Miss Victorian Kitten

Miss Victorian Kitten is from the amazing collection created by Marla Shega and is available at Squigglefly.  Miss Shega's attention to detail allows the image to be rendered without the necessity of adding color. On the other hand, I couldn't resist adding color. 


Today starts a new challenge at Squigglefly. Chelsea's group is leading the charge. To play along with us, use your "scraps" combined with any image, although to be eligible for the prize, you must use a Squigglefly image. Don't have a Squigglefly image, shop here (the St. Patty's Day images are on sale) or check out the freebies that are available.

...ZZZ

Why is it that when my eyes close, my mouth flies open and strange sounds are produced? I personally believe it is a conspiracy to sell neck slings and various other products to stop snoring. Surely if I snored, I would hear the racket.

By the way, there are several ways you can tell this is not me. There are no golden retrievers sleeping by my side, my teeth cannot be put in a glass, and I do not own a red bra.

Watercolors

I wish I could paint with watercolors. I've watched many videos and try and try but somehow, my creations are lacking. I will, however, keep trying.

Rocky the dog

Rocky the dog is a lovable image from Stamping Dragon Designs. Rocky was printed twice on different paper and paper pieced. What makes me especially happy about Rocky is the "designer" paper on which he is mounted. Noticed the similarity? After watching a video on creating a pattern in Photoshop Elements by Squigglefly's champion, Holly Young (thank you Holly), of Hog Wild About Stamping, I decided that since Rocky is such a good boy, he never barks, he's house-trained, and very obedient, he deserved his own personalized designer paper. The Photoshop Elements' gods were with me that day and after several attempts voilà (now I can say he came with papers)!

Don't forget you have until March 3 at 7:00 p.m., EST, to enter the birthday challenge at Stamping Dragon Designs.

Mom's shoes

I love this little gal from Sassy Cheryl's, not because of the silly grown-up look she is endeavoring to imitate, but because she is attempting to fill some really big shoes. When I was a little girl, I loved to play dress-up and stomp around with my toes curled in an effort to keep mother's high heels on my tootsies. Now I realize even though my mother had tiny feet, I could never come close to filling those shoes.

Sean, CEO

Meet Sean, CEO, created by Bonibleaux Designs, featured by Dude Time Doodles, and being released today. Sean's dashing good looks include his blue eyes, dazzling white teeth and blond hair. As CEO of ABC Conglomerate, Sean is rolling in dough. But Sean has a secret he does not want you to know and that is, he did not get to the top of the corporate ladder by attending a well-known business school, getting a degree and working his way to the top. Nope, instead, Sean graduated from Snake Charming Academy, top of his class no less. So, let the buyer beware ladies, Sean cannot only charm your pants off, but he can raid your savings before you can blink.

Also joining the family of Bonibleaux Designs and Dude Time Doodles is Skip Sk8r, Delmar, Ollie Octapae, and Schyler Skies. To celebrate the new images, a blog hop is being held by the Dudettes. The blog hop is a loop so you can hop on at any blog and keep on hopping until you end where you started.  And don't forget, one of us is the "Mystery Hostess" so be sure to leave a comment on each of our blogs for a chance to win. If you started at the beginning, you only have one more stop. I have included the list in case you have gotten lost along the way.

Anne

Theresa

Fink

Ginny

Cleota

Ruth

Hetty

Boni

Lynn

Chrissy

Tammy (that's me)

Dude Time Doodles

Mum's the word

Today I am going to keep quiet and let Stella from Bugaboo Stamps do the talking. Stella says it best and she always makes me laugh.

I've got dots

My poor goldfish, George, has a terrible fin condition, sunshine makes him break out in hives. To protect himself he swims around his bowl carrying his umbrella. Of course, the other goldfish think he looks ridiculous. In an effort to help George's self esteem, I colored  Vain Attempt by Brain Lock of Squigglefly, and now he is proudly displayed on my little fish's nightstand. The idea worked because all the other fish in the bowl want their own umbrella and a picture for their nightstands.


This week's Squigglefly Challenge, is being led by Vicki's group and the emphasis is to use/add something that starts with the letter "d" not including a digi image. I used lots of dots.  Decorative paper, dew drops, doily,  and deco paint are a few "d''s for you to consider using. You can use any image to play along, but to be eligible for the prize you must use a Squigglefly image. Head on over to the shop, or check out their freebies! If you're the winner you get to choose any Squigglefly image (including sets) as your prize! 

