Across the Rainbow Bridge...

Good evening all!


I was spending a wonderful day with the family today and wanted to share a card I made at the request of a dear friend. She has a co-worker that recently lost her 2 furbabies right after another. So I made a Rainbow Bridge card for her. Here is the outside:

Her furbabies were white and grey so I made the kitties these colors. The bridge was cut from the Pagoda Cricut cartridge and the rainbow with the cloud from the Hello Kitty Greetings Cricut cartridge. The sun is from the Don Juan Cricut cartridge. The cats were digital images. I sponged the sun and the bridge and then used my brown marker to give the wood texture. I used my Marvy Liquid Applique to give the cloud dimension. Here is the inside:

I really hope that she likes it. I plan on offering this card on Etsy as well. Our pets are part of our families and the loss is real. I pray that it brings comfort. Well, off for more family time. Until next time......

Purplies Design Team Project: Time for the Green

Top O' the Mornin' to You!


I surely stepped outside my comfort zone today with a little help from my friends.I went to my monthly Stamp group (Hi to the MOCHA gals) and learned a new technique. Thanks to Pam, I was inspired and used it for my project. I bought this little balsam wood trinket box and painted it green with some Apple Barrel craft paint. I took a piece of Ranger/Tim Holtz cardstock and painted it (in a very thin layer) in the same color. I let it dry and then took my Cuddlebug and my D'vine Swirls embossing folder to emboss the painted cardstock. I sponged on the embossed card stock and trimmed it to the size of my top. It needed some oomph so I took out my FAVORITE tool (the Creative Memories border maker system) with my new Scallop Stitch border maker cartridge to make the border for the edge of the box lid. The flowers were cut from my Tim Holtz Tattered flowers die. And thanks to my friend Tina (AKA Craftyand Green), I added the shamrocks and the bling. Here is the end result:

I just love how it turned out! Thanks to all the folks that made this project possible. Until next time...

JME Creations: St. Paddy's Day....

Hello all and welcome to the second post of the day. I have to say that this project gave me a run for my money (and I did not find a pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow!). I decided to take on the task of designing my own word book on the Gypsy. For my first attempt I do not think it is bad but there are some tweaks I need to do to it. Here is the pic of the whole book:

And here are some pages:

I used George and Basic Shapes for the rectangles and welded the letters from Cricut Classic font. I may try to do a word book a different way next time.

Please be kind as I was up until well after midnight to put the pages together. I will take it apart and trim the pages so the letters are spaced a little bit better. I also want to get O rings and then tie the ribbon to them. BUT, for my first try I don't think it is too bad.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will stop by my other post HERE. Until next time....

Happy Birthday to My Little Monster...

Okay, well he is not quite little and I normally call him my little monkey (mi monito actually) but he love this Cricut cartridge. I used Mini Monsters and wanted to make something fun. Here is the end result:

I used my Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch. Behind that is my new Creative Memories Frame Chain Border Maker Cartridge. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this border cutting system. 


Happy Birthday Alecito. We are so very proud of the man you have become. Until next time....

Charlie Brown and the Gang Blog Hop

Welcome to Charlie Brown and the Gang Blog Hop. Charlie Brown and his gang are out to play with us today whether it be baseball, holding the football or just hangin' out!!!! Don't forget that Snoopy has to get the Red Baron and not fall behind the enemy lines. Also, you may want to stop off at Lucy's booth to have a second opinion!!!Not only all these characters, Kari's son Josh, loves Charlie Brown with his favorite character being Snoopy and its his 18th birthday! Be sure to wish Josh a Happy Birthday on Kari's Blog at http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/.

There are so many characters to depict here and we all have our favorites!!!! With this in mind, we will be setting up scenes whether it be a lay-out, card, decorative piece but rest assured, you will be seeing Charles Schultz characters being showcased!!!!!

Now, if you just happened to be visiting me, I'm thrilled and glad to show you my project and offer you advise for 5 cents, BUT I would love for you to start at the beginning of our story and that is with Kari at http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/. Now, if you arrived from Kari's blog then you are on the correct base on the baseball field!!!

We have a terrific All-Star group of sponsors:

Lynne Kirsch - chipboard figures of Charlie Brown and the Gang
Shannon Leffew Keith offering flowers from her etsy shop
Colleen Duffy Hathaway is offering a paper pieced set of your choice from Scraptastical Kreations (http://scraptasticalkreations.com/)

What is a birthday without a card? I just knew that Kari would appreciate this card. The outside has Snoopy saying Good Grief" and the inside says, "Can't believe you are 18 already!" I can remember saying that about my oldest and now my second child is approaching this milestone. I am getting old for sure. Here is a pic of my card:

I pieces my card together with a sticker, grass cut from Gypsy Wanderings and inked with Michaels' ink pad. The clouds were made with the Marvy Liquid Applique. I had way too much fun with this one :)

Your next stop with Charlie Brown and the Gang is the talented Miss Amy and be sure not to let Lucy tease you with that line "I'll hold the football"! 


NOTE: Miss Amy is having problems with her blog so check back later

You may want to go to Christel's blog and check back with Amy later.

Claire the Tear Bear

Top O' the Mornin to ya! Today I get to be guest designer for Crafty Card Gallery again. I had a first this past week that I wanted to share with you all. I organized a get together for some local Facebook friends and one very talented member is Staci McD of Precious Memories Scrapbooking and More taught me to make a tear bear. I was so enamored with this technique that I named her Claire. I designed the card background and added a bow and necklace for her. A girl is all about the bling for sure! The embossing was done with my D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. The shamrock was cut from Designer's calendar at 3/4". Here she is:

I definitely need to make more of these! Thank you for stopping by today and I will try to have one more project up my sleeve for you. Until next time......

Purplies Design Team: Sketch Challenge

Hi all... I am going to keep this short as I have a fantastic guest designer today. The Purplies DT was given the sketch above and I ran with it. I am still in St. Patrick's Day Mode so I used that as my theme. I made this card for a friend to give to her boss. Here is the front:

The sentiment says, "Follow Me To the Rainbow's End".


And here is the inside:

As you can see he is a Heineken drinker. I think I need to start making my own sentiment stamps. I hope you enjoyed my cheeky project. Please stop by Kari's Blog to see what else everyone  did with this sketch. Until next time....

Purplies Design Team: Altered Jornal

'Ello all :)


Today is another Purplies DT day for Purplefuntastick Creations. Do you remember the flower we made for the last posting (see here). Well, we were given the challenge to take the flower and use it on an altered notebook. I stressed over this as I am not good at making altered notebooks. I looked at the notebook quite awhile before I decided what to do. I took my DCWV Garden Party stack that I received for my birthday. I love the brown and pink color combination and the paper borders that come in the pack are awesome. The sentiment is a sticker from the same pack. I used my Sticky Tape to piece it all together. Here is my journal:

I have to admit that it came out better than I expected. I hope that you will stop by Purplefuntastick Creations to see the other amazing journals. Until next time.....

It's Mardi Gras Blog Hop

Welcome to our Mardi Gras parade. I must warn you though while you may enjoy jumping up to catch beads, doubloons, cups, stuffed animals--whatever! Please yell at the float riders "Throw me something, Mister!" Bring a large, sturdy plastic or cloth bag to hold all the treasure you'll be catching - if you try to put all of your beads around your neck, you'll have a hard time standing up straight! Be prepared: some people get so overcome with excitement they will occasionally jump in front of you to grab what a rider has thrown to you. Don't get into a tug-o-war....there are many more floats on the way! If you're from far away, some visitors hold up a sign saying where they are from.. our local riders love to see people from far away have a good time and will throw to them to make sure they do!

The colors of Mardi Gras are: Purple which reprsents justice; Green which represents faith; and Gold which represents power. Mardi Gras is always held the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is music, parades, picnics, floats, excitement ... and one big holiday in New Orleans! Everyone is wearing purple, green, and gold; and adorned with long beads caught from the beautiful floats. They sit on the ground throwing balls, playing music, having a picnic, and watching the crowds walk by between parades.

Instead of beads, coconuts (which apparently is the most prized throw from floats) and other baubles, we have a great sponsor: 

$15 Gift Card for Treasure Box Designs (http://www.treasureboxdesigns.com/). They are asking you to stop by their blog and checking out their Guest Designer projects and leaving a comment at http://treasureboxdesigns.blogspot.com/. They are a part of the parade route!

$50 Gift card from Anita Meadows Cannon 

Sew, sit back with your beverage of choice, just keep in mind the police will be in full force watching for drunken lewdness as this is a family event! Feel free to watch in costume, as this is a festive hop!! If you have arrived from Theresa's blog on the parade route, then you are sitting at the best seat in the house! If you have just happened to be visiting me today, don't get me wrong as I always love visitors, I would love for you to start at the beginning of our parade route at Lynne, your hostess along with Kimberly, at http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/.

The mask was cut from the Designer Calendar's cartridge on black cardstock. I embossed the handle with Stampin' Up's Melon Mambo. If you have been a follower for awhile, you know I despise glitter. Well, for Miss Lynne I sucked it up used purple glitter on my mask.I added Stampin' Up adhesive pearls to embellish it. I had no feathers so I had to improvise. I used mulberry paper and liquid glue for decoupage and outlined in glitter glue. I added ribbon from my stash and wrapped it around. How fun is this!

Hope enjoyed my float in the parade. To continue on the parade route, Your next stop is Laura's blog. I would love for you to throw me your comments as to my tribute to Mardi Gras! Until next time....

Purplies Design Team: An Inspirational Flower

Happy President's Day everyone. As you can see I have been a busy beaver lately; 3 projects in one day. Of course this one I had a little glitch. The challenge was to make a flower. Well I made a flower and it looked very lonely. So I mounted it on a card. Well, I was just supposed to make the flower and not put anything on it. So I have two things to share. One is my flower I made for the challenge:

I used my Mother's Day bouquet cartridge to make this rose. I am fascinated by roses (or any flowers) that have the colored edges. I wonder if they put them in food colored water?? 


I love roses but the flower that had the most impact for me was a Hawaiian hibiscus. I went to Hawaii for the first time when I was 19 and left my heart there. I would live there if I could. Here is the flower mounted on a card. This will be a birthday card for my best friend.

Two flowers made with the same cut but different. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will stop by Purplefuntastick Creations to see what the other Purplies have done. Until next time...

Purplies Design Team Project 3

Greetings all :)


I had so much fun thinking outside the box for this project. We were challenged to use canvas and I had a 5" x 7" flat canvas. I took Apple Barrel paints and sponged in two different shades of pink (we all know that I love pink and purple). I then turned to my Cricut and tried to find a vase. Well none of them had a vase so I got creative. I used my Cherry Limeade cartridge and used the lemonade cup shadow (I used the gypsy to hide the lemon slice). The flower stalks also were cut using the lower case "l". The flowers were cut from the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge. Here is the finished product:

Doesn't the background remind you of fabric? Well, I have to say that I am quite happy with the result. I have to decide whether or not to add a sentiment at the top but for now I will leave it. Thanks for coming by and please stop by Kari's blog to see what my fellow DT team members made. Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day to you all....

Happy Valentine's Day to my crafting peeps. Today is a day to share with everyone you love. Whether it be your significant other, kids, pets, friends, please make sure that they know that they are loved. You never know if it will be the last opportunity to do so. I never leave the house without telling everyone that I love them. Here are some projects I have made for a friend and Hubby's card (and a card I am not giving him ):


First up is my present for a friend:

This is a mini album with friendsh

And here is the rejected card I will not be giving hubby this Valentine's Day:

And here is the one I like so much better:

And here it is with the envelope I made. Going to have to make a tutorial on how to make a simple envelope for a square card from a rectangular regular envelope. Coming soon....


So from our house to your house, we wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day. Until next time...

Love to Create Design Team Post 2

Good morning all and welcome to another DT post for the Love to Create Challenge blog. Today's sponsor is 

and you just have to check out their site!! I just love the digi stamp that I worked with. The theme for this challenge was buttons and bows. Well, if I could have put a bow on her stockings I would have but I could not make one that tiny. Here is my card using this digi:

She is so pretty and I had to give her a some awesome hair (I wish my hair could look like that). Since she is Cupid I made her into a sweet Valentine's card. Of course I had already made hubby's card so this one will be saved for a later date. Here are the things I used to make it:

* K & Company Valentine's paper pack

* Recollections Pink Cardstock

* Michael's ribbon

* Misc buttons from my collection

* Markers: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Regal Rose, and Pink Pirouette and Copic Pale Lilac, Skin White, Barely Beige and Colorless Blender

* Sakura Gellyroll Metallic gel pens: silver and gold

* Provocraft Elegant Edges cartridge

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me today. I encourage you to stop by Sassy Studio Designs and the Love to Create Challenge blog to see all the amazing things in store for you. Come back all week and see the wonderful projects I have in store for you. Until next time....

Love to Create Design Team Post 1

'ello poppets. It has been an incredibly productive weekend. Today is my first post as a member of the Love to Create Design team. This is an incredible challenge blog will give you inspiration and a chance to win blog candy. This week's sponsor is 

And this is the prize that you can win

You have to go to the Love to Create Challenge blog for more info. Here is the sketch we were given:

And here is my card:

I just love this Bobblehead Alice. The background paper is from Martha Stewart. I used my Elegant Edges cartridge for the medallions and the conversation heart stamp was in the dollar bin at Michael's. I colored Alice with colored pencils. Her stockings and collar were done with my Marvy white dimensional pen. The button brad were from Stampin' Up and the little Purple blings are from Recollections. The heart bling I received in a swap. Isn't she darling? I am glad you stopped by today and please remember to stop by the Love to Create Challenge blog and Bugaboo Stamps blog and share the love. Until next time....

Guest Designer: Faith Verse Group

Happy New Year everyone! We are 3 days in and I am being optimistic that this year will bring amazing things! I am blessed to be the guest designer over at my dear friend Kari's blog (Purple Funtastick Creations). Our family has been going through some rough situations lately and the following verse has been a source of comfort for me. In God's Word it says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28.


Well, I was given the New Testament cartridge (with two others) by my family this Christmas. This cartridge has quotes from the Bible and this was PERFECT. I made a Double Dutch fold card from a tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers. I used scrap paper for everything as I tend to go to the scraps first. I love the crosses and the fish on this cartridge too. I can see where I will get lots of use for these. Here is my card, first closed:

And now open:

I made this card for someone special in my life that is going through an extremely difficult time. I pray that he is constantly reminded that he is loved by his family and God especially. I put the purple butterfly as Kari loves them and purple is her favorite color. I hope that you enjoyed my post and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Until next time.....

It's a Sweet Stamping Treats Christmas....

Hi all, today is my chance to represent for Sweet Stamping Treats Design Team. I love Christmas and pretty boxes. Well, I am always in need of boxes so I decided to make my own. I used the Shaker box cut from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cut with Stampin' Up Christmas paper. It was perfect for this digi stamp. I love angels also so I used it to make this:

I used my new Marvy Liquid Applique pen to accent the clouds. I am loving this product! I hope you enjoyed  my project and that you head over to Sweet Stamping Treats to check out the wonderful new stamps. Until next time....

Christmas Recipe and Christmas Cards Blog Hop, Round 2 (Dec. 10-11)

Welcome to Round Two of the Christmas Cards & Cookies Blog Hop! You should have come from April's blog. If you are starting here and wish to hop from the beginning of the hop, please visit Dena’s blog. There was so much response to the Christmas Cards & Cookies Blog Hop that it had to be split between two weekends. Round One was held last weekend. Round Two is this weekend, beginning on Saturday, Dec. 10th, through Sunday, Dec. 11th. We have a talented group of women who love papercrafting and baking. Each of them is sharing a recipe for a yummy Christmas treat along with a Christmas card or tag. Hopefully, you’ll pick up some great ideas for your own Christmas gift giving this season. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy!

My project today is based on my favorite Christmas treat, Struffoli (aka Italian Honey Cakes). I wish I could say I got to make these but I ran out of time. Here is a picture of this yummy dessert:

I can take a spoon and just eat this all day! Here is the recipe I use:

Ingredients

• 10 large eggs
• 16 ounces honey
• 1 cup margarine
• 4 cups flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups water
• Optional decorations such as: sprinkles, silver balls, candied fruits, toasted pine nuts, or anything else you like!

