{ Got Stamps? }

Summer Excitement ... Big Picture Classes Style

2011-08-14T21:29:00.005-04:00

I love the class offerings from Big Picture Classes. I don't always finish them on schedule ... but I love them anyway. And I just signed up for a free event that sounds like fun and starts tomorrow. Check it out if you are interested because free is good people. And I can promise you will get sone inspiration with the talented line up of ladies that are involved, like Stacy Julian, Wendy Smedley, and May Flaum ... just to name a few.

Finding Photo Freedom

2011-06-02T15:36:00.004-04:00

I started Stacy Julian's Finding Photo Freedom class today over at Big Picture Classes. I am beyond excited!! I love Stacy's scrapbooking philosophy ... and my goal is to create more meaningful layouts by scrapbooking to showcase relationships rather than what my family and I did on Easter.

Today I ordered my photo binders, which I guess I should have done when I signed up for the class last week. But the way I look at it, that gives me more time to practice Stacy's method of valuing photos. And I have tons of old photos from before I owned a digital camera to prepare.

I am committed to sticking with this course throughout the 10 weeks and I know I am going to walk away a more inspired scrapbooker. Yay!!

First Sunglasses

2011-05-05T08:00:00.004-04:00

Today I am sharing a Quick Page that I did in bonus lesson 1 of Jessica Sprague's Up and Running with Photoshop course. It was really quick and was the perfect follow up assignment from the first layout because there was no video for this lesson ... just a list of steps.

Oh, but there was a video converting the picture to black and white. I will definitely be scrapbooking this photo again though in color because Brianne's outfit (complete with matching hat) was just darling.

The journalling says:
This is a picture of your first encounter with sunglasses. I think you thought they were a really cool toy. What a cutie!! (DC Zoo - May 1988)

I love the journalling strips, but I wish there were one or two more. Well, perhaps future lessons will teach me how to add elements like that to the page. Did I mention I love that there is no mess to clean up? **grin**

Gettin' Digi with it

2011-05-04T11:00:00.007-04:00

I created my first digital scrapbook page from Jessica Sprague's Up and Running with Photoshop class. I purchased the class about a year ago and then discovered my laptop didn't have the minimum system requirements to run Photoshop Elements ... DUH ... pretty sad for a technology person, huh? Well, since my daughter got a Mac (I am SOOOO jealous, but very happy for her), I inherited her laptop which happens to be twice the machine of my old and faithful Dell. So now I can actually run Photoshop Elements and finally take the JS class I bought a year ago. Oh, and I can Skype too.

Anyway, here is my layout. I actually LOVE digital scrapbooking so far mainly because there is NO mess to clean up. How cool is that?
The then photo is when Brianne was about 3 years old. She is holding a toy microphone, but preferred to use the top of the railing from my parents' spiral staircase as her mic. She would always sing "Bad" from Michael Jackson and it was so adorable. She is sporting a lavendar jumpsuit her Dad got her for Christmas that year. The now photo is one of Brianne performing along side of Jared from the Hip Hop Co Op, which is the first band she belonged to.

The journalling might be hard to read, but it says:
It was obvious at a very early age that you were born to perform. These 2 pictures show you "rockin' the mic" ... one at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's and the other 20 years later at the Whiskey with Jared from the Hip Hop Co Op.

My Punny Valentines

2011-03-12T12:06:00.000-05:00

I finally downloaded the pictures I took of some of my Valentine projects from this year. The one on the left is a "Double Pocket Pretty", which is an idea from Michelle Wooderson's blog, here. I made it for my Mom and it has some yummy candies and a Panera gift card. The project on the right I made for my daughter ... she's a cupcake freak like me, so I knew that image would be perfect for her gift.

Here is the inside of the project on the right showing the 2 gift cards (one for iTunes and one for Dunkin Donuts) that I gave my daughter.

Patterned paper, stamps, and ribbon are from PTI.

Fall in Chocolate

2011-02-18T16:35:00.007-05:00

**Edited to Add a better picture**

I made a tag with mostly PTI goodies that I didn't wind up using for my Valentine's Day gifts for my family. So I stuck it to the fabric of this basket I bought last year at Michael's and filled it with chocolate candies I picked up for Valentine's Day and took it into work.

It was quite a hit and how could it not be with the fun sentiment?!?!

Here is a close up of the tag.

Luckily, I'm still creating things here and there ... often times I just don't have time to get a decent picture. So these that I took with my iPhone will have to do.

Supplies for the tag: Simple Valentine patterned paper & Tag Sale #3 die are from PTI, Nestabilities, sentiment is from a Studio G dollar stamp set from Michael's last year.

Finding My Crafting Mojo

2011-01-09T19:13:00.014-05:00

It sure is hard to get back in the stamping / crafting groove. But one of the best things to do is Just Do It. I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch to create a birthday book (this project came straight from Nichole Heady's blog from last year). I loved how it turned out and it will be displayed proudly in my studio; AND it will store birthday cards so I know where to find them. Not to mention, it will help me with one of my goals for this year, which is to send out cards and crafty projects to my friends and loved ones in a time manner.

I paired Fred the Bear with some retired Stampin Up papers and I dug out my Snap Stamps for cover and for each month in the book. The chipboard binder and calendar pages are from Papertrey.

And here is a picture of the inside of the book, which shows the January birthday page.

Thanks for stopping by and **fingers crossed** I hope this is the first of many projects I will be sharing.

Feeling Flakey

2011-01-04T06:00:00.006-05:00

I updated my blog background last night and, kind of like picking out nail polish when you get a manicure, I love the name of the background just as much as I love the design. (You can find really cool, free backgrounds for blogger, here.)

Speaking of flakey ... did any of you watch the Bachelor? My sister sucked me in to yet another season of the show. It will be interesting to see if this guy can actually choose someone this time. One of the strangest moments of the night was the woman that calls herself a "manscaper" ... she actually waxed part of his forearm. Why he didn't pull his arm away is beyond me!?! Even more shocking is he kept her around ... WWWHHHAAAATTT?? And he kept the girl with the fangs. Hmmm.

I did get a chance to stamp last night though, while I was watching, which is great. Another one of my goals for this year is to **make** time to create, as well as sending out cards and other projects to my friends and loved ones in a timely manner. I am happy to report that the cards I made last night will be in the mail tomorrow. So this weekend I will share what I made, I want to make sure my cards are received first.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

New Year - New Blog

2011-01-03T20:01:00.005-05:00

It's a new year and one of my many "goals" is to start blogging again. But this time, I will be using my blog not only to share the projects I create but also as a way to share every day life kinds of things.

Here is today's little ditty that I found when I was looking at Val's blog, who has always been one of my crafting idols:

From Dear Abby's column in Saturday's paper, a little reminder on how to live, Just for Today:

DEAR READERS: Welcome to 2011! While the last year has been arduous for many of us, a new one has arrived, bringing with it our chance for a new beginning.

Today is the day we discard destructive old habits for healthy new ones. I will share Dear Abby’s often requested list of New Year’s Resolution. Many were adapted by my mother, Pauline Phillips, from the original credo of Al-Anon:

JUST FOR TODAY: I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct and accept those I cannot.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I’ll not speak ill of others. I will improve my appearance, speak softly, and not interrupt when someone else is talking.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will do something positive to improve my health.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.

Latest Addition to My Craft Room

2010-10-16T19:23:00.005-04:00

Thanks for the positive feedback on my craft room. Still trying to get things moved in and organized. I LOVE sitting at my "desk" and knowing where everything is and then putting it away when I'm finished.

Okay, on to the latest addition. I bought this 2 tiered tray at Target last night. It will be perfect for displaying completed projects or holding parts of projects that I am working on. I love it.

Making Progress

2010-08-06T23:01:00.006-04:00

Granted it's a little slower than I would like, but still I am progressing nicely in relocating my craft room to a different bedroom in my house. It's working out great so far. I bought 6 more crafting cubes in different configurations from Michael's last weekend and set up the 2nd side to my main work area.

I decided to take a little break from organizing and allow myself to work on some projects. In the past week, I made a mini album from my 4th of July weekend trip to Maryland, AND a little birthday calendar book, AND a few bookmarks. I need to take some better pictures of those projects before posting them here though.

Time to Get Organized

2010-07-29T12:54:00.006-04:00

Just thought I'd pop in and show a picture of my new crafting space. My daughter moved into a bigger place, so she was able to take additional furniture from her bedroom at my house. So now I'm shifting all 3 bedrooms around. Of course the priority is re-vamping my crafting space.

Here's a brief glimpse at my favorite addition ... a Closet Maid cubbie with 9 compartments. On the very top is an adorable cupcake themed cookie jar my sister found for me at Kohl's in February. Next to that is a sketch book I made with my Bind It All when I was in Maryland for the 4th of July weekend. And next to that is my Nesties to Go tag book my sister made me that I posted about here.

Holiday Planner

2009-11-24T06:00:00.005-05:00

I wanted to share a little Holiday Planner I made this past weekend. Isn’t it cute? Almost everything is from PTI (www.papertreyink.com), except the patterned paper is from Imaginesce. I think I’m going to make more of these up and give them out as little gifts. Of course this one is for me for next year. I already altered a little $1 notebook from Michael’s that I’m using to help me plan for the Christmas holiday this year.

Can you believe Christmas Eve is only a month away? Yikes!!! I sure can’t. Where has this year gone?

Supply List: Holiday Button Bits and Take Note stamp sets, Poppy and New Leaf buttons, Spring Rain cardstock, lined note pad all from Papertrey, Inc., patterned paper is from Imaginesce’s Polar Expressions line, sheer dotted ribbon from Hobby Lobby

Friends Are Blessings

2009-11-20T06:00:00.011-05:00

My friend Dawn challenged me to use my heart CB folder, so I created this card following a sketch over at Cupcake Craft Challenges. It may be hard to see in the picture, but the Chocolate Chip layer has teeny tiny embossed hearts all over it. (Thanks for challenging me Dawn ... I did give my sister one of these heart CB embossing sets, but have no fear ... I still have one for myself too.)

The picture is not the greatest because I took it with my iPhone. It's so hard to get decent pictures of my projects with the time change because by the time I get home from work it is completely dark.

I love this pumpkin image, it's from the Tall Oaks set by Verve. The sentiment is a retired Stampin Up set and it says "When I count my blessings, I count my friends". Isn't that super sweet? And very true. The leaves are from a retired Stampin Up punch and the patterned paper is My Mind's Eye, it's really a Spring line, but the colors work for Fall as well.

Oh No She Didn't

2009-11-19T19:43:00.018-05:00

My sister, Joy, posted a new comment on my prior post (which is almost a month old) saying she needed to see something new. Can you believe her? Well, actually it is kind of sad it's been so long since I've posted ... so I thought I'd share a very special project.

It's an altered tag book that Joy made for me and gave me when she was here on Labor Day weekend. Get this ... it stores and organizes all my Nestabilities. I call it Nesties 2 Go and I absolutely adore it. She used some gorgeous My Minds Eye Paper to alter each tag and then she attached magnetic sheets that hold the Nestabilities. Is she a genuis or what? And thankfully, she made it with room to grow ... this baby will hold 5 more sets than what I have. Here's what it looks like opened up.

Oh and she sent me some happy mail in late September with an adorable Cupcake Chef stamp that I've used a couple of times already and this really cool "magnetic wand". When I first glanced at the packaging, I thought it said Magic Wand, so that's what I call it.

It is a tool that you use to help you pick up the Nestie you want to use from the set. Isn't that neat? Here's a picturing showing me using it:

So, if you like what you see please take a minute to post a comment on Joy's blog. Oh, and you might want to let her know that you want to see something new from her too ... **wink**

Cupcakes Forever

2009-10-26T06:00:00.003-04:00

Here is the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. I love the sketch. And given this is my last week on the design team, I had to use a cupcake image.

I would like to thank all the wonderful ladies on the CCC Design Team for all the fellowship and inspiration. They are all so fantastic and I feel truly blessed to be part of such an awesome group.

Supplies: Lockhart Cupcake image, Studio G sentiment, Orange dotted patterned paper from Stampin Up, My Mind's Eye plaid patterned paper, Taken With Teal and Chocolate Chip cardstock from SU, Ribbon and buttons from Papertrey, Martha Stewart border punch, Nestabilities, Copics

Things That Go Bump in the Night

2009-10-19T14:18:00.003-04:00

Here’s a cute little goodie bag I made for this week’s Cupcake Craft Challenge. It’s my favorite style … cute and simple. I whipped this up after getting home from shopping for fall décor for my house. I bought some pumpkins and some orange cloth napkins and I spotted these yummy chocolate covered pretzels that had orange icing drizzled on them, so I picked up a container of them as well. I considered adding more embellishments, but I wanted the goodies inside to be easily spotted.

Be sure to check out what the other design team member’s came up with for this week’s challenge.

Supplies: Image, sentiment, and bag are from Papertrey, patterned paper is retired Stampin Up, ribbon is from Hobby Lobby, Martha Stewart border punch

Buttons and Stitching

2009-10-12T00:00:00.004-04:00

Wow ... has it really been almost a month since I've posted on my blog?? I sure wish my work schedule would settle down a tad to give me more time to craft.

Okay, onto the challenge. This week we were to use buttons and stitching on our creations, so I pulled out my mat pack and paper piercer and got my faux stitching on. Don't you love this adorable cupcake chef image? My sister bought her at a stamp show and sent it to me. (Thanks SO much, Joy ... I absolutely love her and I hope you liked the thank you card I sent that I created the same day as I received the happy mail from you)

Get this ... the patterned paper on this card I received **free** from eclecticpaperie with my order. Daisy sent me 24 sheets of various Crate papers. Yup, 24 sheets. When I opened my pakcage, I was like ... I know I ordered quite a bit of paper, but surely it wasn't this much. lol. So, I made this card to send her thanking her for her generosity. I suspect she checked out my order history and was like this girl has a papercrafting addiction, so we owe her an extra large helping of patterned paper love.

Pearls and Swirls

2009-09-16T22:41:00.006-04:00

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which was to use Pearls and Swirls on your project. Don't you love this adorable Whipper Snapper image? I figured since there's so much buzz about a really bad flu season this coming winter that I'd better make some get well type cards.

Anyway, once again I made a slight boo boo on my card. Did you find it? Well, I mistook the little chicken's feet as large flowers on her comforter. Guess when I caught on? Yup, you guessed it when I showed it to my Mom. Well at least this time she didn't point it out to me ... a little light bulb just went off and we had a good laugh about it.

Supplies: Get Well Chicken image by Whipper Snapper, Imaginesce Patterned Paper, PTI Stampers Select card base, primas, Martha Stewart Oval Pearls, Swirl CB Folder

Make It A Couch Potato Night

2009-08-19T11:00:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share a project I submitted for the Papertrey Guest Star Stamper contest for August. I had *so* much fun making it. What is it? Well it's a little couch potato gift set I came up with based loosely on a popcorn bag. I don't have a pattern, but the base of the bag is 2 pieces of 8 1/2 X 10" Sweet Blush cardstock that I scored and adhered together with sticky strip. I seem to use this method a lot when making 3D projects like bags and boxes.

I staged my picture by making some popcorn and putting it an extra popcorn bag favor and tipped it over. My whole house smelled like popcorn ... yummy!!

Here's a picture of what the actual gift set would look like. Don't you love the polka dot couch?? I have so much fun when I use this set. I put the goodies (a bag of microwave popcorn, a large pack of M&Ms, and a Blockbuster gift card) in a cellophane bag I got at AC Moore in the candy decorating section. Embellished with ribbon and a cute little tag. Wouldn't this be a perfect gift for a friend that is recuperating from surgery, or a breakup ... or just going through a hard time? Or how fun would it be to make up some smaller popcorn bags for a Chick Flick night or a slumber party for your daughter and her friends? The possibilities are endless, really.

I emailed pictures of my project to my sister before submitting it and she said it inspired her to stay home from work, make some popcorn and watch TV ... lol ... totally cracked me up!! (You are too much, Joy!!)

CCC Birthday Blog Hop

2009-08-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Cupcake Craft Challenge 1st Birthday blog hop!

If you have just come from Pop's blog then you are in the right place! I am Sandy and all you need to do is leave me a comment to be eligible to win my blog candy and then you need to hop on over to Stephanie's blog and leave a comment there! Stephanie will then tell you which blog you need to visit next!

If you are not sure you are visiting the design team blogs in the right order you can go back to here and start from the beginning! There are 14 design team blogs in the blog hop and each one has some gorgeous candy to be won!

Don’t forget to enter this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge to be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes that our sponsors have provided to help us celebrate our 1st birthday!

Good Luck with your entries you have until 8pm Saturday 22nd August to enter and the winners will be announced on the Cupcake blog on Monday 24th August.

In honor of my blog candy prize (a brand new Cupcake stamp set from Inkadinkadoo), I thought I'd change my blog banner to {Got Cupcake Stamps?} for this week ... what do you think?

Oh and for my card for this week's Challenge, I *had* to use Cupcake Riley. He is probably my favorite cupcake themed stamp of all times. I paired him with a fun little sentiment stamp I got at AC Moore with a coupon a couple of weeks ago. And let's face it, most times, a cupcake will definitely help. The cardstock, paper and ribbon is from Taylor's Cupcake Key Ingredients Kit. I added a little cupcake brad that my friend Holly gave me last year ... isn't it adorable?? (Thanks again Holly, I love these things but haven't allowed myself to use them until now!!)

Enjoy the blog hop and good luck!! There are tons of prizes to be won.

Sketch and Color Challenge

2009-08-10T19:16:00.006-04:00

It was Tammy's turn to issue the challenge over at the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog. I love the fun layout she came up with and of course I'm a huge brown and blue fan. (Great challenge, Tammy!!)

I needed to make a card for a friend who just built a new home, so I thought this image worked great. My friend's Mom is living with she and her husband, so that's what made me add the 3 buttons. I've had the ribbon forever and thought I'd finally use it. I think this card would also work as a congratulations card for a friend expecting a baby, so I made a couple of extra cards.

Stop by and see what the rest of the Design Team came up with, here.

Oh and next Monday is the 1 year anniversary of the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog so be sure to get in on the fun ... trust me ... you don't want to miss it.

Beach Themed Shaker Gift Bag

2009-08-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

It was my turn to come up with a challenge on the Cupcake Craft Challenge blog and I chose a beach theme. I’ve wanted to make a shaker for a while, so I paired this retired Stampin Up stamp set called Shore Thing with some sand I got from the beach. The little sand piper image is my favorite from the set, so I embossed the birds then I sponged a sky and stamped some sand, which you can’t see it now that I put actual sand in the shaker.

I had intended to make a card, but when I got my patterned paper out, I had some scraps that would work great to alter a plain white gift bag. I love the layout I came up with, but decided to add the stitched chocolate chip ribbon and WOW what a difference that made. I added some bashful blue stitched ribbon to close the bag.

Oh and here’s a link to a great shaker tutorial on Amy’s blog, Prairie Paper and Ink. I will definitely be making more shakers in the future. They add a lot of fun to your project.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team came up with, here.

The Little Yellow Company is the sponsor this week and one lucky person will win a free digital image.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

2009-07-27T08:00:00.006-04:00

This week it was Stephanie’s turn to issue the Cupcake Craft Challenge. She challenged us to use pink, green and brown on our projects AND an animal image that included flowers. Well I knew EXACTLY what image I was going to use … this adorable Oh Beehave image I got a while ago through the PIF Image swap. Isn’t it adorable?

I didn’t intend to create the little grassy scene, but this image really lends itself to that. The grass slowly took over the bottom half of the image layer; so, of course I had to sponge the top half with a sky.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team did here. (Great challenge, Steph!!)

On My Couch

2009-07-21T10:00:00.006-04:00

I am absolutely crazy about Papertrey Ink's new stamp set called On My Couch (and the On My Couch Additions) designed by Lisa Johnson. I had so much fun playing around with all the fun image combinations. And there are so many clever sentiments, but my favorite has to be "potato optional". We all feel the need to be a couch potato from time to time.

Anyway, here's the first card I made with my PTI goodies that arrived Saturday morning. I used the same layout from my Penguin Christmas card, but this card is smaller. It fits in a Stampin Up small open end envelope.

Christmas in July

2009-07-20T22:32:00.011-04:00

It was Paula's turn for the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week and she challenged us to make a Christmas card. Pretty challenging indeed given it's been in the 90s here. But ... I'm really grateful for it because it helped me get a jump start on my holiday cards.

I pulled out my Glitter Christmas Stack and paired it with this adorable penguin image. I have been wanting to make a long card and given the width of the image, this card quickly fell into place.

Here's a closeup of the image so you can see the sparkle from the gelly roll pen I used on the lights, part of the hats and the icy ground I created.

Be sure to check out the wonderful cards that the design team created. Hopefully it will inspire you to start on your holiday cards too.

Blossoms and Butterflies

2009-07-13T22:28:00.006-04:00

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. It was Liza's turn and her theme was Blossoms and Butterflies. I have had this Chatterbox paper for a while and thought it would be perfect. Well, after I made my card, submitted it for publication on the CCC blog, I showed it to my Mom ... who was quick to ask when I was planning on adding a butterfly. I responded that the paper has butterflies and flowers on it, but apparently they are all flowers. Sorry for the butterfly-less card ... lol. Or is there anyone else out there that sees butterflies and flowers on this gorgeous paper??

Supplies: Chatterbox patterned paper, Certainly Celery CS and GP white, Memory Box image, sentiment from Taylored Expression, Primas, large brads, white candy dots, white GG ribbon, Nesties

Cupcake Craft Challenge

2009-07-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

It was Lisa's turn for the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week and her choice was Black and White. Hopefully I didn't deviate too much from the challenge because I added some color on the apron image. However, all the other elements are black and white. This one was quite a challenge for me because I don't have any patterned paper that is black and white. So I pulled out my Flannel Plaid background stamp and I loved how that panel turned out. I've really neglected my background stamps lately. So thanks Lisa for making me remember how much I enjoy using them.

