Happy New Year 2013 using Squigglefly

A friend inspired me to make a Happy New Year's card using Mr. Wool Daisy by Sandy Sommerfeld. from Squiggle Fly. There are several in her series but this is the only one I currently have--well when you put a Party hat on anything it's just FUN~even a sheep!  I used this great pink/black floral paper from my stash, a clock digi (transposing a NYD clock face from the internet for the appropriate time), some sparkily pink eyelash fiber and said party hat cut from some Birthday paper, added some diamond & Raspberry Stickles for that Bling factor and added the Rub-0n that said "Take Some Time".  It shows up better on the actual card!  And there you have it!  There are some exciting things coming soon to Squiggle Fly so be watching this site around January 7th!  Hope you all enjoyed the card!
I hope that all of you that stop at this blogsite during your busy days will find inspiration, humor, gratitude from me, and friendship that will grow.  My wish for all of you in 2013 is good health, happiness, and a kindness for your fellow man.  May we all remember The Golden Rule as we live our lives.

Snowmen and Cheryl Alger=2 of my favorite things

While I'm apparently too late for Cheryl's latest challenge, I still loved making this snowman card!  She has such great images and they are so much fun to color!
This A7 card has a snowflake scene mounted on lime green cardstock with stain snow themed ribbons. The digi is colored with copics and then mounted on a sherbet orange circle.  I used snowflake brads, Frostyville Die cut, and the vellum title to accent the neat digital.
I'd like to enter this in the following challenge:

• Paper Pretties -Create a Winter Creation
• Cheryl Alger's-SMT Challenge

Bailey makes his Last appearance in 2012 for Hambo Hoedown

One of the favorite Characters that keeps popping up at Hambo Stamps is Bailey, the lovable dog of the owners!  True to form, I decided to use the latest image called Bailey's Christmas (awww, doesn't he just warm your heart in his Santa hat and Bow-tied Bone?) on a Special Little Boys' present under the tree this morning!  You are seeing the Gift Tag before I addressed it and tied it on-with the Hoedown Challenge this week, you could equally use it for Thank you notes, invitations for Festive parties, etc.
As you can see, I paper-pieced his bone for dimension, mounted 2 of the included sentiments on candycane paper.  The quilted looking CS is also mounted on the candycane paper and then I put a very large pronged grommet at the top with a red sheer tie.  Easy Peasey!  Come join us this week and show us you ideas for Bailey to make another appearance in 2012 before the New Year arrives!

Seems a Little Sketchy and Whimsy Stamps Challenge

Thanks so much for Whimsy Stamps for sponsoring this challenge here this week~the prize is 5 Free Stamps of the winner's choice!  For this last sketch of 2012,  I found this beautiful image of the 3 Wise Men and couldn't wait to work it up!  The Sketch that SALS gave us to use is so clean in it's lines that it really accents the elaborate detail of the Christmas Kings.  

I used seasonal ribbons and Bling to make my horizontal rows on top of a creamy yellow Christmas background paper.  Then I stamped "Wonderful" underneath the matted image.  The inside is finished with the same paper and a Christmas verse.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas with your family and loved ones and the Best in the New Year!  We'd love to see you around more in the New Year here at Seems a Little Sketchy?  We do sketches every two weeks and they are a great resource to get your ideas from!  See you there in the future!

 

I'm Ringing in the Season with Squiggle Fly!

This week on the Squiggle Fly challenge, the task that the Holly Hobbyists gave everyone in the last challenge of 2012 was to use a SF image in  # SFC5012~Anything Goes with a Sentiment!

You all know by now that I think their artist, Marla Shega, and I were long lost Sisters.  Her Illustrations  just call to me to use them!  AND, bonus, the sentiment is right on the image print-out, ready to use!  Very simply, I used White Opal Liquid Pearls on the pearl rope and on the Bell Sections for that dimensional look.  The other dots have Crystal Stickles and I used light gray copic for the metal on the bell.  A burgandy glitter striped ribbon trims out the card.
There are some very exciting things coming in the New Year to Squiggle Fly~ Be watching for the latest very soon!

I'm in Luv with another man....He's on Squiggle Fly!

He's Fat and Jolly, has twinkling blue eyes, a full enough beard to keep him warm during the winter and  has ice crystals in his fur-trimmed cap and beard to make him sparkle....oh I'm sure that my secrets out, It's St. Nick himself! 

I absolutely love Christmas time and when Squiggle Fly asked for entries in their challenge using traditional colors of Red and Green, I knew I had to use Kris Kringle by Marla Shega.  It's the most awesome digital I've ever seen of him!  My version of the colors is more of a Vintage treatment, using Loden greens and cranberry reds.  I added a vintage green-brown matting circle, sheer gold glittered ribbon, and 2 matted cardstock accent tags.  The inside is finished with a neutral liner along with an oval cut Christmas sentiment.

As I near the end of my Christmas card making, I am so glad that I had to opportunity to use Kris one more time and share the Magic of Christmas with all of you.  May the Wonder of the season be in all your hearts, now and always.  Carolyn

Having trouble with your HAMBO Christmas lights?

How many of us (or at least our husbands) are facing this same dilemma this and every Christmas?  It seems no matter  how neatly you put them away previously, there you are!  Well this is character is called Pig Tangled- a digital image from Hambo Stamps and the sentiment is from this great stamp site also.  The Challenge was to make an easel card using this digi and I decided to switch it up and use one of embossed card FRONTS on the inside...of course, as a single piece of cs, that presented a challenge in itself.  I created a tabbed easel back for the image and used the tab to mount it to the top of the card front-with me still? While I only used Inka Gold on the "Cheer" word, there were so many imprinted ones on it that were perfect for Christmas=peace, hope, love, lights, and joy--see why I wanted to use it?  I used the simplicity of red dew drops for the "stopper".  I think the cutest thing is the flower soft I used on his "fur" -He looks so cheery!  Hope you all are getting in the spirit of Christmas and are taking time, in between untangling the lights!, to enjoy the wonder of the season and enjoy friends and fellowship with your loved ones.

Kenny K sponsors Seems a Little Sketchy-YEAH!!

Seems a Little Sketchy  and Kenny K Downloads are teaming up to partner this next challenge for you--If you LOVE his digital images like I do, this was wonderful news!

I used Santa Cookies and just love her in the pinks and lime greens with the blonde hair~ I'm thinking of a sweet pre-teen granddaughter that this will fit the bill for at Christmas!  Kind-of looks like her with the hair and eyes!  I used papers-buttons-and pink velvet ribbon from my stash.  The neat thing I tried on this card was to "release" her pair of boots and hat from the scalloped oval that I highlighted with pink chalk ink.

I hope this inspires you to visit his site and choose from many images that are versatile and beautifully created-gotta love those big eyes and something for men, kids, and gals!  Hope to see your creations soon!

Squiggle Fly Challenge #48-Winter Wonderland

When I saw this Adorable image at Squiggle Fly called Honk for the Holidays by Fawn Palmer  I immediately knew it called for Lumberman Buffalo Plaid paper!! Ya know the Black and Red checks so favored by those Beefy Lumberjacks in the Mountains!  Well a gal can dream right?
When you've been fighting the great nasty cold that's going around our area like I have, it feels good just to sit and create and not move around too much!  I even colored in the nose and cheeks of this brave soul with pink chalk cause that's the way I feel!

I used the Spellbinders Renaissance die cut to give it the feel of snow drifting around the car-also using a chevron mat paper for the same effect.  Yellow Ice Stickles reach out beyond the car for headlights.  One inch natural printed twill ribbon runs along the edge of the A7 card and I used the Memorybox border die called Frostyville that I've seen from afar on cards and finally purchased-it makes great swirly snow!    It's a very intricate die and extremely challenging to cut-I even used the hint from my friend Linda Weber of using wax paper between the cardstock and intricate die for easy release.  I'm still experimenting with weights of cardstock and shims and such, but lets say Patience is a Virtue!  But oh what great results!  And on the lighter note, I have lots of bits and baubs to use as "accent" snow effects on other cards!  Bonus!  Thanks for looking and I hope as the Christmas season fast approaches, you will soon be traveling like our Lumberjack, with a car full of presents and a tree on the roof, heading for loved ones and a warm cup of cocoa!  Carolyn

Southern Girls Challenge~Endless Summer #59

At Southern Girls Challenge this month, we were given the challenge of seeing summer colors, themes, images etc, just anything that conveys Summer :) You might think this is strange, as did I being from Illinois and we're bracing for some good ole' winter/Christmas weather (supposed to have snow for Christmas!) But then I remembered that the Leaders are from Australia and New Zealand etc. so their seasons are different from ours!  I know-this will make us feel warmer!

This really neat digital from Delicious Doodles is called "In the Harbor" and "Beachy" colors are some of my favorite to work with! I wanted it to PoP off of the blue weathered wood paper so I double mounted and offset the image so that I could put a panel of of "aged" looking fish. Rub-on sentiment from a friend, red/white baker's twine with a silver anchor tied onto it rounds out the card.  Inside I used some more weathered wood and some starfish paper.along with a stamped sentiment from a friend. Hope you like it enough to leave me some love~I really appreciate your comments.

The Men are going Out West at Hambo Hoedown!

I love challenges that stretch my "comfort zone" and this week I experienced that~but then when I started coloring in my Southwest digital Image by Hambo Stamps I just let my thoughts travel through possibilities and I came up with this scenario:  I could picture this dry desert mountain scene right outside my window if I lived in Arizona or if I was traveling through the area in my camper. Then, what would I find surrounding me in those locations:

• pleated blinds on the windows (made here from heavy cardstock, pierced with a sewing machine needle to mark the path later punched and threaded through with waxed thread. Then, coppery blind "pulls" to lift the blinds.
• I glued down a "valance" across the top of the blinds-mainly to cover up the knots from the cord.
• There would be "moulding" around the window-here in brown and even with the corners mitered.
• A couch to sit on-I used stitched lines and lots of shading to show the arms and puffy back
• I created a pillow out of 2 circles of crumpled patterned paper, stuffed with fluff, and ran a stitch around the edge.  Distressed with ink.
• Then added an afghan-strip of paper, crumpled, fringed, and wadded up into the corner of the couch.
• The Sentiment added is also from Hambo Stamps from a previous entry into their great contests.

I hope you will get inspired from the DT entries using this image and get your Masculine card supply built up again!  This is a great way to increase your digital library by simply placing your entry with them in time to receive the next challenge digital image~Free!

Thanks for looking and remember to think out of the box and not get intimidated, Carolyn

Christmas Cards using Fred, She Said-Love 'em

I know I've said this so many times before BUT I love pre-colored digitals, especially when they are so well done by Tracey (aka Fred, she Said)!  There are so many things on your plate during December that when you can cut a few corners, it helps out so much, right?
This time I cut out the center of the Pine Cone Spray Cardfront so that I could put the Hat Tipping Snowman digital behind it.  I tried to take a closer picture so you could see the stickle accents on his image and the evergreen branches as well as the white Puffy paint that I put on the pinecones to look like plops of snow.  I mounted the cardfront (oops I see that the top corner is not quite stuck down-will fix that right away!) onto a cheery Christmas paper and then placed a green liner inside the card with some red stickle berries.

I was on such a roll with these easy cards, I worked on another one using Kitty and the Ornament as well as the Pine Cone Spray Cardfront again. Used the stickle that I love for my bling and the puffy paint again.  The inside has a lovely shade of blue paper with some snowflakes as accents.
Try these images out and see how fast you get your cards done!

Hambo Snowman Wishes to all of you!

I just get a big grin on my face when I look at this Hambo Winter rubber stamp from Hambo Stamps--It's called Snow Pig-3219 and I colored it up with Copics and gave it a place of honor on my recent CAS card!  I used an embossed card front run through my Texture Boutique with a snowman worshiping the snowflakes and then mounted my image on pop dots.  He's even got a jazzy green stickled hat and boots! I also used the Warm Winter Wishes-4710 sentiment which is one of my favorites.  I used a Spellbinder oval scalloped die on the sentiment and then glued some flower soft on the edges.  There's also a pile of it at the
bottom of Snow Pig.  I accented the larger snowflakes with some Inka-Gold in Silver, icicle Stickles on the snow dots and a large glittery snowflake attached to the image.  I just love the images you get at Hambo-they're so clear and detailed-very easy to print with and color in!  Thanks for visiting and come sit a spell again~Carolyn

Christmas Challenge at Seems a Little Sketchy~My Grafico

My Grafico  is sponsoring this Challenge at Seems a Little Sketchy this week.  We always have such neat ideas for sketches and it makes your time so much more productive when you have a blueprint on how to lay it all out!  You can turn the design, substitute say a flower with a ribbon bow, like I did-gives you many options that you know will work together.
One of our DT members was asked to go to their website and pick out an image/set of images for us to use this time and I think she did a great job.  Check out all our designs to get some inspiration!
I chose Santa for this 6x6 card and some of the accents are stickles on the bows of the presents and the ornament in his hand, some paper lace, coordinated Christmas papers, seam binding that I turned into a crinkly vintage bow by using walnut spray and added a button center.
Hope you all had a tummy filling Thanksgiving meal and now you're looking for ideas for all those Christmas cards!  Come back again soon!  Carolyn

Feeling like Christmas Thanks to FRED, SHE SAID

I don't know why I try and make things more difficult for myself when I make cards-that wild imagination of mine I guess..Clean and Simple(CAS) cards test my senses because I'm always trying to say "what if I put..." but with this stunning digital image from Tracey (aka Fred, She Said) it just screamed to me to make it the focal point of the card.  This image is Pointy Poinsettia Flowers Pre-Colored and can be found here.  It's a great group with a set of the green leaves, and 3 different sizes of red poinsettias that I just stacked.  I chose to mount a button in the center but you could just as well use some bling or some stamens.  The edges have glitter from Create a Craft.  The front is a snowflake folder from Anna at a great Scrapbook swapping site called My Scrapbook Place .  We have loads of fun there-come visit and stay a spell.  The red paper "ribbon" is from my stash and the sentiment is from Stampin' Up.  I finished off the inside with a red top note die and it's just waiting to be mailed to a special friend.
Since Black Friday is almost upon us with all sorts of sales and I happen to be talking about Fred, She Said, this seems to be the time to let you know she is having an online sale worth 30% off purchases over $10--what a great time to use it to get some new Christmas digitals both B&W and pre-colored!  I know you can find something you'd like-
Everyone have a Blessed Thanksgiving and understand that the most important thing is not the food, or the day off from work, But the friends and family that you surround yourself with on this special day.   I would also say that I'm also very thankful for 2 friends Linda Weber and Pat Martin that came to my rescue and made by blog so Festive!  Carolyn

Let me Paint you a Christmas Scene with Hambo Stamps

Even though this week we are all taking time to gather our Friends and Families to our homes and spend some quality moments with them on Thanksgiving Day, it won't be long before the mild temps are turning in to cold and there is frost on the windows...have you ever gone by a neighborhood and glanced those windows?  This rubber stamp by Hambo Stamps is called Christmas Window-4319  and it gives me the warm, fuzzy feeling that I feel when I'm in the cold and you know families are safe and warm inside their homes. It's a very detailed stamp but it's so pretty!  I paired it with a set of Icicles-3101 and the sentiment which can be found here-the number for it is 4710.  Because I wanted to make this card to reflect "the window on the world" idea, I took a few liberties with my Hambo stamp-usually I want it on the very front along with the other features.  But I wanted to create the illusion of looking into something. I love the brick dp and the snow banks that I added so that there was room for adding some thoughts.  There are some little crystals on the blue icicles.

I hope you, all of my new friends, will have a wonderful Holiday, share good food and hospitality, and wear your Stretchy Pants for the day!!

Christmas time at Fred, She Said-Santa's Coming soon!

Welcome to the Fred, She Said Winter 2012 Blog Hop! The flakes will be flying in earnest soon...grab yourself a cuppa something warm and spend a while checking out the new Fred, She Said Winter images!   

If you have arrived from Zehra's blog, you are right on track. If you are just happening by, you will want to start on the FSS Blog.  

Collect a secret word on each blog along the way, leave us some love on our posts and follow the directions at the end of the hop for your chance to win this FABULOUS PRIZE!

One winner will receive ALL of this:

PRIZE:
Bearly Mine Designs - £15 gift voucher

$25 GC to CropStop (provided by Fred She Said)
$25 GC to Fred She Said Store

Tracey-Lynn
Nancy
Zehra
Crystal
GUEST DT Donna

Janet Kay 

Patricia 

Carolyn - me!  

Michelle  

FSS Challenge Blog 

I used the following ingredients on my card:

• K & Company Christmas Tree Scene Paper
• Christmas Wreath pre-colored digi from Fred, She Said with red Stickles on the berries
• Embossed folder green cs from stash and rubbed with Inka Gold
• Center stamp on wreath from stash
• Red crinkled sheer ribbon with matted cardstock tickets with Christmas sayings
• Inside liner is green with gold stars

Your secret word on my blog is  an

Your next stop on the hop is Michelle blog.  

Winners will be selected on November 23, 2012 at 12:01 EST.