Relax with a Good Book

Happy Friday the 13th!   Sorry for the late post.  I am still functioning on vacation time and almost didn't realize it was Friday!  I mean, how could I forget?  It's not just any Friday - it's the 3rd Friday the 13th this year: January 13th, April 13th, and July 13th!  And the really freaky thing is the dates are all 13 weeks apart!  Any one seen my lucky charms?  

Welcome to another Sassy Studio Designs Fabulous Freebie Friday!  Today we have another wonderful image to share with you over on our Paper Craft Planet group!  She is called Reading Rachel, and I have created a simple bookmark with her.  This one has a lot of style for just a little work.  I used my Fleur de Lis Square Nestabilities to cut out two different sizes from Real Red card stock from Stampin' Up.  The designer paper is actually from a Halloween pad - Echo Park's The Apothecary Emporium.  The embroidered ribbon is from my stash.  Rachel is colored with Copics and Prismacolor Art Markers, fussy cut, and adhered to the larger square.

Please head over to PCP to see what the other Fabettes have created for the "Summer Reading" challenge with this week's freebie.  And remember to grab the image while you're there!  She is available for download for 24 hours.

Relaxing with a book is the only thing I haven't done this week!  lol  We've been quite busy!  I promised some vacation photos so here are a few to give you an idea of the fun we had this week:

At the lake

Our 1st sand castle

At the movie theater to see Brave

At the playground

Are we there yet?

At the aquarium

Sponge Bob 4D

Sand castle sundae

I'd also like to enter this project in the following challenge:
- My Mum's Craft Shop Challenges: #65-No Cards Allowed 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are enjoying your week as much as we are!  Have a wonderful, fun-filled weekend!

{hugs}
Regan  

Tickled Pink Stamps Sponsors Winter Wonderland Challenges

I have really been enjoying my vacation but it is back to work today, at least as far as my design team duties are concerned!  I actually have three more days before I have to go back to my job!  But I did start crafting again yesterday and this was the first project that I made.  It is a holiday card for today's Tickled Pink Stamps sponsorship of Winter Wonderland Challenges!  As always, the theme is Christmas, but there is a twist - to use a sentiment as a focal point on your creation.

I have used a Tickled Pink Stamps digital image as well as one of their coordinating die and sentiment stamp sets.  My image is Lil Victorian Christmas Lad Luca.  Unfortunately, the rubber sentiment stamps and die set are no longer available.  Luca is colored with Copics and Prismacolor Art Markers, fussy cut, and popped up on foam squares.  Papers are Stampin' Up and I simply added one rhinestone corner embellishment to finish it off.  The sketch I used was Just Us Girls (#144), but I missed the deadline for entry.  Ooops!

Be sure to visit the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see what the other {PINK} ladies have created for this challenge!

I'd also like to enter this card in the following challenges:
- Stampavie and More: #172-Christmas in Summer 
- Crafty Sentiments: Christmas in July 
- Lady Bug Crafts Ink: #172-Christmas in July 
- Hooked on Crafts: #22-Christmas in July
- Lollipop Crafts: #84-Christmas in July 
- The Crazy Challenge: #124-Christmas in July 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back in a few hours with a new Sassy Studio Designs Fabulous Freebie Friday and some vacation photos!

{hugs}
Regan     

The Corrosive Challenge #153 - Sentimentally Yours

Waaaa!!!!  My printer is completely out of ink and I don't have a spare cartridge!  Of course it was 11pm here when I discovered this, and Staples wasn't open.  Why not, I ask you?  You mean to tell me no one else ever needs office supplies in the middle of the night?!  Hmph!  lol
It's so weird because my image printed fine on Friday.  I knew I was low (I use those suckers until they are DRY), but I thought it would be a little more gradual.  Give me some warning, you know?

I'm going to stop my whining about the lack of 24 hour office supply stores and get to the real reason for this blog post: a new Corrosive Challenge!  It's a brand new month so not only do we have a new theme for you but we have a new sponsor and prize!  Plus there's a chance to be a future guest designer up for grabs too!

Our sponsor for July is the wonderfully witty and sensationally sarcastic Graphicat Designs!

  
Cheri has generously offered a $15 voucher to use in the store for this month's winner!  I personally love Graphicat products!  Perhaps because Cheri's wicked sense of humor is very similar to my own!

Our challenge for this fortnight is "Sentimentally Yours".  We want to see a sentiment of some sort on the front of your creation.  It can be used in conjunction with an image or it can be the focal point all by itself;  either is fine.

Anyway....  so, OMG, I have NO way to print any digis!  What am I going to do?  How am I going to get this DT project made?  In the middle of a full on freak out, I realize I am not sunk after all!  What saved my butt is the fact that I had won an acrylic version of the Happiness Fairy sentiment from one of Cheri's sketch challenges!  Phew!  I now had something to work with! 

 And speaking of sketches, Cheri is giving us a peek at the new Graphicat Sketches challenge that begins tomorrow!  I have used it for my card!

I decided to make a twisted easel card.  I have never made one of these before and it seemed like a good idea to try for the first time at midnight!  lol  And actually I LOVE the way it turned out!

 Since I had to stamp like in the "olden days" with physical stamps for this project, I was limited to what I could use.  I have several fantastic fairy images saved on my computer, but without any way to print them they weren't of much use to me!  Then I remembered that my friend, fellow crafter, and design team mate, Jasmine of Wasted Scraps had given me this awesome Sweet Pea Stamps image in rubber by Terra Bidlespacher called Zevra.

She is a lot cute, a little sexy, and full of attitude!  Perfect!  I colored her up with my Copics and Prismacolor Art Markers, fussy cut her, and added some glitter to her wings.  I also had a stroke of genius which had me digging this tiny vial from my stash to fill with glitter a.k.a "Happy Dust".  I glued the stopper into the bottle and used some baker's twine to tie it to my seam binding and grograin ribbon.  

Papers are from Lost & Found Two: Blush from My Mind's Eye.  I love these little 6x6 pads!  They are perfect for card makers like myself!  The only other embellishments I added were some flowers, a bling flourish, and a punched Martha Stewart border.  

I hope you'll pop over to The Corrosive Challenge blog to see what my fabulous design team has created!  They never cease to amaze me with their talent!  And I also hope you'll play along!

This card was a labor of love, guys!  An example of determination against the odds!  And a lesson to always have a spare ink cartridge on hand!  Off to Staples I go....

I'd also like to enter this card into the following challenges:
- Quirky Crafts Challenge: #14-Make Us Laugh 
- Sentimental Sundays: #110-BINGO (Pink, Flowers, Twine)
- Di's Digi Designs Challenge: Pile on the Flowers
- ATCs + Cards with Attitude: #17-Anything Goes 
- Fat Pages with Attitude: #17-Anything Goes 
- Bloggers: Say It With Words (sentiment as a focal point)
- Card Makin' Mamas: #49-Rubber 
- Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards: #16-Anything Goes
- Fussy and Fancy: #66-Fancy Folds 
- Shelly's Images: What the Text (use a text sentiment)
- The Paper Shelter: #71-Flower Power 
- Stampavie and More: #171-Lots of Flowers 
- Whimsy Inspirations: #46-Anything Goes  

{hugs}
Regan

Older and Wiser

Well, I am officially on vacation now!  Eight and a half days of work-free bliss!  The warm weather and my vacation frame of mind have made me long to go to the ocean.  I'm lucky - I live within an hour's driving distance from the Atlantic.  However, the reality of the beach, alone, with a toddler is not one I'm sure I'm ready to face yet!  lol  But I did buy new sand castle gear for the wee one and a new bathing suit for myself, just in case!  We will be near the ocean on our aquarium trip so that, and this card, may have to be enough to soothe my craving.  

I was asked to make a 75th birthday card for my co-workers uncle.  I struggle with masculine cards as it is, but added to the pressure this time was the fact that this particular recipient is a Monsignor in the church!  Those of you who know me know I'm not conventionally religious.  I do own one Christian stamp set, but none of the images or sayings seemed appropriate for such a milestone birthday.  My creative mind turned towards the ocean, ships, lighthouses....  I finally decided to use this image from Clear Dollar Stamps (Smooth Sailing) and some gorgeous papers from K&Company (Tim Coffey Travel).  The sentiment is from My Favorite Things.  I added some burlap, a compass sticker from my stash, and punched some sand dollars, starfish, and branches with a couple of Martha Stewart punches.  The numbers are glittered chipboard stickers.

I was fairly happy with the outcome and was instructed by a friend and fellow crafter that I had to blog it.  So here it is.  :)  And now I am off for a quick trip to the craft store with the small man (is there such a thing?!  lol)  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
- Dilly Beans Challenges: Fabric and Fibers (burlap)
- Top Tip Tuesday: #80-One for the Men
- Card A Day Blog: July-Just For Men 

{hugs}
Regan

Well Read

I have exactly 11 hours of work left before I am officially on vacation!  (But who's counting?!?! lol)  One of the things I'd like to do during my time off is read a little.  I am still trying to get through the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy and then you know I HAVE to read the Fifty Shades of Grey one just to see what all the fuss is about!  I am so busy working, crafting, and being a mom that my reading has sort of taken a back seat and I love to read!  When I was a kid Summer was all about reading!   Both for pleasure and that dreaded Summer reading list!

But whether you're reading War and Peace or a Harlequin Romance you need a good book mark to hold your place!  And that's where Sassy Studio Designs comes in with this week's Fabulous Freebie Friday image and new challenge!  Today's free image over on our Paper Craft Planet group is called Magazine Margie.  She is a cutie, sprawled on the floor with her Seventeen or Tiger Beat!  And conveniently enough, the challenge over at PCP for this fortnight is to create a bookmark!  

I took a tag shaped card from my stash to use as my base.  I selected a designer paper from Basic Grey's Out of Print collection and paired it with three different colors from Stampin' Up - Pool Party, Rose Red, and So Saffron.  Also from my stash is that awesome library book card!  I distressed and inked the edges a bit and then stamped a sentiment from a My Favorite Things set called, you guessed it, Well Read.  Using the Cheery Lynn French Pastry die and the Spellbinders Labels Twenty Two die I created some visual interest and texture.  Since theoretically it should fit inside a closed book I resisted the urge to add flowers and instead opted for a bling flourish, a metal spiral clip, seam binding, baker's twine, and a circle sticker as my embellishments.  Margie is colored with Copics.  I did a little doodling around the image too.  I chose to crop her for my project, but you can see all of her if you head over to the Sassy Studio Designs' Paper Craft Planet group.  She will be there available as a freebie for 24 hours, and you can take a peek at the work of the amazing Fabettes while you're at it!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend planned!  I will be reveling in the fact that come Monday my time off is only just beginning!  Check back with me throughout to see what shenanigans the small man and I have gotten up to and to see what I've been creating with all that free time!  Enjoy your day!

{hugs}
Regan           

Mojo Monday and July 4th via Instagram

Hello!  Just popping in with a quick birthday card I made for a co-worker.  I'm a little behind on production of personal cards with all my design team commitments and orders.  My apologies to any friends and family who are waiting patiently for me to get my act together!  I appreciate your patience!  

This card features a gorgeous stamp and die from Stampin' Up!  I just had to have both when I attended a demo a few months ago, but of course this is the first time I've had a chance to use them!  The stamp set is called Apothecary Art and the dies are the Labels Collection Framelits.  When I saw the Mojo Monday sketch (#248) this week I knew it was a perfect opportunity to christen them both!  I used Momento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp my image and Baja Breeze for the sentiment.  The flowers and leaves are colored with Copics and Prismacolor Markers.  Papers are My Mind's Eye - Lost & Found Two: Sunshine.  My embellishments consist of a Martha Stewart border punch, a few flowers from my stash, and Baja Breeze seam binding.  I also popped the sentiment up with some foam squares for a little dimension.

It's a bit different from my norm, but I like the result.  There was no crafting yesterday due to the holiday and now I have some catching up to do.  We had an amazing day, though, so it was worth it!  I had a little fun with my droid and Instagram.  Here is a bit from our day:

Happy 4th of July

Beauty blooms in adversity

Chamomile

Buddies

{PINK}

Hop Scotch

Protectors

Sidewalk Art

Tiger Lily

  
And I even got to see fireworks out my window tonight.  A fabulous finale to a fantastic day!  Wish I had snapped a few photos of that!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Thursday!  I will be back tomorrow with a new Sassy Studio Designs Fabulous Freebie Friday!

{hugs}
Regan 

Celebrate Freedom

Happy 4th of July!!!  While it's nice to have a day off in the middle of the work week, today is about more than just that and fun in the sun.  I wanted to make sure I remember that I live in a country where I am blessed with many freedoms and privileges.  We are not a country without problems and shortcomings, but I feel lucky to be able to celebrate Independence Day in the United States of America.  And today I have a card showcasing my patriotic pride!

I'm here to tell you about Tickled Pink Stamps' sponsorship of Fab 'n' Funky.  Appropriately enough their challenge is "Stars and Stripes" (#128).  I do have striped designer paper and a die cut star on my creation, but what I loved was this designer paper I found at Joann that had the words stars and stripes printed all across it!  It was perfect for this card!  

The TPS digi image I selected for my card is Party Pinkette Coraline.  She is colored with Copics and Prismacolor Art Markers.  I paper pieced her balloon with the striped paper as well as using it for the star.  The star and ribbon banner dies are both from Spellbinders.  That fabulous rhinestone flourish is a Michaels Recollections embellishment and it reminded me of fireworks so I added it to the card.  The sketch I followed is a fairly CAS one over at Sentimental Sundays.  It was a bonus part of the "Be Patriotic" (#109) challenge this week. 

 Be sure to stop by the Tickled Pink Stamps blog to see what the other {PINK} ladies have dreamed up for this challenge.  Not everyone is celebrating July 4th so it's fabulous to see their creative interpretations of the theme!

I will be attending a cook out at my parents' house with the small man today.  We didn't make it to see any fireworks displays this year (with the exception of the illegal ones someone in the neighborhood lights off at all hours of the night!) but we'll enjoy our holiday just the same.  It's probably for the best considering I'm the girl who managed to burn her finger on a fairly innocuous sparkler one year!  lol

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a spectacular day no matter what country's colors you hold dear!

I'd also like to enter this card into the following challenges:
- Celebrate the Occasion: #69-4th of July 
- Die Cuttin' Divas: #72-Red, White, and Blue plus add a patriotic symbol (star)
- Party Time Tuesdays: #75-Be Patriotic and Show Your Country's Colors (USA=Red, White, and Blue)
- Incy Wincy Designs: Patriotism- Use only colors or items from your country (USA=Red, White, and Blue)
- Love To Create: #22-Stars and Stripes 
- Made Especially For You: Independence Day + bling
- My Craft Spot: #62-4th of July & Canada Day 
-  Paper Playtime: #78-Die Cuts with Red, White, and Blue as main colors
- Tammy's Scrappin Corner: #17-Celebrations/4th of July
- Creative Inspirations Paint: Inspired by Independence Day 
- Gingerloft Challenge: #43-Red, White, and Blue 
- 2 Sisters: #98-Red, White, and Blue with optional glitter/bling 
- Just Us Girls: #143-Wild Card-Use Stars and Sparkle 
- Bloggers: Celebrate the 4th
- Card Makin Mamas: #48-Color Challenge-Red, White, and Blue 
- Our Craft Lounge: #123-Let Freedom Ring 

- Pattie's Creations: #47-Color Theme-Red, White, and Blue
- Simply Create Too: #16-Country Where You Live
- Stampin with the Dragon: Red, White, and Blue
- Sweet 'n Sassy: #60-Stars and Stripes

{hugs}
Regan