SIMPLE CARD FOR BEATE'S AWESOME SKETCH

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed all the stamping time I got in this weekend (when I really should have been cleaning house!). I was able to complete several stamping projects - most of which can't be shown quite yet. Tomorrow night is our weSTAMP meeting and swap. Our swap theme this month is Fall/Halloween, anything but a card. I'll have all those projects posted later in the week!

In the meantime, here is a quick card I made using Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #59. I used Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements, and the "for you" sentiment is from the retired Love & Happiness Rub-Ons. Incredibly simple and easy! As always, all products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted. RECIPE
Paper: Designer Paper from Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements, Rose Red, More Mustard, and Perfect Plum CS
Embellishments: Self-Adhesive Die Cuts from Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements, More Mustard Brads, Love & Happiness Rub-Ons (retired), Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Word Window Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Piercing Tool
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

CASEing DAWN

You could say that I've been creatively challenged in the small amounts of time I've had to stamp this week. Nothing seemed to be turning out right, so I finally gave up and decided to CASE (Copy And Steal/Share Everything). The Our Creative Corner girls' challenge this week was to CASE from one of their galleries, Case The OCC. There are so many wonderful galleries and creations to choose from, but I went directly to my good friend, Dawn Easton's blog, Treasure Oiler Designz for my case. HERE is Dawn's card I chose to case. Dawn is one busy stamper! I don't think there's a day that goes by that she doesn't find time to stamp! She is such a good cyber friend, and her creations are always inspiring! RECIPE
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Paper: Hawaii Papaya DP, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss
Embellishments: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Antique Brass Build-A-Brads
Tools: 1/2" and 3/4" Circle Punches
Supplies: Mini Glue Dots

CRAZY FOR CUPCAKES AND CREW KIDS GIRL

Yes, I'm still using my last few scraps from the retired Simply Scrappin' Kit, Crew Kids Girl. Those of you who have followed my blog posts over the past year, know how obsessed I've been over the designer paper in this kit. Even though it's retired, I'm still using it! Amazing how many cards you can make from one of Stampin' Up!'s Simply Scrappin' Kits!

The layout for this card is from SCS Sketch Challenge #194, along with the new stamp set, Crazy for Cupcakes.

NOTES:
* The bottom 1-d panel is a self-adhesive die-cut from the Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' Kit.
* There is paper piercing around the perimeter of the card.
* A Blender Pen was used to color with Wild Wasabi and Basic Gray reinkers
* Diamond Stickles (non-SU) were applied to the cupcake frosting.
*The paper piercing on the 3/4" and 1" circles behind the sentiment were created using the Punches Plus Classy Brass Template.
RECIPE
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: DP and Self-Adhesive Die Cut from retired Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' Kit, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, and Whisper White DP
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink Pad, Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose Stampin' Write Markers, Blender Pen with Wild Wasabi and Basic Grey reinkers
Embellishments: Pretty In Pink Buttons, Pretty In Pink Brads
Tools: Ticket Corner Punch, Word Window Punch, 3/4" and 1" Circle Punches, Punches Plus Classy Brass Template, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack
Supplies: Diamond Stickles (non-SU), Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH SPANDEX?

I think I've finally solved a little problem I've been having. You see, in the past 13 years of SAHM status, I've pretty much lived in blue jeans. When I started work several weeks ago, I had to conform to the school's dress code which is "no jeans, except on Fridays". I don't get too dressed up because my job is pretty physical and messy, so for the most part I stick with basic khaki capris. I had to purchase a few pairs to get me through the work week and dislike each and every pair I own .... by mid morning they are practically falling off my body! Every time I stand up, I need to pull them up around my waist and readjust! I am so uncomfortable in these pants, as I feel like I need something to hold in my waist! I've even tried wearing a belt ... I am so not a belt person!

I'm finally catching on to why I'm having this problem ... SPANDEX!!!!! Do you know how hard it is to find pants WITHOUT Spandex these days? After much searching for capris without Spandex, I resorted to purchasing pants WITH Spandex a size smaller than I would normally purchase. Tonight after work, I did just that, then wore them around the house to get them stretched out so I could wear them to work. Geez ... what an ordeal!

Thanks for letting me bore you with my Spandex saga! Onto some other wonderful bloggers who won't bore you with their Spandex issues ....

THANK YOU to these wonderful, inspiring bloggers who have awarded this "I Love Your Blog" award to me ...

Marie ... From Combat Boots to Rubber Stamps
Chat ... Me, My Stamps, and I
Jean ... Bear Hugs & Inky Paws
Barbara ... Creative Stampin' Spot

Thanks for stopping by! I have a new card to show you tomorrow.

TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET

I haven't posted or stamped ALL week! I'll consider this my warm-up card .. amazing how it takes a few tries to get the mojo back! I'm hoping to get a few more cards designed today before heading back to work tomorrow.

This card uses Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try 09/20/08. I used the stamp set, Batty For You with Ghostly Greetings Designer Paper.

The stitching is from the retired stamp set, All In A Row. I've owned this stamp set for a very long time and this is the first time I've ever used it! I found it quite intimidating but now that I've mastered my Stamp-a-ma-jig I may use it more often! I love the look of stitching in papercrafting and would love to have the patience to stitch with my actual sewing machine. But, swear words tend to spill out of my mouth every time I try to use my sewing machine! LOL!

I added paper piercing within the stripes of the YUM YUM dp and within the scallops of the scallop circle, three Pewter Jumbo Eyelets along the side, and Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.

RECIPE
Stamps: Batty For You, All In A Row (retired)
Paper: Ghostly Greetings DP, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Kiwi Kiss and Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink Pads
Embellishments: Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: 1" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

SWEET BUTTERFLY

Many of you have been so kind in asking how my new job is going! Just wanted to give you a quick update and let you know that I am feeling much more comfortable than I did those first couple of weeks. I am enjoying the students and fellow co-workers but do very much miss being home and staying on top of my household chores.

This card uses Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try 09/13/08. Again, I used the stamp set Flight of the Butterfly but this time paired it with Sweet Always DP.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the words and two butterfly images on top of each other, and found the Stamp-a-ma-jig to be a necessity with this stamp set. The words were stamped in Chocolate Chip, and the butterfly in Pink Pirouette with the dots on the butterfly stamped in Regal Rose. Diamond Stickles (non-SU) were added to the dots on the butterfly. The Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon is threaded through a hole in the main image panels made with the Horizontal Slot Punch (one layer at a time!). The Flower Fusion and Flower Fusion Too, along with the coordinating Dew Drops (non-SU) were adhered using Tombo Adhesive.
RECIPE
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Paper: Sweet Always DP, Pink Pirouette, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, and Regal Rose
Embellishments: Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Flower Fusion, Flower Fusion Too, Dew Drops (non-SU), Diamond Stickles (non-SU)
Tools: Horizontal Slot Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombo Adhesive

HAWAII PAPAYA BUTTERFLY

I used Beate John's Weekend Sketch Challenge #57 for this card. I love this Hawaii Papaya Designer Paper using the colors of Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, and Tangerine Tango! The butterfly image and sentiment are from the stamp set, Flight of the Butterfly.

RECIPE

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly

Paper: Hawaii Papaya DP, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, and Whisper White CS

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss

Embellishments: Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dew Drops (non-SU)

Tools: Word Window Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

POCKET SILHOUETTES

I stayed home from work today with a nasty sore throat and and stuffy head. I sure hope I'm up for returning to work tomorrow, as I'm not thrilled about starting to use those sick days this early in the school year!

I made this card last night using Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #22 ... Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Soft Sky, and Whisper White. I'm honestly not saying this to receive "sympathy comments", but I don't think I like this card. This color challenge was just that - a challenge! Also, I promise that I won't use that layered sentiment medallion again for quite awhile ... I've been using it way too much lately! I DO like the new stamp set I used - Pocket Silhouettes. Looking forward to playing around with it some more!

RECIPE
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Paper: Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red, Regal Rose, and Soft Sky CS
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red, and Regal Rose
Embellishments: Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dew Drops (non-SU)
Tools: Designer Label Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Punches Plus Classy Brass Template
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals
Note: Card measures 6 1/2" x 3 1/4".

RAK from WENDY JANSON

I received this very cute card from the very sweet and thoughtful Wendy Janson! Wendy's card uses the new stamp set, A Flower for All Seasons (pg. 87 US). Visit Wendy's blog, It's All About Stamping! to see more incredible artwork from Wendy!

CUPCAKE MOJO

First, my apologies for the poor lighting in my photos. I'm having to photograph at night - not my first choice for lighting conditions. ETA ... Original photo has been replaced with a new and improved version!

I have been fiddling around with this card on and off for almost a week and finally decided to let it go so I could continue on with other projects. I started out using Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch #51 but ended up not using one of the layers ... just couldn't get it to work.

Remember this designer paper? Remember my obsession with it last winter? Yep, it's from the retired Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. I just HAD to try it with this cupcake image from Crazy for Cupcakes! The cupcakes image is stamped in Basic Black and colored in with Pretty In Pink and Bashful Blue Markers. The icing is covered in Diamond Stickles and the cherries are colored in X-mas Red Stickles (non-SU). The sentiment medallion uses the "happy birthday to you" image from the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set ... the image is curved making it very easy to create a circle. The cupcake in the medallion was created using the Cupcake Stampin' Around Wheel and colored the same as the other cupcake images.

Thanks for looking!
RECIPE
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Cupcakes Stampin' Around Wheel
Paper: DP from Winter Bright SSK (retired), Real Red Patterns DP, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Real Red, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink Pad, Pretty In Pink, Bashful Blue, and Regal Rose Markers
Embellishments: Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Diamond and X-mas Red Stickles (non-SU)
Tools: Scallop Border Punch, 1 3/8", 1 1/4", 1", and 3/4" Circle Punches
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

SAY IT WITH SCALLOPS AND KIWI KISS

This card uses Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #56. I used one of the new In Colors of Kiwi Kiss and paired it with Basic Black and Whisper White and the new stamp set, Say It With Scallops. Each image from this stamp set fits the new Scallop Square Punch perfectly and is Stampin' Up!'s chosen Ronald McDonald House stamp set this year. Two dollars from the sale of each Say It With Scallops stamp set goes to Ronald McDonald House charities.

The idea of placing the "hi" in the Build-A-Brad came from Sherri Barron's awesome card found HERE. To make my Build-A-Brad black, I simply colored it with a black Sharpie permanent marker. I ran out of black brads and used the same trick on silver brads! This card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". RECIPE
Stamps: Say It With Scallops
Paper: Bella Rose DP, Whisper White and Basic Black CS
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Embellishments: Build-A-Brad, Brads, Kiwi Kiss 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Scallop Square Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch
Supplies: Black Sharpie Marker (non-SU), Stampin' Dimensionals

SCS FEATURED STAMPER CHALLENGE FS83 CARD CRAZY

Today's Featured Stamper #83 on SCS is Denise, Card Crazy. HERE is Denise's beautiful gallery, and HERE is Denise's card I chose to case.

I changed everything but kept the same layout of Denise's card. Details ...

* My card uses the new stamp set Crazy for Cupcakes, and the new designer paper, Sweet Always. Colors ... Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, and Pink Pirouette.

* The cupcakes were colored using Pumpkin Pie and Regal Rose Markers, then Diamond Stickles were added for sparkle and depth. The cake plate was colored using the Sahara Sand Maker.

* The Ticket Corner Punch was used on the main image panel, then three holes were Paper Pierced on the Pink Pirouette panel.

* The sentiment piece was created by punching Pink Pirouette CS with the Designer Label Punch, then Paper Piercing Regal Rose CS using the Punches Plus Classy Brass Template and punched with the 1" Circle Punch. Be sure to pierce first, then punch ... it's soooo much easier! The sentiment was stamped in Basic Black onto Whisper White CS and punched with the Word Window Punch. I then punched two Pumpkin Pie CS Word Window Punches and staggered them behind the Whisper White CS piece.

* I added the 1/2" Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon on the left to balance out my card. Don't know why Denise's card seemed balanced and mine didn't ???

* The orange Dew Drops are adhered using Tombo Adhesive.
RECIPE
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Sweet Always DP, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink Pad, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, and Sahara Sand Markers
Embellishments: Pumpkin Pie 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dew Drops (non-SU), Diamond Stickles (non-SU)
Tools: Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Word Window Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Punches Plus Classy Brass Template
Supplies: Tombo Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

BIG FLOWERS FOR YOU

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #21 uses two new In Colors of Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss, along with Rose Red, Regal Rose, and Whisper White. This is a super simple card, as I was trying to get it done and posted before Kristina's deadline to be considered part of the round-up ... but I don't think I made it in time. There goes that job gettin' in the way of my stamping time again! LOL!RECIPE
Stamps: Big Flowers, Sentiment from A Perfect Day Rub-Ons
Paper: Bella Rose DP, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Whisper White CS
Ink: Pacific Point, Rose Red, and Kiwi Kiss
Embellishments: Gold Brads, Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon,
Tools: Scallop Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Paper Piercer
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals

AWARDS FROM BLOGGING FRIENDS

I am soooo behind in acknowledging awards given to me by fellow bloggers. So sorry it has taken me so long ... I certainly don't want to seem unappreciative ... because I really really do appreciate the awards and tags! I try to keep track, but if I've missed you just kindly let me know.

I received this "I love your blog" award from ...

Stacey at Stacey's Stamping Stage
Mauna at Ink~Paper~Scissors
Robin at Trinity Designs
Allison at Embellished Paper
Jan at She's Gone Stampin'
Mercy at Lord Have Mercy!


... and this Brillante Weblog award from ...


Sue at Sue's Stamping Stuff

Thank you, girls! I love your blogs too!!!!

RAKS FROM LORRI AND JESSICA

Look at these amazing RAKS I received last week!

The first is from my SU sideline, Lorri Heiling. Lorri's card is thanking me for the birthday gift I gave her, and it uses the new Level Two Hostess Set, Occasions Collection. It's difficult to see in the photo due to the glare, but the gift image is inside the Build-A-Brad! Clever!This next card is from Jessica Rone. Jessica's card uses a Paper Pretties image ... her coloring of the image is pure perfection! I wish you could see the sparkle too! I love the cluster of buttons!
THANK YOU, FRIENDS !!!!!!

ENJOY HAIKU

Happy Labor Day! Oh, do I ever love three day weekends now that I'm a workin' girl! Drew has been out of town with a friend & family ... Allie has been on the go all weekend ... John, of course, is always willing to give me stampin' time! I got a whole lot of stampin' done on Saturday and Sunday ... today is reserved for household chores and errands that desperately need done.

Last night, I was able to play along with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #55. I used the stamp set Enjoy Every Moment, and the new Haiku Designer Paper ... using the colors Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, So Saffron, and More Mustard. This card measures 6 1/2" x 3 1/4" which fits Stampin' Up! Small Open-End Envelopes. I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to line up the stamped So Saffron flower and the stamped Tangerine Tango "enjoy". A 1/2" circle was punched from the Haiku DP for the Build-A-Brad, and the layering of the "every moment" sentiment include the Designer Label Punch, 1" Circle Punch, and Word Window Punch ... along with More Mustard Brads and Paper Piercing.
RECIPE
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Paper: Haiku DP, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, More Mustard, and Very Vanilla CS
Ink: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, and Old Olive
Embellishments: Antique Brass Build A Brad, More Mustard Brads, Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Designer Label Punch, Word Window Punch, 1/2" and 1" Circle Punches, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat Pack
Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals