Christmas Greetings

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile--just no time to craft. In late November my brother lost his fight with leukemia as some of you may already know and since then it has been a challenge to get back into routine. Thanks to those of you who have sent well wishes and have prayed for me and my family during this time...I truly appreciate your friendship and concern. Now that school is finally done and my husband is off on holidays I look forward to a slower pace and some good quality time with my family over the next couple of weeks.

With the busyness of Christmas parties, shopping, baking, cardmaking etc., it's easy for us to get stressed out and totally miss the true meaning of Christmas. Stress isn't what it's supposed to be about--it's about peace, love and joy--the total opposite of stress. I know for myself, I have to really force myself sometimes to slow down and focus on just how much God has blessed me.

It is my sincerest wish for all of you that as 2009 comes to a close you will have all the blessings of the season--treasured time with those you love, relationships restored, and great prosperity in body, soul, mind and finances! May 2010 bring great happiness, health, peace and prosperity!!

With these greetings I leave you with the lastest installment of Yuki & Willow's antics...

You never know what will turn up in your scrap box...

Willow's opinion on picture placement...

Willow picks out some designer paper...

Hey Mom, got any good scraps I can eat??

Yuki says she needs more fibre in her diet...


Have a Merry Christmas!!
God's Best & All His Blessings,
Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #50

This weeks challenge over at High Hopes is "All About Kids!" My card could be used for a child or grown up as well.

Ingredients:

• Stamp--Hayride--High Hopes
• Stamped On--Strathmore 100 lb Smooth Bristol
• Stamped With--Memento--Tuxedo Black Ink
• Coloured With--Alcohol Markers--Copic, Prismacolor, Letraset & Touch
• Patterned Paper--Doodlebug--Bright Ribbon Stripe, Pretty Pink Grid & October Afternoon--Night Light-Henry
• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• Sentiment--Computer Generated
• Punches--CM-Corner Rounder, Stampin' Up-Ticket Corner
• Flowers--Prima
• Ribbon--Michael's
• Brads--Doodlebug
• Heart Dies--Quickutz
• Pearls & Metal Embellishment--Dollar Store

The inside...

Thanks for taking the time to come by!! Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Sarah

Soldier Card

I had some time this weekend to play and thought I would make a troop card using some little charms I bought ages ago while on a trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan. I stamped the image with Versamark Watermark Ink. I then used dry chalk in camo colours, dabbing gently over the image to bring it out and then blew off the excess chalk. There were loops attached to the charms orginally so I just snipped them off and adhered the charms with glue dots...someone once told me you could stick a small child to a wall with glue dots...why you would want to, I am not sure, but I figured if they would work for that they would work for my charms...

For anyone interested who might be in the Frankenmuth area, I bought these charms at a place called Bead Haven which is located at The River Place, 925 S Main Street, Frankenmuth, MI, USA 48734 Phone #: (989) 652-3566. This place is amazing if you like beads and charms. It reminds me of those Jelly Belly displays where they have a rainbow of colours showing off all the different flavours. These charms also come in a silver finish too and they're quite cheap!! Bead Haven may ship as well, not sure?? I have looked for them here at my local bead store but haven't seen them yet.

Thanks for coming by today!!

Blessings,

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #48

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle--it's time to go green over at High Hopes!! This week's challenge was to incorporate something that had already been used into our projects. I chose to do a Christmas card to get myself warmed up for the coming card making marathon! The ribbon underlay I used is my recycled element from a Christmas gift I received last year!! Oooohhh I love it when people give me ribbon on my pressies :) Anyway, here's my card...

Ingredients:

• Crystal Snowlady from High Hopes (one of my most favourite stamps :)
• Stamped on Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Media--Coloured with Copic, Touch, & Prismacolor Markers
• DP--Bo Bunny--Tis The Season--Treasure
• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• Rub-Ons by Deja Views--snowflakes & sentiment
• Punch--Creative Memories Corner Rounder
• Stickles--Icicle

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!! Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Sarah

Kraftin' Kimmie's Challenge #1

It's a Birthday Pah-ty!!

Well Kimmie's new stamps have been rolled out and her new Krafty Girl challenge blog is in full swing with challenge #1--A birthday card! I chose to use the Roxy & Bernice stamp for my card...here it is...

I coloured the image using Copic and Prismacolor markers and then used Prismacolor pencils to add some shading and definition. The background was embossed & chalked before being removed from my Nestability border die. The "Happy Birthday" senitiment is from Kimmie's Everyday Sentiments which is a really great set of sayings!! I chalked the edges of the sentiment and the Prima flowers with fluid chalk. The brads are from my stash. The scalloped borders are made with a Martha Stewart border punch. All papers used are Bazzil.

