Have a Happy Birthday!

Good evening!  I can't believe today was the last day of September.  This year is going by so fast - before we know it the holidays will be here!!

Yesterday evening, my sweetie and I went out to dinner with his dad and step-mom.  We were celebrating both his step-mom's birthday as well as mine which are just one day apart.  We enjoyed a great dinner and some good quality time with family.

This is the card I made for my mother-in-law.  I'm going to submit it into the challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut.  The challenge this week is a birthday challenge and you're asked to make a project with a candle.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Cupcake from Sweet Treats cut at 3.5 inches
Sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Everyday Life set
EK Success candles border punch
Crinkle ribbon
Stickles
Glossy Accents

Marathon Congratulations!

Good morning!  I hope your weekend is off to a good start.  I just got home from a nice run with a couple of good friends.  One of them ran her first marathon last weekend.  She did great and kept us entertained during our run today telling us all about her experience.

I am so happy for her for running her first marathon!  She has battled injuries over the past year or so but stuck with it and will now always be known as a MARATHONER!  I made this card for her to celebrate the occasion and to let her know how happy I am for her.

I'm going to submit this card into the challenge over at Celebrate the Occasion.  The challenge this week is Sports Anyone, and in honor of Little League Month they want to see our sports themed projects.  Thanks for coming by and taking a look.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Runner from Pink Journey cut at 3.8 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Stamps Everyday Greetings set
Black embossing powder
i-rock gems

Tons of Thanks!

Good evening!  I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

The card I have to share tonight is one I made for the challenge over at Die Cuttin Divas.  Did you know that September 22 was not only the first day of fall but it was also Elephant Appreciation Day?  I had no idea, but elephants are my favorite animal, so I will likely remember this day from now on!  In honor of Elephant Appreciation Day, the challenge over at DCD is to create a project using an elephant.  Well I am in need of a few thank you cards and when I saw the "Tons of Thanks" sentiment I knew exactly what I was going to make.  Thanks for coming by to take a look!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern paper from DCWV
Elephant from Create a Critter cut at 2.5 inches
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Amusing Animals set
Crinkle ribbon
Cloud Corner Chomper
While Sakura gel pen

Cow's it Going?

Good evening!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We had great weather for my three-day weekend and I was able to enjoy a good part of it outdoors.  I also got some crafting done!!

I made this card for one of my aunts.  She recently had one of her heart valves replaced with a cow valve.  I wanted to send her a card for her recovery and decided to take a humorous approach in hopes that it will bring a smile to her face.  My sweetie helped me come up with the idea for this card.  He suggested a cow with a heart on it, but I decided to switch is around and make the card heart shaped and put a cow on the heart.

I'm going to submit this card in the challenge over at My Craft Spot.  The challenge this week is Wild About You and you're supposed to include a wild animal on your project.  Thanks for coming by to take a look!!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from We R Memory Keepers
Cow from Create a Critter cut at 2.4 inches
Heart from Everyday Paper Dolls cut at 5.25 inches
Banner for sentiment cut by hand
Sentiment from Scrappy Mom's Amusing Animals set
Brown chalk

Have the Happiest Birthday!

Good evening!  I'm enjoying the start of a three day weekend by spending some time crafting.  Yay!!  :)  The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so I'm hoping to spend quite a bit of time outside as well.

This week over at Celebrate the Occasion, the challenge is Birthday and you must use twine and at least one button.  My card stash is always in need of birthday cards it seems, so this is perfect for me.  I went to my go-to cartridge for birthday cards, Birthday Bash, and started flipping through the handbook for an image I haven't used yet.  I saw this bird on the banner and thought it would be perfect to add some twine and ribbons to.  This is what I came up with.  Thanks for coming by to take a look!!

Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Mat paper from The Paper Studio
Bird on banner from Birthday Bash cut at 3 inches
Sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Fabulous Phrases set
Twine from My Craft Spot
Buttons from my stash
Glitter
Black Sakura gel pen

Grilling Out Thank You

Happy Tuesday!  I hope your week is off to a wonderful start!  The weather here has been fantastic, so I've been enjoying time outside running, playing golf and working in the yard.  Normally I'm not too excited about working in the yard, but the weather has been so nice I'm not complaining!!

Last weekend a couple running friends and I got together with our spouses and enjoyed some time out on the lake then grilling out.  It was great to get everyone together and spend some time enjoying each others company while doing something other than running!  We started talking about this get-together back in June, but the summer was just so hot we kept waiting for some cooler weather so we could enjoy some time outside on the lake instead of just wanting to go back inside to the air conditioning.  So we finally managed to make it happen - thankfully before it got too chilly to get the boat out!

I made this thank you for the couple and their son who hosted the gathering.  I'm going to submit this into the challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut.  The challenge this week is End of Summer - make a project that reminds you of the end of summer.

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Mat paper from The Paper Studio
Man from Block Party cut at 4.5 inches
Grill from Block Party cut at 3 inches
Rub-on sentiment

Congratulations to the Happy Couple

Happy Saturday!  I hope you are all enjoying the weekend!!  The weather here has been fabulous - a bit cooler and it feels like fall is in the air.  Such a nice change after all the hot and dry weather we had here in the Midwest all summer.

This week over at Tuesday Alchemy, the challenge is Peace, Love and Happiness in honor of International Peace Day coming up on Friday the 21st.  My step-nephew is getting married in about 3 weeks and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a card made for him and his bride.  I figure it's fitting for the challenge because I wish them nothing but many many years of peace, love and happiness together!

I used their invitation for inspiration in making their card.  Here is their invitation:

And here is the card I made:

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Couple from Sweethearts cut at 3 inches
Flowers from Flower Shoppe cut at 1, 1.25 and 1.5 inches
Leaves from Flower Shoppe cut at 1 and 1.25 inches
Crinkle ribbon
Pearl gems
White chalk
Sentiment from My Craft Spot's Happily Ever After set

First Crochet Projects

Good evening!  As some of you may remember from some posts of mine a couple weeks back, I was recently reintroduced to crocheting by a good friend.  We got together the weekend my sweetie left for his camping trip and she taught me a few different stitches.  The following weekend we got together again and she taught me how to finish my projects, how to create ruffles and how to make flowers.  I definitely found a new hobby while my sweetie was gone!

Here are the first two scarfs and hats I made during the week my sweetie was gone.

The pink and white scarf was made using a rectangular loop loom (I think that's the right name for it.....).  The hat was made with a crochet hook and a half double crochet stitch.

The pink and purple scarf was made with a crochet hook and a double crochet stitch and was finished off with some ruffling.  There are a variety of stitches used to make the flower.  I attached the flower to the scarf  using a regular needle and thread.

The blue hat was made with a crochet hook and a single crochet stitch.  The flower is the same flower as on the scarf above and was also attached to the hat using a regular needle and thread.

I had so much fun making these scarves and hats!  I already have another scarf in the making and have already purchased more yarn for more projects.  I'm so excited to work on them and am just hoping for a colder winter than last year so that we can make good use out of these scarves and hats!!

A-Haunting We Will Go

Happy Saturday!  I had a rough week at work this past week so I was glad it was short because of the holiday on Monday, and I am so glad that the weekend is now here!!  It got off to a great start with a long run with a couple of great friends on an absolutely beautiful morning.  To make my morning even better, one of my friends showed up to the run with the new Create a Critter 2 cartridge for me!!  She managed to find 2 at a J's near her and snagged one for each of us.  So of course I had to play with my new toy today!!  :)  Have you seen the images on this cartridge??  So many fun images to choose from - I know I'll be using this cartridge a lot!

I decided to make a Halloween card first.  I saw this cute vampire bee image and thought he was just adorable.  He also fits perfectly for the challenge this week over at Celebrate the Occasion.  The challenge is Hey Honey and your project must include a bee on it, in honor of Honey Month (I never knew there was such a thing!!).

I'm also going to send this card to Madison for her September I Feel the Love project.  Madison is collecting Halloween cards during the month of September so that they can be delivered during the month of October to kids that live at Casa Pacifica.  Be sure to check out Madison's blog HERE for more information about her wonderful project.

Recipe:
Cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Vampire Bee from Create a Critter 2 cut at 3.75 inches
Polka Dots embossing folder
Sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Spooky-licious set
Twine from My Craft Spot
i-rock gems
Black and White Sakura gel pens
Google eyes
Action wobble

I Moose You

Happy Sunday!  I'm super excited today because my sweetie comes home tonight!!  I talked to him last night and it sounds like he had a great time camping.  We sure missed each other though!

The card I'm sharing today is another one that I made for my sweetie.  I'm going to link this up over at Die Cuttin Divas.  Their challenge this week is a recipe challenge - twine, pop dots and 3 buttons.

Here is my creation.  Thanks for coming by to take a look and I hope you are all enjoying the holiday weekend!

Recipe:
Solid cardstock from Bazzill and Recollections
Pattern cardstock from DCWV
Moose from Campin Critters cut at 3.75 inches
Sentiment from My Pink Stamper's Even More Punny-licious set
Twine from My Craft Spot
Buttons from my stash
Google eyes