Back to School

Because I was a teacher for thirty years, I still get excited about the start of school. I still have to shop for school supplies when they go on sale. For fifteen of those years I was a reading specialist and mostly taught younger children how to read. I thought it was the most important subject to teach because I knew it could improve their lives forever and  I had seen the effects of not knowing how to read well. When a friend asked me to make some back to school cards to give teachers, I instantly thought of a set of images I have from Laurie Wilson's Doodle Pantry, Books and Apple, which is now free with any purchase,  and some sentiments from "Clearly Sentimental about Teaching" from My Favorite Things.

I especially liked this inside sentiment of encouragement for teachers everywhere:  The influence of a good teacher can never be erased. 

I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:
Doodle Pantry Ants in my Pants Challenge #20 - anything digital
Open-Minded Crafting Monthly Challenge #8 - Back to School - Reading
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations - Back to School
Sweet Stampin' - Back to School

Just Nutty - Doodle Pantry mid-September Release

Hard times know no season. Even on a beautiful day difficulties or tragedies raise their heads in the lives of so many. Bad news or incidents can change lives forever. There is one constant: God is still there to strengthen and lead. This is why I chose Laurie Wilson's fun image and serious sentiment. I wanted cards that would encourage with this gentle reminder:  God always provides a way when you're out on a limb. Despite the pun, I think I need dozens of these cards. Here are two with an autumn flavor. I was thinking of my wise 10- and 12-year-old grandsons as I made them.

 This is my second card:

This close-up is a better photo of the bitty brown sparkles and wooden acorn:

I wanted a woodland setting for my squirrel, so I used some retired CTMH "Twitterpated" designer paper and a woodgrain embossing folder. The sketch I used was from Mojo Monday #362 last week:

I sponged Sorbet ink on the edges of the paper.  I enlarged the branch and colored the leaves fall colors for the top embellishment. I added bitty brown sparkles like dewdrops on one card and bitty mocha pearls like berries or acorns on the other. The large acorn embellishment was a retired CTMH wooden shape that I colored with dye ink and a Copic marker. 

You can find Laurie Wilson's Just Nutty images and sentiments here. Check out the other new sets while you're there!

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps #87 - For a man or boy

Come and Get It - Use a digi with an autumn theme

Creative Moments #51 - anything/fall colors

Jellypark Friends - about pets/animals

Milk Coffee Challenge - Colors of autumn

Robyn's Fetish #229 - Use an embossing folder

Simply Create Too #70 - Fall/autumn

The Male Room #18 - Autumn/fall

Word Art Wednesday #149 - anything uplifting



DP Miracle from Above card

I heard a statement on the news last week that more children are born in September than any other month. I had my son in September a couple of days before my cousin and a close friend had their daughters, the same year. All three of us had waited for many years to have children.  They were truly a cherished gift, the answer to much prayer! So I made a couple of baby cards, just to be ready for a joyous occasion.

Here's one I made using Doodle Pantry's "Miracle from Above" image and patterned paper. (I flipped the image in photoshop so that she'd face the flowers and opening of the card.) I embossed the background with the 5" x 7" CTMH dot embossing folder.

This is what I typed inside:

A baby is a blessing,

A gift from heaven above,

A miracle of life,

To cherish and to love.

Children are a gift from the LORD;

 they are a reward from him. (NLT) Psalm 127:3

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and the "babies" in your life with His joy and love!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Brown Sugar Challenge #111 - Celebrations
Crafting by Designs - Pretty in pink
Dragonfly Dreams Challenge #9 - Celebrate with jewels or pearls
In the Pink #52 - Buttons and bows
Robyn's Fetish #229 - Use an embossing folder
Wags 'n' Whiskers #137 - for the girls
Word Art Wednesday #149 -  anything goes/uplifting

Doodle Pantry "Glory Days" Cards - September New Release

I grew up next to an airbase with the sound of jet engines nearby. Like many others, I worked there as a civilian  two summers after high school. When I was a teacher, we could see planes and jets practicing for air shows right outside our classroom windows. When my son was an adolescent he joined the Civil Air Patrol there with dreams of being a jet pilot someday. We saw the Blue Angels fly overhead many times. My son had his photo taken with them one year. Times changed, the air base closed. Now there's a Christian School and Bible College in the buildings and we go there for soccer games.

Today is my son's birthday and he loved this card made using Doodle Pantry's new "Glory Days" and shared memories of his adolescent dreams of "Glory Days" flying a jet. I used the image of the F-18 because it is one of the jets used by the Blue Angels, painted blue, of course. I left mine with the original colors used by Laurie Wilson. Both of mine were designed using a sketch from Operation Write Home. They have a treasure trove of sketches for those interested, including measurements.



I repeated the stars in the digi paper by using three star sparkles on the left and by embossing the background cardstock with stars. My son liked the sparkle vapor trail. I liked the sentiment that gave me the chance to tell him how proud I am that he has soared in his education and career. I also tied in the title and one of the gifts I gave him, a book on praying scripture over his son, so that his prayers may soar as well. (Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most by Brooke McGlothlin)

My second version is similar but I used older Outdoor Denim patterned paper and a retired corrugated star from a retired embellishment set.

Here are the other images in the "Glory Days" set:

You can get this or other images with this week's Labor Day Sale:

AUGUST  29 - SEPT 6 ONLY

30% OFF cart total!  (excludes gift certificates AND bundles) ($2.00 minimum)

COUPON:    LABORDAY14

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you and help you "soar like no other" in His Word, in prayer, and in life!



I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:


Come and Get It - Things with Wings
Crafts 4 Eternity#191 - Tic Tac Toe (below) the diagonal: something old (blue corrugated star), color blue, and something new ( image and digi papers)
Sister Act Card Challenge #72 - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge #207 - For the Boys
The Male Room - Stars
Word Art Wednesday #147 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Mojo Monday 360 and Doodle Pantry Lily Card

My hubby and I met years ago where he was a chemist at Lily Industries (not the pharmaceutical company). I was just their summer temp since my regular occupation was teaching, which I loved. Three years later when we married, I carried a bouquet of Oriental lilies in honor of our meeting place. I also planted many lilies in our yard to remind us of that time and place of our meeting. Years later his company was sold to another company, so the name changed. This week is the official closing of his lab, which was moved to another state, so I made this card to give to one of his co-workers as a little "good-bye."

One of the lilies I planted was called "Mona Lisa" in honor of our daughter, Lisa. I colored the Doodle Pantry Easter lily to look like the beautiful lilies I love. This week's Mojo Monday sketch was perfect for the card. The white panel is embossed with chevrons. I added CTMH silver shimmer trim and a thistle diagonal striped ribbon with a glitter button on top. The background papers are from CTMH retired Lollydoodle. The lily petals were recolored with Copics: RV00, R81, R83, R85, RV04, RV25.


I used the following challenges to make my card:
Frosted Designs Friday Challenge - Chevrons
Just Add Ink #228 - Color Combo

Mojo Monday #360 - Sketch

Paper Creators Crafts #28 - Bows, Bling, Blooms
The Cutting Edge Challenge #8 - picture inspiration + die cuts - I used Spellbinders Floral Ovals.

Doodle Pantry Dirt Rides Birthday Card

One of our grandsons makes us laugh with the vocabulary he uses that seems beyond his years. Last week he was talking about what kind and how much DNA he has from each parent and what that means to his future. Here's a card I made for his eighth birthday next week with a couple of interesting words for him.
Laurie Wilson at Doodle Pantry has so many great masculine images and  papers.  I recolored this bike using Photoshop and Copic markers. I used the Spellbinders M-Bossabilities folder, Kickin' Rubber, to emboss the beige background with the tire track pattern. A little black glitter cardstock and two stacked buttons with Cranberry baker's twine are the embellishments. I used an orange alcohol ink marker to color the rim of the clear button on top

I used the fun sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch this week.

You can find the rest of Laurie's Dirt Rides images here along with more card samples:

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew #68 - embossing, wet or dry
Fresh Brewed Designs - buttons
Great Impressions August Challenge - Birthday Bash
Scribble and Scrap #25 - anything goes
Sweet Sunday Sketch #232 - sketch
The Cupboard Trilogy #24 - Birthday
The Squirrel and the Fox #75 - anything goes

Happy Trails Camper Card

This week I'm taking care of my three grandsons who love our camping and hiking trips. I think that influenced the subject of my card. I adored these fun images from Doodle Pantry called Happy Trails Camper.


I used one of the scenes Laurie made and added one extra tree behind the tent. The nice thing about using png digi files is that you can stack them into a scene. The word "UnBEARable"  was part of the set. I typed and added "When life becomes" and the inside sentiment "pray. . . and I'll pray, too."

I rotated the clean sketch from this week's  Freshly Made Sketches. I thought the clean look of this sketch was great for a masculine card.

Thank you for visiting.  May you, too, draw near to God for strength, help, and wisdom when times in life become unBEARable!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Crafting for All Seasons #83 - feature a creature
Freshly Made Sketches #148 - sketch
 Ooh La La Creations #162 - scenic card
The Paper Players #207 - buttons
Whoopsi Daisy - "B" items (bear, buttons)

Carousel Horse Card for Doodle Pantry August Release

August in our family means birthday parties for three of our youngest grandchildren, two boys and a girl. Today's card is for a granddaughter who loves My Little Pony. The new Carousel Horse 6 set of digi images is the perfect one for her card.

First, I flipped the images in Photoshop and fussy cut them. The top half of the card has music embossed because I always associate carousels with their own unique style of music. I used the green patterned paper from the set to ground the images. I used the CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut out the two carousel pieces from matching cardstock sized at 5.5 inches. I added Glitz Glitter glue to the top and blue and purple sparkles. (This girl LOVES Purple!) The top flag was perfect for holding the sentiment.I let it go beyond the 5 inch height of the card so I'll put it in a 6" x 6" envelope.
Check out Laurie's other Carousel images. I'm planning to make an entire set with these images.

This is the perfect time to get these images. Doodle Pantry is having a sale.The August products are already reduced 15%, and then there is a 20% off coupon that you can use on top of that for anything in your cart (except gift certificates). The sale is from Aug 1-8.The CAMO DIGI PAPER PACK will be the August featured product for our Doodle Pantry Digital Challenge #49.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #205 - anything goes
4 Krafty Girlz #23 - anything goes
Crafter's Cafe Challenge Blog #74 - use a digi
Crafting at the Weekend #4 - anything goes
 CCEE Stampers CCEE1431- Song Inspiration from my younger days: On a Carousel by the Hollies
Crafty Creations #268 - Just for fun - makes me smile
Divas by Design - anything goes

A Kitty Bouquet of Thanks

We came home from vacation to find four new kittens on our porch, two white and two gray. Living on a farm, we've been overrun with feral cats who won't even let us get near them. I didn't even realize that one of them was expecting. We've neutered the ones we could catch. We're determined to give the new kittens a lot of holding and petting so they won't be so wild and afraid of us.


Yesterday I had another surprise. There was a third white one we hadn't seen all week.


While we were gone, our neighbor down the road came up to feed and water them each day. Here's the card I made this week to thank them for their kindness.  I used Doodle Pantry's Kitty Bouquet Color from October 2013.The sentiment came from Doodle Pantry's Carousel Cheetah.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Deconstructed Sketch #160 - sketch



D.L.Art Thankful Thursday #136 - Thank you card
Fairy tale challenge #96 - use a digital stamp
Scrapbooker PhD #13 - digital with option of animal
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers SOSS Challenge #12 - B for brads or buttons
Word Art Wednesday #141 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

A Doodle Pantry Vintage Fan . . . to blow out all the candles!



I've been with these grandchildren for the last seven weeks, so I haven't gotten to post much. Now that I'm finally home, I'm hoping to do much more. In some ways they keep me young, and in other ways they make me feel older each summer when I babysit.

My hubby and I just got back from our camping and hiking trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We had a wonderful time taking kids and grandkids with us. This year the elevation sickness kept my activities limited. Hubby and I both felt our age had accelerated on this trip. He only took one of his usual 4 a.m. hikes for the perfect sunrise photo. I could barely "hike" from our motor home to my family's cabin without stopping for air. I'm not used to being so breathless on vacation. So the humorous sentiment I found with the Vintage Fan seemed appropriate.

I used the fan and sentiments from Doodle Pantry's Vintage Fan.  I wanted to use some paper representing lots of candles, so I printed the candle paper from the Doodle Pantry set called, Birthday Birdie Color. I did some color adjustment on the smaller panel of candles and changed one to black and white.  I used today's Mojo Monday #354 sketch.

I kept the inside simple with this sentiment:

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Artistic Inspirations #100 - anything goes for their 100th "birthday"
Cheerful Stamp Pad - Use a digital background
Crafting from the Heart #27 - anything goes
House of Cards - July challenge to Add a Bow (used black jute)
Incy Wincy Designs - strings and things (black jute)
Love to Scrap #33 - anything goes
Mojo Monday 354 - sketch
Stamp and Create July challenge - Birthdays
Through the Purple Haze - Birthdays (because they are ONE today!)

Doodle Pantry New Release - Classic Clunkers

With five grandsons and a hubby who loves cars, I was drawn to this new set just released from Doodle Pantry. Since it's called Classic Clunkers 1, I knew the cars would be somewhat older. When I mixed up the names, hubby still knew which ones they were. Good work, Laurie! I'm also intrigued to see which clunkers she'll offer next. I plan to make a whole set for some car lovers I know. Please check out the other new release samples here.

I chose the outlines and colored them with Copic markers similar to cars we owned in the past, like dark olive green. I never would buy that color again! Gold and yellow weren't too bad. I'm not sure the color of the photos turned out exactly. Trees have shaded my windows so that very little light comes inside, so I tried outside photos for a change. I hoped it would show the detail of the Spellbinder's "Kickin' Rubber" M-bossabilities. I rubbed some slate ink over the raised embossing. I love the look of the "tire tread" for these masculine cards.

The patterned papers are from Basic Grey and My Mind's Eye. The black hemp, black sparkle flourishes, and the triangle durables are all from Close To My Heart.

We hope you'll also join the July challenge at Doodle Pantry. Remember, you can use images from any source. There are two themes you can choose from:  a choice of either Christmas or Make a Splash (water). Also, until July 24th you can get the Happy Trails Camper free with any purchase!

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:
4 Crafty Girls #21 - anything goes
Brown Sugar #101 - anything goes
ScrapbookerPhD  #12 - add texture
Sister Act Card challenge #64 - anything goes
Stempelsonnen #118 - Anything with wheels
SweetPea Stampers - for the boys/men

Doodle Pantry "God Bless Our USA"

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.

Psalm 33:12NIV

I'm finally home after babysitting three grandsons for the last six weeks. I didn't do as much crafting and blogging definitely took a back seat. Today we are celebrating our country's Independence Day.
I used  Doodle Pantry's "USA Charlie" and last month's Mojo Monday sketch #351 to make this patriotic card. I had many ancestors who came to this country in the 1600's and 1700's looking for religious freedom or escaping political tyranny. My Lee ancestors had two members who signed the Declaration of Independence from England, which is what we celebrate today. Sadly, the price of freedom meant a long and bitter war. In each of our countries may we remember the cost of freedom and celebrate the blessings God has given us as a result of our freedom.

I tried something different with the Charlie panel. Instead of cutting him out and attaching him on the vertical panel, I simply cut out his head, one foot, and his tail with scissors, leaving him on the panel and simply trimming the panel down to the cut portion with my paper cutter to fit the card design.

The stars are all edged with a glitter gel pen and the chipboard star also has two tiny star sparkles for embellishment.

Thank you for visiting. My hope is that you'll cherish the freedoms you have in your country and seek God's blessings.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
A  Creative Romance - Show us the colors of your country's flag
Crafty Catz #238 - Stars of Stripes or Both
Jellypark Friends - red, white, and blue
Polkadoodles - red, white, or blue
The Stamping Boutique - stars and stripes
Twisted Tuesday 79 - Red, white, and blue with Twist: use stars

Word Art Wednesday #139 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Liberty Bell Scripture Card

Freedom is an amazing thing. I think that those of us who have it often take it for granted. We can travel or live where we want, read or write what we want, worship how we want. I look back across my family history and see that many of my ancestors came to America to have freedom of religion. Some came from England as Puritans in the 1620's so they wouldn't be arrested for their religious beliefs and practices. My father's Protestant relatives came from a Catholic area of Germany, buying land from William Penn. Many of my ancestors came to have the freedom to own their own land, and fought in the Revolutionary War to gain their freedom from the laws of a king in far away England. Two cousins of my Lee ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence. If we look back at the trials of our forefathers and how they obtained the hard won liberties that we have today, we get a better idea of the cost of liberty.


These are the things I was pondering as I made this 6" x 6" card. Each country has it's own history of people who stood for freedom and liberty. In three weeks my country will be celebrating Independence Day on July 4th. The Liberty Bell is a symbol of freedom and was often rung in Philadelphia whenever important announcements were made, like the Declaration of Independence. I loved this new image from Doodle Pantry. The scripture verse I included on my card is the one that was etched into the bell:

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Leviticus 25:10

Most of my design comes from the patterned paper. I colored the bell with Copic markers and cut it out, There's an amazing song/video at A Song in Your Heart #9 that may inspire you in making your own card about freedom. The simple lyrics combined with the video give us a deeper message about the price of freedom.

Thank you for visiting. May we be thankful for the freedoms that we have and use them to do good and to bless others.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
A2Z Scrapbooking June Linky Party - Stars and stripes
A Song in Your Heart #9 - "Hey, Brother"
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge #34 - Back in Time/Vintage style
Simply Create Too #63 - Celebrate your country/use your flag's colors (red, white, blue)

Word Art Wednesday #136 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Vintage Gentleman Card with Doodle Pantry June Release

It's nearly Father's Day where we live. That's such a great time to honor the men in our lives, even if they're not our own fathers. I was attracted to this lovely image set that Laurie made for Doodle Pantry this month. The men are quite classy, but one of the sentiments was the main attraction for me. It talks about having character:


"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he'd never be found out."




I'm so fortunate to have a husband who would do right whether anyone was watching or not. I'm hoping I can teach a little of that to my grandsons as I care for them this summer!  Here's the card I made using Laurie's images, sentiments, and papers. (If you look closely at the lighter designer paper you can see tiny shapes that look like mustaches.)

 

I die cut the sentiment using a Spellbinder's Shapeabilities "Fancy Tags Two" die. I trimmed off the top flourishes and inked it with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The ribbon was a very old scrap that seemed masculine. The pewter embellishments were from a retired CTMH collection.

I wanted this card to be appropriate for either Father's Day or a birthday, so I added an additional sentiment from one of the sets last May, "Buffalo and Caribou."

You can find the following images and other card designs here. Be sure to check out the other new releases for this month.

I'd also like to invite you to join the Doodle Pantry Challenge #47. The theme is "Make It Manly." You can use any image from any source. There will be three $15 random winners.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you as you honor the men who are or have been part of your life.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:




Crafting for All Seasons #78 - Boys will be boys
Creative Card Crew #62 - Shabby chic/Vintage
Die Cuttin' Divas #167 - For the boys
Inky Chicks #30 - Use a metal embellishment
Paper Pretties Wednesday #312 - Father's Day/ Masculine
The Paper Shelter #160 - Make it manly
Ruby's Rainbow #80 - One for the Boys
Word Art Wednesday #134 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Paris Layout with Doodle Pantry Salutations Francaises



Parlez vous francais?? A few years ago my oldest daughter was asked to speak at an international conference in Paris. She and her husband were treated to an all-expenses-paid trip. Friends there took her on a whirlwind tour of the sights. I made her an entire scrapbook of the lovely photos they took. I had started one layout for myself, adhering the photos to pink dotted and notebook paper, and put it aside without finishing it. I found the unfinished layout this week and knew why I'd postponed finishing it. I now had the perfect title, words, and paper to finish it. Laurie Wilson at Doodle Pantry had created a great set of phrases and fleur de lis papers in the May set called "Salutations Francaises." I printed them on the blue designer paper from CTMH, "Balloon Ride." This Doodle Pantry set includes a wide variety of French phrases perfect for nearly any card and any occasion. I found several that worked with my layout as well.


For those of you who don't know French, "je t'aime" means "I love you" and the other phrases have to do with having a good vacation or a beautiful day, all perfect for their trip.

Here's a close-up of some of the Doodle Pantry paper design and sentiments. I love the fonts Laurie chose for these!



I made my own simple chipboard embellishments this way: I inked chipboard scalloped circles with bamboo ink, stamped a black design on desert sand cardstock, punched it out with a circle punch, attached that to the chipboard , and placed a black pearl in the center. I folded the double sided paper, cut a V-shape on the front and used the sewing machine to stitch it into a pocket for the journaling card that has the Doodle Pantry fleur de lis paper on top. I used the CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut out the Eiffel Tower and the fleur de lis charm tied to the ribbon on the pocket.




I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:


4 Crafty Girls #18 - Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps Challenge #96 - Anything Goes
All Crafts Challenge - anything but a card
Alphabet Challenge - H for Handmade Embellishment (chipboard scalloped circles)
MilkCoffee Challenge - Anything but a card
Pattie's Creations #92 - No, No, No Cards (I used several CTMH image stamps for the flourishes and circular elements)
Penny's Paper -Crafty Challeng #178 - Spots (and/or stripes) My pink paper and black ribbons
Scrapping4Fun Challenge #17 - Techinique challenge (used inking chipboard, sponging edges, scissor distressing, stitching)
Simon Says Stamp - vacation/travel