Football Boy

Good morning friends!  I'm so happy it is Friday!  Do you guys have fun plans for the weekend?

Today is a fun day here on my blog as it is a new Sketch By Carly day and this week's sketch is just fabulous AND we are sponsored by a fabulous company...Bugaboo!  The winner of sketch #41 will receive 7 digi's of their choice...that is $21 worth of digital images!  WOW!! 

My card is made with Bugaboo Brat Sports Football Boy (say that fast even once!).  I just knew I had to have that little guy and make a Green Bay Packer inspired card with it from the moment I saw it!  I know the paper is a little weird with the grass and stars but I still like the roughness of it.  Add in the football/stars banner and it is a total boy card, isn't it?  This one is already on its way to Afghanistan!

Well...I KNOW you want to try and win the digi's from Bugaboo so I'm not going to keep you much longer!  See ya tomorrow!

Thought of the day:  Life is like photography.  You use the negatives to develop. 

Vote 4 Kyler!

Good morning!  Has your week been productive so far?

Last night Kyler and I spent quite a bit of time on his posters for his election.  You see, 8th grade class elections are coming up and he wants to be the secretary so he came up with a plan for the posters after brain storming a theme that would work for him.  His campaign slogan is Faith, Facts, Fun.  He plans on writing his speech to coincide with that slogan telling his classmates how those three things will work into his office.  Pretty cool, huh?

So for the poster I bought some neat shiny orange poster board.  Since Kyler wanted it to be in a triangle shape (think the trinity) Todd cut them for him.  Kyler then decided that faith is the most important thing in this theme so it went on top with facts and fun after that.  We cut the faith and 'vote 4 Kyler' on the Cricut (yes he helped), he found a Bible/cross clip art he liked, printed it off and cut it out.  We made a little 'notebook' with an old die from PTI and on the front we printed (in old english font) 'We the people of the 8th grade in order to for a more perfect union vote KYLER'.  Too funny, huh?  The soccer ball is a 3-D ball.  We just found a soccer image online printed out 9 of them, scored them down the middle and then attached them together and finally to the board...super easy!  Finally Todd and I bought some candy yesterday and made labels that say 'vote for Kyler' and then slapped them on some candy for him to pass out.  (Hopefully that isn't too over the top!)  Oh, and we popped up his name on the boards with foam tape so they stood out a bit more.

That was my fun yesterday.  It took much longer than I had anticipated but I think they look great and more important than that Kyler really likes them!  I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Thought of the day:  Today you have the opportunity to be someone's chief cheerleader or chief critic; which one will you choose?

Have a grande good time!

Good morning friends! I hope you've had a wonderful start to your week. My week just continues to get busier and busier but it is all good! Today I have a little gift to show you.  I know it looks a little eclectic but I wanted to do two distinctly different things with this and I couldn't decide which so I made one side more serious and one side cute.  This gift is for a friend of ours going on a woman's retreat this week.  Sometimes you need that extra uumph ya know!

So, this side is made with paper from Webster's Pages petite papers Ladies and Gents (I think...it was in a double collection pack.).  I used the 'Miss You a Latte' image from MFT and then did the sentiment on my computer.  Very simple and basic but I like it.

This side then is made with papers from Webster's Pages from the Country Estate collections (again, I think...this one came from a triple collection paper pack).  I added a sentiment that I have saved to my computer (not sure where from) and a butterfly.  I really like what the little signs say so enlarge it and check it out.

And then I had to add some fun on the top of the bottles with flowers.  I just adhered them together and put them on the top with a big 'ole glue dot.  It will still be easy to get the plastic off the lid for consumption. 

I think this will make my friend and her com padres smile.  I'm way behind in my crafting so you may or may not see things that are not DT work this week.  I hope you'll be patient and stick with me.  Have a wonderful Tuesday friends!

Thought of the day:  Even if your on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there.  Will Rogers

Just a funny!

Nothing crafty for you today as I spent as much time as I could with family this weekend even if it just entailed watching some old Ally McBeal episodes, eating together and playing Apples to Apples!  It was a fun weekend!

I'll be back tomorrow with something fabulous for you!

The Sweet Stop

Happy Saturday friends!  Whew I have been so tired recently so I'm so glad it is Saturday! 

It is another Sweet Stop Saturday.  I really love creating for this sketch challenge blog.  I get to use images that I like with some of the best sketches out there and the other DT girls are so sweet and encouraging!  Onto the card:

You can see the sketch to the left and that I took a little creative liberty with it but I'm super happy with how this came out.

For this card I used the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps image called Rhubarb's Punkins.  As always Rhubarb is just the cutest!  I used retired SU! paper (again), a fence border punch with some A Muse wood grained paper (my A Muse website is HERE) and the sentiment is from the Fall Time Cocoa clear stamp set.  The image was colored with Copic Markers.

Okay, well...you enjoy your weekend...make sure you hug your family and tell them you love them!

Thought of the day:  You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.  Dr. Seuss

What Not To Do

Good Friday morning! Who is excited it is Friday? Me, too!  My step-daughter comes today for a visit! She is driving here and it takes about 6 hours so she should be here early afternoon...yay!

So...today's card is an example of what not to do because...it just doesn't scream cute or anything else to me.  I think separately the image is cute and the papers are cute but together it doesn't really do it for me.  The image is from Whimsy and Star and is called Alex's Pumpkin.  The papers are from this month's TE Key Ingredient Kit and are from October Afternoon's Campfire collection.  I do really like the layout though which is from Tuesday Morning Sketches. 

I do hope you'll come back tomorrow, though because my Sweet Stop card is much cuter!

Thought of the day:  Never retaliate when people say unkind things about you.  Pay them back with a blessing and God will bless YOU.  1 Peter 3:9

Clear Dollar Stamps SVG Release Day

Good morning friends! Can you believe the week, as well as the month is almost over already? Where did it go?  I'm excited for tomorrow as my step-daughter Brianna is coming for a visit and we haven't seen her for over a year so it will be fun!  Please pray for her safety as she drives about 6 hours to get here.

So, today is SVG release day over at Clear Dollar Stamps and you know how much I love SVG so I had to sign up to make a preview of these super cute Windmill SVG and PDF!

Obviously the SVG is from Clear Dollar Stamps and when I saw it I thought it would be fun to make it into something that I could give to a teacher so I used the Boyfriend mini deck from Cosmo Cricket as it has perfect papers for this type of thing.  So, I cut the base and blades from an orange cardstock from American Crafts then resized the blades to cut them from the patterned paper.  I just measured and cut the box patterned paper myself.  Using a brad makes it so the blades rotate but I put it on there pretty tightly so it doesn't rotate freely.  There is lots of sponging going on with some not quite navy ink.  I then filled the back with pixie sticks for the teacher to give out.  I gave you a side shot as well so you could see how deep the box part is.

I hope that you like my Windmill but I think you should go check out what the others made with this SVG because those are just beautiful!  Click HERE to go to the Clear Dollar Stamps blog. 

Well, there you have it for today!  Have a wonderful day!

Thought of the day:  When you stamble...make it a part of the dance. 

Halloween Girl

Welcome to everyone! What a beautiful day it is going to be here...81*. The last bit of summer is holding out. While I love fall I'm okay with the low 80's too!

I am back this morning with an image from an illustrator that is new to me...Mabelle from Whimsy and Stars Studio.   While I say she is new to me and that is technically true I have had a set of her stamps that she used to design for TAC that I haven't used yet.  I could not, however pass up this super cute Halloween Girl digital image.  I was limiting myself to just one image mentioned how hard that is on the W&S Facebook page and my friend Danni sent me three more!  My goodness...isn't that just the sweetest of her?

So, you know where today's image is from already.  The patterned paper is retired SU!.  Isn't this layout just perfect for people images?  I found it at the Magnolia Challenge blog.  I can't enter it in that challenge as you have to use a Magnolia image.  I am very frustrated with my coloring mistake on my pumpkin though.  I do believe, barring that stupid mark, it is one of the best colored images that I've done.  I am going to go ahead and link this to the Touch Twin Markers Challenge though.  :)

I just heard from Jon while I was typing up this post.  Goodness I love to hear his voice!  He was calling with news, though.  Another soldier from his unit has been KIA and a friend of his is now a triple amputee plus the medic was shot twice in the leg.  God is good though and he was not with them...thank you Jesus!  It is amazing, though, how scared I get when the phone rings with a number I don't recognize. 

I hope you will make the best of your day today!

Thought of the day:  Faith does not make things easy it makes them possible.  Luke 1:37

Autumn Blessings

Good morning friends! Did you all have a wonderful weekend?  I know that mine was laid back and exactly what I needed.  This weekend is much busier, though, and that is good, too!

Today's card is a fun fall card made with a Doodle Pantry image from Scarecrow Birdie.  Isn't this just a fun image?  I love the cute sentiments in the set event though I went with the basic "Autumn Blessings" sentiment. 

For some reason when I saw this image I wanted to print it out on Kraft paper...which I did and then I wasn't sure how to color it but I think it all worked out.  I didn't want the patterned paper to be to Halloween-y so I chose some more neutral patterns from the MME paper pad called Mischievous.  The colors turned out perfect, I think!  I followed the basic sketch from A Gem of A Challenge Blog HERE.  I also paper pierced on the main image panel which I haven't done in a long time but, again, overall I think it turned out great!  Copic markers were my coloring medium of choice here.

I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Thought of the day:  Don't confuse your path for your destination.  Just because it's stormy now doesn't mean you aren't headed for sunshine. Unknown

Thought of the day...

Thought of the day:

"A reminder that whether you like to admit it or not, whether you agree with it or not, your freedom is not free." It never has been, it never will be. Someone gave all for YOU.  Author Unknown to me.

Star Struck

Good morning friends!  I apologize for getting this post up late.

Today is a fun day at The Sweet Stop as not only is there a great sketch but also a spin with that sketch which is...starstruck.  Whatever star stuck means to you...go for it! You also will have to chance to win a cute stamp set this week...Fall Time Cocoa...which is too cute!

So my card today is all about boys.  The image and sentiments are from the A Muse Studio set called Rock Star and the papers are all from the Lime Twist, Out of the Blue paper pad.  I added some extra stars and twine to really rock star it up!  I'm not sure you can tell but I distressed the edges of all of the layers as well.  

Now...I'm sure you want to get started on your card so I'll make this short.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

Thought of the day:  No matter how expensive the pillow is it could never be as comfortable as my husband's shoulder.  You too?

Sketches by Carly

Happy Friday everyone! I'm so thrilled to have a slow-down day!  I hope you all have super fun plans for your day today!

Today I have super exciting news!  Carly and Kris from Sketches by Carly have invited me to be on their DT!  I know...SO cool right?  Well, today is my first day participating and I gotta tell ya...it was a tough one!  This sketch's sponsor is La-La Land Crafts and with all the cute images of theirs that I own I had a hard time deciding what to do!  I settled on this super adorable Sugar and Spice Marci.   The paper was a super easy pick too and is from DCWV The Sweet matstack and I had several cute puffy cupcakes so I had to use one of those.  The only thing I wasn't sure what to do with in the sketch was the squares but since I turned the sketch on its side I thought the 'text' language, hb2u, would be perfect!

So, there you have it!  Make sure you participate in this challenge as the winner will win one La-La Land Crafts stamp of their choice...so exciting!

I am also going to enter this into the Touch Twin Markers challenge which is to color a person image.  I hope you all have a super day!

Thought of the day:  When nothing goes right...go left!

Clear Dollar Stamps Digi Release Day!

Good morning friends!  Welcome to Thursday!  Yay, tomorrow is Friday and it is the first day of the week I don't acutally have something planned...love it!

Today, though, is a fun day here on the 'ole blogaroonie as it is a new release day for Clear Dollar Stamps Digital team.  Today I have two super sets to show you so here we go!

Above is a birthday wishes box that I made with the new digital set called Birthday Fall Critters.  I colored up the owl with my Copic markers, added some glitter to anything that was green on her and then built this box around the image.  I cut the box template with my Cricut and then just re-sized the template to make the sides and front, sides and back paper fit perfectly.  I only have two pieces of candy in there for show but it would really hold much more than that.  The sentiment is from the Birthday Critters set as well.  This entire set has such CUTE images and you can get it already colored if you'd like!

And the above card features papers and the image from the new set called Sentimental Quilt.  I know lots of quilters so I knew I had to play with this set immediately.  I adore this card and the antique-y feeling it has.  The papers are just so perfect!  The sketch I used with this card is from Sketches by Carly and I'm also entering this into the Ruby's Rainbow challenge which is something suitable for a girl.  I think this fits well!

Make sure you head on over to the Clear Dollar Stamps Blog to see what the entire design team has made for this release...the projects are awesome, I assure you!

Thought of the day:  If we all threw our problems into a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

Spook or Treat

Good morning!  It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day here today...finally under 96-97 degrees!  Yay!

So...I found a new blog.  What is special about this blog?  Well, it lists all the different challenges that are out there (sketch, inspiration, etc).  I know, there are others but this one is great as the challenges are listed by day of the week and then you also get the info about the challenge.  I think that is fabulous!  It is called Feline Playful and you can check it out HERE.

I found the sketch  for today's card there.  And it is a blog that I've never seen before so now I have a new sketch blog to follow, Fetch A Sketch.

I thought this layout would be perfect with the Spooky Wreath I wanted to use.  Spooky Wreath is the free set with purchase until 9/19/11 at Doodle Pantry so make sure you head on over there and get this set for yourself!  Also, don't forget the Doodle Pantry Challenge for the month.  Just make a card with a Doodle Pantry image!  When you play along you automatically get Popsicle Ants for free!   

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Thought of the day:  When you are tempted to lose patience with someone think how patient God has been with you all the time. 

a brief note...

Good morning friends! Welcome to Monday.  I know Monday's can be rough but set your mind to the fact that is it going to be a great day and I bet it will be!

Today's card is a clean and simple card (sketch from HERE) with a masculine twist.  You see this card is going in a package to Afghanistan.  One of our oldest son's best friend's is in Afghanistan right now too (and only about 10 miles from Jon) so we thought we'd send him a package.  The challenge over at CAS-ual Friday's is to paper piece on your clean and simple card and I think I've done that!  These cute briefs and fun sentiment are both from the A Muse Studio set call 'hey, man!'.  More info about everything A Muse Studio can be found by clicking HERE to see my personal website.

As you can see on the left I have also decorated the inside using a piece of the same polka dot paper and another pair of "briefs".  That qualifies this card for the challenge at Truly Scrumptious and Paper Sundaes as well.

I gotta tell ya...this was fun to make.  I love the thought of his laugh when he opens the card 'cuz I know he's gonna get the humor of it!

Thought of the day:  Everyday may not be good but there IS something good in everyday. 

America the Beautiful

Well, I sat down yesterday to make something for today's post and knew I had to go patriotic.  I also knew I did not want to make a card.  I decided I wanted to use this fabulous American Eagle image by Meljen's Designs and since it wasn't going to be a card I decided I would make something that I could frame and set out (or give as a gift).  Being that I wanted the image to be the center of attention I knew it needed to be big so I decided a scrapbook sized page, actually 8"x10" to fit in a frame, would do.  It also provided me with an avenue to find a sketch which I did at a great blog that specializes in sketches that use 4x6 photos...could that not be anymore perfect?!  The sketch I used is HERE.  I am a collector of all crafting items that are red, white, and blue...patriotic...so I just got into my stash and decided on We R Memory Keepers Yankee Doodles collection.

I gotta tell you guys...when I create something that is patriotic in nature I always feel like it turns out great...I think it may be a gift that God has given me.  I've been thinking about starting a blog for patriotic challenges but am not sure how it would be received and if people would be interested.  I'm hoping to get companies to sponsor the challenges and maybe even ask a couple of people to make samples for the challenges.  We shall see.  Please leave me a comment if you might consider participating in a patriotic challenge a couple of times a month.

