Merry Christmas

Hi Everyone,

Another week is in full swing, and I'm so sorry to see the summer winding down.  Lucky for me the weather this week is fantastic, so we are enjoying dining outside, having bonfires and soaking up some vitamin D via the sunshine!

I'm sharing another Christmas card with you today.  Since I know a lot of golfers, I decided to use the Golf Ball Snowman stamp from DRS Designs to make some more cards.  He's just so cute and since he's supposed to be white, super quick to color :)

The Easy Dot background and the new Christmas Multi Greeting were used to create my backing papers.  I simply went traditional in red and green ink, and also used the small Merry Christmas from that same background stamp to make the little flag greeting.  I love that candy cane striped paper clip.  I hope you do too, because there were a number of them in the package, so you may be seeing me use them again before the holidays are over!

The patterned strip above the punched border is a piece of holiday washi tape. I was trying to keep the card on the masculine side, and wanted to avoid using ribbon or a bow.

So, to wrap thing up...Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you want to try and win some DRS Designs stamps, check out our "Balloons" challenge here. And, be sure to read up on the OWH card drive by clicking here!

Enjoy the week!

Karin

Challenges for this card:

Eureka Stamps-Anything Goes

House of Gilli-Add a Sentiment

Lollipop Crafts-Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp & Show-Anything Goes

Tammy's Scrapin Corner-Anything Goes

Crazy Challenge-Anything Goes

Whoopsi Daisy-Anything Goes
Challenge Up Your Life-Summer Christmas

Our Creative Corner-Office Supplies and Red

Christmas Stampin All Year Long-Make Patterned Paper

Crafty Ann's-Christmas or Olympics

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Georgia Pacific white, Ink: Stampin' Up!, Memento Tuxedo Black, Markers: Copic, Punch and Washi Tape: Martha Stewart, Paper Clip: Smash Book.

 

Sending Happy Thoughts

Hi Everyone,

DRS Designs is the sponsor this week over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  So if you want a chance at a $10.00 voucher, link up your card and play along.

Here is the verse for this week:

John 14:1-6 "Do not let your heart be troubled;believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 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 you know the way where I am going."

So the challenge is to make a card that says, "HOME" to you. 

This is a card I made for a blog friend a couple of weeks ago and I thought I would support the challenge with it today.  Since daises are one of the flowers in my yard that the deer didn't eat this year, I always think of my home when I see them anywhere. And being at home always makes me happy, so the sentiment fits too.

Here are the two stamps I used on today's card:

Medium Daisy Bloom

One Line Happy Thoughts

And a better shot of the Stickles I used.  (I know, I use them a lot :))

Thanks for stopping by today :)  Have a good one!

Other Challenges for this card:
Paper Pretties-Anything Goes
Crazy Challenge-Black, white & one other color
Victorine Originals-Bling
Whoopsi Daisy-Anything Goes
Catered Crop-Use White
No Matter Which-Anything Goes
One Stitch At A Time-Anything Goes
Sentimental Sundays-CAS & Sentiment
Casual Fridays-CAS & Square

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Marker: Copic, Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ribbon from my supplies.

Don't let your age bug you...

Hi Everyone,

One of the best things about stamping and blogging is the people you "meet" along the way.  One of my blog friends is having a birthday, and while I've never met her in real life, I know we'd get along famously.  I'm banking on the fact that she has a wonderful sense of humor online, that this is the case in person as well.  Because she will need it when she gets this card.

I grabbed my funny Hambo Stamps to make her card and decided to check the challenge over at the Hambo Hoedown this week.  It's "use 2 colors from the 5 Olympic rings in your creation."  Great.  Red and black will work with this goofy ladybug  (2713) and funny age wisecrack (0512), I thought.  Sadly, no.  The papers that I chose just make it look vampire-ish and halloweeny. Sigh.  Not the birthday creation I had in mind...lol!  Win some, lose some, right?

Anyway, I didn't let the weirdness of it stop me, so I dotted that bug with some black Stickles and I'm mailing it anyhow!

Thanks for stopping by to check on me and my wacky card :) Have a good rest of the weekend! 

Other challenges for this card:

Speedy and Friends-Dots

Clearly Inspried-Things with wings

Crafty Catz-Anything Goes

Wags N Wiskers-Birthday

Simply Create-Anything Goes

Crafty Ribbons-Spots n Dots

Details not listed above-Paper: Bazzill, Lilly Bee, Dies: Papertrey Ink, Spellbinders Punches:Stampin' Up, Martha Stewart, Ink: Memento, Markers: Copic, Ribbon: Offray

Winter Cheer

Hi All,

Well, better late than never right? I usually post a card made with my DRS Designs stamps on Tuesdays, but the week got the better of me!  Still I'm here today showing off some more of the holiday stamps from the most recent release.

