Make It Monday with Digi My World

Hello and welcome back to another Make It Monday linky party! Congratulations to our winner and to those chosen by the design team as their Pick of the Week! I'm always blown away at the level of talent out there and visiting your blogs is one of my fave things to do. :) Our sponsor this week is Digi My World and we thank them for providing the team with terrific images to work with. My teamies created a wide variety of cards & projects to share with you so check out the MIM blog to view their amazing inspiration or click their links in my sidebar.

This card was a lot of fun to create using Wendy in Flight and I knew when I saw her that I wanted to create a scene for her. I went digging through my Halloween stamps and found a set by Taylored Expressions that was perfect. I stamped my images and colored them with Copic markers, which I also used on my digi. Since Wendy is a teenage witch I added some sparkle with Orange Peel Stickles to her hat & cape and applied glossy accents to her boots. I fussy cut the digi image and popped it up on 3D dimensional dots as well as two of the clouds. The falling leaves are kept at bay by the Spooky Fence die but it won't keep the black cat from slipping through the cracks. ;) I exercised artistic freedom on the roof of the house & chimney by drawing in shingles and bricks and I inscribed DUKE (the beloved family pet) on the tombstone. To achieve the harvest glow I was going for I used T!m's distress inks in wild honey & black soot with buttercup liquid pearls framing my scene.

Now for my Pick of the Week, drumroll please.........it's #208 Cathy D's Tropical Picture Frame with Graphic 45's Tropical Travelogue papers. The photo was taken while they were in Hawaii on vacation and she gave it to her husband as a birthday present. I am quite sure he loved this, I know I do! Thanks for the amazing inspiration Cathy and I love your version of 3D scrapbooking. :) Be sure to stop by her blog and view the amazing close ups.

This week we are being sponsored by the fun and funky Digi My World!

 

They are offering the lucky random winner a $10 gift voucher to spend in store - how fab is that?!


I'm linking this card up at Catered Crop-Halloween Screams Recipe Swap  and Party Time Tuesdays #88-Frightfully Scary Projects and Cards. Okay, we've shown you our creations now we want to see what you create this week. In the meantime the DT will be popping by and leaving some comment love along the way. See ya soon!

Happy Crafting,

Lisa

Make It Monday #107

Hi guys and welcome back to another linky Make It Monday party! Michelle is currently on holiday with her family and our fearless leader for the next few weeks is Lisa Minckler. I know what you are thinking, now it's a party. hehehe This week we are sponsored by the fabulous Meljen's Designs and I'm using the Country Star Pumpkin digital image. I'm so happy that fall is nearly here in the US and the temps will start cooling off for good.

My inspiration for this card came from the fall season itself-every fall kids are back in school, state fairs are being hosted around the US, and pumpkins are a familiar sight. The papers in the Crate Paper's School Spirit Collection were a perfect fit with my theme. I distressed the score card & alpha dp's and attached to my orange base. One of the dp's in the pack featured student's grade cards and I fussy cut two of them to add a pop of color and visual interest. A Webster's Pages Country Birds Whimsies in brown perches atop one of them and makes himself at home. ;-) The star of the show however is my Country Star Pumpkin image which I colored with Copic markers. Spellbinders dies created my layered panels for my image and Kaisercraft Chocolate Pearls anchor the corners while brown polka dot ribbon adds a bit of whimsy. I'd like to thank our generous sponsor for providing the design team with digital images to work.

Every week the DT is asked to choose one entry for our Pick of the Week and I'm finding it harder and harder to choose only one. I'm thinking maybe I could pick one for every category entered like cards, LO's, altered projects, mixed media, etc... what do you think? After all, Michelle is away on holiday and they say while the cat's away the mice will play. I was torn this week so I'm going for it with my POTW and a runner-up. Shhhh! My POTW is #32 Heather A. Hudson and her gorgeous shabby mini album. It made my heart sing and she's taken terrific close ups of each page and provided wonderful details of how she created it. Be sure to click the link above to see this beauty for yourself. My runner up is #55 Amanda Davis and her adorable little handbag which is seriously too cute. Thanks for all the inspiration ladies and to all of the amazing weekly entries!

