Thinking of You Times Two

This week is my turn to host the Crafty Secrets challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers and in the spirit of the Hope You Can Cling To campaign SCS is sponsoring I decided to go with a "thinking of you" challenge - with a twist.

We are making two cards/projects this week - one for a friend who could use a smile & one to send to patients at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. So the idea is to make the card for your friend, then before clearing off your workspace, use some of the same supplies to make a second card for HYCCT.

Here are the cards I made:


Details:
Main Image & Sentiment - Crafty Secrets - Vintage Photos Creative Scraps
Patterned Paper - K&Company (blue); DCWV - Rustic Stack (beige)
Cardstock - DCWV
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Accessories - rick-rack - Offray; embroidery floss - DMC; sponge - Darice; brad - unknown


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - A Couple of Cuties (sentiment)
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Patterned Paper - K&Company (blue); DCWV - Rustic Stack (beige); pink script (unknown)
Cardstock - Bazzill (pink)
Accessories - corner punch - Fiskars; glitter glue - Stickles (Stardust); ribbon - unknown

Thank you for stopping by today!
Marcy

Greetings & Kind Thoughts

Sending you all greetings & kind thoughts today!

Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Birds & Blossoms Creative Scraps
Patterned Paper - K&Company
Cardstock - DCWV
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Best Buds Vintage Postcard Kit
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Forest Moss & Tattered Rose
Button - Jenni Bowlin
Ribbon - The Little Pink Studio
Embroidery Floss - DMC
Glitter Glue - Stickles - Stardust
Sponge - Darice

Turning Eight!

Our dear girl turned eight this weekend during what could basically be called a three-day extravaganza. Lots of good times with family & friends. She cheerfully reminded us that she's now "half-way there!" to driving age. {insert bittersweet sigh here}


Hugs,
Marcy

Little Blessings

Over the weekend I made a couple of cards using Crafty Secrets' new Little Blessings Creative Scraps. To me, these are the perfect blend of sweet images and uplifting sentiments. This is why I love to make cards. At a time when most communications are so, well, wired, making & sending handmade cards feels more personal, more heart to heart. To the recipient, I hope it is a little surprise, a little pause for breathing room, a little art & beauty added to his or her day.

This card is for a card shower that Darlene & her daughter are organizing for a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer. If you would like to participate, I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated. Read more about it here on Darlene's blog.

Details:
Main image: Crafty Secrets - Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Patterned paper: K&Company - Life's Journey
Cardstock: Core'dinations - Nostalgia collection
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Brushed Corduroy
Accessories: ribbon - Basic Basic - Simply Satin; vintage button; crocheted flower - unknown; embroidery floss - DMC; sponge - Darice; corner punch - Fiskars

This card is for my daughter's 8th birthday. The image reminds me of card images & illustrations that were popular when I was a little girl in the seventies. So sweet!

Details:
Main image: Crafty Secrets - Little Blessings Creative Scraps
Stamps: Crafty Secrets: Fairyland (mushroom); Best Buds Vintage Postcard Kit (butterflies)
Patterned paper: K&Company
Cardstock: Stampin' Up!
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Forest Moss
Seam Tape Ribbon: Rebecca Sower Designs
Eyelets: Making Memories
Distressing tool: Tonic

Wishing you a lovely day!
Marcy

Saturday Shopping (on Sunday): Custom Crops

Yesterday we spent the day doing what should be done on a beautiful, warm fall day in Western Pennsylvania. Our day was full of parade fun, hayrides, scarecrows, face painting & games, and yummy fall treats.





All that to say that I didn't get around to writing my Saturday Shopping post. Today I want to tell you about Custom Crops. For scrapbookers, cardmakers, and papercrafters, Custom Crops is practically a one-stop shop. They have a great selection: Cricut machines & cartridges, Flower Soft, Grungeboard, and even my all-time favorite stamps, Crafty Secrets. Custom Crops has particularly good prices on Cricut items. This is where I purchased my Expression and many of my cartridges. They frequently have sales and specials on shipping. I really appreciate that they post customer reviews of the products they carry.

Hope you've had a relaxing weekend, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Marcy

Fall Thank You

In the past week, a dear friend of mine & her daughter have treated Shannon to a trip to the apple orchard for cider & ginger muffins with cinnamon cream cheese filling (yes!) & a (very grown up) trip to the local coffee shop for scones & hot cocoa (with "lots of whipped cream, please!"). So I made this little thank you card for them:


Details:
Stamps - Stampin' Up! - Give Thanks; Heidi Grace (thank you)
Patterned Paper - K&Company - Wild Saffron
Cardstock - K&Company - Fresh Paint (red); Gina K Designs (natural); kraft - Value Pack cards
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Accessories - circle punch - SU!; leather twine - unknown; markers - Copic Sketch

Thank YOU for coming by today!
Marcy

You are Precious!

During the month of October, Splitcoast Stampers is sponsoring Hope You Can Cling To, a card drive for breast cancer patients & their family members at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. There will be all kinds of challenges all month, including challenges in the member company forums. For this week's Crafty Secrets challenge, Lori Lynn challenged us to use pink on our cards. I used the new Poppy set from CS to make my card. We have real poppies in our yard every year that bloom this beautiful tea rose color.


Details:
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Poppy
Ink - SU! Cranberry Crisp; Ranger Distress Ink - Tattered Rose
Patterned Paper - K& Company
Cardstock - Core'dinations (deep red); Gina K Designs (natural)
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch; lace overlay border - Hambly Screen Prints; glitter glue - Stickles (chocolate & stardust); edge distresser - Tonic

Wishing you all a lovely day!
Marcy

Spy Party Preparations

Shortly after Shannon's seventh birthday, maybe even before, she announced that she wanted to have a spy party to celebrate her eighth. After much thought, preparations are now well under way. The invitations were created over the weekend and are being hand-delivered with much excitement at school today.



I created the invitations in Word using various fonts and printed them in mirror image, so the recipients will have to hold them up in the mirror to read them. I tucked the invitations & directions in these 6 x 9" clasp envelopes from Wal-Mart and sealed them with this cute disguise stamp from High Hopes:


We've ordered or purchased all of the spy-type items for the goody bags: funny nose & glasses for disguises, top secret notebooks & pens, magnifying glasses, and flashlights. The games have been decided, and now I just have to gather some props and order a cake!

Thanks for stopping by today ~ your visits mean a lot to me!

Marcy

Saturday Shopping: Stubby Pencil Studio

I spend a lot of my crafting time creating for & with my children, who are five and nearly eight years old, so today I want to share with you one of my favorite online stores for children's art & craft supplies: Stubby Pencil Studio.

This wonderful store offers a wide variety of eco-minded products for kids. Some of our favorite products can be found there: TRIMAX colored pencils, sturdy & whimsical sketchbooks, cards to color, and some of our all-time favorite stocking stuffers.

Pop into Stubby Pencil Studio sometime, pick something up for your kiddos, and maybe even treat yourself to something fun!

Have a happy Saturday!

Marcy