Hello, everyone!!  Hope this finds you enjoying summer, or something close to it!  Our summer vacation is already in the history books, but it was so memorable and so beautiful, I thought I would use it as inspiration for my card for The Craft's Meow June Sketch Challenge...

I used a little clay/coral mix of color from this, my favorite pathway to our room from the pool/restaurant area...

...and from flowers in a similar shade...ALL OVER the grounds...

...this one was like a flower in a flower...

...and, of course, the beautiful aqua color of the water...

...I put it all together in a fun, easy-going theme...

I brought home a sweet hand-woven basket/bag, so I had to weave a little paper to add as an accent.  The flower, leaves, and bee are from TCM's Happiness Is..., and the aqua background is from the new set I won from TCM, Retro Foundations.  (The tag die, sentiment, card stock, ribbon and buttons came from Papertrey.)  So glad you could pop in, and thanks for letting me share a little of our trip with you.  I hope to get one more Jamaica inspired card done soon, and pay tribute the wonderful people we met there!  They were the best part of the trip, so I hope you'll stay tuned!!  Thanks TCM for the fun challenge!!

~Geri~

Hello, all!  Back from vacation and doing my best to catch up!  Just posting some treats I made for some special staff members at my kids' school for their last day (before vacation!...when I really should have been packing!!)  I used papers from my new Crafty Secrets CD.  It was fun mixing and matching these pretty papers...

Yes...these are the little TP roll pockets...doesn't get much easier...

They're just full of chocolates (with the little daisy tucked in, of course)...(the black papers on these two aren't from the CD)...

Each one a little different...

It would have been nice to top each one off with some tissue paper fringe trim, but I didn't have any made up, and didn't have time to create any :(...

Oh, well...they were sweet without it, too...

If you have any Crafty Secrets goodies...there's still time to create something and link up for a chance to win a SWEET gift certificate!  Thanks so much, Crafty Secrets, for the opportunity...and to everyone else for your visit!! I have a couple "Jamaica Inspired" cards running through my head...I'd like to say I'll get those done and share some pic's next week...but this summer schedule...I don't know...;)

~Geri~

Hey, everyone!  Popping in with a quick post!  We head out for vacation bright and early in the AM and I wanted to quickly post this card before I crawl in bed for a few hours.  My friend, Char, inspired me to create a card for the current Moxie Fab Challenge to incorporate gingham.  I love gingham on my projects and needed a get well card for a neighbor so I thought I would play along.  This is my first time participating, and my first time inking up this little guy...

...isn't he a cutie?  He was stamped on a piece of gingham from Bety's shop...lots of pretty color swatches on one sheet...I love em!  Melissa Phillips created the sweetest card with these little PTI birdies using clouds and the "under the weather" sentiment for the April release (I think)...I thought then it was the cutest idea and that I would have to try a version of it for myself...I didn't even go back and look at hers...didn't want to tempt myself to try to recreate anything she had done...

This goes out to my neighbor who has broken her leg for the 3rd time!!!  This time she hadn't even gotten rid of her walker from the last break!  I know she needs a lift and I think she'll like this.

OK...gotta git!  We're off to Jamaica tomorrow!!  My kids don't need a cranky mommy getting on and off of airplanes, now do they?!  My brother will be holding down the fort for us, but I've not given him blogging instructions, so you won't hear from me for a bit.  I know I'm behind on a little visiting...promise to catch up when we get back!!  Thanks so much for visiting!!
~Geri~

Hope everyone is enjoying a special weekend with families!  My gals at the dentist's office requested some Mother's Day cards.  This first batch was made with my new Strawberry Patch images from Papertrey.  And I have to say...this set is SO much fun to play with!  The possibilities are endless with the sizes, layers and sentiments included (in two companion sets).  Anyway...I thoroughly enjoyed playing and creating...and I'll get right to the pix...I know you're all busy enjoying your weekend!...

Wasn't crazy about the green on this one...brightened it up on the rest...

A familiar layout from me...with part computer generated and part stamped sentiment...

This is a design by Ashley Cannon Newell that I liked...I just made a few minor changes...

These were actually my favorite...but they didn't sell...I used a computer generated sentiment on the front...

 My mom is no longer living, so I sure had fun creating for these gals wanting to share some love with their moms!  I have a few more (on the 'not-so-fruity' side) to share...maybe tomorrow!  Enjoy your special weekend!!
~Geri~

Goodness, it's been awhile!  So busy!!  But I'm in luck with Crafty Secrets' second Linky Party, as I recently had a published card returned (along with a box of goodies!!) from CARDS magazine that I used a CS stamp set on...just in time to post it for this months party!  This one was accepted for the style/color challenge of bees/honeycomb and the colors of melon pink, yellow and green.  The little bee and sentiment are from the small Queen Bee set.  This is the prettiest little set...I love the delicate little bee, and the garland of leaves, not used on this card, is so pretty also.

I've used the chipboard frame, a MF crown,  Prima flower, and some pretty Crate Papers, (and even a little die cut lace) all layered up in the perfect colors for the challenge...

I was pleased with this one when it was done, and, needless to say, was thrilled it was published!  Hope you like it, too!!
Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping in!
~Geri~

Hello, everyone!  So glad you could join me today in celebrating The Polkadot Door's second Blog-iversary!  They're hosting a little hop to celebrate, with goodies involved, so you might want to go check it out!  You can play along if you'd like...here's the inspiration board...

The fabrics, handmade felt flowers and buttons are what caught my eye, and I was in the mood for something a little different than my typical cards, so I set to work with a small jar, some buttery looking fabric, quilt batting, and my own handmade flower...

That fluffy little thing is kind of like the cherry on top of my milkshake...or my cupcake...

Yep, it's a little cupcake pin cushion!  And it was really so easy!  I'm sure there are bunches of these around, but I was inspired this week by THIS ONE at Andrea Budjack's blog, to get creative with my own fabrics and whip up one of my own.  It was made with a whole lotta love and intended to bring a smile to a dear friend's face...

Hope it does the trick!

The trims, by the way, are from vintage table linens that I purchased quite some time ago for just the right project, and this was it.  They were not in colors I would ever use in my home, and on several, while the cloth was stained, most of the trim was NOT!  (That just meant I was able to get them pretty inexpensively.)  I just cut the pretty trim off the edges, leaving about a 1/4 inch of the cloth (and giving me space for glue!)  I wrapped the olive green around twice at the top of the jar, and then finished off with the white.  The ribbon that I pulled around the top of the jar covered up my raw edges.  I left a little more excess edge on the trim on top of the cupcake, and just tucked the excess down inside the "swirls" or folds.  And I thought the quilters pins to keep the pretty scallops down made great "sprinkles".  This was a no-sew project that I would highly recommend that you try!  So much fun!  If you would like to, and need more details...just let me know!

If you're hopping, next on the list is

Megan

If you would like to start at the beginning, just click HERE for all the details and the full list of designers.

Thanks so much, Rebecca and Sarah, for the invitation and the inspiration!

So glad you could stop in today!!

~Geri~

Welcome, everyone, to The Craft's Meow  April Release Blog Hop!  I hope you've enjoyed peeking in on all the previews this week.  I've had a blast, and am so thankful to The Craft's Meow for giving me the opportunity to design with these fun sets this week!

  

So here we are at The Hop...I'm guessing you've seen all the sets in full detail at the Craft's Meow blog.  The Design Team members have all come up with a final project to show off one or more of the April sets today.  If you would like a chance to win the BIG PRIZE...all the sets released this month...you'll need to comment on each designer's blog, and then leave a comment on The Craft's Meow blog to be entered.  Due to some problems with Blogger this week, TCM has some special info to make you aware of if you are interested in being entered in the draw...

'Blogger has been causing problems for some of our
designers all week long so you may come across a few
of our designer's blogs that do not appear updated
with today's blog hop post.
If that happens, please refer to the hop order at the end of
this post or on The Craft's Meow Store Blog
to continue on, but make sure you plan to check back
on the other blogs because you'll need to leave a comment
on each blog in order to win our BIG PRIZE!'

 OK...now that housekeeping is out of the way, I'll share my final project.  I've used 2 of the sets being released today.  I've used the little blossom images from Nature's Beauty to fill up a pretty little pocket...

For the sentiment, I used one from Inspired by Audrey that I really liked.  In the set, this sentiment is two lines on one stamp, but I wanted to use the lines separately.  I just masked the line I didn't want to stamp with scotch tape, inked up the stamp, peeled off the tape, and stamped...and just repeated the process for the second line...

The little filigree at the top is from Inspired by Audrey also. I liked the way it finished things off.  Hope you like it!

Here's the full list of designers, in case you've had to temporarily skip anyone...

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Wanford
Ivana Camdzic
Geri Freeman
Iwona Palamountain
Jackie Rockwell
Jean Martin 
Jen Cuthbertson
Jenny Suchin
Jessica Fick
Gini Cagle
Julie Ranae

Karen Baker
Lindsay Amrhein
Michelle Bertuzzi

Nina Brackett

Happy hopping!  Be sure to leave your comment on The Craft's Meow blog by 9:00 PM, PDT, April 23 to be entered to win.  And don't forget, Giddy Up, is April's free gift with a $50 purchase from TCM!  Thanks again for all your sweet comments this week...I really have appreciated them!
Enjoy!!
~Geri~