OWOH Winner!!!

Today is the day!!!!! The Magical Ride is over....but what a ride it was!!!  How fun to get to meet so many people from all over the world!!  So much talent...and so many creative blogs.

My hubby drew the winner, this morning, from the 226 entries!!!  The winner is:

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Sharon MLS said....

Thanks for stopping by and introducing yourself! I'd love to enter you giveaway. :-)

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She was #101 on the list.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog and entered my OWOH drawing!  This was such a fun event and I hope we get to do it again, next year.

I have contacted Sharon and will wait till tomorrow night....if I don't hear back from her, I will draw another name.

Hugs,

Char

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!  

Hope you have a wonderful day doing whatever it is that makes you happy!!!

We are going to church and then will come home and watch the Winter Olympics!  

It was awesome to see Apollo Ono come in second, last night, in the finals for speed skating!!!  Way to go Apollo!!!!

My heart and prayers go out to the family, friends and fellow Olympians of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian Olympian Luge Slider who died yesterday during a training run. He was just 21 years old.

My prayers are with all the athletes!!!  

Char

Busy, Busy, Busy

 

 

I have been busy riding the Magic Carpet visiting over 1,000 blogs and it's been fun, interesting and very informative!   Wow, there are so many talented people in this world!

I have also been busy getting ready to go to Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks to visit my Cousin who will be 75 the end of this month.  Her daughter booked a flight so that I could attend.  I am just so excited.

Now, I am working on a Flip Flop album to give to my Cousin.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find VIOLETS in the scrap booking world?  Well, at least for me, it is.  

Thanks to some fabulous stamping friends, I have acquired the use of a Violet rubber stamp, some artificial Violets, some stamped images and some violet colored flowers with pearls in the center. They are turning out to be JUST what I needed.   If I could have found some designer paper with Violets, I would have been ecstatic...but time is running out.

So, here is the start of my album...and hopefully, when I get it finished.....I can post the results.  I keep changing my mind....first it was blue...then I decided on lavender.  I am working on some hearts that I will attach on the pages inside.  IF I decide I like them.  Hopefully, I'll have this finished in a couple of weeks.  :-)

Have a fun Super Bowl Sunday.....I'll probably watch while I am working on my album!

Char

One World One Heart 2010 Magic Carpet Ride

The One World One Heart blogging event is off and running again. The is my second year to participate and it's so much fun!

This year's theme is a magical Carpet Ride and I hope you come along for the fun!!

This event is open to everyone but in order to leave a comment, you must have a blog and you must leave an e-mail or have a link to your e-mail on your blog so that I can reach you in the event that you win.

This year's event ends February 15th. I will announce the winner on that day.

My contribution is one of my Flip Flop books. It is a small scrapbook that you can add photos of a special event to either keep for yourself or give as a gift.

Here is a photo of one I did last year.

This year's book will be the same except with different designer papers and card stock. The winner will get to choose her favorite colors and I will try hard to use the colors that are chosen but will be limited to stock on hand.

So, who is ready to jump on the magic carpet and go for a fun filled ride??

I know I am!!!

Have a great day and good luck everyone! I am so excited to get to meet each and every one of you and will be visiting your blogs in return.


Hugs,
Char

Come on Spring

Hi,

I don't know about you but I am just about tired of Winter and all of it's weather. We sure haven't had it as bad as some but I am so ready for some blue skies.

I said I would share the card my Sister made for her Christmas cards when I got a photo taken. Here it is.

I thought she did a great job and even added Stickles to give it a little more Pizazz!! A lot of work went into these cards.



Now, we are onto Valentine's Day cards. I have made a few and here are some I did with some friends last week.

I did this one using TAC's More Mimi Designer paper, Scarlet card stock and a couple of Valentine dollar stamps from Michael's.










This was the card that Richard came up with. The inside is just as good! He's just having way too much fun with the Cuttlebug and folders :-)






Judy's Creation is this orange and black themed card. I love the black gingham!


I made a very simple card using some one's heart stamp, white card stock, and Scarlet card stock. Of course, I had to add Stickles.

I like that we came up with some cards that aren't the normal Valentine's colors. It was fun!

Merry Christmas

Just wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!

I have a CAMERA

I am so excited!!!! I went to a stamp club luncheon, yesterday and while we were visiting, I happened to mention that I had dropped and broke my digital camera. One of the gals asked if I needed a camera and I said yes, I'd probably get one in a few months.

She said, "NO...do you NEED one?". I said, "Yes, I do, I use one all the time". She got up...went home and got a camera and gave it to me. She said she had two and had been trying to give this one away and no one needed it.

I am so excited....oh I said that....well, I AM!!!

It's a Sony Cyber-shot. It's about two years old....but it's AWESOME! I don't have a manual or anything with it...so will have to go online and read up on it to find out how to use it.

Now, I can take photos and post them!! I just need to get a USB cable so I can connect with my computer and I am off and running.

WHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Thank you Lord!!!!

Hugs,
Char

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

How's that for an opening??

Well, still no camera and my friend forgot his camera the other day when we got together so can't post photos. But, I got to thinking......I can still 'Communicate'. I am not really good at describing cards but I can talk about other things until a camera magically appears.

One of the things I have been wondering about is HOW much does paper crafting/stamping play a part of your Christmas holidays? Or, whatever holiday your family celebrates.

Do you make all your cards? How about decorations, place setting cards, gift wrap, tags, gift bags? What are some other ideas you have come up with?

I would love to hear what you do in the way of rubber stamping and or paper crafting.....for the holidays.

This year, I made some adorable Santa Pants to give to friends and family. I filled them with candies and a little gift. As soon as I can, I'll post a photo and the directions. I got the idea from my little buddy, Rita Holmes, who got it from someone else.....and so on and so forth....you get the idea.

Another yearly favorite things to do is to give Snowman Soup to those that you want to give a little gift to such as the mail lady, beautician etc.

I just find cute snowman mugs at the Dollar Tree, Wal Mart....for $1 or so.....fill it with one pkg of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate (which is on sale almost everywhere right now), a few Hershey Kisses, a little packet of mini marshmallows and a candy cane as a stirrer stick. I wrap it with cellophane and tie it with ribbon. You can make a little gift card to go with it explaining about Snowman Soup. You can find some poems here.

So, now it's YOUR turn!!

Hugs,
Char

18 Days till Christmas

But, who's counting??

The tree is up and decorated, the house is decorated and now all that is left to do are the cards and gift wrapping....which will be easy since most everyone is getting either money or GC's.

Actually, I already started my cards but then got side tracked by getting ready for a 5K walk on Saturday. Now that is over, I can concentrate on my cards and a few Christmas parties that I have to attend. Well, I don't HAVE to....but you know.....

I am also still collecting fun ideas to do with my Granddaughter while she is here over Christmas vacation.

My Sister came on Friday and I helped her get her cards started. She is doing a version of a card I had sent her last year.

She is doing hers on Purple card stock with different colored trees. They are going to be really elegant! If I have a camera when she finishes them, I'll take a photo of one of them.

These are super easy to do....just take a lot of folding!

Wednesday is another stamping get together and then Saturday is a Christmas stamping get together....oh the fun continues!!!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Hugs,
Char

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Even in saying that, I know that holidays can be the most stressful time of year.

Things that happen during the holidays seem magnified and the drama can be more intense. I am sure you can all relate to some extent.

We decided that this year, we would spend our Thanksgiving at home. We were invited to family and friends, but we just really felt the need to stay at home. We had a nice, small turkey dinner for just the two of us around 1pm and then took a 2 mile walk with our dog enjoying the 'spring like' weather.

Later that evening, we were invited to some friends to celebrate a birthday. That was fun! We hadn't planned on going anywhere....but finally gave in :-)

Talked with some family members and friends on the phone and just were truly thankful for the many blessings in our lives. We all have stress and worries especially during this economy but it doesn't take much to find blessings all around us if we just take the time to stop and count them.

Hopefully, this weekend, after we get our tree up......I can sit and make some cards. My friend promised to take some photos again! I sure miss my camera!!! :-(

Have a great day and if any of you go shopping today....be careful....and hope you find some great bargains!!

Christmas decorating can now officially begin!!

Char

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, not quite yet....but I have been playing with different ideas for cards for different holidays using punches.

I used the Autumn Cuttlebug embossing folder and DCWV card stock for the base.

I used the Marvy Circle and Scalloped Circle punches to make the base and his tail feathers and even his gobbler and feet.

I love doing punched art....and am trying to come up with ideas for every holiday using the punches we carry in our TAC catalog.

Once again....no stamping....but hey....it's called Papercrafting!!! I love it!!!
And, I did stamp something on the inside.

Another embossing paste card and then I promise, I'll move on :-)

I used a stencil rose and embossing paste and then colored it with chalks.

Adding a scalloped edge on the edge of the card and a ribbon.... just the little touch it needed.

Have you tried your stencils and embossing paste yet?

As you can see......I haven't been stamping much....but have been playing with different mediums and ways to make cards.

Have a fantastic day!!!

Char

Happy Birthday

The colors didn't come out too well on this photo.
This is a card I made for a good friend of mine.

I used the Stylized flowers Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background.

Then, I used a brass stencil and embossing paste to make the butterfly and colored it with chalks.

It takes a little longer to do this technique as you have to allow the embossing paste to dry before you can move on with the card....but it's so much fun!

I have been playing more and more with my stencils and paste since getting a card from another stamper. I had just forgotten about doing this.....

Hugs,
Char

Cuttlebug Embossing Folders are FUN!!!!

Still no camera with which to upload photos...but, my friend Richard, came to the rescue once again and brought his digital camera over so I could take a few photos.

This one was done using the Cuttlebug embossing folder "Stylized Flowers".

I used DCWV card stock and sanded it after embossing it. Then I added a clear 'whatever' to the center of the flower.

I used a scalloped border punch and layered decorative paper over white card stock.

Then, I attached a couple of tied ribbons to a ribbon I had attached to my layers.

I am really enjoying my Cuttlebug folders. They are so much fun....can you see I didn't even do any stamping? But, there is a saying on the inside...so I did stamp! :-)

Char

Stamp Something for Jaimie

Hi,

I made a card for Jaimie Cates. If you haven't already heard about the blog hop to send cards to Jaimie and the story behind it, you can read about it here and take part, too.

This entire thing just breaks my heart and my prayers and thoughts go out to her and her family.

Won't you send a card to her, too? I can't participate in the prizes....it just seems wrong somehow to win something from someone else's pain. But, I truly understand these gals holding this blog hop to encourage people to show support for her. It's just my own personal decision.

Thanks for reading about her and even if you can't take part.....please send up a prayer on her behalf!!

Hugs,
Char

I WON!!

Being sick the last two weeks, I have spent a lot more time browsing blogs, reading e-mails and taking part in a couple of blog hops.

I entered my name in the Whimsy's Seasons of Change Blog hop and was notified that I won one of the designer's cards and the stamp she used (a new one of course) to make the card. How exciting!!

Here is the link so you can see the card! But, it's so much prettier up close and personal!!

Stamped Art by Lisa Cook

Can't wait to play with the stamp too!!

Then, on October 31st, I decided to follow along on a

Hallopalooza

'mystery' blog hop. It was fun reading portions of a mystery at 24 different blogs and trying to figure out who the killer was.

Of course, along the way, you left comments and each blog gave away a prize. The grand prize was awarded to someone that actually guessed who did it!

I won one of the prizes.....a book called Women only Over Fifty (WOOF) at http://www.woofersclub.blogspot.com/

Sometimes, it pays to be down sick with nothing to do but surf the web! :-)

Have a great day! And, remember to surf the web!!!

Hugs,
Char

Thanksgiving is getting closer....

I am starting on my Thanksgiving cards. I don't normally send out cards for holidays other than Christmas...but I have been having fun coming up with ideas for different holidays and sending out a few here and there.

On this card, you can tell I used the Pumpkin Cuttlebug folder and then sanded it....to give it a distressed look. You can do that if you use DCWV white cored paper. It's so much fun!!!

Then, I used the Cuttlebug pumpkin die cut and embossing folder for the little pumpkin. I ran it through again using green just for the leaf and stem and then glued it on.

I have done a few variations of this using different colored card stock and ribbons.

I LOVE the Cuttlebug folders!! I wish I owned them all!! But, I am having fun with the ones I have!

See ya tomorrow,

Char

Another Halloween Treat

Ok, another Halloween treat because I didn't have access to photos earlier!!!

Truly, I AM working on something other than Halloween, now. I'll be posting more later. I need to hook up with my camera toting friend, again :-)

These little spiders were a blast to make. I did them in bright orange and black (the orange didn't show up too good) and made some others in Pink and black. They hold a little Mint inside. Didn't they used to make Mints that were ROUND??? I couldn't find any that were packaged round....but oh well, they worked!!

My stamping buddy, Richard, did some really COOOOL ones....but alas...I didn't get any photos of them. They were silver and black and shiny! And, naturally, being a man....they tend to be more on 'technical' side and he gave his spiders 8 legs!! I was making mine with four...and comprised and made them with 6.

I don't think kids will look at them long enough to notice...do you?

Char

Hmmm, cell phones come in handy!

Since I have been without a camera, I have had to get a little resourceful to be able to share cards on my blog.

Today, I got the bright idea of taking photos with my cell phone. Good thing I didn't take too many...as at .25¢ each, it could get a little spendy. We don't have texting etc on our cell phone as we just don't use it enough to warrant the extra cost.

BUT, now that I know I CAN send photos to my computer...hmmmmm. I think it will be a little cheaper, in the end, to just reinvest in another camera :-)

Since it's officially Halloween, I figured I would share one of my creations with you. I got this idea from another Angel but since I didn't have Google eyes, yet, I took some glass do dads...and colored the backs of them with a black marking pen...and attached them to my cheesecloth. Inside is a Hershey Bar. I made some others after I got some Google eyes and they are cute, too, but only took one photo.

This one is going to my Son's girlfriend, who loves Chocolate!!!

Just have to get it to her one of these days!

Hugs,
Char

Get Well

I have a good friend whose husband just had a 3 way by pass. It's hard, sometimes, to come up with masculine cards and on top of that...a masculine get well card!!

Once again, I dived into my scrap stash and found some background paper that I thought was just perfect for the occasion. ( If having a by pass operation is considered an occasion. I tend to think of occasions as going out to dinner, seeing a movie....celebrating an anniversary or birthday)......well you know what I mean.

Anyway....I came up with a plain and simple, masculine card that just says it plain and simple...GET WELL SOON!

Hugs,
Char