Happiest of....

....New Year's to you all!  I hope that 2011 finishes out in a flourish for you and that 2012 brings all that you wish for!  I want to thank you all for your kind comments that you have made through out the year on my blog.  I have really appreciated each and every comment and love that you have taken the time to stop and look over my creations.  I had time to color and play for a bit yesterday and this is what I came up with!  The first card uses another snowman stamp by Whippersnapper Designs here called Snowman Wishes to You .  I like Whippersnapper Design snowman because they actually have a tab that is just for snowmen.....and there are over 200 hundred to choose from...so cute!

And my second card uses a Northwoods Rubber Stamp co stamp p1886 .  This is actually the first time that I colored this particular stamp and I always like the Northwoods stamps because they are so darn "satisfying" to color!

Other than coloring with copics, the cards were glittered with glue and glamour dust and the holly has a bit of red stickle also.  And one of my holly berries exploded.  Oh well, once again HANDMADE!

Have a wonderful New Years and be safe!

Be well,
Sheila

Third Day with....

.....Jill Foster Inspired by.....blog.  Honestly, I have had such a gas being part of this week with Jill.  It really is like Christmas morning each day when I wake up!  Christmas for an (almost) 50 year old hehehe!  The first thing I do when I wake up this week is to turn over and grab my ipad to see if Jill has posted yet and to see what card she might have picked out!  I love that she picked out the one she did today.....it is a FAVE stamp of mine from LaBlanche and a really fun one to color....I did it with copics.  And how fun is Jill's interpretation?  Right?  Using fun, mod little Mimi!  Anyways, if you have time pop over to Jill's blog to check out the two cards.

Then, I have  a card for today.....I had a little time yesterday to craft and was able to color two images.  The first one I was able to finish into a card.  It's Nippy..... Nippy the Snowman by Whippersnapper Designs to be precise.  How could I not buy a stamp called Nippy the Snowman?  Thank goodness the image is as cute as the name!  Anyways, just a fun little "man" to make a fun little card with.  I always like snowman images as they can be totally "decked" out in holiday colors and therefore used for Christmas cards or, in this card's case, my little frigid friend can be outfitted in more "stylin' colors and used for an all purpose winter greeting!  The sentiment is from Heartfelt Creations...and, now that I look more closely at it I believe I stamped it crookedly.....oh well, handmade right!?!  And, heeeere's Nippy!

I also wanted to give the link out for the stamp on the card that Jill Foster highlighted on her blog yesterday.  It was a stamp by Outlines Rubber Stamp Co and I was asked about it so here is the link.
http://www.outlinesrubberstamp.com/ecom/prodDetail.cfm?prod=2440&catID=322&mcatID=321&pageNum=1

Be well,
Sheila

Another card at Jill's....

....Inspired by....blog, here .  And, I don't have a card to post on my own blog...yet.  One of my kids is having a sleepover and the kids are still not up yet.  Guess that is what happens when the college kids come back home - they don't get up till nearly the afternoon.  Anyways, I am not able to get my craft area as I would have to turn on lights and walk through the "sleepover" to get to my place.  UGH!  But, you can see an old card of mine over at Jill's blog....and I am so happy that she picked this particular card!  I personally love it and had alot of fun coloring it when I was making it.  You know how that is?  You are just sitting there at your table, coloring, crafting and thinking....wow-I am having a good time with this card!  Anyways, please stop over at Jill's place and see her take on my card....her take is, of course, STUNNING! And, lovely, and just a really pretty card.  And maybe, hopefully, I will get into my crafting room today and make another one of my own!  Thank you sooo much for all the kind comments from yesterday both over at Jill's and on my blog.....you all are really nice peeps!

Be well,
Sheila

Sharing time!!!!

Today I get to share my big news.....I am being featured over on Jill Foster's Inspired by....blog here and I am over the moon happy/excited/tickled by this turn of events.  I use the phrase "turn of events" because for me, this type of recognition really and truly is a "turn" for me.  Usually I just do my crafting because it is fun, comforting and it really gives me a way to relieve stress and have an enjoyable, peaceful time.  I craft because it gives me joy and I like to "make" things.  I like to color.  But I pretty much do it by myself and share it, when I can, here on my blog.  But to have someone like the very sweet Jill contact me and ask if she can show some of my cards on her blog....well, that is an email that made me glow to my toes.  I have followed Jill for sometime now and have always been "inspired" by her work....she just has a way about her art that makes even the most simple image grab your attention.  Her cards are always so compelling and I honestly feel that by following her blog I have learned so much....so, to now be on her blog-well, I feel very wonderful inside and am absolutely smiling as I am typing.  I am sooooo curious (as I am typing this entry without having a clue as to what cards she might have chosen) to see what cards Jill has picked and I am even more curious to see her takes on them! Please share in my excitement and go check out Jill's takes on my cards here . So, thank you Jill......you and your Inspired by.....recognition helped to make my year, my 2011 go out with style!

