Congratulations!

I am a little delayed on announcing the winner of the Operation Owl Blog Hop blog candy.  (Life sometimes gets in the way)  The randomly chosen winner is meredemaison who said:


Great card! I especially like the texture on the tree! Great use of the wood graining and of course it has an cute owl! (I am going to get Give a Hoot very soon!!!!)


Contact me with your mailing information so I can get your blog candy to you!  Thank you to everyone who participated in the blog hop.  What fun!  And congratulations to all the winners over all the blogs.

I hope to be back with you this week with some new projects.

Until then, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin!

OPERATION OWL "THANK YOU" BLOG HOP



Many people pass through our lives.  Some are here for a short time, others for years.  Each one is here for a purpose.  Some are here to nurture (parents), some to help us grow (teachers), some to show us what to do (mentors) and some what not to do (bad examples).  As each one in our lives serves a purpose, we also serve a purpose in the lives of others...as parents, children, teachers, friends...we are all here for a purpose.

Some people never fully realize or understand their purpose, while others are fortunate enough to know what they need to do in and with their lives.  Whatever your purpose, know that it is important to someone in some way.

I have been reflecting lately on a few of the people in my life and how they are affecting me right now.  My mom in the hospital and how much she needs me, my dear friend with her cancer battles and how inspirational she is to me, my granddaughter and how she shares her wonder and amazement with me each day.  Each person in our life shapes us in some way.

My craft friends are also a very important part of my life.  I have often said that my craft world is my therapy.  And all you who read my blog or share my passions are a huge part of my world.  I share with you, learn from you, am inspired by you.  And I guess I just want you to know that you have a very important purpose in my life.  THANK YOU.

I would like to welcome you to the Operation Owl "Thank You" Blog Hop.

Today, the Getting Cricky design team and some special guests (me, for one) are coming to you for a special blog hop thanking Kristal Andrew (K Andrew Designs and Getting Cricky) for all she has done for us.  The current Getting Cricky Design Team is coming to an end (see Kristal's blog if you are interested in becoming part of the next Design Team) and they wanted to let Kristal know how much she has meant to them (and us!) over the last three months.  We will each be featuring a special Thank You Card to be mailed to Kristal.  If you are interested in participating, you can add your card to the link (under Operation Owl on the left) and mail them to the address here.


As part of this Thank You Blog Hop, I would like to extend a special THANK YOU to Kristal.  With all she goes through in her busy life, she still has time to share and inspire us.  I was fortunate enough to be a guest designer on her blog and have come to look forward to each and every post from her.  She is a constant source of uplifting inspiration.  So, Kristal, I offer to you a very special THANK YOU for all you have done and continue to do for so many.

I am very pleased and honored to be a part of this special blog hop.  And I am happy to share my thank you card:




I used the Give A Hoot cartridge for the owl, squirrel, leaves and grass.  The tree was embossed with the Sizzix embossing folder then hand cut.  The leftover embossed sections were used for the branch and sign base.  I used the Wild Card cartridge for the Thank You inside, Dee Greunig ink to color it and stickles for the accents.  The sentiment on the front is from the K. Andrew Set "Positive Thoughts".  You can find this and other sets here.  (These are AMAZING!  The quality and clarity of the stamped image is wonderful.  And $1 of every stamp sale goes toward a special charity!)  The added colors on the front were done with Queue Chalk Inks and Marvy Markers.  The sweet little googly eyes I found at JoAnn's.  I had never seen ones with colored backgrounds or eyelashes before!  Gotta love em!  They give the characters such personality.

And, of course, an Action Wobble.



We have some Blog Hop Candy for one lucky winner!  Amy Chomas has graciously donated a mini gel pen set and holder as our grand prize and some of the ladies have also added to the pot (surprise package).

In order to qualify for the grand prize, you must leave a comment on EACH blog.  You can click on each one below and be taken directly to their blog.  Remember, you must begin and end with Brenda!  Brenda will be picking one lucky winner on Wednesday, July 27th.  So make sure you go back there to see if you won!

And for playing along with us, I have some surprise blog candy!  Just leave me a comment and I will pick a winner on Wednesday, July 27th.

Here is the list of the blog hop participants.  If you've hopped along from Kathy P, you are on the right track.  If you are just joining me from your dashboard or reading this via email, please be sure to start with Brenda at the top of the list and work your way through.  I wouldn't want you to miss a THING!
















Now head on over to Amy and see what she has in store for you.   

And THANK YOU to everyone who has, does and will serve a purpose in my life.

Until next time, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

Camper Sprucin' and Fantabulous Cricut Challenge

I know I showed you the picture of my tire cover in a previous post....all wrinkly and such.  Since the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday project theme was camping, I thought I would repost the picture of the tire cover in action, along with my lovely trash cans!  LOL




Ok, so it's still a little wrinkly, but that's the TIRE'S fault, not mine.  :)  I must say that I've gotten several compliments on the cover and even a request for letters for someone else's trash/can bins.  (I promise I will get those done soon, Gail!).

I used the Campin' Critters cartridge for this with outdoor vinyl.  Layering vinyl is a little tricky, but if you have some patience you will prevail!

So go check out the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday post and see all the wonderful projects there.

Until next time, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

MISSING MY LIFE!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  After working all day then going to take care of my mom's affairs and visit her in the hospital, then go home and play with my granddaughter for a while, I am just too darned tired and emotionally drained to be creative.  I'm going to work on that though.  In the meantime, hope you are all having a fantastic week!

SUMMER TIME...LIFE IS BRIGHT!

The sun is shining and boy is it bright outside! As the winner of the Getting Cricky Design Challenge, I am thrilled to be the Guest Designer for the Sunday Spot. Their challenge to me was to do something summer themed. My challenge to me was to do it in my camper with limited supplies (not to mention no space, no patience, and very little time). So, is it wrong to make a card for YOURSELF? Well, that's exactly what I did!

I got to thinking about the stamp I knew I wanted to use. Then it all popped into my head. Life is Bright. It can be bright from sunshine or lightning. Good or bad, it's what you make it. You can choose to see it as frightful and difficult, or you can put on your rose tinted glasses and find the good in everything. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I am constantly reminding myself to trust God and believe there is a purpose for everything that goes on in life.

A perfect example, my mom was rushed to the hospital a week ago with a bowel obstruction and had to have emergency surgery. Lighting. As she was undergoing surgery and testing, they found she had a mild heart attack and think there may be a blockage in her artery. Both are something that can be fixed, but if she had not had the bowel obstruction, they may not have found the heart problem in time. Sunshine.

So as I am sitting at my little table in my fifth wheel, preparing my blog post from my ipad, I am feeling very blessed that I am fairly healthy (I'm ignoring my painful knees and ankle) and that my mom is being well cared for with good physicians and nursing staff. I am choosing to wear my rose tinted glasses and see the good things in life today.

So, this is what my craft space looks like this morning. Kind of like a craft tornado hit.



But, it was all worth the mess. Cuz here is what I came up with:



I found the terrific background paper in my camper craft stash. Amazing how it fit right in with my theme and layout. I used the Everyday Paperdolls cartridge for the girls and their accessories, and the sun. The letters are from George. For everything on this card (except the background and the actual bodies), I used plain white card stock and my Stampin' Up markers to color everything in. The rose tinted glasses are done with vellum paper that was colored with a rose colored marker. And the faces I just drew in myself since I don't have my Peachy Keen stamp faces (yet). And the fantastic stamp was from the Positive Thoughts set of K. Andrew Designs Art Stamps.

This card is going to sit on my craft shelf to remind me that Life Is Bright and I am choosing to wear my rose tinted glasses and find the positive things God has provided.  I'm also going to enter it in the Pen Challenge at http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Until next time, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin.

Sketch Saturday #746

Hi, stampin' peeps! Can you believe it's March 9th already? Not sure where February went, but here we are with Spring just around th...