Make it Monochrome!

A NEW CHALLENGE starts today at KABOODLE DOODLES 

and our theme is

MAKE IT MONOCHROMATIC.  

You have until 6pm EST on Sunday, Feb. 6 

to get your MONOCHROMATIC card created and 

linked up at KABOODLE DOODLES.  

We are very fortunate to have another FABULOUS sponsor this week:

 FRESH BREWED DESIGNS.  

If you have a chance, you'll definitely want to head on over and check out the AMAZING selection of images - both digis and red rubber!


And Fresh Brewed Designs
is running a MONTH LONG CHALLENGE
on The Latte Lounge
and Papercraft Planet!


I am entering this card for those challenges!
The theme is Birthdays
and the PRIZE is
BRAND NEW FRESH BREWED DESIGNS RUBBAH!!

For my card this week, I chose one of FRESH BREWED DESIGNS from the Valentine's Collection called Fresh Brewed Flowers!


My design was inspired by a card I saw at Extreme Cards and Papercrafting.


I guess I could have printed the image and sentiment a little closer together so that the bottom of the window box in the image would not be hidden, but overall, I LOVE the look of this card!


The paper-piercing, while it looks elegant and complicated, took less than 10 minutes using the FREE template from Gem's Cottage.


The hardest part of this card? Coloring all the polka dots in the curtains! LOL! (-:
This was a fun and easy card and I hope you'll get a chance to play with us at Kaboodle Doodles! 


With a chance to win THREE Fresh Brewed Designs images, there's lots of good reasons to play!

Secret Saturdays with The Stamping Boutique

This week, The Stamping Boutique 
is sponsoring the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge,
The theme of the challenge is:
Hot Chocolate!
I used the "Chubby Snowman" image from The Stamping Boutique.
He's so cute! You can pick him up HERE!
I also used an SVG file created by one of my fellow TSB Design Team members, Dardi. 
You may know her as "DtsArt" and the mug was a "Takeout Tuesday" Free SVG  back in December! She throws out the leftovers on Thursdays, so this is not a freebie file anymore, but I would suggest you become her follower, because every Tuesday, she offers up more goodies!! Delicious!!
The "Warm Wishes" sentiment stamp is from a set I received in a Secret Santa exchange on the Latte Lounge from my dearest friend Heather! Thank you, Sunshine!


Hope you'll get a chance to show us your
Hot Chocolate colors or images at  Secret Crafter Saturday!


Other challenges for this card:
TBD

Go Digis With Attitude!!

Meet "Bubblegum 'Tween". 

She's the newest in the line of 'Tweens with 'Tude 

from Digis With Attitude!

You can pick her up at the store HERE!


And Winter Diva 'Tween is FREE this month.
You can pick her up HERE

Our challenge this week 

at the Digis With Attitude! Challenge Blog is:

Go Digi People!

It's a pretty open challenge, 

with the only requirement being that 

you use digital images of people.

Pretty simple, right?

And for those who are "out of the loop",

a 'Tween is a young person

between the age of 10 and 12!

That awful, no good, very bad time 

between being a child

and being a teenager!

Cindy-Lynn, at Digis With Attitude!

has captured the essence of this group

with her entire line of 'tweens!

It's a time of angst and self-discovery,

attitude and aptitude!

And of all the things the 'tweens love,

I can think of two that stand out!

One is "Glee". 

That show has captured the imagination

of all the middle-schoolers of America

in a BIG way!

The other is "Twilight".

Whether you're on Team Jacob 

or Team Edward,

just spend a few minutes online and you'll find

passionate responses to either side.

Me? I like Jacob.

Who wouldn't want their teenage daughter

to fall in love with a sexy guy who just

happens to turn into a savage wolf

10 times the size of any normal beast?

Any bubble-gum popping 'tween is sure

to have an opinion!

inside sentiment

Oh, and I showed this card to my little boy
who is almost 10...
he said: "When you're done with it,
can I give it to Brianna?"...
See? he gets the whole Jacob, Edward thing...
And Brianna... well, she's a cutie,
so I'll have to wait and watch...
we'll see what happens there!

