Friday, April 29, 2011

My Scrap Space challenge

Hey yall!!     So did yall get up early to watch the wedding?   I watched bits and pieces but mainly wanted to see them exchange vows which was lovely.  Kate was a stunning elegant bride~~  I loved seeing the clothes and of coure all those wonderfully elaborate hats!! just femine gorgeousness!!  They make a beautiful couple and seem very very happy!
Now to get to todays friday sketch challenge over at Tammi's My Scrap Space.  Stop on by there it's a fairly new site, she has a great fourm and a store for scrapbookers and is a sweetie.



I used a super page lo kit from The Paper Studio bought at Hobby Lobby the other day for my take on the challenge.  This kit came with the alpha stickers, tags, the dog papers and then a few solid sheets of paper too.  I cut out the tags for Buster then used a corner rounder punch and punched each of the bottom corners.  I cut the hearts out of asst papers in the kit and added a layered flower I cut using a pair of scalloped scissors.  Folded the petals for dimension and used my Fluid Chalk by Colorbox for the edges, same for the edges of the patterend papers. 


I am quite happy with the way this lo turned out and will add it to my many lo I have for the "boys".   Dont forget stop on over at Tammi's blog for more inspiration at  http;//myscrapspace.blogspot.com
and visit the forum for more ideas and to make some scrappy friends. 
My mom and I are making jam this weekend to get ready for markets next week starting with hot pepper jelly and really hot jelly and some blueberry jalapeno jam.  ALLEGAN market opens on thurs and will be each thurs now thru october from 8-2.  South Haven market opens for me the third sat in may and will be into october on saturdays from 8-2 also and then June thru sept will be Saugatuck's green market (all locally made/grown) on fridays from 8-2~
I will post on my facebook page what I am making each week and my featured item of the week!! Of cource soon it will be asparagus pickin time which also means our pickeled asparagus and my "clucking hot spears" will be ready!! 
Have a wonderful weekend!!
Talk to yall soon!!
HUGS
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Monday, April 25, 2011

CR84FN card day

Well I had time to finish up my card for this weeks great CR84FN color challenge!! and what lovely colors Miss Mona picked for this week!!


These colors scream vintage!!  So  I decided to use some vintage emphemera on it and one of my altered chipboard flowers in aqua.  Using my COLORBOX fluid chalk in chestnut I lightly edged the flower petals.  Gives them such nice dimension and rustic feel.

Another Mothers day card!!  The stamps I used are from PaperTrey Ink and I so love them! 

I actually had the red outlined tag in my K&CO stash and stamped that up.  It sure fits on this card~~  LOVE IT!!
So have a wonderful evening and I will be back soon!
HUGS
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

JUGS challenge for april 25

HAPPY MONDAY YALL!!    It is cloudy, gloomy and grey outside and raining! BUT It is nice and bright and flowery in my craftin studio this am!!  I worked on the Just Us Girls challenge for the week which was to make a 3D paper project!  My mom is a huge inspiration to me she is such a strong, loving, caring, patient woman that I decided to make a little something for Mom!!  
 

I traced a mcdonalds french fry box out awhile ago to put cookies in for halloween, another new project!! LOL yepper I have a definite weakness for MikkyD's fries! love em!
This was the perfect size for a homemade bar of sweet smelling lavender soap. 
My mom used to be an avid sewer, when I was growin up she made alot of my clothes and of cource all our halloween costumes thru the years, with that in mind I took an old pattern I had and cut a piece to make the little medallion behind the chipboad flourish.  I accordian folded a long strip of the pattern and machine stitched the center then puffed out the edges and adhered it to the box.   A pearl hat pin is adorned with a few tiny lavender colored glass beads and also a few tiny sprigs of fresh lavender are added for more scent. 


I then constructed a box using some great Paper Studio floral print cardstock.  I had to add the bling using PRIMA's pearl flourish and more sprigs of fresh lavender.   The mother stamp is by PaperTrey Ink and is just cut out in a tag shape.  Some pretty sheer ribbon and light pink velvet ribbon are wrapped around the box, and this pretty glittery butterfly is resting on the bow. 

I had some magenta colored fun fibers so added a couple of bows which blended just in with the colors here.

The handle on the box is just some of the same sheer ribbon wrapped around a piece of thin silver wire to hold its shape, a button makes this complete.  
I cant wait to give my sweet mommy her gifts for mothers day.  
I am also working on CR84FN color challenge which is awesome!!  aqua, red and white!! fun retro colors which always reminds me of polka dots!! so theres a clue to what will be posted next!!  hopefully today.
Hope yall have a wonderful day!!
Talk more soon!!
HUGS
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Sunday, April 24, 2011

HAPPY EASTER

Wishing you and your families a very very BLESSED EASTER SUNDAY!
Well we had quite a day yesterday, kind of an ambush!! I went outside to take my chickens some bread and for some reason no one was around, I didnt hear or see anyone.   I walked in the pen and found feathers everywhere!!  in the back big pen there I found the remains of 7 of my poor sweet chickens!! 4 roosters and 3 hens all dead!!  The only culprit that kills and leaves em is a weasel!!  they are just relentless little creeps!! 2 were missing their heads so that is a sure fire clue to this killing.  And one of the roosters was my little Charlie!! he followed me around the farm and has his little heirem of girls with him all the time!!  DANG vermin out there!!~ So we closed everyone in the coop and they will have to stay inside for a couple of days now since this dang killer will surely keep coming back.  That is so disheartening to find. 
Saturday was our towns prom so thru and fri I helped my mom at her shop make coursages and bouts.  I have to say we had the NICEST bunch of kids this year!! so friendly and happy and polite too!!


Here are some pics of some of the corsages we made.   This year I came up with an idea for them, we had girls say they want something really small and tiny so made some bracelet type ones. 


This is a pretty alstromeria and daisy long corsage.

A bracelet one made of pink tea roses

This is the bout and matching corsage with purple accents.

I really liked this one she wanted small and bracelet kind with purple and black tipped baby breath and a bit of black ribbon.

Love the all white ones.  Tea roses, baby's breath, white caspia and some ferns wtih white ribbon tails hanging down. 


One wanted red roses tipped with silver so here they are prettier than I was thinking it would turn out but the white alstromeria really blends well since it has red specks in the petals. 

My batteries died after this and I forgot to put a couple more in my camera case so that was all I could take.   We have some planting to get done today and work in the greenhouse and also in the chicken coop.  The sun is out and they changed the forcast to just a small percent chance of rain!! yeah!! since we have rain pretty much everday this week predicted.  Almost asparagus pickin time!! oh cant wait!! I have to pickled alot more since we were out very early in the season last year.  We do plain pickeled and cluckin hot -n-spicy ones too.  
so off to work!!  hope yall have a wonderful day!!
Talk more tomorrow!!
HUGS
Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Monday, April 18, 2011

JUGS80 color challenge

So while doin a bit of puter surfin yesterday I came across this site and thought what a great group of girls!!  Just Us Girls!!   The color challenge over there was to use agua, black, kraft and coral some great colors together too and the twist on it was to make it for a birthday.  I had some time this am to play and came up with this card.  LOL my cr84fn card was also for a birthday this week!! HMMMMMMMMM oh well I have another friend with a bday comin up so this will come in handy!! 




I cut out an aqua pp flower, then added my distressing around edges and curled the petals, a black middle and light light pink center with some pinkish colored glass glitter.   AGAIN i used some of my favo PRIMA pearl flourishes!! goodness I love these!! way to go Prima!! 

And the backround is aqua gingham along with a layer of MY MINDS EYE lost and found series word paper, with a bit of distressed edges.  

I cut the tag from chipboard and painted sanded and distressed it and stamped it with a perfect happy birthday stamp by Stampabilities.  
So that is my card for jugs challenge!
Fun colors to work with!!
Off to to bakery hope yall have a wonderfully marvy monday!!
PS we did get a few inches of ...................s.....................snow last night!! YUK!! yepper I usually say yeah yippee to snow but NOT IN APRIL!!  lol at least I do know it wont last!! 
Talk more soon!!
HUGS
Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Sunday, April 17, 2011

CR84FN card and some baking

HEY YALL!! Goodness I cannot believe another week is gone!! >>>>>>>>>>>>>just like that, dont blink!!!  So today was the start of a new color challenge at cr84fn!  and this weeks colors are just fabo!! 
Light blue, aqua and cream!!  reminds me of a warm summer day on the beach.  HMMMMMM should do a beach sign with those colors huh. 
Ok so I did a happy birthday card since a friend of mine is havin her bday next week.

I used my big and small flower punches to make the layered daisies.  A green gem stone fit in the centers.

I love the happy birthday stamp as it looks just like it was doodled on the card by hand. 

I machine stitched around the cream color using a small zig zag stitch and light blue thread. 


So lovin the beaded trim!  Hobby Lobby had their ribbons all 1/2 off of rolls so this was the first roll that went in my basket!  Love the pearl teardrop shape too.    And you get alot on the roll!!  which means more projects!! YEAH~!

I made some white bread dough up and instead of makin a boring dull loaf I rolled it out in a rectangle then sprinkled parmesean cheese, and some dried herbs and a bit of spices to make this unique loaf. 


These are another experiment, brown sugar shortbread discs.  I like some big crisp cookies and these fit that perfectly. 

Hubby likes his shortbread to be a bit darker than I take to market so made him some almost burnt ones!!LOL but yet he doesnt like crisp cookies??  go figure huh!!

Orange ginger shortbread cookies, these have a very nice subtle gingery spice flavor full of fresh orange zest and juice. 


And some mini dipped pretzels for easter!  Have to do some up this week for market.  I do have Borgess Market this thurs in Kalamazoo so stop on by for some goodies!!  I am making my cinnamon roll bread loaves, lots of cookies, some foccacia bread and will definetly have lots of pierogies!!  plus more goodies! 

Bruno crashed out next to me on the couch, and his little brother Barney asleep.


And  my Buster almost asleep keepin an eye open to be sure he sees me.  Ususally he must know where mommy is all the time, actually they all do.  LOL my 3 little shadows!!  that is ok then I know where they are too!!  LOL
Hope yall have a sun shine filled sunday!!  It is almost 50 out right now and the sun is shining beautifully, I have more things to put in the greenhouse so better get my butt outside.  Talk to ya this week!!
HUGS
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Friday, April 15, 2011

TGIF and more vintage scrappin

Hey yall!! WOW oh WOW it is friday already!!   We had our last of the winter markets at Bronson today and it was great! SO happy to be a part of it and will miss everyone but will be back there in december!!
Seems so very far off but with summer markets, baking and farmin may-nov just really flies right on by us!  So I did work on a few more projects this week inbetween bakin. 
So here is my niece Carissa.  She is just growin up wayyyyyyyyy too quick!  I love her litle pink vest!    So for her one year pic I decided to do a bit of a vintagey feelin lo.  I used a grey patterend sheet for the backround, added my own touch with the layered chipboard flowers and hearts. 


And one more piece of the grey pearl flourish I took apart.    I also used Believe chipboard title out of my pack from K&CO another of my favo companies!! 

Here is one I did up for hubby's dad.  Another vintagey feelin one since this is a great black and white pic of him with his bike.  ANDDDDDDDDDDD more of the grey pearls I love so much!!  I also added some layered chipboard hearts and a flower.  I did use a Tim Holtz stamp along the edge of the chipboard in numbers then machine zig zag stitched around the sheet music paper.  

I loved the light pink, cream and black color combo I decided to do this one first but wasnt as happy with it as the one above.  I do love the backround page which is another in the Lost and Found series by My Mind's Eye~!~  LOVE LOVE LOVE this set, did I already mention this!! LOL


And I so love the tickets along the top of the sheet music ontop.     So that was the last of the projects and I just want to take a minute to give PRIMA definetly 2 thumbs up for their new pearl line!! I am so so lovin these flourishes and bought more today, I got some white and silver ones and more of the grey I love so much~~ WTG PRIMA!!  and I also love their packaging, I have used the cards they are stuck to on a few projects now so great way to recycle~~ 
so I will chat with ya this weekend it is suppossed to be rainy and cold here so geeeeeewhizzzzzzzzzzzz nothin to do outside!! DARN~ have to spend the time workin in my studio!! DARN~LOL
ENJOY your weekend!!
HUGS
 Darlene 
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~