From the Heart - June Stamp of the Month

This card is for the monthly challenge at Delightful Inspiration {from the heart}. Faith Skrdla will gift you a digital image for each month you participate in the challenge. Isn't that way generous of her?!? The challenge started in September and at the time, the first image was free. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered this in January. In order to receive the freebie, you must make a purchase and request the freebie of the month, and as long as you continue participating in the challenge, you'll receive a free digi each month. For the month of June, the freebie image is Sea Turtle Beach.

Here is my card:

I colored the image with Copic markers. All card stock is from my stash. I used a Darice embossing folder to emboss and de-boss blue card stock and crossed it behind the image to give the illusion of waves. To add some charm to the card, I added a small flat craft seashell. I kept card simple to allow image shine as star of the show! ;)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Challenge 3 - Masculine

We're having our third challenge at Fitztown Challenge Blog. The theme is masculine. We hope you can join us for some fun and prizes. 

This is my take on a masculine card:

All printed paper, card stock, brads, eyelets and chip board are from my stash. The image is a Morgan Fitzsimons (MF) and can be found at Scrapbook Stamp Society's MF collection here.

We sure hope you will join in on the challenge for some fun and maybe even a prize! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Picture Perfect

I've been working on this card since May 31st and today... my power went out... I thought to myself "Now what?" The image practically threw herself in my face! ;) lol

This is a Karber Digital Images and I purchased it from her blog here. The image is appropriately called Photographer. I like it when the title of something matches perfectly! :)

I have to admit... I'm very pleased with how the whole card came together! :) Every time I look at it... it makes me so happy!

Here is the card:

I colored the image with Copic markers... of course! ;) lol The sentiments comes from a CTMH stamp set called Take a Picture. The card stock, printed paper, camera die cut and twine are from my stash. The die cut was originally blue. That wasn't gonna match so I colored it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad in Peeled Paint. I dressed it up by adding black card stock to the back and then glossing the cut outs with Inkssentials Glossy Accents. I inked the die cut with a Sharpie silver marker and gel pen to add detail. 

Here is a close up of the camera:

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Crafting with Fitztown!

Wanna do some serious "Crafting With Fitztown"? Come join our fun current "female" challenge! A Fitztown image is required but if you'll read the blog, we'll tell you how to get an image so you can join in on the fun! :)

Fitztown Challenge Blog

OMGits!

I've got the perfect name for these girls for the Kenny K's Krafty Krew OMGits Contest! 

1. Bridgette

2. Terry 

3. Jo 

4. Ema 

5. Maria

Fitztown Challenge #2 - Female

We're having our second challenge at Fitztown. The theme this week is "Female". Come over and join us for some fun and prizes! We'd love to see creative artwork you'd like to share with us!

Here is my card:

What can be more female than a pink ribbon card? When I saw this image at the Fitztown Store called Juno female boxing digi stamp, I knew exactly what type of card it would make. Sadly, these days, I'm sure we all know someone who's battling cancer.

I colored the image in Copic markers. All the card stock and ribbon are from my stash. The sentiment and pink ribbon images are from a Crafty Secrets clear stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Ema

Design Team Member

Fitztown Challenge Blog

life IS good

Wouldn't you agree? 

I've felt sorry for myself a lot these past few days. If it's not one thing it's another. Leukemia... the gift that keeps on giving. Aren't I the lucky one?!? I'm only human and remaining upbeat and optimistic is sometimes just a bit much. 

I really have nothing to complain about...

I wake up every morning glad to be alive.
I have two children who are employed and self-sufficient.
I have a son who takes care of and looks after me when I can't.
My 93 year old mother is still with us. Praise God!
I am buying my own home... without working! lol Jay and I are.
I have a vehicle to take me where I need to go. Maybe it is falling apart... but it still turns on for now.
Utilities are paid and there are groceries in the refrigerator.
I have a washer and dryer to keep my clothes clean.
I have all I need to keep my home clean and comfortable.
I have more than one pair of shoes.
I do not need assistance with daily living.
I have friends.

What more could I possible ask for? :)

Oh, I have a horribly addictive hobby and plenty of supplies! ;) lol Here's proof:

Look at the enormous pile of rhinestones the card sits on! I used a Mo's Digital Pencil image called Kissy... one digital image from a selection of... I'd have to say easily... when you add in the freebies... 1,000 I have on my computer, a flash drive and a THIRD backup file. When it comes to digital images... there can never be too many backups. :) The card gets its shape from a Spellbinders' Lacey Squares die. These aren't free! :-\ The ribbon is from a HUGE collection of ribbons. The printed paper and card stock are from massive amounts of a 12X12, 8X8, 6X6 card stock and paper collections and scraps. The rhinestones on her crown, small flowers and doily are also from a huge collection of supplies. I call these collections because I've had these for years! The sentiment is from an unknown stamp set because I have so many stamps I cannot remember where each and every one comes from. Finally, the image is colored with Copic markers. I do have a collection of Ciaos and Sketches markers. Either way you look and count these, they are pricey! 

So you see... I have nothing to complain about. :) 

life IS good

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Deliriously Happy!

I'm not sure what happened... but I am feeling deliriously happy today! I'm almost giddy and giggling to myself! lol ;) I haven't felt this happy in a wicked long time. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

Instead of laying on the couch watching TV, I spent the day in my craft room putting some cards together. I actually had plans to put these together at my new friend's house. I've written about her before today... Maria. We planned to crop together last night but I'd forgotten that on Tuesday night, my truck's headlights were not working and for whatever reason, I did not remember until I got over there. Talk about disappointing! I was so let down. But... she's younger than me and more tech savvy so she showed me how to TinyChat! How exciting! So I drove home as it was getting dark and to my dismay... the lights came on! :-\ So anyway... we got to TinyChat on Facebook and cropped together anyway. We stayed up until 1 AM! I didn't have my craft room set up to work in front of the computer but I fixed that today. So she cropped and I colored... again. :) I've got so many images colored I could make a different card every day for about two months! lol 

Today I focused on putting these cards together. I started these months ago! Right before Easter I'd finally got around to making my first easel card and went a little crazy. I kinda had these put together but not all the way completed. Today, I completed them and I have to say... gosh darn it... they sure are pretty! :) lol

This is one of the cards:

This is a Mo's Digital Pencil image called Cherry. I colored the image with my beloved Copic markers. The card stock, printed paper, brads and cherry embellishment are from my stash. The sentiment is from an unknown clear stamp set. The shape of the card is from Spellbinders' Lacey Square die.

I was struck with the INSANE idea of photographing the card above a bed of rhinestones. Sure does make for a pretty backdrop, wouldn't you agree? lol It was a terrifying photo shoot. With every movement, rhinestones rolled! Then... I hadn't thought the whole idea through... I had to put the rhinestones back in the jar. :-\ All I can do is repeat myself... It. Was. Terrifying!

Coincidentally, Mo's Digital Challenge (MDP) is having Challenge #188 - Children of ALL Ages. That's right! Children can play along with this challenge! How awesome is that? Wish I had nieces or nephews that were allowed to visit me so I could encourage them to color an image and we could submit it to the challenge. Fortunately, adults are able to enter so long as they use a children's image. Crazy isn't it? My image is a children's image! What incredible luck! :) Yay! lol I discovered the challenge while looking for the link to MDP and the image! So it IS incredible luck! :)

I finished a second card as well; however, I'm unable to show it because I have a crazy iPhone 4 that I dislike VERY much. My pictures don't automatically upload to Google like they did with the Razor I had. They will download to Facebook but only when the phone is good and ready to do so. :-\ So I guess I'll be posting that one tomorrow if it ever shows up. 

In the mean time... wouldn't you agree that the card came out really pretty! :) lol 

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Misunderstood

Since I was a child... I've been misunderstood. I hear lots of stories about how I was a bully and a brat. I was neither. The youngest in a family of 10 with numerous nephews and nieces to compete with for attention, I was only asserting myself. My family didn't recognize or understand that.

That happened to me yesterday on Facebook. I posted a picture and wrote a little blurb. I think it came across as a "poor, pitiful me" blurb. This is not what I meant. I was attempting to merely point out that a life-saving drug I am to take for the rest of my life comes with a terrifying label. My post was misunderstood.

I know there are LOTS of people who have it worse than myself, either by not being able to do much to stop the illness or unable to do anything at all. My brother, Jimmy, has been diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer and there is not much that can be done. The only intervention he has is a miracle from God. We pray for that. 

I know there are LOTS of people who carry a much larger cross than I do. My brother, Fred, is on dialysis and is a double amputee. He takes numerous drugs to live. He's been on dialysis for 6 years and the chances of him having a kidney transplant is non-existent. He could live like that for years.

I have nothing to complain about really. I could live 10 to 30 years with my diagnosis of CML. I may be on the onset of heart disease but with proper care and treatment, I could live another 10 to 20 years. The doctors didn't say this... but I like to think they mean consecutively and not concurrently. :) lol 

So what was all the fuss about over on Facebook? I'll show you.

I have to take one of these pills every single day for the rest of my life. I didn't mean for it to come across as I was complaining about that. I meant to make the label the focus. The yellow one plastered across the bottle. Particularly the words "TOXIC" and "DISPOSE OF AS BIOHAZARD". I'm putting this pill into my body and this is the warning label on the bottle. When I first started receiving my medication, I found the label frightening. Almost two years later, I find the label ironic. 

By the way... this is NOT the only medication I am taking. It's the only medication that comes with this yellow label. 

When I posted this on Facebook yesterday, I forgot people don't read what has been written all the way through. They read until something triggers them to respond. My final question on the post before posting the picture was "Isn't it a cheerful label?" It was a yes or no question. Not a post requesting information about how much worse the other person's fate was or how lucky I was to be able to take something or how many other people are living with a cancer. I wasn't even asking for pity. I was making a point... and then I asked a question that required a yes or no... maybe even an "lol". 

This is what I love about blogging. I can write to my heart's content. Whether it's read or not... it is not for me to know. I said my piece... and I continue with my life.

Now I am off of here to take my meds for the day. :) lol

Graduations

I've posted a card to Scrapbook Stamp Society Blog using a Sherri Baldy BestiesTM image called Girl Graduate. You can read about it here.

Here's my card:

Thanks for stopping by!

Moving Day

I've shared before how I call my online friends whom I've not met my "imaginary" friends. Well, I had an "imaginary" friend, Rose, move from California to Arizona and I made a little card to wish her well. 

I used a freebie from Time for Tea Designs and it's called Moving Day. Cute image! :) I couldn't find it in the shop but instead it was offered as a freebie on Facebook.

Here is the card:

ALL supplies are from my stash. I colored the image with Copic markers.

I hope she likes the card but more than that, I hope her move is everything she wants it to be and so much more! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Scrapbook Stamp Society Challenge - Yellow and White

I made this card for the Yellow and White challenge over at Scrapbook Stamp Society Challenge Blog using a Sherri Baldy Besties TM image #801. 

Here is the card:

All card stock, printed paper, beads, flowers and doily are from my stash. I used a Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder for two of the background panels. The white satin ribbon is from Raisin Boat. I dabbed Stickles in Yellow on the flowers. I colored the image with Copic markers.

Please join the challenge! As I wrote above, it's a color challenge so all you need to do is add some yellow and white and you are good to go!

Don't forget to also join us at the My Besties TM Challenge Blog with a Bestie image that you can get here, here or here! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

SBS Currrent Challenge

I received this image called Lilliana Fairy from Simply Betty Stamps to participate in the Current Challenge which calls for the use of orange, yellow, white and black for the Facebook Simply B Stamps Fan Group. To be perfectly honest... I didn't realize it was a color challenge! Ha! Boy howdy did I get lucky! I'd of had to recolor the image if I had not just thought all butterflies are orange, yellow and black! Can you imagine how frustrated I could have been just about now!?! lol 

Here is my card:

I had a little help with this card from my friend, Maria. I attended a crop with her last night and it was my first time packing. I forgot quite a few things! She let me have the bling, skeleton and green leaves, butterfly and Stickles to create the butterfly's flying path. The rest of the items are from my stash. The flowers were actually a gift from her when we first met! I wanted to hoard the flowers but she gave me very specific instructions NOT to! Can you imagine such a thing?!? lol All the card stock and printed paper is from my stash. I dabbed Stickles in Tropical Tangerine, Yellow and Star Dust all over the image and the flowers to make everything shimmer. Things are so much prettier when they shimmer! :) I did color the image all by myself with Copic markers. 

Thanks for stopping by! :)

New Progressive Monthly Challenge

OK... this is my first time ever to upload an image to Paper Craft Planet (PCP) so I hope I did it right! lol

This image is from Sassy Studio Designs and it's for their New Progressive Monthly Challenge at PCP.

Here is the card:

I colored the image with Copic markers. All card stock and the rhinestone are from my stash. I attended my first ever crop last night! Well, that's not entirely true. I'd attended a crop a couple of weeks ago and that one was my first ever but since I didn't know how to pack for it, I only took my Copic markers and images to color. Last night... I was much braver and packed some of my stash! Alas, as it always happens, I forgot something. So the ribbon I used was from my friend, Maria's, stash. I wanted to add some flowers but I didn't want to cover the ribbon because it's just so pretty! lol So I kept it simple. :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)