Challenges for this card:

The Sisterhood of Crafters, Anything Goes

Everybody Art Challenge, My Favorite Thing

     my favorite things are: Digis With Attitude! image, Clean and Simple Style, Prismacolor pencils

Challenge Up Your Life, Clean and Simple

     the only embellishment I used on this card were the photo corners

Craft Your Days Away, Love

     Twilight is quite possibly one of the greatest Love stories today!
AI Factory, for the boys, My little boy can't wait to give this one to his girl "friend"

The Latest from the Latte Lounge

There is so much going on

 at the Latte Lounge this week!

First of all, the winner of the Red White and Pink Challenge from our Valentine's Digi Day event!

We had a blast that night and if you missed the party, you'll want to be there for the next one for sure!!

There were several beautiful entries to the Red, White and Pink Challenge and it was impossible for me to personally pick a winner, so I let Mr. Random do the dirty work... he chose Cheryl First!

Here is her awesome project:

I would like to take a minute to THANK JLJ Designs for sponsoring this challenge! If you haven't had a chance to visit her shop on Stitchy Bear Stamps, you really should pop over there! She has adorable digis and awesome printable digi papers for every season!!

So now that Digi Day is behind us, there is STILL so much to do at the Latte Lounge!

So often, I hear people mention that they like to pop in and visit but have a hard time finding their way around, so they don't stay long or forget to come back!

I just want you to know that we, the Design Team, at the Lounge are ALWAYS eager and willing to help!! Working with Melissa, Rhonda and Jennifer is truly a pleasure and any one of them will jump in to help out any time it's needed!

So if you're visiting the Lounge and want to enter a challenge, post pictures in the gallery or join one of our Groups, jump right in! If you feel lost, ask for help!! There are several new members who have proven to be very helpful and if Melissa, Rhonda, Jen or myself are not there, look up Sara Ament, Heather Dennis or Michelle Single... they are very active members of the group and we appreciate their participation!!

Here are a few links that will help you find your way around:

To join one of many Groups, click HERE.

One of our most active groups this week has been the "Healthy Lifestyle Group." If you're looking for support for your weight loss and fitness goals, this is the place for you!! There are even a few FREE images to help you get started on your weight loss and fitness journal!

To upload pictures of your projects to share with us, HERE is the link to the Gallery!

To see who else is online and possibly have a little LIVE chat, click HERE! The LIVE chat window is at the bottom of that page!

To see all the challenges running at any given time, click HERE!

Speaking of challenges, there are several running right now!!

There are only a few days left to enter the January Monthly Challenge, any winter themed project

The Sentiment Only challenge is ending this Sunday! 

The Make Your Own Embellishment will be ending February 3rd (one week from today)!

The Color Challenge this week is to use Pink, Teal and Black! You have til Feb. 8th to get in on this one! And what a pretty combo it is!!

And the newest Digi Paper Challenge, sponsored by JLJ Designs, is all about babies!! With a chance to win an entire set of absolutely adorable baby-themed printable digi papers AND TWO images from The Stamping Boutique, come on over and play Baby Love!

So how's that for ya?

I told you there's a lot to do over there!!

So come over to the Latte Lounge and join us!!

We LOVE to play with new  victims  err,  members!

Fresh Brewed Photo Inspiration

The challenge this week at 
Fresh Brewed Designs 
is a Photo Inspiration!


To me, with the soft pinks and pop of green, this photo called to creating something calm and soothing!

This is my card!
I tried a variety of things and, well, frankly, none of them worked!
First of all, the obnoxious yellow paper in this picture is actually a soft lime green... lighting is terrible today and I just can't seem to get a good pic.
Second, the "quilted" background...
I cut out an SVG called "Lazy Quilter's Series" from the alliance trader.
Maybe it was just the wrong papers, but it didn't work for me.
So I tried to improve it by piercing holes in it... hmmm... not much better!
So I used a spica pen to connect the holes to "look" like stitching... OK... that looks OK... let's put it together!


I added the buttons to the corners and threaded the embroidery floss (pink and green) thru, then mounted the assembly on my green mat.


My image is "Coffee, Take Me Away" from Fresh Brewed Designs Rubber Stamp collection!


I paper pieced her cup/tub and the towel... that took quite a while, too.


When I put her on the "quilt", she vanished!


Oh Boy! Now what! ?!


I took all that time poking those darn holes and paper-piecing the image, I'm NOT starting over! ... let's try putting her on a darker background... 


So! That's what ya get, peeps!


And just so you know, after I took this picture and posted it, I tore it all apart!


I'll post my "Mulligan" (that's a do-over for you non-golfers) when I figure out WTH I'm going to do with it!


Ah, well, we all have one bad day, right?


So here's some good news:

Fresh Brewed Designs IS NOW SELLING UNMOUNTED RUBBER STAMPS !!!


Something for everyone and perfect for your stamping needs. 


Hope you will stop by and check it out! 


I am giving everyone the chance to celebrate with us by giving you a 
20% coupon 
off your rubber and digi purchases! 
Just use the code fbdsale at checkout. The sale ends Feb 6th.

Speaking of RUBBAH! 

Our sweet DT Rhonda (Bumblebee) is giving away BLOG CANDY

on her blog! 

It includes a FRESH BREWED DESIGNS CLING MOUNTED RUBBER STAMP:

LOVE MUG!

Go check it out, share about it, and get in on the chance to win!!!

I hope you will get to play along in our Fresh Brewed challenge this week.

Welcome to the Newbies!

If you're looking for todays Fresh Brewed Designs post, I'll have it put up in a little while. I am just NOT happy with the photo of my card and am trying to find a place with better lighting or something... if you saw the cards on the Fresh Brewed Challenges blog, it looks bright yellow and quite obnoxious... in real life, it's much more pretty and soothing, so until I can capture that with my camera, my FBD post will be delayed..


Til then, I have some news to share:


Today, The Stamping Boutique has announced the new additions to the Design Team for this term!


Without further adieu, I am honored to introduce the 2011 February-August team:

Kecia Waters

Colleen Spangler

Heide Dronchi

Miranda van den Bosch

Dawn Bennett

Kendra Sand

Jeanne Kupsh

Suzi McKenzie

Rhonda Miller

Pat Sergeant

Louise Forsyth

Christy Lindeman

Crystal Dennett

Welcome ladies, I am looking forward to working with each of you!

And while I'm rolling out the welcome wagon, I just wanted to thank all my new Followers!

If you are a regular follower, you've probably noticed that every time you've come back over the past few days, things have looked different... I'm TRYING to find a layout/template I like, that allows me to keep all my "widgets" without looking crowded... So bear with me while I keep looking! 

And thanks for visiting!

What 17 stamps will getcha!

I just HAD to post this picture today!

I recently won a blog candy from

my friend Cheryl 

at CafeExpressions.

I received it today and had to say 

THANK YOU!!

My candy is DELICIOUS!!

See the Limited Edition Cricut Cartridge in there

and the happy, hoppy bunny card and the 

pack of 96 sheets of cardstock

and the clear stamps

and the blue droplets!

Oh my Goodness!

I am so blessed to have the friends 

that I have met online

and I am so grateful for their

kindness and generosity!!

But the "other" reason for the photo!

Look at the postage!!

The metered stamp says $0.00!

But then there are 17 stamps on it!!

Maybe it's just me, 

but this struck me right smack in the

funny bone

Every time I look at it,

I start giggling again!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE

the goodies, Cheryl!

And I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

But I'm KEEPING the envelope!!! 

Bling it Up with Kaboodle Doodles and Digi Doodle Shop

The Challenge this week at Kaboodle Doodles

is

Bling it Up

We were so lucky this week

to get to play with 

our choice

of Digi Doodle Shop

images!!

 I chose "Rooster" and Cheryl (*CAFE)

This one's for YOU!

For the first time ever, I colored an image

using Paint.NET.

No pencils, markers, paint...

it's ALL done digitally!

Once I got the hang of it, I actually had fun with it!

And even tho I still need work on shading and blending, I think it turned out pretty good!!

My "Bling", which is hard to see in the photo, is 4 ruby rhinestones in the corners of my rub-on sentiment and a gold, heat-embossed swirl at the top.

In real life, this card is really pretty and I already have a recipient picked out for it... which is unusual... usually, they all just go into a box but this one is special to me and will be getting mailed! YIPPEE!!

So, if you want to play "Bling it Up" with Digi Doodle Shop,

We'd love for you to join us at

Kaboodle Doodles!!

The Kaboodle Doodles Team have made some

really pretty projects, so pop on over and give it 

a whirl!

And stop in and show my team some love:

Audrey
Cammy
Chris
Christy
Farrah
Jill
Lorie
Stacie (that's me!!)
Tina

It All Comes Together!

I have the distinct privilege of working on FIVE Design Teams and some days, I wonder if I've lost my mind!
But then we have events like the Valentine's Digi Day at the Latte Lounge and it all comes together!

 The first team who ever gave me a "chance" was The Stamping Boutique and I am forever grateful to Tracey for that opportunity!

This project, using "Cupcake" from The Stamping Boutique was made for the Red White and Pink Challenge that I am hosting at the Latte Lounge.

The challenge is being sponsoroed by JLJ Designs and the prize is a FULL pack of printable digi papers called "Hearts and Flowers". I used THREE of the papers from that kit in my project!

Thank you Jennifer for sponsoring my challenge and allowing me to play with your pretty papers!

Working with Heather and the Team at Fresh Brewed Designs is truly a pleasure and she is one of the kindest, most generous and caring people on the planet. I am proud to call her a "REAL" friend, not an online acquaintance!

The image used in this project is called "Daisy the Elephant" and she is one of the many new releases at Fresh Brewed Designs.

She has been entered into the "Valentine's Punch" Challenge at the Latte Lounge hosted by Rhonda.

 I don't have any Valentine's themed punches, so I used what I have and I love how this card turned out!
So very H-A-P-P-Y!

The most challenging Challenge (for me) was Melissa's "Valentine with No Hearts" challenge.

I planned from the beginning to use this Grumpy Gretchen "Big Deal Birthday" image from Digis With Attitude!

But once I colored her and got started, I hit a brick wall.

Ever have that happen? Just NO IDEA where to go with it?

I decided to go with embossing and a metal eyelet and mounted the image at a jaunty angle to give it "character"... probably not my "best" work, but I LOVE my new Sizzix embossing folder and think it adds a lot to a Clean and Simple card!

I think this one was my favorite project for all the Challenges!
I used an SVG file that I picked up at Take out Tuesday from DtsArts. I flipped it, welded it, cut it and made a shaped card!

When Jennifer said she was planning to host a "Sweets for the Sweet" Challenge, I knew exactly what I was going to do and it turned out exactly how I planned!

You can't really see the sheen from the picture, but the "Glass" part of the gumball machine is coated in Glossy Modge Podge and it feels so smooth and "Glassy"... I love this one!

One of my "duties" on the DT for the Latte Lounge is helping to organize and coordinate events, like Digi Day. 

Putting this one together was SO FUN and I can't wait til the next one!!

We managed to rustle up FIVE sponsors for our games and challenges and we are eternally grateful to:

The Stamping Boutique, JLJ Designs, Fresh Brewed Designs, Digis With Attitude! and Glitterbabe's Art 

for your kindness and generosity!!

HERE IS A LINK TO ALL THE NEW CHALLENGES!!

I hope you'll be able to find a way to play along with us!

Join us at the Latte Lounge, get a FREEBIE!!

Pick up this awesome

Princess Jennifer Latte

Heartbreaker image

FREE!!

How: Join us for the party!!


Where: The Latte Lounge


When: TONITE!!! Join us during our LIVE CHAT starting at 8:00 EST!


What: Digi Day Valentine's Party

Who: We have FIVE totally awesome sponsors!!
They have generously offered some of the greatest prizes EVAH!!

Our Amazing Sponsors!

Latte Lounge Digi Day

This is my second post today.

For the Digis With Attitude! post,

click here

Tomorrow is 

the big day!!

The Valentine's

 Digi Day

at 

The Latte Lounge!!

When:

Saturday January 22nd.

with LIVE chat from 8-10PM EST

Where: The Latte Lounge

What: games, challenges, chat and FUN for everyone!

We have so many special plans for you this weekend!

We have FIVE sponsors for this event!!!

Can you imagine how many goodies we have to share?

It will be a great time to share the love

and show off your Valentine's projects!

(or get inspiration for some new ones)

And don't forget to sign up for

Secret Sweeties

This is a fun way to extend the spirit of 

giving and gifting.

It seems Christmas ended too quickly!

Secret Sweeties is a Gift Exchange

between friends.

Everyone who signs up 

will be secretly assigned the name

of another member who joined the group.

It's a great excuse to head out

for a shopping trip!!

We are limiting the gift to $15 maximum!

January 21st is the sign up deadline. 

You will receive your Sweeties' name on the 22nd

during our Digi Day Event! 

The deadline for mailing your gift 

to your Secret Sweetie

will be February 1st.

I'd LOVE to see EVERYONE there

tomorrow!!

One more time:

HERE IS THE LINK TO SIGN UP

TO JOIN OUR DIGI DAY EVENT!!