COF Cherish

The group I am in, Crafters of Faith, has a monthly challenge....

For our December challenge, we wish to "SNOW" you our winter inspired Crafter of Faith cards!

COF sisters: Create a card/project using a snowy-winter theme and "ring in the new year with glitter and bling!" Your winter/snow card creation should reflect the beauty of the gift of the season - snow, winter, snowflakes, etc and include bling and glitter to ring in the joy of what will be!



I kept my card simple. I want my COF Sisters to 'Cherish' the little things. As we ring in the New Year, I hope that peace and goodwill prevail, that health and happiness abound, and everyone can take a bit of time just to 'cherish' our circumstamstance!

Happy New Year and may His love abound!

HUGGZ,
April

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Snowy Days

It is the 28th.....meaning the day the Calendar Girls post!

Our theme this month by the (envious) Kelly is Winter Wonderland! For a gal who lives in Miami, she sure does love her snow!

So, here is a bit of inspiration.....we received a foot of snow this week.... Here is the view from my garage door looking outta the neighbor hood! You can see that my son and his friends had fun in the yard yesterday!




And now that you need to warm up, grab a cuppa and check out this little gift 'bag' of winter thank you's. I am only showing you the outside, but inside is four matching cards and envelopes! I found the tutorial here....had never tried this before, so am submitting it at the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge #178 (where there was no sketch this week...lol).




Obviously, the blue from Kelly's challenge is evident, but the silver is in the brad....lol....just a tad of it, but there it is!

Hopefully, somewhere on my sidebar is the link to the other Calendar Girls's blogs.... Otherwise, you can fin the links here....

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Happiness (would be)... SNOWMEN

Here it is a week before Christmas and all through my neighborhood...

all I see is brownish grass and no snow to be had!

 

Living in western NY, I would expect to see snow by now....

but nary a flake this week!

 

So, I will just have to deal with paper snowmen....

from the delightful Dilly Beans!

 

 

They are this week's sponsor of:

{PIN}spirational Challenges #38 gives you this inspiration:

And, for inspiration from me, I made you this card!

 

 

Things have been crazy busy at my house, so if I don't get right back to you,

I APOLOGIZE!!

 

Thanks for stopping,

Huggz,

April

It is time to Duel....

Quick post.....my blog is out of whack (lesson learned), so my post is going to be minimal until I have the patience to fix it!

Michelle was our hostess with the mostess this month and sent a delicious kit!

Here is the final product ~ I used the deconstructed sketch #81 for my inspiration!



Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Winter Wishes

Welcome to another challenge hosted by

#37 is so much fun!

Here's a bit of inspiration for you!

Happy Freezin' Season

Well, not really.....no snow here yet!

I do have a card for the 'season' though!
(It could possibly snow tonight)


Jeanette sent this 'unidentified' image for a fun, fun, FUN swap and this is the card I created! I colored the stamp (from darcie's) with a mixture of Bic's, chalks and Copic's, added some silver Perfect Pearls, a fun brad with an enhancer and presto!, a snowman!!

Thanks Jeanette for another wonderful round!

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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TY

A quick post tonight featuring some BoBunny paper I got this week!

Love it!

So, I stopped by the Mojo Monday challenge blog and found their current sketch #270 and crafty-ness ensued!






What do you think?


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Are you Twisted?

My SCS pal has a cool challenge blog.....have you been there?
No?
HERE is the link!

This week the Twisted Tuesday Challenge blog is looking for winter white cards with the twist of making sure a snowflake is on the card somewhere!

Easy Peasy, right?

LOL
Not so much!

But I tried (counts for something, right?)



My card is white....on, you guessed it, white and I used an embossing folder from SU! And a die from Amuse Studio. I channeled my inner Carol and used a bit of glittery embossing powder, added a gold ribbon and brad.

I sure hope it is white enough for this challenge!
;-)


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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A {BLUE} PIN

This week is a lovely PIN for y'all to be inspired by!

{PIN}spirational Challenge #36 is here for you!

Are you being inspired by that lovely depiction of a blue Christmas?  Well, that is what I think of....

You can check out what the whole DT thinks here

And, on top of a great PIN, we have a great sponsor....
QKR Stampede gave the DT some great holiday images and I love this tree I used!

So, without further ado, here is my card!

All papers were from my stash...the dp is CTMH and the blue glitter paper is COLORBOK.  I truly have no clue where anything else originated!  LOL

The image was colored with a water maker and CTMH inks.  The blue ornaments are Stickles and the yellow lights are colored in with my BIC's.  Oh yeah, the star is a glitter gel pen!

Make sure you stop by

{PIN}spirational Challenges

 and check out the whole challenge and the prize being offered!

Thanks for stopping by!

HUGGZ,

April

a CAS(E)

I am following another blog....lol....who isn't, right?
As much as everyone loves layers, I also love the card that comes together Lickety split!




CAS(E) the Sketch is so fun.....easy peasy and very mailable! The current challenge which runs until tomorrow called to me and this is what I came up with for CTS#7:



I used an old SU! Set and scraps (except for the card base); two little gems and some Stickles for the balloon round out the card.

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Go Tell It On The Mountain

Today's post celebrates my favorite carol.
My Crafters Of Faith group was put to the challenge of making a card based on our favorite carol. Mary Rose even wants a bit of sparkle added to the card.....I am not a sparkly kind of girl, but am giving it a try.

In Mary Rose's own words:
NOVEMBER CHALLENGE!
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
Hello, Crafty sisters! Can you believe the holidays are here? I LOVE this time of year! Peppermint Mocha Lattes, twinkling lights, Hallmark Christmas movies...every good and perfect gift pointing to our Savior. My favorite part of the season? Christmas carols. I LOVE Christmas music, and I have so many CDs that I have to start listening to them in October just to fit them all in! LOL I have a few favorites that make it into heavy rotation (Amy Grant, Kathy Mattea, Point of Grace, Sara Groves), and others that are strictly instrumental and fill the house with the ambient sounds of the season (Jim Brickman, Windham Hill's Celtic Christmas, and more). This month's challenge: Make a card based on one of your favorite Christmas songs or carols. (The Bible verse I chose is often associated with Handel's Messiah, another favorite!) Make sure your card has a little twinkle to represent the light of the world. Bonus points to anyone who includes kraft and gingham in their design (just because I LOVE kraft and gingham!)
So there's your challenge! Plug in that Christmas music and get inspired! I'm even learning some Christmas carols to play on my dulcimer.

There are so many carols....and not a bad one of the bunch; but, my favorite since I was a teen has been "Go Tell It On The Mountain." I think telling the story of Jesus' birth is truly the reason for the season!
A fun version of the song can be heard here. And here is a more traditional version.
And, here is my card!



The star stamp is from CTMH and the baby Jesus digi is from Deedee's Digis. Her work can be found here. Everything else came from my stash!

Make sure you stop by all the blogs of my fellow Crafters Of Faith. Their links are on my sidebar!
Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April
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Pretty Packaging

That is the challenge this week over at The Pink Elephant 176.
So, I checked SCS to find something I had never tried....yep, had some time to play this week!
I came up with this uber cute acetate box.


My SIL brought me all types of office supplies when her boss cleaned out a supply cabinet (with permission, of course)! I love freebies.... She just knew I could make something with them!
Ella is the highlight of my box.



I also used some oversized mittens as a tag for this cute box which is going to my little neighbor. I plan to put some mini chap sticks/lip gloss in this for her!

Deets:
WinterElla by Lori Boyd
DP's are Everyday Ecletic
The rest is from my stash (you knew I was going to say that...lol)

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Calendar Girls

Today's post is for the Calendar Girls blog group I am a part of! 
And, the challenge this month was to use a little known holiday as inspiration for our card.

EPIC FAIL

Yep, I looked at the list and to my dismay, only two things popped out at me - today is French Toast Day (no bread or sandwich stamp) and it is the penumbral eclipse.  So, I went with making a card that was inspired by the eclipse....lol

Papers and ribbon were from my stash.  Digi is from Deedee....who designs here, and the layout follows this weeks Mojo Monday sketch (MOJO269).


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Did you see?

Good Morning!

Did you see?

I am on a new Challenge Team...
{PIN}spirational Challenges!

I know, I don't start until January (officially)...

BUT, I wanted to play along!

Sponsored by:

And, for inspiration this week we have this darling doggie!

 

And, here is my card!  I focused on the cute doggie and the textures in the photo.  The rust color and the mix of checks called to me.  You know what I am about to say....everything is from my stash, except the darling digi from 2CuteInk!  Thank you so much for supplying us with your work!  I did follow this mornings sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketch ~ #174.

Thanks for stopping by!

HUGGS,

April

Merry!

My friend Kadie is quite the enabler!
Her blog post from Friday sent me on the hunt for a freebie over at A Day For Daisies. Everyone is welcome to pick up Snowball Scott as long as they enter this week's challenge! So, here is my card, following the current sketch challenge at SCS (SC412).



I found the dp's and the cs in my stash. used a sparkly brad from CTMH and added a wee tag from SU! I colored Snowball Scott with my Bic's, with a slight shadow created with a Spectrum Noir marker. I must admit to liking them!


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Happy Birthday Kevin!

Just a quick post!
I made a birthday card for my BIL, who shared his day with Thanksgiving this year!



I based his card on two challenges (I was going for three, but don't think this truly depicts thankfulness. Although it does to him....lol). All items were from my stash. I followed the sketch at Mojo Monday #268 and the color challenge at 'ABC' Challenges #5


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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I'm late!

This was supposed to be up the 18th, but my cold has been kicking my butt....lol
Here it is now though....the revealing of our latest Mystery Image (#13). Terry sent this great MFT image - Holiday Hugs Snowman and I paired it up with items from my stash.....how'd I do?

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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HB2U

Here's a card I made over the weekend. Our neighbor friend turned fourteen and I made this for her. I knew she was getting an iTouch as a gift and thought this was appropriate. The stamp and sentiment are from MFT and I used the current sketch from jen at DS78.

The papers and embellies are all from my stash!


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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{PIN}spiration

I love the name ({PIN}spirational Challenge) of this blog! It is so "today" with the love of Pinterest happening!

This challenge blog brings great inspiration, and I once again was challenged by it! Thanks J, for enabling me and showing off this blog on yours!

I am not going to show you the picture inspiration (#33) this week.....go see for yourself!

Just know that here is my card. It is made totally from scraps and stash! I can't remember when y friend Kelly calls this size card, but it is made using the piece cropped off.....y'all let me know, okay??



Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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PLANES, (trains) AND AUTOMOBILES

It's the 15th and that can only mean it is time for the Darlings to be DUELING it out!
Debbie was our hostess this month and she picked a wonderful theme along with Carol!
They went with a theme based on the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles where the main characters are trying to get home for the holiday!
Debbie sent two kits, because she couldn't decide....lol....we did only have to use one kit, but I loved them both!!




The top card features Emelia by Kraftin Kimmie, "Hopscotch Boy Toys" from K&Co. And embellishments from SU!  The lower card shows off "Chevrolet 1957" by Clear Dollar Stamps and dp from American Crafts.

Debbie also wanted to know a favorite memory.  I must admit that Black Friday is fun on many levels.  We shop all day and then party all night.  Yep, we do Thanksgiving dinner all over again with the cousins!!  So much fun!

Make sure you check out the rest of the DUEL!

Dazzlers          Divas

April (me)         Barb

Debbie              Carol

Jeanette            Kadie      

Melina                       

Michelle               Judy

Paola                Kelly

Terry                    LJ

Darlene              Tami

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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**Edited to let you know that blogger isn't my friend and won't let me schedule posts and I wanted to make sure this was here for the early risers!!**

Happy Hunting.....

Well, I come from a family of sportsmen....and, married one too! Plus, when I married him, I married five more sportsmen.....
This card will be customized for the one who brings me the first deer of the season!! {Kelly, sorry I am grossing you out!}



Everything used is from my stash...found the pocket and tag while looking for something else (lol). Riley was fussy cut and then put on the teal and cut out again.

This card is being submitted to the following challenges:
Riley and Co. ~ pocket card
Twisted Tuesday (2TC32) ~ stamp on dp and teal somewhere


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Candy at Nicole's

I was looking for inspiration last night and came across this blog, Nicole's Stamp Addiction.

Look what she is giving away when she gets a few more followers.



I decided, what the heck, a quick post and a chance to win....lol!

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Baby, It's Cold Out

Well, at the moment it is 54F out.... That is after getting to nearly 70 yesterday and today. We could see snow showers tonight and tomorrow....brrrr

To celebrate the onslaught of winter, I made a card using PJ Ella in Winter and paired her up with scraps from my stash. I got my {Pin}spiration here and my sketch here.

I am so sad!

I usually make generic cards to give whenever. You know the type ~ they fit a multitude of people or occasions. Today, I have a card made for a specific occasion....well, it was intended for a very special baby! But, alas, things have not panned out as we had ALL hoped.
Our friends have been looking to adopt and had finally jumped through the millions of hoops to even be considered. It has gone so far that they met with the mother and were just waiting for the bay to be born. Yesterday, my husband received a text with the picture of the baby and the pertinent info! YEAH!!
So, I made a card to celebrate....since the baby was born on Election Day, I went with patriotic colors. He needed blue and I liked the striped DP's together. Even followed the deconstructed sketch and it came out beautiful (if I do say so myself).
Yep, here comes the kicker.....the baby's mother has changed her mind..... Not only are our friends and their family devastated, but so are we, part of the extended family so to speak....
Y'all know I don't usually share 'stuff' like this, but my heart is broken! I am going to share my card...I think I need to so that I can move on. I'd like everyone to say a little prayer for this baby, such an innocent little boy in awful situation!




Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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Happy Bird-day!

Quick post, for a card I quickly made yesterday. I didn't realize it was a {new} friend's birthday yesterday (longtime friends will tell you I am awful with sending cards on the correct date....for the longest time, my sister would get her card a month early!)
So, I whipped this up from scraps on my desk! The set is older SU! I embossed the CS to mimic the Piggy Tales paper I used and then just watermarked the image and sentiment with clear heat embossing! The gemstones are from the shop at CYDI? and the layout is the current sketch challenge (#171) at Tuesday Morning Sketches. It is also a pretty masculine card, so apropos for Twisted Tuesday 2TC31, since I embossed and got out my power tool, the heat gun....lol



Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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It must be the weather.....

I have been extremely productive in the last few weeks.....must be the weather. It is turning colder in Western New York and I am not drawn outside to bask in the sun (anyone who has visited or lived here knows that you have to enjoy the sun while it shines here)!

I am back to actually checking out blogs and looking for challenges to enjoy! With that in mind I created this card which is apropos for the deconstructed sketch #76, the Twisted Tuesday Challenge (2TC30) and the {PIN}spirational Challenge #31



Card Deets:
Memento ink, Copic and Bic markers, image by SparkleCreations


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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SOTC

I had such fun making this card!
It is for my Sistahood group over at SCS and Kadie challenged me to make a PATRIOTIC card!


The 'you' is glitter embossed just for my harried friend Carol. She is the "Queen of Glitter". I thought this TGF image worked perfectly with Kadie's theme! The dp is from DCWV and the brads and CS are from my stash!

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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WooHoo

Today, the last day of the month is THE day I get to post my card for the monthly Crafters of Faith (COF) group. Our October Hostess was Sharon and here is what she asked:

Ok, friends; I'm here to post the challenge for the month of October .....take a look...
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Wow, it's hard to believe that there is only 3 more months left of 2012...where has the time gone?? Some of you may know from reading my blog this week that Autumn is my favorite season of the year. In Southern Ontario it is quickly making its appearance and where I'm from the colour of the changing leaves can be quite spectacular. It's so inspiring--I just love it! Autumn also includes my most favourite holiday celebration--THANKSGIVING!! It's hard not to love a holiday that calls on us to give thanks for our blessings. I realize not everyone around the world celebrates this holiday, and our friends in the U.S. don't celebrate until November, so for this challenge you can choose to make either a card for thanksgiving OR a thank you card for someone who has been a blessing to you. Please use at least 2 designer papers and 1 embellishment, and most importantly, have fun! I can't wait to see what you've created!



I have been all about my leaf dies, so I (of course) used the maple leaf to go with my large (from my stash) leaves. My two DP's are the checked flower and the insets of my die cuts, and my embellie is my brad holding everything together! The sentiment, and die used for the tag which it is stamped on, are from amuse studio.

Make sure to check out the blogs of my COF group in my left sidebar! They love LUV too!


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April


Edited to say:
Yes, this posted early...blogger was NOT my friend tonight, so here it is early rather than late!  HUGGS!

10-28

You all probably realize it it the twenty eighth and are wondering about my title.

Well, today is posting day for the Calendar Girls and Tami's challenge was (in her words):
Our October Theme
We are all about the month of October! I have three little challenges for the girls this month.
It is the tenth month of the year, so please have exactly ten ( 10 ) items on your card. No more, no less! The ten items do not include your card base. Your image stamped on a piece of card stock is counted as one item.
Our due date is the 28th. So, that is going to require two ( 2 ) circles needed on each card and a minimum of eight ( 8 ) different colors.
Are you scared yet?! LOL Start taking a peek….there are a lot of different elements and colors on our cards! I am so looking forward to what you all create, as I do each month.




I will now show you my math skills

Two circles:
1) behind bird
2) with sentiment (GIVE THANKS does show up better IRL)

Eight colors:
1) brown
2) olive
3) lt green
4) yellow
5) burnt orange
6) blue
7) lt prawn
8) dk orange

Ten items:
1) and 2) base layers
3) and 4) leaf panels
5) and 6) sentiment and scalloped circle
7) leaves
8) ribbon
9) sun ~the yellow circle
10) bird

I hope the other Calendar Girls had as much fun with Tami's challenge as I did. And, I hope you will stop by their blogs (found on my left sidebar) and check out their math skills!


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

Welcome!

Wednesday, my husband and I earned some quality 'activity points' and helped a friend move. No wimpy furniture there, just quality heirlooms.....big and bulky....and, none of that fake wood....the real (scratchable) deal!

I thought it would be nice for her to get some 'happy mail' at her new place, so I created this card using the deconstructed sketch #75. I don't pull off the mixing and matching of dp like my friend Kadie does, but I am pleased with my finished card!



The designer papers are from Everyday Eclectic, ribbon, gems, CS from my stash, and the stamp set is from Close To My Heart.

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

Trick or Treat

Halloween is fast approaching, and while my son no longer goes out for treats, there are still some friends who stops for treats. Last year, my SisIL and myself, and our little neighbor all dressed as witches! To celebrate with them, I am making hats for each of us! This is for my SIL who is a popcorn lover! Our little friend will have M&M's in hers....lol



The bag is from amuse|studio, the card stock all scraps, ribbon from my stash and a bit of stickles to highlight my rolled roses using dies from MFT. Tag is stamped with with sentiments from CTMH.


This project is apropos for challenges at Twisted Tuesday 2TC29 and The Pink Elephant #171.


Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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I <3 <3 The Doctor

I couldn't believe it the other day when I opened my Friday Freebie!
And, much to my delight, it was a set of papers and embellies in true Doctor Who form. I am not the best with digital manipulating, but I do know enough to print them out to use.

I wanted to make my son a bookmark and, in the future a scrapbook page or two....or seven....and, I have it in my head to alter a notebook for him too....



I kept the bookmark very simple and then, at his request, laminated it. {He doesn't want to ruin it...lol}

My hubby then wondered why I have never built a three dimensional Tardis and challenged me to! Not one to back down from a challenge, I set off to find one to make. Isn't the Internet great?? I found this site and despite it being in French, it had a Tardis for me to construct.



I also constructed The Doctor, but my son didn't leave it out for me to photograph....lol. Maybe tomorrow I can get it up!

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend and I hope you stop in again to check out my creations!

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

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A Triple Play

No, not talking about what the Tiger did to the Yankees, but close!
Today, I have three diverse cards for you.
They cover three of the four seasons - Autumn, Winter and Spring!

Now, you might be wondering why....easy answer: I saw a design team call and thought I would give it a try. And, in doing so decided I needed a bit of diversity in my finished creations. Although, the more I look at them, the less diverse they seem. Make sure you check out fun 'n' flair and see the cute Christmas stamps I "need"!!

First up is one of my favorite PKS sets - Build a Scarecrow. I love showcasing this set with the crisscross card! I have pulled out the insert so you can better see Mr. Scarecrow!


The sentiment is from Close To My Heart (Seasonal Celebrations), the card stocks and papers are from Michael's - their Recollections line. I used one of the Animal Print embossing folders from Sizzix on the eaves which I die cut using the large leaf trio from amuse studio. I stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black, highlighted with CTMH Brown Bag and colored with chalks and Bic MarkIts.

Next, Winter Ella.....a favorite Puddle Jumper from By LORi Designs!


She was stamped with Tuxedo Black, colored with Copic's and Bic's I followed the current sketch at deconstructed jen DS74 using Recollections card stock and papers from Me & My Big Ideas and EP's Everyday Eclectic. Buttons and string from my stash. Oh, I used Deckled Edge Classic Oval that was embossed with Swiss Dots.

And last, but not least, to celebrate Spring here is a bookmark showcasing Wishing You Luck, an a la mode from MFT.


Everything on this came from my stash! Gotta love {LOVE} that! Once again colored with my Bic's and stamped in Tuxedo Black. I kept this flat....it is a bookmark after all! The only embellishment is a lone crystal.

I hope you have enjoyed my triple play!

Thanks for stopping by!
HUGGZ,
April

GO TIGERS!