Hello Everyone!! I;m BAAACK!

I have come back to Blogland.  I don't know if anyone missed me the last 2 1/2 years but my writing bug came back and I need to do it.  As always I feel inclined to talk about the weather.  This is the first Iris of spring.  I took the pic in Florida in early March. There are no Irises here in March!!

I have become obsessed with YouTube and watching crafters and haul videos.  I have mostly been doing paper crafts but hope to sew more soon!
Here is a Birthday card made with a Gorgeous girl.. 

I've been using Zig Kuratake Real Brush Markers and they are the best I have found.  They have brushes for tips and can blend with water and each other easily.  It's like watercoloring for the brush impaired. I'm loving it!
Here is a card I made using a curtain fold that I learned about from MayMayMadeIt.com.

 She is  a great and fun teacher. I am going to take a class from her tomorrow at the Stamp Escape in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee! I am so looking forward to it.

Well it is hard to get back into this writing so I will stop for now.  

Today's encouragment:
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Rasin Boat Challenge

I recently joined Raisin Boat. They have wonderful stamps and you can rent a few sets a month. I like the concept.  I am entering this card in their Christmas Challenge. I used the O Holy Night stamp set. I used the background from a vintage Christmas card, then stamped and colored the church and glued it on. I stamped the words in red and embossed them in gold for a more Christmasy effect. I used white dimensional paint for the snow with stickles diamond over it.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a magically wonderful Holiday.

Can You Guess….

What season it is around here?  Fall has begun.  I have been getting everything ready for fall.

The cats are ready, 

the flags are up, 

my garden friends are bedecked!

But…

IT is 87 degrees outside!  But the nights are cool and I am sure that soon I will be missing this weather and grumbling about the cold.

Fall makes me feel so creative.  Just like the colors that are bursting out all over I feel rays of creativity shooting out of me like a disco ball spinning in air.  And this year I am actually making stuff. I recently joined a group called Your Paper Pantry(YPP) that is mostly a Youtube and swap group. They make unique items that I could never think of and now I am a part of it.  One swap is to take tickets and make them into embellishments for cards.

Another is to make a bingo card into a hanging fall banner.

I am loving this. I was getting a little burned out on just making cards. I may even make my own youtube videos but have to figure out the whole camera thing.

So even if the weather isn't cooperating, I am happy it is fall. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Have a great week.

Is It Fall

The weather is so cool today that I am beginning to think it is already Fall.  It has been a cool rainy summer here in East Tennessee. I think I mention the weather and the seasons a lot on my blog.  I think it is because one of the reasons I wanted to live in North Carolina or Tennessee was because they have four distinct seasons. In Florida where I grew up there weren't the major weather changes like we have here. I love fall, everything about it even after the leaves fall. I am not fond of winter but the hope of Spring and a visit to Florida in February get me through it!

But enough about the weather.

I have recently begun to be creative again. I made several cards the other night to encourage friends at church. I took the pics at night so the color isn't what it should be. This is a valuable lesson about picture taking. The cards are long gone so I can't do it again.

I have been learning to color and blend with Spectrum Noir  pens now that I have most colors and the whole set of darks thanks to my daughter.  The pumpkin is an example of it.  The stamp is from HOTP at Paperwishes.com

And I have found a new addiction-----I have discovered YOUTUBE!
Yes I have known about it for a long time but I recently discovered all the crafting videos and tutorials.  But I absolutely love to watch Scrapbooking, thrift and craft hauls where people go shopping and show you what they bought. You get to see what's out there to buy!! and you get the thrill without buying it. I can shop vicariously and it is free!  Here are some of my favorite your tube channels.
alittleshabbychic; tabasco14thefrugalcrafter and littleredwagonstudio
Hope everyone has a great week.

June First Post

Ok I meant to post on June 1st and the hydrangea picture was taken then but it is really the 20th.  Where does the time go?  With all the modern conveniences where does all the time go? This week come screaming by like a freight train bearing down on me and I have no idea where the time goes.  And what happened to the lazy days of summer. I am waiting for the first one!

