On the road to recovery....!!!

     Today, I am finally starting to feel better and I can't tell you just how wonderful it is, to be on the mend.    I slept pretty good last night and when I woke up I was not in that same awful pain, I had been in all week.  I could actually move around and now want to scream....!  WOW!  What a relief, it is to have the pain lever now back down.  I can manage the level today and it feels soooooo good to be improving!!   Thank God!!     I'm not pain free....but that's okay as long as it's an improvement - I am HAPPY!  Very very Happy!! 

     Special thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi and leave well wishes.   I also want to thank everyone who sent me birthday wishes via email, in my craft groups and on Facebook too!   I was blown away with all the comments and notes I had!    My friends ROCK!!!

     I'm still not back to crafting, but hoping maybe tomorrow I can slowly try to make something.  Now that I am feeling better I miss it.  I'm also much more hopeful now about making it to the Memory Box class at my LSS on Sunday.  I thought for sure I was going to have to miss it, but if things keep going this well, I feel confident, I can go, even if on to pick up the kit and do a bit of shopping, especialy now that I have extra money from my Birthday!!

    Oh and for anyone who loves Jennifer McGuire and her classes, like me -- the next online class is now OPEN and you can register for her 'Inspiration Showcase' class by linking HERE!!   This is her brand new 'online' version of an awesome technique workshop that I took when Jennifer came to my LSS in April.  I'm very excited to take it again and this time, I'm going to use all new colors and stamps for my canvas.  

     This is a picture of my canvas from the April Class and it is so much fun to make.  Even if you do not make a canvas, you can use all the techniques for your cards or scrap pages!  I can't wait to take it again and this will be a wonderful refresher!  YIPPEE!!

 

  

   This workshops starts on September 12th and runs for two full weeks.  You can find ALL the details and the sign-up information HERE!   I'm already signed up and will be picking up a few new goodies for the class this weekend!    Yippee!

   

Out for the count.....

     I'm not even sure what I did to throw my back out this bad, but it's awful.  I saw my Chiropractor today and she knew right away that something was very wrong.  She really thought I must have done something, but I can't think of anything.  I do remember feeling a sharp pain one day last week after I simply bent down to pick up something off the coffee table.   It did hurt, but it was nothing major and I thought for sure, it would be much better---long before now.   Instead, every day seems worse, but I also have been fighting it and did not want to stop my normal daily activities.  Now, it's really hard to change positions and sitting is no longer comfy without a pillow or being in the recliner.  She also said my spine is totally out of of alignment and all the muscles are like knots...Grrr!!  

      Needless to say, I really can not do much of anything and now need to totally REST my back and allow it to heal.  I'll be going back on Thursday for another appointment and adjustment!   I am not a happy camper and HOPE that by Thursday it will be better.  I had a lot of plans this week and do not want to give them up or have to cancel going to my Memory Box class on Sunday?

    In the meantime ~ I'll be offline and away from the computer!    I'll try to pop in on Thursday afternoon with an update after my appointment.   Special thanks to everyone who has been sending well wishes and been so kind to me while I continue to battle Fibro.    I'm off now to take a nap and hope when I wake up, I'll feel a bit better.
 

Sparkle, Shimmer and Shine....

....and that's pretty much the whole theme I had in mind when I decided to create some new backgrounds yesterday.   I had been wanting to try out combining a variety of mediums, along with water and shimmer products to make some papers that would really sparkle and shine. 

     I ended up coloring up 8 different sheets of new watercolor papers and each one is a bit different.  It was really cool mixing the colors and fun to see how different they changed depending on what layer you added. Now that I know how easy it is, I'm sure it's something I'll do more often and will continue to experiment with different colors.   I was inspired to try a new technique for a challenge over at Crafting by Designs and this is the card that I ended up making that features some of my new background/accent papers. 

    The top and bottom sections were were both from the very first sheet I created and I love how much shimmer this one has.   I used a combination of Twinkling H20's, Shimmerz, Blingz and a bit of Perfect Pearls Mist.  It was really fun and also a great use to use products I bought ages ago, they were sitting around untouched!!    


    My next card was one that I also created using some of my new backgrounds and this card was inspired by today's new Sketch over at the Stars and Stamps Blog (OWH).   Here is a copy of this week's sketch, in case you want to play along.

   And this is a close up photo of the same card where you can see the colors a bit more.  These both were created with Twinkling H2O's, Distress Stains and a variety of Shimmer Mists.   I then cut them down to the size I needed for my card and ran them through my Cuttlebug for more texture and dimension. 

   It's amazing to see how the papers look wet and the difference you see when they are dry.  I could has used a heat gun, but since I had plenty of time, I simply let them all dry overnight.   Even the little heart on this card was punched from one of the new papers and it's full of shimmer.  I only wish it showed up better in the pictures!

   And my final card today was made for a new challenge today at The Outlawz group.  It's a very very simple card that was created for their new CAS Challenge.  The challenge is called Bling it Up (but keep it Clean and Simply).   I started by Punching out the little hearts from more of my newly created background paper and then added 3 tiny lavender gems.  I then picked out a Hero Hues Pink card base and cut it down to notecard size (4" x 4") and stamped on the Sentiment,  (from Technique Tuesday), which I then heat Embossed in White.   I used foam tape to pop up the little hearts and then tied on a simple sheer pink ribbon to finish my card!  

  It's been really fun working with these new color mediums and I'm really looking forward to my long awaiting Memory Box class which is now only a week away.   I've been following Dave's blog as he traveled across the country teaching this workshop all along the way.  You can see some pics of the classes on the blog HERE and I'm sure many more will follow!  I have always loved Memory Box stamps and papers and now especially LOVE the wonderful new dies, which I am slowly collecting.  I still have two on my WISH List for the Holidays and hope to buy them while at the store next week.    I know he also works with Watercolor Pencils to create gorgeous backgrounds for his cards.   One week from today and I'll be in class!   YIPPEE!    

