LCOM Blog Hop RAK Winner

Will HEATHER come on down?

You are my blog hop RAK winner.

Please email me your address information and I will be happy to mail your RAK out to you.

A couple of Winter Reminders

This winter has been really strange.  We have hardly any snow and it has been very warm.  So it is understandable that I have forgotten a few of the rules of winter.  Yesterday's -30C with a windchill of -38 reminded me of a few of those very important rules.

1.  Always make sure your hands are very dry when you take out the recycling, damp hands on the screen door will freeze to it.  Thankfully, only a few layers of skin are still frozen to the door.

2.  The hydraulics on the car hatch will not work.  The hatch will come down and bang you on the head.

3.  Always make sure you have at least half a tank of gas if you want your car to start in the morning.

4.  Balaclavas are good things.  Who cares if it looks like you are going to rob a liquor store.

On a completely different note, the card sketch for week #17 has been revealed over at Let's Capture Our Memories.  It is a very versatile sketch and each of the card team came up with very different interpretations.  It gave me the opportunity to play with the McGill Paper Blossom punches that I have picked up recently.

All three day lilies were made using the McGill Paper Blossom punches.  I am loving these punches.  You punch out the leaves, colour and ink them, shape them with an embossing tool and assemble.  Each flower took about 10 minutes to make.  They have such a "wow" factor to them.

If you participated in the LCOM blog hop, make sure you check back into tomorrow.  I will be announcing who won my RAK.

LCOM Happy Birthday Crop & Blog Hop

Yay!!  It is finally time for the blog hop and LCOM Happy Birthday Card crop.  Are you ready?  I know I am.  I have my dining room table cleared off, lots of fattening snacks and lots of time to play this weekend.  Come join me at the LCOM forum for lots of inspiration to get you moving and grooving this weekend.  While you are there, make sure to check out the tutorial on making an easy card organizer to help you get organized and making your own handmade cards for the year.

If you have stumbled on to my blog today and are not part of the blog hop but would like to be, it starts HERE.

So without much further ado, here are the cards that I completed based on the sketches I chose to work on.  I did not complete them all.  It is my plan to work on the other sketches this weekend, just like you. :-)   

The first card is based on Jerusha’s sketch.   I used her secret element.  Each card has a secret element that may or may not be used by the designers that is worth an extra point if you use it on your card.  What could it be?  Flowers, cardstock, die cuts, ribbon, damask, distressing, bling, bows, etc. … there are so many options here to choose:

This card is based on Anita’s sketch.  I used her secret element as well…Can you guess what it is?

I used Susie's sketch for the following card and I also used her secret element.  This one is a bit of a tough one to figure out.  You might have to look closely at some of the cards completed for this sketch.

Last but not least, here's the sketch that I created,  If you go through all the blogs, you will be able to see everyone else's sketches; but, if you prefer one stop shopping, you can find them all at the LCOM forum.

 

I also have a secret element which I have used on my card below.  Can you guess what my secret element is?  

If you can guess my secret element and use it on your card or layout, you will get an extra point.  Make sure to check out the forum and the other blogs to see who has used it.  It helps in the elimination process…and who knows you might even get some hints.

You have until Sunday, January 23th at 8 pm EST to complete all 8 sketches.  For each sketch you complete and post at the forum, you will get one point.  If you used the secret element, you will get another point.  More points will be handed out for completing the card organizer. 

Even though this is a birthday card crop, you don't have to use a birthday theme.  You don’t even need to make cards.  If you chose to convert the card sketches to use to make a layout, that is fine as well.  The idea is to have fun, get creative and let the sketches inspire you.

Grab the blinkie below and when you are finished with all the sketches, let us know at the forum.  Winners will be announced on January 26th -- a first and second prize will be awarded.

As a thank you for visiting my blog and participating in the blog hop, I have a RAK up for grabs.  So what do you need to do to get a chance at winning it?  Just leave me a comment.  I will announced the winner on Wednesday, January 26th -- here on my blog.

Thanks so much for visiting.  You need to be heading over to Lynne's blog.  She has a lovely tutorial to share with you.

Just in case, you have gotten lost along the way, here is the hop order:

1. LCOM blog www.letscaptureourmemories.blogspot.com
2. Susie http://somanyscraps.blogspot.com/
3. Rusha http://www.ilovepapercrafting.blogspot.com/
4. Kimberly http://needalittlemuse.blogspot.com/
5. Lynne F. http://lynneforsythe.blogspot.com/
6. Sandi www.sandileescraps.blogspot.com
7. Joanne http://usinguptheprettypaper.blogspot.com/
8. Anita http://www.happypapercrafthappenings.blogspot.com/
9. Tanya www.tanyalsblog.blogspot.com
10. Monique http://monique-scrapsofme.blogspot.com/
11. LCOM blog www.letscaptureourmemories.blogspot.com

Making Flowers

I have been have fun making different flowers using the Paper Blossom punches from McGill the last couple of days.  Surprisingly making a beautiful flower is actually quite easy.  I, first, attempted to make a rose using the Floral Petals, Snowflake and Birch leaf punches.  My very first attempt turned out quite well.

Well, I had to play some more.  Another rose...ooo....what about a lilac or a hydrangea?   I love the look of both. 

This is just a sneak peak of the lilac from one of the cards for the Happy Birthday Blog Hop and Crop at LCOM.

Speaking of the blog hop and crop, the date has been changed to next weekend.  So please take note of the new dates and I hope that you can join us.

LCOM Card Sketch Reveal

Today, card sketch #15 has been revealed over at Lets Capture Our Memories Blog and the sketch is one of mine.  Hop on over to LCOM and check out the sketch and the card that I made.  The added challenge is to use the Panatone 2011 colour Honeysuckle.

Speaking of the Panatone colour, I had planned on making my card at the crop last Thursday.  Before I left for the crop, I took a quick peek at the colour and off I went.  By the time I got around to making the card in the late afternoon, Honeysuckle seemed in my mind to be more peach than pink.  I completed a lovely card based on the sketch only to get home and realized that I had used the wrong colour.  I am usually pretty good with colours but not this particular day. 

The next morning I scrambled to quickly reproduce the card but in the correct colour.  Since it was my sketch and my challenge, I should at least do it correctly. ;-)

Now I have two cards based on the sketch....here is the first "peach" coloured card:

Materials used:  Graphic45 pattern paper, Bazzill cardstock and Swiss Dot cardstock, Micheal's ribbon, Distress Inks, Memento ink, Copic makers, Ranger Stickles, Kaiser bling, Krylon 18kt. gold leafing pen, Heather's Stamping Haven stamp and pop dots.

To see the other card, you will have to head on over to LCOM.

Also, just a quick reminder about the Happy Birthday Crop and Blog Hop.  There will be prizes...even one here.

Have a good Monday.