AnnMarie's Stamping Adventures!!

13 years ago today

2012-01-03T13:03:00.000-05:00

Thirteen years ago today my youngest daughter made her way into this world. She chose to make her grand entrance during the worst ice storm we had seen in years. She was born tiny and has always been small in physical stature, but has a giant warm, sweet, wonderful, loving personality. She brings us so much happiness and I am so very, very proud of the amazing young lady she is growing into. She is beautiful in every way! Happy, happy birthday Hannah! <3 You overfill my heart and make my world a better place.

The grown up birthday card I made for her.

Up close.

My beautiful birthday girl.

Have a nice day. Will be back soonest.

Siblings make the best best friends!

2012-01-02T19:10:00.001-05:00

Hey there. Thanks for stopping by. I spent some time going through some of my pictures today and thought I would throw together a digi page. It is no secret that my very favorite scrapbook page subjects are my kiddos and since they are who I happen to have the most pictures of they are my subject for my page today. I am fortunate to have kids that really get along well (most days!). They are sincerely friends and that makes me happy. Here is my digital scrapbook page:

A happy day at the beach. I love this color combo and I sure love those kiddos. I made a similar page a while back, but I like this picture so much I couldn't resist using it again.

Have a nice day. I will be back soonest.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T17:59:00.000-05:00

Well, today marks the beginning of another new year. Time to reflect on the last year and make plans to conquer the new one. Are you a resolution maker? I usually have a long list, but this go around I have decided to focus on just one thing. I resolve to appreciate the little things.

Sometimes life has a funny way of yanking the rug out from underneath you and challenging your ability to get back up. Often these times make you re-evaluate things in your life. It all goes by so quickly and so I want to be certain that I am aware of and properly grateful for the things in life that mean so much; both big and small.

The card that I made and am sharing today is for someone quite close and indescribably important to me.

Punch art puppy all drool-y and full of love.

Side view.

I love you, Mom. <3

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Have a good day!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

Hope that your day is filled with love and family and warm and fuzzy wonderful things! Have a great one!

With much love!

Paper Princess Challenge #4

2011-12-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Good Sunday morning! I have another Paper Princess blogging challenge to share with you today! The challenge was to make a side step card with a winter or Christmas theme! This was a challenge for me because I have never made one, but it turned out to be simpler than I thought! Wheeeee! Love it when that happens! I am kinda of tickled with how it came out! Mostly because there is so much shimmer it practically lights up the room! I do love my shimmer!! :o)

I had fun with this card! There is an inch of 'torn' snow on the ground and lots of snow falling from the sky. The giant snowflake has a rhinestone in the center and every snowflake on the card has a touch of dazzling details! I would buy that stuff by the bucket full if I could! :o) The snowguys mittens, scarf and hat brim are Cherry Cobbler to add a tiny bit of pop.

This measures larger than a standard A2 card and would make a cute table centerpiece!

Recipe:

Stamps: Jolly Old Saint Nick (retired) and Lovely as a Tree

Paper: Marina Mist and Whisper White

Ink: Marina Mist and Baja Breeze

Extras: Rhinestone, Dazzling Details and Snowflake punch

See all that fun shimmer?! It really sparkles!

Well, the count down clock has smoke starting to come off of it! 7 little sleeps til Christmas day! Still lots of merry to create and things to do!

Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest!

Snowy day!

2011-12-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

Hello! End of the week and one day closer to Christmas! Time is really flying! I am working on my Christmas cards today. I am still in the assembling stage and should probably be in panic mode about now, but I just don't feel like stressing over things. LOL I have a big cup of tea and an ample supply of chocolate though so I should be in good shape! :o)

Although I am mass producing about 25 cards I felt inspired to make a different one this morning. I combined a couple of sets and put this one together for a very special friend of the family. Have you ever met someone that just seems too good to be true? This gentleman is like that. He has been a true blessing to us and I couldn't be more grateful to have him around. Here is the card I made for him today:

Sorry about the stinky lighting (and shadow on the card!). Tough to get a decent photo when the skies are gray! This card shimmers in person! I used Dazzling Details on the snow and the base of the trees. Added a couple of colored rhinestones and a punched ribbon border.

Such a proud looking reindeer! I just love that stamp!

Ok, back to Christmas card assembling I go! Have a great Friday! I will be back soonest!

More tiny little cards!

2011-12-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

Hello! My day has been a blur!! I am running, running, running to get things done so today's visit is going to be a brief one! : o) I made a few more little cards to pop onto some gifts that we have already started handing out! I am trying to make good use of some of my Christmas colored scraps and so the sizes are a little different here. I made some more of those cute 3d Christmas tress for these little guys! They are really fun to do!

I stamped the pot in Chocolate Chip and the tree is stamped in Always Artichoke. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Side view.

Rhinestone tree toppers add a little bit of bling! Fun, fun little cards!

Oodles to do today so I am off to try to manage my monster To Do list! Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest!

O' Christmas tree!

2011-12-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

Morning! :o) Middle of the week has me running to get things done!! We are traveling for the holidays and so my To Do list is sincerely longer than I am tall! Yikes! Lots and lots and lots to do! I do have a fun card to share with you today though! It uses the Pennant Punch and Pennant Parade stamp set from Stampin Up! Each tree takes three stamped and punched trees to create. They look so cute popping up off the page!

How cute are they?! :o) You stamp, punch and score each down the center. Then you glue the edges together and then the final outside edges get glued down flat against your card. I stamped the little tree holders first and then used a blender pen and some Going Gray ink to create shadows. Although this would probably do fine in an envelope I may save this card for an envelope-less gift and save smooshing my trees flat!

Side view.

Each tree has a Rhinestone topper. I debated whether or not to color the rhinestones but decided to just leave them as is. *Note! If you decide to color your rhinestones for a project do it on the rhinestone paper rather than your project! Better safe than sorry!

Recipe:

Stamps: Pennant Parade and Contemporary Christmas

Paper: Always Artichoke, Lucky Limeade, Old Olive and Very Vanilla

Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cobbler

Extras: Rhinestones

How are your Christmas preparations coming along?! I am feeling waaaaaay behind, but that wouldn't be much different from any other year! LOL Have a wonderful Wednesday! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Post #2 today!

2011-12-13T19:30:00.002-05:00

Hello again! This is post #2 for today so if you missed the first one and would like to see it feel free to scroll down! :o)

I have a trio of 3 x 3 mini cards to share with you! I figured these would be a practical thing to have lying around over the next week or so! I am sure I will find a use (or three!) for these little guys! Small packages that need a greeting, or a quick note for the mail person or even packaged together for a little gift themselves! My color combo is about as Christmas themed as it gets! Real Red, Always Artichoke, Whisper White and Silver Shimmer! Take a look:

I ran the red through the Snowflurry Embossing Folder and matted it onto the green. I used Tombow to make sure it would stay stuck! I punched the greeting with the jewelry tag punch and added a rhinestone to coordinate with the silver center on the snowflake. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags.

Pop dotted the snowflake on, but glued the sentiment flat down.

I added Dazzling Diamonds to the snowflake for some extra sparkle!

All three cards together! This is a super quick and fun project to throw together! These are too small to mail through the Post Office, but compliment a gift nicely!

Ok, I better get back to my To Do list! Hope your Tuesday was a good one!

Thanks for stopping in to visit with me! :o) I will be back soonest with more to share!

Princess Card Challenge #4!!!

2011-12-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

Hello! Sorry to be MIA! We did some traveling this weekend and it has thrown off my crafting and posting schedule a bit! I do have two posts today though so be sure to check back later for post number #2! This past Sunday was my blogging groups Sunday challenge. I am in charge of hosting these and the challenge I presented to my super group of blogging buddies was to use a picture for inspiration and to make a card from it. This was the inspiration picture:

This is my little ole bag! Notice the wrinkles?! It has seen lots of use! It is very special to me. My sweet kiddos gave it to me for my birthday this year and I have toted it all over the place full of things! (Usually my chocolate stash!) LOL I just love this bag!!

Since my whole schedule has been thrown off I am a little late with posting my card, but better late than never...right?! Here is my take on our Sunday challenge:

I used Cherry Cobbler instead of pink for the ribbon and a snowflake rather than the bow! I used white craft ink for my polk-ie dots! The center of the snowflake has a silver glimmer paper dot! I had a corner left from a previous project and didn't want it to go to waste! I am trying to use every millimeter of that gorgeous shimmer-y goodness! My lighting is off in the picture, but the shade of lime green matches the bag almost to a tee! This is a different kind of color combo, but I think I like it! :o)

Side view.

Close up of the snowflake. It is punched from Whisper White and adds enough pop to separate the black from green with a little zing!

It is always fun to draw inspiration from the things around you! I challenge you to take a look around...choose something pretty and let it be your inspiration!

I will be back later today with another little post! Have a wonderful day! See you soonest!

My Favorite Things!

2011-12-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Hope you are eye brow deep into a wonderful weekend! We have had a very full weekend so far and still have lots left to do, but I wanted to pop in for a few minutes to visit and share another digital scrapbook page with you! :o)

This one features...you guessed it! My kiddos! They do happen to be some of my very favorite people on the planet! I feel so lucky to have these four amazing folks in my life! It is a gift to be able to spend time with them and watch them grow into the fine people they are becoming.

Here is a page of some of my favorite things:

If you haven't tried out digital scrap booking I would highly recommend it! It still takes second to hands on scrapping for me, but it is a really fun second! ;o)

Ok, I am off to my Demonstrators holiday meeting!! Looking forward to it! Have a great day!

On Dasher!

2011-12-08T13:11:00.000-05:00

Good Thursday afternoon! I do not want to alarm anyone, but did you guys know that today is the 8th of December already?!!! OMGoodness! *thud!! Falls over!!* I am soooooo not (I mean really, really not!!) ready for the holidays this year. Are you?!

I took a break today from my tags to put together a card. I have some others in the works that are all the same design, but I thought it would be fun to make some different individual ones too! Here is the one I made this morning:

Dasher is the star of this card! I just love this stamp! He looks so handsome and ready to tackle the world. He is stamped in Chocolate Chip and his edges are all torn for a nice soft look. Lots of snowflakes on this card! The giant one is punched from the glitter paper and the small ones are stamped from the Dear Santa stamp set. They each have a Dazzling Detailed center.

The sentiment is from Tiny Tags and the rhinestones are colored with a marker to give the card a little bit of pop!

Lots of details.

Dasher's antlers are also Dazzling Detailed!

Recipe:

Stamps: Dasher and Tiny Tags

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and Silver Glitter paper

Extras: Marina Mist ribbon, rhinestones, pop dots and Dazzling Details

Enjoy your Thursday! I will be back soonest! :o)

More tags!

2011-12-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have a couple more tags to share with you today. I have been working like a mad woman trying to get all of these tags ready to go! They are such fun little quick projects to make so fortunately they go quickly. Here are the two I am working on today:

Super simple! I punched the 2 1/2" Circle punch for the ornament base. Made the hanger from the Modern Label punch and cut and adhered two Lucky Limeade strips. I ran the base through the Snowflake embossing folder and added a tiny tag with a glue dot.

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla

Tag #2 is from the Two Tags die and the stocking is from the Build a Stocking punch. The heart on the stocking is from Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and the whole thing is on a pop dot. I added a Very Vanilla Scallop circle to the top for the To and From info. It fits in there perfectly!

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla and Garden Green

I am loving making these tags! They really are fun! I cannot wait for the swap to see all of the other fun tags!

Off to tackle my never ending to do list! Have a great day!

Tags X Two!!

2011-12-06T11:59:00.002-05:00

Hello there! Hope your Tuesday is off to a great start! I got up first thing this morning and did a little bit of crafting while things were still quiet! I have a tag swap coming up in my near future so I spent a little bit of time playing around with some ideas and wanted to share them with you. Since I had so much fun with that cute little Rudolph from yesterday I thought I would make a few more!

I used the Two Tags die for both of my bases. I snow-flake embossed a piece of Very Vanilla and matted it against Lucky Limeade. I added a Real Red Scallop Circle with a 1 3/4" very Vanilla Circle punch to the tag part of my tag. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags and I stuck a rhinestone on for good measure! All of Rudolph's punch pieces can be found here in yesterday's post with the exception of his hands/hooves/paws (???) which are punched from the 3/4" Circle punch and his body which is the Large oval.

Side view.

Tag #2!

Same matting color scheme. The large circle is the 2 1/2" Circle punch and the sentiment is punched out from the Jewelry Tag.

Both tags together!

These were really fun to make! Good thing because I have oodles of them left to make! :o)

Are you making your tags this year? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Ok, time to go take my day seriously! Have a great one! I will be back soonest!

Rudolph the red nose reindeer!

2011-12-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning! I have another non-tradition-ally colored Christmas card to share with you today. It isn't all red, green and gold, but is all snow-y and winter-y feeling! I punched a punch art reindeer! Not just any ole' reindeer though...I made *the* reindeer! Mr. Rudolph himself! He is hanging out in the snow waiting to wish someone a very Merry Christmas.

I am tickled with the way he came out! I frosted the top of the snow with Dazzling Diamonds and stamped falling snow in the background with Serene Snowflakes. I will include the punch pieces at the end of the post so you can make one too! :o)

Head and nose are both on pop dots. Tiny little bell collar is attached with a piece of twine.

Sweet face!

I added DD to the center of the snowflakes for some added shimmer. The tops of the snow banks are torn to give them some shape.

Side view.

Recipe:

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes and Contempo Christmas

Paper: Night of Navy, Baha Breeze, Very Vanilla and Whisper White

Ink: Baha Breeze

Extra: Dazzling Diamonds and Pop dots

Punch Art:

Head: 2 Step Owl Punch

Eyes: Circle from 3 Punch Pack and hole punch

Muzzle: Small Oval

Antlers and Tail: Snowflake

Body: Decorative Label

Legs and Hooves: Word Window

You will probably wind up seeing more of him from me! I think I may be in love <3 !!

Lots to do today so I better scoot! Have a great Monday!

Paper Princess Sunday Challenge #2!

2011-12-04T16:59:00.001-05:00

Hello! Yikes! The day almost got away from me! I wanted to share my entry for our Paper Princess Sunday challenge. The challenge was to make a card/box. Theme was anything goes, but I chose winter! My winter color scheme is a little non-traditional, but I LOVE it! I am such a fru-fru girl! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pink!! :) Here is my challenge card/box with belly band:

I used the stamp set Serene Snowflakes and stamped them in Melon Mambo and Pretty in Pink. My paper colors are Melon Mambo and Very Vanilla and each large snowflake has a rhinestone in the center. I stamped the small snowflakes in Craft white ink on the belly band and added a punched snowflake from the glitter paper. I love that stuff!!!

Side view.

Card without belly band.

Here it is open and waiting for a goody! A package of hot chocolate would be great in here!

Hope your weekend has treated you well! I am off to squeeze in a little more crafting before Monday rear's it's ugly head! Have a wonderful day! Be back soonest! :o)

Outside looking in!

2011-12-03T14:04:00.001-05:00

Hello! I have another window card to share with you today! This one is looking in from the outside. Yesterday's card was the opposite...looking out from the inside. You can see yesterday's card here. I really like the style of this card.

I made house shingles for the roof using the scallop border punch. I drew in house siding and added snowflakes using my Versamark pad. Each snowflake has a tiny drop of Dazzling Diamonds in it's center. I also added DD to the Christmas tree to mimic little lights. I sponged the outside window edges to give it the fell of a warm glowing fire on the inside using a sponge dauber and Daffodil Delight.

Close up of details.

Sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes...my go to word set! I layered the Word Window punch over the Modern Label punch and used pop dots to raise it up. My daughter said this card made her think of Little House on the Prairie! LOL

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I will see you soon!

Through a Christmas window!

2011-12-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

Hello! I started my Friday morning by taking a wonderful, long walk on the beach. It was warm enough to be outside with only a light jacket on which made it tough (but not impossible!) to come back in and make a snow filled Christmas card! LOL My card today is a partial CASE of one of Susan Nygaard's swap cards that has been floating around! I just loved the idea of combining these two stamps sets to create a window scene. This idea lends itself to many outside through the window scenes!

I changed the card by using a different sentiment, a plain background and color combo. I colored the sentiment with markers and added mini brads. I also hand drew the wood grain on the window sill.

Side view of the window! Love how you can almost feel the cold noses on those kids! I added Dazzling Diamonds to make the snow glisten in the sun.

Close up of the snow in the tress! Not sure if you can see the sparkle, but boy is it shimmering!

The two stamp sets are Lovely as a Tree and Welcome Christmas. I used Chocolate Chip ink to match the window sill and trim and I sponged the sky in Tempting Turquoise.

Really fun card!!

Have any fun weekend plans? Hope that your Friday is the beginning of a wonderful weekend for you!

I will see you soonest!

A little holiday goody!

2011-12-01T13:20:00.001-05:00

Hello there! Thought I would ease into the whole December thing with a winter themed project rather than breaking out the green, red and gold today! :) I needed to make a mini gift for someone and thought this would be perfect! This would be a great stocking stuffer too! Take a look:

It is a tiny composition notebook! It would tuck into a bag or purse very nicely to keep your notes in. I dressed it up for the winter by adding DSP to the front and back and a glitter snowflake. I monogrammed it for the recipient and added a rhinestone. I also added a tiny drop of Dazzling Details to every one of those tiny little circles so the whole thing shimmers! We all know that it is all about the details!

This snowflake is gorgeous!! I used my Stampin Up! snowflake punch to punch it from the Glitter paper and MUST WARN YOU!!! If you do this be super careful! I caught my finger in the punch and left a lovely little blood blister...Yeeee-owwwwch! I will spare you that photo! LOL

Matching 3 x 3 card to go with the notebook.

The set!

All packaged up and ready to go!

This is a really easy project with tons of possibilities! You could add a matching pen or bookmark to go with it too! I found the notebooks at the Dollar store (3 for a dollar...scoooore!) If you make some be sure to email me some pictures! I would love to see what you come up with!

Hope you have a wonderful day! I will back soonest!

Woo Hooooo!!!!

2011-11-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

Heeeey there! I am soooo excited! Today is November 30th and I did it!! I set a goal for myself to post every single day of this month and somehow I managed to! Yay!! It is the little things ya know?! LOL
I have a card to share with you today. It is a simple card, but I kind of liked the way it turned out! I have wanted to try one of these for a while and today just felt like the day!

The base is made from the Big Shot Circle die. I folded my card stock as if it was going to be a normal A2 card and placed the fold line in three scallops from the end so that when it cut it would keep my two sides attached. That makes it flat along the top. I stamped the background with a tiny flower from Simply Said (retired...sniffles!) and added little white dots in each of the scallops with a white gel pen.

Side view.

3 layers of daisies cut from the Daisies 2 Big Shot die. Leaf is from the 2 Step Bird punch.

One of my very favorite sentiments!! Wish Big is wonderful advice for everyone!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Pennant Parade and Simply Said

Paper: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie and Lucky Limeade

Ink: Brilliant Blue

Extras: Mini Brads, Daisies Big Shot die, Large Circle die, 1" Square punch, 1" Circle punch, 2 Step Bird punch White Gel pen and pop dots

I was going to make one last Fall project, but this is what I wound up with! LOL I will be putting all of the Fall stamps and papers away for now and will be breaking out all of the Christmas goodies! Starting tomorrow all of my entries will be Christmas/holiday and winter themed!!

I hope you are having a nice middle of the week! I sure am! I have a fridge full of leftovers from our big dinner yesterday so you know what that means...no cooking for me tonight!! Yeeeee-haw! If I am not cooking I am sure to be stamping! LOL

Have a great day everyone!

Thanksgiving again...!

2011-11-29T12:06:00.001-05:00

Hello...and you thought today was just a normal ole Tuesday! LOL Today happens to be Thanksgiving #3 for us! Sadly, this year we were separated from one of our kiddos on the actual holiday due to a job and so we wanted to have a Thanksgiving celebration that included all of us! Today is that day and we are having the works! Ham, turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, baked mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls and of course pumpkin pie! :) I have been up since the dawn peeked through this morning to get everything in the works. Definitely a labor of love! One that I don't mind even a little bit though! One of hubby's uncles told me once that if you cook for them they will love you! :) He was a very special guy and those words sure do ring true with me. I am really looking forward to our dinner tonight. I really love Thanksgiving and feel really lucky to have my kids all together to celebrate. I wanted to make little place cards for everybody to remind them that I am thankful for each of them.

Just a little note with a message tucked inside for everybody! :)

Side view. The U is raised up on a pop dot.

One, two, three, four, five...

I used sponged daubers to color my leaves and kept the colors all Fall themed.

Standing side. These were fun to make! :)

Ok, I need to run! Time to get the turkey in the oven! Have a wonderful Tuesday! I will be back soon! :)

CAS card?!

2011-11-28T08:00:00.005-05:00

Well hey there! I have a card to share today that I was determined to make as a CAS card! I recently learned (thanks Melina!) that CAS means clean and simple! Those have become some of my very favorite kinds of cards. No frills...just plain ole sentiment and basic picture! They are, however, surprisingly difficult (for me anyhow!) to create! Sounds like it would be super easy, but the tiny little voice in my ear (do you have one of those?!) is always whispering to me to add some bling or glitter or a button and another ribbon! LOL I struggled to try to keep this one really, really simple, but things just kept piling on! Does it still count as a CAS when there are 4 1/2 layers and a ribbon! LOL You decide:

It is still simple! Clean lines and no extra stamping!

Just a few layers and some cutting out of the image oh and a tiny, little ribbon and knot!

Layered flowers add pop! I liiiiike pop!

Ok, so maybe it isn't exactly a CAS card! LOL It does feel simple and pretty to me though and that was what I was going for! I did manage to resist the urge to put some of those gorgeous silver glitter butterflies on it and that wasn't easy! Hmmmm....maybe my next CAS card will actually be CAS... but probably not! LOL

Have a great Monday! I will see you soonest!

Sunday Challenge!

2011-11-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone! I have a Sunday challenge card to share with you today. I have the pleasure of hosting a Sunday weekly challenge starting this very Sunday with my wonderful blogging group. I threw down the challenge to them last Sunday to create a card, a tag, a box, a scrapbook page...anything they wanted for someone they are thankful for. The only requirement was that they use the color orange somewhere on the project! Here is my project:

When I sat down to think about who in my life I am thankful for I realized that I have a very long list! I am fortunate to have so many stellar people in my life. Made me all misty eyed...sniffle, sniffle!

