High Hopes Challenge # 82--Stars

Pheeeeeewwwweeeee! What a week!! Jules just finished Grade 7 on Friday and we are just catching our breath from exams, last minute assignments, class trips & pool parties!! I gotta say--I AM SOOOOOOO GLAD SUMMER BREAK IS FINALLY HERE!! Jules had her best report card yet--3 A's, 8 A+'s & 4 A++'s--now that's something to shout about!! And for those of you who are wondering how she did in algebra...well...she gave Mr. Algebra Dragon a big, fat, black eye with a 96%!! Yippeeee! I am so proud of her!! A big thanks goes to DH who spent hours and worked through the tears & frustration to tutor her in the evenings!! I am so glad he's good at math ☺ !!!!

Now with that, here's my card for this week's challenge over at High Hopes!! I thought the theme this week was very fitting after seeing Jules' report card--it's all about STARS!!!!



I used Dustin Pike's image Tutu Fairy for my card. It's a little hard to see but the metal charm actually says "Be A Star" on it.

The rest of the DT have some really great "star" themed card too--check them out here!!

Enter your own star-studded card and you could win this week's featured stamp!!

I'll be hopping around this week to see what you come up with!!!

Blessings,

Sarah ☺

Stamp--High Hopes
Stamped On--Neenah
Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black
Media--Copic Markers
Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
Papers--October Afternoon, Bella Blvd. & Stash
Charm & Silver Stars--Stash
Ribbon--Michael's

Sundays With Crissy Challenge #6

I'mmmmm Back!!! It's Sundays with Crissy time and for this challenge it's all about shades--monochromatic shades that is!! This is only my second time doing this type of technique and I just love it!! I chose Crissy's image "Oswalda Goes Shopping" from Squigglefly!! Isn't she sweet??! I coloured her using the Copic warm greys (W00, W0, W01, W03, & W05) to give the image a black and white photograph look.

I apologize for the picture quality--I find this type of artwork very hard to photograph--not sure why?? Anyway, I will keep this post short, but if you want to see more monochromatic cards check out what the rest of our awesome DT has come up with HERE!!!

Thanks for stopping by--have a blessed day!

Sarah ☺

High Hopes Challenge #81--Anything Goes

Happy Sunday!! Wow it's been a whirlwind this week over at High Hopes with sneakie peekies and blog hops!! Hopefully you all had a chance to take in Dustin Pike & Melissa Jenkins' new rubber designs!! Now that the dust has settled it's challenge time and this week Lovely Lacey has told us "ANYTHING GOES!!!" I decided to do a scrapbook layout this time and thought I would use one of Melissa's designs called Free Kittens.

This stamp has special significance to me because that's what my kitties were--FREE!! Back in November '08 we lost our beloved white cat, Molly. She had been with us close to 20 years and I have to say she left a hole in our home and in our hearts. 3 weeks after she died, I was at a school fundraiser where I met this very kind man named Gerry. He had a sign at his booth advertising free kittens--2 Black, 2 White & 1 Grey. I knew it was a "sign"!! ☺

To make a long story short we met the kittens and Gerry gave us the pick of the litter!! With that came an added bonus--the mother cat needed a home too!! She had been a stray to begin with and was in dire need of some fattening up. She ended up being adopted by my parents who were in need of some feline company! She lovingly became known as Holly--the Christmas Cat.

We named our grey kitten Willow and our white kitten Yuki (Yoo-Key--Japanese for "snow") and slowly and surely they started to fill the hole Molly had left. These two are sisters but couldn't be more opposite. Willow is the uptight, talkative, scaredy-cat who goes crazy for reflective objects--especially my iPhone. She's curious and loves to watch me while I scrapbook. Yuki is kookie--she's laid back and a lot more cuddly than her sister. They both love catching and eating bugs, watching the birds, begging for chicken and cuddling up with each other. I am so thankful to have their company! Not a day goes by that they don't make me laugh!!

Well there you have a little history of Willow and Yuki--the crazy cats you see on my side bar! Here's my layout...☺

And a closer look at the art...

Yuki Doodle...

Willow Boo Boo...

Thanks for popping by today!! There is still time to join in the hop for Melissa's release so if you missed it click HERE and you'll be taken to the appropriate spot to begin your journey!! The hop closes tomorrow at 7 a.m. EST (12 p.m. GMT) so don't delay--you could win yourself some free rubber from the new release--see post for details.

