Gratitude Challenge...Expanded

For those of you who follow me, you know that I recently joined the Gratitude Challenge--basically that means that this holiday season we make thank you cards and send them out! Because gratitude is so incredibly important. I have a few thank you's I'd like to say here on my blog. I will share a card as well, but this post is mainly about my gratitude for the blogging community and some very special bloggers who have helped me...and they might not know it because I've never really told some of them!

But first, the card. :) I made this extremely quickly--it took a little less than 5 minutes. And I love the way it turned out!

Here it is~

This is why it was so easy--I used patterned paper for the main images! Yep. It's just patterned paper on top of a cardstock base! Then I stamped my sentiment, punched it out and backed it with more punches, colored it with a clear glitter pen and attached it to the card. Then I added a bit of bling.

Here's a close up of the sentiment~

And the bling~

And now onto the more important part of this post--the thanking! I was recently awarded the Butterfly Award and the Versatile Blogger award by Susan at Cricut & Grasshopper. Thank you, Susan! You made my October! :)

With the Butterfly Award there are no rules attached but with the Versatile Blogger award there are a few rules:

1.) Thank the person who awarded you.
2.) Tell 7 things about yourself that your readers may not know.
3.) Award 7 other bloggers this award.

Here are 7 things that you may not know about me (and may wish you never knew...DUN DUN DUN!):

1) I was born on Mother's Day. And I sang in Carnegie Hall in college. (Yeah, that's two...oh, well!)
2) I LOVE tomatoes and tomato based foods, but they do NOT love me--they give me horrible heartburn! And yet, I can't stop eating them...
3) I am an avid (understatement) reader. I own almost all of Agatha Christie's mysteries...yep. Almost all 80-something of them!
4) I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel blessed to be sealed to my dearest husband and best friend not just for this life, but for all eternity! :)
5) I am the November Guest Design Team Member for Make My Monday! (Please join us--it's so fun!)
6) I do not have any children due to infertility issues--we're working on it, but it is totally stressful! This issue makes me feel terribly alone sometimes...but I love that my blog friends lift me up!
7) I LOVE McRib sandwiches from McDonald's (just like Susan, who nominated me). Don't judge! ;D They rock!

Some of those things actually play a part in who I would like to honor with these awards. You'll see how in just a bit (if you don't stop reading...I know this is terribly long!) If you are honored, please feel free to take these buttons and add them to your blog (please follow the rules if you choose to take the Versatile Blogger award).


In alphabetical order, I would like to honor:

1) Aunt Peaches for always making me smile! She is totally hilarious and has some seriously unique craft projects!
2) Deborah's Gems for always leaving me comments--you make my day quite a bit! I consider you one of my best blogging friends! :)
3) Deezine's Art for honoring my with the November Guest Design Team Member spot at Make My Monday for November--you seriously helped me to continue blogging! I was about to quit...
4) Shoregirl's Creations for all her sweet comments when nobody else bothered with my little unknown blog...and for all of her FABULOUS craft ideas and delicious recipes!
5) Simplicity by Lateblossom for helping me discover CAS style, the Gratitude Challenge and her other wonderful blogs--Questioning my Intelligence and Questioning Autism.
6) Thoughts on Infertility for sharing her personal experiences to help lift me when I need it and for researching options for those of us struggling with infertility.
7) Two Shades of Pink for taking the time to post her WHOLE infertility struggle story--you will never know how much it helped me stay strong and keep my hope and faith for a baby.

Ladies, you all rock! You all make my day in different ways--you're versatile! THANK YOU for all you do! You make a difference in MY world!!! :)

I hope that you are inspired to say thank you to someone today--it's so important and it makes you feel happier! Happy thanksgiving! :)

CAS-ual Blue & Green Winter

Welcome back, sweet bloggin' pals! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and a wonderful Halloween! Tonight for your viewing pleasure, I have a submission for this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge.

The challenge is to make a card with this sketch~

I love it! It's super simple and super inspirational! Don't ya think? Well, I knew that I needed to use a stamp set that I haven't used for a while...and Christmas is around the corner...so I needed to make a Christmas card. I'm so incredibly behind in my Christmas card making.

Anywho. For anyone who knows me well enough, they know that I am an incredibly humongous fan of non-traditional colors for holiday cards. So, I used blue and green.

Here's the card~

Of course, what is a Christmas card without bling?! I added some...and then I decided to add more...and more...well, do you think I got carried away? I think it's pretty!

Here's a close up of the BLING~

UGH. I can never photograph the bling nicely! Tips? Rhinestones just always look black. I'm resigned to it.

Anyway, thank you so much for coming on over to take a peek! I hope you like what ya see! I also hope that you're inspired to create something fabulous for this week's challenge! Come and play along! Happy stamping! :)

OLW...or TECHNICALLY OLF ;D

Yes, One Layer Wednesday this week was really posted on Friday. Creating a funny acronym. :) It made me smile...I'm a bit weird that way!

Anyway....the challenge this week was to create one layer card using only red and white OR red and cream. I chose red and white...

I call it "Candy Cane Christmas"~

Isn't it fun? I was quite please with the way it turned out! I originally had just the ornaments, but it felt/looked unbalanced, so I balanced it with the sentiment in the opposite corner. What do you think?

I'm keeping this post short and sweet--I'm way behind on my blogging! Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my creation! I appreciate you! Hope you join us for OLF this week! ;D Happy stamping!

LIM: Polka Dots!!!

Well, I just have to say that the challenge over at Less Is More this week makes me so very happy!!! The challenge is to make a CAS style card featuring polka dots!!! Good gravy do polka dots make me smile! They brighten my day! I love them!

Yes. I tend to be over enthusiastic about crafting. It's NOT a problem. And I won't be working on it in the near future! ;D

So, being so close to Halloween, I figured that pumpkins were in order! And what is cuter than a polka dot pumpkin?! Now, while making these cards, I came to TRULY understand that less really IS more! You'll see what I mean in a bit...

Here's my first card~

Yeah. It's ok, but that's about all. Adding those swirly leaves kinda ruined the card in my opinion. And the sentiment just makes the bottom look kinda cluttered...

So, I decided to use the same pumpkin and try again! It worked out marvelously this time!!!

Here's the second one~
Oh, so much better! The placement is better! This card made me MUCH happier than the first! And, see! Less IS more! :) I outlined each pumpkin and the leaves with a clear glitter gel pen, but I couldn't get a very good picture of it...take it on faith, please! ;D

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek! I appreciate your continued support of my crafts! I really hope that you are inspired to play along with us at LIM! It's totally fun! Happy stamping! :)

My 200th Post & MUMS the Word! ;D

Hello my dearest blogging friends! I am so happy it's Monday! Why?! Because there is a new challenge up at Make My Monday!!! And THAT blog certainly makes MY Monday! :) This month, the theme is autumn and this week the challenge is to use black and orange...and if you feel so inclined, to add a Halloween element to your projects. I am also using these cards for this year's Gratitude Challenge. (Visit Susan's blog, Simplicity, for more info.--and stop to take a peek at her AMAZING CAS style cards!) I've made 3 cards for your viewing pleasure this evening.

So, back to my title for a second (yes, I am having an ADD type of day...), I'm so very excited because Blogger informed me that this is my 200th post!!! So why, you ask, is MUM the word? That's easy to explain--all of my cards have mums as the main images on them! I feel that mums are definitely an autumnal flower. My mother ALWAYS has mums planted and out from September through November. And I think that they are so sweet! Anyway, back to the cards...

Here is the first~Black Mums~

Isn't that a nice layout? I love it! Of course, I had to add some bling! And a sentiment!

Close up of bling~

Close up of two toned sentiment~

Okay, so I cheated a bit...I made the same card with different colors...I just love this layout so very much! Oh, and instead of ribbon, I used some black and white bakers twine--it kinda looked spider webish! :)

Here it is~ORANGE Mums~

Close up of the bling~

Close up of the two toned sentiment~

This third and last card I would also like to enter into this weeks super duper CAS-ual Friday challenge: Just Add Color.

The challenge was to use any medium to color in your image. I used blender pens...this card has a bit of a Halloween twist to the mums...

I call it CANDY CORN Mums~

You can't really see all the glimmer I added with a clear gel glitter pen...

So here's a closer look!

Isn't that just a super fun card?! I was so ecstatic about the way that it turned out!!! What do YOU think?!

Thank you so much for stopping by! You are certainly a very bright spot in my days! :) I hope that you've been inspired to create something today! Happy stamping--and hope you join us soon! :)

Alice In Wonderland

This week over at Simon Says Stamp's blog, the challenge is to be inspired by nursery rhymes and fairy tales. I hope I'm not stretchin' it too much, but I chose "Alice in Wonderland". That's fairy tale-ish, right?!

When I think of Alice in Wonderland, I think of crowns and tea parties and keys...all components to other fairy tales. With it's magical characters and imaginary lands the whole story exudes fairy tale to me! :)

Since I also have recently purchased some steampunk stamps that I would like to continue to use, but haven't had a chance to, this challenge was perfect for me! Steampunk most definitely fits with Alice in Wonderland!!!

Here's the card (I'm calling it Wonderland)~

Isn't it fun?! I love the soft colors of it with the Victorian lace trim and all the little stamps that exude the energy of Alice's adventure!

A look at the sentiments~

I like the sentiments because it makes this card multi-purposeful (yeah, I made that word up) and I can use it for anything! :) I also used them for their meanings--time flies is a reference to the fact that Alice is not wanting to grow up, but needs to; fun and play are references to SOME of the times she has in Wonderland.

Close up of some details~

Other details~

I just love how my steampunk mini stamps are eclectic enough to match the whimsy of Wonderland! It makes me happy to get them out after being away for awhile...

Thanks for stopping by and taking a quick peek at my card! :) I am so grateful for you! I hope you're inspired to come and play along with us! Happy stamping!

OLW #69: Stripes

Hello, all! Welcome to another round of One Layer Wednesday! This week, our fabulous challenge is to create a one layer card with stripes! More information here!!! Get well soon, Jennifer! Being sick is NO FUN.

Anyway, I have two submissions for this challenge. And I'm apologizing in advance for the horrible photos. I need an Ott light. My Photoshop isn't even helping with these...ugh!

First our of the gates--Hello!~

Close up of the details at the bottom~

Colors of this card are Blue Bayou, Cherry Cobbler, Sahara Sand, and Basic Black.

Second submission--Marvelous Us!~

Close up of the fun sentiment~

Colors of this card are Kiwi Kiss, Mellow Moss, Old Olive, and Chocolate Chip.

That's all for tonight---I've got one more day of early morning seminary to teach ans so I need to go get some shut eye! Night, all, and happy stamping! :)

Double Doozy

Hello, friends! I'm so very tired tonight as I have been teaching an early morning bible study class the past week for the youth of my church. I get to be up at quarter to five in the morning. It's dark and early! ;D BUT--it is so worth it!

Anyway, because of that, I am going to have to double up on a challenge. I am strapped for time! :) BUT--I have three cards for you and only one is the doubled up card. :)

The two challenges I'd like to enter my first card into are:

Make My Monday: Autumn Inchies

AND

Wee Memories #72: Holiday Madness

Here it is (I call is Autumn Inchies Postage)~

I love the postage card feel of this card! :) It was easy to create with my Stampin' Up! scallop square punch. You can't really see the glitter on the sentiment in this image, soooooooo

Here's a better one (not by much, I'm afraid)~

The squares of "stamp" were easy to create--I just stamped leaf images onto a 3"x3" paper, spritzed it with my color spritzer tool and then cut them into 1"x 1" pieces. Piece of cake...or maybe pumpkin pie. ;D

The next two cards are specifically for Make My Monday.

Card 2 (Trio Autumn Inchies)~

A close up of the details (just a bit of bling added)~

This is my CAS and Gratitude Challenge card for this post. :) I love CAS style and for more info on the Gratitude Challenge and some AMAZING examples of CAS in use, visit LateBlossoms awesome blog: Simplicity. She's a-ma-zing!

And Card 3 (Autumn Inchies Forest)~

Details~

Sentiment~

Yep. That's patterned paper! I had a small scrap of one of my favorite patterned papers left over from something else and felt it looked autumnal! :) I added the bling because...bling is awesome! :)

So, there are my three cards for tonight! I hope to be back again this week, but I cannot promise anything. Quarter to five comes so incredibly early! I hope you play along with us on these fab challenges! Happy inching! ;D

Homemade Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I never share recipes here, but this is one of my favorites. Since fall/autumn is upon us and I've been sick lately, I've been craving this yummy soup! So, I made me a giant crockpot of it this weekend and have been loving it each day. I thought I'd share my recipe--I think it's the best chicken noodle you'll ever have. But I'm partial, as it is my mommy's recipe. :)

Homemade Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients~
*8 cups chicken broth
*1 cup carrots, sliced
* 1/2 cup celery, chopped (I never add this--celery is YUCKY)
or 1 T. celery flakes (this is do-able)
* 1/2 cup onion, chopped (I use about 2 T. dried minced onions
as my DH doesn't like the texture of onions)
*1 T. parsley flakes
*2 cups chicken, chunked
*1 can cream of chicken soup
*1/2 pkg. cooked egg noodles

Instructions~
*Add all but last two ingredients in a crock pot and simmer on low
for 6-8 hrs. or on high for 3-4 hrs.
*Add cream of chicken soup and noodles before serving warm.
*EAT the yumminess that your tummy craves.

Hope you make it today! :) Happy cooking! (PS: Should this recipe sharing thing be a regular occurrence?)

Linking up:
Funky Junk
Vision to Remember
Along for the Ride
Tatertots & Jello
Craft Envy
Be Different Act Normal

Get Triangular

Another great one layer challenge for this week! OLW is just a fabulous challenge--I hope you join us sometime! This week, we've been challenged to use triangular images on our cards.

Here's my submission~

And a close up of the details~

I used a snowflake image that has a triangular to it and colored it with markers before stamping. I then added the rhinestones on either side to give a nice triad of triangular images effect. Did that sentence make any sense? Probably not. Oh, well! It's very triangular! ;D And WHY do rhinestones defy my photography "skills" and look black at almost all times?! Anywho...

Hope you are inspired to create something triangular today! Happy triangulation! :)

More Hearts

Here are two more for the LIM challenge this week (one layer, use hearts). :) I just found some more heart images that I totally forgot I had, so I had to use them!

Here's the first and most simple of the two~

I used markers to color in the image and then stamped it.

Here's a closer look~

Here's the second one~

And a closer look at the details (I used masking again)~

I have a lot of friends that are going through a hard time, so this will be going to one of them. :) Isn't life just crazy sometimes? I feel that when it rains, it really pours!

Sorry for the pictures--still trying to figure out how to photograph my white cardstock the right way. :) Hope you take time to create today! Happy creating! :)

Autumn Trees

YEAH! Time for my submissions (is that an s on the end of that word?) for this weeks wonderful Make My Monday challenge: Autumn Trees!

I own a lot of tree images...okay not A LOT, but a few! And I wanted to utilize most them for this awesome challenge.

I decided to combine one card into a color challenge found here at CR84FN. It's a fabulous color challenge and this weeks colors are red, brown and kraft. Fabulous fall colors, don't you think?!

I am also using my Halloween tree to enter again into the Just Us Girls challenge this week: Black Magic Technique. It's perfect for Halloween! :)

ALSO, I wanted to try to highlight different "autumn" topics. So, I made a fun Halloween tree; a tree triad in full fall colors; and a almost barren, end of autumn tree (you know, going into winter, last bird standing thing). You ready for these? Okay, here they are!

Card 1: Spooky Spider Tree (Halloween)~

A look at the inside sentiment~

Some details~

Card 2: Jeweled Tree Triad (Full autumn colors)~

Some details~

The inside sentiment~

Card 3: Autumn's Last Stand (Almost barren, end of autumn tree)~

Detail of the splatter, shadow, and bling~

For this last card, I used my color spritzer to create burst of color for the leaves and a light splatter of red across the kraft panel. I also wanted to add depth to the tree by shadowing the branches and trunk with a Versamark pen.

So, what do you think? I love each one! I'm so excited to be able to share them with you and to enter into these fabulous challenges! Hopefully you're inspired to create a wonderful fall craft today! Come join us at one or all of these challenges soon! Happy autumn and happy stamping! :)