I'm Late, Late, Late!

For a very important date with my fellow Roses for a monochromatic card challenge. Here's my late bloomer......

Cardstock is Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose by Stampin' Up. The flowers, brads, ribbon & pearls were a gift from my sweet friend Melisa. Sentiment and frame by Gina K. Designs, Fanciful Tags.

Hoping you were able to see all the lovely monochromatic cards our Roses came made this month. At least I got mine in before the end of the month!!

Happy stamping, yall!
Betty

Back from Florida

Hi All! We had a wonderful trip to Florida and I really enjoyed seeing my childhood friend Molly and visiting the lovely little town where she lives. If you ever have a chance to visit, she lives in Green Cove Springs and it is very close to St. Augustine. Both are very old, historical towns and very lovely! Thought you might want a glimpse, so here goes --
Above is the bed and breakfast where we stayed -- The River Park Inn. It is an old historical building and is decorated to the nines in the Victorian tradition!

Cattycorner across the street from our b&b is the public swimming pool -- it is fed by a mineral spring, which goes into the pool, and out again into the beautiful St. Johns River. Here's the sign that indicates the mineral content of the spring --


This empty house sits directly across the street from the bed & breakfast. Wouldn't it have been a great house to rent??? Unfortunately, we found the same trees, same pollens, and same allergies there that affect me here in Texas so we won't be moving to Florida -- we're back to Plan A; making plans to move to the Lake Chapala/Ajijic area of Mexico. There's a lot to do but I think that it is possible to get it all completed before we close on the sale of our house on April 18. I may not have as much time for crafting as I would like, but I'll try to keep you updated on how everything is coming along. Hope you enjoyed a little peek into Green Cove Springs, Florida. Will post a few more pictures later!!
Bye for now, Betty

Something a Little Different

Hello friends!! My sister and brother-in-law from Mississippi were visiting with us this weekend so I don't have a card to post. However, Barbara and I did get in a little shopping and found the cutest pair of earrings; we both got a pair! What do you think -- aren't these little owls just adorable? I love 'em!

We fly out tomorrow to Jacksonville, Florida and will be visiting with friends in Green Cove Springs. My childhood friend Molly wanted us to come check out their area before the move to Mexico to see if we might like to come there instead. I know that would certainly make my mother-in-law happy! She's just not very pleased with the Mexico idea and I think that she will most likely have to go with us wherever we move.
Talk to your all later when we get back!
Betty

Get Well Wishes

Had another sleepless night and this card was the result. I was pleased with its clean and simple look. I used three different stamp sets -- All Things Grow and Backgrounds by Design2 by Annabelle Stamps and Kind Caring Thoughts by Stampin' Up. My card has a So Saffron base, with a layer of Whisper White, stamped in So Saffron ink. The flower image and sentiment are stamped in So Saffron ink on So Saffron cardstock, framed with More Mustard; they were all cut out with rectangular nestabilities and I added a couple of rhinestones to the flower layer. The butterfly was also stamped in So Saffron ink on white cardstock. This card will the entered in the following challenges:
Annabelle Stamps -- Say It In Yellow (like my friend Sue, I used "mellow yellow"!)
Phindy's Place Challenge and Stampin' B's -- both are for a monochromatic card.
Betty

Happiness

Hello all! Here's a card made from scraps -- the polka dot paper is from Ashton's mailbox! I used the Card Patterns sketch again (love it!) and made the card for Annabelle Stamps challenge to Say It In Polka Dots. The stamp sets I used are Annabelle's All Things Grow and Backgrounds by Design 2. Found these sparkly stick on dots at Target in all kinds of colors and the butterfly is popped up with a dimensional.
Bye for now,
Betty

Happy Birthday Naturally

I had a scrap strip left of the cork I used for my last card so I used it again for this one that I made for Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge 42, which is a sketch challenge. I've used Annabelle Stamps -- All Things Grow, a Martha Stewart border punch, nestability oval and three stick on brownish-green pearls. Also, sponged a little green around the grasses for a "marshy" look. If you like making nature cards, check out the monthly challenge over at the Hot Spot. Their challenge this month is to use a natural element on your card. See Speedy's Friends sketch below.
Betty

Cork and Cookies

You guys need to go check out my new friend -- Nana Connie. She shared one of her grandmother's receipes on her blog today for Old Fashioned Blondies. They sure do sound scrumptious!

The card that I'm sharing today is based on the Card Patterns Sketch 102 which you can see below right.
It's also going to be my second entry in the new monthly challenge, Hot Spot, which is co-hosted by Studio 313 and Sue McMahon at McMahon Five Designs. Their challenge is to use a natural element, which (in my case) is the cork paper and the stamps from Annabelle Stamps, set titled All Things Grow. Even with the butterfly, I think it has a nice masculine look!

Betty

Natural Texture

Hello, Friends! My card today was made with two different challenges in mind:
Hot Spot Challenge to use a natural element (twig) and
FabNFunky to use texture (embossing, twig, ribbon, and popped up birdie)
I’ve been seeing lots of birds at my feeders lately. It is cold and they want something in their tummies! DH and I take turned refilling the feeders – it’s a cold job but someone’s got to do it; so we alternate!!
Hope everyone gets a chance to stamp and make something fabulous today! I am going to start sorting through my books to see what I can leave behind when we move. And speaking of moving, I have a friend in Florida who wants me to come check out where she lives, Green Cove Springs. We have a trip planned – flying over on Feb. 21st – using Larry’s sky miles (even better!) – to see if it might suit us better than Mexico at this time. We’ll see what we see!!
Betty

2011 Class Valentines

This is one of the valentines that I made for the girls in my grandson's 1st grade class. All the girls' valentines were made the same but personalized with their name. The envelope has their name stamped on it and a "DumDum" attached. These valentines were made with the Repeat Impressions Sketch #F911.

The next photo shows the cards I made for the boys. Since I didn't think they'd want anything with hearts and frills, I printed out a colored Dustin Pike image and personalized the greeting. Again, on the envelope I have stamped their name and added a sweet treat!

Betty

This One's For Ashton!

I have to admit that it was much easier for me to make a cute, frilly mailbox for the granddaughter than this one for my 7 yr old grandson! Orange is his favorite color so I went with a fall theme. I love the little acorns on the flag -- those are Martha Stewart stamps. I also found a little acorn brad; I removed its "legs" and attached it to the flag with a pop up dimensional. The acorns that I stamped onto the patterned paper is from Stampin' Up. The tree is also a MS stamp and I used several different ribbons.

I'm busy making valentines for their classmates too. Will have a picture of them in the next day or two!

Betty

Mailbox for Brianna

Last night I altered one of Target's mailboxes for my granddaughter's Valentine present. Didn't it turn out cute? Patterned paper, ribbons, some stick-ons, nesties and a butterfly punch were all I needed to make a really sweet gift. I'll find a cute little stuffed animal to put inside and it will be ready to go! I know she'll just love it!

Good news -- we received an offer on our house yesterday which we accepted. Praying that all will go well and that we'll soon be on our way to the next chapter in our lives -- retirement in the area of Lake Chapala Mexico!

Betty

Button Brads

Okay, I felt sorry for the big brads that I trashed in yesterday's post so I designed a card especially for them!! Kept the color combo of Chocolate, Blue and Pink from the challenge at Annabelle Stamps (after all the brads are brown, blue and pink -- it was a no brainer!)and added an image from Annabelle Stamps set titled Thoughtful Stems. DP is from My Mind's Eye paper pack titled Simply Delightful. Sponged with SU ink.

Hope all of your football fans are enjoying the game!
Betty

Missing You

(Please scroll all the way to the end of this post -- I decided that I need to redo this card!)
Here is a card I've made to send to Operation Write Home. I have used the sketch from Card Patterns Sketch 101 and the color combo from Annabelle's Stamps Challenge to Say It in Chocolate, Blue and Pink.
You have probably heard about a special campaign for Katie Renz, a designer for Clear Dollar Stamps, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer. Several stamp companies banded together in an effort to help Katie and her family pay for her medical bills. You can find the information about the stamps and how you can help at Jak Heath's blog. Jak is now hosting a contest to make a card with one of the images that you receive when you make your donation. You can find info about the contest here. My image comes from Clear Dollar Stamps and it is part of a set of several sewing images and sentiments. I learned about the contest from a fellow blogger -- thanks, Donna!

On a personal note, it warmed up here today (that made me so very happy!) and we also had someone else come to look at our house which is for sale -- We'll just have to pray that something good comes from the visit!

Edited to Add: I had to redo this card. The more I looked at it, the less I liked the "honking big" brads on the top right. They were fighting with the polka dots and with the focal image. So, here is my card with smaller brads!!


Betty

C is for Clean and Simple

Don't you just love these little birds???? I think they've been out at my feeders for a little too long -- they need to go on a diet!
I made this card for the ABC Christmas Challenge -- C is for Clean & Simple (with a sketch).
Their sketch is for a square card but I prefer this shape so it turned out looking a little different from their sketch shown here at the right. I've made a couple of cards for the February sketch challenge at Annabelle Stamps and my card today looks like it could fit right in!!
The decorated papers that I've used all come from a Papermania paper pack called Classic Christmas. I won this pack plus some other goodies from the blog hop at the end of the year at ABC Christmas Challenge. Thanks you ladies, for this gorgeous paper to work with. My card and circle base is Sahara Sand by Stampin' Up.

Betty

Chocolate and Blue

This card was made for the Fab N Funky Challenge #58, which is a color challenge. Colors are Chocolate and Blue. I've used shades of blue, Brocade Blue and Bordering Blue from SU. Browns are Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa.

The layout that I have used comes from Annabelle Stamps Bling Sketch Challenge, ABSC034; their February sketch.

The stamps are from Annabelle Stamps too; the set is called All Things Grow. The butterfly was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink on Brocade Blue card stock and cut out. Tools used are Circle Nesties, Ribbon Tags Trio and a Cuttlebug embossing folder, Forest Branches. Also used a scrap of dp, a bit of chocolate ribbon and six little clear rhinestones.

I was quite pleased with this card and want to send it to the Minister of Preschool at my church. The "All things grow with love" sentiment reminds me of her calling to help our preschoolers grow up in the knowledge that God loves them very much.

Stay warm all,

Betty

Ribbon Bookmarks

I made some bookmarks today from scrap pieces of ribbon. There was a tutorial at Tip Top Tuesday for making a banner out of acrylic and ribbon scraps. I took their idea and made bookmarks for my grandson's teacher. I think the camera makes the red and white one look the prettiest but IRL I think I prefer the one with the more subtle colors. A number of the ribbons are transparent and you can see through the acrylic. I placed two pieces of scor-tape on either side of the acrylic piece and another piece down the middle. Adhered the ribbon pieces to the acrylic and cut off the ragged edges. On the red bookmark I used ribbon to put on the sides, folded over to the back to keep ribbons from fraying. Then I stamped the flower with versamark on red cardstock, embossed with white, and cut out. Finished up by adding a couple of bows. On the other bookmark I used a light weight patterned paper for the edges.
DH found my sponges yesterday in the first box that he opened!!! Hooray! And I didn't even use them today -- maybe tomorrow. It's going to be too cold to get out!

Betty