No Chatter Today

Nope. Getting right to the cards. Have too much to do yet, and it's getting later and later in the day. Playing in several challenges with three cards. So...

First I've got a card for CASology, where the CueCard is "birthday."

And my card:

Michaels white base, MFT oval die, MB 'happy' die, PTI 'birthday' sentiment stamped with TH embossing ink, and then Zing white embossing powder. Three MME enamel dots finish it off. 

Next is my card for Lily's birthday. A big shout-out and thank you to Geri G. of Manitoba Stamper for sending this stamp set. Great plans for several grandgirls! Thanks!!! This card will go into Freshly Made Sketches and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where it's 'Anything Goes', and then into Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday for January with 'new' as the cue.

Here's my card:

Michaels white base with various scraps! SSS Princess stamp (thanks again Miss G.!!), colored with Copics. MFT Fishtail die and oval dies. Three Recollections teeny-tiny pearls. Versafine black ink.

And last, but not least I have a card that (hopefully) fits into the current Muse, and The Card Concept. If it doesn't work for the Muse Ardyth, feel free to take it down....Here's our inspiration card by Julie B....

And the super fun inspiration photo from TCC:

I combined these two challenges, but was inspired by the tannish-beiges and the heart and ombre. 

Kept it really CAS. Michaels white base, and a scrap of the same printed with a Silhouette ombre pattern, then overstamped with a LF woodgrain in ME's Hazel ink, and finally die cut with MFT's pierced rectangle die. A scrap of pink vellum die cut with an RC heart. LF sentiment in Hazel ink, and a scrap of gold twine. That's it. Gotta run...Happy dances everyone!

So This is Where it Goes....

I've always wondered where my Mojo goes when it decides to disappear. Well I found it. Yesterday, after a morning doctor's appointment, a run to the bank, a stop for coffee at Starbucks (ahhhh...), it was time to head to the grocery store. Not my favorite thing to do, but once every couple of weeks it just has to be done. I went shopping at Woodmans, and the place is HUGE. Takes me over an hour to do the shopping.... But while I was there, I found my Mojo. Pretty sure the other shoppers thought I was off my rocker for taking this photo:

Cracked me right up! And no...I didn't buy any; why should I have to pay for my own Mojo??!! 

Saturday night, I drove over to Madison to watch the grandbabies. The youngest, Avie, doesn't like grown-ups, except for her mom, dad, and nanny. But for some reason, she's crazy about me! And the feeling is mutual! I walked in, and she held up her arms for grandma to pick her up. She nestled right in my neck, squeezing me tight with those sweet little baby arms. Daddy managed to snap a few pix, and I'm so glad he did. Will share one here:

Isn't she just the cutest?! She doesn't talk, but doesn't need to...three older siblings fetch anything she points at. She did attempt to say "grandma," but it came out "mama." Works for me. Wish you all could get a hug from her; it's about the nicest thing ever! Never enough time with them....

I'm playing along at the MFT Sketch Challenge, and also at RC's SFYTT. Two challenges, two cards. I've got a little NBUS going on in these cards. Just couldn't stop myself....You're all such helpful enablers! 

Card #1

I was a nerd in high school. Loved learning. Still do! Stereotypical nerds wear white shirts and black horn rimmed glasses, complete with with adhesive tape at the nose piece, hence, the black and white color palette. Die cut a scrap of white with my MFT Pierced Rectangles die, then used a black scrap and cut the glasses, also an MFT die. RC (NBUS) sentiment with Versafine black ink. A few black watercolor splatters to represent leaky ink. All on a Michaels white base. 

Card #2

Grabbed one of my Pebbles polka dot card bases. The focal panel is more NBUS from RC; a Quick Card Panel! You need these. You really do!! A few scraps die cut with RC dies, and added some red blings to the hearts. The sentiment is also RC with Versafine ink. Love how everything pops against those sweet polkie dots! And before I shut up today, I want to give a shout out to my sister Sue. I was blessed enough today to spend some time with her. She's the best sister ever. You'd love to meet her! Take good care and happy dances everyone!!

