Farm Friends!

Friday I spent a little bit of time with my friend Suzanne on her farm!  She has about 60 cows that are all "due"!  So things are quite busy over there!  Here are a few video clips to share with you! Sorry for the video being smaller, I shot it on my Iphone. I plan to go back this week and film a real birth for you! Would you like to see that? Or not?

Mama Cow and calf - just born the morning of this video! The baby is sleeping so good and mama is so gentle and caring.... aaawwww!


Baby Calf standing up! This little one is only 3 days old!



Cotton, the burrough does NOT like to share the treats (that is a mineral block he is chewing on!)


Feeding treats to Rositta and Hector (her son!)

Hand Sewn Placemats!

I got a sewing machine for Christmas!  A really beginner one, The Singer Simple! This is the firs thing I've actually sewn!!  I got the instructions from a great little magazine called "Sew It All" and it has lots of fun easy things I plan to try!  I'm not so interested in sewing clothes, but more interested in sewing stuff! 

Okay, "sew", I will tell you a little bit about how I made these, although if you want full instructions pick up the current issue of Sew It All Mag.  I picked up all the material from Wal-mart.  The solid red is Duck Material.  It is sold in 2 yard packs for like $8.  The patterned paper, I mean, fabric, also came from Wal-mart in a pack of small squares wrapped up in a ribbon called Fat Quarters, also for about $7.  I cut all the pieces according to directions and layed out my idea of what I wanted it to look like! Like this:

I then pinned down the first scrap with the ribbon on top and did a zigzag stitch on top of the ribbon.

I did this for each 4 sides.  Then I placed the batting between the top and bottom layers pinned it on and sewed all the way around the border of the placemat.  I left a 4" opening on one end so I could turn it inside out, then sewed around the edge again for a nice top stitching finished look!  It was so easy!  I can't wait to make more!!  Hope you like it!

Our first Baby Biddie!

We're Grandparents! One of our hens, "big mama", a dominique chicken, sat on 1 egg for about 23 days!  And Sunday her little baby biddie hatched!  I didn't see it hatch but I notice Big Mama was in the garden shed yard for an extended period of time and wondered why she wasn't back on her nest.  So I decided to go check things out!  She was talking up a storm and I couldn't figure out what she was cackling about.  I went over to were she was pacing back and forth next to this piece of black cloth that had blew over into the yard from the barn.  I sat there in silence for a moment trying to figure out why she was upset and that's when I heard it! Peep, peep!  Peep, peep!  I spoke out loud with excitement in my voice... "Could it be?"  I asked myself!  I lifted the cloth and there was a tiny ball of yellow fuzz!  She had gotten under neath the cloth and mama couldn't get to her, which was why she was upset!  Mama was then able to see her and get to her!  We were all SO HAPPY then!  This was our first biddie experience and it's too cute to even try to explain!  But, I'll have more excited news, perhaps by next weekend, b/c our other hen, Sally, is expecting 2 babies!

 

Angel Trumpet Card!

To celebrate the Sneak Peak of 3 new sets of flowers I made this pretty Angel Trumpet Card, the first of 3 releases! Tune in tomorrow at Tiffany Doodles to see the 2nd sneak peak! These new beauties will be in the store on Friday!! Visit the other design team members to see their cards!

St. Jude Card Drive!

I made this cute & colorful little paper pieced card for the St. Jude Card drive!  I encourage everyone to participate in this wonderful cause!  Your host for this drive is Winter Sims of Winter Wonderland!  But we have a deadline!  You must have your cards mailed in to Winter by January 31 so that they can get them to the children in time for Valentine's Day!  Check the link above for all the details and address.  There are just a couple little rules, set by St. Jude, to follow regarding making and signing your cards so please read her post about it!

I wouldn't have known about this great cause if it weren't for my dear friend, and Design Team Member at Tiffany Doodles, Karen Baker! Thank you Karen for telling me about this!  This is a charity dear to my heart!

I am also proud to say the Tiffany Doodles is one of the official sponsors for this St. Jude card drive!  So please read Winter's post about how to participate and win some prizes!

Wanna see some more creativity?  Stop by and see cards made by a few other of my lovely and generous Design Team Members, Kim Schofield, Collette Landwer, Jeannie DeGruccio, and Karen Baker!

