Swap Spoiler

I haven't been making any cards lately, but I have been working on my ATC's for Tracy's (HI TRACY!!) swaps. This one is for the Memory Box group. If any of you are participating in the swap & want to be surprised, don't peek :) . I was debating about if I wanted to use a new penguin image, or one of my older "valentine" Memory Box images. They have some really cute "oldies" that are not penguins. In the end, I decided to go with the penguin. I added some extra sparkle to the DP & the rose using my Spica pens although it is hard to see in the photo. I also added pink Fun Flock to the top part of the heart candy box to make it fuzzy for fun. That is also really hard to see in the photo. ATC info: Image & sentiment by Memory Box; Copic Markers & Spica glitter pens; Misc. solid cardstock; Offray Grosgrain Ribbon; Provocraft DP; Palette Ink in Noir.

Isn't it beautiful?

I snapped this photo this morning and thought I would share it with all of you. This is a shot of some trees across the street from my house & I thought the moon just above was pretty. It snow ALL day here yesterday & some more last night. I think it snowed about 5 inches or so. Today is just cold, but there is still a lot of the pretty white stuff. It hardly ever snows here, probably only every 6 years or so, so I really enjoy it when we get it. I hope everyone is having a happy start of their week.

You Made My Day!!

Karrie & Tracy (bless their hearts) have made my day!! They put me on a list over on their blogs for this:THANK YOU LADIES!!

Award rules: Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! I have listed (in no particular order) some ladies that make my day & inspire me! Feel free to spread the love ladies or just know that you always make my day & inspire me. This list is in no particular order!!

1. TRACY (YES, I'M NOMINATING YOU AGAIN)
2. KARRIE (ANOTHER NOMINATION FROM ME)
3. JEN
4. JENNIE
5. RHONDA
6. NICOLE
7. SHARON IN NE (EVEN THOUGH SHE DOESN'T HAVE A BLOG!)
8. ERIKA
9. ANNA
10. MJ

Don't forget to check out my post below regarding Tracy's swaps!!

ATC Swap Alert...Come Join The Fun!

Hi everyone!! Sorry I haven't posted for a little while. I really appreciate all of you that stop by. I have been very sick this week with some creepy crawly crud & haven't felt like doing much of anything. My friend Tracy (HI TRACY!) is hostessing another ATC swap. The theme this time is Love/Valentine. She still has several spaces left in in Memory Box group. Memory Box has a ton of cute "love" images, new & old, or maybe you have a Memory Box image you could convert into a "love" theme. I hope you will consider joining. Tracy's swaps are ALWAYS a blast! I hope everyone has a great weekend. I hope to start feeling like myself again soon, so I can get back to posting!!

My very first altered item!!

This is my VERY first altered item....can you believe it?!? I really don't know what has taken me so long, because it was so much fun! I have a bunch of these little Target mailboxes, so I will be doing some more practicing!! Not so bad for my first time, but I think I will change things up a little bit on the next one. It was the lids that I had trouble getting the paper perfect on & I think I would maybe do the flag a tad different. I just think these are the cutest little things, not only for Valentines Day, but for everyday for putting a little treat in for somebody. Filling it with marbled chocolate covered coffee beans sounds good to me! I really like this patterned paper by Bo Bunny called Smitten. They have a bunch of different patterns & I got a sheet in every pattern but one that the store didn't have(it was one of my favorites too). It has the prettiest shimmer to it!! I was originally going to use the same papers, but have the patterned heart paper on the body of the mailbox, but then I realized the hearts would be upside down on one side of the mailbox, so I changed it the other way. The inner circle on the flag was actually punched out from the paper then I stamped the sentiment on top of it. It is a little hard to read it in the picture, but it is the "Love Blooms" sentiment from most recent A Muse Valentine release.
Mailbox info: Target $1 spot mailbox; DP by Bo Bunny Smitten Collection; some small solid & patterned color card stock by Memory Box; Stamps by A Muse Artstamps; Copic Markers;All tied ribbon by May Arts except the ribbon the is underneath the tied ribbon on the stem of the flag I purchased at Michael's; Ribbon that is around the lids is JoAnn's Craft essentials ribbon.

Love Is In The Air

It is so fun to make cards for Valentine's Day. I thought I would pull out some of my Cat's Pajama's images today and this is what I came up with. This actually turned out to be a very quick card to make & I'm happy with the way it turned out. I wasn't sure when I was coloring the "heart balloon" if I should color in the whole image or just the top. I'm thinking now that it may look better if I colored in the whole thing. I may change that & take another picture. Also, I may not have made it quite so "hilly" if I were to make this card again...I think it may make it a little out of proportion. Thanks for stopping by!!ETA: Below is my second version with the bottom of the "heart balloon" colored in. I think it probably looks better this way.

Card info: white card stock by GP; DP by Memory Box; Images by The Cat's Pajama's & Rubber Soul; Sentiment by A Muse Artstamps; Palette Noir Ink & Versa Magic Ink; Copic Markers & Stickles.

ETA: I've had a couple of questions on how I made the hills on this card. It was so simple, you are not going to believe it!! I took a sheet of patterned cardstock from the Memory Box pack pictured below, & I just cut a piece with scissors along one of the curves to create the hills...and VOILA...super easy!! I'm not sure if this paper pack is still made by Memory Box, but I'm sure you could find it online somewhere. The opposite side of the paper is the same pattern, but blue, perfect for making water!!

Hot Stuff!

First off, I would like to dedicate this post to Karrie!! She really gets me inspired with all of her rockin' Memory Box creations!! Plus she's sweet enough to always stop by my little blog & leave me nice comments....love ya girl! Actually, there is several of you sweeties that stop by & leave nice comments....love you all!! So this is one of my new Memory Box penguins I got to play with today. Isn't he just the sweetest little thing? I'm not sure why the sentiment looks a little blurry, I may try & snap another photo. I got some inspiration from Tracy (Hi Tracy!) for criss- crossing the twine from this card she made. I was having a heck of a time deciding what I wanted to do with it, so thanks for the inspiration Tracy!! The sentiment is from The Cat's Pajama's. I hope everyone is having a happy weekend!!

Another Tag :)

Stamping star Karrie has tagged me, so here it goes!!

1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics: Family/Friends/Pets & Vacation

2. What are the two best places you've been to? Canada & anywhere in the Northwest (it's beautiful here!!)

3. Name two things you do every day: Take a hot bath every night & have to have that coffee!

4. Tell us two things that everyone pretty much knows about you: I am brunette & I love cats!!

5. Two places you wish to visit: Colorado & Alaska

6. Two things you may not know about me are: I didn't get married until I was 34 & I had to have braces twice, on my bottom teeth since I didn't wear my lower retainer (bad girl), but now I have a permanent one.

7. Two nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Nancy Pooh (like pooh bear)(by my parents) & Nanners(from a previous boss).

8. Name two of your favorite drinks: I'm with Karrie on this one..Water & Coffee (drink both daily)

9. What are two interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you've had in your life? My first official job was at a frozen yogurt shop when I was 16. That was kind of fun because we could eat all the frozen yogurt we wanted on the house when we were working although I think I burnt myself out on the stuff for life now. Also, jobs working with the public are always interesting. I have worked in Customer Service for many years in my life & let me tell you it can be very interesting in good & BAD ways ;)

10. What are two things you would like to learn? How to sew & become better being organized!!

11. What two things would make your scrapping/stamping work space work even better for you? Well, since I'm just getting started on working on my first "real" stamping space, one thing would be to have it done, and another would be to not to have to share it with another space. I will be sharing the space with our very little used guest room.

12. My question will be What are two of your favorite stamp companies? I have a big place in my heart for A Muse & Elzybells :)

I have to tag TWO people and they have to answer the above questions and add one of their own. The only hitch? You have to ask in twos... see the theme above?? So I will tag Jen & Rhonda.

Playing with chalks

I made this card as a thank you to Rhonda (HI RHONDA!!!) for doing me a really sweet favor. I forgot to snap a photo of the card before I sent if off, so Rhonda, bless her heart, e-mailed me a photo. This is my first time at playing with my Pebbles Shimmer Chalks, & I think I need A LOT more practice. I do like the soft look they give to an image & they really do sparkle IRL. I think I'm going to have fun experimenting some more with them.

Thank You

I just wanted to say thank you to anyone that may still stop by & read my blog. I know I haven't been posting at all lately. The holidays took a lot out of me I think. I'm slowly getting back in the groove of things. I've been working on Thank You cards for holiday gifts, & this is one of the ones I came up with. I know this is a winter image, but it still winter right? This is my first time inking it up. I didn't want winter to pass by without using it. The image is mostly colored (on her outfit) in with Twinkling H2O's. My first time at playing with those too. If you click on the picture, I think you get a better idea of how they sparkle. How fun!! Have a wonderful day!!
Card info: Images by Elzybells & A Muse Artstamps; A Muse Note; Martha Stewart Border Punch; Twinkling H2O's; Copic Markers; Stampin' Up & Palette Noir Ink; Glitter Glue (JoAnn's); Marvy Scalloped Oval Punches; Hole punch; May Arts Ribbon.