I decided to go with a card for this challenge. My base is Chocolate Chip and my matte is Pumpkin Pie (hello orange!). I also used Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green.

Side view.

Daisies are cut from the Big Shot Die Daisies 2. I stamped the flower centers with the Grid stamp and stamped a little leaf all over the background using Versamark.

My sentiment is a partial stamp that I only inked half of using a marker. I used mini brads in each corner. Those little guys are adorable!

You can check out all of the other challenge artworks by clicking on the links in my sidebar on the right

(right over there!------------------------->) Under Paper Princess blog group. They are a seriously talented group of ladies!

Well, I am off to see what sort of trouble I can manage to get into! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I will see you soon!

Friends by choice!

2011-11-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

Hello! Super quick post today! We are traveling and need to get on the road, but I wanted to share my latest scrapbook page with you! I made it using Stampin Ups! My Digital Studio. It is of my kiddos one day when we were all hanging out together! We were getting ready to catch a ferry and head out to grab some lunch. I enjoy playing with the fun features in MDS and it is so easy to use the pages just go right together!

Ok, I am going to hit the road!! Have a nice Saturday! See you soonest!

Thank you gift!

2011-11-25T06:35:00.002-05:00

Hello! How was your Thanksgiving? Hope it was wonderful! Ours was and we are lucky enough to be doing it all over again tonight with the other half of the family! :) I just love Thanksgiving!

I have a little thank you project to share with you today! I needed to make a hostess gift and wanted it to be a little different so I pulled out a bunch of punches and got busy! I started making flowers, and making flowers and making flowers! I may have in fact gotten a little carried away! I made quite a few of those little guys! Take a look:

I needed a container of some sort to hold some thank you chocolate!

I used the Scallop Circle punch, several other circle punches and the Daisy Big Shot die.

Side view.

Glitter butterfly with thank you sentiment punched with the Jewelry Tag punch. I added a rhinestone as if the butterfly wasn't shimmery enough!

Flowers close up.

View from the top!

I had a hard time photographing this without the proportions looking off. Also, I thought it wound up looking a little like a pair of suspenders, but I knew it would need two handles! Chocolate goodness is heavy!

Well, I guess since Thanksgiving is (mostly!) over it is time to start thinking about Christmas!! Time for sleigh bells and mistletoes!

I am off! Lots to do before our second Thanksgiving tonight! Have a wonderful day and I will see you tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you!! Although I feel grateful each and every day for the many wonderful things in my life, it is my tradition to sit and ponder the things that I am especially thankful for on this day! I am thankful for so many things! I have the four most amazing, beautiful, wonderful children in the whole wide world. I have an amazing husband. He is my partner, my friend and my heart. I have a wonderful family and terrific friends. I have a warm place to sleep and a full fridge. I have my health and more importantly the the health of my family. I am truly very, very fortunate. I also feel so lucky to have you, my stamping friends. Thank you for stopping by and visiting me and thank you for your sweet comments. They mean more than you will ever know.

Today I am sharing four of the things that I am most thankful for. Words seem inadequate when trying to describe what these guys mean to me. They are the reason I do what I do. I love them very much and I am so proud of them.

My kids. :)

I hope that you have a full and wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope that you're surrounded by loved ones and that there are lots of chaotic, happy noises and that your meal is yummy! I hope that you have a super long list of things to be thankful for too!

See you soon!

Is it a card or a box or both?!!

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hey there! I have got the neatest project ever to share with you today!! My upline, upline, upline (Hiya Coleen!) challenged our demo group to make a project that was shared at a Regional event recently. I thought it looked cool before I created it, but once I actually sat and made it I was so excited about it! It is the neatest thing! It lays flat like a card but opens up into an actual box! How cool is that?!!! Take a look at this crazy thing:

The example she sent us had cute snowmen on it, but I thought given the design it was just begging to be turned into double doors! When you are making it you have to cut away the four corners of the paper so I re-purposed them to be panels. I sponged the edges with Craft Whisper White ink to make them stand out. I punched the door handles from the scraps of the smaller top panels using the jewelry tag punch and added brad door knobs.

Side view. Punch art pumpkin with a curly stem to dress up the door.

Without the belly band. The doors are opening on their own...makes it feel all hospitable and welcoming!

Card and belly band. I attached the Fall wreath to the band and added some craft ink to the band itself to make it stand out less when it is on the door.

Some goodies inside! I would have much preferred to put hot chocolate or a packet of spiced apple cider in here, but hubby's green tea will do nicely! :)

Doors open and box extended!! Whatever goodies you put in here need to be pretty flat so the card will close and the band will fit, but there are still lots of fun choices!

Close up of the band with wreath. The wreath is from the Warmest Wishes hostess set. I colored it with Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie markers to make it look all Fall-y!

What do you think? Isn't this the neatest idea! Giant kudos to whoever brain-stormed this big guy up! I am going to make a ton of these!!

Ok, time for me to jet! Literally...we are heading out today for some travel in just a few minutes! Heading home for the holiday! If you are traveling today too please be safe! Have a wonderful day friends!

Turkey day is around the corner!

2011-11-22T08:30:00.001-05:00

Hello! One day closer to turkey day! Have I mentioned that I just LOVE Thanksgiving?! Well, I do! I wish that I could get all of my family together at one time for a big, warm happy meal but sadly they live too far apart. I wanted my grandma to know that I would be thinking about her though so I made her a little turkey card! I think she will get a kick out of this little guy:

Punch art turkey = no calories! :) Faux stitching, sponged edges and fall colors!

Turkey close up!

He is pretty straight forward, but if you have any questions about him at all pop me an email and I will be happy to answer em!

Off to get some non-crafty (le sigh!) things knocked off my To Do list! Have a super day!

Monday...ugh!

2011-11-21T11:03:00.006-05:00

Hello! Monday...ugh!! I was really, really enjoying the weekend and then Monday happened...BAM! LOL I have a super full and busy upcoming week and was kind of dreading Monday. Oh well! Guess it was inevitable!

I spent some time this weekend working on my scrap books! I had four albums in the works, but they recently suffered a little bit of water damage. Not a huge amount, but enough to make me want to fix and re-do. It feels like a really big job, but I know I will be so much happier with them in the end. So, I worked on the title/opening pages for my books this weekend. They took a surprisingly long time! LOL I am kind of persnicketty about every little detail being in place...so they took forever! I know I have got to work on that though or I will never get these books caught up! I really enjoyed working on them and it left me really, really excited to get the books all caught up! My mind is just reeling with scrapbook possibilities! Here are my pages:

I have decided to go with 12 x 12 pages instead of the 8 x8's I originally decided on. More space to work with! I am looking very forward to creating these for my children to enjoy and their children and thei....

Ok, I have to run! Lots to do today! Have a wonderful Monday and I will be back soonest with more to share!

Birthday card and a little bit of reflection!

2011-11-20T06:55:00.001-05:00

Hello! Stamping has become such an important part of my life. I have pursued many hobbies, but stamping has brought so much return to me. I have had the pleasure of meeting so many new and truly wonderful people because of it. It allows me to create and share a little piece of myself with others. It is a wonderful creative outlet (and sooooo much cheaper than a therapist! LOL). It gives me a way to express myself and just plain ole' makes me happy! So, on that note I hope to spend many, many more years stamping my little heart out! Thanks for letting me ramble! I {HEART} Stamping!! :) Ok, on to today's project! It is a birthday card!

Recipe:

Stamps: Field Flowers and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip

Paper: Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Silver Glimmer paper

Extras: Very Vanilla ribbon and rhinestones

View from the side.

In my head tomorrow starts the beginning of the holiday hustle and bustle and my To Do list is super long, so today is a play day! Going to try to get some scrap booking done! Have a wonderful Sunday and I will meet you back here tomorrow!

Once is enough...

2011-11-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hello! Are you enjoying your weekend? I sure am!! It is beautiful out today and in between crafting sessions I plan to sneak out for a walk or two beside the ocean.

I have a card to share with you today that came about by pooling and using some of the left over scraps laying in piles on my desk! I tend to make piles of things that get left over from other projects and then challenge myself to use some of the piles for new creations. That usually happens when my piles all start to topple over and I start running out of room! LOL Now you know my secret...I am a SERIOUSLY messy crafter!! It usually looks like a small hurricane has ripped through when I finish a project! Anyhow, sometimes great new projects come from those piled up piles! Today's project is made entirely from piled up left overs, but I am pretty pleased with it! Take a look:

This is one of the many bday cards on my list to make. I used one of the flowers I made yesterday and a left over butterfly from a few days ago. The layers are all scraps left over from other projects and even the base was waiting to be used from another project. The only thing I had to get up to get was the stamp set which is Fifth Avenue Floral.

I did a lot of faux stitching and sponging on this card. I added rhinestones to the butterfly after coloring them with a marker. I added a punched scallop trim to the bottom of my Chocolate Chip layer. I turned my layers slightly on an angle which I don't usually do. I like for things to be even and symmetrical and so that took me a bit out of my comfort zone! I was inspired by the sentiment though and threw caution to the wind! LOL

This was one of the flowers I made yesterday! I added an antique brad and some Dazzling Details to this one. I sponged it and used twice as many layers to make it more fluffy! I like fluffy! :)

Close up of the butterfly with the pink body!

The card one more time!

This was a fun card and despite the fact it was made entirely from scraps I am pretty happy with the way it turned out!

Ok, off to the craft table or the beach or both! Have a super day!

Tag or book mark...you decide!

2011-11-18T13:04:00.001-05:00

Hey there! I have another little project to share today that uses my new Two Tags die. I spent some time this morning playing with and making flowers and wanted to combine the two. After some trial and error (more error than trial!) I made a couple of flowers that made me pretty happy! Today's project uses one of them. What do ya think?

This little cutie can be used as a book mark or a tag for a mini album. I cut two layers and trimmed off around the perforated edge to give it a matted look. I layered my Blushing Bride layer on top of the Chocolate Chip layer. My sentiment is from Filled With Love. (an oldie, but a goodie!) I added a Rhinestone to the heart because everything looks better with a little sparkle!

I made the flower from 4 punched circles. I punched them from an old catalog that was just begging to be re-purposed. After I punched the circles I folded them in half and then into thirds to form triangles. I trimmed off pieces from the edges of the triangles and rounded the corners to make flower petals. After I unfolded them I crumpled them up and then smoothed them back out. I sponged them with Rose Red and Chocolate Chip to make them look more Vintage. I added a hemp tied button to the center for the a finished look using a glue dot.

Flower up close.

Side view.

I am glad that the weekend is here! I am hoping to get lots of craft-y things accomplished over the next couple of days! Hope that yours is off to a great start! Be back soonest!

Thankful turkey!

2011-11-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Hello! Only one little week til Thanksgiving!! Yay and yum!! I am sooo excited!! I am also excited because I received a really fun package in the mail yesterday!! I signed up for the I love to create with Connie and Mary holiday edition recently!! Talk about a fun thing! They posted oodles of awesome holiday projects and ideas. There were also lots of fun challenges which I participated in to spark my own creativity. As a result I was one of four lucky winners of a prize from the wonderful Connie and Mary! (Thank you much-ly ladies!!) I won a gift certificate to (drum roll please!!!!) Stampin Up!!! My favorite place of all time! One of the things I purchased with my GC was the Two Tags Big Shot die and guess what.....it arrived yesterday!!! So, I bet you cannot guess what my project today uses! LOL Take a look:

I made a little basket using one of the two tags! I made the basket part from a 5"x 5" square and added it the the front of the tag. I made turkey feathers from the scallop circle punch and the owl from the Two Step Owl punch. I added the body on with a pop dot and added some trim to dress the whole thing up!

View from the top. It holds the perfect amount of candy for an after dinner snack or two!

Side view.

The little banner uses a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I stamped it, cut it out and sponged it. I used the 1" Square punch to cut out the triangles from each end. I put it under the owl to make him look like he is perched on top of it. This project went together pretty quickly and would make a super little gift for someone! I love this die and cannot wait to play with it more!! Lots and lots of possibilities here!

Have a great Thursday! Do something stamp-y! It will make your day! See you soonest! :)

Glitter Flutter-bys!

2011-11-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

Hello! Rainy Wednesday morning here. Makes me want to crawl back under the covers and settle in for the day, but it would be awfully tough to stamp from there so I am up! :) I have a card to share with you today that I am kind of excited about. It is a very simple card, but it has some of my favorite things on it. Pink, flowers, glitter and butterflies...sheesh I sound like such a girlie-girl! (I guess I kinda am!) LOL The other reason that I am excited about this card is because it is going to be mailed to someone very dear to my {heart}...my mom! Today's card:

Pink base, pretty flowers and glitter flutter-bys = a happy combination! I stamped right on the base of the card and added the sentiment as the layer. I normally do this in the reverse order. I also used a glass block to stamp a very light pattern underneath the flower image. Ink up your glass block and use it like an actual stamp. Looks pretty darn cool! I punched out the butterflies using a small Sizzex die and cut them out from the glitter paper (which I just love, love, love!). I wish it came in all the colors of the rainbow! LOL

Side view.

Close up of the glitter flutter-bys. I glued down the centers and left the wings popped up so it looks like they just landed on the card.

I faux stitched the sentiment in Pink Pirouette and ruffled up and sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip.

Recipe:

Stamps: Field Flowers

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo and Garden Green

Paper: Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla and Glitter paper

Extras: Butterflies Sizzlet die

Lots to do today, so I am off to conquer the world once again! Hope you have a great day! See you soonest!

Birthday, birthday, birthday!!

2011-11-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

Hey there! :) Have I mentioned that I have a few upcoming birthday's in my life? Well, I do! I sat down this morning and made 5 birthday cards, but they are all for my Grandma! My Grandma happens to be an amazing little woman. (When I say little I mean it...she is only about 4'11" and I feel pretty certain that she is shrinking!). Anyhow, she is simply amazing! She is 93 and still just feisty as ever! She is very big on card sending, but doesn't get out to the store as often anymore to purchase cards so I offered to make her some to keep on hand. I put these together this morning for her and thought I would share them with you!

These went together very quickly because I used kits from Stampin Up! These first two are from a Simply Sent kit we received at Convention. The flowers on top are pre-printed and I added the bottom layers, flower, bling and stamps! Super quick and easy!

Here is the second one. It is a little different, but just as festive looking! I made one more of these but didn't think it was different enough for a picture.

The next two are also from a kit we received at Convention, but I changed them up a bit.

Card #2 has the same stamps and pieces just switched up a bit!

I have more birthday cards in the works, but sadly am out of kits so I guess I am on my own with those! LOL

Busy day today so I better scoot! See you soonest!

With Love!

2011-11-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

Hello! Monday has to be my least favorite day of the week! The weekend comes to a crashing halt and you have to go back to reality and put your weekly game face back on. Schedules and deadlines and have to's feel so much bigger on a Monday than on a Saturday! LOL Oh well! Might as well make the best of it, huh?! I made a card this morning for a very sweet, wonderful friend! It is just a simple card that I am slipping into a package that needs mailing, but it was assembled and will be sent with much love!

Fall colors, love and some bling! Hard to go wrong with that combo!

Recipe:

Stamps: Perfectly Penned

Ink: Marina Mist and Chocolate Chip

Paper: More Mustard, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla and Spice Cake DSP

Extras: Rhinestones

From the side.

I hope that your Monday is full of happy and goes smoothly! I plan to have a great day! (It is already penned in on my To Do list! :)

See you soonest!

Chocolate turkeys!

2011-11-13T11:41:00.000-05:00

Hello! Weekend is just flying by...whole month is just flying by! It occurred to me this morning that Thanksgiving really is just right around the corner! That means it is time to start making punch art turkeys! LOL I love Thanksgiving!! It may actually be my very favorite-ist (yes, that is a word when you are this excited!) holiday ever! Time with family, yummy food, extra thoughts of being thankful! I spent a little bit of time this morning combining a few of my other favorite things! Punch art and chocolate! I made a little Reeces turkey. See:

The body, feet and eyes are all made from Stampin Ups! Owl punch. The feathers and his waddle are made from the Oval Scallop punch and his beak is hand cut.

Glue dotted him on the front and back to a mini Reeces cup!

He even stands up on those tiny cute little feet!

These would make cute little table name tags with dessert built right in!

Hope you are having a nice weekend! I will be back tomorrow with more to share!

Soda can snowflakes!

2011-11-12T13:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I have a fun recycling project to share today! Are you a recycler? We recycle lots of stuff around here! If I don't wind up dragging it back out of the recycling bin to make it into something else myself then it goes on to the recycle center! LOL We recently had some wonderful house guests and when they where here they brought some soda with them. I totally scooped up all of the left over cans because I knew they would make beautiful snowflake ornaments!! The colors were just right! :) Take a look:

Aren't these pretty! They will look adorable hanging on a Christmas tree!

I added a rhinestone in the center.

See! Perfect Christmas colors! Gold and red!

This one is flipped backwards and I colored a rhinestone for this center.

You get a different look if you move the die around to different pieces of the can.

This one is cut from an energy drink can.

Here is the before picture!

Using sharp kitchen shears you cut into the opening on top and into the can. Once you have made that cut you cut just below the ridge or where the can starts to curve cutting off the curve so the actual can will lay flat. (You are cutting the top off here.) No cut straight down the can's side to the bottom curve and cut around again removing the bottom of the can. Once the top and bottom are removed it will look like this. **Be careful! Those edges are pretty dang sharp!

Next you are going to build your sandwich. Bottom layer is your plastic shim. Then add 1 piece of card stock (to add a tiny bit of thickness!). Next goes the snowflake die, the can and then the top plastic shim. Run it through your Big Shot and then carefully remove all of the pieces. That gives you your snow flake ornaments!

Add a tie through one of the little holes and they are ready to be hung up! These would also make a super cute fireplace banner! :)

Off to get some crafting done! Have a happy Saturday! I will be back soonest!

Birthday Tag!

2011-11-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have a simple project to share today. I needed to make a little tag to go with a gift I am working on so I took out my favorite birthday stamp set and got busy! I love this set because it just begs to be all glittered up! Glitter is a funny thing! Seems you either hate it or love it and I happen to love it! :) Here is my little ole tag:

Recipe:

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla

Ink: Going Gray, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Pretty in Pink and Orchid Opulence Markers

Extras: Jewelry Tag, Dazzling Diamonds, Pretty in Pink ribbon and twine

Glitter = Happiness! :)

Sentiment up close.

Have any fun weekend plans? Most of my family is traveling this weekend and I am staying home to hold down the fort so I am hoping to have a bit of a scrap booking weekend! :)

I will stop in tomorrow with something to share! Have a great Friday!

If I only had a brain...!

2011-11-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

Morning! :) I have spent my whole morning putting the finishing touches on a project I have been working on this week. I belong to a really wonderful group of stamping demo's and we are collaborating on a project together!! This is the second time we have done this project and I just loved it last year and couldn't wait to get started this year! We all chose a month and had to decorate a page to correspond with our month. We will each make enough to assemble a calender using one of everyone's designs! The month I signed up for this time was November. I played around with lots of ideas, but wound up falling back to punch art! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE punch art! It just tickles me to put together punch pieces to create a cute little something new! I made a scarecrow last year which you can see here and decided I would tweak him some and use him on my page. I just loved adding the pieces until he came together! He just looks so happy and fun! Here is my page:

This winds up being the top half of the page and the calender bit will get added later to the bottom half of the page. I used all Stampin Up! punches and stamps. I made the fence using the Modern Label punch and the Word Window punch. I added doodles to give the posts a wood grain look and added brads to hold up my little guys suspenders! I added straw (twine) to make him look more scarecrow like and used a third brad to dress up his flower. His hat is made from the Curly Label punch and Word Window punch. I used the grid stamp on his shirt to make it look like a flannel shirt and used the Large Tag punch for his overall top. His legs are made from the Modern Label punch and his pocket is cut from the top of the stocking in the Stocking Builder punch. His eyes are from the 1/2" Circle punch and his nose is the tip of the Pennant Punch. I made his rosy little cheeks using the end of a pencil eraser and used a medium oval shape to draw his mouth. He makes me smile!

My happy little scarecrow!

Pumpkins made from the Medium Oval punch and 1" Circle punch. Stem is from the Word Window punch cut in half and trimmed flat with slightly curved edges.

Close up of fence and pumpkin.

His suspender straps are made from the slit punch, which sadly is retired, but could be cut from little strips if you wanted to make him.

I will be sending my pages off soon and cannot wait to get my finished calendar back! It is a daily reminder of my very sweet and wonderful friends!

I am thinking I will make a few extras of this little guy for some scrapbook pages!

Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest with more to share! :)

Happy Anniversary to the worlds most wonderful people!

2011-11-09T11:19:00.000-05:00

Hello! Happy middle of the week day to you! Today I have a card to share with you that I made for a very special couple! **DISCLAIMER!!!!! MOM, if you are reading this turn away now!! Close the page and come back and read it NEXT week!! LOOK AWAY!!! :) If you are not my mom then please feel free to read on!

I happen to have the very BEST Mother in all of the whole world. She is awesome...plain and simple! I don't know how I got so lucky, but I did! She is sincerely just the best. I also lucked out and wound up with a fantastic Step Dad! Totally top notch! I couldn't have asked for a better guy. He melts my mom's heart and is just wonderful! They have a wedding anniversary coming up soon and so I wanted to make them a little card. They also happen to live in Alaska...the coldest place on earth! LOL They have lived there for years and love it. TOOOOO cold for me though! Anyhow, on to the card:

These are my snow parents!! They are made entirely from Stampin Up! punches!! How cute are these two?!! This idea originally comes from Ellen Kemper. She is the punch art queen! Thank you for the inspiration, Ellen!! This card hinges at the top rather than on the side.

My snow parents up close!! Notice the bling on mom's coat!

Side view to show off the punches.

Snow feet on snow banks! Snow made from tearing and Dazzling Detailing the edges.

Look at those cute cold noses!!

Inside sentiment is stamped using Teeny Tiny Wishes. That has become my go to set for all my little wishes!