P.S. Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday, for a Paper Piecing Tutorial on Tiffany Doodles new feature: Two Minute Tuesdays!

Really cool software find!

Greetings followers! I came across something that makes my life so much easier and I wanted to share it with you in case you have a need for this too!  Do you ever have to copy and paste the same pieces of frequently used text on a regular basis?  You have to go find the last place you typed it, copy it again and go back to where you were and paste it.  I find myself doing this all the time with several different little text strings I copy. 

Well, I found this software called FlashPaste that saves all of these little text strings for you, right at your fingertips!  You simply hit your 'hot key' on your keyboard and choose from your list of text strings what you want to paste, right there at your cursor!  It is so handy!!  I can already tell you this is going to be software I can't live without!  Check it out for yourself!

P.S. I'm not affiliated with Flashpaste, just really like this handy tool!

January Card Challenge for Tiffany Doodles

I was so excited to finally use this cute little sleeping fawn digital stamp that I drew a while back!  This little guy just melts me!!  He's so cute hiding in the grass!  Here are a few of my supplies I used to make this card!

• Sleeping Fawn Digital Stamp - Tiffany Doodles
• Spellbinders Die Cut - Labels 10
• Grass Border Punch - Fiskars
• White Glaze Pen - Sakura
• Distress Ink - Tim Holtz (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord)
• Sleep Tight Sentiment - Handwritten by me!! =)
• Striped Ribbon - The Paper Studio
• Paper Bow - Hot Off the Press Fold It Bows Template
• Copics - (for Fawn) E31, E34, E35, E37

Be sure to visit the other girls sites and see their beautiful cards this month! Also, enter your card in this sketch challenge! It's easy to enter and you have 4 chances to win up to 7 digital stamps from my BRAND NEW STORE! Here is the sketch so you can play along!  Here is the link for more info on this challenge!

Grand Opening Tiffany Doodles New Store!

Greetings everyone! I hope you are having a fantastic New Year! I am so excited to finally introduce you to the brand new.... Tiffany Doodles!

Please come by and check it out!  There are lots of new features including a much easier way to search for the digis you're looking for.  You earn points with everything you buy and can redeem them for digis!  You can purchase memberships and enjoy discounts throughout the store!  I now offer digital papers and paper templates.  Setup personal accounts, pay with Paypal or a Credit Card, buy Gift Certificates and lots more!!
While the store is brand new I would be very grateful for any tips you have regarding broken links or things that might not be working correctly.  I'd appreciate your help while working out any kinks!

Oh, and I hope you enjoy all of the new valentines digis I just released today!  There are 9 new sets, 24 digis in all!!  Enjoy!  You know what?  While I'm at it let me just give one of those sets away to a random commenter today to this post (on the Tiffany Doodles Blog)!!  Happy New Year!

Christmas in Asheville!!

We were so lucky to find a vacancy here!! A Christmas to remember!

Blog Hop Winner!

Moments by Marla!  Congrats on winning my Christmas Turtle! Email me to claim your prize!

Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop!

December is finally here and there is so much going on over at Tiffany Doodles!  We have a brand new Design Team!  Today we are starting a 3 day blog hop and the December Card Challenge kicks off!  Skip down to the next post to see my Challenge Card.  For the Blog Hop I made this cute little Christmas Turtle card!!  I hope you like him b/c I'm going to give him away for my Blog Hop Digi Prize!!

Digi Giveaway - Christmas Turtle!

There is so much happening right now!  I am almost finished with the new Tiffany Doodles store!! There will be a real shopping cart, with easy to find digis, coupons, memberships, and so much more!  Stay tuned, I'm hoping to open around Christmas! (if everything goes smoothly!)

Do you have a challenge blog and need a good sponsor?  Click here to find out more about Tiffany Doodles sponsoring your challenge!

Tiffany Doodles is having a great sale right now "Buy 3 Get 1 Free".  Purchase your 3 digis as usual and then email your free choice to me!

If you are new to Tiffany Doodles - please join us every 7th of the month for a new challenge!  You have 4 chances to win up to 7 digis of your choice from the store!

Be sure to sign up to follow Tiffany Doodles on Facebook & Twitter for special promotions and events.  There will be lots happening at these two spots in the future!  Don't miss out - sign up today!