Thought of the day:

American Girls and American Guys

We'll always stand up and salute

We'll always recognize

When we see 'Ole Glory flying

There's a lot of men dead

So we can sleep in peace at night

When we lay down our head

~Toby Keith's Angry American Song

have a nice day!

Good morning friends!  I hope you are having a lovely Saturday morning!  Sorry for the late post I seem to have found myself a cold the last couple of days so I went to bed early last night and slept in late this morning.

Today is The Sweet Stop day.  I had fun with this sketch!  I got to use a new to me stamp called Breakfast Leslie from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps.  Super fun to color and paper piece!   The patterned paper is from the Early Bird Mini Deck by Cosmo Cricket.  And, of course, the fabulous layout is from The Sweet Stop!

I also went ahead and decorated the inside a little.  I had bought the digital elements pack for the Early Bird mini deck from Jessica Sprague's website so I picked out this fun little strip and sized it to work for my card.  I just love the little uumph it gives the inside!


As you all know tomorrow in the 10th anniversary of 9-11.  Just typing that brings tears to my eyes.  There good and bad that has resulted from that day and I am brought even closer to that day remembering my husband's deployment to Iraq in 2005/2006 and my Jon being deployed to Afghanistan right now.  Both of those deployments are born out of those attacks.  I'm not sure what or if I'll post anything tomorrow as I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Such mixed feelings...pride, anger...yeah, you get the idea.  I'm sure many of you feel the same way.  But for now, I'm going to stay on this day and enjoy it for what it is!

Thought for the day:  If something is wrong, it does not become right, just because more people are doing it.  From:  My friend Patti's blog.   

Go Pack Go!

Good morning friends! Well, it is the first day of the last year of middle school for Kyler.  I think we are all a little bit nervous for the new year, hoping all will go well.  I made egg casserole and put it in the fridge last night.  I'll go pop it in the oven in a minute or two.  He was looking forward to that and it should be a great start to the day!

I've been wanting to make today's card since I got this stamp a few weeks ago.  It is from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps and is called Football Josh.  This set even comes with two sentiments, Go Team Go and Touchdown. You can see I change the Go Team Go to Go Pack Go.  The paper is just paper I've had in my stash forever.  You can barely see it in this photo but I printed touchdown! by Meljen's Designs on the strip at the bottom.  She has a beautiful new store that you should check out HERE.  And the layout for my card is the challenge this week at the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps blog. 

 I'm going to send this card to Jon who is one of the biggest Packer fans ever.  Please do note that the green/yellow are Packer colors.  Oh and the Pack play tonight so I will definitely have football on my t.v. tonight!

Thought for the day:  I can be changed by what happens to me but I refuse to be reduced by it.  ~Maya Angelo  I think this is a great follow up to forgiveness from yesterday.  When we forgive someone it releases US from the bond that held us together with the other person and allows us to change and accept (but not allow the behavior to happen again) whatever has happened. 

Love in yellow...

Welcome to Wednesday everyone!  I hope your week has been wonderful so far!  I know we've just been getting ready for Kyler to go back to school tomorrow. I love and crave the routine of school but miss Kyler terribly while he is gone.

Today I just wanted to share with you a quick card I made for Todd.  If you have followed me for very long you know that I make his cards with as much yellow as I can as it is his favorite color.  Well, I think I should have colored my birds a different color as I do believe they look like chickens but...oh, well!  The image is from a set called Love Tweet Love from Clear Dollar Stamps...trust me, you are going to want to go and see this set...it is super cute!  And speaking of Clear Dollar Stamps next week is a new digi release and I have seen the goods, played with the goods, and have seen what others have made with the goods and I'm tellin' ya...you are going to LOVE this next release!  The paper is from Jillibean Soup--Dutch Mustard Soup and the layout is this week's sketch from The Sweetest Thing.  While you are waiting for the new release why don't you hop on over to their blog to check out all of the neat tutorial's and challenges they have?

Thought of the day:  Forgiveness is giving up hope that the past could have been any different.  Think on this awhile.  I think that once we accept it is what it was than we can forgive.  There is a lot to forgiveness but this is a great start!