Easy Peasy-NOT!

My girls and I were having a lazy day today.  I was trying to make a quick thank you card with my 3 girls, crayons, markers, colored pencils, coloring books and sleeping bags on my floor.  Needless to say, it did not make it easy for me to focus on what I was doing as one is calling out for Chartreuse, etc., but I sure did have a lot of fun with them singing show tunes and coloring.  It's moments like these I live for.

So with my Mojo running on the songs of The Sound of Music soundtrack and Crayola, this is what I came up with for the Wacky Wednesday Challenge at Bugaboo's Stamp's group on the CDAC this week which is to NOT use designer papers and add 3 Buttons.  I based the color combo on this week's color challenge over at The Outlawz which is Red, Blue and Green.  I tried faux stitching with a souffle pen for the first time, so be easy on me ;) 

Recipe:
Medium:  Copic Markers
Image:  Bugaboo Stamps
Sentiment:  TLC
Souffle Pen in White
Ribbon and buttons in stash

Challenges:
The Outlawz - 6/21 Color Challenge (Red, Green & Blue)
Bugaboo Stamps - Wacky Wednesday Challenge #7

Sailing

"Just a dream and the wind to carry me, and soon I will be free"
Christopher Cross, Sailing

Unfortunately I was unable to see my Dad on Father's Day this year.  He's been battling sinus infection after sinus infection for weeks now, and was just way to sick to come to our house or have any company.  It's been kind of a rough year on him all the way around- he was in and out of the hospital, and lost his one leg to complications from Diabetes.  There is one thing about my Dad though - he never gives up.  One might say he's a little too stubborn for his own good ;)  Now with his prosthesis, he can actually walk faster than I can ;) 

The color challenge over at the CDAC  is being hosted by Tiffany Doodles and is offering the cutest little sailboat for your creations for free if you play along.  The color palette for this challenge chosen by Tiffany is: 



I just love these gorgeous shades of blue, don't you??  I had a sentiment already in my arsenault from TLC to match my Father's tenacity and this adorable sailboat image (which Dad would love to have someday).  I merged the word art from TLC with one of Meljen's Designs freebies, Little Stitched Cloud, printed out two copies and popped up the top cloud for dimension, although I'm not so sure you can see it in the picture.



No matter what the wind blows, my Dad always adjusts and keeps going; and I truly admire him for that.

Recipe:
Medium:  Copic Markers (B99, B95, E50, E31 and E57)
Main Image:  Tiffany Doodles
Add'l Image:  Little Stitched Cloud by Meljen's Designs
Sentiment:  TLC
Paper:  Bazzill Textured Brights cs and Making Memories Fresh Anthology Collection - Eliza
Colorbox Pigment Ink in Sky Blue

Challenges:
Stamptacular Sunday - Fun in the Sun
Pollycraft Challenges -Travel/Holiday
Craft Us Crazy - RW&B and/or Summer
Delightful Challenges - Fun in the Sun
FabnFunky - Summer Loving
The Sisterhood of Crafters - More Lovin' for the Men
Meljen's Designs-Stripes and/or Plaid

Swinging by....

Hi everyone!!!  Hope this finds you having a wonderful Wednesday!!  The hot and humid mess that has plagued Jersey for the past few days has finally broke into major rain storms.  I love the way the rain sounds hitting the window and it makes for such an awesome crafting day.  So I hauled up in my craft corner as the kids ran through the house pretending to be pirates and fairies; and opened the window to listen to the pitter patter as I finished distressing and cutting papers.  Nothing better.

My card today is for the open DT call going on now through June 27th at TLC.  If you love Paulette's gorgeous images and word art as much as I do, then you truly must head on over to her blog and get all the details on applying!



Isn't she gorgeous?!  I remember lovin' the swings as a little girl and the thrill of getting higher and higher with the wind underneath me - oh, and out-swinging my little brother, of course, lol. 

I based my card on the sketch MMSC109 over at Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Blog, for which this card is being entered as well.

