Chocolate Blog Hop with Scrapbook Place

Leap Day happens only once every FOUR years, and to celebrate this rare day, Your Scrapbook Place is having a BLOG HOP today!!  My project tempts your crafty sweet tooth with a Chipboard Album cover.  After covering the bare chipboard with red textured cardstock, I added coordinating patterned paper on the spine.  I chose to color an image from House Mouse & Friends, because the image matches my attitude, which is that "I never met a chocolate I didn't like..." 
I finished off the cover with flower and jewel embellies and a sentiment to set the tone of my album: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"  The chipboard pages inside are bare and ready to be covered and embellished.

Now, what is a blog hop without some blog candy?  Leave a little love in the comments section of each blog on the hop for a random chance to win blog candy.  If you belong to the Yahoo Group, Your Scrapbook Place, make sure you mention that for a bonus giveaway!  Not a member?  Never fear, click on the button at the right to join us!

**Here's a BONUS just for those who are visiting me today.  I will send one lucky random commenter this chipboard album for you to finish off.  But in addition to leaving a comment, please FOLLOW ME if you aren't doing so already.  Make sure you let me know in your comment that you've added me so i know to add you to this special draw.

If you get lost along the way, here is the hop order to get you back on track:
Your Scrapbook Place (YOU ARE HERE) - http://yourscrapbookplace.blogspot.com/

Linda - http://scrappingheaven.blogspot.com/
Karissa - http://livelaughlovescrapbookstamp.blogspot.com/
Carolyn - http://luvmycards.blogspot.com/
Holley - http://holleybarnhartsblog.blogspot.com/ 
Allie ~ http://www.welltrainedpaper.blogspot.com  
Shannon - http://shannonleffew.blogspot.com/

Pammie - http://pammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/ -

Diane ~ www.scrappindianeh.blogspot.com

Judy - http://dragonhomer.blogspot.com/

Pat M ~ http://patacakespages.blogspot.com

The HOP goes until Friday night, so you'll have plenty of time to eat up all those inspirational projects and leave some love.  Thanks for hopping with us again, and remember, keep crafting!!

Brrring on the Next Squigglefly Challenge

This week's Squigglefly Challenge is to put some Spring into your project (I think we're all tired of cold weather and gray skies).  Well, this little fella may be a ways from home, but I think he misses the sunshine too!  That must be why he's in the middle of all those flowers and bright colors!  The Squigglefly digi image is a new release called Brrr My Valentine by artist Sandy Sommerfield. 

I loved the patterned paper so much I couldn't stand to cut it down in size, so instead of a card I made an altered Steno Pad for my teen daughter, who's always looking for more notebooks to fill with stories, lists and ideas.

I covered the front with solid colored paper to coordinate with the patterned paper I found in my stash.  Copics colored my penguin, and some black Stickled gives his outline a bit of a glimmer.  Some lace3 and lots of fibers finishes off the notebook.

Squigglefly has a bunch of new releases to tickle your creative fancy, and you can find them all HERE.
Want a chance to win free digi's?  Join us in the Squigglefly Challenge Blog for your chance!  You must use a Squiggleflyt image, but that's easy--try a FREEBIE before you buy!

Hurry to the Hoedown

The Hambo Hoedown, that is!  Just a couple more days to enter their Anything Goes challenge.  I used my Party Elephant digi-image to make this cute birthday card.  And I know a dear friend who would get the humor in the front sentiment.  Inside the card reads:  Happy Birthday, Anyway!
I changed up my usual ribbon/flower embellishing for some colored jute behind tyhe image and sentiment, and left the rest of the card clean and simple, as the patterned paper was very colorful and busy (but I love that color combo).
Put on your dancin' shoes and come play at the Hoedown this week!

Blog Candy Alert! Check out my blog on Leap Day for a Blog Hop and some blog candy (some from Scrapbook Place Challenge Blgo and some from me)...and, as always, keep crafting!

There's Fairies in the Air

I was taking a walk in the forest last week when the winter weather suddenly farted out a beautiful spring day.  Can you imagine 60 degrees at the end of January---in Chicago??? 

Neither could I, which is why I wasn't surprised when I glanced down on the forest path to spy this little fairy taking a break from her busy schedule.  (What surprises you more, that we had a spring day in February, or that Chicago has forests?)

When my little sprite saw my big clodhopper boots near her private sanctum, she rushed off in a cloud of fairy dust, but not before inspiring me to make this card with Queen Kat Design's Mushroom Fairy stamp by Miss Megs.

I tried to catch the shimmer that surrounded her, but we mere mortals can't quite see the fairy folk as they really are.  Still, I think I did a decent job of capturing my magical moment with her, don't you?

Speaking of fairy folk and magic, have you read Beauty by Sherri S. Tepper?  It's an old read, but a good one, with a twist to the old sleeping beauty theme set in modern days. 

I think I still have my copy, and I'm in the mood for a little fantasy reading tonight!  You can probably snag your own copy on Amazon or at your local library.  You can also be inspired by all the lovely stamps over at QKD.  Lots of nerw February releases, like Mushroom Fairy!  Tell them Pat sent you!
Challenges entered:
http://divasbydesignchallenge.blogspot.com/   - Bling It On!
http://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/copicchallenge - Anything Goes!

Let the Sun Shine

Is it my imagination or did winter take a holiday?  My mom has crocuses popping up their tiny green heads, little knowing the shock they'll get when they open their eyes to see that Winter is still in the forecast.  At least, that's what Phil the Groundhog said earier in the month.  Then again, how many people actually listen to a groundhog?
So, on this mild day in February, in the heart of a Chicago winter, we are enjoying 40 degrees and sunshine.  And my card echoes the sentiments of the geese overhead as they fly back north, a nice bright sunny card with the distinct flavor of Spring.

I made this card with one of my Squigglefly images.  In fact, it is a freebie that you can snag from their website HERE.  It's called Turtle Express.  I love the friendship these two animals share, and I especially love the joke they're sharing, too.  Inside, the card reads:  Happy Spring
Squigglefly has a new challenge this week:  Use one of their images and the color YELLOW somewhere to make your card bright and sunny.
Now run along and play, either outside in the sunshine, if you have it, or in your craft room, and share it at the Squigglefly Challenge Blog.

Brighten Your Day with a New Squigglefly Challenge

Make a card that is sunny and bright-use yellow on your card!  That is the new Squigglefly Challenge on their blog this week, and I have been enjoying some sunny and bright moments this weekend. I made my card while still at home, packing up for a road trip with my teen daughter to visit her first college.  I took a photo of the card and brought my camera along for the trip, so am able to schedule this post for Monday, although it is a Sunday night.

My card uses an image from Marlene S called Worry Warts.  The image actually comes with its own sentiment but I used my own.  I made an easel card due to my 2-part sentiment, as I feel the easel card gives the front and inside sentiment an impact otherwise lost on a regularly-folded card. 
On ther right is my card closed flat.  I paper-pieced the image, and attached it in two parts with dimensional tape for, well, dimension!  Free-cut and inked a lily pad, added some watery-looking patterned paper, inked the yellow background with white ink and popped a cloud there, and printed out the first part of my sentiment:  "Frog Parking Only", trying to make it look like a traffic sign.

When my card is opened and propped up on its "easel", you can read both parts of the sentiment, the second one reading: "All others will be Toad".
 I saw this sentiment on a bumper sticker this month and thought what a great card it would make, so went rooting around for an image to match it!
I love digi's for this very reason.  I rooted around for it in my Squigglefly digi collection on my computer, which was so easy to look for and find the image I wanted.  I can also print it the size and perspective I wanted for my card! 
By the way, did you see the worried little lady bug in the lower right corner?  I think he wants to beat a fast retreat before he gets "TOAD away"! LOL
Okay, your turn to play in the Squigglefly challenge this week.  You could be the lucky winner of a free digi--the only difficult part is choosing just one!!!

Krafting with a Sweet Pea Image

Got exactly 20 minutes in my craft room yesterday, in between granddaughter's dance class, a visit to GG, my 101 year old Gram, helping my Bella make cards for her "other" grampa and for my hospitalized sister, visiting my sister, and grocery shopping.  But that's 20 more minutes I thought I'd have, so I'm happy with it!


Star Hanger by Karen Middleton

 And what do I have to show for it?  A Sweet card using one of my new Sweet Pea images!
I'm entering it into their February challenge, "to use Kraft paper on your project", on their challenge blog, One Sweet Challenge.  I happened to have a couple 12x12 sheets of Kraft paper in my stash for the card base, which I stamped with white ink and Stickled with a new background stamp. 
I colored my image while waiting for Bella at dance class.  The acrylic frame encircling the image (you can't see it very well here) was in a swap on my Yahoo group, Your Scrapbook Place.  I added Stickles onto the frame, as well as a few glittered stars and some fiber.

I feel less stressed now that I've had some me time, and I also promised myself that I would look for something, anything, each day, that made me smile.  So here is my photo of what made me smile today, in between the running around.

A little blurry, but here's my February 18th photo of the day.  In my Mom's front yard, her crocuses are trying to pop up before their time!  Hope they come back when it's Spring!