Choose your own button color!
Get the Copy & Paste code
& find more colors here!

Blog Hop Instructions:

1. Be sure to install this button to your blog if you haven't already.
2. Follow this blog if you aren't already!
   
3. Stop by everyone's blog and sign up to follow theirs too!
   
4. Leave a comment on my blog & everyone else's blog!
   (Did I mention prizes at every stop on the blog hop?!?!)
5. On the main blog there will be even more prizes - 3 digis each for 3 random winners!

Here is the official Blog Hop Order!

• Official Site    Tiffany Doodles
• Tiffany Richards    Tiffany's Garden --> You are here!
• Cammy Wall    Pink Room Therapy
• Collette Landwer    Heaven Sent For You
• Donna Mikasa    3 Umbrellas
• Jeannie DeGruccio    The Polka Cabana
• Jillian Foster    Inspired By
• Jodi Ann Lee    Inked Inspirations
• Karen Baker    The Bald Dragonfly
• Kim Schofield    Paperie Petals
• Lindsay Amrhein    Note to Self
• Lisa Summerhays    Lisa's Handmade Cards
• Pattie Goldman    The Pampered Paper Patch
• Peet Roeven    Scrap Album
• Shannon Neparko    Desert Design Studios
• Simone Naoum    Designs by Simone
• Sue McRae    Inky Fingers
• Willemien Katerberg    Styles in Paper

After you leave a comment on THIS post, then your next stop on the Blog Hop is Cammy! Enjoy your journey today and good luck on winning the prizes!

TD07 Christmas Challenge!

Here is my card for the Tiffany Doodles Christmas Challenge!  I used the Christmas Tree Digi stamp!  I colored the tree with copics and added the extra contrast with my prismacolored pencils.  The blue background I foamed on with Distress Inks in Broken China and Faded Jeans on the outer edges.  I used my white glaze pen to make the snowflakes and dots!  I did faux stitching around the edges too!  The pink background was sponged on with Distress Ink Spun Sugar and then I stamp a pretty floral background stamp in Memento Rose Bud.  I added a pink ribbon and the sentiment is hand-written.  Then sentiment didn't turn out as good as it looked on my scratch paper!  hehe!

If you are looking for the Blog Hop! Click Here!  This is our first challenge with the brand new Design Team and they have got some major eye candy in store for you!!  Please go visit their sites to see!!

New Team Members at Tiffany Doodles!

Hello, and Happy Friday! With a heavy heart, I'd like to announce that many of Tiffany Doodles' original design team left to pursue new opportunities and I wish them well.

Cindy, Deirdre, Julie, Kathy, Ruby,Vanessa, and Virginia--it's been an honor being on the same team with you these past 6 months. Good luck with whatever comes your way and I'll still be following all of you!

I have since gathered 11 creative ladies who will officially begin their terms starting with this month's challenge. Here is a complete list of new team members:

• Official Site Tiffany Doodles
• Tiffany Richards Tiffany's Garden
• Cammy Wall Pink Room Therapy
• Collette Landwer Heaven Sent For You
• Donna Mikasa 3 Umbrellas
• Jeannie DeGruccio The Polka Cabana
• Jillian Foster Inspired By
• Jodi Ann Lee Inked Inspirations
• Joy Taylor Less is More
• Karen Baker The Bald Dragonfly
• Kim Schofield Paperie Petals
• Lindsay Amrhein Note to Self
• Lisa Summerhayes Lisa's Handmade Cards
• Pattie Goldman The Pampered Paper Patch
• Peet Roeven Scrap Album
• Shannon Neparko Desert Design Studios
• Simone Naoum Designs by Simone
• Sue McRae Inky Fingers
• Willemien Katerberg Styles in Paper

TO celebrate the new team on Tuesday, Dec 7, we will be doing a 3 day blog hop! ALso, on Tuesday, our new December challenge will be starting and we've got some major eye candy in store for you! So be sure to start at www.TiffanyDoodles.com on Tuesday to start the HOP!
Oh, did I mention TONS of giveaways??

Snowgirl Card

I created this Snowgirl digital stamp for the challenge I'm sponsoring over at CDAC (Crafter's Digital Art Center) from Dec 2 to Dec 15.  It's an Embellishment challenge and all you need to do is add a sentiment to your card!  Head over there to grab the digi and join the challenge!

On this sweet card I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities mega die cut to make the actual card. I printed out the digi on Gina K cardstock and used Distress Inks to fill in the edges the lighter shade is Worn Lipstick and the darker edges are Fired Brick.  I used my sponge blender to apply.  I colored with copics and used by Glaze white pen to dot the snow!  Then I hand wrote the sentiment!

2011 Calenders from Tiffany Doodles

I'll start with a reminder for all of my crafty friends out there!  Tiffany Doodles is holding an open call for new Design Team members through the month of November.  Get all Design Team details here.

November is here and it's time for another Tiffany Doodles Challenge! We are doing something a little different this month! The challenge is to make "anything but a card"! The Tiffany Doodles design team has come up with some amazing creations and you really must check them out! I decided to create a 2011 calender in 2 different styles! 1) a cd case and 2) 1 page trifold. Both using digi stamps from Tiffany Doodles!

CD Case Calender

For the CD case calender I created a backdrop scene using several stamps, Grass, Label, Lamb, Singing Birds, Birdies & Housework, Sunny Face, & Clouds Set.  I also used the calf digistamp on the back cover. I assembled the stamps in Photoshop in a document 300dpi, 4.75"x5.4" (or 1425x1620).
I created a PDF template if you would like to make this calender yourself!  CD Case Calender PDF template.

For the calender dates I also assembled those in Photoshop and printed on regular copy paper.  You can purchase the calender template here and the calender backdrop here.  After printing the calender dates I rounded the corners and attached with diamond brads.  To change the months simply undo the brads and move the top month to the bottom of the stack, then replace brads.  I colored the backdrop with copics in all kinds of colors!  Too many to mention, but you get the idea!  The back cover contains a shameless plug for anyone that might see your calender and admire it!  =)  The CD cases came from Papertrey Ink (5 for $3).

1 Page Tri-fold Calender

For the 1 page calender I used 9 digi stamps from Tiffany Doodles! Lotus w/Blossom, Zinnia Bloom w/Blossom,  Petal Bloom w/Blossom, Hummingbird, Warbler, Warbler 2, Lilystems w/Oval, Dahlia w/Oval, & Poppy w/Oval. This fun little calender will fit on 1 sheet of paper, then you score it, fold it and just flip it every 4 months!  This template is available here.  I colored all the digis with copics and then gave each one a little extra zing with stickles glitter!  I created a PDF template of this calender too!  1 Page Tri-fold Calender PDF tempate.

Thanks for looking!

Francie goes fishing!

We were fishing off the back deck yesterday and Francie wanted some of the action too!  She tried so hard to get that fish!  She just about talked it to death! =)  Emma kept her distance she wasn't too sure about the situation! Enjoy!

TD05 - Fall Theme Challenge

Everyone is celebrating the cooler weather these days so for the Tiffany Doodles October challenge we are doing a Fall Theme! For my card I used one of my brand new Fall digital stamps! I drew this little fall tree in Photoshop as I saw it in my head! =) I put it inside the Fall Leaf label (for this card I removed the leaf from the middle of the label).  I colored the tree and around the tree with my Copics.  Then used my Prismacolor Pencils and deepen some of the blues around the edges.  This is the first time I've tried this technique and will definitely do more of this in the future and with different mediums!  Hope you like my card this time!!  If you enjoy making cards, join us in the fun card challenge and you could win some digital stamps from my store!!

Poodle Card!

It's the 7th of the month and that means a new Tiffany Doodles challenge! This month we are doing a COLOR challenge and the Design Team has come up with some great inspiration! You must check out their cards as well!

I used 2 Tiffany Doodles stamps this time, the Poodle & the freebie Label 3. I used Basic Grey's Porceline 6x6 paper for my label, background and towel.  I also used some pretty green glitter paper to give it a little bling!  After printing out the poodle onto Gina K cardstock I colored it with copics rv23, rv02, rv00.  Then I cut it out and used pop dots to place in the center of the label!

Be sure to participate in this challenge because you have great chances of winning some fabulous digi stamps from me!!