Have a blessed day...be back later with another project!!

Sarah ☺

Wags 'n Whiskers Blog Hop & Release!!

Well this week for me has been all about blog hops and new releases and I just thought I'd share with you another one that is coming up soon. Starting on Wednesday, June 23, Wags 'n Whiskers is starting their sneak peeks for their upcoming release on June 25th!! There will also be a draw for the entire release drawn by their new artist, Emma Metcalf. To find out more click HERE...

Don't forget about the High Hopes blog hop that is open until Monday at 7am (EST). My hop card is below with links to the rest of the DT creations!!

Have a great day!!

Sarah ☺

High Hopes Blog Hop for Melissa Jenkins Release!!

Good Morning!!! It's BLOG HOP DAY!! High Hopes' new artist, Melissa Jenkins, has a whole new line of wonderful rubber and it's now available to the rest of the stamping world!! If you are following our hop you should have arrived here from my buddy Karen's blog!! (Waving Karen !!) If you have lost your way just return to the High Hopes blog and you'll be able to get yourself back on track!!

Now, for my card today, I chose Melissa's sweet image "Teacup Mouse"!! This is my favourite image in Melissa's release as I have a soft spot for these furry little creatures. I know, I know, not the typical female response, but I really do think they are cute!! I love the sentiment that goes with this image too!! There is also a second sentiment with this release that says, "Have a mice day!" along with more mousey images for you to play with!!

So there's my card--now for the really cool part--Do you want to win 2 free stamps from Melissa's release--all you have to do is leave a comment here on my blog and then continue the hop over on Sirpa's blog!! There will be 4 random blogs that will be drawing a winner and it just might be YOU!!!!
Also, there is a chance for you to win the ENTIRE Melissa Jenkins release--all you have to do is go to the original post on the High Hopes blog that announces the blog hop/release and follow the instructions!!

Thanks for hopping along with us today and for leaving your comments!! I hope you enjoy the rest of you journey!!

Blessings,
Sarah ☺

p.s. If you don't have a High Hopes retailer in your area you can find the new release and the rest of the HHS line at these fine online stores:

Amy Wegener - Stampin' Stuff based out of Australia
Nikki Fairbairn - Bunny Zoe's Crafts based out of the UK/Europe
Lacey Stephens - Stamp and Create based out of the US
Karen Goguen/Cathy Siroski - The Rubber Room based out of Canada

High Hopes--Melissa Jenkins Release--Sneak Peek #2

Good morning everyone!! It's SNEAK PEEK DAY #2 for the new Melissa Jenkins Release over at High Hopes!! We're just getting you warmed up for tomorrow's Blog Hop!! We hope you'll hop along with us and share in our excitement!!

I just love Melissa's designs, especially her cats!! I used the stamp "A Girl and Her Kitty" for my card today. That's me and my furbaby Willow!!

Would you like to see the rest of the sneak peeks?? Click on the links below to go to the other participating DT sites :)

Alex
Amy L.
Debby
Karen
Sirpa
Jeanne

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN MELISSA'S FULL RELEASE--->All you have to do is pop on over to the High Hopes blog, grab the blog hop blinkie and put it on your blog, tell all your friends out in blogland about the hop, become a follower if you're not already, and leave us a comment on the original post announcing Melissa's release and you could win a big fat envelope full of her fabulous rubber!!!

There will also be some draws tomorrow on the hop--stay tuned for details!!

Thanks for coming by today!!

Blessings,
Sarah ☺

High Hopes Has Another New Artist--Can You Guess Who??

If you've been by my blog or the High Hopes blog in the last couple of days you will have noticed all the excitement around Dustin Pike's new release!! Judging by your responses Dustin did not disappoint!! His new images are fantastic and we had so much fun showing them off to you!! Thanks to everyone who joined in the hop and left so many nice comments!!

Before we get on to our new artist--I have been chosen as one of the DT members who gets to pick a winner of 2 new Dustin Pike stamps!! Using Random Interger.com it picked #59 for me so that means Legojenta is the winner from my blog!! Thanks Legojenta for playing along and please contact Nikki @ nichola.fairbairn@googlemail.com with your mailing info & choice of stamps!!

Now...are you ready for round two??? High Hopes has signed another fabulous artist who brings with her a flare for the feminine!! Her name is Melissa Jenkins and you're going to love her art!!

Starting today & continuing tomorrow the High Hopes DT will be giving you some sneak peeks at Melissa's wonderful images!! On Friday, we will be having another blog hop with some really cool giveaways!!

Here's my first sneak peek!! I used Melissa's sweet image called "Cheesy Mouse"!

I chose to do a easel card this time round...






I bought this sentiment stamp in the US about 3 years ago and thought it was humurous!! I didn't really have a image to go with it at the time so it's been sitting, simmering in my drawer, wating for the perfect occasion. When I saw Melissa's "Cheesy Mouse" I knew I had a match!!

That's it for me today~thanks for stopping by!! Pop in again tomorrow for another sneak peek!! Check out the rest of other DT sneak peeks on the High Hopes blog as well!! Hope you'll be able to join us for the hop on Friday!

Oh, I almost forgot... anyone interested in a chance to win Melissa's entire release?? Then pop on over to the High Hopes blog--grab the blinkie like the one on my sidebar, leave a comment and let everyone you know in blogland in on our secret!! You just might get a Cheesy Mouse of your own :O)

Have a blessed day!!!

Sarah☺

Stamps: High Hopes, Cheese--Judith & Heather
Sentiment: Whipper Snapper Designs
Stamped On: Neenah Paper
Ink: Memento--Tuxedo Black, London Fog (chalked edges)
Media: Copic & Prismacolor Markers
Cardstock: Bazzil Papers
DP: October Afternoon--Near Mint (Thrift Shop)
Brads: Doodlebug
Die Cut Flower: Quickutz

RELEASE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoooo Hooooo! It's RELEASE DAY over at High Hopes Stamps and all Dustin Pike's new images are ready to go!!! If you are following our hop today then you should have arrived here from Lacey's Blog . If you have lost your way and you want to follow the trail then hop over to the High Hopes Blog and that will help you get back on track!!

Now on to my post!!! I used "Monty" (the Monster) and the "Wild Party" stamps for this one!! I just love Monty--he reminds me of Sully from Monsters Inc. which is by far my favourite Pixar cartoon!! Isn't he adorable!!

As soon as I saw this stamp, I knew immediately that my first time using him for a card would involve a door of some sort. Jules and I were out shopping for a "door" and she found this funky Cuttlebug folder which reminded us of the doors in Monsters Inc.


I rigged up a paper hinge and then used fun foam for the doorjamb. I used my retangular nestabilities to make the frame, "bolted" it all together with some brads, recessed a magnet piece in the foam and then added another magnet to the actual door so it would stay closed.


I popped Monty up on a 3-D spring I made out of paper so he'd pop out when you open the door.




Here's a look at the wild party going on inside the card!


And a closer look at the art...

NOW--some info about the hop!! There is some awesome blog candy up for grabs!!! 4 random blogs will be giving away 2 free stamps of the winner's choice. All you have to do now is to leave a comment on my post and then hop on over to Danielle's Blog and check out her wonderful creation!!! This blog hop will remain open until Wednesday, June 16 at 7 am (12 GMT).

There is also a chance to win the ENTIRE RELEASE!!! Leave a comment on the original post announcing the release on the High Hopes Blog and you could be the winner!! That's over 30 new images + sentiments!!! Contest ends 8 pm EST (12 GMT) on Tuesday, June 15th!!

Thanks for hopping by!! Have a blessed day!!

Sarah ☺

Stamps--High Hopes
Stamped Sentiment--Studio G
Surprise Sentiment--CG
Stamped On--Neenah
Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black
Media--Copic Markers
Cardstock--Double Mates & Bazzil Papers
DP--KaiserCraft--Uphoria
Toogle Clasp for Doorknob--Jewelry Essentials--Michael's
Brads--Doodlebug
CB Folder--Traffic Jam
Border Punch--Martha Stewart

High Hopes Stamps--Sneak Peek #2

Happy Sunday Everyone!! Today is SNEAK PEEK #2 over at High Hopes and we are super excited to show off the fun new art from our artist Dustin Pike!! This post also includes this week's challenge which is to use the colour scheme Blue, Brown/Kraft, & Cream. Here's my version of Dustin's cool new stamp "Stunt Dragon"!!


I wanted to give my dragon some spots so I used my Copic Colorless Blender to create some dots.


If you want to see more of Dustin's new images head on over to the High Hopes Blog where the rest of the DT has more sneak peeks for you!!! There's also a chance for you to win the ENTIRE release of all Dustin's new images. Just visit the blog and leave a comment on the original post announcing the release and you could be the proud owner of a big fat package of wonderful rubber!!! Stay tuned tomorrow for our blog hop and the full release!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings,

Sarah ☺

Stamp--High Hopes
Sentiment--Cornish Heritage Farms--U R A Hoot
Stamped On--Neenah Paper
Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black
Ink on Sentiment--Tombow--#512
Media--Copic Markers
Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
DP--Wallpaper
Embossing Folder--Cuttlebug
Die Cut Letters, Circle, and Tabs--Quickutz
Brads--American Crafts

High Hopes New Release--Sneak Peek #1

Hello All!! It's an exciting day over at High Hopes today!! Our awesome artist, Dustin Pike, has been hard at work creating some fun new images for us to play with!! There are over 30 new images + sentiments in this release and we'd like to give you a little taste of Dustin's hard work!! Here is my take on his new stamp "Mer-Cat". Isn't she just the cutest??? I left her white (well mostly) to resemble my furbaby, Yuki!!



I thought I would give her a little dimension so I popped up her tail, bikini top, and nose with some foam & glue dots...



Now that you've seen my sneakie-peekie why don't you hop on over to the High Hopes Blog. The rest of the design team has been hard at work preparing their own samples of Dustin's hard work!! Stay tuned tomorrow for another sneak peek and then on Monday for the full release!!

Thanks for coming by today!! Have a blessed day!!

Sarah ☺

Stamp--High Hopes
Stamped On--Neenah
Ink--Memento--Tuxedo Black
Media--Copic Markers
Cardstock--Bazzil Papers
DP--SEI Memories
Pearl Embellishments--Zva Creative
Single Pearls--Michael's
Metal Stars--LSS
Punch--EK Success

High Hopes Blog Hop & Release!!!!

At High Hopes we are so excited to announce our new release with lots of fabulous designs from our amazing artist Dustin Pike. We don't want to ruin the surprise but there are approx. 33 main designs as well as fun sentiments and accessories!!!

Sneaks peaks will take place on the High Hopes blog and on the DT blogs this coming Saturday.... continue Sunday and ...... and exploding with our blog hop on release day, Monday, June 14!!! Yep... High Hopes fans... only 1 week away!!!!

Do you want to win a package bursting with new release stamps? Of course you do :-) Then we would love you to help us spread the news about our blog hop and release.

To be entered into the draw:

1. Grab our blinkie from the High Hopes Blog sidebar and place it on your blog. You just need to copy and paste the text underneath the blinkie into a html gadget. (In blogger click Customise in the top right of your blog then click add gadget and select HTML/Javascript). If you prefer please grab the static image below and remember to link to the High Hopes blog :-)


2. Please tell your friends about the news, blog hop and release on Monday, June 14th.

3. Become a follower of the High Hopes Blog if you aren't already ;-) You don't want to miss out on the fun and there will be tons of prizes along the blog hop!!!

4. Leave a comment on this post (or the post on the High Hopes blog) with a link to your blog post spreading the word.

The contest ends 8pm EST (Midnight GMT) on Tuesday, June 15th!!

Ohhhhhhh!! I'm sooo excited!!!

Hugs,
Sarah ☺

Sundays With Crissy--Relish to Embellish

Howdy Folks--here's my second post of the day!! It's time to get out that bling, those buttons, that ribbon, those border punches and goooooo crazy!! Challenge #5 is in full swing over at Sundays With Crissy and the theme this time is Relish to Embellish--as always open to your interpretation!! This time I thought I would try my hand at Crissy's fabulous image Gift Horse from Whimsey Stamps. I love horses and this buckaroo was so fun to colour!!

Here's a closer look at my bling!!!

Thanks for coming by to check out my card!! I hope you'll come and play with us this challenge!! There's some really great blog candy up for grabs!! All you have to do is take one of Crissy's digi images from Squigglefly, Whimsey Stamps or Wags 'n Whiskers(Digi Stamps), make a card with it and go crazy with the bling. Upload your card to the Sundays With Crissy blog and you could be a winner!!!!

That's it for me! Hope you have a great day!!!!

Blessings,

Sarah

Digi Stamp--Whimsey Stamps--Gift Horse, Sentiment--Kraftin' Kimmie, Printed On--Neenah, Media--Copic & Prismacolor Markers, Cardstock--Bazzil & Colormate Papers, DP--Doodlebug, Embellishment--my stash, Gemstone Flourish--Zva Creative

High Hopes Challenge #79--Chivarly is Not Dead @ My House ☺!

Mornin' Peeps!!! Are you up for a manly challenge--a masculine card that is!! This week over at High Hopes, Danielle, has challenged us to make a Father's Day card or a card for a guy!! I really struggled with this one because it really narrowed down my choices of stamps to use. I usually gravitate to the cute & cuddly and almost always have a flower somewhere on my card!! My good friend Karen(waving to you girlfriend!!) blessed me with the stamp "Sir Dustin" just recently and I thought he and his dragon would make a great card for my DH!!

My husband is one of the good ones!! As of the May 2/4 weekend I have been with him longer than I have been without him--we laugh at that as we creep up in our 40's!! He's a wonderful guy and gives chivalry a good name!! He opens my car door for me still (which for a tomboy took some getting use to :) He kills spiders and other icky insects that have crossed the line into our house (and NO he doesn't scream like a little girl when he does it, like I do!!) Oh I HATE bugs!!

He's also wonderful at math which came in handy when the "Algerbra Dragon from the Kingdom of Grade Seven" made it's appearence this year and tried to eat my daugther Jules!! Thankfully he's done university level math so my job is now done in that area :) Wow what these kids are learning these days!!

DH doesn't mind heavy lifting and has become quite accustomed to hours and hours of cross border shopping!! He goes out late at night on chocolate/fast food runs (so bad for our waistline ☺) without much complaint!! He loves "Flashpoint","24", "Numbers" and "The Pretender" and usually will give me a nice long foot rub while we flake out watching the "latest" episode!! He's sweet to me even when I am PMS-ing and is even more willing to get me chocolate duing this time (hhhmmmm---self-preservation I think)!!

This year we will celebrate 15 years married--not all of it has been rosey--but it's been good!! I know God has blessed me with a good man! He's kind, considerate and tries to always put his girls first (even our cats Yuki and Willow :X) He's a godly man and tries very hard to walk his talk!! He's also been an excellent father to Jules which makes our relationship all the more sweet!!

Thanks baby for walking with me all this way!! Happy Father's Day!!!

So with that here's my card...

Check out the rest of the High Hopes DT's manly creations--->here!! Enter your own masterpiece and you could be the winner of this week's featured stamp!!

Have a blessed day!!

Sarah :)

Stamp: High Hopes, Sentiment: Stampendous--Good Knight, Stamped With: Memento--Tuxedo Black Ink, Stamped On: Neenah Paper, Cardstock: Bazzil Papers, Designer Paper: Basic Grey--Origins/Henna, Media: Copic and Prismacolor Markers, Image Outlined With: Permapaque Marker, Border Punch: Martha Stewart--Picket Fence, Die Cut Letters: Quickutz--Diesel Font, Embossed Die Cut (inside): Quickutz--Adornment, Brad (front): ? Brads(inside): Doodlebug & Fluid Chalk: Colorbox--Chestnut Roan

Very Annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BLOGGER BEWARE!!

Due to some disturbing content that I found on my blog I have now switched to comment moderation.

The person below thought it would be amusing to pepper my blog with porn advertisements. Shall we say I AM NOT IMPRESSED.

I only found out about it because I went back into some old posts to check on some things. I actually took an hour and half to go back through every single post to make sure she didn't leave any more comments other places!! Almost every other post (sometimes consecutive posts) had comments from her and some other unknown porn site! I am sorry, but this was a huge waste of my time today for just plain nonsense!!

This person goes by Miss Jane--whether she/he is a real person or a front face for a business I am not sure!! (Sometimes creeps take other people's photos and use them for their own profiles.) If you don't currently use comment moderation I urge you to go back through your old posts and just check to see if you've been hit too!! Word verification won't do it as I found out the hard way!!

Here's her profile picture & the message as it appears in the comments--it's chinese so it doesn't show up in english unless you translate it--which I did--AGAIN NOT IMPRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss jane said...
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May 19, 2010 4:08 AM

As for Miss Jane--should you choose to visit my site again--please keep your comments to yourself!!!!!!!

For those of you who do leave sincere comments--Thank You!! It encourages me & brightens my day!!

Sarah