Friday Sketchers # 67 & Just Magnolia # 20...Awesome Friend!

Hey crafty friends...hope you're having a stampin' good weekend! Hannah and I had some fun girls stuff planned for the weekend as the boys have gone to Mosport to watch the car races. We were going to drive to Toronto yesterday and spend a little cha-ching at the Bella Boutique and meet up with some friends but we stayed home instead and I finally rented Twilight....oh it was soooo good...I am reading Eclipse now and have become a total Twilight Saga freak....I just love Edward he's soooo dreamy,lol! Oh, if you are a Twilight freak too then you have to go and see this fab ATC card by Fran....it is sooooo amazingly adorable!

I did some stamping and coloured several of the new Magnolia images that came in my Fall Stampculb kit. I really love them all but I am partial to Tilda with Blueberries...for now...isn't she a cutie patootie, smile!

I ordered some new copic paper, Neenah White, I am quite happy with it but I'm still adjusting to it. This paper is very thick and really makes the colours appear so vibrant! There is good "blendability" (if that is even a word) with this paper too. I'm really diggin' it!

So this morning I made this card with the great sketch over at Friday Sketchers # 67 and for the Just Magnolia challenge # 20 too....Ribbon and bows...I made my cardbase 6x6 lilac Bazzill Bling cardstock and used this MME Wild Asparagus patterned cardstock that I have had in my stash forever. I inked the edges of my papers with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress inks. This fabulous ribbon is from my good bloggin' friend Kim...I just love it and had been hording it but it was perfect for this card....thanks again, sweetie! The Awesome definition label is by Making Memories and the word "Friend" is a Melissa Frances rub-on. I added a Prima and I shimmerized with Angel Wings Shimmerz.

Here is the inside....well there ya have it another card...I am glad that I have some more images coloured now I can just make up the cards...I think I have stumbled on to a good idea here,lol!

Well, thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

Sketch Saturday # 65...Hush-a-bye Baby Boy!

Hey crafty friends this is going to be a really quick post as once again I'm just getting my card submitted at the 11th hour! Here is my second baby card for my friend Laura. I hope she is happy with this one as its my first attempt at colouring a dark complexion! I am actually quite happy with how it turned out! Whatta ya think?!

I made this card following the fab sketch over at Sketch Saturday! So, I used BG Urban Prairie 6X6 pp and Bazzill Bling cardstock. I stamped Willow on Prism Simply Smooth cardstock and coloured the image with my Copics. I inked the edges of the main image with Antique Linen Distress Ink and I inked the edges of the pp with Chestnut Roan cats eyes chalk ink.

Sentiments are Melissa Frances rub-ons and to finish it off a few Primas and my fave American Crafts ribbon....Oh and I shimmerized Willow and the Primas.

Thanks for stopping by and haivng a wee peek and thanks for all the sweet comments everyone...soooo fabulous...just love getting them as they really make my day!!!!

Big Hugs,

Friday Sketchers # 66...It's a Jungle out there...Enjoy!

I am just getting this card in under the wire for the Friday Sketchers challenge #66 ! This is another great sketch! I made this card Monday night for a wonderfully kind and patient man who is retiring from my work, Jim. Jim has been the resident computer guru for last 19 years...well his official title is something like Manger of IT but guru works too. He often comes to the rescue every time our computers do something wonky but he very kindly tells us it is more often than not, user error,lol!!! Well, Jim spends enough time in front of a monitor (well make that 4 actually) so he likes to spend his free time at home on his wooded property clearing the brush. So I thought this jungle/Safari Edwin would do the trick for his card!

I used this great DCWV Animal Cracker 8x8 stack that I bought in Buffalo on our way back from Florida in July. I stamped Edwin on Prism Simply Smooth cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured him with my Copics. Now I was unsure at the time if the flowers were just too girlie for a "boy" card. So, when I arrived at work I asked the ladies what they thought of the flowers! They all agreed that they were a bit much so off they came! I have to say, that it did look more like a boy card sans the flowers,lol!

So, I gave Jim his card at our luncheon on Tuesday and he loved it! That made me very happy!

So there you have it another card this week...wow I am on a roll! Now, I am heading down to my scrapbooking room to finish up more baby cards.

Thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

WOJ # 44....Sweet baby girl and some pics from our camping trip!!!!

Just a quick post tonight to show you this baby card I made for a friend who ordered two cards from me! I still need to make the second one for a boy...that's on my "to do list" for tomorrow night,smile! I used Rach's fabulous sketch over at the WOJ challenge blog but I didn't make it in time to enter the challenge! I love this sketch and will definitely use it again!

The papers are BG Lemonade, Bazzill Bling cardstock and the light yellow is Bazzill Basics cardstock.

I stamped Willow on Prism Simply Smooth cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured her and baby in with my Copics and added some Angel Wings shimmerz. the sentiments are Melissa Frances rub-ons. I added a few Prima flowers and some ribbon to finish it off!

We went camping at Port Burwell Provincial Park on the weekend. The weather wasn't too bad. We rode our bike into the small town and had ice cream and one day. We drove to Aylmer to get some groceries and it was very interesting to see the Mennonite and Amish that live in this area. We saw one Amish man at the grocery store in his horse and buggy.

I just love these windmills....

and I thought this was funny that we drove through....

and

I thought maybe some of my international blog followers would get a good kick out of this,smile!!!

Well, thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

New BasicGrey Challenge # 2...a colour combo...Best Friends!

Good morning crafty friends! I hope you are actually reading this post this morning as it has been scheduled and I don't have the best luck with scheduling posts but I think I have figured out how to do it correctly now, smile!

Well, all the BG DT want to say a big THANKS to everyone for joining our challenge over the last 2 weeks! We're all just thrilled to bits with the huge response and very warm welcome back!!!! Now, I hope you are up for another fabulous BasicGrey Challenge!

Martine has a beautiful colour combo for us to play with and I think you are really going to have fun with it!!!! I know that I did and the other BG DT gals did too! They have all made such inspired creations with this pretty colour palette! Make sure to visit their blogs and check it out!!!! Then get started on your own creation...just remember that you have to use at least one BasicGrey item!

Now aren't these colours just YUM-O!!??

Well, they sure got my creative juices flowing! This was the perfect palette for an idea that I have been mulling around for a while! I picked some pretty BG Porcelain papers and Bazzill Basics cardstock! Then I went looking for this adorable frame that I got at Micheals in the dollar bin area a couple months ago. It is was just a little too bright for me so I toned it down and distressed it a bit with some Timber Brown Staz On ink and white acrylic paint then set it aside to dry.

I picked this sweet Tilda with her wee feathered friend and I just adore the cage and it matches the bird cages on the BG Porcelain paper so well too! I just got this Tilda in my order from Simon Says Stamps...I used my $25 Voucher that I won from the Just Magnolia Challenge blog for the card of the month...yay!!! How cool is that!!!! If you haven't been to Simon Says Stamp on-line store then make a trip! It is well worth visiting...they have absolutely everything you could possibly image and a super assortment of Magnolia stamps. I ordered several other Magnolia stamps and 3 large wallets to store my Copics markers.

So...back to the card....I stamped Tilda with Tuxedo Black Memento ink on Prism Simply Smooth cardstock and coloured her with my Copic markers using the "Copic water colour technique" this is where I fill a waterbrush with colourless blender fluid. This gives a very soft water colour affect that I was going for! I sponged the background with Distress inks and applied the Melissa Frances rub-on to the image, then cut it out to fit in the frame!

I wanted the frame to be easy to remove from the card but it also needed it to stay put until it is removed, so I had to think about how to get it to stay on my card!!!! I wasn't even sure if the cardbase would hold the weight of the frame but the frame is plastic and quite light so it worked out, phew! I adhered a hook and loop adhesive circle to the back of the frame under the stand so that the stand part would lay flat and so the frame wouldn't flap around. I then added a piece of Terrifically Tacky Tape on the front side stand part of the frame and lined it up so that it would adhere to the ribbon and therefore would not rip the paper when it was removed! Then I added some foam adhesive squares to the top of the frame! I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that this held the frame on the card but it can be removed, with a little extra care, to not rip the pp!

Once the frame is removed there is a little surprise sentiment under it! Now the card is just as nice with or without the frame. To finish it off I added some pretty Prima flowers, yummy chocolate satin ribbon and a bling flourish!

The BG DT gals have all made such beautiful and inspiring creations with this fabulous colour combo so make sure you check our their blogs and you will be so inspired! I hope you can play along with us and we all look forward to seeing your fabulous creations!

Thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

Just Magnolia # 17 & Simon Says Challenge...a wee bit late...Don't BUG me...!

Well, this card is pretty late and it has put me through the ringer let me tell ya, but I thought I would share it anyways! I started making it last weekend for the Just Magnolia # 17 Martine's Fabulous sketch and for the Buttons and Bows challenge at Simon says Stamp Challenge!

I had this idea to make the tag into a bookmark and I had the perfect sentiment in mind. So I typed it up on the computer and then I thought this sweet Tilda with a "bug" would be perfect for my "don't BUG me" bookmark!

I made my cardbase 6x6 from Bazzill Basics cardstock and used BG 6X6 Junebug papers and inked the edges with Distress inks and stamped the stitching with my Kelly Panacci stitch stamps with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

I stamped Tilda on Prism Simply Smooth cardstock and coloured her with my Copics then my little disaster happened...when I turned Tilda over onto my splat mat to add adhesive to the back of her, ink from my previous distressing and stamping transferred to her face. Needless to say she had a little Frankenstein thing happening with Kelly Panacci stitches on her face,lol!!! Well, I can laugh now but at the time I was sooooooo frustrated that I packed it in and well didn't get a chance to work on it until this afternoon! So, I coloured another Tilda and finished up the card and bookmark tag!

I used some of these Prima flowers for the first time and love them with the Junebug paper. The buttons are from my stash and the bows are tied with Karen Foster Scrappers Floss! I used a QK Ladybug die cut and cut out the sentiments on the tag with a QK tag and the sentiment on the card is cut out with my Oval Nesties. I add this yummy ribbon and some BG Junebug brads too!

So there ya have it! I am pretty happy with this card and tag after all that frustration and delay in getting it done!

Thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

We're Back!!!! The New BasicGrey Challenges # 1...You are my Sunshine!

Hey crafty friends!!! I am back from another camping trip and this time we had really good weather...not too hot but the sun was shining and we had a lot of fun so Tilda and I are sending you some of that sunshine this morning,smile!

Well I'm soooooo excited to say that BasicGrey Challenges is back up and running and we are better than ever!!!! There are lots of great changes to the blog so make sure you go see what Martine has done with the new design...it looks scrumptious! We will be having a challenge every fortnight (translation every other Saturday for us Canadian folks,smile) so you have a little more time to make your creation and you can combine you challenges with all the other great challenge blogs that we love to play along with...so no excuses not to join us now!!!!! We have some great candy available for our grand opening and Jo has some great BG candy generously donated by Heidi from Simon Says Stamp....just a little plug, SSS is such a great on-line shop and they sell everything you can think of including Magnolia stamps...worth checking them out!!!!

I'm so excited that this week's challenge is a TaraG original sketch...yay!!! The lovely and talented Martine turned one of my cards into this sketch...sooooo very cool! You need to go see the fabulous creations that the BG DT made with my sketch...wowzers!!!! They are out-of-this-world fab and Chris Dark had her layout posted in the BasicGray Gallery...how cool is that!!!!!!

Now, I have no idea why I missed the post deadline yesterday but well I had a total brain malfunction about the date that we were going live..big oops! So, I was on a mission yesterday to make my card and to get my paws on a 6x6 Lemonade pad!!! I didn't want to cut into my 12X12 papers that I bought in FLA (I have plans to use for my Disney album)! Well, after a little searching I found it at the Scrapbook Emporium...YAY!!!!! I also used some pretty Opaline flowers and Bazzill Bling cardstock. I cut some of the swirly bits off and moved them around how I wanted!

I stamped this sweet Tilda from the Summer StampClub set and drew in the grass with my Copic Multi-liner pen and coloured it with my Copics! I inked the edges of the papers with some lime green chalk ink and added this yummy ribbon that I got at Emporium, QuicKutz rub-ons from stash, and some Crystal Stickles!

Here is the inside...I used another QK rub-on for the inside sentiment!

So there you have it...our first NEW and IMPROVED BG Challenges, challenge...whoot whoot! I am so glad we are back in business!!!!!

I thought I would share a few pics from our camping trip to Skirkston Shores on Lake Eire! Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the beach but it is our favourite...you can drive the truck right down to the waters edge

Our campsite! Chris is the King of Tarps...good thing...it kept us dry one night when we had a torrential down pour!

