Winter theme cards

Christmas is my favorite time of year..I love making little gifts for the holidays! Every year I say I'm going to start very early and every year I get behind and time slips away from me. But this year I may be a little better than last because at least this year I've already started on Christmas cards and have several gifts bought already, woohooo! I have 10 little jars of peach preserves ready to add my little handmade tags and a loaf of pumpkin bread for friends and family, I love those kinds of gifts!

Here are some Winter and Christmas cards I've been working on. This is actually my second attempt at copics..the first was a complete disaster and will never be shown here, lol! I really really like my prismacolor pencils..but I have all these beautiful copics that I bought and I thought that if I don't give them another try, they will just dry up before I get brave enough to start using. They are just images after all..what is the harm. I kinda like how these Tilda images turned out, especially since I'm a beginner! I have a hard time blending and getting the face to look right without all the lines..its going to take some practice for sure! I have added some stardust accent to Tilda's white outfit..I LOVE that pen!! Papers are from MME and Fancy Pants..both are winter collections.

The Santa tag is one of the 3 I made for a swap, this antique Santa image went so well with the Basic Grey DP...and Im actually on the road to using up my stash..woohooo!

Where I've been hiding..

Wow..its been a busy busy few months, and I haven't updated my blog in ages. I have bunches to share. The boys had their fall break a couple weeks ago and we spent a couple days in Pigeon Forge, TN..enjoying the beautiful fall leaves and crisp fall weather.



My little nephew Lane is growing so fast and we have all been spending every moment we can with him, he's the sweetest little guy!




My guys also celebrated their birthdays on the 22nd of October with a gymnastics party. It was a sad day because my little ones are getting so big, and over their "little boy" stage very quickly! I wish they could stay small just a little longer.



Enough of all the "me" stuff..on to some crafty projects. I have a large stash of BG Christmas that I have been hanging on to for a couple years, so I decided to dig into it and start creating. I made Christmas wall hangings using my Cricut Christmas cartridge, house icon and HOME...along with a few distressed circles, button, rhinestone flourishes, and some twine. I love how they turned out!

Meet my nephew Lane

I was able to spend a little quality time with our newest addition to the family, my little nephew Lane. He is the sweetest little thing! I've become obsessed with taking pictures of him, lol..he's such a cute little model!

BG Lemonade card..and some exciting news for me!

First for the exciting news part...today my little sister will be delivering her first baby, Lane..and that means I'll be an Auntie for the first time on my side of the family!! I'm so excited ~ I can't wait to see his little face!! We haven't had a baby in my family in years (it took her long enough!). My sons are a little sad because they have been the only grandchildren, and that means that now they are gonna have a little competition, lol! So, I'll be heading to NC to anxiously await his arrival...

now for the card part, I made this card with some leftovers from the BG Lemonade collection..I'm loving the bright summery colors and I wish I had dug this out earlier in the summer to make up some cards..because..sigh..now I have to start on Christmas cards, lol! But I LOVE Fall and holiday season..don't care much for the cold winter..but I do love Christmas!

Finally, a card...lol!

So my life has been a bit crazy lately...but I've managed to find a little time to create. I received the BG Lemonade collection some time ago, and it was begging to be cut up..haha! I love the colors in this collection and the little pink ladybugs are just so cute, and naturally I HAD to use the ladybug Tilda colored up with some prismacolors and Gamsol.

5 years shaved off my life

This weekend we had a terrible scare with my 6 yr. old. He was bitten by a copperhead snake during my sisters baby shower. It was the scarriest moment of my life driving to the hospital as fast as I could wondering what was going to happen next. I've lived my whole life thinking that if you were bitten by a rattle or copperhead you were as good as dead.Its crazy being in the medical field, all that knowledge goes out the window when its your own child..the only thing you remember how to do is scream and cry and hand them over to someone more calm. I am so very thankful for the ER crew, the flight crew and the nurses and surgeon at TC Thompsons. We are very blessed to have such a big support group with family and friends praying for him. 2 days have made such a tremendous difference and today was the turning point. The swelling went from his ankle to mid thigh, and today the swelling has started to go down. We are so thankful!

ROP Fall challenge

Fall is just around the corner...where oh where did the summer go? The boys are back in school and vacation time is officially over..now its back to crafting..woohooo! Over at Roses on Paper Challenge Blog theres a fall color challenge going on, to use brown, burnt orange, and deep red. I sooo love the fall! Its by far my favorite season, so I was very eager to dig out my Fancy Pants Fall kit and start coloring. I've used the Paris Tilda, available at ROP, and colored her with prismacolor pencils to match the FP papers. Hope you like :0)

Its tri-fold mania...hee hee

Really I am in FL hopefully enjoying the beautiful beach and watching the boys build sandcastles. But I posted these before I left so that you'll have something to look at until I get back, lol! 2 more tri-fold shutter cards with the same designer papers as the previous ones (I just have to use every last scrap of paper!)..but with a little different embellishing. Again the tutorial for making these can be found HERE at this awesome Craftiblog! Hope you are having a great week! hugs,T

Tilda with tulips

This is one of my favorite Tilda stamps..and the Alota table with tulip stamp just went perfect with it!

Another tri-fold shutter card..

OK..these tri-fold cards can be a little addicting once you get the hang of it! Yet another Gorjuss girl, this time decked out in greens and blues from Fancy Pants. hugs,T

Gated card

This Tilda is from the Magnolia Butterfly collection, I thought she would look cute all blinged out in Shimmerz paints. I have used a gatefold card with stitching and some cutie K&Co. cardstock border stickers that look like pom pom trim. Love 'em! hugs,T

Tri-fold shutter card

Wow..I have been a busy little bee this Summer and haven't posted in ages. Wanted to show you a new card I just learned to make..I know, it looks a bit overwhelming with all the cuts and scores..but actually its very easy and fun to design. You can find the tutorial HERE on the Craftiblog.For this card I have used MME designer papers and the adorable Gorjuss girl from set 1. I'll be making lots of these tri-fold cards now that I know how easy they are..and a great way to use up little scraps of papers! hugs,T

While I was away.....

Ahhh.....Summer is in full spring and we have been playing hard the last few weeks. I haven't posted any creations because we have been so very busy. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC with some friends of ours a few weeks ago and had a blast. Our kids had so much fun playing together, and it was wonderful that they entertained themselves to give Mom a break!!


I took so many pictures, it will be a job trying to get all the pages finished...but beach photos are my absolute fav!! Here are a couple of my favorite ones:




Last week we took the boys camping with my parents and siblings to celebrate the 4th! My Dad picked a spot WAY back in the mountains near Joyce Kilmer Forest. My Dad had the camper and the rest of us tent camped...it was definitely an experience all in itself! We camped right beside a river and the boys had a blast playing in the water and collecting their "treasures".



We even had our own little mini fireworks show and marshmallow roast!



The Smokey Mountains are absolutely stunning, if you have never been then you need to definately put it on your list of places to go. I am so very lucky to live so close.

ROP and Just Magnolia

I've combined two challenges this week. Over at ROP challenge blog the challenge is to use flowers..my favorite flowers are tulips..and I had just the images for it. I love this Tilda holding tulips! She's sitting on a table with a vase of tulips from Alota, goes so well together! The second part of the challenge is to combine the card with another challenge. I chose Just Magnolia. The challenge over at Just Magnolia this week is paper piecing. I have paper pieced Tilda's dress with some yummy MME glitter papers. I love this Out&About collection!! Hope you like it too... hugs,T

Line's blogaversary candy

Go wish Line a Happy Birthday and Happy Blogaversary..she is offering up some scrumptious blog candy! Line's blog

Sugarbowl sketch challenge by Lia

This week over at the Sugarbowl its a sketch challenge by Lia, with the color option of using blue and green..which happens to be two of my favorite colors..woohooo! I used a Gorjuss Girl from collection 1 for this card..she is just darling!