Punch Art Recipe:

Heads: 1 3/4" circle punch

Jacket Fur: Medium Oval (Piece taken out from small oval/retired)

Bodies: 1 3/4" circle punch

Pom pom(hat,gloves and boots): Itty Bitty 3 pack punch

Noses: 1/2" Circle punch

Arms: 3 Heart punch

Gloves: Small Heart punch

Legs: Medium Oval

Boots: Large Heart punch

Happy, Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents!! I love you guys lots and lots!!

Have a great day! I will be back tomorrow with more to share!

Thankful pumpkins!

2011-11-08T16:45:00.002-05:00

Hello! I needed to make a thank you card and since I am feeling pumpkin-y this week I decided to drag out one of my favorite pumpkin sets and do some masking! This set is great for this technique. I always want to use more pumpkins than will fit on my card though with this set! They are just so cute and look so great in a big ole' pumpkin pile.

I used Autumn Harvest and masked all of the pumpkins around the main one. I used markers to color the stamps and then used an aqua painter to fill in some color and add shadows underneath and around my pumpkins. I stamped the sentiment from Curly Cute and layered my Very Vanilla onto Lucky Limeade and then Pumpkin Pie. I used the Modern Label punch to punch out my sentiment and made a matte from two additional punches cut in half. I added one tiny little rhinestone to dress it up and then called it finished!

From the side.

Large pumpkin close up.

Small ones close up.

All these pumpkins are making me crave a warm cool whipped topped piece of pumpkin pie...yummmmmm!

Have a wonderful day! I will see you tomorrow! :)

Thankful!

2011-11-07T16:17:00.001-05:00

Hello! What a crazy, mad, nutty Monday it has been around here!! LOL I have been super busy since the moment I opened my eyes this morning and still have a ton of things to do! Yikes!! Just one of those days! Thought I would stop by for a quick minute though and post a picture. Since the holidays are right around the corner and I am feeling especially thankful for lots of things in my life! So, I thought I would make a card using that theme.

I love to make these pumpkins! They are so easy and just look so festive and happy to me! I simply punched, sponged and adhered these little guys together! I used Perfectly Penned for my sentiment and my colors are Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip. Stems are made using the Word Window punch.

Side view. Pumpkin leaves are made from the toe in the Stocking Builder punch!

Ok, off to try to conquer more of my never ending to do list! Have a great day and I will see you soonest! :)

Some digi fun!

2011-11-06T11:52:00.002-05:00

Good morning! How are you today? I am enjoying a lazy morning and rather than lugging out all of my scrap booking supplies I clicked open My Digital Studio for a scrap project. I really like playing with the digital tools and features and really enjoy making projects with it, but in the long run personally think I still prefer 3d scrapping and hands on play. Don't get me wrong! I could certainly get used to the ease and convenience of digital scrap booking, but there is just something so rewarding about touching the embellishments and holding your pictures! Both venues have their place and today digital won out over traditional! Take a look:

These are two of my four kiddos...my oldest and my youngest! This picture melts my heart! Last night he had her in a (playful) head lock in the kitchen while they fought about who was going to do the dinner dishes! I love it that they are close and I couldn't ask for a better example or a sweeter note to end on than these two. I am very lucky and I tally my blessings every single day.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I will see you soonest! :)

Scrap happy angels!

2011-11-05T15:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday! I have a couple of projects to share with you today. I happen to have kind of a soft spot in my heart for angels so when I saw these adorable cuties on Dawn's blog this morning I decided they would be a perfect addition to a quick and easy project for today, so I set off to work! I added a few of my own little tweaks to change them up a bit and personalize them some. They are super simple to make and I thought they would be perfect for Christmas tags. I made a couple of tags using only the scraps I had laying on my table and also made a teeny little box using only my scraps. (that would be the reason for non- matching colors today!)

Tag #1 uses the Top Note die cut in half. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny wishes.

Tag #2 uses the other half! The sentiment is from Dear Santa in the holiday mini.

The angel is made from:

Head: 3/4" Circle punch

Hair: CupCake Builder punch

Bangs: 3/4" Circle punch (cut)

Wings: Butterfly punch

Hands: Circle from 3 Pack Punch set

Dress: Pennant Punch

The wings are punched from the gorgeous Silver Glimmer Paper and the dresses are all decorated from the Pennant Parade stamp set.

Used lots of pop dots to add dimension to these little ladies.

Hand drawn faces give them each their own little personality! This tiny box holds 2 mini candy bars perfectly. It was made from a 5.5" square. I scored at 2" all the way around in a tic tac toe pattern and then trimmed the outside flaps so that it would all fold together and adhered it. These would make great stocking stuffers or a quick gift for the mail lady, maybe your bank teller or the UPS guy!

Side view.

Thoughts of Christmas are starting to make their way into my little pea brain! It will be here before we know it! Thought it wouldn't hurt to start getting a few things prepped and ready! :)

Are you enjoying the weekend? Sure hope so! I am! Weather here is cool, but beautiful. Started my weekend with a walk on the beach today...doesn't get much better than that!

I will be back tomorrow with more to share! Have a wonderful Saturday and I will see you soonest!

Fun folded flower!

2011-11-04T16:36:00.000-04:00

Hello! Is it raining on you?! It has been raining all afternoon here! Gray skies and cool weather just beg for an afternoon at the craft table! Sadly, I do not have an entire afternoon to spend crafting, but I did steal away for long enough to work on a scrap book page! :) I also did some fancy, fun, flower folding to add to this page! I saw these flowers in a Stampin' Success magazine and couldn't wait to try them. I worked on a 12 x 12 page today! Definitely more space to work with than the 8x8's! Here is my page:

The flowers are made from the circle punch. You fold the sides in to make an ice cream cone shape and then adhere them to a card stock circle. Using double sided paper gives you two colors in one flower.

Close up!

Flower #2.

I hope that if your skies are cloudy and gray that you are able to spend some time at your craft table today! Have a great day!

Feel better!

2011-11-03T12:21:00.000-04:00

Hello! Quick post today! Out the door early for a dentist appointment for one of my kiddos. She is having quite a bit of work done and is really nervous about it so I made her a little goody bag and card for after the visit to help cheer her up.

Just a little 3 x 3 card. I hand drew the tooth and face and sponged around the edges. I stamped the back ground with one of the flowers from Itty bitty Bits and faux stitched around the edges in chocolate chip.

Side view.

Recipe: Stamps: Itty Bitty Bits and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper; Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride and Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Blushing Bride

Have a good day! See you tomorrow!

Why thank you!!

2011-11-02T16:55:00.001-04:00

Hello! I have a thank you card to share today! I came home from our little mini trip to find a box full of goodies from a very dear friend! She is just such a sweetie! She sent all kinds of handmade little treats! So, I wanted to make her a thank you card to let her know how very, very special I think she is! This is what I came up with:

I used the stamp set Easy Events, but because I cut the sentiments off of the original stamps I was able to choose my greeting! Instead of the original flower trio that came attached to the thank you sentiment I chose the love filled tree! I used markers to color the stamped image and then layered lots of times. I faux stitched in two places using the paper piercing tool and matte pack.

Side view.

Up close!

Recipe:

Stamps: Easy Events

Paper: Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake and Garden Green

Ink: Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip

I feel very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life! :)

I hope that you are enjoying this middle of the week day!

I will be back soonest with more to share!

November makes me happy!

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hello! :) Happy November 1st! I love this month. Fall colors, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, scarecrows, Thanksgiving...such happy things!

As many of you know I am currently living in two houses. We have a house in the country and are renting a house at the beach for a while. Recently, we drove home to our country house and spent the weekend. It is absolutely beautiful where we live. This time of year looks like a paint palette has taken over the world! The mountains are so blue and the trees are gorgeous hues of red, orange and yellow. I do miss these beautiful colors and was really happy to spend the weekend surrounded by them. Take a look:

This is the view from our deck. Those are the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

Our front yard.

Our drive way.

Our side yard and turn around area.

From the deck.

Aren't those colors amazing? Love them!

Also, wanted to share a quick tag I made. My supplies at home are very limited because I have taken most of them to our other place! LOL So, I worked with what I had!

I used a die cut leaf from my stash and added Chunky gold glitter from Stampin Up! I sponged the edges of the Daffodil Delight card stock and sprayed the whole thing with the Glimmer Mist. Added a ribbon from a left over scrap I had and tied it with a piece of twine.

Side view.

Ok, so I have set a personal goal for myself! I am going to try to post on my blog every day this month! That is 30 posts!! Wish me luck! I will see you tomorrow!

Have a wonderful day!

Boo!

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I know not everyone cares for this holiday, but I happen to really like it!! I think it is a lot of fun! Playing dress up and eating candy is a winning combination in my head! LOL I have a few more little home made treat holders to share with you!

I used the Big Shot die Baskets and Blooms to make these little baskets and tucked a little bit of chocolate goodness inside of them. They went together much easier than I thought they would and were fun to make! I added the cute little pumpkin from Autumn Harvest to the front of each one and tied a couple little ribbons to the handles.

Double the trouble or in this case...chocolate!

View from the top.

Hope that you and your little ghosts and goblins have a safe and fun holiday!

Happy Halloween!

Be back soonest with more to share!

Halloween treats!

2011-10-30T07:00:00.002-04:00

Hello! How is your weekend? Going well, I hope! I wanted to stop by and share the little treats I made to take to a Halloween party, These have been floating around all over the internet so sadly I do not know who to give the original credit to. If it was you or you know please let me know so I can give you credit. I think they are just too cute and went together pretty quickly! Take a look:

How cute is that?! There is a Reece's Cup nestled between those two scalloped circle pumpkin layers! Each one requires 2 scalloped circles with 4 scallops cut off the bottom, a piece of ribbon for the stem and a few glue dots plus the candy, of course!

Here is the whole pumpkin patch! :)

Peek at the hidden candy!

There is still time to throw some of these cuties together before the big day! ;) They were a lot of fun to make!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Birthday Love!

2011-10-29T16:20:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Weekend is in full swing, but I wanted to stop by for a minute and share a card with you! I made a birthday card for a very dear and special friend recently. She is one of those people that touches your life in such a positive way that you just feel lucky to know her! The card is simple, but full of love.

I used one of my very favorite stamp sets and color combos for this card. I like the soft feel it gave.

Recipe:

Stamps: Field Flowers and BFF

Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and Pink Pirouette

Ink: Garden Green, Blushing Bride and Melon Mambo

Extras: Pink Pirouette, Pop Dots and Rhinestones

Side view.

Happy birthday to a wonderful friend.

Hope that you are having a great weekend! I will be back soonest with more to share. :)

A box to hold it all!

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday!! So I have had scrap booking on the brain lately and in an effort to try to get somewhat organized and together I decided I needed some sort of a system for my pictures. I am short on space so I wanted them all in on place and then it occurred to me!! I still have the box that I got from the Stampin Up! convention!! It was all un-assembled and just sitting, waiting patiently for me to bring it to life. It was a plain white box when I started. I wanted to pretty it up, but keep it simple enough to be able to lug around without wear and tear damaging it. I decided to use paper other than what came in the kit. The paper that came with the kit is beautiful, but I wanted something bright and cheerful to inspire me to pull out some pictures and scrap a page or three! I went with Stampin Ups! Raspberry Tart. It is retired, but oh sooooo pretty! Here is my box all pretty-ied up and ready to hold all my pictures:

Such pretty colors! I used the chip board piece from the kit and sponged the edges some. I added the label holder and brads and slipped in a new photos label (rather than the cards label that came in the kit). I left a white border around all of the DSP.

