summer birthday celebrations

Happy Sunday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. We had a lot of fun activities this weekend.

Friday night-Ethan's championship game-he lost.

Saturday night our son & daughter-in-law invited us to dinner to celebrate father's day.

Last week-end was crazy for them with baseball games. They had 5 games on Sunday. The delayed celebration was so worth the wait.

Joellen is an incredible cook. We had Copper River salmon grilled on cedar planks-fillet mignon-lobster ravioli with a Gorgonzola cream sauce-potato leek casserole with Gruyere & Parmesan cheese-tossed salad.

Our appetizers were fingerling potatoes stuffed with goat cheese & caviar-another goat cheese with figs & honey-lobster salad in mini pastry shells. This was not a low-fat meal by any means. But, we loved it.

Sunday, we attended a grad party for our nephew. They had it at one of our local parks and there were so many trees surrounding the shelter that the heat & humidity didn't bother us at all.

When we came home I checked out the featured stamper challenge on splitcoaststampers & also the speedy's friends challenge on Mark's finest Papers blog. . I decided to make a card and I was surprised how quickly it came together.

The featured stamper this week is Debbie Seyer (aka debbiemomcs23). She has such a fun gallery. I chose her love you card to recreate ala Mary Marsh style.

I kept her same layout and flower theme. She used items from a kit for her card. I used embossed die-cuts from we r memory keepers.

My changes: different colors, different sentiment and border punch. I used stampin-up so saffron & sweet pea designer paper. My sentiment is from the upsy daisy stamp set.

The Speedy's friends challenge was to use 3+ flowers on our card. They have such fun challenges each Saturday and a chance to win a stamp set. Drop over to that blog and get all the details.

Well it's time to dim the lights in charmed life land for another day. Take care my blogger friends.

card recipe:
stamps: upsy daisy

paper: su so saffron, sweet pea dsp
ink: really rust

3 scoops

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.
It's summer and we had such a gorgeous, sunny day here in Pittsburgh.

One of those perfect summer days where the humidity was low and you didn't need the air conditioner.

My hubby has 3 days off work and he spent his first day out in the yard, tending to all his plants. I, on the other hand, chose to spend my time with my stamps, paper and ink. We were both contented pups today (lol)!! And, I do live the charmed life you know!!

I haven't made a card since Monday, and I was so missing being able to stamp. I know you can relate!!

We will be helping a young couple from church move tomorrow morning. Ruben & Aidee just bought their first home here in Pittsburgh. They are so excited. We mentor this couple as well.
Their family is in Texas and they moved here because of Ruben's work. He is a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.

Then tomorrow evening, my son & daughter-in-law are having a dinner for my hubby for father's day. We didn't get to see them last Sunday because the boys were playing baseball all day. Joellen is an incredible cook so it will be a gourmet feast. I know we are having grilled cedar plan salmon but don't know what else.

So no time to create tomorrow. Sunday we are attending a gradation party right after church. And, I don't see any creating on Sunday either.

So my card for today covers 3 challenges:

1.  The Friday free for all challenge on splitcoaststampers was to create a card with an ice cream cone. It was a fun challenge. I don't have any ice cream stamps but I knew I could make one with my punches.

2.    Tuesday's color challenge on splitcoaststampers was soft suede, apricot appeal and almost amethyst. The colors were so perfect for an ice cream cone. I took my grandsons for ice cream the other day and Ethan ordered a purple dinosaur. The ice cream was purple. So my card is not so far out there.

3.   The layout for my card came from Mercy's Tuesday sketch #79. This layout was so perfect to display and ice cream cone and designer paper. Thanks Mercy for another great sketch.

4. The StampinB blog had a challenge to create a card with a summer fun theme card. What is more fun in the summer than to go to an ice cream shoppe and indulge. It's one of my fav things to do in the summer. 

I followed a tutorial on the chic n scratch blog in order to make the ice cream cone. I used a scallop punch for the scoops and a square punch for the cone. I ran the cone part thru a cuttlebug embossing folder to give it a waffle look. I sponged the cone edges for some depth.

My designer paper is from the stampin-up prints pack - apricot appeal. I used soft suede for the cone base and also the ribbon. Added some pearls and stickles on the top scoop and that completed my card.

It's time to dim the lights in charmed life land for another day. Take care and God bless!!

card recipe:
paper: su apricot appeal, almost amethyst, soft suede, vv
accessories: reflections pearls, soft suede ribbon, stickles, scallop punch 

Challenge Winner

This is a quick post with some exciting news-it's old news but I didn't post it previously. I entered a contest on Our Daily Bread Designs blog. It is called the stamping in time challenge.
I entered this card  and I won. I was so excited when I saw my name posted.

I won a $15 credit to spend at the odbd store. I love their great collection of stamps. There is another challenge going on right now. Look here for the details. It's an inspiration challenge. Give it a try-you never know you might end up like me and win!! You have until July 7 to enter this one.

I also get to sport this blog button as a winner.

special fathers day cards

Happy Tuesday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. Today is my day with my grandsons. It was a rainy day so we spent it inside.

They played some video games (surprise) and we watched a movie together and then went to a special ice cream store as our treat. This store has the best waffle cones and the most delicious ice cream. It was well worth the money that I spent.

Aidin had another tournament game  tonight. Since I was already over this side of town I stayed and went to the game. They lost 18-9. My son is the coach and he wasn't happy.
The kids get over it  faster than the adults at these little league games.

This is the start of a very busy 1 1/2 month  tournament schedule for the boys. They travel all around the suburban Pittsburgh area. When it's concluded we go away to the beach- the Outer Banks is our destination this year. Yeah!!

Today I am posting some very special father's day cards. It's the ones the boys made last week for their Dad. And, also the card  I made for my husband.

I brought the design for them to use but, I had them cut the paper-use the big shot-do the stamping and put it together. They aren't perfect cards, but I am very proud of the work they did.

My son loved them as well.

This card was made by Austin. He went and kind of did his own thing. Stamping where he wanted and he even used the frame from the top note on the inside.
His Dad is a hunter so he really liked using this image from the nature's silhouettes stamp set. If you click on the image it will make it bigger.

This card was made by Aidin. I saw this card on Nancy Riley's blog and she had her kids in school make it so I knew Aidin could handle it.

I had him do the folds and again it's not perfect but I think he did a pretty good job. He had a little trouble with the collar but he was determined to make it work.
He stamped "sssssooo glad you're my dad" on the inside of the card. It's a stamp from stampendous.

This card was made by Ethan. I saw this design on splitcoastststampers. I simplified it a bit so Ethan could complete it.
Instead of stamping on the punched tags, I had him use alphabet stickers.
He really liked using the punches and the embossing with the big shot.
Again everything isn't lined up so straight but for a 9 year old boy I think he did well.

Now the last card is the one I gave to my hubby. We made this at our stamp club about a month ago. Our hostess, Deb Vaughn, introduced us to the reflection technique.

Ink your image with the same ink and stamp it on a piece of acetate.


Flip your piece of acetate over so your stamped image is facing down. Line it up with your first image to create your reflection. Place acetate on cardstock. Rub over your acetate. It will transfer the image from the acetate to your cardstock.
We sponged the sky and the water where the trees are reflecting.
 
That's my post for today. Let me know what you think of the boys cards.

birthday wishes

Happy Monday and the first day of summer to you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.

We didn't have a leadership meeting at church so it freed up my morning for other household chores.

I may go over to watch one of my grandsons play baseball tonight and then do a sleep-over at my son's home.

Tomorrow is my day to take care of my grandsons and sometimes its just easier to wake up over in their house.

Otherwise, I get up at 5:15 and have to battle the rush hour traffic going into the city.
I commuted in that traffic for 34 years, before my retirement, so I look for ways to avoid it (lol)!!.

Anyway, onto my card for Monday. This one covers 3 challenges: There are so many great ones that I want to be a part of so combining when I can makes sense to me.

1.  The color throwdown challenge from last week was to use not quite navy, certainly celery and cameo coral. I thought it was a beautiful color combo.
I used not quite navy designer paper, a stampin-up border punch for the cameo coral, stamped my image in cameo coral and celery, and added a layer of celery card stock.
I colored my white ribbon with a coral marker to get my match there. That covers the color requirements.

2.  The occ blog challenge this week was to "case an occ girl". We were to surf the design team blogs, find a card we liked and change at least 2 things in our creation. Easy enough-the layout is half the work.

I chose Wendy Janson. I like her style and picked this card to re-create.
I was a part of that March challenge and here is the card that I submitted back then.

My changes to Wendy's card: I used different colors, different image and added another layer to this panel. Also used a different sentiment. My middle horizontal panel is embossed and I added an additional punched border to this layer.

3.  Speedy the cats friend's challenge this week is to use embossing on your card. I chose dry embossing with the cuttlebug folder floral fantasy. I love the look that embossing gives a card. So thank you to our hostess, Claudine Poch, for a fun challenge.

That is my card for today, my friends.

Prayer Request: My brother-in-law had emergency surgery for an aneurysm in his stomach and he also has a tear in the aorta wall. That tear will require a 2nd surgery once he recovers from the first. His body is stressing as they try to remove sedation so he can begin breathing on his own. His name is Jack. Thanks for praying.

card recipe:
stamps: bella's bloom, sincere salutations
paper: su nqn, cameo coral, certainly celery, ww. prints pack dsp
ink: cameo coral, celery
accessories: su border punch, ribbon

pun fun cups

Happy Sunday and Father's Day and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Pittsburgh.

Our day started off with church and what a great service.

We had a baptism service today and 12 people were baptized. We did something very different for our church.

We set up a 12ft round pool at the front of our sanctuary and had the baptisms indoors.
I say different because we usually go to a member's swimming pool, if its summer, or another church with a baptismal pool, if its any other time of year.

Our church believes that baptism is done as a demonstration that we follow Jesus Christ.  It's also a public announcement of our faith. The bible says to turn away from our sins and be baptized. Because of that biblical command we only dedicate and not baptize our babies.

Our father's day celebration didn't go quite as planned. My grandsons had baseball games all day today. The last one starting at 6:00. So dinner at our house was out. We were going to go to the last game but my husband was watching the Open and he didn't really want to make the trip over.

That was fine with me. I made him a nice dinner and we enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon and evening. It was nice.

Both of our son's and grandsons called to wish him happy father's day so that always makes hubby feel good.
So since we stayed home and he was watching tv, I decided to take part in the featured stamper challenge over at splitcoaststampers.

This week the honor was given to Pam Hooten -iris on splitcoast. I wasn't familiar with her work, but after visiting her gallery, I can tell you she is one talented stamper.

I chose this card of hers to re-create ala mary marsh style.

I kept the same layout and coffee cup theme. I paper pieced my cup images with designer paper from the sweet pea collection.


My changes: different color card stock and designer paper, different stamp set, different color ribbon and different sentiment. I used pearls instead of brads and I didn't sew on my card.

I am going to send this to a friend from church. I haven't spent any one-on-one time with her lately and I miss talking to her.

Well, it's time to close this post. God Bless!!

card recipe:
stamps: pun fun, wordsworth

paper: su pretty in pink, ww, he loves me dsp
ink: memento rich cocoa
accessories: recollections pearls, am crafts ribbon, word window punch
technique: paper piecing



 

colorful flowers

Happy Saturday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. It was really hot & humid here today.

But. I am not complaining because I still remember the 24" of snow we had back in January that caused leaks in my home and havoc in so many other homes in the area.

This was the kind of summer day that should be spent at a ballgame. It seems like one of those summer things to do.

I am reminded of the song that you sing during the 7th inning stretch at the major league games: "Take me out to the ballgame-take me out with the crowd-buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...... Maybe the heat and humidity is getting to me as well (lol)!!

Oh, I did go to a ballgame today. Aidin (middle grandson) had a playoff game. I didn't have any peanuts but I did have a soft pretzel and lots of water.
They lost the game 1-0. Both teams played well, but we didn't come out on top. So that's the end of his playoff season. Now the tournaments will start and last until the end of July.

He also has a Sunday league that he plays in plus his summer basketball.
My son and daughter-in-law keep all 3 of the boys busy, busy with these sports.
When vacation rolls around the 1st week in August, the boys are so ready to kick back and relax. They need unwind time as much as the adults.

I managed to make 3 cards today. I will post only one of them today. This one covered 2 Challenges:

1.  The Saturday inspiration challenge took us to a very colorful, eclectic site. Loveart Works Clay originals is a unique shop with lots of inspiration.
I chose this piece to create my card. She called her flowers poppies but I chose to make mine to look like lollipops. I punched them with circle punches.

I did copy myself on this card. I created this one several weeks ago. I saw this technique on several blogs and I will give the credit to Margaret Moody.

I tried to match the colors on the poppy mug. Mine are Stampin-Up brillant & brocade blue, orange & apricot appeal, summer sun & barely banana.

My stems are certainly celery ribbon and the leaves are from Stampin-Up's "time well spent" stamp set.

The sentiment is from the verve set "wishing you". This set has a variety of other sentiments so on the inside I can make it a birthday, get well, blessing or anniversary card.

2.  The 2nd challenge is one of my faves as well. The Saturday crazy for challenges blog. This week our hostess, Mercy Kerin, challenged us to make paper flowers on our cards. This one worked out so well with the splitcoaststampers challenge.

That's my card for today. Time to dim the lights in blog life land for another day. Church in the morning and then our Father's Day celebration.

card recipe:
stamps: wishing you (verve), time well spent (su)
paper: su brillant & brocade blue, only orange, apricot appeal, summer sun, barely banana, white linen
ink: certainly celery
accessories: su circle punches, su buttons, celery ribbon

doggie birthday

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. This was a kick back and relax day for me.

I am taking care of my grandsons 2 days a week for the summer, and I can see now that I need to be rested going into these days.

I had 2 really long days with them on Tuesday & Thursday. But, I love being with them so it only affects me the day after (lol)!!

Yesterday, all 3 of them made a card for their Dad (my son) for father's day. I brought the design but they had to cut the paper for all the layers-do the folds, punch where necessary etc.

I was the overseer only. I wanted to step in at times but I didn't. I think they did good work. Do you believe I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures. I will take some photos next week and post them for you all to see.

They are supposed to come here for dinner on Sunday. I hope it works out. One of the boys has a play-off game at 3:00 so it's up in the air right now. Doesn't leave much time for me to plan & shop for dinner, but I guess I have to be flexible.

 I haven't posted a card since Monday. On Wednesday I had a staff meeting at church and then we had the young couple we mentor, Kendra & Aaron, for dinner. She posted such a sweet comment on Facebook about the dinner I prepared.

I was determined to get some stamping time in today. I checked out all the challenges and decided on these three (3):

1. Splitcoaststampers has a Friday "free for all" challenge. This week Wendy, our challenge hostess,  wanted us to create something in ode to our animal friends.


I don't have any pets or dog stamps,but I did have some dog themed buttons. I found these in my stash. I think I bought them from qvc years ago.

2.  My layout is from Wednesday's sketch challenge on splitcoaststampers.

So using that layout, I created a birthday card. It has a masculine theme so I can send it to a child or adult.

My designer paper is from Stampin-Up's sweet pea collection-I think it's my new fave!! It has a lot of great masculine designs. Like the hounds tooth paper I used on this card.

The sentiment is from Stampin-Up's "kind and caring thoughts" set. I punched out 3 circles to create faux brads and that completed my card.

3.  The stampin sisters in Christ had a challenge to make a masculine card this week. If you have a chance, click on their link and read the upliftingmessage on father's day. Those girls on that blog are so encouraging!!

It's time to close this post and dim the lights in charmed life land for today.

card recipe:
stamps: kind & caring thoughts
paper: su choc chip, bashful blue, sahara sand, sweet pea dsp
ink: memento rich cocoa
accessories: buttons, circle punch

sweet pea fathers day card

This is my 2nd post for today and I have another father's day card finished.
Can I have a whoo-hoo from out there in blogger land!!


This one covers 2 challenges:

1.  the Pals Paper Arts blog was looking for the colors bermuda bay, crushed curry and soft suede. A fab color combo if I say so myself. Thank you ladies for another great challenge.

My card base is bermuda bay and the striped layer is designer paper from the sweet pea pack. My next layer is soft suede card stock and designer paper from the autumn traditions designer pack.

I stamped my 3 ties in crushed curry designer paper from the welcome neighbors pack. Using shapes for the 3 panels was Julee's idea. She used surfboards.
My sentiment is from the favorite fellas set (clear art stamps).

2.  The layout for my card came from the mojomonday blog. The sketch was designed by Julee Tilman. I thought it was such a great one to work with. I like how it really shows off the designer paper so well. They are the layouts I like best. Designer paper is so pretty that I don't like covering most of it up because of added layers.

Well, it's time to dim the lights in charmed life land for another day. I am over with my grandsons all day tomorrow. Their summer vacation has started and my days will start at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

card recipe:
stamps: favorite fellas (clear art stamps)
paper: su bermuda bay, soft suede, ww, sweet pea  & autumn traditions dsp
ink: memento rich cocoa
accessories: circle punches

father's day

Happy Monday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. We were away for the weekend so I am a few days behind in posting anything to the blog.

We took a trip to Lake Chautauqua in New York. It's a little over a 3 hour trip from Pittsburgh.

It was my mother-in-laws 80th birthday, and she wanted to do something special.

We were blessed to be able to stay at a friend's townhouse with a great view of the lake from our deck.

On Saturday we were out and about touring the town. It was such a beautiful day. We visited a farmers market and picked up some goodies.

This is my mother-in-law admiring a glass humming bird at one of the stands.

We had a birthday cake for her on Saturday night and her wish was that we could do the same thing next year. It was a great feeling to be able to bless her like that.

We wanted to rent a pontoon boat and go out on the lake, but we decided to hold off until Sunday. That was a mistake.
The weather on Sunday did not cooperate with us at all. It was raining and so foggy on Sunday that we packed up and left around 1:00.


I didn't do any crafting for a couple of days so I was anxious to get back in the swing. I checked out the featured stamper challenge on splitcoaststampers and this week the honor went to LeAnne Pugliese.

I am familiar with her work and I actually had one of her cards saved in my favorites.
She is a very talented stamper and I love her style.
I decided that today was a good day to re-create that card. That's the idea behind this challenge anyway.

I kept: her layout which I really liked, and the same sweet pea designer paper-that I also really like.
I used different colors from the paper. This collection has a great selection of paper and masculine patterns



My changes: I used so saffron & teal card stock. I used a Martha Stewart border punch and screw brads instead of the grommet and ribbon. I thought it gave it a nice masculine look.
I used the same tree stamp (from lovely as a tree), but since I was making a father's day card I changed the sentiment.
My sentiment is a stamp from Great Impressions. I used my stamp-a-majig for placement to take only the words I wanted and stamp them over the tree.


The 2nd challenge is from the ccee stampers. It was called "one for the males". We could make either a father's day card or a birthday card. I need several Father's day cards so this is my first.

3.  The 3rd challenge is the stampin sisters in Christ. We were to make a father's day as well. The hostess there really had an uplifing message about  good fathers and how they deserve to be honored. 

Oh yea, it's done and it's only Monday (lol). Why do I wait for the last minute to make the cards I need??

One more thing before I close. If you would like me to pray for you for a situation, just drop me an email. God does answer prayer!! God Bless.




.

have an adventure

Happy Thursday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. Well summer vacation is just about here for my grandsons.

Today they had school for just a half day so I went over to meet their bus and spend the afternoon.

We went to the mall (their idea) and had lunch. It was fun.

Both Aidin and Ethan had baseball games tonight so I didn't get back home until 10:00. Aidin won and Ethan's team was in the lead when I left at 9:15.

I started a card this morning before I left but didn't get it finished.

So when I returned my mission was to finish the card for the challenges I wanted to enter:

I noticed on Julia Aston's blog, my paper doll friend, that Waltzingmouse Stamps started a new challenge. It is a sketch challenge and this inaugural one was so easy to work with.

This was last Saturday but I didn't get a chance to make a card for the challenge until today. I hope I can get this posted before the link closes. 

So thank you Julia for giving me the heads up on the challenge.

The stampin sisters in christ challenge this week was to add an animal on your card. If you have a chance drop over to their blog. The link is above. Kathy Winter is the hostess and she really has some good insights on the scripture from Genesis 1:26. It deals with us having dominion over the animals.

I really liked her thoughts.

The crazy for challenges blog this week wanted us to use pleats on our cards.  I decided to pleat my ribbon on this card. This is such a hot trend right now and I love all the different looks I am seeing on blogs.

The creative belli blog challenge is to use rub-ons. I had these stampin-up rub-ons from the "so cool" collection. They pair up with the tall tales designer paper. I bought both a while ago and thought this would be a good opportunity to use them.

My rub-on is the alligator and the other two animals are images I cut from the designer paper. This card reminded me of a safari so I used a sentiment that reflected an adventure.

The last challenge is speedy the cat's friends challenge. Cathleen Torina was our hostess and she wanted us to use buttons and bows.

I added an old olive button to my ribbon and that completed my card.

Well it's time to turn out the lights in charmed life land for another day. God Bless!!

celebration flowers

Happy Wednesday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.

It was a rainy and damp day here in Pittsburgh. I spent part of the day at church working with our bookkeeper.

I guess I am her supervisor so I try to get together with her at least once a week to check on bills and the financial condition of our church.

My husband & I are part of the founding members. The church has been in existence for 22 years. We are a non-denominational Christian congregation with about 150 members.

My Pastor & his wife came from a Baptist background. We believe in salvation by grace and that salvation is found in none other than Jesus Christ.
My husband & I are Elders in our church-part of the spiritual leadership.

Not sure why I am sharing all of this with you today. But that's my church story in a nutshell.

When I came back home I had every intention of making at least 2 cards. Well it is now 9:15 and  I only finished one. Well there is always tomorrow.

My card today is for 2 challenges:

1.  The Wednesday sketch challenge on splitcoaststampers is the first one. We had a very nice layout to work with this week, It was provided by our hostess, Roxie. This one allows your designer paper to really show off. So thank you Roxie.

2.  The colors I used on my card are from this weeks color throwdown. Our colors are so saffron, pumpkin pie and cool Caribbean. I didn't have the cool caribbean color so I substituted bashful blue.

On the main panel I used the sweet pea designer paper since it has pumpkin & saffron. I layered it with pumpkin card stock.

I wanted to buy this sweet pea paper at my last stamp club meeting but it was already sold out. I checked out the classifieds on splitcoaststampers and advised I was looking for the paper.
I had an immediate response that someone had an unopened pack for sale. I bought it for the catty price. This pack has some really pretty papers in it.

My 1st & 2nd topper sheets  are designer paper from stampin-up's jersey shore pack.
My image panel is from the "just celebrate" set. I stamped the flowers and used sherbet designer buttons in pumpkin & bashful blue.Mmy rick rack is from su pig tails ribbon originals.

I cut the image with oval nesties and that completed my card.

I am going to close this post. Hope you come back again soon for a visit. God bless!!

card recipe:
stamps: just celebrate

paper: su so saffron, pumpkin pie,ww, sweet pea & jersey shore dsp
ink: su black, old olive
accessories: su pig tail rick rack, sherbet designer buttons, nesties oval

welcome home mike & cindy

Happy Monday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.

I was busy working on Kendra & Erin's wedding invitations today. They are the young couple that my husband & I mentor.

The wedding is October 16 but I have to finish 110 invites by August 1.

I am also making the shower invitations which will be a tea by the way. I saw a really cute tea set from My Time Made Easy.

I just have to order it so I can also get started on those invitations. I am so honored to be a part of the wedding in this way.

This evening we went to watch Austin (oldest grandchild) pay baseball. They lost 14-8 but he was happy that we came to the game. I had not seen him play yet this year.

Some good news from the weekend. On Saturday, Ethan (youngest) played in an all-star game. Now it was raining on this side of town so I just assumed that wouldn't be playing. Big mistake-it really didn't rain that much on their side of town and the game was on.

Ethan hit a grand slam and they won the game 6-4. My son said it was a shot that he sent flying into center field-190 feet away. Pretty good for a 9 year old.
We were excited when we heard the news and very disappointed that we missed the game.

Well, onto my card. I made this one last Thursday for the "ways to use it" challenge on splitcoaststampers. We were to incorporate bits of home into our projects.

This was a great challenge for me since I needed a card to celebrate a new home my brother just bought. He moved back to Pittsburgh after being gone for about 8 years. His company transferred him out but now he is back. whoo-hoo!!

I used the stampin-up good neighbors set for the image and a verve set for the sentiment.
On my white panel, I used the Stampin-Up perfect details texture plate.


I added some rick rack and the butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch.
The inspiration for my card came from this one by Nancy Riley
Well, my blogger friends that's it for another day here in charmed life land. Time to dim the lights. Until next time.....

card recipe:
stamps: good neighbors, verve practically perfect

paper: su bermuda bay, melon mambo, ww
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: su texture plate, word window & circle punches, ms butterfly punch, rick rack

A happy hello

Happy Sunday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.
We had a great service at church today.

Our worship team did an exceptional job. Our lead singer, Courtney, sounded like a songbird. It was so inspiring to hear her awesome voice.

The message from our Pastor was a great one as well. He was preaching today from Genesis 32. The passage where Jacob wrestled with God. We have a destiny as sons & daughters of God. There are keys that unlock our future, but it hinges on not letting go of God.

We aren't hopeless or walk alone. Our help comes from the Lord and him alone; not our job, our investments, or our talent. We need to look up, our help is in the God of the universe.

Whew, just typing my thoughts on the sermon inspired me all over again. What happened in your church today? Let me know.

Now onto my card for today. It covers 2 challenges:

1.  The featured stamper challenge on splitcoaststampers gave honor to Nikki Schmaltz, a stamper that I wasn't familiar with. I hadn't seen her work before today. She is one talented stamper that's for sure. So how this challenge works is that you look over her work and find a card to recreate.  You are to make at least two changes to the card.

I chose this card to remake ala Mary Marsh style. I kept her flower theme but used a sizzix die to cut mine and added a rhinestone instead of a button.

She used her designer paper for the flower stems and I cut mine from another sizzix die- the nesting swirls.

Instead of the bird I punched some butter flies. I kept the scalloped border but made mine a double layer. I added black rick rack for my ribbon treatment. My sentiment I decided to cut into an oval shape.

2.  The colors for my card were from this weeks color throwdown. This is a new challenge for me. My paper doll friend,, Wanda Cullen, was named a guest designer for June and so I decided to try my hand at this challenge.
Congrats again Wanda, you are an extraordinary talent!!

We were to use turquoise, pink passion, green galore and black. I really liked these bright colors. They are so perfect for flowers and that's how I used them on my card.

Well, my blogger friends it's time to put the wraps on this post. God bless!!

card recipe:
stamps: all year cheer 1
paper: su black, tempting turquoise, pink passion, green galore,ww
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: sizzix simple flower & nested swirls, ms border punch & butterfly punch, black rhinestones, rick rack

layla grace inspired

Happy Saturday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.
I went shopping today and not for rubber stamping supplies (lol)!!

I purchased my first piece of all-clad cookware. It's premium cookware that is made right here in Western Pa.

It's made from steel-copper and aluminum that is bonded together in a 5 layer process and allows for the best heat distribution.
Their handles are made from stainless steel but it has a stay-cool feature.

A few of my friends who love to cook like I do had already purchased this cookware. So today I took the plunge. The good news is that 2x a year they have a big sale. You can get the cookware at 40-50% off. They sell what they call seconds.

I bought an 11" saute pan but I couldn't see any problem with it -no scratches-dents or nicks. So I will give it a try and if I like it the way my friends do, I will be back in December for another purchase.

When I came home I had some crafting time. This card was made for 2 challenges:

1.  The inspiration challenge on splitcoaststampers took us to the Layla Grace site. It was filled with lots of inspiration for card makers. I chose the Jessica Steele apron.
As soon as I saw it I knew that I had at least 2 designer papers that would work. The one I chose is Stampin-Up's Christmas Cocoa speciality line. The design in the paper matches the apron almost exactly.

2.  The layout for my card came from the challenge at Our Daily Bread Design.

The sentiment is from an odbd set "grow in grace". I used the nesties label 4 to highlight the scripture and added some red rhinestones and a white tuxedo bow and that's my card.

It's time to put the wraps on this post and the day. We have church in the morning and then maybe some creating in the afternoon.

card recipe:
stamps: grow in grace
paper: su ww, real red, christmas specialty dsp
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: ribbon, rhinestones, spellbinders labels 4

ribbit ribbit

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.

We went to our nephew's high school graduation this evening. It was a smaller class of 50 kids.

Something that really took me aback was the prayer at the commencement service. Two of the students did the praying. The one student even mentioned the name Jesus. My husband & I were pleasantly surprised at what we saw take place. I thought I read somewhere that if the students request to pray they are allowed. It's just the teachers that cant initiate or actually do the praying.

It was a very nice commencement. The keynote speaker was a 1967 graduate of the school and is now an fbi agent. I forget his actual title, but his bio had quite a list of credentials. Some of his comments led me to believe he is a political conservative. He received quite a few rounds of applause at his remarks.

We went out and had dinner afterwards with my husband's family. It was a nice night spent with the in-laws.

Earlier today, I had a chance to create a card for 3 challenges:

The Friday free for all challenge on splitcoaststampers and the Stampin B design blog challenge was to create a masculine card.

2.  My card layout came from Mercy Kerin's Tuesday sketch.

I decided to make a birthday card since I will need one shortly. I think this card would work for an adult or child.
My card is fairly simple. I used some creative imaginations designer paper. The cute little frogs  i used are dimensional stickers from Sandy Lion. My ladybug button is from the dress it up line.I added a birthday
sentiment from stampin-up wow flowers set.

That completed my card and also this post. It's late and time to dim the light in charmed life land. God Bless!!

sweet family memories

Happy Thursday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog.

Well, my furniture saga continues. The manager of the store called me yesterday and they offered to order me new cushions for my sectional. Don't see how this will solve the problem??

When you sit on it for any length of time it is leaving creases in the fabric. The repairman that came said it's because the foam on the inside is not high density. There is more batting than there should be and as the batting flattens out it leaves creases in my fabric.
Am I wrong for expecting that this should not be happening after only having the furniture for 3 weeks?

The manager also said I have the option to select something new. Now, I painted the room based on the sofa color. Including a green shade to accent one wall and pick up the green on the throw pillows. I also selected an ottoman for this sofa.

I went to the store last night to take another look. I didn't see any other sectionals that  i really liked. Although there were some sofa-love seat combos that could possibly work. This is frustrating-in a big way!!

I have 2 weeks to make a decision according to the manager. This furniture store always had a good reputation which is why I went there in the first place. I guess this week-end I will be back there trying to find something to work in my room.

Well, onto my card for today. I created this one for 2 challenges:

1.  The Friday challenge on our creative corner blog was to create a card using black & white and lots of texture. You were also to use text as your focal image rather than a colored image. My card uses both text and silhouette images. For my texture I used a new texture plate from stampin-up-perfect details. I also used a Martha Stewart border punch and added rick rack.

2.  Speedy the cat's Saturday challenge was to create a card using a silhouette. This image I recycled from a Lang heart & home calendar. When I saw the image it so reminded me of my Mom hanging laundry out on the line to dry. I thought this challenge was the perfect opportunity to use this image.

I will send this card to my sister because it is such a sweet family memory.

Well, it's time to close out this post. I do have another card for today and will post it a little later.

card recipe:
paper: su black, naturals ivory
accessories: perfect details texture plate, rick rack, ms trellis border punch

special moments

This is my 2nd card for today. I made this one for 2 challenges:

1.  The Wednesday sketch challenge on splitcoaststampers provided the layout for my card.

I liked working with the layout. I guess I always say that when someone else does the designing (lol).

2.  The curtain call color challenge this week was to use rose red, regal rose, apricot appeal, summer sun and whisper white. I wasn't sure, at first, how to get all the colors Stacey wanted involved on my card. So I went with my card base and picked my designer paper and then worked from there. So thanks for stretching me once again, Stacey.

My card base is rose red and the designer paper. The next layer is apricot appeal and I used an embossing folder for texture. I stamped my hero arts image on whisper white and used prismacolor pencils & gamsol to color it. I colored in regal rose, rose red and summer sun. I finished my card with a rose red flower and added a summer sun corduroy button in the center.

I am on a roll today so I am going to make a card for the Thursday challenge on splitcoaststampers. All the creating is keeping my mind off the furniture issue I mentioned in my first post (lol)!!

card recipe:
stamps: hero arts special moments
paper: su rose red, apricot appeal, rose red dsp. ww
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: prismacolor & gamsol, bazzill wing blossoms, su corduroy button, cb ef