Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps New Release Blog Hop and Scavenger Hunt!


Hello my friends, and welcome to another wonderful blog hop to debut two new stamp sets by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!!! Two stamps are being released today; one is called Baked With Love, which I used for my card, and for my sneak peak posted here. The other is Forget-Me-Not. You might recognize Forget-Me-Not since it was initially a digital stamp release, but now it's in rubber for your stamping pleasure! Click here to see the post of the card I created using the digi image of this set.

Each of these incredible stamp sets sells for the low price of $11.25. One lucky person will win both stamp sets by playing in our Blog Hop Scavenger Hunt. But you have to play today, because Korin will be drawing the winner tomorrow (Friday)! Start at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog for all the details! Then hop around to visit my Design Team sisters to see what wonderful eye candy they have in store for you, and to pick up clues!

The clue assigned to me made me laugh. My eldest son Ian is always getting on me to eat healthier and lose weight. He nicknamed me Mrs. Butterworth one morning. Can you guess why? Okay, I could stand to lose some pounds, but that is not what he was referring to! {LOL} He called me that as he watched me spread BUTTER on my pancakes. Come on now, who doesn't love BUTTER??? And how can you eat pancakes without it!

Now on you go to find the rest of the clues! Enjoy the fun... and be sure to grab these stamp sets before they sell out. They are just too good to pass up! And while you're at it, check out the digi recipe cards that go perfectly with Baked With Love, and don't forget that today (Thursday) is FREE DIGI DAY so grab yours before it's gone!

With love from Mrs. Butterworth. Have a buttery day!

Yay!!!

OMGoodness, did this ever make my day!!! Yes, indeedy... I am so proud to be one of the winners at The Pink Elephant for Challenge #33, the card for which I posted here. Thank you to Lori Boyd, Robin Willis and all the Design Team girls at The Pink Elephant for this awesome honor! I have to say that's just the cutest darn badge, don't ya think? Big smiles and a thankful heart today.

Maya the Wise Wizard

Hello again! This is my second post for the day, so please scroll down to see the other.

If it's Wednesday, that also means it's time for the La-La Land Weekly Wednesday Challenge! This week, our five Guest Designers chose the challenge. Karin requested that we use two different patterned papers; Kimmi chose the color combo of red, brown and cream (I know my red is on the crimson side, and I ended up throwing in a bit of orange, but hopefully it qualifies!); Marcea asked us for some embossing... either dry or heat; Paul likes scallops; and Sue threw in paper piercing for good measure. Yikes, this was truly a challenge for me! I now have more respect for those of you who do several challenges at once... I've seen someone go as high as 22 challenges in one card. Yowser! I didn't even think there were 22 things you could do with a card! {LOL}

Never wanting to pass up a good sketch challenge myself, I used this week's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #84. My image is the very wise Wizard Maya. I colored her up with my Copics, and used my Buttermilk atYou Spica pen on the stars and moons in her robe.

The DP, cardstock and buttons are from a retired Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients kit... Cosmo Cricket DP and Prism cardstock. I checked and rechecked, and I believe I managed to meet all of the challenge requirements. Yay!

I hope you'll join us this week for our challenge. Come on now, be brave! If I did it, you certainly can!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I hope you have a very wise day!

Witch Lala

Happy Wednesday! If it's Wednesday, that means it's time for another challenge at The Diedrich Dare!

This one is a sketch challenge by Jessica's son Jack. How cute! I hope he doesn't mind that instead of using stars and hearts, I used these cool Halloween buttons, part of the Taylored Expressions Halloween Key Ingredients Kit... also the source of the DP, cardstock and ribbon.

This super cute and whimsical stamp is Witch Lala from La-La Land Crafts. I just LOVE these images. They are also so much fun to color.

Be sure to pop by and see what the rest of The Daredevils have in store for you today using this sketch. And why not come along and play with us? It's fun!

Cassie Larson
Darla Wilson
Heather Schlatter
Jacquie Peifer
Jessica Diedrich
Kim Ross
Lisa Slusser
Rebecca Ednie
Taylor Usry

(Daredevils Debbie Lee and Sandra MacLean aren't able to play this week.)

Speaking of La-La Land Crafts, my next post will be for the La-La Land Weekly Wednesday Challenge, so stay tuned!

Hugs,

Monday, September 28, 2009

Ladybug Betty

I've always been a huge fan of Pink Cat Studio. Melissa draws the cutest images of Lily and Billy and cats and fairies and... the list goes on! Now she's opened the Pink Cat Studio Digi Stamps store, with all new characters that are just too cute for words! I LOVE digi stamps. It's instant gratification. Plus, they work great with Copics, my favorite coloring medium... and with watercolors, my other favorite way to color images. You just need to make sure you print on watercolor paper if you're going to watercolor, and it's always a good idea to heat set the ink before you get started.

Melissa has a great tutorial on using digi images that you might want to check out if you're new to working with digi stamps.

I'm also loving Cindy's sketches at Crazy 4 Challenges, and had to play again this week. The sketch was perfect for this sweet image of Itty Bitty Betty - Ladybug. (BTW, if you buy this digi image, you get Itty Bitty Betty - Ladybug w/the pumpkin candy basket as a bonus!)

The DP and brad are by Doodlebug Designs. For some reason, this paper makes me want to pull out my Janome Sew Mini and stitch! Betty is colored with my Copics, and I added a bit of sparkle here and there with my atYou Spica pens. I love how the background paper sparkles with glitter, too. I say you can't have too much sparkle!

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I hope you have a very sparkly day!

I Won An Award!!!

Hey there! I just found out that I was one of the two winners of the Macabre Monday Challenge #006 - Perplexing Pigment Play - on Barb Foster's Haunted Design House Challenge Blog for my Please Feed The Monster card. Woo Hoo! (Thanks Patti, for cluing me into that challenge!) This award is especially sweet since Barb prefers spooky cards, while mine is definitely on the cutesy side. Thanks Barb!!! I shall display my badge with pride!

If you love Halloween, then you should pop over to the Haunted Design House blog. It's all Halloween all the time, with a new challenge every Monday! Spooky fun!

The Zen of Pumpkin

That's what I think when I see this image... the zen of pumpkins. Lala is becoming one with autumn!

Happy Monday everyone! Paul and I had a fabulous day yesterday with our friends the Krohs and Mihelichs attending the gospel brunch at House of Blues in Downtown Disney. I will share a few pictures later. It was fun to get out of the house and socialize... and, of course, we love all things Disney. Lucky us, we live about 45 minutes from The Happiest (and Most Expensive) Place on Earth.

Just a quick post to share this card I made with Pumpkin Lala for the sketch challenge at The Pink Elephant. As you can see, I turned the sketch on its side. The DP is from Papertrey Ink, and the "ribbon" is Fun Fur... the sort you find in the yarn section of the craft store. Very quick and easy.

Don't forget, there's still free shipping in the US for orders of $50 or more at La-La Land Crafts (discounted shipping for international orders), but just through Wednesday, so hurry!

I hope to see you back here again soon. Have a wonderful day!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Thinking of You

Blessings to you on this beautiful Sunday! Something that makes Sundays even more special to me these days is that it's time for a new challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ! That challenge blog is such a blessing. I received an email this week from someone who said that after visiting the SSCC blog and then my blog, she was inspired to pick up her Bible again. Praise the Lord!

The scripture this week is one of my favorites: Psalm 19:14: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight Oh, Lord, my strength and my redeemer. The challenge is to make a "thinking of you" or a "praying for you" card.

As I said on the SSCC blog, I keep a copy of this scripture by my computer at work. I do it as a reminder to not gossip or say or think unkind things about other people. I've been the target of that very thing and it's so painful. I don't want to be guilty of doing the same to others. But I so often fail. It's too easy to slip up and join the crowd, isn't it? But we must keep starting over and over and over again until we get it right. It's just too important not to!

Of course, this scripture means so much more. But suffice it to say that positive thoughts bring peace. Focusing on the word of God brings peace. It's a win-win, my friends!

My card is a bit of a departure from my usual style. I've long been a fan of Melissa Phillips. Not only is she one of the most talented and creative papercraft artists out there, she has the sweetest and most poetic soul. I enjoy reading her blog as much as I enjoy seeing her lovely creations.

I stepped out on a limb and tried to emulate Melissa's style with my card. I CASED one of her cards in this post. I'm trying to discover her secret. I'll let you know when I figure it out! But I do know I'm very happy with my card.

The stamps I used are by Close to My Heart, which I bought from my friend Nancy Brown, who is just the sweetest person and another very talented artist. Nancy is a CTMH consultant, so if you need anything, she's your gal! She even has a blog devoted just to CTMH. The stamp set is called Childhood Portraits. I haven't even scratched the surface of its many sweet images!

The DP and little Bingo card are by Websters Pages. Did you know Websters Pages now offers 6 x 6 versions of their awesome papers? In true Melissa tradition, I sprayed my chipboard butterfly with Glimmer Mist and then "sugar coated" it with fine glitter.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful day. Paul and I are going to join some friends for the gospel brunch at The House of Blues in Downtown Disney this afternoon. Should be fun!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Autumn ~ the year's last loveliest smile

I just love that quote... "Autumn ~the year's last loveliest smile," by William Cullen Bryant. That's what autumn does for me... puts a smile on my face. It's a gorgeous time of year. I love the change in the feel of the air, the days growing shorter, and the glimpses... few that they are here in So Cal...of leaves changing colors. My soul starts to reawaken after slogging through the hot summer. I'm giddy with anticipation! We're supposed to start cooling down next week, but I've lived here long enough to know that autumn weather is still a month away.

In the meantime, I can enjoy making autumn cards, and I loved making this one for today's sketch challenge at The Sweet Stop. I hope you'll hop over there and read about all the wonderful new changes taking place in our weekly challenges... there's a new DT for the challenges called the Sugar Babies, and I know you will recognize their awesome talent when you see it. Plus, there are chances to be spotlighted as a Guest Sugar Baby and win free digi images!

But most important, the sketches are fun and there is a very special fellowship that exists at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and The Sweet Stop. So please come join us!

I'm absolutely in love with Autumn Blessings, the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set I used to create this card. The leaves and other fall images are so lifelike, and the greetings are fabulous! I loved this particular greeting so much that I slightly altered the sketch to accommodate it. The DP is Bo Bunny's Kitchen Spice, which I LOVE, plus I got a chance to use my new Lattice Borderability.

Tip alert: When you use your Borderabilities or Pendants from Spellbinders, or any other die that has intricate detail, put a sheet of wax paper in between the die and your cardstock. Your cardstock will pull away from the die as smooth as butter!

And don't you think blue is one of the colors of autumn? I do... because what do you see a lot of this time of year? Blue sky of course! Another reason I love autumn.

I hope you all have a fabulous fall day, and I'll see you back here soon with my post for tomorrow's newest challenge on Stampin' Sisters in Christ. There's still time to play in this week's challenge for a chance to win Autumn Blessings, but you'd better hurry! That particular challenge, hosted by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps ends at 11:59 pm PST (GMT-8) tonight!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Happy Thursday... a Reminder and an Annoucement!

If it's Thursday, that means it's free digi time at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! Today's offering is one of my all-time favorites A Gift For You. Here's another look at the card I made with this image and originally posted on May 31st. You must hurry, though, because it's free only for today!


And while you're there, you must check out the newest digi releases, Thankful For You and The Greatest Gift. Totally awesome!!!

Korin also has a BIG announcement at The Sweet Stop, so hop on over there and read all about it! If you weren't already inspired to play in our weekly sketch challenges, you certainly will be now! The new Sugar Babies are wonderfully talented ladies who are sure to delight us with lots of sweet eye candy!

It's not too late to play in this week's sketch challenge for a chance to win both of the September new release stamp sets -- "Waddle I Do?" and "You Light Up My Life"! You can use any stamps for the sketch challenge, but if you have some Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, why not show them some love?

Have an awesome digi day... and may your challenges all be of the fun papercrafting nature!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Hey There Chickadee!


This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my first post for the La-La Land Weekly Wednesday Challenge. Thanks!

Guess what, guess what, guess what! I am now officially a Daredevil! A what? Me? A daredevil? Anyone who knows me knows I'm not intrepid in the least. In fact, I'm probably more in the category of scaredy cat (ha!). But this kind of Daredevil is my cup of tea! I'm a Daredevil for The Diedrich Dare! This is a new challenge blog started by the sweet Jessica Diedrich. Her three kids make up the challenges each week.

This week, the challenge is to use the colors green, blue and orange. I have to say that color challenges are REALLY challenging for me. Give me a sketch, and I'm good to go. Give me a color challenge, and I start biting my nails!

For this challenge, I went fishing through my scraps pile and sewed some strips I found in the challenge colors onto my card base (SU's Kiwi Kiss). I then pulled out one of my very favorite Papertrey Ink stamp sets... Everyday Button Bits... and created my bluebirds. The swirl is from another PTI set called Fancy Flourishes, a must-have staple in your stamp collection.

So hop on over to The Diedrich Dare and join us this week, okay? I wanna see how the pros tackle a color challenge! Speaking of which, there is lots of great inspiration from the rest of the Daredevils that you won't want to miss!


Trick or Treat with Rosie!

Happy Wednesday! If it's Wednesday, that means it's time for La-La Land's Weekly Wednesday Challenge! This week's host is the wonderful Sheila Lygo. She's our Design Team member across the pond. If you haven't visited her blog, you definitely should. Her artwork is absolutely delightful!

Sheila's challenge is to use paper piecing. I love paper piecing. You can get such great effects with it... not to mention perfect coloring! I paper pieced Pirate Rosie's skirt and hat. I have to say I'm in love with this image. In fact, I love all the La-La Land Crafts Halloween images. And with free shipping on orders of $50 or more within the US (discounted shipping for international orders), now is a great time to stock up and get started with some awesome cards of your own!

The cardstock and DP is from the Taylored Expressions Halloween Key Ingredients Kit. Love, love, love!

I hope you will join us this week for the La-La Land Weekly Wednesday Challenge. We can't wait to see your paper pieced creations!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Please Feed The Monster!

Hey everyone! Finally a Halloween card! Okay, this is really my second one, but I'm starting to get in the mood because there are so many CUTE ones out there! This is the same stamp set from Our Craft Lounge that I received when I attended a class at my LSS. Unfortunately, this particular set appears to only be available to class participants, but there's a similar one available called Sweet Tooth Terrors. Too cute!

My card is in answer to The Diedrich Dare Week 2 Challenge. I'm not sure I've ever made a round card before. I finally decided to treat it as the background on which my little card is mounted. The first picture shows the card closed, and the second shows the card open... with the little monster waiting with his candy bag to be "fed." I used Orange and Purple Sparkly Fluff on the little guy after coloring him with my Copic markers. I love that stuff! It really sparkles.

It's just a quick post today as it's a case of "so much to do, so little time." I'll be back tomorrow with some exciting news and more goodness from La-La Land Crafts, so stay tuned!

Have a wonderful day!

Edited to add: After seeing this post, my BBFF Patti clued me into this cool blog called Haunted Design House. It just so happens that my card meets the Macabre Monday #006 Challenge to use only the colors black, white, orange, chartreuse green and purple, so I'm entering it there, too!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Yay for Fall!

Have I mentioned how much I love fall and winter? Maybe about a million times! {LOL} When I saw this cute digi image from Fred, She Said Designs, I jumped on it. The joy that Emma feels as the fall leaves swirl around her is exactly how I feel when autumn finally reaches Southern California... usually in late October, which is when we finally stop with the relentless heat. Maybe that's why I get so happy!

I made this card for this week's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. The inspiration scripture is Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." (NIV) The challenge is to make a card using the colors of fall. I'm all over that!!!

The cardstock, DP (Bo-Bunny Kitchen Spice) and ribbon are all from my Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit of the Month, which arrived a couple of days ago, in advance of the release to the public... one of the many benefits of subscribing! I just LOVE the colors of this paper. The little charm was something I had in my stash from long ago, and the punched strip was done with the Harvest Border Borderabilities die from Spellbinders. Love it!

I colored Emma's hair red in honor of my BFF Desiree's daughter Gabi, who has the most beautiful red hair. I have got to get Des to post her work on a blog or in a gallery... she makes the most amazing scrapbook pages featuring Gabi. In fact, she just did one of Gabi and her cousins throwing fall leaves in the air. I'll work on her for you... you would love to see her pages! And her cards. I've got her hooked on stamping now... hee hee.

Anyway, I hope you will play with us in the challenge this week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. The prize is sponsored by none other than Korin Sutherland from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! We just had a blog hop this past week featuring SNSS autumn stamps, of which the prize was one. If you missed it, check it out at this post.

Before I go, I want to share a little something with you.

Yesterday our church (Immanuel Lutheran) began a 24-hour Day of Prayer as we begin the journey of becoming part of Transforming Churches Network. This means that we are making a commitment to interact more with our community, to reach out to the unchurched, to let our lights shine for the Lord. I was truly blessed by the Prayer Labyrinth. All I could think about was how much I want everyone to know the love of God and the peace that passes all understanding... the same joy that I feel each and every day, in both good times and bad.

One of the passages we read during the Prayer Labyrinth was Matthew 5:1-14. Within that passage, Christ exhorts us to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." I believe that through our blogs, we can d
o just that: shine our lights for Jesus and reach out to others. Don't be afraid!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a blessed day!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Pumpkins for Sale!

Welcome to Day 3 of the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Autumn Stroll Blog Hop! You should have landed here from Korin's blog. If you haven't already visited all the blogs on the hop, you can start from the beginning at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog, or just hop around using the links in the right column of my blog. I promise you will be absolutely delighted with all the good things you'll see along the way! Edited to add: I've pasted the blog hop links below.

I just love fall. I'm a fall/winter girl all the way. Unfortunately, it's not feeling very much like fall right now here in So Cal. We're have another heat wave, with temps in the upper 90's, which often spills into the low 100's. Ugh. But I know fall is on the way... just a few more weeks and I'll feel the shift in the air and the sunlight. Already it's getting dark by 7:00. I'm giddy with excitement! {LOL}

So naturally I love fall themed stamps, and Happy Harvest is one of my faves... so much goodness for such a modest price of only $11.25! Who doesn't love a scarecrow and all the extras? And it certainly won't be long before there WILL be pumpkins 4 sale!

The sketch is by the wonderfully talented Cindy Haffner for Crazy 4 Challenges. I just love this sketch and will definitely use it again! The cardstock, DP, chipboard flower and rhinestone flowers are all from my Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit of the Month, which arrived on my doorstep yesterday, just in time!

Your next stop on the hop is the amazing Lorie Souther. Trust me, you don't want to miss what she has in store for you!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm so glad it's Friday. Hopefully I can catch up with my emails and blog surfing this weekend, so please bear with me!

Edited to add: I'm pasting the blog hop information into this post so that you can still hop if you missed it!

Come enjoy the cool, crisp creation on an Autumn Stroll with the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Design Team. We will be showcasing the Fall Images September 16 through the 18th...Follow the trail to the following blogs.

Wednesday, September 16
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog
Ceal Pritchett
Courtney Fowler
Jeanette Comerford
Leah Cornelius
Teresa Kline

Thursday, September 17
Chris Dickinson
Janette Olen
Nancy Brown
Sandy Domelle
Shannon Pankow

Friday, September 18
Belinda Chang
Deedee Anderson
Korin Sutherland
Lisa Hjulberg
Lorie Souther
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog

Thinking of... Des!

When The Greeting Farm came out with this little cutie, HG Laundry, I jumped for joy! Anyone who knows me (or regularly reads my blog) knows that I'm the laundry queen. I do laundry for a family of six, five of whom are males. It's never ending! But it's also my excuse to craft... my laundry room is right next to my craft room, so I fold and switch loads while I craft... there's a bright spot to everything if you look hard enough!

I'm dedicating this card to my BFF Desiree (Des). I recently got her hooked big time on Copic markers (and now the wonderful world of rubber stamping). She had just received her markers the last time we got together for a crop day, so I was using them to demonstrate some coloring techniques. I think I lost her along the way, though. She sat back and said she was overwhelmed! {LOL} Anyway, I've been hanging on to this sweet colored-up image for nearly two weeks, and she's finally a card! So this one's for you, Des!

I uploaded her on Wednesday to the TGF Galleria for the Farm Fresh Friday Sketch Challenge #7, but am just now getting a chance to feature her on my blog.

I turned the sketch sideways for my card. She is colored with Copics (of course). The cardstock, DP and flower transparency (seen tucked in on the right) are all from a past Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit. The greeting is from a Papertrey Ink stamp set. Can I say, I'm just loving these colors together!!!

Before I go, I have two digi alerts and a reminder:

First, Dustin Pike is selling nearly all of this digi images for one low price of $25 (I haven't counted them all, but I'm thinking that's like 25 cents apiece or thereabouts?). He's going to start drawing for a company that will put his images in rubber. The offer is only good until midnight September 25th!

Second, this is Thursday, so that means a free digi at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! This week's free digi is Flip the Frog! Hurry, because he'll hop away when tomorrow comes!

Speaking of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, I hope you're taking the Autumn Stroll blog hop, which started yesterday at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog. Be sure and check out all the pure loveliness the SNSS Design Team has for you! My post will be coming tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Cat Nap

I don't know why people call short naps "cat naps." That was obviously a saying started by someone with no cats. Cats take looooooonnnnng naps. And those are just the kind I like taking myself!

Today is Wednesday and that means a new La-La Land Weekly Wednesday Challenge! This week's challenge is hosted by Maureen Wong, who challenged us to use at least three different embellishments on our cards/projects. I had to ask her if it was cheating that two of mine (paper flowers and button) were combined, and she said I'm a-okay. Whew!

The sweet image is Whiskers Sleeping. I colored Whiskers yellow for my BFF Lisa, whose own yellow cat Billy is nearing the end of a long and happy life. Just remember, Lis, the bluebird of happiness will watch over Billy forever!

The sketch is the first by sweet Jessica Diedrich's daughter Madelynn. Yep, there's another new challenge in town! Jessica is such a sweetie and on so many design teams it makes my head spin, but she does it all with good nature and flair. I'm in awe! So I just had to play in The Diedrich Dare. After I finished my card using the sketch, I realized that I couldn't actually post on time since the deadline was yesterday at noon and this card couldn't go live until today. But no worries! I still had fun and think it's an awesome sketch! I can't wait to see what they post as the new sketch today.

I'm telling you, whenever you feel stumped on where to start with a card, find a good sketch and off you go! And don't forget the embellishments!

Enabler alert: during the month of September, La-La Land Crafts is offering FREE SHIPPING in the US (and a discount on international shipping) on all orders of $50 or more. And all the CUTE Halloween stamps are now available. So grab your shopping cart and get started!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

You have brains in your head...


... although mine are sometimes on a coffee break! Hello everyone! Yes, this is the second post for Sunday, only because I want to enter the Mojo Monday 103 Contest before it's too late. And I almost missed the deadline!

I was struggling with what stamp to use for this sketch... mulling over a text stamp...when the light bulb turned on and I reached for my new The Places You'll Go stamp set from Taylored Expressions. By golly, I think it's sold out as I don't see it on the website. No wonder... who doesn't love Dr. Seuss! I'm sure she'll get more in soon.

I also used the corresponding Key Ingredients Kit, which also appears to be sold out. I'm tellin' ya, you have to be quick when Taylor releases new stamp sets and Key Ingredients kits... especially the kits. She'll order more stamp sets, but once the kits are gone, they are gone!

My card turned out a little (ahem) busy (*smile*), but that's how I feel about driving here in California. (LOL!) The stitching was a last-minute decision designed to break things up a bit. The image is colored with my Copics. I used my white gel pen to color the snow and draw the lines in the road.

Thankfully, it's been cooler today... only around 80... so I haven't suffered too much without a/c, especially with my trusty fan in tow, but I'm looking forward to seeing the a/c repairman arrive tomorrow. I might just run out the door and give him a hug! No wait, that might scare him off... hee hee.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. It's back to work tomorrow, but, as they old saying goes... I Owe, I Owe, it's Off to Work I Go!

Have a wonderful day!

Golden Apples - Delicious!

Happy Sunday! Which means it's time for another challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ!!! I was privileged to choose this week's scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This is a very special scripture to me, one I live by each day. When the going gets tough, or I'm worried about something, or I have an important decision to make, I always rest in the knowledge that the Lord has plans for me... plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. All I need to do is pray and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide me. And when things don't go exactly as I thought they should or hoped they would, I rest in the knowledge that there is simply something better ahead for me. This, my friends, is part of the peace that passes all understanding when you keep your heart and mind on Jesus Christ our Lord. I pray you know that peace yourself.

The challenge is to make a card using this sketch (plans!). We always have choices about how to build on Christ's foundation, so why not with our paper crafting as well?

And, by the way, can I just say we have the most awesome blinkie creator, blog designer and techie, and a girl who can turn my scribbles into a beautiful sketch like this... our very own Kristine Breach! I am not only privileged to be her Stampin' Sister in Christ, but she is also one of my dearest friends. I'm so blessed that blog world brought us together... through Christ! I saw a post of hers asking for prayers for a family member, to which I responded, and the rest, as they say, is history! Praise God!

Our sponsor this week is the wonderful Gina K Designs. Gina is one of my business woman heros... I admire her so much. She has got to be one of the sweetest most generous people in this wonderful industry, never hesitating to donate to worthy causes. I feel like I know her through her blog, A Day in the Life, and her awesome video tutorials on Stamp TV. If you haven't already visited her store, her blog and/or Stamp TV, what are you waiting for? You are in for a treat! And, by the way, there was a recent blog hop using one of the stamp sets donated as a prize, Autumn Beauty, to give you LOTS of ideas about how to use that set.

For my card, I used Gina's set from the current Signs of Autumn Stamp TV kit. I went for Golden Delicious when I colored my apples. The DP is from... you guessed it... the Taylored Expressions August Key Ingredients Kit. I'm just loving that Bo Bunny paper for fall!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I shall be hopping around, visiting you as well!