Monday, December 30, 2013

The Pink Elephant #231 *REMINDER*

 

Happy Monday!! There still plenty of time for you to enter our "Anything Goes" challenge - it's open for one more week!!


Are you in need of some inspiration? Hop on over to The Pink Elephant Challenge Blog and check out what the DT has for you!!

Happy crafting and Happy New Year!!





Thursday, December 26, 2013

4 CC #174 {In The Tropics}


Happy BOXING DAY!! I'm not sure about you, but today is my down day! The tradition around our house is that Christmas Day is my big meal day and then Boxing Day, we have finger foods and snacks throughout the day and play games/watch TV.....the less cooking I have to do, the better! Ha! We are having company again today, so it will be chalk-full of laughter and fun! :)

Are you ready for a bit of crafty time? How about some R & R? Some place "tropical" maybe? That sounds so nice right about now....lol! Our challenge over at 4 Crafty Chicks this week is brought to you by myself:

4 CCC #174 {In The Tropics}

That is a very broad spectrum for you to play with - so let's see what you can come up with! For my card this week, I colored up this cute image from From the Heart Stamps:


I used the awesome sketch from Love to Scrap Challenge Blog:


I sure hope you get a chance to relax, unwind and get your craft on after all the hustle/bustle of the big day! Our challenge closes Tuesday, Dec 31 at midnight so you have a few days to recoup and then join us HERE! Happy chillaxin!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

{New Beginnings} at Twisted Tuesday!


Merry Christmas Eve to all my wonderful crafty friends out in blog land.....today is the day....all last minute finishing touches need to be done for the big day tomorrow! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season with family and friends (and you also get to sneak in a wee bit of craft therapy) *giggle*

Our challenge for the next two weeks over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges is "New Beginnings" so the challenge is set out like this:

  • Show us something crafty that is new to you - either received or bought
  • the twist: make the theme of your creation something new or the beginning of something (new house, new baby, marriage, beginning of a race, etc.) 
Our sponsor for the month of December is:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/scrapbookingwithmeboutique/

on Facebook
They are giving one lucky winner an $8 gift certificate to their store (shipping and handling excluded)!

For my card, I decided I wanted to showcase a NEW YEAR....so I dug out my new set from Paper Smooches called "Free Spirits" and I got to work :)


I added some colored gems and popped up the main "drinks" panel for an easy, CAS project! I don't know about you, but I am very much looking forward to another year - I have a lot of new goals and dreams that I would like to go after...in many different aspects of my life!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes
Stamp and Create - Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
CAS on Sunday - Happy New Year


I hope you get some time this holiday to sit and get crafty with us - remember, you have 2 weeks :) From all of us at Twisted Tuesday Challenges, we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2014! CHEERS!

Monday, December 23, 2013

TPE #231 {Happy Winter!}



Happy Winter Solstice! We already have more snow than we normally have ALL winter season and officially, the first day of Winter was Saturday! YIKES! Hopefully we don't get TOO much more over the next 3-4 months!

The countdown is on folks! Just 2 more sleeps 'til the "big guy" comes! Are you excited or stressed?! Hopefully you are almost done all your preparations and you can relax for the next couple days and enjoy your time with family and friends! I believe I am all done - just a few pies to make and I'm ready! 

The challenge for the next TWO WEEKS is an Anything Goes challenge over at The Pink Elephant! Yipeee! I love ATG challenges - opens up the options and we get to see so much creativity come through :) 

For my card this week, I used the uber-cute "Ollie-Owl" from byLORi Designs....isn't he adorable?!?


I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes
 7 Kids College Fund - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Crafty Girls - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Celebrations (1st Day of Winter)
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Stampin' for the Weekend - Anything Goes


Please hop on over to The Pink Elephant challenge blog and check out what the rest of the DT whipped up for ya! Then find yourself a nice quiet corner of the house, some hot chocolate, coffee, tea, or other "special" festive drink (wink!) and get creative with us! If you are limited on time, please don't forget - you have TWO weeks to join us! We'd love to have ya!! Merry Christmas and all the best to you and yours from all of us at The Pink Elephant! See you in 2014!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

{White and One Other} at Sweet Stampin'


 Happy Saturday! The countdown is on...4 more sleeps 'til the Big Guy arrives! Are you ready?! I think I am...except the last minute preparations that are inevitable, I am pretty much ready for the celebrations, visiting, and gatherings! I am always so sad that we do all this prep and then in one day, POOF! it's all over. I wouldn't change it for the world though - it's my favorite time of year!

The challenge this week over at Sweet Stampin' is "White and One Other Color" and it's being sponsored by The Stamp Fairy who have provided the DT with the cutest images to use!!  Huge thanks to Stamp Fairy - be sure to go check out Stamp Fairy's wonderful images!  Stamp Fairy are offering a $10 voucher to the store this week.
Stamp Fairy also have a 50% off sale running currently so it's the perfect time to grab yourself some gorgeous images at a bargain price!!



"Stamp Fairy officially launched on November 5th 2010.  Gerda Burghardt, artist and owner, creates cute and whimsical digital images for the young and old, inspired by her life, love and 4 cute cats.  You will find adorable teddies bears, young boys and girls, fuzzy little bunnies and whimsical critters.  Please visit the store and browse StampFairy’s wonderful images.  We hope StampFairy’s images inspire YOUR creativity."

I was given this cutie patootie, called George and the Perfect Tree. I must admit, this challenge was HARD for me. To leave the snowman and tree ornaments white ????? GASP!!! I did it though, and I think it turned out wonderfully! Here's a close up of the glittery image:


Our monthly sponsor is none other than The Ribbon Girl and there's a £10 voucher up for grabs at the end of each month.

 
 Here is my card using Garden Green as my "other color"


I am entering my card into the following challenges:

Card Makin' Mamas - Christmas
Just Add Ink - Christmas
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Happy Holidays
Creative Knockouts - Winter Wonderland
Papertake Weekly - Christmas cards
 
Please be sure to head over to the SS Challenge Blog to see what the other Sweeties created for you - you will NOT be disappointed! Thanks for stopping in today during a very busy time of year - Merry Christmas and all the very best to you and yours in 2014! My next Sweet Stampin' challenge is January! Cheers!!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

You Make My Heart Melt {4 CC #173}


Welcome to 4 Crafty Chicks Thursday!! One more week until the big day...are you ready?! Before you read any further, I just wanted to send a HUGE shout out to my wonderful life-long friend, LEANNE, as it is her Birthday on Saturday! Have a wonderful day, friend! Hope your parcel makes it to you in time *wink*

Miss Tamie is our hostess-with-da-mostess this week and she is issuing a technique challenge:

4 CCC #173 {Distressing}

A couple weeks ago, I made a card VERY similar to this one, actually...I made two...lol - that one and this one! I chose "inking" as my distressing technique and decided that this would be my Hubby's Christmas card this year.


Stamps: Warm Hearts (Paper Smooches)
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Early Espresso, Whisper White, Snowflake DSP (Bo Bunny)
Accessories: Paper Smooches snowflake dies, 'Lil Inker stitched mat die, sponge dauber, gems

I am entering my card into the following challenges:

Cards Galore - Christmas
7 Kids College Fund - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Bling
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas Sparkle

Thanks for poppin' in today - be sure to check out what the rest of the Chicks created for you, including our December Guest Designer, Tammy! Click HERE to head over to the challenge blog! Cheers!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Merry Christmas {DD #83} and {Merry Monday #88}


Happy Monday friends! It is an extremely windy day here in central Alberta, CANADA but at least our temps are a bit nicer! The thermometer is reading about -3C with a windchill of about -10C....*much* better than last week when we were sitting at the -45C windchills....brrrrr....

I was on a mission today to finish up the rest of my DT requirements for the rest of 2013 before Christmas - I got a couple done but came across this wonderful color combination over at Dynamic Duos and wanted to do a "for fun" card....


 I also saw that Lesley has an awesome challenge going on this week at Merry Monday Challenges - and it's to make a Christmas card, of course, but it also has to have an animal on it.



This cutie from From The Heart Stamps was sitting in my "to color" file folder so I whipped it up quick with my Copic Markers using the Dynamic Duo's color scheme:



 I added some die cut snowflakes and the Merry Christmas die cut ... all from Paper Smooches, topped the snowflakes with a few gems, added Dazzling Diamonds to her coat and the snow (and a lot of it stuck around the letters on the sentiment LOL) and wa-laa!! Done!

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Color Me Creative - Holiday Theme
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
Creative Knockouts - 'Tis the Season
Corrosive Challenges - Anything Goes
Addicted to CAS - Snowflakes

Thanks so much for stopping in today! I am off to finish wrapping up the last of the gifts and start some baking on this blustery day....have a good one!! CHEERS!

Holiday Cheer {TPE #230}


 

Happy Monday!! It's "Inspiration Week" over at The Pink Elephant...and this is the uber-gorgeous photo we got to use for our start-off point:

 

I decided to use the colors (red, green and white) from the photo and came up with this cutie:


I used an older sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday for my card:

 

The snowmen and snowflakes are from a new-to-me set called "Swanky Snowdudes" from Paper Smooches and the word dies and snowmen dies are also from Paper Smooches!

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

 

Paper Smooches - SPARKS - Anything Goes
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Cold and Frosty
Brown Sugar - Christmas
Card Makin' Mamas - Christmas
CAS Fridays - Let it Snow

 Thanks for stopping in today - be sure to pop on over to The Pink Elephant and see what the rest of the Design Team has created for your viewing crafty pleasure! I'd love to come see what you come up with so please be sure to link up your project! Happy crafting!



Thursday, December 12, 2013

4 CCC #172 {Bring on The Merry!}


Happy Thursday! How is everyone doing as far as preparations for the "big day" that is less than 2 weeks away?!? ACK! That just sounds so incredibly wrong! Where did the year go? It will all work its way out, it always does, but I still have some gifts that need wrapping and some baking to do...but other than that, I think I'm doing "ok" as far as the ready part....

Our wonderful hostess over at 4 Crafty Chicks this week is none other than miss Bonnie, and she has issued a "Food and Drink" theme for you all to get crafty with....in light of the holidays right around the corner, I kept it to a holiday card :)


I dug out my fun goodies from Reverse Confetti to make this cute tag and hot chocolate mug :) It makes my heart "Merry" to think about sipping hot chocolate by the tree on Christmas Day while visiting with friends and family.

Thanks, Bonnie, for a very fun challenge!

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Divas by Design - Anything Goes
Stampin' for the Weekend - Use some Red
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes


Please be sure to skip on over to the 4 Crafty Chicks challenge blog and see what the rest of the DT has made for you....and if you get a few minutes, grab a coffee, tea or hot chocolate and get crafty with us and link up your project so we can come visit YOU! Cheers!!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

{Cutting Corners} at Twisted Tuesday Challenges!


Welcome back to my blog! This week over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges, Melina would like to see us "Cutting Corners." So...the challenge itself is to fussy-cut something on your project and the "TWIST" is to make special cuts on the corners of your creation (rounded, ticket, corner border, etc) 



For my card, I fussy-cut "CandyGramSam" from byLORi Designs and popped him up with dimensional foam dots. I then rounded the top 2 corners of my card and the layers. The paper is from my fav 6 x 6 paper pad called 'tis the Season from Echo Park.

Our sponsor for the month of December is none other than Scrapbooking with M.E. Boutique

Melina Wray-Pylant's photo.



I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Card Makin' Mamas - Christmas & New Year
Divas by Design - Feeling Festive
Stampin' for the Weekend - Use Some Red
Color Me Creative - Holiday Theme
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes
Paper Pretties - Christmas


Please hop on over to the Twisted Tuesday Challenge blog and check out what the rest of the DT has created for you...you will not be disappointed! Then, add your project so we can come visit YOU! Cheers!!

Monday, December 9, 2013

{PIN}spirational #87 - A Gift for You


Good morning!! Welcome back to my blog :)

This week the {PIN}spirational Challenge comes from this lovely picture:



Our sponsors this week are none other than the wonderful, Bugaboo Stamps and Scribble and Scrap Shop! The lucky winner will receive 7 digis of their choice! Sa-weet!!







And if that prize wasn't enough, Deanne is offering up this GINORMOUS prize pack for one lucky winner:


This prize will go to some lucky participant this month. For every entry you post for this challenge and the next challenge, your name will go into the draw.  You can enter up to 5 times per challenge so by the time DEC 23rd rolls around, you could possibly have 10 entries and that means 10 times your name will go into the draw! Woohoo!!! 
I'll be adding a few more items as the weeks go by, but for now here's a list of items so far...
 ~ Keep Calm and Craft On clear stamp
~ 2 post-it note pads
~ Black/White twine
~ 3 burlap tags
~ 1 package of 3D Dots
~ Luka rubber stamp from La-La Land Crafts
~ 2 packages of crocheted hearts from Bella Blvd
~ Daisy & Friends CD from Joanna Sheen (case opened but never used)
~ Sweet Threads stickers from Basic Grey
~ Best Wishes sentiment stickers (silver)
~ Gold shape stickers
~ Journal (great for altering!)
~ Set of album refill sheets great for holding ATCs or small embellishments
~ Package of 4 Sharpies-black,red,blue,green (not in photo)
Someone will win this on DECEMBER 24th, so be sure to play along all this month!!
Winner will be announced on this blog and on the Facebook page here.

 ALERT!!! New items added to prize! 140 sheets of 6 X 6 paper (a lot of it is double-sided!!)

...and a HUGE LOAD of diecuts and punches!!
 


And here is my card for this week's challenge:
 

The stamp I chose to work with from Bugaboo Stamps is JJ Sewing and let me just say, she was a HOOT to color up! Love those buttons ;) Thanks, Bugaboo for sponsoring us this month!!

Please head on over to the {PIN}spirational challenge blog and link up your creation using our inspiration photo! We'd love to pay you a visit on your blog! Happy crafting!

Joyful Greetings! TPE #229 {Recipe Challenge}




This week we are issuing a RECIPE challenge over at The Pink Elephant:

  • 2 pattern papers
  • ribbon
  • sparkle
I had sooooo much fun creating this project! I colored a new-to-me image from byLORi Designs - aren't they adorable?!?


I used my new dies from Paper Smooches for the sentiment, Joyful Greetings and added some black ribbon as part of the recipe challenge...then topped it all off with some glitter on their hats :) Here's a close-up for you see the glitter:


...and here is a pic of the inside:


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Card Makin' Mamas - Christmas/New Years
Stampin' for the Weekend - Use some Red
Divas by Design - Festive
Scrapper's Delights - Make it Sparkle
Color Me Creative - Holiday Theme

Thank you so much for stopping in today to see what I've been up to! Please hop on over to The Pink Elephant challenge blog to see the gorgeous creations the rest of the Design Team created for you! Then, grab your ingredients for our recipe and create!! We'd love to come visit YOU! Cheers!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Showin' off our {RIBBONS} at Sweet Stampin'!


Welcome back to my blog! The cold snap is still lingering here in central Alberta, CANADA - I sure hope the weatherman is right and that it's gonna break here soon! Thermometer has been reading -36C in the mornings and with the windchill, -43C! Brrrrr!

Are you ready for another "theme" challenge?! The girls over at Sweet Stampin' are issuing "RIBBONS" as this week's theme....please be fore-warned that this post is picture-heavy! I had A TON OF FUN creating for this challenge...as you are about to see:


 I made a treat box complete with 3 gift tags; all from some new goodies I bought from Reverse Confetti!  Here are the pictures up close - showing you each one individually (along with all the ribbon):




Here's a shot of all the tags together:


Our monthly sponsor this month is The Ribbon Girl

And our weekly sponsor for this RIBBONS challenge is Stamp and Create

 

 The treat box is made from a die called Sweet Treat Tent and it was so easy and FUN to create! Here are a few pics for more details:

 


The stamp sets I used are called Tinsel and Trim and Bring on the Merry from Reverse Confetti. The designer paper is 'tis The Season from EP and I used various ribbons, twines and metallic cord from my stash ;)

I'd like to enter this treat box/tag set into the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts - Christmas Splendor
One Crazy Stamper - Holiday/Winter
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Paper Pretties - Christmas
Ribbon Carousel - Anything Goes


Did you survive the whole blog post?! Sorry it was so long, but I thoroughly enjoyed creating all of these wonderful tags and treat box with my new goodies from RC and wanted to show them off! Thanks so much for takin' a peek and please, run and grab some ribbon, and come get inky with us over at Sweet Stampin' (don't forget to stamp - either with ink or a digi) and link it up at the challenge blog!! Cheers!