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 

Christ Is Risen!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!  I hope you remembered to wear green today so that no one pinches you. :)  I was thinking I might have to spend the day in my jammies in order to wear green, but remembered an outfit I have with green in it.  Bummer!  There goes a good excuse for a comfy day in my jammies. lol

My card is made with the gorgeous Christ Is Risen digital stamp set by Deedees Digis.  I kept my card simple, because I wanted the beautiful cross image to be the only place your eye is drawn on this card.  I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and oms and then coated it with a glaze pen to give it the appearance of a stained glass window.  I scored the edges of the dark purple layer and the corners of the shimmery lavender card, added 3 small rhinestones and that was it.

Maybe you can see the shine on the image better in this close up view.

Again, I kept the inside of the card simple, so that the focus would be on the words of this lovely sentiment, which is part of the Christ is Risen set.

Challenges:
House of Gilli
Lexi's Creations

Important!!!
Don't forget that the "Time to Bloom" blog hop for Deedee's Digi's starts tomorrow morning.  I'm so excited!  We have great things in store for you.  Beautiful eye candy, prizes at every stop, a grand prize and a freebie.  Deedee has really pulled out the stops.

Blessings

• For the past two nights a Mockingbird has been singing in our back yard between 12:30a.m. and 2:30a.m.  A very unusual, but beautiful occurrence.
• We figured out what was making our little dog feel so bad and she's doing better.
• My sweet husband, who is always there for me.  He's such a special man.

Have a wonderful day!!!  Don't forget to share a smile with someone. :)

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Quiet

Hi friends.  Sorry I haven't been around to comment on your blogs in several days.  My primary care Dr. left the practice and the Dr. I was handed over to has made two mistakes with my asthma and allergy medications in the last week.  We're at the peak of pollen season here, so it has left me feeling lousy.  I'll be back out "socializing" when I feel better. :)  I miss you, but just don't have the energy to do anything about it. lol

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Prayer Wave

·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸PRAYER WAVE¸.·´¯`·.´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ Going out to all those affected in Japan, the Pacific and everywhere else affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Keep this going.  Please post this on your blogs for our friends that are in it's path.  Stay safe my friends.  My thoughts and prayers are with you.

A Basket of Easter Blessings

Hi friends.  We're in the midst of a glorious spring here in Florida. (Except for the pollen. lol)  I hope that spring will soon arrive in your area, if it hasn't already.  This Easter card is made with an adorable set called Gifts of Spring from Deedee's Digis.  The set is a terrific value at $2.50 for this darling image and three lovely sentiments.

Here's the inside of the card, which shows one of the sentiments from the set.

Challenges:
Free 4 ever
Crafty Creations
Paper Pretties
The Pixie Cottage
Ladybug Crafts Ink

Please hop long on our blog hop at Crafting with Deedee's Digis, March 18-20th.  We guarantee you a blooming good time with beautiful projects, a free digi, prizes at every blog stop, and a grand prize at Crafting with Deedee's Digis.

 Blessings

• Lots of happy mail!!!
• Listening to a Mockingbird sing while I sat on the porch swing with the dogs.
• Special notes from my family and friends.
• Some outside noise that was interrupting my sleep has stopped.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Lucky Teddy

Hello friends.  I made a tri-fold tag for St. Patrick's Day using digital stamps from Deedee's Digis and lots of bling. I love the little teddy bear.  He's so cute and cuddly. There's a new project to see every day at Crafting with Deedee's Digis and don't forget the Happy Monday Challenge.  Every week Deedee offers a free digi stamp set if you make a card using one of her digis.  If you need a digi to get started, you can pick up a free one to try at her store.  The winner of the challenge gets to select a stamp set from Deedee's Digis. 

Here's a close up view of the tag, so that you can read the sentiments more easily.

Challenges:
Doodle Pantry
Tip Top Tuesday
Tuesday Throwdown

Blessings

• My niece was in a car accident today, but she's okay.  A family friend, who is a former police officer, passed by and was able to help her.  That's not a coincidence.
• Happy mail!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Hearts of Gold

Hello friends.  Today's card was inspired by a card that my friend, Erum, made and shard on her blog VIBGYOR Krafts.  Erum's card has gold hearts on it and I told Erum that I was going to have to make a card with gold hearts and so I did. :)  The card itself is Micca shimmer card stock, the red and gold strips under the mesh are textured, and the printed card stock has gold shimmery glitter on it. The hearts are cut from different textured gold card stocks with my SU heart punch. I added some pearls and scored the edges with my Scor Pal.

Lindsay at The Frugal Crafter has a set of 12 ProMarkers to give away. Go check out the details.  While you're there be sure to watch the great tutorial video she made about coloring with ProMakers.

Challenges:
Papertake Weekly
Woodware USA

Blessings

• The butterflies are back with the warmer weather.  They're so pretty.
• I have an answer to prayer that is too personal to share, but I'm praising God for it big time!!!!
• I won this sweet Teddy Cuddles stamp from Bizzy Becs.
• Phone visits with my mom and sisters. :)

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly