I know you probably thought I had fell of the face of the planet, but I am still around but mostly spending every waking minute at the baseball fields so my crafting time has been extremely scarce!  This week is no exception either with 2 games tonight, 3 tomorrow, and 2 on Thursday- I'm pooped already!!!

Well how about a couple challenges to start the week off with a bang?  I decided to combine challenges to create one fun project!  Craft Your Passion challenge this week is all about "texture" and we are sponsored by The Cutting Cafe and The Robin's Nest.  The end of the month over at Lollipop Crafts brings another "anything goes" challenge.

That adorable image is from "rain rain go way set" from The Cutting Cafe.  I added texture to my card by distressing all the edges of my papers as well as using textured cardstock.  It's hard to tell but when you distress the black cardstock, there is a lovely blue color that shows. A few clear bling on the centers of the flowers on those cute boots, some faux stitching, and black bling to finish the card off!

Craft Your Passion #105: Shaped cards

Batter up!  I just loved this image from Kenny K with 2 baseball players in my home, so I knew it was perfect for my project this week at Craft Your Passion.  This week is all about shaped cards and so I decided to try my hand at creating my base to look like home plate. Well after many attempts I finally settled for this one, not quite right but close enough. I dug into my scraps for the all-star paper which I picked up at Hobby Lobby when on sale!  Of course now became the task of how to color the image, since I have one boy wearing black and gold (Tigers) and one wearing blue/black/white (Dirtbags) how would I ever decide.  Well in the end my little guy won out, since he chose to help!  I kept this one nice and simple with no sentiment that way I could use as needed for a coaches gift or birthday card for one of players in future!

Make sure to check out the blog as our design team has "hit it out of the park" this week with their shaped cards!

Craft Your Passion #104: Dots and/or Stripes

 (Sorry for crappy photo, using a back-up camera)

Craft Your Passion Challenges has a great challenge this week, we want to see stripes and/or spots on your projects.  We have 3 wonderful sponsors this week, so make sure you join us to win one of the fabulous prize packages.  I got to work with images from Scrapper's Delight and the "tears from a clown 3" set.  I chose to do something a little different and not work with the main clown image, but combine the balloon image along with the sentiment using Paint.net to create my fun and simple card!  I added some fun scraps of polka dot ribbon and faux stitching to make my project complete!

Craft Your Passion #103 : Monochromatic

Monochromatic is our theme this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges and we are sponsored by 

Delicious Doodles. I feel in love with this "Panda Love"so black and white immediately was my color pallet! 

I decided to only add a small pop of color to the cheeks and left the rest of image alone to shine!

Monochromatic is one of those things alot of people find difficult, but if you want to get some ideas then head over to CYP blog and see what our talented design team has come up with this week!

Challenges, Challenges, & More Challenges

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend, I know we did as temps were in the high 70's and that means the start of another baseball season!  This is an exciting time in our house as both of my boys are die-hards when it comes to baseball, I am not kidding dueing this time of year they literally eat, sleep, and breathe the game!  We are so proud of Micah as he found out last week that he made the Varisty Baseball Team, one of only three sophomores- he worked so hard in the off season, even giving up basketball to foucs and prepare for baseball.  I loved it when he told me some of the kids asked him "Why didn't you play basketball this year" and he repsonded "This is why, making the varisty squad was my goal."  I do not think I have seen him with a bigger grin on his face, reminded me of when he was a little-oh what a moment!

Well enough of that today brings a busy Monday full of lots of challenges that you need to check out!  First up we have Craft Your Passion Challenges, where this week is all about the sentiment!  That's right we want to see you focus on your sentiments, now I went with a simple design as I have been a little under the weather so my MOJO has left the building for a bit.  We are sponsored this week by Simon Says Stamps and one lucky winner will win a $20 gift certificate to their store!

Now it's not often this happens, but the challenge this week at Lollipop Crafts is "Sentimentally Yours"- use your sentiment as your focus.  How about that you can kill 2 birds with one stone and enter both of these challenges!  This week the sponsor is The Stamping Boutique and someone will win 3 digis of their choice from one of my fave stores!

Both of my cards are done using stamps from Unity, I hope I have shown you a few different ways that you can make your sentiment the star of your cards!  Come play along with us for your chancce to win some fabulous prizes and see what both DT's have created to inspires!

Craft Your Passion 100: Anything Goes

If you are looking for Lollipop Crafts post, please scroll down!

We are celebrating a BIG challenge this week at Craft Your Passion, this week marks our 100th challenge!!!  We have lots of great goodies and prizes up for grabs this week, so make sure to play along.  This week's challenge is "Anything Goes" so show us what you got! 

