Magnolia & Birthday Wishes

Here is a Magnolia card I made about a week ago and never uploaded. I tried to create a scene for this card. I stamped the tree on the card and colored in with prisma pencils and gamsol. Then I embossed the tree with clear embossing powder so I could sponge the sky. I created the grassy area (which I'm not too pleased with - but I'm still practicing). Lastly, I cut out the bench and Tilda and propped Tilda up on pop dots. No sentiment yet for the card...It will go in my "not finished" pile!!!
Secondly, I want to wish my Mom a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!!! Here we are at a fundraising event in May of this year. She's always available to help out anytime you need her. She wrapped about 25 gift baskets for this event and came early to help set up the dinner event!
Love you and wish you a terrific day!!!!!

Thanks for visiting!!

Maria

Good Luck Tango!!!

Today is bittersweet. Tango, our foster dog of 5 months found his forever home today! I am so very happy because his new mommies are wonderful...but I will miss that little guy!!! Here are a few pictures of Tango, Tang-a-langa-ding-dong, Tango the Podengo - a few of the names we gave him.

Lounging by the pool

Chillin' with Lily

Tempting Nolie with the ball.

In his "upright" position after eating

And just look so adorable!!!

Just want to give a few blog shouts:

To my hubby who put up with a lot of sleepless nights, endured his feeding ritual when I couldn't feed him and was patient through all the carpet stains, floor stains and curtain stains!!

To Cindy - for also helping out tremendously with Tango when we were away or couldn't get to feedings!!!

To Gretchen - for helping me through the tough days and being the monetary funding for Tango's medical care

And everyone else who lent a hand, gave him love and took care of him at CT Humane Society!

THANKS EVERYONE!!

Love you Tango!!

Maria

SCS 247 - Happy Harvest & guest crafter

TGIF!!! Hope everyone had a great week! I did! I finally got to participate in this week's Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge #247. I wanted to make some fall cards that could be used for a couple of occasions. I chose a Studio G pumpkin stamp (I LOVE all things pumpkin!!) and colored with prisma pencils and gamsol. I used PTI's sentiment and finished the card off with an acorn and sunflower felt embellishments. I also used a technique that is new to me....I embossed the stamped image with clear powder (after coloring) and then I sponged the sky. It's subtle in this pictures...but IRL you can see it more. Lastly - I used Paula's grass tutorial.

Now on to our "guest" crafter! Our friend Cheri spent almost a week with us conducting business in NYC, but also to coincide with our Fall Friendraiser. She left on Thursday and last night when I went into the TV room, I saw a card propped up on the table. So, Cheri must of sneaked into my craft room one day and made a Thank You card!!

She used gel pens for her sentiment and memento ink for her "flower" (Don't mind the smudge - she apparently didn't see my post a week ago about the time it takes for the gel pens to dry!!)

For the inside, she used some cat's eye ink and a punch for the corners and some hand-drawn art. It was a nice surprise to find the handmade card. Cheri - if the Pro Fastpitch League Commissioner's job doesn't work out...you can always become a cardmaker!! ( ha ha )

Thanks for visiting today!

Maria

Mojo Monday 105 - Happy Birthday

It's Wednesday night and I was able to participate in this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #105. I decided to open up a paper pack that I've had for about three years!! It's from Foof-A-La and it's called "Summer" (maybe I'm sad summer's over - although the weather in CT has been gorgeous lately).

I used PTI's Floral Fusion set for my stamped image and sentiment. I added a rhinestone in the middle of the flower for a little bling and my favorite colored ribbon.

Thanks for visiting!!
Maria

Baby Cards

Here are some baby cards I made for my friend Cheri - who was up from Nashville this weekend to attend our Friendraiser and conduct some business in NYC. She was going through my stash of cards and needed a few baby cards. So, I re-created a card I had done previously.

The stamp is a Studio G colored with prisma pencils and blended with gamsol. The paper is from Stemma and the sentiment is from PTI. I cut the oval with my Nestabilities, sponged it and then used pop dots to raise up the baby bottle. I finished it off with my glitter glaze pen - but it never shows up on my pictures!

Thanks for visiting!

Maria

Fall Friendraiser Thank You

Hello and Happy Tuesday! Today I'm posting a Thank You card I made for friends who donated money for our Fall "Friendraiser". This past weekend, my husband and I hosted about 165 people at our house for what we call our Fall "Friendraiser". We invite our friends and family over for a night of drinks and hor'dourves and ask them to bring a donation to a charity of our choice instead of a host/hostess gift. (Three years ago when we hosted a regular party - we received over 60 bottles of wine as host/hostess gifts - so we changed our party to a fundraiser)

This year we chose a local food pantry and through our party, we raised OVER $10,000.00 !!!! Some of our invited guests could not attend the party - but sent donations anyway, so we wanted to Thank them with a card.
The leaf paper is from Provocraft and the stamp is Friskars. I colored with markers and punched out with scallop punch. I finished it off with a Papertrey Ink sentiment and orange ribbon.

Here are two pictures of our yard with the tables set up. Our caterer does an amazing job. We also ordered food from three of our favorite local restaurants (Indian, Greek and Mexican) to serve to guests.

This is a picture of the gifts we gave to each guest who attended. They are flashlights with Thank You notes. We live on a street with no street lights - so for those who had to park far away - we wanted them to have some help getting back to their cars!!!

It was a GREAT night and we are so happy that we were able to raise so much money for the food pantry. (Our last Friendraiser raised $8,300.00 for Pet Rescue). If you're hosting a party in the future - give this idea a chance - it's an easy way to re-direct generosity from yourself to an organization that may need some help!

Thanks for visiting today!

