DOODLE DRAGON STUDIO CHALLENGE #11

It's Sunday right?

I have lost a day somewhere along this week and I feel like I'm trailing behind with everything. So I am trying to catch up on my posts and apologizing to my DT's for being MIA! Yesterday I was in bed with a migraine headache, probably because I have been rushing everywhere lately and the stress caught up with me! Today I am a little better, thank goodness.

Over at Doodle Dragon Studio's the challenge is Flowers, so I made two really quick cards with flowers as decoration. First card is using the Toby and Buster images and the second one is one of Dustin's little dragons from the Earth Day collection called Footprints.

Here is another card I made using the Hippo's from Dustin's zoo collection that was released last Thursday

On Wednesday my sweet hubby had his birthday so I used one of Dustin's Zoo collection images and made him a really quick card! This has double meaning for my hubby as he not only stands above in his personality, he's also very tall!! LOL

On Thursday was my son's Kindergarten graduation so I used the Grad Dragon from Dustin for the invitation and treat boxes for his classmates.

Here is a closeup of the treatbox

I made a total of 14 of them.

The Kindergarten class of 2010 onstage...aren't they adorable in their caps and gowns!

That's all I have for this post, now I need to get organized in my crafting area before I get burried in there and won't be able to find my way out!

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

See you soon.

Hugs,

Charlotte

STUDIO313 HOTSPOT CHALLENGE -SHC3

Happy late Friday everyone!

Sorry I'm late posting this but today has been super busy with my little ones end of year celebrations and I am so ready to go to bed and it's only 9:00pm! Over at Studio313 Hot Spot there's an interesting challenge going on....to pick one of the top selling albums of all time and create a card inspired by one of the albums or one of the songs. I chose The Beatles White Album for my card. This is the first time I have done an all white card so it felt a little wierd to make it but I like how it turned out. The sentiment and background swirls are from Studio313 and are called "Designer Love Swirls". I added the butterflies from a Martha Stewart punch I have been looking for for such a long time! The satin ribbon is from Michael's and the little white sparkly rose was a RAK from my friend Priscilla from Priscillastyles. This was a really quick card to make, I printed up the swirls and sentiment, added some swiss dots embossing, popped the sentiment up on dots, added the ribbon, butterflies, rose and gems and voila....that's it!

I hope you will take the time to join in the challenge and check out Shawne's store as she has some lovely images in blackline and color. So if you are looking to make a card in a hurry, go check her store out.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC55) RED CARPET WEEK

            

I can't believe it's Tuesday again and time for another Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge! This will be our last week of our Blogeversary celebration so I hope you are all ready as there is so much going on! Here for starters....

                                 

"In honor of the person who started the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge, the design team unanimously chose to name this very special award the "Priscilla Award". Priscilla has inspired, encouraged, motivated, and stimulated everyone of us in our crafting endeavors. She has been our friend, our mentor, our confident our sister in crafting. She is tireless in her efforts to bring you the best of the best each week and to challenge each and everyone of us to achieve greater heights than we ever thought imaginable. She was humbled by the idea of us coming together to call it the "Priscilla Award", but we as the Design Team thought it was only fitting for the highest honor that someone could achieve on Midnight Madness to be named after our founding individual."

We would like to present to ONE outstanding card/craft person who is represented amongst our GOLD STAR winners of the past year, the coveted "Priscilla Award". Not only that, but it is going to be the "PEOPLES CHOICE". What does that mean....that means that you our friends and weekly players are going to choose the winner this time!!!! CLICK ON HERE TO GO TO PRISCILLA'S BLOG TO SEE ALL THE FINALISTS AND TO CAST YOUR VOTE!
Before I continue with all the awards and card details there are two DT members that we have to say goodbye to today! Michelle and Jeni have decided to step down from the team to spend more of their time with their families and exploring new things over the summer. You both are super talented and supportive, have been such an asset to the team and I feel blessed to have worked alongside you. Ladies you will both be missed but I wish you all the best and look forward to keeping track of what you are doing by visiting your blogs.

Congratulations to all our winners this week

Our Masterpiece Award goes to #45 Bonnie O'Clair

Our Remarkables go to

#6 Christina C

#7 An

#8 Chris Olsen

#9 Karen Wallace

#24 Gini Cagle

#37 Nancy Bush

#56 Gry-Beate
Our weekly sponsor is D'Amour Allure

Our Monthly sponsor is PB Stamps

For my card this week I decided to use one of my favorite Elisabeth Bell images called Daisy. I just love the way she seems to be lost in thought....daydreaming! I think we all need to do that once in a while just to appreciate the moment....the here and now!

This is a closeup of the stitching. I had fun with this and am happy with how it turned out.

So who are you going to be wearing on the RED CARPET this week? Let's see all those fabulous designer gowns you have hidden away!!

 I chose this gorgeous black Vera Wang gown worn by the beautiful Mariska Hargitay...she borrowed it from me and I know will give it back for our RED CARPET evening!!! LOL

I can't wait to see what you all are wearing for the end of our celebration week. Oh and don't forget to get all the info from Priscilla's blog regarding voting for the Cardmaker/Crafter of the year!

Challenges

Sew Many Cards - Anything goes

Pixie Dust - Add a pearl

Practical Scrappers - Felt, Fabric or Tulle (Tulle under the ribbon)

Crazy Challenge - All things girly

Stampavie - Flower Power

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all the lovely comments you leave me each week.

Hugs,

Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC54) BBQ TIME!

Happy Tuesday!

Did you all enjoy your weekend and do something fun? I sure hope so. We had a parent/teacher meeting on Friday to see how Thijs had done on his SAT's and were so proud of him...he placed at the 99th percentile for reading and 88th percentile on his math...so it was a very proud moment for us. He is such a good student and the work seems to be easy for him so we are glad that he is doing so well. Next week he will graduate from Kindergarten, so we will be celebrating that!

Talking of celebrating, did you all enjoy the dance party over at MM? I know I did. Congratulations to all the winners of the door prizes....scoot on over to Priscilla's to find out who won!!!

Are you ready for more excitement this week.....let's take the fun outside and have a BBQ!! Here is one of my favorite things to have on the BBQ as I am not a red meat eater!! This is delicious!

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time: 25 min Inactive Prep Time: 2 hr 0 min Cook Time: 10 min Level: Easy Serves: 20 skewers
Ingredients
Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
20 wooden skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes
Vegetable oil, for grilling
Butter lettuce leaves
Fresh cilantro leaves
Directions:
Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, and curry powder in a shallow mixing bowl, stir to combine. Place the chicken strips in the yogurt marinade and gently toss until well coated. Cover and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at up to 2 hours. Thread the chicken pieces onto the soaked skewers working the skewer in and out of the meat, down the middle of the piece, so that it stays in place during grilling. Place a grill pan over medium heat and brush it with oil to prevent the meat from sticking. Grill the chicken satays for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until nicely seared and cooked through. Serve the satays on a platter lined with lettuce leaves and cilantro; accompanied by a small bowl of peanut sauce on the side.
Peanut Sauce:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons red chili paste, such as sambal
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
Directions
Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, red chili paste, brown sugar, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce, you may not need all of it. Pour the sauce into a nice serving bowl and garnish with the chopped peanuts. Serve with chicken satay.
Yield: 3 cups
Copyright 2010 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved
I hope you will all take the time to try this chicken satay and let me know how you like it!

Congratulations to all our winners who played along with last weeks sketch
Our Masterpiece Award goes to
#28 Guro
Our Remarkables Awards go to
#36 Grace
#37 Gry-Beate
#51 Barbara Anders
Our weekly sponsor is Stamp and Create

Our Monthly sponsor is PB Stamps

For my project this week I decided to reuse an acetate box from some Christmas cards.

I used this adorable Penny Black stamp called "uplifting!!"

As you can see I used lots of ribbon, buttons and gems to decorate it

Lots of layers on this one!

Here is what the box looked like to begin with and after I finished my project! I sure hope my friend likes it!

Challenges entered

Flutterby Wednesdays - paper piecing and butterflies

CraftyCatz - petals and pearls

Cute Card Thursday - Someone Special

Pollycraft - Summer Blooms

Pixie Dust Studio - Cut it out

Meljens designs - Flowers and blooms

La la land - Anything goes

Penny Black - Flowers

Your Next Stamp - Cut it out and pop it up

Pile it On - Photo Inspiration

One Stitch at a time - Anything but a card

WhoopsiDaisy - As you like it

Enjoy your day!

Hugs,

Charlotte

DOODLE DRAGON STUDIO CHALLENGE #10

Happy Sunday folks,
Are you all enjoying your weekend so far? Can't believe it's almost over and yet another week will be behind us, or a new one beginning whichever way you look at it. Where oh where are these weeks going to? Before we know it the summer will be here...although just lately it feels like summer has reached us already in this neck of the woods! Hot and humid already in May....I guess we are in for a record breaking HOT summer!

OK down to business, today is the next challenge for Doodle Dragon Studios and the challenge asks for you to make a Happy Birthday project using one of Dustin's adorable images. I made a card this week with one of Dustin's adorable dragons. Not sure why I colored it blue, but I guess you can color them any color you want to right! After all who says you can't have a blue dragon!!!LOL If you haven't been over to Dustin's lately you might want to keep an eye on his site as he will have a fabulous release coming later this week. The DT already got the images so keep checking back so you don't miss out on all his new digi's. They are super cute! Hope you will have a chance to stop by the challenge blog and play along with us...don't forget that you need one of Dustin's images to play, but he has many freebies available for you to grab one. You have until Saturday, May 29th to enter this challenge.
Thanks for stopping by!
Take care,
Hugs,
Charlotte

STUDIO313 HOTSPOT CHALLENGE - SHC2

Happy Friday Folks,

I hope you all have had a fun week and are getting ready for the weekend! This is just a really quick post for the next challenge over at Studio313 Hotspot, which asks for Psycadelic colors or bold, bright colors. Not sure if I have really accomplished that with this card but the colors are bright in real life! I used one of Shawne's adorable digi's called Molly, clowning around and made it into a birthday card. Just a really quick card as I'm running around like crazy this week.

Once again there will be a random drawing for 25.00 worth of products from the Studio 313 Exclusive Creations digi store, spend it now or later! You have 2 weeks to play in the challenge, you can combine it with any other challenge, it doesn't have to be a Studio313 digi (but you can definitely use it if you have one!)Link back to this post in your post or upload using keyword SHC2!
So whatcha waiting for.....go crazy and create something with the Psychedellic colors over at Studio313 Hotspot Challenge.
Have a fun day!
Hugs,
Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC53) PARTY ALL WEEK LONG!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Are you ready for another Midnight Madness challenge? I sure hope so coz...........

There's a party goin' on right here

A celebration to last throughout the years

So bring your good times and your laughter too

We gonna celebrate your party with you

(__)(_\_)(__)(_/_)(__)(_\_)(__)(_/_)

This is no ordinary week at the Midnight Madness.

Each day something different will be posted on the blog to keep the party going. To be eligible for the prizes, make sure you come back each day to see the new party theme and post another comment. Fly on over to Priscilla's blog to check out all the details.

Congratulations to our winners this week

Our Masterpiece Award goes to

#31 Nancy Brown

Our Remarkables are

#17 SuperNan

#35 Brenda

#52 Holly Miller

Our sponsor this week is The Stamping Boutique

Our Monthly sponsor is PB Stamps

OK now onto my card....this gorgeous image is from Stampin Boutique and is called "Swan Song" I had so much fun creating with it and am pretty happy with how it turned out! The image was colored in copics, the sky with chalks, and some areas were popped up on foam dots. I glazed over the water with diamond glaze to give a little shine.

On this close up photo you can see how pretty this image really is.

Priscilla's fancy sketched was just calling for lots of flowers, so that's what I did....put lots of flowers!!!

Well, I won't keep you from the party spirit but before you hop on over to check out all the details at Priscilla's hang out....check out my party dress!!!

"That's the way...ah huh ah huh I like it, that's the way ah huh ah huh I like it"....KC and the Sunshine Band!!

This is the one I would more than likely wear...living in South Florida in the HEAT!!!

This is the one I wish I had the body and courage to wear!!!! LOL

Hey, no harm in dreaming right!

Now go boogie on over to Priscilla's to check out all the real fun that is happening this week!

Have fun with the MM girls boogie-ing on down!

Hugs,

Charlotte

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

To all you wonderful Mother's out there in blog land....may your day be filled with sunshine and smiles and blessed with spending time with the ones you love. Enjoy your day!

Hugs, 

Charlotte

XXX 

GUEST DT OVER AT RAISE THE BAR!

Happy Friday Folks!

Have you ever entered a challenge and not realised that if you win you would be Guest Designer for the week? That's what happened to me last week when I was one of the top 3 over at Raise The Bar!!! I guess it really pays to read all directions/instructions! Anyway, even though this was a little rushed I managed to get it in just in time....Thanks Joni for posting it for me, and Thank you to all the ladies over there who chose my card to be a top 3!!  If you hop on over to Raise the Bar you will see this card there for Challenge #17 where they are asking for a Mother's Day Card. I made this one for my mother-in-law who is really the closest thing to having a real mom! In Dutch they use the word Moe for Mom, just incase you thought I rushed so much that I misspelled it! I chose this beautiful Elisabeth Bell image as my MIL loves to read and I can see her sitting besides the pool or relaxing in her favorite chair reading her book!

This is what the inside looks like!

I hope you will take the time to join in the challenge and have fun with all your creations.

For all those Mom's who celebrate their special day this weekend....Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Hugs,

Charlotte

MIDNIGHT MADNESS (MMSC52) IT'S OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Anniversary to Midnight Madness!

Today we reached our One Year Anniversary...whoo hooo.....can you believe it? If you haven't been over to Priscilla's blog yet you really need to go and check out everything that is happening over there.....watcha waiting for...fly on over and check out all the details, you'll be glad I sent you!!! 

If you aren't convinced yet, here is a small excerpt from Priscilla "It's all about our Players and Followers this month. If you have not entered our Blogaversay Jackpot Candy, be sure to click over for a chance to win a Candy Prize worth over $300.We will be celebrating all month! I would like to thank all of our players for giving us so much inspiration each week. Visiting your blogs has been a journey into enjoying your creativity, zest for crafting, and lovely works of heart. Those brief moments when we read about your projects and how they relate to your life, open a window for us to be a part of your family and for you to be a part of ours. We are treated like honored guest when we arrive at your blogs for our visits. It is truly a pleasure and an honor to share with you and have you in our circle of friends.

To get the celebration started, I would like to start out this month with a big thank you to our Consistent players and to honor them for their commitment to the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge. This group of ladies have played every sketch we have done (or have only missed a handful of them) since we started. We celebrate your love of crafting and enthusiasm for our sketch challenges with a special MM “Princess” logo. You are now an official member of the Midnight Madness Royal Court and hope you display this logo proudly. Would each of our new Princesses email me, I would like to send you a Royal Loyal Appreciation Gift. If you are new to this blog and would like to be eligible for this award and prize, you are more than welcome to start playing. If you can play every week till our 2nd year blogaversary, we would love to induct you into our Court...........Congratulations to the following ladies (*never missed a sketch!)

*Darlene, *Loz, Julia, Peggy Elms, Karen Wallace, Ger Stringer, Pam, Valarie Florer , Vicki Kertz , Sue Drees, Sandee, Grace, Lisa V, Teri Sherman

This week is also a sad one for the DT as we have to say goodbye to Chris, who is on so many DT's I really have no idea how she keeps track each week. Chris is one of the sweetest ladies you will ever get to know, she has a heart of gold and creativity to match, so there is no wonder why she is in such popular demand!! Chris, you have such amazing talent and such a kind heart, we hope that wherever your creativity takes you that you will be happy. You know the ladies here love you to pieces and will miss you, but will keep checking up on you to see what beautiful creations you will be gracing your blog with. Please join me in wishing Chris the best of luck on her future endeavors.

Congratulations to our weekly winners, Our Masterpiece Award goes to
#5 Karen Wallace
Our Remarkables Awards go to
#15 Grace
#29 Mrs Boz
#53 Holly Miller
Our weekly sponsor is Priscillastyles Store

Our May monthly sponsor is PB Stamps

My card this week was made using this gorgeous digi from Priscilla's store called Flying bird. I have to admit that my mojo is not where it should be right now so I am not completely happy with this card as I had wanted to make something really special and I don't feel I achieved it with this one! I will definately will use  this digi again.

Please stop by my DT sisters blogs to show them some love and don't forget to hop on over to Priscillas blog to get all the information regarding the fun stuff that's happening this month.

Enjoy your day!

Hugs,

Charlotte

DOODLE DRAGON STUDIO CHALLENGE #9

Happy Sunday folks,

Are you all enjoying your weekend? I sure hope you are. I'm off today to celebrate Koninginnedag with the Dutch club, the celebration of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. The Dutch club has a family day with fun things for the children and an Indonesian buffet and drinks for everyone. Last year we had a really good time and we are hoping this year will be just as much fun.

Over at Doodle Dragon Studios we are on challenge #9 which is a color challenge, pink, green and white. I chose to alter a notebook and make it into a journal using one of Dustin's fairy bears.

I colored fairy bear with copics, made some parts 3d with dots and added some stickles to give a little shine. I embossed the white cs and stitched around the edges too.

I used lots of leftover ribbon pieces on the side of the journal and lots of little flowers and gems. I hope you will join in with us this week.

Challenges

One Stop Craft Challenge - Anything but a card

Allsorts - Animals

polkadoodle - Alter it (I altered a notebook)

Enjoy your day!

Hugs,

Charlotte