Look Ma' no Feathers....lo....

I know, I know...you're wondering what the heck...3 posts in one day...I can't believe it myself......it feels like I've been on this crafting streak lately and I can't stop.....sorry about that..............so if you came here looking for The Burtonesque Dolls and Paper Take Challenges please scroll down....otherwise here's a layout I made for the challenges over at Ella's Pink Scrapbook #15 (theme-heritage) and Tiddly Inks #13 (match it up).

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The challenge at TPE was to make a heritage layout. Well I'm sorry to report that most of my photos that I had are gone. They got deleted when my laptop took a dive a few years back. I do have some, but they are buried.... So I went through the photos that I have on the computer and really loved this photo of our little one and her Grandpa. I love the smile on his face and how our little one is right there next to him. I just changed the photo to black and white to make it vintage looking......

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and this morning I seen that Tiddly Inks' new challenge was to match it up and thought of this digi image (pinky) instantly. I also used Froggie Thoughts, Twisted Tree and Silver Moon Set.......I hope this turned out vintage enough for the challenge.....I used vintage pieces from Tim Holtz and tried to color in Pinky so she looked like she was a vintage doll.......Enjoy!!!!!!!

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click on photos to enlarge

here's a side view with the tag that pulls out at the top........

And here's the front view......I mixed up the title using stickers, rub ons and material letters....I don't know, but this kinda feels off balance to me...what do you think? Seriously......

Aren't these two just sooo ca-ute.....I added stickles to the crown, dress and cup cake.....

just a closer view of the right side using Tim Holtz products.......

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Well that's all I have...promise.....I'm off to take a nap.....haven't been to bed yet since I got home from work this morning....have a wonderful day....hugs from Charm City

Ella's Pink Scrapbook--Challenge #11

Good Morning bloggers.....this is my second post for today, so if you're looking for The Burtonesque Dolls challenge post, please scroll down.

I made this layout for the challenge on The Pink Elephant. I didn't have enough time to do last weeks, so I made sure I was able to do this week's challenge. I really miss making my layouts for our family albums. So I'm really going to try and do this challenge every week...so here's what I came up with....the challenge was to use black and white photo and any color choices for the rest.......Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments....they really make my day. ..Enjoy!!!!!!here's the whole layout....... I make 8.5X11 size layouts, so it's always a challenge when there's so much you want to put on a layout. And I really try to keep them only single instead of a double...it just makes my life easier...lol....the photos do open up for more photos,journaling and 3 separate tags that pull out as well.... this is the opening....I used Tim Holtz' artillery....lol....

just a closer look at the bottom title....

the opened view....journaling will be stats of the school, teachers, special things that happened...and what ever else little Missy here would like to have....

here's all the tags pulled out....the small one on the right will be notes from Mom and Dad...the big one in the back will be the class photo......Well that's all I have for today....Come and check out both challenges... The Burtonesque Dolls Challenges and The Pink Elephant Challenges...there is also a card challenge that they have on the site as well......Have a great Tuesday....Hugs from an extremely HOT Charm City!!!!!

Even if the Voices aren't real....TPE Challenge #69

Happy Wednesday....Man, I just love these scheduled posts...I can't believe I haven't used them until recently....I can see many more in my future.....lol....I just wanted to share this card I made using Inky Antics stamps that's for The Pink Elephant challenge---which is to use bright fun colors....it's been so long since I've been able to join in on one of their challenges, that I have missed them.....I just loved this set of stamps when I had first seen it.....this lady soo reminds me of someone I know, I just can't place the face yet.....now we all know that I can't make a bright and colorful card, but I have to say, I really like the out come of this one....and there I go again with the feathers....I tell ya, I'm so hooked....it seems like I can barely make a card without them lately...I colored in the stamp using distress re-inkers too.....Have a great day....Enjoy!!!!!!

Pink Elephant and Paper Take Weekly Challenges

Happy Friday---Man am I glad this week is over and it's finally the weekend. I know soon enough I won't be glad it's the weekend as I will have to be working them. This was just some disheartening news I received today at work. I have about a month and then it's weekend duty. YUK!!!! But you know what they say, this to shall pass. I just hope it will pass sooner than later. KWIM!!!!! On a lighter note, I made this card for our niece's birthday tomorrow. I used the sketch from Paper Take Weekly and the theme challenge---birthday---from The Pink Elelphant. The stamp is another from Kraftin Kimmie. Have you gone over there yet? If not, what the heck are you waiting for. They just released a new line of stamps and they are to die for. Let me say it again, To Die For!!!! LOL....I really thought this one fit our niece. She's so pretty and alittle glam like this stamp but has that little tude thing going on. Have you seen the artist' blog that creates these stamps, Annie Rodrigue? Holy cow girls and boys. Pop on over there and check her blog out Moonlight Whispers . I was flipping through her pages and I was in awe of her work. As I was reading I noticed that she uses ink to color in her images. It looked like liquid ink not from a marker. So me being the kind of person that I am, decided to try it on this little birthday girl. I have done this before, but I really tried to make it work with the blending and all. And I have to say that I really like coloring in with a paint brush better than a marker. Why, I don't know. I just do. I even used acrylic paint watered down with water (hair color). I remember back at the holiday season there was a tutorial using inks like this as well over in the classroom at Ellen Hutson that was very helpful. So I have all of these bottles of reinkers that I am putting to good use instead of using them on the ink pads themselves. I also used Canson watercolor paper 90lb. instead of the Neenah paper. I felt like this would hold the liquid ink better than the Neenah paper. I just used the backside of it instead cuz it was smoother than the front. It's called the Biggie Jr. and I got it at Joannes for about 10 bucks for 5o sheets. But I did use clear embossing powder after I stamped my image so it would keep the colors from bleeding together. So there you have it. A new found method ( for me anyways) of me trying to color in images. I know I still have alot of trial and error, but I think this will work for me as I just can't seem to get a hang of those darn cute Copic markers. So what do you think? Is she ok for my first try at using reinkers? paper is by Scenic Route reinkers from Distress Inks worn lipstick broken china and tea dye and acrylic is yellow ochre (with a little mix of tea dye ink) I also added some stickles this is the sketch for Paper Take Weekly Well that's all I have for today. I hope to play some more this weekend. I received some new stamps in the mail the other day from a very special friend and have been dying to play with them. I hope you all ahve a wonderful weekend. Hugs from a very warm Charm City

The Pink Elephant Sketch Chalenge

Over at The Pink Elephant they have 2 sketches for this week. I think today is the last day to post but I could be wrong about that. It could be tomorrow. I couldn't find anything on the site to tell me which day but I'm sure it's there, I just didn't find it (it's an age thing over here...lol). But any-who here is what I came up with for their sketches. If you get a chance pop on over and play along. They have some really fun challenges every Monday. And the DT just ROCKS them.....Enjoy!!!!!

I made this using the Sweethearts Cricut cart for the nest/birds cut @ 4 1/2" and the circle @5" with the Christmas Cheer cart (globe). I really loved the two little love birdies and wanted to play with them...

and here is the second challenge...I flipped it on it's side. The digi stamp is from Scrappin Doodles that I had purchased sometime last year. I had these printed out and stuffed into a folder and thought I would use these for the challenge. The paper and things are from Making Memories Cloe's Closet collection. Another set I've had like forever in my stash.

Here's the inside of the card. The little bird stamp I think is from Autumn Leaves.

Well I hope everyone has a lovely day. I still have more cards to post later. I'm hoping I can post a couple more later today if I get a chance.........Hugs from Charm City...

Happy Birthday You Old Bird--Wild Card Cart

Happy soggy Tuesday--Here's a card set I made for a challenge over at The Pink Elephant . The challenge was to use the color black, hardware and distressing. This was so right up my alley. I love -love- love all three of these and had alot of fun playing with this cute little owl cut from the Wild Card Cricut cartridge. Come on over and play along this week with everyone and take a gander at all of the DT and participant's wonderful creations for this challenge. Enjoy!!!

Here's the set

Wild Card cart: owl-- 4 1/2"

envie--5"

I used feathers, Kaiser rhinestones, Making Memories metal photo turns,Westrim crafts for the eyes. For the nose I used Tim Holtz metal sprockets, an orange brad and a pearl. The metal star, arrow, chain and ribbon holder are from unknown. The stamped owl is from The Paper Company and saying is from Inkadikado. I also embossed the eyes with the Cuttlebug dots folder. Paper is from DCWV.

Here's a side view....

This is just a simple envie. I just added some embossing and more rhinestones.....

Well have a wonderful day. Oh, the verdict is back on my truck. It's a timing belt. Almost $900.00 worth of timing belt....uggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Sooo sick of bills like this....Hugs from Charm City

The Pink Elephant Sketch Challenge

Happy Thursday..well as happy as we can be here in our house. DH just got back from the doctors and he's been diagnosed with the flu. But not the H1N1 flu. Thank goodness. But nonetheless, the flu. The dr gave him meds for our little one and myself cuz' he said we are going to get it also. What a bummer. I am not up for this flu season crap. On a lighter note, here is the project I made for The Pink Elephant sketch challenge over at their site. You should hop on over and play along. I was playing with the Tags Bags Boxes and More Cricut cartridge and made the matchbox. I had one hell of a time trying to get this cut right to. I went through so many sheets of cardstock it isn't even funny. But I ended up figuring it out and I have so many extra cuts that I need to figure out what to do with them. I received my first book today in the mail from the circle journal swap. I love it, and I can't wait to do my pages in this book for her. I have so many things swarming in my head I just don't know which way I want to go with it. Her theme is Season's. And we all know I love Fall but I also love winter as much. Both seasons are very fun and nature is so beautiful. So we'll see... Here's this week's challenge

This is the set I made..I used the sketch on both the card and candy box

The witch and quote stamps are from Staving Artist

the tree and crooked path are from Stamp Scapes

and the bat is one of those foamies that come in a pack from the craft store

I colored them in with Prisma pencils

I used the TBB cricut cart --match1 cut at 6 1/4" and match2 cut at 6"

the witches leg stamp and spider sticker are from Recollections

the happy halloween stamps are from Inkadinkado

buttons are from Basic Grey and those little circle mirrors are from the craft store

the shell that the witches leg stamp is in are 2 2" circles, made slits into them and rolled the corners up. Turned the bottom one upside down. You can see a better view in the next photo..

here's what it looks like when the drawer is pulled open

Well that's it for now. I have to run for now. It's bedding day and the dryer has shut off. Gotta keep it running...lol...have a great day..Hugs from a very Sunny Fall Day!!!!

A Recipe Challenge

Good morning everyone. It's another challenge from The Pink Elephant. This one is a recipe challenge. We were to use 1 ribbon, 2 squares and something that sparkles. I eneded up making 3 cards with this challenge. Can you tell I had alot of fun with it. There are still some days left to play along. So hop on over and hang out with everyone. You can click on the photos to get a better view.

I really like how this card turned out. I have been wanting to use this felt flower border ever since I purchased it a few years ago. I just never really knew how to use it. So I covered one of the squares with it. Simple, but I love the contrast up against the white background. I am also determined to use up more of my "older" supplies. I'm planning on sending this card to DH. We are in a little rut right now, so I thought this would pick him up abit. I hope he'll like it.

This card is soo me....lol...anything rustic and old looking. Here, I used some stamps that I purchased last year and I think I have only used once. The snow flakes at the bottom are actually embossed cardstock from the Cuttlebug and I cut each piece out by hand. I used the Distress stickles for the red and some regular star dust stickles for the clear. The paper is KI Memories and some craft cardstock that I added Distress ink to the top.

Just a simple Halloween card that I used some of those Sandylion Essentials stickers. I have a ton of these little packs and I want to use them up. The trick or treat is a gel thingy from Karen Foster. And the ribbon has these bats and cats sewn into it. I have had this ribbon for years to.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful day. It's a very beautiful day here in Charm City. We've turned the air off this week and have opened up the windows. Nothing better than fresh air flowing through the house. It's starting to feel abit like fall. I LOVE IT!!!! No more swelling...lol... Hugs from Charm City

The Pink Elephant Sketch Challenge

Happy Saturday. Since my last post, we have been very busy here. We had our DD's birthday party, our middle daughter came home for a visit. And our little one started school. So it's been very busy and hectic here in our home these past few weeks. Not to mention, DH has been laid off for 3 weeks now. So, with him home, I really don't get to play much. But today I took my morning and made a couple of cards for the sketch challenge over at The Pink Elephant. I had alot of fun playing with this. If you get a chance pop on over and check out their challenges they do every week. They are alot of fun. here's the sketch

I made this one using the sketch above. I needed a card for our little one to send her Grandmother. They went shopping, had lunch and even went and did their nails together. They both had a great time but I know Grandmom was abit worn out after her day. The inside is blank so our little one can hand write a note of thanks to her.

just a close-up of the Distress Crackle paint I used on the chipboard.

Here's the second card I made for the sketch. I was in a grunge Halloween mood..lol...I just love Halloween. I colored in this digi stamp (from Scrapping Doodles) with Copics and then did a layer of Vintage Photo Distress ink over top og the entire card.

Here's a card I made using my Pazzles Machine. It was one of the free clipart that comes with the program and I just welded a second piece to make a cutout card. I took my Big E off my table and put my Pazzles in it's place. I am determined to get to know this machine inside and out now.

The inside just says Happy Halloween.

Well thanks for stopping in. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Hugs from Charm City

TPE Color Challenge--Happy Birthday

Good Morning---I can't believe that I already made this one for The Pink Elephant challenge. I needed a really fast card this morning and thought of their challenge that was just posted. We were to use brown, turquoise and neutral colors. I've had this paper from Cloud 9 Designs that fit perfectly. Although the photos don't do this card justice, it looks so much better irl... (You can click on the photos for a better view)

I used the birthday Cuttlebug embossing plate and sandpapered the embossed part. I really need to use that machine more to. I also used the skull from Tim Holtz' grungeboard and added Distress Crackle paint to that. The starburst brad is one of my favorites right now from Karen Foster. They are just soo fun and adds some great texture. I also pierced holes around the card and circles and roughed up the edges for a distressed look.

the inside view

just alittle closer view of the crackle skull. I just love this stuff and always love the chance to use it on something....lol...(even my bathroom walls--the real stuff though)....

Well have a great day and stop on over at The Pink Elephant and play along with the challenge this week. They have the best challenges and the Design Team totally ROCKS!!!! Thanks again ladies for another great challenge!!!! Hugs from Charm City

The Pink Elephant Challenge

Happy Sunday everyone. I have to make this a quickie. DH is on my behind about gettin outside and "takin care of business"...I didn't think I was going to make this weeks challenge over at The Pink Elephant, but I just squeezed this one in. The challenge was to use 2 brads, a flower and pattern paper. This is what I came up with. I have to say though, I just love- love- love these stamps from Starving Artist. I know they are last years designs, but they are kind of new to me. I just picked them up at the convention in Ocean City this summer and have adored them ever since. If you get a chance, hop on over there and check out what they have. They are just the cutest little stamps you've seen. They also have a very inspiring design team. The inspiration came from Michelle Zindorf. I'm so trying to make stamped cards and new techniques and I find her very inspiring. She is one lady who totally ROCKS. Take some time and visit her blog to. You won't be disappointed. The flower is 2 circles and I just cut slits and grunged up. I also added a third circle to the center and added my 3 brads. I couldn't find any pattern paper that I liked, so I took this yellowish/orangish pattern paper from Cosmo Cricket and added brushed corduroy distress ink to it to mute the color some. That is what I made the flower from to. This is the inside view. I'm thinking I'll send this one off to Aunt Rene (who is 92yrs old) this year for her Halloween card. I think she'll get a kick out of it... Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. Try to stay cool. It's another skorcher out there today for us here. Hugs from Charm City...

The Pink Elephant and Caardvarks Challenges

Happy Sunday!!!!! Just a quick post today. The cards below I made for the challenges over at the Pink Elephant (sketch challenge) and Caardvarks (make a baby/bridal theme card/project) sites. I really enjoy their challenges and have missed playing along these past few weeks. So I thought I would sit down and make these cards....Enjoy!!! The stamped image is from Motivet Rubber Stamps...I just love all of their fun stamps that they offer and wanted to use this darling smiley little stamp to bring some sunshine on this dreary day here...Normally I don't use colors like these--so I am way out of my element---but she is just fun and I wanted to use some cheery bright colors. What do you think? Did I achieve it? The clear photo turns and snaps are from Tim Holtz' collection and the silver brads are from The Little Black Dress. I know the coloring is still off, but I'm still working on that... I used the Life is a Beach and Wedding Cricut carts for these cutouts. I also glued real sand onto cardstock, tore and then inked the edges. I have noticed there are more and more weddings happening at the beach than a traditional church wedding. This could be used for either a bridal party invite or even a wedding invite. Something simple but fun. Well I hope everyone has some sunshine going on in their part of the world today. It seems like we have been getting alot of rain here. Although we really do need it, I really need to get outside and finish my projects that I started for the "yearly birthday party" bash for our little one coming up in 2 weeks. So wish us luck....Hugs from Charm City

Happy Birthday America--and A Pink Elephant Challenge

Woohoo...don't you just love a birthday party.... I do... Our DD is having a party at her house today...I think we are going to stay home tonight and not do fireworks. I did however buy some for our little one, but she's staying over at her sisters house. So maybe we will do those next weekend and I'll let her have some friends over and do some swimming and roast marshmellows. Sounds like a plan---Stan...lol...that has been in my head for weeks now...I don't know what the song is, but it kind of goes like, take a little plan Stan don't need to rush no, hell, I don't remember the words... drop off the key Lee and set yourself Free...lol...I think I had heard that on the radio one morning and can't seem to get it out of my head....anyone know the title/words?

On a lighter note, The Pink Elephant is having another challenge. I soo love their challenges. Even though I have only done one and now this is my second, I really enjoy their blog and challenges. This weeks challenge is to use your Favorite Color Combo ...how awesom is that. No sketch, so anything goes, just using your favorite colors. Here's what I came up with. I thought with the 4th coming up this week that I would make a July 4th BBQ invite card. I got out and dusted off my Sizzix red and yellow dies and even used 2 $1.00 stamps that I picked up at AC Moore for this card.

Just a super dupper easy card. I also used my Cuttle Bug and embossed the background of the card and the stars. I have always loved these color combos together. As red is my fav. color and the earth tones reminds me of the beach with black making everything pop off of the page. I even made a layout with the same colors. I had these on my bench so I thought I would take these photos that I just took earlier this week and use them.

The pictures in the photos below I took in our backyard. I did a make shift photo studio with white sheets, our wooden picnic table and our little ones sheer canopy that hangs from the ceiling over top of the bed , strung up from the tree...lol...nothing better than natual lighting...then I did a 4th of July set with our little one and the baby.

(I used 2 clear stamps from KI Memories to make the borders)

these are of our eldest daughter and her little man.. Our first of MANY to come photo shoots. ...heehee...he is so going to hate to come to MeMe's house..

I have to laugh when I look at this photo of him above. If looks could kill...

I tell ya, in the one below, he has such a great set of lungs. He just loves to take a bath, but when we put him in the pool, he didn't want anything to do with it.

Well that's all I have for today. Remember to be safe, have a great time and use tons of sun screen. It's going to be a scorcher today here in Charm City....Hugs....