KL Stampin' and Scrappin' Sketch Challenge

This is my entry for this week's KL Stampin' and Scrappin' Challenge.  I used a cute little Stampavie stamp from Rachelle Anne Miller called Giving Shelter for my card.  The yellow cs is from Gina K and it is her pure luxury line in sweet corn.  The green cs is SU Kiwi Kiss.  The cute yellow dotted paper is from the Farm Fresh Collection by October Afternoon (lovin' it) and the other patterned paper is from a DCWV stack, I believe, don't quote me on that as it was a scrap piece I had left over.  I colored the image with copics and then added lots of glitter.  The green gingham ribbon is from American Crafts and I added some skittles to finish it off.  Hope you like it!

A Sad Farewell to Freckles....

Before I start rambling...if you are looking for the Sew Many Cards Blog Hop...go to the next post down.  I made this card in honor of a sweet, mischievous, kid loving horse named Freckles.  A very long story that I won't go into about how Freckles came into our lives but....he was a horse with so much personality that he reminded you of Mr. Ed (if anyone else is old enough to know the horse I'm referring to).  Freckles was with us for about 3 years moving with us from VA to SD.  I specifically remember one night that I was mucking out his stall while he roamed the aisleway of the barn and he was not happy that he had been in his stall so much at that time because of some treatment to his hooves.  So...he decided to take his nose and shut the cafe style stall door with me inside.   Well,  I thought it was kinda funny and opened the door back up and told him not to do that and went on cleaning.  The next thing I know he is taking his rump end and using it to push the door closed again....I'm sure he was telling me why don't you stay in there if you think it is so grand.  I also remember one day when we had just put out a brand new large round bale of hay....now...Freckles loved to eat so not much could distract him from a big hay bale but....we were working in the pasture and the boys got cold so they were going to go inside and Freckles left that bale of hay to follow them to the gate and then continued to wait at the gate until he saw them safely inside before he went back and joined the other horses at the bale.  I know many times if I were alone and called him to the fence he might or might not come depending on how hungry he was but no matter what if the boys were with me he would come trotting over.  He loved kids.  Sorry to ramble....the reason I'm sharing this with you is that when we moved to HI we opted to donate Freckles to a therapeutic riding academy in SD called Suncatchers.  He loved his job there and the kids loved him!  I am so sad to tell you that I got a message last week from Suncatchers that he had a horrible accident and had to be put to sleep.  So....I guess that is the reason I chose black and white for this card as it is a very sad card for me to make but I want to send it to the kids at Suncatchers as I know they fell in love with this big old guy, too.  Enough sad talk....I chose the CCEE Stampers challenge as it is a sketch and I wanted a jumping point off as I often do....Freckles was a big old gray with lots of freckles...hence the name so I just gave a little color with some of my gray copics and the coloring was done.  The stamp itself is from Serendipity stamps I believe.  Thanks for looking and letting me share a little of my life with you.

Sew Many Cards New Release Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the Sew Many Cards New Release Blog Hop!! We are so glad you could join us this week for a chance to see Angela's new releases and a chance at winning some great prizes!!! We'd like to say hello and welcome to all of our new followers, welcome back to all our supporters and a huge THANK YOU to all of you for a wonderful first month at our new challenge blog! Our sponsors this month are Wags N'Whiskers and Simon Says Stamps!

To win a $25 gift certificate to the Wags N' Whiskers Store and a new release stamp from Wags N' Whiskers you MUST comment on EACH design team members blog. We realize we have a large team, but it will be well worth the hop to see all of our team's great projects and our sponsors awesome prizes! Here is a little information about Lacey Stephens, owner of Stamp and Create and the donor of the above mentioned gift certificate:

I was a stay at home mom for 7 years so stamping was a great way for some "Mommy time". But after stamping for over 2 years, my hobby became my obsession...so my obsession became my dream! Now I own an on-line store! Stamp and Create is a new on-line story carrying many popular brands of stamps, paper, and embellishments including: Wags 'N Whiskers Rubber Stamps, High Hopes Stamps, Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, Whiff of Joy, Stampavie, Penny Black, The Greeting Farm, Basic Grey, 7 Gypsies, Shimmerz, Nestabilities (always 20% off), charms and more!! I am always adding new items to the store...so check it out at http://www.stampandcreate.com/.

