Because I Care!

I made this card and bag for my friend who just had surgery and then complications. I feel so bad for her. I wanted to let her know that I am thinking of her so I will be sending this over filled with some Bath and Body Products so she can pamper herself. I haven't used my cuttlebug in a while and I was missing it, so I pulled it out as well as my swiss dot embossing folder. I used my sympathy set, but just replaced the sentiments with ones that worked for the occasion. I love the flowers from this set. For the bag, I kept it simple since it most likely will be thrown away. I added some of the retired patterns DSP and another stamped image. She is not a girly girl, so this is really a stretch. I wanted to keep it cheery, though. It was hard for me to get a good shot of the set because of the time of day. I hope everyone has a safe, happy Halloween! Thanks for fluttering by!

Friend To Friend

I loved yesterday's sketch challenge over at SCS, but I didn't have time to play. I decided I would use the sketch and try my hand at it. I thought that "Pocket Silhouettes" worked perfectly for the tiny squares. I also used the coordinating "Urban Garden " DSP. This card was easy peasy. I know I have said it before, but I really love when the DSP matches a specific stamp set so that things just all go together. I added a bit of paper piercing and Baja Breeze ribbon. Of course I had to add some diamond stickles to the images. I love that stuff!

On Sunday, we took the kids up in the canyon for some fall pictures. Do you love how one kid is looking at me and the other isn't? I had picture after picture of this. Once I got home and uploaded them I realized that having my husband stand behind me and make them laugh was the wrong thing to do. One kept looking at him instead of me! I was really irked, but I got some great shots that I can't wait to scrapbook. Thanks for fluttering by!

Light of Mine

I played along in yesterday's FS Challenge over at SCS. I picked a card that worked really well to incorporate some of the new release images from The Saltbox Studio. I chose to use one of the candles and sentiments from "Holiday Lights". I finally got brave and added my own "glow" to the candles. I don't know how well I did, but it looks a little warmer than not adding any at all. I knew that I needed it for sure since I was using that particular sentiment. LOL! I also added some wide gingham ribbon to continue with the homespun feel. All stamps can be purchased at http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ . Thanks for fluttering by!

Always Box and Card

I needed a "Thank You" to give to the girl who took over my class at church last week while I was in Disneyland. I haven't bought much of the new SU! DSP, so I opted to use "Sweet Always" that I love. I always like when the paper matches a specific set so that all of the guess work is done for me. None of the sentiments from the set worked for this occasion, so I chose to use the new "Thank You Kindly" set. I used lots of glitter that never shows up in my pictures for some reason. The box is a simple 2-4-6-8 box, except it measures 2.5, 5, 7.5,10 and the lid is 1/16 of an inch larger at each measurement. Super easy. I added some of the wide pink pirouette ribbon to the top, but it doesn't really hold anything down, so the lid just slides off. That way the knot will stay pretty. LOL! The card measures 3 by 3.

Also, I have been wanting to add more links on my sidebar of blogs I browse, but have never taken the time. There are so many artists out there who I consider my friends and I love their work. If you see I have added your blog, I hope it is Okay! If you would like me to remove it, let me know. I will be adding more in the next few days.

Vintage Dreamer

Of course I had to play along with Jen Del Muro's Saturday sketch. I played last week and had a blast, so I decided to check it out again today. The sketch, which you can check out here: http://iheart2stamp.com/ worked perfeclty with some of the great stamps from TJ Designs which can be found at http://www.tweetyjill.com/ . Over the years I have been fortunate to be able to work on several publications that she has put out as well as her current design team. Now she has her own line of stamps that are AMAZING!!!! I love the deeply etched rubber, but that they are unmounted and easily applied to acrylic blocks without mounting tape. Just grab, stamp and go! I also used the fabulous paper from her line as well called "The European Collection". The whole collection has great patterns and a full section absolutely full of ephemra for those extra touches that make your projects pop! I think I veered a little from the sketch, but I certainly had fun making this card. I added some chunky glitter (surprise) to some of the images to add that vintage flair. I used quite a bit of different paper, so I opted to only use buttons and ribbon for the embellishments so that it wouldn't feel too heavy.

We have all recovered from the long drive home from California and I am catching up on laundry. I took it easy yesterday and watched all of the shows I missed from being away. My feet were killing me from so much walking, but I think they have finally recovered. I used so many bandaids on my feet throughout the trip... I think I left a trail of them all over Disneyland. LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!

Minnie Thanks

I am back! We just got back from Disneyland last night! We had so much fun! My kids had such a great time. It was pure magic. I loved seeing my kids with the characters and all of the fun Halloween Decorations they had everywhere.

We spent a couple of days in Disneyland and one day,plus "Mickey's Trick-or-Treat party" at California Adventure. We were able to see the Pixar Parade which was super cute.

We also ate one breakfast at Ariel's Grotto and one dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. My kids loved it! I loved watching their eyes light up! I made a card for my family to say thanks for all they did. We went with my Mom, step-dad and my sister. I used my 1 3/8 inch circle punch for Minnie's head and 3/4 inch punch for the ears. I added a tiny bow of gingham ribbon, which should have been polka-dot, but I didn't have any. I used my Bella Rose paper for the background.

