It's a MEGA Blog Hop!

Operation Write Home is having a blog hop this weekend! Almost 150 bloggers are participating and they are offering up all sorts of fun...blog candy, prizes, free digis and the most fabulous card samples for inspiration that you have ever seen!! Hop on over to OWH's blog to start the hop.

In case you've never heard of Operation Write Home, their mission is to support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. So far, they've sent well over 430,000 blank cards to service members to use to send home to their loved ones. To get involved, click here for more information!

Now, grab your drink of choice, kick back and enjoy the blog hop!! Oh, and don't forget to get involved! OWH needs YOU!

Hump Day Hop!

It's time for the Bombshell Hump Day Hop!!! Kas gave us a fun challenge for this month- Look Ma, I Did It! This month, we want to see what you are made of....and what you can make. You can make any sort of project, a card, a layout, an altered object...whatever...you just need to make a handmade embellishment. It can be a flower, button, etc... You just have to make it. I wasn't quite sure what kind of embellishment I wanted to make...I hemmed and hawed over it, and finally it came to me! Years ago, I was in to making fabric yo-yos. I made a friend a baby quilt using them. I made pillows as gifts. I found a plastic shoebox full of them that I have waiting to make into something. I thought a fabric yo-yo would be a cute flower on a card. So, I dug through the box and found one that I liked...and one that I had paper to match...and here is the finished product:

I'm not too keen on the overall card, but I think the yo-yo flower turned out nice. The card base is SU's Pumpkin Pie, with a layer of Chocolate chip. The grid paper is from PaperTrey Ink. The Bombshell Angel image is stamped onto GP110 white cardstock and colored using Copics, then cut out and glued on. The wide orange grosgrain ribbon is from Offray. The vanilla hardware is from SU. I have no idea where the flower-shaped button came from- I found it in my button jar.

I love these yo-yos. I have a yo-yo quilt that my grandmother made probably back in the 30's or 40's and I love it. One of these days I'll do something with all the yo-yos that I have made...one of these days...

Hopefully this weekend I can get a pictorial of how to make these cute little yo-yos...so, if you're interested, check back again soon!

Wanna play along with this challenge?? Create your project using a handmade embellishment and upload to this link. You can win a fabulous prize from Smeared Ink!!! You can also win by leaving comments on any or all of the blogs found below and/or playing along with this month's sketch challenge or Ms. May Bombshell's It's All About Me challenge. What are ya' waiting for??

Now, it's time to hop around and see what the other Bombshells have come up with for the challenge!! I'm sure there are some great handmade embellishments to be seen!!!

KasKelliBoHoRoseKatieAlisonAngieKathiCherylSyMeredith

Bombshell's May Sketch Challenge

Bombshell Stamp's May Sketch is a beauty. Our sketch queen, Kathi, really outdid herself with this one!

My card VERY loosely follows the sketch, but here is my contribution to this month's challenge:

This gorgeous image is from Bombshell Stamps' Girl's Ruin stamp set that I just received. All papers are from Stampin' Up (Basic Black, Green Galore (which I'm REALLY going to miss when they get rid of this color!) and the black & white DSP set). The image is stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with what else- my Copics! Using the photo corner punch I punched out a corner using a scrap of the black & white DSP and attached to the bottom right corner. In the upper left, I attached a large black flower (from Aunt Irene's), a bright green Prima and the center is a Glitter Adornment from My Favorite Things. I love the bright green with the black.

I'm having a great time using my new stamp sets!! Make sure to come back on Wednesday for Bombshell's Hump Day Hop. The "theme" for this month is "Look Ma, I Did It!" This month, our Miss Kas wants to see what you are made of....and what you can make. You can make any sort of project, a card, a layout, an altered object...whatever...you just need to make a handmade embellishment. It can be a flower, button, etc... You just have to make it. Come join in on the hop and win a prize. Actually, you have 3 ways to win a fabulous prize, courtesy of Smeared Ink...1. submit a creation and join in on the blog hop on Wednesday 2. submit a creation for the sketch challenge above or 3. submit a challenge for Katja's challenge-who is Bombshell's Miss May- "It's All About Me!". C'mon and join the fun!!!

Rose's Portrait

I can't believe that it's been nearly a month since I posted to my blog! My mojo seemed to have taken a vacation...but, today in the mail, I got 4 brand new sets from Bombshell Stamps and I believe my mojo is back!

After getting all my new stamps mounted, I couldn't wait to play with Rose's Portrait. This image is just beautiful. Here's what I came up with:

It's a simple card, but this image is beautiful enough to stand on it's own. The image is stamped onto GP white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored using Copic markers.

All other papers are from Stampin' Up.

Make sure to jump on over to Bombshell Stamps and check out all of the new releases. I'm off to my hideaway to create some more so come back again soon!