ATC's

What is an ATC you ask? I had no idea what they were until today. An ATC is an Artist's Trading Card. They are small (2 1/2 by 3 1/2) and can be made into a standard sized greeting card in no time flat. Catch The Bug's Challenge Blog called for ATC for the current challenge and I was up for it! I am not used to working on a small scale and seem to always print my images large but here are the first couple I created. I love them and will be printing some of my other favorite images teeny to work on some more tomorrow.  Oh Have I mentioned how much I just love Buggaboo digi's? They are so cute. 

These will be entered in The ATC Challenge on Catch The Bug Challenge Blog and One Stop Craft Challenge Week 116 ATC's.  The ATC with Buggaboo's Deacon "I miss you" will also be entered in the Do You Stack Up Patterns Challenge this week.

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere.. in Pink

Love this Bugaboo digi so much I inked a couple of different versions of it today. This one is going in this week's Do You Stack Up Challenge #3: Pink Color Challenge.

Inside says "It's five o'clock somewhere..and if it's not.. who gives a damn!"

Winter Whites with a splash of color....

My kiddo is sick on the couch still coughing, drinking Sprite and watching a marathon of American Pickers so here I am making cards.  More than one project is on my mind today. Cards for our troops and cards for fun and challenges.  So.. here is my mix for the day so far...

• Buggaboo Winter White Challenge: #1 of 2 The inside of this one says "Where liberty dwells there is my country." The image is StampinUp! The paper and brads were old. The inking is of course Copic Markers.

• Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps: Midweek Throwdown Challenge - White on White with a pop of color

• Buggaboo Winter White Challenge: #2 of 2 This one uses a Bugaboo digi image. The inside says "It's Five o'clock somewhere..and if it's not... who gives a damn!

          This one is also going in the Raise the Bar N.E.W. Challenge: 

Operation Write Home Challenge #53

Here is my first card for an Operation Write Home Challenge #53.  I had a very hard time keeping it simple because I am used to making cards with bling or bumps on them. It is much easier sending cards to the troops if they are not all bumpy etc. They have to send them back and they need to arrive in one piece to their loves ones.

Here is the sketch:

 Here is mine. I wish the colors were accurate. The Happy Easter paper does have some green.

Operation Write Home

In my quest across the net looking at different sites this weekend, I came across a site that I think will end of being one of my faves. It is the Operation Write Home project. I was so excited to see this site. I have been making cards for years and sending them to my contacts overseas when I get them. I figure there is no Hallmark store in the Sandbox and homemade cards are perfect for sending over.  Now I can make them in bulk and send them to Operation Write Home.  Great cause!  Stay tuned for cards that I am sending over. :)



This is their mission:
Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

Treat Yourself...

This week has been a challenge in more ways than one. My kiddo has been sick since Saturday and finally after 6 days of coughing and a higher than normal fever, I kept him home today and we went to the Doctor's. Good thing I did! He has pneumonia!  He has never had it before but I knew this cough was trouble since his fever kept coming back.  Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and he will be back in top shape.  He told me that the only good thing about being sick is "treating himself to the Wii and Sprite" all while laying on the couch.  Kids need extra treats when they are sick. Makes them feel loved and special when they are feeling down and out.  I think as adults we forget that we too need a treat now and then.  I know that my life revolves around my kiddo and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have to stop and smell the roses and treat myself to something special sometimes too even if it is my own Redbox movie to watch in bed at night. We all need that.  So in that spirit, today's card is a celebration card..."Treat yourself to a wonderful day!"

It came out so cute  and my son said.. "Mom, you are getting so good at this we should open a store!" Ahhh, I adore him. :)

 This one is being entered in the following challenges;

• One Stop Craft Challenge:  Week 115 More Than One Fold

• Cute Card Thursday: 1, 2, 3 challenge
• This card has 1 sentiment, 2 different ribbons and 3 different pieces of cardstock (purple, green embossed and purple patterned)
  
•  Copic Creations: Challenge #42 - What's New?
• This card is my first easel card and the digi set is new. LOVE it!

"Do Not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Muriel Strode"

My Hundred Goals list has been on my mind since I started creating the list. I have put things in motion to accomplish several of them in the next year or so...possibly sooner.  I saw this quote on a digi stamp site this week and it reminded me to not be afraid of being outside my comfort zone and that I needed to blaze ahead.  I try to teach my son the same thing because I always felt like I needed to follow the path growing up.   I think you miss out on things when you follow the standard path of life. I love this card.. not sure I will be able to send it. Might have to make many of this card and start sending them off!

The inside says "Do Not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Muriel Strode"

It is being entered in the following Challenges:

• Raise the Bar - Challenge #49 Oh To Be a Kid Again
• Sassy Studio Designs: Something Old (both the paper and the buttons)
• Creative Card Crew: For Men/Boys Challenge
• CR84FN Color Challenge:  #11 Red, Kraft, Brown  

Make it a Cupcake Kind of Day!

My poor kiddo still has a bad cough and came home from school with a fever tonight. Sub plans were created, texts and emails sent and he will be off to the doctor's tomorrow.  As he was coughing through his dinner, he said, "I wish we had cake! That would make me feel better." So as I sat down tonight after I got him tucked in to bed, I thought a cupcake would be good.  No cake on hand so I tackled the latest color challenge #13 on iCopic Lover...purple, green and orange.  Tough colors but this card came out wonderfully. The sentiment "Make it a cupcake kind of day" seemed appropriate.

Here it is....

Sick Day = Creation Day

I have been home all weekend with a sick kiddo. While he is content drinking Sprite and laying on the couch watching every movie we own, I have been in the office in between checking on him doing what I love to do on the weekends, listening to music and creating cards. I found this sketch on the Critter Sketch Challenge blog that I just had to try. In the past I have kept my card pretty simple and these challenges help me think outside the box. I am entering this one in the Critter Ketch Challenge and also in the Monthly Stamping Boutique Challenge. The digi is Stamping Boutique, the paper is Heidi Grace and the stickers are Cloud9.

Here is the sketch.....I reversed it and used heart stickers for the 3 things on the top and bottom of the card.

Girls Rule!

I am normally thinking about boy's things.. jeans, sneakers, Lego's, soggy towels left on the bathroom floor. Yes, indeed, I am the mother of a boy.  I find that when I am making cards however, many of the ones I make are girly.  I was able to use one of my new girly digi's this week for iCopic's Color Challenge (colors were pink yellow and white).  This digi is now on my fave list.  Now to figure out how to make the colors just as true and bright on my camera as real life...Enjoy!

Sketch Challenge - Take 1

This is the first time I have done  a sketch challenge.  I loved the cards that were posted for inspiration and thought it was time to give it a try.  Needless to say this one took me hours because I wanted it to be perfect but you know how that goes.  I do love how it came out and it has my own take on the challenge.

Here is the sketch from the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog:

And here is my take on it....

The image is from The Stamping Boutique colored with my Copics.  The papers are an assortment that I had in my scrap bin. Prima flowers of course and StampinUp! grossgrain ribbon.

I am going to submit it to the Critter Sketch Challenge and also the current challenge on The Stamping Boutique since this image is one of their adorable designs.

Spring on my mind...

Yesterday's summertime theme card kept spring and warmth in my mind all day today. It was a beautiful winter day here in Arizona but it was pretty chilly this morning and the air was crisp and cool.  Spring.. I hope you get here soon.  To keep that longing of spring fresh for a few more days, I made a new card with one of my fave digi's "Willy"by Victoria Case.  Willy is one of those digi's that I return to time and time again and usually even color him the same because the cards come out so cheery.  Not sure who the patterened paper is by but I am down to my last few scraps of this one. The colors always match so well when I color Willy this way.  This card is for the "do you stack up" Cute as a Button challenge.  I am loving the challenges these days and this Willy card will keep spring alive for me until it gets here.

Summer... where are you?

Winter has come to Arizona finally after a long hot summer.  It feels like it took forever to get here and now I want it GONE! You know you have been in Arizona a long time when the 50 degree days feel like 30 and when it is 34 in the morning you feel like you are in the Arctic.  Thin blood they say.  I call it just plain cold!  I miss the balmy breezes of our brief fall and long for them to come to signal spring is here.  Arizona does have spring..albeit a short one before we get scorched again. Anyway... I came across another Copic Challenge that I just had to enter. It is a summertime challenge from Copic Oz! Bring on summer! Image is from The Greeting Farm and of course Surfin' Emma is colored with my fave Copics!

Crafty Things...updated...

I have been making all sorts of cards with my free time on Winter Break.  Even though we are back in school/work now I decided to keep on  coloring and making cards.  I have a goal on my Hundred Goals list to sell some of my creations this year.  This little love card is for the iCopic Color Challenge #11. The challenge was to use brown, cream and red.  I love the reds in her dress in this one and wish the photo came out a bit brighter. The image is from Tiddly Inks. 

WhooooHOOOOO!!  This card was the winnter of Challenge #11!!! Thanks iCopic!!!