Colors and Flowers....

   Today, I find myself again drawn to coloring and two of the cards I am sharing now were both card that were primarily colored with my Copics.  I had actually started this first card late yesterday afternoon, after I saw the fabulous Trigger Tuesday image over at Moxie Fab World.  If you know me, you'll know that I LOVE Poppies and growing up with had them all over our yard and there were gorgeous.   Whenever I see a really neat poppy stamp or digi image, I find myself buying it right away.

  For this card, I chose to use this wonderful Poppy Stamp (Delicate Blossoms), which is a favorite from Hero Arts.  Once I had it stamped I began to color and used a variety of Reds, Coral and Pinks along with some Yellow and Greens.   Being that this is a rather large stamp, putting a card together is actually very easy, (once the image is colored).  I actually grabbed some scraps that I use for my matting and also for part of the card front.  Once I made up my little design I simply put it all together on a Hero Arts Card, from teh Foliage Set.

Tuesday Trigger

(Courtesy of Moxie Fab)

  

My Card

    I am submitting my "Poppy" card to each of these challenges and welcome everyone to play along:

• Moxie Fab World - Trigger Tuesday - Inspirational Image
• Fresh Brewed - July Challenge - Summer Theme
• Paper Pretties - Celebrate - Any Occasion Card

   My next card is one I started on this morning and it was inspired to today's Twisted Thursday Challenge at The Outlawz.   This week is "Anything Goes", but with the Twist of "FISH", which you can use in any way.   I wasn't even sure if I had any stamps or images that had a fish on time, but once I started searching through my digis I found this adorable image that I bought from Polly Craft, right before they closed.  I don't know about you, but I loved many of their sweet images and will miss the store.  I was also very excited to buy a huge bundle they offered during their final week and this sweet image was part of that fabulous 100 image bundle!!  

  My final card today is actually a personal card I made for Hubby for our Anniversary which is coming up on Sunday.  We will be celebrating 22 years on Sunday, which is really hard to believe - time surely does fly by.   As with all the cards I make for him and my boys, I always find any Male cards a struggle, so I have been working on this on/off for a few days, but was not coming up with anything I really likes.  That's when I again decided to turn to my Cameo and see what fun or new ideas I might find in the Silhouette Store. 

   I searched first under Anniversary, but they was very little, (I guess I'm not alone in coming up with ideas or images in that Category), so I next searched under "Wedding" and that's where I found the super cute (Pop-Up Card), pictured above.   I had never made a pop up card, and this is my first, but it cut-out wonderfully and was super easy to put together!    To make it more my "own", I changed the colors and also added two sentiments and some embellishments to the front and inside of my card.  In the end, I was very pleased with it and that I had successfully created my first pop-up card!  

   I also realized that this week's Midweek Throwdown Challenge, for OWH,  is an "Anniversary Theme", so I will be submitting my card to share there too!  This is a different view of the inside, where you can see that I added my on bling, and also some die cut black hearts.   I am so excited that it came out so well, and now I'll be very comfy in creating more cards in this pop-up style!   I totally LOVE my Silhouette Cameo and all the new ways of creating it has brought into my life!   And the best part is that there is so much more, I have not even started on -- Vinyl, Fabrics, Rhinestones and much more!  I also love the they add new shapes every week to the store and whenever I'm really struck, I always seem to find something that works perfectly.  This has been such a wonderful investment for me, and I could not be happier about buying this awesome machine!!

  

  And now I am off to go and let Delilah out of her cage for some playtime.   She is our newest addition to the family she is a sweet little ferret that Acacia bought for Alex a month or so, ago.   Whenever, Alex is home, she has free run of his room, but when he's at work etc., she sleeps in her very large cage and a cute little hammock.   I also let her out a few times each day and wish should could roam the whole house, but we are too afraid, she would get lost in some little nook and we'd never find her, plus, we do not want her to fall down the stairs or get hurt.   He has gates in his room, to keep her out of trouble and away from danger, so it's ideal.  We also do take her downstairs form time to time, for exercise and to run.  Overall, she a great pet, an pretty easy to care for.  She has her own little litter box, but still does not always make it to it on time?  Another reason, she can't roam the house all day and night.   Maybe as she gets older that will change, but only if we can figure out a way to keep her safe!!   They can get into the tiniest places and I would hate for her to somehow get lost or get outside and have a dog or something kill her.  She's really cute...and super playful.  I was not sure if I would like her, but I'm already attached to her Love to hold her and play with her too!   

Coloring my world....and a little enabling!!

   My absolute favorite part is crafting is coloring and all the wonderful colors that go into all the cards I create. I find coloring to be so relaxing and it's the part of crafts that truly has me off in my own little world. When I sit at my desk and start coloring, I can sometimes color for hours and love it....so peaceful and a wonderful way to relax. Today is one of the those days for me and I just colored up several images that I'll keep on hand for future projects.

   Some of my favorites are these sweet and adorable little digi images by Lori and Hannah Boyd at By Lori Designs. I am also very excited to share this post this Lori shared on Facebook and at her store today!! She is offereing a one day special sale -- her little way to saying Happy 4th of July to all of her customers and those of use who love her digis. If you are like me, you'll want to be sure to head on over to the store and make sure you shop during her special 40% off Sale! -- More details can be found HERE!!   But, don't wait as this sale is for ONE DAY only and ends at Midnight tonight!!

   And is you need some inspiration to see what you can do with all these sweet images, you can also stop over at the store Blog - HERE, and check out the fabulous creations by Lori's Design Team.   I also just finished coloring up these three cuties, which are adorable and now ready to be made into cards.

   And of course, this fun card I had made as one of my Celebration cards in honor of today's 4th of July Holiday.  

Or this one....an oldie but goodie....

Or this one....a favorite of mine!!

    I could go on and on and truly am a huge fan of these sweet and adorable images.  If you know me well, you'll know I create with them often and find them truly a joy to color.  They are happy images and always make me smile.    I was thrilled to read about the sale and you know that I've already been over and filled up my cart, I rarely pass on a good sale and I want to also Thank Lori, for this offer!!

   I'm sure I'll be coloring up more of my newest additions in the next few days, so please stay turned.   In the meantime, I've also been coloring up lots of other images, which challenges in mind and also simply because I love to color so much.   Here are two more pictures of the images I am working on today and these all will become my next cards.

    The poppies are a Hero Arts images and the only thing I have colored today that has not been a digital image.  These will soon be made into a card for this week's Trigger Tuesday Challenge over at Moxie Fab World.  As soon as I saw the inspiration photo, I knew that I wanted to play, especially since I love to color poppies and use them and other flowers often on my cards.

  I have one last card to share today and this one doesn't have ANY coloring.   It's a card I had actually cut on my Silhouette Cameo yesterday, when I was working the on the Window Card challenge.  However, I went with other choices, but then realized it would work out well for today's new Sketch Challenge at The Outlawz.   It's a very CAS Style and was super easy to make.   The card was cut from White Swiss Dot Bazzill card stock and I lined the window opening in a teal cardstock - more scraps.  Today, when I saw the sketch, I thought I could adapt this card to work out and that's exactly what I did.  I am sharing the sketch and my card below and hope you'll like it.  I kind of feel likes it's MISSING something, but now sure what?  Please feel free to share any ideas you may have!!

   This entire card was put together with elements that I already had cut.  The card, then the butterflies which are from MS punches.   Even the sentiment was one I created on the computer.  I often will print a full page of sentiments and then cut or punch them out, as needed for cards.  This one I had already punched and I simply layered it onto the matching cardstock.   People often ask me HOW I can make so many cards, sometimes all in one day, and this is how I do it.   I will spend a full day coloring...or relaxing and put all pre-colored images in a folder.  I also have a folder full of Sentiments and have a huge bin of scraps right under my desk.  Whenever I do have my punches out or my Cameo on, I'll always cuts at least a few extra shapes or elements and keep them on hand!   I also have several card fronts cut to size and have quite a few that I have also embossed.   Of course, many times, nothing I have started will work for a particular challenge, but it's nice to have these on hand for times, when I'm making cards for myself!!    Some day, when I am more organized I share pictures of my folders and such!

  That's it for now!  Alex and Acacia just came in, so I want to talk with them for a bit, before we leave.  Hubby and I are going out to get some yummy seafood for a late lunch/early dinner at one of my favorite restaurants.  We decided it would be out little way of celebrating the 4th!   We invited the kids, but they want to go to the parade and already had a big lunch, so they decided to stay here.  Now we can relax and take our time and that'll be nice!!

  Hope you all have a great day and hope those of you going to parades and events, all have fun and stay safe too.  I'll be watching the Boston Pop Fireworks from the comfy of my own home and hope the storms stay away, so they are not rained out!  
 

Fun with Stickeroos...!!

   Happy Tuesday!!!     When I first woke up this morning, it was NOT at all a very happy day.  My back was killing me and I was feeling more tired than ever?    It was kind of depressing and one of those days when having Fibro was really upsetting and dragging me down.   I really try so hard not to let it get me, but every now and then it really does and it's usually because of pain or missing out on things I really want to do.

   I knew I wanted to work on cards and at first, I didn't think it would be possible, because I have having a hard time sitting.   Luckily, the move I was up and about and after taking my meds, the pain slowly decreased back to a more normal level, which is when my day turned Happy!!    The last thing I wanted to do was have to lay around all day and not be able to work on any cards.   Sometimes I forget how bad it can be and then WHAM, the pain comes back with a vengeance, as if to remind me that I can never take any good day for granted.    Just about this time, I was reading my email, and had a note that a new gal was following my Fibromyalgia Board over at Pinterest.   When I went to look at the newest images, I found it very fitting to see this one, (see below), which I had pinned to my board a while back.  But, today, it really hit home and was pretty much exactly how I was feeling.    I saved a copy to my desktop and then shared it over at Facebook and decided to share it with my blog readers today.  I know that most of you know about my illness, but for those who don't or for anyone who really doesn't understand, my hope is that  maybe it will help you or others better understand how those of us with any type of chronic illness or pain, can often feel.

    Special thanks to all of you who take the time to read this.  It really hit home for me today and I hope I am not boring you, I still find that I need to vent at times and I do my very best not to complain too much about being sick.   I am far from being alone and I can't begin to tell you how many other Fibro gals I have met in the past several years.   Amazingly, many of us have turned to crafting as a form of therapy and I'm so grateful that it really helps me stay busy and keep my mind of pain and fatigue.   I would not wish this illness on my worst enemy, but I sure do WISH with all my heart and more people, would really try harder to really think about what it's like to live with any type of chronic illness.   I pray for a cure and would LOVE to go back to my old life, but for now, I'm happy to be me and feel lucky to have met so many kind and caring people through the wonderful world of the internet.   Thank you all for all for being such awesome new friends and for being part of my new life!

 ....Okay...enough if that!   I am climbing down off my soap box and moving on to happier things.   Once I did start to feel better, I was much happier and anxious to head to my craft room and start on a card for today's new Color Combo Challenge at The Outlawz.   This is a copy of the challenge colors and the 'twist' for this week and as always, this challenge and ALL the challenges I play in are open to ALL!!

     I have lots of ideas that came to mind quickly and I knew that I wanted to use my Cameo to create some type of fun or different style "window card".   I actually have quite a few cards in my Library and went there to figure out which I wanted to start with.   I found several and then actually cut out about four full  pages of assorted shades and card bases that I could use for my card.   And despite having all kinds of ideas, when I started....it did not go that easy and I spend several hours making this one card.    My colors are a bit off fro the inspiration image, but in person, they look closer.

  This is the card that I submitted to the challenge and is the one that I thought I liked best, after trying different card styles and other shapes and background.   Once I was done, I decided to try one more and this one was very simply and went together much faster and easier.  Now, that I see them both, I think I actually like this one every better -- Go Figure??

     After that, I wanted to keep making card, but wanted to make some super easy cards and for me, I find that I LOVE using the wonderful Stickeroos that are made by Penny Black.  They are the only stickers on the marker that I really like and this set (Petals and Wings), is my newest set and one that I found today, I truly love.   The colors are rich and so pretty and these make such easy card.   I simply pick out a sticker and mat it onto some matching cardstock.  I then add some ribbon or some bling or sometimes even a simply sentiment, super easy and all done in a matter of minutes!    You can bet I'll be picking up more of this set the next time I'm at my LSS!     You can also find them online and of course, from Penny Black's web-store too.   I highly suggest you try a sheet sometime and see what you think.    Most people are amazed to find out they are stickers and as I said, I'm not one who really even likes using stickers, but these Stickeroos are so nice, that I really enjoy creating with them every now and then.  I do admit, that I kind of feel like I'm cheating because they make it so easy??

