SSS31 Christmas Squirrel

I'm back with another Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge Card! Included with the challenge this week, we had to use some kind of 'sewing' technique on the card....it could be 'faux' stitching, machine stitching, or free-hand sewing. For my main image, I chose a digtal image from 'Mo's Digital Pencil'...it was just so cute, I had to have it. I love his little collection of acorns...looks as if he has been quite busy gathering food supplies for the upcoming Holiday meals...or perhaps he is out sharing his wealth with other little squirrels less fortunate than he is....but whatever his intentions, he is a cutie and I had a fun time coloring the image.

For my 'stitching', I simply did a free hand stitch on the edge of the red panel using some gold embroidery thread.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week, celebrating the Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends. The Lord has blessed my family abundantly this last year and I have so much for which to be thankful.

Here is my 'short list' of blessings:

1. good health

2. wonderful doctors

3. a loving church and church ministry

4. my 3 children who are all grown and married and have blessed my life with 8 beautiful grandchildren...with more to come

5. my Dad, who is still living and in good health at the age of 77

6. good friends...including those of you who take the time to read this blog and post encouraging feedback

7. the honor of working with Sweet N' Sassy Stamps and Korin....allowing me to share my 'art' with all of you...and for the inspirational talent each of you share with all of us

8. the privilege of being an 'American'...the freedom it allows me to live my life as I choose ...and for those who have willingly served and/or given their lives in an effort to keep us a free nation

9. a loving husband who keeps me 'grounded' and encourages me in all that I do

10. Knowing that I can put all of my faith and trust in my Heavenly Father who loves me more than I could ever deserve.

Don't forget to check out the Sugar Baby Blogs for more awesome inspiration with this newest sketch challenge.

Have a wonderful week of Thanksgiving and may all of you be blessed abundantly!

Spend time with family and friends and then,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

SSS30 Christmas Candle

Here we are with another Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge. For this week's challenge, I'm using a Sweet N' Sassy digital image titled 'Christmas Candle' -- illustrated by Leah Cornelius.

It was very difficult to 'capture on camera' all of the layers I used for the poinsettia of the main image...I printed the image 3 times, coloring the poinsettia of each. From the extra images, I cut out 'sections' of the flower and added them to the main image by gluing just the 'inside edge' of each section....curling the outer edges in an upward direction...the 'center' of the poinsettia is attached using a 'tiny glob' of Zip Dry glue (allowed to dry slightly). You can see just a hint of the layers with this side-view picture, but it is so much more evident IRL! For a touch of sparkle, I've added just a 'hint' of red stickles to a few of the floral petals. A little 'highlighting' using a White Inkssential Gel Pen completes the image.

The 'Candle'..... Diamond stickles were added to the main portion and then for dimension, I've added 'Crackle accents' (Inkssentials) to the top 'melted' portion of the candle and also to the flame. Crackle accents is similar to Crystal Effects but once it dries you get a bit of a 'crackled' effect...similar to the 'cracked glass' technique.

I had planned to use 'shimmery gold' cardstock for the layers of this card, but because I am totally 'organizationally challenged', I couldn't find it! So....I resorted to versamark ink, gold embossing powder, and my brand new 'Heat It' Tool (Ranger) to give a similar 'sparkle' for this card...it worked out OK but if I could have found it,the gold cardstock would have been better. Oh well.....

If I were to make this card again, I would add the 'gold element' to the top right corner, rather than leaving it 'white'....

As always, I encourage you to visit The Sweet Stop and play along with this newest Sketch Challenge. And be sure to check out the other Sugar Baby Design Team blogs....the ladies are super talented and never cease to AMAZE me with their awesome talent!

Links for the Sweet Stop Sketch and Sugar Baby Blogs on posted on my side-bar.

If you decide to play along, please post a link to your creation on the Sweet Stop Blog .... We'd love having you join us and will look forward to viewing your creative designs!

On Another Note

This last couple of weeks, I've not been able to keep up with all of you who 'follow' my blog...well, not nearly as much as I would like...but I do hope to be back to a more 'normal' schedule after next weekend....at least, that is my goal. In the meantime, please know that I'm not ignoring any of you on purpose and I do appreciate your patience as well as your loyalty....not to mention all of the sweet and kind comments many of you have left on my blog! I certainly don't feel deserving of such praise but do appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to share your thoughts and encouraging words with me. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a blessing you are in my life.... I'm so very grateful to God for every one of you!

This weekend...share your time with family and friends....and then,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

Edited to add: I'm having trouble with the spacing for my blog...I either end up with way too much space between paragraphs, or all of the paragraphs run back to back and the whole post looks cluttered.....grrrrrrrr!

Princess Kaylee

We have a new little princess in our family! October 7, 2009 this new little princess was officially adopted into our family by my middle daughter, Shari, and her husband Jim. My daughter, who always considered herself to be the princess in our family, now has a little princess of her own! The story of how this new little princess came to be a part of our family is much to long and complex to share with you today.
However, I would like to tell you just a little about the person God used to give us our new little princess.

Not long after her birth, our little princess was placed into the foster care system. At about 6 months old, she was placed into the home of my daughter's 'best friend forever and always'... Aimee. Aimee is a beautiful young woman, both physically and spiritually...and she is the one whom God used to bring this new little princess into our family! I believe Aimee's actions not only demonstrate a remarkable spirit of 'self-less-ness' but also a geniun spirit of Christian love and kindness.

From the very first day Kaylee arrived in the home of Aimee and her family, they not only took care of her physical needs, but also lavished her with love and affection. Aimee took advantage of every opportunity to teach Kaylee of God's love. She and her family began praying with Kaylee on a daily basis, and part of those prayers were asking God to watch over the life of Kaylee as well as asking God to work in the hearts of those in the court system who would be making important decisions regarding her precious life. Aimee loved little Kaylee with her whole heart but she also knew that God's love for Kaylee was far greater than her own.

Shari and Aimee are blessed to enjoy a very close and loving friendship and Aimee knew of Shari's deep desire to one day adopt a daughter of her own. My daughter and her husband had been working with a Christian adoption agency in an attempt to adopt a little girl from Panama...a process which ended without success. Around this same time, Aimee approached Shari with the idea of becoming a foster parent and eventually taking Kaylee into her home...and to make a long story short... Shari and her husband (Jim) did indeed become foster parents to Kaylee and after a long and difficult 2+ years, are now the adopted parents of our new little princess, Kaylee Mae! It is Aimee whom God used to nurture and care for 'the little princess' and then lovingly and graciously give her over to the hands of my daughter and family to finish the work God had begun nearly 4 years ago! And because Aimee and Shari remain BFF, Aimee and her family will always be an important part of Kaylee's life.

And Aimee, if you should read this post, I want to personally thank you for sharing your life with my daughter and for the precious gift you have given her! Your thoughtful prayers and loving spirit have blessed our family with this precious gift of life, a gift for which we will always be thankful!

This past weekend, an Adoption Party/Birthday Party was held in Kaylee's honor. And of course if you have a party, you most often have presents. So of course I made a card 'fitting for a princess' to go along with my present for Kaylee... and I am sharing that card with you today!

I'm very happy with the end result and hope you will enjoy it as well.

This Princess Digital image is from 'The Character Cafe', titled 'Princess Ally'. I did have to do a 'little' altering to the original image. Much like the Magnolia images, this little princess did not have a 'mouth'....and I was certain 'my' new little princess would NOT understand why that was...so, I simply added a little smile to her sweet face.

The image is colored with Copics, and glitzed up with Stickles and Pearls. For the card base I used PTI Select White, and have added a purple textured paper to the outside base layer. The pattern paper is from Fiskars 'Brittany's Castle Collection' and has lots of shine and sparkle in the design. The shimmery scalloped piece behind the Princess image is by Best Occasions 'Prismatic Paper Pak' (from Walmart) and each piece in this pad is super shimmery (which made it a little difficult to photograph).

The main image is attached using dimensionals. With my pattern paper, I used an EK Success Large Scallop Border Punch that also leaves a little embossed line at the edge of the scallop . The ribbon is sheer and shimmery and is from Walmart, but I don't remember the brand name.

I wrote the 'Princess Kaylee' sentiment free-hand style and 'doodled' the border around the edge of the image.

For the inside, I simply did a 'computer generated' sentiment ...adding a smaller princess image...printing it onto a Bold Pink Top Note Die Cut layer....Why?....Well because....my little princess loves the colors Pink and Purple! After coloring the princess... again, I used a white gel pen around the edge of the die cut and then added a few pearls around the finished edge.

