A TGF Bday hop & MM with Craftylittlepigtails

wishes TGF a HAPPY 3-Year-Young Birthday!

Hello, friends!

WELCOME to The Greeting Farm's THREE YEAR Birthday Bash!

We are helping to kick off the August release by celebrating The Greeting Farm's official three.  years.  YOUNG birthday!  First and foremost, we want to thank EVERYONE for your continued support, encouragement and enthusiasm these past three years.  We know it's said all over the cyber-world, but we TRULY appreciate and understand the fact that if it weren't for all of you, TGF would not be anywhere near the community and business it is today and for that we are truly grateful.

Before I show you my project for today, we want to announce that we have an EXCLUSIVE digi stamp as a gift with ANY rubber stamp purchase TODAY through FRIDAY, August 5th at 10pm CST.  To claim your exclusive digi, just email Jessica with a copy of your receipt and your FREE GIFT will be sent shortly after!  Remember, this is ONLY good through the 5th at 10pm so make sure you get yours before it disappears forever ;)

I can't forget to mention today there is also another Mystery Monday Challenge over at the Farm Fresh challenge blog and guess what?  The DT and the Farmers are all playing along!  How cool is that?  Way cool!  To see what the DT created click HERE.  This week's card to case was chosen by me and created by..... Craftylittlepigtails!!  Here is Krista's adorable card featuring one of the discontinued sets, Down by the Pond duos, Turtle & Bunny.  Loved the clean and simple design, the bright papers and of course the image.


Created by Krista aka Craftylittlepigtails

Isn't her coloring fabulous?! 

For my special project... I am using the adorable Birthday Anya 2.  When I got her in the mail I had to ink her up and color her right away!  I case'd Krista's card going with a window card for my special project.  Boy did I make it harder than it should have been.  LOL..  I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say what should have taken me only an hour took me about 3.  lol!  Live and learn.  :)



 Outside of card:

Inside of card:



Be sure to check out the Farm Fresh Challenge blog for this week's Mystery Monday challenge with Craftylittlepigtails and I hope you'll play along!  Click HERE to get the details for the MM challenge.

Now back to today's main event.  There are THREE NEW RELEASES and since we're feelin' generous on our birthday, we are giving away THREE August Release Prize Packs today (exclusive digi not included) just for hopping with us and coming BACK to the TGF Blog to wish our little Farm a happy day!

You will have until 11:59pm CST tonight to comment on the DT's blogs and come back to the TGF Blog to leave some love!

Here is the list of players, if you get lost head on over to The Greeting Farm blog to go back to the beginning:

TGF Blog

1LuvnMama

Rachel Schneider

Tasha Beasley

Leanne Poe (That's Me!)

(Next) Sparkle Smith

Carisa Zglobicki

Tracey Pickersgill

Denice Bartucci

Becca Fabozzi

Kim Yu

Jessica Diedrich

back to TGF Blog to leave your comment to WIN!

See you back soon and THANKS for celebrating with THREE CHEERS for THREE YEARS!

Hip Hip Hooray!  Hip Hip Hooray!!  Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Here's to MANY more!

Hugs,
Leanne

July C.A.T.S.

Happy Sunday everyone!
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  I'm going to try to enjoy today as tomorrow it's back to work and my boss will be back from her long and well deserved vacation to China with her family. 

I was so happy that I got to sign up for Joy's C.A.T.S. (Card And Tag Swap) for the next three months.  I was paired up with the very talented Brenda for July and our theme was red, white & blue.  I have admired her blog for quite some time and she is so very talented when it comes to creating beautiful cards and projects.  I got her CATS in the mail maybe a week or two after we got our partners.  I was totally blown away with what I received. 

She used the cute Sister Stamp Kiyomi.  I love the scene she created here, Kiyomi looks like any little girl having fun playing in the grass chasing butterflies.



Next up is the adorable matching tag:

And as an added and definitely welcomed bonus, I received one of her beautiful hand made bird of paradise creations.  It's a little notepad with a pen.  Doesn't the flower stand out and make this plain notepad beautiful?

I love my set and the wonderful notepad with her beautiful bird of paradise creation.  I have to find a frame worthy of them all.  I doubt I will be using the tag or notepad for anything but decoration.  Maybe a shadow box.  :)

Here is what I made for her, I hope she likes it as much as I liked making it.  I used another of the Sister Stamps, Mei Lin for my card.  I chose a white base for both the card and tag and used the blues and reds to color her.  First up is the card.  I made it into a circle easel card, which I learned to make at CHA.  (I will share that card later this week)

Sorry for the bad quality in pictures.  I should have used a different colored background.  Here is the matching tag.  This is a little better picture.

And here is the set together. 

And there you have it.  I am so glad I got to sign up, it's not only fun, you get to connect with your blogging friends and share your creations with them and receive some wonderful creations too.  I already have my partner for August, and it's going to be another fun swap.  Hopefully you can sign up in September when the list is opened.

Okay friends, time for me to get back to finishing my projects for this week.  Don't forget tomorrow is Mystery Card Monday at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog and as an added bonus we are hopping along with the Farmers to celebrate The Greeting Farm's 3rd Year-Young Birthday bash!  So many wonderful prizes are up for grabs, and so many cute projects featuring the new birthday releases that were showcased last week by the talented Farmers and my sistas on the FFC DT.  You don't want to miss a second of it!  The fun starts at Midnight over at The Greeting Farm blog.

Have a wonderful Sunday friends and I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Hugs,

Lilo

July SSS

Hello Friends!
Popping in to share my July Secret Sister Swap card.  For more details and to sign up for the September swap you have to stalk, I mean pop on over to Krista's blog.  Unfortunately the August sign-ups ended yesterday, but you can sign up for September when she sends out the post.

The theme for this swap was to use flowers.  My secret swap partner was the very sweet Jayne Converse.  For her card I decided to use one of the new Marci's from La-La Land Crafts, Marci with Flower.  You can purchase her as a deeply etched scroll-cut red rubber stamp or as a digi.


Marci with Flower (La-La Land Crafts)

 I think she is a cutie!  And so perfect for this swap.  I paired her up with papers from DCWV's Nana's Kitchen matstack.  I pulled the colors from there as well to color her up.  I am so bummed because I think I accidentally threw away the Copic colors I used.  Aiya!  If I find it I will update accordingly. Used two different flower punches with yellow and dark kraft cs.  The center of each flower as well as the scallop circle is Viva Decor pearl pen in cream.    I had some left over scraps from another project so I added it to the inside of the card.

I am happy to report that Jayne enjoyed the card and the RAK I sent with it.  Whew!  So glad.  I really can't wait for the next swap, I just got my partner details and I am so excited about it.  I always am.  hehe..  The August theme is anything goes.. Uh-oh, so many ideas going on in my head.  LOL!

Well I hope you come back tomorrow, I'm going to showcase my July C.A.T.S. swap featuring the awesome Brenda Ballesteros.  She totally blew me away!

Until then, have a wonderful Saturday afternoon!!

Hugs,
Lilo

FFF - Gratuity Please

Happy Friday everyone!

Sometimes saying,  "Thank you" is the one thing we forget to do and most times it's taken for granted.  Ever wanted to just take time to sit and make a Thank you project/card?  Well today at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog we're enrolling you to be proactive by challenging you to show your "Gratuity Please" and make a Thank you card or project!  It can be for a specific person or something just for your stash, just make sure to tell someone Thank you!  Don't forget to stop by the FFC blog to see the creations by the DT.

I have a really CAS card to share and it's a Thank you to all the military.  This past week being in the airport I saw quite a few soldiers either on their way home or hanging out with family.  I think we don't say thank you enough to them.  So for my card I inked up Soldier Ian onto kraft cardstock and colored him in with Copics.  A very simple stamped sentiment and one handwritten banner and my card was done. 

Soldier Ian

I hope you get a chance to show your gratitude and join us for this really awesome challenge.  The FFF challenges runs until Thursday, entries are due by 12 PM CST.  The winner will receive a free single TGF stamp of choice! 

Please upload your challenge cards/projects to TGF Galleria> Farm Fresh Challenges 2011> Farm Fresh Fridays 2011> Gratuity Please

Have a fantastic Friday and a fabulous weekend my friends and don't forget to stop by The Greeting Farm blog to see the most cutest releases for our 3-Year-Young birthday bash as well as updates for the Heart Journals!

Mahalo!! 

Hugs,
Leanne

Card recipe:
Stamp: Soldier Ian (TGF), sentiment (Hero Arts)
Papers: Dark brown and kraft cs (Neenah)
Small star punch (Marvy Uchida)
Inks: Rich cocoa (Memento)
Copics:
C3 & 5; E57 & 59; E11; YG63;  G94 & 99

WOW - Sepia/Brown tones

Hello Friends!

Hope everyone is staying cool in this heat.  In some parts it's been extreme, so hopefully you are making sure to stay hydrated and cool.  For those of you on the other side of the world I hope you are staying dry and warm. 

Today at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog we are having a color challenge using Sepia/Brown tones.  For some fantastic inspiration hop on over to the FFC page by clicking HERE.  The DT has outdone themselves again for this challenge.  You won't be disappointed.

When I made this card I was hoping to use it when we case'd, Emily Martina, aka Beansscrapsandsheep.  Then I decided to use it for this challenge instead as it met the color requirements.  Hope you like it.  Cause I really enjoyed making it.

Geisha Anya

This beauty is none other than Geisha Anya.  She's an oldie and one of my very first stamps I got from my bestie Renate to start my wonderful TGF collection.  I love how she turned out.  The washi paper is from a paper pack I got at Marukai for under $2 and can you believe there were 60 sheets/pack with two other colors to choose from?  Score!  The gems were actually clear and I colored them with Copic E47.  The layout is the same one we used to case Emily's card.   And for my clouds I used Versa Magic, Sahara Sand.  Here's a picture of the punches that were used to make the flowers.  Love my punches!

Punches used to create flowers and accents

Alrighty, it's that time.. What time?  Time for you to get crackin' on your card or project & have fun!!  (hehe)

The W.O.W. challenge is open until Tuesday; entries are due by 12 PM CST. The winner is chosen by random draw and wins a free digi of choice!  Please upload your challenge cards/projects to TGF Galleria > Farm Fresh Challenges 2011 > Which One Wednesday > Sepia/Brown.

Mahalo for stopping by!

Hugs,
Lilo

Card Recipe:
Stamp: Geisha Anya (The Greeting Farm)
Papers: Washi paper; light peach cardstock (Hanko Designs), kraft & white cs (Neenah), brown cs (Recollections)
Circle & Lacey circle Spellbinders
Sakura with branch embossing folder (Cuttlebug)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Gems: Recollections
Twine
Copics:
Skin: E000, 00, 11
Hair: E44, 47, 70, 71
Kimono: E40, 41, 42, 43, 50, 51, 02, 04
8-petal flower: E02, 04

Mystery Monday with.... Mercy!!

Hello!!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I'm back to work today, and it's going to be tough with my being gone for a week!  But it was worth it.  hehehe...   Won't be worth it to catch up, but that's the "catch" when you get away. 

I hope you're ready for a new week of fun and fabulous challenges over at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog. :)  Today my teammate Tasha chose this week's mystery card to case.  Without further ado, it's none other than former Farmer, Mercy Kerin!  Here is her cute and fun card...

Mystery Monday Case by Mercy Kerin

Love her easy layout and the colors she chose are terrific.  You must see what the rest of the DT created, you will be awestruck!  I chose to case the card using some summery colors, to create a sympathy card for my co-worker.  I used the dragonfly from the Sunshine kit. 

I hope this card brings her peace and helps her get through the tough loss.  She is a very strong person and has a lot of people who care about her.  Please keep her in your thoughts.  Thank you!

As always, here are the details for the Mystery Monday Challenge:

You now have two ways to play! You can either CASE the card OR you can use it as an inspiration piece. Meaning that you can make the same style of card, use the same colors, etc, just as long as we can tell that you got your ideas from the showcased card.

The MM contest runs until Sunday, entries are due by 12 PM CST.

The winner is chosen by random draw and will win a free TGF single stamp of choice, so good luck!

Please post your cards in the TGF Galleria - Home > Farm Fresh Challenges 2011 > Mystery Mondays > Mercy

Mahalo for stopping by, hope you enjoy the week!! 

Hugs,

Leanne

FFF - Piece it Together

Hello Friends,
Sorry this is going to be a short one!  Sorry this is so very late!  I've been away at CHA and just didn't have time to make my deadline.  That's really no excuse, but there ya go.  So you all know that the FFF challenge for Friday is a paper piecing challenge.  That should be a piece of cake, or paper in this case.  LOL..  Make sure to stop by the Farm Fresh blog to see what the other ladies are showcasing.

For my share, it's truly a very simple card.  Only a piece of fun paper, a cool image, a ribbon, and sentiment.  Nothing fancy since the paper itself is fancy.  Was I being lazy?  Yea, I guess you could say so.  I just wanted to get this posted so I could catch up with the rest of the team.



Sasha from the Creepin' Creeper Crew Collection 1

 I paper pieced Sasha's dress and boots using paper from a DCWV Whimsy matstack.  The background paper is also from the same stack.  I loved the fun prints and the beautiful colors.  I just added a ribbon and that fun sentiment from Inkadinkado.  Easy-peasy!

Ok, now it's your turn to create a paper pieced masterpiece using any of the Greeting Farm stamps.

The FFF challenges runs until Thursday, entries are due by 12 PM CST.

The winner will receive a free single TGF stamp of choice!

Please upload your challenge cards to TGF Galleria> Farm Fresh Challenges 2011> Farm Fresh Fridays 2011> Paper Piecing

Mahalo for stopping by and I'll be back later for a couple La-La Land Crafts make-n-takes that we made at summer CHA, and hopefully some pictures.

Hugs,
Lilo

WOW - Sketch #8 Pink Lemonade

Hello Friends!!
Hope you are all doing well today.  As you know every Wednesday at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog we have a different challenge.  Today we have another sketch created by our team captain, Rachel.

To find out what the DT has created using the sketch above, check out the FFC blog HERE.

On Friday I posted a tag for the FFF challenge (Double Duty).  I mentioned that I made a matching card to go along with it.  The card is opposite of the tag but using the same elements. 

I look at this card and think of pink lemonade.  (hehe)

Hope you can join us for today's challenge.  Looking forward to your creations.  Here are the details for everyone WOW challenge:

• Make a card/project using sketch #8
• The W.O.W. challenge is open until Tuesday; entries are due by 12 PM CST.
• The winner is chosen by random draw and wins a free digi of choice!
• Please upload your challenge cards/projects to TGF Galleria > Farm Fresh Challenges 2011 > Which One Wednesday > Sketch #8
• Use a TGF image
• Have fun!

Mahalo for stopping by!  Hope you are all doing well!
Hugs,
Leanne

Copics:
Skin: E50, 51, 02
Hair: R85, 83, RV34
Outfit: R89, 85, 83, RV34, Y17, YR12, 21
Blush Hello, Miss Anya Hats Off, Pretty Hat (TGF)
Strawberries (Stamps by Judith)

Mystery Monday with Paula!




Hello Friends!!  Hope you had a great weekend. 

Today at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog, Rachel chose to case this super cute card made by Paula



MM case with Paula

  Doesn't this just scream CUTE?!  I love the circles and the fun use of different papers.  Make sure to check out what the rest of the DT created by going to the FFC blog HERE.

I've been having so much fun with the new Blush society images that I decided to use Bonnie again.  I colored her in soft blues and greens.  Kept the card the same colors and threw in some dark kraft.  So hope you like my case of Paula's card...



Blush Bonnie - The Greeting Farm

 Time for you to play!  YAY!  Hope you join us for today's fun case.  Here's a reminder of the details for each MM case'ing.

• You now have two ways to play! You can either CASE the card OR you can use it as an inspiration piece. Meaning that you can make the same style of card, use the same colors, etc, just as long as we can tell that you got your ideas from the showcased card.
• The MM contest runs until Sunday, entries are due by 12 PM CST.
• The winner is chosen by random draw and will win a free TGF single stamp of choice, so good luck!
• Post your cards in the TGF Galleria - Home > Farm Fresh Challenges 2011 > Mystery Mondays > Paula

Mahalo for stopping by today.  Hope you have a great day!  Talk to you all soon. 
Hugs,
Lilo

Copics:
Skin: E02, 50, 51
Hair: E70, 71
Outfit: BG10, G40

FFF - Double Duty

Happy Friday everyone!!
I know, I'm late, and I must apologize.  It's been one of those weeks and I've been so busy I had to post this now!  I do have something to share for this week's Farm Fresh Friday challenge.  If you are looking for some inspiration on our Double Duty challenge (Use two or more TGF images on your project) you have to check out the Farm Fresh challenge blog.  The team did an amazing job!

I made this tag as a card & tag set.  I will share the card next week, but thought it would be ok to have the tag share for this challenge. 

Miss Anya (Hats off) & Doggie (Pretty Hat) from TGF

I picked one of the Miss Anya Hats Off gals and paired her up with the cute doggie from the Pretty Hat (retired) set.  I also stamped the Blush Hello background on the MS butterfly punch.  I loved experimenting with different papers.  Here is another shot showing off all the sparkle from the paper to the stickled random dots.

 
Alrighty, this should be fun to see which images you pair up together.  You can use more than two, but two is the requirement.  And here are the details for every Farm Fresh Friday challenge:

• The FFF challenges runs until Thursday, entries are due by 12 PM CST.
• The winner will receive a free single TGF stamp of choice!
• Please upload your challenge cards to TGF Galleria> Farm Fresh Challenges 2011> Farm Fresh Fridays 2011> Double Duty

Contests:
Mad for Markers: Pink & Yellow challenge

Mahalo for stopping by and thank you for your wonderful responses to my posts.  They make this hobby of mine worth while.  Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully I will be able to send some love from CHA.

Hugs,
Lilo

Copics:
Skin: E50, 51, 02
Hair: YR20, 21, Y17
Outfit: R83, YR20, 21, 61, 12, R21
Blush Hello, Miss Anya Hats Off, Pretty Hat (TGF)
Strawberries (Stamps by Judith)

Going to CHA with La-La Land Crafts!!

Hello everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that Renate & I are joining the La-La Land Crafts team at CHA in Chicago this weekend and all next week.  We are both so excited to be helping out again.  Irina has some fabulous make-&-takes planned and you will get to see the fabulous design teams creations of the new images soon to be released.  Yes, Irina & Eric have been very, very busy. 

So if you are in the area or planning to attend stop by and see what we've been up to.  You will not be disappointed.

La-La Land Crafts - Booth 1617 @ CHA

Hugs,
Leanne

WOW - For Lauren

Hello Friends!
Please bear with me, this might be a long post, not sure yet since I just started it.  I do know there will be lots of pictures, so if you have time to read and scroll have at it.. LOL!  So today is Wednesday and we have another fun challenge at the Farm Fresh Challenge blog today.  It's back for another beautiful inspiration photo and this picture is any little girls dream room!


WOW - Photo Inspiration #2

Seriously?  Who has a room like this?  A fairy princess to be sure.  hahaha!  Seriously, this is a very beautiful room and you will have lots of inspiration to choose from.  Click HERE to see what the DT created.

Looking at this picture I see lots of pink, white, some greens and more pinks..  For my share I made a hanging tag name frame for my friends who are expecting a little girl soon.  The baby's name will be Lauren Mei Lin and the colors in her room are similar to the ones here.  I used chipboard that was already pre-cut into the tag shapes and covered them with papers from the DCWV Nana's Nursery baby girl stack.  I had to use the combination of Fleur Anya and Cuddle Anya.  I have a stash of ribbon that I hoarde and decided it was a good time to use them here.  Then to top it off I used some clear acrylic letters in strawberry bisque from KI memories to eventually spell out Lauren.  Of course there has to be some bling and flowers, so they are there too.  I will first show the individual tags.  The ones that do not have a TGF image will be the ones where my friends will be able to put pictures on.

"L"

Fleur Anya "a"

"u"



Cuddle Anya "R"



"e"

"n"

Yes, I kept each of the tags with the same layout, but mixed up the papers, ribbons, and the flowers.  I love the butterflies in kraft interspersed here and there.  Here is the whole set together, sorry if the photo quality is so bad.  I had to take it in a room that only had sunlight coming through it.  Luckily I found the white fuzzy blanket to give it a nice background. 

"Lauren"

Whew, I guess it wasn't too bad.  More photos than words.  Thanks for your patience!!  Well my friends, it's time to give you the details for today's W.O.W. Photo inspiration #2 challenge:

• Make a project inspired by the photo! You could use whatever catches your fancy from the photo, just have fun!
• The W.O.W. challenge is open until Tuesday; entries are due by 12 PM CST.
• The winner is chosen by random draw and wins a free digi of choice!
• Please upload your challenge cards/projects to TGF Galleria > Farm Fresh Challenges 2011 > Which One Wednesday > Photo Inspiration 2

Can't wait to see what parts of the photo caught your fancies.  Mahalo for stopping by and don't forget you still have time to get in your Christmas in July creations before Friday.

Have a wonderful day!!
Hugs,
Lilo