I also have a very simple card to share today that I made with some leftover scraps from yesterday's cards.  I was putting away these bits of paper when I remembered that I had an older Hero Arts stamp of a dove....much like the doves on the patterned paper.  So a couple of minutes later I came up with this card and for such a quick little card I am pretty pleased with how it came out!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you too are having a great day!

Be well,
Sheila

I have news to share....

....and I can't WAIT until I am able to share it! Hi Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful time over this past weekend and were able to relax and enjoy the holiday.  My family had a really nice day. And, on top of having a really, really wonderful day with my family I also received some pretty special news that I hope to be able to share with you tomorrow! Onto what I CAN share with you right now though. Today is the first day in quite a while that I have been able to sit down and craft and really, it was wonderful.  I have crafted over the last week or so but it was always items that were for the holidays and so I began to feel the press of Christmas day bearing down upon me!  I also am fairly lax (call it sloppy) when it comes to cleaning up my space after each project so by the time Christmas day arrived I was nearly buried in paper, ribbons, glitter and glue.  I have actually enjoyed reclaiming my crafting area by tidying it up. I made some new winter cards today using some fun pp and an old Hero Arts stamp.  Here they are!

Thank you so much for stopping by.....I can't wait to share my super-duper exciting news with you!

Be well,
Sheila

Hero Art Christmas Card....

....exchange.  I have totally forgotten to mail off a card to my HA Flickr holiday card exchange.  Can't believe I forgot this but I did.  I am hoping that she is as crazy busy right now as the rest of the world with regards to the holidays and that she hasn't realized how very late this card is.  So, that being said, I am just going to go ahead and post the card. I am also going to enter it in the HA monthly sketch challenge.  It follows the first sketch pictured.

 Again used the Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer Cl540 here.  These reindeer crack me up as they really aren't the type of image I would gravitate to but I really have had more fun playing with them this season.  I haven't posted all the different cards that I have used them for but, really, I have used them ALOT!  So here is my card...

Thank you so much for stopping by and all your kind comments regarding our daughter graduating.  I hope you are almost finished with your holiday preps....we are all headed down the straightaway now!

Be well,

Sheila

                                         

Amazing....

....but I am now the mother of a college graduate!  My lovely daughter, Bessie, graduated this past week from the Univ of Minn and did it in only 3 1/2 years!  We are so proud of her.  We traveled to Minn to see her graduate, celebrate with an amazing meal afterwards and then, meet up with lots of her friends at their favorite college "club".  Fun time! Here is a picture of our beautiful graduate....

And here is a pic of the graduation card I made for her.  First of all, Bess loves the pairing of pink and orange together.  She also loves silvery sparkle and bling.  And she loves black....loves to wear it and loves to accent with it.  Her favorite flowers as a child were sunflowers, hence the colored Impression Obsession sunflower stamp in the background.  And she loves polka dots therefore the card needed lots of dots.   Her name means The Rose and so when I saw this Penny Black stamp I knew it would be perfect for Bess. Also, this particular stamp reminded me of Bess as she loves dressing up and loves to wear high heels.....

It has been a whirlwind the last few days but a good whirlwind!  Thank you for stopping by ;-D

Be well,
Sheila

Two posts in one day....

just who am I?  I never have time to double post!  Actually, these are card sets that were  finished a day or so ago but I totally forgot to take pics of them.  I am a chemo angel and I thought that some sets of cards that are Christmas themed might be a nice thing to have around for  someone who is not feeling well.  This way, a simple card, check , thank you etc...can be inserted into the card last minute.  I had picked up some festive paper on sale awhile back....it is really not my style but you know us crafters....who can throw something away when it is perfectly good etc....and then I remember the Hero Arts card set challenge for this month.  These are very simple layered paper cards with just a highlighted sentiment.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Joy to All CL460 here  which really has some very nice sentiments and fonts.  Sorry for the poor photo quality....I had no idea how to photograph these....no matter what I did they looked goofy!

So, as you can see, these are absolutely easy peasy to make!  In fact, they are so simple that I am a touch embarrassed to even be blogging them but, still wanted to share ;-D

So, main differences here are the sentiment is different and sometimes I changed up the ribbon placement!  Take care!

Be well,

Sheila

Just a quick...

...show and go.   I made this card with some scrap paper left over from another Christmas card I made another day.  I know that this paper isn't really Christmas themed but it works for me!  The main stamp is Hero Arts Winter Pine K5256 here .  I am  not sure if this is a newer stamp or not but it is one of my favorite winter ones....it is just a classic image of a  pine tree.  The sentiment is Papertrey....also an older set I believe.  I am going to enter this into the Hero Arts monthly sketch challenge also.

and my card.....

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope that everyone is healthy at your house and getting excited for the holidays!

Be well,
Sheila

Hello ....

...and a short explanation.  I have been absent.  That's all.  I don't always do "well" with holidays and so, my blog has suffered.  Also, like everyone else, it has been incredibly busy and so crafting time has been put on the back burner lately.  I miss it.  So, today, I felt the need, after several doctor appts, to just quit running around doing the Christmas prep thing and instead head back to my home to craft.  Amazing how soothing that can be.

I made three cards all using Hero Arts stamps.  Why all Hero Arts you ask??? Well, they were the stamps that were left on my extremely messy table and since my crafty time was at a premium well...you can see where this is going ;-)  Also, I really like the stamps that I used.  They are simple and fun and worked really well, in my opinion, with the lovely, subtle holiday paper I used.  I also am entering them into the Hero Arts monthly chllenge.  The first and third card are for the sketch challenge.

The first stamp I used was the Enjoy the Seasons CG210 here  .  Pretty simple....I assembled the card and then stamped out the flakes and fussy cut them.  Blinged them up with some stickle.

The second stamp that I used was the Season's Greetings CG223 here .  I love these trees....I think that they are funky looking for some reason.  I also stayed with sections of the same paper which I used to make snow hills.  I like it.  I am not so enamored with the stickle I used.  I thought it was Diamond but it was icicle....should have put my reading glasses on. ;-D

 The last stamp I used was the Classic Holly CG229 here .  This particular card used all the left over scraps from the other two cards.  I simply cut them into strips and adhered them to some scrap cardstock.  I then ran this through the cuttle bug in a snowflake printed folder.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the days leading into Christmas...I hope you all are further along than me in your holiday preparations!  Sheesh....I need to get cracking!  And finally, please excuse my negligence in getting to other blogs...I will be back on track soon!

Be well,
Sheila

Virginia's Birthday....

!!!!  Finally I have been able to find time to  make a birthday card and take part in Virgina's virtual birthday party.

Although Virginia doesn't know it she is very important to me as she taught me something with the very first card I ever uploaded.  I was sooooo nervous to join flickr.  But back on June 25, 2010 I decided to take the plunge and, with a tremendous amount of technical help from my kids, I up loaded this card:           

                                                 

And I received comments...and it was exciting to have people other than my family say nice things about my cards.  I immeadiately felt welcomed by the Hero Arts Flickr group.  And then, I received this comment from Virginia...."Congrat on being featured in Hero Arts Twitter! You started in this group with a bang! This card is super lovely with the acetate!" and I was thrilled with her compliments and completely baffled with her comment about "twitter"!  I had never heard of the term twitter and had no clue as to what she was talking about....so, I waited.  And waited.  And WAITED until one of my "teens" came home and filled me in on what twitter was....where it was located and how to find it in the Hero Arts group.   And, then I scrolled thru the twitters and Virginia was right!  I WAS MENTIONED O WOW O WOW O WOW!  It was just all so new, and so exciting.  And, now, here I am (still without a twitter account) but I upload cards, have made friends online (like Virginia) and have a blog!  And just the other day I received this comment on some posted ATC's from Virginia...."PERFECT design for Chris mas ATC!! Way to go, Sheila! Congrats on the Hero Arts Tweet!".  So, it just goes to show you.....when it comes to Virginia she is always "there" for all of us in the flickr group.  She consistently has an upbeat attitude and a kind comment to make.  So, thank you Virginia, for all the nice comments that you have made on my work in the 17 months that I have been in the the flickr group.  You have NO IDEA how much your kindness means to all of us who have had the pleasure to have "met" you online.  I wish you a very Happy Birthday and hope your birth day is the start of another wonderful year for you!  Take care and thank you for inviting me to your party!

Thank you all for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Be well,

Sheila

Stamp used is Hero Arts Outline Magnolia CG193 and Essential Messages CL371 

A quick...

...post before I need to go down and switch some laundry!  I started working with this stamp yesterday. First I stamped it in white ink and then embossed it with a glittered powder.  Then, I distressed it in that new iced spruce color.  I didn't like that color so much....actually, I didn't like it at all.  So then I went over the spruce with the darker evergreen color.  And it was better but by only a bit.  Then I added the deep purply sapphire color and bammo!  I liked the color that was built up but I also felt like the glitter had faded or been  rubbed off by all my distressing.  So, trying to think ahead, I pulled out my heat gun and heated the paper a bit to make sure the distress ink was totally dry!  Then I ran a versa mark pen over the raised, embossed image and added more glittered embossing powder.  And, I ended up with embossing powder all over my paper.  I mean, it was stuck EVERYWHERE!  Like what the hey???? I heated the page and all so I figured nothing would stick. Whoa-was I wrong! Sooooo, I decided that the work I had put in thus far was worthless now and so I decided to go ahead and heat the image/paper one more time.....basically just to see if the second embossing would take.  And, lo and behold, the glitter embossing powder that had clung to the distressed paper melted and became this really cool, cyrstallized back drop for the image.  And man o man-I was doing the super happy dance for stumbling upon a really cool look.  I mean, other people might already do this but I hadn't ever before and since I thought that the card was totally toast and destined for the trash can....well, you can imagine how tickled I was by the way this card turned out!  So, then I mounted it on some patterend papers, stamped a sentiment in white ink (which I can never get to look "white" enough for me) and then added a row of pearls that I put a little bit of stickle on to glitter them up.  I think my lines are a little crooked but if I straighten them now the card will really be destined for the trash can.  So, anyways, I used a Hero Arts Stamp called Winter Scene K5524 here.  And it is funny, cuz just before I had my big "breakthrough" on this card I decided to take a break, have a yoghurt and see what was new on blogger dashboard.  And, then I saw Judy (who I adore) had posted her amazing card here and it "inspired" me to get my b*** in gear and go back and try to make something of my image.  So, thanks Judy!  Here is my card.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope to have one more card today...it's kinda drying after an unfortunate accident with a bottle of glue and then the subsequent emergency procedure performed ....if the card pulls through I will be sure to post it!

Be well,
Sheila

2 Cards...

...for no other reason than I like to color!  I had these two images colored already, and with today morphing into a super busy day that I hadn't foreseen I only had time to assemble the images into cards.  But, the time I had planned to create card for  Virginia from scratch will be done either later tonight or tomorrow and I am really looking forward to making a birthday card!  It feels like I haven't made one for so long.  But back to today's cards.  The first is a Penny Black Stamp called Two's Company 4165K here and, actually, this might be the first time that I have inked it up.  I feel like I could have done more with it...I am not unhappy with this card just have a nagging sense of there is more to be gotten out of this stamp than I achieved...I think it has lots of possibilities and know I will have fun playing around with it!  I would LOVE to have all the Fashion Girl stamps and make "sets" out of them....I think they are so fun and contemporary looking.

My second stamp uses a Northwoods Rubber Stamp Co image here that I really like but have found it a little awkward as far as finding a way to "place" it on a card.  So again, I need to find some "mess around" time with this image to get it so I really love it.  The paper is Basic Grey from their Jingle collection and the sentiment is a rub on from the clearance bin.  The areas that I left white on the flowers I very lightly stickled with Diamond stickles and in person it has a really cool sheen that kinda POPS out.  It doesn't photograph that way so you will have to take my word on it.....or, stop on by to my house.  I have peppermint white chocolate covered pretzels that I will share with you ;-D

Thank you for stopping by.  I appreciate the visit and any comments you might have about these two stamps!

Be well,
Sheila

And....

I was able to sit down and craft!  We returned from a long vacation to Florida and the trip was fantastic!  It was so good to get away....but it is always just as good to get back home and to what is familiar!  Like the crafting table.  After I cleared away the pre vacation mess I sat down and messed around with some images that I had colored previously.  Both cards feature Penny Black stamps.  The first one features Natures Day 4157K here .  I love this little image and don't use it nearly enough.  In fact, I find that I often get "hooked" on several stamps and leave my other stamps lying in lonely neglect for long periods of time.  Then when I do "rediscover" them it is like they are new and exciting all over again.

My second stamp uses Candid here and this actually is a stamp that I tend to gravitate to fairly often.  I think I have colored this flower just about every color imaginable!  And have liked it every which way I have colored it too.  I hope you like it too!

Take care and thank you so much for stopping by.  I am still trying to get caught up from being gone so long but do hope to post some vacation pics on here.  I always like it when other people do that on their blogs.....I feel as though they like their blog "friends" enough to share something personal with them and so, I also, would like to share with you!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                           

Untraditional....

Christmas cards are some of my favorite cards to make.  I love taking traditional Christmas images and kinda "tweaking" them.... Again, I am using the Christmas Star from Penny Black here and decided to go all "Blue Christmas" with it.  I hope you like it!

                                                                  

I am not sure about the placement of the 'bling" but the vellum, which I love using, was not cooperating and staying in place.  Thus, some awkwardly placed bling to hold it down.  ;-(

Thank for the visit!  I hope that you are having a good day!

Be well,

Sheila

Cheerful....

is the name of this image from Penny Black here  and "cheerful" is how I generally feel whenever I color this image in.  I love the gentle sway of the stem, the two sprightly leaves and the uneven assortment of petals.  All in all, just a happy, little image.  The papers used are from a several years old pack of Basic Grey paper that I came across when reorganizing my craft space.  I love "finds" like that.....it is just so "bonus"!  Here is my card.....

Thank you sooooo much for visiting my little crafting space today!  I appreciate your visit and will return the favor by stopping by your place!  Have the coffee hot please!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                           

I must apologise...

...I have beenon vacation for the last 8 days and although I had many posts "set" to go for whatever the reason they did not post as planned. In addtion, I brought my ipad thinking it would be easier and less bulky and there was internet but no wireless so I also wqs unable to comment on anyone elses blog. Oh well- i hope to catchup with all when we get home! Currently I am enjoying wireless in the airport! So on to my previously recorded post!

I must be feeling rather poetic this week as my last two cards contain a form of the word "poem" in the title!
For this particular card  I went back to Penny Black stamps and used the Garden Poems image here 3869K.  I love these sweet little, doodled flowers and today I used more jewel toned (in my view) holiday colors.  Then I brought down the holiday look a little bit by distressing the background....making it somewhat "cloudy" looking.  I think I like it.  I wasn't sure at first....but now that I have had a few hours to look at it I do believe I like the distressed appearance and feel it helps to make the stickled stems and flowers "pop" out more.   Sometimes, I feel when working with patterned paper that the paper begins to "take over" the image and with this card and its cloudy background, I feel that the image is able to stand on it's own!

The papers again are all Basic Grey....I am really loving their lines lately!  Thank you for popping in!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                             

Poppy Poem....

...isn't that a wonderful name for a stamp?  And, thankfully, the stamp image lives up to it's beautiful name!  I don't use this Penny Black stamp here 4036K enough.  I always am happy with the resulting card when ever I do use it...it just tends to get overwhelmed in  it's stamp drawer by the louder, pushier, bolder stamps!  There isn't much to color with this stamp and really, I love to color so I think that I overlook it because of that reason.  But, when ever I need a fast-go to card for almost any occasion this stamp fits the bill!  Today, it is just for someone "special".......Again, all the papers are Basic Grey.

                                                           

Thank you for dropping in today!  I appreciate you stopping by for a visit.

Be well,
Sheila

Lately....

I have been fixating on the "oranges".  Burnt orange, peach, bright orange, rust.....and mixing those colors with sea blue, turquoise blues and greens.  It doesn't sound like it would work but, to my eyes, it does!  Think I am loving these combo!  This is Penny Black Christmas Star here # 4104K.  The paper is all Basic Grey and the bling is clearance bin recolored with my copics!

                                                         
The sentiment is also Penny Black and the die cuts are Spellbinders.

Thank you for stopping by.....I appreciate your visit!

Be well,
Sheila

Hello ....

sparkles!  I actually purchased the sparkles that are on this card at a deep discount....if fact they were in the clearance bin at Michael's awhile back.  I scooped them up thinking that I could peel off and use the diamonds one by one but then I read that you can change the color of clear sparkles with your copic markers and voila!  I decided to give it a try and am pretty happy with the result!  I am going to enter this into the simon-says-stamp-texture -challenge over at Lily Pad as well as the Hero Arts flickr monthly challenge.  I will also add it to the Basic Grey flickr group since I used all BG Indie Bloom papers here . The stamp I used is HA Enjoy here .  I hope you like it...I really do!

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed your visit and really, everyone's comments lately have been so very, very nice!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                                       

This...

is a card that I made for a friend of mine who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.  Fortunately she has caught it extremely early and so her prognosis is excellent.  Still, it is scary.  I have know this woman for many years and feel that she is truly one of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met.  And classy.  She is soooo stylish and fashionable!  I really wanted to make her a card that reflected her personal classy self and this is what I came up with.  I will be entering this into the CR84FN42 Color Challenge....which I think is a pretty stylin' and classy trio of colors.

I will also put this in the Hero Arts November challenge.  The main stamp is HA Large Flower and the leaves are HA Blossums.  The paper is Basic Grey Little Black Dress...absolutely gorgeous patterns.  I hope she likes it!  

                                                                       

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a great night!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                                 

A whiff of...

Christmas!  I decided to sit down and make a pure, out and out Christmas card.  I used a Northwoods Rubber Stamp here #P7712 Milkcan and Poinsettias and Basic Grey Jovial Paper here . It was fun....but now back to laundry!  Here is my card:

                                                                 
I colored the image in with pencils and then stickled over.  Die cut is Spellbinders which I then traced around to form a mat.  Take care and I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Be well,
Sheila

Butterflies...

are an element that I love but often forget to put on my cards.  I always enjoy seeing either stamped butterflies or punched butterflies on other people's cards, and actually used to put them on my own cards  before but then, for whatever the reason, I forgot about my little winged friends.  And, I forgot about how much they can add to a card.  Today's image is a very simple one from Penny Black called Garden Poems here and one of the reason's why I like it is for it's "just doodled" look.  And, when I finished my card, and looked at it all assembled it just seemed "lacking" to me.  And then I thought, butterflies.  And, there you go.

The paper I used is from the Basic Grey Indie Bloom collection, here, . Yep, I am using paper from this line AGAIN!  I am seriously grooving on that paper pack!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                             

Candy...

...specifically the round, pastel colored balls that are mint flavored.  Certain restaurants that we go to have them in a little dish with a small silver scoop and when you are leaving you scoop yourself some. They usually are mint green, pink, white and sometimes, a pale blue.  And they are delicious.  And when my husband, daughter, her boyfriend and I went out for dinner a few weeks ago I saw those little mints and thought what a wonderful pairing of colors.  So soft, delicate and "sweet" looking.  So, I tried to recreate that dish of sugar in a card....soft, sweet and definitely "sugar-y" looking.  I used Hero Arts Tall Flower Stamp here and Basic Grey Indie Bloom paper here .  And here is what I came up with:

I colored this image with copics and also colored in the "background" around the flower with copics too.  I stickled with Diamond, distressed another doily from Maureen Morton here, colored the "candies" with copics and then stickled those also.  Tied a bow and that's that!  Thank you for stopping by again.  I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                                   

Not.....

...much to write today.  It is snowing.  And blowing. And just generally rather nasty.  And, I left 7 errands for today because yesterday it poured, torrentially, non-stop, for the better part of the day.  So, I have gotten my errands done, am getting ready to make dinner for Corm and myself and thought that I would sit down and pop off a quick post.  This is a card I made from a LaBlanche stamp that I have used over and over and over.  I have colored this flower blue, pink, orange, red and even in the traditional sunflower colors.  Needless to say, one of my favorite stamps ever!  The papers are some Basic Grey from their "Mellow" collection and their Manila paper collection.....which I discovered anew when I took the time to clean up behind my crafting desk.  The paper pack must have fallen behind it about a year ago 'cuz I stopped searching for it a looooong time ago!

                                                 
I hope you enjoy your day/evening!  And, thank you for the visit!

Be well,
Sheila

I started out...

...with an entirely different card in mind.  And,  I ended up with the one that I am posting.  And, this sort of thing actually happens to me all the time...really, truly all the time.  I start out with the intention of this or that sketch challenge or this or that color challenge.  And, in my mind, the card is plotted out and I will meet the requirements of the challenge.  Then, I sit down, pull out my chosen stamp, inks, etc....and then the cardmaking process becomes quite organic and thoroughly out of my control.  I start doodling with colors on the scratch sheet, then realize that I really, at the moment, like this pairing of colors rather than the ones I previously decided on.  Then the same thing tends to happen to the sketch I chose, the papers I was going to go with etcetcetc until, at the card's finish I am left holding something pretty durn different than what I originally intended to make.  And, this is key here....I usually am quite pleased with my card.  Lots of times, when I do finish a card for a strict-ish type of challenge I don't like my finished product.  It is like I tried "too hard" to make it work....and when I just sit back, color-cut-and paste I usually have more enjoyment as the card takes shape under my hands.  Now, I am thinking that perhaps this is because I have not been doing card making as long as many other folks that I know.  And, it makes me wonder if the way to keep the personal enjoyment alive and well is to, at least in the beginning...is to make LOTS of cards and to make them any old way one wants to.  And, challenges are great when they are something one enjoys to do but the minute one is working hard to meet the challenges' requirements then card making or, really any craft or hobby, becomes more like work then play.  I really would like to enter more contests and challenges....I do have a competitive spark inside me but for the time being they are going to be "easy-peasy" ones....like I will be entering this into the Hero Arts Monthly contest...it follows their colors this month (wow-totally happy coincidence there!) and bling.  And, I can always be counted on to meet the bling requirements.  Maybe, we just need more bling challenges!  Anyways, I used the Hero Arts Little Black Dress here that I used the other day (scroll down if you please) and the Basic Grey Indie Blooms here paper.  And, a doily that Maureen Morton blog here sent me awhile back.  And I love these doilies....and when they are gone they are gone 'cuz I haven't been able to find them in a store anywhere!  So here is my card!

I did a close up of the stamp to show how really cool it is!  I like that flowers are also made up of little tiny hearts....then it can also be used for anniversaries, weddings and valentines  too!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  If you happen to stop by tomorrow to visit bring an umbrella...we have had oodles of rain with more on to come!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                                             

Not too...

...sure it I like this card.  It is really "out of the box" for me and perhaps that is why I am unsure.  I had an idea in my head the minute I saw the Mojo Monday sketch 

                                                               


and also knew that I wanted to take part in the colors for CR84FN C hallenge.

 I had recently picked up the Basic Grey/Hero Arts Little Black Dress paper and stamps here ( fairly delicious) and so I pretty much had the card all made in my head...it just didn't translate into reality quite the way I pictured it.  Oh well, we all have days like that! Actually, when I finished it and just pretty much went "ehh" I thought "of course!  I am trying to enter a challenge and that is where my execution and mojo always tank!". hehehe- well, anyways,hey-here is my card.

                                                               
I am aslo going to enter this into the Basic Grey Eye Spy and the Hero Arts Flickr group.  Ta-ta for now...I really shouldn't even be crafting today...I have tons of housework, errands and my son's jazz concert to attend tonight soooo I should have been up and about instead of glued to my chair.  But you understand...I NEEDED to craft ;-D  Thank you for stopping by!  Enjoy your evening.

Be well,
Sheila

Yes!!!!

...I love this cardmaking!  Early today, and I mean early because I often get insomnia, I was scrolling through blog stuff and I saw the Less is More Challenge for using red and orange together in a card.  Well, those colors always make me happy anyways so I was completely considering playing along. Then my blogging friend Sasha (here) explained to me why the 5th of November is a holiday and that people set off fireworks, almost continuously by her in celebration of the day.  So, I learned something new which is always a good thing.  Then I got to thinking about fireworks and how they light up the sky.  The biggest and most beautiful fireworks that I have seen around here on  the 4th of July are the "Chrysanthemum" fireworks.  I don't know if that is really what these super huge blooms of color are called but that is what we have always called them. Then I thought of this particular stamp from Hero Arts Indie Bloom set here and went with the largest "bloom" in the Bold Bloom set. Then I stamped, masked and stamped that stamp repeatedly, colored with copics and after mounting on white, black and white cardstock I stickled over the shaded areas of the blooms with orange and red stickles.  The stickles make it seem more "firework-y" to me!  So this card will be entered into the Less is More Week 40 Challenge, as well as the HA (bling...yes I know).

Thank you so much for stopping by...and I really appreciate your comments.  They make me feel good-there-'nuff said!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                       

Yule...

tidings.  Yep-I know I am a bit early with this but hey...one can never be too organized when it comes to holiday prep.  I needed to make two holiday cards and thought that I would go with Hero Arts in order to enter them  in both the 2Peas Contest as well as the monthly HA contest.  I have never done anything in 2Peas before and I really am not sure that I have uploaded my cards correctly.  I actually have been on a break from challenges as I found that I was not enjoying myself and just generally getting stressed out when cardmaking.  Like, I never uploaded in time, I goofed on challenge requirements or, in this current 2Peas case I cannot seem to navigate the site.  And really, while I understand that it must be "easy" and user friendly I also understand that I am actually a fairly intelligent person.....hence, my incredibly high degree of frustration when the uploading/navigation/posting and editing doesn't go smoothly.  Oh well, I hope that I will eventually learn my way around the 2Peas site and in the meantime I am also entering this into the monthly HA challenge with my cards' qualifying for the "bling" category.  Seriously, did you even doubt that when they announced "bling" as being a contest category that I would even hesitate to join in?  So, my personal challenge was to bling up both cards without any added gems, pearls etc....I wanted to bling-ify the cards with out my usual add - on embellies so, I tried to bling by using color, layers, and stickles and I am actually really pretty happy with the results.  So, here they be:

This particular stamp uses the HA Classic Holly stamp here which I then stamped numerous times on the card. Then, I colored with copics, stickled with Diamond stickles and done!

This card is from the HA clear set called Christmas Reindeer found here and the background is also HA called Tiny Flakes found here .  Again, colored with copics and stickled.  I believe I will probably be "stickling" from now till at least post Valentine's Day......Thanks so much for stopping by.....I am glad that I was able to share these!

Be well,

Sheila

                                                     

My daughter.....

Bessie started a blog.  It is called Love, Life and Pretty Things.  I love that she started a blog because she is one of these people who are just fun to be around.  She has tons of energy and loves ....well, loves just about everything.    She is graduating from college in December and ready to take on the world.  If you are interested in what she has to share here is her blogspot:

http://allthingsbessie.blogspot.com/

Please stop by....she would love to have visitors!

Be well,
Sheila

Fabulous,

fabulous weekend!  This was the weekend that our niece, my husband's god-daughter was married out of town.  She is the girl who lived with us for about 5+ months last year when she came to our town to work an internship as a chiropractor for a doctor in our town....was offered a full time position and has since moved here.  Her wedding was out of town so we stayed  had a little get away where my husband, son and I  were able to meet up with our two daughters ( and one longtime  boyfriend) from college.  It was great to have the whole fam together and it was just a fun, fun, FUN wedding!  Lots of dancing, lots of jokes, lots of conversation.  I feel like I am still on a "high" from it.  Then on Sunday we needed to get the boyfriend off to his town, take one daughter a few hours away to her college, get the other daughter off on her 6 hour trip back to her college and get my husband off to a two week business trip to Brazil and then India.  And then Cormick and I came home....whew!  But, sooooo fun!  Here are the cards that I made for Emily and Jake.  One is from my husband and I, one is from my daughter Bessie and her boyfriend Tyler and the last is from my daughter Clarice and son Cormick.  I actually went out and bought two Penny Black stamps specifically for this wedding and will def use them over and over again.  I think they are so elegant and can see lots of ways to use them. Both cards were stamped and embossed on vellum and then colored with copics on the opposite side of the the embossing. I then used a versamark pen on the embossed side on select parts of the image and then covered those areas with glittered embossing powder.  The Pinnacle stamp is done in the colors of Emily's wedding.....and the Bride and Groom stamp dress is done to mimic the "champagne" color of Emily's dress.  I need to work with that particular stamp a bit more....they didn't come in until the day before we left, rather late in the afternoon and so.......well, just didn't have the amount of time I needed to practice.  The last card uses an Impression Obsession cover a card stamp that I also glitter embossed and beribboned.  I also am going to enter the two Penny Black stamps in the current PB challenge which is to create a card with your fav stamp....and now that they are new (hehehe) they are kinda fav's!

                                                                     
Thank you so much for stopping by and wading through such a long post.....obviously I am still bubbling over from the weekend!  I hope to get to all my blog reading and commenting today or tomorrow....I can't wait to see how all of YOU spent you time this past weekend!

Be well,
Sheila