Thanks for coming by to take a look!!

Have a blessed day!

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #47

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadian crafters. I don't know what the weather is like where you are but here in southwestern Ontario it's a glorious fall day--FINALLY--Lotsa sunshine to go with this week's "lotsa layers" challenge over at High Hopes.

Here is my Thanksgiving Card...

Ingredients

• Stamped on Strathmore Smooth Bristol Paper
• Stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black InkBazzil Cardstock
• DP--Francis Meyer--Pumpkin Pie Plaid
• Stamps--High Hopes--Thankful Friends & Oak Corner
• Stickles
• 3D dimensional foam
• Media--Copic, Touch, & Prismacolor Markers

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by to check out my card!

Blessings,

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #42

This week's challenge over at High Hopes is Go For The Gold!! Here's my troop support card using Oops Ellie from High Hopes Stamps!

I used Versafine Black ink stamped on Strathmore Smooth Bristol 100lb paper. The image is coloured with Prismacolor & Touch Markers. I put yellow Stickles on the yellow ribbon to give it some shimmer. My cardstock is Bazzil and the "Welcome Home" paper is from Creative Imaginations!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look! Have a blessed day!

Sarah xx

High Hopes Challenge #39

After a lot of rearranging, my craft space is finally the way I want it! Surprisingly when I made my card for this week's High Hopes Challenge I hardly made any mess--is that possible?! Maybe it was because my little eight month old kitten, Willow was trying to eat everything as she lay on my craft table watching, so I was careful to put everything back in it's "home" or at least away from inquiring jaws...lol!

Anyway...I decided to make a friendship card this week and add daisies as Anna, this week's DT Diva suggested.

I used Miss Zoe from High Hopes stamped with Memento--Black Tuxedo ink on Strathmore--Smooth Bristol--100 lb paper. Here's the rest of the recipe:

• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• Patterned Paper--Doodlebug--Pretty Pink Grid & Bright Ribbon Stripe
• Sentiment--Stampabilities--I Count You Twice
• Ribbon--Michael's
• Die Cut--Daisy--Quickutz
• Brads--Doodlebug
• Media--Copic--B00, B02, E000, RV14, Y11, Y38, YR07--Prismacolor Markers--70, 71, 95, 99, 102, 202 & Touch Markers--WG4

Here's what the inside looks like...

Here are some recent pics of Willow and her sister Yuki at 8 months old...

Yuki (Japanese for Snow)


Willow (a.k.a. Willow the Wombat, Willow the Wallaby, The Silver Streak, and Willow-Billow-Boo Boo when we are trying to flush her out of her latest hiding spot)

Hey this box comes with handles...

This is what happens when a cat outgrows a 12-Pack Nestea box--she still fits--but just barely!!

Hey, thanks for coming by to see my blog today! Thanks Anna for the fun challenge and for all the inspiration from the High Hopes Design Team! If you haven't had a chance to check out Crissy Armstrong's latest designs over at the High Hopes Stamps Website I would encourage you to do so! The new stamps are incredible--can't wait to get my hands on some of that new rubbah!!!

Have a blessed day!

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #38

This week's challenge over at High Hopes is from the lovely and talented Crissy. She challenged us to use polka dots on our cards and I chose to use my Cuttlebug to create my polka dots.

Here are my baby cards...

I coloured the stamped images using Prismacolor Pencils and mineral spirits. I stamped the images with Memento--Tuxedo Black ink and stamped them on Strathmore Smooth Bristol 100 lb. paper.

The rest of the stuff I used:

• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• DP--Scenic Route
• Stamps--Kanga and Joey and Three Pane Easter --High Hopes
• Sentement--Stampin' Up
• Pearls--Stash
• Gem Flowers--Hero Arts
• Seam Binding Tape--Stash

Thanks for stopping by to take a look and have a blessed day!!

Hugs,

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #37

This week's challenge over at High Hopes from Lacey is to use Stars and Stripes in your card!

Here's mine...



I used Maribell the cow and coloured her with a variety of alcohol markers.

Here's the rest of the recipe...

Ink: Memento--Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Bazzil Papers
Patterned Paper: Scenic Route
Die Cuts: Flowers--Quickutz
Paper Clips: Dollar Store
Brads: Doodlebug

I have been out of the High Hopes loop, so to speak, for the last couple of weeks... I have posted some catch up cards below...

Thanks for stopping by and thanks Lacey for the fun challenge!!