My blue and white card was made with the following stamps:

White Christmas Text (on the bottom layer)

4 in 1 Snowflakes

Snowflakes and Winter Cheer (Sentiment)

Tiny Snowman (Stamped in light blue)

I added a strip of glitter to the base along the top of the stamped script, and some sparkly snowflakes for embellishments. (Tear-iffic Tape and Sticker Paper courtesy of Sparkle N Sprinkle :) )

I'm semi scared at how fast the month of August is flying by, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself yet.  It is still summer and I want to enjoy what's left of it as much as possible. My niece already left for college this week.  She will begin grad school and she gets her "White Coat" in a ceremony next week. I gave her my last zucchini bread, so I'm off to bake some more.  If I had a garden, it's one thing I would never grow because people are always giving it to me...lol! 

The fun challenge at the DRS Designs blog this week is "Wheels"...So show us anything from cars, to wagons, to bikes...well, you get the idea!

Thanks for dropping by :) 

Challenges for this card:

Art Impressions-Use a Sentiment

Little Miss Muffet-Scallops

Paper Crafting Journey-Anything Goes

Samuel Taylors-Blue & White Christmas cards

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Die: Spellbinders, Glitter and Punch: Martha Stewart, Ink: Stampin' Up!

Have a Nice Day

Hi Everyone,

I wanted you to know that today begins the Furry Friends blog hop over at Sparkle N Sprinkle.  If you are an animal lover, I know you won't want to miss it.  Lots of great sets are on sale in the shop, and you'll have a chance at some terrific prizes by leaving comments along the way.  You can start the hop by clicking here.

I'm taking some time off from the team this summer, so I'm not participating, but I do have a card that I made awhile ago that I never got to share with you.  While he's not furry, he is an animal, so I thought I would post him today to help spread the word about the hop :) .

This was made using the stamp set Tropical (#158) and Silver Pearl (EP391), Tuscan Star (EP426), and Clear Detail (EP280) embossing powders.  Full card details can be found in my card gallery at Sparkle N Sprinkle.

Thanks for dropping in today and I'm off to do the hop myself and see what creative things my team mates have made!

Challenges for this card:

Crafting for all Seasons-Splash Me/Water

Inky Impressions-Embossing

Bearly Mine-Anything Goes

Crazy Amigo-Dies and Punches

Creative Card Crew-Under the Sea

Die Cuttin Divas-Anything Goes with a die

Party Time Tuesdays-Anything Goes

Twisted Tuesday-Anything Goes

Let it Snow

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend.  We got to spend some time with my best friend from high school and her husband.  It was a beautiful evening spent picnicking under the stars, listening to the Cleveland Orchestra.  It's one of my favorite summer traditions.  Rod and I also went out for breakfast on Sunday and while I spent some time outside reading (Rules of Civility
by Amor Towels), I watched this butterfly flit around my flowers for a good 20 minutes.  I need to remember this weekend when I'm knee deep in snow come January...lol.

Now that you are caught up, I have to let you know that new stamps for the Christmas holidays were released over at DRS Designs, and the design team finally gets to show them off :)

This Large Snowman Portrait stamp isn't new, but I've never had the chance to use it....Isn't he the cutest?!  I have no idea what took me so long!  I layered him on the Circle Spiro and used the 4 in 1 Snowflakes for the background.

I dry embossed the bottom of the background, added a stip of washi tape, and the Let It Snow sentiment from the new releases as my sentiment for the card.

To see more cards made with the newly released stamps, check out our current Christmas card challenge at the DRS Designs blog :)

Have a good day!

Challenges for this card:

Addicted to Stamps-Christmas in July

Catered Crop-Washi Tape

Great Impressions-Coloring

2 Sisters-Christmas in July

Sweet Stampin-Christmas in July

Aud Sentiments-Sentiment on a tag

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Markers: Copic, Die: Spellbinders, Embossing Folder and embellsihments: Darice, Ink: Memento, Stampin' Up, Washi Tape: Martha Stewart

Santa Challenge

Hi Everyone,

I'm sharing the card I made for the current challenge at the DRS Designs blog.  We are still celebrating Christmas in July, and the theme this week is "Santa". 

I used the Open Plaid for the candy cane strip on the side and the Christmas Music for my background.  I die cut the Jingle Bell Greeting and fussy cut my Santa Face. Of course it wouldn't be complete unless I added Stickles to the hat :) 

 

The Single Jingle Bell was stamped on grey paper and embossed with silver embossing powder, and I used a silver gel pen to add doodle dots to the border along the side. I'll share a little secret.  That bell was an unused item from my holiday card making last year.  Score!  I knew it would come in handy sooner or later. 

So, if your looking to beat the heat in a no calorie way, join us for the Santa challenge at DRS and cool off by making a holiday card!

