VL DESIGNS

Justrite Prayers Go Up

2011-12-31T13:06:00.001-06:00

Well it is hard to believe that another year has gone by. I wanted to say thank you to all that have supported me throughout the year! Today I had some time that I rarely get anymore to create a special card...goes out to all my blogging friends. I pray the coming new year will keep us all in good health and surround us with many blessings! The stamp I used is from the JustRite Kaleidoscope set. I added lots of bling as you can see! The shimmery silver paper that I used for my trim and the die cut is from Pizzazz Aplenty...although it is hard to get a good picture of this shimmery paper. Not much on my agenda until later on tonight...sitting with 2 of my grandchildren for the New Year after church...what better way to bring in the New Year than with our grandchildren! Again, thanks for all your support this year and best wishes to each and every one of you for a healthy and happy new year!

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Color Caterpillar Hugs

2011-12-29T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! I sure hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I have been very busy as I know all of you have too! Hopefully things will slow down now and I can get back to what I love doing! So for today, I have a really cute image to share with you!! This is an early release from Doodle Pantry and is called Colored Caterpillar Hugs...I just love it! My card is a center step card...there are two patterned papers and the three sentiment are included with this image!! I embossed the background layer and the sentiment layer with a cuttlebug heart folder...the green die cuts on the step are from MFT and the swirlies are pieces of the Fanciful Flourish from Cheery Lynn Designs. Then to finish framing out the center frame, I used iridescent string of pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty. Ohhh and of course I had to add a little Stickles to the grass. :):)
Hop on over to the Doodle Pantry and check out the 3 early releases and to take advantage of the SALE that begins today, Dec 29 and runs through Jan 2...50% OFF SALE!!!
Hope to be able to do some much needed visiting this weekend...I have missed seeing what you all have been up to. Thanks tons for stopping by to see me today!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Hugger Tag

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Fred She Said is having a fun little Christmas Challenge! The theme is " Make a Christmas Tag OR Share a favorite Holiday Recipe "
The PRIZE is a $25 GC to the Fred She Said Store. There will be one winner chosen randomly. Entries will be accepted until Friday DEC 30th midnight EST. ... more details at the Fred She Said BLOG

Hugs,
Vicki

FSS Blog Hop

2011-11-18T00:00:00.004-06:00

Welcome to the FSS Blog Hop! If you arrived here from Debbie's blog you are on the right path! If not you will want to be sure to start at the beginning of the hop here. Our theme is to create a project with Christmas/Winter in mind. Well, I wanted to get some Christmas tags created and Fred has the cutest images for Christmas/Winter. I chose to use Emma the Hugger the Snowman Edition. This was so much fun to create...added the sentiment...which comes with the set...along with a few others. Doesn't this make the cutest tag? Well I am sure you are wondering what the prizes are and how to win???? Here you go:
PRIZES: 3 random winners. 1 winner for each prize below:
$30 GC for www.cropstop.com
$30 GC for Fred She Said
$30 GC for Fred She Said

At each hop stop you will need to collect the secret word/s to make a phrase. Entry instructions will be at the FSS Challenge BLOG. Entries will be accepted for 2 weeks - until Friday December 2nd midnight EST. Winners will be announced Saturday December 3rd. Hope you have had a blast so far on the hop and come away with some awesome creative ideas! Now continue on the hop...next stop is at Michelle's!! And one last thing...my secret word is HOLIDAY. Thanks tons for stopping by and playing along with us! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Squigglefly Kris Kringle

2011-11-08T00:30:00.001-06:00

Good morning! This morning I have a Squigglefly image to share with you...meet Kris Kringle! Is this the most awesome image or what???? The image is shaded so lovely that there is really no need for coloring but I chose to color his hat and the berries in his poinsettia. Also added a little glitter to the ball on his hat. The sentiment is computer generated by moi. I love this so much that I actually made 3 cards using this same image! Ohhh and I have to share that all the paper used on this card is from Pizzazz Aplenty...I just ordered some more of that awesome red card stock that feels like velvet...really honestly it just makes the card feel so expensive! The silver paper is some of Pizzazz Aplenty's shimmer card stock. How is that for some Pizzazz??!! Thank you so much for stopping by today...AND leaving some love! Each of you know that I will be by to see you as well...can't wait to see what you have today! Have a great day!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Topiary Seasons

2011-11-06T15:07:00.000-06:00

If you are here to play in the Doodle Pantry Blog Hop, click here for that link. How are you all today? I am tired...I feel like time sprang ahead instead of falling back! Well, I have another Christmas card for you today! This one is using the Doodle Pantry Topiary Seasons set. And I colored this one myself! I have not colored for a while so thought I had better pull those Copics out before they dry out on me! After adding a few stickles to the image, I mounted it on some shiny gold cardstock and placed it on the base card on top of that awesome die cut. The die cut is called Cathedral Lace from Cheery Lynne Designs. I had lots of fun creating this card...forgot how much I enjoyed coloring. This post is short and sweet today...off to get some much needed chores done! Hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing part of it with me!

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

2011-11-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

Good morning and WELCOME to the Doodle Pantry 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! The hop will go from today through November 8 and there will be at least 5 random drawn prizes! The more entries, the more prizes there will be! (one entry per person). We are so tickled to have you all! We are so excited to be showing off one of Doodle Pantry's newest additions to the store...12 Days of Christmas!
We will focus on showing you how versatile the new 12 Days of Christmas image set is, we hope you'll join us!

The set comes in color or can be purchased as outlines only! I chose to use the colored version of the partridge, one of the digital papers in the set, and two of the sentiments! I had loads of fun designing this card and have several other ideas for the set...as I am sure you are going to see from the rest of our DT members! If you have gotten to my from Amy's blog you are on the right track...and should hop on over to Glenda's blog to see what goodies she has for you! The hop order is also listed on the Doodle Pantry blog if you have just happened on my site today not aware of the hop! Thanks for joining in the fun! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Blessed Christmas

2011-11-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

Hello my friends! Well, after a few rough days I am feeling way better and have been able to create some cards!! Today's card I am just absolutely thrilled with...I wanted to create a simple, serene yet elegant card that possibly would be my Christmas card for this year...and this one MAY be the winner! The image I used is from Doodle Pantry and called Blessed Christmas...this was a pre-colored image and the sentiment on the card ALSO comes with the image! Once I had my image manipulated in Photoshop, printed it and then embossed around it with one of my new Sizzix embossing folders....and shame on me I was so excited to use it I forgot to mark the folder with it's name! But it is a pretty popular folder right now so I am sure many of you have seen it, or have it! I scored my base card a little larger and mounted the image on the base card...then I added the Diamond Stickles all the way around the embossed area. Thanks so much for stopping by, leaving some love and sharing your day with me! I so appreciate you all. Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Christmas Wreath

2011-11-01T12:48:00.000-05:00

Hello all, and happy November! Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! Today is new release day at the Doodle Pantry! Laurie has given us a number of awesome images to work with and I chose to play with the Christmas Wreath. My card is VERY clean and simple but thought the image needed no competition! The image is pre-colored and the sentiment was computer generated. After adding a ribbon and some stickles, I was happy with it! The square gems in the corner are from Pizzazz Aplenty. Been a little under the weather the last couple of days, hope to get my hiney moving today...it is beautiful here in our area....sunny and almost 70! Thank you much for stopping in and please do go check out the new releases at the store! Have a great day!

HUGS!

Vicki

FSS Christmas Cardinal

2011-10-26T07:28:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today's card makes me yearn for Christmas and SNOW! I know if I wait long enough they are BOTH just around the corner! I used FSS Christmas Cardinal image on my card for today...it is pre-colored and just one in a series of winter birds that Tracey has in the store. All the paper used on this card is from Pizzazz Aplenty...the silver and green paper has such a pretty pretty shimmer to it that I just couldn't catch on the camera. I used the Fancy Square nesties to emboss the silver layer and die cut the green layer. The flourish is a Marrianne die...added a silver doily behind the image to help set it off the card. My corners were cut with an SU punch and embossed with Cuttlebug folder. As I look at this card now, I wish I had added some sparkle in the image with some stickles or glitter....guess I can still do that. Anyhoooooo, hope you enjoyed my creation today and are inspired to go out and check out this set of winter birds in the FSS store! Have a great day today and thank you for dropping in and leaving some love!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Skating Elf

2011-10-24T21:56:00.000-05:00

Hello to all! I had a pretty productive weekend...both in the yard AND in my room! I had a blast playing with this new image of Tracey's. I used Fred She Said's Emma the Skating Elf pre-colored image. Isn't she just so cute? This was a really fun image to play with...the possibilities are endless with it! After printing the image, I cut it out with Nestability circle, matted with a slightly larger nestie circle and added some glitter around it to make it festive. I don't know if you can see it, but there is also some clear glitter in Emma's coat and hat. I used the Score Pal to score the white paper in behind the image and an EK Success punch for my border. The gold paper I used was from my stash and the gold flat back gems are from Pizzazz Aplenty! If you have not been out to see Pizzazz Aplenty lately, you really need to....wow what a new assortment of beads and stick pin accessories and charms she has! Guarantee you won't be disappointed! Well, it is late and I am ready to call it a day. Thanks to all of my awesome supporters who have been leaving love...it is very much appreciated. Hope to be back little later in the week or maybe even tomorrow, who knows! Take care!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Quirky Penguin

2011-10-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

Good morning! We had a wonderful time at the wedding last night...went with oldest son and daughter in law and really had a nice time visiting, eating and dancing! I wanted to get a card posted this morning before I started my day and got busy. Today I am sharing the Doodle Pantry's Quirky Penguin....he is one happy fella and was fun to work with! I used the colored version of the image....and added some Glossy Accents to his feet and beak. The patterned paper in the forefront of the card is one of the two that come with the image set...and so is the sentiment...of which there are several of them as well! This image pack is just packed full of fun! I added one of my own handmade flowers in the corner for a little more fun!
I am so excited to say that I have been asked to stay on with the Doodle Pantry now until February!! WHOOOO HOOOO! More fun ahead! Thanks to Laurie for asking me to stay on and thank you to the awesome Doodle Pantry DT for their warm welcome!
Well, I better get this posted and get on with my day...I hope your Sunday is a blessed one and that you have fun in whatever you do today. Thank you for stopping by!

HUGS!
Vicki

Wedding Card

2011-10-22T13:03:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Busy weekend for us! We have a wedding to attend today and tomorrow hopefully we get to some of the much needed yardwork! We have a huge oak tree in our back yard that blesses us with tons and tons of shade which means it ALSO blesses us with tons and tons of leaves in the fall! And I need to get my pond ready for winter so my outside friends can survive the winter. Just got home from my workout, got a shower and thought I better get this card done while my hair was drying! This is a pretty clean and simple card but does have some elegance about it. The brides colors are black and white so I thought I would go with that...used the Ornate#2 Sizzix folder to emboss the card around the bride and gooms' names, added some black flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty, spritzed with some Sheer Shimmer and that was it! Not bad for a quickie. Well, have to run...hopefully your weekend will be a wonderful one and I thank you tons for stopping in and sharing some of your time with me!
HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Quirky Owl

2011-10-17T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hello!!! Well this was one fun card to make! I worked with Doodle Pantry's Quirky Owl....OMG the colors and patterns in this image set are just phenomenal. I used the colored version of the image set but it comes with the outline image as well as the two patterned papers that I used in my design...as well as two sentiments...one of which I used. It was just fun to play with it. The pretty square shaped pink bling is from Pizzazz Aplenty. I also used a different fold for my card and also decorated the inside as you see below:

Please take a moment and visit the Doodle Pantry...there are soooo many fun images to play with I bet you won't be able to pick just one! Hope your day was wonderful...thank you very much for stopping in!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Snow Birdie

2011-10-16T11:28:00.002-05:00

Good morning! What a beautiful Sunday morning God has blessed us with! I have a creation today from Doodle Pantry! This image is one of the new releases for this month...Snow Birdie. If you have not had a chance to check out the new releases, please do so...they are awesome as always! My card is fairly simple in its design but it turned out to be a lovely card. The image I used was pre-colored, I added the fake "snow" on the birdie's had as well as on the ground. The patterned paper in the background is included with the images pack as well as the sentiment I used! I had tons of fun with this card! Will be back tomorrow with another! Hope you have a blessed day and thanks for making mine special by stopping by and leaving some love!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Love You This Much

2011-10-15T07:57:00.000-05:00

Good morning! The weekend is here and what a relief. It has been a long work week for me. Hope you all have some fun planned for this weekend. Me...may watch some of the grandchildren but otherwise no big plans...which is good...that may mean some play time! Well todays card is very similar to one I made back in April...it was a requested card for a friend's little neice's first birthday. The image I used is FSS I Love You This Much...one of the colored versions. The red paper I used is from Pizzazz Aplenty...I just LOVE this paper...it is like velvet! The heart frame is my own creation! I designed it it Make the Cut...this is my first time using it on a card and I think I chose the perfect image to use it with! Well, I am off to work out and get my day started...Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by to see me!
HUGS!
Vicki

FSS The Old Truck

2011-10-13T19:19:00.000-05:00

Hello! Quick posting for now...I have been so overwhelmingly busy but had to find some time to create a card for a dear friend of mine. She had asked for a "no frills" simple card for her boss for Boss's Day. Well since he is a man, I immediately thought of the FSS The Old Truck image. This is the most awesome image for a masculine card and the colored images come in several colors besides the brown you see here. I just did a little photo shop and added the sentiment...matted it on brown card stock and voila...very simple "no fuss" card but an awesome card to say the least. I will be back hopefully tomorrow with another creation that was also a request! I hope you have all been well, I need to get caught up on my visiting as I am very far behind. I truly appreciate all the kind words you have left me over the last few posts! Have a blessed day!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Panty Challenge and COUGAR!

2011-10-05T07:18:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I don't have a card to show you today but wanted to remind everyone that the Doodle Pantry Challenge starts today!! Please hop over to the Doodle Pantry Blog to get all the deets and join in the fun! Also...I had a BLAST on Monday night playing with my Cougar again and Make the Cut software! It was like training myself all over again since all that I had learned I kind of forgot! Ohhhh geez did I ever forget! But first thing I did was to create my very very own design in MTC! I amazed myself that I could actually do it...and THEN with some help from my friend Penny Duncan, I was able to cut it out too!! Well, I hope I am on a roll now, I do miss using my Cougar and really should have not quit trying! Here is a pic of the frame I designed in MTC:

Pretty huh? And I do believe I can make it fancier if I try but not bad for a first! If I have any followers that can cut SVG files, please contact me by email and I will be glad to share my file with you! Well, I am off for the day...work, and then photography class tonight! Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my Cougar/MTC joy with you! Have a blessed day!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Hugger-Snowman

2011-10-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon! Well, I have been working on this card for almost 2 hours!!!! I am the SLOWEST card maker in the world! BUT, I had tons of fun creating it and tons of frustration photographing it!!! I used a FSS image today...Emma the Hugger-Snowman. I used the pre-colored image, cut it out with scalloped circle nesties, and layered the image with the teardrop circles nestie. Added a little Diamond Dust to the snow and on Emma's hat. For my card base, I used a 4x6 card and folded the front of the card in half. Added an embossed layer (Sizzix Snowflakes #3) to the front and inside of the folds. On the inside of the card I had a blast with using photoshop to add the elements of the snowman to the melting snow! The sentiment that I used is part of the image pack. The paper I used for the matting and the inside of the card is also from FSS..called Catchin Flakes. My snowflake embellies were made with a MS snowflake punch, velum and Diamond Dust. Here is the card opened up:

Hope you enjoyed my creation! I now need to get on with the rest of my day! LOL. I think this week I may be concentrating on re-acquainting myself to my Cougar so be on the lookout for some Cougar creations! Hope your Sunday is beautiful and blessed...I am thankful for all your support and love!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Candy Cane Ants!!

2011-10-01T05:00:00.001-05:00

Hello again! Well it is a new month and I am delighted to have been asked to stay on as a Guest Designer for another month with Doodle Pantry! And oh oh oh, what awesome images we have to work with this month! I chose to work with Candy Cane Ants.This is one of the pre-colored images...Laurie does a great job with her coloring...I just added a little Xmas Red Stickles to that sweet candy cane. I used a MS punch around the page punch...Vintage Floral I believe it is called to frame out my image...the inside of the frame was cut out using Scalloped Square nestabilities. The awesome red gems, the red paper and the red and white bakers twine are all from Pizzazz Aplenty. The sentiment used on my card is included in the set along with some other sentiments and some digi paper! I just love those darn ants...they are so fun to work with and just make a card unique. Be sure to stop over at the Doodle Pantry today and check out all the new releases for October...and come back often as I will be showing off some more of those awesome images! Hope you have a great weekend...we are off to a wedding this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Candy Corn Ants

2011-09-25T09:16:00.000-05:00

Good morning again! If you are looking for the FSS Blog hop posting, please go here. Today, I am sharing a creation using the Doodle Pantry Candy Corn Ants....OMG these ant images that Lori creates are the most fun to work with! Actually if I was truthful with you...I have worked with this image twice now! My dear granddaughter got up to my desk and took a marker to the first card I created with this image! OHHHH gosh, my DIL was horrified...ahhh it happens and she is such a cutie pie, how could I be mad???? So this is my second attempt at a creation with this image. I used the colored version of the image, cut it out with oval nestabilities. Lots going on here on this card...used MS punch to fancy up the corners of my frame around the image as well as create the inside border piece. I just had to play off of the ghost in the image so I used a cuttlebug die I had to cut out some cute little ghosts and place them in such a manner around the frame that looked like they were hiding behind the frame. The pumpkin is also a cuttlebug die as well as the BOO!. The flourish is from Cheery Lynn Designs called Fanciful Flourish. And of course I had to add some pizazz from Pizzazz Aplenty...the yellow beading around the image is from Judy. You will also see a little bling on the piece of candy corn...I used the Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pens to glitter up that candy! OHHH and the paper in the background is part of the colored image pack!!! What fun this card is! LOL I may just use this card as my dear granddaughter's Halloween card! Yeah one down, 4 to go!
Well not a lot planned today, may have a football game to go to later on this afternoon if the rain stops. Other than that, a free day for me! Hope you all are well, thanks tons for stopping in to see me and letting me share my fun as a Guest Designer for Doodle Pantry this month. Have a blessed day today.

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Fabulous Fall Blog Hop

2011-09-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our Blog Hop!!! Believe me, you are in for one heck of a treat on this hop! If you've gotten to my blog via Robin's blog, you are on the right path! We were challenged to design a creation that uses 2 of the following colors...red, green, yellow, orange, gold or sky blue...and the creation did not have to be a fall design. Now all those colors had me tempted to do a fall design BUT when Tracey created her most recent images, I just had to create with one or more of them! For my creation I used a combination of the Cardinals and Daisies and Blue Jay and Raspberries. I just couldn't pick ONE of those images to work with!! I did a little photo shop magic to combine some of both files into one image. I used the colored version of both files...Tracey's coloring is over the top beautiful. Soooo...now that you know about the card I created, here are some of the deets of the hop!

Along the way, you will be needing to collect a word or two from each blog which will create a secret phrase...my words are A JOY. To WIN, each hop participant will have a special word/s, collect them up to form the secret phrase! At the last stop of the HOP, there will be instructions on how to make your entry. Blog Hop entry date ends Friday September 30th midnight EDT.

THE PRIZE:

£15 Gift Voucher to Bearly Mine Designs
$10 Prize Package of yummy goodies chosen by Judy from Pizzazz APlenty
$30 Gift Certificate to the Fred She Said Store

Ok...now you know all the deets!! Your next stop on the hop is to Darsie! I am sure she has a beauty to share with you as well! Thanks so much for stopping in and playing along with us! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Wee Hummingbird

2011-09-17T08:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Well back from my business trip...oh my gosh it was so nice and warm in Arizona and it is so unseasonably cool here at home! But I do love fall, and I am ready for a change in the season. I am all unpacked and had a little time yesterday to play...soooo above you will see my creation! I used the FSS Wee Huminbird colored image and desaturated it in photoshop...wanted to work with black and white yesterday but ended up with gray and pink! I do love how it turned out though. The MS punch around the page punch that I used was Vintage Floral. The embossing folder is one from Paper Studios (Hobby Lobby) and I scored the right hand side of the card with the ScorPal. Of course had to add some fancies to the card...all the pink flat back pearls are from Pizzazz Aplenty and the pretty pink flouish on the side is from Cheery Lynn Designs called Tropical Flourish. I am finding that I really like the lacey feel and look to the MS punch. I think I will use it quite often.
Today I will be out taking pictures for my photography class...my honey got me a Cannon Rebel for my birthday in July and I am now taking a class to learn how to use it...it was too expensive of a camera to just use it as a point and shoot camera so off to school I go! We will be getting 2 of our grandsons for an overnight visit later on in the day today after church. Hope your day is filled with fun today as well! Thanks tons for stopping in to see me...as always I appreciate the love you leave!
HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Hydrangea

2011-09-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Still out in Arizona but had this card made ahead of time and wanted to share. I had a blast with this card! The image is from Fred She Said called Hydrangea Bouquet. Is it just beautiful? There is a lot going on with this card...the embossing is from a Paper Studio embossing folder that I had purchased from Hobby Lobby...sorry I didn't write down the name of it. The patterned paper on the bottom was from SU. And oh my gosh I am loving that doily die from Cheery Lynn Designs!!! It was just perfect for this card. The bling added at the bottom of the card I had purchased on sale at Michael's quite some time ago. Around the doily you see some flat embellies...these were actually a string of flat pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty and I cut them off the string to place one by one on the doily. I really like how this card turned out and hope you do too! Well I have a busy day of meetings today so need to get moving...I hope you have a blessed day and thank you very very much for stopping in to see me and leaving some love!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Ant Masquerade

2011-09-11T07:32:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Just wanted to share this fun card with you! OMG is this the cutest image or what? This is one of many images and sentiments included in the "ANTS MASQUERADE COLORED PACK" at the Doodle Pantry. Once the image was printed, I used nestabilities to cut it out and mat it...added my ribbon and a homemade flower. The butterflies are from an MS punch just cut from the border strip and placed on the corners for "fun". The swirly is a flourish die from Sizzix. And that awesome butterfly paper...it is included in the colored set as well...this is a really fun set and is so versatile. As you can tell, I am having quite a lot of fun playing with the Doodle Pantry Design Team this month as their Guest Designer. Just take a walk through the store and you will see instantly why I am having so much fun!

Well, I am going to be leaving for the airport here in about half an hour. Will be back on Friday but hope to have another card posted more towards mid week.

One last important note...Today is the 10th anniversary of Sept 11...please take a moment to remember all those who lost their lives ten years ago in the terrorist attack on our country. God Bless the USA.

HUGS!

Vicki

FSS Hollyhocks

2011-09-09T18:26:00.001-05:00

Hello to all! Hope you have had a great week! Geez mine has been very very busy with work...not much time for myself. I created this card last weekend and am just now getting to post it! Better late than never huh? Well this card is showing off the beautiful hollyhock image from FSS store called Hollyhocks. Tracey has a variety of precolored hollyhocks in the colored set...I chose the white ones. I added some clear stardust pen to the image to add a little sparkle. And now what about that awesome frame? Isn't it just perfect for this image? I used the Japanese Lace & Flourish Frame by Cheery Lynn Designs. I purchased the die from Beverly at Classy Cards 'n Such...pay her a visit...she has a very nice variety of supplies in her shop and she is just fab to work with. Her customer service is very quick!

Well, this weekend is going to be a busy one for me...getting packed up to leave on Sunday for Arizona. I attend a conference 2 times a year out there for work. And ohhh geez, yes, I am flying out on Sept 11. I have flown several times on Sept 11 since that dreaded day in 2001 and really have never been concerned or afraid. I have to admit, this year, with all the chatter going on about the possible threats, I am a little uneasy.

I hope to get to play a little bit tonight or tomorrow and have another creation for you before I go. Thank you so much for stopping in to see me! Have a great weekend!

HUGS!

Vicki

Doodle Pantry Quirky Ostrich

2011-09-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I have been asked to be a Guest Designer for the month of September for the Doodle Pantry! I am so delighted to be able to work with this talented Design Team for the month as well as tickled pink to work with Laurie's images! We are working with new images that will be in the store this month and I chose to work with the Quirky Ostrich. How cute is this little bugger???!!! And colorful! What a great pack of images you receive...I used the colored image as well as the designer paper that comes with the set. There are several sentiments that accompany the set as well...including the one on my card! Just a fun image to play with. I will be back a few more times this month to show off some more of my Doodle Pantry creations. Hope your Labor Day is a great one and thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out the rest of the Doodle Pantry's DT members creations!
Hugs!
Vicki

FSS Nolan and Bullfrog

2011-08-28T10:56:00.000-05:00

Good morning to all! Wow what a gorgeous "fall" day we are having here in the valley! My prayers go out to those living in the path of Irene...I hope you are all staying safe. I know my presence here has been very sporadic but I hope to get back on track soon. I have been very busy at work...last week I put in almost 70 hours and this week is going to be a long one as well! Today I was able to drop in my craft room for a few hours to play. The card for today was created using one of Fred She Said's new images in the store...Nolan and the Bullfrog! This set comes with the colored image as well and that is what I used. I added some glossy accents to the frog but you really can't see that in the picture. I used several dies to create my card..and the sentiment I created on the computer. Hope I have inspired you to go out to the FSS store and take a look at some of Tracey's new images...they are awesome as always! Have a wonderful day today and thank you very much for stopping by!

HUGS!

Vicki

Shaun the Sheep Birthday Card

2011-08-14T09:52:00.001-05:00

Good morning! After a wonderful, busy day yesterday, we are off today to a birthday party for our 4 year old grandson. He is a Shaun the Sheep lover...watches him all the time on Netflix when he is over...between Shaun the Sheep and Thomas I am not sure which is his favorite but I made his birthday card with Thomas last year, so this year I chose Shaun. I found the image as a free coloring page. The kite had some kind of a face inside it and I removed it and put the number 4 inside (with Photoshop). Lots of green going on as that is his favorite color! The green mat border was created with Martha Stewart punch around the page punch. The cloud background I created in Photoshop as well with some brushes. I am tickled with how it came out...hope he is too.
I have to tell you part of our day yesterday was spent watching this grandson's soccer game...it was such a joy to watch all these little ones play! I almost forgot what it was like when my children were little! Anyhooo, my grandson is quite the ham...when he saw me standing on the sidelines with the camera, oh boy did he start showing off! Here is a pic I captured as he was running after the ball and waving at Grandma...priceless!

Of course Grandma told him to watch the ball, but throughout the game he continued to show off for us! LOL what a blessing to have grandchildren! And I mentioned that our littlest grandson, Baby Dax was baptised yesterday...what a beautiful child he is and now he is a child of God. I am so thankful!

Well it was just a beautiful day yesterday! I know today will be fun as well so I better get my rear in gear and get ready. I hope your day is filled with joy and thank you for letting me share a little bit of my joy with you! Thank you for stopping by!
HUGS!
Vicki

Baptism Card

2011-08-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hello! Busy weekend coming up for me...just a quickie post to show you a card I created for our newest grandson's baptism. I created the image for this card in Photoshop using brushes. The image of the lamb was a free coloring page that I resized. I have not played much in Photoshop lately so really enjoyed creating this. I had seen a card on the net that I liked and created this one using some of the same design ideas. The card base was created using largest of the Lattice Rectangles nestability. Today we have the baptism and a soccer game to go to and tomorrow is a birthday party for our 4 year old grandson! I may be back tomorrow with a card for the birthday boy if I get time to create.
Today my dear friend Glitterbabe called me to tell me that her hubby passed away. I am deeply saddend for her. She is doing as best as can be through all this but I do know she would be touched by a visit and some prayers.
Well, for now that is all...soccer game in about half hour so I need to run. Hope your day is a blessed one and that your weekend is fantastic. Thanks so much for stopping by.

HUGS!
Vicki

Doodle Pantry Froggie

2011-08-06T11:18:00.001-05:00

Good morning! I am back this morning with a card that was rather fun to create but posed a slight challenge for me! My oldest grandson is turning 12 on Sunday...and I always make the kid's birthday cards. Well 12 is a hard age...not grown up by no means but yet nothing to childish will do either!! So, I had seen a card on the internet somewhere a long while ago with a frog and jokes on it and I thought maybe that would be just the right thing for my young man! So the image I used is from Doodle Pantry called Little Frog. Laurie does a great job with her pre-colored images and it was just what I needed to get this card together! I printed the image out twice and cut out the frog on the second print so I could pop dot it over the original image for a little dimension. I created my sentiment and all the jokes in photoshop and found that cute little dragonfly on the net. It has been a while since I really played in Photoshop and I had a blast doing so and working with Little Frog! Well I am off to get some things done today...and I do apologize to all my lovely commentors for not getting out to your blogs over the last couple of weeks...I promise to do better...and thank you from my heart for leaving love! Thanks tons for stopping in today!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS meets Quilling

2011-08-01T08:12:00.000-05:00

Good morning! First I would like to thank all of the blog hop commenters for the love that was left on my creation! I hope you all enjoyed the hop. To find out who the winner of all the wonderful prizes is please visit the FSS Blog! Well after a small break, I have a card created for you...I am playing around with quilling again so don't be surprised if you see more of this in future cards. My quilled creation was layered on my card with several colors of cardstock and then matted with the spellbinders nestie...Fleur de Lis. And, the sentiment used on my card is one in the FSS store and is 40% off this week!!! Yep, it is part of the Angel Patience Digi & Coloured and the Sentiments Pack and the pack is on sale! I did add some shadowing to the original sentiment in Photoshop to give my card a little dimension. The white layer of my card was embossed with a Sizzix folder and then scored at the bottom of the embossing with the Scor Pal. Hope you enjoyed my creation, and hope you hop on over to the store! BTW, another DT member Anne has her pick for the digi of the week as well so please pay her a visit!

On another note, rather sad one, I would love you to pay a visit to my friend Glitterbabe. She has been a very good friend of mine for a couple years now...and many of you may have had the pleasure of visiting her blog and getting a huge smile from her on a daily basis. Her humor is never ending! Well, my dear friends hubby is in grave health and hospice is now involved. Please pay her a visit and leave her some prayers...I know she will appreciate all of them! And thank you for doing so!

Well, have a great day today, thanks for stopping in, leaving love and please come back to see me!

HUGS!!

Vicki

FSS BLOG HOP!!!

2011-07-22T00:01:00.003-05:00

Good morning and welcome to another Fred She Said blog hop! This blog hop starts today and runs through midnight Friday, July 29th EDT. If you got to my blog from Donna's then you are hopping on the right path! If not and you seemed to have lost your way, stop by the Fred She Said blog for the list of participants. The theme for this hop is FAVORITES and Tracey asked us to interperate that as we wish. So, my FAVORITE holiday is the Christmas season and anyone who knows me well KNOWS my favorite season is winter...SNOW, SNOW, SNOW! LOL if I sound like I am out of my gourd, I might be cause our weather has been so horribly hot (heat index 120) that my mind may be fried or dehydrated!! Anyhoo, I chose to cool things down in my mind with the FSS Christmas Cardinal (colored version). I made the white mat with a border punch I had...and no it was not a punch around the page set! Had to do some math to get it to work out but I think it came out pretty even. Once I had my image printed I glitzed it up a bit with some Sakura Stardust Gellyroll pens. I matted the image with white cardstock cut with the Spellbinders Square nestability and then matted that with red cardstock cut with the Spellbinders Eyelet Squares Nestability. The sentiment was computer generated by myself and cut out with the Spellbinders Ribbon Tab Trio. And all my bling...from the flatback pearls to the Baker's Twine are from Pizzazz Aplenty! The snowflake was cut out using a Cuttlebug die. OK, OK...now that you have gotten through all that you MUST be wondering what the prize is and HOW to qualify!! ONE lucky winner will win:

$15 Gift Voucher to Bearly Mine Designs

$15 Prize Package of yummy goodies chosen by Judy from Pizzazz APlenty

$30 Gift Certificate to the Fred She Said Store

The WINNER will be announced Saturday morning July 30th on the Fred She Said Blog AND the FSS Challenge Blog. To ENTER, please leave a comment on each BLOG HOP POST. There will be ONE winner. A random hop post will be chosen and then a comment on that post will be chosen randomly to win. BLOG HOP closes Friday, JULY 29 midnight EDT so please leave your comments by then. Commenting on ALL the hop stops is not necessary to WIN... BUT it definitely increases your chances of winning and spreads some LOVE! Please make sure you leave your name in your comment! NOTE: some DT's moderate their comments for evil spam so please be patient if you don't see your comment right away.
I hope you enjoyed seeing my creation and enjoy the hop! Please hop along to Debbie's blog and see what she has in store for you! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some LOVE! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

STAMP TV Challenge

2011-07-17T05:00:00.002-05:00

Well today I decided to join in the fun over at STAMP TV...there is a CAS sketch challenge that ends Sunday night so I thought I might try it out. For my card I used all Gina K paper and stamps. The stamps I used are from the Spring Mix set. I stamped the butterflies on the background layer using Tim Holtz Walnut Stain distress ink. The flower is heat embossed onto the card stock and the white sentiment layer is pop dotted for dimension. I used some Chocolate Chip flat back pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty for my corner embellishment. This was a fun card to create and got me back to doing some stamping which I have not done in a while. Well, not much on my agenda for the rest of the day...maybe some playing and visiting are in order. Thanks for stopping in to see what I have been up to and please do come by again! Have a blessed day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Flower winner(S)

2011-07-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Yesterday really got away from me and I am sorry for not posting the winner of my flower giveaway yesterday! So today I am going to give all 3 of the lovely commenters a set of these flowers. Please contact me with your addresses Glitterbabe, Rose Petal, and Rhonda and I will get them sent out to you as fast as FTD! Well maybe not that fast! I spent some time after work on Thursday night and made 12 more...having fun creating them and playing around with different punches. I will be back later this weekend with a creation for you...thanks tons for stopping by to see me!

HUGS!

Vicki

FSS Ornate Butterfly

2011-07-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful day we have here today! Birds are singing, weather is nice and cool and I have the day off! Can't get much better than that! Speaking of beautiful, that is how I feel about the card above...what do you think? I really love all white cards, like clean and simple. The beautiful butterfly used on this card is Ornate Butterfly....in the FSS Store. Now this awesome butterfly comes as as a digi and cutting file set. I used the cutting file set and cut it out with my Black Cat Cougar. I ran the bottom layer of the butterfly through the Xyron, put the top layer on and then added some glitter. Some of the other elements used on the card are Cuttlebug Musical Flourish and Polka Dots embossing folders and Nestabilities Lattice Rectangles and Labels Eight dies.The embellishments that I used on the butterfly body and on the edge of the frame are from Pizzazz Aplenty.
Now that my card has been covered, I have a surprise for you today. Today is my birthday and I am giving one lucky commenter a gift...I have begun making my own paper flowers with punches and I will use Random number to pick a lucky commenter on Friday. Want to see what you will get?

Just leave some love and you are in the drawing! Now know, I am just learning to make these so they may not be "perfect" but I think they are surely usable! Have a great day today and thanks much for stopping by!
HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Teacup Pansies

2011-07-12T08:35:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Hope you are off to a good start of your day today! I have a quick post today...just wanted to drop in and share with you a card that I created using the FSS Blue Pansies colored set. I cut the image out using Labels 18 nestie and added some glitter around the edges and to the cup. It is pop dotted on top of a blue piece of cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug Musical Flourish folder...geez I really like that folder! Underneath that blue card stock the card is framed out with some gingham blue ribbon from Pizzazz Aplenty...I just thought it made a nice frame under the blue cardstock instead of it sitting right on the card base. Also you will see that I used some blue pearls...also from Pizzazz Aplenty...to embellish the card. The punch I used on the edge of my card I think was called Tulips...EK Success. Lot of fussing with this card but I do like how it turned out.
OH GOSH! Wanted to share with you in case you didn't already know...Judy at Pizzazz Aplenty is running her biannual sale on her rhinestones and flatback pearls...BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
Well gotta run...I wish you all a great day today in whatever you are doing! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some love!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Lenten Roses

2011-07-11T09:01:00.000-05:00

Good morning! What a beautiful but overly warm weekend! We were very busy this weekend catching up with each other...my husband and I! He had been gone for 10 days out of state and although we talked to each other daily, it seemed like forever! Yesterday we visited our state park but didn't stay too long since it was really too warm to do any hiking. So I did get a chance to work on some projects since the weather called for some indoor time! My card today is using the FSS Lenten Rose image again...as well as the same sentement I had used on my previous card...just presented a little differently. The embossed layer is one of my new Cuttlebug folders Musical Flourish...I am really liking the way it looks. The ribbon is from Pizzazz Aplenty...AND it is currently on sale! I think it was among one of my first purchases from Judy. Well today I am going to play some more AND do some long overdue visiting! I can't wait to see all the creations you have been making! Have a blessed day and happy creating!
HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Mermaid 40% Off!

2011-07-04T05:45:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th! What a beautiful sunrise we had this morning! I was up super early today...we had an over excited neighbor in our area today who decided to light a firecracker about 5 AM! Yikes....a day off and I could have slept in!! Oh well, coffee is on and I am getting my post ready early! I am excited to have been able to pick one of TWO digis of the week this week at the Fred She Said Store that are 40% off. I chose the Emma The Mermaid set. My card for today was created with elements of the colored set. The "water" paper, seaweed and that darling crab are all elements of the set! I just HAD to add the googly eyes. I had wanted to add a sentiment on the front of this card but ran out of room so I will finish up the inside with "OH CRAB!" Sorry I forgot your birthday! or something to that nature. I also had made this card for my grandaughter's birthday a couple of weeks ago with the same set:

There are LOTS of fun stuff in this set...I hope you hop on over to the Store and put it in your cart! OHHH and while you are there, we have ANOTHER dig this week that is 40% off...Emma in the Strawberry Patch. Please take a look at the most awesome card that Carol created using this set...simply amazing Carol! Well, I am off to start my day...no big plans for the day today...I am just enjoying the day off work! Hope your day is full of fun. Thanks so much for taking a moment to stop in! Have a GREAT day!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Lenten Roses

2011-07-03T18:03:00.001-05:00

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend! I just wanted to stop by and show you a card I worked on today for a friend of mine. This image is from Fred She Said and it is called Lenten Roses. I used the precolored image as I wanted to try printing the image on photopaper just to see how it would come out! Tracey does such a marvelous job coloring that I had no doubt it would be nothing but beautiful and I was so right. The sentiment is also from Fred She Said...Angel and Christian Sentiments. I used Photoshop to do my editing. The embossing folder I used is one of my new ones Cuttlebug Tiffany. The flowers that I used are from Pizzazz Aplenty and I added my own textured leaves using a MS punch. The gold outlining around the cut out of the image was created using a Krylon Gold Leaf pen...looks nice...went on easy...BUT, not so sure it will STAY on that photo paper. Well going to close for now...thanks so much for stopping in to see me...hugs to all of you and have a great 4th of July!!!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS WEE HUMINGBIRD and PETUNIA

2011-06-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Gosh I try so hard to not fall behind in posting! I am sorry for being so long between posts again. Was a little preoccupied mentally...we got some bad news about our new little grandson Dax. My DIL called me to tell me that his checkup at the pediatric cardiologist did not go real well. Our little guy has 2 holes in his heart...his little heart is only the size of his tiny little fist and two holes! Right now they are going to observe him but most likely he may have to have open heart surgery to repair. We are just devastated. We had him for a few hours on Friday night and I just held him and hugged him and prayed that the Lord will see him through it! We were with all the kids again on Sunday for Father's Day and Ava's birthday and got to love on him some more. We just need to put our trust in God. I do have a card to share with you today...the image I used was the FSS Wee Hummingbird and Petunia colored set. I cut out the oval part of the image with an oval nestability and layered the petunia and pop dotted it for dimension. Added a little glitter to the tunies, AND to the pop dotted wee hummingbird as well. I matted the image on the beaded oval nestie and mounted the whole thing on an embossed white layer. I really like how it turned out. Hope you do too. OHHH here it is!

And of course I had to add some blue flat back rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty for a finishing touch!
OHHH and I wanted to mention that Fred is running a sale on a digi of the week each week through the end of the month of July. The DT members get to choose what digi we would like to see offered at 40% off...yep you read that right...40% OFF. This week's digi image was chosen by Robin and here is a link to her card she created with the digi she chose...The Old Truck. She did an awesome job with her creation. I will try to keep you updated each week on the digi that is for sale. Please take a moment and check out Robin's creation and visit the store!
Well, I have to run for now...hope to get some much needed visiting in. Thanks so much to all of you who stick with me through thick and thin for better or worse! Your support is greatly appreciated!

HUGS,
Vicki

FSS Monarch Butterfly SVG

2011-06-15T18:03:00.000-05:00

Feeling a little pink today? I am tickled pink on how awesome this card came out. I know...tooting my own horn is not very nice but I do love how this card turned out. Let's start with that awesome butterfly. This butterfly is an svg file from FSS called Monarch Butterfly SVG. I used the double sided adhesive I had talked about in this post from All That Jazz Supplies to cut out both layers of the butterfly and applied pink glitter to the top layer and clear glitter to the bottom layer. Of course, I did all my cutting with my new best friend my Black Cat Lynx. What a beautiful butterfly. The layer with the white swirly images was created by moi...stamped the swirls randomly with white ink onto vellum. Layered underneath the vellum with various other card stock and of course some more glitter. The sentiment is from SU. The corners of the card were cut with an SU corner punch and adorned with some flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty. Oh and if you look close you will see those same pearls on the body of the butterfly. I love working with vellum and should do more of it. Well, let me know your thoughts! Please be so kind to leave some love...it is so greatly appreciated. Hope your day was beautiful and your night is the same! Thanks for stopping by!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Mermaid

2011-06-13T21:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday...a little late! I have been working so hard to create a birthday card for my little grandaughter who will be 3 at the end of this month. Finally after deciding to try the center step card design I then chose to use the FSS Emma the Mermaid Colored set to create my card...This was a blast! The set comes with all the png files you need to create a scene...as well as an underwater scene background and the underwater paper! And is that mermaid to die for??? LOL my husband says the mermaid looks just like our sweet girl! You have to go check out this set...it is superb and has so many possibilities! I used one of my new nestability dies...Ribbon Banners...to cut out the computer generated sentiment. Of course I had to add some stickles for some bling! Here is a look at the inside....the sentiment was created with JustRite alphabet sets. And that fish with the balloons...was just perfect for birthday cards!

I used one of my Martha Stewart punches for the mat here...thought it looked like bubbles! I am pleased with this style of card and think I will make some more...there are so many possibilities. Well, I am going to get off this computer for the night...I hope you all had a wonderful day today and got lots of play time in! I will be by to see what you have been up to...have some coffee ready! LOL...thanks so much for taking the time to leave me some love...it is truly appreciated.

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Sentimental Flower Doodledallion

2011-06-11T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Well I had a day off yesterday and after playing outside for a few hours, I came back in to play some more! Guess you could say I had a PLAYDAY all the way around! Well, Tracey has a new image in the store...the Sentimental Flower Doodledalion. Such a cute flower to play with and it comes with soooo many goodies including 11 sentiments and some BONUS color pages! I chose to use the precolored image. I cut it out twice and layered it and also layered the sentiment and went around all the edges of the flower with Diamond Stickles. My card front was created using Nestabilities Large Circle dies and the embossing is the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder. I have some new bling from Pizzazz Aplenty...the red square rhinestones in the lower corner...just love them! My day will be spent cleaning my craft room and maybe watching 2 of my grandsons a little later on in the day...after church. :) It is so darn chilly here today so there won't be much outside time! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for spending a little time with me! I will be out to see you all as well. Have a blessed day and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Snowdrops

2011-06-08T07:18:00.000-05:00

Good morning to all of you in blogland! Just a quickie today for you...continuing on with the flower cards I have been creating with FSS images. LOL it is like a series for me! Well today, I chose a "cooler" flower just because the weather here is soooooo hot! This flower is FSS Little Snowdrop and it part of the FSS Spring Flowers set. This set can be purchased as a colored or non colored set and has a bonus paper pricking frame with it. I chose to use the colored digi....my card is very simple but yet I feel an elegance about it. Of course you can tell I did a back drop of embossing, the layer under the image had been taped off all around the edges with Scor Tape and glitter applied. What a pretty card! Well, I am off today...I did some visiting last night and hope to do some more today so if you have not seen me yet, I will be by. I have been having a very rough time posting on many blogs lately. BUT, I have decided to switch to Firefox when doing my visiting as it gives me NO trouble when posting. I hope you have a blessed day today and thanks for stopping by to see me! Please take a moment to leave me some love...it is greatly appreciated as I look forward to your comments.

HUGS!

Vicki

FSS Tulip Bouquet with FSS Viney Flouish

2011-06-02T19:40:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day for the FSS Blog Hop!!! If you have not played along yet, please do so...ONE lucky hopper will get some awefully yummy prizes! My link to the hop is here.

For my post today I am continuing my card creations using some of Freds awesome flowers. The flower I chose to use for today's card is the Colored Tulip Bouquet. I also used the FSS Viney Flourish. I manipulated my design in photoshop and printed it out...added some Stickles to the flowers. I created the background layer using double sided adhesive sheet that I purchased from Tyler at All That Jazz Supplies. Tyler has some awesome customer service AND great products to use on my new LYNX! I took a bar of soap and ran it across the back of my Spellbinders Flourish Impressability so that when I laid it on the adhesive sheet it would not stick so bad. I pulled the top layer of the adhesive sheet off, laid the Impressability on the adhesive sheet and then sprinkled some pale yellow glitter I had from PK Glitz. Once the paper was covered, I pulled the Impressability off the adhesive sheet and then added the silver glitter so the pattern showed up better...I love the way it turned out and LOVE those adhesive sheets. I am sure I will find more uses for them as I get time to play. Here is how my creation turned out:

I hope you have had a great week...and I plan to do some heavy duty visiting as I have not had time to do much lately. Thanks for stopping in to see me!
HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Petunias

2011-05-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

If you are looking for the FSS Blog Hop post please go here.

Hello, hope your Sunday has been a great one. We here in central Illinois have been blessed with another 2 inches of rain this weekend to top off the 8 we received during the week. Needless to say I have had plenty of time to create cards as I can't be outside! There is always a silver lining if we look for it! :) So I have been on a roll here creating cards with Tracey's flowers...you will be seeing them throughout the week and I think I will extend the idea into some bird cards a little later on.

For this card, I used the peach petunias from the Wee Hummingbirds and Petunias colored set. Although you may not be able to see this in the picture, I printed them twice and pop dotted the second layer for dimension. On the base layer I embossed with the Sizzix Scallop and Loop Ribbon embossing folder. The next layer was created using the EK Success Doily border punch...now this is not a punch around the page punch...I followed the same technique that I had done in an earlier card...the technique is here. It does take some time to get this accomplished but it sure does give a new meaning to those punches rather than just using them for border punching. The next layer I had outlined with Scor-Tape and then added some glitter to the layer. I am really pleased with how this card turned out. Hope you enjoyed my creation. Have a great day today! Thanks tons for stopping in!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Emma the Skipper

2011-05-28T10:03:00.000-05:00

Good morning to you all! Thank you to everyone who stopped by yesterday for the FSS Blog Hop and left love! Good luck to you all...and if have not gone on the hop, it is still going on through June 3 so please join in the fun, there are some fabulous prizes for ONE lucky winner! My post for the HOP is here.

For today's card, I wanted to share my creation using Tracey's newest image...Emma the Skipper! Oh she is so cute and Tracey has her in colored and uncolored digi sets. I have been using a lot of Tracey's colored images as she does so well with coloring them digitally and they make for quick card creations! My frame is an svg file that I had purchased a few years ago from Mary Powell...Mary no longer sells her files but I love to use what I have...of course, I cut it out with my LYNX. All the flat back rhinestones are from Pizzazz Aplenty and the tiny little white flowers in the lower right hand corner are actually residue from a corner punch...I just could not waste them! OHHHH geez...guess I should show you the card!!!

I hope you are having a great beginning to the Memorial Day weekend...I hope to get outside in a bit and do some more flower gardening...my other passion! Thanks so much for stopping in and for leaving me some love...I will be sure to stop in to see all of you who were so kind to comment a little later on today. Have a blessed day!

HUGS!

Vicki

FSS BLOG HOP!!!

2011-05-27T00:01:00.001-05:00

WELCOME to the FSS BLOG HOP! OMG I am so excited to be a part of the FSS Blog Hop! Beginning today through midnight Friday June 3 (EDT) we will entertain you AND ONE lucky winner will win an awesome bundle of prizes! If you arrived here from Dani's blog, you are on the right track. If you happened by me to visit today, please join in the fun and start at the beginning of the hop at Tracey Lynn FSS Blog. You are to collect a word as you visit each designer's blog to be eligible to win the prizes...OK enough suspense...the prizes from our sponsors are:

Bearly Mine Designs - £15 gift voucher
Pizzazz APlenty - prize package worth $15.00
Custom Creations from Carolivy- 3 digital downloads
$30 GC to FSS Store

Please be sure to visit each of our sponsors...and thanks to each of them for sponsoring us! So you say....where is my card??? Here you go!

I used my new LYNX cutter to cut out another frame like the previous card on my blog and used Tracey's The Wheelbarrow Colored Set found here in the FSS store. I added some sparkle to the image with Stickles. The flower is one I made using some of my flower and leaf punches. I adorned my creation with some goodies from Pizzazz Aplenty...the flatback pearls around the frame, the awesome little gold dragonfly up in the corner of the image and the stickpin in the flower are all products from Pizzazz Aplenty. I am sure you are going to be delighted by each of the other designer's creations. We would love if you would leave a comment so we know you were here! Your next stop on the hop is Anne. And oh yes.... the word you need to gather from my blog is BIRDS. Make sure to gather your words from each blog and follow the directions at the end of this blog hop to be eligible for the prize and thank you so much for joining us! Good luck to all! Have a blessed day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Birthday Card Request

2011-05-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Hello! It has been crazy for me the last week...put in a lot of time for work over the weekend so that really put the damper on playing with my new LYNX! BUT, I had a birthday card request from my neighbor. She had a picture of her mother and herself that she wanted me to frame and put on a card...here is the card I came up with:

I had decided to try my hand at an easel card. Let me give you a few deets about the card...the frame is one that I cut on my new cutter...created by Paulo. He has the most awesome cut files on his web site...if you have a cutter and are interested, please pay him a visit and leave some love! The sentiment was computer generated and cut out with one of the Fancy Tags from Spellbinders. The bling on the front of the card and on the inside had been purchased from Big Lots...Colorbok adhesive flourishes...2 came in a package for a buck...I think I am going to go back for more of those! Also on the front of my card you will see the cute little hummingbird...that is an image from FSS...Wee Hummingbird Colored...isn't he just the cutest? On the inside of my card, I used various Martha Stewart punches to create some interest, added some more of those flourishes and another of the Wee Hummingbirds. LOL now, I have to create an envelope for this card! It is 5 1/2 square so I don't have anything that size...wish me luck! Well I want to thank you for stopping in...and a special thanks to those who leave some love! I hope you had a wonderful day today and tomorrow will be just as grand! I plan to do some visiting tomorrow and will surely check up on all of you! Thanks again!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Tulip Bouquet

2011-05-19T19:14:00.000-05:00

Hello again! Well I have come back down to earth after getting some time with my new cutter...although my feet are barely touching the ground! I wanted to share a card I created using the FSS Tulip Bouquet Colored Set...don't these look like they were freshly picked? Tracey does such a great job with her flowers and her colored sets are wonderfully done! Although you really cannot see it, I had printed the image twice and cut out the vase and pop dotted it so that there was a little more dimension on the card. Now I have to tell you about the butterfly border...this was NOT a punch around the page punch set...I watched a video from Becca at Amazing Paper Grace...she demonstrated how to create the punch around the page look with your regular border punches...AMAZING! Little bit of work and measuring but I was very pleased with the end result! Although I did try this with one of my older Fiskars border punches and BROKE it!!! Oh well. Well I am off to do some more playing with my new Black Cat Lynx and hope to have a project to show you soon using it...I am amazed at how FAST it cuts and it cuts like butter!!!! I hope you all had a great day today and that your weekend will be even better! Thanks for stopping in to see me today, I will be by to see you all a little later on tonight I hope!

HUGS!

Vicki

BLACK CAT LYNX!!!!

2011-05-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

Hello...just stopped in to say HI! I have been absorbed all evening with my NEW toy! I ordered a Black Cat Lynx a while ago and guess what was waiting for me when I got home today???!!!! You guessed it! I was so excited and wanted to tear into that box as I could hear that baby purring already! BUT...I would not allow myself to do so UNTIL I did my workout at Curves and had dinner...that being said...I have been playing now for about 3 hours...have learned a lot already...have cut a few things out and even did some writing with my new baby! I will be back in a few days to show you some of what I have created with my new toy...I hope you are all doing well and have had a blessed day today!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Paper Piercing

2011-05-16T14:05:00.000-05:00

Hello! Happy Monday! Well the sun is shining on us today after 2 days of solid rain and cold! Bad thing is I have to go to work!!!! Oh well, I am glad to see the sun...makes for pretty flowers later on in the season. Speaking of pretty flowers...oh gosh what do you think about today's creation? I used the FSS Pattern Frame and Flourish Set...and it comes with this awesome flower as well. I took the flower and did a pixel trace in Make the Cut software so that I could cut it out with a background layer. I colored, pierced the center, folded up the petals a little and added some green leaves and how pretty it came out! Please as always, whenever you alter an artists' image in this manner, check their TOU! I am pleased with how this turned out. The leaves and the flatback pearls are from Pizzazz Aplenty, the sentiment is an SU stamp and the frame was cut out with a nestability. The background embossing was done with Flowers #6 folder from Sizzix. Hope you like my creation! Have a wonderful day today in whatever you do, and thanks for stopping in to see me! I will be by to see each of you later on today!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Tattered Rose Spray

2011-05-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

Hello my friends. I am back! I decided to take a few days off work this week and really thought I would get to play quite a bit...well, my days went FAST and the days were so beautiful outside that I just couldn't stay in! On Tuesday afternoon I went to see my very good friend Stef...aka Glitterbabe! We have not seen each other for some time and we live soooo close...but we had a wonderful afternoon catching up. On Tuesday night we got two of our grandsons and sat for them through Wednesday...On Thursday I worked outside in the yard ALL day and on Friday I had a lovely visit from my some family members and got some more yard work done. Today...it is raining and cold...so I thought it was a good time to sit down with some of the flowers I had mentioned I was going to play with. Tracey has some beautiful SVG files in her FSS Tattered Rose Spray and Heart Cutting File Set. I used the MTC files and cut on the cricut. I cut my flowers out on white paper and inked them up to make them the color they are.

And here is my finished card....which was inspired by Kittie...who has some lovely lovely designs.

One more thing...I wanted to update you on my niece's cancer diagnosis...her trip to Loyola went very well on Wednesday...she will need some surgery to remove her cervix and uterus...the doctor is hopeful that is all that will be needed. What wonderful news...thanks to all who said prayers for her. Well, hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I am off to do some more playing...and will be by to visit all of you who have left some love!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS You are in my thoughts

2011-05-09T21:47:00.000-05:00

Hello my dear friends...I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. I thank all of you who have been so kind to leave me some love and thoughts on my creations. Today's card was created with a heavy heart. Over the weekend my 36 year old niece came to me with bad news...she has been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Being a cancer survivor myself, I am devastated for her...but she is a tough young lady and she will fight this as I did and will beat it. She knows she will have my support and encouragement throughout her battle. My family has been hit hard by cancer...lost both my parents within 3 weeks of each other to the disease, I have had it, one of my brothers is also a survivor...and now my dear niece. Please say a prayer for her...this card was created for her. The image is one of Tracey's new images that are available in the store NOW! This image as with many of Tracey's beauties comes colored or uncolored! You have to check out these wonderful images. The sentiment is also Tracey's. I added a little glimmer to the image with Stickles but that was about all...I just hate to take away from the beauty of the image. The embossing folder that I used is Flourish and Floral #2 from Sizzix, the purple rhinestones are from Pizzazz Aplenty and the corner punch is a Paper Shaper punch. I hope you like it...kind of simple in design but serene. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by...I appreciate each of you!

HUGS!
Vicki

FSS Sneak Peak!!!!

2011-05-05T07:29:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I am just soooooo excited to share with you a sneak peak of a new line of images that will be in the FSS store very soon! Tracey has created a line of Hummingbirds with flowers!!! These are amazing! My card is rather clean and simple as I just didn't really want to take away from the image! I used Photoshop to combine the FSS Hummingbird and Columbine with the FSS Paper Pricking frame. I added the embossed layer which is a Sizziz folder. My "red" paper was created in Photoshop as well to match the colors in the flower. I created a peg bow and once that was in place decided that I was done...I hope you like it and go check out the store as it is comming SOON! Thanks for stopping in and taking a peek...believe me, you will see more cards from me using this line of images! Have a great day today!

FSS Parrot Tulip

2011-05-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

Hello and happy hump day! I have been busy the last few days working outside...in the COLD! Yeah even though it is spring here, the weather has been NOT so spring like! We are expecting a frost tonight so I hope all my hard work does not got to naught. I have been creating a memory garden that will contain perennials from my late friend. She was an avid flower gardener...one of the many interests her and I shared. Her brother has been so kind to let me take any of the plants I want from her garden and plant them in my memory garden. I am almost done...and because they are all perennials I am not real worried about them getting nipped tonight. I did bring many of her tulips...which made me want to create a flower card tonight. And Fred She Said designs has the perfect image! I used the FSS Parrot Tulip pre-colored image...and did a little photoshop magic with it. I combined 3 of the images into one bouquet of flowers. Cut the image out with an oval nestability and then matted that with a labels 10 nestability. The embossed background is the Scallop and Loop Ribbon folder from Sizzix. The stick pin base and adorning pearls are from Pizzazz Aplenty...as well as the gingham ribbon. I have been waiting for just the right card to use my stick pins. The pin was actually an ivory pin that I colored with a copic marker to match the ribbon...did the same with the ivory beads on the pin. Well, I am off to play some more...hope your day was a blessed one and thank you so much for stopping in to see me! My next project is to make some roses with a FSS SVG file...so be sure to check back!

HUGS!
Vicki

My First FSS DT Card!

2011-05-01T08:34:00.000-05:00

Happy May Day! I hope you are all planning some outside activities today if weather permits! We are having a wonderfully nice spring day here and it has really been a long time in coming with all the rain storms we have had in the last two weeks! Finally I may get to be outside with my grandbabies! Well I am happy to debut my first card as a FSS DT member! Since it was May Day I thought a flower card would be sooooo appropriate. I chose to use the FSS Daffodil Cardfront Set. OMG Tracey is an awesome artist! This set has all the work done for you! She has colored this set in 3...YES 3....colors...blue, pink and purple...ready to go on the front of a card. I touched my cardfront up with a little bit of diamond stickles and some teardrop flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty...I have been waiting for the right card to use these on and I think they look so perfect on this one! These teardrop flatback pearls come in 2 sizes and can be colored with your Copic markers! You have to try them! Well, I hope you enjoy my creation and hope you are having an awesome day today. Thanks tons for stopping by to see me!
HUGS!
Vicki

JustRite For You

2011-04-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone! I sure hope your are all having a wonderful start to your weekend! I spent this morning with 3 of my grandchildren while Mom and Dad put some finishing touches on a new pool. Ohhh gosh I swear the little ones grow overnight! We just saw them Easter Sunday and I know the new baby has changed in just a week! Well I did get to finish up a card that I had started so I thought I would share it with you today. The nested frames and sentiment are from JustRite...Victorian Nested Frames and Occassions set. I don't have the special nestabilities to go with the set so I had to cut my nested shapes out by hand. The white lacy border is one of the MS punch around the page punch sets and the pink background layer I had embossed with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. Then, I went to work on framing that all out with some flowers! The leaves in this creation were an SVG cut file from my friend Penny Duncan..,and the "ferny" type leaves are the MS punch I have used lately for my flowers. The flowers I punched with a Marvy punch...touched them with a little Momento Angel Pink ink and shaped them with my stylus. I added some "bling" in the middle of each flower and then added the gorgeous pink butterfly which I had purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty! Well I am off to church and then maybe will get some much needed visiting in a little later tonight. I want to take a moment to thank each of you who have so kindly left me some lovely comments over the last few days...it means a lot to me and I love reading your feedback. Have a great night!

HUGS!
Vicki

Time for Squigglefly!

2011-04-28T05:00:00.004-05:00

Well I did get to play a little last night...and I was wanting a sentiment...so I went to my Squigglefly stash and found the perfect one for the card I created! The sentiment is one created by Jess Holland. I love her sentiments. Well, this creation is a little out of the ordinary for me...LOTS going on! I am usually pretty clean and simple but this card was just a little "not me". The label I used to mat the sentiment is from a set called Marquee Labels by Clear Dollar Stamps. I cut the oval center out on my cricut. The swirls in the corners are Sticko stickers from EK Success. Now those fancy adornments on the top and bottom of the label is actually one of the new Fancy Tags Three Nestabilities cut in half. Might be a bit much. I thought I would add a few flowers to the side of the label..they were cut with punches and layered...with a black flat pearl from Pizzazz Aplenty in the center of each. I added a little Diamond Stickles to the label to set it off a bit...Ohhhh and the white layer is embossed with an SU folder. So....what you think? Little toooooo busy? The more I looked at it the more I liked it...but the jury is still out! Thanks for taking a peek...I would love to know your thoughts...Hope you have a great day planned...I hope we get out of our rain pattern here...or I am going to have to call in the ark! Have a blessed day and I will be by to see each of you later!

HUGS!
Vicki

Happy News!

2011-04-27T18:38:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I just dropped in to tell you that I have been selected to join a new DT! YIPEE!!! I will begin designing for Fred She Said in a few days! I am so excited to join their talented team and to be able to work with Tracey's fabulous images! Be sure to stop in and check us out! Hope you have all had a good couple of days! I hope to be back with a new creation tomorrow!
HUGS!
Vicki

Fred She Said "I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH"

2011-04-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

Hello!!!! Surprise...it's NOT an Easter card! Bet you are breathing a sigh of relief! Now mind you, I do have some Easter cards I created that did not get posted....sooooo you never know when they may pop up! I did get to play a little tonight and just had to show you this creation. I fell in love with this pre-colored image from Fred She Said...I love you this much. Isn't she just gorgeous? I thought this might make a nice Mother's Day card. My mother passed about 8 years ago so I have no one to give it to but I do sell my cards so I am sure this one will go quickly! I created the red base of this card and the flowers using cardstock from Pizzazz Aplenty. This paper is just so so soft...like suede soft. The white frame was created using a MS punch around the page punch and the center of it was cut out using Nesties Classic Scalloped Squares Large...which was also used to cut out the red layer. And, I am proud to say I made the flowers! I used a punch and layered several flowers together for the big flower and then just a small single flower for the others. Each flower has a rhinestone center from Pizzazz Aplenty. The leaves of the flower were punched using a MS punch. Here is a close up of the flowers:

Well, have to get to bed! Morning will be here before I know it. I hope your day was a wonderful one. Thank you very much for stopping by to see what I have been up to...I truly appreciate it and always look forward to reading your comments. I will be by to see all of you sometime tomorrow!

HUGS!
Vicki

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T06:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter to each and every one of you! Today I wanted to share my last two Easter cards with you. I bet you are saying..FINALLY she is done with those Easter cards! LOL I actually have more but won't bore you with them. My first card today was created using an image from Phindy's Place called Easter Joy and is for my 2 year old grandson:

I colored the image with Copics, added some diamond stickles for some sparkle. I stippled some ink on the background of the image after cutting it out with the Spellbinders Label 10. To get the green layer of the nestie, I traced over the outside of the die on my green cardstock and then cut that out by hand. The white background layer was embossed with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder. OHHH and one last touch...I just had to add a cotton tail!

For my last card, I used an image from the Doodle Pantry called Easter Bunny and it is for my 3 year old grandson. This image came pre-colored! I added the sentiment to the image...it was part of the Easter Bunny package...along with the background paper! The only thing I added to the image was some diamond stickles to the eggs in the bunny's basket! The border across the card was created with a MS punch and then I threaded some green and white Baker's Twine from Pizzazz Aplenty through the holes. Rather clean and simple but I think it turned out just swell. Well I am off to start my day...having my children for breakfast this morning so I have to get hoppin here! Thank you for stopping in to see me and I hope your day is full of fun and family! Happy Easter to all!

HUGS!
Vicki

MORE Easter!!!

2011-04-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well I am back to show you 2 more of the Easter cards I created for the grandchildren! The card below is for my 11 year old grandson...didn't want anything to "childish" for him cause he is getting to be a big boy now, but wanted to keep it fun...sooooo...I found this awesome image and sentiment from Doodle Pantry called Jelly Bean Ants...and the digital jelly bean paper comes with it! I think this made a cute card for him...added some diamond stickles to the jelly beans to make it a little festive and came out to be a cute card IMHO.

The next card I have to show is the one for my newest grandson! He is only 3 weeks old! I wanted to use the Easter Chicky image from Fred She Said on this card...Her pre-colored images are just the bomb! Did a little photoshop on the image to add my sentiment. Once I cut it out, I used a punch to edge the sides of the oval shape to give it a little more dimension. Added a blue and yellow bow made from Bakers Luster Twine from Pizzazz Aplenty and added some diamond stickles to the flowers. The background cardstock is embossed with the Cuttlebug Polka Dots folder.

I have been up since 6 this morn and have all my cards done! I will be back tomorrow to show you the last 2 and then I promise...NO MORE EASTER CARDS! I am just happy that I am back to creating again and now that Easter is almost over, I can move on to some other types of cards. I thank you so much for sharing part of your day with me today...I am blessed to have you all. I will be out to see all of you little later in the day today...got some shopping to finish up and then to mass tonight!

HUGS!

Vicki

Grandaughter Easter Card

2011-04-21T19:53:00.000-05:00

Ohhh gosh I know I am Eastering you to death!! But I have 5 cards to create for my beautiful grandchildren! So today's card is the first of the 5...for my only grandaughter Ava Sophia. She is 2... soon to be 3 and what a doll baby she is! The image I used is "Eggstatic" from Phindys Place...is this the cutest image or what??? The image was colored with copics...added some glitter to the egg and cut the image out with the square nestie. All the cardstock used is from Papertrey...their cardstock is awesome! Used my Martha punch to create the green branches around those awesome flowers. The flowers are from Pizzazz Aplenty as well as the pink pearls on the egg...and take a look at the cording running across the double layer of eyelet punched border...I had a brainstorm...the cording is Dream String from Pizzazz Aplenty...I used three colors...Yummy Yellow, Cotton Candy and Amazing Aquamarine and braided them. Is that beautiful or what??? Can you tell how excited I am about it? The colors of the cording just matched the colors I used on my card so well! I also used some of the cording to tie the tag onto the card too. The tag was cut using a sizzlet die and the sentiment was computer generated by me! I LOVE how this card turned out! Hope you do too! I will be boring you with more Easter cards over the next few days as that is all I am making right now. Well I am off to do some visiting...hope your day was great and thanks for taking the time to stop in and see me!

HUGS!
Vicki

Fly By Easter Greetings

2011-04-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

Hello again! I just wanted to share another one of the cards that I created for my 6 card Easter order...these cards were made for a lady at work...individualized for each of her grandchildren. Now this card was for a 4 year old boy who loves planes. Gosh, I was challenged! How do I make an airplane into an Easter card? My imagination just has not returned to me yet! But I did find this coloring page and decided to try my hand at it. All my coloring was done in Photoshop...except for the shadow around the plane...that was created using BG00000 Copic marker. The sentiment was a stamp. Added some spring colored paper trimmed on the corners with a MS punch and voila...an Easter card! Now most of you may not have been challenged by this type of request but you have to remember...I have been out of commission for a while! OHHH I forgot to mention the "eyes" I glued onto the plane! Maybe not the most appropriate thing to put on a card for a 4 year old but I just couldn't resist! Hope Mom keeps a close eye on him! Well that is all for today, hope to see you back soon. I am making sure that I return the visit to all of you who leave me love! It is greatly appreciated. Have a great day today!

HUGS!
Vicki

Easter card using Fred She Said!

2011-04-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Hello again! I worked my tail off all weekend to get 6 Easter cards done for an order I had. Two of those cards used an image that I purchased from Fred She Said called "Easter Chicky". This was a pre-colored image so it was fairly easy to go from there! I added some glitter to the image after printing, cut it out with Spellbinders label ten, mounted it on the Spellbinders Beaded Oval. And see the ornate white tips at the top and bottom of the beaded ovals? That was one of the dies in the Spellbinders Parisian accents cut in half and one half placed at the top an bottom. Kind of pretty huh? The paper strip on the side of the card was punched with a MS butterfly punch. The embossing on the base card is an SU embossing folder. Now to get to the BLING! All my bling was purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty....the pink pearls on the image, the strip of flowers on the paper strip and the pink pearls on those flowers....I am loving being able to create again! I am counting down the days until my new Black Cat Lynx arrives! Yes, I ordered a new cutter...I love to create using my MTC program and want to be able to continue to get the updates for the program and getting the new cutter will allow me to do so! Well, enough yaking here...thanks for sticking with me on this long post...have a wonderful wonderful day! Thanks for stopping in!

HUGS!
Vicki

First Vinyl Project

2011-04-11T18:45:00.000-05:00

Hello all! And thank you so much to those who stopped by and left some awesome comments! It is nice to know that I was missed! I had a chance to play a little bit this last weekend and will get those cards posted hopefully this week. I had mentioned that I had created some vinyl wall art for my new grandson's wall...it turned out simply awesome! I had so much fun creating this. My daughter in law found this saying and asked if I could create it...so I gave it my best shot. I was a little afraid of the vinyl at first but you know it really cut well and transferred to the wall well. I purchased my vinyl from Vinyl Expressions...they have some awesome prices and the vinyl is of great quality...not to mention their speedy customer service! Check them out if you are a vinyl user! Well, here is my project:

I just can't wait to create another vinyl project...it was fun and something different besides cards. Hope you like my creation...and if you really DO like it and would like the file, drop me an email and I would be glad to share it with you! Hope you have blessed day today! Thanks so much for all your support!

HUGS!
Vicki

Long Absence

2011-04-05T18:40:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am sorry for my long absence. I have been struggling with many many overwhelming issues over the past few months...but am glad to say, I am doing better and beginning to feel like myself again. I lost a dear friend about 3 weeks ago...we were very close and although she was very ill, her passing was a little unexpected. I am thankful she is home with our Lord and no longer suffering but do miss her horribly. And to go to the other side of the spectrum, I am so happy to have become a grandmother again on March 31! We have a new baby to love on...Mom and baby are doing well. I now have a new staff person at work that is working out very well...he is taking a lot of the stress off my shoulders that has burdened me for almost a year. So....life is looking up, and I will be posting again...maybe not real often at first but surely at least a few times a week. I hope you all have not given up on me...

I do have a card to share with you! On Sunday we celebrated our grandson Collin's birthday. He was 2! My gosh how time flies. What a fun day we had. So here is the card I created for my special boy!

The card is a 5x7 in size...I created the 2 in Make the Cut...and used my glitter pens to write the "a sweet grandson" rather than cut it out. Make the Cut is an awesome software as it lets us work with layers...I am not an expert at it...but am working hard at learning it! The corners on the background papers were created with a Martha Stewart punch. The Happy Birthday sentiment was cut out with a Nestie. I hope you like my creation...and if anyone is interested in the Make the Cut file, drop me an email...I would be glad to share it in mtc or svg format! My next post, I will be showing off some vinyl wall art I created for our new grandbaby's wall! Please come back to see me! Thanks again for your patience while I healed....I will be out to see all of you who leave me love! I missed visiting and promise to get out to see what all of you have been up to! Bless you all!

HUGS!
Vicki

JustRite Love is Thread that Binds

2011-01-31T05:00:00.001-06:00

Hello again...I did get to play a little yesterday! LOL not real sure if I am liking this actual card but I do love the heart mat that I used. I created it in Make the Cut and cut it and the mat with my cricut. I also created the arrow from shapes in Make the Cut. My image is from the JustRite set Stitched with Love. I cut the image and the border out seperately with circle nestabilities and pop dotted the border so there was a little more dimension. I took a Krylon Silver Leafing Pen around the border of the image as well as to bring out the word Love. I thought it would be nice to tie in some stitching to the card since the border talks about the "thread that binds" so used a Sew Easy tool to puncture my stitching holes and use some 1 MM silver thread from Pizzazz Aplenty to outline my card...the bow and rose are also from Pizzazz Aplenty. I hope you are enjoying my creations as much as I am enjoying creating them! Once I am sure my mtc files are perfected, I will be sharing them here on my blog so if you are interested, please come back from time to time. Well I am off to work today...we have a winter storm coming tomorrow...our area could get up to 15 inches of snow between noon on Tuesday through 6 PM on Wednesday...I am a true snowbunny...love love love the white stuff and am NOT tired of it yet! And MAYBE I might get a snow day! Well, thanks so much for stopping in to see me...please leave some love, I enjoy hearing from you. Have a great day today!

HUGS!

Vicki

JustRite meets Make the Cut

2011-01-30T05:13:00.001-06:00

Good morning again! I really was not sure I would get back this weekend but I had some great play time yesterday! I am one happy camper...got to play with my JustRite stamps AND my cricut using the Make the Cut software! I am just having a blast. Today's cards image is from the JustRite Stitched with Love set...colored with copics and cut out and embossed with the circle nestability. And for the base of my card and my mat, I created that in Make the Cut! I learned a new technique from Beanie...go here for the tutorial...be sure to look around while you are there...she has lots of cute ideas using Make the Cut software. Thank you Beanie for the tutorial! If you are interested in my mtc file I will be more than glad to share it with you...just drop me an email...I don't have it saved as an svg file yet but will do so if you would like it in that format. Now...for my bling...that's right a girl has to add the bling....I used an 8MM pink brad from Pizzazz Aplenty...the flatback pearls are also from Pizzazz Aplenty however, they were white...I colored them with one of the copic marker colors that I used in my image. And last but not least, I embossed the card base with an A7 Cuttlebug folder. Those A7 folders sure come in handy for the larger cards. This card measures about 4.75 x 5 so I am going to have to make my own envie for it...but that isn't hard to do! Well I hope you are having as awesome of a day as I hope to...off to do some more playing so hopefully I will have some cards to show you through the week. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me...I will be by to see all of you who leave me love a little later in the day today!
HUGS!
Vicki

JustRite Always and Forever

2011-01-29T11:47:00.000-06:00

Good morning to all! Hope your weekend has started out well! I am looking forward to hopefully having some creating time...that has not been happening much around here! Today I am sharing another black and white card created for the JustRite challenge this week...Love is in the Air. Be sure to check it out and join in the fun...they always have some wonderful prizes and the inspiration is phenomenal! For my card, I used Always and Forever from the Wedding Ensemble and the fancy scroll work around that sentiment is from the You Inspire Me stamp set. I used the Nestabilities Labels Six to cut out around my image and then matted it with the next size nestie in black. I used an SU folder to create my embossed corner...for a little bling on my card I added some of the 5MM Glitter Rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty...the camera does not do the bling justice...these are awesome. I also added a little bow of silver cording (from Pizzazz Aplenty) and a small white rose on top of the bow. I really had fun creating this card...hope you like it and are inspired to join in the fun at the JustRite challenge! Well I am off to have a little play time, thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend if I don't get back before it is over!

HUGS!
Vicki

Love the JustRite Way!

2011-01-25T20:34:00.000-06:00

Good morning! Well I have another JustRite creation for you...well part of it is JustRite! I also used my Cricut on this card. The marquee shape is cut from the Storybook cartridge...at 4 inches and then the shadow is at 41/4 inches. I used a stamp set that I had purchased from Clear Dollar Stamps called Marquee labels to stamp the inside of the marquee shape. Then, I used my JustRite horizontal stamper and created my LOVE with the 95pt Special Occasions font. The white paper I used for this card was actually watercolor paper..maybe not a good choice as far as the ink absorption was concerned but I liked the thickness of the paper for the shape. The background was embossed with an SU folder and the corners were punched with an MS corner punch. Added a black ribbon and accented that ribbon with a button and some black and white Bakers Twine that I had purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty. I was excited to be able to use my Bakers Twine! Added a few black flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty and voila...my creation! Work has been a little better for me this week...finally...I am feeling a little less stressed the past few days. Now I need to get back in the groove and get back to Curves...have not gone yet this week and I miss it...I have been going 3-4 times a week since October of last year...sure don't want to break my cycle now! Thanks tons for stopping in...I plan on visiting each of you who are so kind to leave me some love early on tomorrow! Have a great day and happy creating!

HUGS!
Vicki

Playing with Cricut

2011-01-23T11:33:00.000-06:00

Hello again. I know I have been gone for a long while and I do hope to be comming back more regularly. The last week or so has been overwheliming for me at work. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel...I have hired a new staff person to help with the load and know he will be an awesome addition to our team. Today, when I sat down to create, I reached out to my Cricut...and that darn bug said to me..."Uh, do I know you??? Do I have a new owner?" LOL I have been ignoring my Cricut for some time now...and have really been ignoring my own creativity. So, you are going to see more of "me" in my creations as the weeks go by and as I re-aquaint myself to my Cricut. For today's card, I used the Tie the Knot cartridge that was a Christmas present. Both the cherry blossom cut and the heart cut are from that cartridge. My background paper was created by myself in Photoshop. I love being able to create again. I added a little glitter to the flowers and the heart using my Gellyroll stardust pens and added some white flatback pearls to the flowers...of course they are from Pizzazz Aplenty. I hope you enjoyed my creativity today as much as I enjoyed expressing it today. Not sure what the rest of my day will entail, hopefully some more creations, but if not, I feel great knowing I am back on track again! Hugs to you all, have a blessed Sunday, and thank you tons for stopping in to see me.
HUGS!
Vicki

Glitterbabe's Challenge #27

2011-01-13T05:00:00.001-06:00

Well, I am back today with my first Glitterbabe's Challenge of the new year! I am so excited to be back on track! The Challenge for this week is to use ANY Glitterbabe image...just be certain to add that BLING! AND this week we have one awesome Guest Designer...Vicki from Stamped Smiles...Please be sure to check out her creation...I am excited to see it as well...she is quite a designer! For my creation this week I chose to use Glitterbabe's Envelope Bear. I added the hearts to the image using brushes in photoshop...and the sentiment was computer generated as well. The white layer has been embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and then edged on the bottom with the Martha Stewart Heart Punch. For my BLING, I added Crystal Effects to the hearts and dusted them with glitter, added some awesome red lace and those sweet flowers....both from Piazzaz Aplenty...the leaves for the flowers were created using a Martha Stewart punch as well. Please be sure to check out the other lovely creations that my fellow Glitterbugs have designed on the Challenge blog...we would love for you to play along this week...get your bling on girls! Thanks so much for stopping in to see me today and I hope you enjoyed my creation! I will be by to see you soon!

Hugs!

Vicki

JustRite Creation

2011-01-12T22:24:00.000-06:00

I know this is soooo unusual for me to post 2 times in one day! I had to have a way to work off my stress from the day/week! My workout at Curves tonight just didn't quite do it so I decided to keep my mind and hands busy creating! My creation is a box created by scoring on the ScorPal....decorated with the mini fleur de lis die from Spellbinders...added a stamped monogram with a fleur de lis border around it and cut and matted it with the circle nestabilities die. The most awesome thing about the JustRite stamps is that they coordinate so well with several of the nestabilities dies! I added a decorative border strip on the lid of the box...border was created with a Martha Stewart punch...and of course I had to use a little bling so I added some 3MM cranberry flatback pearls to the lid...from my Pizzazz Aplenty stash! I created 5 3x3 little gift tags...stamped each one with a JustRite center and border...then embossed each one with Sizixx and Cuttlebug folders...added an eyelet...and some Baker's Twine from Pizzazz Aplenty. Well that did keep my busy and kept my mind from the day's/week's events! Hope you like my creation...thought it would make a nice gift for a friend who is fighting to stay well. Thanks for stopping in to see me again! I will be back tomorrow with my first Glitterbabe Challenge for the new year! Hope you will join me!
Hugs!
Vicki

As Sweet As Can Be

2011-01-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

Good morning! This is going to be a quickie post...sorry for the hurry! I am soooo stressed out...interviewing for a new staff person this week and my stress level is rather high...bear with me! Today's card I had created some time ago and never got it posted! Thought it might be a cute baby girl card. The embossing is a folder from Sizzix called Just as Sweet as Can Be...I cut the embossed areas apart and separated them. I chalked and matted the sentiment and used an SU marker to color the embossed area of the border. Sorry I really don't remember where the paper came from as it was in my stash of scraps! The flat pearls are from Pizzazz Aplenty. Speaking of Pizzazz Aplenty....you HAVE to check out their special for this week! Judy is having a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

sale as the special this week! And she has gotten so many new products in! Geez, I want everything! I never really had a stash of "bling" until I was introduced to Pizzazz Aplenty. Now I am building my stash and you have seen many of the items I have purchased. Tomorrow's card will have even more samples of their wonderful products so stay tuned! Well, I need to run! Bless you all for stopping in to see me and thank you so much. You know I will be by to see you tonight I hope! Have a great day today and happy crafting!

HUGS!

Vicki

Just Rite Wedding

2011-01-09T19:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday! I am in hopes that all of you had a great weekend! We had a very busy weekend with our grandkids...it is always great to have them! Today I didn't do an awful lot, was my R&R day. :) I did create the card you see above though! This card was created for the JustRite Challenge posted earlier in the week. The challenge is to use a JustRite stamp on a project along with scoring other than the fold of your card. Well my card is basically an all white card...my scoring is on the back layer of the card. I used my ScorPal to create my score lines. The JustRite stamps I used were from the Wedding Stamp Ensemble and from the Custom Design Cardmaking kits. Of course all my pieces were cut out using various nestability dies...that is one thing I am loving about the JustRite stamps...many of them can be coordinated with the nestabilities. I am really new to JustRite stamps so bear with me on my journey...hopefully my projects will become more interesting. :) I also wanted to point out the "bling" used on my card...the irridescent string of pearls and the flatback pearls used on my card were from Pizzazz Aplenty. I use Crystal Effects as my "glue" to glue all my bling down...it dries clear and hard! Well, I have a busy day tomorrow at work so may not get back here to visit with all of you who leave me love, but rest assured I WILL catch up with you all by Tuesday! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

LOVE card

2011-01-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

YIPPPPEEE today is Friday! Nothing like wishing my life away! And this was a short week for me as my office didn't open until Tuesday! Geesh....well today's card was created with a bunch of those little embossing folders that I tend to do NOTHING with! The flowers are Cuttlebug and the heart and Love are both Sizzix I believe. Added a little glitter and some clear rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty and voila...not too much work and didn't turn out too bad! I am going to have to try to use more of these smaller embossing folders as they are doing nothing but collecting dust! Well I am off to start my day...I hope yours is a good one...and if I don't get back here over the weekend...have a wonderful one! Thanks for all your support and company this week! Bless you all!
HUGS!
Vicki

Another JustRite card

2011-01-06T08:06:00.000-06:00

Good morning! I hope the first week of the new year is going well for everyone and you are all well! There is so much sickness going around...I have managed to stay well to this point thank the good Lord! Today's card is another creation using the JustRite stamps that were Christmas presents to me! This card just evolved...may have too many layers...I had a vision...but this was not really where I wanted to go with it. However, it didn't turn out too bad. All paper used in this project were from Papertrey...the ribbon is from SU. Used the Fancy Square nestability to mat the stamped image. The embossing folder I used on the background is an SU folder...Petals a Plenty and the flowers were from a stem of flowers that I had purchased from Hobby Lobby some time ago...just snipped them off at the bud. I am still experimenting with bows/ribbon and again I feel this one may be too big for the project, however, guess I won't learn unless I try! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving love...words cannot express the gratitude I feel. Hope you have a crafty day!

HUGS!
Vicki

JustRite Stampers

2011-01-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

Well ladies, I have another addiction! I have fallen totally in LOVE with JustRite stamps! And for Christmas, my dear daughter in law got me several sets and some fonts! I am good to go...you will be seeing me use a lot of these stamps in the future! This was one of the larger oval sets...colored with SU markers...I know...I pretty much have only been using copic markers but I have a whole set of the SU markers that NEVER get used...they are perfect for small images like this...that fine point does an awesome job of keeping me within the lines! The nestabilities used in this creation are Labels 10 and one of the small dies from the Fleur de Lis set cut in half...half on the top and half on the bottom of the label. All my paper for this card is from Papertrey Ink...and last but not least....how about that butterfly???? This is an Organza Jeweled Butterfly from Pizzazz Aplenty....is it just perfect for this card or what? Also the white flatback pearls on the ends of the label die cut are from Pizzazz Aplenty. I am here to tell you, if you have not ventured out to see all of the goodies that Judy has on her blog you need to! She just put up some really awesome stick pins in crystal and colors...I know those are going on my "must have list"...BUT I better hurry cause she sold out of them like really the first day she had them on her blog. Well, hope you enjoyed your visit today as much as I enjoy having you...have a great day today!

HUGS!
Vicki

Coming Soon!

2011-01-04T06:00:00.004-06:00

Good morning! Well I am off to work today, holidays are over! I did get to play a bit yesterday and will have a few cards for you this week. Today's card was created with a new "coming soon" image from Glitterbabe. It is called Pacific Dogwood and will be an upcoming attraction at Glitterbabe's Art...be watching for it! What a beautiful flower! I colored it with Copic markers, added a pink border around it using one of my JustRite stamp borders. Then cut out the image and matted it using the oval nestabilities. The background was created using the smaller of the Fleur De Lis dies...cut and embossed 6 of them and glued them to the pink cardstock...then added the bow. The bow might be a little tooooooo big for the card...hope it doesn't overpower it...but it is on there now!!! I plan on doing some heavy duty visiting tonight and I will be sure to be by to see all of you who leave me love! Thanks so much for stopping in today.

HUGS!
Vicki

Free Make the Cut files

2011-01-03T15:59:00.005-06:00

I have been playing a little in Make the Cuts today! I am so excited to be able to create in there AND to be able to cut from the cricut! I am going to share some of my files as I make them...please know...they are very very elementary as I am only a beginner! BUT, I hope you can use them and enjoy them. I will be posting the files in JPG, SVG and MTC format...hope you like!

SVG/MTC/JPG

Hope you enjoy! I would love some feedback...please remember...I am a greenhorn!

HUGS!

Vicki

Happy New Year/Happy Birthday

2011-01-03T10:31:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that your holidays were blessed with joy, love and family! Our holiday was wonderful...spent lots of time with our kids and grandkids. We are so blessed to have them all. Now the holidays are over, we are all trying to get back into the "normal" routine...but we had to get together for one more party! My youngest son's birthday was yesterday and we celebrated with a breakfast get together. The card you see above was created just for him! I inked up the Bird Call cuttlebug folder, cut out a section of it with the Inverted Squares Nestabilities and matted it...the die cut across the center of the card was in my Christmas package from my sweet friend Stef...it is one of the Die-namics dies from My Favorite Things. And I have to tell you, the Happy Birthday was created with my Cri-Kits glitter pens and cut out on my cricut using the Make The Cuts software. I had purchased it some time ago, have not really had the time to play with it...HOWEVER, a very good friend and fellow blogger, Penny Duncan, has sparked the fire in me to begin using it! Penny has been so instrumental in this creation! She has some wonderful videos on her web site for us MTC users...I have had those darn gel pens for months and NEVER used them...if it had not been for Penny's tut, they would still be in the box! Thanks Penny so much! Well, our agency is closed today so no work for me...but I AM going to be playing so I hope to be able to be here more often now. Thanks for stopping in and I hope you come by again soon! Have a great day!

HUGS!
Vicki

Season's Greetings

2010-12-20T08:58:00.000-06:00

Hello! Wow, it has been almost a week since I have posted! Time has gone by so quickly with the holiday hustle. I hope all of you are winding down with your holiday shopping! I am soooo close. Going to do a few last minute things this afternoon. I am not sure I will get back here before Christmas so I wanted to share possibly the last Christmas card! This was an easy peasy card! I let my designer paper do the work for me. This paper was some I had purchased from our local scrapbooking store prior to it closing down. It was a Murdock Country Creation called Winter Day...12x12 sheet. I added some glitter to the snow...matted it on some Gina K paper...stamped a sentiment...easy peasy! And quite beautiful! I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas...and to thank you for the wonderful year you have given me! Thanks to each and every one of you for all the love and support!

HUGS!
Vicki

Heavenly Christmas

2010-12-14T20:28:00.000-06:00

Just logging in with a quick post tonight! Hope you are all well and had a wonderful day today. I just wanted to show you a card I created by request...The lady wanted a religious Christmas card created in purple hues...so here is my creation! I created the sentiment on the computer...the colored layer of the card was created using the Cuttlebug Brocade Window Emboss Plus folder. I added a little bling in the form of flat back pearls and irridescent cording (actually stitched on) from Pizzazz Aplenty...the pointsettia flower is from Making Memories...of couse I had to bling it up a little with some glitter and some more of the flat back pearls in the center! Sorry for the quickie post today...off and running...hope to see you tomorrow!! YIPEE for me I have one more day of work (tomorrow) and I am off until December 28th! I am so looking forward to having some more time off! Thanks so much for stopping in to see me!

HUGS!

Vicki

Toadally Merry Christmas

2010-12-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

Oh wow, sorry for being gone so long...time has flown by for me! I spent all day Friday with two of my grandsons and they spent the night...Saturday morning after Dad came to pick them up, I went in to make the bed and pulled my back out of place picking up a pillow!!! Can you believe that!! Needless to say, Saturday and Sunday were a wash for me...couldn't sit, couldn't stand, etc! But today I did get into the chiropractor very early this morning so I am back on the road to recovery! AND...I haven't made my bed since!!! LOL. I have been blessed with two card orders from ladies at work...for a total of 18 Christmas cards. The one you see above is one of them. One of my ladies has a relative that loves frogs...so...this is my creation for her. Pretty simple...the image is from Pink Cat Studios...colored with copics and a little glitter added to the hat. The image was cut out with the Lacey Square Nestability then matted on two Inverted Scalloped Square nesties cut in half and lined up. The background of the card was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and spritzed with Frost Shimmer. My sentiment was computer generated and cut out using the Labels Eight nestability...added some flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty to the tag and used some of the Red and White Bakers Twine from Pizzazz Aplenty to tie the tag to the image. Turned out kind of cute! I hope to be back tomorrow with another creation...and I will be sure to come by and see all of you as well...I thank you for stopping in to see me today and hope the rest of your day is a great one!

HUGS!
Vicki

Glitterbabe Challenge!

2010-12-09T04:00:00.003-06:00

Hello it's Thursday and time for another Glitterbabe Challenge! This week Glitterbabe challenged her Glitterbugs to create a Christmas Card without the traditional red and green colors AND we are being sponsored by Pizzazz Aplenty!!! You have heard me talk about Pizzazz Aplenty for a while now...believe me, you HAVE to visit Judy...she has the most awesome bling at the most reasonable prices and of the utmost quality. For my card today the "bling" I used from Pizzazz Aplenty is the 8mm pink brads and the white metallic banyon leaves...gosh I so wish I had used a darker color so the leaves showed up better...they are awesome. If you want to see them a little closer, just click on the pic and you can see a close up. For the rest of the card design, I used Glitterbabe's Dove image as well as one of her Christmas sentiments. I so love the Dove image...it just makes me think of peace. Thanks to my dear friend Glitterbabe for drawing us such awesome images to create with! The corners for each of the layers was punched with a MS punch and the medallion is the Nestability Fleur de Lis....Oh and of course I had to add some embossing...the top pink layer is embossed with the Sizzix Snowflake #3 embossing folder. Please hop on over to the challenge blog and check out the rest of the DT's art! And play along with us!!! The prize is awesome...nope not telling you...get your hiney over to the challenge blog to see what it is!!! Hope your day is an awesome one...and I just want to say how much I appreciate all the comments on my cards...thank you soooo much!

HUGS!
Vicki

Another Snowflake card!

2010-12-08T04:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Hump Day!!! Well you guys are really going to think I am giving you one big snow job!!! All of my most recent postings have to do with snow and snowflakes! I PROMISE to change this up a bit for tomorrow! Today's creation I used the Cuttlebug Snowflake die to create the flake, Fancy Circle and Standard Circle nestabilities to mat it. I used an SU punch that I had purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty to make my silver border around the red layer...yeah it was time consuming to cut and try to line them up but it didn't turn out too bad. The ribbon I added was from my stash...more than likely from Hobby Lobby...and the Shiny Silver flatback pearls are also from Pizzazz Aplenty. The red cardstock is embossed with the Sizzix Snowflake #3 folder ...and yes, the card stock is also from Pizzazz Aplenty! I have ranted and raved about the texture and quality of this red card stock in previous posts...it is just right for the season. Be sure to check out the new and used craft items that Judy has for sale at Pizzazz Aplenty...she has stamps, ink, punches, cricut items, etc for sale. Well I am off to begin my day...I hope yours is a great one and I look forward to visiting you all later on tonight to see what you have been up to! Thanks for stopping by!

HUGS!
Vicki

Sad Goodbye to Squigglefly

2010-12-06T04:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday! This is a sad day for me...today is the last day for me on the Squigglefly DT...my term is up. I enjoyed working with the rest of the DT and with the Squigglefly images...thank you for having me Squigglefly! For our challenge today, we were to create a card using snow and or snowflakes...well if you have been visiting me lately, you know snowflakes come easy for me! LOL right up my alley as we sit in about 7 inches of new snow here in my neck of the woods! I chose to use Santa Mailbox image...colored with copics and Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll pens. I used some "Holly Snow" at the bottom of my image and added an embossed background of snowflakes using the Sizzix Snowflakes embossing folder. I used the Square Nestie and the Eyelet Square Nestie to enhance my image. Add a ribbon and some bling from Pizzazz Aplenty and voila...Be sure to join us over at the Challenge Blog...and check out my fellow DT members awesome creations for some inspiration. I hope your day is a great one...thanks so much for coming by and leaving some love!

HUGS!
Vicki

To a Wonderful Friend

2010-12-05T13:35:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone...I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. I have been playing a little bit today, trying to catch up with challenges for the next week and having fun with a new image by Jess Holland at Squigglefly. The image is called Wonderful Friend. I decided to make this into a holiday card using the snowflakes and silver foil paper. The card base is cut out using the largest of the Labels Eight Nestabilites cut on a folded piece of paper. I then took the next size down from there and cut out the other white layer and embossed it with Sizzix Snowflakes #3 embossing folder. To get the silver layer, I took that same die and put it on the paper and traced around the oustide of it to get a slightly larger shape...of course I had to cut this layer out by hand. I cut the Oval shape out of the white layer using the Ovals Nestabilities...and becasue I wanted my oval cut out on the silver layer to be slightly smaller, I traced on the inside of that oval nestie and cut it out by hand as well. IF I was lucky enough to have both the Ovals LG and Ovals SM I would probably not had to do all that hand work, but since I don't, I improvised! I decided the card was complete once I cut out a white and black snowflake using the MS snowflake punch...I used an 8MM Crystal Brad trimmed in silver from Pizzazz Aplenty for the center of my snowflake. Thanks tons for stopping by! I plan on doing some visiting today now that I feel "caught up"...plan on seeing me at your place a little later on today!

HUGS!
Vicki

Card and first snow!

2010-12-04T13:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday to you all! Well we got our first big snowfall of the season overnight last night and this morning...a whopping 7 inches for sure...could actually be more! Any of you who know me, know I LOVE snow! I am the one who gets all excited when a snow storm is predicted then depressed when whe don't get anything! LOL I know, crazy...So today's card is perfect for the weather outside! The background of the card is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, cut and embossed the Beaded Oval Nestie....added some snowflake ribbon. The adornments on the ends of the ribbons are the ends of one of the Nestabilities Fancy Labels. The snowflake in the center of the card is a brad from Paper Studio Spare Parts...purchased at Hobby Lobby. Well, I have to run...lots to do today and not enough time in the day! I hope your day is wonderful...thank you so much for stopping by! Catch you all later!

HUGS!
Vicki

Glitterbabe Challenge

2010-12-02T04:00:00.002-06:00

OHHHHH it is Thursday again and time for a new Glitterbabe Challenge! This week we are being sponsored by Digi's with Attitude and we must use button(s). We were given a couple of images to use and some sentiments...The image I used is called Birthday Gretchen...I colored the image with copic markers...the icing on the cake is colored using Sakura Stardust GellyRoll pens. I used nesties to cut out my colored image and to mat it...the background paper is from DCWV and the corners were cut using a MS punch. I added a couple of black swirls and done! What fun it was to work with this image...you have to stop by the challenge blog to see what my fellow Glitterbugs created...and hey...why not join in the fun! Hope your day is wonderful, thanks tons for stopping in and leaving some love!
HUGS~
Vicki

Family pic and a card

2010-11-30T19:31:00.001-06:00

Well it has almost been a week since I posted last! Time is just getting away from me. I have an awesome card to share with you today...I cased this card off of Kittie at Kittie Krafts. Thanks so much for the inspiration Kittie! Is this beautiful or what? All of my paper is from Pizzazz Aplenty, the punch is a MS punch and the ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. The greenery is also a MS punch with a little "Holly Snow" on it...what you think? I also wanted to take a moment to share a pic of my babies from Thanksgiving! My oldest son is sitting with all 4 of my grandchildren on one couch...let me tell you this is a very very rare occasion to get all 4 kids in one pic at the same time! Of course grandma seen this as a photo op!

Meet from left to right...my oldest son, Michael, Collin James(1 1/2), Jacob Michael (3), Ava Sophia (2) and Nathan Michael (11)...what a blessing I have received from God! Well, hope you had a wonderful day today and thank you for visiting and letting me share my joy with you!

HUGS,

Vicki

Glitterbabe Sale on Friday and a NOEL card!

2010-11-24T15:35:00.000-06:00

Hello and happy Wednesday! I wanted to share with you a sale going on at Glitterbabe's Art Shop! She has some really awesome xmas images out there...please stop by and take a look...you'll be sure to want them all!! I also have a card to share with you today...

This image was in a bag of stamps that was given to me and it does not have a notation on it as to what company put it out. I hate when that happens...oh well, I love how this turned out. I colored the image with copics, blinged it up with 2mm red rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty and cut it out and matted it with the Long Rectangle Nestie. Added a 1/2 inch strip of Scor Pal tape under the image and glittered it up! The punch used at the bottom of the card is a MS punch. All the card stock used on this card was purchased from Pizzazz Aplenty as well...I wish you could see the red card stock...it is sooooo shimmery...really adds to the card. Well I am off to finish up some cooking for tomorrow. I hope each and every one of you have a blessed Thanksgiving...I am thankful for each and every one of you...thank you for stopping in today!

HUGS!
Vicki

Squigglefly Challenge

2010-11-22T04:00:00.002-06:00

It's time for another Squigglefly Challenge! Our challenge this week is to create something with a Thank You/Give Thanks theme. I decided to go with the color scheme of Thanksgiving/fall but to use one of the Squigglefly images that screams Thanks! The image I used is Shy Bear Hugs. Colored the image with copic markers and stippled a little Momento Tangelo ink on the background. All the paper used for my card is from Papertrey Ink...and of course you can see I used nestabilities too! The Thank You sentiment is from Just Rite Stamps and the embossing folder I used was Cuttlebug Dots. Please be sure to stop over at the Squigglefly Challenge blog to see with my fellow DT members created...they are all so awesome. If you have not been to Squigglefly lately, be sure to check them out. There was a really big release this weekend and they introduced THREE new artists! One of the new artists is none other than fellow design team member Marlene Shaw! We are also welcoming Brian Lock and Suzanne Urban to Squigglefly. Well I am off to have a few medical tests today and then plan on getting some thorough housecleaning done! Wish me luck with that housecleaning! LOL. Hope you all have a great day...thanks for stopping in!

HUGS!
Vicki

Simple Card

2010-11-21T16:47:00.000-06:00

Back again! I hope your Sunday has been a great one. We worked out in the yard for a while today to put away the last of the summer things and raked some leaves. We have a huge oak tree in our back yard that covers the whole back yard like an umbrella...it is beautiful and provides us with tons of shade in the summer and blesses us with TONS of leaves in the fall! I am about to start dinner but wanted to get this card posted. Today's card is created using the largest of the Scalloped Circle Nestabilities....fold a piece of paper in half and place the nestie a little above the fold to get a card. :) I then cut out a circle nestie in blue and embossed it and for the top layer, I used a silver foil doily with the solid center cut out. My snowflake is something I picked up in the dollar bin at Michaels this summer....now I wish I had more of them! Well, got to run and get that chicken pot pie made for dinner...have a great rest of you Sunday and thanks for stopping by today!

HUGS!
Vicki

Card Mistake...but turned out ok

2010-11-20T12:27:00.000-06:00

Good morning! Well I am in my 3rd day of being off work and am loving every minute of it! My card stash is growing and I am a happy camper to be able to play to my hearts content! Sometimes though, playing gets a little frustrating for me when things don't quite turn out as I had planned...today's card is an example of that. I was attempting to make a small card with the largest of the Eyelet Squares Nestabilites...unfortunately, the card stock I used (Gina K Pure Luxury) was toooooooo thick to cut through! So, I ended up with a card that actually had a "lift up flap". I know no other way to describe it! LOL I can get myself into some crazy situations. However, rather than throw away that awesome paper, I decided to try to make the best of it. I stamped my image using some stamps from Close to My Heart that my friend Stef had given to me...matted it onto an Eyelet Square, bordered it in red with an Inverted Scalloped Square Nestie. I really like how it turned out....added some glitter to 1/2 inch Scor Pal tape and voila...a rather "different card. Here is the inside:

Nothing fancy at all but kind of different...I just didn't want to waste my cardstock! Hope you like...let me know what you think. I hope all of you have a blessed day today...I am hoping to see my grandbabies today after church so won't have much play time today. Thanks for stopping in to see me!

HUGS!
Vicki

New Image from Glitterbabe!

2010-11-18T19:51:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am sorry for the long absence...I didn't get back here as I had planned. Work has been very very challenging and hard for me over the last 8 months...I find it harder and harder to get creative time. HOWEVER, starting today, I am off work until November 29!!!! I am so pleased to be able to sit and play. Today I made 4 new cards...and the one I am showing you today is one of them. My image is from the one and only GLITTERBABE! It is one of her newest releases and I am LOVING it. The image is called Silhouette Flower. It is actually only one flower...I took it into photoshop and added another flower and some shadowing. Stef just has a way with flowers, and this one spoke to me immediately. Please stop by Glitterbabe's shop...I especially like that you get a colored image along with your black and white one! I have a few other ideas for the image I used today too so you will be seeing me use it again. I used some of my new nestabilities with this card...specifically the Beaded Ovals...along with the regular and scalloped ovals. The black paper that I used on this card is to die for...it from Pizzazz Aplenty and it is as smooth as silk! The lace and the pearls are also a product from Pizzazz Aplenty...believe me, you do not know what you are missing out on if you don't pay Judy a visit...she has been adding new product weekly and she always has weekly freebies to add to your order if it meets the requirements. Well I am done for today, need to take a break from creating and spend some time with my hubby! Love you all for sticking with me...hope your day was beautiful!

HUGS!
Vicki

Week off

2010-11-08T20:31:00.001-06:00

Hello my friends! I am going to need to take this week off from posting...I will be leaving for Baltimore MD for a 3 day work conference on Wednesday. I will try to be back on the weekend with some more creations. For sure I will be out to visit all of you who have been so kind to leave me love during my off time out there! Thanks so much for hanging with me! I truly treasure your visits.

HUGS.
Vicki