Synthetic handmade flower tutorial

Hi girls..I wanted to share with you a flower I made following a tutorial by
Caz I love these flowers and they are very simple to make. I took a trip to my local craft store and picked up a few different colors of synthetic materials.
Materials you will need:
Synthetic fabrics in desired colors
tea light and lighter
beads
needle and thread

I love the glitzy appearance of the blue so I used it for this flower. I also picked up some netting to layer it with. First you want to cut different sizes of circles from your material, the largest being the largest layer of your flower. With your tealight lit..hold the circle about 2 inches from the flame and turn it so the edges get a little crisp..the fabric will begin to shrink up a bit...this is a good thing, lol! When you sear the entire edge you will hold the flower so that the flame is beneath it..not too close though..this will shrink up the flower and turn in the edges. Easy, peasy...now do this same thing for all your layers. After you have finished the searing process..start layering your flower. I cut circles of netting to layer between..I liked the end result..but its also very beautiful without it. When you have layered your flower, add a couple stitches to the middle to keep it in shape. Woohooo...its done, you can now add beads, or a button or any little decorative doodad to the middle. The beads look awesome, but i used these little silver micros instead because they were handy. Now wouldn't it look lovely on your card? If you try this yourself, please let me know so I can go take a peek at your creation.

Shabby Chic Tilda..all decked out for summer...

My friend Heidi sent me this paper and embellishments and i thought they were soo cute! While I should have used my ladybug Tilda..I already had this one all colored up to match. But I saved a few snippets for Ladybug Tilda so that she wouldn't get her feelings hurt, lol! This one will be going out tomorrow for one of the June rain participants over at Magnolia~licious group. Hope you like ;0) hugs,T

Just Magnolia sketch challenge by Rach...

Ya gotta love a sketch challenge! That is the part I find most difficult about designing a card..coming up with the sketch. This week over at Just Magnolia Rach has an awesome sketch for you to try. Here is my take on the sketch. hugs,T

Belles and Whistles Guest Design Team call...

Woohooo...Summer has some very exciting news over at Roses on Paper! If you haven't heard the exciting news..Elisabeth Bell will be designing stamps exclusive to ROP...we are all very excited about it!! So a new division of ROP will be premiering soon... Belle's and Whistles! Summer is looking for a few Guest Designers to join the team for a 2 month term.

If you are interested in applying for a Guest DT spot on the new Belles 'n Whistles team, the following are the requirements:

~you must have a blog yourself
~you must be a follower of the ROP challenge blog
~you must participate or have participated in at least one of the bi-monthly challenges on the ROP challenge blog

If you have not yet participated in a ROP challenge, do not fret…there's still plenty of time! Guest DT members will be selected the first week of July though the 2 month term will begin at or around August 1st.

Now..head on over to
ROP challenge blog to apply.

Now for my card. This weeks challenge is to use pink, green and yellow. What a wonderful spring combination..love it! I have designed this card using some of the older BG paper ...love the muted pinks and greens! I have used flowersoft in the basket, i was lucky to have the "sweet pea" that matched my colors. I am also using this card as my GDT entry. Good luck to all who apply!! hugs,T

Playing in the dirt...

I've been playing in the dirt most of the day today...and having a blast planting new flowers and transplanting old ones. I love this time of year when its not TOO hot to play outside and enjoy gardening..although I'm not much of a gardener, lol! My lillies have started to blossom and they are stunning! Plus I had a late bloomer Calla lilly that popped out this week and surprised me..I have to take a pic before its gone. My Haustas are popping out all over the place as well as Canna lillies, can't wait for those to start blooming! Hope everyone is having a great weekend..go play in the yard! hugs,T

Swap items

A few cards I made for a swap I'm in...

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I had the day to myself so I made up some page kits and card kits for PIFs over at ScrapbookPlace. Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. Our fun begins tomorrow with a big cook out with Hubby's family to celebrate all the May birthdays. Then we are off to Gatlinburg for some more family fun..can't wait! Woohooo! Have a great weekend!

