DYSU Challenge #64 - PLAID!

Winner's Choice of 3 Digital Images

Winner's Choice of 4 Digital Images

A "Toodle Club Membership" and a Toodle Birthday Calendar

My project started out as a card. Quickly, I decided that with this adorable little guy's image from Crafty Sentiments,

I would be missing out on a great opportunity to create a

Summer Memory book for my grandson.

Being a beginner with Copics markers,
I had quite a challenge with the hair on this image.

I was far from happy with the way it looked, so I dampened a terry cloth with the Alcohol Blending solution and dabbed his head a bit.  He's hot, so I figured his hair would be damp, also.  It may not be visible in the photo.

I also dabbed the fan with some dotted cloth to make it appear more textured.

Since I have no pictures to add just yet, I finished up the remaining pages in co-ordinating papers and added some little Summer stamps.

I am including photos of only two of the pages, as the pictures didn't come out very well anyway. But you get the idea.

Once I fill it with photos of Hayden having a great summer,

it will be one of his favorite mini albums!

Check out the rest of the Design Team's projects!
Plaid is so much fun to play with!

I have been awarded!

I have been so sweetly awarded the

This award is for bloggers with less than 200 followers, to

 bring attention to their blog and help increase their

followers. So I am passing this award on to five worthy bloggers and would love

 for you to visit them and become a Follower or at least leave them some love!

The blogger version of "pay it forward"!

Here are the Rules:

1. Show you're thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

Thank you, Denise!

Please check out Denise's blog! It's divine!

2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the supportive people out there in Blog Land!

5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love!

The five blogs I visit regularly and have chosen for this award are listed below. Please hop over to their beautiful sites and take a look around.

 Some of these names you are probably already familiar with!

1.  Wenche (Wenche's Papirkaos)
2.  Lori Barnett (Stamp Scents)
3.  Naomi (Paper Bag Princess)
4.  Marcy (The Ardent Scrapper)
5.  Pauline (Craft Obsession)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Welcome to the Waltzing Mouse Blog Party!

Nobody knows how to celebrate St. Patrick's Day like Claire at "the Mouse"!

I know we all get excited at the prospect of green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and kissing strangers in the pub, (ok, I may be telling on myself here) but there are some of us who have Irish ancestors and we take this time to remember and appreiciate where we came from.

My Paternal Grandmother was half Irish.

She passed away when I was only a teenager, and I never knew her very well.

My father knows little about his family's history.

So, I wanted to take a more serious approach to my celebration.

I printed this beautiful image from the Waltzing Mouse blog, colored it, and decided to use it for more than just a card front.

I had found a recipe for Irish Shortbread and thought it would be nice to copy it onto a recipe card to keep with my shamrocks.

Then, wanting to share the image after spending hours coloring it, I made this card. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Claire!

I hope everyone has a great time today hopping around.

Remember, today we are ALL Irish!

Be safe, be happy, and be green!

(Consider yourself PINCHED!)

This card is also entered in the sketch challenge this week at Waltzing Mouse!
(Flip the sketch on it's side, of course!)

The cutest video ever!

If you don't do anything else in the next 24 hours,

click on the link below to see Webster's Pages' newest video!  Absolutely adorable! And all that wonderful goodness at Webster's! 

http://vimeo.com/mynoveltree/websterspagesnowshipping

DYSU Challenge #63

This week we have three sponsors:

Winner's Choice of 3 Digis

$10 gift certificate

Petal Point Options Pad

Not only did I use my favorite colors, but I used my favorite materials...

DCWV papers (Le Creme) and a $1 stamp from Michael's! 

It always thrills me when I see an image and then challegne myself to make a card from something so small and simple!

I decided to go through my cards I've made over the last 3 years and count how many I used RED on as a primary color...

well, I made it up to 37 and then recalled that some I hadn't posted and had sent out without photos.  So, there you have it.  My favorite color is most definately

RED!
Here are some of my other past projects that show my passion for RED!

Now, go over to the Do You Stack Up blog, and show us YOUR favorite colors!

Wearin' o' the green!

My CAS card for St. Patrick's Day!

The real luck was in finding this adorable stamp in the Dollar bin at Michael's! 

Same with the pretty glittered ribbon!  SCORE!

I have to admit that I'm still not sure about the whole "stache" movement, but seems appropriate in this case!

Entered in the challenges at:
Simon Says Stamp (Green)
Sassy Cheryl (Green)

Birthdays are like purses...

This week, the challenge at Skipping Stones offered the perfect sketch opportunity!

I think you'll agree that this graphic layout is perfect for this stamp and sentiment!

So very classic!

I had so much fun making this card!

And, as always, my purse and belt are my favorite colors!  Black and RED!

I added the silver accents to put it over the top!

I own a gorgeous bright red purse, but rarely have the nerve to use it.

I guess I have a RED girl on the inside, struggling to get out!

Speaking of the inside:

Enjoy your day!

This card is also entered into the challenge at:

Totally PaperCrafts ( Show a favorite, Favorite Colors- Red & Black!))

Runway Inspired Challenge (reds and black!)

Little Frieda

I absolutely love this little Craft's Meow gal!  

She is so easy to paper-piece and has so much personality!

(I used DCWV's "Tradewinds" matstack)

To enter this week's sketch challenge, I have her vacationing on yet another beach...

My favorite part of this card?

Her little toes in the "sandy beach" with those adorable tiny shells!

I had to dig into my vacation goodies to find these shells from Rocky Point, Mexico!
I had them in a little jar under my bathroom sink! (Go figure!)

Thanks for joining me today!

Can you tell I'm ready for those Summer trips to the West coast?

Check out the challenge at Craft's Meow !

Also, this card has been entered the challenge at Clear It Out (the seashells)

DYSU Challenge #62- Go Green!

This week we have three sponsors:

Winner's Choice of 4 Images

Winner's Choice of 10 Digis

Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

Here's my card:

To say it's not my favorite is an under-statement! I colored the image twice, and still felt like the brights were too "in your face".  I know, it's for Easter, but I should have stuck to light pastels. But, I felt those wouldn't show up in a picture very well.

I even washed over the entire image with my Copics W3 to tone it down a bit.

I DO love the Stamping Boutique image!

I split the image in Photoshop so that I could layer the fairy OVER the basket, therefore giving the illusion of her dropping the egg into it!

I think I may have over-thunk this one! LOL!

This image was terrific practice coloring the basket!

Inside reads:

Well, get onto the rest of the Design Team!  I know they have some fantastic projects to show you!  And enter to win with your own card creation!

Go Green!

Another Flashback Friday!

    This flashback takes us all back to our first PAPER-PIECED project!

I don't know for sure if it's my very first, but it's the first I posted on my blog!

I made this card for a high school friend who I hadn't seen in ages!

Need I say more?

2009

I think we really wore those pants back in the day (circa 1973)

My Copic skills have improved somewhat since then...

Entered in:

Flashback Friday Challenge



Flourish Timeless Tuesday

I made this card today for the challenge at Flourishes. 

I love their photo inspirations!

I was so thrilled that this image came out as well as it did! You see,  #1- I'm just a beginner with the Copics markers. #2- I broke every rule in the book by coloring on basic cardstock paper!  While experimenting, I noticed that the ink actually blends rather well on this highly porous tan paper! Agreed, you have to work pretty fast, but I like the way the greens and yellows meld together.

I used a heat embossed chicken wire stamp for the background and added bits of doily here and there.  The twine holds a "key" from Tim Holtz' collection.

I know you hear it all the time, but the background cardstock is EXACTLY the same shade of GREEN as the leaves on the pears!

What DOES my camera do with the colors?  I even photographed it in natural light.

Thanks for looking at  my project today!