Life With Terri

Etsygreetings Valentine Bloghop

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was a good one. Today I am participating in the Etsygreeting's Team Valentine Bloghop. The challenge was to make a Valentine's card to go with a gift from another Etsy Seller. This is the card I madeI finally got a chance to use my PTI Rosie Posie stamp set. I have seen quite a few people using Copic's with them lately and had to try it. I love the results. I also die cut the heart in the center so you can see the love you sentiment on the inside when it is closed. The polka dot patterned paper is from Amy Jaz Designs Fresh Start Kit. Tiny dots were embossed on top. A Hibiscus Satin Ribbon, small pearl and machine stitching finishes it off. These are the gifts I chose to go with it.

I chose these Rose Heart Bath Bombs from Elegant Rose Boutique because the heart shape matches the heart cutout on my card and the rose scent will compliment the stamped roses. The color also matches nicely too. I think these would make a great gift paired with my card to show a special lady in your life how much you love her this Valentines Day especially someone that loves to take baths like I do. Be sure to click the right arrow to take you to the Katie's blog which is the next blog in the hop and if you missed Sammie's blog which was the blog before mine click the left arrow. You can also see a full list of participants on the Etsygreeting's Blog by clicking on the heart. That's it for now. I hope your week is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

January Papertrey Bloghop

2012-01-25T08:00:00.003-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week has been a good one. Today is the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.

This month the challenge was to pick our favorite project from 2011 then take it a step further by creating a second card that is inspired by it.
My favorite project of 2011 was this heart box. You can read more about it here

I took inspiration from the box and this is what I came up with

A Rose Heart Easel Card.

I started by cutting a heart from Vintage Cream Cardstock,then I cut and rolled the mini roses using Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz Cardstock. When I was done with that I hot glued them on to the heart. Next I added some cabbage rose seam binding and a cream button then I attached the heart to Vintage Cream Cardstock that I embossed with tiny dots. To finish it off I added a piece of digital patterned paper that I also used on the box, white baby pom pom trim and a sentiment from Think Big Favorites 11.
The card folds flat so I created this box to go with it since it is to bulky to fit in an envelope.

That's all for now. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with on Nicole's Blog. I hope the rest of your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

January Sketch For You To Try and More Hearts

2012-01-21T10:44:00.007-07:00

Happy Saturday! I hope your week was a good one. It is a beautiful day here today. We just got back from a new dog park in our area. It was a lot of fun. I hope the nice weather will stick around for awhile so we can go back soon.
I finally got a chance to make something with this months Sketch For You to Try. I am no longer a part of the design team because I did not have time to fulfill the new requirements this year but I still plan on using the sketch once a month. This is the sketch

This is what I came up with

I shrank down the sketch to 4.25 x 4.25 inches to make these cute kid Valentine cards.
I started by stamping the images from Tiny Treats Valentine on circles that I diecut with circle Nestibilities then I colored the images with Copics. The girl card was made with patterned paper from the Simple Valentine Paper Pack,Hibiscus and Pure Poppy Cardstock. The boy card was made with Beautiful Blooms Patterned Paper and Pure Poppy and Kraft Cardstock. I embossed the back panels with tiny dots then finished them off with ribbon and buttons.
I was also able to finish the felt heart pincushion I talked about in the last post

This one was made by cutting hearts using Nestabilities Heart dies from Pure Poppy and Vintage Cream felt. I blanket stitched them together with red floss then added a loop of vintage cream ribbon. I finished it off with a Hibiscus Felt rolled rose cut using the My Favorite Things medium rose die.
Continuing with my 365 photo challenge I wanted to share this photo Emilia took of Sophie last week. It is hard to get a good photo of her because of how dark she is but I love how this one came out! She doesn't look like a killer(squirrels) does she?

That's all for now. I will be back next week for the Papertrey Bloghop. Until then I hope the rest of your weekend is great one!

Hearts

2012-01-15T10:54:00.014-07:00

Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend has been a good one. I went to get new glasses yesterday. The last time I went was a real nightmare so I put off going again as long as I could. This time I went to an eye store which included the exam. So far it has been a much better experience and I found out that the doctor I saw last time was crazy. I don't need plugs in my eyes. I am just glad I didn't agree with what he said. Hopefully this new prescription will be more helpful too since I have been having problems with dizziness again. I have to wait 7-10 days to get them but will post photos when I do.
Today I want to share a couple of new projects with you. I am really into hearts right now. I have been wanting to make an iris folded heart card like the other iris folded cards I made last year for awhile now and thought this was the perfect time to do so. This is what I came up with.

This time I used this template. The patterned paper is from the Candy Cane Lane paper pack I didn't add a tag this time. Instead I stamped the Love sentiment from Tiny Tags and added to the middle. I finished it off with sweet blush ribbon tied in a bow, a Hawaiian Shores button, and machine stitching.
Keeping with the heart theme I also made this.

I have been wanting to make a heart pincushion for awhile now too. I made this one with a a combination of fabric and felt. I started by piecing together three fabrics I had in my stash then I added ric rac that I made with the PTI ric rac die and Hibiscus felt. I rotated the fabric then cut the heart out with a Nestability heart die using my Vagabond. After sewing it up I added a loop of pure poppy satin ribbon to the top so it can be hung, then I attached a Pure Poppy bow and a white button. Finally I finished it off with some white baby pom pom trim. Here is a photo of the back

I hope to make more of these in different patterns and colors. I also have some ideas for felt ones too. I hope to make some of those soon and when I do I will share them with you.
One more thing I want to share with you before I go. Emilia and I have really gotten into using Instagram. I have challenged myself to take a photo a day to help document the year. If you follow me on Twitter you can see them there but I will also be sharing some of those photos here on my blog too. Today I want to share this photo Emilia took of our fur baby Lily. I love how it came out. I had just given her a bath. Unfortunately she doesn't stay that white for very long though.

That's all for now. I will be back soon with more to share. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Fresh Start Tea Cottage

2012-01-05T21:22:00.011-07:00

Happy Friday! I hope your first week of the New Year was a good one. I want to start this post off by thanking all of you that visited and left such sweet comments on my year in review post. They really meant a lot to me. I also finally got my desks cleaned off, reorganized and put back together enough to start creating again. It was a lot of work but well worth it. It feels great to start the new year with a clean and organized work space and I am going to try really hard to keep it that way. I forgot to take before pictures but I hope to share a few after pictures soon. I am still waiting for a few more storage boxes to arrive first.
Today I want to share a project that I made with a new digital kit from Amy Jaz Design called Fresh Start.

This is what I came up with.

I started with the Tea Cottage template from Creations By AR. I cut the pieces out with my new Silhouette Cameo using SCAL 3 and papers from the Fresh Start digi kit. I have noticed that the Silhouette definitely cuts a lot cleaner than the Cricut. I embossed the fence with the Woodgrain impression plate then distressed it with Chai ink. I added white baby pom pom trim to the front of the roof and flowers cut from SCAL with tiny pearls added to the middles on the fence. I stamped the image from the PTI Tea For Two set cut it out then attached it to the front of the house.Finally I finished it off with a Satin Rose ribbon tied in a bow and a Harvest Gold button. I filled the house with Tazo Calm tea bags but you could also put other things in it as well. The slot at the bottom opens so you can pull the tea out.

Amy has also released these Fresh Start Journaling Cards
to go with the Fresh Start Digi Kit. They would be a great addition to Project Life if you are doing that so be sure to check them out.
That's all for now. I hope your weekend is a great one!

A Year In Review

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday. I hope your week has been a good one. Thankfully my Silhouette is working now. I called on Tuesday and the guy I spoke to had me move the blade carriage back and forth a few times and that got it working. I have not had time to really play with it yet but I did try to cut a few things and so far it seems to cut better than the Cricut. It also works with SCAL 3 which I am very happy about.
I have also been busy most of the week with another custom order on Etsy and I decided it was time to reorganize my stamping desk. I could not stand to look at it any longer. I can't believe I let it get that bad. I have ordered a bunch of CD boxes and things that hopefully will help to keep it organized from now on and I am going to try really hard to keep it that way next year.
Since there are only a few days left of this year I wanted to share my favorite projects of 2011 by participating in Karin's Year In Review Blog Hop I discovered it from Leigh Ann's blog

These are some my favorite projects from each month. Click on the month to find out more about them.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Overall it has been a pretty good year. Instead of making resolutions I am just going to take 2012 one day at a time and see what it brings. I hope you enjoy the last few days of the year and 2012 will bring much happiness, good health and creativity to you. I will be back in the New Year with more to share and as always thanks for stopping by.

December Papertrey Bloghop

2011-12-26T08:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good Christmas if you celebrated it yesterday. We had a pretty good one. Emilia got almost everything she asked for so she is very happy. Rich and I were only suppose to get each other something small but he didn't stick to that plan and surprised me with a Silhouette Cameo. Unfortunately it is not working though. When I try to cut something with it the blade housing does not move and just bounces up and down making a lot of noise. The manual has been of no help and I have not found anything online either. If any of you with a Silhouette have any idea what might be wrong please let me know. All I can do at this point is wait until tomorrow and call their Customer Service. It was really sweet of Rich to buy me one but I feel really guilty that I didn't get him something bigger now. He keeps telling me that was not why he got it for me and to enjoy it so that is what I plan on doing once I get it to work. Hopefully the problem is minor and can be solved easily. At least I still have my Cricut to use in the meantime.
Today is also the December Papertrey Bloghop. The challenge this month is "Holiday Leftovers" which means we were to use some type of leftover materials to create a project. This challenge is always a hard one for me but this is what I came up with.

Rich bought this wrapping paper to wrap our gifts with. I was able to find a section that didn't have any Christmas images and make it work for Valentines Day.
I also used this months Sketch For You To Try again.

I started by stamping the bird cage from The Love Birds Set on Vintage Cream Cardstock. Next I stamped the red hearts and the birds in gold. I distressed the edges with Chi ink and my scissors then I machine stitched around it. The circular doily piece was cut with this SVG file and Gold Shimmer Cardstock. The sentiment is also from The Love Birds set and matted on Pure Poppy Cardstock. I finished the card off with 3 heart brads and more machine stitching.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. You can see the full list of participants on Nicole's Blog. I hope the rest of your last week of 2011 is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Snowman Love

2011-12-23T13:03:00.007-07:00

Happy Friday. I hope your week was a good one. We had a big snowstorm here yesterday that resulted in about a foot of snow and the delivery of my new release Papertrey order being delayed because of the weather. Thankfully it is out for delivery today though. I could have done without all this show and would much rather it be summer right now but at least Emilia is loving it and she will definitely get her white Christmas. I just hope it does not stick around to long.
Since I am done with all my holiday projects for this year now that means it is time to start working on winter and Valentine things so today I wanted to share this.

Even though I don't love snow, I do love this snowman. I think this would be great way to give a little love this Valentines Day. I started by cutting the pieces of the snowman using this snowman giftcard holder SVG file from Scrapchick and PP from the The Modern Merry Paper Pack . Next I created the Heart banner by stringing the hearts on button twine then I added the PTI block alphabet letters and snowflakes from the Winter Penguin Die Collection with rhinestones added to the middles. When I was done with that I attached the banner to the snowman by threading twine through his mittens and securing them on the back. Finally I finished it off with a white button threaded with red and white bakers twine then tied in a bow and 3 tiny faux black buttons,
Inside there is a perfect place for a giftcard

I also wanted to share the Gingerbread cookies Emilia and I made for her ice skating teacher yesterday. This is how I packaged them up for her. I got the inspiration for the tag here.

We are continuing to celebrate Hanukkah which started on Tuesday night and we will also be opening presents on Christmas day too. Emilia loves Christmas and everything about it so we do it for her. I will be back Monday to share my blog hop project with you until then Happy Holidays and if you are celebrating Christmas on Sunday I hope it is a great one!

Year Of Flowers Poinsettia

2011-12-17T11:31:00.005-07:00

Happy Saturday. I hope your week was a good one. It is suppose to be in the 50's here this weekend. Hopefully the warmer weather will help to melt the rest of the snow. Today I want to a card I made with Year Of Flowers Pointsetta. This completes the challenge I set for myself at the beginning of the year to use all the flowers in this series. I got the inspiration for this card here. This is my version.

I started by stamping the Poinsettia 3 times then I colored it with Copics. After that I cut them out and assembled them with foam tape to give it dimension. Next I cut the quaterfoil piece from Scarlett Jewel Cardstock using this SVG file When I was done with that I attached it to a piece of script patterned paper. Finally I stamped the Believe sentiment from the Believe set on a piece of Rustic White cardstock, drew 2 gold lines with a paint pen then added machine stitching to finish it off.
I am really proud of myself for completing this challenge and have created a Pinterest Board for all my Year Of Flower cards here Hopefully it will help inspire you to use your sets too. That's all for now I am off to finish the Etsy order I have been working on all week. I hope rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by!

Candy Cane Lane

2011-12-12T11:10:00.009-07:00

Happy Monday. I hope you had a good weekend. We finally got to 50 yesterday. Still to cold for me but at least it is not snowing.
Amy Jaz Designs had another new release on Friday called Candy Cane Lane
This is the paper pack

These are the elements

This is what I made with it.

I have wanted to make one of these boxes for awhile now and when I saw this paper I knew this was the perfect chance. I intended to enter this in the ColorQ challenge last week but didn't get it finished in time. I still used the colors for inspiration though.
I started with the Perfect Presentation Favor II box SVG template and Kraft Cardstock then I added the roof and sides using papers from the kit. The front was made with the new Door To Door set from Papertrey Ink. When I saw that set I knew I had to have it. This is the first time I have used it and I love it! You will definitely be seeing more houses made with it. I stamped the main image then colored it with Copics. Next I cut the door with the matching die then attached it to Pure Poppy Cardstock. After that I added the trees and wreath. On the sides I added windows from the Homemade set. On the top of the box where the flap opens I added the banner and sentiment from Door To Door and tiny red Rhinestones. To finish it off I added Hawaiian Shores scalloped trim to the bottom, Hawaiian Shores saddle stitched ribbon and a Pure Poppy Button. Inside the door is a a place to write to and from. It is from Fillable Frames #9. These boxes are the perfect place to add some homemade Peppermint chocolate cookies. Emilia made them. You can get the recipe here.
That's all for now. I have a big Etsy order that is going to keep me busy most of the week but I will be back soon with a few more holiday projects to share. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Modern Merry

2011-12-08T17:18:00.011-07:00

Happy Thursday. I hope your week has been a good one. It is still very cold here. The snow we got last week is slowly melting though.
Amy Jaz Designs is the guest designer at The Lilypad for the month of December. This is her newest kit The Modern Merry Paper Pack she has for sale there.

Here is a card I made with the kit.

I didn't have time to use my November Year Of Flowers set last month so I used it on this card.
I also used this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch for the layout but I flipped it.

I started by stamping the mum twice then colored it with the Pure Poppy Copic Trio. I cut out the center of the flower then attached it to the middle of the first one to give it some dimension then I added it to the circle with foam tape. After that I colored the leaves and added them with foam tape too. When I was done with that I stamped the sentiment from Fillable Frames #2. Next I added some patterned paper from the kit and embossed the New Leaf background with the Linen impression plate. Finally I finished it off with Spring Rain Satin ribbon, Dew Drops, Machine Stitching and a Pure Poppy Button.
Amy has also designed a matching elements kit

And a matching Paper Flags Kit.

As you have seen by looking at my card this kit is not just for Christmas. It would also be great to use if you are documenting your December.
I will be back soon with another project using these kits. In the meantime. I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

December Sketch For You To Try

2011-12-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

Happy December! It is cold and snowy here. How is the weather where you are? I hope it is sunny and warm. Today is also the first Saturday of the month which means it is time for the final Sketch For You To Try this year.

There is not a sponsor this month but Jen asked use to use one of this years sponsor's stamps. Also be sure you check out Jen's blog about the big giveaway that will be given to one lucky person who used all the sketch's this year. It is a huge prize package that includes Gift Certificates, Stamps and a year's subscription to the SCS Fan Club.
Here is the Sketch

This is what I came up with

I decided to use Ellie Walks Her Dog from Your Next Stamp. They were our sponsors back in May. I did not get a chance to use their stamps then but I won this stamp in the Back To School Wee Memories Challenge back in September that they also sponsored so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use it. I love this image because it reminds me of myself and my fur baby Lily going for a walk on a beautiful spring day. I started my card by turning the sketch. Next I stamped the main image on Neenah White Cardstock and colored it with Copics. After that I drew in the sidewalk and the grass. When I was done with that I matted the finished piece on Berry Sorbet cardstock and machine stitched it. The circle piece was cut from PP in that came from the Stella and Gertie Paper pack. The Background PP is from the Cosmo Cricket Uptown collection. The sentiment is from Fillable Frames #5. I finished the card off with 3 Hawaiian Shores buttons and more machine stitching.
There is no guest designer this month either but be sure to check out what Jen and the other sisters have done with this sketch too.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Becky Carafa
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
I hope you will play along with as well and the rest of your weekend is a great one. I will be back soon with more to share and as always thanks for stopping by.

Joy Banner

2011-11-30T13:05:00.008-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week has been a good one so far. Today we enjoyed beautiful 60 degree weather but that is all suppose to change tomorrow when snow and cold are due to arrive. Hopefully it won't stick around long.
Today I want to share this with you.

I have had this idea in my head for awhile. I started working on it a few weeks ago but had to stop to fill some Etsy orders. I was finally able to finish it last night.
I started by cutting out the stockings from the My Timeless Template Stocking Template using digital patterened paper from Amy Jaz Designs A Very Vintage Christmas Kit Next I created medallions using more paper from the kit, a limitless layers die and this tutorial. The letters were cut with SCAL using the Bantang font then covered with red glitter.
The snowflakes were cut using an image in SCAL then covered in Clear German Glass Gitter. Silver bells were added to the ones on the top. A pure poppy button was added to the one in the middle of the O. Holly was cut from more PP using the Holly Jolly Dies and rhinestones were added for the berries. Red Garland, Paper lace and machine stiching finish it off. The stockings are attached to New Leaf Twill ribbon and backed with Hunter Green and Scarlet Jewel cardstock. I also created loops on both sides to make it easy to hang.
It was a lot of work but am really happy with how it came out. I hope you like it too. I will be back on Saturday with a new Sketch For You To Try. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a good one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Hanukkah Dreidel Gift Bag Box

2011-11-28T14:04:00.005-07:00

Happy Monday, I hope you had a good weekend and your week has started out well. We went to see Breaking Dawn today and thankfully we made it there and back without any problems this time. Unfortunately I didn't like it. I think the book is much better. Emilia really liked the movie though.
Today I want to share a project I made for this years Papercrafts Holiday Cards Magazine back in the spring but it never got accepted.

I started by cutting Favor It Box Die 1 out of Silver Shimmer Cardstock. Next I cut Mat Stack one out of Stampers Select White Cardstock then stamped an image from the coordinating stamp set using Enchanted Evening Ink. After I was done with that I stamped the dreidel image from the Mazel Tov set and colored it with Copics, cut it out then added it to the circle. Finally I finished the box off with 2 Ocean Tides Buttons. Inside is the perfect place to add a bag filled with Hanukkah Gelt and a Dreidel

I think these would make great Hanukkah Gifts. That's it for now. I hope the rest of your week is a good one and I will be back soon with more to share.

November Papertrey Bloghop

2011-11-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday. I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one if you celebrated it yesterday. Today is the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey blog hop.

This month we were to use this photo for inspiration

This is what I came up with.

I started by using this months Sketch For You to Try again as my layout.

I thought this sketch was perfect for the image from Stylish Sentiments and I was right. Thanks again June for sending it to me! Once I cut it down it was a perfect fit. Next I matted it on wood veneer then stitched around it with red thread. When I was done with that I created the bottom piece using images from Love Lives Here Holiday then added tiny pearls to the middle of the heart ornaments. The green background paper is from Echo Parks All I want for Christmas Paper Pack. The red Gingham cardstock is from the My Time Made Easy GaGa for Gingham Paper Pack and I reduced it by 50%. Finally I finished the card off with more Wood Veneer, 2 snowflakes from the new Winter Penguin Die Collection and red rhinestones.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. You can see a full list of participants on Nicole's Blog. I hope the rest of your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Sweet 16 That Turned Out To Be Not So Sweet

2011-11-21T10:33:00.007-07:00

Happy Monday. I hope your weekend was a good one. Today is my niece Alexandras 16th birthday. We were going to go see the new Twilight movie Breaking Dawn to celebrate and I was going to write about it after we got back but unfortunately we never made it to the movie because we got into a car accident on the way there. Thankfully none of us were seriously hurt but the driver that hit us was not looking good. They think she may have had a seizure. I hope she will be okay. My sister was driving and Emilia and I were in the back seat. We were stopped at a red light and all of sudden out of no where it felt like we were on the bummer cars ride at the amusement part but 10 times harder. The car was damaged pretty badly but can be fixed. The most important thing is we are okay. What an awful thing to happen on your 16th birthday though. Seeing as this is Thanksgiving week I am even more thankful we are all alive right now.
Earlier this morning I started this post about the card I made for her birthday and still want to share it with you. Most of you know from my past posts she loves Hello Kitty. I made her this card last year and she loved it so I had to make her a Hello Kitty card again. This time I used this SVG file. This is what I came up with

She loved it but after what happened I don't know when she is going to get her license now. Hopefully in time she will want to drive. In the meantime she can enjoy the card and spending the money I put inside the pocket that was made with the library die and stamped with a sentiment from Fillable Frames. Hopefully the rest of the day will turn out better then it started for her.
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving if you are celebrating it and I hope to be back soon with more to share.

Etsygreetings Holiday Blog Hop

2011-11-14T06:00:00.003-07:00

Happy Monday! Today I am participating in the Etsygreeting's Team Holiday Blog Hop. The theme for this hop is to share our favorite handmade holiday traditions. As most of you know I am Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah starts On December 20th and lasts for 7 days. Our favorite thing to do for Hanukkah is to light the menorah but since the theme of this bloghop is a favorite HANDMADE tradition I thought I would show you how to make your own Beeswax candles to use in the Menorah.
First you start with sheets of Beeswax. I got mine here
Next you cut it into strips.

When you are done with that you add a piece of wick to the middle of a strip and press it into the wax. Then start rolling and shaping it.

This is what you will get when you are done

Making these kinds of candles is not hard and would be a fun project to do with your kids too!

It is also traditional to eat foods fried in oil for Hanukkah which helps to remind us of the miracle of oil that burned for eight days during this time so I am also sharing my recipe for Latkes (Crisp Fried Potato Pancakes) with you.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs of potatoes
1 large onion
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of matzo meal or 2 to 3 Tablespoons of flour
Vegetable Oil for Frying

Instructions:
1.Start by peeling and grating the potatoes and onion. I use a food processor for this. Then squeeze out as much water as possible.
3. Add the eggs, Matzo meal or flour and the salt. Mix well.
5. Let rest for 5 minutes
In the meantime heat about 1/8 inch of oil in a heavy skillet.
When the oil is hot start adding the potato mixture by the spoonfuls and push them down with the back of the spoon.
Fry them on each size until golden brown and crisp.
You can eat them plain or with sour cream or applesauce.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about some handmade things you can do for Hanukkah. Be sure to click on the right arrow to take you to the next blog in the hop. If you missed the blog before me click on the left arrow. You can also see a list of all the participants by clicking on the circle. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is a great one!

A Very Vintage Christmas And Unwanted Visitors

2011-11-11T10:20:00.010-07:00

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. Mine did not start out very well. Last Wednesday night Emilia thought she saw a lizard in the house. I thought she was imagining things because as far as I know we don't have lizards here in Denver. Well fast forward to late Saturday night. We were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden she looked at me and I knew from the look on her face what she saw was back and it wasn't a lizard it was my worst nightmare it was a mouse! I am terrified of those things so I screamed for Rich and starting climbing on top of the couch. He went to look for it but it was no were to be found. We did discover where it came from though and Sunday morning Rich fixed that problem. On top of that we put poison down. I thought the problem was solved but Monday morning Rich said he heard something inside one of our kitchen walls where he had drilled holes for a computer cable a few years ago so he patched those. Once again I thought we solved the problem but fast forward again to Tuesday afternoon. I went to throw something away in the trash under the kitchen sink and I thought I saw a tail. I quickly shut the cupboard door and my heart started racing. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Of course Rich was at work so I convinced Emilia to look. Sure enough there was a dead mouse in there. The good news is at least it was dead but just the thought of those things in my house dead or alive really creeps me out. I am just praying that the poison has taken care of the problem and they are all gone now. On top of that my printer starting acting up on Monday night. The ink kept getting clogged. I think I have it fixed for now, I sure hope so because this printer is only a year old. I also had issues with my SCAL this week too. Just the thought of losing that program had me in tears. Thankfully it is still working though. After all this there is some good news to share. I had my 100th sale in my Etsy shop Wednedsay night. I was hoping to met that goal by the end of the year but it happened earlier! I am super happy about this because I have been working very hard for the last few years to get sales there. It is not easy but at least all my hard work is starting to pay off. Speaking of Etsy. My Etsygreeting team is currently having a holiday boutique.

There are lots of great deals so be sure to check it out. Anyways here is to hoping the week ends better than it started. Now if you are still with me on to some crafty stuff.
Today Amy J is releasing another Digi kit. This one is called Vintage Christmas and is packed full of goodness.

This is what I came up with

I started by making my own version of the PTI Front And Center Die. I loved the concept of that die but wanted it to fit the PTI stamp boxes so I was thrilled to be able to make it work for that. I created the base in SCAL but still had to use a punch for the holes because they are so small, the Cricut did not cut them out enough. After cutting the front and back panels I cut another piece a bit smaller than the base cut off the top then added strips of patterned paper from the digital kit and machine stitched it. After that I machine stitched the quilted piece to the base and added a piece of paper lace. Next I cut off the top of a stamp box then attached the front and back pieces to it.
When I was done with that I made a poinsettia flower using this cut file that was reduced to 50% and more digital paper. I tied a double bow made from olive seam binding and attached it to the bottom of the flower. Finally I finished it off with a jingle bell,tiny tag and the Merry Christmas Sentiment from the original mixed messages set then attached it to the box. These boxes could make great packaging for gifts this Christmas and is a great way to recycle all those stamp boxes too. I would be happy to share the file with you if you have SCAL. Email me and I will send it to you. That's all for now. hope your weekend will be a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

November Sketch For You To Try

2011-11-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday. It is also the 1st Saturday of the month which means it is time for another Sketch For You To Try

This month our sponser is Verve Stamps

Julie is offering a set of choice to a SFYTT participant that uses Verve in their creation. This random winner will be announced with the December SFYTT.
This is the sketch

This is what I came up with

I chose to work with the super cute To The Moon Stamp set. I started by stamping the frame on white cardstock, then I cut it into a square and attached it to some Simply Chartreuse Cardstock. Next I stamped the elephant and colored her with grey and pink Copics then paper pieced the ears. When I was done with that I paper pieced some chevron patterned paper into the frame then added the elephant with foam tape. After that I added the baby girl sentiment from the same set. Finally I stamped the hanger image on top of the frame and added a tiny pearl that I colored to match the patterened paper. All the patterned paper used on this card is from the You+Me digital scrapbook kit by Amy Jaz Designs. I finished off the card with some Enchanted Evening Saddle stitched ribbon, a hibiscus button and lots of machine stitching.
Please also join me in welcoming our guest designer this month Broni Holcombe
Be sure to check out her blog and the other sisters blogs to see what they have done with this sketch too.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Becky Carafa
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
I hope you will play along as well. You can find all the details and the place to link your card on Jen's Blog
That's it for now. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Exciting News To Share

2011-11-03T12:10:00.007-06:00

Happy Thursday! I hope your week has been a good one. Things are continuing to melt here after the snowstorm we had on Wednesday. We are suppose to get another round on Saturday but for now the sun is out and it is warming up nicely.
Today I want to share some exciting news with you. I have been chosen to be a part of Amy Jaz Designs creative team. I am very excited about this because as most of you know I love working with digital papers and Amy is great digital designer. This is her first kit. You + Me

I love the patterns and colors in this one. Here is the first project I made using the new kit.

I have been wanting to make one of these buggy's for awhile now and thought this would be the perfect chance. I started with the Bouncing Baby Buggy Template and reduced it to 50% then cut the base out of Enchanted Evening Cardstock. After that I added paper from the kit on the sides,hood and wheels. When I was done with that I added some pink baby pom pom trim then made the rosettes using this cut file also reduced by 50% and more digital paper. When I was done with that I added some New Leaf Satin ribbon tied in a bow and spring moss buttons them attached them to the sides of the hood. Finally I finished it off with a tag from the kit that I also reduced in size and stamped the word baby from the original PTI Mixed Messages set. As you can see I filled the buggy with Hersey's kisses but you could also fill them with small baby items such as a pacifier or baby socks too. These would make great favors at a baby shower.
There are so many things you can do with this kit. Amy has some great scrapbook pages she has made with it here. Also Be sure to check out what my fellow teammates Cara and Nat have done with this kit too.
I will be back on Saturday with another project I made with this kit and the November Sketch For You To Try. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Hanukkah Cards

2011-11-01T11:01:00.007-06:00

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a good Halloween yesterday if you celebrated it. Emilia has chosen not to trick or treat anymore but we still hand out candy. Most years we only have a few kids but this year we had a lot. My sister had bought me a big bag of 300 suckers for a craft project I wanted to do earlier in the year. I used a few though so they came in handy last night. It is hard to believe it is the 1st of November today too. It is all downhill to Christmas and Hanukkah now. Hanukkah starts on Dec 20th this year. I have been working on holiday items for my Etsy shop for a few weeks. If you remember a few months ago I made this Apple Iris Folded Card for Rosh Hashanna. I loved how that card came out so much I decided to make something similar for Hanukkah too. This is what I came up with.

The process was basically the same except I used this pattern for the dreidel. The patterned paper came from this digital paper pack. Gold Shimmer ribbon,a navy button and machine stitching finish it off.

I also came up with a new idea for a Menorah Card. This idea came to be after seeing birthday cards made with rolled paper candles. The base of the menorah is from Amy Abad. She was kind enough to share the SVG file with me after I saw this card she made with it on her blog last year. This is what I came up with.

I used more patterned paper from the same paper pack I used on the Dreidel card to make the candles then added silver cording for the flames. The base of the menorah was cut out of Enchanted Evening Cardstock and then embossed with tiny dots. I cut the letters using SCAl then added them to the menorah base with crystal effects. I finished the card off with machine stitching.
That's all for now were are expecting another snow storm here tomorrow hopefully it won't be as much as last week. We lost a few big branches in that one but at least it melted fast. I will be back soon with more to share. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one.

October Papertrey Bloghop

2011-10-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Tuesday! We have been enjoying beautiful weather here the last few days but the forecast says that is all suppose to change tomorrow. They are even predicting snow! I am not ready for that but unfortunately I can't control the weather so hopefully it won't be much. Today is also the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop

This month we were to use this photo for inspiration

This is what I came up with.

The first thing that caught my eye when I saw the photo was the pumpkins but I decided to go a different direction and focus on the colors and patterns instead. I also wanted to continue with my use of the Year Of Flower images and the Marigold, this months flower was perfect for this color combination.
I started by using this months Sketch for you to try again but this time I flipped it. I started by coloring the Marigold and leaves with Copics. After that I added striped and polka dot patterned paper from Echo Parks Tricks and Treats Paper Pack #1 as well as Ripe Avocado Bitty Dots Patterned Paper. Next I cut out the Mariogold and leaves then I added them to a piece of rustic cream cardstock. Finally I added another layer to the flower for dimension with foam tape. Ripe Avocado Saddle stitched Ribbon and some machine stitching finishes it off.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with on Nicole's blog now. I hope the rest of your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Homespun Holiday Gift

2011-10-15T14:02:00.010-06:00

Happy Saturday! I hope your week was a good one. It is unseasonably warm here today. The forecast said is was going to be 86 but I think they were wrong. It is only 73 right now but I am happy with that.
Today I want to share a holiday project with you that I have been working on all week. I know it is only October but December will be here before we know it so I am getting a head start now. I am a big fan of Melissa Phillips work and her stamp sets for Papertrey Ink. When I saw Erin Lincoln's brilliant idea to use the images in Melissa's Love Lives Here Holiday Set with Tag Sale Die #4 I was immediately inspired. This is what I came up with.

I started by using thin cardboard and Erin's technique for the base of the ornament and angel. After that I added a piece of cardstock from this paper pack that I machine stitched to the top of the ornament. Next I added a stamped angel then I added a tiny sign that I made by stamping the Merry Christmas Sentiment from Mixed messages and the tiny bough from LLHH then I added a thin piece of wire so it looks like she is holding the sign, I finished it off with tiny star and music note wings that I distressed. Enchanted Saddle stitched Ribbon was added to the top. After finishing the ornament I created a 4.25 inch card with plaid paper from this shop then I added a strip of music note patterned paper on top but instead of stitching the whole thing down I left a little open in the middle so the ornament can be detached. I did this by adding a tiny piece of folded cardstock on the back of the ornament. I also stamped the year.

Since our Christmas tree is in storage I took a photo of the ornament hanging on a bush in my front yard.

Because the card is so bulky it won't fit in a regular envelope so I decided to created a matching box for it. This is what I came up with

I made the box using this SVG file and Enchanted Evening Cardstock. I added another layer of cardstock to the top that was embossed with tiny dots. After that I added a belly band made from Vintage Cream Cardstock and more of the matching cardstock that I used on the card. Next I die cut fillable frames #4 and stamped the matching image. Finally I added the sentiment from LLHH to finish it off.
Now you have the perfect gift! A card,box and ornament all in one. I am really happy with how this came out. I hope you like it too.
I am also entering this in Wee Memories Challege #72
That's all for now I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

Birthday Wishes

2011-10-08T13:48:00.006-06:00

Happy Saturday! It is a cold and rainy day here. I know I said I wanted cooler weather but I didn't mean this cold. It is only in the 50's. It is suppose to warm up again next week though. Today is also my mama's birthday. My sister and I got her a new Sirius Satellite Radio since her other one broke. I also made her this.

I saw these on Kim's blog a few months ago and knew they would make a great gift for her since she is always putting post it note reminders around the house.
My mom likes bright colors like I do so I started with Raspberry Fizz Cardstock for the base than I added striped cardstock from the Cosmo Cricket Delovely paper pack. I made the flower using Bloom Builders #3 die and a yellow button. I finished it off with a Hawaiian Shores saddle stitched ribbon, leaves embossed with tiny dots and some machine stitching.
Here is a photo of it out of the packaging.

I also took her this for lunch.

You can find the recipe here. It is delicious. I make mine with brown rice though.
That's all for now I hope it is warm where you are and the rest of your weekend is a great one.

Baby Girl Onesie Card Personalized

2011-10-05T15:45:00.005-06:00

Happy Wednesday. I hope your week has been a good one. The weather is finally cooling off here and feeling more like fall. How is the weather where you are? It is suppose to be even cooler by Saturday which means I can start making our favorite fall and winter foods again.
A few months ago I made this card for the April Papertrey Blog hop and have been wanting to make one for a baby girl too. Yesterday I finally got the chance.
This is what I came up with.

This time I used the striped paper from Echo Park's Little Girl Paper Pack and the bunny from the Bitty Baby Blessings Stamp Set. I also edged this one with scallops cut from Hibiscus cardstock. Finally I added the name with letters cut from Simply Chartreuse cardstock.
That's it for now. I am off to work on a birthday gift for my mom. I will be back to share that with you on Saturday. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

October Sketch For You To Try

2011-10-01T07:00:00.005-06:00

Happy October! It does not really feel like October here though. It is in the 80's again and will be for the next few days. I usually love the heat but after the super hot August we had I am ready for some cooler weather. Today is also the 1st Saturday of the month which means it is time for another Sketch For You To Try.

This month our Sponsor is Waltzing Mouse Stamps.
I have been wanting to try Claire's stamps for awhile now and am really happy I finally got the chance.
This is the sketch

This is what I came up with

I chose to use the You're Lovely Stamp Set. I started by stamping the dress form image on Vintage Cream Cardstock. Then I paper pieced the bodice and added some tiny pearls to the middle. After that I distressed the edges sewed a border and matted it on Sweet Blush Cardstock. Next I added a piece of Spring Moss Cardstock that I embossed with tiny dots, sewed a border on then added a piece of lace on top. The floral background paper is from MadeByJanet's Etsy shop. I also added some roses I made using the Rambling Rose Cut File that I reduced to 50% and attached tiny pearls to the middles. Machine stitching finishes it off. Now you probably think this is just another card but it's not. It is actually a Folding Easel Box that I learned how to make from the Technique Junkies Fancy Folds and Motions CD.

There is also a drawer that pulls out which would be a great place to store vintage things.

Be sure to stop by the other sister's blogs and see what they have done with this sketch too.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Becky Carafa
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
I hope you will play along as well. You can find all the details and the place to link your card on Jen's Blog
That's it for now. I hope you have a great weekend and as always thanks for stopping by.

September Papertrey Bloghop

2011-09-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend has been a good one. Today is also the 25th of the month so that means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop

This is the photo we were to use for inspiration

This is what I came up with

This one was definitely a challenge for me. All I saw was stripes so I made my own patterned paper using Photoshop and incorporated the colors into the rest of the card. I also used this months Year of Flowers image Morning Glories and this months Sketch For You To Try again. There is still time for you to play along too.

The sentiment is from Fillable Frames #2 ,tiny embossed dots, a hibiscus button and some machine stitching finishes it off.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with now. I hope the rest of your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

52 Weeks Of Mail

2011-09-24T12:17:00.004-06:00

Do you like receiving personal, hand-written cards and letters?

Do you find it difficult to stay in touch with people because of your busy life?

The Etsy Greetings Team has come up with a fabulous way to keep in touch with your friends and loved ones in an intentional way....with 52 Weeks of Mail:
52 Weeks of Mail is designed to encourage people to commit to sending at LEAST one card or letter a week, for the next year! 52 Weeks of Mail starts on October 9th, 2011 and goes through October 7th, 2012. We are asking that you commit to doing this, and sticking with it!

Please feel free to blog about this, Tweet about it, post it on Facebook, and just spread the word as far as you can! We have a Facebook page, and we are trying to get 1000 likes by the end of September. Please help us reach this goal by letting your friends know about 52 Weeks of Mail.

If you are looking for some beautiful handmade cards to send, please visit Etsy and check out the abundance of offerings from the EtsyGreetingsTeam!

A Cupcake and CR84FN38

2011-09-20T10:59:00.005-06:00

Happy Tuesday! It is hard to believe over a week has gone by since my last post, that's because I have been busy working on a large custom order from my Etsy shop. It took me all week to do but thankfully I got it done and mailed out yesterday. Now I am free to make new things again.
Today I want to share a project I started working on before I got the custom order. I used the current CR84FN color challenge for my inspiration.

This is what I came up with

I have been wanting to make one of these cupcake boxes for awhile now and this was the perfect chance. I started with this SVG file from The Digichick using paper from Cosmo Crickets Delovely Paper Pack and this Digital Paper Pack. After putting the box together I added some white baby pom pom trim and a flower I made using this tutorial, Soft Stone Cardstock and a pearl stick pin. These boxes would make great favors for a party. You could even put a small cupcake in them. Since the weather was so hot this summer Emilia and I have not done any baking but will start back up again now that the weather has cooled down.I hope the rest of your week is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

September Peeps Challenge

2011-09-09T16:46:00.003-06:00

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. We have been enjoying cooler weather here. It was a bit to cold on Wednesday, I had to wear my winter PJ's to bed because I was freezing. We were back in the 70's now though which has been great.
Today I want to share a card I made for Carol's September Peeps Challenge which is to make a card, project or gift set incorporating a fall/harvesting theme. It was also the perfect opportunity to make a Rosh Hashanna card as well to celebrate the Jewish New Year which begins September 28th at sundown. This is what I came up with.

Apples are not only a symbol of fall but they are also symbolic at Rosh Hashanna too. I decided to try Iris Folding on this card and really love the results. I started by converting this pattern into an svg file then I cut it out with my Circut using SCAL and Rustic Vintage Cream Cardstock. Next I did the Iris Folding using papers from the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Collection. After that I added pieces of Aqua Mist Cardstock that I embossed with tiny dots to the middle and stem. When I was done with that I added a Fine Linen Saddle Stitched Bow with a Pure Poppy button and a tiny tag that I stamped,resized then printed the image from the Mazel Tov Set on. Finally I finished it off with a piece of Bazzil Cardstock and some machine stitching with aqua thread. I hope you will play along with us too. All the inspiration photos and information about the challenge are on the Peeps blog. That's it for now I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

September Sketch For You To Try

2011-09-03T06:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Saturday! Well I finally got my wish for the weather to cool off. Unfortunately with the cooler weather also came thunderstorms and lightening too which caused us to lose our internet yesterday afternoon. Thankfully it came back late last night so I could get this posted since today is also the first Saturday of the month which means it is time for another Sketch For You To Try.

This month our sponsor is Skipping Stones Designs They have a lot of great images so be sure to check out their website.
This is the sketch

This is what I came up with

I started by stamping the purse from the Birthday Purses Set on a Vintage Cream circle, then I paper pieced it with pattered paper from Echo Parks Victorian Gardens line. After that I colored in the handles with Copics then added a paper rose and a pearl in the middle. When I was done with that I matted it on a Hibiscus Burst scalloped circle and added some black stitching. I used more of the Victorian Gardens Patterened Paper in the background then stamped the sentiment from the Birthday Purses Set on a double end banner die cut that I matted with black cardstock. To finish the card off I added some more black stitching.
This month please join me in welcoming 2 new sisters to the team,
Becky Carafa and
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) as well as
Alyssa Scritchfield as our guest designer this month.
Be sure to stop by their blogs for a visit and don't forget to stop by Jen's Blog and the other sisters blogs to see what they did with this sketch as well.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Sony Christoph
We would also love for you to play along too. You can find all the details and the place to link your card here.
That's it for now. I hope you have a great holiday weekend and as always thanks for stopping by.

Back To School Challenges

2011-09-01T15:37:00.012-06:00

ETA: This project was a winner! Thanks so much Wee Memories.

Happy September! It is hard to believe it is the first day of September with the 90 degree weather we are having today. It is finally suppose to cool off tomorrow though and I am ready for it.
Today I want to share a back to school project I made. It also qualifies for the current Wee Memories Challenge andJUGS Challenge too.
This is what I came up with

I fell in love with these little mini backpacks when I first saw them here and thought this would be the perfect time to make one.
I started by cutting the base out of PTI Pure Poppy Cardstock. Next I cut the top piece and the pocket out of the striped paper in this digital paper pack. When I was done with that I did some machine stitching then added Harvest Gold Satin Ribbon for the straps and bow on front then finished it off with a Harvest Gold button. I also added Velcro under the flaps so the receiver can open it.
Inside they will find these

3 matching notecards. They fit perfectly in the backpack. I used Tag It's 6 and Way to go Kiddo for the images. The rest is pretty self explanatory. I got the idea to add the ribbon from this card and love how it finishes them off.
Here is the backpack and the note cards together

I think this would make a great gift for a child that is just starting school.
That's it for now I will be back Saturday with a new Sketch For You To Try. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping
by.

Year of Flowers Gladiolus and a Sketch Challenge

2011-08-27T10:50:00.006-06:00

Happy Saturday. I hope those of you on the East coast are staying safe and the Hurricane will not be as bad as they have predicted. We are still hot and dry here. I am really ready to be done with the 90's.
Today I want to share a card with you that I made for the sketch challenge on the Cosmo Cricket blog. The sketch was designed by one of my favorite stampers Debbie Olson. I have admired her work since her days as member of the Technique Junkies design team. Her Copic coloring is amazing and I am continually inspired by her work so I knew I had to play along. Here is the sketch

This is what I came up with

First off I am continuing with the challenge to myself to use all of The PTI Year Of The Flower sets this year so I started by stamping August's flower the Gladiolus. This time I used the mini version though. After that I colored it with Copics. Next I stamped images from the PTI Garden Variety set on Vintage Cream Cardstock with black ink then attached the floral piece. This challenge also gave me the chance to finally use my Circa 1934 paper. All the patterned paper on this card is from that collection. The buttons on the bottom were made with the PTI button dies and Circa PP as well. This may look like just another card but it's not, under the main image I attached a seed pack and tucked in the flap so there is a hidden gift card holder too.

To finish the card off I added some machine stitching, Harvest Gold Satin Ribbon and a black button.
Thanks Debbie for a great sketch! There is also a chance to get published in Cards Magazine by participating in this challenge. I have only been published twice so I would love to be picked. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

August Papertrey Bloghop

2011-08-25T08:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Thursday! It is also the 25th of the month so it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.
This month the challenge was to use this photo for inspiration.

This is what I came up with.

The first thing that caught my eye in the photo besides the colors was the lining in the suitcase. I ended up making my own patterned paper to match using an image from the Mat Stack 2 set and the tiny dot in Little Argyle. I stamped those images on Vintage Cream Cardstock using Close To My Heart Bamboo Ink.
This is what the background looks like close up

The next thing that I noticed were the flowers and the jar. I stamped the images from the Summer Jar Fillers Set scanned them, made them smaller then printed them out. I colored the flowers with Copic Sketch Markers then added Liquid Pearls to the middles. I watercolored the jar a light blue to match the girls dress then cut out the flowers and attached them to the jar with foam tape to give them dimension. Next I added the sentiment from Little Lables that I also scanned, made smaller and printed out. The side panel was embossed with script that was inspired by the books. I made some ribbon to match the piece around the jar in the photo using vintage cream twill an the same image I used for the patterned paper but I did not like how it looked when I tried to add it to the jar so I left it off. This is what it looked like though. I finished the card off with some crochet trim and lots of machine stitching. I also used this months Sketch For You To Try for my layout.

There is still time for you to play along too. Check out Jen's blog for more details.
That's all for now I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with on Nicole's blog. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one!

Celebrations

2011-08-20T10:40:00.009-06:00

Happy Saturday! Time seems to have gotten away from me again since it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. We are still enjoying summer here but it has finally started to cool off some that is not a bad thing though. As much as I love summer and warm weather all those 90's are starting to be a bit much for me.
Today is my sisters 40th birthday. I have been working on a gift for her all week. I finally got it done yesterday and want to share it with you. This is what I came up with.

My sister loves roses and gardening so when I saw this beautiful watering can on Geri's Blog I knew it would be the perfect gift for her.
I started by making the Patterned Paper using stamps from the Stampin Up Baby Blossoms set. I fell in love with this set when I saw Nerina use it here. Unfortunately it is retired now but I was able to find a set on Ebay. I don't use many SU stamps in my work but I love this set. After stamping the background I cut panels and sewed them on to the base of the watering can. I embossed the handles spout and front piece with tiny dots. Finally I added some Hibiscus Satin Ribbon and a tiny button to the front. I also made felt flowers using the MFT rolled rose die and added stems to them so they would fit in the watering can. She loves to collect Knick Knacks so this should be a perfect addition. To go along with the watering can I made a matching card using more of the Patterned Paper. The striped piece was made by stamping a stripe from the PTI Faux Ribbon set stamped on Spring Moss Cardstock with Simply Chartreuse Ink. The Sentiment is from the PTI Little Labels Set. Inside I added a tiny pocket and a Starbucks Gift card.
My sister is very special to me so I made sure to make this gift extra special too.
Today is also my 4 year blogging anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been 4 years since I started this blog. I was reading some of the very first posts I wrote last night and a lot has changed since then it is fun to look back though. I enjoy sharing my work and what is going on in my life here. I am very grateful for all of you that take the time to visit and the comments that you leave me really brighten my day too. That's all for now, I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

Thanks A Melon

2011-08-09T11:22:00.007-06:00

ETA: This card was selected as the Cup of the Week! Thanks so much Playdate Cafe. I am very honored to have received this award.

Happy Tuesday! I hope your week has started off well. Today I want to share a card I made for this weeks Playdate Cafe Challenge #93

This is what I came up with

When I saw the colors I immediately thought about watermelons. I started by using the Watermelon shaped card template from The Cutting Cafe. I cut the main piece from Stampers Select White cardstock and the layers from paper in this digi pack I also added some petite white pom pom trim from Sugar Pink Boutique, The seeds were cut out of October Afternoon Cardstock and covered with Crystal Effects. To finish it off I added some Raspberry Fizz Satin Ribbon, a black button and a Tiny tag that was stamped with the sentiment from Melissa Bickfords Fruit Fusion Melon set. I think these would make cute thank you notes for a summer party. That's all for now I will be back soon with more to share. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and thanks for stopping by.

August Sketch For You To Try

2011-08-06T06:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday! It is also the first Saturday of the month so that means it is time for another Sketch For You To Try.

This month our sponsor is Kraftin'Kimmie Stamps. I didn't use their stamps on my card but you should still check them out because they have lots of cute images and their August release is coming soon.

This is the Sketch

This is what I came up with

After I saw the sketch I thought would be the perfect time to use my new PTI ice cream cone die and matching stamp set with. I started by cutting the ice cream out of Bitty Dots Patterned Cardstock then added white baby pom pom trim. The cone was cut out of Kraft cardstock then stamped with Chai ink and faux stitched with a black pen. The pattern papers are from this digi paper pack. The sentiment is from the PTI Sweet As Can Be stamp set stamped on a double banner die cut. 2 black buttons, a tiny flower with a pearl and machine stitching finishes it off. I am really loving the black and pink color combo. I hope you do too.
This month please join me in welcoming Tenia Nelson as our guest designer. Also be sure to stop by Jen's Blog and the other sisters blogs to see what they did with this sketch as well.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Sony Christoph
I hope you will play along with us this month too. Be sure to link it up on Jen's blog when you are done. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. That's all for now. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

17 years

2011-08-03T11:24:00.004-06:00

Happy Wednesday! 17 years ago today Rich and I got married. I know I say this every year but where does the time go? It is hard to believe that much time has gone by since then. In honor of this special day I made him this card.

Keeping with his love of birds I finally got to use my Love Birds stamp set. I started by embossing a square on the front of Stampers Select White Cardstock. After that I diecut the large cage and stamped it. Next I added the 2 birds and a heart then attached it to the card. When I was done with that I stamped the chain and the sentiment from Fillable Frames #4. To finish it off I drew a black frame where the embossed lines were and matted it on Pure Poppy and Black Cardstock. This is a very clean and simple card but that is what he likes. The colors are not his favorite but I thought they went great with the birds. Hopefully he will still like it. That's all for now I will be back Saturday with a new Sketch For You To Try. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great on and thanks for stopping by.

Berry Sweet

2011-08-01T10:52:00.007-06:00

Happy Monday! I can't believe it is the 1st of August already. Summer always goes by way to fast. It is still hot and dry here, 18 days of 90 degrees or higher temps but no complaints from me though. We never did get to go to Jackson State Park last week like we planned to because Rich did so many things with his brother and nephew while they were here he just wanted to stay home and relax after they left. We hope to still go when it cools off though.
Today Emilia and I started homeschooling again. This is our last year with Calvert because they only go up to 8th grade. We will only be doing school part time until after Labor day but I am glad we are getting started now because after looking over the curriculum it looks like it it is going to be even more challenging than last year. This has me a bit anxious but hopefully by easing our way into it slowly it won't be to much for us.
Today I want to share a card I made over the weekend. This is what I came up with

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits so when I saw this template I knew I had to have it. I started by cutting the base out of Stampers Select White Cardstock. After that I cut the front piece out of some paper from My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie paper pack. The leaves were cut out of patterned paper from this digi pack. I made the daisy using the smallest beautiful blooms II die then added a yellow button. I stamped the sentiment from the PTI Mini Berry Stamp Set on a tag from this cut file. Some black polka dot ribbon and machine stitching finishes it off.
Rich, Emilia and I went to Sweet Williams Market on Saturday and I got the Vintage Silver Flower Frog that I used to hold the card. I have been looking for something like this for awhile now and was thrilled to find it.
That's all for now. I hope your weeks is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

July Papertrey Bloghop

2011-07-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday! Today is also the 25th of the month so that means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.

This month we were to use this photo for inspiration.

This is what I came up with

My inspiration for this card came from the colors, quilt and pillow with the butterflies.
I started by punching out different patterned papers from
Tracy ann Digital Art and essentiallySCRAPN Etsy shops. Next I pieced them together then machine quilted them. After that I added the border then matted the quilt square on Orange Zest Cardstock that I embossed with a Moroccan Screen design. To finish it off I added different colored butterflies that I cut using the Fly Away die and added tiny pearls to the middles.
I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is a great one.

Bluejay Birthday

2011-07-24T16:17:00.004-06:00

Happy Sunday. I hope you are all having a good weekend. Today is Rich's Birthday. He wanted to go birdwatching at Jackson Lake State Park to hopefully see some new birds since we have not been there before but since his brother and nephew are here visiting we will do that later in the week. In the meantime I made him this card.

The Bluejay is his second favorite bird. The image is from the All Things of Nature Set from The Angel Company. Unfortunately it is retired but at least I am getting a lot of use out of it now. I started by stamping the Bluejay then I stamped some script from another retired TAC stamp on top of it using Chamomile ink. Next I colored in the bird and branch using Copics. After that I sponged around the image then did the cracked glass technique and matted it on a piece of PTI Blueberry Sky cardstock. The patterned paper on the left is from the TAC Amberly Grace Paper Pack. The paper on the right is PTI Ripe Avocado Cardstock embossed with leaves and branches. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from the PTI Birthday Basics Stamp set. I finished it off with some machine stitching. He likes his cards Clean and Simple so I had to stop there but am happy with how it turned out. He really like it too. Emilia and I also gave him a new bird book, a chirping stuffed nuthatch and a record. I also made him another Keylime Pie like the one I made last year too. Overall I think he has had a pretty good day. That's all for now. I will be back tomorrow with my PTI bloghop project. Until then I hope the rest of your day is a great one!

Peeps July Challenge

2011-07-21T15:53:00.006-06:00

Happy Thursday! I hope your week has been a good one. We have only had one storm this week so far and it is hot again. Not complaining though. This weather has been great for our tomatoes We put them in pots this year in the direct sun and it has helped a lot. This hot weather also means Emilia can get back in the pool

Today I am sharing a project I made for this months Peeps Challenge which is hosted by Nerina. The challenge is:

"to take some inspiration from any picture or combination of pictures from the site ... but if you use co-ordinating scraps (those lonely little bits) of patterned paper from your stash and incorporate a flower - you get extra points in my book!"

I had never heard of Cath Kidston before this challenge but after checking out her website I was really inspired by the bags so this is what I came up with.

I was also inspired by the fabric in the upper left corner I found on this blog I started by using the new Carry Clutch Template from My Time Made Easy and shrunk it down to 50%. Next I cut the base out of PTI Blueberry Sky Cardstock then embossed it with tiny dots. After that I added some patterned paper from the Girls Paperie Kitch Line which I think is a great match to the fabric. Unfortunately they are not making it anymore but I was able to find some more online so I can make a bigger bag in the future with it. I sewed the patterned paper on to the base then I added the handles and silver brads. I had planned on adding a mini rose but didn't want to cover up the paper so I left it off. Instead I added a tiny tag in the corner. I am really happy with how this come out. I hope you like it too.
Sunday is Rich's birthday and his brother and nephew are coming tonight from Texas for a visit. I am off to make him a birthday card now so I will be back soon to share it with you. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Year Of Flowers Larkspurs

2011-07-15T15:57:00.005-06:00

Happy Friday. I hope your week has been a good one. Thankfully my dentist appointment went well and there were no new problems. Our rainy afternoons continued all week though with a major lightening storm Wednesday night. Yesterday afternoon we had torrential winds and hail. Thankfully the sky is still blue as I type this and not a cloud in site. I hope it stays that way for the rest of the day and that means we are done with all the rain for now.
Today I want to share another card I made for this months SFYTT
This is what I came up with.

Continuing with my use of the PTI Year Of Flowers series. I started by stamping this months flower the Larkspur on a piece of stampers select white cardstock that I cut with the Button Card Die. After that I colored them with Copics. The Simply Chartreuse piece was embossed with Script. A piece of Plum Pudding Bitty Dots Cardstock was added on the side. 3 die cut butterflies, a piece of Lavender Moon Saddle Stitched Ribbon, pearl embellishments and some machine stitching finish it off.
There is still time for you to play along with this sketch too. All the details are on Jen's blog. That's it for now. I hope you have a great weekend and I will be back soon with more to share.

Personalized Zebra Overalls and a CAS challenge

2011-07-11T17:21:00.006-06:00

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. It has been raining every afternoon for almost a week here. We got so much rain last Thursday our patio was flooding and water was coming in the house. Thankfully we caught it in time though. The humidity has also been terrible. I am use to dry air. What a crazy July. I know we needed the moisture but I think we have had enough now so I hope it stops soon.
I spent most of last week working on a custom order that someone on Etsy requested. I finished it on Friday but am still awaiting payment. In the future I am going to get payment before hand. I just hope she pays me soon.
The rest of the weekend I worked on a shape card. Today I want to share it with you. I am also entering it in the this weeks CAS-ual Friday Challenge which is to make a shape card too. I hope it qualifies though because I have a hard time leaving things clean and simple. This is what I came up with

I started with this template from The Cutting Cafe. I cut the front out of Blueberry Sky Cardstock then did the Faux Denim Technique to make it look like Jean material. Next I cut some Zebra PP that I got from this Etsy shop and added it to the middle of the overalls and the bottom of the legs. After that I cut some Bitty Dots Raspberry Fizz Cardstock for the bib and added some Ric Rac trim then I attached it to the front of the overalls. I personalized the overalls with the letter E. I wish they would have made real overalls like these when Emilia was little. I would have loved to have dressed her in them. To finish the overalls off I added 2 silver brads and some machine stitching.
That's all for now. I have to go to the dentist for my 6 month checkup tomorrow. I am already worrying about it. I hate going to the dentist. I just pray they don't find anything wrong. That's it for now. I hope the rest of your week is a good one and I will be back soon with more to share.

July Sketch For You To Try

2011-07-02T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy July! I can't believe the year is already half gone. Where does the time go? I always look forward to this time of year though because one my favorite shows Big Brother starts soon.
Since it is the first Saturday of the month it is time for another Sketch For You To Try.

This is what I came up with.

This month out sponsor is My Favorite Things. I chose to work with The Pure Innocence Tea Party stamps I love the PI images and this one has been on my wish list for awhile now so I was really excited to get to use it. I also got the chance to try the Die-Namics rolled roses dies with felt and am really happy with the results. Because the main images were so large I enlarged the sketch to 6x6. I started by stamping the images then paper pieced and colored them with Copic sketch markers. The PP in the background is from Create Paper Emma's Shop. The Lovely Lilac piece on the side was embossed with tiny dots. I finished the card off with machine stitching, Hibiscus Saddle Stitched Ribbon and a Lemon Tart button.
You might think this is just another card but look again.
I made a 6x6 box and added it to the top. Jen did a tutorial for how to make these boxes in the 4x4 size here. I made mine with 2 8x8 sheets of cardstock. I think these would make great favors filled with different flavors of tea for a little girls tea party.
This month please join me in welcoming Debbie Carriere as our guest designer. Also be sure to stop by Jen's Blog and the other sisters blogs to see what they did with this sketch as well.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
Sony Christoph
We are also saying goodbye to Kelly Luceford since she having a new baby very soon. She will definitely be missed but I wish her all the best.
I hope you will play along with us this month too! Be sure to link your card on Jen's Blog when your done. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. In the meantime I hope you have a safe 4th and the rest of your weekend is a great one!

Barrow Of Blooms

2011-06-29T11:30:00.011-06:00

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is going well. It is a hot one here with temperatures in the 90's. Emilia has been spending a lot of time in the pool to stay cool while I have been sitting on the swing reading Twilight. I started with the last book in the series so I am reading them from the beginning now.
Today I want to share a project with you that I started a few weeks ago for a CR84FN challenge (Pink, Green and Cream) but didn't get it done it time. I finally finished it yesterday and am entering it this weeks Shabby Tea Room Challenge which is to use your favorite papers and embellishments.

I started by using the Bouncing Baby Buggy Template from My Time Made Easy for my base. The patterned paper on the sides is from Beatriz Jennings Etsy shop. I love her digital papers.I used some of the pieces from the The Barrow Of Blooms template for the handles and wheels the rest I created by hand. Paper lace was added to the sides and a handmade flower was added to front panel.
After I was done making the wheel barrow I decided to make some matching seed packets.

The packets were made with the MTME Simple Seedling Cut file. I stamped the main image from the Garden Variety Stamp set on vintage cream cardstock after cutting out the middle with the PTI Seed Packet Frame Die. My favorite kind of embellishments are handmade flowers. I originally saw these on Pinterest. I finally got a chance to make some using this tutorial Beautiful Blooms dies 2 and 3 and Berry Sorbet Cardstock. I love how they turned out and think they make a great addition to the seed packets. Here is a closeup of the flowers. I tied the seed packets shut with some Sweet Blush Satin Ribbon.

I am really happy with how this turned out. I hope you like it too. I will be back Saturday with a new Sketch For You To Try. Until then I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Papertrey June Bloghop

2011-06-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday! It is also the 25th of the month which means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop

This month the challenge was to use this photo for inspiration.

This is what I came up with.

Some of you may remember me using this click simple onesie template for the masculine bloghop a few months ago but when I saw the inspiration photo I knew it would be perfect for this challenge too so I am using it again. I began by cutting the onesie out of Stampers Select White Cardstock. Next I used the same technique Nicole did in this post on the front to look like the wall. The dresses in the photo inspired me to created the skirt/tutu by cutting strips of pink tulle then I tied them to some hot pink ribbon and attached it. When you lift the skirt up you can see the rest of the colors that are on the wall. After that I added some scalloped trim to the neck and sleeves cut from Raspberry Fizz Cardstock. Finally I added an embossed butterfly diecut that was inspired by the hook on the wall then I attached 2 tiny pearls finish it off. I am really happy with how this came out. I hope you like it too. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with on Nicole's blog now. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!

Cupcakes For You.

2011-06-21T11:44:00.008-06:00

Happy Summer! I hope it feels like it where you are. Yesterday it was cool and rainy here but thankfully the sun is back today and it feels like summer again.
Today I want to share another card I made with this months SFYTT.

I finally got a chance to ink up Harriet Lulu the stamp I chose to work with from Stamping Bella our sponsor this month. This is what I came up with.

I started by flipping the sketch. Next I stamped Harriet then colored her with Copics. The patterned paper is from Cosmo Crickets Delovely paper pack and Crate Papers Portrait collection. The Raspberry Fizz and Harvest Gold Cardstock is from Papertrey Ink. The little flower behind the PTI button is from PTI's Tiny Tags set. Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon and lots of machine stitching finishes it off.
There is still time for you to play along too. Check out Jen's blog for details.
That's it for now, I am off to enjoy this beautiful weather we are having by sitting outside and reading a book while Emilia swims. I hope you are able to enjoy the first day of summer where you are too. As always thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon with more to share.

Happy Father's Day And The June Peeps Challenge

2011-06-19T10:29:00.009-06:00

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there. I am not a morning person but for being such a great dad I got up early and made Rich Eggs Benedict for breakfast then we sat outside enjoying the beautiful morning. He and Emilia are off playing tennis now.

In honor of Fathers Day I also made him this card which qualifies for Cammie's challenge on the Peeps blog too. The challenge is to make a masculine card. They are not easy for me to do but I think this was one of those cards that was meant to be. This is what I came up with.

Rich is really into birding now. I knew I had some bird stamps from The Angel Company that I bought many years ago but when I pulled them out I discovered that one of them was his favorite bird the Nuthatch.I had seen this card on Pinterest last week that I used for inspiration but I changed mine up a bit. I did the same technique for the background by sponging white acrylic paint over Kraft then stamped the PTI Little Argyle image with Hawaiian Shores Ink on top of it. Next I stamped the bird with Versamark and embossed it with black embossing powder. One my first try I stamped the bird on the bottom of the card but it didn't look right and I was getting very frustrated with it but after taking a break and Goggling some photos of Nuthatches I discovered that the bird sits on the side of the trunk so I turned the card stamped some more trunk and this is what I got. I could not be happier with it. I finished the card by stamping and embossing the sentiment from Fillable Frames 4 then added some machine stitching with black tread to create a frame. I was going to add some twine and buttons but then it started to look to cluttered and Rich likes simple cards so I left it as is. I am very happy with how it came out and he loved it too! Emilia and I finished 7th grade last week so we are taking at least 6 weeks off now. That also means I will get more stamping time so I will be back soon with more to share. Until then I hope you have a great day and as always thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Quilt Card

2011-06-10T11:09:00.010-06:00

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a good week. Rich caught a bad cold/virus last weekend and shared it with Emilia and I so we are sick now. I hate being sick especially in the summer. Nothing is worse then being stuffed up in June. Rich is doing better now so hopefully it won't last to long for us either and we will be back to normal soon too. The hot weather we were enjoying has gone for now and we are back in the 70's not such a bad thing when you are sick though.
Today I wanted to share a card that I made for a challenge hosted by my Etsygreetings team. We were suppose to make something using the digi paper pack from this seller. This is what I came up with.

As most of you probably know besides stamping I also love quilting. I still have not finished the first quilt I started over 10 years ago because I am quilting it by hand but I love combining quilting and papercrafting because it does not take as long to do. I started by punching 3/4 inch squares of the pattern paper and solid cardstock than I used this tutorial for how to make the block then pieced it together on white cardstock. After that I machine quilted it. Next I stamped the sentiment from the PTI Quilters Samplers set then scanned it and resized it. After that I cut it out with a Spellbinders ribbon slider die and threaded some spring moss twill riboon through it. I embossed the blue background piece using a Tim Holtz Damask Embossing Folder. Some more machine stitching and a Spring Moss Twill bow and spring rain button finish it off.
That's it for now I hope to be back with more to share soon. Until then I hope you have a great weekend and as always thanks for stopping by.

June Sketch For You To Try

2011-06-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy June! Summer has finally found it's way here. The pool is up and I get to wear the cute sandals my mom bought for my birthday back in March now. We have about 10 days of school left and then we will be done with the 7th grade. Both Emilia and I are ready for a break. I just hope the great weather we are having now sticks around for awhile. I am hoping to plant some herbs and tomatoes this weekend too.

Today is also the 1st Saturday of the month which means it is time for another Sketch For You To Try. This month our sponsor is Stamping Bella. Unfortunately the image I chose to work with did not arrive yet but as soon as it does I will be making another card with it. In the meantime here is the sketch

This is what I came up with.

Continuing with my use of the PTI Year Of Flowers stamps I started by stamping then scanning and resizing this months flower, the rose. After that I printed it out twice on Neenah White Cardstock then colored it with the PTI Sweet Blush Copic Trio. After I was done with that I cut out the middle of the second image then attached it with foam tape to the first one to make it 3 dimensional then I cut it out using a circle Nestabilitie Die and distressed the edges with Chamomile Ink. Continuing with the sketch I used floral patterned paper from Beatriz Jennings Etsy Shop behind the rose. The Gingham Patterned Paper is from the Girls Paperie Vintage Whimsy Collection. The Aqua Mist Piece was embossed with tiny dots. I matted all the layers using Berry Sorbet Cardstock. The tiny tag was made with the PTI Tiny Tags stamps and dies. The sentiment is from the original Mixed Messages set. I attached the tag to some Berry Sorbet Grosgrain ribbon then added an Aqua mist button on top. To finish the card off I added some machine stitching.
This month please join me in welcoming Joanne Basile as our guest designer. Also be sure to stop by Jen's Blog and the other sisters blogs to see what they did with this sketch as well.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Susan Liles
Jen Tapler
I hope you will play along with us this month too! It is really a fun sketch. Be sure to link your card on Jen's Blog when your done. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. In the meantime I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Sweet On You

2011-05-28T17:47:00.008-06:00

Happy Saturday. I hope you are having a nice holiday weekend where you are. We were planning on putting the pool up this weekend but it is not warm enough. It is only in the 60's here. This has been one of the worst Mays weather wise I can remember. We have not even been able to plant our garden yet. Hopefully next weekend it will finally start to warm up so we can get those things done and it will feel more like summer.
Today I wanted to share another card using this months Sketch For You To Try.

You still have a few days left to play along for a chance to win some great stamps, so head over to Jen's blog to link up your card when it is done.
I am also entering this card in this weeks Wee Memories Challenge which is to use something from Etsy or Pintrest as your inspiration.
As most of you know I already love Etsy but I recently became a member of Pintrest and love it there now too! It is such a happy place! I especially like having a place to put all my inspiration and seeing what inspires others too. This is the inspiration photo I chose to use for this challenge

This is what I came up with.

I started by using the PTI Polka Dot Basics Stamps set to make the turquoise and white patterned paper. Next I stamped the stem image from Melissa Bickfords new Cherry stamp set then paper pieced the leaves and added some felt die cuts that I stitched with white embroidery floss. After that I added a circle border using different size circles then I stamped the matching sentiment in the smaller circle. Pure Poppy Bitty Dots Patterned Paper and some machine stitching finishes it off.
That's it for now I hope you have a great Memorial Day and I will be back soon with more to share.

Papertrey May Bloghop

2011-05-25T00:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Wednesday! It is also the 25th so it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.

This month the theme is Flowers.
I have a lot of ideas for things to make with flowers but I only had time to make one thing so this is what I came up with.

I originally started this card last week for the Case Study Challenge using this card made by Sara Martina Parker as my inspiration. Unfortunately I did not get it done in time to enter that challenge but since it already had flowers on it I decided to finish it and use it for the Bloghop instead. I started by stamping the tulips from the Spring Jar Fillers set then scanned them and scaled them down to fit on a button card diecut. Next I cut out another button card and cut the center out using an oval Nestability die to make it look like a seed packet then I colored the tulips with Copics. When I was done with that I stamped the sentiment from Flower Garden sentiments on a frame image from the Mat Stack 2 set which by the way fits perfectly on the button cards. The patterned cardstock is from Crate Paper's Portrait collection. The crochet trim is from my stash. I made the seam binding by spraying some light blue that I had with turquoise glimmer mist. The medallion flower was made using this tutorial but I only used 6" of felt. The silver button is from Tim Holtz. Some pearl embellishments and machine stitching finish it off.
I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with on Nicole's blog now because I can never have enough ideas for things to make with flowers! I hope to be back soon with more to share. Thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one!

A Mother's Day Gift For My Mom

2011-05-15T16:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Sunday. I hope your weekend has been a good one. Not much new to report here except the weather. What a difference a week makes. Last weekend we were basking in 80 degree temperatures this weekend it has been cold and rainy we have not even made it to 50. That's Colorado for you. Wait a minute and the weather will change. Thankfully it is suppose to warm up tomorrow though. I am looking forward to that because it would be nice to see some sun.
Today I wanted to share this exercise journal I made for my mom for Mother's Day.

My mother loves to exercise. Back in 2009 for her birthday, I made this journalfor her. About a month ago she called me to say she had used all the pages in that one and could I make her another one. Of course I said yes and thought it would make a great Mother's Day gift.
I started by covering the notebook with daisy fabric. After that I cut a scalloped circle from Lemon Tart Bitty Dots patterned paper. Next I stamped the bike image again from PTI's Everyday Button Set on a plain white circle then colored it with Copics. When I was done with that I added buttons made from the PTI button dies and stamp set for the wheels.
Finally I cut letters to spell exercise using my Cricut than attached them to a PTI Double Ended Banner die cut and added crystal effects to give them dimension and to make them shine. I kept trying to add things above the bike but everything I tried didn't look right so I decided it was finished. When I gave the journal to my mom she said she loved it as is so I am really happy I stopped myself from adding anything else then.
That's it for now. I have some new ideas for things to make now so I am off to try and ttart working on them. Hopefully they will keep me occupied while I wait to receive my new Papertrey goodies that I ordered last night. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

The Shabby Tea Room All Ruffled Up Cupcake

2011-05-08T22:00:00.005-06:00

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was a great one and all you mom's had a wonderful Mother's Day. It has felt like summer here the last few days with temperatures in the 80's. That is all suppose to change come Wednesday but we are enjoying it while it lasts though.
Today I am honored to be a guest designer in The Shabby Tea Room. The challenge this week is called All Ruffled up. This is the inspiration photo

I am still trying to master the shabby chic style that I love so much but when I saw this photo I knew exactly what I wanted to do. This is what I came up with

A few months ago I saw a video showing how to make these cupcake giftcard holders and knew they would be perfect for this challenge. You can see the video for how to make them here.
As you will see I decorated mine a bit differently though. I used Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate and White Satin ribbon for my ruffled frosting. The roses were made with the same SVG File I used for my heart box a few months ago. The liner was made from Girl's Paperie Cardstock. White pom pom trim and angel dust glitter finishes it off. Here is a photo showing the gift card pulled out.

I hope you will play along with us this week too. I will be back soon to share the gift I made for my mom for Mother's Day. Until then I hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

May SFYTT

2011-05-07T07:00:00.003-06:00

It is the first Saturday of May so it is time for another Sketch For You To Try

Our sponsor this month is Your Next Stamp
Even though I didn't use their images on my card you should still check them out because they have a lot of cute stamps. Make sure to take advantage of the discount too.
This is what I came up with

Continuing with my use of the PTI YOF sets, I used this month's flower Lilly Of The Valley. I started by stamping the large sweet pea image on a paper doily with Momento Black ink then colored it with Copics. After that I cut the doily down to a smaller circle. Next I pieced together the background using patterned paper from Melissa Frances 5th Ave Paper Pack, PTI's Bitty Dots Paper Pack and Crate Papers Portrait collection then I machine stitched it all together. When I was done with that I added a scalloped circle and a pink butterfly that was cut from a Love Live's Here Die and covered it with angel dust glitter. I attached a piece of Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon down the middle and made ruffles with it. To finish the card off I stamped the Merci sentiment from the PTI Birds of A Feather Set.
This month please join me in welcoming Jen Tapler as our Newest SFYTT Sister and Kerri Michaud as our Guest Designer too.
Also make sure to stop by Jen's Blog and the other sisters to see what they did with this sketch as well.
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Sonny Christoph
Susan Liles
I hope you will play along with us this month too! Be sure to link your card on Jen's Blog I look forward to seeing what you make. I am off to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having now. I hope all you mom's have a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow also be sure to stop back on Monday to see my guest designer project for The Shabby Tea Room. Until then I hope your weekend is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by!

May Peeps Challenge. April Flowers Bring May Flowers

2011-05-01T21:03:00.010-06:00

Happy May! I hope your weekend was a good one. The weather has been cold and rainy here. It feels more like the beginning of April. Thankfully it is suppose to warm up starting tomorrow though. This month it is my turn to host the challenge on the Peeps Blog. I decided to make it an easy one, all you have to do is make something with flowers in honor of the saying April Showers Bring May Flowers. This is what I came up with.

I have been wanting to make a flower pot card for awhile now and decided this was the perfect chance. I started with this Flower Pot SVG cutting file. I cut the pot using Raspberry Fizz Cardstock. Then I stamped the polka dots with Versamark Ink and embossed them with white embossing powder. The flowers were made with this SVG file. After I cut them out with my Cricut I ran them through my paper crimper to give them some texture. When I was done with that I added buttons to the middles made with the PTI button dies and stamped with the Bitty Background Gingham pattern. I also added some paper lace trim and tied some Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon around the top of the pot. Finally I finished it off with a tiny tag stamped with the word mom. As you can see the flowers come out and there is plenty of room to write a personal message. There is also room in the pocket to add a gift card as well. I hope you will get a chance to play along with us. You don't have to make your own flowers like I did you can use flower stamps or floral patterned paper too. You can link your project on the Peeps Blog.
That's it for now. I will be back Saturday with a new SFYTT and next Monday with my guest designer project for the Shabby Tea Room too. Until then I hope you have a great week and as always thanks for stopping by.

Papertrey April Bloghop

2011-04-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. It has been cold and rainy here. I hope the weather is better where you are. Today is the 25th of the month so that means it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.
This month the theme is Boys To Men which means we were to to make a masculine project. That is definitely a challenge for me because I love pink and making girly things but after giving it some thought this is what I came up with.

I started by using the Onesie from the PTI Click Simple Rock A Bye Baby Templates and Cardstock from Echo Parks Little Boy Paper Pack. Next I stamped the sailboat image from Bitty Baby Blessings then paper pieced it. After that I punched it out with a 1.75" circle punch then sewed around it with my sewing machine. When I was done with that I layered it on another circle cut from Enchanted Evening Cardstock then covered the image in Liquid Glass. I also trimmed the leg openings, sleeves and collar with more enchanted evening cardstock as well. To finish the card off I personalized the onesie by adding the name Jack with letters I cut with my Cricut then finished them off with more Liquid Glass. I think these would make great baby cards. I just need to find someone having a baby boy named Jack to give this one to. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. The full list of participants is on Nicole's Blog. I can definitely use the inspiration for making more masculine cards since they are such a challenge for me. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week!

April Peeps Challenge And Another SFYTT Sample

2011-04-18T18:01:00.007-06:00

I hope your week has started off well. Not much new to report here. The weather has been pretty good but we are in desperate need for some rain though. I just hope it does not hit us all at once.
Today I wanted to share another sample for this months SFYTT. There is still plenty of time to for you to play along.

I am continuing on with the challenge to myself to use my Papertrey Ink Year Of Flowers stamps. This month's flower is the Sweet Pea. I also incorporated the current Peeps Challenge hosted by Peggy Sue to use black as a bold accent or main color. This is what I came up with.

I started by stamping the Sweet Pea image on Neenah White Cardstock with Momento Ink. Then I colored it with Copics R30, R32 and R35. The leaves were colored with YG93 and YG95. After I was done with that I swiped the edges to give it a distressed look with Chamomile Ink then matted it on Simply Chartreuse and Black Cardstock. Next I added a piece of floral patterned paper from October Afternoons Thrift Shop Paper Pack and matted it on Simply Chartreuse cardstock as well. The black polka dot strips are also from the Thrift Shop Paper pack. The background piece is Berry Sorbet Cardstock that I embossed with tiny dots. 3 Simply Chartreuse buttons threaded with linen twine and some machine stitching finishes it off. I kept feeling like it was missing something but finally decided to leave it as is. What do you think do you like it as is or do you think it needs something else?
That's all for now, I will be back soon with more to share in the meantime I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Tea Time

2011-04-11T19:03:00.010-06:00

Happy Monday! I can't believe it has been over a week since I last posted. Time seems to have gotten away from me again. Thanks for all the sweet comments in my last post about being made an SFYTT sister. They really meant a lot to me.
Emilia's birthday ended up being a great day. This was the year of Twilight. Rich and I got her all the books and movies and Rich even found her a great game called Scene It Twilight which she loves too. We were able to go play mini golf as planned with my niece and that was a lot of fun. It turned out to be a wonderful day weather wise too. Later that night that we had a family dinner. My In-Laws came from Texas for her birthday and my mom, sister and niece also came over. Emilia's menu of choice this year was steak, my garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. She also requested a Dairy Queen ice cream cake this year as well which she loved! Here are a few photos to share with you.

I was working on a custom order most of last week but got some time at the end of the week to start something new and finally finished it today so I wanted to share it with you today.

I started with the teapot template from the Cutting Cafe, resized it in SCAL to make it bigger then I cut it out using Sweet Blush Cardstock. After that I embossed the spout, handle and lid with Swiss Dots. Next I cut the mat for the front and pieced squares from the new Girls' Paperie Vintage Wimsy Line. After that I trimmed around the edges then machine stitched it. When I was done with that I created a postage stamp frame in SCAL then cut it out and added MS white glitter. While it was drying I stamped the inside piece with the Sentiment from the PTI Tea for Two set with Versamark ink and embossed it with black embossing powder. To finish it off I added some Vintage Seam binding tied it in a bow then added a silk daisy.
Inside I added a pocket using the PTI Library Pocket die and attached some more patterned paper. As you can see is the perfect place to add a gift card or a package of tea.

I am really liking the Shabby Chic style that I have been seeing around blog land lately so this is my attempt to create that. I think this has a touch of whimsy in it too though.
I am also entering this in the Moxie Fab World Gift Card Holder Challenge
That's all for now. I will be back soon with more to share. Until then thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great night.

April SFYTT and Happy Birthday Emilia

2011-04-02T00:00:00.003-06:00

First off I would like to share some exciting news with you. As most of you know I have been participating in Jen Del Muro's monthly sketch challenges since the first of the year. A few weeks ago I received an email from her asking me to join the SFYTT design team. I often feel like a small fish in a big pond in the stamping world so I was very honored to be asked and have said yes so today is my first post as a SFYTT sister.

This month our sponsor is Unity Stamps.

This is the sketch

Today also happens to be Emilia's birthday. I can't believe it has been 13 yrs since she was born. Where does the time go?? I am so grateful to have her for my daughter. She is the best gift I have ever been given and means the world to me. Even though she is 13 today she will always be my baby no matter how hold she gets so this card is for her!

The image I chose to work with was Sweet Treat I started by stamping it with Dark Chocolate Ink then I stamped it again cut out the bottom and fan folded it. After that I attached it with some score tape on the sides and popped it up to give it the look of a real cupcake wrapper. The top was colored with Copics then I added different colored Stickles to the sprinkles. Finally I added some Crystal Effects to the cherry to make it pop. Emilia's favorite color is purple so I used that for the base. The background is actually the wrapping paper I used to wrap her presents. I embossed the other pieces with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday Folder. The sentiment is from the PTI Cupcake Collection set. The buttons were handmade with chipboard and the PTI Button Boutique stamps and dies.
Be sure to check out Jen's blog for how to play along and what you can win this month. Also be sure to check out what the other SFYTT sisters have done with this sketch as well
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Carol Burrage
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Kerry Johnson
Sonny Christoph
Susan Liles
and this months Guest Designer Jen Shultz
I hope you will play along with us. You have all month. I will still be continuing with my challenge to myself to use my PTI YOF sets with these sketches too so be sure to check back later in the month for that.
I also wanted to share some real cupcakes with you today too since I used one on my card. These are the cupcakes I made for Emilia's birthday. You can find the recipe here. I left the marshmallow cream off. They are still scrumptious though.

To celebrate we are planning to go play mini golf since it is such a beautiful day here and then we will have a family dinner tonight. I hope to take a lot of photos and will share them with you in my next post. Until then I hope your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Happy April

2011-04-01T10:41:00.005-06:00

Happy April! So glad we made it through March without a major storm! We still need some moisture though but hopefully that will be in the form of rain rather than snow. It is hard to believe it has been a week since I last posted. Thanks for all the sweet birthday wishes that were left on my last post. My birthday ended up being a pretty good day. We only got to 3 antique stores because the weather started to get cold. I didn't buy anything because everything was to expensive but it was still fun to look though. We hope to go back another day when it is warmer and look at some more stores. The best part of the day was eating the Pinkberry Sundae Rich and Emilia bought me. Tomorrow is Emilia's birthday so we are getting ready to celebrate that. Today I wanted to quickly share something I made for a crafty friend of mine with the flower button cards in my last post.

Her birthday is the day after mine and we always do something special for each other. I could not share it here until now because she likes to be surprised and I didn't want her to see it. She should have gotten it by now though. It is pretty self explanatory but I made a paper bag pocket to hold them. I have been wanting to make on of these for awhile now and this was the perfect opportunity. I think it came out really cute and hope to make more in the future now. I will be back tomorrow with some exciting news to share with you and to celebrate Emilia's birthday then too! Until then I hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Papertrey March Bloghop And A Birthday

2011-03-25T08:00:00.004-06:00

It is time for another Papertrey Bloghop

This month the challenge was to use to use embroidery floss in a fun and inventive way
I also used the colors from the current Totally Hues challenge #4

This is what I came up with

I started by stamping an image from the Button Boutique set on Vintage Cream Cardstock using Raspberry Fizz Ink. Next I stamped the stem from Floral Fusion 1 then added flowers that I crocheted with embroidery floss.
The first 2 flowers were made using this pattern Nicole shared on her blog a few years ago.
The third one is pattern I came up with on my own.
I added a piece of foam to the backs of flowers then attached them to a piece of acetate so the receiver can take the flower off and use it on a project. Finally I finished off the button cards with a piece of scalloped gingham cardstock.
Today is also my 42nd birthday. Rich has taken the day off and I hope to go antiquing with him and Emilia to celebrate it. I also look forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. You can see the whole list of participants on Nicole's blog.I hope the rest of your day is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

Cupcake Sunday and a Celebration

2011-03-20T10:50:00.021-06:00

Happy Sunday! Today is the first day of spring which I am very excited about because it is favorite time of year. It actually feels like spring today too. In honor of it's arrival I have this to share with you today.

It is also my entry for The Shabby Tea Room's first birthday celebration Party Time. This was the inspiration photo

I am also entering it in the ABC DT Happy Bithday Challenge too.
I started with this Template from Nicole Heady's blog. The base of the house was cut out of fine linen cardstock then I scored lines about 1/2" apart using my Score Pal and distressed them with Chammomile ink. For the roof I used the largest size scalloped rectangle Nestabliltie die I had then I covered it with scallops that were punched out of cardstock from this digi paper pack. Next I used my new Martha Stewart Garden Punch I won from Peggy's Sue's Blog give away and some retired Melissa Frances Paper I found on Etsy then I attached it to the front of the box. When I was done with that I created the banner with my PTI banner set which has not seen ink until now. After that I stamped the little sign with a sentiment from Fillable Frames then cut it out and matted it on some Hibiscus Cardstock then I attached it to the front of the box with a dimensional. To finish the house off I added some Melon Berry Satin ribbon that I tied in a bow and a Sweet Blush Button to the top. Now you can't have a party without cupcakes and I discovered these boxes are perfect to hold them. I was planning on making Red Velvet cupcakes last month in honor of Valentine's day but time got away from me and Emilia was into making brownines instead but this month I decided to make Hummingbird Cupcakes which also go perfectly with the box. The recipe comes from the DC Cupcake Girls. I love these show and was thrilled when I saw them on the Martha Stewart Show sharing this recipe. Now I know why the lines are around the block. It is kind of hard to see the cupcake in the box but here it is.

Outside the box

I didn't have a bird cutter so I stamped the humming bird image from the PTI bird watching set then scanned it and imported it into SCAL. After that I cut it out with my Cricut then used the piece the image came out of as a stencil and cut it out of pink fondant using and exacto knife. Some of them kind of look more like a ducks but they are still birds right?

That's it for now. I hope your first week of spring is a great one. As always thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon with more to share.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-16T11:14:00.011-06:00

Happy Wednesday. I hope the weather is nice where you are. It is suppose to be in the 70's here the next few days. Here is a photo Emilia took. Looks like Spring is definitely on it's way. Super happy about that!
Keeping with the spring theme,Today I want to share this with you.

I started with the SVG Easter Basket Card file from The Cutting Cafe. I cut the base of the basket out of Vintage Cream Cardstock then I embossed it with the Woodgrain Impression Plate and ran my Chai ink cube over it to make it look like real wood. I created the basket weave pattern on top of gingham digi cardstock that I got from this paper pack. The eggs were stamped with a different PTI background patterns then I embossed them with sticky embossing powder and covered them in glitter. The grass was cut from this SVG file. A piece of crochet lace trim was added to the top of the basket and a couple of butterflies were attached to the handle. I finished the front of the basket off by adding a tiny tag that was stamped with the Easter sentiment from the original PTI Mixed Messages set to a bow made out of vintage seam binding and stitched it to the front of the basket. The inside looks like this

That's it for now. I will be back soon with more to share. In the meantime I hope the rest of your week is a great one and as always thanks for stopping by.

March SFYTT, Totally Hues 3, Make It Monday 5

2011-03-11T10:37:00.012-07:00

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. Thanks for all the sweet comments you left about my Lady Bug Card and my Shabby Tea room win. They really meant a lot to me. I also found out I was made member of the month for my Etsygreetings team on Monday too. They were both a great way to start my week. We are also having beautiful weather here with more to come all next week. March has definitely come in like a lamb so I know it it probably going to go out like a Lion now but I am still going to enjoy it while it lasts. I hope the weather is good where you are too.
Today I am sharing a card I made for 3 challenges.
The first one is this months SFYTT

The second one is Totally Hues Challenge #3

The 3rd challenge is this weeks Make It Monday Monday #5 Distressing Edges.
This is what I came up with

I am continuing with my challenge to myself to use my Year Of Flowers sets. This month is the Daffodil. I started by stamping the large daffodil image on white cardstock at an angle then colored it with Copics. After that I did the Level Up Technique from the October/November 2010 Technique Junkies Newsletter on the middle of the flower and finished it off with some tiny pearls. Next I stamped the Aqua mist pieces with an image from the Polka Dot Basics set using Versamark ink then embossed them with white embossing powder.The orange piece was embossed with tiny dots. The patterned yellow paper is from October Afternoon. I stamped the word Mother from the Original Mixed Messages set and added some machine stitching to finish it off. I also distressed all the edges of the cardstock. Here is a close up photo so you can see it and the leveled up part better.

That's it for now. I hope you all have a great weekend and I will be back soon with more to share

Lady Luck

2011-03-06T10:45:00.012-07:00

ETA Monday 3/7: This card was the winner of the challenge on the Shabby Tea Room blog and I get to be a guest designer the week of May 9th now!

Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend has been a good one. I have been bitten by the Twilight Series. Emilia has been obsessed with it for the last few weeks and begged me to watch the movies with her. It was so bad it was good. I have seen all 3 movies and am now reading the last book since that movie won't be out until November. I usually never like things like this but it has sucked me in.
Today I want to share a card with you that I created for 3 challenges. The first one is for the current Peeps challenge hosted by Kimberly which is to make a card that is a symbol of good luck.
The second challenge is for Make It Monday #4 which was to make something using Fun Foam. When I first tried making something for this challenge with it I was not liking the look of the foam. I thought it looked cheap and gaudy and was not going to play along but after giving it some thought I was able to make it work on this card and love how it looks here.
The 3rd challenge is this inspiration photo from The Shabby Tea Room.
This is what I came up with

I have wanted to make a lady buy card like this for awhile now and thought this was the perfect chance. I started by cutting out a 5" black circle card using my Cricut for my base. After that I cut another circle from red checkerboard paper that Rich created for me. Next I die cut the buttons from chipboard then stamped them using black ink an image from the Delightful Doilies set. When I was done doing that I covered them with glossy accents and set them aside to dry overnight. Next I cut flowers from white fun foam using a Cuttlebug flower die then attached the buttons to them and placed them on the wings that I cut in half and attached with a brad to the base. For the head I cut black and white circles then embossed the white one with tiny dots. The antenna were made with more foam flowers and buttons that I die cut from more red checkerboard paper covered it with glossy accents and stitched with black floss. I attached them with black wire. To finish it off I added a lace border on the edge of the wings. When you open the wings it looks like this

I added a white scalloped circle to write a message on.
I am very happy with how this came out, I hope you like it too and since I am already talking about luck in this post last week I got lucky and found a great deal on a Vagabond and it arrived yesterday 3 weeks early. It is was going to be my birthday present from my family but my birthday is not until the 25th. I am already putting it to good use though. So far I am loving it and I know my shoulders and neck will too. As much as I have love my Cuttlebug it was taking a toll on my body with all that cranking. I will still continue to use my Circut too! That's it for now. I will be back with more to share soon. Until then I hope you have a great week and as always thanks for stopping by!

4 Challenge Card

2011-02-27T10:27:00.008-07:00

Happy Sunday Everyone. I hope your weekend has been a good one. Today I want to share a card with you that qualifies for 4 challenges. The first one is Make It Monday 3. The Challenge was glitter strips with Score Tape. I am getting this one in just under the wire.
The second Challenge is from Carol in honor of her birthday. The challenge is to make a birthday card with a flower that has bright colors and to finish the inside.
The third challenge is Heather P's Totally Hue Challenge #2

This one was definitely a challenge for me because I do not like Ocean Tides. It is such a drab color to me. There is very little of it in this card but it is still there. Love the other colors though.
The fourth challenge is this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch.

This is what I came up with

I started by making the flower using patterned paper from the Raspberry Fizz Paper pack and this tutorial. Next I matted the flower on a SVG doily. The Aqua Mist piece was embossed. The glitter strips are on the top and bottom of the Raspberry Fizz Ribbon pieces. I used the Banner Border die for the triangles on the bottom. I stamped an image from Little Argyle on the Raspberry Fizz piece using Fresh Snow Ink. The Happy Birthday Sentiment from Fillable Frames #4 was stamped with Ocean tides Ink. An Ocean Tides Button and 3 tiny pearls finish it off.
That's it for now. I will be back with more to share soon.

Papertrey February Blog Hop

2011-02-25T08:00:00.003-07:00

Today is the February Papertrey Bloghop.

The challenge this month is to make something with scallops.
This is what I came up with.

I started by using the Favor Box 2 die and Hibiscus Cardstock after that I added layers of scallops using the med Scallop Die and patterns from this Digi paper pack. The flower was made using the medium Beautiful Blooms 2 die. I cut the layers out of tissue paper that I sprayed with Pink Glimmer Chalk Mist then I added a pearl brad in the center and scrunched the layers. Mini Pom Pom trim was added to the top to finish it off.
Here is what the back looks like without the flower.

Inside was the perfect place to add these.

I finally got my order on Tuesday and was able to make matching buttons using Maile Bells fabulous tutorial. I am very happy with how they came out and will be making more soon.
In the meantime I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. You can see a list of all the participants on Nicole's Blog too. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is a great one!

Make It Monday 2, February SFYTT And Another Card For Katie

2011-02-19T20:49:00.009-07:00

Happy Saturday. I hope your weekend is going well. The weather is still in the 50's here and no snow. Super happy about that. I am still eager for spring to arrive though.
Yesterday Sophie our squirrel killing dog came down with kennel cough for the second time since we got her. I have no idea where she could have gotten it this time though. She has not been around any other dogs except for when she goes on walks. Thankfully the meds the vet gave her are working and she is doing much better. I just hope Lily does not catch it now.
Today I want to share a card with you for this weeks Make it Monday Challenge which was to use a vellum sentiment strip in our work. I also used this months SFYTT sketch as my base.
This is what I came up with.

I am continuing with my challenge to myself to use my year of flower stamps and have used February's flower which is the violet on this one. I paper pieced it with a pattern from the Pretty Pastels Paper Pack then colored it with Copics. After that I stamped it again and cut out the middle then attached it with a pop dot to give it more dimension. Finally I added tiny pearls to the middle. The lace doily is from this SVG file but I took the holes out before I cut it. The yellow patterned paper is also from the Pretty Pastels Paper Pack. The purple plaid paper is from this digital paper pack. The Green Houndstooth paper is from an old package of cardstock I found in my drawer. Not sure who makes it though. The sentiment is from the YOF violets set as well. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new release PTI order with my button dies but they won't be here until Tuesday now. I got the dreaded reschedule. I tried to make my own paper buttons in the meantime using an SVG file that came with SCAL then I added them to the sentiment strip. I am going to be sending this card to Katie. I am continuing to follow her journey on her blog so I hope it will bring her some comfort on those days when she needs it. That's all for now. I hope the rest of your weekend is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

Sweet Love

2011-02-14T11:09:00.009-07:00

Happy Monday. I hope your week has started out well. The weather here is finally warming up. It is suppose to be in 60's most of the week. That makes me very happy. I know winter is not over but at least spring is getting closer.
Happy Valentines Day today too. We don't do anything special to celebrate because I think love should be celebrated everyday and it has become to commercialized now. Even though I feel that way I have something with hearts to share with you. I made this for the current Embellish magazine Color Trends With Hearts Challenge

I think it also qualifies for the current Peeps challenge hosted by Marinette which is to make a Valentine that includes Pink or Red. Mine uses both and I entered it in the Lawnscaping Challenge It's All About The Love too.
This is what I came up with.

I have had these heart shaped treat cups and stamps from SU for over a year. When I saw the concept I totally fell in love with it but have not had a chance to use them until now. I also followed this video from Dawn for how to make the door so you don't ruin the card getting the treats out. As you will see the card looks very similar but I still made a few changes. First off the colors. I started with a base of Hibiscus Cardstock then embossed it with tiny dots. The Stem was stamped with PTI Simply Chartreuse Ink. I matted the main image on a piece of Spring Rain Cardstock. The tab was made with the PTI Mini Scrapbook Series Tabs. Pure Poppy Saddle Stitched Ribbon and a tiny tag stamped with the Love You Sentiment in the Fillable Frames #10 stamp set finishes it off.
Inside the card looks like this.

I also decided to take the photo of my card with colored cardstock behind it today. I have seen a lot of people doing that now and wanted to give it a try too. What do you think, do you like it better then the plain white backdrop?
The new release from PTI is tonight. I have having a really hard time narrowing my list down, how about you? It would be really nice to have unlimited funds right now it sure would help a lot. I would have to get a new stamp room to hold it all too though.
That's it for now, I hope the rest of your week is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

Make It Monday 1 CR84FN14 And Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge

2011-02-09T10:36:00.015-07:00

Happy Wednesday. I hope your week has been a good one. We had another big winter storm here yesterday. More snow and cold which is definitely not helping my migraines. I had another bad one early this morning. Thankfully it is gone now and the sun is shining today. It is suppose to be in the 50's by the weekend so that is good. I am really ready for spring though. Something I am very happy about is our new treadmill is suppose to be delivered in the next few hours, super happy about that. I have really missed not having one especially when you can't walk outside because of the weather.
Today I wanted to share a card I made for the first Make It Monday hosted by Papertrey Ink. You can read more about it here. The challenge this week is to make a Go To Sentiment Card hosted by Erin Lincoln. This is what I came up with.

I also used the colors in this weeks CR84FN challenge 14

and Waltzing Mouse Sketch 33 for my layout too.

I started by using some of the wonderful sentiments from Melissa Phillips Love Lives Here Set. I stamped them using brown Versamark Ink. After that I colored the hearts in the sentiments with a Copic Marker then stamped some more hearts from the set. When I was done with that I stamped the bottom of the house using Dark Chocolate Ink and the roof with Raspberry Fizz. Next I added a piece of lace trim to the bottom of the sentiment piece then added machine stitching. To finish it off I added some tiny pearls and some pink ribbon around the house. I am really hoping this card gets picked as one of the top 6 because I would really love to win the prize this week. I could definitely put that gift certificate to good use. That's all for now. I hope the rest of your week is a great one and will be back soon with more to share.

Papertrey Ink Tag Challenge

2011-02-06T21:36:00.010-07:00

Today the stamp designers at Papertrey Ink each graciously offered a free tag image for us to use. The prize today is to make something with as many images as we want and 1 randomly drawn winner will get to design a stamp set of their choice with Nicole. What a great prize that would be. It usually takes me days to make something so I was not sure I would get anything done but I was able to come up with something using 1 of the images today. I eventually hope to use them all. The image I chose was from Dawn. This is what I came up with.

I was totally inspired by how she used the butterfly from the Love Lives Here set with her sample but I still put my own spin on it. I also incorporated the colors from Heather P's first color challenge too. Love these colors!

The rest is pretty self explanatory but if you have any questions let me know. It is getting late here so I am off to bed. If you are still up I hope the rest of your night is a great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

My Favorite PTI Project From Last Year

2011-02-05T10:47:00.005-07:00

As most or you know I LOVE the products from Papertrey Ink and almost always use them in my work. This month they are celebrating their 4th Anniversary. Today they are hosting a contest for a gigantic prize package, The Ultimate Card Kit. To be eligible to win we have to post our favorite PTI project from last year. I know my chances of winning are pretty slim but you can't win if you don't enter so I figured I would give it a try. It is always hard for me to pick 1 favorite of anything but this is what I came up with

I chose this project that I made for last February's Blog Hop because it used all Papertrey Products and it makes me think of Spring when I look at it!
If you want to enter too check out Nicole's blog for more details. I look forward to to seeing what they come up with next.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great Saturday!

Happy Mail CR84FN13

2011-02-04T17:01:00.010-07:00

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. We are finally out of the deep freeze here (it got down to -18 on Tuesday) but it is still cold with more snow on the way. I hope the weather is better where you are. My week was not one of my best. My treadmill broke on Tuesday. I had a migraine so bad on Wednesday I had to go to bed in the middle of the day for awhile and today Sophie killed another squirrel and brought it in the house again! I am hoping the weekend will be better.
I have wanted to participate in Mona Pendelton's CR84FN color challenges for awhile but have not had a chance to until now. With everything that happened this week thankfully I was still able to get it done. I am cutting this close to the wire for entering since it ends in a few hours but I made it though. These were the colors. Some of my favorite's.

This is what I came up with

Inside you will find these

I started with Lauren Meader's Happy Mail SVG template that I cut out of PTI Pure Poppy Cardstock. I made the Argyle Heart paper using the Argyle Amazement digi images. The hearts were die cut from the Nestabilitie Heart dies using Pure Poppy and Tempting Turquoise Cardstock. The red hearts are covered in red German Glass Glitter. The Love stamp is from PTI's Border's And Corners Hearts Set and stamped on white cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink. Then I cut them into little banners and hot glued them on. Red baby pom pom trim finishes it off.
The lunch box notes fit perfectly inside the mailbox. I started with a Pure Poppy Base then added some more of the argyle heart paper I made to the bottoms. I embossed the tops with tiny dots. After that I cut some doily Limitless Layer's using Kraft cardstock then I added a Tempting Turquoise circle and another white circle which I stamped with one of the circular images from The Simple Valentine set. I finished them off with a heart stamp from the same set To finish them off I added a piece of white cardstock to the insides to write a little note on.
Here is a photo of the whole set.

I think this would make a great Valentine's gift for a little girl. I will be putting it up for sale in my Etsy shop soon.
That's it for now. I will be back soon with more to share. Until then I hope you have a great weekend and as always thanks for stopping by.

January SFYTT and Color Cue Challenge 11

2011-01-31T10:46:00.006-07:00

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. Friday and Saturday we were spoiled with 60 degree temperatures. This morning it is snowing and we are in the deep freeze again. That is what it is like living in Colorado. At least we had a few nice days though. I hope it is warmer where you are.
Today I want to share a card I made for Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. She has changed things up this year to make it a monthly sketch challenge instead of a weekly one and will be giving away a big prize at the end of the year for people that do them all. I am going to challenge myself to do all 12 sketches and use my PTI year of the flowers sets with them each month too. Since I bought all 12 of them last year I am hoping this will be a good way to make myself use them. Here is the sketch

This is what I came up with

I started by stamping then coloring 2 of the small Carnation's which are January's flower with Copic sketch markers RV10,R83,R85 and the colorless blender. When I was done coloring both of them I cut out just the middle piece on the second one and added it to the first one to give it some dimension. I cut the leaves by hand then crumpled them to give them some texture and added them to the flower. The Sentiment is from the Faux Ribbon set. The pink background paper is from the PTI Pretty Pastels Paper Pack. The Vintage Cream piece was embossed with the Tim Holtz embossing folder. Scalloped lace and machine stitching with black thread finishes it off. I am also entering this card in the Color Cue Challenge 11 too

That's it for now. I hope your week is great one and I will be back soon with more to share.

January Papertrey Bloghop and Cupcake Tuesday

2011-01-25T08:00:00.004-07:00

It is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.

This month we were to challenge ourselves to use a Papertrey stamp set that has yet to see ink or even one that might be collecting a little dust!
Unfortunately I have a lot of sets that have never seen ink so this challenge was perfect for me. It is also time for my monthly cupcake post too so I decided to combine them both. This is what I came up with.

The set I chose to finally use is Background Basics Botanical's. I have had this set for awhile now so I am happy that I finally got a chance to use it.
The cupcake card was made using this SVG file. The base was cut from Sweet Blush Cardstock. The top was embossed with the Sizzix dots embossing folder. The cupcake liner was cutout of Lemon Tart Cardstock then I stamped the images from the Botanicals set with Versamark ink and embossed it with white embossing powder. The sentiment is from this digi set and was printed on Vintage Cream Cardstock then cut out with a circle Nestabilities Die then matted on Lavender Moon scalloped circle. The number 1 was cut with SCAL using the Century font. A piece of white baby pom pom ribbon from this Etsy shop was added to look like piping. A Lavender Moon Satin Ribbon and a Lemon Tart button finish it off.

I also made a matching cupcake wrapper using this SVG file I stamped and embossed the same image from the Botanicals set on the wrapper to match the card.
The cupcakes are Banana Chocolate Chip with Cream Cheese Frosting. I added some chocolate syrup and a fresh banana for decoration. Both Rich and Emilia love them!

That's all for now. You can see the list of the other participants on Nicole's blog. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now and hope to get some inspiration that will help me use some of my other uninked sets too. As always thanks for stopping by.

Sending Sunshine

2011-01-20T10:19:00.011-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone! It is hard to believe it is almost the weekend again. Thanks for all the sweet comments you left in the last post about my heart box. It is on it's way to a good home. I have relisted it in my shop as a made to order item now if anyone else is interested in buying one. I hope all of you that requested the files will be sure to share what you make with them. I would love to see what you come up with. For those of you that don't have a Cricut would you be interested in buying the template pre-cut? I have been thinking about selling them that way but wanted to see what kind of interest there was first.

Today I want to share with you a card I made for a fellow blogger/stamper Katie Renz who is currently battling Stomach Cancer. You can read more about what she is going through here. Jennifer Ellefson in the Papertrey forum organized a card drive called Operation Sunshine to send Katie cards. It broke my heart after I read her story so I decided to join in. This is the card I made for her and is on the way.

I decided to go with a sun card to represent the sunshine and I also used bright happy colors in the hope they will brighten her day too.
I got the template for the sun here then made it into an svg file and cut it out with my Cricut. I used Cosmo Cricket Delovely cardstock for the base that I have been hoarding for awhile now. This was the perfect change to start using it. The flower image is from the PTI You Additions stamp set. It was to big to fit on the card as is so I stamped it, scanned it and resized it then printed it out and colored it with my Copics. To finish it off I punched some turquoise circles then added them to the back of the main image to create a scallop mat. The back of the card looks like this.

Katie is documenting her journey on her blog now so I know what she is going through is very hard. She sounds like a fighter though so hopefully she can beat this. In the meantime I hope these cards I send her will put a smile on her face and bring her some happiness for awhile.
That's all for now. My Papertrey new release order is suppose to arrive today which is a welcome surprise since it took forever to get my order last month. I will be back soon with more things to share Until then I hope you have a great day and as always thanks for stopping by.

Winner and A Simple Heart Box

2011-01-17T10:12:00.008-07:00

Happy Monday! First off thanks for all the sweet comments you left on the last post about my Be Mine box. The winner of the free template drawn through Random.org is #27 Deb Please contact Leigh Ann with the template of your choice.
Today I want to share with you something I am very proud of. I have been wanting a heart box SVG file for awhile now and was not able to find anything like it so with Rich's help I was able to design and successfully create my first SVG template. Introducing The Simple Heart Box.

There are lots of possibilities for things to make with this template but this was a vision I had in my head for awhile now and am very happy with how it turned out.
I started buy cutting out the sides of the template using paper from this digi pack that I printed on both sides of the cardstock. The bottom and top pieces were cut out of PTI Vintage Cream Cardstock. The roses were cut from PTI Sweet Blush, Hibiscus, and Raspberry Fizz cardstock using this SVG file then I rolled them by hand all 30 of them. When I was done with that I arranged them on the top of box then hot glued them down. A piece of baby pom trim from this Etsy shop was added to the edge of the lid with scoretape. A piece of Rose Water seam binding from this Etsy shop was tied around the top right hand corner in a double bow then I added the same tag I used in my last post with some twine and finished it off with a vintage cream button. This is what the inside looks like with the top off.

It is a good size box measuring approximately 51/8 x 41/2. The great thing about SVG files though is that you can resize them to any size you want.
If you would be interested in trying this template send me an email and I would be happy to share it with you. The only thing I ask is you don't try to sell the template, you are free to sell things you make with it though.
This box will be going up for sale in my Etsy shop soon if anyone is interested in buying it. The Etsy Greetings Team I am a member of is also having a special promotion this week called Love is Handmade. Over 50 members will be offering specials in their shop. You can see a list of all the participants here. I will be offering 10% off orders of $10.00 or more in my shop Jan 17-21. Use the coupon code LOVEISHANDMADE2011 when you check out to receive the discount.
That's is for now. I hope the rest of your week is a great one. I will be back soon with more to share.

Perfect Presentation January Bloghop

2011-01-14T00:00:00.003-07:00

Happy Friday Everyone! It is hard to believe it is the middle of January already. I hope it is warmer where you are. We ended up getting a pretty big snow storm last Sunday and have been in the deep freeze since then. It is suppose to warm up this weekend though so hopefully we will see the side streets again soon.
Today the Perfect Presentation design team is sharing what we made with a new template created by the fabulous Leigh Ann Baird just in time for Valentines day. It is called the Be Mine Box.

I started with the SVG file and made the base out of Raspberry Fizz cardstock. After that I attached some patterned paper from last years PTI Simple Valentine Paper Pack. Next I added a doily from this cut file. When I was done with that I punched a heart then added some Martha Stewart iridescent pink glitter. Finally I stamped the sentiment from the Heart Prints stamp set and attached it to the heart at an angle.
This box is a great size and will hold lots of different things. I chose to fill mine with these Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

This is how I packaged them up

The tag was made with this SVG file that I resized. The sentiment is from the Fillable Frames #11 set. The tiny hearts are from the Love Lives Here Set.

If you leave a comment on this post you will be entered to win a free template of your choice. You have until midnight Sunday. Also be sure to visit the other design team members to see what they made with this template and for more chances to win too.
Leigh Ann
Chris
Kerri
Julie
Alyssa
Beth
Susan

That's it for now. I will be back Monday with the winner and hopefully more to share then too. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend.

Peep Challenge Gratitude

2011-01-06T16:40:00.004-07:00

I hope your week is going well. Winter has found it's way here. We finally got snow about a week ago and it has been very cold since. I hope it is warmer where you are.
Today I wanted to share a card I made for the 1st Peeps Challenge of the year hosted by Rhonda. It revolves around gratitude and thankfulness. We were to make a card to thank someone and then make sure we SEND IT!!
The challenge is going on all month so if you would like to play along too we would love to have you join us.
This is what I came up with

I got the inspiration for this card from Melissa Phillips. She made one like it last year but I put my own spin on it.
I started with a piece of floral digi paper that I got from this Etsy shop. Next I added a piece of Lavender Moon Cardstock to the bottom half of the card that I embossed with the Linen Impression Plate. After that I stamped the sentiment from the PTI Morning Glories Set on Vintage Cream cardstock then distressed it with Chai ink. When I was done with that I attached it to the bottom of the card and machine stitched it. The flower was made with Vintage cream felt and Beautiful Blooms #2 Dies. The leaves were made with the Delightful Dahlia dies and Simply Chartreuse felt. A Plum Pudding Button, some purple ribbon from my stash and a Vintage Cream scalloped piece at the bottom finish it off.
This card is going to a special friend as a small token of my appreciation for the all the extra things she does for me. I hope she likes it.
That's all for now I will be back with more Valentines things to share with you soon. Until then I hope you have a great night and as always thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year and A Little Box Of Love

2011-01-02T17:33:00.006-07:00

Happy New Year! I hope it has started out well for all of you. Once again thanks for all the comments about my favorite templates I made last year. They really mean a lot to me! Today I went back to look at the resolutions I made last year and discovered most of them didn't happen but some of them were out of my control so this year I have decided I am not going to make any and just see what transpires. I have decided not to do a video every month anymore. I have been doing them for 2 years now and have started running out of techniques that have not been done before. I will continue to make videos when I have something new to share though. Emilia and I also plan on continuing our cupcake posts, we have decided that we are not going to limit ourselves to just the recipes in the book though.
Today I am sharing my first Valentines project of the year with you. I started it last week for a challenge on Papercraft Planet but did not get it done in time. I finally finished it the other day though so now I can share it with you.

I started with Lauren Meader's Free Cutesy Cover template which I cut out of Kraft Cardstock. Next I added the mat pieces using a sheet of digi paper from this paper pack. After that I sewed them on with my sewing machine. When I was done with that I cut the doily using this SVG file then I cut a felt heart using the Nestabilities heart dies and added a small circle. Finally I added another small heart from the Love Lives Here Die and a tiny pearl. To finish it off I added a piece of Raspberry Fizz Satin ribbon that I tied in a bow. I also added a piece of Velcro on the inside flap to keep it closed. These little boxes would be great to hold gift cards, jewelery, or even candy. A small box of conversation hearts fits perfectly.
That's it for now. I hope to be back soon with more to share. Until then thanks for stopping by and I hope your first week of 2011 is a great one!

Top 12 Templates Of 2010

2010-12-31T12:43:00.024-07:00

First off thanks for all the sweet comments about my favorite cards of the year, they really meant a lot to me. I had so much fun sharing my top 10 cards I thought I would do the same thing for my 3D projects since you all know how much I love making templates. Once again I had a hard time keeping it at 10 so I ended up with 12. You can click on the titles under the photos and it will take you to the original posts with all the information about them.

In no particular order

Beautiful Butterfly Box

Little House Of Love Box

Spring Flower Pins Gift Packet

Mother's Keepsake Shaker Box

Mini Cupcake Pincushion With Matching Box

Polka Dot and Flowers Notecard Set

3 Piece Cupcake Presentation Set

Sweet Treat House Box

Whimsical Teapot Box

Winter Star Box

Hanukkah Candy Gift Box

Sparkling Winter Sled

Which is your favorite?

The best thing about seeing all these projects again is it reminds me that my craft purchases, especially my Cricut and SCAL are actually being used and all the money I spent on crafty stuff this year was not a waste. I hope your last day of 2010 is a great one and I look forward to sharing more with you in 2011.

Top 10 Cards Of 2010

2010-12-28T21:37:00.026-07:00

I saw this on Leigh Ann's blog and thought it would be fun to do too. Turns out I was to late to participate in the bloghop but decided to post it anyways. It was hard to pick just 10 so I added 4 honorable mentions.

In no particular order

Quilted Whimsical World Card

Celebrate Card

Quilted Heart Of Love Pop Up Card

Love Card

You Take The Cake Card

Beautiful Birthday Bookmark Card

Happy Happy Joy Joy Card

Gingham And Flowers Apron Card

Wonderfully Whimsical Welcome Home Card

Friend Card

Honorable Mentions

Vintage Decadent Dahlias Card

A Day At The Beach Card

Fly Away With Me Card

Cupcake Girl Card

I hope you enjoy your last few days of 2010 and the New Year is a great one for you!

December Papertrey Bloghop

2010-12-26T08:00:00.002-07:00

First off thanks for sharing all your squirrel stories with me in the last post. Thankfully she has not let me anymore presents since then. I also hope all of you that celebrated Christmas yesterday had a great one. This was Emilia's first time celebrating it and she loved it. Rich went all out with the presents. She definitely was not disappointed. He even surprised me with a Papertrey Gift certificate. We were not suppose to get each other big gifts but he did it anyways. All Emilia and I got him was a record so I am feeling very guilty now even though he told me not to. I am sure I will have no problem spending it though. He also surprised both of us with an IPad. It is for all of us to use. Overall it was a great day and I feel very blessed.
Today it is time for another Papertrey Blog Hop

This month the challenge was to Use scraps of wrapping paper, parts of
holiday cards, recycle gift tags or bits of ribbon on a paper crafting project. Even though Christmas is over there is still a lot of winter left. Emilia has usually gotten to go sledding by now but it has been dry as a bone here so this is what I came up with.

The flower in the middle of the sled was made with ribbon Rich used to wrap our gifts. Below is a video showing how I made it. The sled was made using Lauren Meader's Hanging Holiday Sled Template. I ran the Kraft pieces through my Cuttlebug using the PTI Woodgrain Impression plate then I distress it with Chai ink. The base was made from Pure Poppy Cardstock. The sentiment on the little tag is from the On Ice Set. A snowflake covered with silver glass glitter finishes it off. Here is a photo of the sled hanging too.

I hope you will give these flowers a try too and if you do I would love to see them so send me a link. I am ready to start making Valentine things now so I will be back to start sharing them with you soon until then I hope your last week of 2010 will be a great one and you enjoy the video.

Merry Christmas Pure Innocence Style

2010-12-20T16:26:00.005-07:00

Happy Monday everyone. I hope yours started out better than mine did. Our dog Sophie decided to bring another dead squirrel into the house and I found it. It almost scared the life out of me. I was totally freaking out but knew I could not leave it until Rich got home from work so I got the pooper scooper put it in there and got it out. It took a lot of courage but I did it. I am still traumatized by it though. This is the 7th squirrel she has killed now and the second one she has brought into the house. You would think those squirrel's would learn to say away by now but they don't they keep coming back. On top of that my PTI order did not arrive today like I was hoping it would. I read in the forum that people in California got their orders already but nothing here. It doesn't make any sense since my order went in before midnight. Hopefully it will be here tomorrow and Sophie will not bring anymore squirrels in.
Today I wanted to share with you a card I have been working on all weekend. I started with Mercy's sketch from last week. This is the sketch.

This is what I came up with

I have been wanting to use this PI digi image from Heather Ellis for awhile now and since Christmas is Saturday I thought it was the perfect time to use it. I started by resizing the image then printed it out on Neenah Solar White cardstock. After that I colored it with Copics and added red stickles and silver German glass glitter to the tree. The background paper is from this digi paper pack. Berry Sorbet Grossgrain ribbon was added to the middle section. The stars were cut with the smallest Nestibilities star die then covered with Silver Vintage German Glass Glitter from this Etsy shop. I finished it off with some Simply Charturse Cardstock and machine stitching. I am also entering this in the Moxie Fab World Glitter is Glam Challenge too. That's all for now. I hope the rest of your week is a good one and you have a great Christmas if I don't get a chance to post again before then. As always thanks for stopping by and have a great night.

Cupcake Wednesday And A Color Challenge

2010-12-15T10:56:00.011-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the holiday season.
It is time for the final Peeps challenge of the year and it is my turn to host again. This time I decided to do a color challenge. The colors I chose are
Red, Green, and Purple
This is what I came up with

Inside you will find this

I started with PTI's Favor Box 2 die using SU Lovely Lilac Cardstock. I am so sad they discontinued this color, if anyone has some extra that they don't want anymore let me know I would be happy to buy it from you. After I cut out the box. I pieced together tiny squares of cardstock from the Tinsel and Twig Paper collection then I stitched them together on my sewing machine to look quilted. When I was done with that I backed the inside with some Simply Chartreuse cardstock to cover up the stitching. The flower on the front was cut from white tissue paper and the second size Beautiful Bloom #2 die then I sprayed them with purple chalk glimmer mist. When the layers were dry I put them all together and attached a pearl brad in the center then scrunched and fluffed the layers and attached it to the bag. The ornament was made using this tutorial and some Pure Poppy Cardstock. I stamped the images with Versamark and embossed them with Heat and Stick Powder then I added Martha Stewart silver glitter. 3 buttons and some bakers twine finish it off.

Emilia and I also baked cupcakes again. This time she chose Vanilla with Coconut buttercream frosting. I came up with 2 kinds of decorations to go with them. The first one would be great for a holiday party. I stamped the tree image and sentiment from The Tiny Treats Christmas set then colored it with Copics. After that I made a medallion from more of the Tinsel and Twig Paper. Finally I added a scalloped circle cut from more Lovely Lilac Cardstock then I attached a stick to the back and tied it with a piece of green ribbon.

I also made some fondant Christams Tree and decorated them with tiny sprinkles too.

If you would like to join us for the color challenge I would love to see what you make so be sure to link it up here. That's all for now. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope the rest of your week is a great one!

Star Of The Show

2010-12-06T18:49:00.010-07:00

Happy December! I hope you all had a good weekend. We are already on day 6 of Hanukkah here. It is hard to believe it is almost over. This year Emilia decided she wanted a Christmas tree too and to open presents Christmas morning so that is what we are going to do. After Rich and I got married I was so excited to finally get to have a Christmas tree. I decorated it with all Winnie The Pooh ornaments and put it up for years. Eventually I got tired of doing it so I stopped. Now that Emilia wants a tree we decided to do it again for her. Unfortunately Rich got rid of the other tree we had when we moved to this house 5 years ago so I bought a new one from Home Depot for $39.00. As you will see I got what I paid for. It is not very big but will do for now. Emilia didn't want to do the Pooh theme again but did allow me to put Santa Pooh at the top. The ornaments are from Martha Stewart and are unbreakable which is great. I had a hard time getting a good picture of it but here it is.
She is really enjoying it and I have to say I am too. Even though Rich and I don't like this time of year we always love to see her happy.
Today I also wanted to share this with you.

It is Lauren Meader's Star of the Show Template. I love this box. You may be seeing a lot of this one. I already have other ideas for it. This one is for the holidays though. I originally started making it for Mona's color challenge last week but didn't get it done in time I also didn't end up using another brown and added silver instead so it would not have qualified anyways. I really like this color combo though. The base of the box is made with Lauren's free 12 days of snowflakes digi paper
. The top was made with PTI Pure Poppy cardstock . The polka dot star was made from the PTI Beautiful Blooms Paper Pack. I also used PTI Kraft Cardstock for the bottom of the box and the mat on top. To finish it off I tied a piece of white grosgrain ribbon around the middle then added a snowflake that came with my SCAL program that I added Martha Stewart Silver glitter and a red button to. Inside you will find this

Homeade Fudge. Here is the recipe if you would like to try some. I have been told it is like chocolate heaven.
That's it for now. I will be back to soon with more to share. Until then I hope you have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

Perfect Presentation Holiday Gifts Bloghop

2010-11-29T00:00:00.002-07:00

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. Today The Perfect Presentation Design team is sharing ideas for holiday gift giving. This is what I came up with

I started by using the new Winter Sleigh SVG file. I cut the sleigh out of PTI Pure Poppy Cardstock and the blades from Dark Chocolate. After I assembled the base. I ran the side panels through my Cuttlebug using the FLEUR DE LIS embossing folder then I added some brown mettalic rub to give it an aged look. Next I added some green flower soft to the top edge so it looked like a garland then I added tiny pearls that I colored with a Copic sketch marker to resemble holly berries. When I was done with that I added a piece of seam binding and a spring moss button. To finish it off I added clear glitter to the blades to look like ice. I filled the sleigh with a bag of coconut sandwhich cookies then I added a tag from this SVG file that I resized and then stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment on from the original Mixed Messages set. The sleigh could also hold many other small gifts as well and it would also make a great center piece on your Christmas table.
Here is the recipe for the cookies if you want to try them. Both Rich and Emilia love them. This is what they look like out of the bag put together

Be sure to check out what Leigh Ann and the other design team members have come up with too.
Chris
Kerri
Alyssa
Julie
Beth
And our newest member Susan Welcome to the team!
This project also qualifies for the current Embellish Magazine Challenge as well.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop and your week is a great one! As always thanks for stopping by.

Happy Thanksgiving and The November Papertrey Bloghop

2010-11-25T08:00:00.002-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I hope your day has started out to be a great one even if you are not celebrating this holiday. There any many things in my life that I am thankful for like having a roof over my head and food to eat but the thing I am most thankful for everyday is my family including my fur kids. They are everything to me so today I am even more thankful that we can all be together. I am the one that does the cooking now and have for awhile. I don't mind it though because I like to cook. My mom,dad,sister,niece and her father will be over later to eat with us. I hope those of you that celebrate this holiday will enjoy time with your family today too.
In the meantime it is time for another Papertrey Bloghop.
This month the theme was to design a holiday tag or two using all of our favorite goodies.
This is what I came up with

I have been wanting to use Dawns's Ice skates from the On Ice set for awhile now and thought this was the perfect chance to ink it up. I started by cutting a tag from this cut file and this digi paper then I stamped snowflakes from The Rustic Snowflakes set and embossed them with white embossing powder. After that I sponged on Antique Linen Distress Ink to give the paper a vintage feel and to make the snowflakes pop. When I was done with that I added a piece of aqua polka dot digi paper to the bottom and around the opening at the top. I die cut and stamped the ice skates on Stampers Select White Cardstock then I added silver glitter to the blades and painted Angel Wings Shimmer on the boots. Next I put the 2 together punched a hole than tied a piece of silver cording in a bow. Finally I added some more silver cording on the back to make it look like they are hanging. To finish it off I stamped the sentiment from Fillable Frames 9 and added a piece of pink seam binding from this Etsy shop and baby popcorn trim from this Etsy shop. I also created some packaging to put the tag in using a med glassine bag. I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Sizzix dots embossing folder then folded down the top half and added some more polka dot paper and a button. I also stamped another snowflake and embossed it from the back.

I had a lot of fun making this tag and hope to make more of them in the future. I am also looking forward to seeing what everyone else has come up with now. You can see the list of all the participants on Nicole's blog . As always I am very grateful for your visit and thankful for you stopping by.

Happy Birthday Alexandra

2010-11-21T10:33:00.004-07:00

Today is my niece Alexandra's 15th birthday. I don't know where the time has gone. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. She was suppose to be a Christmas baby but decided to come 5 weeks early and almost shared my fathers birthday which is tomorrow too. Thankfully everything turned out okay after her birth and she has become a beautiful young lady who is a very talented writer and pianist. She also still loves Hello Kitty so in honor of that I made her this card

I started with this cut file using PTI Hibiscus Burst,Harvest Gold,Stampers Select White and Black cardstock. After I was done piecing her together I resized the doily shape in this tag set to 5" making it look like a flower. When I was done with that I cut another circle from Harvest gold cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder than attached it to the middle of the flower and added kitty. To finish it off I added some liquid pearls. I also created a circle card base in SCAL to attach to the back. I was going to add some glitter to the bow but she came to get it early this morning and I didn't have time. She still liked it anyways though. That's it for now. I will be back Thursday with my Bloghop project. Until then I hope you have a great start to your week and thanks for stopping by.