Hannah and Kieran spent a lot time catching frogs at the swamp with their camping friends that they made Justin and Alexa...this is Junior and Jumpy!!!

Kieran and Hannah on the trampoline....

weeeeeeee!

Whoooo hooooo!!!!!

This is what I did......I read Scarpetta by Patrica Cornwell...my favourite Author and started Twilight!!!!

and I brought Tilda with me!

Yumo!!! The Chef taste testing his steaks!!!

my sweet girl, Hannah-Banana!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek!

Hugs,

Surfer Emma Sending you Sunshine...Friday Sketchers # 62!

Just a quick post this morning and then we are off on another camping trip! Hopefully there will be some sunshine and some good times at the beach!!! I picked this paper and this image a few weeks ago and never got around to making the card so I played around with it last night to get me all primed for the beach, but just so you know there will be no surfing for me,lol! I'm just looking forward to reading and wiggling my toes in the sand! Isn't Surfer Emma just so darn cute? Gotta love these beachy C.C. Designs stamps! I needed a sketch to work with, so I stated with a great sketch at Friday Sketchers by Jacque from last week! I flipped it around and well deviated a bit from it but that is why I love sketches they get your own creative juices flowing!

I stamped Emma on Prism Simply Smooth white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with my Copics. I cut her out with my rectangle Nesties and embossed too! I matted the image on pink Bazzill Bling cardstock.

The cardbase is 6x6 yellow Bazzill Bling cardstock and the yummy paper is American Crafts that I've been hording forever. I used some American Crafts ribbon, as always and a few primas to finish it off! The sentiment and birds are from a My Favourite Things stamp set.

well, there you have it...I hope you all have a great week and thanks for stopping by and having a wee look-see!

Hugs,

Just Magnolia # 16, Friday Sketchers # 63 & Colour Create # 24....Splish Splash Birthday!!!!!

Hello crafty friends!!! Hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer! It seems like everyone is having a rainy summer though...that's not much fun! Well, When I got back from our last soggy camping trip I came down with a sore throat and I've basically lost my voice...good thing I know sign language,lol! Well, it doesn't really come in handy at home as Chris and the kids just stare at me, clueless as to what I am trying to say!!! Well, it just becomes a crazy game of charades, smile!!! I hope I start to feel better soon as we are off on another camping trip next week!

With all the busyness of our trip to Dsiney and camping I misplaced my mojo somwhere,lol...but I think I found it this morning, phew! I got up at the crack of dawn to make this Birthday card for Hannah's good friend Emily!!! The two have been Friends since they were 3 years old! Well, Hannah is going to Emily's party tomorrow, so I thought I would make her a special card since she's turning 10...double digits...whoot, whoot!!!! Now, Emily is my friend Charlene's daughter and Charlene owns The Scrapbook Academy in Oshawa...a great little scrapbooking store by the way, so if you are ever in the area check it out!!!!

Now I made this card following along with 3 Challenges...Just Magnolia # 16 Distressing, Friday Sketchers # 63...what a great sketch by the fabulously talented, Jeannette...love this sketch and will definitely use it again and Colour Create Challenge # 24...pink, orange and green!

I stamped Tilda on Prism Simply Smooth White cardstock, made a mask on a post-it-note and stamped her floatie, lining it up with my Stamp-a-ma-jig and cut her out with my circle Nesties using the "out of the box" technique and coloured the image with my beloved Copic Markers!

I made the card with Bazzill Bling cardstock and used this fun paper that I picked up yesterday by Flair Designs, Fresh & Fabulous Collection! I loved the colours and it has a bit of Distressed feel to it but its still bright, fun and cheery. So, I thought it would be perfect for this card! I roughed up the edges of the pp with my Tim Holtz Distress tool and inked the edges with chalk inks!

Then a few Primas, some American crafts ribbon, my fave Melissa Frances rub-ons and some green Could 9 Rain Dots to finish it all off!

Here is the inside I basically followed the same design and used more

Melissa Frances rub-ons...love 'em!!!!!

oh and another image of this sweet Tilda....I just adore her!!!

So, I can check this off my "to do" list,smile! Now I have to run out to the shopping centre with Hannah to pick out a gift for Emily and we have packing and a ton of other things to do before we head out camping again next week!

Well, Thanks for stopping by and having a wee peek...hope my fellow crafty Canadians have a great long weekend and I hope you have some sunshine where ever you are!!!

Hugs,