Retro 17

Good morning, Friends! I hope your weekend is off to a fabulous start! I will ask you all to keep Colorado in your thoughts and prayers as we seem to be experiencing one of the worst fire seasons ever. Most of the fires were on the Eastern side of the state and now we have one on our side and just a few miles away! The smoke from it filled our house yesterday making it very hard to breathe. While the valley is still smokey today, I don't smell it as much. We need rain!!!


Today's card was inspired by the sketch at Retro Sketches. I had this set sitting out and decided to use it for this sketch. This is the Ronald McDonald set called Moving forward. It is such a cute set!! A portion of all sales will go toward the Ronald McDonald charities. So a cute set AND a great cause!! Anyway, I started out with a card base of Real Red and then added a layer of Whisper White. Then I added a strip of the Polka Dot Parade designer paper rounding one corner with my 1" circle punch. For my focal point, I took a piece of Whisper White and stamped the bike in Real Red and added the flowers which are colored with Daffodil Delight and Gumball Green (hard to see it). I also added a flower that was punched with the itty bitty shapes punch pack from Daffodil Delight and a mini brad. I rounded opposite corners with the 1" circle punch. Then I punched a strip of Real Red with the dotted ribbon scallop punch and adhered it to the back before popping up the panel onto the card. Pretty simple!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Moving Forward; Paper- Real Red, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Polka Dot Parade designer paper; Ink- Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green; Accessories- 1" circle punch, dotted ribbon scallop punch, itty bitty shapes punch pack, mini brad, dimensionals

SFF 062912

Good morning everyone! Sketch Frenzy Friday has another great sketch for you this week! This week I am providing the sketch! Take a look!

A super simple sketch for this week! I know that I am really busy this summer and I am sure I am not the only one! So I hope that this easy sketch will give you some inspiration for a super quick card! Here is what I came up with!

My card base is Whisper White with another piece of Whisper White that went through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and then on top of that is a piece of the Summer Smooches designer paper. Then I took another piece of Whisper White and ran it through the Big Shot with the Designer Frames embossing folder. I cut around it and stamped the vase from Bright Blossoms using Tangerine Tango, Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight inks. I stamped the tulip image in Tangerine Tango and cut it out. This is popped up onto the card. Then I stamped the greeting from Sweet Essentials on a strip of Whisper White in Tangerine Tango ink. I flagged one end and tucked the other behind the frame. The last thing I did was to add a rhinestone. Can't forget the bling!! 


Be sure to click 'here' to see what Jennifer did with this sketch. Continue through the tour to get inspired then make your own creation using this sketch and upload it to the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog. We always love to see what you do!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Bright Blossoms, Sweet Essentials; Paper- Whisper White, Summer Smooches designer paper; Ink- Tangerine Tango, Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight; Accessories- Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Designer Frames embossing folder, rhinestone, dimensionals

CCMC 208

Good morning, Friends! Time for another great challenge from the talented ladies at Create with Connie and Mary! This week we are being challenged with color. Take a look at what they came up with.

Basic Grey, Real Red and Pumpkin Pie are the colors to work with. I had a hard time trying to put these together so I finally scrapped what I was doing and went really simple! Take a look!

I used a lot of white to help me balance these colors and help them work together. I stamped the flourish from Everything Eleanor in Basic Grey onto Whisper White and the greeting from Friendly Phrases is also stamped in Basic Grey. Then I popped this panel up onto a card base of Whisper White. Then I stamped the flower - also from Everything Eleanor - onto a scrap piece of Whisper White in Basic Grey ink. I used my Real Red and Pumpkin Pie markers to color in the image. Then I cut it out and popped it up onto the card. I added a few pearls to make it sparkle! And there you have it! Super simple!!


Be sure to stop by the Create with Connie and Mary site to see what the other designers came up with. Then create your own project using these colors and post it so that we can all see what you did! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Everything Eleanor, Friendly Phrases; Paper- Whisper White; Ink- Basic Grey, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red; Accessories- pearls dimensionals

Raspberry Butterfly

Good morning, Friends! I hope you are all having a fantastic week! It sure seems to be flying by!! Nick spent the night with a friend last night so my husband took me out for a very nice dinner for our anniversary! Our anniversary isn't until Saturday but we will be in Denver and since Nick was at a friend's, it seemed like the perfect time to celebrate!! I ate WAY too much but it was SOOO yummy!! Now I need to get back to work today and start on the laundry and get my swaps ready to mail before we leave on Saturday. 


Today's card was inspired by a card that we did in card class this month. Becky had used designer paper and made a Fourth of July card. I thought I would use the layout and switch it up a bit. I took the two pieces of Whisper White and used my scallop edge border punch to scallop the ends. Then I took them to the Big Shot and ran them through with the Fancy Fan embossing folder (it's so pretty). I popped these up onto a card base of Whisper White. I stamped the greeting from Made for you in Raspberry Ripple. Then I took some Old Olive card stock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Little Leaves sizzlet and some Raspberry Ripple card stock was run through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Wings embosslit. These are popped up onto the card. I added a flower that was punched with the itty bitty punch pack from Pretty in Pink with a pearl. Not much stamping but I love these colors together! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Made for You; Paper- Whisper White, Old Olive, Raspberry Ripple, Pretty in Pink; Ink- Raspberry Ripple; Accessories- Fancy Fan embossing folder, Little Leaves sizzlet, Beautiful Wings embosslit, scallop edge border punch, itty bitty punch pack, pearl, dimensionals

A Polka Dot Parade

Good morning everyone! I hope that you are all able to stay cool! Oh boy did it get hot here yesterday! I have been busy trying to get as much design work done as I can each day. Nick and I will be leaving on Sunday to go visit my parents in Kansas and have a "real" Fourth of July. Can't do anything like that in Colorado!! So I want to get all of that done before I go. I will have another busy day today!!


Today's card is another that I got from the PaperCrafts Magazine. What a fun card this is!! I love this new polka dot paper from Stampin' Up! Such fun colors and the other side is pretty, too! I punched a 1 3/8" square from different colors in the Polka Dot Parade designer paper pack and rounded opposite corners. These are popped up onto a piece of Whisper White that was run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Then the panel is adhered to a card base of Whisper White. Then I stamped the sentiment from Sweet Essentials in Rich Razzleberry onto a strip of Whisper White and rounded opposite corners as well. This is popped up onto the card, too. No need for embellishments here (in my opinion). The cute paper does all the work! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Sweet Essentials; Paper- Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade designer paper; Ink- Rich Razzleberry; Accessories- Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, corner rounder, dimensionals

Out of the Box

Good morning, Friends! Wow! I can't believe that we are at the last week of June! The summer is really flying by! Well, the tournament didn't end well for us. We lost our first game on Sunday. The boys played very well but there were a few things that just didn't go our way. But that's the game of baseball. I guess I wasn't too upset because we could get in our nice air conditioned car and drive home to our air conditioned house and take a nap - lol!! It is just so HOT around here! Yikes!!!


Today's card was inspired from the Hero Arts blog. Of course I changed the card to use Stampin' Up! product. She called it "out-of-the-box". Great name, eh!! So I gave it a try. It is pretty simple to do. I stamped the tree from Thoughts & Prayers in Basic Black onto a piece of Crumb Cake. Then I took my exacto knife and a straight edge to cut the left hand side of my card. I was extra careful to not cut the tree limb off. For that part, I used my scissors to cut out the tree branch. Then I used my trimmer to cut the other three sides of my card to the desired size. I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black. Then I took a strip of Basic Black and adhered it to the right side of a Crumb Cake card. The stamped panel is popped up onto the card. For my final touch, I took some Raspberry Ripple card stock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Wings embosslit and added a rhinestone. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Thoughts & Prayers; Paper- Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Raspberry Ripple; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Beautiful Wings embosslit, rhinestone, dimensionals

Limeade Thank You

Good Sunday morning everyone! We actually got to sleep in a little this morning as our first baseball game isn't till noon. So that part is good but it will be HOT by then and that isn't so great. Hopefully that won't affect the boys at all and we can win a few games today to keep going through the tournament! Today is single elimination so if we lose we go home. They won both their games yesterday and played very well!! I hope they keep it up!!


