Hexed by CAS!

Pin It

Hello!  I know it's been a few days since my last post, but I have good reasons -- I promise!  ;)

First, let me start by saying I am officially on vacation.  Finally!  So last week was a little crazy at work trying to make sure I had all my loose ends wrapped up before I left…  It was a lot of long hours and very little sleep, which made for one super-crabby me…  :-/

But we had a terrific weekend, how about you?  We had some good family time celebrating my aunt's big birthday (we went to place called Painting With a Twist -- a little bit of painting and a little bit of wine! -- and had a great time…  Let me tell you…  I am no painter -- and no amount of wine could turn me into one!  My "masterpiece" may find itself gifted in a White Elephant exchange this Christmas!!!  ;)

But in the midst of all of that, I did find time for some late-night crafting…  and here's what I came up with…

I love these soft colors and think they'd be perfect for a baby card, too…  I tried to keep it as CAS as I could, because the challenge this week over at A Blog Named Hero is to Clean Up Your Act :)  And, I have to tell you, this is about as CAS as I get…  (and it's darn near the flattest card I've ever done…  not a lick of dimensional adhesive on this one!)

Thanks for stopping by…  Hope you have a stellar week!  :)

A Sunny Hello :)

Pin It

Hello!  Happy Monday!  There is a DT search going on over at Case Study right now and I thought I would {gulp!} throw my hat in the ring!  This is among my very favorite challenges because each month, one of the best among us is invited to serve as "muse" and provides a different card each week for inspiration.  I love that there are no limits and that all styles are welcome and embraced!

The challenge was to select my own personal "Muse" and draw inspiration from their work -- someone whose style is different from my own, so that you'll be able to see where I drew my inspiration, but still be able to see me in it…

I chose as my "muse" Melissa Phillips of Lilybean's Paperie.  I love her vintage, often shabby chic, style.  Here embellishments are usually handmade and always fabulous.  She usually includes way more detail than I am ever comfortable with, but she always makes it work!  (hello, Tim Gunn  :)

The card I selected of hers is one of my all-time favorites.  It's amazing.  Seriously.  Check it here.

Here's my take:

Here's Melissa's masterpiece:

Melissa Phillips, Lilybean's Paperie

I was inspired by a number of things with Melissa's card -- I loved her color palette (she went with cool tones, so I went with warm! :) and her circle background, and her handmade flower embellishment…  Lots of good stuff!  :)

I'm super-pleased with the results and hope you like it too….  It's just a happy card, no?  :)

Have a great Tuesday…  be back soon with a card I made when I just had the urge to color something!

Papertrey April Blog Hop!

Pin It

Hello!  I am so super-excited today because it's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Day!  (One of my favorite days of the month!)  I am always so excited to see what everyone has created -- and these hops always get such a good turn-out so there is plenty to see!  Something inspiring is always just another "click" away!  :)

This month's theme is Tilted… Design on an Angle.  Check it out:

I love that inspiration board -- lots of good eye candy!  :)

Confession:  I have a serious patterned paper addiction.  I love it and use it on almost every card…  It is just what I do…   So I futzed with this card for hours, until I got it just the way I wanted it…  I love these colors (the papers are from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection by American Crafts)…  the muted pastels are so dreamy!  

I don't know if you can see it in the pic, but I used the PTI Linen Impression Plate for added texture (adds sooo much in real life!)…  I used the sentiment from Natural Beauties, Limitless Layers for my "flower," and Rosie Posie for the leaves…

I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out and hope you are, too…  :)

Thank you so much for stopping by…  Hope you are enjoying the Hop!  

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #179

Flippin' for Fifteen!

Pin It

Hello, friends!  Quick post tonight to share a card I made for a friend's niece's 15th birthday!  I was given simple instructions:

1. There must be pink.  Check!
2. There must be bling.  Check!
3. There must be glitter.  Check!

Beyond that, I was given complete artistic license.  ;)  I thought, what 15 year old doesn't own and love hundreds of pairs of flippies???  :)  I know I'm about three weeks away from L-I-V-I-N-G in mine!!!  

I was inspired by this week's sketch over at RetroSketches and the Color Story at The Play Date Cafe.

         

Hope you have a flippin' great Wednesday!  Muah!  :)

i {heart} u!

