Bobcat!

Hi! I just wanted to share this real quick because I think it's so cool!....My parents' property adjoins ours - they have 75 acres just over the hill from us. My dad just took this amazing picture of a Bobcat right outside by their pool! Isn't that awesome?! My husband has lived up in these hills for 30 years & has never seen one so this is pretty exciting for us, lol. Gotta love country living!

I'll be back a little later with an actual crafting post! lol

Golf Card For My Hubz....

Hello again! Well . . . .  the hubster is gone to Scottsdale, AZ on a golf trip with his buddies for 4 days & it's the first time we've been apart overnight in years! This is also the first time I've been alone overnight since moving to our ranch last year & I'm really appreciating all the stuff he does for me -  now that he's not here. Perfect example was this morning when I went outside & pushed open the screen door it kinda stuck a little & I thought well that's kinda weird but oh well. Then as I went to step out I noticed there was a giant dead toad right in the bottom door jam! I don't think I killed him with the door cuz he was already pale & bloated. It does, however, explain why the door was sticking. Now this is when I would normally scream & yell for Vinny to help, but I had to man up & do it myself. I got the longest shovel I could find & flicked him into the nearest bush. I gotta say that, as traumatizing as it was, I'm kinda proud of myself, lol. We have 3 ponds on our property & literally thousands of frogs, so I'm kinda surprised this was the first time I had to deal with a frog post-mortem. Needless to say, I really miss him (Vinny - not the frog)!

Yes, I did actually make a card to go along with my ramblings today! I snuck it into his luggage right before he left so he would get it when he was unpacking in the hotel later. He did & said he loved it!

I made this card in a super hurry so it doesn't have all the detail I normally put in my cards. The card base is Kraft cardstock, cut at 5" with my Cricut Expression & Gypsy, from the "Campin' Critters" cartridge (pg. 65). I cut the oval background layer using some cloud paper from a Debbie Mumm paper pack. The rest of the card was done with my Imagine, using the same cartridge & same page. For the colors I used the color pallette from the "Snapshot: Nature" cartridge. The desert images were cut at 3.2" (relative size). I inked most of the edges with some Martha Stewart ink in "Chocolate". The flag & ball are stickers from Sandylion.

Last but certainly not least, the sentiment is from the Scrappy Moms Stamps set called "Raining Cats & Dogs". Obviously this set can be used for more than just dogs & cats! All of her stamp sets are very versatile. To purchase or check out this stamp set, or any of her other fabulous stamp sets & products, click HERE! 

I decided at the last minute to make this my 2nd entry in the Paper Playtime "For The Guys" challenge. To see the challenge details & play along click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today & listening to my ramblings! :)

The Liebster Award!!

I'm so excited that I just received the Liebster Award for my blog! This is an award specifically for bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. I got it from my BBB (best blogger buddy, lol), Arin at A Piece of Life's Pie. If you haven't already you should really check out her blog! She is amazingly creative, funny & smart! She recently pulled off a Hello Kitty extravaganza for her daughter's 4th birthday. It's really quite impressive how much she did & how cute it all was. Click HERE to see the post. I now have to decide on 5 more bloggers to pass this award to, so I'll do some blog hopping & let you know later who I've chosen....

Here are the specifics on the Liebster Blog Award:

This award is given to bloggers who inspire you and have less than 200 followers. The Liebster Award takes its name from the German word meaning ‘Beloved, Dearest or Favorite’. I’m so honored to receive this award.

As part of the tradition it is passed along to 5 bloggers that have motivated and inspired.

To accept the award you must:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you and thank them.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you appreciate and value.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

Have a great day!!

Hello Foxy!

Hi there! Well... it's day 3 of being a grandma & I'm still diggin it! (see my previous post for details & pics). He's still at the hospital but hopefully coming home tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait!

I made this banner for him & hung it in their hospital room. They loved it! In case you didn't read my last post, my new grandson's name is Fox.

I forgot to take pics of it at home in better lighting & the lighting in the hospital room wasn't as bright as I would have liked it to be, so I apologize that these pics are a bit dark....

This banner was actually pretty quick to make. I used my Cricut Imagine for the whole thing. The onesies were cut from one of the pre-loaded images on the Imagine. I cut all 3 of them at 9" each. For the lettering, patterns & color pallette I used the "Country Carnival" cartridge. The letters were all cut at 5" (relative size). I broke them down into layers & only used the top 2 layers & omitted the shadow layer. I changed some of the color schemes for the layers & left some of them as is. I outlined all the letter edges with a black Sharpie pen & I inked the onesie edges with some Hero Arts black ink. I punched 2 holes in the top of each onesie using a Fiskars 1/8" hole punch. The twine is "Charcoal" from The Twinery.

The stamped sentiments on each onesie are from 3 different designers. The "Hello Foxy" sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's "Punny-licious" stamp set. To order this set or any of her stamps go HERE to choose from her many retailers. The "Welcome to the World" sentiment is from a Fiskars stamp set called "Baby". The "Adorable" & "Little Boy" sentiments are from the Scrappy Moms Stamps set called "Special Delivery". To check out this stamp set, her other stamp sets & a variety of other products go HERE & purchase directly from her site.

I wasn't planning on entering this in any challenges but I just discovered it would fit with a few of them, so....

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

My Craft Spot -  Monday Challenge #48, "Manly Man Cards" (or other projects) 

Die Cuttin Divas -  Challenge #56, use colors green, yellow, black & white

Paper Playtime -  Say It With Sentiments Challenge #70, "For The Guys"

EAD Designs -  March Color Challenge #22, use colors shown on their post

 

Thanks so much for visiting me today!

I'm a Grandma!!

Hi everyone! I thought I would do a quick post & show off my new grandson!! What's that you say? that I'm too young to be a grandma? lol, well that's what happens when you marry a man 15 years older who now has a 26 year old son. So, Justin's girlfriend Kayla gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday morning at 6:04am, making him a St. Patty's Day baby! Here are some pics & a video....

Fox Vincent Martin



Fox Vincent Martin born 3-17-12 at 6:04am, 6 lbs 8 oz, 19" long



Only 1 hour old!

Aren't those the cutest little baby noises he's making?! And how adorbs is that hat?! It was hand made by a hospital volunteer, which is so sweet. Anyway, just had to show off my new little man! I'll be back with another post tonight or tomorrow to show you a project I made for him. Thanks for visiting me today & sharing in my good news!

*** SEE MORE PICS ON MY PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGE HERE ***

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello my friends! I hope you are all having a wonderful week. We are just trying to keep from floating away! We got 6 inches of rain in the last 24 hours! Can you believe that?! Crazy!! I love the rain but geez...

Today I have a St. Patrick's Day card to share with y'all. I've had this design in my head for quite some time now & I'm pretty happy with how it turned out....(By the way...I'm totally addicted to challenges now! in case you couldn't tell, lol)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

My Pink Stamper-  March Pinkalicious Blog Hop Challenge, "St. Patrick's Day! Think Green!"

Peachy Keen Stamps -  Peachy Challenge 08, "Anything Goes"

Cardz TV -  Cricut Cardz Challenge #104, "Wearing of the Green"

K Andrew Designs -  Simply Sunday Challenge, use green & white & 1 other color

Little Scrap Pieces -  "Luck of the Irish"

Creative Cutter Room -  Design Time Thursday, "St. Patrick's Day" Challenge

DL. ART -  Thankful Thursday Challenge, my chosen sentence is "Shamrock is the National Flower of Ireland"

Scrappy Moms Stamps -  Terrific Tuesday Challenge, "St. Patty's Day Challenge"

BBTB2 -  Project of the Week Challenge, use a shamrock & green

Simon Says Stamp -  "A Bit o' Green", St. Patricks Day theme

I used my Cricut Imagine for this entire card. All the colored papers are from the color pallette on the "Best Friends" Imagine cartridge, except the shamrock patterned background paper which is DCWV. I printed out a full sheet of pink paper for the card base & cut it down to make the card size 4" x 9". The shamrocks are from the "Designer's Calendar" cartridge (pg. 30, base & shadow features). The green shamrocks are cut at 2.2" & the pink shamrock at 2.5". I used 3 different Cuttlebug embossing folders:  D'Vine Swirls, Swiss Dots & the one that came with my machine which I can't find the name of. The twine is Peapod & Honeydew from The Twinery. The clear rhinestones are from my stash. The face on the pink shamrock is from the Peachy Keen Stamps Large Critter Faces set. The edge punch is from Fiskars. I used some pink chalk for the cheeks & a white Signo pen to fill in the whites of the eyes.

Thanks so much for stopping by today & I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week - and happy St. Patty's Day"!!

A Naughty Fishy

Howdy folks! We had a great day! Kitty Boy didn't have to be put to sleep after all. His jaw is broken, thanks to my Fox Terrier, Hugo (very bad boy!) I'm about to go pick him up from my vet & she said it will hopefully heal itself over the next month or two. So.... he has to be bathroom kitty for a little while longer, lol.

Anyway, on to the intended subject.... my card! For the first time I successfully updated my Gypsy (I was using the wrong program) - and to my sweet surprise I finally got the Smiley Cards cartridge to work!! Hallelujah!! In my little world it was a cause for celebration! So I have a feeling I'll be posting alot of projects from it!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

K Andrew Designs -  Simply Sunday Challenge, Pirate or Fishy theme

DL. ART -  Thankful Thurs. Challenge, any occasion card w/ min 3 layers, a bow & some bling

Whimsical Wednesday -  Challenge #45, "Going Green" (use any amount of green)

  
This entire card was made using my Cricut Imagine & Gypsy. The card base & 2 circle layers are from the "Imagine More Cards" cartridge (pg.25), cut at 5.5" (relative size) & flood filled with coordinating colors/patterns. I inked the edges of the layers & base with some VersaColor ink in "Umber". I embossed the light blue layer with the Cuttlebug "Spots & Dots" folder.

The fish image is from the Smiley Cards cart (Gypsy exclusive), cut at 3". Her little bow I made myself out of some Offray ribbon & used some "Star Dust" Stickles to add a little bling in the center. I used some Glossy Accents on her lips & eyelids. I inked some of her edges with Martha Stewart ink in "Hibiscus" (also used this color for the sentiment). I attached her with some Scrapbook Adhesives pop-dots.

The metal faux eyelets are by Mark Richards (from the $1 bin at Jo-Ann). I thought they looked like little portholes on a ship, lol. The little white dots are from a Signo pen. The plant is a piece of an adhesive border strip from K&Company. The white strip the sentiment is stamped on I cut by hand out of white cardstock with my Fiskars "Scallop" paper edgers.

The sentiment is a combo of 2 different stamp sets by K Andrew Designs. The "Who's" & the "?" are from 3 separate stamps in the "Owly Hoo Sentiments" set. The "Naughty" is from the "Winter Wishes" set. I know I've gushed about Kristal's stamps in previous posts but I'm probably gonna keep doing it so I hope no one minds, lol. Out of all the stamp sets I have her's are by far the most versatile. The mix & match possibilities are virtually endless! I can attest to this as I spent more time than I care to admit deciding which combination I was going to use! I know that most popular stamps these days are made with high quality photopolymer, just as Kristal's are, but I swear hers stamp crisper & clearer than any others. I am a loyal fan & customer for life!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today! I wish everyone a fabulous week ahead!

Ring Around The Rosie....

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful week. Ever since the hubs & I retired from our business all the days are pretty wonderful around here! We are very very blessed....

Today's card was inspired by a card that my best blogging buddy made recently. I have had these little pink rose embellishments for over a year & always wanted to use them but could never think of a good way to use them. That is, until I saw Arin's card! To see her original post click HERE. Thanks for the inspiration my friend! And congrats on being "showcased" in the latest Die Cuttin' Diva's weekly challenge!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

DL. Art -  Thankful Thursday Challenge, "anything goes"

Paper Playtime -  Delicious Die Cuts Challenge #69, "For the Girls" (use flowers)

ABC DT Challenge Blog -  "Springtime" theme

The base of the card is Coredinations white cardstock, cut with my Cricut Expression machine, using the "Art Philosophy" cartridge (pg. 42 - card feature). For the rest of the card I used my Cricut Imagine. All of the solid & patterned papers are from the "Lori's Garden" cartridge. The 2 background ovals are the coordinating layers from the same AP image on page 42 (base & tag layers). The rose bush image is from the "Freshly Picked" cartridge, cut at 4.3" The green bush part is embossed with the "D'Vine Swirls" Cuttlebug folder & inked with VersaColor ink in "Umber". All the inked edges on this card were done with this same ink.

The white satin ribbon is from Offray & the pink bow, pink fabric roses & pink pearls are all from my stash. The pink roses came with some green ribbon loops attached to represent the leaves but I didn't like the way they looked on this particular project so I removed them. I then used some dark pink Smooch to darken the crevices of the roses to give them more dimension. I finished them off with some Smooch "Pearlized Top Coat" for a little sparkle. I also used some Stickles in "Cotton Candy" on the ribbon cut-out under the bow.

The "love" sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's "Itty Bitty-licious" stamp set. To order this set or any of her other sets click HERE to choose from her retailers. This is currently my favorite MPS set!

Well, I think that's it for me today! Thanks so much for stopping by!....

God Bless.....

.....those affected by the tornadoes & storms in the midwest & south. Just a quick post to send my love out to all of those out there who are being affected by these disasters or who have family in harm's way. Of course, we don't have anything to compare that to here in California but that doesn't make it any less real or tragic. Personally, we've been glued to the TV the past couple days worrying about my brother & his girlfriend who live in Nashville, TN. By the grace of God the tornadoes missed them but they did have to take shelter in their basement & were definitely shaken up by the hailstorm they got!

Photo by Jay LeDuc on 3-2-12

This photo was taken by my brother 30 mins after the hail stopped & it was 84 degrees so it had actually melted quite a bit already when he took this photo!

While I am eternally grateful that my own family is ok, I know there are some of you out there who maybe weren't so lucky. My prayers & genuine love go out to those of you affected by these disasters. God bless everyone & may He continue to watch over you in this time of need....