Maria

Tilda with Birdcage

Here's an image I received from a "Tilda" swap - isn't she cute holding her little parrot?
Tilda is cut out with my Nesties oval die and colored with prisma pencils and gamsol and accented with a glitter pen and glitter. The sentiment is from Studio G. I added the ribbon and some "bling".

On a side note: I want to wish my dad a very HAPPY 71st Birthday today!! Yah!!
Thanks for visiting!!
Maria

C4C2 - Hoppy Birthday!

I finally got to play along with the Crazy 4 Challenges #2 post from this Saturday. I started this card on Monday and just finished it this afternoon. The card was supposed to have a Penny Black image on it, but I got it all colored and layered....and I didn't wait long enough for the glitter ink to dry.................and it smeared over the entire image! HOW FRUSTRATING!!! Lessons learned - I guess. So, I ended up pulling out the Papertrey Ink Green Thumb set and stamped the little grass hopper. Definitely not as elaborate as I wanted the card......but I didn't feel like going through all the coloring again!

I can't tell you who makes the PP b/c I broke up a few sets and didn't think to note who made what! Sorry. The colors are strong enough for a masculine card - and I need a few more of those - so I'm happy with the final result!

Thanks for visiting!
Maria

365 Cards - Challenge #195 - Happy Birthday

I've got to get some more birthday cards completed - so I'm working on getting them done! Today (well - Friday but this will post Saturday) I was looking for some inspiration - so I went on to 365 Cards and challenge #195 was to use Gingham. I have a few pieces of Gingham paper in my collection, so I went ahead and chose this olive green (because I need to make some masculine cards).

I stamped this DeNami shirt stamp on the Gingham paper and cut it out. I decided to go with black layers so it would pop a little more. I cut a Nesties circle and laid the shirt in the circle. I used my Cuttlebug plaid embossing folder for the background and used my Friskars birthday candle punch for the bottom. I added glitter to the candle heads as well. I stamped a Penny Black sentiment and laid it under the black ribbon and added a silver brad. I was able to make three cards for my "stock" - so I'm pretty pleased for the day!

Thanks for visiting!

Maria

With Sympathy

Since I still had all my Papertrey Ink out on my table, I decided to make another card using the Chocolate Remix. I needed a sympathy card so I followed the Mojo Monday 103 sketch. All elements used are from Papertrey Ink except for the ribbon, burgandy cardstock and the ink. I used my Nesties for the layers.

I'm pretty pleased with how the card came out and glad my "scraps" were put to good use again!

I just wanted to give remembrances to all the people who lost their lives on 9/11/01 and hoping that their families are doing OK.
Thanks for visiting.
Maria

Thinking of You

Hello! Today I came into the craft room to make some birthday cards - but I got sidetracked. I was planning on using this week's SCS sketch challenge - but again.....it didn't work out that way. I grabbed my Papertrey Ink paper pack and chose Chocolate Remix. I pulled a bunch of patterns that I thought looked well together. I did some sponging on the edges instead of layering them with brown cardstock. I then grabbed my Sizzix butterfly die and threaded some plaid ribbon through and layered it on a Nestie circle die.
For the sentiment, I grabbed a piece of blue cardstock, punched it with a Marvy scallop punch and then adhered it to the corner of the card. Then I cut the scallop to the corners. I used PTI's sentiment and then used Martha Stewart's glitter for the detail on the scallop.

Finally, I curled the butterfly's wings so they lift off the card! Thanks for visiting today!

Maria

C4C1 - Happy Birthday

Today I made a card participating in the NEW Crazy 4 Challenges group. I found this challenge through Barbara of Paper Pursuits. I met Barbara this year at CHA Orlando while we waited in the Papertrey Ink line. I looked up her blog when I got home and became a follower. She is on the design team for C4C. This is their first challenge, which come out on Saturdays, and I was actually able to play along today!

The best thing for me with this card is I used all of my scraps! Yee haw! I used my scallop punches for the cirlces and a DeNami stamp - colored with Le Plumme markers. I used a scrap piece of ribbon that's been floating around my work table too! I cut the tag with Sizzix die and used a Penny Black sentiment! The card base is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and the scallop measures it up to 5 1/2. This card is for my cousin Chris who's birthday is on the 9th. We're going over for cake later on this evening - so this challenge came at a great time!

Thanks for looking! Hope you are all having a GREAT holiday weekend :)
Maria

Papertrey Button Bits

This is such a fun set from Papertrey Ink! I decided to use it for a birthday card and an anniversary card.

I used my circle nesties and a combo of PTI buttons and buttons from Walmart. I also used the Martha Stewart punch and some ribbon! Thanks for visiting!

Maria

Quick Card

Since I still had my Papertrey Ink "stuff" out, I made a quick card using the Scattered Showers set! It's missing a little something, so I'll probably go back and add a few details, but wanted to get the post in and up!!!
Thanks for visiting!!!

Engagement Card

Yah!!! My friend Rob asked his girlfriend Danielle to marry him and she said YES!!!!!! Yippeee!! We're so thrilled! Here's a card I made for them!
I used Papertrey Ink paper, sentiment and ribbon along with a Studio G diamond ring stamp. I embossed the "diamond" part so it really sparkles! Finished off with some buttons! Thanks for looking!
Maria

Finally Posting.....

I've been crafting...I promise....just haven't been posting! Yikes! Here are a few pictures of what I've been working on for our upcoming craft fair in November. I bought pads at Michaels and have been covering them with cardstock and decorating the fronts. The inside of this one has a cute owl - so I used Hero Arts owl and colored with prisma pencils. I used Papertrey Ink sentiments.

For the next two I used Papertrey Ink stamps and sentiments and colored with Marvy markers. These pads have apples on them.

I hope to get back to posting more regularly!