Recipe:

Medium:  Copic Markers and Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils

Image:  Vintage How High by TLC

Sentiment:  Swinging by to say hi by TLC

Papers:  DCWV Old World Stack & Nicole Vintage pps

Paper, image, sentiment and doily distressed in Making Memories Distress Ink

Prima Flowers and Close to My Heart self-adhesive pearls

Challenges:

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge -MMSC109 Your Pick
Crafty Purple Frog Challenge - My Favorite Things (used Pearls)
The Pixie Cottage - Sketch and/or Outdoor Fun
Hooked On Craft Challenges - Anything Goes
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Digi Design House - Pearls and Lace

Your Day to Shine

The new round of challenges at the CDAC are underway and Guylou's Inimitability is hosting the Other Challenge!!  The challenge is The Three B Girly Girl Recipe Challenge.  Well I don't know about you, but after all those Dad's Day cards, I was totally in the mood for something girly!!!  Your creation must have bling, a bow and some buttons.

I kept with the patriotic theme as I imagined cutie patootie Dorothy holding her little Sparkler waiting for the fireworks!

If you play along, Guylou is giving away this image, Dorothy with Sparkler for free AND you have a chance to win a $10 gift card to Guylou's Inimitability Store!!   I hope this has inspired you to come by and play along with us !! 

Recipe:

Image:  Dorothy with Sparkler by Guylou's Inimitability

Sentiment:  TLC

Medium:  Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils

Papers:  Bazzill Brights Textured cs

Digi Papers:  Celebrate by Shabby Princess

Chipboard Stars:  Close to My Heart

Stardust Stickles on Sparkler

Challenges:

DYSU - Use a Star
Spoonfull of Sugar - Ribbons & Bows

Stamping Scrapping Challenge - Red White & Blue
Ribbon Carousel - Color your World and Ribbon
Corrosive Challenge Blog - Ribbons and Bows
House of Gilli - Ribbons and  Bows
Crafts4Eternity - Embellies with R
Sentimental Sundays - Sparkly or Shimmery

Meljen's - Red, White & Blue

I'm sweet :)

It was a bit of a hectic morning - neverending loads of laundry and getting 3 girls ready to go to the pool.  Need I say more??  But then I got this little heads up from a good friend of mine, Starla, that I had a nice little surprise on her blog :)  I met Starla over at Guylou's Inimitability's group at the CDAC and she is just the sweetest gal you'll ever talk to - and mad talented, too!  I'm sure she'd love for you to stop on by, take a look around, and say hi!  Click here to go and visit Starla's blog!

My surprise was this "sweet" little award that I am thrilled to receive and honored that Starla would think of me!!  Thank you so much sweetie!!!  Mmmm, looks so yummy, too ;)

Part of receiving the award requires you to share 7 things about yourself and then pass it along to 8 other bloggy friends that you find Irresistibly Sweet :).  Here are my 7:

1.  I looooooove coffee.  Drink it in the morning, drink it at night...and I have a humungo container of cinnamon by my machine so I can sprinkle some in with every cup to make it extra yummy!

2.  I say I'm dreading the teenage years with all my girls, but I'm secretly looking forward to them growing up and us all doing big girl things together :)

3.  I actually love Jack's Big Music Show on Nick Jr. and get upset when my girls refuse to watch it!

4.  I would give my right arm for a 2nd honeymoon with my hubby since we haven't vacationed since our 1st!

5.  I abhor scary movies.  I'm a big scaredy cat and I am willing to admit it, lol.  If I actually try to sit thru one, I won't be able to shower without the curtain drawn for like a week - no lie.

