Whimsy Stamps & Tanda Stamps Color Challenge

Good Morning!

Hope you're all having a good day. I've decided to enter this little mouse card in the Whimsy Stamps Color Challenge and also in the Tanda Stamps Challenge. Isn't he the cutest?! The Whimsy Stamp challenge is to use red, orange and yellow and the Tanda Stamps challenge is to use chocolate and orange. I used Basic Grey Lime Rickey patterned paper and Bazzill Cardstock. The ribbon is from American Crafts and the crystal embellies are from my stash. The little mouse is a digi stamp. I think he's just adorable! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Mary

7:39 Photo Challenge Pic #2

Hi guys,

Monday...aghhhhh! Well, at least the sun is shining and it's a little cooler today.

Here's my second photo for the 7:39 Photo Challenge that Janis is having over at Pause Dream Enjoy. I meant to take a photo yesterday, but it just never happened. This is of a beautiful bed of roses on my street.

I'll try to get back later with a card. Have a good Monday and thanks for peeking in! If you have time, take a photo for Janis's challenge.
Hugs & Blessings,
Mary

Blog Award!

Happy Sunday everyone,

Hope the weekend went well for all of you and you got to have some fun.

I'm very honored to receive this blog award from Janis at Pause Dream Enjoy. She has a wonderful blog where you'll always find something gorgeous to look at, something to make you laugh and she can always tell you where the best blog candy can be found! It's a really great blog and you can (and should!) check it out by clicking on her name. Thank you so much Janis, for this Lovely Blog award!

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am passing this award onto these 15 bloggers. Most of them are on my blog list because of their creativity and talent and I read them everyday. You should check them out...you'll be glad you did!

A Studio in My Basement
Talent is Optional
An Ocean of Cards
Amor's Scraps
Tomorrow's Treasures
Extremely Crafty
Precious Thoughts
RBW Gold
Shelly's Creations
Design SOS
Lil Bit of Me
This Everyday Life
Just What I Do
InkyFingersRule
Where'd All my money Go?!

Make sure you check out these great blogs!
Have a great evening everyone.
Blessings,
Mary

Another Challenge Card

Hi again!
As long as I'm getting the nerve to enter challenges, I thought I may as well enter this card in the challenge at Unscripted Sketches. This is sketch # 12. I just found them today. Check them out guys. They have a new sketch every Saturday. I used BoBunny patterned paper on this card. The stamp is from Inkadinkadoo. The cardstock is from Bazzill and I cut the flower from Cricut's Walk in my garden cartridge. The brads are from Making Memories and I used my Martha Stewart eyelet border punch for the black border. I think I'm done with challenges for today...LOL! Have a good evening everyone!
Blessings,
Mary

4th of July Challenge Card

Hi everyone,
Angela at Design SOS is having a sketch challenge. I've also decided to enter over at Crafty Creations Challenges. This my very first submission to sketch challenges! I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone, and make a card for the challenge and my in-laws at the same time. The blue patterned paper is from HOTP and the ribbon is American Crafts. The stars are from the Dollar Tree and the little Uncle Sam is a digital image. Be sure to check out Angela's blog and Crafty Creations Challenges!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Mary

7:39 Photo Challenge

Hi guys,
Janis over at Pause Dream Enjoy is having a photo challenge. The challenge is to take a photo at 7:39 am or pm of something in your part of the world for 7 days. At the end of the week, Janis will make a scrapbook page of all her blog friends 7:39 photos from their parts of the world. My photo for today is of a Mama Robin sitting on the nest she made outside my bedroom window. Go over to Janis's blog and enter your photos in this fun challenge. She's a very talented, cool lady and you'll love her blog!
Hugs and blessings,
Mary

Video Tutorial # 9 Spinner Card

Hi everybody!
As promised, here is a video using the Cricut Wild Card cartridge. I love, love, love this card feature! Can't wait to make these for the kids birthdays. I used MY Mind's Eye glitter paper (gorgeous stuff), ribbon and crystal embellies from my stash, stamps and brown ink from Inkadinkadoo and Martha Stewart, and the large silver brad is from Making Memories. Hope you enjoy the video and as always, thanks for taking the time to stop by! Have a great weekend and don't forget to enter a card or LO in today's sketch challenge!
Blessings,
Mary

CFU Friday Sketch Challenge #2

Good morning!
We had some whopper doozy storms and heavy rain yesterday afternoon and all through last night. I'll bet we got 2 inches of rain! We definitely don't need anymore for a while. The sun is shining today and I hope it's a sunny day where you are.

Here are the rules for this Friday's challenge: You can use any paper, embellishment, color or subject you want. The flowers on the sketch can be any embellishment you want, or you can even put your sentiment there. You can turn or flip the sketch if you'd like. Just follow the basic outline and submit your entry by midnight on Thursday, July 2nd. All submissions will be posted next Friday. You can even use this as a scrapbook page layout if you want. C'mon everybody and don't be shy! I've seen your cards and layouts and I know you can do this! Just leave a comment and tell me where I can find your card or LO. I'm looking for members for a new design team, so I need lots of entries!

I hope to be back later today with a new video tutorial using the Cricut Wild Card cartridge. Have a great day everyone and thanks for checking in!
Blessings,
Mary

Doing the Happy Dance!

Hi guys,
I'm so excited...I just signed up to take a 4 hour class in coloring with Copic markers! Woo Hoo! As part of the class, we get 3 Copic markers and 10% off any future purchases of markers for LIFE! The only bad thing is, the class isn't until August 22nd and I'm not a very patient person. I need to remember that patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait. I still wish it was sooner! Hope you're all having a great day. Thanks for coming by!
Blessings,
Mary

Plant Smiles

Hi everyone,
The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. Hope the weather is nice where you are and you can get out and enjoy it today.

I decided to get out my stamps and see what I could do for a card. I had seen this sentiment a while back, and knew I wanted to put it on a card. I printed it on my computer in brown, inked the edges in brown, and mounted it on Colorbok cardstock. The patterned paper is also Colorbok. I can't remember where I got the flower stamp (maybe Stampendous?), but I inked it in brown and stamped it on the same khaki cardstock as the sentiment, and also inked the edges in brown. The ribbon is American Crafts (of course) and the buttons are from my button box. I don't know?
I love hearing from you, so please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by. Make it a good one!
Blessings,
Mary

Oh No! Another Get Well Card!

Hi guys,
We've got another cloudy Monday outside, and I've got another sick GS. Sam's little brother, Luke is also sick. Found out they both have the flu. Thank goodness it's not swine flu. Poor little guys! Since Sam's card has a dog, I used the Doodlecharms cartridge to cut a kitty cat for Luke's card. They have lots of pets. Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish and a horse, so I had lots of animals to choose from! Sam is feeling better today and Luke should be better soon too.
I used DCWV paper and Bazzill cardstock for Luke's card. The ribbon is from American Crafts (my favorite ribbon), and the googly eyes and buttons are from my stash. I highlighted the inside of the kitty's ears, his cheeks, and the little line below his nose with pink chalk, and mounted him on the card front with foam tape.
Stay well everyone! Have a great Monday and thanks so much for stopping by!
Blessings,
Mary

Video Tutorial #8 One Sick Puppy

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you're all having a good weekend. My little GS has a virus and I wanted to make him a get well card. I used Bazzill cardstock and the striped cs is DCWV. The ribbon is from American Crafts and the button and googly eyes are from my stash. Hope little Sam is feeling better soon. Thanks for watching!
Blessings,
Mary

CFU Friday Sketch Challenge # 1

Hello everybody!

Thought we'd try something for fun today. This is my variation of my sketch of yesterday's card, Walk in my Garden. I'd love to see what you all can come up with using this same sketch! If you like this idea, we can do this every Friday. Just leave me a comment with a link to your card and I'll post them so that everyone can see what talented friends I have! Hope you won't be shy...this could be a lot of fun! Could it be the start of a DT?!!

Happy Friday and I hope you'll try the sketch! Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Mary

Here's a beautiful card from Janis using today's sketch.
To go to her blog and see her great cards and layouts click HERE

Walk in my Garden

Good morning everyone,

Two days in a row with no rain...I can't believe it!

Thank you all so much for all your thoughts and prayers for Lilly. Her Mom says she's doing well and is in high spirits. Thanks be to God for answered prayers!