Blessings,
Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #36

Here's another catch up card for High Hopes Challenge #36--Use Up Your Scraps! I made this card for a friend of mine who is an avid scuba diver. I created my underwater scene by masking Diver Dan and the Sea Floor Background.




The rest of the recipe:

Media: Variety of alcohol markers(Primacolor, Copic, & Touch)
Ink: Memento--Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Bazzil Papers
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon--Night Light--Charles
Sentiment: Studio G (masked)
Embellishments: Pearls & Bubbles for my stash
Punch: Ticket Corner--Stampin' Up

Thanks for coming by to take a look--Have a blessed day!

Sarah xx

High Hopes Challenge #35

Hello Everyone...I've been a little behind with the High Hopes Challenges and just wanted to catch up! Here's my card for High Hopes Challenge #35--Lotsa Circles...

I used the stamp Seymore's Sick Day. I had seen how Crissy Amrstrong had coloured him on one the past High Hopes Challenges and liked how she made him look feverish so I tried the same kind of idea with some minor changes.



I coloured him with a variety of alcohol markers and popped him up on some pop dots to give the card a little more dimension. The sentiment is from High Hopes as well, although I made it on my computer as my stamp had not yet arrived.

Here's the rest of the recipe:

Ink: Memento--Tuxedo Black
Card Stock: Bazzil Papers
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon--Night Light--Henry
Flowers: Prima
Brads: Doodlebug
Word Window: Created with Nestabilities
Punches: Ticket Corner--Stampin' Up

Thanks for taking a look & have a blessed day!!

For all of you Canucks out there...HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

Blessings,
Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #34

Hello everyone--this week's challenge over at High Hopes is to use a sketch by design team member Nikki who for me personally is a huge source of inspiration!

Here's Nikki's sketch....

Here's what I did with it...



Canada Day is coming soon--July 1st to be exact and it marks my country's 142nd birthday! As a Canadian I am reminded everyday, as I watch the news, of the many freedoms I enjoy that many others around the globe do not! I love my country and feel truly blessed to live here! I thought it would be nice to make a card for a friend to celebrate the day. I used Mountie Marc from High Hopes which is one of my favourites.

Here's the rest of the recipe...

• Oh Canada! Sentiment--High Hopes
• What's Up Canuck? Sentiment--Studio G
• Media--Alcohol Markers (Copic, Touch, Prismacolor)
• Patterned Paper--Maple Leaf (double-sided) from Around the Block
• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black, Color Box Fluid Chalk--Warm Red
• Heart Brads--My Stash
  

Here's the inside...

Thanks for stopping by...if you get the chance, check out the individual websites for the High Hopes Design Team Members--they have a wealth of knowledge and are an incredibly inspiring and talented bunch!

Have a blessed day!

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #33

Well there are 8 official days of school left--woohoo!!!--13 days if you count weekends! I can't wait for summer break and for warmer weather! I actually could take my card outside to photograph it today because it was actually sunny and I didn't have to worry about it blowing away (lol). The weather here in Ontario has been a bit nippy in my estimation and it's really nice to see the sun today! :D

This week Niki over at High Hopes has challenged us to have no corners on our cards...

Here's my card...

I got rid of my corners (well kinda) with my Stampin' Up Ticket Corner punch...

Here's the inside...

What I used...

• Stamp--Ladybug Stroll--High Hopes
• Sentiments--High Hopes
• Media--Alcohol Markers (Copic, Prismacolor, & Touch)
• Stamping Paper--Stonehenge
• Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
• Patterned Paper--Sorry, don't know--in my scraps
• Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black
• Brads--Doodlebug
• Spacers--Stash
• Diecut--Cuttlebug

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!! Thanks too, to Niki for a fun challenge!

Have a blessed day!

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #32

Okay, where did spring go--it's freezing here in southern Ontario--I need my woolies today & I am not impressed!! Anyway, just another excuse to retreat to the craft room and do this week's challenge! Over at High Hopes Tab has challenged us to use pink and brown in our layout which just happens to be my favourite colour combo...


Here's my card...

I used "Brayden's Backside" & and the sentiment "Little Behind" both from High Hopes to create my apology card! It never hurts to have one of those in your card stash just incase you need to apologize for something you did of forgot to do...hey it happens to all of us and I think it's nicer sometimes to say your sorry with a card.

Here's the inside...

