Parisian Box

For those of you who visit my blog regularly, this probably looks a little familiar. I decided to use the same supplies that I used on my Paris card from an earlier post and create a coordinating box. I love giving coordinating sets and so I thought it would be fun to make a box/bag. I don't know when I will be using it, but you never know when you will need an impromtu gift. I am still loving these papers from The Polar Bear Press and I need to go get some more.

We have been at my husband's company picnic all day, so I am beat. I think that will be all for today. I just finished my designs for the upcoming release from The Saltbox Studio, so sneak peeks will come next week! Thanks for fluttering by!

French Country Inspired

As I sat staring at my black and white image for some time, I decided on a bright, cheery color combination for this card. I really wanted to use this ribbon, so I knew that red needed to be in the card somewhere. I added quite a bit of color onto the grapevine wreath to give it some thickness. I love the little bird perched in the wreath. During Nesting time, I constantly have birds picking and pecking at my grapevine wreath on my front door to get some nesting materials. It used to bother me, but I like knowing they are busy building their homes. Speaking of Nests, I have a HUGE nest in the top of one of my trees in the backyard. It is the biggest nest I have ever seen. The birds built it so far up, that the poor thing sways in the wind. I can only imagine what kind of ride Mommy Bird is getting as she sits on her eggs. Enough about that... The two sets that I used are "Deck the Door" and "Deck the House Companion" from The Saltbox Studio. Thanks for fluttering by!

I am busy finishing a few things for the next release from The Saltbox Studio. You are all going to fall in love when you see the new images! Soooooo cute! I will have sneak peeks soon!

Sweet Baby

Not much stamping today, but a fun baby card to share with you. I always love making baby cards. This card only uses one stamp for the word baby. For the words, I used Thickers from American Crafts which I love. I have quite an assortment of colors and fonts. They are super easy and fun to use. The ribbon is from American crafts as well. I also used my Nana's Nursery paper which I can't seem to get enough of. I have used it quite a bit and it never seems to get any smaller! I think I may have to go get the Baby Boy stack as well! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I mentioned blog candy last week, but I haven't had a chance to get it posted. Stay tuned next week for a give-a-way!!!!

Two Projects

I have a few projects to share with you today. The first is the card I made for today's sketch challenge over at SCS. I rarely turn squares on their sides, so I always try to do these kind of sketches to push me a little. I knew that "One of a Kind" would be the perfect set for this sketch because of the tiny sentiment. I also knew that the flowers would work well as accents. I used the coordinating "Berry Bliss" paper as well.

The second project is a box I made to coordinate with the "Thank Ewe" card I made earlier this month. I have been a busy girl getting lots of Teacher Thank you's done. My stash of completed cards and projects is getting bigger each day. I used my "Sheep" set from The Saltbox Studio and colored it the same as the card. Thanks for fluttering by!

Thank You

First of all I would like to say thank you to so many of you who have nominated me for the Arte Y Pico award. I am flattered that you thought of me! I have been a bad blogger and haven't passed on the award. The blogs that I would have nominated have already recieved the award, so I never passed it on. I don't, however, want those of you who have been so sweet to include me to think that I am ungrateful. Thank You! Hugs to all!

Embrace Life

When I sat down to stamp today, I realized I wasn't really in the mood. So I decided to get some housework done. Well...the more laundry I folded, the more I realized that maybe I really did want to stamp! LOL! I decided to play in today's color challenge over at SCS. I chose to use "Embrace Life" This particular set doesn't require a lot of colors so I knew it would be perfect for today's challenge of sage shadow, chocolate chip and very vanilla. I used a mini library clip and coordinating brads and a bit of luscious satin ribbon. I love that stuff! Thanks for fluttering by! I guess I am off to finish folding my laundry! LOL!

More Red, White and Blue

I guess I must be in a patriotic mood this weekend! I decided to play in today's featured stampers challenge over at SCS. I found a great layout from peanutbee and added different colors, stamps, etc. That is the name of the game; find a card you want to CASE and change things to make it your own. I decided to use this little seaside boy for today. I always imagine that this little boy belongs in The Hamptons. I can imagine their will be lots of people opening their Hampton Homes this weekend. I am miles away from there, but a girl can imagine, right? LOL!

I am cooking for 30 people today. I really should be prepping and not blogging! LOL~

Thanks for fluttering by!

A Lovely Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Weekend. Since I have been organizing my stamps from The Saltbox Studio, I thought I would make a holiday inspired card. I used two sets from the launch to create a fun scene; A Basket Celebration, Deck the House Companion. I thought this little mousie would look so cute trimming her holiday basket. I accidentally stamped my images in StazOn which made it a nightmare to color, so forgive the smearing! LOL! I also added some twinkle star stickers from Amuse to give the basket a little bling. Also, I have added some photos of the storage system I am using for my stamps from The Saltbox Studio.
The other drawer holds my PaperTrey Ink. stamps. The drawers are both deep which means only one thing to me; LOTS MORE STAMPS! LOL! I also found these beautiful fabric covered boxes at Michaels a couple of weeks ago, so I used one to hold my Amuse notecards, twinkle stickers, and some other Amuse images that I use for my designs for The Saltbox Studio.

Thanks for fluttering by!

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday's challenge over at SCS was to make a masculine card and today's challenge was to not use any hardware on our cards, but to replace it with some stamped images. I decided to combine the two for today's card. I have been wanting this Jersey Shore DS paper ever since it was in the catalog, but held off...until now! I never use brilliant blue, so I thought if I bought this paper it would get me using it. I was right. I actually bought a whole new fresh package of brilliant blue. Who would have thought? LOL! Anyway...I had this Toy Box set out from last week's color challenge and I thought it would work well with this paper. I colored the image with my blender pen and re inkers using the colors in the paper. I used little pieces for the circle accents, punched them out and added some crystal effects. I remember one of the reasons I started stamping in the first place was to make my own embellishments for a fraction of the cost. I don't do that nearly enough anymore. I had fun using these colors and stamps! Thanks for fluttering by.

P.S. I know that I promised photos of my newly organized stamps, but I wanted to post a card today instead. I will post it soon.

A Berry Sweet Birthday!!

Today is my friend's Birthday. She lives in my neighborhood and has come to some of my Stampin' Up! workshops. When she has come, she has mentioned that she never makes cards...so, I thought I would make her a fun set for her birthday. I made 2 of each design for a total of 6 cards and envelopes. I went to find a card tin to put them in, but they were sold out. I found this flat tin instead, which I like how nicely it fits the cards in. It looks nice and full, rather than skimpy. I addes stickles to each strawberry for a fun effect!


This is one of the designs. I added my own stems rather than the one that comes with the set. They are a little floppy, but it was easier than masking the boot.

I also decided to carry on the strawberry theme and make some chocolate dipped strawberries. Yummy! I bought too large of strawberries, so they didn't fit in the box, but I don't think it looks *too* bad. I am sure she could care less as soon as she sees what is inside! LOL! I had a lot of fun working on this set. Everything is quite simple as far as the design elements go, but I think as a set it goes nicely together.

I found the box for the strawberries in the cake decorating section at the LCS. It is meant to hold a half pound of candy. I think next time I will opt for the full pound box. I was able to get 6 strawberries into this size, but like I mentioned before, it was tight fit. I had so much fun making this set, that I may make a few more for the teachers who were in charge of the school play. The last perfomance was Tuesday. While I am glad it is over, it has been alot of fun getting to know the girls better.

Also, I did get my Saltbox Studio stamp sets organized! Yay! I will show you the pictures tomorrow!

Praise Song

Today is Wednesday and that means it is the Sketch Challenge over at SCS. Of course I had to play along. I decided to use some of my images from The Saltbox Studio to build a *scene* to fit the large rectangle piece from today's sketch. I used Tweets, Tweet Houses, and Fences. These images all work so well together. Of course I had to color the bird blue, it it my favorite for this little birdie! I added my own post to the birdhouse (which I got a tad crooked because my ruler had a divet in it...ughh) . I added some vellum scallops to the sides for softness and a bit of stitched ribbon for texture. I also ran the green layer through my cuttlebug using the swiss dots embossing folder for even more interest. This card is simple, but I tried to add some details to make it pop!

As I was creating this card, I realized how out of control my *storage* system is for all of my acrylic stamp sets from The Saltbox Studio. So...I am off to the office supply store for some jewel cases to get organized. I have an awesome storage container for these, so the time has finally come. You remember the twinkle stickers from Amuse that I *misplaced* (LOL)? I found them today amongst the jumble. EEEkkkkk! Gotta get these organized! I will show photos of my system when it is all organized!

Wisdom

It is that time again! It is time for another DD/DDA Challenge! This month's theme was to use Owls and the restricted element was rhinestones, gems and dew drops. Since I have been on a School Thank You kick, I decided to keep up with that and make 2 more cards for teachers. I scoured the internet for quotes on wisdom and found this one. There were alot of others, but they were much too long to put on the outside of a card...they may end up on the inside, though. The quotes are both computer generated and then I just printed them out onto heavy white cardstock. My owl images are from Hero Arts. As you can see, I used the same Making Memories paper that I used on my sheep card in an earlier post. I can't seem to get enough of the stuff. I think I may head to the LSS today to get a few more sheets so I can make some pocket bags like the one I made yesterday. I always love a coordinating set! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!

For Dad!

I have been wanting to use this boy and girl image together on a card because I have a boy and a girl. I thought I would make a card for my husband that the kids could give him for Father's Day. Even though this sentiment is from the Snowmen set, I thought it would also work well for a Father's Day card. I will have the kids sign their names and write something nice inside. It is simple, but I know that he will love it, especially coming from them. Thanks for fluttering by!

Tomorrow I will be posting my card that I made for the DD/DDA monthly challenge. It will be a "hoot"! LOL!

TLC Pocket Bag

I knew I had to play along with Today's Technique Lover's Challenge! This was such a fun project to make. I will be giving this bag to the Principal along with the card I made on the previous post. I am sure I will be duplicating this for all of the other needed gifts as well. So cute! I had a lot of fun making this. Thanks for fluttering by!

An Apple for the Teacher

I love the SU! set "Tart and Tangy", but I haven't used the apple image very much. As soon as I started stamping I knew the direction this card should take. I will have a lot of Thank You's needed when my son is done with school. This card could be for one of his other teachers for SEM, the Librarian, P.E.,the Principal, etc. I don't know who this will go to, but it will be for one of them. I am excited to already be a little ahead of the game. Also, I have some Thank You's I need to get out for my little dancers in the school play. They really have worked hard, so I want to put something together for them. I have already been picking up bits and pieces when I am out shopping, so now it is just a matter of getting them all put together. I will post the finished projects when I am done. We have a performance tomorrow at 10 a.m and then the final performance Tuesday night, so they have to be done by then. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. Everything that I used on this card can be found in the Occasions Mini Catalog from Stampin' Up!

Fresh Cuts

When I used my new "Fresh Cuts" set the other day, it really wasn't how I had envisioned using the set...so...I made a new card today using it more like I had in mind. I chose to keep the pallete simple; Wild Wasabi, Black and White. I really like how this turned out. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this set on my initial experimentation, but now I can say that I do really like it. I haven't had a chance to play with the coordinating note cards, but I am sure I will get to those soon as well. Thanks for fluttering by!

Thank Ewe!

The minute I saw this darling pattern paper from Making Memories, I knew what image I was going to use to make a card. I used the "Sheep" set from The Saltbox Studio. I love the colonial colors and patterns in this paper. They work so well with all of the images from The Saltbox Studio, so I am sure you will be seeing them again in the near future. I decided to add a bit of ABC twill that was on my stamp desk. I think this may end up by being the Thank You card that I give to my son's 2nd grade teacher. She is so cute and a great teacher. Since we are on year round school, my son has a month and a half left of school, so things may change on which card I give her! LOL! I colored the sheep image with colors that I wouldn't normally have used, but I took my cues from the paper. I really like how it turned out. This card measures

4 1/4 by 4 1/4 so that it will fit nicely into an A2 envelope. I still haven't mailed out Thank you's for Mother's Day gifts either, so this may end up by being one that goes out for that. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I am in the mood to give out some Blog Candy, so stay tuned next week for a give-away!

New Stamps

Wow! I really have been busy this week! My daughter's last day of Pre-School was yesterday so I was in a frenzy getting the teacher gifts ready. I have really been a last minute girl lately. I like being prepared and organized, but I am taking it one hour at a time these days! I was busy getting the teacher gifts ready yesterday when Mr. Brown came to my door with the new set "Fresh Cut" from SU!. This set will be in the new catalog. I already had this darling paper from Bo Bunny out so I decided to use this design for the Teacher's Thank You card. I really like this set and can't wait to experiment with it some more.

It's your Birthday!

A birthday card seemed fitting for today's color challenge. I have my two nephews birthday party on Saturday, so I thought I would make a couple of boy cards. They are brothers, so I wanted two different cards, but two cards that went together. I pulled out my retired Toy Box set and went from there. I had fun coloring these little images. I also used "Classic Backgrounds", "It's all good" and "It's your Birthday" from SU! Thanks for fluttering by!

Small Gifts in Life

Today's card features one of the images from "Mama Mouse and More" from The Saltbox Studio. I used the Mama Mouse the other day, but I have been itching to use this darling little girl mouse in her Tutu and Pointe shoes. Isn't she cute? Of course I had to add a little bit of bling, so I used a gem sticker from Making Memories ( I have misplaced my Amuse Twinkle Stickers and I am lost without them) and some Diamond Stickles on her Tutu. I colored her with Copic Markers and Prismacolor Markers. I used an Amuse notecard for the base and then used some fabulous pattern papers from Making Memories. Pink and Green is one of my all-time favorite color combos! One of the reasons that I love The Saltbox Studio so much is for the sentiments. They are so fun to use and they are not "typical" sentiments that you can find just anywhere.

I also added a picture of a box I made for my sister for Mother's Day. It housed a tube of lip gloss from Bath and Body Works, so you can get an idea for how small it is. I am doing a SU! workshop for my SIL ( Hi Holly) this week, so I will be busy getting ready for that, but I will try and keep projects and things posted as well. Thanks for fluttering by!

The song in my heart

I have been super sick for the last few days. This is the first time I could drag myself out of bed long enough to do anything productive. I decided to share a design with you that I made a while back. It doesn't have any stamping on it, but I really like the quote. I made it on my computer and then just printed it out onto vellum cardstock. I used some Anna Griffin and My Minds Eye pattern paper. The ribbon is Martha Stewart! I love that ribbon. I have rolls and rolls that rarely get used. Also, I have decided to postpone A Closer Look until next week; parly because I have been sick and partly because tomorrow is Mother's Day. Thanks for fluttering by!

Mother's Day

Today's sketch challenge over at SCS looked like a fun one so I decided to play along. As soon as I saw the long rectangle, I knew exactly which image to use. I haven't used this mama mouse yet and she was longing for some ink. She is from The Saltbox Studio and the set is called "Mama Mouse and more".I colored her using prismacolor and copic markers and I chose the colors from the palette in the paper. I like starting with the papers first, so I can color the image to compliment them. This particular set comes with a ton of fun accessories, so I added a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. forgive the cropped photo...I had to use my photo editing software to correct my tilted photo and it took a little of the top off.

Convention and a Color Challenge!

Yes...I am officially going to Convention 2008! Stampin' Up! is celebrating it's 20th anniversary so I know it is going to be a blast! I would love to hear from others who are attending. Also, I participated in the Color Challenge over at SCS today. The colors are Pretty in Pink, Lovely Lilac and Certainly Celery. I really liked working with this combo and I liked how my card turned out. It is inspired by 11Valerie11. I had asked her yesterday if I could use one of her designs for my Stamp Club tonight and she said yes...so I guess her touches came through on today's card as well. LOL! Thanks, Val!

How does your garden grow?

...with silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row!

I wanted to share a fun design with images from The Saltbox Studio that I worked on over the weekend. I absolutely love the carrots and I thought this little mouse would make a cute gardener. I am having so much fun mixing and matching images from various sets. They all work so well together. Like I have mentioned before, I am not one to make a scene ( with stamps that is), but working with these images the possibilities are endless. I was just looking out my window this morning and I was inspired for my next creation from The Saltbox Studio. So...keep posted!

P.S. Stamp club is tomorrow and that means I will have some fun projects to share with you. I got everything prepped today, so all I have to do tomorrow is set up tables, chairs and put out the CHOCOLATE!

Aged Lilacs

I was in the mood to create something with a vintage touch, but also fit the season. I haven't used my "Blossoms Abound" set in a while and the Lilacs will be blooming soon. Right now the blossoms are out, but are they are shut tight. My neighbor two doors down has bush after bush of gorgeous Lilacs and the scent comes in waves through the breeze. Yummy! So...that was my inspiration for today. I used my floral fantasy embossing folder for the purple layer in Elegant Eggplant. I then stamped the lilacs, distressed and aged with my antique linen distressing ink from Ranger. Can you tell I love that stuff? LOL! I used a variety of SU! stamps for the rest-Tres Chic Background, Sanded Background and Small Sayings(retired) that I love. I also added some Moss Taffeta ribbon and a buckle from the Aged Copper HodgePodge Hardware collection. No matter how much I use, it seems to never get empty! I also added a faux blossom and some stickles to mimick an antique greeting. Thanks for fluttering by.

P.S. I have my SU! stamp club tomorrow so I will be busy getting my projects prepped, but I will share the projects tomorrow...hopefully!

*A Closer Look* #3

Hello! First of all I would like to apologize for taking so long to get this installment to you. I will admit that my system for organizing ribbon is not revolutionary or very exciting, but I am sharing with you anyway. Hopefully you will find something that you could benefit from. The first thing I would like to share with you is a fun project that I did in order to house some ribbon in an organized way, but also allows me to see what is inside. I have had this old cookie tin for a couple of years now and what it holds has changed a lot. I finally decided to put spools of ribbon inside and then I realized that I could make holes using my crop-a-dile to punch through the tin. I used a pencil to mark the width of each spool so that they would line up properly and then I punched! I can't wait to get the new crop-a-dile that you can reach even farther!

This is an easy project for anyone to try. I am glad that something finally has a permanent home in this tin. I also use the baskets that hang from my SU! punch holder. I knew these were a must have as soon as I spied them at IKEA and was even more thrilled to see how well they held ribbon. I have two of these which can be seen in the post entitled "window on my world". I showed one here, that houses an assortment of fun ribbon which really can be a springboard for creativity. The other one holds my SU! In Color double stitched ribbon and re-inkers.

Now...as much as I love having ribbons out to inspire my creativity, it is important for me to have things looking tidy and organized. My creative space is at one end of our family room so I want things to look orderly. For this reason, I have alot of things placed in containers or baskets. If they have a label holder, they have been labeled, but it is not hard for me to remember since these items get used weekly, if not daily. LOL!

I tried to use this photo and label the different areas that I have ribbon, but I think it may be too small to read. If you can't read it, at least you can see the areas that I have ribbon. I also have the small and medium ribbon holders from SU! on my desk top that houses my taffeta ribbon, gingham ribbon, striped grosgrain, 5.8 inch grosgrain (all SU!). I would love to hear your comments on what you think or if you have a great idea to share with me. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for fluttering by!

Next week's installment will focus on my desk, what it holds and why.

Home Gathering

Hello and Good Morning! I thought I would share a creation from The Saltbox Studio today. I have missed using some of the sets from the launch, so I thought I would use one of the baskets from "A Basket Celebration". One of my favorite things to do with this image, is to add some chunky glitter to the top of the muffins to make it look like sugar. Yummy! This design took an Americana turn, but I really like how it turned out. I distressed the edges with Antique Linen distress ink from Ranger for a shabby look. Thanks for fluttering by!

Also, you may have noticed that I never quite got around to sharing *A Closer Look* #3 this week. Stay tuned tomorrow for it's regularly scheduled time slot! LOL!

{ thank you }

Today's Limited Supply Challenge over at SCS was to use circles. I love circles so I thought it would be fun to play along. Since I have been selling my retired sets, I have been looking at the ones that I don't think I could ever part with and "In Full Bloom" is definitely one of them! I paired it with the stitched background that I absolutely love. I carried the stitched theme through with the stitched ribbon. I really like the colors on this. While I was putting it together, I realized that these are the colors from the Afternoon Tea DS paper that are available in the Occasions mini. I really need to use that paper! I have only used it once so far!

Spring Nesting

Whew! What a crazy week! I think it is *finally* slowing down! I thought having my son back in school would make things calmer. I was wrong! I had to get some publication projects out the door today! I am a last minute girl these days! Also, I don't know if I have mentioned this in previous posts, but I am helping coreograph a dance for our school play coming up in the middle of May. We have 3 practices a week up until the performance, so I have been hanging out at the school ALOT lately. You gotta love it! I am sure I will miss it and the girls after it is over, but for now I am swamped! Well...I will quit rambling. We are all busy these days, aren't we?

For the past week or two I have been watching a bird Mommy and bird Daddy-to-be make their nest up in the tree outside my kitchen window. I have been very interested to watch them and what they choose to take to their nest. It really is fascinating to watch. I can't wait until I can see the finished nest. We usually end up with quite a few nests throughout our collection of trees. So...with that in mind, I thought that a card was in order using my "Tweets" set from The Saltbox Studio. It has become a fast favorite with me as well as the other new sets! I am thoroughly enjoying using them.