It's Baaaaccckkk

Great news!!!  My mojo seems to be coming back.  I'm so thankful.  I went for over three weeks without doing any crafting whatsoever.  I've never gone that long without crafting, unless my health prevented me from doing so.  I was getting a bit worried.  Here I have ALL of these craft supplies and I had no desire to make a thing.  What if I stayed that way forever? lol  Normally if my mojo is a bit lacking I at least putter around and make backgrounds or color images.  I didn't even do that.  I hope my mojo had fun wherever it went.  I'm thinking it was somewhere warm and tropical. ;)

 The awesome rubber stamp I used is from Heart and Soul Rubber Stamp Co.  Sue carries a fabulous selection of Christian stamps and lots of other great stamps too.  If you're on a tight budget, you will really appreciate being able to get any of Sue's unmounted stamps for just $1.50 each.  Sue also offers her stamps on cling mount and wood and has grab bags available.  A friend sent me some card stock embossed with the Cuttlebug Allegro folder, because I love that folder and don't have it.  It makes a beautiful background.  I'm hoping Santa will leave one in my stocking. :)

Challenges I'm entering:
Word Art Wednesday
Scripture Thursday @ Little Birdie Blessings
Stampin Sisters in Christ - Make a card of praise using music

Blessings

• My dh has been able to start the process of laser surgery on his lip.  Ask me about this if you want to hear the details of how God worked this out.  We didn't think dh would ever be able to have this surgery.
• My new Ott light.  A wonderful gift that is helping me see so much better when I'm crafting.
• My doctors.  Parts of Kenya have only one doctor per every 50,000 people and I have multiple doctors who care for me.  I'm beyond blessed - I'm spoiled.  
• Giving to others.  There are so many in need and there are lots of ways to give - not just financially. 

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Fall Tag Banner

Hi friends.  I'm slipping in here with this Autumn project before November is over.  I know many of you are already on to Christmas projects, but I march to the beat of a different drum. :)  Many thanks to Keri at Pressed Down, Shaken Together for the idea and tutorial for this banner.  Keri also has a great tutorial for a Christmas tag banner.  I apologize for the poor quality of my pictures.  The light in my living room is terrible.  The wall paint doesn't even look like the color it really is.  Not that you're here to see my living room wall paint anyhow. lol

 After I saw the picture of my banner I decided that I wanted to add a piece of a flourish die cut to the pumpkins to look like a vine.   I was too busy lazy to take a new picture.  Sorry. 

 I'm linking this to:
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything but a card
Crafty Purple Frog Challenge - Use orange
 Terrifically Thrilling Thursday at Shelly's Images - Anything Goes

Blessings

• I've lost 40 lb. now!!!  That's 80 lb. total lost since I was on a high dose of Prednisone long term.
• Christmas music - I love it and couldn't resist any longer.  I've been singing all day.
• Rice cheese - A great alternative when you have food allergies.

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

To Trick or To Treat?

Hi friends.  I hope you all had a good weekend and were able to squeeze in some crafting time.  My eyes are coming along, but still very painful if they get too much light, so I'm not taking time to comment on blogs yet.  But I am briefly visiting a few blogs each day now as long as I have my  dark glasses on, so I'm making progress.

The  digital tree image and bats on this card are freebies from Create with TLC.  The digital sentiment is a freebie from Artifact by Rebecca.  The moon is a circle that I cut out and inked and the background paper is some Basic Grey from my stash.  I used some vintage seam binding for the bow.  I cut the tree and bats out by hand.

 Here's a close up that shows the awesome texture in my vintage seam binding.  I love how it is frayed with age.

 And a close up of the sentiment.  I want to be sure everyone can read it.  It's such a great sentiment. :)

Challenges:
Create with TLC - Use their tree image
Allsorts - Halloween
Basic Grey - Autumn/Fall/Halloween
Di's Digi Designs - Halloween
Fashionista Friday - Spooky Halloween
Delightful Challenges - Halloween
Inky Impressions - Trick or Treat: Halloween Spooky
Crafting for All Seasons - Halloween or Color Challenge
Just Some Lines Saturday Challenge - Halloween

Blessings

• Phone time with my mom
• Family night
• My computer.  Not being able to use it very much lately has made me realize how much I depend on it for so many things.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Blog Hops

Today and tomorrow there will be two different blog hops going on to help raise $13,000 to cover holiday shipping costs for Operation Write Home.  Operation Write Home is a not-for-profit organization that collects and sends handmade greeting cards to our nations troops for their use in keeping in touch with their families back home.

