Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Challenge and a HUGE SURPRISE!!!

Yea it is Sunday and time for the Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Challenge! And this week is a really fun challenge... but before I get to that I am about to bust with excitement.......

Yesterday I was at my class all day, and Hubby was gone as well... we got home at the same time, which was really perfect timing.

What was the HUGE SURPRISE?

Well out in one of the pastures was.... A BABY DONKEY!!!! Jolene or "JoJo" as we call her... totally surprised us and with out any warning she had her baby out in the pasture! Totally freaked us out, for a few seconds we thought Freddie had got out of the Momma Pen - but wait this baby is dark and really really tiny!!!

So in a blur of activity we harnessed up Bella and Freddie and moved them to the young pen with all of the newly weaned babies. (we were planning to do that today) Then Jolene and the new baby were moved into the Momma Pen. You could tell the baby had a really wild day in that pen with all of the other donkeys - We have a couple of females that are just dying to be Momma's themselves and were trying to take the baby from JoJo. It took a little while for them to calm down but then they were happy and safe and bonding well. Josephina or "Josie" as I will call her, is really really small. She measures only 19 inches! (You measure from the "withers" base of neck to the ground) This is our smallest baby so far, and we thought Lina and Gloria were small!

So this was very happy exciting evening! A baby we really did not think was coming until the end of December!

Ok... now to the challenge! This week Donna asked us to make Christmas Gift Tags...If your anything like me you always run out of tags! Or you may have an extra special gift that you would like to have that extra special personal touch on your gift, so make a gift tag of any size and make as many as you like.

For mine I used my old red Sizzix die and cut three tags out of Kraft paper, I stamped them with three of the Rachelle Anne Miller Christmas stamps. I colored them with my pencils and mineral spirits, then high lighted with Sakura Glitter Pens and White gel pen. I doodled the edges and then inked the edges. Found some dotted ribbons for the ties. They were really quick to make and I think I am going to make a bunch more to use this year!!!

I hope you take time to join in on the challenge and make sure to visit the Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Site and see how creative the other DT were! Wow they blow me away every week!

Ok.... gotta run... hubby is literally tapping his foot waiting on me ..... need to go out and check the donkeys.. take a few photos and then we have to meet the gang for breakfast -

Sorry it is quick! Hope you have a great Sunday!

HUGS and-

A Chilly Donkey Day

Brrrr. it was chilly out there this morning - The temp in our yard read 28 degrees, not cold to some, but to me and my donkeys... that is really chilly! Water was frozen in the bucket..

I took some photos late yesterday -

Gloria and Jazz... they were really trying hard to convince me to bring carrots out to them... they already ate all I had the other day - or I would have fallen for it gone and gotten them some.

I love this photo of Freddie.. if only I could capture the sound - he grunts trying to get your attention. He is so funny -

Darlene and Pavo, He is so BIG! I can't wait to put him and Freddie in the same pen and compare them, I am sure he is inches taller. And please don't mention to Darlene she is still "big boned"... it is an issue we share - but hey she has had 9 or 10 babies... so you can't blame it all on her eating habits.

Now you may want to know what are all the young ones looking at? I mean hey they stopped eating dinner to watch this "thing" cross their pen... and they were not happy about it being in there.

Truthfully neither was I........................................

ewwwwww...... why to children's books make opossums look

cute? I mean these things are just plain nasty, mangy, and gross!!! This was a baby - only about 8-10 inches long. I am sure Mom was somewhere - I don't know if you can tell by the photo but this little guy was haulin' .... And it was a good thing - I think there were 6 donkeys that were about ready to stomp it out of their pen.

One quick note... I don't mention my Border Collie Bonnie much.... don't really know why, I guess because she is more like a child to me, I am very emotional about her. We lost our first "baby" to Cancer 6 years ago - and Bonnie came to us to help us deal with the loss. I spend more time with Bonnie than anyone - probably including Hubby. My life revolves around Bonnie's schedule. Well she is sick. Really sick. I took her to the vet yesterday - they think she may have Cancer. We will take her back on Monday to have test done. There is a slight chance they are wrong, but we were told to prepare for it. So please say a prayer for her... if she does end up with Cancer, I do not want her to suffer. Today she is feeling much better - drugs do wonders. We will see what they say on Monday.

I need to run now, gotta get my stuff together for my class - we are making tile coasters today -lots of heavy loading and unloading.

Huge Hugs and -

Cute Card Hearts -

Ok, this was a fun card to do. It was great to do a card with some Hearts - I love hearts, collect them... it started with my wedding - I was married on Valentines day. When I opened up the Cute Card Challenge Blog, I was expecting Christmas, New Years, Red and Green something to do with the season. But was thrilled and actually excited to sit down and do a card for it. Hearts!







I started by finding an image with hearts... I have quite a few, but this one just made me smile. This is "Walking in the Rain Umbrella" from Alota Rubber Stamps. Is she cute or what? I colored with my Copics and white gel pen. For my pattern papers I used Imaginations patterns that I thought complimented the colors in the image. (I got so excited about the hearts, I forgot to pick the pattern paper before I colored... oops... then I had to go through and find some that matched, but these work I think) I inked the edges of the two patterns with a dark pink ink. Matted the image with the same card stock as the base, then stitched the edges of both with my gel pen. I ran a piece of light blue ribbon across to pull the color of the sky and the small blue flowers in the pattern paper.






Now how excited did I get when I was digging through my thousand of flowers and found those two pink dot flowers? They match the paper perfect! I stacked with a larger and smaller pink Prima flowers, jewelry spacers and pink mini brads. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy and is perfect for the image. Then just for some added fun and heart I punched a large Heart with my Fiskar's Squeeze punch, and inked the edge with the dark pink. So happy with all the hearts and pink! Hope they like it at Cute Card Challenge -








So what do you have planned for this weekend? Me, I have a class on Saturday to teach, then I am hoping to work on my Christmas Cards and a few gifts on Sunday. So the plans have a crafty good weekend, we will see if that is actually happens - HA! Hope you have a great one planned -





HUGS and-

Winter Wishes with Whiff of Joy

How pretty is this image. I love her. Well we love all Whiff of Joy images don't we? I have been seeing her with the dark hair on a few blogs, and I knew when I saw the SEI Alpine Frost pad at Micheal's this week (hehe on sale) that I had to use the reds with this very WOJ image and dark hair.

So this week there was another brilliant sketch by Heather, I followed the sketch with three pattern papers, and a cream colored card stock base. All the papers are from the SEI Alpine Frost paper pad. I colored with my Copic Markers, and white gel pen. Then cut my circle with Nestibilities, and then a larger circle with the solid red from the SEI collection. Doodled the edges, of course - it just seems blank with out it. I then went back to the pattern papers and sewed them down with silver thread, it really catches the light in person, as it is a real metallic thread. You have to sew much slower when using this type of thread, it will stretch and break. I found some glittered snowflakes for my three dots at the bottom. To follow the sketch I pulled out 5 white flowers.. yes white. I then sprayed them with my compressor and Copic Dark Red (same as I used on the dress). Oh I am really going to have to stock up on white flowers!!! I centered them with jewelery spacers and white mini brads. For the sentiment... it too is from Whiff of Joy, the "Sending Winter Wishes" Sentiment, it was just too long for the spot I had, so I stamped it out and carefully cut off the Sending. Then out lined it with the dark red Copic. At the very end.. I saved the all the fur areas of the image, cuffs, boot tops, etc. I used a puffy paint and very lightly added it to the image. I didn't want too much to loose the black lines in the areas. I love the colors of this one, and it is a great sketch - you should give it a go!

Well Hubby is off today so we are going to run "his" errands this morning... who knows where all we end up... I am sure one of the "man's mall"... (Lowes, the hardware store, and Sporting goods store for sure) wonder if I can sneak in a craft store?

Hope you have a great day and have some time to ink up some stamps!

HUGS and-

I am so excited House Mouse Guest DT!

Yes... I was asked to be the House Mouse Challenge blog's Guest DT for two weeks! Starts next week and I have been emailed my assignments - I am thrilled to be a part of the team, even if it is just for two weeks! House Mouse is sort of sentimental to me... some of my very first stamps were House Mouse. In fact I have a HM stamp that I purchased really before I even started stamping, just because it was too cute.

This is one of the early images for me. I love it, and I equally love the sentiment that goes with it.

Well this weeks theme is Glitter/Glitz love doing that! Bling baby! And I just happened to get a box in the mail yesterday from Paperworks Co. I just found them last week, and found some really yummy things there. Including some beautiful papers from Doodlebug. Look at all that fabulous Glitter on it! I got lots of colors - went a bit nuts... but I have some really fun papers, including some velvet paper can't wait to use that!

Ok, enough drooling on my new papers, back to the card. I matted the glitter patten papers onto a cream colored card stock and zig zag stitched them down. I then found a Bazzill Scallop Border in the same color and used it for a band across the card. I colored my little ballerina with my Copics, and cut with Nestiblities Ovals. The back ground ended up very harsh and white when I put it on the card, so I colored it in with my R1 copic, pretty close to the cards stock color. I then had the same problem with the sentiment, too bright white. I pulled out my new Compressor Hubby let me get this week... Love ya Honey! I was just dying to use it anyway... LOL... and sprayed in a pink background. Wow this thing actually works! My last one just didn't have enough air. I matted it on the cream card stock.

Oh and don't you love those flowers! I haven't used them in a long time - they have the perfect shimmer, and were the perfect colors. I punched four Martha Stewart Frond leaf punches, and then centered them with Dew Drops. All of this was put onto a pink card stock. Then there was just one last thing..... Her tutu! It was screaming for stickles!

I think I covered the Glitz/Glimmer/Glitter challenge, don't you?

Hope you get a chance to see all of the House Mouse DT cards, they are some really talented ladies! Wow!

Ok, so are any of you stressing as much as I am about Christmas spreading at them like a run away train? I am starting to freak out! I have not even started my Christmas Cards! I know you are thinking "hello what are all of these Christmas card I have seen on this blog"? But I started a tradition oh about 8 or 9 years ago... I make photo Christmas cards and have each of our "pets" on the front of them. It was a cute tradition, and once I said I was going to stop it and start sending my "cute" stamped cards... I thought the two ladies across the lunch table from me were going to jump across and attack me. Seems my family and friends have been saving the photo cards and won't accept me stopping them. Well this was all really simple, fun and cute when I had a dog and a couple of cats. Then over the years I added a donkey or two... lost the cats... added more donkeys... more donkeys... then added a cat again... and more donkeys - Have you ever tried to make a cute card with 28 donkeys and border collie and a cat? Well this won't be my cutest this year - but I am proud to say they are all accounted for on this years - not creative but on there! Now to just get the cards put together and addressed and mailed. All 60-70 of them!

Better get busy huh? But first Breakfast, and some Blog surfing - LoL!

HUGS and-

A Spoon Full of Thank Yous!

Today is A Spoon Full of Sugar is full of Thanks Yous this week. Yes this weeks Challenge
We would like to see you create a thank you card. We have a fabulous prize this week of the Sarah Kay stamp - "Country Girl". She has very kindly been donated by Bryony from Silly Monkey Crafts. They have all the new Sarah Kay's currently in stock. But I bet they will all be gone really soon!

For my card - I really don't know where I was going when I started, but not here. I like how it turned out, but nothing like the plan. Helene from Alota Rubber Stamps, just sent me this Country background stamp recently, I asked her for one to use with some of the cute people stamps she has had come out the past couple of months. And honestly that was going to be what I was going to do today. But then I came across the well recognized "Mr. Bug" and something just clicked and the tipping of the hat seemed to say Thank you to me. I colored him and the background with my Copics. I cut out Mr. Bug with my Fiskars Kraft Knife and put him on the scene with pop dots.

For the card I used a scrap of dots pattern paper, sorry no name on it so I have no clue as to who made it. I punched the side of it with one of the new Martha Stewart Border Punches, I think it is called Double Dots or something like that. I inked the edges really heavy with a light brown ink. I then matted the scene on the same card stock as the base and attached to the dots, and then ran two layers of ribbon on each side, one that is the same color as the card stock and the second layer the white ric-rak. The sentiment is also from Alota Rubber stamps. I love this Thank you it looks handwritten and I love the heart at the end of it.

Not where it started, but like how it ended!

Make sure to go and check out all of the other DT cards this week at Spoon full of Sugar - wow really wonderful cards this week as always! I hope you get a chance to join in - Thank You cards are always needed right?

Oh and one last reminder for the PCP Alota Rubber Stamps Group Grab Bag Challenge, only one more day to get in on the prize (AND FYI... Helene has been adding to it for two weeks it is a BIG GRAB BAG of goodies!) All you have to do is load up a card to the PCP photo gallery using an Alota Rubber stamp and tag it with the code Alota-gbc1... yep that is it! Hope there are more last minute cards!

Well I have about 20 minutes before I have to pick up MIL to take her for her weekly errands - and I want to catch up on some blogs I missed yesterday - So have an Inky Tuesday!

HUGS and-

A new Stampavie PCP Sketch Challenge -

Yes there is a new Paper Craft Planet Stampavie Sketch Challenge, and this one is going to run for two weeks! So there is plenty of time to join in. And what is the prize you ask? Again Heidi is going to let you decide... you pick any stamp from the Stampavie Collection and she will add a baggie full of embellishments to make your cards with.

Ok, so here is the sketch.. I hope you like it, I have been trying out a different software to make my computer sketches. I am really new at computer sketches anyway, but the couple I have done seemed flat - so I played with a Scrapbook program and made this one. At least it isn't flat looking!

Even though I can't win the prize I just had to make a card with the sketch. I pulled out one of my new Sarah Kay images "First Kiss", just love this one, that hat is so fun to color. I used my Copics and Sakura Souffle pens, then high lighted with white gel pen.

I then found two pattern papers from K&Company to use to follow my sketch, and a light brown card stock for the base and image mat.

I inked the edges of all of the pieces of paper, then sewed down everything with a straight stitch.. I went random with this and you know that was more stressful than going as straight! I like how it came out but man, my palms were sweating hoping I didn't really mess up my card.

For the base of the card, I used my Crop-a-dile and the large copper eyelets that came in the box and spaced them across the bottom, then ran a small satin ribbon through the holes meeting and tying into a bow.

The sentiment is from a local stamp company.

So why don't you give the sketch a try - all you have to do is load it into the PCP photo gallery and then comment on the Stampavie Group that you did so to qualify.

Hubby is off today - between him, my MIL and I we have a long list of errands and to do's - and I bet they are both already tapping their toes wondering if I am ready yet - Ahhh nope still in my jammies - so I better get going! Hope you have a great Monday and get some time to get inky!

HUGS and-