Would you like to win a $10 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp and the ENTIRE line of Sew Many Cards new releases....then we have a special challenge this week for you during our blog hop...You will find all the details on the last stop of our hop!!

I am so excited to get to play with this new Duncan image! I think he is the cutest duckiest little ducky I've ever seen!!! I "lifted" my layout from this wonderful card here. If you haven't perused Laurie's blog - it is so worth the time as she makes some BEAUTIFUL cards. I used Microsoft Word to size my image to a height of 2.2" and then colored it with copics. I wanted a more distressed look to mine so I distressed the edges of the green layer which both that and the other patterned paper are from the Fancy Pants Happy Holidays pack. I used Gina K's pure luxury cardstock in sweet corn for my base and some green gingham ribbon from American Crafts for accent. I printed my sentiment from the computer using the Curlz MT font in 18 and after inking it up added some Memory Box gold pearl stickers.

Please stop by each of the design team members blogs and leave a friendly comment, and be sure to leave us an email or link to your blog when you finish the hop at our challenge blog! You should have arrived here from Ceal's blog - if so - then your next stop is Mary D's blog.
If you have lost your way along the hop here is the map:

Angela (Owner)

Jessica

Ceal

Me - you are here

Mary D.

Cheri

Suzanne

Melissa

Gwen

Maria L

Deanette

Jeri (SMC DT Coordinator)

Gloria M

Jeanette C

Audrey E

Kym W

Amber H

Kym B

Mary S

Sarabeth (SMC LO Coordinator)

Tink

Sherry L

Dawnn S

Michele L

Sarah

Patricia St. M

Tammy M

Sew Many Challenges Blog

Have fun hopping and don't forget to leave a comment on each DT member's blog as not only will it enter you in the above mentioned prizes but....you have a chance at winning each DT member's image that they are showcasing. Plus....everyone who makes it to the end of the hop wins as you can pick up the Friday Freebie there!!!

The Greeting Farm Relay Race Day #3 & Paper Take Weekly Challenge

So far so good....I have made it through the first 3 days only 2 more to go!!! This has been quite fun and very motivating! The Greeting Farm always has such cute images to work with!!! I used this week's Paper Take Weekly sketch challenge and this card came together pretty quickly. I'm also entering this in A Spoon Full of Sugar's challenge this week as it is an open challenge. I used some unknown minty green cardstock from my stash and some SU Chocolate Chip along with some Basic Grey and K&Co. patterned papers and added some ribbon from my stash (pretty sure it is left over from some Target $1 bin ribbon) and added a Making Memories birthday wishes tag. Hope you like it!!

Blog Candy!!

I was just blog hopping today and found this wonderful blog here and she just happens to be giving away some awesome blog candy!! This is one of the cute images - there are 3 Valentine girls and they are all 3 the cutest!!! Be sure to check it out and put your chance in to win one of these super cute images!

The Greeting Farm Relay Race Day #2 & Pink Elephant Challenge!

This is Charlotte - isn't she a cutie!! This is the 2nd digi image in the relay race over at The Greeting Farm (see more info in the post below). I hope to play all week! I wanted to play in the Pink Elephant Challenge also this week which is to use dots, a bow, and pink - well, I just couldn't help but combine these as they seemed perfect for each other! This card also fits the Crazy 4 Challenges Pretty in Pink Challenge this week and A Spoon Full of Sugar's open challenge! Hope you like it!!

The Greeting Farm Relay Race

The ladies over at The Greeting Farm blog have a wonderful relay race going on to keep us busy while we anxiously await news from CHA!! All you need to do is head on over to the blog here and pick up this cute digital image and make a project with him and post it in their gallery and then go and leave a comment on Monday's post with your email in the comment before Monday night at 6:00 pm. If you do this you will receive another digital image via email and you will need to make something with it and post it and leave a comment before Tuesday at 6:00 pm. This will continue all week and those who participate all 5 days will receive an extra digital image. If you fail to play each day then you will lose out and you cannot jump back in. They always have the cutest images and this little Mer Ian is so easy to work with. I just did a CAS card and it really didn't take me long at all to put it together.

Help for Haiti

Crissy Armstrong has designed this beautiful digital image strictly to help raise money for the Haitians! If you click on the link on my sidebar it will take you to her post telling how to donate and where to purchase this beautiful image. Plus....she has several wonderful prizes also so be sure to read the whole post and leave a comment! If you are a horse lover like me be sure to check out her recently released images as you will LOVE them! Hurry on over there as this image is only available for a limited time. ** I wish I could say I colored this but no, I didn't. I assuming Crissy did as I copied this right off of her blog. If you scroll through her blog you will see some awesome video tutorials on coloring with copics! She is awesome!

Sew Many Cards Friday Freebie using Mojo Monday Sketch!

This SWEET image is today's Friday FREEBIE!! Yes, you read that correctly SWEET FREEBIE!! Hurry on over here to pick yours up! I used this weeks Mojo Monday sketch found here for my card. My greeting is from the Sending My Love stamp set from There She Goes. You can buy it here. I embossed my sentiment in black, used my new fiskars edger punch, added some ribbon and a button and there it is! Easy Peasy! Hope you like it! Be sure to check the prior post for this weeks challenge at Sew Many Challenges!

Sew Many Challenges - Color Challenge!

This week's challenge over at Sew Many Challenges is a color one (purple, white with a splash of black). You can use any colors on your image, though. I don't use purple very often so I had to dig through my stash and I did fine these classic dots and checks in purple - sorry, don't know the manufacturer but I bought them way back when I very first started "collecting" supplies. Unfortunately, I was a scrapbooking supplies collector well before I became an active scrapbooker so...now that I'm making cards, too I'm trying to use up my stash. I used this really super cute image from Angela's last release as I'm still feeling in a Valentine mood. I colored with my copics and sponged some background sky and grass. We are so excited to have Cosmo Cricket as our sponsor this week. They have donated a super dooper cute Jolly by Golly Crafting Kit for the winner of this challenge so.....not only will the winner get that but also some digital images from Sew Many Cards!!! So come on and join us.....dig through your papers I know you have some purple in there somewhere!

SCS Sketch Challenge

This is my entry for this week's SCS sketch challenge. You can read more about it and get the sketch here. Angela from Sew Many Cards is the guest hostess over there this week so I decided to use one of her images and play along. This cute little toad is the Friday Freebie from many Fridays back but I just think he is so cute! I used some K&Company patterned paper and then some dry embossing on my "strips" and added some funky ribbon that I had in my stash that I just thought "fit". If you follow my blog at all you know I'm pretty conservative with my patterns (I wouldn't make a good quilter at all) so this is a little out on a limb for me throwing these together but I think it turned out cute. I'll be posting some blog candy soon to celebrate my last post being my 100th!!! Thanks for stopping by!

Pink Elephant, Cardvarks & Practical Scrappers Challenges!!

This week's challenge at The Pink Elephant is a sketch challenge, Cardvarks is a red and hearts challenge and the Practical Scrappers challenge is embossing so...I decided to combine all into one card using Angela's super cute bubblegum machine full of hearts!! By the way, this cute image is from the FREE package of images with a $10 purchase over at Sew Many Cards. Just use JANFREE as the coupon and you will get not only this sweet image but several others, too. Just click here to go shopping! This card was super fun to make. I just colored the image with my copics and used some of this super cute DCWV paper from the Doodlin' Around stack. I dry embossed the card base with a sizzix texture plate (2nd picture shows it a little better - really cute IRL) and wet embossed my sentiment (Sweet Friend set from Clear Dollar Stamps) using some Zing embossing powder. I pop dotted the image and the sentiment along with the cute little hearts. I added some glitter on the hearts and was done! Hope you like it! PS - This is my 100th post so stay tuned for some blog candy!

Anything Goes at Sew Many Cards

This week's challenge over at Sew Many Cards is Anything Goes....so you can use any image, any color combo....whatever strikes your fancy! I knew right away that I wanted to play with the new Duncan! Is he not the cutest little duckie you ever saw??? I use Word to size my images and I sized Duncan to a height of 2.6 inches. This is a 5" square card and I used my largest oval nestie to cut my cardstock. I just got the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry paper and I found this cute design that made me think of raindrops splattered on the window so.....I added some SU kiwi kiss and crushed curry....not a combo I probably would have ever put together but it worked with this patterned paper. I cut the green layer behind Duncan with one of my nesties and I believe that is from the set called Label 4 but don't quote me on that. I used Papertrey Ink ribbon in pure poppy and, I have to say, this ribbon is awesome. I had read many reviews stating how nice it is to work with and there is something about it that makes it tie really nice. It seems to hold its shape much easier. I colored my image with copics and used my new Sakura glaze pen on the water....love that, too! Our sponsor this week is Terri from Stamps Alive and she has generously donated a Cuttlebug Damask Combo Embossing Folder Set. Here is a little about Terri:

"I started my business in 1993 to give me something to do. I had worked all my life and recently quit to be a stay at home mom to my new baby. I've always been interested in paper products and I didn't like paying full price for some of the things I wanted. So I started my own business. I like to pass my savings on to others. I've made some really good friends over the years. I've always been a small business and I only advertise by word of mouth. Over the years I've kept as busy as I wanted to be. It has been very interesting to see the hobby industry change over the years. I had a "scrapbook" store in my basement before Las Vegas knew what a scrapbook store was. I've deal with Provo Craft the entire 17 years I've been in business and that has been fun, to watch them change!! The Cricut Messageboard has allowed me to expand my business but still do it "word of mouth". That baby is almost 17 (March) and will be graduating HS in 2011, I will be ready to be busier at that time! She uses my supplies more than I do, I have decided I'm a collector of everything. I have more fun selling and helping others than I do creating. Maybe someday, when times are slower or I'm not being a "Taxi Mom" I can create. Until then, I collect! Right now I have some of the new release Cricut Cartridges for $38 and getting ready to go to Winter CHA to check out some awesome items, including the new releases of Nestabilities! Check out my blog for all my items that I sell and for more information!! http://stampsalive.blogspot.com"

If you have not been over to Terri's blog...hold on to your keyboard and get ready to be enabled!! She always has specials on JustRite stamps and Spellbinder Nestabilities, plus - she has things available as soon as they are released so if you see something you just have to have....be sure to check with Terri as she probably already has it or will order it for you at a really good price. I've purchased from Terri several times and I'm sure much to my hubby's chagrin will many more.....So.....not only can you win some of the wonderful images from Sew Many Cards by playing along with our challenge but you can also win this cuttlebug set!!! I almost forgot to tell you - Sew Many Cards has a brand new challenge blog - here! You are not required to use a Sew Many Cards image but we would love to see what you do with them. You can find them here. There is a freebie posted every Friday!! Come on over and join in the fun!!

BLOG HOP WINNER!!

Congrats to Gloria - you are the blog hop winner of the digital image I revealed!! I'll get it out to you today! Thanks to everyone for playing!!! Be sure to check back on Friday for next week's challenge!

Mojo Monday Sketch

Here is my card for this weeks Mojo Monday sketch this week. I used Angela's Sewn Together image with some Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Berry Frost and Heidi Grace Love Blossoms (2006) patterned paper with a little bit of the black from my slice paper pack. The love I stamped in the heart is from a stamp set I just got from Clear Dollar stamps. Hope you enjoy!

Sew Many Cards Friday Freebie

Are you having fun with our blog hop? If you haven't started checking out all the sites, you are missing out!!! There are some wonderful projects to see!!! You can see the blog roll on my post just below this one. If you have signed up for Angela's newsletter then you probably have seen this cute image as it is this week's Freebie!!! If you haven't, please go over and sign up now as every Friday you will get a free newsletter via email with a free image! What's not to love about that?! The valentine patterned paper is from the DCWV Spring Glitter Stack and I think it is adorable - love pink and green together anyway. The green patterned paper is just from my stash and didn't have a company name on it - sorry. I used my martha stewart punch for the border and you really can't see but there are little tiny hearts in it. I colored my image with copics G24, YG06, YG17, R32, R43 and RV29. I gave a little shadow with C1 also. I used some little white pearls to finish it off. Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to leave a comment on each blog below as you hop as each DT member will be drawing a winner for the image they are showcasing and.....it will enter you in the grand prize drawing sponsored by Doodle Beans.

Sew Many Cards Jan 2010 New Release Blog Hop!!!!

Welcome to the first blog hop of 2010 for Sew Many Cards!!! If you arrived here from Jessica's site then you are on the right track. If not, you can start the blog hop at the beginning by clicking here. I love this image of Halen peeking over the fence as it is so versatile. I stamped friends forever from a Fiskars greeting set I had on hand but you could personalize this however you want. The great thing about digital images is that you can size them to fit the project you are working on. In this case, I sized him to a height of 2 inches using Word as this is an A2 card. Wouldn't this be cute if you knew someone who just got a new bunny ???? You could use this as a gift bag topper on a bag of bunny treats! So many possibilities with this image.... I started my card with a base of Gina K's pure luxury cardstock in cranberry tart....loving this cardstock. I then used a layer of wood patterned paper from Frances Meyer which I distressed with my handy dandy Heidi Swapp edge distresser. I added a layer of burgundy patterned paper from Autumn Leaves which I cut with my scalloped rectangle nestie. My image is colored with copic markers and then I added a mixturer of prima and Imaginisce flowers I had on hand. I added some skittles to the centers of the white flowers and a button with twine to the other and my card was complete.

Now for what you really want to know......yes....there is some awesome blog candy!!! Doodle Bean Stamps is sponsoring our blog hop and they have generously donated a $10 gift certificate to Doodle Bean Stamps (click on the link on my sidebar to check out their awesome images) AND the winner also gets a $15 gift certificate to Amazon (they have cardmaking and scrapbooking supplies, too you know....) also donated by Doodle Bean Stamps. What do you have to do to be in the drawing? Well, it is very easy....all you have to do is visit every blog in the hop and leave a comment on every blog! But wait....I'm not finished....every design team member will also be picking a comment from their blog to win the image that they are showcasing. So...be sure to leave me a comment so that you can have a chance to win this cute little Halen image and....be in the drawing for the grand prize sponsored by Doodle Bean Stamps. As you hop, you will see that Sew Many Cards has lots of new DT members so be sure to say "Hello" and make them feel welcome!

Just in case you get lost along the way here is the blog roll:

Sew Many Cards http://digital.sewmanycards.com/

Amber H http://ambersantics.blogspot.com/

Audrey E http://hippieaud.blogspot.com/

Ceal P http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com/

Cheri G http://creationsdecheri.blogspot.com/

Dawnn S http://scrapingd.blogspot.com/

Deanette W http://deanettesdelight.blogspot.com/

Gloria M http://craftergm.blogspot.com/search/label/Digital

Jeannette C http://creativeplayischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/

Jeri Moody http://craftyjsplace.blogspot.com/

Jessica K http://mysanitydependsonstamping.blogspot.com/

Kim G http://kimsscrappyspace.blogspot.com/ - you are here!

Kym B http://kymkreations.blogspot.com/

Kym W http://nanaskeepsakes.blogspot.com/

Maria L http://www.riacreations.blogspot.com/

Mary D http://marydemmons.blogspot.com/

Mary S http://purrfectsentiments.blogspot.com/

Melissa W http://melissasuewright.blogspot.com/

Michele L http://enchantedstamper.blogspot.com/

Patricia G. http://patriciagrc98.blogspot.com

Patricia St. M http://rubberstampingismygame.blogspot.com/

Sarabeth Burke http://scraphappie.blogspot.com/

Sarah T http://auntbeespickles.blogspot.com/

Sherry L http://thepaperpalace21.blogspot.com/

Suzanne K http://justlovestamping.blogspot.com/

Tammy M http://createwhenican.blogspot.com/

Sew Many Cards Ning Community http://sewmanycards.ning.com/group/sewmanyreleasespartyspot/forum/topics/january-new-release-blog-hop

Mom's Blog

I can't believe my Mom is officially blogging now, too! Please stop by here and give her some love. She just recently started making cards but she has crafted for years and years (not that she is that old....that would mean that I'm getting old, too....hehehe). She is an amazing artist and she has made some beautiful cards already. I'm hoping she will post some of her other things, too!

Hope everyone had wonderful holidays!!! We enjoyed nice quiet holidays at home this year. I can't believe we are already in 2010. Here we are though....January in full swing already....and today I have a little sneak peek of my project with the new release that I will be showcasing during Sew Many Cards blog hop. You are going to love these new images.....Angela is starting 2010 in a big way!!! You REALLY don't want to miss this blog hop as there are some wonderful prizes and just wait until you see the new DT (loads and loads of talent!!!....).