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Good morning everyone,

I thought I would share a recent mini album I created. As soon as I saw this paper stack at JoAnn Fabrics, I knew it would make a lovely mini album. I watched a video by Kathryn who created Life on the {Scrap} Beach Ning network when she made an 8 x 8 mini with some really awesome papers. I love her mini albums - they are always so very creative.

I have more videos if you get a chance, you can check them out by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a lovely little comment.

Happy Crafting! :~)

Texture

Hey y'all,

We are having a wonderful challenge over at Tellen's Place - let's see some texture and y'all know how fun that is! The fabulous design team has made a bunch of crafty cards to delight and inspire you!

Ally is my favorite digital image that my son draws and she fit perfectly with the pink color scheme. I just love organza ribbon and those cute little flowers from...darn, I can't remember if they are recollections or the other place stationed in the UK.

I adhered the little rose on top of a button that was affixed atop the organza bow. Don't you just love polka dots?

Well, y'all head on over to Tellen's Place because I'll be giving away some delicious blog candy on Monday to end the month.

Happy Crafting! :~)

Another Blog Award!

Hello everyone!

I am always shocked when someone gives me award and it makes me shy about accepting it. But I want to acknowledge those I've received this month.

I received this award from Netta and Anna (February 27th but I was too noodle-headed to check and see until now - sorry Anna). Both of these ladies' blogs are filled with loads of delightful crafts that will surely inspire you. They certainly help me when I'm feeling unmoved or empty headed about the next craft project. Thank you Netta and Anna!

I received this award from Fluff who has a really entertaining blog, "FluffnStuff." She always has tidbits to titillate the sometimes drollness of blogging. Her darling baby, Sweet Cheeks, keeps her on her toes as all children do but she's never without a crafty project that is incredibly awesome. Thank you Fluff!

And this award is from lovely Irene, who was so kind to include me in her list of bloggers to award:

Irene's blog, "It's All in the Cards" showcases a bounty of beautiful crafts she has made - she is so very talented! Thank you so much for being so kind and thinking of me, Irene. Check her blog out for yourself and see the wonderful things she's made.

Edited to add: Monica of Handmade cards with love passed this on to me. She's such a wonderful lady who always thinks of others and makes the most wonderful cards that she gives to charities. Thank you for thinking of me Monica!

It is taking me awhile to revamp myself from my visit to San Diego's Independent Film Festival and the arrival of King Mufasa --- everything went well in Morocco and we are back to our normal routine...well, the unpacking is taking awhile...the King bought back some lovely goodies for his devoted wifey. *big smile* Once I get myself in order, I'll be around to your blogs to see what I've missed y'all! ;-)

Happy Crafting! :~)

Mardi Gras

Good morning everyone!

Fat Tuesday was yesterday for New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebration and I'm celebrating too! I'm happy to report that my FIL's heart surgery went well and he will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow and on his way back home (a 6 hour drive). King Mufasa wanted to come home but I reminded him he needed to stay to ensure his father's respite at home would be without complications. This will give me a trip to San Diego this weekend to see Markus and go to the Indie Festival! YAY! :-)

I signed up for a tag swap at Stampin' Dymonz's Scrap Shack and the theme for March was Mardi Gras, hosted by the fabulous April Dawn. At first, I was daunted because when I was an Executive Assistant, I "replicated" Mardi Gras parties but how does one put that on a tag? Well, I ink distressed the edges, stamped and embossed a swirly stamped image and added a crown.

To the crown, I added dots of gold stickles to resemble jewels.

But I still needed stuff; the right color scheme, feathers, beads and the invitation to the party which was part of the challenge!

I used MS clip art gallery for the green and purple masks, added crystal effects to make them shine and give them a deeper hue. I colored the strand of pearls to match the color scheme. I printed the invitation in French.

I added a clay mask to really give it a 3D feel along with the feathers for texture. The mask was made out of Crayola air-dry clay. I broke three (of seven that I had to make) trying to color them with the Copic marker. I hadn't expected them to be so fragile.

I've sent these off in the mail and hope the recipients will enjoy them. I'm entering these tags into the following challenges:

**Craft your Passion** - Anything Goes
**Happileigh Scrappin'** - Purple
**Ally's Sunday Challenge** - Anything Goes
**Papertake Weekly** - Lemon Zingy

Have a great rest of the week and Happy Crafting! :~)

Stick it...

Good morning everyone!

I have been able to get into a few swaps lately, to whittle away the time while King Mufasa is away. His father's surgery is supposed to happen today so I should know when he calls in a few hours what the status is.

For this pin swap on "Scraps of Color", the swap was to make a dozen pins; three for each person in a group of four with a "Spring" theme.

I used these stick pins from Pizzazz Aplenty. These lovely pins were included as a freebie from Judy, already in colors I loved so I didn't have to color a thing!

Here's a picture of all the pins. Those butterflies I bought at Pizzazz Aplenty worked perfectly for the spring theme.

Each pin had to packaged so that it would not "stick" the hostess or the receiver of the pins. I placed each pin in a cosmetic sponge that I had cut. I adhered these on a card stock that I had punched with one of MS's borders.

Then I finished the decoration of the package with embossed butterflies that matched the pins in that package. Don't they make you think of spring? I hope you like them

I am entering these into the following challenges (as listed on Feline Playful):

**Catch the Bug Challenge** - Anything Goes
**Easy Craft Projects** - Green (the green pins)
**Send a Smile for Kids** - Anything Goes
**Digi's with Attitude** - Anything Goes
**Fairy Knoll** - Think Spring
**Miami Doodles** - Monochromatic green (the green pins)
**Stampin' for the Weekend** - Springtime

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Crafting! :-)

Embelish it...

Happy Friday y'all!

Well, it's the weekend again and I know those that work outside the home are thrilled to have some free time so that they can do what they wanna do....like crafting!

Today starts another challenge over at Tellen's Place, my other blog that features digital images drawn by my son, Markus. This challenge is simple - we just need to see embellishments! Now how easy is that? I made this diagonal fold card from a tutorial I found on Split Coast Stampers. It was really easy to make with one sheet of card stock - I used K& Company. For my two embellishments, I used Prima Flowers, applied Crystal Effects around the punched flowers to give them a bit of shine and then added the string of beads around the edges to give them a bit of dimension.

This kind of card allows two pockets where you can make tags or insert gift cards. The tag with the TPD image is "Ally-Fairy", one of our signature images. Each tag is reversible (same pattern as the pocket card).

The TP Divas have also made some really cool stuff - why not check 'em out. They're just a click away! :-) Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Crafting! :~)

Bears, Bears, and more Bears

Hello there crafty bloggers!

Well, I've decided to engage in a few swaps to fill up gaps of time around here. Swap-bot.com is a fun place and for the most part, I had a fun first year with them but went on hiatus. So, I went back so that I could enjoy some of the "simpler" fun to be had in swapping.

(images left to right: Pollycraft Monday, Beccy's Place and Pollycraft Monday)

I love bears. So I joined the ATC Bear swap and sent my package to my partner yesterday. She's located in Lithuania, so I think it's safe to post this.

I am entering these ATC's into the following challenges:

**Papertake Weekly** - Anything Goes
**Gingerloft Challenge** - Furry Friends
**I Did it Creations** - Punches or Dies - (butterfly punch)
**Incy Wincy Designs ** - Spring is in the Air - (bear holding flower pot w/grass & butterfly)
**The Crazy Challenge** - Spring Themed - (bear holding flower pot w/grass & butterfly)
**Lollipop Crafts** - Think Spring - (bear holding flower pot w/grass & butterfly)
**Riley and Co** - Brown + - all three bears are brown

One of the nice things you can do on Swap-bot.com is to look at your partner's profile and fulfill his/her "wish list" and so these are extra goodies I added to the package. I hope she likes it.

Happy Crafting! :~)