Sunday Afternoon Post and a candy warning!

Late post today, sorry for those morning blog readers. Got up and got out early, then spent some time out with my babies. I also am moving kind of slow as I have not had much sleep. Man those weekend crops wipe me out!

I started this "hobby" as a scrapbooker, and I still enjoy doing that but now have been only doing scrapbook pages at these crop parties. I stick to my cards most of the time. This crop was pretty productive. I finished SEVEN pages, that was amazing for me! This is my 3 favorites. I think all of the others were "family" pages, that is funny that my favorites were my donkeys and my nature pages. I have books for my donkeys and then I have one book that is for my photography, I take lots of bug and nature shots. I just love that I got the photo of the TWO tree frogs on the grapefruit in our back yard! The jackpot page is just funny, when we bring in loads of hay the three standards that we have meet us at the gate, then follow us all the way to the hay barn. You would think we starve them and they hadn't eaten in days! Yea Right! Then the page I did for my Rico. I just love that photo of him. He is just so handsome!

Hope you enjoyed seeing a few of my scrap pages, I don't show them often. I am thinking it is getting pretty close to some CANDY time... keep an eye I think I will post for some this week!

Arte Y Pico

Wow what an amazing honor! Kittie Caracciolo at KittieKraft awarded me with the Arte Y Pico. How exciting is that!

There are 5 rules attached to this and they are:
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. Click on her name to visit her blog.
3)Each award winner has to show the award that she has been given, by the one aforementioned.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) To show these rules.The 5 blogs that I choose are:

Claudia at Pretty Pressings
Katharina at Creative ideas by Katharina
Ila at Artfully Ila
Sopia at Moonlight Inker
Nina at Nina's Magnolia Designs

Although most of these ladies have already received this award... I went ahead and awarded them again as they are in my daily visits each day and their work amazes me. Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

MOOOO Saturday

Ok, so here is the card I actually gave my sister for her birthday. I had no choice... she collects black and white cows so the card was a must. I really like how it turned out, the masking of the cows is so much fun! You can read the directions on masking HERE, where I did my first cow card. I love all of the My Favorite Things Stamps, but I think Punny Farm is my favorite. Although I do have "It's a Jungle Out there" coming and I have been wanting it forever. Oh and if you didn't see they have release a new set "Can you Dig It?" and I think it might rank pretty high on my list as well. Check out their Brand Spankin' New Stuff HERE. "Can you Dig It?" is on its way here too.. he he.

Any way back to the card for my sister. I colored it all in with my copics, of course the cows weren't much to color in! I stamped the grass with my peg stamps from Rubber Stamps Tapestry while I was masking the cows so I didn't get the colors over their legs. I cut the image with my square Nestibilities and then layered on a piece of hot pink scalloped square also cut with Nestibilities. I used a white gel pen to dot the scallops. My farmer lady was colored in with the copics and high lighted with some Sepica glitter markers. I cut her out and pop dotted her over the cows corner. The sentiment is from the MFT Punny farm set. I added a fun green and hot pink ribbon down the right side and doodled the edges of the card with the white gel pen.

I think she liked it. Well that is it for today, gotta get a couple of things done before I head back over to the LSS crop. Lots of caffeine today I can see that!!!! Last night was a really late one, and today will be the same! Have a great weekend!

Card Info:

Stamps: My Favorite Things; Rubber Stamp Tapestry

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Ink

Accessories: Uniball White Gel pen; Ribbon; Pop Dots; Spellbinders Nestibilites

Giggle ... used my donkey stamps!

Ok, I not only collect "REAL" donkeys. I collect all kinds.... porcelain, stuffed, plastic, glass, even vintage postcards with donkeys on them. But I also collect donkey stamps! Imagine that! I use them on the outside of packages and envelopes, and occasionally I make cards with them.

