Prettie Wednesday

Two weeks ago, Joni (the very talented illustrator for Paper Pretties) issued a challenge to make a card using paper piecing. I LOVE to paper piece. Sometimes it's just so much easier than coloring! I started with some Basic Grey paper from the Pheobe Collection. I thought this pattern would work well on the watering can. I "shaded" on top of the patterned paper with a Pea Green Copic marker to give the can some dimension. Before I paper pieced the watering can, I cut out the flower from the can of the stamped image so that I could paper piece that on top of the patterned paper. I wasn't crazy about the sentiment stamped on the patterned paper, but when I tried different colors of cardstock, it just didn't look right to me, so I left it as is. This little baby is on it's way to Jillian. Hope you like it, Jillian!

If you haven't checked out the contest Christie is having to win 6 months of Sophia stamps, be sure and check out this post! Tomorrow is the drawing! There is also an exciting announcement at Paper Pretties tomorrow! Please stop back tomorrow! Have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Simply Special (Paper Pretties); Paper- Pheobe Collection (Basic Grey), Chocolate (The Paper Company), white (Georgia-Pacific); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette); Accessories- Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon (SU), Copic markers.

Be Inspired #11

Here is my version of the Be Inspired Challenge this week. This card changed so many times for me. My original idea was to have it be a no layer card and instead of all of those colored circles, I colored just the cake part of the image with markers of the different colors and punched those out with a circle punch. It wasn't working for me, so I decided to just punch out colors of cardstock. Once I did that, the girl image looked lost. That's why she ended up mounted on Chocolate Chip cardstock. Maybe I should have left her alone. In any case, this was the end result. I'm very interested to see what Beate, Danielle Lounds, Dawn McVey, Jennifer Buck, Silke Ledlow and Susan Roberts have created for this inspiration challenge. Hope you are too!

Wanna win some stamps? How about SIX MONTHS worth of Sophia stamps from Paper Pretties? If you do, you need to check out this post.Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- She's All That (SU); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette), Craft Whisper White (SU); Paper- Whisper White, Chocolate Chip (SU), turquoise, yellow, pink green (DCWV); Accessories- small circle punch, paper piercer, chocolate grosgrain.

Altered Notecards

Here is a set of 3 1/2 x 5 notecards that I found in the Target $1 bin. It's a set of 8 cards and envelopes that come wrapped with a band of ribbon and in a clear plastic box. I picked up a bunch of them with the intention of "altering" them. The notecards themselves are very plain. I thought they would make a quick and very inexpensive gift. All I did was "dress them up" a bit. . .and I really didn't even do much of that. I just stamped a panel that I attached to the front of the card. I didn't add any embellishments in order to keep them simple and still able to fit in the matching envelopes. This was a gift for my mother in law. I know how she likes to send thank yous and I knew she wouldn't feel up to stamping her own anytime soon. She really liked the set and it really didn't take a whole lot of time to complete once I decided on the stamped design. I'm also using the notecards for card sets that my husband asked for to give as gifts. I'll show you those once I finish them! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Women of Life, Garden of Life (Papertrey Ink); Ink- Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery (SU), Onyx Black (Versafine), Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink); Paper- white (Georgia-Pacific), yellow, green (DCWV); Accessories- scallop punch, slit punch (SU), ribbon and notecard set from Target Dollar spot.

Tiny Treasures

Here is a simple page I made with some "tiny treasures" of Isaac's that I took pictures of. I am excited to say that my scrapbooks are getting filled little by little! I still have a LONG way to go, but I'm doing much better with scrapbooking than I was at this time last year. The paper is the Circus Baby line from Scribble Scrabble. The stamps are the Big Deal Alphabet from Stampin' Up and Melanie's What's In Your Tin 1 set from GinaK Designs.

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday! We're hoping to get outside and play a little. The kids got outside yesterday and slept so well last night! That makes mommy so happy! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Big Deal Alphabet (SU), What's In Your Tin 1 (GinaK Designs); Paper- Circus Baby Sleepy Alligator (Scribble Scrabble), Chocolate Chip (SU); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette); Accessories- paper piercer, Chocolate Chip marker.

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

The Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge for April was to use the pattern paper download that Nichole provided in a creative way. Since they were small square swatches of the paper, I cut them out and folded them in half to create this Iris Twist window. I lined the window using the Faux Ribbon set with Sunflower Dew Drops at the corners. The sentiment was stamped in Burnt Umber on the front. Through the window in the card, you can see the tree from Father Knows Best that I stamped on the inside. Check out the other creations for this month's Blog Hop Challenge. I'm going to do that now! There are 25 blogs that were randomly chosen to be in the contest that you can visit and actually vote for your favorite. Unfortunately I'm not one of them, but there's a whole Extras Thread that you can view and see what those people have created. All in all, it's a night of fun! Hope you can join in! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Father Knows Best, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Paper- white Stamper's Select, patterned paper (Papertrey Ink); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette), Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), Old Olive, Close to Cocoa (SU); Accessories- Sunflower Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), paper piercer.

Beate Weekend Sketch #45

Another Friday and another Beate Weekend Sketch Challenge! Today is also the release of two new sets from Verve Visual, so I thought I'd use one of them for my card today. This is the Father Figure set. I used Scarlet's Letter from Basic Grey for the papers. I tried to keep this very masculine. . .no ribbons and very little embellishments. You know me, though, I HAD to do some faux stitching! LOL Make sure you check out what Beate, Cambria, Jenn, Laurie, Lori, Mary Jo and Sharon have created for today. I'm sure they are ALL wonderful! Also, check out the new sets at Verve Visual! I know you'll love them! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Father Figure(Verve Visual); Paper- Scarlet's Letter (Basic Grey); Ink- Craft Whisper White (SU), Onyx Black (Versafine), Versamark (Tsukineko); Accessories- paper piercer, black marker, large eyelet

Patterned Paper Challenge

Earlier this week, Nichole Heady issued a Patterned Paper Challenge on her blog. The challenge was to create your own patterned paper by layering images over a background pattern. I LOVED her card with the white dragonflies over top of the polka dots. It had such a fresh, airy feel to it. I wanted to use white craft ink as well. I stamped the flower from Garden of Life in Summer Sunrise ink over the Summer Sunrise cardstock. Then I took the small ladybug from Little Lady and stamped the solid body image in Whisper White Craft ink. I went back and inked up the "dot and head" stamp with More Mustard ink and stamped it over the white bodies. I will definitely use this technique more often. I really like the soft effect. Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Garden of Life, Little Lady (Papertrey Ink); Paper- Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), Whisper White (SU); Ink- Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), Onyx Black (Versafine), Craft Whisper White, More Mustard (SU); Accessories- Swiss Dots Summer Sunrise ribbon (Papertrey Ink), corner rounder, paper piercer, horizontal slot punch (SU)

Father Figure

Tomorrow is the day that Verve Visual releases two new sets! Yesterday on the Verve Visual blog, the Design Team featured sneak peeks of one of the sets. Today, there are sneak peeks of the other set, Father Figure. If you've been looking for a set that's great for the men in your life, look no further! My husband has been after me to create some framed scrapbook pages for the entryway of our home. I've been putting it off, but this set gave me the inspiration to start. This one is for my husband. We were taking a walk on the trail a week ago. Savannah wanted to ride her bike and Arwen didn't want to ride in the double stroller that mommy was pushing. As my husband and the two girls were walking and riding along, I decided to stop and take a picture from behind. I printed the picture out using the Antique photo option on our printer. All of the words are stamped with Jet Black StazOn on acetate (transparency sheets). I cut apart the paragraph of words and used them to line the photo. I stamped the row of dots in Whisper White Craft ink to line the photo on the striped patterned paper. I used the punched circles of patterned paper to tie the stripes and dots together. The page fit in an 8x10 frame that my husband had painted white to go with our pale yellow walls in the entryway. Now I can't wait for him to hang it on the wall!

Want to be the proud owner of this new set? All you need to do is leave a comment on this post by 10PM MT (midnight ET) on April 24. Then be sure to check back on April 25, when we’ll announce the lucky winner and reveal the new Verve sets! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Father Figure (Verve Visual); Paper- patterned (Wild Asparagus), acetate; Ink- Jet Black StazOn, Whisper White Craft (SU); Accessories- 1", 3/4" circle punches

Simply Special

This is the final card I made for our Prettie Pajama Party a couple of weeks ago. The challenge was to create a long card. I used the Simply Special stamp set with this plaid paper from one of my Die Cut With a View stacks. Square cards have been my favorite lately, but these long cards are quickly taking their place!

If you missed our last Prettie Pajama Party and release, mark Monday, April 28 on your calendars! That's our next Pajama Party and release. . .and I think you'll LOVE the next stamp release! I can't wait to show you some "peeks". Please join us in the forums at 8pm EST on Monday and I'll have 3 fun challenges for you. Hope to see you there! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Simply Special (Paper Pretties); Paper- patterned (DCWV) white (Georgia-Pacific), Wild Wasabi (SU); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Accessories- key tag punch (SU), Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), Copic markers, pink organdy ribbon (Darice), paper piercer.

Prettie Wednesday

Two weeks ago, Jana challenged us to create something with polka dots. It didn't matter how you used them. . .paper, ribbon, stamping, just use polka dots. So here is what I came up with. I used Amy's Super Sketch Sunday sketch for the card. (yay, she brought it back!) Her only stipulation with the sketch is that you use 3 different patterns of paper. I thought it would be fun to combine the two challenges. The striped pattern breaks up all the polka dots a little. The doggie is from Rainy Day Friends. I thought it would be cute to make him the focal point of a card. This card is on it's way to Jessie, so I hope she likes it! Have you played along with our Prettie Girl Challenges? If so, I'd love for you to post a link here so I can see your creation!

Have you been over to the new Paper Pretties website? You can create your own gallery now! There are lots of things in the forums and you can check all of that out on the home page. For those of you who are challenge lovers, Danielle posts a challenge in the forums every week! They are lots of fun, so please check them out!

Today on the Verve Visual blog, there's a sneak peek of one of the sets that is being released on Friday! Tomorrow will be a sneak peek of the other! Also, if you've been waiting for Anniversary Birds or Thankful Blossoms, they are now available for preorder at the store! They have an expected ship date of Monday, April 28. Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Rainy Day Friends (Paper Pretties); Paper- Prints Designer Series (SU), white (Georgia-Pacific); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Accessories- polka dot ribbon (May Arts), Bashful Blue, Regal Rose markers (SU), Copic markers, white gel pen, paper piercer.

Another Inspiration

Today is the day for inspirations for me! Have you been checking out the Verve Visual blog lately? There is an Inspiration Challenge Contest going on and the Design Team has been posting their takes on the challenge for the past week. This is my take on the inspiration. That turquoise pillow with the bits of white flower and trim just jumped out at me. I used the Thankful Blossoms set for the flowers and the Serenity set for the background white flowers. The turquoise flowers are embossed with turquoise embossing powder and the white flowers are embossed with white embossing powder. The turquoise flowers have turquoise rhinestone brads as their centers and are mounted on dimensionals.

If you've made a card or project using the pillow photo as inspiration, link it to this post by Midnight (Mountain time) tonight, April 22nd for a chance to win. The winner will receive $15 in Verve Bucks to spend at the Verve store. We can't wait to see what you've created! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps-Thankful Blossoms, Serenity (Verve Visual); Paper- white (Georgia-Pacific), turquoise (DCWV); Ink- Versamark (Tsukineko), Tempting Turquoise (SU); Accessories- paper piercer, white organdy ribbon (Darice), white and turquoise embossing powder, rhinestone brads.

Be Inspired #10

Here is my take on Beate's Be Inspired Challenge for this week. I used a technique I haven't used in quite a while. . .Wet Paper Watercoloring. I love how once the paper is wet, any ink you put on there just spreads. I thought it was perfect for this inspiration piece. I used one of my favorite flower sets. . .Heartfelt Thanks. The first thing I did was spray the watercolor paper with water and brush on Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun and Old Olive. I let that dry a bit. Then I inked up the flower with Craft Whisper White ink and colored the stems with either Always Artichoke or Old Olive markers and stamped. Because the paper was still wet, the stem colors "spread" a little too. Since the white ink on the flowers wasn't showing up enough, I stamped the "outline" of the flowers in Sahara Sand. Finally, I added some clear Dew Drops in the bottom right corner. Following the links to see what Beate, Danielle Lounds, Dawn McVey, Jennifer Buck, Silke Ledlow and Susan Roberts have created. Thanks for stopping by today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Heartfelt Thanks (SU); Paper- watercolor paper, Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink), white (Georgia-Pacific); Ink- Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Basic Black (SU); Accessories- Old Olive, Always Artichoke markers (SU), clear Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), Summer Sunrise satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Sparklegirl

This was for yesterday's Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS, to CASE Sparklegirl, a.k.a. Silke! I absolutely LOVE Silke's work. She has such a clean and simple style that it's like a breath of fresh air anytime I look at one of her projects. It was tough to decide which card to CASE! I finally decided on this gorgeous card. Isn't her card fabulous? I don't have that stamp set yet (and I stress YET), so I used Happy Harmony for my card. I changed the color to Summer Sun and used some bling instead of rhinestone brads. The ribbon was what somebody used to wrap a package that I received last year sometime, and I couldn't bear to throw it away with the wrapping paper! LOL After a year of saving it, I finally used it on this card! You can also see Silke's gorgeous creations on her blog, My Life. If you've never visited before, I'm sure you'll keep going back now! Thanks for stopping by today. Have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Happy Harmony (SU); Paper- white (Georgia Pacific), yellow (DCWV); Ink- Summer Sun; Accessories- bling from Walmart, gingham ribbon, Always Artichoke marker (SU), water spritzer.

Rain Rain Go Away

Here is another card I made for our Pajama Party over at Paper Pretties last week. This was for the Glossy Cardstock Challenge. You had to use glossy cardstock, and you could use ANY technique that goes with glossy cardstock. I chose crayon resist. I stamped the clouds from Rainy Day Friends twice, once in black and once in Tempting Turquoise as a kind of shadow. I colored the Tempting Turquoise clouds in with a white crayon and then brayered and sponged Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie ink over the glossy cardstock. I wiped the Tempting Turquoise clouds with a paper towel so they were very white. I thought this double stamping gave a "motion" to the clouds. The final touches were the Dew Drops and the paper piercing along the bottom of the card. This card is perfect for today as it's very dreary here. . .no sun. Hopefully the rain will go away! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Rainy Day Friends (Paper Pretties); Ink- Basic Black, StazOn Jet Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun; Paper- glossy cardstock, yellow, mustard (DCWV), white (Georgia-Pacific); Accessories- yellow polka dot organdy ribbon (Doodliedoo), Sunflower Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), paper piercer, sponge, brayer, white crayon.

Happy Mail!

Look at this BEAUTIFUL card I received from Stephanie Hargis at Steph's Stampin' Stuff! What a nice surprise when I opened my mailbox! Stephanie wrote such a sweet note inside too. Thank you, Stephanie for this beautiful card! I love it! You made my day and I really appreciate it!

Wedding Day

This is a project I made for Papertrey Ink's Guest Star Stamper contest using the Wedding Day set. It's a Wedding Planner Box. Inside, there is a card for each month of year. My idea was that a bride could jot down things she needed to do each month in preparation for her wedding. For the box, I used a template that I bought at Oriental Trading. The inside cards were cut to fit in the box and I just rounded the corners. I used the swiss dots ribbon as tabs for each card. I had a lot of fun making this box and was lucky enough (and VERY excited) to have received an Honorable Mention for it! There were A LOT of gorgeous projects submitted for the contest. . .you should go and check them out! I still keep going back looking at all of the ideas! Thanks for stopping by today and have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Wedding Day (Papertrey Ink); Paper- Stamper's Select white and Berry Sorbet (Papertrey Ink); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine), Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink); Accessories- circle and scallop circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), box template (Oriental Trading), corner rounder.

Beate Weekend Sketch #44

It's time for another one of Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenges! Are these weeks flying by for anyone else? It seems like it was JUST Friday two days ago! I sure hope the summer doesn't go this fast when it gets here. I used Tyson the Turtle from Cornish Heritage Farms for my sketch card today. I colored him in using Copic markers. I used the Cuttlebug negative effect on the Wild Wasabi panels, but it doesn't show very well. Probably because I used Wild Wasabi! I was afraid using Chocolate Chip would "dirty" the card up more than I wanted. Make sure you check out what Beate, Cambria, Jenn, Laurie, Lori, Mary Jo and Sharon have come up with for today! I'm heading over now! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Tyson the Turtle (Kim Hughes, Cornish Heritage Farms); Paper- Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip (SU), gold (DCWV) white (Georgia-Pacific); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Accessories- Copic markers, brads (Making Memories) double stitched ribbon in Wild Wasabi (SU), Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder, paper piercer, Chocolate Chip marker.

Summer Card

This is a card I made for the Pajama Party at Paper Pretties. The challenge was to make a summer card using colors you would find in the Bold Brights color family. As happy as those colors are, I rarely use them. I think it's because I'm just an earth tone kind of girl. :) This was colored using Stampin' Up markers. For a finishing touch, I punched a slot with the horizontal slot punch to add some ribbon and paper pierced a line leading to the sentiment. . .you know me and my paper piercing! LOL This card is PERFECT for today because it's supposed to be in the 70's here. I am SO excited! I know some of you have seen the 80's already, but 70's is really good in Pittsburgh at this time of year! The girls LOVE to get outside and run around. . .and mommy LOVES when they sleep well at night! :) Hope you're having beautiful weather today too! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Rainy Day Friends, Sassy Circles (Paper Pretties); Paper- white (Georgia-Pacific), yellow (DCWV); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Accessories- paper piercer, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Pink Passion, Only Orange, Yo Yo Yellow markers (SU), horizontal slot punch (SU), double stitched ribbon (Darice)

Amy's Make a Card For Mom Sketch

This is a card I made for Amy's Make a Card For Mom Sketch. I used to LOVE when Amy had her Super Sketch Sundays, so when I saw a sketch challenge on her blog, I HAD to do it! :) She challenged us to make a card using our favorite patterned paper. You know, the stuff that we would usually hoard. She challenged us to cut into it and make a special card for our mom. I absolutely LOVE this paper from Scribble Scrabble's Felicity Collection. Julee sent it to us with the stamps for her last release. . .and I just LOVE it! I have to get more because this was the last piece of my favorite pattern in the collection! What's funny is that even though this is my favorite patterned paper (with the earth tones and daisies), it would not be my mother's favorite. My mother loves pastels and very dainty looking patterns. She'd think this was cute, but she wouldn't go ga ga over it, know what I mean? Thanks for the challenge, Amy!

Oh, and just a reminder about the Vervalicious Inspiration Challenge. Entries are due by April 22, and a random winner will receive $15 in Verve Bucks to spend at Verve! Check out the daily posts by the design team to see what they've created from this inspiration piece.Thank you all for stopping by today! Have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Thankful Blossoms (Verve Visual); Paper- Felicity Collection (Scribble Scrabble), Really Rust (SU), gold (DCWV); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette), Really Rust (SU); Accessories- More Mustard and Really Rust markers (SU), paper piercer, rust organdy ribbon (Darice), slit punch, key tag punch (SU)

Be Inspired #9

This is my take on Beate's Inspiration Challenge this week. Isn't the inspiration piece neat? I had fun with this one because I like using a brayer. I tried to use Michelle Zindorf's brayer background technique, but I need a lot of practice on that! LOL It worked for this challenge though! I used my Spritzer tool to add the black specks on top. Everything else is pretty straight forward. Be sure and check out what Beate, Danielle Lounds, Dawn McVey, Silke Ledlow and Susan Roberts came up with for today. Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Stem Silhouettes (SU); Paper- glossy cardstock, Basic Black (SU); Ink- Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Wild Wasabi (SU), StazOn Jet Black; Accessories- paper piercer, small oval punch, 1" circle punch, Spritzer tool (SU), brayer, black organdy ribbon (Darice)

For the Boys Challenge

Last week, Lauren and I were chatting and we decided to challenge each other to create a gift or party favor with a boy theme using the same stamp set. I don't have this set yet (and I stress YET) :), so Lauren sent me some of these Pink Cat Studio stamped images for the challenge. I decided to go with a Cowboy Party theme for Isaac's 1st birthday. His birthday isn't until November, but there's nothing wrong with thinking about it early, right? (Lauren's son, Noah, has the SAME birthday as Isaac. Correct me if I'm wrong, Lauren! Before I was about to have Isaac, Lauren assured me that he would be a wonderful boy because his birthday was a good day!) My first idea was to make the invitation like a "WANTED" sign using "Billy's" face as the picture. Under the picture, I would stamp a "cowboy name" for each child invited. Shown here are "Billy the Kid" and "Wild Cat Colton".
Some other names my husband and I came up with for some family and friends are Rootin' Tootin' Reid, Maddy Oakley, Ado Adelaide, Duke Lucas, Alamo Alden and Sasperilla Steele to name a few. The treat bag is made from a brown lunch bag that I added distressed Kraft cardstock to the front and back. The straps are hemp twine and are laced through tabs made with the large oval punch. I added some fringe by cutting slices in some Chocolate Chip cardstock. Inside the treat bag is a package of pretzel rods, a red bandana and a little notebook made with my Bind-It-All. I figured I could add other little toy items for the actual party. Billy was colored in using Copic markers.

I really enjoyed this challenge! After coming up with the idea, the most challenging part was thinking everything through BEFORE touching the images, because if I messed up, I couldn't just stamp another image! LOL Now make sure you go and check out Lauren's FABULOUS take on the challenge! I'm sure she will WOW you just like she did me! Thanks, Lauren, this was a lot of fun and you can rest assured that I HAVE to get this set now! :) Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Billy (Pink Cat Studio), Dot Invitation, Classic Alphabet, Rough Edges Alphabet (SU); Paper- Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine), Chocolate Chip (SU); Accessories- large oval punch, large star punch, cello bag (SU), hemp twine, Bind-It-All, sponge, Copic markers

A Tough Sketch

This was for this week's Sketch Challenge on SCS. I really didn't know what to do with this askew oval. I pulled out my Fall Flowers paper and colored the watering can from Simply Special by Paper Pretties and colored it to match the papers. Since the card was only supposed to be two layers, I had to "dress it up" a bit. I added the faux stitching down the left side and the organdy ribbon on the oval. It doesn't show very well in the photo, but the oval was cut and embossed using my oval Nestabilities.



For those of you wondering about my mother-in-law, we went to visit her last night. She's still in the hospital, but it's a skilled nursing center. . .kind of like the step in between being in the hospital and going home. She looks great but she tires easily, which is understandable. She was very happy to see us. . .the kids especially. It's been a long while since she's seen them. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers! They are very much appreciated!

Be sure and check back tomorrow! Lauren and I made a challenge to each other and I'm DYING to see what she came up with. Aren't you? Thanks for stopping by today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Simply Special (Paper Pretties); Paper- Fall Flowers (SU); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Accessories- Copic markers, paper piercer, black marker, oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), black organdy ribbon (Darice)

Stacked Ribbon

This was for this week's Try a New Technique Challenge on SCS, Stacked Ribbon. You were supposed to "stack" the ribbon on your card. That's something I don't do very often, so this was a great challenge for me. I used some lime ribbon along with the black polka dot organdy. The stamps are from Papertrey Ink. The butterfly has some Stampin' Up Chunky Sprinkles on it. The circle and scallop circle were cut with my Nestabilities dies. Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful weekend! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Butterfly Kisses, Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink); Ink- Basic Black, Gable Green, Green Galore (SU); Paper- white, black, lime, citrus (DCWV); Accessories- circle and scallop circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), brads (Making Memories), green ribbon (Oriental Trading), black polka dot organdy (Doodliedoo), ticket corner punch, Chunky Sprinkles glitter (SU)

Happy Mail!

I am so late in posting this, but I received this amazing package last week from Jami at Crazy Daisy Creations! First of all, look at that gorgeous card! The rest of the package is full of ladybugs! Jami went to Hawaii a little while ago and brought back these stamps for me because they had ladybugs on them! How adorable! She actually let me in on a little secret. . .her mother-in-law Pam from Stamping With Serendipity actually got a couple of the stamps when she went to Hawaii and gave them to Jami to give to me. Pam also found that fabulous ladybug magnet! I would LOVE to put that on my car if I weren't afraid it would get stolen! LOL Isn't this the sweetest package? I was just floored that they thought of me. Thank you Jami and Pam! You are the best! I just LOVE my package and really appreciate your thoughtfulness! Big HUGS!

You Make My Day!

I received the You Make My Day Award from Samantha at Fun With Paper and Diane at My Little Stampin' Spot. WOW, thank you guys! Not to be redundant, but it makes MY day that I make your day! LOL So many of you make my day. I love it when you stop by and especially when you say hello! It's nice to know you're out there! :) I'm supposed to award this to people who make my day, but the list is TOO long! If you're reading this, then you KNOW you make my day because you've stopped by for a visit. Thanks for taking time to stop by and Make My Day!

Beate Weekend Sketch #43

I cannot believe it's Friday already. This week went by SO quickly! Here's my card for Beate's Weekend Sketch. I LOVE this background stamp from the Stampin' Up catalog. I love it because you don't have to color it in if you don't want to. It's great just stamped in one color for a quick card. I chose to use my Wonder Watercolor Crayons to color it in though. I added some Stickles too. The flower has a really pretty sparkle! I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my favorite Stampin' Up color has always been Really Rust. I just LOVE it. I like a lot of the other colors too (In Colors and Earth Elements especially), but Really Rust is one of my easy choices since it just works for me. Be sure and check out what Beate, Cambria, Jenn, Laurie, Lori, Mary Jo and Sharon have come up with for today's challenge. I'm sure they will all be beautiful!


Don't forget about the Prettie Pajama Party tonight at 8pm EST at Paper Pretties. . .three new stamps sets, three challenges and LOTS of fun! Hope to see you there! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- From the Garden, Full of Life (SU); Paper- Really Rust, Whisper White (SU) Cocoa (DCWV); Ink- Really Rust; Accessories- ticket corner punch, slit punch, Wonder Watercolor Crayons (SU), rust satin ribbon (May Arts), Stardust Stickles, Copper Stickles

Verve Inspiration Challenge

If you haven't checked the Verve Visual blog lately, head on over! There's a challenge going on and you could WIN!

Make a card or project using the pillow photo as inspiration, and link it to this post by Midnight (Mountain time) on April 22nd for a chance to win. If you have any Verve Visual stamps, please use them, but it's not a requirement. The winner will receive $15 in Verve Bucks to spend at the Verve store. Sound like fun? Keep checking the Verve blog for the Design Team members' takes on the challenge.

Real Glorious Navy

This was for this week's Color Challenge on SCS, Real Glorious Navy, to use Real Red, Glorious Green and Night of Navy. This was a tough one because I don't usually go for this color combination. . .but that's why they call it a challenge, right? The set is called Rainy Day Friends and will be available this Friday at Paper Pretties! I would LOVE to have you join in our Prettie Pajama Party starting at 8pm EST on Friday! I have 3 challenges for you. . .one at the top of each hour. It's LOTS of fun and there are prizes! If you'd like more details, you can find them HERE. Hope you can make it! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Rainy Day Friends (Paper Pretties); Ink- Basic Black (SU); Paper- Real Red, Glorious Green, Whisper White (SU), Navy (DCWV); Accessories- large oval punch, red polka dot organdy ribbon, Water Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), ticket corner punch, Real Red, Glorious Green, Night of Navy, Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal markers (SU)

Prettie Wednesday

Two weeks ago, I issued a challenge to the Prettie Girls to watercolor. No fancy markers, just ink and an Aquapainter or watercolor brush. Here is my card for the challenge. This card should have already been on the way to Danielle, but I'm late! Sorry Danielle! Speaking of Danielle, she has joined us on the Paper Pretties Design Team! How cool is that? I'm very excited because her creations are always amazing! Welcome, Danielle!

This set is called Simply Special. It's one of the three new sets Paper Pretties will be releasing Friday night during our Prettie Pajama Party! That's right! Come join us for our Pajama Party at 8pm EST. I host the party and have three challenges for you! One gets posted at the top of each hour starting at 8pm EST. You have an hour to create and post each challenge submission. Sound like fun? It really IS a lot of fun and there are even prizes! So, if you've never attended one of our PJ parties before, why don't you give it a try? All you need to do is sign up with a username and password and then look for the release party thread in the forums! Hope to see you there! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Simply Special (Paper Pretties); Paper- Garden Collection (Webster Pages); Ink- Burnt Umber (Palette), River Rock (SU); Accessories- Nestabilities scallop circle and plain circle, paper piercer, Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy folder, Wonder Watercolor Crayons (SU), Water Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest), Aquapainter, cream organdy ribbon (Darice)

Be Inspired #8

When Beate sent me this week's inspiration challenge, I just LOVED it. That dress is so funky! (in a good way) I decided to use So Saffron, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Whisper White to make this card. The sets I used were Pick a Petal, Warm Words and Sweet Shapes. The first thing I did was stamp the petal from Pick a Petal six times and cut them out. I stamped the matching center and cut off part of the circle to make it more like the flower center on the dress. Once I arranged the petals the way I liked them, I mounted the flower to the card with dimensionals. I added some grosgrain ribbon for a stem and faux stitching along the bottom part of the card using my white gel pen. After I added the white brads, the card needed something up at the top. I tried different embellishments, but nothing worked for me. Then I decided that a butterfly goes with a flower, so that might work. I stamped the butterfly from Sweet Shapes in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I stamped and embossed it again on vellum cardstock and cut that one out. I bent the wings back a bit to give the "flying" effect and mounted it on top of the butterfly I stamped on the card. It gave just the touch I was looking for. Be sure and check out what Beate, Dawn McVey, Silke Ledlow and Susan Roberts came up with for today. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Pick a Petal, Warm Words, Sweet Shapes (SU); Paper- So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky, Basic Black (SU), vellum; Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine), Versamark; Accessories- white embossing powder, moss grosgrain, white brads (Oriental Trading), paper piercer, white gel pen

Let Your Light Shine

Yesterday, the son of friends of ours was making his First Communion. Using my stamps from Verve Visual, I tried to make this card as boyish as possible but still fit the occasion. Maybe the scallops across the bottom pushed it over that line, but it looked so "nekkid" without something. Actually, I started this card embossing the cross in white on the front inside the Nestabilities embossed oval. It was looking too plain, so I ran the card back through my Cuttlebug to cut out that oval and ended up stamping and embossing the cross in gold on the inside of the card so it would show through the window. Funny how you start out doing one thing and in order to "save" your card, it ends up being completely different. I'm just happy I didn't have to trash the whole thing. Thanks for stopping by today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Easter Elegance, Swirly Stars (Verve Visual); Paper- white (Georgia-Pacific), gold (DCWV Metallic Stack); Ink- Versamark; Accessories- gold embossing powder, gold brads (Making Memories), oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Here Comes the Bride

Another challenge I haven't done in a while is Jen's Sketch For You To Try. I got out my She's All That set and my Luxury Stack from Die Cut With a View and made this. You can't really see in the picture, put the paper is pearlized and looks so elegant in real life. The card base and mattes of the card are River Rock cardstock. The sentiment (which is very subtle) is stamped in River Rock ink. It makes such a nice wedding card if you're looking for a color other than white or ivory. Stop by and check out Jen's sketch. Give it a try! Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful Sunday! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- She's All That (SU); Paper- Luxury Stack (DCWV), River Rock (SU), Pearlized white (Paper Accents); Ink- Wheat (VersaMagic), River Rock (SU); Accessories- pearl brads, cream organdy ribbon (Darice)

Lily and Tweet Mojo

It has been such a long time since I've done Julee's Mojo Monday Challenge. I was determined to do it today since TWO kids were napping at the same time. . .that's a record! :) When Pink Cat Studio released their Lily and Tweet and Dress Up Lily sets, I got them right away. I just LOVE them and loved everything the Design Team had done with them, those enablers! LOL I especially loved these stamps from the Lily and Tweet set. I think it's the performer in me that's attracted to sets like this. So showy and fabulous! I ran the scalloped circle through my Xyron, attached the image circle and then poured pink chunky glitter over the edges. I applied some glue on the boa and added glitter there too. I almost used the "glamorous" sentiment, but I thought I could use the "thank you" more. Don't you love it when you use stamps that have been sitting there uninked? I know it makes me feel better! LOL Have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Lily and Tweet (Pink Cat Studio); Paper- Regal Rose, Rose Red, Whisper White, Basic Black (SU); Ink- Black Onyx (Versafine); Accessories- Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder, Mega circle punch, Giga scallop circle punch,Regal Rose, Rose Red, Apricot Appeal markers (SU), wide rose grosgrain (SU), rhinestone brads (Darice), Chunky Sprinkles glitter (SU)