HAPPY NeW YeAr!

In celebration of the New Year I thought a look back at some of my favorite projects of the past would be fun. If you like what you see, please be sure to click on the left column to follow and visit me again in 2012!

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!

* 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!

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!!

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.

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!!

All That Scraps Blog Hop & Contests

Lots going on over at the ATS blog. Be sure to check it out soon. There are hops and new stamp premieres with lots of chances to win free stamps. I got totally confused hoping around the design teams blogs but it was a fun journey with lots of great inspiration. Check it outat the ATS blog!