Caardvarks Micro Challenge March 1-sneak peek

SO it turns out that not only is it National Pig Day tomorrow, there's also a Micro Challenge happening at Caardvarks. They've been nice enough to invite me to guest design for this challenge. (dancing, I'm dancing, woohoo! Try not to laugh!!)
Here's the first card I made. The stamp is from Skipping Stones Design, printed tape and eyelet word strip are from Making Memories, acrylic swirl is from One Heart...One Mind, flower is from $ store and button is from a swap.

For this card I used Chocolate Truffle paper from Scrapbooking Treasures. It's double sided and has a white core which works so great when using the Cuttlebug embossing folders. The white shows through when sanded down, love that! Flower stamp is from Studio G, stamped with VersaMark. Ribbon is from May Arts and tag is from Making Memories.

So what is the Micro Challenge for tomorrow??? If I spill the beans, promise not to tell??

It's to use cardstock only, no patterned paper...shhhhh!

Now you get a head start on making somehting for challenge!!

And here's my favorite...

If you've been wondering, yes...I have one! The Pink Pig Heat Embossing Tool. It's as cute as can be and is possibly my favorite piggy of all!
Ok, I think you've seen the highlights of the collection now. More fun tomorrow.

More of the collection

It's almost over, I promise!! NPD just about here and I'm excited that so many ladies have made cards (and a Valentine box!) to help with the celebration. A piggy card actually made it to my house from Kim. Thank you Kim, I love it!!

So here are a few more stuffies that have made their home with me. The 'mama piggy' came this past Christmas and I do believe that one of Barb's daughter's made it years ago. And Barb was keeping it all of these years because she knew that it had a higher purpose in life!

Baby Girl Cards

A coworker wanted a baby card, I made a couple to let her choose one. This one is a sticker from Pebbles Inc. and patterned paper from 7 gypsies that I've had for a while. The vintage stick pin is from Making Memories.

The baby carriage stamp is from Stampabilities. I added stickles to it to add sparkle and Tulip Fashion Bead paint for texture. Sentiment stamp is from Impression Obsession. Patterned Paper is from Basic Grey.

Embellish Idea Book

So I got my first peek at this idea book by Scrapbook Trends magazine. This is the one I've been waiting for! Right there on page 33 is my first card published post Simply Sentiments! I was beyond thrilled to see it in there. Yes, I had the acceptance email (and you should have seen me dance when I got it!), but it didn't seem real till I had it in my hands today. Can't wait to sit down and look at every gorgeous page in there! And do some more dancing! lol!

Heart Piggy

Here's a cute little guy made all out of hearts. I got the pattern from here:

Heart Pig directions

I traced most of it from the pattern but the small hearts are a Sizzix die cut. Shaded it with ink and Metallic Rub Ons from Craf T Products The patterned paper is from Hot of the Press. This is for a kids challenge on Cococat's Cardmaking and will be going to a sweet little girl in the next day or so.

Friendship Card

Taking a break from my piggies to make a friendship card for a challenge on Caardvarks. Patterned paper and sticker are from Bo-Bunny. Ribbon is from Offray.

Happy Monday!

More of the collection

I hope you're ready to see a few more things from my collection. This darling ATC came from Annie (Just Plain Annie) and I love it!! I have it on the fridge and it comes in handy to point to when the obvious answer to the kids' question is, "when pigs fly"! Thank you Annie.

The ornament is made out of wood and came this past Christmas. I think it's hand made, but I'm not sure. Maybe Barb will pop in here and let us know. I didn't use him as an ornament, he sits proudly on top of one of my cabinets in my scrap space. Thank you Barb. Stay tuned, there's a few more things to share.

Only Time...

You gotta love Miss Piggy's attitude and her views on life!!
Sticker is from EK Success and the patterned paper is from Bo Bunny.
One week till the big day! If you make a pig card and leave a message here with a link to your card, I'll add it to the Pig Fest Gallery. I'm working on a wonderful prize. Check out the gallery link to see all the wonderful creations sent to me so far! Love them all!!

Here Piggy, Piggy...

Here are a couple of things from 'The Collection'! This little guy came to me at Christmas one year. His feet are a little rough, but he still has a smile on his face, so who could resist that??!! My only thought when he came was, "who would look at a pig and think, hey I'll make that into a candle!"? But here he is and I love him.

I had to travel to California last year to adopt this pink bundle of joy! He was waiting in bed for me when I arrived in Anaheim for CHA. I fell in love with him and his boa right off the bat. He is soft and cuddly and cute as can be. These were both from Barb. Can't you just picture her giggling as she packs off these wonderful piggy finds for me?! Thank you Barb. You (and the piggies) make me smile.

Take a peek at the National Pig Day Card Gallery up on the right. There are some very wonderful and creative PIG cards there. Thank you to all the ladies who have made cards so far. LOVE them all!!

Oink!

Only 10 more sleeps till National Pig Day!! So here's a quick card and a little piggy riddle for you today...

What happens when a pig loses it's voice?
It gets disgruntled!

groan....hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Anniversary

Anniversary card for the Caardvarks challenge this week. The paper and the brad are from One Heart...One Mind, the Formality Set. The flowers and heart rub ons are from Making Memories, and the sentiment rub on is from American Crafts.

For the ribbon around the flower, I put the brad through the flower. While holding the brad and the flower in one hand, I pushed the brad through the ribbon. Looped the ribbon around and pushed the brad through again. Continued to loop ribbon and push the brad through until it surrounded the back of the flower. Then I folded the brad over to secure the ribbon loops and attached to card. Have a great day!

Here is the little guy who started it all!

As some of you may know, I am the reluctant collector of pigs. I say 'reluctant' because I seem to have fallen into it unknowingly when we had a 'white elephant' exchange in Iowa a few years ago.
Here's how it innocently started...the Simply Sentiments magazine staff and a bunch of wonderful ladies from the message board were meeting for the first time at a convention in Iowa. I headed out of the country with some trepidation as I'd never travelled on my own and I was going to meet people that I'd met on the Internet!! A scary prospect only up to the moment that I met everyone! Once we were together, it seemed as if we'd always known each other. We had a fabulous time, so when the white elephant exchange came up, I was excited and picked the biggest bag there! Little did I know that Christine (techgoddess) had brought this jug that was the shape of a pig and would be starting my collection! This little guy came home with me and we all got a chuckle out of him, he was actually kind of cute.

Soon though, other pigs started arriving at my house courtesy of a few ladies who had been at the convention. My family all wondered what was up with all the pig things that were arriving…candles, stuffies, notebooks, magnets, rubber stamps…all cute and all part of a growing collection that some wonderful friends have so much fun buying and sharing with me!!

So, I am a collector of pigs. A few years into it, I've come to accept it. And you know what…they’re kindda cute and they really do grow on you!!

So I was very excited when I picked up the latest copy of Paper Crafts Magazine and saw in the calendar that National Pig Day is coming up on March 1st. I had no idea there was such a thing but then realized that it was the perfect time to show you more of my collection and have a bit of fun here on the blog. I'll be hosting a 'National Pig Day' celebration on March 1st and I hope you come and visit often as you never know what kind of piggy fun I'll have lined up during the day.
Starting off though, I'm hosting a ‘National Pig Day’ Card Fest. If you leave a comment on my blog with a link to a PIG theme hand made card that you've created, you'll be entered into a draw for a prize. Deadline will be March 1st at midnight EST. I'm still working on what the prize will be, so can't say what it is yet…but I’m thinking ‘Piggy Tales’! So let the ‘piggy’ creative juices flow…Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Thomas the Tank Engine

It's my great nephews birthday this weekend. Seems strange to be saying 'great nephew' but it must be even stranger for my sister to say grandson!! (gotta get a dig in there whenever I can!!) LOL They live out west so I really don't know this little guy very well but I hear that he loves trains so his card and gift are Thomas this year. The image is from the Internet, felt # is from American Crafts. Wish we could be there to celebrate with him. These are the fun years!

Happy Valentine's Day

A card for Dana...

...one for Julia...

...and one for Steve. Now that the girls are older, I haven't really done much for Valentine's Day, but today I felt like doing a little something to mark the day. These were just quick cards, last minute as usual, but I hope the family likes them. I'm off to the store to buy a few little things to decorate the table and hopefully a heart shaped pan for a cake. Oh and some chocolates for the girls, can't have Valentine's Day without chocolates! Hope you're having a good day with a little extra lovin' coming your way on this Valentine's Day!

Tiny Miracle

I finally made it over to Caardvarks to check out the challenges. Here is my card for the baby love challenge. Now I'm ready for the next baby that comes along...and no, not one of mine!! LOL
The patterned paper and ribbon are by American Traditional Designs (blue) and Making Memories (yellow). 3 D Accents (booties) and sticker are from Melissa Frances. The rub on hearts are by QuicKutz and sentiment is by Making Memories. The charm is from K&Company.

Friends

Flowers, bright colors...yup, I'm wishing for spring! But with more snow forecast for today, spring won't be here anytime soon. The bitterly cold temperatures, don't help either. Oh well, I can still keep wishing, right? And I can brighten someones mailbox too. This is on it's way to a friend.
Cardstock is from Prism and the patterned paper is from The Paper Lady. I embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder and added rhinestones from Ecstasy Crafts. Shimmer sticker is from Webster's Pages, the flowers are form Sandylion and the rub on is from Junkitz. The scallops are paper frills from Doodlebug.

XOXO

This is a card I made for the Feb. image swap at Cococat's Cardmaking site.

The Bella image was mailed out to everyone in the swap. It is amazing how different each card is using the same image.

I used paper from The Paper Lady and ran it through my Sizzix with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Then I blinged it up with rhinestones from Prima and Darice. I colored the image with markers and ink, then painted it with Aleene's Paper Glaze and sprinkled it with Making Memories glitter while still wet. Ribbon is from Michaels $ bin, stickers are from Sei. This is on its way to someone in the swap.

Valentine Card

A quick Valentine's Day card for a friend. I got to use more of my outline stickers and Glaze markers on a transparency. Love doing that, it's so much fun!! Patterned paper is from The Paper Lady, embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. Background stamp is from Inkadinkado, ribbon is from Michaels. TGIF!!

Too Much Pink???

Is there such a thing as too much pink?? My daughter doesn't think so! Pink is her thing, so this one is for her. This was one of those cards that started out as something totally different, but the longer I kept at it, it still wasn't coming together as I'd hoped. So I added the huge flower and called it a day! All the stamps are from Sandyloin's Kelly Panacci collection
Flower is from the $ store and the glittered hearts are from Making Memories.

It snowed a ton here last night. Today I'm hibernating and hoping the snow shovellig fairies stop by my house while I'm otherwise occupied!
(A girl can hope can't she??!!)

Hope you have a great day!

Renovations, viruses and roses!!

Where- oh- where has the time gone? It's been a while since I updated my little piece of the web. That's because of a few reasons...last week, the girls went home to Edmonton to visit family during a semester break. While they were gone, we decided to renovate the office. After a lot of work and being off line for a while, we almost have it the way we want it. All that's missing are a few picutres on the wall and some more organization of all the stuff we have in here.
Then we got hit by a virus. Julia unknowingly clicked on a zip file that she was 'supposedly' sent by one of her friends through MSN. Poor girl feels really badly, but the end result is that my computer is majorly messed up and needed to be wiped clean and reloaded. It's not back yet from the computer 'emergency' center so time will tell if it will be good as new. Luckily we backed up all the important files before we took it in. All my scans of cards and email addresses are safe (I hope!).

On to more pleasant things...I have a new addiction...it's coloring in these outline stickers with 3D glaze makers from Sakura of America

I saw this technique at my LSS recently and when I received this flower sticker as a RAK from a friend (thanks Adelle) I knew I had to try it. And it couldn't be easier. I just put my sticker onto a transparency and coloured the picture with these beautiful 3D Glaze markers. I wiped some of the colour off the roses to add some shading. When dry, I adhered it to the patterned paper by putting the glue dot under the rhinestone. I just love the end result. Sticker is by Stampendous.
This card is on its way to a friend.