What's on My Kitchen Counter

Holley's Group is doing the Squigglefly challenge this week and the theme is piercing or piecing . I had to play as usual. I normally would have done piecing, but I really wanted to do some more Christmas cards and this year I am really drawn to this gorgeous Antique Ornament #2 by Lynne Stansbery. There are at least 5 ornaments in Lynne's collection. Did you know that Squigglefly has hundreds and hundred's of Christmas images? I knew there were a lot but I looked this weekend and I can't believe how many there are. I have at least 20 on my wish list now that I am about to go into a Christmas card blitz. I pierced my paper all the way around in a messy stitch to look like I sewed it. It is also the last day to enter the Sassy Cheryl Best Friends challenge , and I try to never miss that challenge! Here is my entry: You can get this cute Max image at either Sassy Cheryl's Store or the Squigglefly store, and it is precious! My sentiment is from SU! Hope yo...

The new House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge is Heat Embossing . I love heat embossing! It makes your image pop and adds fun texture. I heat embossed the petals on my flower using My Minds Eye Lost and Found Paper (SU! and The Paper Studio are my other papers) and popped them up. I used SU! black ep, and my sentiment is from SU! as well. I lost my nephew Jamie this week - he was only 36. He was one of the strongest people I have ever met. He battled to come back from a severe spinal injury several years ago and he hardly ever complained. We could all learn something from the wonderful example he set for us all. It was a beautiful funeral - so many people, unbelievably wonderful and uplifting music, a wonderful message, and much love. So many House Mouse images seem to scream comfort and love. My card is going to my SIL and BIL - they will need many prayers and support in the coming days (weeks, months, and years). I have heard that losing a child is one of the most diffic...

The latest Pattie's Creation Challenge (PCDC72) is a RECIPE! Use at least 3 of an embellishment from the following list: *Buttons *Charms *Flowers *Gems/Pearls *Glitter *Ribbon *Sentiment I used the very cute Holiday Reindeer image from Pattie's Creations but I changed it from a holiday reindeer to a baby shower reindeer. So grab your embellishments and an image and play along with us for the next two weeks. Pattie gives away two prizes - one to someone using a Patty's Creations image and one to a winner from the other entrants. Hugz!

Today starts the newest Squigglefly Challenge (SFC2913), and it is a color challenge: Pretty Pink or Baby Blue . I decided to try both colors. The images I used are You Have My Heart from Diana Garrison and Maddie and her Lady Bug from Cheryl Grant Alger. I used some miniature stamps from my Kittie Kit on the pink card, the blue flowers are MFT rolled roses, the leaves are from Spellbinder, and the pink flowers are from the MS Hydrangea punch. Come join in the fun at Squigglefly - there are always great prizes, super people, and free Squigglefly images if you don't have one. Hugz!

This week's Sassy Cheryl challenge is "Outdoor Fun and Games." I used this great Sassy Cheryl image which is only $1 in the store right now. I also used a cool card shape called the Layered Window Frame - HERE is the tutorial if you want to check it out. I made this card for a friend at work who just lost her Grandmother. For my inspiration, I used THIS card by Sabrina (Cook22 on SCS). Sabrina is one of the Queens being revisited on the Queen for the Day challenge at SCS. This card is my case of Sue (coffeestamper on SCS) who is also one of the Queens being revisited on . Sue loves caffeine so I couldn't resist doing a coffee card. HERE is Sue's card I cased. Can you tell I woke up at 5:00 this morning? My friend Jill shared THIS great video this week and I am passing it on - you need to watch it and if you have seen it, you need to watch it again. It cracks me up every time I think about it! HUGZ!!!

The Paper Pretties challenge this week is to focus on a sentiment (PWC267). This is my first Paper Pretties image and sentiment, and I love it! I love it so much that I used it again on my card for the Mixed Media (MIX25) and Featured Stamper (FS337) challenges at SCS. Click HERE to see the card I cased (Heather - housebuiltofcards - is the Featured Stamper this week. HUGZ!!!!

I made this for the new Squigglefly Challenge SFC2813 which is Emboss Me - add something embossed to your creation. I used a embossing folder and my image is from Pam Lehto called Cup with Cherry . Pam is designing a different cup for each month and this is the new July cup. This is our team's week off, but once again the challenge is just too fun not to jump in on. Embossing is such a great way to add interest to your card so grab your favorite embossing tool and Squigglefly image and join us. Hugz!