Midnight Madness challenge MMSC114-Get ready, get set, GO!!

A very good morning Tuesday to you, Midnight Madness day in the challenge world! As always, Priscilla has given us a fun sketch challenge, CAS or Fancy, YOUR choice!! Have you decided which way you will be heading in your creation, I find myself on the Fancy side this week!

I am using priscillastyles Lion image this week. This is the most adorable little critter and invokes all kinds of imaginative thoughts in my head. I know you have all seen the sweet, soft, cuddly and plush little stuffed animals out there for babies. Well, this image sent me on a journey to try and make a card to see if I could catch that feel. Let's take a look at where I went.

I used paper piecing to get the Lion's design and then left the cheeks, nose and eyes for prismacolors.  The background papers are the same papers I used for paper piecing, since I use alot of digital papers this was easy peasy!   This weeks sketch looks like this:

I got so caught up in this card, it just kept going and going. I hope I don't bore you silly but I took a "few" photos that I would like to share. ;)

The digital paper used is a free set found on line, the flowers are from Petaloo. The pearls, the pearl/lace around the circle are from Michaels, the little charm that says "Treasure" is from my stash, nestibilities and cuttlebug dies were used for the circle and corners respectively. Enough, more photos!!!

Our MMSC114 Weekly Bonus Sponsor is..

Stamp and Create and is offering a $25.00

gift certificate.

Stamp and Create is an on-line store carrying many popular brands of stamps, paper, and embellishments including: Wags ‘n Whiskers Rubber Stamps, High Hopes Stamps, Sweet Pea, CC Designs, Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps, Whiff of Joy, Stampavie, Penny Black, The Greeting Farm, Basic Grey, 7 Gypsies, Shimmerz, Nestabilities (always 20% off!!), charms and more!! Lacey is always adding new items to the store…so check it out at www.stampandcreate.com
Thanks Lacey for your wonderful prize this week!

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Our July Monthly sponsor is....

Join in the fun and excitement, the chance to win, the opportunity to share your work and to get to know each other. We welcome all!! I would love a comment or two (*smile*) and thank you for dropping in!!

challenges:
MMSC 114
Daisy Doodle-must use a digi-Anything Goes
Hooked on Crafts-Cute and Cuddly
Kaboodle Doodles-Faux or Real Stitching
Simon Says Stamp and Show-Anything Goes
Ippity Opportunity-Paper Piecing

MMSC112-Let's Create!

Don't you just love Tuesdays? To me it means another great sketch to work with from Midnight Madness and I get the privilege of using an image from Priscilla's Store. This makes Tuesday's very special!!

Let's take a look at the sketch we are working with this week.

Gather up your mojo and pick your style, CAS or fancy or like many of us.....somewhere in between! Let's get cracking!

This week I am using the gorgeous Victorian Hat from priscillastyles. The first time I saw this image it reminded me of Easters of yesteryear or the Kentucky Derby. Pretty diverse thoughts but nevertheless hats were (are?) definitely important in both events. Here is a look at the card:

I used a paper piecing technique to give the hat a small floral design which matches one of the background papers. Then I used Prismacolors and baby oil to color the form, flower, and ribbon. The little porcelain flowers I found at a local variety store and added some distress ink to match the orangy-pink-coral color (LOL--can't make up my mind what color that is!), the lace, ribbon and flourish were in my stash and the MS punch for the leaves and twigs. The rose has crystal effects and a pearl added to bring your eye to the elegant flower. What a HAT!!

Here is a close up of the hat and the bow!

 

Thanks for dropping by, be sure to visit all my team mates blogs to see their projects, they are listed on the side bar or you can see them here. I would love it if you took the time to leave a comment, I hope you each have a wonderful and creative week!

Nettie G's Progressive Challenge!

I would like to introduce you to Dee Dee, she is one of the images from NettieG's Gems. I intially ran into her at NettieG's group over at CDAC.  I thought she was adorable and followed the links until I found where she lives, you can find her at Nettie's store and by playing along with various challenges at Nettie's blog. I just couldn't resist, so I decided to play along in the current  progressive challenge, Once Upon a Paper Doll-Everyday Wear.

Here's a close up of Dee Dee.

 

And a look at the inside of the card:

Thanks for stopping in, I hope you have enjoyed your visit!

challenges: NettieG's -Every Day Wear

MMSC110-Midnight Madness Tuesday! Let's Play!

Vintage Auto by priscillastyles

Welcome to another fun sketch Tuesday at Midnight Madness! This week we are on challenge #110, here is a look at the sketch we are working with this week:

The wonderful thing about these sketches is you get to chose if you want to do a clean and simple card (CAS) or if you want to do a fancy card, or if you want to do something somewhere in between. The most important thing is to have fun and show off your mojo!

My cards always seem to land pretty much in the middle; does that mean I can't make up my mind....hmmm?? Whatever the reason and whichever my card ends up being, I always have fun playing with Priscilla's sketches. This week I am using a new image called Vintage Auto, don't you love the look of this old car? I'm not quite old enough to remember them personally but photos of them have always intrigued me! Vintage is my middle name, :) You can find all of Priscilla's images at priscillastyles Store along with some other goodies.

Thanks for dropping by, don't forget to visit all the teammates to see what inspirational eye candy they have come up with, all their names are listed right over on the side bar! Also, if you haven't checked into CDAC recently, you will definitely want to take a browse through, there is a HUGE ANNIVERSARY celebration going on with prizes and challenges and lots and lots of fun. I look forward to seeing your creations posted so I can come visit!!

challenges:
Midnight Madness-MMSC110
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Craft Your Days Away - Vintage

IT'S A Party!! Join in the Fun at CDAC!!

Wow, can you  believe it's already been a year, CDAC is celebrating their first year anniversary and YOU are invited! Great giveaways, lots of challenges, great inspiration, really nice people, gosh, what more could you ask for? Click on the banner on the side bar or HERE to find out all about the party! See you there!

Sharing a few more photos

The lilies around the farm have finally begun to bloom. I have been enjoying them immensely and would like to share a few photos.

 

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Matthew 6: 28-29 

How very true!!

MMSC108

Tuesday is Midnight Madness day and today begins challenge #108!! Are you ready, here is this week's challenge for all you fans out there!

Take a look and decide how you will be "creating" this week, Fancy, CAS or somewhere in between!  Here is my take on this weeks sketch, hope you like it and will play along....we love for you to participate!!

I am using Priscilla's Grapes digital stamp this week. You can find this luscious image in Priscilla's store along with all her other amazing images!!  I chose to go for green grapes this week because my purple grapes always look weird to me, I can never get the color correct! :)  Playing it safe...YEP! I am definitely "purple challenged"!!
Here is a close up of the grape cluster:

This image is so beautiful, filled with all kinds of refreshing thoughts and promises of  tasty goodness!  Let's take a look at the inside:

  Promises made, promises kept!

Thank your for visiting today, I hope you will leave a comment and visit all the blogs of the design team. We are all listed on the side bar. I will leave you with one more look for this week; I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and will join us in our challenge!!

challenges:
MMSC108
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Lexi's Creations - #42 No Sentiment
Totally Paper Crafts - Challenge #70 Summer

Kings Trust Ministries - One Day At A Time
Waiting on the Lord with joy
1 Samuel 1:18
"And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad."

Hannah so badly wanted a child, but the scripture says that the Lord kept Hannah from having a child. Her heart and soul was extremely sore concerning this. She lost her joy for life; she even lost her appetite for food. One day in the temple she cried out in desperation to the Lord. A priest, Eli, heard her and prayed that the Lord be merciful and grant her heart’s desire. She left the temple that day with a new attitude of heart, an attitude of quite trust. In her heart was a deep peace and an attitude of praise. Immediately she regained her appetite and ate a meal and went about her daily life joyfully as she waited for the Lord to do the miracle in her life.

The Lord also kept Sarah (Abraham’s wife) from having children. After many years of waiting for God to open her womb, Sarah, feeling desperate to provide a child for Abraham, decided to make a plan and suggested to Abraham that he take her maidservant and have a child with her. Of course we know that wasn’t part of God’s plan and so much bitterness and hardship came into Sarah’s life when Ishmael was born. Even after the promised child ‘Isaac’ was born to Sarah, she endured much heartache because of the maidservant and the boy Ishmael.

Here is a picture of two women, both kept by God from having children, yet having received a promise from God that he would prove Himself faithful, they had to wait for the miracle. The difference was their attitude of heart while they waited.

At times we may be faced with the challenge of having to wait for something for which we are praying and hoping for. The encouragement is that while we wait, let us do so with the right attitude of heart. Like Hannah, even while we are waiting we can live each day with the peace and assurance that the Lord is in control and that He will provide our daily bread in His time, in His way and in His perfect will. We don't need to make our own way like Sarah, all we need to do is to trust and not waver in our belief and to continue worshipping and rejoicing while we wait..... no matter how long it takes!

That’s the challenge. God does not always answer our prayer in one day, one week or even one year. It could be a long wait. So are we in for the wait? Be encouraged today to keep rejoicing as you trust and wait for the Lord, one day at a time and only by the Grace of God.

Psalm 27:14 - "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

Additional scripture for reading:
Genesis 49:18; Psalm 40:1; Psalm 62:5; Psalm 130:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:5

MMSC106.....Midnight Madness Challenge!

I hope you all had a lovely long weekend and were able to say "thank you" to our veterans for all they have done. We all know that freedom isn't free! With Memorial Day and then the Fourth of July coming up, I was feeling a bit patriotic so I decided to say Happy Birthday to America! What better way to do it than with an American favorite......the Golden Retriever! Priscilla has the most adorable image that was perfect for my idea, she is part of the set called Easter Egg Hunt Dog set! There are four (4) images in this set, take a look here!!

For this weeks challenge (MMSC106), I am using the girl with the bow in her hair.....my personal favorite!!

 As always, you choose, CAS or fancy......or somewhere in between!!  Here is my card!

Isn't she absolutely adorable??!!! My paper is a digital set from Gina Jane called Land of Liberty.

The inside :

 the envelope and another view of the card front:

A special thank you to all veterans past, present and future, and a very special thank you to the veterans who have influenced my life.

challenges:
MMSC106
Digital Tuesday - Animals/use a digital element
Party Time Tuesdays - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamps - Masculine Card
The Cheerful Stamp Pad - A Special Reason
OLLCB - Challenge 81- Happy Birthday

Photo Excursion

My daughter has gotten very big into photography, so while she was home between semesters we went out on a lot of photo excursions. This was after our trip to the beach and my initial photos of the swans.
She, with her camera and me with my point and shoot, off we went to hunt down subjects. :)  Surprisingly, by watching her and mimicking her style of composition I was able to get a few good shots. I thought I would share a couple of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them.