What's on My Kitchen Counter

I just bought this absolutely adorable image called "Blow Me a Kiss" by Lynne Stansbery . I had to play around and make a few cards with it. On my first card, I printed the image out small and framed it with some SB dies and embossed papers. On the second card, I cased Laura Nehring (thecraftysister) who is this week's Featured Stamper on SCS. THIS is the card I cased. We didn't get any storms today, but I still got a chance to make a few cards so it is all good! Hugz!

It has been storming this week, and it looks like we will have more storms today. I am not complaining though - I love the rain and the cooler temperatures - plus I know there are a lot of people in the world today that would be cheering if it was raining. I still have sun. Do you see it on my card in the upper left corner and in the shape of my frame around my Sassy Cheryl Better Than A Thousand Words image. I made this card for two challenges: Sassy Cheryl - Bling in the Sun (challenge ends tonight so hurry if you want to enter too) The Featured Stamper FS332 Challenge on SCS - Sue Kment was the stamper (two weeks ago but better late than never) Sue has a wonderful SCS gallery and a wonderful blog - you can visit her HERE if you are interested in checking out some really special creations. HERE is the card I cased. Storms always affect animals in very interesting ways. My parent's dog hides in a closet when it starts to thunder and refuses to go out in t...

The Squigglefly Challenge this week, The Long and Short of It (SFC#2513) , calls for something long and something short. I chose to use a long string and a short string, but the rest of our team has some really cute interpretations of this challenge. My image is from Lynne Stansbery and is called Antique Ornament #2 . Hugz!

Avery has found herself a frog. She must have been down at my pond because there are thousands of them. She is kissing him just in case, he turns into a Prince. I think she is on her way to learning that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince (LOL). I am entering this card in the Sassy Cheryl Here Comes Summer Challenge (#171) which ends tomorrow. My image comes from the Avery is Thankful set which has three totally adorable Avery images. I cased a card done by Saintsrule at SCS. Lori was the Queen for the Day so I cased THIS lovely card. I planned to do a closer case, but my card took a few unexpected turns. Lori is one of the sweetest stampers on SCS. If you are interested in the challenge CLICK HERE to get details and CLICK HERE to see the other cards made to celebrate Lori's sweet style and encouraging words. Hugz!

Yesterday was new student orientation day at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham). They separated all the parents from our little ones and lectured us about empty nest syndrome, letting go, and how much of our money they would be needing. I wasn't feeling too sad previously, but after all that I was totally depressed! I am feeling like I need to be hugging a stuffed bunny right now. Isn't this image the most precious thing? It is one of my fav House Mouse/Happy Hopper/Gruffie images. I am placing this sweet little thing in the House-Mouse & Friends the challenge (HMFMC147) which is Anything Goes with a charm. Hope your weekend has been wonderful. Hugz!

Back in the 1980's (wow, that was hard to type! LOL), I was on a Hot Air Balloon Team traveling around New Mexico and Colorado. It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I have some really scary stories of near misses, crashes, and very scary moments, but I also have some stories of peaceful moments way above the normal world, faith, and pure joy! Amazingly, the serious peace story and my best crash story are the same. Ever have those moments in your life where you feel God standing right there with you? So now you know why I chose to make my Summer Time Fun card with the Pattie's Creations Hot Air Balloon Ride image. Grab your favorite Summer Time Image and join us in the latest Pattie's Creations Design Challenge Summer Time Fun Challenge (PCDC70). I am also entering this in the Twisted Sisters Challenge on SCS - this week Tater has the girls (or boys if they are interested) doing cards about things that "lift us up" (TSC0621 are the key...

It is Red, White, and Blue week at Squigglefly ! It is our team's week off, but I am playing anyway and so should you. The challenge requires use of a Squigglefly image if you want to be eligible for the prize (if you don't have a Squigglefly image there are plenty of free ones available HERE ). I used two Cheryl Alger images - American Pie from Squigglefly and an image from the Avery is Thankful set at Sassy Cheryl Stamps. My sentiment is from Our Daily Bread. I used the current Deconstructed Sketch #105 to put my card together - it is a cool one? I don't normally send out Fourth of July cards, but I think this year I am going to send a few. I went to a crop this weekend and made a few quick Thank-You cards before I packed up. I only brought Very Vanilla Cardstock so that is why they are all the same color. I still need to make about 15 more but I am almost done - yay! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

This is my entry in the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #170 For a Guy/Boy with a Sassy Cheryl Image and Second Week of their Design Team Call. I love doing masculine cards! I used Sassy Cheryl's Quiet Moments image for my card (available at Sassy Cheryl's Store and Squigglefly) - the image is so cute with that sweet duck and the lazy way Max is leaning down with his little feet in the water. I printed the image out three times to make my layers, and I distressed all my layers with the edge of my scissors. Hugz - hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

At the Drunken Stampers Challenge #131 they are letting the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding" inspire them. Again, I had to drink coffee instead of a martini while making this card - LOL! I just love the name of this challenge! My image is from Rubber Romance and I colored her with Copics and Stickles. There are still a few more days left in the challenge if you are interested in playing. Hugz to all!

Today starts the new Squigglefly Challenge SFC2313 - Wrap It Up . Use your imagination: wrap ribbon or twine around a layer, wrap a die cut around a corner, use wrapping paper instead of designer scrapbook paper, use an image with a wrapped gift, or do like I did and wrap metal tape (my new fav supply) around a die cut. My image is called Dangerous Wizard and the artist is Mike Eustis . Mike illustrates children's books and his images have such a great whimsical feeling to them. Grab some twine, ribbon, or something else you can wrap around and join in our challenge. Hugz!

The House Mouse and Friends Challenge #146 (HMFMC146) is Fathers Day , and I had a bit of time to play today. I won this little image in a HMFC blog hop a few months ago. Had to use my new Impression Obsession flower and leaf dies and some of my older Spell Binder dies. This one is going off to my Brother-in-law Bobby - he is such an excellent Father. He has stood by his sons through some of the most heart wrenching issues; he is such a great example of what a Father should be. Today's Featured Stamper on SCS (FS331) is Jodi r. and I chose THIS card to case. Jodi has a beautiful gallery full of lovely papers and ribbons. I was in a CAS mood early this morning. My image is called Cozy Chair and is drawn by Fawn Palmer (available at Squigglefly). Instead of a raffia bow, I used my new Impression Obsession bow die and some IO flowers too (can you tell I got new toys yesterday?). I read a magazine at the doctor's office this week that said that hand-drawn chevrons ar...

This morning there are some interesting things on my Kitchen Counter - a cupcake, a swing, and a cowboy - not to mention the assorted bills, my coffee cup, a dishtowel, and an invitation to an Art Exhibit featuring my friend Barbara Logel-Black (you can see some of her work HERE ). I am craving cupcakes and icing really strong these days (side effect of a low carb diet!). The challenge at Sassy Cheryl this week is PINK or to be exact - Perfectly Pinkalicious! (#169). I used an image from the Avery is Thankful set which I won a few weeks ago when my name was randomly selected in the challenge (yay!). The challenge is still going through tomorrow so there is still time to enter. They are also having a DT call if you are interested. It is hard to get any cuter than a Sassy Cheryl image! Cheryl Alger is such a wonderful artist and she has some super images in her store, Sassy Cheryl's Stamps . You can find even more of Cheryl's images in the Squigglefly store - just in case y...

At Pattie's Creations the current challenge is Father's Day Challenge#69 . We all probably could use a few more cards for all the men in our families. I decided to make another one for my Pop - he is sooo sweet and pretends he adores every card I make! I love this Spare Me Image from Pattie's Creations - I think it could work for a lot of different occasions. Inside I typed out a personal message that starts off: Pop, I could never SPARE you.... The Pattie's Creation challenge requires that you include any Digital or Stamped Image on your creation. You can stop on over to Pattie's ETSY Shop and have a look at her many images. Don't forget to check out the Freebie First Friday of the Month page at the top of the challenge menu bar. The Freebie will be available for 2 days only, and then it will be removed from the site. The challenge starts day (June 7)and ends in two weeks. Hugz!!!

Did I tell you I have become a Cheryl Alger groupie? You probably already figured it out, but I wanted to go ahead and admit it. My card today is for two challenges: Squigglefly - Summertime is Here AND Sassy Cheryl - Step Cards . I used Charlie's Relaxing Swim by Cheryl Alger which is available at Squigglefly and from Sassy Cheryl Digis . Step cards and I don't get along really well. I made one a couple of years ago and it was painful for me for some reason (you can see it here - but this one was even more painful. I tried three times to make a fancy step card and ended up just going with a simple one instead. I think if I actually measured next time it would work better - LOL! I had so much fun with this card - I used some fun stickers from K and Co and a SU! Edge Die. Oh, I almost forgot...were you wondering about my title for this post? My youngest daughter Allie is going to start at UAB in the Fall (University of Alabama - Birmingham) and they have a lazy r...

Today I had some time to play in three of my fav challenges: Octopode, Dilly Beans, and Drunken Stampers. Love me some Dilly Beans and Octopodes! The challenge at Octopode Factory is Lovely Ladies and the challenge at Drunken Stampers is Breakfast at Tiffany's so I was able to meet both challenges with this super cool Audrey image from Octopode. I needed more birthday cards. At Dilly Beans the challenge is Black and White . Month-end at work can be very stressful, so I thought I would make a fun desk plaque. I love this Dilly Beans Snowman - he was the first Dilly Bean image I purchased. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend - I got in some crafting, some housework and a nap so I am celebrating! Hugz!

Isn't this image sweet? It is a new image by Fawn Palmer at the Squigglefly store, and it is called Baby Upside Down . It comes with two wonderfully sweet sentiments. I made it to go with a present for my niece who just had a little girl - a sweet, sweet, little girl. Be sure and check out all the other wonderfully fun new images that hit the Squigglefly store today. Hugz!