Midnight Madness Challenge #42-Bear Essentials

Hi bloggers it is challenge number 42 at the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Blog. Wow, did we have some awesome entries last week. It was so difficult to narrow it down for our Gold Star and Remarkables awards. You are all a bunch of talented card crafters and I just enjoy visiting each of your blogs!!!

Before I go on, I wanted to share with you that today is my first day of school. No I am not starting kindergarten!!!! After being out of work for a year, I am going to school for Medical Coding and Billing. So I see lots of studying in my future. I am soooo excited!!!

The image I used this week is from Cornish Heritage Farms called Bear Essentials. Being the bear lover I am, it was so easy for me to use these sweet and adorable bears. This is the perfect card for sending along bears hugs to someone special.

Card Recipe:
Martha Stewart Punches-Lattice, Large Deep Daisy Fan, Pop up flower, Deco fan around the page punch
Spellbinders- Sunflower Die Cut, Scalloped Square punch
Eyelets, ribbon, stickles, chalk, pearls

Here is this week's sketch.
Make it fancy, clean and simple, or somewhere in-between. Remember it is "YOUR CHOICE"

"YOUR CHOICE"

Enter one style or both this week.

Just have fun and come play with us. Be sure
to enter your creations at Priscillastyles!

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CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Our MMSC40 Gold Star Award goes to Sonya Appel

Our Remarkables Award this week goes to Darlene and Gry Beate

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Our MMSC40 Weekly Bonus Winner is Birget Biggan
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Our February Diva is...Sue Drees

We are just thrilled to have Sue joining us for the whole month of March! Sue has been playing the challenges with us for quite sometime. I have enjoyed visiting her blog and viewing her beautiful work. I love how she changes the picture of Niagara Falls to match the seasons. Be sure to stop by her wonderful blog. Sue, welcome to our family. I am going to enjoy your time with us and getting some inspiration from you!



Our MMSC42 weekly Bonus sponsor is.....

*Delicious Doodles

You can find all her fantastic images at http://deliciousdoodles.blogspot.com/
Bonus Weekly MMSC42 Prize.......

SIX sheets of A4 printed digital images, six images on each - on card not paper. These are images from my shop, Delicious Doodles.

PLUS:
Two sheets A5 textured Lilac coloured card.
Four sheets A5 Lilac coloured handmade papers, some with petals embedded.
One pack of Papermania 3D stickers 'Butterfly Tags'.
One pack handcrafted stickers with mini gems + flowers.
One pack of 3D birthday stickers with shaker elements.
One pack of metal Heart charms.
One small pack of clear stamps - Studio G.
Thank you again Teresa for your Awesome MMSC42 prizes!!


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Our Feb. Monthly Sponsor is....

**Cornish Heritage Farms
Click HERE to see the Awesome Prize!

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These are the challenges I have entered this card in:


Crafty Creations - Challenge #55 Stitching
Inky Impressions - Think Spring
Stamp Something - Spring
Your Next Stamp - Spring

Fred She Said Challenge #2

Hi everyone! It's time for the second (2) Fred She Said Challenge. Be sure to hop on over to the Fred She Said Challenge blog and join us for this fun challenge. You can enter you card there for a chance to win a $20 Gift Certificate to the Fred She Said Store.

Our challenge for this month is since it is the month of LOVE to create a card with at least three Hearts on it! You must use a Fred She Said image. If you don't have one you can find Freebies here!

Here is mine!

My card is made with the new Corner Rose image from the Fred She Said Store that you can find here. I colored my image with pencils and gamsol. After that, I sponged Rangers Tea Dye distress ink all over the flower. I pop dotted the flower three times and outlined it in stickles. For my three hearts, I did three layers of the spellbinders die cut hearts in the middle.

I continued the image on the inside of my card. The corner elements are another spellbinders die called Illumination Grand Borderabilities that I cut apart and used on my corners and various other embellishing elements. I ripped and distress inked my papers....boy that was a bunch of fun. Talk about getting your frustrations out...just go rip up some papers...not only will you feel better, it looks pretty nice too!!! LOL

Won't you join us over at the Fred She Said Challenge Blog for this month's challenge? We would love to have you join us and put your entry in for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the Fred She Said Store.

My Card has been entered in the following other Challenges
Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential-Doing the Mess Around
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge-Dazzel Us
My Time to Craft-Green Plus One
Order of the Opus Gluei-Ruffles and Flourishes (My ripped paper is the ruffles and I used Flourishes in the corners of my card
Our Creative Corner-Try a new technique (Ripping paper (distressing) is really new to me, I have been afraid to try it but love how it turned out!)
Paper Sundaes-Distressing

MMSC#41 SEW MANY CARDS BEAR CHEF

Challenges that I have entered:
Saturday Spotlight Challenge - Use Household item (I used a Q-tip to color my bear and tissue paper in my flowers)
Polka Doodles - Hearts, Flowers or both
Practical Scrappers - Flowers
Pile it On - Flowers

Fred She Said Blog Hop-Teacup Pansies

Welcome to the SECOND "FRED SHE SAID" blog hop!!! If you just happened to drop by my blog and you are not aware of this wonderful event taking place, please go back to the "FRED SHE SAID" blog here and start your hop!

Please, we would love it if you commented on our posts. Here, at "Fred" we have been getting all FLOWERY to hasten the arrival of SPRING! Come see what PRETTIES we have in store for you :)

Also, along the way, you will see a special CODE WORD. Collect them all up! Once you reach the end of the blog hop (which will be the "Fred She Said" Challenge blog), follow the instructions to make your entry and your name will go in for a draw for a $20 Gift Certificate for the Fred She Said Store!

Here is my "Fred She Said" creation:

For the blog hop, I made the new "Teacup Pansies". This is perfect to send to someone to let them know your are thinking of them as Pansy's are the flower for "Thoughts of You". Here I have made a card with an added gift tucked inside....this teapot tea bag holder that I created.I printed out two sheets of the flowers and I printed 4 images of the teacup with pansies. All of the flowers are three dimensional. These were all colored with chalks and stickles were added to the flowers and leaves.I used the new Martha Stewart around the page Pansy punch and glued a gold bead in the center of all the pansies. I added tiny pearls to the cup detail as you can see. I stitched around the outside of my card. I can't tell you how much I love these Pansies. This shows you how my teapot fits inside the pocket I created especially for it. I repeated the flowers and the punches for inside the card.This is the teapot untied showing you how the teabag is in the pocket. I created the teabag tag with a spellbinders die cut and attached another Pansy to match this side.Within the next couple of days I will be looking into how I can bring you my pattern for this teapot teabag holder. I have all the pieces ready to scan and I have all the measurements all written down. So if you are interested in doing the teapot....stay tuned for a tutorial.

My special code word is: SAID!

Here is a list of the blog hoppers in case you lose your way:

FRED SHE SAID BLOG
Shelly
Michelle
Maria
Lora
Lisa F.
Julie S.
Judy A.
Darsie
Carol L.
Carol H. -->You are here
FRED SHE SAID CHALLENGE BLOG

This blog hop will run from today, February 15th until February 22nd. On the 23rd, the winner will be announced on the "Fred She Said" blog .

Thank-you for taking the time to play along. Now, to continue the blog hop, please visit FRED SHE SAID CHALLENGE BLOG .
When you are finished hopping, why not check out the pretty and new flowery things at the Fred She Said Store!

Entered in the following challenges:
Belli Challenge - Ribbons
The Corrosive Challenge - Sew It Up
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Dazzle us!
Our Creative Corner - Something Old that's New (May Paper was old stash)
Paper Sundaes - A Glittery Spring

Fred She Said Valentine for My Dear Mom

How about some Fred She Said for my Dear Mom. This will be making it's way to Connecticut in time for Valentine's Day. She has saved every card I ever made her. Wait until she get's this beauty, huh!!!! LOL If you can find it in your heart, please keep my Mom in your prayers. She has COPD and was recently diagnosed with several lung infections...one of them being a "Mold" infection. She just got out of the hospital, is home with a visiting nurse, and medication to the tune of 21 pills a day. Bless her heart she is having a time of it!

On to my card. This is an image from "Fred She Said" called "Better than Chocolate". You can find this image at her store here. I am just beside myself over this image. It reminds me of the ornately decorated box of chocolates my Dad used to by my Mom for Valentine's day from the local drug store.You can see the dimension of the layer of this box of chocolates. I also used clear accents on just the chocolates. I love how it made them shiny like the real thing and gave them dimension in the box. I outlined the box in crystal stickles.The paper is from K & Company
Martha Stewart-Border Punch, Lace around the page punch
Cuddlebug-Lace embossing folder
Rangers Distress ink - Tea Dye
Sizzx- Leaf branch die cut
Various types of pearls, ribbon flowers, ribbon


This is the inside of my card. I love how the embossing came out. I inked my brayer with the Rangers Distress Tye Dye ink and ran it over the positive section of the embossing folder. I put my paper in the folder, ran it through the cuttlebug....and voila...this beautiful piece...I love it!!! I will be doing this again for sure!!!


And last but not least my envie that I made myself. I just had to go all out. Pretty opulent don't you think!!!! I ran the distress inking sponge all over my roses and stickled them as well. I hope that you have enjoyed viewing this card for my Mom and that you get inspiration to create something like this for a very special person in your life. Please let me know what you think as I love to hear from you. Your comments make my day!!!!

These are the Challenges I have entered:
Crazy for Challenges - Valentine Themed
Creative Belli Challenge - Ribbons
Creative Card Crew - Valentine
Delightful Sketches & Challenges - Love
Die Cut Dreams - Have a Heart
Pile It On - To The One You Love
Raise the Bar - Heart to Heart
The Pink Elephant - Mushy Gushy

Ladybug Tilda goes Valentine

Surely you do not think I have flipped my wig...but this is the Ladybug Tilda. And the reason you might think I am a little "off" is because this is the first time I have done a Tilda and this one has been sitting here for almost a year. Truth be told....I did not think my skills were good enough to color her!!!!So, I found a bag of images I purchased because I loved them so much....and now I am "JAZZED" to play. I wanted a Tilda Valentine image...so I covered the Little Lady Bug with the heart...but don't fret...I have an awesome idea and will be back with Tilda and the Lady Bug in the future.LOLDid I ever tell you how much I like to ink stuff!!! My sons ask me whats all over my hands....I tell them ink...remember when "you" used to play with ink and paints and get dirty....now it is my turn!!! LOL
The Recipe:
Image-Tilda with Lady Bug
Die Cuts-Spellbinders Nestabilites "Scalloped Hearts" Sizzx- leafy branch
Punches-Martha Stewart butterfly, frond, Lattice Border punch, and Lacy Heart Border Punch
Ink- Stazon and Rangers tea dye distress ink

Accessories: (Red pearls, pearl hearts, tiny white pearls on butterfly, copper heart charm) all found at Michael's - stickles, ribbon, and paper roses.Challenges I have entered:
Sophisticat Challenge - Love
Stamp, Scrap, & Doodle Saturdays - Open
Flutter By Wednesday's - Open-must have Butterfly, Angel or Fairy
CCEE Stampers - Hearts and a Charm
Challenge up you Life - Hearts

Fred She Said Design Team Spotlight

You can't believe how excited I was when I saw this fabulous Digi from Fred She Said Designs. With a houseful of baseball fans and players it is the perfect image for a Valentine's Day Card!!! Tracy's images are some of the best on the net. This wonderful image is called "Catch Your Heart" and can be found here at her store!

I LOVE shaker cards and knew this image would be a perfect shaker....but with a twist. If you look closely, you will see a package of Terrifically Tacky Tape. I am forever throwing out that nice domed piece....and suddenly in December it hits me that I could use that...and so this shaker card was born. You too should save that piece, because I am going to tell you how to use it for your next easy peasey "Shaker Card".
The size of my card is 6 x 6. You can see here that I cut around the plastic and left about a 1/2 inch or so. I filled the bowl with this shaker material. Hint: If you are having problems with static electricity inside the plastic dome, you can take a dryer sheet and wipe the inside before placing your shaker material. You are going to glue this to your image....you can see mine in the foreground. I use 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue for my adhesive.

Once that has dried, you are going to make the portion of the embellishment that slips over the dome to hide the edges. In this picture, I cut a 5" x 5' piece of designer paper. This is so easy to do as long as you have your measurements correct. In the middle of that piece of paper, I used Martha Stewart's round circle cutter and put the blade of the knife in the 3-9/16 hole and cut out the circle. I then used the heart around the page punches from Martha Stewart. I used the same 3-in-1 glue to attach it to the card. I love inking the edges of my cards...so I have used the Rangers Tea Dye distress ink around all the edges. The hearts are a Martha Stewart punch and I cut a plain heart to line the underside of this lattice heart.

Here is my card with the envelope I created. Keep in mind you will need a thicker style envelope to place your card in. I used the 6 x 6 Envelope Kit from "Priscillastyles" found here.You can see in this picture what I am talking about with the thickness.

The kit comes with a template to help you cut out the envelope. I have lined the inner part of my envelope and all the flaps, and this is how you form your envelope around the form. I hope you enjoyed viewing my project and will start using those pieces of plastic you would normally throw away. Just think about all the fun and fascinating things you can create with them and reuse these items to help save the earth!
Thanks for viewing my project!!
Carol


Challenges I am entering in as follows:
Paper Sundaes - Valentines
Pile It On - Other the Winter Colors
Practical Scrappers - Die Cuts
Saturday Spotlight Challenge - Bigger is Better
Saturday Challenge - Hearts