Tuesday, November 29, 2016

End of November

Can you believe that November is coming to an end. Before the clock ticks into December I wanted to get one last card done for Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards challenge. I found most of this card laying on my desk.

The image was an extra that I had already colored. The green/blue circle frame was already cut. I decided it needed the red mat so I used Spellbinder's Inverted Circles, added some Stickles and then die cut a Spellbinder's conversation bubble. The sentiment is handwritten into the bubble. I couldn't find a stamp small enough to fit. I popped up and extended the bubble off the card. So this card was mostly bits and pieces that I had lying around. Really glad to use up bits like that because I have so many.
I am entering these challenges:

Quick and simple today. Hope your week is off to a great start. Tomorrow my daughter returns to work so my hours will change for watching the twins. Probably more hours of watching them but that's okay. Thanks for stopping by!

Donna

Saturday, November 26, 2016

White on White with a Pop of Red

Happy weekend! It's been a really nice weekend for us. Both of our boys are visiting for the holiday. They may not be back for Christmas so we are soaking up as much time as we can with them. Today the twins came to our house for the first time. They aren't allowed in public but their parents came for a meal and they visited with the family while they were in town. The uncles (our sons) got to meet their niece and nephew for the first time. It was a really nice day with lots of hands around to help with the babies. Tomorrow both of the boys will be heading home. I will be sad to see them go but they have a life elsewhere and we just try to spend as much time as we can with them when the opportunity to be together presents itself. It's been awesome. I'll miss them again.
We have a new challenge beginning at The Outlaw CAS challenge. The challenge this week is quite interesting. I made two cards for this one; hated the first card I made so I found a little time to make another one this afternoon. This is what I came up with.


I won a blog candy on Kittie Caracciolo of KitteKraft. The candy arrived in the mail today and it included this Sizzix embossing folder of a door. So I decided to use that embossing folder and add the pop of red as the Poppy Stamps wreath die. The added banner, die cut with MFT Pierced Banner Flags is embossed on vellum and extends across the wreath. It certainly is better than my first idea so I am thankful to Kittie and the postal worker who delivered it today. 
I am entering these challenges:
I hope you'll join our white with a pop of red challenge at The Outlawz CAS. It was a real challenge for me. Hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend, my US friends. Tricia will go back to work this week so I'm not sure yet how that will affect my schedule. I would think I will be spending more time with the twins but we'll see. She still didn't have her schedule yet for work. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderfully crafty Sunday!

Donna


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Twins Christmas

HappyWednesday! Yesterday I showed a pic of the twin sand today I have their Christmas card that I will send them.


The image is from Bugaboo called Baby Christmas. I flipped the image so I would have twins. Instead of coloring the outfits I used stripes and polka dots (thank you 30 days of Coloring challenge). Everything is colored with Copic markers. I added Crystal Stickles to the hats and sleeves. Stamped a sentiment from a retired Stampin' Up ! stamp set and added two heart brads. The image panel is die cut with Gina Marie Designs Cross Stitch Rectangles. Also used a red card stock base with a background of green card stock.

I am entering these challenges:

That's it for me today. I'll be watching the twins later today and then traveling for Thanksgiving and back again on Friday. At that point all my kids will be home and we'll have the weekend together. And they'll get to meet the twins for the first time. So I'll probably be missing for a while but see you back soon. Wishing all my US friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are truly blessed with all good things throughout the holiday season and throughout life!

Donna

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Another 2 Fer Day

Can you believe we are only a few days away from Thanksgiving? This year has moved so fast. I can hardly believe we are nearing the end of November. Tomorrow our little Alexander would have been one year old. He is loved and missed very much. I'd like to visit his grave site tomorrow and hope I can squeeze that visit into our very busy day! I have two cards for you today. Two of my former co-workers have birthdays on November 26th so I needed a couple of birthday cards. So tonight I will show you one of those and a Christmas card that I made today.


I used the new sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches for this card. The image is by Karen Hill colored with Copic markers. I used a scrap piece of plaid for the background and a dark gray card base. The image is die cut with MFT Stitched Squares and backed with a blue green scrap. I added some extra stars, grass and bow tie (on the hippo) from a W PLUS 9 stamp set using distress ink. To finish it off I used a white gel pen to add some stitching to the dark gray card base.


I am entering these challenges:
My second card tonight was another easy card:


I won the goose image last year from Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards called Christmas Goose and printed it with a sentiment from Create with TLC. The image is pre-colored and the card looked rather bare so I added some elements from a 2002 Stampin' Up! set called Two-Step Stampin Border Builders (retired). The lights at the bottom and the stars are from that set. The ink is Momento black and various colors of distress inks. 
I am entering these challenges:

I'm going to leave you tonight with a picture of my favorite things these last few weeks. After loosing Alex last year at this time we are so thankful to have these two little ones with us for this Thanksgiving. Pictured with the twins are my husband Tom and I, blessed and thankful that we have these two little ones in our lives. I hope God blesses you as abundantly this holiday season.


Donna


Sunday, November 20, 2016

Merry Christmas Snowman

Happy Sunday! Our weather has changed drastically. Friday it was sunny and 70 degrees. Yesterday it turned very windy and the high was 40 degrees. Our wood burning stove is keeping us toasty warm. We haven't gotten snow yet although a lot of our northern neighbors did so my card today is for them. And I am thankful that it isn't us just yet. I know our day will come though, sometime soon.


Our new CAS challenge at the Outlawz today is celebrating Go for a Ride Day. We'd like to see what you would ride for fun. I chose a sled. That was my favorite pastime as a kid. We lived near a golf course and had the best time sledding down hills and sometimes into creeks. We'd be soaking wet when we came home but we had such a great time. I embossed the background with a snowflake embossing folder. The image is from Oak Pond Creations and the sentiment from Birds Cards. I put them together in Photoshop. The image is colored with Copic markers and I added Crystal Stickles for some added sparkle. I hope you'll join us this week and show us what a fun ride would be for you at The Outlawz CAS challenge.
I am entering these challenges:

That's it for me today. My son arrived from Florida last night and he is my baker so let the baking begin. He's waiting on me to go with him to the grocery store right now so I have to scoot. Have a wonderful Sunday!

Donna

Friday, November 18, 2016

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Happy Friday morning! I had hoped to get this posted last night before I went to bed but alas some fitsy twins and a long evening had me falling into bed as soon as I darkened my door last night. Little Miss Valerie loves to just walk up and down the hallway and always be on the move. And we couldn't fill her up last night. She wanted to eat all the time. Mr. Arthur has the biggest eyes for a baby and he rarely blinks. But he's very curious, always looking around to see what's going on. They are beautiful and I am one biased grammy. At any rate, back to my card....


I had a couple of challenges in mind when I made this card. First I used the Tuesday Morning Sketch for inspiration. I really love the fun design although I changed it a bit and used twine instead of the banner and just printed my sentiment on the background. The image is from Bugaboo Stamps and colored with Copics. I die cut the image with MFT Stitched Circles and inked the edges with Fire brick distress ink. The backing for the image was die cut with Spellbinder's Classic Scalloped Circles. And I was thinking of the Catch the Bug challenge again which is "going in circles" and I remembered this great stamp from Great Impressions that has these circle images on it. So I created my own background with the stamp and some MFT pigment inks. The sentiment is from Create with TLC.

I am entering these challenges:

That's it for this morning. I think my next week will be hopping busy. Our youngest is driving from Florida tomorrow. He is taking a new job in Boston so at some point in December/January he'll be moving to Boston where my other son lives. So we'll be vacationing in Boston next year. Steve will be with us all next week. His brother Dan will be flying in next Wednesday for a few days. And they will get to meet the twins. So we are excited and thankful to have the whole family together for Thanksgiving. They probably won't be returning for Christmas so we will enjoy it while we can. Have a wonderful weekend! Our Indian summer is coming to a close today and tomorrow our high should only be in the 40s. I was so enjoying those 60-70 degree temperatures. Hugs to you all!

Donna

Monday, November 14, 2016

Happy Thanksgivig

I had a lot of errands today and Tricia didn't need help with the twins so I got a bunch of stuff done. Not a lot of crafting although I did manage one card today. I don;t send a lot of Thanksgiving cards but I do need a few. So here's one I whipped up today.

I used the Stella Sketch as inspiration for this card. I used a Bugaboo image called Brat - Turkey Thanksgiving. I colored her with Copics and Bic markers. And then I hot my scrap box for fall colored papers. The image is cut with Gina Marie Deesigns Cross Stitch Rectangles. I heat embossed the Happy Thanksgiving sentiment with gold embossing powder. I added three gold enamel dots for embellishment. The base is white cards stock with a darker brown background paper.


I am entering these challenges:
I hope your week is off to a great start. Thanksgiving is coming up so quickly. It's hard to believe it's next week already. One of my sons is flying home for a visit and we aren't sure about the other one yet.But we are excited to at least have some of the family home. They are looking forward to meeting the twins. Thanks for stopping by today. Hope your schedule allows you time to craft!

Donna

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Experimenting

Ha, ha! This evening I looked at a list of challenges that I had written down and decided to experiment with a few of them. So don;t laugh just yet at this card. It definitely is not my typical Christmas card but it didn't turn out too bad.


First, I usually don't use black for Christmas card base but I thought it would show off all the colors. The image is from Imagine That! Digis by Kris called Santa Penguin. I had him printed and sitting on my desk so I could color him up quickly. The sentiment is from the same set. Catch the Bug challenge asks you to use circles (going in circles) so I decided to use the MFT Stitched circle dies to cut out scraps of paper to fill my background. Crafty Hazelnut Christmas challenge is to use the color coral on your card so I colored his scarf in coral (as close as I had). And Hiding in my Craft Room is Super Scraps Saturday so I used a bunch of scraps from my scrap box. And last but not least is day 13 at Beccy's Place A Month of Holiday Cards to go over the edge (my sentiment). So there you have it. My experiment for the evening. What do you think? I like all the color but I don;t think I will mass produce this one. LOL! See you soon.

Donna

Christmas Flowers

Poinsettias are my favorite this time of year. So I wanted to do a card with mt favorite Christmas flower on it. This set is from Beccy's Place called Poinsettia set.


This on was very easy. I did a little manipulating of the pre-colored image to turn it to lay the way I wanted it to. I added the sentiment which also comes with that set and printed it off. I then chose colors for the matting and added some sequins for embellishments. Oh so easy!
I am entering these challenge:

Just a quick card this morning. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

Donna

Aviation and Railroad Month

Welcome to a new challenge at The Outlaw CAS challenge. November is both Aviation History Month and National Model Railroad Month. So we are looking for planes and trains this week. My SIL is a pilot and has her own plane so I have made cards for her with planes on them. But this card is for my BIL who has a birthday this week.


This is a one layer card. I printed the sentiment and the pre-colored image from the Airplane set from Imagine That! Digis by Kris. And to finish it off I inked the background using a scalloped punched out circle. So easy and truly CAS! I took a picture of the inside too just to prove it was a birthday card.

I computer generated the first part of the inside sentiment and the second part and the paper airplane is also from the Airplane stamp set from Imagine That!
I am entering these challenges:


I hope you will join us this week and show us your planes and trains. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Donna

Saturday, November 12, 2016

A Christmas Post

Happy Saturday! A very crisp fall day here in Indiana. The sun is shining but there is a definite chill in the air. We had a frost last night. Most of the leaves are down except our front two maple trees. They are always the last to shed their brilliant red leaves.
Another Christmas card today. This card has so many layers it's a bit front heavy. I had a hard time photographing it. It didn't want to stay upright.


The image is from Di's digis and is the progressive digi for November at The Outlawz. I colored the digi with Copic markers and used some ideas that I saw on the 30 Day of Coloring challenge. I die cut the image with MFT Inside and Out Stitched Rounded Squares.  The sentiment is from When the Scrap Hits the Fun and die cut with Gina Marie Designs Cross Stitch Rectangles and inked with Mowed Lawn distress ink. The polka dot paper is from Recollections Home Basics Collections. I added some Sharpie white poster paint to create some white snowflakes falling. Difficult to see in the photo. The other pieces are scraps from my scrap box. I used the Tuesday Morning Sketch as inspiration.


I am entering these challenges:
That's it for me today. We have dinner and an evening out tonight so I'm looking forward to some down time. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Donna


Friday, November 11, 2016

My Favorite Christmas Card so Far

Happy Veterans Day to everyone in the U.S. I'd like to thank all the veterans and their families for all the sacrifices they've made to keep our country safe. Special thanks to 2 of my brothers and my sister who all served in the Air Force. Please know how grateful I am to all of you and send my love.
Today I have a card that I like so much I am going to go find as much of this dotted paper as I can and make more of these. It's just gorgeous in person and I know the photo won't do it justice.


Earlier this month I won an individual digital stamp from Beccy's Place and I chose this Aussie Wreath stamp. I am using the pre-colored version on this card but I added a few things to it that make it sparkle and shine. I added dimensional magic to the bow. I think you can see the shine on that. But  I also added Crystal Stickles to each of the centers of the white flowers. I let one coat dry and then I added a second. The result is just stunning. When you pick the card up it just sparkles. I love it. I cut the wreath out with MFT Stitched Ovals. The dotted background paper is from Raspberry Roads Design Christmas Collection. The sentiment is on a green scrap to match the base card stock. I heat embossed the sentiment from Holiday Greetings stamp kit (retired) from Gina K Designs. I die cut the sentiment with MFT Mini Tabs 4 (retired).
I am entering these challenges:

That's it for me today. I am helping with the twins this evening so no crafty time for me. I wish you all a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Donna

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Oops!

Yesterday I realized that I had forgotten to send a birthday card on time. So I hurriedly made this belated birthday card and sent it off.


I have been dying to ink up this stamps from Inky Antics from the Forest Friends stamp set. The sentiment is computer-generated. I thought of it ages ago but I am usually on time with sending cards. So I finally got to get this one out of my head and onto paper. I masked off the ground to do the sky and vice versa. And then added the sun from Spellbinder's Sunny Days die cuts. I used a coloring technique on the bear that I saw in one of Kathy's videos at the 30 Days of Coloring challenge. I hope she likes the humor "behind" this card.
I am entering these challenges:

That's it for today. I am hoping to get some crafting time in this evening. Fingers crossed! Take care!

Donna

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Reindeer Trio

Happy Wednesday! It's almost over and I am really tired. I watched the twins tonight. They are a handful. It takes two of us at all times to keep them happy. Valerie wasn't a happy camper tonight. She was happy to sleep in my arms but she did not want to be in her basinet. Makes it tough to get anything else done. We are still trying to unpack their stuff in the new apartment and it's taking a very long time.
My card today is for Christmas. It's one of my favorite Bugaboo images. I just love the expressions on the reindeer faces.

The image is Make It Snappy -Reindeer Trio. I colored the image with Copic markers. The designer paper is a scrap from my scrap box. I added a sparkling ribbon and three buttons from the collection that I inherited from my MIL. I tied a small piece of green twine in each button.
I am entering these challenges:

Hope your week is going well. I am back to watch the twins tomorrow as Tricia has two appointments tomorrow. Not sure if I'll get any crafting time tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. Have an awesome day!

Donna



Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Christmas Angel

Today at Imagine That! Digis by Kris we have a new exciting release. I am showing one of the new release sets. But stay tuned to Imagine That! Creative Playground to see all the new sets today. I am featuring the stamp set Angels with Birds.


I used the outline stamp and colored the angel with Copic markers. There are three angels in this set: one for Thanksgiving, one for Christmas, and a blank angel to use as you want. I made my card a shaker card with fall colored sequins and leaves. The background designer paper is from Imagine That! Fabulous Fall Digi Papers. The die cut for the shaker card is Spellbinder's Labels 13. I popped up the shaker part with light brown fun foam. The card base is kraft.



I am entering these challenges:
PLease stop by the Imagine That! Creative Playground today and check out all the new stamp sets. You can also find them featured at the Imagine That! Shop. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Tuesday.

Donna



Monday, November 7, 2016

Mitten Wreath

Happy Monday! My hubby and I spent some time last night with the twins to give their Mom a break so she could shower, eat and relax. Of course we loved it! I haven't heard how their first night went with the twins both being home. Maybe they are sleeping in as much as possible.
I made a Christmas card yesterday that I didn't get posted. I had a couple challenges in mind when making this one.

I used the Simon Says Big Holiday Wishes stamp set which I don't think is available anymore. I stamped the mittens in a wreath pattern after stamping the sentiment in the middle. It actually took me three tries to get this right. I made a few mistakes along the way. I added the heart stamp at the end and used my Wink of Stella pen to give it some shine. To finish it off I added a Gina Marie Designs Bow and Ribbon die cut. The ink colors were MFT Cherry Crisp and Elf Green and Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves distress ink.
I am entering these challenges:

It's almost lunchtime and so I am coming to a close. It's still hard for me to believe I am retired. The days feel strange that I am home so much more. The laundry and the dishes are getting done. Dinner is getting made on time and every day I try to do one little project that I've been putting off for too long (sewing on buttons, shredding old documents, etc.) and it feels good to cross things off my list. I am so blessed. I hope you have an amazing week!

Donna

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Gerda Steiner Cutie

Last month the progressive challenge at The Outlawz was sponsored by Gerda Steiner. I didn't get my card posted but I used the image to make an adorable birthday card!


This is Juggling Tiger. I colored him with Copic markers. I cut him out with Spellbinders Circle dies then made a frame using MFT stitched circles dies and Spellbinder's inverted circle dies. The sentiment was added to MFT Stitched Banner flags. The background paper is from Imagine That! Fabulous Fall Digi Paper. I backed the card with black card stock.
I am entering these challenges:

Thanks for stopping by this evening. Our dreams came true today, as on their 1 month birthday our twin grandbabies were reunited. Arthur came home today from the hospital. So I leave you with their 1 month birthday picture of the twins.


I am in love with my grand babies! Have a wonderful week! I'll be busy taking care of them.

Donna

New CAS challenge

It's time for a new CAS challenge at The Outlawz. I actually managed to get a card done this week. This week we are using something mythical on our cards. That covers a lot of images; everything from dragons to fairies to Santa and his elves. So here is my card for this week.


I got this free digital image a long time ago from Steady On. I used distress ink to water color the background. I colored the image with Copic markers and add a sentiment from a retired Gina K stamp set. Can't get much more CAS then that. I hope you'll pop over and play along with our mythical theme at The Outlawz CAS.
I am entering these challenges:

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!. It looks like a beautiful fall day here and we got an extra hour of sleep (at least that's the way it's supposed to work. LOL!)

Donna

Saturday, November 5, 2016

New Challenge at Imagine That! Creative Playground

Late again. But I got to babysit little Valerie today while Mom and Dad went to visit Arthur at the hospital. We are praying that he comes home in the next day or two.We are no longer allowed to visit him. The hospital declared it flu season and so no one but the parents can visit in the NICU now. So I am missing my Arthur fix. We need him to come home!
Today begins a new challenge over at the Imagine That! Creative Playground. A very timely challenge as "Christmas is Coming!" That's our theme this month. I am sure you will be making at least one Christmas card this month so please share it with us. You don't have to use an Imagine That image to join in. My card today is for little Valerie for Christmas. I should have reverses the red and green in the image as she has a little red outfit ready for Christmas. LOL!


I used an image and sentiment from Tania's Tree Costume from Imagine That! digis by Kris. The red gingham paper is from Imagine That! Chef Freddy stamp set. The golden background paper is from Decosse's Dyanamite Doodle's Holiday Hoopla Textured Papers. I colored the image with Copic markers and added Golden Rod and Ruby Slippers Stickles. The image is die cut with MFT Stitched Ovals and backed with Spellbinder's Lacy Ovals. My sentiment is die cut from Quick Cutz tags and inked with Mowed Lawn distress ink. My card front is backed with black card stock and mounted on a white card stock card. As you make your Christmas cards this month please join in our challenge at Imagine That! Creative Playground.
I am entering these challenges:

Thanks for stopping today. I am working on some crafty projects this weekend thatI hope to share with you soon. Once Arthur comes home from the hospital who knows how much time I will have to craft. We'll wait and see. Make it a crafty weekend!

Donna


Thursday, November 3, 2016

My Favorite Time of the Year

Time is flying by and before you know it, Christmas will be here. I bought the twins an outfit yesterday off the clearance rack at Target. My first Christmas shopping. LOL! I have a start. I do believe buying them diapers for Christmas would make their parents happy, happy, happy! I babysat Valerie today while Tricia and Jamie went to visit Arthur in the NICU. Sure hope he comes home soon. They said Valerie had a bad night last night. She has her days and nights mixed up I think. But she's doing well. Now if we can just get Arthur home and on the same schedule it will help all of us. Beccy's Place has a special challenge this month. Each day she posts a new card for inspiration and you can make a similar card and enter it in the challenge for the month. It must be Christmas.


I found this die on clearance at Hobby Lobby. It's a triple flip card. I was thrilled to find something like this on clearance and thought it was so cute. The images are from Luna Girl. They are vintage Santas. The paper is scraps from my scrap box. A pretty easy Christmas card.
I am entering these challenges:

Thanks for stopping by today. I need to download some of the pictures of the twins from my phone so I can post them. I'm going at lunch time tomorrow to babysit Valerie so they can go back to the hospital. So I cook in the morning so I can take them dinner when I go. Hope you are all well. Have a super weekend!

Donna

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

November - 12 Months of Christmas Challenge

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I posted something. So before I get to my design team post (which I am late posting for, so sorry) let me give you a quick update on the twins. Valerie was released from the hospital on Sunday but Arthur remains in the NICU. So far so good with Valerie but it takes a lot of juggling and back and forth to the hospital when you have one baby in and one baby at home. So that has been a lot of my life for the past few days. We are hoping that in the next few days Arthur will also be released from the hospital. I'll try to get a picture up of the twins very soon. Yesterday was my last day at work so I am officially "retired." I won't be going into the office anymore but they could call me to work on special projects from home. Now back to regular programming. LOL!
Happy November! It's time for a new challenge over at 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. I did manage to get a card done for this challenge. I can't believe how fast the time goes. This month our theme is BINGO.

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our guest sponsor this month,be sure to follow one of the rows in the BINGO card featured below. Whichever row you chose, just please be sure to mention in your post the items you have chosen to useAlso, if you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize.

Remember, you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, and have your name thrown into the year end draw for some extra digital goodies. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of EITHER the Holiday Hoopla Digital Scrapbooking Kit OR five different mini kits (of six papers each) from the Christmas and/or Winter section from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles.


Main Blog: http://decossesdynamitedoodles.blogspot.ca/                                     
some designs can be purchased at:http://buyscribblesdesigns.blogspot.ca/                                           some sentiment sets along with a special Breast Cancer Awareness digi paper pack can be purchased at:http://www.imaginethatdigistamp.com/store/c331/DD_Doodles.html


For my card this month I used paper and a sentiment from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. I paired them with a Bugaboo digital image. The image is colored with Copic markers and die cut with Spellbinder's Inverted Squares. The background for the image is Spellbinders scalloped squares. My background paper is Trees and Stars (from 12 Days of Christmas set 2015) and the top (window shade-like) paper is from Holiday Hoopla Textured Papers and punched with Stampin' Up! scallop punch. My sentiment is from Christmas Time digital set. I inked the sentiment with Squeezed Lemonade distress ink. So can you tell which column I used? I think it's pretty easy: green, die cut, tree, gift box and star.




I know that everyone will be making lots of Christmas cards this month so I hope that you will join us over at 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. Remember you can link up any Christmas theme card but if you use the BINGO theme you could win a prize. We'd love to see your BINGO cards.
I am entering these challenges:
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you over at 12 Months of Christmas Link Up! Take care!






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