Today ....

Well, today is my official "blogoversary" - I've been at this since December 29, 2007! Wholly moly! I'm putting together a little candy and hopefully I'll post a pix tomorrow.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support and encouragement. When I began this journey I had no idea of what it was going to bring to my life, how very much it would come to mean to me on a very personal level. I thought I'd share a few cards and that would be it. Little did I know how many wonderful things would happen, how many wonderful people I would "meet" and how very much I would come to care for all of you. Thank you for everything - you cannot imagine the joy this adventure has brought me and all because of you!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

A Very Merry ....

I hope everyone is having a spectacular holiday! I am once again feeling pretty much human and am looking forward to getting caught up with all of you very soon!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Status - I'm not dead, just feel that way!

Hey all! Thanks for hanging in there with me. After several days of not keeping anything (even water) down, a trip to the ER was ordered by DH. Several bags of fluid in, several vials of stuff out, a bag of antibiotic and some prescriptions and I am home and have gone 24 hours without barfing - YAY! I am hoping to be well enough for the Christmas Day festivities, but DH is probably going to be on his own for the dinner party (prime rib - normally a big YUM) on Christmas Eve. He's the master chef in the family anyway, but sitting up was still hard today and eating much more than a spoonful has been out of the question. We'll see about tomorrow though - I'm hopeful!

I'd like to wish everyone a very merry holiday season and thank you so much for all of your visits and comments - they are so appreciated. I'll be back before the first of the year with what I hope will be a word for me to focus on next year and there will be even more about that after New Year's. I still hope to put up some bloggy candy to celebrate the blogoversary and for all the wonderful hits and followers that have joined my merry journey this year.

Thanks everyone - for everything!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

It's Sunday again ....

You know what that means - another Sentimental Sunday project! This week we are asking you to make a card inspired by a song and Ann has some wonderful musical sentiments up for grabs this week. Here's my card:


Card base is that lovely toothy white and I've printed my sentiment (available by clicking on the picture below) right on the card front. I added a cute snowman from Designed 2 Delight and some fun blingy snowflakes that I found while cleaning up in the studio.

This card is also for the Delightful Inspirations challenge this week.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

And one last one (maybe) ...

I may have a trickle or two coming along - mostly challenge cards - but here's the last of my mailing cards:



I picked up this embossing folder (a set of 4 - this large one and 3 smaller ones) at Archiver's with my coupon. I really like it and can see using it all times of the year. Card base is Pinefeather (PTI) and the image is from Pink Petticoat. Added a little bling and it was done!

I also want to wish a very special someone a very Happy 35th Birthday! I can't imagine how you can possibly be 35 though when your mother is only 29 and your grandmother is only 39! I love you son!


Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

And some more ....

Are you totally bored yet? Here's a couple more Christmas cards:




The first card uses the Ornaments set from Our Daily Bread that I got bundled with the nesties that coordinate - I just love these stamp/die combos! I embossed the stamp on some gold paper, die cut it and popped it up on some Always Artichoke (SU) paper that I had stamped with a Tim Holtz stamp in Versamark and embossed with clear ep. Easy, peasy!

The second card uses a totally cute little cardinal from pcCrafters that I mounted on Riding Hood Red (SU) scalloped squares (nesties) and arranged on some wonderful Christmas dp from SU. Added a poinsettia nestie and a sentiment (SU) and ended up with a card that I really like.

The third card is also a digital image from pcCrafters that I printed out on some Naturals White (SU) and distressed the edges. It's mounted on a piece of Always Artichoke and the card base is some of that toothy white that I'm so in love with these days. I took my AA pad and wiped it across the cardstock to add some color and added some AA ribbon to finish it off.

I'm still working on the tea light box tutorial and hopefully it will be up tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

A couple more ...

Here's a couple more Christmas cards:



Both cards feature graphics from Pink Petticoat that I colored on the computer. The bottom one has some metal edged ribbon that I picked up in the holiday section at Walmart - was $1 and it was 50% off! Shimmery and shiny and easy to form into whatever shape you want. Cool! Now to just get myself organized and get all these cards to the post office!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Some Christmas Cards

I have been slowly but surely making cards over the last few weeks. I finally got some photos taken and edited and I'll be showing them to you over the course of the days leading up to Christmas. Here's a couple:



Card deets:

Card #1 - Is a bit of a hybrid. I stamped the nutcracker (from Mark's Finest Papers) on to cardstock and scanned it. I pulled it up in my graphics program and cleaned it up, colored it and printed some out. I made a couple of these babies and I like them! My image ended up being the same size as the stamped image, but I can see possibilities in enlarging this cutie as well.

Card #2 - Here's one of my favorite Pure Innocence images. This is also a hybrid in that it is colored on the computer as well as with watercolor crayons. I added some stickles to make the snowflakes jump out and the sentiment is from my new freebie set that I showed here yesterday. You can find it on the My Digital Freebies page (click the link or click the tab below the blog header). I printed the image on my "toothy paper" and also mounted it on some textured paper as well as used textured paper for the card base. I'm loving a bit of texture at this time of year - I think it makes for a more elegant and special card.

