CCMC 144

Good morning, Friends! It's Thursday, again, and that means that Connie and Mary are ready to challenge us! Are you ready for a cake challenge? The challenge is to let this cake inspire you.

Hmmmm... This was really challenging for me! I couldn't decide on the colors at first. Then I had to figure out what Stampin' Up! sold and what I had that was a gold color. Anyway, you can see what my final product was. Not bad. Gold is not a color that I choose. I am more of a silver girl. I do have a gold wedding band but I am hoping to someday change that to silver. Anyway, about the card.

I started with a card base of Marina Mist. To this I added a piece of Whisper White and Brushed Gold cardstock. The Brushed Gold was run through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines embossing folder. But instead of using the side with the embossing raised, I turned it over to use the de-bossed images. Before I glued these pieces down, I tied a piece of Whisper White taffeta ribbon around it. Then I took Whisper White and Marina Mist cardstock and cut two butterflies from the Beautiful Butterflies die and then ran those through the Big Shot again with the Elegant Lines embossing folder. I layered these together and put two gold brads in the middle. These are popped up on the card. Then I got out my Basic Pearls and started putting pearls all over the card where there was a "dot" or circle. The last thing I did was to stamp the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes on scrap cardstock and punch it out with the Word Window punch and pop it up on the card. I think it turned out pretty.

Your turn! Be sure to check out the other fabulous designs at Create with Connie and Mary! Then upload your project so that we can all see what you do! And don't forget that when you use 100% Stampin' Up! product you will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE subscription to Create Summer Edition. Connie and Mary will be announcing the first winner very soon! Will it be you? Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Marina Mist, Whisper White, Brushed Gold; Ink- Black StazOn; Accessories- Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Elegant Lines embossing folder, basic pearls, Beautiful Butterflies die, gold brads, dimensionals

Inkspirations 63

Good morning, Friends! We are already in the middle of this last week of March! Wow! I hope that your week is going wonderfully! Not a whole lot going on around here, which is nice. I get to do some stamping without being interrupted :) However, I really should do some cleaning. Ugh! Maybe if I tackle one room at a time... Nope. Still doesn't sound like fun. But I do need to do some grocery shopping. My son is starting to eat everything!! My goodness! I can't keep enough food in the house! And he does come home early today from school so we will see what I actually get done.

Today's card was inspired by a sketch at Inkspirations Challenges. They have different challenges each week and this was the first time that I have done one of theirs. When I started this card I knew I wanted to use this butterfly stamp but wasn't sure on the colors. So, I went to my Color Coach for help. I haven't used a lot of Concord Crush and thought 'why not?'. As I was putting it together I thought it might not make it to the photo tent (it was headed for the trash). But then I did a little tweaking here and there and this is what came about! And I really do like it! I am glad that I didn't give up! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Simple Friendship; Paper- Whisper White, Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz; Ink- Concord Crush, Peach Parfait; Accessories- Framed Tulip embossing folder, Little Leaves sizzlet, silver brad, sponge, dimensionals

SASC 89

Good morning, Friends! I hope you are all having a super start to the week! It looks like March might just go out like a lamb - as they say. I am so excited to see more sun and warmer temperatures! Well, my son is getting older. Yikes! I mean, I know that but it has really hit home now. Yesterday he brought "the note" home. You know, the one about seeing "the film". Parents can sign it if they want their child to opt out but my husband and I talked about it and we feel he should see it. I mean, we both did. It's just so weird to think that it is time for him to see it. I looked at Pat and said that he will have to do the "talk" because I never saw the boy's film -lol! Just the other day I was looking at pictures of him when he was "knee-high to a grasshopper". Where does all that time go?

Today's card was inspired by a sketch on Stampin' Addicts. The sketch looked very similar to one that I used a few weeks ago from Splitcoast. Because of that I thought I should try to make them different. So I used different colors and a different butterfly. I do like the way it turned out and I got to use my vintage trinkets! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look. Have a wonderful day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Strength & Hope, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Confetti Cream, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Vintage Springtime designer paper; Ink- Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze; Accessories- Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, vintage trinkets, basic pearls, Framed Tulip embossing folder, word window punch, sponge (I sponged some Not Quite Navy along the bottom of the butterfly's wings), dimensionals

FTL 132

Good Monday morning! Here we are at the beginning of another week! My husband's business is starting to take off for the season so that means he will be gone in the early morning and most of the day. And I am starting to look for a part time job again. I think I am ready to find something now. I have applied for a couple that I think would be perfect for me but we will see what happens.

Today's card was inspired from the sketch at Clean & Simple. This was from last week's sketch. I seem to be a week behind on these things. But that's o.k. They are all great sketches and it's good to use them! This one was really simple and I just love the way it turned out! I used a stamp set I hadn't used in a while, too. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Flower Fancy, A Word for You; Paper- Confetti Cream, Rich Razzleberry, Vintage Springtime designer paper; Ink- Black StazOn, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Basic Black; Accessories- crochet trim, antique brad, scallop border punch, aqua painter, basic pearls dimensionals

Card Patterns 107

Good morning, Friends! I hope you are all having a super weekend! Can you believe that we are already at the end of March? Where did all of that time go? Yesterday, Nick was a guest player for a 12 year old soccer team. He played with them when they went to Las Vegas for a tournament so when he was asked to guest play again he quickly said 'yes'! He really likes these boys and they make him and the other guest players feel so welcome and a part of their team. He played really well and they won 3-0! It looks like he will get more opportunities to play with them! Today, we will be going to a birthday party for my brother-in-law. That should be fun! We haven't seen them in a while. Did you notice my new blog header? How about my signature/divider? I have been reading some tutorials on how to do this. I make my designs in My Digital Studio and then work in the HTML to get them up. Anyway, it is an experiment for now until I get it just the way I want it.

Today's card was inspired by the sketch from Card Patterns Weekly Sketch Blog. It is actually last week's sketch but I really liked it! I just love this new Strength & Hope set. I also pulled out the Confetti Cream cardstock. I haven't used that cardstock in such a long time that it was kind of nice to use something different! Thank you so much for coming by and taking a look. Your comments are so wonderful to read! And I really do appreciate each and every one of them! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Strength & Hope; Paper- Confetti Cream, Not Quite Navy, Vintage Springtime designer paper; Ink- Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy (I inked up the butterfly in Baja Breeze and then sponged some Not Quite Navy very lightly on the bottom part of the wings); Accessories- scallop trim border punch, basic pearls, sponge, dimensionals

ETA: I removed the signature for now. It was really bugging me that there was so much space in between the posts. I will keep trying and hopefully have it back up on another post! Thanks!

Mojo 183

Good morning, Friends! I am ready for a super great weekend! How about you all? I got to sleep in a little and later this morning we will head out to watch a little soccer! I will have to put on my wool socks and ear warmers, though! Last night as I was coming home it was raining slush and ice! Yuck! This morning there is remnants of that on the ground and my car. The sun is trying to shine so we will see if it warms up any.

Today's card was inspired from the Mojo Monday sketch. I wanted to do something different so I pulled out my extreme stamps and came up with this. I haven't showed it to my son yet so I haven't gotten "official" approval if it is good enough. But I like it! And i really think Nick will, too. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Extreme Elements, Extreme Dirt Bike; Paper- Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White, Neutrals designer paper pack; Ink- Basic Black, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight; Accessories- large star punch, Tasteful Trim die, sponge, dimensionals

SFF 032511

Good Friday morning everyone! I hope you are ready for another sketch challenge at Sketch Frenzy Friday! This week's sketch was created by Jennifer Weide. Take a look:

What a fabulous sketch! This has so many possibilities and is open to all kinds of interpretation! In fact it was really hard for me to narrow down my options but I think I came up with something really nice and spring-like. Take a look:



I started with a card base of Bashful Blue. Then I punched a border from Pacific Point with the dotted ribbon scallop border punch and glued that down. I took a piece of Whisper White and stamped the swirly words from Flight of the Butterfly in Pacific point. On a piece of scrap Whisper White I stamped the solid image of the butterfly in Bashful Blue and then the flower part in Pacific Point right over it and cut it out. Then I took my white gel pen and colored the flower centers. The Whisper White panel is glued to a piece of Pacific Point and popped up on the card. I took my cut out butterfly and popped him up and gently bent his wings up. The last thing I did was to punch a flower from Bashful Blue cardstock with the itty bitty punch pack, glue dot it onto the card and add a basic pearl in the center. Easy!

Now it is time for you to see what Jennifer did with her sketch. Take the tour to get inspired and then create your own project. Upload it to the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog so we can all see. I just love to see how you all interpret our sketches. Too fun! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Flight of the Butterfly; Paper- Bashful Blue, Pacific Point, Whisper White; Ink- Pacific Point, Bashful Blue; Accessories- dotted scallop ribbon border punch, itty bitty punch pack, white gel pen, basic pearls, dimensionals

CCMC 143

Well, this month seems to be flying by! I can't believe it's Thursday and time for another challenge with Create with Connie and Mary! This week, Connie and Mary are challenging us with this sketch. Check it out!

And boy was this sketch challenging! I worked and re-worked my designs. I scrapped most of them. But then I finally decided I liked this card. I also wanted some fun spring colors. So I went to my Color Coach and found these: Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede and Certainly Celery. I started with a card base of Marina Mist and then added a panel of Pink Pirouette with Whisper White satin ribbon tied around it. For the scalloped squares, I punched two from Soft Suede and then used my scallop squares duo die to cut the third from Soft Suede. I then ran them through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to fit in the middle scallop square to kind of "highlight" it. Then I used my Birds & Blossoms sizzlets to cut the flowers and leaves. I added silver brads and the middle flower is popped up (the middle scallop square is also popped up). The last thing was the greeting from the A Word for You stamp set which is stamped in Soft Suede. Done!

Be sure to visit the Create with Connie and Mary website for more wonderful inspiration! We would love to see what you do with this sketch! And don't forget that when you use 100% Stampin' Up! products, you are entered into a drawing to win a FREE subscription to Create Summer Edition! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- A Word for You; Paper- Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Whisper White; Ink- Soft Suede; Accessories- Whisper White satin ribbon, scallop square punch, scallop squares duo die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Birds & Blooms sizzlets, silver brads, dimensionals

TSSC 166

Good morning, Friends! I was a slacker yesterday. I was going to try to make some cards on Monday for today but got very side-tracked. The wind blew a hundred miles an hour (o.k. not really quite that bad but they did report gusts up to 62 miles an hour), I had to go grocery shopping, do some laundry, get dinner ready, finish swaps and get them in the mail and then it was time to eat, and get Nick to soccer practice. Time got away from me. So yesterday I made myself sit and get some cards done. I still had laundry to do and the wind was STILL blowing - ugh!!! I hate the wind! Anyway, the wind is quiet now and it looks to be a nice day! And I don't have as much laundry - lol!

Today's card was inspired by a sketch from Mary Jo. I really liked this sketch! It was different and I wanted to see what I could come up with. It did take me a while because I wasn't liking anything I was doing but then decided to revert to my favorite colors. I think that it turned out pretty nice! You can't see, but I paper pierced some holes in each of the scallops of the black oval. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Clearly for You; Paper- Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Basic Black; Ink- Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla craft; Accessories- Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, scallop oval punch, scallop ribbon border punch, Tulip Frame embossing folder, basic rhinestones, sponges, dimensionals

A Little Hope

Good Monday morning! And it is going to be a "Monday"! Nick is sooooo not wanting to wake up and go back to school. And I was soooo not wanting to wake up to get him up and ready for school. Ugh! But it is our last push til the end! I can't believe that he only has one more quarter of 5th grade! My baby is almost a middle schooler! Yikes! And to start my Monday off, I have a headache! Yuck! Since the wind is blowing 110 mph (exaggeration) my sinuses are acting up. I know it has to do with allergies, too. All that pollen blowing around. I have to get the laundry done today and go grocery shopping. Stuff that I put off. It's time to get back into the routine!

Today's card was inspired by one that I saw in a stamp magazine. I liked the one in the magazine and I guess mine turned out o.k. I had fun making it anyway. And I was happy to use colors other than my usual! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Strength & Hope; Paper- Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Springtime Vintage designer paper; Ink- Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake; Accessories- Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon, corner rounder, designer label punch, basic rhinestones, sponge, dimensionals

SC 324

Good Sunday morning, Friends! I hope that you all are having a wonderful weekend! Nick was a guest player in a soccer game yesterday and they won! But it was sure miserable out there on the fields! The wind was blowing hard and those poor boys really had to kick the ball hard to against that wind! But it was fun! Today he has baseball practice and if the weather holds out I may go watch him practice. Sometimes it's fun to just get out and be outside! However, I sure am enjoying watching the March Madness basketball tournament! One of my teams lost last night :( Now I can just cheer for KU!!

Today's card was inspired by the sketch from Splitcoast Stampers. I started with my Crumb Cake, Basic Black and Vanilla theme but then I decided to add a little bit of color. And I have to say that I really like how this one turned out! It might be a favorite of mine! I just love this Fun Flowers die! It has so many possibilities and can be used in so many different ways! And I got out my jumbo eyelets (had to dust them off first - lol). But I need to get the instructions on how to use my crop-a-dile. I totally forgot!! Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bring on the Cake; Paper- Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, First Edition designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Crumb Cake; Accessories- Fun Flowers die, jumbo eyelets, rhinestone brads, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, sponge, dimensionals

TSSC 165

Good morning, Friends! Boy, did I sleep a little late this morning! But I just could not get myself to fall asleep last night! So, instead of tossing and turning in bed and waking my husband, I got up and played around on my iPad for a while. Then I tried again. But, I still had trouble falling asleep. I bet I only got six hours of sleep - and that includes sleeping in! I hope that I am not worthless today! I tend to feel like I have a hangover all day. I hate that feeling! Maybe the sun shining today will help!

Today's card was inspired by Mary Jo's Monday lunchtime sketch. It was another great sketch for this week so I just had to try and find time to play along. I got my color scheme from the Color Coach. As I was putting it together, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it. But I made myself finish. And, it isn't that bad! It made me get out of my "comfort zone". The colors used are Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Marina Mist and Old Olive. Well, thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Hope and Strength, Thank You Kindly; Paper- Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Neutrals designer paper; Ink- Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake; Accessories- Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, Marina Mist narrow taffeta ribbon, Tulip Frame embossing folder, 2 1/2" circle punch, scallop trim border punch, itty bitty punch pack, Little Leaves sizzlet, basic pearls, sponge, dimensionals

SFF 031811

Good Friday morning! Sketch Frenzy Friday is ready to challenge you with another sketch. Are you ready? This week's sketch is brought to us by - ME!! I came up with this week's sketch! So I do hope you will find time to play with us this week.

For my card I started with a card base of Pear Pizzazz. I then decided that I wanted to use the leafy stamp and the flower from Growing Green and watercolor them. So I used watercolor paper, Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait markers and my aqua painter to watercolor them (I stamped them in Black StazOn). The flower was stamped on a separate piece so I could cut it out. I used my photo corners punch and punched out a corner from Concord Crush and glued it to the card. The leafy stamped panel is popped up as is the cut out flower. Then I stamped the leafy stamp in Pear Pizzazz on the side of the card and the greeting from Sincere Salutations in Concord Crush right over the top. I then added a line of basic pearls underneath. And there you have it! A nice spring card!

So now head over to Jennifer's blog to see what she did with the sketch. Be sure to click your way through the tour to get inspired and then create your project using this week's sketch. Upload it to the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog so we can all see! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Growing Green, Sincere Salutations; Paper- Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, watercolor paper; Ink- Black StazOn, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, Concord Crush; Accessories- basic pearls, aqua painter, photo corners punch, dimensionals

CCMC 142 Goes Green!

Good morning, Friends! And Happy St. Patty's Day!! Are you wearing green today? The Create with Connie and Mary team have decided to make this week's challenge a fun one to help celebrate the day - Go Green! That's right! It's a theme challenge to go green! This can be interpreted so many ways - recycling, green for St. Patrick's Day or just green in general. And there might be more ways to interpret this challenge. For me it meant to go monochromatic with green.

I started my card out with an Always Artichoke card base. Then I layered a Pear Pizzazz piece that was punched with the scallop edge punch. I then added another piece of Always Artichoke. Then I took some watercolor paper and stamped the leaf image with black StazOn from the Growing Green stamp set (very appropriate, don't you think) and watercolored it with Pear Pizzazz marker and an aqua painter. This is glued onto the Always Artichoke piece. Then I took a piece of Pear Pizzazz and used the banner part of the Petal Cone die and ran that through the Big Shot to cut the banner. I stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Always Artichoke and folded the cardstock to look like a banner. I had to add two dimensionals to the back to get it to stand up like it is. There you have it! A super simple monochromatic green card! 

Be sure to check out the rest of the talented design team at Create with Connie and Mary! They will have even more ways to Go Green! Then make your project and upload it to the Create with Connie and Mary site. We would love to see what you do! And don't forget to use 100% Stampin' Up! products so that you can be entered into a drawing to win a FREE subscription to Create Summer Edition!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Growing Green, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Always Artichoke, Pear Pizzazz, watercolor paper; Ink- Black StazOn, Pear Pizzazz, Always Artichoke; Accessories- aqua painter, Petal Cone die, dimensionals

Diva Sketch Challenge 127

Good morning, Friends! I can't believe how fast this week seems to be going! Although, I keep thinking that I am one day ahead than we really are. I had to remind myself this morning that it was only Wednesday. That is a nice feeling. It has been a very nice spring break so far and I know that Nick is enjoying every minute of it!

Today's card was inspired by the Utah Divas International Diva Sketch Challenge (don't try saying that ten times fast - lol). Their blog is filled with all kinds of wonderful challenges. This sketch was a very simple one. I had actually made the flower a few weeks ago. I was in my stamp room and I wanted to try out this stamp set and coordinating punch. I bought these but hadn't really used them. So, I made up this flower and then didn't know what to do with it. Then, yesterday, I came across this sketch and thought that the two would go together perfectly! And here is the result! The flower comes out really big! Bigger than I ever would have thought! So that's what had me stumped after making it. Anyway, it was fun and I am glad I finally had a home for my flower - lol! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Bold Blossoms, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Always Artichoke, Rose Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Vintage Springtime designer paper; Ink- Rose Red, Crumb Cake; Accessories- Springtime Vintage big designer buttons, build-a-blossom punch, scallop edge punch, linen thread, circle punch, sponge, dimensionals