Thursday, September 6, 2012

OMGosh, So Many Thanks, and So Much News!

I have so much to tell you. I don't really know where to begin. I am at a loss for words.

Or, not so much. First of all, I want to send a shout-out to my sister, Barbara, who had her knee replacement surgery yesterday. She was doing quite well the last time I heard, thank goodness! I expect she will have a great recovery like my other sister, Merrilyn, did! Big hugs to you, Barbara!

Secondly, I have some thank-yous to spread around blog-land! You know there are so many fabulous peeps out there in the ether!

Many thanks to MayzyArt and 7 Kids College Fund for the recent goodies that I won on your challenges! I love when that happens! 

I would like to thank Pryn Garritan, (of So Not Mocha-vated), again for her gift to me of some beautiful bird stamps and some wonderful fibers. I received these for a prize from her after the Outlawz 2000-member party! I finally managed to make a card with them. I hope I did them justice, Pryn. It took me a long time to make, because I had to learn how to color birds first--Class 5 at CMC, (thank you to Suzanne Dean!).  

I also received a wonderful prize from Colleen Holmes, creator of The Outlawz Challenges, after that 2000-member party--a great gift card to Oozak.com. I bought some fabulous Memory Box dies from Rusty--he is wonderful to work with--his prices are great, and he ships immediately! So thank you to Colleen and Rusty!

More recently I received a fabulous package of goodies, (from stamps to an embossing folder to a letter press to adhesive) from Teresa Gray of Mommamea's Favorite Things. She generously gave me this wonderful gift for her 50-member blog candy and for commenting on her blog! She's so sweet--thank you again, Teresa!

And last, but certainly not least, I am going to receive a gift of stamps from Kristen Combs of Pearl Gateway, for commenting on her blog. How nice is that, too? I so appreciate it, Kristen! I am looking forward to receiving the package from you. Thank you again!

Now to my news. I mentioned, in my last post, that I am currently a guest designer for The Outlawz Sketch group, which I so appreciate--my thanks to Sandi Huggett, of Sandi's Samples, for inviting me! I am always honored to serve with a team of talented ladies! :^)

And I have more news! Colleen Holmes, of The Outlawz fame, is also the owner/publisher of the ezine,  Through the Craft Room Door. This magazine was originally started by Suzanne Dean and Marti Willis. Colleen has taken over the magazine, and developed it into a unique publication! (If you don't have a subscription yet, why not get one! You'll get wonderful free digis and lots of tutorials and other great info!) Anyway, Colleen asked me to become a design team member on the TTCRD DT! I am again very honored to be asked, and will begin submitting my designs on September 18. Thank you again, Colleen! :^)

And yet, even more news. I have also been asked by Lady Anne Milnes-Howard to be on her Wednesday DT for her website Lady Anne's Paper Crafts. I will begin my submittals on September 26th. Once more, I am honored to be asked to join a design team. Thank you again, too, Lady Anne! :^)

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention this as well. Jennifer Scull, of Just Coffee Please...& Stamps & Ribbons & Paper, contacted me yesterday about doing a guest design spot on Jellypark Friends Friday Challenges this fall, with a potential regular term this winter! Another honor for me! I will guest design in November. Thanks so much, Jennifer! :^)

I will have another announcement soon. I have not been given the go-ahead to make that news public yet. So stayed tuned!

What on earth did I do to deserve all this goodness coming to me? I really can't comprehend all of this, honestly! I am thrilled beyond belief; I just hope I can live up to the talent of the DT members I will be joining! Send me good vibes, please!

OK, back down to earth. (Did you hear the crash from there? No? It was a pretty big one! I scared my dog.) I have a card to show you that I made for my first DT, Create with TLC. (My thanks to Paulette at TLC for honoring me with my first official DT membership! And we are having another blog hop on the 30th with freebies for everyone who stops by--so be sure to put that on your calendar!) I have been busy with so many things this past week that I have been unable to create as much as I would have liked. But I think I am back to normal now, (oh, help, what does that mean?). 

As an aside, I have also been dealing with drafting for my two fantasy football teams. Yup. I am a glutton for punishment, it appears. At least I am not in any leagues that cost money this year. I nearly had a nervous breakdown over a money league last year! It was too stressful! So wish me luck with those as well. OK, sorry. I am almost 100% certain that you didn't really care to hear about that. But I had to mention it. (She made me. She is pretty bossy sometimes.)

Okey dokey. Back to the card. I colored, with my Copics, (now there's a shock),  two birds, (by Martha Stewart), that I stamped on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. (Gosh, did you notice all the commas in that last sentence? Who writes like that anyway?) I used a Create with TLC sentiment that I printed on Stampin' Up CS. The DP that I chose is from the Prima Songbird collection. I managed to die cut several pieces from the following dies: Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and Accents, Memory Box Branch and Distressed Tag, and two Marianne Designs leaf flourishes. I added some cheesecloth from my stash; flowers, pins, and flat-back pearls by Wild Orchid Crafts; and several Queen and Company pearls. I accented the birds with a bit of white gel pen.  I cut out my birds, (I didn't hurt them, so don't call the ASPCA on me), after I colored them with the following Copics: YG0000, BG90, BG93, BG96, YR00, YR21, YR24, YR27, YR61, TR65, YR68, E40, E41, E42, E43, E44, E57, E59.

I am entering The Outlawz CPC Challenge Anything Goes at the last minute again. My apologies to their wonderful DT! I am also entering:

Craft Your Passion Floral Images
Inky Impressions Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly Anything Goes
Simon Says Put a Stamp on It
The Paper Shelter Tag You're It

Hoping you all have a fabulous upcoming weekend! Gary and I are going to the season opener of our Arizona Cardinals! Woohoo! ;^)


30 comments:

  1. whoa nelly! gorgeous gorgeous! love those colors!

    and all of this is happening because you are not only uber talened, but a very very nice person!

    prayers going out for your sister. :)
    and check my blog tomorrow....

    hugs to ya!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang woman! You got a lot going on! And that card is spectacular! I especially like the pearls on a layer BEHIND the focal image... cool look!
    I am delighted you joined the challenge at Craft Your Passion and I hope to see you again next week!
    ~ginny
    CYP Design Team
    RubberMAD (my blog)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gosh Penny there was a lot of exiting news there. Well done you. I really admire you Penny because you have so much work going on but you never fail to make comments. I think you could put a few of us to shame. Because of my work I never seem to have the time to make as many comments as I would like. Enjoy your success - you deserve it.
    fabulous card by the way.
    Hugs Sharon. x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my stars- your card is just amazing! And that is alot of exciting news my dear- I guess you would come down with a thud! I look forward to a TON of inspiration from you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! This is AWESOME!! Love this sooo much! Great layout and wonderful images & sentiment! So glad to have you on board with us over at Create With TLC! Congrats! :D
    Hugs,
    Karen C

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's such a lovely, elegant card Penny, you certainly did the stamps justice, no worries there at all! Many, many congrats on all the fabulous wins and the great DT offers - all of which are completely and totally deserved :) Look forward to seeing lots of amazing new creations from you!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW Penny such wonderful news you have shared though I must say I peaked at your gorgeous creation first...such a stunner...each detail so perfecto!!! Love it to its.such inspiration and no wonder Colleen will not let you go!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. First, you go, girl! Congrats on all that gummy crafty goodness and DT spots! Second, that card is lovely! The birds, the pearls, the colors - all fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. OMG Penny, this is all fabulous news and you deserve every bit of good things that come your way. Enjoy all those free goodies,I'm so glad for you and happy your sisters knee surgery went well. I love that bird card, it's beautiful. By the way my hubby plays fantasy football online, but I don't understand any of it LOL. You are going to make a wonderful design team member with all those delicious designs you come up with. Hugs always!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely looking card. Absolutly fantastic colour combo and stunning design. So many details, had to look for a while to find the tag. LoL Thanks for joining us over the Paper Shelter this week.
    Love n hugs
    Marie

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, you are full of good news today, Penny!! With this GORGEOUS creation I can understand why you have been invited to join several design teams. Your work is lovely! Have a fabulous Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Penny, you deserve all the good things that are happening to you!! Your coloring is always fabulous and so are your cards. This new card is fantastic, love the colors and beautiful coloring. Congrats!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just love your card!!! Do you have a tutorial on it$

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris, I learned how to color the birds from a Copic class (#5) at CMC Classroom by Suzanne Dean--here is the web address: http://scrapbitzcopics.ning.com/

      Glad you liked the card! :^)
      Hugs,
      Penny

      Delete
  14. Such a pretty and elegant card, you colours are so tasteful! Thanks for joining us at Inky Impressions this week, good luck in the draw,

    hugs Vicky
    Inkette

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations on all of your wonderful wins and DT invites, Penny. As for your card - girl, where do you get your designs? This is amazing. I love, love, LOVE it. It's like one of the most beautiful paper creations I have ever seen. You rock.
    Blessing hugs,
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful, fabulous, gorgeous, stunning. love it, love it. Thanks so much for your visit and leaving the lovely comments. Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  17. Congrats Penny, on all the prizes (always fun) and on your DT spots, guest DT spot and... everything else what's coming :)
    I love your card ( told you allready on Outlawz, but better twice than not)and I can't wait to see your card with The Dutch Canary image.
    Thank you very much for your comments on my blog!!
    Hugz,Sandra

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, Mom! Huge congrats on all of your honors! Very exciting to see all the DT news! You deserve all that recognition. :) How are you finding time to do everything, though?!?

    Great card. Yet another work of art! I think you did a fabulous time coloring the birds. I would never know you hadn't been doing it for years. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your birds are beautifully colored which shows why you won all those wonderful goodies from the denizens of the blogosphere.

    The other reason would be that you're scary talented and a giant sweetie with a great sense of humor and wonderful writing skills. Your blog always makes me giggle like a lunatic, which of course, is not a stretch for me.

    Commas are great. So are exclamation points!!!

    Congrats on all your new dt gigs. You're going to rock them!

    Oh. I'm also glad that your sister's knee surgery went well. I wish her a comfortable, complete, speedy recovery. And margaritas when they won't interact with the painkillers.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Penny

    Absolutely stunning card, I love the design and the colours. Congratulations on your DT posts and guest DT post you thoroughly deserve it. Hope you're having a great weekend.

    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  21. I adore this card. Congrats to you my friend. I also needed to thank you for stopping by blog and leaving such sweetness on my posts. I appreciate it. Have a great day Penny !!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a breath-taking card! You coloring, all the details.. wow, just amazing! And congratulations on all your wins! It's easy to see, as you are very talented. :) Thanks for playing along in our 'Put a STAMP On It!' challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog! xx

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful work, it's so stunningly lovely!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. So pretty, such lovely work Penny!!
    :-) Kristen

    ReplyDelete
  25. Just a note. Thanks so much for your visit and sweet luv. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow Im breathless just reading all this Penny , how fabulous all those goodies and three design team posts too.. well done , richly deserved Hugs Elaine
    Your card is sensational

    ReplyDelete
  27. I feel like I'm out of breath after reading all of that... Oh I look up and Elaine said the same thing. Congratulations on all the wonderful things, I'm so happy for you!!!!
    Your project is stunning! Love the colors, all the dies you used. You colored the Arizona Cardinals so stunning, I love doing birds. You get a lot of stunning birds by you. Your project is so elegant.
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  28. beautiful card...congrats on your DT news! Just wanted to welcome you to Stamptacular Sunday DT! Looking forward to having you as part of the family.
    hugs,
    Steph
    -SS DT

    ReplyDelete
  29. So glad to hear to that your sister is doing well, Penny :) Did you do the stamps justice, you ask? OH EM GEE!!! Of course you did!!! You COMPLETELY rocked them!!! You must have been at the top of the Copics class because you coloring is AMAZING!!! Congrats on all of your goodies and DT honors! You are a fabulous person, inside and out and that is why all of this is happening to you...good things happen to good people and you are one of THE best!!!

    Love and hugs to you my DT Sistah!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I appreciate the kind comments more than I can say! :^)
Hugs, Penny