I'm also working on the tutorial for my little votive candle box and hopefully that will surface next week sometime. I am also cognizant of the fact that I'm approaching my blogoversary and also to hitting 50k in hits, so watch for some blog candy soon too to help celebrate!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

2011 Calendar

I have started the tradition of making calendars for friends and family as gifts for Christmas. Here's this year's calendar:




The files were created using materials culled from Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio and scrapbook kits from too many sources to remember them all, but include Sweet Shoppe Designs, Two Little Pixels, and Shabby Miss Jenn (that I can remember but there may be more). The month's are printed - double sided with the "Remember" page on the back and inserted into calendar cd cases that I get from Papertrey Ink. I'll have to snap a picture of one in it's case and add it to this post later tonight.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Clean and Simple Christmas

Our challenge at Kaboodle Doodles this week is to make a clean and simple Christmas card and the design team has really knocked this one out of the park. Be sure to stop by and see all the wonderful creations by my teammates! Here's mine:


Card base is Always Artichoke which I stamped with a Tim Holtz pine cone stamp in Versamark and embossed with clear ep. The image is from our generous sponsor this week Robyn's Fetish Digital Images and More and I colored it with watercolor crayons. The sentiment is a freebie (I think) and for the life of me I cannot find where I got it. If anyone recognizes it, PLEASE help out this old lady and tell me so I can give it's creator due praise and recognition! I added a couple of scalloped squares at the corners for a little splash of color.


Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sentimental Sunday - Let it Snow!

I don't know why I am always surprised when Sunday rolls around again, for goodness sake - it happens every week! I guess it's just that time seems to go so quickly these days. Holiday season, getting older - never quite enough time to do everything I want to do. But I did have time to make a card for this week's challenge on the Sentimental Sunday Challenge Blog. This week the design team had the challenge to make a card with a "Let it Snow!" theme. Here's my card:


I have always loved this digital image from Pure Innocence and have so much fun playing with it. This card features a true hybridization of the image. It is colored with my computer, with watercolors and with watercolor pencils. Lots of play time on this one! Card base is some of that "toothy" cardstock that I picked up at Xpedx and the image and sentiment is also printed on it. I stamped the snowflakes from the Holiday Punch set and used my nesties for the scalloped cuts. My bff Sabrina gave me some of these gorgeous little blue gems that were perfect for the snowflakes and the buttons are some gold half pearls. The sentiment is one of mine from my upcoming Winter Sentiments set that you will be able to get here on the blog this week.

Today is our downline Christmas gathering and I have a couple of projects that I made for the gals that I will post later tonight (don't want to spoil the surprise).

Tomorrow will also bring a new challenge on the Kaboodle Doodles challenge blog - Plain and Simple Christmas - so be sure to stop back tomorrow for that too!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Best laid plans ....

Well, here it is Thursday and I haven't posted a darn thing since Sunday. I do have stuff to show you - really, really I do! I will post my tag for the current Kaboodle Doodles challenge (it's only a week or so late). Our sponsor is the wonderful Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps and More and the challenge is "Tag - You're It!" as it is a perfect time of year for making tags:


I also have a couple of gratuitous grandma shots that I have to share taken by my DDL of my youngest grandson - he's 2 now and really, really developing into quite a character! He's always been very photogenic (as you have seen if you've been around my blog for awhile) and these shots are just too cute:




Thanks for indulging me!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

What ... it's Sunday again?

Where did the week go? I can't believe I haven't posted in a week. So busy and I do have things to share so I'll get myself in gear here and get some things posted this week. Today being Sunday though, it's time for another Sentimental Sunday challenge. This week we are taking a break from the Christmas craziness and making anniversary cards. Ann has a wonderful sentiment set up for grabs as this week's freebie, so be sure to stop by as it will only be there for one week. Here's my card:


Card base is Baja Breeze with some matching dp. I used one of my favorite frame nesties and layered a ms doily with my sentiment. Very simple and I think kind of elegant.

I promise to get some new goodies up for your perusal this week. I did a Cards for Soldiers benefit on Friday afternoon and I'll show you some of the creations I put together for that. I don't have a final count yet, but I think we made somewhere in the neighborhood of 175+ cards that will be sent to our troops. The makers all added personal messages to these as well! I am also doing another Cards for Soldiers event at my office on Thursday afternoon where we will be making cards specifically for Native American soldiers serving in our armed forces.

We also made some very cute votive candles in their own little box with their own little cards and I'm going to try to get some pix of that and maybe put together a tutorial on how those go together.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Member:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Cooking up a card on Sentimental Sundays

This week's challenge on the Sentimental Sundays Challenge blog is a recipe challenge - 3 designer papers, 3 buttons and some ribbon - sound like fun? Stop over and check out all the wonderful inspiration by the design team and play along. You could win four INDIVIDUAL sentiment sets from the Raindrop Echo Designs Whimsy Stamps Digital Collection AND a custom watermark/signature set from the Custom Designs at Whimsy Stamps. Ann has some truly gorgeous sentiments sets that will be in the shop at Whimsy Stamps beginning on December 1 and I couldn't resist using one for my challenge card this week:



I used some Pinefeather (PTI) for my card base and the digi paper is all from Jessica Sprague's fine website. I used my nesties (surprise, surprise) and some buttons from SU threaded with some of that nifty 1/8" taffeta ribbon from SU - love that stuff!

Please do stop by the blog and check out the creations from the design team. Ann has brought together an exceptional group of artists and their creations are truly wonderful.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

A few Christmas Cards

I played a bit this weekend making some cards. I colored some cute images from Pink Petticoat and used some digital dp that I recolored to make these fun cards. I'm starting to get the hang of the airbrush - at least on small projects! You'll see more of these cuties later this week.





I am feverishly trying to get all my ducks in a row for Thanksgiving (about 18-20 people at my house on Thursday - it's gonna be so fun) and for my workshop on Saturday. This is post #900 on the old blog - can't quite believe it. Maybe some candy coming up next week - have to see how much time and energy I have left after the weekend! LOL.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

It's Sentimental Sunday Time and We are so Thankful!

This week's challenge on Sentimental Sundays is to give thanks! Thanksgiving is this Thursday in the US, but we feel like it is just that time of year to say "Thank You" for all that is good in our lives. Here's my card:


This week, the freebie sentiment set is one of my designs. Be sure to stop by the blog and pick it up and I'd love to see you use it and enter your creation in our challenge. I have also been granted the honor of being one of the new Design Team Coordinators on this fun blog and I really am looking forward to working with all of these talented ladies! Stop by and check out all their wonderfully thankful creations!

Card base on this card is More Mustard. I stamped some images from French Foilage in Versamark and embossed with clear. The image is one from pcCrafters that I added a sentiment to and cut with a nestie and layered on another large scallop circle nestie and blinged up a bit with some gold 1/2 pearls. I added a bit of More Mustard ribbon to finish this off.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Coordinator:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #38

I absolutely love the images at Sassy Cheryl's. You really, really need to go and check them out. You see her work everywhere too - check out her current challenge post for more details about that. Her images are just plain FUN! Here's my card for the challenge on the Sassy Cheryl's Digi Stamps Challenge blog:


Card base is Marina Mist and I embossed snowflakes from Serene Snowflakes in white and added a sentiment. The image was printed using my good old faithful inkjet printer and then cut with a nestie. I love the lacey nesties - both square and circle and I can't wait till they come out in oval and rectangle!

I'm closing in on my blogoversary and also on my 900th post and my 50k hits! Time to start thinking about a bit of bloggy candy don't you think? Wow - I can't believe I've been at this since December, 2007! Too much fun!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Member:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Catch the Bug sketch challenge

The gals over on the Catch the Bug challenge blog are having a sketch challenge celebrating World Kindness day.

Here's the sketch:

and here's my card:

Card base is Pretty in Pink and I used a cute kitty image from Bugaboo to send to a friend to let them know that I was thinking of them. Basic Black and Basic Grey rectangles back up the image which was cut using a nestie. The sentiment was generated by me using my pc and punched using the small oval punch from SU. I added a couple of black blingy thingies to jazz it up a bit! This was my first attempt at coloring my image using the airbrush in my graphics program. I still need a lot, lot, lot of practice with that thing, but it was fun.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Member:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

It's Kaboodle Doodle Challenge Time

It's time for another challenge on the Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog. This time around it's a 1-2-3 recipe challenge -- one solid, two patterned and three embellishments. Our sponsor for this challenge is Pholkart Blessings - Patti is surely one of the most talented digi designers around right now and she is a real sweetheart to boot! She gave the dt some images to work with and here's my card using a totally adorable snowman!


I used stash papers on this and am really not sure what they are. The dp is from SU and I think the card base is from PTI. I embossed the 1st layer of dp with a new Tim Holtz embossing folder and I trimmed the image with some deckle scissors. The ribbon is also from SU and is some of the new colors - Marina Mist and Peach Parfait in the wonderful new really narrow style - I love it! Sentiment is from SU - Teeny Tiny Wishes and is punched with the word window punch and layered on a scalloped oval punch (both from SU). I added some gold bling and called it done!

Please be sure to stop by and see all the wonderful creations from the Kaboodle Doodles girls - and while you're there why don't you play along! We'd love to see your creation.

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Member:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sentimental Sundays - Childhood

Well it's time for another challenge on the Sentimental Sundays challenge blog. This week we are reflecting on "childhood" and I decided to pull out some of my Graphics Fairy toy digis:


Card base is More Mustard and I stamped and clear embossed images from the old retired SU set called Toy Box. The sailboat image (isn't it gorgeous) is from The Graphics Fairy and if you like vintage images, this is the site for you! I trimmed it using deckle scissors and mounted it on some Pinefeather (PTI). The sentiment is one of Ann's from a set called Emma Swinging that she created for Whimsy Stamps. I cut it using an oval nestie and mounted it on a scalloped oval nestie. So sit back, relax and hearken back to your childhood and get inspired to play in our challenge. We look forward to seeing your creations!

Thanks for visiting!

~chris

Design Team Member:
Sentimental Sundays
Kaboodle Doodles

If you have any questions about techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.