  This is a copy of the full sheet that I copied over from Penny Black's site.  Each sheet contains several stickers and they have them in a variety of colors and styles.

Image by Penny Black

"Petals & Wings"

  These are the cards I created this afternoon all from this one set, and I have plenty left for more cards.    As you can see in my pictures the colors are much more vibrant and colorful in person.   These are really stunning and I can't say enough about how much  I love them.

   

    I'm off now to clean up my VERY messy desk and then have something for dinner!   I wish everyone a very Happy 4th of July and hope you all have a nice day.   We will be home and I'm planning to spend more time creating and staying cool, which is just fine by me!   Have a wonderful day and if you are traveling and partying, please do so safely!!   ENJOY!!

Monday and Mojo!!!

   I am still lacking a bit of MOJO, but luckily I am started to feel better and that in itself is a good thing and gives me more energy to want to spend time creating. Yippee!!

    If you feel you have lost a bit of your Mojo, like me, then there is a brand new challenge now being hosted every week over at the "A Blog Named Hero's Flickr Group". It started last week and a will run on this schedule and we are currently on Week Two, making this week a color combo challenge!   For all the details, please hop on over HERE and I hope I can inspire you to play along.

  This is a copy of the color inspiration that the girls provided for this week's challenge.  Isn't this one pretty cake...!  I wonder if it's chocolate, my favorite!!  Yummy!!

   And this is the card that I created for the challenge using one of my favorite Hero Arts Cling Sets, which is Butterflies CG130.   I started by stamping the butterflies a few times on white cardstock and then colored them in sets of two, knowing I wanted another set for a second card.  I then cut out two and layered them on top of the other two which I had stamped directly on my patterned paper.   I added some yellow and gray, the challenge colors and a cute Thanks stamp from Paper Smooches.  Once I put everything together, this is the card I had for the new challenge.

   For my second card, I used the same Butterfly Stamp, as I am also planning to submit this card to the new "Stretch Your Stamps" challenge being hosted over at A Blog Name Hero.  It is also the name of the very next class I'm taking, which starts on July 9th.  If you love this idea or want to take a fantastic class, please go HERE for all the details.   It's being hosted in the Online Card Classroom which was created by Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner.   

  This time I changed up the colors a little bit and colored one butterfly twice and then simply used a circle punch to punch it out and layered onto some cardstock and a doily.  It's much more of a CAS Style card and was very easy to create.   It's also another example of how you can easily use one stamp and come up with two different looks and that's exactly the idea behind the challenge and also the upcoming class!!   

   I am also submitting this card to the new "Greeting Card" Challenge being hosted this week at "The Outlawz".   You can find all the details HERE and I encourage everyone to play along!!    Here is one last picture of both cards together, to show the differences!   Fun!!

     My next goal is to go back to yesterday's CAS Challenge at "The Outlawz" and revise my "Star Themed" Card, that just did not work out all that well yesterday!!   I have a few new ideas in mind and think that I can definitely come up with something I will like better!   Yesterday, was really a bust for me, so it's really a JOY to be back on track today and feeling pretty well too.   Our temps have cooled down a bit and it's far less humid, a big plus for me!    I feel for all those who are melting in the horrible heat and hope all those who lost power with the weekend storms will have it back soon, especially those who need the AC!!


    Update:   I want right back to my desk and picked up this cute little Angel digi that I had started coloring yesterday.  It's another sweet image from Bugaboo and is actually a fun little "Raggedy Angel".   Once I finished the coloring, I found a cute star stamp in one of my Hero Sets and stamped it in red several times on yellow cardstock to create my card base.  I then simply layered this little cuties onto matching cardstock and popped her up on top!  Overall, I am more pleased with this card, and very happy that I tried again!!

Oh No....not again....

  Yes, it's true....I have again lost my MOJO and on top of that I have not even been feeling so great for the past couple of days.   I really am finding the heat drains me and wipes me out...so much more than ever before.  I sure hope this is not a sign of how every summer will be or I will no longer be a huge summer fan.  Not when it makes me feel sick and also takes away all my energy and stamina...!    I am hoping it's just a Fibro flare and that it will pass quickly.

  I know that everyone has been having very hot and humid weather and here in the Northeast it's not nearly as bad as in some other parts of the country.   I'm also very thankful and lucky to have a fully air-conditoned house and know I'd be in worse shape without it.

  Today, I was feeling better this morning and had actually slept fairly good last night.  I was looking forward to getting back on track with some of my favorite challenges and I did make three new cards today, which I will share -- but, keep in mind that I am not loving any of them and even though I had lots of ideas when I started...they all seemed to fizzle out once I started on each card.   Bummer!!

    One of the new challenges I always love is the Sunday CAS Challenge at The Outlawz an today's challenge is to use stars somewhere on your project.   After having made so many Patriotic cards last week, I really did not want to make anymore and wanted to think of something different.  I also knew that there was a new Christmas in July Challenge at TTCRD and a "Getting Ready for Christmas" challenge at Crafting by Designs and together I was inspired to created something that would work out for all challenges.
 
    I also knew I wanted to use my Silhouette Cameo for my design, as I have quite a few star-themed shapes and images.   I found this card, which I loved and went to work on cutting it out in white and then layered the inside with a deep purple background.  I then inked the "outline" star in one of the new Distress Inks (Shaded Lilac) and added a cute sentiment from Paper Smooches to come up with with this very CAS card.

    Unfortunately, the Lilac Ink ended up being a bit too light in color and I should have went with a much darker color.   After being disappointed, I moved on and printed out a bunch of cute digi images that I thought would make fun cards to fit the same challenges.

  I started my next card by coloring up this images and then put together this very simple card with another Patriotic Heart, the same one I had used last week on some other cards.   The card is okay, but I guess I'm burnt out on Red, White and Blue and feel like it's too plain?

  As you can see the photos are also not coming out good today...as we have very hazy skies and I think that  we'll have storms moving in this afternoon.   Needless to say, on top of not liking the card very well, it looks even worse in this photo.  In person the heart has Stickles on each of the stars and on of the borders was created with a bright red glittery card stock...again, it's just not showing well!   YUK!!!

   If sure you know how it is when you start on a downhill trend....you seem to go from bad to worse that that's how I felt after I made that card, but I still moved forward and worked on another one with this cute little Angel image from Bugaboo Stamps.   Oh, and speaking of Bugaboo, if you are a huge fan like me, you'll want to be sure to visit the store NOW for the the Christmas In July Sale!!

  I colored this sweet little Knobby Knees Chrstmas cutie with my Copics and then added ultra fine white glitter to her little hat and pom pom.

   And as much as this turned out to be my favorite out of the bunch....! I did share this over at The Outlawz, but then decided to work on a new card for their CAS Challenge, which you'll see in my Monday post.    This card was submitted to the new  "Christmas In July" Challenge over at Through The Craftroom Door, which you'll find HERE, as well as the "Getting Ready for Christmas Challenge" at Crafting by Designs, which are both open to ALL!

   Lastly, before I sign off, I wanted to share a link to a new post over at A Blog Name Hero.  They have joined up with the Lawn Fawn Design Team to start a fund-raiser for one of the designers (Christy), who recently had the horrible experience of having her home broken into.    You'll can read this upsetting story in the link, but more importantly you can find a link where you can make a PayPal donation to her and her family and that exactly what I did when I read her story this morning.   It's so heartbreaking and upsetting to hear about how much she lost and so many of life's memories that she can never get back.  In the same token, it's so typical that the crafters have united together to do something for her.  I hope they meet their goal and raise even more to help Christy and her family get started back on their life again.  For more details, please visit the A Blog Named Hero and look for the "Operation Safe and Sound" logo!!

    And that's it's for me for today!   I'm going to sign off, put my feet up for awhile...have a early dinner, which thankfully Hubby is making and then will be off to sleep early.   I hope tomorrow will be a bit cooler and the my missing MOJO will be back to STAY!!   Have a great night and take care!!