Oh What A Night...

Wow! Talk about a night last night! Have you ever had one of those moments when every idea sort of, well, skunks? That was me last night.

It's Tuesday! Woohooo! Time for another fun inspiration challenge from Beate! The inspiration piece is so very pretty and serene....This is from a Martha Stewart ad...I think... I love the colors...I love the crispness of everything! It's just so soft and serene!

So last night I start to work on my card for this and nothing is working! Here's my card...

I wanted to use the colors from the picture....blue and white with a splash of something. I love the wall hanging on the very right side of the inspiration piece...that's where I picked up the scallop on the side of my card. First I had a black 'frame' for it. That was to much. Then I paper pierced the scallops...not enough...I though about adding gems...to blingy...is that even possible! Then I opted for the pearls. Ahhh....love the pearls.

My new Fresh Cuts stamp set arrived yesterday and I wanted to use it...couldn't wait! Especially since mounting required only peeling the backing off and sticking it to the wood! Gotta love those die cuts! I stamped it in black on the other side and then added the sentiment. Then I thought 'I need a ribbon'....never found a place that it worked. It just made everything seem to busy. So then I pulled out my liquid pearls and added some red to the berries on the flowers and there you go.

Simple and Serene.

Now let's head over to the rest of Beate's team to see what they came up with for the BIC#16....Charmaine, Danielle, Dawn, Silke, and Susan....then I will be off to see what you guys come up with. I really love seeing all of the different directions everyone goes with these! It's so much fun!

I hope you all have a wonderful day! It's a rainy one here but it's the last day of school...and a half day at that! I was hoping to take the boys for ice cream but who wants to sit outside for that! Guess we may actually have to head to an indoor place instead.

Yay for summer! Post you soon! :)

Blog Candy Winner

Hello to you all! I wanted to post a quick update on the blog candy winner.

...And the winner is.....

Shari Anne the Happy Crafter

I also drew two other names for a small give-away....What can I say....with that many posts I can't leave it at just one!

....And the winners are.....

Lisa Petersen

and....

lmm

Congrats to you all! Please send me your snail mail so that I can get your goodies out to you!

Thanks again for all of your support and kind words! I really enjoy sharing all of my creations with you...and rambling rambles.... You guys rock!

Take care and have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and check things out tomorrow. I will post the kindy scrapbook I am making for my sons teacher.

Have a great one! :)

Page Plans Sunday!

It's time for another fun sketch from Page Plans. This weeks sketch comes from the great Renee Morris-Dezember. Take a look at this...

I love this sketch. It's very clean. For my first card I used Papertrey Ink's Green Thumb stamp set and Sweet Blush paper. I love Sweet Blush! Here's the card...

Here's a list of supplies:

1.) Green Thumb stamp set Papertrey Ink
2.) Whisper White card stock SU
3.) Sweet Blush card stock Papertrery Ink
4.) Sweet Blush satin ribbon Papertrey Ink
5.) Black gingham ribbon Stampin Up
6.) Spring Moss ink Papertrey Ink
7.) Sweet Blush ink Papertrey Ink
8.) Basic Black ink SU
9.) Swiss Dot embossing plate

My second card uses another stamp from the Fun Night Out set from Unity Stamp Company. Here's the card...

Here's a list of supplies:

1.) Basic Grey patterned paper Figgy Pudding
2.) Whisper White card stock Stampin’ Up!
3.) Fun Night Out stamp set from Unity Stamp Company
4.) Chipboard heart from Stampin Up
5.) Black organdy ribbon from SU
6.) Celebrate metal embellishment from Making Memories
7.) Circle Nestibilites

I hope you all get a chance to play with this weeks card sketch. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Don't forget to get your cards posted by Saturday to be eligible for the prize!

Hope you have a wonderful morning. I am off to get the pictures ready to post the tutorial for the 'Queen for a day' box. Thank you so much for all of the sweet emails and comments! You guys are so supportive! Thank you!

Post you soon!

Happy Saturday!

Hello to you all!

I'm so excited! Tonight I have three new cards/projects to share with you guys! I am entering in Unity Stamp Companies design contest. Here is my first card. I used the Fun Night Out stamp for this one. Love this giant martini glass! ...but I don't have a problem...but hey, a good cosmo would be great right about now! I used my copics to color this in and then went over it with crystal effects to make it all shiny. The ribbon is from Michaels...it's Martha Stewart...and the paper is...ok...need to remember to save that little strip next time!

Ok...off to project number two...This one uses Giggle Grove. I made a scrapbook page with this one. I used a picture of Carter that I absolutely love. That little guy has the funniest expressions and smiles. Here it is...I love this set! I paper pieced the bird with some patterned paper from Stampin Up. I also colored in part of the leaves with my copics. I used black, whisper white, and soft sky card stock.

And finally.....I used Queen For A Day...this is a really fun set! There are a ton of pictures for this one. I wanted to make sure and get every angle....If anyone wants directions let me know and I will be happy to send you the measurements...ready....

I think this would be such a great gift for a mom...I thought of this while my husband was out of town for Mother's day! I needed a box like this!

Here's the top of the box....

Here's a side view of the box....Open it looks like this.....Here's the contents of the box....There's a little manicure set, nail polish, nail files...in a matchbook container, lotion, and a wallet to put gift certificates in.

That's it for me! Thanks so much, Angela for the opportunity!

Hope you all have a great weekend and I will post you tomorrow!

Let's Stamp Simply!

I so love Fridays and I love Sharon Johnson and her wonderful Stamp Simply challenges! I really feel like participating in these challenges has helped me to realize that you don't always have to spend hours creating! Sometimes the most beautiful projects are those quickie little 10 minute job-bers.

Yes, I just create words as I go...just smile and nod...

This weeks challenge is such a super fun one! Think black and white....and pink all over! Ok...you can use any color other than pink...but you can't leave out the black and white....and you can use many shades of that other color but really you are only using three colors for this weeks challenge.

...I opted for pink as my third color. Here's my card....Ok...first let me share that this card was a casualty of war...and by that I mean that my baby got his hands on it before I took the picture. If you look really close you will find the flaw....it's sort of the 'where's waldo' for card making.

So off to the rest of the team for more inspiration. Be sure and check out Julie, Dee, Becky, Tammy, and Janine.

Thanks for stopping by! I will post you soon! :)

The PTI Blog Hop

Tonight's the night of the Papertrey blog hop. I really loved participating last month. It was so much fun to explore all of the blogs...many of which were new to me. The cards and projects were amazing!

This months challenge is to use score lines as accents in your project. I must confess this really intrigued me. I'm not really sure that I have ever done this before. I think this may be my first.

Well, I will share that I knew I wanted a grid with different images in the squares. I really love how your first idea just sort of morphs into something slightly...although sometimes completely...different! This time I stayed with my first basic idea but some of the things that I had intended on adding were omitted. I ended up loving the simplicity of the card.

Here's what I came up with...

I am hooked on the Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set and paper so this became a baby card. I had these little baby 'hat' pins that I purchased from my LSS that I thought added a nice touch to the ribbon.

Well, I am off to visit your blogs and see what you guys came up with. Thanks so much, Nichole for such a fun challenge. You helped me think out of my norm and I really appreciate that.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by! I hope that you all have a wonderful night! I will see you in the forum! ;)

Can You Believe It's Wednesday Already!

Wow! The week really flies when you have a three day weekend doesn't it? I cannot believe that it is Wednesday already! Well Wednesday's here mean another try at the Page Plans sketch. This weeks sketch was so much fun! Here's what I did with my second card...

For this card, I used Papertrey Ink's new stamp set Bitty Baby Blessings. This is such a sweet set. I also used Papertrey's Bitty Baby Blessings patterned paper and a little satin Lavender Moon ribbon....love that satin ribbon! I opted to punch another scallop circle and then cut it in half to go outside of the circle. I also paper pierced inside of each scallop. Here's a complete supply list:

1.) Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set Papertrey Ink
2.) Bitty Baby Blessings paper Papertrey Ink
3.) Lavender Moon card stock Papertrey Ink
4.) Lavender Moon satin ribbon Papertrey Ink
5.) Basic Black ink Stampin’ Up!
6.) 1 3/8” punch SU
7.) Scallop circle punch SU

Hope you are all have a wonderful Wednesday! I will post you all soon!

One Scrappy Card

Hey! It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another super fun inspiration challenge from Beate...BIC15. I really love these challenges. I love how there are so many things that can get your creative juices flowing.

Here's this weeks inspiration piece taken from a JCrew ad....This is such a pretty dress. It seems so fun and festive but the colors seem so calm to me. I love the splash of orange in the midst of the grey, blue and greens. I chose to work with the colors from this piece and see where they took me.

Where was that you ask? Ok...I'll ask for you...right to my scrap paper pile!....

Oh, I finally figured out how to turn the flash off on my camera. Just a little tidbit of info. I used some of my scraps to make this card. I would be impressed if the pile of scraps wasn't as big as it is and if I did this on more of a regular basis! I either need to chuck them or strive to use them more often!

Well that's it for me. Be sure and check out the rest of Beate's team. They are always making the cutest cards! Charmaine, Danielle, Silke, Susan...Dawn is still on vacation...lucky girl! Hope she's having a great time!

I hope you all have a fantabulous day! I'm going to be playing catch up around here. You would think that since we were home for this holiday weekend there wouldn't be much to do. Somehow I am really behind on everything! I'm hoping that everyone cooperates and then I will be all caught up!

Take care and I will post you soon! :)

Rock On!

Happy Sunday! It's sure a beautiful one here! It's actually supposed to be in the 80's today. I'm so excited! I love warm weather!

Well, it's time for another fantabulous Page Plans sketch! This weeks comes to you from the awesome talent of Renee Morris-Dezember! Here's this weeks sketch...

For today's card I used some paper I picked up at Archiver's a while back. Here's my issue...I always forget to save the little strippy thing so that I can share the manufacturing info with all of you. I'm so sorry! Here's my card....

The brads came from the same company. If I am remembering correctly there was a whole display and there is actually a matching ribbon set as well. I love when everything matches! It is an obsession of mine. I decided to try my hand at drawing and made the little guitar. Then I used my computer to print out the sentiment. This card is soooo EPLS!

I hope you guys get a chance to play with this weeks sketch. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I will share my second card with you guys on Wednesday. I used my Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set from Papertrey for that one.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Take care and happy stamping! :)

40K Blog Candy

Hey! Hope you are all having a great night! We've had a pretty fun and relaxing day. I really love holidy weekends. I love not having any commitments. It's nice to take it easy and just be. Not very often that that happens!

Here's the photo of my blog candy for this go around. I am sorry...we've been at the neighbors having a little get together. There is ribbon, paper, Primas and a clear stamp from Archivers that comes with some sticky pearls. I had to get the boys to bed so I am rushing through this so don't be surprised if I throw in a couple more things before actually sending this. I am so tired right now that I am seeing double so I will wait until tomorrow to check.

Here's the photo...So to be entered in this drawing all you need to do is leave a post on this entry. I will use my dad's randomizer for this again and let you know who the winner is. How about we put an entry deadline at May 31...I will announce the winner on June 1.

I hope you are all doing well and I will post you all soon! Good luck and happy stamping! :)

Oh My Goodness!

Well, I actually have hit the 40K mark! When did that happen!? I just noticed as I was trying to get caught up on all of your blogs. Thanks so much for coming by and visiting me and thanks so very much for all of your encouraging words! You guys are so sweet!

Well, I am in the middle of getting things cleaned here...the place is a dump right now! Gotta take advantage during the naps! I am going to go through my stuff as soon as I am caught up and put together a little blog candy. I promise to post it before bed tonight.

I thought I would share the EPLS project we did at class the other night. This is the candy holder we made....

Thanks again for all of your support! You are all just so super sweet and I really can't tell you how much all of your kind words mean!

Hope you are all having a fabulous Saturday and weekend! :)

It's Time To Get Buggy!

How fun is Sharon's Stamp Simply Challenge (#36) this week! For this one you need to include a bug in your card. What to do if you don't have a bug stamp? Well just use something that 'bugs' you!

Ok...I'll confess...being the mom of three boys, I have a few stamps with bugs on them. So one morning I am thinking about which little creature will make it to the front of this weeks card...I'm sitting out on the deck enjoying the cold spring morning and what do my eyes see???? A sweet furry little bunny...oh how sweet???!!! NO!!! The little rodent was eating my daylillies down to the ground! Ugghhh!

Yup, I know, the little guy was hungry. He could have hopped right up and eaten the bagel right out of my hand and I would have been happier than I was at that moment! So in homage to that SWEET (NOT) bunny...here's my card for this week! ;)

Now, I want to assure you all that no bunny was hurt in the making of this card....yet...but if he eats another one of my plants I may have to rethink that!

Ok...it's your turn. Let's see what 'bugs' you. Feel free to use a bug stamp...hey they bug too! Just wait until June when the Japanese beetles come out...I will really rant about those! ...and although I would never hurt the bunnies...I can honestly say that I will take down as many of the beetles as possible! Hey, I live in a place that really only allows a couple of good months of color...I am not going to let some shiny bug ruin that!

Be sure and check out the rest of Sharon's team. These gals are always producing the cutest stuff! Julie, Dee, Becky, Tammy, and Janine.

:) Ok...I hope you are all lol...and that you are all ready to stamp. I am off for another busy day...ok...I am actually off to bed at the time of posting this but you will probably see it in the morning...and...wow, that's a bit of a mind bender for me right now!

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations! Take care and have a happy Friday! :)

Another Page Plans

Hello to you all! Sorry it's taken so long to post this today. We just got home a few minutes ago and things have finally settled down. What a crazy day!

I wanted to share another Page Plans card. I pulled out The Cat's Pajama's for this one again...sorry...I'm on a kick! Here it is...

This was such a fun sketch. I hope you all get to play. Be sure and link your cards if you do so that you can be entered in the drawing for the prize! I look forward to seeing all of your fabulous cards!

I'm off to get a little stamping done. I haven't done that all day and I didn't get much done last night either! ...I'm suffering withdrawals!

Hope you all have a wonderful night...or day...depending on where you are!

Take care! :)

Love Struck

...which is what I am currently with this stamp! How cute are these little robots! Ok...so living in a house with three little boys and one big little boy ;)...it's always nice to find some really cute 'masculine' stamps. Love these robots! They are perfect for little boys....big or little....

Oh...guess I should show you the card...wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Ok...first...it's time for Beate's Inspiration Challenge #14! Wooooohooooo! Now, I know I always say this...and I mean it evertime I say it....but I LOVED the inspiration piece this week!

Here it is...

I love the colors in this! They are so bright and sunny. You know...I wish I had this whole place setting for my own table!

Ok...so on to the card...Here's my take on the inspiration piece...

...how cute are those little robots! They're adorable! Well this was a super fun piece. I had a ton a fun with it!

Be sure and check out the rest of the Inspiration team for some really fantabulous projects...Charmaine Ikach, Danielle Lounds, Dawn McVey, Silke Ledlow, and Susan Roberts.

Hope you are all having a wonderful morning! I will post you all soon!

A Little Birthday EPLS

Hello to you all! I cannot believe it's Monday already!...and another 4AM morning for me! Hayden is definitely teething again. It's such a bummer for the little guy. He never sleeps very well during this time. It's a bummer for me because I really like sleep! I did not get a nap yesterday because he's really hit or miss with his naps. Yesterday it was only a 30 minute nap...I'm sorry...but that's not really a nap at all!

Tonight is my stamp clubs meeting. We are going to be working with pencils tonight. Love that! We are making an EPLS candy holder. This is one of my favs...why...because I love candy! hint hint! ;)...just kidding! I love this because I think they look so cute and they are really easy to do. Who knows...you may have done a version of this yourself!

How fun is that! ...and EPLS! It's really just a card wrapped around a package of Ghiradelli chocolates. I also like to use the Harry and David chocolates you can now find at Target. I love! the chocolate covered fruit. The packages are the perfect size for this as well.

Tonight we are doing the smaller version. I use that version when I am bagging loose candy like M&M's or Jellybellies. I can't really show you that picture yet since someone in my group might see it and I don't want to spoil the surprise! ;) The measurements for the smaller version are 51/2 X 11. I score from both ends at 5 1/2 and then fold the sides up. I really like using the crop-a-dial to punch a hole and use my jumbo eyelets to feed the ribbon through. That's a fav of mine. I really treat the front like a card and then make a matching little gift card to go with it. EPLS! Gotta love that! Hey, sometimes you just don't have enough time to breathe! You really need things to be easy!

I promise that I will share another candy holder with you guys that I love. It's pretty easy as well but a little more involved. I will include a tutorial with that one. If you need or want more specific measurements or info for the one on this post feel free to email and I will be happy to send it over to you.

One 3-D project...check...need to catch up on scrapbooking...do I even dare challenge myself with that...oooohh...not really ready to put a check by that yet but I'm not saying no either. All on almost no sleep! Well...maybe I'm delirious!

Hope it's a good one for you guys! Hayden just woke up. That makes it an hour and half nap! Wooohooo! I got in a little bit of exercise, a shower, and a post! Success! :)

Take care and I will post you soon! :)

The Queen of Everything

Yeah...I wish that was me! As I write this, I've been up since 4AM with the baby, scrubbed some yucky cereal up off of the floor and feed everyone breakfast...that is not the life of a self respecting queen! ;) ...Of course, I really wouldn't change it for anything!...but it would be nice to be able to hire someone to clean the yucky cereal and fix the breakfast! ;)


I got this new stamp from the Cat's Pajama's the other day and couldn't wait to use it! Lucky for me I had this fantastic sketch from Chris Ross for this weeks Page Plans sketch....

Now on to the card. I have to share a bit with you first. I am a paper junkie. By that I mean I have a really hard time passing it up. Whether I am stocking up on all of the new designer packages from Stampin' Up! or buying it by the sheet at my LSS...I just can't walk away. It's really not a problem except that I really don't sit down and make multiple cards. If you get one of my cards in the mail...except for Christmas or swap cards...you can bet that's the only one I've made. Are you getting where I am going with this? I have soooo much decorative paper that I use once and the rest of the 12X12 sheet just sits in a paper tray on my desk or in my paper storage keepers. Well, needless to say these are both overflowing!

This week I decided to just keep on using it. It's a first! I do it all the time with my SU paper but I have an entire package of that when I am using it. Same thing with my PTI paper. But when I buy a sheet from my LSS I don't want to not have it anymore...the collector in me strikes again! While cleaning out my stamping space the other day I came across lots of paper that I really don't like anymore at all! Why? Because it's so old and I didn't want to use it up so I still have it! That's a problem! So todays card is using the same paper I used for Sharon's challenge Friday.

Ok...I love this paper...I only had one sheet...there's not enough left to save...I might cry!...but I love both the cards I made with it. I'm happy with that. Sorry...rambling through my breakfast shake!

I'm off...I just checked the time. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! It is looking like it will be another beautiful day here...of course this is Indiana...you never know what's in store at this time of year!

Post you all soon! :)

Supply List:
1.) Sweet Blush card stock Papertrey Ink
2.) Whisper White card stock Stampin’ Up!
3.) Basic Grey decorative Paper
4.) The Cat’s Pajama stamp set Loving Mew
5.) Pearls from LSS
6.) Sweet Blush satin ribbon Papertrey Ink
7.) Nestibilities smooth and scallop circles
8.) Copic markers
9.) Spica pens
10.) Basic Black ink Stampin Up

Beate's WSC #48

I'm happy to say that my sons team won! Woohooo! He gets so excited! He's very cute because after the first time his team lost he was a bit bummed. We had quite the long discussion of just exactly what this is about. You know the drill...it's not about winning...it's about how you play the game....the biggest reason we play is that we love the game and we have a great time...that kind of thing. Now that's what he talks about more than anything else....but he does get excited when they win! Especially when he has a great play. He did really well tonight which was fun to see! He did strike out once but he kept his chin up and rooted for the rest of the guys. What fun it was!

So we're home and I was able to finish up my card for Beate's WSC #48. Ok...my card is pretty simple. I relied mainly on the decorative paper...which is one of my favorite things ever! I also sewed on the card...another one of my favorite things! ...and I used my copics!...a HUGE fav of mine! I'm really loving them! Wishing I had a few more.......in time! ;)

So here's my card...

