I {heart} U

Happy one year anniversary to the girls over at Just Us Girls (JUGS) Challenges! I can't believe it's been one year already - I can remember when you were just starting out! I am so happy for all of you!

In honor of their one year mark, JUGS is hosting an awesome sketch challenge this week! I decided to jump in the fun and I created this funky (for lack of a better work) card for their JUGS 53 - Sketch challenge. I have to admit, I had such a blast making this one :)

I started out with a base of SU! Cajun Craze card stock and stitched on some designer paper from the Basic Grey - Max and Whiskers paper pad. I then stamped the bird image from Gina K. Designs Warm & Fuzzy stamp set by Asela Hopkins three times onto white card stock, cut them out using Nestabilities, and sponged around each in a different SU! color - Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, and Old Olive. Using scraps from the same Basic Grey pad, I paper pieced the birds, and then popped the three of them onto the card. I then attached the lace and ribbon, but it still needed something. I had these little beads with letters on them for quite some time and I never find a good use for them, so I decided to add them into the mix.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week! Don't forget, it's Breast Cancer Awareness month! If you would like to learn more, please visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Stargazer Lilies

Happy Sunday :) Today I am sharing a card that I created for two challenges: Basic Grey Challenges - Sparkle and Paper Sundaes - Use Something From Your Stash.

All of the divisions where I work are named after flowers. I have always been a Tiger Lily, but now after a recent split, I am a Stargazer Lily. I wanted to create a special note card for my Division Director and this is what I came up with.

I created the lilies using the lily image from By Your Side by Asela Hopkins and I used the leaf image from A Year Of Flowers by Melanie Muenchinger - both sets from Gina K. Designs. I colored both images with Copic markers, and the leaves were cut out and glued on for some added dimension. I highlighted the lilies with my white gel pen. Designer Paper is from the Basic Grey - Lemonade collection. I added some rainbow bling to the corners to make is sparkle, and finished it off with a sheer bow that I created using ribbon from my stash.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend! I can't believe my days off have already come to an end - back to work tomorrow...

So Glad We're Friends

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing with you a very special card. It's a card that was created using many different elements that have been hangin' out on my desk for some time. One of them are these amazing 3D flowers that were a gift from a dear friend. The are from Ritva's Fairies - Purple Flowers collection. I had so much fun putting them together! They are easy to create and they turn any card into a wonderful work of art!

For the rest of this card, I used designer paper scraps from my bin and added some stitching. I used a sentiment from SU! Best Yet, and the flourish is from Fancy Pants Designs. I also added some swirly bling which went right along with the flourish stamp.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend! Mom and Dad are visiting until tomorrow :) Mom and I took a ride to my local paper crafting store this morning and pick up a few goodies! We are just having a blast together!!

Happy Stamping!

Lazy Daisies

Tonight I am sharing the birthday card that I made for my best friend Kristy :) Her favorite flowers are daisies, so I decided to use this adorable Penny Black stamp called Lazy Daisies. I stamped the image onto white card stock, colored with Copics, cut out using Nestabilities, and then sponged in the ground and sky using SU! ink in Baja Breeze and Old Olive. After finishing the image, I decided to turn it into a kickstand card. I trimmed a portion off of the front of the card, added designer paper from Basic Grey - Green at Heart collection, and then lined the bottom of the scene up with the bottom of the card. What do you think? I also added that super cute lady bug embellishment from Jolee's to the bottom corner - it's she a beauty?

I hope you all have a great night! We are half way through the week - only two more days to go :)

Happy Stamping!

Hi, it's me...

Hello again to all of my friends :) Tonight I am doing a second post featuring a card that I created for the current Basic Grey Challenge - #29. It's a sketch challenge and I gave it a 90 degree spin! All designer paper is from the Basic Grey - Olivia collection. The image and sentiment are Pure Innocence for My Favorite Things - Heart Stripes. I colored the little girl with pencils and paper pieced her dress. I added some stitching, glitzy Primas from their Summer Mix, and some cotton lace for the scalloped edge. I added a touch of shine to the little hearts with a Sakura Gelly Roll in Red Star. This was such a fun sketch! If you have some extra time, stop by and play - the challenge doesn't end until October 1st!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Trick or Treat

Hi fellow blog friends! Long time no see! Today I am sharing with you a quick and easy Halloween card that I created for the Paper Sundaes Challenge #36 - Using Fall or Halloween colors. I can't believe how fast time is going by for me - soon it will be time for ghosts and goblins. Using some designer paper from Basic Grey's Eeire collection, I created my backdrop for my fun stamp from Catslife Press. Don't you just love it? Such a great sentiment! For my foreground, I added a piece of Felt Fusion from Queen&Co - it reminds me of pumpkin vines. I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend! I know it may be shocking, but I might even be back later tonight with another post!

Happy Stamping!

Have a Beautiful Day

I know, I know... I can't believe it's been this long between posts again. Life has been happening so fast lately and I just haven't been able to squeeze in time for stamping. Thankfully I had time this past weekend when visiting mom (and thanks to her, I found my mojo again)! I created this card using some of my new A Muse stamps that I picked up last week. I am always drawn to the more earthy stamps. Mother Nature just fascinates me :) Don't you just love this new branch? The little leaves are separate and you can add them where you please. I think the Daisy Duet stamp worked perfectly to add a pop of color. The stitching isn't all the way around because mom's Janome is on the fritz, but I kinda like it they way it came out. We had such a fun time together! If you have time, pop on over to Lakeside Stamping and check out some of the cards she created!

So, if I haven't been stamping - what have I been doing? Well, Shaun and I finally found our wedding venue and we selected our date, 10/15/11! I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself! Now the fun begins :) I have so many ideas that I don't even know where to start! Other than that, I've been adjusting to all of the "fun" that comes along with being a home owner LOL! Lawn mowing, remembering trash night and recycling night (would having them the same night be too much to ask?), keeping track of all the new bill schedules, and keeping up with the cleaning (a house is much larger than an apartment!). Don't think I am complaining - I am loving every minute of it!

Have a stellar night!



Card Recipe:
Designer Paper - Basic Grey Kioshi
Card Stock - Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Sweet Corn
Dies - Nestabilities - Labels 11
Stamps - A Muse - Bare branch with leaves, Have a beautiful day FL, and Daisy Duet
Ink - ColorBox Chalk Ink - Olive Pastel, Azurite, Chestnut Roan and Wisteria
Embellishments - Stitching, Satin Ribbon and Pearls

A Simple Basket

Tonight I am sharing with you a simple little basket that I created for this week's JUGS challenge. It's a Template Challenge. While I was at a stamp show a few months back, I picked up a Purse Basket template with a matching Basket Weave stamp at the Rubber Cottage booth. This is the first time I got to play with it, and it was super easy to create this little cutie :)

I traced the template onto Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury card stock in Soft Sand, stamped it with the basket weave in Memento Rich Cocoa ink, added some shading with my Memento Desert Sand marker, cut it out and assembled. Next, I added a trim around the top edge using some SU! ribbon in Certainly Celery and Scor-Tape. I created my flower using plain white paper flowers - I crumpled them up, distressed the edges, and stamped them with one of the stamps from my Tim Holtz set called Floral Tattoo (such an awesome set for just about anything) in Certainly Celery and So Saffron. I used a piece if the ribbon for the leaves and assembled the whole thing with a button brad. Similar brads were used to attach the handle. To finish the basket, I added an adhesive felt butterfly from K & Co. - is she sweet? Now, what to put inside... Any ideas?

Happy Stamping!

Let's Get Sketchy

There's a super fun sketch over at Get Sketchy Card Challenges for this week! If you have time to play - head on over and check it out! The winner gets a gift pack from The Robin's Nest! I created this card using some new designer paper from Memory Box - Enchanted collection. I layered using Gina K. Pure Luxury card stock in Green Apple. I used a MS border punch to create my center strip, and added some stitching to embellish. All stamps are from my cute stamps. I stamped the bird cage and birdies in SU! Vintage Violet, and then added some of the leafy branches in SU! Old Olive. I then cut it out and added sponging. I attached the sentiment (which I absolutely LOVE) using some fibers I had laying around. I just love the wispy, hairy texture! I finished the card with some flowers I put together using petals from a silk flower arrangement that I took apart, adhesive pearls and some MS frond punches. I am planning to give this card to a very special couple on their wedding day!

Until next time...

A Lovely Sketch

Happy Friday! Tonight I am sharing with you the card I created following Vicki's sketch over at Stamp TV. For this card, I used two different stamp sets by Nina Brackett - Lovely Shelf and Nana's Needlework. My dp is from a new 8x8 paper pad I just picked up at the stamp store. It by October Afternoon and this collection is called The Thrift Shop. I have to say - it's a must have! I layered with some scraps of card stock that I had in my scrap bin. Next, I created my center strip and added some fun measuring tape ribbon for some texture. I then popped on three vintage buttons with some yellow leaves that I punched out using the MS frond punch. I then inked up the fabulously lacy doily from Nana's Needlework in Versamark and SU! Blue Bayou inks, stamped onto ivory card stock, and heat embossed with clear powder. I cut it out and used it as my side element. Lastly I used a sentiment from Lovely Shelf, added some of the small button flower images from Nana's Needlework (I stamped them off once first so they would be in the background), and some sponging - all in SU! Blue Bayou ink. I have had that pearly straight pin pokin' around my desk for too long, so I stuck it into the card as the finishing touch!

Have a great night! I hope to be around with more posts this weekend!

Trouble Organizing Your Mail?

This week's Anything But A Card Challenge hosted by Karen Knegten over at Stamp TV is to decorate a napkin holder. I loved Karen's idea to re-purpose the holder as a mail sorter - what a fab idea, right? We all have the pile of unorganized mail that needs a home and this is the perfect solution! I am also entering my project over at BasicGrey Challenges. The current challenge is to use punches on your project.

I was in PA this weekend visiting mom and we had time to do this project together. If you haven't already, you can check her project out here. As we sat and stared at our blank, plastic holders, discussing out plans of attack, we had a brainstorm. Instead of creating pockets to slip over each side, an A2 envelope with the flap cut off would do the trick! What a quick and easy gift idea this is :) I think I am going to head back to the $ store and pick up a few more holders!

So, for my project, I cut the flaps off of two A2 envelopes and began to decorate them. I decided on using Basic Grey papers from the Boxer collection and I used Gina K. Pure Luxury Card Stock in In The Navy for layering. I distressed the edges a bit to add some texture. I stamped the mailbox image from Gina K. Designs set Autumn Beauty designed by Theresa Momber on ivory card stock, colored with Copics, cut out using Nestabilites, and sponged with SU! ink in Night of Navy. I added some corner treatments using Sizzix dies, a MS flower punch and some green pearls.
For the back of my mail holder, I used the same papers and embellishments, and added a strip that I created using an MS border punch. I wanted to keep the back simple but cute!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I should have extra time this week for stamping so let me know if you see any new fun challenges out there in blog world!

Strut Your Stuff

Mom was telling me about an inspiration challenge at Off The Wall Craftiness so I headed on over to play :) What a fun blog! This week's inspiration is a photo of peacock - I immediately dug out one of my favorite SU! sets, Such a Tweet! I colored the peacock stamp using Memento markers in Bahama Blue and Pear Tart. After I stamped him onto white card stock, I cut him out with Nestabilities Label 9 and added some sponging in Memento's Bamboo Leaves. I added the sentiment to the bottom and to embellish, I added deep blue and aqua rhinestones to his tail! What a fancy peacock he is :) I kept my background simple by just running a piece of SU! Pacific Point card stock through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. I added a little more sponging to the edges to finish the card. If you get a chance, hop on over to Off The Wall Craftiness to check out the other entries!

home sweet home

Hello to all my friends! I have missed you so much over the past month and a half! I am so excited to finally sit down and share some news with all of you! Shaun and I are now home owners :) We moved in mid April and we are finally settled (and I finally unpacked all my stamp supplies!) I can't wait to get back into the swing of things - it's going to take me forever to go back through all of your blog posts and catch up! I can't wait to be inspired by all of you!

Tonight I am sharing with you a picture of our new home. We are so proud and we can't wait to have all of our friends and family over to check it out :) I will be sure to throw in a snapshot or two from time to time!

I am also sharing with you the change of address cards that I have sent out. This was my first project after unpacking all of my supplies. Since I needed 40 of these (yes, I know, 40!) I kept them very simple. They are single panel cards, A2 size, cut from Gina K's Pure Luxury in Soft Sand. I stamped each front with my SU! Canvas background stamp using Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I like how the canvas stamp gives the effect of a screen door. I then colored the new home stamp from Inkadinkado using Memento markers in Rich Cocoa and Cottage Ivy, stamped on white, and punched out using the pink Marvy oval punch. SU! card stock in YoYo Yellow was used for the scalloped oval that was layered under and paper pierced. I finished by using corners punched out from various scraps of Basic Grey Origins designer paper. I used the computer to print our new information on the back.

I hope you all have a great night! I am off to create something - I can't let the free time I have tonight get away from me!

Just For You

Tonight I am sharing a card that I created for the color challenge at Stamp TV hosted by Tina Gilliland. The color combo was red, ivory and kraft. My base card is SU! kraft card stock and the red and ivory are Gina K's Pure Luxury in Lipstick Red and Ivory. I tore the edge of my red strip and then ran it through my Cuttlebug with a border embossing folder. I then stitched on a border and ran some ivory satin ribbon down the red edge. I created my frame using Nina Brackett's Lovely Labels stamp set by Gina K. Designs. I stamped the label in SU! Riding Hood Red and then used my Nestabilities to cut it out. I then pulled out another one of my favorite Nina sets, Lovely Shelf, and stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of the kraft card stock. Using my Memento marker in Lady Bug, I colored and stamped just the flower blooms (this stamp is actually two flowers with leaves in a vase) around the sentiment. Using markers is a great way to customize your stamps to exactly what you need :) The framed sentiment was then added to my card and I attached a bow to the top. My final addition to this card was the flower. To create it, I used a random felt shape, layered a silk flower on top, used a vintage button from Grandma's stash for the center, and then added some Martha Stewart branches.

It felt so good to finally have some time to play tonight :) What a great stress relief from my long day at work. I hope you like what I came up with!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

An Update On Life

I know, I know... I have been MIA for quite some time! Crafting has been shifted to the back burner for now, so I decided to pop on blogger tonight to say hi and to give you a little update as to where I have been.

As most of you know, I have been going through the home buying process. Well, as far away as it seemed, closing day is just around the corner! Shaun and I make settlement on April 13th. Our current apartment is in shambles - boxes stacked in every corner (I've only stubbed my toe like 6 times LOL) and piles of clothes and other random items are scattered about. Half of my stamping supplies have already been packed - Shaun said that I couldn't possibly need EVERYTHING out (he just doesn't understand that the things I pack are the things I will end up needing) so stamping is becoming a bit tough. We are both super excited about the move and we just can't wait to get settled in :) After that, it's on to the wedding plans!





In addition to all the sorting and packing, I went on a little trip to Orlando, FL with my company and I got to meet Mickey Mouse and all of his friends! I had never gone to Disney before so I was counting down the days until my departure. I was working on that Friday and my flight was scheduled for around 8pm that night. When I arrived at work that day, I became very sick - I couldn't believe it - I am NEVER sick. I had the chills, stomach ache, the whole smash. I left work a little early to try and get some rest before my flight. When I got home I took my temperature and I couldn't believe it - 101.9 With this trip being a work event (and me being on the luncheon planning committee) I couldn't miss it. I pulled myself together, took some medicine and had Shaun drop me at the airport for what seemed like the longest flight of my life. I arrived at the hotel by 1:30am and just curled up in bed, hoping it would pass. I did feel a little better in the morning, and I slowly got back to myself by Sunday.





