Good morning everyone! And some birthday candy

I hope that the long weekend kept everyone safe and rested. Now I'm a little excited for fall to be here. Labor day in my mind marks the end of summer - even though it seems to be getting hotter and hotter out.

I think I've said it before, my favorite time of year is fall. The leaves are changing, there begins a crispness in the air. But according to the forecast for this coming week, I don't think there will be any crispness in the air any time soon.

Enough of the sappy stuff ~ let's get to work!

This card is still not what I wanted. I have this image in my head and it just wont work out on paper! Has that ever happened to you?

I've got this image in my head but when I sit down to create the card it just won't come out the way I want to. The card still turned out cute I guess ~ but it's not what I wanted.

I used a stamp set from TAC that's been discontinued - but everyone has a set similar to this one I'm sure.

The base card is Pixie Pink and the DP is some I found in my scrap drawer already cut - I'm not sure who it's from. I stamped the little candle from a SU! set called Birthday Banter for each day of the month except for the actual birthday. I stamped the date for the day. I then punched out the circle using my 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches. The cupcakes are from a Stampendous set "Hey there Cupcake" set and the present is also from them. The hat is from Hero Arts. I stamped each and cut them out and positioned them at different places on the card. I used some stickles to jazz it up a bit and I was done.

I was in need of making a card to send to a new found friend on line. I want

ed to use some of my yummy paper from SU! I was so in love with the Berry Bliss paper that they had - and now that it's gone I had to fall in love with another, Bella Rose. To me it's almost as nice as the Berry Bliss ~ but then anything that has to do with card making and is brown is ok in my book!

Just a simple card to go with the post it note holder I made for her too. The card is nothing but DP and ribbon, with a small sentiment in the corner from my TAC set Enjoy Today. Sometimes simpler is better.

There is another lady that I've met on line thru one of the forums that I belong to. She's having a bit of a hard time right now and I wanted to make something that might cheer her up. And of course one of my favorite flowers is daises. Some more DP that I have in a drawer that I don't know who it's from. I do have lot's and lot's of paper like that.

The daisy is from TAC and it's called Gerbera Daisy. The base card is Ballet Blue. I stamped the image and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol then layered it on to a piece of Creamy Caramel and sponged some Creamy Caramel ink around the edge of the image panel. The card is layered with the DP and Creamy Caramel. I added a length of ribbon to it too.

Once the card was all put together I added some stickles to the flower to give it a little shine. I sure hope that it brightens her day.

Since my hits are getting up there, I want to offer up some candy - "birthday" candy that is. Next week is my birthday and I was thinking that I would offer up a present to you all.

Make me a birthday card and post it on your blog. Then link it back to me and post a message on this post. I will then draw thru random.org the winner of some blog candy that I will be giving to you. Think of it as my birthday present to YOU. Let's see how many people we can get to play this.....

I hope that you all have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Joani

Yippie, it's Friday!!!

I'm so excited today is Friday. I know, why am I excited ~ I don't "work". Well tonight we are going (yes, this is once again my dear wonderful daughter is rubbing off) to the county fair. But the fun part is they are having a demolition derby. I just love to watch those. And yes, it is a county fair. A little home town fair, just like you see in the movies. It really is a lot of fun. Yummmm ~ is that funnel cake I smell??? :)

Now, on to business.

I needed to start making some goodies for my stampers groups that are coming up. So if your part of them - close your eyes!

I made this little ATC or tag, whatever you want to call it last night. Last night as in when we were having thunderstorms and when they said to stay away from windows. You've all seen my craft room! I'm crazy! But what I won't do for the craft :)

There I go again, my train jumped the track!!
Back to the ATC.

I used Brilliant Blue as a base. Then I cut pieces of the yellow DP from theangelcompany™ Brighten my Day slab to add after I sponged Only Orange ink around it. I thought that it was a little cheerful. I stamped the flower from my TAC™ set Enjoy Today and colored it with markers and added a little stickles to it and I was done.

This card was made for a friend who's birthday is on July 4th so I had to use a sparkler on it!

This set is from Stampendous and it's called Hey there Cupcake. It's adorable. I think that I got on the cupcake bandwagon a little too late - but I just love them.

Anyway ~ the card is Night of Navy and it is layered with a piece of Tempting Turquoise that my dear friend Betty ran thru her cuttlebug. I stamped the images, colored & inked the edges, layered them with Soft Sky and some scrap blue - added the stickles and I was done.



Well, that's all I've got for today. Let's see what I can come up with to show you tomorrow.
Have a great day!!

RAK from Linsey and some other stuff....

I first wanted to show you all a card that I received the other day from none other than Linsey at Outside the Lines. She is a most awesome card maker & paper crafter! And when I got the mail and saw what she sent me I was so excited. Me? She sent me a card? Wow! It's one that's going in my keepers for sure!!! I have a little shopping cart that I got a while back and I put all my "special" cards in it to look back on, and YES hers is going in there for sure!!

Isn't it pretty? And it's mine. Thank you so much Linsey ~ You sure made this girl's day!!! And if you have not yet you need to go to her blog and check out her creations, NOW!! But make sure to come back :)

The next card that I want to show you is actually a card that I made from a sketch over at my dear upline's blog Stampin Diva. Toni is another amazing cardmaker and she posted a sketch the other day. Well, I'm not sure if it's a crossed wire in my head or what ~ but I looked at the sketch and thought "I've gotta try this" and scribbled it down on a post it note to make. Yes, the scribble looked like the sketch, but when I was done with the card it sure did not look like the sketch. You've got to go peek at it here then come back and see the difference. Yup, I told ya, nothing like the sketch. I first of all did not have a punch large enough to make the image panel, and I don't have the square colozzle, just the rectangle (yes, it's the next thing on my order list) so I made the center piece a circle. Then I was supposed to add a circle at the lower right and I did not do that either.... Well, enough of my rambling, here's my card.

Yup, nothing like the sketch, but I started out with all good intentions.

First of all the base card is Purely Pomegranate. I love love love this paper, and you can bet that I'm going to order a whole box of it before it's discontinued.

I layered DP from the TAC™ Catelynne collection. Those papers are so pretty! I sponged Chocolate Chip ink around the top part of the card. I added a length of ribbon around where the two papers meet. For the top 1/2 of the card I used my colozzle to cut out the circles. I also used my edge distresser around the circles too. The Old Olive circle I sponged some Old Olive ink around it. I layered on a piece of Chocolate Chip paper and the image from my Enjoy Today set that I colored with my SU! watercolor crayons and I sponged Chocolate Chip ink around that layer too. I added a little tag from the Catelynne collection and punched a hole in the center to add the polka dot ribbon.

The bottom part of the card. Well, my Mother received a prize package in the mail the other day and there was these cool felt flowers in it. Well, I grabbed one. To make the flower I stamped the word 'bloom' from the same set and punched it out with my 3/4" circle punch. I sponged around the outer edge with Chocolate Chip ink and punched a flower with my EK Success flower punch with Chocolate Chip cs. I then punched out a 1" circle in Old Olive cs and then layered them all together on the felt flower. I then took out my Crop-a-Dile and punched a hole thru the entire thing and set an eyelet in the middle before I attached it to the card.

Well, it's not like Toni's sketch ~ but I still like it! I hope you do too. If you have time I suggest that you pop over to Toni's blog and try some of her sketches, maybe your's will look more like her sketch than mine did.

Have a great day!!!