Today's card is another that was inspired by the special edition of the PaperCrafts magazine. Once again it is super simple! I do love how this one turn out! I took a piece of Whisper White and rounded the top corners with the 1" circle punch. To the bottom part I added a piece of designer paper from the Summer Smooches pack and then tied a piece of Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon around it to hide the seam. I stamped the greeting from Made for You in Lucky Limeade and then popped the whole panel up onto a card base of Lucky Limeade. I thought it could use a little something extra so I punched a flower from Daffodil Delight using the itty bitty punch pack and added a rhinestone to the center. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps: Made for You; Paper- Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Summer Smooches designer paper; Ink- Lucky Limeade; Accessories- Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, itty bitty punch pack, rhinestone, 1" circle punch, dimensionals

Midnight Muse Wish

Good morning everyone! Have to make a quick post this morning as we are heading out to a nearby town for a baseball tournament! Had our first game last night and lost by one! Ugh!! Tough loss!! One this morning and then tonight and then hopefully more than one tomorrow!! 


Today's card is so super super super simple!!!! I was browsing my latest issue of a special edition of PaperCrafts magazine. They have a lot of very clean and simple cards in this issue! I of course changed the supplies they used to Stampin' Up! products and here is my result! A piece of Crumb Cake card stock was run through the Big Shot with the new Argyle embossing folder (just part of the way). I tied a piece of the beautiful new Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon around that and then stamped the greeting from Sweet Essentials in Midnight Muse above that. This is popped up onto a card base of Crumb Cake and a rhinestone was added! That's it!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Sweet Essentials; Paper- Crumb Cake; Ink- Midnight Muse; Accessories- Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon, Argyle embossing folder, rhinestone, dimensionals

SFF 062212

Happy Friday everyone! Are you ready for a great weekend? It is going to be a very HOT one around here! And Nick has a baseball tournament all weekend. Oh joy! The Sketch Frenzy Friday team is back again with another great sketch! This week's sketch is provided by Angela Walters. Take a look! 

Very simple and lots of possibilities! So I kept my card very simple as well. Here is what I came up with.

I used the Apothecary Accents framelits dies to cut the shape from the First Edition designer paper and Very Vanilla (to give the dsp more support). I added two black brads. Before popping this up onto the card base of Very Vanilla, I added a strip of Basic Black card stock that has both ends flagged. I stamped the image from Artistic Etchings in Basic Black onto Very Vanilla. I cut this out and popped it up onto the card. Then I stamped the sentiment from Sweet Essentials in Basic Black onto the card. And there you have it!!


Be sure to continue through the tour to get more inspiration! Click 'here' to see what Jennifer did with this sketch. I hope you will take some time this next week to create a project using this fabulous sketch and upload it to the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog so that we can all see what you did! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Artistic Etchings, Sweet Essentials; Paper- Very Vanilla, Basic Black, First Edition designer paper; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Apothecary Accents framelits, black brads, dimensionals

CCMC 207

Good Thursday morning everyone! Did you have fun with last week's CCMC Scavenger Hunt? This week we are back to our regular posts. This week Create with Connie and Mary are challenging us with a sketch. Take a look at this unusual sketch.

This was definitely a challenge for me! A little out my box but I did figure out something that I really liked! Take a look!

This card would have probably look just fine with just the paper, card stock and ribbon but I wanted to add just a little something to it all. So I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock and added a strip of Summer Smooches designer paper and a strip of Lucky Limeade card stock that had been punched with the scallop edge border punch. Then I wrapped a piece of Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon to cover the seam. I stamped the greeting from Friendly Phrases in Lucky Limeade. This panel is popped up onto a card base of Whisper White. Then I took another piece of Whisper White and ran it through the Big Shot with the oval designer frame and cut around it by hand. I stamped the image from Bright Blossoms with my Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight markers into the frame. I popped this up onto the card. Then I stamped the round blossom in Tangerine Tango onto a scrap of Whisper White and cut it out. I added a mini brad and popped it up on the card. 


Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations at Create with Connie and Mary. And don't forget to create your own project and upload it to the site so that we can all take a look! I always love to see how you interpret the challenges! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Bright Blossoms, Friendly Phrases; Paper- Whisper White, Lucky Limeade, Summer Smooches designer paper; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade; Accessories- Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon, Designer Frames embossing folder, scallop edge border punch, mini brad, dimensionals

Control Freaks Blog Tour - Freakin' Out About the New Catalog!

Hello everyone!! It's that time of the month again - lol! It's the Control Freaks blog tour! And this month, the Freaks are showing you all some really cool stuff from the brand new Stampin' Up! catalog!! You probably came from LeeAnn Greff's blog. I just love all her work! She is SO talented!! If you got here another way, don't worry. If you click on the button at the bottom of this post, you will be directed to the next blog in the tour. And eventually you should end up right back where you started! Cool, huh!! (please note that if you are visiting this before the 20th, not all the links may be working. so be sure to come back on the 20th for a flawless tour!)


For this tour, I decided to focus on one of my favorite stamp sets - Serene Silhouettes! I LOVE this set!! Great images and silhouettes are so easy to work with! Especially with our brand new ink pads!! My first project is a card.

This is a super simple card but I used a few new products. I took the part of the card stock that was left after cutting the die (I used this for the next project) and used it as a template. I centered it onto a piece of Crumb Cake and sponged Crumb Cake ink to form the shape that you see. Then I stamped the image from Serene Silhouettes and the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Basic Black. Then I used the new Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack to pierce the outline of the shape. These new templates coordinate with many of our die and punch shapes! I love these!!! Then I tied a piece of Basic Black taffeta ribbon around this and adhered it to a piece of Basic Black and then popped up the whole thing onto a card base of Crumb Cake. I made this a very mailable card as I will be mailing this today to a young lady who lost her father this past weekend.

My second project is a very simple frame. I really like how this one turned out! I hope you can see all the details on these projects! I used the Apothecary Accents framelits to die cut the shape from Very Vanilla. Then I stamped the image from Serene Silhouettes in Basic Black. I also stamped the words from Sweet Essentials (another new set) in Basic Black. I sponged the edges in Crumb Cake and then used the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack to pierce the outline of the shape. Then I took the framelit and traced the outline onto Basic Black and cut it out by hand. Then I took a piece of Very Vanilla card stock and ran it through the Big Shot using the new Fancy Fan embossing folder. This is attached to a piece of Basic Black which is attached to the back of the frame. The stamped panel is popped up onto the Basic Black shape and that is popped up onto the embossed piece. I added three rhinestones. I took the glass out of the frame so that you could see all the dimension.


Well, that's it from me! Thank you so much for stopping by! Please continue on with the tour by clicking on the button below to see what Lisa Martz has created. You won't be disappointed! Have a super day!!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Serene Silhouettes, Sweet Essentials, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper- Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Ink- Crumb Cake, Basic Black; Accessories- Basic Black taffeta ribbon, rhinestones, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Apothecary Accents framelits, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, sponge, dimensionals

Happy Day To You!

Good morning, Friends! Well, Becky and I head back to reality today. We will be making the long drive back to home. :( We have had a super great time here and Sherry is such a beautiful and wonderful hostess! We were never in need or want! Being back at home will be nice, too, as I do have a lot that I need to catch up on. And it will be good to see my family! 


Today's card is the last of the cards that I did for my stamp club this month. I love how this one turned out. I started with a card base of Marina Mist and then added a strip of Real Red designer paper from the new Polka Dot Parade designer paper pack. I took a piece of Whisper White and scalloped the top with the Adorning Accents edgelits and stamped the greeting from Friendly Phrases in Early Espresso. This is popped up onto the card. Then I stamped the flower from Mixed Bunch in Summer Starfruit onto Whisper White and punched it with the Blossom flower punch. I stamped the flower center in Early Espresso and cut it out. This is adhered to the flower and I added a button with some Early Espresso baker's twine to the center. I punched another flower with the Blossom punch from Gumball Green and used two petals for the leaves. The flower is popped up onto the card. Happy day to you all and thanks for stopping by!!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Mixed Bunch, Friendly Phrases; Paper- Marina Mist, Whisper White, Gumball Green, Polka Dot Parade designer paper; Ink- Summer Starfruit, Early Espresso; Accessories- Adorning Accents edgelits, Blossom punch, itty bitty buttons, Early Espresso baker's twine, dimensionals

Especially Serene

Good morning, Friends! Wow! The weekend is coming to a close SO fast! Thankfully we will get to spend all day at Sherry's house and then head home in the morning. Sherry is THE best hostess!! She has shuttled us around each day, made us breakfast and provided us with the most comfortable accommodations! Today we will be spending the day around the house mostly crafting and that is a good thing as I have spent all my money and I am pretty wore out - lol!! And I do need to get some things done.


Today's card is one that I did with my stamp club this month. I got the layout idea from a card at Archiver's. It's different but I really like the way it came together! I took a piece of Pool Party and ran it through the Big Shot with the new Apothecary Accent framelits die. I wrapped a piece of the new Midnight Muse satin stitched ribbon around this and adhered it to a piece of Whisper White. Next to it I stamped the greeting from Made for You in Midnight Muse. Then I took a piece of Midnight Muse card stock to the Big Shot and used the Square Lattice embossing folder to emboss it. I punched a flower from this with the Blossom flower punch. I punched three strips from Summer Starfruit with the Word Window punch and cut them in half. I adhered these to each petal of the flower. Then I stamped the image from Serene Silhouettes in Midnight Muse onto Whisper White and punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch. I popped this up onto the flower center and then popped the flower up onto the card. I added three rhinestones to the image and called it done! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Serene Silhouettes, Made for You; Paper- Whisper White, Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit; Ink- Midnight Muse; Accessories- Midnight Muse stitched satin ribbon, Apothecary Accents framelits die, Blossom punch, Word Window punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, rhinestones, dimensionals

Summer Cobbler Solstice

Good morning everyone! I hope you are having a great start to the weekend! I have been shopping with my dear friends over here on the eastern slope. We even made a long trek to Estes Park. Boy is it beautiful up there!! We have been shopping all things craft but we also made a stop at The Container Store. What a fun place that is!! I had never been but I sure was in dreamville while I was there!! I could imagine my craft space transformed into something beautiful! But I came back to reality and bought a paper towel holder - lol!! I have been wanting one but could never find "the" one till I went to this store. Now I can't wait to try it ou! 


Today's card is one that I had originally done for the Create with Connie and Mary color challenge for this week but then I decided on doing something different. This idea came from the catalog and ended up being very simple! I started with a piece of Crumb Cake and stamped the image three time with Cherry Cobbler and then the sentiment down below. All the stamps are from Summer Solstice. Then I took a strip of Island Indigo and punched it with the dotted ribbon scallop punch and cut it in half. I carefully attached this to the piece and added some linen thread. This is popped up onto a card base of Crumb Cake. Then I added a Cherry Cobbler button with some linen thread. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Summer Solstice; Paper- Crumb Cake, Island Indigo; Ink- Cherry Cobbler; Accessories- Cherry Cobbler button, dotted ribbon scallop punch, linen thread, dimensionals

SFF 061512

Good morning everyone! Are you glad it's Friday? I am in a small town named Ault visiting a good friend of mine. Becky and I left yesterday morning and are visiting for an extended weekend. We will be shopping and creating all weekend long! I am happy to bring you the latest challenge from Sketch Frenzy Friday. This week's sketch was created by Tina Munzke. Take a look!

SO many possibilities with this one!! I love the simple design. The hardest part for me was to narrow down all my ideas! So here is what I did come up with:

I was so excited to be able to play with some of my new toys! I stamped the image from Serene Silhouettes in Midnight Muse onto Whisper White and punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch. This is layered onto a piece of Midnight Muse that was run through the Big Shot with the Delicate Doilies sizzlet. I popped this up onto a piece of Whisper white That was run through the Big Shot with the same die (there are three very nice doilies on this sizzlet - love it!). Then I popped up the doily panel onto a piece of Whisper White and stamped the sentiment from Sweet Essentials onto Whisper White with Midnight Muse. This panel is popped up onto a card base of Whisper White. My final touch was to add three rhinestones to the flower centers in the image. 


Time to move on through our little tour by clicking 'here' to see what Jennifer did with this sketch. Keep going through the tour to get inspired. Then be sure to create your own project using this sketch and upload it to the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog so that we can all see what you did! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!


Card Recipe: Stamps- Serene Silhouettes, Sweet Essentials; Paper- Whisper White, Midnight Muse; Ink- Midnight Muse; Accessories- Delicate Doilies sizzlet, 1 3/4" circle punch, rhinestones, dimensionals