Top matches the label on the front.

An inside peek!

Added matching paper to the photo dividers. LOVE this paper!! :)

I am excited to be able to re-purpose this box and to get one step closer to being scrap book organized! Every little bit helps!

Have any fun weekend plans? We have a very full weekend planned!! We are doing some traveling and visiting this weekend! Gotta love that!

I will be back soonest with more to share! Have a wonderful Friday!

Scrapp-y page!

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I have been at it again! Woo Hoo!! I am loving being back on the scrap book wagon! It is just so much fun and feels really good to know I am preserving history for my children. I spent about 4 hours looking through pictures trying to pick some good ones to get started with and let me tell you...boy oh boy did it bring back a ton of sweet memories! Gosh! Where does the time go? I wanted to share my latest page with you. I thought I would alternate between my four kids until I started getting more organized and together. Next up will be a page each for each of my boys. This one though is of my oldest daughter:

It is an 8x8 page and uses Stampin Ups! Raspberry Tart paper. It is retired, but way too pretty to just let sit collecting dust. I used Always Artichoke and a ton of little bitty pearls! I also used a Stampin Up! EF for the AA panel to give the page some texture. I faux stitched the paper ribbon border and punched all of the flowers with the itty bitty 3 pack punch flower.

My kiddo was 13 in this photo (and is 18 now!)!! Yikes! That would tattle tale on me just how scrap book behind I am really am!

Faux stitching, embossing and pearl embellished flower punches.

I know it sounds terribly cliche' but I am telling you... hug your babies because man o man do they ever grow up fast!!

Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Love, love, love you!

2011-10-26T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hello! This week has a very special day in it! This week my very wonderful hubby and I will be celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary! We have been married 21 years, but have known each other for almost 30 years!! We met when he was 13 and I was 12. We have four amazing children together and have built a wonderful life together. He truly is my other half. He keeps me balanced and makes me whole. He is smart and funny and handsome. He is a terrific father, partner and friend. I am a super lucky girl. Here is the card that I made him to commemorate our special day.

Here are a couple photos of hubby and I:

Happy, happy anniversary to my wonderful hubby. Lots and lots of love from me to you!

Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest with more to share.

CCMC HOL5 Sketch Challenge

2011-10-25T12:38:00.000-04:00

Hello! Happy new week! Hope that your week is off to a great start! I have another CCMC challenge card to share with you today! As usual, it was a fun one! This weeks challenge was a sketch challenge and those are always good to get your creative juices flowing. Take a look at the sketch:

Pretty cute, huh? :)

Here is my take on this challenge:

I used that cool tree from Season of Friendship and my sentiment is from Field Flowers. I used a little scrap of Spice cake DSP and all of my colors are fall feeling! I can almost smell the pumpkin pie cooking! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Season of Friendship and Field Flowers

Paper: Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler and Soft Suede

Extras: Pumpkin Pie Ribbon

Weather is beautiful here! The crispness of Fall is definitely in the air which made me want to pull out this fun stamp set! Hope that your day is full of beautiful reds, yellows and oranges! I am off to make a dent in my To Do list! Have a great one and I will back soonest with more to share!

Coffee anyone?!

2011-10-21T14:45:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Do you normally start your day with a cup of Joe?! I love, love, love coffee! Well...I love the thought of coffee! LOL It makes me feel grown up to drink it, but I never manage to drink a whole cup and truth be told I think I love to smell it brewing more than I love to drink it! :)

Recently I saw someone stamp on a coffee filter and so I thought I would try that out, but when I took out my filter I had an entirely different idea, so I ran with it instead! Here is what I did with it:

Not sure what kind of flower this is! LOL I scored a frame around my flower and added some brads to the corners. I layered Whisper White onto Marina Mist and layered that onto a So Saffron base. My sentiment is from It's Your day and is stamped in Cherry Cobbler. I hand cut the stem from a scrap of Garden Green.

Close up of the coffee filter flower.

Front angle.

Want to make one?! Here's how:

Take a coffee filter and flatten it out.

Fold it in half and crease the fold well.

Fold one side in to about the center and then fold the other side over that one to create a triangle shape.

Lift one layer and cut at an angle from outside edge in. Then cut the second layer a little higher to make the folded flower look like it has layers. The bottom piece doesn't get cut at all and should be the tallest layer. The second layer is a little shorter and the third layer is the shortest. This picture shows where to cut the top layer.

This picture shows both cut lines. Next you want to sponge the entire filter using two colors. I used Daffodil Delight for the main color and Pumpkin Pie for the edges. You can choose any color combo you like, but you should use the lighter color for the flower and the darker one to highlight the edges. Fold the edges back into the triangular shape after you have sponged it and use a glue dot to hold it all together. Tie the end with a coordinating ribbon and trim it close the the knot.

To make the center I just cut a small strip and cut into it several times. I crinkled it all up and then straightened it. I used glue dots to adhere it in place.

Here is the finished card again:

This is not my usual style of card, but I enjoyed stepping outside of my create box to try this out! Try one and email me the link! I would love to see your coffee filter flowers.

Ok, I have oodles to do today! Hope that your Friday is going well and that you have plans for a wonderful weekend. I will be back soonest with more to share! :)

Back to the Basics!

2011-10-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Hello! Any scrap bookers out there?! Me, me, meeeee! I am a former scrap booking nut! I used to scrap all the time, but sadly have fallen off the scrap-y band wagon. It has been a loooong time since I have scrapped anything, but I seem to have been bitten recently by a giant, hairy, nagging scrap book bug! LOL I have really been itching to get back into it so I have been searching the sites and looking around at all the latest ideas and techniques. Lots has changed since I last scrapped! I am feeling pretty excited about starting again though! I pulled out a few pictures last night and just sat and stared at them. LOL It felt kind of intimidating to dive back in so I just sat and stared...and stared..and stared! Then I went to bed to think on it some more. After putting together several layouts in my head I finally gathered up enough nerve to get started. I decided to go with 8x8 pages. They seemed the most user friendly to me. They are not the giant 12x12 pages, but bigger than the adorable 6x6...more play room!
Here is the layout I worked on today:

The gorgeous subject of my page is my youngest daughter. She is such an amazing kid! I added lots of details to this page. Everything from torn paper to faux stitching. I sponged and punched and added bling. My base is Crumb Cake and the shaped things are all either SU! punches or from Big Shot dies. My sentiment and colored paper are from a paper pack I have had forever called Blue Raspberry by Deja Vu.

Page 2

More tearing, sponging and faux stitching! My pictures all started as 4x6's, but I trimmed them down for visual interest.

Close up of the sentiment.

One of my die cut flowers and the faux stitching.

Both pages together.

I do remember now why I haven't done more scrap booking! LOL It took me absolutely forever to do these 2 pages! I worked on them for over three hours!! Every little thing felt like a huge decision and so I did and re-did and moved this and changed that about a bazillion times! I must admit though...I loved making these!! So, now with my new camera and the scrap book bug fever I am gearing up for some serious page making! Wish me luck!! :)

I am off to scrap another page or two! Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Pumpkin Treats!

2011-10-19T18:14:00.000-04:00

Helloooooooo! :) *slides in...whoosh!!* Sorry to be so late today, but I have had a super full, crazy, busy day! Wasn't even sure I was going to be able to squeeze in this post so yay!!

With Halloween being right around the corner my mind has been on all of the goodies and treat potential! So I whipped up a quick little treat holder and 3 x 3 card to go with it today! These are really easy to make and 'dress up' a little mini candy bar very well! You could make these to hand out as your Halloween goodies or they would be really cute to take to a Halloween party!

I used the Top Note to make the actual base or holder. I scored it about half an inch away from either side of the center and folded it book style. I made the pumpkin with 5 Scallop Circle punches (Peach Parfait) and half of the Word Window punch (stem). I scored each of them down the center and glued them all together to make them 3d. Then I added a couple of rhinestones for some sparkle and adhered the pumpkin on with a pop dot.

Side View.

The goodies on the inside!

I used Peach Parfait to make my base and layered Whisper White onto Basic Black. I added another 3d pumpkin and some matching bling.

Side view.

Card with treat holder.

Hope that you are having a full and productive day too! :) I will be back soonest with more to share! Enjoy the rest of your day!

CCMC HOL4 Color Challenge

2011-10-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

Hello! How are you today?! Monday already! We had a great weekend! Hope that you did too. :) I have another color challenge to share with you today. These things are so much fun. I am really starting to get hooked on them! Here is the challenge:

Here is my card:

I used Lovely as a Tree for my stamped image and colored it with markers to get both colors on the tree. Looks pretty lifelike in person! I used the snowflake embossing folder on the small strip of Whisper White and framed it with one strip of Cherry Cobbler and one of Real Red. I used a Chocolate Chip marker to create faux stitching along the edges and added buttons and a ribbon. I think this would be a fun and easy card to mass produce for Christmas! I like this color combo.

Side view.

I have a full day left ahead of me so I better run! Hope your Monday is full of sunshine and happy things! I will be back soonest with more to share!

3 x 3's are where it is at!

2011-10-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

Hello! Happy Friday! What a crazy, busy week I have had and the weekend is already jammed packed with plans too! Ever feel like you just have busy coming out of your ears?! LOL We have had a lot of wonderful house guests over the course of the last few weeks and it has been wonderful getting to visit with so many of our peeps. :)

Ok, on to business! I have a 3 x 3 card to share with you today. These are some of my very favorite cards to make. They are the perfect size for a little note or a quick gift tag or a little thank you card or just to say hello! Mine today says hello!! :)

I made a cute little candy corn (notice my colors are still backwards?! I decided I liked it better this way!) LOL I layered it onto Crumb Cake and double embossed it by running it through my Big Shot. Matted it against a piece of Basic Black and pop dotted that onto a More Mustard Base. Added a little hello sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched it with the jewelry tag punch. Topped it off with a rhinestone and it is ready to go! :)

Side view.

Recipe:

Stamps:Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: More Mustard, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Whisper White and So Saffron

Ink: Basic Black

Extras: Square Lattice EF, Rhinestone, Pop Dots and Jewelry Tag punch

I hope that you have a weekend full of fun and wonderful things planned! I must run and try to make a dent in my To Do list! Have a great day and I will be back soonest!

Witch-y calling card!

2011-10-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hello! I have a punch art post to share with you today! After pulling out my Pennant punch yesterday and playing with it I got to thinking about other uses for it. I thought it would make a super cute witch hat and since every witch worth her salt needs a sporty hat I started playing around with it! After I put together a hat I decided she would also need a broom! Take a look:

All from the Pennant Punch! Pretty witch-y, huh?! Simple card! Versa marked the background with the witch boot from Spooky Bingo Bits and faux stitched the edges using the paper piercer tool. I grunged up the card by sponging it with Chocolate Chip and tattering the edges. Added a scalloped border to the bottom. and some rhinestones because even witches like to bling it up!

Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits

Paper: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, More Mustard, Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip

Punches: Word Window, Pennant Punch and Scallop Oval

Extras: Paper piercer, White Gel pen and Rhinestones

I punched one pennant out in black and one in Rich Razzleberry. I trimmed the RR berry down using the scallops as my guide. I punched out a scallop oval and made a slit in it using a craft knife. I tucked the top down into the slit and glued it in place and there you have it, my pretty!

To make the broom I punched out one pennant and a word window punch. I added a small strip along the top and adhered it to the word window with a glue dot.

Hat pieces.

Broom pieces.

I cut several strips into the broom and ran it across my chocolate chip ink pad. Easy, peasy!

I always get excited when I can use a punch for purposes other than what it was intended for! I am sure this punch has lots and lots of other uses to just waiting to be discovered! :)

Have you seen Stampin Ups! October specials?! Take a look here!! This is a crazy good deal! Feel free to email me with any questions!

Have a great Thursday! I will be back soonest!

Boo doesn't get much cuter!!

2011-10-12T12:29:00.002-04:00

Hello! Happy middle of the week! :) Can you believe it is almost the middle of October?! Halloween will be here in a minute and Thanksgiving in half an hour and Christmas in an hour!! OMGoodness!! Time to start thinking about all of those fun holidays, I guess! Years ago I would be thinking about hand making my kiddos costumes about this time, but since they are all getting older (and all refuse to slip into the cute little bunny ears and floppy feet!) LOL I suppose I will be putting my creative energy into paper crafting instead! With Halloween on my brain this morning I wanted to make something with one part scary, but two parts cute! I went blurfing (blog surfing) looking for some creativity sparking ideas and saw Heather's adorable candy corn box. I thought that would be a perfect project for today. I made some of these cute little things last year but made Santa hats from them. They are such a fun, quick project! Here is a link to Heather's box. Here is a card that I made to go with the box:

It occurred to me while I was taking these pictures that I made my candy corns in the wrong order! LOL The yellow and orange should be reversed I think! Oh well...creative license, right?! I used the new Pennant punch to make these cute little guys! I punched them out in each of the three colors and cut and adhered them together. I also used the scallop border punch along the bottom. I punched it almost to each end but left the sides connected so I could slip in a Whisper White strip. I faux stitched white stitches onto the black and Pumpkin Pie stitches onto the white. I used the silver glimmer paper for the strip near the bottom and had just a tiny piece left over to make the brads! Didn't want to waste even a micro square of that gorgeous paper!

I added Dazzling Details to the letters which are cut form the Big Shot die BillBoard and rhinestone bling to each of the candy corn pieces.

Here is that cute box! It goes together super quick and easy and will hold a good sized handful of candy corns to keep with the theme! However, being the chocolate hound that I am mine will probably be filled with some sort of chocolate pieces! :)

Side view. I embossed my box, but it isn't necessary. Totally cute plain! I also made my eyes rather than using the google eyes. If you make your eyes remember to add the little white highlights in the eyes with a gel pen! It is the details that makes the difference!

I think this would make a cute gift for some one!

I have about 20 things left undone on my to do list so I am off! Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest!

CCMC HOL3 Special Card Challenge

2011-10-10T16:47:00.000-04:00

Hello! I have been trying to get here all day to post but my day has been super nutty! I have been running all over the place and trying to get about a bazillion things done! LOL Finally though! I made it! :)

My card today is for the Create with Connie and Mary Special card challenge. We were challenged to make one of those cards that you would love to make, but only want to make once! LOL Christmas was the theme! Here is my card:

I layered Very Vanilla onto Always Artichoke and ran them through the new snowflake embossing folder. I layered that onto the beautiful new silver shimmer glitter paper. (It is gorgeous paper!!) I added that whole ensemble to a Cherry Cobbler base. Then I added teeny, tiny, little, itty bitty pearls randomly to the snowflakes. I used the Triple Treat flower and stamped it three times and punched and layered those on top of each other with pop dots. I added a rhinestone to its center. I don't usually use both pearls and rhinestones on the same project, but I think it works here though. Finally, I added Dazzling Details to the entire background in a random pattern. The lighting is a little off because of no sun today, but this little guy just shimmers! :)

Close up of the flower.

This was a fun card to make! It is all cold and wet and rainy here today and making this card made me feel a little nostalgic for Christmas morning! It will be here before we know it! :)

I hope that you are having a wonderful day! I will be back soonest!

CCMC HOL2 Color Challenge

2011-10-06T12:33:00.001-04:00

Hi there! I just finished up my card for the CCMC HOL2 Color Challenge and wanted to share it with you! I must say that this color combo took me a bit out of my comfort zone, but that is a good thing! Here are the challenge colors:

I have tried and tried and tried to love Soft Suede, but just really seem to have a hard time working with it. I know it has lots of potential, but it just doesn't sing to me like some of the other colors! LOL I went for it anyhow though! It really is a very pretty combination of colors.

Here is my card for this challenge:

This card is a little different because it opens gate fold style instead of on the side. I scored it at 2 1/8" and then flipped it completely around and scored it again on the other end at 2 1/8". That leaves 4 1/4" as your center background. I made three little image panels and connected two to the right side and the third one to the left side so when you open the card two go one way and the middle one goes the other way.

I muddied up the images with the Spritzer tool and used Soft Suede and Pear Pizzazz to make the splotches.

I used Stampin Up!s new Dazzling Details to give the leaf veins some shimmer, but didn't have the patience to let it dry for the picture! LOL Once it dries it will be flat and smooth looking.

I stamped Just for You on 1" circles using Pear Pizzazz and sponged the edges and added them to the ends of each panel.

Here you can see the way the panels fall when the card opens up.

Fun challenge! Thanks for hosting CCMC ladies! :)

Have you seen Stampin Up!s awesome October deals?! Take a peek here.

I will be back soonest!

A hodge-podge-y kind of post!

2011-10-05T17:42:00.000-04:00

Hello! I have kind of a hodge-podge-y post for you today! I have lots of important occasion type things coming up and so I have been working on lots of little projects! I thought I would share a few of them with you. Some of them are for birthdays and some are just thinking of you gifts. All of them were really fun to make!

This is a plain pad of paper all dressed up! I used Field Flowers which is one of my all time favorite stamp sets! Chocolate Chip, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake.

The inside.

A container to house chocolate.

Tag up close.

Another container (more chocolate because you can never have enough!).

A book mark that I added spray adhesive and Dazzling Diamonds to! LOVE that shimmer!

Some of the gifts all piled up! :)

These were all so much fun to make! I just love making and giving handmade gifts!

Ok, I have to get back to my day. Lots going on right now! Have a wonderful Wednesday! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Welcome Neighbors! :)

2011-10-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

Hello! I have a super quick post to share today! I am right in the middle of my to do list, but wanted to get this posted before the sun set! LOL Crazy, busy day! :)

We just recently got some new neighbors and so I thought I would make them a little welcome to the neighborhood treat. Nothing fancy...just some cookies and chocolate goodness!! After searching through all of my stamps I wound up going back to one of my oldies, but goodies!! This project uses a Sale-A-Bration set from a while back called Good Neighbors. It is fun because you can mix and match the houses and rooftops. Here is their little welcome treat:

Hope they like it! :)

Have you heard about Stampin Up!s awesome October's deals?!!! Check them out here!

Ok, so sorry to post and run, but I have about a ba-zillion and four things left to do today! Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! :)

BIG NEWS!!!!!

2011-10-01T20:48:00.002-04:00

I have some very EXCITING news to share today!!! Stampin Up! has some terrific specials going on right now. Grab the beverage of your choice, get all settled in and take a look at all of this goodness:

Dates: October 1-October 31st

An offer to DIE for!

If you've been looking for an opportunity to do what you love, while getting a 20 discount on your favorite products, now is the perfect time! During October, you'll get a FREE Big Shot when you join the Stampin' Up! family as a demonstrator.*
Use the Big Shot die-cutting machine and Stampin' Up!'s exclusive dies** to create uniquely beautiful projects in a flash.
In addition, the new-demonstrator Starter Kit--a steal at just $175--contains over $345 worth of stamp sets, card stock, ink, accessories, and business supplies-everything you need to start your new business.
There are so many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, including

A 20 percent product discount!
A free monthly issue of Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator-only magazine, Stampin' Success!
Sneak peeks at brand-new products!
Invitations to exclusive Stampin' Up! events!
Regular get-togethers to stamp!
Free access to an online community of 30,000+ crafters/stampers and creative artists, as well as 160,000+ project samples!
Plus, access to an exclusive video and training for your new Big Shot!

So, basically if you are interested in reaping these fun benefits and getting a Big Shot for FREE I would LOVE to have you join my team!! Click here for more information! Also, feel free to email me with any questions you may have! :) You can find a link to email me on the right hand side of this blog!

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When you buy 2 of our Simply Sent kits you will get the coordinating stamp set for free! These little kits make it a breeze to throw together beautiful cards in no time! Click here for more details or to order!

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Yummmmy!!! Stampin Up! Has a yummy offer for you! Take a look at these adorable cookie press cookie stamps! What better combination can you think of than cookies and stamping?! Now you can stamp on your cookies!! This adorable set even comes with 2 recipes! Click here for more details or to order!

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Finally, check out the Clearance Rack on my website for some super, duper deals! You can order right from my webpage here.

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I know that I have just thrown a ton of amazing info at you, but my goodness Stampin Up! is offering lots and lots of fun stuff and I didn't want you to miss out on any of it!! Feel free to email me with any questions!!

Have a wonderful day!

CCMC169 - Color Challenge

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Friday...sweet Friday! The weekend is on it's way! I have anther challenge card to share today. This one is also from the very talented Create with Connie and Mary. It is a color challenge and let me just say...what a GORGEOUS color combo!! Here is the combo challenge they have put together:

Aren't those colors just beautiful together!! I played around with lots of designs and stamps sets before I settled on my card, but this is what I came up with for the challenge:

Recipe:

Stamps: You are Loved and Vintage Vogue

Paper: Pool Party, Basic Black, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive, Pool Party, Marina Mist and Sahara Sand

Extras: Rhinestones and Very Vanilla ribbon

Side view.

Close up. I added a shadow using a blender pen and gray ink.

Love this combo! I will definitely use this one again! Thank you to Connie and Mary for the great challenge!

Do you have any fun weekend plans? Not sure what we are doing yet, but I am certain it will be fun! Nothing beats spending time with my family and there will be lots of that this weekend! I am hoping to get some play time in with my new camera and will post some pictures soon! Enjoy your Friday! Be back soonest!

CCMC-HOL1 Holiday Edition Sketch Challenge

2011-09-29T13:58:00.000-04:00

Hello! Happy Thursday to you! My card today is for the CCMC Holiday sketch challenge posted over at Create with Connie and Mary. It was a really fun sketch and although I had decided in my little peabrain not to post anything Halloween-y until October 1st, I just couldn't not give this sketch a try! Look at this fun thing!!

I took out my brand new Bingo Bits Halloween set and inked that big guy up and this is what I came up with:

Recipe:

Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits

Paper: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, More Mustard, Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla

Ink: Going Gray, Basic Black and Garden Green

Extras: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Small Oval Punch, Scallop Envelope Big Shot die, Rhinestones and Dazzling Diamonds

Sparkly webs!

I drew spider strings to attach the spiders to their webs and added Dazzling Diamonds to make their little web pop. I added some faux stitching to the edges of my Limeade and pop dotted the main image up along with the Eeeek! sentiment.

This was a great sketch to work with! Ok, I need to run because I have a giant to do list today!

Happy stamping and have a great day!

It's made out of what?!!

2011-09-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

Well hello there!! I am pretty dang excited about my little project today! It is a mini album made out of toilet paper tubes!! How crazy is that?! Really...! Toilet paper tubes! Now it is assembled, but not finished! I still have to add all of my pictures and embellishments, but I was so anxious to get it posted that I couldn't wait! LOL Take a look at this:

Isn't this a really cool way to recycle?! I am sooooo excited!! I flattened my tubes (I used 6 of them!) and then used my bone folder to crease the edges. Then I ran them through my Big Shot to further flatten the curve out of them. Then I put them under some heavy weight for a few days so they would be good and flat. Once they were squashed as squashed as they were ever going to be I added some paper and dressed them right up! I used the DSP Spice Cake (one of my favorites!!) and matted it on Pool Party since it coordinates with the paper and used sticky strip to adhere them to the tubes front and back.

Close up of my flower. I used the punches that make the flower from the paper and crumpled them up and pulled them apart to make soft, fuzzy looking layers. I added a Build a Brad to the center Which looks in the picture like it is floating LOL but it really is not!) and topped it with a rhinestone. The little tag is made using a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and the Jewelry tag punch.

Page one. All of the pages use the same paper and color scheme.

I made tags to go inside of each tube and used the Round Tab punch to make the finger pulls. I added some rhinestones to each tab. They all pull out completely for pictures and journaling on both sides.

Tag pulled out.

6 pages with 6 pull out tabs. Lots of room for pictures or other souvenirs!

Another view of the flower! I cannot wait to get this little guy filled up with tons of pictures! This was a really, really fun project! The whole thing is bound with notebook rings. I haven't added eyelets yet, but think I may go back and do that. What do you think?! You should really try one. They are a blast to make so start saving those toilet paper tubies!

I am off to tackle my to do list! Hope you are having a stamp-y kind of day! Be back soonest!

Stamp therapy!

2011-09-27T15:18:00.001-04:00

Hello! Happy Tuesday...or is it? Today has felt like a Monday to me all day long! Seems like those "Monday" sorts of things just keep happening. Ever have one of *those* kinds of days?! Boy oh boy have I been having one today!

After numerous attempts to get things done I finally set my to do list aside and just decided to play with my stamps for a while! I figured worst case even if my whole day turned stinky at least I would have made something pretty! :) Stamp therapy...ever heard of it?! It works wonders!

I worked on a gift set of matching 3 x 3's today. I love to make these little guys! They are really fun and make the cutest little addition to any gift! Can you guess my theme!?! If you guessed Fall...you are a winner! ;) Here are my little cards:

I tore a strip of pool party and crumpled it up and tore the layers apart before adding brads.

Recipe:

Stamps: Gently Falling and Tiny Wishes

Ink: Real Red, More Mustard, Daffodil Delight and Early Espresso

Paper: Crumb Cake, More Mustard, Pool Party and Very Vanilla

Extras: Brads, Pumpkin Pie ribbon and Jewelry Tag punch

I hope that you are having a good day! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Rainy Fall day!

2011-09-26T14:15:00.000-04:00

Hello! Is it raining where you are? It is all dark and dreary and over cast here today. It is a perfect day for stamping so I sat down this morning and worked on another Fall card. It is a simple card using minimal supplies and layers, but I kind of like the way it turned out.

I used the Lovely as a Tree stamp set and the Stampin Write markers to color them. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the leaves are green, red and yellow and the stems are chocolate chip. I ruffled up the edges and sponged them and added a couple of buttons dressed up with ribbon. I used Versmark to fill in the white space in my background with a delicate leaf stamp and stamped the sentiment in Cherry Cobbler using the Perfectly Penned stamp set.

I created a faux layer underneath the main image layer and tore the edge to let it peek through. I mounted the underneath layer on a piece of Spice cake DSP. It is really just the corner, but that can be our little secret! Shhhh!

Ah... I just love Fall and it's rainy days!

Hope your day is a good one! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Paper Princess Card Challenge!

2011-09-25T07:00:00.002-04:00

Hi! My card today is for a challenge presented by my sweet Paper Princess blogging buddy Moira. (Hiya Moira!!) The challenge was to make a Christmas card since it is just around the corner. Now I do not know about you, but when it comes to Christmas and being organized I am a total train wreck! The thought of even thinking about starting my Christmas cards this early makes my eyebrows hurt, so this was truly a challenge! I had to put on my creative elf hat (you know the one with the bells and pom poms!) and dig deep for this one! LOL After some playing around this is what I came up with:

Merry Christmas!

Side view.

Thank you, Moira for a great challenge! Lots to do today so I am off to get busy! Have a great Sunday. I will be back soonest. :)

Petite Pocket!

2011-09-24T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Saturdays are a wonderful invention! Hope you are having a happy weekend so far. We are enjoying a visit with family this weekend. I have a quick post to share with you today. I broke out my new Petite Pocket die and played with it some. What a cute little pocket it makes! It holds a gift card when everything is all stamped and done. :) I thought it would also make a cute gift to stamp and fill it with Christmas tags. Lots of possibilities! Here is one I threw together today:

Here it is all assembled!

Side view.

The back.

Filled with some Christmas tags for the giving!

Enjoy your Saturday! :) Be back soonest!

Mark my place just because!

2011-09-23T14:28:00.001-04:00

Hello Friiiiday! The weekend is upon us! I have the sweetest book mark project to share with you today! I have the longest craft to do list ever and this fun project has finally made it up to the top of my list. They have been around for a while, but it is one of those projects that never goes out of style. You can make them any time for any occasion or even just because. Today I made them just because! :) They are really fun to make and super simple. Take a look:

They are made using the Big Shot die Fun Flower, some ribbon and a button. Doesn't get much easier then that! I cut them, crumpled them and sponged all the edges. I used pop dots to stick the layers together and added a button tied with Baker's Twine which I colored with a Stampin Write marker to match.

Close up.

They are really pretty in person. I added a tiny tag and a rhinestone to finish them off.

Here is the blue one in action. :)

Do you have any fun weekend plans! We have a very full weekend planned around here. Hope that you have a good one. I will be back soonest with more to share!

I think I CAN! I think I CAN!!

2011-09-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hey there! Hope you are having a nice Thursday! I have a little project to share today that is the beginning of a bigger project which is in the works! What a mouthful! LOL To make a long story short I have been on the hunt for some house decorations. We have relocated recently and most of our walls are still bare. I am talking empty canvas kind of bare! I don't know yet exactly how I want to decorate the new place so shopping has been kind of a challenge. I have discovered though that pictures are darn price-y! Who wants to blow wads of cash on decor when you could be spending it on stamping supplies! LOL So, it occurred to me that I should just start making my decor! I have purchased a few small things as a base and plan to start making some of the others. Here is the first little piece of my new collection:

This uses the colors of the other pieces I picked up and will fit into a 5 X 7 frame to round out the grouping.

The cool thing is that the flowers are made from aluminum cans!! I cut the tops and bottoms off of a couple of aluminum cans and ran them through my Big Shot using the Party Blossoms die. I stamped the blue pieces and the heart with SU!'s grid stamp and adhered everything with glue dots! (Love those little guys!) I added a little bling with some rhinestones and stamped the word family with one of the alphabet sets.

Close up of the flower! I was so happy with how they turned out! I spent a lot of time trying to line up the die with the colors on the cans that I wanted and after all that work wound up liking the shiny silver backside better! The flower centers are from the colored part of the can.

Recipe:

Stamps: Lovely Letters Alphabet and Grid

Paper: Basic Gray, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake

Ink: Basic Gray and Pacific Point

Extras: Aluminum cans, party Blossom die and Rhinestones

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and now my mind is reeling with possibilities for other projects!

I will share them as I make them.

Lots to do today so I am off to get my day rolling! Have a wonderful day! Do something stamp-y! You will be so glad that you did! Be back soonest!

Chipboard blues!

2011-09-21T17:46:00.000-04:00

Hello and happy hump day! I have been so busy this week that my head is spinning! I did make some time today to do a little creating though. I opened up my new Fun Flowers BS die and played with it...what a fun toy!! It makes the prettiest flowers!! It came with a piece of chipboard in the packaging and so I did what any recycling conscious stamper would do...I ran that baby through the Big Shot to try out my new die!! It cut beautifully too! :) I used the chipboard flowers on my card today. It is a simple card, but sometimes those are my favorite. What do you think?!

I sponge dauber-ed (technical term!) the largest flower and small circle with Pacific Point and left the middle circle plain. The whole thing is layered using pop dots and pop dotted onto the card for dimension. The sentiment is from You are Loved.

Side view to show layers.

I like this sentiment a lot!

Recipe:

Stamps: You are Loved

Paper: Pacific Point and Crumb Cake

Ink: Pacific Point

Extras: Chip Board, Rhinestones, Sponge Daubers, Pop dots and Fun Flowers BS die

I have played with my camera some and am really liking it. I will share some pictures soon!

Hope that you have a great day! I will be back soonest. :)

Birthdays, wonderful birthdays!

2011-09-19T18:03:00.000-04:00

Hellooo! Happy Monday to you! I have had the most wonderful day! Today I turned 20+20+1! My very sweet hubby took me out for a yummy lunch. We had Indian...yum!!! Then he took me out and bought me a brand new fancy, schmancy camera!! *thud!* {falls over!} It is beeeea--uuuu-tiiiii-fullll!! OMGoodness...talk about all the bells and whistles! I am just floating on a giant, puffy cloud! He is such a wonderful guy. I am very, very lucky! My kids also spoiled me with fun toys and lots of birthday love! It has been a wonderful way to spend my day!

I have a quick card to share with you today! My step-dad is having a birthday in just a few days too and I wanted to make a matching card to go with the candy holder I showed you a few days ago! Here is what I came up with:

See! All matchy-matchy! :)

Ok, I am off to go take a walk on the beach...life is grande! Hope that you are having a wonderful day too! I will be back soonest with more to share! You can expect to see lots of pictures while I try to figure out my fun new toy! :) *Big, cheesy grin!*

Super tall Milk Carton box!

2011-09-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

Hello! Yaaaaaaay! Friday! I have the neatest thing to share with you today! I made a few of these recently using the milk carton die. You can see that post here. Then I saw Angels Hawks very, very cool tutorial to stretch those little guys to be 6" tall!!!! You can find Angel's awesome tutorial here. I needed a box to hold some chocolate (the world's most wonderful gift!) for my step-dad. He is a super wonderful guy and happens to have a birthday coming up! He really likes Reeces cups and although the small version of this box would have been really good to wrap some up and send them to him... this giant box is even better! :) See how awesome this box is:

I am really happy with the way it turned out and am feeling pretty confidant that I can stuff it with lots and lots of his favorite candy!

The top comes together really nicely when gathered up!

Here is the tag with just a hint of Fall! I added Dazzling Diamonds to the leaves because in my humble glitter loving opinion everything looks better with a touch of sparkle! :)

Close up of those sparkly leaves!

Recipe:

Stamps: Gently Falling and Hand Penned Holidays

Paper: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard and Cherry Cobbler

Extras: Milk Carton die Button, Baker's Twine, Very Vanilla ribbon and Dazzling Diamonds

Hope that you have a very happy start to the weekend! I will be back soonest!