Sunday, December 21, 2014

Wait! Is That A Robot I See?!

So, strangely enough I’m sitting here watching Dr. Who (and the dialects, lol) and I wanted to reply with a thank-you to those of you who commented on my Christmas card post.  Imagine my surprise when I noticed the “Please Prove You’re Not A Robot" prompt glaring me in the face.  Now, I dislike word verification as much as the next guy so I need you to know that it wasn’t me who added that little tidbit to my blog.  After some investigation I discovered that Google has indeed come up with this “great” little function to “help” weed out spam and there is no way for me to turn it off.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  >_<

If you are a member of blogger or have another Open ID account, I do believe you can bypass this captcha box and just go ahead publish your comment but I haven’t tested that theory yet.  I’ll update this post if I find out differently.

For now, I do apologize for this annoying addition that Google has so kindly provided us with.

UPDATE:  As long as you are using an Open ID or Google account you can just overlook the Robot Prompt and scroll down to publish your comment.

Christmas Makes 2014

I’ve been gone so long I’m not even sure you’re still with me but I thought I’d take a minute to pop in and share my Christmas cards with you this year so here’s hoping you’re still around to see them.  I am so thankful for my daughter’s help this year.  I pre-cut and colored all the pieces for each of my cards and she helped to assemble them all.  It made the process go so much faster.  The first cards I’m going to share are actually from a Close To My Heart card kit. 

 

ctmh

 

The kit made 5 each of 3 different styles of cards for a total of 15 cards altogether.  I’ve never purchased a CTMH kit before, but I must say, the stamps that came with the kit are incredible!  I’ve never used such wonderfully crisp clear stamps in all my life.

http://littletortoisecrafts.ctmh.com/retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=8124&ci=1347

 

 

christmas card 2
christmas card 5
christmas card 3

 

And these are the cards that I pre-cut and assembled with my daughter. I made 5 cards each of the 5 different styles for a total of 25 cards.  The embellishments and images were all stamped, colored (if needed), and then cut with my Cameo Silhouette.

 

christmas card 6

christmas card 7
christmas card 1 christmas card 8
christmas card 9

(Aren’t those gingies the cutest ever, lol.)

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy the holidays with your loved ones.  May 2015 be a year filled with many great things and lots of laughter for all of you!

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Checking In & A Freebie

Hi All,

I'm not sure if you are still with me or not but I thought I should check in and update you on what's been going on with me.  It's been a long, rough summer for the most part dealing with my daughter's health issues.  We are very thankful for the physical progression she's making but mentally there is still so much work to be done.  I've said this before and I'm saying it again .. this is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to deal with.  Watching your child struggle so hard and wishing you could just fix everything but being helpless to do so is an unbelievably difficult thing to do.  I find myself emotionally drained and physically exhausted most days.  Right now, it's especially difficult as she finds it almost unbearable to deal with the physical changes her body is making.

With school starting in just a few short days, her anxiety is extremely high.  It doesn't help that she's going back to classes where she doesn't know anyone because her classmates all graduated in the Spring.  She was unable to graduate with her class because she had to drop a few courses to make finishing her year possible.  Now she is going back to pick those courses up so she can finish her program and get her degree.  I'm praying we can get her through this year so that is possible.  We could use your prayers in this matter as I know it's not going to be an easy road.

I'm sorry that I've not been more faithful in posting my freebies and cards but, to be quite honest, I have lost my mojo and it's been weeks since I've visited my craft dungeon to make anything.  I do have some digital papers and embellishments that I created in the past and I may choose to share some of those with you from time to time.  Hopefully this will suffice and help to keep you around as I would hate to lose any followers.

Here's a card I made a while ago but forgot to share.



And here is a 12-inch x 12-inch digital paper that I created a few months ago.  Just click on the paper to enlarge it to full size and then right-click on it to save it to your computer.  Enjoy :-)


Sunday, July 27, 2014

Share With Me Please

I have opened a new account with Mr. Linky.  This allows you to add a text link to the Share With Me Please page when you use one of my FREE sentiments on a card/project/layout you have made.  I decided to go with Mr. Linky because it will allow me to keep the linky closing date open-ended (In Linkz would only allow a 30 day period  for each link-up with the free account which meant I would have to create a new link-up every month).

I have converted all the links from the old link-up page to this new format.  I hope you will consider using this feature so that I can see what beautiful things you are making with my digital sentiment creations.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

School Daze Blog Hop

 
 
 
Happy Saturday
and
Welcome to this month's hop with...
The Creating Blog Hops Cafe'.
 
This month's theme is...
School Daze
 
Those school days are just around the corner, and
we have made some wonderful projects to share with you this month to help get you ready for school.
 
Our hostess for the hop is...
 
Our sponsor for this month is also...
Robin
 
Robin will be giving one lucky winner a school themed scrapbooking kit that includes everything you need to complete a scrapbook as well as the scrapbook.
 
 
For your chance to win this complete scrapbook kit you must be a follower of each of the blogs in this hop as well as leave each of the ladies a little blog love by leaving them a comment to let them know how much you loved their projects.
 
So, sit back, grab yourself a Latte' and let us dare to amaze you with our projects.
 
 
I made this cute little ‘back to school’ card using some digital papers.  I rounded the corners with my new corner chomper.  Love that thing.  I’m really happy with the way this one turned out.
 
 
 
School Dayz2-front_apieceofheartblog
 
 
Here is a peek at the inside…
 
 
School Dayz-inside_apieceofheartblog
 
 
I made another version of this card with a round chalkboard and some added ribbon.  I changed the ruler up a little bit as well.  The inside is the same as the previous version.
 
 
School Dayz-front_apieceofheartblog
 
Your next stop will be with...
 
 
If you get lost along the way, here is the entire line-up for today's hop so that you will be able to get back on track and not miss a single project.
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.  Miranda ~ www.nanasscrapspot.com 
 
6.  Sharon (A Piece Of Heart) ~ http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com *you are here*
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you for hoping along with us today and I hope that we have inspired you to get your craft on.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

New Freebie Alert!

Just popping in tonight to let you all know that I will be releasing a new freebie tomorrow morning on my blog.  Since it’s been a while, I didn’t want you to miss it :-)

Enjoy the rest of your evening. 

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Keep Calm…

Keep Calm Anaheim Ducks Tumber-2

 

 

 

 

My immediate boss at work is an Anaheim Ducks fan.  I have had this idea for a long time to create a tumbler for her and with the school year coming to a close, I decided now was a good time to give it her.   I wasn’t sure what to put on it but then I decided on going with the “keep calm” phrase replacing “carry” with “duck”.  She absolutely loved it!

That’s it for today.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday :-)

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

InLinkz & Share With Me

Hi friends, it appears that InLinkz has decided to now charge for their service and my “trial period” has ended.  This means the InLinkz link to add your card on the Share With Me page no longer works :-(

I am not willing to pay for the service so, for now, please add any links to cards you’ve made using one of my sentiments to the comments area on that page (see Share With Me link on the navigation bar above) and I will be sure to visit your page to view it and comment.

If anyone knows of another free service similar to InLinkz, please let me know so I can take a look.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Masculine Get Well Card

Spent some time down in my craft dungeon today.  I got the idea for this card the other day when someone was asking about ideas for a masculine card for a golfer who was sick. The juices started flowing and once I formed the card in my mind, I could hardly wait for the weekend to get here so that I could put it together.  I’m loving the play on words that I came up with..

 

Feeling Under Par Masculine_apieceofheartbog

 

I found the golf bag on google images and added some Band-Aids to the front of it.  I colored it with my copics and then popped it up on the card front.  The inside of the card is also an image found on google images and colored with copics.  Although you can’t see it very well in the photo, the golf ball was covered with some glossy accents to give it a shine.

 

Feeling Under Par Masculine 2_apieceofheartbog

 

That’s it for now.  Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Father’s Day

I love my Dad!  He tells the silliest jokes but they make me laugh.  He’s generous, gracious, considerate, sensitive, kind, and thoughtful.  He’s just a really great guy and he makes me smile.  I think my girls would agree that he’s the best Papa ever!

I made this card with love just for him.  It was made using digital papers and I created them all.  Also used was my newest digital freebie sentiment offered here.  I added some buttons and a ribbon to finish it off.

 

Fathers Day_2014_apieceofheartblog

 

Here is a peek at the verse I created for the inside …

 

Fathers Day-1_2014_apieceofheartblog

 

I certainly can’t forget about my husband, the father of my children.   He’s pretty awesome, too.  I don’t think he ever expected that he would end up with two girls given that his family is all boys.  But he’s a great dad and he loves his girls to pieces.  Here is the card I made for him.

 

Fathers Day2_2014_apieceofheartblog

 

Fathers Day2-2_2014_apieceofheartblog

 

Fathers Day2-1_2014_apieceofheartblog

 

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Wedding/Anniversary Day Blog Hop

 
 
Happy Saturday
and
Welcome to this month's blog hop
with
The Creating Blog Hops Café
 
This month's theme is... Wedding or Anniversary. We have made some wonderful projects to share with you and to give some inspiration for those upcoming summer weddings.
 
Our Hostess for this hop is...
 
Our wonderful Sponsor for this month's hop is...
 
Alicia is giving one lucky person a wonderful
wedding themed page kit from Mambi.
 
 
 
So, sit back and grab yourself a Latte' as we dare to amaze you with our projects.
 
For my project I decided to do a twisted easel card.  I wanted to make it crisp so I used the black & white colors.  I used my cuttlebug to emboss the various layers and I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the loopy frame around my picture.
 
 
Wedding_Twisted_Easel_apieceofheartblog
 
 
Wedding_Twisted_Easel-1_apieceofheartblog
 
 
I decorated the inside as well.
 
Wedding_Twisted_Easel-inside_apieceofheartblog
 
 
Your next stop will be with...
 
 
If  you get lost along the way here is the entire line-up for todays hop for you to get back on track and not miss a single project.
 
 
 
 
 
4. Sharon with... http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com/ *you are here*
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thank you for hoping along with us today and I hope that we have inspired you to get your craft on. 

Blog Hop Today

Hi All,

I’ll be uploading my card a little later on.  Sorry for the delay!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother’s Day

 

MothersDayBrunch6_kayla

 

This morning my daughter and I were home alone because my husband and other daughter were working.  She wanted to do something special for me so she surprised me with a delicious brunch.  She sets a great table complete with a candle and a vase with homemade paper flowers.

 

MothersDayBrunch_kayla

 

Shown:  A toasted english muffin with peanut butter, fruit salad (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries & pineapple), with a zucchini, broccoli, & mushroom frittata. There was vanilla yogurt for the fruit salad as well but I hadn't put that on yet.  A cup of hot cocoa is off to the side.  Yum!

 

 

 

 

MothersDayBrunch4_kayla

 

 

And here’s the happy Chef. Love her to pieces!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed it so much, I ate it all :-)

MothersDayBrunch2_kayla

 

And while she was busy putting this surprise together for me, I was down in my craft dungeon making a card for my mom.  Designer paper is from Michael’s Recollection.  I can’t remember which pad this is from but I will post it when I go downstairs and check later.

 

mothersday2014-3_apieceofheartblog

 

 

mothersday2014_apieceofheartblog
Faux scrabble tiles from Michaels spell out the word mom.  Butterfly pendant also from Michaels.
mothersday2014-2_apieceofheartblog

 

Last but not least, here is a picture of my 2 beautiful girls and the reason I can celebrate Mother’s Day.  The joys of my life …

 

my2girls

Friday, May 2, 2014

The Friday Freebie & A BIG Thank You

First, I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate your love, care, concern, thoughts, and prayers regarding the situation with my daughter.  Keep praying for her because she really needs them. Please pray for me, too.  This recovery process is not something best handled by the weak but sometimes I feel like I just don’t have the strength to get her through this.  I know that probably sounds terrible but I can’t ask for help if I keep my thoughts to myself.  I know my daughter is in there somewhere but right now ED has the best of her and it’s fighting to keep her trapped in a horrible existence of a life.  ED comes out as anger, fear, sadness, irrationality, anxiousness, irritability, impulsivity, negativity, obsessiveness, and so many other negative characteristics.  And all of these come out at me specifically because I’m “safe”.  Sometimes I honestly feel like a punching bag for her emotions to wreak havoc on.  I often slip away from the room for 5-minutes of sheer, gut-wrenching sobbing until I can pull myself together enough to go back to being the strong momma that she needs me to be.  I have no doubt that she has no desire to act out this way.  She agonizes over feeling so hopelessly helpless that it’s excruciating to watch.  But she also tells me, in moments of clarity, that she loves me, she appreciates me, and she’s so fortunate and blessed to have me for a mother.  And that, my friends, is what makes it all worth it!  We will get through this together.  ED will not win!
Now let’s get to that freebie!!  I didn’t want to leave you guys without a freebie this weekend but I didn’t have the time nor umph to make something new for you either.  So I pulled this out of my bag of projects that I’ve created and put away for a rainy day.  And since it’s been raining all week, I figured what better time than this to share it.  I created this one so many years ago and I’ve improved so much since that time so I hope you think it’s good enough to share.  There is some texture to it but it’s hard to see in the preview.  Today, I’m giving away a 12x12-inch quick page layout.  All you will need to do is print it
As always, click on the link(s) below the preview to download this freebie.  If you love it, leave me a comment.  I always love hearing from you!
Quick Page 001_preview-apieceofheartblog

PNGS:
I’d really love it if you used the “Share With Me” feature that can be found on the toolbar just below the header for this blog to show me the projects you created using my freebie.

Don't forget to come back next week for another Friday Freebie!

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Graduation Blog Hop

 

10277497_10200951960201432_3403652624494044769_n

Welcome to this months blog hop with...

The Creating Blog Hops Cafe'

This months theme is...

Graduation

 

My project for this hop is a graduation card.  I have a couple of nieces and a nephew who are graduating next month so I’m not sure who this is for yet.

 

Graduate Blog Hop -1_apieceofheartblog

 

 

Graduate Blog Hop-closeup_apieceofheartblog

Graduate Blog Hop_inside.apieceofheartblog

   

I printed the word Graduate right on the card front and then used my Silhouette Cameo to cut it out. When that was done I embossed it using my Cuddlebug and a fancy folder.  I mounted a verse on the front using pop dots and then added a couple of brads and wrapped some ribbon around them.   The inside of the card was also printed and cut out with my Cameo.  I stamped the word Congrats! on with a clear stamp.

 

10252103_10200964088984644_4055874380180515663_n

 

Now, for some blog candy...one lucky winner will receive a Graduation Page Kit from Paper Studio. All you have to do for your chance to win is become a follower, visit everyone's blog that is in the line-up, and leave each one a comment on their projects.

 

 

 

 

Your next stop is with...
Lori Johnson Apgar - http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/
Here is the entire line-up for this month's hop in case you get lost along the way...

1- Robin L. - http://create-a-latte.blogspot.com/
2- Alicia O'Bryant - http://goldengoddessdesigns.blogspot.com/
3- Nana's Scrap Spot - http://www.nanasscrapspot.com/
4- Sharon – A Piece Of Heart – *you are here*
5- Lori Johnson Apgar - http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/
6- Eva Scraps - http://evasscrapsncards.blogspot.com/

Thank you for hopping along with us this month and we look forward to hopping along with you again next month.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Inspirational Thoughts Blog Hop

 
Let us Inspire You! 
 
 
It's Springtime and Easter time and what better way to celebrate this Season than with an Inspirational Thoughts Blog Hop. We hope that our projects will enlighten you and bring you all peace and blessings for a wonderful day!

You should have come from Shawnee’s but in case you didn't,
Connie Can Crop is the first stop on this Blog Hop.
This is a one day blog hop and we would appreciate it if you would leave a comment for all of these talented friends who are here sharing their ideas and creations.
 
We have an awesome sponsor and giveaway for this hop!
 
https://www.facebook.com/PinquePeacock
Check out their store here:
https://www.facebook.com/PinquePeacock
 
And look, you can win a $10.00 gift certificate
10259894_10153990428355274_922010440483221754_n
so make sure you make a wishlist while you browse.

So what do you need to do to win? Easy... become  a follower of each of the fabulous blogs in this hop and leave each of them a comment letting them know what you like best about their projects. Then stop by our sponsor's page at be sure to like her on facebook!!
 
You will have until 12:00 am Monday to finish the hop and leave your comments.
 
Winners will be announced on Wednesday at Connie Can Crop.
 
Be sure to follow everyone and leave a comment  along the way!
 
 
My contribution to this hop is a friendship card.
 
 
 
Inspirational Blog Hop_3
 
 
 
 
 
 
Inspirational Blog Hop_5
 
 
 
The sentiment is one that I created and gave away as a freebie HERE.  I decided to spotlight it on a polaroid film and added the camera to the bottom. 
 
 
The camera was a freebie from The Stamping Chef.  I colored it using copics.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Inspirational Blog Hop_8
 
 
The double-pointed flag at the bottom of the card was cut from an embossed piece of friendship cardstock that I purchased from HomeSense.  I sponged some blue ink from Stamping Up (Pool Party Classic) over the words to make them stand out a bit.
 
 
 
 
 
Here is a peek at the inside of my card….
 
 
Inspirational Blog Hop_7
 
 
 
 
 
Here is our complete line up in case you get lost along the way.
 

Friday, April 11, 2014

Friday Freebie Is Coming

The Friday Freebie will be delayed but I will be posting it before the end of the day! I am sorry it's late. As I said last week, I have a very serious issue that I am dealing with in my family and my time must be focused on that. However, having said that, I find that creating is very therapeutic for me so I do still try to create as much as time allows. Thanks for understanding!

Friday, April 4, 2014

The Friday Freebie...

Just letting you know that I have had a personal issue come up in my family and I will not be able to release a freebie today. If I can get one out over the weekend I will, otherwise it will return again next Friday. Thank you for your understanding!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Birthday Blooper

The other day I was going through my cards and I realized that I gave my daughter the wrong card for her birthday, lol.  I had made this one with a daughter sentiment on it that I completely forgot about.  It’s okay, though, because I like the one I gave her better :-)

 

Happy Birthday Daughter_apieceofheartblog

 

 

Happy Birthday Daughter cupcake_apieceofheartblog

 

I cut the cupcake from a digital stamp I had downloaded as a freebie and colored it with my copics.  The swirls were cut individually and popped up with pop dots, each a little higher than the next.  The “pearls” were made with some White Opal Liquid Pearls.  The paper is just some loose scraps I had on hand. I’m not sure which company it’s from.

 

 

 

 

That’s it for another day.  Friday Freebie day tomorrow so don’t forget to come back and check it out.  Until then …

Keep on keepin’ on,