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Sylvia Cook Photography blog Giveaway

2011-01-18T08:46:00.000-04:00

This giveaway is for all you photographer friends out there, this is an amazing giveaway you do NOT want to miss out on :)! Please head on over to Sylvia Cook Photography Blog, and enter into this giveaway :), I did...

Thanks for stopping by today, inky hugs for you,

Catherine

Sympathy cards

2011-01-11T12:56:00.000-04:00

My mom called me the other day and asked me if I would make her some Sympathy cards for her to give, I think for Sympathy cards they are better if they are handmade as they have had an extra touch to them. To let the person know they are cared about, during this difficult time....just what I think :)!
Here are a few of the cards I made for her, they are simple but it is what she was looking for and wanted....
For this card I used the Hero Arts background stamp and then stamped Inkadinkado Sentiment over top the background image :)!

I used the same background stamp for this card, but I layered the sentiments using one of my label dies from Spellbinders, LOVE this label set. Cardstock for all my cards is from SU (Stampin' Up) and my ink is Archival.

This card is made by all SU products, I used the SU stamp set called Watercolor trio and all the ink I used is also SU ink :)!

Thanks for stopping by, I promise I will be back with more cards that have more detail to them :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Unmounted stamp storage

2011-01-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I need to improve upon my crafty area and make it more effective and more crafty friendly! I am in need of some ideas for how to store one's unmounted stamps, I have several small rubbermaid containers that I keep mine in. I am in need of change and so I thought I should ask all of you :)! So how do you store your unmounted stamps and I don't mean Sweetpea stamps got that covered it is all the others like Hero Arts etc.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Christmas cards

2010-12-24T08:43:00.001-04:00

I received 2 beautiful handmade cards, from two of my crafty friends Tracy H. and Anita Hovey :)! Am impressed with the two of you, for getting your xmas cards made and out...when did you get them done??
Here is Tracy's card:

Ty, so much Tracy for this card...love the layout you used :)! I used the easel card idea to create an xmas card for a friend of mine, which I will post below in this post....

Here is Anita's card:

Ty, Anita for your beautiful card (saw the one you gave Bernie and Wendy too, beautiful card too)!

Here is the card I created using the easel card idea I got from Tracy's card she sent me:

Thanks for stopping by, and Merry Christmas from my family to yours! Be safe and savor the moments together, and Happy New Years :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Blueberry Hill Pompom hat Giveaway

2010-11-29T07:41:00.000-04:00

Please, hurry on over to Pamela Toppings blog and check out the giveaway she is having...she is giving away a Pom Pom hat by Blueberry Hill :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Win the Slice Elite over at the Crafty Charlestonian blog

2010-11-19T15:47:00.002-04:00

Head on over to enter to win the "Slice Elite" over on the Crafty Charlestonian blog hurry before it is too late!

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Stamping on Shells

2010-11-15T16:40:00.000-04:00

So, I have been meaning to and have also been asked to post my shell that we did during the first class I taught about a month ago. The shells we used were Scallop shells, that Anne (Tabitha's Treasures owner) picked up from somewhere local and she washed them (bleached them too I think) and let them dry outside. I was given a few of these shells a few weeks before the class to play around with the shells to see if they could in fact be stamped on or painted on, the first couple of shells didn't turn out that great. With some practice (I was glad I had a pile of these shells to play with in case one broke or didn't turn out), I managed to do 3 shells that I was happy with to teach the class how to do.
If you are planning on trying this project out, I would recommend that you have a few extra shells and that you use see through acrylic stamps or stamps that you can rock easily over the shell to get a clean crisp image from.
I stamp set I used is from There She Goes (can't remember what it is called right now, sorry!), and it was really easy to use and was glad that it was see through so one could re-align up the stamp again in case only part of the image showed up. Once we all stamped our images onto the shells, we painted the images in using SU Watercolor crayons or Tombow markers with a watercolor brush and with either one of these methods you have to make sure you don't have too much water on your brush or things will run/bleed. This is even more the case with having the shell as your medium, the grooves in the shell provided great little ramps for your paint to run down! Once we all colored in the images, let them dry, we sprayed them with a protective coating so they wouldn't run or bleed if they got wet again... and some of us even sprayed on some shimmer to make it sparkle a bit.

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Question for all you techies out there

2010-11-15T10:58:00.000-04:00

I am working on a new an improved photography blog, the other one that I had been posting on wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Anyways, I am wondering how one posts on the separate pages you have under the "tabs" at the top of the page??? I have tried everything that I could think of, so here I am asking all you lovely people :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

3 X-mas tags

2010-11-13T20:23:00.001-04:00

Here are the 3 Christmas tags that I showed 3 lovely ladies how to make, we also did a small card as well...haven't taken a picture of the card yet, will do that tomorrow for you all :). I will be doing another tag class next Saturday starting at noon, at Tabitha's Treasures probably some different tags but we will have to see how my week goes. These ladies were very excited about seeing how easy it is to make tags, especially if you have Spellbinders dies, a Cuttlebug, and of course Cuttlebug embossing folders :)!
I found "Bakers Twine" at Michaels for about $7, the colors they had were Red, Green, Brown and there are 6 spools in total you have 60 yards I believe the box said. This is what we used for the string on our Christmas tags, the ladies had never heard of "Bakers Twine" and were going to go get some themselves.

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Great News

2010-11-13T09:41:00.000-04:00

I am excited to share with you that there is a new little crafty store out near me, it is called "Tabitha's Treasures" it carries mostly Scrapbooking things but she is starting to carry other products like Spellbinders. Anyways, I went in a few months ago and talked to Anne (the lady who owns/runs the store) and she asked me to make a few different cards to have in her store to decorate it/to give people ideas/to sell if people wanted my cards. Then a week or two later I get a call from her asking me if I would be interested in teaching some classes there in her store, I told her that I was very interested in teaching some classes.
The first class I taught was stamping on Scallop shells, with beach themed stamps ("There She Goes" stamps) as well as coloring in the stamped images on the shell with SU watercolor crayons. We had 4 wonderful local ladies come out to this class, these ladies either were Scrapbookers or they were basically beginners. They all did really well, considering they were all basically beginners and they left with a new found confidence which is what I was hoping :)!
A few weeks ago I was asked to do another class, this time would be Christmas tags/cards themed class and we have possibly 5 people coming out to this mornings class. I am excited to show these ladies the many easy Xmas tag/card possibilities there are, hopefully get them all hooked :)! Today we are making 3 tags, all of them different and if we have time a small xmas card which I decided to not totally make up for them. Have them use some of my crafty tools to create their own card, sure I cut out some pieces but left a few of them to do...I want them to use my Cuttlebug to emboss and for them to use Spellbinders. I will let you know how things go this afternoon :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

cards, cards, and more cards

2010-11-13T09:30:00.000-04:00

I know I am such a horrible blogger over this past year, but on a good note I think I got my "crafty groove" back :D! I had to make 11 cards for a friend of my Mom's, she wanted me to make her "Thinking of You" cards and also a few "Thank You" cards...so I finally got around to doing them.

The first 2 cards I made I thought she'd like a Christian sentiment written on it, as she is a Christian and has several Christian friends whom she said she'd like these cards for :).

I wanted this card to be bright and to have tons of flowers on it, I also wanted to use my new Spellbinders dies too...

For this card I used a SU Set that I haven't used in a while, but knew it would be perfect to use and I also used the new "Polka Dot" Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I used the SU stamp set called "Friends Forever", I stamped the flower image out twice the second image I stamped I cut out and used a dimensional to attach it on to the first flower image. I also used some "bling" in the middle of the flower to make it sparkle.

I decided to make her some what of a simple/easy card, that she could write in herself :)! This patterned paper is shimmery, the floral pattern is white in color and shimmers makes the paper even more beautiful...

I found this patterned paper in my patterned paper drawer, I found a pile of patterned paper that I haven't used yet and thought this patterned paper would be perfect for my mom's friends cards.

I LOVE this patterned paper, it reminds me of the Unity Stamp set called "Feel the Joy" and the cross is a stamp that I picked up from the $1.50 bin at Michael's. Lately Michael's has been carrying several beautiful stamps that are wood mounted, I picked up a few new X-mas stamps the other day :)!

Here is another "Thank You" card

This beautiful purple (I know I used a different color from my usual green colors, lol) patterned paper also came from the same drawer as the other floral paper I found. Was thrilled to come across this patterned paper because it was different and fit what I was looking for to use on the last card :)!

Thanks for stopping by :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

A Photo Contest that I have entered and I NEED your help

2010-11-05T17:21:00.000-03:00

Friends of mine have started a wonderful card company called "Slingshot cards"(you can find them on Facebook), they decided to get the word out there about their new business by hosting a contest. I decided to enter it, in order to enter I had to enter 3 of my photographs I took and then have to get people's votes :)! This is where YOU come in :D, I need you all who follow my blogs to go and vote for my pictures that I have entered into this contest. You have to go onto Facebook, "like" my friends group page and then "like" the three pictures that I have entered...the 3 pictures I entered are a firebush (pink flowers), a Chickadee, and a Waterfall scene.
Here is the link to one of my pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=455387407085&set=a.447679942085.237348.190264087085

Thank you so much for taking the time to vote, and for your help by voting!!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

New X-mas card

2010-10-19T13:56:00.000-03:00

Sorry I haven't been a good card blogger, life happened and I needed a break from being crafty...to a) find my crafty mojo and b) to be able to work on getting my middle son ready for grade 1.
Here is a Christmas card I made using the "Shapeabilities Pendant Kaleidoscope" dies to make this card, and I did use a card I received from last years Christmas card swap from Kim Prince for some ideas. I got this die set this weekend, for a thank you for doing a workshop out here at a crafty store by me and boy was I excited to see this set :).

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Craft Gossip blog is having a stamp giveaway

2010-08-27T19:17:00.000-03:00

Please hurry on over to the "Craft Gossip Blog", because they are giving away a beautiful stamp set, hurry on over and check it out :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Teacher's Gifts

2010-06-28T10:12:00.000-03:00

I finally figured out what I was going to do for Teacher's gifts this year, I was at a Dollar store the other day and came across these really neat looking mugs. They looked like clay pots (but with a handle), so I thought that it would be perfect for the teachers if I filled it up with something in one of those little cellophane bags you can get. I went to Bulk Barn, got a PILE of truffles and left there pretty happy with myself...now to go home to create this special gift :)!
I had several teachers to do: My oldest son just had 1 teacher, my middle son has 2 home room teachers that split teach, his Learning Center teacher and his Aide. Plus, I had my son's bus drivers which there are 4 of them and knew this idea I had would be quick and easy to do :)! For Ethan's teachers I wrote a little note that went something like this:
"The other day I was out running errands when I came across these mugs, they reminded me of clay flower pots and how they help flowers/plants grow by supporting them. They support them by holding them together so they can grow big and strong, then we can transplant them into a garden outside! I then thought of all of you who have taught E* this year, how each of you helped him grow with all the supports he needed and helped him get to where he is now. You haven't just done this with E*, but with all of your students every day and every year! With that we thank you for everything you have done, and each time you take a sip from your mug you will be reminded just how special you teachers are."

I just found out that we are losing our Learning Center teacher that has helped E* excel in so many ways, which is hard because she has that passion one needs to do what she does and you can tell she really truly cares for each child. We are sad she is leaving us, but hope that the person who is replacing her has that same passion and is just as good as she was...will be hard to replace her that is for sure!!!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

My new blog "Pictures of You"

2010-06-23T17:30:00.000-03:00

Just wanted to let you all know I have started a new blog called "Pictures of You", it is something several of my friends have been asking me to start and so I decided to seize the moment. Hope you will pop on over and check it out, let me know what you think :)!
Don't worry I am not stopping creating cards and other fun crafty things, I am doing this other blog in addition to my crafty inky blog :)!

Inky hugs,
Catherine

"Dragon Luck" Sweetpea stamp

2010-06-17T15:52:00.000-03:00

I decided that I would challenge myself and use all of the Sweetpea stamps I have to make cards, so on that note my next stamp in my binder of "Sweetpea goodness" I have the stamp called "Dragon Luck". Thought I would do something a bit different with this card, I thought I would make the base of the card to look like a Dragons scales and so I used different colors of green card stock I had in my scrap stash to make it. Turned out really well I think :)! Almost forgot, I also used Glitter Ritz (blue tint) on the flower the dragon is holding to add some sparkle to the card :).
The next "Sweetpea" stamp I will be using is called "Time Flies", thanks for stopping by :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Josh and Erin's Wedding card

2010-06-16T08:20:00.000-03:00

My dh's cousin Josh, was getting married and we needed a card to go with the gift that we got them....luckily I just got the SU set called "Blissful Bride" that I could use for this card. You can't tell from this picture, but I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Victoria" on the scalloped black circle which they used on their wedding invitations. The patterned paper that I used came from a pad of patterned paper called "Super Paper Pad" by Family Ties, it has tons of gorgeous patterned paper but the paper is thin not thick which was a bit disappointing :(.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

2 Sweetpea Cards

2010-06-16T08:07:00.000-03:00

Finally, I am BACK with two Sweetpea cards :)! The first card I made I used the Sweetpea image called "Unregrettable Pirate Life", I used another stamp that I just thought was perfect for my card that was a treasure map. I got it with the intention of using it for my middle guys Birthday invitations, but instead he wanted to use Bakugaun ones this year!!

The next card I made I used the image called "Enchanting Gold", and the butterfly is a Sizzix Die that I picked up the other day. Gorgeous isn't it (the butterfly I mean) :)! I also used colors that I don't usually use, but thought I should step outside of my color comfort zone for this card...am very happy with how it turned out :).

Here is a up close picture of the butterfly :)!
Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Daily Marker Blog candy giveaway

2010-06-11T10:58:00.000-03:00

Please head on over to the blog called "Daily Marker" as she is celebrating her first Blogaversary :)! what you see in the picture is what she is giving away, GORGEOUS stuff right??

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

got a new camera, well a new to me camera lol

2010-06-02T08:51:00.000-03:00

Yep, I finally did it :)! I finally got myself a new camera, a upgrade from the one I have been using...actually it isn't brand spanking new but it is new to me :)...and I LOVE IT :)! Here is one of the first pictures I took with it, my middle son's feet with my dd's feet in the grass in our front yard...love how this turned out.

Here is my oldest son's feet with my dd's feet :), couldn't do one without doing the other son :)!

They were having fun with this, as you can see :)! Especially since it was the first sunny day we had in a long time...why not have a fun photo shoot outside.

Still am getting used to this camera...but was quite happy with how these pictures turned out :)! Will be back later with some more pics and some more cards...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Cards in the mail from April CCE

2010-06-02T08:21:00.000-03:00

Sorry that I am so late posting these cards, but a lot has been going on these past couple of months that have been making things around our house extra busy. Anyways, here is a card that I got in the mail 2 months ago for the CCE and this card was by Ardelle. Love the soft colors that she used and the embossed flowers she created :). Ty, so much Ardelle for this card...it is up on my crafty room wall :)!

The next card I got was from Mary Jane Downey, ty so much Mary Jane for this beautiful card and I love the fact it is a masculine card :)! A card theme that I struggle with, and thank you for including some stamped images of the cowboys for me to play around with :).

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Luna Moth

2010-05-25T19:22:00.000-03:00

Just had to stop in for a minute, I know I am slacking again on my blog, life has just been to busy and chaotic to be crafty...anyways check this guy out. This is a Luna Moth, he is about 3-4 inches from wing tip to wing tip and about 2-3 inches long...he was beautiful! He is the LARGEST moth that I have ever seen, he was stuck in the grocery store entrance and the lady who works in the floral department got him outside. He then landed on several bags of soil, trying to recover from being inside a hot window...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Passion for Crafts HUGE bday giveaway

2010-05-22T19:58:00.000-03:00

It is Debbie's bday, and she is celebrating by giving all this good stuff away over on her blog called "Passion for Crafts" so hurry on over to wish her a Happy Bday and enter to win these goodies :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

"Oh Alice" challenge 13 Mushroom inspiration

2010-05-18T20:09:00.000-03:00

I thought I would redo the card I did the other day, and even use my NEW camera (okay so it is a new to me camera) to take the picture of the card. For those of you who are wondering I did layer several of the pieces of the card again, I layered the following pieces: her face, the cat's face, the mushrooms and I did so using dimensionals of varying sizes. I wanted to redo this card to do the "Oh Alice" Challenge 13, which you can check out and be part of too :)!

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Chesire Cat Illusion

2010-05-12T21:28:00.000-03:00

Yep, I did it again :D! This time I used Sweetpea's "Cheshire Cat Illusion" image to make this card, and I made several parts of the card dimensional again. The funny thing is you can't tell by my pictures straight on, but in person you can...weird! I cut out seconds of the cat, the mushrooms, her face and put dimensionals on them to make them "pop" off the base image. I will be doing more images this way, gives these GORGEOUS images a new look...

Just to give you a better idea as to what I did, here is a angled shot of my card!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Asian card

2010-05-11T17:16:00.000-03:00

Here is another stamp that I bought from Deborah, that I have been wanting to play with since I got it :)! I wanted to make the fan look like a real fan, I stamped out the image colored it in and then re-stamped it onto Vellum...then I cut out the Vellum fan. Once I did that, I glued it to the base stamped image on either end and along the bottom of it, so that it would flare out along the top of the fan.

You can sort of see by this picture I took of the fan, and I even made sure that both images lined up so that the color from the base stamped image would show through the Vellum.

Thanks for stopping by,

Catherine

Sweetpea Coral Immersion Card

2010-05-11T17:07:00.000-03:00

So this morning I decided to take on a challenge for myself, what challenge is this you ask?? Well first I must say either I am crazy in attempting this or just in need of a challenge which I certainly got by doing this challenge. I wanted to make this image pop off the page, make her more realistic looking...you can't really tell what I did by this photo but not to worry I will show you and tell you what I did.

Yep, I am crazy :p! I did exactly what you think I did! I stamped out this Sweetpea image 2 times, then I colored in the base image and then colored in the 2 pieces I was going to use to "pop" off the page. I cut out the 2 pieces that I used to "pop" off the base image, but before I attached them I ran the base image through the Cuttlebug using the Decal Oval Nesties. Once I did that I attached the 2 pieces that I wanted to "pop" off the page, and then I built my card up from there which didn't take me that long. I would have to say that the cutting out of the pieces that I wanted to use as the second layer was the hardest and the most time consuming. Can't wait to do this with other Sweetpea images :D!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

PaperArtistry card

2010-05-10T17:27:00.000-03:00

A few weeks ago at our Crafty night, Deborah brought along some of her stamps that she was looking to sell and asked us to look through them to pick out what we wanted before she posted them for sale. So I picked out a "PaperArtistry" set called "School Days plate3", and decided that this morning I wanted to make a card using this set :). I wanted the card to be bright, so I picked out a piece of patterned paper that Val gave me in a patterned paper swap we had a few months ago...which I thought was perfect for my card :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

5 Mother's Day cards

2010-05-09T18:48:00.000-03:00

Yep, you read that correctly 5 Mother's Day cards! Why do I give out 5 Mother's Day cards?? See there is my Mother, my Mother in Law, my hubbies Nanny, there is my Birthmother (since if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here today), and my Birthfather's wife. So I looked and looked for a great card to case, and as soon as I came across Kim MacNutt's cards I knew I found the card I wanted to do.

For each of these cards I took some designer K&CO. patterned paper and I ran it through the Cuttlebug using the Flourish Floral embossing folder. Then I added the other touches to the card after :)!

Just wanted to show you two close ups of the cards I made :)! HAPPY MOTHER'S day to you all *HUGS*!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Ty, Brenda Santer

2010-05-07T17:02:00.000-03:00

I went to my mailbox this morning to find this lovely card from Brenda Santer, thank you so much Brenda for such a beautiful card :)! It will be up on my crafty room wall, that is where I usually put all the cards I get from friends or other crafty souls like myself..oh yeah, this card is for the May CCE (Canadian Card Exchange). Wait a second...wow, I am impressed you are early Brenda!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Card for my Sunday night group

2010-05-07T08:39:00.000-03:00

Here is the card we made last Sunday night at our "Encouragement Group" card making group :)! Everyone, including my Father in Law did amazing with making this card and they want to make our next card harder (plus, they want to use the Nesties and Embossing Folders some more).

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

I AM Inktegrity May's Guest DT member

2010-05-06T22:08:00.001-03:00

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Catherine and I am a full time stay at home mom of 3 beautiful children...am happily married to an amazing guy for 10 years this June. I LOVE to make cards but also like to alter things, photography (not a professional but love to take pictures), like to make jewelery. My other passion is trying to get better support services/resources for children with Special Needs/Learning Disabilities in all schools across the province I live in (Nova Scotia). I know no small feat, even if I don't move "mountains" at least I would have gotten people talking and perhaps then fix the seriously lacking education system for these children. You are probably wondering why this is one of my passions, well...it is because my middle child has some Special Needs that we are trying to sort out and have found out that the services in our schools are seriously lacking. If I don't speak up who will??

Okay, so I am the guest designer team member for "Inktegrity" for the month of May, I was sent a few images from the digital set called "Monsters Ink." and here is the card I came up with using one of the images that was sent to me. I am sorry I took this long to post my card or even say hi, but my computer and also printer were giving me a bit of trouble! I look forward to getting to know the other DT members, sharing my style of card making/craftyness and to meet a bunch of new people that share my crafty passion :). Or is it an addiction?? This card looks a whole lot better in person, sorry for the poor pic...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

A new me

2010-04-30T16:25:00.000-03:00

I had my hair down to the middle of my back, for awhile I have been planning to get it chopped off but then life happened and things just got busier...so in other words it didn't happen. So yesterday, I decided to go for it and make an appointment for this morning :)! They put my hair in a pony tail, cut it off...told me I had the right amount to donate and told me that is my good deed for the day :)! I wanted my hair short but not too drastic, so here is what she came up with for me ...boy does it feel weird and light :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Sundy night card

2010-04-26T11:41:00.000-03:00

I have started teaching a class Sunday nights at my church, and it is for the next 4/5 weeks...I have 5 women in our group and my Father in Law. This class is about Encouragement, so we send out our cards to someone we feel needs to have their spirits brightened...I helped out with a class last year with my friend Anita.

The flowers are from Unity Stamp company (thank you Dejah for carrying this line of stamps), and the sentiment is by Cornish Heritage Farm set called "Friend Centers".

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Crafty night

2010-04-26T11:34:00.000-03:00

Here is our project for "Crafty Night" on Saturday night at Julie's house, that Julie found online and Val/Kim helped out with the project :)! This was a really FUN project, and will definitely do it again soon....perhaps a great Mother's Day gift or something. Don't worry my mom nor my Mother in Law don't look at my blog often, so I am not too worried about them seeing this project...

Here is the other side of the box we created, we started out with a blank box from Michael's, painted Gesso onto it, then painted our box whatever color we wanted. We then also made this GORGEOUS flower, which I will be making again and again I am sure :)! I added the beads on the bottom of the box for feet, and will be adding more to the box later but just wanted to show you all what we created.

Every month we issue out a challenge to our crafty group of gals, then the night of our "Crafty Night" we draw names and swap our challenge projects to each other. This time I drew Vals name, LOVE your card :)! Love how you had the pattern on the patterned paper shimmery...beautiful work Val :)!

I received a card in the mail from Maryann Lawrence in my mailbox, thank you so much for this cute card...very nice :)! This card is part of the CEE (Canadian Card Exchange) that I am part of, where you have to send 2 cards a month once signed up and you get 2 cards from two other people...fun stuff.

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Blog Candy over at "In My Minds Eye" blog

2010-04-21T08:08:00.000-03:00

Please head on over to "In My Minds Eye" blog, as she is having a blog candy giveaway of all the items above in the picture. Pretty nice giveaway if you ask me :)!

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Encouragement small group class I am teaching tonight

2010-04-18T14:54:00.000-03:00

Yep, you read that correctly I am teaching a class tonight at my church! We are doing this "Hinged Card", I haven't ever done and thought it would be perfect for the group I have tonight. The card looks so much better in person, I am seriously disappointed with my picture of this card am going to definitely take a photography course and get a new camera.

Here is the inside of the card, will have to say that I will make this card again and it was actually a lot of fun to make :)! The flower on the card is actually a layered flower, not that you can tell by this picture (sheesh), and I used glue dots to attach the flowers together then to the card.
The class I am teaching tonight is a small group that has the theme of "Encouragement", so the people in our group will be sending the card to someone they feel needs some cheering up or just because :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

bad blogger

2010-04-16T21:14:00.000-03:00

Hi, my name is Catherine and I am a BAD BLOGGER this week! I not only haven't posted or done anything crafty but I have fallen off my challenge wagon too. Sadly, the next 2 weeks are going to be insane with appointments for my middle son and also I am taking a course called "The Incredible Years" once a week for 2 hours. I am also starting to do a card night at my church as well, which shall be interesting since no one really is into making cards besides my friend Anita at our church. I helped Anita last year do the same card making night, but this year she is helping me out occasionally :)!
I want to get back on my challenge wagon, will try my best to catch up this weekend with a ton of cards...or so I hope :)!
On a side note, my middle guy E* was assessed today for OCD and we found out he does NOT have it... so the question of the day then is: what is it then if it isn't OCD?? Well, we are going to do more assessments/testing and are taking things one day at a time! Good news is I LOVE our new Psychologist and finally someone who is on the same page as me....someone who get's our situation.

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Stencil question

2010-04-11T19:16:00.000-03:00

Someone asked me who made the stencil that I used on my "Today" card that I made the other day, and it is by TheCraftersWorkshop.com . It is called "Mini Swanky"

Have a super crafty night, I will post some stuff tomorrow :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Kellie Winnell kit giveaway

2010-04-10T08:01:00.000-03:00

Kelly Winnell is offering up a Spring Candy kit from All That Scraps, so please head on over to her blog and check out what you have to do to win the kit I have pictured here with this post :)! Isn't this kit cute?? Thanks for stopping by :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Tickled Pink Stamps blog candy giveaway

2010-04-09T13:27:00.000-03:00

Hurry on over to the blog called "Tickled Pink Stamps", she is having a HUGE giveaway of goodies that you may not want to miss out on...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Bunny Basket

2010-04-09T11:06:00.000-03:00

Yesterday on Julie's blog, she created these adorable Easter bunny baskets with her 2 girls as they were home sick and she has also created a tutorial on how to make it. I have altered the tutorial a bit, as my dd was wanting her bunny to be BIGGER and so here is what our basket looks like with the BIGGER bunny on it :)! The original idea came from Mercedes blog, adorable basket and am sure this isn't the last time I will be making these baskets as they would make a cute girl's Birthday party treat basket.

Here is the side of the basket, I didn't have the same punch as Julie but thought this one would work just as well :)! Go on over to Julie's blog to see her tutorial on this great project, and I DARE you to try it :D!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Card for the day

2010-04-07T11:52:00.000-03:00

Here is my card for the day, but am sure I will be making a few more today that I just may post as well :p!I also decided to use something other than Sweetpea stamps for this card, even though they are addictive :p! I used the Studio G stamp set I picked up the other day to create this card, it came with the "today" sentiment, the flowers along the bottom and the dragonfly. The border that you see isn't a stamp, nope, it is actually a stencil that I picked up from Julie's cousin's store when we made the road trip with Julie :)!
I placed the stencil on the patterned paper, then sponged black ink over top of the stencil to make this beautiful elegant border. The stencil, is only 5 by 5 with other several different flourishes on it...will take a picture of it to show you what other flourishes are on it :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: "Studio G" Today set

Ink: Archival Jet black ink

Card stock: Blue, and Black card stock from Carousel, SU "Very Vanilla" card stock, pp from Val's stash (thank you Val)

Accessories: Nestabilities, dimensionals, Sook Wang Double Sided tape, Martha Stewart light green ribbon, make up sponge from Dollar Store

Sweetpea Card Challenge

2010-04-06T15:17:00.000-03:00

There is a new challenge over at the Sweetpea Challenge blog, that I just HAD to participate in and so here is the card that I created for the challenge. I decided to stamp my image using my Versamark Watermark ink pad, then to gold emboss the whole image. I then colored in my image using my Touch markers, it really changed the look of the Sweetpea image I used to have it all outlined in gold :)! I also used my Glitter Ritz with blue highlights on the outside of her wings to give it a glittery look...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: SU "Sweet pea" sentiment stamp, Sweetpea "Haiti" stamp

Ink: Versamark Watermark ink pad

Card Stock: SU "Very Vanilla", Black card stock from Carousel, patterned paper called "Beautiful Life" by Bo Bunny

Accessories: Nestabilities Dies, Sook Wang Double sided tape, Dimensionals, Gold Embossing powder, Touch Markers, Rhine stone, Marvy Flower punch, Cuttlebug Embossing folder "Victoria", Glitter Ritz Blue Highlights

look who is in my backyard

2010-04-02T13:12:00.000-03:00

My oldest son, belongs to an AMAZING group called "Sibling Group" and it is for children who have siblings with Special Needs. They meet once a month to do fun crafty things, or go on an outing, or to just play games and chat about what it is like to have a brother or sister with Special Needs. My dh's Aunt is the leader of this group, so this month they all got to paint their own bird house and they had a few left over to give to the siblings at home. The birdhouse you see is my middle guys birdhouse, and he was so thrilled this morning when he noticed that it had some visitors :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Come Softly card

2010-04-02T12:50:00.001-03:00

Here is another Sweetpea card that I made yesterday night, for this card I used "Come Softly" stamp :)! The design behind the stamped image is patterned paper, I didn't stamp anything on to make the design the only think I stamped was the sentiment.

I also decided to do something different with the butterfly, so I stamped out the butterfly again on some Vellum and curled the wings on it. Next, I put some blue Glitter Ritz on the wings of the butterfly to make it stand out more!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: SU "Well Scripted", Sweetpea "Come Softly"

Ink: Archival Jet Black ink

Card stock: SU "Kraft card stock, Black card stock from Carousel, Watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole, patterned paper by Pink Paislee called " Fascinating"

Accessories: Cuttlebug Embossing "Victoria" folder, Sook Wang double sided tape, dimensionals, Glitter Ritz "Blue Highlights",Glass Finish, Nestabilities dies

Birthday card for Aunt Elizabeth

2010-04-02T12:03:00.000-03:00

Today is my Aunt Elizabeth's bday party, so I needed a card to go with her gift! I saw this cute card the other day on someone's blog (sorry lost the piece of paper I had it written on), and thought this would be a perfect Birthday card for my Aunt. Cute eh?? Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY EASTER :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: SU "Well Scripted"

Ink: SU "Bravo Burgandy

Card Stock: SU "Very Vanilla"

Accessories: Marvy flower punch, Buttons, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Red Hearts Sweetpea card

2010-03-31T11:41:00.000-03:00

For this card I used some GORGEOUS BoBunny patterned paper called " Beautiful Life", it has a bit of a forest/woodsy theme to it. Since it had that woodsy feel to it, I decided to use something different for a embellishment...I used a piece of rope and it made the card look a whole lot better than any of the ribbons I tried out. Thanks for stopping by :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamp: Sweetpea "Red Hearts"

Ink: Archival ink Jet black

Card stock: SU Kraft paper, Watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole, black card stock from Carousel, BoBunny "Beautiful Life" patterned paper

Accessories: Sook Wang double sided tape (8 by11 sheet), Dimensionals, Touch Markers, Glitter Ritz with a Blue Highlight, string, Sook Wang double sided tape, Nestabilities

Dark Royalty Sweetpea card

2010-03-30T18:52:00.000-03:00

I found this sketch on someone's blog this morning, and thought it would be a great fun sketch to use for a Sweetpea stamp :)! This card looks great in person but I am still not 100% liking the picture I took of it, ever have one of those issues before?? For the little circles on the sketch, I decided to put a glittery dragonfly on one and a glittery butterfly on the other one since I tried various other ideas and none of them really looked that great. Lol, just noticed I forgot to put text or a sentiment on my card...oh well :p!
I almost forgot :o! I stamped this image out twice, once on the watercolor paper and again on Vellum...I did that so I could use a wing made from Vellum on my main image. I wanted the wing to come off the page, you can sort of see it in the picture...

