LOTV Blog Candy

Woohoo...this is blogging worthy! LOTV is giving away 12, yes twelve, images in their candy that ends tomorrow.  So...hurry over NOW and enter your name.  I did!

New Year's resolution:  get some LOTV this year!!

OWH Veterans Day Blog Hop and Hero Arts

The nice folks at Hero Arts are asking cardmakers to submit cards for OWH. As an incentive they are giving away an awesome prize of new stamps made in collaboration with OWH! If you'd like to join the fun check links in the post below or visitHero Arts blog or upload photos at Hero Arts Flickr Group by November 14th.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Operation Write Home! Whenever I feel like I need to energize my creative batteries I sit down and make a few cards for them. I feel like it's my little way of giving back to those who sacrifice so much for us. Thank you, veterans everywhere...especially my uncles, friends, and father who passed away in 1987. Bless you all!!

Here's my card...

OWH Veterans Day Blog Hop 11-11-11

OWH is having a blog hop in honor of our veterans. Be sure to check it out this Friday! The hop features 11 of the biggies in papercrafting: Ranger, Prima, Basic Grey, Tombow, Tonic, Studio Calico, Hero Arts, Copic, Sizzix, SRM Stickers and May Arts. Sounds like lots of fun so go ahead and hop on over to the Stars and Stamps blog to begin.

Check out the fun and prizes!

Hop Over to the Lily Pad to Win Hero Arts

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards today! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15.

This is a new site I've grown to love. The little blue guy is a hoot and there are lots of fun videos and challenges to enjoy. I hope you check it out...you can click on the blue frog and it will take you there. Easy peasy!

Stamper's Dream Blog Hop

I rarely suggest a bloghop or blog about one (other than OWH) but this one was so enjoyable I wanted to share it with my visitors. If you have a few minutes and want lots of terrific inspiration Stamper's Dream is sponsoring a hop and has some terrific candy to share. Check their blog to get started. I promise, the cards and projects you see are very inspiring!
Here's a peak at their candy:

You have until Thursday, June 16th to comment for a chance to win!

Bling It Emerald Faery Challenge

Hurry over and check out the 2nd challenge on the new Emerald Faery Garden challenge blog. You have until June 15th to upload your entry which could win you a terrific prize. The theme they've chosen for this challenge is "bling".

To "bling" my 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" card up a bit, I added several faux pink crystals with lots of diamond Stickles. The sparkly circle around Ally & Beeble was first given a rub down with a pale pink stamp pad then slathered it in tons of Stickles and allowed to dry. I moved on to my Whimsy Sentiment Tickets which were stamped with Ranger Distress Ink in fired brick and outlined in more Stickles. I handmade the large cardstock rose and gave it a dousing of diamond Stickles too. It always turns out my preferred form of "bling" is wonderful Stickles...I just LOVE the stuff!
To add a little more sparkle and shine I added Glossy Accents to give Beeble some dimension & my pink daisy a dewy look. The wings had a coating of Stickles and Glossy Accents! I used dimensional foam tape and squares to give Ally and my glittery circle a little interest and "lift".
The digi image was colored using the following Copic markers:

skin - E0000, E50, E00, R11, R20
hair - E0000, Y00, YR21
flower - R00, R11, R20, R22, G20, G82, YG00
clothes - B91, B95, C1, C3, RV25
wings - E0000, BG0000, RV000, B00

...a couple tiny Prima rosebuds nicely accent my handmade rose!
I'd also like to enter this in the following challenges:
Crafty Catz #84 Pink & Green Challenge which ends June 2nd.

* OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop *

Happy hoppin' cardmaking friends! I wanted something very special for the Memorial Weekend OWH bloghop so I decided to draw my own image. The cute little bear was a breeze to sketch but a "bear" to color with Copics. Can you believe it took about an hour and half to color this simple looking bear? The bear measures approx. 3" x 3" and is double matted & pop-dotted on an A2 size card. The paw with real tissue was also pop-dotted to give some fun dimension. The nose, eyes, & tear were coated with Glossy Affects for a wet look. Please leave me a comment or email me at rba0422@gmail.com if I can provide coloring info. on the copics used.

I hope you enjoyed my little original creation destined to travel to some far off sandy place to help some young hero stay in touch with home. Please follow my blog and come back soon, oh and do leave comments...I love hearing from fellow cardmakers.

Please be sure to visit COURTNEY who has another great card for your enjoyment. AND...most importantly...get crafting cards for the troops!

Now...hop on and have a great time!!!

((Grrrr on Blogger my little bear says! If comments aren't working try this on your rounds...jot comment in the box, then click pull down menu next to "comment as:" , and select name & URL...it really allows you to comment and links back to your blog!))

Update - Glory beeeee....the FOLLOWERS list has reappeared! I hope you'll "follow" my blog so you can stop back for a visit soon. Thanks for stopping!

BLOG CANDY WINNER!

Congrats to Pookie for winning the Emerald Faery blog candy in celebration of the Emerald Faery blog hop a week ago. Pookie, if you're stopping by...kudos and thanks for playing!!

Visitors...click on the Emerald Faery stamp to go shopping or visit the blog!

Emerald Faery Blog Hop Release Celebration

Hi bloggers! It's time again for a couple of super sweet Emerald Faeries to make their debut at Deb's Creations. If you arrived here from Anita's, you're on the right track...if not hop on over to Julie's blog and start your engine!

Please join me in welcoming the two newest additions to the growing Emerald Faery family...go ahead and hop on over to check out the latest releases exclusively available from Deb's Creations! They are available now in digi format and for pre-order in rubber. These sweet little creatures are the brainchild of wonderfully talented Australian illustrator and animator, Linda Catchlove. Is that not the perfect name for someone who creates these amazing little faeries? Ahhhh...wouldn't you just love to have one of Linda's paintings? A girl can dream, can't she? Lucky you can get one of the digital Emerald Faeries of your liking. The rules are easy:

1. Follow my blog.


2. Leave a comment on this post since I don't have one of those blasted frogs.


3. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment on this post with your email address.


4. Come back April 22nd (my birthday) to see if you won!

Go ahead and hop on now. Here's a list of the design team members in my group:

Julie

Trudi

Anita

Ronda (you're here)

Louise

Nancy

Deb M

Deb P

Donna

If you'd like to sneak a peak at the other design team group, tip-toe on over to Natalie's blog and get started there too!

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance at my blog candy!!

Wowza...Easter Blog Candy

Angela at Angelwood is sharing some rather amazing cards and crafts by herself and daughters. Boy oh boy...those gals have talent!! If you scoot on over to Angela's blog she also has 3 huge sets of blog candy to share also. Be sure to visit soon...her candy ends a week before Easter on 4/16/2011

News-Worthy Week!

The highlight of my week was coming home to a package from fellow artist extraordinaire, Leslie Avila. Leslie made me a wonderful beachy colored canvas collage that is as extraordinary as she. Thank you and HUGE smooches out to this sweet gal.

My beautiful collage is covered with interesting things to see...painting, stamping, flocking, beading, sewing, piecing, Swarovski crystals...I could go on and on. It is amazing and I will treasure it forever! Can you believe she made this for me??? Do yourself a favor and visit Leslie's blog sometime soon!

It has been a whirlwind week...running with my MIL to appts. and lunches with she and her delightful sister and dinner with my galpal, Bonnie plus planning and scheduling a last minute cruise to the Virgin Islands for hubby & I next month!! Woohoo! We have been wanting to visit Mazatlan in Mexico for 2 years but it just wasn't in the cards with current oil prices making airfare so expensive. We opted for something that was a better value and included meals!! Oh my, on our last cruise I actually got tired of eating but this a shorter one so we should be okay. All that is left to plan now is return airfare and one night hotel...sheesh...what a relief.

From that to blog candy...http://cardsbyrbowen.blogspot.com/ Check out fellow Magnolia-licious member, Rene's, blog candy for a $20 gift certificate to the Magnolia-licious store. Hurry over to check it out...the contest ends 3/11!


Well, I hope you had a chance to read my post below about my granddaughters' Valentine card which was inspired by the wonderful photo from ABC DT Challenge blog. I was thrilled to peek in on the blog this morning to see I won first prize and a gift certificate!! Woohoo!! Big thank yous to the ABC DT!

A Sneak Peak of the Emerald Faeries...

Oh my! Excitement is brewing over at Deb's Creations. Two new Emerald Faeries will make their debut on March 15th! Here's a little teaser of what you will see...

If you have a sec hop on over to the Emerald Faeries' Facebook page here. OR if you'd like to shop and chat it up with other friends of Deb's and folks who also love the Emerald Faeries check out Deb's Creations page by clicking this link. When you're finished and totally in love with the faeries, like me, you'll want to head over to Deb's Creations store to start buying a faery or 2, or 3!!

Here's a little slideshow of some of my Emerald Faery creations...please enjoy!

This selection of cards were created from the current collection of Emerald Faeries that are now available for purchase at Deb's Creations storehere. You'll have to have them all!!

Keep checking back for blog candy I will be posting in the next day or two :-) I can't wait!

Blog Candy Galore

I thought my fellow bloggers would be sharing less candy at this busy time of year. Whew! Was I wrong?? There's so much Christmas candy out there...its amazing. If you take a look at the Freebies & Candy section of my sidebar, you'll see I've added lots for you to visit and enter.

Hey...while you're at it, click on Melanie's candy that ended 11/30 and see who won!!! Yeppers...you really can win these things if you stick with it. I can't wait for my box to arrive. It has 2 new Magnolia stamps in addition to lots of cool Christmas goodies.

Coffee Cup Cozy And The Winner Is...

IF you love coffee like me and frequent coffee shops or are looking for a cool gift for those who do, you may want to stop over to a Split Coast Stampers for an ingenious cozy tutorial. After that, join me in moving over to Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy a few of these
to go along with my gift cards and cozies. What a super gift for friends who love hot beverages!