Sunday and Monday were spent exploring in Disney. I went to Magic Kingdom on Sunday, Downtown Disney Sunday night, and Epcot on Monday. I have to tell you, I felt like a little kid - it was phenomenal! It's A Small World had me smiling the whole day! While at Epcot, I got to see the Flower and Garden Festival - it was breath-taking! I have included some of my favorite snapshots from the trip in my post - I hope you enjoy them :) I loved the Lady and the Tramp garden display in Italy :)



So, that's what I have been up to. This past weekend I was drove home to visit mom and dad and mom and I were able to sneak out to a small rubber stamp show that was being held near by. I picked up a few new goodies and I can't wait to play with them. I am going to try a dig some of my necessities out of the boxes so that I can make something. Hopefully by tomorrow night I will have a card to post!

Have a good night!

Shabby Birthday

Tonight I am sharing a card that I created following the current sketch over at CPS. Lately I have been seeing so many gorgeous handmade flowers. When I got home from work tonight, I was determined to make one of my own. I found this great tutorial that was quick and easy - if you would like to make one of these fab flowers, visit this post over at Rachel's blog. I just fell upon her blog the other day - 14 years old and so talented!

So, for the card, I used designer paper by Fancy Pants Designs (Lavish and Sweet Nothings) and I used textured card stock by DCWV in a yellow and lime green. I also used the same textured card stock to create my shabby flower. I then got out my Tim Holtz distress ink in Peeled Paint and Spiced Marmalade to get everything inky :) To create the circles on each side of the flower, I used a birthday stamp that I had purchased from Denami Design last year at the stamp show, and then cut them out using my pink Marvy punch. I added a stitched border to finish it off.

Have a wonderful evening!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. When it rains, it pours. Singing in the rain. You can stand under my umbrella. Can you think of any more? This little sweetie is on her way to cheer up my friend who is under the weather. I am hoping it will do the trick!

I made this card at mom's this weekend as well (I am so excited that I got a chance to use her Copics again - hopefully she won't notice her supply slowly dwindling LOL! (JK mom!) This precious little girl is from the stamp set My Umbrella by Pure Innocence for My Favorite Things. I stamped her onto white card stock and colored her with Copics 0, Y13, Y15, Y17, YG06, YG11, YG13, YG17, B00, C1, C3, E00, E02, E31, E35, E57 and RV10. You know, you really don't realize how many different colors of Copics you use until you go to list them LOL! After she was colored, I cut her out using the scalloped circle Nestabilities die and sponged in the sky and the ground using SU! ink in Baja Breeze and Going Gray. Next I went on a dp hunt through mom's paper and came across this rainy paper in the Debbie Mumm Noah's Ark paper pad. I would have never thought to pair bright green and yellow with blue and gray, but it was working so I kept going with it! I layered the dp with some lime green paper from the scrap bin and embellished with some bright yellow and green polka-dot ribbon, some coordinating Primas and a vintage button center.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your night!

Pink Hope

Tonight I am sharing with you one of the cards that I made this past weekend at mom's house. I submitted this card over at Stamp TV for the color challenge that ended today (to use pink and white only) and I am also entering this card over at JUGS for their sketch challenge (isn't this sketch stunning?). Mom also combined these two challenges and you can find her card here.

This was a quick and easy card. I stamped Nina Brackett's image and sentiment from her Lovely Labels set using SU! ink in Pink Pirouette, and then cut it out using Nestabilities Labels 9. I used Gina K's Pure Luxury card stock in Innocent Pink, embossed using a Sizzix embossing folder, and highlighted with sponging. A border punch was used for the scalloped edge. The trim and ribbon are from mom's stash :)

Stop back a little later if you can - I will be posting a second card tonight (and what a wild color combo!).

Dreamin' Dream Bird

Well, what can I say... I had a blast with this card! I am so glad that I finally had a chance to ink up Dream Birds designed by Asela Hopkins for Gina K. Designs. I am entering this card in the current challenge over at Pals Paper Arts to make a spring themed card.

To create this card, I used designer paper from the Basic Grey Marrakech paper pad on all of my layers. My images and sentiment are all from Dream Birds. I stamped the branch, bird, and crown (aren't these images sweet?) onto white card stock and colored them with Koh-I-Noor pencils and OMS. I then cut out the scene with my Coluzzle and sponged in the sky using SU! Baja Breeze ink. I cut the same shape out of a piece of the dp and layered my scene on top - stitching the two pieces together with a straight stitch. I stamped the sentiment onto white, cut it out, sponged, layered onto the dp, and added some zig-zag stitching.

Next, I started with my favorite part - the embellishments! I added Star Dust Stickles and three rhinestones to the birdie's crown. I stamped the small and large butterflies onto the white card stock, colored them with pencils and OMS, added some shimmer to the wings with a Sakura Star Dust pen in Copper Star (you can really see the sparkle in the close up snapshot), cut them out and added them to my scene. I love bending up the wings of paper butterflies to add dimension! Lastly, I created the coordinating corner treatments by layering some tiny Primas, adding a teeny weeny brad center, and attaching some vines that I made by winding some green, thread-coated wire around a pencil. I had one flower left over and I just couldn't resist adding to the corner of the sentiment to finish the card.

I hope you enjoyed my card as much as I did making it! Have a fabulous weekend!

Pressed and Distressed

Tonight I am sharing with you a card that I created for Gina K's inspiration challenge for this week - Diamonds are a girl's best friend! over at Stamp TV. The challenge is to use diamonds on your card. I followed Gina's video tutorial on how to do background embossing with your Scor-pal. I decided to change it up a bit and give my card more of a distressed look.

My base card is Gina's Pure Luxury card stock in Chocolate Kiss and I paired it up with one of her newer colors, Creme De Menthe. After scoring my background piece, I used SU! ink in Close to Cocoa on a sponge to "dirty it up" a bit. I then distressed it by spraying it with water from my Mini Mister and then rubbing sand paper over the front and edges. For my image, I used stamps from Melanie Muenchinger's new stamp set, Pressed Flowers. I used Memento markers in several colors to ink the stamps and create my tulips. I then cut them out using Nestabilities Labels 9, and sponged around the edges with SU! So Saffron and Close to Cocoa. To make the tulips pop, I accented them with my Inkssentials opaque pen. I kept my embellishing simple and just added a piece of sheer ribbon and some copper brads to the corners.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week! It's almost Friday!

She Said "YES!"

With everything that has been going on with the home buying process, wedding plans seem to have taken the back seat. There was one thing, though, that I just couldn't wait any longer to do! On Friday night, I went to visit my best friend Kristy with a very special question to ask her :) I wanted to make it unique and creative so here is what I came up with:

Using Basic Grey Sugar Rush designer paper, I began by covering all of the panels to my gable box. Then, I made a label for the front panel using the "dear friend" stamp from SU! Bella Blossoms and two different shapes from Nestabilities Fancy Tags. I layered the tags and added some pearls to embellish.

Next I created the most important part, the question! The question itself is computer generated, printed out on card stock, and cut out using Nestabilites label 4. Sponging was done in SU! Almost Amethyst (this color works perfectly with Sugar Rush). I layered it onto some more designer paper and added a few finishing details with some ribbon, a flower and a pearl center.

Then, you guessed it, into the box it went! I added some white tissue around it so it would stay put.

I closed up the box and added just a few more coordinating embellishments to the outside. I created these layered flowers for the side panels with the help of my new Martha Stewart Large Chrysanthemum punch.

When finished (and after my last picture), I tied the top shut with a big bow using white tulle.

We ended up going out to dinner Friday night so I had the perfect opportunity to hand the box across the table. When she opened the box and saw the question inside, she shouted, "YES!" and my heart filled with joy! I am such a lucky lady to have Kristy as my best friend and I am so blessed to have her by my side as I plan my special day!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!