Swirls & Butterflies Scrapbook

The Outlawz Girlz have challenged us again and this time it is to make a Scrapbook page with Butterflies & Swirls. My mother never had a wedding album, I am making her one. She passed away in 2002 battling colon cancer. I was 30 years old. I am making this in her memory as a keepsake for me and my then someday I will pass it down to my daughter.

Pink & Brown Birthday Card

Every Monday at Outlawz Girlz is the Birthday Challenge. This weeks challenge was pink, brown and green and I forgot the green. But The card turned out so cute! Don't ya think?

Hostessing Spring/Easter Card Swap

That's right you read it correct! I am hostessing my 2nd time around for the Spring/Easter card swap at Anysoldier.com

The card swap idea is pretty simple.  One person signs up to be the "hostess" - this means that  ALL cards will be sent to him/her to be divided and redistributed.  The hostess will set the due date which is March 1st for the Spring/Easter Swap and the number of participants she would like to have.  The number of cards needed is usually 20. The due date is about 4-6 weeks before the holiday or season we will be celebrating.  Then, hopefully, 20 participants sign up.  Now for the cards themselves........... I have seen homemade cards, store bought cards, computer generated cards, postcards, bookmarks, all kinds of cards.  What you decide to do is totally your choice.  I make my cards because I enjoy doing the crafts.   Again, totally up to you. The cards go into unsealed envelopes - we like to look at the cards before we ship them out :)  You can write a message in the cards or insert a note - that way the soldiers can reuse the cards and send them back to the States.  Some junkies include pictures, jokes, funnies, a single packet of drink mix, etc.  If you decide to add something extra, just make sure it's small and flat.  Otherwise, the cards won't fit in the flat rate envelopes.  I include a typewritten letter, thanking the warriors and telling them a little about myself and how I got involved in "anysoldier".  When your cards are completed, put them in a ziploc baggie in a flat rate Priority envelope ($4.95) and write DO NOT BEND on outside of envelope send off to the hostess. Remember to included a $4.95 stamp, cash, check or money order to cover the return postage and a return addressed label. When the hostess receives all the cards from the participants, she will sort them and then mail them back.  You will now have 20 different cards (actually 19 - one of the cards you receive back will be yours).  Then you send them to your soldiers as a group or individually.

AnySoldier.com Valentine Card Swap!!

My cards have been returned from the hostess! Usually I photograph the cards I had made before I send them to the hostess to be divided among the swappers and this time I was in a rush to get them out at the last minute before the deadline. My cards arrived a day late but the hostess was nice enough to give me another day. Here's what the guys/gals at Anysoldier.com card swappers created!

I am showing you the Valentines I sent for the swap in 2010 before I was in BLOG LAND.

Celebrate Love Card

On Wednesdays it's the  Copic Challenge. The theme for the week is Celebrate This free digi image was given to us in the Beginner Copics Class and I used it in my card.

Quilled Easter Bunny Card

Every Tuesday at The Outlawz Girlz they have a color challenge. This weeks colors are brown and pink. I chose to Quill a brown bunny and layer him on top of a Pink  egg I cut out on my Cricut machine using my Easter cartridge and ran through my Cuttlebug machine embossing the egg. The white flowers are out of one of the egg patterns offered in the cartridge. I used the egg on another project and the flowers here.

Wedding Photo Scrapbook

Saturdays at The Outlawz Girlz is their weekly Scrapbook challenge. This is my first photo scrapbook page. I won a Love themed scrapbook album kit at Simply Scrapping Crafts from a blog hop or card challenge entry. My mother never had a wedding album book, although she passed away 9 years ago her birthday is this month on January 26th and I wanted to do something in her memory. She also divorced my father when I was 8 years old, so I guess this is really for me but in her honor. There is a not a day that goes by that I do not think about my Mom.

CAS Valentines Card

Sundays are great day at The Outlawz Girlz they have their CAS Clean And Simple Challenge. This week the color is red with an embellishment and lots of white space.

Valentine Card with Candy!

Okay here's my first submission for the color challenge of red, white and pink at The Outlawz Girlz

Card, Sketch, & CAS Challenges

Today I whipped up these three cards for the challenges.

Thursdays Prisma & Other Mediums Challenge

Okay so I don't have Prisma colored pencils. I used Crayola to color this free digi image for this challenge at The Outlawz Girlz.

Friday Copic Challenge 1

The ladies at The Outlawz Girlz have done it again. They have tested my inner crafty self with these red shades for the Copic Challenge. I am still trying to get the shading down correctly cannot understand why mine aren't blending as well as others I have seen. I've tried not pressing so hard, coloring in feather strokes, circles, I have bought the special paper but it isn't any of the products. It is me.. practice makes perfect, I know. Go to The Outlawz Girlz   
and test your inner crafty self too!

WINNER WINNER!! Stampfairy Blog Hop winner!

I am so excited to try some of these new items I won from blog hopping at Stamp Fairy.com! Thank you Lisa (The Purple Place) You totally rock the crafty world giving away such wonderfully beautiful items to use!!

Stamp Fairy Blog Hop 

Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Over at The Outlawz Girlz I was challenged by their first ever sketch challenge. This is what I created from the sketch! You can be challenge too, go to The Outlawz Girlz

Monday Birthday Challenge 1

There's a new place on the web to challenge your inner crafty self! It is called The Outlawz Girlz. And every Monday looks as if it is going to be the Birthday challenge. SO check out the challenge! 

The Outlawz Girlz

Card Challenge

I made this for a card challenge.

Placed some paper Quilled hearts and music notes on the side to give it more of a "Feelin Groovy" feel! The Flower cutout was created using a neat technique, not even sure how to explain it but check the link above for the tutorial.

Color Challenge

 I created this card for the Color Challenge for the week of January 5th.

Clean & Simple (CAS) Challenge

Here's what I came up with for the Clean & Simple Challenge.

Heart Pocket Card

Another Challenge completed from cdac!! I just love how this turned out with just a few things left over in my box and not a lot of effort I was able to put this card together pretty quickly.

Holiday/Special Occasion Challenge

Here's what I have created from the free digi image at
CDAC
for the challenge! I also submitted this card at SSC for the Copic Challenge.  I also used some of the beginner Quilling items I had made. My husband was asking me how come I hadn't been using the Quilling items on my cards so I had to make sure I keep him happy and show him a few cards with some Quilled items. :)

Freebie Digi Challenge

Another Freebie Digi image at  CDAC Crafters Digital Art Center. I turned this cute little bunny into a sweet Valentines card.

Copic markers used on Bunny: BG000 BG01 BG02
                                   Above Bunny Ears: C1 C2 C3

Postcard Scrapbook for a Soldier

Here's a peek at my first scrapbook ever! Just a peek since I cannot put everyone's addresses and info for the whole world to see, but you get the idea! I made this for my husband's cousin's son who is currently in the Army serving in Iraq driving a truck delivering supplies. It was a great project idea suggested by Debbie McCormick at Anysoldier.com that  a few of us trade postcards and try and get all of them from across the nation. I had enough to make a book and it seemed all I had received so I put the book together. The postcards were photo copied and the copy is permanently attached into the page but the postcards themselves are actually removable unless they were blank then they were permanently attached. I would like to thank Amy at Anysoldier for sending me all the wonderful stickers to place in this album!  I hope to get this book bubble wrapped this week and sent to the family in Denver, Colorado!