Slacking Blogger!

Hello...I am still here! The past few weeks have been super busy- for my recent vacation I went on a scrapbooking retreat and visited Paige in NYC. Once I went back to work, I completed a retirement scrapbook for my Medical Director...and that took up a lot of my free time. But...I am back in my card making groove and trying to get up to date on all the challenges! 

I will start off my cards with this week's OWH sketch- #200--amazing to have 200 sketches and I think I like them all!! I hope to go back to some of the earlier sketches and use them for some inspiration.
                                                                                                            

Love the sentiments- from My Favorite Things and Authentique papers. I tried for a more masculine Valentine's card.

And the 2 recent Midweek Throwdowns:

A masculine birthday card:

I forgot to take a picture of the inside- it says "I forgot your birthday"- a fun stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.











Dry embossing:

If you look closely- the large brown panel is dry embossed. And another great stamp set from MFT- I cannot resist this sweet cowboy! Yeehaw!  The chipboard stars are from CTMH-they came in a kit I purchased at the retreat and I covered them with the same blue paper as the background.






And sketch #199: 
  

 I used Mama Elephant stamps for this one. Check out OWH for Penny's card that was the card sample for the sketch- so gorgeous!

And #198:

And that fun digital robot appears again-Sandy used this image in one of her ICSE classes.  I have used him a few times- and I love that I can change the color of the heart to match my papers....so this has a more masculine feel to it.  
Are you seeing a theme?   I am trying to make more guy- or at least gender neutral cards and  more boy cards..... but have no fear- I still love girly colors and have LOTS of paper to use! 

It is cold and windy here in New England...perfect to stay in tonight to watch the Patriots game. 
Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Craft on,
Diane

All Shook Up With the Drunken Stampers

Good morning! This week the Tropical Hooters are challenged to create a project with a person...Elvis! Or we can use music as our inspiration. 

When I think of Elvis I think of glitz, thank you very much, black hair, Heartbreak Hotel and my sister Janice! She loves Elvis! Her birthday is coming up so I decided to make a birthday card with Elvis front and center (and she does not view my blog- so she will be surprised with the card!)  While this is not my most elaborate or fancy card- I am really happy with it. It has a lot of glittery elements and it gets right to the point!

Please ignore the paperclip on the right side of the card- OK- now you are looking at it! I had to clip the card shut to take the picture. Why, you ask? Well, Elvis was known as the pelvis- and I think a little movement from Elvis is in order. The next few pictures show the inside of the card- I made a cut out in the front of the card so you can see Elvis (a very old set of stickers) and yup- you know it- he is on an Action Wobble! And what do you clamor for when I use a wobble? A video? Really? You want to see Elvis in action? I cannot disappoint the fans of my movies... my production assistant and my editor are out of the country; scoping out sites for our next movie, so the video may not be up to the standards you are used to seeing here at All I need!

Now that you are all excited about Elvis- make sure you see all of the creations from the rest of the Drunken Stampers- you will dust off your blue suede shoes and start rocking and rolling- then you may even craft on!

Thanks for stopping by!

Diane 

Lots of Love

Greetings! I had a wonderful time scrapping, eating, laughing and making cards at the Celebrate Memories Crop at Whispering Pines. It is so nice to see wonderful people I have met over the years at the crop!

I have a few cards to share today. 
My Favorite Things posted another sketch last Wednesday:
                                 

How can you resist a cute image like this gal?

Operation Write Home posted the Sunday Sketch- we are up to #197! 
                                          

I colored this sweet image over the weekend and used papers from a fall DCWV 6x6 pad that was on sale at JoAnn Fabrics for $2! I could not walk away from it! I like the rich colors- and I lots of the papers can be used all year round. I rotated the sketch so my image would fit.

And we have our monthly Our Daily Bread Designs challenge for November.... we are making Valentine or Love cards. I used my Cricut to cut some frames, hearts and a few sentiments. I love red. black and white together--can be for a guy or a gal! I made a few cards...same paper pad and similar but just different enough to hold my interest....I tend to make 1 or 2 of a kind- once in a while I will make 6-8 of the same card. I admire people who can make multiples all the time- I imagine they are more productive than I am!

 

Did I tell you about my big DOH moment? When I pack my cards for OWH I usually throw in $5 or $10 to help with the shipping costs- it really depends on what I have for cash- I tend not to carry cash (and I tend to not write checks either- love on line banking!). Did you ever notice the DONATE tab on the top right of the blog page at OWH? I guess it has been there a while and it is something I see but my brain did not process it! It just dawned on me-- I can donate ANY time- I do not have to wait to add it to my card shipment...and I do not need cash on hand!! I also feel like my amount of my donation is not dependent on what I have in my wallet so I can be a little more generous! Go look and use the donate tab-easy and via paypal! Go ahead- make a donation today!                      http://operationwritehome.org/blog/ 

Have a wonderful week and please find time this holiday season to craft on!
Thanks for stopping by!
Diane

Work Place with the Drunken Stampers

Hey, hey! Thanks for visiting today! Are you ready for another challenge with those crazy gals who call themselves the Drunken Stampers? The challenge this week is 'place'....a workplace. Hmmmm, my job as a nurse takes place in boring buildings and nothing came to mind on how I could make it interesting. 

Then...I thought- it did not say MY workplace! So I decided to be inspired by my sister's workplace! She is a florist and would be mortified to have created a bouquet like mine-- too skimpy, not enough greenery, she would never put in a flower that looks like the stem is broken-- lol- but I guess you get the idea! I did not put a sentiment on the card- so it can be used for a variety of occasions. 

The stamps are from Stamps of Life and each flower and sprig of greenery is a separate stamp- so the poor arrangement is all my own doing! I used one of my favorite tools- a Sakura clear glaze pen to highlight the flowers and I also covered the entire vase. The 'water' is a piece of vellum form my stash-at least 15 years old! Yeah me!

Why are you still here-- go look at all the other cards - you will be inspired! http://drunkenstampers.wordpress.com/
Have a wonderful week and please find time to craft on!
Diane

Stars, Stars, Stars

Greetings! The Midweek Throwdown at OWH is to create a card with stars. I took a star cluster stamp (I am pretty sure it is from a Simon Says Stamp monthly kit) and created my background paper. Some rick rack ribbon from my stash, the sentiment on a few circles and that was it! I wanted to try using stars in a non-patriotic color scheme. 

And how about the Red Sox? I am thrilled for the team and the fans. Boston Strong... in so many ways!
Have a wonderful Halloween!
Thanks for stopping by and craft on!
Diane

Sketch Delight!

Hello! Today I am sharing cards for 2 sketches- yup 2! I always enjoy the OWH Sunday sketches and you must know by now that I adore stamps by My Favorite Things-so I finally realized that I should try their sketches too!

First up- we have a fun sketch sponsored by Doodle Pantry over at OWH. There are several wonderful card samples- you really need to see them at operationwritehome.org/blogs.   I did not realize until I completed my 2nd card that I used a similar color scheme- LOL.

And here is the sketch for MFT- another really fantastic sketch- with great samples over  at http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/.

Thanks for stopping by and sorry for a short post! And yes- I did mail my box of cards to Sandy at OWH on Thursday and I received an email that it arrived yesterday! Way to go USPS- from 1 side of the country clear across to the other side in 2 days!  Wahoo!! I bombed out on the early bonus deadline- but my cards made it to OWH HQ before the final deadline for Christmas cards!

Have a wonderful week and craft on!

Diane

Pink and Green Love!

Greetings! This week at OWH we have a color challenge- pink and green!http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-color-challenge-11/

 The Christmas card making time for OWH is just about over so I am going start creating some love cards. I really like Paper Smooches stamps- so very whimsical and lots of cute animals. My sentiment is from Mama Elephant- another great company! And LOL- could my photo be any more crooked? Ya, photography classes should be on my list of things to do!

 I am mailing my box to Sandy today-really!! I have the day off so I have no excuses! It is the anniversary of my Dad's death --and I still have a hard time with it. If I work- I am no good at all- so I have the day off and I am going to do some errands and then make some cards and just trying to remember how blessed I was to have such a wonderful father. I miss him everyday. Anyway- enough of the sadness! Today is also my brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Jim!!

So, what are you working on? Craft on and thanks for stopping by!
Diane

It is Another Sunday Sketch

It is time for another sketch from OWH. This is a great sketch that allows an image to take center stage without trying!

                                   

The sassy gal and sentiment are from My Favorite Things; stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Crafter's Companion paper and colored with Copics.  The papers are all from Little Yellow Bicycle- Just Because 6x6 pad... except for the card base (Bazzill). THe corners are rounded with the WRMK corner chomper and everything is held together with ATG adhesive- and that's my card!(the red is just paper I used to photograph my card against- it is not part of the card!)

And in just a few short weeks- I will be celebrating my 1 year blog anniversary! It may be time to update my profile description and my picture! LOL 
Have a wonderful week! Hope you have time for some crafty plans!
Take care,
Diane

Drunken Stampers Challenge #146: Wood

It is that time again.... it is Challenge #146- and this week we were challenged to make a project with wood. Hmmmm, I thought I had a lot of ideas floating in my head, but when I sat down to create...I could not decide between little wooden cats or the snowflakes. As you can see, winter won out!   I coated the snowflakes with Stickles and then added a layer of glossy accents. Since you can still see that they are wooden thru the glitter- I decided to go with kraft as my card base and layers. I like the kraft and blue together--sort of masculine...if you can ignore the glitter and the rhinestones...lol! The snowflakes are so shimmery in real life but even with the glossy accents coating, I am a little concerned about the possibility of the glitter flaking off- so I am not going to send this card to OWH. I may send this card to my friend 'Bonnie Sue'....she is sort of like a partner in crime. And just as no 2  snowflakes are alike- she is a one of a kind friend!  

Come join us at drunkenstampers.wordpress.com and play along with our wood challenge. I think you are going to love the cards made by the Tropical Hooters team this week! 

 Thanks for stopping by and come on- get your craft on and make something.... then share it with us!
Diane

Winter-- NOT Christmas Cards!

Happy Wednesday! This week we are challenged to make winter cards...NOT Christmas cards--over at Operation Write Home.
http://operationwritehome.org/midweek-throwdown-snow-much-fun/

Amazingly- I can tell you almost everything about my card!
Stamps: There She Goes-Wonderful Winter Wishes and sentiment by My Favorite Things
Copics: YG 41,45; YR16;  E00, 02,39; G0000; C1,2; R20, 82, 83; and RV34, 55.
Papers: pattern papers Recollections Jolly Holiday 6x6 pad, Bazzill Marshmallow for the card base and black for the mats.
Die: My Favorite Things- frame, Life Style Crafts-banner
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Corner Chomper- WRMK
The mittens are popped up on Stampin Dimensionals by SU
My only mystery manufacturer is the green and white twine that I tacked it down with tiny dots of Glossy Accents.
I am pleased with how this card came together and I adore that tiny little snowman--so sweet!

Have a wonderful week and craft on!
Diane

OWH Sunday Sketch #194

Hellooooo! Although the OWH sketch was posted a day early this week, I did not have a chance to make my card yesterday. And...I am a slacker- I did not get to the post office yesterday to send a box of cards to Sandy to beat the end of the month deadline....well- it will get there before the 31st...but not by the 15th as planned...time sure does go quickly some weeks!
Here is sketch #194.... wow! I have been blogging about 11 months-so I am approaching a full year of using and posting my cards with the OWH sketches! I do not always get to post for the tutorials, and I think I missed a bootcamp or 2, and a rare midweek throwdown- but the Sunday sketches...well- even if they are late- I think I have posted every week since I started blogging. They are great sources of inspiration!  Here is this week's sketch and Nancy's sample card. AWESOME!!! Love the layers and I love kraft with the red, white and blue. Great card Nancy!
       

I used a digital image from CC Designs- one of the sweet little Meoples by Amy Young. The patterned papers were from a freebie pad with one of the UK magazines and the star brads are from my stash. The little dude was colored with copics and the sentiment is by MFT and the banner is a die by Life Style Crafts. I love all the layers in the sketch- and love the black contrast to the various blue colors in the papers I used. I rarely get use of the freebie papers but this little pad has some interesting patterns and colors. (FYI~ the star paper in the background is just what I photographed the card against-- it is not part of the card!)

Well- off to run some errands and watch the Patriots hopefully redeem themselves this afternoon! Have a wonderful week and I am sure...with several holidays approaching quickly, you will be getting your craft on!
Thanks for stopping by,
Diane

ODBD, The Midweek Throwdown and Still Recovering from WCMD!

Greetings! I have a few cards to share today.
Each month, Our Daily Bread Designs sponsors up to 2 boxes of shipping costs when at least 50 of the OWH gals make and post cards. I make a point of  participating in the challenge- this is an offer too good to turn down- shipping for 2 boxes AND they give away 2 gift cards every month- very generous! I met the great folks from ODBD at the stamp show last spring and they were as nice as their stamps are gorgeous! I made 2 cards- but only 1 can count towards the 50 cards. Both are made with ODBD stamps.The second card is a deep, rich purple- but it did not photograph that way. The stamp gives the chalkboard effect- without all the work!

And for today's midweek throwdown, the challenge is to create a Christmas card with something from nature that reminds us of the holidays--so I chose the moon. Many years ago, upon leaving my home after our Christmas Eve gathering, my eldest niece-who was about 6 years old- saw what the adults knew was a plane-but she thought was Santa and Rudolph's nose shining brightly- flying through the sky- against the glow of the moon. She was so excited she began to shout and jump up and down and fell on some ice. (She was not hurt!) That precious little girl is now the mom of a fabulous 3 year old boy who has her enthusiasm for life. Jaclyn- this card is in honor of you and all the wonderful memories you have given me- and continue to give! There he is-- Santa flying to your home- and can you see Rudolph's shiny nose??? And do you see some of the lights on in the town below- some kids are asleep and some are still up...hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa!  

The buildings are from a Memory Box die and Santa is from Cricut cartridge- December 25th....it has some great images!
And- no I have not completed visiting all the blogs from WCMD. I was sick earlier in the week-fighting a headache-so being on the computer was not an option. I still plan to visit all the blogs! 
Thanks for stopping by! Craft on!
Diane