Make a Difference

For the first time EVER, I was packed up early for CHA, and had an opportunity to stamp for the Weekend Sketch Challenge before I left for Florida on Monday. I found the sketch so easy to work with and it came together quickly. Stampin’ Up! only! Can you believe it?

I’m sure you’ve all read lots and lots of CHA reviews and recaps by now. This was the smallest CHA show floor that I’ve been to, but I still don’t think I saw everything.  I tend to spend a lot of time visiting. Loved seeing all of our Splitcoast friends.  I also liked the October Afternoon and Cosmo paper that is coming, but I didn’t have a chance to see several favorites, like Basic Grey .  We’re getting ready to head over to the CHA SuperShow for consumers in a few minutes.  We’ve got cupcakes, and we’re ready to visit and do make & takes with our Splitcoast Friends.

You can check out samples of the sketch by visiting Beate, Cambria, Charmaine, Jenn, Laurie and Sharon.

I’m looking forward to it.

• Stamps: Great Friend - Stampin’ Up!
• Cardstock: Melon Mambo & Shimmery White - Stampin’ Up!
• In: Dusty Durango & Melon Mambo - Stampin’ Up!
• Accs: Dazzling Diamonds, Melon Mambo Ribbon - Stampin’ Up!

I received an order from the new Stampin’ Up! Occasions Mini last week. I loved opening that box.  When I think I about paper crafting, Stampin’ Up! was my ‘first love‘. A coordinated palette, beautiful accessories, wonderful wood mounted stamps.  For old times sake, I thought I’d try my hand at a SU Only card, as many SU demos call it, for the Weekend Sketch Challenge - being hosted by sweet Jenn this week. You can see the sketch by clicking on Jenn’s name. It was fun, but I had to alter it just a tad. Jenn knows I don’t do angles.

The tree stamp is from a new, cute little set called Forest Friend, and the sentiment is from my 24-7 wheel that I ripped apart after seeing this post by Jody. (It was too easy, slap on some cling mount and rock on. Jody’s my hero.) The patterned paper is also from the upcoming mini, and it’s called A Walk in the Park. Accented with the Top Note Die and a few baubles from the Pretties Kit, I pulled this together all while watching the Texas Tech Red Raiders lose their opportunity for a Big 12 Championship last night.

You can see other fabulous samples from my ‘girl friday’ friends: Beate, Cambria, Charmaine, Laurie, Mary Jo & Sharon. I can’t wait to see which of them went truly off-kilter and stuck with the angled sketch. I’ll be back in an hour or two - I’m putting the finishing touches on another post. I know! 2 in one day - it’s been ions since that’s happened! Stay tuned.

All supplies are Stampin’ Up:

• Stamps: Forest Friends &  Friendly Words Wheel
• Cardstock: Basic Grey, Walk in the Park designer paper
• Ink: Certainly Celery and Basic Grey
• Accs: Pretties Kit, Grey Taffeta Ribbon, Top Note Die, Dazzling Diamonds, Scalloped Edge Punch

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

My Divine Design post is late this month, but the beauty of this challenge is that you can play along any time. There is plenty of inspiration if you check out Jami Bova, Nancy Morgan, Taylor VanBruggen and Angel Wilde. You can read the details on this thread at Splitcoast and join us. I do plan to be more timely next month, but please jump in when you can.

I have several different Bibles that I have used or will use from time to time depending on what I’m studying, where I’m at in the house or which one I have left in my car for the car-rider line at the schools. Of all the copies we have in our home, it always warms my heart to thumb through my husband’s Bible.  He has 2.  One is a Study Bible and the other is a smaller pocket Bible that he carries on trips. When I bought the smaller one, I traced my hand and both of the girls hands into the front cover with a very short love note.

Several days ago, I had Wes’s Bible on my desk, and I was searching for an answer to a question that’s troubled me for months. It’s not an overwhelming, major issue and I know that it will work out, but over time I’ve found myself reacting in various ways, mainly rooted in pride because I can’t seem to fix it all on my own right this minute. I landed in Ecclesiastes. These 2 verses spoke to me and that situation - I can hear the Lord saying, “I know the end of this road, Lori.  Stay on course. Your patience and faith in my timing is far better than anything you could force here. Let go of your pride. I know you desire to see answers quickly, but I see the big picture here.” I’m committing this one to memory.

As for your husband’s Bible, if he doesn’t have one, even if he’s not a regular reader yet, don’t give up on him - there’s a perfect day this week to present one. <wink> I can’t think of a better way to say, ‘I Love You - you are precious to me.’

Hope you have a wonderful day!

•  Stamps: Branch Out - Stampin’ Up!
• Cardstock: Light Frost Blue (Prism), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Olive and Patterned Paper (Stampin’ Up!)
• Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up!) Watermelon and Lettuce (Adirondack by Ranger)
• Accs: button, Copic air-brush, filigree brads & scalloped edge punch (Stampin’ Up!)

In the spirit of quality time with my family, I’m posting one of my favorite cards ever that I created last Thanksgiving.  This was shortly after I discovered Copic Markers. The image is an older Stampin’ Up! From 2000-2002ish called Bountiful Blessings. It’s stamped on Poison Ivory and accented with a glitter pen. There’s still time to enter for Copic and Cupcake blog candy on my blog and over at Sharon’s. See yesterday’s post for the details.

Here’s hoping your day is filled with lots of laughter, many, many blessings and even more  cornbread dressing. Happy Thanksgiving!

Probably my favorite Stampin’ Up! set ever, Natural Beauty, was my go to set this morning. I think it will be in my collection forever.  I’ll be sending this to some friends at church today. I’ll hope it brings a sense of comfort.

Beate’s sketch went together quickly today. That was probably out of necessity as it’s another crazy Friday. I’m anxious to check out Sharon, Mary Jo, Laurie, Jenn, Charmaine, Cambria and Beate to see what they’ve thrown together today.

I’m going to leave you with the details. The label was created by inking the actual label die with Pearlescent Brilliance ink before cutting and embossing. This gives you a ‘frame’ so to speak where the dry embossed edge is. The bird was colored with Copics and AirBrushed with Copic RV10. I have to run, so if you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to answer you.

• Stamps: Aged Music Scrapblock (Cornish Heritage Farms) & Natural Beauty (Stampin’ Up!)
• Cardstock: Simply Smooth Vanilla (Prism), Close to Cocoa & Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up!) and Sultry (Basic Grey)
• Ink: Espresso Adirondack (Ranger)
• Accs: Label One & Large Rectangle Scalloped Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Copic Markers (E31, E33, RV10), Copic Airbrush System, ribbon (Beaux Regards)

I love it when I get to do Splitcoast Challenges. The colors in today’s challenge are just gorgeous together, and I finally got to play again with some new stuff that arrived from the Stampin’ Up! catalog. I don’t know how those boxes just keep showing up around here…I’m sure none of you can relate. Here is Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss and Very Vanilla with one of my favorite SU! sets, Fabulous. I had a lot of fun using my Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities for the bottom edge and slanted border and the new Curvy Label punch from SU!

I’ve got some work to do today, so I’ll keep this short, but I’ll be back tomorrow with the blog candy I promised last week. Have a great evening!

About every 2 weeks for the last few months, Wes goes out to check his trail camera and deer stand. The season doesn’t open until November, but it’s somewhat of a big deal around here, similar to dove season in Texas. So, Wes will bring in the memory card from the motion sensitive  camera, and the girls and I gather around the computer to see what has happened out there over the last few weeks. We ‘ooh and aah’ for Wes when we see a nice buck flash on the screen. Pop the popcorn, friends, we’re big time excitement here in Missouri!

This set, Nature’s Silhouette, was the first thing I chose from the new Stampin’ Up! fall catalog. I normally don’t purchase stamps because they make me think of Wes, but he often says something similar to this when he’s begging off to go hunting. I don’t know to many church going women who don’t swoon when their man starts talking about worship and God and stuff.

My first SU! catalog order arrived this week. I wish a little sunshine (for a cleaner picture) would have come along with it. The tree and the grass on the main image were colored with Tombow makers. The sky is airbrushed with my Copic Marker system. The deer is stamped in Close to Cocoa. The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip Craft ink. I always switch to pigment or craft ink when I’m working with non-neutral cardstock. Felt ribbon and hardware are from the new SU! catty, as well.

I’ve got another card to write up for sweet Taylor, so I’ll leave you with links for more sketch-spiration, sign off here and be back in a few.

More takes on Beate’s sketch: Beate, Cambria, Charmaine, Jenn, Laurie, MaryJo and sweet Sharon.

• Stamps: Nature Silhouette (Stampin’ Up!)
• Cardstock: Suede Dark Brown, Willow Medium (Prism) & Soft Sky
• Ink: Cocoa & Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up!)
• Accs: Tombow Markers, Copic Airbrush for sky, hardware & felt ribbon (Stampin’ Up!)

When my friend Jami asks you to swap, you swap…. I {heart} that woman! This was my card for her Catalog Preview Swap hosted at Splitcoaststampers.

This is a new set from the Stampin’ Up! catalog called Dream du Jour. The card is tri-fold. The Robin Hood Red flap opens up and the plaid flap opens down. The plaid paper is from a new Stampin’ Up! paper pack called Bella Rose. The circular image was stamped with Timber Brown StazOn and colored with re-inker and an Aqua Painter. It’s sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds. Pearls from the Pretties Kit and Taffeta Ribbon finish it off. I’m expecting that new SU! catalog to find it’s way to my mailbox just any ole day, and it will be Diet Coke and lounge chair time, for sure! when that happens. Hey, who am I to mess with an 8 year old tradition?

Thanks for hanging with me over the last quiet week or so. We spent 5 days at the lake (I’ll post what I colored while relaxing tomorrow.), and I’ve been busy catching up. I’m expecting my blogging to be back to a regular schedule when school starts in just 10 days - yippee! (did I say that out loud?) Tomorrow is also Divine Design, so I’ll see you then! Have a great night!

So, I adore all the little berry and floral Lockhart images that Sharon teases me with all the time, but I hadn’t had time to go through the agony of choosing and ordering yet. Then, my mom shows up with her 3rd (literally) load of stuff for a garage sale this weekend, and she has this adorable little Stampin’ Up! set from 1997 called Country Greetings.

I’m supposed to be purging, but I snatched it right up. It has a basket of berries, a cat, the quilt block and a few other things in the case. Of course, my mom isn’t an SU! purist, and there are some other stamps from other sets <gasp> mixed in the case. While I’m supposed to be clearing stuff out, I’ve decided that it’s ok….I can find a place to tuck this one little ole set.

This is for Beate’s Weekend Sketch Challenge, and I’m going to leave you to visit Beate, Cami, Jenn, Laurie, Mary Jo and Sharon for other inspirations while I peddle my old junk all in the name of new stamp room furniture. Have a great weekend!

• Stamps: Country Greetings (SU! 1997), Polka Dot Scrapblock™, Pretty Pattern Backgrounder - both from Cornish Heritage Farms

• Cardstock: Sunflower Medium, Spring Willow Medium, Desert Coral Light Prism

• Ink: Espresso Adirondack

• Accs: Ribbon - May Arts from Jacksonbelle, Copic Markers, Dew Drops

I’m underneath a mountain of laundry and unopened mail as we’ve had a busy, busy week at the Craig house, so I’m keeping the blah, blah to a bare minimum. This is a super fast card for my sweet hubby who has really helped me this week! Hope you have a wonderful, restful weekend.

You can see lots of inspiration if you visit Beate Johns, Cambria Turnbow, Charmaine Ikach, Laurie Schmidlin, Mary Jo Albright and Sharon Harnist.

• Stamps: Everything - Stampin’ Up!

• Cardstock: Brown linen - Archivers, Spring Willow Light Prism, Poison Ivory

• Ink: VersaMagic Dew Drops: Jumbo Java & Gingerbread, Tsukineko Glue Pad

• Accs: Build a Brad, lace (Making Memories), Glitter