Friday, November 21, 2014

Giving Thanks with the Dueling Darlings!

Hi all!

I'm a few days late posting my November card for the Dueling Darling challenge.
I had so much fun with this kit.
Our hostesses were Kadie (for the Divas) and April (for the Dazzlers). The kit was full of goodies! I have enough for at least 2 more cards. The theme was give thanks, make a thank you card. Also, there was no image to really color....they wanted us to focus on the sentiment. That is right up my alley. I love clean and simple crafting and not having to color an image is well............simple :)

Here's what I made:


Isn't that paper gorgeous?!!!
I cut my sentiment out with a Spellbinders die. I think it fit around it perfectly.

My card is 6"x6" square.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Monday, October 27, 2014

Happy Fall Harvest from the Darlings!

Hi everyone!

I'm so neglectful to my blog. Poor little bloggy woggy. :(
I'm crafting quite a bit...just can't find the time to blog about it. Ugh....

Oh well, I'm super late with the Dueling Darlings October challenge.
Terry was the Dazzlers hostess. She and LJ decided on a Halloween theme. Now, my family doesn't celebrate Halloween in regard to ghosts, spooks and gore. Our children do dress up (in Disney or Marvel costumes normally or they may be a cat or dog or football player, etc.) and we do take them out to local churches for their fall festivals and truck or treats. So, we do celebrate the holiday, we just do it more in celebration of the fall season. :)

With that being said, this kit was not hard for me to work with at all! I just trimmed off the Halloween sentiment at the bottom of the image and went with it. 

Here's what I created:

I love using my distress inks to give an aged look to crafty projects. I did that with this image (Haunted Forest from SU!). I created the moon with my white Gelly marker. I only colored the pumpkin (colored with Spectrum Noir markers). The papers Terry sent in the kit were wonderful! I picked two of them. The boots and candy corn are too cute. I added some candy dots and a brad from the kit. Then, I doodled around with my Gelly markers.

Thank you Terry and LJ for hostessing this round!
You wanted to know what my favorite candy is......oh my....to pick just one.....I CAN'T!
sweet n' salty - PayDay candy bar
mint n' chocolate - York Peppermint Patty
cream n' caramel - Cow Tails
chocolate n' caramel - Rolos

I guess I can safely say that caramel is my favorite go to sweet treat. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time....
Blessings....


Sunday, September 28, 2014

Ahoy! The Mystery is Solved!

I'm sharing my card I created for the latest Mystery Image swap.

Kelly was our hostess....sent us a very cute Bella image.......

Here's what I created:

I colored my image with Spectrum markers, then cut it out with a Spellbinders die and popped it up.
I left the embellishments simple with the more mustard card stock background helping the image pop!
 
I can't wait to see what the next image will be! :)
 
Thanks for stopping by today.
 
Until next time...
Blessings...
 
 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

My Recipe Took Longer Than I Thought!

Well, I'm so late I'm embarrassed.

I'm just now posting my Dueling Darling creation. What?!!! Yep, I'm 2 weeks late posting!

So sorry!

Debbie sent such a cute kit! I'm sorry it took me so long to make my recipe card. I loved everything you sent!

Here's my recipe for Creamy Crockpot Corn.......

 I colored the image Debbie sent with my Spectrum markers.
I also colored the chipboard spoon that was in the kit with the same markers.



Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I hope to be more active now that my life settling down and everyone is getting used to their new school and work schedules.

Until next time...
Blessings...


Saturday, August 16, 2014

Friends are the Family We Pick! ~ with the Dueling Darlings

Hello!
Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

The dueling darlings are at it again. This round, Carol (for the Divas) and I (for the Dazzlers) are hosting. We love our friends we have been crafting with for 4 years now. So, our theme is "Friends are the Family We Pick Ourselves". There is not another group of ladies I would pick to be my crafty family!

Here's the card I made with the kit I put together and sent all the Dazzlers:

The image is from Whimsy stamps called "I Will Carry You".
I thought this image fit perfectly with our theme. These two cute critters picked one another as family to help them along. That's the Dueling Darlings!!!!

Thanks girls for being a great support in my life.
BIG HUGS!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Darlings are Birds of a Feather...............

...........we flock together!!!

The Dueling Darlings group (crafting sistahs over on Split coast Stampers) have been dueling for 4 years now! I can't believe it has been that long. It seems like yesterday I joined this fun-loving, sometimes nutty group of women. I love this group!

This round our fearless leaders were our hostesses. Jeanette for the Dazzlers and Kelly for the Divas.
The kit that Jeanette sent is soooooooooooooooo cute!
She and Kelly wanted us to use 4 of something on our card. So, 4 flowers, 4 gems, 4 brads, etc.

Here's what I did:

Is that Penny Black image (called Chicky Work Out) not the cutest thing?!!
I love it!
I colored my image with Spectrum/Noir markers.
I used the 4 yellow gems Jeanette sent in the kit as my 4 items. I love the sentiment she sent also (from Great Impressions). It reminds me of the show "The Wonder Years". Even though I wasn't allowed to watch the show (ha ha), I do remember listening to the theme song any chance I got.

I can't wait to see what all the other Darlings did with their kits and what the Divas' kits included.

You can find their blogs listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...


Monday, June 23, 2014

My Mysterious Card is Now Uploaded!

Hi all!

I didn't get a chance to load my Mystery cards from last month's swap. Darlene was our hostess. She sent us a very challenging image. I was stumped for a while on this one. But, in the end, decided to go with a school theme all together to make the sentiment cohesive.

I cut out the sentiment Darlene sent us with one of my Spellbinders die.
I love how it turned out, even though I was so unsure of what to do in the beginning. :)

Thank you Darlene!
I got some great cards back with this swap. I can't wait to get started on the next round!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Sunday, June 15, 2014

The Darlings are Gardening!

Hello all!

Long time not blog post. I'm bad........


Here is my June "Duel" card made with the Dazzler team's Leader for the month, Darlene. :)

We are gardening this time around. Darlene sent such a cute image!

Here's what I made:


Isn't that a cute image? It's from Stamps Happen. I love it.
I added the sentiment from a SU! stamp set.


We were supposed to share a gardening tip along with our card.
Well, my tip is if you plant a squash plant in a 5 gallon bucket, be sure to poke a few holes in the bottom of the bucket to let the water drain. With all the rain we've been having, my plant is floating in the bucket! hahahahahahaha! It's very water logged! LOL

Have a great day

Until next time....
Blessings.....


Thursday, May 15, 2014

I'm Double Dueling

Hello All
Long time no see. I have 2 cards to show you today. The first is from our current "Duel" with the Dueling Darling Group. Sweet P is our hostess.

I'm loving the kit she sent us. I love music, our daughter plays the piano, it is just a great kit!

Here's what I made with it:


I made my card kind of abstract. I loved the quote stamped image she sent and also loved the single music note and found a way to use them together.
Thank you Sweet P for a great kit! I still have enough images and papers to make another card :)

Now, on to the card that has been sitting on my desk, all laid out for weeks, just needing to be put together. I haven't been in a crafty "place" for the last couple months. I'm still not there 100%. Last time the Dueling Darlings posted, I didn't. I couldn't. I just didn't have it in me. I'm sorry ladies that I let you down.
I'm very late but here is my card I made using the FABULOUS kit that April sent us.

I loved all the pink papers and card stocks April sent. So, I decided to go wild with pink. :)
{She is drinking fruit punch by the way! with a cherry in it. No "hard stuff" allowed in this house. LOL}
I decided to make her a little more mature than I usually color my girl images. 
Thanks April for sending such a fun kit! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this posted.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!
I hope to post more often, as our situation at home is looking up.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, we are still in need of them.

Until next time...
Blessings...


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

My Apologies

I would like to post.............

to let you know.........

I'm sorry for not updating my blog lately.

I really don't want to go into great detail but just know that there is a HUGE life happening going on in our home right now.....for the past 7 weeks. Something that we never dreamed would happen. Something that has shook us to the core. Something that we wake up thinking about and go to bed thinking about.

It is hard.....thinking of how you are going to bring home groceries, pay your house payment....car payment with no job........a job that you lost out of no fault of your own. We are at a loss.

We do however, put our hope and faith in our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. He knew this was going to happen. It was no surprise to Him. He has brought us this far and will continue to carry us the rest of the way.

Please keep us in your prayers.


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Mystery is....Where is Spring?!

Hi all!

I'm back with my card for the current round of Mystery Swappers....a group of happy card makers on Split Coast Stampers website.
The real Mystery around here though is..........GOSH! Where is the Spring weather?! The high today was like 35* and it spit snow! It's almost April and it feels like it is still January. Oh me!

For this Mysterious round of card making, Ms. Mae was our hostess. She sent us an adorable SU! image.

This is what I made:

I made a super simple card (gasp! I know you can't believe that) with her cute image. I wanted it to be the spotlight.

Here's the inside:
I can't wait to see what everyone else did with this image.
Thanks Mae for a great round of Mystery Swappers!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Saturday, March 15, 2014

The Dueling Darlings are Celebrating......

