Bugaboos and Kittyhawks

In honor of the new year, For Fun Challenges has challenged us to create projects with the theme of "something new"! Recently, a friend of mine adopted a new puppy, so I jumped at the chance to make her a card!

Our sponsor this week is one of our fabulous regulars, Bugaboo Stamps. They seriously have something for everybody. They have so many different stamps, I can't even pick just a single favorite. I adore these little rotties, though. Sure my friend's new dog is a lab, but who couldn't love this soft little guy with his floppy ears and too-big "dog suit". Big dog puppies always seem to go through that period where their skin is too big, then they're all knees and elbows, all feet, then their head is too big for the rest of them. They get knocked over by their own tails, and then they start all over again with the "dog suit" being too big...and through the whole list again till they're a year or two old. It almost makes all the chewed furniture and puddles worth it. Almost. I'll stick with adopting adult dogs, thanks, but I love *other* people's puppies!

 I've been itching to do a cut-out card, so as they say, two birds one stone. (Not that I advocate throwing anything at birds, let alone rocks. ;)) Below is a view of the inside:

 And here's a view of my card in action. I hope she likes it! Now, take a minute to stop by For Fun Challenges and enter your own card design. Don't miss your chance to win this one...the person randomly selected from all valid entries gets 7...yes seven!...free digitals stamps from the Bugaboo shop. That's pretty darn excellent!

And, while I'm talking dogs (like I ever stop. Wait, I guess I do sometimes, long enough to talk about cats, rats, gerbils, hamsters, degus, turtles, bison, crocodiles, turkeys, chickens, et al.) here's Revco test driving a "Kittyhawk" a bought for a friend's cat for xmas this year. I've been dying to share the pictures I took a couple weeks ago, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for Jen, Teresa, Cassie and Mikey's kitties. I mean, how could I not go nuts for these and want every kitty I know to have one?

Does your kitty/dog need one? You bet they do! Check out the Etsy shop where I got them, hand made, custom made to your color specifications:

Radical Fringe X

And a front view: 

How did I get so lucky to have a dog who puts up with this kind of thing from me? He's such a good sport.

No Snow Outside, But It's a Winter Wonderland in Here

I *should* be finishing up all the handmade presents that need to go out the door tomorrow, but nothing's more fun than goofing off, right? It almost doesn't matter what it is that you're doing to goof off, as long as you're supposed to be doing something else. Tonight, for example, to procrastinate when I should be crafting, I'm...crafting! Oh the naughy joy!

The first 12 days of this month, Digi My World had a daily giveaway on their Facebook page. Lucky me, I won this festive little postman carrying a suspiciously Santa-esque bag full of letters. Now, I'm an avid letter writer, both to old friends and pen pals, so seeing the mailman drive up is nearly as exciting for me as it is for the dogs. I love to text and email, but neither can hold a candle to a letter (which is a good thing, since paper is flammable and all.)

 Here he is, ready to be entered in this week's Winter Wonderland Challenge at Digi My World. The background paper is blue with white flecks to look like it's snowing out (one of my favorite lines by Heidi Grace that came out a few years ago) but it seemed too blank to just have the postal carrier standing in a snowdrift at the bottom, so I added ribbons. I love that one on the end with the embossed snowflakes. I've been hanging onto that one for a while waiting for the right project.

 Here's a closeup, so you can see how I pop dotted the image for some dimension and so he looks a little more like he's standing on top of the snowdrift, which is made of Polar White Flowersoft with some silver Flowersoft mixed in to mimic that magnificent glitter that fresh snow has.

And before I go, here's a cozy little kitty, hugging his teddy. The other day Toulouse decided that this somewhat dog-mangled bear is his new pal. He's been hugging it for several hours a day ever since. What a sweet kitty. He's been recovering from having one of his lower monster-sized fangs pulled, poor little guy. He was not fond of having to visit the vet, but I'm sure he feels much better without that nasty abcess. Poor little guy!

I'm Mad for MelJen's!

I love all kinds of stamps, from wood-mounted classic rubber to clear sticky ones to digital stamps. I have a collection that's what many would likely consider out of control, so when I say a stamp company is one of my top five favorites of all time, that company rules over an impressive number of really fabulous stamp companies. MelJen's is one of those top 5. Maybe it's that her style is hard to forget and definitively hers, or that she draws some of the most a-freaking-dorable animals ever. All I know is that I could own every last stamp she makes and still want more.

(Entering this card into MelJen's Challenge this week.)

So, lucky for us on the For Fun Challenges design team, and lucky for you, MelJen's Designs is our sponsor of the week! That means if you enter this week's challenge and you are chosen as the winner, you can win some of her stamps. Trust me, you want this prize!

Here's the card I made for the challenge which, for this week, is anything goes as long as it's got a Christmassy theme. I made this one for a friend of mine whose birthday is on Boxing Day, which is practically Christmas (you know, she's still the poor kid who doesn't get a real birthday because it all kind of blends in with the nearest holiday). I thought I'd give her an actual blended holiday card this year with this cute mousie jumping out of a peppermint Christmas cake. Again, this is one of those subjects that would be horrifying in real life, but is somehow awww-worthy when made into a stamp. I love the candy cane paper shown here, too, which I got at Alpha Stamps. Together I think the whole theme came together nicely.

One more thing before I send you off to craft...here's a huge hint if you want to win the For Fun Challenge: Follow the rules. I'm not pointing that out to sound snarky. It's genuinely going to put you way ahead of the majority of participants lately. It seems like we've had to disqualify so many participants lately, there's no reason to be intimidated if it appears that loads of people have signed up before you. There are probably only a handful who even count. It's a drag. The most common rule broken is people using *one* card to enter *like forty* different challenges, which seems kind of rude to me. Sure, it's okay to enter the same card in 3 or even 5 challenges you made it with in mind, but anything beyond that is edging on playing the system. Just my opinion. The rule for For Fun Challenges is no more than 10, and there are a lot of crafters who are entering their card in many more than that. If they want to do that, it's their choice, but please don't enter those cards into our challenge if that's the case.

Okay, I'm done being a drag. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week. With the holidays upon us, all the best crafts are surfacing. Show me yours!

Before I forget, there's another opportunity to win stuff from one of my other favorite digi designers. Stop by and check out the blog candy at Digi My World by clicking here, or on the button to your right (scroll down a little). Good luck!

Really Reasonable Ribbons' Recipe Swap/Food Packaging Week

Since I love both crafting and baking, especially around the holidays, I jumped at the chance to participate in this event. I even pulled out a new recipe I've been wanting to try for a while.

When I was in kindergarten, my best friend's mom made these yummylicious butter mints. Granted hers were prettier than mine (yeah, I know, mine look a little like wads of used bubblegum, but they taste pretty fabulous.) I was excited to find this recipe last year, but never got around to making them. I tweaked the recipe, added mini chocolate chips and used peppermint oil instead of extract, and they came out perfectly! Yum! Here's a pic of them, in the box:

And, here's the box, all decorated up, including ribbons from the Really Reasonable Ribbons' Monthly Ribbon Club, some faux clear crystals, and a glittered dove that matches the glitter used in the paper.

So, here's the recipe...it doesn't take long to make them at all and they're darn tasty.

Vegan "Butter" Mints

2 tbsp vegan margarine, softened

(I use Earth Balance since it's also free of trans-fats)

2 tbsp light corn syrup

4-5 drops peppermint oil

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups confectioners sugar

food coloring of choice

1/2 c vegan mini chocolate chips

In a stand mixer or by hand, combine margarine, corn syrup, peppermint oil, and salt. Gradually stir in confectioners sugar. Knead in the mixer or by hand, 1-2 minutes or until smooth and doughy. Add food coloring, if desired, and stir till colored throughout. Pull off small, nickel sized pieces and smush a few chocolate chips into the dough, then roll into a ball. Flatten and set aside. Do this with remaining dough. Bo up the mints and allow to sit until firm on the outside.

Yummy!

Glittery Enough For Ya?

This week at For Fun Challenges, we've got a sparkling new challenge for you--do what you like, but make it  Christmas and make it shine! The winner gets digital stamps from Di's Digi Downloads.

I used glitter, gems, some glittery embellishents I'm totally in love with, some more glitter, and some glitter in another color. Trust me, you cannot see all the sparkle on this card in the photo, and you can see quite a bit.

Plus, the recipient of this card gets to experience all of that shimmering by candlelight (I'm totally psyched about making these for xmas.) because there are votives in that dang card! Seriously, I'm in love with this design. I can't take credit for it, but it's really fun to make. There are schematics for it on various sites, if you want to try it, too.

And, because I just can't go without showing off one of my little guys, here's Usagi, modeling one of the necklaces for my Etsy shop. She's such a patient girl, especially considering she's not really into having her picture taken. She isn't into being picked up or hugged, either. Poor girl is cursed with cuteness!

Hooray, the holiday season has officially begun!

My mom always said that the Christmas season starts when you see Santa go by in the Macy's parade. Now that that's happened, I can start listening to carols without feeling like a complete weirdo, candy canes are plentiful, and the cable company has started broadcasting the video fireplace 24/7. Rock on!

Another reason to feel festive? Michelle Perkett is sponsoring For Fun Challenges this week, where you can win several of her holiday digistamps. I've had my eye on one in particular for a long time and finaly I caved. Here goes:

 Speaking of slobber, wags, and wiggles, here's your much anticipated dorky dog photo of the day.

I love it when dogs don't seem to realize they've got their tongue sticking out. Cat's too, actually. Though non-human animals haven't got the market cornered, because I recently caught Scott sleeping with his tongue sticking out, too. What is it they say about people becoming more like their dogs? Hrm. I shouldn't make fun, though. I have parasomnia which makes me do all kinds of weird things in my sleep, like type, sew, give speeches (yes, apparently I gave a very cohesive oratory while sound asleep in bed. I'm so lucky Scott hasn't thought to video tape these things), etc. I've even written *and* sent emails in my sleep. They didn't make any sense, but it went out anyway and thoroughly confused everyone on the yahoo group I sent it to. Definitely not as cute as watching the dogs wake up when you (gently) grab their tongue that's lolling out. And now you know what that looks like. :)

Get your lab gear on, For Fun Challenges has a card formula this week!

So, what is this highly scientific formula that, if followed, not only *guarantees* you a fabulous card, but  could also win you a fabulous prize from this week's sponsor, Clear Dollar Stamps?

1 foodstuff + 2 patterned papers + 3 brads or buttons. Follow these instructions carefully (remember, no more than 3 buttons or brads!), and you too could end up with a card as magnificent as this one:

Okay, its magnificence may be up for debate, but you gotta love those stamps! Yes, stamps with an "S".  I mean 2 "S"'s (one at the beginning and one at the end). I couldn't decide between Clear Dollar Stamps' candy cane digi and cute mice perched on cheese stamp. As a rodent rescue volunteer, the myth of mice being prolific cheese eaters has always been a pet peeve of mine since, while they'll eat most anything if they are hungry enough, it's not really a favorite. Nonetheless, I was stuck in a dilemma because the stamp with the cheese loving mice on it was soooo cute. So, I took the mice and the candy cane and put them togetther with all the required bits, plus a ribbon and a lot of glitter. I don't know if you can see it very well in the photo, but the card base, itself, is massively glittery and I only added more from there. Festive!

So, drop by For Fun Challenges and give the formula a try. You don't even have to wear eye protection!

Super!

It's an unusual week at For Fun Challenges, because we don't have a sponsor. Instead, we got to choose our stamp of choice to make something with a Veteran's Day theme. I chose a soft red, white, and blue palette and this adorable Super Dog image from a Day for Daisies. I love her drawing style, in which everything looks like it comes from a softer, slightly magical world.

As a Zen Buddhist, I always feel a little awkward and strange when it comes to all things military and war related. We are forbidden to work in the military, to encourage violence, and the like, but at the same time, we should be conscious of the difficulty of the path those who do go to war have chosen in an effort to protect others, whether we necessarily believe in their methods or not. Though acheiving pacifism is not as easy as it sounds, the people who go on to experience the horrors of war, whether by choice or by force of draft, is so much harder. I abhor violence. I do not believe that war is anything but tragedy, but I guess ultimately, I approach Veterans Day not as a celebration or glorification of war and violence, but as a rememberance and recognition of the suffering of others who've experienced war first hand.

So, I made this card. The inside? "Thanks for saving the day!"

(This card is being entered in the Day for Daisies Challenge...the metallic element being the little blue and red metal roses above the sentiment.)

Well, now, that was a bit depressing. How about a doggie break:

Yup! It's sweater time again. Revco gets chilly, even indoors, so he sports sweaters, hoodies, or pajamas most of the fall/winter months. He's surprisingly tolerant of my picture taking during silly moments like the one featured here. He looks very dashing in this sweater when it's put on correctly, but this is more fun. :)

Shakedown!

The suspect: Weezee von Sparklebutt. The crime: Sitting in the wet glitter on the card I made  for my For Fun Challenges design team conribution this week, destroying it, and causing me to miss the deadline. Sure, I started over and remade it, but that's not the point. The point is that I had a lovely card design until some fuzzy meyow-y criminal I believe to be Weezee. So, what have you got to say in your defense, Weezee?

Stop! This interview is *not* over. Get back over here, cat!

Unfortunately, I think this is all we're going to get out of her, for the time being.

 So, here is the second incarnation of the card she destroyed. It's a special birthday card made for this week's For Fun Challenge, sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. I'd been saving this orange and purple furniture paper for some sort of occassion, and finally decided that this was it. I don't know why I buy paper only to squirrel it away for years on end, but I do. I can't even recall what project I had in mind when I did buy it, but in the end, it was a cool excuse to make a cute purple and orange turtle (actually, he appears to be a tortoise) using this cute Bugaboo birthday stamp, so it went well in the end.

So, let's check in with Weezee one last time to see if she's wracked with guilt over the destruction of such an adorable wee turtle. I detect...none. No guilt whatsover. Look at her. Sigh. I suppose that's what makes her a cat. If she did feel remorse, she'd be a dog or human or something.

Stuff Yourself, Not a Turkey!

Halloween ended like 10 minutes ago which means it's time for Thanksgiving projects! Here's a gilded turkey for the CDAC progressive challenge. Mmm...I can already taste the Tofurkey!

Creepy is my middle name. Okay, it's not, but it would be freaking cool if it was.

This week at For Fun Challenges, we're psyched to have a great name in creepy horror digi stamps (and cute ones, and clever ones, and so on) as our sponsor. Rick St. Dennis! I certainly don't keep my eerie stamps packed away all year, sad and loney, waiting for October to roll around. A little scary fun is an important part of year round crafting. It's chock full of 8 essential vitamins and minerals including vitamin H (for horror), and the minerals creeponium and hauntitine.

As you can see below, I've got a green and black glittered skeleton raising the roof, and the walls bleeding all in honor of Rick St. Dennis' vicious snail. He's hanging out in his slime-trail web just waiting for someone to point their finger just a little too close. Chomp!

Stop by For Fun Challenges so you can see the whole array of dangerous-looking critters you can win if you play along with our challenge. Make something supremely Halloweeny and you could win!

I've also been finishing off my own Halloween cards I intend to send out shortly. Here's one that's a little bit (no, actually a lot) on the cute side. I love this little kitty witch by The Angel Company (RIP)! Aww! I'm entering this one in the Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge, because yes, that's their ribbon (love the black on black checks!) and yes, their ribbon club from which I got it, rocks!

 Oh my, oh my...did I almost forget the kitty break? Nope! This time you get a little dog, too! Here's Toulouse (the kitty) and Usagi (the dog) demonstrating the vast power of the Magic Blanket that allows them to sit back to back despite being fairly terrified of each other normally. The blanket's power appears to be growing because this time it's not even forming a barrier between them. Notice how it's just sort of flung over the back of the couch behind them, yet still exhibits full powers. Wow!

Bat-infested Wreath: Love it!

Okay, so this bat infested wreath gets extra points for being more cute than rabid, but I'm not so sure about that angry kitty leering at me from the center.

I made this card for a challenge by the maker of this creepy/cute bat wreath digi, Doodle Pantry, for challenge DPDC17.

I *heart* Halloween!

Digi My World, a digistamp proprietor I love for their growing collection of dog digis, has a Trick or Treat challenge using one of their stamps. I didn't have any halloweeny ones, so I improvised with some witchy accessories by Sassy Studio in conjunction with Digi My World's adorable Italian greyhound. I'm rather pleased with the results.

While I'm on the subject of Digi My World, I also thought I'd mention their blog candy page, which you can check out by clicking here or clicking on the badge dealie on the side of my blog.

Wish my luck! I hope they like my witch dog as much as I do. Why should cats have all the Halloween fun, right?

Festive Fun with Bugaboo

This week's challenge at For Fun Challenges is a favorite of mine and not just because the prizes are provided by Bugaboo Stamps. This week, participants are asked to make a Halloween card without using the colors orange, black, or purple. I've always been a fan of using non-traditional colors with very traditional holiday images. I'm not sure why I love playing with color this way. Maybe it's because of that old flag optical illustion? Or the issue of Sesame Street Magazine I adored as a kid because all the characters were different colors than they should be? Chicken? Egg?

 So, I took the opportunity to make a trick or treat goodiebag, trading in the usual colors for greens, yellows, and browns. Check out the cute little cemetery at the top! It's one of Martha Stewart's badass edge punches. She definitely knows how to do halloween!

