After way too many mock-ups, I finally have a card I think is worth sending to Jaimie Cates as part of the Spread the Love blog hop. I wanted the card to be well done so as to convey the amount of Love and Prayers that are being sent her way from the fabulous crafters that have joined in the hop. I found this week’s sketch at Papertake Weekly to be perfect for my Sarah Kay image.I used a Sarah Kay image that I colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with my Prismacolor blender marker.  She is matted on Navy and Blue CS from my stash.  I used an EK Success Wrought Iron corner punch on the mat and stamped the sentiment (SU) using my stamp positioner after I had adhered the image to the mat. The DPs are from Stampin’ Up (I used my Big Shot and texture plates to emboss both DPs); the card base is Bazzill. Narrow white grosgrain ribbon hides the transition between the DPs.  The bow was tied using one of the fabulous and easy Fork Tutorials available on the net.  For a finishing touch, I added some MS half-back pearls.

Before I close, I wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow (Monday, November 9), is the last day of the blog hop and the last day to enter for a chance to win my blog candy. If you haven’t entered yet – see this post for the details.

Have a Blessed evening!

"On October 4^th, 4 teenagers armed with knives broke into a home in a small town in New Hampshire. Alone and sleeping inside were a mother and her 11 year old daughter. These 4 boys broke into this home with the intent to rob and kill anyone inside. They stabbed the mom, Kimberly Cates, to death and left her daughter, Jaimie, for dead in their driveway.  It was a completely random act, their home was chosen only due to its secluded surroundings."

Welcome to the Spread the Love – Stamp Something for Jamie blog hop! We’re so very happy to have you join us!  The hop starts November 2 and runs through November 9.  The Spread The Love – Stamp Something for Jaimie blog hop is intended to raise the Spirit of a little girl and her family – it is our hope is that everyone hopping around this week will stop for a moment and think about Jaimie and her father and what life must be like for them now. One moment in time – one senseless act of evil – has changed their lives forever. We are asking that everyone reading this message to please take a moment to make a card and send it off to Jaimie. You can make something very simple or much more involved, but please share some words of hope and love and let her know that people do care and want the best for her. Cards can be mailed here:

This story touched my heart – I cannot imagine the pain Jaimie, her Dad, and the rest of their family is going through.  I pray they find comfort and healing that only God can provide.  Here’s a sneak peak of my card – just a peak though as I haven’t finished all of the details yet!

Don’t you just love Sarah Kay images? I’ll post the whole card when I’m satisfied with it.  I want it to be something special for Jaimie.

In addition to the generous sponsor gifts, I have put together a little blog candy for you as well.  Included in the package are 2 K&Company Chipboard Element Sets (1 Flower and 1 Tag), K&Company Brights Eyelet Set, K&Company Rhinestones and Brads Set, Melissa Frances Thankful Heart Ticket Book,  2 Martha Stewart Glitter sets (White and Red), Martha Stewart 2-Way Glue Pen,  200-count  Dew Drops/Skittles/Baubles sampler from my friend Suzanne at Crafting-Connection, and 1 set of Pearlescent watercolor paints.

It’s easy to enter and is open to everyone:
1. Link to your Card for Jaimie (can be a blog or Gallery Link) with Mr. Linky.
2. Spread the word about our Spread the Love – Stamp Something for Jamie blog hop.  (blog post or sidebar link, email, twitter, facebook, etc.)
3. Become a Follower (not necessary, but appreciated).

I’ll announce the winner via random number generator Tuesday, November 10.

If you didn’t arrive here from Tanya’s Blog, be sure to visit Katharina’s blog to start the hop – you never know what treats you’ll find along the way. Your next stop on the hop is Dianne’s blog. That’s all from me – for now. Have a fabulous Monday – and don’t forget to Hug someone you love!

Welcome back! If you missed yesterday’s post, I created 6 cards in support of a Children’s Hospital in Utah and sent them to Dustin Pike.  He’s offering fabulous blog candy to anyone that sends him the cards by October 31 so he can deliver the cards on November 2.  You can check this post for more details.  I showcased 3 cards yesterday so that leaves 3 more for today. Since my goal was to create a set of cards that could be used for a variety of occasions, I followed this week’s sketch over at ICS in some form for the entire set.  Like the previous cards, I used Lindsay’s All Around Phrases for each card’s sentiment, but for these cards, I added adorable images from Dustin Pike to the centers. This Wedding card is my first “shaped” card and it counts for this week’s All Sorts Challenge.  The Congratulations sentiment is from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases; the bears are Dustin Pike’s Wedding Bears.  I used a fabulous digital paper from Designs by Kristine (her new kit is coming soon – check her blog for details) and a pearl style from Bannerwoman on the dots.  Then I printed the image and colored the bears with my Copic markers and Sakura pens.  The scallop DP is from DCWV – I have a stash of several of their mat stacks that I pull from.  I added some glitter stickles to the scallop for extra dimension and bling.  The card base is also DCWV that I trimmed with the largest of the Wizard Mega Nestabilities Labels 8 dies.  The pink CS is from SU; it is also trimmed with one of the Labels 8 dies and then embossed with the Divine Swirl Cuttlebug folder.  The organdy ribbon is from my stash. I’m not usually a pink and brown kind of girl, but when I found the DCWV DP, I knew what color scheme I had to use.    For this fun celebration card, I used Dustin’s Party Elephant combined with another of the fabulous sentiments in Lindsay’s All Around Phrases. For the sentiment, I applied a gradient fill and then masked it to the text (watch for  a tutorial on this soon).  I applied the same gradient to the cupcake wrapper and the party hat (I also used a Mosaic pattern on the hat).  I colored and textured the elephant body in Photoshop and then printed him out.  I used copics and Sakura pens for his tummy, tusks, the cupcake frosting, candle, and party hat ball.  The glittered scallop DP, the fun flower DP, and the card base are all DCWV.  The pink and blue ribbons are Offray and the white scallop edge was created with an EK Success border punch. My last card of the set is another fun birthday card.  I used Dustin’s Cupcake Monkey paired with another sentiment from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases digital stamp set.  The sentiment and the cupcake wrapper had Glitter styles applied to them in Photoshop prior to being printed. The monkey and cupcake were colored with Copics and Sakura glitter pens.  I added some Diamond  Glaze to the cherry for additional shine and dimension.  The scallop DP, sweet treat DP, white glitter DP and card base are all DCWV.  I used a Sizzix Sizzlit die to create the scallop edge.  The organdy ribbon is from my stash and the Skittles are from my friend Suzanne at Crafting-Connection.

That’s all for now.  I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Don’t forget about Lindsay’s stamp sale – 10% off at her original store plus a free $1 stamp with every $5 purchase or 30% off at MyGrafico – only until October 31.  Kristine has a fabulous freebie up as well – so stop by and leave her some love too.