Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sketches In Thyme Challenge #17- Coupon Codes and Information

Good Morning,

The above is the sketch for this Weeks Sketches In Thyme Challenge.  Team B has lovely samples for you , and the Sponsor for the Month of October is Michelle's Scrapbooking and More.

Michelle has added new design team members to her Pixie Cottage team as well, and she is offering up  10%  off any order until October 31st!  Simply use the discount code Thankful to get your discount.

Tonight is Meet the Teacher night at school, and this year both my little ones get to show me their classrooms.  They are just so excited, as am I.

Happy Krafting everyone,
Hugs
Tanya

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Pixie Cottage Challenge # 38


Good Morning,

This weeks Pixie Cottage Challenge #38 has an ORANGE theme and provides us with a fab sketch by Aud.  I enjoyed this sketch, and was going to make the tag removable, but changed my mind at the last moment, making it into a visual embellishment. I don't think this card could be more Orange!  I have to say that the beads came from my girls bead supply, a great way to add little embellishments here and there.

I used Springtime Hannah with Butterflies, and she can be found at Michelle's Scrapbooking and More.  While you are there, be sure to look at all the new goodies she has, and don't forget about Sienna's Autism Benefit Stamps, available for a mere $3.00 that goes completely to the cause.

Happy Krafting, I can not wait to see all your Orange projects and/or your take on the sketch.  This card was made specifically for my Sister who turned 16 this month.  Happy Birthday Cynthia, your personality and smile are both as vibrant and passionate as the orange in this card.

Hugs,
Tanya
Challenges this qualifies for are:
Practical Scrappers: Stamps
Paper Sundaes: Things with Wings
The Crazy Challenge: No buttons or Ribbon

Monday, September 27, 2010

Got My Fingers in The Sugar Bowl Again.........Happy Birthday James XO


Good Morning,

Birthday Wishes go out to my darling husband James. He is finally the same age as me, we are 6 months a part. However he always looks so much younger!

The Sugar Bowl challenge # 44 this week was a sketch by Lilian, and the additional theme was "Birthday", how convenient for me! I just love the manga line, and coloring them with my copics is just so much fun. I chose this image, which is called Mistletoe Manga, however I masked the mistletoe, and used these hearts. The hearts came with a grab bag I bought a few months ago on the Sugar Nellie Funky Kits site. It is nice when clean rubber finally gets inked up!

Once again the candy for this challenge is amazing, I hope randomnumber.org is on my side this week.

The kids are in school, and James and I have taken the day off to shop and to spend the day holding hands and keeping each other company. It is nice to still be in love and to be loved; another thing to add to my gratitude list.

Happy Krafting,
Hugs
Tanya

Friday, September 24, 2010

Sugar Nellie Birthday Wishes

Hello,

I have a co-worker that has asked me several times to make her cards and to personalize them by adding the birthday girls name.  What I do is take my Sizzix alphabet die and piece the letters together, and then make them look like epoxy stickers by using Diamond Glaze.  This is my most recent request for her niece Saumiya who is celebrating her 17th birthday. I really hope she enjoys the card, her sister got one last year, and she has been requesting her very own.  When she opens up her card, I hope it brings her happiness.

Have a great weekend and Happy Krafting.
Hugs,
Tanya

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Sketches In Thyme Challenge #17


Good Morning,

This weeks Sketches In Thyme Challenge #17 provides you with another fabulous sketch by Helen Croft. I had so much fun with this one too. My girls LOVE to catch frogs in the summer, and here we see Karlye at the young age of 2 1/2 with one of her catches. What you did not see was the kiss she shared with it prior to me snapping the picture!

There are a bunch of little details in this layout, like the stitching with white thread, the crumpling of the circle, the use of Scrapper's Floss for the flourishes etc. I simply allowed myself to play, and what surprised me was this only took me 1 1/2 hours. I usually sit and over analyze a sketch, but not this one.

I hope you have as much fun as I did with this weeks sketch, I can not wait to see your creations.

Happy Krafting,

Hugs
Tanya
 

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Pixie Cottage Challenge #37


Good Morning,

Yet another week has gone by and we find ourselves at another Pixie Cottage Challenge. This weeks Pixie Cottage Challenge #37 is a fab sketch by Pam and the theme is Fun and Games.

I took out my Hannah on a Swing stamp as my Fun part of the theme, I loved swinging as a child, and I have passed that down to my children, especially my eldest.  She is more than happy to have me push her all day long!  I have been on a Sassafras stint lately, and could not help but use the crossword paper to incorporate the Games aspect.  What I LOVE about Sassafras is that the paper is so bold, I really have no need to stitch or add major embellishments. 

This absolutely adorable stamp can be found at Michelle's Scrapbooking and More, she also carries some Sassafras paper if you are looking for some.

Have a great day, and I can not wait to see how inventive you all get with this theme!

Hugs
Tanya

Challenges this qualifies for are:
My Time To Craft:  Kids at Play
A Spoon Full of Sugar: Anything Goes
Secret Crafter: Anything Goes

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sketches In Thyme and a Farewell Beth

Good Morning,

Nothing for me to post other than the sketch for this weeks Sketches In Thyme Challenge, and a shout out to Beth.  Beth is finishing off her year commitment at Torendi.  She has a post on her blog HERE, displaying some of the fabulous "out-of-the-box"  creations she has made.  I really enjoy how different each one is.  I admire her creativity as well.  Be sure to drop in and say hello.  Torendi is also giving up a nice grab bag of goodies, as a thank you to Beth.

Hope to see you try out this fab sketch as well.

Happy Krafting,
Hugs
Tanya

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sugar Nellie's Sweetie Search


Hello,

Sugar Nellie is looking for Sweetie Team Members who have time to make two cards a month. The card above is made from one of their adorable Sugar Nellie Stamp lines. I am in love with their Manga line and use them quite frequently while playing in The Sugar Bowl. Maybe one day luck will be on my side, and I will win one of the delicious prizes they have up for grabs bi-weekly.

If you are interested in being a Sweetie, be sure to head over HERE for all the details.

Have a great night,

Hugs
Tanya

The Pixie Cottage Challenge #36 and a Freebie Digital Stamp

Good Morning,

This weeks Pixie Cottage Challenge #36 is a gorgeous sketch by Adrina, and the theme is Mellow Fruitfulness.  I have had this paper in my stash for quite some time, and have always been intimidated by it's boldness.  Well, I have used most of it up, and have to say it was fun.  Because of how bold and bright it is, I did not have to add too much to it, or else making it too cluttered.   I played around with the color of cardstock, when mounting the different squares and such.  The top one reminds me of a summer's day, where as adding orange makes it more like a sunny fall day.

What paper intimidates you?  What more/less should I have added to these cards?  I love hearing your suggestions so please don't be shy.

My take on mellow fruitfulness  was Hannah taking her time picking apples, I can not wait to see what your take on the theme is this week. This new wonderful stamp is available at Michelle's Scrapbooking and More, be sure to drop in and browse, so many stamps, so little time!

Happy Krafting,

NOTE:  There is a FREEBIE digital image available for this weeks challenge, be sure to hop on over HERE and snag it!


Hugs
Tanya

Challenges this qualifies for are:
Paper Play Challenges: Autumn is Coming
365 Cards: Busy Backgrounds
Practical Scrappers: Buttons
Raise The Bar: Orange Brown and Green

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Got My Fingers in The Sugar Bowl Again.........





















I just love coloring my Sugar Nellie Manga's and my brown Copic Markers.  This is my card for The Sugar Bowl Challenge #43, and it is also a Thank You card to Kristin from Basic Grey.  She made sure my Cappella paper got to me, even though there were some shipping glitches.  Thank you again Kristin for all your work, I am loving this paper!

Sugar Nellie has all sorts of changes coming about this season, and it is all rather exciting.  I really like the way they keep us bloggers informed.  Be sure to drop in and check out their stamps, they are pretty yummy.

Karlye survived her first week in grade 1, Jayme cried because JK only starts next week, and she is just so eager to go to school.  I survived back-to-school shopping today, and now I can just relax.  I even have a movie date on the couch with my husband tonight, does it get any better than this!

Happy Krafting,
Hugs
Tanya

P.S.  Thanks Judy for this awesome sketch!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sketches In Thyme Challenge #13


Good Morning,

This weeks Sketches In Thyme Challenge is a beautiful sketch by Helen Croft. I rotated mine and used three different sized photos. The photos are not very clear, but then taking pictures of Karlye in motion rarely are. These photos are of her in her very first ballet class. My layout is very minimal, and I think I like that. How about you?

Hope to see what you do with this weeks sketch. I do apologize for the lack of brightness, I had to take the picture indoors at 10:00pm, as it has been a very busy week, and the only time I could get around to doing so.

Happy Krafting,
Hugs
Tanya

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Pixie Cottage Challenge #35

Good Morning,

This weeks Pixie Cottage Challenge #35 provides you with a fabulous sketch by Pam and a Furry Friend Theme.  I chose to use Bunny with Roses as my furry friend, and this cute critter can be found at Michelle's Scrapbooking and More.

I really liked the swirl at the bottom of this sketch, and I chose to use the tree pattern making it look like my bunny was sitting in a field of flowers in a forest.

I can't wait to see what you come up with, and don't forget you can use the theme and/or the sketch for your creation.

Happy Krafting,
Hugs
Tanya

Challenges this fits into are:
My Time to Craft: Jewelled theme (my pearls are jewels)
Paper Play: In Stitches
Stampin with the Dragon: The eyes have it
365 Cards:  All creatures Great and Small
Moving Along with the Times: Stitching

Monday, September 6, 2010

Being Frugal for Sketches In Thyme and Welcome Top Tip Tuesday

Good Morning,

I was asked by Kim to do a tutorial for Sketches In Thyme, and at first I was stumped.  But then while cleaning up my desk I came across these photos of Karlye, left over bits from trimming my stamps,  and many left over coffee sleeves.  Then the light bulb went off.  I decided to show you some creative uses for items otherwise put in the recycle bin.

After taking this weeks Sketches In Thyme sketch, I immediately thought to use these corrugated sleeves to make the title.  I used my Sizzix Big shot and letter dies.  It flattened the cardboard a bit, but not horribly. I also used my circle punches on these sleeves to make the embellishments throughout the layout as well.
I then went into my recycling bin and removed a margarine tub and a bead jar lid. I got my inks out and inked up the rims to make the circles on the bottom left side of my layout. Within the larger picture you can see that my daughter used a dragonfly foam stamp, so I incorporated that into the sketch by stamping an cutting one out for the top embellishment.
I always save my left over rubber trimmings when I trim my stamps, and now I know why! I trimmed one into a triangle to use for the rays of sunshine underneath the title on my layout.

 This is the result of me being frugal, the definition being; economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.

After reading my tutorial, I would love it if you left me some tips on what you do to re-use items in your house.  Some of you may be concerned about things being Acid Free.  I know you can purchase spray that will make things acid free. I do not have any as it is difficult to get in Canada, but my re-used items don't touch my photos that much so all should be well.  Not to mention I have a digital copy now.

Thanks for taking the time to read my tutorial.

Hugs

Tanya 

P.S  Did you know there is a new challenge blog called Top Tip Tuesday ,  every Tuesday they will post a tip of some sort to share with us.  If you post a tip throughout the week, be sure to head over and enter it into their challenge, you may become the lucky winner.  If you check out the blog, be sure to leave a nice comment, since this is the first challenge for them, it would be nice for them to get a friendly welcome.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

A gift in my Mailbox!






















I put together a pizza box of goodies to donate to some kids who will be using them for "art therapy" so to speak.  Stephanie was the recipient who is responsible for teaching these youth how to express themselves through art.  She sent me this FAB card that made my jaw drop as a thank you. 

I think all the Thank You's should go to her though.  I believe that it is important to find something that allows us to connect with ourselves, crafting does this for me, and Stephanie is doing this for all these youth.

So THANK YOU  Stephanie, and I have to say WOW, you make beautiful cards.

Hugs,
Tanya

P.S.  If you have items to donate from your stash, read the post HERE, and leave Sheena a message.  I feel good that someone will be putting mine to good use.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Pixie Cottage Challenge #34



Good Morning,
This weeks challenge over at The Pixie Cottage is to create a project  with  "Family" incorporated into it and/or to use this fabulous sketch by our Guest Designer Cindy Hafner.  Most of you know Cindy, and I am just so flattered that she is using her talent to create with us Pixies this week.

You may not know this, but butterflies are a great love in my family.  My grandmother calls me her Papillon, which is butterfly in french. So while creating my card using Cindy's awesome sketch, I chose to use ArTish's  "Edith The Butterfly Stamp" as my addition to this weeks family theme.  This fantastic stamp is available at Michelle's Scrapbooking and More,  along with many more beautiful rubber stamps.

If you leave a comment today, I would love to know what family nickname you acquired while growing up that you are most fond or.  I can't wait to see what you do with the theme this week, not to mention what you come up with using this fab sketch.


Happy Krafting everyone,
Hugs
Tanya

Challenges this qualifies for are:
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Show Your Layers
My Time To Craft: In The Garden
A Crafty Little Place: Anything Goes