Doin' It 4 Dylan

As you may already know, Dustin Pike aka Doodle Dragon Studios, has the biggest heart of anyone I know. So when he gave out a call to send cards to Dylan, I knew I had to join the cause. Dylan is a 9 yr old boy recently diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor (Diffused Pontine Glioma). Here is Dylan's blog where you can read all about the things that this cute little boy and his family are going thru.

When you read Dylan's blog, you'll find he loves basketball, favorite color is blue and is a BYU fan (conveniently their colors are blue & white). Recently he met his favorite basketball player (and BYU player) Jimmer Fredette! Lucky! Remember the Teacher Appreciation Door post in April? It's the same guy. I used the famous "Teach Me How To Jimmer" phrase again, because #1 Dylan will love it, and #2 I seriously need to take a lesson from Dylan and his family. They are truly inspiring on facing this challenge with such a positive spirit and great faith in the Lord. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Check out the monkey's wrist. He is sporting a wristband that Dylan is selling on his blog (I used Photoshop). I bought my own Doin' It 4 Dylan shirt and wristband. Dustin is offering a special edition image set for anyone who sends a card to Dylan. Read the Doodle Dragon Studios blog for more information. There's also another little boy, Thomas, who needs cards too. His story is in the post. Let's get cranking and send these courageous boys lots of cards!

DDS - Shades of Green Challenge

Before you get all excited that I found my camera USB cord, I haven't. It's still MIA. And it's still raining. Earlier today, we did get a break and the sun came out most of the day. But the weatherman says it's going to rain for the next three days (it's sprinkling now). My ark is coming along quite nicely...thanks for asking. So far it sounds like Denni will be joining me. :) I haven't heard from Dustin for awhile. He must be okay, since he posted some more colored images in the Membership collections. I think we may have to navigate the waters up to Dustin's house (about an hour away). We'd better check on him, just in case.

Thankfully it's time for another Doodle Dragon Studios challenge. I needed a distraction from the weather and a forced time out crafting time! The theme for this challenge is quite appropriate...Shades of Green. I must admit, as much as I am tired of the rain, everything is a beautiful, lush green. Let's see YOUR take on all things green. Remember to post your project to Dustin's Doodle Dragon Studios blog by Sunday, May 29th.

For the record, I tried to doodle hearts on Dudley's paper, I tried "U & Me" all over, then "I (heart) U", then "U's". Poor Dudley, each paper just didn't look right. Finally, I decided Dudley is missing his girlie so much that he couldn't find of the words to say, staring at the blank piece of paper, dreaming...

Again, if you have my USB cord...PLEASE GIVE IT BACK! Or at least tell me where it's hiding. :)

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Don't mind the load of lumber in my front yard. I'm building an ark. It's rained 32 days out of the last 50 days. Plus it snowed another 2 feet in the mountains yesterday. At some point, it's going to melt. There's still a ton of snow left so it's going to be a problem. But no fear! I'm building the ark. Feel free to join me. Bring some Diet Dr. Pepper. You can never have too much.

I thought after Teacher Appreciation Week life would slow down. Yeah, that hasn't happened. Whoever said life was easier when your kids were older (plus my own schedule) was tricking me. Between PTA Convention (loved it!), PTA training, another PTA meeting, church, scouts, Tumbling, Swim Training (I was corrected that she is in "training", swimming lessons are for kids who need to learn), Swim Team tryouts, high school graduation preparations, meeting with the University Counselors and Financial Office, dentist appointments, doctor appointments, end of the year homework, field trips, Junior High graduation, High School graduation, Grad Night, a big graduation family party, building an ark....yeah I see how life is slowing down and easier. NOT!

Dustin Pike - Doodle Dragon Studios has released some really fun images in the April and May Memberships. If you haven't enrolled, you're missing out! I'm hoping after I work on the ark a little bit, I will make some cards! I have three ideas ready to go if I could sit down for more than 5 minutes.

P.S. Whoever has my good camera's USB cord, would you politely return it today. Please? I need to download some pictures!

Same Image DDS Challenge

What a difference a camera makes! Here's the REAL picture. Now you can see the embossing on the sandpaper.



It's time for another Doodle Dragon Studios challenge! We love to see all the creativity using Dustin Pike's digis, so this time we're all going to use the SAME digi. Create whatever you want using the freebie digi, then post it to the challenge by Sunday, May 15th. Cruise on over to Dustin's Doodle Dragon Studio blog to see what the design team came up with.

P.S. This card is dedicated to my Dad. He's the biggest kid I know!


Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - freebie
Sandpaper
Cuttlebug embossing folder - Diamond Plate
Pebbles in My Pocket - brown candy dots
American Crafts cardstock

Teacher Appreciation Door #3

I live in the land of Brigham Young University (BYU). If you remotely watched the college basketball March Madness playoffs, you will know that Jimmer Fredette (BYU guard) gained rock star status with his mad basketball skills and also Player of the Year. Everyone had Jimmer fever. A very catchy music video was produced called, "Teach Me How to Jimmer!" As a spoof off the Jimmer craze, I did this door for our P.E. teacher, Mr. Humphreys, for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Check out these two Teach Me How to Jimmer videos to gain full appreciation...
Teach Me How to Jimmer:
Official music video - Teach Me How to Jimmer

I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make these super sized doors soon. So be watching!

If you'd like to see all the doors that were done for Teacher Appreciation Week (remember it was a Sports theme), you can find them here.

Thanks Dustin for the Basketball Dudley set! You're the best!

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Basketball Dudley set
Butcher paper
Varsity Cricut cartridge
Foam basketballs (purchase at Dollar Tree)

Teacher Appreciation Door #2

Here's another Teacher Appreciation door I did for the lunch ladies. We celebrate the faculty too. Our lunch ladies are the nicest ladies ever!

Buster Bunny is holding actual cooking spoons. His wheels are made for foam paper to add dimension. FYI - A glue gun works best for holding the spoons and wheels on.



Watch for one more door coming soon. I couldn't give you them all on the same day! That wouldn't be any fun!


Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Toby & Buster set
Butcher paper
Cuttlebug embossing folder (for the orange on the butterfly)
Die cut letters & butterfly
Plastic cooking spoons
Black foam
White paint

Teacher Appreciation Door #1

When I heard the Teacher Appreciation Week was a sports theme, I knew I had to do this for the Teachers/Faculty Lounge door. The teachers and faculty at our elementary school are truly the best! My family has been at the school for 10 years now. I'm very involved with the PTA, so I've come to know the teachers and faculty quite well. I think they are so awesome! I can't wait to celebrate them all week!

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Football set
Butcher paper
Sports wrapping paper - purchased at Target
Blue foam
Varsity Letter Cricut cartridge
Plantin Cricut cartridge
American Crafts Thicker stickers - Letterman
Banner - purchased at Dollar Tree

Sneak Peek of Teacher Appreciation Doors

If you've been wondering where I've been hiding...I've been working on Teacher Appreciation Doors. I am the PTA Teacher Appreciation Door Coordinator for our school. We decorate all the teachers and faculty doors (60 doors) to kick off the celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week. The Room Moms take care of their teachers and the PTA/other volunteers help with the other faculty and staff. It's one of my favorite events of the year! I love doors! I would do them all if I had the time! Since I'm the coordinator, I get first pick on which doors I would like to decorate. This year we were given a Sports Theme. I chose the P.E. teacher, the lunch ladies and the Teacher/Faculty Lounge. Obviously, I used Doodle Dragon Studios images! So be watching for something in the Basketball Dudley set, Toby from Toby & Buster set, and Football Dudley set.

Thanks a Melon!

I made a little thank you with Dustin Pike's cute bear image from the April Membership collection. Hmmm...the baby watermelon isn't really as tiny as it looks.

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - April Membership
DCWV - Woodland Red Dot Flower cardstock
"Just Because" Cricut cartridge
Tags, Bags & Boxes Cricut cartridge
American Crafts cardstock
Brown raffia
Pop dots
Watermelon - yum!

Happy Easter!

Hoppy hoppy Easter!


Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image
Easter Subway Art - free download
American Crafts ribbon
American Crafts cardstock
We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
M&M's

Are You Thirsty, Blogiversary Hoppers?

Phew! Are you thirsty from all the hopping? We really should have supplied some party drinks! Just a little something made with Dustin's 6 year old helper's image. :) Keep hydrated and hopping, but first read my post below to get your secret word!



It says Blog Hop all the way around the bottle.

Happy Blog-Iversary!

Welcome Dustin Pike fans to our second blog hop. This is a party you will NOT want to miss!

We are delighted to share with you some of the amazing images Dustin Pike, illustrator of all Doodle Dragon Studios designs. This day marks the anniversary of Dustin's 2 years on his blog and we, the Doodle Dragon Crew want to show you some of the fabulous Blog-iversary images you can get for a fantastic price, offer is good for a limited time, so go look. Dustin is so generous with his images. If you are new with digital images you will be happy to hear that they are easy to use, store and print out. You can resize them and then print on your favorite paper. Dustin not only gives you Black and White images but sometimes even throws in the colored versions too (my personal favorite). You can locate these images at the Doodle Dragon Studios Store, as well as many more. 200 images plus for ONLY $20.00 USD during the blog hop ONLY. See Blog Hop details below.

I wish I had nothing else to do in my life this week but play with all the fun new images! Unfortunately, that's not how it turned out. Darn. So here's a few cards I made:



Basketball is one of my Top 3 favorite sports. I'm definitely a fan of this set! Watch for more basketball projects to come in the near future.




In honor of our trip to Italy this summer...here's a stamp to put on our postcards.




Since we will be going to Italy and not Cancun...


***If you purchase the Blog-iversary images BEFORE Saturday midnight (MTN TIME) you will receive over 200 digi's for $20.00. AND if you bought the April 7th release there is a 50% off code in the file that would make the blogiversary 10 bucks...thru Saturday ONLY. After Saturday night they get split into sets and will be available at a different price. Don't wait, get in on the Blog-iversary NOW.

Hop Details:

Comment on EACH one of the stops along the way for 10 chances to win. Each one of the Design Team will be drawing a name and announcing a winner from our commenters. We will post the winners on Sunday April 24th and you will have till the following Wednesday to email Dustin with your name and shipping address for your prize delivery.

Every blog along the way has a special word. Collect the words on each blog to make a sentence and then at the end of the Hop email the sentence to Dustin_Pike@yahoo.com in order to be eligible for the prizes. What is the prize you ask? You will receive an original piece of artwork, hand drawn, colored and signed by Dustin Pike. In all your excitement don't forget to pickup YOUR Blov-iversary images at Doodledragonstudios.com. Blog Hop starts today and goes until midnight on Saturday, April 23rd, mountain time.

My special word is "HUGE" because I'm a huge fan of Dustin's!

If you are just starting MY blog, be sure to go back to the beginning at Dustin Pike's blog so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by. If you you've been hopping through a few of the Doodle Dragon Crew blogs...keep hopping next to Gramma's blog!

Blogiversary Cards

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studio image - Basketball Dudley
Crafters Square - foam basketball
American Crafts Thickers Stickers - Letterman
Font on jersey - Collegiate Heavy Outline Medium
American Craft cardstock
Pop dots


Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios images - Traveling Monkey
TPC Studio paper - Beyond the Page Red Compass
Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge (stamp)
Storybook Cricut cartridge (font)
Offray - Stylish Accents rose
American Crafts cardstock
Pop dots


Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Beach Hippos
Original personal picture
American Crafts cardstock
Sand from Cancun
CK font
Pop dots

Blog-Iversary starts tomorrow!

Dustin Pike's - Doodle Dragon Studios blogiversary starts tomorrow, Thursday, April 21st! Be sure to check back to see the excitement!

Happy Birthday DDS Challenge

Time to celebrate! In honor of Dustin Pike - Doodle Dragon Studios blogiversary (it's turning 2), the DDS Design Team decided to have a Birthday Challenge. Come join the fun...any Doodle Dragon Studios image and create a birthday project. Then post to the Doodle Dragon Studios - Pike's Playground challenge on Dustin's blog by Sunday, April 17th.

Watch Dustin's blog for more details on his big blogiversary celebration coming soon.

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Widdle Moose
Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge
Doodlebug Designs Inc - blue dot cardstock
Digital paper - GG Digital Designs - Happy Helpers
Stampin' Up tag punch
Ribbon - from stash
Font - CK Comic
Pop dots
American Craft cardstock

New Release...Happy Mother's Day!

Cookies and grandmas just go together. Don't you agree? When I saw this image, I knew I had to make something with it. Then when I saw Dustin Pike had colored her in a purple dress, it made my heart melt and brought a smile to my face with a flood of memories. My great grandma wore lots of purple, always had cookies, loved flowers, loved me, and made beautiful doilies. I combined them all together to make this card.

Obviously, I dedicate this card to my grandma. She always had cookies in her cookie jar. They were usually oatmeal raisin cookies. I was young and not a big fan of them. But I ate them anyway. Hello? They were cookies. Now oatmeal raisin cookies are my all time favorite. My grandma's birthday would have been tomorrow. To celebrate her inspiring life, here's a card for her with some oatmeal raisin cookies and a glass of iced milk. Love you Grandma! Hope they have cookies in heaven!

Now it's your turn to make something for the special woman in your life. Be sure to add this new Mother's Day digi set to your collection. You can find it at Dustin Pike's Doodle Dragon Studios store.




Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Mother's Day set
Martha Stewart doily lace edge punch
EK Success Retro Daisy punch - large & medium
Favorite Findings buttons - pastel daisy
Don Juan Cricut cartridge
Spellbinder Nestibilities - oval
DCWV paper - The Glitter Stack
American Crafts cardstock
Pop dots

Autism Awareness Month

Did you know autism affects 1 out of 110 children and 1 out of 70 boys? It's true. You can find more information on Autism here.

Autism Awareness Month has been on my radar for a while. Besides using a Dustin Pike's - Doodle Dragon Studios Awareness image, I couldn't think of a project to honor this event. Then yesterday while I was at Target, I bumped into one of our Small Groups teachers from school. We started talking about her class. Our elementary school two Small Groups (autistic) classes (1st-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade). Some students are in the Small Group classroom all day. Other students are able to attend regular classes and come to Small Group class for certain times in the day. I have seen the teachers in action with the students. They are so caring, loving, and patient. I admire them. On my drive home, I knew I had to create a card for our amazing teachers.

This card is not only dedicated to the teachers at our school, but for all those who are affected by Autism every day. Thank you for who you are and all you do.





Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image - Awareness set
Cuttlebug - Puzzled cutting die
American Crafts cardstock
Pop dots
Font - CK Handprint

April Fools...Funny Freebie

I couldn't resist using this Doodle Dragon Studios FREEBIE from Dustin Pike. He's such a comedian. Hop on over to Dustin's blog to catch this funny image. It's only free for a limited time. Start hopping!

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image
Black jelly beans
Jar
Fabric
Pebbles in My Pocket ribbon

Easter M&M's

There's just something about Easter M&M's that makes me want to buy bag after bag. The colors are so playful, light and happy. Think about it...brown colored M&M's don't make you smile like Easter colors do.

I found this fun container at IKEA (one of my favorite stores, except when I get lost and can't find out how do get down stairs). I printed the bunny on regular cardstock and the "Happy Easter" on a transparency paper. I glued the bunny on the transparency. Then put the paper in from back side so the bunny is sandwiched in between the original top and the transparency.

Happy Easter!

Supplies:
Doodle Dragon Studios image
Canister - from IKEA (3 pack)
Easter M&M's
Wrights Rick Rack - pastel
Transparency paper
Font - CK Handprint

Scrapbook Expo was so much fun!

Disclaimer: I love the Scrapbook Expo USA. Grab a drink and a snack...it's a long one.

There's only a few things I faithfully put my calendar...birthdays, holidays, school start and end dates...and the Scrapbook Expo USA! It's true. I have always loved going to the expo. It's just been the last couple of years that I've worked at it too. I say, if you're going to work, be sure it's something you enjoy. I definitely enjoy the Scrapbook Expo!

My favorite job at the expo is the VIP Lounge host. The VIP people (I'd say ladies, but few men join in too) pay at little extra to have their own limited seating, reserved area complete with tables, electrical outlets, free smoothies, treats and a special merchandise goodie bag. Basically my job is like hosting a big scrapbooking party for 60+ and I don't have to plan anything...just show up and be a hostess! Sooooo fun! There are some regular VIPs that come every expo. I love catching up on what they've been up to in the last 6 months and meeting all the other new VIPs.

Speaking of VIP's, look at the VIP I ran into...it's Dustin Pike! Our very own Doodle Dragon Studios Master. He's sporting the cool Doodle Dragon Studio shirt he posted on his blog. (Sorry, my phone didn't like the horrible lighting) Okay, so Dustin wasn't in the VIP Lounge, he stopped by. But he was at the expo Friday night hosting part of the Young Scrappers Club. I heard he did an amazing job. Not like I'm surprised, I knew he would. Then he was back again bright and early Saturday morning to give out free CDs loaded with Doodle Dragon Studios images to the first 50 people in line. LUCKY ladies!



Provo Craft's booth was directly in front of the VIP Lounge. It was fun to see some of my friends from when I worked at PC as Admin Kerri. I like watching the demos of the new PC products from my post. Dan showed me how Cricut Craft Room works. Being a Mac user, I'm pretty excited about this new software! And it's free!

My friend has a tradition of taking pictures of her shopping spree at the expo. In the past, I would have never admitted to how much I purchased. Usually I go a little coo coo crazy and buy everything (with multiples), but this year I was focused due to reading David Bach money management books. I already have enough scrapbook supplies I could start my own store, no joke. So I only bought what I have an idea to use immediately AND only in my style. Here are my treasures this time:



I only spent $45. Miracle! I found some great deals. The hair flowers were $1 each, WeRMemory Keepers pages $.75 each, Doodlebug Designs paper pack (25 sheets) $2 per pack, Imaginisce paper packs & stamps (25 sheets paper + 6 stamps) $1 per pack, DCWV cards & envelopes (72 set) $5, necklace and bracelet $5 each.

The one thing I almost caved in and purchased was this beautiful crafting desk. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! The original price was $599, but it was the Deal of the Day for $399. Curse David Bach. In the past, I would have not thought twice about taking it home. Instead, I was tortured by David Bach lessons running through my head all day. Ahhh! It is my turn to buy something fun (my DH just bought new golf clubs). But I stayed strong...well, for now.



I worked, I played, I shopped, I took Photoshop classes from the The Digital Scrapbook Teacher (Patty is great), saw old friends, made new friends...once again, it was a great weekend at the Scrapbook Expo USA! Can't wait until September!

If you're in the Provo, Utah area on April 14-16, DCWV is having their warehouse sale. While you're calendaring, the next Scrapbook Expo USA in Sandy, Utah is September 9-10.