Mo's Digital Pencil

I saw this image, and as a Mom AND a Mini owner/lover, I had to have it!  My kids are long past this stage, but I can assure you, this is how I looked when they were first driving.  I like to think I wasn't quite this obvious, but I believe the kids will tell you otherwise!

Digi Haven – 2W, 3E, must use a digi – Week 2 - Anything Goes

Jellypark Challenges - 2W, 2E, SIO – Week 1 - Masculine

Bronte and Bella's Challenge (Mo's Digital Pencil) - W, 1E, SIR - # 189 Schools out with a Mo's image

(This may be a stretch...but I can recall doing this when school was out, driver's ed over!)

Sassy Cheryl's: #170 For the Guys!

MAX IS FLYING HIGH

I've been away visiting friends and family and celebrating my granddaughter's first birthday, but I'm back just in time for the latest Sassy Cheryl's challenge!  Our hostess for this challenge is Judy.  She is one amazing gal-an incredible card creator, a woodworker, a cook...she can do it all!  With Father's Day just around the corner, she suggested a card for the guys.  Well, I chose to do a birthday card-it's for a boy, so it counts, right?!

I LOVE the latest Maddie and Max images-they scream vintage to me, and I love vintage, too!  I colored this little guy with Copics, my medium of choice.  

Design Team Call:

*** Please read this section VERY CAREFULLY ***

Here are the details you've been waiting for...

Sassy Cheryl's DT Requirements:

1. Must LOVE Sassy Cheryl images!
2. Must be a positive role model and team player.
3. Must agree to promote Sassy Cheryl's images to fellow bloggers/crafters.
4. Must be able to communicate in English.
5. Must submit one DT project weekly.
6. Must post weekly DT projects on your blog with links to Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog and online store.
7. Must comment on assigned weekly Sassy Cheryl's Challenge entries.
8. Must enter at least one of your Sassy Cheryl cards/projects into a minimum of one other challenge each month.
9. Must commit to 3 months on Sassy Cheryl's DT (July 1st - Sept. 30th term).
10. Must be willing to HAVE FUN!

As a DT member, you will ...

1. ...receive a monthly store credit at Sassy Cheryl's online store.
2. ... proudly display "Sassy Cheryl DT" banner on your blog. 
3. ...get to hang out with one of the most talented...and certainly "sassiest"... group of ladies in blogland!

Interested? Perfect!

Then here's what you need to do...

1. Enter this week's Sassy Cheryl's Challenge
2. Enter NEXT WEEK'S CHALLENGE!
3. Add the letters DT to your name in Mr. Linky for each week's challenge.

Questions? Please email Pat at babynurseva@aol.com

Other challenges I plan to enter:

• *NEW*Kreativeinkauf-challenge - M, P15, E3 - Anything that flies
• Ladybug Crafts - M, P1, 3E - For the men in your life
• Cards For Men - 2W, must be masculine - (1st week) Boys will be Boys
• Get Inky! - 2W, 3E - (1st week) For Boys and/or Men

Baby B is one!

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #169 Pink-a-licious

TRUE FRIENDSHIP (RS)

The incredibly talented Pat is our hostess at Sassy Cheryl's this week.  Time to step up my game!  I'll NEVER be able to create like Pat does, but after seeing what the DT created last week for their step cards, well, I knew I had to do better!  

I colored with Copics-didn't need many for this one!  My DP is by My Mind's Eye, Market Street.  I didn't use a bubble gum pink, but rather a peachy pink.  Trust me, it IS pink!

Here's the inside...

This stamp set comes with lots of extras-the sentiment and butterfly among them!

And, get this...

Design Team Call:

*** Please read this section VERY CAREFULLY ***

*Do you love Sassy Cheryl images?

*Are you just a little bit "Sassy"?

*Are you interested in becoming part of the "sassiest" Design Team in Blogland?

If you answered "Yes" to all of those questions, then this may be just what you've been looking for!

 Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog is looking to add THREE talented and "Sassy" Designers to the Sassy Cheryl Design Team (for a 3 month term)!  This DT Call will begin next week (June 4th) and run through June 17th at 5 pm EST. Interested designers are asked to enter the June 4th and June 11th Sassy Cheryl Challenges...and indicate "DT" when entering in Mr. Linky.

Come on, you KNOW you want to enter!

Sunshine Mail. org SMILES with just some lines

Isn't this a fun summertime image!  She's by Just Some Lines, found HERE.

This week's challenge is sponsored by: 

Well, friends, this is my swan song as a DT member here at Sunshine Mail.org.  It's been a wonderful 6 months!  Sunshine Mail is looking for new DT members so be sure to check it out and apply if this calls your name.  I've loved working with such a variety of wonderful images.  It's been wonderful knowing that my creations were bringing a smile to the face of a child, a smile (s)he can really use!

To join the challenge, click on this link to Sunshine Mail!

Don’t forget, We are having a DT call. If you’d like to be considered click HERE 

Happy Birthday, Erik

Once a joyful day, May 30th is now a day of reflection and tenderness.  My son, my first child was born on this day 36 years ago.  It was a difficult labor and delivery, oh, but that baby!  From the beginning, he had a beautiful spirit, an engaging smile...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.

By the time he was 16 months old, he had a two month old sister and was identified as legally blind.  At two, we learned he was mentally and physically handicapped.  Each discovery was devastating, but life goes on, and Erik was Erik and I loved him with my whole heart.

You see, I firmly believe that Erik was truly an angel.  He was born send a message of love, to teach, to inspire, and that he did.  It was finally determined that he had a very rare degenerative syndrome.  With every passing year, he lost abilities, but he NEVER lost his smile or his joy.  By 18, he was wheel chair bound and suffered daily from extreme pain.  He'd adjust.  Things would change.  He'd adjust.

Finally, God knew it was time to call him home, to release him from his deteriorating earthly body, to release from pain.  Erik got his wings in September of 2005.  

Now, some of you might wonder why I'm still tender after all of these years.  Well, friends, I don't believe I'll ever recover from the loss of my angel.  I accept it.  I am grateful that he no longer suffers, and I am forever grateful for the years he shared with us here on earth.  Over time, you sort of get used to it, I suppose, but there are days when his absence is just as painful as it was 8 years ago.  Today is just such a day.

Show Me Thursday @ Sassy Cheryl's

SHOW ME THURSDAY

What have you been up to?!  

I'm just coming off a terrific week with  Sassy friend, Cec visiting all the way from Canada.  We did it all!  Sadly, all good things must come to an end and my dear husband and I dropped her at the airport this morning...

BUT,

while she was here, we did all kinds of things...

After dinner out, we went to the movies-The Great Gatsby.  Whoa, the twenties were roaring!

We went to Winterthur in DE touring the home and gardens.  Winterthur is one of the DuPont mansions.

Naturally, we had to hit a couple of craft stores and Cec had to try some Maryland crab cakes.

We went to St.Michaels, a beautiful seaside town, strolled the downtown and ate overlooking the water.

We walked, went to the Tea Party parade and street fair, cooked, 

and talked, talked, talked some more 

AND 

of course, CRAFTED :-)

While on our little crafty shopping trip, I saw some chipboard letters that I quite liked.  they went in my shopping basket along with a couple of little paper pads.  This is what I did with them...

Neither Cec nor I are fans of having our pictures taken though I did manage to catch this one of her ...

I wasn't fast enough to catch her trying on the huge bonnet!

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge: #168 A Step Card

PATIENCE SECRET (RS)

All righty, now--- this week's challenge is a STEP CARD!  I am fortunate enough to have a Cameo Silhouette-LOVE IT!  A step card isn't really a challenge with a Cameo-just set it up, and this little lovely cuts it out :-)  

When Sassy Cheryl came out with her rubber stamps, I thought, "I HAVE to have these!"...and, now, I do.  Sassy Cheryl's rubber stamps are not only deeply etched but beautifully packaged.  I used all of the stamps in the set on this step card.  The images are all colored with Copics (truly, the only medium I use with regularity!)

I do hope you will join us for this week's challenge at Sassy Cheryl's!

Oh, and look for news regarding a design team opportunity with Sassy Cheryl's!  It's SUPER fun team with some remarkably talented ladies (and me, your pretty average card maker!)

Sassy Cheryl's #167 Stitching

MY LITTLE SNUGGLE BUNNY

Sassy Judy is our hostess for the Sassy Cheryl's challenge this week, and she wants us to stitch! 

I've been busy working on a bunting for my granddaughter's first birthday---I had some scraps, and here they are!  I used a number of dies as I wanted to use my Fiskar's Fuse (my DH gave it to me for my birthday/Mother's Day& anniversary-yup, he's getting a lot of mileage out of this gift!)  I really do like it-cuts and embosses in one pass :-)  I stitched the outside edge of the card, inside the flowered die cut and even stitched the grass.

BIG NEWS...

This hasn't happened for a while...

Sassy Cheryl's is looking to add a few new "Sassy" designers to our talented Design Team! 

More information will be coming soon! So stay tuned!!  

Some other challenges I plan to enter with this card:

Challenges 4 Everybody - 2W, 3C - Always Anything Goes 

Eclectic Ellapu - 2E - Anything Goes

SASSY CHERYL'S "SHOW ME THURSDAY"

 

It's Show Me Thursday at Sassy Cheryl's, and this week, I actually have something to show!

A friend and neighbor asked if I'd make some Bridal Shower invitations for her-25 of them.  It's a recipe shower.  I had little to go on other than she wanted it clear that folks were to bring a recipe and she wanted some kind of an image of a young woman with raindrops falling around her.  Hmmm...I went to my go-to artists and decided this Stamping Bella, Uptown Girl image was just the thing.  I showed my friend a couple of images, and she did, in fact like this one the best.

I don't want to reveal personal information so you'll just see the corner of the inside of the invite.  I looked up vintage cutlery on the Internet and found this set.  I quite liked it so decided to fool around and see if I could make the 5x7 recipe card my friend hoped people would use.  I am NOT a pro by any stretch of the imagination but I was pleased enough with the card.

Several friends have asked me to do "jobs" for them.  I never turn them down and NEVER know what to ask in return, but I will tell you, prices should be made clear from the outset (nope, I never do!), and folks really need to understand the amount of time and materials that go into these projects (most people have NO idea unless they themselves are crafters!)

 I don't think I've broken even on any of these projects yet-the materials alone generally cost more than the money I receive, but then, I guess I don't really do it for the money!  Most of my creations have given somebody real joy, and that is what it's all about!

I have to say, I'm not overly fond of coloring the same image, the same colors 25 times!  Some of the cards are definitely better than others, but they're all hand crafted, and I am NOT a machine so I hope the recipients will accept the flaws as a signature of a handmade item!

So, there you have it!  Now, it's your turn!

Sunshine Mail.org...On the Farm

Our sponsor for this challenge period is Wings and Willows and our theme is "On the Farm".

How cute is this cow?!  I colored her with Copics.

You'll have two weeks to join in this challenge.  

Sunshine Mail Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, provides children in need comfort, support and joy through free Sunshine Mail Care Packages.  Sunshine Mail is filled with handmade cards, care essentials and other age appropriate items and delivered to children in hospitals, homeless shelters and in foster care. 

For more information about Sunshine Mail, click HERE!

Sassy Cheryl's #166 Handmade Flowers and/ Lace

MADDIE AND HER LADYBUG

Hello, my sassy friends.  Cathy is our hostess for this week's Sassy Cheryl's Challenge, and she wants to see homemade flowers and/or lace.  I have this fabulous lace tape, a gift from my BFF actually imported from Korea (by her!).  I punched a bunch of flowers though I don't think the picture really shows them well.  I colored little Maddie with Copics.

In June, something extra fun going on at Sassy Cheryl's...that's all I'm saying for now!  

I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge.  Remember to use a Sassy Cheryl's image, and check out the latest images---so stinking cute!