Mystery Swap Reveals Good Books!

Love a good mystery?  So do I!  Time to reveal the latest card for the Mystery Image Swap.   The hostess sends the images and we all have to create 4 cards and  send them back.  She swaps out and we receive 3 back along with the new mystery image for the next round.

Our mystery hostess this round is the lovely Barb, and she chose "Books A Flutter" by Unity Stamps for our image.   The image is colored with Spectrum Noir markers and a bit of shimmer was added to the butterfly with a clear Spica pen.  Unfortunately the pictures do not capture the shimmer :(

White card base, a layer of dark brown (DCWV) and then Tempting Turquoise by SU has been embossed for the front panel.  The DP is also by SU.

The banner is hand cut, so it's just shy of perfect, as you can see.  A dragonfly brad by Creative Impressions adds a touch of whimsy.

I can hardly wait to see what the others have created and to get my swap returns!  Plus, it's such fun to receive the next mystery image and start the process all over again.

This image and sentiment reminds me of my father.  I was a bookworm.  

Once I told my dad that I wished that some books would never end, just go on forever.  He looked at me and replied, "There is a book that never ends.  It's the Bible."  45+ years later and I still remember his reply!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by here today.  May God bless you and yours!

July Duel: Summer Time Treats & Cool Creations!

As you know, the 15th finds a great group of friends "Dueling it Up" - The Dueling Darlings challenge each other with some fun elements, we create & post on the 15th.

This month's hostess is our Darling Debbie and I must say she sent a colorful set of papers and embellishments to go along with a cute and playful image!

Here's what she told us:

Theme:  Cool Creations

Kit contains:

DP & Ribbon:  Ice Cream Parlor by Stampin' Up!

Image:  Good Ol' Summertime by Stampin' Up!

Paper Straw: A Muse

Buttons & Flowers: SU! and Michael's or Joanns

Craftworkcards Candi – pink dots

In your blog post, please let us know what your favorite summertime cool treat is.  Is it watermelon, ice cream, lemonade?  

Here's my card:

Isn't that such a cute image?!  

And just look at the wonderful papers that Debbie included:

Favorite summer time treats...hmmmmm...let me see.

There's watermelon, peaches, cantaloupes, nectarines...

And there's all of the wonderfully fresh seafood like haddock, flounder, lobster and salmon...

And there's fresh ice cream and yogurts...

What can I say?  I think I like it all.

Give yourself a summer time treat and visit the rest of the Divas & Dazzlers to see what their "Cool Creations" are!  Grab yourself a little treat and have some fun.

Some Little Things For Our Daughter's 30th Birthday

Can it really be 30 years ago on July 3rd that our daughter came into this world?  (How did 30 years go by so quickly?!)

This week's "Weekly Inkling" - the E-Newsletter from Split Coast Stampers - had a tutorial that caught my eye: "Lotion Nail File Gift Box".  It looked so cute so I thought I'd give it a try as a little something for our daughter's birthday.

Here's the result:

Another view:

Know what's funny?  She LOVES pink!!!  LOL, so of course I used deep pink colors.  The white CS for the box is 110 pound so it is very strong.  You should give the tutorial a try, it's not hard at all (trust me, I'm not very good at building things).  I think that these would make great little gifts for the holidays!

Also on this week's newsletter, under the section of "Tutorials You May Have Missed" (or some such title) was a tutorial for a "Crimped Diamond Card".  So I gave that a whirl for her birthday card and came up with this (using pink of course):

It was fun and easy to do.  The green panel is spritzed with "Star Dust Finishing Spray" by A Muse Studios, giving it a soft sparkle.

If you click on the image it enlarges in your browser so you may be able to see the shimmer better.


The SU image is one you like know: "Upsy Daisy", clear emb
ossed with "Bubblegum" ink by A Muse Studios.  Blue ink was sponged onto the background after the embossing.

Here's another view showing the crimped background panel and the shimmery finish.

The tutorial shows this technique used for a Christmas card, which is a great idea!  Who knew that our daughter's birthday would furnish two different ideas for the holidays?

That's it for me today!  Check out these tutorials, they're fun!

Crafters of Faith June Challenge: Dairy or Farm Theme

A wonderful group of friends on Split Coast, Crafters of Faith, hold a monthly challenge and this month's theme was selected by Barb:

Dairy or Farm Related Cards

Barb lives in the wonderful state of Wisconsin, home to amazing dairy farms and fun state fairs!  So it is a natural theme for her to come up with during the month of June.  Here is my card:

I didn't have a single stamp of a cow...and limited options for a farm theme!  However, my search uncovered this neglected set from Stampin Up: "Country Morning".  So, it was promptly mounted up, cleaned and inked with VersaFine Vintage Sepia ink onto SU's Naturals cardstock.  It's colored with Prismacolor and Derwent pencils, using gamsol to blend.

The Heagon embossing folder was brayered with Creamy Caramel ink and the same Naturals cardstock was embossed.  Word Window punches were used for the sentiment and yellow twine and a wooden button (discovered in my ancient sewing stash) completed the card.

Barb also asked us to post any memories of farming.  Well, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where, at the time, our house was set into the woods in an undeveloped area.  Our nearest neighbors were:

   A turkey farm

   A mink farm

   and a small family with a couple of acres used for cows and horses.

We always seemed to have visitors from any of these farms showing up unexpectedly in our yard and surrounding woods.  The only ones to watch out for were the minks, they are mean little devils and have sharp teeth!  We always kept a big distance if we came across one of the escaped minks.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Take a few minutes to visit the other members of our group-their blogs are listed in my side bar to the right.  I'm off to do that right now!

Catching Up on Some Duels!

Whew, it's been a busy 8 weeks around here - and I am finally able to post my May and June cards for the Dueling Darlings.

Links to the teams (Divas and Dazzlers) are in my sidebar.  We are a group of friends who enjoy surprising each other with images and miscellaneous papers, embellishments, etc.  We all make a card with the kit and post our cards on the 15th of each month.

Due to being away to help my folks during May, and then trying to keep up with my job in June, my cards are late :(.  Thanks everyone for your prayers and understanding!

Here is my May card, kit by Jeanette:

It's an A7 size card to give me more real estate to show off the fun image and papers.  

The image and sentiment is from the set "Picture Perfect" by Art Impressions.  The picture frame is by Recollections, it's white and colored with my Spectrum Noir markers, with the bottom edge decorated with Washi tape.

Here's a closer view, showing a bit of bling on the lovely ladies! 

The inside is decorated with more of the great paper, Washi tape and camera sticker.







Papers:
Little Yellow Bicycle Escape (small cameras on card front)
Hampton Art Flashback Viewfinder (large camera on inside)
Hampton Art Flashback Timeline (stripes on card front)

Part of the challenge was to post a past or current memory that means a lot to us.  Well, I was able to spend Mother's Day with my Mom in May and that was really special.  My folks live on the West Coast, and I live on the East Coast, so spending Mother's Day with her was a real treat.

Thank you Jeanette, for sending such a great kit for us to play with!  Using Washi tape was a first for me and it was pretty cool.  Now I see why everyone makes a fuss over it!

Now for June's card:

Melina sent out the challenge kit, with a theme of "Flip Flops and Sunshine".  What a great theme for the month of June!

The kit contained a strip of stamped flip flop images, and some extra flip flops stamped on single squares of card stock, by CTMH. Here's my card:

I cut out the "Fun in the Sun" stamped sentiment (also CTMH) and colored each with markers.  The yellow DP is from Recollections "All Seasons" and has been border punched with a Fiskars circle punch.

Melina also included the Sun die cut (Cricut), pale yellow blossom, twine and button.  I painted on some yellow Stickles and attached them together to make the sun.  Those adorable flip flops are by Joleen and were also a part of the kit.


















Here's a view of the inside, where I used the flip flop image, her popsicle ribbon (American Crafts) and the other DP that Melina sent us.  (DCWV)

Thank you Melina, for such a fun, get-in-the-mood-for-summer card kit!!  I really had a blast creating with it and hope that you like the result!

Now, I'm off to visit the blogs of my Darling friends and see what they've been up to with the June challenge.  Take a few minutes and visit their blogs (links on the right) - you will be glad that you did!

Mystery Image Swap: Blessed Mouse!

Hello my friends!  Yes, I am still across the country, helping my family after my Dad's surgery.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your prayers & support!  He's doing well, although complete recovery will take a few more months.

Since I knew that I would be away, I finished my set of cards for the Mystery Swap back in mid-April and sent them along to our wonderful hostess, Melina.  She chose Blessed Mouse for us to work with in this round and here's what I came up with:

This sweet little mouse was colored with Spectrum Noir markers, and the background was sponged with chalk.  

Here's a close up of the upper right corner where a cute little butterfly has been sparkled up with some glitter:

And here's a closer look at the lower corner where the little dragonfly embellishment is added:

I want to thank Melina for giving us such a sweet & spring-like image to work with on this round!  I can hardly wait to see my swap returns and admire the creations of our other participants.

Thanks for stopping by!  I return home tomorrow and hope to get back into my regular routine of visiting your blogs soon and, of course, posting here on a more regular basis. 

Hugs & blessings to each of you.

Nautical Cards for Some Special Men

Here are two additional cards that I made a couple of weekends back using the swing card or flip flop technique that I learned from a wonderful tutorial on this blog.

Here's a birthday card for our son:






This is the card closed.  I wanted to use the pretty teal/turquoise colors because it's one of his favorite colors.

To the right is a view as it begins to swing open, the ship panel will flip over to reveal the Happy Birthday panel on the other side.

Here is the card opened and laying flat.


The sailor's knot is tied from some decorative trim bought a couple of years ago from a sewing store.  The brads don't show up very well in the photos but the have sort of a nautical/compass style to them.  They are from SU.



The right panel is a cream/turquoise color of Mullberry paper that is stamped with some Stipple Shells by SU, using Creamy Caramel ink.

Below is a Thinking of You card for my Dad.  He was in the Navy and has always loved the ocean, ships, etc.

In case you are impressed with the Sailor's Knots, well...don't give me the credit!!  No matter how hard I tried, I just could not accomplish it on my own despite drawings, online videos, etc.  LOL

My husband came to the rescue and (of course) after a whole 3 minutes with a drawing, whipped up the first knot for our son's card.  Guess I'll keep him around for another 30 years, huh?!

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for taking the time to leave your comments.  They always brighten my day.

Blessings to you and yours!