OOPSIE

haha....I've been at work since I posted these and I didn't even see that the pictures didn't get included..lol!~ too funny! And thanks Lelia for letting me know. I'll go fix it right now! And I forgot to say a big thank you to Lim and Karin for the beautiful images!! hugs,T

Hanglar girl with heart

While I had my Basic Grey papers out and chopped up, I thought I'd make this little card. The collection is an older BG collection called Alyssa I believe..It was one of my favorites when I first became a BG fan..I was very lucky to find a pack awhile back..and now I'm finally digging in to it. I love the soft muted colors! Hope I'm doing these little images justice. hugs,T

Hanglar girl with wings

Another Hanglar card, I just adore these little cuties. Again Thank you to Lim for this image! DP, velvet rickrack, buttons: Basic Grey; Flowers: Prima. Image colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol. For some reason the ribbon looks like an ugly mustard color in the photo..just noticed. The light did not do it justice..but actually its a sage green, the same color as the little heart on her dress. My photo editing skills need a little improvement, lol! hugs,T

New Challenge blog...

I have some really exciting news to share.
As some of you already know
Karin is hosting a Scrap Online Group at Paper Craft Planet. The only sad thing about it is that ladies who don't live in Europe aren't able to follow these SOL's because of the time difference.
But now for the exciting news....
There's a new challenge blog called
SCRAP ONLINE CHALLENGES
On this challenge blog they will be posting the sketches/ projects they worked on the day after the SOL as a challenge.
This way the ladies who weren't able to attend the SOL will have the chance to do the challenge. You can work on the sketch on your own, but if you want to have all measurements of the different parts you just hop over to the SOL from the night before and scroll down all the comments.
First challenge will posted Friday May 15th.
To celebrate this new challenge blog
Karin is giving away a little candy for one lucky lady entering. So please go check out her blog and leave a little love for Karin. hugs,T






Karin

Raining cards Magnolia card

I made this little card for one of this Months raining cards ladies. She's one of my favorite Tilda's all decked out with her little matching hats, lol! hugs,T

Little Hanglar girl

Well, I finally gave in and colored a few of my little Hanglar images I've been hanging on to. These little cuties are so very hard to come by that I've had a hard time using them, lol! So a very big Thank you to Lim and Karin for the images!! You girls are the greatest!! I used my Bazzill dotted paper for the scalloped mat..I love that stuff and use every single scrap, lol! DP: Basic Grey; Rhinestones,flowers:Prima. Hanglar colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol. hugs,T

Thank you to Shauna..

I had a terrible week last week. Had Strept throat which landed me with a shot in the butt, lol! I felt like I'd been run over by a truck for a few days and went back to work on Saturday 24hr's after antibiotics. Still feel run down and icky..but 100% better than I did on Thursday!! I came home tonight to find a package awaiting my arrival...it was a stunning mini album made by Shauna. ..and when I say mini album..there is nothing mini about it..its big, full of detail and simply stunning!! I won this beautiful album in a blog challenge. You must go check out her blog to view the rest of the pages and see all her beautiful work. She's the queen of mini albums!! I feel very guilty taking it from her, the time she put into it is very evident! Thank you so much Shauna!!

Baseball...

I made this layout of my little man Jeremy. I haven't made a layout in ages and I have pics stacking up. Need to get busy on those! This layout portrays how far he has came in baseball since his first game last year. My little guy is not a baby anymore and that just makes me sad!

New siggy

Giving my new siggy a try..I've been a very productive blogger today. I've learned how to create a post divider, how to center my header, and how to create a siggy..heeehee! I'm a blogging genius...ROFL....NOT!

ROP and Cute Card Thurs.

This week I combined two challenges in one card. Cute Card Thursday's challenge is to distress the edges of your card. I just found this challenge blog so this will be my first entry. Now, I have to tell ya...I am not a seamstress nor do I make any claims to be..heehee! So please look over my stitchwork, I'm terrible at it! I do better with freestyle sewing when it doesn't need to be in a straight line, haha! This card is also for ROP challenge blog. Susan's challenge this week is to use the colors aqua, peach, and butter. I found these cute DreamStreet papers in my stash and they were begging to be cut up. I always get a little sad while chopping away at my DP...I'm a paper hoarder ya know! Gotta seek help for that someday... Have a great rest of the week, the boys and I are headed to Pigeon Forge tomorrow for a day adventure at Dollywood, YIPPEE!

Just Magnolia~ pink and green challenge

I'm loving my clear cards from ShortCuts...I have used one again for this weeks challenge over at Just Magnolia. Its a pink and green challenge and you must go check out all the fabby designs by the design team! My card features the Tilda holding Tulip from the spring collection colored with prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. DP by My Mind's Eye. Cardstock~ Bazzill Swiss Dot mudpuddle, and green textured paper. Ribbon~Martha Stewart.

Double Dutch~ door hanger

Over at Double Dutch its all about door hangers this week. I designed this little door hanger for my Son's bedroom door. My Hanglar image was given to me by Lim (Thank you so much Lim!)and because I have so precious few images..I wanted to use it on a project that will be around for awhile to admire. Hope you like! hugs,T

Just Magnolia sketch challenge

There is a sketch challenge going on over at
Just Magnolia. I made this little card for the challenge using some My Mind's Eye paper I just picked up. There is an awesome prize package this week for the first challenge...you should definately check it out!

Spring is in the air...

I'm getting in the spirit of Spring lately...tulips everywhere, flowers sprouting out, everyone out playing in the gardens, baseball... I love spring! Wish I could take the season off from work and play outside all day.

I chose springy/summer colors for this Tilda card. On its way to a far far away place for April Rain. Hope you like! hugs,T

Tilda card using Sugar Bowl sketch

I loved Tiets sketch so much over at the Sugar Bowl that I decided to use it for this Tilda card. Thank you Tiets for such a great sketch! Papers by Basic Grey. Little flower handmade by my friend Linda..isn't that flower so cute!

Sugar Bowl sketch challenge

This week over at the Sugar Bowl
Tiets has designed an awesome sketch for us to play with. I used a collection of DreamStreet Papers that I had been hanging on to..it just happened to match this Chick-a-Dee I colored up. The flower is die cut from pages from an old book, distressed a little with some Tattered Angels Mist and walnut ink and wrinkled up to give it a vintage look. I used one of the flowers from the PP cut out for the flower center. This was a great sketch and I'll use it again and again!
hugs,T

Sugar Nellie chick-a-Dee

I'm in love with this Chick-a-Dee by Elisabeth straight from the house of Sugar. She's perfect for spring cards! This is a little 4x4 card for my RAK partner over at LuckybugdesignerRAKs I'm loving my Martha Stewart lace punch, I'm wearing it out lately! Rhinestone flourishes by Prima (I need to restock on those soon) brown pattern paper by DreamStreet. Hope you like ~ hugs,T

Vera Bradley inspired cards...

These cards are simple..but sometimes I kinda like simple..Inspired by my Vera Bradley purse for a card swap. I LOVE Vera purses...I only have 3..but its one for every season except Spring..so I need one more, lol! Paisley card fronts made using Coredinations cardstock embossed with cuttlebug paisley folder then sanded to bring out the red in the core. Hope you like~ hugs,T

Roses on Paper challenge blog...

This week at Roses on Paper challenge blog the challenge is to create a candle using any of the stamps carried over at Roses on Paper store. I found it a little difficult coloring these little Tildas with copics on the tissue, so I used Prismacolors instead..not as bright but I kinda like the dusky colors. Soooo...I need a little practice! Next time I'll be brave and try gamsol, lol!

Creative Journey Freebie Friday RAK time....

Its Freebie Friday RAK time over at Creative Journey and you only have a short time to enter. So go let Christine know your favorite Paper Company HERE for your chance to win.
hugs,T

Carole's blogoversary

It's blogoversary time over at Stardust Gems and Ribbon and Carole has an awesome pack of goodies to give away in celebration of the big day! Head over and check out all her creations! hugs,T

Malin's Birthday treats

Go wish Malin a Happy Birthday and see what she has up for grabs as a Birthday surprise to us HERE. Happy Birthday Malin! Your creations are beautiful! hugs,T

Little bracket album

Shauna over at All Things Sweet and Shabby inspired me to make this cute little bracket album. You should definately go check out her blog..shes the queen of mini albums! I designed these pages for a demo for a mini album kit I made up for a kit swap. Most of the papers and embellishments are by Making Memories, I am digging their new lines! The bracket pages are cut from chipboard using the Top Note Sizzix die, exclusive to Stampin Up!

Sugar Nellie JATC's

I love this new Elisabeth Bell stamp 'fingers crossed', straight from the house of Sugar. I made up these Jumbo ATC's for a swap and used a little butterfly punch in place of the stamped butterfly. I know the blue/brown is not very springy...but I love that color combo, lol!

Its treat time over at Fran's blog

Head over to check out the awesome blog candy Fran is giving away. Check out Fran's beautiful creations while you are there. hugs,T

Caardvarks challenge

Its a sketch challenge over at Caardvarks this week and I designed this birthday card for my friend Karen using the sketch. Her birthday is actually today (Happy Birthday Karen, I love you!) so this card will be a little late getting to her..I hope she understands what its like to have two little boys playing baseball, lol!
PP~ Making Memories
Trim~ Making Memories
Cardstock~ Bazzill
Stamped image~ Sugar Nellie~ Elisabeth Bell
Flower~ Prima
stick pin~ Fancy Pants
Rhinestone flourish~ Prima

2 sketches 4 you

For the sketch challenge over at 2Sketches4You I designed this little stamped image holder for my friend Melissa. My very creative friend Heidi made one for me awhile back and I thought it was so very clever!
PP~Fancy Pants
Letter stickers~ Basic Grey
Stamped image~ Sugar Nellie~ Cozy Nellie colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol
Flower~ Prima
rhinestone flourish~ Prima
lace~ from my stock

Elisabeth's Super Scrummy blog candy Alert

Elisabeth has some blog candy up for grabs on her BLOG and you do not want to miss this! It's the entire set of her new release Whiff of Joy stamps. Most of us missed out on the chance to preorder these as a set...so here is your chance! While you are there, check out her sketch gallery...she is soo very talented! hugs,T

Tilda~ die cut challenge

I've created another card for the die cut challenge over at Luckybug and Friends. This die cut is from the Sizzix BIGz scallop card die. I only used a small portion of it because its a HUGE die..and I just love scalloped edges! I had some left over cards and pp pieces from some previous cards using Fancy Pants Fall collection, so this card was a quickie. Hope you like. hugs,T

Line's blog candy

Check out Line's blog for some beautiful card inspirations and a chance to win some yummy blog candy. You'll want to stay awhile because her cards are amazing! hugs,T

little mini album

I made up this little mini album today for both a challenge and a demo for a quick mini album kit. The challenge was to use die cuts from sizzix, cricut, quickutz,etc.. I have cut flourishes and scallop squares both from my cricut. Also the tabs and circles are from punches. I have little black and white butterfly tins that these little albums fit in...but i won't show those and ruin the surprise for those receiving the kits. :0) Hope you like! hugs,T

OH MY...Hanglars and some new MM goodies

Ok, so how long do you think I would have to vacation in Sweden before I can order some of these Hanglar cuties? Wahhh...and do you think this calls for some sort of 12 step program if you are willing to use all your savings to go to Sweden to order some, hahaha! Too funny! I just joined the Hanglar Blog group at Paper Craft Planet and it has me drooling.

On another note, i just returned from Michaels (big mistake) where I found one of the lace Martha Stewart punches I have been searching for..woohooo! AND..it was 30% off, which was an even better surprise. The bad news is while I was there I ran into lots of other goodies on sale that I couldn't live without. That's why I try to avoid that place!! Anyway...I am totally in love with the new MM Chloe's Closet and Sabrina lines! I picked up a few of the items for some cards and mini albums. And they have matching pins!! woohooo! I love hat pins! Good grief do I ever need that 12 step program! haha...so here is a pic of my new loot, lol! hugs,T