Spring Break

Taking a break from my "Going Grey..." series to celebrate Spring! I trust that you had a blessed weekend. We had a truly wonderful weekend, the highlight of which was yesterday. The church services were a blessing and encouragement, and it being the 2nd Sunday of the month, we observed the Lord's Supper, which was extra special on Resurrection Sunday. I also officially became a member at our new church, which the Lord led me to a few weeks ago. He has confirmed repeatedly that this is the place He would have us, and as we were talking with friends after last night's service, it was another blessing to hear my mom tell others how happy she is there and how much she is learning and growing in her understanding. Praise God!

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

A new season in life with a new church, a new season in the earth, and the new life we have in Christ as born again believers, reconciled with the Father, because of Jesus's perfect sacrifice on the cross and His victory over death and sin when He rose on the third day. Amen and amen!

As Christians, we have so much to rejoice about, and we shouldn't keep it to ourselves.

I made this card using "Stella" from The Greeting Farm. I love me some digis, but some things are just easier/quicker/better in rubber, and for me, paper piecing is one thing I love rubber for. I raided my stash for the beautiful papers from Basic Grey's "Sultry" collection, and then raided my button and twine stashes for embellies.


I'm entering this in the Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge #45 "Buttons and Bows", the Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC47 "Spring Is in the Air", and the Fresh Brewed Challenge FBC90 "Tie It Up". (I hope to be back with another Fresh Brewed Challenge entry later this week!)

Have a blessed day!

Making Merry with TGF's 3rd Annual Customer Hop!

Welcome, friends! I hope you've been having fun so far, hopping along for the Christmas holiday! Since I know this hop is HUGE, I'll try to keep my post short & sweet.

For the hop, I chose to work in the HOLIDAY category with this Christmas card, pairing Angel Anya with papers & stickers from The Girls' Paperie "Tinsel & Twig" collection. (And I'm entering this into this month's Farm Fresh Challenge - Ah, it feels so good to use the stash!) I went a little wild with the paper piecing on this image, but I love the effect. Making the rosette was a bit more challenging than I expected, but I am hooked on this look.

On the inside, I kept it simple with some border stickers and a sentiment (also retro) from Stampin' Up!

Now for the real good stuff: PRIZES! In addition to the two Grand Prizes that will be drawn for the participant's creations, a random hopper will ALSO win the ENTIRE upcoming January Release! That's 6 sets in all- a HUGE prize...and the only way to win is by participating in the blog hop! So if you're just getting started, head on over to the TGF Blog, and be sure to visit everyone on the hop. Enjoy & have a very blessed Christmas! And remember, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Another Belated Birthday Card

Okay, first off: How is it November already??? And how is it that it's been over 30 days since my last post??? Granted, busy season was in there somewhere. Along with its long hours and weekend work. No wonder now that things are back to normal in the office, I find myself obsessively thinking about cardmaking & scrapping. I did manage to keep my crafty muscles in shape (and BTW, those are seriously the only muscles that have gotten a work out lately - yikes!) by restarting and finishing a cross-stitch project (which I will share as soon as I get it framed), and restarting the next in the series (2 down, 2 to go..and are you picking up on the trend of not finishing things when I start them? Yeah, not good.). I think that between that crafty outlet and church (which is such a good anchor), I got through this busy season much more graciously than years past, since historically the equation has been: Stress + Lack of Sleep = Crankiness
But this time around was different/better, and it just goes to show (again) what the Holy Spirit can accomplish when you get out of the way. :) Really, when you start out trusting & obeying the Lord, then you just know everything is going to be okay, no matter what challenges/temptations/obstacles you face. So then, what's to worry about? Or get bent out of shape over? Not a thing. So awesome!

But back to the card... This is for a gal at church whose b-day was mid-October. *hanging head* I just kept forgetting to make the card! Had it in my head. Kept telling myself (always away from my craft area & supplies) that I needed to do it. But... Does this happen to you??? It happens to me too often.

One of my happy-little-mental-vacation-if-I-can't-craft-I'll-buy-things-to-craft-with-shopping-sprees was at Two Peas when they had all of their 6x6 paper pads on sale. I bought my 1st three Jillibean Soups, along with two 12x12 die-cut sheets. And I got over my "but I only have one of these" hoarding habits and went for it. The cupcake image is from The Greeting Farm's "Susie Surprise" set (retired) and I colored with Copics and added a bit of glitz to the candle with a touch of Stickles on the flame. The pattern paper & die-cuts are from the "Sweet & Sour Soup" collection.
I just loved the sentiment around the circle: Make every moment count. Very wise words.

Since I'm all about getting back in the swing of things/stepping it up a notch (just a tiny notch), I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC27 "Anything Goes"

CAS-ual Fridays CFC 26

Thanks for visiting and have a very blessed day! I'll be back in a couple days to share that 1st finished cross-stitch I completed many, many moons ago...and a seasonal card. (((HUGS)))

International Inkers

Aloha! Welcome to another edition of International Inkers!

This month's kit was sent to us by one of our German delegates, Imke, and it was so cute! Take a look:

Creating with this adorable image from The Greeting Farm was a nice mental vacation (the only kind I can take right now) back to my favorite travel destination: Hawaii.

As is my normal state lately and especially at this time of year (aka busy season at work), I was crafting on the fly and kept things clean & simple, but I hope not boring, mostly due to the great embellies Imke supplied. All I added was the cardstock and the pink web ribbon.

Be sure to pop over and visit all the Inkers today! Imke's blog has a triple treat: her gorgeous card, Tanja's amazing card, and a chance to win a kit of your own! Totally worth the trip!

Late Post for Father's Day...

...but baseball season is still going strong. teehee Hey, what counts is that Dad got it right on time, eh? And besides, my dad's an all-star all the time ;)

So, I have been meaning to use my TGF stamps & images more, but I didn't plan on back-to-back TGF posts. Hmmm....

One thing my dad and I have shared over the years (decades at this point) is baseball. I must have been around 5 years old when he took me to my first game. Even in my teens when I was über moody and he was super busy with his career, we had baseball. And baseball movies, like Major League and Field of Dreams. Good times. The Friday before Father's Day I took him to a game, which our beloved Indians won (hooray!) and was followed by a spectacular fireworks display. The weather was perfect - mid-70s, blue skies and a gentle breeze. It was truly blessed and delightful!

So, back to the card. Batter Ian (digi), colored with Copics. Almost every color was custom palette blended to coordinate with the papers. (Back later with the paper 411 as my thirty-something brain is failing me at the moment. *sigh*) ETA: The paper is from Prima Marketing! (I never would have guessed.) {You}th Collection, 6x6 pad.

I thought for sure that I had a baseball sentiment, and was a bit frustrated that I couldn't find it. Have no fear, 1001 free fonts is here....er, there. Whatever. I downloaded this font called "Deftone Stylus" for that retro vibe. To give it that "name in lights" scoreboard feel, I went over the lettering with a gold Spica pen.

And then in my rush, thinking I was a mini-genius, I had a big old "Duh!" moment, and forgot to straighten out the sides of my Word-made home plate, to make the bottom corners into right angles. Something more like this:

I knew something was amiss, but was in a hurry (as usual) and didn't figure it out until after Dad opened the card. I told him I'd fix it, but he said "no way" because he likes it just as it is. Either he's being a guy and doesn't care, or he thinks it's cute when I have "duh" moments. It's probably a bit of both. Oh well. That's the great thing about parents: they know all your flaws and love ya just the same.

Voilà, c'est la vie, and thank God for great dads! Hope you and your dad had a memorable Father's Day, too. (((Hugs)))

Tea Party Birthday

My sister recently had a milestone birthday. We won't mention numbers. The important thing to note is that I am younger! LOL!
My sis is a tea lover and one of the special things we try to do is go to our fave tea house once a month. Yummy! She also has the curliest naturally curly hair I've ever seen. I'm not kidding. Whenever we're out & about someone stops her to tell her how pretty her hair is and ask if it is naturally curly. She beams with pride when she answers sweetly, "Yes, it is. Thank you." [I giggle a bit extra knowing that it is right for her hair to be her glory. 1 Corinthians 11:15] So, needless to say that "HG Classy" from The Greeting Farm is just about the most perfect image for my sis.


She also loves shimmer and sparklies. So, while I'm bummed that I die-cute the sentiment a bit crooked, I am otherwise pleased with it. I colored it with YG91 (Putty) and then went over it with a generous slather of Shimmerz Candlelight. There's also a touch of sparkle on the hat flower, courtesy of a gold Spica pen. The pattern papers are from Basic Grey's Stella Ruby 6x6. I picked up the pearl accented lace from i{heart}papers - prrrrrrr.
This is my entry for today's Mystery Monday at the Farm Fresh Challenge Blog (taking inspiration from the case card's layout), and the Embellishment Challenge on CDAC.

Operation Write Home: Be My Valentine

As the daughter of a veteran (Navy), the brave men and women serving our beloved country are near & dear to my heart. Politics and policy may change, but their courage and dedication are constant, and so is my gratitude. Operation Write Home is kicking off their Valentine's Day card drive, and I couldn't think of a better way to express my heartfelt appreciation than to participate in this hop (and of course, donate some cards). So, without further ado:

Welcome to:
OPERATION WRITE HOME'S
"BE MY VALENTINE" HOP!

I'm sure many of you are scratching your heads. It's one thing to be in mid-November, before Thanksgiving, and posting Christmas cards, but Valentine's?!?!? That's months away, right? Well, yes. But the deadline for donating your handcrafter Christmas cards to Operation Write Home has passed. And the deadline for Valentine's Day is January 7th, which will be here before we know it, especially with all of the Christmas and New Year's activities and excitement.

If I'm your first stop, please get started at OWH Stars and Stamps and you'll be on the right trail. If you are arriving from Lisa at Land of EnCRAFTment, then you are right on track! (And let me say a great big THANK YOU! for staying with us - I know the hop is big and quite a long journey!)

For my card I used the adorable Wild Sprout Stella from The Greeting Farm. She was so much fun to color, I can't wait to make more. I paired her with some fab Valentine papers that were given to me as a gift (sorry, I don't know the manufacturer), a crocheted heart (A Million Memories), a heart charm (LSS), some twine, and paper flowers. I used my oval classic & scallop nesties for her mat and Labels Four for the sentiment mat. The sentiment was created with Making Memories Boho Alphabet Stickers. The touches of distress inking are done in Tim Holtz Spun Sugar Distress Ink. The layout is today's Saturday Sketch at Club Anya, and was designed by the lovely Jen Shults.

As a special THANK YOU for joining us today (and as a reward for your stamina), I've got some blog candy to give away: For a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post, and be sure I have a way to contact you (either through your blog link or by leaving your email address). I will draw & announce a winner on Monday, Nov. 15th, when I will also be posting my Blog-A-Versary Blog Candy, which you will not want to miss!

Thank you. May God bless you & keep you. May God bless our heroes, and God Bless America!

Your next stop is Carole at Ramblings of a FibreJunky.

And don't forget, Valentine's Day cards are needed by January 7th. Visit Operation Write Home for more information. Happy crafting!

Chapter 7: We're All M.A.D. Here...

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked."Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.""How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice."You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here..."

This week, we are gettin' our M.A.D. (Monochromatic And Distressed) with THE GREETING FARM!! Marie has generously offered her new line of Alice-inspired stamps, The Creepy Cakes to the DT and a FABULOUS prize of THREE FREE Creepy Cakes Digital Images OR ONE Rubber Single to ONE LUCKY WINNER! Thanks Marie!

We're also MAD about our APRIL TEA PARTY GUEST! Please join us in welcoming Kim Howard, a.k.a. BASEMENT STAMPER to our Twisted Tea party this month! She's been curiouser and curiouser to get started and we're happy to have her at our twisted little table :)

I was soooooo thrilled about this challenge theme!!! I've wanted to try my hand at a monochromatic card for a very long time, and of course, I love distressing! (My name is Catherine, and if I weren't a Christian, Tim Holtz would be my "god"!) Surprisingly, no Tim products were used to make this card! Say what?!? It's true! Much to my shame, I've misplaced my TH Distress Tool! I love that little gizmo like you wouldn't believe, so needless to say that distressing without it caused me quite a bit of distress and definitely increased the challenge of the challenge! (Did you follow all of that?!? LOL) Fret not. I now have a new relationship with my Cutterpede Scissors :) which I also used to distress the satin ribbon - something new and fun that popped into my head at 2:00 a.m. the other night. Gotta love midnight stamping - you tend to lose your inhibitions/fear when you're tired and working the wee hours. (And if this post is any indication, you also tend to lose your edit function and ramble incessantly! LOL) But I do want to share one more tidbit about this card. 1. This is my first purple card is ages! Purple can be a tricky color and I've shied away from it in the past. But I had to give it a shot because of this gorgeous paper, which I had actually bought when I was undecided about a previous challenge to use a caterpillar or butterfly. The added bonus is that this card totally reminds me of our beloved Mad-Hatter, Jessica (aka The Whimsical Butterfly), who was kind enough to invite me along on this wonderful adventure! (Love ya, Jess!)


I can't wait to see your Monochromatic And Distressed creation! You have until Friday, April 9th at 8pm CST to enter using Mr. Linky on the Oh, Alice Blog. The winner will be chosen and announced during next week's challenge! If you upload to a public gallery please use keyword OAC7.

Madly yours,


Image(s): The Greeting Farm - Freaky Flutter; Hero Arts Sentiment
Pattern Papers: Kaiser Kraft
Cardstock: local source
Embellishments: Sakura Gelly Roll Pen; Nesties; MFT and misc. buttons; American Crafts satin ribbon
Colored with Copics

I'm late! I'm late!

Ahhhh....what else is new, right? LOL!
I had quite the adventure trying to finish this card. Seems my tardy bunny tried to make a break for it. I literally spent hours on the floor in my disaster of a craft area trying to find the stamp. I had used it for the mock up of this card, but when it came time to do the card for real, this little guy was apparently looking for a rabbit-hole under my ottoman! LOL!

I am still so wildly ecstatic over being so blessed to be part of the "Oh, Alice..." Challenge Blog! I hope you will all join us for our FIRST CHALLENGE, which will be announced THIS SATURDAY! Until then, this card is my paper celebration :D

(Sorry for the wonky photo, BTW. *sigh*)

One of the best parts of this is that I finally used the clock stamp, from a set I've had stashed away well over a year (or more???). After stamping and punching the clock face, I punched another circle in acetate and layered it on top as the "glass". Instead of hands, I put my "white rabbit" in the center, propped up on glue dots. The "Alice" image is courtesy of my swapping buddy, Debbie (djones), who traded images with me months ago - thanks Debbie! Who knew? :D

And thanks to all of your for your congrats, well wishes, support and encouragement! Love you all!

Twistedly yours,


Image(s): The Greeting Farm (Alice), SU (rabbit), Heidi Swapp (clock )
Pattern Papers: Cosmo Cricket - Earth Love
Cardstock: Bazzill, SU and local sources
Embellishments: Making Memories die-cut tag; velvet ric-rac ribbon
Inks: Memento, Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Colored with Copics
Layout: SC265

Club Anya Ho-Ho-Hopping!

December must be my "dare-devil" month! LOL! This is my first time hopping with Club Anya! I'm so nervous and excited - just like a kid hoping to sneak a peek at Santa as he puts the prezzies under the tree! For some totally unacceptable reason (only myself and my scatterbrain to blame, of course), I don't have the Xmas Sweeties set. What the?!? So, I used Angel Anya and made her a Christmas Angel. I love this image!

A little Copic (okay, a lotta copic to get the hair just so), some paper piecing, sanding, stickling and embellishing and we have our Christmas Angel Anya keeping it festive AND keeping it real by reminding us of the Reason for the Season! Just the message I want to send to my sweet little 5-year old pseudo-niece. I envision her putting this frame next to her bed and reading it before she goes to sleep. Later, her mom can always pop out it and put in a picture.

Wishing you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

TFL and enjoy the rest of the hop!


Image(s): The Greeting Farm - Angel Anya
Pattern Papers: Daisy D's
Cardstock: Local Source

Supplies: Photo Frame (Michael's)
Embellishments: Stickles, God Dew Drops, Chipboard Letters -Darice, Holly Leaves - Inque Boutique
Colored with Copics

Oh Boy!

I am totally LOLing at myself. My very first card using an image from The Greeting Farm, and even though I have collected almost a dozen TGF rubber stamps & sets, this is a digital image! Oy vey! I have to admit, having your friends be the creators of some of the most amazing TGF cards is a bit... well, let's just say I had to muster up some courage. And what better occassion than my BIL's birthday, eh? I can totally imagine my BIL as a tot (hence the blonde hair) with this same expression of anticipation and excitement! The shimmer on the ribbons & bows is a nod to my sister, obsessed with ribbon and things that sparkle - what could be better than shimmery sheer ribbon.

I think it's safe to say with my first TGF card done, I'm over the initial hurdle and will be coloring up some more just as soon as my rather hectic schedule allows.

Happy Monday & TFL,

Image(s): The Greeting Farm
Pattern Papers: My Mind's Eye - Magnolia collection
Cardstock: Local source
Embellishments: Dew Drops
Colored with Copics and Gelly Roll Stardust Pen
Tools: Nestabilities, SU punch