UMBRELLAS!

March is National Umbrella month.....who knew?! LOL

The Dueling Darlings are a group of ladies I create with on Split Coast Stampers. We have a different hostess each round for the Dazzler team and the Diva team.
This round, Terry is the Dazzler's leader.
She and LJ (Diva's leader for this round) decided to send out kits that included umbrellas. That is such a cute idea! I had fun with this kit, even though I had to color the image 3 times and I'm not happy with the end result. uggggggg! My Spectrum markers didn't like the paper or something, they kept bleeding over the lines of the image. So, I had to color the image with my watercolor pencils. Well, I haven't done that in ages so I royally messed it up. Oh well.

Here's what I made:

I cut the image out after I finished coloring and matted it with some of the paper Terry sent. The flower paper I cut at an angle and then backed that with the pale blue paper.

The image is popped up with pop dots. All of the embellishments I used came in the kit along with the sentiment.

Thanks Terry for a wonderful kit! So sorry I am late in the day getting it posted.

Be sure to check out all the other Darlings creations. You can find their blogs listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

 

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Do You Know How to Frolic?

I do! :)

Now that I joined the "Frolicking in the Forest" Swap on Splitcoast!
Thank you Forest Ranger, Jeanette, for letting me "Let My Hair Down" :) *giggle* I love frolicking!

So how do I frolic you may ask?
I pick flowers and talk to the birds in the Forest of course!

My stamp is from CC Designs....called Peggy. I colored her with Spectrum Noir markers. Then I used my SU spellbinders framelits for the shape around the image.
I used a "wire" embossing folder behind and turned it the opposite way for a different look.

I love how these turned out! Can't wait to get back some FAB cards from this swap! :)

I'm also entering my card at Cute Card Thursday - Springtime!

thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Monday, February 24, 2014

I {HEART} Bookmarks


Hi all!

I wanted to share a bookmark I made today.
We have a monthly challenge over at the Scrapbooking with M.E. Boutique's Members group on FB. This month's challenge is Hearts. Your creation must be heart shaped.

I decided to try my hand at a corner bookmark.

 I cut my heart base. Then, I layered on 1" circle punched from scrap paper.
 I then sprayed the entire thing with shimmer Mr. Huey's added some red and white....let dry
 Then drew some faux stitches around each circle and added.....
a button with a metal embellishment in the middle.

I had fun making this....I love the layered circle look!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today :)

Until next time...
Blessings...


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The Dueling Darlings' Love Fest!

Hi all!
I've been in such a crafty slump lately. Can't you tell? It's been forever since I posted to my blog.
So sorry.

I also apologize to my Dueling Darling Sisters.....I'm late getting my card posted for our February challenge.
We are honoring our fearless leaders this month. Thank you Kelly and Jeanette for all you do to keep us straight! We love you!

Here it is, Debbie, sent us a lovely kit. She is a great Dazzler hostess! ;)

kit supplies:
Ribbons from Stampin' Up!
Doily - Wilton cake decorating
Flowers - Joann's
Lg white brad/brown brad - Stampin' Up!
Heart brads - ???? My stash
Plaid DP - Hot Off the Press - Christmas Plaid
Heart DP - Hot Off the Press - Lots of Love
"Love" DP - me & My Big Ideas

I made my card 5.5" square.
I colored the leaves on the image with Spectrum markers.
I added a small red flower to the others that Debbie sent and some black card stock behind the image.

I really, really love this kit she sent. Absolutely pun intended! :)

Now, I'm off to see all the yumminess on my DDD sisters' blogs!

Until next time...
Blessings...


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

January Kit Creation for the Scrapbooking with M.E. Boutique

Hi everyone!

I'm sharing a Mini Album I made with the January kit from the Scrapbooking with M.E. Boutique on FB.
The paper collection is called "Key to My Heart" from Kaisercraft.

My album is 5"x7" (the covers are 5.5"x7.5")




The following are pics of the inside and all the pages. There are 6 double pocket/double sided pages.






 Each page has a 4x6 photo mat in the pocket.
Then there is a pocket at the top of each page that holds
gate fold booklets in each
Here are pics of one of those....



Back cover.
The closure is ribbon with a magnet under the flower piece on the front cover.

I did a little something different to "spice" up the binding...

I am also entering my mini album at:
The Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog ~ Use ribbon and/or lace

Well, that's it. Let me know what you think.
Also, I am uploading a YT video right now (as I type this post). Be sure to check it out here:

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina