Easter Blessings

Happy Easter Sunday. I am wishing all my friends in blog land a blessed and joyful Easter.

I am hosting a family dinner here after church service. Enjoy your day whatever your plans are.

Until next time........God bless.

Masculine Birthday

Blessing to you on this Good Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. We have a service at church tonight to celebrate Good Friday and then Sunday of course will be our Easter service.

My hubby went to the wholesale house today and picked up lots of flowers (lilies,tulips, hyacinths and hydrangeas) to decorate the front of our church. It will be a beautiful site on Easter morning.

We have a family dinner planned and I am finalizing my recipes today so I can do my food shopping tomorrow. Sunday it is supposed to rain but our temps will be 55°-whoo- hoo a heat wave.

Now onto my card for today. Today is my day to post on the Great Impressions Stamps blog as part of the design team. I am doing a 3 part series on masculine cards on that blog.

I cut my card shape with a Spellbinders eyelet circle die in more mustard cardstock. My card layout is an older De-constructed Sketch #88.  My colors are from this week's Splitcoaststampers color challenge #419.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin-Up “autumn spice” collection. I thought the more mustard paper had a masculine tone to it.

My turquoise panel is using the Cuttlebug “swiss dots” embossing folder. I used a corner rounder on this panel. The center flag is cut with the MFT fishtail flags stax die in daffodil delight cardstock.

My cupcake image is the Great Impressions Stamp- E524. I paper pieced  and then fussy cut the cupcake and colored the candle with markers.  I cut a Spellbinders labels 10 in naturals ivory and sponged it with more mustard ink. The cupcake is layered over this die.

The sentiment is the Great Impressions Stamps  "just because you're you -F200.  I used just the "happy birthday" portion of the sentiment. And for placement, I used my stamp-a-ma-jig.

Well, that's my card for today. I hope you have a blessed Easter and a wonderful weekend. So until next time.......God bless.

I am also entering.
1.  Charisma Cardz has a happy birthday challenge.
2.  Happy Campers Blog wants us to add dimension.
3. Simon Says Stamp has an anything goes challenge.
4. Party Time Tuesdays has an anything goes challenge.
5. Nana Vic's challenge is anything goes.

Little Girls Silhouette

Happy Tuesday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. I spent the day with my grandsons who are on Easter break from school.

Aidin had baseball practice first thing this morning. It was held indoors because we still have snow on the ground. When he finished we all went out for breakfast.

It was a lazy kind of day. They were just enjoying the first day of vacation and I was just happy to be spending time with them. Already looking forward to my days with them this summer. Time goes by so quickly so I savor the time with them now.

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the challenge #145 on Our Daily Bread Designs blog. This one happened to be a sketch.

My card is using the ODBD image "little girls". Such a sweet set. I stamped the silhouette image in Stampin-Up purely pomegranate ink and cut with a Spellbinder circle die. Layered over the Labels 16 die.

My flag is cut from the MFT flag stax and I used the Stampin-Up fancy fan embossing folder for some background interest.

My background paper is from Stampin-Up's "berry bliss" collection. I did some piercing to the flower on the lower right and stamped my sentiment in the middle.

Well that's it for me today. So until next time.........God bless.

I am also entering:
1.  Creative Craft Challenges has a "for the kids" challenge.
2.  Through The Craft Room Door has an anything goes challenge.
3.  Bunny Zoe's Crafts has a girly challenge.
4.  Craft Your Passion has a make it cute challenge.
5.  Forever Friends has a girls challenge.

One Of A Kind

Happy Saturday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Yesterday was the last day of our fish fry at our church.

We held the event for 3 Fridays in March. We worked in the kitchen from 12:00-9:30. I was completely exhausted at the end of the night. There is so much prep work that needs done to serve meals for 3 hours. Makes me really appreciate what goes in to running a restaurant.

My cooking contribution was a shrimp-crab chowder. It was a sellout for 3 weeks in a row. This definitely made me feel good. Several people have asked for the recipe, which I will gladly oblige.

So we are finished until Lenten season 2014.

Now onto my fun card for today. I had this cute printed image from Darcie's Stamps. She calls them U-cuts because you cut them out. This one is from her "showers of kisses" collection. I cut the little girl and the rain puddle.

I used the Stampin-Up embossing folder "cloudy day" for the background. Added some red ribbon and my Amuse sentiment to complete this card.
Well, that's it for me today. Time to dim the lights in Charmed Life Land for another day. There is church in the morning and it's Palm Sunday. So until next time.......God
bless.

Since I made a kid's card today, I thought I would include a photo of my sweet 2yr old grandaughter Phoenix Daisy. 



I am also entering:
1.  A Gem Of A Challenge has an on the move challenge.
2.  Brown Sugar Challenge Blog has anything goes.
3.  Stampin' For The Weekend has a child's play challenge.
4.  Paper Crafting Journey has a ribbons or lace challenge.
5.  Southern Girls has the kids are alright challenge.

Masculine Birthday

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. It's still cold and snowy here in Pittsburgh and more of this for the next week. But, it can't stay like this forever. After all, it is spring (lol).

I went over to pick up my middle grandson from school yesterday. He called me and asked me to come over. I don't usually go over 2 days during school but since he took the time to call and ask.....I had to do it.

I fixed after school snacks for all 3 of them and then took Aidin to baseball practice. It was an indoor practice because of the snow and cold. His first game is supposed to be today, but I don't see that happening but we will see.

Well onto my card for today. This one is posted on the Great Impressions Stamps Blog today as part of my design team responsibilities. I decided to go with a masculine birthday card.

I started with my layout which is this weeks sketch challenge 428 over on Splitcoaststampers.  I decided to follow the layout fairly close and not add any additional layers.

I used the Stampin-Up" top note die" for my background shape and cut some Stampin-Up designer paper from the "sycamore street" collection.

My sentiment is from the Great Impressions Stamp -"just because you're you - F200".  I stamped the sentiment in island indigo ink.

My flag pennants are Spellbinders dies and cut in tangerine orange and island indigo. I added a tangerine tango button to complete my card.

That's it for me for today so until next time........God bless.

Whoo-Hoo

Happy           Wednesday and           thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog.

Well, today is the first day of Spring. Don't know about your weather but it was very cold and blustery here in Pittsburgh. But we are on the upside now. The snow and the cold days will be gone soon. Whoo-hoo!!

And that brings me to my 2 cards today. I made these cards for a couple of challenges on Splitcoaststampers. On the first I used the layout from this week's Sweet Stop Sketch 202.

The owl designer paper is something I found at Michael's and this is part of their recollections line. My owl is punched from the Stampin-Up owl punch.

The doily is from MFT dizzy doily die. I thought these would make great kids birthday cards. That's it for me today so until next time......God bless.

I am also entering:
1.  Creative Moments has an animal challenge.
2.  PaperCraft Star has a birds challenge.
3.  Creative Card Crew has a masculine challenge.
4.  Created With Love has a button up challenge.

Time To Celebrate

Happy Monday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Hope your weekend was a good one. We spent Sunday with my son and his family and enjoyed a great dinner together. My daughter-in-law is a fabulous cook.

After dinner we looked over literature and discussed our summer vacation plans. No decision as yet because we want to get some more info on one of the resorts. But, we will decide soon.

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the color challenge on Splitcoaststampers.
Becky was our hostess and she chose a spring color palette of daffodil delight, certainly celery and bashful blue.

I started my card by picking my layout which is the MOJO284 sketch. 

The daffodil delight background paper is from Stampin-Up’s "floral district" collection and the certainly celery layer is Stampin-Up’s " paper patterns stack" collection.

On the celery layer I used the Stampin-Up edgelits “finishing touches” and also embossed with the Sizzix birds & swirls embossing folder. Used some blue rhinestones on this layer.

My daisy is the Stampin-Up daisy die #2. I added a whimsical flourish cut in celery from Memory Box. Ribbon is Stampin-Up’s bashful blue satin.

My sentiment is from Great Impressions Stamps “time to celebrate E759”. I stamped in bashful blue.

That's my card for today. So until next time........God bless.

I am also entering:
1.  ABC Challenges is bring on the flowers.
2.  Card Mania has a lots of layers challenge.
3.  Craft Your Passion has a ribbons or lace challenge.
4.  Outlawz has a layer it up challenge.
5.  One Crazy Stamper has an anything goes challenge.

Easter Chick

Happy Saturday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. We had our fish fry at church yesterday and today I feel like I am in recovery mode. (lol)!!

I spent 9 hours there. I make the crab & shrimp chowder so my day starts at 12:00 noon. All the prep work is time consuming-especially de-veining the shrimp. But the end result is so worth it. We sold out of the soup.

After we close the staff gets to eat and there were ingredients left this week to sample the chipotle tacos. Incredible is the word!! The chiptole sauce is made from scratch by our resident chef, Lou.  He does a fantastic job. They are a big hit with the crowd that comes to the event as well. Next Friday will be our last one for this year.

Now onto my card for today. This one I made for the sketch challenge #427 on Splitcoaststampers. Janette was the hostess and she provided a great layout.

I need more Easter cards so I pulled out my Stampin Up set "a good egg". I paper pieced their shells and colored the chicks with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.

This is a Stampin-Up only card -the designer papers are "sunshine and sprinkles", "a cheerful treat" and" polka dot parade" collections.

The middle panel is melon mambo and I used the Stampin-Up honeycomb embossing folder.
Well that's it for me today. So until next time........God bless

I'm also entering:
1.  PolkaDoodles has a happy Easter challenge.
2.  Simply Create Too has an Easter or bunnies challenge.
3.  Stempelsonne has an Easter challenge.
4.  Moving Along With The Times has a spring is in the air challenge.
5.  Sincerely Yours Creations has an Easter Challenge.

Masculine Stars

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Busy day for me today.  We are having a fish fry at our church this week and my hubby and I are helping out.

I am making a shrimp and crab chowder that it is a bit labor intensive. But, it is delicious and a big hit with the crowd that comes out.
This year we also introduced  2 types of fish tacos- one is with a broccoli slaw thai sauce and the other is with a pico de gallo and chipotle sauce.
The guy that makes these is a fabulous cook and these are delicious.

We also have a pastry chef from a local culinary school making our desserts. She attends our church-how fortunate are we? Her lineup is:

Burnt Almond Cake
New York Cheesecake
Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Mini lady locks

Hope there is something left at the end of the night so I can have dinner (lol!!). But, we will see.

Now onto my card for today. Friday is my day to post on the Great Impressions Stamps Blog as part of their design team. This week I decided to go with a masculine card.

I decided to make my card today a masculine one and this sentiment stamp from Great Impressions Stamps is a good one for this type of card. The stamp is "catch a falling star E482".  As soon as I saw this stamp I had a card of this type in mind.

I used kraft designer paper on my first layer and embossed it with my Cuttlebug stars embossing folder. On the next layer I re-purposed some corrugated paper that came in a package. You could also pull out your paper crimper for the same effect.

Stamped my sentiment on kraft card stock and added a black panel underneath. I used a Martha Stewart edge punch that has a more masculine feel to it.

To complete the card, I punched some stars and added some licorice bakers twine. Well, that's it for me today. I am off to my fish fry. So until next time.........God bless.

Inchie Card

Happy Tuesday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Winter seems to have returned to us. It was cold and snow flurries off and on today. But, I am holding to the 8 days until spring.

Our tulips are coming up and the deer and rabbits are showing interest. My hubby was out in his gardens spraying a deer & rabbit repellent yesterday. They don't like the smell and its a fertilizer for the tulips. It's the only way we get to have the flowers we do.

I also talked with the travel agent today to plan our summer vacation. I am getting excited because we want to do something different with my son, daughter-in-law and grandsons this year. We want to go to the Caribbean or to Riviera Maya in Mexico to an all-inclusive resort. We will see how this works out for all of us.

Now onto my card for today. This inchie I made for the Birds and Bees VSN on Splitcoaststampers. We were to create a card using inchies. I used some designer paper from the American Crafts "backyard tweet" collection. I cut it into 1" squares an lined up the images so the birdcages matched top and bottom.

I used a Cheery Lynn Designs die to cut a flourish and a Tim Holtz die for my bird. The sentiment is from the Stampin-Up set "language of friendship". Well it's getting late and time to dim the lights in Charmed Life land for another day. So until next time.......God bless.

Other challenges I am entering:
1.  Celebrate The Occasion has a spring is in the air challenge.
2.  Incy Wincy Designs has a "things that begin with "F" challenge. I used a flourish, friendship in sentiment-birds and they have feathers.
3.  Paper Playtime has an anything goes challenge.
4.  That Craft Place has an anything goes.

Our Daily Bread Designs Anniversary Party

Happy Sunday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Today I am taking part in a special celebration with Our Daily Bread Designs.

March is an exciting month for Our Daily Bread Designs as it celebrates it's fifth year anniversary!!! Kelley so appreciates the customers of Our Daily Bread Designs.
And she is excited for the opportunity to celebrate with them today with the ODBD Anniversary Linky Party celebration!!

Below are the links of several fans and customers who have created cards or projects using stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs.

These links will also be posted on the Our Daily Bread Designs blog as well.

To make the linky party even more fun, Kelly is offering one random participant/hopper a $15 gift certificate toward stamps!!!

• The party will run from 2pm EDT March 10 until 2pm EDT March 11
• Winners will be announced on the ODBD Blog March 12 at 7am EDT

• There will be one prize including a $15 Gift Certificate toward stamps which must be claimed within 2 weeks

Here is my creation using the ODBD "nest" stamp.

Thanks for joining us! I hope you have enjoyed my creation.

Simply stop at each blog on the link below, leave a comment and return to the ODBD Blog to tell us you completed the hop. If you had any problems along the way,  let us know! That's it! Enjoy!

1.  Brigita- GDT                                 
2.  Mary Marsh - GDT

3.  Karen Wallace - GDT                    4.  Lee Ann Barrett - GDT

5.  Connie Griffith - GDT                   6.  Sarah Nelson - GDT

7.  Barbara Washington - GDT           8.  Chris Olsen 

9.   Grace N                                        10.  Angie Crockett

11. Lisa Somerville                            12. Gerrie Jonnic- GDT 

13. Sandee                                          14. Sabrina Jackson

15. Jennipher - GDT

Don't forget to leave a comment here and then hop to Karen's Blog. Until next time .....God bless.

Lace Frame And Cameo

Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. We had 6" of snow here on Wednesday and snow flurries most of the day on Thursday.

My hubby was out shoveling snow early Wednesday morning and he built a snowman. He wanted me to take a photo so we could send it off to San Francisco for our 2 year old granddaughter, Phoenix Daisy. I posted it on Face Book and our family and friends loved it. It toppled over today because it wasn't quite so cold even though it was snowing.

I guess Punxsutawney Phil was wrong in his prediction of an early spring (lol)!! I am ready for warmer days and some Spring flowers. Only 12 more days until Spring hits the calendars anyway.

Now onto my card for today. On Friday's, I post over on the Great Impressions Stamp Blog as part of the design team. I may be a bit early but, I made one of my first cards for Mother's Day.

I used the Great Impressions Stamps "lace frame H212" and "cameo C414". I stamped them both in soft suede ink. The frames was fussy cut but it was really an easy cutting processing.  I layered them over Stampin-Up's poppy parade cardstock. I used the embossing folder "kassie's brocade" on this panel.

My background designer paper is from Stampin-Up's "attic boutique" collection. Layered it over soft suede cardstock. I used Spellbinders Matting Basics A & B dies to cut the layers. Makes it so easy.

My middle panel is soft suede cardstocks and over that I layered May Arts mesh ribbon and over that Stampin-Up's poppy parade ribbon.

My bow treatment is using the new Stampin-Up "vanilla flower trim".

That's my card for today.  So until next time......God bless.

Challenges I'm Entering:
1.  4 Crafty Chicks has die for dies challenge. I used SB matting basics A & B dies.
2.  Craft Us Crazy has an anything goes challenge.
3.  Dutch Dare Card Challenges has a girls rule challenge.
4.  Sincerely Yours Creations has a Mothers Day Challenge.
5.  Cards By Lady Anne has a stamp challenge.

Great Impressions Stamps Bunny Hop

Welcome to the Great Impressions Stamps Bunny Hop! We are excited to be celebrating all things Spring! 

If you came here from Joan's blog you are in the right place. If not start at the beginning with Angi. Be sure and leave a comment at every stop so that you are in the running for some fabulous stamping prizes!

For my card today I used the Great Impressions Stamps "happy spring E493". I paper pieced the images and flowers and colored the leaves and chick.

My designer paper is from The Stampin-Up "birds of a feather" collection. I also used the Sizzix embossing folder "fancy fan". The layout is this week's MojoMonday sketch.

Now onto Patti's blog. She is the next stop in the hop.

Here is the blog hop order:

Angi,  Cheryl,  Erin,  Jenny, Joan, Mary, Patti, Shanna, Sue Great Impressions Blog Happy blog hopping!!  Until next time..........God Bless.

You Brighten My Day

Happy Sunday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog. Today we are having a new monthly challenge on the Great Impressions Stamps Blog. Our theme this month is "green". And, if you win the challenge you have a chance to guest design with us. Drop over to the blog and check out the other design team projects.

I took the challenge quite literally and made a green card. I used the image Japanese Silver Grass (G3398) and stamped directly on patterned paper.  I used a Sakura pen to add some sparkle on the leaves. My sentiment is "You brighten my day" (A127). Both are available in the online store.

My card layout is this weeks MojoMonday 282 sketch. I chose the round card option. 

I used my Spellbinders scalloped circle die and placed it on the card stock so it doesn't cut all the way through. The next time I do a round card I will take a photo.

I punched a few butterflies from the designer paper and added some pearls to complete my card.

Hope you can join the challenge fun this month. So until next time........God bless.

Also entering:
1.  613 Avenue Create has a tic tac toe challenge. I used the middle row down- die cuts, stamped image and free space.
2.  That Craft Place has an anything goes challenge.
3,  Hiding In My Craft Room has a "greens" challenge.
4.  Natalie and Amy's Challenge is to use die cuts.
5.  Sandy's Crafty Creations has an anything goes with a twist-use shades of green.