I got to work with this fun image from Stamp Fairy called "garden goblin" which I have colored with Copics.  My papers are from Doodle Bug Designs 6 x 6 Sweet Cakes stack for the dots and trees is from Echo Park 6 x 6 Country Drive stack.  The sentiment is from Unity's Apple Cheddar Soup stamp set.

Come play along and check out what the rest of the CYP team has created this week HERE.

Craft Your Passion #99: Paper Piecing

It's time to start off another week with a bang, so how about another great challenge at 

Craft Your Passion Challenges. This week's challenge is about a technique that I hardly ever do, but it great to use your scraps or totally change the look of an image- paper piecing.  We are luck to be sponsored this week by AI Factory and Bunny Zoe, so that means 2 great prizes up for grabs!!!

Come join us this week HERE and see what our talented ladies have created using paper piecing!

Craft Your Passion #98: Patriotic Colors

Craft Your Passion is celebrating President's Day with a color challenge of red/white/blue this week.  We are excited to be sponsored by 2 wonderful companies this week: Mami Doodles and The Robin's Nest.  I got the pleasure of working with "Nick with Skateboard" on my card.  My checklist is courtesy of CTMH and comes with several different descriptive words that are interchangeable making this stamp so versatile. My fun paper is from Echo Park's 6 x 6 stack called "A Boy's Life."

The CYP team have created loads of AMAZING projects this week that you won't want to miss, so come over and check them out HERE.

BINGO over at Craft Your Passion this week!

That's right it's time for a fun little crafting color BINGO this week at Craft Your Passion and this is was a little harder than I thought it would be! I decided to go with pink/red/brown line and came up with  fun birthday card! The image I used is from one of our fabulous sponsors this week, Limited Runs and the set is called "Big Birthday Set-lit." I started with a sketch from Eat Sleep Stamp and grabbed papers from 

Echo Park 6x6 stack -A Walk in the Park.

Come join us this week as we have a super cute guest designer that I get the pleasure of being with everyday! Yes that's right my lil' Lucas has been crafting with me again and created this wonderful card for this week's challenge as well. I invite you to visit his blog Freckles 'n Fun and leave him a little love, he loves to get comments on his projects and grins from ear to ear!

Craft Your Passion #92+ Lollipop Crafts #62

If you are looking for Sunday Sketch & Stamp, Kaboodle Doodles or 
The Crazy Challenge please scroll up.

I did a little shopping recently thanks to a gift certificate I received (thanks Tracey) and normally I go for Copics, but this time I went for some new 6 x 6 paper packs.  Guess what? My package of goodies arrived from 2 Peas in a Bucket just in time for some weekend crafting. This was my 1st order from them, but certainly won't be last- shipping was super fast!

These gorgeous papers are from My Mind's Eye Love Me 6 x 6 stack, it comes with 24 sheets of double-sided papers.  This was perfect for the challenge this week at Lollipop Crafts, which is 

"anything goes with a twist to use something NEW- that can be a new embellishment, stamp, craft supply, technique, etc on your card/project.  

Come check out the DT projects this week, as we are all back after a short break from the 

holiday and we are feeling refreshed and ready to bring you some wonderful inspiration!

Also over at Craft Your Passion this week the challenge is "Mythical Creatures" and we are over the moon excited to have not one but 2 sponsors this week! That's means double the chance to win an AMAZING prize from either A Day For Daisies or Pizzazaplenty. I have used this sweet image called "tucking in my bugs" from A Day For Daisies. I have colored the image using Copics and then added some glitter to her wings and hair. The sentiment is computer generated.

The design team has made some absolutely fantastic projects this week, so make sure to go check them out and leave a little love!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Seems A Little Sketchy-sketch

Craft Your Passion #91

Do you ever see an image and it just speaks to you?  That's exactly what happened when I saw this 

"polar bear" image from Delicious Doodles of a mother and her baby cub all snuggled up. I decided that I loved the look of the pencil drawing so all I did was add a little pink to that sweet baby's cheek. I made this card for the challenge this week at Craft Your Passion, the theme is "anything goes+ distressing." I added my distressing by adding a little CTMH Cocoa ink to edges of my image, papers, and doily.  The sentiment is computer generated and then punched using my Stampin' Up punches.  Make sure to come join us this week, as we have 3 wonderful sponsors not to mention a DT Call.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Anything Goes-blue+1 other color
Bearly Mine- anything goes
Crazy Amigo Challenge- winter
Digital Tuesday- winter wonderland

Holiday Havoc Blog Hop

Welcome to Craft Your Passion Challenges "Holiday Havoc 2011" Blog Hop!!

We are very excited about holidays and wanted to add to the chaos and havoc. 

What better way to do that, than to have a BLOG HOP!!!

If you have hopped over from Amy's Blog, then you are in the right place. If you just happened to stop by and would like to join our hop from the beginning, please go to Craft Your Passion Challenges and follow along for a chance to win some AMAZING blog candy along the way and PRIZES at the end.

