Glittery Fun! Hero Arts Glitter Challenge

This Photo is 'just for fun' - I like the window scenery!
Sorry.. Just playing around over here!
That's my favorite birch tree out there, sans leaves.
And its a cloudy, snow threatening day...
But we are inside toasty warm!

Can You see the Sparkly Goodness?

Glittery Season's Greetings

For This Week's Hero Arts Glitter Challenge!

This is the front view of my card. I used the Hero Arts Antique Brocade Cling Stamp to make my ornament... Two other HA stamps are used as well (small snowflake & sentiment)...

Supplies Used:
Stamps: HA CG102 Antique Brocade, HA CL236 Joys of the Season (sentiment and small snowflake)
Card Stock: Stampin' Up
Making Memories Felt Snowflake
Autumn Leaves button
Silver Cord from Stampin' Up
Inks: Ranger Distress Ink - Broken China
Glitters: Doodlebug Design Sugar Coating, Ranger Ice Stickles, Ranger Distress Stickles in Broken China
Glue: Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad

What I did:
1. I used the negative from an ornament die (Cricut - Joys of the Season) and inked the edges to get the shape of the ornament.
2. Stamped Antique Brocade on glue pad (and visa versa)
3. Sprinkled the glitter - let set
4. Added a hanger with the cord.

The little blue snowflakes have Ice Stickles in their centers

The felt snowflake is also covered with Ice Stickles, and so is the button (got those ideas from Lisa, our Hero Arts Blog Hostess this week! She has a ton of great ideas :)

Disclaimer: I have never been successful at playing with glitter - even though I have '12 little bottles' of some gorgeous Doodlebug Goodness!

I bought the glue pad just for this challenge and am so glad I played!

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I'm on a roll here folks... I created another card for another challenge! That makes 2! Wooty toot toot!

This is my favorite part of winter, meaning, time to play. And, um, it helps when your husband goes out of town for 7 days! He's home now.. And what an adventure he had... he drove to Denver, but his truck 'broke down' in Cheyenne, WY... long story.. But $3,000 later.. he limped home with his bad truck.. Bad Bad Bad Truck!

OK.. I'm on a roll.. Next Up? Caardvarks Circle of Friends!!!

Thanks for looking!

OH my Gosh! I'm The Featured Layout of the Day!!

OK..

You're going to think I am crazy!

I was just peaking over at the Hero Arts flickr group, doing my break-time surfin' and there was a thread started that said 'Guess who is the featured layout of the day at 2peas? RrlScrapGal (Andi)'!!!


Woah!

Knock me over, Rover!!!

2peas is the place for all things scrappy, stampy, chatty and just plain shopping fun!!! Awesome classes.. I'm lovin' the Educational Board and Stampin' Board (always!)...

Thank Goodness I used Hero Arts Stamps in the layout! Now THAT would have been embarrassing! Tee Hee!


So, here it is: The link! Click that baby, and follow the link to go to the card in life size format!


BTW, the card, was a two-fur, one for this weeks Hero Arts challenge (to create our own message) and also for this week's Week2 Stamp Camp on the Educational Board - to use Alpha stamps!

Yippee!

Thanks Hero Gal Pals!!!!

More Clouds! (Cards, that is!)

One Layer Card

Inspired by Kiara's Challenge over at the Stamping Cafe, and the Hero Arts Blog!
The Hero Arts Blog turned 1 Year old!!!
Lots of great giveaways are going on all week!
Daily Stuff! Some times hourly!
Oh my....

And Kiara is giving away Blog Candy - but you have to make a one layer card!

Window Cloud Card
(The Clouds are in the inside of the card!)

Inside of the Window Card!

So how about some more clouds? It seems very appropriate here in Eastern Oregon! It snowed all day! A spring snow, if you will.... Just blowing, and snowing, and blowing.. sticking for a while then melting... Crazy weather!

Anyway, I made a card with some of the scraps from the Cloud layout that I showed you last time! And I created a window, too! (the clouds are actually on the inside - your just looking 'through' the window to see them!)...

And, this week both the Hero Arts Blog and Kiara are having 'one layer card' challenges! Kiara's challenge ends at midnight tonight... The Hero Arts challenge ends Sunday at midnight...

One layer means: Only one layer of paper... That's it! You have to use inks, pens, etc... and be creative with those stamps! This is sooooo not my strong point! But, I gave it a shot! The saving grace is you can add buttons, ribbon, etc. Phew!

Thanks Hero Arts Blog Family for such a great fun year!!!!!!!!

And, thanks Kiara for the push to 'get 'her done'!!!!

Some Creations - WinterFest '09

My Entry for Godelieve's Short Card Challenge!
Stamps: Hero Arts and Cornish Heritage Farms
The card is the front of a regular card, folded in half.

One of My Cards for Becca's 'Bird' Challenge at 2Peas
and Anne's Keep it Simple Challenge
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms
Ribbon: A RAK from sweet Dawn!
Making Memories Patterned Paper

Another Card for Becca's Bird Challenge,

and Anne's Keep It Simple Challenge
and Sue's Embossing Challenge
Yes, a three in One!
Sue was very clever.. She would not let us use the most common embossing colors!!!
I had to dig deep into my stash...
The stamped image is from an Inkadinkadoo stamp
Patterned Paper is Making Memories

Another for Becca's Bird Challenge

and Sue's Embossing Challenge

and Sue's Text Challenge
(And, those are two separate Sue's!)
Another three in one!
patterned paper is Making Memories

And This Baby???
This has been my favorite of the weekend.
This is for the Kelly's Don't Be Square Challenge - as in 'don't create a square card'.
Turns out, it fit just right in the Hero Arts 'shaped card' challenge this week!
Yippy!
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms (Super Cute Tree) , Hero Arts (Awesome Swirls and Stars in the Background - stamped with white ink - and a RAK from Jacqueline!!!!), Stampin' Up (all the circles, and sentiment).

A Side View
My card was created with 2 die cuts from SU.
I really need a die cut machine!!!
(Can you hear the cricut chirping and calling my name???
Hello? Hello? Cricut? It that you???)

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I apologize for the 'flood' of creations! I am so bad at posting one card at a time! I admire those of you that savor your creations, one at a time....

Above are my creations from this past weekend for the 2peas Winter Fest 2009 Event being held on the Stamping Board... (it lasts until this Sunday!!!). Several of us are hosting various challenges to kick our creative juices into over drive... I tell ya, those girls are just amazing! LOTS of great work being shared in the 2Peas Stamping Gallery!

So, if you have time and want to play there are 4 days left! YES! I'm hosting the Little Houses Challenge... I am on a little house kick and see them everywhere!!!!

Thanks for Visiting!
Take Care!

Testing!!! Winterfest Banner!!!

Guess what's coming to 2 peas!

WinterFest 2009!!! Starting this weekend..

If you love to stamp, come on over! ALL abilities are welcome! We will have some challenges and it's a great way to get your creativity going!

I will be hosting a 'Little Houses' Challenge... I have a post over there at my 2peas Blog with all the details... and I will be starting a challenge thread this Friday on the Stamping Board... Here is the Blog Post to give you a head start: 2Peas 'Little Houses' Blog Post

Here's a link to the Master Thread: WinterFest 2009 Stampin' Peas

Hope to see you there!!!

Little Gal (Cornish Heritage Farms Set) Creations

Creation #1: So Girly Happy Birthday Card
Supplies:
Cornish Heritage Farms Kim Hughes 'Little Gal' stamp set
(the 'shoe' and 'girly')
Stampin' Up Background Stamp (the plaid design)
Stampin' Up Doodle Alphabet Stamps ('So')
SU Black & White Card Stock
Black Stazon
Hero Arts Pink Gemstones
Black Gemstone
Pink Spica Pen
Ribbon, paper flower, plaid brad, and happy birthday epoxy tag
(first three were a RAK, all unknown mfgs!)

Creation #2
Supplies:
CHF KH 'Little Gal' Stamp Set (text filled butterfly)
Hero Arts Pink Gems
Black SU Pen
Pink Spica Pen
Autumn Leaves Buttons
Heidi Swap White w/black dots circle Journal Spot
White Inksentials Pen
SU Hemp
SU Card Stock
SU Scallop Border Punch

Creation #3: Sami's Birthday Card :)
Supplies:
CHF HS 'Little Gal' Stamp Set (sugar & spice, Ice Cream Cone)
Kim Hughes Mocha Chica Patterned Paper (morning blend)
Hero Arts Clear Design Cupcakes Stamp Set (Happy Birthday)
SU Cardstock
Black Stazon ink
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink
SU Regal Rose Pen
Worn Lipstick Distress Stickles
Autumn Leaves Buttons
SU Pink & Chocolate Ribbons
American Crafts Striped Ribbon

Yeah!

I finally played with a new stamp set that I was so lucky to win from the super Cornish Heritage Farms Creative Blog site (uh, back in October!!!)! OK, so perhaps Sami's birthday gave me the push... I needed a super cute girl card, for a super cute girl, and well, I just could not stop with just one!

I just adore Kim Hughes. She creates so many adorable sets and has a super fun blog! Be sure to go check out her place... Everytime she posts, she leaves a few tips... And, she recently shared an awesome giveaway of FOUR of her brand spankin new stamp sets at another cool site!

Thanks for looking!

And Thanks Again Cornish Heritage Farms!!!!!

Some Creations and Confessions from 2008

Some Distress Stickles, HA stamps,
Cosmo Cricket Patterned Paper and American Crafts Letters
Along with Kraft card stock, and super fun embellies!

Purple Onion Designs tree and little leaves stamps,
HA big leaf, distress stickles
Cosmo cricket patterned paper, American Crafts letters

More Purple Onion Designs, HA, Cosmo Cricket
And some very fun embellies! I loved the paper flower used for the tree!
(Too bad I don't know who makes it!!)

More of the Above Supplies
Can you tell I was on a roll?
This one uses some HA bling on the tree

And More!

Hero Arts Stamp (leaf), And Cosmo Cricket papers
American Crafts Letters

Hero Arts Stamps
(I forget who makes the paper and embellies!)

My Minds Eye patterned Papers & Hero Arts Stamps

Hero Arts Stamps and Basic Grey

Hero Arts, Maya Road and Basic Grey

One of My HA Christmas Cards
(HA stands for Hero Arts)
The 3 big trees, sentiment and little tree are all HA stamps.
Thanks Jennifer for the big trees!!!

Most of these are for the weekly Hero Arts Challenges
Which seem to get me motivated!
(Especially the sketch week)

Card Using a Gifted HA stamp (the little birdy)
My favorite Christmas paper of the year - My Minds Eye!
The scallops and sentiment are also HA stamps.

Thanks Sue for the sweet stamp!!!

A Little Card
HA tree stamp, snowflakes (thanks Jennifer!), sentiment and Basic Grey papers

A Valentine's Day Card!
HA stamps and Basic Grey

Another Valentine Card
HA stamps, Basic Grey papers, and Grunge Board!

A Layout of Sami
(Click to Enlarge)
I love this layout!!!! My favorite creation of the entire year...
And of course one of my favorite 'creations' (my daughter) of my life!!!

A Layout of the Kids and Bugsy
Our 'Christmas Card' Photo!
Which has not been sent.
Yet.

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Do you do this? I am going through my computer files and 'cleaning things up'.

This means I am deleting things I don't think I need, shuffling files, and finding little goodies I didn't share with you!

Above are some of my favorite things that I forgot to share!

And now for some confessions:

1. Remember when I made a bunch of Thanksgiving and Thank You cards? I still have most of them! Arg! I did not send them in time, and then had to send Christmas Themed Thank you cards!
2. Remember when I asked for help on our Christmas Photo? I still have not mass produced the cards (aka ordered them from Snapfish), or made my annual letter... I got side tracked with baking! So, I do believe I will be doing a Valentine's Mailer instead!

Thanks for looking!

Time for Some Thanksgiving Cards

Hmm.. What's This? OH!

A Side View of Eight Cards Getting Sent Out Tomorrow!
Eight fun Thanksgiving Cards. I have a few people
on my 'thank you' list - people who have made me feel special and I want
to do the same for them!
And some of them do (perhaps) read this
blog. So most of them are top secret!
( I promise to show them all at the end of the week!
I really really like these cards!)

But I'll Show You This One
Stamps are Purple Onion Designs and Hero Arts.
Patterned Paper is Cosmo Cricket (LOVE that stuff!)

And Here are Three Cards Made for This Weeks Hero Arts Challenge
This week's challenge was to use your stamp scraps to create
some Thank You cards. I made Happy Thanksgiving Cards instead.
Sometimes I'm just not good at directions!!!
And, I'm always wanting to kill two birds with one stone!
I need Thanksgiving Cards!

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As you can see, I had a very productive weekend in the card making world.