It's Rainin' Cupcakes

2009-06-30T06:00:00.003-04:00

How adorable is this image and sentiment??? I *had* to have it as soon as I saw it on the Hambo Stamps website. And I love that it's digital because it meant I got it within hours of buying it. I took the picture in this angle so you can see that I used a Stardust Gelly Roll pen on the umbrella, rain coat, hat and cupcakes. I sent this card to my sister and she got it on Saturday, so I can finally post it. It's so hard when you make a card you're excited about, but can't post it because you want it to be a total surprise.

Funny story about the day I bought the image. I had stopped at a local cupcake shop called Coastal Cupcakes on my way home from work. I got 6 cupcakes that were all different and when I got home I cut them in half and ate 1/2 one of each. Don't worry they are on the small side. So, it kind of did "rain" cupcakes on me that day, but luckily I wasn't dreaming.

It's Summer

2009-06-29T21:09:00.010-04:00

This week it was Kathrin’s turn to come up with the Cupcake Craft Challenge and she challenged us to do a summer themed card. How fun!! And the timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I had just gotten this adorable digital image from Hambo Stamps. And guess what?? It was free. Yup, I said free. Of course after looking at the free image, I bought 2 other digital images, but that’s just what seems to happen to me. I find stamps I *must* have morning, noon and night.

Check back tomorrow for a card I made with one of the 2 Hambo digital stamps I bought.

Oh and sorry about the wonky picture. I recently borrowed a digitial photography book from one of the guys I work with ... hopefully it will help me take straighter pictures. The color and clarity of the picture was great though, so that's good.

Cupcake Craft Challenge

2009-06-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday everyone!! Here is a card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. Love the sketch and isn't this little Fairy image adorable?? Go check out the other digital images available here. They are so much fun.

Supplies: Crate Patterned Paper, Barely Banana and Pink Pirouette CS from SU, GP White, Candy Buttons from Taylored Expressions, Pink ribbon from SU, Nesties

Father's Day Gift Bag

2009-06-15T06:00:00.011-04:00

Here is my project for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge, which was to make a Father's Day themed project that wasn't a card. What a great challenge that Jeanette came up with because I needed a gift bag for my Dad's gift, so I knew exactly what I was going to make. I borrowed my sister's Stampin Up Wanted set while I was in Maryland and paired it with some My Mind's Eye paper I got from Michael's. I stamped the tissue paper with 2 of the star shaped stamps in the set in green and brown to match the paper. I don't have a pattern for the bag, but all I did was score 2 sheets of 12 x 12 patterned paper at 1 1/2" on the top and bottom and 2 1/2" in from each side, which is based on the size of what was going in the bag. I folded down the top to show off the other side of the patterned paper. I inked the horse image once and stamped it 3 times to make it look like the horse was moving. I've seen this done many times with this image and loved the effect. For the handles, my sister had a store bag that had brown handles, so I punched holes in my bag with her Cropadile and used them on this project.

What is wrong with this picture?? It's actually my initial project, but I discovered a boo boo. I stamped the horses wrong ... on this bag my horses are running backwards ... too funny!!

When I Said I Do

2009-05-29T09:00:00.010-04:00

Here is another card I made with my domestic themed images from InStyle Stamps, which were perfect for May cards since it's the month of Mother's Day. Apparently poor Jane feels about laundry the way I do about painting. The image name is actually "Jane2" because there's a different view of Jane in another image. I couldn't come up with a good sentiment for this card like I did yesterday's, so I searched online and found the perfect sentiment to go with it. Doesn't this totally crack you up? It sure makes me chuckle and my daughter loved it too. Here's a link to the site I used.

I followed Tamara's card sketch for this week, what a great sketch!! I used some fun Chatterbox patterned paper I've had for a while and coordinating SU cardstock. Instead of ribbon, I used the twine that Stampin Up had in their holiday mini catalog to keep up with the laundry theme. Oh, do you like my semi-new Nesties?? They're the large deckle rectangles. I've had them for like a month, but this is the first time I used them.

Don't forget today is the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop. I was too busy to create a project for this month, but I can't wait to see what the rest of the design team came up with ... it's a beach theme this month ... how fun!! You're going to love the new images that are debuting. There are links to all the design team members on my right side bar. The fun starts at 12:00 noon EDT and as always there will be prizes, so be sure to check it out.

The Original Multi-tasker

2009-05-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

It’s been a busy month for me, between traveling to Austin and working remotely with resources on opposite ends of the country and world AND trying to get my dining room painted, I haven't had much time to stamp. But I finally got a chance to play with a couple of InStyle Stamps images. So today and tomorrow, I’ll be sharing my creations with you. For today’s card, I used this utterly adorable Mary image. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw this image was: Mom ... the original multi-tasker. So that's the sentiment I used on my card, which is computer generated.

I followed last week's sketch challenge on Splitcoast (SC228). What a fun sketch!! Perfect for this fun Paper Studio patterned paper I got when I went to Hobby Lobby. The 3 different matching patterns were perfect for this week's sketch. Oh and I paper pieced Mary's dress, which was this week's Wednesday challenge on the InStyle Stamps blog.

Make A Wish

2009-05-26T09:33:00.014-04:00

Here's the card I made for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge hosted by Erin. Erin's daughter is turning 2 and she wanted us to use 2 colors + a neutral, 2 shapes, and 2 ribbons on our card. We could add other embellishments if we wanted.

I actually started out following this week's House Mouse Sketch Challenge that I discovered from this adorable card on Dawn's blog. Dawn's card totally inspired me to use the new House Mouse stamp I bought at Hobby Lobby when I was in Austin for work a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it adorable?? I couldn't quite adhere to the sketch because of the size of my image.

The colors I used are inspired by the Color Throwdown challenge from this past week, but I deviated a little so I could use some of my Chatterbox paper.

Cupcake Craft Challenge 40

2009-05-18T07:43:00.013-04:00

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge is a great sketch from DT member Donna. (Love the sketch, Donna!!) I love sketch challenges, don't you?

Here's the card I made following the sketch. I used an adorable Changito image I got from Stamper's Dream and some scraps of My Mind's Eye paper. It might be hard to tell in the photo, but I used my Stardust clear Gellyroll pen on the rain elements, so it's pretty sparkley in real life.

Melanie CD Holder

2009-04-27T12:00:00.018-04:00

It's my turn to host the Method Monday Challenge over on the InStyle Stamps blog. I've been wanting to make a CD holder for a long time and decided this would be the perfect project for this challenge. I used Melanie for my image ... doesn't she look like she's having a blast? This is another image that totally reminds me of my childhood, so I thought she would be perfect to create a CD holder that I will store all my favorite childhood pictures. I'll scan them in because they belong to my Mom. Many of the photos I chose are in a scrapbook I made for my sister Joy for her 40th birthday from several years ago.

List of Supplies: Melanie Image from InStyle Stamps, Chatterbox patterned paper, Bashful Blue CS, GP White CS, Sheer Dotted Ribbon from Michael's, Velcro Circle (cut in half), Pop Dots, Tombo Adhesive, 1/2" wide double sided tape, scissors, 1-1/4 circle and corner rounder punches, Cutter with scoring blade.

My tutorial is based on this one from Splitcoast Stampers, but I did make a couple of changes.

Step 1: Cut cardstock at 7 7/8 and discard the small scrap of paper. Cut on the short side at 3 inches. You'll have 2 pieces of CS both 11 inches long.

Step 2: Score the larger piece 3 inches in from each side. For the 3" x 11" paper, score at 3 inches in on one side and 3 1/8 inches in on the other side.

Step 3: Adhere glue dots as shown, which will make a pocket to hold your CD.

Step 4: Adhere the 3 inch section just above the 2nd score line on the larger piece of paper and then fold the flap up.

Step 5: Use the SU 1-1/4" circle punch to make a slit to make removing the CD from the holder eaiser.

Step 6: Attach a 1/2 of a velcro dot for opening and closing the project.

Step 7: Use the SU corner rounder punch on the top edge of the project. Optionally you can add some patterned paper to the back section and use the corner rounder on it.

Step 8: Assemble the front of the project with your image and other embellishments as desired.

I hope I have inspired you to make one of these fun projects.

5 Embellishments Challenge

2009-04-27T06:00:00.005-04:00

This week's challenge over at the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog is from design team member Caryn. Her challenge is to use 5 different embellishments on one project, to represent her 5 wonderful children ... isn't that sweet?

I've had this digital image for a while and I decided she'd be perfect for this challenge. The 5 embellishments I used on my card are: ribbon, primas, dew drops (they are used on the center of each flower), glitter (on the flowers on the image ... even on the little flower on the purse) and rhinestones on the sentiment.

What a fun challenge. Be sure to check out the other design team members' creations and then I challenge you to make a project and upload it to the CCC blog. Who knows ... you might be in the top 5.

Supplies: Image from Grab A Doodle Do, Sweet Slumber DSP, SU Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze CS, GP White, Mega Curved Rectangle Nesties, Primas, Dew Drops, Martha Stewart Rhinestones, Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon from SU.

Award

2009-04-26T14:48:00.014-04:00

I got this award from Caryn, one of the fabulous members of the Cupcake Craft Challenges design team. (Thank so much, Caryn ... it is such an honor to receive this from you.) It has taken me a week or so to decide who I should pass this award on to.

There are so many talented bloggers out there that I could choose to give this to, but I have to choose 5. So, I'd like to pass this award on to the following amazing women:

Dawn at My Stamping Thyme
Denise at The Paper Landscaper
Jen at Taylor Made by Jen Marie
Maria at Stampin Inspiration
Stephanie at Stephanie's Stampin Spot

Each of these blogs is chock full of wonderful projects ... and I have gained so much inspiration and lots of smiles from them.

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

2009-04-24T12:00:00.001-04:00

It’s the last Friday of the month, so that means it’s time for the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop. This month’s theme is “Contain Yourself”. We were tasked with making or altering some kind of container … how fun, right? My project is a combination of Melissa’s Method Monday challenge from last week and a cute little purse project that my sister Joy made (check out her new blog, here).

When I make a 3D type project like this, I decide what goodies I’m going to put inside before I choose the image, color scheme and embellishments. I found some adorable wine themed items in the $1 bins at Michael’s recently and decided Marti would be the perfect image for this challenge. I based the size of my bag on the items that I was putting in it. That’s the cool thing about making your own packaging, you know everything is going to fit perfectly. I love how this project turned out. I think it will be a great little gift set for any wine lover or as favors for a wine tasting, that sort of thing.

Be sure to check out the blogs of all the rest of the Design Team (links are on my sidebar to the right). And then go to the ISS blog to vote for your favorite project. The designer of the project with the most votes will win a prize. And of course there will be prizes for all you blog hoppers out there in blog land. Note that in addition to voting, you will need to leave a comment on the blog post with the poll on it in order to be entered to win the grand prize.