All Craft Your Passion DT members are going to be playing along in the hop with some very special guest designers.

Each designer along the way is featuring a project that showcases a digital image from at least one of our amazing Blog Hop Sponsors.

What’s more exciting is you can participate too by creating a project and linking it up over at Craft Your Passion Challenges for a chance to win one of several prizes.

But, there’s a twist. Be sure to visit all the stops and leave a comment (we will be checking). Once you have finished the hop, we would like you to create a HOLIDAY project using at least one digital stamp and enter it with our Linky tool.

While you are hopping, be sure to check out the blog candy the designer's have to offer you. You don't want to miss out on any of it!

I have create a gift card holder using my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I have distressed the our side of my holder and then printed my image on a tag.  The image I have used is called "feed the birds" from Stretch N' Bubbles and is colored with copics. Sentiment is courtesy of those cute $1 Studio G stamps you find at Michael's. 

This sweet little image is from Bugaboo and is called 
"Christmas Mouse Mistletoe" which I colored with Copics. I decided to let image be the star, so I went with a clean & simple design.

Now what hop isn't complete with a little candy! One randomly selected person will be receiving a little package of goodies from me, so make sure to leave me a little love!  Since it's Christmas you package will be a SURPRISE, how cool is that!

 

Next stop by Joanna's blog, to see what she has in store for you today.

Remember, once you have hopped to all the stops and left your comments (we will be checking), it's your turn to show us your "Holiday Havoc" project.

Make sure to include a digital stamp somewhere on your project, and link up your project over at Craft Your Passion Challenges by Midnight CST December 23 to be eligible for the prizes. Winners will be announced on our Monday, December 26th Challenge post.

Craft Your Passion #87

Are you ready for another challenge from Craft Your Passion? This week is an easy one, it's 

"anything goes + add glitter" and we have 2 sponsors- Pattie's Creations and The Pixie Cottage. The design  team is using images from both sponsors, my image is called "Pattie Boop & Allie Waiting for Santa" courtesy of Pattie's Creations. I have added sparkly fluff to the window seal and Santa hats.  Come over and see what the DT has created, we would love to see your projects!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Pattie's Creations- Christmas

The Holiday Season is upon us!

It's hard to believe the last weekend of November has passed and December is just around the corner!  I have been super busy creating gifts for the upcoming holidays and crafts for my son's Winter party, needless to say the paper has been flying and my crafting area looks like a bomb went off! LOL!!!

Monday brings challenge day over at Kaboodle Doodles where our theme this week is 

"bundle up for winter"  and we are sponsored by Stamp 'n Doodle. Make sure to come over and check out what the rest of team has been up too!

Now this week at Lollipop Crafts is all about "B is for...." so the skies the limit on what you can create. We are sponsored this week by Karber Stamps and I have used this adorable image called "Christmas Millie."

Make sure to check out what the rest of the LC team has done and come back on Thursday as we spotlight our fabulous sponsor!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Karber Challenge- anything goes

"Tis the Season" is our theme this week over at Craft Your Passion Challenge and we are sponsored by Simply Betty Stamps, since I just joined the CYP team I didn't get to work with a SBS image.  However you must go check out their store because they have some FANTASTIC images perfect for your holiday projects! I have created this CAS card using the sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping and Unity stamps.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Get Hippity with Ippity- embossing

Last but certainly not least you must stop over by The Crazy Challenge and join this week's challenge.  It's all about "snowflakes and/or stars" and we are sponsored by Ellephantastic.  I chose to work with

"sketchy snowman" and added this fun sentiment. I wanted to make it look like he was catching snowflakes in his mitten.  Come over and see what the rest of team has created, you won't be disappointed!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Ellephantastic- weather related

Craft Your Passion #85- Inspiration

If you are looking for Lollipop Crafts or Kaboodle Doodles post, please scroll down.

Mondays have become just a little bit busier for me as I have been asked to join the

Craft Your Passion design team!  I am super excited to join this wonderful group and have dove in to the challenges immediately. 

Our challenge this week was to use the above photo as our inspiration whether it be the colors, pumpkins, leaves, etc.- the possibilities are endless!  We are sponsored by Doodle Pantry and one lucky person will win a $10 voucher to their store.

This card had been sitting on my craft desk just waiting for something, so when I saw this sentiment I knew it was a perfect match! I have embossed the orange using my Cuttlebug embossing folder, then I punched circles using scraps and inked edges.  This has become one of my face a card designs to use up all those tiny scraps you save. The sentiment is from "Falling Ants Set" and a lil' ribbon to tie it all together!

Come on over and play along with us this week and check out the rest of team's projects and welcome  Doreen & Cathy who are joining the team also!

I am entering this card in the following challenges: