Friday, December 31, 2010

My Favorite 5 from 2010...

Hello, I'm playing along with Debby, of A Scrapjourney and showing my favorite cards from 2010. And just as she was unable to get it down to five, I couldn't decide either, so I cut it off at six, also (I almost did seven, but I didn't want to be too far off the mark).

This was the anniversary card I made for my DH. He still has it displayed on the mantle even though our anniversary was in October, so I know he really likes it, which of course makes my heart warm.

This little girl from LOTV, is one of my favorites. It's also one of the first that I dressed up as much as I've ever done before. The colors were more red than they show on this card, as red is one of my favorite colors.
This card I did for my niece's wedding just last month. I've had this image for some time, but just had no occasions to use it. I was apparently in my "blue" spell when I did this one, because so many of my cards done around this time period were done in some shade of blue. This was an easel card also, which I really enjoy doing.

I did this card because I have always thought he was so cute. (You might have picked up on the fact that I really like images from LOTV; and you would be correct, in fact I have my eye on a couple more that I really, really need {want}. LOL!)

I chose this one, because it's the first one that I've done using the cameo style. It was so easy to accomplish on my Cricut, and I had wonderful papers to set it off. I enjoy coming up with different cards.

And last, but not really least this is another of my favorites that I only used Cricut cuts to make the card. I did do some coloring with my Prismacolors on certain elements of the card, I just liked how it turned out. It was for my DD and her husband for their anniversary this year, and I knew they would really enjoy it since a few years ago they actually did get to visit Paris and parts of Spain.


Now why not hop on over to Debby's and see what you need to do to win some candy. I hope you enjoyed looking at my favorites, also. I hope that everyone has a safe year.

Hugs,

dj

Friday, December 24, 2010

TCC Feature Friday - Pax the Penguin

Doesn't he have an adorable smile? He looks like he would really like to cheer you up. I think he's one of the cutest images over at The Caracter Cafe's Store. You ought to stop over there as most of the images are $1 for now.
Then you could stop by and see what the rest of the DT came up with this week. These wonderful ladies offer much inspiration for all of us. And the designers Kendra & Kelly are awesome artists. Fink is great as a manager, and so much fun. It's been fun working with them all.

This little guy's name is Pax the penguin. I used a product that is new to me called "Snow Writer" by DecoArt, which I ordered online from Joann's and used it on the raised areas on the ice. The snowflakes are ones I bought at HL a few weeks ago, they have so much glitter on them, I have it all over my table and me. (You didn't know I sparkled, did you? LOL.) The buttons were also purchased from Joann's, and they were called Bag 'O Buttons. I used one of my new around-the-page punches from MS. (I was so excited that I had 60% coupons from A.C. Moore that my husband and I used; that way I could justify getting two at once; he even agreed with me - He's soooo sweet!) The sentiment is from "The Doodle Pantry".

I actually found quite a few challenges to join this week; it wasn't easy without the aid of "Feline Playful", but many are using anything goes, since it's the end of the year and everyone is so busy. Here are the ones I'm entering:

Mark's Finest Papers - mustard, blue and green
Stamp Fairy Challenge - anything
Dancing In Pajamas - sketch
There She Goes Again Clear Stamps - buttons
Papertake Weekly - anything
Tuesday Morning Sketches - embellishments
The Crafty Pad - anything
All That Scraps - song (The Penguin Song - from Happy Feet)
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - anything
Dutch Dare Card Challenges - winter
Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog - anything
Sugar Sweet Paper Treats - anything
Studio 313 Challenge - bling
Alota Rubber Stamps - bling
Allsorts Challenge - anything
Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT Challenge - song title - (The Penguin Song)
Crafty Sentiments - anything
Crafts and Me Challenges - anything
Craft Your Days Away - punch
Wags 'n Whiskers Rubber Stamps - snowflakes
Totally Gorjus - for someone special (a friend who is under the weather)
One Stitch at a Time Challenge - anything
The Pink Elephant Challenge - winter
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - sparkle & shine
Gingerloft Challenge - polar animals

Whew, now I can rest my hands. (Of course, it's going to be just as timely when I link to the blogs.) It sure would be nice to win at least one challenge. But, if not, it's been fun. Hope you will leave me a comment.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

She thinks my tractor's sexy...

I guess that got the attention of some of you, LOL! It is the only thing I could think of for the "inspired by a song" challenge I'm entering this week.




I made this for a friend that has had a rough year, healthwise. He had part of a lung removed last week, a few months before that he had back surgery, and before that he had cancer. And if he's not been sick, his sweet wife has had some kind of surgery. She suffers with Chrones Disease, as well as, other issues. He has always wanted a Farmall Cub tractor. This isn't a cub, but it's the closest I could get. I gave his wife one of the cards I did earlier in the year, since she's the care-giver at this time. (I know that the care-giver does much and doesn't always take care of themselves.)

I colored the image with my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Unfortunately I can't remember who made the image. (Once I find it, I will post the name.) The papers are from my stash. I used black raffia lace, and printed a calendar template that I downloaded off the internet.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Sentimental Sundays - inspired by a song

Wood Ware USA - sketch

The Crafty Pad - anything

AI Factory Challenges - anything

Crafty Ann's Challenge - anything

Allsorts Challenge - anything

Crafty Sentiments - anything

CES Challenges - anything

One Stitch At A Time - anything

Thank you for stopping by this year and leaving the wonderful and encouraging comments.

Hugs,

dj1952

Friday, December 17, 2010

TCC Feature Friday - Dazzling December

This is my card for this week's Feature Friday. This is one of the newest images called sledding. This month the challenges are calling for "Dazzling" details. This week calls for foil, or some type of reflective material. I actually did use foil. I took two sheets of heavy foil and ran both together through my cuttlebug. I find that this keeps the foil from tearing. I really like this new folder by Provocraft, and I thought it would go well on a card for a guy.

This is a very simple card; in fact the embossed papers, the snowflake paper using the MS punch, Cherish, and a couple sheets of plain cardstock is all that's been used. I colored this with my Prismacolours and then use "Star Dust" stickles on the snow.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Bee Crafty - winter

Catch The Bug Blog - winter with glitter

CES Challenges - anything but Christmas

Totally Gorjuss - snow

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - winter

Corrosive Challenges - sketch

Woodware USA Clear Stamps - winter

Creative Card Crew - anything

Crafty Sentiments - anything

Moving Along With Times - snow

Stamping With the Dragon - sparkle

AI Factory Challenges - anything

Dutch Dare Card Challenges - winter

Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps - snowflakes

One Stitch At A Time - anything

Bunny Zoe's Crafts Challenge - sparkle & shine

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - blue, silver and white

The Pink Elephant Challenge - winter wonderland

Stampin Royalty - bling

Thanks for taking time to stop by. I hope you will leave a comment.

Hugs,

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A rainy day...

I made this card for a friend who went through a rough patch last week. I wanted her to know that we care about how she feels, and that with time, things do get easier to handle.

Close up of little girl. Close up of ribbon and purse.
Close up of sentiment and flowers.
I made up the sentiment, and on the inside it says: "The sun will shine again any day now." I did paper piecing with the top of the umbrella and her raincoat. I'm not sure where I got all of my embellishments; this is the first time I've put a metal embellishment on a card. I used stickles on the puddle of water and the rain drops. The papers are all by K&Co.

This is one of the stamps by Crafter's Companion. I thought she was so precious. They also come with their own sentiment, but it was a little too large for this card. I used Promarkers to color the image.
I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Create With Connie & Mary - colors razzleberry, olive, navy and river rock
Totally Paper Crafts - paper piecing
Delicious Doodles Challenge - recipe - 1 image, 2 DP, 3 embellishments
Mark's Finest Papers - paper piecing
Sweet Stampin - recipe - 1 image, 3 DP, 2 embellishments
Stamps R Us - anything
Hope you have a great week and thank you for any comments you might leave.
Hugs,

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Thank you notes

Since I got home from the hospital last month, I have had several friends bring dinners, etc. over for me and my husband. I usually send out the larger cards I make, but I thought I would actually make some smaller ones to have on hand. I thought I was doing something that would be fairly easy and not take much time, but boy was I wrong.

The bird in the tree was cut from Cindy Loo, as was the background and the sentiment for it. I used two different color combinations; one with green, orange and brown and one with pink, orange and brown. The ones with the green, are my favorite, because the striped paper below the green gradiate, whereas the one on the pink card is the same on each one. I used a MS punch and the embossing folder was by Cuttlebug.

Even though they took a while to make, I now have it on my DS, so I can cut more as I need them. I hope you enjoyed stopping by and that you will leave me a comment.
I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:
CES Challenges - anything but a Christmas card
The Crafty Pad - anything
Hugs,

Friday, December 10, 2010

Feature Friday at TCC

Hello, and thanks for stopping by to see what's new this week from me at TCC. This image is called: "Snow Friendly". It looks like the little girl is having fun playing around the snowman to me. What do you think? It even looks like he's having a good time. lol

This month at TCC the theme is "Dazzle". This week, the specific dazzle is "Glitter". You might not realize it, but I do have glitter on my card. It's on the snowman's and the little girl's hats. I used my Promarkers to color the image. I'm working on using them more often so I can get better with them (even though I tend to want to drift towards my Prismacolor pencils). I do need to get a few more colors, though. I would recommend them to anyone that wants alcohol markers; especially for the price.

This is another card that doesn't have too many details to it, but I still like the way it turned out. The "ribbon" is some I found at Bunny Zoe's Store. The gems are recollections, and I guess you can tell that I cut the image and the sentiment (that I typed) with my nestibilities. I don't have but one size of each of these sets (the next cut up is 1/4", if there is one), so I used a tip that my friend Dorcas suggested in June, as to "How to Get More Out of Your Nestibilities". The scalloped circle around the snowman was the largest I had. So I cut out around it on my "mat" cardstock. I did the same with the sentiment, even though I did have the next largest frame, I like the "1/8" cut better than the "1/4". Dorcas suggests cutting it free-handed, but my hands aren't that steady anymore, so I traced around the "outside" of the nestibility and then cut it out.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Mojo Monday - sketch

One Stitch At A Time - old stash - paper; new stash - ribbon

The Crafty Pad - anything

Polly Craft Challenge - pink, blue & brown

Craft Your Passion Challenges - anything

There She Goes Clear Stamps - bling

Digital Tuesday - cold outside

Top Tip Tuesday - ribbon

Daring Cardmakers - snow


Thanks again, now stop over to The Character Cafe and see what the other group had done this week.

Hugs,

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Mother's Love

Isn't this a beautiful scene? I've had it for some time now, but have just not done anything with it. I saw it on someone else's card this week, and I knew it was time for me to get mine done also. I purchased this gorgeous image at Prairie Fairy Designs.

The card is really fairly simple. I used nestibilitie to cut around the polar bears and then the matting. I colored the bears with Promarkers. (I threw a couple away before I could get it quite right - lol. It's still a little difficult for me to get the blending quite right on light colors where I don't have a harsh line that you can see where you stopped.) The paper is from my stash as are the snowflakes on the corners. The ribbon is topped by some dimentional fibers. I pop-dotted the bears off a second one, that I used stickles on for the glitter and shine. Thanks for looking.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - sketch

Craft Your Passion Challenges - monochromatic

Craft Your Days Away - texture (on the snowflakes and with the fiber and stickles

Scrap-Creations - anything

A Crafty Little Place - anything

Top Tip Tuesday - anything

Digi Doodle Shop's Best - snow

Cute Card Thursday - blue

Paper Romance Challenges - winter

Sew Many Challenges - snowflakes

Catch The Bug Blog - anything

I hope you will take the time to stop by and leave a comment.

Hugs,

dj

Friday, December 3, 2010

TCC December New Releases

Can you believe that another month has come and gone and that this is the last blog hop for 2010 at The Store? If you've come here from TCC Store, then you are on the right track. Our theme this month is "dazzle". Now all you have to do is make a comment on my blog and then make your way through all of the lovely DT members' blogs, also making a comment for the opportunity to win the image they've used and the grand prize of two TCC digital images and a gift certificate for $5.00. Now you need to hop on over to the talented Joyce and leave some love.

My image is called "Moonrocket". Isn't it neat for a boy who loves rockets, and all things space? I didn't want to make a standard card for this little image, so I did my first ever doorhanger. I had some designer paper by Recollections that I'd bought several months ago that I knew would go perfectly with this image, it's called "Rockets and Sprockets - blast off". I colored the image with similar colors, using my Prismacolors pencils. The sentiment I made up myself, but if you purchase the image, it comes with a cute one of its own. The buttons are from the dollar bins at Michaels and all of the "dazzle" is made with various colors of stickles.

Here's a close up of the image, itself. I'm sure you'll love winning this digi. Just be sure to leave me a comment by Thursday, December 9th, and I will post the winner for it on Friday, December 10th. Best wishes to all our followers and guests, and thanks for making this such a fun year.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

A Crafty Little Place - anything

Top Tip Tuesday - anything

The Corrosive Challenges - things that move.

The Crazy Challenge - on the go

Thanks for stopping by and leaving some love.

Hugs,

dj

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

First Card for Blackberry Lane Designs

My colors aren't showing completely true, but you get the idea of what I was going for. This image is by a fantastic artist, Deborah Boyet, over at Blackberry Lane Designs. While she is just getting her blog up and running she is by no means a stranger to art. She has been painting for several years, and her artwork is awesome. If you check out her blog, you can see what I mean.

I really enjoyed this still life of the camelias. I didn't want to do the traditional pink or red one, and here in North Carolina we have some that look like this. They are so gorgeous. Now I won't say that I did justice to them, but I enjoyed coloring them with my prismacolors and gamsol. I had already picked out the dps because I thought they would go so well together. All of the embellishments are from my stash.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges - script paper (there is very small writing on the tan paper

Paper Sundaes - decorate corners

Sentimental Sundays - sentiment and recipe

Craft Your Passion Challenge - monochromatic (I hope this qualifies since all of the papers have the blue in it,

Woodware USA Clear Stamps - anything

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge - recipe

Scrap Creations - anything

Tuesday Throwdown - anything

I Did It - surprise me

Top Tip Tuesday - anything

Creative Belli Blog - embellishments with an "R"

Thanks for looking. I hope you will leave me some comments.

Hugs,

dj