Citius Altius Fortius

GO TEAM USA!

Hello my friends! I am truly excited! The  London 2012 Summer Olympic Games have begun.  We are so very proud of all the amazing athelets from all 204 countries!!  As expected the Olympians have kept us on the edge of our seats.  Last night I watched the US Women's Gymnastic Team rock the house! We have two great young ladies going for the all around.  Swimming has as usual been insanely good!  Michael, Collin, Ryan, Rebecca, and all of the other swimmers have just been a joy to watch.  Currently I am watching the 4 Man Skulls, the US is leading- good googley moo, the bodies on those dudes (okay, I'm losing focus)... Let's just move on to the card portion of the presentation, shall we?

Okay, so on to the challenge update.  Unfortunately, my very first challenge was a total flop.  But it's okay with me, no sadness.  There are many challenges out there and if you don't advertise (which I had no intention on doing) it becomes a shot in the dark as to if folk (and yes I mean "folk") will find you.   With that being said, I have decided not to do the Olympic challenge (bummer drag).  I had some really fun stuff planned but it doesn't really seem practical if no one enters.   However, that does not in any way diminish my spirit of posting my Olympic cards and crafts.  

Today I am posting a card that represents my country the good ole' US of A!  And what better way to rep. my country than by posting one of the new specialty Magnolia Stamps.  This little lady is called Liberty Tilda.  I purchased her at our local craftstore the Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie, TX for anyone local.  And of course you can always go to Magnolia-licious to find the newest and many older Magnolia stamps.   I hope you enjoy the card and get inspired to doing something representing your country or any country during these Olympic Games. 

Libby is still holding her tablet but she is such a talented babe, she's holding flowers as well.  You Go Libby!

Supplies:
Paper: Paula Deen (doesn't have name) I got it out of the Michael's $1.50 bins, you get 12 6x6 sheets of coordinating paper.  Poker-dot is an old My Minds Eye.
CS: Cream coloured based from my stash, dark brown from Hobby Lobby
Vellum: Michael's
Stamp: Liberty Magnolia, the "Liberty and Justice for all" is from Heartfelt Creations , the sentiment inside the card is something I made up and printed out on my computer. 
Inks/Markers: Momento Tux Blk and Rich Cocoa, COPICs from Rusty at Oozak
Dies: Magnolia Swedish Lace,  Spellbinders Nesti Labels Fourteen
Flowers: Roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts (WOC)  the other flowers are from the Wilton Cake decorating supplies and the blue flower is from the Crafty Scrapper.

Challenges :
My Mojo Monthly Your Style
Unique Crafters Challenge Blog Patriotic
The Outlawz Copic/Promarker Challenge Anything Goes
Fashionable Stamping Challenges Anything Goes
Hugz from Me

Count Down to the 2012 Summer Olympics Challenge

Hi everyone, 
Welcome to my first challenge! One lucky person will win a e-gift card to SATURATED CANARY  I'm keeping my fingers cross that it will go off without a hitch.
It's real simple, just make something DIRECTLY related to the 2012 Summer Olympics.  The entry can be a card, page, tag, box, altered art, etc.  You can represent any country, does not have to be your current home country or your native land.  Please say something about the country your project represents in your post and link the URL to your entry NOT your blog (this will make it easy for me to find your entry) in Mr. Linky (Inlinks).  Your entry must be a country that is participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics. For a list of participating countries click on this link Altius Directory . Only one (1) entry per person.  Your project can be no older than 7/17/12  There will be one (1) winner for the challenge.  Winners will be notified within five (5) days after the close of the challenge 7/26/12 at 11pm Texas CST time. You do not have to be a follower to enter the challenge.   I reserve the right to modify the rules as necessary. 

10 Days to Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics

OMG (TEN)10 days! to opening ceremonies...I am so excited; you would have thought I had a child or friend in the competitions!!!  I don't know why but I just get so excited.  I love, love, love the Olympics.  I love the Olympics some much that back in 1996 I made Christmas ornaments for each country that participated (I think it was 196 countries).  I still use the ornaments every Olympic year.  I'll try to dig out a photo on a future post. 
But now on to the opening ceremonies to my first ever challenge!   Next Friday 7/20/12 I will have the first challenge all about the Olympics, this one will end on 7/26/12.  Then the next challenge will run from 7/27/12 (Open ceremonies day) until midnight  Texas, US central time of closing ceremonies day.  The rules apply to both challenges: You can use any image or non-image, tag, bag, box, altered art, etc.; however, IT MUST BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE OLYMPICS!  ONE (1) entry per person.  You may represent your native country or any country you want but they must be a participating country in the 2012 Olympics. For a complete list of participating countries you can go to the Altius Directory .  You can also find out other information related the  Olympics. You must give some information about the country you are representing, the Olympics, inspiration, etc. (no you do not have to use all of the examples, just choose one).  Your project date can be no older than today 7/17/12 Tuesday (nothing from before today's date).  I will be setting up Mr. Linky, so your beautiful works of art can be displayed.  For the Olympic Count Down challenge there will be ONE (1) winner.  For the Olympic challenge there will be 3 winners (Gold, Silver, and Bronze).  Winners must collect their prizes within (Five) 5 days of winning otherwise another name will be choosen. I reserve the right to modify the rules as necessary.   

Okay so here we go!  Remember the Olympic Count Down Challenge starts Friday 7/20/12 and runs until 7/26/12.    Here is a little inspiration to get y'all started.  I made a treat bag.  These are a different take on an old favorite.  They are extremely easy to make and very quick, just in case you have to do a mass order (LOL).   I will not do an image for every day of the count down or the Olympics; however, if someone wants to donate their project in the spirit of the games as a featured artist; please e-mail me at mszbeasley99@att.net. Who knows, there may be a little somethin' somethin' in it for the feature donation.   

Alright y'all let's get it crackin'

Hugz from Me

Double Graduated Wing'd Card

Good Monday Morning everybody,
      I have been one busy lil' bee in the stamp lab.  As usual for a Monday, I have plenty to do before leaving for work.  So, today I am posting my double graduated wing'd card, that was originally done by Marianne from  Pion Designs.  Warning: this card was difficult to make and took me several days ( I think I got a little frustrated); however, I shall never be defeated by paper!! You can also see a version of this card on Lesia's site at Memas Crafts. Of course she is having a challenge...just thought I would give you a little incentive to hurry right on over there. She is always appreciative of the company and she gives awesome prizes too.   My inspiration for this card was that I love the vintage, antique look and you know anything lookin' like it has anything to do with France, is a sure win with me.  I found this awesome site thru Feline Playful  called La-De-Dah: My Mojo Monthly .  The young lady's name is Sarah, if you are  into altered art; you will love this site her work is hott! 

Supplies:
Paper: (turquoise and black) Hobby Lobby
CS: Stripped MME purchased at Hobby Lobby; black and white CS JoAnn's
Images: Mini Vintage collage sheet from Crafty Secrets
Flowers: Lg rose and small rose buds from WOC ; Multi coloured medium sized rose and lock from Prima The Crafty Scrapper
Punch: Martha Stewart
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Inks- Vintage Photo

Challenges:
Memas Crafts http://www.memascrafts.blogspot.com/ Anything Goes
My Mojo Monthly http://www.blueboxbabe.blogspot.com/ Your Style

COUNT DOWN TO THE SUMMER OLYMPICS BEGINS TOMORROW JULY 17, 2012!!! You'll want to come back, it's going to be a lot of fun!!!!!

Hugz from Me

Great Find at Hobby Lobby

What's up my folks?!
Wrote a blog about it, wanna hear it, here it go!!  Over the past weekend my car died (can you say BUMMER DRAG?)!   Oooh, I was madder than a nanny goat in a pepper patch!  I mean I was steaming mad!  Trapped in my house like a rat in a maze over the weekend!!!  However, just prior (like litterally) the day before this tragic event I needed something to put my scrap/play card stock (SPCS) in.  My SPCS is some CS that a nice lady I use to work with gave me (cleaning out her scraproom).  A friend of hers works for a paper company.  The employees are given all this paper and CS for their personal use (cleaning out the company's scraproom (lol)).  Well, I think the fire marshall threatened to shut my friend's house down if she didn't get rid of some of that paper and CS; so she found a willing victim (that would be me) to give all this paper and CS to.  Y'all I have CS galore! All shades and different sizes, from matte to shimmery, texture, smooth, two-tone and so on.  I put it in colour family order and had it in a cardboard box.  Well, the box like my last vehicle bit the dust over the weekend.  So I went to Hobby Lobby looking for a nice inexpensive basket to put the paper and CS in.  Instead, I found this darlinged chest.  It kind of reminds me of Tim Holtz's Vagabond. Annnnnnnnd...wait for it... I found a cutesee little stand to put the chest on so I would not have to break my back, lock up my knees, and tumble over headfirst from cutting off the circulation to everything from the navel up!   I tried to take pictures that would show you the inside of the trunk, not sure how well you'll be able to see but it is dagg-nabbit cool! It works perfectly. Underneath are scraps of paper (also separated by colour family).  It so wonderful to be able to go to a specific spot to find the colour you need.  I use to exhaust myself looking through thousands of scraps, looking for that one specific colour of a scrap piece of paper or cardstock.  Although this is my play paper and CS, I do use this for some of my cards that I post.  Now, I'm off to find something larger to hold the scraps.  The trunk was $35 and the stand was $29, didn't even need a coupon (they were on sale).  The trunk has a clicking hinge and holds itself in place.  Oh my gosh what a find!  Hopefully next payday, I'll get to buy myself another little goody. 

Hugz from Me
p.s. I had to purchase another vehicle, that's a whole different story, but a good one in the end.  Chat soon.

Just Piddling Around in my Stamp Lab

Hey Y'all,
    I usually have to have a card or some project that I am serious about before I blog.  Today, I was trying to put up more organizational type stuff, this time it was on the wall.  This is NOT a good thing!  Wouldn't you know, I put a hole in the wall (bummer drag) larger than it should have been.  So naturally, being the whimpy girl that I am, I cried. But my motto is that you can only cry for about five minutes, then you've got to suck-it-up and figure out how to fix the mess.   What I really had to do was to figure out how, one- I was going to tell Bigg Daddy (that's my lovee) how I put a hole in the wall and two- that I bought something else for my stamp lab.   You see, Bigg rarely comes into the stamp lab (aka the Girl Cave).  So, I figured by the time he makes his rare appearance into the lab; the Making Memory Shelf thingy would have been up for months and he would just believe as always-I had that for years, he just never paid any attention to it.   Well... now, like Lucy; I have some splainin' to do when Bigg gets home.  Okay, so now I have to kinda cheer myself up.  I saw this this demo thing I did when I was a Stampin' Up Demonstrator (disclaimer: scrap-lifted from somebody many Stampin' Up! years ago), that I never made anything out of and decided I would try it again.  No-I don't have anything in particular that I want to put it on; I just needed some kind of success in my stamp lab after the Making Memory- hole-in-the-wall fiasco.   Below you can see a picture of the original star fold thing and then the one I did this morning.  The thing is with this you need two-sided paper.  Well, I was in no mood to look for a piece of two sided paper; so I created my own.  I just glued a piece of black CS to some icky soccerball paper I got from Hobby Lobby years ago ( I have no clue what made me buy that paper; I don't like soccer and I don't know anybody other than David Beckham that plays soccer). Anyway, here is the finished product.  I will try to figure out how to make a PDF template and post it for anyone who wants to try it.  I have to say, this is only the second time I've attempted this and it went extremely fast, even with making my own two-sided paper.   I made the little white mat to put a message on.  I made it by making the hexagon shape, then I cut 1/8" off each side.  On the first starburst I used SU Bermuda Bay (retired) and SU background stamp French (retired).

Now, I'm off to see what other trouble I can get into, chat soon...Me

Heartfelt Creations - America the Beautiful

Hi my blogging buddies!
    One of my many favorite holidays is fast approaching-  the 4th of July!  Happy 236th Birthday  to the U.S.A!!!  Gosh, we're gettin' old (lol), but still looking good (well... at least most of the time). Yeah, we have had a few bumps, bruises, bandages, boo-boos, and blunders...you get the picture. But no matter what and certainly not taking anything away from anyone else's country- We are H-T-D!  Keeping America Beautiful!  You can see my card in the inspirational line-up over at Jackson's Digital Expressions clean and simple challenge going on this week 7/3/12-7/16/12.

My card is a tribute to the USA- I made this card following a Heartfelt Creations tutorial.  You know how when you do a tutorial, you want use the exact products and supplies the artist did?  Right, do it like they did it the first time, then put your spin on it; that is if your mind can contemplate doing the project ever again (hee-hee).   Well, as I read the ingredients, I realize that wasn't gonna happen this time (wouldn't be very cost effective for me). I gotta keep this addiction under control (especially, if I wanna buy more stuff! lol).  I substituted many things in the card that I had on hand and got as close as I could. I did order a few of the stamps used in the original card.  To find the ones I used and all the stamps used in the tutorial, be sure to visit  Heartfelt Creations Card Gallery, you will find some very inspiring projects for everyday and all occasions, as well as the uncontrollable urge to buy, buy, buy.  Emma Lou and the Heartfelt Creations Team are so very talented and always seem to have their finger on the pulse of what the scrapers and stampers need (translation = want).   Just a few things I want to let you know about my card- I inked the edges of the white panel and the flag with brown ink, I used SU Stampin Write markers to colour the flag (I coloured the stamp with the markers then stamped it on paper, then cut out the flag). The Autumn Leaves stamped flourishes number is AL3162 Flourishes v2. I used bamboo shoots from Sally's (yes, the hair supply store) for the flag pole.  I hope you will give it a try... come back soon, my very first challenge starts in a few weeks. 
And just to get those creative minds going, the theme will be "Celebrating the 30th Olympiad-Summer Olympics 2012". Details to follow, but that's enough to get you started.  Oh yeah, I guess I should tell you there will be a Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and Bronze Medal winner for the challenge.



Just for fun I am entering my card in the Mema's Crafts  July challenge "Anything Goes", were some lucky follower will have a chance to win some very cute digi stamps from Kenny K  Hint: they might come in handy in my challenge in a couple of weeks.

Supplies

Heartfelt Creations Stamps:

Ghettysburg Address

Red, White, & Blue (flag)

Patriotic Phrases Pre-cut Set

Bold Celebrate

Autumn Leaves Flourishes-small swirls

Paper/CS: Dk blue, Basic Brown CS- JoAnn's; Shimmer Red CS- Michael's;  Ivory CS-SU

Vellum paper- Michael's

Ink: Chocolate Brown Pigment ink (Michael's-Craft Smart brand); Real Red, Night of Navy, Chocolate Chip classic ink-SU

Other:  Silver Stars -Hobby Lobby and you can also find them at JoAnn's

Chat soon, Hugz from me.