Dueling Darlings - August

Welcome to summer!  Hot, hot, hot!  Do you remember that song from Buster Poindexter?!  Can you believe the lead singer from The New York Dolls ended up singing Hot, Hot, Hot?!  Talk about a change of genre!

Hot, hot, hot story.....when I worked corporate, there was a gal in our office that was funny as all get out.  If you happened to be in the office on a Friday afternoon, at random, she would play Hot, Hot, Hot on her computer and crank it!   You would be on the phone and hear 'Ole Ole Ole' and be like 'Um, I gotta go now'.  LOL  Now here you had some pretty serious and high paid individuals whoopin' and singin' Hot, Hot, Hot.   One time someone did not put their big shoe company executive (think swoosh) on hold and just put their phone down in their office, came back and the big shoe exec asked "Where are you?!"  He laughed when he was told "Our office".

Speaking of Hot, Hot, Hot our Dueling Darlings theme this month is It's So Hot...Let's Cool Off.   Judy, was our hostess this month.  She sent the most jam packed kit.  All sorts of hot things to work with.  Thank you, Judy!  I ended up using the Close To My Heart image Beach Babe, Margarita CP from American Crafts, a K&Company brad and some Cricut die cuts.

We were asked to share how we like to cool off in the hot summer.  It is our busy time of year for business, so we do not get to go as often as we would like, but love to go boating at the lake.  Nothing like a fast boat ride to take the heat off!  DH was just looking longingly at his water ski just the other day.    

Please check out the Dueling Darling creations just a click away on my sidebar.  I hope that you are all enjoying a fabulous summer!

Bikini Sophie

It has been a Riley kind of week!  This is the second card this week that I have created with Riley and Company stamps.  They are so fun to create with.  

There is a challenge going on at the Riley and Company Challenge Blog called Oceans of Fun.   My talented friend Kelly, is on their design team.   You really need to take a look at the wonderful cards the design team has created. 

With this, I had to join in the challenge!  The criteria was to have a Riley image, an ocean theme and the colors red and blue.   I decided that Riley needed a hot number to look at on their Hawaiian vacation, so I went with Bikini Sophie.   This trip, she is a wee bit of a lush and having cocktails!   Oh, Sophie!

I thought I would try a sketch challenge at the same time.   I had viewed a challenge on my friend April's blog that she joined and thought I would give it a go.   I went to Deconstructed Sketch and used the challenge sketch.

I had fun creating the card, thanks for stopping by to take a peek!

This card entered in the following challenge(s):  Riley and Company, Deconstructed Sketch, Craft Us Crazy



Oh No, Not The Diet!

I hope that you are all having a great weekend!   I had some cards to make, so have been a wee bit crafty.  Fun!

We have an older friend that recently found that their blood sugar was high.  You know what that means.....no more sweets and lose some weight.   She is actually really excited for the challenge, which is a perfect attitude.  

Having lost fifteen pounds thus far, we are proud of her!   Our friend claims that she does miss dessert occasionally, but it is not worth the outcome to have it.   I decided to send her an encouragement card, although she is doing so well she will probably have lost another ten pounds by the time it gets there!

Here is Diet Riley from Riley & Company.  Such a cute image.  I found the perfect sentiment at Create with TLC.   Check out their store....neat stuff!   Thanks, for stopping by!

Link to Creations

This card entered in the following challenge(s):   Riley & Co, Stamp Something Challenge Blog, Raise The Bar, Craft Us Crazy, Catch The Bug Challenge Blog

Calendar Girls - July

Fun stuff!  It's Calendar Girls time for July.   Thanks, for stopping by!

Our hostess this month is, Michelle.   She issued a challenge to us all to create a card with no stamped image.   Sentiments were okay to use and the rest was open play!

I have had my brother on my mind.  He had a tough week.  Work was hard, his water main broke and he had a terrible toothache on Sunday.  I guess that is three, so if the superstition is true then it should be over!

My brother really can make me laugh though.  He sent me a text that said he was taking 9,000 Aleve and in case he didn't make it, the pile of shirts at the end of the hall were dragged out of the closet by his new kitten, one at a time, and it hurt too bad to move and stop him but he did ask the cat to save him a shirt to wear to the dentist the next day!

With that, he needs a card for sure!   I found a sentiment from Create With TLC.  I thought is was perfect for my brother.   I dug through my DP and could not find just the right thing.   I then remembered that I received some cards in the mail for a donation made to the great organization Paralyzed Veterans of America.  I deconstructed the card to use the images for this card.   You cannot see from the photo, but the images are embossed on the paper, lending some texture.  I added some eyelets, hemp cord and distressing.

Please be sure and visit the other Calendar Girls via their blogs.  The links are to the right under Calendar Girls.   You are sure to see some great stuff!

Card entered in the following challenge(s):   OWH Stars & Stamps, Paper Pretties, Paper Sundaes, 2 Sisters Challenge Blog

Create With TLC Feature

Mystery Challenge Swap For June

It is time to let the July Mystery Challenge Swap from SCS out of the proverbial bag!  Our gracious hostess this round is, Paola.

Paola, sent the most adorable Penny Black image.  The image is titled High Spirits.   Along with our mystery image we received a sentiment from Studio G, Bella baubles and some punched butterflies.  The perfect kit to take flight on the challenge.

I hope Paola has had as much fun hosting as I did the previous round.   Thanks, for stopping by.

......by the way, wow do those colors photograph really bad!!!.....just sayin'.....

Dueling Darlings - July

I can hardly believe a whole month has gone by and my last post was for the Dueling Darlings in JUNE!  Oh my goodness.  It has been a busy month.  I hope you are all doing well!

We received the most darling Diva kit this month for the duel.  LJ, you outdid yourself!  The theme for July is Garden of Friendship.   The image is from My Favorite Things.

For my shared friendship, well I must say that I am truly blessed with many great friendships that could fill pages.  I could never just choose one! Would it be my brother whom lives miles away but that I can text one word to and he gets it? Would it be my DH who knows what I am thinking without words?  Would it be the Eye Batter who partied at 14 Sequoia and popped out the sunroof of my car to talk to a police officer?  Would it be my friend who is battling breast cancer?  Would it be my friend that we do not get to talk much, but when we do watch out no one could get a word in edgewise? Would it be the cute lady from Hong Kong that owns the Chinese restaurant we frequent, who always has a smile for me when I walk in the door? Would it be my cancer surviving friend who is on her Eat Pray Love tour to find herself with courage we wish we had? How about the cute 85 year old man on the corner that always forgets to close his garage door until I go tell him, but remembers when he rides his bike (yep) by our house and says "don't forget to close your garage door!".   Or would it be the great group of girls I have met online, that did not turn out to be axe murders from a story on Dateline?  I love those girls!

I enjoyed working with the theme and kit for this month's duel.  Please visit all the girls for the Diva's and the Dazzler's.  Their blog links are on the right sidebar under Dueling Darlings.  I must thank my friend Gael, for gifting me the darling carrot brad!

Dueling Darlings - June

Hello Campers & Nature Lovers!    No, I'm not crazy, The Great Outdoors is our theme this month for the Dueling Darling Dazzlers & Divas.  

We received our challenge and our great kit this month from, Barb.  There was so much outdoor goodness to choose from!   She was quite generous to say the least.  Thanks, Barb!

I have to say that I have become quite a foofy camper.   No thanks, on tent camping any longer.  Ever since the huge hole that ripped from wind in the six man tent, on a hella cold night on a Memorial Day Weekend back in the early 90's, DH and I have never camped again!  We bagged it mid night and slept in the car.  I don't think I have ever been so cold! We went home the next morning.  There was no room at the Inn with our other 15 friends who all had RV's and people crashing on their floor! We did love Prineville Reservoir, as we both grew up visiting there with our families.

Now in the younger teen years, I still cannot believe that we did this, but my girlfriends and I would just take off and go camp somewhere on the mountain.  Like no pre-planning or anything.  Dad's six man tent (yes, the one that ripped later).  My girlfriend, was in charge of eye batting.  This would be that we would get our campsite, usually after dark, and she would go eye bat and whala some guy would put our tent up for us.  It worked like a charm every time!   Now I would be scared to death to do that and would think we would end up on an episode of Criminal Minds!  How in the heck did I get my parents to agree to that?!  I must have fibbed a lot or something......?????

There were a group of us guys and girls that would go camping as well.   Our favorite place was Promontory Park.   It was within a half an hour of home and it was kinda like Cheers, there was always someone you knew there!   Our friend had a boat.   So we would load our stuff up and camp on the island.   Again, along came Dad's six man tent.  Well, there was that time that I forgot the tent stakes.  What a hassle that was! 

Both DH and I grew up fishing with our Dads at Promontory.   I would always catch more fish than my Dad - I am sure by design.  He would let me get a bunch of junk food at the store like the shoestring potatoes in a can, soda pop and candy.   I would eat it and be totally sick by the time we got home.  My Mom would be mad at my Dad and then we did the same thing next trip.   I guess I was never really cut out for junk food!

I will have to save the Cove Palisades stories for another time.  I promise that the Eye Batter and I did not mean to take her Dad's boat out after dark and race it.  Who knew that the back seat lifted up and it was a cooler?!   Now who would spend 50K on a boat back then with the chance of the Eye Batter finding the keys?  They should have known better!   LOL 

Well, on to the card for this duel.  I used the Bo Bunny DP, Whipper Snapper sentiment, Bo Bunny flashlight, fun brads and a button.  I had the tree die cut on hand from a LSS.   I loved creating with the kit. 

Please view the dueling ladies cards at their blogs.   The links to the blogs are listed on the right hand side bar of my blog titled Dueling Darlings.

Have a great day!