Happy Anniversary!

I got up early this morning to put the finishing touches on the anniversary card for my hubby. We're celebrating 18 years today!!!

When I came out into the living room, this is what I found:
Jonathan occasionally sleeps on the couch just because he can - LOL! I don't know if one of them was lonely in the middle of the night or what. When I came out, I noticed that the door to Colin's room was open, so I was expecting to see him sitting up reading...nope! There he was sleeping next to his brother on the couch - Heehee! Of course...I had to take a picture! What kind of self-respecting mom and scrapbooker would miss an opportunity like that?

This is the card that I was finishing up for my hubby:
I started it when I was working with Caroline a couple of weeks ago and it was all I could do not to show it to DH right away - I love seeing his reaction when I make something really cool! But...I managed to keep it a secret and all I had to do today was write the mushy stuff on the inside. When you open it up, three cherries line up and you get the "jackpot".

Please DON'T ask me for directions/instructions on how to make this because it is INSANELY complicated! If you want to learn how to make it, you'll have to take a class with Caroline!

Hope everyone has a stamping good day!

Lady Kristin's Sketch

This card is teeny tiny! It's only 3 X 3 and it's a variation on Lady Kristin's Sketch, which you can find here. It seems that my sketch challenge was quite the...ummm...challenge - LOL! Kristin had a bit of an issue with her sketch working the way she wanted it to and let us know in her post that the red stripe was supposed to go all the way across the card. I decided it should be ribbon, so that's what I used!
While I had my upline's Sage Shadow ink in my possession, I decided to make use of it, so I stamped off the center flower on scrap paper first and then stamped it on Whisper White Cardstock. I then stamped the flower outline at full strength over the center flower. I punched the flower out using my 1 1/4" circle punch and then matted it on a piece of Pale Plum punched with my Scallop Square Punch. The main image panel is popped up on dimensionals for added interest.

The card base is a 6 X 3" piece of Pale Plum folded in half and the next layer is a 2 3/4" square piece around which I wrapped a piece of 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon before adhering it to the front of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Simply Said
INK: Sage Shadow and Pretty In Pink (used for edges of circle)
PAPER: Whisper White, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

This is hand made - thank you very much!!!

One of the topics of discussion that came up last night is the fact that certain people just don't appreciate the time, effort and love that goes into making the cards that we do. They get read and discarded without a second thought. Sad, but true...

Today I was doing my blog hopping and on my friend Kirstin's blog, found this blog entry. You should check it out...read it all the way through and check out the sentiment that is going on the back of one of her cards - it's perfect!!!

Happy Stampin'!

Sugar, Coffee and Stamps

What a combination!!!

Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day for me as I had a lot of errands to run and also had to go for a pelvic ultrasound and a mammogram (yes, all in one day!).

A couple days ago, a few of us on SplitCoast Stampers arranged to meet for dessert and coffee - what a perfect reward after a crazy day!

So, last night I had the pleasure of meeting three lovely ladies from the SplitCoast Stampers site - what a blast!!!
We talked, we laughed, we ate WAY too much sugar and ingested enough caffeine to probably keep us up all night stamping - LOL! Good thing I was drinking decaf - YIKES! I think our poor waitress was going a little nuts trying to get rid of us as there was a HUGE lineup at the door and we just weren't leaving! We spent three hours having the BEST time!

I met Karen, Diana and Teresa. Teresa is hosting the swap for which I made this card. I made another card too, but it's a secret for now. There's still time to join by the way...everything is sure to be AMAZING!!!

As we were firming up plans, I decided to create this card to give to my new stamping friends:
I stamped the butterfly from the Great Friend stamp set in Soft Suede by stamping off first and then stamping on Very Vanilla. I matted it on Soft Suede and then again on Sahara Sand. The card base is Sahara Sand and the next layer is Soft Suede. The bottom strip is Very Vanilla on which I stamped the sentiment.

I've seen my other friend Karen use this squishy ribbon treatment before and I just LOVE it, so I decided it would be perfect for this card. Wouldn't you agree? I'm in love with the Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware!

What do you think:

STAMPS: Great Friend
INK: Soft Suede
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
ACCESSORIES: Circle Scissor, 3/4" twill, Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware

Happy Stampin'!

A variation on the Cute as a Bug card from yesterday

I don't know about you, but I thought my "Cute as a Bug" card, created for Monday's chat and challenge on SUDSOL, was...well...CUTE!

So cute in fact, that I made another one!
This one is only a little bit different. I used Melon Mambo Cardstock as the base and a different piece of Razzleberry Lemonade for the strip on the left hand side. My little bug is different too and I added a piece of Rich Razzleberry cut with the Modern Label Punch under the "Cute as a bug" sentiment.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Cute as a Bug (Level One Hostess Set)
INK: Rich Razzleberry
PAPERS: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White Cardstock; Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

SUDSOL Chat and Challenge # 190

OH. MY. GOSH. I only stamped one card with this set and I am TOTALLY in love with it already! I think I'm going to make a card for my DH next using the Love Bugs image - so cute!
I stamped the image in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White and then punched it out using a 3/4" square punch. It's matted on a piece of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP punched with a 1 1/4" square and again on a piece of Melon Mambo punched with a 1 3/8" square. The image square is up on Stampin' Dimensionals to add a little extra dimension to the card and make room for the ribbon. The other two squares were punched/matted in the same manner.

To the left side of the card front I added a 1 3/4 X 4 1/4" piece of Razzleberry Lemonade from my scrap pile (LOVE using those scraps!!!)

I stamped "Cute as a Bug" on Whisper White in Rich Razzleberry and punched it using the Word Window Punch. I then trimmed it and added to the bottom edge of the card.
On the inside, I added a 4 X 5 1/4" piece of Razzleberry Lemonade and a 3 X 4 1/4" piece of Whisper White on which I stamped the same adorable bug image that I used on the front of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Cute as a Bug (Hostess Set)
INK: Rich Razzleberry
PAPER: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Belated Birthday

This is my second entry for the Birthday Card swap that I talked about yesterday.

I stamped the image in Basic Black on Whisper White Cardstock and then stamped it again on the Regal Rose DSP that was part of the Hostess pack from last year. The image was matted on Rose Red Cardstock and added to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. I added a little tab of Regal Rose ribbon to the top.

The sentiment was stamped in Rose Red on Whisper White Cardstock and punched out using the Modern Label Punch. It was matted on a piece of Rose Red Cardstock which was cut using the Punch Windown Movers and Shapers Die which is available for the Big Shot. They all fit behind the punches that Stampin' UP! carries and are a great way to mat!

I added a tiny little gem to the flower on the dress for the finishing touch.

For the inside, I stamped the second half of the sentiment from the front on a piece of 3 3/4 X 5" Whisper White Cardstock and wrapped a piece of 1/4" Rose Red Ribbon around the bottom. I added a little gem to match the gem on the front. I matted the Whisper White Cardstock to another piece of Bella Rose DSP and adhered them both to the inside of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Humour in High Heels
INKS: Basic Black, Rose Red
PAPERS: Whisper White and Rose Red Cardstock; Bella Rose DSP (Retired)
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Markers, Dimensionals, Gems

Happy Stampin'!

A Par-Fect Birthday Card!

I made this card for a swap on SplitCoast Stampers. You can find the information for the swap here. It's Canadian based but the hostess is welcoming all players. The cards are not due till the end of September, so there's still time to join and get your cards made!

The card base is Always Artichoke Cardstock and the DSP is Manchester which retired last year (so sad!) I stamped the image in Memento Ink and coloured in with Copic Markers. Our golfer is matted on Always Artichoke and Kraft . He's up on dimensionals for added interest and to make room for twill tab - LOL! At the top right, I used my Modern Label Punch to punch a piece of Always Artichoke and cut it in half.

The inside sports the sentiment "Hope your day is PAR-FECT!" stamped on Whisper White Cardstock and doodled with Always Artichoke SU! Marker. It's matted on a different piece of Manchester DSP and adhered to the inside of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: And Many Mower
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black
PAPERS: Whisper White, Kraft and Always Artichoke Cardstock; Manchester DSP
ACCESSORIES: Markers, Modern Label Punch, 3/4" twill

Happy Stampin'!

Lady Amy's Sketch

Today, I'm featuring Lady Amy's Sketch. You can find it here.
I used my Humour in High Heels set for this one, and stamped the image on Whisper White and again on a piece of Regal Rose DSP from last year's set of papers that were available as a Level 1 Hostess gift. A little while ago, I picked up an assortment of adhesive gems at WalMart and decided that the tiniest one would be just the PERFECT accent for the tiny flower on the dress.

The dress (as well as the squares) are matted on Melon Mambo, because if you've been reading since the new In Colours have been released, you know that Melon Mambo and Regal Rose is one of my new favourite colour combinations. I lifted the dress up on Stampin' Dimensionals to give the front of the card a little more "oomph".
The inside was finished with a piece of Whisper White on which I used my Regal Rose Stampin' Marker to doodle the edges.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Humour in High Heels
INKS: Basic Black
PAPERS: Whisper White and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Regal Rose DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Markers

Happy Stampin '!

Lady Kirstin's Sketch

OK, so I started stamping last night with the intention of completing Julie's sketch, but in the end couldn't find just the right image to make me happy, so I ended up using Kirstin's sketch instead and I just LOVE how this card turned out!
I stamped the image in Stampin' UP! Basic Grey and coloured it in using Stampin' UP! Markers in Regal Rose, Rose Red, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Garden Green and Chocolate Chip. The sentiment was stamped in Rose Red.

My card base is Always Artichoke and the DSP (which is retired) is Manchester. I added 3/4" twill and mounted the sentiment on dimensionals for a finishing touch.

The inside sports another piece of Manchester DSP and a piece of Whisper White with Always Artichoke doodles around the edge.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Blooming With Love (Retired)
INK: Basic Grey
PAPERS: Always Artichoke and Whisper White Cardstock; Manchester DSP
ACCESSORIES: Markers, 3/4" twill, Circle Scissor

Happy Stampin'!

Just a Little Note of Thanks

With the emphasis on "little" because this card is just a 1/4 sheet of Melon Mambo cardstock folded in half. It measures just 2 3/4 X 4 1/4 inches.
I stamped the image from Matchbox Messages on Whisper White and punched it out using my 1 1/4" punch. It's matted on a piece of Melon Mambo punched with my 1 3/8" punch. The DSP is Razzleberry Lemonade and the strip of cardstock across the middle is Rich Razzleberry.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Matchbox Messages
INK: Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry Feedstock; Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Eat, Drink and Be Scary!

Halloween will be here before you know it!

Sure, you could just drop a piece of candy into a trick-or-treat bag. But for your favorite trick-or-treaters--or those who have outgrown bags--you can make personal treat boxes. All you need is a bit card stock and ribbon, a fun tag, and a handful of candy to delight your holiday callers.


Supplies Used: Eat Drink and be Scary Stamp Set, Various Cardstock, Elegant Eggplant Ink, Stampin' Write Markers, Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Various Punches.

Please note: This is a project I found on the Stampin' UP! Website and is NOT my own design.

Have a Stampin' good day!

Sudsol Chat and Challenge

On Monday afternoon, I participated in the SUDSOL Chat and Challenge. Juli is an EXCELLENT hostess! This week we used a Pocket Silhouettes card as inspiration and of course, it made me want that set EVEN MORE!

Here's the card I made:
I'll be adding it to my Bella Bleu class!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Kind and Caring Thoughts
PAPER: Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy Cardstock, Bella Bleu DSP
INK: Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Gifties for the Gypsies!

About once a month, my girlfriends and I get together and do some stamping/scrapbooking/paper crafting. I like to them a little prezzie when I go, because it's just fun...plus it uses my stash - LOL!

We got together this past Saturday and I made these:
I used the Pillow Box Die to cut them out of Very Vanilla and then stamped the butterflies from the Dreams du Jour set in Bermuda Bay.

Inside they found two Werther's Candies.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Dreams du Jour
PAPERS: Very Vanilla
INK: Bermuda Bay
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot and Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Mojo Monday on a...

...MONDAY? How the heck did THAT happen? And it's current even...as in from TODAY!

Today's Mojo Monday was a fun sketch to play with! I quite like the combo of Regal Rose and Melon Mambo, so this is what I used:
I stamped the main image on Whisper White and then again on Regal Rose DSP which I cut out using my paper snips and then adhered to the card. I used Melon Mambo to sponge around the main image.

I punched the corners of the main image panel and the whole card front panel. To the card front panel, I added silver brads.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Humour in High Heels
INK: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Melon Mambo Cardstock and Regal Rose DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Brads, Corner Ticket Punch

Happy Stampin'!

Melon Mambo Pocket Silhouettes

While I had my hands on Pocket Silhouettes, I stamped these cards too, similar to the one seen here. There are SO many wonderful ideas out there that use this set, I just can't wait to get my very own!

This is the card I made:

It uses Melon Mambo Ink with Rose Red card stock and Regal Rose DSP and Ribbon. I think I'm in love with this colour combo!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Pocket Silhouettes
INK: Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Rose Red Cardstock; Regal Rose DSP
ACCESSORIES: Regal Rose Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Mojo Monday, still better late than never!

Why is it that I can never seem to "Mojo my Monday" (as Jonathan puts it), on a MONDAY? The week just seems to get away from me...crazy! Especially considering Monday is really not that busy of a day. Sure, I wash the sheets, dust and water the plants, but that's pretty much it...short of feeding the kids and doing a load of laundry. Not exactly time consuming.

And yet, here it is SUNDAY again before I manage to upload my Mojo MONDAY card! *SIGH*

Anyway, there's still a little time left, so if you want to Mojo YOUR Monday (on a Sunday) you can find the sketch here.

Here's the card I came up with:

I used the new Level 1 Hostess Set, Country Morning and stamped the image using Soft Suede on Very Vanilla. I coloured it in using my SU! Markers in Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery before cutting it into a circle and sponging the edges. Then I mounted it on slightly larger circle cut from Soft Suede.

I don't have any of the DSP that coordinates with Soft Suede yet, so I made my own using Soft Suede and Bashful Blue ink on a couple of the flowers from my Simply Said stamp set.

I sponged the edges of everything (including the card base) using Soft Suede. I added the 3/4" twill for the finishing touch.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Level 1 Hostess Set: Country Morning, Simply Said
INK: Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede
PAPER: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
ACCESSORIES: Circle Scissor, 3/4" Twill, Sponges

Happy Stampin'!

Jonathan's Mojo 97

Oops! Jonathan has been asking me since he did this card to take a pic and get it up on the blog. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day!

Here is Jonathan's take on Mojo 97:

If you'd still like to play along with Mojo 97 (which is last week's sketch) you can check out the sketch here.

This week is a contest week for Mojo 98 which means that if you play along you have the opportunity to win a Verve stamp set!

I'll have my post for that up later today as I haven't even started on it yet - EEP!

Have a Stampin' good day!

FINALLY! The long awaited sketch!

You would think that since I am the one issuing the challenges, I would be a bit more on the ball and have the challenge ready before I actually announce it. Hmmm...not so much - LOL!

So...here it is:

It is hand drawn and VERY simple, so my apologies for that. I have forgotten much of what I learned when I was taking digital scrapbooking classes. This would have allowed me to make a fancy, computer generated sketch. However, I have had this idea for a sketch in my head for a while and the card came out EXACTLY the way I saw it in my head! Don't you just LOVE it when that happens???

Here is the card I created using my sketch:
I'm loving the Bella Bleu papers with Kraft and Not Quite Navy. I'm thinking I would have been just a titch happier if I had used Very Vanilla Craft Ink, but I don't have any in my stash (yet!), so went with Whisper White instead.

I'll be adding this card to a Bella Bleu class I'll be having later this month, so I'm not providing my ultra secret measurements - LOL - though savvy stampers (especially those with SU! tools) will be able to figure it out without a problem, I'm sure!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Simple Said
INK: Whisper White Craft and Not Quite Navy Classic
PAPER: Whisper White, Kraft and Not Quite Navy Cardstock, Bella Bleu DSP
ACCESSORIES: Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Pocket Silhouettes - In Colour

First things first, I have the BEST upline on the planet! Why does she rock? Well, first off, she lets me work with her on a weekly basis, so I get to see all kinds of wicked cool stuff before anyone else does. Second, she has LOTS of stuff (way more than I do), and she lets me borrow it! Which is how I got to make this card:

I always knew I would love Pocket Silhouettes once I go it on paper and I was NOT disappointed! It's a small set, but it sure it MIGHTY! I just love the simple and elegant designs you can achieve with this set - STUNNING!

I stamped the images using Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede on Very Vanilla Cardstock. I mounted that piece on Soft Suede and used dimensionals to pop up the focal piece on the card. I added the twill to finish it off.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Pocket Silhouettes
INK: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Twill

Be on the lookout tomorrow for my sketch for the Ladies, Ink!

Happy Stampin'!