I came down with a 24 hour bug (aka food poisoning!) Friday Night. Which is a real bummer. We went out to dinner to our favorite brew pup. I had a very 'hoppy' dark beer, and a fancy hamburger and onion rings. Not sure which of these three cardiac attacks did me in.. But let's just say, at 10pm, my dinner decided to come back up, and I was the only one in the house who got sick! So, since yesterday was a saltines and water kinda day I decided to 'just' work in my crafty zone... inbetween the ususal mommy and wife duties.

Thanksgiving is this week! Amazing how fast these things happen. Right now I have 2 kids wondering when dinner is going to be, what it is going to be, and I gotta go and tend to the troops (sorry, can't do 2 things at once right now)!

Catch you all later! Thanks for stopping by....

Grad Party!

Graduation Card for Robbie

In between the thunderstorms we are popping over to a neighbor's HS graduation dinner party for their daughter, Robbie! I was supposed to be in Pendleton tonight, but the weather blog kept showing Thunderstorms...I've sat outside in storms before. No fun, especially when the commute is one and 1/2 hours - one way! Instead, I am joining my family.

We get together with this group of friends every Christmas, swapping homes to host the dinner and festivities. Hard to believe our little Robbie is graduating.. It really does seem like just yesterday when she and her younger brother came trick or treating! One of the only 5 we get each year.

So, off we go! Party is in 1 hour, lambs need to be fed again and my dryer is calling! It is working again!

Two Moms One Baby Shower

The Ever so Decedent 5 layer cake!
This poor baby had to wait until 3:30 to get cut! It was killing me!

The Mommies and Their Quilts (Andie is on the left, Maria on the right)

Can you find my sheep? On Andie's quilt it is the third block in the second row.
On Maria's quilt, it is the third block in the first row.

These two mamas are part of our school PTCO team! Awesome mamas, and about 15 -20 years younger than Michelle and I! Michelle is my BFF (Remember? The other ranch mom who has twins?). We are the older moms 'on the team' who tease the younger moms all the time! And, we love it. I found the perfect Mother's Day gift for Michele. It's a cup that reads "No, I wont make 4 dozen cookies, Any more Questions?". It's her new PTCO mug to display proudly at our monthly meetings! (Michelle is always stepping up to the 'baked goods' plate for our school fund raisers!)

We were all in tears when Andie opened her quilt

Andie's mother, Jackie, had submitted several photo blocks for the quilt. The blocks had photos of Andie as a baby, along with lots of photos of Jackie as well as Jackie's mom with young Andie.

Check out this baby sock bouquet!
Stacy, our hostess is our local 'Martha Stewart' of the West!
(I just love that cowhide chair in the back! Her entire house is very western!)
And that's Michelle's arm. Isn't she gorgeous?

Baby Shower Card I made for Mommy#1 - Andie

Baby Shower Card made for Mommy#2 - Maria

The shower was beautiful! Our hostess really went all out with a beautiful custom ordered cake, chocolate fountain and mondo fruit platter, as well as a tasty Mexican style chicken guacamole salad.

The shower started at 1pm. The girls opened their gifts first, games were played, and we ate about oh, 3pm. I'm sure if I was hungry, those poor mamas must have been starving!

I am sure Jackie, Andie's mom was with us in spirit. My heart goes out to Andie and her family. At this time of Mother's Day and a new baby due June 9th.

** This remainder of this post is very emotional! Tissues Required! **

Jackie passed away this past Wednesday. She was a mom that was in all of our lives. Andie is our 'Chili Feed Chair' for our little school, and she and her mom have been our cooks for several years. Jackie is also the sweet mama who I am sure I wrote about earlier. She would sneak special Pepsi concoctions to me while I was manning my raffle booth. She and I share a 'rebel' streak! This year, we found out about Jackie's battle with cancer right before Christmas. Stacy (the baby shower hostess) and Maria (Mama #2) cooked Christmas Dinner for Andie's family. Andie and Jackie were in Boise, at the hospital Christmas Day, and would spent many days there over the winter - driving back and forth through horrid conditions - for various surgeries and treatments.
Jackie had a brain tumor removed Christmas Eve. She had a brave fight, and at this year's February Chili Feed, she was right there with all of us. She was an awesome, beautiful, 'take no prisoners' kind of woman. And, she had a beautiful, close, wonderful relationship with her only child, Andie. They lived within minutes of each other, worked together, and traveled to Mexico with all of Andie's kids and their husbands each spring. This year Jackie made it to Mexico.

