LOTS TO TELL! PINK ELEPHANT CHALLENGE

Happy Friday everyone....

Well I don't know how your week went but mine was a little productive as I had the chance to make a few extra cards! It was also a frustrating week as far as the blogging world goes as I am still struggling with not being able to cut and paste..... I wouldn't mind but there are some sponsor badges I want to post and a new challenge I just learned about yet I am unable to display their badges. Computers, I tell you....can't live with them (when they have a mind of their own) and can't live without them!! Mind you there's one plus side to this.....my hubby just came in to tell me I don't need to cook dinner tonight!! We are going over to his parents....so he can try to fix their computer!!!!!

Ok enough about that, on to the fun things.....first my card which I made for the Pink Elephant Challenge. It's another Dustin Pike image that I already had colored in and it's my first try at this challenge. I colored the puppy in copics and used DCWV Christmas paper from last years stash, then added some ribbon and blue gems from Martha Stewart and that's it. What do you think?

Over at Midnight Madness we have our new DT Diva for the month of September and I would like to say a huge WELCOME to Carol, who not only shares my love of chocolate and teddy bears but who is so very talented. She will definately be an asset to us so please join me in welcoming her. It is so exciting to work alongside other designers and this month Melissa Bova did a tremendous job with her creations and helping the DT out. So a huge a THANK YOU goes out to Melissa. Remember if you are interested in being a Midnight Madness Diva or Dude (for those wonderful creative males we have out there), please stop by Priscilla's blog and let her know you would like to be considered!

There are lots of exciting things coming up at both my DT's so stay tuned for that!

The new challenge blog I was referring to earlier is Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential and this should be a great challenge site. Vicki aka basement stamper is the DT coordinator over there...so it's sure to be fun and exciting. I wish I could display their badge for them!! Anyway, go check it out......just click on the name and you will be sent directly there!

Until then, I wish you all a fabulous weekend!
Hugs, Charlotte

DUSTIN PIKE RELEASE DAY! THE PAINTS STILL WET!!

Hello everyone, Happy Thursday!

Today is Dustin Pike's release day and I have this cutie Elf painting his candy cane for you to see. Isn't he cute? I had so much fun with the owl from yesterday and now this Elf for today...Dustin keeps us smiling with his adorable images. I had to give you a close up of the little Elf so you can see...his paint is still wet!! Not really, I just added some paper glaze to make it look that way! I made him for the Taylored Expressions Challenge , TESC79

I was on a role with the Halloween cuties from Dustin then he switched to Christmas....I didn't have any more Christmas paper (already used up the last of my stash from last year) so had to rush out yesterday and get some! The things we do for our DT's!!! Just kidding Dustin!

Jo-Ann's store has some new cardstock in and I am loving it...thick with a texture on and it's by coredinations. They have a great selection of two tone papers one color on each side and it states on the edge..."sand it, tear it, antique it, keep it!" So it looks like you can do a lot with this cardstock. If you are interested in checking it out go to www.coredinations.com

Well I hope you are all having a fabulous day...I'm off to create.....something!
Enjoy your day!
Hugs,
Charlotte

DUSTIN PIKE - FREEBIE DAY!! MOJO MONDAY TOO!

Happy Wednesday Folks,

I hope the week is running smoothly for all of you, and you are busy with your creations! Now that I have a little bit of extra time hopefully I will be more consistent with my posts!!! I can but hope! Right!!!

As it's Wednesday, you know what that means....freebie time over at Dustin's place.....mind you if you haven't checked out his blog today you should go see what he "wasted" his time with yesterday!!! Man, if I had half his talent, I'd be rocking!!! I love the little dragon head...you really need to go see it for yourself! Dustin is so amazing with his creations, that's why I just love his artwork and today's freebie was so fun to work with. I decided to play along with the Mojo Monday challenge as I haven't done that in a while, and I have to say, I'm super happy with how this little guy turned out. What do you think?

I have so much to catch up on with this blog that I'm not sure where to start first! I need to get my awards sorted out and passed on to some well deserving crafters out there.....wait a minute, I've been saying that all summer haven't I!!!! See what I mean....just when I thought there was hope.......organizational skills need amending for sure! But wait, I did do something good already this morning...I actually added some cards to my SCS gallery!!!! It's been a while!

I would like to welcome my new follower Barbara over at HunnyBunnyCards who is so talented. You should check out her creations....she creates with pastel colors and lots of pretty flowers....absolutely gorgeous stuff.

A huge Thank You to all you wonderful bloggers that take the time to leave a comment for me, I so appreciate your thoughtful, wonderful, and witty words....they sure bring a smile to my face each day. I am so lucky to get to have this blog and meet all you wonderful peeps out there.

Well, I'd better get creating otherwise Dustin will be "wasting" his time and I won't have anything to show tomorrow for his new releases!!!

Have a fabulous day!
Hugs,
Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC16)

Happy Tuesday All!

Well, I can't believe another week is over and here yesterday the schools were back in session! Wasn't sure if my little one would get to experience his first day of kindergarten as he is having problems with his ears again and has had a few rough nights crying with ear pain! On Sunday night he was up 'till 11:00pm crying and tossing and turning...poor baby! However, on Monday morning bright and early after successfully waking him from a deep sleep, he was his usual cheerful morning self and we were able to get him ready in time to go to school. He had a great day and came home with lots of stories to tell!

Ok now for all the things going on over at Midnight Madness! Have you seen all the entries we had this past week! So many extremely talented peeps we have out there. Talk about inspiration! I'm just sorry I haven't been able to comment on all of the entries because they are well worth some lovely words!

This week our sponsor is the lovely Michelle Perkett whose gorgeous image appears on my card. I have to say I really enjoyed making this and it is one of my favorites. Michelle's images are so pretty and as I'm a more pastel kinda girl, I just couldn't resist coloring this one in delicate shades of pink and a little touch of blue too! Michelle, I hope you don't mind!! I know she usually uses more vibrant colors in her images!!

Congratulations to our Midnight Madness Masterpiece Award winner Jacque her stunning creation you should pop over to see!

Congratulations to our Royal Loyal Award winners for playing each week, please hop on over to Priscilla's blog to check out the details. These loyal players have been playing week after week after week!

Liz Williams

Darlene(akronstamperdpk)

Lovely Linda

Loz

Julia

I want to say a huge thank you to Simon Says Stamp for sponsoring the Midnight Madness team for the whole month of August, and if you haven't done so already you might just want to stop by their store and check out all the wonderful goodies they have.

Scor-Pal also deserves a huge thank you too because they were generous to give all the DT members some goodies, and I have to say that their tape truly is the absolute best!

OK before I give you the details on my card...I need to let you all know that once again I am unable to cut and paste, can't get the logos onto this post that I wanted....so I apologize......again!

I don't normally put a photograph of the insides of my cards here on my blog, but this one I just had to...coz it's my favorite!! There are a few details on this one that you might not be able to see unless you actually click on the photo to enlarge! I colored this image with copics, lightly chalked the background in pale pink, added glitter glue to areas on the dresses and paper glaze to the wings and moon. Each little flower on the image is also colored, glittered and in the center I placed a swarovski crystal (with a pair of tweezers!). The card is machine stitched inside and out and I added the lacey ribbon, flowers and leaves. The metal butterfly was added with the little pearl top pins and a couple of little blue gems.

card recipe
Image - Michelle Perkett - Enchanted Slumber digi
Paper - K & Co - WB Gypsy Baby
flowers - Prima Vintage
Gems - Martha Stewart from Michaels
Swarovski Crystals - flat back gold
Metal Butterfly - from my stash
trimmer - Martha Stewart edge punch
Leaves - Martha Stewart leaf punch

I would love to hear what you think!

Enjoy your day!
Hugs,
Charlotte

DUSTIN PIKE DAY!

Happy Late Thursday everyone!

Sorry this is being posted late in the day but I spent the good part of the afternoon at the doctor's office with Thijs.... he has had cold like symptoms for over a week, some fever, swollen glands and tiredness and I just wanted to get him checked out before Monday when school starts back.

This is going to be a quick post as now it's close to dinner time! Where do these days go to??

This little ghost and kitty were made last week and I was going to put it up for the Mojo Monday, but just didn't get the chance! Anyway, hop on over to Dustin's blog for the freebie...it's super cute and you will want to get it if you haven't already!!

Hugs,
Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC15)

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

We all know what that means........time for another MMSC and we are now on number 15! I can't believe how many entries we had for MMSC14 and you crafters just keep getting better and better each week...the talent is amazing and so inspiring! Fantastic job everyone who entered....keep those beautiful works of art coming coz the DT just love to see everyone's unique creations. As the weeks go by it truly gets harder to choose just one person for the Masterpiece Award, and to even narrow the votes down is a task in itself! You should all be so proud of yourselves for entering and giving the DT such a hard time!!!

But, without further ado, our Masterpiece Award this week goes to Chelsea!!! Congratulations on such a well deserved award! If you have not seen Chelsea's work please take the time to stop by her blog...she is amazingly talented and she knows how much I love her little tear bears!

We have so many wonderful things coming up and Priscilla has been very busy with the last blog candy, and now has another fantastic one up there now....if you don't believe me....hop on over to check it out! Stamps, stamps and even more stamps!!!! Whooo hooo!

Our sponsors Simon Says Stamp is still with us this whole month, so please, if you haven't already done so....go check out their goodies...they have some really fabulous items in their store.

Please check out the rules over at Priscilla's for the $50.00 credit voucher they are giving away....such an awesome deal...who wouldn't want this!!!!

Our weekly bonus sponsor is Sunshine Stamps...whooo hoo!! Christina Bower from sunshine stamps generously gave the DT some of her images to work with....and of course one of them is that cute milktruck on my card this week. Please check her blog and store out...you'll be glad you did. They also have a terrific blog candy to give away so check that out too on Priscilla's blog.

My card is colored in copics, has a chalked background then mounted high with pop dots. The background paper is from DCWV All About Boys, strings at side are from a bag I had laying around the house and the little blue bubbles are from Micheal's.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ALL MY DT SISTER'S BLOGS AND ALL THE THINGS GOING ON OVER AT PRISCILLA'S BLOG!

Let me know what you think.
Hugs,
Charlotte

DUSTIN PIKE SNEAK PEAK!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Well after my frustrations with the computer lately I decided it was time to just make something fun.....to release all my energy!!! So, as tomorrow is release day for Dustin Pike's Halloween digi's I figured I would share this one with you as a little teaser!!

Over the weekend when we were in the Keys, I bought a little bag of gummy starfish and thought what a good idea to cover it with something cute! What do you think about giving this to a teacher for Halloween? It's a simple, inexpensive gift but if this was given from a child I think any teacher would be happy to receive it...don't you! The gift doesn't have to be candy either, you could wrap a scented candle too or a tin of tea or flavored coffee.....whatever appeals to you!

Anyway, here's what I did. I cut two pieces of cardstock (one orange, one black) long enough to fit around the bag of candies....remember not to nibble on them while you are making this otherwise the bag will not look too happy at the end!!! OK I admit it, I took just a couple of the gummies out.....but this treat is going to Thijs so he won't mind!!!LOL

On both pieces of cardstock I trimmed the edges with a Martha Stewart edge punch....just to make it look a little prettier. Remember to cut one slightly narrower than the other one! Stick them both together with tape (Scor-Pal is fabulous for this) so when you actually wrap them around the bag it will be easier. Seal with tape. I colored my Halloween digi in with copics, cut it out and stuck about half the sign actually onto the cardstock and bent the ends out away from the bag, this way it's easy to read without turning the whole bag! Place some pretty ribbon around the bottom of the bag so you can't see what's inside and add a bow and flower at the top....and that's it! A quick and simple little goodie bag!

card recipe
digi stamp - Dustin Pike - Halloween
DP - Orange is mulberry paper from Michael's and the black is from my stash
Ribbons - sheer basics from Michael's
Flower - Large Orange one is from Prima flowers, black and orange smaller ones, I used a flower punch to make
Charm - Michael's (left over from last year!)
Modge Podge to add some shine to the flower

I'd love to hear what you think!

Hugs,
Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC14)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

FIRST LET ME APOLOGIZE FOR THIS POST...I AM HAVING MAJOR COMPUTER ISSUES AND CAN'T GET ALL THE INFORMATION I NEEDED ON HERE...MY CUT AND PASTE IS NOT WORKING AND I KEEP GETTING DISCONNECTED FROM THE INTERNET...
PLEASE STOP BY PRISCILLA'S BLOG TO CATCH UP ON ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM MIDNIGHT MADNESS!

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I hope you all enjoyed a fabulous weekend and are back in the swing of things with the creativity! I had a great time with Arjan and Thijs as we took off on our boat down to the Keys again..making the most of Arjan having a whole weekend off...which doesn't happen very often. We enjoyed the sunshine and ocean once more and the weather was terrific. We definately need to do this again....soon!!

Welcome to my new followers iluvmybugs who is recently new to blog land and is taking a roadtrip complete with crafting items...now that's commitment!!! and jerimoody who has some great crafting project ideas and is a fan of Dustin Pike!! Thank you so much for becoming a follower, please feel free to leave comments......I love to read what you have to say.

So onto today's release for Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge 14! We have our own DT sister sponsoring us today, whoo hooo....this is so awesome.......and she designed the sketch for today!! Sue from McMahonFiveDesigns. Sue has recently opened her new online store and let me tell you she has some fabulous stuff over there. Not only does she have some really pretty digi stamps, but also her famous Wood paper, and flowers too. If you have not checked out Sue's store please run on over because not only is she extremely talented, especially with her wood paper designs, she is a sweet and supportive friend too. I haven't tried the wood paper but what Sue creates with it is amazing...she even sews on it!!

Simon Stays Stamp is still sponsoring us for the whole month of August.....whoo hoo!

Congratulations to craftypagan on winning the Midnight Madness Masterpiece Award

Congratulations to Shawn our DT sister for her Mrs. Congeniality Award! Take time for that precious new baby of yours!

My card for this weeks challenge is using one of Sue's digi stamps, called "Wild Flower" and I have to say I colored many of these flowers in!! They are so easy to work with but just so pretty when colored too. I colored mine with prismacolored pencils and gamsol.....My first time using this! It was an experiment but I'm sure you will let me know if you think I used it correctly!

I printed out a few wild flowers in various sizes, colored them then cut each one out, layered them with pop dots and put a small group of them together. I love how this card came out, the colors were not planned ahead but just fell into place after I saw the colors of the flowers. I stitched my background paper, added three different ribbons, a metal flower charm and hand cut flourish to the bow. Added the gems at the corner and there you have it...my MMSC14 card!

If you click on the link on my sidebar for Sue's store it will take you directly to her blog....sorry Sue, I so wanted to link the blinkie into this post today!

card recipe
stamp - McMahon Five Designs - Wild Flower digi
dp- DCWV Posies Glitter print - Full of Turquoise (background)
DCWV Sweet stack (striped)
Ribbons - Sheer creations white from Micheal's, Holiday Inspirations floral from Jo Ann's, purple thin ribbon from stash
Daisy charm - from stash
Gems - Studio18 from Micheal's

I would love to hear what you think!

Hugs,
Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC13)

Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Well there is so much going on over at Midnight Madness, not sure where to start!!!

We are so excited to announce our very first Guest Designer for Midnight Madness. Our August Guest Designer is Melissa Bove. Many of you may know her from Splitcoaststampers. She is currently one of the “Dirty Dozen” girls. We are so honored to have her joining us for the next month. She is extremely talented and her work will bring so much inspiration to the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenges each week. She lives in Whiting, NJ, down near the Jersey Shore, with her hubby, Robert and her 3 ½ yr old son, Antonio who keeps her on her toes. She loves doing all kinds of paper crafts and her main passions are making cards and altering anything she can get her hands on, especially boxes! She loves to incorporate some type of stamping in almost everything she does. She started stamping about 3 years ago and it has quickly become an obsession for her. Melissa will be helping us choose our September Guest Designing Diva, so keep those creative juices flowing and be sure to let us know you are interested in being our SEPT Guest Designer. Please stop by her blog and give her a big shout out!

This weeks Masterpiece Award goes to Darlene over at darscraftycreations.blogspot.com CONGRATULATIONS DARLENE...this is such a well earned award. Darlene has played every week with us and is always blowing us away with her creations! Please check her blog out, you will be happy you did!!

Our sponsors this week are Scor-pal who have some fabulous products, so you might just want to check them out....there scor-tape is awesome.....so strong and easy to use...don't know why it took me so long to find this wonderful product!!

Our other sponsor for the month of August is none other than....Simon Says Stamp..whoo hoo!!! Check out the Midnight Madness site for all the details, including this voucher for $50.00 and how you could win it..........

There are many more exciting things coming up on Midnight Madness...so please stay tuned!

Jeni's Blog candy
Challenge Blog Candy”??? Oh Yeah!!
Once again, we are doubling the fun here!! Just like last month we have a bonus for our players.. Our team member Jeni has so generously offered up some challenge blog candy for the month of August. For every entry to the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenges this month, you will go in the drawing for the GRAND PRIZE Month end awards. As an added BONUS…if you "FOLLOW" Jeni’s blog and leave her a comment, you will get an EXTRA entry in the month end drawing, so hop on over to Jeni’s blog, stay a spell, post a comment and be sure to click the follow button. Thank you Jeni for this and all your hard work with the MM Marketing :) Check our her FANTASTIC “Challenge Blog Candy” below!!
List of items
BasicGrey 12x12 Sultry PaperPack
5 pc Opaline Pearls
Spellbinders Diecut - Blossom
Impress- Transfer On Booklet Alphabet
DCVW Vellum Quote Stacks -
Scriptures
4 Brilliance Pads: Graphite Black, Gold, Platinum, Coffee Bean
50pc mixed anodized metal roses
48 pcs prima nursery tales mini flowers
50pc kaiser vanilla flowers
60pc prima flowers mixed
40pcs mixed brads2 Ribbons
1 Chipboard Stickers
1 Box of SU watercolor crayons in "Soft Subtle" 12 pc

Grand prize entries will last MMSC13-MMSC16 and the winners will be drawn on Sept 2nd :)
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Congratulations to our very own DT sister Chris for having not one..... but two cards chosen in the top 10 over at http://www.toptencreations.blogspot.com/ This doesn't surprise me in the least as Chris' creations always blow me away...she is just one of the most talented ladies I know. Enjoy the spotlight Chris...it is sooooo well deserved!!!!

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My card this week was such fun to make coz I just love the little beauty in her sundress and sunhat. This pretty little clear stamp is called "Cammy" and designed by Chelsea Dang over at Crafting Life's Pieces Chelsea has just recently opened her Gurlee Girl online store with two other little cuties too. I was lucky enough to win the set in her blog candy and I can't say enough about her creations. Chelsea makes the most beautiful tear bear scrapbook pages....just breathtaking creations, please go check her blog out because she is one very talented lady!

I decided to color Cammy in copics and keep her in a matching sundress and hat. I made her hat 3d with pop dots to give a little dimension. The MMSC13 sketch was fabulous, a little tricky with all the measurements..but I love how this one turned out. The background squares are sprayed with Lindy's gang starburst spray in "Jack in the pulpit teal." I took some cardstock cut into large rectangles, then sprayed each one with different saturations of the starburst spray. Some turned out really light and speckled then the others turned out darker and totally saturated. The frame around cammy is also sprayed then the corners punched. The flowers are from Micheal's and leaves which are also sprayed with the starburst spray, were made with a martha Stewart punch. The gems are from Michael's also.

I'm blown away...I won an award.....and for being Kindhearted!!!! Thank you my DT sisters, this is a wonderful award to be given and I will definately wear it with pride!

Let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs,
Charlotte

Happy Monday!

Photos from the Florida Keys

Sunset at the dock!

Floating away!Snorkling from the boat

Islamorada Fish Company beachFriends we met who live at the docks.....full time!

Thijs at sunset.

Happy Monday everyone!

No cards today unfortunately but just wanted to share a couple of photos from our boating vacation with you. This time it was a great success....not accidents or grounding of the boat!!! Most importantly...no being towed in!!! We spent our time not too far from home, at the Florida Keys and met some really lovely people....some that lived aboard their yachts all year round. It's such a peaceful, slow paced way of life....one I wouldn't mind being a part of later in life! Thijs was able to see sharks, lobsters, lots of different kinds of fish so he really enjoyed his time on the boat....I call him my little surfer dude! He is crazy about being in the water, doesn't matter if it's the ocean or the pool..my little guppie is born to swim!

On a sadder note, someone who was special in my life lost his life on July 19th at the age of 48! He was an absolute angel on earth and helped me out in so many ways over the years, a true kind hearted spirit! I dedicate the sunset to Roy, whose love of the outdoors I share and whose beautiful sunset over the Everglades still hangs on my wall. Such a sad loss at such a young age. Rest in Peace my friend.

God bless you all today!
Hugs,
Charlotte