Making the Switch...soonish

Thanks, everyone for all your input in regards to PC vs Mac decision. And a special thanks to Shirley Bampton for her very informative and helpful email (visit her here). I've decided to go with an iMac. While I'd love that fancy-schmancy humongous AIO with the retinal display, I'm going with the humongous AIO in "normal" display. Just have to have the income tax refund deposited, then I'm going all out! But don't tell my PC that she's being replaced....I don't want her to punish me by crashing before I'm ready to buy, lol!!

I've got a couple of cards to share today. One will go into the Muse challenge, where Marion Vaag has this beautifully blue CAS card, and the second one will go over to Taheera's Cure for the Monday Blues Challenge. Before I show you mine, I'll show you theirs, and make sure you pop over and play along with both of these challenges!

Yummy in blue and white!

Wouldn't a room like this just be a fun place to hang out?!

Here's my blue Muse card:

Pulled a large blue scrap out the ever growing scrap box. Cut it to fit the A2 card base, then split it. I used an MFT die to create the celebratory sentiment, and then added a strip punched with an MS border punch, just for added interest. Another dark photo...it's really white behind the sentiment. It wouldn't show as a nice white no matter what I did! But irl, it looks sweet.

Next is my CFTMB card. I saw the sherbet-like colors and the geometric shapes, and went with them for my design. 

I really went out of my comfort zone, didn't I?! A little CAS, and a little channeling of the ever fabulous Maria (from rieslingmama), and an extra shot of "just go with it" in my head. So I did. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and there you have it. All the papers, except the Michaels white base, are scraps. Starting at the top, an RC 'happy' sentiment, cut with an MFT flag die. Blue, gold and pink sequins. Some gold thread messed up around and behind the vellum, a bit of embossing paste in light green and orange, and an SC die cut twice. The yellow polka dot paper was stamped over with a Market Street stamp in a chicken wire pattern with ME piggy bank ink. Soooo....I'd love to know what you think! Happy dances everyone.

Popping in Quickly Today

So much to do, so little time... Even though I'm retired from the work world, I can't seem to get it all done. Somehow I did mange to work full time, raise children, go back to college, and multitudes of other activities, but I'm not sure how... But it's all good. I can always do tomorrow whatever I don't get done today.

Big thanks to those of you who offered their help with my PC vs Mac dilemma. My dear old HP is hanging on for dear life, and I'm hoping that she waits to give up the ghost until our tax refund comes, lol! If you'd still like to share your thoughts on the subject, I'd love to hear what you've got to say. You can read yesterday's post here to learn more...

Today I want to play at As You See It, Challenge #70.  If I had more time, I'd make a dozen more cards from this recipe! Check it out...Love this idea!!

I know, right?! Here's what I came up with:

Michaels white base, then more scraps!!! The grays and yellows came from my sister Sue. We'd worked on a scrapbook for our niece, and Sue let me have the scraps! She's the best sister ever. The sentiment and die are from PTI, the chevron dies are from MFT, and sweet Miss Darnell sent the blingablingblings home with me in October after our stay at the Lake House. The "birthday" is popped up with a piece of sticky-backed foam from HL. I left a bit of it peeking out; you can see the white edges just a smidgey bit. I'm headed off to attack a few more chores. *sigh* I'd rather craft... Happy dances everyone.

Groaning Dinosaur

No dinosaur card. The dinosaur I'm talking about is my computer. And it's groaning. I love my old computer. I know where everything is, and how to fix some of her problems. She likes me. I talk to her and she usually purrs. Lately, though, she's been groaning. And going very slowly. I've checked for viruses and malware, as well as giving her a good defrag, but for the first time, it's no longer helping. Sigh. That means its time to go shopping for a new computer. I could use your input on this... I've been running an HP and as I've said, I've loved her. Here's my dilemma now, however... Was not a big fan of Windows 8.1. DH had it on his computer and we eventually removed it and installed 7 again. That said, Windows 10, or whatever they're going to call it, isn't out yet, and I'm not loading a new computer with an old OS. The iMac AIO (all in one) looks intriguing to me, but I'm not sure if I want a Mac.

What are you using? Do you like it? What would you recommend? What would you want if you had unlimited funds? Is it difficult (or impossible) to transfer stuff from a PC to a Mac? I appreciate your input, so thanks!

I actually have a couple of cards for today. I'd like to play at the current Tag You're It Challenge, and also at the AEIHeartU challenge. There's still time for you to jump in too, "...won't you be my neighbor..." in the galleries??!!

Heather Campbell is the GD at TYI, and CASEd one of her own tags. Both are beyond sweet, aren't they? And over at AEIHeartU, we're to paper piece our creations.

The first of my cards will be for TYI. Got my froo-froo on for this one...or at least as froo-froo as I get. It sort of fell together. 

Started with a Michaels white base, and then used scrap after scrap after scrap for the panels and tag. The ribbon is some SU that I'm hoarding, the bling is from Kaiser, the bunny and sentiment panel are from Pebbles, and the dies are ME (large scalloped panel and stitched panel), and PTI (tag). I popped up the tag so it stands out a bit. It went together really easily. Love it when that happens!

Next is my AE card. 

Again with the Michaels white base. And every other bit of paper here is a scrap. From the orange button, to the vellum on the polaroid print. All the gadgets on the camera were stamped then fussy cut and attached. The stamp set is "#Smile" by AE. I used an old cupcake sticker and star on the print, because it matched the orange bits on the camera itself. One enamel dot for the shutter button. Had fun with this one. I think mom had a camera like this back in the day... And I'll stop now. Happy dances everyone!

Directions

I picked up my craft room a bit today, and found the directions that my grandson Carter wrote on 'how to make a card.' Verbatim:  "Paper. CUT paper in drecly in half. FOLD on 41/4." The rest of the page is blank, and I'm thinking he got all too involved with the actual card making process to write anymore. I sent a big bag of paper crafting goodies home with them at Thanksgiving, enough for Carter and his sisters, but he specifically asked for "that white paper, Grammy." I think I'll send them a little card to see if they make and send one or more in return!

And once again, I'm behind in looking at, and commenting on your blogs. For that I apologize, and hope to get back to some sort of normal soon. You're in my thoughts, however. It's just been crazy.

I'm in the craft room while the (Ahem) NFC playoff game is on. Not mentioning teams, but the team I follow has green and gold colored uniforms. No one can blame me for jinxing the game! Anyhoo.... I've got a couple of cards to share today. First one will make it into the Muse 100th Challenge, with Michele Ferguson's debut as part of the team, and it happens to fit into CASology who has very coolly I might add, teamed up with dear friend Darnell and her NBUS Challenge #3! While time has been tight here in the craft room, there was no way I was going to miss these challenges. I've missed so many this past week, and as you all well know, just HAD to at least play in a couple of my favies. I'd like to find the time for more crafty exercising today, but unless I shut up and move on, that won't be happening before chores start nagging me (again). So getting down to it:

Michele's Muse card is at the top, and it's a CAS wonder. This is the card I made:

Started with a Michaels white base and topped it and popped it up with a panel of that lovely linen-textured cardstock from the sweet Anita (thanks, my dear friend!). I die cut a circle with my W Plus 9 circle, and then die cut two hearts with my RC dies. So far, nothing NBUS there...But the stamp is! It's an AE sentiment done up in ME's Smoke and Coral Burst inks. EZPZ Lemon Squeezy! Oh, and a dash of WoS on the hearts, too.

Next I want to add to my gallery, Brought To You By. You have all been so kind to me, encouraging me, and uplifting me when most needed, and this is one way to give a little back. Today's card is brought to you by Ardyth. You all know her, you all love her. She's the Queen of CAS. It was a real struggle for me to pick one among the hundreds of stunningly amazing cards in her galleries. Just one. Ack!!! I went back and forth between several dozen, "put it away" for a day, then went back to try and choose. Finally, I picked this one... It's brilliant, and I love it (of course I love ALL of her cards...lol). Please stop by her blog (Maskerade), say hi, and peruse at your leisure. You'll be as delighted and amazed at her creations as I am! Oh, and can I add that she's a fantastic person IN REAL LIFE?! I've had the honor and pleasure to meet and spend quality time with her, and think the world of her. And without further ado...

And she inspired me to make this....

Ardyth just inspires so many of us doesn't she?! Take the time to go and visit her; you'll love what you see!

Happy dances everyone!

Bang

That's how 2015 is starting out for me. With a Bang. Crazy busy. Not sure how I ever worked and took care of everything else. I need another vacation....yeah, like that's going to happen! Anyway... Don't ask me what's been going on here, it seems like it's just the usual stuff only compressed into a couple of weeks. I haven't even been able to keep up on my commenting like I want to! Or craft nearly as much! Maybe next month will slow down, uh-huh...

I did take some time this morning in between other chores and made a card or two. They're both pretty QACAS (quick and clean and simple), which pleases me. Had been struggling with an idea for Time Out Challenge #22. Liked the inspiration photo, liked what the DT came up with, and liked what the other crafters have made, only my brain was trying too hard. I went all froo-froo on oh, about, um four cards, and hated each of them. Decided to channel my inner Ardyth and go minimalist for this one. Results? Ahhhh, now that's better! I also have a card for CAS(E) This Sketch #105. No struggles for this one. Had a ping and flew with it. Love all the white space. Love the cherries. Now, let's play show and tell!

Card number one for Time Out:

CAS. This, I can live with. I used a PTI Wet Paint 'hello' stamp with Memento ink on my Michaels base. One woodgrain SC sequin and three strips of scrap paper (left over from the other attempts...). The brown one is also woodgrained, but it's difficult to see. Done.

Card number 2 is for the CTS challenge:

The teeny-tiny cherries on the (Michaels) base are Sticko stickers. I've had them forever, but have been hoarding them. I reminded myself to knock that off, and used them! (I still have a few more on the sheet!) MFT Pierced Rectangles die, and MB cherries. The vellum is TH, and the stamp is TT with Versafine red ink. The paper for the larger cherries were scraps. And that's it for me for today. Hope you are all doing well today, and as always, happy dances everyone.

Still not talking about it...

Still not talking about the weather. Waiting for Spring Training and Opening Day instead! So... I have another card. Big surprise, since this is a blog centered on just that. I will keep this short, since I have to haul the Christmas decorations up to the attic closet yet today. So in yesterday's post, I posted a card for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge, and today, I'm posting for MFT's Color Challenge! The lovely and talented Susan Opel is the Creative (and Grand) Ambassador there!! How cool is that?! When you see the color palette, you'll know why I played today. Check it out:

Head over and see the DTs creations, and while you're there, grab some inspiration and play along!!

This is what I came up with:

Had fun with this one...I used Michaels cardstock for the base, and a scrap of the same for the focal panel. Scraps of blue and persimmon-y, as well as that bit of yellow. The grid dp is from Elle's Studio, from fellow BABE, Geri (thanks sweetiepie). The stamp is from MFT as is the notebook paper die. Some yellow enamel dots from Queen & Co., and the markers are from Promarker and Sharpie. I popped up that sentiment panel a bit, though it's somewhat difficult to see. I like the way this turned out, and hope you do too! Have a great weekend, and happy dances everyone!

ETA:
Sweet friend Carol, who's on the DT, saw this little card on FB, and suggested I post to Inkspirational Challenge #73, where the prompt this time is "note". So I think I shall! Thanks Carol!!

Not talking about it...

Nope. Not gonna talk about the weather. Just going to dive right into the heart of the post. A card. A card for a challenge. A new/old challenge. What used to be called the Wednesday Stamp Club and had previously been found on the MFT blog is now the Wednesday Sketch Challenge, and has it's very own new home at the MFT Challenge and Inspiration Blog. Go check out the more than fabby DT, and see that Susan Opel is new Creative Ambassador there! Come on....play along, it'll be fun, I promise! : )

Here's the sketch, and it's a good one. I've got so many ideas for this one....

I went with a baby card. Don't have a clue as to why, but I did.

