Calendar Girls--LOVE our Furry Friends!

It is the 28^th, so I am here to welcome you to another round with the Calendar Girls!

Who are the Calendar Girls? We are a group of bloggers who want to have a place where friendships blossom, creativity abounds, and encouragement prevails! In keeping with that dream, this blog group has been created so we will have a place to interact and enjoy being fellow bloggers. 

Kelly, our Miss February, provided us with this challenge: 

** Show us how FURRY you are! **

It’s February, a month that symbolizes LOVE. When thinking of a theme for this month’s
Challenge, I knew I wanted us to get happy with the furry ones! My challenge for you this month is: Show some LOVE to our furry animals! I love them great and small, Short and tall – furry and fluffy! I am also sure at one point we have all had a special pet that we have loved, or maybe still do have a pet (or a bunch!) So let’s show them some love! I challenge you to show us fur, your fluff, your waggin’ tails! The possibilities are endless – from doggies to cats, mice to turtles – in one case, a spider! (lil dj!!) LOL! Let’s bring some creativity to making a card (etc) with any image showing us a pet (including if you don’t actually own one!)

** For an extra part of the challenge, since it is February, please try to include the color RED on your card somewhere (coloring of the image, your DSP, cardstock, embellies – just a touch (or a lot!) of red.

Please post your cards to your blogs on February 28th ! I hope you LOVE  this challenge this month and LOVE creating with FUR and FLUFF!

I feel like a broken record (remember those?) when I post the following--I do love my Whipper Snapper images and it probably is not a surprise that I used one of the many stamps that I have.  I love this image and the sentiment that goes with it—and yes, I do have lots or red on it!

We do not have any furry friends in our house, but do dog-sit for some of our friends when they leave town.  We have fin-friends and they do not like to be petted at all………………….  I grew up on a farm and we always had beautiful Collies--named of course Lassie,  along with Laddie and Skippy.

Here is the inside of my card:

Image/Sentiment—Whipper Snapper Sheepdog & Hydrant, Some Days

Cardstock—PTI White; Stampin’ Up Real Red, Early Espresso, So Saffron; DCWV The Pet Stack DSP 

Ink—SU Real Red, Memento Black

Accessories--Nesties Squares and Scallops; Copics; Yellow Button; Red/White and Brown/White Bakers Twine; Dow Paw Brads

Please check out the blogs of all of the Calendar Girls—there are 10 of us, so it might take you a bit.   I am sure you will enjoy all of the creations as we LOVE our furry friends. All of the blogs are listed on my left sidebar. Thanks for joining us!!!!!!!

I received a Blog Award!

Special thanks to Carolina for awarding me the Liebster Blog Award.

The idea of the Leibster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers. So, in the spirit of good fun, I am passing this award on to five other bloggers. Please stop by and encourage them by leaving a little love on their creations.

For the 5 blogs I'm presenting this to, please .....
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare-other bloggers.

5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love!

I'm awarding this to 5 very special blogs. It was hard to choose between all the ladies I have in my blog groups so I chose the ones with less followers. That is what Carolina did and it seems fair to me too!

1. Carol

2. Michelle

3. Darlene

4. Terry

5. Tami

When Your Life Isn't So Sweet

This is the third card that I made for Andi’s I Haven’t Used It swap on SCS.  We were to ink up some stamps that have never seen ink or it has been a long time since they have been used.   I have a couple of these Inkadinkado stamps and some have not been used yet.  I think this sentiment is so darn cute……………………..  I guess I was on a Basic Grey roll with this card as I used their designer paper, fibers and brads!

Image/Sentiment—Inkadinkado

Cardstock—Gina K Just Peachy, Cranberry Tart; PTI Berry Sorbet, Ivory; Basic Grey Two Scoops Sprinkles and Waffle Cone

Ink—Stampin’ Up Cranberry Crisp

Accessories— Basic Grey Fibers and Brads

Birthday Party-Block Party

Here is the second of the three cards that I made for Andi’s I Haven’t Used It swap on SCS.  We were to ink up some stamps that have never seen ink or it has been a long time since they have been used.  This is another set that I do not remember when I last used this retired set, if it has ever seen ink by me.  I too think I got this from my demo after it retired when we get to chose one stamp set for every $50 ordered at her retirement party—I guess I placed some significant orders during Nancy's retirement parties J

I stamped the image twice—once in Not Quite Navy and a second time in Crumb Cake.  I then cut out the Happy Birthday section from the Crumb Cake image and placed it over the same words on the Navy sentiment.

Image/Sentiment— Stampin’ Up Block Party

Cardstock—Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze; PTI White;

Ink—Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories—Sizzix Tween Stripes Texture Plate; Kraft Ribbon with blue stitched ribbon on top; Blue Buttons with Blue Fiber

Dueling Darling Divas February ~ Let Me Call You Sweetheart

It is the 15^th of the month and that means another Dueling Darlings challenge.  Our hostess this month for the Divas is Carol and she sent us a sweet, sweet kit.  The theme that Debbie, the hostess for the Dazzlers and Joan came up with is “Let me call you Sweetheart”.  Being the day after Valentine’s Day, I hope you are not on love overload or have had too many sweets, as I have a sweet card to share……………..

I absolutely love the image she sent to us—I have seen so many wonderful cards made with this image and I was so excited to see it in our kit.  Carol got permission from Mo Manning to send it to us and so grateful for that.

Image/Sentiment—Mo Manning-Young Love; Stampin’ Up Small Script

Paper—Gina K Bubblegum Pink, Passionate Pink and White; Doodlebug Sweet Cakes Heart to Heart and Best Creations Basic Glitter paper DSP

Accessories—SU Hearts Embosslits; Copics; Nesties Labels 15; SU oval punches, Ribbon; Ribbon Flowers made by Carol; Crystal Hearts;

Please be sure to stop in to see what all of the Divas as well the Dazzlers have created this month.  All of the blogs are on the left sidebar of my blog.  I am sure you will enjoy all of the Sweetheart Creations! 

Echoes of Kindness

Here is the one of the three cards that I made for Andi’s I Haven’t Used It swap on SCS.  We were to ink up some stamps that have never seen ink or it has been a long time since they have been used.  I do not remember when I last used this retired Stampin’ Up set, if it has ever seen ink by me.  I think I got it from my demo after it retired when we get to chose one stamp set for every $50 ordered at her retirement party.

Image/Sentiment— Stampin’ Up Echoes of Kindness

Cardstock—Stampin’ Up Handsome Hunter, Lavender Lace, Marigold Morning; PTI White;

Ink—Stampin’ Up Handsome Hunter ink for sentiment--Handsome Hunter and Marvelous Magenta Markers for image

Accessories—SU Elegant Vines Embossing Folder; Purple Ribbon; Purple Brad

Baby Card for Stamp Club Swap

This is the card that I made for last night’s stamp club.  Lora was the hostess and the theme for the swap was a baby card.  The cards were all so darn cute—what can go wrong with a baby card. 

Image—Stampin’ Up Baby Bundle

Cardstock— SU Old Olive, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Petals and Paisley DSP ; Gina K White

Ink—SU Old Olive, Memento Black Tuxedo

Accessories—Nesties-Ovals; Old Olive Scallop Dots Ribbon; Oval Punches; So Saffron Brads; Dotted Impressions Plate; Copics

Belated Birthday Card for a guy!

Here is the second card that I made for Sam’s Cards for Men swap on SCS.  What guy does not like fishing?  And, I am sure that most of them will smile at the sentiment too!

Image/Sentiment— Stampabilities White Bass; Rubbernecker Cards on Time

Cardstock—Stampin’ Up Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie; PTI Ivory;

Ink—Stampin’ Up Chocolate Chip, Old Olive

Accessories—Sizzix Tim Holtz Bricked; Fish Ribbon; Fishing Pole Brad

Crafty Gals Challenge Valentine Recipe Card

It is the 5^th of the month, so I am back with the 3^rd Challenge of the Crafty Gals!  We are a group of bloggers who have monthly challenges, caring comments & fun chit chat on SCS—our favorite stamping site to visit.

Lela posted the February challenge--"Recipe for A Valentine"
February is the month of LOVE and what could be better than showing off our idea of a "Recipe for A Valentine".  Last year DH made me chocolate dipped strawberries. He found the recipe on-line and they were fabulous. It was wonderful but a surprise as usually he gets me roses. What makes the perfect Valentine surprise? Is it candy, flowers, love notes? Let's see your Recipe for sharing LOVE. Don't forget to add a Heart or 2 on our project.

I found a stamp in my Valentine/Hearts drawer that I had forgotten about.  It is a D. Morgan stamp and in the last month, I was reintroduced to her line of stamps, thanks to my friend Darlene.  We created a card with one of her images for mystery swap—see post on January 18^th.  I love the look of her stamps, but am a bit nervous inking them up and actually coloring the image.  This one was pretty simple to color, but I love the look and I really like her designs.  Happy Valentine’s Day—a bit early!

Image/Sentiment—Stamps Happen D. Morgan From my Heart

Cardstock—PTI White; Stampin’ Up Real Red, Black and Regal Rose; Reminisce Crazy in Love

Ink—Black Memento

Accessories— Nesties Label 15; SU Hearts Border Punch; Red Brads; Red Heart Ribbon; Copics

Please check out the blogs of all of the Crafty Gals.   All of the blogs are listed on my left sidebar and I hope you will enjoy all of our creations. Thanks for joining us!!!!!!!

I'm Bananas Over You

Masculine cards are hard for me and many other swappers; so Sam posted Cards for Men swap on SCS.  She had two categories—birthdays and general.  I am sure this card will make any guy smile!

Image/Sentiment— Stamp Shoppe Creations, Stampendous Changito Dos

Cardstock—Stampin’ Up Early Espresso, So Saffron; PTI White; Reminisce Crazy Monkey Stripe

Ink—Stampin’ Up Early Espresso; Memento Black

Accessories—Copics; Punches; Saffron Corduroy Brad

Silly Sassy Seniors Card Swap--Oh Lord........

This is the second of the two cards that I made for Kristyn’s Silly Sassy Seniors Swap.  I have had this stamp for a bit and have not inked it up.  I added some red to the flowers in her hat for some added interest.

Image/Sentiment— River City Rubber Works-Matilda Louise, Crackerbox Palace--O Lord

Cardstock—Gina K Black, White and Red Hot

Ink—Stampin’ Up Real Red

Accessories—Copics; Red/Black Ribbon; Black Brads; Nesties; Sizzix Tim Holtz Retro Circles Embossing Folder

Silly Sassy Seniors Card Swap

This is one of the two cards that I made for a recent swap on SCS.  Kristyn posted a Silly Sassy Seniors Swap—making a card with some of the wonderful images of Seniors and the funny sentiments that go with them.  I love this line of stamps, so I inked one of them up, grabbed a bunch of Copics and smiled all the way…………………..  I hope you enjoy it too.

Image/Sentiment—Art Impressions Out to Lunch

Cardstock— Stampin’ Up Night of Navy, Melon Mamba, Pretty in Pink; Gina K White, KI Heartbeat Sweet Love Designer Series

Ink—SU Night of Navy; Memento Black

Accessories—Copics; Pink Bakers Twine; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Calendar Girls--Something New using Something Old

It is the 28^th, so I am here to welcome you to another round with the Calendar Girls!

Who are the Calendar Girls? We are a group of bloggers who want to have a place where friendships blossom, creativity abounds, and encouragement prevails! In keeping with that dream, this blog group has been created so we will have a place to interact and enjoy being fellow bloggers. 

Jeanette came up with our January Theme—so here goes:  It’s time for our first challenge of 2012. Can you believe we’ve now been together as a blog group for an entire year? That is exciting! I want to celebrate who we are and the fun we’ve had together. So my challenge for January is this: Something New Using Something Old!

What do I mean by that? This isn’t exactly what it seems. It’s not a vintage theme, though you can make your card/project vintage if you’d like. What I do want you to do is look back over your Calendar Girl posts/creations from the year 2011 and choose one of the images you used. Then I want you to create something entirely different with the same image. It cannot look at all like the previous Calendar Girl creation; nor can you use the same papers/embellishments/etc.

When you post to your blog – on January 28 – I want you to also post a picture of your 2011 card/project that used the same image so we can see the two and how different they are.

I hope you are up to the challenge! I can’t wait to see your Something NEW Using Something OLD.

I do love my Whipper Snapper images and it probably is not a surprise that I used one of the many stamps that I have.  I made a center stair step card—the first one I have ever done.  I have received many in swaps and I love the looks, so I took this challenge to try a unique card too.

Image/Sentiment—Whipper Snapper Umbrella & Slicker, Splash in the Puddle

Cardstock—PTI White; Stampin’ Up Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight; Echo Park Paper-A Walk in the Park-Raindrops DSP

Ink—SU Cherry Cobbler, Memento Black

Accessories--Nesties Ovals and Scallops; Smooch (on heart in sentiment); Copics; Buttons; Bakers Twine; SU Brads; Flowers with Brads in Center.

Here is the inside of my Center Stairstep Card:

Here is my card from last April—hope you like it too:

Please check out the blogs of all of the Calendar Girls—there are 10 of us, so it might take you a bit.   I am sure you will enjoy all of the creations made with images from the past. All of the blogs are listed on my left sidebar. Thanks for joining us!

SOTC January Swap--New Beginnings

This is a card that I made for our monthly SOTC—Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards-- Swap on SCS.  Judy--JAM123—is our hostess this month.  Here is her challenge:

It’s the ending of an old year and the beginning of a new year. It’s a time of reflection, a time of celebration and a time when many look forward to new beginnings. So in the spirit of the season, the theme for December/January cards is INSPIRATION! Create a card that reflects YOU…your dreams, aspirations, and/or accomplishments. Include your favorite colors, embellishments, images and sentiments. Create something that will lift the spirit of your Sistahs! As an added challenge I would love to see you incorporate a picture of yourself.

This card reflects me in the upcoming months—I hope.  We built a greenhouse the end of 2011 and I hope to spend lots and lots of time under the sunshine, playing with seedlings that we will start from seeds in the basement and move the pots to the greenhouse in the spring.  Then, I can watch the flower grow and transplant them into pots and baskets for our deck.  We will also start some of the vegetables from seed and they will be put in our new vegetable garden as the new garage/greenhouse is built over our old garden!  So, just like this cute image, I hope to have bunches of flowers to show off.  Sorry though, this cutie is going to take the place of the picture of me—sorry Judy!  But, it is a great vision of New Beginnings!

Image/Sentiment—Penny Black You are the Bestest; Verve-All of the Flowers

Ink—Memento Black; SU Wild Wasabi

Cardstock—Gina K White, Lemon Drop; SU Wild Wasabi; Best Creation Bunny Love DSP

Accessories—Copics; Flower; Button; Bakers Twine; Dimensionals;

Mystery Swap ~ Round 8 ~ A Better Friend

This card is for a Mystery Swap on SCS.  A group of us are doing a bi-monthly swap where we all use the same mystery image, sent to us by the hostess.  Jeanette-Forest Ranger on SCS-came up with this idea and it has been an absolute blast.  These images were sent to us by Darlene, who will swap the cards and send us the next image, which will be provided by Linda!  I can't wait to get the swap cards back to see how everyone else used the same image.  And then we get to do it all again!!!!

This image was a bit of a challenge for me—I love D. Morgan stamps, but I am sure intimidated by them.  Darlene has some awesome samples on her blog and in her SCS gallery—so I went to check them out before starting to color.  I also made a couple of copies of the images to try my colors, as we are sent 6 images and need to return 4.  Two extra were not enough for me this time………..  I colored the landscape and sky first with colored pencils and then added my Copics over the top.  I remembered we did this at a Copic class that my friend Kathy taught at Creative Pals a couple of years ago—and I sure like the look.  Flower Soft on the two main trees gives this card dimension. 

I hope Darlene and the other swappers think I did justice with this stunning image.  And yes, we are a great group of friends and I love the creativity in each of the members!

Image—A Better Friend, by D. Morgan--Stamps Happen

Cardstock— SU Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi and So Safron; Wausau Smooth White,  Basic Grey Urban Prairie Corn Husk Designer Series Paper

Ink—Memento Black

Accessories—Copics; Colored Pencils; Green Brads, Spring Flower Soft