Tasty Simple

Usually I post everything seperately as I like to organize things so I can find them later. Tonight I am combining two projects with one post. ...because, well, I am really tired! I can hardly keep my eyes open tonight!

Two things...let's start with what I think is pretty funny....
This is a little sucker cover I was thinking would be cute for Evan's class. I would make them for Carter's as well but we can't send food in to his class. How cute is this! ...I only need a couple dozen more! ;) ...The picture could be better...but on the plus side...we just upgraded out Adobe photoshop to the new version....soooooo much easier than the old version I had! Look...I'm figuring out the beveled edges! Tooooooo cool! So excited to play with this!

These will be pretty simple except for all of the cutting...that will be simple but really tedious! I used Stampin' Up!'s Crab & Co. for this with Real Red Card stock and a little of my leftover Dashing paper.

Next comes.....


Can I tell you how much I love this! ....and how much I LOVE Papertreyink! Love!!!! This is the Trajan Monogram Edition and the Borders & Corners Monogram Edition.

This project started with the ribbon. What a ribbon! I so love this! We had to go to Walmart today and I of course had to browse through the craft section. I can't pass that section up anywhere! I didn't find that much. A little ric rac....lot's of colors! ...and then this ribbon! It's so fun! I love it! I bought it in this....perfect match to Groovy Guava...and a purple color. As we were heading out of the craft/sewing section I found this little container. It was marked down to a dollar! One dollar! Cool! It has one big compartment and three little ones. I bought 3 of these and 2 of these really cool purse like containers...all a dollar each! I may have to go back and buy them all! What great gifts these are going to be!

...Ok...I'm thinking I should delete this and be a little selfish as I'm afraid they will all be gone when I go back! ;)...just kidding! ;)

...Groovy Guava is my all time favorite color. This is really hard for me as I know it's time is growing short. I'm not quite sure what I am going to do once it's gone. Sure, I'll stock up....but I will hoard every single piece of everything I have! Not good for a recovering collector!

Back to the stamp. I started to cover this knowing I wanted to monogram it with my Trajan Monogram...this is going to be on my desk to hold my scissors and whatnot...at least until Hayden gets big enough to grab the scissors. Once I had the paper and ribbon on I stamped the monogram. ...and....and...nothing else...it doesn't need a single thing IMHO. I really think it's perfect as is. I am really going to love looking at this on my desk. Of course, it matches nothing in my house...my accents are mostly red...but whatever. If I could change the red to Groovy Guava I would! ;)

Later ...from the Groovy Guava freak!

Another EPLS

Well, I was planning on spending the night stamping. Right before bedtime, there is a break in the news letting us know that there was a tornado warning. You know Hayden was already in bed! ...I was getting ready to put my other two sons to bed...I was really ready for quiet time! Larry was working late so it was going to be perfect! Then...tornados??? In January??? Whatever!

I still think the weather in Indiana is super weird! One second it will be sunny and beautiful and then the next it's a major storm that will bring all sorts of potential craziness! I'm not sure that I will ever get used to that. Anyway, I woke up the baby to bring him down to the basement with the rest of us...just in case...and thankfully there was no real danger for us. Of course, the warning was not over until 8PM so by the time it was all said and done I really had no time to stamp! ...and as I was going back upstairs to get ready for bed...it's snowing??? ....what???! Whatever!!!

Back to stamping...I have the coolest...or what I think will be the coolest idea for a halloween candy box! I am so ready to try it out and just haven't been able to do anything other than draw it out. I thought I was going to work on that one tonight. I guess it will keep until tomorrow. So tonight I pulled out this stamp that really cracks me up!

Here is a card using the Smarty Pants stamp set from Stampin' Up! I really love this set! The sentiments are hysterical! This is definitely easy peasy! ...but I think it's cute! ...and what can I tell you...the sentiment cracks me up!

'If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything'! How funny is that! Love this! I used very vanilla & chocolate chip card stock. The decorative paper is Basic Grey. The pearls are from Archivers and the flowers are making memories from Memoirs. How simple is this! One stamp. Definitely some punching with the faux stitching but otherwise easy! ...and cute.

Hope you are all having a great night! I am off to sleep. Loooonnnnngggg day! ;) ...still wondering what kind of weather I will wake up to tomorrow! Let's just hope school is not cancelled! ;)

Take care!

Another New Love!

Well, to say I am a stamping junky would be a gross understatement! I think it's pretty obvious that I can't get enough of it! I have a new love to add to my ever growing list...Papertreyink. I used a little of my stampin budget to get the Out On A Limb set. Beautiful! I so love this set. It's just gorgeous!

I had to head to the scrapbook store to look for a stamp today...I so should have bought it when I was there the other day! Who knew it would be gone! Bummer! Anyway, while I was there I bought another couple of albums that I found in the 50% off section. I am going to make one for each of my sons and I stamped them with my new Papertreyink set.

Here's a picture....So cute! The sentiment says 'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away'. How perfect for an album of your children! Each and every moment with them takes your breath away. Sometimes it may not be for a good thing.... :) but it's always a wonderful memory.

How perfect is this! I love it! Hope you enjoy this one. It was so super easy, although I was little nervous about messing up. I stamped the stem and sentiment in black stazon and then the berries in red stazon. I debated on adding anything else but that's the thing with these stamps...they really don't need much of anything added to them!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I will post you all later on!

Take care! :)

Jen's Sketch

Hello to you all! Here's my submission for Jen del Muro's sketch challenge. I need some birthday cards desperately...this is birthday season for my family! So I finally set on this stamp from My Favorite Things. I think I am going to give this one to my cousin as this looks just like her!

Here's my card for the sketch....



This one was definitely EPLS (easy, peasy, lemon, squeezy!) I actually colored the image while waiting for Carter at kindergarten pickup. I used the You Take the Cake set from My Favorite Things. The polk-a-dot paper is from Basic Grey. All other supplies are from Stampin' Up!...chocolate chip satin ribbon and card stock, pumpkin pie and whisper white card stock and pumpkin pie designer series paper. I used my copic markers to color her in. I used e47, yr07,r46, yg63, w1, e31. I also used my crystal effects on the icing on the cake but I obviously need to take a closer shot as you really can't see my shiny icing.

...and let me say...this is making me want a piece of chocolate cake right now! yum!

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks so much, Jen, for another fun sketch! I really had fun with this.

Take care and I will post you later! I am looking forward to a night of stamping after everyone goes to sleep tonight!

See ya soon! :)

Taylor's Challenge

Another day another challenge! So cool! I actually started working on this yesterday but Hayden wasn't cooperating. Once he went to sleep I was ready to go but was having issues! I can't do a Taylor challenge without a cupcake! That's like cookies without milk! Well, I own one cupcake stamp! You know if she keeps doing these I will have to get a few more! ;)

Anyway, here's what I came up with....

How fun! I wanted to be all blingy for her first one so I pulled out lots of glitter and lots of gems. I so love bling! This stamp is something I picked up from Hobby Lobby. It's from Printworks Clear Art Stamps Defined. The 4 is from my sticky cuts letters from Stampin' Up! The u is chipboard from Michaels...I think it's Making Memories. The paper and ribbon are SU...Whisper White, Cutie Pie, and Purely Pomagranate as well as PP satin ribbon.

So fun! What a fun sketch! I am off to find a stamp for Jen's sketch challenge now. I thought I had a plan and then changed my mind. I really do that a lot!

I'm off to get caught up on life. I will be back soon.

Take care! :)

Sharon's Challenge & Yes, I'm An Obsessed Fan

Here's my card for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge. I so love how she challenges me! Stamping simply is hard! I do sometimes have a tendency to overthink everything. That's why I am so glad that I found Sharon. She really helps with that. I had this card completed earlier today but after getting my package from Beate, I had to add a little of that cute striped ribbon. How cute is that ribbon! Love it!

So here is my card...

Very simple. EPLS(...that's Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy around my house). I used my new Stampendous stamp. Could have sworn I had ordered a sentiment with this one but obviously I forgot that part! ...so there isn't one! Oh, I can never have enough blank note cards. I also used real red, whisper white, and river rock card stock. The decorative paper is something I ordered. The ribbon with the stripes is some of the really cute stuff I won from Beates sketch challenge. Soo cute and so perfect for this card! I used my copics to color the bee and then just spica'd the death out of him!

Oh, and one more thing!...I think I am an obsessed fan! I get so inspired by all that you all offer on your blogs. It has become my morning routine to check them out while the boys are having breakfast. Well, and my weekend isn't complete without all of the challenges! I get so excited when I find another new blog...man there are a lot! ...there just isn't enough time in the day! You guys are awesome!

Speaking of challenges, did you know that Taylor has a sketch challenge? Awesome! Awesome sketch as well!

So it occurred to me today that I am an obsessed fan! I almost hate to type that as Kathy Bates from Misery comes to mind! Has anyone ever seen that movie? If not did you read the book? I am such a huge Stephen King fan as well! Anyway, I am always in awe of everything you guys do! And every day I stumble across yet another blog with yet another amazing stamper and the next thing you know I am leaving some long-winded post about how wonderful your project is...

**"I'm your number one fan!"**

I can't promise that I won't keep consuming your blog spaces with compliments...after all *"I'm your number one fan!"* But I can promise that if you are in a terrible accident near my house I won't come drag you out of a ditch only to lock you up in a bedroom and make you stamp only for me! ;)

If you guys have never read this book you should. It was so good! I so love Stephen King! If nothing else, rent the movie. It's definitely one of the better ones. I so hate how most of the books just got butchered at the movies!

Ok...now that you all know just how nuts I really am I should run to take care of my kids.

Post you later from 'Your number one fan'! ;)

Thank you Beate!

Ok, I have been entering Beate's challenges for ...well, I'm not exactly sure how long....but a little while now. It started as just a way to stamp. In all honesty, I did tend to walk past my desk and not pick up a single stamp! I would look over and think, 'I really need to stamp today'...but then I would keep on walking!

One day, my friend Amy told me about Beate Johns weekend sketch challenges. When I got to her blog I recognized her immediately from her picture. This is Beate! She does all of these really great tutorials on SCS! Cool. I was so excited with the first sketch challenge. It was so much fun! I had never at this point even heard of a sketch before. I really love them! It helps to shorten the creating time with a card.

Well Beate has a random drawing each week with her sketch challenges. I, in all honesty, would participate no matter what. When I won the drawing last week I was so excited! I didn't know what I won, but Beate was so sweet to post a picture of my card on her blog! Wow! I was sooo excited to see that! Thank goodness it was a decent card! ;)

Anyway, I have been checking my mail every day since. My husband happened to get it yesterday and put it up on the bookshelf. I didn't realize and it wasn't until this morning that I saw a package had arrived for me! ...from Beate!

Speechless!

I have an actual card from Beate Johns! I am not kidding when I tell you that I want to frame it! She included such a sweet note and put it on a post-it so that I could use this beautiful card! Silly girl! This one will sit on my desk from now until the end! I so cannot bring myself to give it away! Poor card!

There was also some of the cutest ribbon I have ever seen! I thought I was finished with Sharon's challenge but now I have to change it a little! I have got to use some of this crazy cute striped ribbon and twill ribbon! Crazy cute!!!! (...meaning, I LOVE it!) There were also some rhinestone & build-a-brads.

Ok...I took a little picture....I have never created a watermark so I hope this works out. I tried to put a call in to my brother in-law for a quick tutorial but they are not home. ...west coast...I'm sure they are still at church. I will change the watermark once I get him on the phone.How stinking cute is this! Oh my! Thank you so very much, Beate! This is just the sweetest thing!

Beate's Weekend Sketch & Inspiration Challenge

Here's my first sketch challenge of the weekend...combined with Beate's Be Inspired Challenge. At first I was going to do two separate cards and depending on how this weekend goes I may do another card for just the sketch part of the challenge. Just in case things are as crazy as they are starting out to be, I am combining them first.

For the inspiration part, I was first inspired by the colors. Love them! Second, the little boy in this stamp totally reminds me of the frog. Frog boy! :) ..ok...just in how he is jumping. I was thinking I could use this for a birthday coming up for a little boy but notice the gems? I'm not so sure a little boy with be happy with a 'jewel' card!

Anyway, I used my Older & Wiser stamp set by SU. The paper is from Jersey Shore. I also used Wild Wasabi & Whisper White card stock. The ribbon is the double stitched Wild Wasabi. I colored the boy with my Copic markers. I used YR02, B29, E33, and W1. He was stamped with basic black classic ink from SU. I also used random spica pens on the little dots...which are really too small to appreciate! ;)

Hope you enjoy this one. I am off to work on another...after I get a little bit of stuff done around here.

Post you soon!

Our Card Swap Sketch For February

Ok...keep in mind I am used to participating in these and not creating them! I do so love the card sketch! I love having a layout to follow and my card swap group spoke and obviously love the same thing so here you go! We are doing it again!

Here's the sketch I came up with...



This is based on one of my very first cards....

I was so in love with this stamp set. In fact, retired or not, I can't get rid of it! I am keeping it! I realize this is a really simple sketch...but again...I think this was one of my very first cards.

I will send out the evite with the specifics but since we had trouble viewing the sketch there last time I am posting here as well.

If anyone else would like to participate, we would love to see what you come up with. Please post us a link here to where you have uploaded your card and we will check it out. I will be posting our cards in a few weeks after the swap.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend! I am off to participate in some really fun challenges! ...Beate's, Jen's, Sharon's! Soooo fun!

Post you soon!

Jen's Sketch...Finally! ;)

Ok...I am finally finishing this up for Jen's sketch challenge. I started it earlier in the day and ...well...bled all over it! Ok....the first draft just wasn't right....then I started another one and totally stabbed myself with my hobby blade! That's what I get for trying to salvage an image! Owww!!!!!

Sorry for the disgusting commentary! It seems like a trend for me as of late. Yesterday with the story about Carter and the bathroom trash and now it's blood! Ewww. I'm even grossing myself out! ;)

Anyway, I am so excited to finally have completed this sketch. Here it is....For this card I was finally able to use my 'If the Halo Fits' set. I was in love with this set the moment I saw it. The angel reminds me of one of the chemo nurses I met during treatment, Marishka...quite certain I butchered that spelling! I bought this to make a card for her. I hope she likes it. Anyway, I also used real red & whisper white card stock, and some random decorative paper from ?somewhere?. I found the grommets at Memoirs and love them! I do not, however, have the tool to set them so I am not sure if I did it the way it was intended or not. Like it anyway. I also used my Copic markers as well as my clear and silver spica pens.

Well, I hope y'all like this one. I am so excited that the weekend is here and it's time to start these sketches all over again! Woohooo! I am also needing to create one for our card swap. My group had so much fun with that at our last swap we are going to do it again. How fun will that be! I can say that I already have an idea for Beate's sketch....hoping it works out. Excited to see what Sharon has going on this weekend and looking forward to another great one from Jen as well! Thanks so much you guys for so much card making fun! I love it!!!

Take care each of you and I will post you soon!

S.W.A.K. Down from Poppy Paperie

Last night Amy called and filled me in on the random drawing at Beate's blog....somehow I missed it....I went there earlier in the day and saw this really cute Valentine treat pouch but didn't scroll down...hey, I check it out every day!...I thought I saw everything! ;) Then she was saying she was bummed that I didn't have any Papertreyink stamps as there was a fun challenge over at Poppy Paperie. Well I just so happened to get my very first set Friday! Woohooo!

How fun! I have been itching to use this set. I had so much other stamping to do that I had only been drooling on the case! It's so funny where I am right now. A few months ago I would never even have dreamed of using any stamp set other than SU. Now don't get me wrong...I still really love all of my SU sets and getting the new catalog is still like Christmas for me....so love it comes twice a year now!...but I really am in love with other stamps! My Bellas, my My Favorite Things, and now my Papertreyink! Love them!

Papertrey is so awesome because the designs are just so elegant and simple. I love them! The Out on A Limb set is such a huge favorite of mine. Have you read the sentiments with this set? Beautiful! They are so perfect.

Anyway, for Lisa's challenge you not only had to use a Papertreyink set you also had to download a heart that she used for this really cute heart shaped tin. How stinkin' cute is that tin! I so love it! I am going to order that thing just so I can case this! It's sooooo cute!

Well, out of my league I am!...but here I go! After drying off my stamps, this is what I came up with.....

...the outside of the heart says 'I love you', the inside of the heart says 'to the moon and back again, to infinity and beyond, forever & ever'. How beautiful is that!

Make sure you check out Lisa's blog, if you haven't already, she has a list of super designers who are participating in this one...you will then see just how out of my league I am! :) I am off there now to check out their beautiful work. I haven't had a chance yet...the day I've had! I will just say that at 5 years old I thought I was finished (at least until Hayden potty trains) with the 'aiming at anything but the toilet' thing. You can't imagine my shock...and disgust!...when I went into the bathroom today to find my trashcan full of pee. Hey, at least he made it! How gross is that! ...and how lazy am I...I threw it out! It's too cold outside to take it out and clean it and I am not putting in either my sink or tub so out it goes! Yuck!!!!! I could go on! I will just say that the fact that I was able to accomplish anything is amazing!

Take care and have a wonderful night! I am hoping to have another post tonight for Jen del Muro's weekend sketch challenge. Weekend? Man am I late! I have had this idea sitting in my head since Saturday and can't wait to try it out! It's almost my kids bedtimes and I am so looking forward to a glass of wine and a little quite stamping time!

See ya soon!

EDIT: I completely forgot to include a supply list! Sorry. The frame is from the dollar section of Target. It was this really ugly green thing....sorry...no before photo. I'm not sure who makes this paper but I only had one sheet so I am so glad I didn't goof! The ribbon is Martha Stewart. I used a little Soft Sky...SU for the heart and of course the stamp set is from Papertreyink and is Out on A Limb.

Here's Why I Love Card Swap!

What a great night! I say it all the time, but I'm going to say it again! I love card swap! Some of our little group have been swapping cards for almost two years! I can hardly believe that! I think we have all grown so much in our stamping in that time. Since the beginning we've had some new additions and they are all great stampers! Each and everyone keeps me on my toes! I am always getting inspired by each of them! ....And here's why!....

Here's Bobbi's card. I really love
this. The colors are stunning and I love the frame around the sentiment. Beautiful!




Here's Amy's card. These colors are beautiful as well. I love the green and black. These colors are so striking together.




Lisa made this beautiful contribution. I so love the paper! This is so super cute! Notice the little gem in the center of the flower! Too cute!



Here's Nancy's card. Pink and brown is always a fav color combo
of mine. Love the glittery heart in the center!

Here is Jen S's card. I really love this. The brads she used are perfect for this card. Another beautiful contribution!

Here is Diane's cute, cute card! I love this one as well. The colors are stunning and check out the embossing. Diane has not been stamping very long. She and her daughter Lauren started together. I am always impressed with both of them! They are always pushing themselves with new techniques and coming up with really cute cards!

Speaking of Lauren....here is her card....CUTE! Can you believe she is only 14! She's amazing! How cute is this!

Another beauty from Meg! I so love this card. Love the pink...love the hearts...love the shiny paper!

Here is Carol's card. This is now my favorite Carol card. It's soooo cute! I love the lone gem on the butterfly. It's perfect! I love the soft colors. So very cute!

And there you have it! Another fun card swap. So much fun! Thanks again you guys for all of your hard work! You all did such a great job!

Thanks for stopping by! I will see you all soon!

Finally...Finished!

Ok...I'm finally finished....here's the finished product.....

I pulled out some retired paper from Stampin' Up!. I'm so sorry but I can't remember the name and have since tossed the sheet with that information. I used the Time Well Spent stamp set and the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon. The little flower that I punched was using a flower punch from SU and then I had a velvet brad and matching velvet ribbon that I used as well. I am hoping everyone likes it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I will see you all soon!

Uhhhhh...Card Swap!!!

...and remember, I love card swap! ...I never like waiting until the last minute for anything, though!

I am having so much trouble today with everything! ...ok...just card swap!I thought I would do this....keep in mind what I am showing you is not completed.....








What's the point in finishing this when......
I totally cut off the 'St.' in St. Patrick's Day....AAAAhhhhhhh! What a drag....in all honesty the colors seemed a bit drab anyway. What's worse is that even if I loved the colors, there really isn't room to redo this one. I think this could really be cute but I don't have the time or patience to find another stamp set to fit.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you look in your closet and it just seems as if you have nothing to wear? You know it's not true as your closet is full and yet nothing seems quite right. I'm having a stamping moment like that right now! There is just nothing to use! What's my problem!

I started to recycle an older card with this one.....

...didn't end up loving it either....I think it's cute but I do have to make 10 of these! Not really looking forward to paper pieces that many elephants as well as coloring in the little dots as the paper didn't come that way!.....so I am back to the drawing board with exactly 24 hours to go! I am feeling a little pressure right about now!

Ok...looking at the plus side....I found the stamp I was trying to find for Beate Johns sketch challenge...although I really won't have time to start it until Tuesday. I also came up with what I hope will be a really cute idea for Jen del Muro's sketch. Again, won't be able to try it out until Tuesday.

Back to the drawing board! :)

Quick Vent...

One quick vent before my day begins...last night I started a recorded 20/20. Right before it really started, Hayden woke up. I forgot to pause and went in his room to tend to him. I am sharing that bit of info because if I had seen the intro I would have deleted immediately. I wanted to record this to see the part about women my age becoming anorexic...I still don't really understand that whole thing...it makes me so sad that anyone gets to that point...I had a friend in high school who was and it was so hard to watch her starve herself...

Off track...

Anyway, I got back to my room just in time to see the wreckage of flight 1420. Not only that but another zoom of the front of the aircraft which is where I was sitting. Don't get me wrong, not walking in on that wouldn't take away my flash-backs. In fact they still pretty much occur daily....sounds, smells...you never know what will trigger them. But to actually see the plane again was more than disturbing. I was right back on that plane with all of the people that I couldn't help and ...well...stuff I would rather not share....

Darn you 20/20! I didn't rewind to see the beginning...I turned it off as quickly as I could find the remote. I do get, from the bit I heard, why they were showing this image...and the others...they wanted to let people know that many people actually survive these types of crashes.

Great....I still wish I hadn't walked in on this. There were far too many people on our flight that did not survive and I still have some of their faces burned in my memory. I do so hope that their families did not see this. I can't imagine how horrible for each of them.

Ok...thanks for listening. I am going to go hug my children. I thank God every day for surviving that crash. I thank God for each and every day I've had since.

Take care each of you!

Stttrreeeetttccchhhh...

Ok...so I'm trying to stretch myself. As I look over my last week of posts, it feels like I am on someone elses blog! Most of this stuff is just not my normal style....ok...if I have a style! Anyway, I am keeping with that tonight!

Sharon Johnson's latest challenge is keeping with that attempt. Here's my attempt at something out of the norm for myself.....
Notice...no decorator paper! ;)

I am so behind still! I have completed our project for class on Monday night. I still have not even started my cards for swap! AAaaahhhhhhhhHH! ...I don't even feel pressure yet!? Whaaat-ever.

Oh yeah...this card uses....Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White & River Rock card stock, Boho Background stamp set, Purely Pomegranate classic ink, a little bit of Urban West & Eastern Elegance rub-ons, Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, and some random pearl I got from...-?-. Just in case you feel it's worthy of repeating.

Hope you are all doing well. I am still looking for the stamp set that I am planning on using for Beate's sketch challenge, I need to check out Jen's blog for her challenge (...totally just peaked while getting the link for you...cute)....Most importantly, I owe about 10 cards for Monday night. 10!!!! I've got to get busy!

Is it bad to make a Halloween card in the middle of January?! One of my ideas screams Halloween. Uh!

I'm letting this go for now...I am off to either find the stamp for Beate's challenge or think of something for Jen's while I TRY to think of something really fun for card swap! ;)

Hope you are all well....thanks for listening to my tirade and I will post you soon!

I'm feeling inspired!

Remember when I said I overbought in an effort to get a certain hostess stamp set? I must confess that I have been so overwhelmed by all of my new toys that it has been very distracting! I have been so excited that I feel like everything has a sort of 'Oh man!'...ok...that is as in 'what the heck was she thinking' 'oh man'....not the 'oh man...that rocks!'...

I am calming down a bit. Trying to pace myself. Trying not to think about everything all at once. This is rather difficult for me. The stuff is so darn cute! I am so excited about everything.

Well almost everything....that brings me to the Azure paper again. I got this little box at Michaels sometime ago....do you know how many things I have laying around here waiting for a chance to be altered! I really haven't had the patience to do any of these as I have only had a few minutes it seems like lately for much of anything!

Anyway, I pulled out a retired stamp set that is in my box of 'sale' items and paired it with the Azure paper on this little box and viola...granted this is EPLS (easy peasy lemon squeezy) but I still think it's kind of cute....

So there it is....I think this is such a cute container and now I might like the paper...although, it matches nothing in my house...

Back on the subject of being inspired...I came up with a really...well, what I hope to be a really cute box...it's for Halloween. I am going to work on it. Beate has posted her weekend sketch challenge and I am really excited by an idea I have for this one.

First, clean the house...Second, cut and score card stock for camp....Third, card swap...Finally, MY stuff! Looking forward to everything this weekend...except for the cleaning part!

Take care and I will post you soon!

Warmest Regards Card

Ok...I told you all last night that I need a sympathy card. Let me first say that I have never made a card for this before. Shocking! But there you go. I didn't have one even lying around. So I search through my stamp sets looking for something. I found my Warmest Regards stamp set. I do love this set...but a sympathy card? I didn't know where to start.

Well, last night I didn't even get around to it. Hayden woke up right after I posted the chick card and was not up for going back to bed right away. By the time he went back down I was ready for bed myself!

...I'm totally rambling!

On my desk today was the Azure paper package. Azure!? I will say that when Stampin' Up came out with the Au Chocolat paper I was so excited! It is still a favorite of mine and I am starting to sweat since I am down to one unopened package! Still loved the Red and Gray versions...but with the new catalog came my one 'eh' reaction and that was to both the Olive Press and Azure versions of this paper. I actually ordered the Azure because of something Amy said. So here it is and I must confess, I've been even more uninspired since looking at it.

Well tonight I decided I must first make the sympathy card and I look over at the new distress ink I just purchased and the Azure was screaming for it. You know, I don't mind it so much anymore. In fact, I think I actually like it.

I do like it! ...Sam I am! :)

So here is the sympathy card....basic...oh, yeah! That does seem to be what I am most comfortable with.....

Ok...so here is a little something that tells you just how tired I am today....

You know you need a little sleep when adhere everything on the card the wrong way! It opens backwards! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Backwards! Uh!

....little side note as the Apprentice is on in the background....Gene Simmons really cracks me up! I really was too young to be a Kiss fan...I can remember there being a girl in Kindgergarten that was always wearing something with Kiss on it but I had never heard of them. I just remember thinking they looked freaky! I know they had some songs come out when I was in High School but ...ok...whatever....He's flipping hilarious!

Anyway...that's that...I am probably going to call it a night...yes I still need to work on card swap...yes, I still need to get all of my card stock ready for our next get together....yes, tomorrow is Friday and I am running out of time....what can I tell you...I have always worked better under pressure!...never really understood why.

Allright! Enough jabbering from me! I hope you are all doing well and are having really inspiring moments! I am off to sleep! ...which I am sure will come two seconds after I hit the bed!

Take care and I will see you soon!

One Good Egg

What a cute stamp set this is! I love this set! At first I thought this card would be my swap card.....

...the trouble is, while getting Hayden ready for bed I thought of something that might be cuter. So now I am sharing this one with all of you and am hopeful that my new idea turns out even better...or should I say...turns out!

For this card I used some random Michaels paper along with Stampin Up's Whisper White & Pretty in Pink papers. I also used Martha Stewart's ric rac and some feathers. I also used my clear spica pen and crystal effects and some jiggle eyes.

That's pretty much it. I am off to make a sympathy card which I really need by tomorrow. If it turns out I will post it. Wait....even I laughed at that! Since when did that ever affect whether I posted something or not! (the good, the bad, etc...!) I guess I should say, I hope it's not to hard on your eyes!

Hope you are all doing well and I will see you soon!

Bible Verse Challenge

While reading Taylor's blog the other day, I ran across her bible verse challenge. By challenge, she and several other gals are challenging themselves to study the bible more. This is such an inspirational 'challenge'. It feels like a great place for fellowship and I am so excited to participate....albeit, late! They will be posting the 8th of every month. Before I bungle up the directions for this further, I will just encourage you to pop over to her blog and check it out for yourselves. I hope you are all able to participate.

For this one I am sharing I Corinthians 13:13 which reads ' But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love'. Here is what I did...

I am so excited that these gals have started this. I hope you all get the chance to participate.

Take care and I will see you soon!

Sweet One Card

Sensory overload! Today I had another shipment from Stampin Up! arrive...my sale-a-bration pre-order arrived! Wow! The last few days have been like Christmas all over again! I couldn't wait to use the 'So Many Scallops' stamp set. Of course, this has been a day of no time!

After dropping the boys off to school, I had a PTO meeting. Then I was off to pickup from kindergarten...the half day really stinks! Then it's off to the bank, the grocery and then home for lunch. A friend came over to get some stamping stuff done. From there it was off to pickup my other son and then off to hockey practice....home to make dinner, put the baby to sleep, make the turtles for Evan's teacher's birthday gift, homework, play with Evan & Carter, put them to bed, and then....

Off to play!

...So excited to open up some new stamps! So excited to see the new sale-a-bration sets are die-cut! Were they last year and I just forgot? I really love the whole die-cut thing. Anyway, for some reason I wasn't really sure where to start! It was a little overwhelming to finally have some time for myself! I decided to play with the scallop stamp set and am so in love with this set!

.....

In addition to the scallop stamp set, I used a page from the Bali Breeze and one from the Cutie Pie DSP. I also used my scallop punch...and thanks to Taylor for posting a link to Mary Jo Albright's blog with this great technique for your scallop punch! How stinking cute!

...and that's that! Tomorrow should be a little calmer around here. I have a few calls to make to get some things in order for the cub scouts and for our spring fling and then I am free for whatever stamping venture I choose! I am hoping to get my calls in before Hayden's first nap so that I will have a little time in the morning to get started. I do still need to come up with something for Monday's card swap as I've shared all of my ideas so far! ...I can't swap something you've already seen! ;)

I hope you are all doing well and I will see you all soon! Take care and have a wonderful night!

Sharon Johnson's Challenge

So Saturdays are turning into challenge day for me! That wouldn't be complete anymore without another great challenge from Sharon Johnson! You can find the details here. I must say, Sharon really makes it hard for someone like me! :) By that I mean someone who likes to make the easy really difficult!

It's funny, when I look over my stuff, I always love the things that are the most basic. But, I can almost guarantee that there is some element to the card that I've made more difficult than it needs to be! I am so excited to have found Sharon! She really rocks!

For the card I am submitting I am using the Many Happy Returns. I would usually use my markers for a stamp like this...you know to color the words with different colors. At the very least, stamp it a few times is different colors to add to it. I did not allow myself to do this! AAAhhh! ;)

This card took about 15 minutes. That includes planning time! For me that is more than a miracle! How fun! I hope that you all like this....and I hope it sticks to the rules

Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow I am telling myself that I will be doing anything BUT a card! I am definitely the card queen! :) That's so my favorite thing!

Have a great night!

One More For Our Sketch Swap...

...still playing with my new toys! I made another example for our sketch card swap....

Here it is open....


















For this card I used: Card stock - pumpkin pie, whisper white, & Jersey Shore; Ink - basic black, copic markers, spica glitter pen; Ribbon - pumpkin pie grosgrain ribbon; Hodgepodge hardware.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are all doing well. I am off to make some lunch and play with the boys a little bit. I will stamp again once Hayden is taking a nap.

See ya soon!

2 For Beate

How exciting is this day! The big brown truck came by with a nice big box for me! How completely exciting! I was so excited to play with my new toys that I made two cards for Beates weekend sketch challenge....although, one really isn't worth showing...but you know, 'the good, the bad, the what's this?'.

We'll start there....

I was so excited to use the new chunky essentials glitter and the sticky cuts letters. For some reason I was thinking 'Laverne & Shirley'. I'm sure I really just aged myself! I used to love that show. The paper is Spring Fling. Every sheet is really cute. I am so excited about my new papers! The sentiment is from Many Happy returns...and this one is the reason I bought the stamp! ...well that and the hearts content, and the tickled pink, and the lickety-split, and the...oh...who am I kidding...I love the whole thing!

Here's the next one....I really, REALLY, love this stamp set! So much that I bought the scrap kit as well......

The paper from the Simply Scrappin kit is gorgeous! I am so in love with this paper! ...and of course, I think this is the cutest stamp set. I love it!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you all have a wonderful night!

My Favorite Things Challenge

Here's a card I wanted to share with you. I made this for the My Favorite Things guest designer challenge. For this challenge you had to make something...not square or rectangle! I read about this last night and instantly thought of an umbrella with my My Favorite Things Rain or Shine stamp set. Here's my card...

How fun was this to make! I drew the template for the umbrella this morning and tweaked it between Haydens nap and school pick-ups. Then once it was put together I decided I had to emboss the heck out of it as an umbrella should be shiny, right?!

Hope you like this and thanks for looking. I am off to put up yet another baby gate! We had to order a really big one for the main staircase. I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this gate as the first thing Hayden does on the main floor is head for these stairs! I am so behind on baby-proofing!

Take care!

Crazy Crazy Crazy Week...

....and what day is it? Wednesday! It seems like I have fit an entire month in the past couple of days! On the plus side, I feel like I have been very productive around my house, with my PTO stuff and some of my other commitments. On the down side, this is the first time I've been able to stamp in a couple of days!

...and with my new watermark completed! Thank you to my brother in-law, Doug, for helping to make that whole thing possible! I quite frankly could not have done that one on my own! I was so bummed to not have anything to put it on so I reposted another picture to test it out. Works like a charm! ***...that after he had to walk me through, step by step, as to how to add it to my photos! ;)

Ok....so I am still working on my card swap card and finishing up my plans for our next get together...this is taking up most of my stamping time for today but I did want to post something, so I put together this card....



*********Will repost at a later date....sorry....had to remove for a short time....************

Simple. But I think it's pretty cute. This is another stamp I have not used. It is my mission to use what I buy from now on! Moving along! I must confess that I did smudge my heart slightly...tried to make it work. Larry and I had a couple of glasses of wine tonight...what can I say! Long day!

Hope you like it. I do love this stamp set. Thanks again to Doug for the watermark! So awesome!

...and one more thing....if you haven't already seen this....give it up for Bobbi! She uploaded her first cards to splitcoast! Wooohooo! Check her gallery out here! Great job Bobbi! I love your cards they are all so very cute!

Have a great night y'all!

Birthday Card for My Sons Teacher

My oldest sons teacher has a birthday coming up. That I feel the need to make a new card for this is a bit strange! I have a box full of birthday cards! None of them seem quite right for her though. I thought I needed something new.

Hey...it gave me a stamping purpose tonight and sometimes I just need that! Anyway, here's what I came up with....

Here's a list of supplies I used for this card...sorry, I always forget to include this! Au Chocolat decorative paper (retired), Soft Sky card stock and ink, Chocolate Chip ink, Very Vanilla card stock, ribbon from Martha Stewart, clear Spica pen, Eat Cake, and Hugs & Wishes stamp sets from Stampin' Up!.

I really love this card. I am going to make a few more. I am hoping my sons teacher will love this as well.

I am off. Medium is about to start. I must confess that I am a huge fan of this show. I have been anxiously waiting to see what would happen! It was such a huge cliffhanger last year. I am trying to give it a chance to play so that I am able to fast forward through the commercials...not sure that I will be that patient! Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful night! Take care!

Back to School! & Lindsay's Card

What a crazy day this has been! Our first day back to school! I must admit, I am one of the crazy moms that wasn't all that excited about that! I really have enjoyed all of the play time with the boys over the last couple of weeks! It was nice to get together with friends today and have a little grown-up time...as much as you can have chasing a 9 month old around! But all in all the day seemed more hectic than anything!

Part of this is getting back to business with my volunteer stuff. Spring fling planning is beginning for our school. I am actually in charge of this one. I am really excited about this! I can't wait to present my ideas! I was totally thinking of an animal thing and dinner and then my good friend Nancy said something about magic and ...wow!...I think that would be even better! I can't wait! I think my kids are going to love this! ...whatever we do! ;)

This is pretty much the first time I have sat at my desk all day! In just a couple of minutes it will be bedtime and then I will do a little stamping! Woohoooo! I am so excited because I have some new shows to watch...what happened last night on Desperate Housewives? I think there are some other new ones coming on tonight. What a fun night of stamping and tv. My husband is working tonight so that will be good! In just a bit I will hopefully post with something stunning!...ok....maybe not stunning....but at least fun! ;)

Until then, here's a card from card swap that I would love to share with you.
Post you soon! :)

Good Thing for No Time To Stamp

Well, I have often perused through Sharon Johnson's blog 'No Time to Stamp'. I think that she has such a great blog with so many really cute cards and projects. ...blogs! I love them! Thanks to you all for creating such beautiful work and sharing it so generously with stampers like me!

Anyway, Sharon hosts a really fun Stamp Simply Challenge. This week I am making an attempt! ...and here it is!...........





I think this is pretty simple but still pretty cute. Time well spent has been a favorite of mine since I received it! I really wish that it wasn't a level three hostess as I want all of my customers to be able to get this set! It's so fun!

I hope you like this. I really had a great time making it! Have a wonderful night and I will see you all soon!

Shopping Bella & Jen's Sketch Challenge

Here is my contribution to Jen del Muro's weekend sketch challenge.

This was another fun sketch from Jen. I encourage you all to give this one a try. I hope you like this. I am off to play with the little ones.

I will be posting some card swap cards later today. I really love sharing those! I will also be working on my own card for our first sketch swap. If any of you decide to participate, please let me know. I would love to see your beautiful work and link or post it here.

Take care and have a wonderful afternoon!

Another Happy Day! & Beate's WSC 29

I am really loving this set! It is so cute and so much fun! I am thinking that I will use this for treats for my son to pass out at valentines day at school. ...I might need to get started on that soon!

Anyway, this is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. You can find out more about it here. I guess if I said I loved sketch challenges I would really start to sound like a broken record!...start to???? But I do really love them!

I hope y'all like this one. I had a great time making it!
Take care and have a wonderful night!

The Virtual Swap

Woohooo! Our first virtual swap.

For anyone new to my blog, we started a virtual swap so that my friends that aren't local could participate in our card swaps. I really love our card swap. It's so much fun for many reasons. First, I love getting together with all of my card making friends. Second, I love getting so many new and really cute cards! I am such a card fanatic! I always say I am ready for any card moment at any time but I do always have trouble giving my card swaps away! My collection is growing!

Well, the virtual swap will at least satisfy one of my loves, the love of the card. I still really wish that we were all close enough to get together while we were swapping. ;(

So grab your martini and let the swap begin!

My lovely sister, Ann, contributed this card. This was actually her Christmas card. Can you believe she mass produced this thing! Super cute! I really love this. I am so excited she was able to play!

You can find Ms. Lisa's contribution here. Another beautiful card! Lisa, we all want to be you! She is always so careful with each and every detail. I am always impressed with how meticulous she is with her work. Each card is always a work of art!

And finally, here's my contribution...

For my card I used the Apple Cider paper from SU!'s last mini as well as really rust & brocade blue & very vanilla card stock. I also used rich regal brads and brocade blue 5/8 ribbon. The stamp is a bella and is called cosmobella. I colored her martini green to go with my favorite flavor of honeydew. I used to get these at Red Star Tavern which is no more here.

I hope you all enjoy this first virtual swap. I look forward to many more!

Cheers!

Super Bella

My Bella's have arrived! I am so in love with these stamps. I ordered a few of the Bellas after Christmas and was so excited to see that they had arrived today. What a perfect day for a new stamp! So I decided to use one of my new Bellas with the SCS challenge 157. Not surprised are you? If there is a challenge I will follow! ;) ...love the challenge!

Anyway, here's my submission....

If you have a chance and haven't already you should give this sketch a try. You can find it here. Thanks so much for looking! I hope you like this one!

Have a great night! I am off to crash! Which with the day I have had is totally not far off from what is about to happen! ;) Good news but such stress! Totally exhausting!

See you all soon!

Doing the Happy Dance!

I just got home from the dr's office....which is really a black hole...you can wait for hours to be seen by the dr at an oncologists office....today they forgot to get my check-in slip to the nurses who take your vitals so I waited even longer!...didn't even realize as I was watching tv and not paying attention....this is the one place you would think they would get you in and out....if you are actively sick you don't want to waste a second in a dr's office...you want to spend as much time as possible living!

Rambling....ranting really....sorry...anyway, my scans are all clear! I am so excited! I am now (almost exactly) 4 years out of treatment! I can hardly believe it! Thanks so much for all of your positive words and for listening when I was feeling stressed. I am so thankful for each and every one of you!

I am off to hopefully do a little stamping. I ordered some bella stamps at Christmas and they just arrived. I am thinking I will give them a try while waiting on my new Stampin' Up! stuff....so excited about the new catalog! Love it!

Coffee Invite

What a crazy day this has been. I must confess that I have busied myself with anything I could think of. I am slightly nervous about my dr.'s appointment tomorrow. That's the day I will get the results of my PET scan. While I am really not expecting anything other than another all clear, I can't help but freak out prior to each and every scan. The good side of this stress is that my house is always sooo much cleaner! Of course this time around you can't tell that much as I had the Christmas decorations to take down and that took forever!

On to something little more depressing! ;) One of my greatest friends here will be moving in February. I am so bummed about this. She is such a great gal...and will never see this as she is so not a stamper! ;) She came to a camp I had once and was quite the trooper but it's just not her thing! Because she is not a stamper, I feel safe that she will not see this!

Some of us get together for coffee every so often...as often as we can!...so for our last hoorah I thought I would actually make invitations...just to make sure she doesn't forget how OOC I really am...that's 'out of control'!

I am thinking I will tweak the size of the invite or coffee cup as I am not that fond of the cup handle hanging out. Eh...whatever, thought I would post anyway. If I make any changes I will post that as well. Can you tell it's a coffee cup? I am definitely not an artist! ;)

I hope you all like this one. I hear the baby crying which means not a great night for sleep! So I better dash.

Take care and have a wonderful evening. I will post tomorrow with my test results. Thanks so much for all of your well wishes.

Jen B

A New Scrapbook for the Bucks

I'm starting to wonder with this bind-it-all if I will ever need to buy another scrapbook again! I so love this thing! I bought some chipboard from All that Scraps and it is so awesome! It is the heaviest I have found so far. Once things calmed down here a bit I started to work on this little book.

I really love this machine! I am going to use this book for a year by year of my family since my husband and I got married. I think it will be fun. Of course, I will have to have some of the thousands of pictures developed now! So sad, they are all on disks!

Here's a little bit closer of the stamped image...

While I do still think I need lots of practice with my Copic markers, I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I am having so much fun with them.

This is another stamp set that I had yet to mount. I really love this one. It is so cute and super fun.

Periodically I will post some pictures from this book.

I hope you are all having a great night. I am going to spend a few more minutes trying to clean my desk and then off to bed. I am hoping for another night like last. Hayden actually slept from 6 to 5:51AM! Notice I know the exact time! When he finally cried this morning I jumped up and the first thing I did was look at the clock and was completely shocked it was so late! Amazing!

Take care!