My Sunday Blessings!

It's been a long week! I started in on the non-sleeping thing again, but not because of insomnia, but because of my leg and foot nerve pain. It's been off the charts BAD!!! I don't see how I can have a couple of really great weeks, and then BAM! I'm right back in the depths of pain again, with no clear cause or reason. The only consistency seems to be IN-consistency!!! *ugh*

But, life goes on!! Bella had a really great week in school and we had a lot of yummy dinners! I'm so loving my new crock pot cookbook. Tonight we're having apple & cranberry pork chops and they smell so delicious already!!!

Thomas & Bella had their alone time together yesterday, and while home alone (the quiet - I love it!!), I was able to finish up the last three of my Magnolia winter cards! Really pleased with how they turned out!

These are now in their envelopes, addressed and ready to be sent out Tuesday morning! I'll be doing some cards next with my newest Lawn Fawn sets - both in water color with Distress Ink, and also with my Prismacolor pencils. You can't have enough coloring mediums!!!! Speaking of which...

A new Distress Ink color every month!!!

Oh.Happy.Day!

Lawn Fawn Goodies from CHA!!

Can't wait til these are available!!!!

My Lil Nugget - Emmett!

He's such a handsome and sweet baby!

I hope this pain goes away and I start sleeping better again. It was a pretty great couple of weeks while it lasted!! Here's hoping we ALL have a fabulous week ahead!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #293

Hello, Crafters!! :D Welcome to another bare it all Wednesday! Julia from The Stamping Ground is hosting yet another Looky-Loo into the lives and desks of crafters around the world. So.Much.Fun!!! Lots to see and tons of inspiration to be had!!!

My desk this week:

I got in some new goodies!! Because, yeah...I didn't have enough before, right?? But, is there ever enough??? NO! Some of the newest Lawn Fawn stamps (and yes, I got the dies too!) and some dies from My Favorite Things. I really, really am trying to be "good", but these were just irresistible!! You'll see some older stamps on the left side of my desk, still waiting to be used, and some dies I found when I was looking for something else, lol! I cleaned up some paper and scraps off my desk, so it's a bit neater this week. I also got in some new glue, and a new glue dispenser. It's AWESOME!!! So great for very fine lines and intricate die cuts. I got it from My Favorite Things HERE. As soon as I'm finished with the cards I started last week, I plan to continue my coloring theme, but with my Prismacolor pencils instead of Copics.

These are the dies I "found" when I was looking for others. Definitely perfect for spring cards!

And last week's images became these cards:

I just have to finish coloring these, and whip them into the last of my "winter" cards. I wasn't able to get as many Christmas cards out as I wanted to, so I'm making up these instead. That way they aren't late! ;)

And since this is already too long, I'll just brag a bit about last night's dinner! It was DELISH!

Rosemary Balsamic Pork Loin

Recipe can be found HERE.

I'm so glad you were able to pop in for a visit! I hope you'll leave a comment before you head off to the next desk. Happy Crafting!!!

It's never too late to post a project, right???

This was Thomas' Valentine's Day card! I actually made it on time, and gave it to him on Valentine's Day!!! Amazing, right?? But then he took it to work with him, and I never got a chance to photograph it. Since he's moved into a smaller office (and changed jobs - thank God!!), he brought home a bunch of stuff...including this card. So there you have it - my Sweet Baboo's lovey-dovey card! :-)

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #192

It's that time again, to join Julia from Stamping Ground, and have a world-wide peek into some lovely workdesks!! You never know who you will meet, or what exciting new crafts you could be introduced to - SO MUCH FUN!!!

My desk this morning!

Not the usual tidy desk most of you are used to!! I started this card last Thursday (nearly a week ago!!!), but got interrupted when my husband came home from work sick. And yep, you guessed it, he got us ALL sick too. So I have been battling quite a vicious cold and haven't made it back up there to craft. *sad face*

And I was having such a marvelous play with my Copics too!! Love these babies!!!

Valentine card I was working on.
To be completed....maybe this year??? LOL!

Be sure to click at the link at the top to join in the fun!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #191

It's that time again!!! Time to have a world-wide nosy through other people's craft desks!! LOVE IT!! This has been a tough month for me craft-wise because it's been a tough month for me SLEEP-WISE, lol! But things seem to be getting back to "normal" after our transatlantic trip to Florida. Be sure to link up with Julia, on Stamping Ground, to see some incredible art and wonderful, creative desks!!! You won't be disappointed!

Yesterday I spent nearly the entire day in my Stamping Studio! Lots to clean, organize, move around, rediscover, lol! And the final product of my efforts was this...

 

TA DA!!!!!

I moved everything off the third shelf on the left, to the new cubby, so then I shifted all my clear mount cases over, creating more room in my Work Box. The cases you see here are about half of my collection!

Notice that the little table has NOTHING on it, or under it!! A miracle!!!!

If you listen closely, you can hear the angels singing at this newly organized space!

I built the new IKEA cubby, MYSELF!, on Sunday. So now I have a Big Shot/Magnolia station!

Oh right! The desk!!! So what's on my desk this morning? New Magnolia stamps!!! I got the last of them last night in the mail. Oh happy day!!! Some of these are from the newest collection, and some are much older. I finally found some that I've been looking for, for a while now. I also bought some scor-tape since so many crafters use it and I wanted to try it out. Do you use it???

AND....Remember when I promised (again!) to make something crafty??

 

Well I did!!! I made this adorable Valentine gift for my oldest daughter. (She hardly ever reads my blog, so I think I'm safe!) I used Dangling Tilda for this, and colored her with my beloved Copics. I even fussy cut it, which I hardly ever do!!!

Back side

*****************************

WINNER, WINNER - CHICKEN DINNER!!!

The winner of last week's giveaway is....

Scrappy Sticky Inky Mess!!

Congratulations!!!

Because that was so much fun, I'm doing it again this week!!

Up for grabs is this...

...packet of black rhinestones and a mini Maggie stamp!

Just leave your comment here on this post, and you will be entered to WIN!! You do not have to be a follower of my blog, but I do so love to have new bloggy friends. (*waves* to all the new ones from last week!!!) Good luck and thank you for visiting!!

Merry Monday Challenge #18

 This is late. As in, way late!! But, I had the very best of intentions, lol! 85% of this card was completed by the Tuesday of the challenge week. All I had to do was color the central image. But then "stuff" happened and I never came back to it. And it sat on my desk. And sat, and sat, and sat! I got really tired of seeing it, so I finally just finished it! As you can see, I turned the layout on it's side, and I'm really happy with how it turned out! You'll notice I actually HAD the same ribbon used in the layout too! And now I have another Christmas card to add to my stash. I have soooo many more of these challenge cards to catch up on....but I'll get there....eventually!

My card for this challenge:

Recipe:

Stamps: Ski Tilda, Warmest Wishes

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Christmas DSP

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Old Olive, Handsome Hunter, Always Artichoke, Copic markers

Accessories: SU Label Framelit, modern label punch, nordic ribbon, dazzlin diamonds glitter, dimensionals, white gel pen

Merry Monday Challenge #12

Wooo Hooo! I finally made a card on time, AND got it posted in time for the challenge! Yay me, lol!!! For some reason, I was really inspired by the sketch to keep it in the Kraft, white and red bits. Usually I don't, but it really seemed to "speak" to me this week.

My card for this week's challenge:

Front - no flash

Side View

Front - With Flash

Recipe:
Stamps: Tilda with Fir, Lovely As A Tree, Lots of Thoughts (ret.)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Cryogen White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Copics, white gel pen
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, dimensionals, 1/8" Real Red ribbon, crochet ribbon, 1/8" sticky strip, 2 way glue pen, small tag punch, large tag punch, red eyelet, crop-o-dile

Want to play too? Just click on the sketch above!

Merry Monday Challenge #6

Yet another too late challenge card, lol! But....
it will be another card for my Christmas Collection!

Recipe:
Stamps: Magnolia Welcome Sweet Christmas, Beautiful Season (sentiment)
Paper: Old Olive, Cryogen White, red handmade paper, SU holiday DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive, Copics
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, SU button, SU bakers twine, glue dots

Merry Monday Challenge #8

Another pretty card that's too late to enter the challenge, lol! I had high hopes of finishing this one in time - hence skipping Challenges #6 & 7 - but no such luck!! Darn!!! This is another one that I really love too!

My challenge card:

Recipe:
Stamps: Tilda with Mistletoe, Santa Baby, Occasional Quotes
Paper: Soft Suede, Cryogen white, Magnolia DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Accessories: Oval nestie, scalloped oval nestie, ribbon border punch, 1/8" Cherry Cobbler ribbon, Cherry Cobbler button, linen thread, dimensionals

And on to the next challenge...

Merry Monday Challenge #5

It's obviously wayyyyy too late to enter my card for the challenge, (it's from before the Emilys came to visit, lol!), but I wanted to do every challenge and keep up with making my Christmas cards!!! I'm really happy with the way this one turned out too!

My challenge card:

With Flash On

With Flash Off

Close-up

Recipe:
Stamps: Tucked Tilda, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Garden Green, So Saffron, Christmas DSP, Cryogen white
Ink: Garden Green, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Accessories: Doily die, dimensionals, word window punch, modern label punch, ribbon border punch

Another one done for the Christmas pile!!!

ColourQ Challenge #121 & Mojo Monday #225 - TwoFer!

I took a bit of a break on challenges, but I'm back with a "twofer"!! I'm using the colors from ColourQ (mostly!) and the layout from Mojo Monday!

&

My card for these challenges:

Close Up

Side View

Recipe:
Stamps: Surprise Tilda
Paper: Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Cryogen White, Twitterpated DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Accessories: Liquid Applique

I was just itching to add, add, add to this card, but I resisted and stayed true to the layout, lol! I wanted to add brads, or ribbons, or pearls, or glitter, or something!!!! What do you think?? Less is more? Or just less??

Merry Monday Challenge #4

Time for my favorite challenge - Merry Monday! Another sketch challenge this week, and another excuse to use a lovely Magnolia Tilda stamp!!! YAY! I'm so loving making my Christmas cards, in a leisurely pace!

My card for this challenge:

Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Tilda, SU sentiment
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cryogen White, Merry Moments DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Momento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Accessories: Old Olive satin ribbon, MS snowflake punch, pearl, large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, doily nestie, dimensionals, champagne shimmer mist, mini glue dots

Lots of time to play along! Just click on the sketch photo for the link!