Different for me, but I love this card pattern!

I love design of this card! I made it for this weeks Papertake Weekly Challenge Blog. This weeks challenge is one of Claudia's fab tutorials you can see her gorgeous work and the tutorial at her blog Pretty Pressings. What a different and fun card. Ok now it is not my normal style of card, but I really like how it turned out. I first made the base from plain white card stock. I then played with a million different pattern papers trying to decide which one I wanted to use. Then looked up at all of those background stamps... crying out to be inked. So I pulled down my paisley background stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. Inked it up with Brilliance pearlescent sky blue and stamped it four times on the white card stock. I then cut the "panels" to fit the accordion folds of the card. I stitched around them with a Sakura glaze pen. I used a House Mouse dancing and stamped it three times and colored them with my Copic markers and cut them out. Stamped in the same blue ink the sentiment that matches the House Mouse stamp. I love this sentiment. I cut it with my Nestibilities Oval die and stitched it with the glaze pen. Place the mice on the card on every other panel, and then added the three clear Bella Baubles in the corner. Then I had to figure out how to keep it closed... I cut a small slice in the center of the bottom base, and ran the ribbon through and attached on the back with my adhesive. Ta Da! Tied in a bow. When I showed it to hubby he said... "nice ... doesn't look like your work... its to plain" But I didn't' think it needed more with the paisley pattern, and how would you close it tight if I added more. What do you think should I add more? I kinda like it how it is but maybe it does need some flowers or something. Love the pattern though and I am gonna be making more of them for sure!

Card Info:

Stamps: House Mouse, Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue

Accessories: Copic Markers, Sakura Glaze Pen, Ribbon, Bella Baubles

Ismaki Challenge 18

Well, I tried to make this card last night. My brain had already gone to bed, I got up this morning and worked with it again. It just isn't going well. The sketch is from the Ismaki Challenge Blog and it really is a great sketch this week. I just don't have it all together. I finally just decided to leave it alone and accept it.

I started with a green Bazzill card stock, which I cut with my scallop blade on my Fiskar's Rotary cutter. I then decided to pull out my first Magnolia, very sentimental, ya know. I colored her with my Copics, and then matted her with the green, then a lilac purple, to match this piece of fabric. Yes, I had to take my mother-in-law to a quilt shop a couple of weeks ago. Oh my the patterns are intoxicating, colors so vibrant. So I purchased a few squares to try and see if I can use them. I have pieced them a couple of times as dresses on the Magnolias, but this time decided to use it as the focal pattern. I had to move things around alittle because the size of Tilda was to big and was covering too much of the fabric, so I off centered things just a bit. A couple of Grandma's buttons are used on the corners. I skipped the bottom corner title, because my ribbon had the words Absolutely Adorable printed on it. I then dotted with stickles, and it just felt unfinished with out my white gel pen edging. So what do you think? I think I just need more sleep... and try again.

Well hope you have a great Tuesday! We are hoping for some rain here today....please rain.... we need it!

A swinging Tilda and an Introduction!!!

Ok, I was going to try and show you my swinging Tilda card first... But I just can't stand it!!! I have to show you why I only got about an hour sleep last night! I would like to introduce you to LOLA, yes Cheyenne had her baby last night at 2:45 am. Poor thing started her labor about 7:30, and paced and would lay down and then would stop. She wore herself out. But she finally gave birth to a beautiful dark faced little girl! This morning she is still not herself and is really moving around slow and seems really tired, I know I am and I didn't deliver that big baby! Now her name Lola... well we sat outside for many hours throwing around names. We wanted something that held some meaning to Cheyenne coming from Montana and

her Daddy had so much history as well. We called out town names, people in history, people in entertainment. And then it came like lightning, the only person it could be named for is Lola, the friend and breeder that we got both Cheyenne and Black Jack from. She has been a donkey life line for us "newbies". There for every phone question and support during panic attacks. And although she is always very excited for every baby we have - she was just dying for Cheyenne's baby. So here she is Lola... Dark face like Mom and Dad, long legs like Mom, coloring more like Mom's than Dad's but Daddy's head shape and at only a few hours old seems to have more of his bounce and fun, than her Mom's laid back personality. Hope you like her!

