DDD Daisies

Hello friends and thanks for coming by today.  I have another card for Daydream Designs.  This time I am using a sweet image called Daisies Just for You.

 I know these don't really look like daisies.  These are more like Black-eyed-Susans, but daisies are white.  And so is my paper.  So if I made them daisies there would be almost no coloring and I do love to color my images.  So, I switched it up this time  ;)  I colored these pretty little gals with my Prismacolor pencils.  I think you can see the glitter I added to the bee's wings.  I decided she was a girl bee and she loves to be sparkly!

My card is pretty simple.  And its not square!  *gasp*  is this becoming a trend?  I don't know.  We'll see where my creative side heads!  Anyway, the lace is from my stash and I cut the yellow matte and the card base to fit the image and the lace.  My mom is a big daisy fan so I think I will send this to her!

I am entering my card in the challenge at:
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Flowers in your image

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Love You Snow Much!

Hello again.  Yes, 2 posts today!  Yes, another snow themed card.  And its 86 degrees here.  Seems not quite right  ;)

This card is also for Daydream Designs.  It features another snowman.  This one from the set Let It Snow.

I colored this happy little guy with my Prismacolor pencils and cut him with my Spellbinders die.  I let his arms, hat and scarf peek out of the circle.

The sketch is from Mojo Monday this week.  The ribbons were some happy findings from my newly organized ribbon I was telling you about in my last post.  The snowflake brads are from The Paper Studio.  The paper is from a pad that was given to me and there was no cover, no identification anywhere.  Sorry for that.  The swirls really seemed to be calling for this image, they were meant to be together!

The sentiment is from the set Snow Fun Sentiments.  I used a portion of the sketch for the writing panel.

I am entering my card in the challenge over at:

Mojo Monday - Sketch

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Warm Winter Wishes

Hello lovelies!  Welcome again!

Today I have a card to show you using a great image from my dear friend, Diane over at Day Dream Designs.    It is called Meet the Flakers.

I colored this fun family with my Prismacolor pencils.

I used the sketch at Christmas Card Challenges.  I had never seen their blog before but when I was searching for a good sketch theirs popped up and it fit perfectly!  The paper is from a stack I bought last year from K&Co called Secret Santa.  The ribbon is from my stash.  I will have to do another post soon and show you how organized and condensed my ribbon and laces are and I can see everything I have!  Such treasures I didn't know I possessed!  And now that I know I can use them!  The color of this ribbon was perfect for this paper.

I used a sentiment from the set Snow Fun Sentiments on the inside and followed the same sketch for the writing panel.

I am entering my card in the challenge at:

Christmas Card Challenges - Sketch

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Shopping Our Stash #66

Welcome!  I love it when you stop by and I am so glad you are here!  Enjoy your stay!

Today I have another card for the challenge over at Shopping Our Stash.  This week we want you to make a card using your favorite things.  I made a list of my favorite things and went from there.  Here's my list:

1.  Images from Mo Manning

2.  Any of Mo's fairy images

3.  Anything autumnal

4.  Antique lace

5.  Machine sewing

6.  Antique buttons

7.  Flowers

8.  Feathers

9.  Coloring with my Prismacolor pencils

And here is what I came up with:

 This is Fall Fairy Jensen and yes I have used him before.  I love coloring the pumpkin.  I sort of get lost in my own little world adding touches here and there.

 I added stitching with my machine, and I used a heavier thread that really stands out.  The buttons are from my grandmother's stash.  I inherited her sewing things 22 years ago so those are very vintage.  The lace is also from her stash.  I threaded the edge of it with some deep orange silk thread from my stash.  The feathers are brand new.  My local craft store had these feather boas and I couldn't resist.  I had a white one and this creamy one had to come home with me!  That's cheese cloth peeking out from behind the upper right corner of the image, also from my stash!  I tore the paper in a couple places and inked the edges with my Tim Holtz Walnut distress ink.

 The DP is so amazing I didn't add much to it.  I did give it an extra matte and I like how it looks.  Wow!  Another way to use more of my stash!!

