My first circle side step card...

I've seen a couple of these cards on the blog and thought I'd like to learn how to do that.  I ran across a template by the very talented Marlena here.  And I'm finally pretty satisfied with my results.  Would I do one again?  Probably NOT!  lol.  It's not all about the difficulty of the card (which I did have several challenges with, but I had brain freeze and couldn't decide what I wanted to do other than add the beautiful heart doilies that I purchased here from Cheery Lynn Designs.  They have some of the most awesome dies.  My next one will be one called "Wittle Wickers".  I'm sure you'll be seeing these hearts around, as well as the doily I purchased called Canadian Kaleidoscope.

For this card, I used several different dies and a punch.  The spiked circle that the image was cut out on was a Nestibility I won a few weeks ago. The pendant die in white underneath the spikey one, and the hint of black that you see peeking out from the right behind the flowers is also a Nestibility.  The large 7-1/2" circle base for the card, was cut out with Cricut, as was the sentiment.  The gems are by Recollections; the black and white flowers are from Creative Charms; the white ones are from the bridal department of Michaels.  The white heart punched border you see is actually a corner punch by MS, used on a semi-circle about 1/8" smaller than the base. The image was colored with Promarkers and the distressing was done with Colorbox cranberry pigment ink pad.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Fab n' Funky Challenges - more than one fold
Crafts and Me Challenges - anything
Amber Crafts and Stuff - die cuts
Simon Says Stamps Challenge - girly
Craft Us Crazy - celebration
Paper Play Challenges - distressing
Do You Stack Up - bling
Dutch Dare Card Challenges - celebration
Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge - punch
Let's Ink It Up - die cuts, punches, no digis
Catered Crop - ovals, circles & die cuts
CES Challenges - die cuts
A Gem of a Challenge - anything but square
Gingerloft - anything but square
Creative Inspiration Paint - flowers

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll leave me a comment. 

Last of Sympathy cards for Men...

I'm so glad to have finished all of the sympathy cards for the men.  It's not really that difficult for me, it's just that I like to use brighter colors than I've used on the three cards here.  (I do like the color combinations, just not for so many cards back to back).  This image is one I colored about a year ago. The two previous ones I colored a couple of weeks ago.

This is about as close to clean and simple as I've gotten. This is a stamp from a company called: "Heartfelt Creations", from a little store, which unforunately I can't remember the name of.  I have always liked waterwheels, and couldn't pass this one up. It was colored with my Prismacolor pencils. And I added  clear Stickles to the water. The one and only DP is from K&Co. I didn't want to get too fancy since this was for a man, and a sympathy card at that. I did stack up the buttons, that were from my stash for an "altered" look for Top Tip Challenge.


 

Close up of Gristmill:

Insid of Card:

Close of sentiment:

This is about as close to clean and simple as I've gotten.  This is a  stamp from a company called: "Heartfelt Creations", from a little store I can't remember the name of.  I have always liked waterwheels, and couldn't pass this one up.  I colored this with my Prismacolor pencils.  And I added one of the clear Stickles to the water.  The one and only DP is from K&Co. I didn't want to get too fancy since this was for a man, and a sympathy card at that.  I did stack up the buttons for an "altered" look for Top Tip Challenge. 

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Pattie's Creations Challenge - green
Paper Cutz Challenge - anything
Totally Paper Crafts Challenge - buttons
Sugar Creek Hollow - anything
Totally Gorjuss - buttons
One Sitch at A Time Challenge  - for the boys
I Did It Creations - spring
Sketch & Stash Challenge - sketch (stash - stamp)
Clear It Our Challenge - buttons
Scrap-Creations - spring
Top Tip Tuesday - 3 or more buttons/optional - altered
My Partner in Crafting Crime - buttons

Thanks for stopping by.  I love to hear any comments you'd like to leave.

Hugs,

dj1952

Sympathy card #2 for a male...

