Southern Breezes

Saturday Night Challenge

Before we get started with tonight's challenge I wanted to give you an update on today's Cards for Heroes event.  Dawn and Linda arrived at One Little Spark with oodles of card making supplies AND chocolate!! The turn out was a little lower than expected, but, after three hours of card making the final tally was 94 cards to be sent to our service men and women!!! Besides Dawn, Linda and myself, we had help throughout the afternoon from Barbara C., Sharon F., December R. and Angela W.  Way to go ladies!! Everyone was very excited with the results and looking forward to the next Cards for Heroes event.

Now for tonight's challenge.  The challenge for last week was to use the color purple on a card or layout.  Seems there are oodles of February birthdays, so many of you were up for this challenge. Check out the following blogs to views some truly amazing cards...

Corina

NoraAnne

Shelia

Robyn

Thanks for playing along ladies - you all made fabulous cards!!

Now for this week's challenge. With spring around the corner (Huh??? with snow in the forecast????).  Well, even if it is cold and snowy outside let's bring a little spring to our paper crafting, by making either and card or layout featuring a flower or flowers...

 

The base card is baby blue, the same as the blue textured layer, which was created with the Cuttlebug. The yellow scalloped border was made with the Fiskars' Threading Water border punch.  After stamping and coloring the vase and flower, a little fun "sparkly"  was added on the flower center, leaves and vase with Spica glitter pens.

So there is tonight's challenge! As always, anyone, anywhere can play along.  When your card or layout is complete, link to it in the comment section of this blog or email it to me.  Have fun!

Supplies include: Baby blue, medium yellow and white card stock; A Muse yellow ribbon; Fiskar's Threading Water border punch; Cuttlebug "Textiles" embossing folder; Copics  BG10,Y17, YR24, YG25, W2; Memory Box Tall Vase and Black Eyed Susan wood stamps; Spica black and clear glitter pens.

Now you know the rest of the story!!

Looks like I have been "outed" by my friend, Shelia, who made sure everyone knows today is my birthday.  She posted the cutest darn card for me on her website and kept demanding to know my age. Although the stinker already knows my age - I think she wants to see if I will publicly own up to my age! <LOL>

Heck, when you're 20 pounds overweight and sporting grey hair it's a darn good guess you're no longer in your 20's! *wink*  My Grandma Campbell always said age was just a number and that's how I've tried to approach each birthday. Not with a groan, or an "OMG", but as a challenge to see what I can accomplish with the new "number".  I don't feel my age, although there are many days I feel 100+, but that's another story.

The only birthday shock I can remember is when I turned 24 - someone asked how old I was and I said 21. Following Grandma C's teachings, I never really kept count of the years as they went by, so it was a little unsettling when someone pointed out the fact that I was indeed 24 and not 21.  Where did those 3 years disappear to?? After that, whenever I was asked my age I would take time to count before answering.

 Of course, 16 was a big year because that meant I could get my driver's license, but after that one I sort of stopped keeping track. Don't get me wrong,I LOVE birthdays! I love the cards, phone calls and birthday wishes and I love the cake and ice cream.  That part has never changed and I'm pretty darn sure there will never come a day when I don't enjoy it. It's just the "number" has never really mattered to me. There have been a few other standout years...

21 was the year Heather Michele arrived - it was a very good year. 28 was the year of the broken wrist and a few other crisises (is that a word??).  40 was the year of the red leather pantsuit and candy apple red MR2- I think they refer to that as a "mid-life crisis *wink*  What marks this year?? It's the year I promised myself ages ago that I would stop dyeing my hair!!! <<ROTFL>> And I DID!!!

Many emails and cards have come in from people I have never met - some of the names are familiar, some are not. But I appreciate every one who took the time to help celebrate today with me. To everyone who has sent a card, or called, or emailed or sent a virtual card - THANK YOU!!! You have made this day even more special by your friendship!

The following is from one of the best emails I received, sent to me by another dear friend - Dee...

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers,or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.So many have never laughed, and so many have died before theirhair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.I've even earned the right to be wrong. So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever,but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day(if I feel like it). Now for all you who suffered through this entire post - I AM 60!!!!

Easter Card

I have to admit that I fell in love with this little critter the minute he came out of the box!!  He's SO adorable! You just want to pick him up and squeeze him!

 

Did I mention I love bunnies?? and bears <lol> There's a huge collection of stuffed bears and bunnies residing in my guest room. 