Well this weeks Cute Card Thursday Challenge has a transportation theme. Well the wheels started turning... (no pun intended). A chance to mix my favorite little angel stamps, my Magnolias with my love of donkeys. Ok yes I know this image is Mules...I love them too as they are part donkey! The biggest struggle was size and how to position them. I then came up with this - I placed sitting Edwin on a fence in front of the pair of hitched up Mules. This stamp is by Wildlife Enterprises. If you like real life art stamps check them out! I am so happy with the how it came out! I used scrap papers on the green Bazzill card stock. The fence is a background stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms stamps that I cut apart. I colored Edwin with my copics and highlighted with my white gel pen and of course stickled wings. I also lightly colored in portions of the Mules image and the fence. The bottom of the card is stamped with a Rubber Stamps Tapestry Peg stamp then added prima flowers! The Howdy is from Cat's Pajamas Stamps. Now did this card bring together a lot of companies or what!

I also got the Tilda and Friends ATC challenge done, and I am so happy I bid on this chair stamp on ebay! This weeks challenge was to use checks. Ok, I love that, gingham is a favorite of mine, and I do have some new stamps to choose from. (see yesterday's post) Then I look over to the side of my desk and sitting there is a chair stamp that I won on ebay a couple of weeks ago. I purchased it for one reason only...... it looked like it was the perfect size to sit a Magnolia Angel into. And guess what - IT IS! How cute is that! I sat Baby Edwin into the comfy chair, and it reminds me of those silly toddler chairs that you can buy to match your living room furniture and your child can be have his or her own recliner to sit for hours in front of the television. Oh the world we live in! But it is cute... I stamped this one on a cream piece of card stock with my Brilliance Coffee Bean Ink, and I think it has a tweed look to it. Edwin was colored with my copics and his jumpsuit is paper pieced with a scrap piece of Daisy D's paper. I highlighted the edges of the same check paper as the background. Too funny huh!

Well gotta get busy. Lots of errands to get done, then I have to get home and get my stuff together because this is my crop weekend! Late nights, Long days of scrappin', and laughter with some friends! Yee Haw! Hope you have fun plans for the weekend too!

Card Info:

Stamps: Magnolia, Wildlife Enterprises, Cornish Heritage Farms, Cats Pajamas, Rubber Stamp Tapestry

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black and Coffee Bean

Accessories: Uniball Gel Pen, Prima Flowers, Stickles, Pop Dots

Oh so happy mail day yesterday!

Oh I love to get things in the mail... but when the white plastic package is in that box with an international label - oh baby get out of my way cuz Magnolia is in the box!!!!! Yep my 1st Spring order came yesterday! Do you have any idea how hard it was to get dinner made and eat with hubby knowing that those new uninked stamps were sitting on my desk?

So my first card for the Ismaki Challenge is with one of my new stamps.. giggle giggle giggle! This is Chic Tilda .. I just love her! She was a little big for the challenge but I think I made her work. I colored her in shades of brown and pink Copic Markers, then layered her on Bazzill kraft and dark brown. The pattern paper is from Basic Grey, as I have said before I love the colors in the their blush collection. I used my Fiskars Border/Embossing Punch to make the "lace" trim, and highlighted it with the pink Sakura Souffle pen. I inked two pieced of chipboard flourishes and placed a polka-dot brown flower on them. Love the button center. My "hello" is from a new set Fiskars Clear stamps that I think is called doodles. I inked the edges to give it a more vintage feel. I sure hope the ladies of this challenge like my first attempt for their blog. This is a group of very talented people.

I also finished my Mix and Match Card for the Tilda & Co. Challenge Blog. Although I am not as happy with how it turned out. This card would have been so much better if I had the cattail stamps! Darn it! Guess they will be on my next order - This weeks challenge was to mix two stamps, use a part of one stamp in place of a part of another. Well this was my first thought when I read that... I have always love the little fishing Edwin... but we need a girl fishing too! So here she is. I took the head from the Tilda with flower jump rope, I don't remember her real name I am going to have to find it. Anyway I cut her head and pop dotted it over Edwins. The tree in the background is one of my new ones... insert giggle here... It is the fall/winter tree. And wow it was much bigger that had imagined. I wanted it to have some leaves for this card so I added them with one of my Rubber Tapestry Peg stamps (love them!) I really wanted those cattail stamps next but didn't have them so I played with an Aud Design Flourish stamp. Hubby liked it. So ok. The sentiment is a rub on from my stash from the beginning of time. The "girl" is colored with my copics, highlighted with my Uniball White gel pen, and of course wings are stickled. Fun challenge! I may have to do it more often - mix and match all of my stamps!

Card Info:

Stamps - Magnolia; Rubber Tapestry Stamps; Aud Designs; Fiskars

Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black

Accessories - Flower; Button; Chipboard; Uniball gel pen; Sakura Souffle pen; Fiskars Border Punch

Happy Birthday Little Sister!

Yep today is my little sisters Birthday, so Happy B-day Melanie!!! This is not your "real" birthday card.. I am waiting to post it until after you have received it! he he he Hope the kids served you breakfast in bed, your husband brought you roses and cleaned the house while you were sleeping, and all your work was done by little elves. Ok, then after the dream you woke up and hauled the kids to the bus in the cold - Have a great day around the normal stuff!

I have some fun news!!! I won the March Fiskarscrafts sketch of the month! You can see my sketch in my post HERE I was so blown away! I loved the sketch challenge as soon as I saw it, and the photo has been saved forever waiting to use, it had to be perfect as this is one of my favorite photographs. Well it all came together, and I personally loved the end result. But to have won, makes it even more special!!! Thanks Fiskars you prove to me you are the best everyday!

Ok, to the card of the day... this started for the Rubbernecker Challenge and for my sisters Internet Birthday Card... then I realized as it was done it also fit the Papertake Weekly Challenge as well!!!

Rubbernecker Challenge was to use Lavender, Pink and Green - done

Papertake Weekly Challenge was to use Scallops and/or zig zags - done done!

How fun it that! This card is based with a Lavender Bazzill card stock, I just purchased a piece of Making Memories pink and green paisley paper, I wanted this to have the feel of an old handkerchief... so I layered the paisley paper on a scrap of Bazzill Scalloped edge paper and punched holes in each of the scallops. I bordered this with some vintage rick rack in the same bright green color. The image... isn't she a hoot, is a Rubbernecker Character stamp, again with those same baggy pantyhose. She is colored with my Copic Markers and high lighted with a white gel pen. I just love the pink foam rollers in her hair! I used my Nestabilities petite ovals to cut the image and the pink card stock. I put everything together and then "stitched" the edges with the same white gel pen. Then just for fun I added three pink gems to the oval! I just love this line of stamps! And it is all in fun... I am not saying my sister is this old! After all she is younger than I am and we all know I am only 29 - - - -

Card Info:

Stamps: Rubbernecker

Ink: Brilliance Graphite black

Accessories: Copic Markers, Uniball Gel Pen, Sakura Souffle Pen, Pink Gems, Ric Rac Ribbon

Poolside already!

Ok, so I am not pool side - but I found a cute little frog that was enjoying a little swim in one of the donkey's water buckets. If you look real close you can see the water line, he is half in and half out of the water. As I filled the bucket he would climb up the side. Cute huh? When I came back a few minutes later he had climbed out and was sunning on the fence. We get a bunch of these little tree frogs. We get a big kick out of them, it amazes me how tame they are.

And since I didn't get a chance to get a card done last night...

I am posting a photograph of my baby. This is Diego, and he is truly my baby even though he is 4 years old. My first ever born here. He is a carbon copy of his Mom, Darlene. Now I have posted in the past that the rule is we can't keep any little boys here. And we shouldn't have kept Diego, but he was my first baby... I helped birth him (as I try to do with all of them, so they bond with me). Hubby knew that there was no way he was ever going to leave. He is now gelded, and is a buddy for Raffie (my smiling donkey). They are really close and play all the time. I will always have a special bond with Diego, my slow, loving little boy. Isn't he just adorable!

I hope to get a couple of card challenges done tonight for tomorrow!