The back with my custom stamp.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Mo's Challenge blog - Distressing

Catered Crop - Distressing

Sweet 'n Sassy - Photo Inspiration

C.R.A.F.T. - Fairies

Please be sure to stop by my teammate's blogs from SOS and see what loveliness they have created for you this week!

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

What's Up?

Welcome, welcome!  Thanks for coming by.  I hope you stay a while.

Today I have a fun summer card.  I know its almost the end of August but its been 90 degrees in my area and it still feels like summer!  I have used the cutest image from Tiddly Inks.  This little cutie is called Going Swimming.

 Of course she is colored with my Prismacolor pencils.

 My color scheme came from the cute duck paper I picked up and the yellow Swiss dot that matches it.  I embossed the white panels and sewed the others.  The ribbon and ric rac are from my stash as are the buttons.

 I loved the duck paper so much I featured it in here.  I made the sentiment on my computer and the writing panel uses the same sketch as the front.

Here's those cute ducks again!

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Tiddly Inks - Summer

Papertake - Pins & Needles

Ribbon Carousel - Embossing

Divas by Design - Anything

The Paper Shelter - Anything

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek.

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Stampin' Sisters in Christ #154

Hey there blog friends!  Thanks for coming by today.  I hope you like what you see.  Won't you leave a comment so I can stop by your blog and see what you have been up to?

Today I have a card for the next challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  Our sweet and lovely hostess this week is Diane.  She chose our verse and our challenge.

"But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hands."  Isaiah 64:8

God is working on us.  If you have ever spent time with a small child you know that they have a tendency to get in trouble.  They will see what they can get away with.  They may do something you have just told them not to do.  As we grow we will learn not to touch the flame on the stove, or not to run into traffic.  But we may not learn to not do other things that don't seem so blatantly bad for us.  The Bible tells us we are all sinners.  We are born with the same sin nature that Adam had.  As we grow we need to realize our need for a Saviour.  God is working on us and in us.  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour God continues to mold us into His image.  That's where the analogy of the potter and His clay come in.  We should allow the Lord to shape and mold us into what He wants us to be.  When we willingly do that we can be sure we are going to be the beautiful vessel He desires us to be and we can be used for His glory.

Diane wants us to be the "potter" this time, shaping paper with dies or punches (or just scissors!).  We have a dear friend that has sponsored us this week.  She is offering a selection of stamps from her stash to bless the winner of this week's challenge.

For my card I chose the sweet image, Felicity from Whimsey and Stars Studio.  I actually purchased her last year to make a Christmas card for my friend Donna.  Then I forgot all about her!  So, she'll get this sweet card this year!  I colored her with my Prismacolor pencils.

 The DP is from a MME stack called Oh Christmas Tree.  Most of the papers are glittered.  It really is a beautiful stack.  Since Diane wants us to use dies or punches I chose a Memory Box die called Frosty.  It is so sweet and delicate.  I curved it just a bit as I glued it down to get it to fit in my space.  I added some pearls to the centers of the snowflakes.

 Here's the inside.  Lots of paper...as usual I guess.

And the back.

I am entering this card in the challenge over at CLP since I used their great stash yet again!

I think that's about it.  Make sure you check out all my Sister's blogs and the beautiful things they have made this week.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

DDD Grilling

Hello dear friends.  Thanks for coming by today!  I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to be on the Design Team for a brand new digi shop a sweet friend of mine has opened.  The shop is called Daydream Designs.  Diane has an amazing selection of digis already with more on the way!

For my first card I chose Heat Up the Grill.  My dad loves to grill and since his birthday is coming this seemed like a good place to start!

I colored this guy with my Prismacolor pencils.  I chose kraft CS because the colors really pop.  I love how it looks.

 This card is not usual for me.  It's not a square, but when my muse gets something in her head there's no changing it.  So I went with it!  The DP are from my stash, just some scraps, but they fit the bbq vintage sort of feel I was going for.

 I decided to make this a tri-fold card.  All the papers were scraps, and they were just the right size!  WAHOO!  The sentiment was from Diane's shop as well, thought I couldn't locate it when I was looking.  I'm sure if you want it she can get it on there for you.  The font is perfect!

Here is the card completely opened up.  See the small oven mitt?  It's from My Favorite Things and its called Bon Appetit.  Their dies are wonderful!  They cut so nice every time!

You should head over to Diane's shop.  Check out all her images.  I'm sure you'll find something you love!

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Shopping Our Stash #65

Hello again friends!  Today I have a card for the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash.  This time we want to see you use a sketch.  Any sketch.  Just link back to the sketch you use in your post.  It can be a current sketch or an old one.  Pick your favorite and play along!

My sketch this week is from CLP.  Those ladies always have great sketches, I love playing along with them!

This time around I used an image from probably my favorite designer, Mo Manning.  Her images are so sweet and I just love this little fairy.  I have used Winter Fairy Talva before and I'm pretty sure I'll use her again.  I colored her with my Prismacolor pencils and added fine glitter to the snowball and the lace under her skirt,  I also added glossy accents to the ice on her wings.

 This DP happens to be brand new.  Its from Basic Grey.  I know it isn't wintry but I think the whole thing works.  From my stash I grabbed: the brads, the sentiment stamp and the flower stamp around the edges of the DP, the big flowers and the lace.  Now, I haven't had the lace long.  I bought it about 3 weeks ago at a flea market.  There were several yards on a card and it was $1.  I had to have it!  And it is so vintage looking in person!  The green paper I embossed with my paisley folder, then brushed with a dark green ink.

 I used the sketch on the side with the writing panel.

I used the same stamp on the edges of the back.

I will be entering my card in the challenge over at CLP.

I think that's about it.  Be sure to check out what all the ladies have done at SOS this week and join the fun!  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

SSiC #153

Hello again lovelies and thanks for stopping by.  It's still summer where I am and I hope today finds you having fair weather.

Today starts a new challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  Candace is our very beautiful hostess this week.  She chose our challenge and our verse this time.

"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him."  Proverbs 30:5

I am a firm believer in reading through the entire Bible.  It is rich with wisdom and instruction.  Whatever we may be going through God has covered in His word.  As believers it should be our first resource we head to when we are struggling with something.  When we are rejoicing we can head to the Psalms to praise the Lord with King David.  When we need "meat and potatoes" we can head to the letters from Paul which offer so much practical advice.  When we want to know Jesus on a very personal level we can go to the gospels to read about His entire life on earth.  Words are powerful.  They can build up or destroy.  I choose to use my words to build up as often as I can.  Even when I need to correct my children I try to do it in a gentle, loving way (though sometimes I fail) and take them to the scriptures to show them what God has to say on a certain subject.  And if I weren't a student of the Word I wouldn't be able to effectively teach them.  We need to choose our words wisely so they are a blessing to the hearers.  I hope my speech (including this blog) is a blessing to those that hear me speak.  It can be hard but when I choose to fill up on God's Word, that is what comes out of my mouth...His Words, not mine.  Will you choose to be a blessing to someone today with your words?

Candace has challenged us to remember how powerful words are by using only words on the front of our card, no images.  (Yes, I shrieked somewhat when I first saw that!  Then realized the card I had just made had no image so I figured I could probably do this!!  :)  lol)

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Our Daily Bread Designs and they are generously offering one winner a $15 gift certificate to their store.  I hop you play along with us this week!

Earlier this week I made a card with this same sketch.  As I said then, I really want to use up some of my paper scraps while still making beautiful cards.  I had some strips of Christmas paper from a MME stack called Oh Christmas Tree!  The strips were zigzagged to a foundation paper then inked.

 In the process of some organizing I found this wide lace and decided it would look very nice on this card.  I made the sentiment on my computer and cut it out with Spellbinders Labels 4.  Before I removed the die I inked around the inside with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain ink.  I added some pearls to the tag and the card corners.

 The inside is rather plain but the DP is so pretty I felt it was fine on its own.

