Stocking Stuffer for TUC

Dawn over in my Tangled Up in Creativity Blog Group hosted this week's challenge.
It was to make a stocking stuffer.  I hope this qualifies, LOL

Here is Rudolph the cinnamon candy holder!  He is made with a heart punch, and an SU! punch using just the bird's feather and the branch. I punched the single leaf in the brown and the pink; and overlapped opposite ends to make the ears.  The branch has one of the leaves trimmed to make the antlers.  It is just adhered on to the tube filled with the imperials and then tied with a red ribbon!

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

Bling It On!

You all know that I am the CAS Queen....

But,

This week's challenge at Cowgirl Up is to do it up with BLING.

I am using an image from Delicious Doodles, our sponsor this week.

And, it was perfect timing ~ I have three birthdays coming up with a week or so of each other - and the all deserve a piece of cake!!

The card is in my simple style.  I actually used some fun red prisma sticker paper that has been hanging around with some textured white from Bazzill.  The bling is from Michael's - their brand that can be found in the dollar bin....Since I needed three sets, I didn't feel bad hunting for them....lol.  The image was colored with my Bic's and the sentiment is SU! 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all get to play along with the Posse on the Cowgirl's Sunday Stampen' Challenge.  The deets are HERE (along with what you can win if you are chosen).

Huggz,
April

Delightful....

I am on the ball this week with the challenge over at Delightful Inspiration....Faith has an adorable set of images out this week.  Who doesn't like a giraffe, or two??

I am going to save this card to send to one of my on line friends.  She tells the BEST stories....always fun going on at her house and boy do they make me geegle....LOL

The DP is from Memory Makers, the CS is from my left overs, metal dots were a gifty and the 'buckle' is a punch!  I used one of Faith's suggested sentiments and made it more of the focal point, but love how the giraffes set everything off!

Sorry this is so short, but you wouldn't believe the things the family needs to do today to get ready for Halloween (tomorrow) and Trick or Trunk (this afternoon)!

Thanks for stopping by~
Huggz,
April

What a Fantastic Friday!

I have been feeling a bit under the weather this week....ugh, but I did get off my butt to make a card using this adorable image from Deedee's Digis.  The challenge this week is to use a leaf (or leaves) on your card.  This time of year, it seems that all my leaves have blown off the trees ~ hopefully, into the yard next door!

This adorable bear is doing his best to gather up my leaves....making a perfect card for either my neighbors or the boys on the street that love to make HUGE piles and, you guessed it, jump in them!

The card stock is from my never ending pile, the orange metal dots were gifted to me by my friend Terry, the leaves/branches are from a SU! punch, and I used this weeks sketch challenge over at SCS.  Oh, and I colored up Mr. Bear with my Bic's!!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Please think about entering the great challenge over at Deedee's (always a fun time, if I do say so myself)!

Huggz,
April

A Quickie....

Under the gun to get a card made for the progressive challenge over at Delightful Inspiration.  Trust me, it wasn't the image which was giving me a hard time, but rather the weather brought me a bit of a cold - and blew my crafting mojo out the door to boot!

But, after having this un-scary bear colored up for the better part of the week; I sure wasn't not going to make a card  with him!

So, here it is!

The paper is all scraps (I will get my pile manageable by the end of the year), I used an SU! punch for the border and the the flower die cuts were a gift from my friend Sheena ( I added the orange sparkly brad).  I figure that I can add a sentiment when I decide who is to receive this darling bear!

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

It's Mystery Tuesday

Mother Nature is at it again.  Where is my Indian Summer?  It is supposed to get to 70 today, but the rain is supposed to stay with us throughout the week....ugh...that is all I really have to say about it!

My card is a perfect representation of Indian Summer (and I finally get to show it off).

This is for a Mystery Swap over on SCS.  A group of us are doing a monthly swap where we all use a mystery image (or embellie, or designer paper).  I love this stamp ~ Fred Bear Goes Camping ~ from My Favorite Things.  This swap was the brainchild of Jeanette (Forest Ranger) and she is who decided on the image to use (it will travel thoughout the swap, be on the lookout for my turn - you will see the results in December of my pick).

