Insomnia Strikes Again!

So what do you do when you wake up at 1:30am and can't go back to sleep?  Make cards of course!  I'm not sure what woke me up this morning....maybe it was having a 16 pound cat jump on my stomach.  LOL!!  Whatever it was, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  So after checking email, taking my turn at Words With Friends on Facebook, and flipping through the channels on TV...I headed back to the craft room to play.

I made 4 cards in the wee hours this morning.  As usual with my cards lately, the images are from my stash of ones that were sent to me or ones I stamped a while ago and have never used.  I didn't have to open any new package for anything on these cards except for the green buttons on the St. Patrick's Day card - those were new (came in a swap package about two weeks ago).  I'll list what challenges I've submitted them for under the cards.  And then when I post this...I'm heading to bed...for at least an hour before the alarm goes off.  :)

 

 Stampacutlar Sunday Challenge

 

 

Twisted Tuesday Challenge

Come and Get it Challenge

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge

 

 

Twisted Tuesday Challenge

 

 

Celebrate The Occasion Challenge

Punched Hearts

This morning when I was going through the challenge blogs, one immediately got my mind going and I had to run back to the craft room even before getting ready for work!  This week the {PIN}spirational Challenge is this picture:

I immediately focused on those hearts and the buttons.  So off I went to my craft room.  I punched out some hearts using some left over paper from other projects.  Since I used hearts - this card is also being submitted for the Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge which is Have a Heart.  So here's what I came up with:

 

 

I used an embossing folder by Darice to emboss the white cardstock and then my heart punch for the hearts.  But buttons are left overs from other projects as well.  I guess this could almost be a "recycle" card.  

Valentine's Day

It's hard to believe that Friday is February 1st.  January has flown by and soon Valentine's Day will be upon us.  I was thinking today of what I want to do for my Secret Sisters at church as well as for my beautiful granddaughters.  And it seems like Valentine's Day is on the minds of those over at 'ABC' Challenges as well because the theme for this week is Valentine's Day.  So instead of getting laundry done or doing something else I should have been doing as soon as I came home from work, I decided to de-stress for a few minutes in the craft room after work and make a Valentine's Day card.  Jeanette has inspired me with her creations and so this time I even continued the theme of the card inside the card. 

 

 

Ah, so now the laundry is calling so I'm off to do a load of laundry.  Have a great evening!

Crafting Day

Well, I have been busy the last 24 hours!  Yesterday we decided to just stay around the house and not do a whole lot.  After we got the house cleaned and ran the one errand we couldn't put off for a week, it was time to just relax.  Of course that included a nap, playing with our kitties, and just watching some TV.  But it also included time in the craft room!  YIPPEE!  I made several cards that are for several different challenges....so here we go:

The first card is a Baby theme card.  I must admit that I do make a lot of baby cards since I donate them to our local pregnancy center.  The image is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  I just love their stamps!  I'm submitting this card for two challenges - Celebrate The Occasion (#96) Baby Card and Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge #36 - Kirklands Challenge.  My inspiration from Kirklands art.  I like how the background was blocked off.

Next is the card I made for the {PIN}spirational Challenge.  The challenge picture was a cute dog with a bow tie.  My inspiration came from the dog.  The image came from a stash of mixed images I have on hand.

Over at Inkspirational Challenges the challenge this week was a sketch: 

I had a few circle cards and I never really know what to do with them.  This was the perfect opportunity to use one!  I embossed the card with a Darice embossing folder.  It has become one of my favorite folders.

Shopping Our Stash Challenge this week was to use your oldest ribbon.  I'm not sure if this is my oldest ribbon, but I have had it for quite some time.  I'm also submitting this card for Craft Us Crazy Challenge - while it's not red, it is Valentine's themed.

 

 

Of course all my cards this month are included as part of the 100 Cards/Projects in 100 Days challenge at SCS.  This card is also part of that:

So that's it for my card-making this weekend.  Tomorrow is a new week.  We'll see how much I get done this week.  Enjoy your day!
 

Cats

Have I mentioned that we have several critters that live with and around us?  While I don't have a card to post about cats, I just had to share some of the pictures of our little ones....

This is Boots - he's 7 years old.  We got him from the pound.  Now the day we went to get a kitten I knew exactly what I wanted.  I went to get a little grey girl kitten.  They had a lot of kitties, and they even had little grey ones, but there were 3 little grey kittens all in one cage that were siblings and I couldn't just take one.  So I passed that cage and then I saw Boots.  There he was - rubbing up against the front bars of his cage.  They asked if I wanted to hold him and as soon as they put him in my arms he started purring.  Well, who could say no to a little purring Boots?  I was hooked. 

Our next addition came a year later.  Cosmo started hanging out in our yard and we felt so bad for her so we started to feed her.  She was a feral cat and wouldn't even come to the porch until we were back in the house.  SLOWLY she started to trust us and eventually let Russ even pet her (he would go out and sit with her outside).  It was the Fall and with October being Halloween, we didn't want her out and about anymore so we opened our door one day and she came in...and before she had a chance to turn and run we shut the door!  She did freak out - but little Boots went over and pushed one of his toys over towards her - it was one of the cutest things we ever saw!  We thought Cosmo was a boy at first and started calling her Cosmo because she always looked so scared and had that odd look to her - she reminded us of Cosmo Kramer on Seinfield.  LOL!!  Then when we got her inside we realized she was a girl.  She's 6 years old now.

Lastly, there are 6 outside that we feed.  They are all feral cats.  One is the mommy kitty and then two of her kittens from 2011 and 3 of her kittens from 2012.  The three from this past year we have named Sammy, Midnight, and Junior.  They live at our home and the others just come to eat  The 3 kittens live in boxes we had built for them (on our porch).  Junior is very shy and we haven't been able to get a picture of him yet.  But here is Sammy and Midnight.

 

 

 

So those are the reason that I have a mug at work that says "Crazy Cat Lady".  LOL!!

 

Boys & Their Toys

Memories of childhood and playing with toys have been on my mind lately.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because there's snow on the ground and that means I stay more at home and gives me time to look through things here.  Going through my card kits I've received over the last year I found one that had the cutest images of boys playing with toys.  I loved the one with the boy and the plane and just had to make a card!  I guess it's sort of fitting since I am in Ohio and that is where the Wright Brothers were...although they were from the southern part of the state and I'm in the north.

Blue Baby

This week over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges it was "Tic Tac Toe & Crafty Machines" week.  I couldn't decide which way to go - "Thank You - Brad - Sparkle" or "Twine - Sympathy - Blue" or....well, the combinations seemed endless.  I settled on "Blue - Brad - Congratulations" and then also used this weeks sketch at Mojo Monday (sketch 277).  Since I make cards for Community Pregnancy Center, I knew the "congratulations" part of the challenge had to be for a baby...and blue - well, of course it had to be for a boy!  The machine I used was my Cuttlebug and an embossing folder by Darice.  Enjoy your day and if you're here in the Northeast - try to stay warm!

I made a quilt!

I always wanted to learn to make quilts, but I can't sew.  My mom used to try to teach me to sew every so often.  It would end with her in tears and me frustrated and aggravated and giving up.  About 5 or 6 years ago I decided I would teach myself to sew.  Now if I haven't ever mentioned it before, I have the most amazing husband!  He supports me in whatever crazy scheme I come up with next.  So when I decided I wanted to sew, we trotted off to the store and bought a sewing machine.  Since I have this "all-or-nothing" type personality, within several weeks I not only had the sewing machine, but about 30 patterns and lots of fabric and stuff to go with it.  Now remember - I haven't ever sewn a thing!  So what did I decide was going to be my first project?  Not something simple like a pillow.  No, I decided to make a teddy bear for my first granddaughter.  I did get it done.  But it looked like a giant mouse.  Oh well, she was a baby and didn't know the difference.  LOL!!  So on to the quilt.....no, it's not a "real" quilt.  It's a card.  I made this card for the Use it Tuesday Challenge.  The challenge was to make a card using red, yellow, or orange.  I got into my scrap stash and found I had all three colors - so a quilt it is!

