Sparkle Creations Final Preview and June Release Day!!!

Good morning, friends! 

Thanks so much for your sweet comments, I'm so happy to be up and running again :) 

Today is Sparkle Creations last preview day AND release day!!! 

All new stamps are available NOW in the Sparkle Creations Store! 

Our last preview is here! 

Meet... Watermelon Rin!!! 

Isn't she adorable! I love everything about her :) 

Please be sure to visit the rest of the DT for more peeks of Rin! 

Oh, and be sure to leave your comments too! 

Sparkle will be giving away a Watermelon Rin rubber stamp to a lucky hopper! 

Giveaway ends tonight, EST... 

Alice Wertz
Amber Hight
Danielle Lounds
Kerri Michaud
Kim Yu
Margie Cortina (You are here!)
Savannah O'Gwynn
Shaela Odd
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft
Yvonne Yam - June Guest Designer
SCRS Blog

Thanks for stopping by today :)

Enjoy!!! 

"Fun in the Sun!" - Sparkle Creations Preview Day One

Hello everyone!!! 

I'm SO thrilled to be back with Sparkle Creations and the DT again :) 

Today is the first day of previews! 

Here's "Beach Chloe"... 

 It's time for some fun in the sun!!!

All new stamps will be available on Saturday, June 9th! 

Please be sure to visit the rest of the team for more sneak peeks :)

And be sure to leave your comments along the way! Sparkle will be giving away a 'Beach Chloe' rubber stamp to one lucky person :) You have until midnight EST to hop around!!!  

Alice Wertz
Amber Hight
Danielle Lounds
Kerri Michaud
Kim Yu
Margie Cortina (You are here!)
Savannah O'Gwynn
Shaela Odd
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft
Yvonne Yam - June Guest Designer
SCRS Blog

Thanks so much for stopping by, enjoy! 

xoxo

My Sweet Angel Card...

Good Friday everyone!!! 

Wow, another week just blew away and it's February!!! 

I have to be honest, I was actually a bit afraid to post for today, lol! 

It's been so long since I've posted anything here, I'm thinking that people have either forgotten about me or are mad or both! ha! Sorry! 

I had to step back for a bit and figure out why my mojo has been lacking so much lately. It's never been this bad before and I have felt so overwhelmed and sad by it. I've been blogging and doing my thing here for 3 1/2 years now, and I have never stayed away for more than 3 days at a time. 

It's time to make some changes! and have some fun! 

So for now, I want to share with you the card I made for today's

Spy Day Challenge at The Greeting Farm!!! 

This week, we are 'case-ing' Jas' card!!! 

and this is what I came up with: 

This is my first time using my sweet Angel Anya rubber stamp!!! 

Isn't she gorgeous!?

I used a scrap of Echo Park DP, found a paper silver doily and colored her up with my Copics... even did a bit of distressing there, lol! Quick simple card... wondering what occasion I could use this one for...??? 

Here's a close up at her sparkly halo and wings :) 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

I truly do love my visitors and comment-ers :) 

Please be sure to check out the rest of the DT and see what they've been up to!!! 

Jessica Diedrich 

April Davis

Joni Wilson

Lisa Gobea

Sharette Smith 

Don't forget that tomorrow TGF will have another 

sketch challenge posted on their SCS forum!!!

Happy weekend!!! 

xoxo 

Dear Santa... and How I take my Card Pics!

All I want for Christmas is... {fill in the blank!} 

I don't know what I want for Christmas, lol! 

SO many things, I can't decide :)

*Please scroll down to see my card for 
Pixie Dust Studio's latest 'stitching' challenge, thanks!!! 

I wanted to share a quick little boy card that I created 

with one of Amy's latest Sweet November Stamps called "Max"!!! 

I was SO lucky to win this sweet boy and some goodies during Amy's preview days!

Yay!!! for more boy stamps!!! 

Isn't he the cutest little mischief you've ever seen?! hee, hee!!! 

Wonder if this little Max will be getting coal or toys for Christmas... 

I guess it depends were that snowball lands ;) 

***

I've had a few comments asking me how I take my card pics :)
I don't really do anything special - as a matter of fact, I really don't think they come out that good, lol! I always feel that they're a bit too dark... this is how I take my pics...

I just move my card and Ott-lite around until I get the right angle with no shadows.
I adjust my setting on my camera;
I have a simple Kodak Touch and I set it on Close-Up and then I zoom in...
I then upload my pics to Picasa - this is where I choose which pics I like best and crop them down.
and then lastly, I use PhotoScape to adjust the lighting/size and add my watermark!
All done!!!

I'm sure that there is probably an easier way to do all the 'photoshopping' stuffs, but this is what I've been doing for the last year, it's a quick and simple enough routine for me - it works :)

Please feel free to share your pic methods with me too!
Thanks!!! and thanks for stopping by today too!!! xo 

Merry 2011 Mini Book

What the...??? 

It's already Thursday??? and for some odd reason, I was thinking that it was Friday already, lol! and OH my goodness - it's the FIRST of December too! 

The weeks have flown by and I have been overwhelmed with all kinds of good and crafty things and unfortunately, unable to pop in continuously this week and share the things I have been up to!
I have another blog candy to post on my birthday! Yay! and I have a some super great things to reveal and share towards the end of this month, so be on the lookout ;) hee, hee!!! 

Here's one thing that I managed to start, but has not been finished yet - and I have to make TWO, lol! 

I needed to create to more Santa Wish List books :) 

I wanted to use paper bags to create a 5x5 mini book, but didn't like the 'brown' look... and then I found WHITE paper bags at Target the other day! (They had navy blue too, but wasn't feeling it, lol!) 

So for today's color challenge at Pixie Dust Studio, 

(there are TWO fabulous Christmas-y color combos to choose from!) 

I used "Sweet Santa" and the challenges Holiday Cheer Color Combination... 

 and this is how far I got with the first mini book... 

I created the front cover using Echo Park's Dots and Stripes Christmas Collection 6x6

2 different snowflake punches, nesties and Pink Paislee chipboard stickers... 

I was also able to add some paper to a few inside pages, 

and that is it for now, lol! I need to finish these over the weekend! eek! 

I just looove this Santa image! 

He looks so jolly and cute :) 

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Please be sure to visit the rest of the Pixies today too!!! 

xoxo 

PS - Don't forget to enter to win my TGF Clear Stamp Blog Candy!!! 

A Merry Lil' Elf!

It's Monday! It's Monday! 

***Don't forget to enter to win my Blog Candy of FOUR TGF Clear Stamps HERE!!!

and a belated Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrated this weekend :) 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family! and then my lil guy came down with the virus that I had earlier last week :(  It took him almost 3 days to get over it! but I'm happy to say that he pepped up yesterday and went to school with his big bro :)  Here's hoping that there are no more germ attacks for the rest of the Winter season ;) hee hee!!! 

Today is Monday Fun-Day at The Greeting Farm Challenge Blog!!! 

and for this week, we challenge you to use THREE of something on your card/project! 

I decided to make an easel card - it's been so long since I've done one, and I just love how I can display them on my bookshelf... my "three" are the pearls that I used, even though I did use three more on the inside too, lol! 

Here's my card using "Elf Anya"... 

... and some more scraps of some old Echo Park Christmas DP :) 

Love this stuff!!! 

Thanks for stopping by and looking today!!! 

Happy Monday :) 

{Happy Thanksgiving!} Riley's Winter/Christmas Release and Blog Hop!!!

Good evening everyone!!!
I hope that those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving today had a beautiful and blessed one with your lovies :) 

It's time for Riley and Company's latest release and blog hop!!! 

If you just came here from Jovita's Blog, then you're on the right track ;) 

If not, and would like to start from the beginning - please go HERE!!! 

While you are hopping - don't forget to leave a comment on each blog! Each designer will draw one random name after 24 hours, from all the posts. The winner get's their choice of free Riley rubber!

When you are done with the hop - make sure you go back to our home page to shop because ALL orders placed in the first 24 hours gets a FREE limited edition MINI RIley stamp!

AND - there is FREE shipping all weekend on all orders! But hurry - it's only until Sunday night!

First I would like to share my card using "Riley and Percy Dancing"... 

and for my next card, I used "Percy Snow Angel" ...

and for my last card, I used "Elf Riley"...

and here's the inside to Elf Riley's card: 

Thanks for stopping by!!! 

Your next stop in the hop is Michelle L!!!  
Happy Hopping :) 

Snow Moose, a Postage Stamp and My FIRST Publication :)

Good {late} Wednesday morning to you!!! 

How are you all doing today??? 

I have to say, November has not been my friend this year, geesh! 

but hopefully he will make it up to me with a germ free Holiday weekend :) 

Much to be thankful for! Plus, it would be nice to be able to go with my boys to see the new Muppets movie ;) hee, hee!!! 

I have 2 more Riley and Company sneak peeks to share with you today!!! 

It is officially day 4 of sneak peeks - 

17 NEW Winter/Christmas themed stamps aaand 2 matching sentiment stamp sets too!!! 

The release is tomorrow, Thursday 11/24th 10pm EST - during our blog hop :) 

Be sure to hop for your chance to win a Winter/Christmas Riley stamp of your choice ;) 

Here is my first card for today... featuring "Snow Moose" 

I looove Snowmen! and Riley as a Snow Moose is even cuter! 

Definitely a new favorite for me ;) 

For my next card, I used "Postage Stamp Riley"... 

I never thought that I would fall in love with a Moose! LOL!
He is just too sweet, and I love the snowman in the background :) 

Be sure to check out the rest of the Moosemates and see what they have been up to with their sneak peeks this week, and our guest, Kelli Hull! 

 Cindy Haffner

Frances Byrne

Silke Kittman

Laurie Clout

Michelle L

Kelly Santi

Jovita Torres

Joy Stagg

PS:  SQUEEEEEing!!! 

Thanks to Tanya owner of Riley and Company, and now Cornish Heritage Farms! 

TWO of my cards have been published in here: 

Woo Hoo!!! 

It's my first publication and I am over the moooon about it :) 

Now, if I could just get my hands on a copy, lol! 

I have been trying to, and have yet to find it locally, eeek!!! 

And a congrats to my fellow Moosemate, Frances! 

Her card was also published, and it's that one on the bottom right of the cover :)

Here are the 2 cards that were published :)

You can find this first one on the index page!!! 

"Garden Chair" 

and you can find this card on page 34!!! 

"Holly Snowman"

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Enjoy :) 

xo 

Merry Christmas, Anya!

Hi again :)
It's me, just trying to catch up and have some extra fun tonight! hee, hee!!!

My second sketch for The Greeting Farm's Mondy Fun-Day Challenge is up!!! 

Here's my card using the new Holiday Anya... 

I am in loooove with this Anya! She's so adorable!
I am still playing around with which Copics to mix together to make up a good 'blonde hair' combo, any suggestions would greatly be appreciated! I tried google-ing and YouTube-ing, but I didn't have half the colors that they were using in their mix, lol! So I figured I would just play around and create a wishlist of must have numbers to get for the new year ;)

... and here's my sketch :) 

I hope you'll play along with us!!! 

Be sure to take a peek at what the rest of the DT has been up to too!!! 

Jessica Diedrich

April Davis

Joni Wilson

Lisa Gobea

Sharette Smith  

Enjoy your Monday night :) 

Holiday Anya

Echo Park

Copic Markers

Neenah Paper

Medium Scallop Border Die

InLinkz.com

Hello?! and So Thankful :)

Hello everyone :) 

Is it really Monday already?!?! Eeek!!! I am a tad bit behind on so many things - in order for me to catch up, I need to prioritize my to-do list and then go backwards with it! LOL! Does that make sense ;) 

Definitely sounds like fun, right!? hee, hee!!! 

So today I am starting with my first 2 cards for 

Riley and Company's sneak peek week!!! 

 Riley is getting ready to introduce a new friend on the Company :)

There will be 17 NEW Holiday stamps and 2 sentiment stamp sets to match!!! 

For my first card, I would like to introduce you to Riley's new friend...

Percy the Penguin!!! 


My mojo seems to be playing peek-a-boo with me lately :(
So I went on the hunt for some new challenges to play with and here's what I used to help me create Percy's card...

- Card Patterns Sketch #142

Now, if you know my Nicky - he looooves PENGUINS!!! 

and isn't Percy the cutest penguin-angel :)

SO happy that we now have a Penguin to join The Moose family ;) 

For my second card, I used Pilgrim Riley and Sophie...
I also used these challenges for my card too:
- The Pink Elephant Challenge #126: Giving Thanks
- Card Makin Mamas Challenge #33: Thanks
- Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #137 

Aren't they the sweetest pair?!

Thanksgiving is this week (for those of us in the U.S.), 

and I have not prepared nor decorated yet, oops! 

Must get my cleaning done asap!!!
I know that it's not important as to whether or not my home is clean, organized, decorated, etc. but I am SO very grateful for my family and feel that they deserve something nice to enjoy our Holiday this year :)
AND there better be some balloons flying about Macy's parade this year!!! Rumor has it that it may be too windy out there and there has been too many mishaps in the last few years!!! I'm sorry, but you may as well just cancel the whole parade if there aren't going to be any balloons! Just sayin'!!! hee, hee!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!! 

More Riley and Company sneak peeks are going on throughout the week!
Be sure to visit the rest of the Moosemates to see what other holiday stamps and sentiments are being released on Thursday, November 24th 10pm EST!!! 

Cindy Haffner
Frances Byrne
Silke Kittman
Laurie Clout
Michelle L
Kelly Santi
Jovita Torres
Margie Cortina
Joy Stagg

A Red, Black and White Congratulations!

Wow, a new week already! Good morning to you :) 

I am looking forward to having a good, stress free and healthy week! 

I am still coughing and feeling a bit ick, but so much better than last week... 

I just want to keep on going and get as much done before spending time with my family Thanksgiving weekend :)

There's is a super FUN Monday Fun-Day Challenge up on 

The Greeting Farm Challenge Blog this week :) 

SQUEEE-ing!!! 

Let the Twilight festivities begin!!! 

This week's challenge is to be inspired by the traditional Twilight Saga colors: 

Red, Black, White/Silver 

Just 4 more days!!! 

I decided I had to create a card for Edward and Bella's wedding :)

I used "Dressy Edward" and for Bella, I used "Dressy Joyce"... 

they're not wearing the traditional wedding attire, 

but wouldn't it be nice to see them in a color combo like this while out on their honeymoon??? 

hee, hee!!!

Please be sure to visit the rest of the amazing DT for more inspiration :) 

Jessica Diedrich

April Davis

Joni Wilson

Lisa Gobea

Sharette Smith  

Happy Monday!!! 

My recipe: 

WS Dressy Edward

WS Dressy Joyce

Copic Markers

Neenah Paper

Echo Park Christmas

Echo Park

Banner Day 1 Die

Banner Day 1

InLinkz.com

It's Your Birthday!!!

TGIF everyone!!! 
I had scheduled my post to be up this morning, and I come home to find that not only did it not post, but it completely disappeared! tsk, tsk... I am typing with frozen fingers! Oh how they ache! 
This morning there was a Pumpkin Festival of sorts at my kiddos school today,
and everything was outside in this 50-something degree windy weather we are having!
Eeeek! They had to cut it short a few minutes, these poor Kindergartens were really starting to feel the cold too, poor wee ones... 
and yes, I am feeling so much better now! Have had a lingering cold for over a week, and just started to feel like myself again yesterday! I hope that I didn't overdo it with today already, lol! Oh well, that's why we have weekends for, right?! ;)


Now that I'm thawing out and can somewhat feel my fingers a bit ;) 

I want to share my card for today's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge!!! 


For today's sketch, I used Taylor Expressions a la carte stamp, 
"It's Your Birthday"... 

The last time that I used this stamp, the colors were dark, you can see it here! 
So for this time, I was really in the mood to play with some bright colors 
and decided to pull some scraps from my Echo Park pad 
and have some fun with the sketch...


I created a second card too! 
but left off the 2 side panels, lol! 
Just goes to show that maybe I shouldn't be creating when I'm not feeling so good ;) 
Oh, and instead of using ribbon, I used Taylored Expressions die, 
"Basic Bow" 

Here's the awesome sketch: 

... and here are the stamps and dies I used: 

Please be sure to visit the rest of the Sketch Crew's designs too :) 
Cassie Trask
Lori Craig
Margie Cortina
Monika Davis
Rachel Sztonyk
Taylor VanBruggen 
Tracy Clemente

Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy Friday :) :) :) 

A Sweet Santa Book!

Good Thursday to you and you and you!!! 

First, I have to apologize! I know that I said I was going to post Blog Candy yesterday and I didn't! So sorry! I did not forget, I am postponing it until next week! I had a few glitches this week and my own personal dilemmas, oi! How can one survive without a printer?! Yes, the poor thing has finally printed out its last digi, sigh...  Anyways, look for Blog Candy next week, promise :) 

Guest what time it is??? 

It's Pixie Dust Studio time!!! 

This week's challenge is... Anything BUT a card!!! 

For my project today I used Pixie Dust Studio "Sweet Santa"... 

I used my Nesties on scraps of cardstock and last years Christmas Echo Park DP,

and I also used TGF's new "Clear Christmas" Clear Stamp Set to add a few sentiments and accents :) 

My kiddos have been talking about their Christmas Lists for weeks now!
They started some scrap lists and have been cutting out small pics from flyers, etc... 

I thought it was time to make them a book to save it all in ;) 

This will make it SOOO much easier for Santa to know what he should be putting together,

right?!?! ;) 

Oops! I forgot to take a pic of the last 2 pages, lol!..

and here's the back of the book... 

... and the front again :)  

And yes!!! I made TWO of these!

It was sooo easy to do it at the same time ;) 

Aaaaaand!!! 

Have you all been following along Pixie's 

15 Days of a Pixie Christmas?!?! 

Today is day NINE!!! 

Go HERE and to see Pixie's holiday cheer :) :) :) 

Thanks for passing by my blog today!!! 

Happy Thursday xoxo