Even though I'm not specifically talking about the weather, let's just say by way of explanation that we've no sun today, and so my photo looks blah. It's so pretty irl! Went with pinks, browns, and gold. Started with a Michaels white base, and the gold bits are from Michaels too. Scraps of pink and brown papers. All my dies, flags, crown border, and pierced rectangle, are MFT. Used a Pebbles nest and some Gina K. stamps for the sentiment. A little gold thread 'nested' behind my sentiment and that's it. So, go forth and happy dance everyone!

Winter in Wisconsin

With it being winter here in Wisconsin, we can expect cold. Bone-chilling cold sometimes. And snow. After all, we live in Wisconsin. Those of us who've been around awhile know to dress appropriately when going out of doors in this bitter cold, to have blankets, ice melt, and a fully charged cell phone when we travel, and if we can, we should stay indoors, preferably at home! Which is exactly where I am . Spent most of the morning in my craft room making cards and planning the next ones. And naturally I've had a ball!! Got a couple of cards to share with you, and they'll go into a couple three challenges each.

First up is a pretty easy QACAS (don't you just love Darnell's acronyms?). This one will head off to Muse, one of my favorite places to play, and also to the Color Throwdown, with a great palette. Check out Vicki's inspiration card:

And as it happens, Color Throwdown has this lovely winter scene:

My take looks like this...

I used a cut file from Silhouette and cut the main image with Michaels white cardstock.Only added three things...One sentiment from W Plus9 with Versafine ink, and two (though it's hard to see) sequins. There's a black one on top of the larger red one. I like the way this turned out, and I think it has Vicki's flavor to it. 

Next up is a card for Lawnscaping Challenge 97. The theme is winter with a wonderful inspiration photo with tons of ideas. I'm also popping this into Simon Says Stamp where we're to use something new. And while I'm at it, I think this one will head over to Darnell's NBUS challenge as well! 

And here's my card:

My NBUS on this is the LF polka dot paper. I've been hoarding it...so I broke it out today and it was just the ticket. A scrap of black and the light light aqua, as well as the Michaels white. I die cut the tree with a MB die. I added a couple of scraps of white glitter paper die cut with a LF die to look like snowbanks. A bunch of sequins, and if you look closely you'll see a few splotches of yellow directly on the blue panel. I hoped to give it a little depth and mimic the bokeh effect from the top row middle panel of the inspiration photo. The LF sentiment was  stamped in Versafine black ink. And there you have it. Thanks for hanging in there with me on this rather long post. Happy dances everyone!

Silly Stuff

Been busy with what seems to me to be silly stuff. Taking down Christmas decorations, doing laundry, grocery shopping, getting a haircut....And it's cutting into my crafting time! Hate that!! So I resolved this morning to blast through some of the chores (I did them well, no half-hearted attempts or shortcuts...) and get to the fun part of the day. Mission accomplished!

Have you noticed all the 'first-of-the-new-year' challenges loading up this week? I've got tons of ideas and can't wait play along with more. For today, I'm playing along with Merry Monday, I'm pretty sure it's my first time over there, but once you see the inspiration photo, you'll totally get why! That and good friend Ardyth is GD there...check out her awesome card. And for the first time in I don't know how long, I'm playing along with Make it Monday. Over at MIM, we're to concentrate on the corner of our cards...Had a ping for that, and it worked out for both challenges.

And Make it Monday....

This was my little ping:

As hard as I tried to get the blue to lighten up in the photograph, no dice. Think a shade or two lighter... this was pretty QACAS, to quote dear Darnell. Brown mat from a scrap, a scrap of aquamarine-ish on a Michaels white cardstock base. I used PTI's Wet Paint with Ranger's Archival Ink in Potting Soil. I ripped the legs off some ancient brads (did you hear them scream?), and used some glue dots to adhere them to the blue cardstock. And that's it. I didn't have any PTI flower stamps, and since I have a teeny-tiny rebel streak in me, I wanted to be different - so I thought out of the box a bit. Hope it counts! The blue is gorgeous in real life, and I'm liking this look. Happy dances everyone.

P.S. I will do my utmost to get caught up on comments asap.