I hope that Jackie is playing on the beaches of Mexico now, and enjoying the sun that she loved! Her spirit was a strong one, and she was a Mother to admire.

Happy Mother's Day Jackie. You will be missed by those who loved you, and were touched by your joyful spirit!

Playing With Copics - With Bellas for CFH

See My New Pens? These are 'The Bomb' for Coloring Images

These babies arrived in yesterday's/last night's mail.. After getting 'our' homework and chores done, Sami & I played while dinner was cooking. We got in a good hour! Let me tell you, Sami was just as excited as I was. She and I both got to play with Sandy's Copic pens and WE were hooked! What you see in this photo are some sparkley Spica pens, and a custom set of various Copic Sketch markers. After our playtime Sami let me know which colors we are lacking.. I am keeping a list... She's my color consultant, and at times, image consultant!

First Sample: Bella Girls!

So, last night I colored a couple images. I'm not the world's best coloring champ, but I will share my favorite Kindergarten technique.. remember when we were little color crayon artists and we outlined our coloring book pictures with our crayons - with a heavy hand, and then filled in the colors with a lighter touch? This technique still works - just a bit tweaked.. as in outline the image with one color, fill with another.. I'm not a big blender chick yet, but will work toward that as I get more into the whole image coloring thang... (An image being the picture you get when you stamp onto paper).
I used my new Copics to color in the Bella image. This card will go with my Cards for Heros for the teenage girl's set..
Supply Credits: The patterned paper & card stock are from SU; ribbon is Maya Road; bling is Hero Arts; flower chipboard from Cherry Art; and Girlfriends stamp from Michaels.

Sample #2: PJ Bella
Another sample using my new copics!

Supply Credits: Friend stamp from Michaels; all other products mentioned above.

So, that was my big share for today! It's my lunch hour, and I better get back to 'real work', as in the following:

1. Finish loading the recycling into the back of my car (I spent an hour in the garage breaking down boxes) - note to self: Don't work in the garage when you have on your favorite clean jeans! Dang.
   
2. Drive to town to do the recycling - which includes tons of scrappy magazines! Sniff.
   
3. Grocery shop - 2 stores - the 'regular' store and the food co-op
   
4. Send off the cut & wrap instructions for 15 lambs
5. Wash my filthy car (it's 31 degrees right now, car wash will be enclosed so no icicles form)
   
6. Fill a meat order or 2... one for a store, the other a restaurant - which includes an order for 12 boneless leg of lamb roasts for a Titanic reenactment Dinner! Too darn cool. The dinner that is...
   

Have a great day! Fa la la la la

Spring Fever and Cards for Heros

Cards For Heros - Father's Day

Cards for Heros - Mother's Day

Cards for Heros - Mother's Day

Cards for Heros - Father's Day

Cards for Heroes - Results:
I spent yesterday afternoon cranking out cards for the Cards For Heroes Party over at 2Peas.. I only managed to get 6 made (some girls made 30, 40 and 50!)... I worked for about 4 hours, which for me included getting a leg of lamb roast in the oven for dinner, some mommy duties, and a couple laundry trips.

Now is the time to make Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day cards, that get sent to the troops in Iraq by April 11th, so they in turn can sent them out to their family members.. I'm sharing with you my favorites from my little sweatshop. I will use some of these as my templates for my own cards, in May & June.

Weather Report:
Well today started at 17 degrees.. Yesterday never got above 20 degrees and it was a snowy, blustery stay inside day... hence, the cards!

I took a sneak peak at the 10 day forecast.... Guess What!!! Thursday and Friday are gonna hit the 50's! I am so darn excited...

I gotta plan my 'big outdoor adventures'.. Things like, oh, clean up all the doggy surprises in the yard, clean out the kitchen coup, clean out the dog kennels, and perhaps a dump run.. Yep.. That's me.. Mrs. Excitment.. And today is order chicks day.. New babies to become our next batch of egg layers.

... I'm also getting Walking Fever.. I can't wait to start my morning 'walks/trot/gasp for air' outings again! Gosh.. and to think I used to be a runner! And a biker! And a swimmer! Oh the days of my youth.. how I miss ya, how I miss ya!

Fa la la la la
The sun is on it's way ..