WE TURNED A DREAM INTO REALITY

It took over a year to plan.  

In total, we traveled 20,350 miles (32,558km) to make it happen! 

On October 18, 2014, six card hobby blogging BABES met in real life! BABES stands for Benevolent Association of Beloved Esteemed Stampers....and here we are:

Meeting for the first time!

From left to right (seated) is Anita from France, me (Geri) from Manitoba, Canada, & Ardyth from Ontario, Canada. Standing left to right are Kim and Darnell, both from California, USA, and Bev from Wisconsin, USA.  We're not sure where the muscle man in the background is from!

Here are just a few pics of our fun adventure! There will be more once my camera makes its way home! I forgot the dang thing on the counter at the lake house! THANKFULLY Bev and Anita noticed it and rescued it for me. 

             
      Crafting in pj's - great!                Snowflake" - the resident Albino squirrel with pink eyes!


              

Is she (or perhaps he) not the sweetest thing ever? 

                   

                  

'Some' of our supplies....nice & tidy on Day 1....Day 7 did NOT look like this!

Yes...2 pairs of reading glasses!

  
Ardyth, Kim & Anita enjoying a sunny, crafty afternoon.



Anita, Darnell, Ardyth & Kim




Anita, Bev, Kim and Ardyth checking out some on-line craft stores.



Darnell & Anita, relaxing and snapping some beautiful scenery pictures!



Early morning crafting!


I've edited my post to copy & paste this MAGNIFICENT picture from Kim's blog! Not only is she an incredibly talented card artist, but the girl takes a mean photo! Thanks Kim!


Another fabulous picture 'borrrowed' from Kim's blog!

The week flew by so fast!  We talked, we laughed, we sang, we drank copious amounts of coffee, we went out for dinner every night (hey....it`s a holiday), we snacked, we toured, and we crafted. My return trip totaled 2771 kilometers/1731 miles which translates to approximately 28 hours of highway driving...but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Six women - complete strangers in real life, best friends in blog land....and now friends forever!

We turned a dream into reality! 

The Card Concept Challenge #22

This week we have a theme for you to try! You must use the theme and create your card in one of the styles of the designers. 

Welcome back to another fun challenge! This inspiration photo is all about fall!  The colors, the barn board wagon, the bittersweet berries, dried leaves and twigs. I found inspiration in the fabulous stained glass window tucked behind the lovely pumpkin display.

This delightful pumpkin is a silhouette cut file that seems to mimic the pieces of glass in the stained glass window.   If you look closely you can see the 'shadow' that I created by cutting & off-set layering a darker colored pumpkin behind the top layer. A very nice effect in real life. 

My apologies for the quality of the photo! I am currently camera-less until such time as my 'forgotten but found' camera arrives back in Manitoba from my recent crafting adventure in Prior Lake, Minnesota with five amazing ladies. You can read all about our adventure in this post.

We have been enjoying fabulous responses to our challenges at CCC! Thanks so much for sharing your creations with us! We truly appreciate your enthusiasm and support :)

Happy crafting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIRLEY!

Our very kind, very sweet, and very, VERY talented friend Shirley is celebrating her birthday today! I'm thrilled to be a part of what will likely be one of the biggest b-day celebrations blog land has seen!  

Shirley is known far & wide for her amazing cards which often feature her paint splatting/splooching/smooshing techniques as well as 'hand doodled' images & lines that would leave Picasso drooling with envy!

But wait - it doesn't stop there! Shirley is also designing stamps! You can find her stamp sets here.

A "Shirley card" wouldn't be a "Shirley card" without a doodle or two! I've gotta say that I was stepping waaaaaay outside of my 'straight line' kind of world with the 'doodling'.....and found it fun and rather liberating! Thanks Shirley!

Our sweet, talented friend Maria is hosting the party, so head on over to join the birthday festivities!

Celebrating Shirley's birthday card making event with a few pals was double fun!

Do you think a few of us may have had a taste or two of the wine in honor of the birthday girl?  Maaaaaaybe......

A big thank you to Darnell for providing me with a picture of my card and to Anita & Bev who rescued my camera from the kitchen counter, whilst I drove home oblivious to the fact that I had forgotten said camera!

Fusion Card Challenge - October 9th

HOME  

... where your story begins. 

How appropriate for a young couple starting a life together in their new home!

Danny's niece/Godchild Samantha ("Sammy Jo Jean Jumping Bean" as she is affectionately called) is an amazing young woman.  She is kind, caring, considerate, smart, pretty as ever and an absolute delight to be around. Sammy has had one incredible year....graduated with a teaching degree, got engaged to an amazing young man, had a wedding social and a shower, bought a house and have a December 27th wedding planned!

This card was another quick & easy project thanks to my Silhouette using....are you ready for this....patterned paper! For those that don't know me - I really struggle with patterned paper, so seldom use it! The letters are cut from side one, the heart  from side two (3 layers popped up with dimensional tape).

I haven't played in a challenge for what seems like forever, so I did a quick tour of my favorite sights and found this awesome FUSION sketch. 

I've chosen to use just the sketch, however, I suspect that my card might be one of those "almost/sort of fits card" so....Fusion ladies...If I have strayed too far from the sketch, please disregard my entry.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy crafting!

THE CARD CONCEPT CHALLENGE #20

Don't you just LOVE the colors and all the fun stuff in this latest CCC challenge? Honestly, my poor old brain was spinning so fast I darn near toppled off my chair!  

Needless to say, it took me a fair bit of time to decide which direction to go with my card. I finally chose to focus on a 'less busy' version of the black & white checkered table cloth (hence the simple hand drawn lines) as well as the vibrant orange from the color palette.

The bold sentiment and the sweet wee pumpkin are Silhouette files, each sporting three layers to create some nice depth & dimension.

That's it! Easy peasy and relatively quick to assemble, especially if you have striped paper on hand (which I did not!).

We would love to have you join us for this challenge and look forward to seeing what part of the photo will inspire you!

Happy crafting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEV!!!

YAY...it is our dear, dear friend Bev's birthday today!

I know that whoever is reading this post loves this sweet, smart, talented, kind, considerate, funny, awesome, sensible, organized lady that we have come to know so well over the past couple of years! Doesn't that smile warm you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes?

Her energy never wanes. Her enthusiasm is endless. Her sincere kindness and caring seems to wrap all of us in one of those "feel good" cyber bear hugs! Her blog home makes a first time visitor feel like an old friend!

Don't you just love when she pops in for a blog visit? She always leaves the sweetest, most encouraging comments! And she means ever word! Her sincere kindness is truly heart warming!

Bev is also the best party planner EVER! I'm sure you have all thoroughly enjoyed the parties that she hosts....hours and hours spent decorating and preparing all those yummy treats!

So folks...it's time to celebrate!  Darnell is hosting a smashing great b-day party complete with cake and drinkee-poohs while Ardyth has set up a permalink for you to share your birthday wishes for Bev.

And now a wee poem for my dear, dear friend.

Today's the day we've been waiting for,

to celebrate and party at Bev's blogland door!

You know that she'll love having all of us there

And will likely have dainties, served up with great flair.

Her energy is endless, her kindness sincere

She'd invite you for coffee, if you lived near!

Her sparkling personality is known far and wide

The ocean is nothing but a minor divide!

Stranger or not, she'll welcome you in

to her blog land home full of talent within!

Her creations are awesome, her blog posts delight

We leave with a smile that doesn't fade till the night.

She sure knows how to throw a great party

With tons of cool pics and "beef cakes" so hearty!

So now dearest friends, here's the LINK to the fun

It's time to celebrate as my poem is done!

* HAPPY * HAPPY * HAPPY * HAPPY *

BIRTHDAY BEV!

The Card Concept Challenge #16

No...I haven't dropped off the face of this earth...it's summer! Yard work, holidays, lazy summer days, and a house flipping adventure have all contributed to a very quiet blog!

Our Manitoba summers are far too short to spend indoors, so craft room time is currently hovering between the middle to the bottom of "the list"!

Now, about my card....I love how the simple block font of the sentiment allows the 'frilly/swirly' image to play in the clean & graphic playground. The sentiment stamp was a wee treasure found in the $1 bin at Michaels!

We would love to see how you have been inspired by this photo! Aren't the colors pretty?

Happy crafting!

the Card Concept Challenge #14 & Wonderful Words Challenge - Moxie Fab World

I'm really, REALLY loving the 'crispness' of this color combo! I think it's the black....it adds a nice bold contrast to the red & aqua blue!

The sky is the limit with this challenge as these colors would work for guy or girl cards! Take inspiration from the colors, the bedroom decor or both! I'm really looking forward to seeing your creations!

I used the Lil' inker stitched rectangle dies and Paper Smooches Thank You word die (three layers).

We would love to have you join us this week at the Card Concept Challenge! 

Happy crafting :)

2014-07-12   Just realized that this card also fits the Wonderful Words Challenge: Word Dies at the Moxie Fab World....thanks Bev!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARNELL

Guess who's celebrating a birthday today?  Yep - it's our dear, dear friend Darnell (the post title totally gave it away, didn't it?)

Our pal Darnell is sweet, funny, talented, creative, smart, artistic, awesome AND she has a wee rodent living in her head!  How cool is that?  I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that visiting her blog is always the highlight of my day! I can't imagine when she finds time to sleep as she visits so many people daily and always leaves sincere, sweet words of encouragement!

I'm not quite sure how I happened upon Darnell's blog but what I do remember is spending the entire evening reading every single post...which had me laughing out loud (the cats thought I was nuts). I also filled up an entire folder of her cards that I wanted to CASE! 

AND...I also happened to notice THE PLAYHOUSE during my visit! 

Wow...a big girl's dream dollhouse full of fun crafting stuff instead of Barbie doll clothes! Who wouldn't want to hang out in this sweet crafting shack?  Although, it would be pretty darn chilly here in Manitoba when the temps plummet to -50C!

Speaking of friends, the wonderful Ardyth of Maskerade, is having a linky party on her blog, so head on over and link up your card for Darnell!  And, another sweet friend Bev from Happy Dance has put together a party that would make Martha Stewart swoon with envy!

At this point in my post (now that you've spotted the card) you'll be thinking "why is Geri making Darnell a 'Happy New Home' card?  Silly gooses....it's a Playhouse birthday card! Modified a bit, but still a playhouse! 

I even snapped the photograph outside - just like the real Playhouse! 

Here is the little ditty inside the card:

Once upon a time

in a land quite far from here

A lady who loved crafting

Had no place to lay her gear

Her Mister is a kind soul

Who knows how to hammer and saw

So he crafted up a wee spot

that had Darnell in awe

The Playhouse as we know it

is a fun place to be

But it's the person that crafts inside it

that's so special to you & me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARNELL! 

THE CARD CONCEPT CHALLENGE #12 - NAUTICAL

How time flies...especially during the early months of summer when there is so much to do to get the yard looking clean & fresh after a VERY long winter!  I could spend the entire day working in the yard! Absolutely LOVE IT!

This week's CCC is all about Nautical. The first thing that popped into my head was all the old movies where the sailors wore navy & white striped shirts and red bandannas!  So I had a google and apparently the Russian sailors wore these shirts for years and the French sailors still wear them! At least that is what Google told me!

Alternating stripes of navy & white with a sweet wee "Hi" speech bubble (Silhouette) and my card was done! I tried a few bits of this & that but preferred the very clean & graphic look!

If you happen to find a few spare craft room minutes in your busy summer/school's out schedule, why not give this week's challenge a whirl?  We would love to have you share your creations with us at the CCC!

Happy  crafting!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARDYTH

My good friend Ardyth

who lives to the east,

delights us daily

wish a visual feast...

of colors and patterns

so simple and clean

and creative ideas

like we've never seen!

She shares her talent

on her blog we all visit

to gather ideas

her work is exquisite!

Today is her birthday

Let's all shout "Horray"

and send her good wishes

on this special day!

Our dear friend Ardyth is celebrating her 29th birthday today!  Why not pop on over and wish her a happy day!  

My card was inspired by Ardyth's clean & graphic style and her flawlessly stamped images and by this stunning card that our dear & talented friend 'Anita from France' created a short while ago! BTW, the bottom flower is really a nice sunshine yellow in real life (as opposed to the somewhat mustard color that Photoshop chose)!

2014-05-30  Here's your belated b-day card Ardyth! Hope you had a fabulous day!

Gallery Idol 2014 Entry #2

Can you believe this?  Another entry into Gallery Idol !!!

I just checked out the gallery...the entries are amazing!!! You will definitely be Wowed by Washi !

As I mentioned in my previous post, my supply of washi tape is really quite sad. The patterns featured here showcase the rest of my 'stash'. I really love the vibrancy of the green and the graphic patterns.

The "trees" were cut with a triangle die (3 layers cs plus one of washi tape). I traced & cut the image a bit bigger to create the red matting. SSS star die covered in Recollections glitter. The sentiment was cut with my Silhouette. So in love with my Lil' Inkers stitched mats!

If my time zone figuring is correct and if you live on the west coast, then you still have time to enter.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Best of luck to all who have entries in this year's competition :)

Gallery Idol 2014

                                                      

Yes...a last minute entry into 2014 Gallery Idol !

I must confess...I am afraid of washi tape!  I'm quite sure that I have never used washi tape on a card! I do have a few rolls that were either found in a clearance bin or came to me by way of a prize pack! I've also totally stepped outside of my comfort zone with a less than C& S design.

But hey, isn't that what challenges are meant to accomplish?

This roll of pretty teal colored gingham is my fav in my stash. Is four rolls considered 'a stash'?  The card came together with bits & pieces of items sitting on my craft table.  The polaroid frame was covered with rows of  3/8" tape! Two pairs of reading glasses were required for lining up the pattern! The pretty pinky-mauve bow (also from the scrap box) seemed to work really well with the teal.  A few punched hearts, a bit of bling, IO alphabet dies and done like dinner!

If you're planning on entering a card, you best get busy as the deadline is May 19th.

Card Concept Challenge #10 - Use A Coffee Theme

... are the perfect blend!

Welcome back!  CCC Challenge #10 is all about coffee!   

I'm hopelessly addicted to coffee - specifically skim milk lattes (Starbucks being my absolute fav!), so to say that this theme had me all in revved up would be an understatement! Two cards for the same challenge theme is proof of my love affair with this beverage!

Soooo....not only does the coffee theme rock, but take a look at the colors in the inspirational photo! They are the yummiest ever!

The image (imported from a free clip-art sight) was cut with my Silhouette. I love the vibrant coral color of my first card and the rich 'coffee' colors of the second card! I underexposed the brown card just a bit to better capture the pearly sheen of the textured card stock.

Okay folks...grab a java, check out the awesome creations from the DT and start 'perking up' some coffee creations!

CASology and MOTHER'S DAY INSPIRATION BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Mother's Day Inspiration Blog Hop brought to you by the Inspiration Crew!  We're making projects we like, using products we like. Be sure to check out all the blogs for tons of crafty Mother's Day Inspiration!

I'm sure you have all caught on to the fact that I LOVE my Silhouette! This pretty cut file is perfect for my MIL's card...isn't the detail lovely?  I hope that this card will make her day just a wee bit more special :)

The pretty posies in my card will also play nicely with this week's challenge at CASology, where the cue word is "Garden".

If you're hopping along, then you should have arrived from Ardyth's blog...and then carry on to Libby's blog from here. 

Donna Bowman 

Rachel Kleinman

Angi Barrs

Annette Allen

Misty Buck

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Geri Greening

Libby Hickson

Jennifer Cuthbertson

Ceal Pritchett

Happy crafting!

CFC130 - Good Egg & CAS(E) THIS SKETCH #72

Just a few quick details before the door closes on Julie Day's amazing sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch #72! The door over at CAS-UAL Fridays will be open until April 18th! Two great challenges jam packed with amazing DT creations and tons of challenge entries!

The eggs were cut with my Silhouette. Once again, I sliced & diced & cut & pasted a few different elements to create the inlaid chevron eggs. I used my itsy bitsy Martha Stewart punch & SU glimmer paper to create the bits of bling on the aqua eggs. The sentiment is a $1 bin find at Hobby Lobby. 

Now about the photo...AGAIN! Our new laptop has me totally beffuzzled with the colors! In real life the eggs are a lovely robin's egg aqua blue and a gorgeous deep coral pink! I opened my post on my computer at work and darn near fell off my chair...the eggs were some CA-RAZY shades of overexposed colors! I would love too know what you folks are seeing out there in blog land.  

We have a busy, family filled Easter weekend planned! Yay!  We also have more terrible weather headed our way tomorrow!  Yep, more snow, rain & ice! Sounds lovely, doesn't it? NOT!

Blessed & Happy Easter wishes to all.

The Card Concept Challenge - Use an Umbrella

EDITED TO ADD

Sorry folks, for some reason Blogger lost my 'scheduled' post...imagine that!

Wow! Can you believe that we are on Challenge #8 at the Card Concept Challenge? It is so much fun visiting all your blogs! The ideas, the colors, the talent, the designs, the texture....total yummy-ness without any calories!

AND, it's great to see so many of you stepping outside of your comfort zone into new style categories! You guys are all so dang talented and brave!

I will be honest...I struggled a bit with a clean & graphic umbrella image. I do think this Silhouette image works though! Nice clean lines, simple handle, no foof or frills.  I used the edge of my Lil Inker Designs mat to get the stitching lines. Just trimmed each piece to the desired width, snugged the strips up tight and anchored with tape! I really do like the little bit of extra interest that the stitching adds without compromising a clean & graphic look.  The sentiment is generated using my Printmaster program.

Now it's time to scoot on over to CCC, and check out the awesome cards that the DT has created for your viewing pleasure! Then get busy putting your umbrella ideas to paper! Happy crafting everyone!

EASTER INSPIRATION BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Easter Inspiration Blog Hop brought to you by The Inspiration Crew. This hop is just for fun. We’re posting projects we made using products we like and hope they will give you some inspiration for your own Easter craft projects.

You will find the links to all the other participating bloggers below. Hopefully you can find time to visit their blogs and snag some great ideas for your Easter projects!

My card is 100% Silhouette! I got the idea from the online store and did a bit of slicing and dicing with the files that I had.  All the elements are popped up with tiny foam dimensionals.  

Here are the names of the rest of the crew who have been able to contribute to this hop:

Donna Bowman 

Rachel Kleinman

Ceal Pritchett

Ardyth Percy-Robb 

Jennifer Cuthbertson
Geri Greening 
Veronica Zalis

Happy Easter crafting!