More INK-A-PALOOZA Challenge Cards ~

These are two more cards I've made for the INK-A-PALOOZA challenges at The Stamp Shack.

First, I made the one below for LoobyLou's Single Layer challenge. For those people who are short on time and supplies, the single layer quick card is the WAY 2 GO! It's very simple and I like the look, don't you?

But, I wanted to show you what you could do with the same image if you layered it and added some embellishments. That's what I've done on the card above. It's my entry in Mrs. Fence's Thank You, Thank You Very Much Challenge. Her son, Jacob, has autism and since April is Autism Awareness Month she is asking all of us to make Thank You cards for her to donate to her local ASM (Autism Society of Maine) Chapter for their use. Isn't that a wonderful idea?! I think I'll make a few more single layer cards for them and they won't have to worry about extra postage. :)

I've made 5 challenge cards now, but there are 14 different challenges! WOW! Now, I'm off to take some bedding out of the dryer, remake the bed and get back to STAMPIN! The next one on my list is CeCeScrap's Butterfly Challenge. I know I've got some very neglected butterfly stamps around here somewhere....

Thanks so much for blogging by today and for your sweet comments. They really make my day! Someday, all of us in Nebraska need to meet up for shopping and stamping! Wouldn't that be FUN?!

Smiles,

Quote for Today ~

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson

INK-A-PALOOZA Sketch Challenge!

I've made three cards today for the various INK-A-PALOOZA challenges at The Stamp Shack.

This one is for Joanie's Sketch Challenge using the sketch below. It is taken from "The Joy of Cardmaking" by Wendy Johnson. At first glance, you may think I've forgotten about the three sections on the bottom of the card, but if you look closely, you'll see that I zig-zag stitched the sections onto the floral paper. I tried using three different patterned papers but I thought it distracted from the image. And by the way, the image is a $1 Michaels stamp... colored with prismacolor pencils. I got out my neglected giga & mega circle punches for the center.

I'm still working on a couple other challenges and will post the rest of my creations tomorrow. I hope you're having a nice weekend!

Smiles,

Quote for Today ~

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. ~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr

INK-A-PALOOZA Color Challenge!

Today is the first day of "INK-A-PALOOZA" at The Stamp Shack and I'm hosting a Color Challenge with the opportunity to WIN a prize!

To enter this challenge, you must create a hand-stamped card using the colors GREEN, PINK & BROWN. For those of you who like to think in terms of Stampin’ Up colors…think Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Close to Cocoa! But, any shade of green, pink and brown will be acceptable. You may use designer paper, but it must have only shades of these colors.

Since this is a Stamp Shack sponsored event, you must post your challenge card in the Creative Team, Special Events Gallery at The Stamp Shack and begin the title with IAP4. Once you’ve done that, please come back here and leave a comment with the link to your card so you will be included in my random PRIZE drawing for a brand NEW Stampin' Up set!

WIN A PRIZE!

Best Kind of Friend

by Stampin' Up!

This is the card I created as an example. The designer paper is "Surfer Girl" by The Paper Studio. The sentiment is one of my new stamps bought last weekend in Lincoln at Ben Franklin Too. It's "Kiss of the Sun" by Verses Rubber Stamps.

Ink-A-Palooza starts today and runs through Sunday, May 4th. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

As I mentioned earlier, this challenge is sponsored by the Stamp Shack, so all entries must be posted in the gallery there to be eligible for the prize drawing. Let the FUN begin! :)

Stampin' Smiles,

"Stamping makes an ordinary day more colorful!"

You Made My Day!

Have you ever made a card that you were simply HAPPY with? :) I just did!

Yesterday, I was so surprised to find these super CUTE Changito monkey images in my mailbox! How FUN! Of course, I couldn't wait to color them and create a card for my sweet Stamp Shack friend {Suzi F} who sent them to me! She knew I had been looking for this stamp and couldn't find it locally, so she stamped some images for me and offered to look at her Archivers to see if they still have it there. SWEET!

There is a sentiment that goes with this image, but I chose one from my Hero Arts set instead because it said exactly what I wanted to say ~ You made my day! :)

Do you like this designer paper? My sweet DIL Jami just gave it to me last weekend. It's from the Basic Grey Urban Prairie line. I happened to have it on my craft table when I was coloring the image and WA-LA! Don't you love it when that happens?! :)

Yesterday I was on a ROLL and made 5 cards! One is for a sketch challenge at The Stamp Garden in Sioux Falls. I used one of the Changito monkey stamps that I bought when I was shopping there. I'll post it later...

Have a super Sunday and do what you love! Smiles...

Quote for Today ~

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~Danny Kaye

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

HAPPY HI from Nebraska where we're having a nice Spring RAIN shower today! Even though I much prefer SUNSHINE, it's "April showers that bring May flowers"!

Would you believe I have another 3-day weekend? YaY for me! :) My sweet DIL Jami had an appt in Lincoln yesterday and invited me to ride along, so I took a day of vacation from work. She and I and another stampin' friend Karmen took a little roadtrip and what a FUN day we had! Lots of talking, laughing, lunch and SHOPPING!

I got the rubber stamps for this card at the Ben Franklin Too store, which has SO many rubber stamps I was overwhelmed and kept changing my mind trying to decide which ones to buy. Jami spotted these "Bee Showers" and "Let it Rain" stamps by Stampendous and knew I would want to have them! duh! :) In the next few days, I'll show you some of the other stamps I couldn't resist. Let's just say I had Spring Fever! :)

This card is kinda BUSY (busy bees?) with the floral background paper, but I went with it anyway and colored the image to coordinate. (At least, I think it does! :) I've been using this paper quite a bit lately because there are so many pretty florals. It's Wild Raspberry ~ an 8x8 pad by K&Company that I purchased at Michaels. The base cardstock is Stampin' Up marigold morning and the image was colored with Copic markers. The twill ribbon is from Taylored Expressions.

Today, I've been doing laundry and a few little household chores, but couldn't wait to get in my stampin' room and ink up these new stamps! I need to work on a couple ATC swaps that I signed up for at The Stamp Shack and also figure out my color challenge for our Stampapalooza "Week of Ink" coming up soon!

Wanna hear something funny? I rarely bake anymore, but this morning I decided to make my favorite coffee cake recipe. Mr Wonderful loves to have goodies around the house and since he bought groceries (he always does...I don't like to!) I figured I would quick make this favorite of ours. I had the topping mixed up, the eggs were in the bowl and I was just ready to spoon in the sour creme and realized it had CHIVES in it! :) ugh! That might work on our baked potatoes, but not in our coffee cake!

If you want a quick and easy dessert recipe, this is a GOOD one! I got it from a friend at work years ago and use it often.

LaRee's Struesel Coffee Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1/4 cup firm butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

3 eggs

1-1/2 cup sour creme

Measure and mix together in small bowl: 2/3 cup of the dry cake mix, butter, brown sugar and nuts. Set this aside for the topping.

In another bowl, beat together eggs, sour creme (with NO chives :) and the remaining dry cake mix. This will be very thick. Spread 1/2 of this into a 9x13 greased/floured pan and then sprinkle 1/2 of the topping mixture on. Then spoon on the other 1/2 of the cake batter and topping. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min. ENJOY!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and you all know how I love reading your comments! (hint)

May your weekend be filled with SUNSHINE & SMILES!

Quote for Today ~

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Real Color Inspiration Challenge!

This was definitely a "challenge"! Individually, I love the Stampin' Up colors kiwi kiss, pacific point and rose red, but I just wasn't too sure they worked together.

After much pondering, I decided to create a card similar to one I saw a couple months ago on one of my favorite blogs ~ Stamp & Smile. Michelle is SO talented and always blows me away with each and every one of her creations.

If you like using punches, you'll love making this card. I've used the wide oval punch for the flower pots, cut off the top and bottom and sponged white craft ink on one side for highlights. The other side is sponged with the same ink as the cardstock color. Actually, you wouldn't necessarily have to use the punches to make this card, you could cut them freehand too. Any flower punch would work...I chose to use one from my 3-flower Stampin Up punch. This card is very bright and cheery, but I had quite a time tonight trying to get a decent photo without shadows. :)

MW and I had a wonderful time in Sioux Falls and I got to do some SHOPPING! I was happy to use my Michaels coupons on some new ribbon, designer paper and a cool little oval punch by Jolees. Also, we drove downtown and found The Stamp Garden...a darling little shop full of a wide variety of rubber stamps and products to tempt me! I was wishing I had my camera to take photos to share with you. Next time I will! Of course, I didn't walk away empty handed...I bought all four of the Changito monkey stamps they had on the shelf and ordered a newly released birthday set too.

If you want to play along with this color inspiration challenge, just go to KWernerDesign.com. Even if you don't participate, be sure to take a minute to view all the fabulous creations others have made. It is truly amazing! I find SO many fantastic new blogs this way.

Do you have special plans for Easter Sunday? I'm so blessed to have a sweet DIL who loves to cook and we're invited to Andy & Jami's for dinner. That makes my day! :)

God's blessings!

Quote for Today ~

Let the resurrection JOY lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and HAPPINESS. ~Floyd W. Tomkins

Do the Bunny Hop!

Hop Hop Hop!

Here they are...the Changito monkeys dancing the "Bunny Hop"!

Put your right foot in,

Put your left foot out,

Do the Bunny Hop,

Hop, hop, hop!

Ok, I'm being silly, but this card made me think of that song! :) This is another image I received from Amy and wanted to use it before Easter. I've colored it with Copic markers to coordinate with the designer paper called "Frutti Fusion" by the Angel Company. On the front of the 8 x 8 pad it describes the paper perfectly as "a captivating palette consisting of jubilant and flamboyant colors". I would say these three little monkeys (bunnies) look especially jubilant! :)

Tomorrow is Good Friday and a holiday for me. YaY! :) I love long weekends! Hubby and I are going to make a trip up to Sioux Falls tomorrow and I'm planning to check out a rubber stamp store I've heard about in the downtown area. It's supposed to be a nice day and I hope it is so we can stop by Falls Park and walk around the waterfalls. If we do, I'll be sure to take some photos to share.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're leaving with a SMILE on your face and a song in your heart! Put your right foot in, put your left foot out... :)

Wishing you all a very HAPPY EASTER!

Everything I Need To Know I've Learned From the Easter Bunny

Don't put all your eggs in one basket... The best things in life are still sweet and gooey... Walk softly and carry a big carrot... Good things come in small sugarcoated packages... Everyone needs a friend who is all ears... There's no such thing as too much candy... Keep your paws off other people's jelly beans... Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day... All work and no play can make you a basket case... The grass is always greener in someone else's basket... An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare... To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell... Some body parts should be floppy... Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits!

(author unknown)

In Everything Give Thanks ~ {KWernerDesign Color Inspiration}

If you want to be inspired with COLOR, you really must blog on over to KWernerDesign.com and view all the fabulous cards created for the weekly color inspiration challenges.

This week the colors are chocolate chip, kiwi kiss, baja breeze and whisper white. I was so excited when my Stampin' Up order came yesterday with the baja breeze ink and cardstock so I could participate in this week's challenge! I think I'm just barely getting in before the deadline. In fact, I quickly uploaded my card and now I'm typing the info. :)

This is the first card I've made in a long time without any designer paper. I started with kiwi kiss as the standard size card base 4-1/4 x 11 (folded in half). Using the Simple Stripes background stamp and kiwi kiss ink, I stamped the front of the card. Next, I cut a piece of chocolate chip 3 x 5" and baja breeze 1/8" smaller to layer on top. For the design on the baja breeze piece, I used the Filigree background stamp and baja breeze ink. You could use any floral or sentiment set, by I chose Happy Harmony by Stampin' Up! The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia and clear embossed. For the flower I used the aqua painter with the ink pads. My photo doesn't do justice to the ribbon. It really is a pretty good match to the kiwi kiss paper.

I've sure enjoyed all your sweet comments lately. It really makes my day and inspires me to keep on stamping! :) Also, thank you to all of you who shared your tips for organizing your stamp sets.

In case I don't get time to post again this week, I want to be sure and wish you all a very blessed Easter!

Quote for Today ~

The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise. ~Carl Knudsen

Hoppy Easter! {Raspberry Suite Color Challenge}

It's Week 3 of Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge and she has definitely challenged us with this combination of 5 colors! But, aren't they oh so PRETTY together?!

Lucky for me, I happened to have this "Love Flowers" floral paper by the Paper Studio and it was perfect... except that I used white instead of vanilla. oops! :)

The "Hoppy Easter" sentiment was computer generated using the Stampin' Up! Font CD (font is Favero Wide). The Changito monkey (I mean Easter Bunny!) image is by Stampendous and was sent to me by Amy {thebasicscrapper} from Splitcoaststampers. I made a card very similar to this a couple weeks ago but with a different color scheme. It seems like I could just leave my scalloped circle and scalloped edge punches out on my craft table because I've been using them so often lately. I got out my nifty Crop-a-dile to add the large flower eyelet to the tag and I had FUN coloring the image with Copic markers.

If you want an enjoyable blog hop , HOP on over to Dawn's blog ~ My Favorite Things and take a peak at all the entries in this week's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge! You will be inspired and amazed at all the creativity!

We had a little "mini blizzard" last night, but thankfully not much SNOW and the SUN is shining now! YAY! It was FUN to hear from all of you yesterday with your weather reports. Hi Gail, Debbie, Mish & Nancy Jo! I hope the SUN is shining in your world today! :)

{A personal note for Nancy Jo...I was SO sad when my all time favorite rubber stamp store ~ Scatter Joy ~ closed last year! We're planning a shopping trip to Sioux Falls next weekend. Are there any new rubber stamp stores that I should check out?}

THINK SPRING!

Another Quote for Today ~

Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life. ~S.D. Gordon

Getting Organized! My New Stamp Album...

I've been procrastinating long enough and finally got busy this weekend and started a reference album for ALL MY STAMPS! :)

My primary purpose for doing this is to remember which sets I have so I'll use them more often! When typing the list, I was babbling to myself..."Oh, I forgot about this set and it's one of my favorites!"

The photo to the right is the cover I made for the white 3-ring binder I'm using. It has a clear insert on the front so this just slips down inside. (I tried to take a photo of it in the album and it glares.)

Most of my stamp sets are from Stampin' Up so I started typing those and it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I just carried a stack at a time over to the computer, typed them in and sorted the list alphabetically when I was done. Next to the name of the set, I have a column to "X" once I get a photo of that particular set in my album. Initially, I intended to STAMP a page for every set, but I came to my senses and realized that would probably take me the rest of my life. So... what I've done instead is cut apart old Stampin Up catalogs and mini catalogs. WHAT?!! Don't panic now... I had some duplicate ones from when I was a SU demonstrator. There is NO way that I would cut up ALL my wonderful SU cattys! Trust me, they are all alive and well and neatly organized on a book shelf here in my stampin room! Scared you there for a minute, didn't I? hee hee :)

Of course, I wasn't able to find all my sets in the extra catalogs, so I've been going online and using the Google image search to find photos. Once I find a decent photo, I print it out and add it to my notebook! From here on out, with any additional sets I buy, I intend to photocopy the labels before I assemble the set. At least, I think that might be the best way to get a good clear image and stay up to date with this.

Ok, so now you're wondering what I'm going to do with the hundreds of single stamps on my shelves. Hmmm....I'm not really sure yet! I could STAMP them all, but that means I would also have to CLEAN them all! :) What if I put them into categories and take photos to print out? Do you have ideas for me? All suggestions are appreciated!







Now that I've "found" all these neglected sets, I think it's time I inked them up!! Stay tuned for more later...Smiles,





Quote for Today ~
Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~Don Marquis

{MoJo Monday Sketch} No Matter the Weather...

... I'm glad we're together!

This sentiment is quite appropriate today because our weather forecast is not good! It seems like they are wrong more than they're right about the weather these days, so time will tell if we get a BLIZZARD tonight like they're predicting! Right now it is blustery and gloomy outside and sleet is starting to hit the window. Ugh!

But, one good thing....it's a PERFECT DAY to be indoors stamping and creating cards! :)


I've had this fantastic MOJO Monday sketch on my desk all week just waiting for a major dose of mojo. I love this layout and was hoping to do it justice. I started with these super cute little Changito monkeys {thanks for letting me borrow your set Jami!} and colored them with Copic markers. The papers I've used are all from my scrap stash and I selected them after I colored the image. I prefer to do it the other way around and usually color the image to coordinate with the paper I want to use. The photo below is of the inside of the card. I used the scalloped circle on the left to cover my brads so they didn't show. :)

I haven't done much stamping this week, but I have accomplished a few things...like labeling my punches and new stamp sets. One thing I've started, but have yet to finish is a reference notebook with photos of ALL my Stampin Up sets. I'm not certain the best way to go about this, but have started by printing photos I've found online. I really don't want to stamp every set. That would take me forever! I've got so many sets that I neglect to use and thought this would be a great way to know what I have without looking through them all on the shelf. If you have any suggestions for me, I'm all ears! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I *love* and appreciate all your comments and best of all...it leads me to your wonderful blogs! Happy Stamping!

Smiles,




Quote for Today ~
"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." ~Carl Reiner