changito rows with a friend

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. Well, my grandsons are done with baseball for the summer.

Ethan finished his last tournament game last evening. They came out on top and each boy  received a very nice trophy. My son was laughing at the collection all 3 of them are getting.

Sometimes the tournaments will give each boy a hoodie-which they really like. But, you can only have so many of them as well (lol).

Football practice starts in 2 weeks. They just go from sport to sport and season to season. Ethan is on a 9 year old team in his community. Aidin will play on the 12 year old at his school.

So onto my card for today. This is one I created a while ago and just never posted it to my blog. I was busy running errands today so no time for a new creation.

I think these changito stamps from Stampendous are just so cute. My designer paper is from American Crafts and it reminded me of waves. I thought it worked well with the image.

I made a little ribbon tab and added a scripture verse that I thought would go along with this image.

Well, it's time to close up  shop in charmed life land for today. I hope you all have a great week-end.

card recipe:
stamps: stampendous-changito

paper: su teal, gina k white, am crafts dsp -everyday
ink: teal
accessories: su melon mambo ribbon, circle punches, dimensionals

thoughts of you

Happy Wednesday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. It was another sunny summer day here in Pittsburgh, but very humid.
I had the ac cranked up to stay nice and cool while I was busy crafting.

All our flowers are doing so well this summer. The blooms are plentiful and make for such great cut arrangements.

My husband started some zinnias from seed and they are in bloom. This is one of my favorite cut flowers. They just look so beautiful in a vase.

He is always encouraging me to cut what's blooming. He said the more you cut the more you get. So I have been taking them over to my daughter-in-law as well as displaying them in my house.
A quick tip for cut flowers: I put a tablespoon of bleach in the water and they stay fresher a few days longer.

Now onto my card for today. Splitcoaststampers is still running the "dare to get dirty challenges" through August 1. Read more details on this post.

My card covers 2 of these challenges. The 1st is from Joan Ervin and the 2nd is from Susan at Rainy Day Creations.  The details of the challenges are on the fan club page at splitcoaststampers. If you are not part of the fan club now would be a good time to join.
They both were fun to work with-so thank you Joan and Susan!!

The 3rd challenge is a new one for me. It's from the twisted Thursday blog. This week we were to use orange on our card. Thanks to Angella Crockett for mentioning this challenge on her blog.

My card used designer paper from the Stampin-Up sweet pea pack, rick rack also from Stampin-Up and the button is from their sherbet collection.

My image stamp is one I found in the $1 bin at Pat Catan's. It's from scrappy cat. I thought it went well with my designer paper. The sentiment is from Stampin-Up's "just celebrate" set.

That's my card. It's also after 11:00 pm so its time to turn the lights out in charmed life land. I will be up and out at 6:30 to get over to my son's home. It's Thursday and my day to take care of my grandsons.

God bless and stay cool.

card recipe:
stamps: su just celebrate, scrappy cat

paper: su vv, pumpkin pie, sweet pea dsp
ink: su pumpkin pie
accessories: su pig tail rick rack, sherbet designer buttons,darice rhinestones

my first dtgd challenge

Happy Monday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. We had such a beautiful day here in Pittsburgh.

Lots of sunshine and no humidity so that was my cue to open the windows and turn the air conditioner off for awhile.

I managed to make it until 6:00 and then it was just to hot so air conditioner back on (lol)!!

Our week-end guest left for the airport around 11:00 so I had the day to myself.

Of course my mind went immediately to crafting. After all the house was clean-the laundry was all done-hubby was at work-so what's a girl to do??

The correct answer is pull out your stamping supplies and see what the challenge blogs are up to and make a card, of course. But, you already knew that.
The challenge blogs were loaded with inspiration and I chose 2 and I only had to make one card.

1.  The ccee stampers had a sketch challenge with a twist. You had to make a Christmas card. After all Christmas is only 5 months away they advised. So I have my first Christmas card completed.

2.  Splitcoaststampers has a challenge running for fan club members only. I think there are 33 challenges in all. I will not complete them all but I did manage to get one done. And it's my first ever "dare to get dirty challenge".

You might be wondering about the name of the challenge. Let me explain-since I am a Christian woman. There are a group of 12 designers named the "dirty dozen" on splitcoaststampers.
They are affectionately know as the "dirty girls". And, the challenges are affectionately known as the "dare to get dirty" challenges.
I worked the challenge from Bev Rousch. It was a fun one.

There is no stamping on my card. I used the Stampin-Up Christmas Jingle kit that is loaded with die cuts for my sentiment and image.
The background is done with a cuttlebug folder "season's greetings". On the 3 red panels I also used a cuttlebug folder "winter borders".
My poinsettia is from hero arts and I added a red bow and that completed my card.

I only need 79 more Christmas cards-whoo hoo!!. My plan is to have them done early this year. I want to get them in the mail right after Thanksgiving. I pray my plan works out the way I want.

Well, it's time to dim the lights in charmed life land for another day. I am up early to take care of my grandsons tomorrow. Good night and God bless!!

ETA: My blogger friend Davi from alstromeria's artistry encouraged me to also enter this card in the Tuesday Throwdown challenge. They are making Christmas cards also this week.  This is a new challenge for me. Drop over to their blog-the design team has some great samples.

card recipe:
paper: su choc chip, vv, real red
accessories: su christmas jingle kit, hero art poinsettia, cb seasons greetings, winter borders, brad

sweet pea birthday

Happy Sunday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. It's been awhile since I have posted to my blog, and I really missed it.

But I have been working on wedding shower invitations and the wedding invite itself.

Then I also have my grandsons 2-3 days a week in the summer.
It's been a busy time for sure this summer.

Yesterday, we spent the entire day with my son & daughter-in-law and Aidin's baseball team.

They were in a baseball  tournament and Mike was heading it up. So he needed help with the concession stand. So my hubby and I went over at 9:30 and came back home at 7:00.

It was a fun day even in the 90 degree heat, and we liked helping out.
We had the opportunity to meet some of the parents we didn't know. Our son & daughter-in-law really appreciated the help we gave them.

Today, my husband went to PNC Park to watch the Pirates play San Diego. They lost and it was so hot and humid, but he enjoyed the guy time. We have a friend in from Florida and he is staying with us. He was anxious to see the stadium since he is a former Pittsburgher.

So that actually gave me a free day and I pulled out my stuff to create a card for the featured stamper challenge on splitcoaststampers.
It felt so good to make a card that would be posted on my blog. I made it for my bff who is celebrating her birthday this week.

The featured stamper honor went to ravengirl (aka Toni Storrie). I really like her clean and simple style. I chose this card to recreate ala Mary Marsh style.

My changes: different card colors-I used teal and sahara sand, I used rick rack in place of her ribbon. I added butterflies and pearls. Seems like there should be butterflies when flowers are around.
I decided to make mine a birthday card.
Well, I am getting teased here from 2 guys because  I am not engaged in their conversation. So it's time to close this post. God bless!!

card recipe:
stamps: sincere salutations

paper: su sahara sand, taken with teal, sweet pea dsp
ink: memento rich cocoa
accessories: su rick rack, oval nesties, hero arts pearls
techniques: paper piercing

bright delight flower welcome

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. I can't believe that its been a week since I posted on my blog.

I have been busy getting Kendra's shower invitations together. I like the card design.
I will post the invites later.
Once I get those complete, I have to finish the wedding invitations.

I feel as though the summer is just flying by. This week I had my grandsons for 3 days and then my church responsibilities didn't leave me much time for stamping.

But, I am enjoying all the family time as well as the beautiful summer weather.
My neighbor, Sueanne has a big pool and is so generous to let us use it anytime. I had the boys over there 2x this week. They love going over to just cool off, as do I.

Tonight we went to the farmer's market to pick up some fresh fruit & veggies. I really love going to this outdoor market. There are at least 20 different farms that bring in their produce to sell.
I picked up some incredible white peaches. They are so sweet and delicious. And, of course I could not leave without getting some fresh corn and blueberries.

