Black and Orange Challenge

 

 

Hard to believe it's October already! {well almost !}Time for sweaters and socks and everything cozy.

 

In keeping with the fall theme, there's a black and orange challenge going on over at CCC !

 

I immediately thought "Halloween" when I heard the color challenge but then I thought "No! " and decided to challenge myself to come up with a  non Halloween project using black and orange .

 

This is what I came up with :

 

.

My supplies included:

 

Sweet Little sentiment stamp

Butterfly stamp from "God's Beauty"

Pumpkin pie card stock

black card stock and ink

Dimensionals

Dazzling Diamonds

Labels Collection dies # 125598

Wood Grain Embossing folder #127821

 

  Head on over to  the CCC blog and check out the awesome creations of my fellow DT members.

Thanks for popping by today and Happy Fall! Toodles!

 

 

Sparkles!!!!

Well, it's a well known fact that a girl can NEVER have too much bling and sparkle in her life!

 

It's challenge #2 up at Catherine and Cathy Create and it's ...you guessed it SPARKLES!!!!

 

 

Here's my pretty little tag in all it's sparkly goodness:

 

 

 

I know, I know ...what the heck am I doing with a Christmas tag already????

 I used the following Stampin' Up products for this tag:

SU inks: Cherry Cobbler
       Old Olive
           Basic Black
              Staz On Black

Cherry Cobbler card stock
Stamp set "Bells and Boughs" #121142
Clear Embossing powder
Dazzling Diamonds
Silver Glass Glitter #120995
Cherry Cobbler Baker's twine #123125
Blender pen
 

 

 Pop on over to the CCC blog and check out all the beautiful creations of my fellow DT members.

And don't forget to participate in all three challenges this month for your chance to win some awesome blog candy! Toodles!

 

Chevrons!!!

 Good morning blog world! It's Chevron Day over at CATHERINE AND CATHY CREATE !

 

Chevron is the first monthly challenge at CCC for September. Play along with all three and you could win some blog candy!

 

My project is actually a birthday card for my oldest and dearest friend, Cynthia. { shhh...don't tell her!}. Cynthia hates it when I use that term...she says it makes her feel old lol . We have been friends for over 40 years having grown up across the street from each other...and that's the closest hint I'll give to our age!

 

 Here's a photo of Cynthia and I taken last week when hubby and I went out east for a few days.

It was nice to finally get to see her new house {which I'm ashamed to admit she and her hubby have been in for almost two years!!!}. Gosh I wish we lived closer to each other!

 

 

 

Here's my chevron project :

 

 

{ Little secret: I actually didn't have any chevron patterned paper so I made some!}

 

I simply punched out several rows of ivory card stock with an EK Success punch {called Zig Zag} and glued them down to a strip of Bermuda Bay cardstock. When it dried, I trimmed off the overhang, cut a "V" in the bottom of the strip and inked all edges with Soft Suede ink.

 

Stampin' Up supplies used in this project include:

 

Soft Suede , Bermuda Bay and Ivory card stock

 

Soft Suede ink

Bermuda Bay ink

Coastal Cabana ink

 

Apothecary Art stamp set { #125527}

Stampin ' Up Blender pen

 

Attic Boutique paper {#125407}

 

Please pop by CCC to check out the chevron projects by my fellow DT members. We'd love for you to share your chevron projects via the link up tool. Don't forget to participate in all three Sept challenges for a chance to win some yummy blog candy! Toodles!

 

G45 French Country Birdhouse

I've been playing with birdhouses again!

 

When I was shopping at Michael's during a trip to the east coast last week I stumbled across this adorable barn shaped birdhouse  and immediately thought " Ooooo...this would be gorgeous all dolled up with  G45  French Country papers!".

And it was!
What do you think?

 

and a side view...

 

 

The little cupola on top wasn't part of the original birdhouse. I created it from card stock and glued it to the top... What's a barn without a cupola , right?

 Here's a couple of more photos:

 

 

 

 

To view a couple of other birdhouses I've done 

with some other awesome G45 papers click HERE.

 

Thanks for popping by today! Toodles!

 

 

My Adorable nephews { and a Sketchy Challenge! }

Rob and I went to St John's / Mt. Pearl last week to visit my sister and her family. I'm sad to say we hardly ever see each other being on the opposite sides of the island. I'm ashamed to say that this was the first time we have been to her house in TWO years!!! 

I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with my two nephews. It saddens me that we are missing them growing up. We enjoyed Nathan's baseball game and taking them for little walks/bike rides around the neighborhood {and stopping into the corner store for treats of course!}.
Here's a few LOs I did using pics I took last week.

This first Lo is based on SUE SYKES August sketchy challenge at CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER.

 

and here's my take on it..... 

 

 

Annette and I had such a laugh when we reviewed all the baseball photos I took , because Nathan looks so darn serious in this one. He was a man on a mission stepping up to that plate! lol {and yes he did get a hit!}

 

While Nathan was playing ball, his younger brother Brady was busy doing his own thing. Brady has high functioning autism. Actually the kid is brilliant...just turned five, and reads on a Jr high grade level...yes , I said reads! and amazingly taught himself to read! 

But like all autistic kids, he has his quirks and one involves his hair! He simply refuses to get it cut ! Believe me, my sister has tried !!! And he just does NOT care that people think he's a girl.

I took these photos of him while he was running around while Nathan played ball. He is such a free spirit and I think I captured it in these photos!

 

 

My fav is the photo of him with his hair streaming behind him and back lit with the sun !

Thanks for popping by today. Maybe you can pop back tomorrow when I'll be sharing a new birdhouse I've done with G45 French Country papers. Toodles!

 

 



Polka Dots with Tutorial

Hey there! It's polka dot day over at CCC ! Ya gotta love polka dots! They are always so cheery!

 

I decided to play with the polka dot theme and make a mess...errr... create something rather than just use polka dot paper. I made my own polka dot stencil !

 

First I tried it with just card stock as my stencil base but that was sort of flimsy and truthfully was a bit too messy.

 

So then I fished out a scrap of acetate that I had lying around and proceeded to punch random holes in it with my Stampin' Up 1/2" circle punch and also the larger circle punch on my crop-a-dile. I  had to slit the acetate partially through the middle to add a few holes in there. I just had to be really careful when I added the temporary adhesive on the back, to cover the slit well so it wouldn't leak through. You can see the slit on this photo....

 

 

 I adhered my stencil to a piece of white card stock.

 

Now comes the fun messy part! I blotted my Strawberry Slush ink pad onto my non stick craft sheet a few times { I LOOOOVE those new pads ...they are sooo juicy!}.

 

 

 

Then I scooped a blob of model paste onto the nonstick sheet and proceeded to stir it up until it took on this yummy pink color! It looks like icing!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Next, using my palette knife {but an old credit card works well too!}, I spread a layer of that yummy pink goo over my stencil.

 

 

I let it dry slightly and then carefully pulled off my stencil and this is what I got!

 

 

Pretty, eh?

 My dots might not be perfect but I love the subtle dimension it added to my tag.

 

 Here's my finished tag...

 

Supplies for my project include:

 

SU Ink and card stock in

Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar

1/2" circle  punch

Su ticket corner punch

Crop-a-dile

SU Embosslits Butterflies

SU Labels die

Sentiment stamp is "Feels Good" #129684

SU Dazzling Diamonds

Golden Model Paste

 

Thanks for popping by today...now head on over to CATHERINE AND CATHY CREATE and check out the polka dot projects created by my cohorts! Toodles!

 

PS: Did you notice that some of my butterflies even have polka dots on them??? I love that butterfly Embosslit!

A Few Graduation LOs and Kelly's Double the Fun Sketch

I'd like to share a few graduation LOs with you today. {WARNING! WARNING!! This post is photo heavy!} I've been busy as a beaver working on them and am finally getting around to posting a few. I've gone with two really different looks with these LOs. The school colors are black and gold and as all the 'Cap and Gown' day photos are of Scott and his buddies, I've stuck to a more neutral palette and a masculine feel.

 

My first LO is a 2 pager that I made based on KELLY'S awesome sketch for CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER 's Double the Fun challenge. There's still time for you to do a LO based on this great sketch and submit it to Canadian Scrapbooker before the August 15th deadline! You never know...you just might get published!

 

So here is Kelly's great sketch:

 

 ...and here's my take on it!

 



 

These guys have been best buds for many years and have had a lot of fun {and only a little trouble lol} together!

 

Here's a few more of the more masculine LOs. I really love this one ! It is so much simpler {read less cluttered haha} than my usual LOs. I find it hard to leave negative space so this is a breakthrough for me!

 

 



 

 

and a LO with the grandparents...

 

 

Check out these cool dudes heading off to graduation in fine style!

 

 

 

 I think this may be one of my favs!

 Little story behind it ...as you can see, there are photos of three of these guys on their first day of Junior high back in 2007. I had done a LO of them at that time and for some reason that LO popped into my mind on Graduation Day and I ran into the house, grabbed my old scrapbook and got the guys to do the same poses. I thought it made for a really sweet now and then type of LO. Don't you agree?

 

 

 

This next LO is based on the June Sketchy challenge over at CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER by SUE SYKES

 

 

Here's my interpretation...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day of Graduation was the Grand March/dance day. Scott's date wore a beautiful fuchsia gown and this allowed me to play with more color and to make these LOs a little more feminine! I couldn't wait to use the BO BUNNY 'Prairie Chic' papers for these LOs. The colors in this collection were perfect! I've only done a couple of LOs of this more formal day {yet!. There'll be more I can assure you! :) }.
This first LO is based on the July Sketchy challenge at CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER ....another design by the talented SUE SYKES .

and my take on it...

 

 

Another LO using those gorgeous Bo Bunny Prairie Chic papers....

Last one I PROMISE!!!!! Look at those gorgeous eyes!

 

 

 

 So there you have it. This is what I've been up to the last two months. Hope you've enjoyed looking at my "baby's" grad LOs. I'm sure I'll squeeze out a few more ...grand march, dancing with his momma,...yup. ...definitely can come up with a few more yet! Thanks for stopping by today! Toodles!