Elefant Love - SSS Create with Critters

This week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is to Create with Critters, and they are showcasing Lawn Fawn's products.  Can I just say that Lawn Fawn's stamps are cute cute cute!  I have just fallen in love with some of their little critters!  However, I haven't spent much time in the craft room this week stamping... so no Lawn Fawn creations.  

But, I did grab some of the free images offered in the Cricut Design Studio this week.  I fell in love with this sweet elephant and can picture a couple of different ways to use it in cards and scrapbook layouts.  With Valentine's Day in just a few weeks, I made these cuties to send to some special kiddos in my life.

New to Cricut Design Studio and the Cricut Explore Air (birthday present from BR in November), I'm still learning the tricks of the trade.  I recently watched a tutorial on welding images together and thought it was one of the coolest things that I couldn't do with my original Cricut.  I found the idea for my Elefant Love card from My 3E Scrapbooking's blog, which seems to no longer be active.  I like how simple this card is, yet still maintains a huge cute factor!  

I'm linking up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!

Happy New House/New Neighbor! - Simon Says Something New

I decided to try my hand at the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge this week, too.  

The challenge this week was for "Something New", and they allowed quite a bit of freedom with this theme.  We could create a card with a "new" theme - new baby, new house, new job, etc.  or, we could try something new on our creation or used new products.  I chose to resurrect some old Stampin Up stamps and make a card for our New Neighbors.

I am continuing to practice my OMS blended pencil coloring, and looking forward to getting a better brand of pencils. Maybe if I win the Powerball this week... 

Valentine's Day Cheer: RC SFYTT 32

I woke up Saturday morning and the first thing I said was "I'm so excited that today is Saturday!"  

We all know that the first week back to work after a vacation is always hard.  On top of my regular 2 week winter break, BR and I planned an extra  week of vacation. So, it was even harder returning to work after 3 awesome weeks off! 

Of course, most of what I wanted to accomplish this weekend was in my craft room!  

As promised, here is my first entry into a card challenge...

I chose to start with Reverse Confetti's Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT) #32.  This is a monthly sketch challenge that requires the use of Reverse Confetti stamps or Confetti Cuts.  I pulled out the Leaping Lions to spread some Valentine's Day cheer. 

I'm also practicing using Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS) to blend colored pencils. This technique is brand new to me this winter.  Spending time coloring in front of Netflix is a real travesty, let me tell you! 

MonkeyDoo

Eighteen months ago, everything changed at our house...  I unexpectedly brought home a Boxador puppy from the Buda Wiener Dog Festival and BBQ Cookoff.  We were there for the BBQ Cookoff, not to adopt a new puppy. 

   

But Monkey (aka MonkeyDoo, Pumpkinhead, Chickenhead or Wiggles) quickly became a part of our family, which, by the way, is just BR and I.  And the 2
dogs and 3 cats we already had at home.  



She even wiggled her way into Levi and Pup's hearts after some time.

We're still working on the cats, though. 









Life has been pretty topsy-turvy since bringing Monkey home. I quickly learned that life with puppy is not always easy! But, with lots of training, attention and love, she's finally come into her own at 2 years old. Granted, she is still quite a handful sometimes.  But overall, she's a real joy!  






I'm sure you'll see Monkey, Levi, Pup, Molly, Monty and Rebar pop up in My Medley every once in a while. 

Here I am

There's so many fun things going on in the blogging world that I've been missing out on! Sure, I follow a few blogs via email and social media... okay, who am I kidding? There's only one that I actively follow.  But, there's so many more out there on the interwebs that I'm interested in!  If you were to view the history in my browser, many of my regular stops are to blogs about cooking, scrapbooking or card making.  Sometimes I find myself visiting the same blogs over and over.  

So, here I am.  Starting a silly blog so that I can be a part of a virtual community.  One reason I decided to start a blog is so that I can participate in some of the papercrafting challenges I see out there.  With that in mind, many of my posts will be entries into card and scrapbook making challenges. Forewarned is forearmed.  
Other things you might see from my medley of interests... recipes, stories about my many pets, book reviews, and so much more!  

Wish me luck!