Color Challenge Stamp Camp

This is the second posting for today because I wanted to make a card using this week's color challenge using this Penny Black "About Town" stamp. I just love her little Bug with the button wheels! Using this color combo does not come naturally, but it has taught me a lot about color and balance! The order these colors appear in the image makes a difference!

Thanks for stopping by .... again!!

Summer Card Camp 2011 Challenge

This is the second card I made for the color challenge at Stamp Camp. The design is inspired by Jennifer McGuire's card on her video. The sentiment is stamped on acetate and the white behind it is the inside of the card. I spent more than an hour trying to get a good photo of that acetate window, but this is the best I could do! I used my new Nestie "Reverse Wonkers" for the cutout. I did learn a lot making this card! Love the little frame around the cutout.


Thanks for stopping by. Gotta get ready for the sing-a-long at camp! Hoping for S'Mores!

Summer Card Camp 2011

I signed up for camp today! Couldn't stand having my friends go off to camp without me. I arrived on the late bus, so got an upper bunk and late supper!

The image is a digi called "Roses" by Michelle Houghton and was included in my class fee for "Copic Coloring 1". The challenge is a color challenge with four colors and white. An additional neutral is allowed, so I added a touch of black.

I'm excited about Summer Camp! Thanks for stopping by!

Honor Valor Sacrifice

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This is my nephew's son, Michael, sitting for the first time since being injured June 12th in Afghanistan. He has just been presented with the Purple Heart medal in recognition of Honor, Valor and Sacrifice during service to his country. The Commandant of the Marine Corps presented his medal at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

I have no words to describe how I feel about and toward this incredible young man!

Please pray for him and the others like him who are working their way back to good health. Please include the hospital personnel who work with these young people day and night and support their efforts to recover.

Lily Pad Cards and a Chance to Win Hero Arts Stamps

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards today! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15! Just hop over to the Lily Pad Cards blog and become a friend. Who doesn't love free stamps?


And don't mind the blue frog - he's friendly underneath all the chatter!

Here's the card I made for the June challenge at Hero Arts:



It isn't easy photographing white on white! Thanks for stopping by!

Penny Black Challenge: Insides

The challenge right now at the Penny Black blog is "Insides" as inside  your card!  I am so guilty of waiting until I send out a card to finish up the inside!  Here's the card I made and a photo of the inside:







I don't own many Penny Black stamps, but love the ones I have. I used a new technique demo'd on a video this morning by Nicole of Paper Trey Ink. She calls it Polaroid 2-Step Masking. You can see her video here.http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2011/06/make-it-monday-21-polaroid-2-step-masking.html


I'm mostly pleased with the result, but next time I would make the white ink "frame" narrower and those white dots are bugging me!


Homemade soup for supper tonight! Smells good at my house. Hope your Monday was a good day!! Thanks for stopping by.

A Day for Daisies Challenge 21

This adorable image was created by Tammy at A Day for Daisies to be used in their challenge "Pastels but no Pink". I couldn't resist the image and am entering this card in their challenge. If you would like to take part, and also have this image for yourself, you can find the details here.http://adayfordaisies.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-release-tiny-ones-challenge-21.html


Sorry about the disaster above, the Link funtion is mal-functioning!  I will try again tomorrow to clean that up! 


Thanks for stopping by!!  Hope your week is off to a good start tomorrow!

Tiffany Doodles Petal Bloom with Blossom

Coloring is so relaxing!! Since I am freed from most household chores for a couple of weeks, I am spending time doing what I love to do - creating! I love this Tiffany Doodles flower! And if I had that Blossom set of Nesties, I could have cut out this image! I colored in the background and the olive green Blossom border in Paint Shop Pro; then colored the main image with Copics.

Hope you are having a Sunday worthy of its name!! When I think of Sundays as I child, I think of the traditional Sunday dinners my Mom always made: chicken or pot roast usually. We didn't own a grill; always ate at the dining room table with a tablecloth on it!

Nowadays, we are as likely to have a casual meal cooked on the grill outdoors as we are to have the traditional Sunday dinner!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tiffany Doodles Clover Flower

Tiffany inventoried her images and produced a list of those without a sample card. This is one of the images I chose to make a card to be used as a sample. I love simple images like this. I cut a notecard in half to make this card so that the flower could be the main focus. The sentiment and gems are Hero Arts.

Tiffany adds new digi's quite often; stop by her store and check them out! If you haven't done digi yet, Tiffany has great tutorials on her blog.

On a personal note, my surgery-caused black eye is creeping down my face! I made a quick trip to the grocery store and was afraid someone would hand me a card wtih the domestic abuse hotline number!! Other than very dry eyes (ouch!) I am doing well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Update on Michael

Thank you to all those who are praying for my nephew's son, Michael, who is in the Naval Hospital at Bethesda for treatment of the wounds he suffered while serving in the Marines in Afghanistan.  We rejoiced this morning to learn he was no longer in the ICU and had been transferred to the surgery floor.  However, Michael has been spiking a fever as high as 104 and after surgery to further clean his wounds experienced an elevated heart rate.

The physicians treating Michael have reached the decision that it is necessary to amputate Michael's legs to above the knee.  The infection is too bad and there is not enough tissue to close his wounds.

Please pray for Michael's family as they struggle to accept this latest news.  It will certainly mean a more difficult rehab and recovery.  Please pray that this is the end of the infection and the beginning of healing. 

Thank you.

Family Reunion

Some of you know that my nephew's son, Michael, was wounded in Afghanistan by an IED explosion. He spent a week in Germany and on Sunday arrived at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. My nephew and his wife and daughter were reunited with him on Monday. They posted this photo on their Caring Bridge website this morning. Michael is in ICU dealing with an infection. The family is grateful for the wonderful care Michael is receiving and for the prayers being offered for his recovery.

The photo shows my nephew Jim (Michael's dad) standing on the left, his wife Kim with the lovely red hair and his sister Britany.  What appears to be a block of cheese on his left arm is actually a device to protect that wounded hand.  His Wisconsin relatives choose to believe he is paying tribute to his "Cheesehead" relatives!

Thanks for stopping by! Check out yesterday's post to see a new Tiffany Doodles image!

Tiffany Doodles Flower in a Vase

No, Vincent van Gogh has not dropped by! This is the new Flower in a Vase digi image from Tiffany Doodles. It will be available in her store on Friday. The image is of one flower in a vase, but I felt it needed another flower! I paper pieced the vase, matted it and mounted it on My Mind's Eye patterned paper.

Be sure to stop by the Tiffany Doodles store on Friday and see the rest of the new releases.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tiffany Doodles Goldfish

Another new release by Tiffany Doodles! Isn't this a fun image? Take a minute to visit Tiffany's store and see more summer releases.

I used patterned papers and some stitching on a shaped card to make this fella a "bowl". He was super fun to color with Copics.

It's the day after my eye surgery and I have set aside the ice pack to post this. I'm a bit sore and look frightful, but it went well and I expect a good outcome!

If you are following my great-nephew's progress, he was uanable to make Friday's flight to the U.S. due to some instability. Hopefully, he will be on Sunday's flight.  

Thanks for stopping by! I am off to cuddle my ice pack!

Color Challenge Lily Pad

I saw a tutorial by one of the artists at Paper Trey Ink showing how to make this background. It is made up of "stripes" of Copic color, using markers! Isn't that easy peasy? The peacock is from a set I bought at Archiver's at least two years ago and have never inked up! I entered this into Kathy's color challenge over at the Lily Pad

I am eager to use this background technique again, using an image stamped in black. I have just received my order of Copic Marker refills (and I had to tuck in a few new colos!). So now I am never going to be able to quit my daycare job!

And a note about Michael: He is safely in Germany, has already undergone some surgery, especially to ensure his wounds are cleaned (IED's are filthy!) He has been able to call his parents and although under the influence of pain medication, carried on a reasonable conversation, offering them comfort! He will arrive in Bethesday Friday evening and his parents hope to fly out on Saturday to be with him.

I was glad to learn the military takes good care of these families! Transportation costs are paid for for up to three people the patient wishes to have nearby.

I will be absent from blogging for about two weeks as I have some eye surgery scheduled for Friday and cannot bend forward for two weeks afterward! I also cannot lift anything more than 5 lbs., so there goes cooking, vacuuming, changing bed linens, scrubbing of any kind ... I may manage laundry!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

This is Michael

This photo accompanied an article in his home newspaper and I thought you might like to put a face to the young man you are kindly praying for.  We still have no further news; just waiting!

His parents have expressed their gratitude that Michael has survived and are looking forward to being with him when he arrives at Bethesda. 

Tiffany Doodles Apple Bowl

This is one of Tiffany's Doodles that presented a real challenge for me. Reds are not easy for me to color and round shapes are another difficulty for me! But there is hope; I have signed up for an online Copic coloring class that will begin tomorrow! These are some of the things I will learn how to handle!

In the meantime, this is the best I could do with this lovely bowl of apples!

Thank you for keeping our family, especially Michael in your prayers. We have no further information; assuming he is in Germany with plans to fly him to Bethesda soon. We have learned the military will pay for three family members to fly to Bethesda, so his Mom, Dad and sister will be there with him for awhile.

There is an ironnic twist to this story; Michael's best friend from high school who enlisted in the Marines with him suffered the same loss of legs two months ago and is currently at Bethesda. The two good friends will go through rehab together. They will have each other when they return home to their small community if Georgis.

Thank you again. I'm glad you stopped by.

No card today ...

Just some sad news.  My sister's grandson (my nephew's son) who is a young Marine serving his second deployment in Afghanistan was badly injured by an IED last night.  He has lost both his legs, and possibly his left hand.  He is an incredibly handsome young man with the most beautiful eyes ever.  I am having great difficulty comprehending how much his life has changed.  Please keep Michael's family in your prayers as he is being transferred to Germany, then on to Bethesda for treatment.

Tiffany Doodles Puppy

Don't you love this little puppy? Another Tiffany Doodles digi. I searched Tiffany's store for images that had no sample card and this little guy showed up! I love how he looks like he could jump off the page and play with that ball (Hero Arts). I used the Envelope Pattern stamp from Hero Arts to add texture and soften the all-white background of the puppy.

We have a 50th wedding anniversary dinner to attend this evening. It is a true love story! The "bride" has had multiple sclerosis for over twenty years and for the last ten has been totally paralyzed from the neck down! The "groom" provides total care with occasional visits from a nurse.

They are an example to me of what love and promises are all about! It will be an honor to celebrate with them!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Releases at Tiffany Doodles Today!

This is the new golf digi set available at Tiffany Doodles today!  This digi is going to make it easier to create masculine cards and is just in time for Father's Day.

Here are two cards I made with this set, all ready for the golfer in our house!

This fishing set is also available today! No more excuses for not making a great Father's Day (or birthday) card for the men in your life!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lily Pad Inspiration Challenge

I love the new Lily Pad Cards blog and this card is for the Inspiration Challenge that closes in about one hour! I was out having a brithday dinner with my bridge club and so I got started very late on this project!

I was inspired by the color palette for the May CCC that Deborah Nolan created and administrates over at the Lily Pad.

I thought this Echinacea digi was perfect for a Get Well card!!

Hope you had a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

Camelia by Tiffany Doodles

Well, the announcement was made yesterday by Tiffany of Tiffany Doodles; I am officially a member of her Design Team!  I am still pinching myself to make sure it's real!!  I love her digi images and am thrilled to be part of her team. 

Tiffany has many truly lovely floral images.  This is the camelia.  I have to admit I had to Google "camelia" to see how to color it.  This is colored with Copics, mounted on pp and stitched to cardstock.  Love how this turned out! 

Stop by the Tiffany Doodles store and browse the latest summer digi's.   There's a sale!  And I hope you will take part in the "Jump Into Summer" challenge which runs for two weeks, starting today!  It doesn't require the use of a Tiffany digi, any digi will do!

Steppin' Into Summer at Tiffany Doodles

It's June 7th and that means it's the start of a new challenge at Tiffany Doodles!  This month's theme is Steppin' Into Summer.  Many parts of the country are finally enjoying some summer temperatures and the rush to do summer stuff has begun!

My card for the challenge features Tiffany's new Freebie crab; looks like he's stepped into summer big time!



I re-sized the crab image and colored him with Copics and cut him out and placed him in the "frame" I created using patterned papers and kraft card stock.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I thought the crab's open-clawed pose invited a hug!  Looks like he's sporting quite a sunburn, too.

This freebie crab is available at Tiffany's store here.  You don't have to use a Tiffany Doodles image to enter the challenge, any digi image will do!  If you haven't done digi before, this is a good time to try!  You could win a $10 shopping trip to Tiffany's shop.   And if you run into trouble, Tiffany's blog features a place to get help!

Crab on Palm Island

This cutie crab is a new Tiffany Doodles image and I have given him a home on Palm Island, another Tiffany Doodles digi. I colored the images with Copics, added some diamond glaze to the crab's claws and for some dimension, printed out a second, slightly smaller palm tree for a second set of branches to created a 3-D effect. Re-sizing is part of the fun of digital images. The sentiment is computer generated. This little guy makes me smile! And the best part .. he is the Freebie this week at Tiffany's store!

I've entered this card in the digi challenge at Stamp Something: http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/

We are planning some summertime activites for the day that includes a burger cook-out with friends. Hope you are doing fun stuff. Thanks for stopping by!

It's a Tiffany Doodles Day!!

I am such a fan of Tiffany's Doodles! Her images range from stinkin' cute to amazingly elegant! Tiffany's drawings are not only her own original images, she also creates digi's based on her beautiful nature photography. Thus, lovely life-like images of birds and flowers.

I am posting three cards I made with one of her new-release Doodles, Fat Birdbath. I did three cards because I couldn't decide if I wanted to use the image in a small, medium or large size version. That's the joy of digi's! You can re-size them to suit your creative fancy.








After re-sizing the image, I colored the bird and his bath with Copic markers. The musical notes are from ClipArt! I really wanted to show the bird so happy he was making music! I love the texture that stitching adds to a card. The sentiments are computer-generated. This little guy makes me so happy I could sing!!

Tiffany has just re-designed her blog.

Now you can find all sorts of helpful features, including information on how to work with digi's! And there is always a freebie digi image on Thursdays! What's not to like?

Did I mention there's a sale?



Hope your weekend is off to a good start. It's a sunny and HOT day here in Alabama. Thanks for stopping by!