I'm home!

I am home!  Gosh, I missed you guys something terrible! Yet, I got to spend time with my parents and that was great!  My hubby and I helped them move from Nevada to Arizona, what a trip! It was very hard on my parents for they weren't sure where to put everything once we got there. DH went home in five days and I stayed 2 weeks to help unpack. Would you rather pack or unpack?  Me, I rather pack any day of the week over unpacking.  When you unpack everything has a new home and your just not sure where that might be. I'll tell ya though..I will never fly with US Airways again if I can help it. I wanted to stay an additional week to finish helping my parents and they wanted $490.00 to reschedule my flight. I thought maybe somebody didn't read the figures right and went to the airport....same thing. I asked what happened to the 50 -100.00 fee for rescheduling and the answer I got was "no it's now 150.00" I stood there and thought something is wrong with this picture so I asked "then why are you telling me it is 490.00 and the answer I got was "oh, that is before the fee is added"  Let me tell ya, if they go out of business it won't be anyone's fault but their own. I was not buying a new ticket and was flying ONE way in the USA...I wasn't going to Timbuktu...gesssssssssssh.

Anyhoo, my card today was designed by Daphne and I was on her DT in the very beginning. Very sad for she no longer does any digi's.  This was one of my favorites and I added the sentiment in Photo Shop Elements.
  
Challenge:

• Copic Challenge Corner: shadowing.  Each month win two Copic markers or refills for completing the months challenges
• Crafty Calendar Challenge: Birthday, they are celebrating their first year anniversary!!! YEA!
• Stamp Something: Pink
• Totally Paper Crafts:  Bling
• Digi Doodle Shop:  Anything goes

 Copics:

• Skin: E11, E00, E000
• Blue :  B04, B02, B00 B000
• Pink:  RV02, RV00, RV000
• Hair: E35, E31, YR20

TIP OF THE DAY: Shadowing your image.  Adding a shadow to your image makes it look complete. In the beginning I hated to add a shadow by taking my marker and just out lining it. I felt it was so dang obvious and didn't like it. Then I learned to take my colorless blender and go back over the outline shadow to give it a soft blend.

Happy Birthday Party!!

Hello from Yuma Arizona!! For everyone new to my blog, I helped my parents move from Pahrump, NV to Yuma, AZ. DH and I arrived late Wednesday night in Las Vegas and stayed at our daughters house. On Thursday, DH, daughter and I drove to Pahrump and finished packing my parents home and loaded everything onto a U-haul truck. Friday, I drove the truck from Pahrump, NV to Yuma, Arizona, which took around 6 hours and Friday night we unloaded half of the truck and finished it on Saturday. Let me tell ya something… my butt was dragging BIG time. I am here for one more week to help them unpack everything.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Halloween blog hop with SSC this past weekend. Wasn't it phenomenal? Lots of prizes were won and that is always awesome!  Thank you to all of my new blog followers and to those who leave awesome comments. It makes my heart sing!!

I made this card before I left home for DT at Party Time Tuesdays! As you know this is one of my all time favorite blogs!! Each week we make a card which has to have a birthday sentiment on it along with the weeks challenge!! This week is anything goes....my favorite kind of challenge!! LOL
I used Elisabeth Bell's rubber stamp "Emma" from the First Edition Sampler made exclusively for SCACD!
 
Also, I want to remind you about the Copic Challenge Corner at SSC! You not only have fun doing the challenges, but each month a random winner will be chosen for either two Copic Markers or Two Variance, Copic refills for completing the months challenges. Also, this month I will give two Copic markers or refills to the person who brings the most new members to the Copic Challenge Corner! Also, for October,  you can do all the challenges by the end of October and you will be elgible for the random drawing!! How cool is that?  And!!! Remember there are free Copic lessons with Lisa Futch with tutorials and PDF's at SSC Copic Classroom! 

Challenges:

•  Party Time Tuesdays: Anything goes with a birthday sentiment
• Copic Challenge Corner: Caucasian Skin Coloring with Brown hair (starts Wednesday)
• Lexis Creations: Birthday
• Wild Orchid Challenge: Pastels
• Craftalicious Challenge: Anything goes
• I Did It Creations: For a girl
• Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge: Something hand cut or die cut
• Our Creative Corner: 3 embellishments

Supplies: I am so sorry but all the info for this card is on my computer at home.

Tip of the day:  Coloring skin:  When I color caucasian skin tones I color by seasons. "what the heck does that mean?"  LOL If my image is a spring or summer image I use E11, E00 and E000. If it is a fall or winter image, I want a lighter skin color so they do not look tan and I use E01, E00 and E000.  You do not want E00 and E0000 touching one another on your paper,  for some odd reason when these two colors mix together they become very tacky on your paper.

Thanks for visiting and a fab day!

Simple Scrapping Crafts First Halloween Blog Hop

Welcome to Simply Scrapping Crafts First Annual Haunted Hallow Hop!  We have quite a line-up for you today filled with lots of tricks and treats!  Now what would trick or treating be without candy?  Eye candy that is!  Our DT has been busy at work in Dr. Jekyll's lab creating just the right formula to inspire your hauntingly sweet projects this year.  Be sure to comment all of the blogs along the way because we have "hidden" some extra special treats along the way.  There is no way to tell where we have them stashed, so be sure not to miss out!  Some of our hop hosts are giving an extra entry for becoming a follower.  Who doesn't appreciate more chances to win right? 

 All winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 via the DT blogs and also in the hop room at SSC, which can easily be accessed here .  You have until 11:59PM EST tonight, October 16, 2010 to comment for your chance to win.  All you need to do is click on each link and leave a comment as you hop along to the end of the list.   

My image is from Karen Doodles "Scare Crow Girl"  She really looks scary smiling at those black birds! LOL

Are you ready for a frightfully wicked Haunted Hallow Hop?  Let's get to hoppin'

• Deb 
• Maureen
• Georgia  
• Theresa
• Nikki
• Rona
• Colleen === You are here
• Amy
• Emily 
• Clare
• Pryn

It's Birthday Party Time again!

Hello! Sorry for being MIA I just feel swamp! I leave Wednesday for Las Vegas to visit my daughter and will leave there Thursday to go to Pahrump to finish packing my parents and move them to Yuma, Arizona! It seemed like I had all this time to get things done and whammm it's almost time to go! So please pardon the next few hurried posts!

It's Tuesday and you know what that means!! Birthday Party Time! So get out those birthday sentiments and start making those beautiful birthday cards for Party Time Tuesday! If you follow my blog regularly you will know this is one of my favorite blogs! Every card must have a birthday greeting on it along with the current challenge! You never have enough birthday cards and guess what we are giving  a small prize for the random winners! What more could you ask for!  This week is to use fall colors!

Don't forget to enter the Copic Color Challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts. If you are not familiar with SSC  you are missing great challenges, tutorials and of course my Copic Challenges! If you enter the Copic challenges for the current month you have a chance to win either two Copic Markers or Two Copic Variance Refills, colors of your choice! How awesome is that! Great way to enter challenges plus, win Copics!! SSC is having a Halloween blog hop this Friday with lots of prizes to be won along the way! You just don't know who's blog will be giving away those awesome gifts and who knows there might be a Copic or two in there for you!!

This beautiful birthday card is with a Victoria Case rubber stamp image: Autumn. She is part of the Hearts and Hugs Collection made exclusively for SCACD. Isn't she a sweetie and perfect for the new fall cards we are all going to be making. Hard to believe Christmas is around the bend again! EEEEKss!

Challenges: 

• Party Time Tuesdays: Fall colors
• Bunny Zoe's Crafts: Autumn Colors
• Kaboodle Doodles Challenge: Autumn Colors
• Paper Playtime: Orange main color
• Wild Orchid Challenge: Stitching
• Craftalicious: Anything goes
• Gingerloft Challenge: Glitter and Bling
• Paper Sundaes: Change of seasons
• Crazy 4 Challenges: Birthday card

Supplies:

• Cryogen white for Copic Coloring
• DP DCWV:  Amber Autumn Fall Stack Collection. This pack has 48 sheets of 12 x 12 prettiest paper and JoAnn has it on sale now for 11.99. Ladies that is .24 cents a sheet and it is packed with beautiful fall colors.
• Flower soft for the leaves. 
• Nestabilities Die Cut
• Ribbon: Offry
• Diamond Glaze added to the eyes to make them sparkle
• Copics
• Green:  G21, G23, G11
• Brown: E18, E17, E15, E13, E11
• Skin E11, E00, E000 

TIP OF THE DAY:  Fixing coloring mistakes . When you color outside of the lines with your markers the image is not ruin. You can take your colorless blender and push that color right back over the line to where it belongs! Let me tell ya Cryogen paper is the easiest paper to get rid of your mistakes. I use the blunt nib and literally push down on the color and move it back across the line. If it doesn't completely remove after  2 or 3 times of pushing. Let it dry and do it again. You also want a piece of paper under your coloring to collect the extra coloring you will be creating with the blender pen.  You will be amaze how easy those little slips are to fix. My  last resort is my white highlight pen. I will cover my ink mistakes with the white ink but be sure you do not need to color over that area again because, the white highlighter is one thing that the Copic does not cover. 

Have fun and be safe! Hugzz, Colleen

Eden's 2nd Christmas October Digi

Happy Friday, everyone! Are you ready for a fabulous weekend starting tonight with the awesome Elisabeth Bell Digital DT and GDT blog hop? You are finally able to see the delicious new Elisabeth Bell's October digital that I have been talking about all week! Like I promise and now you will see why I said "you will love her!!

With no further delay I am introducing the sweetest image ever; "Eden's 2nd Christmas" digital image!

I changed the direction of the image to show you how many possibilities there are with digi's!

Elisabeth's inspiration came from this photo of her daughter, Eden on her second Christmas! Tell me isn't this the most adorable picture!!  I love it and can see how it inspired EB to create the awesome image she did for us this month! 

We have an awesome blog hop set up for you and do you know what else? There will be two chances to win this awesome Eden's 2nd Christmas Digi. (hint, hint read this sentence again!)and here is how!

Winner's Chance #1: Visit each Digi Bells DT and GDT blog listed below and leave them some love in their comments. If you get lost along the way, you can return to the Digi Bell DT blog and find your way back again. Each Digi Bells blog you visit will have a couple of words in their post to complete a sentence (written in bold of course!). After you have collected all the words from the DT's and GDT's blogs, return to the the Digi Bell Blog and enter what you think is the correct sentence. A random winner will be chosen amongst those who posted the correct sentence.

Winner's Chance #2; our second winner will be one lucky person who leaves a comment on the secret winning Digi Bells DT/GDT blog. The winner's name will be randomly drawn from the winning Digi Belles blog  and posted on their blog tomorrow or you can see it on the EBD DT blog.

Lots of hopping for a fabulous prize! Good luck to everyone! This is the order of the hop and you should have arrived here from Angelique blog.

Digi Bells DT

Janiel Corley

Jodi-Ann Lee

Lilian Tan

Lisa Futch

Lynda Nielsen

Patricia Soldenhoff

Tracy Valure

Wendy Ramlakhan

Digi Bells GDT

Angélique Nederpel

Colleen Holmes <-- you are here

Crystal Irwin

Lori Ng

Lydia Bancroft

If all else fails hug your teddy!

Good morning!The weather here is going to be gorgeous and with old man winter around the bend, I am going to spend as much time as I can outside!  I even hat the thoughts of winter this year. Last year we had over 60 inches of snow within two weeks time. AIt seems like it was only a few weeks ago...nope I am  not ready for winter. Are you?

Making this post really short and sweet.  I  need to finish some cards before I leave next Wednesday for Vegas. Our daughter lives in Vegas and my parents live over the mountain from her in Pahrump. We are moving my parents from NV to Yuma, Arizona! Yep, my butt is going to be dragging big time!

The card I made tonight is for Teddy-stampers challenge and our sponsor is Wags and Whiskers! I love their images and I was so excited when I found out they were the sponsors for this challenge.  The challenge is fall colors and of course your teddy bear!. I thought it was gong to be a lot harder to do then it actually was!! Check out Wags and Whiskers digital images and you will want to enter this challenge for a chance to win some digi's!

Challenges:

• Teddy-Stampers: Fall colors and a teddy bear!
• Flutter by Wednesday: Open theme and have either an angel, fairy or butterfly
• Charisma Cardz Challenge: Fall Colors
• Fab 'n' Funky: Use a digital image
• Freshly Brewed: Anything girly 

The image is Bear Hugs! Isn't she sweet and I always say if all else fails hug your teddy!

TIP OF THE DAY:  Tip to Tip blending:  You are working in a small area and there is not enough room to do blending or you only have two markers in a color family and one is dark and the other marker is light. Another easy fix and there are two ways of doing it.  Lay down your dark color on your image and for the middle color take your light color marker and touch the tip of the darker marker (Kissing!) and color with it. The blending of the two colors will give you your middle color. Don't worry about staining  the tip of your light marker for you just need to wipe it on paper or tissue until clean. The second way of doing this is again do the kissing technique adding dark color to your lighter color. Start from the dark side of your coloring pull your marker across your image in one long stroke to the lighter area. What will happen is the color on your marker will gradually fade into your light color. If you need to have it darker ...do the same technique until you get your desire color. If there are any questions or you don't understand please email me at: sweater32@aol.com 

Supplies

• Image printed on Cryogen White Paper
• DP: Basic Grey
• Border Punch: Friskar
• Butterfly punch: Friskar
• Ribbon Olfry
• Duddlebug Lily white glitter on the wings: SCACD
• Doodlebug lily white flock on the bottom of her dress
• Flowers: prima
• Leaves: Martha Stewart
• Bow Easy to make my bow: SCACD
• Roses; Prima from SCACD 
• Copic Markers:
• Green Dress: YG97, YG95, YG93, YG91
• Teddy:  E18, E17, E15, E13, E11
• Skin: E11, E00, E000
• Hair: E35, E31, YR21, YR20

Day 4 Elisabeth Bell's sneaky Peek

Happy Thursday!  I have to hurry and write this or pretty soon it will be Friday! Today is the last clue to Elisabeth Bell's new October Digi! Do you think you  know what the entire image is? Can you answer the question below? Do you want it? I know you do!  Then hop right over to the DT blog and answer the question and you just might be that lucky person!! When you see this last clue you are going to say "Ah, how precious!" Tomorrow night at 7PM Arizona time you will see just how precious this cutie is! No further ado and here is the final sneak peek and the question of the night!

Is this not the most precious little face you ever did see? I love it!
The question of the night is:

Q. What do you think of when you look at this (suuuper cute) little face?

So hop on over the Elisabeth Bell Digital Design team blog!  

Be sure to hop to the hopping blog hop (can you say that 10 times quickly!) tomorrow night at 7 PM Arizona time

Day 3 Elisabeth Bell's sneaky Peek

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Tonight it another sneaky peek of Elisabeth Bell's October New Digi!!  Two more days and it will be released on Friday with a blog hop!! And, yes there is candy to be won! Can you tell what tonight's sneaky  peek is? Then run over the Elisabeth's Digi Bell's Blog and write it in the comments. If you are the first one to answer the question correctly then you win a digi of your choice in Elisabeth Bell's Digi Gallery. How awesome is that? Trust me you will want this one...it is beyond adorable.

You need to answer this question to win tonight!

Q. What do you think that rounded shape is of?

 RUN...you know you want to guess! Hurry be the first one!!

New Copic Challenge Group!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Yesterdays post I told you my card for my husbands birthday was almost completed!  Oh let me tell ya what I did! Yep, DH's card was really completed with the poem I wrote inside with x's and o's  and the whole nine yards. As I am looking at it I thought "gee,  I should sew these layers together to give it a really nice finishing touch"  Yep, I surely gave it a finishing touch!!! I sewed the dang card shut!! NO lie! I had to get a razor blade to cut the stitching to open it back up!! It was finished alright, I totally ruin it!!  I salvage the image and here is a new card I made with it. Nope, I didn't stitch this one!!! I am a ditz, but not a stupid one! LOL
    
The image I used is  "I love you grandpa" from  Karen Doodles images.  I love this image and my hubby is one of the best grandpa's around. He loves to spend time with the grandchildren and it's a good thing because we have 10 of them! We have both gained weight over the past couple years and this was just too cute and was perfect for his card!

Don't forget the Copic Challenges over at Simply Scrapping Crafts (SSC) and starting today  we will be giving two copic markers OR two Various (Copic) Refills to a random winner at the end of each month to a lucky person who completes all the challenges for that month!! Is that not awesome!! So you could enter the challenges and walk away with two Copic markers and they will be the color of your choice! Come on over today and join SCC and then join the Copic Challenge group! I would love to see you there!
Challenges:

• Simply Scrapping Crafts Copic Challenge Group: Coloring with grey, either hair or metal 

• A Spoonful of Sugar: Sparkle and shine 
• Digital Tuesday:  Digi, ribbon, buttons or bling
• Kaboodle Doodles Challenge: Colors that are around you.
• 
  

 Don't you just love it!

Supplies:

• Cryogen White for Copic coloring
• DP: Basic Grey
• Ribbon: Offry
• Sentiments: Hero Arts
• Punch: MS
• Copics
• Blue: B16, B14, B12
• Pants: E17, E15, B13, B11
• Grey Hair: C05, C03, C01, C00
• Brown hair: E31, E35, YR21, YR20
• Outline: BGOOOO and I went back over it with my colorless blender marker

TIP OF THE DAY: Copic Color Charts; I have taken several online and off line Copic classes and one thing almost everyone had in common is:  When you are ordering a lot of markers at the same time you order duplicate markers or markers you already have. Talk about frustrations...this is a big one and it happens more times then not. Solution: use the 334  Copic Color Chart which you can find here and color in the square after you receive your marker. I keep a chart for my markers and another one for my refills. Here is a picture of both of my color charts to help you understand this better! 

Have a great day and be safe my friends!

It's Party Time Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Birthday to the best man I know or ever will know and that is my dear hubby! he is the best for he has stuck by me through thick and thin, dark clouds and sunshine!  I finished his birthday card a little bit ago and will share it with you after he has opened it. I don't want anyone to see it before he does!!

Today's the day which I get to post my first challenge card with Party Time Tuesdays as a regular DT member!! They had a vacation over the month of September because, the owner, Kristy was married. Oh my gosh! I wish you could see her wedding pictures they are just beautiful! She looked gorgeous and more importantly both Kristie and her new hubby look so dang happy and  in love! Awesome!

Today, I am so excited to be allowed to share this awesome blog challenge with you! So what makes PTT different from any of the other challenges...one very big significant difference! Each posting must have a birthday sentiment on it along with the weekly challenge! Let me tell you it is a super great way to get those birthday cards made in plenty of time!! I totally love it!

This is my birthday card today and my stamp is design by another one of my favorite design artists, Sara K. I love her sweet innocent images that are so nostalgic and it just warms my heart just to look at them!

Challenges:

• Party Time Tuesday: Anything goes and must have a b/d sentiment. 
• Incy Winsy Designs: Sparkle, glitter or rhinestones
• Pink Elephant: Childhood
• Stamp R Us: Nature
• Wild Orchid Challenge: Stitching
• Kelly Jo's Stamp Pad: Favorite colors

 Supplies:

•  Cryogen White for coloring with Copics
• DP; Basic Grey
• Lace: Stash
• Diamond Stickles on the hat and bow
• Flower soft: Heather add onto the flower basket
• Pearls: Stash
• Nestibilitie Die
• Copics:
• Blue: B18, B16, B14, B12
• Tan/pants: E41, E43, E53
• Skin: E11, E00, E000
• Butterfly: BG 05

PS:  Please scroll down two blog entries. The first one is to win a prize digi with Elisabeth Bell's sneak preview.  The second blog below to see the new Copic Challenge group.
Have a super great day and see you back here tomorrow!

Elisabeth Bell Digi Showing

Happy Monday everyone! It is time again for the sneak peek of Elisabeth Bell's October Digi! Oh lordly, wait until you see this wonderful creation because it is going to be my new FAVORITE  and I would bet to say, it will be your new favorite too!! 

  

Today through to Thursday, I will be featuring a different sneaky peek here of October's Digi'.

And yup, there will be a blog candy give away every day between today and Thursday for each Sneaky Peek! So if you thought there was a lot of candy flying about, well, get ready for MORE!

For the chance to win today's Sneaky Peek candy - answer the question below in blue and you will be able to win your choice of digi from EB's digital gallery - all you need to do is answer the following question:

Q. What do you think you see, and which season do you think this digi is set in?

The first, most correct answer will be the winner. The winner's name will be on top of the Digi's blog post tomorrow at 7pm, Arizona time, followed by our second Sneaky Peek.

Leave your answer on the Elisabeth Bells DT blog  in the comment section!  Good Luck!!

Please scroll below to see my earlier post with great news for Copic Lovers!

LQQKIE I am so excited!

Happy Sunday Everyone!! How was your weekend? Mine was a fabulous weekend ending a fabulous week. One of the greatest things happened this week and let me show you my surprise when I hopped on over to Simply Scrapping Crafts!

Meet Colleen

"Certified Copics Designer"

Copics Challenge Group

**Announcement**

Starting in October the "Copics Corner" will be a challenge group only.  Colleen will be handling this group offering you a weekly Wednesday challenge for all Copic Lovers.