 

Have a good one :)

 

Challenges for this card:

Addicted to Stamps-Christmas in July

Quirky Crafts-Christmas in July

Marks Finest Papers-Christmas in July

Annabelle Stamps-Christmas

Jellypark-Christmas in July

Stampin with the Dragon-Christmas in July

 

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Dies: Spellbinders, Punch: Stampin' Up, Ink: Memento, Stampin' Up!, Twine from my supplies.

Bits of Business

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to pop in today to pass along some things that may be of interest to you crafty blog friends.

I didn't get a chance to make a card, but DRS Designs is the sponsor at the Play Date Cafe and there is still some time to play along with the following inspiration photo.  Full details can be found at the Play Date blog.

Also, I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from the Sparkle N Sprinkle design team, so while I won't be participating, I wanted to make sure you knew about the next blog hop.  There are always great prizes of glitters and stamps, so mark your calenders for the date and have fun!

Oh, and the DT call for Sparkle N Sprinkle is still open until the end of this week.  You can find all the details here.

Have a good day!



Bloggers Guilt

Hi All,

Yes, it's true.  I've had Bloggers guilt lately.  Not only is my mojo nowhere to be seen, I really haven't had much desire to say anything.  I've even been a lousy visitor/commenter.  I'm trying not to analyze it too, too much and I'm just hoping that when the summer wraps, I will feel like my old crafty self.  Crossing one bridge at a time.

Anyway, if you are still visiting me, I'm making a bit of progress with my ankle.  With the help of Motrin, I went on two short walks the last couple of days, and I'm knocking on wood that my first walk tomorrow with my dad, will go ok.  He hasn't said it, he's a man of few words, but I know by what he didn't say, that he's missed seeing me each morning these past three weeks.  I've come to realize that just like kids, he likes a routine :) 

Anyway, what seems like forever ago, I bought some stamps from Hambo with the best of intentions of making lots of stuff.  I even stamped off some images and had them on my craft table for when the mood hit. But, if you read that first paragraph, you know where I'm at. Well, someone that works in my hubby's department had a birthday, so I took that chance to finally use the Silly Birds image.

Thank God for a cute stamp and funny sentiment, (Also from Hambo Stamps) because that's all this card has going for it. "Can it BE any more plain?!" <--- Must be read in a Chandler Bing voice...

Their current challenge at the Hambo Hoedown is punches, so since I layered my sentiment with said punches, I'm linking up there. 

Thanks for popping in...Enjoy what's left of your weekend and I'll see you next week!

Other challenges for this card:

Great Impressions-Coloring

Joanna Sheen Challenge-Animals

Come and Get it -Bingo (Punches, Free space, bling-Stickles on birds hat)

ATC & Cards with Attitude-Anything Goes

Fat Pages and Cards-Anything Goes

The Stamp Man-Anything Goes with Summer Colors

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Georgia Pacific White, Ribbon: Offray, Embossing Folder: Provocraft, Circle Punches: EK Success, Markers: Copic, Stickles.

Blue Christmas/Winter

Hi Everyone,

We are continuing to celebrate Christmas in July at the DRS Designs blog with our current challenge.  The theme this week is "Blue Christmas/Winter."  Get a jump on your holiday card making and join us.  You might even win a prize!

For certain this will be my golf obsessed Dad's card this Christmas. When this was done, the first words out of my husband's mouth were, "So, did you make that for your dad?"  lol!

The Golf Ball Snowman really is cute, I just wish I had colored the tee blue too.  What was I thinking?  Oh well.

As usual, I used my DRS Designs background stamps to create my papers:

4 in 1 Snowflakes

Polka Dot Background

After stamping the polka dots across the top, I stamped the snowflakes off on a piece of paper first, and then back on top of  the dots.  I just wanted them a lighter shade, so that the dots would show through.

The Small Happy Holidays greeting was layered using my circle punches and I glittered up the bottom layer to make it look like a snowball.

 Well, lots of busy stuff  going on.  It's Vacation Bible School this week at my church, and as usual I'm one of the volunteers. I'm also on the hunt for some new lamps.  I promised my niece she could have my current ones for her new apartment, so let's hope I can find something I like in a hurry :)  Also, I'm still trying to nurse my ankle.  It's still not up to snuff, so my fingers are crossed that if I baby it a little more, I'll get back to exercising next week.

Have a good one!



Winners Announced

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to pop in to say, the winners from the Sparkle N Sprinkle Christmas in July blog hop have been posted over on their blog.  One of the winners came from my blog, so you may have been one of the lucky ones!  Check here for prizes and all the details on how to claim them!

Congrats to all the winners and thanks so much for all your sweet comments!

Have a great Sunday :)

Christmas in July Hop with Sparkle N Sprinkle

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle Christmas in July blog hop!

  If you hopped here by way of Marie, then you’re in the right place! Otherwise, you might like
starting from the beginning at the Sparkle N Sprinkle blog, to become eligible for one of the FIVE great prizes.     

Both of my card shares for the hop use stamps from the set named Christmas Flamingo ( #343)., which is on sale this month too :)   I added some pink glittery snowflakes, (made with Sticker Paper (99558) and Shell Pink Glitter (G1022)) and some seam binding ribbon for embellishments. 

And this photo shows off the Waterscape Glitter (G1108) I used on his santa hat and the embossed sentiment using Sangria (EP420) embossing powder.

This snowman reflects how I feel after the new year...lol!  When the holidays are over, and we are knee deep in snow and freezing temps, I want to head south too :)

Here I want to highlight a cool new product named Mudd Puddles, being carried at Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I used Blizzard Beach for my snow, and it added a great bit of grainy texture to my card.  Easy to use too, just scoop it out of the jar, put it where you want and let it dry. Comes in loads of colors as well.  

Full details for both cards can be found in my gallery right here.

Do you love glitter, stamps and embossing powder?  If so, Sparkle N Sprinkle is having a DESIGN TEAM CALL!  Check out all of the details here.

And a personal thank you and shout out to my friend Cheryl, I finally got around to using some of the paper I won in her giveaway awhile ago....I especially love how cute the pink non holiday paper looks on the first one! 

Thanks for visiting and remember to leave a comment to be eligible for a prize...Three of the prizes will be chosen from among the comments on the DT blogs....

The next stop along the hop is Angie and below is a list of the blog hop order, just in case there is a glitch along the way.

Karalee Ingram http://kareescardsandcraftsofcourse.blogspot.com

April Williams http://stampwillydesigns.blogspot.com

Jill Jacobsen http://www.stampinghands.com

Julie Zippel http://backtobasicsandbeyond.blogspot.com

Shanna Shands http://scsdesigns.blogspot.com

Barbara Bruder http://www.artandsoulcreations.blogspot.com

Shona Erlenborn http://shonasstampingstage.blogspot.com

Marie Berquist http://craftemarie.blogspot.com

Karin Martin http://karin-withaniforpaper.blogspot.com

Angie Blasingame http://hopemorestudio.blogspot.com

Gerlinde Townsley http://mycreativecorner-gerlinde.blogspot.com

Brenda Smalle http://rubberroomantics.blogspot.com

Sweet Summer Birthday

Hi Everyone,

How's this for a cute summer birthday card?! The minute I received the new Watermelon Border stamp, from DRS Designs, I knew I wanted to pair it with that daring little ant on the stamp named Watermelon and Friend :) Nothing says summer more than some cold, juicy watermelon, and the image just screams picnic. So, why not a picnic for a summer birthday party theme?

I created the background using various background stamps which are:

Interlocking Circles

Easy Dot Background

Watermelon Border (Yes, the same one from up the side, just not colored in!)

I layered up the Tiny Happy Birthday using a few circle punches and attached it with a pop dot for some depth. Other than that, this one is nice and post office friendly...lol!

Thanks for dropping in today and don't forget to join us every Thursday for the challenges, ath the DRS Designs blog!

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Georgia Pacific White, Ink: Versafine, Memento, Punches: Martha Stewart, EK Success, Markers: Copic

Stars and Stripes

Hi Everyone,

Stars and Stripes is the new challenge over at the DRS Designs blog.  It's perfect if you live in the USA and are making patriotic themed creations right now.

Here's my card share using the Proud Pledge Boy and the Stars and Stripes Forever stamp for my background.

Sorry I have to be brief.  Bad news on my end over here, I recently re-injured my ankle running the other day.  I went to the emergency room because I thought it was broken, so I guess it's good news that it's just degenerative bone disease that's causing it!?.  I'm going to the orthopedic doc for a follow up, so until then I'm on crutches with my foot up. Pray that I won't need surgery :(  The hubby said I should just ask for a leg transplant :P

Well, for all my USA friends, have a safe and Happy 4th and hope to see you at the challenge!

Other challenges for this card:
Amusing Challenges-Red, white and blue

Crafting When We Can-Summer Fun

Gingerloft-Red, white and blue

Kenny K-Patriotic

Sentimental Sundays-Be Patriotic

2 Sisters-Red, white and blue

Catch the Bug-Summer or 4th

My Sheri Crafts-I love America

Sweet Stampin-Scallops

Card Makin Mamas-Red white and blue

Bloggers Challenge-Patriotic

Chocolate Coffee and Cards-Anything Goes

Patties Creations-Red white and blue

Stampin with the Dragon-Red white and blue

Details not listed above-Paper: The Paper Company, Georgia Pacific white, Ink: Memento, Stampin Up, Punch: Stampin Up, Markers: Copic, white gel pen, Pop dots, gems and brads from my supplies.