Thanks for stopping by,
Catherine

Stamps: Sweetpea "Dark Royalty

Ink: Archival "Jet Black"

Card stock: SU Bashful Blue, Black from Carousel, SU "Not Quite Navy", several different patterned papers from Michael's, watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole

Accessories: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug "Victoria" embossing folder, Glitter Ritz "Purple Highlights", Glitter Ritz "Blue Highlights", buttons, dimensionals, Sook Wang double sided tape, touch markers

Mojo Monday sketch 131 challenge

2010-03-29T17:18:00.000-03:00

I know I am late with this card for the challenge, but I still wanted to do this challenge anyways :)! Here is my take on this fun challenge, I decided to make a card for a boy since I don't make many masculine cards thought this would be a good idea to do for this challenge.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: Recollections monster set

Ink: Archival Jet black ink, SU "Bashful Blue"

Card Stock: green, black card stock from Carousel, patterned paper from Val, SU "Very Vanilla" card stock

Accessories: ribbon from Michael's, Touch markers, sponge, Nestabilities dies, Sook Wang double sided tape, dimensionals

card for the day

2010-03-29T09:05:00.000-03:00

Here is my card for the day, using patterned paper (from Val) and card stock I already had around my crafty area :)! Will be back with a few more cards, in a little bit as I have to just put some finishing touches on them *tee hee*...think I am on a card making roll now :D! Thanks for stopping by...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamp: Sweetpea "Purple Woods"

Ink: Archival Jet black ink

Card stock: SU "Ruby Red", "Not Quite Navy", Black card stock from Carousel, watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole

Accessories: black and white ribbon, Nestabilitie dies, SU watercolor crayons, touch marchers, Glitter Ritz "Purple Highlights", and Glass Finish, Sook Wang double sided tape

Haiti Relief Sweetpea card

2010-03-28T22:08:00.000-03:00

Here is my card from yesterday, and I just had to use some more of that gorgeous pp (patterned paper) I used on the Sweetpea Sketch challenge :)! Love these images, they are so gorgeous and can't seem to get enough of them either :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: Sweetpea "Haiti Relief stamp"

Ink: Archival Jet Black ink

Card stock: Black and green card stock from Carousel, watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole, SU "More Mustard", patterned paper from PhotoMemories

Accessories: Nestabilities dies, flower punch from Michael's, Sook Wang double sided tape, Cuttlebug "Victoria" embossing folder, Touch Markers, SU Watercolor crayons, watercolor brush, Glitter Ritz Blue highlights, and purple highlights, glass finish, bling from Michael's

My Sweetpea DT submission

2010-03-26T14:26:00.000-03:00

If you LOVE the new "Sweetpea" stamps that are out there, well you just might want to check out their new blog...it is a challenge blog. I must say I was VERY excited when I read about this new blog :)! Anyways, they posted this sketch over there and are asking for a DT for this new challenge blog so please head on over to the "Sweetpea Stampers".

Here is what I created using this sketch that they gave us, so I could apply to be part of their DT :D! I am also using this card for Val's challenge she put out to us to use only the paper we have and not go out to buy more...tough challenge since there is ALWAYS new beautiful pp out there. The pp that I used actually came from a scrap pp swap that my crafty friends this month, and I got Val's paper...ty Val :D I LOVE this paper!!! This card is also my card from yesterday, I am sorry it took me this long to post this card but I had 2 sick little one's here at home...one got sick 3 days ago and my dd got sick starting late last night.
I also did something a little different, that I have NEVER tried before but boy was I excited to try it out on this card :)! I got a sheet of the "Sook Wang" double sided tape, cut it out to match my stamped image and stuck it on top of my stamped image...next, I poured some "Glitter Ritz" with blue highlights in it over top of the tape to give the whole image a glittery/shimmery look to it. Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a super crafty day and I will be back with today's card :)!

Inky Hugs
Catherine

Stamp: "Sweetpea" Come Softly, SU "Baroque Motif" stamp set for the flourishes

Card stock: black cardstock from Carousel, SU "More Mustard", watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole, pp from Val

Ink: Archival Jet black ink

Accessories: Nestabilities dies, Glitter Ritz with blue highlights, watercolor crayons, Touch markers, a flower punch from Michael's, dimensionals, bling from Michael's

CCE card in the mail yesterday

2010-03-25T16:41:00.000-03:00

Thank you so much Irene, beautiful card ( CCE card for March)...just love this stamp set that you used :)! Going to have to play around more with this set for sure, just haven't had a lot of time lately...but was thrilled to find this card in my mailbox.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Card for Val's challenge to use only the paper we have at home

2010-03-25T16:34:00.001-03:00

Here is my card from yesterday that I didn't get around to posting, too many things going on yesterday I think and today! I have also sort of added a side challenge for myself to the one Val gave us, and that is to make a card a day in April...you are more than welcome to join me on the side challenge...in fact I DARE you :p!
For this card, I just HAD to use the new stamp I picked up when we went for a "Crafty Road trip" to Julie's cousins crafty store...it is such a gorgeous stamp...just couldn't leave it there :p! The stamp is by "The Artful Stamper", just LOVE their stamps...

Here is a side view of what I did with this card to make the image just POP off the page and I used some Glitter Ritz (with Blue highlights) on the water down around the rocks.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: The Artful Stamper

Ink: Archival Jet Black

Card stock: watercolor paper from Loomis and Toole, SU Very Vanilla

Accessories: Dimensionals from the dollar store, Touch Markers, Glitter Ritz with Blue Highlight, SU markers

Message from my friend Val

2010-03-22T13:56:00.000-03:00

Hi ladies!

As a tribute to Spring, I am issuing a challenge to all of my stamping friends out there! It's a tough one (at least for me anyway!)

Spring is a time of regeneration and renewal... the flowers are peaking out and the trees are getting ready to burst into a leafy green frenzy! Spring is also a time for airing out the house, deep cleaning and detoxifying.

Starting today until the end of April, I pledge to save trees by not buying any new crafting paper! I am going to work on USING my existing stash of beautiful papers and scraps!

Will I have the willpower? Do you? Let's do it together - there is strength in numbers - invite a friend!! Please join the fun via Mr. Linky on my blog post today and we'll count the "detox" days together and blog about it as we go!

http://valeriewilson.blogspot.com

Inky Hugs,

Catherine

P.S. Yes, I am participating :D!

BLOG CANDY WINNER IS....

2010-03-22T12:41:00.000-03:00

The winner of my blog candy is:

Lynn SB

Congratulations on winning my blog candy, will be contacting you today to get your address so I can send it out to you :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Crafty Night out

2010-03-20T16:47:00.000-03:00

So last night was our monthly crafty night out, but instead we all had an *ENABLER ALERT* from Julie's mom from down in the valley that her cousin had a HUGE sale going on at her crafty store and thought we'd all be interested. Well, we all could NOT pass up on such an opportunity so all 7 of us hopped into my van and drove down to the crafty store in the valley :)! We all came out with an arm full of goodies, none of us left empty handed, and were giddy with glee about the deals we got or about the amount of gorgeous card stock we left with. After that we went to Tim Horton's to have a snack before we headed back home with all our goodies, and on the way home I nearly had to pull over to the side of the road a few times due to the amount of laughing we did. I had tears streaming down my face at least two times!! Who knew how dangerous it could be to have 7 crafty gals in a van at once??? Lol!

Anyways, we had a card swap to do with our monthly card challenge cards and I got Louise's card :)! It is funny how every month we each keep getting the same person's cards, we put all our names on a piece of paper then do a draw. I just so happen to keep getting Louise's cards, and I think she keeps getting my cards...I just love her cards as they are always so amazing and beautiful :)!
Thanks for the fun night gals, needed it, and for all the laughs! Missing you Deborah at our crafty nights, looking forward to seeing you out with us again :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Cards for Friends

2010-03-20T16:36:00.000-03:00

My friend Kim just found out she is going to be a Grandmother, so I just HAD to make her a card :)! Here is what I came up with using the cute " Penny Black" teddy bear rubber stamp, I love to use this stamp for Baby cards. I didn't use a Nestability die for the cards base, it is actually card stock that came this shape and I attached two pieces of it using eyelets. You can't really tell here either, but I stamped the bear image out twice so that I could make the bear pop off the page :)!

This next card is for another friend Kelly, who has helped us out a lot on our journey with our middle son and she also hasn't been out to several months worth of crafty nights but she was able to come out last night. So it was a good to see you/thank you card :)!

Stamps: SU "Well Scripted", Penny Black "Teddy Bear"

Ink: Archival ink "Coffee", SU Wild Wasabi

Card stock: Green card stock from a scrapbook kit I had won years ago, white card stock from Carousel, pp from Sizzix little pp pad of paper.

Accessories: Classic circle and oval scalloped Nestabilities, Cuttlebug "Victoria" Embossing folder, Sook Wang double sided tape, touch markers, two silver eyelets.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: Inkadinkado flourish set, Sentiment is from a $1.50 Michael's stamp set

Ink: Archival Jet black ink

Card Stock: Green card stock from Carousel, pp from K and Co. from Walmart

Accessories: Sook Wang double sided tape

Monthly card challenge

2010-03-19T19:00:00.000-03:00

For this months Crafty Night challenge card we were to make a card or other project using a flower we made, so here is my flower that I made using the Classic Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. I also used an image that my friend Anita gave me, she stamped out a large envelope of images she had for me (thank you Anita) and so I decided I had better create a card using one of the images she gave me.
Once I took the picture of this card I decided I wanted to do something more to the image, so I took my white puffy paint and made the snow that is falling puffy...now the card is looking a whole lot better :).

We also are doing something different this months crafty night, we got an *enabler alert* from Julie's mom yesterday saying that one of Julie's relatives (who owns her own crafty store) is having a HUGE sale. So we are all (all 7 of us gals) are going on a crafty road trip to Julie's relatives store to get some great deals :), but not to worry will post the card challenge card I get from someone in the morning. I will also tell you what deals we picked up too :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamped Image: don't remember who this image is by (help Anita,lol)

Ink: Archival Ink "Coffee"

Card stock: Green and blue Card stock from Carousel Rubber stamp store, pp by Basic Grey

Accessories: Circle Scalloped Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folders, puffy white paint, Touch Markers, button, Sook Wang double sided tape.

Birthday card for Wanda

2010-03-19T08:03:00.000-03:00

A friend of mine had her Bday this week, so I wanted to send her a little something in the mail and here is what I created for her :)! Wanted it to be simple, as I had to get it in the mail at the first of the week so it would get to her in time and I wanted to try out my new Glimmer Ritz with a violet look to it. HAPPY BDAY Wanda :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: SU "Well Scripted", IO dandelion stamp

Card stock: Brown, black and pink card stock from Caoursel or Photo Memories

Ink:Versamark Watermark ink, Archival Coffee ink

Accessories: Martha Stewart punch, Glitter Ritz, Sook Wang Double sided tape, Classic Scalloped oval Nestabilities, embossing mat

BLOG CANDY you don't have to be a follower to enter

2010-03-15T10:42:00.002-03:00

This past weekend while we were in New Brunswick visiting relatives (my sister in law, her hubby, and their son), I went to a Michael's free "make and take" with my sister in law. I hadn't ever been to one before, just because none of them were ever something I wanted to do until this one this past weekend :)! We made this dragon bracelet, first which didn't take all that long to make and I was surprised there weren't a lot of people there either wanting to make jewelry.

Once we finished making this bracelet we made this necklace, isn't it gorgeous??? I thought so, anyways after we were done making this necklace the girl gave us an extra necklace kit each...and I thought it would be a good idea to give one away here on my blog.

So, here is what you have to do to enter the draw for the necklace kit (that has all the stuff, except the tools) to make this beautiful necklace:

~tell me something you like to make besides cards, paper projects

You will have until March 21st to enter. Good Luck :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

sorry I haven't posted anything in a bit

2010-03-11T17:43:00.000-04:00

I have been looking after 2 children after school now for the past 2 years now, and have taken on 2 more children in the afternoons after school. Yes, that is plus my 3 and no I am not crazy. They all get along, all goto the same school and are all good friends so it makes it easier :)!

I also have been busy with getting ready for a meeting with the right hand guy to the Education Minister in Nova Scotia and a few of the school board members as well tomorrow morning. We are going to present our case about getting more support services for ALL children with Special Needs and Learning disabilities in Nova Scotia in ALL schools. Will let you know how that goes tomorrow afternoon, fingers crossed this isn't a "let's meet you to keep you quiet" kind of meeting!

I will be doing more crafting in the next couple of weeks, but thought I should update you on why I have been absent.

Inky Hugs,

Catherine

Crafting Life's Pieces blog candy giveaway

2010-03-10T18:32:00.000-04:00

Hurry on over to the blog called "Crafting Life's Pieces", as she is having a "thank you" blog candy giveaway :)!

Inky Hugs,

Catherine

2010-03-10T18:30:00.001-04:00

Jak Heath blog candy giveaway

2010-03-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

Please head on over to the blog called "Jak Heath Creating Beautiful Things", as they are having a blog candy giveaway and these stamps you see above is what they are offering up :)!

Inky Hugs,

Catherine

"Black Haired Lady" Sweetpea card

2010-03-05T09:01:00.000-04:00

I used a background stamp by Hero Arts called "Dandelion frame", but instead of stamping it with ink I stamped it on using my VersaMark watermark ink pad then put Glitter Ritz micro fine Glitter on it which has a purple highlight to it. Looks better in person, it was hard to get a good picture of this card with the glitter on it any suggestions for when taking pictures of a card like this??

Here is what the "Dandelion Frame" stamp looks like in case you couldn't get a good look at it on my card above :)!

Inky Hugs,

Catherine

Stamps: Sweetpea "Dark Haired Lady", Hero Arts "Dandelion frame"

Card stock: Black and green Carousel Rubber stamp store, watermark paper from Deserres

Ink: Archival Ink Coffee, Versamark Watermark ink pad

Accessories: Glitter Ritz micro fine glitter, Touch Markers, Copic Markers, Dimensionals, Sook Wang double sided tape, Classic Oval Nesties, Scallop Oval Nesties

haircut for my dd

2010-03-02T12:04:00.000-04:00

This past summer, my dd let my middle guy cut her hair because he wanted to see her ears and sadly he forgot she was the flower girl in my sisters wedding several weeks later. Anyways, she had a mullet looking hairdo for the longest time but yesterday we were able to go to the hairdresser to level things out. Well, my dd was unsure of this hairdresser or this idea of getting her hair done until the hairdresser told her she was going to get a "Dora" hairdo. That was it, enough said my dd was SOLD! Here is a picture of her with her new hairdo, and with my new watermark...let me know what you think of my watermark?? Oh yeah I also changed my blog's background too...lol! Guess I was getting into "spring blog cleaning" mode and wanted change, so this is what I did :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

A bday card for my dd's friend

2010-03-02T11:58:00.000-04:00

Here is a card I made for my dd's friend who just turned 3 this week, and he just LOVES trains...so luckily I had the Cricut train die set to use :)! I attached the train using dimensionals, and I made the train go over the edge a bit because it looked funny any other way...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

stamps: SU "Well Scripted"
Card Stock: Green, cream, red, blue, black card stock from Carousel Rubber stamp store
ink: SU "Bashful Blue"
Accessories: Sook Wang Double sided tape, Classic circle nestabilities, and Scalloped circle Nestabilities, Dimensionals

Another Sweetpea card

2010-02-27T19:45:00.000-04:00

Here is another "Sweetpea" card that I made this afternoon :)! This stamp is called "Red Hearts", oh how I LOVE these stamps...can't wait to get more (ty, Val)! Will be back with other cards shortly, have to put the kids to bed...

Inky hugs,
Catherine

Stamps: SU "Well Scripted", Sweetpea "Red Hearts"
Card stock: Green and Black card stock from Carousel, water color paper from Deserres
Patterned paper: home made paper (from crafty night 4 months or so ago), "Far East" stack from Michael's
Ink: Archival ink "coffee", SU "Pretty in Pink", SU "Bashful Blue", SU "Bravo Burgandy"
Accessories: Nestabilities, sponge, Glass finish, dimensionals, Sook Wang double sided tape, Touch Markers

no excitement here, can ya tell

2010-02-27T19:30:00.000-04:00

He is not excited about losing yet another tooth can you tell?? Lol, actually he kind of looks like he got into some of my coffee...lol! Just had to share this picture of him with you, he lost his 5th tooth yesterday and wanted me to show you all his missing tooth.
I also had him make a nice smile for at least one of the pictures, here is what I got...lol!

He looks a little worried here or unsure or perhaps both :p!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Digistamp Boutique blog candy giveaway

2010-02-26T15:13:00.000-04:00

Over at the blog called "Digistamp Boutique" they are having a blog candy giveaway, so hurry on over to check it out you have until March 1st UK time. LOVE that bunny card :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

First card on my blog, and also "Crafting Confessions" blog candy giveaway

2010-02-24T08:23:00.000-04:00

Here is the first card I posted on my blog, couldn't find a picture of my first card that I made! The reason I am showing you this card is because over at the blog called "Crafting Confessions" she is having a blog candy giveaway and this is one of the criteria that has to be met. So hurry on over and check out what she is giving away, I have also posted it over there on my sidebar ----------->
Thanks for stopping by and inky hugs,

Catherine

Cards from friends

2010-02-24T08:13:00.000-04:00

The other night was the first time we all got together since last month, so the gals gave me Birthday cards that night too :)! This gorgeous card is from Val, thank you Val I LOVE it :)!

This beautiful card was from Kim, she also included 3 lil stamp sets from Michael's (Studio G one's). Thank you Kim, LOVED the stamps and your card...what did you use to make the butterfly shine??

This isn't a Bday card (obviously, lol), this card is a thank you card from Julie and her family for providing them with some meals. LOVE this card Julie, you know how much I LOVE BoBunny paper :)!

This also isn't a Birthday card, this card was the challenge/swap card where we had to use sheet music and buttons somewhere/somehow on the card/project we created. I drew Julie's name, so here is her card which I just LOVE :)!

This next card was from Louise for my bday :)! Love what you did with this card Louise, it is gorgeous :)! What nesties did you use for the center part of the card???

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

My first Sweet Pea card

2010-02-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

Here is my first "Sweet Pea" card, got a few the other day (thank you SOOOOO much Val) and of course am ordering more :p! Love these stamps, very elegant...thanks for stopping by. I made this card for a DT submission, they provided us with a sketch and this is the card I created using said sketch.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Stamp: Sweet Pea stamp "Come Softly"
Card stock: Core Color from Scrapbook Cafe, Black card stock from Carousel
Patterned paper: Basic Grey "Indian Summer"
Ink: Archival "Coffee"
Accessories: Brads from Michael's, Ribbon from Michael's, Classic Circle Nestabilities, Touch Markers, Glass Finish, Gold pen, Spica pen.

crafty night project for the night

2010-02-22T13:23:00.000-04:00

Kim was supposed to do this months craft nights project, but she hasn't been feeling well so she sent all her supplies etc. with Val for her to teach. We created this neat project, was actually one that I have been eying for awhile but didn't try since I thought it was more difficult than it looked...lol! That's one thing I LOVE about crafty night, we do projects that I usually probably wouldn't try and it get's you out of your comfort zones too which is a nice change.

Before I show you the inside picture of this gorgeous project, I have to warn you that I am no seamstress (just ask the gals who were there last night how much trouble I had with the sewing machine) so keep this in mind. My dh is actually the tailor when it comes to the sewing machine, he has made several projects and yes he did grumble a bit when I showed him my sewing I did on our project. Thank you very much for the fun night gals, and yummy treats too...looking forward to the next one

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Crafty night Challenge card

2010-02-21T19:30:00.000-04:00

Friday night was supposed to be crafty night, but Kim and Louise weren't feeling well so we postponed it until Sunday night :)! This months challenge was to make a card or paper project using sheet music and buttons...here is what I came up with! Thanks for stopping by...will be having a blog candy giveaway in the next couple of days so keep on checking in :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

3 cards

2010-02-20T19:38:00.000-04:00

Last night I went to Julie's house for a crafty night, so I brought stuff to make 2 baby cards and a "Thinking of you" card. I needed one of the baby cards for a friends baby shower that I was going to this afternoon, so this card I thought would be perfect for her :)! There at the baby shower there was a money tree, but if you didn't want to do that you could bring books for her lil one and to my surprise there were no duplicates of books...and there was the most AMAZING chocolate caramel cheesecake that I have ever had.

This card is for a good friend of mine, who just had a baby girl (her third child) the other day and I just couldn't resist making this cute girly card for her :)! Congratulations Diana and family, how exciting it is to have a new lil one around...can't wait to meet her :)!

This card is for an amazing woman, a good close family friend of ours who was in a very serious car accident several weeks ago. She is at home now, but is very lucky to be alive and is in a lot of pain right now...will be a long road to recovery for her! I wanted to send her a card to let her know she is in our thoughts and prayers, if she needs a meal or a visit then to just holler...I will be there in a blink of an eye.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Mag's Little Things blog candy giveaway

2010-02-18T09:05:00.000-04:00

Her blog has reached 100 Followers, so she is celebrating by having a blog candy giveaway that you don't want to miss out on or at least I don't :)! Stop on by over at "Mag's Little Things" blog, to see how you too can be entered to win these goodies :).

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Snow, snow and more snow

2010-02-17T11:41:00.000-04:00

Here is what we woke up to this morning, no school and a whole lotta snow! This is a picture out in our backyard, onto our deck...

This is a picture I took looking up at my roof, this drift is only getting bigger, and deeper...

I took this picture looking out my front door out at the top of our van, didn't think there was that much out there...that is until I went out to shovel our driveway...it was very wet and heavy snow so it took a long time to shovel. We started at 7 a.m., didn't come in until 10:30 a.m....now my dh and I are sore!

Here is the final picture on our back deck, it came half way up between my knee and hip and for those of you who don't know I am about 6 ft tall. So, this is deep!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

3 CCE cards

2010-02-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

This card was from Madge Haycock, beautiful card :)! She used a technique using "Gesso" and then sanding it neat technique never heard of it before. Thank you Madge for this card, it arrived yesterday in my mailbox :)!

This card is from Maryann, gorgeous card...loved the sentiment ant the treble clef image :)! Thank you Maryann for this card :)...who is the set by??

This final card is by Theresa, thank you for this cute card...neat technique using the Cuttlebug embossing folder on the foil wrap. Have done it before for the larger embossing folders, but not for the smaller ones...will have to try it out sometime :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Taylor~Made blog candy giveaway

2010-02-16T08:29:00.000-04:00

Jen is having a blog candy giveaway over on her blog called "Taylor~Made", this set is the set she is giving away and you have until Feb.21st to enter so hurry over :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

HAPPY HEART DAY

2010-02-14T17:56:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's day :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

2 more cards

2010-02-12T19:17:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more cards that I made, almost done the card order for my Mom :)!

Stamp set: SU "Embrace Life"
Card stock: Green card stock PhotoMemories, White card stock Carousel
Patterned paper: Michael's
Ink: Archival Ink "Jet Black"
Accessories: Sook Wang Double sided tape, Nestabilities dies, "Victoria" Cuttlebug embossing folder, Touch Markers, ribbon from Michael's

I actually made 6 of these cards, when my Mom ordered 11 cards she told me I could make some the same but I didn't really want to do that as each person is different but then I came up with this card and thought I could do a bunch of this one.

Stamp: Michael's $1.50 bin
Card Stock: SU Very Vanilla, Brown card stock from Photo Memories
Patterned paper: Basic Grey "Olive Branch"
Ink: Archival "Jet Black" ink
Accessories: Nestabilities dies, Sook Wang double sided tape

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

cards

2010-02-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

Here is another card for my Mom for her stack of 11 cards :)! I have 7 more cards for her to make today, then 2 more Sympathy cards for a friend of mine...then onto Valentine cards :)!

Stamp: "Daisy Bucket" Nantucket Flower
Card stock: Purple from Photo Memories, black from PhotoMemories, white from Carousel Rubber stamp store
Ink: Archival Ink "Jet Black"
Accessories: Sook Wang Double sided tape, Nestabilities dies, Cuttlebug flourishes embossing folder

I also received a card from Linda Broughton for the CCE, thank you so much for this card, it is beautiful :)! I LOVE getting cards in the mail, just because it is a surprise when it arrives but also it brightens up your day and it is a WHOLE lot better than a bill or flyers.

Stamps: Stampers Magic, SU "Love" sentiment, sentiment stamps inside the card are from Michael's
Accessories: paper from SU, and the side punch is from SU too

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

bday gift for my niece

2010-02-11T17:44:00.000-04:00

I needed a gift for my Niece who is going to be 3 in a few weeks, I found this great idea online and thought I could do it no problem! Well, perhaps without too much trouble :p! So good think I have my own 3 year old in my house to use as a model, and to use to trim the tutu to the perfect length...
So this is the end product, so do you think that a 3 year old girl who loves to dress up and be a princess will like this???

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

2 more Sympathy cards

2010-02-09T19:53:00.000-04:00

Here is the third Sympathy card that I have made for my mom to use, this is a SU stamp that I got from a set but bought separately from a friend so I don't know what this set is called *will find out though*.

stamp set: SU, Inkadinkado sentiment
Card stock: blue, white, cream card stock from PhotoMemories
Patterned paper: K&Co patterned paper I picked up from Walmart
Ink: Archival ink "Coffee"
Accessories: Pebbles chalk, Ribbon from Walmart, Martha Stewart flower punch, Classic circle Nestabilites, Sook Wang double sided tape, and dimensionals

My Fourth Card I made for my Mother's set, I decided to make this card a simple card, to show that even a simple card can become elegant looking :)!

Stamp: Inkadinkado stamps

Card stock: Photo Memories card stock navy blue and white

Ink: Archival "Jet Black" ink, Colorbox Silver ink

Accessories: SU wheel, with flower stamp wheel (sorry don't remember which one this is), dimensionals, Classic Circle Nestabilites

Thanks for stopping by, will have more for you tomorrow...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Lookie what I just won!

2010-02-09T16:30:00.000-04:00

The other day I entered into a blog candy giveaway over at the blog called "Paper Grace", and I just found out I won one of the giveaways :)! Here is what I won, Courtney Bakers stamp set...have been keeping my eye on this stamp set for awhile now and I just cannot wait to get it to play around with it to see what things I can create :). I also won some buttons to go with the set, can't EVER have enough buttons and have actually just started to really use them on my cards...found some at my local second hand store (5 for 50 cents). Thanks again Lisa for the goodies :), will be keeping an eye on my mailbox for them to arrive!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Bella Luna blog candy giveaway

2010-02-08T11:31:00.000-04:00

Hurry on over to the blog "Bella Luna", as she is giving away blog candy to help celebrate her Birthday and you have until Feb.10th!

Inky hugs,
Catherine

A Bday card, and one of 10 Sympathy cards

2010-02-07T20:33:00.000-04:00

My good close friend Julie gave me this bday card, with some yummy Jelly Beans (LOVE Jelly Beans and no they aren't all gone yet) but nearly lost them all to my dh who seemed to think they were for him. Thank you so much Julie, and hope you will enjoy the soup I dropped off to your family :)!

Here is the 1st card of 10 Sympathy cards that my Mom has put in an order for, she has known 16 people who have passed away since August. Anyways, so here is what I came up with for the first card for her! Will be back over the next couple of days with the other 9 cards...

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you have a great crafty week :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Paper Grace Designs Birthday blog candy giveaway

2010-02-06T21:30:00.000-04:00

Lisa of the blog called "Paper Grace Designs" is having a Bday blog candy giveaway...yep, she is giving away some goodies to help celebrate her Bday :)! The images that I have posted on this blog are the things she is giving away, pretty sweet right?? So hurry on over, because you only have until tomorrow night to be entered into this draw.

This one is from Courtney Baker from her "Practicing Creativity designs", which I have been thinking I should get for awhile now :)!

Check out these AMAZING buttons that are from DeNami Designs, LOVE the looks of these buttons...nice bright colors :)!

And finally this lovely gift voucher for Simon Says stamps...

Hurry on over!!!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

ENABLER ALERT

2010-02-05T10:52:00.001-04:00

I just thought I would let all you local gals who live near me, that out in my Frenchy's that they are selling:

1)buttons for .50 cents (not dollars) for 5 buttons
2)Inkadinkado stamps (mounted)
3)Scrabook/stamp carrying cases for $3.95, they are a good size carrying case too :)!
4) patterned paper stacks for babies or brides for $4.00 the same brand you get at Walmart

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

It is my Bday today :)

2010-02-03T16:48:00.000-04:00

Yep, today is my Bday and am having a somewhat quiet day so far :)! My parents are having a family Bday party for myself and my oldest on Saturday afternoon, so I am looking forward to it :). Will have more crafty goodies posted later on tonight or tomorrow morning...

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

3 Cards

2010-02-02T12:12:00.000-04:00

I decided to make three cards the other day, this first one is a Photostamp that had in my stash of unmounted stamps and I hadn't used her yet....thought there was no time like the present :D! I used my Pebble's chalk set to color her in, and I think if I used any other coloring medium that it wouldn't have turned out so soft and elegant looking.

Stamp: Photostamp by Third Coast
Card stock: all card stock was from PhotoMemories (Blue and black)
Patterned paper: K&Co. Designer paper pack (Blue Floral kit)
Ink: Archival ink "Coffee"
Accessories: Sook Wang double sided tape, Martha Stewart punch, Making Memories paper trimmer, Pebbles chalk set

I just HAD to use her image again, but this time I decided not to color her in! I also used a large Arabesque background stamp that I borrowed from my crafty friend Deborah while she has been away for the frame around the girls face.

Stamp: Photostamp by Third Coast
Card Stock: red, black, and pink card stock from PhotoMemories
Ink: Colorbox silver pigment ink, Archival ink "Coffee"
Accessories: Sook Wang Double sided tape, Dimensionals from the dollar store, Ribbon from Deborah, Nestabilites label die and classic square die, Cuttle bug Swiss dots embossing folder

For this card I used another Photostamp for this card, and will let you know who it is by when Julie calls me back as she has borrowed it. I also used a piece of paper we did the "Marble" effect on at a crafty night several months ago for a frame around the photostamp image :)!

Stamp: will let you know
Card stock: All card stock black, pink are from PhotoMemories
Ink: Archival Jet black ink
Accessories: Sook Wang double sided tape, Cuttlebug Embossing folder, Martha Stewart flower punch

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great day :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Birthday card for my son's friend

2010-01-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

My middle son is going to a Birthday party tomorrow afternoon (hopefully the weather will be okay by then), of a little guy in his class at school and I got a freebie digital image from Karen's Doodles two days ago. Thought it would be perfect for a Birthday card for this boy :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Digi image and stamp set: Karen's Doodle's "Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy" image, sentiment from Inkadinkado "Round Frames" set
Card stock: Carousel Rubberstamp store blue and white cardstock
Ink: SU Bashful Blue, "Coffee" Archival ink
Accessories: Touch Markers, Nestabilites Die #8, Sook Wang Double Sided tape, sponge from dollar store

Softpencil guest DT member

2010-01-29T07:48:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe, but my time at Softpencil is over :(! Thank you so much for the chance to be a guest designer, had fun and it was great meeting new people :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Kellie Winnell's blog "Blog of a Craft-a-holic Waffler" blog candy giveaway

2010-01-28T14:13:00.000-04:00

Hurry on over to Kellie Winnell's blog "Blog of a Craft-a-holic Waffler", she is having a kit giveaway and you have until Feb.18th I believe to enter. Look at the kits she is giving away, looks good eh? Good luck :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Softpencil Thursday challenge

2010-01-28T08:44:00.000-04:00

This weeks challenge we were given an image called "Michu and Michula", we were told that we could use rhinestones, brads, eyelets and we could use one of them or all of them. So, last night I had full intentions of making my card but sadly my sinus/cold meds kicked in and I fell asleep on the couch...here I am coming up with a project now.
The other day I found some Valentine Freebies on someone's blog, I wrote down the blog addy but sadly someone (thinking it was my son who was in the crafty mood yesterday) made off with my paper and has lost it. I will look for the link this morning and get back to you for where I found the Valentine Pillow box freebies, there were also some patterned paper and some sentiments too. I decided that for this weeks challenge that I would use one of the pillow boxes that they had up for grabs, and somehow attach this weeks digi to it :)! I decided that I would use rhinestones on my image all around the heart, am pretty happy with how it turned out...
Thanks for stopping by, and have a creative day :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Digi image: Softpencil "Michu and Michula", freebie pillow box
Card stock: White card stock from Carousel Rubberstamp store
Accessories: Sook Wang double sided tape, Touch Markers, pink and red Swarovski crystal rhinestones, Nestabilites label die

CCE card from Madge Haycock

2010-01-26T18:15:00.000-04:00

Here is a calendar card that I received in the mail today from Madge Haycock, for the Dec/Jan CCE group 5B and boy was it worth the wait :). Thank you so much Madge, I love it and it will sit on my desk in my crafty room :)! Here are the months for Jan-March 2010...

Here is the April through June calendar, on the opposite side of the card....

Here are the months of July to September, gorgeous job for this month...love the flowers :)!

Here are the months from October to December :)! Gorgeous calendar, love how each section of the card is different in layout and colors etc.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine