CardPatterns #85, Create4fun #41, Stampin' for the Weekend #49, TotallyPaperCrafts #38

Fall is still in there air with plenty of challenges out there to take part in for inspiration... this little cutie is Kai from Mo Manning's Digi's. Sooooo cute. Our family loves fall especially for the leaf tossing. I'll send this card to my brother for his baby girl due in November. They live where the tree's are plentiful so I am certain they too will make great use of the leaves year to year.

Card Pattern #85 is the following sketch to play with:

Create4Fun #41 wants a Digi Stamp used.
Totally Paper Crafts #38 is looking for Autumn.
Stampin' for the Weekend #49 is looking for Fall.

Kai is one of many great digi stamps from Mo's Digital Pencil.
Paper is Cloud9 Design: Harvest Holiday

Belles 'n Whistles, Friday Sketchers #123, Pixie Dust Studio #44, Cupcake Inspiration #80

Would you just look at this cutie!!! I've been in love with this Belles 'n Whistles Little Witch with Broom image since the moment she became mine but today is the first creation

Belles 'n Whistles : Fall Colors
Pixie Dust Studio #44 - Fall into Fall
Cupcake Inspirations #80 - Color Challenge (Can I just say this little sweet treat is divine looking! Great colors too but come on... give me some of this, lol!!!)















Friday Sketchers #123 as follows

Lili of The Valley #69, Timbroscrapmania #12, Stamp Something & Challenge Up Your Life #29

I adore this wedding couple stamp by Lili of The Valley... yesterday my hubby and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary... this is the card I made him using the following challenge blogs for inspriration.

Lili of the Valley #69: sketch as follows

Timbroscrapmania Stamping Challenge #12: Autumn Colors
Stamp Something: Something Punchy
Challenge Up Your Life #29: Autumn Colors

Papers are from My Minds Eye: Penny Lane and Bazzill cardstock.
Martha Stewart branch Punch
Leaf punches are oldies but goodies from Family Treasures and Emagination. We (my husband and I) used these two punches along with 3 others to add hand punched confetti to our wedding invitations! We actually got blisters from all the punching.... ahhhhh where was the cricut back then???
Flowers are hand stitched to the leaves with a french knot.
Sentiment is computer generated.

Magnolia Down Under #65 & Double Dutch #53

It's time for a little Trick or Treating in the craft room. I am sooooooo loving this sketch Double Dutch has to play with. It was the perfect pair with my little Tilda... I don't know that she is specifically "Halloween" but the dress can be used in so many ways I thought she was perfect for my card.
Magnolia Down Under #65 is challenging us to use Flowers and Lace. On the front of my card I cut black primas into petals and used them under Tilda's feet.
Double Dutch #53 has the following fun sketch to play with:
I hunted my stash again... gotta get the paper out of the shelves and onto a project! I soooo love this Cosmo Cricket: Haunted and I swear I thought I'd never actually use it. Every piece is double sided fun. On the inside of the card flap I wanted to see the print so I applied 2 layers of vellum... enough to see the print but enough coverage to see writing!

Stamps used:
Magnolia: Tilda With Thistle
Heide Grace: Halloween (spiders and web)
Making Memories: Spellbound (trick or treat)
Hero Arts: Owl-Oween (pumpkin and treat bag)

The fence behind Tilda is punched from the new Martha Stewart mongo big punch. Thank you Kathrin for sharing it! So fun.

I know I'll be using this sketch again. I just love it :)

Just Magnolia #74, My Time to Craft #108, Stamptacular Sunday #78

Isn't that a sweet sentiment??? I mean... really... that is what we want to say most times but don't say it as simply. Autumn is such a beautiful time of year full of transition from the busy summer months, harvest time, cool crisp mornings, bright color everywhere, leaves rustling in the gentle breeze... all of that is caught up in this Magnolia stamp for me. She's just so sweet, ready for whatever the day might bring.
My Time To Craft #108 hosts challenge "Looks Like Autumn"
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #78 hosts challenge "Seasons of Change" using FALL colors.
Just Magnolia #74 sketch
Papers are DCVW Pocket Full of Posies and Cloud9 Harvest Holiday
Hero Arts Sentiment
Standing Fall Tilda
Cuttlebug for the die / embossed leaf

For The Love of My Boy...

My hubby and son went shopping a few nights back with a very specific list... you know how that can go... well, they came home with more than we needed and Liam got HIS own cartridge, lol. He is sooooo excited about the Wildlife Lite cart. He's been cutting animals and coloring them for days. Animals of all sizes. Who needs overlays when you can color or ink? Now that he 'gets' what ink can do he is having great fun. "Mommy, I need the Chestnut Roan for my Elk antlers over here!" Love it. Anyway, he asked me to make him a card with his new cartridge. This image of the Mommy bear and cub is totally cute. He was specific with his request. Had to be "boyish". Had to have an image only showing the mom and boy. Had to be an easel card. Wallah... here ya go kiddo!

Digital Delights Giveaway

Digital Delights is celebrating their tremendous first year success with a blog candy giveaway running though October 8th. They are giving away one Cricut Nursery Rhymes cart and the complete set of their Nursery Rhyme digis. They are adorable! Stop by and see their cute images!

Project Tuesday, Totally Paper Crafts #35, Anything Goes #17, Cooking It Up With Katie #30

The theme at Project Tuesday is the Tri-fold Pocket Card. These little babies are fun... I've never made one so why not?! I love this K&Co Paper. It's been horded for far too long. Time to use the stuff in the stash! Stamped image is Inkadinkadoo's Cat & Friends in shops now. Totally adorable which brought me to Totally Paper Crafts #35 for their A Kind of Magic challenge and also Anything Goes Challenge Blog #17 - cute. I think it's cute, lol! And Cooking it up with Katie #30 for Something Sweet, Metal and Ribbon. Whew... first time for metal. Love these charms and a huge thanks to Kathrin for sharing her stash. About time I used one, right!?

My Time To Craft #107, Cards & More #9, Sketch Saturday #122, Fun With Shapes and More #66

Another great fall digi stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil. I love this little guy just laying back in the leaf pile he just worked so hard to rake! In my house it is the boy who plays after we do all the hard work but it is fun for us all the same!

The background paper is a print and rotate of the challenge at Cards and More this week. The challenge is to mimic the photo used but seriously the photo is stunning and the colors are absolutely beautiful! I printed the enlarged photo on transparent vellum, cropped and mounted the image rotated. The overlay on the strip of paper, leaf punches and behind the sentiment are also from this print.

My Time To Craft Challenge #107 is Kid's At Play
Fun With Shapes & More #66 is Lace using something punched (leaf handtool)
Sketch Saturday #122 was so fun to use for this card

Mo's Challenge Blog #50, Papertake Weekly-Animal Magic, Everybody-Art-Challenge #109

It's been a loooooooooooonnnnnggggg time for me to make a card. Today was a good day to color and craft with my son. I hopped on a few challenges to get me going. Fall is in the air here. This squirrel digi stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil is an all time favorite for me. The current challenge at Mo's Challenge Blog is Bling, Bling, Bling... well... how to bling up a a Squirrel??? Lot's of stickles :) It turned out pretty fun. I used Debbie Mumm's Harvest & Holiday papers and Prima First Blush CS. The sentiment is computer generated using Organic Elements font.

The card was made using Stamp & Fun = Creativity #13 Sketch (last weeks challenge).
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Animal Magic
Everybody-Art-Challenge #109 - Autumn

Digital Two For Tuesday - Fish On!

I am happy to share a little card with you using the sweetest fishing image from Digital Two For Tuesday. My family is made of fishermen and I struggle to find images that work or inspire. This week Cora asked me to be a guest designer for her and these images couldn't have been more perfect for me and the men in my life! With 3 images in all to share with you, be sure to stop by her blog and snag 'em. I know you'll enjoy using them. She provides great images, with beautiful clarity in all printing sizes. Good stuff!

The Cuttlebug Spot - 2x2 die challenge

I bring a festive card for The Cuttlebug Spot challenge this week... check out those flowers!!! I am sooooo in love with them. This week the challenge is to use any 2x2 die or embossing folder (they do not have to be cuttlebug). I feel like I stretched this one a bit. I used the cuttlebug Halloween Sign die / embossing combo for the Happy Birthday sign... it's bigger than 2x2 but ya know... it works! Also, under those yummy 3-D flowers is a cute 2x2 Sizzix die / embossing combo. You can see the edges stick out a bit. The little floral arrangement was inspired by a post I ran across this weekend at The Simply Handmade Blog. There is a post for a flower wedding bouquet that is absolutely fabulous. I added yellow stickles to the edge of the roses, handcut the leaves - crumpled the paper and inked in 3 shades of green. My cousin's birthday is tomorrow. Weather permitting... we're having a little get together on the lake. She is a blonde haired cute little gardener... this Sarah Kay image was a perfect fit.
Have a great week!

You Are My Sunshine........

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... you make me happy when skies are gray... you never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away.

My mom used to sing this little poem to me when I was younger. Regina at The Cutting Cafe created this absolutely adorable sun shaped card, and of course added the poem to fit the card base or circular... along with a perfect envelope. I had to have it. I had to make one for my mom. She just got out of a short hospital stay. This is sure to bring sunshine her way.

The Cuttlebug Spot - 4th of July

Happy Monday! This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we're ready to celebrate the 4th of July! The firework stands are up and starting to sell, the weather is finally warm... it's time to celebrate! My little guy is ready for the fireworks, the parade, swimming at the beach and his Grandma's birthday as she was born on the 4th too!

I found my image at Clearly Vintage. Cora has several to choose from that are all fabulous. This was 'the one' for me though... singing, play, flurry of fun... it all speaks what the day is for us.

My papers are all from K&Co, cuttlebug A2 Allegro embossing folder... ribbon and lace trim is from my OMG stash my Grandma keeps filled, lol. She is too funny but I love it. Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Play Date Fun

We has an alllllllllll day play date with 3 little friends this week. This picture is too cute I have to share it. We were having a popcorn break outside. All the kids had a rocket cup with water. After several attempts to get a good picture with good participation from all of the kids, mind you they are all 5 or 6 years old, they decided they were SO done with CHEESE and did a series of goofy faces. After seeing this group shot I wonder why I tried so hard to get them to comply with my sweet, adorable, smile please moments... This is who they are right now after all! Each made a different, unique to themselves only, face and I love it. Summer fun with good buddies... it doesn't get much better then this!

The Cuttlebug Spot - Layout Challenge

This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we're challenged to make a layout. I have never made a layout before... I take loads of pictures, and print them too, but never get them to paper. I am happy this page came together fairly simply, and the results have me wanting to keep on going with more pages.

I used 2 cuttlebug folders, Herringbone and Explore, adding texture to the wallet sized prints on the right side of the page.
Paper, chipboard, sticker and rub-ons are Basic Grey - Archaic
Stamps are Scrappy Cat - Journaling Blocks and Autumn Leaves - Talking in Circles (boys)
I love the buttons. I added copper wire in the holes, then inked them with brown Staz-On ink to show the different textures on the buttons and dull out the shine a bit.

This picture is hot off the press... Liam and Mike just returned from a fishing date. Liam caught his first Small Mouth Bass from start to finish... hooked, and reeled in without help. He is so excited. After seeing the bow shoot layout he is certain I need to make one with this picture too! He says, "Mom, Is that a "HOT DOG?" (Mike told him "Hot dog, that sure is a big fish!") So... I guess it is a Hot dog! LOL And he let me know he caught it on his ugly stick... which I later learned is the actual name of the fishing pole. I guess I need to up my skills! Little cutie.

Digital Two for Tuesday - Recipe Book

It's been a busy month prepping for this little project... at least in my head... I had so many ideas it is funny and perfect all at the same time to see what I ended up with, lol. Two For Tuesday always has a fine selection of great vintage images for your use. Hop on over there and check out the other 4 recipe projects! They're all great, and we all ended up with something different. So fun. Cora selected many great images for us to use, and has posted them as well with our samples for you to use! We were not limited to the project... just had to use at least 8 of the images and tags.

