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!

The Card Concept Challeng #7 & Time Out Challenge

Welcome back to another fun challenge! Were you all as blown away as I was with the amazing entries again this week? I thought so! And how about the DT cards? Those ladies are soooooo talented!

Butterflies....no problem....until I started searching through my stamps! Yes, there was a stamp or two of the pretty winged beauties but most images were no larger than a dime! Silhouette to the rescue. My heart skipped a beat when I spied this little pretty! I love the clean graphic lines of this design. And for only $.55 - it was one of those "Start The Car, Start The Car" moments!

I found this gorgeous piece of aqua colored velum in my scrap pile. It has a slight hint of mauve that is so pretty in real life. I cut the panel about 1" longer, scored a nice deep line at the top, folded it over, placed the fold line along the top of the card and adhered the panel on the backside of the card. No messy glue marks to be seen!

I also added a layer of regular velum (see close-up picture) and two tiny seed pearls to the butterfly.

We would love to see your butterfly card creations.  Remember, you get to choose your style at  The Card Concept Challenge!  Why not try something different this time round?


I'm also entering my card into a new challenge called TIME OUT Challenge, where we are encouraged to take time out from our busy lives and enjoy the relaxing sport of card making! Take a look at this lovely duvet ensemble! Thanks for introducing me to this new challenge blog Shirley!

                                              

Happy crafting!

hello you!

Scroll down for a couple of sweet pics of our grand dog Ruuk and our snow banks!

I love the look of a Polaroid frame on a card! I happened to notice this file in the Silhouette store (on sale for only $.55) so into my cart it went and here it is! The speech bubble and "you" were also snagged during the sale for the same low price!

Easy peasy...inlaid letters in the speech bubble, three layers worth of "you", some dimensional foam pop dots....done! 

I hope that the "real life "vibrancy of the lime green is what you will see on your monitors and not the pea soup color that showed up during the editing process!

Next up is Ruuk...our grand dog. He looks quite wolfish, but has the personality of a wee kitten and loves coming for visits!  Do you  think it might have something to do with treats? 

And then there's the snow that is still in our backyard! It is the coldest recorded winter in Manitoba history! Oh, yay....not the kind of record we want to break!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy crafting :)

Card Concept #6 - Create a Birthday Card

Yes...you're pretty much seeing double here.....if you're comparing my BIL's Winnipeg Jets themed card with this card!

The previous card was actually the ''copy-cat" as this card was completed first but couldn't be published until the this challenge went live!

Isn't this the coolest cake ever? And how about those yummy colors? Yep, fabulous. This cake has a little bit of everything going on - moss, mushrooms, wood grain, lace, pretty flowers...quite the mix that is sure to inspire some interesting creations!

My card was quick and easy peasy! A few strips cut from colors inspired by the flowers on the cake, some scored lines for definition and a Silhouette sentiment. I popped up the design panel using 3D foam dots.

And YAY...we had another huge turnout for the last challenge...it is SOOO exciting! I've met so many nice people in my travels through blog land and look forward to stopping by for another visit! Thank you all so much for embracing our challenge so enthusiastically!

Here's the link to the next CCC challenge. Hope to see you there :)

I'm also linking my card up to this week's challenge at Seize the Birthday challenge which offers an option of adding stitching to your card. There are tons of cards in  the gallery...why not join in the fun?

Happy crafting!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY ANITA

Our dear friend Anita

 who lives far away,

Had a birthday sneak by us

One month ago today!

Bev called us together,

she plotted and planned,

on how to surprise her

without showing our hand!

The plans were discussed

Now what shall we do?

To make things all better

And have some fun too!

Let's have a party

Darnell shouted out!

One month later?

 A surprise...no doubt!

So put on your party hat

no matter the date,

And shout HAPPY BIRTHDAY

... hey, we're only one month late!

 VERY HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES ANITA!

I hope that your 'real birthday' was fun as fun can be and that you took time out just for yourself...as in no "maison" work.  Cyber hugs to you...for now!

The party is over at Darnell's blog so, skip on over and join in the linky fun! Many thanks to Darnell and Bev, party planners extraordinaire!

Card deets:  PTI - All About You (likely one of their original stamp sets!); Memento Teal Zeal ink

Hello Carol!

After what seemed like weeks and weeks and weeks of waiting...the day finally arrived!

I got to meet Carol from Just Me C !

With our dear daughter Brady in tow (actually I was the 'in tow' as Brady did the driving) we left Calgary and headed out to Canmore, a beautiful ski resort town in the Rocky Mountains, about 1 hour away from Calgary.  Our itinerary - a cup of coffee, a little bite of a treat and the best part...to meet Carol!

What a thrill!

We arrived at the restaurant a bit early, but minutes later Carol walked in and came right over to our table.  Huge hugs all around...followed by conversation similar to what two longtime friends would engage in!  We talked about biking, and work, and crafts, and shopping, and cooking, and weddings, and travel....

Carol is a absolute gem!!! The first thing I noticed were her eyes! Beautiful 'smiling' brown eyes full of warmth and kindness. She is funny, entertaining and beyond sweet....just like her posts! Honestly, I could have sat there for the entire day! We still had so many topics to cover....but Brady and I had to get back to Calgary for a dinner date with Brady's boyfriend Jeremy!

Here we are in  the restaurant, enjoying some yummy goodies and each other's company! The picture says it all - we were thrilled to have had this opportunity to meet!  The best thing is that Carol lives only one hour away from Brady so I know that there will be more visits in the future...as early as this summer!  Like Carol would say...YAY times a million!

Doesn't Carol look amazing! See what I mean about her 'smiling' eyes! And although Carol likely won't agree with me - I love her hair!  Me...well I've decided that I need a haircut and that a horizontal striped shirt does not work well in a photo!  But you know what? That part doesn't matter. The real life friendship is what it is all about!

My apologies Carol for the tardiness of my post. We have been "computerless" for the past week while our new rig was getting all readied for action!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

.... not a challenge....not a DT project...just a card to wish my BIL a happy birthday!  He is an avid Winnipeg Jets hockey fan, as are his children and my sister!  The Winnipeg Jets are an NHL hockey team that plays out of Winnipeg, Manitoba (about 4 hours from Dauphin).

A quick & simple project made by criss crossing a few 1/4" strips of card stock. The silver represents the jet on the Winnipeg Jets hockey jersey. It is hard to see in the photo, but I scored lines on either side of the paper strips, stamped a dollar store stamp greeting and done!

I'm off bright & early tomorrow morning for a visit with our daughter in Calgary! AND if that isn't exciting enough...I also get to meet Carol from Just Me C in real life!  We are meeting for a coffee on Saturday! I will share a pic or two when I get back!

Happy crafting!

the Card Concept - Challenge #5 - Use Colors: Lime, Espresso & White

Welcome back!

I know that I've said it before....but WOW....the display of talent each week is unbelievable, as is the support for our new challenge! Thanks for sharing your creativity with us :)

This week's challenge is an awesome color combo! I love deep, rich browns, especially when paired with lime green!

My card was inspired by the colors in the photo and the graphic pattern created by the sticks of the yummy cake pops....all so perfectly lined up....

....well, almost perfectly lined up!  The OCD in me would really like to reach into the photo and straighten those that are a bit askew!  

I tweaked a Silhouette cut file to create my pattern. The pattern was repeatedly cut  in white, green and brown and then paper pieced to create the design.

The sky is the limit with a color challenge! I can hardly wait to see what you create!

This photo has made me hungry....so I'm off to raid the deep freezer because I know that there is a tray of homemade brownies left over from Christmas.  Can't figure out why they never made it to the Christmas desert buffet table ???? 

I'm thinking that one of the cats likely hid them there!

Happy crafting!

Card Details:  AC colored CS; CTMH white CS; Silhouette cut file - Chevron Border