Riding Into Summer

It's the 28th, time for a Calendar Girl post here on my blog.

This month Michelle (pattem on SCS) hosted.... and she gave us a wonderful theme!

For most of us, June is the month that starts summer...many events are happening...school ending, graduation, weddings, flowers blooming and family vacations.
 My challenge is...using SC 388 (found in the SCS thread), with any color combination create a card that best suits your beginning to summer, or summer plans. It could be a trip you are planning, a flower that is blooming, a wedding you are attending, or a graduation gathering. Whatever it could be...have fun creating a card to go with it.

Michelle, your theme is the PERFECT opportunity for me to share a little bit about the incredible summer I'm having. But first..............

here's my card:

Oh... and here is a picture of the sketch we were to use (#388):

Of course, I simply HAD to decorate the inside, too:

 
Now, you might be wondering what this card has to do with my summer. Let me tell you........
 
I just got back from a trip to Thailand. YAY, me! It was a mission trip, filled with lots of awesome memories, most of which I can't share in this public forum. However, I can share pictures of our last day in Thailand (a sightseeing, adventurous day, which included riding ELEPHANTS!!!)
 

Here I am, atop a mama elephant with her baby walking alongside us:

 

 
I actually purchased that picture and it came in a picture frame that's made out of............. wait for it........
 
 

 
......... yep, the picture frame is made out of elephant dung paper (elephant poo!)
 
 

These pictures were taken from atop mama elephant (hence, I'm not in these pictures):

 

 

And here's a picture of Mama Elephant and Baby, after we had unloaded:

 

 
Do you see all the dirt on the baby's back? It was so cute. After we'd walked through the river, we came to a trail and baby found some dirt to play in. He took his trunk, picked up some dirt and tossed it onto his back. He did this repeatedly. Guess it just goes to prove that children of all species like to play. ;)
 

We also got to do some rafting on the river - on cane bottom rafts:

 

 

The water was very mild, no raging rapids!

And we rode in wooden carts pulled by brahma's:

 
It certainly was a FUN end to a fabulous trip!!!
 

Oh, and one more picture........ just to make you drool.........

 

 
A typical Thai breakfast.... fried noodles, spring roll, rambutan (the hairy red fruit - very yummy), grilled tomatoes, bacon, cheese, and a danish.
 
Yes, I ate this breakfast almost every morning I was in Thailand - our room price included an incredible breakfast and lunch buffet. And NO, I don't normally eat breakfast.............. but this was sooooooooooo good!
 
Okay, now that I've shown you way too many photos, please be sure to go check out the other Calendar Girl blogs to see what summer fun they're having. You'll find the links to their blogs in my left-hand side bar. Please leave them some "love", too........ they really appreciate your comments!
 
Hugs,
Jeanette
 
 
 
Image: My Favorite Things Jungle Out There
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black and Soft Suede and a piece of Gray from my scrap file
Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Designs Going Places Collection (Travel and Travel Stripe)
Embellishments: DMC Embroidery Floss (the elephant's tail), Recollections Brads, and Stampin' UP! Black Grosgrain Ribbon

It's Hot!

What do we want when it's hot???

ICE CREAM!!!

(You scream! I scream! We ALL scream for Ice Cream!!!)

Awwwww.... How refreshing to have ICE CREAM on a HOT day!

Speaking of day, today is the day for a new Twisted Tuesday Challenge... YAY!!!

June 26 - July 2

Theme: Summer is HOT... so create a refreshing creation (wherever your minds take you with that)

Twist: Use red (it's HOT) somewhere on your creation

My card is a unique fold:

Now, why not try to cool off with your own Twisted Tuesday refreshing creation!?!?!?


Image: There She Goes Freeze the Moment
Sentiments: There She Goes Ice Cream
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa and Copic Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Cool Caribbean and Real Red
Designer Paper: Momenta ATD
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones and Stickles Glitter Glue

Read Any Good Books Lately?

I've started reading again this year, after a few years of not doing so. I've really enjoyed it. Soooo I've been needing a bookmark.

Good thing a group I joined on Facebook had a "secret" swap and each person was to send a handmade bookmark to someone else. Soooooooo I got a really ADORABLE owl bookmark from Melina! THANK YOU, Melina!!!

And I made a bookmark for MaryNell. I made one of those corner bookmarks (and a coordinating card). I've never made one before, but it was quite easy.

Here it is:

Get KRAFTy with Twisted Tuesday

Time for a Twisted Tuesday Challenge!

June 19 - 25

Theme: Main focus on Kraft card stock

Twist: Use a recycled item on your creation

Here's my card:

Here's the inside of my card, all blinged out:

Can you tell what's recycled? It's the flowers.

I used my Tim Holtz die and cut them out of recyled items. The gold flowers are the lid to a container of coffee. The large flower with writing on it was the packaging from a set of GORGEOUS Prima flowers.

Isn't that fun?


Sentiment & Image: Autumn Leaves Celebrate
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Paper Studio Black and Kraft
Embossing Folder: Swiss Dots
Embellishments: Michael's Rhinestones and Stampin' UP! Organdy Ribbon

It's Time for a Duel

A Darling kind of Duel! The Divas and the Dazzlers are at it again... since it IS the 15th of the month. This time Jamie was the hostess for the Divas and April was the hostess for the Dazzlers! THANK YOU Jamie and April!!!

I'm not sure what the theme is - I have no details for this card, so I'm sure I'm missing something here. But I hadn't gotten the information sheet before time for me to leave on my trip....... so I just created. And sure had a fun time of it, too!

April, the Dazzler hostess gave us a who bunch of fun elements in our kit. They did look very masculine, so I decided the theme must be a masculine one. Therefore I went very clean on my card.

