CardPatterns challenge

Another fun sketch this week over at CardPatterns

And once again, I turned it up on end!

I used CTMH Perfect Day pp along with Framed Phrases for the sentiment. The chipboard flower is unknown from my stash.

Yesterday.......

I got to go meet an online friend for the first time. Jill and I met online thru the CTMH bb's a little over a year ago. We, along with a few other CTMH consultants have formed our own little group. She and her family are here for a wedding, so we decided to head to Tampa to Alessi Market for Cuban sandwiches. We were together three hours and it honestly felt like 3 minutes. We blabbed the whole time...kinda like you do with an old friend you haven't seen in a few years. You just pick up where you left off. And now that I've actually met her, it will only make me miss her more when she goes back home...all the way on the other side of the country.

CPS challenge

Tami's got another winner at http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ this week!

I used CTMH Tinkerin pp for this one. I cut out a few of the gears from one sheet of paper and layered them for the main element. Center brad is unknown from my stash. I didn't put a sentiment on it, instead I'll add it to my stash and use for a last minute card somewhere down the line and add the sentiment then.

CardPatterns challenge

Great sketch this week at CardPatterns.

I used CTMH Bella pp along with a piece of KI Memories Pop Culture flower background that I colored using Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. There's a bit of Magenta Stickles on the pink flower for a bit of bling. CTMH Fringed Phrases stamp set for the sentiment.

It's about time!

I have not scrapped anything for myself in two years. Last time I did was when Liane came to see me...errr...help Susan at a Craft Expo in Tampa and I scrapped a few pages of our girls night out. I've scrapped for others and given it away, but I could not get motivated to scrap for myself. I knew I wanted to scrap the pics from CTMH Convention last summer, but I didn't want to feel compelled to use every. single. picture. I also didn't want them in an album with everything else. I wanted them to have their own special place. But again, if I put them in a regular size album, then there's that compulsion to use them all. I finally decided I'd use a CTMH Acrylic Album. Eight pages, so 16 front and back. That would give a nice accounting of Convention. I've been working on it for about a week now. I think I know why I don't scrap any more. I get bored very quickly. Scrapping used to calm me...now it infuriates me! I can't wait to get it done. So it may well be another two years before I do anything else! There's always Convention 2010 in Washington, DC to look forward to!

Most everything is self explainatory. The two pics of the bricks with Pinellas County and Pasco County are for the county I was born in and the one I currently reside in. One of the walkways in the Gaylord Palms has these bricks with the names of every county in Florida on them. I thought they were pretty darn cool. Sticky Boy, for those not familiar with CTMH was the first figure our founder Jeanette Lynton sketched when she decided to form her own stamp company. They hide them in various places when there is a large gathering and it is quite a coup to find one. This was a fake tattoo that one gal was selling to make money for our charity, Operation Smile.

OCC challenge

Jennifer's seeing stars at Our Creative Corner and if she's not, she soon will be! Her challenge for this week is to make a card using stars.

I pulled out CTMH Shining Star stamp set, along with Tinkerin pp. The flourish is from Playful Flourishes. Colors are Clover Meadow, Sunny Yellow, Sunflower and Twilight. There is some bling on the ends of the flourishes and the star next to the sentiment has Lime Green Stickles on it.

CPS challenge

Tami's got another great sketch this week at http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ and I don't quite know why, but this one gave me quite a time! My first idea, the image ended up being wayyyyyyy too big and once I got the card put together it was really fugly and it ended up in the trash. This image is on the large side too and I'm not completely thrilled with the final result, but it is what it is. I guess I can't love them all!

I used Serendipity paper pack, which was a Winter special from LAST year! I loved this pp and stocked up when CTMH had it available. The flowers are from Treasure Life stamp set. I had to add the obligitory bling on some of the swirls!

Card Tag round three reveal

All of the players are in, so I can now reveal my design for Alicia's http://callmecraftyal.blogspot.com/2009/06/card-tag-round-3-results.html results. I took my card in a decidely Oriental theme, but kept the same window-pane effect that Katie (the gal before me) used on her card. I didn't know it, but Alicia had started her card with 9 images, and I took it back there! I will be anxious to see what everyone comes up with for the next round! I'll certainly be playing along if I can!

CardPatterns challenge

Sister Jan gave me a Japanese wood block prints day planner for my birthday last year. Now that the year is half over (and how did THAT happen so fast?!), I've decided to make use of the beautiful prints from the months that have passed. No sense throwing them away...they are much too pretty for that. Now others can enjoy them too as I make cards and send.

I flipped the CardPatterns sketch to the horizontal to accomodate the print I wanted to use. I used CTMH Unforgettable pp which lends itself very well to the Oriental theme cards. The only stamping is the button, and it's from the Buttoned Together stamp set.

Thank you!

I needed a couple of Thank You cards so I pulled out the oh so fabulous new CTMH Wishes book designed by founder Jeanette Lynton. It is chock full of great card ideas. This one is called Keyhole and I pretty much copied it exactly from the book. I changed up a couple of the papers, but I take no credit for the idea!

Another reveal

I've kept Jill in the dark for 13 days! Today I can reveal one of my sneak peeks from the end of last month. Today is Chris and Mike's 10th Anniversary. I made a card and sent them and they should get it today. :::Sure hope so since she reads my blog!:::

Happy Anniversary you two. Here's to many, many, many more.

Jake and Joy's Zoo Album

I had the opportunity to join Jan, Jake and Joy at the Lowry Park Zoo over Spring Break. It had been years since I'd been to the Zoo. I think Kyle was 4 the last time John and I were there. We had a great day. The kids got arm bands and rode every ride. Jake gave us a running commentary all day on all of the animals, where they live in the wild, what they eat, etc. I will be very surprised if he does not end up working with animals somehow when he grows up.

CTMH introduced a new album in the Summer IB, called a 3 Ring Binder. It comes with 6 pages that you can alter, along with the outside of the Binder. I thought this would be the perfect reminder for them about our trip to the Zoo.

June SheetLoad

Alicia and team have really outdone themselves this month. They have some really cute cards and extra projects at SheetLoad of Cards - Free Monthly eZine

I decided to use the layout to make my Fourth of July cards. I used a retired CTMH pp, Independence; along with two different stamp sets, Spirit of 76 and Star Struck for the larger star. The large star has Diamond Stickles for a bit of bling.

Pinwheels

Got a new Oriental Trading catalog a week or so ago. They had the coolest templates for making your own pinwheels and stars, so I had to have them! They came in yesterdays mail, so I had a chance to play. There are 3 or 4 different sizes of each in the package. I have to go to Home Depot or Lowes to get some dowel rods to put them on, but for now, this is what I made. I used CTMH Moon Doggie pp for all three. (I think the stars will be way cool for Christmas!)

Yard (and pond!) Pretties

I just went out to do chicken and pond duty and what to my wondering eyes did appear? No, not reindeer! Pretty blooms! So I came in, got the camera and took some shots.

John's "marijuana" plant (it's actually a water hibiscus!) has one bloom and about a gozillion buds on it. There's also two pond lily buds poking their heads up out of the water that I'll have to keep an eye on. There are two of the same color gladiolus blooming. And the Aunt Eloise lily is blooming. I never did find out the real name of it, but it came from Aunt Eloise's homeplace, so that's what we call it. Jan has some of the white ones and she's given me quite a few of them but they all die. So I'll make do with the purple ones!

Card Tag Sneak Peek

Yep...Alicia's playing card tag again! This is too much fun! Today was my turn to play. Can't give a lot away, but here is a sneak peek of my creation that came together so fast for me. From idea to completion in a little over an hour! Full reveal sometime next week!

CPS challenge

Great sketch at http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ this week.

I heard thru the grapevine that Jake and Joy are getting gud edumacation and lernin and have passed successfully to the next grade in skoul for the upcoming year! So of course this calls for cards!

For Jake's, I used CTMH Back Country pp and one of the Dimensional Elements that go along with this pp. Miss Joy's is pink...of course! I used the CTMH Tickled Pink pp and stamp set that goes along with it and flipped the sketch so that neither card looked "exactly" alike! The horrors if that were to happen!! Now off to pop them into the mailbox!

OCC challenge

Jennifer Meyer is the hostess for June at Our Creative Corner and she's starting us off with a sketch.

I used CTMH Moon Doggie paper pack along with the stamp set from the Tickled Pink promo for the flower, which is pop-dotted for dimension and doesn't photograph worth a darn! The border is from Endless Love and has gold Bitty Brads as the flower centers. The sentiment is from From Me To You. I hadn't stitched on a card in a while, so I gave my machine a workout on this one! There are three different stitches on the card.

CCT challenge

It's a fact I love SheetLoad of Cards - Free Monthly eZine and it's founder, Alicia! SheetLoad is sponsoring and giving prizes to this weeks winner of a new (for me!) card challenge site! And we all know I love doing card challenges! Cute Card Thursday is where you'll find this challenge. Use punches or die cuts to make your cards.

I had a bit of a different idea with this one. My punches are limited, so I had to get creative. I used CTMH Star Struck stamp set, stamped my images on the back side of a piece of cardstock then used my Kraft knife to cut them out. I backed them with four of the different B&T's from CTMH Moon Doggie pp. I then used one of the stitches stamps from CTMH Simple Stitches and embossed a stitch line all around the outside of the card. I had some leftover punched border using one of my EK Success borders from another project, so I incorporated it into the layout and adorned it with a few buttons from my stash.

What's not to love?!

I found this recipe http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/06/chocolate-chip-oreo-cookies.html and OMG! What's not to love?! Oreo's and chocolate chips in the same cookie! When I went grocery shopping yesterday, I got Oreo's and chocolate chips just so I could make them. I also got all the fixings for spagetti sauce and got it put together this morning in Aunt Eloise's old ginormous canning pot, so it's simmering away on the stove. Then I put the cookies together. Heavenly does not even come close to describing how good these are. It made just less than 4 dozen cookies that are about 2" around. Crunchy on the outside and the inside is chewy. Ohhhhh sooooo goooood!! The recipe only calls for 8 crushed Oreo's. So I guess that means I'll be making more! Especially since I also only used 1/2 of the package of chocolate chips!

I'm still working on getting the driveway pressure washed. Got 1/2 of it done Thur and all but one section right by the road today before the thunder drove me in. Not worth getting killed by lightning trying to get that. last. section. done. I can finish tomorrow! Besides, thunder and lightning generally mean rain, and I'm never one to turn rain away!

Yard work

After 14 years of renting a pressure washer at least once a year, sometimes twice, we finally decided to just go buy one. The rental ones never work well and this way, we have it for as long as we want! Not to mention the fact that by this time, we coulda bought three or fifty pressure washers for all the rental fees we've paid! John, of course, had to go play with his new toy first thing yesterday and pressure wash the shed. Dummy me didn't think to take pics! But the shed is once again white and not a mildewey green! This morning I decided to tackle the rocks surrounding the pond. The were green with algae and lord know what-all else! Once I got that done, I decided to do the bird baths. Man what a difference! They looked so good, I pulled the chairs off the back porch and cleaned them too. I was gonna start on the driveway, but again, using the right arm has aggravated it and it kept going numb on me while I was washing. So I quit for the day. Gonna head over to the scrap table and see what I can create.