Thanks to one and all for visiting and following my new blog. I've had the blog for a long time but only began using it in July of this year. It has come a long way since then, don't you think? Special thanks go out to my friend and former design team member and leader Karen for her encouragement and blog template links! I hope she starts her own blog someday too...the girl is very talented!

And the winner of the OWH blog hop candy from November 13th is #12 - Christine from Florida! HUGE congrats Christine!!!

OWH Valentine Blog Hop & Christmas Candy

Hello and welcome to my blog! You're reading right, we're having a Valentine bloghop to celebrate Veteran's Day Week and to get folks thinking about the next big OWH deadline. Valentine cards are due no later than January 7th. so it's time to take a break from your Christmas holiday crafting and join in new fun for a good cause! If you arrived here from Lisa's blog, you're in the right spot so read on for lots of fun and a link to your next stop.

**Please remember cardmakers...the deadline has passed for 2010 Christmas cards. They are NO longer being accepted for 2010. OWH is accepting Valentine cards through January 7, 2011. If you'd like to participate in Archway Cookies Valentine card challenge to match cookie per card, the deadline for entry is December 1st. Be sure to visit OWH here for more details...

To thank you for stopping by my blog I'm offering a little Christmas candy! Please spread the word to other blog hoppers to stop in and check out the goodness.

Qualify to win my blog candy with these easy steps:
1) See the left sidebar to follow my blog.
2) Leave a comment with your email address.
3) Blog about or post my Christmas candy photo on your sidebar AND/OR mention it and OWH on your blog.
4) Check back here on December 1st to see if you won.
5) Sorry, this is not available to international bloggers.


Please support Operation Write Home and vote daily! This worthy charity is in the top 3 in Joann Stores Craft for a Cause celebration and needs daily votes. So please be sure to stop by Joann's and cast your vote today. Thank you friends and God Bless the USA!!

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog and will visit again! Please be sure to hop on over to Nancy's at Scrap Happens! and see what fun she has in store for you.

More Yummy Candy at Angelwoods...

Check out the wonderful batch of goodies offered up over at Angelwood's Crafting Corner. I did! This one ends on November 30.

Here's what you could win:
Magnolia stamp - Tilda With Birdcage
Magnolia stamp - Dangling Tilda
Magnolia stamp - Wedding Singer Tilda
Inky Impression stamp - Cowgirl Lili
Sweet Pea stamp - 1 stamp unmounted from Plate 21
Sugar Nellie stamp - Blossom
Bildmalarna stamp - Wedding couple
Paper Makeup stamp - Swirlie tree
K&Co Mat pad - Berry Sweet
K&Co cupcake embellishments
Cookie cutter button embellishments
Various colored stick on gems

Burtonesque Dolls Design Team Call

So you thought you'd seen the last of Halloween, eh??? I think its a lot like Halloween everyday over at the Burtonesque Dolls blog!
It must be that time of year because I'm seeing more and more design teams calls. Check it out over at the Burtonesque Dolls Blog. Here's my entry...
This call ends on November 12 so get your booty over and link up a photo of anything you'd like that shows your abilities. This looks like a fun group!


After you finish there be sure to head right over to Jacque's Blog for a chance at some extra blog candy as she celebrates her "Pink Journey". This one ends on Sunday, 11/7...and be sure to check Jacque's other candy on my sidebar.

Orchard Fun and OWH Blog Hop

Have you ever seen such unusual pumpkins? My granddaughter wanted to take home the wartful jack-o-lantern for her own. The little gal has an eye for the unusual. After I told her we couldn't take the already carved one covered in warts she ran straight to a oblong yellow pumpkin. We finally settled on some rather cute pie pumpkins and a big one for carving. Oh, and we had to take home just one cider donut!

Sorry, there was no time to blog yesterday so I only uploaded these great photos of my oldest granddaughter having fun with me at Milburn Orchard. Who'd imagine a little girl running around an apple orchard in a dress on a 75 degree day just before Halloween? The dress part her choice but 75 degrees here on the East Coast, who'd guess?

I just signed up to participate in the OWH blog hop for Veteran's Weekend on 11/13. Please keep eyes peeled for more information and snag yourself a badge and link it to OWH with this... http://operationwritehome.org/bloghop. Stop back soon to read about the coming fun. I'll be offering some fun blog candy!!

Ranger Giveaway and Kellie Winnell Blog Candy

Check out the photo of Ranger Products' Halloween bags I snagged from their blog. Ranger is offering a giveaway for your comments on what to put inside their Halloween bags. Click the title above to head over and leave your comments but hurry...winners will be announced Wednesday!


Blog candy doesn't get better than this 2010 Magnolia Christmas Collection. Be sure to head over to Kellie Winnell's blog for your chance to win!

This one ends November 11th...winner announced Nov. 12th. Good luck!!

Tiddly Inks Blog Candy

What can you say besides Y-UM!! This is some special blog candy. If you've wondered where to find a sweet goth girl...this is the spot to shop for digis!

Be sure to visit Tiddly Inks to enter by Nov. 4th.