--- Blog Hop Tuesday ---

     Just popping in to give you a heads up about a Valentine's Day Card blog hop! It begins tomorrow (Jan 19th) at 8 a.m. EST. The CardMaker magazine and the Ribbon Resource blog teams are hosting the hop. There will, of course, be a giveaway. Can't have a proper blog hop without fun prizes! I'll look forward to your visit tomorrow as you hop through my blog!

Something New, Something Old Challenge ODBDSLC269

     Lots of red glitter and bling for Mom's birthday!

     I don't think it's possible to have too much glitter or too much red for Mom. In fact, she wore a bright, red wedding dress when she got married a few years back. She is just so much fun to be with!
     I created this card for the Something New, Something Old challenge over at Our Daily Bread Designs. My something NEW is their Happy Birthday Die (CSBD77). My something OLD is their Fancy Foliage Die (CSBD33).
     The beautiful, red glitter paper is from DCWV's Holiday Glitzy Glitter Stack.
     Come play with us! Hop on over to ODBD's blog and check out the rules. And, I must say that ODBD's challenge has been changed from weekly to monthly. So very happy about that! Makes it easier for me to play and not always think I missed yet another challenge because I couldn't find the time to create. Here's their link: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/odbdslc269-something-new-something-old.html
     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela

CardMaker Blog Team!

     I'm on the CardMaker Magazine Blog Team!!! I couldn't be more excited to work and share my cards there. We are already working on blog hops and blog posts. You are in for some fun times, new techniques and great organizing tips! I can already feel the rebel in me rising to the top. Who says you must adhere your embellishments and layers perfectly straight!?! Who says turquoise and orange can't go together!?!

    Make sure you follow my personal blog www.cottagebelow.com and the CardMaker blog too http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/ so that you don't miss any of the fun.

    You can meet the other team members here: http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/?p=12846

     Hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks so much for stopping in today, Pamela

Anything Goes Challenge ODBDSLC268

     Thanks so much for stopping by. Today, I have a card for the challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs.

     I started by making a cream card-base. I used turquoise and purple matting. Don't you just love those colors together!?! I used a turquoise foil sheet to die cut the flower and added a few purple 'diamonds' to finish it off.

     I used the following ODBD stamps and dies:

          No Words sentiment stamp F515

          Fancy Foliage dies CSBD33

          Asters & Leaves dies CSBD57

    Want to play along with us? Check out the rules here: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/odbdslc268-anything-goes-with-odbd.html

     Don't forget to check back in tomorrow to see what my new adventure is.

     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela



Exciting News for the New Year

     I've been about to burst with my exciting news. I still can't tell you what it is yet. Check back here on Monday, Jan 4th, and I will tell you all about an exciting new adventure for me.

     Wishing you and your family a happy New Year! I hope your year will be filled with lots of fun and laughter, and a chance to start over if you need to.
     Thanks so much for stopping in today. I so enjoy your visits to my blog.
     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela

Happy Anniversary to my DH - DCWV Stack-a-holic Challenge, Dec 2015

UPDATE: So excited to find out this card was among the winners! Thanks so much, DCWV,  for selecting my card to feature.

     Today, I have a card for the Stack-a-holic Challenge at DCWV using the Ocean Breeze Stack. I made this card for my husband.
    In just a few days, Jeff and I will celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary! Our time together has been mostly good. But, there are those times he deserves for me to be mad at him! LOL! 
    He is such a good man and my best friend. He really is my anchor. He can calm me when no one else can. He helps me make sense of things in life that would crush my soul if he were not at my side.
    We've had more fun and adventure than most couples. After all these years, we still have 'date night'. Sometimes we have great philosophical discussions that can go on for hours. And, sometimes we are just quiet together. I love those times. And on occasion, at 3:00 a.m., he will take me out to get a milkshake just because I would like to have one.
     He is my biggest supporter when it comes to my writing and cardmaking. I would rather be with him than anyone else on the earth.
     There are also those times when we have hurt each other deeply. But, we always manage to find our way to forgiveness. I try every morning to ask myself what can I do today to make his day better.
    And, my very favorite thing about Jeff? He never minds when I spend money on my cardmaking projects. Who could ask for  anything more!?!
     There is still plenty of time left if you want to join in the challenge to make your own card. Here's a link to the rules and a copy of the sketch we had to work with.
http://www.dcwv.com/blog/post/stack-a-holic-challenge-for-December

     Thanks so much for stopping in today and allowing me to go on about my sweet hubby.
     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela

Religious Christmas Challenge ODBDSLC264

     Today, I'm working on Christmas cards. I submitting this card to the challenge at Our Daily Breads Design.

     The challenge is to create a religious Christmas card. I used the ODBD Sparkling Snowflakes (#EC508) and coordinating die to create my "star".

     First, I heat embossed the snowflake onto blue patterned cardstock from DCWV's DIY Ornaments stack. Then, I die cut it. I printed the sentiment on my computer onto white cardstock because I wanted to use this verse (see inside of card below). I often make my own inside verse. I printed it out on regular copy paper and adhered it inside - kind of like fancy card companies do.

     I fussed with this card a long time. It really needed something else. I tried lots of things, but finally I was happy with the scoring around the white panel. Using a scoring board, I drew a score line 1/4" in around the panel.

     Hope you are having a great day. If you want to join in the fun, check out the rules here: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2015/11/odbdslc264-religious-christmas.html

     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela



Picture Book Idea Month

     November has been a great month! I participated in Tara Lazar's #PiBoIdMo. The goal of this event was to come up with an idea for a children's picture book every day in November. I did it! That makes me a winner!

     Tara gathered other authors to provide some daily inspiration. I've learned so much and am overflowing with ideas for writing projects. I'm already looking forward to next year's event! 

DCWV Stack-a-holic Challenge, Nov 2015

UPDATE: So excited to see my card among the winners!  Check out all the winners here:  http://www.dcwv.com/blog/post/november-stack-a-holic-challenge-the-results


 Thanks so much for stopping in. Hope your day is as sunny as mine. Today, I have a card for the Stack-a-holic Challenge over at DCWV.

         I used the Ocean Breeze Stack from DCWV to create my card this month. I'm always on the lookout for good "man-paper". This stack has lots of them! Although, as you can see, I made a feminine card. Go figure. I just loved this sentiment card that comes in the stack and wanted to use it on my card.

   There is still plenty of time if you want to join in the fun. Here's the link to the rules and a copy of this month's sketch.

http://www.dcwv.com/blog/post/november-stack-a-holic-challenge-is-finally-live-

    May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela

Double Embossing Challenge ODBDSLC260

     Thanks so much for stopping in. Today, I have a card for the Double Embossing (heat and dry) Challenge over at Our Daily Bread Designs.
     My favorite technique has always been heat-embossing. I find it adds that extra touch that gives a more professional finish to my cards. I heat-embossed the sentiment (ODBD - Little Things - #D298) on my card. I used a matching moss green pigment (ColorBox) and clear Super Fine Detail embossing powder (Ranger). I highly recommend using the super fine powders for small lettering like on this stamp. You will get a much better result.
     For the dry embossing, I used a honeycomb embossing folder (the Paper Studio). The  moss green and soft orange cardstock (The Home Spun Stack DCWC) came already embossed with lines. I embossed over that giving a more complex look to my top panel. I added a small strip of the green under the top panels balance to the card.
     I die-cut the circles (Picot Edge Circles-Spellbinders), then  heat-embossed the sentiment on one and added a few green gems.
     There are still a few days left before the deadline if you want to join in the fun. Here's the link to the rules: http://www.ourdailybreaddesignsblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/odbdslc260-double-embossing-heat-and-dry.html

DCWV Stack-a-holic Card Challenge, Oct 2015

UPDATE: So excited to have my card among the list of winners! Thanks so much DCWV!

 

    Thanks so much for stopping in today. Hope your day is off to a good start. Mine is sunny and bright after 10.2" rain in two days. So thankful for the rain.

     Today, I have a card for the DCWV Stack-a-holic Challenge. I used the Happy Day Stack for my card. It's a new stack and I love every sheet of it.

     Was not sure I would be able to play this month. I spent the last several weeks with Mom who is in a nursing home. She is really struggling, so to those friends of mine who pray, will you lift her up to the Lord today? I can feel your prayers already. Love you all so much. I digress . . .

     There are still a couple of days to join in on all the fun. Here's the link to the rules and a copy of the sketch we had to work with.

http://www.dcwv.com/blog/post/stack-a-holics-unite-october-

     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands,

Pamela

 



Published in CardMaker Magazine, Winter 2015 Issue

     I am so honored that CardMaker Magazine chose to publish one of my cards in the Winter 2015 issue.

      If you would like to make my card, you can visit www.CardMakerMagazine.com/ to download the Winter 2015 issue today or pick up a print edition of CardMaker magazine which will be on your local newsstand.

Picture Book Idea Month

     I've been out of town for a few weeks visiting Mom. I'm back just in time to be a part of PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month. Our challenge, hosted by picture-book author, Tara Lazar, is to come up with a new picture-book idea every day in November. Not only that, but picture-book authors, agents and others from the industry will have things to share with us each day. I'm excited to participate this year. If you have ever thought about writing for young children, you might want to check out this event. Here's the link: http://taralazar.com/2015/10/25/piboidmo-2015-registration-is-open/#comment-119039

Magazine Monday #118

     It's kind of like getting free paper!!! Some really lovely designs are inside the security envelopes that our bills and other mailings come in.

     I save them all. Just look at what you can create! They also make beautiful flowers. I used six different envelopes for this card that I'm submitting to the Magazine Monday #118 challenge at PaperCrafter's Corner. Check out the inspiration cover and link to the rules below.

     I was inspired by the orange / coral colors against a dark background in this week's cover and the way things are mixed all around each other like a vine growing through it all.

     I used dies from Our Daily Bread Designs (Fancy Foliage) and circle dies from Spellbinders. The sentiment stamp comes from Unity Stamps (. . . bright, happy you). I heat embossed the sentiment tag with black pigment and clear embossing powder.

http://papercrafterscorner.com/blog/category/inspiration-2/pcc-challenges/

    

    Thanks again for stopping in. Hope you enjoy your day.

     May the Lord be glorified by the work of my hands, Pamela