We Love You Cornbread

We are heartbroken over the loss of our kitty, Cornbread.  He put up a great fight through this last ordeal, but we couldn't bear to see him suffer.  It was the most heart-wrenching thing I have ever done, but the prognosis would have been worse for him.  We we're blessed to have him in our life.  We have so many wonderful memories of him and all the silly things he did!  He is resting peacefully in a special spot in our yard where he can always keep watch over everything and guard over his kingdom!
I think about him constantly and miss his sweet face every minute of the day.  He was always right there with me and following me every step I made no matter where I went.  He was a big part of our family and we will miss him terribly.  Every day.  Every night.  We love you so much Kitty.  Cornbread, this is from Mama's heart to you, my boy....

Don't be sad you had to end my pain,
and know that you will see me once again.
God's given me a place to wait for you,
a cozy cloud and salmon too!

The angels are happy to stroke my fur,
and they all seem to love it when I purr.
I'm no longer sick so I am glad,
please don't fill your days by being sad.

I know in time that you will see,
the kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
from pain and suffering I've been saved.

Today you gave something to heaven
that heaven once gave to you.
Your sweet, your precious,
and faithful companion, "Cornbread".

He'd been with you for many years,
his loyalty did show.
You loved him and he loved you back,
but now he has to go.

Do not despair for he'll be there,
when your time's at the end.
There just beyond the Pearly Gates,
awaits your furry friend.

You kissed his head, buried your face in his neck,
and whispered goodbye as a part of you died.
May heavens arms hold you, softly my love,
until Mama can hold you in Heaven above.

Cornbread crossed the rainbow bridge on Monday, August 30, 2010. 
Rest in peace my boy.

I love you kitty, and will never ever ever forget you.
You can see more posts of kitty here: more on Cornbread

TD03 Challenge!! Flower Power!

Tiffany Doodles 3rd monthly challenge is underway and this month the theme is "Flower Power"!  Tiffany Doodles offers so many beautiful flower digital stamps that the Design Team and I wanted to feature them for our monthly card challenge!  For my card I used several of my DoodleBlooms designs! (specifically images from Vol I, IV, V, & VII)

I had a great time putting this card together!  Here are my supplies!

• DoodleBlooms - Tiffany Doodles - Vol I, IV, V, & VII
• Kraft cardstock (papertrey ink)
• Labels 8 (mega nestabilities)
• Coordinations Black Magic cardstock (spellcaster)
• Turquoise ribbon - Hobby Lobby
• Bow Easy
• Prismacolor Pencils - Aquamarine, GrassGreen, Black Grape, Lilac, Mineral Orange, Pink, Mulberry, Canary Yellow, Chartreuse, Dark Green, Kelly Green, Colorless Blender
• Copics - YG21, YG23, YG25, BG05, BG45, BG34, RV25, RV23, RV21, YR02

To start out I created a 4x6 300dpi image in Photoshop and brought in some of my Doodleblooms and arranged them around, resized, & rotated them to make a nice background my my card.  I printed this out onto my Kraft cardstock.  I scored the fold and then used my large die cut to cut the card shape.  (Don't forget to leave the top of the card off so that you don't cut it).  Next I colored all the little doodles with my colored pencils.  This was fun blending the colors together!  I wanted them to be bright and cheerful for our Flower Power theme!
Next, I began to color my large doodlebloom with my copics.  I really like blending different color families together and making it look smooth.  For instance, see how the pink blends into a light orange?  And the blue, blends into the turquoise!  Green into yellow!! I love this!  After I got my Doodle colored the way I wanted it I cut it out with my precision scissors!  ALOT of cutting!  If there were any touches of white paper showing on the edges I colored them out with a black felt pen.  Next, I cut my piece of Black Magic cardstock in the same shape as my doodle with about a 1/4" border.  I sanded the edges just a touch to allow the blue core to show through. (LOVE coordinations cardstock!)
Next, I fixed my ribbon onto the card stock and tied the double bow using my Bow Easy! (Best $5.00 I ever spent!)  I glued my colored doodle onto the black cardstock and afixed onto the card with large 3d glue zots.
Please join us on this great challenge and make your own card!!  You have until the end of August to play!  AND you have 4 chances to win up to 7 digital stamps of your choice from Tiffany Doodles!