The stuff I used:

• Prismacolor Markers: 11-Deco Peach, 95-Light Tan, 99,101,102-all Warm Greys
• Copic Marker: WG4--Warm Grey
• CS: Bazzil Papers
• PP: Not sure--has been in my stash for a few years now
• Die Cut Letters: Quickutz--Diesel (w/shadow)
• Flowers--Hero Arts

Thanks for stopping by to take a look & thanks Tab for a great challenge this week!!

Blessings,

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #31

This week's challenge from the amazing Karen was to doodle. I kinda did 2 challenges in one so to speak--the first for High Hopes, the second for the 20th anniversary of my first date with my husband--wow, what to put on a card like that?! Well I love the Leo the Lion stamp and decided to use him--he reminds me of my husband's personality--strong, brave and loyal!


Here's my card...


The stuff I used...

• Prismacolor Markers--70-Sand, 23-Cream
• Prisma Pencils with mineral spirits
• Copic Multi Liner--for the doodles
• PP--Me & My Big Ideas
• CS--Bazzil Papers
• Die Cuts--all Quickutz--Diesel Font, Lips, Love Letter

Here's the inside...



...and the back...

I don't usually do anything on the back of my cards except stamp the "Stamped with High Hopes Stamps" logo on them but...for me this is a pretty special day and I wanted to have lots of room to write on the inside.

Thanks for stopping by--and thanks too to Karen, my buddy and source of great inspiration from the Rubber Room--this was a fun challenge!

Blessings,
Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #30

Good morning everyone! Well I finally got my card done for this week's challenge despite track and field, science projects, a sick kid and technical difficulties with my camera. I practically had to stand on me head to get pics of this card but finally managed to take a couple. This week's challenge was "One for the Boys" by Design Diva Anna Wight.


Here's mine...



I used the "Fearless Knight" stamp from High Hopes. I coloured my image using the following alcohol markers:

Prismacolor--23-Cream, 99-Warm Grey 10%, 101 Warm Grey 30%, 132-Jasmine, 142-Brittany Blue, 198-Muted Turquoise, 202-Sky Blue Light and

Copic--WG4-Warm Grey.

I used Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp the image.

The ornate corners are a die from the Sizzix Architectural Accents Set. Sorry...I don't know what the actual name of my DP is...I've had it for a couple of years just waiting for the perfect project. I used my Nestabilities to make the background mats for the front and inside of my card. The sentiment on the inside is "Shining Knight" from Stampendous and the gems on the shield are from Hero Arts.

Here's a look at the inside...

The knight and the shields on the inside are all popped up on 3D foam.

Thanks for coming by to take a look at my card! Have a blessed day!

Sarah

Bella Joins the Army

My best friend is a medic with the Canadian Armed Forces and I wanted to make her a card to show her my appreciation for what she does! She has completed 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan and 1 tour in Bosnia. She has also completed 3 DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) missions to Honduras, Turkey and Sri Lanka providing emergency medical care to the local people who have been hit by natural disasters. Needless to say I am very proud of her--she is one of the bravest people I know and has a heart of gold.

There aren't a lot of military themed stamps out there so when I saw what Alex Maldonado at fairyblossoms.typepad.com had done with Cosmobella from Stamping Bella (see her May '07 archieves) I thought I would give her fun idea a try. The original stamp has Bella in capri pants & flip flops holding a martini glass--with a little masking and some hand-drawn art I was able to give Bella a military makeover with with a Canadian touch. The flag is part of the High Hopes stamp--Canadian Friends. I used Prismacolor pencils with mineral spirits to colour the image.

Here is another similar card I did for a soldier serving overseas to send home to their loved one(s). The "Much Love" stamp is from Michael's

Thanks for stopping by--have a great day!

Blessings,

Sarah

Copics with Joe!

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to hang out with my friends Joe & Cathy Siroski at the Rubber Room for a class using Copic Markers. Joe's amazing when it comes to colouring stamped images and Cathy helps him put his finished work of art in the perfect "frame" so to speak!

These are two cards I made after the class using a variety of alcohol markers using some of Joe's helpful hints!

This is Luigi from High Hopes Stamps--one of my favourite stamps Crissy Armstrong has ever designed!! He's so easy to colour and has such a cute, kind face! I used Memento Tuxedo Black Ink & stamped on Strathmore Bristol Smooth 100 lb paper. The markers I used were Prismacolor #23-Cream, #71-Buff, #102-Warm Grey 40%, #132-Jasmine, #151-Raspberry, #198-Muted Turquoise, #202-Sky Blue Light and Copic YG25-Celadon Green, and WG4-Warm Grey. My cardstock is Bazzil and my DP is Basic Grey--Urban Prairie--Harvest. Dew drops are Robin's Nest.

This next image is from Q.T. Hooty Owl Plate 1 from Pink Cat Studios! Again...lovely images for colouring! I used Prism paper for this image stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The markers I used were Prismacolor #15-Yellow Orange, Copic #B02-Robin's Egg Blue, #B04-Tahitian Blue, #RV14-Begonia Pink, Touch #35-Lemon Yellow, #75-Dark Blue Light, #P83-Lavender & Letra Set Lime Green. Cardstock is Bazzil, border punch is Fiskars and scalloped circle made with Cuttlebug.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!!

Stop by the Rubber Room website where you can find these stamps and much more!! Here's the link--http://www.rubberroom.ca/

Check out Joe's Blog at--http://www.1crazyjoe.blogspot.com/

Have a blessed day!!

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #29

Hello all! It's challenge time again and this week Ying has encouraged us to use heat embossing somewhere in our projects...it's Mother's Day this coming Sunday and I thought the stamp "Busy Momma" was very fitting for my mom who was brave enough to have 6 of us...and by the way she still has hair, which to me is a feat in itself!!

I used Prismacolor markers to colour my image (#11-Deco Peach, #23-Cream, #70-Sand, #71-Buff, #95-Light Tan, #133-Deco Pink, #134-Deco Blue, & #202 Sky Blue Light). I stamped the image on Prism paper and used Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The DP is Daisy Doodles by Doodlebug and the cardstock is from Bazzil Papers. The "Happy Mother's Day" stamp is from Inkadinkado and the inside sentiment is from High Hopes. I also used Prima flowers and dew drops to embellish.

You may ask...where did she heat emboss...well...I don't know if you can tell or not from the picture but the sentiment on the front is heat embossed as well as the pocket on mama's dress and the hair ribbons on mama and baby girl bunny. The pockets and ribbons are also raised somewhat with silicon and I added a second ribbon to the little girl bunny's outside ear. The inside sentiment is also heat embossed. If you look closely I also watermarked the "Busy Momma" image on inside of the card where I plan to write my greetings.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look & to all you busy mommas out there--Happy Mother's Day!!! May your day be blessed with sunshine and time well spent with those you love!

Blessings,

Sarah

High Hopes Challenge #28

Diva Amy has asked us to "think outside the card" for this week's challenge and I wanted to make something I have never tried before. I decided to do a twist on a garden journal by using a lunch box tin instead of an album. As spring is upon us, it is now time for hubby and I to start our annual vegetable garden. This year will mark number 5 for us planting our garden and we're both looking forward to getting out into the fresh air and sunshine.

My plan for the tin is to store by year--the photos I have taken, a blueprint of what I have planted, and a card telling when and what we planted, what kind of yeild we had and what our favourite things were about the planting year. I always think I am going to remember these things from year to year but as they say "a short pencil is better than a long memory."



Here's my tin...

I used a new stamp from the High Hopes April release called "Sweet Dreams". I stamped the image on Strathmore Smooth Bristol 100 lb. paper--which is my favourite paper to use and is quite reasonable to purchase. I used Prismacolor Pencils and mineral spirits to colour the image. The tin is from Provo craft, the ribbons from Michael's, the flowers from Prima and the brad is from my stash. The patterned paper is Providence Greene Street from Scenic Route. My cardstock is Bazzil Swiss Dot.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look! Have a blessed day!

Sarah

The Zilla Sisters

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Yuki & Willow!

My fur babies are growing up fast! Yuki (Yoo-Key--which is Japanese for snow) and Willow (because she's soft and grey like a pussy willow) are my rescued kitties. We got them at 10 weeks old and now they are 6 months old today. What a blessing they have added to our home! We weren't sure how we would adjust to them after having lost our previous kitty last November after having her for 19+ years. It was like losing a family member. Inspite of it these two little blessings began to fill the hole and they have made themselves at home.

They are affectionately known as the Zilla Sisters a.k.a the Zillas (Yuki Zilla & Willow Zilla) because of their kamikaze like attacks that sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. They provide comic relief many times a day and although they can be very mischievous at times I know as they settle down with maturity I am going to miss their kitten ways.


Here are some photos of my babies!

Coming home at 10 Weeks...

My little drain stopper...

Looking out the patio window--or cat T.V. as we call it...

Did someone say Tuna???



La, la, la, la, la....


Sisters...


Nah, nah, boo, boo!


Wrestle-Mania Kitty Style...

Thanks for taking a look! I highly recommend felines if you're looking for a constant source of entertainment and endorphin release!

Blessings,

Sarah