Heaven Sent

Look at me! Stamping a card! I even placed an order last night over at i {heart} papers for some new stamps and paper (not that I needed any, mind you). It felt good to be back in my crafting space again, but I am soooo out of practice with blogging my cards it took me forEVer to get this thing uploaded! Oye. 

ANYHOW! I decided to participate in the Flutter By Wednesday Challenge this week and the challenge was to use something on the card with wings. Well, ok! I purchased this owl stamp at Hobby Lobby recently for use on my Origami Owl correspondence, so I inked it up. Nothing like fresh rubber to get a girl back in the swing of things! ;) 

While I was at it, I pulled up a sketch from my "Things Are A Little Sketchy" pinboard over on Pinterest to use for inspiration as well. Speaking of Pinterest, on Sunday I hit some kind of milestone and pinned my 10,000th pin. Oh. Em. Gee. That's a lot of pins. It was hilarious, too, because I searched and searched for the perfect 10,000th pin. It had to be just right. In the end, I went with {this one}. 

There's not too much time left for this week's Flutter By Wednesday Challenge, but you could still get something in tomorrow if you want to play along. 

Stay tuned here for more posts soon with some semi-homemade cards and pics of Jack's upcoming birthday. It's hard to believe my boy is turning FIVE in a week! 

My Fabulous Friend

I recently (well, semi-recently) attended a Copic Marker Class at the Creative Pals (Whipper Snapper Stamps!) store in Brookfield, WI. Technically, I believe it's now called an "Alcohol Marker Class", but same diff. ANYHOW, the bottom line is............. I stamped! After the class I came home and made this card for my girlfriend who invited and treated me to the class, bless her heart. I'm so out of the loop when it comes to blogging, I barely remembered to take a picture to share with y'all. I snapped this at the last minute on my mom's kitchen counter. How about that gold flecked counter top? Heh.

The image is by Rachelle Anne Miller. Love that girl. I wish I had an ounce of the talent she has.

I have more embroidery to share, and will be stamping again soon to complete the requirements for a swap I'm in, so stay tuned. One day I will organize all of my digital files and make this whole process easier.... maybe.

You're Invited

Some of our friends are expecting their first baby in September, and I recently hosted a baby shower for the mom-to-be. It was small and casual, but I wanted to share a few of the things I did in case you need ideas for the future!

Taking my cue from the neutral colored lamb theme of the nursery, I made these baby shower invitations to send:

All things considered, it was a pretty simple design with minimal coloring, so they went together pretty quickly. Well, that is until I ran out of that brown ribbon. Whoops! I guess you really should measure everything before you get started, eh? No worries though. Lord knows I have enough other spools of coordinating ribbon that I could use as backups.

Here's the whole lot together. You can see that one at the front of the picture has a smaller gingham ribbon instead of the wide triple stitch brown (which I bought at Hobby Lobby yyyyears ago, and love, if anyone is curious... must get back for more...)

I held the shower in the afternoon from 2-4pm. Since it fell between meals, I didn't want to have a lot of food, but I did want to have a few snacks and, of course, a cake, too. Here's the simple tablescape and menu: smoked almonds, pretzels with horseradish dip, Cape Cod Cracked Pepper Potato Chips (have you tried them? I was just introduced in May and haven't bought any other brand or flavor since that day), crackers with a cream cheese/sweet red pepper spread, peanut butter M&M's (another personal favorite), and a german chocolate cake.

You can also see the two gifts on the table for the game winners. I contemplated buying gifts for this purpose, but in the end decided to pull from my overstocked and underused cabinet of Partylite candles. Each winner received a box of 6 votives in the "Zen" scent. It didn't even make a dent in my collection, which is pretty sad. A few weeks ago I finished burning a medium sized candle that we received as part of a wedding gift 12 years ago. This is how fast I go through candles. It doesn't stop me from buying more though! It's a sickness, I swear.

I printed up some easy nametags on mailing labels. Avery makes so many great sized labels. If you use your imagination you can do a lot of interesting things with them. I made these up using the Roselyn font, and then rolled across the bottom of each one with Mellow Moss ink to jazz them up a little.

Our first game was Name The Baby Food. We passed around ten open containers of baby food (stage 2, all having two more flavors), and guests were able to spoon a little onto their plate and taste each one. Some tasted, some smelled... In fact the girl who got the most correct (6/10) never tasted a single one. I was totally impressed. I printed sheets for each guest with ten blank spaces on the left and the names of about 20 different flavors of baby food on the right for them to match to the numbers. I pulled the names of the extra flavors off the Gerber website. I wanted to make sure they were all legitimate flavors, because we had enough moms of little ones in the room that someone would have probably known a fake name if I tried to make one up. I also made these cute little cozies for each container because the name of the flavor is printed on the outside. I needed to hide it somehow, and I'm all about pretty, so I wrapped each one with sage colored tulle and coordinating ribbon. The numbers were printed on my Cricut and then added to punched circles before being glued on to the side of the container.

Our second and final game was a simple guessing game. How many Almond Joy pieces fit into a 4 oz. Dr. Brown's glass baby bottle? Well, 167 to be exact. Mom-to-be got to keep the bottle (chosen from her registry) AND Almond Joy pieces as part of her gift.

It was a lovely afternoon with a lot of visiting and sharing of stories. I just love hosting things like this, and I also love welcoming new babies into the world! 

God Bless

Seeeeeeee... I *do* still stamp sometimes! I made this a few months ago, actually. I sing in a local choir and each spring I like to make a thank you card for our director that matches the theme of our annual concert. This year we had a sort of Americana theme, so I pulled out the old Stampin' Up! God Bless America stamp for the first time in ages (ever?). The flag behind the image is actually two different pieces of patterned paper, and then I accented the inside and the envie with the SU star wheel. Not bad for a (then) messy unorganized craft space!

I have since painted my craft room and am in the process of putting it all back together. Maybe I'll post a few pictures when it's done. It's nothing spectacular, but it's mine! I was just giggling the other day at all of the mismatched furniture I have in there, but oh well. It's functional, and a fairly large space, and right now that's all that matters. Maybe some day I'll invest in matching furniture with all the cubbies and cuteness you can stand, but it's not on my short list.

I'm also excited to share my new blog design! Wahooooooooooooooo! Michelle at Laycock Designs totally hooked me up with a beautiful new look. It was time for a change around here. If you're looking at this post in a reader, click over and take a peek and let me know what you think!

Missing You

Helloooooo! Long time, no crafting, eh?! I just thought I'd pop in and post this sweet little card I made for a small swap I participated in with some of my girlie-friends. The swap was for kid-cards, and I took my inspiration from a little girl I know who saw two of her besties move away within the last year or so.

I have more stuff (cards and embroidery and floral arranging of all things) to post as soon as I get my act together and get organized around here. I've been busy painting and organizing and my craft room is next in line for a make over. Maybe I'll share a few pics when I'm done. It's nothing special, but it's mine and I love it. Or I will once it's all clean and organized again!

Happy stamping!

GLEE Notecards

Do any of you watch the tv show GLEE? Do you love it? I like it. A lot. It's kind of a love/hate relationship for me though. I love the songs and the dancing, but the plot lines sometimes are just too far out there for me. I'm not sure how I feel about some of the things the teachers and students are saying to each other in school, etc., but it's fun to watch and they do have some hilarious quotes in the show.

One of my girlfriends recently had a "Glee" themed birthday party, and I wanted to get a gift that tied in with that theme. I searched Etsy for stuff, not sure what I was looking for exactly or what I would find. Turns out you don't find a whole lot on that topic. The only matches that came up were for notecards with quotes on them. I was *this close* to ordering some when it occurred to me that I, too, make cards.

*facepalm* Doh!

So, I whipped up a quick set of six for her. My original intent was to keep them all very simple, similar to the Lady and the Tramp card, but with different colored bases and ribbons. As I got started I decided to embellish a little more, but they still are pretty basic. I think I finished all six in about an hour and a half tops. I have been out of the loop for so long, I forgot to take nice pictures, but I did take some quick snapshots with my phone, so I'll share those:


I seriously have no idea who she would send these to other than another "Gleek", but I still think they're fun. And, it was fun to be stamping again, too. I joined a card swap recently, so it's a good little warm up for me before I have to get started on that next project.

You're Sweet

I'm ba-aaack! :o)

Well, probably not entirely. At least not in the post-a-new-card-everyday sort of way, but the good news is I am back at stamping on an as needed basis, and I'm enjoying it, which is more than I could have said at any single point in the last 12-18 months. It has been nearly 18 months since I have sat down and been creative. Oh, I've made a few cards in that time, but all were duplicates of past creations. Nothing really spontaneous, until now. I decided this year that I needed to stop buying cards and start making them again, so I whipped up a batch of thank you cards for friends and family using Pink Cat Studio's Itty Bitty Christmas set and an older SU! Paisley Print background.


Here is a close up of the glitter snow detail:

You know, I kind of forgot how time consuming a set of ten cards could be. It took me a few days to complete this, which surprised me. I also found that *gasp* I've forgotten the names of some of my colored cardstock that I never filed properly. Time to dig out the old catty's I guess, and do a little matching! I could never forget my beloved Riding Hood Red though. Man, I love that color....

And finally a quick glance at the inside of the card. I am usually bad about leaving this part of the card empty, without insert OR embellishment. I'm going to try to be better about that (and coordinating envelopes) because I think they really lend so much to the overall presentation, don't you?

So, there you have it folks. My first step back into the world of ink and rubber. Stay tuned for more posts as the need for a card or ten arises!

Note of Thanks

Hello friends! I don't want to go so far as to say, "I'm back," but I did stamp a card tonight! I needed a thank you card for one of Jack's therapists who is leaving us. I bought this set a few mos ago from a friend and thought it could use some ink. I have to be honest with you though - stamping isn't really the same as riding a bicycle in that I think you *do* forget how to do it if you fall off the wagon for awhile! I had some serious mental blockage tonight, but I think the end result is cute. You'll notice I even decorated the inside, which is rare for me.

This baby is all Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, etc. It has been a long time since I've been able to say that, too... even when I was stamping regularly.

Things here are going ok. Some days are better than others. Some hours are, too. I still can't believe my little guy is gone. I see his picture at the top of the blog every time I log in and it just seems like he's upstairs sleeping (I always blog late at night). In short, it sucks. But I manage, through heavy prayer, the grace of God, and the love of friends and family. I'll tell ya though, I've never been more excited in my life to get to heaven. Not saying I'll do anything to speed up the process, but hopefully you understand.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support,

Hop Up Jump In!

I know it has been ages since I've posted a card (and done any stamping, for that matter), but I am just not feelin' it lately. I want to stamp, but I have this block that just prevents me from doing much. I actually sat down with some stamped images and my copics one night and just stared at it all for a good hour before I gave up and went to bed. I didn't make a single mark!

Jack's birthday is coming up, and I've always made all of the cards for the boys. I made all of their baby announcements, thank you cards, birthday invites, baptismal invites, etc. Heck, I even made all 60 of my baby shower invites and the thank you's for that as well. I tried like the dickens to get out of making these birthday invites. I even BOUGHT invites! But, guilt got the best of me, and I went ahead and popped out six of them. It's hard to make cards when you're not feelin' it... and it's even harder when they don't make stamps in the images of the people you need!

I improvised with some Handy Manny stickers I found at a local stamp store, and used them on this much loved layout (remember this?). Below you can see the inside of the card:

I don't know what I did to my camera, but all of my pictures look so washed out lately. It's not just this light and/or set up. No matter where I take a picture, it looks washed out. I'm going to have to google that and see what button I pushed or take it to the camera store to get it straightened out one of these days.

Anyway... I made six cards. I used elegant eggplant and real red, trying to coordinate with the stickers as much as possible. They turned out pretty girly for a handy man, but hey. At least they got done. Here is a pic of the whole batch:

Several of you have contacted me asking for more information about the card ministry I mentioned in my last post. I was hoping to get that off the ground before Valentine's Day, but I'm behind. I'm struggling with a lack of motivation lately, and lots of indecision. I've been joking with my family that I should be the president of the 80% club, because I've been starting all of these projects but not finishing any of them. I've read that this is a common response in the grief process, so I'm not overly concerned about it. This too shall pass, right? As I get more organised with the card ministry, I'll post details here. No telling when that will be, but still... you'll be the first to know.

Also, if you pop over to my family blog from time to time (link at top of sidebar), you'll notice I made a nice overhaul to the look of it. I still have a few things I need to clean up. Some font issues, etc. But again... 80% club. *sigh*

I hope you are all well! I miss traveling the blogosphere on a regular basis and seeing all of your wonderful creations. I've pretty much just been trying to take it easy and losing myself in mindless games on facebook. This too shall pass.... Eventually.

Blessings to you all -

i {heart} papers Birthday Bash Challenge!

Welcome to the first of this week’s i {heart} papers Birthday Bash (IHPBB) challenges! We’re looking forward to seeing all of your creations, and we’re very happy to have you celebrating with us!

Here are the hosts for each day. Be sure to check their blogs on their scheduled day to find out that day’s challenge. You can also check the main IHP Birthday Bash page at the store. It will be updated daily.

Day 1(10/19): Kate (owner), Sarah Anderson, and Dee Jackson
Day 2 (10/20): Deb/Latisha Yoast
Day 3 (10/21): Gretchen/Lesa Smaligo and Lynn/Asela Hopkins
Day 4 (10/22): Cathleen/Kerri Michaud and Carolyn/Maria Fiscella
Day 5 (10/23): Megan/Chris Veneruso and Kendra/Debbie Fisher
Day 6 (10/24): Tracy/Heidi Van Laar and Amber/Kerry Davis
Day 7 (10/25): Sunday, day of rest (finish up your challenges!)
Day 8 (10/26): PARTY! GRAND PRIZE (winners are announced)

What’s the first thing you do when you’re planning a Birthday Bash? Before you can choose invitations, decorations, etc., you must decide upon a color scheme, so our first IHPBB challenge has to do with color.

Our challenge for you today is to make a card (scrapbook page, 3-D item, etc.) using the colors of our IHP logo: celery, light blue, rose and black. Remember, everything this week has to do with birthday celebrations...so be sure your creation is birthday related!

Before you begin, take a few minutes to review the challenge guidelines! You’ll want to follow these rules to maximize your points and qualify for the opportunity to WIN the prize for today’s challenge and the Grand Prize, all announced on the last day of our festivities!

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. Today’s challenge tag is IHPBB1. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

To qualify for the Grand Prize of being IHP Guest Designer for the month of November, here’s how it will work: Every challenge card/project you enter will earn you points (see below), and one with the most accumulated for the week the Grand Prize winner. So the more challenges you enter, more points you earn — and the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize (and the bigger the value of your Guest Designer box will be)!

You will have until October 25th to post your work, and you can enter as many challenges as you like, but you CANNOT combine challenges in one project. All winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at the Birthday Bash on October 26th.

Birthday Bash Points

For each project:
5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to SCS
5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to PCP
2 points for uploading to your blog and linking at least one IHP item used to the IHP website

One time points:

2 points for signing up to receive our newsletter*
2 points for joining our PCP group*
2 points for becoming our fan on Facebook*
10 points if you participate in all 6 IHP Birthday Bash challenges

*When you sign up, or if you are already signed up, a comment on the IHP blog Birthday Bash week so your points can be credited.


I hope you decide to participate! I had a blast making this card set using all of the yummy papers and ribbons Kate sent me from her store! Have fun with it! :o)

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 2

Here are some more fun images from the new Itty Bitty Christmas set that is being released TOMORROW at Pink Cat Studio. Aren't they just adorable? I love the clean lines of all the Pink Cat images. So cute!

Here we have a little gingerbread man:


And here he's shed his costume for a little gift giving. I did a close up of the image so you can see the glitter snow. I just dotted around the image with my glue pen and then sprinkled on the Dazzling Diamonds:

Here's the whole card. I really felt like I needed to get away from traditional Christmas colors for once:

And that knotted silver ribbon? That was totally supposed to be tied in a bow, but I've realized something very important (and tragic)... I am totally bow-tarded. I can. not. make a bow. Sure I could make one separately and then adhere it to straight ribbon, but that's cheating, isn't it? How do you make your "bunny ear" bows? I tried following info on SCS and I still couldn't do it! ACK!

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 1

It's time for another new release from Pink Cat Studio, and it's also time for CHRISTMAS! Wahoooo! I love Christmas! I'm probably the only person around who gets excited when the snow starts to fall (which it totally just did Saturday morning!!!). This super cute set is called Itty Bitty Christmas, and here are two cards made with it:

Stay tuned for another peek tomorrow and then the set release on Wednesday! Click over to the Pink Cat Studio Blog and the other design team blogs (in my sidebar) for more super cute cards!

Itty Bitty Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks!

Pink Cat Studio is releasing a new set tomorrow, and it includes two new characters! I'm sure you love Lily and Billy as much as I do, but check out the new kids on the block!



Are they not adorable?! This is just one of the images from this awesome new set. I LOVE IT! The sentiment for the card is tucked behind the main image. You just have to pull out that ribboned edge, and you'll find this:

Cute, no? :)

Be sure to click over to the other Pink Cat Design Team member blogs (linked in my sidebar) to see all of the other images! You won't be sorry!

In case you're wondering, that patterned paper in the background has velvet flocked spiders on it (!!). I picked that up last year at i {heart} papers.

I'll Never Leave You

Hellooooooooo my blogger friends! Oye vey, it has been AGES since I've blogged! Yikes! Things have been a little whack-a-doodle around here, and I haven't stamped in awhile. Actually, that's not entirely true. I actually made this card a few weeks ago but didn't care for it (on kraft paper) and didn't have any Chocolate Chip paper on hand (Seriously people, how does that happen?) so it sat there for awhile until I broke down and hit the Hobby Lobby for a suitable brown stand in.

Despite my absence here in the blogosphere, I need you to know:


bwahahahahahaha!!! Ok, fess up - who gets the joke?! I *know* my girl Lorie is giggling out there somewhere... anyone else??

The main image in this card is from the Sporty Billy set that Pink Cat Studio released in June. This set is awesome! I just love it. :) I colored Billy with my copics, and printed the sentiment on the computer using Mufferaw font (love that font, btw!).

In case you're still wondering about that sentiment, here's a clue (a friend of mine has this set as his profile picture on Facebook and I think it's absolutely hilarious):

Again I say..... BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! :)

Ok, I'm done now. Carry on. ;)

P.S. I'm reeeally hoping less time will pass between this and my next post! Don't give up on me!

Howdy!

Here is a card I made this evening using the new digi-images that Melissa is offering over at Pink Cat Studio as a fundraiser for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. You can read more info about the images, and their significance in the post below this one, and also on the Pink Cat Studio Blog.

If you've been drooling over Lily and Billy for awhile but haven't made a purchase, this is a great place to start (though technically they are called Ethan and Ava in this set, but still...). Not only do you get super cute images, but you also help an awesome cause.

Thanks for looking!

Oh Hoppy Day!

It occured to me after I made this card today that the colors I used don't really shout "hoppy day". lol! I really wanted to use that striped paper though, and used that to pull the rest of the colors out, so I blame it on Basic Grey. ;) hehehe.

Isn't that little frog the cutest? Frogs always remind me of my childhood. My mom and I lived with a friend of hers for awhile when I was little, and she had a HUGE frog collection. They were everywhere. I recently reconnected with her online, and was so sad to learn she got rid of all of them a few years back! I don't know why that mattered to me, or even why I'm telling you about it, but still.... it did, and I am. *wink*

This cute little foggy (and lily pad and sentiment) is from the Pond Pals set over at Sweet n' Sassy Stamps. It's such a sweet little set. Perfect for every day cards, or even baby cards! My next card with it will be much brighter though! :)

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 2

Good morning! Welcome to day two of our Pink Cat Studio sneek peaks! Here is the image of Billy with the soccer ball. Isn't it fun? I know I probably say that all the time, but I just love these stamps!

Did you get a chance to look at all of the other DT blogs yesterday? Well, go back and check them again today! :)

Enjoy your day!

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks, Day 1

Yay! It's time for another Pink Cat Studio release! Y'all know I am just in LOVE with Billy. He reminds me so much of my Henry (who turns 3 soon! Ack! How did that happen?!). This newest Billy set is absolutely adorable. Four of the most deliciously boyish stamps EVER! And the little appearances by the pooch just crack me up. :)

Be sure to stop back tomorrow to see another peek, and then Wednesday to see the full set. You can also click over to the other PCS DT members by following the blog links in my sidebar.

Enjoy the day!