Well that's it for me tonight. I have my project to get ready for our Monday night class. It's 3-D but I am not reinventing the wheel for this one. I remember seeing some sort of candy holder somewhere...problem is I can't for the life of me remember where that was! I am going to try and create something similar from memory...who knows how that will go! I will post it for you guys Monday. I will also have another Page Plans sketch card to share for you tomorrow. I really love having new stuff to share!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful day! It's been a busy but fun one here....and I am happy to report that I am now off to bed...well, once I have a chance to catch up on some of my computer stuff.

I will post you all tomorrow! Have a wonderful night!...or day!...depending on where you are! :)

Hippity Hoppity!

...quickity post....you know, I should start putting dork alert in the title! ;)

Just a quick little card before running off to another baseball game. I really do feel like we live at the ballpart currently! Not that that is a bad thing. I really enjoy watching the boys play. The older they get the more exciting it is. But every now and then you just want to veg! hmmm...not sure I can even remember what that is like anymore!

On to a card...

And I'm off! One quick note. I am going to be expanding my horizons! By that I mean that I will be posting more 3-D items. Why am I sharing that you ask? Because if I don't say it outloud then I will always be able to come up with an excuse as to why I do not have time for that! My little stamping group has requested some gifty type items to prep for Christmas...of course they aren't all going to have a Christmas theme but you know you can always make changes! ;)

I am a person who needs deadlines. I just don't prioritize my time well without them. On that note...I will be posting my card for Beate's WSC today! How's that for giving myself a deadline! It's started and sitting on my desk right now. I've already colored the image in fact. But again...without a deadline there is a good chance it will go off into this messy little pile I have of incomplete stuff.

Ok...now that I have shared way to much of my dark side I am truly off to get ready for todays game!

I hope that you are all enjoying a wonderful, fantabulous Saturday! It's finally just absolutely beautiful here today! Which is a good thing because it should start raining again tomorrow! :(

Post you all soon...Like sometime this evening! Deadlines! Whether self imposed or not...they are really important! ;)

Take care! :)

Are You Going To Convention???

I do really love sharing good news with all of my stamping friends. I love that you are all so super supportive! I got the best call yesterday from Stampin' Up!. A couple of months ago I entered the Artisan Award contest that SU hosted. They would choose 10 winners for this and I am happy and, well, shocked to share that I am one of the lucky (and most honored!) winners. I cannot tell how wonderful that news was yesterday.

Most of the projects I created I have already shared with you guys...but I haven't shared everything and can't because I didn't take pictures! What??? That's right! No pictures! I found out about this contest really late in the game and had only two nights to complete the projects and then overnight them in the mail to get them to SU by the deadline. I pulled two all-nighters and was truly seeing double by the end of those two days and I thought I took the pictures but can't seem to find them if I did!

The good news is that they will be at convention! The better news is that my DH actually said that I must go! How sweet is that! He's changing a few things with his schedule so that I can go to this! I am so excited. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them once I have them....of course that is not until the end of July...but you know I won't forget.

So for all of the SU demos out there...I would love to know if you are going and if you are I would love to meet you! It would be so awesome to meet some of my online stamping friends! I was also super excited to see on SCS that there are lots of swaps to participate in while there. If you are a veteran convention goer please give me the inside scoop on these. I would love to participate in some of them.

Fun, fun, fun! I am so excited to see what this is all about! Thanks for letting me share! I hope you are all having a wonderful day! ;)

Time To Stamp Simply!

Hello to you all! I am so excited about this weeks stamp simply challenge...#35! Sharon has such a fun one for us! This week we need to use panels...three panels. You can put them in any configuration...they can be any shape...you decide!

I pulled out my She's All That stamp set and used it again. Let me tell you, I love this set! I also used pink...which has become my 'signature color'!...pulling out my very best southern accent for that one....although being from the south it's not that much of a challenge!

...and here's my card......how much do I love this set! ...and obviously I love pink!

Be sure and check out the rest of Sharon's team...they always have such great ideas: Julie Koerber, Dee Jackson, Tammy Hershberger, Janine Orchard, Becky Oehlers.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing all of your fabulous creations!

Take care and happy stamping! :)