Holiday Weekend

I just want to wish everyone a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend! The kids are so excited that school will be starting the day after. They just don't know....I can't wait either!*smirk* I need those 7 hours of bliss.:) We aren't doing anything special this weekend, just some last minute shopping and maybe go out to dinner. Have fun and I will be back Tuesday.
Malieta:)

Once is not enough!

I enjoyed making a card for Julee's sketch challenge that I decided to make another one! Besides...it gave me a reason to play with my Primacolor pencils some more.

cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey Ink White.
paper: from Impress (Christmas Bright Collection)
stamp: Stampin Up
sentiment: Impress
ink: Impress(Garnet), Prismacolor pencils and Gamasol
ribbon: assortment from Michaels

I also used my circle punch and snow flake punch. I used Crystal Snow glitter on the snowman and the snow flakes.

It's all about me!

This is the theme of Maria's weekly challenge. I put together a card that loosely symbolized bits of myself. My style is simple yet complex. I love company but like to be left alone. I'm soft but firm, and I love to laugh. I cry while watching a sad movie and am sensitive to others pain. I'm joyful,delightful and wishful. I'm constantly re-discovering myself and am very determined. I have a big heart but I do not give it easily. I'm just me.....just Risa!

cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey Ink White. The patterened paper is Anna Griffins.
sentiments: Papertrey Inks's Text Boxed and Hero Arts
ribbon: Dariee's Finishing Accents
brads: Making Memories
ink: Palette (violete) and Brilliance (gold dust)
I used some gold embossing powder on the base cardstock and used my heat gun to set it.

A couple of scrapbook layouts

Here are a couple of scrapbook layouts. I enjoy this also....so relaxing.
The snow page features my husband, son and our dog Cody. My husband is plowing the driveway while my son and Cody play. Ethan loves the snow and goes out to play in it every chance he gets. The picture of the girl is a layout I did for my friends granddaughter.

Supplies:
c/s Bazzill
paper: Making Memories
bling: Me and My Big Ideas
snow flakes, sequins and shaker box are part of my stash.

Feeling "Purr-dy " Good right now!

I just won a Cats Pajamas Stamp Set.....I am so happy right now. I love those stamps, wow.!!!!!!!!!

Did I mentioned that I love a challenge.....

Yes folks.....I am "challenge happy" yup.....:) Anyhow this area is for Karrie of Burning Rubber...rubberstampsthatis. These are my submission for your Cats Pajamas Card challenge.

~Carla's~ Sketch Challenge

~Carla~ has a sketch challenge going on at her blog Scrappers Anonymous. I tried to stick to the challenge as much as possible, however the sentiment didn't look balanced above the ribbon. To remedy this I lowered my sentiment.

cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey Ink White
sentiment: Stampin Up
ribbon: Stampin Up Certain Celery and pink cord unknown
brad: K&Co. and I used pop dots for the sentiment tag

I finally got around to making a card. My mom was in the hospital and going out there to see her with three kids everyday was no picnic! I was worried about her and the kids were restless and the heat and high humidity didn't help matters either. The hospital released her and she is 100% better. I think I slept practically all day Saturday and I needed it too!
The card I made today is a patterned off a sketch from Julee of Poeticartistry. She has some beautiful cards over there and I love the challenge!

cardstock: SU's Old Olive and Papertrey Ink White
paper: K&Co.
ribbons: ribbon stash
Ink: SU Black and Prisma Color pencils and Gamasol
stamps: Verve Visual and Inkadinkado
I also used SU's ticket punch,Quickie Gel, Diamond Dust and dimensionals.

I was very pleased with this card and the more I use the Prismacoler Pencils, the more I like them. It's like "magic" when you finally "get it" and I still have alot to learn. After I put my card together, I realized that I didn't "ground" the gift box and it looks like it's suspended in mid-air! Too late now.....but I still am pleased with the out come. Please enjoy!

Another Halloween Card

This card is for Rhi's Fall themed challenge. I had made this card two months ago. I liked the results of it then but I had decided to give the original card a "face-lift". I added "google eyes" to this Gate Card and removed the old orange and black ribbon. I applied some Halloween theme ribbon and a tag to bring a little life to it.

patterned papers: Creative Imaginations and Making Memories. cardstock: Papertrey
Ink White
ribbons: Halloween Ribbon from LSS and Michaels
sentiment stamp: The Cats Pajamas
pumpkins: The three pumpkins were cut out of the patterned paper and mounted onto cardstock and applied to the front of the Gate Card.
The other embellishments, "google eyes" and the tag are both unknown. The ink is SU's Black Classic.

Christmas Card with a Tag

This is the Christmas Card and Tag that I made for Maria's weekly challenge. I have been practicing with my Prisma Color Pencils almost daily. I'm starting to get the hang of blending the colors with the Gamasol, but I still have a long way to go. Maria does an excellent job with these pencils, the colors really stand out! After I was done coloring in my stamped image, the colors still didn't "pop" so I colored in some of the areas with my markers.

cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey Ink White

stamp: Stampabilities

sentiment: Stampabilities

I also used my Cuttle Bug, the Snowflake folder for the background. Prisma Color Pencils, Gamasol, markers, Sakura Quickies Gel Pen and Martha Stewart's fine crystal glitter. The Christmas Striped Ribbon, came from my LSS, I wish I knew who manufactured it. I simply brought two yards of it and I hope to get more later. The other ribbons are from my scrap stash.

Fiber Challenge (CaardVarks)

Fiber is an embellishment that I rarely if ever use....what do you do with it!!!Well when I read the challenge at CaardVarks, my mouth twitched. ..like a kid who has to eat broccoli. *smile* Then a bell went off in my head...use your kid stamps for this one! I used the Inkadinkado Stamp and stamped the image twice. I wanted the scene to be happy and playful. On this card, the images are playing and jumping rope. The ropes are pieces of fiber and I used wooden beads for the handles. I also used fiber at the top of the card. I also used ribbon and buttons to fill-in the empty spaces on the card.


cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey white
inks: Brilliance-Coffee Bean and Palette-Violete
stamps: Inkadinkado (Me and My Big Ideas), Studio G and Hero Arts
ribbon: scrap stash
buttons: scrap stash
fibers: Come from a kit, Club Scrap. (the beads come from Club Scrap also)
H2O pencils and Stickles and pop dots used.

You take the cake.........

You might need sunglasses for this card!!!*smile* The Sunshine stamper has a challenge going on, and the challenge is to EMBELLISH THAT CARD! I applied Stickles, brads, and ribbon to "jazz" this "baby-up".
cardstock: Bazzill and Papertrey White
stamps: Studio G and The Cats Pajamas
inks: Palette (Claret)
markers: Fabrico
ribbon: unknown (scrap from my stash)
brads: Jo-Ann Essentials
I also used Stickles and pop dots.

Two for the price of one!!

I managed to complete two challenges on one card...now that's a bargin! One challenge is for DCM (Daring Card Makers) and the challenge is for a card that is "frilly". Card Positioning Systems (CPS) had a sketch on their blog. So....I used their sketch for both challenges and incorporated the lace and ric-rac for the "frilly" look.

papers: Bazzill and Papertrey Ink White cardstock. The heart print is unknown.
stamps: Inkadinkado (Me& My Big Ideas)The Cats Pajamas and Verve Visual
Inks: SU's Basic Black, Palette-Claret and Brilliance-Coffee Bean
ribbons: Flourishes(ric-rac) and the lace and pink cord unknown.
buttons: Walmart
I also used H2O pencils and pop dots.

X-mas Card

I visit different blogs all the time and one day I came across this blog, Rings like a bell. The owners name is Rhi and she had a tutorial called the " Ribbon Flower". It looked pretty cool to me and I had to try it! I basically make simple cards and like to add pretty embellishments to enhance it. I knew that this Ribbon Flower would be perfect for my Christmas Card. I love the way it turned out with the different ribbons yet it's "classy"! I hope you like it too.

cardstock: Bazzill and Stampin Up's Whisper White
stamp: The Cats Pajamas and Stampin Up
brads: come from a Club Scrap Kit
ribbons: assortment form Michaels and May Art
punch: SU's ticket punch
glitter: SU's Drizzling Diamonds

Pampered Kitty

After a few days on vacation, I had all kind of ideas in my head! Pictures of this layout, pictures of that layout, color combos....etc. I made this card combining the pastel colors pink and blue. I had to use The Cats Pajamas Stamp for this card. (luv those stamps!) Also, lately I have been admiring Penny Black Stamps. If you like to use your markers, aqua painter or Prisma's, these stamps are perfect and so cute.

papers: SU's Whisper White, Bazzill c/s
prints: Bo Bunny and Making Memories
stamps: The Cats Pajamas and Studio G
inks: StazOn (black) and SU's Craft (black) and H2O pencils
scallop punches (two), Sakura Quickie Gel Pen, SU's Dazzling Diamonds, ribbon from Michales and Flourishes.
For the oval tag, I traced it on WW c/s and used my scallop scissors to trim. I used a circle punch to punch a hole in the tag I pulled two different ribbons through the hole, tied it and covered the hole with a flower embellishment. Since this kitty is spoiled and pampered (in my mind) I decided that she has to have "bling" on her accessories.

I've been very busy......making a mess :)

I have always admired the look of almost anything altered. So when Maria posted this weeks challenge as anything altered,I had to try it. I studied Maria's tutorials and looked at other blogs as well. I didn't know that it was sooooooo messy! I think I hate Modge Podge. I used my Xyron, almost forgot that I had it! Since I am a novice, I used my cheap papers for starters. The altered book is a $1.00 bargin from Michaels. paper is a scrap of DCWV, flowers by Darices's Finishing Accents and Flower dye-cut from an scrapbook kit. Various assortment of ribbons from Michaels, and Walmart. Sentiment is by Kolette Hall and I also used my Xyron Adhesive Machine.

I had ordered some band-aid tins from Creative Xpress for a great price. Well...the order came in Friday and I could not resist attempting to alter the tin. This is my second altered item, I'm not 100% happy with it but it is decent. I'm still not sure what I want to do with the front of the tin yet, so I just placed a Martha Stewart embellishment on the front.

paper: unknown
ribbon: assortment from Michaels
adhesive: Xyron
embellishment: Martha Stewart

I'm a "Geek"....????

What Your Pizza Reveals

People may tell you that you have a small appetite... but you aren't under eating. You just aren't a pig. You aren't particularly picky about pizza. It's so good... how could you be? You fit in best in the Western part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are generous, outgoing, and considerate with your choices. You are definitely unique and artistically inclined. You should consider traveling to Prague. The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

Back from St. Ignace

We are finally home and I am so tired! I think that I have answered my e-mails and etc. I can't wait to create something but to tired right now. I don't want to mess up any paper. lol
Oh well....have a goodnight everyone and I should be posting something tomorrow night.
Malieta:)

Very......interesting.....75% is true though!

You Are 4: The Individualist

You are sensitive and intuitive, with others and yourself. You are creative and dreamy... plus dramatic and unpredictable. You're emotionally honest, real, and easily hurt. Totally expressive, others always know exactly how you feel. At Your Best: You are inspired, artistic, and introspective. You know what you're thinking, and you can communicate it well. At Your Worst: You are melancholy, alienated, and withdrawn. Your Fixation: Envy Your Primary Fear: To have no identity Your Primary Desire: To find yourself Other Number 4's: Alanis Morisette, Johnny Depp, J.D. Salinger, Jim Morrison, and Anne Rice.

What Number Are You?

1-2-3--->New Challenge

This is my card for Caardvarks challenge...keeping it simple

I give up!

I had the perfect idea in my head for this card, however I couldn't get the point across on paper! I added elements...took them away. Started over again even...still didn't like it. At one point I even had three cupcakes! The night was getting longer and I was tired of fumbling around with this card! I said out loud "I give up!" This is it...I'm done! Even after the frustration this card put me through, I couldn't throw it away. So, I decided to hang on to it and title it Just for Fun.

The c/s: SU's Cameo Coral, Papertrey Ink and Bazzill
The ink: Pallette's Clariet
H20 Pencils from Michaels
Stamps: The Cats Pajamas (star burst) and Studio G (cupcake)
ribbon: MayArts
Stickles
Well tomorrow my husband and I are taking a much needed "R&R"! We are going up to
Saint Ignace. I love going "up there" but I hate going over the Mackinaw Bridge. Once we get over the bridge I am fine. If you should ever come to Michigan in the Fall, go "up north" as we say it. The scenery is breath taking!

Beate's Weekend Challenge

I made a card for Beate's Weekend Challenge. This card is on the masculine side and I'm going to give it to my husband. It is titled...You inspire me.
The cardstock: SU's Really Rust, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa.
DSP: SU's Outlaw
brad: Karen Foster
inks: Brilliance Archival Coffee Bean and Color Box White
ribbon: Michaels
stamp: SU's Peaceful Wishes and sentiment by Verve Visual
I also used my Sakura gel pen and Martha Stewart's Crystal Fine glitter on the pine needle. My tag punch and circle punch were used also and they are both SU products

Colleen's wkly. challenge card

I made a card for Colleen's Thursday Throwdown Challenge. The challenge didn't appear too difficult for me, so I decided to try it.
The cardstock: SU's Cameo Coral and Not Quite Navy. I also used Papertry Inks white cardstock. ( I really like their paper!)
The DSP: Paper Pizazz
ribbon: Michaels
Inks: Pallette (Claret) and StazOn (black)
H20 Pencils: from Michales
Brads: JoAnn essentials brand
Stamp: Sentiment (Cats Pajamas) and Stamp (Rubber Stampede)
I'm still working with the H2O's, but it takes time. The first image I made was better to me. However, I messed up when I tried to add a shadow...it looked awful!So, I re-stamped the image and left it like it is...flat.(sigh)

Thinking Blog Award

Maria tagged me with the Thinking Blog Award. thank you so very much Maria. In return I have to tag five other people. This is difficult because I don't want to leave anyone out. However, most of the people I communicate with already have the award. Here are five people that have come to my mind.

1. Rita of Rits's Litte Corner. Both she and I are relatively new to making cards. Rita puts alot of thought and time into all of her projects and she is just an awesome person!

2. Simone of Spazzgirldaily. Simone's site is great and she is quite funny too! I love her cards and her personality shines in her post. It takes alot of effort and thought to bring your writing to life like this.

3. Dana of Kismetartlife. Dana puts alot of thought and effort into her blog. Her cards are awesome and her blog is awesome too!

4. Kathy of Kathatstamps. I love Kathy's cards. Kathy works full time, is a busy mom and still manages to produce some awesome cards!

5. Dee of Stampin Cuz I luv2. Dee has a quiet personality but you can see the love of her craft in her work. Her cards are beautiful! Dee puts alot of thought into her work. Great job Dee!

The link to the Thinking Blog is here.
After you download and post the award to your post, you have to tag five others and post why you were inspired to nominate the award. I just want to say that I wish that could have nominated everybody, because I am inspired by ALL of the blogs that I visit and leave comments on!

More is more is more etc.

These two Halloween themed cards were made for the "All Kine Ways" challenge. Both of my cards have the same dimension, 4 1/4 X 8 1/2. The first card "Ghostly Greetings" I used Bazzill black c/s, SU's Creepy Crawly Designer Paper, lt. orange c/s (unknown). The stamp and the sentiment are both The Cats Pajamas. I stamped the sentiment and the pumpkin on the c/s and stamped the pumpkin again. I cut out the second pumpkin, colored it with my markers and used Pop Dots for added dimension. I didn't have any black brads, so I used the backs off of the Pop Dots and substituted them for the brads. The spider web and spider are stickers from my Spiderman Stickers. I used some orange fiber and attached the spiders at the end of the fiber. I also used Stickles.
Card #2
The second card, I used Whisper White c/s, Bazzill, black and orange c/s. I used the same stamps as indicated in card #1. I used my markers to color in the pumpkins and used the web from the Spiderman Stickers.I placed the web beside the "Ghostly Greetings" sentiment. The black ribbon is unknown. I also used Stickles for this card and used my ticket punch from SU.

More is more is more etc.

Yesterday I made three more cards and all are for Jen. She has a tag/card challenge going on and a challenge where you make two cards. If I understand correctly, same stamp but different background. Anyhow, here are my efforts.
The tag/card challenge
I used Bazzill c/s for the pocket and lined the inside with paper from Ki Memories. Then I proceeded to glue both of the outer sides. I used SU's Whisper White for the tag. I had to make some trimming adjustments to the tag, because at first the fit was too tight! I used Kolette Hall's stamp (Let's get together) on a slant to compensate for the diagonal cut on my pocket. The ink used was Palette's Claret color.The snow flake punch is by EK Success. I punched a few snow flakes and used pop dots to adhere them. I then used Stickles to add to the winter theme. Both ribbons are from Michaels.

Nice Matter Award

I have been awarded the Nice Matters Award from Jen. Isn't that sweet...(smile). I also want to add that Jen is a very nice and sweet person, stop in and say "aloha". ahe will love it. Now all I need to do is tag 5 other nice bloggers. My list is....

1. Maria
2. Tamijo
3. Laura
4. Ila
5. Nina

From what I see, you don't have to list a bunch of stuff..it's just a award for being nice! How sweet is that!!!!!!

What the Buzz is about challenge #1

I found Nina's site through Allisons. Nina challenge is a sketch from Page Maps June edition for cards. It looks so simple on paper, but it is rather tricky getting the measurements to line-up correctly.

Cardstock: Whisper White, printed paper is a handcrafted paper by PaperPassport. The papers are handcrafted in India and I have had these papers for a couple of years and just found them recently. I also used SU's Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa for the circles. The ribbon is SU's Choc. Chip, I can't remember where I brought the brad from, I used two circle punches and my scallop scissors for the trim. The sentiment is a stamp from Verve Visual, and the ink is from Color Box and is Frost White.

3 Circles, 3 Arrows and a Square

I can't wait for DCM to post their weekly challenges. I guess the reason why I like them is because their challenges make me think "out of the box" The first card I made was really something else. I asked my family members what they thought and all I got was a mild "umh umh". So I toned it down a little bit.

The cardstock: Su's choc. chip, whisper white, certain celery and cameo coral.
printed paper: Junkitz (I love this paper!)
brad: unknown, ribbon: Michale's
I also used a circle punch and my Sizzix dye cut for arrows and pop dots.
* I used that square dimenson of my card for the square.

Party time!

Bette of has weekly challenges also. I discovered her site and decided to make a card. I got a set of Studio G stamps in the mail as a gift and I wanted to make a card to show my appreciation. The cardstock is SU's, The birthday hats and sentiment are Studio G, The stamped star burst design stamp is from The Cat's Pajamas.
I used Stickles to decorate the starbursts and the hats. I colored in the hats with markers from Michale's. The ink is Su's blk.,I used a ticket punch from SU and ribbon is from Michaels.

I wish the box was bigger....

The doorbell rang and it was the UPS man and he had a small box in one arm! Gee, I wish the box was bigger..$150.00 doesn't go too far nowadays.(smile) But I am happy with my goodies and cannot wait to make a card. The only drawback is trimming the rubbba!(smile)

A card and a bag!

In the past I have always shyed away from SCS weekly challenges. I read this challenge and decided to "go for it"! This bag is SCS weekly challenge #67. I printed out the tutorial and proceeded to make this bag. I really like it and I think that I will make some of these bags to hold small Christmas presents.

The cardstock SU and Bazzill. Star burst stamp, Cats Pajamas, Snowman by Su, Ink by Colorbox, ribbon from Michael's, Red Stickles dabbed in centers of each star burst,Sakura Quickie Glue used and Martha Stewart's Crystal Fine glitter.

I also made another card today, this is addicting isn't it! I was drawn to this paper by K&Co. and wanted something simple to go with it. I chose this small flower bouquet from SU's Tags and More Set. I used my watercolor pencils to color in the roses and mounted it. I used my circle punch and scallop punch. I decorated the scallops by piercing a hole and using my Signo Pen. The sentiment is a SU stamp from the Garden Collection set. The eyelets are Certain Celery (also Su) and the ribbon is SU's and is Certain Celery also. I guess that I'm in love with Sakura's Quickie Glue Pen because I used it again along with Martha Stewarts Crystal Fine Glitter.

Got the time?

The theme of today's challenge with the Daring Cardmakers is Time. Anything associated with the word time. I choose a card with the title of What time is it...because people are always asking. I wanted the card to have a fun type theme also.
Card stock: Bazzill and SU , Stamps Hero Arts lower case alphabet, clock hands were cut with my Sizzix dye cutter, I used my Sakura Quickie Glue to go over the question marks and sentiment, Martha Stewart's crystal fine glitter was used to give the sentiment and question marks dimension, the ribbon American Crafts.

One more card.

I finished my card for the Daring Cardmakers challenge. The theme this week is "I'm sorry". When I read the theme, I started planning the layout of my card etc. You know what I found out...it is difficult to find a stamp that says "I'm Sorry"! I had to write the words "I'm sorry"....and I'm Sorry about having to do that. The c/s is Bazzill, watercolor paper Strathmore. I have been practicing on my water coloring skills and I have to admit that they are improving abit. my water color pencils are General Kimberely's. I brought this kit 2yrs. ago at Michael's. The stamp is by Hero Arts and I used blk. StazOn Ink. The Organdy ribbon unknown. This was my first time working with this type of ribbon, I didn't think that my clear strip of adhesive would "show" but it does. I'm not 100% pleased with this card, yet I learned a few things from making it. This is why I like challenges...you learn alot along the way.

Another Busy Day....

Today was another busy day but, I made some "me" time so that I could finish two of my four cards. The first card is made for Tami of DappleDesigns. She has a number of card color challenges. I choose #15, the purple,yellow and pink card color challenge. For the "life of me" I could not take a decent picture of this card. The purple ribbon looks distorted. The yellow is SU's barely bananas,the pink is SU's pretty in pink and the purple is Bazzill. The stamp is by Rubber Stampede. The ink is by Colorbox and the Sm. flowers were punched with a SU Sm. flower punch. I also used SU's corner ticket punch for the corners. Both yellow and purple ribbon are from Michael's $1.00 bin.
The Second card is a RAK (random act of kindness) card. I was tagged and I have to find 5 other people to tag (if there are any left!) (smile). Getting back to the tagged part, I also have to make a RAK and mail it to someone. I am mailing my card to Tamijo. This card is simple and sweet. The black c/s is Bazzill and the pink is SU's pretty in pink. I used my Cuttle Bug to emboss the pink. I also used my ticket punch for the corners. I used a circle and scallop punch for my kitty. I love that stamp which is a Cat's Pajamas stamp. I used Staz-on blk. ink to stamp. The blk. ribbon is by American Crafts,the pink ribbon $1.00 special, the pink cord unknown. I have had those tags for years, I don't know the company though. I stamped the sentiment "just for you" with a sentiment stamp from the Cat's Pajamas. I also sponged the tag with SU's pretty in pink, added Sparkles and used Pop Dots for dimension.

I wish........

I wish that I could turn back the hands of time and start the week all over again. (wishful thinking) The temperature has been in the high 90's here. Although we have central air...I still have to leave the house to run errands and the kids around to various events. At the end of the day, I am "pooped" and then I had connection problems with my lap-top. Well all is fixed,and I have to finish some cards tonight and get them in the mail. I hope it is cooler tomorrow, but I doubt it. I will post my cards tomorrow morning and I thank all for bearing with me. I also have been tagged (again). This time I have to choose five other people. From what I have seen it looks like everyone is tagged by now. I will complete my RAK and send it out.