Coffee and Poppies

Well, we haven't floated away here in Texas...yet.   lol   It's been raining since yesterday evening and still going.  Thankfully it's been mostly light rain with a few heavy showers thrown in.  I haven't really stamped as much as I've wanted to because I've been sick, but I am still working on more cards for Hope You Can Cling To here and there.   I did this one yesterday while I had a break from coughing.  lol    I love this coffee set and thought it might be fun to use with the torn edge challenge.  

I made this very simple card today for the "masterpiece" challenge where you were to be inspired by a work of art.  Georgia O'Keeffe was one of the suggested artists and I saw a lot of poppies when I did a search for her, so I went with that.  I wanted to use my beautiful  new sentiment I got from Hero Arts and I think it gets to shine on this card.  :)

Mosaic Sunflower

I'm a few days late with my Freshly Made Sketches card, but I did finally finish it!  :)  Jen B designed such a great sketch that I had to play along.  With Laila and I both being sick, it took me all week to do my image panel.  lol   It is also for a Hope You Can Cling To mosaic challenge.

So about my panel... The HYCCT challenge was to Google mosaic and be inspired by an image you found.   I found a beautiful image by artist Sharon Cummings and my card evolved from that.  I looked on Pinterest for a free digital stamp of a flower and was led to the one I used which was done by artist Linda Tieu.  I printed it out, die cut it with a stitched rectangle die. and used a Copic multiliner to draw in the background of circles.  I then colored the entire image.   It was a lot of work, but I really love how it came together.  I might do some cards like this more often as I can sit and doodle in the living room or kitchen.   

Laila and Sadie have such a sibling relationship.   They fight, they annoy one another, and then they play together.   It is adorable, but the fighting makes us a bit crazy, especially when they steal each other's toys.  

Fall Thanks

We've had a few cooler days here in Texas, so I'm pretending it is now our poor version of Fall.   I thought this gorgeous cornucopia image from From the Heart Stamps was perfect for a Fall card.   It is their image for their Stamp of the Month challenge, so be sure to go check that out.   I also used the new sketch from their weekly sketch challenge.  I kept it pretty simple to let the coloring shine.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out.   My next Hope You Can Cling To challenge was to use food, so this works for that too!  :)

Laila has been so kind as to share her illness with me and it is kicking my butt.   We took her to the doctor today and they ran some tests but haven't found anything yet.  Her doctor is concerned about her fever lasting so many days, so we are waiting on blood tests now.   If it's not better by Sunday or Monday, we have to take her to the ER for further testing.   I'm hoping it's just a cold as that what it seems I have.   Fingers crossed.

TPD Halloween Cupcake

I started this poor card days ago but just managed to finish it today.   One of the Hope You Can Cling To challenges was all about ombre, so I made a fun purple background with that effect.   For some reason, (Halloween?) I decided to pair it with green.   Don't you think this would be a fun birthday card for someone with a Halloween birthday?!   I love this Large Cupcake set from Two Paper Divas and find myself reaching for it way too much.  I love to color it!   Melissa and Gayla really did a great job on this set.  :)    I paired it with a sentiment from Banners #2.


I've been out of commission for a few days.   Laila has a cold and isn't sleeping so it's been rough going.   I think I was awake most of Sunday night and what I did sleep was in her floor and her recliner.  Boy does that make you feel old and broke down the next day.  lol  She did better last night and Jason as kind enough to take over night duties and give her meds.  We've had to watch her fever to avoid any febrile seizures.  Two is enough and I hope we don't have to see her go through one again. In fact, this time of day it is usually the highest so I'm off to do a check and see if it's time for more medicine!  Have a great week and I hope to be back to stamping more soon!

Happy Trails

I'm going to go ahead and share this card, but it is currently in my "remake" pile because I don't like how it turned out.   I think I've gotten used to making cards with lots of white space and this one just doesn't have enough.   It is for another Hope You Can Cling To challenge to use a mode of transportation on your card.   I've had this cute Lawn Fawn set for a while and it seemed like time to finally ink it up.  :o)

I was sitting at the table coloring one of the crazy birds the other day and Laila asked to color some with me.  :)   I love when she's interested in what I'm doing.

Snowman Hugs

Are you a big user of digital images?  I have a few, but I've been a bit unsure about them for the most part.  I found an awesome new-to-me website that had some adorable ones though, so I decided to give them a shot again.   It's called From the Heart and you should go check them out!  They have a monthly stamp challenge and a weekly sketch challenge, so I played along with the sketch challenge and made this cute card.  I absolutely LOVE it!   The snowpeople are so, so cute!!!!!!   They also work for the Hope You Can Cling To challenge about hugs.  :)  

I also played with the twist which was to do a clean-and-simple card with paper strips.  

Our little family project yesterday was to make pumpkin bread.  It was fun and it turned out so delicious!   Here's a link to the recipe we used.   Laila isn't feeling well today and has a fever, so we've only done a family walk and naps today.   Lazy days are good though, huh?  I just hope we can keep her temperature in check and avoid any febrile seizures.   Meds around the clock here we go!

Hope and Strength

Today is a more pink and breast cancer themed card for Hope You Can Cling To.   A couple years ago I bought a pad of designer paper that was made for breast cancer cards and this sheet has been challenging me to do something with it ever since.  When I saw Ann's challenge to strengthen a piece of designer paper by adding die cuts, embellishments, etc, I know this was the perfect choice of paper.   I die cut it with a stitched rectangle die, and then used the hope die from Paper Smooches to cut out a space to leave open.   Then I added a couple support ribbons that are also from a Paper Smooches die.   The enamel dots were the finishing touch.   All done!

Kraft and pink look quite nice together, huh?  I normally pair kraft with red, but this is not too shabby either!  :)

Have a great weekend!

Cute Pink Puppy

I actually got in a little stamping time last night and made two cards!   This one is my favorite of the two.  I just love this little puppy!! He's so adorable isn't he???   I used pink with him for the Avery Elle I Heart U challenge and also to go along with the Hope You Can Cling to challenge to use a tag. :)

Stamps:  Avery Elle Furry Friends

Ink:  Memento Black, Copics

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Stampin' Up! Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar, misc designer paper

Accessories;  MFT Stitched Traditional Tags, Stampin' Up! Strawberry Slush ribbon

Our butterfly garden is still amazing!   We had two butterflies emerge and fly away yesterday and lots of baby caterpillars continuing to feed and grow.