Off Line...

Hey there everyone. I won't have a chance to create this week. That's just the way it goes sometimes isn't it? I'll try to post something if I have an opportunity. Most likely I'll blogsurf when that opportunity arrises instead. If I can't create at least I can be inspired by you all.

:-)

Cards

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers said on my daughters behalf. She woke up this morning like her old self... content, happy, and chatty. Not only that she slept until 8 am! I love it!!! What a testament of God's love and the kindness of others. Big HUGS!!!

Yesterday, I worked hard at using my free time to mount most of my new TAC stamps. Mounting isn't my favorite chore but it does lead to creating fun. :-) After I had my fill of indexing and cutting I made some cards. All week I've had a few ladies come to mind that I want to send cards to and it feels so good to actually sit down and design something just for them. I started with another Dollar store find as the base and went from there. It was satisfying and rewarding to be able to make these cards knowing that they would be sent to someone special.



I hope you have a wonderfully blessed week... WELCOME to another Monday!

Smiles,


CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company Stamps
Butterfly Bits, The Best, Fancy Curls LE,
More Elegant Sentiments
Dollar Store Card Making Kit Papers
Palette Ink
Versa Magic Chalk Ink
Prima, Paper, & Silk Flowers
SU! Ribbon
Cuttlebug Folder
Bling Jewels
Crystal Lacquer
Copper Wire

Dollar Store Find...

So how was your week? We found ourselves with a sick little one. She spiked a temp on Monday and it didn't leave her until Thursday. Today we woke to find her spotted with the "RASH". She has Roseola. Praise the Lord that He won't put more on us than we can handle. It's been my consolation in the midst of it all. She's still not her usual sweet self. I hope the fever hasn't permanently altered her personality. She's been so grumpy.



Between going to work and taking care of Ellie I was able to make this cute knick-knack. It took me three nights of here and there to finally get it done. It originally was suppose to have four pages. The main pieces were from a kit that I picked up from the Dollar Store last month and since I only used half the tags in the kit I still have enough leftovers to make another one. YEAH!



Well, I have to get going. My short reprieve is about to end. Have a very blessed weekend!

BFF Gold Card!

A big shout-out, "HELLO!" to Tonya Klar of Stamp Happens! Thanks Tonya for including me in your BFF Gold Card Award!!! What an awesome sweet surprise!!!



Here are the rules:
Only 5 people allowed.
4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog
One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
You must link back to whoever gave you the award. Quite simple really it is a way of saying thank you to those who take time out for wonderful comments to boost your day!

Yikes! Who'da pick?

Laurie Serino
Laurie Wilson
Angela K
Rebecca G
& Barb (Barb is recently new to my blog and lives in another part of the world.)

If you are reading this now I consider you a blessing for your support and friendship. I am humbled to be a part of your world. :-)

Baby Be Blessed ~ Janessa

Interested in being a blessing to little Janessa? I mentioned her in my last post as well as posted her picture. Check out Baby be Blessed for your opportunity to be a blessing. And can you believe that buying stamps can also be a blessing too? That's right!!! Load up your cart at Sweet'n Sassy Stamps and you will be blessing the Joseph Family. The owner, Korin Sutherland, is hosting a fund raiser on their behalf. From July 8th through July 31st Sweet'n Sassy Stamps will be donating 50% from each stamp set sold to the Joseph family (not including Sarah Kay and Rachelle Anne Miller Collections). AWESOME!!!



Lastly, here's Janessa's family site. It keeps you up to date on her progress. Visit: Janessa's Journey. The photo above is from their site.

Blog Candy over at Korin's!

Hey there... just a quick note to let you know that Korin of Inky Doodle ~ Sweet'n Sassy Stamps is taking names for some sweet blog candy!

CLICK HERE to enter!

There's is also something sweeter than winning blog candy over there too. You can read updates and posts on Janessa. Please include Korin's niece, Janessa, in your prayers. Little Janessa is battling leukemia and has recently had some setbacks. What a privilege to carry everything including this little soul to God in prayer.

SCS Color Challenge

Here's another Splitcoaststampers first for me... a color challenge card! I didn't quite have the challenge colors but I used what I had that was as close as I could get it. The colors were Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, and So Saffron from SU! and I think most the papers that I used were retired SU! from way back when I first started stamping and the yellow was from Paper Trey Ink's Lemon Tart. Anyhow, I made a cute little scalloped notecard for the challenge. I wasn't sure if it was gonna workout but in the end I really like what I wound up with and I hope you like it too.

Smiles,


CARD DETAILS:
The Angel Company Circle Sampler
& Linear Sentiments
Cardstock Retired SU?
Paper Trey Ink Lemon Tart
Score Pal
Nestibilities Die
Riverrock TAC Chalk Ink
Heart Brad
Bling Jewels

Family.

God has given each one of my family members beautiful talents but the one that sticks out the most in my mind is our caring spirit. My Mom is a registered nurse, my little sister is a life coach, and my middle sister rescues abused and neglected animals. The reason I am bringing this up is that my little sister Cassandra has just debuted her new website called "Simple Ways Family Coaching". I was just over there and I thought I'd brag about my seeeee-ster.

A big CONGRATS Cassandra!!!! I am so proud of you!!!

Hugs,
~me

PHOTO DETAILS:
I snagged this photo straight off my sister's web site. I hope she doesn't mind!!! ;-)
From left to right: Chihuahua Gracie, Cassandra, with my niece Carina, and my/our mom Connie

Eskimo Smiles...

It's not often that I come across an Eskimo stamp that I actually really like. This little one is absolutely adorable and coloring them both was even more rewarding. Despite all the fine design details, I found it rather easy to choose my colors. Tombow marker watercoloring was perfect for these little gals. To top them off I chose to add some Stickles to the blue card and Pearl-Ex Metallic watercolors to the purple one. I purposely choose the random colors of the blue card because in Alaska I've learned that you make due with what you have and I didn't want my patterns and colors to be right on so it would reflect the Alaskan spirit. Now I am probably not explaining what I mean quite right but I hope you understand what I'm getting at. I showed my husband both the cards and he actually preferred the blue one over the purple card and the purple one is the one that is coordinates best. Any how, I hope the two lovely ladies that will be receiving one these cards will enjoy them whether they match or not.



Have a blessed weekend and thank you so much for stopping by. It makes it all worth while to be able to share with you all.
Big smiles,




CARD DETAILS:
Eskimo Gals from The Stamp Attic
Snowflakes and sentiment from
The Purple Onion
Retired Background stamp from
The Angel Company
SU! Cardstock
Watercolor Paper
Palette Ink
Versamark
Tombow Markers
Perfect Pearls
Pearl Ex
Pearl-Ex Metallic Watercolors
Stickles
Paper flowers from Michael's
Dollar Ribbon from Michael's
Martha Steward Punch
Nestibilites Dies

Scraps

So are you a paper crafter that saves all your scraps? I do. Sometimes it's a good thing but other times it's a bad thing. Especially when it comes down to having space for all my stuff. Funny how this card came together. I was going through my paper scraps choosing which paper to use and stacking them on top of each other as I selected. When I looked down at the paper stack I though, "Wow! It's a keeper!" It looked like many sketches I've seen out there and it was like embellishing a ready made card. Fast and fun! So there you have it... another scraps card made by me. :-)



CARD DETAILS:
Photo 1 is the card front whereas, the second photo is of the inside.
Cute Critters & Christian Critters
from Clear Dollar Stamps
Tinkering Ink Paper Scraps
from Queen Kat Designs
Palette Ink
Tombow Markers
Watercolor Paper
Michael's Dew Drops

SCS Challenge 185

Dispite all the challenges I do, this is the first challenge that I've completed over at Splitcoaststampers. It was perfect timing too because the sketch they had posted for this week was awesome. Actually, it most like my style of sketches. I tend to be kinda square... or should I say geometric? In any case, I loved putting it together and although it wasn't one of my fastest creations it was one that I was able to finish relatively quickly. I used a combination of my retired and current stamps from The Angel Company for this one. The papers with the flower and button are also from TAC. The only item not from TAC was the lace. I picked that up from a thrift store way back when we were visiting Oregon.



Sorry to keep this short and sweet. I am heading out to work and need to get me and Ellie ready to go. I hope God is blessing your day like He is mine.

Thanks for visiting me.

Smiles,

B-day Bees

Here's another opportunity to show off one of the images that I was gifted with. I love these bees!!! They always make me smile when I see them. Kinda silly haw? :-) Anyhow, I am pretty sure that Jen of Pieces of Me shared these with me. Not only did she share the images with me she also created my watermark. What a sweet blessing it is to have Jen as a friend. Someday I'm gonna meet that gal in person. I just know it!

A big Alaskan THANK YOU Jen!!!

Smiles,


CARD DETAILS:
Bees from Jen
Sentiment from The Angel Company
Red Textured Cardstock from TAC
CTMH Black Cardstock
Black Marker Pen
Sakura Gelly Roll Pens
Making Memories Designer Papers
Fiskars Scalloped Scissors
Prima Flowers
Bling Jewels

BY THE WAY, I DO PLAN TO POST SOME TAC CREATIONS SOON...

Happy Clown

Hilmarose gifted me with a handful of images not to long ago. I am happy to report that it hasn't taken me a year to start creating with them. Thank you Hilmarose! I hope you like the cheery card I've made with the clown image you gave me.

Big HUGS,




CARD DETAILS:
Gifted Image from Hillmarose
Sentiment from Unity Stamps
Designer Papers from TAC
& My Mind's Eye
Copic Markers (Borrowed from Laurie)
Paper & Silk Flowers
Heart Brad
Bling Jewels
Ribbon
Nestibilities Dies
Cuttlebug Folders

It HAPPENED!!!

Yep, I did get to stamp!!! It's almost been a month since I last sat down at my stamping table and made something. Although I have some new TAC stamps to play with I really wanted to start using the images that I've been gifted with and have already colored. I can't tell you how much faster this process is. The only down side with pre-coloring your images is that your are stuck with the color scheme that can't change once you finally make something with them. I really don't mind being so loose with my color schemes so it's not a prob for me.






What became of my lovely pre-colored images are a trio of sassy cards. I can't wait to send them out. Two of the three cards were designed with sketches and the last was made with the scraps. I'm not quite sure which one I like the best. ??? Well, I hope you like them. The first is a sweet Bella card with Kazan's Sketch 4 and the second is with Heather's sketch from Oz-somestamps. I had plenty of scraps to make a third card of which I didn't use a sketch but rather had fun putting it together by myself.

Smiles,




CARD SUPPLIES:
Images from Stamping Bella &
Stampendous
Sentiments from Clear Dollar Stamps
Designer Papers from
My Mind's Eye Designer Papers
Textured Cardstock from TAC
Black Cardstock from CTMH
Copic Marker (borrowed from a friend)
Buttons
Michael's Wedding Confetti
Prima Flowers
Mini Bling Jewels
May Arts Polka Dot Sheer Ribbon
Scrapper's Floss
Martha Stewart Punches
Nestibilities Dies

Happy Stamping...

It's gonna happen today... I just know it!!! Some STAMPING of course! I've been ready to stamp for ages now!!! So after a long day at work and a even longer week of lots of stuff, I was ready to let my creativity flow and make some cards last night. Funny how my plans don't always go along with what actually happens. I know I am not alone here. Anyhow, Little Ellie was getting ready to go night-nite when she stumbled, fell, and busted her lip. We were going to rush her to the ER but my handy husband suggested that we stop by our friends house to get a quick look over from the paramedic and physician's assistant that live there. By this time the bleeding had stopped and Melissa could see that her cuts weren't gapping and wouldn't need stitches. We originally thought that she bit through and through. Thankfully she only had cut the top and bottom of her lower lip. Praise the Lord for our smart friends and for His mercy. Ellie was fine and too busy checking out their house to notice the cuts on her lips. Needless to say it was midnight before the little one got to bed and by that time my creativity was snoozing. So today I am gonna stamp something!!!












I hope you've had time to get inky!
Big SMILES,

Prop Swap ~ TAC Seminar '08

I mentioned in a previous post that I would share some pics of the jewelry box that I was gifted at the Prop Swap at Seminar. Sandy Allen was the designer of my jewelry box. I love how she altered it with The Angel Company's Juliette papers, hardware, and ribbons. The bible verse reads, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful." Proverbs 15:13.

Thank you Sandy for the creative and stunning prop.

Big SMILES,


PHOTOS
The top photo is of Sandy and was taken by Holly Mays. The jewelry box photos were taken by my Mom.
:-)

TAC Fun...

Hey there, wanna win a specTACular Toodle Loo Collection from The Angel Company? Check out the posting over at the Main TAC site and register to win. Unfortunately us Angels aren't eligible to win but hey, being an Angel is fun with or without the prizes.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER