Creative Blog Hop

Hello friends.  My very creative and uplifting friend, Susan, over at Faith Words Faith Expressions invited me to join this blog hop.  Be sure to hop over and see what Susan has going on at her blog.

This is a flip card I made for a birthday using the fun spinner from the Spinner2stamp set by The Stamps of life.    If you haven't tried their stamps yet, I highly recommend them.  They're super quality clear stamps.  None of that sub par stamping that you get with low quality clear stamps.  (I don't work for them, just love their stamps.)

This is a zendoodle I did.  I mostly use my doodles on cards or in my journals.  Some I color and some I just leave black and white.

This is a journal spread I did about being a wife and mother.  The journals I share with others mostly contain Bible verses and quotes and art experiments.  My journals where I write my prayers and  private feelings are kept just between me and the Lord.

4. How does your creative process work?  I work on things in bits and pieces.  I never finish a  project all at one sitting.  Partially because I am in too much pain to sit and work on something that long and partially because I like to work on things in stages and come back the next day with a fresh perspective.

This is a background that I have started.  It's not at all what I was aiming for, but I ended up liking how it turned out.  That's the fun of experimenting.  You'll see this background again, either for a journal page or card.

Blessings:

• A phone visit with my sister.
• A friend is home from a long hospital stay and doing well.
• A gorgeous Monarch butterfly in my yard.
• Sweet newborn calves.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Bling It Up!

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope this is the beginning of a great week for you.  We've had some slightly cooler weather here in Florida the last few days, which has made it feel more like Fall.  We're really enjoying that.  Did any of you get creative on World Card Making day?  I didn't actually get a card finished, but had lots of fun playing with paint and glitter to make backgrounds.

This card was difficult to capture in a picture due to the mirrored silver card stock background.  The poinsettia was made with the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die set.  I highlighted the gold petals with silver ink.  The leaves are cut from silver card stock.  The flourishes are made with the Sizzix Flower & Accent Set.  Again, I highlighted the gold card stock with silver ink.  The corners are made with a Stampin' Up punch.  The letters for the greeting were stamped on silver card stock, embossed in gold and punched out.  I used a typewriter key alphabet set by Rebecca Sower.  The finishing touch was lots of bling.

Challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge -#197 Something Beginning with P - Poinsettia
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Christmas Goes - Oct. 2014
Gltter n Sparkle Challenge - #105 Anything with a B - Bling
QKR Stampede Challenge - #107 Anything Goes
Sentimental Sundays Challenge - #227 Bling It Up
We Do Doobabdoo Challenge - #16 Christmas
Weekly Christmas Card Challenges - #45 Layer It Up
Word Art Wednesday - #152 Anything Goes

Blessings:

• Friendship :)
• A family picnic - even the dogs came along.
• A devotional book that I'm learning so much from.
• You Tube Craft Tutorial Videos

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Pretty Pink Petals

Hi friends.  I hope you're having a great weekend.  It has been a quiet weekend for me, because I did something to my back and am having a hard time getting around.  I'm good at entertaining myself though, so quiet time is fine with me.

Isn't this a beautiful evening sky?  Even though storm clouds were moving in, it was still so pretty.  God's handiwork. :)  I wish the wires weren't in the middle of the picture, but I can't begrudge my neighbors phone and electricity. lol

I'm not sure who makes the flower and butterfly stamps.  They're unmounted stamps that I've had for ages.  The sentiment stamp is from Heart & Soul Rubber Stamp Company.  One of my favorite stamp companies.  I put some foam tape under the upper portion of the butterfly's body to give it some dimension.

Challenges:
Inspirational Challenges - Inspirational Word Challenge Flight #65

Kitty Bee Designs - In the Sky #32

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - Anything Goes #46

A Creative Romance - Anything Goes

Alphabet Challenge - P for Pretty Petals

QKR Stampede - Things with Wings #104

Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes #149

Blessings:

• The beautiful birds in my back yard and the woods behind my house.
• My hubby was able to get a much needed upgrade on his phone for free.
• Sweet, chubby baby cheeks. :)

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Vintage Birthday

Hi friends.  My little dog, Princess, had another encounter with a critter the other day.  On her first trip out in the morning she found a possum.  Princess has hated possums since one lived literally under the bathtub in our house for close to a year.  She kept telling us something was under the tub.  Our house is built up off the ground, so we thought she was just smelling an animal under the house.  However, we later discovered that there was indeed a possum living in the space under our tub.  So now anytime Princess gets a chance, she nails a possum.  She had never bothered the possums before the possum lived under our tub.  She's such a gentle little dog, other than the possums.  She has cornered bunnies inside the fence and never hurt them, but she hates those possums. lol

I tried a new coloring technique on this card and was happy with the way it turned out.  I was trying to give it a vintage look.  The compass is a digital image from Handmade by Paula.  I printed it out four times, colored it, fussy cut the different pieces I wanted and layered it so that it is four layers. The anchor is a digital image from The Graphics Fairy.  The map is from Artefacts.  The sentiment is an old, wood mounted stamp by PSX.  Everything is layered on a Kraft card.

You can see the layers of the compass better in this picture.

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday - #148 Anything Goes

A Creative Romance - A Touch of Kraft - The card is Kraft.

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - #73 Vintage

Craft for the Craic - Something with Circles on it - The compass circles fussy cut and layered.

Crafts 4 Eternity - #192 Digital

Crafty Catz - #245 One for the boys

Daring Cardmakers - September Colour Combo Dare

Frosted Designs - Include Stamping

Simply Create Too - #69 Show Us Something New - I used a new coloring technique

Sister Act - #73 Anything Goes

Sweet Pea Stampers - Use Lots of Layers - The compass is four layers, plus the other layered papers on the card.

Blessings:

• A fun and relaxing day with my daughter.
• New stamps in the mail from my sister.
• A family picnic. Great food and even better company.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Christmas Memories

Hi friends. When I let the dogs out yesterday there was a large, black snake climbing up the side of the rain gutter on our house.  One of the dogs went after it and knocked the snake down.  The snake slid right up our back steps and on to the porch.  Totally freaked me out.  I had never watched a snake go up stairs before. lol

With approximately 16 weeks left before Christmas, that means it's time for me to panic get serious about making Christmas cards.  On this card I used a digital image by Inger Harding.  I added some Crystal Lacquer to the window panes.  The flowers are from my stash and I adhered some flat back pearls to the centers.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts' Christmas Challenge - #192 People Matter

Lacy Sunshine Challenge - #41 Include a window

Scrapbook Blessings Club - #28 Anything Goes

Allsorts Challenge - #274 Early Christmas Makes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Sept. 2014 Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday - #147 Anything Goes

Blessings:

• My husband and his mom sang as part of a trio at church this morning.  It was so beautiful to see them singing together for the first time. (This was his mom's first time singing in public.)
• Extra family time tomorrow as hubby gets part of the day off for Labor Day.
• Butterscotch hard candy to satisfy my sweet tooth occasionally. :)

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

Hi friends.  When life hands you lemons, throw them back and ask for chocolate!  That's great advice and also the sentiment in this card. :)

This card makes me smile.  I love these little mice.  They are a free digital image from Mary Ellen at Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps.  Be sure to check out the rest of her adorable digi stamps on her blog.  She's an incredibly generous lady and very gifted.  I love the places that her imagination takes her in her drawings. :)

I added glitter to the sugar cubes to make them look real and because it's fun to play with glitter. lol

Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. - Animal/Pet

Crafty Little Fairies - Cute and Cuddly

Brown Sugar - #109 Anything Goes

Sister Act - #72 Anything Goes

Blessings:

• My sister had her 2nd surgery in 4 months for the same problem and came through well.  Please pray for her a she heals.
• The great things we accomplish when we work together as a family.  Not only do we get things done, but it's so sweet to work together.
• A friend, who has been seriously ill, is doing much better.
• My hubby found a new paper cutter for me at a thrift shop for $2.00!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Stacked Hearts

Hi friends.  Life took some unexpected turns and kept me from posting for awhile and from visiting other blogs too.  I'm hoping to get around to visit my blog friends this week.

My mom sent me the materials and instructions for making the hearts on this card.  She said her friend cut the hearts on a Cricut.  I stacked four hearts for this card.  I kept the card simple, because I wanted the hearts to have all the attention.

Here's a close up of the hearts.  Thanks for making it possible for me to make these fun and beautiful hearts, Mom.  I really enjoyed making them.

I'm entering this challenge:

Scrapbook Blessings Club - Love Is In The Air

 Blessings

•  Our family member that has been sick is continuing to improve. 
• A visit from a friend I hadn't seen in a long time.
• Our heater stopped, but it was something simple that my hubby could fix.  

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly