{use your noodle}

I found the funnest challenge ever!  Check it out.  Eileen Hull is having a fun Noodle Challenge on her blog!  Seriously.  A noodle challenge.  :)  Check out her blog for the story behind this great challenge, it involves one of my favorite places to eat, Noodles & Co and the winner gets a $10 GC! 

I made 2 cards, because that's where my noodles took me.  *laugh*  I was very proud of myself, I didn't run out and buy any fancy noodles, although the thought did cross my mind, instead I used my noodle stash!

Noodle Card #1:  Peace

I soaked a mini farfalle noodle in some Glimmer Mist and then added just a touch of silver ink to the edges when it was dry.  Perfect for this dove's wing!

Noodle Card #2: Winter

I spray painted some elbows white, but at 25 degrees here in Michigan spray painting was a bit tricky!  I wanted them really white, but this is as good as it gets people.  *laugh*  I layered some light molding paste on the bottom of my card and stuck my noodles on it. Added a little glitter and called it swirly noodle snow!

Thanks for an outrageously fun challenge, Eileen! 

{goodbye} ptt

This is my final card post for the Party Time Tuesday challenge blog.  I have had a terrific time working for Kristie and Di-both wonderful & talented gals!  I've loved seeing the cards my fellow DT members create each week.  And most of all, I've loved visiting the blogs of the card makers who take the time each week to make a birthday card!  Thank you one and all for a fabulous time!

The challenge is the ever popular "Anything Goes", just as long as it is a birthday card with a birthday sentiment on the front!  I cant wait to see what you all come up with!

Here's my card:


Some old Scenic Route paper (I miss them, don't you?) and a little Hambly with a giant felt snowflake I bought at Michaels last year.  I just found some pink ones I tucked away.  :)

Happy Tuesday, friends!

{merry christmas}

From my family to yours:

Hope you all have the merriest of merry and the brightest of bright!

Tinsel & twig Tag #9: The Night Before

Tinsel & Twig Tag #10: The Best Gifts

Merry Christmas, friends!

{tag #8} tinsel & twig

Busy day today.  For all of you too, I'm sure.  I will keep it short & sweet.

Tinsel & Twig Tag #8:  Patchwork Stocking

May your day be merry & bright!

{tag #7} tinsel & twig

It is the day before the day before Christmas!  How does that happen?  Seriously. 2010, I hardly knew ya.

What a blur this year has been.  Christmas will be here in 2 days and I still have much to do.  But, I'm enjoying time spent laughing and playing with my boys.  We are going to bake cookies tonight.  And if I'm lucky, I might be able to talk them into a good game of UNO.  UNO is one of those games we can all play and enjoy.  Those kinds of games are hard to find when your oldest is 16 and your youngest is 7.  

I did find a little scrappy time today to finish my tag.  Let's see, 2 days till Christmas and 3 tags left.  Tomorrow will have to be a two-fer!  :)   But for now, I give you this.

Tinsel & Twig Tag #7: Merry Christmas

I hope you are enjoying your holiday festivities!  Thanks for stopping by!

{tag #6} tinsel & twig

I have very exciting news to share!  I made it on The Paper Variety DT!!  What a wonderful Christmas present, and it came early too-just the way I like them!  *laugh*  If you haven't heard of them, here is a little bit about how it all works!  Scrappers, card makers, paper crafters-
all are welcome!!

We are a weekly challenge blog, that offers a little bit of everything for crafters who share our same passion for paper! We hope to inspire you with a wide variety of...

prompts - varying from cards, layouts, and altered projects to embellishment, technique and color challenges, too!

projects - our talented design team brings a mix of different experience, medias, and styles; something for everyone

products - it is amazing how generous the scrapbooking community is! we have a fabulous line up of sponsors for each of our challenges

Here's the lineup..

Wednesdays - a new challenge will be announced, along with design team projects, when you return to enter your project, use the tab at the top of TPV for a direct link back to this post

Fridays - sponsor feature! read about the fabulous prize offered and support their company by browsing other great merchandise they offer

Sundays - submission spotlights; Abby and I are always inspired by what others post and create, we will each feature one of the projects entered in the challenge

Tuesdays - project submissions are due by noon est and random.org will choose a winner for the weekly challenge and prize!
 

If paper and glue is your thing, then come and join us!  A new challenge will be posted January 5, 2011!

 

I also have another tag to share with you.

Tinsel & Twig Tag #6: Wishing You Joy 



Sorry about the title repeat,  not sure what I was thinking.  ;)  I'm not sure how I feel about this tag.  It looks a little "thrown together" to me.  But I digress, it was.  *laugh*  I will try to make tomorrow's tag more worth your while!  :)  I hope you are enjoying the business of the holiday without being overwhelmed by it.

Happy Wednesday, friends and thanks for taking time out of your day to stop by!

{party} in color

Today's challenge over at Party Time Tuesdays is to make a birthday card using the colors red, white and green.  Easy peasy for a holiday week challenge!  Remember to add a birthday sentiment to the front of your card.  Post it by 8:00 Monday, December 27th to be eligible for the Top 3!

Here is my card:

Hope to be back with Tag #6 later!

Happy Tuesday, friends!



{tag #5} tinsel & twig

5 days till Christmas?  Are you ready?  I will be honest, I'm not.  I still have much to do.

Much of it doesn't involve my scrap room, yet I still find myself at my chair playing with paper!

Today's tag is very simple.  Very.  The hardest thing I did was punch the border! 

Tinsel & Tag #4:  Wishing You Joy

Sorry about the lighting, I waited too long to take the photo in my favorite spot.

Happy Monday, friends and thanks for stopping by!

{tag #4} tinsel & twig

I love our Christmas tree.  It holds ornaments made my tiny hands long ago.  It holds ornaments that were gifts that I hold dear.  I love the slow shift in light, from beautiful colors to glorious white.  There is nothing I like more than to sit in our darkened family room and watch the beautiful lights of our tree.  In honor of the magic of Christmas trees everywhere, from Charlie Brown's most humble tree to the beautiful tree at Rockefeller Center in NYC,  I bring you this.

Tinsel & Twig Tag #4: The Magic of Christmas

To make the tree, cut 8 Christmas tree shapes out of 2 different shades of green cardstock.  Fold all but one down the middle using a bone folder.  Position the tree you didn't fold where you like it on the tag.  Apply adhesive to one side of a folded tree and adhere to one side of the tree on the tag.  Adhere one side of the next tree to the one you just placed on your tag.  Continue to do this until you need to glue both sides of the last tree you add.  Add pearls or bling.  I used an old typewriter key as my base.

May the holiday season be full of magic for you, friends!

{tag#3} tinsel & twig

While Christmas shopping earlier this week I popped into the Pottery Barn store. Oh, the inspiration! I love the mix of vintage and modern in their holiday decor. I found an ornament that I adored. It was a loopy snowflake made out of vintage music sheets. It had a glittery center and just exuded vintage loveliness! It must only be available in stores because I cant find a photo of it online.  I was inspired enough by it that I made my version of it for my third Tinsel & Twig tag!

Tinsel & Twig Tag #3: Be Merry

A few close-ups:

Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy Friday, friends!





{tag #2} tinsel & twig

It has been cold here in Michigan this week.  C O L D.  So cold that I'm wearing a coat when I go outside! Wearing a coat is something I rarely do.  If I'm going out to play in the snow, of course I wear a coat.  But on my average run of the mill day I usually can get away without wearing one most of the winter.  Of course, I don't give up my flip flops till the snow makes an appearance.  Yes, I run a little on the warm side. :)

Anyway, the cold and snow inspired Tinsel & Twig Tag #2!  I punched 3 big snowflakes and then layered 2 smaller ones for the centers with a tiny pearl in the middle. I love the spiral sequins. (bought here: Paper Valise, check them out, really good stuff!) Ive had them forever and I really like the texture they provide on this tag.  A simple sentiment from my Dymo, a snowflake button & ribbon and some machine stitching.  

Tinsel & Twig Tag #2: Warm Winter Wishes

Happy Wednesday, friends and thanks for stopping by!

