Challenges and cards off the list ....... YEAH !

 I have birthday cards and Christmas cards to get done ...... it is  crazy early part of late November / December .... but I have faith I will accomplish all of them !

 Cute Card Thursday challenge #139 - SKETCH  had this great sketch that I decided to use for my SIL's birthday card . i used one of the new releases by Sparkles Stamps ... so perfect for this one !

This is the inside of the card using the new Sizzix big die for gift cards ... it actually stands up when you open the card to reveal a gift card !

I also decided that I needed to use this cute Magnolia stamp for a Christmas card  using the challenge on....

Just Magnolia Week 83 - White plus 1

and

 the Sketch fromSketch Saturday  Week 130

And the card I created using this sketch

The last card I made , I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Sunday challenge 94

It has been a fun , crafty week so thanks for looking .... now off to the craft room where it is warm ( it is -20 C with a windchill of -30 C outside today !

Happy creating !

Random Challenges and just having fun !

 It was a weekend of sitting and playing while DH watched a LOT of football ( both Canadian and American ) and the odd hockey game thrown in to the mix ! Was a great time to disappear into my room and play ! 

Drunken Stamper's challenge #42 challenged everybody to use some sewing on their cards ... I chose to do FAUX stitching as it is a pain to dig my machine out and there is no where in my room to just leave it up ( gives me a good excuse not to do any mending actually ! LOL ) . Here is my card using  a cute Hangler stamp image

I am using this card for my Granddaughter's birthday card next month .... one of 4 birthdays between now and the middle of December I have to make cars for !

I also made a card using this sketch from Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge - Challenge #41

I am also submitting it to Totally Tilda #9   Icy Christmas Tilda - Using Blue and Silver

And this is just a fun card I made for our Grandson .... I love this image of Edwin as we have all been there with Christmas lights ! LOL !

Thanks for looking and Happy creating ! Winter is making an appearence here so that means I may be stuck in playing a WHOLE lot .... oh DARN !!!!! NOT !!!! ROFLMAO !!!

Happy Holidays ... card edition !

 How cute is this winter release of Magnolia's Tilda and Snowman ? I just love them ! With my trusty copic markers , some Stickles , a good amount of Sakura Stardust pen and some very fun paper I created this card from the sketch from Magnolia Stamp Lover

I am also entering it on Cute Card Thurday Challenge # 138 Anything Goes

And here is my card

Thanks for looking and Happy creating ! Come join in the fun !!!!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #74

 Another fun sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge #74 and I knew I just had to play with this one with my Magnolia's Circus Tilda !

 The sketch this week was designed by Arlana Patten

And here is my take on the sketch ... with a little creative license thrown in :-)

 Come join in the fun and show us what you can create !  Thanks for looking and happy creating !

Time to break out the Airbrush !

  I just fell in love with this new release Magnolia Tilda and had to use her ! I couldn't decide what to do with her so I thought the Copic Airbrush would definately work perfect with her ! I took the sketch from this week's challenge over on Just Magnolia Week 79 Dawny's Sketch . Here is the fun sketch

And here is what I did with it ......

And the copics I used !

I am also entering her in the Totally Tilda Challenge #8 Pink and Pearls Challenge

Have fun creating and pop over to both these sites and join in the fun ! I am having a BLAST !!!

a Challenge from a friend - Move On Up

A friend challenged me to make a layout for the challenge over on Dirty Scraps : Challenge 20 If you have never been on this challenge blog then I urge you to hop on over there ...... amazing challenges that get right down to the dirt in your mind ! This was definately one of the hardest layouts I have ever made but one that fell together very quickly ! Strange as it may be ! I have to explain a bit about my layout before I post it ..... I have used very drab colors ( black and Kraft ) with a hint of RED and little bling ...... Nothing is cut neatly as this is how my heart feels .............uneven and not complete ........... but we move on day to day ..........

                                    Without You

The journaling reads

" You are not my child but you are of my blood . We never knew you existed until you were 3 months old. We cried for you , we held you ,we SPOILED , we LOVED you ! We still do ! You were hidden from us and taken away by your Mother . She chose to take a different path for you and her . We found you but our hands were tied all for the sake of the child . We had threats made against us to stay away from you , to forget you and to move on . We will NEVER STOP LOVING YOU ! We will never fill the void in our hearts . We will NEVER STOP waiting for you to find us . We ARE YOUR OTHER FAMILY ! You are our  GRANDDAUGHTER and we will WAIT for you ALWAYS . We LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE !  "

Every time I see a butterfly I SEE you !

Some day soon !

TFL .... and thanks Melody for pushing me to do this !!!!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 73 and Top 3 !

 I am super excited about making Top 3 last week   ( and proud to show off the blinkie on my sidebar ) over on Sweet Sketch Wednesday so when I saw the nice sketch this week I just had to play along again !

Such a fun sketch to work with and with some pretty DP from BG " Jovial " some lace and those wonderful Prima poinseittas ( that I sprayed with Glimmer Mist ) and some lace and velvet ribbon from Sassy n Savvy made a quick card with this cute image from Balmarmarna !

This cute little guy was colored with my Copics then given texture by using the rag tecnique ( Blender pen fluid on toweling then dabbed over the sweater image and hat ! Gives a wool look ! )

Thanks for looking and pop over to Sweet Sketch wednesday and come play !

Have a great weekend everybody and happy creating !

FRIDAY SKETCHERS #125 and just magnolia - think Pink

An online friend fell a few weeks ago and broke her leg in 4 places so has had to make some life changes ! The poor gal was in her first term of University and now is sitting at her parents house being looked after ! She is having to drop out of school for the whole first year to recouperate and have more surgery ! The poor kid !

I made this card and will send her a care package as well so hopefully this will bring a bit of sunshine to her ! Tilda is all banged up but no broken leg ..... though I am sure it doesn't matter to my freind ! I took the sketch from Friday Sketchers

I did have to use a bit of creative license with the sketch but it worked out with 2 of the layers reversed.

I am also submitting this card to Just Magnolia - Think Pink week 78  . I love their challenges here too ! So much fun ! Tilda is definately pink in her pink tracksuit and sitting on her pink couch ! Tilda in bandages is one of my favorite all time Magnolia image and one I don't want to have to use very often ! LOL !

TFL and get better quickly Madelyn !

Halloween !

I don't usually make halloween cards but I have a friend that always sends me one so I though this year I would actually get busy and make her one ! Of course the week I had planned on getting it done and in the mail , I ended fighting this silly Fall cold ! I haven't had one for 2 years so this one is hanging on making my life miserable ! So much for the vitamins I have added into my regiment for warding off these things ! LOL ! Oh well , I did get the card done and it will probably arrive late but that is okay as it is the thought that counts , right ? Lol !

 I used the sketch from the challenge on Sweet Sketch Wedneday

 Unfortunately , my background paper stuck before I could adjust it so I used a bit of creative license on it .... but all the elements are there !  I am also adding my card to Totally Tilda's Halloween Special Challenge  and to  Drunken Stamper's - Halloween challenge #39   ( hello ladies ! ) .

  Have a safe and fun Hallween everybody ! I wouldn't be trick-or-treating at my house this year as I am treating  myself to a concert ... REBA is in town and a friend and I are going to enjoy her concert !

 Happy creating and TFL !

Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge #39 - Maggies Sketch

 This week there is a new sketch up on Sunday Sketch & Stamp that I just had to play with . You can find the sketch and challenge  here
And here is the sketch

  I decided this was such a nice sketch that I would do a very " simple " card with no ribbons or flowers .... a bit of a stretch for me ! LOL ! here is my Christmas card that I came up with .

 I did manage to cut off the top of the card with my lousy picture taking but it is so dull and grey outside that I couldn't get a good photo ! There is a slight glitter to the paper from Glimmer Mist and the snowflakes are sparkly but as usual  you can't see it ! Image is colored with Copic markers and I used paper from my stash ! the 3 dots on each corner are made with Liquid Pearls .

TFL and happy creating !

No Sketches , No Challenges , Just my own creations !

Bildmarlarna image

penny Black and Verve` image

Magnolia Tilda with ornament

Mo Manning image .... for Lisa :)

 This week found me at my desk playing and using my brain to come up with some cards on my own .... sometimes the cards just fall together with no help from anybody ! My images are by Mo Manning , Penny Black , Bildmalarna and Magnolia ! It has been a great week to just play between laundry loads and housework ! Thanks to Melody for the great R.A.K. of the beautiful lace ... one which was used on my Penny Black card !

The sun is shining but there is a definite nip in the air but winter is creeping up on us as Alberta got a dump of snow this morning ! They say it is coming ths way ....... oh well , I have stamps , ink and my Copics ! I am happy !

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !

A multitude of challenges

 Like the addiction of Magnolia stamps and copic markers , the challenge blogs are beginning to become a bit of an adiction too ! It is a GOOD addiction though as I am starting to build up my card stash again ! Here is a card that I have made that fit a few of those challenges ......

This Tilda is being submitted for these challenges

1.SWEET SKETCH SUNDAY #38      I used the sketch as my base

2. THE SISTERHOOD OF CRAFTERS   ... Embellish it challenge   I used 3 flowers , pin , leaves and velvet ribbon ( oops , missed the deadline on this one so no entry to the challenge but it was fun to do ! )

3.STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY CHALLENGE # 79   Layer it on   .....   5 layers or more ......

This was a FUN card to make ! Thanks for looking and happy creating ! looking forward to the next challenges !

Here is another card that could fit in the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #79 as well

Ellen Hutson's Sketch Challenge for World Cardmaking Day !

 I am so excited that I finally got to sit down and make a card for Ellen Hutson's WCMD challenge on her Classroom Blog ! I chose out of the six challenges posted to do the second one which is a sketch by Julia Stainton . Check it out  here !

I did use a little creative license on my card but then I don't follow directions well to begin with ...... LOL ! As I had already won the blog candy for this challenge it was a great way to enter for the BIG blog candy ! At least I am entering one project ....

Who knows , maybe I will get something else done this evening as I have until midnight to on Wednesday to enter all 6 challenges before the challenges close !

thanks Ellen for such inspiration ( and a great store ! )

Fall is in the air

Even with the Fall migraines hitting with a vengence , I managed to finish up this card that I started yesterday ! It seems to be taking me longer to make a card lately but I am so happy with the results of this one that I am submitting for 3 Challenge blogs

Drunken Stampers #35 Salute to Fall           It's been awhile since I got to play with these gals but hopefully life is slowly slowing down so I can play more with them being I did a DT stint with them ! I haven't forgotten any of you ~ really ! LOL !

Stamptacular Sunday challenge #78 .... Season's change    Using all Fall colors ! I think I covered this with all my FAll-ish colors

and

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 69    Another awesome sketch ladies ! I have flipped this sketch ... a little creative license used ! LOL !

 I have used a new Magnolia release from the Autumn Cozy Family images ( seems these are going under more then one name as I check the internet ! ) called Brother and Sister .
The paper is from the Imaginisce APPLE CIDER collection
Prima leaves and other goodies
Ribbon from my stash and of course I used Copics to color my image .

Thanks for looking and happy creating ! Come join in the fun on all these wonderful blogs ! You never know what you may come up with !

Challenges galore !

Even though I stressed that I usually try to do challenge blogs one at a time , I have discovered it is really fun to combined a FEW and see what becomes of the result . By taking the sketch from here on Sketch Saturday Challenge Week 122  Blog , this challenge from Magnolia Stamp Lovers : Add a touch of lace  and combining it with the challenge from here on Totally Tilda challenge Blog ( and you know how I love Tilda ! ) which this week the challenge was Glitter and Sparkle this is the card I came up with !

 I love this Magnolia Tilda image and she was so much fun to color with my Copic markers and the background was softly airbrushed . I also used my Sakura glaze pen on her shoes and my Sakura Stardust pen for the lace of her dress and the umbrella handle ...... the ribs were colored with my Sakura white gel pen  . The dress was then covered with Ice Stickles as were her socks and the top of the umbrella ( or parasol ) . The roses were also coated with glaze pen to give them a bit of depth ! Tim Holtz patterned paper and distressed Ink were used and a CTMH sentiment finished off my card .......... after punching an edge with my Martha Stewart edge punch and some airbrushed lace and flower to which some Stickles had been added . Glitter was added to the corner piece of chipboard .

Here are the Copics I used to color Tilda with

Happy creating and I hope my card brought a smile to your face ! Thanks for taking the time to look !

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 68

Sweet Sketch Wednesday  had a wonderful sketch this week and I managed to find some time to sit and play with it ! I am really beginning to love working from a sketch for my cards as it gives me a starting point for my brain ! Thanks to all the wonderful artists that come up with them !

Here is my take on this week's sketch

 I love Mo Manning images as you can tell ! They just make me smile ! That poor cat ! We have had a few that have been loved like this over the years ! LOL !

 Image is colored with Copic markers and I handmade the flower out of piece of wide lace then spritzed with Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist then  edges some of the " petals " with Stickles .....

Sorry for the unclear photos today but my camera is not behaving properly !

Thanks for looking and happy creating !

I am back to my craft table !

After a fun filled , camping season it was time to winterize the RV and think about staying home ... and staying home means I actually got to sit in my crappy room and get to play ! As my oldest granddaughter turns 15 on Sunday I had to get a card made for her . I never try to combine challenges as I find it a challenge just doing a card for each site if I can but this one just happened to fit the bill for both these sites so I am entering my card on both of them !

front of card .......

inside of card ..........

Thanks to the sketch found  here on Sunday Sketch Challenge #37 I created this card . And although you can't see the pattern on this paper ( under the lace looking paper ) it has a GRID patterned and is a beautiful paper that comes from BG's ORIGINS 6"X6" paper pad ! The GRID paper fits in with THIS challenge on Spectacular Sunday Challenge # 77

 So much  fun to use my Copics and my Magnolia's again and the new release of the Spellbinders Nesties just made me happy ! Unfortunately my rose ribbon doesn't show up very well in the photo and because it was a small section it really doesn't do the ribbon justice either :-(   ...................... oh well lesson learned !!! !

Hope everybody has a wonderful crafty week ! Courteney , have a wonderful 15th birthday but don't have too much fun either ! LOL ! Love you Baby Girl !

Another holiday and the end of the 2010 camping season .....

 We just spent 13 days touring down to the Fraser Valley and then up through the Okanagan before heading through Salmon Am and then towards home ! The whole trip was spent dodging rain as we only had maybe 2 days where we didn't get rain ..... didn't matter WHERE we were ! LOL !

We spent two nights in Hope , BC . We have driven through this little town so many times over the years but never stopped so this was the perfect time to do it . We stayed at a campground right on river and watched the fisherman fishing salmon ...... so fun to watch and being the salmon run was a record one this year , it was worth watching and listening to the fish ! Of course , we had some sun , went for a walk and got absolutely dumped on from the sky ! Hope is right in the mountains so any cloud you see is bound to hit at some point ! Another great thing about Hope is it is famous for it's chainsaw carvings which are scattered all over the town along with totem poles . We really enjoyed visiting this small town and walking around the town was such an adventure !

After leaving Hope we headed just an hour down the freeway to visit my family and celebrate my Dad's birthday . Was so nice to see everybody and meet the newest addition to my nephew's family . My brother came and shared some wine with us in the Taj one night and even tried out the hide-a-bed which he says was very comfy ....... not that he probably really knew as it was GOOD wine ! LOL ! Keith & I also went out for a quiet lunch with my sister and her husband . So nice to spend some quiet time with them as they do so much for my parents and my sister fed 18 for supper the one night ! It was bedlum ! LOL ! I know Dad & Mom were happy to see us as it has been well over a year since I saw them .

 A nice surprise while we were away as well as a " old " friend stopped by my parents .... Joani is much younger then me but I haven't seen her in 30+ years ! She was my youngest sister's very best friend in the world and suffered a great loss ( as did our family ) when my sister passed away at the age of 5 1/2 yrs in 1966 ! Seeing Joani was like reconnecting with a part that was missing in my life ! Thanks Joani for being " there " even after all these years ! And a nice turn also deserves one so Keith & I stopped in her cute little clothing store in Enderby , BC called LITTLE CITY BOUTIQUE ...... beautiful clothing from a beautiful lady ! unfortunately I don't fit any of those beautiful clothes ......... LOL !

 We spent a few days in Kelowna visiting Keith's family but parked in the Taj in a RV park ..... and yes , we got rain .......... and one day of sun :-)  Keith's sister-in-law from Winnipeg came to Kelowna at the same time so we got a good visit in with her too ! Nice to have seen her as I hadn't since Gary passed away 2 years ago .

One quick stop overnight in Salmon Arm and a nice visit with Lisa and Brayden ! Always nice to see them ..... next time hopefully Wayne will be around . Sadly his Mom passsed away a week or so ago ... our deepest sympathy to the Costa family .

 We had a long day ( we had been traveling 2-4 hrs a day if that so 6 hrs was a LONG day ! LOL ! ) from Salmon Arm as we headed straight up to our favorite campsite as we had bought the corn at DeMille's in Salmon Arm for a corn roast that Merv and Kim from Canyon Creek Campground hosted on Friday night . A fun time was had by all and even a few new people joined us ... a family of 8 from Switzerland that were touring the North ! The best part was the rain held off ....... but man is was cool ! 2 degrees C at 10 pm and -3 this morning !!! Fall is definitely here !

 This morning we packed up the Taj and made the long trek home .... 45 minutes , 3 construction zones , some rough road and no Tim Horton's coffee to be found anywhere ! LOL ! Soooooooooooo nice to be home and then the reality of  unloading a summer worth of packratting became reality as Keith decided that Taj would be unloaded for the winter ................. No , he does NOT sit still for anything ! 6 hours later Taj is pretty well empty and waiting for a couple drinks of antifreeze to keep him warm ! ..........


........and the camping season of 2010 is over for us ! We have had a wonderful season through hot weather , forest fire smoke and turned over 10,000 miles on Taj ! Saw some amazing country .... all in our beautiful province of British Columbia ...... and visiting family and friends !!!  Thanks to everybody that fed us or entertained us with their stories .................... thanks Christina for being a great housesitter / dog sitter so we could get away without the furbabies and not feel guilty bout leaving them ..... they were well spoiled !!!

 Time to kick back with some cozy clothes , dogs at my feet and do some creating in my room !!! Definitely so ready to just hide out in my room and play !!! LOL !

The view from the Taj this morning through a steamy window !

 Have a great week and stay warm !

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 65 and a HUGE Happy Anniversary !

  I am late getting this card done ( due to more holidays :-)   so I chose the awesome sketch over on Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge #65 to make it as it worked just fantastic for what I wanted to do ! Here is my card that I made ... with a whole lot of love inside and I will hand deliver it next week to my parents as they celebrated their 59th Wedding Anniversary on August 31st ! I told you it would be late ! LOL !

This Mo Manning image called " Young Love "  was exactly what I was looking for ! It is so hard to find a sweet , elderly couple image . Ma is a little sassy with her bright pink slip hanging out of her skirt .... you are never too old for sassy ! LOL !

 I used a whole handful of Copic markers to color the image . Used some BG patterned paper , Prima flower and some great ribbon from a Savvy N' Sassy ribbon kit !

 Happy Anniversary Dad & Mom and will see you both soon !