*Share The Love*

Hello friends in blogland...

It is the last day of the month, and -as such- we are showing off our Calendar Girls' creativiness...

This month is Miss February's turn to host (aka SCS: Miamikel4). She chose a fun theme for all of us, and here are her own words about this month's challenge:

 
*~* Share the LOVE! *~*
"It’s February, the month of LOVE ♥ I’m thrilled to be your hostess this month and offer you a challenge of a different sort Rather than go for the traditional Valentine’s card, I wanted to ask that you each make a card – as a reflection of yourself – and share a little LOVE! This month, please create a card (or project) that shows what YOU love … something that when we look upon your card, we will know exactly what that ONE thing is that you love so much!
(For example, maybe sporty LJ will have something on with the Badgers on her card (just sayin’!) or Darlene may have gorgeous feathered friends gracing the front of hers … you get the idea! )
*You may use any colors you would like but extra brownie points for using non - traditional colors!!
* Please include one thing only – I know it’s hard {However, if it's fruit, for example, you may include a basket of it rather than just one fruit}..."

Kelly's  fabby challenge
had me going in dozens of possible different directions...I literally have several stamping sets piled up on my table showing some coffee cups/mugs/beans/ (LOVE my espresso-several times a day!-)..other stamps reflect anything chocolate!! yummola!! 
the darker the better,not milk choc. for me...although if  U must insist I;ll have that too...lol...and of course there must be books as well,  and there pop up a couple book related stamps as well.....mmmm...how about the outdoors....or  travelling...or gardening ...or....photographing...etc etc...U get the idea! Well, I thought I was settling for any one of the above....but then I came across a lil neglected old set (I love the older SU sets!) with children in mind and ...bingo! I just knew I had to use THIS stamp ♥
To me it represents my 4 loving and lovable grandchildren...all of them a wonderful gift from God above, to compensate us for growing old -as one of my friend used to say...  ;o)

  The following  part is optional, 

this is what Kelly wrote:

 
"YOUR BONUS CHALLENGE: As a extra bonus, but completely optional part of the challenge, I would LOVE for you to send your card to a place/organization that you LOVE. ♥ Share the LOVE ♥ this month by sending your card to someone in need – OWH, children’s charities, RMH .. the possibilities are endless. Know that somewhere out there, your generous mailing of your card could bring a smile to someone in need Have fun creating and crafting and I so look forward to sharing the LOVE with you this month! ♥ "

I left my card blank for now, until I decide exactly whom to gift it to...I have a couple ideas in mind though....;o)

I hope you enjoyed my take for this month's fun theme....
Thank You for a great challenge Kells!

♥ Thank for visiting and God's Bless To You All! ♥ 

Stamp: Kids At Play (SU 1999)   
Ink: Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chips (SU) 
Card Stock: Early Espresso (SU)  , Tan Bazzil ,  Very Vanilla
Designer Paper : Kasercraft  'Devonshire Collection'  and  K&Co 'Lovely'
Accessories: Classic Hearts nestie ; light blue mini pearls ; Cherish ribbon; Sizzix decorative strip 'Love' ;
MS punch (hearts) ; EK punch (opened scalloped )

  
     

Two cards, One challenge...

For the I Can Do It Challenge week 6 (last week) ,it was requested to create a card(s) with more than one fold.....I have never made a Z - fold card before, so I thought it was 'bout time to try my hands at it and this is the end result.

Above, you can see the finished front of the card, while below there is a glimpse of the opene fold....

 I must add that all items used here were part of my stash, therefore these cards also partake in the 100 cards for 100 day challenge were we are encouraged to use what we have.

I have to say that I purposely chose my most UNdesired c/s :Foliage Forest, and a sheet of 12x12 d/p from Costco...I just didn't know WHAT to do with these two papers that I have in my stash like forever, literally... Then I picked this stamp and it all clicked into place (first time I inked it as it was collecting dust,as many many of my other yet to be used sets....)

For my second card, I created a double-Z-fold
just to keep the theme going...*wink*
I wanted this card to be happy looking, as I was feeling just that inside, with such great weather we've been blessed with recently (well, today was totally a different story!)
I was thinking of my oldest grandson as I was
putting this card together...he is my sunshine (all of my G-kiddos have their own endearing
special nickname). He will definetely be the
recipient of this sunny card :o)
Below it shows the open version....
The sentiment inside is partially hidden here ...it says : 'You are My Sunshine' :o)

Here's the tutorial from SCS:
 http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/doublezfold/

Thank You for visiting...As always, it's a pleasure reading your comments.....♥

God Bless Ya All!!

PS: I will post all the deets tomorrow....

It's ALL About Love....(and dueling too...)

 

   Hello girls,

it’s February and Judy and I are the Dueling Darling hostesses for this round . Together, we have chosen this theme of love, based on the Bible verses from Corinthians 13: 4, 7, 13

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (New International Version)

There is so much about love to celebrate in February, besides the forever traditional day of love, Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14^th. 

Some celebrations that take place this month ,and that may inspire you as you create your card for the upcoming duel, are:

• American Heart Month
• International Friend Month
• Random Acts of Kindness Week (10^th – 16^th in 2013)
• Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week (17^th – 23^rd in 2013)
• Send a Card to a Friend Day (Feb. 7^th)
• Love Your Pet Day (Feb. 21^st)
• Family Day (Feb 18, 2013 in Canada)

With this theme in mind we would like you to sow the seeds of love and kindness you have received in your life. You are challenged to pay it forward by performing a kind gesture and doing it anonymously! The week of the 10^th – 16^th may be the perfect opportunity for you to do this.

Dazzlers and Divas, did YOU all
noticed s'thing 'strange' about this
month's kits??? ♥ I hope our surprise was well rceived....:o)

 In BOTH your kit this month you should have received:

Designer Papers from My Mind’s Eye (Love Me) : 'Hearts'

Pinecone Press (Be Mine) : 'Smoochie' and 'Checkmate'

Ribbon from Recollections (Michaels): red glitter; pink glitter; red and white satin

Divine Twine: pink, white and red twine floss

Heart Wood Clip: ' Celebrate It' (Michaels)

Pink bling hearts baubles (Michaels)

Prima flowers -from my stash-

Various heart brads -from my stash-

1/2" Epoxy Brads 'Sending Love' from SU

Buttons - from my stash-

Stamped images and sentiments, all from SU! : 'Summer by the Sea' ; Circle sentiment : 'Riveting'

  
For my 'pay forward' , last Tuesday after my specialist apptm. hubby took me to a Greek Rest for  a late lunch....there I met a past student of mine on her way to court for a very disturbing testifying necessity .....

As we took care of our bill, I told our waitress that I would like also to take care of  the girl's lunch bill....

Obviously my ex student would know who it was who gave her a 'treat', but at least she found out after we left.... 

Same day, same place...I bought a gift certificate for my physiotherapist....

He will be receiving it anonimously via mail, with an unsigned card of appreciation for all he's done......I know he will enjoy it!

I {{{♥}}} random act of kindness....such good feelings....and soooooo good for the soul! ♥

 

I apologize for the not so good photos...It's past 1:00 am here and lighting is not the best at this time of night....

On my card, I also wanted to add a handwritten favorite quote that my hubby and I tell each other often....'Oggi + di ieri e meno di domani'   which means: 'Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow...' ♥

♥ I hope all the Dazzlers and the Diva enjoyed creating with identical kits! ♥

GOD BLESSINGS TO ALL!!

Please check out the other Dazzlers and Diva paper creations here:
DAZZLERS:
 Jeanette
Debbi
Terry
Paola (aka me)
April
Darlene
Melina

DIVAS:
Kelly
Kadie
Carol
Barb
Judy
Tami
 LJ

 Submitted this card for: RCC77 Reminder Love is in the Air  http://blog.ribboncarousel.com/

YOU CAN DO IT Challenge 5

 Last week was challenge # 5 for the new YOU CAN DO IT CHALLENGE on SCS, where each Monday  anew challenge is presented by one of the partecipants playing hostess for a week.

For this challenge we were encouraged to create cards using a quilting pattern...
well I was going to case a great quilted card I saw in Frenchie's blog,,,but then my pattern
took a turn all on its own and I let it ride...lol...and this is the result...
Bear in mind that I made this past the eleventh hr!! I should really only work when there is natural light around....my poor old eyes are not like they used to be...eheheh

For this 5.5 square card I used all SU card stock,
light blue rick rack (SU) , sentiment from SU, and two felt butterflies from the dollar store.
Designer paper was part of remnant from a beautiful gift from a dear friend. It is all cut out in 1"square. I haven't finished the inside...will do that once I decide whom to send this to...♥

This will also be part of my 100 cards in 100 days challenge which encourages us to use what we have and somewhat neglected...

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT!
   ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Unidentified Image ~February~

            Hello dear Friends in blogland!

 well, well ,well....It is REVEALING day today!! YUPPPP!....how cool is that?

We get to see how everyone interpretation of  the no longer so mysterious images....wooot! :o)

The Unidentified Image Swap on SCS is ready to reveal the February cards.  I am so excited!  

 I just love to see what everyone has created from the same image.

For this round, Linda , (SCS: ljh) who was at the helm as our hostess, sent us a very sweet image of a cute doggie....It is called 'Tail Wagger'...(I even love its title!!...lol) and it is from Stampotique.

For these cards, I kept my layout fairly simple, but wanted to add more to the shape, hence I used this particular Spellbinder die called 'Wonky Squares' ....

 For the inside of the cards I simply used a stamp right from my grandchildren's stash...shhhttt...don't tell them!...eehe....besides, it didn't even ink that good!) A lil strip of  d/p

completes this easy ensamble.

I made a couple extra cards for me to keep, and

one of them will be given to my soon to be 8yo GDaughter as I am led to believe there will be a puppy in her household...probably sometimes soon...time will only tell. ♥

To create this card ,aside from the gifted immies,

I used the following items: 

Card Stock: all SU!

Designer Paper: 'Pets' by Leading British Designers at Dovecraft

Ribbon: 1" wide grosgrain 'Basheful Blue'(SU!)

Yellow and white candy floss ; dimentionals ;

Buttons from my stash ; Stickles (on butterfly)

Spellbinders die 

Images were colored with  Copics.

                                             
     Hope you like it! :o)



Happy SUNDAY everyone....

        enjoy this blessed day to the fullest! ♥

Cards for Men

 Hello my dear peeps ♥

my friend Viv, better known as blusky on the SCS circle , is the tiredless hostess of many, many swaps...

Recently, she decided to host a swap dedicated to the men in our lives!!! 

They can be Birthday cards or general ''Man" cards with or without a sentiment....

I decided to partecipate in this swap because, as Viv said, there seem to be always a lack of men's cards on hand when needed....

so, so true!!

Card Deets:
 For my cards I chose to use a Mo Manning stamp
called 'BiG Guy Golfing'.  I absolutly {{{ ♥ }}}
ANYTHING that Maurie (Manning) designs...
she's such a wonderful uber talented artist!
For these cards I chose to do piecing tecnique ,
on the guy's vest , and used Copics for coloring.
Card stock: soft suede (by SU ,
Designer paper: 'All Fall' by Fancy Pants Design
assorted lrg buttons from my stash w/ brown/white candy floss {OR} brads and argyle ribbon.

These cards qualify also for the 100 cards in 100 days

challenge. 

I would like to invite you to check out this link if you are a Mo Manning aficionado as much as I am...don't worry...this hostess (aka me!) doesn't bite....lol ;o)

 http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/cards-f107/***new-***mo-manning-cards-swap-exclusive-original-due-may-13-2013-a-t567616.html

♥ THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TO VISIT!! ♥

Calendar Girls ~ Jan. 2013

 

Hello my friendly peeps...

...I've got my laptop back last night...it needed to be totally revamped 

from top to bottom,so to speak, and now all the nasty viruses are a thing of the past...

or so I thought until this very morning it totally went blank on me in the middle of  the first Skype

'visit' with my hubby's family...Tried as I might my laptop did not give me any signs of 'life'

anymore, so I took it back to its 'doc'.....Well....as it turned out...I had a VERYYYY embarrassing moment...it was all my fault...instead of plugging in the RIGHT laptop plug to recharge its batteries I realized that I actually used a totally wrong plug, that belonged to a back massaging pad! oopppsss...

I think my face turned 50 shades of red....and I am probably the tech's laughing stock right now...(yours too I bet! lol)

oh well....I always stated I am NOT a computer wiz...not even a wee bit!....

Well, the most important thing is that ,now, this baby is running as smoothly as a well oiled Lamborghini...♥

mmmmm ...speaking of which...did you know that my Dad used to play pool w/ the senior (Ferruccio) Lamborghini? Yup...he was one of the world's most famous industrialist....

But let's proceed and get back on track:

To start off the first challenge of the year, Jeanette (aka Forest Ranger) ,gave us Calendar Girls

some 'homework' to do.  In her own words:

 "This is a PHOTO INSPIRATION Challenge. But there’s a catch! You have to choose your own photo. I want you to find a photo – it can be a picture you’ve taken (of a family member, 

a scenic drive, a food you’ve cooked, whatever) or it can be a picture someone else has taken. Maybe you even found it on the internet. After you’ve chosen the PHOTO you want to use, create a card/project inspired by that photo.  Of course on your blog post – when you show us your creation – we also want to see the photo that inspired you."

 

I  created this card last Jan 25, just couple hrs before heading off to a wonderful friend's Birthday celebration...talk about th eeleventh hr!...I really wanted to use a stamp that caught my eyes just after Christmas ,with the intention to use it to gift her with a set of cards for all occasions. (I haven't done that yet!)  My friend Karen loves piano music and loves playing it too...her own baby grand piano sits majestically in her formal living room ♥  I knew she would appreciate my lil token of affection...                               

    I realize I am not too happy with the black Memento ink used on this stamp, it looks a tad faded....next time I will try a much bolder color...perhaps a dark red or a rich brown or even a deep blue tone....I will definetly use this stamp set again and again...♥


The picture I chose is not a recent one (but I needed it to go w/my piano stamp! lol )...it shows my friend's oldest daughter playing a special piece for her parents , during their 25th Wedding Ann. surprise ,last July, at their  gorgeous home. A very talented friend of the family accompanies Krissy...
What a great night amongst amazing friends!

♥ Thank YOU all for stopping by....

I appreciate each and everyone of you...

Wishing you all a very blessed week end! ♥

For this card I used the following:                 
Cranberry Crisp card stock (SU) ; My Mind's Eye designer paper ;
  'Musicale' set by Prima Cling Stamps  http://store.scrapbook.com/pri-557133.html ;  'Mixed Greetings' (SU) ;           
' For a Friend' (SU) ; Chocolate Chip satin ribbon (SU) ; 'Virtuoso Music' die from Memory Box .