High Hopes Challenge - Summer Fun

Hi! Went MIA a couple of days again...oops sorry. Hubby and I have been taking what we are calling "vacation days" - now when you have as many furry children as we do a over night vacation is just not at all possible. At least for both of us at the same time. Before the farm we use to travel and see the sights, now... sigh we have a farm. And we love it, but do miss the camper and seeing new places once in a while. Anyway - he had free this week before he starts up his next project, and it all worked out that we get up in the morning and head off in different directions for the day. Yesterday we took a trip about 2 hours north of here. Where? Ikea :0) and a grand opening of a Archivers :0) and then we "antiqued" and "junked" all the way home. Was so fun - and nice to spend the day together.

But today there is a real post - and I am so excited about it. It is High Hopes Challenge Day! And the challenge this week is summer fun. So many of their images work so perfectly for this challenge. But I decided at the last minute to go back to one of my very first High Hopes stamps. I love this guy, He is called "Froggy Gift". And he has so many great sentiments that can go with him perfectly - Like "Be Mine or I'll Croak" or "You're Un-Frogettable" or "Hoppy Birthday" but my favorite is "Have I Toad you lately that I Love You?" hA! There are more... but I think you get the idea....

Here is my card with "Froggy Gift" -

I had SO much fun coloring him! I had him all finished and colored so nicely when I realized... what little boy would be out catching frogs and be so nice and clean? So I pulled out more Copics and decided he needed to have some mud and dirt to show he was really having fun!  I didn't used any of the sentiments I mentioned above... I thought this would be a great little card to a young man at the end of the school year. So I used my Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet die and cut out the words Enjoy Your Summer. I will be honest... I remember a few fun summer days sort of like this. And I KNOW my sister does... she would always disappear in the morning on a summer day and come home later in the afternoon and look just like this. (Love Ya, Sis, but you know it is true, right?)

My papers are from My Minds Eye Lost and Found Breeze paper pad. Perfect colors for my card! I picked out a few and the layered them on cream colored card stock, and then a kraft card stock base, All the layers are sewed in place. I also added a green Core'd-nations kraft card stock that I punched with a EK Success pinking shear punch - love that it embosses a raised sewing stitch when you punch! Perfect with the Core'd-nations card stock to sand and show off even more. Cut out my image with my Spellbinders Octagon Nesties and Sewed it together. Glued my letters in place, and then added 5 dots of the Kiwi (green) Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

Inside is very simple with scraps of the same papers -

Now I am horrible about writing down the colors of Copics that I use. I tell you guys that I am going to do it so you know what colors I use.. I do it for a few cards and then forget. So I am going to try something else and see if I can make it a habit... As I use colors out of my Copic box, I am going to place them in my Eeyore Mug that sits on my desk... My phone is always sitting right next to me, I will snap a photo after I finish up and then I can put them away. Lets see if this is any easier for me to do ok? And let me know if you like this? I think you can see all the colors and have an idea of what I use... If you don't care let me know too.. LOL

Now PLEASE... run on over to the High Hopes Challenge and see all the DT's Summer Fun. Then pull out your High Hopes stamps and join us!  You could win more :0)

Ok.. off to see what today will bring... this not having too many plans and having fun is pretty cool! Could be just a lazy day at home... or who knows where we could end up! Wish every week could be like this, but then I think things around here would really become a mess.

Have a great day -
HUGS and

Animal Crackers - A Yawn, Nature, A Hug and New Family

Hello - I went out last night to shoot some photos - and I went a bit nuts. I go so many photos it was hard to choose! LOL I finally did narrow down - I must have been taking too long to shoot photos though... as Teddy was bored with it all.

Is that a yawn or what??? LOL I think he yawned like 5 times in a row. Must be all the rains, it is hard to find a nice place to sleep. And it is so humid it is just not comfortable.

I was so happy I captured this photo!!! We have this bush in our back yard that is just solid flowers right now. And there were 25-30 of these Butterflies moving a million miles an hour all around it. There must be 50 blurry photos on my disk. But I did get a couple that were awesome! I think if I had my setting set on motion, it would have been better... but I wasn't thinking, just ran across them while snapping dog and goat photos. But all in all I am satisfied with this one :0)

Seriously I couldn't see the color on the wings they were moving so fast... really a gorgeous butterfly!

 Found Juliet and Lydia doing some Donkey Hugs and Scratches across the pen. I zoomed in just a bit far, but I do love seeing those teeth work so hard!

They may not be clean, but they are perfectly aligned! No braces needed on this girl! :0)

Cocoa and Valentine were chowing down on all the new grass growing. We had 7.25 inches on Wednesday... yes in one day. So we are going to have some fast growth on grass. That is fabulous!

 You would think that the three standards would be nice an trim. As they don't get "fed" they live on the land. But I guess our land is rich and fattening - cuz they are very "healthy".

Now I thought I would start introducing you to our new family members. The Kitties - We have brought 7 of them to our "chicken coop" We think they will need to stay in here a month or so. Then we will start the freedom and hopefully they will hang here on our farm as they should know that we have the Meow Mix and fresh water.

One I think will stay right around here... "Moe"

He is awesome! Now in town his name was Maurice... but that just doesn't fit him at all in my opinion. He is very friendly, very slow and calm. So I have given him a new country name. "Moe" Big Moe is really great and he will hopefully live a long life as a farm cat. 

Next is Samantha - She is sweet as well. Loves to come to you and then flip over for her tummy rubbed. Now you may ask why her ear is clipped. All of them have a clipped ear. That is a sign of the feral cat that has gone through the city program. As I said, Hubby and his brother trapped all the stray cats around our business and took them in to be fixed and get shots. So this is a sign that the kitty is no longer a threat for adding to the population and for rabies. "Sam" has a brother I will  show off soon - 

Gorgeous black kitty... and speaking of gorgeous.. Love the spots on our next little girl.

This little girl didn't have a name either. We tried a few, and honestly her description fit her best. So "Fraidy Cat" is her name. She has a matching sister, that we are still working on a name, but she too has the same personality. Can you tell she is getting ready to panic and run? She is on my worry list. I am betting that no matter how much taming we try and do, once that gate is left open she is going to be a million miles from here. I hope not, she is really a pretty little girl.

I'll introduce the others next time. But I will close with my baby. I cannot even explain how sweet this girl is. Bottle babies are really super special. She has started the weaning down process this week. She isn't happy about it. And it saddens me as well. I really like our feeding time. So we have gone from 4 feedings a day to three.

I think I am going to drag on the weaning down... until I can figure out to how to move her into the house. LOL Hubby wouldn't allow that... much less Miss Libbie.

Sorry no Doggie photos this week. They were bad doggies this week... had a couple of accidents this week due to all the rain. A couple don't like to go out when it is wet... but love to go out when the sun comes out and splash in the puddles. Frustrating... and then they got into a garbage bag on the back porch waiting for Hubby to haul off. Got in trouble and then they did it again!  Bad Doggies!

Have a wonderful Saturday - and I hope my furry babies gave you a smile :0)

HUGS and

Little Darlings and a Double Zig Zag Card

Hello and Happy Friday  - it is my turn to post again this month as Guest DT over on the Little Darlings DT Inspiration Blog, I have been so excited to get a chance to play with these stamps, they are all so cute and pretty. I love that you can do both! They have the Cutie Pies for your "cute" fix, and the Little Darlings are all so gorgeous. And I am sure by now you have heard that really soon their will be those very popular Saturated Canary images in rubber! Can't hardly wait for those personally :0)

But on to todays card ok? My card looks really complicated, but it really is pretty easy just lots of layers. I first saw this Double Zig Zag card and tutorial on Mariannes Papirverden under her tutorials. I love the look of vintage or shabby chic cards, and these gorgeous Little Darlings images are perfect for all the pretty layers and lacy look. 

 For my card I used three images. The band that is the closure has the Little Darlings background Bird Bath, cut into an oval. Then inside we find from the Spring 2012 release "Isn't She Lovely" - she is one of my favorites  - I colored with my Copics and a little shading wiht pencils. Then my sentiment inside is from the newest Cutie Pie release, "In the Garden - Sentiments". Fabulous sentiments for many types of cards.

 

My pattern papers are from K&Company Designer Paper collection. Punch used is Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace corner/border set. Lots of Mulberry Roses with Martha's Frond and Branch punches. Then of course my sewing machine. I don't know if I could feel like a card is done until I have sewed it together. LOL  

Isn't it great how this card stands up and displays? I see LOTS of possibilities for things here... LOL, 

Here is a close up of the sentiment and gorgeous image - 

Hope you enjoyed my little project - I really enjoyed making this one. Took some time I won't lie, but that makes it special :0) 

Make sure to visit the Little Darlings DT Inspirations Blog and see all the great ideas there, and then pop on over to the Little Darlings Store I know you probably already have lots of Little Darlings images, but bookmark the site and keep checking in cuz from what I hear their is gonna be lots of wonderful new things real soon! 

Have a great Friday and I'll see you tomorrow for a few Animal Crackers!

HUGS and

Whimsy Stamps Challenge - Monochromatic

Hello - Busy Busy today - Dr. appointment, hair cuts for Hubby and I both,  little business stuff you know boring bank, post office and then the CPA's ... on the run today!  All hopefully in the rain! Yes big chances for rain today, and if that means errands in the rain I'll take it!

But today's challenge is Whimsy Stamps Challenge - this was a hard one for me. Seems like I have a few real "challenges" lately huh? But I like that it makes you reach outside the box right? Well Monochromatic ... that is tough for me. And honestly I don't think I really did it 100% this time. But I tried and that is what counts. Maybe if I do it more than I will one day get it right.. LOL

Here is my Monochromatic card...

Now when I started this it was all going good. I used all DCWV Linen Closet papers, sewed in squares and layered. I also added a similar color satin ribbon and bow. And my adorable fishy... She is "Gertie Fish" by artist Crissy Armstrong. I think she is just too cute. When I started coloring her she was a nice light peach color. And then I added just a bit orange for some shading.. and well heavy handed Michelle just couldn't leave it alone and Gertie she became a bold orange fish. LOL Oops... But she is happy don't you think? I also wanted her to have some depth, so I printed out a second fish and cut out just the face and lower fin, colored it and then pop dotted it over the body.

And then those eyes... well they reminded google eye things. So I added dimensional glaze over them to give them that round look. Well my glaze is getting old and I really need to find some more, mine is not a clear as it should be and it I also ended up with bubbles ... sorry Gertie.

Three pearl buttons for some artsy bubbles. And then a sentiment... for some reason the only thing that kept coming to me was "What's Up?"... Ha! I think it is because Gertie seems very interested in something above water. I dug and found some old letter stickers.

Simple inside with scraps of the papers.

Now if you would like to see some Monochromatic cards done right... pop on over to the Whimsy challenge and see what the other DT ladies did. Wow... they gave me some great ideas for next time! Really smart girls there!

All righty better get my grove on and get moving!
Have a wonderful Wednesday - HUGS and

High Hopes Challenge! - Wonderful sketch

I am so happy to be joining the High Hopes DT and today is my first challenge with the talented ladies!

This week there is a fabulous sketch by one of my crafting heroes.. Anna (Sassy & Sweet Notes). This is a great sketch, don't go by my card ok? My image ended up just a tad larger... oops. But I loved the image and the colors of the card so I just went with it.

First lets talk about the image. I love it! It's name is Wart's that Frog?   Isn't it too funny?
Reminds me of those weird hand painted Plaster of Paris Monkeys my mother had in the kitchen window when I was growing up. Ha!  I Love the sayings under each frog. Wart's That? NO WAY!!! You're How Old?... perfect for a few more humorous friends birthdays don't you think? I colored with my Copics as usual.

For the card, I followed Anna's sketch with some pretty dusty papers in my stash. All the pattern papers are from Basic Grey's Baby Girl collection. Fun girlie papers, but I thought they really went so perfect with the frogs. I cut out lots of layers and sewed each part with straight stitches. Then two green buttons on the sides. Then my sentiment... hmmm Didn't have just a simple Happy Birthday that fit right. So I opened a drawer and saw this again very dusty Making Memories stickers. I really like that the letters are all different fonts.

Then the inside :

Used the same pattern papers, and a scrap of white card stock. Just stamped the tops of the three frogs at the bottom for some added smiles.

Ok now RUN on over to the High Hopes Challenge and see all the Diva's cards with the sketch then please join us! You can win more High Hopes and maybe even a Guest DT spot! :0)

When was the last time you took a few minutes or hours and looked through the High Hopes Store? Man... I got lost for a LONG time there last week, they have so many fabulous images, and I love that you can purchase them as plain rubber, Mounted or Cling Foam! Same image three choices!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! Long list of to-do's today and honestly not really into any of them. hmm should I be good and do them or find something fun to do instead ? :0)

Hugs and

Fintastic!

I knew as soon as I saw this Saturated Canaries image I HAD to have it! Made me laugh as soon as I saw it! Now the "Da Nuh" that was my addition... it fits the inside of my card :0)

You did see that there was  shark right? Oh wait we are mostly girls,.. so yes we saw it. LOL this image really just cracks me up. I will be really honest here. I started this card last week for the last challenge, but with all the animal emergencies I just didn't get it finished. But then I saw the new challenge and well... this one still fits! I have LOTS of Bling on this one! LOL

I used DCWV Denim Jeans collection for my papers. Love the real look of the papers. I sewed a couple of them together with a different stitch... I think it goes well with the image as well. I used a Whimsy Double scallop die and then added LOTS of red and clear adhesive bling around the circle. A red satin ribbon around the middle.

Now I know you have been waiting to see the inside right? I used just one piece of the pattern paper from the same collection and then a computer generated sentiment...

Ok, I thought it was funny? Would be perfect for that 30th, or 50th birthday don't you think? LOL

I am a little warped from time to time sorry :0)

So I am going to add this to the Saturated Canaries Challenge this week - Their challenge is to Bling it Out!

IT also works for this weeks Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes with and option of Glossy Accents.. (my water whoo hoo!)

And PaperPlay Challenge - this week is Happy Birthday... I think this is a birthday card right?

Hope you got a chuckle out of it :0)

have a great Monday! HUGS and

Hopes were High

Hello - Happy Sunday.

I have been just so excited and waiting for the ok to spill the beans :0)  I was chosen to join the Divas at HIGH HOPES!!!  When I saw the post saying they were looking to add to the DT I was so nervous to throw my name into the hat. You see High Hopes is like my first love. They were my first obsession in the big wide world of stamping. Way back when I first started surfing blogs and the internet shops I just totally fell in love with the High Hopes images. I think it was all the fabulous animals they do :0) And I have always had a soft spot for High Hopes ever since. So I gathered up my courage and jumped in. And then recently I got the email ... asking if I would like to join the team.  Well do Donkeys have long ears?? UH YES PLEASE!

Happy Dancing around ever since. So while playing yesterday I thought that this was a fun image to color and make a card.

This image just made me smile - "Party Cow"... and I love the sentiment "I've got the moosic in me!"

This cow knows how to boogie don't you think? LOL I colored up with my Copics and then did some shadowing with pencils. My pattern papers are all from KaiserCraft "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" pad. I have had this pad for a long time and never used a single page out of it. I love the country feel of the papers, but just never had the image to use with it. But I think that a dancing cow works well with it. I found a simple gingham ribbon to tie around the bottom. Other than that just some simple zig zag stitching. The paper has so much going on I think that it doesn't need much other for embellishments. I love that scalloped grass paper, I cut out one level and paired it up with the cloud paper for the perfect farming background paper!

I think I am going to do a little more dancing around myself now... I am so thrilled to be joining the High Hopes Divas! And getting to play with the fabulous HH images! You know they have more than one fabulous donkey images right?  OH you may want to visit the High Hopes Challenge blog and see my other new fellow Divas and the fabulous team we are joining!

So what are you doing this great Sunday? Me...  breakfast out with the locals. Then home and some outside time with some of the animals. A little quality taming time with the first few kitties that arrived yesterday... and then I think the afternoon - some baseball watching on tv and crafting.... that sounds like a great afternoon to me! Lets hope it works out that way :0)

Have a great day!
HUGS and