Simon Says......ANIMALS!!

The challenge this week at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog is to make a project using ANIMALS!! Well, if you've been to my blog at least once before you know how much I LOVE my animal stamps!!!!! So, here is the bookmark I made using the Simon Says exclusive set called "Cat & Dog are best of friends". You will have until next week to join in on the challenge for a chance to win a $25 shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp!!!!! So...go get your animal stamps inky and join us!!!!!

Roses on Paper challenge card

Another challenge card I got to finish on the weekend is for Roses on Paper challenge blog! I haven't had the time lately to participate in challenges and I realized this weekend that I really miss that! I must find time to do challenges at least once a week!!! THAT is my goal!!!! The challenge this week is called ONE FOR THE BOYS! It had to be all boy - no flowers, no ribbon, no frills, no cute sayings (I hope my saying doesn't seem too cute!!!LOL) Anyways, here it is:




I used Skater Ian from The Greeting farm and DP from CTMH. I coloured Ian with Copics and used black brads for the skateboard wheels.
Thanks for popping by!!! Have a great night!!!
Chris

High Hopes Challenge #32

I finally had a bit of time in my craft room so I thought I would dabble in a couple challenges. The first one I did was the High Hopes Challenge #32 - Pink & Brown! THAT is one of my favourite colour combos, so how could I resist?!?!?! Here is the card I made:



It is a 4x4 card, using Pretty in Pink and Bella Rose paper. The bunny is coloured with copics.

Squigglefly challenge

The challenge for the Squigglefly blog was to use Chocolate Chip, Brocade blue and pretty in pink. Here is the card I made using this cute ol' turtle. I used my cuttlebug for the background and added a prima flower in his mouth. He is coloured with copics. This card is 4x4.






Thanks for looking! HAVE a great day!

The Ugly Tree

Ok, where are my GREEN THUMB gardeners?? I NEED YOU!!! We have this horrible tree in our front yard, I don't even call it a Pine Tree - it is affectionately (or not) known as The Ugly Tree!!! So, this is a picture of the front of our house & the left side of the stairs. This tree is atrocious and NOTHING will grow there because of all the pine needles. Sooooooooooooooo, I need your advice!! What can we do with this??? It costs too much $$ to chop it down and rip out the stump, so that isn't an option this year, and I REALLY like the shade it gives us and the privacy. It blocks the mid-day sun from the deck. Should I case it in, and put decorative rocks in there? Is there ANYTHING that will grow under a pine tree??

My goal this Spring and Summer is to make the front of our house have more "curb appeal". I worked really hard on the right side of the yard, and it isn't so bad now. There are 2 trees on the right side, a Kelsey Crab Apple tree and a Nan King Cherry bush. I made a flower bed behind the trees and planted a shrub of some sort that gets pretty little flowers (LOL), some Lily of the Valley, some plants my neighbour lady gave me (can't remember what they are called but they survived the winter, so you can't go wrong with that!!!) and some ground cover stuff that gets pretty little yellow flowers (Golden stone or something?!?!) We'll see if that grows!!! LOL

BUT, my issue is this Ugly Tree and the area underneath it!!! Any hints? ideas? words of advice???

Binky Crafts decoupage kits

Very cool!!!! I ordered some Daisy & Dandelion stamps from Binky Crafts in Malta (yes, I had to look it up on a World map!!). I have to thank Lorraine for hooking me up cuz these stamps are CUTE!!! As I was looking through the store, I saw these Decoupage kits - I was curious so I ordered them. They are really cute, die cut pieces that you layer with pop dots. There is no stamping on this first card because the elephant is quite big. I used a yellow card base I got from Michael's ages ago (SEE, I AM using up things I have!!!) and some DP from Doodlebug Designs (really glittery). The yellow ribbon is from PTI, and the charm says LAUGH (sorry it's so dark, it was a really gloomy day when I took this photo). I wish I had taken a side view of this so you could see the decoupage layers on the elephant (I think his name is Pickles?!?!) There are 4 layers on his face, and 2 layers on his feet.

This little guy is Onions, isn't he adorable?!?! The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp, and the card base is from Amuse (thanks Glenda!!)

Both are very simple cards - as I was just "testing" out the decoupage thing......I have a card in the works with the actual Daisy and Dandelion stamps so I should have one for you in the next few days!!!!

I need a Moo-tini

Here is a card I made using one of the Divine Bovines from Squigglefly. The sentiment was printed on my computer. I made this awhile ago when I had had a BAD day, and any sort of alcoholic bevvy would have been WELCOMED!!! LOL

I used the googly eyes with eyelashes that Holly had sent to me (THANKS!!) cuz they fit these cows SO perfectly!!!! The little martini charm I got at Michael's AGES ago and finally got to use it!!! The card base is a pre-printed one from Michael's too!!!!

Thanks for popping by!!! Have a great week!!!
Chris

INKY IMPRESSIONS.......versatile!!

Hey everyone!! I finally finished this card - I've been working on it for awhile, I just haven't had much time in my craft room but I finished it up bright and early this morning!!!! I am SOOOOO pleased with how it turned out!!!

As you all know, Inky Impressions is a BRAND NEW rubber stamp company and Nicole is getting ready to release her first set of stamps VERY QUICKLY!!!! She sent me a sample stamp to try out and rate on its quality, and I have to say, it is TOP NOTCH!!! The red rubber is really deeply etched and it inks SOOO nicely!!! They come on EZ Mount so they are ready to INK!!! The stamp she sent me is LiLi colouring Easter Eggs, and since I was DYING to make another card using an Inky Impressions stamp, I thought I would see how versatile I could make it!!

So, I coloured her, cut her out, and cut off the Easter Eggs, paint brush and paint cans. I wanted to try to use my Flower Soft so I made some little flowers on wire (still need to work on this technique but not bad for a first time!) for her to hold, instead of the paintbrush. I added Flower Soft at her feet too. She is also holding a large Easter Egg, so I added a tiny Prima flower to look like she was holding it. THIS is what I came up with:

What do you think???

I coloured her with Copics, added some sakura gel pen (stardust) and atyou Spica pens to give her some sparkle! Those EYES just scream for some SPARKLE, don't ya think??

It is possible to take Holiday/Seasonal stamps and make them into whatever you want!! You can mask them, cut parts off, add parts, cover parts....the options are endless!!!!! If I can do it, so can YOU!!!

Here is a close up of LiLi:


Thanks for popping by!!! Have a great Sunday!! And for my Canadian friends, enjoy your Holiday Monday tomorrow!!!!! I am soooo happy to have a long weekend!!!! Tim and I are going to go do something fun today - a hike and a picnic with Brick. Brick loves our family walks - especially when he gets to be off leash!!!! So I better run and get ready!!!

Cards we made at my Workshop last weekend!

I finally got a chance to get these pictures uploaded and posted! Sorry my blog has been a ghost town but I got a bad cold this week and didn't feel much like doing anything!!! UGH!! I feel better today though, still a bit snotty but I'm coherant at least!! These are the cards I had my girls make at my house last Friday night! It is such a fun night - I love having them, I just wish I had a bigger house!!!! LOL
This first one is a flower pot pocket card. I got the tutorial off of SCS, and I think it turned out really cute!! The pocket part (which I didn't take a picture of) is the flower part - you pull up on the flowers and the inside tag comes out. Very cute and VERY easy!!!!



Here is another Stair-Step card I made using Under the Stars (SU).

This card was a "technique" card - we did Cracked Glass. It was really fun, but messy! I'm still sweeping up UTEE off my floor!!!! LOL

I hope the girls had fun!!! I'm hoping to do one more before summer!!!! We'll see!!!! Thanks for popping by!!! I'm hoping to get some crafting time in this weekend!! It is a long weekend here in Canada, so I don't have to work Monday! YAHOOOOOO!!!

Simon Says......make a MASCULINE CARD!!!

Challenge #4 over at the Simon Says Challenge blog is to make something for a GUY - young or old!! I needed a little gift tin for a 5 year old boy so I decided to make one and use my Simon Says Stamp set called BUGS! Can you get MORE "boy" than BUGS???? LOL The tin was a Chamomile tea tin that I recovered with My Mind's Eye paper. It was a perfect size for the gift (a bug catcher/holder and magnifying glass) and the Bug set was the icing on the cake!! :-)

Here are pictures of the 3 bugs I used and the lid. I added googly eyes to all the bugs and stickles to make them sparkle!

Head on over to Simon Says Challenge to check out what the other DT have made for this challenge to inspire you!! AND, don't forget to participate!!! You never know when there will be prizes!!!! ;-)

Thanks for popping by! Have a great week!!!