

Dropping a Line

Happy Thursday! Definitely on the down side of the week. And so glad to be. My day at work was rough. Sometimes people I deal with can be really difficult. It was one of those days. But tomorrow's another day. Here's my card for tonight.

My image is Inner Tube Birdbrain from From the Heart Stamps. It's the stamp of the month for July. The sentiment is also from the set. I used the sketch at i {heart} sketches.

The image was colored with Copic and Bic markers. The paper is from a Simon Says stamp kit.
I am entering these challenges:

• i {heart} sketches: sketch
• From the Heart Stamp of the Month: use Inner Tube Birdbrain
• Inspiration Destination: anything goes
• Cards in Envy: just beachy
• Papertake Weekly: anything goes

I just love Birdbrain. This one is way too cute. Thanks for stopping by today. I'm hoping to get to craft a little more this week before we leave. Hope your Friday is awesome.

Donna

Summer's Cool Treat

Happy Wednesday! Sometimes I get my days mixed up since I don't work on Monday anymore. I was thinking it was Tuesday. But two days down and two to go. Vacation again next week but then I won;t see a vacation for a while but once we are home I can go back to crafting. I've kind of missed it with the wedding and day camp and all the other things going on. My card tonight is for one of my progressive challenges.

The image and sentiment is the July digi of the month from DeeDee's Digis called Ice Cream Truck. I used the pre-colored image because I really loved the green color. I used the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches to create the card.

The background paper is from a Simon Says Stamp Kit of the Month. I added the ribbon to match the sketch. The sentiment is inked with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. The sentiment is cut with a Clear Dollar Stamp tag die, the image is cut with Spellbinders Standard Rectangles and backed with Spellbinder's Scalloped Rectangles.

I am entering these challenges:

• DeeDee's Digi of the Month: use Ice Cream Truck
• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch #308
• Simon Says challenge: furry friends
• Fresh Brewed Designs: ice cream
• Inky Impressions: 2 or more die cuts

Tomorrow I have to give a presentation at work. Hope it goes okay and is over quickly. Most of it will be answering questions. Thanks for stopping by and checking my card out today. Hope all is going well for you!

Donna

Birthday Boy

I can't believe we are a week into July and I have yet to post a card. I am definitely behind the eight ball. And next week we are taking vacation so not much crafting going on then either. But tonight I finally have a card for a special birthday boy.

This is a Bugaboo image called Sign It Boy Balloons. I colored him with Bic markers. I added a sentiment from Create with TLC. I used a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches but I used this one too late to join in the challenge. I used some scraps from my scrap box for the patterned paper The cute party hats are from a W Plus 9 set called Unforgettable. I used the m atching dies to cut the hats. The balloons and hats are covered with Glossy Accents to give it some shine. The background embossing is a Caning embossing folder from Paper Studio.

I am entering these challenges:

• Bugaboo: anything goes
• Simon Says challenge: we're going dotty
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Less Is More: red, white and blue
• Seize the Birthday: red, white and blue

That's it for me tonight. I hope your week is off to an awesome start. I had yesterday off but I spent most of it catching up with chores. I was really hoping to get more crafty time in. Nit to be though. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again very soon.

Donna