OK....I think that covers the basics.

Now, go spend some time with your family and friends and then...

Make time to create, but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

And here is a picture of my princess with her little princess:

Kaylee loved the little hat and princess necklace included with her present and immediately wanted to wear both....she insisted on wearing them for this picture...isn't she precious.

SSS29 Merry Christmas

Oh my word...another week seems to have flown by! Today we have a new Sketch Challenge at the Sweet N' Sassy Sweet Stop and the card I'm posting today is for this fantastic challenge. I enjoyed using a new Hampton Art Rubber Stamp I had purchased on sale at my local Michael's store. It took me a few 'attempts' to get the look I wanted, but once done, I'm happy with it. For the main image, I inked the complete stamp with Versamark Ink and then I inked the top portion of the stamp with black ink and after stamping the image onto my white cardstock I embossed it using clear embossing powder. After cleaning my stamp, I inked the lower portion of the stamp with Versamark Ink and then with Brilliance Red ink, stamped that portion on a scrap piece of white cardstock and then heat embossed using Irredescent Embossing Powder...this gave the image a slight glimmer. I cut the lower portion out and attached it to my main image layer using dimensionals. For the inside of the card, I simply cut out a portion of the pattern paper and glued it to a piece of white cardstock, added 2 shimmery black brads and attached that layer to the inside of the card.

After completing the card, I wasn't completely happy with the lower right portion of the card, so I made a second version and will also share that card with you at the end of this post.

I hope all of you will stop by the Sweet Stop and join us for the challenge and if you do, please be sure to add a link to your creation at the end of the Sweet Stop Post. And don't forget, for MORE inspiration, visit the blogs of all the Sugarbabies...they are listed by name on my side bar...just click the name and you will be directed to their individual blogs. The other Sugar Baby team members are extremely talented and I'm sure you will enjoy their blogs.

And, Korin has created another fantastic group of stamps called the 'Sunbeams' and you can now pre-order the first set. Be sure to check out the Sweet N' Sassy Stamps Website for more details and to place your pre-order!

Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy time with your family and friends and then...

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

SSS29 Merry Christmas Version 2

SSS28 With Thanksgiving

Well, it's time for another Sweet Stop Sketch Design and this week Korin has given us another fantastic sketch. When I first saw the sketch, I thought it should be fairly simple....well, low and behold, I had so much trouble putting a card together this week. I tried several different images but nothing was coming together. I think I know what my problem was though...I REALLY wanted to use this pumpkin paper and the coordinating stripe paper for the design. Have you ever had such a strong desire to use a particular craft product that it ended up being the 'ruler' over your entire creation....that is what happened with me! I had a difficult time finding an image that would work with the papers and the main image panel...most everything I had in my stamp inventory was either too big or would not work with a rectangular theme. So, I went into my digital image inventory finding several cute images but again, most of them would not work...so, I went back to my Sweet N' Sassy 'Harvest Fruits' digital image. And here is another reason I enjoy using digi stamps....you can make them fit most any size you would need...sometimes you can use the 'stretch and skew' tool in paint and it will help to make your image fit also....anyway today all I had to do was make the Harvest Fruit image smaller, print and color and I was finally 'good to go'!

I hope you will join us at the Sweet Stop Challenge....click on the badge in my right sidebar and it will take you to the Sketch Challenge. If you decide to play along, be sure and post a link to your creation in the Mr Linky comment box at the end of the challenge post.

And be sure to visit all of the Sugar Baby Design Team Blogs where you will find a ton of inspiration...each Sugar Baby is listed on my sidebar...again, just click on their name and you will be directed to their individual blogs.

A few of the card D-tails: the card is 3" x 6"

Card Base: Vintage Cream (PTI)

Pattern Papers: K&Company Tim Coffey Fall Pumpkins and Fall Stripes

Inside Sentiment is Computer Generated with Scripture "Psalm 100:4-5"

Embellies/Tools: 1/8" wide grosgrain ribbon, Bow Easy, Giga Rectangle Scalloped Punch (marvy uchida), Paper Piercing Tool (Making Memories), Mini Brads (Making Memories), Sponge, Color BoK Ink

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend...spend time with your family and friends and then...

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

SSS27 Peek A Boo

OK...I am going to try and make this a short post...The Memorial Service for my friend's husband is being held this afternoon. I have double duty--playing the organ for the prelude of the service and I'm in charge of a dinner for all of the family and friends attending the Memorial Service, which will be around 200 people. But, before the Memorial Service, I also have a luncheon to do for about 50-60 people who will be attending a meeting in the early part of the day. At any rate, my mind is going in what seems like a 1000 directions, so I'm going to give you just the basic information about my card for the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge SSS27.

My image is 'Peek A Boo' from 'Digital Ink'. They have a super sale going on right now....every digi image on their site is 1/2 price through October 31st....go and check them out...they have a ton of images to choose from with a variety of styles being offered.

Here is the Digital Ink link:

http://digital-inkco.com/

Card D-Tails:
My pattern papers are from Making Memories 8X8 Specialty Multipack 'Autumn Splendor'. The image is colored using my Copic Markers and I've added a touch of sparkle with a few Copic Spica Glitter Pens. I free handed the "Peek A Boo" sentiment and added some doodling around the image.

I used a Martha Stewart Maple Leaf punch for the leaf embellishments in the top left corner and added a Making Memories Velvet Brad to the center.

Other tools/embellishments: SU Top Note die, PTI 5/8" wide grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, SU corner punch.

I also Paper Pierced around the edge of the Top Note Die cut layer and then did a faux stitch using my Brown Micron Pigma Ink Pen.

OK...be sure to check out the Sweet Stop Sketch this week and I hope you will decide to join us and play along....if you do, be sure to add a link to your creation using the Mr Linky gadget or add the link in a comment at the end of the SSS27 post.... For your convenience, I'll add the link here:

http://sweetstopsketches.blogspot.com/

And, the Sweet N' Sassy Samps Website has a beautiful new digi image available, "Pinecones and Holly" illustrated by Leah Cornelius...I'm telling you, it is gorgeous. You'll find it here:

http://www.sweetnsassystamps.biz/shop/

And finally, don't forget to check out what the other Super Talented Sugar Babies have done for this sketch...I'm telling you they have some AMAZING creations to share and I'm sure you will find a ton of inspiration while browsing their blogs....You will find each blog by clicking on their names located on my sidebar under, 'Sweet Stop Sugar Babies".

As always, take time to enjoy your family and friends and then,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

Thank You

Hopefully all of you are having a wonderful week and are spending some time with your family and friends. Since the husband of my best friend passed away recently...for me, spending time with family and friends is much more precious...realizing again, we have no guarantee of even one more moment, much less one more day, with those we love. My husband and I will be celebrating the life of our friend, Paul, this coming Saturday during a Memorial Service. Our friend, who is no longer with us...Our friend, who's earthly battles have now ended...Our friend, who is now in the very presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...We will remember you and will be thankful for the life you shared with us.

It is only because of God's grace that I'm allowed another day to think about His love and be thankful for His blessings in my life.

I am also reminded of how fortunate I am to not only have the privilege of serving the Lord each day, but also to have friends and family who encourage me through prayer and when necessary, aren't afraid to 'roll up their shirt sleeves' and 'get down and dirty' once-in-awhile. I could never accomplish the many tasks I do each day without their help and encouragement.

With this in mind, I decided it is time to make a few Thank You cards for some very special ladies at our church who have been faithfully 'serving the Lord with gladness' for more than 35 years. The faithful and loving spirit of these ladies is evident to all those who's lives they touch. 'My' ladies range in age between 76 and 88 years old....many of them are widowed but a few still have their, first and only, husband at their side....all of them have endured times of trial and testing within their lives and yet all will be quick to assure you God has been and continues to be, faithful through it all. Their love and service has been a huge source of inspiration in my life and over the next few weeks I hope to make each of them a card expressing my gratitude for sharing their life and testimony with me....I so wish each of you could know these ladies...I'm sure you would love them as much as I do!

Today's card features a 'Stamp of the Month' Image from Paper Pretties. I've had it for a little while, but this is the first time it has been inked...'bout time, don'cha think', Christie (for those who don't know her, Christie is the Pretty Mama of the Pretty Girls)!

To share a little of the Card D-Tails:

The dress is paper-pieced, times two! Meaning, I stamped the image one time on 2 different pieces of pattern paper...one image is cut out and attached to the stamped image...the second image is cut out and then I attached only segments of that piece to the first...hopefully that makes some sense...feel free to ask questions if you need more info. I also paper-pieced the bow in her hair, but I think it would have looked better if I had just colored it with my markers.

Sophia's hair, face, arms, and legs are colored with Copic Markers, but you will notice that I got a little too 'heavy handed' on her face...I tried 'cleaning it up' some using my colorless blender, which usually works pretty well, but not so this time...so I just left it as is, I think it will be OK.

I added a little felt flower with a white pearl in the center, to the flower portion of the image.

Used a couple of punches, added a few red pearls, added an Organdy White Ribbon to which I added the 'Thank You' sentiment (it is included with the image) as a 'tag' tied with white string.

Base Cardstock is PTI Select White

Pattern Papers are DCWV 'Mi Casa'

Inside the card I used a sentiment from Sweet N' Sassy's 'True Friend' set...a couple pieces of pattern paper and a few more felt flowers and pearls. I attempted to use one of my Copic Multiliner pens to make a curvy branch for the flowers, but that silly pen wasn't working very well last night, it kept 'skipping'...oh well.

Just a Reminder:

Tomorrow (Thursday) is Free Digi Day at Sweet N' Sassy Stamps...be sure to visit the website and grab it while it's free...after Thursday, the 'Free' offer goes away!

You will find the links for 'Paper Pretties' and 'Sweet N' Sassy' on my sidebar.

Be sure to spend time with family and friends

and then,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

SSS26 Sketch with a Spin

Snowflakes....Snowmen....Snowballs....winter time fun!

Close Up View (Click on the picture and you will see the 'sheen' of the Styrofoam)

The Sweet Stop Sketch SSS26

http://sweetstopsketches.blogspot.com/

Every third week at The Sweet Stop, Korin is giving us a Sketch Challenge with a Spin! Well, this week the 'spin' is to 'recycle' something and use it to make your card. Now, I've heard of these types of challenges and have seen a few interesting ideas, but I've never participated in such a sketch. But now my time has come...Korin has tossed out the 'recycle' challenge to the Sugar Babies! Without a doubt this has been the most difficult challenge in which I've ever participated. I've worked and re-worked the card I'm sharing with you today...to the point that I've just given up...it is what it is and that is all there is to it!

There is so much going on with this card...several different textures and products...but for the main idea of 'recycling' I decided to use white disposable Styrofoam plates. After cutting off the curved rim portion of the plates (I will be saving these to use as 'ink palettes' for my Copic Markers), I punched out my large scalloped circle layer and several snowflakes. The main image is from an Inkadinkado Clear Set #98408 and is stamped onto Papertrey Inc Select White C/S, colored and punched out with a plain circle punch to layer on top of the Styrofoam scalloped circle. I then stamped the main image onto another Styrofoam plate and once the ink was dry cut out the 'snow portion' and attached it to my colored main image for added dimension. The 3 sentiment tags are cut freehand from scraps of Styrofoam and are attached to the scalloped circle edge using Zip Dry Glue.

All of the 'sentiments' on the front of the card are my own ideas and written freehand using a Copic Multiliner SP Pen....On the inside of the card, I stamped one of the sentiments from the Inkadinkado Snowman set which reads: "Christmas brings out the kid in us all".

I will admit, I do like the idea of using the Styrofoam plates for winter type scenes as they have a natural 'shine' or 'sheen' that works well for snow and ice type themes.

Because there is so much going on with this card, I'm not going to take the time to give you all of the D-Tails...if there is something for which you would like more information, just send me an email and I will try to help you.

Are you up for this challenge.....I hope you are!

I can hardly wait to see what your creative minds decide to 'recycle' or 're-create'!

If you are BRAVE enough to join us for this week's challenge, please use the Mr. Linky feature at the end of the SSS26 post and give us a link to your creation. And, if for some reason Mr. Linky is not working, please leave a comment with a link to your project.

Now, be sure to spend time with your family and friends!

And until next time,

Make time to create but remember to have fun and enjoy the experience!

Barbg(WV)

Edited to add: Be sure to check out the other Sugar Baby Designs for this challenge...they have some awesome creations...you can find the Sugar Babies listed in my sidebar...click on their name and it will take you directly to their blog...And while you are there, it is always nice if you want to leave them a 'little love' ...now, go have some fun!