See Ya Later Sale-A-Bration

It's Monday!  Another chance to start fresh and make this week a great one!  I live for the weekends, but I kind of love making a fresh start and setting goals for the week when Monday rolls back around.  This Monday is kind of a bitter-sweet one...it's the end of Sale-A-Bration :-(  Today is your LAST CHANCE to pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item when you order $50.  Don't miss out on any of this years fun products!

My card today showcases my favorite stamp set from this year's SAB...See Ya Later.  (You'll notice I used one of the MDS stamps in my Monday Montage post too!) 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Gumball Green Core'dinations, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Fresh Prints DSP

Ink ~ Gumball Green, Coastal Cabana

Stamp Sets ~ See Ya Later, Zoo Babies

Other Supplies ~ Oval Framelits, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder

 

Isn't that embossing folder the PERFECT added touch for an alligator card?  I am so excited that this embossing folder will be carrying over into the 2014-2015 annual catalog.

 

And speaking of annual catalog...it will be here before we know it!!!  This is the sweet part at the end of Sale-A-Bration!  I think I get more excited about new catalogs than anything else...and I know I'm not alone!

 

So, don't forget to contact me TODAY to get your last Sale-A-Bration order in!

 

Happy Stamping!

You Make Me Happy ~ Monday Montage



Hello friends and welcome to another amazing Monday Montage Blog Hop!  I look forward to this hop each and every time...this group has some awesome talent!
It's kind of cloudy and chilly out today and I'm feeling a little lazy...lazy enough to not want to leave my couch with my warm fuzzy blanket.  I had planned on putting in a little time in my craft room last night and creating a card for this weeks hop, but after spending the entire day Spring cleaning, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed as soon as my kiddos went to bed.  So, since I'm feeling lazy and I was too tired to do anything last night, I've got an MDS project to share with you today.  Getting creative from your couch (with your warm fuzzy blanket) is the BEST!  And what better page to create on a cloudy, chilly day...

I took this picture of my son a couple days ago while we were waiting for my twins to finish up baseball practice.  It was a crazy weather day...rain clouds, blue skies and sunshine all at the same time.  I made for an awesome looking sky and a pretty cute picture of this little stinker too.  His mischievous little smile gets me...every.single.time!

 

MDS Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Finest Simplicity, Family Fun Photobook, On the Go, High Tide, Day in the Life, Purple Passion

Stamps ~ See Ya Later (Sale-A-Bration), Game Day, Decorative Overlays

Font ~ A Gentle Touch

 

Now it's time to hop on over to Cathy's creation for today...you're sure to love it!  Or if you prefer to hop backwards, you can head on back to Amy's project...she inspires me each and every week!  Either way, just make sure you make the whole loop and don't miss any of us.  And don't forget to leave us some love on our blogs...we love hearing from you!

 

  Thanks for hopping along with us today!

 

Happy Stamping!

 





Oh Happy Day...

It's Friday...YAY!!!  This week has felt a little on the long side and I am happy it's finally Friday!  My twins joined Drama Club at their school at the first of the year and tonight is their big play...The Little Red Hen.  They have practiced so hard and are so excited for all of us to see their hard work.  I can't wait for tonight!  Hopefully I can get some good pictures and share them in an MDS creation in a few days :-)

Today, in honor of Friday, I have a Oh Happy Day card to share.  I used the fun, yet eye-tricking, sketch from this week's Mojo Monday.  And I say eye-tricking, because it did just that...played tricks on my eyes.  No matter how I looked at it, my card seemed crooked or lopsided...but it's just the sketch, and that's what makes it fun!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Whisper White, I Am Me DSP

Ink ~ Pool Party, Calypso Coral

Stamp Set ~ Starburst Sayings

Other Supplies ~ Naturals Chevron Ribbon, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Calypso Coral Bakers Twine, Starburst Framelits

 

Are your eyes playing tricks on you too as you look at this?!?!? 

 

Wishing you all a Happy Friday and hope you have a fabulous weekend! 

 

Happy Stamping!

 



A Weinhard Cafe Date

Happy Thursday friends!  One day closer to the weekend....woohoo!!!  It's supposed to rain all weekend, but I'm ok with that!  We are gearing up to paint the interior of our house and put in new carpet and flooring so I am itching to do some spring cleaning.  Call me crazy, but it just feels good to get things really clean and organized!  Not sure where I was headed with that...it has nothing to do with today's card.  Must need more coffee!

Any way...a good friend of my mom's recently took over ownership of a fabulous café in Dayton WA and she asked me to make her a card for this fun occasion.  I pulled up some pictures of the café for some inspiration, not really sure what direction I wanted to go in with the card.  Well, I was totally inspired by the outside of the café itself and got to work...

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Garden Green, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Velum

Ink ~ Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Perfect Plum, Elegant Egg Plant, Garden Green

Stamp Sets ~ Petite Petals, Hardwood

Other Supplies ~ Word Window Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Little Leaves Sizzlits

 

I sketched out the wine bottle and wine glass on velum (don't judge my drawing skills!) and colored them with my blender pens. 

 

I normally don't make cards like this, but I have to say, I had a lot of fun creating it!

 

Happy Stamping!



Freshly Made O's

Happy, Happy Wednesday!  Half way through the week...YIPPEE!!! 

Wednesday also means a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches! I'm also playing along with the pretty color challenge over at ColourQ.  I substituted Apricot Appeal with So Saffron and Going Gray with Smoky Slate.

 

I was working on this card {early} this morning and enjoying the company of my early morning riser.  As I was cutting out the rings for my card, my son asked me if I was making O's for Owen...he is a funny little man and getting to be so smart!  So, this will be his "O" card now :-)

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Smoky Slate

Ink ~ Versa Mark

Stamp Set ~ Regarding Dahlias

Other Supplies ~ Circles Framelits, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon, Coastal Cabana Ruffled Stretch Trim, So Saffron Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Calypso Coral Bakers Twine, Basic Metal Buttons

 

This was a quick and fun card to make...perfect for my crazy mornings!  I have very limited time to play before my work day begins, so I love it when I can pull something together so quickly.

 

Here's to hoping the rest of the week goes by quickly so we can enjoy the weekend!

 

Happy Stamping!

 



Grunge n' Roses

Happy Tuesday and welcome to a new Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch Challenge!

Have you used the Watercolor Wonder DSP yet?  If you haven't, you MUST!  I love all of the designs, but my favorite is the beautiful watercolored roses.  Mixed up with a little bit of grids and grunge, I created a Grunge n' Roses card today :-)

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Watercolor Wonder DSP

Ink ~ Crisp Cantaloupe, Smoky Slate, Pink Pirouette

Stamp Sets ~ Off the Grid, Gorgeous Grunge, A Dozen Thoughts

Other Supplies ~ Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon, Crisp Cantaloupe Ruffled Stretch Trim, Silver Bakers Twine, Tea Lace Doilies

 

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created today!

 

Happy Stamping!



Simple {Stems} Thank You

Happy Monday!  We are lucky enough to have another beautiful day of sunshine today, but rumor has it, it may be our last for a day or two.  If we can have nice weather on the weekends, I can deal with the crummy weather during the week!

I had some extra time this morning before the rest of my house woke up and had time to stamp...hooray!  That makes for a great Monday!  And what makes it even better?  Playing with new goodies!  I told myself I wasn't going to buy anymore flower stamp sets, but my will power disappeared after seeing one to many fun cards with the Simple Stems stamp set.

 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Silver Foil, Silver Fancy Foil Velum

Ink ~ Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Gumball Green

Stamp Sets ~ Simple Stems, Hip Notes, Papillion Potpourri

Other Supplies ~ Mini Butterfly Punch

 

This is a pretty simple card, but the silver foil and velum really dress it up!

 

Hope you find some time to stamp today too!

 

Happy Monday!

 



Sweet Baby Owl

Happy {sunny} Sunday!  Spring has really sprung here and I am loving it!  It took all I had to come down to my craft room to write up this blog post instead of staying outside in the sun.  BUT, I did get to Skype with my good friend Cynthia, so that made it all worth it!

Some good friends of ours are expecting their first baby in a few months and are having their baby shower this afternoon.  They have decided not to find out the gender of the baby, so I found some pretty gender neutral colors to play with and made a cute little owl card.

Supplies Used:

Paper:  So Saffron, Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Pear Pizzazz, 2013-2015 In-Color DSP, Neutrals DSP, Subtles DSP

Ink ~ Jet Black StazOn, So Saffron, White Gel Pen

Stamp Supplies ~ Baby, We've Grown

Other Supplies ~ Owl Builder Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Simply Scored Scoring Tool

 

When ever I have a baby shower gift to give, I love to make one of these cute little diaper motorcycles.  With just a small package of diapers, some cute receiving blankets and a few other baby items, I can whip one of these out in less than 30 minutes!

 

I used some of the Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon to tie around the wheels and handle bars...it was a prefect match to the blankets.

 

I can't wait to give this gift to our friends and I really can't wait to meet their baby!

 

Time to head back out and enjoy more of our sun-shiny day!

 

Happy Stamping!



Pleasant {Poppy} Spring

Well, it's the first day of spring and, dare I say, it feels a bit like spring?!?!  Blue skies, sunshine and temps above 40...I think we are getting closer to full on spring weather!

Some of the ladies over at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiraiton had some amazing flower creations this morning and I was totally INKspired to create.  So, while my son slept, I happily stamped my lunch break away!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry, Creped Filter Paper

Ink ~ VersaMark, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry

Stamp Set ~ Pleasant Poppies

Other Supplies ~ Circle Framelits, 3/4" Circle Punch, Naturals Chevron Ribbon, Basics Glimmer Brads, Gold Sequin Trim, White Embossing Powder

 

I'm happy to finally put some of this creped paper to use...I've got a ton of it!  Now I just need to put it to use a bit more.  Stay tuned...

 

Happy Spring and Happy Stamping!



Watercolor Wednesday

Happy Watercolor Wednesday!  The crew over at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiraiton is playing with watercolors today and I'm loving it!  I LOVED to use the watercolor paints in elementary school...and I still love to use them today!  I was so excited to see all of the fun watercolor items in the Occasions Mini and have been using my Aqua Painters and Watercolor Paper a lot more these days :-)  And have you seen the Watercolor Wonder Notecards and Envelopes?!?!?  LOVE!!!  I have already used up a whole set of these notecards and have more on the way! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Watercolor Paper, Watercolor Wonder Notecards and Envelopes

Ink ~ Jet Black StazOn, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Gumball Green, Metallic Gold

Stamp Set ~ Happy Watercolor

Other Supplies ~ Watercolor Wonder Washi Tape, Gold Bakers Twine, Gold Sequin Trim, Aqua painters

 

Be sure to check out the rest of the Watercolor Wonder{ful} creations from the rest of the Design Team...you'll be INKSpired to break out your watercolor supplies today too!

 

Happy Stamping!

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A Wee Bit o' Irish

Happy Monday and Happy St Patrick's Day!  Hope you've all got your green on and don't get pinched!

I made a fun little card to give to my boys this morning, along with some green pancakes!  I love doing fun things for them on little holidays like this.

After seeing the fun sketch at The Friday Mashup, I just had to create a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end!  Along with the sketch, we were challenged to create something with a rainbow or rainbow colors, so that's what I did!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Gumball Green, Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, WhisperWhite, Gold Foil, Watercolor Wonder DSP

Ink ~ VersaMark

Stamp Set ~ Teeny Tiny Wishes

Other Supplies ~ Circle Framelits, Word Window Punch, Itty Bitty Punch (circle) Fringe Scissors, Square Framelits, Gold Sequin Trim, Gold Embossing Powder

 

I used my square framelits to create the banner and probably should have flipped my paper over when I cut it to avoid the framelit mark on the paper...note to self for next time!

 

Wishing you all a Happy St Patrick's Day! 

 

Happy Stamping!



Three Cheers for the Yellow Squirrels

Hello and welcome to this month's SSInk Scrapbook Sketch.  This month we have a two page spread and I LOVE it!

 

 

I was so happy when I saw this sketch!  I was needing a fun idea for a layout for pictures from my older boys soccer season.  The big circle was perfect for the soccer ball!

 

How do you like their team name?!?!?  Yellow Squirrels!!!  When the coach asked what they wanted to name the team at the beginning of the season, one of the kiddos shouted out "Yellow Skulls", but the coach though he said "Yellow Squirrels" which had ALL of the kids cracking up.  So, Yellow Squirrels it was.  They all had a great season and were sad to see it come to an end this weekend.  But, with the end of soccer season means the beginning of baseball season...WOOHOO!!!

 

I created this page in MDS...the only was I scrapbook now!  To create the fading soccer ball, I simply adjusted the opacity of each ball as I added them to the page.  Kind of make it looks like it is soaring across the page!

 

Be sure to  head on over to SSInk and check out all of the awesome layouts from our even awesomer, yep, I said awesomer, design team members!

 

Happy Stamping!



A Peek into My Flower Garden ~ Monday Montage



Hello and welcome back to another Monday Montage blog hop!  We're back, once again, with more fabulous projects...hope along and enjoy!

I spend today doing two of my most favorite things...stamping and digging in the dirt!  Not at the same time, of course ;)  I got all of my flower beds cleaned out, weeded and all ready for some flowers...once we are, for sure, done freezing at night!  While I wasn't able to plant any flowers in my yard, I was able to create some pretty flowers with some stamps and ink...take a look and let me know what you think!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Gumball Green, Watercolor Wonder DSP

Ink ~ Smoky Slate, Island Indigo

Stamp Sets ~ Hardwood, Petite Petals, Six-Sided Sampler

Other Supplies ~ Petite Petals Punch, Mini Brads, Little Leaves Sizzlits, Circles Framelits

 

It was so nice to finally be able to spend some time outside this weekend...in the sun!  I am crossing my fingers that the really cold weather is finally over and we are on our way to warmer spring days!

 

Now it's time to hop on over to Cathy and I promise her post will WOW you once again.  Or if you prefer to hop backwards, you can head on back to the amazing creation by Amy ...she inspires me each and every week!  Either way, just make sure you make the whole loop and don't miss any of us.  And don't forget to leave us some love on our blogs...we love hearing from you!

 

  Thanks for hopping along with us today!

 





Stylin' Stampin' Squad "Blooming" Blog Hop

Thank you so much for joining us for our March Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop!  Temperatures are on the rise and there is just one short week until the official first day of Spring!  We are all so ready to put away our snowflakes and break out the flowers in our craft rooms!  Stampin' Up! has so many options for Spring-time flowers and we are showing you just a few of those today!

As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop number 7 on the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad blog hop – Darcy of DJ's Stampin' Place. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

I'm sharing one of my favorite stamp sets with you today...Regarding Dahlias.  The big, beautiful dahlia is gorgeous stamped in any color, but it is downright stunning when embossed and colored!  I created a colorful Spring-time card and a cute little treat box to match.

I embossed the dahlia in white on Whisper White cardstock then used my Aqua Painter to create the pretty shades of pink (Strawberry Slush) and purple (Rich Razzleberry).  Some clear embossed dahlias in the background and a little butterfly makes this a "picture perfect" card :-)

 The matching treat box was made using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch and Simply Scored.  You can find a great tutorial for the box HERE.  Thank you Heidi for providing great instructions on your blog!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Rich Razzleberry, Strawberry Slush, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Brights DSp

Ink ~ Rich Razzleberry, Strawberry Slush, VersaMark

Stamp Set ~ Regarding Dahlias

Other Supplies ~ On Film Framelits, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Brights Buttons, Strawberry Slush Ruffle Stretch Trim, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, White Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter

 

Next stop on the hop is Heidi of Stuck on Stampin'...be sure to make the full hop and see all the beautiful blooms!

 

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
2. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun
3. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
4. Cynthia R. of Ink-A-Doodle Creations
5. Erica B. of Stamping Starlette
6. Anastasia R. of Stampin' Blondie
7. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
8. Bree R. of Craft-Somnia
9. Heidi B. of Heidi of Stuck on Stampin'
10. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
11. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
12. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life
13. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
14. Donna S. of Organized Chaos
15. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
16. Darla R. & Nancy K. of Stampin with Darla and Sisters
17. Kathy P. of Katrina P's Creative Corner

A-Tisket, A-Tasket...

...A Pretty Easter Basket...
 

Bree here today from Craft-somnia Momma and I have a cute little Easter Basket to share with you today.  I can not take credit for the design though...I found a great YouTube video HERE from Caroline Hallett. The basket featured in her video is a bit bigger than the one I made, but I shared the measurement changes in my post today over at Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration.  Head on over and check it out!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Naturals White, Watercolor Paper, Soft Sky

Ink ~ Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Sky, Crushed Curry

Stamp Sets ~ Chalk Talk, Backyard Basics

Other Supplies ~ Chalk Talk Framelits, Backyard Basics Framelits, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Regals Buttons, Subtles Buttons, Burlap Ribbon, Crochet Trim, Metallic Clothes Pins

 

We made this at my Stamp Club this month and everyone loved it!  There are so many other ways to decorate and embellish these adorable little baskets.  Be on the lookout for another great idea from my good friend and fellow SSInk design team member, Cynthia at Ink-A-Doodle-Creations.  We had a friendly little challenge between the two of us creating these baskets and she will be posting hers next week.  Stay tuned!

 

I hope I've INKspired you to CREATE something fabulous today! 

 

Happy Stamping!

 

 

 



Walter the Amazing Super Hero Dog ~ HSSCC181

It's time for a new Color Challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments and I'm not going to lie...these colors and the stamp set I chose to play with kinda kicked my booty.  The first two cards I made ended up in the trash, but I kept playing and finally came up with something that I sorta like :-)  I also came up with one that made me giggle too...stay tuned and be sure to scroll down to the end of this post to see what all the laughs were about!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Kaleidoscope DSP, Brights DSP, Regals DSP

Ink ~ Night of Navy, Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango

Stamp Set ~ Cool Kid

Other Supplies ~ Merry Mini Star Punch, Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

 

OK, on to my card that made me laugh...if you have children, especially boys, there is a good chance you have seen or heard of the Walter the Farting Dog books.  I know, the titles are awful, but the books are hilarious!  No matter how many times we read one of the books, my boys are always rolling on the floor laughing and I'm crying from laughing so hard...so silly!  Anyway, as I was stamping away and creating this next card, my intentions were to use the lines from Gorgeous Grunge to make the superhero puppy look like he was flying.  As you can see, I didn't quite achieve that appearance...

Needless to say, my older boys cracked up as soon as they saw this card.   I wasn't going to post it, but my good friend Cynthia convinced me it would make for a funny post.  So....there ya have it!  My very own version of Walter!

Be sure to check out the rest of the teams creations...its always fun to see all of the different takes when it comes to color!

 

Happy Stamping!



Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We are wrapping up this years soccer season this coming Saturday and jumping right into baseball season...we are all so excited!  Baseball season means lots of time outside playing catch, running around and just having fun!  It's so much fun to watch my boys  and their teammates improve with each season.

I always like to kick off a new season of baseball with a special little treat for my boys.  When I saw the latest challenge over at The Friday Mashup I was totally inspired to create a fun card to go along with their treats this year.

The Mashup Challenge is to create a masculine project with stitching/sewing.  While I have zero ability to sew, I can create some fun faux stitching on paper!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Night of Navy, Whisper White, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red, Fresh Prints DSP

Ink ~ Night of Navy, Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red Stampin' Write Marker

Stamp Set ~ Hip Notes

Other Supplies ~ 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Chevron Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Houndstooth Embossing Folder

 

To create the "stitched" look on the baseball, I used my Paper Piercing Tool to create a pierce mark at the end of each "V" on the stitching.  To add to the baseball theme, I crumpled up the Baked Brown Sugar paper, sponged it and added pierced around the edges to give it the look of an old worn baseball glove.

 

Now...PLAY BALL!

 

And as always, Happy Stamping!