Little Boy Birthday Crown!

I have a fun little crown card to share with you today! My nephew just turned 3 and we have his birthday party tomorrow. So I whipped up this card using Cutting Cafe's Crown Template. I used October Afternoon, Melissa Frances, and Papertrey Ink papers. I added some bling, some Prima Roses and a little frog from Inky Antics. He was colored in with Copics and a teeny tiny rhinestone was added to the flower he is holding. The circles were cut using Spellbinder's Nestibilities, then I airbrushed them while leaving the brass die on the circle. When you take it off you are left with a nice clean edge.

My niece is turning 8 soon and I created a girl crown that I will share with you later this week! : )

Off to swim with the kiddos! Hot and sticky today......perfect pool weather!

Have a great weekend!

Friday's JustRite Challenge!

It is time for JustRite's Friday Challenge! This challenge was two fold.....using THIS sketch and to use red, white, and blue in honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday. I used JustRite's Thinking of You set and colored it in with my Copic markers. The border was stamped in Pure Poppy by Papertrey Ink. I used Spellbinder's to cut the ovals. The paper is Papertrey Ink and Bazill. The star paper is really old and I have no idea who the manufacturer is.

I did a bit of machine stitching and used part of the sentiment from this set. I isolated the word, Love and only inked that one word. I used a Spellbinder's tag to cut it out.

I added a piece of satin ribbon and some baker's twine to finish it off! I can't believe it is Friday already and that I have already had 2 weeks off....this summer is flying by! We have a busy weekend planned.....birthday parties for my niece and nephew and a graduation party. : )

Have a great one!!!

Is There Such a Thing as "Storm-itis?"

I know Chicago isn't alone in its wild and crazy weather lately, but I gotta tell ya.....it's putting me in complete panic mode. Within 20 minutes yesterday it went from sunny, to overcast, to 60 mph winds, rain, tornado warnings and all this happened on my drive home yesterday! I white knuckled it the whole way home! So my son, who finds my reaction quite amusing, turns to me in the car and said, "Mom, you have a condition known as Storm-itis! I think you need to take a Melatonin to calm you down!" Yep. Storm-itis. Thanks Dr. Kyle.



I have a LO to share with you of my non PhD kid. (LOL!) I took this shot of Cort right before her graduation ceremony. I was so pleased to have captured it.......it truly shows how beautiful and stunning she is. It was created for Noel Mignon's "White Space" challenge. Of course mine isn't' "white," it's pink! (always the rebel, I am!) I did some paint on the ole' toothbrush trick and a bit of Glimmer Misting. I used Noel's Object of My Affection kit. (sold out long ago).


I hope you can play along with us this week! Head over HERE to see the rest of the DT's fabulous use of "White Space!"



Off to a pool party today.......cuz yes, the sun IS shining. (for now) : )

American Cancer Society!

Good morning! I am headed out to Shriner's Hospital to take Cort for her check up but wanted to let you know that I am walking in July to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. We are working to fight this terrible disease one step at a time. Last year we raised over $5,000 just on our team (picture of Meadow Lane teachers below. We had a pirate theme.....can you tell?) alone! Any donation would be FABULOUS!! No amount is too small!!!

If you would like to donate please head on over here to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY! Thank you, thank you , thank you!!!!

By the Sea.....

Good morning! I gotta tell ya.....the weather here in Chicago has been crazy! We have had some crazy, crazy storms that seem to roll in in the evening and roll out by the early morning. Lots of thunder, lightning, and tornado warnings. I am a nervous nelly when it comes to storms.....don't like 'em at all! But right now the sun is out and all is good in my little world! : )

I have a JustRite card to share with you today using the By the Sea Borders and Centers set. I colored the image with Copics and Prismas. I added gold Stickles to the sand to give it texture and a bit of sparkle. I added white flocking to the clouds. I wanted a shadow box effect so I cut the sentiment out with my oval Nestibilities and used pop dots. I glittered the edges too. I used Papertrey's embossing die and used some old SU! ribbon. I also did some sewing with gold thread. IRL it looks really pretty, but it is difficult to see here!

Hoping the sun stays out so the kids can swim today! I think storms are supposed to be rolling in again tonight. Oh joy.

Thanks so much for visiting me today! It makes my day! : )

Crafty Secret's Technique Blog Hop!

The Crafty Secret's DT has lots of inspiration to show you today! All of us have a fun technique to share with you! My technique is nothing earth shattering, but it is fun and provides visual interest to your cards! That is the one thing I love about art.....you can interpret images in soooo many ways! : )

The first step is to find an image that will be "cuttable." I chose Seasonal Friends by Crafty Secrets. You want to color the image like you normally would. I chose to use Copics for mine.
I cut my image into 3 strips going vertically, then horizontally. Like this. Don't worry about them being exact.......if you notice my bottom right hand square is a bit wonky! : ) This picture doesn't show it, but after cutting the squares, I distressed the edges of all the squares with Tim Holtz Distressing Ink in Old Paper. Then take your distressing tool and go around all of the edges of the squares.

Take out a bottle of Crystal Lacquer or Glossy Accents.....whatever.

Apply the Glossy Accents in a thin layer over each square and spread with your finger. I just wanted a shine to each one. It kind of reminds me of tiles in a kitchen!

Put your pieces back together and finish creating your card! It is just an interesting way to show off your stamped image! It almost looks like you are looking outside through a window, right? : )

For this Father's Day card I used the Car Classics set by Crafty Secrets and only cut vertical pieces. I distressed the edges of each just like I did above.....but no Glossy Accents. I wanted it to feel masculine and rugged! I used Prismas and Gamsol for the image. I airbrushed the background using Papertrey's cloud dies as a mask.

Here is the card put together! Although my husband looked at it and wondered why I had cut the paper.....he thought the car looked like it was in jail! Funny, Funny man..... ; ) My mother in law (who is also a paper crafter), very gently told him it was an artistic interpretation. Yep. Artistic. That's me. ; )

Hope you enjoyed my not so "Earth" shattering technique! ; )

Be sure to head on over to the rest of the DT's blogs to see what they have up their sleeves!

Vicki Chrisman

Pam Hooten

Heidi Blankenship

Marisa Grosson

Linda Duke

Michele Kovack < ----------- Me! : )

Melissa Phillips

Flo From France

Julie Campbell

Deborah March

Crafty Secret's Blog

Thanks so much for visiting me today!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Just poppin' in for a second to wish all the dads, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers a very Happy Father's Day! I am cleaning and preparing for my dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew to come over in a bit!

Just a quick card I created using the Car Classics set by Crafty Secrets. I colored the car in with my Prismas and Gamsol. The background was airbrushed and cut out with my oval and scalloped Nestibilities. The paper is Papertrey Ink and DCWV. I embossed the Kraft cardstock with a new Papertrey Ink embossing die. I did a bit of distressing and added a pop of orange ribbon. (Who says a manly card can't have ribbon??) : )

Have a great day!!!