Halloween 1999

Here is another layout I made using the Happy Halloween kit by Echo Park.  I'm just loving these papers!!!  All the papers except the cardstock are from this kit as well as the haunted house and the 1999.  The rubons, decorative pin and the kit all came from Crop Chocolate.  If you aren't familiar with this site, be sure to read my posts below for more info and check it out.  You'll be glad you did.  They've been posting some beautiful Christmas kits already!  I'm so proud of myself on this layout as I didn't follow a sketch but it came together pretty quickly as I knew the papers I wanted to use and they are all from the same kit so they color coordinated already!  I used my cute Halloween seal stamp from Catslife Press again on this layout.  I love round stamps!!! 

Practical Scrappers Sketch Challenge!

I just LOVE a sketch challenge.  It's such a great start as the hard work is done already.  Anywho....I am using the awesome sketch from last Friday's sketch challenge over at Practical Scrappers. I couldn't wait to play with my new Happy Halloween papers by Echo Park which I picked up from Crop Chocolate.   If you haven't checked out Crop Chocolate it is a great "daily deal" site but it has so many awesome deals everyday so you want to check often.  I can't wait to get the new Echo Park Christmas pack!!!  It's in my shopping cart now....you can actually save the things you want and keep them in your cart until you are ready to check out which saves you bundles on shipping...plus they have FREE shipping for all orders over $60.  All the patterned papers are from that Halloween kit except for the orange on the lion and it is from Echo Park's A Walk in the Park.  I'm so loving these Echo Park kits and they are just full of wonderful papers.  I've still got oodles of both kits left and can make many many many more projects with them.  I also used the Making Memories Spook Alley Shimmer Rub-Ons which I also picked up from Crop Chocolate.  I played with my Glimmer mists on this layout and I've learned that I have a pretty heavy hand (he! he!).....got to practice a little on that!  I used some more of my wrinkle ribbon that I made using the Glimmer Mists (maybe I should stick to doing that with my mists).   I had one Catslife Press stamp that I love so I went looking for more and found I can order direct from the company so I did.  They came so super fast and I used one of them (Halloween Seal) on this layout and you can find it here.  I absolutely LOVE their seal stamps!  As I was looking for the link so you can see where to purchase the stamp I used on this layout I saw they just released some brand new ones!!!  I foresee another order for me!!!  My hubby doesn't have to do any Christmas shopping this year!  Oh and by the way, that cute little lion is from the Create A Critter Cricut cartridge....love how this cartridge layers!

Creative Scrappers Sketch #122

I decided to join in the sketch challenge over at Creative Scrappers this week and this is what I came up with.  I used papers from a couple of kits that I purchased recently at Crop Chocolate, the A Walk in the Park and Happy Halloween kits by Echo Park.    If you haven't heard of Crop Chocolate before you really should go check it out....and remember they are our sponsor this week at SMC so you could win a $25 credit to their site.  You can read more about Crop Chocolate and our challenge this week in my post below.

Sew Many Cards Christmas Challenge

This week's challenge at Sew Many Cards is to make a Christmas themed project.  I chose to use this ADORABLE polar bear....you can purchase this cutie here.  This patterned paper is some left over I had from last year but I'm pretty certain it is by Imaginisce.  I printed my image rather large because I wanted to have plenty of room to color!  If you look real closely at his Santa hat you can see that I used some fun flock on it so it has lots of texture.  I also added some glaze on the berries but it doesn't show up in the picture very well.   Hope you like it....here are the copics I used

I am so excited about this week's sponsor, Crop Chocolate.  Jon & McCall have graciously donated a $25 credit to their store for this week's challenge winner.  I shop over there all the time.  It is a "daily deal" site but I put that in quotations because they have numerous deals throughout the day so you want to check their store often as you don't want to miss out!  Plus.....you can put your items in a shopping cart so that you can save up and check out all at once hence saving on shipping.  If you look back through my posts you will see some of the goodies I have purchased over there and there are lots more to come as I just got in a really cute Echo Park Halloween package!  Here is a little more info about Crop Chocolate:

CropChocolate.com – Sweet Deals for the Scrapbooking Addict!

