"Sweet September" Blog Hop!

HELLO EVERYONE! WELCOME to the "SWEET SEPTEMBER" Blog Hop featuring our Farmers, Team Anya, and our beloved Critter Crew! ALL THREE of our teams are joining forces today to bring you ONE SWEET Blog Hop with The Greeting Farm!

Just to recap, the new releases, "Sweet and Toxic", "Oh, Boy" Ian, and SWEET Anya are NOW in the TGF Store! Also, our three new Marina Neira critters are available as digital downloads for INSTANT gratification! Woo HOO!!!!

My card today features adorable Beto Bouquet. I am soooo excited that Marina designed a cat! In fact, I was wishing for it only a few days before I got the inside info! My wish came true! Must be because it's my birthday month now. :D Anyways.....back to the card! Lol! This card was made especially for my friend (and boss!) Alexei, for his birthday on Friday. He is a big kitty lover like me and he has two grey female cats which is why I colored Beto grey...and tried to make him "girly" by coloring his hat purple. Granted, his cats don't have stripes, but he'll still love it. I'll be "put in his Will" as he like to say! Haha!

I used the cool grass technique again from Color Me Copic to make this cool scene. I also used a sketch from somewhere......Taylored Expressions I think.

Be sure to stop by the TGF Blog if you are JUST beginning the hop and make it all the way to the CLUB ANYA & FRIENDS blog through the end to see the endless possibilities with this month's cute new additions to the Farm and to leave your comments along the way...there are some SWEET prizes to be had today!

Prizes? Did someone say PRIZES?


Yes indeed! To sweeten the deal today in celebration of these new releases, there will be individual prizes given out as well as one ENTIRE release to a lucky winner! Yep, that's a LOT of prizes! Here's what's for grabs:

1 winner will be chosen to win the SWEET & TOXIC SET
1 winner will be chosen to win the SWEET ANYA Stamp
1 winner will be chosen to win the OH, BOY IAN Stamp
1 winner will be chosen to win the THREE NEW CC DIGIS
and ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive THE ENTIRE RELEASE for SEPTEMBER!!!

That's a LOT of chances to win! So go, hop, and be merry :)
Here's where you want to be:
TGF Blog
Amber Hight
Jacqueline Nordaune
Jen Shults
Jennifer Royal (you're here!)
Kristine Reynolds
Linda Muhr
Shaela Odd
Tangii Crain
Kim Nath
Mary Giles
Melyssa Connolly
Mercy Kerin
Randi Wall
Amy Young
Alice Wertz-September Guest CA&F
Kelly Booth
Kim Costello
Pam Varnell
Traci Porter
Jessica Diedrich
Club Anya & Friends Blog

THANKS for joining us for our SWEET SEPTEMBER release and we'll announce the winners TOMORROW on the TGF Blog! You have until 11:59pm CST TONIGHT to hop with us and enter to win!

HAPPY RELEASE DAY, everyone!!!

Materials

Stamps: TGF Beto Bouquet digi, CTMH Fringed Phrases

Paper: BG Kioshi dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, foam tape, Nestie, AC button, stitching, CTMH ink, EK punches

Bellarific "Friday"

Now, I know it's Tuesday, but I wanted to post my Bellarific Friday card today since I'll have another Critter Crew sneak peak tomorrow and my FFF post on Friday.

This is the card I made for my best friend Sara for her baby shower I've been planning the last month. Her colors are pink and brown so this Cosmo Cricket paper worked perfectly. This cute TeddyBella is one I bought off Ebay. :D It was the perfect image for what Sara will be up to with all of the gift cards she got yesterday! Notice the bag with the "N"? Well, after all that baby shopping she had to stop by Nordstroms for a little something for mommy! Lol!

The Bellarific challenge this week is to have an animal on your card. The teddy bear and buggy-background count, right?! I say it does! Lol! The layout is from the Taylored Expressions customer hop awhile ago. You might not be able to see in the photo, but the Sorbet charm in the center of the flower says "happy memories".

Tonight is "Crafty Night" with my girls Nona, Sparkle, Rachel and Jen. I can't wait to see all these gals! It's been sooooo long!

Materials
Stamps: Stamping Bella TeddyBella
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Earth Love dp, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, foam tape, Coluzzle, CTMH inks, buttons, metal charm, paper piercer, and pearls, lace, EK punch.

Another sneaky peeky!

I'm back today with another sneak peak of one of the 3 new Marina images being released on the 1st at The Greeting Farm. Today is Huey and his birdhouse. Isn't this soooo cute?! I had a lot of fun coloring this image. I added some grass at the bottom using a cool technique I saw on Color Me Copic last week. I had a block with my card layout, so I pulled out my trusty CTMH Wishes Card Confidence book and found this perfect layout. Works great with my image. Make sure you get your hands on Huey on release day!

And speaking of release day......over at Club Anya & Friends today, they're having a special sneak peek so go over and check it out!!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Huey with Birdhouse digi, A Muse sentiment
Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer dp, CTMH cs, A Muse kraft
Other: Copics, foam tape, CTMH inks, button, edge distresser, and hemp, misc. felt ribbon

Make it a Double!

This week over at Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps, the challenge is to create anything travel related. Well, Emily isn't really "traveling", but wherever she's at right now is where I'd like to travel TO!! LoL!! I would totally love to be sipping a delicious martini drink and using that cute umbrella to shield me from the sun! I also used Mercy's sketch #88 for the "double".

Here's a close up of Miss Emily and her bedazzled outfit:

Enjoy your weekend. I won't be posting tomorrow since I'm in charge of my best friend's baby shower. Boy! (I mean, girl!) it's been a busy time trying to get all the details lined up. I hope everyone enjoys themselves. There will be lots of fun and games, and LOADS of food! I'll be back on Monday for another Critter Crew *sneak peek* for The Greeting Farm!

Materials

Stamps: SCRS Cocktail Emily, CTMH Say it in Style

Paper: BG Eva dp, CTMH Daydream pink striped dp and cardstock

Other: Copics, Prima flowers, Stickles, misc. button, CTMH inks and embossing stylus

Farm Fresh Friday with a SNEAK PEEK!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to another Farm Fresh Friday challenge! **notice I actually posted at the right time? Lol!** This week is a sketch challenge brought to you by the most wonderful and lovely Mercy Kerin. Head to the TGF blog for the sketch.

Now did you notice the super adorable image I used today?! This is a *NEW* Marina image being released on September 1st! Isn't he just so cute?! Totally the perfect image for my "nice" Seattle weather....hence, the sentiment. I added some CTMH Liquid Glass to all the water to add some dimension. Looks so cool!

Now hop on over to all the rest of the Design Team Members' blogs for some more awesome creations and MORE sneak peeks! Also be sure to go to the TGF blog for more about the FFF challenge and even MORE sneak peeks!

The Farmers:
Jessica Diedrich
Cindy Haffner
Kadie Ensley
Mary Giles
Melyssa Connolly
Mercy Kerin
Randi Wall
Kim Nath
Tammy Maxvill

The Critter Crew:
Amber Hight
Jen Shults
Shaela Odd
Jacquie Nordaune
Jenn Royal (you're here!)
Kristine Reynolds
Linda Muhr
Tangii Crain

Materials

Stamps: TGF Duck image, A Muse sentiment

Paper: Sassafras Lass Lollipop dp, Prima dp (hot pink), CTMH cs

Other: Copics, CTMH inks and liquid glass, misc. button and ribbon, stitching

Another Harold card

I made this card today mostly because I had him already colored when I colored my first image from this card, but also to use my new MS border punch. This is a nice "guy-ish" punch. Haha! I also stamped the same sentiment. I just goes too perfect with Harold's expression.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Harold digi, CTMH Say it in Style and Simple Stitches
Paper: BG Nook&Pantry dp, A Muse kraft, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, foam tape, CTMh ink and hemp, misc. buttons, MS punch

Quick birthday card

....well, if you don't count the time it took me to color the image! Lol! I love this Freaky Flutter image from TGF. She's just the right amount of sweetness for the perfect birthday card. I paired it with some CTMH Dayream paper and one of my newer EK punches for a nice and easy card. Of course I had to add butterfly punches to it too!

Girl's night out tonight. Yeah! I need some time with my girls for sure! And delicious Rock pizza and beer too! Lol!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Freaky Flutter digi, CTMH Fringed Phrases
Paper: CTMH Daydream L2pp
Other: Copics, CTMH inks and ribbon, EK punch, MS punch, Kaiser rhinestones

A rose is a rose (LLBC #11)

Hello everyone!

Today's card is my entry for this week's Lil' Lolita Boutique Challenge #11 which asks that you use roses on your card. Any kind of rose will do, and for mine I used my Lilith digi since she is holding her roses. The sentiment fits her sad little expression. I also added one of my handmade book flowers. This is the LAST of these sheets of Eva paper and the last So Sophie tag. Why change a good thing, right? ;)

Hope you all had a fabby weekend. I had a nice time camping the past few days. Perfect weather; it rained overnight Saturday, but cleared up by morning. Then, just as Dad and I finished breaking down camp and stashing our stuff under the awning it started POURING! Good 'ol Western Washington weather for ya!

Materials
Stamps: Lil' Lolita Lilith digi, CTMH For Every Occasion ss
Paper: BG Eva dp, So Sophie journaling tag
Other: Copics, foam tape, EK punches, misc. button, CTMH ink, book pages

Creative University ONLINE!!

Mark your calendars, it's less than a week away! The first Creative University - ONLINE!

Nine hours of free classes, presented by Close to My Heart consultants to kick off the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book and Catalog. The "Fabulously Artsy" Tresa Black has assembled a top-notch team of co-hosts for this event, with a variety of demonstrations to showcase new products from Close to My Heart. My good CTMH friends are super talented and ready to share their ideas!

9am-6pm pacific
10am-7pm mountain
11am-8pm central
12pm-9pm eastern

Classes begin on the hour
You can join in at any time throughout the day. Classes will be continuous for the nine hours, with teachers and projects changing at the beginning of each hour.

Teachers:
Tresa Black
Bobie Glassette
Denise Anderson-Turley
Haley Dyer
Aaron Brown
Sheila Bennett
Christine David

The event is on Tresa's Fabulously Artsy ustream channel. Sign up (it's free!) to chat live with teachers and other viewers. Ustream account is not necessary to view the classes, but if you'd like to chat, you need to sign up.

Help Promote This Event, Grab a Badge from the Sidebar!

He's too cute!

First off, I'm so sorry for my post mix-up yesterday. I'm so mad at myself for screwing up my first Critter Crew post. I had all my posts for the week ready to go and on auto-post. I even knew the time difference issue between me being on the west coast and having to post my FFF's at midnight CST. So I set it for 10:01pm, but still left it to post Friday instead of Thursday night! GRRR!! Oh well, can't undo the past. I promise that they will be up on time from now on!

Now onto the card today.....

I absolutely LOVE this Harold image! He's just so darn cute. Looks like he loves himself some strawberry jam too! There's Liquid Glass over the jam to help it stand out. I printed out a few of these images and had so much fun coloring the one, that I decided to color up two more. This one I think is colored a bit too dark. One of the second ones I made was a seller at my Farmer's Market Wednesday, along with some other Marina cards!

I was hoping to post a SCRSC card today, but time ran out on me to get a card made. I'm leaving to go camping for a few days with my Jobie girls and the rest of my time has been given to planning my friend Sara's baby shower that's next Sunday. *pulling hair out!* I also just finished making wedding shower invitations for my other friend Becky's shower. Busy bee!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Harold with bread & jam digi, CTMH Say it in Style
Paper: BG Nook&Pantry dp, CTMH cs, Bazzil, Amuse kraft
Other: Copics, EK punch, misc. buttons, CTMH ink and liquid glass

My first official Critter Crew FFF post!!

Oh my gosh!!! I'm sorry everyone! I set this for my timezone, but forgot to adjust to make it the day BEFORE!! Yikes! Still trying to work it out, sorry!


Welcome everyone to my first official post for Farm Fresh Friday as one of the newest Critter Crew members! Yay! I'm so excited to share my card with you today.

This week's challenge is a color challenge:
Hawaiian Shores (PTI), Tangerine Tango, and Kiwi Kiss (SU!)