Directions

1. First, pre-heat the oven to 350°F, and then rease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. Next, place water, margarine and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. After that, remove from heat and let stand as the margarine melts in the hot water. Stir in the flour and mix well. Return the saucepan to medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the pan. This should take about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let it cool in the pot.
3. After that, add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, and beat using an electric mixture or a wooden spoon (the beating has to be vigorous to fully incorporate the eggs). When all the eggs are incorporated, put the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe tiny balls onto the pastry sheets; the balls should be the size of marbles, or just a little bigger. If you do not have a pastry bag, you can put the dough in a sealable plastic bag and cut out one corner’s tip and pipe them out that way (just make sure that your dough is cool!).
4. Meanwhile, bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove the balls from the oven and let cool on wire racks.
5. And then, in a large saucepan, heat the honey until it boils. Let it boil for 5 minutes, but don’t leave the stove and be careful that it does not boil over.
6. Next, if it starts to boil up, lower the heat. Dip the puffs in the honey. You can throw 10-12 balls in at once. Make sure they are evenly coated in honey, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them onto a plate.
7. Lastly, once all of the balls have been dipped and removed, you can wet your hands and start working on your artistic side. Take the balls and form them into a mound or a wreath on another clean plate. Then finish off the masterpiece with some decorative touches like sprinkles or candied fruit.
8. Struffoli is ready to serve!

My project will be given out on Christmas Day next to each person's plate. The stamp is from RAK from my FB friend Tina and I just had to use it :)

I write the ingredients on side one and the directions on side 2. The holly stamp is from my Fiskars set and I used my new liquid applique pen from Marvy to frost Gingy. His eyes are the Opaque Licorice pearls from CTMH. I cut this tag envelope at 7 inches from Cricut's Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please be sure to visit Tami's blog next to see what she has to share with you.

1. Dena J - http://missdjones.blogspot.com

2. Theresa Thescrapbookingqueen: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com

3. Lynda B-J: http://memoriesintyme.blogspot.com/

4. Jearise H: http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

5. Linda T: http://www.lindascreativity.blogspot.com

6. April N: http://curlsandgrins.blogspot.com

7. Susan B: http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/

8. Tami McD: http://tamboscreations.blogspot.com/

9. Melissa Haereiti: http://timeweavers.wordpress.com

Until next time.....

JME Creations Snowman Challenge

Greetings and salutations my fine frosty friends (try to say that 5 times fast). Today I have another post and this one is the Snowman Challenge for JME Creations. I have to say that I love snowpeople (I think I said that several times). I made these cards for a commission I received. Here are two of the 35 I was asked to make:

I cut the journal tag from Elegant Edges and inked and sponged the edges. The snowman was cut from Doodlecharms and I used my Stampin' Up punch for the crochet lace border. The bling is my Stampin' Up rhinestones. The snowflakes and sentiment stamps are from Fiskars. I hope you enjoyed my cards and hope that you stop by and see what the rest of the team has made. Until next time....

Sweet Stamping Treats New Dollar Day Sale

Greetings all and welcome to a fabulous Dollar Digi Day over at Sweet Stamping Treats. I love this wreath as there is so many options for it. Here is what I made:

I decided to use the digi stamp as a tag for a present card. I made the card on my Gypsy by welding the two presents from Doodlecharms (I had to flip one image). The patterned papers are from My Minds Eye. I decided to use real ribbon for present. I colored the digi with colored pencil and marker. I used Distress Stickles on the bow of the stamp and red Stickles for the berries on the wreath. I just love this card and will be sure to make more :)


Thanks for coming by and I hope that you will hop on over to Sweet Stamping Treats to see what the other members of the team have made. Don't forget to encourage your friends to become followers so we can reach 400 and we can have a giveaway. Until next time....

JME Creations Turkey Time

Good morning all and welcome to another JME Creations design team day. The theme is Turkey Time and I love some turkey. So for my project I decided to make a realistic looking turkey. Here is my card:

I cut my Turkey from Provocraft's Doodlecharms cart and the Give Thanks is from Designer Calendar. I wanted the tray to be gold so I covered the white with my gold metallic gel pen. The patterned paper is from Creative Memories (I believe) and the cardstock base is from Stampin' Up. The leaves are stickers from Jolee's Boutique. I decided to sponge the sentiment so it did not look so flat. I hope you will hop on over to JME Creations to see what my other creative team members have made. Until next time....