April Showers-BBTB2 Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We went to open house at the college our son is attending in the fall. Boy what a busy day. Hubby and I never went to college so we don't have the first clue about college. Our other 5 boys got their college educations through their employers or on their own with hubby just filling out the FASFA info. So this was our first open house. The college is Pennsylvania Technology College and is affiliated with Penn State. Our son would have loved to have went to Penn State and his SAT's and grades were good enough but they didn't have his major he wanted. So his next best place to go was Penn Tech. It is a beautiful campus and it is right by the Susquehanna River in Williamsport. I think he will be very happy there. He will have a 2 1/2 hour drive home when he wants to come home for a weekend. So not far, but far enough. It's a good match. But I have to tell you I'm kinda' freaking out that my baby is leaving the nest in August and I won't have any kids home anymore!! I know it will be nice once I get used to it, but I've never been kid-less (33 years of having kids home) and that will be so strange for me. I will really miss him, but he is a home body and I know he will be coming home often. Why is it so hard to let our children go? I can do it, but on the inside it tears me up to do it. You'd think I would be really good at it by now since the other 5 have been out the nest for a while now, but sadly I'm not. lol

Of course since it is Monday, it is time for a new BBTB2 challenge. I think Sharon has given me bad luck with this challenge. lol Our challenge is April Showers. It's not April yet, but we have been dumped on with rain. Flood warnings everywhere and of course we have water coming in the basement. It just doesn't want to leave and the storm system is sitting over us spinning. Our yard looks like a giant swimming pool and it just got dried out enough to walk in it. *sigh* On the bright side, our temps are in the 50's. lol Well enough of that, let's get on with the challenge. As I said our sweet and talented design team sister, Sharon gave us the challenge of April Showers. Of course when you think of showers, your mind goes right to an umbrella or at least mine does. So I knew right away what cart I wanted to use. A Child's Year. What I didn't know is how I wanted to use it. I decided to use the cart feature with the umbrella and rain. They have one with just an umbrella too. But I wanted the rain. I cut it out at 5.50 inches in blue paper. I put paper on the inside cover to make the umbrella look pretty. Then for the rain drops I used blue gems. I put a pearl on the umbrella top and for the handle some green gems. My little boots are a My Creative die. I used some different pattern paper for the inside. My sentiments are from Cardz TV. Come back on Saturday because we are having a blog hop at Cardz TV introducing a new stamp set that Mary has in the store called "Count Your Blessings". And that is it for my card. I kept it simple and quick because this old mamma was bushed from the open house at the college and my Lupus was giving me a hard time and of course there was the rain! lol

I hope you will get crafty with us and link up your April showers project. Just please check out our simple rules and make sure to use your Cricut. Looking forward to seeing your projects! As always thank you for visiting with me. I love your comments, they always put a smile on my face! Crafty hugs, Brenda

Many Thanks! Cardz TV Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, can you believe it is Friday again?! My guys are playing Texas Hold 'em tonight so I have to get into the kitchen and do some baking. I made cherry and pumpkin pie yesterday along with chicken pot pie for supper. I figured if I was making crust, might as well make for chicken pot pie too. Was a good supper and good pie if I do say so myself.

I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful comments on my spring flowers card. You sure do make my day ;-)

Well as you know every other Friday is the card challenge over at Cardz TV. Today our challenge was to make a thank you card and I used the Heartfelt Wishes stamp set from Cardz TV. I cased my card from a design team member, Cindy, over at My Creative Time. Thanks for the inspiration Cindy! Now it is your turn, make a thank you card and link up over at Cardz TV with us. Now if you'd like more inspiration go see what my design team sister's have for you over at Cardz TV, I promise they will inspire you! As always thanks for stopping by today and sittin' a spell with me. I always love your visits, they make my day. Crafty hugs, Brenda

Cindy's Card that I cased:

My version of Cindy's card:

I used the Cardz TV stamp set called Heartfelt Wishes for my sentiment

Spring Flowers! BBTB2 Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, I hope your Monday is off to a good start. Not sure where the weekend went, but then I'm never sure where the weeks go! lol I'd like to thank everyone for the lovely comments on my previous post. They sure do make my day and I appreciate your taking the time and  visiting me. 

 Well since it is Monday, it is time for another BBTB2 challenge. Our sweet and talented design team sister, Pam has issued the challenge of spring flowers. Well it IS officially spring, and I'm ready to see some spring flowers, so this is going to be a great challenge. I cased my card from Pinterest, although mine isn't close to being as pretty as the one from Pinterest, I still like it. Got to love Pinterest. I used Art Philosophy for my sentiment mat, the flourishes, and for my rolled flowers.  The border under my mat is the Threading Water punch-I think. But it doesn't show much, so not sure why I bothered with a border. lol  My leaves are a SU die. I finished with some clear gems in the flowers and on the mat. The happy birthday stamp is from CTMH, I believe the Art Philosophy bundle. So now it is your turn! Rules are basic and simple, no back dating and use your Cricut. How much easier can it get than that?! I can't wait to see what you all come up with and if you need some inspiration, look no farther than my design team sisters. They have some awesome projects to inspire you. Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see you again real soon. Crafty hugs, Brenda

Basket of Birthday Wishes

Hello again my crafty friends! Happy TGIF! Got any plans for the weekend? Hubby will be working on farm equipment. He is ready to get out in those fields. He had to watch harvest last year instead of doing harvest, so it has been really hard on him not being out in those fields. lol I hope to be crafty in the craft room. Or at least work on my stamps that I'm reorganizing. 

While going through my stamps, I've been finding some awesome stamps that I've kinda' forgotten about. So I took the time to play with one set for a little while. It is a Paper Trey Ink set called Vintage Baskets. Love this set, it is so cute! Over at Darnell's blog, a blog that is a must if you love humor because Darnell surely is a funny gal! I so love going to her blog to read, so check her out-she makes great cards too! So she is having a birthday card link up for a fellow blogger. So I decided to link up my birthday card that I made.  I use one of the baskets with one of the "toppers" to put in the basket from the Vintage Baskets set. I stamped it right on the card base-yes, I didn't think that one through. lol But I did and then using my Spectrum Noir markers, I colored my envies and my basket. I took another white layer and using a SB die cut out the scallop rectangle and placed it over my image. I did a little doodling around the frame and on the card base I drew lines and added some more doodle lines along with some die cut stars from My Creative Time 4x4 Journal Die & More. I stamped my top layer with a polka dot stamp from My Creative Time called Build a Banner Kit using Tim Holtz distress ink Antique Linen. Then because I colored on my base card, I had to cover the inside cover. So I stamped the same polka dots on cream colored paper with Tim Holtz distress ink Walnut Stain. My sentiments are from a Fiscars set that I picked up at JoAnn's. Just a CAS card, but I think it is so cute. I hope you like it too. IThanks so much for visiting me today. Your comments always make my day so special. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you have time to get crafty if you want to. Crafty hugs, Brenda

Sweet Card From a Sweet Lady

Hello my crafty friends, I hope that you week is winding up well and that you are looking forward to the up coming weekend. We are supposed to have beautiful weather today through Sunday, but then comes that 4 letter word in our forecast again. SNOW I am hoping that the weather men are wrong and that there will be no snow showers. Ok I can take a few flurries, but don't want any accumulation of any kind. It's spring now and I want spring time to come and stay. Yes, I know it is early, but it should be getting into the high 50's and  60's now. And I'm ok with those temps until mid April and May. Then I want some nice 70's! lol To me 70's can be hot, but not too hot. More perfect for throwing open those windows and doors. And trust me I'm so ready to open the house up and air out the winter stink! Ok so I didn't call you here to chat on the weather. lol I got the sweetest card in the mail for St. Patty's Day. Yes, it's over but to me the whole month of March is all about spring and St. Patty's Day. Sweet Mary Haverland or Momma Mary as I call her at Carolina Cards, sent me this beautiful card. Her Copic coloring always leaves me speechless. Now if I could only color like this, I'd have it made. lol I so love her talent at card making and coloring. You really must treat yourself and go check out her blog. She a southern gal with all the southern charm and hospitality. I promise you will have a wonderful time when you visit her. Tell her Brenda sent you.

