Thanks so Much *SFYTT*

I decided to use up the small amount of scraps I have from this retired SU! DSP for this week's *Sketch For You To Try* design. I haven't used this image in a while and it was perfect for this week's sketch. Everything on the card is SU! except for the sewing, obviously and white PTI cardstock which I cannot live without. I haven't done a SU! only design in a while, so I thought I would go ahead. I still haven't placed an order from the new catalog, so I am trying to use what I have.

I colored the image using re-inkers and a blender pen. I decided that the focal piece needed a little something extra, so I used my color-spritzing tool to splatter some chocolate chip ink. Before I did that, I added a bit of crystal effects to each flower. I embossed each scallop on the side using the crop-a-dile. The sentiment is from "Pocket Silhouettes" and I cut it and popped it up on the focal piece. I am still working on my thank you cards for all of my birthday gifts. I am so behind. My goal was to at least get them all done before September, but I don't see that happening.

Last night, after football practice, Emma and I went baby shopping. We picked out a cute new outfit and Yes...I kept my receipt. LOL! I am still bummed that we don't have a for sure answer. I guess it will keep me from going wild with shopping for another few weeks! LOL!

We have another football game today. I hope the team does well.

You won't want to miss the other SFYTT designers.
Jen Del Muro and Megan
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer

Carole and Susan won't be playing this week.
I hope you all get a chance to play along this week! Thanks for fluttering by !!!

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Friends {24-7}
Ink: Palette Noir, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Paper: PTI White, SU! White, Parisian Breeze DSP
Accessories: Button Bouquet Button, Linen Thread, 1 3/4 inch circle punch, foam squares, sewing machine and thread, crystal effects, color spritzer tool, sponge, crop-a-dile, chocolate taffeta ribbon

A Note of Thanks SFYTT

I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday! I can't believe how fast the weeks fly by! I was in the mood to use up some more of my DSP, so I decided to use this "Raspberry Tart" variety. I fell in love with it and pre-ordered two packages when it was first available. I don't think I have even opened the second package. I think I may be planning a Stamp-a-stack soon to get some of this paper used up! LOL!

I knew I wanted to use this butterfly set, so I just took the colors from the paper. The paper does all the work with minimal stamping. I did add a little sparkle to the butterflies using crystal effects and a sprinkle of Chunky Essentials glitter. I finished it off with a taffeta bow and called it good. The pattern paper is so busy that I decided to keep the embellishments minimal.

I love it when the butterflies are bent so they look like they are in flight. I just bend them in half and then apply them with crystal effects. That way they have a nice, strong hold and I don't worry about them coming off. Of course they would get squished if you put it in an envelope, but could easily be bent up again.

I will be sharing some fun Papertrey things tomorrow night, so stay tuned.

You won't want to miss the other SFYTT designers.

Jen Del Muro and Julie
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Susan Liles and Amy Sheffer

Thanks for fluttering by!

300th Post, SFYTT, Blog Candy!

How do you love that title? LOL! I can't believe it is my 300th Post! I had promised blog candy when it arrived, so I will talk about that at the end of my post. Last night I stayed up late making this week's SFYTT card. I was so excited for it. It really did have a lot of potential, but in the end has made it's way into the circular file. I woke up to make a new one, so I apologize for my tardiness.

I decided that this tree from "Thoughts and Prayers" would be the perfect fit for this particular sketch and that one of the sentiments would fit nicely into the circle. I haven't used much of this Bella Bleu DSP, so I thought I would pair the two together. I was shocked to learn that the SU! catalog suggested that Not Quite Navy was the matching blue for this paper. I just couldn't bring myself to stamp that tree in Not Quite Navy, so I started out stamping it in Vanilla. That was much too light, so I decided to emboss it in Gold! Isn't it beautiful? I had just been thinking to myself the other day that I don't emboss enough. The sentiment needed to be embossed as well. I punched it out using the 1 3/4 inch circle punch. I also added a simple bow of Kraft taffeta ribbon. I always love when I make a card that I normally *never* would have without some sort of challenge. This is one of those cards. I really like how it turned out in the end. I think this is the perfect kind of card to cheer some one up who is going through a hard time; simple, clean, elegant.

You won't want to miss the other SFYTT designers to see what they have up their sleeves!

Jen Del Muro and New Guest Designer
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Susan Liles and Amy Sheffer

So...now for the fun stuff!!!! BLOG CANDY!

I decided to keep it simple this time 'round. I would love to offer any $25.95 SU! set from the SU! catalog (united states version) to one of my lucky blog readers. Simply leave me a comment and you will be entered to win. I will have it shipped Customer Direct. I will keep the contest going through the weekend and ending Monday at 8:30 Mountain Time. I will draw a winner Monday morning and announce the winner. Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I will be sharing one of Lauren's new Timeless Templates tomorrow! You won't want to miss it!

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Ink: Vanilla Craft

Paper: Bella Bleu, Kraft

Accessories: 1 3/4 inch punch, gold embossing powder, heat gun, Kraft taffeta ribbon, dimesionals

Color Challenge

Yesterday I decided to skip housecleaning, skip stamping and spend the day with my kiddos! They returned to school today after a long break, so I wanted to have one last outing before they went back. We had fun together and now I am ready to send them back. I hope they have a good day! Maybe some Chocolate Chip cookies are in order!
I decided to participate in today's Color Challenge on SCS. I wanted to run the other direction when I saw what the colors were, but I decided to give it a try; after all, that is why they are called challenges, right? Mr. Brown delivered this "Great Friend" set yesterday, so I decided to use that as a starting point. Once I had stamped the butterfly image in the three challenge colors, I was set. They really do look pretty together. I think that the polka-dot paper, may in fact be Wild Wasabi. Oh well. This card is SUO, which I haven't done in a while.

I stamped the label image using Ballet Blue ink onto Whisper White cardstock and then attached my trimmed butteflies with dimesionals. I decided to add a little bling to the centers of the butterflies using Crystal Effects and chunky sprinkles glitter. I added some piercing, ribbon, and a button for some dimension and detail.

Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies~Stamps: Great Friend

Ink: Ballet Blue, Cameo Coral, Whisper White

Paper: Cameo Coral, Garden Green, Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Prints Pattern DSP

Accessories: Ballet Blue 5/8 inch grograin ribbon, dimensionals, button latte, crochet thread, crystal effects, chunky sprinkles, paper piercer and mat pack

Here for You...24-7

If you could see my stamping desk, you would be amazed that this card even exists! LOL! I almost took a picture for you to witness the horror, but decided against it! I decided that I would combine a couple of challenges today; this week's mojo monday sketch challenge and today's color challenge on SCS. I thought this week's sketch looked like fun and the layout worked well for many stamp sets that I have, but decided to pull out the "Friends 24-7" set that I love. I haven't used it in a while so I thought it would be a nice fit.

I started out by stamping the flower image with black ink and then coloring it with re-inkers and a blender pen. Mine are almost dry now, so I think a new pack is in order. There is nothing better than coloring with a new blender pen. I first colored the flowers completely with Pink Pirouette and then added Riding Hood Red on top. The leaves were colored with Certainly Celery and then a little highlighting with So Saffron.

My first thought was to use Bella Rose DSP, but decided on Candy Lane since it was already out in my horrific mess. I thought it looked cute with this image, too! I matted each piece except the base piece onto Riding Hood Red cardstock for contrast. Once I had the card all put together, I spritzed the focal piece and circle image with the Color Spritzer Tool and my Chocolate Chip marker.

I finished the design off with a bit of piercing at the top and then added three vintage brads to the side as the sketch had. I added some crystal effects to the flowers for some shine. This card will be headed directly into the donation pile!

