Memorial Day

I hope each of you has time planned for hanging out with the fam and scrapping over this holiday weekend here in the states. I am planning to make a ton of cards for a unit serving outside of Kandahar, Iraq, so that everyone gets a card on the same day at mail call! Just a little way of saying thanks to all the men & women who serve or have served to allow our freedoms to remain intact and it's because of their sacrifice that I would like to challenge you all to remember your military on Monday.

Whether here in the states, or in another country, we all have a military that is full of young men and women that are giving up a normal life. So... I challenge each of you to be the one who speaks up on Monday, at whatever event or gathering you attend. Be the one who reminds everyone what Memorial Day is really for. Be the one who says no matter what your opinion of the war efforts, today is for supporting our troops and their sacrifice... keep the protests and the discouraging remarks for another day, today is to remember that we are all here because of the lives they graciously give up to serve. May our vets, active duty and reserves be held in the hand of God on each and every day.



If you feel drawn to support the US soldiers, consider joining me at Soldiers Angels . They offer support services on many fronts, from sending care packages and cards to providing soldiers for adoption and more one on one support, and the vets and wounded are never left out of their services either! Their work is a blessing to the men & women in uniform, and they could use our help. Here is what the Dodge dealers, Zac brown Band and Soldiers Angels are doing together to support our troops...



If you'd like to help by donating cards of encouragement to the unit in Kandahar, send them to me, leave me a comment and I will get you my address. Then I'll add your cards to the package I am sending!

Coming from a family with a military background, I am even more blessed to have heard first hand and seen the sacrifice of a soldier. As I get older I realize that the freedoms of belief that I am afforded are primarily becasue soemone fought for them. The reason I can vote, worship, think, speak and live on a daily basis is because a soldier wrote a check for an amount "up to an including their life". Thanks to those I know who serve, have served or have given the ultimate gift to the freedoms my daughter has. It is because of you that she is allowed to dream as big as she can, and do so while believing in the Trinity, speaking her peace and living each day without fear while she gets an education she would not be afforded in many countries. I love each of you for your sacrifice.

Happy Memorial Day, now go, thank a soldier!

Color Challenge

These cards are for the Color Challenge over at Scrapmaster's Paradise! I needed some thank you cards, and this was just the push I needed to make them!





Now, what will you do with that? Don't forget to put your link in to be eligible for the prize!

CropStops Die'ing for You

For today's Die'ing for you over at CropStop I am encouraging you to use those BIG die cut papers with some smaller hand cut shapes, and do that on a two-pager!

Challenge #20 for CropStop- Dress it up!

This week's challenge over at CropStop is to dress up a very casual paper with a really nice paper. I used a bird print by Senic Route that has a light grid print behind the birds with a tone on tone velevt print paper (I forget who created this lovliness, though!) and some vinyl flowers from AC with the paper flowers that match the bird paper and a few primas, and a dressy trim (thanks Vicki, love it).

I also challenge you to use those pics that are not perfect, especially when they are all you have from a specific event.

So go forth and put the pearls on with denim...




I have a bit more for you... if you participate in this challenge, or in another weekly challenge from the month of May, upload your creation to the CropStop Gallery, link it back to this post... I will draw for a prize the first week of June. It'll be a good one too, since the scrappy convention is here that weekend!

Up to the Challenge

So I really enjoy finding challenges and creating LO's and cards for them. So, I hope you join me in visiting some of the forums who run challenges and get active. They are definitely a fun way to "scrap out of the box" and to find creative ways to use things that you might not have thought of before!

Here are a few of my recent challenge creations...

The Gilligan challenge was to alter a frame with a summer/beach/tropical theme, use some sort of fiber/ribbon/rope and have a bit of red (for Gilligan's shirt)
They started looking like this


This was the finished look


The Fairy Tale Challenge is for DT at the LSS and we were given a half sheet of the forest paper, one brown 12x12, then about half the stickers on one of those sheets, a length of ribbon and 4 brads. I added paper from my scrap pile, Sparkly fluff and a bit more ribbon.


The Denim is Not Just for Wearing Challenge was to use denim on your LO, and I combined it with a challenge to use at least 3 pictures and put them on a slant.


The Altered Recipe Jar Challenge was to alter a jar, add the recipe for what was inside and create a card to go with it.



There are a TON of places to find challenges out there! My favorites are:

CropStop- They have challenges and projects each week that range from embossing to copics. They are friendly and fun and have great products in their store. (some Blog Candy just for you... use code LisasBlog to save 10% on $30+ purchase)

Serendipity- They are really busy and could overwhelm you if you are new or prefer not being hit with so much all at once. They run a daily challenge, a few weekly challenges and more.

If you are looking for random other places for challenges, blog hops, online crops and such visit this site. That is where I found them both and more!

Here are a few more of the projects from this last week of creating...

a display title for CropStop


the left...

and the right of a Christmas '09 DLO for a scraplift challenge


A few birthday cards



Hope you will all join me tomorrow over at CropStop when I post the Challenge for the week and hang around for more every day after that!

Winning is AWESOME!

The past few weeks have really been CRAZY! A big hop with CropStop for National Scrapbook Day, a big hop with Just My Sketches for Mother's Day... WHEW! There were lots of hoppers and tons of inspiration! Thanks to all the organizers & blogs that participated! Now to get on with it... here are the random number assignments and the winners that Random.org picked.....

Followers:
1 Helen
2 Elaine K
3 Shalini
4 Vicki
5 Angela Khan
6 Nicole
7 goatesgirl -----> Winner!
8 Stephanie
9 Lynn M
10 Anneliese
11 Sandy

NSD with CropStop Comments:
1 Linda
2 Tante Käthe
3 Anneliese
4 Rose
5 JulieAK
6 Rebecca -----> Winner!
7 newfiecrafter
8 jennifer
9 Kim
10 Beedoodle
11 Vicki
12 Nicole
13 Elaine K


Double Hopper:
1 Vicki
2 Angela Khan
3 Nicole -----> Winner!

JMS Mother's Day Hop Comments:
1 Helen
2 Beedoodle
3 Shalini
4 Vicki
5 Angela Khan
6 goatesgirl
7 Nicole
8 Stephanie
9 Sherri
10 Carla -----> Winner!
11 Lynn M
12 Gramjak
13 anazelia
14 Julie
15 Jean Marie
16 Sandy
17 Julie

BONUS Prizes!!! One entry for each commentor:
Name
1 goatesgirl
2 Carla
3 Sherri -----> Winner!
4 Vicki -----> Winner!
5 Jean Marie
6 Sandy
7 Helen
8 Shalini
9 Gramjak
10 Julie -----> Winner!
11 Stephanie
12 Lynn M
13 Angela Khan
14 Julie
15 anazelia
16 Nicole
17 Beedoodle
18 Rebecca
19 JulieAK
20 Elaine K
21 newfiecrafter -----> Winner!
22 Anneliese
23 jennifer
24 Rose
25 Kim
26 Linda
27 Tante Käthe -----> Winner!

Then just because i know how much work it takes to put one of these hops on I wanted to add a few prizes for the hop-stops during the CropStop & JMS hops:

1 Zarna
2 Vicki ---> Winner!
3 Veronica
4 Stephanie
5 Stacy
6 Spharda
7 HJ ---> Winner!
8 Annmaree
9 Anneliese
10 Ann
11 Ana ---> Winner!
12 Monique
13 Melanie
14 Margie
15 Lynn ---> Winner!
16 Lesley
17 Julie
18 Jessica ---> Winner!
19 Janice
20 Gloria
21 Elisabeth
22 Deanne
23 Dalis
24 HJ

Now that the winners are all picked I will be trying to contact each of you... but if you find that I have not found you, feel free to PM me with your address on CropStop or Serendipity (I am Lisanj_2003 on both or email me with that name and an at sign then yahoo period com). Have a fabulous Day and join me tomorrow where I will post what i worked on over the weekend! TTFN!


(The random order of numbers is based on a random sort using excel filters on comments, dates, names and the winner picked using the number each person was assigned was done by Random.org. Any prizes not claimed will automatically go back into my prize box for the next round--- Complaints may be filed with your local trash collection department. Ha!)

Spring Photos

Just wanted to share a few spring photos that I have taken...

Orchids at the Junior Livestock & Plant Show


the snow on the blooms the second day of spring


The Whirlyball game at a birthday party



and a few LOs that I have done...








Hard to believe this little one is finishing up her freshman year!



My question for you is do you pull inspiration on the colors fo your LOs from the pictures? Do you scrap non-people pics?

HAVE YOU HOPPED with JMS yet? If not see the details in my post from 5/9 (just scroll down one)!

Celebrating Mothers Blog Hop

At JMS the DT love our mums/moms and to show our appreciation for everything mothers do we are celebrating mothers in our blog hop this week.
The hop officially kicks off at 9 am (NFLD time zone), and ends at Midnight (NFLD time zone).

There are 18 stops along the way, some have blog candy up for grabs (but you'll have to find them for yourselves we don't want to ruin the fun!). In your travels don't forget to collect the words to complete the quote and take it back to Just My Sketches & the Blend to enter the major prize drawing worth $30!

If you have only just found the blog hop, go back to JMS to the start. If you have been hopping along you will have come from Lynn M and your next stop will be Lesley.The words you need to collect from me are:

SONG

Now for my Mother's Day JMS Hop RAK, leave a comment on this post to tell me you are a follower for 1 entry! If you post your creation over at the CropStop Gallery by the deadline with "Mom Hop" in the title you'll get another entry! I will draw for the prize on Monday the 17th and post the winners here that evening!

If you hopped with CropStop & I on NSD, then you are eligible for a chance to win THAT hop's RAK, a special "Double HOP" RAK and the one for the Mother's Day HOP! To get in on the Double Hop Rak, add a comment with "Double Hopper" in it. Those winners will also be posted here on the 17th!

