Good Friend Challenge Week #5

I've been such a bad blogger this past week. Because we've had rainy weather for the last few days, Glen and I have gotten into the Purge and Organize mode. HOLY MOLEY!! We've been at this now for 4 days. Mainly working on the garage/tools, a storage closet in the basement and the storage space under the steps. Amazing how GOOD it feels to get things organized. Never knew how many hammers and screw drivers we owned! :) So, needless to say, I haven't had much of a chance to spend any time in my studio. I'm hoping for maybe a little time tomorrow night.
But on with the FUN challenge for this week - Wow, hard to believe it's week #5 already! Time sure is flying and the cards are starting to stack up!!

I thought I'd do something a little different for this week's challenge.

This week, you can use anything you want, any colors you want, the only catch - the card has to be in a shape other than square or rectangle. Use your cricut or design studio if you like or hand cut. The choice is yours!

HAVE FUN WITH THIS!!!!

Can't wait to see what you girls come up with for this week!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Happy Anniversary!

To one adorable couple!!

Today our friends Susan and Kris are celebrating their first anniversary!
Aren't they just the cutest?!So, the card Glen and I sent to help them celebrate their special first anniversary was this one - I used the colors from their wedding to create it.
And I even got to put some ink on some stamps that hadn't seen any in a while.

Paper - Metallic Brown & Cream paper (artsy.licious - Chatter Box )Archivers
Ribbon - Michael's last fall
Stamped/Embossed Quote - Marriage set - Joann's, Champagne Glasses - Hanna Stamps
Ink - Lightening Black - Dew Drops/Embossed w/Clear powder
Extras - Bling (it's not an Anniversary card without a little bling!)
Happy Anniversary guys!
Happy Craftin' and Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy Monday!
Min

Design Team News!!

So, it's Official!!

I won the Survivor Challenge over at Scrap-Friendzy!!!

And with that, I've been invited to become a Design Team member. I'm absolutely over the moon about this great news!

If you haven't visited Scrap-Friendzy, head over there - it's free and a great way to make some progress on those scrappy pages and cards I know you all have on the corner of your scrappy table that you 'get to' at some point. (I have those projects too!)

Plus, the Girlfriendz over there are FABULOUS!! - you'll love it there, trust me. After almost a year of participating (my Scrap-Friendzy Anniversary is September 5 - whew, time flies!), I've gotten tons of projects completed, been inspired and met some great crafty Girlfriendz!

You know you want to - heck, with the fall right around the corner, what better way to get you back into your scrappy groove....plus, if your house is anything like ours - Fall = Football Season and we girls have to have SOMETHING to craft on while the football games are on!

Click HERE - Hmm, was that suble enough?

Click HERE - you won't regret it!

Happy Craftin'! I hope to be back with another project this evening (although since we've got a few home improvement projects we're working on - it may be photos of the new shelving & peg board in the garage..... ;o)

Min

P.S. If you haven't checked out the Scrap-Friendzy Blog they have a design team call out right now too for a 3 month Design Team spot from 10/1 until 12/31.

Good Friend Challenge Week #4

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since Shelly, Rhonda and I started our weekly card challenge. My Card stash is growing by leaps & bounds which is GREAT!!

This week was Shelly's week to pick our challenge and what a fun challenge it was. There were two parts to this little ditty.

First, we were to use the below card sketch from Card Sketch a Day #341, and the second part of the challenge was to use the Peachy Keen Stamp called "Caitlin & Adrianne". A perfect Halloweeney fun stamp!

So, here's what I came up with -

Image: Caitlin & Adrianne - Peachy Keen Stamps

Technique: Magic Colored Pencil Technique

Paper: Some Ancient Doodlebug Papers from my 'Paper Crypt' (okay, maybe not Ancient, but it's nothing NEW - regardless it's still CUTE!)
Orange & Purple Cardstock
MS Drippy Goo Punch & BOO! Stamp
Making Memories letter stickers for the "to You" on the inside
Hand-Doodling

Miscellaneous: Pop Dots, Stickles, Buttons, Ric Rac
Happy Hump Day & Happy Craftin'!
Min

Ole!

So, because Suz's Entertaining at Home Party's Theme was 'Fiesta', that was the perfect reason to pull out the vinyl and the cricut. Not finding the tie on? Cricut, Vinyl, Fiesta - well have no fear, grab your margarita and join the party!
At the EAH party I hosted in April my mom in law got me this Beverage Server that I absolutely LOVE to use!! For some reason the beverage tastes THAT much better in it! It has a neat wrought iron stand too but I was a bit lazy when I took the picture last night.
Anyway, I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to use my Life's a Beach cart and this was a great canvas for me to use! It's pretty simple but turned out cute!
Didn't this turn out cute?
I cut the geckos at 3" in green vinyl and then created the little sombreros in the pink and orange in design studio. I'll have to save these little guys for our next fiesta party!
Ole!
In honor of Suz's Fiesta party, I have to share the Cilantro Dip recipe that is FABULOUS!! Of course I was camped out right by that dip! I'm not sure if this recipe originated from Amy's Recipe box or Susan's but regardless, it's GOOD STUFF!
Cilantro Dip
1 box pkg of cream cheese
1 medium bunch of cilantro
1 medium tomato
1 small onion (1/2 c. chipped)
6 or so pickled jalapeno rings (1 TBSP chopped)
1 tea. salt
Spend about an hour tediously plucking all of the leaves off of the cilantro bunch. Get frustrated and leave a little stem on there too. Discard stems. Chopped leaves up a little bit. Chop tomato, onion & jalapeno rings into large pieces. Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. If you have a food processor, you will want to use that. Chop/blend until yogurt consistency.
Don't over blend or it will be soupy.
If you have time, let sit in fridge a bit before serving. Serve with tortilla chips.
Mmmmmmmm! Thanks for the great grub Susan!
Thanks for stopping by to take a look today!
Hope it's a good one!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Sweet Baby News

Happy Sunday!! I can't say I've been terribly productive on the creative front this week. We were supposed to have rain all week & hot weather, but instead we've just had warm weather and no rain (except for a bit on Friday - man, I really should become a weather man - be wrong all the time & still have a job!! Must be nice!!). Anyway, Glen and I have been enjoying the summer weather out on the deck most evenings until the mosquitoes nearly carry us away.

However, my Prisma Colored Pencils and some stamped images have made it out onto the deck with me this evening and here's what we've accomplished.
I've had this card for my friend Amy who is expecting a new little bundle of joy in February. I've been meaning to mail it, but kept forgetting. So today because I was headed to Sue's Entertaining at Home Party and Amy and I were carpooling, it finally made it into her hands!

I also thought I'd share my little project from this weekend. Everything was from my stash! Of course I can't for the life of me remember where this image came from. DOH!
The Congratulations - Sweet Baby News was computer generated.
Cuttlebugged green cardstock with Swiss Dots.
Technique: Magic Colored Pencil
Yesterday and today were both pretty overcast with spitty rain and cold (65* has been the high.....). I've been in desperate need of an organization 'make-over' in my studio. The other day while I was in Target to pick up 1 thing (ended up with a cart full of stuff - - - does this happen to you?!). Anyway while I was looking for my 1 thing I found some great plastic containers with lids and canvas bins. Of course, those went into the cart too as I thought they'd work perfectly. So, yesterday I did a bit of organizing and feel like I've accomplished something! I LOVE these little bins - you wouldn't believe just how much STUFF I was able to condense!! Even better yet, I have a bit more work space on my desk in my studio. Of course, the organization is never finished, but this is a good start.
Had a fabulous day with my girlies - check out our Kaymin Kantina blog for our 'SPICY' Amy. Thanks for the great munchies Sue! Ordered some yummy stuff for a few Christmas Baskets - yep, working on Christmas gifts already.

Hope you're enjoying those last little bits of summer before the kids go back to school!

Happy Craftin'!

Min

Simple in Threes

The challenge this week - ROCKED!! WOW!!!

This was Rhonda's take - I love the embossed butterflies she made (they're tough to see in this photo). Great cards girlie!

Here are Shelly's! Love the ribbons and how you used the vertical 1/3!!
Here are the ones I put together -

I used some ribbon that I'd picked up at Joann's. The flowers were from a Stampendous set (I think). The Flowers were stamped in a Magenta color & cut out, popped up on dots and attached to the ribbon. The bottom of the cards were embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. LOVE LOVE LOVE the way these turned out!
Thanks for stopping by today to take a look!!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

A Dirty Dozen Challenge

Can you believe that Halloween stuff is already out in the store, and even worse, Christmas? I actually bought some Christmas ribbon last week for a project. ZOIKES!! This being noticed during a time in the summer where the temps are 85-90* with 99.9% humidity. Nevertheless, that was a perfect nudge to get me to start thinking about Halloween (my most favorite holiday!!)

One of the last Scrap-cation challenges was a Dirty Dozen challenge - use a dozen of something & ink some where.
What's better than a dozen googley eyes and a silly looking little monster?!

Paper: Black, White & Orange Cardstock, Bo Bunny Mint Dots
Used MCPT on the the monster
Jeepers Creepers was stamped in tangerine ink on white cardstock & matted
This will serve as a halloween card for one of the little monsters in our family I'm sure. :o)
Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

The Summer Survivor FINAL Vote!!!

It has come down to the last 2 survivors......and our mission was to create treasure from trash!

And now it's time to VOTE! Help me become the Scrap-Cation Survivor Winner!

Click HERE to go to the voting page!

I created this super cute little 3 card set from Capri Sun packages, Straws and a syrofoam egg carton.

Trash:

To Treasure - It's amazing what one can create when you do a little dumpster divin'!

Thanks for stopping by today and voting for me! Happy Craftin! Min

Good Friend Challenge Week #3

So because this has been such a productive challenge I think we'll keep at it.

This week, we'll do another "increase your stash challenge". We'll be making 5 cards.

Keep it Simple in Threes - You can use technique, embellie, paper, etc you want but you can only use up to 3 (example - embossing, ribbon and bling or stamped sentiment outside, ribbon & stamped/digi image - you get the picture :), you must use those three elements on all 5 cards AND you can ONLY use 1/3 of your card......it can be the middle third, the top third or the bottom third. The cards can be all the same, or they can be all different.

Might be a neat challenge to do if you're trying to come up with a little 'just in case' gift to have on hand.

Can't wait to see what you girls come up with.

Happy Monday & Happy Craftin'!

Min

Scrap-cation Challenge Wrap ups

So, Scrap-cation on the Scrap-Friendzy site is coming to an end - wow, where did summer go?
Here's one I wanted to quick post - it as for a Lemonade recipe challenge - your main color needed to be yellow, include some type of clear accent and bling.
Here's mine:

Our two cats seem to find some of the most interesting places and positions to put themselves in. This is just one of the many funny ones that we ended up with on film.

Core-dinations Yellow and pink Cardstock
Orange & black Cardstock
Cricut: Accent Essentials & Alphalicious
Cuttlebug Embossing on Pink Photo Mat & sanded
Fiskars punch
Martha Stewart punch
Computer Generated quote printed & cut out
Extras: Fabric, Prima flowers, bling, SU Ink, Autumn Leaves Swirl stamps, Flower ribbon from my stash
Thanks for stopping by today!
Hope you've had a wonderful weekend!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

This weeks - Good Friend Challenge

So, this week was Shelly's week to determine our Card challenge. And boy, did she have me putting on my thinking cap for this one. I'll admit, I over bling, over ribbon, over button, over emboss and over pattern paper my cards like there's no tomorrow. My name is Min & I'm addicted to embellishments & Foo-fa-la
(The foo-fa-la is a little giggle between my friends Amy, Sue & I :o) The challenge was 5 SIMPLE cards. Simple enough, right? You could use up to 3 different colors of cardstock (black and white could be used in addition to the 3). You could use 1 image, but it had to be used on all 5 cards and a sentiment either inside or out.
What you couldn't use - No patterned paper, no bling, no buttons, no embossing, no embellishments, no ribbon.
Apparently my brain doesn't work when I can't use embossing, buttons and bling. DOH!
But that's the challenge, right?! :o) Thanks to Shelly's challenge, I LOVE they way these turned out! And she was even nice enough to go looking for my mojo! Thanks again Shelly - I had a blast with this!
You can check out Shelly's challenge creation on her blog here.

Image: Oh Drat, I forgot which stamp set this chandelier is from..... Bazzill Cardstock in Orange, Yellow and Pink. Black & White Cardstock Charcoal & Frosty White Ink - Colorbox Inks Martha Stewart Punch
I had to chuckle after I finished these cards - minus the pink cardstock - they look like they should have a Halloween image on them instead. Can you say Candy Corn?
Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
My hubby and I are celebrating our 6th Anniversary tomorrow. We got married during the blackout of 2003 - yep, a wedding & reception without power! It was the most amazing, romantic, candle lit wedding reception we've ever been to.
If I have a chance this weekend, I'll post a few of our wedding photos.
Isn't it amazing how it seems like just yesterday every year when you celebrate your anniversary?
Happy Days & Happy Craftin'!
Min

U R Too COOL!

"Air Head" is the name of this cute little Happy Hopper July release. It kind of makes me laugh! But how cute is this little guy?
All the papers were pulled out of my stash - A bit of Bazzill Cardstock, Bo Bunny Mint Dots & some 'older' Doodlebug printed paper.
Image: Air Head - Happy Hopper July Release
Technique: Magic Colored Pencil Technique
Miscellaneous: Adhesive & Pop Dots
I've got a few projects to share with you, but of course I went to take a photo and the batteries in the camera were dead. DOH!
Hope you're havin' a great 1/2 Way to Friday!
Off to test my useless knowledge - Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is on!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

The Good Friend Challenge Results

This week was the first week of our 'Good Friend Challenge' with my honorary sis Shelly and her mom Rhonda.

The challenge this week was to use the Pete the Scarecrow image (and any of his accessories) use the Magic Colored Pencil Technique, some type of embossing and at least 1 print and one plain paper.

So, here are this week's results.My 'Pete' Card above - I used some printed paper from my stash, D'Vine Swirls on the clouds and pop dots to pop up the sign, clouds & Pete.Here's Rhonda's cute Pete card - I LOVE how she used the Sunny flower as the sun! Great work Rhonda!! :)

And this fun little ditty is Shelly's. I absolutely love her sentiment inside - too cute Sis.
You can check out more of Shelly's creativity and this week's Good Friend Challenge on Monday on Shelly's blog here.
Hope you had a great weekend - we spent the day at a friends pool as the temperature was 93* with a heat index of 105* Guess summer's finally arrived. Here's hoping I don't have much of a sunburn.......
Happy Craftin'!
Min

A Red, White & Blue Challenge

So, in my attempt to get caught up in our scrapbooks, here's a layout I finished to commemorate this past Fourth of July we celebrated with our family. Of course, it never fails, the camera never made an appearance after everyone arrived - DOH!. The only photo I'd taken was of the flowers we'd picked up for the occasion. I guess every photo has a story, doesn't it?This was the first chance I've had to use the Stand and Salute Cricut Cart. I used it for the banner along the side of the photo and gave it a shadow as well as the 'Freedom' with a red shadow behind. 'Let' & 'Ring' were from Lyrical Letters & welded to the 'Freedom'. The only thing that's missing is just a bit of journaling, but I'll add that later.
Striped & Star paper were papers I'd picked up at Michaels
Red paper is the Wild Berry Bo Bunny Dot paper
Navy Blue & White were Cardstock from my stash
Light Blue is Bazzill
Silver Star brads have been a long time resident in my brad stash
Some day I'll made a dent in the stash I have!!
Hope you're having a great weekend - we woke up to a super rainy day ended up with 2"+ of rain, so it was a perfect reason to spend some time in my studio!!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Flip Floppin Fun!

Happy FRIDAY! Whew, glad to have made it to Friday!
Here's the newest album I'll be teaching a class for on Saturday, August 29 at Live Love Laugh Scrap in Oxford Michigan. Just a cute little album to showcase some of the fun places that were explored over summer vacation.
What the perfect way to showcase those photos, don't you think?
If you're in the area and would like to take the class, reserve your space by calling Live Love Laugh Scrap.

Materials:
Bazzill Solid Cardstock (Orange, Yellow & Teal), White Cardstock, Core-dinations Pink &
Imaginisce double sided paper
Cuttlebug: D'Vine Swirl, Swiss Dots & bubbles
Cricut: Cricut Design Studio, Life's A Beach & Zooballoo
EK Success: Beach Punch
Stickles, Googley Eyes & Ribbon
Off to finish off my Good Friend Challenge card from this week. :o)
Happy Weekend & Happy Craftin'!
Min

Circle of Friends

I wanted to thank Lisa for thinking enough of me and my blog to leave a little love. Bug Junkie is her blog - I found Lisa's blog by accident when she posted a fabulous Chipboard album that she created. It was a beach album (imagine why that caught my eye!) She was kind enough to add me to her Circle of Friends. Thank you Lisa!! If you're looking for some inspiration, be sure to click the Bug Junkie link above and see some of Lisa's amazing work!

Here are the rules for the Circle of Friends award: Pick up the Circle of Friends Blog Award cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog. Nominate 5 other bloggers you feel have become part of your circle of friends. Link to your nominees within your blog post. Include these instructions on how to pick up the award in your blog post. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your blog post, to show your appreciation. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.

The 5 bloggers I'd like to share this with are:

My sis Shelly & her Precious Memories

Kreative Korner By Kelly

Amy from Scrap-Friendzy

Tammy's Place

Monique's weblog

Hoping I can get some studio time tonight - only had a bit last night.

Happy Craftin' today ladies!

Min

A Weekly Challenge with A Good Friend

Wow, can you believe August is already here?? In Michigan, we're still waiting for Summer to arrive. Our high today was 78, tonight it's chilly, good sleeping weather however.
So, to kick off the first Monday of a new month, my friend Shelly and I decided it would be kind of fun to set up our own weekly challenge. We're both trying to increase our Cards in Stash while depleating the Paper in Stash - aren't we all now that CHA had introduced some amazing new products!!
So, each week for fun we're going to do this challenge, I've happily nicknamed The Good Friend Challenge. Shelly will pick one week, I'll pick the next. You're welcome to join in if you'd like. You don't necessarily have to use the image we're using, but we'd love to have you participate. The more the merrier! If you want to leave the link to your card in the comments, we'd love to see your creations!

This week is my week, so here goes -
Because I love to drop a quick card to family and friends on a regular basis, the theme this week is Thinking of You
- Dust off your colored pencils and let's put them to work!
We're going to use the Magic Colored Pencil Technique.
- Get out an image (Stamped or Digi) that's been collecting dust :o)
This week we're going to using 'Pumpkin Patch Pete' and some of his accessories from High Hopes Rubber Stamps.
- Use at least 2 different paper - 1 printed and 1 plain
- Use some type of embossing
The size of the card is up to you.
You can add anything else you'd like - So, how's that?! Inspiring? Too Challenging?
I can't wait to see what you create!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Girlfriends - A Reason to Celebrate!

And what a wonderful reason to celebrate!!

We're down to the final 4 in the Survivor Challenge over at Scrap-Friendzy and I can hardly believe I'm one of the four left standing. There are some really talented ladies that have participated in this Survivor challenge. This is Challenge #3 of 4. It was a recipe challenge this week - use 1 Photo any size, 3 Buttons, at least 1 flower, a dash of chipboard and some cutting. And this is what I ended up with - and absolutely LOVE it!! This is a photo we too a few weekends ago in front of Hobby Lobby. It was one of those photos where we held the camera out in front of us, squinted into the sun and smiled. It was a celebrating kind of day - I met up with my two girlfriends, we spent a few hours at Archivers oohing and aahing over EVERYTHING, went to Olive Garden for lunch and to celebrate my birthday and when I opened my gift from Amy we started celebrating more - because Suz and I get to be Aunts again in February (are hubbies get to be uncles again too - imagine that :). And what better way to capture and celebrate our friendship than to get it in a layout. Doesn't the saying go - "If it's not in the scrapbook, it didn't happen?!" Most of the elements are digital elements that I downloaded & printed off to use. I've had these for I couldn't tell you how long but haven't had a reason or chance to use them, until now!! The Stand, Shoes, To Do List, flower border and green scalloped edge were all hand cut. Most of the flowers are popped up on dots. I used 5 buttons in the centers of flowers. Solid colored papers are Bazzill Cardstock in white, orange & yellow. A bit of Black Cardstock. A BUNCH of paper flowers. Cricut: Storybook was used for the two scalloped circles under the photo, Alphalicious for the chipboard 'girlfriends' which was also embossed in white after it was cut. Also used the Apron punch along the edge, Diamond Stickles & some Pink Sheer Ribbon from my stash. The Journaling on the To Do list reads: Starbucks, Meet Amy, Meet Suz @ Archivers 2 Scrappy Shop, B-day Lunch @ Olive Garden, Celebrate Baby Raz News, Hobby Lobby, Enjoy Friends! Now, THAT is my kind of to do list with my girlie friends! If you'd like to check out the final four survivors and vote for your favorite, you can head over to Scrap-Friendzy and make your vote count. :)
Thanks to my girlfriends for a wonderful celebration & great memories.
Thanks to you for stopping by today - I hope you have a great day!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Airplane Album

Whew, what a busy weekend. Projects galore and a lovely weather weekend to boot!

Just a quickie I thought I'd share. This is an album I did for a client and just finished.
Didn't it turn out cute?
Materials:
Papers: Heidi Grace Designs - Baby Boy Collection/Dots, Decor Stripes & Tall Flowers, Bo Bunny Mint Dot, Bazzill Sydney (blue) & Twig (Brown), Yellow, White, Pink & Orange Cardstock from my stash
Cricut: Cuttin Up, George, New Arrival, Paper Dolls & Zooballoo
Cricut Design Studio
Chipboard cut with Design Studio
Stickles, Rain Dots & Bling from Stash
Chestnut Roan Ink & Pop Dots
I hope you had a fabulous weekend!!
Happy Craftin'!
Min