I've Seen the First Snow!

What a week! Left Hawaii (Kim's) Monday afternoon with low 80 temps. Got home on Tuesday with high 20 temps. And I woke up Wednesday morning with the prettiest snow coming down! Hmm-from sand to snow! We had a great time at Kim's, got a lot done in her backyard and even made it to a few stores! It amazes me that I can find so many paper craft items there that I can't find here. It's just such a darn long ride to get there!

Well, looking at There's Magic In the Air challenge for this week it seemed to fit in perfect with our first snow. Nina's challenge was to pick one of her free digies or to look at her on-line store. I picked out the digi "First Snow", purchased it and Viola, it was there to use immediately! I also found a free sketch there and used it to design the following card...



The challenge also asked to make it sparkle. I used glitter card stock for the frame (built it up with CS layers) and then used pop-up dots to attach it. I also used Dazzling Diamonds on the snowflake, mittens, and snow at the bottom.

I am also entering this in

Pile It On Challenge # 29 to use anything digital

Lexi's Creations to use pastel colors

Practical Scrappers to use a winter theme

This is my last card - for 2009! So here's wishing you a safe, healthy and Happy New Year!

SAM

Winter Wishes...

Well, not exactly winter where I'm at...HAWAII!

Yes, we're still at Kim's and will be leaving on that big silver bird tomorrow afternoon. Makes me so sad :( to leave, we have had such a great visit. We didn't focus on Christmas as much as we did just being together and getting to know our gran-puppy Malie. Such a cutey and she did warm up to us pretty quick. Of course, giving her lots of treats broke the ice!

Kim let me dig into her stash of supplies to complete the card below for this week's TMITA challenge. It was so much fun to see how she organizes and all the different supplies she has. Now I'm motivated to go home and re-create my space and get the Mojo goin'!




She gave me 'another' lesson on coloring using her Prismacolor markers - I 'thinks' I better start saving my money...

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

1. There's Magic In the Air - use digi moose and follow sketch

2. Charizma Cardz - anything but Christmas

3. Crafty Creations - No rules!

4. Creative Card Crew - anything goes

Next time you hear from me I will have left Paradise (high 70's all week!) and I will be back in the cold Midwest! Maybe I can pack this wonderful weather and take it home?

Hope you had a great Holiday and I wish you the very best for the coming New Year!
SAM

Fancy Surprise!

What an exciting Blog Hop at There's Magic In the Air this week! Nina has some wonderful free digis for us to use and will soon have her store up and ready to share more of her artwork. This is my entry for the chance to be a guest designer. I have been looking at the other entries and they are awesome. The challenge is a recipe (you have until tomorrow to get your entry posted, so get to it!)

The recipe is as follows:
... you MUST follow this "Recipe" to make a card:
Use 1 tag - my sweet tag is on the right
Add 2 textures - cuttlebug stripe paper and ribbon
Mix in 3 pattern papers - background stripes, tag/scallop at bottom, bottom portion under mouse and cupcake
fold in 4 pieces of ribbon - 4 on main image + tag = 5 (ooops, see I can't follow a recipe!!!)
and sprinkle with 5 brads or 5 buttons - 4 on main image + tag = 5

You may also use one color card stock outside the color of the base of your card if you like, but only one.




Now I'm not very good at following recipes, just ask my DH!

Him, "This is good, how did you make it?"
Me, "Well, it called for a teaspoon of butter, but I didn't have any so I substituted mayo."
Me, "And then we were out of noodles, so I used rice instead."
Me, "No onions either, so I used onion salt, ya know it still gives it that 'oniony' flavor."
Him, "So what did you use that is in the recipe?"
Me, "The chicken."
Him, "So it's another one you made up?'
Me, "Yeah, basically"
Me, "So you like it?"
Him, "Yeah, it's good, but will you remember how to make it the next time?"
Me, "Probably not."

So, for me, the hardest part of this card was following the recipe! I must have checked the recipe at least one hundred times, which could be the reason it took all day and I still didn't get it right!

I am also entering this in the following blogs:
* The Sweet Stop sketch challenge.
* Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Sparkle Baby! challenge
*A Spoon Full of Sugar, Challenge 81 to make a monochrome card
*Whimsey Stamps, Challenge 31 - Die Cuts
*Pile it On!, Challenge #27 Tinsel Town
*Stamptacular Sunday, Let It Shine

Getting late, so best say "Good Night all!"

SAM

Here She Is!

Sweet Trouble (digi image by Nina May) aka My Sweet Gran-Puppy! Yes Malie is my Gran-puppy and according to Kim this is as close as I'm getting to Grandchildren...Oh well, I'll take Malie any day. When we're on the phone she squeaks and squeaks her toys to let me know she is there. She nips Kim and sits on her and I just can't wait to see her next week!

I had fun using Malie's image to make a card, I just needed it to be in an Hawaiian setting of her home.


Kim asked for a CAS card and I believe I did it, but it wasn't so CAS to do!
I first took Nina's artwork of Malie and on Adobe PhotoDelux Business Edition, I used the 'smart' select tool (it really was smarter than me, I had to do it several times to outwit it) and outlined Malie, then deleted the background which left her image. Then I repeated it with the bucket of candy canes. I found the beach scene and imported it into PhotoDelux. Long story short, I merged the 3 different layers, manipulated the images in the scene and viola! I had the picture wanted! I used SU! markers to color the pink and Adirondack reinkers mixatives copper and mushroom to color the bucket and Malie. I mounted it on the new SU! in color Melon Mambo, DP green with palm trees, used black matting, sentiment from SU!, black dotted ribbon and photo corners.

I'm in a goofy mood (it is after my bedtime ya know) and made a fish eye view of the card to enlarge the beach scene.


She is a cutey and so is Kimmy! I hopped on TMITA “RECIPE BLOG HOP” --- let's mix up some fun! today and saw some of Nina's great new images for her new store. Hurry, you have until this week-end to finish and she has some awesome, awesome give-aways. Kim is giving away real candy on hers, the kind with lots of healthy calories! AND recipes to enjoy for your holiday entertainment with family and friends. LOL!

Edit Mode! I decided to add this to 365 Cards challenge, Day 284 DIY sketches. Again using Adobe PhotoshopDelux, I edited the card photo into a black and white sketch. Here it is:




Enjoy the week and those of us in the Midwest - keep warm!

SAM

Snowy Flight Candy - NO CALORIES!!!

After much deliberation, I decided to make candy bar wrappers for There's Magic In the Air blog challenge to use the Snowy Flight digi and make anything but a card. I really do like making anything but a card but there are so many choices! I decided the extra, big, and large Hershey candy bars would be perfect to re-wrap and give to the office staff at work. If you have ever worked in an elementary school, you would know that December is not their favorite time of the year! (It's just too busy, enough said!)
This is the pic of the 6 candy bars...


And this is a close up of one of the bars...

It's hard to tell but the snowman is stickled with Diamond, his nose is orange stickles and the buttons are black stickles. I erased the scarf and put on a wired ribbon for the scarf. Trees and sentiment are from Recollections clear stamps, "Merry, Merry". The sled is painted silver and I added the red bling coz I like bling!

This project is being entered in 7 challenges...

1. There's Magic In the Air to make anything but a card. (Don't forget to join in Nina's blog hop this week!)

2. Challenge Up Your Life to make something to 'give pleasure'. It's CHOCOLATE!

3. The Pixie Cottage to make anything but a card. Oh, maybe this doesn't work, it's an edible card!

4. The SophistiCat Challenges. To use snowflakes and sparkle. First time I've entered this one, looks like fun girls!

5. The Gingersnap Creations to make a winter wonderland. Let's just hope it isn't a winter wonderland around here until after the New Year!

6. Three Clovers Designs to make a gift, an uncard. They are gifts, yeah!

7. Bee Crafty. make a craft item NOT A CARD which could be considered a 'Christmas Extra' e.g., festive decoration, gifts, gift tags and wrapping... So it;
Must be something other than a card
Must be festive (or for Christmas e.g., as a present)
Must include digi somewhere.

Well, that's it for tonight. I need to finish dishes, laundry, coloring my hair (don't tell anyone, nobody knows that I have gray hair!) and start my Christmas cards.

Let's take a survey: How many people HAVE NOT started their Christmas cards???

Have a great week and stamp happy! SAM

Merry Chris-Moose

How about a non-traditional Christmas card? Maybe it's my age, (been there, done that attitude) but I lean more and more away from red and green. When I finished 'dressing' the moose and mice I decided it needed a brighter/happier background. The glitzy stripes and bright colors seemed just right to me!



The moose and mice are a free digi from Nina's There's Magic In the Air! I popped up the mouse in the Santa hat, the present and the star with a gold thread hanger. Along with the digi, Nina wanted us to help the moose feel warm and fuzzy, so his blanket is blue flower soft, the mice are wrapped up in Stickles along with the present, the star is punched from blue glitter CS and I replaced the Christmas light in the digi with an embellishment I bought years ago when visiting my DD, Kim, in paradise. Be sure to take a look at her take on this challenge, the moose is snuggling inside waiting for Santa to come!

I am also entering this in the following challenges:

* Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! Challenge # 8 to be Touchy Feely

* Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays, Challenge #17 to make a Christmas Theme project.

* Crazy 4 Challenges, Week 13, Punch Happy!

Don't forget to check out There's Magic In the Air for news about the upcoming Blog Hop! Check my sidebar for more info!

Thanks for looking, have a good rest of the week-end and here's to the rush for the upcoming next holiday - Christmas!

Stamping by SAM

The Walnut Tree of Memories Past...

This post is to honor our cousin, Bev, for the poem she wrote and read at my MIL's funeral service in June. The poem is about the Walnut Tree to the right of the picture. Her poem below the pic explains the meaning of the tree to her and the family. Many summers and winters were spent at Great Grandma's farm and the tree was always there for all that visited. A huge storm passed through the valley the day before my mother in law passed away and uprooted the old walnut tree. This is the house Becky (MIL) grew up in and the place that was heaven for my husband. Stories about the farm have been passed from generation to generation, but now it is up to this generation to keep it going. Lucky for us, Bev put it into words for the next generation to read and know about the old family farm.



The Walnut tree of memories past......
By Beverly Blanton Fischer

I remember hearing stories shared of the “Blanton Walnut tree,”
Between my Aunts’ Becky and Margie, without Dad there to referee.

It seemed to spark quite a few tales of childhood memories,
Although both had renditions which neither one could agree.

During the spring the sparse leaves would finally come in full,
Providing shade to the horses, sheep, cows, and maybe even a bull.

The tree may have served as base during those childhood games of hide and seek,
Or maybe it was the place of hiding, hoping no one would dare look up and peak.

It would also provide a bounty of nuts each and every beautiful fall,
Grandma added them to the fudge to be enjoyed at Christmas by all.

I was deeply saddened to get the call today when Mom told me of the news,
A savage storm swept through the farm and left everything gravely bruised.

The Blanton Walnut tree had been uprooted, and was no longer standing tall and proud,
Instead, it lay on the ground looking beaten, and ready to be covered with shroud.

There is no other piece of wood more beautiful than the grain of a Walnut tree,
It possesses such a dark, rich, earthen color, I dare anyone to disagree.

I truly believe that its purpose was served and the time had come to move on,
Instead of being the tree of memories past……it can now be timber full of brawn.

June, 2009

It just seemed too much of a coincidence that the tree fell at the same time my MIL made her journey to heaven. The analogy of the tree and Becky is just too clear. Thanks Bev for your beautiful words and love. This picture is for you with a ton a gratitude.

The picture is an old photograph borrowed from Aunt Wilda (Bev's mom). I scanned/enlarged it and put it in the back of the shadow box frame. The poem is printed on a transparency and placed behind the glass.

Thanks for sharing in our memories...
Stamping by SAM

Snow Baby the Snowman Has Heart...Viola!

Challenges for 365 Cards, Days 262 - 266, so please keep scrollin' down!

Short post, except for the 5 card pics. It's late and I know I'll make tooooo many typos!

Day 266 - Color me with This. I used colored pencils w/OMS. Also used 'out of the box' technique with the rectangle nestie.

This is Day 265, Simply Put. Challenge was to use one DP, one embellishment and one sentiments. The DP is a carboard backing from a Mary Engelbreit bookmark package, the embellishment is ME and the sentiment is SU!

This is for Day 264 - Keep it To Yourself. The challenge was to make a congratulatory card without a sentiment. Can you guess what the congratulations is on this one??? The squares were punched out with a nestie and it punched through the CA and DP at the same time. Didn't think it would work but it did.

This shows the inside of the baby congrats card.
The heart and wheels are punched out of glitter paper.
I cased this from raiwolf on Splitcoast Stampers.

This is for Day 263 - Ad Inspired. I zoomed in on the picture on the right side of the picture. This is cased also, from Zindorf!
Wish I had a lighter touch on the shading like she does! If you haven't looked at her work please take some time to, she is inspirational. She is not 'just' a card maker (like myself) she is an artist!

This is for the last day, the 5th and final card I made today. It is for Day 262 - Color scheme challenge. I used all the colors but some are minimal - so look close!

That's all folks! Let me know if you need anymore deets. I was asleep 3 hours ago so it will be interesting to proof read this in the morning. You might want to check back and see all the changes I made!

Ok, I slept till 9 this morning and did find a few minor typos. I'll drink another cup of java and check again later! Hope you enjoyed my creations. By the way, I started making the 5 cards last night after dinner at 7 and completed them by midnight. Those that know me know this is a miracle of sorts!

Stamping by SAM