Birthday

It seems like forever since I've posted yet it's been less than a week.  Ok, less than a week by one day - but at least it's less than a week.  :)  The last week has been busy with other things than crafting and gee, have I missed being in my craft room!

Over at 'ABC' Challenges it's Birthday week for a couple of the Designers (one of which is my good friend Lela - Happy Birthday my friend!  So I had to participate!!  (And no, Lela, you're not getting this card!  LOL!!).  The image is from Stamping Up and the sketch is one of the early sketches from SCS (I can't remember off hand what the sketch number is and I don't have time to go look now - my kitty is waiting for me to finish this so he can get some attention before we run off to work).  Happy Birthday to everyone who has a Birthday this week or coming up soon!

Early Morning

This morning I was sleeping so soundly....and then all of a sudden we heard some trucks coming down the road and then saw the flashing lights....Ah, the city decided to repair a water issue at 3am.  Gotta love it!  LOL!  So after another half our or so trying to get back to sleep, I gave up and went to the craft room. 

The first card I made was for Mojo Monday.  The stamp set is one that I got from a grab bag purchase at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  If you ever get the chance to get in on one of those deals, I highly suggest it!  I love Sweet 'n Sassy stamps and it's a great way to get a nice variety.  This card is also being submitted for the Hiding in My Craft Room challenge.  Everything I used for this card was scraps - the ribbon and paper were scraps I had in my scrap box.  Did I mention that I have trouble throwing things away?

The other card I made also is a duel purpose card.....  This card is inspired by the color challenge over at SCS and then I'm submitting it for this weeks Unscripted Sketches.  Again this card is from my scrap box.  You would think as much as I'm using the scrap box these days it would be dwindling....HA!  It looks like I haven't touched it.

Of course both these cards go towards the 100 Cards/Projects in 100 Days challenge.  I can't believe I'm up to 27 cards now!  (I made 10 yesterday morning before work for a swap).

Enjoy your day and don't forget to count your blessings!

Late Night Cards

Last night was a late one....struggling with insomnia.  Usually I have one night a week for that and it does tend to be Friday nights.  Not sure if it's because after working all week my mind just going a mile a minute and keeps me up.  But whatever the reason, last night I decided to spend some time in my craft room playing. 

Off course all three of these cards go towards the 100 Cards/Projects in 100 Days Challenge over at SCS.  I'm up to 15 different cards in 12 days....one of them I made several cards so really I have made 17 cards in 12 days.  Hopefully I can keep this pace up!  We'll see.

This week the 'ABC' Challenge was a CAS card.  When I saw the challenge, I thought "oh-no!"  Why is it that CAS cards are so difficult?  Although who knows, maybe all my cards could be considered CAS compared to some that I have seen.  There are such beautiful cards out there with so much stuff on them....I can never figure out how to do those either.  Anyway, at first I wasn't even going to attempt it - even thought "maybe this challenge stuff isn't for me after all"...but then I figured I'd give it a shot.  And guess what?  I'm really happy with how it turned out!  Really happy - especially since I even used a stamp set that I have never used.  Confession time - the set is even starting to discolor I've had it so long....LOL!!  So not only was a I very pleased with the card, but it also helped with my goal of using the stamps I have never used!

The next card I made was for a challenge blog I stumbled upon this week:  Shopping Our Stash.  I'm super excited about finding this challenge because it will also go along with my goals for this year - using what I have instead of purchasing something new.  The challenge was to use buttons -but not just any buttons....the oldest buttons we have!  Now I can't say for sure that the buttons on this card are the oldest I have in my stash...but they sure are close!

 The card is also for another challenge I stumbled on this week:  Totally Papercrafts whose challenge this week was to use ribbon.  Now this is right up my ally too!  I have LOTS of ribbon and love to use it!!!

And I guess "3rd Time is the Charm" so to speak because this is also the card I submitted for the Color Combination Challenge over at SCS.

 

 

 

The last card I made was one that I had previously cut out the pieces parts and colored the image, but never completed.  I remembered it when I came across another challenge yesterday:  Craft Us Crazy.  The challenge was to be inspired by an image that had a sewing theme....so out pops Cocoa from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.

 

 

 

So that was my evening in my craft room.  After that I was able to sleep.  Amazing how "Craft Therapy" works.  Have a blessed day!!!

Two in One Day

I don't know what has got my mojo going lately but I hope it keeps going!  Maybe it's because it's winter here in my neck of the woods and hard to get outside to enjoy the outdoors.  Ah, but winter is mild so far - this weekend we are supposed to be flirting with 60 degree temps which is very warm for January here. 

Today I have 2 cards to post for 2 different challenges.  The first is for the Twist of Faith challenge.  The challenge was to use a sketch.  As with my theme for cards this year, I headed off to my stash of pieces parts and found a couple strings of bakers twine that I had saved and a sentiment that a friend had sent me.  Since the bakers twine was blue & white and the sentiment was printed in brown ink on blue paper the colors were determined and I went searching for DSP.  While I couldn't find any DSP in my pieces parts box, I did have a 6x6 pad by Basic Grey that I received in a swap a year or so ago.  So here is what I came up with:

 

 

The next challenge I took yesterday was for the Loves Rubber Stamps challenge to use punches or die cuts.  Now I must confess here that this is not something I'm very comfortable with....I have some punches but have never used them much.  And while I don't think I could live without my Cuttlebug, I use it mostly for embossing and using Nesties more for framing images rather than actually being the image....that doesn't make much sense but hopefully you get the idea.  I remembered that I had some die cuts that were part of kit from Annie's Attic Kit of the Month for cards.  Once I found them the colors were determined because of the printing on the die cuts.  I'm usually not good at using brighter colors, but I do like how this turned out.  Who knows - it might be a new things for me to use bright colors instead of sticking to pastels and earth tones....never know! 

 



Sparkling Flowers

The challenge over at Use It Tuesday this week is "Make It Sparkle".  I knew I had to participate because I love to add a little "sparkle" to flowers when I have them in an image.  Using glitter paper was a thought too - but it seems like every time I use anything with glitter, I wind up having at least one kitty that is glistening for days!  So no glitter paper this time....just some bling on the flowers.  The image is from a card kit I received in December and the papers are from a swap early last year or the year before that.  Have a blessed day!!!!!

Color Blocking

Good morning!  I meant to get this posted yesterday but my pillow was calling me last night!  LOL!  Yesterday was the day for the Twisted Tuesday Challenge and this week was Color Blocking.  The twist was to use 3 colors.  Once I again I went to my stash to find things to use.  The image was an image that I had stamped about a year ago...I believe it's an Inkadoo stamp.  The DSP is from a mini pad that my Auntie M gave me years and years ago...yes, I still had a few sheets.  And as for the ribbon - who knows where that came from.  Did I ever mention that I have a thing for ribbon?  Oh, it's really bad.  I have a bin FULL (and when I say full, I mean can't-put-the-lid-on full) bin of new rolls of ribbon and then one of those plastic shoe-boxes full of extra pieces and parts that are off rolls or left over - some a few inches and some are yards and yards long.  Anyway, the ribbon was from my shoe-box of pieces.  This card didn't photo all that great since the colors are more pastel but at least you get the point.  Have a blessed day!

White on White

Today's card is something I have never done but have always admired in the galleries at SCS.  This card is going to be combo submission: 

• 100 Cards/Projects in 100 Days
• Mojo Monday
• Shopping Your Stash - Challenge 83

It doesn't show up real good in the picture but I embossed the two layers and then used a Nestie and stamped the sentiment on it.  (One of these days I'll get better at describing the cards and how I made them).

Have a blessed day!

Twisted Tuesday Challenge

When I saw the sketch for the Twisted Tuesday Challenge, I thought there was no way I was going to enter this week.  I had no idea....my mind just couldn't come up with anything.  But then I remembered these buttons that I had and thought they would work nicely....so off to my box of past images I went to use another one that I already had and found one that would be perfect.  Then I went to the box of pieces-parts of DSP I save (did I mention that I have a problem throwing anything away?) and my box of ribbon pieces...and next thing you know - a card was born!  This is also my card for the 100 Cards/Projects in 100 Days Challenge over at SCS.  Have a blessed day!!!!

Crafty Gals Blog Hop

One of the great things that happened recently is that I joined the Crafty Gals Blog Group over at SCS.  Joining a blog group was something that I definitely wanted to do when I started this blog and I couldn't have joined a better group!  These ladies are WONDERFUL!!!  Of course once you check out their blogs you'll see that their work far surpasses mine but it's a way that I can be challenged to increase my crafting ability. 

Today is the day to post for January and the theme is "Anything Goes" which meant that we can share absolutely anything we are working on.  While I would love to say that I am working on a great ABC (anything but a card) project, my big project right now is trying to increase my personal card stash and complete the 100 cards in 100 days challenge.  I need the cards for a couple reasons:

1. I make cards for Community Pregnancy Center (our local pregnancy center).  I make a various assortment of cards for them (Thank You, Birthday, Baby, Praying for You), but I cannot keep up with the need.
2. Our "Angel of Grace" program at church - which is our version of Secret Sisters.  Last year I was completely out of my mind and took on FIVE!  This year I realized I had to scale back a bit - so I only have four.  LOL!!

So here are the cards that I made just this morning:

This card I used the sketch from this weeks Sketch Challenge over at SCS.  The image was one from my collection box and the papers were some left over from other projects.  I'm always trying to reuse stuff so the ribbon on this card is from a Bath & Body Works gift set I received for Christmas.

 

I love cats and had made a card like this one before and had cut out enough of the image to make several more - so I pulled out that card kit and made one this morning. 

 

Keeping in the pinks I made this card for Valentine's Day.  There is a sentiment on the inside along with a strip of the paper.

 

Lastly is a simple card but I thought the sentiment packed a big enough punch that it didn't need a lot more added to it. 

 

 

So now that I've posted my creations for the day, I'm off to see what everyone else has created.  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a very blessed day!!!!

Inkspirational Challenge #1

While I was nosing around the blog world this evening I came across Inkspirational.  The challenge for this week is a color challenge:

 

 

 

So I figured why not attempt this along with the 100 cards in 100 days challenge.  Now if you know me at all, you will know I have a love of cats...I guess that is why we have two inside and then feed 6 strays outside.  If we could, we could take them in but we can't.  Ah, but that is another story for another day.  On to the card I made:

 

 

....and I also put an inside greeting:

 

 

 

I wish I could tell you the image name but I can't.  It came from my basket of stamped images that I've had for quite some time.  I'm trying to use them in my cards now - it's part of my "using what I have" plan for 2013.  Enjoy!

 



 



Happy New Year!!!!

2013 has arrived!  I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve.  Mine was outstanding!  We went to our Watch Night Service at church and the service was beautiful.  The evening ended with communion and I can't think of a better way to usher in the New Year! 

Today is the last day of vacation for me - it's back to work tomorrow.  I'm ready tough.  It's nice being off and spending time at home.  But I do enjoy my job.  I'm truly blessed.

Another great way to start the year off is spending time in my craft room and that's what I have done this morning.  This card was made for the Color Combination Challenge over at SCS.  The colors were Gold, Silver, and White with the extra challenge of making the card an anniversary or wedding card.  I knew I had to participate in that color scheme because I had some metallic cardstock that would be great!  And I even drug out the old punches for the card.  Of course I had to wipe the dust off of them first...,.and then dig through them to find the heart one (which of course was all the way at the bottom!).  I also followed the theme of the card into the inside.  I've never done much with the insides of cards - usually left them blank.  But I want to start doing more on the inside too.  This is also card 1 of 100 in 100 days.

Enjoy your first day of the New Year!  And don't give up on those resolutions yet!