Last night I helped out a friend and taught her VBS craft classes how to make a toilet paper roll mini tag album. There were about 20 kids, and most of them were too young to get them made in the time allowed per class...so we had to make them, and then let them put the tags with the bible verses, in the pockets made by the flattened rolls. They all turned out really cute, but it was like a marathon trying to get them done so fast...20 albums in an hour! I didn't get to take any photos, but I'll try to do a video, so you can see what they looked like, and how to make them. The kids had a great time and loved their little albums.

Here's a card I made when I got home last night. I used Cricut's Walk in my Garden cartridge to cut the wheelbarrow, flowers and garden tools. The cardstock and self adhesive pearls are from Martha Stewart and the satin ribbon is from my stash. I highlighted the wheelbarrow and tools with darker grey chalk to give them some depth and definition. I really like the WIMG cartridge and need to use it more often.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and thanks so much for checking in!

Blessings,
Mary

Boo Boo Card for Lilly

Hi everyone,
I had planned to make a card today, but not this one! As I was getting ready to leave work yesterday, I got a call from my son, asking me to meet him at the emergency room. He said his youngest, 2 year old Lilly, had slammed her thumb in a door and cut the end of her thumb off. My husband and I raced to the hospital and got there just as they drove up. Lilly was just lying in her big sister's arms not making a sound, which in it self, was scary. Lilly is never quiet, but always laughing and talking at the top of her lungs. I guess she was kind of in shock. My daughter-in-law had put the end of Lilly's thumb on ice and they took it, and Lilly in the ER while my husband and I stayed with the other kids in the car. The doctor sewed the end of her thumb back on, and bandaged her hand up to her wrist. They're pretty sure it will grow back okay and she will be just fine! Thank God! We had gotten McDonald's for the other kids, and when Lilly saw the bag, She HAD to have some fries...a very good sign! We never know from minute to minute, or day to day, what each day will bring, but I thank God that it looks like Lilly will be okay. I thought she'd like carrying this big boo boo card around. I used the Cricut Wild Card cartridge for the big band-aid and the paper buttons, and the BOO BOO was cut from Paper Pups. Hope you all have a good day and thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Mary

Monday

Hi guys,
Hope you all had a good weekend. It went way too fast, as always. I spent most of it lying on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, with a heating pad on my shoulder and arm. Apparently, I have bursitis or tendonitis in my right arm and shoulder. It's been EXTREMELY painful and I haven't been able to do much, not even make a card :( It's a lot better today, but if it comes back like it was...I'll be at the Dr as quick as I can get there. I've got lots of ideas for new cards, but won't try to make one today. I want to rest my arm and shoulder one more day. I'm reading all your posts and looking at all those beautiful cards and crafts you've made. Wow, have I got talented friends! Hugs and blessings to you all, Mary

Card Montage

Hi guys, Hope you're all having a good weekend so far. My DDIL told me to check out a site for creating and editing videos, One True Media. Check it out HERE. I uploaded my recent cards and made a sample video. It's a pretty cool site. It makes a video for you. I've got some road trip photos I'm going to upload and see what I can do with them. Have fun making your video!
Blessings,
Mary

Video Tutorial #7 Puppy Friendship

Hi everyone,
More clouds and rain today, but that's okay...It's Friday! I haven't used my Cricut Paper Pups cartridge in a while, so I got it out and made this quick card. Isn't he a cute little puppy? The paper is DCWV and I used American Crafts ribbon. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Thanks for stopping by and watching the video!
Blessings,
Mary

Video Tutorial #6 Thank You Card

Hi guys,
It's raining cats and dogs and thundering and lightning too. Wish I didn't have to go out in it. I'll wait 'til the lightning quits before I leave. Lightning is scarey!
Here's a thank you card video I made this morning. The card design is from a sketch I saw on Mojo Monday a few weeks back. Hope you enjoy the video and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to watch!
Blessings,
Mary

How You Live

Hi guys,
Today My husband and I went to the memorial service for our friend Steve, who passed away last Saturday. It was a beautiful service that celebrated Steve's life and the difference he made in the lives of others. He loved God and was not ashamed or afraid to tell others about God's love for them. He loved his family so much and loved to talk about his kids and grandkids. He was a wonderful friend. While Steve was here he truly LIVED. I've had this song from Point of Grace, in my head all afternoon. I found it on youtube and hope you'll watch and listen to the words. This is how I hope I can start living. This is how Steve lived.
Blessings,
Mary

