Loads of Fun

Merry Christmas Eve! I have a fun set to share with you today from There She Goes. This set was actually conceived during a Friday Night Chat in the There She Goes forum! We had a lot of fun tossing ideas around and it's even more fun to see them in stamps! It's called Loads of Fun and if you didn't start at Dawn's blog, jump back there so you don't miss any of the creations with this fun set. For my card I used the smaller basket of laundry and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I cut it out with my circle nestabilities and carefully stitched around it (although it is still kind of "messy") I added some stitching to the border along with some brads. Both of the ribbons are from SU!

Thanks for stopping by and now jump over to Holly's blog for some more laundry goodness {wink} and don't forget to leave each of the Trendsetters a comment and then go back to the There She Goes blog and enter your name in the Mr Linky. You could win your own set of Loads of Fun!

"Dirty Laundry"

stamps: Loads of Fun (TSG)

ink: memento tuxedo black (Tsukineko)

paper: dusty durango, crushed curry, whisper white (SU!); DP by K&Co

accessories: border punch (Fiskars); brads (Hobby Lobby); sewing machine; ribbon (SU!); circle nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Garden of Friends

I'm sure all of you are still gearing up for the Christmas holiday this week (I still have a bit of baking to finish!) but There She Goes is getting ready for spring! Today the Trendsetters are featuring the new set Garden of Friends that will be released on Saturday night. It's a fabulous set of floral images and great sentiments. This may be my favorite set yet- although I think I say that about every new release! If you didn't start at Dawn's blog, go back and see what she has created and then hop back here! I took this week's color challenge from SCS of real red, sahara sand and crushed curry to start off my card. I'm not a gardener so I'm not even sure if these flowers actually come in these colors but I like how they all went together in my watering can! I used my ink pads and aqua painter to water color the image. Then I took a Fiskars corner embossing punch to make the edges a little more elegant. The ribbon is a beautiful red silk and I also added a curry colored button for bonus points!

Would you like to win your very own set of Garden of Friends? All you need to do is visit each of the Trendsetters blogs and leave each of us a comment. Then head back to the There She Goes blog and enter your name in the Mr. Linky! Your next stop on the hop is Holly.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Gardening Can"

stamps: Garden of Friends (TSG)

ink: memento tuxedo black (Tsukineko); crushed curry, real red, handsome hunter, elegant eggplant, sahara sand (SU!)

paper: sahara sand, chocolate chip, crushed curry (SU!)

accessories: MS border punch; button (Fancy Pants); silk ribbon, hemp twine (May Arts); corner punch (Fiskars); red pearls (Recollections)

It's a Sale!

There She Goes is having a change of seasons sale! There are 5 select stamp sets that are 15% off their original price . The Trendsetters are showcasing a few of those sets for you in today's blog hop. You can find all of the sets and details HERE.

I used the Act of Kindness set which is originally $22 and on sale for $18.70! I stamped my sentiment in real red and cut it out with my nestabilities. I mounted it on dimensionals on a layer of exclusive Archiver's patterned paper called Giggle Kids by Making Memories. The little flourish that I stamped on the baja breeze layer is also from the Act of Kindness set. I added some fun red pearls and some punched hearts and ribbon to complete my card.

Thanks for stopping by now hop over to Holly to see what she has created today! Don't forget that this is release week for There She Goes. Tomorrow we will be featuring a new springy set that you are just going to love! Then on Thursday there will be another blog hop featuring a different new set with the release party on Saturday! The sale goes until Sunday Dec 27th so you'll be able to order the 2 new sets that will be released on Saturday along with these fabulous sets that are on sale!

stamps: Act of Kindness (TSG)

ink: real res, baja breeze (SU!)

paper: whisper white, real red, baja breeze (SU!) Dp by Making Memories

accessories: Martha Stewart border punch; ribbon (Bazzill); red pearls (Recollections); oval nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Color Throwdown

There She Goes is sponsoring this week's Color Throwdown! I couldn't resist and had to play along! I used the new Birdie Wishes set and made a Christmas card. The sentiment is also from this set and I used my marker to ink just the merry Christmas part. Pretty straight forward but please ask if you have any questions! To play along with us, link your project to the Color Throwdown blog for a chance to win a TSG set of your choice!

Last night we attended my daughter's holiday orchestra concert. They did such a nice job and have improved so much in 2 years! Tonight I'm off to dinner with my book club. So much to do and so little time (only 8 more days until Christmas Eve!) YIKES!!

"Birdie Christmas"

stamps: Birdie Wishes (TSG)

ink: real red, chocolate chip, always artichoke, kiwi kiss, cool caribbean (SU!)

paper: always artichoke, very vanilla, cool caribbean (SU!); DP by K&Co

accessories: labels 9 nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (Michael's)

IHP Challenge

This month's i {heart} papers challenge was to use one of the 2 new My Mind's Eye love kits that i {heart} papers carries. They are sooo cute (I ordered both of them of course) and had a tough time chosing which one to use for the challenge! I setteled on Be Loved (the other one is Love Me Do). I also used the Unity November Stampin' Store kit. I stamped my owls in soft suede and cut them out. I think they look kind of silly without eyes so I added some tiny Zva pearls as eyes. They are layered on one of the cardstock punch out elements that are included with the Designer Paper kit. I sewed around the edge of the scallop circle punch out and then added some nestabilities to layer my sentiment on. I added a few more layers, more of the tiny pearls and some satin ivory ribbon too. I really like how this turned out!

Check out what my fellow DT members did!
Amber
Carolyn
Cathleen
Deb (challenge coordinator):
Kate
Kendra

Lori

Lynn
Megan
Merry

Tracy (DT coordinator)

Thanks for stopping by!

"owlways"

stamps: Unity November Stampin' Store kit

ink: soft suede, ruby red (SU!)

paper: Be Loved DP (MME); very vanilla (SU!); ruby tuxtured cardstock (DCWV)
accessories: sewing machine; oval nestabilities, Ribbon Tags Trio, Mega Curved rectangle nestabilities (Spellbinders); tiny pearls (Zva); satin ribbon (May Arts)

12th Day of Christmas

i {heart} papers is sponsering today's 12 days of Christmas project over at Paper Craft Planet. Lynn has an awesome project to share and then you can go on a scavenger hunt to win a prize! Check it out HERE. Be sure to join the i {heart} papers group on Paper Craft Planet too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Watercoloring

For the Wednesday trend over on the There She Goes blog, Sandra gave a short tutorial on water coloring. Sandra is a master at this technique and I am just in awe of her beautiful coloring! I decided to use her tutorial today and see how I could do. . .I stamped my image on watercolor paper using Palette ink then went to work with my ink pads and my aqua painter. I'm not too good at shading so I didn't do any of that (I don't really "get" the whole light source thing anyways- something to work on I guess!) I just picked colors that I thought looked good together. I popped a few of the images up on dimensionals to create some depth. I even decorated the inside this time with a strip of coordinating paper and a sentiment. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out (though I'm no Sandra!).

TGIF! My MIL called this morning and was wondering if the kids could spend the night with them. Ummm. . . YES!!! My husband and I will be kid free for the evening so maybe a nice dinner in a restaurant is in order (what's a restaurant?!)

Thanks for stopping by!

"Christmas water coloring"

stamps: Home Sweet Home, HSH Holiday Additions (TSG)

ink: Palette Burnt Umber (Stewart Superior); Various SU! inks

paper: whisper white, riding hood red, always artichoke (SU!); Eskimo Kisses DP (Basic Grey)

accessories: ribbon (SU!); border punch (EK Succes); jewels (Hero Arts); sewing machine

A game of Tag!

Over on the There She Goes blog, the challenge this week is to make a tag. I needed a gift card holder for a friend so I made it a tag to hang on the Christmas Tree! (A card, a gift and an ornament all in one- smile!) I used the new set Craftier Taglines for the main image and cut it out with my nestabilities. A sentiment that is so dear to my heart and one that I know my friend will appreciate! I then layered it on some Basic Grey Blush patterned paper and added another layer of coordinating papers.

On the back of the tag I made a little pocket to hold a gift card. I used a circle punch to make a notch so it is easier to take the gift card out of the pocket. I wrapped the ribbon around the front of the tag and tied it in a bow in the back to give a little more embellishment to the back of the tag. I'll put a gift card to Archiver's in the pocket to complete my gift!

If you'd like to play along with us this week for a chance to win $ to the TSG store, use the keyword TSG32 when you upload your creation to an online gallery. Don't forget to leave a link on the There She Goes Blog too!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Never Regret"

stamps: Craftier Taglines (TSG)

ink: pretty in pink, chocolate chip

paper: chocolate chip, pretty in pink, baja breeze, whisper white (SU!); Blush DP (Basic Grey)

accessories: ribbon (Bazzill); button, large grommet, silver cording, circle punch (SU!); border punch (Fiskars); floss (DMC); circle, scallop circle nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Hugs from Flopsey

One of my biggest stamping fans is my 9 year old neice, Ashlea. I have given her a few boxes of my cards for her to use as she pleases. Most of the time she carefully looks through them and asks me how I made each one. It's nice to have fans you know?! I decided to make her a little gifty of Valentine's cards when I saw the Wednesday Stamping challenge hosted by My Favorite Things. I used a template I found on Splitcoaststampers and modified it to fit my cards. I used Valentine Flopsey and 5 of the sayings that come with him to stamp in the hearts. I included 4 matching cards that fit inside the box. I left the inside of each card blank so Ashlea can write her own message to her friends. This was a fun little project and I know she will love it!

We are getting ready for the big winter storm that is headed our way later this afternoon- seems like the perfect time to stay inside and create!!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Valentine Flopsey"

stamps: Valentine Flopsey (MFT)

ink: memento tuxedo black (Tsukineko)

paper: pretty in pink, whisper white, retired DP (SU!)

accessories: circle nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (Bazzill); stick pin (Dritz)

SNOW?

I just heard on the radio this morning that we are under a winter storm watch and the potential of 3-4 inches of snow! Well, I guess now that it is December the snow can start falling! Today's clean and simple challenge on SCS is to use the colors brown and red and either white or vanilla. To prepare myself for the snow, I made a snowy little clean and simple card! I know my card doesn't look all that clean and simple but it really is! I didn't even stamp on it! I used my Quickutz Blossom alphabet to cut the letters out of real red card stock and a nestabilitie die for the snow flake using sparkly paper. The kraft layer is also cut with a nestabilitie die and the dark brown layer is hand cut. I added the pearly flourish (that is all one piece) from Zva for a little zing! Some ribbon and a button are the finishing touches!

Thanks for stopping by and stay warm!

"snow"

stamps: none

ink: none

paper: real red, chocolate chip, kraft (SU!); Golly be Jolly DP (Cosmo Cricket); sparkly white paper (Petaloo)

accessories: Create a Flake 2, Mega Curved rectangles (Spellbinders); Blossonm alphabet (Quickutz); ribbon (Bazzill); button (Fancy Pants); pearl Fourish (Zva)

A White Christmas

There are tiny white flakes coming down out my window right now. I think winter is really here to stay! Today's limited supply challenge on SCS is a (mostly) white holiday card with limited layers and only one ink color! I used silver ink and embossed it for my ink color and there are only 3 layers on this card (popped up with super thick dimensional tape). I did cheat a bit though. The directions said to only use clear or white embellishments. My white and sheer ribbon just looked too naked for me so I added my silver little acrylic baubles to the tree and the bottom of the image panel. So, technically, this doesn't fit the challenge anymore. This will be a great holiday card or a thank you card for the holiday gifts we receive!

I'm seriously considering just ordering my Christmas photo cards this year instead of hand making them. Naughty I know but- here's the excuse- by the time I buy all of my supplies (card stock, embellishments, envelopes and photos) and take all of that time to make 100+ cards- I could easily spend more money (not to mention time) than Costco.com charges! Plus, I can't find anyone that prints 3x5 photos anymore! I like that size so that I can layer my photos and they still fit in a business sized envelope! So do you think I will be forgiven? Will hand stamping the envelopes make up for it?!

"white tree"

stamps: Treemendous (TSG)

ink: brilliance silver (Tsukineko)

paper: whisper white (SU!)

accessories: silver embossing powder, sheer white ribbon (SU!); silver baubles (Sierra Pacific Crafts); holly ribbons embossing folder (Provo Craft); white satin ribbon (Michael's)

40- a good year

I can't believe it's December already! I have to say that this has been a great year for me even though I was nervous about hitting the big 4-0 in July! I've questioned a lot of things this year about being a mom of forty. Is my hair too long for a 40 year-old? Am I too old to buy my clothes in the juniors department? Do my kids think I'm a "cool mom"? One thing I haven't questioned though is my love of card making. I am so addicted and love spending time in my little (messy) corner of the basement that I call my craft room. I am so thankful for all of the friends I have made through this hobby and even the fabulous opportunities that have presented themselves to me! I am a member of 3 design teams (WOW- I never dreamed that would happen) and loving every minute of it! I can't thank Kate, Tracy and Jessica enough for their encouragement and interest in my creations! I couldn't help but think of all of these things as I made a card for my good friend, Cindy's, 40th birthday. She's the youngest of my group of close friends and now we are all in the "middle-age" bracket! Age is only as old as you feel, right? So, for me, 40 IS the new 20!

Thanks for stopping by!

"the new 20"

stamps: Girl Time (Just Rite)

ink: memento tuxedo black (Tsukineko)

paper: cherry hill DP (October Afternoon); soft sky, riding hood red, whisper white (SU!)

accessories: circle nestabilities (Spellbinders); flower (Heidi Swapp); Copic markers; ribbon (SU!); sewing machine; corner rounder