Rudolph Days Challenge

Happy Rudolph Day! The 25th of each month is Scrappy Mo's Rudolph Days challenge. This month I am again a guest designer. I am getting my card up a bit late today. It was very busy today. First I had to give a presentation at work (on my day off), then I had to run to the hospital to pick up my daughter to take her for errands. After that I ran back home to make dinner and wash clothes to take back to the hospital. After we ate it was back to the hospital to take dinner to Tricia and then over to their new apartment to help finish up the move. Everything is now out of the old apartment (need to clean it yet) but there are lots of boxes sitting around the new apartment that need to be emptied and put away. That's for another day. I am exhausted. But here is my Rudolph Day card.

The Santa image is from Bugaboo stamps and I colored it with Copic markers. The twinkle light designer paper is from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles and the plaid paper is from my scrap box. I die cut the image with MFT Stitched Squares and added Diamond Stickles to parts of the image. To embellish I used my snowflake punch to punch three snowflakes. I hope you will join us at The Rudolph Days Challenge between now and October 31st! 

I am entering these challenges:

• Stella Sketch: sketch
• Christmas Card Challenge: anything goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room: any holiday
• The Pencil Case: anything goes
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge: use a sentiment
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Extra: anything goes Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut Patterned Paper challenge: use patterned paper
• C.R.A.F.T. Challenge: Christmas

That's it for me tonight. I am about ready to drop into bed before I start all over again tomorrow. Tomorrow is my second last day of work but they are holding a retirement reception for me tomorrow afternoon. Then I have to pack up my office since my husband will be coming to the reception and I can get him to help me haul it all out of the building. LOL!  I hope I get some time to craft this week but we have people coming to visit, an apartment to clean and hospital visits. But the good news is the twins are doing well and continue to gain weight. The estimated time for release is still November 11th. Still seems like a very long way away. Take care!

Donna

Do you use ombre?

With the birth of the twins I took a break with some of my design team responsibilities for a few weeks but I managed to get a card done this week for The Outlawz CAS challenge. This week's challenge is ombre. So I tried this several different times with different methods and I can safely say that I need lots of practice to make my ombre look right. LOL!

I put several shades of blue distress inks on a large block and then spritzed it with water. Then covered my block with water color paper. The rest was just simple stamping from a retired Simon Says stamp set. The snowflakes were stamped in the background from a retired Peachy Keen stamp set. (Most of my stamps are retired. I haven't bought stamps in quite some time.) I hope you'll give ombre a try and join us this week at The Outlawz CAS challenge. I am entering these challenges.

• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas challenge: use a sentiment
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Extra challenge: anything goes Christmas
• Hiding in my Craft Room: any holiday
• C.R.A.F.T. challenge: Christmas
• Holly Jolly Christmas: snow/snowmen
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

We are in the process of moving our daughter and SIL from a one bedroom to a two bedroom apartment. Yesterday we found a dresser, a changing table, and a rocking chair at the Restore for Habitat for Humanity. We cleaned them all up and re-stained some places and they are as good as new. We found out yesterday that there are no overhead lights in the bedrooms so I need to shop for a lamp for the twin's room. Yesterday we moved the living room/dining room area and part of the kitchen. There's a lot more to do so we'll be back at it today. And then we'll have to clean the one bedroom apartment. Lots of fun! Not! Have an awesome Sunday. And I hope your week gets off to a great start. This will be my last full week of work before I retire. Wednesday afternoon my boss is holding a retirement reception for me.

Donna

Unforgettable Part 2

So today I have the companion card to yesterday's Unforgettable card. This is the flip side to the Jennifer McGuire Coordinating Die Masking technique. Two cards for the price of one. I thought about coloring the elephants but since I used Momento London Fog for the background I decided I liked the elephants showing through on the white card stock.

And while I was doing yesterday's birthday card with the elephants, I thought about how cute this would be for a baby card. So I made this one a baby boy card. The images  are all from the WPlus9 stamp set Unforgettable. The sentiment is from a retired Gina K set called Wee Tees. I really love both of the cards and I love Jennifer's technique. I hope you'll give it try.
I am entering these challenges:

• Digi Choosday challenge: anything goes
• Craft Your Passion: anything goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: anything goes
• Crafty Sentiments Designs: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope your week is off to a great start. Now I have to go get dinner together and take it to the hospital for Tricia and visit with the babies. Make it an awesome week!

Donna

Unforgettable

I got to hold Arthur last night for the very first time. And today I held Valerie for the first time. None of my children were this tiny. And some of the babies in the nursery would make 2 or 3 of little Valerie. She is finally back up to her birth weight of 3lbs 13oz. She is all arms and legs. Arthur is a little more filled out than Valerie so he doesn't look quite like he's all arms and legs.  But he still is fairly tiny.
It seems like forever since I made a card. It took me two days to finish this one but it felt good to be creating something again.

This card is for my youngest son who will turn 28 near the end of the month. I really wanted to try this technique that I learned at Jennifer McGuire's blog. She called it Coordinating Die Masking. Check out this technique is was so fun to do and created two cards for the price of one. (Matching card coming soon, I hope!) I used WPlus9's Unforgettable stamp set. I just love these little elephants. I think they are adorable. And since there were three elephants in the set it made the creation of the card a bit faster. I used Momento London Fog and then used a heart from Simon Says Watt's Up stamp set in MFT Cherry Crisp ink to create some background interest. I backed it with red card stock and added the sentiment (from the Unforgettable stamp set) embossed on vellum and fastened to the card by two red heart brads. I think it turned out so cool. You really should check out Jennifer's technique.
I am entering these challenges:

• Seize the Birthday: anything goes
• Inspiration Destination: anything goes
• Crafty Sentiments Design: add a sentiment
• Happy Little Stampers CAS: embossing on vellum

That's it for me tonight. I am ready for bed. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Donna

Update on the Twins

It's been more than a week since I've had time to sit down at my desk to create anything. And I apologize for not getting around to very many blogs this week. I've been running back and forth to the hospital every day. Tricia was discharged on Monday from the hospital but since the twins remain in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), they let her stay at the hospital to feed and help care for the babies. But they won't give her any meals so we have to make sure that she gets three meals a day. I am exhausted by the time the evening rolls around. The weekend of October 21st we have to move them into their two-bedroom apartment; another exhausting task since she didn't have time to pack much before the babies were born.
The babies do remain in the NICU but Arthur has been taken off the respirator and is breathing on his own. He developed acid reflux and they are using a special pump for feeding him. Here's a picture of our cute little Arthur.

His sister, Valerie, developed jaundice and was under ultraviolet lights for a day. She's the tiny one. Her entire head is no bigger than my fist. But she was breathing on her own since birth so if she can start gaining weight she'd be doing wonderfully. This picture makes it look like Valerie is bigger than Arthur. Reality is quite the opposite. Valerie is almost a pound under Arthur's weight.

So as long as they don't develop any other problems they just need to gain weight. I'm sure they won't let them go home until they are over 5 lbs. So it's going to take some time. Hopefully we'll get some better pictures of Valerie soon. 

Thanks for hanging in with me. I hope that I get to create something soon. I've never gotten to play much with my Wild Card class but I hope to get back to that soon. Hope your week is going great!

Hugs,

Donna

Gate Fold Fun

So earlier this week I posted a card for the Wild Card Class that I won a spot in. 

The card I have tonight I started earlier this week and then life intervened. My aunt passed away and the twins were born. I had to travel for the funeral and I've been at the hospital every day. So I haven't had as much time to play as I would like but I really love how this card turned out. Thank you Jennifer McGuire! One of her videos for the class is on gate fold cards. I always liked the look of gate fold cards but what I didn;t like is that they never stayed closed. Jennifer came up with this ingenious way to keep them closed that I just had to try.

So you can open the card by the diamond shape "lapels" which is just adorable. She used hearts in her example but I used Gina Marie Designs Stitched Diamonds. I heat embossed the background of the card in black with Penny Black Allover Pattern. And I added some little bats from Craftin' Desert Diva's Batty for You stamp set. They are popped up from the card with foam tape. And then I closed the card by using Gina Marie Designs Bow and Ribbon die. I cut on in card stock but it seemed to flimsy so I used another one of Jennifer's tricks and cut one from black fun foam and adhered the two together to make it sturdier. And it does a nice job of keeping the card closed. So when you remove the closure you can see the inside of the card.

The images and sentiment are also from the Batty for You stamp set. I colored them and the bats from the front of the card with Copic markers. I just might make more gatefold cards now that I know a trick to close them.

I am entering these challenges:

• The Pencil Case: anything goes (coloring)
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: anything goes
• Crafty Sentiments Design: anything goes
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes

Update on my grandbabies: Both of the babies are on feeding tubes and Arthur is still on the respiratory. He's doing better.Tricia got to hold him today for the first time. They are both so tiny. I think it will be a while before they will be allowed to come home.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm going to try to get some other fun things done from the Wild Card class, if I can find the time. Hope your weekend is awesome!

Donna

Baby's First Halloween

I am very late at getting this posted today, but I have a very good reason. I took my daughter, Tricia, to the doctor this morning for a check on the twins. While we were sitting in the waiting room her phone rings and it's the doctor. And I see she is listening for a minute and then she says, "I'm sitting in the waiting room." So they call her name and we go back to see the doctor who tells us that earlier blood tests this week has shown that fer liver function is getting worse and her blood pressure has been up for several weeks. So they want the babies to be born today. Off we go to the hospital and by 1:15pm we have two new beautiful grandbabies, 5 1/2 weeks early. Little Arthur was born at 1:14pm and weighed in at 4lbs 7oz and was  17 1/2 inches long. Valerie, born at 1:15pm, was 3lbs 13oz and 16 1/2 inches long. Both are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Arthur is on a lung machine even though he was the bigger of the two. Valerie is doing okay and snuggling with Tricia. Tricia hasn't even been able to touch Arthur yet. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers and I'll keep you all updated.
My card tonight is with the new Imagine That! Digis by Kris Halloween costume fun sets released this week.

I just had the feeling that the babies would be here before Halloween so here's my Halloween card for them. I used Imagine That! Baby Dragon Costume and Lizzy's Owl Costume. Using the pre-colored images I fussy cut both of the images several times and then popped up pieces of each of the images for texture on the card. I cut the background with Spellbinder's Labels 35 and inked the background with Momento Dessert Sand ink and Salty Ocean distress ink. The background paper is from Imagine That! Fabulous Fall Papers. The sentiment is from the Baby Dragon Costume set and I added an "s" to the end of monster. I added a ribbon as embellishment. I used the Tuesday Morning Sketch as my inspiration.

Baby Dragon Costume

Lizzy's Owl Costume

Fabulous Fall Papers

Now for the awesome news. Kris is offering a tremendous deal on these new release stamp sets. Check it out here.

I am entering these challenges:

• Tuesday Morning Sketches: sketch
• Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
• Hiding in my Craft Room: Halloween colors
• Simon Says Wednesday challenge: Halloween inspiration
• Penny's Paper-Crafty: anything goes
• Inspiration Destination: anything goes

I had such fun making this card. Now my two little grandbabies are in this world and I can make them all kind of things. I got to go into the NICU this evening and see them up close and personal. No touching yet but I can wait to hold them as long as I know that someday I will be able to. Thanks for all thoughts and prayers headed there way. We truly appreciate it! I'll keep you posted.

Wild Card

Happy Monday! I am taking part in the Online Card Class called Wild Card.

I watched the first two videos this morning and tried out a shaped card that was the topic of the videos. So I used a Poppy Stamps Window die to make my card.

The Breezy Wreath on the window is also from Poppy Stamps but it must be retired as I couldn't find it on their site.. The sentiment is from a retired Gina K stamp set called Wreath of Wishes. I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder on vellum.The edges of the window are inked with Tea Dye distress ink and the window panes are inked with Fossilized Amber distress ink. My daughter will be moving to new apartment shortly so I'll be sending this to wish them a happy new home.
I am entering these challenges:

• Cards in Envy: frame it
• Happy Little Stampers CAS: embossing on vellum
• Craft Your Passion: anything goes
• Inspiration Destination: anything goes

That's it for me today. I have to work Tuesday and Wednesday so I'm not sure if I'll get much done. Go to the doctor's with Tricia Thursday for a check of the twins. Friday I have to make a trip to Cincinnati for my aunt's funeral. I need to say goodbye to my very last aunt. I sent her cards often and she loved to get them. I am sad to see her go but I know she's in a better place. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Donna

Fall Apples in CAS

I am so late at posting this new challenge over at the Outlawz CAS blog. Lots of things happened this weekend and things didn't quite turn out like I expected. I am finally back home with Internet access. But I am looking at a very busy week ahead. So if I go MIA please don;t be surprised. The new challenge is all about apples. Fall is the time to pick and enjoy apples in all kinds of ways; from cider to pies. I love apples, especially with peanut butter on them.

The image is fro Beccy's Place called Apple Basket. I added the sentiment from Create with TLC in Photoshop and then printed and colored the image with Copics. I die cut the panel with Gina Marie Designs Cross Stitched Rectangles. The card is backed with red card stock on a white card stock base. Clean and simple! I hope you will join us this week as we celebrate apples over at the Outlawz CAS challenge.
I am entering these challenges:

• Beccy's Place October challenge: use a Beccy's Place image
• Doing Life Create with TLC: use a TLC element
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: anything goes
• A Bit More Time to Craft: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today. My apologies to my teamies for getting this posted so late. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Donna

Christmas Cheer

his is my second post today. If you want to see the challenge from Imagine That! Creative Playground, scroll down or click here.
The October challenge has begun over at 12 Month's of Christmas Linkup. How are your Christmas cards coming along? Before you know it will be time to start sending them out. Do you have enough of them ready to go? Now's your chance. Our challenge this month is anything goes. Any Christmas card you make is eligible this month. Our sponsor is Crafty Sentiments Designs and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.

My card this month features "Cold Christmas" from Crafty Sentiments Designs. I colored her with Bic markers and added some Diamond Stickles on her ear muffs. The mitten paper and the snowflake paper is from the new designer paper at Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. The paper pack is called Eclectic Christmas 2. Lisa does such a wonderful job with the papers we use each month. I printed the sentiment from Create with TLC directly on the mitten paper and then die cut the paper with Spellbinder's Labels 35. I lined the white card stock base with red card stock and the snowflake paper and she is ready to go. Another Christmas card to check off my list. I hope, as you make your Christmas cards this month, you'll remember to pop over and link up at the 12 Months of Christmas Linkup. Some of Lisa's paper and/or our prize from Craft Sentiments Design could be yours.
I am entering these challenges:

• Doing Life: use a Create with TLC element
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas challenge: vintage or anything goes as long as its Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Extra challenge: anything goes Christmas
• Crafty Hazelnut Patterned Paper challenge: use patterned paper
• 52 Christmas Card challenge: sketch
• Addicted to Stamps and More: holiday

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see your cards at the 12 Month's of Christmas Linkup this month.

Fall Embossing Challenge

Happy Saturday! This is the first of two posts today. The first of every month seems to be busy with new challenges beginning. First up is the new challenge over at Imagine That! Creative Playground. Our theme this month is fall embossing. What better month than October to celebrate the beautiful colors and sights of fall. My card is a definite fall sight. My embossing isn't very noticeable but the wine label is embossed as well as the sentiment.

I used several sets on this card from Imagine That! Digis by Kris. Scarecrow elements were put together digitally and masked to create the scene that you see. I colored it with Copic markers and inked the background with Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn distress ink. The designer paper is from Fabulous Fall Papers. I cut and embossed a frame from the paper using Gina Marie Designs Wine Labels. The sentiment is from Maggie's Apples stamp set and I mounted it on a pumpkin in the Scarecrow set and die cut and embossed it from MFT's Stitched Circles and inked with Spiced Marmalade. I'm sure you will be making fall cards this month. Your don't have to use Imagine That! Digis by Kris images. Any fall image is fine to use in this challenge and you could be the winner of some of Kris' awesome sets. Hope I get to comment on your entry.

Scarecrow

Maggie's Apples

Fabulous Fall Papers

I am entering these challenges:
Simon Says Wednesday challenge: anything goes
Creative Knockouts: fall
Crafting by Designs: favorite season
Work it Wednesday: red, orange, yellow and/or brown

Can't wait to see your fall design.

Donna