Other important info about today’s blog hop:

It will run from 12pm EST to 11pm EST on the ISS forum (see link above).

There will be mini contests with prizes throughout the day on the blog hop thread on the forum.

The contest will remain open until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, April 25th, and the winners will be announced on Sunday, April 26th.

Here's a picture of just the bag. The bag closes by use of a Velcro Square. Marti is popped up and only adhered on the flap layer.

Supplies: Marti image from InStyle Stamps, Sweet Always DSP, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip CS, Primas, Martha Stewart Rhinestones, Bazzill Brads, Copic and SU Markers, SU Eyelet Border Punch

Cupcakes Forever

2009-04-20T09:38:00.011-04:00

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge is a sketch challenge and here is my take on it. I knew I had to use this fun sentiment from my new Studio G acrylic stamps. The cupcake trio is one of the $1 stamps I found at Michael's, they had all kinds of fun cupcake themed goodies last time I was there ... score!! Of course my main image is Cupcake Riley, I love that image. The smaller cupcakes on the top section of the card were stamped twice, so I could pop dot them up to give dimension.

My sister recently pointed out that I haven't been listing the supplies I used on my projects, so I plan to remedy that starting now. (Thanks, Joy!!)

Supplies: Cupcake Riley by Hanna Stamps, Other cupcake images from Michael's, Penny Lane patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, GP White CS, Red sheer dotted ribbon from Michael's, Tag Trio Nestabilities

Thankful Thursday

2009-04-16T08:19:00.011-04:00

It's my turn for the Thankful Thursday sketch challenge over at the InStyle Stamps Blog and I had to use this adorable Gidget image. Doesn't she look like she's having fun?? I knew when I saw the image I wanted to make a card with her for my sister, Joy. We are extremely close and I have so many fond memories of our childhood. But even though we're all grown up now, we still can be silly and goofy with one another. To me, this Gidget image conveys that so well.

I have had this Pumpkin Pie Rick Rack for a while, but hadn't been able to use it until now because I realized it perfectly complimented the Sweet Always paper, so I ordered some more of that and it came on Monday.

I had issues creating a sketch, so I decided to use this one from our fabulous sketch queen, Maria. Here's a link to her post using the sketch. She is such an inspiration and so very supportive to the entire design team.

Anyway, the one minor variation I made was to create a sentiment with strips. It just fits better with all the other elements I have on my card.

I hope this has inspired you to make a card for the challenge.

Anyone Else Feel This Way

2009-04-13T06:22:00.010-04:00

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge was a 1 layer card, which was kind of tough. For me the secret was to use a patterned paper card base, plus thankfully we could embellish any way we wanted. I decided to use my new Curved Mega Rectangle nesties to make the card base more fun that I *had* to have thanks to all the wonderful creations my friend Denise has been posting lately. (You're quite the enabler, girl!!) The inspiration for using this adorable American Arts image was a sign at the local gym here in town ... it reads ... Swimsuit Season R U Ready? I thought to myself ... who could be ready with all the yummy Easter candy that has to be eaten, especially those Resee's Peanut Butter Eggs.

Be sure to check out the cards the other Design Team members made and then why not make a card of your own?

For Peeps Sake Fry Box

2009-04-06T06:00:00.012-04:00

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge was to use at least 3 folds in your project, so I knew I'd be making a 3-D project. I decided to make a little Easter themed fry box based on a project from Nichole Heady's blog here. And as I sat down with the Peeps I was designing the project around ... I was like dang ... even the company that makes Peeps love pink and brown as a color combination. So I used the brown and pink paper in my pack of Tiny Dancer paper from My Mind's Eye that I got from Stamper's Dream. I love this adorable Peeps stamp and sentiment from A Muse.

I plan to give this little project to my daughter and make a 2nd one for her friend that is away from her family for Easter this year. We're planning on having lunch out some where in downtown Wilmington on Easter after church. Should be fun.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CCC Design Team came up with ... there's a link to each of their blogs under my Cupcake Craft Challenges Design Team blinkie.

Life's Simple Pleasures

2009-04-05T16:42:00.008-04:00

Here's a card I made for Taylor's sketch from this week ... sorry about the wonky angle, but it's very windy here so I had trouble getting a decent picture. What a fun sketch. Don't you love this little Changito with coffee image?? He makes me smile. I'm not sure what I love more ... his pink bunny slippers or the fact that his PJs are buttoned wrong ... lol. I thought my A Muse "Life's Simple Pleasures" sentiment went perfectly with the image.

What's one of your simple pleasures? One of mine is new images and paper. Both on this card were ordered last Sunday from Stamper's Dream and arrived in my PO Box on Wednesday. I love and really appreciate super speedy service like that ... (so, thanks Michelle!!)

No Foolin ... Caryn's Got Blog Candy

2009-03-30T22:42:00.003-04:00

Check out fellow Cupcake Craft Challenges Design Team member Caryn's blog candy. She draws for it on April 1st, but this is NOT an April Fool's joke.

My First Genie Bag

2009-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

... but it certainly won't be my last!! I made this little bag to give to my Mom, who will be driving to Maryland to visit my sister over Easter. I thought this little Bunny Car image was perfect ... doesn't she look so happy to be on the road? I am planning to put some homemade cookies in the bag. I'm hoping to slip them into her car the night before her trip. (So, Joy don't mention it to her, k?)

For those of you that don't know, the bag idea is from the incredibly talented Jen del Muro over at i heart 2 stamp. Here's a link to one of her more recent Genie bags from Splitcoast. These bags go way back, but I've never made one until now. Mainly because I never seem to have white lunch bags on hand. I found a pack of cute sized white bags at Michaels on Wednesday and knew exactly what I was going to use them for ... woot woot.

Supplies: image from InStyle Stamps, Retired DSP paper from SU, Regal Rose and Tempting Turquoise CS, Primas, brads, pop dots, 1/2" sticky tape.

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

2009-03-27T07:11:00.025-04:00

ETA: I didn't alter the towel and pot holders, just the canvas on the right.

Welcome to the first InStyle Stamps blog hop! The blog hop will be held from 11:30 am EST to 10pm EST on the InStyle Stamps Forum. Come join the fun, and be on the look-out for contests to win some great prizes throughout the day! Plus, make sure to vote for your favorite DT member project, as well as play “Meet the DT Trivia” to be entered into our drawings for the grand prizes to be held at the end of the hop!

This time around, the design team was challenged to create a home decor project. I am going to be redoing my kitchen in a cupcake theme. So I've been collecting cupcake themed goodies and decided that I would do a little scrapbooking on the wall project. I used a 5x5 canvas, painted it a cute pink and used my favorite papers of all times ... Stampin' Up's retired Loves Me DSP. I ordered 3 packs of that stuff before it retired. The image for this project is the left most cupcake in the adorable Cupcakes digital image. I just resized it, printed it out, colored it with my Copics and then sealed it with Krylon Matte finish spray. Then I mod podged each layer on, waiting an hour between coats. I added a little sheer red polka dotted ribbon. I love how it turned out and I plan to make a 2nd canvas with the other cupcake in the image. I think they will be cute next to each other on a shelf. Or I might hang them above a shelf with some cute cupcake mugs I bought at Target last year. As my sister says .... "the sky's the limit" ... *grin*

Here are my answers for the Meet the DT Trivia:

What is your favorite color combination for crafting? Pink and brown … without a doubt

If you were stuck on a deserted island, and a box washed up on shore, what 5 craft supplies would you most want to find inside? stamped images, designer papers, cardstock, paper cutter, Copic Markers, adhesive (okay I know that’s 6, but I did sacrifice embellishments)

What is your favorite coloring medium? Currently, Copic Markers

What embellishment can you not live without? Ribbon

What are your hobbies (other than papercrafting) ? Reading and baking

What’s your favorite spring time activity? Going to the beach (yup, in NC beach season is from April – October)

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go? Italty

When you were little, who was your favorite super hero and why? I guess Wonder Woman, not sure why … maybe it was her outfit

What is one item that you really should throw away, but probably never will? A hand made quilt that I got as a wedding gift 22 years ago. I LOVE that thing, but it keeps falling apart and so I’ve had to sew it here and there and the material is very worn. However, I’ll probably keep it forever.

If you were an animal, what would you be? Probably a dog … they are full of love and everyone loves them

If you could have an endless supply of any food item, what would you get? Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs

What is your favorite movie? Rainman

Who is your favorite actor/actress? George Clooney

Do you have a pet? If so, what do you have? I have the sweetest dog in the whole world

How did you first get introduced to stamping? A former coworker (who eventually became my Stampin’ Up upline and who is still a great friend) had a SU catalog party. I bought a bunch of stamps and a year later finally mounted them on the wood blocks and then I was hooked.

Boy, I sure can ramble on and on can't I? Be sure to check out the blogs of my fellow DT members to see what they came up with! And don't forget to head over to the InStyle Forum for all the details on how you can get entered into the prize drawings!

Jennie H.
Joy S.
Kim G.
Latrice
Mary G.
Melissa E.
Michelle O.
Risa W.
Shary N.
Silke H.
Taylor U.
Vicky C.
Virginia

And I wanted to welcome Cathy to the InStyle Stamps Design team! She didn't get a chance to make a project for the blog hop as today is her first day on the team, but sure to stop by and congratulate her.

Blogaversary Blog Candy Winner

2009-03-27T07:07:00.011-04:00

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2009-03-27 11:06:29 UTC

.... so that means Caryn over at Glitter Me Silly won. Congratulations, Caryn!! Email your mailing address to me (by clicking on view my complete profile and then click on email) and I'll get your stamps in the mail.

The picture in this post are the adorable challenge cards that Caryn put in her entry ...
just precious!! And she's right ... Cupcakes Rock!!

Blog Candy

2009-03-24T22:46:00.008-04:00

ETA: This post is now closed so I can draw a winner!!
Okay, so I'm having trouble with my digital camera so I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the blog candy I'm offering up to celebrate my blogaversary. But part of it will be a brand new Hey Cupcake acrylic stamp set from Stampendous, this is a picture I got from an online store.

All you have to do is leave me a comment with a link to your favorite cupcake image. I'd love for the link to be to a card you've made, but it could be a link to someone else's card ... or I'll even settle for a link to the image from an online store.

I'll be drawing the winner on Friday morning, 3/27/09. And guess what else is happening on Friday, March 27th?? InStyle Stamps is having its first ever Blog Hop.

Had to Grab Some Doodles

2009-03-21T10:19:00.017-04:00

I was doing a little blurfing (blog surfing) this morning ... I had to check out all the other Cupcake Crafts Challenge Design Team members' blogs and I stumbled upon this adorable card made by Donna. (Super cute, Donna!!) So I hopped on over to Grab-A-Doodle-Do to check out the digital images. And I bought 3 sets. Just another perk of being on a design team ... more enabling!!! Lordy, am I in trouble.

Here's a little altered notebook I made following Cupcake Craft Challenge # 31 (Brown + 1). All you had to do was make a project with Brown and either pink, green or blue. I ran my image layer through my Cuttlebug with my small heart folder, which I use for way more than Valentine's Day stuff. I used some retired SU Flirty Ribbon, which I love. And some new SU buttons and I love how this little book turned out.

I'm going to use this book to keep track of anything related to the CCC Design Team, like challenges and the blog addresses of all the DT. Plus it will look cute on my crafting table or desk. You know when I actually clean those off enough to see the surface. lol. I think I bought 2 others at Michael's in different colors, so I'll probably make a couple more.

Anyway, Happy Saturday everyone.

A Winner and Some Exciting News

2009-03-21T07:24:00.005-04:00

The winner of the blog candy as chosen by random.org is:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

9

Timestamp: 2009-03-21 11:22:39 UTC

.... so that means Dawn won. Congratulations!! Email your mailing address to me (by clicking on view my complete profile and then click on email) and I'll get your goodies in the mail.

Don't forget I'll be posting more blog candy on Monday, 3/23. How fun, right??

Also, I just found out I was chosen to be on the Cupcake Craft Challenges Design Team. I am so excited!! Check out this post to see the list of talented ladies I'll be serving with ... I can't wait to get to know them all better.

I'll be back shortly with a card to share.

Blog Candy Time

2009-03-18T08:08:00.006-04:00

*** ETA: this post is now closed ... so I can draw a winner

Here's what I'm offering up for blog candy ... a pack of Martha Stewart Cupcake stickers ... they are SO cute, a pack of fun colored note cards and envelopes, this adorable Imaginesce Fox and some color coordinating ribbon. Clearly, I'm a fan of pinks and browns. So all you have to do to sign up for the blog candy drawing is tell me your favorite color combination, or if you have more than one share more.

I will be drawing a winner on Saturday morning, 3/21/09. And guess what, I'll be posting more blog candy on Monday, 3/23 and drawing on Friday, 3/27. Why would I do back to back blog candy drawings??? Well, I looked back and 3/27 is my Blogaversary.

"Luck" of the Irish

2009-03-17T12:52:00.005-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Okay, so I was up until midnight last night making cupcakes to take to work today, hence the reason I don’t have a project to share on my blog. They turned out downright YUMMY!! I just used a devil’s food cake mix, but I put a miniature Reese's peanut butter cup in the center of each one. What a fun little surprise, right? I got the idea from Coastal Cupcakes, a local “cupcakery” here in Wilmington, NC. I LOVE that place. They only have their Peanut Butter Pirate cupcakes on Fridays, so I decided to make them myself. A much more cost effective decision too. I initially was going to use store bought icing, but I remembered this wonderful frosting my Mom made for a triple layer cake she made a few times for Christmas Eve. I knew it would be perfect, so I asked her to whip me up a batch. We taste tested them last night after watching Dancing With The Stars and they passed with flying colors.

Anyway, I was all excited to take the cupcakes to work. I borrowed a 2nd Tupperware cake taker from my Mom and as I was headed out the door to work I thought … these things are *wonderful* to tote stuff like this … then, I no sooner finished that thought and the bottom of the cake taker in my left hand came apart from the lid and handle … so ½ the batch of cupcakes fell onto my front porch, icing down. Actually 3 stayed in the container but they were a jumbled up mess. So, needless to say I was late to work today because I had to throw away 9 little St. Patty’s Day cuppycakes and clean up the homemade icing that was everywhere. Then came the realization that I no longer had enough cupcakes to share with everyone in the office :-(. What was I going to do? Only give them to people dressed in green? Ask the 2 guys that share my office which coworkers were “cupcake-worthy”?? Cut them in half so I had enough for everyone??? Or eat them all myself???? lol. Surprisingly, I didn’t eat them all myself (after all, the 3 jumbled up cupcakes were home waiting for me … they were edible just too ugly to take to work). So, I just decided to put them in the kitchen first come / first serve style.

Okay, sorry for the lengthy, detail-ridden play by play … but I figured since I don’t have a project to share with you, the least I can do is make you chuckle. Be sure to check back tomorrow because I will be posting blog candy. And despite today’s St. Patrick’s Day cupcake fiasco, some of the goodies are cupcake themed. Because no matter what … I’m ALL about a cupcake.

Let's Catch Up

2009-03-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a card I made for this week's Cupcake Challenge over at Taylor's blog. What a great sketch. I'm amazed at how well so much of my older Chatterbox paper matches Kiwi Kiss. Which reminds me ... I'm SO going to miss that color when the current Stampin Up's In Colors retire. There's always a color or 2 each year that I don't know how I'll live without and this year it's Kiwi Kiss and Pirouette Pink. Oh well, I guess that just means I need to use them a whole lot between now and the end of June. I wish I had a little butterfly punch because I think that would be the perfect embellishment to go with this Memory Box penguin. I keep telling myself I do not need that Martha Stewart butterfly punch ... but maybe I do :-)

Spring Double Challenge Card

2009-03-15T13:23:00.008-04:00

I sure have missed creating and blogging, but life has been a little crazy lately ... starting a new job, getting over the flu and taking care of my dog who strained her paw. Thankfully I think that my life is finally getting back to "normal" whatever that is ... lol.

Just wanted to share a double challenge card I made today. This week's Cupcake Craft Challenge is to make a Spring card, so I followed Jen's SFYTT challenge this week. The Flower Cart image is one I got from Stephanie through the PIF forum probably last Spring, which I love and don't think I ever made a card with before now ... isn't that crazy?? (Thanks for the great image, Steph!!)

I'm off to create another challenge card. And I want to make something to take in to work for St. Patrick's Day. So be sure to check back because I intend to start blogging more regularly now. Oh and I will be posting blog candy on Wednesday.

Spring Church Chicks

2009-03-11T12:00:00.017-04:00

Here's a little sneak peek of an adorable digital image from InStyle Stamps, called Church Chicks. Isn't it sweet?? I love the Mama Chick's hat and I love the little chick with the tie ... actually, they're all so cute. It totally reminds me of a family I saw last Sunday walking to church. The weather was gorgeous and they were all dressed in their Spring attire.

Anyway, I paired up some Crate paper I had from last Spring and used today's sketch challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers, which I thought was wonderful. The rick rack is from an Inspiration Kit.

Be sure to check out the InStyle Stamps blog for more sneak peeks ... Virginia has tons of new images she'll be releasing soon. And the expanded Design Team will be announced soon.

Method Monday

2009-02-23T07:30:00.004-05:00

***Edited to Add: Apparently, I left off the most important step which is adhering the cello bag of candy into the Triangle Treat Bag. See the picture at the end of the post.

First, let me say I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I started a new job last Monday and things have been a bit hectic. I really like it so far, but I've worked from home for 3 1/2 years ... so I'm still adjusting to commuting to work and business casual dress. Let's just say that my dress code in my home office was very lax. The only "rule" I had was I *HAD* to wear PJs on rainy days ... lol.

Okay, onto the post. It's my turn to host the Method Monday challenge over at the InStyle Stamps blog and this little triangle treat project is what I decided to do. I based my project on Tracy Durcan's project on the Scor Pal website.

Supplies used: Chick in Nest Digital Download from InStyle Stamps, 4 1/4 x 11 piece of So Saffron CS, 4 X 3 3/4 piece of DSP, 3/4 x 4 1/4 piece of DSP, 3" Scalloped Piece of DSP and So Saffron CS, Eyelet Border Punch, Large Pop Dots, Clear Cello Bag, Festive Chocolates, Sentiment by A Muse and Tombo Adhesive

Step 1: Score 4 1/4 piece of cardstock at 1 1/2, 5 1/2 and 7

Step 2: Along the top where the 1 1/2" line is, start in the center and punch with the eyelet border punch, slide to the right of the punched section and punch, then slide to the left of the punched section and finish your border

Step 3: Color the image with Copics and adhere to scalloped circles (which are adhered together to made them more stable because this layer is what keeps the project closed). Then apply large pop dots to the bottom two thirds of the back of the scalloped circle layer.

Step 4: Stamp the sentiment on the 4 x 3 3/4 DSP and adhere to the So Saffron CS by centering in the section from the 7" score line to the bottom of the cardstock. Note the sentiment will be near the 7" score line, which will seem to be upside down, but you'll be folding this over. Also, adhere the 3/4 x 4 1/4 strip of DSP after centering from the top of the cardstock to the 1 1/2" score line.

Step 5: Adhere the scalloped circle layer to the front of the bag project.

Step 6: Adhere cello bag with candy into Triangle Treat Bag. The scallop circle keeps the bag closed.

Sentimental Sliders Bags

2009-02-13T17:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I promised more projects using my InStyle Stamps digital images, which I love... sorry it's taken me so long to post today. I was up before the sun was up and planned on taking pictures and getting my post up by 8:00 AM. However, after seeing Lisa Johnson's adorable Sentimental Sliders project I knew I HAD to modify my bags to have slide out sentiments. (Lisa, you are pure stamping genius!!)

Anyway, here are 2 cute little Valentine themed bag projects I made. The one on the left is a one sheet bag that I used with the cute Pie image. I added a heart rhinestone for the cherry on top. I'll be giving this bag to my Mom with a little something for Valentine's Day. That woman can bake like nobody's business. Her apple pie is to die for ... so I knew I'd be making something for her when I spotted this image. I created the sentiment on my computer. The left side says "For Mom" and the right side says "You Make Life Sweet" ... because she really does both figuratively and literally.

For the project on the right, I used some of Stampin Up's Candy Lane DSP and then colored my Cupcakes image based on the colors in the paper. I'm going to give this box in a bag to my daughter. She and I are HUGE cupcake fans. For the sentiment for her bag, the left side says "For Brianne" and the right side says "My Little Cuppycake". I call her my little cuppycake ... even though she's 7 inches taller than me. lol. Both gift bags have a gift card in them for a movie and for a meal at Panera.

I'm so excited that I surpassed 10,000 hits on my blog. I'll be posting for blog candy early next week, so be sure to stop by so you can sign up for that.

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

It is my turn to create a sketch for the Thankful Thursday challenge over at the InStyle Stamps blog. How cool is that?? I'm still trying to learn my photo editing software, so I just created my sketch using shapes in a Word document and then cut and pasted into Photoshop. You have to start some where, right?? I tried to do something different than my normal layouts because let's face it ... that's the point of a sketch challenge. I hope you like what I came up with enough to play along.

Since the challenge requires a thank you sentiment, I decided to use this adorable Potted Plant digital image from InStyle Stamps. I also used the papers and rick rack from my Inspiration Kit. I love all the texture that the Sweetie Pie Bo Bunny patterned paper and the Bazzill cardstock add to the card. In fact, I decided to fancy up the image a bit by running it thru the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots embossing folder after I colored it with my Copics. I've seen Cindy Haffner do that in the past, but this is the first time I've used it on my image layer. I love how it turned out, so you'll definitely see me using this method on future cards.

Here's a picture of the sketch and more details about the challenge:

1. Make sure your project includes the word “Thank you” in some way.

2. You do not have to use an ISS stamp, but why not if you have it?

3. To be eligible for the prize please post a link to your creation in this post by no later than Wednesday, February 18 before 11:59pm, PST.

4. The winner will be announced on Thursday, February 19th.

5. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize. If not claimed by then, another a winner will be chosen.

6. Those that hold a design position of any kind for ISS are ineligible to win the prize but you are welcome to participate!

Make sure if you are uploading to PCP or SCS galleries, please use ISSTT 2-12 for the tag. =)

This week’s prize is a Copic marker AND the Potted Plant digital image I used on my card!!! Best of luck to everyone who particiates.

Thanks for stopping by today. Tomorrow I will be posting 2 more Valentine themed projects using more of the fabulous digital images that were released on Tuesday.

Fall in Chocolate

2009-02-09T10:06:00.019-05:00

Valentine's Day can be hard when you're not in a relationship, so I designed a mini pizza box with chocolate in it that would be perfect to give to single friends. I paired up this adorable (and brand spankin' new) heart balloons digital image with the papers and ribbons from one of the Inspiration kits from InStyle Stamps for my project. I love this Sweetie Pie patterned paper from Bo Bunny. The sentiment, which was perfect for the theme of this project, is from a Studio G dollar set.

Happy Cupcake Day

2009-01-30T06:00:00.011-05:00

Here's a card I did for 2 challenges. First, I followed Donna's sketch, which I absolutely love. What a great way to use up some scraps ... of course, that's not what I did here. But still the sketch is great for that. I also did the 3-2-1 challenge from this week's Cupcake Craft Challenges blog. My card has 3 different pieces of cardstock (plus a punch of patterned paper squares), 2 candy dot embellishments and 1 ribbon. I love how my card turned out and I will definitely be making more like this.

So I'm happy to report I was able to complete all 9 sketches from Taylor's challenge. It was a lot of fun. What an amazingly well planned and executed job, congrats to Taylor and her entire Cupcake Crew. I'm looking forward to next year's challenges. I have found that the more I stamp, the more I want to stamp. If only I didn't have to work to support myself and my daughter ... I could stamp all I wanted ... lol.

So Many Challenges

2009-01-29T13:26:00.024-05:00

... so little time ... lol. Here's the card I created for Jami's sketch in Taylor's Anniversary Cupcake Sketch challenge. I decided to pair Ginger with some Chatterbox paper I've had for a while. I couldn't believe how well it matched SU's Kiwi Kiss. I used another sentiment from Taylor's A Year of Sweet Sentiments set, which is so versatile. Sorry for the wonky picture, but I was under the gun to get the rest of my pictures uploaded in time for the deadlines to qualify for the drawings that Taylor and her Cupcake Crew will be doing this evening.

Then I decided to create a coat for my card because that what was Maria's Monday Method Challenge was this week on the InStyle Stamps blog. I had to make one minor change. I cut my patterned paper to 3.5 X 11.25 so it would cover my Ginger image.

So here are pictures of the inside of the coat and the whole project from the outside. I love how it turned out. (Great challenge, Maria!!)

You MUST check out Maria's blog. She is such a talented stamper. I'm hoping to make time to do some of the other tutorials on her blog next week with my sister when I'm in Maryland.

Make A Child Smile Birthday Card

2009-01-29T09:00:00.003-05:00

I used Sherrie's sketch to create this birthday card that I will be sending out for February's birthday kids over at Make A Child Smile. It's such a wonderful program. And their motto is ... "for the price of a stamp, you can Make A Child Smile". If you're at a loss for where to send any of the wonderful cards you create, rest assured that you have the ability to brighten a sick child's day. And what's more wonderful than that???

It wasn't me ...

2009-01-28T10:20:00.015-05:00

For those of you that don't know, I work from home and this morning my company's server was down for a couple of hours ... which was great because I was able to finish one of my cards for Taylor's 1st Anniversary Cupcake Sketch challenges. I swear I had nothing to do with this *ummm* unfortunate situation, but it sure made my day.

So here's the card I made for Monika's sketch. The cupcake image and chunky glitter are from Treehouse Stamps. I used some Bo Bunny patterned paper to paper piece the cupcake wrapper. The icing has Stardust gelly roll pen on it and then I used my Quickie Glue pen on the sprinkle dots and added the Girly Girl chunky glitter. I used my Nesties like crazy on this card. I've been wanting to make a scalloped circle card base (so thanks for the great challenge, Monika) and I definitely will be making more.

This card will be going to a friend who knows I was taking cake decorating classes, so she sent me some accessories and an adorable cupcake decorating book. She's a paper crafter too and I know she will love this card. So, I *may* try to whip up a little set of cards to give to her ... we'll see ... I always have the best of intentions, but often don't have the time to make all the things I want to make. But I must make time for the final 3 cards for Taylor's Anniversary challenge.

Wild About You Pizza Box

2009-01-27T06:53:00.009-05:00

Here's a mini pizza box that my club members made last night. We did the Rock and Roll technique on the elephant and then stamped the little bird from the Wild About You set on the elephant's trunk. Last night's demonstration didn't exactly go smoothly ... I told them to adhere the patterned paper BEFORE I even passed out the ribbon ... and I had them put sticky strip on the wrong sides of the flaps of the box. Luckily, they were all able to recover from my miscues and their projects turned out cute. (Thanks for your patience last night, ladies).

We also made a corner book mark from DSP that I found on Dawn's blog, here. (not pictured)

Supplies: Wild About You stamp set, Bella Rose DSP, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White CS, Pink Pirouette striped GG ribbon, retired heart punch.

Morning People

2009-01-25T15:00:00.012-05:00

Here's a card I created following Stephanie's sketch. I love this Fluffles image ... it cracks me up and I knew I had the perfect sentiment to go with it. What do you think? I can totally relate (even though I'm not a coffee drinker). I got the Fluffles stamp at Stamper's Dream and I just want to applaud their customer service because I placed my order on a Friday afternoon and had it in my hands on Monday. The patterned papers are from Taylor's Valentine Key Ingredients Kit. That tells you 2 things ... first I love it and second I haven't put away much since I started working on all of these challenges. lol.

2 More Cupcake Challenge Cards

2009-01-25T11:11:00.012-05:00

Here's a picture with 2 cards I created as part of Taylor's 1 year Anniversary of Cupcake Challenges. The one on the left follows Jackie's sketch and the one on the right follows Ana's sketch. It sure has been fun coming up with projects for these challenges. 4 down ... 5 more to go.

Sorry for being brief, but I'm on a mission ... lol.

Supplies for You Did It card: Penny Black image, TE Sentiment, Polka Dots & Paisleys DSP, So Saffron, Regal Rose and GP CS, Tempting Turqoise GG ribbon, Nesties, Primas.

Supplies for Here's the Scoop card: Memory Box image and sentiment, patterned paper from Bo Bunny, Bazzill textured CS and buttons & white card base.

Cupcake Sketch Book

2009-01-24T15:00:00.006-05:00

Here's another project I created for the 1 Year Anniversary of Taylor's Cupcake Sketches. Right now it's just 2 altered chipboard pieces with binder rings, but I will be filling it with all the fun sketches that Taylor has come up with during the past year. I based my project on Vicki's sketch, but I turned it over. I also had to place the jewels on the image layer to make room for my binder rings. The image is from Just Johanna (I paper pieced the cupcake wrapper ... can you tell that I love the striped paper), the Girly Girl chunky glitter I used for the top of the cupcake is from Treehouse Stamps, the sentiment is from Verve (it is probably my favorite sentiment EVER) and the papers are from Taylor's Valentine Key Ingredients Kit.

I'm not 100% sure the binder clip setup will work long term ... so I may have to use my sister's bind it all when I go to Maryland in 2 weeks (we'll make you one of these babies too, Joy).

Fluffles Mini Pizza Valentine

2009-01-24T09:27:00.029-05:00

Here's the project I created with Taylor's sketch this week. I started with this adorable Fluffles Wuv image I got from Stamper's Dream ... isn't it cute?? I colored him with my Copics and then I added sparkle to the red heart with a stardust gelly roll pen. I used a piece of SU Chocolate Chip CS for the base of my mini pizza box, but all the other papers (and the ribbon) are from one of Taylor's Key Ingredients kits. It is WONDERFUL to have all the coordinating done for you. I ran the patterned papers through my CB with the Language of Love embossing kit that Dawn had used on her adorable bookmark (Thanks for the info on the folder, Dawn). It might be hard to see, but there are teeny tiny hearts not dots. I love, love, love this folder.

Oh, and here's a picture of the inside of the pizza box. These papers were ran through the CB the opposite way, so the hearts go in not out. Technically, this was a mistake ... but I actually love the look. The sentiment is from Taylor's A Year of Sweet Sentiments set, which has so many wonderful sentiments, it's a must have.

Okay be sure to check back later today and throughout the weekend because I'm going to be working on the 8 other challenges from the "Cupcake Crew" to create more projects.

Happy Dance

2009-01-23T16:21:00.015-05:00

Here's a card I did for 2 challenges, the sketch over at the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog and today's Limited Supply challenge on SCS (Paint It Black). The adorable image is from Penny Black, it's called Spring Dance. Well since it's not Spring, this little girl is doing a Happy Dance. I'll be sending it to a friend's daughter who placed 3rd all around in her gymnastics meet last weekend. I have no gymnastic themed stamps, but I'm sure Nichole feels really happy by her wonderful accomplishment so I thought this image would be perfect. I used a Gelly Roll pen on the flowers in her hair and her little bunny slippers, so they are very sparkly in real life.

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted ... what a bad blogger. Oh well, things have been a little crazy with my job these days. Plus some of the things I'm creating I don't want to post because they're being sent to people who look at my blog.

I'm hoping to spend some of the upcoming weekend making cards with all the fun sketches that the Cupcake Crew created for Taylor's 1 year Cupcake Sketch anniversary. You've gotta go check it out, if you haven't already.

Oh and here's a picture of my dog Riley. We got 3 inches of snow here on Tuesday. Being from Maryland, that's not really a big deal ... but apparently the last time it snowed here was 6 years ago. And let me tell you, they don't really know how to handle the snow down here. All the public school systems closed Monday night before a single flake hit the ground ... lol. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, Riley is definitely a snow dog.

Cupcake Craft Challenge 22

2009-01-14T06:00:00.027-05:00

There's a sketch challenge this week on the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog, so I kept the coffee theme from my Note Card Box project from yesterday and made a Riley card using the sketch. Check out all the fun samples the Design Team created for this sketch challenge.

I love using the candy dots I got from Taylor's store for the flower centers. I wish I would have gotten 2 packs of white. I put the flowers up on pop dots I got from Michaels. Have any of you done that?? I normally use mini glue dots, but I like how this turned out.

Here's a picture of both projects together. I tend to make a lot of projects in sets. It makes sense to whip out a complementary card while you have all the supplies out, don't you think? I also made some extra cards while I was at it to keep in my card stash, which helps with one of my New Year's resolutions to send out more cards this year.

Note Card Box

2009-01-13T09:31:00.044-05:00

Here's a project I did for the InStyle Stamps Method Monday challenge, which is being hosted by Jennie this week. (Great challenge, Jennie!!) I used this cute Whimsy Cup digital download from InStyle Stamps. The cool thing about digital images is that you can resize them, but the clarity stays the same. The cup I used on my notecards is smaller than the one I put on the box itself. I made my box a little wider, so I could put some coffee themed note cards in it. (Instead of 8 1/2 x 10, my paper is 8 1/2 x 10 1/2). I am very happy with how this project turned out. It will be a great gift for a coffee loving friend. I also added some envelopes that I stamped with some coffee mug images and sample packs of flavored coffee or you could pair the notecards with a Starbucks gift card for a fun gift.

I based the layout of my box on this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. I will be creating a card to go with it that will follow that sketch a little more closely.

I used some Stampin Up retired Designer Series Paper, Cool Caribbean and GP White paper, Primas and some Candy Dots from Taylor's store.

Check out these projects made by other InStyle Stamps Design Team members:
Cindy
Maria
Shary

Sketches! Guest Designer

2009-01-10T04:30:00.003-05:00

I was asked to be today's Guest Designer for the Sketches! {by tamara} blog and here is the card I made using sketch #72. I sent this card to a SCS member that is going through a very difficult time right now. I love that this particular sketch focused on the sentiment, which is what I needed in this case.

I used some fun paper I got from Ellen Hutson's store a while ago. I like pinks and greens and this Sugar paper is so girly and cute. I used a clear square SU button and backed it with some pink houndstooth paper and then added a little celery grosgrain ribbon. I used Regal Rose and Certainly Celery cardstock from SU to coordinate with the patterned paper.

Thanks Tamara for showcasing my card on the Sketches! blog ... it's truly an honor.

Thankful for Shopping

2009-01-08T10:54:00.017-05:00

I wanted to share a card I did combining today's InStyle Stamps Thankful Thursday sketch, which was created by Melissa (great sketch, girl) and this week's Color Challenge (#200) on SCS. Don't you wish you could be as color coordinated as Suzie Q?? Somehow her clothes and accessories always match ... how does she do it ... lol. I love this retired Jersey Shore DSP ... very fun and retro. I paper pieced 3 of the bags. The sentiment is from Elzybells. Be sure to check out the cards on the blogs of these InStyle Stamps Design Team members:

Jen
Jennie
Melissa
Shary

Oh and thanks Melissa for the cool tip of using a CD and a craft knife to get a large circle for those of us that don't own a circle cutter. But rest assured I will be getting one because Stampin Up will be carrying them in their new Spring / Summer Idea Book & Catalog.

Exciting News and Strange Happenings

2009-01-07T17:07:00.004-05:00

As my Guest Designing days for InStyle Stamps are coming to an end, I got asked to be a member of their actual Design Team ... I'm SO excited. Be sure to check out the blogs of the other DT members that are now in a list under my profile.

Something strange is happening with my pictures in Blogger. I'm hoping it will work itself out because I haven't done anything.

Sorry I don't have any projects to share with you today, but be sure to stop by tomorrow.

Gardening Journal

2009-01-06T12:00:00.010-05:00

I made a journal using this adorable Ginger image to go with the gift card holder I posted here. I didn't post it earlier because I knew it needed a little something, so I added some Primas to it ... there aren't too many now, are there?? I initially made this to be a gardening journal and intended to give it as a gift, but it's going to be hard to part with it. So, I think I'm going to use it to keep all my InStyle Stamp Design Team info in ... project ideas, sketches, that sort of thing. One thing's for sure, it makes me smile every time I look at it so it will be a great addition to my stamp room.

I altered a $1.00 journal I got at Michaels. The spiral tab punch from SU works well with these. I love all the fun ribbon. The sentiment is Karen Lockhart and I got it from Ellen Hutson's store a while ago. It goes perfectly with garden images.

Cupcake Craft Glitter Challenge with OCC sketch

2009-01-05T14:50:00.010-05:00

Here's a dual challenge card that matched my gift bag from Saturday. My timing couldn't have been any more perfect to break out the glitter since one of today's challenges I found on the Daily Dare is a Glitter Challenge on the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog. I followed this week's OCC sketch challenge. Go check out the design team's cards if you get a chance ... those girls ROCK.

I started with a Sheree image to go with my gift bag. I used Gable Green and Regal Rose cardstock with the same Heidi Grace papers. I added ribbon instead of having a scallop layer and used a sentiment from A Muse. I used a Sakura Quickie Glue pen and some glitter I got from the Taylored Expressions store. This method turned out much better for me than using Stickles.

Here's a picture with both projects together. I love how they complement each other, but aren't an exact match.

Today's Featured Stamper

2009-01-04T12:08:00.021-05:00

I found a cool website to help keep track of all the wonderful challenges that are available from Michelle's blog ... she & Lori are part of the blog team and I know them both originally from the PIF forum on Splitcoast (Hi Michelle and Lori!!). One of my New Year's resolutions is to participate in more challenges. So now I have no excuse since a group of clever ladies are putting them all in one convenient spot ... called the Daily Dare .

I made this card for today's Featured Stamper challenge ... this week's stamper is the one and only Julie Ebersole (aka JulieHRR), she is stamping royalty. I have always been a huge fan of Julie's work, but then who hasn't?? I broke out some coffee themed stamps to use for my card and I used this card of Julie's to CASE:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/745787?cat=500&ppuser=362

Relaxing in Style

2009-01-03T21:07:00.027-05:00

I followed this week's SFYTT from Jen's blog to create this little gift bag. I love this Sheree image from InStyle Stamps. I've been wanting to get a bubble bath themed stamp and this one was just too cute to pass up. I used some Heidi Grace paper I've had for a while and paired it with a fun bag I got at Target. I have a confession ... I am Stickles challenged (I tend to use too much and it gets all messy) ... but I wanted to make all of Sheree's bubbles really sparkle, so I used a Sakura Quickie Glue pen (which has a really, really fine point) and some Starfire glitter I got at Taylor's store.

Here's a close up of the image so you can see the sparkle. I love how this project turned out.

1 Day til Christmas

2008-12-24T06:00:00.010-05:00

Well today is the final day for my Christmas Countdown. I have enjoyed showcasing the projects I created to send goodies in to "my girls". Their final item was a gift card and I was running short on time, so I just adhered them into their Christmas card. I didn't take a picture of the cards I sent, so I thought it might be fun to show you all the gifts together in one photo.

2 Days til Christmas

2008-12-23T06:00:00.020-05:00

Can you believe there are only 2 more days until Christmas?? Oh my ... I sure hope you all are ready. Today's project is like the altered Kit Kat project that I originally found on Diana Gibb's blog. Here's a link to her tutorial. These are easy to make and they are wonderful to use for little hard to wrap gifts. Today is the only day that all 3 of my ladies received different gifts inside, but as you can guess ... the project contained 2 items (Holly got 2 Studio G clear stamp sets, Amy got 2 packs of Ghirardelli hot chocolate and Joy got 2 Copics in my favorite brown E31).

3 Days til Christmas and Blog Candy Winner

2008-12-22T06:00:00.017-05:00

Here is today's Christmas Countdown project, a cute little altered band aid tin. I love Fluffles and this image where he is tangled in Christmas lights cracks me up. Very simple project, it honestly took me 10 minutes to make from start to finish because I already had the images colored. I didn't use sticky strip to adhere the patterned paper because I wanted the ladies to be able to alter it for a future project, so it's more like a belly band and it will slide right off. I put 3 Ghirardelli milk chocolate squares inside.

Number drawn via random.org was:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

4
Timestamp: 2008-12-22 11:58:14 UTC

Congrats to Stephanie!!

4 Days til Christmas

2008-12-21T06:00:00.017-05:00

Today's project is a Triangle Treat bag that Tracy Durcan posted on the Scor Pal website here. These bags are so cute and pretty easy to make. Mine has 4 pieces of Hodgepodge Hardware inside. It has been so much fun finding projects that worked for the various gifts I wanted to send in my Christmas Countdown packages. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll actually design a new box or bag. But until then, I just keep my eyes open and find those developed by the various stamping geniuses (is that even a word??) out there.

Check out Friday's post and sign up for blog candy here.

5 Days til Christmas

2008-12-20T06:00:00.024-05:00

Here is today's count down to Christmas project, a mini pizza box. These things are so stinkin' cute. They were originally designed by Jen over at I {heart} 2 stamp and here's a link to the information posted for TLC189 over at SCS, including a pattern. I based my design on a card I did for a sketch challenge that InStyle Stamps had earlier this month. I made this box the very next day since I had all of the supplies on my crafting table. Inside is 5 different candies from a Holiday Mix bag of bite sized candy bars ... they fit perfectly inside. I will definitely be making more of these cute boxes, in fact I'll be designing Valentine themed boxes to make with my hostess club.

Remember to check out yesterday's post and sign up for blog candy.

Blog Candy and Christmas Countdown project

2008-12-19T06:00:00.036-05:00

Today's project is a little favor box (which I got at Target) with 6 Primas in it. I tied it with some of the gorgeous ribbon that Stampin Up is offering in their current mini. I LOVE this stuff!! I belong to a Book Club and we met Tuesday night for dinner and did a Yankee Exchange with used books. Anyway, I wrapped my book in the kraft wrapping paper Stampin Up used to carry and tied some of this ribbon on it ... the lady who chose my book LOVED the way it was wrapped, especially the ribbon. In fact, I saw her fondling the ribbon a few times and she took the wrapping materials with her. Oh and she liked the book she got too ... it was stolen a couple of times but she got it back in the end.

Okay, I promised blog candy and so here it is. What you'll get: some InStyle Stamps stamped images, some adorable penguin stickers, tags and coordinating epoxy stickers, some ribbon, 1 party favor box, 1 pillow box, 1 glassine bag and 1 small frosted bag (these are what I used in some of my Christmas Countdown projects). All you have to do is go check out the current stamps from InStyle Stamps here and leave me a comment with which one is your favorite. How easy is that? I'll draw a winner on Monday morning. Good luck everyone. If you enter anonymously just be sure to put your first and last name in your comment. Oh and be sure to check back on Monday morning to see who won.

7 Days til Christmas

2008-12-18T06:00:00.020-05:00

Okay, so after some non-edible goodies, let's get back to some sweet treats ... lol. For this project, I made this cute little one sheet bag I found in Sharon's gallery on SCS here. The link to a video tutorial on the 3-D Design Challenge blog is here. They have 7 Reese's miniatures in them. Chocolate and peanut butter, my absoulute favorite combination. I'm so glad someone put their chocolate in someone's peanut butter ... or was it the other way around? Okay, I'm being silly and probably dating myself from that old commerical reference.

8 Days til Christmas

2008-12-17T06:00:00.019-05:00

Here are 2 more Christmas projects I created. Note that all the Countdown to Christmas projects were sent to 3 special ladies: Holly (who is the upline of my Orphaned Demo group on SCS and who had a birthday this past Saturday ... Hi Holly), Amy (whose name I got for a sister swap with my Orphan Demo Group... Hi Amy) and my ACTUAL sister Joy (who I rarely send cards or projects to ... isn't that sad ... poor Joy ... hopefully the box of goodies you got makes up for it, sis).

The first project is a little heart tin from PTI. All I did was tie some ribbon around it. What's inside?? Well, believe it or not ... it's not candy ... I put some cute little heart shaped buttons and brads in the tin. I figured the ladies could use them for upcoming Valentines Day projects. I didn't embellish the tins because I want them to be able to use them for their own projects. Besides, they're pretty cute with just ribbon on them ... don't you think?

They also received an altered pillow box. I got these at Target, they were in the wedding section and there's like 50 in a box for $13. I like that you can stamp on them. However, I just created a removable belly band, so they can be altered later. Inside is 8 yards of ribbon ... I figured you can never have too much ribbon.

InStyle Stamps Monday Sketch Challenge

2008-12-16T06:00:00.012-05:00

I hope you all had a great weekend, I sure did. Saturday was full of crafting and baking and then I went to the Christmas parade in my teeny tiny town. I dressed in layers, but it was pretty cold. However, we had a nice time. I absolutely love marching bands and there were more this year than last year.

I followed the Monday Sketch on the InStyle Stamps blog and made this cute little gift card holder (which was this week's OCC Challenge). I used this adorable Ginger image. She is so cute. My Mom loves to garden, so I got her a gift card to Lowe's that had a gardening image on it.

Countdown to Christmas

2008-12-15T16:30:00.004-05:00

I'm glad you stopped by today because I wanted to share some Christmas projects I recently created. The adorable little goodie baglet (top left in the picture) is based on a project I saw on Lauren Meader's blog here. That girl amazes me with her altering abilities. She now has her own line of templates that you can buy at Papertrey, so go check them out. Anyway, Lauren's baglet was the perfect way to show off these yummy little pretzel treats. The paper is from the DCWV Christmas Glitter Stack. The recipe I used for the treats is here. Let me tell you, these are the perfect blend of salty and sweet. And since M&Ms are usually available for all possible seasons, these are a great "go to" gift for the special people in your life.

Next, I ran a small glassine bag through my Cuttlebug using my snowflakes embossing folder. I got the idea from one of Nichole Heady's projects a while back, but I don't know exactly when it was posted. Anyway, I tied some ribbon around it and added a cute snowman image layered with coordinating cardstock with my SU circle punches. Easy as pie and I love how they turned out. Inside there are some chocolate covered Peanut Butter Ritz Bits crackers. They are pretty yummy, but you can certainly tell this was the first time I've ever hand dipped in melted chocolate. Since they turned out sort of ugly I doubt I'll make them again. I added a small amount of shortening to the milk chocolate morsels I used, but the mixture got thicker and thicker and the crackers turned out uglier and uglier. If anyone has any suggestions on what might make it work better, please let me know.

And the final project pictured is 10 sheets of Christmas themed stamped images. I packaged them in a glassine bag that I stamped with green stazon (which you can't see in this photo).

Triple Challenge Card and Exciting News

2008-12-09T13:41:00.019-05:00

I made this card for 3 challenges: Cute Card Thursday, Color Throwdown and Sketches by Tamara. I loved the elements in all the challenges and I simply paired them up with this adorable Suzie Q image. Isn't she super cute?? Well that leads me to my news.

I've been chosen to be a Guest Designer for a brand new stamp company called InStyle Stamps. How cool is that?? I was thrilled when I received notification from the owner, Virgina (thanks for the opportunity to work with you, Virginia)!! I'm anxious to share additional projects with you, so keep coming back.

To celebrate, I'll be posting some blog candy "soon-ish" (that was on Grey's Anatomy I think in Season 3 and so now I every time I say soon, I change it to soon-ish *grin*).

Tree Shopping In Style

2008-12-08T13:16:00.008-05:00

I made this card for a sketch challenge on the InStyle Stamps blog. They launch their new line of stamps on December 19th and I can't wait to get my hands on their fun and girly images.

The specifics of the challenge is to make a card with the sketch they provided in one of 3 themes: bath tub, shopping or tree image. I needed to make some Christmas cards, so that's why I chose this adorable image from Stampendous.

Supplies: Tree Shoppers by Stampendous, sentiment from AC Moore, Ski Slope DSP, Baja Breeze, Real Red and Old Olive CS, Old Olive ribbon and a red button, snowflake CB folder

What Turkey??

2008-11-24T18:07:00.006-05:00

I wanted to share a Thanksgiving card I made for several kids in the Make a Child Smile program. Thanks Cindy for letting me stamp a few pages of this adorable Turkey Fluffles image!! I used some of last year's fall paper from Stampin Up, embossed the Thanksgiving sentiment and added a few buttons. I wrote a little note inside along with a silly joke about a turkey , so hopefully these cards brigthened these kids' days a bit.

November Hostess Club Projects

2008-11-11T15:05:00.008-05:00

Here are the projects I will be doing this evening with my hostess club. I suspect they will fall in love with the Big Shot. I love that you can cut 4 pieces of cardstock at once with that thing, plus something crazy like 18 other mediums (chipboard, felt, fabric, etc). It also "handles" better than the Cuttlebug, it seems more steady and cuts smoother in my opinion.

The card uses the Top Note Bigz die cut that is exclusive to Stampin Up and the set I used is called Flight of the Butterfly. This is a set we got at Convention and this project is based on a card I did with my 5th level adopted upline who went to Founder's Circle this year.

The little box in a bag of course was designed by the extremely talented Diana Gibbs and here's a link to her tutorial. I actually emailed her today to see if I could link her blog to mine, so now it will be easier for me to navigate there every day. Besides wonderful projects, she has some adorable youtube clips on her blog, go check it out.

Finally, here is a link to a wonderful organization called Make A Child Smile. I found out about their program from Michelle Wooderson's blog. I am in the process of making cards for the children found in the Urgent Mail section. One little boy, Chandler R., who has Leukemia is getting ready to get a bone marrow transplant. It actually will take place on his 13th birthday (his younger brother is the donor) ... so I'm going to be sending him an iTunes gift card as an early birthday gift. I found out from his mother that he can take his iPod in when he gets radiation. Anyway, this is clearly another good cause. So if you ever have any extra cards you don't know what to do with, I suggest brightening one of the kids' (or more than one) day.

Great Cause

2008-11-10T15:20:00.009-05:00

Just wanted to share a picture of some cookies I made for a wonderful cause, Operation Baking Gals. I baked 2 batches of peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies and sent them to a soldier that is currently serving in Afghanistan. What a wonderful feeling it gives me to know that I can send a taste of home to a group of soldiers currently serving our country. I encourage anyone and everyone to consider getting involved in this program. I know I'll definitely be doing it again.

Isn't Baking Riley absolutely perfect for the card I made to go with my cookies? I love this image so much.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing projects I made with my hostess club as well as another information about another community service organization I have been suporting.

Oh and Joy I hope you had a wonderful birthday yesterday!! Let me know if you would like suggestions on Copic colors to buy with the crafting cash I sent you. Love ya ... mean it!!

Crazy for Cupcakes Gift Set

2008-10-29T11:25:00.014-04:00

Sorry it's been a little while since I posted, but I haven't had a whole lot of time to stamp lately. Here's a little set I made based on a project that was demonstrated at Convention. I showed it to the ladies in my hostess club last week. I just added a piece of the Sweet Always DSP to the bottom of a tray I got at Michaels, then altered the other items to coordinate and made a card that matched as well. What an adorable little gift, huh?? I'm loving this wide stitched grosgrain ribbon.

I also thought I'd share a picture of Riley (my lovable Sheltie) and an adorable toy my daughter bought for her, who we named Frankie. Riley LOVES her toys. She tends to play with the newer ones at first, but then she'll dig through her basket of toys and come out with an oldie but goodie. It's so adorable. Be sure to check back this weekend for a picture of Riley in her Halloween costume. Yup, I dress her up every year.

Do the Cocomotion

2008-10-21T10:08:00.008-04:00

Brrr ... it was actually cold here this morning. So I broke out the hot cocoa maker my friend Stacey gave me for Christmas called "The Cocomotion". Every time I use it I sing "Do the Cocomotion" instead of locomotion. Yup, I'm a goof.

The cold weather inspired me to use this adorable snowman image from Sweet 'n Sassy. You should see all the little snowmen that I put out during the holidays, I've been collecting them for years. They're all just so sweet and lately my collection of snowman stamps has been growing too. It's such a shame that I now live where it never snows. In making my card this morning, I scared my dog when I was setting eyelets because I did it old school ... with my noisey eyelet setting tools. She's such a scaredy DOG.

Supplies: Snow Friends by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Fall Flowers DSP, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Really Rust and Whisper White CS, Wide Olive GG and Soft Sky double stitched ribbon, snowflake eyelets

Cupcakes Make Everything Better

2008-10-10T21:06:00.009-04:00

Okay, well not everything ... as poor Diet Sophie discovered. Or maybe she's thinking a cupcake will make her feel better after what she just saw on the scale. I love this image, it was in the latest Hanna Stamps release. I followed the guidelines for the Limited Supplies Challenge today on Splitcoast (LSC189). The challenge was called Rock, Paper, Scissors. A little gem on the top of the cupcake is the rock, I used patterned paper for the paper and for scissors I only used my cutter for the components of the card.

Supplies: Diet Sophie from Hanna Stamps, Sentiment from Verve's Cupcake Affair, Pirouette Pink and GP White CS, unknown patterned paper, sheer ribbon from Michael's, colored with Copics

It's a Girl Thing

2008-10-10T09:37:00.009-04:00

Happy Friday everyone!! Sorry it's been a while since I posted, but this week has been crazy ... so crazy that I haven't had much time to create. Monday evening I broke my riding lawn mower, Tuesday I had to bake a cake and make icing for my cake decorating class and Wednesday was the actual class. So last night I finally had a little time to stamp.

I made these adorable note cards with a Sweet 'n Sassy set called Trendy Girl, aren't they fun? This set reminds me of my daughter. That girl has tons and tons of purses. Anyway, I got the idea from Michelle Wooderson's blog, check out her adorable snail mail cards. If you visit my blog, then you know how much a fan of Michelle's work I am. I just love her style and today she posted some pictures of her fun Halloween home decor, you have to check it out.

No Limit to Rodney's Cuteness

2008-10-02T14:29:00.021-04:00

Here's a card I made for yet another challenge. It's a Christmas Animals challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog. I found it by visiting Tracey's blog whom I only "know" because she left a comment on my blog(Hi Tracey). Anyway, I've had these Rodney images colored for a while and I just bought the Christmas Glitter Pack of paper so it all worked out wonderfully for this particular challenge. I also followed the guidelines of this week's Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC188) on SCS, which was to use NO embellishments, so it's all paper, ink and tools. Told ya, I am getting hooked on challenges. They are so much fun and it's extra great when you can make one card that combines 2 or more of them.