This is the second of the sympathy cards I've been working on.  It's one of my favorite flowers for bringing in the house for its scent. The image is by Just Inklined Digital Stamps; and was one of the images I received for making a contribution to the "Help For Katie" fund.  I love magnolias as long as they are away from the house because anything you might want to plant under them will die.  Also the trees lose their leaves in the summer, when you wouldn't normally be raking leaves.

The papers are K&Co and just plain card stock.  I took the brown and ran it through my cuttlebug using a plaid folder by Sizzix.  After I embossed it, I dusted it with copper Perfect Pearls powder and then sprayed it with a gloss sealer.  I distressed the paper frame around the magnolia.  Then I added buttons and the lace raffia.

This is the inside of the card and the sentiment I stamped.  It is from one of the sheets of clear messages I purchased about "Memories".  On the back of the card I used a Scripture I find comforting from Revelation 21: 4, that says: "and he (God) will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Paper Works Co - sketch
I Love Promarkers - for a male & color with Promarkers
Paper Pretties - for a male
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - anything
Paper Play Challenges - embossing
Paper Cutz Challenge - anything
Totally Paper Crafts - buttons
Charisma Cardz Challenges - dies
CES Challenges - song - Sweet Magnolia Blossom
Sugar Creek Hollow - anything
Totally Gorjuss - buttons
The Crafty Pad - digi
One Stitch at a Time - for the boys
Cardmadfairy - nature
Gingerloft Challenges - dies
Catered Crop -  recipe - buttons, dies, flowers, stitching

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will make a comment.

Hugs,

One of seven sympathy cards...

This is just crazy.  Three of my friends had relatives who've passed away; and my dear MIL lost her youngest sister.  So that would have been four, but I feel that I also need to send one to her brother, sister and brother-in-law, since I know all of them.  I was able to give one of my past cards to my MIL, but I didn't have anything appropriate for the rest.  Having a mental block hasn't helped me much lately either.  On top of these cards, I have a couple of "get well" cards and some anniversary cards to finish.

I started looking through past stamped images and digis that I've already colored to see if I could save time there.  I found these swans that I really like. I colored them with my promarkers.  They are by Nicecrane Designs and can be found here.  I usually like to add a little more bling, on my cards, but since I'm going to be mailing this one, I didn't want it to be too bulky.  The papers are K&Co. and the stamp is by MS.  I used vellum to stamp on for the sentiment; a technique that one of my new friends, Natasha, has used on some of her cards.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

There She Goes Clear Stamps - sketch
Scrap-Creations - anything
 I Love Pro Markers - male & promarkers
Paper Pretties - male (sympathy card)
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - anything
Crafty Sentiments - animals
Paper Cutz Challenge - anything
Totally Papercrafts - buttons
Totally Gorjuss - buttons
Charisma Cardz Challenges - dies
CES Challenges - song - Swan Lake
Sugar Creek Hollow - anything
Gingerloft Challenge - anything
One Stitch at A Time Challenge - for the boys
The Crafty Pad - digi

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you will leave a comment.

Faith - Last but not least.

Well, finally this is the fourth of the Sugar Nellie images that I purchased a while back.  Her name is Faith and I thought that she was gorgeous.  I know a few have made comments that they find the little girls somewhat melancholy, but I find that makes them more intriguing.  I used papers from DCWV and some from my stash.  I thought I was being really cool reversing the colors on the matting behind Faith.  But it took me forever to get the angle just right to cut the mat out correctly.  Then I realized that I had made the mat so that only an eighth of it even showed.  LOL. I've used my Prismacolor pencils to color her and I used various other items from my stash.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

I Did It - sketch
Paper Playtime - digi and anything
 The Corrosive Challenge Blog - green
One Stitch a a Time Challenge - charm
Craft Your Passions - anything
The Crazy Challenge - lovely ladies
Bunny Zoe's Craft - spring
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog - green
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday  - stitching
Tuesday Throwdown - scraps
Flutterby Wednesday's - butterfly
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - anything
Desert Island Crafts Challenge - #1, #4, #5
Do You Stack Up - layers
Delightful Changes - butterflies
Meljens Design Team - green
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - yellow & green
Phindy's Place Challenge Blog - get well or thinking of you
Scrap Creations - anything
Little Claire's Designs - flowers
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - flowers
Aly's Sunday Challenge - anything
Ginerloft Challenge - flowers

Thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment for me.

