Just playing around...

Hi everyone!  There really wasn't a whole lot going on tonight so I decided it was high time to play with some challenges just for the fun of it.  And besides, a sweet co-worker is due to have a baby girl next month so I figured I'd get her card done.

So here's what I created...

I love white on white card with just a touch of color.  I searched out some challenges to play along with, specifically ones I haven't played with a while.  I created my card for the Just Us Girls sketch, the CASual Fridays baby challenge and the There She Goes tag challenge.  The center focal part is the tag that is pop dotted onto the card base.

I really enjoyed putting this card together.  I hope my co-worker likes it, too.  Thank you for your visit.

Supplies:
Stamps/Ink:  Polka Dot Pals (TSG), Year Round Puns (PTI), Borders & Corners Circle (PTI),
  Tuxedo Black (Memento), Pink Pirouette (SU!)
Card stock:  Neenah Classic Crest, Pink Pirouette
Tools:  Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars), Cuttlebug, Stylized Flowers emb folder,
  Blossom Tags and Accents Shapeabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments:  white organdy ribbon (Offray), button (Buttons Galore and More)

Sunday Bliss

Good Afternoon!  I am really enjoying my Sunday.  It's quiet, the apartment is clean and smelling fresh and my kids are just doing their own thing.  We'll have a movie later on.

So I've been really good about getting some design work done ahead of schedule, which left my day to just play.  I decided to play along with a few challenges.  Ones I don't get to play along with very often, so little time, so many fun challenges....  The sketch is from Just Us Girls, Anything Goes for Charisma Cardz and paper piecing at Raise the Bar.

I really don't like taking pictures during the day.  I prefer at night when I have more control over the lighting - I do apologize if this card looks mediocre on your monitor.  It really is cute.

Supplies:
Image:  Cuddly Bear (Doodle Pantry)
Stamps/Ink:  Mini Messages (PTI), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Card stock:  Neenah Classic Crest, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Paper:  Springtime (Echo Park)
Copics:  E33, E37, E53, Y11, Y15, W-2
Tools:  Oval Cutter (CM)
Embellishments:  yellow grosgrain ribbon, white satin ribbon (Offray)

Thanks for visting me today.  Now I am off to visit blogs!  Happy holiday weekend to you.

So Cute

Hi there! I'm really late today because I usually have a MyGrafico Monday challenge card today, but I am so excited that MyGrafico has agreed to sponsor my Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge blog, so we've combined forces. Martha, myself and the rest of the team will be posting tomorrow.

So I didn't get much done in my craft room, so I've been busy working on a card this morning and I have developed a habit. I love Netflix and especially the Watch Instantly option. After the kids go to school it's really quiet around here, so I put on a movie. I generally try to put something on that I've seen before so that I am free to just listen. However, sometimes that doesn't always work. Haha!

Anyway, so here's my card to participate in Anyone for Anya and The Pink Elephant challenges. Anyone for Anya has a great sketch and TPE has a recipe; dots and punch tag. I also challenged myself to use more out of my stash. I've had this card stock for a long time from Papertrey Ink and the ribbon - so now it's time to put it to good use.


What do you think? I colored the image with Copics. I can't tell if this outfit is pajamas or not, but she does look comfy! The card stock is Summer Sunrise and Lemon Tart from Papertrey, Summer Sunrise polka dot ribbon, also from Papertrey Ink. The dp is something I picked up at Michaels. Image is Dress Me Anya and Dress Me Anya Wardrobe.

Thanks for stopping by!

Feeling Cozy

Hi all! I have a late post because I was waiting to participate in a Wednesday challenge. I did just one today - Color Throwdown. I love the colors they throw at you to use each week! The challenge this week is to used Always Artichoke, Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip. Such rich colors.


I dusted off my much neglected Guidelines stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I used the little flower from another Papertrey Ink set, Limitless Labels. These two sets created by background and then cut the scallop out with my nesties die, added the ribbon and then adhered to a chocolate chip base. I used the teapot and sentiment from Unity June KOM. Really super simple card - I can't take credit for it, I saw this on a You Tube video, here. I created the sentiment mounting with a Martha Stewart border punch and then to tie in the little holes from the border punch, I did a bit of paper piercing in the scallop window.

I hope you enjoy my card. Thanks for stopping by.



Oh, a word about MyGrafico Challenge blog - there's another great give-away, just make a "Sweet" card featuring candy to enter to win a super cute Back to School digi-stamp set.

Teen Sensation

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

I'm back to work today which is sort of hard after a fabulous weekend. Even hanging out at the in-laws for a short time wasn't half bad, even though my father-in-law ended up stabbing me with a fork trying to get a big, black spider off of me. He didn't puncture my skin, but it hurt for a bit and I wore potato salad dressing for the rest of the day.

I have found another really great blog for challenges. I made this card to participate in Crafts 4 Eternity's Sketch Challenge #33 - this is a really great sketch with so many possibilities. This also makes my design for one of my groups for the Monthly Card Challenge. Gotta love the 2-fer creations!!

Oh yes, not to forget the best part of the challenge... they are digi-stamp company, too, and are releasing a new set of teen images. Very cute. They are giving the digi-stamp set to a random winner. So part of the challenge is to create a teen style card. So Miss Anya partying at the mall was a perfect choice. So the monthly card kit, the sketch and the theme all worked together perfectly!

I used chocolate chip for the base, then Very Vanilla that I embossed with Spots & Dots. The decorative paper that was sent in the kit is The Paper Studio and other dp used is from a retired set from Stampin' Up! - time to stop hoarding and start using!!! I colored Miss Anya using Prismacolor Markers (Deco Pink, Cream, Light Olive Green, Buff, Light Walnut, Dark Umber and Cherry) - I wanted to create her to be a girl that can either be tanned... or Hispanic... or African-American. I love Buff for those skin-tones. And I used the wonderful (but sometimes tedious) technique of paper piecing.

I hope you like her and will try the challenge with C4E. Thanks for visiting me today.

Yummy Cupcakes

I can't believe I'm still thinking about cake after all the birthdays. Yesterday was Hollyanne's birthday and that's the last one for awhile. But I can still think cake... this is the no calorie and way yummy kind of cupcake!



I made this for a swap that sounded way too fun to not join. Even though I'm cutting back on swaps, there are still a choice few that I just have to be a part of. So as you may guess, this is for a cupcake swap. I went through so many different ideas that flopped before coming up this one. This was a bit time consuming to do, but I think the results are just wonderful.

I started with a Basic Black base and scalloped the edge. Then I printed digi-paper. The black and white paper is from The Angel Company and the pink and black is from a blog I found that is no longer updated called Pirates and Pixies. Way cute!!! I stamped the cupcake using Cupcakeabella from Stamping Bella, but cut the bella off. I colored the image with Deco Pink prismacolor marker and Sepia brown Copic markers. The cherry on top was colored with a Red prismacolor marker and then stickled. I think the overall results are pretty yummy.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

Heavenly!

Isn't she just heavenly! I hope that when I post this card, it looks a bit better than it does right at this moment. I put black card stock behind the card so that you get it's a white base...

Anyway, this is Group 1 of my monthly card swap. The image was provided by September's hostess, it's Halobella from Stamping Bella. I used my Stampin' Write markers to color her dress, I used the Twinkling H2Os to color her wings and Lumiere paint with Diamond Dust (warning: don't rub your fingers over the Diamond Dust - it will cut you finger!) to bring the cloud to its billowy presence. I also had more fun with the rectangle Nestibilities (gotta love these!) and I also got a new punch. It's a border punch from Fiskars. I also used PTI Tags, Bags and More set to stamp the metal edge circle and used a (yes I actually used them) sugar-coated purple brad to adhere the tag. Of course, no Melissa project is complete unless it has ribbon. The decorative paper also provided by the hostess is really pretty cloud paper.

I hope you like it!

Lovin' my Bug...

Hello Everyone... I hope you are off to a great start to the weekend. I am... I had a lovely dinner with my family and my Mom brought over this really yummy bottle of wine that is made here in West Viriginia. Then she took my youngest two children home with her. After they left I headed to my craft room.

I have a card to share with you that I made last week. This is a card I made for my friend LJ's swap. I just ordered two of the new Cuttlebug border embossing folders. LOVE THEM! I also used PTI's Women of Life set and my new scallop rectangles Nestibilities dies. Love these, too!!

Enjoy!

My birthday present

Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a great week. My days are very stressful at work right now but hopefully there will be a change soon.

I belong to a challenge group, where we do two cards each month, each member choosing what the challenge will be be. The challenge on the 1st of the month I didn't like so well, but the challenge for the 15th of the month was a lot more fun! This was Maria's idea and at first I was very upset with her for coming up with this (LOL) but I have had a blast... not only trying a new challenge, but it gave me a chance to play with my new birthday present from my sister. Check out this card.....


The picture isn't the greatest because I had to scan it, the ribbon prevents a good scan because of the bumpiness. But isn't it pretty!! I used Lavendar Moon as the base... then used Perfect Plum as the next layer. The set I used is Papertrey's Guidelines set using Lavendar Moon and Perfect Plum inks. The ribbon is Lavendar Moon saddle stitch ribbon (yes! I actually used it!!) - then the "start" of the sentiment is "Life" from PTI's Out on Limb. The Celtic knot accent in the scallops is PTI's Borders & Corners Circles set. Now, this is what happens to the card.....




You pull the sides out and out pops the rest of the message - it's one of my favorites. I'm pretty sure I shared this before, but the inside says... "is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

I hope you enjoy my card as much as I do! BTW, the tutorial that I followed for this great card can be found on this great blog.

Easter Blessing Stamp Camp

Hi Everyone,

What a crazy Saturday I had yesterday!! My youngest son's school had their annual Basket Bingo yesterday so I promised baked goods, door prizes and of course I wanted a basket. I didn't win one though, which was no surprise. Then I also had a stamp camp. I was late to my own camp!! The bingo ran way over, my guests were a little early, so hubby had to play host for the five minutes that it takes to get from the school to the house.

Anyway, I wanted to share the projects we made at the camp. I believe everyone enjoyed themselves and the projects came out lovely.

I wanted to do an Easter theme, since the holiday is fast approaching. I love the coffee bags that are offered by PaperTrey, they are inexpensive and so much fun to decorate. I went with a very simple design, but the results were truly nice.

I also was quite inspired by Nichole Heady's design on a tag card and just had to do it! Isn't it lovely? I chose Almost Amethyst and dug into my stash of ribbon and found I had a gorgeous satin ribbon to match! How happy was I! I also used a stamp from the Sale-A-Bration stamp set So Many Scallops, but used "Easter Blessings" sentiment from PTI.

This next photo is what we made to go inside the bag. I made a treat holder for two Fun Size candy bars. I stamped a larger white label to wrap around the candy. Again, this is another inspiration from Nichole's blog. I just modified it for the Fun Size, instead of Nuggets candy. The results were great!

The next items are real colored eggs. The pink egg, we stamped Easter Blessings with Staz-On ink. The green egg was decorated with a belly band. The blue egg, we embossed a white flower on it. Embossing on eggs was actually quite easy, but I think I would recommend using an oven mit if you want to emboss all over the egg. We started with Whisper White craft ink and then finished with white embossing powder. The egg was cold, so I did notice that it took a little to heat set the powder. The results were fun!

I hope you enjoyed my presentation of my stamp camp.

How 'bout a double shot!

I have two projects to share with you today. This second project is my card for the monthly card swap. It was Laurie's turn to host (well not really, she had to step in) and she sent the coolest decorative paper. I also decided I would try a Splitcoast Challenge card map. This is what I came up with. I hope you like it!

As you can see, this card features Flowahbella by Stamping Bella. I used Papertrey's white cardstock for my base, Brocade Blue (the best blue!) to mat my paper and my image. I colored the Bella with my Stampin' Up! markers. I found the bling at Wal-Mart and it's original intention is to decorate cell phones, mp3 players, etc., but it had sticky stuff on it and I liked it! The sentiment is from my new Papertrey Ink set Mixed Messages. It's a little hard to see in this picture, but it says "With Appreciation" and I really like the simple touch it added to the card. I hope Laurie is pleased with what I did with her choices in paper and image.

In Love with Papertrey Ink

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. I'm trying to stay warm. The day started out OK, but it's gotten cloudy and cold.

Here is my second ATC submission for dcorder's ATC swaps. I did finally tell her that I joined a couple of her swaps.

I used my new Papertrey Ink stamp set Out on a Limb and I absolutely love this set. I had met a lady several months ago who is a fellow SCSer. She had asked me if I had seen Papertrey stamps and I said yes, but I they really didn't do much for me. Can you believe I actually said this!!? OMGosh, that can't be further from the truth now. Nichole Heady is my idol!! I love this set, I can't wait to buy more! I am so addicted that it kills me to get on her site and actually exercise restraint!!! And this saying in the set is just the best: To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world. Josephine Billings - Is that not just the best thing to have someone say to you, besides "I love you" and have that meant from the very bottom of their soul?

I had already decided that I would use Cameo Coral before the set even arrived in the mailbox. When I sat down to make my ATC and knew I would need ribbon. I reached down into my big bag of ribbon stash and out came this satin ribbon that matched Cameo Coral perfectly!!! I was so excited. I also used Burnt Sienna Palette ink for the branch. I am sooo impressed by this ink that I ordered more. What great color that stands up! I hope dcorder likes what I've made!

I'm still here and in the mood for love!

Hi All,

I know, it's been a loooong time since I've posted. I haven't had anyone yell at me to give me a kickstart!

I have to say, I am soooo happy the holidays are over. My house is back to normal and very happy that with packing up the Christmas decorations, it also got my hubby motivated to clean up the garage! It's been a huge mess since we moved 7 months ago. Crazy. So, now we can actually fit a car into the garage - not that we do.

OK, I've been busy with getting some swaps cleared off my white board. I am happy to report, it's a plain white board again. I am hosting two monthly card swaps, I've made a couple of other things for swaps but one of my resolutions this year is to not sign up for a swap unless the project is already made. So I haven't told dcorder that I am joining her Hugs & Kisses swap, but I have made a pretty ATC for it. I'm also going to join her PaperTrey Ink ATC swap, too, but I have to wait for the stamps arrive. OK so this the ATC I made for the Hugs & Kisses swap.

I started with a Pale Plum base. I used my new Forever My Love stamps by See D's for the sentiment and the corner adornments. Using the scallop punch from SU! I punched out of the beautiful paper that I can't remember the name of the pack, but it coordinates with the Carte Postale stamp set. Anyway, sooo romantic. I've been hoarding it since I got it, so it was time I got into it. Then I stamped the circle with my PaperTrey Ink circles border stamp and topped with a prima flower and brad.

I used my husband's camera, it's a bit better of a picture, but the colors aren't represented well. But it is really pretty, if I say so myself. This was a stretch for me anyway, since I am not one for Valentine's day. But I love romance and that's what this little ATC shouts out for me.