Pin It

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago, I participated in my first 10 Minute Craft Dash over at Paulina's blog.  And I learned a few things:

1. You gotta be organized.  I mean, seriously.  You gotta have your *schtuff* together!
2. You gotta have a plan.  You gotta work your plan.
3. There will be no need for cardio exercises after -- this will for sure get your blood a-pumpin'!
4. You're gonna make a mess.  Deal with it!

But I had so much fun (there were a few things I would've changed about my card, but really, how particular can you be in 10 minutes?!?) and couldn't wait to do it again!  :)

So here is my latest Dash effort:

Well, that's everything I could accomplish in 9:36.8!  My rows are a little wonky and my hearts somewhat askew, but I just ask that you kindly keep in mind I only had 10 minutes!!  :)

{I swear, next time I'm gonna set a timer on how long it takes me to clean up after one of these -- now that'll tell the WHOLE story!}

There you have it…  Another Dash come and gone…  Hope you'll consider playing along -- who doesn't have 10 minutes they can spare???  ;)

Hope your week is off to a great start -- see you tomorrow night!  :)

Mother Knows Best? *wink*

Pin It

Hello!

Ok, so I mentioned in my last post that my mother had quite the dubious reaction to the card I'm about to share with you…  She literally saw it sitting on my counter and said, "Huh (kinda high-pitched-like)….  Sooo... what did you do to this one?!?  I've never seen a card that looked like that before…"  (To her credit, she immediately started back-pedaling by asking me questions about color and technique…  but I saw through that!  :)

Now, I admit this one is a bit different, but that's ok every now and then, right?

I chose my colors based on the color palette over at The Play Date Cafe this week.  I love this combination -- it reminds me of the beach, for some reason!

Anyway, enough stalling…  Here it is:

  

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope the rest of your week goes by swimmingly!  :)

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Pin It

Good evening!  Popping in tonight to share a card I made using this week's sketch over at RetroSketches.  I love this sketch.  Initially, I was drawn to the scale of it…  The focal point of the card is relatively small which leaves quite of bit of "white space" on the card.  Interesting….  :)

I have been wanting to make a card for a co-worker of my mother's who just found out not too long ago she is having a little girl…  Babies of any variety are fun, but there is something magical about baby girls!  Oh, the dresses!  And the bows!  And the teensy-weensy little shoes!  And pink!  (Who doesn't love pink???)

So this card is for Angelica and her sweet little baby girl…  Congratulations!  :)

You'll notice that, even though I was drawn to the scale of the sketch, I didn't create my card with the same proportions…  And I have a (really) good reason.  I promise.  I love, love, love this stamp set from PTI ("Tweet Talk").  But no matter how I try, I find it impossible to stamp these sweet little birds without their tailfeathers (besides, Nelly & P. Diddy wouldn't approve if there weren't some to shake!  ;)

And here's the sketch I was working off of:

Thanks for stopping by…  I'll be back tomorrow night with a card that made my mother say this:  "What did you do to this one?!?  I've never seen a card look like that before…"   Hmmmm…  Not quite sure how to take that…  ;)

Have a great Wednesday!  :)

Floral Frenzy!

Pin It

Good morning!  You ever just have periods of time where you feel especially creative and are actually lucky enough to also happen to have the time to spend on your creative ventures??  Well, here it is -- 3:00 in the morning and I have just enjoyed 6 hours like that!  And, boy!  Was that just what I needed!! :)

{I also love when you happen to find a really great movie on that you practically know by heart and can just have it playing in the background…  Tonight "13 Going On 30" was on…  embarrassed to admit it, but I adore that movie!  Who wouldn't fall for Mark Ruffalo in that one?!?}

I wanted to share a card I made based on the inspiration card offered up this week over at Muse Card Club.  It's a lovely CAS stamped floral card by Marion Vagg and I was drawn to a couple of things on the card.  I love the two-tone stamping of her flowers and her pink & purple color scheme.  So I thought I'd give it a go…

Here's my take:

I mentioned a couple of posts back that I have a couple of weddings to attend this month, so I thought this would make a good "for the happy couple" kind of card…  :)

And here's Marion's original -- see where I drew my inspiration?