My recipe book is 7x6 inches with a pocket perfect for a standard sized recipe card, or even a little bigger... I cut the pocket diagonal thinking the little clippings I find along the way can also store and be seen while I try them and make a big card for them. I chose K&Co Amy Butler (Lucky Flowers) paper throughout. No surprise I picked K&Co but this stack in particular really 'hit the spot' for me. I love the bold colors and patterns throughout. I kept the embellishments simple using only small Prima's and stitching throughout, along with the same layout per page. I love 50's styles with the use of ric-rac and stitching for borders. I used a Martha Stewart punch along the left side of each page to bring this touch to each page, along with a bit of folded paper at the bottom. The book is bound with my BIA. Cora's images were easily re-sized with perfect clarity for this project.

My last picture shows a recipe that is too simple and totally delish. It's a must try, and a must keep in your new recipe project! I found the old looking recipe card at Free Printables Online.

Delicious Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tlbs baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients

Add 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Mix. Kneed all together until combined. Press into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut into 1/8's.

Bake 16-18 minutes.

Switch it up substituting the walnuts and chocolate chips! They are great with dried fruit and almonds too. They keep for 3 days. My new fav with my coffee in the morning!

Thank you Cora for the opportunity to join you and the other talented ladies you chose for this project. I am loving the final project.

The Cuttlebug Spot Graduation Card

Happy June 1st all! The Cuttlebug Spot is back to work after a month of rest. Our theme this week is Graduation or Dads... which do you prefer? They're both toughies for me. I opted for the graduation card for my niece, who will graduate the 8th grade this year.

Paper is DCVW, 2010 is cut from Cricut Graphically Speaking, embossing folder is Cuttlebug A2 Stars. The cute little House Mouse image is a keeper... I received it in an image swap ages ago. I love it :)

Vintage Workshop Blog Contest Giveaway

The Vintage Workshop is full of creative ideas and darling high quality images. Stop by their blog and you could win a "Fresh From the Garden" Gift Set. There are two prize bundles offered to randomly chosen winners... all ya have to do is tell them what you're planting in your garden this year. You're sure to be inspired too while you're there.

Baby Boy Gift Set

I had the pleasure of greeting a sweet little man today for the first time. We had a little get together for him and his lovely mom. I have had the sewing bug lately and completed a cute little blanket for him as well as used some scraps for his card. I am still loving the Yo-Yo's for accents. So darn cute and simple to put together.

Paper is K&Co Actopus to Zelephant stack (so fun), stickers for name and airplane are Basic Grey Archaic, shape for inside of card cut from Cricut Storybook cartridge.

The Cuttlebug Spot - Favorite Flower Challenge

Happy Monday! This week at The Cuttlebug Spot we're crafting with our favorite flower... hmmm this was hard! I honestly don't have a favorite so I decided to try out my favorite never tried flower, lol! I am in love with fabric. I haven't done much sewing in ages but I feel it calling me... the fabric needs to be loved on like the paper... Anyhow, this little flower (aka Yo-Yo) is super cute and simple. I used a 4 inch circle, hand stitched around the edge, then pulled the stitch tight together creating the little circle flower. You could machine stitch it too of course. Add a button or brad and whallah... you have a quick, fun, fabric flower adding dimension to your card.

Paper is DCVW The Green Stack.
Cuttlebug: A2 D'Vine Swirl and Elephant Thanks

Have a great week!

Just Magnolia Sketch, Roses On Paper #35, Stamp Something Layers, Cupcake Craft Challenges #85

Okay, okay I know Easter is past but... I'm loving my Magnolia's from the 2009 collection and found a little inspiration to use several of them in this card from a Paper Crafts 3/2009 magazine. It took me longer then it should have to put together. It was a fun project from beginning to end. I had a little help from some challenge blogs to put it all together.

Just Magnolia has a great sketch (as well as a Blog Hop so be sure to check it out!!) I used their sketch for card 3 above turned to the left.
Roses On Paper Challenge #35 and Stamp Something are both asking for Layers on your projects. Some of my cards have more then others but put them all together and whew!!!

Cupcake Craft Challenge #85 is to Make Your Own Flowers. I made some paper punch flowers using waxed paper and coffee filters, 1 and 1.5 inch circle punches. These are fun and simple. Punch 6 of each circle, ink them up, layer and place brad to secure, crumple each layer from inside out until your pleased.

All of the papers are K&Co Amy Butler, cricut Storybook cartridge used for branches, iTop used for large brads on card 3.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the weekend.