Time for a quickie!

Sometimes that's ALL there is!

And sometimes - just a little time, is a GREAT time!

That's how it went down for me, this afternoon, in Scrapland! Just a quick card to dash in at the very last minute to the Play Date Cafe (*Swoon*) and a fun composition from Get Sketchy!

Check out this absolutely DREAMY photo and colors of inspiration, brought to you from Julie, the well traveled and completely inspiring hostess of Play Date Cafe!!!

It was the PERFECT palette and sophisticated inspiration for me to finally break out my Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder... the one that looks like a brick wall.... {YIPEEE!} And, I found that this fabulous sketch from the talented Get Sketchy artists... to be just the thing to help me get my images and colors glued together!

Sometimes, a little time is all that is needed!

Hope you get WHATEVER kind of time you need to get some craft-ON, today! I love when the planets line up and a little time becomes CRAFT TIME! Yee Haw!

Speaking of CRAFT TIME! I hope you'll check back with me late, tomorrow night... I'm quite delighted and HONORED to be helping the Play Date Cafe team introduce their newest palette! So, it is my supreme hope that you might catch a little wave of inspiration and join on up!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Staz On! & Stampin' Up!
Embossing folder - Tim Holtz/ Sizzix
Metal Clip - 7 Gypsies
Fiber - My stash!

Who's your B U D D Y ?

Who's your pal?

"I" am!



Aside from that whole VALENTINE'S thing, I think that February is an excellent time to celebrate friends! As goes the inspiration for this fabulous card and the DARLING owl image, brought to you, courtesy of my talented friend, Dawn and her WPLUS9 stamp line!




Isn't that the MOST darling owl!?! I love the boldness of the art and those EYES! Those fabulous owl eyes.... I'm thinking of TONS of ways to play with this lil' guy and he's just one tiny piece of the "Funky Flowers" collection that Dawn will be unveiling soon!

I decided to play with this fun sketch from the gals at Get Sketchy!


{Such a GREAT sketch!}



I had to play.... So eyes were embellished, WORM was made for companionship.... I altered some sentiments to create the word "your".... But mostly, stamping, beautiful paper and thoughts of DEAR FRIENDS {this means y'all!} and Dawn's crafty design vision and WhaBAM! Card making bliss!

I had a lil' fun with the inside of the card, too....


So, REMEMBER that!

"I" am your friend!

Have a delightful day!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - October Afternoon
Stamps - WPLUS9 design studio (owl! & your friend); Hero Arts (clouds); Stampin'Up (I am)
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Punch - EK
Chipboard Letters - Heidi Swap (then painted and "chrystal effected")
Chrystal Effects - Stampin' Up!

But, I said I LIKE you!

Haaaaaayyyyy!



Sorry, but I couldn't resist ONE more card in celebration of the colors of NEW Scrapland! Can you find it in your heart to accept one more!?! Look at "Trigger!" I just couldn't ignore him... He looks so insistent. Impatiently waiting... for someone to notice, his loyalty... His flawlessly festooned presentation... Look at that breast collar! I can just "hear" him! "Haaaayyyyyyy!"

Then, there was THIS sketch from Get Sketchy!


I flipped it on its side, so that I could really celebrate the wonderfulness of this Trigger image from this fantastic piece off fabric by Robert Kaufman...



Of course, I had to play with the word, "hey"... but you're probably ready for something other than "YEE HAW!" {hee hee} No, I've not calmed down about the completion of "New Scrapland!" but I'm more convinced than ever that I need to have you all over for a big scrapping hoe-down! I'm so delighted by all of the fun and funny feedback from my lil' REVEAL.... Thanks again, for your kind attention and thoughtfulness... I promise to leave these glorious colors for a while... Sweet and talented Dawn from WPLUS9 design studio has begun to share some samples from her new stamp line, and I am eager to begin to celebrate the images she has created as well. I hope you'll go check out her sensational samples and give her some love... It's such an exciting time in the blogosphere ~ 2010 has so much promise for us all, and I'm so honored to be sharing this journey with you!

{Yee Haw!}

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Chipboard Alpha - America Crafts
Grungeboard Flourish - Tim Holtz
Espresso Acrylic Paint - Tim Holtz
Vintage Photo Stickles - Tim Holtz
Apron Lace Punch - Fiskars
Markers - Stampin' Up!

A little FROSTY on a frosty day!

Is it frosty where you are?

I guess you could say that in this, here, part of the North BAY AREA, California, we're accustom to mild temperatures... We get hot and cold, but not to the extreme of many places my bloggy friends are from.. {YET, another great thing about this bloggy-blog world that we're in..!} So, I feel the need to preface this post with the acknowledgement that some of you, possibly, had to dig your car out just to get kids to school today...{My hats and mittens OFF to YOU, brave souls!} My silly little stories of HOW COLD IT IS here at Rancho Durenberger are going to seem rather benign to you ~ please forgive me.

But, babies, it's COLD outside!

That's the reason and inspiration for today's card for this week's Get Sketchy Challenge, #17!



I brought this MOST adorable Frosty fellow out, from October Afternoon, to help me keep warm with some fun stampy, inky, blingy craft, whilst standing right next to my lil' space heater in Scrapland! {Brrrrrr ~ cement FLOOR = COLD PIGGIES!}



Thanks to this very fun sketch composition from the fabulous Get Sketchy talents... A lil' flip and tweak here and there...



Yes, indeed! Some fun and seasonal crafting to wake me up this morning... And maybe just a wee-bit of procrastination before I face some horrible items on the mighty to-do list... {..Like PROPERTY TAXES! Yeeeeee-uck!}

So, because you were patient and let me vent just then, I thought I might share some shots from the morning routine, today....

Just two of "my guys" eating their breakfast... I WAITED to feed until the sun was at least shining! And thank goodness it did! Check out this gorgeous hunk of ice that I pulled out of their water trough!

A lovely and talented PHOTO-FABULOUS friend of mine {Thanks, Linda B!} suggested that I try for a shot THROUGH the ice chunk, yesterday... But I couldn't get the ice to stand by itself... Today's ice chunk was much more agreeable! The photos that follow illustrate the curious and silly antics of the "baby", Wildcard...

Thoughtfully contemplating a closer look...

Sneaking up on the ALIEN ice chunk... {Something NEW! OMG!}

Maybe it won't see me!

Coming in for a sniff....

Mmmm, maybe a lick...

How does the OTHER side taste?

Ohhhhhhhhhh noooooooooooo! DANGER!

Wildcard "broke the ice!" tee hee

PROOF! Mother Nature is a CRAFTER TOO!

Okay, crafty ones! Let's keep it warm out there!

Have a great one!



Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Basic Grey
Stamps - October Afternoon
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Versa Fine
Oval Shape - Coluzzle
Bling - Pressed Petals

Thankful to play and share my first pup..pub.. {CARDS PUB ! Wahoo}

Oh, crackers! December ALREADY!?!

Totally in denial about the Christmas shopping thing... BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY! I'm here for the craft! Cards! Paper, ink, sparkley stuff! All of that! I'm alllll REVVED up over the 12 days of TIM... ur... Tags. Tags by Tim! Timmy, Tim, TIM ~ the Timinator! You know the guy! That man with all of that lovely crafty stuff... the king of DISTRESS {not STRESS! ~ hence, why we're not discussing CHRISTMAS shopping...} Anywhoo, no. I haven't cranked out a tag... but I really got my "Tim-On" to finish up THIS card for the Get Sketchy Challenge!

Hellooooooooooooo! Just a lil' shot to build anticipation! {HA HA! I know, WHAT?} I just love trying to tantalize with an artsy shot.... (But, please, don't grade me on this... ) Here's the Sketch from the Get Sketchy gals and HAVE YOU SEEN WHO THEY HAVE FOR THEIR GUEST DESIGNER this week? OMG! Well, go see and then come RIGHT BACK!

Okay.. It's DAWN McVEY! {Dontcha LOVE her!?! Adorable sample, and fab inspiration!}

What a scrumptious sketch! AND there was a bonus challenge to keep it Autumn-ish, so I had to quell my "snowmanitis" for the day and tap back into my inner HARVEST....

I have been sooooooooo loving all of my miniature leaf punches lately! Seriously! They were just the thing I needed to seal the deal on this card... But wait ~ here's a close up!




I used some card stock weight vellum, TIM HOLTZ alcohol ink {Yeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!} and had a lil' distressing party... Some latte, some caramel, a little gold... la la la! Let it dry, punched my leaves, folded for leaf veins and then dragged it trough a little Dusty Durango Dye Ink... Wahooo! Got my DISTRESS-on! Mmmmmmmm, yep... I did! I DID! Indeedy do!



Keeping with the Tim-theme... Distress STICKLES! Perfect Pearls! Yummmy stuff! I was glad to have an excuse to break out this paper, probably the MOST awesome paper set - EVER!!! From Stampin' Up! Yeah, BABY! So, it was a symphony of craft here in Scrapland today and some SUPER fun finishing touches, ala TIM! Whoopee! Oh, and one more THING... Now that it's officially DECEMBER... I can share this with you ~

My first ever PUBLISHED CARD! Ha ha ha! {And a little laughter from the PEANUT gallery - pay no attention to the LAUGHING PUPPY!} I just wanted to share a picture of MY CARD in CARDS{!} and needed a lil' "scale" for my photo... I beg your pardon for having to share, but folks "in the real world" don't always get it... This was a SUPER thrill!

Thank you, lovely friends ~ for sharing all of the fun, love, support and CREATIVE JU-JU! Y'all ROCK! I sooooooo appreciate you stopping by!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!; Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink; Versa Mark
Scallop Border Punch - Stampin' Up!
Glitter - Stickles/ Tim Holtz
Die cut sentiment - Cricut/ Wild Card Cartridge
Leaf Punch - Family Treasures

Holiday Magic - ALREADY!

I know. There is still a Halloween Pumpkin on my blog... but hey! A card-makin' fool has got to go where the inspiration is! And I got me some! Yipeee!





Don't ya just love this adorable owl... {Remember that owl from the Tootsie Pop commercial!?! "A one.. a twoooooo, a threeeeeeee - CRUNCH! " Oh, c'mon ~ some of you do! Don't make me name names! tee hee} ANYWHOOOO, I was, again, inspired by COLOR! Please, please, please check out my adorable blog friend, Dawn and her fabulous colors! No, not Dawn, the queen of all things RASPBERRY, but let me tell you, this Dawn has been in Ms. McVey's spotlight MANY times and she's cuttin' her teeth with her own color challenge! She's super talented in her own right and she knows color! Get a load of this gorgeous swatch!





I was happy to have such a delightful combo of colors to help me tackle this sketch from the cute and sassy Get Sketchy girls! Here's their current sketch:






Fabulous and convenient was this sentiment and how wonderfully it "rectangled" to become the center of this great design... Just picked this set up and I'm glad I did!



So there you go, friends! I'm trying desperately to make up for my absence last week ~ so far November is off to a decent start! {Dontcha' just love a clean slate!?!} I'm delighted that you stopped by and I'll be even more thrilled if you join in on both of these great challenge sites! I just can't get over how much sketch and color challenges have inspired me and helped me grow my CRAFT! I wouldn't have touched these notions in my scrap booking endeavors back in the day, so I'm pretty humbled that they have rocked my card making efforts in such a huge way! Please check out lovely Dawn's colors and join in her challenge! I'd love to see her have some eager challengers to give her momentum with her great ideas! Give yourself some extra time to check out her work - she's SERIOUSLY, a fabulous talent! Giddy-up!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin Up!
Glitter - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Snowflake Dies - Sizzix

It's A Warm Fuzzy Day!

No doubt that fall has arrived in Northern California... Today we had our first major storm of the season and for once, the weather forecasters weren't kidding! Lots and lots of rain fell here at Rancho Durenberger: I have cranky horses, wet and stinky dogs and a bumper crop-o-mud! On the upside, we still have power and I've managed to keep my lil' wood burning stove quietly generating consistent heat, but not the kind that sucks down the wood like popcorn! We're warm and dry and thankful. Here's a lil' card to celebrate...



I popped out some Earth Love from Cosmo Cricket that was given to me by my lovely friend, Dana! {Nothin' like spreading Earth Love around to make the WORLD a better place, eh!?! She's the best!} In addition to their FANTASTIC sketch, the girls from Get Sketchy were also asking for some Water Color work, this week, so I tried not to disappoint! I owe them a HUGE SHOUT OUT! I had the fabulous honor of being in their TOP 5, again! And this time, I was "in the money!" Yep, friends - I WON a fabulous paper pack from Pebbles, that the D/T gals made FANTASTIC samples with, so I'm still pretty giddy over that!!! If you want to check out the bounty, please, please visit Get Sketchy {and do tell 'em I sent ya! hee hee}... Just wait until you see their super samples!

Here's their latest sketch:



Oh, this was FUN! Here's a close up of some of my Water Color work!


Such a CA-UUUTE sqirrel image by Hero Arts! I guess I'm really in to creating little "scenes"... I just had such fun with these ingredients! Here's one more shot of my card, just because:


So, my darling friends ~ that's the long and short of my warm and fuzzy day! May you all be warm and dry and with your loviest loved ones! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket
Stamps - Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Suede Paper - (?)
Oval & Corner punch - Stampin' Up!
Scallop Edge - Traced from pre-cut paper and then hand cut

How sweet it is!

Got sweet tooth?

Me, too!

Here's some sweet that you DON'T have to feel guilty about!




Sweet B A B Y! Samantha, from Scrapmaster's Paradise, threw down some seriously YUMMY colors this week and I had to get busy with them straight out of the chute! No fermentation needed! These colors are ripe for the pickin', if ya know what I mean!




Not only was this a delicious combination, but I was finally able to catch up with the "Get Sketchy" girls who seem to be having too much fun over at their challenge site, so YEAH! I'm delighted to add some "sketchy" to my "scrapmaster..."






I was compelled to sprinkle in some "home grown" character to my Stampin' Up! cherries... (I created an epoxy look with Crystal Effects and then glued on some happy faces for EXTRA sweet cherry goodness!)



Hee Hee! Ain't they happy lookin'!?! I love the versatility of Crystal Effects "effects" just as long as you can WALK AWAY DURING THE DRYING TIME! Don't even LOOK! DON'T EVEN TALK in front of drying Crystal Effects! Shhhhh! Seriously! Don't touch until YOU ARE SURE the glue is dry!!!!! (Sometimes this is SOOO much more easily said then done!) I know this! {Don't ask how I know: I just DO!... You probably do TOO! But the lesson always bares repeating: especially if there's a wonderful effect at stake! It's WORTH the patience!}

Here's the whole shebang!



How sweet it is to nail two challenges with one card (I know some of you ladies do three times that, but for me two is pretty significant.... My lil' brain is fragile! tee hee) So, dear and lovely friends... It has been SO sweet sharing my adventures in card crafting with you! I hope your week is getting off to a nice {and SWEET} crafty start! Can't wait to "talk" with ya some more! Have a SWEET day!

Supplies:

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Buttons & Twine - Stampin' Up!
Arrow and Corner punch - Stampin' Up!
Scallop edge and Flower Shape - traced from d/p (Bazzil) and chipboard (S/U!)
Chipboard Letters - Martha Stewart Crafts
Crystal Effects Dimensional Glue - Stampin' Up!

Square peg, ROUND hole!

Sometimes, I wonder WHY I'm wired this way...? I know, NOT, how to back down from these {mental} challenges, so here's what I did:



I started with these DARLING stamps from good old Cosmo Cricket! Never mind the color and sketch challenges I was attempting to work with: I've had this set on my mind since I went to the mountains with some of the most darling friends in the universe, just a few short weeks ago... THESE GUYS!


Look at THAT wild bunch! Hee Hee Three families! Lot's of kids {and by that, I'm mostly referring to the husbands!}, lots of food, forest and FUN! Yes, friends, Ms. Blondie is none other than DANA from Paper Daydream fame, her brood, and the LOVELY and talented, Mrs. Eustace and clan: great friends, who's dear friendship is forged from a foundation of none other than PAPERCRAFTING! {You can't hear me, but I'm bellowing "wooooooooooooooooooooo!"}

Anywhoo, since that fun-filled weekend up in the Shasta area, Mc Cloud, California, I've been planning to do this whole "Mr. Campy" thing to celebrate the event and great pictures of our little ones cavorting in the Mc Cloud river, etc., but I just haven't "arrived" there creatively....



Perhaps I should get the actual photos developed and then, I dunno: SCRAP SOMETHING! Phew! But for now, I'm just having warm and fuzzy happiness of having spent a fun mini vacation with such darling folks... BUT, NOW, back to my post {Hello, rambing WOman!}

THIS CARD:


Is for THIS CHALLENGE:



And THIS one, too!

WAHOOO! Not exactly camping colors, not exactly earthy and gritty... That's where my square peg, ROUND hole conundrum comes up... Because, sometimes FORCING something can produce a happy ending: I like my card! And what I REALLY like is that it went from being a celebration of a vacation adventure to an ENCOURAGEMENT kind of card, and I would have NEVER thought of that! I just had to make it, and then see the spiritual value of the sentiment! Now I can send this to just about ANYONE who's going through a hard time, and know it will bring a smile and some nice food for thought! The sentiment changed from whining kids {in my head!} to more of a heavenly question... Are we done with this difficult time? And yet the color and image is so sweet and hopeful, it seems to ask the question and comfort all at the same time: WHO thinks of something like that? Not me...! I'd enjoy a card like this and marvel at how it told the story, but I wouldn't have arrived at the message, unless I took the journey.

Wow! Talk about spiritual. Guess it's not always a bad thing to "force a square peg into a round hole" every once in a while! Neato!

Thanks for reading my crafty ramblings! Have a wonderful rest of your evening!


Supplies:

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Cosmo Cricket (car & camper/ sentiment); Hero Arts (clouds); inkadinkado (woodgrain); Impression Obsession (polka dots)
Ink - Stampin' Up!; Staz On
Ribbon - MM
Corner and Scallop Punch - Stampin' Up!
Thread - Gutermann