Thanks for stopping by today and sitting a spell with me. I enjoy your comments, they always make my day. I hope you have a happy TGIF tomorrow and I hope you will stop back by tomorrow for a card that I made. Crafty hugs, Brenda

Music Speaks-BBTB2 Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, I hope you are having a great Monday. Snow is back in our neck of the woods and why wouldn't it be?! It is chemo day and it seems like every time it is chemo, it snows. But it shouldn't be much and hopefully it will be the last of the snow for the winter. I mean it is spring this week and spring is what I want! lol The grass is starting to turn green so that is a good sign as is seeing robins. Spring is coming, slowly but surely.

Today for BBTB2 our talented design team sister, Michelle has chosen the theme of Music and has challenged us to use musical notes and or the cleft on a project. I decided to make a birthday card as I can always use those in my stash. I used Create A Critter 2 for my music notes. The birthday Cuttlebug folder and MCT Stitched Party dies for the balloons and Wow, So Many Candles for the sentiments. I used a SU border punch to frame my sentiment.  A simple and clean card but it works I think. Sorry it looks so washed out, I used a pale green, blue and yellow for my card base and layers. It was sunny for a while yesterday when I took the pics and I think the sun washed out the colors a little too much.  So make sure to go check out what inspiration my design team sisters have for you-I can promise you it is awesomeness for sure! Then lets see your "Music Speaks" projects using your Cricut. As always thank you for stopping by an visiting little ole' me. I love when you stop by for a spell and I hope that you will come back again another day. I love to sit and chat with you while enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Enjoy your week and crafty to hugs to all. Brenda

Oh Baby! Cardz TV Challenge

Happy TGIF my crafty friends! Hubby had a CAT scan last Friday and this week one of the chemo nurse's called and gave us the news that the chemo is shrinking the cancer on hubby's lung and liver as well as shrinking the lymph nodes as well! Praise the Lord!! We will get more in depth info from doc when hubby goes in for chemo on Monday, I am just very pleased that chemo is working!! Thank you for all your prayers for I know it is prayers and the Lord that is seeing hubby through all this. We are hoping that he can be finished with chemo by May, with only 3 more treatments to go. Then we hope he will just go on a maintenance chemo pill, but we aren't sure until we talk with doc on Monday. So happy that things are looking up!

On to my project, it is time for the card team from Cardz TV to have their challenge and our challenge is to make a baby card. Well I made a baby announcement for my aunt who is in another state of my newest grand-daughter. It is a "post card" type of card, so it doesn't open. I printed out a 5x7 picture of my grand-daughter and then using a 4x6 die, I cut it out. I stamped It's A Girl from Cardz TV Oh Baby stamp set.

 Then on the back I used the die again to cut and round the top and bottom part after I punched the border out of white cardstock. Then using the Cricut cartridge New Arrival, I cut out the stat words and then used a marker and filled in the info. Mom doesn't know the length of Trinity, so I left this blank. This "card" will fit in an A6 envie. Now it's your turn, let's see those baby cards! And it has been asked to you have to use Cardz TV stamps and the answer is no. But....you could win a set!!! So link up with Cardz TV with your baby card. And don't forget to give my design team sister's some bloggy love as they have some awesome inspiration for you. Also the 3D team has a St. Patrick's Day challenge still going on, so go check it out too while you are at Cardz TV.

Wearing the Green-BBTB2 Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, I hope you are having a fabulous Monday so far. It looking to be a fine day today here in Central PA. When it dries off I hope to start walking on the tractor path and getting out some. Hubby and I did get out for a walk on the road on Saturday, but I don't like walking the road alone. Can't wait till it is warm enough to throw open those windows and doors and let the house air out from the stale mess of winter. Nothing smells as good as a spring rains and the spring sunshine! 

Well as you know Monday brings a new challenge over at BBTB2. Our talented and sweet design team sister Melanie has chosen a St. Patty's day theme for us. I hope you will go check out all the fabulous projects that my design team sisters have for you. I will tell you they are fabulous! Now onto my project. Since everyone is making those card boxes, I thought I'd jump on the band wagon and give it a try too. Yeah, well mine didn't turn out so well. lol So I will have to try it again sometime. I my circle shamrocks on the side flaps came from Designer's Calendar Cricut cartridge as well as the larger shamrocks that is on the front flap and back. The hat came from Designer's Calendar too. I cut it out twice, once in black and once in green and then cut the green shamrock off and glued to the back one. I used stickles on some of my shamrocks. The little shamrocks are from My Creative Time dies and stamps, the tiny one is from the All Around Holidays and the medium sized ones are from Your My Pot of Gold. No my poor card box doesn't look to full does it? I fell short on this one, so will give it a try again soon. lol I hope you will show us your St. Patty's projects using your Cricut too. Thank for stopping by today and visiting with me. I love when you pop over and hope that you stop by again soon. Crafty hugs, Brenda

Anything Goes-Funday Friday Challenge

Hello my crafty friends and a happy Friday to you all! We are off getting hubby's CAT scan. I can't wait to get the results to see how well the chemo is working. We believe it is working and I thank you for tagging along with us on this journey and to say thank you for all your wonderful prayers!! I will let you know how the scan turns out. We will get the results at the next chemo day when we see the doctor. Keep your finger's and toe's crossed and those prayers coming that we get good news!!  Then we are heading home to snuggle our newest grand-daughter that will be visiting. Now how's that for ending the week?! Now onto my project-

As you know if it is Friday then it is time for another new challenge over at Jo's Scrap Shack. This weeks challenge is an anything goes challenge. Our sponsors for this week are Bugaboo and Paper Nest Dolls. I am showcasing Paper Nest Dolls. I pick this cute little image, St. Patty Owen. I colored him using my Spectrum Noir markers, I also used the 3 Twenty stamp set called, Background Builders to stamp my checked design on the yellow card stock. I used a little clover die from My Creative Time as well. I cut my shape out with a SB's die. I hope you get crafty and link up with us over at Jo's Scrap Shack, you may just win some cool prize(s)! Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit with me today and I hope you will come back to see me real soon. Crafty hugs, Brenda

enter this card in Cut It Up Challenge-use green

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What's Your Favorite?! BBTB2 Challenge

Hello my crafty friends, how's your Monday going so far?  Our is starting out very snowy and with another day of chemo. Including today, hubby should only have 4 more chemo treatments to go. That is if all goes well and the treatments are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Praying that it is so!

Ok, today at BBTB2 our sweet and talented design team sister, Mayra challenged us to use our favorite Cricut cartridge. Boy that is hard because I can say that I truly love all my cartridges! But in the end I have to say that I'm loving all the Close to my Heart Cricut cartridges, so I picked the Artbooking cartridge. Now I have to say that this weekend was a crazy one and I didn't get time to work on my project that I usually do. I had company all day yesterday until well after supper and then hubby wanted to go out and eat. So that left me with no time to devote to my project and boy does it show. I'm almost ashamed to post this, but here goes. I used Artbooking to make a layout of my newest grand-daughter. I want to make another page to go with it, but of course I didn't get to it. I will be going back to "spruce" this one up some. It even looks like the one photo mat isn't laying flat which I didn't notice until after I had the picture uploaded. So need to fix that. I also used a Marth Steward heart punch to add to the bottom of the frame. It had a scalloped bottom but it tore when cutting, so I cut it off and added the hearts since this little cutie was born on Valentine's Day! Since this little cutie was born on Valentines Day, so I might put some hearts scattered out on the layout. And I may punch a border to go around this layout. Not sure. But here it is, such as it is right now. Sorry no close ups of anything, I was down to the wire of getting this posted over at BBTB2! lol Now please go see what inspiration my design team sisters have for you. I promise they have something much better for you than I did. Then pick your favorite Cricut cartridge and play along with us, can't wait to see what cartridge you pick! Thanks you for stopping by today and visiting a spell with me. I love when you sit and chat with me a bit. With crafty hugs, Brenda