   

If it hadn't been for the fact that I needed to make cards with different stamps, I would have kept on stamping his image! Oh, come to think of, I did! There are enough images for me to have a bunny in almost every color *wink*

Card #1 - Tulip Bunny by Stamps by Judith; Memory Box Brandywine papers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts flower and pink pearl embellishments; Stampin Up! markers

Card #2 - Tulip Bunny by Stamps by Judith; Memory Box Rhubarb papers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; A Muse twinkle; Stampin Up! markers

All products except Stampin Up! markers, available at One Little Spark.

Speaking of One Little Spark, you should see the amazing ATCs that are coming in for the "O" swap!! Can't wait to post the pictures to show you how fantastic they are!

Splitcoast Stampers VSN Challenge

I had promised to post the challenge cards from this weekend's VSN challenge on Sunday night, but with "computer issues" driving me up the wall last week, I wasn't able to post the pictures until today.  Hope you enjoy them!!

Card #1 - One of the challenges on last Friday's VSN (Virtual Stamping Night) over at Splitcoast stampers was to stamp something you really like.  It was also a sketch challenge.  The card was to have one big circle and one big heart on it. 

As soon as I read the challenge, I immediately thought, "Gee, I love Halloween". I tried to come up with different subjects, but kept going back to Halloween.  Can't help it, Halloween makes me happy *wink*

The base card is from Memory Box, as is the next layer, which is from last autumn's Sparkle collection.  The big  orange circle and the teal are from the newest spring papers that just arrived at One Little Sparklast week. The sentiment on the heart is a collection of different stamps that I masked to get the sentiment needed.

Supplies include: Memory Box Sparkle and black card stock; orange and teal card stock; Stamper's Anonymous skeleton stamp; A Muse spider stamp; Memento Tuxedo Black and Cocoa ink; miscellaneous ribbon.

Card #2 - Make a scrapling! A scrapling?? I had never heard of such a thing *lol* But apparently I am one of a few select people who have apparently had my head in the sand on this matter. SO, what is a scrapling? A tiny card made from left over papers.  The dimensions are 1 1/2 or 2 inches by 5 1/3.

 

Supplies for Card #2: Memory Box's Sugardrop papers; Fiskar's scalloped and plain circle punches; A Muse pink ribbon; Memento Cocoa brown ink; sentiment from My Favorite Things

Card #3 - For the Love of Chocolate.  This was fun. There were different types of "chocolate" to choose from - each type was a particular collection of certain paper colors.  I opted for "Dark Chocolate" which was chocolate brown, Apricot and Flamingo colors. 

 

For this card I used the Tea For Two stamp set from My Favorite Things.  Memento Cocoa brown ink; tiny red A Muse heart twinkle hanging from the Mouse's tail; various Copic markers and miscellaneous ribbon. This is probably my favorite card *wink*

Card #4 Bittersweet - the challenge was to make a card using a stamp you didn't particularly like.  It's not that I don't like this stamp, I just could never figure out what to do with it...

 

Papers for this card are from Memory Box's newest Rhubarb paper collection.  The stamps used are from Hero Arts and the ink is my favorite Memento Tuxedo black ink.

All the stamps, inks and papers (excluding Sparkle) are currently in stock at One Little Spark.

Thanks for looking!  The VSN challenges are always fun to participate in! If you haven't tried on eyet, you should!!

A Muse February Challenge - Stampin to the Music

The challenge for this month on the A Muse lounge was to use an A Muse or Saltbox Studio stamp to create something inspired by music!!

 

Talk about "happy feet" - those little chicks are having a ball Dancin in the Street!!!

Martha and the Vandellas' 1964 hit, ...

Callin' out around the world,
are you ready for a brand new beat?
Summer's here and the time is right
for dancin' in the street.
Dancin' in Chicago (dancin' in the street)
Down in New Orleans (dancin' in the street)
In New York City

All we need is music, sweet music,
There'll be music everywhere
There'll be swingin' swayin', and records playin,
Dancin' in the street......

That's the first song that popped into my head as I was reading the challenge rules!!! Don't know why it did, but it did *laugh* Thanks for looking!

Supplies include: A Muse green and white notecard; lamp post, clouds and party chicks stamps; Doodlebug yellow glitter; Spica gold and orange glitter pens; Copic Y38,RV29,Y13,YG25, B24,V15 AND BG10; strip of vellum with sentiment printed on the computer. ALL supplies currently in stock at One Little Spark!

 

Saturday Night Challenge

Last week's challenge was to use embossing powder on either a card or layout, so , before we get started with tonight's challenge, check out the following blogs to see what these gals have come up with this week...

Corina

Shelia

Thanks for playing along ladies!!

This week's challenge was inspired by a dear friend who is having a birthday tomorrow ( Happy Birthday, Shelia!!).  Her favorite color is purple, so this week's challenge is to use purple on a card or layout.  Hmmm...wonder if the card I posted yesterday can serve as the sample for this cahllenge *wink* It does have purple on it!

Anyone, anywhere can play along! Simply link to your card or layout in the comment section of this blog or email it to me. Have fun!!

While everyone else is working on this challenge, I will be playing along with the VSN challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers.  It started last night and will finish up tonight - loads of fun and really gets your creative juices flowing.  I will have my cards from that challenge posted on this blog tomorrow evening.

Headless People & ATCs

Have you ever felt like you were the last to know something?? I hate it when that happens!! But seems like I am one of the few people that didn't know these neat stamps by My Favorite Things are referred to as the "headless people stamps" <lol>  Not hard to figure out why *wink*

 

These busy gals have no heads!!  But that's fine by me.. I love these stamps!!  Especially the sentiment!

Supplies include:  My Favorite Things Digital Gal stamp set: Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copic markers; Spica glitter pen; Memory Box pink soiree paper, white card stock, and Sugardrop print card stock. All stamps and materials currently in stock at One Little Spark

For those who signed up for the ATC "O" swap remember to be sure and mail or deliver your cards to One Little Spark by the 28th!!

Caffeinated Friends!

Two things I wanted to try today - one of the new My Favorite Things stamps that arrived at One Little Spark this morning and a card with a different type of fold.  This is what I ended up with... 

This is the "Tea for Two" stamp set from MFT.  

 

Yes, the bunny's tail is covered with white flocking!! There's no way I could have NOT used flocking on this cute little critter! *wink*

The caffeinated bunnies are on their own little mini card which is adhered to the inside of the base card and just waiting for a personal message to be hand written...

 

When closed, the little green button on the front of the card holds it closed! 

 

Chck out One Little Spark to find out more about this latest arrival at the shop!!

Supplies include: My Favorite Things "Tea for Two" stamp set; A Muse purple notecard; Golden Yellow and white card stock; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; vairous Copic markers; miscellaneous green button and sheer lavendar ribbon.  All materials currently available at One Little Spark.

A Muse Class and other stuff

The first of two classes featuring the latest Spring/Easter stamps and papers from A Muse is scheduled for this weekend at One Little Spark!  Check the shop blog for more details! Here's a tiny sample...

I've been MIA the past few days thanks to a slight virus I picked up somewhere along the way, which means the two days I had off work were spent curled up under a blanket for the most part.  Should I admit I spent one of those days reading "Twilight" - the teeny bopper vampire book that Heather raved SO much about while she was here last month.  I still don't know how she managed to read three books in between all the classes she taught <shaking head> It was decent enough reading, but I didn't feel compelled to drag myself out from under the blanket and run to the nearest book store for the second volume. Sorry Heather, guess that means I possess no undertones of "cougarness" **wink** 

Last night I stayed up long enough to get the shop class schedule in place.  It's set through April!!! I have never been this far ahead of the game. Maybe I should get sick a little more often <lol> All the classes will soon be listed on the shop blog so be sure to check them out!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Sure hope you have all had a great Valentine's Day!!  So far today I've had way too much chocolate! *wink*  But, then, can you ever really have TOO much chocolate? I don't think so!

The challenge for this week was to make a card or layout with a wintery theme.  Here's the entries for this one - please check out these blogs to see what these ladies came up with this week.  As usual , they're all great!

Corina

Shelia

and this one submitted by email from Tere down in Virginia ...

   

Thanks to Tere for joining us for the first time for this challenge and, hopefully, not the last.  Thanks to all the ladies for playing along this week!!

Now for this week's challenge. This one is going to be super simple - use embossing powder on a card or layout! Now how easy is that????

Please excuse the quality of this photo - it was taken with my cell phone.  I never seem to have my camera when I need it *sigh*  I will take this little card home and photograph it with a "real camera tonight and post a better photo! :)

 

The "froo-froo" thingy on the shoe was embossed using Goddess Gold embossing powder by Ranger. A little A Muse red twinkle was added for more glitz!   

As always, anyone , anywhere can play along!  Now get those ideas churning and see what you can come up for next week! Please link to your entry in the comment section of this blog, or email it to me! Have fun!

Supplies include: Pink Soiree paper from Memory Box, green paper from Memory Box's Twiggy collection; dark brown card stock; Ranger Golden Goddedd embossing powder; Memento Tuxedo Black and Cocoa ink; Hero Arts' high Heels, Monogram and Small Variety alphabet clear stamp sets; A Muse red twinkle.   All products currently available at One Little Spark.