Fun and Frilly....

   That's kind of how I feel about the two cards I'm here to share with you now.  The first card is all about FUN...!  Lots of bright happy colors and a super cute little digi from By Lori Designs.   It was a card I started on first thing this morning, after being inspired by the colors in this week's challenge over at ColourQ.   Don't you just LOVE these awesome colors? 

  I sure do and I knew right away that I needed a fun and happy image and that's when I found little Rylee in my digi collection and thought she would be perfect.   I printed her out onto my favorite Cryogen cardstock and colored her with Copics and then simply picked out some matching papers from my scrap pile and put together this little SMILE card.

   I am also submitting my SMILE card to these challenges:

• Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog - # 47 - Scallops or Fancy Borders
• The Stamp Man - # 29 -  Anything Goes with Summer Colors
• Stampin' for the Weekend - #14 - Spots and Dots

   My next card is the one I consider my 'Frilly' card and this is my attempt at creating a 'Shabby Chic' card, which is the challenge this week over at Bugaboo's Catch the Bug - Challenge Blog.   I have to admit, this is not a style that I have done often, so I do hope it's right.

   Oh and before I forget - I also wanted to let you all know that Bugaboo is having a SALE.....!!  My favorite word and I hit the store last night as soon as I heard about it.   Jodie is currently offering ALL images at 35% OFF!!    Woohoo!   I just LOVE sales!!  If you want to hop now, simply click HERE!!    I bought some super cute new Christmas images and those will be perfect for more cards.   Special NOTE to:  CELY - that cute little Crafting Nut image you had asked me about is back in the store and you'll find it HERE!!

    I started by picked out one of my favorite floral images from Bugaboo and it's one of the Flower Watering Can images that I love.  I also then decided to make it even more Chic, I would paper-piece some pretty pink paper as my watering can color and then color the rest with my Copics.   I then used my ABS to spray my doily pink and added my image on top with pop dots..  My background paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle and it's from an older retired collection called Sweet Love!  I thought it was really pretty and wrapped it in white lace trim before I adhered it to my card base.  I then added a Pink Skeleton leave, from my stash along with some tiny pink Prima Roses, a white glitter heart.    My final touch was the Pink Chandelier Garland, which I layered on top of pink leaf.  I really love how this turned out and it was way out of my comfort zone!  

   This card is also being submitted to each of these challenges and everyone is welcome to play along!

• Wags n' Whiskers Challenges - # 60 - Make it Sparkle
• The Pixie Cottage - Challenge # 82 - Say it with Flowers
• Catch the Bug Challenge Blog - Shabby Chic or Distressing
• Stampavie & More Challenges - # 149- Girlie

   That's it for now, but I may be back later with more!   There are lots of new challenges out there today and it's just a matter of figuring out which ones I can work on next!!   Wishing you ALL a great day and as always, Happy Crafting!!

Friday....at last!!!

   Yippee!!  It's Friday and for some reason I always seem to like Fridays.  I guess it goes back to those days when I still worked and would be excited for the weekend!  I think everyone enjoys weekends, well....except for those who have to work.  The rest of us seem to love having more time at home and time to rest, relax and spend time with family and friends.

    My back is slowly getting better and I also slept in this morning, trying to again feel less fatigue.  I am here now to share two new challenge cards and both were really fun to make.  My first card is one that I started yesterday after I was inspired by the new Hero Arts Challenge at Two Peas.   I had created several new backgrounds while I had all my inks out yesterday and this card was created with another of those backgrounds.

   My Thinking of you card is being also being submitted to each of these challenges and everyone is welcome and invited to play along.

• Craft us Crazy  - Challenge # 14 - Anything Goes
• PaperPlay Challenges - Challenge #11 - Make your own Designer Paper
• Operation Write Home - Stars & Strips Blog - Thinking of You!

    Almost every product I used for this card is from Hero Arts and I started with two of my favorite new Background Stamps - This Lotus Background and this new Flower Dot, which I stamped directly to the card base to create a tone on ton look.    The back 'Lotus' background was created on Watercolor paper and I used a combination of Distress Stains, Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls mist to create this look.   These are all techniques I had learned from Jennifer McGuire and it was her workshop and online classes that really has me hooked on Hero Arts and so many of their awesome stamps.   I really love the 2011 collection and now have a great collection.  I've also loved being back into stamping and inks and it's great to try all kinds of new things.

   My next card is a Copic Colored card and was inspired by today's new Copic Coloring Challenge over at The Outlawz Challenge Group.   The challenge this week was to use your Copics to Color an animal of your choice and use that on your project.   My cute little Monkey is from PollyCraft and he is Chester.  I also bought the brand new Christmas Set featuring Chester and think they will make some really fun Christmas Cards.

   This is my fun little "I have your Heart" card will be submitted to the challenges shown below!

• The Outlawz Challenge Group - Copic/ProMarkers - Color an Animal
• iCopic Weekly Challenge - Challenge #42 - Coloring Fur
• Through the Craftroom Door - Challenge #7  - Dry/Heat Embossing

  And now I am off to work on a new Challenge and this one looked like it would be really fun.  It's a color combo challenge over the Colour Q - I LOVE this bright fun colors and hope I can come up with something fun!   This is a copy of the color inspiration image --- I LOVE it!!

   Not to mention that I'm a Flip Flop queen and they are my absolutely favorite type of foot ware.  I've even broke down and spend the extra money to make sure that I buy quality flip flops that have arch support so that they are 'better' for my back and spine!!    One of my favorite pairs this years is this pair that are by Reef.   Soooo comfy and I love the Purple and Sparkles!!