POTW designed by #32 Heather A. Hudson

 



Runner up designed by #55 Amanda Davis


 



Sponsor

 

This week we are being sponsored once again by the ever fun and cute Meljen Designs Digital Stamps!

http://shop.meljensdesigns.com/

Meljen Designs Digital Stamps are giving away the lovely prize of the winner's choice of 4 single digis!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to check out my teamie's blogs to see their amazing creations. Have a great week everyone and happy crafting!

Hugs,

Lisa


Make It Monday #103

Hi everyone, I've been sitting on some exciting news but I can finally let the cat out of the bag. A few weeks ago Michelle, owner of the weekly Make It Monday Linky Party, asked me to join her design team. I'm a big fan of this challenge where "Anything Goes" so I quickly replied YES to her email. ;-) The team has given me a warm welcome and I'm so appreciative. Thanks ladies! I am replacing Karen who recently stepped down from the design team so I have some big shoes to fill. I wish Karen all the best and want to thank Michelle again for the invite to join MIM. This is a humorous group so there will be a lot of chuckles along the way. Wish you could see me because I'm doin' a happy dance right now. :-)

My card features the Seafaring Seagull Frame, by our current sponsor Meljen's Designs Digital Stamps, and I colored my digi image with Copics. Stickles, antique linen distress ink and twine are the only embellishments on this CAS card. It was quick and easy to create which is one of the perks digi's can offer. It's great to have an all purpose card in my stash which I can use the next time an occasion pops up and I'm unprepared lol.

To see more inspiration using Meljen's Designs Digital Stamps head on over to MIM and check out the amazing creations by my teamies. You'll be inspired!

Make It Monday



Our Fabulous Sponsor

Meljen's Designs Digital Stamps are giving away the lovely prize of the winner's choice of 4 single digi's!

Remember, to be in the running to win the prize from our sponsor this week just leave a comment for another entry. Be sure to mention you saw them on Make It Monday. The more entries you comment on the more chances you have of winning!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you create this week, good luck everyone!!!

Hugs,

Lisa xx



Have a fantastically magical day!

Designed by Lisa S. for Nicecrane Designs

Happy Friday everyone! I'm here to share with you a card that features an ATC from Alice Through Time ATC/ACEO Backgrounds by Nicecrane Designs. I'm excited about it because I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland and these vintage images are a must have for Alice lovers everywhere. I used Deconstructed Sketch #63 by Jen Shults for sketch inspiration however I did move my sentiment to accommodate my ATC image. ;) There are several fab Alice collage sheets by Nicecrane Designs and here's a little preview.

This card came together super fast with coordinating papers from Graphic 45's Halloween in Wonderland 8x8 paper pad. Blue crochet trim separates my vertical panels and my pom pom trim adds a vintage touch while my natural twine & button add a homespun touch. I die cut a circle to stamp my sentiment on and a scalloped oval with polka dots adds some whimsy. A little faux stitching around the edge and I was finished in record time.

Designed by Lisa S. for Nicecrane Designs

The Alice collage sheets are wonderful to use for altered art, card making, scrapbooking, ATC's and more. If you fancy these you can see all of them by clicking the graphic below.

I'm entering this card in the Make It Monday Challenge #100, The Ribbon Reel Challenge #33-Button It, Paper Play Challenge Wk. 31-Layer it Up, and I'm linking up with 52 Card Pickup-Wk. 31 at the Old Back Porch.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Lisa

Stamps: Birthday Surprise (Verve)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: ATC (Nicecrane Designs), Halloween in Wonderland (Graphic 45), cs
Accessories: Spellbinders Std. Circles Lg. & Big Scalloped Ovals Lg.; Vintage Style Buttons (Jenni Bowlin); natural button twine (WMS); black precision pen (American Crafts); blue vintage crochet trim & pom pom trim (LSS)

You Are Such a Joy to Me

I'm back to play along with the current CR84FN #59 color challenge  and I'm fashionably late. The story of my life these days. :( Anyway, I did not want to pass up the chance to play with this  awesome trio of colors-coral, brown and tan. It's such a rich palette that I opted for simplicity on this card. I let the beautiful dp {with a Sonnet by William Shakespeare} do most of the work but I did stamp a floral scroll image to highlight part of the text. Keeping things truly simple I accented with a wood die cut butterfly that I inked with coral rose chalk ink. A coral dp backs my sonnet page and there's coral in the glittered butterfly on the page in the lower left corner. I created my own dp by using a roller script stamp inked with Rich Cocoa and randomly stamping over a tan piece of cardstock. You see brown again in the crochet trim and trio of pearls on opposite corners.

Because the dp was so pretty and there was text all over it I did not want to stamp my sentiment on the front but chose to do so on the inside. I backed it with a lacey oval die cut out of the same coral dp on the front and fussy cut a butterfly from a coordinating dp from the same paper pack. I'm not going to sign the card but instead I plan to include a handwritten note sharing why this special person is such a joy to me. Also, I did something a little different here-I stamped the sentiment first in a light coral ink then came back and stamped over it in a darker shade giving it a slight shadow effect. It doesn't always work but I'm okay with how it turned out this time. You do have to be careful and it works better with clear stamps because you can see where you are inking. No offense to rubber or wood stamps. ;)

I'm also playing along with Just Us Girls-Inspiration Challenge #147 and linking up with the weekly linky party at Make It Monday #100 w Scrapbook Sisters where they are celebrating their 100th challenge. Yay! A big thank you to the design teams at each of the challenges for providing weekly inspiration and making it fun to papercraft. :) Here's a look at the beautiful CR84FN color challenge inspiration photo.

and the inspiration photo from Just Us Girls.

Hope I did not ramble too much, my brain is on true overload right now. Thanks for dropping by my crafty spot!
Hugs,
Lisa

Stamp: Vintage Dreamer (TE)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Rose Coral & Blush Rose chalk ink (Color Box petal point)
Paper: the Maripost stack by DCWV, cs
Accessories: butterfly wood die cut (Studio Calico); chocolate & champagne pearls (Kaisercraft); brown crochet trim & ivory trim (Hobby Lobby); Spellbinders Cl. Ovals Lg. & Lacey Ovals

The Giving Tree

Hello and welcome, so happy you dropped by! I have another mixed media piece for you today and this one is close to my heart. I was visiting my friend's blog, You Made Me Ink, the other day and she made four cards that tugged at my heart strings. The images are from Nicecrane Designs and I immediately fell in love with them. The owner, Ignacio, offered me a free image and I happily obliged. Thank you so much Ignacio for your generosity!!! I chose this little boy because he reminded me of a very special boy, my boy. He's grown now and in the Army but he'll always be my little boy. I have precious memories of us reading his favorite book,  The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. When he was 5 we bought him the book and I ran across it recently while cleaning. It stirred something in me and when I saw this image I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to create something to capture that moment in time. This is how I did it...

The tree in the book was an apple tree so my tree is as well. I used a kaleidoscope circle stencil to create my sun with texture magic and rub ons, stamps, acrylic paint, & Faber Castell markers were used to create my background. I colored this sweet image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. The tree was made from a Studio Calico paper pad I received in a kit from Scarlet Lime. Christy Tomlinson is the artist/owner and she does a video featuring the new kit every month. She made a tree but nothing stirred me so I put it up thinking what am I going to do with this. It's funny how things will come back to you in an instant because when I saw this image from Nicecrane I remembered the video and the book. So here it is and I plan to hang it where I can see it and remember.

If you haven't delved into the world of mixed media I encourage you to. You can create so much with so little, you do not have to buy a lot of expensive products to create with. Acrylic paints are inexpensive and can be found (in U. S.) at every Wal-Mart and most are under a dollar for a 2 oz. bottle. No fancy brushes are needed & Plaid's Mod Podge is probably the most expensive thing you need to buy. Hope you'll give it a try sometime. I created a wall hanging a few posts ago and did a tutorial. You can see my step-by-step process there (click on Tutorials tab) and I'll be creating more soon. Any questions just email and I'll be happy to share what I've learned. Good luck and happy crafting!

I'm linking this up at the Old Back Porch & Make It Monday #98 challenge where anything goes. I'm in a hurry to get out the door so if I find more challenges to enter I'll link up later in the day.
Edit: I'm back and I'm also going to play along with the Stampin' Royalty #133 Anything Goes, Divas by Design Challenge #44-Anything Goes, and The Paper Shelter Challenge #73-Anything Goes, Crazy Amigo Challenge-Free Theme. So happy to find some new and exciting challenges!  

Thanks again to Ignacio at Nicecrane Designs for the free image, the inspiration I always receive from Lisa M. and to all of you for your support and encouragement. I do hope you'll click on the Nicecrane Designs link to view all of Ignacio's wonderful images and collage sheets. You will not be disappointed, promise. Also, pay Lisa M. a visit and leave her a sweet comment, she loves for folks to visit. As for me, your comments always brighten my day!!!
Hugs,
Lisa

TE Calendar Challenge-July

Hello and welcome! I'm dropping by today with my July calendar for the Taylored Expressions Monthly Calendar Challenge. I used TE's Fourth of July Wreath Petite Stamp Set which is full of patriotic images. To participate Taylor asks that you use a TE calendar product and any stamps of your choice. I'm using the 2012 6x6 TE Calendar download which I printed on choice snow white paper. This is an ongoing challenge so you can link up anytime during the year. There's a prize for those participating in 10 out of 12 months and you can click here to learn more.


 I am also linking this up to the weekly Make It Monday #97 linky party and Tuesday Alchemy Challenge #22 where they want you to share the lighter side of life. For most Americans July 4th is a day off from work and cause to relax and celebrate. Whether it's swimming, going to a BBQ, or eating watermelon and watching fireworks it is definitely a day to kick back and enjoy the lighter side of life. The last challenge I'm entering is Crafty Creations Challenges #178-Free-for-All where anything goes this week.


A big hello to my newest followers and a great big thank you to those who have left me a sweet comment. You guys are the best!
Hugs,
Lisa xx

Ink: Memento Ladybug, Paris Dusk & Tuxedo Black
Paper: Stars dp (PS), Choice Snow White (TE), red cs (Bazzill Basics)
Accessories: Seasonal Wreath Die (TE); Copic Markers; red metallic ribbon (American Crafts); Xmas Stickles (Ranger)

Still Crazy about U

A little announcement before I begin....I am one of two new DT members at Top Tip Tuesday! WooHoo!!! I was thrilled to receive an invitation to join the uber talented Design Team at TTT and today officially marks my debut. Thanks again to Carol and Samantha for the invite and the warm welcome by the team. I {heart} you all! Wanna know who the other new DT member is? Jennifer Scull of Just Coffee Please...& Stamps, & Ribbons, & Paper so please check her blog out, you'll be glad you did. On a sad note, Leanne {the founder of TTT} is leaving to pursue other interests and we wish her the very best. Carol & Samantha are the new co-owners and coordinators of TTT so we are all in good hands. :)

1 For the Men-Masculine

 is the theme for our current challenge at TOP TIP TUESDAY and this is my tag featuring my Top Tip-use dies as masks to create depth on your project. I loved making this tag with mix & match fave stamps for my husband. I placed three Spellbinders Sprightly Sprocket dies on my tag and sprayed Adirondack Color Wash-Espresso over everything. Carefully, I lifted the dies and wiped clean. The images that were left created depth to my background and I went over the areas with distress ink to add some *cream* to my tag. I played along with the One Stop Craft Challenge 189-Coffee & Cream where the colors are determined by your favorite flavor of coffee. Cappuccino, espresso, latte, or flavored joe-it's all good! I grew up with my dad drinking black coffee so the black ink is a nod to his fave. :) I'm also linking up with the Make It Monday # 96 linky party.

We certainly hope you can join us this time and show us your take on 1 For the Men-Masculine !

Top Tip Tuesday

Sponsors are:

Simon Says Stamp

Prize: $20 Gift Voucher 

The Crafty Pad Designs

Prize: 2 Digi Images

Thanks so much for visiting and a big welcome to my newest followers! Please visit the Top Tip Tuesday site for more information and for some amazing inspiration from the design team.

Have a terrific week everyone!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Supplies:

Stamps: Compact Sentiments-Part Two, Vintage Labels 4, & Bitty Banners (WMS); Making a Statement & Wings of Love (Verve)

Ink: Old Paper & Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (T!m Holtz/Ranger), Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: White Lg. Tag & kraft cs(PS); Choice Buttercream (TE)

Accessories: Spellbinders Donna Salazar Sprightly Sprockets dies, Labels Four & Nested Pennants; Wavy Hearts Die Set (Verve); Adirondack Color Wash-Espresso (Ranger); Loops Heart border punch (MS); buttons (Buttons Galore and More); burlap (Canvas Corp.); mocha twill (Maya Road); cream button twine (WMS); black glaze pen (Sakura)   

Son...

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!! Today we are celebrating our son's graduation from Basic Combat Training in the U. S. Army at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. It has been two and a half months since he left home and yesterday we were privileged to spend quality time with him during Family Day. He'll leave Saturday morning headed to San Antonio, Texas where he will complete his Advanced Individual Training and become a Biomedical Equipment Specialist. Next May he will graduate AIT and from there we are not sure where he will be stationed or deployed. One thing is for certain though, he has a bright future ahead of him and we are honored to be his parents.

I used the Deconstructed Sketch No. 57 for inspiration and I'm also entering this in the Make It Monday No. 95 linky party & The Kraft Journal: Anything Goes challenge.

Here's a photo of the inside using three different stamps to convey our message to him.

Hope each of you have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by today!
Hugs,
Lisa xx

Supplies:
Stamps: Compact Family  & Vintage Labels 18 (WMS), Small Phrases (Verve), Greetings (TCP Studio)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Noir Patterned Argyle/Paper Reverie (Making Memories), Whipped Mousse (Bazzill Basics)
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 18 die #3; French Scroll border punch (MS); diamond ribbon (Michael's); Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger); 3D Foam Dots (Therm O Web)

Precious Memories

Hi there, I'm back with a mixed media journal page I created for the current Our Creative Corner : '10' Challenge and I'm also playing along with the MIM #95 Linky Party where anything goes. OCC's DT member, Kristin, challenged us to create something with the #10 on it or to use ten of the same items. I chose to use ten wood die-cuts on this page and for good measure I stamped No. 10 in the lower right corner. It was fun to create and the photo gives it a scrapped feel as well. Here's how I made it along with a few close ups.

I used a *new to me* technique that I found on a recent Inspiration Wednesday video by Donna Downey featuring transfer images, computer copy paper, gesso and gel medium. It worked like a charm and she included a link to download the butterfly sheet that you see in the background of my page. To add some overall color I sprayed Mister Huey's Forever Blue in random spots and added texture through bubble wrap, stamps, rub ons, tissue tape, dimensionals and acrylic paint. I painted all of the wood die-cut pieces with a base coat of acrylic paint and 'dance' received a second coat of picket fence crackle paint. Mister Huey's Pretty Pink color mist was sponged randomly on the letters and adds a pop of color. The small butterflies were dusted with pinkie fairy dust to make them sparkle and pearls add a touch of elegance. A magnetic date stamp records the date of my daughter's ballet recital on a distressed tag. Lace & a punched border help anchor the photo of my little ballerina to the page. A handmade chiffon flower was made using a tutorial by Mona Pendleton at Cupcake's Creations and I added a blue brad to the center. A fun little flower to make and I hope you'll check out both the video and tutorial for some crafty fun. :)

Welcome to my new followers and as always I truly appreciate the support and encouragement your comments give me. They make my day! Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone is having a great week.
~Lisa xx

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal; Butterfly Download Sheet (Donna Downey); Antique White & White Acrylic Paint (Apple Barrel); Baby Pink Acrylic Paint (Folk Art); Mister Huey's Forever Blue & Pretty Pink Color Mists; Distress Crackle Paint-Picket Fence, Antique Linen & Black Soot Distress Ink (T!m Holtz/Ranger); Pinkie Fairy Dust (Sulyn Industries); Studio Calico Die-Cut Wood Butterflies; Expressions Wood Shop-Timber (Pink Paislee); Tissue Tape-Sketchbook (T!m Holtz/Advantus); MS Swirling Lace Border Punch; 2MM White Pearls (PS); Numero Clear Stamps (7 gypsies); Magnetic Date Stamp (Making Memories); blue brad (MME-Market Street)

I've been thinking about you

Hello and welcome! I totally meant to post this yesterday but this week has taken twists and turns of its own beyond my control. So here I am on the final day with my entry for Our Creative Corner-Button 'n Burlap or Bows challenge and I'm using Card Patterns Sketch # 169 for inspiration. I also plan to link up with Make It Monday #94 where anything goes. Here's a little close up of my challenge requirements.

This card is for my mom and I've been thinking about her lately. :) She loves flowers so I used Authentiques's Gathering dp's to put this little number together. Per the OCC challenge requirements we had to use buttons, burlap or bows. Even though my card is relatively small, 4x6, I found a way to include all three which made me happy. The burlap anchors my orange twill ribbon and the button & burlap bow draw the eye to my sentiment banner. I did not want to compete with the beautiful floral dp so I die cut two rosettes from a coordinating dp and anchored it with the smaller rosette {which was not accordion folded} and placed a teal pearl to add a pop of color. The base is bittersweet chocolate and I've been thinking about chocolate chip cookies ever since so I think I'll go now and whip up a batch.

Thanks for stopping by and hurry if you want to play with the OCC challenge and the sketch.
Have a great weekend everyone,
Lisa

Supplies:
Stamps: Small Phrases (Verve)
Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink (T!m Holtz/Ranger)
Paper: Gathering (Authentique), bittersweet chocolate cs (Bazzill)
Accessories: Easy Rosettes 017 die (The Cat's Pajamas); Nested Pennants die (Spellbinders) burlap (Jo-Ann's); orange twill ribbon (TE); brown burlap string (WMS); orange vintage style button (Jenni Bowlin); teal pearl (Kaisercraft); 3D foam dots (Therm O Web)

I'm So Glad You're My...

This card is for my sweetie and I truly am glad he's my husband and the father of our two children. When I saw the colors for the new CR84FN56 Color Challenge I instantly thought of Authentique's Blissful Collection. The challenge colors of yellow, gray and a neutral work perfectly with these dp's and I gravitate toward geometric patterns for some reason. It's certainly not from a love of mathematics I can tell you! I've been branching out with new challenges lately and the challenge at Our Creative Corner  caught my attention. The challenge is to use our favorite T!m Holtz technique and I've been wanting to make his tissue tape flower for a while, so I did, and you can view his video here {last one}. Since my DH is an engineer I placed a sprocket gear from T!m's idea-ology line in the center and a black Kaisercraft pearl to finish it off. I did not use a sketch but formulated my own design and any reference to a sketch 'out there' is purely coincidental. The third challenge I'm participating in is the Make It Monday #93 Challenge where all creations are welcome. Here's the yummy beautiful inspiration photo from the CR84FN56 Color Challenge and there's plenty of time to play along with all three challenges.

Thanks for spending some of your day with me and I hope you have a fantastic week!

~Lisa

Supplies:
Stamps: Father Figure, Tag Time & Swirling Hearts (Verve)
Ink: Memento's Tuxedo Black & London Fog, ColorBox Petal Point Chalk Ink-Yellow Citrus
Paper: Authentique's Blissful Collection, Choice Snow White (TE), black cs (Bazzill Basics)
Accessories: Classic Squares Lg. (Spellbinders); Tissue Tape-Sketchbook & sprocket gears (T!m Holtz/idea-ology); 1" circle punch (Fiskars); black pearl (Kaisercraft); Arch Lattice Edger Punch (MS); Tiny Sweet Scallop Die Set (Verve); brads (PS); yellow trim (Hobby Lobby); Inkssentials blending tool & Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

Happy 90th Birthday!

Hello and welcome! I have a birthday card to share today that I made for my FIL who will turn 90 on June 20th. Now that's cause for a celebration, right! I thought the colors of the Play Date Cafe Color Challenge 135 were perfect for a masculine card and the Deconstructed Sketch No. 55 was fun to work with. Last but not least I'm entering this in the Make It Monday #92 Challenge & the Ribbon Carousel Blog #56 Challenge. I have to say that I'd never have put these colors together on my own but the inspiration photo convinced me too {I'm glad it did}.

Since this is a very special birthday I wanted to personalize it so I used two different date stamps to record the year of his birth and his current birthday. I improvised with the sketch by adding ribbon at the bottom and a button & hemp bow. I somehow end up making masculine cards in the CAS style which is hard for me because I always want to add more, lol. I added texture by embossing a pool colored cardstock panel and rubbed Potter's Clay ink randomly over the front. The sentiment panel was cut from an aquamarine dp and I used the same color for the rhinestones on my die cut fishtail banners. Hopefully I tied everything together with clay as my third challenge color!

On a personal note, I promised in my last post to share my golden egg story with my regular visitors so here goes. When I was in 3rd grade my school hosted an Easter Egg Hunt and the grand prize was 'a golden egg'. This particular egg had candy, prizes & money inside but it was the golden exterior that I was after. I don't know why I was obsessed with it but I wanted to be the first to find it and win that egg. Obviously I didn't but a classmate named Lydia did and while I was happy for her I was sad for me. {So silly, I know} My DH & DD were shopping in early April and they spotted a Godiva chocolate egg wrapped in gold foil. They bought it & gave it to me Easter morning, which I thought was so sweet. Finally, after 40 yrs. of waiting I had my golden egg. Only, a greedy little mouse who loves chocolate ripped into it this past Monday night at 1:52am. How do I know this? He climbed up the secretary, which is beside my bed, and was on the desk shredding the foil. Very loudly I might add! :( It woke me up and that started a 2.5 hour unsuccessful mouse chase. My DH set out to trap him the next night but he got away with the chocolaty goods which really infuriated both of us. Yesterday when he came home from work he put his engineering skills to work and created the 'super' mouse trap. At 11:36pm last night that mouse learned a hard lesson in stealing. He's the second uninvited mouse we've had in 13 yrs. and I hope he is the last. As for the egg, it's in the garbage and the moral of the story is this-if I were meant to find that egg in 3rd grade I would have but I didn't. Life goes on! Hopefully you skipped this paragraph but if you didn't please accept my apologies. :-)
Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Supplies:
Stamps: Essential Messages (Hero Arts), You're My Type -Lower & # (TE)
Ink: Memento Potter's Clay
Paper: aquamarine dp-Laced With Grace (Glitz), graph dp-Fly A Kite (October Afternoon), pool & yam cs (Bazzill Basics)
Accessories: fishtale banners-Lacey Pennants dies (Spellbinders); Circles-Texture Fades (Sizzix); Date SMASH stamp (K& Co.) and We R Memories magnetic date stamp; ribbon & button (TE); aquamarine rhinestones (Kaisercraft); clay colored hemp cord