Yoris Needs a Treat - DF info

I love the box that Jody [Confessions of a Ribbon Addict] made a few weeks ago and knew I wanted to try one with Yoris from my Starving Artistamps The Great Outdoors! I put a cello bag filled with Cranberry Trail Mix inside which was yummy [I had to buy me some too, after all]. The rows of grass are made using DoodleDads set - there are so many fun 'doodledads' in there to use with your sets! HA I gave this box to John and he said, 'I'm not a bear' and I said, 'yes you are' as I affectionately pat his belly, 'you're always asking me to feed you'. I remember my mom teaching me to cook and telling me the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. True Dat!

**Starving Artistamps Discount Code Update:
Take 10% off all Starving Artistamps and DoodleFactory rubber stamps - use this code savetenDB in the coupon code box at checkout. Then hit recalculate. **This discount is not for any non-Starving Artist or DoodleFactory stamps due to the rising costs of products, shipping & transaction fees.

Combined Beate Challenges: WSC55 & BIC20 - For You

Here is my card combining Beate's Be Inspired Challenge 20 (BIC20) and her Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC55); t just made sense to combine the 2 since I am limited on time due to some really important projects I'm working on which I will begin to share the end of next week *wink*

I took the inspiration piece literally (that was fun) by swiping my sponge dauber in Riding Hood Red ink in stripes on the cardstock and to re-create the notches on the more mustard mat behind the floral piece {used Heartfelt Thanks} I used my 1/8" hole punch. Since I didn't want to make a really long card (still having problems with those) I decided to start with a standard card & sliced off the bottom to measure 3 1/2 x 5 1/2. Now this card still fits in a standard envelope. It's really a fun looking card being that size and I like how it turned out.

I hope y'all have a great 3-day weekend, we're off to do some long overdue grocery shopping - I've managed to elude making a real dinner all week (nice break) but it's because we were piece-mealing stuff with the slim pickins.

Want to hear something cute that my niece said earlier this week? Her mommy caught her talking to herself the day after I told her I was coming for a visit and she said. "Auntie's coming to visit me, yeah" - isn't that cute? Just makes me grin from ear to ear!!!

Sock Monkey Long Window

I totally love the sock monkey and am so excited my new SU! order came yesterday so now I will have more accessories for him!!

I decided more of his body needed to be peeking through a window instead of just his head like I shared on Weds. You can achieve a larger window quickly by punching several of your square punches along the side of your cardstock. I didn't do it perfectly so I distressed the edges with my tool and fixed it!

Don't you just love his Bella Rose paper-pieced body? Hope you have a fabulous day & long weekend - so ready for that - a chance to whittle down my To Do List and take some naps (I didn't get any last weekend!!!

Please vote for my friend Barb Schram!

she made it as a finalist in the JustRite Stampers contest for this week with her sweet hugs & kisses card she made. Barb is so sweet & a wonderful stamper!! I entered the first week & won a $5 gift certificate but have been too busy with other projects to continue but I do have a few things up my sleeve for it! The contest runs another 2 weeks after all!

Link to Vote for Barb Schram

Thanks!!!

Birthday Mom

A few weeks ago DMIL turned 60! Here is the card I made her using Melanie's Little Tees set by Gina K Designs. I thought pairing it with Basic Grey's Cupcake paper would be a lot of fun and for this card used 4 of the patterns. DMIL loved it & said she would love to have a t-shirt just like it! There are endless options for this set! I used PTI's Lemon Tart cardstock & twill ribbon as well as the Basic Grey cupcake brads.
Here's a pic of all of us (John's younger brother Steven is on the right). We went out to Johnny Fin's restaurant on Lake Travis with live music that was pretty good. We fed the ducks the whole time we were there, they were so cute to watch scramble for the food thrown to them. It was a real low key time (not a ton of fanfare you would expect for such a milestone birthday but that was about all she could handle physically but it was real nice). We had mixed berry cheesecake for dessert at home.

DMIL is a very special lady, so gentle, kind, loving - a real prayer warrior. In fact, God impressed on her to pray for me even before I was a reality to them. He told her to pray for her son's future wives; to prepare them-call them forth. I had no idea for all those years; but when I was told realized what a value that was and how much it was a true demonstration of God's love. I knew God was looking out for me but not that it spanned hundreds of miles as He held me close to His heart through her (and John because he was also praying for me). Believe it or not - I was praying for him too even before we knew one another. One of these days I may bore you (or inspire you) with our love story. Anyone wonder how we hooked up with me living in CA and him in TX? Well this blog post is about my DMIL so I will wait on that.

I will tell you that the year before John and I 'met' is the year my birth mom died of Lung Cancer. In fact it was a few weeks shy of the anniversary of her death that I made my home with John in Texas. One of the most special things my DMIL does for me is remember the anniversary of my mom's death every year (the day of she takes me to lunch, a way to not remind me of my loss but to honor my mom in treating me like a daughter should be treated and make me feel loved). I am humbled and so grateful for her thoughtfulness and endearing qualities as a mom. That is why it was not hard for me to begin calling her that. She is in no way a replacement for my birth mom, in fact Josephine (my mom) was 'Ma' to me and that she will remain. But God saw fit to be sure I was not without the blessing of a 'mom' in my life so that is what Donna (DMIL) is to me now.

LSC180: Sock Monkey Lunch Note

A few weeks ago the Limited Supplies Challenge [LSC180] was to make ATC or lunch notes, a small card that can be slipped in a lunch or wherever else you can let someone know you love/care for them!

I thought to put my sock monkey in a 'window' holding his balloons, tied with linen thread. I used my Bella Rose scraps on my desk for this card and it utilizes 5 of the patterns. The Riding Hood Red base is folded.

This size card is so cute & fun to make!

Caught a Bug??

I have to admit, of all the images in The Doodlefactory The Great Outdoors, the squitos were my biggest challenge. They really like me (or my blood) but I don't like them because I have ultra sensitive skin so I couldn't help but think of what a pain squitos are irl when I was working with them. But, I trudged on through and actually like how this card turned out.

It would be so fun to send to someone who is sick - a get well wish. I paper-toled the clubhouse but it's hard to see from the angle I took my photo. If you have any questions about my card, feel free to ask in the comments/email me.

I Love Your Blog

Last week 2 lovely ladies gave me the fun award 'I Love Your Blog' and here I am so late in acknowledging it - sorry, ladies! First was Carolina Buchting [Craftycaro] on August 18: it's no secret this gal oozes creativity and is so thoughtful & sweet! Guess what? I'm going to meet her in about 9 weeks because I am visiting my family in CA and she lives a few cities away! Mark your calendar Carolina for Oct 30-Nov 3!! Then Julia Aston [Create with Me] on August 21 who is a great stamper & so kind! Thank you both so much for thinking of me & for such a sweet compliment! First and foremost I must say I LOVE YOUR BLOGS TOO!

One thing I love about these awards is to share other's blogs that you may not know about; spreading the blog love if you will. I recently either added these ladies to my Google Reader so I don't miss out on their inspirational posts, have not tagged them or wanted to let them know 'I LOVE YOUR BLOG'. I hope each of these ladies can do the same on their blogs:

The award rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 blogs
4. Put links of the those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've mentioned.

Cat's Creations - Cat has insane talent with the right tools and is funny!!

Sankari's Sunshine Corner - Sankari's great sense of humor shines through her cards which caught my eye

Mel Stampz - Awesome techniques / links to share

Schwooo! Angie, she cracks me up

Paper Possibilities - Paula, she has mad coloring skills!

Bevithia - Love all her stuff - she made the infamous 6-pack card!

D World of Marlene - Marlene is a sweet soul, sharing her faith on her blog to reach others, has only been stamping since this year & is a super star already!!

Stamps, Paper, Scissors & Donkey Smiles - Michelle makes the cutest cards and you've got to take a look at why her blog is named the way it is - she raises donkeys-they are sweet!!!

Just Another Prettie Monday...

Falling For You Sophia again - I keep using her to try & hurry up Fall! I love it when we can give the a/c a rest & the cats can enjoy sitting on the windowsills enjoying the cool breeze & whatever creature has them enthralled. I love the opportunity to allow nature to water the lawn & the off chance I get to utilize a sweater.

I used a fun layout from Danielle for the Prettie Thursday Forum Challenge. She wanted our cards to lose a little around the middle (in other words, make a tall card) but I really wasn't in the mood to get out an envelope of a different size, so I spliced my card off the side to 3 1/4 and it will still fit in a standard envelope. HA!

Since I'm in the fall mood - I reached for my Basic Grey Mellow Pad and used 5 different patterns (the cloud background Sophia is stamped on is in the pack - that's what I love about them, they all go well together.

Pretties News:

1. Falling For You Sophia is the Stamp of the Month for September so if you'd like to get her before she's released to the general public, sign up before August 31st 11:59 p.m. CST

2. Back to School Sale (Friday August 15th until August 31st) Who says mom has to miss out on all the great deals when it's back to school time!?! EVERYTHING in the Paper Pretties Boutique is eligible, you can even shop from the SALE category and receive the specials!
Spend $25 in the Paper Pretties Boutique and you can choose any one of the Paper Pretties' sentiments for free (Christie just added some new ones on Friday)
Spend $50 you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment and a roll of American Crafts ribbon.
Spend $100 - you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment, a roll of American Crafts ribbon and you'll get FREE SHIPPING!!! When you check out, simply leave a note in the comments box which sentiment and ribbon you would like and Christie will make sure it gets put in your order! Orders over $100 will automatically not be charged shipping.

3. Stampin' In Your Jammies Party: Monday, September 1st (7 pm CST) in the Paper Pretties Forum. We will be releasing Howdy Girlfriend!!

4. Cutie Pie contest - start working on your submission(s) for the contest - your prize will be a gift certificate to the Pretties store. You need to submit your card to Christie at christie@paperpretties.net. by August 31st at 8pm CST and all entries should be uploaded at the Paper Pretties website and put in the Cutie Pie Submissions gallery.

Yoris is Famished

After a long day galivanting around The Great Outdoors, Yoris is famished so he plopped himself down by some shade trees & set his 'Please Feed the Bear' sign up in hopes that the Beaver Family who was cooking up some delicious smelling burgers & hot dogs would have pity on him & feed him. After all, a bear's gotta take a break from hunting his own food ever now & then. The Beaver family came through & left him some food to tide him over until the next day.

WSC54: A True Friend

Yea! Beate is back with her Weekend Sketch Challenges - this one (WSC54) comes courtesy of Jenn and it's a fun one! She made it a square card, so I made it 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 which still fits in a standard-size envelope. It allows me to let elements of my card hang off the edge & still fit (the flower here). How precious is that image? It's Sarah Kay's Precious Moments you can get at Sweet & Sassy stamps (I got a few images from a blog friend to try them out). I just knew they would be fun to color and I had fun matching her outfit to my Basic Grey Sultry paper. The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms, Friend Centers - isn't it sweet with this image?

TECC30: Bright Birthday Monkey

Here is my card for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge Friday (TECC30) I can hardly believe I made it & posted it the same day! That's the beauty of my schedule on Fridays (every 5th one I work 1:00-5:00) so this morning I got slept in until 8:00, got 4 loads of laundry done, ate breakfast, made 2 cards, AND talked to my bf & my oldest sister! That's quite a good start to my day! This card is also for the Stamp Something challenge (anything birthday) so there you go!

I used my Basic Grey Cupcake 6 x 6 paper pad (LOVE it) to make this birthday monkey so bright!! I paper-pieced his hat & cupcake with the papers too. The brads are the cupcake brads by Basic Grey too - and just realized the green ones are a PERFECT match for Kiwi Kiss c/s that's why I threw it in there! Those brads are a lot of fun because they come in an assortment of colors AND sizes to match the paper. So smart of them!! I wish SU! would do that-guess I better make the suggestion-brads are one of my favorite embellishments!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Be Inspired #19: Big News

I can hardly believe I never participated in Beate's Be Inspired (19) challenges on Tuesdays! Well, I can't say that anymore - I played this week! It was so fun because the colors are fresh & In Color (courtesy of SU!) with Tangerine Tango & Kiwi Kiss. Tuesday evening I got a wedding invitation in the mail for my cousin getting married in October, I had NO idea! We don't chat that often but I am really happy for her! She has been a single mom/grandmother for over 20 years & was caretaker for her mom who died April 2007. I made this card to send to her to congratulate her and will send a wedding card when the time gets closer since I won't be able to attend the wedding. I hope my sisters do, though! I used my Fresh Cuts stamp set and VersaMark pad, I love piecing scraps together although I don't do if often enough, I really love how this turned out! I'm sure Stephanie will too *smile*

Wheels & S'mores in The Great Outdoors

I had to make Sneeq on the bike for John; when we first saw the Doodlefactory Great Outdoors one of the first thing he said was, the raccoon can fit on the bike! So here he is, of course his feet don't reach the pedals but that's o.k.! It totally reminds me of my first time riding a horse at Half Moon Bay in CA, my feet didn't reach the stirrups and they were adjusted the best they could be. Not a good idea, I was trudging along just fine until my horse decided it wanted to go faster & went down the cliff to the beach - practically the whole time I was fearing for my life thinking for sure I was going to fall off - the stirrups kind of serve an important purpose in that respect! I was SO happy to have not fallen but I'm sure if America's Funniest Home Videos was there filming I may have won some $.

p.s. John was not home when I was making my card - he informed me that the bike's front wheel should have been angled upward so Sneeq was really doing a wheelie. Oh well.

Who doesn't love a good s'more? They are so easy to make, all yummy & gooey when you roast your marshmallow just right and are the quintessential snack for the Great Outdoors! That's why I chose to make them the focus of this Starving Artistamps card to show you some of the many possibilities for this set. How cute is it that the Beaver Family-Belvedere the dad & Bink his son are out camping & enjoying themselves in front of a nice fire roasting marshmallows so they could make some s'mores?!

P.S. if you haven't checked out all the FUN Doodlefactory stamps/sentiments - go to Starving Artistamps and do so! If by chance these sets don't tickle your fancy, there are TONS of other styles to choose from {silhouettes, unique sentiments, backgrounds, etc! - the store is chock-full of stamping fun for EVERYONE! Be sure to use this coupon code: dbakerdis for 10% off your order!! Just enter it in the box & hit re-calculate!

Gabby is a Big Girl Now

When my niece Gabby [28 months] and I talked on the phone last week she had some big news to tell me - she had been going potty in the big potty for 7 DAYS! She even said that - 7 DAYS [and with just one accident]!! Now I'm sure for all you mommys out there, you realize how big of a deal it is. Well even though I'm not a mommy, this Auntie sure can recognize this as a big deal so I needed to commemorate this occasion with a surprise. Here is a card I am going to send her along with $1.00. The girl loves $ - when you ask her what she is saving her money for, she says college {since before she was 2 yrs old! Isn't that hilarious?}

I am reminded of a funny potty-training story, mine. My sisters are 4 and 5 yrs older than me and they wanted to take a more active role in teaching me how to go potty (giving our mom a break). Well in our bathroom (we only had 1), my sisters would sit on the edge of the bathtub encouraging me to potty. My mom said it was real cute, when I was done they would clap & be excited for me. Gabby's reward is chocolate, in addition to $ that's what she likes. She gets 3 chocolate chips when she goes #1 and 5 when she goes #2. So funny!

I used my All in the Family little girl as well as my JustRite Stampers small letters on wood stamp that you can get at Taylored Expressions. Since I was going to punch the sentiment, I decided to leave off the border stamp. I love the fact that I could make my own custom words for my card and it didn't take more than a few minutes to line up the letters.

Edited to Add:

Check out the Great contest going on for the next 4 weeks JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest if you have any of the JustRite products come play along - great prizes (I won a $5 gift certificte on Tuesday - woohoo)

Wow - Plum Kiwis

This new color combo is resurrecting my first love of Perfect Plum, Pale Plum & Mellow Moss (the new Mellow Moss is Kiwi Kiss for me!) I didn't realize until after that I only have 1 kiwi kiss wow flower - I made a 1/2 sheet wonder & made 2 different cards but I'm not sure where the other one is right now {wondering if I forgot to take a picture & I already mailed it off}. I was just using scraps when I made this and I really love how it turned out!

FS80: Huggy Bear Yoris

I was so excited to see my friend Jessie (Knightrone) as Featured Stamper 80 (FS80) on SCS Sunday! The challenge is to find one of her gallery cards & CASE it. I decided to take one of her cards I got from her IRL as my card to case when she was featured on Jen's SFYTT in July.

I used my new Starving Artistamps Doodlefactory The Great Outdoors set with Yoris the bear. I love the sentiments that coordinate with the set so much - and the one that caught my eye to use for him was 'hug a tree it feels good' - how funny is that?! I love the trio of trees illustrator Irene drew for this set - I used to draw the same Christmas trees as a kid and because there are 2 different sized trees, I used the smaller one so it looked like the tree was his security blanket.

I distressed my cardstock to make it look more rustic, like the real great outdoors (love the Distress Inks) here I used the Vintage Photo. My changes from Jessie's card are: cardstock, stamp sets, less brads, one less layer and flipped the sentiment & main 1/2 panel.

If you decide today you HAVE to get in on some of the fun that I've been having with these stamps & want to get some of your own - just click here, place stuff in your cart (Tracey sells EZ-Mount original & thin for mounting your stamps but you can pay extra for them to come mounted). Then enter dbakerdis in the coupon code box & hit re-calculate. 10% off your order! woohoo!

SU! Makeover Monday

Andrea Walford has a fun challenge on her blog every Monday called Makeover Monday. If you take any card that inspires you that uses non-SU! stamps and make it over with all SU! and post a link on her blog, you can be eligible to win a stamp set from her valued at $14.95! Neat, huh? Why not give it a try! You can enter more than once and she has a drawing once a month.

I chose the 4th card in Lauren's post to makeover with SU! stamps with my new Sock Monkey set. Isn't this fun?! I used new In Colors Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip. I LOVE the fact that ALL of the colors go well with Chocolate Chip!

Paper Pretties 3-D items & a sale!

A few weeks ago we had a Stampin' in Your Jammies party in the Paper Pretties forum which was a lot of fun! Charmaine always issues great challenges - these were for 3-d items. I usually have a decorated pencil cup on my desk at work - so here is a Fall one to welcome in the next season & it sure will be a welcome change!! Since I love to paper-piece, I used my Bella Rose DP for this sweet Stamp of the Month prettie Sophia raking up the fall leaves. If you want her soon, sign up before the deadline (Aug 31) and you will get her in Sept instead of October, when she's released to the public.

And here is a little treat box I made (inside are 2 Reese's candies-the small bars, which the name is eluding me right now) I used my Bella Rose DP for this too and the 'beautiful' twill ribbon is from a blog candy I won from Leigh O'Brien last year.

Pretties Back to School Sale (Friday August 15th until August 31st) Who says mom has to miss out on all the great deals when it's back to school time!?!

EVERYTHING in the Paper Pretties Boutique is eligible, you can even shop from the SALE category and receive the specials!

When you spend $25 in the Paper Pretties Boutique, you can choose any one of the Paper Pretties' sentiments for free (Christie just added some new ones on Friday)

When you spend $50 you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment and a roll of American Crafts ribbon.

When you spend $100 - you can choose a Paper Pretties' sentiment, a roll of American Crafts ribbon and you'll get FREE SHIPPING!!! When you check out, simply leave a note in the comments box which sentiment and ribbon you would like and Christie will make sure it gets put in your order! Orders over $100 will automatically not be charged shipping.

Nice Buns!

Here is Fern scoping out the Beaver Family's grilling dinner...showing off her nice buns!! Fern is from Starving Artistamps' Doodlefactory The Great Outdoors. Isn't she adorable with her long eyelashes & her sassy stance - looks as if she 'knows' she has nice buns...that's why I couldn't resist using these images together on a card!!

TECC 29: Polka DOTS!

What a fun sketch again from Taylor! TECC29 is in celebration of some adorable new stuff at the $1 Target Spot that is cupcake related! I really went a little crazy there, I just couldn't help myself! I packaged up a few of the items in a coffee bag: scented eye pillow, body wash & body spray. What I loved most about the packaging is the Polka Dots so I went with that theme using Hey There Cupcake which I won back in February from eP and Stampendous (I tell you I have goten a lot of mileage out of this set because of all the endless possibilities)! My card is attached to the bag but still removable. I chose to keep it shut by using the slit punch on the bottom. The polka dots on the bag are done using sponge daubers & a pencil eraser. Check out the color combo - Green Galore, Lovely Lilac & Riding Hood Red - the exact same colors on the gift items! I LOVE IT! Sorry about the glare at the top row of cupcakes - the cupcakes are stamped with silver metallic ink so they reflected the light.

While I was making this set, I couldn't help but think about my sweet niece (well I do ALL the time really). But, last week when I chatted with her on the webcam, which she got dressed up for me to do (hair done up all cute, pearl necklace from Linsey & bracelets from Barb) I asked her what she ate for lunch and she said, "POLKA DOTS" and proceeded to keep telling me that, and again saying it about 10 mins later. My sister said, "that's the randomness of a 2 yr-old" it was hilarious! I love it!

Things that go bump in the night...

like Pumpkinheads and Mummies and Zombies oh my!!! Who could be scared of these cute Doodlefactory Halloween creatures!? Not me...in fact it takes a LOT to scare me with anything! Ever since I was a little kid (probably about 8 or 9) my mom let me watch scary movies-I LOVE them and there haven't been enough that have really scared me or even gave me nightmares! -My favorite all-time scary movie is the original Halloween with Michael Myers (ok that one really did freak me out & made me cautious around this particular holiday). I love these creatures so much that I was sitll smiling & giggling as I made this card! I got the idea to use a brad on the Zombie's eye from Julia - Create with Me. I used a screw brad from Gina K Designs for my Zombie. I brayered my night sky after embossing the moon with clear embossing powder and my trees with black embossing powder. This card was so fun to make!

Double SFYTT Orange & Pink ooh la la!!

Jen i{heart}2stamp always has a great sketch for you to try (SFYTT) on Saturdays and I have 2 to share with you today from the past 2 weeks! My first card is dedicated to Irene - she is the illustrator for the Doodlefactory Collection of Starving Artistamps which I adore! I'm honored that she takes the time to read my blog, anticipating my next creation using the stamps she has created. You may remember a few weeks back I made a pink Julius from the Country Collection. Well, her comment on that card was, "Haha, next up, an Orange Julius! :)" there was no way I couldn't make not make an Orange Julius after that comment! I handwrote the saying in the bubble quote, which, along with the doodles, circles & grass are from another DF set called DoodleDads!

This little pink number is from Gina K Designs new set Little Tees, illustrated by my friend Melanie. There are so many fun options in this set; you could create a t-shirt for so many occasions, people and events! She has a great tip sheet using her set on her blog and this is one taken from it. I like the spectrum pads that SU! used to sell and I have kept them all, especially this one because I love pink. Look at the soft blending of the colors the spectrum pads lend when you use a rubber brayering to apply. This card was simple to make but I think makes a big impact!

You Light Up My Life

I'll tell you in case you are a new reader to my blog, I have someone that lights up my life. Her name is Gabriella (Gabby) - my sweet, beautiful niece who is 28 months old and lives in another state. I have been blessed to visit her every 6 months since she was born. Since last Christmas we've had lots of 'dates' on the webcam and we talk on the phone about 2 times a week.

She called to tell me big news last night. She has been going 'potty' in the big potty for 7 days!! I'm so excited about it!! Well, that is not exactly what made my life light up. It was something my sister said happened Monday evening. Gabby was at the dinner table eating and out of the blue said, "I'm sad" and her mommy asked her why. She said, "I miss Auntie Donna" when my sister said that I got choked up. I didn't realize she knew what that meant, perhaps it's a combination of me telling her I miss her but for those words to come out of her cute self just melted my heart so I had to commit this to memory with a card & blog post. I know the only ones who can relate to something like this are those who live far from their loved ones as well. It was a decision I made 11 years ago when the thought of nieces & nephew were not quite a reality with one sister unmarried & the other married but with no desire to have children. Things sure have changed and my heart aches on a daily basis for them (tears flowing).

Onto the card now - I got my new Doodlefactory The Great Outdoors, a new release by Starving Artistamps. I know I'm going to have a ton of fun with all the images in this set and in combination with the sentiments? The fun will never end!! I used Pogue on my card, along with the lantern and fireflies. I attempted to make the 'light' around him (which John thought was am imitation of the glow around Jesus-ha ha) light up the night sky by layering my koh-i-noor pencils & blending with baby oil/stumps. He ended up saying he really likes the card, though!

P.S. Don't forget you can save 10% on your next Starving Artistamps order by typing dbakerdis in the coupon code box, then click re-calculate!

And here's a recent picture of the precious little girl who lights up my life & who misses me.

Prettie Weds Multiple Embellishments Challenge!

A few weeks ago, Jessie - the embellishment queen (brads, hodgepodge, trios of ribbon-on the same card!) issued a challenge to the Paper Pretties gals to use 3 or more embellishments on our cards. So here it is! I used Paper Pretties set One of Those Days and prettied it up. If we count how many embellishments (3 types and 9 total!!) How'd I do, Jessie!?!

I made my own patterned buttons (faux epoxy from my tutorial a few weeks back) and wonder how I got a whole egg when the set is only 1/2 the shell? Here is a step-by-step to show you!

first I paper-pieced the 1/2 egg shell from the set.

Then I traced the outline of the 1/2 egg sheel so the right side will be a perfect fit.

and then made sure it looked like the perfect fit. Voila! A whole egg shell. I am going to send this card to Danielle Fat Cat Stamper - as yesterday was her birthday!
I know it's not really a birthday card but I'm sure she will still like it!

Stamp Something challenge - Beauty without Grace

That's easy enough, huh? If you're like me you may want to stamp something every day but sometimes that doesn't happen. Since I work full-time (Mon-Thu 9 hours and 1/2 day Fri) and I am on the computer all day, the last thing I want to do most days is be on the computer all evening although I do it anyway reading other's blogs or the only thing I can think about near 3:00 p.m. is just resting my eyes the minute I walk in the door [that's usually me on Monday evening]. But when the weekend comes - I marathon stamp! This is one of the cards I made this past weekend.

There is a challenge blog Stamp Something that I've been wanting to participate with for a while now and finally made the time! This week their challenge is to use Pink, Blue & Green. I chose to use SU! new In Colors Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze & Kiwi Kiss. You have until this Thursday Aug 14th to upload your creation for it & you could win something from Innovative Stamp Creations!

I used my new Doodlefactory Grace Girls stamp set from Starving Artistamps. Recently my DH gave me a little 'play' $ but his stipulation was to buy a few stamp sets he likes - what?! he doesn't even stamp! well o.k. I like them too so I did it! I like this set because it comes with 4 different girl faces and they are of different ethnicities-so pretty. The quote says, "Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait". I have to admit when I first saw this set I thought it was strange for them to have fish (well, one of them doesn't) adorning their hair but it made sense because of the quote. They really started to grow on me, that is one thing I love about Starving Artistamps - there is a wide variety of stamps to choose from & appeal to many different tastes.

Stampin' Up! New Catalog & Specials!!

Today marks the first day we can order from the new Fall/Winter SU! catalog - it will be live for all to view this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. CST. Here are all the specials/announcements in one place for reference. You can clink on any of the titles to see the full documents for details. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or call me!

Never before seen promotion - 15% off selected stamps!!


$99 Starter Kit Promotion

From August 11-October 11, potential recruits will have the option of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator by purchasing one of three special mini Starter Kits* priced at $99.

Catalog Sampler
A Little something to tide you over to look at while you wait for the idea book & catalog to become 'live'

Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine
A Big Deal if you like more variety & die cutting! SO popular!!

Decor Elements
Do you like to decorate your home walls & more? Check this new product out!

PWC15 Cookies!!

Lately I've been craving some cookies - homebaked are the best of course but since it's so darn hot right now that last thing I want to do is turn on the oven...so my Paper Pretties set Sweets for the Sweet reminds me that the holiday baking season is right around the corner - woohoo!!

Danielle issues a weekly challenge in the Paper Pretties forums and this week it is a fun sketch which you can use your dp scraps on (love that). I used my Au Chocolat DP by SU! since I was using the chocolate chip cookies for it! FUN

We'd love for you play along - upload to the gallery and use keyword PWC15. You have until Thursday Aug 14 to upload your card for a little prize from Christie.

Other Paper Pretties News:

You have until August 31st 11:59 to sign up to get the SOTM Falling For You Sophia in September, otherwise you will have to wait until October to get her! When you sign up, tell Christie I sent you.

TECC28: Stack 'o Cupcakes for the Birthday Person

I broke down & got the Sock Monkey set - new by SU! for the Fall/Winter catalog - I just had to since I saw a sneak peek of accessories for him which makes the set more versatile! It's like the new Favorite Teddy Bear!!

I knew I wanted to put him in ***Taylor's 28th Installment of Friday's Cupcake Challenge because he's a bigger stamp and her sketch is for a tall card. In order to fill the proportions he has a stack of cupcakes to give the birthday person! Her sketch is a great way to use up smaller scraps of dp (if you use that instead of ribbon, wow I can't believe I didn't put ribbon on this card). The cupcakes have dazzling diamonds on them & of course this is the New SU! designer paper Bella Rose (I was calling it Bella Rosa until I realized the real name last week, ha). Isn't he cute?? I really LOVE the new In Colors (well, Tangerine Tango & Pacific Point are on the bottom of my list of favorites but it's nice working with fresh, new colors).

***If you have never participated in Taylor's weekly cupcake challenge, what are you waiting for? She always has great challenges and you could be featured on her blog the following Friday with the new challenge (and she sends out a little goodie to each winner). Come on & play!! Oh and you don't have to have cupcake stamps to participate but if you do - great!