Coloring Down The Lines -- Marina Mist with Holiday Sentiment

Happy Wednesday.  Are you ready for Christmas?  I've been working hard and slipping and sliding.  It's been snowing around here, and the side of our mountain is pretty slick.  However, it will be warm for a few days and I can get back to shopping and getting ready for the grands to come visit for Christmas.

But you are here for the Wednesday blog hop, right?  And you should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  We didn't get to talk much this week, so I don't know what she did for us, but I bet it is super.  Our colors this week are Marina Mist with Crumb Cake and Cajun Craze or Marina Mist with Old Olive and Real Red.  The extra twist this week is to include a holiday spirit sentiment.  Here is what I did:

I used Real Red and Old Olive with Marina Mist.  The sentiment is what I feel Christmas is.  Being with family and friends.  And, of course, I also believe the religious aspects too, Baby Jesus, midnight mass.  And don't forget Santa.  I guess I want it all.  I love this sentiment from More Merry Messages and used it quite a bit this year.  On the Marina Mist ribbon  I also stamped "Happy Christmas" from the same stamp set.   Now it is time to hop on to Robbie's blogsite where it all started, as usual.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with everyone who makes you happiest.

Until next time............................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Calypso Coral with a Snowflake

Happy day, friends.  Did you get any of the snow falling all over the country the past few days?  We got about 8 inches during the first fall, then freezing rain, then a couple more inches of snow today.  Anyone who knows me knows that I live in a teeny tiny, no stoplight, town between nowhere and Timbuktu, about 35 miles from the nearest shopping city.  However, my teeny town of Slanesville in West Virginia made it to the big time national news.  We were noted on Fox News!  Yikes, why was that?  See below.

Ok, so you are here for our Color blog hop today and should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  She and I spoke several times over the past few days about this challenge.  Wow, how do you use orange and pink together, and then how do you make those colors a winter scene with snowflakes?  But I think she nailed it.  Our colors are Calypso Coral with Pink Pirouette and Blushing Bride or Calypso Coral with Chocolate Chip and Wild Wasabi.  Then we were to add a snowflake or two.

Here is my interpretation of our challenge.  Not what I would have created as a Christmas card, but it turned out fine.

I used Pink Pirouette cardstock for the base, then Calypso Coral for the middle layer mat.  I sponged both Blushing Bride and Pink Pirouette on Whisper White, but those two colors are so close that mostly all that shows is Blushing Bride.  The tree is embossed in White embossing powder.  I hope you like this interpretation.

Now on to the next challenger, which is back to the beginning with Robbie.  I haven't seen hers yet, and I wonder what she did.  No matter what, she seems to come up with some real beauties.  So here we go..................   Robbie's blogsite. 

Until next time.......................Stay warm!

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Christmas Santa

Good Morning friends.  Are you freezing?   It is cold and icy here, and I hope wherever you are you are safe and warm.

This card isn't exactly a Stampin'Up! card, but part of it is.  The base is Crumb Cake cardstock embossed with the Stylish Stripes embossing folder from the Holiday Mini.  Note:  you have only a few more weeks before the Holiday Mini will be retired.  Be sure to get your last minute favorites before they retire.   I can help you order, just contact me at the e-mail over there on the right. 

So back to my card.  After embossing I added more cardstock and then a sticker.  Right, a sticker.  I came across a stash in my Christmas "stuff" and decided to use them up.  I also used a little Linen Thread.  See that cute little wooden tree?  I got it from a friend (thank you Linda).  I have no idea where she got it.  However, just wait until you see the new Occasions Mini that will go live January 3rd.  There is a pack of some of the cutest little wooden embellishments similar to this little tree.  I just got my preview pack and I can't wait to use them.  There are circles, scallops, arrows, hearts, triangles, and oh so much more.  Let me know if you need an Occasions Mini, they will be available in just a few more days. 

I hope you have a good week, and come back soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Blushing Bride with Lace

Hi everyone.  It's blog hop Wednesday.  Our colors today are Blushing Bride with Early Espresso and Pear Pizzaz or Blushing Bride with Perfect Plum and Sahara Sand.  I'm not much on pink so I thought this one would be tough.  But I really like the look of Perfect Plum and Sahara Sand with it so I went with that combination.  We also are to add lace, thus the doily under the cake plate.  I need a birthday card to send out tomorrow to my niece, so this was done with her in mind.

You should have come to me by way of Liz's blogsite again.  She is a hard act to follow every week.  Love her creations. 

I haven't used my Create a Cupcake set in quite a while, so decided to pull it and the punch out to see what I could do for my  niece.  I think she'll like it.  The frosting has a glob of Dazzling Details to make it look frothy, and the cake plate has a ton of little bitty pearls.  It is the perfect way to use up some of my teeny pearls.  Most of the time they are too little, but fit just perfect on this cake plate from A Cherry On Top retired set. 

Here is the inside and the envelope for my card.

So now you should hop back to the beginning to Robbie's blogsite.  Robbie is super talented, so I imagine her creation today is awesome.  I'm going with you to take a look.  If you haven't already been there, you can continue around to catch everyone else. 

Until next time.....................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Santa On The Way

I hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving.  We spent it with friends and neighbors.  But my son and grands are coming for the weekend, so we will have another smaller Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.  By Monday I believe I will have my fill of turkey. 

I spent part of today working on some more Christmas cards.  This one was meant to be a red Santa card.  I'm not so sure the reds match, especially in the picture.  The photo isn't as coordinated as real life.  I won't be making duplicates of this one, though, because it definitely can be better.  Back to the drawing board for another attempt.

I did manage to get 15 cards done earlier today.  I used my trusty Lovely As A Tree stamp set.  I hope it never, ever, retires.   As soon as I photograph it I'll put it here on my blog.  Every year I fight to get at least 25 of them done and ready to mail the day after Thanksgiving.  We have a New Years Eve party and the invitations go with the cards so I need to get them out early.  I guess I'll be working hard tomorrow to finish up the first wave of cards.  After that I can take more time.

Until next time..............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Rose Red with Christmas Theme

It's my turn to apologize to everyone for not getting my post up early this morning for part of the blog hop.  I had the card done and downloaded to my computer last Saturday.  A little while ago I mentioned to my husband that I need to go set up the post for tomorrow's hop -- Wednesday.  Ooops!   TODAY IS WEDNESDAY -- Dufus!  I should have set it all up on Saturday.  I apologize that I missed the hop this morning and that I messed everyone up.  30 lashes!

So here is my entry.  Our colors are Rose Red with Wisteria Wonder and Garden Green or Rose Red with Soft Suede and Marina Mist.  The twist this week is to make it a Christmas theme.  I used the second choice.  I went for a subtle holiday theme rather than the traditional Christmas, which would call for reds and greens in brights.

My card stocks used are the 3 colors and the sponging used  is the 3 colors.  I made it a little more merry by adding silver Dazzling Details and silver ribbon.  I hope you like the card.  And again, I am sorry to be late.  You came from Liz's blogsite.  Liz surely had a great card and beautiful.  And now you head on back to Robbie's blogsite.  Robbie starts us off each week.  At least I wasn't in the middle and stopped all the progress.  I'll try to do better next week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  See you soon.

Crafty  Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Perfect Plum and a Technique

Happy Wednesday everyone.  It's our coloring down the lines hop again.   You should have come to my blogsite by way of Liz's blogsite.  This week I haven't seen hers yet, but I am sure it is a great one.  She always thinks up some great creations. 

Our colors this week are Perfect Plum, Marina Mist and Rose Red or Perfect Plum, Early Espresso and Whisper White.  I chose the first one.  Our extra this week is to do a technique new to us.  I did the masking tape technique.  I've seen it done on other blogsites but had not yet tried it.  It is fun.  I got my fingers a bit inky, but it was fun.

I hope you like my card, and now let's hop to Robbie's blogsite.   Robbie starts the hop and you can run the whole circle from there.  She always has something interesting, so let's go look.

Happy Crafting.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Night of Navy and Fancy Fold

Wednesdays have been rolling around pretty fast each week.  It's time again for our color with a twist challenge.  This week we were challenged to use Night of Navy with Cherry Cobbler and Pumpkin Pie or Night of Navy with Old Olive and Daffodil Delight.  I used the first choice.  Our twist this week was to make our card a fancy fold card.   You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  She did such a pretty Christmas card.  Love the way the snow shines and I like the fancy fold opening for her card.

I saw my fold idea in a CardMaker magazine.  They called this fold a "pop up," but that term could apply to a lot of styles.   At first it looked pretty tricky, but when I started the steps, it turned out to be very easy.  Not much more that a bunch of mountain and valley folds.  I really like this style, and for my first attempt at it I am happy how it turned out.  I cheated a little on the colors.  I could not figure in any way how to use Pumpkin Pie with red.  Ugh!  So, Santa just used an orange marker to write his list.  No one told him that orange does not go well with red.  Hee hee!    The paper is Night of Navy, Season of Style DSP from our Holiday Mini, the circles are the scallop circles, and the pretty snowflakes are the Festive Flurry bundle from our Holiday Mini.   I'm loving the bundle and am in the middle of doing some snowflake ornaments. 

I've been using our new Envelope Punch Board for lots of things, but mostly have been doing my own envelopes and using up some of that old, retired, designer paper.  The board is also great for gift cards and another style of fancy fold card.   Below is the envelope to go with my card.  The finished card is 4 x 4.

Below you can see how the card goes into the envelope.  My husband wants to know who I plan to mail it to.   He may want this one.   He always has something nice to say about my cards, but mostly his style is store bought silly funny (pretty stupid sometimes).  His sense of humor is pretty crazy.  But he has been asking me to make his envelopes -- go figure. 

 
Well I hope you like my challenge this week.  Now it is time to hop on to the next person.  Actually, I am last on this list, so I'll take you back to the beginning to Robbie's blogsite.  If you didn't start with her you can continue on to catch the rest of the gals and their creations.  I know Robbie always has beautiful cards, and she does some super insides and envelopes.  So let's go........

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Island Indigo and More

Hello again.  Happy Wednesday.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite for our coloring down the lines blog hop today.  I know she did a fantastic job again, but I didn't peek yet.  I'll go back in a minute.

Our challenge this week is just a little different.  We were challenged, as usual, to do three colors:  Island Indigo with Rose Red and Garden Green or Island Indigo with Pool Party and Calypso Coral.  However, starting this week we are going to add some other twist to our challenge for added interest.  This week we were to add a leaf.  It doesn't matter what we do with it as long as it is a leaf.  So I decided to use the second color choice and make my card a cool, wintery, card.  I used the silver sparkle paper and used the Autumn Accents Bigz Die to cut my leaf.  Then I sponged a little Calypso Coral on the sparkle to give the leaf a little fallish orange.  The embossing folder is Northern Flurry.  So, what I am trying to do here is go from fall into winter -- all on one card.  Oh well, it sounded good in my head.  I hope you like my card.

Now let's hop to Robbie's blog to see what she has done with the challenge.  She is the start of the hop, but if you did not begin with her, you can go back and continue all the way around.

Come back to visit me again soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Garden Green

It's blog hop time again with our coloring down the lines.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  Gorgeous, gojus!!  I love her 3-D pumpkin.  And is that a lollipop I see there?  Yum! 

We were challenged this week to use Garden Green with Calypso Coral and Soft Sky, or Garden Green with So Saffron and Melon Mambo.  I used the latter.  Why?  Because I wanted to use the smear technique and those were the re-inker colors I have.  LOL

By smear, what I mean is I drop the various colors on a plastic mat, smear the colors around, spray some water, and then I drop a piece of glossy white cardstock face down on all that color.  It appears this time Garden Green was predominant even though I dropped quite a bit of Melon Mambo too.  What I like about the technique is that you never know what you will get.

So here is my creation....................

I hope you like it.  Now we can hop back to the beginning where Robbie's blogsite started today's hop.  You can continue from there if you haven't yet seen all the other gals.  I'm sure Robbie's is gojus too, but I haven't seen it yet.   However, every time I visit her blog I come away with more ideas and plans to CASE her wonderful creations.  And have you been watching her punch art for her granddaughter?  Wow!  Love it all!  So let's go take a look. 

Until next time.................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Elegant Eggplant

Oh my, it has been so long since I posted that I forgot how to do it, and forgot my password.  I even forgot how to make a card.  And, well, I also forgot where most of my craft items were.  Shame on me.  But we really, really, had a fun time on our trip to Connecticut to meet our newest grandson, and to travel to Maine to find colorful leaves.  (see picture below of our newest little peanut)

Speaking of color, it is our Wednesday coloring down the lines blog hop.  Our colors this week are Elegant Eggplant with Island Indigo and Basic Gray, or Elegant Eggplant with Always Artichoke and Sahara Sand.  I chose the first as I love Island Indigo.  But then I also love Sahara Sand, so it was a difficult choice.   It is hard to see, but the band of Very Vanilla at the bottom is wide ribbon, and I stamped on it.  I added a few pearls to give the band a little interest.  This is a very simple card, and I like it.  Oh, and I bet you just arrived from Liz's blogsite.  Such a pretty card.  Hmmmm.....looks like our thoughts were running a little in the same vein again.  She chose the same embossing folder and used pearls too.  Love it.

Ok, so do you want to see a picture of our little William?  Drum roll...................here he is!

 Love this little guy, but then we love his older brothers too.  I had so much fun with them.  I played catch with the 6 yr old and believe it or not, the 3 yr old and I were crafting.  Well, sort of.  He happens to have a black ink pad, 3 animal rubber stamps, and 3 punches.  So we punched cats and hearts and stamped elephants and penguins all over pieces of paper.  Repetition is the name of the game.  I laughed so hard.  Can't wait to go back -- or to have them come visit!  They just moved from California to Connecticut.  Great, that puts them within reach as it is only a 5.5 hour drive.

Well, now you should go back to the beginning of our hop.  Back to Robbie's blogsite.  And if you didn't start there, then I can get you there to start and then continue through the entire hop.

Until next time....................and hopefully not so long......................

Crafty hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Cherry Cobbler

Welcome to another Coloring Down The Lines Blog Hop Wednesday.  Whew!  That's a mouthful.  You should have arrived by way of Liz's blogsite.  Such talent.  I always like what I see over there.  I like even more when she and I get together to craft and make things.  However, she is back to school and we don't get to do as much as we do in the summer time.  (Hi Liz).

So this week we were challenged to use Cherry Cobbler with Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso OR Cherry Cobbler with Calypso Coral and Night of Navy.  I chose the first combination. 

This card was fun.  I started with the idea I was going to paint the challenge colors, then I decided that one of the pieces of dsp in the This n That pack was Daffodil Delight.  I just had to use that dsp because most weeks there is no dsp with the appropriate color(s).  After that I was stuck, however once I decided to use the Wetlands stamp set everything else fell into place.  I like this combination and may try using it again.

Since I am the last on the hop list, let's go back to the beginning to Robbie's blogsite.  From there you can continue, or if you started there, then you will be back at the beginning.  Hope you like our hop this week, and hope you like my card.  I am leaving on another vacation and may not be at next week's hop.  If I can get a card done today, then I will join, but tomorrow I am on the road again.

Until next time.............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Batty Halloween

I have another Halloween treat for you today.   This was an extremely simple card to make.  The hardest part was waiting for the Crystal Effects to dry.  I wanted to use that beautiful and fun Halloween Washi tape.  That's what started this card.  Then the bats just seemed to fall into place.  But the Crystal Effects made the card.  Love the simplicity.  I can make a bunch of these real quick.

Bragging alert!!   Below is another picture of my granddaughter, Hannah.  She is a cheerleader for the football league for which her brother plays.   Sad to say, however, she cheers for one of the other teams, which often means her brother plays in the morning and she cheers later in the day, or the reverse.  So I don't always get to watch both games -- it's hard to drive 94 miles and then sit around for 4-5 hours in between.  Last weekend, however, the games were back to back.  I got to stand outside in the 93 degree sunshine for 3 1/2 hours.  Whew!  It was hot, hot, hot!!!!  I suppose the next game I go to will be 53 degrees and I'll wish I could have a little more of the heat back.

Don't you just love the way all the girls are so coordinated, all doing super cheers, all in sync, and organized.  NOT!  It was a hot day, and their little hearts were not in it.  By the middle of the second quarter, they were wandering all over the place, going to bathroom, heading to the snack bar, getting drinks.  I wonder what would have happened if the boys had done that during their game -- hmmmmmmm.    But they sure LOOK cute!  Oh, and if you are wondering what all that pink is about, it is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Everyone had to wear some pink, so one of the mothers made hair pieces for all the girls.

Enough rambling.  I hope you are having a great day, and until next time..............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy
 

Halloween Pumpkins

I was able too get some crafting done over the weekend.  And today I finished even more.  Our power went out this morning around 8:00 until noon.  Since my craft room is upstairs, and since there is a skylight right above my table, it was the brightest spot in the house.  I couldn't finish laundry, I couldn't make breakfast, I couldn't clean my closet (it is deep and very dark), and I couldn't do anything outside because it was raining cats and dogs.  So, what do we do when we just can't work?  We play -- uh, I mean we make things.

I made these for my grands.  There are a couple little candy bars and a little toy in each one, and the pumpkins are small flashlights for them to use while tricking and treating.  I finished all 9 today, and I think they are cute.  There are a few designs other than these -- with candy, witches, and other sayings.  I'll show the whole group once I get the candy in and the ribbons on.  But I am loving the little muslin bags for treats.  I have more on my next order so that I can make Christmas treats.  If you haven't tried using these little bags, you really need to get some.  They are really easy to work with.  And, you know that if you don't have a demo, I'd love to be yours.  Just send me a note -- smor@frontiernet.net   

Tomorrow I hope to show you a Halloween card, and don't forget our Wednesday blog hop.  I am finished early this time -- whoooo eeeee!  Love it when I'm not burning the mid-night oil trying to finish.

See you next time.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

File Folder, Take Two

I have another file folder card for you today.  This is another card using my new favorite tool, the Envelope Punch Board.  I really love that board, and so far I have yet to put it away.  It remains on my craft table for envelopes and for these cute cards.  Next time I hope to have a different size and perhaps a gift card.

The paper I used for this card is from the Winter Frost paper stack.  I'm loving that stack of paper.  It is very versatile.  The winter look is subtle so that I can use it for cards other than Christmas or winter.  These are beautiful colors.

Hope you like my design for today.  And I hope you are having a great fall week, we won't have many more before the snow starts swirling and the wind starts howling.  I know, I could have kept those thoughts to  myself.   (Sigh)   

Until next time...................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Cajun Craze

I bet you thought I fell off the face of the earth.  Almost, but not quite.  My trip to Wisconsin was a ton of fun.  And the driving was fun too.  750 miles out, 750 back, and I put nearly 2,000 total miles on my car.  My sister and I had a great time visiting, shopping, putting together puzzles, reading, visiting with friends for breakfasts and dinners, and we took a 2-day trip to Northern Wisconsin where we stopped at nearly every little shop and winery on our route.  It was a girls' week and we had a blast.  (Hubby stayed home and fixed my craft cabinet, painted the bathroom, and cleaned the garage.  Hmmm, I think I got the better end of the deal)

But now I am back and trying to get into the swing of home life and crafting.  Today is blog hop Wednesday and our color challenge.  We were challenged this week to use Cajun Craze with Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry, OR Cajun Craze with Perfect Plum and Always Artichoke.  I chose the first one.  You should have arrived here from Helen's blogsite.  I have to go look, but I bet it is super.  I sure missed the hops while I was gone.  I saw what my friends did, but I missed being part of it.

I saw a neat file folder technique and video on Patty Bennett's blogsite.  She did several styles with different types of décor.  I loved the whole idea, so I had to try it.  Of course, with our colors this week I could not find one designer paper to use, so I had to use just cardstock and make it work.  I like the folder.  I think it is a unique way to present a homemade card.  Thank you Patty for another great idea.

I'm trying, in this second picture, to show how the card opens from the top.  However, you can make it vertical and open from the right, you can even seal the sides and make a pull out to go in the card.  I'll be making a bunch more of these.

Now let's hop over to Robbie's blogsite.  She is the start of the hop so this will take you around to the beginning.  If you have missed anyone, you can continue from there. 

I hope to get more creations done for you to see.  I finished another file folder and a thank you card the other day, so I'll be posting those.  I want to get started with some of the great Christmas designs and a few Halloween treats I need to finish for my grands.

Until next time............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Sorry, friends, if you came here for the Wednesday blog hop.  I'm leaving during the night tonight on a road trip and I just ran out of time to get things done around here.  I did not get a card done for you today.

However, if you want to join the rest of the gals for the blog hop, you can start with Robbie and continue to the rest of the ladies. 

Go here for Robbie.

I'll be gone for approximately 2 weeks and won't have access to internet hookup, so I'll catch you all on the "other side."  Have a great couple weeks and I'll see you soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Rich Razzleberry

Hi, it's color hop Wednesday.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  I think she has something super for you today, but I haven't seen it yet.  We didn't get to craft together this time.  She is back in school and so her days are full. 

Our challenge this week is to use Rich Razzleberry with Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie or with Basic Gray and Basic Black.  I thought immediately of Halloween when I saw Rich Razzleberry with Black.  The other day I was looking through some blogs and found someone who made a little hand held scrapbook of sorts by using graduated sized die cuts.  I thought, hmmmmm, I can do that.  And with the challenge coming up I decided to do a little hand held booklet for Halloween.  Here is what I came up with using Rich Razzleberry with Basic Gray and Basic Black,

Or course, I would like to add some orange and maybe a few Halloween stickers, but needed to stay true to the colors and Stampin'Up! for the challenge.  I plan to make 5 more pages so that I have a total of 7.  These 2 pictures are just placeholders for now.  After Halloween I plan to get 1 picture of each of our 7 grandchildren for this Halloween "brag" book. 

Here is how it opens........

And here is another page with pictures.  As I said, I'll be changing pictures and decorating a little more before finalizing it. 

I hope you like the start to my book and the way I used the colors for today.  I used the Window Frames Framelits, and the Basic Gray paper is Co'redinations paper that I embossed with Chevron and sanded.   The bat is a retired SU punch from a couple years ago -- sorry.

So let's hop now to Teri's blogsite to see what she has for us.  I'm sure it is great.  I always like what she has.  All of our contributors seem to have such nice things for inspiration.  I love our hop.

Hope to see you again soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Another Birthday

Here's the other birthday card I did the other day.  It is for my grandson, who loves fish, the kind in an aquarium.  He and his dad each have an aquarium for the fish they like.  I used 1 12 x 12 sheet of designer paper for both the envelope and the card.  The envelope uses 8 x 8 for a standard envelope and the remaining pieces I used for the front of the card.

For this card  I used the new Circle Thinlet and the circle die, which is one of the extra pieces in this set.  I love the thinlets, both the Circle and the Label.  They make some really nice a bit out of the ordinary cards.  I like to shake things up once in a while and do something different so I was really happy to see these thinlets. 

The stamp is Fishin' Around, which is a 1 stamp set, at $8.95 it is a really inexpensive stamp.  I'm going to use it for the younger grands for future cards.    I haven't done much water coloring lately.  I have no idea why, because I feel water coloring is my very favorite technique.  It makes me feel like a real artist.  I need to get back to it again.  You can't see it here, but inside I made a small slit and inserted a piece of green -- the spending kind.

So there is the other birthday card.  Perhaps I can find a pic or two of the birthday.   Let me see...........

Here's dad and the kids at dad's house.  They had a grand time, but I had even more fun.  I have to drive a long way to visit when they don't come up to our house, but it is worth it.  I love spending time with them, they make me happy! 

See that big grin on my face?  That is HAPPY!

Have a great day.  Be sure to come back again soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Stylin' Girl Birthday

On Wednesday I showed you a color challenge card using Stylin' Girl and an envelope.  I said I had done another in pinks because it was for my granddaughter's birthday card, and pink is her favorite color.

Here is said birthday card.  I used my new Envelope Punch Board to make the envelope, and I am loving that tool.  I've been making envelopes and it is so easy.  I am so glad I bought it.  I can see it is going to be a major "go to" tool.  I was making only an occasional envelope with the scoring board, but this is so much easier so I'll be making a lot more and using up some of my old designer papers.

So here is the promised granddaughter birthday card.  In the next day or so I will post the card I made for my grandson's birthday.  Note, it will not have Stylin' Girl.

Hope to see you soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Real Red

Wednesday is here already.   It is our color blog hop time.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  And once again she has a wonderful creation for us.  Love it.

We were challenged to use Real Red with either Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie or with Tempting Turquoise and Very Vanilla.  Since last week I went with the fall colors I decided this week to choose the softer colors.  I was in the middle of trying to make a birthday card for my granddaughter, so I decided to use Stylin' Girl.  I made 2 cards, one with the challenge colors and one with Hannah's favorite pinks.  I'll show you her card, as well as her brother's card tomorrow (both birthdays are close and so we have one party for both of them). 

Also used were Framelits Apothecary Accents and the Ovals Framelits.  I used one of the accessories from my new Label Thinlet.  I'll show you more of the Thinlets tomorrow, as I used the Circle one for my grandson's card.  I love those card makers.  There are so many things you can do with not only the card maker, but also the many accessories.  I am so glad I got both sets.

And let me tell you about my newest toy (um tool).  Yesterday I received my Envelope Punch Board.  At Convention it was demonstrated, and I knew then it was something I would have to have.  I'm loving it already, and am so glad I got it.  At $19.95 I think it is a real bargain.  It will be available to everyone September 1.  You can see above that I did an envelope to go with my challenge card.  I made 3 more today.  I have so much left over designer paper, but if I keep making envelopes I'll probably use up a lot of it.  And I think I can make envelope liners to.  I'll try that next.  There are 66 sizes of envelopes you can make with the Punch Board, and it punches the divits and rounds corners too.  Wow!   I'm already thinking about  nice envelopes for Christmas.  Hmmmmm..............

Ok, so enough about all that.  I'm sure you want to continue on your hop.  Next is Teri's blogsite.  So let's go.....

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Pumpkin Pie

Welcome again to blog hop Wednesday.  You most likely arrived from Liz's blogsite.  So what did you think?  Beautiful, isn't it.  I am amazed how she and I think alike.  We are great friends, and often choose the same stamps and accessories because we have the same taste.  Looks like we did it again.  I think we both headed straight for the Witches' Brew designer paper and the new Label Card thinlet.  Great minds and all that! 

We were challenged this week to use Pumpkin Pie with either Pacific Point and Real Red or with Early Espresso and Daffodil Delight.  Pumpkin Pie isn't my favorite but it is the perfect color for Halloween and fall.  I'm not quite ready to work on either, but in this instance I decided on a fall card using Early Espresso and Daffodil Delight.  The Halloween designer paper was perfect for these colors.  For the leaf I colored with markers direct to the stamp with all three of my color choices,  and just a little thumping of each to finish off the mottled look.  I spritzed just a teeny spray of water on my stamp to give just a slight watercolor look.

I just received my order with the brand new thinlet, so I couldn't wait to use it.  You can see from the first and second picture how the front looks as you open the card.

Then with my last picture you see the inside of the card when it is completely open.  I really love this new die.  The circle thinlet will be on my next order.  I can't wait to try it with circles and scallops, and all the pieces that come in each package.  I can tell that I am going to have a lot of fun with these dies. 

So let's hop over now to Teri's blogsite to see what she has for us.  I'm anxious to see what color combination she chose.  I could not figure out how to put the Real Red into the mix.  Wonder if she managed to do that combination. 

Until next time..............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Pacific Point

Wednesday has come around really fast this week.  I had my card done last week and put it out of my mind, so I nearly forgot to post it.  We were challenged to use Pacific Point with either Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie or with Daffodil Delight and Rich Razzleberry.  I chose the second.  I love Pacific Point and I love Daffodil Delight.  I don't much care for Pumpkin Pie, so there was no hesitation there.

You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  I already saw what she was working on last week when I was crafting with her.  What a beauty again.  If I remember correctly, she has a step card, and it is a fun one.  Love what she did with her card.

With my card I embossed with the dots embossing folder, I used one of the doilies, and the stamp set is Mixed Bunch.  I put a little sparkle on each of the "flowers" by way of Dazzling Diamonds.  This design is just a bit different from what I usually gravitate toward, but I like it a lot.  Hope you like it too.

Now let's hop to Teri's blogsite to see what she has for us this week.  I'm sure it is going to be another of her great designs.

Until next time.......................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

More Stampin'Up! Convention

I never showed you the huge assortment of gifts I got from friends while I was at the Stampin'Up Convention.  Wow, those gals are so creative.  I received so many handmade paper crafted items.  I will be using them for a long time.  You can see below quite the assortment.  Robbie made several coordinated items,  See the purple polka dot  notebook holder, business card holder and calendar holder.  I can even get my checkbook into the calendar holder.  Nice set.  She also did the 2 jars you see below.  One has a wonderful air freshener.  The other was a real hit for me while at the convention.  It is filled with a powder you use for a foot soak.  My legs and feet hurt so much from standing and walking, that my ankles were swollen.  Each night I put several inches of cool water in the tub with some of this wonderful smelling stuff and sat on the side of the tub with my feet in.   Ahhhhhh, made me feel so much better.  Thanks Robbie.

 There is another business card holder from Amanda, a color coded sponge dauber holder from Donna, beautiful key chains and that cute little owl candy holder from Laura Lynn, notebook cover from Buffy, and on and on.  Thanks to all my friends for being so nice to me.  This first convention for me was so special. 

I'll be back with a few more things from Convention.  I have swaps of mine I haven't posted yet, as well as swaps from others.  And don't forget our Wednesday color blog hop.

Until next time.........................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Old Olive

It's blog hop Wednesday.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  I haven't looked yet, but she always has something really gorgeous.  Our challenge this week was to use Old Olive with either Soft Suede and Crushed Curry, or with Pumpkin Pie and Cherry Cobbler.

 I still have no idea where I was going with this card.  I received a piece of burlap ribbon from my friend Buffy last week and I really wanted to use that burlap.  That's about all I had in mind.  I turned all sorts of different directions and ended sponging and streaking the Soft Suede and Crushed Curry on Whisper White cardstock.  I matted that piece with Soft Suede on top of an Old Olive base.  Then I decided to throw it in the trash.  Didn't like it.  Then I took it out and added the 4 candy dots and sponged a little more.  Then I threw it in the trash.  Then I got mad at myself, pulled it out, took a picture and decided it is what it is.  The colors are right, the design is about where my mojo is -- in the basement.  Well it will go in my stash or the trash, but I doubt I'll send it to anyone.  Perhaps next week my mojo will find its way home.

So now let's hop on to the next on our list.  That would be Teri's blogsite.  Teri always has something interesting.  I think we should go take a look.

Until next time.......

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Melon Mambo

Happy Wednesday.  It's blog hop time again with our coloring down the lines challenge.  Yay, we have a larger lineup today.  I guess everyone is settling back into their routines after Convention.  I'm still a little tired and trying to find my mojo.  I can't seem to think up anything out of the ordinary.  Well, hopefully it will all come back.

This week we were challenged to use Melon Mambo with either Daffodil Delight and Tempting Turquoise or with Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant.  I decided to use the first combination.  I love Turquoise.    I believe you arrived here by way of Liz's blogsite.  She amazes me every time I see her creations.  She is always trying to cook up something different -- and she cooks up great creations in her kitchen too.

So here is my creation for this week.  I think it is pretty simple but cheery.  I may send it to a good friend whose birthday is coming up soon.

Off now to continue the hop to Teri's blogsite.  Wow, Teri has been missing in action for quite a while.  I am so happy she is back as she is such a super crafter and a great friend. 

Hope you like my creation today.

Until next time.......................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Convention Gift

I promised to show you some of the swaps and gifts I received at Convention, as well as some of the ones I made.  Below you will find a few gifts I received from my good friend Donna at Butternut Sage Designs.  Donna is the leader of our chat group, which I have mentioned many time.  We hope you will join our chat group some time, by clicking on "chat" on her website here.  

Below are two boxes she made.  The larger held a beautiful handmade paper flower arrangement, which you can see farther below.  The second box is one she designed and made which held a beautiful bracelet.  She is so talented and so generous with her gifts.  You can see how to make the Origami box from one of her tutorials on her site.

 

 

This is a close up of the Origami box and the bracelet. 

Below is the flower arrangement from the larger box.  We were to make a gift and then when our chat group got together we picked names and received the gift that person made.  This flower arrangement is what Donna made, and I picked her name.  Isn't it gorgeous.  There is no end to her talent.  I love it.

And here is a close up showing the detail of all these beautiful flowers.

So that is one of the beautiful gifts I received.  We also did "pillow gifts" for one another.  There were many of those and I love every one.  I'll show some over the next couple days and also some of my creations.  So stay tuned...................

Until next time...................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Convention Swap -- Hall

Real quick today because I am to leave here shortly.  This card is one of the swaps I did for convention.  We did a hall swap among our friends staying at the same hotel in Salt Lake City.  This is the one I did.  I wanted something bright and cheery.  I think I succeeded. 

I thought I took pictures of the insides of all, but I guess I didn't for this one.  Oh well, the inside and envelope had butterflies.

Tomorrow I'll be back with a beautiful gift I received, so come back again.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

The Chat Bunch

I promise tomorrow I will start showing some of the swaps I made and some I received during the Stampin'Up! 2013 Convention.  I have been so busy yesterday and today I hardly know my name.  But tomorrow I should be home and want to play in my craft room.  In the meantime, here is another picture of some of my chat room friends.  I have been chatting with these wonderful gals for almost 2 years and did not meet them in person until this year.  I met Robbie for the first time at the Regional meet in Baltimore in April and the rest just this past week.  What a great, fun, bunch of gals.  I love them all.

Left to right are Donna, who started this chatting in the first place, Laura Lynn, Amanda, me, Robbie and Helen.  If you are wondering what the chat group is, as I have mentioned before, each week day morning from 10:00 till 11:00 Eastern, whoever is available will go to Donna' blog site here, and click "Chat" at the right of her blog.  Then you type in your name, pick a color for yourself and click "Enter Room."  Once that screen changes just click "Join Chat" at the bottom and you are in.  We hope you will join us when you can.  Everyone is friendly, and there are lots of ideas and fun bouncing around in that chat room.  Hope to chat with you soon.

Until next time...............................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Stampin'Up! 2013 Convention Recap

Wow!  is all I can say about the 2013 Stampin'Up! Convention.  Well, there is a lot more to say, but "WOW" aptly describes the incredible time I had going to my very first Convention.  We left early last Wednesday morning to fly from Dulles to Salt Lake City and arrived at 4:00 p.m.  I finally, after almost 2 years of chatting online, met several of my cyber friends in person.  Oh what fun to finally see, hug, and interact, without having to type and imagine.  They are amazing gals, and over the next 3 days we spent wonderful time together, swapped amazing creations (some of which I will post here over the next several days), and just enjoyed our time together.  I can't say enough how warm and friendly these ladies are -- not to mention how super creative too!  And I made even more new friends while there.  Stampers really are a great bunch of friendly gals, and there are a few guys too.

The Convention itself was a whirlwind 3 days -- and I mean whirlwind from 6 in the morning until 11 at night.  I don't think I had 1 hour of downtime over the entire convention, other than when I was sleeping, and I did very little of that.  Yesterday -- Sunday -- my dear friend and oh so super up-line, Buffy Cooper, and I had to drag ourselves out of bed at 4:00 in the morning (that is the middle of the night, don't you know) so that we could catch the shuttle to the airport and get on our 7:00 a.m. flight home.  You should have seen that plane full of Stampin'Up! ladies.  That alone was like a convention!  Made even more new friends on the plane.

So, there is tons and tons of information from the Convention that I want to share with you over the next few days, but for today let's just say you will not want to miss out on the new framelits, a super new envelope cutter which does everything for you but pick out the designer paper, and a fun "Undefined Stamp Carving Kit."  Watch for these "coming soon" items.

For now let me show you a picture of me with Buffy Cooper and a new friend, Susan Horr, standing at The Rock in front of Stampin'Up!'s home office.  It was a super hot day -- over 100 -- but just about the time the picture was snapped, the water sprinkler came on and we were sprayed.  Actually it felt so good that we took several more pictures just so we could continue to stand there. 

I'll tell you more tomorrow about my experiences.  Let me just say that when I left I had a suitcase almost empty, when I came home it was crammed full of swaps and gifts from my friends, and oh so many free stamps and accessories from Stampin'Up!  What a wonderful few days it was.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Bermuda Bay

Hi everyone.  It's blog hop Wednesday again.  Do you know what else it is?  It's time to go to the Stampin'Up! annual convention.  By the time you read this I'll either be on the way to the airport or already in the air headed for Salt Lake City.   It's Stampin'Up!'s 25th anniversary, so we are all hoping for a really great convention this year.  But you are here to see the color challenge, right?  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  Terrific, once again. 

We were challenged to use Bermuda Bay and to add to it either Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry, or to add Tangerine Tango and Smokey Slate.  Oops!  Guess what I just now discovered.........I combined the wrong colors.  I used Bermuda Bay and added Crushed Curry and Smokey Slate.  Well, I hope you like my mistaken combination because it is late and I don't have time to go back and start over.   Hmmmmm........must be the rush to get ready to leave here at 6:00 in the morning for the airport. 
 
 So here is my card for this week.

In addition to using the wrong colors, I used my Framed Tulips embossing folder, the new Flower Shop stamp set and matching pansy punch, Off the Grid stamp set (love that stamp) and the Postage Collection hostess stamp set for the sentiment.  Whew, a lot of stamps there for such a small amount of action on this card.  I can't wait to get the Smokey Slate embossing powder, which is in my next order, so that I can try heat embossing Off the Grid with that powder.  I've seen it done and it is beautiful. 

Well I need to get myself off to bed.  So let's hop back to the beginning to Robbie's blogsite.  I think she is already in Salt Lake City tonight, but I know she scheduled her blog with another great challenge.    while I am in SLC I  hope to take a couple pictures to put on my blog to show you what mischief we get into.  And I have a few swaps and gifts that I've already prepared for my blog.  So, if I find the time I'm hoping to find -- around 2:00 a.m. -- I'll add some to this blog.

Until next time...............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down the Lines -- Pistachio Pudding

Welcome to blog hop Wednesday.  It's time to take another look at the color challenge.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  She and I got together the other day to do some crafting.  She brought her completed card for this week to show me, and I brought mine to show her.  Talk about like minds.  We both used the same colors, the same stamp, and the same designer paper.  That is the second time we have done that in the past month or so.  I know you love her card because it is beautiful and so creative.

Our colors this week are Pistachio Pudding with Baked Brown Sugar and Crisp Cantaloupe or Pistachio Pudding with Smokey Slate and Strawberry Slush.  I chose the latter.  Love that Smokey Slate color, even though I did not use very much of it on this card.  I chose to use mostly Strawberry Slush mainly because I didn't think I liked that color.  After working with it, I believe I do like it.

I used my new Tea Party stamp set and colored directly on the stamp with Basic Gray, Old Olive and Strawberry Slush.  The designer paper is Quatrefancy Specialty.  The cardstock colors are Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, Smokey Slate and Strawberry Slush.

I am the last on the list for the hop, so you can go back to the beginning to Robbie's blogsite.  And if you started with me, then continue on to her and you can do the whole round.

Until next time......................

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Baked Brown Sugar

It's blog hop Wednesday.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite and I know her creation is beautiful.  I know because she told me -- hee hee (hi Liz!  (smile) )   We are challenged this week to use Baked Brown Sugar with Crisp Cantaloupe and Bermuda Bay, or Baked Brown Sugar with Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler.  I used Crisp Cantaloupe and Bermuda Bay because I just could not get that bright green to go with any design I tried.  I should have forced myself to that challenge, but I just gave up.  No pat on the back for me this week.

My card this week is very, very, simple.  In fact, I'm going to use this version as the first of a "stepped up" set to see how I can build on it to make it better.  I'll let you know how I do.

I used my brand new Tea Party stamp set and embossed it with pewter embossing powder.  I also used my brand new Beautifully Baroque embossing folder.  I have several brand, spanking, new toys.  But, alas, I am so busy trying to finish up my convention swaps, 3-D items, and convention gifts, that am not getting to play with many new things.  Once I finish swapping at convention I should have a bunch of new things to show, and then I can get my new sets inky.  And if I remember to take all my computer parts, I may even be able to blog a convention picture or two while I am there.  I'm getting excited now.  Only a couple weeks until we leave.  I didn't get to go last year so I have waited quite a while for this year, and am super excited to go and to meet several new blog friends face to face.

Enough of my rambling today, let's hop back to Robbie's blogsite at the beginning, and if you didn't start with her, you can start at the beginning and continue on with everyone and back to me.

Until next time..............

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Coastal Cabana

It's challenge time again, and the blog hop.  I have had a really, really busy week.  I've been working on Convention swaps, working in the yard, and taking care of the grands.   My grands, like all children, are always busy and always wanting to do something.  They keep me hopping.  Today friends and I worked on cards, and I also worked on a gift swap.  Whew!  Glad I got that done.

But the biggie to finish today was the challenge for tomorrow (I'm posting this the night before our hop).  Now that I have taken a picture of my card, I'm not so sure I like it anymore.  It looks rather blah.  The colors aren't quite my choice, but that's what the word "challenge" means.

Our colors are Coastal Cabana with Calypso Coral and Smoky Slate, or Coastal Cabana with Pumpkin Pie and Crushed Curry.  I used the first.  You should have arrived by way of Liz's blogsite.  I'm glad she is back with us now that school is out for the summer.  She always comes up with something unique and this week is no exception.  Love it. 

I used the Honeycomb embossing folder and I cut a few of the hexagons for the front of the card.  I am still mad at Stampin'Up! for not giving us a small hexagon punch to go with the embossing folder.  I also used some of the new ruffle ribbon.  I didn't think I was going to like that ribbon, but I do.  I also passed over the chevron ribbon, but have seen it in action, and now I can't wait to get my hands on some.

Ok, since I am the last on the list for the hop, I'm going to take you back to the beginning with Robbie in order to make a full circle.  I hope you  liked my card today.  Come back again soon.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy

Coloring Down The Lines -- Crisp Cantaloupe

It's Coloring Down the Lines Blog Hop Wednesday -- already!  Yikes, I just realized that I have been terribly lax this week.  No posts all week.  Bad girl!  I've been working on swaps for Convention, but I got a couple extras done today, so I'll try to post those over the next couple days.  So on to the hop.  You should have arrived from Liz's blogsite.  Amazing!  That gal is amazing!  I just love what she did with the colors and also with her card.

Our color challenge this week was to use the new in-color Crisp Cantaloupe.  With it we could use Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding, or Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede.  I chose to use all new in-colors, the first combination.   Looks like I got a little crooked, hmmmm.  I have only a little Pistachio peeking behind the label, but it is enough.  I love the cheery color combination.  Don't you love the new in-colors?

And here is the inside.  The envelope looks pretty much like the inside only the envelope is Very Vanilla.  I love the mosaic stamp set too.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hopefully I will not wait so long to post next time.  Now we can hop back to the beginning of the hop line and go to Robbie's blogsite. 

Happy Crafting.

Crafty Hugs,
Sandy