SOA ended well!

Hey there friends! During the Stamp Out Alzheimer's event, I hosted a challenge called "Not A Card Button Challenge." The Challenge was to create something that was NOT a card and to use Buttons. I created this framed art: I used a lot of my favorite buttons on this project. First I drew the heart and wrote the scripture all around the edges of the paper and next to the heart then I sponged the white ink. Oh btw, the rest of the scripture was covered up by the frame, but I know it's there! In real life the contrast between the white ink and the kraft cardstock is NOT this harsh. Here it looks like a definite line between the two, but there isn't really. Next I picked a bunch of buttons, a few pearls and two heart brads to fill in the heart.

I had to play around with the buttons to distribute the colors and make them all fit but it was a fun, rewarding and relaxing time just playing with pretty buttons. Here is a close up of part of the scripture:

I have this frame displayed in our entertainment center. It's in a spot that isn't too obvious, but I know it's there and it's kinda comforting in a wierd way.

The Stamp Out Alzheimer's event ended with over to $6,500 raised!!! To think that this event started last year with just Jen Tapler posting some challenges on her blog and sending out prizes all on her own with a handful of participants, to this event that was a HUGEMONGOUS success!!! Wow, I can't wait to see what happens next year!

Until next post, be blessed.

Happy Monday!

I've got a few things to share today so I hope I remember them all! First, don't forget about Dustin Pike's Blog Candy Charitable giveaway HERE. You still have time to enter and it helps out a worthy cause!
Have you all heard about what's been going on over at 2 Sketches 4 You??? It looks like so much fun and I've already made my first entry for this weeks challenge. I'll show that to you all when I photograph it and link it to their challenge.
Also, did you see how much money was raised for Stamp Out Alzheimer's?!?! Good Golly we went WAY above the original goal of $2500!!! Thank you to everyone who participated. I'll be selecting my winner for my challenge as soon as I get my kiddos into bed. heehee. I need quiet to figure out the Random Number Integrator-Integantion-Integration- WHATEVER thingy! See, I was just pulled away because of the kids... They need to go to bed! lol!
AND, my new friend Justine (who also happens to live in Italy-only she's down south from me) is having a great blog candy on her blog right now. She's celebrating because she reached 10,000 hits on her blog! WOW! There is also a Design Team call going on for the company that she designs for, ABC Toys & Crafts. Hop over to her blog and check out all info!
Finally, I want to show you some cool little baskets I made: As some of you read in a previous post, I tried out for The Greeting Farm's Summer Design Team. Marie (the owner of TGF) asked us to use the summery colors of Yellow and Orange. I did not make the design team this time, but I'm going to be trying again in the Fall! Here is an upclose shot of the owl basket:
This basket was not yellow or orange, but I needed three baskets, and red went well with this DP that I wanted to use, so the basket ended up red. I made three baskets because I'm going to use them for end of the year teacher gifts. Here is an upclose of the yellow fish basket:

I colored all the images with my copic markers. Oh, and the baskets were made by copying a tutorial from Denise. You can check it out HERE. Here is an upclose of the Deer Basket:

I had a wonderful time making these and even showed my new neighbor friend, Jessica how to make them. I am going to be making a few more to keep for myself. I think I'll keep my mono multipurpose glues in them since they are just floating in my top drawer right now. That way I can have them nicely displayed on my desk!

Well, I think that is all I wanted to let you know about today. I hope to hear from you all in my comments. I haven't been getting many lately and I'm wondering where you all are?!? lol!!!

Until next post, BE BLESSED!!!

Now I lay me down to sleep...

Hey all! How are you this sunny Thursday? Even though we had a late start, the kids are off to school and I'm relaxing with my cup of coffee while I wait for Angel to wake up. Since I have a little bit of time, I want to show you this project I made a while ago for my friend's baby! Becca is due in about 3 weeks with their first baby! I had to miss the baby shower, but the gift has been made and waiting for delivery. I can finally show you the pics since Becca and I met for lunch on Tuesday and she opened her gift. Here is the prayer frame I made for baby Sa'Mya: I used TGF stamps, SU! papers, top note die and cloud cut outs, as well as my copic markers to put this whole thing together. Since the nursery has a lamb theme, I stamped and colored a couple additional lambs for the bottom of the frame:

This stamp set from TGF is called Shepherd boy. I think it is so adorable. Here is a close up of the cloud cut outs from Stampin Up. They are from the fairy tale cut out collection (I forget it's real name):

And here is a close up of Angel Anya. Can you see the glitter all around her and on her wings?

The prayer is printed out onto very vanilla cardstock and says "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, May Angels watch me through the night, And wake me with thy morning light. Amen." I used to say a similar prayer when I was little, and my son has a prayer like this above his bed. I think I'll be making one for Angel too, just to keep the tradition going, and it was a lot of fun! I've noticed that I really enjoy making 3D items like these frames and little boxes and such. I have some really cool boxes to show you another day that I am super excited about, but I'm keeping those for my Design Team entry so you can't see them yet...

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's post. I've noticed that my hit counter has been going up incredibly slow, and the comments have dwindled as well. Where is everyone? lol!

On another note, did you notice the Stamp Out Alzheimer's widget? The donations have EXCEEDED the second goal!!! It is truly amazing that there are so many caring, giving people out there. Thank you to everyone who has donated and gotten involved in this great cause. My challenge, Not A Card Button Challenge, has gotten a few entries. It's going to be fun picking the winners and sending them their goodies! The event runs until the end of the month, so if you want to join us there is still time.

Until next post, be blessed!

SOA ROCKS!

Hey there Friends! Do you see how close we are to reaching our SECOND goal for Stamp Out Alzheimer's??? Less than $500 away! Amazing! I am so happy that so many people have participated in this event. And to think it went from a handful of stampers last year, to a whole community of stampers this year is Great! I haven't heard from any of you as to whether or not you have been participating. If you've joined the SOA site, have you done any of the challenges to win any of the prizes? There are SO many prizes to be had, both from the challenges and the daily giveaways! And there is free stuff too! I plan on using one of the freebie templates today to make a cupcake box. Hopefully I will find the time.
On a different subject, I have two cards to show you that I made for some challenges with TGF stamps. First up is the card I made for the Case of the Curious Card Challenge on Splendid Stamping with the Greeting Farm blog: This card came together quickly, once I got the image colored. I wanted the colors to be a little "off" and not to realistic (for me anyway). And the embellishments were fun to make. I colored a SU! crocheted flower to make it greyer and sewed a little button in the center. Then I threaded some little Prima flowers with (uh, what's that stuff called?) knitting floss or something? Anyways, after those, I punched out a heart for above the crochet flower. Also,I cut a design out of patterened paper for the scalloped edge behind the image. Here is a totally different style of card for another TGF challenge:

This summery mermaid card was for the "I wanna be like..." Ohio Mary challenge on the Club Anya Blog. Ohio Mary's card was bright and summery so I used those colors as well. Mermaid Anya has been stamped and waiting for a card, so I finally colored her in an "orangey" color palette for this card. I didn't win either of the challenges, but that doesn't bother me much since I love participating in TGF events! Speaking of which, Marie is having anothe design team call right now for The Greeting Farm. This time around she threw in a twist to use Orange or Yellow on the cards! I am definitely going to be trying out the for team. One of these days I WILL make a DT, hopefully Marie's!

Until next post, be blessed.

News to Share and Pretty Pictures

Happy Friday! The kiddos had half a day of school today and Monday they are off, so hopefully we'll have a fun-filled weekend ahead of us. We're waiting to see if David has weekend duty before we make any plans. Well, want to know my news? I'm going to be a Challenge Host for Stamp Out Alzheimer's! I'm so excited that I get to participate in helping this great cause. I wanted to do more than just donate some money and participate in the challenges, so I asked Jen if I could be a challenge host. Since I have some extra goodies stashed away for giveaways, I was able to join in! You'll have to wait until opening day to find out just what all the challenges are! In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a little blurb I stole off the SOA website's main page:
"Welcome to Stampin' Out Alzheimer's and Thank you for participating in this event. It's going to be a fast-paced, fun-filled week with amazing giveaways and a chance to reach out and make a difference for a very worthwhile cause. At the end of this event, 100% of the funds raised will be donated directly to the Alzheimer's Association to help with their efforts to provide and enhance care and support for all those affected by this heartbreaking disease."
In case you want more info, or if you want to join in the fun, you can go to the SOA website HERE or click on the widget on my right column and you can donate to the cause. We are SO CLOSE to reaching our $2500 goal! I know we'll hit it and go WAY beyond! I'm making a predication of doubling our goal! YEP! I think we'll hit a $5000 donation! I really hope you all help out with this cause, even if it's just a $5 donation or just spreading the word through emails or blogs! Everything helps get us one step closer to eliminating this horrific disease. Now, on a lighter note, Italy is blooming! As we drive around, I see all kinds of beautiful things I want to share with you all. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. First up, some gorgeous roses from a neighbor down the road:


And here is a Lily bush from a neighbor across the street from the roses!
And here is our house. Please excuse the ugly, grey, rolling shutters:
I was able to get a bunch of free flowers from a local nursery so I have a ton of them in pots decorating the front of the house. In the two top windows are some rectangular pots with marigolds in them. To the side of the front door are a couple more pots. One is hanging around the drain pipe and has marigolds in it and here are the two on the ground:
Those leafy baby bushes are going to get HUGE and need to each be in their own pot. Right now there are about 5 in the pot! I love the deep two-tone colors on the leaves. I don't know what those flowers in the other pot are called but they are going to grow into HUGE bushes too so eventually I will need to repot them as well. When I got them, none of them were in bloom so I took the nursery lady's word that they would bloom into pretty flowers, and they have! The petals are all gorgeous ad different. Some are two toned even! Here is my little potted garden at the other end of the carport:
It's the same setup as the ones by the door. Well, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of Italy and I hope to hear that you all joing our SOA event!
Until next post, be blessed.
ETA: if you want to see any of the pictures closeup, you should be able to click on them for a bigger view. BUT, if you are reading this post on your emil, you will first have to actually go to my blog. Hey, if you do you will see my pretty background and hear my fantastic music!

A lot to share!

Hi all! As my title says, I have a lot to share this Monday. First I want to let you know about some great causes going on right now. Dustin Pike is having his very first blog candy on his BLOG. But, you can't just leave a comment to enter to win, you need make something for a child on the POSTPALS site and send it to them! Then, post a pic of your creation on your blog or gallery and comment to Dustin' blog about it, and there you go! You'll be sending smiles to a child who could use one, and you're entered to win some yummy candy from Dustin! Just hop over to his blog and read the instructions if you want to enter.
Also, Jen Tapler from Jen Tapler Designs has teamed up with Susanna Boyd from Paper Craft Planet for her annual Stamping Out Alzheimer's challenges! I participated in Jen's first SOA event last year because it is a cause near to my family and it was fun! I actually won last year, but the postal system gobbled up my prize... Anyway, go HERE and read all about it. I already donated and registered, now I'm eagerly anticipating opening day for the website so I can get busy with all the fun! I also have a widget on my right column if you want to donate from my blog. I don't get any extra credit or anything, but I thought it would be nice to have the widget there for easy access.
And finally, here's my card for today: I really love the way this turned out. I used a sketch from Club Anya's release party last week. I paper pieced Flutter Anya's outfit and wings, colored her skin with copics, and colored her hair with old olive ink using a blender pen. The flourish in the upper right-hand corner is from Stampin' Up's Yummy stamp set (I think that's what it is called) and traced over with a green sakura glaze pen. The DP is Amy Butler and the rest is Stampin Up paper (oh, actually the top note die and punched sentiment panel are from the cardboard backing that comes with Stampin' Up! DP). I hope you all like my card and have a wonderful Monday.
Until next post, be blessed.