We're Not Horsin' Around

This is my third post today. Please scroll down for Sweet Sketch Wednesday and Fresh Brewed Designs.
Welcome to our special release of Charlie digi's at Clear Dollar Stamps. Charlie has his very own category under clear stamps at the store, now you can also find him in digital form! Love it!! My first card shows Charliene Cowgirl in all her pink glory. Too adorable!

And here is Charlie Bee, buzzin' around wishing for you to "bee happy." Both cards I colored with copics and went thru my scraps in my forever quest to use 'em up. Now be sure and check out a lot of fabulous projects from the rest of the DT at the CDS blog, Clearly iStamp.

Time for a Spot of Tea

If you're looking for my Sweet Sketch Wednesday post, please scroll down.


Or how 'bout a Starbucks with a friend. Either one sounds pretty good! When I go into my local Starbucks, all I have to say is "I want my usual," and they know what it is!!! I don't know whether to feel honored or embarrassed!! Anyway, welcome to another fun weekly challenge at the Fresh Brewed Blog. Our theme this week is Date or Time. I was in one of those foul moods all day long yesterday, blaming it on the lack of sleep. So my creative side was out for lunch when it came time to make this card. I had to keep it simple because there were no creative juices in me!! I used a digital image from Fresh Brewed Designs called Tea Time Teacup. Not much to it, but cute none the less...hahahaha. Hope to see you at this week's challenge.

Sweet Easter

Happy Wednesday! The 29th day of February. A good friend of mine had her second daughter on Feb. 29th - how lucky to have a birthday every four years. Well, lucky when you get to be my age that is!!!! I've already told my family I am no longer having birthdays, so I will forever be the age I am right now!!!! Fabulous, don't you think. Know what else is fabulous, why our sketch and sponsor this week at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

Doodle Pantry is our sponsor and I couldn't be more excited! I adore their images, and am head over hills in love with their pre-colored images! Talk about a time saver!! Laurie Wilson is the owner and designer for Doodle Pantry and here's what she had to say:

“I am simply thrilled and so thankful to be able to sponsor Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge! We have a wide variety of whimsical characters as well as realistic scenery, floral images, scriptures and a small selection of digitally pre-coloured images. My digital doodles have a special place in my life, and I enjoy the opportunity to share them with everyone at affordable prices.”

Laurie is offering our grand prize winner 3 of her delightful digi images!!

And here's what I got to create with, Easter Egg Sheep Color. What a totally adorable way to wish someone a sweet Easter! I used one of the digital papers too that are included in the set. I keep my twine right on my desk (probably because I'm too lazy to put it away) so why not put it to use!! Actually, I'm lovin' using twine as of late. Now join us for another great sketch challenge and sponsor at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

On a personal note, I can't hold it in much longer, I am now a Design Team member of Doodle Pantry!! When I read Laurie's email that I was chosen, I bet she heard me scream all the way from Pittsburgh! Come back tomorrow, you'll get to see the new and fabulous release!!! I promise, you won't be disappointed!

Smile

Smile, it's a new day...and only 9 more days till Phillip and I leave for Disney World!!!! Yep, I am so excited, the days are going by much too slowly. Anyway, how did you like our 3 day blog hop at Fresh Brewed Designs? I love the new rubber stamps that were just released. I had to share a new card I made using Crafty Girl and Smile sentiment. Stampin' in your jammies, how fabulous is that!! And look how clean and organized her desk and shelves are! I finally cleaned up my desk and found my mojo in the mess...no, not my kitty Mojo but my crafting mojo. I also found this paper that was part of the special deal with the rubber release. Guess I should have cleaned up sooner so I could have used my paper for the blog hop!!! Oh well.

New Rubber at Fresh Brewed Designs

The BIG MOMENT has arrived...
the one we have ALL BEEN WAITING for...

Fresh Brewed Designs FIRST Rubber Stamp Release for 2012!

And we are celebrating with a three day hop, so you will have until February 27th to get in on the fun!

If you are getting here from Rhonda's blog, then you are right on track.

If not you will need to go back to the start of our hop at the blog of our very own Fresh Brewed Designs artist and designer, Heather.

She also has a lot of fun and useful information for you that you will NOT want to miss! So be sure to go back and start there.

We have been so excited about sharing these new stamps with you!

I chose to create with Work It Work Out Girl for my project.

I'd like to take credit for being Heather's model for this girl, but unfortunately I can't...Hehe!! But I do love working out, I do it 4 times a week. My joints let me know sometimes when I've over done it though - darn, I hate getting old!! Now Work It Work Out Girl is holding a newly released iPod that doesn't need ear buds -- well that's my story because I tried drawing ear buds and totally ruined my first stamped image!! An artist I am not!!!

Heather is having a special deal on the NEW stamps and other goodies for this release.

You can get this special package for $20. That is a savings of $10!!!

You can only get this package for this price during the hop { last day is Feb. 27th}

Find out more about this deal in the shop HERE

It is now time for you to hop on over to the next hop stop at Kenzie's blog.

I'm sure you're eager and excited to see what she has created!

Thank you so much for stopping by today.
Have a very HAPPY day!

How Kind

Wow, I can't believe it's our 20th challenge at Paper Lovin' Gals! Thanks to you we have seen so many wonderful creations!! And here's another one for you...what inspires you from this lovely photo?

I love the flowers and all the variegated colors. Nature simply can do no wrong!! I concentrated on the bright pink and yellow colors and tried with all my might to replicate it on my flower, a digital stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps called Calendula. I also liked the blue background but ended up making mine a little more subdued and just as an accent. Now play along and show us what inspires you at Paper Lovin' Gals, there's a prize up for grabs too for the winner!!!!!!!

Getting Ready for St. Patty's Day

If you're looking for my Fresh Brewed Designs post, please scroll down.
Happy Wednesday! Like I said yesterday, I have to keep reminding myself of what day it is because of Monday being a holiday - totally threw me off my groove. But now that I know it's Wednesday, I get to show off our latest sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. Talk about fabulous! And even more fabulousness is our sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps. The winner of this challenge will receive 7 free digis of their choosing. Talk about WOW!

Here's everything you wanted to know about Bugaboo Stamps but were afraid to ask:

As if raising five children in the frozen land of the North was not enough of a challenge, Jodie Mackrell decided to dip her cold little Canadian toes into the world of papercrafting by opening an online store full of her illustrations. That was two years ago. Today Bugaboo Stamps is one of the leading companies in digital images, and we're still growing! From seriously snarky to sugary sweet to sublimely soulful all the way over to the other side of the super sexy spectrum, you're bound to find all that you need and more to create your paper projects. Jodie works very hard to provide New Releases and Freebies every week!

If your taste runs to rubber (and you know who you are), you can find Bugaboo Stamps stamps at Totally Stampalicious. And finally, join the Bugaboo Stamps DT for weekly challenges at Catch the Bug.

Here's my card using the "I wanna be just like her when I get old" Stella Calendar Months - March. The quote comes with it!!! That's what made me snicker!! And it's the wonderful sketch that made making this card so fun fabulous!! Now pull out your stamps or digis and join us at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

Ready for the Sunshine State

As you can tell from my blog, I am anxiously counting down the days to my trip to Disney World. I just checked the 10 day forecast and 80's seems to be the trend!!! I can definitely handle that!!! The thoughts of warm sunny days was in my head when I created my card for the new fun challenge over at the Fresh Brewed Blog, Double Up and use two of something. First of all, my image is a Fresh Brewed Designs rubber stamp, Luau Party. I wanted to use a rubber stamp to remind you our new rubber stamp release blog hop coming up this Saturday thru Monday, Feb. 25th - 27th. My 2 of something is two papers (Echo Park Splash), two buttons, two pearls, and two felt flowers. Be sure and join us for this fun challenge this week, we always love to see what you create.

Wishing You a Wonderful Day

I am wishing you all a wonderful day. Things are back on track now that the kids are back in school! I'll be a little confused though on what day of the week it is (today's Tuesday - I have to keep telling myself that!!). Being Tuesday I wanted to show you a just for fun card I made for the Fresh Brewed Blog. I used a Fresh Brewed Designs rubber stamp called La Dolce Vita. Both her top and pants are paper pieced (the brown is the back side of the red/white flowers). I used up the rest of that 6 x 6 piece by making it my top layer -- no scraps!!!! A simple layout but fun! I wanted to use a FBD rubber stamp to remind you of this month's rubber release blog hop February 25, 26, and 27.

Be sure and mark your calendar for this fun event! Now I could tell you what's being released, I'm very easily bribed!! Just send chocolate!!!!!!! Hehehehe!!

Stella Sketch #4

Great sketch, isn't it. Every other Sunday Catch the Bug Challenge Blog has a new sketch and they sure are great ones! My fingers are crossed every time to win some free Bugaboo images!!

And here's my card using the $1 zebra Bugaboo digital found HERE - yep, I said one dollar!! Not only was I inspired by the sketch, but also from the colors we used in the Clear Dollar Stamps blog hop from yesterday. Be sure and hop for the chance at a wonderful prize...just check out my post from yesterday. For my card, I used some of those blasted scraps that I swear multiply when I'm not looking!!! I left off the sentiment, figured I'd wait till I knew what I was going to use this card for.

Have a great Monday. Brian and Phillip are off college touring, Case Western Reserve in Cleveland to be exact. Hard to believe he's going to be a senior next year!! YIKES!

It's a CDS Blog Hop Today

Hello and welcome to our monthly blog hop at Clear Dollar Stamps. If you arrived from Sara's blog, Sara's Sugar and Spice, then you're on the right track. Be sure and start at the beginning at the CDS blog, Clearly iStamp, so you don't miss a thing. You will find lots of inspiration and by commenting along the way, a chance at a fabulous prize for one lucky winner, a $25 gift certificate for digital stamps at Clear Dollar Stamps.

Our theme this month, a childhood riddle - "What's Black and White and Red all over?" We get to interpret that as we please. For my card I used a recently released digi set called Hang in There. I adore this little bear! And what about the sentiment? Fabulous I say!! Such a fun card! And I got to use up another piece of scrap paper. I still haven't bought any new...but I don't know how much longer I can hold out!!!!!

I'm the last stop stop on our fun blog hop. Hope you enjoyed it and be sure to leave lots of comments. We'll announce our winner on Thursday on the CDS blog.

Happy Bear-day

I have a tendency to print off digital images and papers with no real plan in mind for them. Yesterday I was going thru my stack and found this cutie and these papers. He is Beary Cute from Doodle Pantry. Definitely not a fancy card but a much needed birthday card for sure! I'm off to spend more time in my stamp room today. With the trip coming up I am trying beyond words to get ahead of the game...I'll let you know how that goes!!!!

For You

Happy Friday!! I leave for Florida 3 weeks from today and the days are really dragging. Does that mean I'm anxious to go?? You bet it does!!!!!

Anyway, I wanted to share a card I made for the fabulous Seems a Little Sketchy challenge blog. Such a fun one! I had this image and paper, a colored digi from Clear Dollar Stamps called Loving Critters Color, already printed out, so why not use it! Something quick and cute. The ric rac is a die cut and I included two of my favorite embellies, pearls and sewing. Thanks for stopping by. What do you have planned for the weekend? So far here nothing, but I'm sure that will change!

Challenge all the Way!

Wow, I can't believe this is this is Thursday already which means a new photo inspiration challenge at Paper Lovin' Gals. I can't tell you how much fun I've been having with these photos! I never thought I was very good at creating a card based on a photo inspiration, but I've learned there's no right or wrong way, it's just the fun of creating it! What inspires you with our photo?

Right away, the colors popped out at me because they are different from what I would normally use. Second, my eye was drawn to the one framed pic of the single butterfly. I tried depicting that picture with mine, adding a little visual interest with the different embossed layers. A fun and simple card, but still with lots of layers, just the way I like it!! Now join us for some fun of your own at Paper Lovin' Gals.

Clear Dollar Stamps Digi Release

Yes, this is my FOURTH post today, so if you're looking for Sweet Sketch Wednesday, The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog and Fresh Brewed Designs, please scroll down.
Today is digital release day at Clear Dollar Stamps, and I couldn't be more excited to show you two of the many fabulous sets you can purchase. First of all, spring is in the air with You're My Peep. I used the pre-colored image here along with the two designer papers included in the set. This little chickie simply makes me say awwwwww. Now if you prefer stamps, it is also available in clear acrylic HERE.

Do you sometimes need a card of encouragement, just to let someone know to hang in there? Well this is the set that fits the bill. It's called Hang in There and beyond words adorable. You know I love using the colored version of digis, and this one comes in four different colors!!! I kept with a predominantly blue and white theme, using some scrap digi paper I had leftover from another project along with some pearls, CDS twine, and just a touch of sewing. I printed this bear off in all the colors so I am ready for more cute cards of encouragement.

Now I encourage you to go to the CDS blog, Clearly iStamp, to check out all the digi sets being released and all the wonderful projects from the lovely DT ladies. Hang in there and have a wonderful day.

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

If you're looking for my Sweet Sketch Wednesday and Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog posts, please scroll down.
My oldest son Phillip and I leave in 20+ days for Disney World where it's gonna be sunny and magical! So how appropriate our challenge this week at the Fresh Brewed Blog, Red Hot. Now I went a different direction with this challenge. Instead of it being right after Valentine's Day and thinking red, I leaned more in the direction of HOT by using this Fresh Brewed Designs image, Desert Fiesta. And with our vacation on my mind, I am going hot, hot, hot all the way baby!!! Mind you, there is some red in this card, it's just not in the fore front. Join us this week for a fun challenge that is Red Hot!

Stan the Fishin' Man!

If you're looking for my Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog post, please scroll down.
Have you ever made a change for what you thought was for the good, only to realize you might have made a mistake? Well we here at Sweet Sketch Wednesday have felt by doing right by our sponsors and asking for players to use those images has caused us to lose some very valuable followers. Realizing this, the bosses have decided to go back to the way it was and what made our challenge blog so popular, allowing players to use whatever image they wanted to use. Now here is the fun sketch that you get to play with! Isn't it great?!! I know you'll love it.

Every month the sweet Sally Ann from Digi Stamp Boutique sponsors us...thank you so much for your generosity Sally Ann!! Up for grabs to our big winner is 6 images of your choice from Digi Stamp Boutique.

And here's my card I get to share with you. I'm always drawn to the masculine images and Fishing Stan was a "had to have" for me!! I pulled out Basic Grey's Boxer paper pad for this one cause I simply loved the colors, very manly! I'm playing in a couple challenges with this card. First, the monthly challenge at the Digi Stamp Boutique Blog - use a DSB image. Secondly the Love to Create challenge - buttons and bows. Be sure and share the news of the changes at Sweet Sketch Wednesday, and know that we'd love for you to join us.

Hello Sweet Friend

Hello and welcome to our monthly challenge over at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog. We have two fabulous things going on...first our color challenge of purple, pink and red. Then our sponsor - A Day for Daisies. All you have to do is create a project using these three colors and post it to our blog. One lucky winner will receive a $12 gift certificate from A Day for Daisies to go shopping in their store. How fun!!! I was lucky enough to be able to use this darling image, Tiny Pixie Rose. I simply pulled some scraps out of my bin and got this card to come together. Of course I had to add some sewing and my new found love, twine. Be sure and play along, we'd love to see your creations.

Peace and Far Out

Hey! Here's the skinny. Fresh Brewed Designs has been preparing something totally funkadelic. I mean, it is RAD man. I am totally diggin' it and know you will too.

First, you have to make sure you ain't trippin' and are starting at the right pad. Your first stop is at Heather's Coffee Break. If you are getting here from Gale's blog, Playing With Paper, Again, then you are right on track man!

We have all been so stoked about this hop! The team and our jive guests have created some projects that are out of site! I mean they are totally off the hook bro! So get down and boogie with us.. feel tha funk and get ready for some total SWEETNESS!

Peace and love to you! My card uses the coolest image Far Out as well as one of the grooviest sentiments. All these new images can be found HERE in the Fresh Brewed store. I used the Basic Grey paper pack Lime Rickey as my inspiration for color since the patterns reminded me of my hippie days!!

Far Out right? It is time to take this party to the next stop. Boogie on down to Stacies's blog, Hestia's Helper, and check out her hip to the groove creation. Be sure to leave a bit of love on each hop stop for your chance to win all of the digis released today!

Peace Man! I will catch you on the flip side!

Just Because

I'm happy to be feeling better now. I felt really icky Friday, actually slept most of the day away. So glad whatever it was is now gone. I got into my stamp room this evening for some card making, just because. Bugaboo Stamps is sponsoring a color challenge at Chocolate, Coffee, & Cards - orange, teal and brown. Of course I had to use a Bugaboo image, Hummingbird Vase. Aren't these colors wonderful together?!! I love 'em! Kept the layout simple with a some brads and my favorite embellishment, sewing.

I hope to see you on Monday for our Groovy Blog Hop at Fresh Brewed Designs. Mark your calendar.

The Crafter's Cafe Blog Hop

We are having a GIANT Blog Hop to celebrate our new team at The Crafter's Cafe.

You should have arrived here from Karen's Blog. If not, please be sure and start at the beginning HERE, you won't want to miss a thing.

At the end of the hop, you have a chance to win a prize package generously donated by Fresh Brewed Designs. Here's a picture of that awesome prize package...

WOW, 3 rubber stamps!!!! How fun!!!

Now while you're here, you'll need to pick up your "CLUE" for a chance to win the Fresh Brewed Designs prize!

MY CLUE IS: U

We're having a big, grand opening party at The Crafter's Cafe

all day tomorrow

with lots of games and sponsors. Here's a card I made using an image from one of our sponsors...

It's a Fresh Brewed Designs image recently released for Valentine's Day called Valentine Sweetheart. I paper pieced the heart using a free paper pack that came with a stamping magazine I got awhile back. The sentiment is also from Fresh Brewed Designs, and can be found HERE. I went on a bit of a shopping spree too and bought some new twine - I LOVE IT!!

Now come on over to the party for a chance to win all kinds of great prizes

from all of our amazing sponsors... get to know our new team... and check out the new look!!

All the games and events will be listed here at The Crafter's Cafe.

Your next stop on the hop is Beth's Blog.

Be Mine

So tell me, what inspires you with this photo? That's our challenge each week at Paper Lovin' Gals. It's so much fun seeing what everyone comes up with, so be sure to join us.

Color, the blocks, and the sentiment were my inspiration (guess that pretty much covers the whole photo!! Hehehe!!). I'm always trying to embrace the simpler side of card making and that's exactly what this one is. I only wish I had added some texture to the red or white panel by running it thru an embossing folder. Next time!! I'm involved in a swap over at Splitcoast Stampers so maybe I'll use this idea since it really was so quick to make. Now like I said, join us for some photo fun at Paper Lovin' Gals.

Sending Some Love Your Way

If you're looking for my Fresh Brewed Designs post, please scroll down.

Hello and welcome to another fabulous Sweet Sketch Wednesday. We really appreciate you our followers as well as our sponsors. Our rules have changed and I know change is hard. We are here to provide inspiration for your crafting so please still play along even if you do not have an image from our sponsor for that week. You will simply not be eligible for the grand prize, but instead you'll have a wonderfully crafted card to be proud of. The sketch for this week is a blast from the past, so have fun with it!!

Our wonderful sponsor this week is The Stamping Boutique. What a fabulous array of images!! Here's a bit about The Stamping Boutique and its owner, Tracey Malnofski:

Tracey Malnofski's resume reads like a who's who of the Stamping Industry. Besides being the owner and a designer for The Stamping Boutique, she's also a stamp artist for Unity Stamp Company and has also worked for InStyle Stamps, Squigglefly, and The Digi Shack. She's a professional artist and an active member of the Artist' Guild in her community.Tracey has quite a busy household with a husband, 3 teenagers, 5 mini-dachshunds and an Appaloosa mare. It's noisy, but she loves them all. Her "Boutique" has it all - fairytale, whimsy, sentimental . . . and Candy!

Here's what Tracey says about her Stamping Boutique. "The Stamping Boutique" is dedicated to quality products and original artwork. We not only provide wonderful digital images in our store, but also several lines of red rubber images. Our designers are chosen for their character and personality, as well as, their beautiful designs. We work hard to give you our very best. Thank you so much for having us as your sponsor this week.

We are honored to have you as our sponsor! The Stamping Boutique is offering 3 digis of choice to our Grand Prize Winner.

I was thrilled when I was able to work with Winter Time Smoochie. I pulled this bright and cheery plaid paper from my scrap bin and went with it to color Smoochie with my Copics. I don't tend to use brights that often so it was a blast to pull 'em out!!! We really hope you will join us this week at Sweet Sketch Wednesday.

I Love U Cupcakes

YUM!!! Check out these delicious cupcakes!! Let me take a minute to savor before telling you about our Fresh Brewed Challenge...................................................
Okay, okay, I'm done! This week we are having a photo inspiration challenge. What inspires you about this pic? Well make a card and join us this week!!

Of course the cupcakes were in the forefront of inspiration for me, followed by the colors and "I Love U" sentiment. I used from Fresh Brewed Designs this fun digi called Sweetheart Cupcake and the sentiment is from a set found HERE. The colors I used were browns, purples, pinks and reds. And the red sparkly embellishments are stickers -- they're fabulous because they give a bit of sparkle with absolutely no bulk at all. Great for mailing. I hope you can join us this week at the Fresh Brewed Blog and show us your delicious inspiration.

I'm Crazy for You

I must admit, I'm sad that football is over. As a family we would have a football pool, picking winners from every game that week, and whoever had the most wins got to pick where we would get take out for dinner! Talk about a win/win situation for me!!!!! Well now the fun is over and I'm back to doing all the cooking again.

My card was inspired by my team, the Pittsburgh Steelers and their black and gold. And what better to be black and gold than a bumble bee! This particular digital image from Fresh Brewed Designs, called Bee Happy Flower, is one of the Cancer Awareness Items available for purchase at Fresh Brewed Designs. "All proceeds of this image will go to creating baskets and card sets to be sent to local hospitals in hopes to bring smiles and cheer to children who have and are being treated for cancer." An adorable image for a worthy cause.

Special Today at Fresh Brewed Designs

So who else watched the Super Bowl last night? I didn't think I would since my team wasn't in it, but I ended up sitting thru the whole thing!! Was even a little bit late leaving to pick up Phillip from work...OOPS!

Today is the first Monday of the month so that means a "Special Brew" happening at Fresh Brewed Designs. This darling little rubber stamp, Cutie Pie in Clouds, will be $3.95 today only!! Hurry up and order yours today!

Shocking news here, I don't have Cutie Pie in Clouds, but I wanted to show you a card using a cutie stamp that I do have, Cutie Pie Swinging. I paper pieced her dressed making her all ready for spring. I am submitting this card to Birthday Sundaes -- their challenge is a birthday card with sentiment.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday.

Howdy

Howdy partner! It's Super Bowl Sunday and I still don't have a menu figured out. The most I have ready are chicken wings. We always eat the "not so good for you" but "oh so delicious" foods for the Super Bowl. I set up a table in the living room and we park our butts on the couch in front of the big screen TV and eat!! I don't know what else to have!! I'll come up with something.

Here's my card for the Doodle Pantry Challenge. Check it out because if you submit a project using a Doodle Pantry image, you receive and adorable digi set called Cocoa Cup Ants FREE!! I can't wait to get my hands on that one!! The image I used is called Cowboy Birdie. The fabulous paper also comes in this set. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the pre-colored digis and coordinating papers!! I got this card done in no time!