I was in the mood for some glitter, so I outlined Minnie's head with liquid glue and added some black glitter essentials from SU! I thought it added a little something "extra"! LOL! I stamped the sentiment and cut the edges into a swallow tail. Super simple, but I thought the fun touches gave it a little pop. Thanks for fluttering by!

Tiny Make and Take

I created this tiny card for a make and take from a workshop I did back in August. I liked that it was easy to put together, but focused on some new products...riding hood red taffeta ribbon (yum), Bella Rose DSP, and Only Ovals stamp set. The guests really liked it even those it was so simple. I had quite a bit of materials cut and prepped that didn't get used, so I think I will take it to my workshop on the 28th. Wish me luck! LOL~!

A Haunting Halloween!

I decided to keep my creative juices flowing by checking out Jen's Sketch over at I heart 2 Stamp which you can check out here: http://iheart2stamp.com/ Isn't she fab?!!!! I decided to make a Halloween card because I knew that the cauldron with steam image would be perfect for the layout. I dug up some ancient pattern paper from SU! that worked well with the colors I chose for the focal image. It is actually my favorite Halloween paper they have done. I added some stickles to the steam to add a little "magic"! LOL! I added a few googlie eyes to the frog and adhered them with mini glue dots for some fun! Thanks for fluttering by!

Chain of Love

I decided to get the creative juices flowing today by heading over to SCS to participate in the Inspiration Challenge. I always love this challenge, because it gets the creative wheels turning, especially if they are a little rusty, like mine! LOL! You can check out the challenge here http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390988 . I loved the birds on the pillows, but decided to go with a sihouette stamp and white ink. I took the colors from the pillows and the clean design to incorporate into my card. I was in the mood to use a lot of embellishments, but restrained myself to keep with the mood of the inspiration piece. I haven't been over to SCS for some time so this was fun to do. I was also excited to be able to use this new "Inspired by Nature" stamp set that I recieved at convention, but it hasn't seen ink since. LOL! Actually, a lot of my new SU! sets haven't seen ink recently and that is going to change. So...keep posted for some new creations! Thanks for fluttering by!

Twas the night before...

I have been itching to ink up these mittens from the new "Brrr" set from The Saltbox Studio. They are small and sweet and easy to color. I decided to use a winter set today because yesterday we woke up to A LOT of snow. Our poor willow trees couldn't take the snow and we have some broken branches. Not a single leaf has fallen from them or even turned yellow, yet, so you can imagine how much weight was on them. So...in the spirit of snow, I couldn't resist using these mittens today. I decided to use a black dotted notecard from A muse and it looked like nighttime and snow, so I chose the sentiment from the new "Holiday Lights" set. I added a little cross-stitching to the bottom for interest. I wanted to add a few buttons, but restrained myself. LOL!

Football is officially over. We had our last tournament on Saturday in the rain and hail. We were all very COLD!!!! They won all 3 of their games and took home the championship. Even though Football has consumed our lives since the end of July, I am really going to miss it.

Cupcake Birthday

My daughter was invited to one of her Best Friend's birthday party tomorrow. The wrapping paper I chose had cute cupcakes all over it, so of course I needed a cupcake card. I realized that I am seriously lacking in the cupcake stamp area. I recieved a long border stamp about a year ago for some design work I did for Papercrafts that had never seen ink, so I decided to use that. I also paired it with the "It's your birthday" set from SU! that just retired. I like this one so much better than the new one. I used the same colors that are found in the wrapping paper. I used prismacolor and copic markers to color the image and added some diamond stickles. The card measures 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 so that it will fit nicely into an A-2 envelope. Thanks for fluttering by!

It's Release Day!

Yipee! Today is release day! Today is the day you can finally head over to www.amuseartstamps.com to purchase all of these new images. I decided to stray from my fallish colors and theme and go for a Christmas card today! These Christmas images are all so darling. I chose to use this great Santa and sentiment from a set called "Classic Christmas". I am really in love with all of the new images. I haven't even had a chance to put ink on all of them, yet! Check out the other design team gals to see their awesome creations as well. It is fun to see how differently each set can be used. You can see the the links to their blogs on my side bar. Thanks for fluttering by!

Blessings

Yes...it is time for another sneak peek! Can you tell I am loving the pumpkin images? LOL! I thought this image was so cute. What a fun idea...I think I may have to make a real one of my own! The image is from the new set " Holiday Lights" and the sentiment is from the new "Give Thanks" set. They all work together so wonderfully. All of these images are available for purchase on October 6th. I will be posting a few more sneak peeks between now and then!

Today is also Octoberfest for my little football player. He will be playing 3 games today! Thank goodness they are not all full length games. It is raining like cats and dogs here, so it should make for an interesting day. I love a rainy fall day, but not when I have to be sitting in it or for my son, playing in it. Wish us luck! LOL!

Happy Fall Y'all!

As promised, here is the first sneak peek from The Saltbox Studio's upcoming release! The image and sentiment are from the new set called "Pumpkin Oak" that will be released on October 6th. I paired it with some Amuse ribbon and a fun fall Amuse notecard. I love this size of notecard because sometimes you want to let someone know you are thinking of them, but you don't feel like writing a novel on the inside. Stay tuned for more sneak peeks in the coming days.