Dreaming of warm weather

Hope this post finds you toasty, warm, comfy, cozy, and any other variation of not cold. ;)
It has been so cold here I had to get some warm thoughts going. Cute Card Thursday is running a challenge using flowers and what better way to feel warm and summery than with yellows, oranges, and flowers! A Spoon Full of Sugar is hosting a freestyle challenge, Creative Inspirations is hosting a feminine challenge, and Dutch Dare is hosting a summer in winter challenge. How can you go wrong with these challenges and this card?!? :)

I'm kinda on the run, so I'll have to post details for this card later. I wanted to at least get this card posted because the warm colors and pretty flowers were helping me forget just how FREEZING COLD it is outside. Stay warm everyone. :)

Cheers!

Birthday Wishes for Homeless Kids

What do you remember about your childhood birthday celebrations? Did you have family, friends, a cake, and at least one present? What if you didn't have a home to call your own?
A few years back I bought a kit from the Paper Source near me. It was an impulse buy, but I hung on to them trying to decide what to do. Well, inspiration struck! The Stamp Club I belong to at my LSS has decided to do a springtime charity. We'll all make birthday cards to send to a homeless shelter in a nearby town that we have worked with in the past. This shelter is taking part in the Birthday Wishes program. I can't say enough about this fabulous organization. The staff at my school have volunteered for this charity for the last couple of years and I was excited to hear that the club was going to be helping out too!

Basically Birthday Wishes helps to provide birthday parties for kids who are living at a homeless shelter. Through volunteers, donations, and various fund-raising, they are able to provide a cake, present, card, and a fun game/craft/entertainment to kids who are celebrating their birthday at a shelter. So, we are making lots of different kinds of birthday cards! (I know these chicks need a little more "umph". I'd love any suggestions!)
All children deserve to have happy birthday memories. Hopefully, I can help be a part of something greater than me and be a part of bringing joy to a child who is going through something no one deserves.
I'd love to hear about how your crafting hobby has been able to help others. Your comments are inspiring and maybe there's something you are doing that I can share with others. :)

Valentine Bouquet Saturday

*** Thanks to Dotty Jo for letting m know that this card could also be part of the Caardvarks challenge. How great are fellow bloggers! :) ***
The second Raise the Bar challenge was to use something you got as a gift. I love my Cuttlebug embossing folders. I got the swiss dot folder for my birthday last year and just knew it would be my inspiration! The stamp is Memory Box. I got it at my LSS last year and can't seem to find a link to anyone selling it online :( If you like it, I could send you some stamped images. Otherwise, I would suggest folks email Dave over at Memory Box and ask him to pull it out of retirement! :) I flocked the hearts and added hightlights with copics. The ribbon and cardbase are from Amuse. I just love all the teeny tiny polka dots!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please don't forget to leave a comment. Comments are true blog candy! :)

TESC 98 & RTB Debut Challenge

Taylored Expressions is having their weekly challenge. I'm excited to be able to join in the fun this week! At the same time Raise The Bar is also hosting it's challenge. Taylored Expressions provided the sketch and Raise The Bar gave the challenge to use something you own but haven't used yet.

I used set, On My Couch, my husband got me for Christmas (he's so sweet!). It seemed like the time of year to make some get well cards and the sentiment is so darn cute! The paper is Bo Bunny flutter butter breeze and Memory Box kraft cards.


Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to tell me what you think. I love to hear what folks have to say!

Well, maybe one stirring mouse

Sparks hosts a weekly Christmas challenge over at her blog. This weeks challenge twist was to incorporate dry embossing into the card.













I chose to use my Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the gray mat on this little mouse cutie by Impression Obsession.













After stamping her with StazOn black ink, I colored her in using pearl chalks and a charcoal Spica pen.














I hope you enjoyed this card. What do you think? I really love this stamp and I'd love to hear your suggestions for tweaking it!

Blog Candy at The Daily Marker

Kathy over at The Daily Marker is giving away all this as a way of celebrating being featured on Jill's blog Inspired By. You should check out both their blogs. All I can say is that I was wicked inspired to make something pretty. Now I just have to get down to business. What gets you inspired and what gets you down to business? I'd love to hear from you!

Oh Bebe!

Working in an elementary school with lots of 30something teachers we always have a baby shower in the works! This is a fun version of a baby shower card that I tend to make when I'm not sure if the expected arrival will be a boy or girl. This bebe store window from Amuse, with paper from Bazzill and my scraps bin.

I added stickles around the image to kinda give it a boost, although my photography leaves a little to be desired . ;)

I'd love to see what others have created for those non-gender-specific baby cards! Please leave me your ideas or links in my comments section.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Housekeeping and Blooms

Greetings Everyone! Some folks had asked about who makes the Charlie Brown tree I used in my last post. It's Impression Obsession and it is a fabulous stamp.

I thought I'd share a fun card that I made a little bit ago with my Copics, Amuse card base and a fun gerber daisy stamp. Sadly, I broke up the set this stamp came with and now I can't remember if it was Hero Arts or Technique Tuesday. If anyone out there knows, please take pity and tell us. :)


This is such a happy card I thought it might bring some cheer to all of us who are freezing cold and wondering if warm weather will ever come back!

This little cutie is off to a good home. A friend asked me to make up a set of cards for her to give as a belated Christmas gift. Yippee, now I have some mad money for more stamps!

Deck the Halls again?!?

Every year I make need to make a TON of Christmas cards. My husband and I send out about 70 cards and I make a bunch that I give to my church for sale at our holiday bazaar booth. I participate in a monthly Christmas card class/club at my LSS and that helps a bunch, but recently I came across Sparkle Creations blog. I took one look and said to myself how fun!

The snowflake cupcakes are the inspiration piece Sparks threw out to folks. I had some leftovers from a Pay-it-Forward card making event I run every November. I got lucky in that my leftovers had some of the inspiration colors.
So how does this card match the cupcakes??? Well, the chocolate cake is in the tree and background layer. The blue frosting is the ornament and the snowflakes have been embossed on the base card.


After stamping and coloring this cute little Charlie Brown tree, I needed to add some shine to the ornament so I used a spica pen and a glaze pen.


It's been snowing here in MA since last night. Good thing I like snow, 'cause we are forecast to have about 9 inches after all is said and done. I love how the glittery snowflakes catch the light in my backyard and on this card!

Thanks so much for checking out my first Christmas card for 2010!

Scraptastic Challenge

Papertrey Ink is hosting a use your scraps challenge. I have to say that when I have leftover paper I tend to punch it in to lots of shapes (full disclosure- I did con my husband and his parents into helping punch my last load of scraps. :) ). I bag everything by color and leave it in the 12x12 boxes that I store my 12x12 paper.

I think in color, so all my supplies are sorted in a rainbow, paper, ribbon, flowers, brads, etc. I've tried lots of other approaches, but the rainbow thing is the only one that works for me. When I saw this challenge, I grabbed my pink bag and whatever was left on my table. I even found a leftover stamped image from the Vintage Picnic set! All I had to do was look at the supplies in front of me and run with them.

I colored the picnic basket with my prisma pencils and then added some stickles for sparkle. I still had my holiday buttons on my craft table so I added a little button bling too!

The cutie patootie cardigan corgi in the back is my loyal wingman Cadfael (pronounced Cadfile). He was in the midst of deciding if he should stay with me or investigate what was going on in the kitchen.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to spread New Year cheer and post a comment. I love to hear from everyone!

Moriah