Here is my creation, I chose Baby Mine as my inspiration

and am using the words Never to Part as part of my title:

If the papers, flowers and punched border look familiar, they are! This is the right page in a two page spread combined with the LO I created for the NSD hop with CropStop


Don't forget your next stop is Lesley.

Today is the 7th... and time for my big reveal! The blog hop for NSD is almost over and you should be sure to link your creation back to the CropStop NSD post before the deadline!



You could win this fab prize pack...


Also be sure to join me back here on Sunday for another hop with an awesome grand prize and RAK's along the way!

Ink & Stamp Spot

The Ink & Stamp Spot for CropStop is all about using your stamps to enhance a LO! I was the lucky recipient of a whole ton of unmounted stamps and in that there were a few postage stamp and telegram stamps that I have been waiting to use. So when I came across the shaped paper that is all stamps I knew I had a winning combination!



In my sneak peek you saw the stamp of the truck, hand cut out, colored in with a white, black and silver Signo pen and "loaded" with buttons and two of the postage stamp images. The large blue telegram image was hand cut, and the smaller was crumpled several times to give it a bit of age and dimension. I added a postage stamp image with the telegram, but turned it, so that the same portion of the image was not seen there as in the truck. I also turned one that is in the upper right grouping. The added touches of those stamps make the LO really come together.


On the tag (I couldn't get a great pic of it) there is a haiku that reads:

God packed a big box,
then He sent it out next day.
The clouds unpacked snow.

I challenge you to dig through your stamp and paper collections and find something that you can tie together with pictures and a title. Stamp on cardstock, or on patterned paper, trim out or cut it out by hand and add it to the LO! That should save you some green on embelishments!

Here is the sneek peek for the hop today...

If you have not hopped with us for NSD, make sure you check it out here and be sure to post your creation back on the NSD Hop post Cropstop blog by the deadline. (also, be sure you check out the details at every stop, you could win a RAK from the stop host! Here you could win TWO!

Don't forget that we are hoping again on Sunday!

Have you hopped?

So with all the hopping going on, I am curious. Have you hopped?

Have you visited every stop and collected the items you need to include in your LO? If you have have you posted the link to your creation at the CropStop blog on the NSD post? Have you commented here on my original post?

If not... WHY? You could WIN this fab prize and a RAK or TWO from me!!


So get hoppin' and come back here tomorrow for a stamped creation and on Friday to see my hop creation!

And don't forget...

H-O-P

H is for the happiness that scrapping, stamping and overall creating brings me!
O is for the out-of-this world fabulous peeps I have found through scrapping!
P is for the perfect time to hop from blog to blog!

So, if you are here to hop, click HERE. The NSD blog hop for CropStop is still open for entries, but be sure you link it to the CropStop blog hop post is midnight, Saturday, May 8, 2010, DST. All you have to do is post a link here to be eligible for this fab prize:


My creation is not up and I have been posting sneak peeks, so be sure you come back on the 7th to see the full LO! Then on Sunday, I will be posting the creation for the Mother's Day blog hop. I used the sketch and items from the CropStop hop for the left side and the Sketch and quote for the JMS Mother's Day hop for the right side. Today's peek is from the LO on the right


don't forget...

Hop, Hop, Hop... Day 3

Happy Monday everyone! Wow, how can it be that we are already to May 3rd, when yesterday it seems we were still in March? Hopefully, most of you have hopped on through, and are working on your creations for the CropStop NSD Blog Hop. If you are looking for those details click HERE and don't forget to jot down the code to save you BIG on all the shopping over at the CropStop Store! Don't forget, Mother's Day is Sunday, and with that coupon code the fam could treat mom well!!

Here is another sneak peek of my creation...this page goes on the left...


and since we are hopping again next weekend, here is a peek of THAT creation, (which just happens to go on the right)!


I have a 3rd peek, just for you blurfers (that'd be a blog surfer) out there! On Thursday, the full LO and the challenge will go up!

(sorry for the awful resolution on that one though, my camera has bit the dust and I had to snap it with the phone! BUT, since I am frugal (no, I am flat out cheap)I rarely buy my "dream model" of camera/applicance until I truly NEED it, I am hoping that my hubs will take me camera shopping for my birthday! I told him about the camera and he commented that I was not allowed to buy one! I guess I should decide what I really want in an SLR and give him specifics!

So, I must run, time to work... but don't forget...

Day 2 of the National Scrapbook Day Hop!

If you are stopping by to hop along the CropStop trail then scroll down to the post from yesterday! The details are all there and there are details on the HUGE prize pack and the RAKs you could possible win!

I don't know about you but I LOVE prizes!) There is also a code for those of you who who love to SHOP! Be sure to read all the info on how to be included in the drawings!Don't forget to stop back by on the 7th for a full reveal of my creation!

Here another peek!


and some more of my recent work!






Next Sunday I will be hopping again... join me!