Today's blog hop starts at Connie's blog. 

Saturday (October 22nd) a different blog hop will start at Jan's blog.

Please come hop along and show your support for our troops.

Inky hugs!
Shelly

A Special Cause

 ***I'm unable to visit blogs for now, because my eyes have flared up.  The light from the computer is painful.  I'll be back to visiting as soon as possible. :)***

Hi friends.  I made this card with two digital stamps from a set that is being sold in a fundraiser for Operation Write Home.  Operation Write Home is a not-for-profit organization that collects and sends handmade greeting cards to our nations troops for their use in keeping in touch with their families back home. They need to raise $13,000 to cover holiday shipping costs.   K 'n K Designs will be selling 7 new digi sets designed exclusively for this cause.  Each "set" includes an image and several greetings, in both Jpeg an PNG file formats.  These sets are just $2 each or in various value bundles (e.g. get them all for just $10!).  All proceeds (minus Paypal fees) will be donated to Operation Write Home.  The sets can be purchased at the K 'n K blog (NOT their store) from October 17th thru noon November 1st.  For those who don't use digital stamps, but would still like to help you can donate directly to Operation Write Home here.

Four of the sets are by Katlyn Traxler and three of the sets are by Deedee Anderson.  The set I used for my card is "Thoughtful Teddies" by Deedee Anderson.  I love that sweet teddy sitting there with the dreamy look on her face. :)

Challenges:
The Squirrel and The Fox - One for the Girls
Crafter's Companion - Pink and Green
DigiDesigns - Girly Creations
Little Miss Muffet - Girly Girl

Blessings

• Rain, which we needed badly. Our wildflower patch is happy.
• Fall decorations from a friend. So beautiful!
• A good dvd

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Blog Candy Winners!!!

 Yes, you all voted to share the candy between two winners.  I love that you did that. :)  Thank you all for the lovely blogaversary wishes and for taking part in my blog candy.  I'm going to keep this short, because my eyes are flared up and the light from the computer is painful.  Soooo, the winners are.........................................................................................................................................................





Tammy @ My Craft Central


Anne-Marie @ Little Applefalls

Congratulations gals!!!!  Send me your address at webe34him(at)bellsouth(dot)net and I'll get your candy on it's way. 

Inky hugs!
Shelly

For my BBQ King

Happy Hump Day!  Be sure to sign up for my blog candy, if you haven't.  A warm welcome from the sunshine state to my new followers.  I'm so happy to have you here. :)

I really enjoyed making this card for my husband's birthday.  The BBQ king image is a terrific freebie from Melonheadz Illustrating.  I used it, because hubby does all of our grilling for us.  (And actually the majority of our cooking too.)  The dog image is a wooden stamp with no markings on it.  My mom got it for me in Michigan, because it looks like our dogs.  I used it, because our grand dog shares my hubby's birthday. :)  The September calendar and circle sentiment are two marvelous freebies from Bluebirdflats.  Last, but certainly not least, the banner is a wonderful freebie from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff.  I colored the images with Prismacolor markers and Prismacolor pencils.  I added some clear gel pen to details.  I used sepia ink on the calendar and sentiment and attached the banner with two sizes of brads.
ETA: After I sent Cindy at Bluebirdflats a link to this post it dawned on me that I forgot to mention that I cased her card when I made this card for my hubby. So, Cindy not only provided some of the freebie stamps, but also the inspiration for the whole card.  Thanks so much, Cindy.

Challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything Goes
The Crafty Pad - One for the Boys
One Stop Craft - Just for Men

Blessings

• Decorating for Fall
• Friends :)
• Music

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

• 
  

Wrung Out! Hung out!

Hi friends.  First of all, be sure to go sign up for my Blog Candy, if you haven't already.  Also, a warm southern welcome to my new followers.  It's great to have you here. :)

 I used two wonderful, free digital stamps from Create with TLC to make this card.  Be sure to check out her blog.  There's a blog hop going on right now, among other things.  There's always something fun going on there. :)

 I colored my images with Prismacolor markers, Prismacolor pencils and ink pads.  I inked the edges of all the papers and added some baker's twine, which my sister, Sheila, sent me as a gift and I've been hoarding. lol  A simple, but fun card, especially when you know I made it for someone who had to under go a Colonoscopy.  I thought the sentiment was very appropriate for the way you feel after preparing for a Coloonoscopy. ;)

Challenges:
Create with TLC - World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop
One Stitch At A Time - Use a Digi
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Drunken Stampers - Get Well/Thinking of You
Mark's Finest Papers - Use Polka Dots

I had a bit of excitement yesterday.  I went to get out of bed and my little dog, Princess, was sitting at my feet with a small snake she had killed there in our bedroom.  Hubby was home and disposed of the nasty thing for me and sealed the place we think the snake got in.  Princess received very lavish praise.  Such is life in an old wood frame home.

Blessings

• I received some very special happy mail, not just once, but twice this week.  How blessed can a gal be?!?
• Hubby brought me a pot of pretty, miniature mums to brighten up my craft room for Autumn.
• Hubby and my dd each earned a $25 gift certificate.  What a help with the holidays approaching!

Have a terrific day!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Blog Candy Time!!!

 Blog candy is now closed.
Hi friends.  My blog turned 3 years old this week.  It's time to celebrate my blogaversary with some yummy blog candy!   I have an Autumn/Halloween themed package of blog candy and a Christmas themed package of blog candy. You, my readers, are going to decide if ALL of the candy should go to one winner or if it should be split between TWO winners with the Autumn/ Halloween package going to one winner and the Christmas package going to another.  When you leave your comment, tell me if you want all of the candy to go to one winner or if you want it split between two winners.  Your comments will decide the fate of the candy. :)

What do you need to do to win?

1. Become a follower of my blog if you want to - it's not required to win.
2. Leave a comment.
3. Tell me if you want all of the candy to go to one winner or want if you want it to be split between two winners. 
4. Please link my blog candy on your blog or side bar. (Not required to win.)
5. Check back on October 16th to see if you are one of the winners.  You'll have a week to claim your candy.

Here's what you could win:             (click on image to enlarge it)

The Autumn/Halloween Candy
1. Inkadinkado Clear Stamps - Autumn Foliage
2. Jolee's Boutique - Boo
3. Jolee's by You - Pumpkin Basket
4. Jolee's Boutique - Funny Pumpkins
5. Jolee's Boutique - Acorns
6. K&Company Halloween Rub-On Magic

The Christmas Candy
1. TPC Studio Clear Stamps - Christmas Glamour
2. Jolee's by You - Holy Dove
3. Jolee's Boutique - Christmas Tree
4. Jolee's Boutique - Merry Christmas
5. Making Memories Mistletoe Trims & Treats - 69 pieces
6. Provo Craft Gold Mini Scraps
7. Provo Craft Green Mini Scraps

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Celebrate Love!

Hi friends.  I'm calling summer 2011 "The Hospital Summer".  I'm happy to be able to report that my sister and mom are doing well now.  A big, heartfelt thank you to all of you for your concern and prayers.  You really touched my heart.  Shortly after my sister and mom got out of the hospital my husband landed in the emergency room and then five days in the cardiac unit with his heart condition.  He gave me a nasty scare, but he's doing well now.  The doctor has him on new medications and except for being tired from the medication he's back to normal.  While hubby was in the hospital I was using his van and someone backed into it in a parking lot.  Ruined the back bumper, but we were fine, except that it upped my stress level. :)  Hubby is principal and a teacher at a residential boy's school and the boys were back for the start of school three days after hubby was released from the hospital.  So much for his easing back into things like the doctor told him to.  The humorous thing is that hubby honestly thought that WAS easing back into things.   Plus he had worked some on the 3 days in between. lol

Next our daughter had her turn at the emergency room due to her doctor insisting she go there during an office visit.  It ended up being a waste of time and money seeing they didn't diagnose her problem.  Just gave her pain meds she had an allergic reaction to and told her to go to a specialist.  So she's seeing the specialist now and having tests. 

Okay, enough of that stuff.  On to my card.  I made this for Mark for our 30th wedding anniversary.  Thirty years and we're more in love than ever. :)  Can't beat that!  The sentiment is from a digital set called "Celebrate Doodled" by Create with TLC.  The hearts are from the "Amore and More" clear stamp set by Scrappy Cat and I used my "D'vine Swirls" Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background.  The sentiment is
on a Spellbinders "Labels Eight" die.

 I used clear glaze pens on the sentiment to make it shiny and raised and I used clear embossing powder to do the same for the hearts.  I inked the edges of the hearts with silver ink.

Challenges:
The Corrosive Challenge - Punches or Dies
Wee Memories - No Pattern Paper

Blessings

• We had a very nice, but too brief, visit from hubby's brother.
• Juicy watermelon!!! Better than any candy. :)
• Fun, family time. :)

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Prayers please

Please pray for my family.  I received a phone call a little while ago saying my mom had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance with chest pain.  My mom has two artificial heart valves and a pace maker. 

 My sister, Sheila, had to have emergency surgery a week ago and is still in the hospital due to complications.  Sheila has two young daughters that she is anxious to get home to.

They're all in northern Michigan and I'm here in Florida waiting for news.  I so wish I was there.

Thank you for your prayers for all of them.

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Fresh Srawberries

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Florida.  A nice change from all of the rain we've been having. We really needed the rain, but it's great to have a whole day of sunshine for a change.  A warm, southern welcome to my newest follower.  Thanks so much for choosing to follow my blog. :)

I love this digi image by Designed2Delight that I've used on my card.  Fresh fruit is such a treat and strawberries are a favorite of mine.  When I was a teen there was a "Pick Your Own" strawberry farm just down the road from my dad's house.  I used to spend a great deal of time there picking strawberries just so I could eat the strawberries fresh off the plant.  If they had weighed me before and after picking they would have charged me extra. ;)  The sentiment stamp is from International Greetings.  The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils. The punch is from Martha Stewart and I added some dew drops to the card for a bit of embellishment.

 Challenges:
Designed2Delight - Free Digi Challenge
Fab'n' Funky - Baker's dozen!

Blessings

• Nice fruit on the clearance table at the produce stand.
• A new devotional book that I'm getting so much from.
• Mark has been finding lots of used books for me lately - gotta read or a day isn't complete. :)

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

A Dead Hippo

Greeting from rainy Florida.  No thunder or lightning though, which is strange for us, especially during the summer.

Do you ever get a mental block about a stamp?  I get a mental block about coloring the fish on this stamp.  I avoid using it for ages, because of that.  Then once I force myself to use it I end up liking the way I color the fish better than than the way I color the rest of the image.  (Rolling my eyes at my own foolishness.)  I colored/painted this with my watercolor pencils and a few gel pens.  The stamp is from Inkadinkado and I've had it for ages.  The rest is card stock from my scrap stash.

 Challenges:
Art Impressions - Something from your Stash
Paper Crafting Journey - For Him
Inspire Me Fridays

You may be wondering what a dead hippo has to do with my card.  The answer is, "Not much, except that the odor of a dead hippo under my home does tend to affect my creativity in a negative manner.".  We live in an old, wooden home that is built on stilts and from time to time an animal dies under our home and the odor is very unpleasant.  A few weeks ago a hippo died under the bathroom floor.  How do we know it was a hippo?  Hubby figured it out, because it's taking longer for it's odor to clear away than any other animal we've had die under there in our 30 years in this home.  Makes perfect sense to me!  I just hope that it was a skinny hippo, so that we get some relief soon. ;)

Blessings

•  I had some delicious, fresh grapes for a treat today.
• A coupon to get 30 pictures developed for free!!!  I'm going to have a lot of scrap booking to do with all these pictures I'm getting developed lately. :)
• Life's simple joys - an exceptionally funny day with the dogs, relaxed time to chat with hubby and daughter, seeing a squirrel do some amazing acrobatics on a tree limb.

I hope your day is also filled with blessings and simple joys.

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Flower Fairy

Hello friends.  This sweet fairy stamp is from Stamps Happen.  I'm not sure if this stamp is retired or not.  I really enjoyed coloring it.  I used my Prismacolor pencils.  I added some Shimmerz on her wings. 

 Challenges:
Flutterby Wednesday - Open Week
Crafts and Me - Favorite Stamp/Image
Clear It Out Tuesday - Wing It Out

My little dog, Princess, loves nature.  She will try to make friends with almost any creature that comes along.  The other night she tried to befriend a Blue Land Crab.  Fortunately, it was on the other side of the fence or she may have ended up with a nasty pinch on her nose.  The crabs are about 6" across.

Her favorite friend is one of the squirrels in our back yard.  They spend a great deal of time entertaining each other.  Here are photos of the squirrel peering down at Princess from the tree and Princess peering back up at the squirrel. 

 

Blessings

• Our beautiful, nature-filled back yard.  One of my favorite places.
• I've been able to make some cards lately.
• A good report for my daughter from her doctor.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Summer Delight

Summer Delight is what I'd name this digi stamp from Designed2Delight.  It includes so much that I love - the beach, flip flops and a star fish.  It's so me. ;)  It's a freebie from the Delightful Inspiration blog and you can get it through tomorrow.  The sentiment is from a digi set by CDSKT.  If anyone knows what the initials stand for, I'd be happy to include the entire name and link.  Sometimes I can't remember a company name when I only have the initials to go by.

I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils.  I popped the starfish and the sentiment up with some ds foam tape to give them some dimension.  I paper sculpted the flower in the dp to give it some dimension too.  I meant to ink the edges of the image and sentiment, but was chatting with Mark and watching tv while making the card and forgot.  Which just goes to show that I can't talk and craft at the same time. lol

 Challenges:
Designed2Delight Image Challenge
Scrap Creations - Summer
The Stamping Boutique - Summer Scene
The Crazy Challenge - On the Beach

Here's a picture I took of a butterfly on a Zinnia.  The Zinnia was beyond it's prime, but the butterfly is so beautiful that I had to share.  I so enjoy nature.

Blessings

• A voucher to have 101 pictures developed for free!!!
• A sweet phone call from a friend.
• A new color of nail polish that my dd gave me.  I can't wait to do my toes. :)

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Gray Wolf

Hello friends.  Summer is here and with it comes a different schedule, which makes it difficult for me to fit in crafting and blogging time.  But I'll pop in whenever I can.  A warm welcome to my new followers.  I'm so happy to have you here. :) 

Here is a masculine card, which I enjoyed making.  Usually masculine cards are a real challenge for me, but this one was fun.  The beautiful stamp, which I borrowed from my daughter, is from Sarasota Stamps.  I colored it with watercolor pencils.

 I'm entering these challenges:
CES Challenges - Woodland Creatures
Inspire Me Fridays - Always Anything Goes
Hanna and Friends - Card for a Man
The Stamping Boutique - No DP

My hubby has had some vacation days and he has spent some of that time working on a nice wooden counter in my craft room.  He only has a bit of trim work left to do on it.  It's great to have a handy and loving hubby to do things like this for me.  In fact, he's the one who came up with the idea, so that I could better use my space. 

Blessings

• My wonderful hubby and the new counter that he built for me.
• Some much needed dresses that we've found new and used at terrific prices.
• Lots of rain - we need it so badly.
• Some awesome happy mail.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

*Gasp* A Card!

Hi friends.  At last I've made a card once again. It's for the OWH Stars and Stamps Sketch Chellenge #69.  Sketches aren't my strong point.  Maybe because I started stamping waaayyyyyyyy before there was such a thing as a sketch or maybe I'm just too literal minded. LOL  Anyhow, working from a sketch is a real challenge for me.  I do find the OWH sketches more user friendly than most.  Here's the sketch:


 I used some pretty dp as my background, added some embellishments and that was it!  The colors in my photo are quite off.  The paper colors are off, the green flower is a different shade, the gemstone is peridot colored, the trim is a lighter green and the hemp is brown.  But it gives you the general idea and I couldn't get the colors to adjust better no matter what I tried. 

***Please pray for a friend of mine who is in labor with her first baby today.  It has been 20 hours so far and she has some pregnancy related health concerns.  Another friend of mine could use your prayers too.  She's preparing all of the food for her daughter's wedding tomorrow.  She's working on it today and tomorrow morning.  It's going to be a feast, but a lot of work for her.

Anne-Marie at Little-Applefalls has passed on the Stylish Blogger Award to me.  Thank you sweet friend.  Please visit Anne-Marie's blog and leave her some love.  You'll fall in love with her wit and beautiful cards.

 Here are the rules of the award:

- Thank the person who gave this to me and link back to her blog
- Share 8 things about myself
- Pass this to 8 other bloggers
- Leave a comment so they can pass along the recognition

Okay, eight things about me:

1. God is the center of my life.
2. Family means everything to me.  We're very family oriented.
3. I have a collection of pretty marbles. Just a pint size jar of them.  They sit in front of the window on my desk to pick up the sunlight.  I got them to remind me of my marble collection I had as a child & because they're so pretty.
4. I also have a beautiful collection of seashells, because I love everything to do with the ocean. The majority of them I found myself on various beaches.  I use some of them in my decor. 
5. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the constant barrage of new paper crafting products that keep coming out and wish for the more simple way things were back when I first learned to stamp many years ago.
6. I make a lot of my own earrings.  It's fun to be able to make exactly what I want to go with an outfit.
7. I read myself to sleep every night.  I like the Yada Yada Prayer Group series, the Sister Chick series, Lori Wick, Hannah Alexander, Terri Blackstock, Mary Higgins Clark, Lillian Jackson Braun and so many more.  Mystery & suspense are my favorites, but I'll read romance, if it's clean. 
8. I'm allergic to dogs with fur, rather than hair and cats.  I love cats and slept with one in our bed for the first few years of our marriage.  After I had two sinus surgeries and discovered the cat allergy, our cat had to go. :( Now our household revolves around non-allergenic little dogs and I adore them. :)

I'm going to bend the rules a bit and pass this lovely award on to ALL of you.  If you claim it, please leave me comment, so that I can read about you in your post.  It's fun to learn new things about my fellow crafters.  I hope to see this award on YOUR blog. :)

 Blessings

•  A lovely 87 degree day today. 
• Hubby found some great used books for me today.
• Happy mail!!!

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

•  

Hello

Hi friends.  I've been missing for quite awhile and several of you have very kindly checked with me to see if I'm okay.  So I figured I better add a quick post and let everyone know what is going on.  I've been very ill with a combination of things that have kept me out of circulation.  I'm doing some better, but still not up to creating or doing many other things I need and want to do.  But the good news is that my spirits are high and I know this will pass and I'll be back to doing my normal things.  I have a great support team between God and my family.

I wanted to let you know that my sweet friend, Deedee, will be closing Deedee's Digis on May 14th.  So if you want to buy any of her digis, this is the final week to do so.  Deedee is offering a whooping 75% off of all of her digis right now.  That is practically giving them away!  So be sure to stock up on what you want before this wonderful store closes forever.  The code you need for the discount is on the home page of her store.  Below is one of Deedee's $1.00 sets that I love. 

Blessings

• The help and pampering my husband and daughter have given me while I'm ill.
• The out pouring of prayers, get well wishes, cards, & gifts from family & friends. 
• A wonderful Mother's day. :)

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

That's A Lot!!!

Hello friends. This is a special card for my hubby.  This sentiment says it all. lol   This is the More Than Chocolate set from Deedee's Digis.  It's another one of Deedee's terrific $1.00 sets.  I adore these little sets.  You can afford to buy a new set for any and every occasion or just because.  I apologize for my poor pictures.  I had to take them very early in the morning before the sun was bright enough to give me the best natural light.   It made the white areas have weird shadows.  I used a Cuttlebug Embossing folder on the lower portion of my card.  I tied a bit of hemp through my button to add a slightly masculine touch.  My hubby will be okay with all of the pink on the card, because it's from me and he knows how much I love pink.

This close up view of the chocolate shows the bit of shine on it to make it look more like the real thing.  Are you craving chocolate yet? lol  I colored the image with Prismacolor markers, Prismacolors pencils, gel pens and glaze pens.

Here's the rest of the sentiment on the inside of the card.  Isn't it a perfect sentiment for a chocolate lover to give to someone they love?

I'm so sorry I haven't been getting around to visit and comment on blogs.  I'm battling several physical problems above and beyond my normal ones and to be honest I've been feeling awful.  I'm undergoing tests.  My afternoon out with hubby on the weekend was absolutely awesome, but a bit too much for my strength right now.  It was so worth it though. :)

Blessings

•  A very uplifting testimony from a young woman who has been through severe physical battles.
• Hubby found some good, used books for me.  I love to read.
• Unexpected phone visits with several family members.
• Safety driving to the Dr. in a bad storm yesterday while I was feeling terrible.

I believe my pretty little bird I spotted the other day was an Orchard Oriole.  They only pass through this area during migration.  They like sweet foods and we have humming bird nectar out.  It has been disappearing at an extremely fast rate, so we suspect the Orchard Oriole has been enjoying it. :)

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

A Sunny Day!

Hello friends.  I hope you all are enjoying your weekend.  I've been having a fabulous weekend!

I made my card with an old stamp from Hippo Heart.  I made the yellow layer of my card using the Polished Stone technique.  It's layered on a dark green card.  I used a charm with the word "Dream" on it for my sentiment.  I sponged around  the image with a sea sponge.  I love the texture a sea sponge gives.

 I heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder and watercolored it with Tombow makers.  To do this, scribble the Tombow markers on an old plastic lid and pick up the color with a waterbrush or wet paint brush.  Then paint in whatever watercolor style that pleases you.

 Here are some samples of the Polished Stone techniques papers that I made.  The picture doesn't show them at their best, because I took it at night.  Some are made with dye re-inkers and some are made with alcohol inks. You'll notice that I didn't add any metallic ink to the yellow paper.  It was easier to match the yellow paper to my colored image, but I think the papers with the metallic inks in them would look gorgeous as backgrounds for cards with sentiments as their focal point.  Here are a few links to learn more about the Polished Stone Technique: Stamp tv, Split Coast Stampers, Sara Janes Studio.

Today's Tip:  I save the paper that has been printed on from our computer printer.  I use it as a mat under my paper crafting to catch adhesive, ink, paint and other messy things that I don't want on my desk surface.  Once I've used the paper for a mat it's ready for the recycling bin.  This way I get double use out of a sheet of paper before it gets sent to the recycling bin.  Another small way to help keep our planet green. :)

Challenges:
Top Tip Tuesday
The Crafty Pad
Paper Sundaes
Scrappy Frogs
Allsorts
Pattie's Creations


Yesterday My husband and I spent a wonderful afternoon together.  One of the things we did was have a picnic at a park at the beach.  It was a perfect day for it- warm and sunny, but not hot.  We didn't go down on the beach itself, because it was too windy there for the Trigeminal Neuralgia in my face, but I did  snap a few quick pictures of the ocean from the boardwalk.  The ocean was extremely calm - no surfers - one man in a kayak fishing. :)

I never grow tired of the beauty of the ocean.  I'm so blessed to live this close to it.

Blessings

• The chance to spend special time with my best friend & soul mate, my hubby, yesterday.
• A fabulous answer to prayer that I'll elaborate more on as I can!!!
• Another precious phone call from my little niece.  Such a great surprise. :)
• A safe trip for our friends that were traveling a long distance.
• I saw a beautiful new species of bird out back yesterday morning. I have to do more research to find out what it was.  It sure was pretty and one I've never seen in 29 yr. of living here.

Have a marvelous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Eggstra Special!

Hello friends!  As soon as I saw this beautiful new set from Deedee's Digi's I knew I had to make a glittery, shimmery egg shaped card with it.  This is the Dollar Set at Deedee's digis this week.  You can get it for free by participating in this week's Happy Monday Challenge and using one of Deedee's digis on your entry.  The sentiment "Happy Easter!" is included in the set. 

This view shows how shimmery and glittery my card is in real life.

 Challenges:
Cooking It Up With Katie
Sweet Stamps
Incy Wincy Designs

Magical Monday

This is a picture of one of the two big Oak trees in my back yard.  This is the one that I can see from the window of my craft room.  This tree is one of my blessings.  The tree itself is gorgeous and I love the wild life that it shelters.  Everything from birds to raccoons.  When I opened the back door to take this picture I spotted a squirrel and 5 species of birds in my Oak tree at a glance.  I would have seen more if I had taken time to study it more carefully. 

Blessings

• The boy's ranch where we work and live just celebrated it's 46th anniversary!  To God be the glory!!!
• A surprise long distance call from my 8 yr. old niece.  That's something I'll treasure. :)
• Fabulous happy mail!
• A lovely answer to prayer for some special friends.

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

A Nice Surprise :)

It sure was nice to find this Versatile Blogger Award waiting for me.  It was awarded to me by Bri from Beauty Blogger Bri.  Thanks so much, Bri.  You made my day!!!  Bri has a very enjoyable blog.  Please stop by and say hello to her.

Guidelines

1. Thank the person who gave you the award

and link back to them in your post.

2. Tell us 7 things about yourself.

3. Award  bloggers who inspire you.

4. Contact the bloggers and let them

know they've received the award.

Let's see seven thing about me, huh?
1. I love the beach & everything connected to it, especially seashells. (My parents chose the perfect name for me. lol)
2. I love babies and children.  I so enjoy cuddling and rocking a baby.
3. I love to read, especially mysteries.
4. I seldom go shopping for anything, due to my health.  My hubby does 99.9% of the shopping.  He even shops for clothes for me.  He's so wonderful!  When I'm able to get out to a store, I love our local recycling store.  It has so many wonderful treasures and bargains to discover.
5. I love nature - birds, butterflies, animals, flowers, mountains, the ocean, etc. Everything except snakes, rodents and creepy crawly things like lizards and suction cup frogs.
6. I sing or hum often around home, though I'm not a very good singer.  My little grand-dog adores my singing.  Gotta love that! lol
7. I hate to iron.  I only iron if all other methods to remove the wrinkles have failed and that doesn't happen often.

In no special order, these are the bloggers I'm awarding, because each of them inspires me in some way:

Heidi's Crafts - Heidi-Mari
Crazy & Lovin' It - Sheila
PurpleStamper's Musings - Sue
little-applefalls - Anne-Marie
My Craft Central - Tammy
Random Hearts - Clytie
VIBGYOR Krafts - E.T.

Blessings

• I'm feeling some better from the flu I've had.
• Sweet messages from family & friends.
• I can see God working in a situation and it's such a blessing!!!

Have a marvelous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

A Pocketful of Joy

Hello friends.  It seems hard to believe that it's already Thursday.  This week has flown by for me.

My card is made with the Pocketful of Joy set from Deedee's Digis.  This sweet set is only $1.00.  It's so versatile and uplifting.  I just love it!  I feel like the center of the card is rather bare looking, but it's too late now. :(

 I colored the image with Prismacolor Markers, Bic Mark-It Markers, Prismacolor pencils, chalks, and gel pens.

I embellished my card with Sizzix flowers and leaves, Cuttlebug vines, various buttons, and a darling bird stick pin that my mom sent to me.  Thanks mom. :)

Challenges:
Cooking It Up with Katie
Clear It Out
Digital Tuesday
Top Tip Tuesday

Today's Tip: Thin a thick, white glue (such as Elmer's Craft Bond Glue) with water.  Paint it over a stamped and colored image.  When it dries, it makes a beautiful semi-gloss finish.  I especially like this finish on my moon stamps.

Blessings:

• A wonderful answer to prayer!!!!
• Terrific happy mail!!!
• A friend who is battling cancer received good news.
• A fabulous family day.

Have a marvelous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Time to Bloom Blog Hop

Spring is such a marvelous time of year! A time of warming weather, of lengthening days, and best of all, a time of vibrant colors and new life -- a time to BLOOM! Join the Deedee's Digis Design Team this weekend as we celebrate the start of this very special season with a "Time to Bloom" blog hop!

If this is your first stop on the hop, be sure to go to the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog, where you will find the directions for participating in the hop, a chance to win the grand prize of a $15 credit to our store, AND a little gift for you!  If you get lost along the hop, you can also go back to the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog to find the list of blogs.

My project for the hop was inspired by my sister, Sheila.  She makes gorgeous pen bouquets and I thought I'd give it a try for our "Time to Bloom" Hop.  The flower pens were quick and easy to make.  My sweet husband made the majority of these. :)  Here's a link with instructions.  

I used stamps from several sets to decorate my flower pot.  The little bear is from the Lucky Teddy set.  I snipped off the clover that the teddy holds and replaced it with a flower from the BEE-LIEVE set. The sentiment is from the Early Bird set.  I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and oms.

This is what the pen looks like when it's in use.

Before you go, please be sure to leave me a comment in order to be entered to win $5 in free digis of your choice from the Deedee's Digis store! You have until 12 noon Eastern Time on Sunday to comment. I'll choose a random winner then, and all winners will be announced on Monday at Crafting with Deedee's Digis -- be sure to check back then to see if you've won.  Thanks so much for joining us today, and may all the blessings of Spring be yours!

Your next stop on the hop is Stephanie.

Challenges:
Delicious Doodles
Mami Doodles

Stamping with the Dragon
Wags N Whiskers

Inky hugs!

Shelly