Seals in Love

My sister Deana & DH Frankie will be celebrating their 14th year of marriage this year so I thought it would be perfect to make a seal card with them holding up their love. They are a great couple, lots of fun, generous, loving. Last year she surprised him with a trip to Mexico on a cruise for his birthday!

A few months ago I got a mirror image stamp for 1/2 price at Michael's because sometimes you either have to make an image the opposite way or in this case, make 2 of the same image but facing each other and this is the way to do it!

I didn't realize until after I uploaded the card that I failed to 'ground' the seals but I didn't have the desire to do it all over again. All coloring is with my Prismacolor pencils & OMS and the reason I put the pretty in pink splatter from itty bitty backgrounds is because there was a smudge on the main image that I noticed after I finished coloring. What a great stamp to fix those kind of boo-boos. I think it really adds to the fun factor of the card. The little heart brads are from Melanie (I believe she got them at Joann's). The seals are from Jumping for Joy & the heart & love from Just so Hippy both illustrated by Melanie Muenchinger you can purchase at Gina K Designs. I forgot to take a picture of the inside...I combined greetings from Just s Hippy and Hip Hop Accessories - 'Hippy Anniversary to the Hoppiest Couple'

Bunny in her Sunday Best

When I was making my Bunny Xing card yesterday I looked at the basket full of flowers and almost put it upside down on her head, but I knew I wanted to keep that card simple because of the scenery. So of course I had to make a card with the idea for a bunny hat using Just so Hoppy. How cute is the flower corsage on her left wrist? I had to put something in her right hand but did not want it to compete with her Easter Bonnet so I grabbed the sign from Just so Hippy put a sentiment in it & viola! Now it's complete. This is my entry for Carolyn's color challenge (Lovely Lilac & Certainly Celery) to win a new set from the next release. Don't forget there's a Gina K release party tomorrow evening (7:00 - 9:00 CST) I am really excited about it! My friend Melanie has 2 sets coming out this time! woohoo!!

Edited to add: Easter Bonnet & Flower Corsage {proper terms for Bunny's Stylin' Easter Accessories}

Bunny Xing

I had an idea for a week now (after finding these pink pom poms when I was cleaning my stamp area) to do a bunny from behind using Just so Hoppy. I loved Melanie's idea of the chick from behind here - so why not the Bunny??

I have really been having fun making little nature scenes, can you tell? Well, I figured since the Bunny will be delivering a basket of flowers why not make a road with him crossing it? I got some instruction from Sophia (Moonlight Inker) to make my grass more realistic. She is such a great stamper & artist! I get so much inspiration from her blog and she is super sweet, we have emailed a few times about miscellaneous stuff. I have to give credit to Michelle Zindorf too, she makes the most amazing backgrounds & posts tutorials for her creations all the time. I used one of her tips by tearing copy paper to make my grass & road lines. I used my Lovely as a Tree SU! set for the trees, Just so Hippy for the flowers on the grass and added cherry blossoms to the tree as an afterthought & I'm glad I did, I think it makes a world of difference! I know because I photographed it before I did it & I think the feel of Spring really pops off the page now.

Don't forget to 'Spring Forward' for Daylight Savings Time tonight before you go to bed!

Peep Show

Who doesn't love the sugary gooey goodness called Peeps?? Well, have you even seen they have more colors of the rainbow AND different shapes like bunnies now? I wanted to showcase my Chicky from Just so Hoppy so I bought the traditional ones. They are two boxes so I wanted to put them in special packaging. How about a gum/candy slider? Since it is two boxes, the lovely lilac only went to far so I needed to add cardstock to the middle. Good enough, but it needed to be decorated. I used my big polka dots & daisies jumbo wheel (retired SU! but I'm not totally sure that is the name or not) which was the first time I used it. Well, look how well it goes with the chicks and the small flower they are holding from Just so Hippy (I pulled it from my for sale pile which I haven't posted yet because I keep finding all these sets I still want to keep).

Here it is open - cute, huh? Wonder how I got the jagged edge of the Yoyo yellow cardstock to look like teeth? I sure don't have any decorative edge scissors like that - so this is what I did with my small star punch...what do you think??

Hope you have a great weekend! I know I have a busy one ahead, have to finish up my taxes, prepare for stamp club next weekend, work on my nephew's baby shower stuff still and stamp for fun, of course! Phew...I'm tired thinking about all this fun! Oh and it's Cupcake Friday on Taylor's blog so I need to do my challenge (one part of my challenge I accomplished this morning-I made REAL cupcakes! Banana ones, yumm-o!) Oh and Beate's WSC38 - I already did a card this morning - will upload soon.

Monkey 'Business'

Business card holder - to be exact. When Gina K had their release party on Sunday night & issued some challenges, this is the one (3-d Challenge) I wanted to create something very unique for.

So as I was working (at my full-time job) yesterday, the thought came to me-how about a business card holder with the monkey from Just so Hippy holding a sign and the sign could say 'call me'. Great...then came the time to execute it, wow...I immediately went home, changed my clothes, grabbed a glass of tea and sprang into action. It was 'rough' to say the least but I managed to do it and even covered it in DP because I dind't know how to figure out the sides-it didn't come out perfectly (but perfection I did not have time for since the upload deadline is 11:00 a.m. central today) and here I am again at work. I am not much of a night owl for stamping, so my weekends (as long as DH doesn't take me away from them) are marathon stamping times for me. And then there's the occasional morning I have to do something or other & I make myself late or I have to miss breakfast because of a project to do.

p.s. - I'll share my other stuff later but if you want to check it out now - go to my SCS gallery (linked on the right under my profile)

Kimmie's Kreation Challenges

I was like a stamper on a mission this weekend! I love Kimmie's blog - Kraftin' Kimmie's Korner so when she set out to celebrate her birthday with daily challenges, I snuck a peek all week & started to think about what I would do. Here are my creations for the challenges. Enjoy

KKCC1 - Alter an Item
My first item was a Target $1 spot pink paper frame. I used Melanie's Just so Hippy set (the daisy) stamped in Pretty in Pink craft and sponged. I really like how this turned out and plan to send it to my niece soon (she is 22 months old & lives in another state but I call to talk to her a few times a week and see her on the webcam too. I'll be visiting in May when her baby brother is born (yea) This picture was taken in Nov the morning after she first called me 'AUNTIE' and my heart melted like never before.

KKCC2 - Sketch Challenge
My inspiration for these colors came from the DCWV Glitter Stack cardstock with browns, apricot & pinks. Cinnamon stickles for the frosting - yum.

KKCC3 - Colour Challenge (Spring Colors) I used a stamped image by Stampendous that came with my goodies I won for eP's 1st Birthday Cupcake Challenge a few weeks ago. This little bunny is TOO cute. The swiss dot embossing folder bg is so great (I embossed them at Melanie's the other day, wish I'd have done more, she got all the new folders, they are so nice and now they're all sold out and/or backordered, ugh)

KKCC4 - Valentine or Lovey Challenge - Used Stampin' Up! Simply Said heart and the center one has Fruit Punch Stickles. The 'love you' is from Just so Hippy by Gina K Designs.

KKCC5 - Paper Piecing - first time using MFT Meet Me at the Cafe (borrowed from Melanie). I don't imagine owning this set, but it sure was fun to use for this challenge. I used my DCWV Glitter Stack with pinks & browns. Colored with copics (going to send this to a friend that I haven't seen in months, we used to work together & when she quit we would still occasionally meet for lunch but she moved jobs again & we haven't had lunch in a long time. We used to eat at La Madeleine-the French Bakery & Cafe...that place is SO good.

KKCC6 - create a Thank You or Thinking of You or You are Special to Me creation
I made this to send to Beate (I doubt she will see this post) I used her weekend sketch 34 for it & wanted to send it as a Thank You for a great sketch EVERY Friday to kick off the weekend!! I used Posies For You by Anna Wight (for Whipper Snapper) and colored with my copics. The cb background is another new one but I don't know the name and I'm too lazy too look it up (sorry, I am at work but I think it's Floral Fantasy or something)

More Monkey Love for Valentine's Day

Look at the little Valentine's gift I took to my friend Melanie! Go check out her post about how her monkey is wilder than my monkey! It is TOO funny! I found this pink monkey at Wal-Mart, it is adorable & soft and has a button on its tummy when you squeeze it kisses! So I made a big 'ol (12 x 12 cardstock) box scored it at 4 " 8" on both sides and I scalloped the edges with my corner rounder punch. How do you like the double-sided balloon with wire? I made two hearts & stamped a different greeting and attached with a rolled up mini glue dot behind the monkey's hand so you can turn to see the other side. I love it. I was so proud of myself after completing this box. Melanie really liked it too, so to see the smile on her face and get a warm 'thank you' hug was so worth all the effort! What about that monkey list pad?! That came from the $1 Target spot...too cute.

