A-Team Wedding 1

We played a sneaky trick on our parents yesterday.

We told everyone we were going to get back to Texas on July 5, but instead we showed up on July 2 and crashed my mom's birthday dinner.  It was really fun :)

But anyway, this is a stampy/scrappy blog so here's a scrapbook layout for today.

My brother and SIL were the only ones in the know on the surprise yesterday; the pics are from their wedding.

Their names are Adam and Adrienne, a.k.a. the A-Team, so hence the monogram.

That's it for me today, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Morning Post Alphabet, You Are Loved
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy, Bella Rose DSP
Accessories:  None

Sweet Cherry Blossoms

While we were in Spain, we took pictures of a church with some cherry trees out in front of it, which reminded me of the cherry blossom festivals we went to when we lived in Japan.  And today I made a card inspired by those beautiful blossoms.

I've had that Floral Fusion Sizzlit for a while but this is the first time it's been used.  Actually, the Finishing Touches Edgelits hadn't been used yet either.  Hey, that's kinda why I started this blog--to make sure I used my stampy stash more often!  So, mission accomplished :)  I also used FOUR retiring colors:  Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Regal Rose.  And I think I need more Bashful Blue cardstock (what? so I have a slight hoarding problem).

This week's challenge at Inkspirational was the kick in the pants I needed to get this card made:

And the layout is courtesy of CAS(E) This Sketch:

I think I know who this card should go to, so maybe I should go write in it now and get it ready to mail.  Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  You Are Loved
Ink:  Whisper White craft
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, retired Certainly Celery DSP
Accessories:  Floral Fusion Sizzlit, Finishing Touches Edgelits, pearls

Raspberry Flower

Ok, I admit, this week I'm having trouble getting moving in my stamp room.  I made Monday and Tuesday's cards over the weekend and since then, nothing is happening on the card front.  I had intended to make a new card today, but I went to the gym and now I am STARVING so here's another one I made a while back!

Thanks for stopping by today, I'm off to make dinner!  At 4:30 in the afternoon, and I'm not even a senior citizen...

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  Field Flowers, En Francais, You Are Loved
Ink:  Raspberry Ripple, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Raspberry Ripple, Soft Suede, In Color & Neutrals DSP Stacks
Accessories:  Modern Label Punch

By the Tide

Fun fact about me:  I'm not really a beach baby.  Sure, the ocean is nice and all, but I don't like to go swimming out there where there are sharks and jellyfish and all kinds of other things that can kill you painfully in under a minute.  My husband, on the other hand, is an avid scuba diver.  I do like to go to aquariums though, I like to look at the pretty fishies where I'm in no danger of drowning.  And so I almost always buy any marine stamp sets that SU puts out.  Meet the brand-new set By the Tide:

It's a little difficult to see unless you click on the photo to enlarge it, but the fish and seahorse have the coral stamp in the background in stamped-off Crumb Cake.  I think I used every stamp in the set except one.  I wonder if it's weird to have a fish staring at you from a card, but is it any more arbitrary than all the cards with flowers or whatnot on them?  Things that make you go hmm.

Another fun fact:  when I was in 7th grade, I wanted to be a marine biologist.  Then I found out in high school that biology was pretty much my worst subject ever, and then there was the whole fear of drowning thing.  So I'll stick to visiting aquariums.  And rubber stamps.  Maybe the occasional educational program on TV.

Anyway, today's card is another combination of sketch and color challenges, there are just so MANY to choose from and I love them.  First up is the sketch from Sketch Frenzy Friday:

I stuck pretty close to it, didn't I?  The color combo is courtesy of Inkspirational, I couldn't wait to give this on a try especially since there was no pink involved.  I love pink, and I'm not one of those Valentine's Day haters, but it was nice to get away from pink for a bit since it's everywhere this time of year.

I used Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, and Perfect Plum and even managed to stick to just those three colors and nothing else.  I don't think we see NQN or Perfect Plum on enough color challenges, I love those colors.  Oh, let's be real--I just love color in general.  The more the better :)

Thanks for stopping by today, happy stampin'!

Supplies (all SU!):
Stamps:  By the Tide, You Are Loved (sentiment)
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Perfect Plum
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  1 3/8" square punch, Crumb Cake taffeta

Sweet Friend

Have you ever seen a stamp set in the catalog and really liked it, then bought it, and once it got to your house you just sat and stared at it and it stared back at you and you had absolutely no idea what to do with it?  You Are Loved was one of those stamp sets for me.  But after owning it for at least a year, I have finally made something with it, and it will finally quit staring at me in such an accusatory tone of voice.  Yay.

Hey look, two More Amore DSP cards in a row.  Well, I bought the Valentine paper this year but not the Hearts a Flutter stamp set which I am trying mightily to resist.  Wish me luck and tell me to stay strong; my husband will thank you for encouraging me not to buy another stamp set ;)

So You Are Loved might still be languishing in my stamp cabinet, uninked, were it not for the Sketch Frenzy Friday challenge posted last week:

I had to make the middle panel wider to accommodate the heart image but everything else is the same as the sketch.  I wish SU would quit "aging" the edges of their DSP; it can make it look kinda weird when you cut it up for a card.  The pattern I used today had pinkish sponging all around the edges, so I added some more with Primrose Petals so it would look right to me.  I also lightly sponged some Pool Party and Basic Gray around the heart panel to make it match the aged paper, though it doesn't show up well in the photo (hate it when I have to take pictures after dark...doesn't help that dark is before 5 p.m. here right now).  And the good folks at SU apparently also disagree with my opinion that Primrose Petals and Real Red clash, though thus far I have succeeded in ignoring the Real Red in this DSP ;)

Thanks for stopping by today, enjoy your Wednesday!

Supplies:
Stamps:  You are Loved
Ink:  Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Basic Gray
Paper:  Primrose Petals, Pool party, Very Vanilla, More Amore DSP
Accessories:  uhh...sponges?  Dude, I didn't even use Dimensionals on this one.  I did fussy-cut that bird though.