In everything give thanks.

Oh my...there were some many fun challenges to choose from today.  I chose to participate in 3 of them!
Sweet Sunday sketch challenge 91 (SSSC91)
Paper Players challenge - anything goes
Curtain Call Color Act #54 - more mustard, vanilla, cajun craze & pumpkin pie

I've wanted to cut into this sheet of patterned paper since I bought it in August.  I was waiting to use it for a Thanksgiving card, which is what I made today!  I love the colors of fall...so I was drawn to this print as soon as I saw it.  Also, it has a little shine and sparkle on the leaves (and I love shine and sparkle :)  I decided that the leaves behind my sentiment needed some shine, too.  So I pulled out my Aleen's Paper Glaze and spread a little over the edges and veins of the leaves.  I did a  little sponging along the edges of the matting, added a ribbon and 3 crystals...and I was done.  Well, I made that sound easy and quick, didn't I?  Ha!  It wasn't...really...not at all...
But, I'm pleased with the results.  Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The recipe:

CS: more mustard, cajun craze, pumpkin pie, very vanilla (SU)

Ink: more mustard, early espresso, really rust (SU)

Patterned paper: sparkle outdoor aspen forest (Cloud 9 Design)

Stamps: autumn leaves (Gina K Designs), Happy Harmony (SU)

Ribbon: more mustard (SU)

Other: crystals (Recollections), oval and scallop dies (Spellbinders)

Whooooooo.......

Ok, I finally gave in.  Usually, I don't get into all of the Halloween decor, projects or cards.  But, I'm seeing SO many cute projects and cards on the blogs I follow...that...I just couldn't resist joining in!
I made these Halloween bags for two little girls in our neighborhood.  They're sweet girls.  They even offered to help me shovel snow last winter!  I filled these bags with nail polish and decals, some M & M's, hair bands, etc.  I probably had as much fun making (and filling) these bags, as the girls will have opening them.  I'm really got into the Halloween "spirit"...pardon the pun  ; )
These projects are being submitted to the following challenges:
The Paper Players Challenge #21 - use 1 DSP, a sentiment and a punch
Crazy 4 Challenges C4C60 - create a Halloween project
Just click on the blog titles to see all of the details for the challenges.
 * Remember...just click on a photo so see a larger version.

This printed paper is my first purchase of digital designer paper.  I've resisted for SO long!  This spider web with some blues and oranges caught my eye so...ya...I gave in.  I found this over at Design House Digital.  This "pack" is by Jen Allyson.  It's called Spooked Halloween.  There a quite variety of prints in the pack.
Thanks for stopping in to take a look.  Feel free to leave me a comment; I love reading them!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My recipe:

CS: basic black, tangerine tango, baja blue, whisper white (SU)

DSP: spooked halloween digital paper (DesignHouseDigital)

Sentiment: I created this on my pc.  The font is called Chiller.

Punches: two step bird & two step owl (SU)

Ribbon is from my stash (mostly from the bit bin)

Sparkling trees

Happy Monday!  Well, it was for me since I had the day off work  :)
This card is submitted to two challenges.  You can click on the links to see all the details.
Just Us Girls Challenge #55, using the colors of Basic Black, Cream and Kraft.
Paper Players Challenge #20, which is a sketch challenge.

 ***EDIT - This card won as the Headliner this week, at the Paper Players. So exciting!

I didn't include a sentiment on the front of this card.  I wanted to keep the focus in the tree image from Gina K Designs.  I seem to have a weakness for tree and leaf stamps...actually, anything nature related.  I guess you could figure that out by the name of my blog, huh?
Once I put the card together, I thought the trees needed a little sparkle, so I pulled out the Diamond Stickles to give them a frosty look.  Oh, and I sponged a little Crumb Cake ink along the edges of the kraft and cream layers.
I love this color combination and it fit so well with the sketch, don't you think?  Anyway, I'm pleased with this card.  Let me know what you think!

By the way, you can click on a photo to see a larger view.

The recipe ~ ~ ~

CS: kraft, cream and basic black (SU)

Stamps: blessed is the season (Gina K Designs)

Ink: versamark

Other: border and corner punches (SU), black EP - on the trees (SU), holly texture plate - on cream layer (Sizzix), diamond stickles (Ranger), flat back crystals and ribbon from my stash.

I want you to know...

September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  I'm guessing that most of you didn't know that.  That is, unless you know me personally.  I've been spreading the word every chance I get.  The logo, above, has been my profile pic on Facebook for about the past 6 weeks.  The reason I feel so strongly about this, is due to the death of our 18 year old nephew in May of this year.  Matthew battled ALL (one of the types of leukemia) for 20 months.  Tomorrow will be the 5 month anniversary of his passing.  When I say that Matthew battled....he fought hard. He was truly an inspiration!   His motto was "Play hard...never give up".  And, he lived that motto to the very end.

You can see a photo of Matthew in the left hand column of this blog.  He's the handsome young man in the helmet.  I really don't want this blog post to be depressing.  But, unless a child in your family has fought cancer, you can't know how devastating it can be to the entire family.  We all recognize the pink ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness, not just in October, but throughout the year.  But how many people are aware of what the Gold ribbon means?  Why does the media not devote coverage to Childhood Cancer Awareness?  I wish I knew the answers.

The following statistics are from the website:  Gold: The New Pink
You can follow the link to find more information, but I would especially like for you to read the following statistics from their site.  I think you'll be surprised by these facts.

did you know?
• Childhood cancers are the #1 disease killer of children.
• The National Cancer Institute’s federal budget=$4.6 billion. Pediatric cancers received less than 3% of it.
• Overall, one out of every five children diagnosed with cancer dies. In some forms of cancer, as few as one out of every five children will live.• Childhood Cancers are cancers that primarily affect children, teens, and young adults.
• Approximately 20% of adults with cancer show evidence the disease has spread, yet nearly 80% of children show that the cancer has spread to distant sites at the time of diagnosis.
• The cause of most childhood cancers are unknown and at present, cannot be prevented. (Most adult cancers result from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet, occupation, and other exposure to cancer-causing agents).
• Nationally, childhood cancer is 20 times more prevalent than pediatric AIDS yet pediatric AIDS receives four times the funding that childhood cancer receives.
• On the average, 12,500 children and adolescents in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year.
• In the U.S., about 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every single school day.

*statistics courtesy of Team Unite
I hope that you've read all the way to the end of this post.  This cause is something near and dear to my heart.  I want so much to see a search for the cure of all childhood cancers.  CureSearch is trying to do just that.  It's an excellent organization and you might want to consider contributing to their fight for the cure.
Thank you for reading my blog.  Next time, I'll be back with a papercrafting project  :)

Grrrrrr.......

I had so many ideas in my head for this card, I could hardly wait to sit down and start creating.  And then it happened...I struggled SO much with this card!  I wanted to use two Spellbinder square dies to create debossed lines around dasher.  Well, I tried twice - crooked both times (grrr...).  Okay, I pulled out my trusty Scor-Pal and improvised.  Two lines along each of the four sides...done.  Then it was time to stamp dasher onto my panel of white card stock.  The first try resulted in an image that wasn't solid.  Operator error, I'm sure  : /
So, I decided to use Versamark and black EP.  Much better!
Then, there was the bow.  Even with using my Bow Easy, I managed to mess up the first bow.  This second one turned out okay...I guess it will have to do.  By the way...I even had to stamp and trim the sentiment twice  :(
OH MY, what a whiner I am today!!!

Anyway, I'm playing along with The Paper Players #19A Colour Challenge today. I love this inspiration photo on the Players blog!

The challenge is to use Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White in your entry.  I love this combination of colors.
I just bought this Dasher stamp from Stampin' Up recently (although it's not a new stamp), it had been on my wish list for a while.  I love the flourish of his antlers...I added a few dots of Black Diamond Stickles to them (and a dot for his eye).  I'm not sure if you can see the stickles in this photo, though.

If you stayed with my all through this post...THANK YOU!  Hopefully my stamping mojo will have returned by the time I do my next blog post.  I hope you're having a good day!
Please leave a comment, I love reading them!
* * * * * * *

The recipe ~

CS: basic black, real red, whisper white (SU)

Ink: versamark (Tsukineko), basic black (SU)

Stamp sets: dasher, warm words (SU)

Embellishments and tools: Scor-Pal, square punch (for the end of the sentiment strip), Bow Easy, red grosgrain ribbon and crystals from my stash.

Dandle Trio...

...that's the name of this stamp, made by Stampendous.  Love that name.  When I sat down to create a card for the challenge over at Unscripted Sketches, I knew I wanted to use the DCWV matstack that I picked up recently.  And, this trio of dandelions fit so well with the print in the background.  This card came together easily, which is surprising since I haven't stamped in a couple of weeks.  We've been on the go so much lately.  Lots of fun family gatherings!
Back to the card   :)
I'm submitting this card in Unscripted Sketches #76 challenge. You can follow the link to see this week's sketch.

This second photo gives a better view of the stickles that I applied to the dandle blooms.  Remember...you can click on a photo to get a larger version of the pic.
Thanks for stopping in to take a look!  Please leave a comment...I enjoy reading them.
* * *

The recipe ~

CS: soft suede (SU)
Ink: soft suede (SU)

Patterned CS: linen closet matstack (DCWV)

Punch (SU)

Brad, flat back pearls and ribbon from my stash.
*** Edit ***
I made the "Top 3 Fave" with this card, at Unscripted Sketches!  I feel honored to receive the recognition!