I'm entering this project into these challenges:

Ginger Loft

Dream Valley

TIME OUT FOR KITTIES!

 Kitty break! Kitty break! Here's Weezee, completely fascinated by a squirrel on the Video DogSitter DVD. The dogs weren't all that impressed by the video, but Weezee couldn't take her eyes off of it. She was completely transfixed for the entire video, moving only to get into a better attack position so the animals on the screen wouldn't see her coming.

Working on goodie bags this week. I finally gave up on ever finding ones small enough for the cuteness level I desired and just went ahead and ordered them online.

 Entering this party favor goodie bag (I'd love these for my birthday party...I'm a goth geek year round!) in the Outlines Challenge (they're the company that made the fabulous stamp I used.) It may not look like I did much coloring, but I blacked in the blank parts and darkened the lines using colored pencils to make the image as vibrant and clear as possible.
Also entering this in the Quirky Crafts challenge.

I'm totally in a Halloweenie mood this week. Check out this adorabl kitty by Pollycraft:

 I'm entering my halloween cat and candy card into these challenges:
 Repeat Impressions DCC1012 Designer’s Choice Challenge
Sparkles Forum Challenges

I love this sneaky little bulldog by Mo's Digital Pencil. Usagi loves to grab plastic pumpkins and run. We thought it was the candy until we caught her stealing them just as often when they're empty. Silly dog!

 I'm entering this naughty little puppy card into these challenges:
Wags and Whiskers Challenge #65
Stampavie Halloween Challenge

I picked up some really nice, barely used, Lyra Polycolor colored pencils off of ebay and now I can't get enough of coloring with them.

I'm entering these sweet halloween kitties here:
Hanna and Friends
Crafting for all Seasons
Paper Sundaes

CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge Part 4: Big Ol' Box O Fun

Annnnnnnnd here's my entry for part four of the CDAC Progressive Challenge. Again, I thought I'd try something other than a card and made...

 a handy box to keep cards *in*!

 I used the digi stamp offered by Designed 2 Delight, since I can never resist a kitty. I also used some of the ribbon I got from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Monthy Ribbon Club to decorate the sides.

Here's a top view...I unfortunately ran out of orange stickles, but I think the clear worked out just fine on the outside edges after all.

One of my top ten favorite digi shops EVER!

 It's time for this week's For Fun Challenge to be announced and I'm especially happy to report that this week's sponsor totally rocks my world. It's MelJen's Designs, home to more adorable animal (and other) digi stamps than you can shake a stick at!

This week's challenge involves using pumpkins (not Jack o' Lanterns, unfortunately, but hey, we could all probably stand to have some fall cards we can still use once the 31st is over.) The winner will get some goodies from our sponsor, so don't miss this one.

I decided to use this yummy pumpkin pie as the central image, then added a second MelJen's pumpkin/leaf design on pop dots to fill it out. I cut out and layered the pie and the leaf to add dimension, then traced the edges with Stickles.

Here's another angle so you can see the popped up parts more clearly. I couldn't resist adding a few tiny bat brads to keep it Halloweenie!

And to wind it up, how about a pic of my adorable foster mice, Sookie and Tara. They're big fans of pasta shells, and I'm a big fan of their ginormous ears!

A Little Something Different for CDAC Progressive Challenge Part 3

 When we got the images to use for the 3rd segment of the CDAC Progressive Challenge, I knew immediately that I wanted to use this cute smoking duck by Nicecrane Designs, and that I wanted to do something other than a card for a change, so I made this neat little notecard box.

I got the paper from Websters Pages via a Groupon of all things! It was a total steal and I just love the vintage look. It worked out perfectly with the duck's coat and boots.

Inside added a touch of decoration to avoid having a blank lid, and filled the other side with a bunch of pretty stamped cards for jotting down phone numbers, to do lists, stuff you need to pick up at the store, or whatever ideas come to you.

Here you can see the three different card designs. I wanted them to be pretty enough to give away in case you need to give a friend or business contact your contacts.

I'm so pleased with this little project, I think I'm going to have to make a few more for gifts.

SCREEEEEEEEE! Sliding in at the last minute at CDAC!

Sometimes it really disturbs me how getting sick turned me from Ms. Shocks the World With How Much She Gets Done, and into Ms. Careening in at the Last Minute. I still hold out hope that I will be able to split the difference and end up as Ms. On Time, but until then, here's my 2-hours-before-deadline  entry into the Crafters' Digital Art Center Progressive Challenge Part 2.

Yay for Yorkies!

Remember these sweet sighthounds from Digi My World?

Well, Digi My World has sponsored For Fun Challenges this week, which is pretty cool of them (thank you thank you thank you), but what's even cooler is the stamp I chose from the ones they so generously gave our design team to work with. Yep, it's a yorkie!

 Plus he's got that foo foo show hairdo *and* he's in a purse. I always hoped Revco, the prissier of my dogs, would take to being a purse dog, but he said no. That's probably a good thing, actually, since my crumby (crummy? Not sure how that's spelled. Why don't we go with crumbling, since it's doing that, too.) spine probably wouldn't like me lugging around 12 pounds of dog slung over my shoulder. Still, I think it would have been neat since he enjoys being taken along everywhere I go. I think he'd like to relate to humans on eye level (or nearly so), too. I think he'd find it far more dignified.

Things I love about this card: the yorkie (of course! I don't have any other yorkie stamps so it was about time!), the phone peeking out of the center pocket, the resin flowers and tiny metal key in the center of the upper flower. What I don't like: the colors! I think this was the most difficult challenge I've done yet, because I really dislike all 3 of these colors unless they are tempered by the presence of a color I really love. On the other hand, this makes me really curious to see the entries in our challenge this week. I'm looking forward to seeing projects in these 3 colors that can really dazzle me.

Speaking of challenges, I'm entering this card into the current challenge at Creative Inspirations.

Puppy break! Puppy break! Puppy break!

I love this pic because normally both ears are "button" style a.k.a. kind of floppy (some call them "bat ears"), so I love that the left ear is sticking straight up. Her huge, bulgy eyes give the impression that she just heard something surprising, too.

See you at For Fun Challenges!

Challenge-o-rama!

This week I got the itch to make some challenge cards, so here we go!

 This one I made using an image by Phindy, one of my favorite digi stamp artists. I pop dotted the sweet dog and kitty image to give the card some extra dimension. I wish my kitties and dogs were this hooked on each other, but for now, they deserve credit for being curious and indifferent to each other all at the same time, which is a lot better than things could be. Not infreuently, one of the cats will attempt to give a dog a friendly headbutt (so far, always dodged) or one of the dogs will do a play bow or one of those excited canine tap dances for one of the cats, but the cats always seem to find this terrifying (or just stupid) and disdainfully escape as soon as there's an opening. So, until their overtures of friendship become synchronized, I'd better be happy with the fact that they can share the couch without incident.
I am entering this card in the Phindy's Challenge (Stripes Somewhere) and the Really Reasonable Ribbons "I Got You Babe" challenge (aww...luv luv luv!)
Speaking of Really Reasonable Ribbons, I just recently signed up for their really cool monthly ribbon club. Not only do you get lots of cool ribbons, you get them for under $10 a month, delivered.

I

Next, we have a super cute kitty I picked up at Whimsy Stamps the other day. It comes with 5 other cute animal quotes, and 5 out of 6 are embellished with cute little animal illustrations. Go take a look!

So...this one is being entered in the Whimsy Stamps Green Challenge, using mostly green. I slipped in some orange since I didn't think a green cat would look natural. :)

 This card features a digi stamp from A Day for Daisies, which is a company that's fairly new to me. I really love their squirrels and other cute little animals, like this snowy squirrel I used for their black, white, and just a drop of red Christmas challenge. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. I might have to make more for the holidays. :)

 Now we move on to something a bit different...rubber stamps instead of digis! Here's one of my favorite, very distinctive companies. You can always recognize stamps by Outlines because of the incredible detail they always include. The current challenge not only requires one of their stamps, but also a photograph incorporated into a card. This one I made specifically for Darcy, who was here just a little over a week ago, to let her know that Toulouse and the rest of us miss her lots already.

 I adore greyhounds and for some reason they are not easy to find in stamp form, so I was psyched to find this little guy by Digi My World. Next on my wishlist is there Chinese Crested Dog set. If you're not sure which type I'm talking about, they are those adorable little dogs who resemble Andy Warhol. Anyway, their challenge this week is anything goes as long as it's a Digi My World image. Not a problem!

Now for one of my favorite kinds of challenge...the sketch kind! This little polar bear is a digi stamp from Stamp Fairy. I love these little polar bears especially (though I've got some of their bunnies and other little guys, too, in my ever growing collection.)

Wish me luck! I've got a couple more challlenges I'm hoping to complete this weekend provided today's nasty migrane doesn't invite its friends over. Thanks for taking a look at my cards this week!