New Challenge at Joan's Gardens

(click on image to enlarge)

This week's #8 challenge at Joan's Gardens was great fun.  Of course, I was at Joan's last week attending her workshop so only now, after returning home, have I had the opportunity to join in the challenge fun.  Selma created an AMAZING card & technique (seen HERE) which is the basis of this week's challenge.  Here's the list of requirements:

■ Use Selma's new technique
■ Use a combination of colors
■ Use a tree
■ Use a flourish

The products I have used for my card are as follows:

• White glossy paper, white cardstock, navy blue cardstock
• Tim Holtz Broken China and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks
• VersaMark Ink
• Adirondack Metallics (gold)
• Cheery Lynn Designs (B117) Fanciful Flourish die
• Heartfelt Creations (3432) Magnificent Spruce Trees Stamps
• Heartfelt Creations (3415) Petite Poinsettia Stamps
• Gold, Red & Green Stickles

Items in BOLD print were purchased through Joan's Gardens.  I hope you will come join in the fun!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have found inspiration.

Other challenges this card qualifies for are:
Crafts & Me - Winter Blues
Make It Monday #61 - Anything Goes
Pollycraft Monday #117 - Anything Goes 
Come & Get It - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Add a Fourish
Dream Valley - Anything Goes


Hugs,
Darlene

So Much To Share With You . . .

Happy Monday  & 
Happy Halloween
Everyone!!

I've have been SO BUSY this month and just wanted to share with you today some of the activities I've been up to ... hope that's okay!

Recently I shared the new landscaping project we had done to the front of our home.  We are so pleased with the outcome.  Moving the two trees was an adventure and relocating the landscape lighting made a huge difference.  A few people asked me to post a photo showing the lights on the house at night so I quickly snapped a few shots last night before it got totally dark.

 (click on the image to enlarge for a closer look)

 We have also decided the old shutters really took away from the curb appeal so we are now in the process of replacing the old louver shutters with new double panel shutters.  As you can see in the photo, the upstairs shutters are still the OLD ones and the lower level have been replaced with the NEW ones.  With the exception of the ones on the brick ... need to locate different fasteners to use in the brick.  But, hopefully we'll have it all done over the next week.  After all, 'Winter' is on the way ...  as experienced by you folks in the new England states over the weekend!

From last Wednesday through Saturday, I attended another awesome workshop at Joan's Gardens.  Joan asked if I would like to teach the ladies how I make my tissue box covers and of course, I was thrilled to say yes!  Here are photos of the Friday group of ladies [above] (there were workshops also on Saturday and Sunday) as well as the projects Joan had for us to do [below].  There were some fabulous new techniques and I hope to share a little more on that topic with you later in the week.

(front of pop-up Snowman card)

 (inside of pop-up Snowman card)

 (Tapestry - LaBlanche Stamp on Sticky Back Canvas)

(Box stamped & gold embossed with Heartfelt Poinsetta's on top)

LASTLY ... I would like to share with you, photos of a few neighbors dressed up for Saturday night's neighborhood Trick-or-Treat (200+ came to my door).

(l.) Emily and (r.) Olivia Adkins

Aren't they just the cutest!  And Olivia's costume was home made!! 

And here are our neighbors Christy & Travis Shamp.  They had an adult Halloween party to attend, so they dressed early and were in costume to hand out candy before leaving for their own party fun!!

Christy is so cute and Travis was down right scarey!

Well, with being away, I've fallen behind on my DT work so I'd better get busy.  Thanks for letting me share with you today!  Don't forget to pop back tomorrow for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge!  Hope to see you then!!
Hugs,
Darlene

Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge

Can you believe it???

HALLOWEEN IS THIS WEEKEND!!

Are you ready for all the ghosts & goblins? 

(I mean cute little candy seeking kids of course, LOL)

WAGS 'N WHISKERS CHALLENGE

this week fits right in!

BLACK + RIBBON & PEARLS

Now here's a 'risky' costume for trick or treating!  LOL!

I've used "SOPHIA" from our PIN-UP collection just recently released.

The designer paper used on my creation is from the Cloud9 Designs 'Seasonal' 12x12 pack.  The ribbon (I've had for AGES) came from Michaels and I've used the Tim Holtz Floral Die to cut out the flowers from the same designer paper.  A touch of purple Stickles here and there added the sparkle I was looking for.  

We would love to see what you create using our Color Scheme and if you need inspiration ... be sure to check out the amazing creations made by my team mates over on the Challenge Blog.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs,

Darlene

Another FUN CHALLENGE . . .

 . . . at SHELLY'S IMAGES.

Today, our challenge to you is a 

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

and our FEATURED IMAGE is

CORN HARVEST

Here is my creation to hopefully inspire you.  

On the Tic Tac Toe board, I have used the top row (l.-r.)  Leaves - Fall Colors - Bling.

(click on image to enlarge)

For MORE inspiration, be sure to pop over to Shelly's Images and check out the awesome creations by my team mates!  For my creation, I have used DCWV Indian Corn designer paper for the background and have punches my Fall leaves using various Fall colored cardstock scraps and a leaf punch from Creative Memories.  Both the maple & oak leaf are on this one punch.

A combination of Prisma color markers and Whisper's Strokes markers were used for the coloring of the corn.  The layout was created in Word 7 and the gingham ribbon is from Michaels.  A touch of gold Stickles was put on the leaves for the 'bling' aspect of the challenge.

Well there you have it for today's Shelly's Images challenge creation.  Don't forget all the happenings the other days of the week at Shelly's Images.  

Monday - Dollar Digi Day

Tuesday - Technique Tuesday

Friday - Fabulous Freebie Friday

Would you like a peek at this week's 'freebie'??  

Isn't this just AWESOME!!!

Hope to see you at Shelly's!!

Hugs,

Darlene

The Sisterhood of Crafter's Challenge

It's time for another challenge at  

THE SISTERHOOD!

Today we are celebrating this weekend's festivities ...

HALLOWEEN

(click on image to enlarge)

Do you get a lot of kids at your door on Trick-or-Treat?  We get about 200 and some of them really go ALL OUT with their costumes.  Which is really nice to see!  Others, however, just come with their pillowcase open and wear bummy clothes ... not much creativity there ... guess they didn't have time for dinner and need a snack!  LOL!

Please come join in our Halloween Fun at THE SISTERHOOD.

Now it's time to PARTY!!!

Hugs,

Darlene

Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge

The Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge today is

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

We are honored to have two sponsors today ... 

 Robyn's Fetish 

AND

Digi Darla

I have used a Digi Darla image for my creation today.  Hope you like it.

(click on image to enlarge)

I have used Prismacolor Markers for the coloring on this cute image and the designer paper is from Cloud9 Designs.  The Trick or Treat ribbon has been in my stash for YEARS and I thought it was the only touch this adorable image needed.  A little black ink to paper around the outside edge helped give it a more eeeeery feeling and viola!  Halloween card complete!

Please come over to our Challenge Blog and see the fabulous creations shared by my team mates.  THEN ... come join in the fun!  We'll keep a light on for ya!

T-R-I-C-K    O-R    T-R-E-A-T

Hope to see you at Penny's!

Hugs,

Darlene

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #127

Welcome to another wonderful sketch challenge at  

MIDNIGHT MADNESS!

This weeks sketch...it's "YOUR PICK" Make it fancy, clean and simple, or somewhere in-between. Remember to click on the sneak peek button on the side bar for the following weeks sketch each Friday.
"YOUR CHOICE"

Enter one style or both this week.

Just have fun and come play with us :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our MMSC126 Gold Star Award goes to...
 9. iruha 

 Our Remarkables Awards this week go to...
 7. Kaija  

 8. An  

 12. Sandee 

Please grab your award logos from the side bar and display them proudly :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our MMSC126 Weekly Bonus Winner is...
 25. shellshearer 

Here are your random numbers:25

Timestamp: 2011-10-25 03:05:57 UTC  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our MMSC127 Weekly Bonus Sponsor is..

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge is a site filled with wonderful projects and techniques using House-Mouse & Friends Stamps that include House-Mouse, Happy Hoppers, and Gruffies Images!.  We are not affiliated with HMD. We are just a super enthusiastic group of Stampers who LOVE creating with these Stamps.  We post a NEW challenge every other week on Mondays. We offer great prizes to those who enter projects into our challenges using these stamps. So come visit us to join the FUN and get inspired by the beautiful samples from the TALENTED Design Team here: http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.com/

One lucky winner will receive all four of these brand NEW House-Mouse & Friends Stamps!!!!

Thank you for your sponsorship America :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was the first House Mouse stamp I purchased ... way back 3-4 years ago.  

It's called "BERRIED". 

(click on image to enlarge)

Aren't these little guys adorable??!!  I have used Prismacolor markers for my coloring and have popped up the strawberries for added dimension.  The strawberry designer paper is by the Paper Studio and my sketch panels were created with red cardstock and a black round tip CM black marker.  The 'sweet' stamp is from Stampin' Up and the zig-zag ribbon is Michaels.  SU Crystal Effects was also used on the strawberries for the 'shine' and dimension.

Other challenges I'm entering this creation into:
Forever Friends - Anything Goes + Animal

Please come join in the fun at Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge!  I promise you won't be sorry!!
Hugs,
Darlene

I Brake For Stamps GD - Week 4

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!

Today marks my last week as Guest Designer for I BRAKE FOR STAMPS.  It has been an honor to create with these wonderful stamps and Della is a real sweetheart!  Thanks for your support & encouragement !

The image I am using today is a KENNYK image called 'STAR'.  I decided to create a birthday easel card using (what I think) are 'hip' (guess that's Retro now ...) colors.

Please be sure to check out all the I BRAKE FOR sites ...

IBFS BLOG ,  

I BRAKE FOR DIGIS, and

I BRAKE FOR CHALLENGES

HUGS,
Darlene

CRAZY BUSY . . .

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I seem to be crazy busy this month with lots of fun things going on.  I've had a few special request orders that I've been working on ... as well as preparing for my visit to Joan's Gardens next week for another awesome workshop and then my annual craftshow at the local high school is the first Saturday in November.  Would you like to see a few of the things I've been working on??

Go Ahead ... call me CRAZY ... or OBSESSED ... or just plain NUTS!  But although I'm starting to get a little 'burned out' ... I'm having great fun and happy with everything I've made so far.  I have several tissue box covers made for the upcoming craftshow and will share them with you later today or maybe tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend!  I'm going 'BACK TO THE CAVE'!

Hugs,

Darlene

CDAC Progressive Challenge Round #5

WOW ... hard to believe we are in Round #5 (of 6) in the Progressive Challenge over on CDAC.  The images offered are awesome and the creations being made are AMAZING!!!!!   What fabulous inspiration from all of these talented ladies!

I've had these images colored since the were offered on Oct. 15th ... but I'm just now finding the time to get them turned into cards.  Hope you like what you see!

 This first card offers this yummy COOKIE image from DIGIDRAWN.  I know so many people start making cookies this time of the year for the upcoming holiday season so I thought this sentiment worked perfectly.  I've grabbed scraps of designer paper from the scrap bin to create this card and used holiday ribbon from Michael's that I got 50% off at the end of last year.
 

 My second card showcases this adorable turkey from SEW MANY CARDS.  Isn't he just the cutest!!  And it looks like he's ready to enjoy that yummy pumpkin pie.  Coloring was done with Prismacolor markers, designer paper is from Cloud9 Designs and the holiday ribbon is from Michaels.  My YUM word was created with Creative Memories sticker letters.

And lastly, this adorable image from SSBS DESIGNS.  I colored her in holiday colors since she looked like she was going door to door handing out these yummy gingerbread cookies.   My designer paper is from the Paper Studio and the cute little felt gingerbread girl embellishment came from Pat Catan's (an Ohio store) and is by Darice.  The icicle border was created with the Martha Stewart icicle border punch and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up (A Cardinal Christmas) set.

Well that's all I have to share with you today.  I'm CRAZY BUSY creating for an upcoming craft show as well as filling a couple of card orders I've received recently.  Next week I'll be heading over to Joan's Gardens in Indiana for another workshop.  I always learn such wonderful new things at Joan's and have a great time.  Guess I need to start thinking about gathering things together for my trip ... yikes!  So much to do ... so little time to do it!!  BUT I'M HAVING FUN!!!  

HUGS,
Darlene

Terrifically Thrilling Thursday Challenge at

SHELLY'S IMAGES

Today's challenge is:

SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!!

(Anything Goes)

and our FEATURED IMAGE

on sale TODAY ONLY for a special price ... is: SPIDER

Here is my creation using this awesome set.  Be sure to pop over to the challenge blog and check out the creations from my team mates ... you will be astounded with their creations!!

I don't know about you, but I HATE spiders.  And, with having my crafting area in the basement ... I get to see my share of them!  YIKES ... hope I never see one that looks like this one!  LOL!

Recipe:

Papers:  white, red, black cardstock ... Cloud9 Designs dp

Accessories:  Zutter Distress-It-All, Tim Holtz distress ink, Spellbinder classic oval dies, SU watercolor pencils & blending pen, red Prismacolor marker

Now it's your turn to share your creations with us over a Shelly's Images.  Remember it's ANYTHING GOES!  No excuse not to play along!  LOL!!

AND ... before I go ... I want to remind you about our new Fabulous Freebie Friday.  This only runs through the weekend, so be sure to get yours.  Last week's Fall Fence was awesome ... here's what Shelly has for you this week ...

How cute is this!!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you're having as much fun as I am!!  

Hugs,

Darlene

Happy Wednesday Everyone!  I'm busy working on products for an upcoming craft show at the local high school on Nov. 5th and these Tissue Box Covers seem to be a hit so I'm making some with a Christmas theme.

  

Ignacio (Nicecrane Designs) in Spain just sent me these adorable images and I thought the best way to showcase them was to put them on a tissue box cover.  I have HAND COLORED each image using Prismacolor Markers so I will show you each image individually, but they come on a collage sheet which you can see and purchase HERE at the Nicecrane Design Store.

(click on any image to enlarge)

The designer paper I have used for this tissue box cover is from Joann's (the Paper Studio).  Petaloo poinsettas & leaves were used on the lid and the icicle border was made using the Martha Stewart icicle border punch.  Gold Stickles was used on the scallops around the opening of the lid ... which was made using the Spellbinder classic & scallop oval dies.

Well ... I only have about a million more of these to make so I'd better get busy!!  LOL!!  Hope you are having a fun, creative day!

Hugs,
Darlene