Color challenges really break me out of my comfort zone. It's so easy to follow a sketch, but having to use specific colors makes me actually have to concentrate! Lol! Plus, I'm a Close To My Heart girl, so it took some detective work to figure out the matching colors. And the TGF examples are slightly different than the true shades, so my color choices look a little different.

So for my card I used Ocean, Sorbet, and Sweet Leaf. Ocean is definitely one of those bold colors that I can never commit to buying paper or cardstock in, but I happened to have this ribbon and rhinestones that went perfect! The Sorbet and Sweet Leaf were no problem; some of my favorite colors. This combination turned out real nice.

I had this Marlene image printed out that was calling my name to color her. Even though she's not a "current" digi, I thought she fit my card best. All the more reason to BUY the TGF stamps and digis while you still can!

Come see what we've all created!

The Farmers:
Jessica Diedrich
Cindy Haffner
Kadie Ensley
Mary Giles
Melyssa Connolly
Mercy Kerin
Randi Wall
Kim Nath
Tammy Maxvill

The Critter Crew:
Amber Hight
Jen Shults
Shaela Odd
Heather Schlatter
Jacquie Nordaune
Jenn Royal (you're here!)
Kristine Reynolds
Linda Muhr
Tangii Crain

Materials:
Stamps: TGF Marlene digi, CTMH Fringed Phrases
Paper: Amuse craft, CTMH cs and Twitterpated and Magic Moments dp
Other: Copics, Nestie, CB folder, CTMH button, ink, and hemp, misc. ribbon, EK border punch, Kaiser rhinestones, Stickles, Sukura pen

A quick card

I've been meaning to make a little thinking of you card for one of the girls in my youth group for a while now. She's going to be old enough to join Job's Daughters next month and she's been so anxious! I love seeing all that excitement in young kids! So, since our Bethel takes the summer off, I wanted to send her a little something to let her know we're thinking of her.

Girls that are still too young to be a Job's Daughter (Jobie) are nicknamed "Bees" for Jo-"bie". Get it?! So it was only appropriate that I make her a card with bees on it. Nice and simple and fun. I hope it makes her smile.

Materials

Stamps: CTMH incentive set, Say It In Style

Paper: BG Green at Heart dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, Memento ink, CTMH inks and ribbon, Stickles, foam tape

Laurie with MTSC #87

Laurie is my favorite of Marina's images. She's adorable, and hey! I wouldn't mind if she made me cookies! Lol! I am STILL on my pink and green kick. Love it! Trying to use up the last of this darn Nook & Pantry dp. Need to make room for *new* paper, right?! I used Mercy's sketch from this week too.

Doing the Farmer's Market again today. This time I'm bringing my Mom with me. *awww* She has a bunch of trinket jewelry to sell. I hope I have better sales than last time, and that the heat doesn't melt us!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Laurie digi, CTMH Fringed Phrases
Paper: BG Nook&Pantry, CTMH cs, Amuse craft
Other: Copics, foam tape, Coluzzle, CTMH inks, ribbon, and brads

60's Ivy

Still on a pink and green kick, plus it helped me use up some more of these sheets of my BG Eva pack. This Lil' Lolita image is 60's Ivy. I love, love her cool retro outfit! I glammed it up by adding Stickles to her belt and headband. And check out this old Making Memories fabric tag. I've had this this FOR-EVAH! It made the perfect addition to this card.

Enjoy your Tuesday. I'll be trying to pound out the cards today to get ready for another Farmer's Market tomorrow.

Materials
Stamps: Lil' Lolita 60's Ivy digi
Paper: BG Eva dp, CTMH cs and Daydream dp (pink striped)
Other: Copics, Making Memories fabric tag, Memento ink, misc. buttons, CTMH ink, Stickles

Ivy with SSSC #80

Ivy is my favorite of my new Lil' Lolita digis. She's so stinkin cute with a little bit of sass. Plus that outfit?! So funky! This image was a lot of fun to color. It was my first attempt at coloring hazel eyes. That's one bonus about the Lolitas' big eyes...you can play with the coloring. I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch #80. It also goes with this week's challenge over at Lil' Lolita Boutique that calls for "lots of dots". I think this BG Eve dp qualifies for that, and the skittles....and the dotted ribbon.

Materials

Stamps: Lil' Lolita Ivy digi, CTMH Fringed Phrases ss

Paper: BG Eve dp, CTMH cs, Amuse kraft

Other: Copics, misc. ribbons, Robin's Nest skittles, CTMH inks

Mojo Lylah

It's been a loooonngg time since I've played along with the Mojo Monday sketch. I guess it's mostly because the sketches didn't fit with what I wanted to use, but this week's sketch was perfect for my new Lylah digi. Another of my Lil' Lolita purchases. Coloring Lylah was a lot of fun, especially her cute dress! The eyes were a different story. Lolita eyes are just so big, that when I colored them brown they made her look really scary. Kinda like shark eyes! Yikes! So I quickly fixed it by using a lighter Copic to tone it down.

Materials
Stamps: Lil' Lolita Lylah digi, sentiment is Amuse
Paper: BG Green at Heart dp, CTMH cs, misc. pearl paper
Other: Copics, foam tape, Stazon, CTMH paper piercer, MS punch, misc. ribbon

Hey Cupcake!

I totally fell in love with this new Cupcake Anya digi the first time I saw her. So cute in her polka-dot leggings and headband. She just looks so cheerful! I've been in a pink and green mood lately, so I found these perfect scraps of CTMH Daydream dp and paired it with some Sweet Leaf cs. Love it! I also used Mercy's sketch #86.

Materials

Stamps: TGF Cupcake Anya digi, sentiment is Amuse

Paper: CTMH Daydream dp, cs

Other: CB folder, EK punch, CTMH ink, Prima flowers, Kaiser rhinestones, misc. button

You might've heard....

I'm one of the newest members of the

Critter Crew DT!

Woot woot!!

I'm sooo excited to take on this great adventure! I am one of FIVE lucky, and very talented, ladies to join the Crew. I've been a HUGE fan of TGF for a long time, as you can tell from my posts and my TGF galleria. How can you not love the oh-so-cute images that TGF crew comes out with month after month?!

Here are the two cards I submitted:

Irvin will always be my favorite Critter. Being a band geek in high school, he pulls on a special heart string for me! Plus he's so dang cute with those big 'ol spectacles! I also used this week's Saturday's sketch from CA&F.

Awww, Randy....He was a great RAK image from a friend. He is just so stinkin' adorable with his big floppy hat looking slightly bashful with his flower. I also used this week's FFF sketch by Cindy....see, already thinking ahead on the DT/FFF!! Lol!

Check out this post for samples of the other new DT's entries, and stay tuned to my blog for cool Farm Fresh Friday cards and September sneek peeks!

Materials

Stamps: TGF Irvin and Randy digis, CTMH Fringed Phrases, Clear Stamps

Paper: (Irvin) BG Nook&Pantry, CTMH cs, Amuse kraft. (Randy) CTMH dp and cs

Other: Copics, foam tape, CTMH inks, brads, and hemp, misc. brown buttons, AC orange buttons, Coluzzle.

My first Lolita!

Hello all! Sorry my posts have been kinda random. I went to Seafair yesterday. My first time on a boat on Lake Washington for Seafair! It was soooo cool! The weather was a bit dicey when we launched, but it cleared up just in time to see the Boeing air show featuring the Blue Angels. Man! I love it when these guys come every year! It was so rad actually "feeling" them fly overhead! ....then having my eardrums almost blown out! Lol! Little sun burnt too, but well worth it! Saw a bit of the hydroplane races too. Seeing those I hope to share pictures soon.

Anyways, on to the card. This is my first ever card made with my new 'Lil Lolita stamps! I bought a few rubber and some digis from Tickled Pink the other day during their brief digi sale. Sale?! I'm there! Lol! So today's card uses my 20's Evie digi. She has that nice classic look that I thought would go great with my Kioshi paper. The 'Lil Lolita Boutque blog has a challenge this week to "Bling it up". Well, that's easy enough! I added rhinestones to the lace trim, the sentiment, Evie's flower, and a big one in the center of the button. I also Tsukineko shimmer spritz on the flower, but you can't tell in the photo. I used Taylored Expressions sketch #123 for the layout.

My month is jam-packed with lots of stuff, so I appoligize in advance if I don't post everyday.

Materials
Stamps: Lil Lolita 20's Evie digi, sentiment is Amuse
Paper: BG Kioshi dp, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, foam tape, CTMH ink, rub-on flourish and bitty sparkles, Kaiser flower and purple rhinestone, scrap lace, misc. button

And another....

Hmmm....does this card look slightly familiar? Perhaps like Thursday's card? I liked my Chanter card so much that I decided to create another using one of my Gorjuss RAK images Amy gave me. (Who, by the way, has some awesome BLOG CANDY going on!) I used my piercing guide to create spots on her dress, and that vintage button really completed the look for the card.

By the way.....my Farmer's Market day: It was pretty slow. Only one $7 sale in four hours, but then as I was closing up a lady came by and bought 13 cards! Almost made it worth baking in the sun all evening! Most of what she bought were my cards using Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps, TGF stamps, and Sweet November Stamps. To include the cards from my last two posts! Definitely have to make more of those! I'm going to try again on the 18th.

Materials
Stamps: Gorjuss Girls RAK image, CTMH Fringed Phrases and Say it in Style ss
Paper: BG Eva dp, So Sophie journaling spot, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, foam tape, misc. ribbon and button, EK punches, CTMH ink, Sakura pen

Chanter and Eva

When I was looking at this other piece of paper from my BG Eva pack, I saw out of the corner of my eye this cool journaling spot I bought from my LSS a few weeks ago. Totally matchy-matchy!! And then I knew who would be the perfect accessory: Chanter. She looks totally at home amonst these colors and this simple layout. Love the way this turned out!

Off to an minor league baseball game today with some friends. Hopfully it will be the perfect sunny day again today!

Materials

Stamps: SNS Chanter Heartsong, CTMH Fringed Phrases and Say it in Style

Paper: BG Eva dp, So Sophie journaling spot, CTmh cs

Other: Copics, foam tape, misc. ribbon, CTMH inks, Stickles, EK punch, Sakura pen

Wish me luck!

Well today's the BIG day! My first ever Farmer's Market. I have been a nervous wreck the last few days trying to get all my last minute things in order, and to crank out some more cards. I even set up my display in my living room last night to see what everything would look like! Haha! That must be the Virgo in me! Man! I have more cards than I thought I did! Thank goodness my Mom found another cards stand for me, and Nona let me borrow one of hers.

So, if you haven't noticed my them of late.... wedding cards. "Tis the season"! I really love this blue/brown combo. I wish I had more of this from my BG Eva. :( Oh well, fun while it lasted. I used this week's sketch from Sketch Saturday #114. This was the perfect layout for this larger Bella image.

Materials

Stamps: Stamping Bella image, sentiment is BG

Paper: BG Eva dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, foam tape, CTMH inks, Irrisistables, and pearls, misc. buttons and ribbon

BrideaBella

I'm back today with a wedding card. I'm setting up a table at my first Farmer's Market tomorrow, and thought stocking up on the wedding cards during wedding season might be a good idea. Especially since when I made some last week, the day after I made them my co-worker asked if I had any wedding cards for sale. Well, good thing I made some! That got me thinking of how I needed to enlarge my stash. BrideaBella makes for a pretty and easy card. I think the layout I used is from some sketch I saw, but I can't remember where I saw it....

Materials
Stamps: Stamping Bella BrideaBella, sentiment is Basic Grey
Paper: MAMBI dp, scrap dp, pearl paper, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, Nestie, foam tape, MS punch, pearls, CTMH inks, Stazon

CASE'd card

My dear blogging friend Michelle made this fabby card back in May, and I decided to CASE it and put my spin on it. I had just the perfect sentiment stamp set to use for my focal image too. I've had these Heidi Grace quote stamps for a while, and still haven't used all of them yet. Glad I was able to show at least one more stamp some ink! Yippee! ! love it when a plan comes together!

Materials

Stamps: Heidi Grace "Quotes" ss

Paper: MAMBI dp, scrap dp, Amuse kraft

Other: Memento ink, CTMH inks, CB folder, rhinestones, misc. ribbon and flowers, EK punches