Oh and look at the velvet flowers behind BOTH the monkey's ears! Here's the close-up on the monkey on the box. Those came from Papertrey - I love that there's tiny ones too!

Did you see the sneak peek of Melanie's new set Just so Hoppy?! It is too darn cute! Gina also has sneaks of the other 3 sets being released tomorrow. Don't forget to check out Gina K's new stamps release party tomorrow night 7:00 - 9:00 pm central on SCS. I'll be there for sure - hope YOU are too!

One Martini, Two Martini, Three Martini...

FLOOR! that's what the inside says. Now I'm not sure if this would really happen if you had 3 martinis or not (never had one) but I always liked that saying. Personally, I'm a fan of the classic Margarita and Midori Sour (yum). Anyway, since Melanie came up with this set Just so Hippy, I have been having a LOT of fun (how could anyone tire of 3 animals, little images, including a sign, heart balloon & matching greetings! It's such a deal at $17.99 for 18 images!!


Wait til you see what her next set is - it will be released on Sunday, Feb 10th by Gina K Designs, as well as others!


I drew the martini glass & the monkey's shades & party hat are from the Changito the Monkey clear set which you can get at Eclectic Paperie. I almost completely forgot I had this set until I saw Melanie start to really have a little 'naughty' fun with the monkey from her set! This monkey is having so much fun at her party that she ended up in the flower bucket from Anna's set Posies for You. Like my Glitter paper? It's a rectangle DCWV Glitter Stack - so much fun! In fact if you see any of these papers on Melanie's blog, you should know we got them at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago (as well as an adhesive stack) and shared them with one another - isn't it great to have local friends you can hang out with & do stuff like that with??

Wanna Monkey Around??

o.k. since Melanie didn't post any 'swinging monkeys or nakey doctors' yesterday, I figured I would! I totally forgot I had this cute Changito the Monkey Acrylic set I got at Archiver's (you can get at eP) Check out his bunch 'o bananas?? When I showed it to DH--he raised his eyebrows, smiled & gave me the thumbs up (va voom) that's because he was playing his Halo 3 live (and had a microphone on).

This was a fun card...and was inspired not only by Melanie's Tarzan swinging monkey but by the new set My Favorite Things is coming out with 'twisted sentiment'. Tomorrow they're having a release party on SCS! Hope to catch a little of it. I'm sure it will be a riot. I have to link Mary Jo Albright's card from yesterday because it is so cute - hold on to your seat (she even has a disclaimer & faded out the greeting on the original post just in case of offense. But, my thoughts on that are - hey it's your blog and you have freedom of speech (but it was good to have the disclaimer) HA! She really is an ARTIST when it comes to stamping, her creations are really knock your socks off good (note to self: good idea for a RAK for Mary Jo).

For Baby Aruna

Aruna Elizabeth Kalyani Ramcharan was born several weeks ago in Holland to my friend's daughter April & husband Toshi - she has an older sister Indra. Here is the definition of the baby's name - it's so pretty: Aruna (Ah-roo-nah) means morning sun rising, which they used as a variation of April’s middle name—Dawn. Kalyani (kah-lee-ah-nee) means blissful and/or fortunate. I found this purple stuffed hippo at Target $ spot the other day...cute, huh? Knew I could make a cute matching card using my Just so Hippy set--then, Anna Wight Sweet Miss Daisy of Sassy & Sweet Notes posted a cute card sketch challenge that was PERFECT for my idea. I used a Baby set from Wordsworth or the square background pieces stamped with a onesie, baby shoes, hooray it's a girl and safety pins. The sentiment in the sign is SU! Fancy Flexible Phrases.

if you haven't checked out Melanie's Hippy Contest - you have until this Friday to win a set of stamped from her next release.

Melanie's Ape Over Me *blush*

I finally found it! Melanie gave me this card when we met for lunch WEEKS ago and I was so bummed that evening (after showing it to my DH) it disappeared! I looked all over for it. Well, obviously not because as I was making my bed today (oh I just outed myself that I don't make my bed hat often - well DH is still sleeping when I leave in the morning and by the end of the day I quickly pull up the covers just to get in again so no, I really don't) Well, yesterday I saw a glimmer of it between the bed & my dresser - yea!! So here it is! Isn't it the cutest? I love the colors - Cool Caribbean, Blue Bayou & Real Red, her coloring, the layout & embellishments! Thanks, Melanie...the feeling's mutual!

Go check out her blog - if you have her set Just so Hippy - she is having a great contest & you can win her next release!! The contest ends Feb 8 so you have plenty of time to play if you want to order one.

Melanie's One of a Kind

I made this card the other night to give to Melanie & oddly enough within a few days she spontaneously called me to see if we could meet at lunch because her & her little boy were going to the shopping center up the hill from my work. She loved this card, so did my DH...I used her set Just so Hippy that Gina K Designs released just a few weeks ago. Go check out her blog - she currently has some great candy to give away (and she named it Melanie's Munchies per my suggestion, cool, huh?) She not only honored me with that, but gave me a 'You Make My Day Award' yesterday and said such sweet, sincere words about me that moved me to tears. She took such great care with all her nominations saying something special about everyone. Thanks, Melanie!

Back to my card - I used my Basic Grey Two Scoops paper I got from All That Scraps and matching brads (used on the photo corner on the lower left-how cute are they?) I used the sentiment 'you are one of a kind' from Stampin' Up!'s new set One of a Kind. I colored the hippos & made grass with copics. Blush Blossom & Wild Wasabi cardstock was used.

Hippy Valentines

I totally missed having Melanie's Just so Hippy set while I waited for my order from Gina K Designs since I had given Melanie hers back! So last night I started to play with it again and these 2 cards I put together quickly before work this morning! I LOVE how they turned out! I hadn't given the Hippo much love yet and now I feel like I had been missing out! I used my new Basic Grey Two Scoops paper and got my Prints Pack with Wild Wasabi paper & new striped grosgrain ribbon to match! How cute!! I also love the paper pieced balloons which is one of the many reasons I ADORE line art stamps!

Make sure you enter my blog candy anniversary by posting here all you have to do is share a story or lesson learned from someone (I'm enjoying reading how others have impacted your life)

Some Monkey Love for Melanie

This is for you, Melanie. I am giving up some 'Monkey Love' for the first set you designed for Gina K Designs. Since the debut last week, most people have said the Hippo or Giraffe was their favorite animal. I have to admit mine is the Giraffe too (because of the heart spots) but I also think the monkey is cute too! So when I was shopping at the $1 Target Spot the other day and saw this heart-shaped post-it pad I knew the monkey would be adorable on the front. The only way I figured to make it work was to keep it shut with the ribbon at the top because of the post-it shape. I just didn't have time to over-think it so this is how it turned out. I used my Hanna Stamps Perfect Package set for the bow on her head and added some stardust stickles to make it shine.

Hey Baby FS Challenge 48

Featured Stamper Challenge 48 is Nancy Riley check out her blog iSTAMP. Here is the card I cased Fall Whimsy Swap Card. I used Just so Hippy and my color inspiration came from this ribbon I got in a blog candy win from Leigh O' Brien which I LOVE!! I changed the colors (hers were fall) and the stamps of course. I thought this sketch was a great way to showcase ALL of the animals in Melanie's set! Did I tell you how much I ADORE this set and how grateful I am she let me borrow it?? Thanks again, Mel!

I also was inspired by Debbie Olson again and got some Cornish Heritage Farms backgrounders - Large Polka Dot

This card was SO fun to make so I made 2!!!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge - Just So Hippy Debut!

How many of you were in the Gina K Designs forum last night for the new stamps release party? At one time there were 216 gals (guys too?) in there! I stayed around an hour. There were 1,971 replies! It was fast & furious (they all are) but I wanted to support my friend Melanie Muenchinger of Hands, Head & Heart whose first stamp set was one of the releases called Just so Hippy just $17.95 for 18 images! And let me tell you, they are F-U-N to play with! Melanie and I hung out on Friday afternoon (I LOVE my 1/2 day Fridays schedule so I can do fun stuff like this!). She's a SAHM and the boys went across the street for a little while for us to chat & I could help her on her blog a little. Well, she let me bring her set home so I could play with it & of course I will be buying my own set because it is awesome!! btw, the welcome baby sentiment is not in the set, I typed & printed it up to go with the polyshrink baby hippo.

This card was made for Beate's weekly sketch challenge (week 29) I can hardly believe this is the first one I'm actually participating in; I have wanted to play for weeks now, but was just too busy with all the holiday stuff & other commitments. So here I am starting a new tradition to play.

Just So Hippy - Melanie Muenchinger's Stamp Debut with Gina K!

I'm so proud of my friend Melanie (I posted about her when she finally got a blog) and the SECRET is out! She has designed the CUTEST stamp set which will debut at midnight Sat Jan 5 at Gina K Designs! She is so talented! Way to go, Mel! Tomorrow there will be a release party on Gina K Designs SCS forum - come check it out!