Make a Moo or Two

The theme this week is Brown, Beige and Cream. I love these little moos...I've had so much fun making them and giving them away.

Stampin D'Amour Swap

I had a treat waiting for me when I got home from work today...the May ATC swap from the Stampin D' Amour group. This is such a talented group...each card is simply wonderful! I love how Kris has set it up so that there are several themes to choose from each month so you never know what you're going to get until they arrive! Aren't these just great?


Top: Kris Dickinson, Lyneen Jesse, Louise Granlund
Center: Pam Sparks, Julia Zieman, Alice Hyde
Bottom: Sarah Hemphill, mine, Kathleen Miller


If you think you'd like to swap with this great group take a look here...there's still a few spots open for the June swap!

Wednesday Stamper

The challenge this week on Wednesday Stamper is to alter playing cards. I love the expression on this woman. The stamp is by 1 Stamp Dreamer. I apologize for the quality of the scan...those little dew drops make it a bit blurry.

TMTA - Diptych

This week's theme on TMTA was "Diptych." The challenge was to make two ATC's with at least one image connecting the two. Plus, the two cards should also be able to stand alone. Here's mine. These stamps are all by A Stamp in the Hand.

aMUSEme

Over at my aMUSEme group it was time for another round of of the 6 x 6 Inchie Swap. I used a charming inchie collage sheet from Inka Stamps. Be sure to check out her site...she has wonderful stamps and collage sheets and a weekly giveaway! These little inchies flew over to Jami this month and I received the most adorable set from Vicki Chow. I'm not posting those though because we're keeping them under wraps until the 6 months are over. Two more to go!

Now, I also finished up my 4 Card Stud ATC's. The theme this month was "sew-n-sew" and I had alot of fun making this one. I used a photo of an actual old pattern...I love the illustrations on the old patterns...and a bit of the lace that I found recently at a local thrift shop.

Red Lead Pink Swap

Here's the ATC I made for the monthly swap at Red Lead Paperworks. This is another great group of swappers and one of my FAVORITE sites for rubber stamps, charms, buttons, collage sheets and inspiration. The theme this month was pink. It's really amazing how many shades of pink there are...I just got my cards back the other day and I'm still looking them over! Aren't they wonderful?

Stampin D' Amour Swap

I've been so busy this past week that I've hardly had a chance to post. So, I'm going to play a little catch up and add some of the things I've been working on. Here's the card I made for the May swap on Stampin D' Amour. Last month was my first swap with this group and every card I received was just wonderful. There are several different themes each month to choose from so it's easy to feel inspired. This month I chose "circus" as my theme. I had so much fun adding some glitter to my circus girl's dress and shoes...it doesn't show up well in the scan but in person I think it adds the perfect touch! I can't wait to see what will come back to me this month.

Red Lead Charm Swap 2

Well, I finally got my charms all ready to mail in for the second Red Lead charms swap. This is a great little swap...only three charms (one extra for the hostess) and it's so much fun. I used old Scrabble tiles and added a little collage and covered it with Diamond Glaze. There was an article on these in a recent Somerset Studios Magazine. I can't wait to see which ones are coming my way!

TMTA - Women in Art

One of my favorite women in art is Beatrix Potter. I've always loved her illustrations of the wonderful characters in the Peter Rabbit series...Hunka Munka, Jemima Puddle Duck, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and many others. I know I've spent hours reading these stories and admiring her illustrations with my three daughters and I still pull her books off the shelf now and then just to enjoy that gentle world again myself!

Wednesday Stamper - Art it up!

The challenge this week on Wednesday Stamper is to "ART it up" and use the word art somewhere in the piece. Here's what I came up with....

Saturday Workout - Linen

I know it's Tuesday and this is a Saturday Challenge but I was looking at a friend's entry and became intrigued with the challenge...using the faux linen technique. I've never tried this so I thought I'd have a go. It's really easy...sand glossy card stock first one way then another then add ink and take it from there. My scanner doesn't pick up the grain really well but in person there's a lovely linen effect. I love learning a new technique!

TMTA - Heroes

The theme this week on TMTA is Heroes. I have several personal heroes but today I wanted to honor a woman who was still so young (only 16) when her heroic moment presented itself. I've always admired Elizabeth Eckford...she was one of the Little Rock Nine...high school students who were among the first African Americans to attend previously segregated schools in Arkansas. I've always been fascinated by this photo...such grace in the presence of hatred. While this photo was taken in Arkansas the map I've used highlights three cities in Alabama...where I grew up.

Bonjour

Today has been a lovely day! It actually turned warmer...low 60's...and was sunny and bright for much of the day. I'm off as usual on Monday so I got to run around getting errands done and enjoying the sun. This afternoon I put together two book shelves Quinn picked up for me from Ikea. They're now in my craft room and I've started filling them up! Woohoo...storage space! While I was sorting through things to put away I saw this picture I had printed the other day and suddenly I was making an ATC for my one for one trade with Val. Does that happen to you? I was going along so well, sorting, cleaning, throwing away when suddenly I find myself cutting, gluing, looking for the French word stamps...ah well! Here it is Val....

Mother's Day Challenge

The weekly challenge on Stampin D'Amour was to make a Mother's Day themed piece and include letters or words. Here's my entry. This is my favorite photo of my mom so I've used it once again...this time in an ATC. Two of my mom's favorite things are flowers and the color purple so I've used them both here. I love you Mumma!

TMTA - Black and White

The theme this week on TMTA is black and White. I used this lovely stamp from Stamper's Anonymous.

4 x 4 Friday - Vintage Bride

I love vintage wedding photos...the gowns and lace not to mention the brides and grooms are so gorgeous. For the Vintage Bride theme on 4 x 4 Friday I've framed one of these lovely old photos and layered it with a little lace onto a photo of an old Marriage frame page generously shared by the Graphics Fairy here.

Make a Moo or Two

The challenge this week on Make a Moo or Two is to use gold somewhere on your moo. Here I've used stream, butterscotch and wild plum alcohol inks along with the gold additive for the background then edged it with gold embossing powder. The stamp is from Crafty Individuals.