Another February Birthday

The combination of beautiful paper, glitter, embossing and ribbon make for a very pretty birthday shaker card.

Safe Travel

I have a young friend who is about to embark on five months of study in Germany as a junior in college. I wish him well, that he has a wonderful experience,  and safe travel. I also hope he is able to recognize that my card is a suitcase. When he returns to the states, he will be a full-fledged senior and then graduation. After that, his plan is medical school and years of training to become a doctor. But I know he can do it, after all, I've taught him everything I know!

Paper Cupcakes

Today starts a new challenge at Stamping Dragons and we are being sponsored by Paper Cupcake Stamps.  The theme is super easy and something we should never be without. Can you guess? The theme is "Birthday Celebration" (told you it was easy). Paper Cupcakes is providing the winner with three images of their choice from nearly 300 original stamps (difficult decision) and a second prize will be a Guest Spot on our design team for the next challenge.

The challenge opens today at 7:00 p.m. and will close on March 3, at 7:00 p.m. EST.  You have plenty of time to look at the creations of the Stamping Dragons design team members' blogs AND make a super birthday card for someone special. While you are "looking" stop over and see all the new digital images at Stamping Dragons.

Stella and Gus

What I love about "Stella and Gus" from Bugaboo Stamps, aside from the fact they always make me laugh, is the fact that they put it out there and tell it like it is. So here we are, sharing "Stella and Gus's" wedding day. Neither one of them have wide-eyed expectations of living in the world of "Ozzie and Harriet" or "The Brady Bunch". No, I think they probably share a mutual attraction or hobby and after that, any extras are special. Of course, Stella, being the prudent, liberated woman, has demanded Gus sign a  prenuptial agreement, assuring her assets are intact, while Gus, on the other hand, forfeits all of his rights and entitlement, not to mention his entire wealth, to his very opinionated main squeeze. Gus is a lucky guy, my hope is that Stella will fix him a cup of coffee in the morning, after that, he can fix his own.

Eskimo Joe

Meet Eskimo Joe, a resident of Bonibleaux Designs. Joe is faced with a real dilemma, where to put the snow? In my area, you may not put the snow in the street, so where can Joe put the snow? My suggestion for Joe would be to take a blow torch to the snow and melt it. Another solution would be to dig a very large hole in the ground in the fall and once the snow started falling, simply shovel it into the hole and make a lovely pond, maybe even throw in a couple of fish. My third solution would be to borrow money that would be due in the spring, this is fastest way of getting winter over in a hurry. After all, nothing arrives as fast as a bill.

I used Eskimo Joe for this month's inspiration challenge that starts today at Dude Time Doodles. Be inspired by the image below and follow the simple, easy rules. For more encouragement, please visit the other design team members' via the links on my sidebar.

THE RULES

1. Use the creations above to get your mojo moving.  

2. You are not required to use BDD images although it would make us really really happy and giggle a lot if you did!

3. MUST be a masculine themed card, you can use humor, innuendo, be a little naughty, sarcastic, but it has got to be for a DUDE!

4. Be sure to use the InLinkz at Dude Time Doodles Challenge Blog to submit your creation.

You have one week to link up your projects.  

We will post the TOP THREE WINNERS and the TOP BLOG WINNER 

 on February 22, 2011, at Dude Time Doodles Challenge Blog.

Bovine Beauty

You are probably thinking oh my, another cow but wait, that's simply not true. This is not one of those cows. This is Bovine Beauty, from Karen's Doodles, a highly prized heifer. Bovie, as she is known to her friends, has returned from getting her hair coiffed and a hoovicure. She is finished dressing and now she is doing some last minute primping. This evening Bovie is stepping out with her best beau, Howard, for dinner and a mooovie.

Spoiled Rotten

It's not called spoiled when you deserve it

Time for a new challenge that begins today at Squigglefly and its team Chelsea's turn to start the challenge to make a "non-traditional Valentine's Day" card. "Spoiled Rotten" by Chesney Young of Squigglefly could not be considered traditional inasmuch as the inside sentiment claims, "It's not called spoiled when you deserve it", so typical of a cat. 