Today I have been making cards. I am not getting faster at it at all! It is one of the things I love to do best. The first card is using the new Prima Julie Nutting Doll Stamps. I wish I had them all but I am enjoying the 2 that I do have. I sparkled the Hello with embossing powder. It was a dollar stamp from Michael s and I really love it.

The next card is with a new Stampology set. I just got it at Big Lots so it is not a recent release but I like it very much.

I have already survived Vacation Bible School and now am starting the major panic clean up for everyone coming for the Fourth of July. I love it when everyone comes but things must be CLEAN!

Hope everyone has a great week and is enjoying summer. I should be posting more soon!

Comparisons

The problem with the internet and all the wonderful blogs plus Pinterest is that a person could become too intimidated to try anything after seeing the ravishing creations of others. I sometimes fall prey to this.  Someone I know quit looking at Pinterest because she came away from the experience feeling that her house would never measure up, she was too out of shape and her clothes just weren't cutting it.  I think we all fall in the trap of comparison and feel  "why bother"sometimes.

Which brings me to my thoughts on how I compare. I sometimes look at all the gorgeous cards and think "well I could copy that and have a card as good". But I don't want to copy and while I love many of the cards, that is not the way I make cards. I find it hard to make one just like any other one or even make the same one twice.

This thinking led me to start wondering what my motivations for crafting are.  If it is to please others then I need to copy what is popular and maybe it will.  

I hope that my crafting, art or whatever is to please me and to fulfill me. I also hope that it is pleasing to God.  I know that as the great creator He is perfect in His creations and gives us the urge to make and create.

So if in my creating as in everything else I remember I am doing it for the glory of God then I am sure it measures up in the only way that matters.

That is too deep for  Monday. Here is my card for the challenge at CDAC.  The umbrella is a digi from Nana Vic's and it is my entry for the Progressive Challenge.

Thanks for listening and have a great week, Robin

Happy Easter 2013

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.  It has been very cold all week here but I am not going to let it convince me that it isn't Spring.  I have been playing and crafting some. I would like to show a house full of Easter decorations and surprises but unfortunately Easter got here way too fast once again.

I have been doing a lot of challenges lately.  Here is my card for the CDAC/Petaloo Flowers Challenge. It is entered for using a new image from Priscilla Styles and also Petaloo Flowers.  There are wonderful prizes from Petaloo and from some of the digital artists so I am hoping I win something.

This card is also for a CDAC challenge called Inspiration Challenge and you are supposed to be inspired by the pic to make your card.

I love this image and the card but I think it needs something else. I can't do minimal. The image is from Doe-C-Doe and I think it is meant to be embroidered but I like it as a digital stamp!

Prima marketing just came out with a new line of stamps and papers called Fairy Rhymes that I really like. The card below is made using one of the stamps. 

I belong to the PaperWishes message board (see sidebar) and we have swaps every month. Here is the card I made for my partner. It is called an Easel card and you can stand it up. I am very  pleased with how it turned out.

And last is my spring wreath made from Dollar General Market Grocery Bags. I am entering it in the Anythingi Goes Challenge at CDAC.  I think I need to add some decorations to it but it is a lovely green color for Spring!

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter and a lovely weekend.

It's Really Spring(at least on the calendar!)

Yes today is the first day of Spring. Last week the weather was beautiful, my heart lifted and I was sure spring was here.  Today it is 33 outside and the wind feels icy!  But I am still glad that it is spring. The daffodils are blooming and many trees are flowering.

I just returned from Charlotte where Spring is a little closer. The Bradford pears are blooming and daffodils and crocus are everywhere.

As a child growing up in central Florida we didn't have daffodils, crocus and tulips and as a result I always have been fascinated by them.  The first time I read "The Secret Garden" I was enchanted by the description of all the shoots of the spring flowers pushing up through the soil. I have loved spring flowers since then.

I also am in the mood to make spring cards, and Easter stuff although(as always) Easter is sneaking up on me again. I just love this new frog stamp set I got. It was a cheap no-name Easter set that I got on sale at Hobby Lobby but I just love the little frog. I painted him with markers and a water pen like AmyR did over at Prairie Paper and Ink 

 I am very happy with the card. The other two stamps were from the set and I used the same method with them.

This card is just a Springtime card with some new butterfly paper from the Paper Studio. 

Hope you like looking at my stuff. I hope to be putting stuff on Etsy soon but it has been a long time since I tried that.

Have a Happy First Spring day and stay warm.

The Ice is Going

 Thankfully the ice is beginning to melt. My van was encased in an armor  of  silvery ice last night and everything was very still here..  This morning it all has started melting so we will be free to come and go.

Last night I made a couple of cards but I also just piddled with my art stuff. It is a great thing to do.  I looked at papers and opened lots of boxes with no idea what I would find inside.  It was peaceful and inspiring and is good thing for any crafter to do once in awhile.

I am revamping my blog but cannot get things to work right. I can't make the left  side of the background move over closer to the center and I can't get the blog title to be in the right space. That is not soothing at all but  I will work on it more later.

Here is my card for the 3-2-1 Challenge over at CDAC.  The image is by Priscilla Styles and she  has some nice ones so check her out. The challenge is to make a card with:
 1 Flower  2 design papes  3 Bling
There are 3 rhinestones on the butterfly.

This card is made for a special little boy who is undergoing Chemo and loves to get mail. Yes it is the same little owl  stamp and paper from their new Happy Days Paper pack at Paperwishes/Hot Off the Press that I just love. I am not usually a big fan of bright colors but this pack is just perfect!. Plus all the papers are double sided.

Well hope everyone has a great and warm weekend. Stay away from ice!

No, it's not an old post!

From the above card it looks like I am confused as to what month it is. But I am not that confused these days. My second challenge over at CDAC is for a seasonal card and since it is still winter I thought a Christmas card was appropriate. I have been wanting to make a card from this image anyway. I love the kewpies and how cute they are with the reindeer. I think I got this image off a blog but I am not sure which one. I colored them using Tombow markers and a blender pen and a stardust gold pen.

I have begun to make myself do one creative thing a day(which does not include cooking) to train myself to do it naturally again. I have been amazed at how much crafting other people get done and how little I do these days. So I am trying to make it a habit again.  Sometimes I just color digi images but that inspires me to make a card with it the next time. It is important for us to experience creativity of some kind I think. It makes you look at the world differently. It  helps you to calm your mind and be soothed from too much of a technological world.

Anyway this card is for a color challenge over at the Paperwishes message board.  I just got this Hot off the Press owl stamp and I love him.  He will be showing up quite often.

Well I am off to babysit 2 of my granddaughters and of course make crafts with them. The 1 year old made a valentine by putting stickers on a heart. She is well on her way to becoming a great crafter.  Have a great day and stay warm!

I had nearly decided to give up on blogging but I like it too much. I am joining a group that does cardmaking challenges and I am hoping it will keep me focused on crafting.  It is snowing here today, the first snow this season and a really wet one.  I love when the  snow is big and fluffy.

Here is a pic out my window over the computer. I did have to lean out to take it!

The first card is for the CDAC challenge and it is a digi from Shelly.

The second card is just a card I made with Bo Bunny paper that I just got.

The third is using my new bird stamp.

The last one is a baby card made from Paperwishes supplies.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Fall

Fall is Here Again!

I guess I get excited about Fall because growing up in Florida we didn't get spectacular fall color like we do here in Tennessee.  Not that there are not fall changes in Florida, there are, but they aren't really exciting.

I love when the leaves change, the colors are so gorgeous! But I love the crisp cool air and the sky so blue it seems unreal. I always want to hug fall to myself and never let it go.  I even like it after the leaves fall.  All the way to the first day of winter I enjoy the fall. And then it is gone again and the dreary days of winter come in to stay!

But today I am not thinking about what will end.  I am embracing the beauty and comfort of the season, the feel of nostalgia in the air, the smell of leaves burning, the inner longing to cook and bake and create and the need to see my whole family.  I want to spend time with the people I love most in the world. 

"All the earth is filled with His Glory..." (Isaiah 6:3) seems to sum up Autumn completely. I can see God's creation in all it's glory everywhere I look.

Have a great week and enjoy this time of year!

Candy Winners WCMD

We have 2 winners!!

The winner of the Halloween Blog Candy is:

Ms Pat

And the winner of the Christmas Candy is 

PennyD

Please send me your addresses and I will get the prizes in the mail asap!!

Thanks to everyone who played along and left nice comments. Check back in the next month as I hope to give away more! Have a great week everyone!

World Cardmaking Day/Paper Wishes Blog Hop

Paper Wishes Blog Hop and Red Robin Lane "Blog Candy Giveaway!!"

Welcome to the Paper Wishes*BLOG HOP - we are so glad you are here to help us celebrate World Card Making Day! Some card making day trivia for you:

Today, card making is a worldwide hobby, especially popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
1 in 6 U.S. households participates in making cards
86% of scrapbookers also create handmade cards
92% of paper crafters create cards more than any other type of project
Be sure to check out all the blogs in this blog hop, as well as visit the Paper Wishes message board*as there are lots of things going on there today, all sponsored by Paper Wishes, with some great prize packages! You don’t want to miss a chance to win!
To win a prize package of Paper Wishes products: leave a comment on ALL THE BLOGS by noon, Eastern time on Sunday, October 7 and a random drawing will be done to choose the winner.
So on with the fun – it doesn’t matter where you start the blog hop, just see where you are on the list and make sure you visit them all and leave some sweetness behind!
Participants:
Penny

Nancy 

Michelle

Patti Prince

Robin -----you are here

Jackie

Cheryl

Sam

Here is my card using Paper Wishes Supplies:
This year's theme for the blog hop is gardening. I chose the
Typeset Layered Papier Tole (the center flower)

as a highlight on my card.
This is a great set of flowers that have a real Vintage look and you can mix and match the different ones any way you want. 

I used the Noted Paper Pack(it is double sided) and the wonderful Washi Tape that I am really loving.Paper Wishes has a lot of beautiful papers and embellishments as well as stamps. I really love their stuff and am happy to tell others about it.  They are also very generous with prizes.Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment on all the blogs for a chance to win!

And now for even more giveaways!

And for all of you who read my blog I am giving away my first ever blog candy.  I am giving 2 different prizes, a fall prize and a Christmas Prize.  All you have to do is leave a comment here by Sunday October 7 at 10:PM.  I will randomly pick a winner for each prize and announce it Monday the 8th at Noon.

Here is the Fall candy and it includes:

Large sheet of embossed Halloween stickers

Pack of 10 black scalloped cards with envelopes

Halloween die cuts

Fabric covered spider web brads

Here is the Christmas Candy and it includes:

5 Pack Red glitter cards with envelopes

Set of 16 clear stamps

Twinkle pack with brads and Christmas ribbon 

Thanks for stopping by our blog hop and Good luck!

It has been really hard to create with all the cleaning and moving and just the business of life!! I am slowly getting my crafting and creating mojo back.  It has been hard to find time and I am just amazed at all the stuff people on other blogs get finished.  I am beginning to think that I must be slow at making things. 
I just made 2 paperdolls for swaps.  One was for Playing Card dolls and the other was a Red White and Blue swap. I really enjoyed them and am happy with the way they turned out. 

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The other cards are just ones I made for different people.  I love making cards and it doesn't get boring.
  I am off to Charlotte and will be stopping by my favorite store "Mighty Dollar".  They have lots of wonderful craft supplies, clear stamp sets and unique items. And everything is a dollar.  I wish they had them here in Tennessee but they are mostly in North Carolina.  I am going to the one in Hickory and Morganton and hope to find many treasures.
Have a great rest of the week.