A Spoon Full of Sugar - How about a Recipe Challenge?

Hello - Today is Tuesday and that is A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge Day again , and this week there is a fun Recipe to follow. Recipe Challenges can be really fun, as you can go anyway you want just make sure to get in all the ingredients!

Our Ingredients this week are:
3 - Pattern Papers
3 - Flowers or Buttons
3 - Gems

Pretty easy ingredients that we all have in our stash. For my card I went with one of the new Stampavie Sarah Kay images, "Eloise and Mimi saying hello" You know me.. I just adore Sarah Kay - and these Fall images are just wonderful for any occasion.

I colored with my Copics and inked the edges, and highlighted with white gel pen.

Then I went to work on the Recipe - First finding three pattern papers that all worked well together. I decided that the GCD Independence Collection had the warm fall feel I wanted and all the patterns worked well with each other. I layered three patterns inking the edge of each piece. I love that the dark red pattern has a gold glitter to it. Then to the flowers or buttons... ok when given the choice, I usually go with flowers.. LOL So I found three cream colored Mulberry Roses - I love them, but wanted something different for leaves this time - I decided to pull out some of my older white flat flowers, and I colored them with a Green Copic marker, they glue dotted the roses on top of them. That is what I was looking for! A more grown layer. For the gems.. hmm where am I going to put them to show them off - I decided that a satin ribbon band wrapped around the middle, that was a good place to show off those 3 gems. For my Sentiment I used a Stamps by Judith "Thinking of You" and punched it out with a Stampin up word window punch.

So I do believe I got all my ingredients in - wasn't to hard :0) Hope you will pop over to A Spoon Full of Sugar and see how the other DT came out with the recipe challenge and then join us in "baking up" your own!

Well I am off... Hubby has today off and I think we are going to do some shopping - Shame I have no clue what I am doing for Christmas gifts this year - nope no clues... this may be a down to the wire year for me. I don't like that - I am usually so much more organized, and have a few handmade gifts already started or finished by now. Nope not a thing going... LOL

Have a wonderful day - and see you tomorrow for "Me and My Space" Day -
HUGS and-

Dust It Off Sunday - 6 - Alota Rubber Stamps Get Well Bug!

Hello! Sunday - Holidays really mess me up for what day of the week it is... All day Friday, it was Saturday to me, then Saturday wasn't right either... was sitting there with Hubby last night watching a movie, and realized... oops I never scheduled my post for today!! So this morning I popped up early to get it on before we meet the locals for breakfast at the country cafe we go to every Sunday.

Lots of people are starting to get Winter Colds and Flu right now - and I decided a Get Well Card would be good to have. This is one of my all time favorite Get Well Images. It was actually in my very first order to Alota Rubber Stamps. This one is actually called "Bug with Bug" - I love coloring this image.

Seriously - I adore Alota Images... especially the bugs - This image is so fun for a get well card, I colored with my Copics, then high lighted with white gel pen ( love the white polka dots on the chair.. LOL ) and then cut it out. 

For the Card I went with a country blue card stock, layered with white then blue again. I sewed a piece of I believe K&Company Pattern paper - (scraps... love using them with my Dust it off cards! ) Some of these Alota images come in two sizes, so if you use the larger size they are so wonderful at filling a card you really don't need to many patterns - the image is just enough on its own. I then punches a piece of white card stock with the Martha Stewart Jumbo lattice punch, and wrapped a small satin blue ribbon around the end and tied a bow.

The sentiment is from Stampabilites - cut out and matted with scrap blue card stock.

I attached the image and the sentiment with Pop Dots - great depth and I love the shadows it creates!

If you have some time and want to see a HUGE amount of wonderful stamps... seriously HUGE amount of stamps - pop over to Alota Rubber Stamps and see what Helene offers... you won't be sorry, she has some fabulous images and her customer service is the best!

So that was my stamp I dusted off this week... what have you pulled out that you haven't inked up in a long time and it needs some ink and attention? I want to see you Dust off one of your first stamps and then share the link with me here so I can come visit you!

Ooopss... just saw the time, better run and get dressed for breakfast, Hubby might leave me behind!! HUGS and have a wonderful Sunday!

Animal Crackers - Brrrr.. a chilly weekend

Hello ... it is a sunny chilly day here in Texas - I got on my boots, and my coat and got out in the afternoon sun and got some donkey and goat photos!!! OH and yes I have a few puppy photos too :0)

First up is a photo I took with my phone - I do love it! They must have been up all night with the full moon and the cold wind! Cuz they were all sleepy when I went out -

How cute are they all - sleeping in yesterday morning?

Darlene - our oldest and wisest Donkey..  Seriously she is the oldest, and the calmest. And the first donkey we purchased. She is also the hardest to predict when her babies are coming. So we just wait and watch her - we will watch closer in January.. as that is what I think it will be end of January or February -

 Angelina.. "Lina" as we call her. She is a carbon copy of her Mom Macie - and just as sweet. And like her Mom she is short and wide too :0) I love this girl!

Little Mirta - our tiny little spot. She is so playful and friendly. She is always looking to play and get petting.  Gorgeous isn't she?

How is this for cute? Jill - Man she has grown up fast. What a face!

 

This may be a hard photo to figure out... But I guess we could say this is Dad puppy sitting. LOL He is so gentle with the babies. Here they were all playing rough housing you could say - but he just kept calming them down and licking on them - loving on them.... 

 But the girls were just too far gone, they were having fun and playing hard! Look here.. little Chica has Mini's head in her mouth!! They are such time wasters... I can sit and watch them forever!

Funny thing is that Reno.. the little boy - the entire time the girls were playing - he was just sitting and watching - then as they wore themselves out, that is when he pounced! LOL

 Even when they are still and sleeping - they are just too adorable, I can sit and watch the peacefulness! Too adorable.

Well I must run - I have a friend coming over to play :0) Need to work on my Christmas card list - A tradition I started many many years ago of photo cards with our furry children on it.... has gotten tough to get them all on there over the years.. LOL

Have a wonderful Saturday!
HUGS and-

Just Magnolias - Sketch!

Hello and Happy Friday - Black Friday here in the US - The big shopping day after Thanksgiving. What am I doing?? Well I can guarantee you it is not getting up in the middle of the night to stand in a line in the cold to shop!! LOL  If things work out.. I will be crafting, maybe watching a couple of good movies. and leftovers of Thanksgiving for dinner - I have done enough cooking this week let me tell you!

So here is my card for Just Magnolias this week, it is a wonderful sketch - I will be using this one again :0) -

I started off by playing with the new Tilda Hugging - I just love her. And decided she was just perfect to do some paper piecing on. These are the Basic Grey Jovial papers I  used last week, and they were still on my desk - I am just really into the black and red Christmas right now. Serious drama and bold! I stacked up red and black card stock, and then added the gorgeous floral paper and sewed it all together. Following the sketch, I chose the dot pattern, red card stock and just the edge of the Jumbo Martha Stewart Border punch. Sewed again.

 The dot pattern was the perfect dress for Tilda so I stamped her and cut out her little dress. Love that! The rest of Tilda is colored with my copics - isn't she just too cute! I wanna dress like this.

 And then my flowers - I die cut the Heartfelt Creations Spellbinders flower, I didn't stamp the matching stamp on these this time, cuz I wanted to layer the red and black again, and then use some red and black stickles on them. Bold and basic - The leaves and branch punches are from Martha Stewart and I added some brown stickles to them, oh and the highlighting is done with white gel pen.

Hope you like it - and make sure to see all the DT cards with the great sketch at Just Magnolias Challenge and then join us for another GREAT prize! Man... sometimes I really would like to win the prize!! :0) LOL

Have a wonderful Friday and see you tomorrow for some Animal Crackers!

Me and My Space #5 - Paper

Ok, so I didn't get this area as tidy as I would have liked.. but hey - at least it is ok enough to show you a few photos. Paper... Other than my stamps probably the largest thing for me to get together and organize. This looks pretty organized, but really it is just put into one space - It needs just a bit more tweaking for finding certain papers a bit more easily but this is working right now.

All of my papers are in an antique Library Cabinet. I love this cabinet, just wish it was a tad bit larger. Sorry I didn't get a photo of the entire cabinet...  Just couldn't back up far enough... So I did it in a couple of photos.

Top of the cabinet -

This is my cardstock - on the right. It use to all fit into that one divided box... use to that it. Now my whites, creams, browns, and yellows have fallen out and sit to the left of the box in Cropper Hopper paper storage containers on their sides. You can also see that I have had to move the divided box all the way over and off of the top of the cabinet.. I made sure that it won't tip off the cabinet, that would be really bad.

 On the left side of the top you can see my basket - I wanted an antique basket, and looked forever for one, then one day at Target I saw this one in the Garden section - it was something like $30 - but it was on clearance - I got it for $5.00! I love it! It holds all of my newest paper stacks - most used at this time.

Now into the cabinet. The doors on these Library cabinets fold up into the case, kind of like a garage door. This is perfect for me, and 99% of the time I just leave them up and open. My cabinet has two shelves. Top shelf is all the rest of my paper stacks, and then 4 more Cropper Hopper paper holders. In these four I have newer papers (last couple of years) sorted by theme or style. The papers I go to most type of thing. I have them labels with, Vintage, Holidays, Country, Favorites. (Favorites being those papers like Graphic 45 - that I just adore and have to really have a special project to cut it apart! LOL)

Bottom shelf. This is where I have my Core'dinations card stock, extra card stock and then Pattern Paper single sheets from the beginning of time.... sad I know I have so much paper.  A little while back I sorted through a lot of it and gave away probably a 2 foot stack of paper. I need to do it again - pass it on kind of thing... Hey maybe that would be a good give away coming up? Michelle cleans out! LOL   This paper is all in Cropper Hopper's and is sorted by company.

Then one more place I have paper... Grandma's Tin Thingy.... 

 This yellow metal thing was in my Grandma's sewing and beading closet. She kept all her Paints, and glues. It was a mess... still is on the inside of it - but I lined the bottoms of the shelves after giving it a good washing. I love this metal thingy.. and I know Grandma would love knowing I am using it. I keep all of my little paper stacks and pads in here. It is the perfect size to line up my 6x6 pads.. and then the larger ones lean on the bottom, and on the top.

So there is my paper storage. Not the best out there, I have seen much much better. But this was not expensive, and well... works in my space.

I must run now... very very busy day. Cleaning, and lots of cooking and preparing for Thanksgiving - sigh. I have accepted that it is really Thanksgiving...  HEY at leat there will be pie :0)

Have a wonderful Day - those celebrating Thanksgiving here in the US - enjoy -
HUGS and-

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes!

Can't get much easier than Anythings Goes this week at A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge! Me... I wanted to try and make an gift tag... I don't know where I went or how I got there on this one! LOL Not at all what I was thinking - and really not at all what I wanted or need. Sigh... Oh well here it is...

So I started out with Stampavie's I Wish... I love this little girl, just so precious. I colored her with my Copics and then cut her out. I then cut out of kraft paper and a piece of Graphic 45 Christmas Pattern paper a Nestie Label 17 for my "Tag" - I inked the edges and stuck them together. Lace sounded like a good addition, so I got to a piece I could reach over the puppy play pen - yes, my craft room is a bit of a obstacle course lately. :0) I attached to the tag and then trimmed to fit the tag. I added some hanging pearl baubles to one corner, then went a bit nuts with vintage buttons and a small safety pin.. why I don't know.. LOL

I added some gel pen stitching around the edge then attached a red satin ribbon -  Then to top it all off.. I sprayed the entire thing with Gold Shimmerz... (So glad you can see just how gold this thing is)  Good thing this week was anything goes, cuz I just don't know if I had stuck to a regular theme - was like a run away train this week! LOL

Now you pop on over to A Spoon Full of Sugar see the other DT work, and then join us, ANYTHING GOES :0)

Have a great day... me... off early to the grocery store to do my shopping for Thanksgiving. My not wanting to accept it was time for it, just wasn't making it go away, now I am really late in getting all the meal planned and purchased. I can handle this.. but Christmas being only 4 weeks away??? NO I Can't handle that!! Not one present made or purchased! Being in bed so long this summer really has made me loose track of time this year. I am so ready to start a new year.

HUGS and-

Dust It Off Sunday - 5 - Penny Black - Best of Luck!

Hello and Happy Sunday - Dusting off another one of my wood mounted stamps this week. A Penny Black Stamp - The name on this stamp is "Best of Luck!" ... odd name, but I guess this chicken does need some luck to get all those candles out...

I have colored with my Copics - and then to make those flames even more eye catching I added Diamond Stickles to them.

For the card I made an easel card, with bright yellow card stock, and Basic Grey "Color Me Silly" pattern papers. Spellbinders Mega Rectangle Nesties to mat the image, and EK Success border punch. I did lots of sewing on this one too.. a great chance to use a new stitch for me on my sewing machine. Don't you think that this kind of looks like a chicken scratch pattern? LOL
I wanted to keep it kind of simple with the embellishments to show off the larger image and those bright papers. So I found some white buttons in my stash to simplify things.

And that sentiment from is also from Penny Black, and perfect for the image!

This was a lot of fun to Dust off.. and make a card with! So have you dusted off any of your older images lately? Let me know so I can come see what you have done!

Have a great Sunday - HUGS and

Copics Used: B00, B02, B05, BG10, C01, E35, E39, E42, E74, N0, N05, T03, R08, R14, R35, Y08, Y11, Y38, and a blender pen.

Animal Crackers - Lots of Puppy Photos... and a Moving Donkey Video!

Hi and Happy Saturday - Sorry I am a bit late this morning. I again had trouble getting the video downloaded from my phone. Why do I forget how to do that each time? I complicate it so much it is really crazy.

Now you are just going to have to be patient with me for the next few weeks... as I have gone nuts with Puppy photos :0) So you will be seeing lots of them probably until they all have new homes. Speaking of that.. Dude is already sold! I think it is going to be a wonderful home for him... and he will have a little girlfriend to play with there. :0)  Ok - so first Puppy Photos.. then I took a GREAT video for you last night! I think you are going to love the little run that Raffie's pen took....

Let me tell you ... having kids around is just so exhausting!! Even for Dad!! He is so cute around the puppies, he will go into their pen and just stare at them, he has even started cleaning on them. They are just now starting to climb on him... can't wait to get a photo of that :0)

Little Dude's favorite position for sleeping, here he is leaning against Mom... but if she isn't there he will get up and move next to one of his sisters and then flip over on his back... darn he is cute! His name will be Reno we are told... so from here on we will start referring to him as that.. might as well learn his name now right?

He is a cutie isn't he?

Chica... the little one - she is just so calm and sweet!

But she finds photo shoots just plain boring...

 Then again.. Mini Lib was not impressed either ....

Mini Lib is really a stunning color. We don't know what her final "Blue Merle" color will end up, but wow.. she has some gorgeous fur! And giggle giggle... she has blue eyes!!! We are leaning that the tri's are brown eyes... 90% sure... But Mini Lib.. she has blue!

Too cute to not show you... Mom and her Mini girl... You can see here how different Mini Lib's coloring is. Now it will darken as she gets older, but she seems to have more copper on her face than her Mom.

Now how about some Donkeys??? This is Raffie's pen... I ran out to video the three little ones trotting and playing... by the time I got through the backyard gate and to their pen... EVERYONE was running, bucking and yes even talking!! Donkeys screaming and hee hawing.. and in the background you can hear the goats - they didn't care about me getting this video - they wanted dinner... NOW.  ( if you want to try and see the video larger... click the button on the bottom right corner - it does get a bit fuzzy.. but not to bad)

I am sorry I have been consumed with the puppies... and not taking lots of Donkey and Goat photo for you... I just can't help it :0) Hopefully the video made up for the lack of photos.

Have a wonderful weekend - and those in the US - have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday... lots of family, friends and Turkey and pie! ;0)

HUGS and-

Just Magnolias - One Color and White??

Today's Just Magnolia Challenge is a fun one! I love different challenges, and this one was a little different to me. One color and white - (not including coloring your image) -

I started off with one of my new Magnolias - and then I found this piece of pattern paper in my scraps. I think it is Basic Grey.. not for sure though, but it feels like it. It seemed to match the
image somewhat, and hey it is one color and white! So I colored up Tilda to match the paper with my Copics. Then found a piece of dark yellow card stock to mat everything, and sewed down the pattern paper. I created a lace doily for behind Tilda with the Martha Stewart border punch.

Then I went to find something for an embellishment - DO you love that "ribbon" of baubles or what??? I purchased a entire roll of these on clearance a long time ago and never used them. I love how they look hanging behind Tilda! I just ran a piece of 1/8 double side tape and then stuck it down! Worked perfect. For my sentiment I used a JustRite stamp, and then inked around the edge with a Copic to look like a mat -

Hope you enjoyed my Card - I think it has a fun clown look to it :0)  - Now please visit the Just Magnolia Challenge site and see all the other DT cards!! And then join us for a chance at a GREAT prize!

I have to run this morning... a long "to do" list today and I am running late already - man I hate to get out of bed that first really cold morning... brrrrrr  But had to pop up lots of furry babies ready for breakfast!

See you tomorrow for some Animal Crackers! HUGS and -

Me and My Space #4 - Smaller Ribbons

Back for another view of my craft room - "Me and My Space"... I had a few request last week - my ink pads, my pattern paper, and my ribbon. Honestly... I need to do a little straightening up with my papers before I photograph that area, and I am still working on my ink area - so here that leaves my Ribbon - This is one of my Ribbon areas. What I call my smaller ribbons, I have my wider ribbons in another place. 

These are the smaller three drawer plastic things you see in most stores. I found them on sale a LONG LONG time ago, and have used them for a million things over the years. Funny... all of my embellishments, ribbons, inks, markers ... well basically all my craft stuff started in these YEARS ago... LOL  From 4 of these to now needing an entire room.. and it is so full Hubby is starting to roll his eyes at me.


So all 4 of these sit on on of my shelves, and my smaller or thinner ribbons are all in these. And really... it is a tight fit in some of the colors. So how I have these organized - Each drawer is a different group of colors - That is labeled on the outside of the drawer. Recently I decided I didn't like to see all the stuff inside and wanted a more uniformed cheerful look. So I took scrap Tilda Papers and cut pieces and just slipped in the front of each drawer.

As you open the drawers this is what you see... I purchased a whole bunch of the Cropper Hopper Small square embellishment holders, I found them on sale, used coupons and would get them anytime they were cheap. Like 12 of them for a dollar or so. I then took my ribbons and rolled them up and placed them into the containers - they fit PERFECTLY into the drawers. Each drawer hold more than 100 of these boxes. Yes.. I have a ton of ribbon... I have serious addiction to ribbons - they are just so pretty :0)

 

So here is the shelving unit that my ribbon drawers are on. I have 4 of them, 12 drawers basically - their are three that are just stuffed with scraps - lace - and twine. Not really organized in any way. I like they way the papers show on the shelf and it matches my craft room - blue, white, pink and roses. 

Also on these shelves you can see some of my larger Sizzix dies - those Pro Dies and Bigz Dies are big! A pain to keep hiding... You can also see some of my decorative boxes - the top and first shelf. Love when Hobby Lobby puts these on sale! I put misc. craft supplies in them. One box is my clay and tools for that, another is felt, etc. One day I will try and show these more. OH and the decorative box on the third shelf  - that is the box I told you about last week, it holds all of my CD cases with stamps. The stamps I don't really use real often but just can't live with out them. 

I fill in spaces on the shelf with flowers, and pretty things... like framed gifts from friends and of course stuffed Donkeys :0)  they sit all around my room ... you will see :0) Hope you enjoyed my little ribbon storage, I'll work on the other request you would like to see, and make sure to shout out if you want to see something else. 

Have a wonderful Day!!

HUGS and-

Spoon Full of Sugar - Distressing

This week things are Distressing at A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge!!

I love doing this, but man I make one heck of a mess. I try to stay neat - work over my trash can, but somehow I end up with paper all over me, the floor and the desk. Here is my card this week, I used Stampavie's Laurence Collections "Merry Bear" - I just her bears!! I colored with my Copics and then used stickles on the presents "ribbon"... I think it looks more like garland now - LOL

I then cut the image out with my new EK Success Circle Cutter - OH MAN I LOVE THIS THING!!! I have had the old green circle cutter forever, but with my 40% coupon last week I got the new one, and Wow did they improve it! Not only are the measurements printed on it so you can cut he exact size you need, but the tool works like a hot knive in butter! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Then I matted it with a Spellbinders Nestie - Lacey Circles.

The pattern papers are Basic Grey Jovail collection. These are just gorgeous  - love the black and red. I Distressed the edges of all the papers with my Making Memories Distressing tool. Basically a razor blade safely put in plastic. I then wrapped a red satin ribbon around the middle and tied a bow. The sentiment is a Micheal's Dollar stamp - punched out with the new EK Success tag punch edged with my red copic. A metal adhesive dot for decoration. Love the colors - Black and red is not a normal Christmas color combo - but I like it.

Now make sure to visit A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge and see all the distressed DT cards - then join us for some fun and a great prize.

Busy day today. I have to work part of the day, and Hubby is going to be home to work around the house. That means I have to help... sigh... :-)

Have a wonderful day!
HUGS and

 
Copics Used: C2, E31, E35, G94, R27, R46, R89, NO, N3, Y28, YG93, YG99, W3 and a blender pen.

Dust It Off Sunday - 4 - High Hopes - A Special Birthday Card!

Today's Card is a special Birthday Card. For a very Special Person. If you have been reading my blog for very long you may already know that on Sunday's Hubby, MIL and I drive down our long dirt road and around the corner to the local country cafe for Sunday Breakfast. We meet up with all the local neighbors, have our eggs and bacon and catch up on all the news. Local, National, important and trivial. We don't solve the World's problems, but it is a nice routine thing that we like to be a part of. One of the main reasons that we started this "tradition" is to enjoy time with one of our favorite people. We call him "Mr. K" I Love this Man... It is ok, Hubby knows and adores him too. He is just the sweetest little old Man - knows everything about everything in the area. And he Grows the best Hay in the entire State. Heck... Country and World.  After years of buying from him, and our "herd" growing so much, we buy probably 50-75% of all the Hay he grows.

So this long story is to tell you I had to have a really special card for his Birthday. I am not sure which birthday it is, 80-something....  So I worked on this card more than one night... more like 3 nights - But I love it! He totally will not get that I spent hours making it, but I do think he will like it and think it is funny - So here is my Dust Off Sunday card - I used quite a few of my High Hopes stamps - I created a little scene for the front - and this scene... well is Mr. K!! NO really it kind of really looks like Mr. K.

So I stamped "Mr. K" First - and then masked him off and stamped the tractor to be sitting just behind him. I then colored everything with my Copics - I layered the colors over and over - to really get a dark deep image. I just love the rust on the tractor :0)

For the card I went with the country feel - The papers are all from my scraps!! YEA!!!  I sewed down all the different pieces with different stitches. The image I cut out with my Nesties Labels 17 Largest die, and then inked the edge and sewed it down. It needed more... but I knew I needed to be careful, this is for an older man. So no flowers, no fluffy stuff. AND THEN I SAW IT!! On my desk from an earlier project... my twine!! How perfect for a Hay farmers Card! So I wrapped the two opposite corners. Love the texture and look of that.

Now for the inside..... Told you I had to really make this a special card ;0)

I used all the same papers as the outside, and one of the High Hopes Donkeys. They have wonderful sentiments to go with their stamps - I LOVE this one! And so will Mr. K... he loves my Donkey puns and he loves to kid me about my donkeys. Each time we have a new one born, he tells me he will give me $5.00 whole dollars for it. LOL  So the donkey is colored with my Copics and then cut out with a craft knife. The sentiment is stamped onto a white card stock cut out with the same Nesties Label 17 die. Everything sewed down, and inked just like the top :0)

You know there are just some cards you really proud of? This one is one of mine - It actually came out looking just like I saw it in my head when I started it. That is very rare for me.

I do hope he likes it too :0) Then again, it may get thrown to the side... I am making him a pumpkin pie too - LOL

Have a wonderful Sunday!!
HUGS and-


Copics Used: BG0000, B24, B28, B93, B95, C1, C2, C5, C7, G85, E000, E19, E25, E31, E35, E44, E43, E53, E55, R14, R46, R89, T3, Y23, Y38, YG 93, YG99, W5 - Black100 and a Blender Pen