Hugs,

 '

Angela's Candy - Three of Them

Wow, Angela, over at Angelwood's Crafting Corner is offering not one, not two, but three candy give-aways.  You need to become a follower on her blog, her daughter's and her "Magnolia" blog.  To see the complete rules you can stop over here.  Winners will be announced on April 18th.

I'm not going to tell but two of you I hope you win, because I'd like to be one of the three.  LOL!
Hugs,

Friends forever...

Hello, I hope you've had a great day.  I don't know where the time goes.  I  can't believe that it's the last day of February already.  It also looks like March is coming in like a lion here in NC.  My daffodils and forsythia are already blooming.  I'm ready for spring, just not quite so warm yet (it was 80 here today).

The images in this card came from two different sources.  The little girls are by Mo Manning; aren't they adorable?  The swing, which looks like it was made for them is by Make It Crafty.  I got this when I donated to the "Help for Katie" benefit that was going on.  I've since gone back to their store and purchased four more background scenes.  Woo Hoo!  I tried to merge the two images in Photoshop Elements, however I couldn't understand how to get both  images on their own page.  So I did it the old fashioned way and cut the girls out, then I pop-dotted them.  I used Dorcas' tutorial  found here for coloring the sky.  (Obviously I need a bit of practice. LOL)

Close up of girls.  Two reasons I really love to work with digis; the first is that you can size them any size that you need (this one I needed to make them really small), and the second is that they can be flipped.  I felt that they would work better flipped, since the one little girl fit better on the right because of the slant of the swing.

This is how I decorated the inside of the card.  The base for the card is double-sided card stock; one solid green and the other with the grids as seen below.  I used one of MS's new punch sets on the polka dot paper.  I then added the blue and white.

Supplies used:
Images: Mo's Digital Stamps, Make it Crafty
Papers: DCWV and miscellaneous
Colored with Prismacolor Pencils & Gamsol
Sentiment by: Meljen
Ribbon: Michaels; Lace: Joann
Flower: hand made
Button: stash
Punch: MS

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Forgotten Scraps - flowers and spring
Digital Tuesday Challenge - punches
Top Tip Tuesday - bling (glitter on green card)
Party Time Tuesdays - anything
Creative Cottage Challenge - flowers
Paper Pretties - glitter
Mo's Digital Challenge - handmade flower
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - dots and spots
Do You Stack Up - anything
Crafty Sentiments - spring
 Little Claire's Designs - anything
A Gem of a Challenge - buttons, bow
Cardmadfairy's Digi Days Challenge - distress
Crafty Catz Week Challenge - friends
Stamp Something - flowers
Pattie's Creations Challenge - make own embellishment - flower
Tellen's Place - buttons
One Stop Craft Challenge - flowers
Sugar Creek Hollow - inside & outside of card
Sentimental Sundays - anything & sentiment
Corrosive Challenges - distressing
I Did It Challenge - punches or dies
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - flowers
Lexi's Creations - flowers
The Pink Elephant Challenge - buttons, lace & ribbon
Stamps R Us Challenges - for the girls
Woodware USA Clear Stamps - anything
Craft Your Passion Challenges - girly girls
Prairie Fairie Fridays - inspired by a song - You've Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman

I hope you enjoyed looking at my card, and will leave a comment.

Hugs,

Do Central American Tree-Frogs speak in Spanish or what?

Well, I guess if frogs could talk, we'd know, right?  LOL.  This beautiful creature is done by Deborah Boyet of Blackberry Lane Designs.  I am so happy to be on her DT and have the ability to color her images.  I like cute cards, but I quite like still life, also.  I never knew that there were so many types of tree frogs; until I did research to color this one.  This is a red-eyed tree frog from Central America.

I had the hardest time getting the exact color I wanted, but finally I've gotten it to the point that  I don't mind saying I colored it.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol.   I'm entering this in a few challenges that are looking for spring inspired cards.  I do have a little floral background paper, and I hope the other bright colors will look a little springish.

Supplies used:

Image -  by Blackberry Lane Designs
Papers - From stash; some Bazzil, DCWV, and not sure about others
Punch: - MS
Frames - Nestibilities
Flower - Handmade by me

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

The Sweet Stop - sketch & spring
Allsorts Challenge - nature
CES Challenges - spots & stripes
I Did It Creations - anything
Incy Wincy Designs - punches
One Stitch at a Time - anything but square
Kaboodle Doodles - something new (my digi)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - stripes
Digital Tuesday Challenge - punch
Alota Rubber Stamps - nestibilities
Party Time Tuesdays - anything
Sweet Stamps Blog - flowers
Sketchs in Thyme - sketch
Forgottenscraps - spring/flowers
Crafty Creations - lives in the garden (It didn't say where the garden has to be, did it? LOL.
Creative Cottage - flowers
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - dots & spots
Do You Stack UP - anything
Delightful Challenges - use scraps
Crafty Sentiments - spring
Create With Connie and Mary - picture inspiration
Little Claires Designs - anything
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps - punches

Well, I hope you enjoyed stopping in and that you will leave a comment.

Hugs,

If The Shoe Fits ...

I never thought I would make a card with just a shoe. I'm just not a "shoe" person. (Please don't quit following me. - LOL)  However, one of my daughter's best friends commissioned one for her sister.  I was asked to use black and hot pink, diamond shapes, bling and a heel.  My DH took me shopping in a little larger town than we live in. (We only have Michaels.)  So, I was able to take advantage of Joann's 50% sale on the paper.  Another deal was using a 50% coupon at A.C. Moore for my latest Nestibility.  I felt the two "hot pink" papers in front of the lattice blended in with the black a little too much, so I used a white gel pen to "stitch" around the edges.  The image is one of several that you get when you make a donation to "Help Katie", a young wife, and mother of three boys; whose story can be read on Jak's blog.

Here's a close-up of the shoe, which I colored with my Prismacolor pencils.  This is the pattern that the shoe comes with, not paper piecing.  While I appreciate the compliment, I want Jak Heath to get credit for the flowers and leaves. I did color the large roses, but then got the idea of adding the little roses.  (Is it too much?)

This is the inside of the card, using one of MS's latest punch-around-the-page sets.

And this obviously is the back of the card.

Items used or inspired by:
Image - Jak Heath, found here
Paper - DCWV, Black Currant
Die Cuts - Nestibilities & Cricut
Punch - MS
Colored with - Prismacolor pencils & Gamsol
Embellishments - Recollections

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Digital Tuesday Challenge - digi & a die cut

Flourishes - 3 design papers

Papertake Weekly - bling, glitter, gems

Top Tip Tuesday - sewing

Creative Card Crew - friendship

Dutch Dare Card Challenges - glitz

Cute Card Thursday - shiny, happy card

Digi Doodle Shop's Best - anything

Do You Stack Up - dots

Delicious Doodles Challenges - bling

Stamp Something - something funky

Totally Papercrafts - digi

Sketch Saturday - sketch

The Crafty Pad - red, pink & black

I Did It Creations Challenge - anything

House of Gillie - recipe

Little Claires Designs - anything

Wags N' Whiskers - punches

Alota Rubber Stamps - nestibilities

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will leave me a message. 

Hugs,

dj1952 (Debra)

Wee Stamps - How Cute...

There's a new digital stamp site that you may want to stop by and check out, called  Wee Stamps.  This little cutie-pie
is free for a short period of time.  Stop by Sylvia's Blog
to see the details.