Later in the summer I will buy about 16# of tomatoes and make salsa. My friend gave me an outstanding recipe. I make enough to keep us going most of the winter.

Well, today I am posting a card I made awhile ago but never posted it on my blog. My flower images are from Stampin-Up's "bright delight" rub-on collection. I put them on whisper white card stock and then layered them onto a tangerine tango circle.

My sentiment is from the "warm words" stamp set-also Stampin-Up. I added rick-rack and that completed this clean and simple design.

It's time to dim the lights in charmed life land for another day. Hope you all are enjoying your summer.

card recipe:
stamps: warm words

paper: su ww, tangerine tango
ink: choc chip
accessories: su pigtail ribbon, bright delight rub ons, nesties

happy 4th of July

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the charmed life blog. Another beautiful sunshiny day here in Pittsburgh.

Our weekend is supposed to have temps climb with more sunshine. We are having a 4th of July cook-out at our home. 

Mike & Joellen will be coming over with the boys for the day. Our community has a fab fireworks display that we go and watch every year. Lots of fun, family time as we celebrate our nation's birth.

I am on my way shortly to watch Ethan in a tournament baseball game. It's about a 35 min drive from here, but I wanted to post my card before I left.

Don't know what time we will return this evening. Sometimes we go out to eat after the game.

This card is for 6 challenges:

1.  The Wednesday sketch challenge on splitcoaststampers provided my card layout. This was a great sketch to show off my designer paper and the embossing folder I used.

2.  The curtain call challenge #36 provided my colors for this card. We were to use kraft, night of navy, red and white. This was a great color combo and I thought it lent itself to a patriotic card for this time of year.

3.  The inspiration for my card came from the pals paper arts blog. It was a 4th of July inspiration challenge.

4.  The Friday free for all challenge on splitcoaststampers was to to create a card with a star and add some gold. I used a gold glitter pen on my fireworks.
5.  I found a new challenge today on the create with Connie & Mary blog. This week it's a theme challenge and it's the 4th of July.  My card definitely fits that theme.

6.    The last but not least challenge is from the stampin sisters in Christ. This week we were to use stripes anywhere on our card. Randi Barrett shared some inspiring thoughts from the book of Isaiah 53:5. Drop over to her blog and take a minute to read it.

I wanted to be a part of all these challenges so it makes me happy when one card will do all of that.

My  background embossing is done with a cuttlebug folder and the designer paper is from creative imaginations. The fireworks is a stamp[ from great impressions and I highlighted it with a glitter pen. The sentiment is from the Stampin-Up set "just celebrate". I punched out a couple of stars and that completed my card.

I have to run for now. I hope all my American friends have a great 4th of July celebration.

best wishes

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

I have been enjoying the beautiful cool summer weather here in Pittsburgh the past few days.

We are having some of those perfect summer days with low humidity and lots of sunshine.

The overnight temps have been a little cooler but again its perfect sleeping weather with the windows open and no air conditioning.

I have been busy working on Kendra's wedding invitations. I really made some progress the past few days. I have to get the sample  invite together for the shower as well. I should have some help on these ones, and I only have to make 56 of them.

I ordered a new stamp set from My Time Made Easy. It's Lauren Meader's "spot of tea" collection.

The shower is going to be an afternoon tea. I am excited to be able to make the invitations and also attend the event.

My card for today is one that I made at our stamp club a couple of months ago. Our hostess, Christine Cusick, is also our Stampin-Up demo. She had some great ideas for our club meeting. 

This card used the daisy die #2. We went with a pink pirouette designer paper and used the large brads for the center.

The sentiment is from the Stampin-Up  "oval all" set. This set is designed wo work with their oval punches.

I thought the best wishes sentiment could be used for a variety of occasions. I am going to send it to a friend who recently celkebrated 42 years of marriage. That is an incredible milestone in this day and age.

Well, that's my card for today. Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July week-end.