At CropChocolate.com™, we sell all-things scrapbook. But here's the catch, we only sell one item at a time – at a delicious price. Every day several items will be posted – so act fast – a limited quantity will be sold at deeply discounted prices. No time to let it temper.

Chocolate à la Carte or “la Carte” is a 45 day shopping cart, once an item is added you have 45 total days until it expires out of your la carte. Just add all your goodies in “la Carte” and pay shipping only once! Free shipping with cartes over $60 in the USA, over $100 in Canada, and over $300 international.
CropChocolate.com was founded by a marketing group with immeasurable experience in one-deal-at-a-time online marketing. No matter what you use – a cup, a gallon, a vat or a tank – you can't contain their experience of successfully taking sites in targeted industries from nuts to soup... in this case molten chocolate. CropChocolate.com is the first scrapbook site to migrate from a one-deal-a-day to a one-deal-at-a-time and they did it in less than 60 days.

We are continually looking for sugary brands and delicious deals where everybody wins – the manufacturer, the consumer and CropChocolate.com. Please contact us at sales@cropchocolate.com if you want to participate in the CropChocolate.com sweetness.

Sweet Shopping!

Can't wait to see what you make this week!!!

Sew Many Challenges - Embossing Challenge!

This week's challenge over at SMC is a technique one.  We are asking that you use embossing (dry and/or wet) on your project.  I chose to work with this fall image which you can purchase here.  This image was part of a special fall package last season so if you dont' see it right off just email Angela and she will get it for you.   She is updating some of the images on the site.  I LOVE texture so....I used one of my Tim Holtz embossing folders for the green base and I also did a little distressing (tearing) on the red borders but it isn't showing up very well in the picture.   I also used distress ink on the image panel (love doing that).  I also used some wet embossing on my sentiment.  The patterned papers are from the Imaginisce Apple Cider line (love those too).  This was a very fun card to make!!!  Here are the copics I used:

We are so excited to have Stich from Stitchy Stamps as our sponsor again this week!  She has generously donated 3 stitchy stamps from her store to this week's winner!  She was so very sweet to let me work with this sweet image and I have to say I love how this card turned out!  She is called Can I GO Too and you can purchase her here. 

Isn't she just the cutest?!!  I used some of last year's Basic Grey Halloween papers and some sheer black ribbon with kraft and black cardstock to make this card.  The picture doesn't really show the sparkle but I did go over the dress and hat with a Stardust pen and it is really cute IRL.  I did color my image with copics as usual, however, I either failed to take a picture or misplaced the file.  Can't wait to see what you make this week!!!

Sew Many Challenges Halloween Theme

Isn't Miki cute all dressed up as a pumpkin?  This week's challenge over at Sew Many Challenges is to make a Halloween themed project.  I chose this cute little pumpkin and you can purchase him here.  I think he is just ADORABLE!!!  I followed this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday.  The patterned papers I used are from the Jen Yanok Halloween Mat pad by K & Company.  The cute little tag is from an older SU set.  Here are the copics I used:

We are super excited to have Claire Phillips from Hope Jacare Doodles as our sponsor this week.  She has graciously donated her Cockatoo Rubber Stamp to this week's winner (you can see a picture of it on the SMC blog).  She has such a beautiful whimsical style....love it!  I got to play with this image called Cupcake Stand.  You can purchase it here.  

I made this card using some patterned papers from my DCWV Sweet Stack.  Made me hungry just working with it!  Here are the copics I used on this treat.

I hope to see you over at the SMC blog with some spooky projects!!!

Sew Many Challenges!!

This week's challenge at Sew Many Challenges is to make a project in honor of Grandparent's Day.  It can be a love theme or a thank you theme.  I chose to work with Owen and Duncan.  That little boy sure is cute but Duncan just steals my heart....isn't he cute?!!!  You can purchase them here.  I used some patterned papers from Garden Variety by Cosmo Cricket.  I printed the sentiment on my computer and just cut it out as a banner and added some baker's twine.  Of course, I had to had some ribbon from my stash as I seem to think nothing is complete until it has some ribbon (he! he!).  Here are the copics I used:

                                  

We are thrilled to have Kayla Thomas from Purple Panda Designs as our sponsor this week.  Kayla has graciously donated 4 of  the winner's choice of her beautiful images to this week's challenge winner.   Here is a little bit about Kayla:

Hi! I'm Kayla from Purple Panda Designs and I'm 16 yrs. old. I love to draw and I love Panda's. I love to color them purple, which is where my name came from. I love to draw animals mostly. My stamps are hand drawn from my own ideas. Please be sure to visit my blog for updates and news about Purple Panda Designs. Would love to have you as a follower. I hope you enjoy my stamps.

You can read more from Kayla on her blog here.  Can you believe she is only 16? I don't have that kind of talent now and I'm not going to say how many more years I've been on this earth than she has.... I hope you will join in the fun this week!  Can't wait to see what you create!

Sew Many Cards Birthday Challenge

Isn't that just the sweetest little bear you ever did see?  This week's challenge over at Sew Many Challenges is to make a birthday themed project.....who doesn't need a birthday card now and then?  You can purchase this cutie right here.  I was blog hopping the other night and found the cutest idea by Teri Berrios and I couldn't wait to try it.  What a great way to use your scraps from other projects!  Check out her beautiful card here.  I used my scraps left over from the A Walk in the Park kit by Echo Park which I purchased at Crop Chocolate to make this card.  Super quick and easy card to make!  Here are the copics I used on this project:

Simon Says Stamps has graciously agreed to sponsor us again this month and they have donated a $10 gift certificate to this challenge's winner!  If you haven't been shopping over there.....you really need to check it out.....they have soooooo many items to choose from and wonderful prices, too!  Can't wait to see what you make!

Echo Park A Walk in the Park

I picked up this cute set of papers from Crop Chocolate.  It is A Walk in the Park and it is made by Echo Park.  It is a fabulous kit and such an awesome price on Crop Chocolate!  Crop Chocolate has lots of deals going on everyday such as the Making Memories Slice for only $89.99.  If you aren't already shopping over there you really should check it out.  It isn't like the other daily deal sites as they have many different deals everyday AND you can put your items in a shopping cart (ala carte) so that you can bundle it all up and save on shipping!!!  Anywho pretty much everything came out of this kit except the buttons and the brown cardstock.  LOVE it!!!  Oh, by the way, I cut that cute little golf cart out on my cricut!  Hope you like it!  I'm entering it in a sketch contest over at UmWowStudio ....  wish me luck!  There are several sketches to choose from and the winner gets a gift certificate to Crop Chocolate!!!  Come on over and join in the fun!

Sew Many Challenges Christmas Challenge!!!

Have you ever seen a more ADORABLE Santa?  This week's challenge over at SMC is to make a Christmas themed project.  I chose this sweet image called Santa Believe to work with and you can find him here.  My card base is SU Baja Breeze and the red is Pure Poppy from PTI.  The patterned papers are some papers from Making Memories that I have been hoarding from the Tinsel line.  I wish I could take credit for the super cute layout of this card, however, it is this week's Mojo Monday sketch (152) .....isn't it fun?  I'm also entering this is one of my other favorite challenge sites The Pink Elephant and this week's challenge is ribbon and sparkles!  Here are the copics I used on this one:

We are so excited to have Stitch from Stitchy Stamps as our sponsor this week!  If you haven't been over to her site you really need to check it out....ssseeeww many cute images!  Here is a little info about Stitch:

Hi Everyone, my name is Stitchy and I create under the name Stitchy Stamps...I have been creating

digital images for designers for almost a year now and try to learn something

new everyday...I started out in paint shop pro about 8 years ago and started

making digital scrap kits...then I was introduced to the wonderful world of
paper crafts and card designing...like I said, learning new everyday, the rest
is history...I can't draw enough to keep me satisfied anymore lol...

Living in a small town in upstate New York, tucked away where cable doesn't
even go...friends are far and few between...But being on the internet for the
past 10 years, I have gathered quite a few from around the world...Just like I
learn something new everyday, I also try to meet someone new every day too...
Thank you Angela and Company for allowing me to sponsor for you...I am truly
honored...

Stitch has graciously donated 3 images of the winner's choice to this week's challenge winner!  So not only can you win some AWESOME SMC images but also some Stitchy Stamps ones also soooo....come on and join in the fun!!!!

Sew Stitchy SMC Challenge!!!

We're back up and running over at Sew Many Challenges and I have to say it was a nice summer break but it felt really good to start crafting again!  We are doing a "Sew Stitchy" challenge for our fall kickoff and I'm so glad as I purchased the Janome Sew Mini specifically for this purpose months ago and I really haven't done much with it so.....that's the beauty of these challenges.... they get us doing things and trying techniques that we've been wanting to do but....life happens and we don't get around to it.  I went with the squiggly look since I can't really even draw a straight line let alone sew one.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  This cute image is Tayla eating Watermelon and you can find it here.  Those fun bright patterned papers are from the Garden Variety line by Cosmo Cricket.  The ribbon is by American Crafts.  Here are the copics I used:

                                           

We are so excited to have Tiffany Richards from Tiffany Doodles as our sponsor this week.  You will absolutely adore her images and she has generously donated 5 of the winner's choice to this week's challenge winner!  You can read more about Tiffany on our challenge blog.  So...I hope you will join us over at SMC this week as Angela and Jeri have been busy over our summer break "cooking up" some fun!  Would love to see your comments as I've sure missed my blogging buddies!

Beautiful Layout

I apologize for being MIA lately.  I've just been really busy with the kids and I've not had much "crafting time".  Sew Many Cards will be starting up their challenges again now that everyone is getting back into the school routine, etc.  I'm working on a project for this Friday's challenge right now and I'm so excited to be back in my craft room!  The layout above is one I made using the uber talented Marion's ( A Piece of Craft ) tutorial.  I just love her style! 

WOW....I can sew! Not well but....

I know this is super easy but I'm still so proud of myself that I actually made this.  I am so so so not a seamstress!  It is made out of a pillowcase and if you google pillowcase dress you won't believe all the results you will find.  Literally all I had to do was put in armholes and a neck.  I did have to take it up a little so there is a seam also along the side but because it is a pillowcase the hem is all done already!  The bow on the bottom is put on with a snap so I can remove it for washing!  Now to find some really cute pillowcases....it seems most of the stores only have solid colors so I'm hoping to run across some neat ones at the thrift store!  I did make another one out of fabric from the bolt the other day and it actually was pretty easy, too.  I added a solid color border across the bottom of a seersucker cherry print and it turned out cute.  It only took less than 1/2 a yeard of fabric so still a very inexpensive dress to make and....when they outgrow it as a dress let the ribbons out and they can have a long top and wear leggings or shorts with a shirt underneath.

Halloween (Ryan)

I wanted to play with my Peachy Keen face stamps so I went to work on this Halloween layout of Ryan back in 2000.  I don't know the makers of the patterned papers....had them in my stash.  The title is a rubon from Karen Foster that I just cut down to fit my page.  I used my cricut to cut the spider and the super hero.  I used the new hide feature on my Gypsy to hide the cuts for the faces on both.  Here is a close up of the super hero.

                                                     

I got a little carried away trying to add some highlights to his hair....kinda makes me think of Elvis.  Hope you like it!!