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 ***

My turn, my turn, my turn!!!

Can you see me waving my arms around, hollering that it's my turn?!? Yes, it's my turn to play hostess this time for Guylou's Inimitability. This time around, we're doing a "crazy cat lady" color challenge. Ok, it is true. I am verging on becoming the crazy cat lady. Or, so I am told by my 15 year old nephew. According to his teenage wisdom, if I get even one more cat, that will officially push me into crazy cat lady territory. For the record, I have three. They're all siamese and full of personality. The two of I've had the longest are sealpoints, and were the inspiration for this challenge. I want you to make a card inspired by the color of a sealpoint siamese, which is to say, blue for the eyes and brown and cream for the fur. Here's a picture of my girls to give you some idea:

Aren't they beautiful? I know that I'm biased, but I can't help but think that in this case, I'm also right!!!

G is also helping you out by giving away her image cat on a fence for free. You've only got 24 hours to snatch it up! Even if you miss out, just go buy it. One, it's precious. Two, G's prices are extremely reasonable. Three, everyone will love a card you make with one of her kitty images.

Speaking of cards, I guess I should show you mine. Mother's Day is just around the corner. My mother-in-law has two grey cats who love to sit in the window and watch the world go by. This image seemed perfect.

Now, I probably went a little too turqouise-y with my blue, so I tossed in some blue more reminiscent of siamese kitty eyes in the flowers and on the pot. I colored this adorable image with copics, added some glossy accents to the nose and some ivory flowersoft to the flower. The background paper reminded me of the paneling in my inlaws' house. Yes, they still have way too much paneling. I colored a doily with some brown ink and put it down below the flowers, which are a mixture of Wild Orchid Crafts and cheapo Dollar Store finds. The cool shutters are from Michael's Recollections collection. I love them.

You have until 10:00 EST on May 4th to enter the challenge. Come on, be a crazy cat lady with me! Pretty please!?!?

My heart beats like mushy mush mush

That is pretty much my heart right about now. It's all twitterpated over this adorable thing my friend's kid said today. Kim and I have been friends for 28 years, since the first day of 7th grade. Naturally, when she had her son five years ago, I was visiting him in the hospital and bonding with my new buddy. Well, he's five now. For his fifth birthday last month, I got him a Sonic the Hedgehog Racing Game. He's been taking it over to his Poppy's house to play on a regular basis. Today, as he was getting out of the truck in preparation for running into Poppy's house, his daddy heard him say, "God, please tell Gina thank you for getting me the sonic racing game." Seriously, how cute is that?!? What are some cute things you've heard a kid say lately? What made your heart dissolve into mush?

Spring is in the air!

Ok, so I know, the title is not that original. Sorry about that. Although I'm setting this post to come up on Monday, it's really Sunday night and I am beat. I have no brain power left to come up with a clever title. It's been a LONG weekend. A great one, but LONG and BUSY. Isn't it kind of cool how you can schedule posts on blogger, though? It's like time travel!

Anyhow, you probably don't want to hear me prattle on about soccer games, cleaning, shopping, creating, and all of the other things that composed a rather mundane weekend, so I'll just go ahead and show you my card for the Belles n' Whistles challenge. This time around, we're focusing on spring!

This little cutie is one Elisabeth's designs for Sweet Pea Stamps. I stamped her off on kraft paper from Gina K, then colored her up with copics. The DP is from Graphic 45. Flowers are Wild Orchid Crafts. The metal tab is Making Memories, the little bracket journaling block is Maya Road, and the cameo is from Webster's Pages. I snagged the ribbon off of a gift bag. Pearls are Kaiser Kraft. I think the felt butterfly is Heidi Swapp. I think that about covers it! Now head on over to the blog and check out what the DT has to show you. This ends my term on the BnW Guest DT. It was fun; I always love to create with Elisabeth Bell's adorable images, and to create alongside such a talented group was an honor!

Happy Spring!

My post is so late!!!

Holy cow! I finished my card long before it was due, but somehow, posting it slipped my mind. Here is my card for the latest challenge over at Guylou's Inimitability:

This time around, we're using a sketch created by our awesome leader, Guylou, and the creator of such fun designs as the one I used on this card. Head on over to the blog to get the details and see this fun sketch! Go ahead..move along....don't be late like me! Man, I still can't believe I forgot. So sorry, G!!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

I'm headed to my aunt and uncle's house tomorrow to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. She's always telling me that she doesn't need much, but on a fixed income, I know that she appreciates all that she gets to "help out." She gets her medications and some fun stuff from Walmart, so I stopped there to get her a gift card. I also made her a card, which I showed you a few posts ago. Tonight, I decided to make her a cute little notebook. I snagged the idea from another blogger but can't seem to find the post to give her credit. Sorry about that! I hate when I do that; it makes me irritated at myself because people should get credit for the ideas they give me. Anyway, the idea was to take one of the little notebooks with matching pen from Michael's dollar spot and fancy it up. So, that's what I did. Check it out:

The little notebook came with that pretty blue flower pattern. I added a new stamp that I also got at Michael's and colored up with copics. I added some bling to the image with my stardust pens, but it's hard to see. Then I cut it out with spellbinders nesties, and stamped a sentiment and cut it out with my spellbinders labels. I inked around the edges to make them pop a little more. I added some flowers and pearls from my stash, some white leaves from the Dollar Tree, and ta-da!

Here's a closer look at this cute stamp:

Adorable, right? I should note that I adhered everything with KI Gloo, because that stuff is like cement. Once it dries, it holds EVERYTHING. I don't think anything is going to pop off of her little notebook, even if she shoves it down inside the very bottom of her purse.

That's all I've got tonight. I should hit the hay soon. 8:00 comes early, and that's what time I need to get up to make the two hour drive and be there in time for the festivities. Have a wonderful, blessed Easter weekend. Feel free to send me some of your extra chocolate.

Who knew that lemon and pepper could be so sweet?

Well, the Lemon Pepper image from Elisabeth Bell for Whimsy Stamps is sweet. She's downright precious. I am having so much fun coloring my new Cottage Cuties! The latest card is for my Grandma, for her birthday next month. I'm going to visit her in two weeks, and wanted to have the card ready to go. I didn't want to wait til the last minute and then stress, or run the risk that Mr. Mojo would be his usual persnickety self and take off, you know? While he was still visiting, I colored up sweet little Lemon Pepper and decided to show her off on a card. Here she is:

I chose her for more reasons than her utter cuteness. One, her balloon makes me think of celebrations like birthdays. Two, I like the combination of purple with creams and yellows (and since lemons are yellow...well, you get it). Three, she seems to be saying hi to a little bird. My gram loves birds, but especially hummingbirds. So, I used my spica pens to color the feathers like a hummingbird, and used my multiliner to increase the length of the beak a tiny bit. The story of my gram's love for hummingbirds comes from a rather bittersweet place. My dad died in 2002. After his death, this one little hummingbird would come to my gram's window each morning. I can't remember how she could identify him as "hers", but he had some distinctive marking of some sort. Then my gram moved to another house. You guessed it; the same hummingbird found her there (or one with the same markings, but she prefers to believe it's the same little guy). She swears this hummingbird was sent by my dad to let her know that he's okay. Sweet, huh?

So, anyhow, Gram's favorite color is purple, so I figured Basic Grey's Kioshi line would be perfect for her card. The flowers are prima, tickets are Tim Holtz, lace is from my stash, and I used a Whimsy pennant die to cut the banners. I went around all of the papers with my piercing bug. I colored the image with copics. Here's the list, in case you're interested:

Hair: E31, E25, E50
Skin: E00, E0000, R20 (blush)
Grass: YG63, YG67
Balloon: YG06, YG05, YG03
Outfit: E53, E51, E50, V25, V22, V20, BV0000, Y15, Y13, purple spica pen

I'm entering her in the following challenges:
Whimsy Inspiration Blog: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp: Bingo - flowers, lace, and twine