The back is the same.  You can better see the lovely DP I used with the same technique.

Be sure to drop by the blogs of all my Sisters and see what lovely creations that have cooked up for you today.

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek.

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

M-I-C-K-E-Y....

I can't help it!  I've been singing the Mickey Mouse theme song ever since I saw these great images over at Sassy Cheryl's!

See??  Aren't they adorable??  This is Noah is All Ears and Sassy Sally is All Ears.  They stole my heart right away and I had to have them!  I used to watch the Mickey Mouse show when I was growing up and I loved it!  Cheryl did a great job creating these two!  I colored them with my Prismacolor pencils.

 I followed the sketch at Sketch n Stash.  The triangles in the corners had me stumped a bit since I knew the layer right under the image would be fabric.  I didn't want to put more paper on top and I don't have a corner punch that would work there.  I am a stitcher from way back so the idea of stitching the corners was natural, then I graphed and stitched the MM silhouettes.  The challenge at Papertake is Spots & Stripes.  The spots were easy, I had this great, red, spotted DP.  The stripes I stitched onto my scrap of linen fabric.

 I added more spots to the inside with my swiss dot embossing folder.  It really seems to capture the same feeling from the front.

I used the swiss dot folder on the back too.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Sassy Cheryl - Favorite Color Combo (How could it be ANYTHING else with these 2 images??)

Sketch n Stash - The fabric and dotted DP are from my stash

Papertake - Spots & Stripes

City Crafter - use fabric

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Just a Little Note

Welcome friends!  It's been a busy day.  It's nice to put my feet up and visit my on-line friends.  I hope you enjoy your visit here.

Today I have a card for the challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room.  The challenge is to use aqua, pink, cream and newsprint.  Aqua always stumps me but I think I found a piece in my stash that fits the bill!

 This sweet paper with the bird is from a stack by DCWV called Nature.  I inked and sewed all my edges and matted everything with pink.  I used the sketch from Mojo Monday I just rotated it.    The seam binding and lace are from my stash.  The sentiment is an old stamp from SU.

 Here's the inside.  I stamped all the edges with a small vine stamp also from SU before I inked and sewed.  I used a new die (well, new to me) from Sizzix to cut the branch from the newsprint.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

The Shabby Tea Room - aqua, pink, cream & newsprint

Mojo Monday - sketch (rotated)

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

Love this Train!

Hello blog friends!  Welcome to my little place again!  Pull up a chair and stay a while.

Today I have a card using a sweet image from Mo's called I Love It.  He is such a sweet baby and he was so much fun to color (not to mention the fact I haven't colored an image in over a week and I really missed it!).

 His hair had me a little puzzled.  It's not too bad if you don't look to close, just glance at it....it looks better that way!  I just wasn't quite sure where to put the highlights and shadows.  And I sort of hate looking at how other people color images...it feels like cheating.  So, next time maybe I'll do a little better.  (Oh, and I used my Prismacolor pencils for him.)

 I used my own sketch.  I have really been thinking about using up my scraps of paper lately.  I'm also a quilter and my favorite quilts to make happen to be scrap quilts.  I cut strips of paper and zig-zagged them to a paper foundation.  I made my little boy image into a tag that was double matted.  I stapled a small scrap of ribbon to the top.  I used another ribbon on the side.  I threaded some pearl cotton through the knot and added some beads from my stash.  The flat round ones have snowflakes on them.

 I made the sentiment on my computer.

 Here you can see the great DP from K&Co called Secret Santa.

On the back you can see how I pieced the paper.  I also stamped the edges of all the layers with a snowflake stamp and inked the edges with the same dark green.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Mo's Digital Challenge Blog - Love is All Around

Cute Card Thursday - Tags

Digi Tuesday - Child's Play

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs,

Michelle

Shopping Our Stash #64

Hello dear friends!  I have some really exciting news today!  (well, exciting for me anyway!)  I have been asked to be on the Design Team over at Shopping Our Stash.  I was and still am so excited that I was asked to join this great challenge blog!!  I have been following these fun ladies for a while now and am looking forward to working with them!

This is my first challenge on their team and it's a fun one.  This time we need to "Try Something New".  I was a little stumped at first because I love to try new things (that's how I got hooked on card making....me, the stitcher, sewer, quilter, knitter, crocheter....see?) and there's so much I have tried nothing popped into my head right away.  I had a gift to make my young cousin that was visiting for our family reunion from California.  She works in a zoo and LOVES animals.  While I was walking around the back-to-school section I found these adorable mini composition books for $.88 (I'll be going back for more!).  What a bargain!  Then at Michael's I found leopard (or cheetah or something) glitter paper that I knew would be perfect.  So here's what I came up with:

 Isn't this great??  (What kind of animal print is that anyway??)  Can you see the glitter on the animal print?  I tore my paper which I love to do and sewed the edges very, very crooked.  The new thing for me was stitching by hand on my paper.  I drew out a letter "M" on scrap paper.  I positioned it on my background and punched holes with a pin, in even intervals, the whole way around.  I used a yarn that has been in my stash for more than a few years.  I chose yarn because I wanted to to really stand out and I loved the texture.  Also, as I looked at this paper I remembered this yarn and knew the color would be a perfect match.  And I was right!!  I added a brad to each corner, 3 are a metallic bronze sort of color, the other one is black since its on the DP.

 The back isn't embellished but looks the same, just ripped in the opposite direction.

Here you can see it's a composition book by the depth of it.  I covered the spine with a thin strip of my black card stock almost like the big black and white composition books are.

Please be sure to stop by all the ladies' blogs to see what great projects every one has for you.  There are now 11 of us now so you will have lots of eye candy!!

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle

SSiC #152

Hello friends!  Welcome to my little corner of blog land.  I hope you enjoy your stay!

Today I have a card for the new challenge over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  The lovely Traci is our hostess this week and she has chosen our verse and challenge this time.

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be  also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.  Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?'  Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

For those of us who have put our hope and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior we have the blessed hope of a home in heaven someday.  Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us so we could be with Him.  What a comfort to know when we leave this life we have a home waiting on the other side.  How can you be sure of this blessed assurance?  Jesus tells us.  "No one comes to the Father except through Me."  We need to believe in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.  He shed His blood to pay for our sins so that the Father would see us white as snow.  Our sins are forgiven.  Jesus paid the price. We can't do anything to earn our way to heaven.  It's only by accepting His free gift that we can gain entrance to heaven someday.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. "  Ephesians 2:8

He has gone to prepare a place for us.  Our new home!  I can't wait for the day to see my Savior face to face, until then I will live each day for His glory.  I hope to see YOU in heaven too!

Traci has asked us to make a card with something that reminds us of home.  I had to think about that for a while but an idea finally started forming in my mind and I hope you like what I came up with.

 The top of my card is made of 5/8in. squares forming a copy of a quilt I have hanging in my foyer.  The bottom of the card is a beautiful hydrangea DP that has been in my stash for years!  I crocheted the flowers with some pearl cotton to represent the extensive flower beds in my front/side yard.  The lace is from my grandma's stash and is very old.  We live in a farm house that was built in 1850.  Someday I hope our grandchildren will come and explore the barn and the basement for treasures, then head to the kitchen to raid the cookie jar.  To me, that's home.  Family, safety, encouragement and love.  That's what I have for my children and guests and that's what the Lord has for us on an even grander scale!

This is the inside of my card and it is VERY plain for one of my cards.

Below are some pictures of my foyer to show where my inspiration came from.

I made this quilt over 10 years ago and I still love it.

My walls and my floor cloth are stenciled with the same hydrangea stencil.  It's been there for over 10 years.  Sometimes I think I should change it out, but I really do still love it.

I hope you will consider joining us this week.  Our sponsor is DRS Designs and they are offering our winner a $10 store voucher.  I hope you will play along!  Be sure to stop by all my Sister's blogs and see what beauty they have created for you this week.

I think that's about it.  Thanks for taking a peek!

Blessings & Hugs

Michelle