This was a lot of fun....can't wait to get them back and start creating the cards for the next round....until then, get out your magnifying glasses and look for clues in our Mystery Swap!!

Huggz,
April

Monday, again...

I am running on slow speed today....can't seem to get it together!

I finally finished a card over the weekend that had been giving me trouble.  I am in a monthly swap where each hostess comes up with a theme, and by the end of the month mails it to the hostess...  I am usually right on the ball, but this month the theme was "Nautical"....ugh!

So, no more chatting....here it is:

Thanks for stopping by today!
Huggz to all!
April


ps~ Don't forget to stop by Deedee's to see if you won here and thru out the bloghop!!

Thankful Thoughts

Happy Friday! 

I sure hope you have stopped over from Deedee's!  We are having a hop this fine Friday!  And our theme is

"Thankful Thoughts!" 

It is a great time of year to celebrate the things that we are thankful for.  God's bounty is visible in not only the crops and changing of the seasons, but in the beautiful food we prepare for our families this time of year.  When our loved ones and friends are far away, we create beautiful objects to let others know how thankful we are for them to be in our lives.

 Please join us today as we express our thankful thoughts through papercrafting. We hope our projects will inspire you to share some thankful thoughts of your own. Here's how the hop works:

To participate, visit each of the participating designers' blogs to see a fun project using one of our digis, and leave a comment on their post for a chance to win a free digi of your choice from our store! You have until 12 noon ET on Sunday to comment. Each of us will choose a winner Sunday evening, and they will be announced on Monday on the Crafting Blog. Please be sure to check back to see if you have won!  To make it easy for you, here is the list of designers! 

April
Ceal
Darsie
Deedee
Jerusha
Kathy
Kelly
Lawren
Melissa
Michele
Robin
Sandy
Deedee is also giving away a $15 store credit, so make sure to leave a comment over there!  And, did you pick up your freebie from Deedee?  It's a little token of appreciation from her (and us); a show of thanks for how supportive you are to us all in our crafting journey....

Your next stop is Ceal's blog....hop on over there!

OOPS!

I almost forgot to show you my card!  I went a little out of season, but wanted to make something for my BFF to let her know how much she means to me.  We have been friends for our 'forever.'  And, I am not talking just the good times!  We have shared those, but also our heartbreaks and disappointments!  No matter how close or far we live to one another our thoughts and prayers are with the other.  She truly is my BFF.

My card uses Ladybug Hugs and also includes a detachable bookmark!  (We are both readers, so she is lucky to be getting this, since I fell in love with it after it was complete!)  The paper is from my never-ending box that I bought sight unseen from a SCS friend (HI SAM) and the ribbon was from the dollar bin at Mike's.  The flowers I have had forever and it is a generic brad holding them together.  I printed the image twice and used it on both the front and the bookmark.  One of the extra ladybugs was colored and cut out so I could add it to the front sentiment.  It is also popped up with a small dimensional.  The inside was left completely blank so that I have a lot of room for my hand-written message!!

Thanks for stopping by - I truly am THANKFUL for all the love found throughout these crafty blogs!

Huggz,
April

Tuesday Temptation

Faith over at Delightful Inspiration has an ongoing challenge.  Each week, if you use the previous week's freebie you get the next one.  It starts the first week of every month, but if you miss a week you can purchase the current image so that you can play along.  I try my best to stay on top of this one - her digi's are a lot of fun to color up and have such uplifting messages.

This week, Beautiful Blessing is the digi to use.  I went a bit minimalist on this one.  I think the flowers say what needs to be said on this one.  All cs/dp/etc is leftover from other projects.  {{I have been watching Hoarders, so am making a conscientious effort to purge and use much of my stuff!}}

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

Marvelous Monday

Well, I survived the weekend!! OH YEAH!

We went mining....I know, you are thinking the I went underground with my pick axe and bucket; wearing my hard hat and carrying a lantern....  NOPE, in New York we mine for Herkimer Diamonds.  You can check out Wiki here to see what they are.  The fact of the matter is that you want to chip away at the hillside and hope full find a pocket full of them.  In reality, this doesn't happen nearly as much as a person would like.  There are (supposedly) tell tale markings so that you know what to look for.  I was with my family - this was a Boy Scout outing.  They troop leader loved using the sledge hammer to help me along...finally I told him I was going to finesse it a bit and I came away with the biggest diamond of the day among us.

These are more like what you find.  You can slick on the pictures to get a better look at them!

No matter what, it was a good day, albeit a bit breezy.  It makes you happy for the days leading up to the snowfall that you know is coming.  We get about 100 inches of snow each year.  UGH!  {I know what you are saying....you talked weather yesterday!}  But, who doesn't like to make cards for the snowy season??

Today, Deedee has offered up a new challenge.  And in my book, it wasn't really an easy one...lol...But, y'all know that I am gonna give it the ol' college try.  Her challenge is to use GREEN and PURPLE.

I have used one of Deedee's newest digis ~ Just Chillin'!  You can pick it up over at her blog/shop.  It is a mere $3 and if you spend $10, you get this month's freebie image, Hopeful Heart.  Check back later in the week for my project using it!!  And, speaking of checking back ~ DON'T miss our blog hop on Friday!!  The DP is from Close To My Heart (CTMH) and the ribbon and cs from my scrap pile.  The button is one of many I picked up over the summer at an estate sale! 

Besides fitting the challenge at Deedee's, it follows the sketch challenge at Crafty Ho's and is apropos for the challenges at Gingerloft,  I Did It Creations, and Craftalicious.

Thanks for checking in this Marvelous Monday....

Hope you will stop back tomorrow to see what I have up my sleeve for Tuesday!!

Huggz,

April

DDD (and no, that isn't my bra size)

Well, it is the 15th of the month and that can only mean one thing.


It's time for my DDD post....Yep, the Dueling Darlings are at it again!

This month, the theme was "Treasured Friend."

The Darlings received a great kit from the wonderful Debbie.

It included:
SU Image - My Matryoshka
DP by Kaiser Craft
Embellies: SU red and navy ribbons and a navy button; red heart brads by Creative Impressions and a flower from Prima.

I added the red base card stock and the blue card stock.  I also used  an SU stamp on the inside that reads "Thank you for always being there."

The TREASURE I have added to my card is on the inside and is very specific to the people I am sending the card to.  {Here comes the boring part, you can stop reading if you want.}  I grew up in a (very) rural part of Central New York.  It took close to an hour to get to school - and no, I didn't have to walk uphill both ways to get there and home.  Because we lived in the middle of nowhere, my friends were inherited from my other family members.  It was also a time where neighbors helped each other and knew each other families inside and out.  So, (bored yet?) the treasure in my card is a picture - well a copy of my picture.  I hope this counts Darlings.   I was about 10 in this picture and it was a snowy day!  The girls who lived across the road from me were in senior high school, while I was still in elementary.  They spent their day sledding with me and making me lunch and then taking my picture with their beloved cat.  It truly meant the world to me!  My mother passed away just a bit over two years ago, but the Matijas Family still lives in the same house ~ the girls are now adults and have moved away; just as I have.  I still think about this day and the memories (and always will). 

So, this is my Treasured Friend card.  It will be sent to them and I will probably send them the link to this too.
Thanks for checking out my craftiness today and please stop by the rest of the Dueling Darlings....I need to go see what the Divas had to work with, as well as, what the rest of the Dazzlers did with our kit. Here are links so that you can easily spread the LOVE.

Dazzlers           Divas

  April               Barb

Debbie             Carol

Jeanette             Jamie

Melina              Joan

Michelle            Judy

  Paola               Kelly

Terry                 LJ

Huggz,
April

Finally, something to show...

Okay, I've been MIA and for no good reason....lol...I'd love to tell you that I have been busily creating, but in truth I have been putzin'!

But, I do have a quick post for tonight....

This is one of my cards for Barb's Whipper Snapper Christmas/Winter Swap over on SCS.

I will be truthful and say that I have never owned a WS stamp until now (since Barb became my personal shopper). 

Deets:
Image: Whipper Snapper's Spanky
Paper:  from my never ending box o' card stock
Embellies: Ribbon for a dollar bin and sequin snowflakes from Mike's - added the half pearls to match the cs

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

Totally Tuesday!

I have finally caught up with myself and know what day of the week it is!

I used the weekly digi from Delightful Inspiration (Designed2Delight).  The CS was from a pack I picked up at Big Lots and the flowers are Primas.  The flowers of the image were popped up with foam dimensional tape and the brad is a coppery tone.
I think that for change, my picture has too much sun and the left side looks washed out....shucks!  So much for enjoying a nice day in Western New York!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

TUC Challenge

Just a quick post to let the TUC members know that the poll is up for the challenge I posted.

Here are the entrants:

Christy

Danie

Dawn

Jenn

Karen

Lynn

Rose

I hope everyone gets a chance to check out these talented ladies and their projects - not just the ones they created for my challenge, but their daily cards and posts!

A 'Harry' Challenge

My family is just jones-ing for the new Harry Potter movie to be released!  We will have a weekend movie event to celebrate and watch all of the movies (in order, of course) before going to the theatre to see what the Deathly Hallows bring us.  Yes, the adults have read the book....Kyle hasn't made it that far yet, but he will eventually!

It would seem that we aren't the only ones excited about Harry Potter!

Bugaboo Stamps had a blog hop this weekend to celebrate and in true BB humor, Jodie is calling her new set of digi stamps Har Repotter.  HEEHEEHEE

I will say that being such a huge fan, I did go and buy the set....and with it, I created this bin to hold treats on Halloween (or maybe, it will sit on the dining room table for a center piece of sorts).

Deets:
Paper from Close To My Heart
Digis from Bugaboo Stamps
Colored with Copics and Bics
Ribbon and Bucket - repurposed products

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have enjoyed your day!
Huggz,
April

BOO!

Today is my day....  My first post over at Crafting with Deedee's Digis.

As y'all know, I love her digis - so the creating part wasn't the hard part.  The blogging part was.....lol

Here are the projects I made to show the blogging world!

Aren't they cute.  I really think that in this case, simple is better.  These treats will be going to school for a little party.  To be PC, our school district now calls it a Harvest Party rather than a Halloween one, but I think the image still fits!

I used Batty Boo on all three, but mixed up the shapes and candies....  To the left is a piece cut out with my Cuttlebug - the image was cut out and the sentiment punched out (as in all the projects) and Necco Wafers are the treat hidden under the CS.  The middle holds a DumDum and is in the shape of a matchbook, and the one of the right re-uses a baby food container and holds some taffy!

All three were so simple and the kids will definitely enjoy them!

Thanks for stopping by and I sure hope you pooped over to Deedee's to check out her images!!
Huggz,
April

Thursday??

As you know, I have been having a problem this week keeping the days straight.  Well, who knew that today was Thursday.  While most of you are saying YEAH, I can't believe it. 

(The one positive is that I already played along at D2D, so I am not under the gun to participate in one of my favorite weekly challenges.)

Last night, Stamp N Doodle had Spook Night....my friend Jeanette, Forest Ranger over at SCS, hosted the last hour and I made it home just in time to have some scary laughs with her and some others.  Well, they also offered up a few challenges and since I was in a crafty mood this morning while EK slept....

The first is all three of the projects I made, together and following are the individual shots of them!

The images were all freebies and I played along where I could.  My card follows not only their sketch challenge, but gives me bingo across the bottom of their board!  As you can see, I also used their coffin template and witch's boot template. 

What fun I had creating these!  There is still time to play along - you have til October 12th~

Bigg Huggz to Jeanette for introducing me to this company!

Thanks for stopping by!
See you tomorrow!
Huggz,
April

Groundhog's Day??

Have you ever had a day that just seems to repeat itself?  I can't seem  to get a grasp on which day it is.  In fact, my husband and son actually yelled at me last night because I couldn't remember that it was Tuesday!!

So, you are asking yourselves...."What is she going to show us?  A cute little groundhog or a hedgehog?  A nice little critter?"

Nope!

My card is actually made using a digi from Faith over at Delightful Inspiration.  It is the first week of the month and that means a freebie for everyone.  The rest of the month is dependent on using the current freebie~ kind of like a progressive party!!

I have kept it simple, as usual.  I made a cute little note card to give to my son's teacher.  We just met her last week at Open House, so it is perfect timing.  I will add a bit of chocolate, or a pack of gum, to the cute little tote that is going along with my card.  The tote was the featured tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers~ and I must say that is was quite easy to make!

Thanks for stopping in on this wet Wednesday!
Huggz,
April

TUC Challenge

Happy Tuesday, everyone....

Okay, I don't really mean it....There seems to be a dark cloud over Rochester today and that is causing Time Warner to not have internet capabilities!  Like the rain isn't enough to give me a headache, TW had to throw me into a tailspin by not letting me post this blog entry this morning.

I am in a 'blog group' over on SCS where we encourage one another on our blogging adventures.  To occassionally give ourselves a challenge, each of us has come up with a 'contest' to see who can hit the nail on the head.

Rather than leave this open to just TUC participants; I am opening the challenge up to everyone.  So, TUC will vote on each others projects and non-TUC will have a winner picked by random.org.

So, without further ado, here's the challenge....

I need a SIMPLE project for the holidays that my BOY Scouts can make for our local nursing home.  This can be anything that ISN'T a card that the boys can mass produce easily.  The entire project is set to only take one meeting to accomplish.

My sample is ultra-easy, but the boys have made more complex projects in the past.

I hope everyone can participate~ 
The challenge is open until October 11th and poll for TUC will be open for three days following.

Here's hoping that Mr. Linky at least likes me today!!



Thanks for stopping by~
Huggz,
April

Awesome Autumn

Happy Monday fellow bloggers!

Thanks for stopping in today!

My card today is made using one of the digis available from Deedee's Digis and follows the challenge over at Crafting with Deedee's Digis.

The image is called  Sunshine and Sunflowers and is a joy to color up.  The sentiment even comes with it (along with three others)!  As a regular, you know that I love to use up my scraps by working on challenges and that is what happened here.  The card base and front base are both SU CS; and I don't remember where the pumpkin DP came from.  I do know that the ribbon is relatively new - from the dollar bin at Mike's.

I hope you can stop over and play along at Deedee's.  If you use one of her images when playing along and linking up, this week's Dollar Digi is yours and you will also be entered to be featured and win a digi from the store!

Thanks for stopping by!
Huggz,
April

Today's the Day!

Yep, it's Friday....
Yep, it's the first day of October....

Yep, I get to design for Deedee's Digis....

I am so excited!  You might have noticed that I have been lovin' the digis that Deedee Anderson creates....These digis are so clean and easy to work with.  And not only are the images clean, but the sentiments are clean and wholesome!!

And not only is today the first day of the new design team, but the first day of the CDAC blog hop, and

the first day of the sale over at Deedee's....

Yeppers,

Buy 2 images and Get 1 FREE

And, to tease you, check out this digi that is now available!

Isn't this jolly old soul wonderful?  I had so much fun coloring him up with my Bic's!  The cuffs and hat accents are flocked, and I added just a little big of bling for the holly berries.  I also followed a challenge over at SCS (It is their 300th card challenge and you should all check it out!).

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope to see you over the weekend!!
Huggz,
April