Hello Friend

Hi guys!
I've had a very busy Monday. Had to go to work early and then worked through lunch. I'm really tired, plus, I think I had too much weekend,Lol!
Here is another card made with Dustin's cute, little dragon and a newly hatched little friend. I used MCPT to color the digi stamp. He's got stickles on his horns and his "freckles", for a little sparkle and bling. The patterned paper is from DCWV and the ribbon is American Crafts. The buttons are from my button box. Remember those? My mother always had a button box, and now I have one too. Have a great evening and thanks for checking in!
Blessings,
Mary

For Mother

Hi guys,
Today would have been my mother's 80th birthday. It's hard to believe Mother has been gone for 15 years. I miss her very much. She was only 65 when she passed away in 1994. Mother always smelled like roses, her favorite movie was "Mrs. Miniver", and one of her favorite songs was "I'll walk alone". I found this version by Jo Stafford. This is for you, Mother.

Pink & Black Thank You

Yea! It's Saturday, and a very busy one for us. We have a neighbor's son's graduation cookout to go to in a little while, so I only had time for a very simple, quick card. I got to go to Michael's yesterday, and couldn't resist a set of round stamps from Inkadinkadoo. This card uses the "thank you" stamp from the set. I stamped it on white cardstock, cut it out and mounted it with foam tape on a pink cardstock circle, and then on a black scalloped circle. I used a white gel pen to add the dots to the scalloped circle. The ribbon is from my stash, brads from Making Memories, and the patterned paper is from Kaisercraft.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Thanks for stopping in!
Blessings,
Mary

Video Tutorial #5 Popsicle Card

Hi guys,
Hope you're all having a good Friday, and are ready for the weekend. I know I sure am! I decided to get out my Cricut Doodlecharms cartridge, since I haven't used it in a while, and see what I could come up with for a birthday card. I need it for my GS's party on Sunday. The popsicle seemed just right for a summer birthday. The patterned paper is DCWV and the ribbon is from American Crafts. Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching!
Blessings,
Mary

Rainy Day Bee

Hi guys! This little bee with his umbrella, is perfect for today...it's been raining off and on since last night. We've had thunder and lightning too. Little bee is another download from Dustin's blog. I think he's so cute! I colored him with Bic markers, and put Stickles on the raindrops and the puddle, for a little bling. The patterned paper is from HOTP and Martha Stewart. The ribbon is American Crafts and brads are from Making Memories.
Hope it's sunny where you are. Thanks for peeking in!
Blessings,
Mary

Love and Pearls

Good morning, Hope you're all having a good day. It's sunny and warm here. Just a beautiful day.
After doing so many cutsie cards in bright colors, I decided to do something in pastels again. I embossed the top of the card in dots and the bottom in squares. The scalloped pink squares are all mounted on foam tape for dimension, and to set them apart from the all white background. The word "love" was cut in the same pink CS as the squares. It's from the Cricut cartridge Beyond Birthdays. The self adhesive pearls are from Martha Stewart, and the ribbon is from my stash.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Mary

Dustin's Girl Grad

Hi guys, Hope you all had a good weekend. Our's was really busy and went way too fast. I didn't feel much like making a card, but needed to get one done for my niece, who just graduated from nursing school. I had downloaded this graduate girl digi stamp from http://www.dustinpike.blogspot.com/ I colored her with Bic markers (don't look too closely...I'm not very good at coloring!), and added some Stickles to her necklace and tassel. The paper is from HOTP. The button, brads and chipboard blurb are from my stash. The ribbon bow is American Crafts.
Have a good Monday, everyone and thanks for taking time out of your busy day to check in!
Blessings,
Mary

Your Prayers

Good morning, My husband and I had some sad news over the weekend. A good friend, Steve, passed away on Saturday morning. He was only 54, and left behind his wife, Lisa and 4 children. He was a really good guy, who loved God and loved his family. Please keep Lisa and the kids in your prayers as they go through this difficult time.
Blessings,
Mary