Ok, despite my total lack of more than a couple of hours of sleep the last THREE nights, one due to my crops, and two to Cheyenne. I did get a card made. And got a chance to use my new Spring Magnolia Stamps. The tree swing and swinging Tilda. I made this card for the Tilda & Co. Challenge Blog, the challenge this week was to create layers with your stamps. Or to make the Pop off the card. I had been dying to use the swing stamp, so this was perfect. I used light blue Bazzill to make the base and layered a piece of chocolate brown on that. I just got this FABULOUS piece of Heidi Grace shimmering flocked "Baby Clouds" paper. Oh I love this! It has a silver shimmer to it and the clouds are flocked and so soft and fun! A perfect background to Tilda on a swing! I stamped the swing once, and Tilda three times. Colored them with my Copic Markers. I then cut them out with my Fiskars fingertip knife (if you don't have one of these it is a must!). I used the long side strips of my pop dots to pop the tree limb and swing off the paper. I then popped my first Tilda, then just her dress and legs, then just her boots for a total of four layers. I highlighted her dress and boots with my white gel pen, and her wings with stickles. I ripped a scrap piece of green card stock, and stamped with a grass peg stamp to have some grounding for Tilda. The ribbon is from a Ribbon bobbin, I just love the saying. I doodled the edges of the brown card stock to finish it off. I think I am going to try this again and see about adding even more back ground items. I hope they like it for the challenge, I am happy with it.

Well I am going to try and get a few things done this morning, without falling asleep first. So better get moving! Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Card Info:

Stamps: Magnolia

Paper: Bazzill, Heidi Grace Designs

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black

Accessories: Copic Markers, Uniball White Gel Pen, Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife, Stickles, Ribbon

What Stress....

Well today was baby moving day. Both Rosita and Angelina and their Moms were moved into the big pens with the other donkeys. We did Rosita first, I have spent the entire day stressed outside watching and trying to protect her, like I really could do anything! I have said before Lacey, Rosie's Mom, is not the best mommy. We moved them into the pen and she basically took off on her own and left her baby to fend off every one by herself. The girls were just curious and sniffing and following. Diego my loving gelding is very curious and really takes to the baby, after some time he was like a protective uncle. But the "Daddy" Raffie was a little too aggressive. Thank God for Diego, he ended up protecting Rosie and kicking Daddy off. I think things have calmed down finally, and by this evening when hubby got home from work Rosie was very happy to have some hugs from him.

Well then we went to the other pen and let loose Angelina and her Mommy Macey. We had a little nervousness, with Daddy Black Jack for about 10 minutes. Then Mom told him how things would be and everyone was calm and back to eating... I got a couple of minutes of video of Lina stretching her legs for the first time... Freedom! Is she cute or what!

We then put Cheyenne into the Momma pen... she is due anytime...

She has her Mother's Eyes...

No card today... last night and today is my Monthly Weekend Crop at my LSS. This has become the only time I work on scrapbook pages. That is when I am not laughing and chatting with the gals. This isn't one of my best pages, but I just love the photographs. I took these photos yesterday morning of Macie and her baby Angelina. All we keep saying and everyone that comes to see the babies say is "Oh my she has her Mother's Eyes". It is true and it makes me so happy that "Lina" does have her Mommas Eyes. Macie has the largest most beautiful eyes of all our Mini donkeys. They are so expressive. When someone would ask me what I wanted her baby to look like, I would say ... a girl would be wonderful (at that time we had not had a girl born here), healthy is number one, and I would be thrilled if she had her Mother's Eyes. What a blessing she is, just adorable. So anyway this is the LO I did to remember Macie's first little girl. Hope you enjoy it, and I'll get back to the cards after the weekend crop.

Enjoy a wonderful Saturday!

LO Info:

Paper: Heidi Grace, Bazzil

Ink: Colorbox Q

Accessories: Cuttlebug, American Crafts Thickers Alphabet, Decrative Bauble Accents

Claudia's Party Favor Bag!

A second post for the day!

Ok, so it took me all week to get my desk cleaned off enough to do this, but OH I am so glad I did. It is such a cute project with my new scor-pal! Claudia, at Pretty Pressings, is a genius we all know that and her talent is jaw dropping. She has a Blog Birthday coming and to celebrate she is offering a wonderful set of stamps. She asked that to qualify, you give her party favor bag a try. This has so many possibilities. Kids parties, Baby showers, Weddings and Birthdays! You can find the instructions to making this HERE. Give this one I try, promise you will love it!


Thanks so much Claudia for the instructions, and the chance at a fabulous prize! You know I love ya!

I used a piece of purple card stock from my scraps. I trimmed the edge in a scrap of the Bazzil scalloped card stock. I stamped a Cornish Heritage Stamps Background stamp on white with Colorbox Catseye Purple ink. (OHOHOH! the background stamp qualifies for Allison's Background stamp challenge this week on her blog Stampin When I Can! Don't you love it when things work out so well!) I placed a Making Memories Jumbo Brad in the center of the flap. Attached ribbon around the back so when closed it can wrap around the brad to keep the bag closed tight. I highlighted the back ground stamp with my Spica glitter pen, hard to see in the photograph. Then I just couldn't stand it... I had to add my little Eeyore stamp... just for some fun! =) Hope you like it!

Wishing You a Day Bright with Sunshine!

Well it is cloudy and dark here this morning. So hopefully this card will lighten things up! I didn't plan for it to be so bright, but well it is sunny! The goal was "In the Garden" for Cute Card Thursdays Challenge Blog.

Ok, so flowers are pretty much the normal for everyone's gardens... but here in the country - so are skunks =) Now the ones I find in the yard are not nearly this cute and I will admit we try and get rid of them and I truly hate the critters, but I couldn't resist this cute little guy from High Hopes Stamps, despite my feelings of skunks. He is just adorable.

Hubby asked me again last night why I purchase stamps with animals we work so hard to keep away, like Skunks and Mice (he said this as he was pointing to my numerous House Mouse Stamps on the wall), I told him when a field mouse that comes in my house can make me a cake, frost it, then pop some pop corn and then take photographs of the party we will talk, but the "real" ones just make me crazy and are not cute in any way and either need to leave or die a sticky death on a glue trap! Outside they have lots of area, I don't even mind seeing them in the barn or yard, but my house is off limits!

Ok back to this card. I colored this little guy with my Copic Markers, then highlighted and "redrew" the shapes with my white gel pen. I added a few prima flowers to the colored flowers and added copper stickles to the centers. I matted it on a dark orange piece of scrap card stock. The base of the card is bright orange Bazzil, that I rounded the corners on and then stitched the edges with the white gel pen. the blue DP is amazing! It is from my new DCWV Spring Stack and it is all glitter. It almost has a rubber feel to it. I cut a strip off to use like a ribbon, and stitched the edges again. I placed a piece of Micheal's Dots and Dash orange Ribbon down the center. The scalloped piece is a scrap of Bazzil Scalloped edge card stock, that I stacked another DCWV Spring stack DP on, it too has glitter. I dotted the scallops with a copic orange marker. The sentiment is not marked for a maker.

Today is going to be a busy LONG day. I have a million things to get done around the house, and I need to clean up my desk and cropping bag, as tonight is my first of the month weekend crop! And I have nothing planned! I think I will try and go out and get some photographs of the Donkeys today, the babies are getting so big!

Well hope you all have fun plans for the weekend, and have a fabulous Friday!

Card Info:
Stamps: High Hopes
Paper: Bazzil, DCWV Spring Glitter Stack
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black
Accessories: Copic Markers, Uniball white gel pen, Prima Flowers, Stickles, Ribbon and Pop dots.