Grande.....anyone!!!

I found this planter at Family Dollar and thought that it would look 

great on top of the cabinet in our kitchen.

  

One thing was stopping me.....look at the design on the front. 

Not my cup of tea java....Bwahahahahahahahaha!!! 

 (Excuse the paint....I had already started 

painting it before I decided to take a picture.)

 This is after one coat of the accent color. 

 You can see in the very upper left of the pic that I have

potholders and towels in this same color.

I wanted to add a very quick design to it. So I used a sponge that I cut into a circle shape and simply dabbed the circles on using brown paint. Then I used the end of the paintbrush for the smaller dots of off white. A liner brush was used to make the wonky lines of paint.

In its place of honor in our kitchen. 

Just another simple accent piece that I thought was super cute and super easy.

Until later, grande guests.......Gotta split......TFL!!!!!!

Pushing up daisies.....

in my Garden of weedin'

When I saw the theme of this week's challenge over at 

Haunted Design House was Garden of Good and Evil

I just had to include a few of my fave flower- the daisy.

I hope its a long time coming before I'm pushing up a few

 but for now and I can 

enjoy them on the less claustrophobic side of the earth.

Deets:

Card base of brown.

Hand cut grass with 3 colors of DSP.

Daisy punch from MS

and colored googly eyes.

MS iron fence border punch.

After looking at the card I think I would like to make the fence white and distress it a little.

Maybe before I take a dirt nap I will get that done.

Until later, Edens...... Gotta split......TFL!!!!!

I'm 'compost' deep....

....in my to-do list.

I have a scrapbooking retreat coming up and I need to finish getting all 

my supplies and layouts together.

That weekend will be my birthday also....can I get a whoop whoop.

I hope we don't get 'compost' deep while we celebrate my b'day.

I am bringing a bottle of wine... (shhhhh don't tell).

This was created for a challenge at BBTB2. (<---click to see the challenge)

But I'll give you a run down.

The inspiration was to use the rubber boot cut from Nate's ABC's

or really any boot cut if you don't happen to have that cartridge.

I just so happen to have that one....teehee!!!

Pretty basic card, some layeringthe boot cut

 (with some inking around the bottom of each boot to resemble some 'compost') 

and the sentiment was computer generated.

Go step off in it and see what will make you kick up your (boot) heels.

Until later, 'boot'iful people.....Gotta split.....TFL!!!!!!

Award show

I received an award from a fellow blogger. 

Thanks so much Andrea!!!!

The rules are simply..... you have to award this to other blogs that you admire. 

This one is dedicated to those that have less than 200 followers.  

Hmmmmm.....let me take a look-see.

I really don't have any that have less than 200 followers, like myself.

Not sure why I have less than 200, but I never gave it much thought before now.

One reason I think is I never made it a requirement when I do challenges or giveaways. 

I know a lot of people visit and hopefully they take away something that is useful or simply makes them smile.

So, instead of nominating any particular 5 blogs I encourage you to peruse blogland and check out ALL the wonder things you can find. 

Thanks again Andrea!!!!!

Until later, my honorable friends........Gotta split.....TFL!!!!!!

Love????

Have you ever had a boyfriend carve your initials in a tree???

  I think that has gone away much like a lot of things.

I remember walking through the woods as a child 

and once in a while stumbling across

a tree that had been carved with the young loves initials.

I would wonder if that was sort of a right of passage.

To sort of hold the bond together.  

I'm sure like a lot of young love it didn't last.....

after all it wasn't written in "stone".

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

This is what inspired my card.  

Love Lies Bleeding

It's a challenge at Haunted Design House.

I'm not sure if it the young loves blood 

or the tree itself from the mutilation that

took place upon it. 

Deets:

I used a kraft cardstock card base and then used some brown color core-dinations cs and ran it thru the embossing machine with the wood grain folder. 

Sanded it with a sanding block to achieve the bark look.

I cut out the heart and the wording with an

 exacto knife to create the carved look. 

I hand cut the 'blood drips' with red cs and 

applied crystal effects to make it appear wet.

I love how it turned out. 

Make like a tree and leaf ....

so you can also enter the challenge.

Until later, 'bud'dies.........Gotta split.......TFL!!!!!

Cocky peacock....

Now that I have your attention....

snappy title, huh???

I {heart} embossing folders. 

 I found this little gem at HL and thought I would give it a try.

This is the only one that I have that has the coordinating cutting die. 

When I get something new I typically grab a scrap piece of card stock and see what it looks like or how the tool handles. Then I throw it in a bin that I save for the grands to use for making cards.  They love going down to my studio to 'create' something with SUGAR.

But as you know their attention span isn't as long as their little fingers sometimes, so I keep throwing things in the bin and keep a supply of glue sticks in the bin as well.

But this one was different, as soon as I cut it out and embossed the frame I saw a card.

I grabbed a card base of grey linen printed cs and

 then just adhered the pieces down and stamped the sentiment.

  But it just wasn't 'screaming' {<-----sound a peacock makes} at me.

I remembered I had some black marabou feathers.

Isn't this card a 'scream'????

This card reminds me of my sister, in a good way.

Everything has to be 'cute or purdy' to hear her tell it....

Bwahahahahahahaahaha.

She's more of the buttons and bows kinda gal 

and I'm more contemporary.

Below is the set that I used.

Until later, penhens and peacocks......Gotta split......TFL!!!!!

Blue w/o you!!!!

I rarely get to spend Valentine's Day with the one I love. 

 He's always away working, {sigh......}

So it's a bitter-sweet day for me. 

 I know that he loves me with everything he has, 

and he always shows it with gifts and trinkets.

I love him back just the same!!!

But we can't have the obligatory candle-lit dinner together. 
Bwahahahahahaha like that'll ever happen even if he is home!!!

So, I'm blueeeeee..........without him!!!

(sentiment on the inside: "Blue without YOU")

Meet Skelikins.....she's a kewl digi from Bugaboo Digi Stamps.  I won her and some others by entering a contest.....HERE is my post when I entered.

I colored her with my color pencils, blending stump and OMS. Used a few markers to make the dotted shadows. 

I'm going to enter her into a couple of challenges as well....

Splitcoaststampers color challenge and Haunted Design House blog.

My Sugarbear (my pet name for him) will be home next week.

 This has been a long 2 months.

Until later, blue belles........Gotta split.......TFL!!!!!

Holy {heart} day Batman!!!

My caped crusader will be getting this card and some 'lounge wear',

 that's what we like to call our lay around the house clothes.


Or is it his special bat suit..... 
 giving him the ability to hold down the couch after supper all the while with his eyes closed.


Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

 His lounge wear consists of a t-shirt with pj pants, sweat pants, or jogging pants. 

For his {heart} day present this year I got him a t-shirt (with the "bat" signal logo) on the front and a pair of blue plaid flannel pants.

  He'll be getting some sweets too, chocolate covered cherries....!!!

So I had to make him a shaped card that reflected his present. 

I have the Batman cricut cart ....perfect!!!!

I followed the basic batman face as it shows on the booklet.....buttttttt

Wow, looks like Batman grew a mustache.  

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!  

No, it isn't a clever disquise.  I hand cut and added the mustache to look like my hubs....

he really is my super hero.  

Until later, damsels........I mustache....(teehee).......TFL!!!!!!

Mirror, mirror on the wall....

who's the handiest of them all.....

"Why you are the handiest in the land"

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha..... I tickle myself sometimes!!!


This is what the mirror looked like before.....

Just a basic mirror stuck to the wall in our bathroom. I wanted to change that and frame it for a more updated look.

Below is a DIY video of that.

This is the final result.

My daughter didn't know that I was going to do this project today.

When she comes home from school off the bus 

she has to make a pit stop before anything else.

I heard her say "So pretty."

So I guess I got the approval from her, now to see what the hubs says

 when he gets home in a week or two.

Until later, DIY queens........Gotta split......TFL!!!!!

Love to create.....

Hey, that's my line!!!!

Yep, I really do love to create.

New challenge blog has a grand opening today 

Love to Create Challenge Blog

and I wanted to enter this card.

There is a sketch and color theme challenge to guide you through.

This one has a little of everything going on.

Here are the deets:

The gazebo was cut using the Cricut and Freshly picked cartridge.

The 2 seater was stamped from a SU! stamp set.

The heart was punched from an EK Success punch.

The foliage was punched from a MS punch.

I distressed the edges using a paper edger tool 

from Creative Memories.

 (check my sidebar and you can order yourself one Item #646974)

Buttons from my stash.

Lots of dimensionals as you can see from the photo below.

I love love love this chair image.  I would love to be sitting here with my beau.

Don't just sit there.....yeah you, get a move on and 'create' something to enter.

Until later, seat warmers......Gotta split......TFL!!!!!!

Sweet candy......of the non fattening kind!!!

Click HERE  to take you to the deets on how to enter too!!!!

This is what's up for grabs....

Most people will tell you I love just about everything. 

 Life's too short to have hard feelings about stuff.

Not to get too heavy on here,

 but we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, so smile and enjoy!!!!!!

Get well..... E. Mc.

One of my hubs dear friends is having surgery and

 the hubs asked me to go to the store 

and pick up a card.....

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Sure, I'll go to my studio and purchase one.....LOL

I asked him "What do I do in my studio just about everyday?"

He replied, "I didn't want to be a bother you."

Bother, how can it be a bother when

 I love doing it and any excuse to make 

something is as good as any.....right???

Here's the card I came up with....

The stamp set is called Fabulous Florets from SU!

I stamped the the flower heads on yellow cardstock using versamark and then used black embossing powder....then fussy cut them out.

I stamped the leaf onto newsprint cardstock and embossed it with black as well.

I stamped the stem w/leaves with gray ink and did it twice more 

without re-inking to get the subtle effect.

Layered it onto black cs and then all onto a kraft card base. 

On the very vanilla piece I used the ticket corner punch.

I pop dotted the flower heads and leaf onto the front.

It's not too frou frou for a man is it????.......

 I wanted it to look elegant without being too fussy.

Until later, petals.........Gotta split......TFL!!!!!

Kisses all around....

New video tutorial for this card.

I'm sending this one to the hubs too..... I don't think he will mind 

all of the 'sweet' cards. 

Hard to make a card when you are 

straddling the tripod and looking around the camera.

I'm going to work on another way 

to film to make it less frenetic looking next time.

Hope you enjoyed it !!!!

Until later, sweet kisses.........Gotta split......TFL!!!!!!