Fight Like a Girl

I had such high hopes for creativity time this weekend. Um, well, that didn't happen as much as I'd like, but I'm choosing to be happy with what I've achieved so far. A card for Sara, one for Rob, and now this one. Patricia Garcia posted a card call for her cousin Susan, who is currently fighting that nasty witch called Breast Cancer. This adorable image from Whimsie Doodles is perfect for encouragement, so I decided to color her up and slap her on a card.

I encourage you to run over to the Whimsie Doodles store for your own download of Hope. She also comes in pants rather than a skirt, and there's other "fight" images, too. She's only $2. All proceeds for the purchase of Hope go to breast cancer research, which is another reason to add her to your collection. And if you'd like to send a card to Susan, check out Patricia's blog for info. You can click on the breast cancer ribbon in my sidebar to head to Patricia's blog.

On a side note, please take a moment to remember those men and women in uniform who fight for us every day, as well as for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. Consider making cards for Operation Write Home or even adopting a soldier through Soldier's Angels. Links in my sidebar. :)

You say it's your birthday...

Na na na na...oh, wait, it's not my birthday, too. However, it is my friend Sara and her husband Rob's birthdays. His just passed and hers is a week from today. They invited me to a birthday BBQ at their house on Saturday, so I braved the holiday traffic on I-95 and I went. I am so glad that I did. I had a great time. I met lots of people, ate some great food, surprised Sara so much with my presence that I thought she'd have a heart attack...you know, stuff like that. Rob and I arranged it all and she had no idea I was coming to the party. She thought it was too far away (the drive takes from 2.5-3.5 hours, depending on traffic). When I got there, Sara and Rob were still getting ready for the party. Her friend Karen was already there, and sat me down on the couch in the "chocolate" room (the walls are painted a warm brown). She went to get Sara. Shortly thereafter, the bedroom door opened, and out walked Sara. She proceeded to walk right past me. Everyone was trying to get her turned around, but chick was on a mission. I finally called out to her, she turned around, saw me, and we had a mini blubber fest with some prolonged hugs and such. Anyway, I'm glad I was there to share her special party with her. Happy Birthday, Sara and Rob!

Here's the cards I made for them:

Well, hello doily!

It's time for a new challenge at Guylou's. This time, the talented Chana is hosting and it's a fun one. Doilies seem to be a big craft "yes" on cards and projects right now. There's several dies you can use, plus companies coming out with their own precut paper ones for projects. With this trend in mind, Chana brings us the "hello, doily!" challenge. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Make a project using at least one doily. It can be fabric or paper. I went a bit fun and funky with my card this time. I definitely stepped outside my comfort zone with this one. I used the forever heart to make a "love you forever" card for my 11 year old niece. She's girlie, but also fun and definitely has her own twist on fashion! We had some glamour shots done last weekend and had a blast. I'll share them with you once I get the shots back from the photographer. Anyway, my brother's kids are very open about saying "I love you" and we make it a point to let each other know that the feeling is reciprocated. Every kid should go to bed each night knowing that they are loved. No child deserves any less than that. Ok, let me get off of my soapbox. Here's my card for the challenge:

I used two doilies: a square one for the background and a heart one under the sentiment alpha. The forever heart is from Guylou's Inimitability. I colored it with stardust pens and paper-pieced a bit, too. The sequined heart is Heidi Swapp, I think. The lace is from my stash. The papers were in my scraps pile. I attached the lace with my Tiny Attacher. Love that thing!

On to the challenge details: make a card or project using one or more doilies and upload it to Guylou's Inimitability by May 31st at 10:00 pm EST. You could win a gift card to Guylou's and a chance to be a guest designer in a future challenge. Our guest DT this time around is Theresa. Check out her work, and that of the rest of the DT. You're guaranteed to be inspired!

What a day...

First off, thanks to all of you who played along with the blog hop for Guylou's Inimitability! Your comments made me smile. G will be announcing the winners before too long, I'm sure. Secondly, I had a very productive scrapping day, courtesy of the challenges over at scrapbook.com. I haven't completed a layout since January. Given that I used to make more than 50 pages per year, you could say that I was a bit behind for 2012. Well, their challenges got me back in gear. Mind you, I am still WAY behind, but that's okay. I'm cutting myself lots of slack right now. Here's what I finished today:

This one's just a quick LO about our trip to the pirate themed miniature golf course back in May of 2010. I am going to eventually add something to the bottom right corner; maybe a colored stamped image. I've got some pirate stamps around here somewhere.

For those of you who haven't met him yet, this little guy is Abie. He came to live with us (me and my other two siamese) back in November. He's a flamepoint siamese and he is VERY vocal. I thought Athena was a chatterbox. He's got her beat by a mile.

Still with me? I know, this is another run-on post! Sorry about that. Well, not really, because if I was really sorry, I'd shut up. Anyway, this LO is about Colonial Williamsburg. My late husband and I made so many memories there and had hoped to move there at one point. That didn't work out, but every time I visit, I always feel very connected to him because it was such a special place for us. This is just a LO about how I feel like Williamsburg is home because of that.

Alright. Last one. I promise. My brother-in-law is so special to me. I have pretty much adopted him as my baby brother, so now I have two younger brothers. Anyway, his girlfriend is amazing. She's such a good person, and this LO is just about how happy I am for him that he's found her. Speaking of them, they could use some prayers and positive thoughts right now. They are sitting in the ER, waiting on a plastic surgeon. My BIL got bit by a dog today. I'd be at the ER myself, playing mother hen, if it wasn't for the fact that I want to respect his girlfriend and her right to be the one to take care of him right now. So, I'm stuck at home, unable to sleep or focus on much of anything while I wait to hear how things are going. I'm hoping that the plastic surgeon is a good one and can minimize any scarring. Our family appreciates any prayers you can send on up. Thank you!

GI blog hop: Little bunny foo foo, hopping through the forest...

Oh, wait. Wrong time for that song. For some reason, though, the thought of a blog hop just made it pop into my head! That's what's going on today, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, a blog hop (and childhood songs that won't get out of my head). If you're here from Tracy's blog, you're in the right spot. If not, well, go there! We're doing several things today. First off, we're introducing our new DT member Carla. She does such great work and I'm so glad to have her with us. Welcome to the GI family, Carla! Secondly, we're having a blog hop with prizes until tomorrow, May 5th. Just leave a comment on every blog and you can win a gift certificate to Guylou's store or a Color Me Creative Copic class of your choice. How awesome is that? And third, it's time for a new challenge at Guylou's. This time around, my amazingly talented friend and fellow DT Tracy has picked the topic "Punches, Dies and Diamonds, oh my!" That makes my brain go to the Wizard of Oz, which seems like the perfect time to insert my fun, hokey fan picture from "Wicked", that I went to see with my friend Kim in NYC last weekend.

That's me on the right. You can probably identify it is as me, since I hold a flying monkey and they are my "thing." Don't make me get them. If you can't see the monkey, I'm the one in the black witch's cap that is hanging low, like the sorting hat from Harry Potter. Whoa, my brain is just going to all kinds of weird places today. Ok, brain, get back on track. We're talking challenges and hops here.

Let me get to the details before I forget, because apparently, my brain is really short circuiting today.
Challenge details: We want you to make a project that includes use of your punches and dies, as well as some flashy blingy stuff. I love bling! My jeweler calls me a raccoon because I am so attracted to it. I cracked up when he said that. I'm digressing again. Anyway, upload your project to Guylou's Inimitability by 10:00 pm EST on May 17th. You have the chance to win a gift cert to G's store, as well as the opportunity to appear as a guest DT on a future challenge.
Blog Hop Details: The hop starts today, May 4th and continues through tomorrow, May 5th. You have until 9:00 pm EST on May 5th to leave comments for all of the DT members. By doing so, you have the chance to win one of three prizes: 1) a $25 gc to Guylou's; 2) your choice of one copic course from the Color Me Creative Classroom; and 3) a $15 gc to Guylou's. Here's the order of the hop:
Tracy
Gina (you are here!)
Kim
Roxann
Carla
Guylou
Guylou's Inimitability

I know, I know, this post is getting long. I'm about to shut up.  Really. Here's my card for the challenge and hop. I used Cottage Cat, which was one of G's first cat images. I popped him up with some pop dots and colored him with copics. My punches are the border punches on the bottom half and the corner punch. Dies are Spellbinders oval and lacy oval. You can see my blingy blue rhinestones to represent the diamonds, I'm sure. Now it's time for me to shut my trap and for you to move on to the fab Kim's blog. I'm sure she's got something great to show you, while "Defying Gravity" plays repeatedly in my head...

***I have to put a disclaimer down here - that picture is one of the hokey tourist pics that you pay out your butt for - they take a pic of you and your friend in front of a green screen, then superimpose you on the image with the cast. I wish I could have met the cast, but alas, it did not happen ***