PP97 and SSCC1

I wanted to get one more card in today before my husband made it home from work.   Our fearless leader Holly at the Friday Mashup has a fun color challenge on her blog this week that I've been thinking about for a few days.   It seems like my brain takes longer to process colors and sketches lately so I have to think much longer for an idea to hit me!    It finally did this evening!   I even used the sketch from the Paper Players again for this one.  :)

I still don't own Sahara Sand, so I used Crumb Cake instead.   I think it works okay with the other colors.   I'm not sure what was going on with the lighting today, but I could not get a good picture that showed the true colors.   I think I ended up hitting too many buttons on Photoshop too so I might have even made it worse!   I hope you can get the idea though.  :)   I'm in denial that my lovely kites are retired. I love them and will keep them forever.   

Stamps:  Send Me Soaring (retired)

Ink:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder

Paper:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, 3-inch circle die, Tasteful Trim die, Pool Party ruffled ribbon

PP97: Butterfly of Hope

I'm still stamping away and decided to continue my streak today.   I figure if I need to rest I might as well have fun doing it, right?    Hopefully the creative process will be relaxing and get my dang blood pressure back down!  :)    Today I finally had an idea for the LeAnne's sketch at the Paper Players.  I've been running ideas through my head all week but nothing clicked until today.   I'm glad I waited because I really LOVE how this one turned out!  

I pulled out the lovely Everyday Enchantment paper that I had left from Sale-a-bration this year and everything just seemed to click from there!    My sponges and shimmer paint have been a bit neglected lately, so I grabbed those too!   I am not a great vintage/distressed cardmaker, but I try to pick up hints from my buddy Ann Schach and I've come a long way from where I started!   I used the shimmer paint on my Very Vanilla circle and then sponged over to get a bit of the faux mother-of-pearl technique. It works better on glossy card stock, but I didn't think that would look good with the my design.  It still has a nice shimmer even though you probably can't tell from the picture!   I sponged pretty much everything with Crumb Cake ink, including the ribbon.   All in all, I'm smiling and happy with this one.  I don't say that often, so I should probably put this one in my keep box so I can look back at it when I need motivation. :)

Stamps:  Strength & Hope (retired), Tiny Tags

Ink:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Everyday Enchantment DSP, Very Vanilla

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, 3-inch circle die, Beautiful Butterflies die, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Jewelry Tag punch, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, sponges, Pool Party Ruffled ribbon, Basic Pearls

FMS37: Wild about My Sketch

It's my turn to host the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  It's my last one before I take a break for maternity leave.  I will miss it, but I am officially TIRED.   These next 5 weeks are going to be long with the temperatures up in the 90s and my feet nowhere to be seen!   

For my card I used the awesome colors from the Dynamic Duos challenge again.   I just love them!    I have no idea what occasion you'd use this card for, but I think it's pretty cute. It  sure is heavy though!   I guess I got a little heavier than usual on the number of layers.  I must be channeling my friend Anne Marie the layering queen.  :)  

Well if you've been by the FMS blog you know that this week I was blessed with the sweetest surprise from my DT members, the lovely ladies from the Paper Players, and my sweet friend Kathy.   They shocked me and organized a baby blog hop that I was clueless about!    The FMS ladies even made decoy cards to post on our DT blog so that things looked normal!    I'm still surprised and have been crying over their beautiful gesture all morning.  Be sure to go follow the hop and see all the gorgeous creations that they made using my sketch!  

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Cindy Hall

Erna Logtenberg

Jen Mitchell

Jennifer Timko

KathyTanner

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Nance Leedy

Tui Nathan

Tara Murphy Bourgoin

colourQ coffee

Isn't this an awesome color combination?   I was so excited when I saw the colourQ challenge today.   I didn't know what I was going to make with it, but just pulling the colors together and looking at them made me happy.   :)

I know what you're thinking....am I on the right blog?   Yes, you are and yes, that's a non-SU stamp.   I had a doctor's appointment today and like the last few appointments, my blood pressure was high.  I have to get tested for pre-eclampsia AGAIN.   I was so bummed and crying, so Jason took me for a bit of retail therapy.  This was all I got for me, so I wasn't too bad.   I miss my Starbucks so much right now (Laila seems to hate everything I try from there), so I think that's why I wanted this darn cup so much.    It's huge though, so it will take some work to use it.    I wanted to play with it tonight because I'm still pretty crabby.  That might be why it took me forever to make this!    Here's the other part of my shopping, Laila's coming home outfit:

Retro Tree

I love sketch challenges and I found a new one that I haven't played along with before!   It's called Retro Sketches and they have some great sketches over there for inspiration.   I used this week's sketch today to make another Father's Day card.  Hopefully I almost have enough to drop off at the local shop soon.   If anyone needs one, you can email me or stop by Merry-Go-Round in Kingwood.   :)

When I sat down to stamp I had intended to do a very distressed card.  After looking at the design team samples, I realized they are more into clean cards without a lot of fuss (aka distressing) so I decided to go with what I'm best at and do a somewhat clean-and-simple card.   For some reason Father's Day and Christmas are the times of the year that I am really drawn to use Lovely as a Tree.  It just works so well for both!   I'm trying to use up more of my hoarded designer paper, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of retired paper on my blog.   Sorry for that, but there's only so much space in the craft room and it's too pretty to throw away!  

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Always Artichoke

Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Naturals White, Woodland Walk DSP and other misc retired paper

Tools/Accessories:  Ticket Corner punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, linen thread

Dynamic Blue Bugs

Now that I'm feeling better during the day, I've been taking advantage of it to get some stamping done.   When I saw the new challenge from Dynamic Duos today I just had to go play along!   I'm not one to jump at color challenges, but I love this one!   Two colors and neutrals are much easier for me to work with than 3-5 colors!  I kept my card pretty simple, but I think it turned out pretty cute!

Stamps:  Bugs & Kisses, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack, misc. retired dsp

Tools/Accessories:  Bashful Blue 3/8 Taffeta ribbon (retired)

HSS Mojo Dino

Two cards?!  I decided I should stamp while I was feeling better, so I went back to my room and worked on another challenge card.  This one uses the sketch from Mojo Monday and the challenge from Hand Stamped Sentiments to go masculine!  I wanted to do something fun, so I pulled out Dinoroar and did a kid's version of a Father's Day card.   I used a fun color combination, Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, and Crumb Cake.   Kinda cute, huh?  :)

Stamps: Dinoroar, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze Lucky Limeade

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, In Color Hostess Stack (retired)

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Houndstooth embossing folder, Tasteful Trim die, blender pen, Not Quite Navy 3/8 Taffeta ribbon

FM60: For the Boys

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project for " That special Man in your life ".
2. Or Make a project with the " Sketch ".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Masculine card using the above Sketch ".

Know that old saying better late than never?  Well, that's me this week!  I had actually decided to take this week off from The Friday Mashup because I was feeling so bad, but after some new medicine and a night of sleep, I felt like stamping a little today.  Holly has such a great challenge that I didn't want to miss out playing along.  Now this will be my last card before I'm "officially" on maternity leave, but I still want to try and do some of the challenges if I can fit them in.  It depends on how I'm feeling and then how recovery and motherhood go if that happens or not.  I can't believe it's only 38 more days!  Yikes!   Anyway, on to the card, right?!  

I pulled out some retired designer paper that I really need to stop hoarding use up and the classic Lovely as a Tree stamp set.   It's an easy choice for a masculine card.  I did a bit of "thumping" on the tree to get in some different shades of green; one shade was just a bit boring.  :)    It's a pretty simple card, but it's hard to go all out with embellishments when you are doing something for a man.  Ribbon and bling just don't work without some serious creative effort!  

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Woodgrain background

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Always Artichoke

Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, miscellaneous retired DSP

Tools/Accessories:  Vintage Trinkets, Color Spritzer, Linen Thread

I hope you'll come play along with us this week!  It's a great time challenge to get your Father's Day cards made before June hits!

FMS36: Tui's Sketch

It's time for another new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!   Tui is the hostess this week and came up with this awesome sketch to challenge everyone.   I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm taking off this week.  I will definitely have to work on this sketch once I feel like sitting at my desk though!  It's a fun one for sure.   

Go check out the awesome work that the design team and guest designers created to inspire you this week!

Linda Callahan

Lesley Croghan

Cindy Hall

Jen Mitchell

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Erna Logtenberg
Tara Murphy Bourgoin

Watercolor Attempt #1

One of my customers has expressed interest in the Aquapainters, Blender Pens, and Watercolor Crayons.  Those are not my strong points, so I've decided I need to practice a bit over the new few weeks before club night!   I really want to demo the different coloring techniques and the only way to get better at it is DOING it, right?    So...here's my first attempt.  I used the gorgeous butterflies from Kindness Matters.   I used the crayons and aquapainter for the large one int the middle and the ink pads with a blender pen for the smaller ones.  They are okay, but I definitely need to work on my skills!  :)  If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them!

Stamps:  Kindness Matters, French Foliage
Ink:  Regal Rose, Crumb Cake, Staz On
Paper:  Early Espresso, Regal Rose, Watercolor Paper, Brights DSP stack, First Edition DSP
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Fancy Favor die, Aquapainter, Watercolor Crayons, Blender Pen, Homemade Shimmer Mist (using Shimmer Paint)

Dynamic Sketch!

Don't pass out because I've posted a few days in a row!   I might even have something else for you tomorrow too, so maybe you can fall over then.  Ha!   I wanted to share another card that I made yesterday morning.  Getting up at 4am really allows for some serious stamping time, especially when the husband has already informed you that he's sleeping in until 1pm!   I fell in love with the sketch at clean&simple this week and couldn't resist the colors at Dynamic Duos.

I had to pull out Fun Flowers for that sketch!  It was just too perfect, right?  I love making cards that have little to no stamping on them.  I find that it's pretty easy to do that with this die.   The sentiment is from Kindness Matters, but everything else is just paper, punches, dies or embossing folders.  I love all the layers and texture and seriously?  Those colors just rock when you put them together!   

Stamps:  Kindness Matters

Ink:  Basic Black

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White, Brights DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Boho Blossoms punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Basics Glimmer Brads

colourQ meets Paper Players!

 
Well, after waking up at 4am this morning, I decided I should try to go stamp for a bit. I actually finished 3 cards and had a nice time stamping just for fun.   With pregnancy, two design teams, and club/class cards, I don't often find time to do challenges or make a card just because I feel like it.   I definitely need to get back to that; it was relaxing and just plain old fun today!   My first card combines two challenges, the gorgeous colors of colourQ and the fun polka dots of the Paper Players.

I hope a different fold will still count as clean-and-simple.  I kept it pretty simple other than that I think?    I really LOVE this color combination.   I'll definitely have to add that picture to my color inspiration board on Pinterest; I want to sure it again for sure!   I used a retired hostess set that I LOVE along with Fabulous Phrases.   I'm a bit bummed that the Scallop Circle #2 die is retiring as I use it a lot, but I'll hang on to it and sneak it in every now and then.  :) 

Stamps:  Love & Care, Fabulous Phrases

Ink:  Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder

Paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, 3-inch circle die, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon

Another Trio of Sketches

Last night I hosted a card class to say goodbye to a few retiring sets and designer paper.   I enjoyed my last set of cards that were all from the same sketch, so I went with that theme again.   :)   Here's the sketch we used from Pals Paper Arts:

I thought this was a fun one, but it sure did take a lot of punching!  I hope the ladies didn't end up with carpal tunnel after making 9 cards.  Here's our first card, the masculine version using Grunge Rock:

I'm really going to miss this set.  I bought it to challenge myself and fell in love with the fun images.   I always enjoy using it and to me, that's a sign of a great stamp set.  :)   We used a strip of the retiring Flirtatious DSP in Daffodil Delight.   I think that pattern was non-girly enough to work.   Ha!    Our next card was the feminine version of the card and my favorite of the three.   It was inspired by Deb's beautiful card that you can see here.  

This one uses more retiring designer paper, Paisley Petals.   It also uses a sentiment from Trendy Trees which is a new stamp set for me.  One of my demo BFFs was kind enough to gift it to me.  (Thanks, Mindy!).   I love the colors of this one!   I struggle to use River Rock sometimes, but it works great with Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy.   Finally, here's our kids version of the card with a flipped version of the sketch:

Fox & Friends is the set that I'm most sad about losing.   Well, not losing because I will be keeping it, but not using it for classes I guess I should say.   It's my favorite set for kids and it has definitely earned it's keep over the past few years.   If I had to recommend one set that you should get before it's gone, it's this one!   I also used a small strip of another retiring dsp, Cheerful Treat.  It was a hostess choice this year and I got so much use out of it.  I just love the fun bright colors!   I hope you enjoyed the projects!   I want to do more of these, so you'll probably see quite a few sketch trios in the future.   

Just to update, my labs came back okay and I am NOT on bed rest nor do I have pre-eclampsia!   My blood pressure is still a little high and I have awful congestion/headache, aching ears, and a cough.  I'm hoping that will clear up soon as it's tiring to feel so yucky all day.   It's only 44 more days until our little girl is scheduled to be here!

FM59: Tasteful Trim with Ribbon

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project " with a Decorative Edge! "
2. Or Make a project with " Ribbon and/or a Bow. "
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project " with a Decorative Edge & Ribbon ".  

It's Friday Mashup time again!  Sadly this is our last challenge with the awesome Kasey.  :(   She is going out on a fun one though and challenged us to use ribbon and/or a decorative edge.  My thoughts immediately went to my favorite die, Tasteful Trim.  I love that thing!   It was such a great birthday gift to myself last year.  (I hope my Fun Flowers die doesn't see this post; I do love it too.) 

One of my recent goals is to work on clean-and-simple cards, especially those that are mostly one layer.   With a new baby coming soon, I know my budget and time are both going to be decreased and I figure the "less is more" philosophy is a good one for me to work on adopting.   I do find this style difficult, so you'll have to bear with me as I fumble my way through figuring it out.   I do like this one a lot and think it turned out nicely for such a simple card.   I even managed to fit in the decorative edge and the ribbon/bow without going overboard (I think anyway).    

I hope you'll take the time to come play along with us this week and to wish Kasey well as she moves on to future endeavors!   

FMS35: Vintage Butterflies

It is Wednesday and time for another sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!   Jen T. is our hostess this week and has this fun three-panel sketch to challenge everyone.   It took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to do with my card, but with the help of my friend Marla I finally settled on some embossed panels.   What do you think?

I had to use the adorable Butterfly Prints set.  I haven't had it very long and it will be retiring at the end of this month. :(  Of course I'll keep it because I tend to use retired stuff if it strikes my fancy.  I love having lots of options!   

Stamps:  Petite Pairs, Butterfly Prints

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo, Brights DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Butterfly punch, scallop oval punch, oval punch, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, In Color Dotted brads, Basic Pearls

On a personal note, this pregnancy is winding down and so am I.   This week I've been really sick with a sore throat and aching ears, so I'm on antibiotics and finally starting to feel a little better.   Unfortunately my blood pressure has been up, so I have to get labs done today to test for pre-eclampsia.   Cross your fingers that all goes well with that.  I heard my doctor throw out bed rest when we were talking about it and I would be so unhappy for that to happen.   I already told Jason he'd have to buy me a mattress for my stamp room floor!  :)

Come play along with us this week!  Be sure to stop in and say hi to the other design team members and our awesome guest designers!

Linda Callahan

Lesley Croghan

Cindy Hall

Jen Mitchell

Tui Nathan

Jennifer Timko

Erna Logtenberg
Tara Murphy Bourgoin

May Club Cards

I don't think I posted our club cards for this month!   I swear I have no memory left at this point.   :)

For our sketch card I did a bit of a remake on one of my Freshly Made Sketches cards.  I wanted to use the awesome vine image from Best Friends Forever and it worked perfectly on the base.   I also toned down the colors a bit by using So Saffron instead of Daffodil Delight.  

Our technique this month was the rock n' roll technique and Dawn's gorgeous card inspired me to create this one.  Upsy Daisy is just perfect for so many techniques, so I know many of us demonstrators are going to miss it.  

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today due to a scratchy throat, so I'm keeping this short.   I did want to give a shout out to my friend Lesley who made me the new watermark that you've been seeing in my photos.   Isn't it cute?   She managed to whip it out in minutes; the one I made took me months to do!   It's good to have clever friends.  :)  

One sketch, three cards!

If you are looking for my Friday Mashup post, please click here or scroll down.  

Yesterday I had a wonderful lunch with two of my club ladies and we came back and stamped a bit afterwards.  I wanted to show them the versatility of a sketch, so I made up three designs for us using this sketch from Papered with Love.  I knew one of them had recently purchased the Top Note die and thought this one would be a perfect way to show her how to use it.  :)  

Our first card was the feminine version!  I used the same colors from my Freshly Made Sketches card this week because I am really loving them!  (I know, PINK!)    I kept it fairly simple, just added a bit of stamping on the card base with a small stamp from Raining Flowers.  

Stamps:  Raining Flowers

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, Pretty in Pink, Subtles DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Top Note die, Tasteful Trim die, Fun Flowers die, circle punch, Blossom Builder punch, crimper, Neutrals glimmer brads

Our next project was the masculine version and of course I had to use The Open Sea!   The Color Coach gave me this gorgeous color combination; it has two of my favorites, Crumb Cake and Not Quite Navy.   For this one we used a background stamp on the card base, the Netting stamp.  It adds a bit of interest without taking away from the main image.   We also embossed the Top Note with the Houndstooth embossing folder. 

Stamps:  The Open Sea, Netting background

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, Naturals White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Tasteful Trim die, Top Note die, houndstooth embossing folder, circle punch, Neutrals buttons, White Baker's Twine

Our final project was the child version!   For some reason I just love this one; it seems fun I guess?  We left the card base plain this time, but embossed the Top Note with the Stripes embossing folder.   Button Buddies was being neglected, so I thought it would be the perfect image for this one.   I used the pennant stamp set and punch to give Mr. Piggy a party hat with a bit of bling.    Isn't he cute?

Stamps:  Pennant Parade, Button Buddies
Ink:  Real Red, Pacific Point
Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Top Note die, Tasteful Trim die, Stripes embossing folder, circle punch, Pennant punch, Itty Bitty Punch pack, Brights buttons

If you like this concept, we'll be doing it again next Friday night!   I'm having a Girls' Night Out stamping event where we'll take a sketch and do 3 cards each of 3 different designs.  It starts at 6:30pm and is only $20!   You can check out the details and RSVP on my website.  I hope to see you there.  :)

FM58: Remembrance

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project that's "Patriotic or for Remembrance".
2. Or Make a project with the colors " Whisper White, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade & daffodil Delight."
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Remembrance or Patriotic project using the colors above."
4. Donate your card to a Wounded Solider or that Special Service Member in your Life!

* If you would like to Donate a Card to a Wounded Service Member you can send your cards to Holly. The Red Cross at the Walter Reed National Medical Center will accept the cards and distribute them to Wounded Service Members throughout the hospital. Please send your cards to Holly Endress P.O. Box 18 Arnold, MD 21012 no later then May 31st. She will be hand delivering them to the Red Cross.

This week is a special week at The Friday Mashup.  Lisa has asked to focus on Memorial Day and remember our fallen troops.  I didn't feel that I really had stamps to do her challenge justice, but I did my best.

I pulled out my retired July Fourth stamp set and my stars die to work with the colors that Lisa requested.   I hope it turned out somewhat patriotic?    Yesterday was a long day and by the time I saw down to stamp I was pooped!    My mojo is almost gone completely, so it's probably good that I'll be on "maternity leave" after this month.   You guys will be starting to think a kindergarten kid was making my cards!   

I hope you'll come play along with us and honor all those brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our beautiful country.  

Stamps:  July Fourth, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Tasteful Trim die, Stars #2 die, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Basic Rhinestones

FMS34: More Flowers!

How did it get to be Wednesday already?    I think I missed Monday and Tuesday somewhere!  I was way behind getting my stamping done this week, so I had to rush last night to get my card made!  Anyway, Wednesday means a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  Lesley is our hostess with the mostest this week and she's whipped up this fun sketch with lots of layers!    Pretty cool, huh?

I must have been thinking about those cute shoes I got Laila because I just had to use these colors this week.   I feel like I'm a bit stuck on my Fun Flowers die lately.  I guess that's not a bad thing as it is AWESOME!   :)   I debated for ages on buying it but never regretted that purchase at all.  And did you see my new watermark?   Lesley has about a million challenge blogs but still took time out to make us all these cool watermarks!   I'm pretty sure she never sleeps.  lol

Come join us this week as we love to see faces both old and new!    

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project for "Mom, Grandmother, Aunt etc...".
2. Or Make a project with a " Pop-Up Element ".*
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Pop-Up Project for Mom".
4.  Or join in Both challenges and create a "Pop-Up Project for Mom using the inspiration photo above."

The Friday Mashup is teaming up with Paper Lovin' Gals this week.  They use fun inspiration photos for their challenge, so if you mash up our challenge plus use the inspiration photo above, you'll have a triple play!

I am still playing around with my retiring stamp sets and pulled out a favorite, Best Friends Forever for this card.   This is a pretty simple card for me which means it was a struggle of course.  :)    I tend to stress out as the number of layers decreases.   I did use some gorgeous textured card stock and some slight distressing so hopefully you don't miss the layers too much.  

I'm currently the healthy one in the house.  Jason is recovering from his surgery (which did go well) and my mom is having issues with her shoulder.   I'm glad my arm/wrist quit hurting because I've had a lot to do this week!    Tonight is stamp club and tomorrow is my baby shower.  I'm hoping Sunday is a day of rest for all of us.   

FMS33: Butterfly Flower

Forgive me for a short post today.  I've somehow managed to hurt my right arm, wrist. and hand and am typing with my left hand only.  Not easy, but I figured I should go ahead and get used to one handed tasks; Laila will be occupying a lot of my space soon enough!  :)  Jen M. is our host at Freshly Made Sketches this week and challenged us with this fun sketch.

I'm having a renewed love affair with my Fun Flowers die lately!   I paired it with another old favorite, the Beautiful Wings embosslit.  I needed a pretty card for a good friend's birthday and I hope she liked this one.

Be sure to check out all the fun interpretations by the design team!   We are also having a call for guest designers, so check that out too!

Finally, my husband is having his gall bladder removed today, so keep us in your thoughts.

Football Thank Yous

One of my customers (Hi Andrea!) needed some red/white/blue football thank you cards last week and I was able to help her out and whip up a few.   I haven't made five cards in a week for a while now, so doing them in one day was a challenge!   Add in that they were manly cards, didn't get ribbon or pearls, AND I had one stamp set with sports and I was a bit stumped.   I hope she liked how they turned out!   

Now I figured I'd show you what I bought with the money from these.  :)  I have been trying really hard to buy things on sale or consignment.   Since this was a bit of surprise fun money, I let myself splurge a bit yesterday.  

I LOVE these shoes!    They remind me of the felt flowers we had in a mini catalog a few years back.   I hoard really love those flowers and have a few packs put back to smile at.  :)  Maybe I can make Laila a hair clip with them to match her shoes.   Now she just needs a matching outfit too!