On a separate note, my heart is aching today for the people of the fabulous city of Boston (my favorite city!).  My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those affected by the senseless acts of violence and destruction that occurred there earlier today.

Wishing for you, my friends, love and peace and protection -- wherever you may be…

Sweet! :)

Pin It

Hello!  I am popping in today to share a card I made using the sketch over at Mojo Monday.  When I first saw the sketch, I was like, "what can I do with that??"  I couldn't figure out how all the banners would relate to the rest of the card…  But, I just decided to (use a couple of my favorite images and colors and) go with it!

Now I'm a believer.  This might be one of my favorite cards ever.  I love the colors (!) and the sweet flower image and that sentiment font (shut the front door!!!).  I mean, seriously, how sweet is that???

The papers are from the "Lively" collection by Authentique, the flower in a mason jar is by Endless Creations, and the sentiment is from Verve Stamps.

On a separate, but equally sweet note, take a look at what was whipped up in my house last night!

photo credit: Lovin' from the Oven

Oh my goodness -- were these ever a slice of heaven?!  I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a try…  Soooo glad I did -- warm, gooey chocolatey marshmallowy fabulousness!  :)  Check out the Lovin' from the Oven blog to find the recipe for these S'mores Cookie Bars.  Trust me.  You'll be glad you did!  :)

Have a great Thursday…  almost the weekend!  :)

Mad Dash

Pin It

Hello!  and Happy Friday!  Thought I'd try something new today and really push myself beyond my comfort zone…  I have mentioned before that I am not the speediest of crafters -- if fact, that's really putting it mildly…  Usually, every step in the process takes me a while (which, truthfully, is really what I love about this hobby -- it allows me the time to escape and just concentrate on making something  pretty (or "rilly pritty," as my young niece says!).

I have followed the "10 Minute Craft Dash" since Paulina launched it some time ago…  I was in shock and awe (and utter amazement) at what she and her DT were able to come up with in only 10 minutes!  But me??  I was too scared to try…  I knew I'd never, NEVER be able to complete an entire project in that amount of time!

The concept is simple -- take the assigned color scheme and 10 minutes and….  GO!!!

I guess you know where I'm going with this….  Today, I decided to give it my best shot.  Thankfully, the rules say you can gather all your supplies before you start your timer, so I did that (and even had them set out where I'd need them first: some by my paper trimmer, my dies by my Big Shot, etc!).  And I sketched what I wanted to do, and noted all the measurements I needed to cut to, and was ready to go!!  Took (several) deep breaths and started my timer!!!

Well, here it is (in 9:55.2, to be exact!!!  whew!):

{Would you believe that, of all the things that I thought might cause me to miss my time, it was taking all the sticky backs off of the pop-up adhesives that REALLY almost did me in?!?}

And the proof:

Now the trick will be seeing if I can clean up the mess I made in ten minutes or less!  :)  LOL!

Anyway, what fun!  I am totally going to be participating in this challenge again!!  :)

Hope you have a Fabulous Friday…  Thanks for stopping by!

Life is Good! :)

Pin It

Hello again!  I guess it goes without saying that I have been away for awhile…  And there is a lot that could be said about that, but I won't bore you with any of that…  :)

Suffice it to say, I've spent the last couple of months in a craft-less wasteland!  Literally.  I lost my crafty mojo somewhere along the way and have struggled mightily to get it back (you ever been there???)…  This isn't to say that there have been NO craft projects, but only that my out-put has been significantly less both in quantity and in quality…  :(

But I'm (trying to get) back!  {reminds me of that Jason Mraz song -- "I fell right through the cracks and now I'm trying to get back…."  Can you say CHEESY?!?}

For my first card back, I turned to the new card club/challenge "Muse" for some inspiration.  (Though this is my first time participating, I have been following (re: stalking) this blog since it started a couple of months ago and have really been impressed with both the DT submissions and the quality of the participants' work…

This week's "Muse" was none other than Laurie Willison, who offered up a flawless card for our interpretation…  Here's my take:

I drew a couple of elements from her card (the use of the negative die space as focal point and for my sentiment, the use of the border punch to frame an edge of the piece, and the strip of polka dots to "ground" the whole thing),  but really wanted to keep the color scheme as monochromatic as possible…  I have been all about the aqua lately…  

Anyway, I hope you like this card…  It really is nice to be back.  I look forward to catching up with many of you…  Hope all is well in your neck of the woods and that you were able to spend a lovely Easter with your loved ones -- wherever they may be…

Mornin,' Punkin! :)

Pin It

Good morning, friends!  I am popping in today with one last Thanksgiving card post…  Just couldn't resist!  If you've been following along, you'll notice this card is in the same genre as my last couple of cards -- same patterned papers and all… (I was using a really great 6x6 pad from Authentique and since  Thanksgiving is so close, I figured I might as well try to use it up since I won't be able to get by with these colors a week from now!  ;)  Having said all of that, this is definitely my favorite of the "series."

One of my favorite bloggers is Melissa Phillips of "Lilybean's Paperie."  I love her style so much… every piece is a true work of art.  That, and I believe she is definitely a "Less is…. Not Enough!" kinda gal, too.  I know I have said I just can't do CAS and I have at long last resigned myself to that… so you can understand why I find Melissa's work so appealing…  :)

Today's card was inspired by this card Melissa posted a couple of days ago.  I love the colors and the textures and I'm not sure if she hand-designed her pumpkin or not, but the effect is that she did.  So here's my take on her card:

So what say you?  Did I do her masterpiece justice?  :)

I tore and pieced my pumpkin together and attached a little branch that I plucked off my crepe myrtle today!  The leaves are CTMH and were a gift from my sweet friend Melissa Shea.  The sentiment is from PTI and you can tell I am in love with that burlap ribbon, no?  :)

I am linking this card up to a couple of challenges:

• RetroSketches #38
• Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Thanksgiving
• The Friday Mashup: A Thankful Fall

On a separate note, I am so super excited because I am driving up to Oklahoma City today with my sister and mom and niece to see Straight No Chaser, one of my favorite groups, in concert…  It has become an annual fall tradition for us to go to one of their concerts, and this year we are introducing my niece to the fun!  Check 'em out:

Ok, so this isn't the most professionally-filmed video ever, but you oughtta get the idea of why we can't wait!  Always such a fun concert!  :)

Wishing you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend!  May yours be blessed with family and friends, love and laughter, and as much turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie as your waistband will allow!  :)

All Torn Up!

Pin It

Good morning!  I just wanted to pop in this morning with another Thanksgiving card {I cannot believe Thanksgiving is NEXT week!!!  Seriously, where has the time gone?!?}…  We have spent every Thanksgiving of my life with my grandmother on my dad's side of the family and it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving if we didn't make our annual pilgrimage to a tiny town out in West Texas for the holiday…

This year, though, some of my favorite relatives, who normally make the trip from Nebraska every November, aren't going to be able to come down…  And I am bummed!  Seriously bummed.

So what is a card-maker to do in this situation??  You got it...

And I've got just a couple of days left to get them in the mail on time!  :)

I really am in love with this sentiment stamp…  Perfect for family members that will be so missed at our Thanksgiving celebration this year…

I had a couple of challenges in mind with this card…  The current color combo at ColourQ is one of my favorites and I love the "So Torn" theme at Cas-ual Fridays this week!  :)

Thanks for stopping by…  Are you busy planning for next week's festivities?  What will you be doing?  Hosting?  Traveling??  Whatever your plans, please know I am sending virtual Thanksgiving blessings to you and yours from here!  :) 

Finding My Mojo!

Pin It

Hello, friends!  I feel as though I've been gone for quite a while and I'm kinda struggling to regain my crafty mojo!  The last month has literally flown by -- and this is the time of year when I wish we could just stop the clocks and savor the season!  I love, love, love the fall…  my favorite time of year by far!!!  Ironic, since we really don't get much of one here in Texas… (which is why I always feel the urge to travel in October!)

Anyway, all of that is to say that we only have a couple more weeks to revel in the beauty of fall colors before making the mandatory leap to the colors of Christmas, so I knew that any "find-your-mojo-and-dust-it-off" undertakings would be autumnal in nature!  :)

I bought this adorable fall set from Papertrey Ink a couple of months ago, and hadn't inked it up yet, so I thought I'd give it a go…  I'm quite pleased with the overall effect of the card, but a teensy bit miffed with myself for once again making things a lot harder than they needed to be…  {anybody care to venture a guess as to what I did this time?  Or why I can never seem to learn my lesson???}  Ha!

Anyway, thank you for stopping in…  I hope you like it…  I have a couple of Thanksgiving cards I want to get in the mail this week, so I'll probably be popping in with more "fall fun" over the next couple of days!

But before I go, I wanted to share a pic I took on vacation…  I meant to get it up before Halloween, but it just wasn't in the cards…  I did a double-take when driving down the road in Cape Elizabeth, ME, and here's why:

Talk about being "abreast" of the situation -- these people are over the "moon" about fall!  :) 

Have a great Tuesday!

Jen  :)

Gnome is Where the Heart Is!

Pin It

Hello again!  So last night I shared a card I had made for my new neighbors who just moved in two doors down…  Still haven't met them, but fingers crossed they will turn out to be pretty cool!

Tonight, I am popping in to share the farewell card I gave to my neighbors who just moved away.  So sad to see them go…  it has been fun getting to know them over the last several years….

This one is a paper-pieced bit of classic Lawn Fawn (I don't know why, but every time I think of Lawn Fawn, it's this set that springs immediately to mind!  :)  I totally love the Glossy Accents on the mushroom house -- kinda reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the gobs of sweets those naughty kids were scooping out of all different kinds of plants -- don't ask me why!!  :)

I even used the squiggly line to create my clouds…  see??

Anyway, this one is inspired by the "Getting Texty With It" challenge over at Lawnscaping… (and on that note, I want to give a personal shout-out to the über-fab Melissa Shea, who will be joining the Lawnscaping Design Team in October!  Way to go, Melissa -- go on wit yo bad self!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed it…  Next up from me is a non-traditional Halloween project that has had me "wrapped up" for a couple of days!  Ha!  :)  See you then!

A Sketch in Time!

Pin It

Hi!  It has been brought to my (mom's) attention that I haven't been posting regularly enough of late (I'm looking at you, Ms. Angelica!  :)   and I am here to both apologize and rectify that situation…  You ever just have those weeks where you just feel like work is kicking your booty?  Yeah???

Ok, so I'm glad to know I'm not alone  :)

I promise you're about to be seeing a lot of me!  I have big plans to be über-creative, to unleash my artistic mojo, and to light up the blog-o-sphere with cheeky commentary! (and no delusions of grandeur, either, apparently…  :)

Well, here, at long last, is a card I created based on this week's sketch over at RetroSketches.  You'll notice I stuck to the sketch pretty literally, which was kinda a new thing to me…  And I kinda liked it!  :)

The patterned papers are from Basic Grey's Konnichiwa line and the stamps and inks are both from Papertrey Ink (the stamp set is the special edition Natural Beauties from this year's Stamp A-Faire and just may be my new favorite stamp set!  :)

Here's the sketch from RetroSketches I was working off of:

Can't you see how closely I followed it?  Like a good girl??  :)

Hope you have a great end o' the week!  Stay tuned for a flurry of action as Melissa and I (along with a new partner in crime) will be taking on Mission: KitPossible Part Deux starting this weekend using the September Simon Says Stamp kits!  :)

Until then, carry on, my crafty friends!  :)

I {heart} You! :)

Pin It

Hello!  Welcome to another fabulous DeNami Designs Blog Hop!  Hopefully you are enjoying yourself, and if you are hopping in order, I know you are…  Because that would mean you have arrived here from the super-fab blog of Paulina Nakamura -- and I have no doubt that she whipped up something fabulous just for you!  :)

I love this month's theme because it is all about COLOR!  Bright, Bold, Beautiful color!  And, boy, did you come to the right place!  Here's my card:

I knew for this card that I wanted to use one of my favorite sets of Petit Fours from DeNami, the Hearts stamp set paired with this super-sweet sentiment.  And, of course, it wouldn't be a DeNami Blog Hop if I didn't use my favorite DeNami stamp -- the Circle Scallop cling stamp (I know, kinda a random choice to be my fave, but seriously… it's so versatile and I use it a lot!!!)…

Soooo…  I just went to town inking up one of those cute little hearts in about a million different colors  to create my background, die cut my heart window (used Hero Arts Heart Frame-Cuts), masked my sentiment strip, stamped and colored and stickled my scallop border, and then colored my ribbon (it was originally a white satin ribbon, so I colored it with a copic marker and spritzed it with colorless blending solution and mushed it around in a ziploc baggie till it was the color I wanted!  :)   And voila!  Bright, Bold, and Beautiful! 

Thank you so much for stopping by -- you're about to head off to see what the very talented Rae Ann has in store for you…  I know it's gonna be good!!  (Remember if you get lost anywhere along the way or if you just want to start all over from the beginning, you can always head back to the DeNami blog for a full list of participants!)

But before you go, I wanted to remind you to leave comments all along the hop for a chance to win one of two gift certificates to the DeNami Designs website!  You have until 11:59 PM PST August 13th to leave your comments to be eligible for a prize, so HOP to it!!  :)

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Pin It

My sister is a summer baby...  And even better, her birthday is July 3rd, which always meant she had fireworks every year for her birthday (I swear she was probably 16 before she finally realized all those fireworks displays were in honor of the birth of our country, rather than designed specifically with her in mind!  Ha!  Just kidding!  :)   But summer birthdays in Texas mean one thing -- the only really appropriate gift (other than diamonds, of course ;) is one meant for the pool/beach!  

So, this year, Vera Bradley came to the rescue in the form of this adorable beach bag in Julie's signature colors of aqua and lime (throw in a bathing suit cover-up and you're good to go!):

(Sidenote:  several years ago, my mom and I were vacationing on Martha's Vineyard and we kept seeing these adorable handbags all over the island and fell in love....  We'd never heard of Vera Bradley before and decided we both needed one before heading back home!  We thought we were sooooo fashion-forward and ahead of the trend -- couldn't wait to introduce Texas to our discovery...  But, nooooo!  We had no sooner stepped off the plane than we were literally seeing them everywhere!!!  Who knew?!? :)   

So this was a super-quickie I put together using the Flipping Out stamp set and dies by Papertrey Ink, along with papers from the "Splash" collection by Little Yellow Bicycle.  Super summery, super fun!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you're keeping cool where you are!  :)

To Hex With It All! :)

Pin It

Whew!!!  What a week this has been!  Time is flying by so fast --- are we really half-way thru the year already??  Where has the time gone???  (Although, who am I kidding?  We're smack-dab in the middle of summer and these are the months I'd rather have just scoot on by... so stinkin' hot!!)

Anyway, I've been up to my elbows in not-so-fun stuff this week and have had very little crafty time -- until today!  So I knew I wanted to play along with The Play Date Cafe this week because they have a pretty amazing color story for inspiration going on...  Love those!  They seldom do four colors and I was excited to try my hand at it!

I was also equally excited to play with some new Papertrey Ink products I had just received (the Hexagon Cover Plate Die and Happy Hexagons Mini Stamp Set).  I think the possibilities are endless for these two products and I am genuinely stoked to try out some more ideas!  :)

For this card, I individually stamped all the colored hexagons and cut up the cover plate so I was left with some random "flowers."  I rather like it!  :)

Oh, and before I forget -- check out this wicked color story I was telling you about:

Pretty darn rad, right??           

I am also linking this card up to the Moxie Fab World's Stamp It! Birthday Card Challenge (I've realized I make far more "other" types of cards than I ever do birthday cards --  and why??  Don't we all need more birthday cards on-hand than any other type of card??  Silly, girl!!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I promise not to go MIA for too long again!  For all my American friends out there, hope you and yours have a safe and Happy 4th of July!  :)         

Got the Blues

Pin It

Hello!  Just wanted to pop in to share a quickie I made for this week's challenge over at The Play Date Cafe.  Color challenges are my favorite kind -- and TPDC never fails to deliver!

Having said that, this week's palette was certainly a challenge...  It just felt weird to be playing with these colors in the middle of the summer -- (it reminded me of the year my dad thought it would be great to change out all our traditional Christmas decorations for blue and silver ones -- pretty in theory {and in the department stores} -- but just not right in our home!!)

Alas, this is meant to be a challenge, after all...  So, here's what I came up with:

   

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #137

Thanks for popping in!  I always look forward to and enjoy your sweet comments!  Have a great rest of the week!  :)