6.  I love my wax warmer and having some kind of vanilla-y, coconutty, buttery goodness wafting thru the air especially while crafting :)

7.  Going to Paris, drinking wine, and eating bread and cheese at a outside cafe is on my bucket list.

Phew!  LOL, that was harder than I thought!  Ok, now onto the 8 women I feel deserve this award.  This is super hard too because so many friends I've "met" through this crafting blogworld are so deserving of it so how do you narrow it down to 8?   Nonetheless, here are my picks!:

1.  Kim - It's All About Crafting

2.  Brenda - Brenscraps

3.  Trina - Trina Makes Stuff

3.  Dorcas - Dorcas Designs

4.  Faye - Stampin' Fluffnstuff 

5.  Cheryl - She Stamps

6.  Karen - KraftyKaren's Blog Spot

7.  Chris - Chris' Crafty Creations from the Corner

8.  Roxann - Three R Girls Scrap

Thank you ladies for your friendship and your inspiration!!

Sweet Summertime Challenge

Morning guys and gals!!  We've all made it through another week, and thankfully, we're heading into a glorious summer weekend.  And what better way to start another weekend then with a challenge over at Guylou's Inimitability hosted by my "sweet" friend and teamie, Gina!!! 

Gina's theme for this challenge is Sweet Summertime!!  You just gotta take a minute and hop on over to her blog and see her summerlicious creation!  For your creations, the word "sweet" must be visible on the face of the card (not the inside!!) and should have something to do with summer and/or warm weather i.e. the beach, sun, sand, picnic, summery foods like ice cream or watermelon, bathing suits, flip flops.

I decided to use the image, Leah eating Watermelon, my new favorite from Guylou's and merged it with the image offered as the stamp of the month from Designed2Delight called Spring Fence.  The awesome sentiment is by my other sweet friend and teamie, Tracy S., which is available in the Guylou's Inimitability Store!! 

I imagine Leah enjoying family and friends in her backyard with this hock of watermelon, and greeting guests at her garden gate.  She's tended to her garden all day and is now enjoying the warm summer sun and the people she loves the most.

So I hope this has inspired you to play along with us and show us your sweet summery creations!   You have plenty of time to play along since the challenge doesn's end until June 30th at 10p.m.!  The winner wins the "sweet" prize of becoming Guest Designer for an upcoming challenge AND is awarded a $5 gift certificate from Guylou's Inimitablity Store!!!!

Recipe:
Medium:  Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils
Images:  Leah eating Watermelon from Guylou's Inimitability & Spring Fence by Designed2Delight
Sentiment:  Tracy S. available at Guylou's
Paper:  K& Company Happy Trails,  DCWV Mat Stack Brights

Challenges:
Stamp Something - Pretty Papers
Totally Papercraft Challenge - Die Cuts or Punches
Southern Girls - Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes
Bearly Mine Challenges - Anything Goes
Whimsy Doodles - To Die For

Beach Goddess

Hi friends!!!  My oldest had her last day of school today which officially marks the summer season for us here at our house.  Hooray!!  No more making lunches, homework, projects and early mornings scrambling for outfits!  To celebrate, I felt I needed to make a card for her - it's been kind of a rough year for her with the move, but she did exceedingly well with all the changes and managed to come home with straight A's!!  I really couldn't have asked for a better daughter and I'm so proud of her!!

I had gotten this image from a sweet friend of mine awhile back and hadn't done anything with it - thought it would be perfect.  Jimmy Buffett and Jimi Hendrix lent some inspiration as I was coloring it and it took me back to a place with tall umbrella drinks and warm sand between my toes - lazy days at the beach with nothing to do but work on my tan. 

Looking at it now, I'm not sure that I will actually give this one to her (I'm a little old fashioned and still believe in pigtails, lol).  I'm thinking I might just keep it to say hi to a friend instead. ;)

Recipe:
Medium:  Watercolor Pencils
Image:  Beachy Bratz (coloring page found on the net)
Sentiment:  TLC
Papers:  Bazzill Textured Bright cs and Close to My Heart Moon Doggie Paper Pack
Bo Bunny Candy Jewels
Glossy Accents (on mouth)
White Souffle Pen (eyes and jewelry)

Challenges:
Tip Top Tuesday - Open Challenge
Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes
Paper Sundaes - Girly Girl