{tag #1} tinsel & twig

I'm a big fan of Margie Romney-Aslett and her Girls' Paperie.  :)  The first time I saw her papers in my LSS I squealed.  Out loud.  Seriously.  Maybe it's because I'm the mom of 3 boys and am surrounded by Legos, Hot Wheels and bouncing balls 24/7.  Maybe I dont have enough pink in my life.  Whatever the reason, I get my girl fix with her lovely collections.  All of them.  Love them.  Her newest line, Tinsel & Twig is no exception!  The colors! The patterns!  Those snowflake embellies!  Be still my heart! So much love.

I bought many sheets of the Tinsel & Twig paper.  Many. I do my best work on a smaller scale, cards specifically.  So I thought I would try 10 tags of Tinsel & Twig for a little blog project!  I want to work with this paper, but with the business of the holidays time is short and layouts are few.  The tags will be a good way to get my girl fix and use the product before Christmas 2011.  :) 

My first tag was featured yesterday in the Scrapbook News and Review 12 Days of Christmas newsletter. I am a new staffer there and am thrilled to have my first projects in this month's online Holiday Sampler. 

Tinsel & Twig Tag #1

I actually used scraps from a layout that I did for SNR.  I inked up a very white doily with some Antique Linen Distress Ink with a technique I picked up on Tim's Blog.

First, stamp your ink pad on the craft mat a few times:

Spritz some water over the ink:

Swipe the doily across the mat a couple times:

So easy.

The plan is to have 9 more tags between now and Christmas, all made primarily with Tinsel & Twig paper.

I hope you will enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed making them!  Thanks for stopping by! 

{party sketch}

Sorry about the amount of dead space on my blog last week.  I had to wrap a few projects up, but this week I'm hoping to have more to share with you!  Today is Tuesday and if you have been visiting my blog for any length of time you know that there is all sorts of fun going on at Party Time Tuesdays today!  This week's challenge  involves a terrific sketch by Dianna, who happens to co-own PTT with Kristie!!  Head over to the PTT blog and check out all the different ways the DT managed to use this sketch! 

Here is the sketch Di created for us:

Here is my card:

The perfect card for a Christmas birthday!

Happy Tuesday, friends!



{up} up & away

We have a fun challenge this week over at Party Time Tuesdays!  Make a birthday card using some sort of balloon on the front!  Be sure to add a birthday sentiment on the front too.  And don't forget to send it to someone you care about, that really is the most important part of making cards!  :)

Be sure to check out the DT's cards, everyone has their own wonderful take on this challenge!  Link your card to PTT by 8:00 Monday, December 13th to be eligible for the Top 3 and a chance at a random pick in the monthly draw.  Here is my card.  I used the ends of the balloon to make a cool center for my card:

Happy Tuesday, friends!

{december} card sketch

It's December!  The temperatures have dropped and the snow has been falling, true signs that Christmas is fast approaching!  With the snow comes a new card sketch at My Sketch World!  The DT has some marvelous examples, so be sure to check them out! 

Here is Lucy's wonderful card sketch:

I went way simple, even for me!

The winner of my Ribbon & Button RAK is Val!  Thanks so much for playing along with my challenge last month!  Hope you all have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!

{layers} the twisted way

Finally, after combining the Twisted Card Sketch with other challenges, I have done one all by itself!  :)

This week's sketch is awesome and the twist is layers.  

 Here is the card I created, from the base of the card to the knot on the snowflake there are 9 layers!

The snowflake alone has 5 layers, here is a close-up:

Thanks Twisted Sisters for another great challenge!





{terrific} tuesday

It's an "Anything Goes" challenge over at Party Time Tuesdays this week!  That means you get to create any type of birthday card your little heart desires.  :)  Make sure your card has a birthday sentiment of some kind on the front of the card.  Link it up to the PTT blog before 8:00 pm, December 6th to be considered for the Top 3 and a chance at a random draw for the monthly prize!  The Party Time Tuesday's DT Call ends today so if you are interested check out the details!

Here is my card:

I was inspired by Bev & Amy's card challenges over at My Sketch World.  Bev challenged us to emboss a grid on our card and Amy gave us a lovely fall recipe to work with.  Thanks girls!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

{thankful}

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge

Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary

Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are

also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles

and they can become your blessings.

Author Unknown

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.



{easy as 1 2 3}

It's Tuesday!  You know what that means, right?  There is a new challenge over at Party Time Tuesdays!  This one is easy.  Easy as 1-2-3 easy!  One image. Two designer (pattern) papers. Three different types of embellishments.  That's it!  I told you, easy peasy!  Don't forget to add a birthday sentiment to the front of the card!  To be eligible for the Top 3 you need to link your creation to the PTT blog by 8:00 pm, Monday, November 29.  Each week Kristie draws a name randomly for a draw in the monthly prize drawing too!

Here is my card this week:

Happy Tuesday, friends!

{on a roll}

Lucy's challenges over at My Sketch World pair very nicely with the card sketches over at Twisted Sketches, kinda like peas and carrots!  :)   This is the second pairing I've done and am pleased with the results!  Here is a photo of Lucy's ad for her card challenge:

Here is Card Sketch #34 at Twisted Sketches (with the twist being edges):

Here is my card:

Happy Monday, friends!

{double the fun}

It has been a while since I've done a "two-fer"!  For this card, I have combined Lucy's wonderful color challenge at My Sketch World and the card sketch at Twisted Sketches, the twist being you have to use brads.   I made by own flower embellishment too, just for fun.  :)

Combine one part Twisted Card Sketch  #33:

with 5 parts Lucy's Challenge Colors:

And you get this:

The flower is just 5 individual loops of scrap material that happened to fringe nicely.  Thanks for the great challenges Lucy and Anam!  Please don't forget about my blog challenge here.  You still have almost 2 weeks!

Happy Wednesday, friends!



{party time}

It's Tuesday and there is a party happening at Party Time Tuesdays!  Put your engineer hat on, it's time to make an easel card!  The DT did a fantastic job with these cards! If you don't know how to make an easel card, you can find instructions here or here.  Upload your card to your blog and link it up to PTT by 8:00 pm Monday, November 22nd to be eligible for the Top 3 and a possible random draw pick for the monthly prize!  Di & Kristie are also holding a DT Call right now, check it out here. 

I'm not going to lie to you.  I had trouble with this card.  I had trouble with the construction part, an engineer I am not!  :)  The instructions on the tutorial are so easy to follow and yet, I still couldn't make it work! (where's Tim Gunn when you need him?)  :)  I had trouble with the design part too. The first card was too pink, the second card was wonky and so I had to settle for my third card, mainly because the deadline was looming.  Have you read the about me over in the upper right hand corner? Sometimes the "procrastinating perfectionist" part of me gets me into trouble.  :)  To top it all off, I had camera issues when it came time to photograph it.

Alright already, enough excuses.  ;)  Here's is my card:

The snowflakes are my favorite part.  They are made with modeling paste with glitter added to it and applied with a brass stencil.  I used it with pearl ex on this tag and loved the results! 

 I'm looking forward to seeing your easel cards!

{tuesday}

It's Tuesday and there is a party going on at Party Time Tuesdays!  This week be inspired by a yummy birthday cake!  How can you go wrong with such a classic color scheme? 

Here is what I came up with:

You have until 8:00 pm Monday, November 15 to link your card to the PTT blog.  Please remember to put some kind of birthday sentiment on the front of the card.  Every Wednesday a Top 3 is announced and a random winner is picked to go into the draw for the monthly prize. 

Kristie and Di, the co-owners of Party Time Tuesdays are holding a DT call right now!  Details are on the blog.  They are terrific gals and from my experience, great to "work" for, if you can call what we do work!  ;)

Have a great day, friends and thanks for stopping by!

{thankful} a challenge

My card challenges at My Sketch World tend to be very simple-no surprise there, eh?  :)  This month's challenge holds true.  Make a card with some ribbon, a button (or 2 or 3) and a sentiment with the word thank in it.  Thanks, thankful, thank you, give thanks-you get the idea.

Here is my card:

I'm offering up a RAK over at MSW and thought I'd do the same for my blogging friends. Make a card with my challenge above and post it to your blog, link it in the comments here and at the end of the month I will have a random draw for some pretty ribbon, buttons and either a sheet of sticker sentiments or a stamp!  Better yet, join us over at MSW and have a chance to win even more!  Lucy has a couple different prizes up for grabs and there is a contest going on as well.  I've said it before, MSW is the nicest place on the web to hang out!  There is a load of inspiration and lots of eye candy in the gallery!  Check us out!  :)

Have a great weekend!

{party}

It's time to party at Party Time Tuesdays!  A new challenge went up yesterday and is the ever popular "Anything Goes"!  All you have to do is make a birthday card with a birthday wish of some sort on the front and link it to Party Time Tuesdays!  And please don't forget to send it to someone!  :)

Here is my card:

Not only do Kristie & Diana pick a top 3 every week there is a chance to win a monthly prize.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

{new sketch}

It's the first of the month and you know what that means!  Lucy has 2 new sketches up at My Sketch World!  Check out the blog to see both the card and layout sketches and the DT's beautiful designs. 

Here is the cool card sketch:

Here is my card:

Lots of good things going on this month, new layout and card challenges, a contest and a couple chances to win some goodies!  My Sketch World is a terrific place to hang out and Lucy's sketches are the best!

Happy Monday! 





{submit}

How many of you would like to submit, but for whatever reason don't?  There is a cool call going on at Scrapbook News and Review (the largest online scrapbook magazine in the world!)  The call is for their Holiday Sampler.  Scrappers, card makers, altered art, and general holiday craftiness-they want it all.  But, they need it fast, like November 1st fast.  The best part, it doesn't have to be brand new!  Did you make a terrific layout or card during the holidays last year?  Did you do a cute kid's crafts while the kiddos were home on vacation last Christmas?  Send it in!

The beauty of SNR is that they operate in real time, not 6 months out like a paper magazine does.  The magazine has a ton of eye candy, terrific articles and lots of tutorials.  I think you'll like it!

Go forth now and submit!  :)  Happy Friday!

{carrot cake}

It's Tuesday and you know what that means!  A new birthday card challenge at Party Time Tuesdays!  This week we have a fun challenge, to create a card using the colors of carrot cake!  Even if you don't like carrot cake  (and really how could you not,  2 words people, cream cheese!  *laugh*)  its a great time of year to work with brown, orange and ivory.  Make sure you include some kind of birthday sentiment on the front of the card.  Link it to the PTT blog by 8:00 pm Monday of next week to be eligible for the Top 3!

Here is my carrot cake inspired card:

I dug deep in my stash for everything on this card.  Love that.  So what are you waiting for?  Make a card, send it to someone or give it to someone to send and make the world a better place!  :)

Happy Tuesday!

{shimmer}

Thanks to my friend, Scarlett I made this golden tag of glimmery goodness (I love a good alliteration!)  She challenged us to an adult "timeout" to play with goop today.  I got out my Dreamweaver Stencils Embossing Paste, some gold pearl ex and my snowflake stencil.  I mixed the embossing paste and pearl ex together on a paper plate and then used an old credit card to smooth it over the stencil. I love the way the pearl ex makes the embossing paste shimmer.  I added a little to the outside of the scalloped circle too. 

 Here is a close-up:

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

{boo}

There is a new challenge over at Party Time Tuesdays!  It is the ever popular "Anything Goes" challenge.   What does that mean you ask?  Well let me tell ya!  :)  Make a birthday card with some sort of birthday sentiment on the front. Simple, eh?  Well, you have to take a photo of it, upload it to your computer, play with the lighting (if you're like me), save it, post it to your blog and then link it up over on the PTT blog.  :)

Here is my cheeky card:

Dont forget to send your card to someone-it'll make their day!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

{two-fer}

It has been a while since I've done a "two-fer"!  I made this card today for the color challenge over at ScrapFIT, where my friend, Kristin is on the Design Team.  The challenge is to use lime green, orange, purple & black, one of which needs to be card stock. 

I used the sketch challenge from The Paper Variety to complete my card and both challenges!

Here is the fun card sketch:

Here is my card:

I think my bat needs braces!  :)  Thanks for stopping by!