GOIN' GOTH!

Did you love that Grandparents set?  I sure do, it is perfect for both cards and scrapbooking! I am so grateful that my kids have grown up having 3 of  4 grandparents in their lives. It is nice to show them how much they are appreciated by giving thoughtful, handmade gifts.  Well, if you liked that set wait till use get a load of Thursday.

I know it is Friday (hooray, Go Pens!) but I am talking about THURSDAY CREEPER available May 1st from THE GREETING FARM. I am sure you all remember the Creepy Cakes, well, one of them kicked off the cake and sprouted legs!

This weeks FARM FRESH FRIDAY CHALLENGE is to go a little goth and use this picture as inspiration

As you can see I used the iron shapes on the bed as inspiration for the shape of the card and used some of the browns.

I found the saying on a girly site and thought it would be perfect with the little "tude" Thursday has.  I think this would be fun for a graduating senior.

 Make sure you head over to the CLUB ANYA AND FRIENDS BLOG for more fabby previews and a chance to win Thursday, you know you want her! You can also win her by playing in the FFF CHALLENGE this week so go get your goth on!

PROJECT STUFF
STAMP - Thursday Creeper, The Greeting Farm
PAPER -  Pam Lefors designs, Burnt Turquoise
ETC., - Card shape and swirl cut with cricut and SVG files from Monica's Creative Room, 
Brad, Bronze embossing powder

BEST GRANDMAS EVER, a FOND FAREWELL, and a WELCOME BACK!

We have some sneak peeks of some of the new THE GREETING FARM stamp sets and they are some of the cutest ever. I know I say that all the time but it is true every time - IMHO!



I used the new GRANDPARENTS SET (isn't a grandparents set brilliant?), available on May first, for a gift for both my mom and MIL for Mother's Day. It isn't a card but a FRIDGIE MAGNET! I went to Pat Catan's, a local craft store and found these super cool inkjet magnet sheets.



I used some digital scrapbooking stuff from The Digi Chick and made my layout in photoshop featuring my two kids then printed it on the magnetic sheet. I fit two on one sheet. I then colored up my images, stamped the sentiment on the tag and popped them on the picture with dimensionals.

Much better than random school pics posted willy nilly all over the fridgie don't ya think?

I want to send a HUGE shout out to my DT buddy Cheryl Walker who is wrapping up her time as a TGF Farmer. Her fabulous creations at SCS using TGF stamps made me an instant admirer. Thanks Cheryl for your kind and supportive spirit and your constant creative inspiration!

Please welcome new Farmer MERCY KERIN back to the TGF DT! Mercy has been a TGF Gardener and is currently a member of the Critter Crew. I love visiting her blog it is always fun and a great source of inspiration. WELCOME MERCY!!!

Now, if you want to win the new Grandparents Set, you've got to MOVE IT, MOVE IT over to the TGF BLOG. One commenter will win this awesome set!

PROJECT STUFF
STAMPS - The Greeting Farm, Grandparents
Paper - The Digi Chick, Fru Fru the Kit,
Photo masks 3
Etc., - Spellbinders, Fancy Tags; Inkjet Magnet, Prisma pencils, OMS

YUMMY RIBBON WINNERS

Since the ribbon is so easy to make I thought I would pick three random.org winners to receive a few yards of custom dyed seam binding ribbon.  Sooooo....... the numbers chosen were.........


Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

9    8    2   

Timestamp: 2010-04-28 13:08:08 UTC

Kym, Jenn, and Jessica, send your addresses to parosc@gmail.com and your choice of color and I will send your ribbon.  I have the entire set of stampin up reinkers (not all the in colors  just the regular color families) so you can choose from any of those.

Hope your day is a happy one!

DID U KNOW?

Just some random DIY stuff that I thought I would share.
Oh Yeah, GO PENS!!!!!!

1. Flower soft can be dyed with re-inkers.

I have only one container of flower soft in ivory . I needed some pink for a project and found that I could make my own custom colors.  I ended up not using it but it is nice to know that I can make whatever color I need.

I put a couple drops of Tim Holtz Distress ink in a plastic bag containing the ivory flower soft and smooshed it around a bit. I then dumped it out on a paper towel to dry. Once dry,  it was then placed in a clean plastic bag for storage.

A little pinch of the FS goes a long way so this is economical and you get an exact match if you have re-inkers that coordinate with your project.

2. You can easily dye your own seam binding for vintage style projects.

I have noticed a few people using scrunched seam binding on projects. Check out LILYBEAN'S PAPERIE for some magnificent examples. I just drool over Melissa's work and she has such a positive soul!

I supported myself during my undergrad work by doing alterations for a chi chi ladies clothing store where I hemmed the skirts of some of the most wealthy and famous Pittsburgh Ladies.  When I saw the seam binding ribbon on Melissa's projects I realized I had a huge roll left over from my seamstress days.  You can find it HERE for about 9 cents a yard. You can also get it already colored but I like customizing my own to match my projects.

I thought this would be difficult to do but it was pretty simple since I worked with small lengths of ribbon.  I chose some SU rose red and put a couple drops into a glass votive holder filled about 3/4 full of water.  You can adjust the intensity of the color by adding more or less to suit your taste.

 I added the seam binding and let it soak for about a half an hour. 

 I removed it from the container and placed it all scrunched up into a wad of  paper towels and blotted it a bit. I left it in the paper towels and let it dry overnight.

It turned out just a little too scrunched to I just went over it very lightly with a steam iron and ta da! Ready for all sorts of shabby projects.

Is that not scrumptious?

Let me know if you found these tips useful.  I will randomly choose a commenter on Wednesday to receive some custom died ribbon.
Hope you have super week and check back on Thursday for some Greeting Farm sneak peeks.

SUNNY DAYS AHEAD!

Supposedly, the Pittsburgh area has only 59 sunny days a year. Not sure how the local weather people came up with that stat but it does seem as though we have an awful lot of cloudy days around here. Sigh, despite the weather it really is a great place to live and raise a family. You just have to come up with your own source of sun.

I used the CELESTIAL BODIES SET from ARTFUL INKABLES and K and Co. papers (Blue Awning)I dug out of my stash for my sunny day card. The Hi sentiment is from the IN MY GARDEN set.

Hope your day is a sunny one whether it is in the sky or in your heart!

GOING GREEN for MOM!

You will rarely see my Mom without a cup of tea, either in her hand or within grabbing distance so this is going to be her Mother's day card.  She will be 89 years old and maybe all those antioxidants in her tea have something to do with her longevity.

I was playing with photoshop, trying to learn more about digital scrapbooking, and I did this to my photo. I thought it enhanced the vintage feel of the card. What do you think, do you like it clear or all warm and fuzzy?

This week's FARM FRESH FRIDAY CHALLENGE is honoring Earth Day by asking you to "go green".   Use the color green, recycled products, grass, whatever you feel GETS YOUR GREEN on!
My card used both the color green and a bit of recycled lace. I used the new digi, cutie-pie, HG-Classy which you can win this week by commenting HERE.  Come on guys, you look good in green so head over to TGF and show us your stuff!
Have a great weekend!

PROJECT STUFF
STAMP - The Greeting Farm, HG-Classy
PAPER - The Digi Chick, Bohemian Rhapsody,   
Coredinations, vintage collection pink tutu
TEA CUP TEMPLATE - Peets Scrapalbum blog
ETC., - chipboard frame, ribbon, prima roses, lace

ARTFUL INKABLES BLOG HOP!

Welcome to the Artful INKables blog hop! Today's theme is FLOWERS and after our loooong snowy winter I sure can use some flowery inspiration! If you have come from JACKIE'S BLOG you are on the right track.

The flower pot from the IN MY GARDEN set was used to make a little name place card/treat holder.  I think it would be perfect for a  Mother's day brunch.  I have a short tutorial on how it was made below. 

The next stop on the hop is DAWN'S BLOG.  

Make sure to  comment on everyone's blog because on lucky commenter will win a $10.00 gift certificate to spend at the Artful INKables store! Please leave your comments by Friday, April 23rd, 12pm EST. One lucky winner will be chosen Saturday, April 24th.

TUTORIAL

Although you could use any circle shape for this part I used the Spellbinder's Renaissance heart die to cut two sides. The edges were cut as shown.

Since the paper used was one-sided, the back was sponged with coordinating ink.  The bottom was scored about one inch up and parallel to the flat edge and folded in toward the sponged side.

The two sides were attached to form a sort of envelope.

The rectangle is 5-3/8X2-1/4 inches.  It was scored at 1-3/4, 2-1/2, 4-1/4, and 5 inches parallel to the short side and at 1/2 inch along the long edge.

Form the box as shown.

The sides of the box were scored so that the edges fold inward.

The box was then attached inside the die cut pieces and the front was decorated as shown above.  A piece of ribbon was threaded through the holes in the die and tied at the front. It is pretty small but would hold a box of tic tacs or other tiny treat.

COLORFUL CHALLENGE!

Hope you are having a great weekend. Sad to say our early summer has disappeared for now but I hope it returns soon. In the mean time I have a garden card to help remind us of the beautiful flowers to come. Also, were having a blog hop on the 20th (this Tuesday) so be sure to check back.

The new challenge at ARTFUL INKABLES is to use a paint swatch either on your card or as an inspiration. I was a bit worried about this one as I have never done this but once I came home with some yummy colored paint chips I found it wasn't too hard.

I used the center color of the blue/green chip as the background for my patterned paper and the cream chip for the Spellbinder tag behind the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the IN MY GARDEN set from Artful INKables and is fast becoming one of my favorites as I have a  lot of avid gardeners in my family.

* You have until Monday, April 26, 2010, midnight Pacific Standard Time to link your creation to the  ARTFUL INKABLE BLOG post. A winner will be chosen Tuesday, April 27, 2010 to win a GRAB BAG of AI STAMPS!

* You are not required to use AI stamps, but if you have them, we'd love to see you use them! **IF YOU USE AI STAMPS, YOU GET 2 ENTRIES FOR YOUR CREATION! JUST ENTER YOUR NAME/LINK TWICE ON MR. LINKY!!!

DEE-LIGHTFUL!

TGIFFFFFFFF! I worked a long week and I am so looking forward to the weekend even though we have a packed one. We have two different "kid-stuff" related banquets to attend so at least we will be eating well!

This weeks FARM FRESH FRIDAY challenge is to make a card using MARY'S wonderful sketch.

I used DeeDee and pretty much kept to the sketch except for the little extra square.

Have a great weekend and make sure to head over to TGF there are so many exciting things happening and soooo many opportunities to win some of those little cuties!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

I am dragging a bit today because of the Pens loss to Ottawa last night and since I worked on Sunday I am all messed up with my days (the week is draggin' too) but I do have some fun TGF news.

SPOTLIGHT is NOW, the uber cool scrapbooking set, is available in the TGF Store in limited quantities, so HURRY up and get yours today! And, did ya know they now have a weekly challenge on Thursday's just for scrapbookers? Lots of fun and of course major prizes to be won!

In addition, there are FOUR NEW MARINA NEIRA images available in Digi Form today and I did I say cute, oh yeah!

Check out the TGF BLOG for all the details and to see some adorable samples by the talented Critter Crew and the new Scrapbook team, fabulous (waving jazz fingers)!

BREAKING DAWN

Although, I am not much into the Twilight series, I can totally see why my daughter and others like her love this new crop of vamps.
I have to admit that when I was young, I was completely enthralled by vampires. I loved watching reruns of Dark Shadows, was hopelessly in love with Michael Nouri's vampire character in the Cliff Hanger series (yeah, I am showing my age), and spent many a late night watching them on Chiller Theater.

That is why I love the EPIC TALES SET from ARTFUL INKABLES it is so much fun to make cards with this theme.
I embossed the background with silver and made the chess piece from white cards stock and shading. I used the Breaking Dawn cover as the template and inspiration.

The current THINK INK CHALLENGE is to USE ANY BOOK OR CD/ALBUM COVER FOR INSPIRATION and you still have till tomorrow at midnight Pacific Standard Time to link up your creation. You could win a wonderful grab bag of AI stamps!

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU!

This week's FARM FRESH FRIDAY CHALLENGE has to do with spring cleaning. You need to Use something you either:
a.) found that you forgot you had or
b.) were going to throw OUT but decided to use it for this challenge." On your honor! Make it fun

This challenge came at the perfect time. I had been searching everywhere for a small container of pink micro beads which I found by the way, right where I thought they were and where I looked several times. During my search I found this little package of dog embellishments.

I have no idea when or where I got them but when I picked them up I got the idea for this card. So, they not only fit the challenge, but they sparked an idea! I used Oliver from The Buddies Set which is adorable!

Have a great weekend!

DESIGN TEAM SEARCH and SOME (FUN) ODDS AND ENDS

Hey all! Hope you are having a good start to the week!

Just wanted to let you know that Paper Cubed Challenge Blog is looking for some talented 3Ders to join the Design Team. Check out the details HERE.

There are so many fun things going on over at THE GREETING FARM and I am so grateful to be a part of it. Here are a couple projects I haven't yet had a chance to post.

IS THAT A PISTOL IN YOUR POCKET?
Did you all see that THE GREETING FARM was featured in SCRAPSTREET MAGAZINE. It is a really wonderful on-line mag for both scrapbookers and cardmakers alike. Several of the Design Team members made samples for the article and there are some "WOW" projects in there so please go check it out.

This was my contribution using Cheeky Shooter.

I put the handle of the gun on a brad so that it flips up to reveal the sentiment beneath.

ADJUST THE RIGHT KNOBS!
Also in TGF news, there is currently a Battle going on. The design team is participating just for fun but there are amazingly talented TGF fans creating some jaw-dropping projects. You have to check them out HERE they are beyond belief!
There are teams working together and each member takes a turn for a challenge. I had the first round for the go retro challenge and I used Cheeky Glamour, who is more retro than that?

My fellow challenge team member SANDRA came up with the brilliant idea of making a 50's style TV for this one.

They don't call them girls "cheeky" for nuthin!

Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

MAGNETIC SHAKER TUTORIAL

Happy Monday! Just thought I would let you know that I have a tutorial on how I made these little shaker magnets posted over at THE HYBRID CHICK BLOG

THE BEST LAID PLANS

Never seem to work out. I had time off work, incredible weather, a huge "to do" list..... and I fell and injured my foot. Had to keep off of it for a couple days and now make my way around on crutches till it feels better. And where do you think my craft room is? Yes, of course, down in the basement. I managed to hobble down today to get my Artful INKables post done. Boy have I missed being in my craft room!

This weeks THINK INK challenge, brought to you by the uber talented Michelle Bartnett, is to USE ANY BOOK OR CD/ALBUM COVER FOR INSPIRATION. This was my inspiration and I used the pretty potted daisy from the IN MY GARDEN set.

* You are not required to use AI stamps, but if you have them, we'd love to see you use them! **IF YOU USE AI STAMPS, YOU GET 2 ENTRIES FOR YOUR CREATION! JUST ENTER YOUR NAME/LINK TWICE ON MR. LINKY!!!

* You have until Monday, April 12, 2010, midnight Pacific Standard Time to link your creation to the ARTFUL INKABLE BLOG post. A winner will be chosen Tuesday, April 13, 2010 to win a GRAB BAG of AI STAMPS!

HAPPY EASTER to all my Christian friends and thanks so much for stopping by today!

A SKETCHY FFF

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you have been enjoying the new releases from The Greeting Farm, there are some real cuties in this crop!

This weeks Farm Fresh Friday Challenge is to make a card using this sketch by our fabulous farmer Cindy.

I used the new wild sprout ERIC and switched around the sentiment and image.
C

CARD STUFF
STAMP - THE GREETING FARM, ERIC
PAPER - THE DIGI CHICK, LETS ROCK BY JM DESIGNS

I {HEART} STAMPS!

Happy Thursday! It's no secret I love stamps and The Greeting Farm is a big reason why. When I saw the new Stamping Anya I knew I had to give her a permanent home on my stamping table but wasn't sure how. Then, I remembered my Grafix Rub-onz and thought I would try putting her on a mug. Ha, it worked! I basically followed the instructions with one major adjustment, I had to stamp the image, scan it, then print the mirror image (so the letters aren't backwards) onto the special Grafix paper. I colored her with a mix of copics and colored pencils/gamsol. It isn't washable so it has to stay on my table as a marker holder but that is a good thing!

You can grab your Stamping Anya too because....
It's TGF RELEASE DAY and there's NO April Fool's joke here when we say that ALL NEW RELEASES are now available in the TGF Store! We hope you've enjoyed our previews this week and are SO excited to welcome Get Well by Marina Neira, Stamping Anya, Eric, Dee Dee, and Oliver/Amelia "Buddies" to the TGF Family of rubber! Today is a GREAT day and we're so happy you're along for the ride!

Today we are also excited and honored to announce the 1st "TGF Cares" Charity Card Drive. This is something that TGF has been wanting to do for a long time and we have finally been able to put together a card drive for a cause very close to our hearts. A few years ago, Jessica was introduced to a family who was only a few weeks away from losing their two-year old daughter, whose name was also Jessica. Through this terrible tragedy, the family couldn't say enough about how wonderful the Ronald McDonald House was to them, specifically the one near the Fairview Children's Hospital near Minneapolis, MN. (please see Jessica's blog for more on this touching story and how TGF customers can help put a smile on the faces of many in need of them!)

There are so many sick children whose families do nothing short of moving mountains for these kids to help them get well. Not only is it important to lift the spirits of these courageous children, but also the families-the parents, siblings, and relatives during all of the emotional ups and downs of a child's fight for life.

TGF is proud and honored to be collecting cards that will go to the RMH in Minneapolis as well as the Fairview Children's Hospital, parents, and siblings of these petite patients during the long and brave journey of theirs. Be sure to stop by the TGF BLOG today for complete details on this special contest close to our hearts.