Believe in your heart...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

 My goodness, where did the last year go? It was a busy one for me with several cruises, several trips back east to settle my father-in-law into a new home and sell the old one.  These trips also include a few visits to see the twins and Jordy, and,  we had a visit from a very special friend. I have had time to reconnect with family and friends over the past year and also to get back to my passion - card making (paper crafting)!  

 

 I'm really looking forward to a wonderful 2014! So, to begin the New Year off right, I have a card for you. This time I have used Mo's Digital Pencil image, "Bella and Bronte Sledding" I really need to get back to making Christmas cards on a regular basis. I had none to send out this year except the store bought ones. So without further ado, here is my card.

 

I'm sorry to say that I have no idea what paper I used on this card or the copic colors I used to color the image.  Actually this card front was made a long time ago and I just now have had the time to finish the inside.  I know I'm the ONLY ONE who ever does this!  Yeah, right!

 

 

 

 

The little tag with the big ribbon is removable.  Below is a picy of the tag removed.

The sentiment on the little circle is from Cuddly Buddly while the Joyeux Noel is from AmyR Stamps. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here is a close up of the image:  

 

 

 

I don't often make my cards to open from side to side.  Usually I make them tent style.  So I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried it.  Whew, I had a hard time getting this just right.  The Sentiment is digital from Nana Vic's collection.  I went searching the web for some Christmas sentiments and hers were the ones I liked the best. 

 

 

 

 

And finally, the lopsided, cockeyed ARTSY view of my card.  :-)

 

 

So there we have it.  My first posting on the very first of the new year.

 

I wish you all the very best in the coming year.  May your New Year Resolutions come true.

 

Blessings to all,

Hugs and Grins

Barb



Welcome little Boy!

I have been very remiss in posting anything to my blog of late. Life just seems to have been a whirlwind since our cruise last April. Did it really take place - it surely did! Actually I haven't had very much time to get much of anything done in paper crafting, knitting, smocking and sewing. We have had the most delightful young woman staying with us for the past 7 weeks. She will return home tomorrow. We have tried to show her as much of Texas from Ranger's games to football, College and Pro, trips to historic places and even a cruise to Mexico! Whew, I can hardly catch my breath. Her aunt is expecting a baby boy around Christmas so I got busy and made her a sweet little card to take with her for the baby. I have used Mo's Digital Image called Little Sailor. Love this series of sailor kids. Too cute. I made the card with one singe layer of 6X6 cardstock and made the smaller 4X4 piece to be the opening portion of the card. Just look below - it's self explanatory :-)


Here is the front of the card...

 

 

 

A closer view of the corner adorner I used to make the page turn. 

I added a small bear charm to it.

 

 

 

Here's the cute cockeyed view of the card...

 

 

 

Here is the card on the inside.  The Sentiments are both from SU.

 

Thank you for stopping by to see what I've been up to.  I'm hoping life will slow down much more after Christmas, but until then I'm just keeping my head above water.

 

Blessings of peace,

 

Barb

RED WHITE AND BLUE, Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge

Happy Thursday to everyone! Can you believe it?  May is half way through, ALREADY!

  Already we experiencing beautiful HOT weather here in my little corner of the world. Oh, for those wonderful cool and windy days of the cruise...

 

I have finally made a new card using one of Mo's Digital Images (I can't find her name - sheesh!) and am entering her in this week's challenge of Red White and Blue.

I feel so rusty still, but have completely enjoyed putting some time aside to practice my coloring skills. So without further ado, here is my card...

A closer look at the image and my coloring - ooooooh, don't look too close please!

I always like to include a slanted view of my cards...kind of artsy don't you think"

Finally, here is how I finished out the inside. Very plain and simple, not too much fru-fru...

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog and see what I'm up to.

Your visits always make me smile and add sunshine to my day.

Hugs and blessings, Barb

Lacy Challenge at DP2

I've been hard at work at my crafting table again this week. I decided to color a Mo's Digital Pencil image called Bunches. I've used her on several cards in the past and I absolutely adore her. I checked on the DP2 Challenge Blog and this week their challenge is to use lace, so I'm entering my card into this challenge.

I have quite a few different pictures of my project, so please bear with me...

Here is the front of the Easel card closed flat for mailing...



A closer look at my coloring...



Here is a side view of the card. As you can see here I used a length of cotton lace and wove some Chocolate Brown ribbon through it.



A front view of the card propped open. I used my crimp-per to make my stopper with the sentiment on top.



When you open the card completely, I finished the entire inside. I wanted to have a place to write a short (very short) salutation, so I printed the image again, only much smaller, and colored her to match. To the left is another sentiment panel, which pulls out to reveal a personal note...




Here you can see how the sentiment tag just slides out to reveal the message and slides right back in. I used two layers on this card to really make sure it didn't break.




Okay, here is my card recipe:

DP - some old stuff from my stash
CS - Bazzill and SU
Lace/pearls/ribbon - stash
Creative Memories Oval cutter
MS Lace Edge punch
SU Word Window Punch
Scor-Tape
Copics:
Skin - E0000, 000, 00, 11, chalk for cheeks
Hair - E25, 27, 31
Leaves/Stems - G43, 46
Flowers - R81, 81, 46, 22, V05, YR12, 16, B32, 34, Y11, 15
Dress/Shoes - B32, 37, 60, E25, 40, 41, 42, 43, 25

So that's it! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog to see my latest creation. Your comments are all so very special and much appreciated.

Welcome New Baby...

I simply couldn't resist this precious image by Mo Manning. You can find this image and many others all beautifully drawn at Digital Pencil Too.

I knew what I wanted to do with this image, but it didn't come together as easily as I thought! I really struggled with the design elements. However in the end, I'm pleased with the outcome. Perhaps next week will have fewer distractions in it and my Mojo will flow much more easily.

I did a little (5.5") round Easel card...

I used some new digital paper I recently purchased from Nitwit Collections. It' so pretty and I can't wait to use some more of it...if I could just remember where I stored it!

Here's a close up of the baby...

Here is the card propped open...

The inside...

Thanks for dropping by for a visit...Be sure to come back later this week for my Magnolia-licious Highlites challenge card...see you then!

Blessing and Hugs,
Barb <><

Hello blogging friends! I have one more card for your viewing pleasure. I have again used Faber Castell pencils, this one using Mummu from Mo's Digital Pencil. Her digi online shop is chocked full of beautifully drawn images. I hope you will pop over and take a look at all she has to offer.

This is not just a miniature Easel Card, it's also a drawer/box which I had a lot of trouble designing. Let's just say that math is not my strong suit and more paper than I'd like to admit went into file 13!!!

Here is a look at my shaped Easel Card Box...

Here is Mummu up close and personal...you might want to know why I gave Mummu a red petticoat. I needed to tie the color into my dp, but, I had in mind the red petticoat that Rhett Butler gave Mammy in "Gone with the Wind". Somehow I just had to give her a red petticoat and it matches the heart on her skirt.

Here is a side view of the box and you can see that I used a gold rhinestone with a red bead for the drawer pull. It was this box and drawer that gave me such fits. Sheesh! It should be much easier than I tried to make it!

There is a surprise to this box also. The sentiment panel swivels out of the way for a personal message to be written.

Supplies used:

Cardstock - SU Hunter Green, Bazzill White, Cryogen White,
Design Paper - Echo Park Times and Seasons
Faber Castell Polychromos Pencils
Distress Inks - Weathered Wood, Tattered Rose
Spellbinder Labels 14, Labels 21, Lattice Rectangles
Rhinestones - SU
Bead - stash
Sentiment - stash

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today. Your comments always lift my day.

Blessings and hugs
Barb

It's potty time at our house, so......

I absolutely could not resist this darling image from Mo's Digital Pencil. There were four images in the sequence, but this one is so right on for what we're dealing with at our house. This is a familiar sight every day, multiple times a day *grin*.

This is a Double Easel card, which I'm loving to pieces. I found this idea over on Pam Sparks blog and it's the second card I've made using this layout. Your make a regular easel card, mine is 6 X 12 and then add another Easel card 6X6 and add it to the front portion of the larger one. The smaller one works as a stopper for the larger one and you just add some decoration as the stopper for the smaller one.

Here is a side view so that you get what I'm talking about...



Here is the front of the card, fully open...



Here is the card when you close it up for mailing. Because of the dimensional things inside it won't lie completely flat, but you get the idea...




This is a close up of my sweet little image! Coloring Ethnic skin colors is a bit of a challenge for me, and I worked hard to get it just right. Still she is a little darker than the twins, but just as cute...



This is an angle view showing how I decorated the smaller Easel card even on the back...



Lastly I had a very hard time coming up with an appropriate sentiment for her. I had lots of input from my hubby, but I didn't want to say anything too inappropriate. In the end I chose these sentiment from The Cutting Cafe and I think it works well with the image.


Thanks so much for visiting me again. Your comments really make blogging so much fun!

Hugs,
Barb

Belated Birthday....

Hello blogging friends. I'm back today with another card, but this time it's a Digital Image from Mo's Digital Pencil. She is called "Two Jill". Believe me, with twin 3 year olds around the house I see this pose on a regular basis, usually followed by a flow of tears!

I needed something to do last night, since I had finished a card which is scheduled to post later this month, and it was late and I didn't think I'd have time to get much done. But in the end, I went surfing some challenge blogs for a sketch and found this awesome sketch on CLP. The DT entries are mouth watering so I decided to see if I could pull something together.

Back in December, when I was helping my daughter through a rough patch in her life, I colored up a bunch of images - most of which still need to be made into cards. I ran across this sweet image and then went digging for some paper. Since I went through my marathon paper clean up a week or so ago, I have a ton of paper already cut into 6X6 pieces. So now I don't have the name of the paper or the company who makes it, and I didn't keep track of the copics I used either.

Anyway...here is my card front and my entry into the CLP July challenge...



Here is a close up of my image. I can't believe how much I've grown in my coloring in just a few months...



I always try to repeat some of my design elements on the inside of my card. Of course the paper is a repeat, but I also used more rhinestones around my Marianne Design doily die.



Well that's it! I've had a marathon of a day and I'm ready to retire to watch the Ranger's play against Seattle.

Thanks for dropping by :-)

Hugs,
Barb

Grand kids and a Twin card...

So what do these have in common? Well, nothing really, it's just high time I posted some pictures of the kids and I have made a card with a twin image on the front. I will post the card first and then get to the "grands".

I found the little "Two Peas In a Pod" charm at Hobby Lobby and I guess that was my jumping off place. Since the little twins we have in our care (who will be 3 next week! OMG!!) are bi-racial I thought I would do their skin darker (but I'm afraid I got it toooooo dark) They are really very light skinned.

Here is a close up of the little charm that was my inspiration...



and here is my card...



a side view of the card...



And a close up...



The inside - very simple and plain...



Now onto the grandchildren...

My daughter and her youngest, Kyle, came up on Memorial Day so that I could go and spend some time with hubby while he was lounging away at the hospital. When I got back we took the kids to Mickey D's for lunch and then dropped by Walmart to by a pool and slip'n'slide! It was a huge hit. My neighbor came over and blew up the pool for me with his handy little pump, but it was the slip'n'slide that was the big hit!

Here are a few pictures of the 'grand' day!

This is Kyle in the foreground, Jordan lying down and one of the twins (don't ask me which one, who can tell from this angle?)

Here is Kyle having a 'grand' slide!

Kyle and Brielle (I can tell who is who from this angle)

This is Josslyn - they love the gentle flow of water...

And finally - everyone in the pool. The ham is Kyle!



I so appreciate you coming by my blog to see the latest happenings in our household...

Hugs,
Barb