Saturday Squigglefly not only had an awesome release of new images, but they also sent out their newsletter. In it they have a picture of this little kitty named Lucky who needs surgery to repair a fistula. Squigglefly wants to help by donating the profits from sales of any cat image in their store during the month of February to Lucky's surgery. So while you're there checking out the new images, be sure to look at all the cat images they have!

You can read more about Lucky here , and if you don't see any cat images in the store you like you can still help Lucky get her surgery just by making a donation. The vet taking care of her has set up a fund for her. It is set up through Sundown Surgery Fund at the University website so any donation is tax deductible. It is important to note in the Notes or Comments section that the donation is for the Lucky Fund.

If you would like to help with an online donation, here's the link to the page. 

If you would prefer to mail in a check, please make the check out to The UGA Foundation for Sundown Surgery and make sure to note For Lucky on the check. The mailing address is

Veterinary External Affairs Office- Sundown Surgery Fund

501 D.W. Brooks Drive

Athens, GA 30602 USA

Most importantly, Happy Valentine's Day!

One More Day

One more day until Valentine's Day and this sweet Sassy Cheryl's image is a perfect expression of love.

Super Quick

Today's card is super quick and easy. Hardest part was removing the pearl from the acetate to the card.

Penny Goes Shopping

I'm sure you will be surprised to know that dragons, in an effort to change their image, purchase their food.  Penny Goes Shopping, from Stamping Dragons, at the local mom and pop grocery store. Penny considers shopping a reason to get dressed-up, right down to matching earrings and bracelet. If you look into Penny's grocery bag, you will see an apple, cheese, bread, bananas, milk and cupcakes. Not a piece of meat to be found.

Don't forget Stamping Dragons Challenge "Anything Goes" is still open. You have until February 17 at 7:00 PM, EST, to enter. Please stop by the other design team members' blogs to see what they have created via the links on my sidebar.

I bear-ly love you

"I bear-ly love" you sounds like a stupid title but in reality, its the words of affection a female bear looking for romance might whisper into the ear of a prospective suitor. Bears normally are solitary mammals except during mating season. Females mate with as many different sweethearts as they desire producing offspring with different fathers at the same time. In an effort to further educate you, a female bear is a "sow" and a male bear is a "boar". A group of bears is referred to as a "sleuth" or "sloth".

Remember, if you pay attention, you will learn something everyday. Hopefully, you learned something new and now you can spend the rest of the day goofing off!

Shamus

Please, allow me to introduce you to Shamus, by Bonibleaux Designs available at Dude Time Doodles, for a limited time, as a freebie for anyone interested in becoming a Guest Designer for the month.

I know what you are thinking, another Irish leprechaun just in time for St. Patrick's Day. If that is what you are thinking, you are wrong. Shamus has all the earmarkings of a leprechaun, the famous fairy from Irish folklore that spends his nights and days at his cobbler's bench making shoes and stashing the coins he has earned in a hidden pot of gold somewhere under the rainbow, which is not to be confused with the song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". There is a big difference between under and over the rainbow when you are seeking the pot of gold. If by chance, you are confusing Shamus with  Seamus, the Irish name for "James", you are still wrong.  To make it easy for you, I will tell you, Shamus, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, is (little drumroll here) a private detective! Go ahead, look it up, Shamus and I will waiting for you.

Gothic - Part Two

M-Frame 20

H-Frame 4

I have more two cards using the Gothic letters and frames that were released Saturday at Squigglefly by Chesney Young.  There are twenty frames included in the bundle but because of the ornateness of Gothic, I thought the unadorned frames were more complementary.

But let's face it, I can't be serious too long so I decided to insert Talk to the Butt, also by Chesney Young, into Frame 3 and now I am a happy camper.

Gothic

Gothic THS - Frame 4

Gothic L - Frame 6

If I told you "five pens widths for ascenders and  two additional pens width for descenders" would you know that I was describing how to make the heavy, ornate lettering, known Gothic, created in the 4th century for the purpose of translating the Christian Bible? Thanks to the talents of Chesney Young of Squigglefly, you need not equip yourself with a slide rule to determine how many pen widths you should be using to form a Gothic letter. Squigglefly's new releases contained nine styles of the alphabet and a set of twenty frames.

This week Squigglefly's Challenge is to use circles and is being hosted by Vicki's team. Visit both teams so you can see the various alphabets and frames available.  I'll be back tomorrow with more Gothic. 

February Birthdays

Several people I know have a birthday this month and most important of all is my sweet granddaughter. Not only is she able to walk and talk, she drives a car, attends college, and is old enough to order a drink. *Sigh*, how do they get so old when I'm so young? Because of all the February birthdays, I thought I better get started making cards and to help me, I used one of Sassy Cheryl's images.

Floral Frame

For today's card I used Flora Frame Two from Stamping with the Dragon. The image allows plenty of area to insert a sentiment of your choice.

Teddy a/k/a Theodora

I love Teddy in a Bag from Stamping Dragon Designs, but I must confess, I couldn't resist, with the help of paper piecing and the magic of ribbon, turning "Teddy" into "Theodora" in a bag and used actual tissue paper. Teddy/Theodora is for the "Anything Goes" challenge at Stamping With the Dragon that starts today and ends February 17 at 7:00 p.m. EST.  By entering the Anything Goes Challenge you could be the winner of 4 images of your choice and the second prize a Guest Design Team Spot. Before you get started, be sure to visit the other design team members using the links on my sidebar. 

Getting Inspiration

I always make it a point to visit Joan Ervin at Stamping with a Passion for inspiration. Joan's cards are always beautiful, but one card in particular got my attention and my mojo flowing.  I started with white glossy card stock and voilà  (did I spell that right Marlene (love ya), she's my spelling coach and we did have a lesson on the correct spelling of "voilà"), my results. I am a huge digi fan and sometimes, I forget all the goodies I have managed to spend my children's inheritance on (sorry kids, you are out of luck).

Weightlifter Wayne

On the first Wednesday of each month, Dude Time Doodles Challenge hosts a sketch challenge and this month there is an easy sketch but oh my goodness the prizes! Patti's Creations is offering 3 images and Creative Inspirations is offering 10 jars of paint. Instead of one lucky person, there will be two.  The sketch is simple:
                                                                              


THE RULES

• You will have one week to flip the Sketch, twist the Sketch, work the Sketch and submit the Sketch.
• You are not required to use Bonibleaux Designs Digis although it would make us really really happy and giggle a lot if you did!
• MUST be a masculine themed card, you can use humor, innuendo, be a little naughty, sarcastic, but it has got to be for a DUDE!
• Be sure to use the InLinkz below to submit your creation

I get enough exercise pushing my luck!

To complete the sketch, I used Weightlifter Wayne from Bonibleaux Designs.

Wayne was glancing through the back pages of a girly magazine and noticed an ad enticing him to build his muscles so the bullies would not kick sand in his face while snoozing on the beach this summer. All he had to do was spend a ton of money on "special", "one of a kind" exercise equipment and he would become the hunk-a-hunk that he envisioned. Poor dude, has a long, long way to go and let's face it, he doesn't have the right attitude as you can tell from the Sassy Say'n by Marlooney, sentiment on the inside of the card. But, we must give him credit for trying. You go Wayne!

Now you have it. For more inspiration check out the blogs of my fellow Dude Time Doodles team mates located on my sidebar. And don't forget, the winners will be announced at Dude Time Doodles on February 9th.

P.S.  Hallelujah! Punxsutawney Phil, the only true weather forecasting groundhog, did NOT see his shadow which means we will have an early spring! Thank you Phil. 

Happy First Day of February

We have one month of 2011 under our belts and I'm still writing "2010",  it usually takes until March, sometimes April before I get it correct. February has three holidays in the United States, Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day and Presidents Day. The most important of the holidays is tomorrow, Groundhog Day. Huge preparations have been happening for this momentous event as to whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow or not. I am telling you now, if that groundhog sees his shadow, meaning we will have six more weeks of winter, I am personally leading the throng to shoot the critter.

Today's card is one of the stamps from Unity Stamp Company, Ippity "Straight from the Heart" set that I received from  Christy, my fellow stamping friend, after leaving a comment on her blog during the Operation Write Home's Veteran's Day Blog Hop and my name was randomly chosen. How sweet is that! If you have never been to Christy's blog, you are missing out on absolutely gorgeous cards.  And once again, thank you Christy!