HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Good Sunday morning everyone and Happy Halloween! I think it is going to turn out to be a gorgeous day here! That hasn't always been the case for us. Yesterday the boys won their soccer game 4-0 and Nick scored one of the goals!!! He had many other shots on goal but only one made it. A great way to end the season! It was a gorgeous day and I even got sunburned. Then we came home and I got to work on my deviled eggs and other snacks. I was so tired by then but we packed up and headed to the Halloween party. Shortly after everyone arrived is when the storm hit. It was kind of cool because we took most of the older kids to a sort of "half" barn (it is more of a stall for their horses but it is covered and has walls on three sides). The wind is blowing and the rain is coming down pretty hard and we told ghost stories. Actually the kids made them up so it was really funny!! The kids had a ball but the adults were so tired! So I slept in and it felt so good!! I think we will all be taking it easy today. We don't get trick-or-treaters out here in the country so we don't have to worry about that. We will just sit and enjoy some football!

Today's card is one of my favorite Halloween cards. I used a sketch from Card Patterns as inspiration. It is an older sketch and I did make this card quite a while ago. It is so super simple! The black flourish jewels were a little tricky to put on. Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween and I pray that everyone is safe! Thanks for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Cajun Craze; Accessories- Raven lace trim, black flourish designer jewels, 2 1/2" circle punch, glimmer brad, sponge, dimensionals

Batty For You!

Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend is starting out wonderfully! It looks to be the perfect fall day today but I think that will change soon as the wind is supposed to pick up and it is supposed to rain. But then again, that is good fall weather! Last night, after soccer practice, we went and helped our friends decorate their garage for the Halloween party tonight. That was a lot of fun but very tiring. So we slept in this morning, (Nick's game is later today) and now I am boiling more eggs for tonight. The deviled eggs for Nick's class party were a big hit! I thought they tasted pretty good myself. I will try to post a picture of them tomorrow.

Today's card comes from a sketch that I really can't remember where I got. I didn't mark it and now I don't have the time to try and find out. Not my favorite but it works. I wanted to post something halloween-y for today and tomorrow. It is a super simple card! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Grateful Greetings; Paper- Cajun Craze, Basic Black; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- bat punch, black flourish jewels, spider web embossing folder, dimensionals

CCMCHM 4

Good morning, Friends! It's Friday and that means the weekend is here! I can not believe that we are at the end of the month! Where did it go? Nick has his last soccer game of the season tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. But Nick says he really likes playing in the rain. Guess it makes him a little tougher. I don't like watching the game in the rain, though :) So yesterday I went to Wal-Mart and shopped for a Halloween costume. Still not sure what I was looking for. But what I really liked about Wal-Mart is that they had pieces of items that you could put together for a costume. So, I bought some pirate stuff, a cape, a fake beard, and a scary Frankenstein looking mask. I just knew he would love the mask. Then I bought a black shirt. So when he got home from school I gave him all the stuff and told him my idea and he went to town! We found an old pair of black slacks and cut the cuffs uneven and took the black shirt and did the same and he cut holes in it. He already had an old pair of black shoes. Then he put the mask on and... Well, let's just say he makes a really great zombie/Frankenstein/scary looking thing!! Sigh... Glad that's over! Then he got a clever idea and put the fake beard on over his mask! I can guarantee that no one will have a costume like that! I was really proud of myself and of him for coming up with something! Now to make the deviled eggs for this afternoon's party...

So today's card is for the challenge on Create with Connie and Mary. This is their Holiday Edition challenge that you have to subscribe to. And you still can! Anyway, the challenge has two parts and the first part is to use the colors in the Deck the Halls designer paper (Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake). The second part was to make a card that was "over the top" or one that you would only make one of. So here is my version of the challenge. What better way to use all these colors on your card than to use different pieces of the designer paper itself? And that's what I did. I cut strips of various pieces of the designer paper and then used the Tasteful Trim die to cut the scallops. I staggered them and glued just the top part down so that I could sort of "ruffle" the scallops to make it look more dimensional. I don't think I will be making more than one of these. It truly is special!! But it was fun to make. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Grateful Greetings, Tags til Christmas; Paper- Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Deck the Halls designer paper; Ink- Early Espresso, Always Artichoke; Accessories- Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, ornament punch, corner rounder, Tasteful Trim die, basic pearls, dimensionals

CCMC 122

Good morning everyone! It's Thursday and that means another Create with Connie and Mary challenge! This week is a super fun and easy challenge! Halloween! Make any kind of creation with a Halloween theme! Too fun!

As you can see, I went with something other than a card. And boy did I have fun making this! I have been wanting to try this idea for quite some time and finally decided it was time to just dig in and do it. I love how it turned out! There are lots of different tutorials out there so I just combined them to make my own. So super easy! There was so much that I kept wanting to add to the panels but had to make myself stop. Each panel is made with Basic Black cardstock and part of the top is folded over and secured with a gold glimmer brad. Then after I was done decorating each panel I took some linen thread and threaded it through the folded part to string them together. I added some satin ribbon in between each panel. You will also see that I used the Raven lace trim and bats punched from Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, and Old Olive cardstock. I also used patterned paper from the Wicked Fun designer paper. The letters are die cut using the Alphabet Simple Letters dies.

For more inspiration, go see what the rest of the design team has come up with at Create with Connie and Mary! And then go create! I can't wait to see what you all come up with! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Polka Dot Seasons

Good morning, Friends! It's the middle of the week and that much closer to the weekend! Lots going on this weekend for many of us with Halloween being on Sunday. Nick still hasn't nailed down a costume and I am not sure what to do. His school has a parade and then a party in their classrooms. I volunteered to take a snack and I decided to make deviled eggs that look like eyeballs. I thought that would be fun! Well, Nick LOVES deviled eggs and I asked him how many to make. So he tells me 40!! Yea, right!! Are you kidding me? Ha!! So I am thinking that I will probably make one for each. That is still two dozen eggs. And then I volunteered to make them for another party that we are going to this weekend. I will be making deviled eggs in my sleep! Lol!! And Nick has his last soccer game this weekend. Thankfully it is at home. I still need to figure out the costume thing...

So I made this card quite a while ago but didn't want to share because it is Christmas. I did want to focus on Halloween and Fall/Thanksgiving cards. But I haven't made anything in a while so this is like my last thing to show. Yikes! I guess I had better get on the ball and get serious about making some cards! Like I said, lots to do! So with that I will sign off and say thank you for stopping by! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- A Cute Christmas, Four the Holidays; Paper- Real Red, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Real Red, Baja Breeze; Accessoresi- 2 1/2" circle punch, Northern Frost decorative strip, Norther Flurry embossing folder, basic rhinestones, dimensionals

A Cute Season's Greetings

Good morning, Friends! Well, I didn't float away yesterday! Actually, the rain stopped pretty much before lunch and then the sun came out a little bit. But the wind was constant and that made it cold. I felt cold all day long! My husband finally fired up the furnace and got the heat going later that evening. It is supposed to get cold again tonight but then it will be close to normal the rest of the week. It is really pretty around here when you look at the mountains because there is some white on them! Just as long as there is no white where I am!!

Today's card was inspired by a sketch that I got from somewhere. I thought that I was doing a better job of marking where I got my sketches but I really can't remember what my "code" for this one stood for - lol! I did this card a while ago and the memory just can't hang on that long. I really like how it turned out, though, and it really is super simple! This is a 3 x 6 card. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- A Cute Christmas, Four the Holidays; Paper- Real Red, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Ink- Basic Black, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride; Accessories- 2 1/2" circle punch, Northern Frost decorative strip, basic rhinestones, dimensionals

A Thankful Pumpkin

Good morning, Friends! It is hard to believe that we are into the last bit of October! And the weather is proving that, too! It has been raining since Thursday (off and on) and now we have a lake in our barnyard (I say barnyard but we have no animals:) and I just found a new leak in our basement which also happens to be my stamp room. Hmmm... At least the wind seemed to stop for now. Most of Colorado is under a winter storm warning. And the Loveland ski area opened this weekend for skiing! What a change! We went to a local pumpkin patch yesterday to pick out some pumpkins. And then Nick went to town carving his. Then he insisted that Pat and I do the same. So we have our three little (well, mine is little-theirs are much bigger:) pumpkins out on our deck. And then I couldn't resist. I just had to have some of those really pretty reddish pumpkins and some white ones and some really little ones for decoration. We had a great time!

Today's card is one that I did for a recent swap and one that I did with my club ladies this month. It is super simple. And it uses my least favorite stamp set. Maybe it's growing on me? Maybe ;) Time to go make more coffee! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Paisley Prints, Paisley Party wheel; Paper- Peach Parfait, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink- Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso; Accessories- Pear Pizzazz ribbon, itty bitty punch pack, basic pearls, dimensionals

A Vintage Merry Christmas

Good Sunday morning everyone! I hope your weekend is going splendidly! Ours got off to a great start when the soccer team won their game yesterday!! 2-1!! Nick had three shots on goal but none of them went in. Bummer! Their goalie was pretty good and got a good work-out from our team. One more game for the season and then it's indoor soccer time. The boys played so great! It is so fun to watch them work as a team!

Today's card is one that I did for a Holiday shoebox swap. Last night local demonstrators got together to make holiday cards (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's). We had so much fun!! Well, I know that I did!! There were 14 cards total to make and I got a ton of great ideas for workshops! Super simple and beautiful! For mine I combined several ideas that I have seen from magazines and blogs. The layout is not necessarily new but I saw someone who had taken our little trinkets and use them in a way that I had never thought of. For the safety pin, I stuck it through the knot of the ribbon and closed it. Then I poked a hole in the tag and took the button brad and stuck it through the bottom hole of the safety pin and then through the tag. Cute!! I really like how this turned out and it really is super simple! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bells & Boughs; Paper- Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Deck the Halls designer paper; Ink- Early Espresso, Crumb Cake; Accessories- Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, scallop border punch, decorative label punch, corner rounder, basic rhinestones, vintage trinkets, sponge, dimensionals

Club Snowman

Good morning everyone! I hope that your weekend is off to a great start! Last night I was able to stamp with some really good friends. We ate chili for dinner and apple crisp for dessert - Yum!!! It has definitely turned into fall around here! It is rainy and colder and it's just a good day to stay in bed cuddled under the covers or to grab a nice cup of coffee and sit by the fire. But Nick has a soccer game today. And I was just thinking about how lucky we have been that all of his soccer games, so far, have had such nice weather. I think the only thing we have complained about is getting sunburned. So this will be our first game in the rain and cold. Nick says he loves to play in the rain. I hope he has is "game" on as we need to win today!

Today's card is one that I did for my stamp club ladies. They seemed to love it. I know I do! I have several more with this same little snowman. He is just so cute!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- A Cute Christmas; Paper- Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Real Red, Garden Green, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Real Red, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze; Accessories- Northern Flurry embossing folder, Northern Frost decorative strip, basic rhinestones, dotted scallop ribbon border punch, dimensionals

Halloween Squared

Good morning, everyone! It's Friday!! It seemed like this week just flew by for me! Nick only had three days of school this week because yesterday and today are Parent/Teacher conferences. And boy am I sooooooo glad that I don't have to be the teacher this year! I got to be the parent! We had our conference yesterday and the teacher asked that the students come and lead the conference. I don't think Nick was as prepared as his teacher would have liked him to be but he did pretty good! And his grades weren't too bad either. Overall, we were very happy.

Today's card is one of three that I had my club ladies do this month. They seemed to really like it and I know that I had fun making it. The LNS challenge this week is to make a square card so I will have to enter it for that challenge. Super easy and cute! I just love this Halloween stamp set! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Old Olive; Accessories- Raven lace trim, bat punch, basic rhinestones, scallop square die, dimensionals

CCMC 121

Good morning, Friends! Today is Thursday (already) and that means another challenge at Create with Connie and Mary! Do you like these challenges as much as I do? They can really stretch me but I love that! And this week's challenge is another cake inspiration challenge. In the past the cakes have seemed so busy to me. While they were gorgeous and fun and all that, I had a hard time focusing. Well, this week the cake is more simple. Just my style!! Take a look:

Doesn't it look yummy?! I just love how it is simple and elegant and beautiful! So here is how the cake inspired me:

What do you think? I just loved the subtle criss cross pattern and the red dot accents. So delicate. I used the Background textruz plates and then took my Cherry Cobbler marker and made a dot where the criss cross pattern intersected. Because the cake was so simple, I didn't want to add too much to the top part of this card so I just stamped a greeting and added a little touch of Cherry Cobbler with the red heart. I used Baja Breeze as the blue color. But Stampin' Up! doesn't sell Baja Breeze ribbon - bummer. So, I took my Whisper White taffeta ribbon and colored it with Baja Breeze ink. Not my favorite thing to do as it gets really messy and takes forever to dry but it got the job done on this card. I really like the way it turned out!

So head on over to Create with Connie and Mary to see what the rest of the design team came up with. Then create your project! I can't wait to see it!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Word Play; Paper- Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler; ink- Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Backgrounds texturz plates, dimensionals

Control Freaks Blog Tour - Christmas

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Control Freaks blog tour! You have probably come from Mary Brown's blog. Isn't she just fantabulous?! She always amazes me with her work! It's October and the theme is December holidays. So I will focus on Christmas - The most wonderful time of the year!

My first project is a card. If you have seen the Deck the Halls designer paper you can probably relate to me when I say that it is really hard to cut up that GORGEOUS paper!! Ugh!! I am even having a hard time scrapbooking with it because I don't want to put pictures over it to cover it up! So, I thought that I would try a card where the paper was showcased. And here is what I came up with:

And this is just a small portion of the gorgeous paper. I used the glass glitter to act as a frame around the paper. Then I stamped the ornament from the Tags til Christmas set and punched it out. I added a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and some basic rhinestones to "bling" up the ornament.

My next project is another card but very simply done:


I absolutely LOVE this little snowman from the A Cute Christmas set. If you have been following me on my blog you will know that I use him a lot! The other images in the set are getting ignored. I will have to try and use them, too. Anyway, I stamped him in Basic Black and punched him out with the 2 1/2" circle punch and added the greeting. Then I used the Norther Frost decorative strip to die cut some snowflakes and picked one to embellish with. I added a basic rhinestone for some "bling". Never can have enough bling!! Easy, peasy!!

My final project is one that I am really proud of. I don't usually do things like this but I got inspired by many other demonstrators who are really good at coming up with cute holiday treat/decoration ideas. I have really enjoyed making banners for various occasions. Then I saw this super cute idea to make cones out of designer paper and thought that I could combine the two ideas. So here is my take on a banner made of cones.

I thought that it would be fun to put little treats of some kind in each cone. Or just a little surprise for Christmas. Kind of like stockings hung by the fire! Anyway, I really enjoyed making these. And I used the fun new scrunching ribbon technique around the top. Can't wait to use that technique on more ideas!! For this project I used the Deck the Halls designer paper and big designer buttons. I also used the Alphabet Simple Letters dies, 1 3/8" circle punch and scallop punch, Victoria crochet trim, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to click on the link below for the next stop on the tour! You are sure to get a TON of fabulous ideas!

Just Add Ink - Spooky

Good Monday morning, everyone! It is cloudy and drizzling and just a perfect morning to stay in bed and snuggle or have a nice cup of coffee in a big comfy chair. But the reality of it is that we have to get up and get the kid ready for school and clean up the kitchen and... and... and... Bummer. But we had an AWESOME time in Denver this weekend!! We won BOTH of our games and we really needed to. First game was 3-0 and the second game, which was way more intense, was 2-1. We scored our second goal on a free kick in the last few seconds! We are starting to even up our record. Two more games for the season and they are both in town so that ends our traveling for this season. We will start up again in March.

Today's card was from a sketch that I got at Just Add Ink. It is an older sketch (from September - Yikes!). It is a simple but very versatile sketch and that is the kind that I really like! So here is my version of it. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Cajun Craze, Basic Black; Accessories- Raven lace trim, scallop trim border punch, bat punch, dimensionals

Cajun Autumn Splendor

Good Sunday morning everyone! We are still in Denver and will be driving home today. One more game this morning and then we are on our way home! I will let you all know how we did tomorrow. It's nice to know that this will be our last away games for this season. Two more at home and we are done for the season. Boy that went fast!

Today's card was inspired by a sketch at Stampin' Addicts. They have a new sketch every week and this one was from several weeks ago. But I liked how clean and simple it was so I wanted to give it a try. The scallop part of the card is from the Tasteful Trim die. I really like how it makes a bigger scallop than the punch. I think that I got the color combination from another challenge website but I can't remember from where. I thought they were great fall colors. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Autumn Splendor, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Neutrals designer paper pack; Ink- Cajun Craze, Early Espresso; Accessories- Tasteful Trim die, neutrals buttons, linen thread, dimensionals

Friends of Poppy Parade

Good morning, Friends! I am pre-posting this as I am in Denver for soccer games.

Today's card was inspired by a sketch on the Stampin' Connection website for demonstrators. I had it in my head that I really wanted to use the Poppy Parade color. I haven't used it in quite a while and I really like it! So, I was determined to make it work and I think it does! The color coach really helped me here. I really like how it turned out. The layout is really nice and simple, too. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Vintage Vogue; Paper- Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Whisper White; Ink- Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy; Accessories- Poppy Parade ribbon, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, itty bitty punch pack, basic pearls, dimensionals

Northern Flurry

Good morning everyone! It's Friday! And Nick didn't have school today so that meant that I could sleep in, too! And, oh, it was so nice!! Call us weird, but we like to sleep with the window open and since the air is getting really chilly in the morning, it feels SO good to snuggle under the big comforter and just lay there! I think I had been awake for about half an hour just snuggling! Having the windows open makes it really cold when you finally do get out of bed! But it sure does help me sleep at night. Because we don't have school today, Nick's soccer coach moved practice up to this afternoon (more daylight) so that we could drive to Denver earlier. I thought that was really nice. We have a game in Denver on Saturday and one on Sunday. I sure do hope the boys play well and come out with two WINS!

Today's card was for the Featured Stamper's Challenge on the Stampin' Connection demonstrator website. This week demonstrator Doris Denman was featured. I don't think she has a blog, but if you are a demonstrator you have got to see her gallery! Oh my goodness! She has made the most fabulous things from punches! I was just looking at her scarecrow that she made from punches and a few dies. Just fantastic! But that is where the inspiration for this card came from. Pretty simple! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Peaceful Season; Paper- Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Ink- Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy; Accessories- Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Norther Flurry embossing folder, Northern Frost decorative strip, basic rhinestones, corner rounder, sponge, dimensionals

CCMC 120

Good morning, Friends! It's Thursday and that means another Create with Connie and Mary challenge! This week's challenge is a color challenge! Here is the swatch that they found for the inspiration:Isn't it fantastic?I just love all these colors together! I thought that these looked like spooky eyes and would make a great Halloween card. But as you can see from my card I came up with something totally different!! Look!

I think that I made several cards before I decided that I liked this one the best. I do love all these colors together but for some reason, it was really hard to put them together on a card. So I decided to keep it very simple. I stuck with a Wild Wasabi card base and kept that my main color. Then I just added splashes of the other colors and I think that worked best for me. To make the white flowers I used my white gel pen. I have to confess, though. I did stamp the image in Garden Green to get it a little darker so it would show up better. :)

Now it's your turn! Take a look at the other team members' creations at Create with Connie and Mary and then make your own creation. I really would love to see how you all put these fabulous colors together! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Herb Expressions; Paper- Wild Wasabi, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White; Ink- Garden Green, Wild Wasabi; Accessories- white gel pen, Tasteful Trim die, itty bitty punch pack, Tempting Turquoise brad, sponge, dimensionals

Monday Lunchtime on Wednesday

Good morning, Friends! I hope your week is going wonderfully! It sure is flying by for me! Nothing too exciting going on around here. We have a weekend full of soccer games in Denver so it will be good to get out of town. One thing we want to try and do is find some tennis shoes for Nick. I think this is the hardest thing to do for a growing boy. He is in between the boy's sizes and the men's. Now, at his age he has a strong opinion of what kind of shoes he wants. And guess what? Yep! They happen to be really expensive! Thankfully he can wear the boy's size with these. And we all know that the boy's are cheaper than the men's. Ugh! Well, of course we couldn't find any in our area because they didn't have any in stock. So I am really hoping that we can find some in the bigger city. Such a struggle...

Today's card was inspired by Mary Jo's Monday Lunchtime Sketch. Another super simple and versatile sketch. Love it! You probably can't tell but I put a black glimmer brad on the knot of the bow. That was a little tougher than I thought it would be. But I got it to go in and so far, it is staying put! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Greeting Card Kids, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Basic Black, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Wicked Fun designer paper, watercolor paper; Ink- VersaMark, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Blush Blossom, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand; Accessories- Raven lace trim, glimmer brad, black emboss powder, circle scissors plus, aqua painter, dimensionals

Fall To Layout 111

Good morning everyone! I hope that your week has started off super! Nick is still fighting allergies but we keep putting allergy medicine in him and he is keeping up with his inhaler so I hope we will get this out of his system real soon! He did get up and on the bus with no problems so that is a plus. And he seemed to do fine at soccer practice last night. Poor guy. He is really frustrated with the whole thing. And all you can do is wait it out.

So today's card was inspired by the Fall To Layout 111 at Clean & Simple blog. Now I don't want anyone to pass out but I used "that" stamp set again. Yep! The one that is my least favorite! LOL!! Now I will not say that it's growing on me or anything, because I just don't like paisley. That's just me. But, I can say that I am glad that I am finding ways to use it. And this card is definitely clean and simple! And it is super easy! This would make a great Christmas card because you could easily mass produce this one and I think it would mail very nicely even with the ribbon. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Paisley Prints, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Garden Green, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink- Garden Green, Early Espresso; Accessories- Early Espresso narrow taffeta ribbon, dimensionals

Bats in the Spider Web!

Good morning, Friends! Another Monday. It seems that this month is flying by! I can't believe that this is the middle of October already. Nick woke up not feeling very well so I sent him back to bed. Then about 15 minutes later he came back upstairs to let me know that he was feeling better and wanted to go to school. Hmmm... So I told him to take his time getting ready and not worry about the bus and that I would drive him to school. So he eats two bowls of cereal and gets ready and we have a pleasant morning. I drive him to school and all seems well. I did tell him to call me so we will see. His allergies have really been bothering him lately and I don't want another asthma incident so I am really trying to watch this one. So that's why I am a little later in getting this post up.

Today's card was inspired by a card that Becky had us do in card class last month. I just loved her Halloween card and layout. So I tried to duplicate the layout. Well, I am not sure that I like mine a whole lot. It's o.k. but not great. It is a simple card to do and I really like that! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Raven lace trim, Spider Web embossing folder, bat punch, dimensionals

CCMC - HM2

Good Sunday morning everyone! I hope that your weekend is going just beautifully! And speaking of beautiful, our weather has been just that! I am in love with the temperatures and we have a great mix of sun and clouds. It's just gorgeous fall weather! It could stay like this all year long for all I care!! But I have a feeling that the snow will come and it will be really cold. So I will enjoy this fall weather for as long as I can :) Our weekend has been very nice and relaxing and I am hoping that Nick can really recover today. He still doesn't sound good and I don't want his allergies to flare up. So we will be taking it easy by watching football games and baseball games.

Today's card is one that I am doing for the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition challenge. Be sure to check out their website to find out how you can be a part of this special challenge. They have just finished week 2 of their wonderful creations and posted their second challenge to all their subscribers. The challenge was to create something using the colors from the Autumn Spice designer paper which is Old Olive, More Mustard, Early Espresso and Cajun Craze. Now I don't have that beautiful paper or coordinating stamp set, so I set out to make my own creation in another way. And here you have it! AND I used my least favorite stamp set! I made myself do it and I have to say that I really do like it!! Now, I have already made a set of swap cards that uses this exact same layout but a different stamp from the same set (wow, two cards with this set) and I like how that turned out, too. I will share that card later this month after the swaps have been mailed. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Paisley Prints, Paisley Party wheel; Paper- Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink- Cajun Craze, Early Espresso; Accessories- Old Olive satin ribbon, itty bitty punch pack, basic pearls, dimensionals

FTL 110

Good morning everyone! I hope that your weekend is off to a great start! Mine is! I got to sleep in and the weather has definitely turned cooler and that makes snuggling down under the covers really nice!! With no soccer games this weekend, there is nothing really going on. And that's nice because we can just relax. Nick was complaining that his head was stuffy and his throat hurt so this will be a good weekend for him to catch up on needed rest and stay healthy!

Today's card comes from the Clean&Simple blog. It is their Fall-To Layout 110. I thought that I was doing good because I had made this card a few days ago but it looks like their challenge for this has ended. Oh well. I still like it and wanted to post it. So here you have it! And it is really simple! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Autumn Splendor, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Very Vanilla, River Rock, Eggplant Envy; Ink- Eggplant Envy; Accessories- basic rhinestones, dimensionals

CCMC-HM 1

I am back again!! OMG! What is up with this? Well, I forgot that I wanted to participate in a special challenge that ends today and I needed to get this post up so you all are in for a treat! Two posts in one day! Well, at least I hope it is a treat for all of you :).

I believe that you all know about the Create with Connie and Mary Thursday challenges. At least I hope you do! I am a part of their design team (and I LOVE it). Well, they also have a special section on their site called the Holiday Edition. You do have to subscribe to this special part of their site but it is SO worth it! They have some of the most fun projects to share! And they are also hosting a Saturday challenge. And every time you participate in these challenges, your name is entered into a drawing to win stamping merchandise or a free subscription to their Occasions Edition! So go to their site to get more information! So now you know why I wanted to get in on this challenge!! Enjoy!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Cajun Craze; Accessories- black flourish designer jewels, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, dimensionals

JUGS 53

Good morning, Friends! It's Friday!! Finally, the weekend is here! No soccer games this weekend! What will we do? Well, we will sleep in, for one thing. And then there is the fundraiser for our local soccer club and a soccer party. So, we will still be busy but it will still be relaxing as we don't have to drive far distances. Soccer practice was cancelled on Monday (coach wanted to give them a day off after a FULL weekend of games) and then they got rained out on Wednesday. And Nick is ready to play! So they will have practice tonight and he is excited! So are we!! He needs to get out and get those legs going!! He is one active, energetic boy!! And that is why he is involved in so many sports.

Today's card is one that was inspired by a sketch on JUGS (Just Us Girls). The sketch challenge closed yesterday but they will have new ones so be sure to check them out. I fell in love with this sketch and wanted to give it a try. In this card, I am also combining some elements of a card that my friend Becky did in our shoebox club last month. I loved that card, too! This is really super simple! I attached the three colored panels to a piece of Whisper White cardstock that is cut slightly smaller than the three panels. Then stamped the Upsy Daisy stamp onto the pieces in VersaMark. Then that gets attached to the Early Espresso piece and then popped up onto the Crumb Cake card. Easy! I love these colors, too, as they remind me of fall. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Upsy Daisy; Paper- Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango; Ink- VersaMark, Early Espresso; Accessories- itty bitty punch pack, basic pearls, dimensionals

CCMC 119

Good morning, Friends! It's Thursday and that means another challenge at Create with Connie and Mary! This week they are offering a sketch challenge - my favorite challenge! And I am in love with this sketch! So clean. So simple. And yet it stretches me because I don't usually do square cards. My friend, Sherry, says she loves doing square cards so I do hope that she participates in this challenge (hint, hint - Sherry :) So here is the sketch...

Isn't it great! And here is my card...

I really do like the way it turned out. I got my color combination from the new Color Coach. I wanted to use something other than Christmas but still stay true to the season. And I thought that these colors were more fall-like. I kept the card pretty basic and simple. And yet it is still elegant.

So, now it is your turn! Time for you to head over to Create with Connie and Mary to get more inspiration from the design team and then create your project. Upload it to their site and I will be taking a look at it! And you just might be their top three pick of the week!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Simple Friendship; Paper- Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla; Ink- Basic Black, Baja Breeze; Accessories- Basic Black satin ribbon, scallop square die, itty bitty punch pack, basic pearls, dimensionals

SSC 171

Good morning, Friends! It's the middle of the week and all downhill from here! I am ready for a restful weekend. Last weekend was so busy that we are ready to just sleep in and do nothing. It is finally raining around here and I just love it! It is a great day for coffee!! Yum! And I will probably try to get some stamping done. But there are other things that need my attention so we will see. I did stamp yesterday and I am happy to report that I did not make one Christmas card! I am so excited about that!

Today's card was inspired by a sketch on Stamping 411. They post a new sketch every Saturday and I just happen to be on the ball with this one (usually I am too late to participate in the challenge). I do like the way it all turned out. It really is pretty simple and self explanatory. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Sahara Sand; Accessories- Raven lace trim, bat punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Spider Web embossing folder, glimmer brad, dimensionals

TSSC 142

Good morning everyone! I think it is finally starting to feel like fall around here. The evenings had been cool but the daytime temperatures were a little to summer like for me. So I am happy for a little rain and clouds and cooler temps! I slept so well last night that I didn't want to get up this morning! The leaves on our trees have yet to change but it is coming...

Today's card is one that I did for Mary Jo's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. She always has such great sketches but I am usually too late to participate in the challenge. I still use them (thanks, Mary Jo) but I just can't be a part of her challenge. But this time I was on the ball! I spent time in my room yesterday and found some sketch challenges that I could be a part of. I love it when that happens!! I am also trying to stay away from Christmas. I said "trying". I did pull out my favorite Christmas set yesterday BUT I only made one Christmas card. After all, Halloween is coming up and I really want to focus on that. I really only have one Halloween set and one leaf set. Hmmmm... Maybe that means I need to get more? Nope. Better not - lol!! Well, thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wicked Cool; Paper- Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Wicked Fun designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Old Olive; Accessories- Raven lace trim, glimmer brad, dimensionals

SCS 300

Good morning, Friends! Another Monday. Another week. I don't really feel like I got a weekend because we were so busy! But it was sure nice to get out of town and spend it with friends! Vail was beautiful but still very warm. I went expecting to find it cool and pleasant but instead I found myself seeking shade and coming home very sunburned! Our soccer team played so great! They played their little hearts out and did awesome. We won two, tied one and lost two. That really isn't too bad but we didn't place and that is what stinks. They really deserved to place. But it's over and we look forward to our next game which will be in two weeks. So it will be nice to have a little time off. I mean five games in one weekend? They have got to be exhausted! I am really proud of them!

Today's card was inspired by the current sketch on SplitCoast. I really like the way this one turned out. I am still not too sure about the button but it needed something right there and I wanted it to be Cherry Cobbler and the only thing I had was this button. I finally broke open the glass glitter that we got at convention. I love it!! I wasn't exactly sure how to adhere it to my project. I thought it would need something more sticky than the two-way glue pen that I use with dazzling diamonds so I cut another piece of cardstock 1/8" bigger than my focal point. I put sticky strip along the edges of that piece and then poured the glitter on. I pressed it into the tape and tapped off the excess. Then I popped up my focal point and there you have it! That glitter really makes this card "shine"! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bells & Boughs; Paper- Cherry Cobbler, Deck the Halls designer paper, watercolor paper; Ink- VersaMark, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso; Accessories- Cherry Cobbler big designer button, aqua painter, black emboss powder, sponge, linen thread, silver glass glitter, dimensionals

TSSC 141 For Halloween

Good Sunday morning everyone! Did you all have a great time during the Holiday Madness tour? I hope that you got a lot of ideas! I am in Vail for the weekend. The soccer team is in a tournament here so I am pre-posting this. I will let you all know how they did tomorrow!

So, for today's card, I decided to steer away from Christmas for just a bit. I won't be able to stay away for long but I wanted to make another Halloween card. I just love this set and I have so much fun watercoloring the images! I used a sketch from Mary Jo. She has new sketches every Monday so be sure to check her out! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Greeting Card Kids, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Watercolor paper; Ink- VersaMark, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Gray, Early Espresso, Blush Blossom, Sahara Sand; Accessories- Basic Black narrow taffeta ribbon, aqua painter, Spider Web embossing folder, dimensionals

RemARKable Holiday Madness Blog Tour - Day 7

Welcome back to day 7 - the last day of the Holiday Madness blog tour! I can't believe that this is it! I hope that you have found this very helpful and useful and are inspired to create! If you have any questions about any projects that you have seen here, be sure to ask! I have truly enjoyed making all the projects that you have seen for this tour. I update my blog daily and I would love to have you come back to see more of my creations!

My last project is another card. I really enjoy making cards! This is a card that I did for a recent swap I was in. And, once again, it uses the new A Cute Christmas stamp set. This card is really easy! The trees are stamped on shimmery cardstock and then watercolored with Garden Green. Then I used the Garden Green, Real Red and Blushing Bride markers to color in the decorations. I also had to use my new Tasteful Trim die to give it another layer. And I finished it off with a rhinestone brad! Easy!! Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to click on the link below to go to the next stop on the tour.

Card Recipe: Stamps- A Cute Christmas, Four the Holidays; Paper- Blushing Bride, Real Red, Garden Green, shimmery white; ink- Basic Black, Garden Green, Real Red, Blushing Bride; Accessories- Tasteful Trim die, basic rhinestones, aqua painter, dimensionals