Here it is:

Here's the inside:

I am sure April gave us other instructions; I apologize for not fulfilling them. Please check the links in the left side bar for the Divas and the Dazzlers and check out all their wonderful creations!

I look forward to being more on top of things once I get home from Thailand, but for now, my blog posts are short and to the point. I hope you understand.

Hugs!!!

It's CLEARLY Creative

Yes, it's time for a Twisted Tuesday Challenge!

June 12 - 18

Theme: Your Creation needs to have something clear on it (such as acetate, clear button, etc)

Twist: Do what you love whether it's your favorite color combo, your favorite embellishment, or whatever you love to create with.

Here's my card:

Can you tell what I love? I absolutely love using unusual (non-papercrafting) items on my cards. I go to yard sales and hunt for treasures that I can use in a unique way. On this particular card, I used part of one of those clear report covers that you buy in a package of 5 that have the plastic slides that hold everything together. I found a package at a  yard sale for 10 cents. What a bargain!!!

I CLEARLY hope you like my card....... and that you'll play along in this week's challenge!

It's Time for the Unidentified...

... to IDENTIFY themselves! ;)

Okay, what's that all about?

I'm part of a group of card-makers on SCS that work with the same image (one swapper in the group sends the images to everyone else) so we can see how different crafters use the same image. Kelly was our hostess with the mostest this month - and the cards are due today, so we can finally go public with what we made. YAY! I'd tell you I can't wait to see what the other ladies made....... except that would be a FIB because I will have to wait. As you view my blog today, I'm on my way to the other side of the world - well almost. I will be flying tomorrow, but am leaving home today. I'll be in Thailand. But don't despair. I'll have an occasional post here in my blog for you while I'm gone, assuming the "schedule post" feature works. Wish me luck!

Okay, enough chatter........... here SHE is:

Wanna peek at the inside? Sure you do!

First attempt of the inside was like this:

I wasn't real happy with it, so I changed it a bit to this:

I wish I could tell you all about the details of my card, but truthfully, I can't find the paper where my notes are written. I'm sorry. I do think I remember that the image is a Kraftin' Kimmie image. I'm sorry.

I hope you'll do some searching around the blogs and find some of the other Unidentified swappers posts. It should be fun!

Hugs!!!

Do the Twist

NOTE: I have two blog posts today, this one and the Crafty Gals Summer/Vacation card that is in the post immediately following it. I hope you'll check them both out.

It's TIME! Time for a new challenge at Twisted Tuesday! It seems like it's been f-o-r-e-v-e-r... since we had a two-week challenge the last time. Did you enjoy the Twisted Tuesday Vacation???

Twisted Tuesday Challenge

The new theme: A Touch of Purple

The Twist: Use baker's twine on your creation

* * *

I decided to do something a bit different with my card:

I took a piece f Crumb Cake cardstock and clear embossed the image onto it. I then used a dauber to dab Perfect Plum ink around the image, which, of course made the image show up better. I kind of like the way this technique worked.

And of course there's a little bit of baker's twine, as per the twist to this challenge.

The inside of my card is quite simple, but it seems appropriate for the type of card it is.

Now, let's see what you do with a Touch of Purple and Baker's Twine.


Image & Sentiment: Stampin' UP! Bella Blossom
Ink: Stampin' UP! Perfect Plum
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black, Crumb Cake, and Perfect Plum
Embellishment: A Muse French Roast Baker's Twine

Crafty Gals June Challenge

I love being part of the Crafty Gals blog group. They are a great group of card-makers! And the challenges are such fun!

Each month, one of the Crafty Gals is the hostess and as hostess, she gets to choose a theme. We then make a card/creation based on that theme and post it to our blogs on the 5th of the month.

This month, Barb is the hostess. This is what she challenged us to do...

Vacation!



Many of us will be taking a summer trip someplace, if even just for a weekend. So, your challenge is to create a card that shouts summer fun! Maybe a camping trip in the forest--or a trip to the ocean for a lighthouse tour or time on the beach--or a flight to another country to see the sights--or road trip to see local attractions--or biking along the rails to trails--or ....................... you get the idea. Shows us image that highlights a summer experience you have had or are planning to do in the future. Please include some patterned paper on your card--along with an additional embellishment or two........ If you want to share on your blog post a fun experience you have had on a vacation, that would be great! We all love to hear about trips--just not all of the hundreds of slides or photos.


I hope you enjoy this challenge and have a wonderful summer trip in the works--on card stock and in real life!


Barb

Okay, I need to explain BEFORE you see my card.

1. I am going on a trip - in less than a week, actually. However, it isn't a vacation, it's a mission trip.

2. We don't go on vacation in the summer - my dear sweet husband has over 200 tomato plants in the ground, not to mention the rows and rows of sweet corn, green beans, peas, etc. AND the patch of watermelon and cantelope. AND... and... and... he has two gardens full of plants! Sooooooooooooo... there's no way he's leaving during the summer months. After all, who would tend his gardens.

3. Therefore, summer is not vacation time for us, but  it is GRILLING time....... so I created a BBQ card.

Oh, how I  love punch art!!!

Lookie inside............... there's a hot dog!

Be sure to check out the other Crafty Gal blogs to see where they are heading on vacation this summer. I can't wait to see. (Their links are in my left-hand side-bar).


Sentiments: Stampin' UP! Backyard BBQ
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black, Crushed Curry, and Riding Hood Red
Designer Paper: K & Co. Denim and Karen Foster Picnic Cloth
Embellishments: Brads (vendor unknown) and Stickles Glitter Glue