Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sweet Blogger Award

Hi all,

I received an award today from the very sweet Janice. I honestly, as a rule, don't post these. It's not that I don't appreciate them, they do make me smile when I receive an award - but to me, these are a special gift to be treasured privately. But today I post them because there are 5+ people in my life that I'd like to give a little shout out to, and they don't necessarily have blogs to post these on to continue the chain.



I'm supposed to share 10 things that make me happy...

1. My faith in God. I claim His promises everyday and although sometimes its very hard to wait on Him, He doesn't let me down in the long run.
2. My children. They are amazing!
3. My family - for their unending support.
4. My friends - for their unending support.
5. My crafts, although my craft room isn't a place I've wanted to be lately but I pray the current trial in my life will resolve itself and I can be myself again.
6. Books - there's nothing happier than curling up with a good book, a blanket and a glass of white zinfandel.
7, 8, 9 & 10 - I'll have to get back to this someday.

Now I'm supposed to tag 5 friends and this is where I wanted to give my shout-out.

Joni Wilson - one of my dearest, most respected friends who is a constant source of inspiration to me, a shoulder to cry on when I need it and I know my name is always mentioned in her prayers.

Gabby Arriaza - another dear friend that I've never met. LOL Gabby is a cyber-friend and I feel like I've know her my whole life. Her unending support for me is very appreciated.

Theresa Winslow & Karin Lopez - my sisters that are my rock of support, my protectors when I need them and they are my very best friends that are also a constant source of inspiration to me.

The Design Team of Inktegrity - thank you for your kind words, support and sharing your creativity.

To a person who will go nameless.... thank you for helping me find my smile. I know you'll never see this blog post, since this isn't your thing, but you mean the world to me.

Thank you to every one of you.


Friday, January 29, 2010

Quickie Card

Good Morning! I'm really hoping I hear good news today!!

I made a super quick 3x3 gift card that my youngest son tells me he needs for tomorrow. Ugh! I've not been feeling well as it is, so crafting has been my lowest of priorities. *GASP!*


No frills - just a little bit of ribbon. I had such grander ideas to use Sammy the Seal with, but this was all I could come up with on such short notice. This seal has the trademark sweet face that Joni's images are known for. I created the sentiment which is almost too big, but as I said, I had grander plans. The base is So Saffron and the scalloped mat is Bordering Blue. With just a touch of color to his bow and a bit of shading on his body - this was super quick and super simple.

Thanks for stopping by. I do love our visits.


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Thursday with Lindsay

Good Morning everyone! I hope your week is going well. Mine has been pretty OK, very low key. I did have a job interview yesterday that I think went well. I'm praying...

Lindsay's Stamp Stuff is sponsoring my challenge blog this week - which is always so exciting! Lindsay carries some awesome digi-stamps and now SVGs!


My card is very clean and simple - the sketch holds so much possibility, but CAS was my choice. My card is all digital, pretty much. The base is Kraft card stock, something I don't use nearly enough. The next layer is a digital paper that I got from A Cherry on Top. The paper pack is called Iced Latte. I sized the paper, after importing in it into a word document, to be 4 x 5 1/4 inches. Then I drew a text box over the paper to add my sentiment. The swirly paper on the top is from that same digi-paper pack. The image I used is from Coffee Talk. You can't tell in this picture, but the bottom piece is Chocolate Chip card stock that I embossed with the Swirls CB folder. Then I added some pearls. I did color the image with Copics.

Be sure to visit Lindsay and the rest of the team. And don't forget, Lindsay's always got a sale! Spend $5 and get a digi free. And head on over to my challenge blog to play along! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

CHA Relay Day 3

** Please scroll down for Sweet Sketch Wednesday **

Good Afternoon,

Just a quick post to share my card for Day 3 of the CHA Relay. Although the Relay has been cancelled, it was sure fun to play along. I also played along with The Color Dare which was to use Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue, Certainly Celery and Soft Suede.



I was skeptical about the color combination but I truly love how this card turned out. These are wonderful colors to put together and I am grateful for the challenge and the out of the box thinking.

Thanks for stopping by!


Sweet Sketch Wednesday #34

Happy Sweet Wednesday to you! Arlana has a wonderful sketch for you to play with this week, so I do hope you'll join us. Not to mention that we have the fabulous Mo from Mo's Digital Pencil sponsoring this week! Whoo-hoo!!



I recently won one of Mo's images for making the Top 3 on another challenge blog. I was so excited but it took me a long time to decide on which image. Yeah, right. It took me all of about 3 seconds - I knew which one I wanted. I'd been admiring this image for a long time.



This is Mummu dancing with her granddaughter. I think this is just the sweetest image ever! I don't remember dancing with my grandma, but it does remind me of the great time I always had spending time with her.

The circles are from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff All-Around Phrases. It's easy to digitally color these (in .png format) in any photo editing software. When I was done coloring I then layered them because the original is only two rows of dots. Then cut them out.

I set out to find the perfect sentiment for this card. I found one...


This is actually a Hopi Indian saying and I think it's absolutely perfect for this image.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday to play along and see what the other team member's have to share with you.


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

TGF's CHA Relay - Day 2

Whoo-hoo! I am back with my card using Wild Sprouts Charlotte...



I used the sketch featured on Lord Have Mercy ! - awesome, easy and fun sketch to play with. I added a bit more with the stitched ribbon and the flower ribbon brad. Before I printed the Charlotte image, I added a text box so I could include my sentiment without it being a separate piece. I love yellow, red and orange together - so hot!! You can just hear Charlotte sizzle!! Ttsss...

Thanks for stopping by.


More TGF Fun

Good Morning! Remember when TGF had the 12 Days of Sketches last month? Well, this go 'round they are having a CHA Relay! I am so excited, knock on wood, I was actually able to upload my card in the Galleria! I hope I continue to have this good fortune when I upload Day 2's card. But I wanted to share my Day 1 card with you.


Oooh, Mer Ian is truly fintastic! I kept the card pretty clean and simple. I colored Mer Ian with Copics. I used my good old trusty Creative Memories circle cutting system, but wanted to add more dimension like what is easily achieved with Nesties. I don't have plain circle Nesties, so I cut a smaller circle (the blue blade) than what I cut Mer Ian (the green blade) using a scrap piece of card stock and then centered the stamped image behind the opening and applied the ink using a sponge. I removed my template and viola - instant Nestie technique without the die. Then using the red blade I created a mat using Taken with Teal. Then I ran a scrap piece of Bashful Blue through the Cuttlebug with the Swirls embossing folder. Before I adhered it I dragged SU!'s Whisper White Craft Ink over the swirls to give the look of foamy waves. I did this week's sketch from The Sweetest Thing. Added the sentiment from Down by the Pond and then added a few pearls. Cute!

I hope to be back later today with Day 2 - it's an adorable Wild Sprout image!

Thanks for stopping by.


Monday, January 25, 2010

Top Note Tag

Good Morning! Happy Monday to you!

I have just a quick post today. I recently signed up for a tag swap, so I decided it was probably best to get to work on them. They aren't due til April, but we all know how time flies! Anyway, I signed up for a Top Note size tag and a round one. The round one I had hoped that I would get done yesterday, but it ended not being a very good day for me, so.... Anyway, I don't own the Top Note die but I created one using Cricut and SCAL software. I had these tags cut, both layers in about 5 minutes or less! Easy!!



Isn't it pretty? I think so anyway. I used Not Quite Navy as my base and I had this pretty paper left over from a swap I did awhile back. It was also time to use these flowers that I have been hoarding since that swap I just mentioned. I used the Cricut with the Home Accents cartridge to cut the word Dream.


Here's a close up of the image I used, this is from Pond Pals from Sweet n Sassy Stamps. I "colored" the wings with gold Stickles. The trick with keeping the wings curled is curl them up and then apply the Stickles. The moisture that the Stickles puts into the paper will dry the wings into position.

I had a lot of fun with these and hopefully I'll have the round ones done soon to share with you. Thanks for stopping by!


Saturday, January 23, 2010

Pretty Magnolia

Hi everyone! Happy Saturday! Just a quick post before I start my day of grocery shopping, cleaning, blah blah blah...

Actually there are couple of challenges involved with this card...


First of all, I love watching Kristina Werner's Make a Card Monday and Finally Friday videos. For yesterday's video she created a beautiful card using black as the base. The Friday Challenge is to either create a black base card or a thank you card. I did both.

I followed the sketch from Just Magnolia. I have had friends graciously give me stamped Magnolia images, what a perfect excuse to play. However, I don't know the names of these stamps, so to me, this is Tilda with a Lollipop. I colored using Copic Markers.

The other challenge I followed is from Raise the Bar. My good friend Joni started a challenge blog of her own which debuted last week. I wasn't able to play last week so I when I started this card I realized that the stuff I was using fit her challenge. It's the gift that keeps on giving. The ribbon I used from a Color Me Happy round that Joni hosted, the background stamp was given to me by Tami Mayberry and I believe (if memory serves) this is the heart punch that Joni gave me.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm off and running... well, maybe after one more cup of coffee.


Friday, January 22, 2010

Sew Happy

Good Morning Everyone! Happy Friday! I am sooo, ahem, I mean sew happy that the weekend is here.

The card I have to share with you today features my two favorites... a brand new image from Inktegrity and Rosalie, one of the newest images at CC Designs. I'm playing along with All That Scraps Wednesday Challenge, which is a color challenge: Pink, Red and Chocolate Brown.



The base of my card is Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cards stock. I used SU! Chocolate Chip and Pink Pirouette card stock, MS heart punch and a chocolate brown button. I colored Rosalie with Copic markers and I paper pieced the heart. The image actually has a sewing needle but Rosalie ended up hiding it.

This adorable set can be found in her shop for $2.99. And also don't forget that there is still time to get Wally for free with a $5 purchase. Click here to shop.

Have a wonderful Friday! Thanks for stopping by.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Thursdays with Lindsay

Hi Everyone! I hope you're all doing well.

For today's card I decided to keep it pretty simple. I also followed the sketch challenge from The Sweet Stop and it had a twist, to create a card using a sentiment only. So I decided to use one of Lindsay's Embossed Mats found here and by using in .png format, I could place the sentiment inside of it. The sentiment is a quote from Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and I just love it. It's such a reassurance that God is listening even when you're not necessarily prayer.



It reads: Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on it's knees.

I used my favorite paper pack (are you all sick of seein' it?) Chocolat by SEI. The border is an SVG cut. No coloring involved. Please be sure to visit Lindsay and the rest of the team, I know they've got some great stuff to share with you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #33

Good Morning! I hope your week is off to a really good start.

Arlana has a really great sketch this week over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday so I hope you head on over there to play along with us.



We have also have a wonderful sponsor this week, DigiStamp Boutique. She has some really adorable images and was quite generous to send the team some images to play with.



This is my take on the sketch and this bear is Coco. Isn't he cute?! I colored him with Copic Markers, the paper I used is from the Candy Blossoms paper pack I mentioned yesterday. I made up the sentiment.

Please be sure to join in the fun and welcome 3 new DT members! Thanks for stopping by, I do appreciate your visit.


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Over at Tuesday Morning Sketches

Good Morning everyone! I hope that you had a nice long weekend. I'm sad to see my kids go back to school. I love when they're around.

Just a quick post today featuring my Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge. This is a really easy sketch with so much possibility. I hope you head on over there and join us!



I used Pez-a-Doodle's Dragonfly set that has coordinating skittles. These are just the coolest stamps! The paper I used is from a pack I picked up for like $2 at Michaels one day. It's called Candy Blossom by ATD. I really wanted to clean and simple look for this card. The sentiment is from Unity Stamps.

Thanks for dropping by and I hope to see you over there!


Monday, January 18, 2010

Charlotte Remembered

Hi All,

I don't have a card that I made to share with you today, but I do have some really amazing cards to share! The sale of A Princess' Story is going well, but I'm hoping that it gets bigger and better and I am so thankful to have friends that are supporting me in this effort.

Once again, I want to thank Joni for creating such lovely image! I also wanted to spotlight a few of very sweet people who are near and dear to my heart who are helping spread the word on this pay it forward effort.

First up, Jeanette, fellow Inktegrity DT member is currently offering blog candy. Please click here for the details.

Next, this is a card that my very sweet friend Jackie made...



And another from the wonderful Janice Hopper (owner of Sunshine & Giggles Stamps)...



Please consider helping out by purchasing this stamp. All proceeds will be donated to the CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation.

Thank you!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Still thinking of snowmen

Good Morning! Happy Saturday to you!

Actually I made this card to send to a friend. She said to try out this technique of putting alcohol inks on aluminum foil, then emboss it, then highlight it with black Staz-on Ink. Well, I don't own alcohol inks but my sister does, so she did that part for me. I did the rest. What do you think?


I am so pleased with the results! I used TGF's Keep Cozy snowman. I cut the starburst shape from Brocade Blue using the Cricut/SCAL. Then I punched holes in the spikes. I did a little faux stitching, colored the image with Copics and added a bit of white organdy ribbon. Voila! Easy card with great results.

I also made this with the current All That Scraps Challenge in mind which was to create a card with a snowman.

Thanks for stopping by!


Thursday, January 14, 2010

Inktegrity Birthday Blog Hop!

** Please scroll down for Thursday's with Lindsay **

Good Morning! Thanks for stopping by for Inktegrity's Birthday Blog Hop! We are so happy that you're here.

If you came from Laura Jean's blog, then you're on the right track. On this stop, my first card I'm featuring Mikey. He's got the sweetest face, so sincere and so loving.



I decided that I loved Mojo Monday's sketch so much that I had to use it again. Isn't Mikey sweet? I love this little monkey. Mikey and his sentiments are so versatile, he can be used for a Valentine's Day card, but I wanted to get away from that and create a friendship card. His sentiment "I love hanging out with you" is perfect for this! I colored Mikey with Copic Markers and the dp came from DCWV The Glitter Mat Stack. The paper is so much fun with soft hues. I used So Saffron and Bashful for the mats and border. I used a Martha Stewart punch on the border.



Next up is Wally. Wally is the latest 'surprise' friend to join the Inktegrity family. He is available as a freebie with any $5 purchase from the store from January 15th-February 14th. After that he will be available for purchase individually. Oh my goodness, this little really stole my heart! He is such sooo adorable. The base is Brocade Blue. I used this great background stamp that my friend Tami Mayberry sent me with Brocade Blue for tone on tone so that the base had something to do. I embossed a piece of white card stock with the Swirls Cuttlebug folder and then inked with Bashful Blue and Broken China to highlight the "waves." Then completed it with a border (MS punch) and one of his sentiments, You're a "whale-y" good friend and just a bit of shimmery blue organdy ribbon.

Now here's the exciting news: Comment on my blog and the blogs listed below, and you will be entered to win Wally the Whale from each of us! Yes, that means you have 13 chances to win: 11 DT blogs and 2 special friends who won the Mikey contest join us in the blog hop.

Now head on over to Sheri's blog to see her beautiful card, then end at the Inktegrity blog for one lucky winner to receive ALL 3 new images on this release, which will be available tomorrow in the store.

Happy hopping and thank you for joining us in this little birthday party!

Laura Jean
Melissa <--- You are here
Inktegrity Blog for your chance to win all the new releases!



Thursdays with Lindsay

Good Morning! I hope you're doing well. Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate your visit. I have a lot to share with you today, so I'm not going to rattle on and on.

Here's what's new in Lindsay's Shop. More SVG's! Whoo-hooo!! You know I've really been enjoying the Cricut/SCAL lately, so when Lindsay gave us this file to work with, you know I just had to play.


Here's the first banner flag. I cut it from a very pale pink light card stock.



Here's the main focal flag - I cut it from brown card (light weight) and then resized the flag to create the center panel from American Crafts pattern paper. I then used the dotty circle from All-Around Phrases. I "colored" it pink in photo-editing software first. The bird is from her newest set Love Grows Here. I colored the image with Copics.



And then for the 3rd flag I cut the flowers flag. It's so beautiful and intricate!


I needed a panoramic camera to photograph the entire thing, but I don't have one - so hopefully you get the idea. I intend to send this to my youngest son's teacher so she can decorate her classroom for Valentine's Day.


Then finally what I have to show is a mini-card I made that would be perfect for a gift card using an SVG file from Cocoa Studio, Love is in the Air. We were lucky enough to get to test these files and let me tell ya! This was no test... this was a breeze. I figured out that if you follow the guidelines that the SVG file is laid out on the virtual cutting mat in SCAL, you can add different papers and cut only once. I then used my largest Scallop Rectangle Nestie to create the card. I did cut two piece of the turquoise blue card stock. Scored the back piece so it'll open and then glued the pieces together. The paper is from DCWV Citrus mat stack. The only thing I didn't use was the circle pieces that cut for the eyes. The sentiment is from Garden of Friends set by There She Goes stamps.

The SVG file is available at MyGrafico! Speaking of MyGrafico, today and tomorrow everything is 25% off!

Please be sure to visit the rest of the team. I hope you enjoyed my projects that I have shared with you today!


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Sweet Sketch Wednesday

Good Morning,

No funny stories to share or any exciting news so we'll just jump into this week's Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge. Here's the fabulous sketch Arlana gave us to work with:



And here's the card I made with it! We got to pick an image from this week's sponsor, Fresh Brewed Designs. When I went looking, I fell in love with this image. If you know me, you know I LOVE my coffee. The hubby gave me a fabulous coffee maker for Christmas and I'm tellin' ya! I will never go out for coffee again! It's that wonderful - and then not to mention the yummy coffee beans my sister sent me. Mmmm...


And you also know that I was still playing (and haven't stopped) with the Cricut and SCAL. I found on the SVG Cuts site a free download of a collection of cuts called My Mom's Attic and in this collection is this wonderful doily that I thought was perfect to use with my card.

I hope to see you join us this week. Don't forget to head on over to SSW for the details on how to play. Leave the girls some love, too!


Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Tuesday Morning Sketches

Good Morning! It's Tuesday and that makes it one of my favorite days of the week. Over at my challenge blog, Tuesday Morning Sketches, there is another great challenge and an awesome sponsor!

This week's challenge is buttons and bows. Not hard at all - just had buttons and bows somewhere on your card. This week is sponsored by Korin at Sweet n Sassy Stamps and you all know how much I love their stamps and digis. So here is my take on the challenge and I used Mojo Monday's sketch.



I used SNSS Be Mine Cocoa and the sentiment is from the Valentine's Sentiment set. I colored Cocoa with Copic Markers. The paper I used is from my current favorite paper pack, Chocolat from SEI. Buttons are American Crafts. To tie the bows, I used embroidery floss. Also, the heart border is of course Martha Stewart.

I hope you come by my challenge blog and play along with us. And be sure to check out the Special Give-Away from AiFactory that is in the sidebar. Thanks for stopping by.


Monday, January 11, 2010

Butterflies are free to fly...

Good Morning,

Just a really quick post here. I finally got a chance to work on my card that I created with A Princess' Story - image by Inktegrity that Joni created specially to help the CJs Thumbs Up Foundation. To read about this, please click here.


I followed the sketch found on the CardPatterns challenge blog. Great sketch! This card came together in just minutes - I love really good sketches.

I hope that you will take a minute to purchase this stamp that will help a very worthwhile cause. Thank you for stopping by.