I Love You

The Guest Designer contest for My Favorite Things this month is almost over, and I just had to get something made to enter! Any chance to get to use stamps from MFT, especially to be doing Teasers with the team, would be awesome so I can't pass up the chance to try for that coveted spot!

The challenge this month was a Valentine theme, with a 1-2-3 recipe. You could only use one piece of designer paper (*gasp!*), two colors of cardstock (but the card base color doesn't count), and three embellishments. So I think (I hope!) I hit the nail on the head with this design!

Here's how I finished the inside...
I have been MIA for a few days... my youngest daughter Kelsey (she's turning 14 this Friday!) is having some issues with anxiety attacks. If you've ever had these, you know how stressful the last few days have been! If you can spare a prayer for Kelsey, I sure would appreciate it! We need to figure out what is causing this to happen so she can get back to her normal routine and life. It's pretty scary for her to feel so out of control, and not being able to fix it scares her Momma, too!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday tomorrow!!!

Stamps: Key to My Heart ala' mode (My Favorite Things)

Cardstock: Black (Bazzill), silver (Stampin' Up!), Classic White cardstock for Copics (Flourishes), designer paper (Be Mine from Echo Park)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Staz-On Jet Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Jumbo Scallop Die-Namics, Hearts a'Plenty Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (Creative Impressions), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft).

Lift Up Your Face

One of my most favorite Christian music groups is Third Day, and their recent single "Lift Up Your Face" always makes me think of this Mo Manning image. I think it's fun to imagine what must be going through this cute girls head as she spins in the sunlight and dances with her doll! So I just had to create a card with that in mind.

The papers I used here are a combination of My Mind's Eye (the big polka dots) and October Afternoon (the stripes and small polka dots.) These colors make me want Spring to arrive SO much! I will truly go out and dance on the lawn just like this girl and rejoice when all the snow is melted! I won't even care that it's muddy!
Find a reason to lift up your face today, and give praise to God! Remember how much you're loved!

Color Throwdown #126

Hello Color Throwdown fans! We're back again this week with another fabulous color combo for you with Danielle as our hostess! She was inspired by the colors in the Marjolaine line of papers from Basic Grey, and I'm so glad she chose these! I have had some of this paper for forever, and this is the first I have used them. OMGosh, I don't think there is a single sheet that I don't LOVE!

And lucky for me, in today's mail was my most recent order from My Favorite Things which included this new Something's Fishy ala' mode! I was SO anxious for this one to arrive... that fish is just too cute! And I love the sentiments that come in this set, too. My fish is colored with Copics and I used my colorless blender to add some spots, sorta' like a fishy-skin. I also accented with just a few touches of a Sakura gelly roll glaze pen, thinking about how the gills on a fish can catch the light and be kind of sparkly, know what I mean?
The layout for my card is inspired by the Fan Club challenge on Splitcoaststampers this month. Inside the card I added one of the fun sentiments from the set, accented with a Little Open Scalloped border cut with Die-Namics.
Stop at the Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and stop by the blogs of my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!

Thanks for visiting!

Timeless Tuesday #102

Our Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge #102 this week is being hosted by the fabulous Cindy Haffner, and this week Cindy is challenging us to use hardware on our cards! Other than brads and the occasional eyelet, hardware is something I rarely use. So this was a fun way to step outside of my box and do something a little different. Thank goodness for that long-neglected box of Stampin' Up! Hodgepodge Hardware I had sitting around... it got used today! Plus, I have had these cute library clips from SU! for a long time and never remember to use them. So today was the day!
My card uses the Cherry Blossoms stamp set. I stamped the blossoms on Kraft cardstock with Rich Cocoa Memento ink, and then colored with Copics (another outside-the-box thing for me!) After cutting out my image with a Nestabilities die, I sponged some Tattered Rose ink around the edges. The centers of my flowers are dotted with a glitter pen, too. I especially loved pairing the slight drabness of Kraft and Soft Suede cardstocks with the bright pink Melon Mambo and the yummy gingham ribbon! Love that pop of color!

Stop over at the Flourishes blog for all the challenge details and to find out how you can win $10 to spend in the Flourishes online store! Then see what the other girls have created with their hardware to inspire you!

Cindy Haffner

Betty Wright

Makiko Jones

Dee Jackson

Silke Ledlow

Thank you SO much for stopping by today! Your comments are most welcome and appreciated!

Mavis Says Thanks

The Bellarific Friday challenge from this past week was a free-for-all... just create with any Stamping Bella stamp. So I chose to use one of my favorites of the Bella images... Mavis! She's just the sweetest lil' kitty sitting on her swing!

No special sketch or anything for this card, just some of my favorite papers (My Mind's Eye), Copic coloring and favorite embellishments. The "Thanks" sentiment comes from the Thanks a Bunch set from My Favorite Things.

Hope your week is off to a great start! Happy stamping!

CrAzY for a Sketch - C4C71

It's time to get CRAZY again this week, and this time Maria (our CrAzY hostess this week!) has a sketch challenge for you! Let it inspire some designs for you this week!

For my card, I pulled out some very neglected Kitchen Sink Stamps and got them inky! This 3-Step Butterfly set has always been one of my favorites, and since it looked so forlorn and lonely on my stamp shelf, I gave it some love today. The sentiment comes from the Vintage Words stamp set.... I love the font used in that set!
The papers I used here are from the Curio line by Basic Grey... I've had them for awhile, but haven't used any until now. The colors are so pretty... why was I neglecting them for so long? I added a grosgrain ribbon layer under the crocheted lace, and also added a Faux Crochet Border at the bottom made with a Die-Namics die from My Favorite Things. I guess my design ended up a little on the simple side... I keep looking at it thinking it could use a little something more, but I don't know what.

Since I used some long-neglected stamps on this card, it also works for Jessie's "Forgotten Stamp Friday" challenge! She's got such a neat idea with this new weekly challenge... you should play along!

Stop over at the Crazy 4 Challenges blog for all the details, and to see inspiration from the rest of the Crazy Girls! I'm short on time today, so forgive me for not linking them directly this week!

Happy stamping, and happy weekend!

Verses on Friday

My fellow Verses Design Team member Heather Stephens started a new thing last week where she plans to share a card or other project with her readers every Friday using her Verses Rubber Stamps, and I thought that was such a wonderful idea! Verses is such a great little, but somewhat unknown company, and we'd like to get the word out about their great stamps! So I contacted Heather a few days ago and asked if she'd like to have a partner for Verses on Friday, and she enthusiastically said yes! So we both have something to share with you today using Verses stamps, so be sure and head on over to her blog when you're done here and see what she has to share!

For my offering today, I am using this "Forever" stamp as a tag on a small box of Valentine chocolates! This is simply a $1 box of Russell Stovers' from Wal-Mart and I recovered the lid with some Little Yellow Bicycle designer paper. The sentiment was stamped on the silver/gray back of one of the papers using Versafine ink, and then I clear embossed to set the ink. The rolled flowers are also made with the designer paper... the larger rose is made with the Rolled Rose Die-Namics from My Favorite Things, and the small silver flower was cut by hand. Some bright red seam binding, and large heart-shaped eyelet on the tag and it's finished! AND I didn't eat any of the chocolates! LOL

So, don't forget to pop on over to Heather's blog and see her Verses creation for today! Many thanks for stopping by!

TCP142 - Friends Forever

The TCP Tuesday challenge this week from The Cat's Pajamas is a color challenge to use red, black, yellow and kraft or white. Well, I couldn't resist using kraft and white... hope I don't get thrown out for it! :)
I used one of the newly released stamp sets, Tweet Hearts for my card and one of the new Cut-Ups dies, the Heart Trio. This is a nice die! I love that the large, scalloped heart has teeny-tiny holes that end up pierced in each scallop! Too cute! I thought this My Mind's Eye paper from last year was perfect for the challenge, and for the layout I used the January '11 Sketch for You to Try. It's a great sketch... I think this is my third time using it this month! :) My sentiment is stamped on a die-cut Sentiment Flag from my BFF Laura at Lil' Inker Designs and the button is tied off with some of my favorite Divine Twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Happy stamping!

Stamping Around OHIO!!!

In the Fall of 2009 I had the incredible pleasure to travel (with my best friend Bethie!) to southeast Pennsylvania and teach at the Stamping Around event held there! It was so much fun to get to take the classes offered by some of my stamping idols, and a privilege to lead a class, too! And ever since that event, I have nagged and nagged at Julie and Kim that a "Stamping Around Ohio" is needed, and they finally gave in to my pleas! Stamping Around Ohio is going to be held at Toyrifix June 17th and 18th, and I'm so excited I don't know how I'm going to wait that long! And the BEST part (well, several best parts!) is that my BFF Barbara Anders is coming from Virginia to teach a class, and Maria from Kitchen Sink Stamps is coming from California, too!!! I can't believe I'm going to get to meet them both in person! Bar and I have been online friends for years but have NEVER got to meet in person! Christina Fischer, who I got to meet a few years ago at Copic Certification is coming to teach, and Julie and Kim will be there, of course and I'll be so happy to see them again! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait! For those that are not familiar, Toyrifix is in Smithville, Ohio in Wayne County and is pretty central to a wide area, so even if you're several hours away you should consider coming! (I drove 6+ hours to the one in PA! Actually, over 8 hours going if you take into consideration the detour we had to take because the interstate was closed!) We're an hour south of Cleveland, two hours north of Columbus, two hours west of Pittsburgh, four to five hours northwest of Indianapolis, and about three and a half hours southeast of Detroit. Believe me, it's well worth the trip! Stop by the Stamping Around website for more information! I hope you'll consider coming!!!

Color Throwdown #125

The weeks just keep flyin' by and here we are ready for another Color Throwdown challenge! Today Barbara is our hostess, and she chose these pretty, soft colors for us to work with. It's such a lovely, pastel pallette, don't you think?

The sentiment stamp I am using here is "A Special Prayer" from Verses Rubber Stamps. But first I stamped an old Hero Arts stamp on the paper using Tattered Rose distress ink. I stamped the sentiment in Forest Moss distress ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. After cutting with the Labels 4 Nestabilities, I sponged Antique Linen ink around the edges before removing the paper from the die. The designer paper I used is Capella by Basic Grey.
I also used the Rolled Rose Die-Namics for the flower, and the Little Open Scallop Strip, both from My Favorite Things.

Stop at the Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and then stop and see what my Throwdown sisters have to inspire you!

Barbara Anders

Danielle Kennedy

Kristin Bueter

Laura Pryor

Cathy Rulli

LeAnne Pugliese

Broni Holcombe

Lori Tecler, January Guest Designer

I hope to see YOU playing along with us! Thanks for stopping by!

Timeless Tuesday #101-Think BIG!

I have some exciting news to share with you all today! Betty Wright has been the fabulous, fearless leader of the Timeless Tuesday Challenges for Flourishes for the last two years. She's done a wonderful job with this, but has recently decided to step back from the responsibilities of being the leader. With her decision came the need for a new leader for the team, and my sweet friend Julie Koerber asked me to take the reigns! How could I say no? Flourishes stamps are some of my most favorite, and I'm just thrilled at this wonderful opportunity! I owe many thanks to Julie for having the confidence in my design work and leadership abilities to ask me to do this, and I appreciate the warm welcome the girls on the team have given me! I have a few ideas for some different things for the challenge in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Today's challenge is being hosted by Dee Jackson. I worked with Dee a few years ago when we were both on the Kitchen Sink Stamps team, and also with Stamp Simply. (In fact, many of the girls on the team are ones I have worked with in the past, so this all feels like a homecoming for me!) Dee is challenging everyone to think big, and wants us to create cards that are larger than the normal... at least 5x7 in size! I have to admit, I was a little intimidated at first but once the mojo started flowing, I found it fun to super-size my card!
I decided to use the DIY Topiary stamp set because I knew I could stamp a grouping of trees to make for a larger focal image. That's a good thing to concentrate on when you go to start on your design... pick something large. A smaller image will just be dwarfed by the card size. I paired my images with papers from Fancy Pants, and added a big bow using the wrinkle ribbon from Creative Impressions, tied off with a big ol' button. The gemstones I used at each end of my Labels 10 oval are from Prima.

So, I hope you'll stop over at the Flourishes blog to play along with us today! Everyone can play, and anyone can win. Each week, Flourishes awards one random participant a $10 gift code to use in the Flourishes store! Just link your creation using the McLinky widget on the blog to be entered. Using Flourishes stamps on your card isn't required, but if you have them by all means, use them! Be sure to post an actual direct link to your Timeless Tuesday creation, not just a general blog link... we want to be sure we can find your creation! And if you upload to SCS, please use keyword FTTC101!

Now let's see what the Timeless Tuesday team members did in a BIG way today...

Dee Jackson

Silke Ledlow

Makiko Jones

Cindy Haffner

Betty Wright

So, sorry for the longer post today but I had to share my excitement with all of you! Thank you for stopping by! I hope to see your creations for Timeless Tuesday #101!

TCP141 - Get Well Soon

The TCP Tuesday challenge for this past week from The Cat's Pajamas is to use ribbon in a new and different way, but NO BOWS! Ack! That's a toughie for me.... I love my ribbon! So I decided to try running a gathering stitch along one edge of a grosgrain ribbon, then pulling up one of the threads to make a flower! And I must say, I'm pleased with how it turned out! I accented the flower with a button and some Divine Twine (yes, tied in a bow but that's not ribbon, right?) and cut out my "Get Well Soon" sentiment with my Sentiment Flag die from Laura at Lil' Inker Designs. My scalloped border along the left side was created with the Icing CutUps die from The Cat's Pajamas, and the designer papers are My Mind's Eye. This sweet bear comes from the "A Cuppa" stamp set, and the card is going to my co-manager/friend Brenda who unfortunately has to have wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow! I do NOT envy her one bit! I have a good book to take to her later in the day, and some Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino ice cream for when she feels like eating again!

Thanks for visiting me today! Have a great week!

Thanks a Latte

I enjoy a good sketch challenge so much, so I was really glad to hear that the new Wednesday Stamp Club challenges with My Favorite Things were all going to be sketches for the coming year! Despite my best intentions, I never got around to playing with the first one last week, but I definitely made time this week! These ala' modes stamps from MFT are such a favorite of mine, so it was a no-brainer to use this image on my card.

The designer papers I used on this are some old Girl Friday from Cosmo Cricket, along with Stampin' Up! cardstocks. The sketch especially begged for the use of my Sentiment Flag die from Lil' Inker Designs, too. The only sentiment in this ala' mode set that would fit on the flag was the "Miss You a Latte" but I didn't want to make a card that said that. So I used the word "Thanks" from the Thanks a Bunch stamp set, and then used my stamp-a-ma-jig to add "a Latte" below. I LOVE how that turned out! :) I've been looking at some of the blogs from some stamping idols lately and trying to make note of new ideas that I either don't try or forget to try. One thing I noticed from Leigh O'Brien was that she's never afraid to cover up part of her image with a sentiment, as on this cute card. So I decided to be brave and cover up the legs here with my sentiment flag and button. What do you think? I'd love to know!

Thanks SO much for stopping by! I appreciate the new followers that have been showing up lately and new subscribers! I smile from ear-to-ear everytime I see a new face! :) Thanks for making my day!

CrAzY for Flower Soft - C4C70

We have another fun challenge for you this week with the Crazy Girls, and it's super easy! Just create a thank you card! We all have a need for those now that the holidays are past, right? So play along, and link your card on the C4C blog so we can see what you create!

Our challenge today is being sponsored by Flower Soft, too! They have some bright new colors for Spring, as you can see here!

For my card, I went with clean and simple for my design so that the Flower Soft would be the center of attention. And yes, I know you already saw this Whipper Snapper image earlier in the week but it was still laying on my table and said to me "I'd be perfect for this challenge!" so that's what I went with! :)

See what my Crazy Sisters have created today too, for more inspiration!

Angela Wood

Barbara Anders

Cindy Haffner

Frances Byrne

Jessie Rone

Joanne Grzelak

Jocelyn Pelkey

Lynda Benden

Maria Bell

Silke Kittman

Silke Ledlow

Vicki Garrett

Happy stamping, and have a fantabulous weekend!

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #100

The Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge is celebrating challenge #100 this week with a special blog hop! The challenge this week is to just use your favorite things! I figured that would be an extreme pleasure, so I created this card for the challenge. If you'd like more details, please visit the 100th Challenge Blog Hop post!
My favorites on this card include the Apple of My Eye stamp set, (well, I love ALL Flourishes stamp sets, but those nice big apples in this set make it one of my most-favorites!) some zig-zag and straight stitching done on the machine with my favorite Jody-thread, papers from October Afternoon, Nestabilities and Die-Namics for die-cutting, a little bit of dry embossing (not showing up very well in the red strip near the bottom), and Divine Twine tied through a button embellishment. AND it includes one of my new favorite things ever... this vintage Bingo card! I think these things are just so cool! I found some for sale on Etsy and my BFF Barbara Anders and I split the cost of them so we'd each have some. I can't wait to see what she does with them! A few other favorites here are the Impression Obsession Cover-a-Card background stamp I used at the very bottom (see that old-fashioned hand-written music on the green cardstock?), sponging done with Ranger distress inks, and the square shape.... I LOVE making square cards!

Many, many thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate the visits and comments so much!

Bellarific Friday (put on your shades!)

It's been awhile, but since the Bellarific Friday challenge for this week is a sketch challenge, I decided to play along since they're my favorite kinda' challenge. Now, I warned you in my title... put on your sunglasses! This baby is bright!

The Lollipops are just so cute, I couldn't resist using Ella for my card today, along with some Basic Grey "Sugar Rush" paper. She's colored with Copic markers, of course and embellished with some Nestabilities, my beloved Divine Twine, and some machine stitching. OMGosh, and I just have to say I have never been so happy with the way my stitching turned out as I am with this card! I've never managed more perfect zig-zags! :) The finishing touch is my sentiment cut out with my Sentiment Flag die from Laura at Lil' Inker Designs! LOVE that little die! It never leaves my side!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Friday!

Color Throwdown #124 for Katie

We're ready for another Color Throwdown this week, and this week we've got something extra special for you! Did you stop by my blog last week and see the Flourishes card I posted to send to Katie Renz? Katie is a wife and mother of 3 from Washington state who was diagnosed just before Christmas with stage IV gastric cancer. You can follow this thread on Splitcoaststampers for more information, and I also highly recommend you start to follow Katie's blog. You'll be so inspired by her courage! And right now we believe that Katie needs her stamping sisters to rally around her with love and support! So for today's Color Throwdown, we're encouraging everyone to create cards to send to Katie! And to encourage you further we're offering some prizes! Each member of the Throwdown team has a little something to give, and Kate from i {heart} papers is generously offering a prize, too. Enter your creation using a direct link on the McLinky widget on the Throwdown blog by 11:59 p.m. Sunday to be in the running, and we'll draw random winners that will be announced on the Throwdown blog on Tuesday. Cards can be sent to...

Katie Renz

PO Box 5913
Bellingham, WA 98227-5913

So Broni is our hostess today, and as you can see from the color swatch above, our colors today are Early Espresso (dark brown), Soft Sky (light aqua blue), and Melon Mambo (bright hot pink). If you don't have these exact Stampin' Up! colors, just use whatever you have that is most similar.

For my card, I am using a neglected Whipper Snapper image (and I'm using it this week so I can also play along with Jessie Rone's "Forgotten Stamp Friday" challenge!) called Floral Promise. I paired my image with some October Afternoon papers and a layout that was completely inspired by Amy Sheffer. I have been drooling lately over the creations on her blog, and LOVE the zig-zag stitching she adds to her creations, so I CASE'd this card for my card today.

So, if you play along with us this week you'll be eligible to win one of the prizes we have available. Each member of the Throwdown team has something a little different, as does Kate from i {heart} papers. You can check out every blog if you want to see what's available. Winners will be drawn randomly and there will be only one prize per person. I will be giving away several yards of 11 different colors of Divine Twine, and an 8x8 pad of Modern Homemake paper from October Afternoon!

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and for helping us show support for Katie! Happy stamping!

TCP Tuesday.... just a little late!

Yes, it's Tuesday again which means it's time for another TCP Tuesday challenge from The Cat's Pajamas! Trouble is, I'm still stuck on last Tuesday's challenge! I just seemed to go back and forth on what I wanted to do with this challenge, which was to be inspired by this CUTE hat! I finally decided to just go with the black, and the bright colors for my card, as you can see below...

This Ship Happens stamp set just cracks me up so much, so I had to use it for this card. I used a bunch of bright October Afternoon papers on my card, including using some to paper-piece the tea cup. There is some machine stitching in there, several colors of Divine Twine, and a scalloped border made with the Icing Cut-Ups die from TCP. And the layout is based on the Sketch for You to Try for January '11.

Hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks so much for stopping by!