Calendar Girls *APRIL* challenge

*Click on any picture if you wish to enlarge*

        Hello everyone and welcome to the Calendar Girls'
                         monthly Challenge!!:o)      
           ~~* Who are the Calendar Girls? *~~
                            If You are a new reader to my blog you may want to read here first  :
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/blogging-groups-f290/calendar-girls-blog-group-full-10-members-t512917.html

My dahlin stamping friend Terry (known as Terry0926 on SCS) was the awesome hostess for the month of April and  she challenged the rest of us with the following (in her own words) :I have 2 requirements for you:
1. Use an image with a duck, a puddle, an umbrella or anything resembling rain or water!
2. Use a fun technique on your card that is “water” related!
Here are some fun techniques for you to think about:
• Gel (water) Card
• Misting with Markers
• Waterfall Card
• Wiper Card
• Wet Paper Watercoloring
• Watercolor your image with pencils and an aqua painter
• Use Crystal Effects
• Emboss acetate
There are so many things out there that can look like water…..use your imagination and have fun!"

"My challenge to you is to show me your April showers!

Well, I chose to show 'water' ,so I dusted off an old SU set that my DD left at my house a long time ago, and decided to ink it myself for this fun project. I love this funny frog and wanted to make it stand out.  The watercolor tecnique is the one I chose to do as I haven't use it in such a long time, therefore I am a bit out of practice. Crystal effect was also added to the frog's eyes, the lil dragonflys and the flower for that clear shiny finish.

Card Details:

Stamps: Frolicking Frogs (SU)

Card Stock: Bazzil Basic Paper Multipack

Designer Paper: My Mind Eyes *just the girls glittered collection*

Ink: Black Staz On, Kiwii Kiss, Soft Sky,Split Pea.

SU Watercolor Crayons.

Accessories: Nesties, ribbon (Costco),dimentionals,

Crystal Effect, Gitter,blue stickles, Bella baubles.

Tecnique: Watercoloring, Sponging

Terry, this was such a FUNTABULOUS idea!

Thanks for this great  challenge my friend!!

I hope I interpreted  it properly and that you,

and all the other CG like the end results...

 Thank YOU all, that took time to visit and comment,

  I truly do appreciate each and everyone of ya! :o)

                             ~~~~~~*Paola*~~~~~~~

*This card was submitted for the following challenges:
http://ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.com/

http://sparklesforumchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://stampingscrappingchallengecentral.blogspot.com/2011/04/anything-goes-challenge.html

http://simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/

http://papersundaes.blogspot.com/

http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/pio-challenge-17-2-or-more-ribbons.html

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.com/

*Mistery Numero Quattro*

~~* Hello wonderful friends and peeps :o)
If you are not familiar yet, about the 'Mystery Swap' please check the link provided :
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/cards-f107/closed-mystery-image-challenge-due-april-18th-2011-a-t520670.html

My stamping friend Tami (BlueInks on SCS) was the wonderful hostess for the last round of mistery, which was recently completed. She sent us all such darling images of a lil girl under an ombrella with  a lil frog by her side. *adorable* :o)

 Here are the details Tami provided for all of us, once all of our pkgs were received:

 Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamp Company: TAC - The Angel company        
Stamp Set Name: Oh No You Didn't
DP: Making Memories
Ticket: House of 3 parisian Anthology

To the above,I added the following:

Card Stock: Pacific Point *Cartainly Celery/ Glittered DP:'Just the Girls' by  My Minds Eye, Ink:Baja Breeze (for sponging), SU Markers, Colored Chalks, Pearlescent Chalks./ Accessories: Beaded Oval Nesties,Label 10 Nesties,Provocraft scissors,corner punch,blue stickles, green baubles from Bella. Inside sentiment is from Hanna Stamps.

Tecnique: gate card/sponging,layering,chalking.

I soo totally enjoyed creating this, and feel pretty happy with the end result. I hope that the receiving partecipants in the swap like my gate fold card as well. It was such a great experience having Tami has a hostess (it was her first hosting swap too!) She did an AMAZING job, and always so kind hearted and pleasant to everyone, making sure she would answer any questions promptly and cheerfully. Tami, you truly are one very CLASSY gal!!! Thank YOU for  a great first swap...here's to more in the future !!  :o)

                     

                             

                Have a Wonderful Easter Monday my friends!!

                        Please come and visit again soon:o)

                                           God Bless ya!!

                                                  Paola

BTW: for those of you that like to follow 'International Inkers' posts the 20th of each month, please proceed here:

http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2011/04/international-inkers-kit-2.html

This card was submitted in the following challenges:

http://catchthebugblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/were-singing-in-rain.html

http://kartenallerlei.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-26.html

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-26-winner-of-25-dt-call-and.html

http://deliciousdoodleschallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-22-anything-goes.html

http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com/

http://mymumscraftshopchallenges.blogspot.com/

International Inkers kit # 2

Welcome Friends!  :o)

Well, here we are again with our 2nd International Inkers Kit, courtesy of my dear friend Catherine, one of our USA delegates ;)

Spring has sprung and soon the snow and cold will be a distant memory. To  celebrate this season of renewal, we're working with a fresh & funky kit. 

This month, we were challenged with the following raw materials:

*K & Company Urban Rhapsody pattern papers
*May Arts web ribbon in turquoise and cream
*chipboard swirls
*blue buttons
*SU! Hodge Podge Hardware (pewter) altered with Adirondack Metallic Mixatives (copper)
*"Bashful" image from Sugar Nellie, designed by Diane Duda

As a special "thank you!" for visiting ALL of the International Inkers' blogs, we want to share this beautiful fun filled kit with one of you!
To be eligible, just leave a comment on each of the blogs. The winner of such fabby kit will be randomly selected and announced on Sunday, April 24th.  Thanks & good luck!

:

To make my 6x6 square card I added the following, besides the items I already listed from the kit:

Bazzil card stock, beaded oval nesties, 'All ABout You' & 'Classic Alpha' stamps (from SU),crystal effect,dimentionals, glue dots, Inks: Baja breeze & Bashful blue, cotton thread (for buttons),SU markers and watercolor pencils, Making Memory copper metallic glaze (used on chipboard swirl)     Tecnique:distressing, sponging.

THANK YOU    SO MUCH

CATHERINE!!

And now please go and check all the rest of the INTERNATIONAL INKERS'  blogs, and be prepared to be amazed! :o)

The International Inkers gals are:

Michelle (USA),  Catherine (USA), Karen (Canada),  Paola (Canada),  Tanja (Germany) & our new addition  Imke (Germany)

Thank you so much for visiting, have a wonderful, blessed day!!

~Paola~

              I must say that I really loved coloring this image and put together a fun card

             with such fabby kit  received and I also like the end result. What do YOU think? :o)

Four Legged Friends swap

 I often join Karly's awesome swaps (Karly 1020)
and this latest of hers is certainly no exception...
The theme for this recently completed swap was
' Four Legged Friends and More' and the only requirement was that our cards had to have an animal
of some sort on it. Lots of possibilities here!:o)

I chose three categories amongst soooooo many :
pigs, dragons and lambs...:o)

I will be back later with all details,right now I'm looking forward to pla w/my beautiful granddaughters :o)

The above cards were submitted for the following challenges:

http://kaboodledoodles.blogspot.com/

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.com/

http://craftypurplefrogchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://freshbreweddesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/freshly-brewed-challenge-42.html

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-147-all-creatures-great-and.html

http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com/

APRIL *D*D*D*



*Click on any card if U wish to enlarge*

 Woot ,woottt...ya all know what day it is, right?? It's the 15th of the month, the usual 'blog-get-together'
of the triple *D*'s (Dueling Darling Dazzlers/or Divas)
See here for details,if you are a new follower and have no idea what I am talking about...LOL *wink* http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-duelling-darlings-timeo.html

The darling hostesses for this first month are Melina (for the Dazzlers) and Joan (for the Divas)
Together they set up this month's wonderful theme: "Movie Night".....~~~Fun,fun, fun!!~~~
Melina sent us Dazzlers a great kit full of goodies that reflect the movie 'Toy Story'
Included was: Woody and Buzz Lightyear images from EK success, d/p from DCWV (stars) and from CM
(toy story paper),1 embossed (w/spots and dots folder) choc. chip top note, twine, star buttons and silver brads. Thanks Melina!! *muwahhhhh* :o)

Have to admit that I was stumped for a while and had no ideas how to make my card  a decent representative for such fun theme and then, one evening as I kept staring at all that the kit contained , it just came to me.
What you see is the result... Do YOU think this Sheriff Woody made the 'cut'??   :o)
Truly FUN to make...yeah!  *wink & smile*

Please check all the other Darlings creations :

DAZZLERS

 ♥ Jeanette ♥ April ♥ Debbie ♥ Melina ♥ Michelle ♥ Terry ♥ Darlene ♥ Paola <---you are here

DIVAS

♥ Barb ♥ Carol ♥ Jamie ♥ Joan ♥ Judy ♥ Kelly ♥ Laura Jean ♥ Tami ♥

My contribution:

'Perfect Presentation' (star),'Classic Alpha' and 'Whimsical Numbers' ( for inside sentiment) ,

round buttons from Walmart, nestie 'Label eight' for inside of card,ink: chocolate chip and buckaroo blue, watercolor pencils,blender pen, dimentionals, corner round punch.  Tecniques: watercolor,hand stitching.

Thanks for stopping by my darling friends :o)

 To view the 'Black Magic' tecnique on my Calendar Girls *March* card, please check here:
http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2011/04/calendar-girls-march.html

Jesus is The Reason Hop Winner :o)

                     CONGRATULATIONS Nana Connie!! :o)

My husband picked # 25 from my list of partecipants in the *Jesus is the Reason* blog hop

 http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2011/04/jesus-is-reason-easter-blog-hop.html

and, Nana Connie, YOU are the winner!! YEAHHHH! :o)
Only two things are needed to to claim your prize: 1) be one of my  followers, 2) sending me your address details so that I can go postal with  the goodies  you see posted above :o)

My e-mail: allegra@shaw.ca

On April 8, 2011 9:32 AM Nana Connie said...

"The cross on the first card is so stunning! Both projects are wonderful. I'm so glad that you and the others decided to do  this blog hop and share with all of us your Christian faith.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, safe in His arms forever. "

To ALL readers,please take note:

A gentle reminder that there is still time to create and link your own Christ-centered Easter   Card/Project on Catherine's wonderful blog (Paper Addict) 

                                http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com/

         You have until Friday, April 15th and each creation linked there will be entered

 into a random prize drawing as a thank YOU for your wonderful partecipation...

                    **Thanks Cat for your outstanding generosity my dear friend!**

Lastly...to continue on to my latest Calendar Girl card please click here:

http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/2011/04/calendar-girls-march.html?spref=fb

Thank YOU for visiting :o)

Have a blessed day!

~~~Paola~~~

Calendar Girls *March*

My stamping friend April wa sthe hostess of our Calendar Girls` Group last month but, because I was away getting better soaking up some natural vitamin D , I couldn`t do the challenge then. Finally I took the bull by the horns and today was the day to catch up!! :o)

For our challenge this month, April gave us a three-fer.
It is the third month after all! :o)

1. Since Spring is right around the corner she asked that everyone use a stamp/stamps/digi(s) that portray something WE are looking forward to! It can be Spring, Summer, vacation, a holiday, or even a nice dinner!
2.We`re to use a technique or product that "scares" us. We had to make it something that we admired and procrastinated trying or using!
3. Lastly, we were to use the attached sketch  you see on the left,and  interpret it however loosely we wished. The sketch could also be rotated and proportions change as well. -
Well, I am looking forward to the rebitrth of nature and working on my flower and vegetable garden, also waiting for the return of the amazing hummingirds (one of my two favorite birds in the whole world -the other is the majestic eagle...I know...totally opposites eh! ) I chose to try the `Black Magic` tecnique, a tecnique that intruigued me for a long time and that I kept on postponing ,as well as using the white sign-o pen to enphasize colored image (I DISlike NOT knowing HOW to do that properly still!! arghhhh....*sigh*)

This is my first result at  a `Black Magic` card...I must say I LUV the sketch that April had us use !!

Challenges are soooo fun to do...ususally they  make me think out of the box and try something new.

All of my supplies are from Stamping Up! except the baubles (from Stamping Bella)

and the MS daisy punch.  Yup...as U noticed I went bauble's happy on this card!...eheheh

The stamps I used are: 'Both Ways Blossoms' and 'Spring Song' .The latter set I finally got to ink after  having it for approx two yrs collecting dust!:o)   Here's a link to the tecnique I used :

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/blackmagic/

Hope you like my first attempt at it..I know, I know...I NEED to keep on practicing it in order to eventually get better at it...however I did have fun trying to achieve a lil 'magic' my way...*wink*

                                              Have a great,blessed Sunday!!:o)

                                                             Paola

Check this for your listening pleasure:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BidMkLdTAdc

Jesus IS The Reason ~* Easter Blog Hop*~

*Click on any picture if you wish to enlarge*

God bless you for joining us on this wonderful hop venture! 
Once again, my thanks go to Catherine (Paper Addict) for  inviting me to th newest  blog hop
for the Easter 'Reason'...and this time we are celebrating the coming of Our Lord Resurrection.

This is indeed a blessed time of year, as we remember Christ sacrifice on the cross at Calvary,  and celebrate his triumphant victory over death!  We're so glad you've stopped by!  Our purpose for the next 3 days is to draw the attention back to Jesus Christ, just as we did with our Christmas version of "Jesus Is The Reason" hop.  In North America especially, Easter has become about mythical bunnies, candy and hunting for colored eggs.

While they amuse us, these things distract us from the real cause for celebration: 

the most amazing event in history - the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

When Christ was scourged, beaten, tormented, spit upon, ridiculed, mocked, nailed to the cross and forced to bear a crown of thorns (Mark 10:34; Luke 23), it was the greatest act of love (John 3:16) the world has ever known. He didn't deserve any of it - He came into this world without sin. But for our sake, because He loves us, He took on our sins and became sin  (2Corinthians 5:21; 1Peter 2:22, 24).  He gave Himself as the final, substitutive sacrifice, thereby paying our sin debt in full and proclaiming, "It is finished." (John 19:30)  Three days later, after being buried in a tomb, He rose from the dead and walked this earth again (Luke 24; Acts 10:40) before ascending to Heaven (1Thessalonians 1:10) to sit at the Father's right hand (Hebrews 12:2).  If you can just begin to picture all of this in your mind, how can you refuse the gift of salvation?  I pray you will accept it, if you haven't already!

In light of the true meaning of Easter, we friends of faith have gathered together

to celebrate and share the Good News. 

We invite you to join in...

If you arrived here via Carolyn's wonderful blog http://utsukushiikami.blogspot.com/
then you are on the right track, or, if you are just aeeived here, then you'll want to go back to the talented Heather's blog to start at the very beginning of  this celebratory hop. :o)
Heather http://joemamainks.blogspot.com/

Kelly http://sandcastlestamper.blogspot.com/

Maria http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/

Sammi http://stuffbysammi.blogspot.com/

Lorie http://thethinkinspot.blogspot.com/

Stacy http://impressionsofaribbonaddict.blogspot.com/

Kadie http://mymindseyecreations.blogspot.com/

Carolyn http://utsukushiikami.blogspot.com/

Paola http://paola-sama.blogspot.com/      <---------you are here

Linda http://stamperstouch.blogspot.com/

Susan http://pinkflannelpajamas.blogspot.com/

Karen http://krbskorner.blogspot.com/

Catherine  http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com

While we cannot even begin to reciprocate the Lord's gift to us, there is "blog candy" on some of the hop stops as a token of appreciation for your comments and encouragement. 

We also invite you to celebrate the real "Reason for the Season" by posting your own creation, celebrating Christ's Resurrection.  There is a place to link on Catherine's blog
http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com
and a prize is up for grabs for one randomly selected card/project. 

Enjoy the hop and many blessings to all of you who took the time to visit and comment!

I am offering a lil token of my appreciation for one of you that stopped by and  left a comment on my blog (hopefully you already are or soon will be, one of my wonderful  followers too! *Good Luck* *wink*)

Here below is what you will receive:
5 handcrafted all occasions cards by me.

Have an awesome time hopping and viewing all the  awesome cards and/or projects  the wonderful partecipating girls created for your visual   appreciation :o) God Bless!

***Hugs***

            ~~~Paola~~






My card was entered in the following challenges:
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/
http://craftuscrazy.blogspot.com/
http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/
http://stampwithfun.blogspot.com/
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com/
http://www.craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/
http://www.stampsruschallenges.blogspot.com/
http://abcdtchallenge.blogspot.com/

Preserve the Forest swap



*All pictures can be enlarged by cliking on each*



*Be forwarned...lots of pictures on this blog-post!!*

Who knows me, knows also how much I love to : *REUSE,REDUCE,RECYCLE*
Usully trying to find some kind of elements for card making purpose even amongst good and clean discarded items. It is so true that someone else trash can be a font of treasure for others...especially if you let your mind visualize the many creative possibilities...

These two cards made mostly with recycled items, were made for Jeanette's latest swap (SCS: Forest Ranger) Her swaps are always interesting and almost always forest related ...
                                     *can U see a relation w/ her  nickname here?* :o)

Here are the details according to Jeanette's swap post:
For this round - PRESERVE THE FOREST - swappers can choose any theme/image they choose.
(It does not have to be forest-y, but it can be if you want it to be.) Swappers are asked to create theme appropriate full-sized cards, anything with FOREST FRIENDS in mind...

The special aspect of this swap is that the cards must include some re-purposed or recycled item on them.

Here's the making of  my first card - Can you tell what I recycled here??
*hint : 3 items were recycled*

My second card is totally opposite, not shiny nor too classy, but rather rustic and warm ...can YOU guessed what I recycled here?
*hint: 4 items were recycled *

In total I recycled quite a few items (seven to be exact)

between the two cards above

Take a closer look...what are those items?

Go on, try and guess...*smile*

Thanks for visiting my friends!!

Paola

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please check the announcement on the wonderful logo ,top right of my page! I feel so blessed to be asked again and be part of an amazing Blog Hop to remind US all that Jesus is the Reason...Easter is coming!!

I hope to see YOU all at the hop, starting Thursday!!

You may even win a prize just by hopping along...:o)

Peace and Blessings my Friends!