As for my personal life, we finally got my son's birthday party plans figured out. He decided on a bowling party which should be super fun. Now I just need to get the invitations figured out and put together. I don't have a bowling stamp, so I will be getting creative! Also, this is the last day of my guest designer position for Verve Stamps! I have had so much fun! I will be participating in the project parade, so I will have a project upcoming! I will be working on that today and hopefully getting it all photographed, etc! Thanks for fluttering by!


Friends 24-7 Stamp Set
Paper:Candy Lane DSP, White, Riding Hood Red Cardstock
Ink: Black, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Circle Punches, scallop punch, vintage brads, riding hood red taffeta ribbon, paper piercer and mat pack, scissors, crystal effects, blender pen

Simply Happy

I absolutely fell in love with the color challenge colors for today! They are happy colors! I thought the butterflies from "Flight of the Butterfly" would look great in the colors, so that is where I started. I also wanted to try this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge and this set seemed to work nicely with it. My proportions are a tad off, but I don't think the stamping police need to get involved! LOL! As promised, here is another birthday design, which I think works nicely for an adult woman or little girl.

I kept everything clean and simple, not many bells and whistles, which is completely opposite of how I am in the mood to create! I really did want to *add* more, but couldn't find the right thing. Now that I am looking at it, it probably could use a little piercing around the focal image, but oh well! This is a SUO card that I think would be perfect for a workshop or stamp-a-stack, especially since the buttons were bought in bulk. The hardest part was deciding which DSP to use, which I settled on some Kiwi dots from the Rockabilly collection and the pink from a hostess DSP pack. I thought the two patterns worked nicely together. There really isn't much more to say about it...it is pretty straightforward.

We had a cold-front move in, so the spring like weather has come and gone and we are back to coats. I guess it is supposed to snow again tomorrow. My daffodils and hyacinths have finally bloomed and my tulips are ready to make an appearance in the next week or two.

Stay tuned this week for some vintage designs. I really need to get on the ball to get some more cards for the donation pile! Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies:

Flight of the Butterfly Stamp Set, Fundamental Phrases Stamp Set

Ink: Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink

Paper: Naturals White, Ultrasmooth White, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Rockabilly DSP, Prints Pattern Pretty in Pink DSP

Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Button Bouquet, Crochet Thread, Dimensionals

Bird on a Branch

I decided that I haven't been posting much SU! these days, so I thought I would make a SUO card today. What is SUO you ask? Stampin' Up! Only. Very rarely do I make something that is completely SU! because I sneak in different paper, glitter, etc. but today I made it a point to use everything SU! even down to the scissors I used! LOL!

I used today's Sketch Challenge over at SCS. I needed to flip the sketch to have it accomodate this particular set. I love the coordinating papers. It is pretty straightforward. I did have to add the sentiment piece to the top because what is underneath is crooked! LOL! Often times my designs get little additions here or there to cover up my mistakes.

I want to say thank you to all of you who said such nice things about my new photo. My old photo was taken for the Dirty Dozen and I have used it ever since. I thought it was time to freshen things up a bit.

I have been getting quite a few questions about some of the things I do on my cards, so look for a Q and A coming up in the next few days as well as a tutorial! Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bird on Branch
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise
Paper: Naturals Vanilla, Ultrasmooth Vanilla, Tempting Turquoise, Flock Together DSP
Accessories: SuperNova glitter, Tombow Mono Multi, Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals

Dazzling Citrus

I am seriously behind on this week's SCS challenges. Normally I would just forgo them, but I really wanted to try and get them done this week. I decided to combine yesterday's sketch challenge and Tuesday's Color Challenge. I haven't used Tart and Tangy for some time and I thought it would work well for both challenges. I couldn't find a way to make this fit into today's WT challenge or I would have! LOL! This card is clean and crisp...I was in the mood. I have been doing a lot of vintage lately.

I started out by stamping the fruit images onto white cardstock and then punching them out with my 1 1/4 inch square punch. I then mounted them onto a piece of "Good Morning Sunshine" DSP. I added crystal effects to the center of the lemon and orange and the peel of the apple and then poured dazzling diamonds glitter over the top.

I also used my texture plates from SU!. If anyone has any tips for getting them to work in a Cuttlebug I would love to hear them. This is what I did: A plate, texture plate face up, cardstock, two tan rubber mats from Spellbinders, B plate and then I ran it through my cuttlebug. You can hardly see it, but I used it on the back Pumpkin Pie layer. It is super subtle, but in real life you can see it better. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, but I did add a corduroy button that I love. I really need to get a few more colors.

I really liked making this card because I used a set I haven't used in a while as well as the pumpkin pie cardstock. The top pieces were completely faded. Hmmmm....that is not so good! LOL!

Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Best Yet

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun

Paper: White, Pumpkin Pie, Good Morning Sunshine DSP

Accessories: Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, corduroy button, linen thread, dimensionals, dazzling diamonds glitter, crystal effects, 1 1/4 inch square punch, SU! Texture Plates

Thinking of You

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments yesterday! I loved hearing all of your own stories to make me laugh. Kids will be kids, won't they? I gave my daughter her card and she started crying. She really loved it. She is a sap just like her Mom! I wrote a lot of nice things in there, including how proud I am of her creativity. She really impresses me. I can't wait to see how she blossoms the older she gets.

I have been really anxious to use all of my new SU! goodies, but I have been really good to pace myself. I have so many other new stamp sets as well, so I am trying to alternate. Today's SCS sketch challenge was a perfect fit for my new "Good Morning Sunshine" DSP and "Trendy Trees" Stamp set. I have to admit that I struggled getting the trees to look right, so I headed to my catty to see how they used it. I fell in love with the little card they had made so I used the same details in my rectangle as they used on their card. It also gave me a chance to break into my new corduroy buttons. I love those things!

I didn't realize that there are brads and buttons! I was excited to see that. I paired it with "Think Happy Thoughts" an older SU! set, but I thought it worked nicely with the card. The sentiment looked straight until I pierced the holes at the bottom and then I could see how crooked it was. I had reworked the focal piece too many times, so left it. I did a little sewing down the vertical panel with my sewing machine and thread. I can't wait to experiment more with this set. It is fun! Thanks for fluttering by!

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Think Happy ThoughtsInk: Old Olive, Summer Sun, Chocolate ChipPaper: Chocolate Chip, White, Good Morning Sunshine DSPAccessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon, Mini Library Clip, Corduroy Buttons, Linen thread, silver brads, circle punches, sewing machine and thread, paper piercer and mat pack, stamp-a-majig

Stamping 180

This is a total 180 degree turn from yesterday's card. I didn't sponge or distress. Everything is clean and straight!LOL! I have used the Candy Lane DSP in another post, but not combined with the 3 heart punch and Love You Much Stamp Set from SU! I sat down last night and mounted it and another set that have been sitting there untouched. This week on the Card Positioning Systems Blog, you could choose any layout you wanted for the challenge. I chose #96. I like the long panels paired with the short square on the side. I thought it lended itself well to use an assortment of pattern paper. That is what today's WT challenge is over at SCS...so this is a double challenge. The WT challenge was to use Pattern Paper, but add a little something to it. I decided to add a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the center of the flowers and little on the punched heart.

I used the scallop edge punch and the cropadile for the embossed circles in the scallops. I threaded the flower buton from the Button Bouquet assortment with linen thread. I sewed a zig-zag stitch along the bottom. This card is 100% SU! if you are looking for a workshop card or idea.

*Gasp* As I am looking at the photo to my left, I am realizing this card doesn't have any ribbon! I think I may go add some to the little library clip! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by! ETA: If you would like to see the revised version you can check it out here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1203264?limit=last1


Stamps: Love You Much
Ink: Basic Brown, Whisper White Craft Ink,
Riding Hood Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Vanilla
Candy Lane DSP
Accessories: Embossing Buddy, 2 Way Glue,
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Mini Library Clip
Sewing Machine and Thread, 3 heart punch,
Linen Thread, Button Bouquet, Scallop Edge
Punch, Crop-a-dile, dimensionals

Season of Friendship

I was bound and determined to use this set and make it work. I have tried countless times to use this set with the tree base and the snowflake, but it never looked right. I decided to give it another try but this time using the leaves and the flowers. Things went much smoother this time. I used the Color Challenge over at SCS for a starting point. The colors are perfect for this card. I took some inspiration from Dawn's card she sent me (see yesterday's post). I used the multi colored sentiment and button on the side. I love her card. I have it sitting right here. I also poppped up the flowers with dimensionals. I stamped most of the flowers with regal rose and some were stamped off with regal rose and then rolled in bravo burgundy. I added chunky sprinkles to the center of each flower for some sparkle. I decided that since this was a springy card, the bird really needed a nest. I created the nest by cutting Kraft cardstock strips super thin with my big SU! paper trimmer. I tied them in a knot and then knotted it again. I trimmed the ends and then applied it to the tree with a glue dot. I paper pierced the bottom with my mat pack and paper piercer. I had fun making this card! Thanks for fluttering by!

Stamps: Season of Friendship
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip Craft
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, White, Kraft
Accessories: Slit Punch, Regal Rose brad, Kiwi Kiss button, Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon, linen thread, chunky sprinkles glitter, liquid glue

Dream A Little

When I got home from Volunteering in my daughter's class, Mr. Brown (actually it is a Mrs. Brown who has been coming lately) had paid me a visit. I had some new goodies waiting for me from Stampin' Up! For those of you who are not demos, this will be a sneak peek for you. I used one of the new hostess sets called "Dream a Little". I absolutely love this paper, too. This will be one of the new DSP papers in the Spring/Summer catalog called "Raspberry Tart". Isn't it yummy? I was so excited to use my new stuff, I just whipped this out, so hopefully I can take a little more time tomorrow or later tonight and play some more.

Before beginning, I did hop over to SCS to check out the WT challenge for today. It was to incorporate envelopes into our project. I pulled out my {beloved} envelope templates I got from Martha By Mail (back in 2001 when it was still around) and made a coordinating envelope with the Raspberry Tart DSP. These are the times when I am especially glad that the paper is double sided. It comes with any easy template to make liners, but with double sided paper, no liner is necessary. Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies:

Stamps: dream a little

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Whisper White, Basic Gray

Paper: PTI White, Rose Red, Raspberry Tart DSP

Accessories: Pretties Kit, Diamond Stickles, Kiwi Kiss double sided satin ribbon, vintage brads, foam squares, scallop punch

Wanted!

It is now 2:00 and I finally got a chance to stamp! I have a few ladies coming over for stamp club tonight, so I really should be prepping for that. I decided to use the colors from today's Color Challenge over at SCS. I thought they would work well with Bronc Buster and Wanted from SU! (Sorry about the double pictures...I uploaded it wrong and I am too lazy to fix it!) I used my cuttlebug and the Paisley embossing folder for the background. I also used the star and Paisley image from Wanted as well. I sponged, distressed and pierced. Poor card! Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies: Wanted, Bronc Buster stamp sets

Ink: Sahara Sand, Black

Paper: Vanilla, Black, Sahara Sand

Accessories: star punch, sponge, gingham ribbon, star brads, paper piercer and mat pack, paisley embossing folder, cuttlebug, foam squares, silver brads

Two Cards-One Sketch

I hopped over to Card Positioning Systems today to check out this week's sketch. It was fabulous as always, so I decided to make two cards. One using some of the new Christmas images from The Saltbox Studio and another using the Old Saint Nick rub-ons from Stampin' Up! Both cards were super fun to make. You can check out this week's sketch here: http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/

The first card doesn't have any stamped images on it, but I did use the fantastic rub-ons called
"Old Saint Nick" I used the white images and transfered the image onto a piece of acetate. I distressed the edges for a frosty look using my Cotton White StazOn inkpad. This is one of my favorite inkpads, but it has been neglected lately. I guess Christmas time is a great time to use it. I also used "Christmas Traditions" DSP for each layer and Pink Pirouette cardstock for the base and the mat. I used a gem and some glitter from Martha Stewart Crafts. I rounded the corners on the base using my small corner rounder. I really like this one, because it is sharper than others I have had and it will punch through both layers of my cards.

The next card uses some great new images from The Saltbox Studio that can be found Here: http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ I love these little mouse images. I can just imagine the little church mice putting on a Christmas pageant. Yes...I am a nerd!!! I had fun coloring the images using copics and prismacolor markers. I also used a pigment gold inkpad for the sentiment and the star. I paired the images with the yummy FaLaLa paper from Making Memories. I was at Target the other day picking up some other items and I spied this and had to have it. I usually don't purchase my craft items at Target but this paper was calling my name. I punched one of the snowflakes out from the pattern paper and used that for the snowflake element that the sketch called for. Easy Peasy.

Don't forget to check back for the BLOG CANDY I will be posting this week!

Card 1 Supplies:

Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons

Paper: Pink Pirouette Card stock, Christmas Traditions DSP

Ink: Antique Linen by Ranger

Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped ribbon fromSU! , Little Felt Flurries, Crystal Coarse Glitter and pink gem sticker from Martha Stewart Crafts, foam squares, vintage brads, acetate, sponge, liquid glue

Card 2 Supplies:

Images from The Saltbox Studio (http://www.amuseartstamps.com/)

Paper: Kraft, PTI white, FaLaLa from Making Memories

Ink: Palette Noir, copic and prismacolor markers, gold pigment pad, Vintage Photo by Ranger

Accessories: Gold Brads, Circle punches from SU!

A Springy card for Today's Sketch Challenge

My daughter has been fighting a nasty cold and my son is off-track (year round school), so I have been able to just relax and stamp. Yesterday was a full-on Jammie Day. Don't you just love those once in a while? I know that I do. My daughter is feeling better today, I can tell, but I don't dare push it. I think we will take it easy again today. I participated in Today's sketch challenge over at splitcoaststampers. I wanted to use springy colors so I chose Saffron, Celery and Artichoke.I also added a fun design element that I have noticed recently on the SU! samples; add embossed circles to the scallops with the crop-a-dile. I really like how it turned out. It has the feel that I was trying to achieve. Also, as I mentioned in my previous post, I will be trying to add things to my blog daily, and don't miss out on the blog candy coming up soon! Thanks for fluttering by!

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Tres Chic

Cardstock: Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, So Saffron

Ink: Artichoke, celery, saffron

Accessories: pretties kit, vanilla 5/8 inch grosgrain, saffron brads, slit punch, crop-a-dile

Today's Color Challenge

I haven't participated in any of the challenges over at Splitcoaststampers lately, so I decided to check out today's color challenge. This is the card that I created for the challenge. I really love this set...as you can tell, since I used it yesterday as well. I have a new box of SU! goodies coming tomorrow and I will have some new stuff to play with. So...until then...I used some of my faves. I used *touch of nature*, sanded bg, floral bg, and *hugs and wishes*. I really like how this card turned out. I never would have thought to put these colors together. That is why I love the challenges so much! Thanks for dropping by. Stay posted for some exciting news and some BLOG CANDY!!!!

My New Blog

First of all I would like to say "Welcome to my new Blog". I can't believe it has taken me this long to join the blogging world. I am excited to share my paper crafting adventures here. I will update my blog frequently. I have lots I want to share.