W&W Happy Birthday

I made this card a while back and then totally forgot to post it!   Tonight is the last night to enter Winne & Walter's birthday bash challenges, so I'm lucky and can still link it up.  Yay!

Lea's challenge was based on this mood board.  I am not a good person, but I do love me some purple.  I hope I captured the mood of the board with my card.   I used some pretty tissue paper that I had hoarded stored away for a special occasion and I think the gold stars were perfect for this challenge. 

Laila came in today to work on organizing my stamp room while I made a card.  I guess my method of arranging them needed some improvement and she was very proud of herself for stacking them.  :)  lol   We had a nice family night tonight.  My mom sent her the Frozen movie so we had pizza and popcorn while we watched it.  It was her first movie and she did great!    She's already asked to watch it again, so I guess we have joined the Frozen madness.  

Two Paper Divas Inspiration

Man has my laptop been cranky!  I'm finally getting to post my card I made for Two Paper Divas this week.  I'm sure you're thinking you are on the wrong blog because I don't normally do shabby, but I was inspired by the cards the rest of the team makes and decided to try it.  It is a difficult style for me, but I had fun!  

Stamps:  Large Seed Packet, Seed Packet Accessories #1, Banners #2

I added some Glossy Accents to my cherries to give them a bit of shine.   I've recently started using that product and I love it!  

We went to the park yesterday and Laila was so brave!  She had a blast and tried all the slides, even the big one!  :)

Freshly Made Smiles

Happy Wednesday.  I hope the week has good so far!  It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  I am the hostess this week, so I hope you like the sketch!

I went pretty simple with my card.  It's all Stampin' Up! paper in Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, and Tangerine Tango.  Weird combo, but it was what I was in the mood for the other night. 

It's been a long day for me, so I'm posting this early on Tuesday night and heading off to read and relax until Jason gets home.  We have been watching Dexter on Netflix,  so I have to behave and wait on him so we can start season three.  :)   

Stampin' Up! Nuts About You

I thought I'd share one of the projects we made at my little gathering on Sunday.   Everyone wanted to make a card for Valentine's Day so this was what I came up with.   I hadn't inked up this cute little set yet, so it was time!  :)   Don't you just love those little squirrels?!

Look how big my baby is. :(   I can't stand it.  Today I gave her a little Pinterest-inspired project, a calm down bottle.   She seems to get upset a lot lately, so I made it to help her relax and calm down.  She's been trying to assert her independence which doesn't always work out so great when it is something that she can't have or do.  Man they grow up fast don't they?!

Monday Prickley Pear Inspiration

It's time for Monday Inspiration from Prickley Pear!   I went wayyyyy outside my comfort zone for this one.  I wanted to try something totally different, more trendy, and here's what I came up with.  Lots of white space and one layer.  Whew!   Have you tried something like this yet?  You should give it a go!  

Stamps:  CLR024 Mini Owls

Be sure to stop by the blog and see the other wonderful inspiraiton!

Two Paper Divas Inspiration

I really love sentiment stamps and making cards that showcase larger ones.   I now have several from the awesome ladies at Two Paper Divas and I wanted to show you another one today.   Isn't it awesome?!   I paired it with a new product I recently added to my stash, Sakura Koi Water Colors.   This was my first attempt with them and I just love the colors. I can't wait to use them a bit more and learn more about them.  :)

Stamps:  Life is About Crayons
Ink: StazOn Jet Black
Paper:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Ranger Distress Watercolor Cardstock
Other:  Misc sequins, baker's twine, Sakura 24-Piece Koi Assorted Water Colors Field Sketch Set with Brush, Heidi Swapp Color Shine Mustard, Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles dies

She is really loving this snowman "pack pack".  lol  We had to put money in it, so she's carrying around her first dollar.  She already told Grammy that she needs shopping money.  Ha!

Stampin' Up! Four Feathers

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Jen M is our sketch hostess this week and what a sketch it is.  I was a bit stumped at first, but my card eventually came together.  The more I look at it, the more I love it.  :)  

Distress inks aren't the best for stamping, but I managed to make them work enough for my card.  They were on my desk and provided my inspiration, so I went with it.  lol   I pulled out some of the old Confetti White cardstock from SU. I love this stuff and it gives some interest without actually having to splatter or distress.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Four Feathers, Altenew Label Love
Ink:  Distress Inks, Night of Navy
Paper:  SU Confetti White, Night of Navy

We took a little Target trip today and Laila got to shop with a gift card that my mom had sent her.   She has never seen Frozen, but she loves this snowman guy!   We have a cup already that she picked out and now we have this backpack.  lol  I think she might be getting another gift card soon to buy the movie.  Spoiled much?

Prickely Pear Monday Inspiration

Monday inspiration from Prickley Pear time.   I still have some Christmas stamps that I haven't used, so I wanted to finish showing those off.  I love this beautiful sentiment so much.  I paired it with some great paper that matches it and some little heart embellishments.   I love when things go together like that. :)

Stamps:  All Hearts
Dies:  Tree die

Jason traded in our car for a new one this weekend and Laila loves it!  She is a big fan of red cars, so she's happy that her daddy finally got a red one.   lol   (And note, she's still rear-facing.  If you aren't aware of the benefits of extended rear-facing, I'd recommend reading up on it!)

Have a great week!

SSS Ice Cream!

One of my Christmas gifts was an assortment of 6x6 paper pads.  I love them and pulled one out this week to play along with the challenge over on Flickr for Simon Says Stamp.  I actually used a sketch from Retro Sketches, but I didn't get it uploaded to link it in time.   Seems to be a common problem for me lately.

I think we are crossing over into another "fun" new toddler thing of "I can do it myself".   Oh my.  

Double Challenge Snowman

I got to run away from home for a bit on Thursday to stamp and have lunch with some friends and this was the project I worked on.  I loved the current challenges at Curtain Call and the new sketch from MFT Stamps challenge, so I decided to combine them.  I love how it turned out! I'm still learning to use distress inks, but I am enjoying them!

  
Aren't those great?  I took the idea of the scarf and used my MFT Pure Innocence snowman.  :)   I love this stamp so much.

She's finally asking me to take her picture again.  We went through a major "NO!" stage every time I got out the camera, so I'm happy to get to take some again!  She's getting so big.  It's crazy that she'll be three in less than 5 months. Sniff, sniff.

Stampin' Up! Yee-Haw

January...  how are those resolutions going?  I tried not to make any demanding ones, just a few crafty ones and to follow through on the one I made last year.  So far, so good!    I decided to do a no-spending month this month so that I have time to play with all my new goodies (and neglected, forgotten older ones).   This set has been on my shelf for a while, so when I saw Darnell's NBUS challenge I decided to join in and this was my first pick to ink up.  

I hope you guys hadn't given up on me and Stampin' Up!  I'm just finding myself (lol) and using a bit of this and that.  This one is almost all SU except for the Copics I used to color it and the bit of twine I tried to make a lasso with.   I still love much of my SU stuff, but I just needed a little detour.  My goal is to do a nice mix of companies since I think that's what I enjoy most.  :) 

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Yee-Haw

Ink:  Early Espresso, Mememto Black, Copics

Paper:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Neenah Solar White

Others:  Stars embossing folder

Two Paper Divas Flowers

I thought I'd share another Two Paper Divas card with you today.   It's been so rainy and dreary here, so I made a happy card with some yellow to brighten things up a bit.   Rumor has it we might see some sun today, but it's looking wet and yucky to me!   Anyway...   The stamps I used go with the Seed Packet stamps, but I wanted to use my new tag dies so I went for a card without the packet this time.  :)  

Stamps:  Banners #2, Seed Packet Accessories #1
Ink:  Mememto Black, Early Espresso, Copics
Paper:  Stampin' Up! So Saffron, Early Espresso, Brights stack, Neenah Solar White
Other:  My Favorite Things Blueprints 20, Stitched Traditional Tags STAX, Pretty Pink Posh sequins, Stampin' Up! Neutrals buttons, Early Espresso and Crushed Curry Baker's Twine, Early Espresso Seam Binding

It was very cold yesterday, but we safely delivered Eli's flowers and had a nice walk around the cemetery.   <3 nbsp="" p="">

What's Shaking?

It's Wednesday, which means Freshly Made Sketches day.  Our sketch this week comes from our awesome pilot on the team, Jen Timko.   I decided to try and make my first shaker card.  I am not so sure about it, but I learned some things in the process to make the next one easier.  That's what crafting is all about, right?  Learning and trying new things.  

My creativity and enjoyment of creating is a bit off this week.  Today is the sixth anniversary of the day we lost our sweet boy and my heart feels a little more broken than usual.  I've tried to keep stamping as it's very helpful and calming, but I know not to expect fabulous results.   And that's okay...  it's not about making something that we love every time, but enjoying and savoring the process of being creative.  Such wonderful therapy.  

Sweet Eli.  Forever 5 months, 12 days old.

Stampin' Up! Love is Kindness

One of the stamps in the new Stampin' Up! Occasions catalog really caught my eye and I was excited to get it to color!  It is just beautiful and that quote is amazing!   I kept my card very simple to highlight the image.   I finally got a darker red Copic marker for Christmas, so I couldn't resist making the tulips red so I could take it for a spin.  :)  

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Love is Kindness
Ink:  Mememto Black, Copics
Paper:  Neenah Solar White
Others: Lil' Inker stitched rectangle dies, Pretty Pink Posh clear sequins, misc red ribbon

Some serious stamping.  lol  She had pink fingers at the end, but she had fun and that's what matters.  :)

Monday Inspiration from Prickley Pear

Happy Monday!   It's still cold here in Texas, so we are grumbling and bundled up.  lol   I wanted to share my card for today's Prickley Pear inspiration.  I went for an simple yet elegant card.  I love the flower flourish and paired it with a gorgeous indigo color.  

Stamps:  CLR-002 Hibiscus
Ink:  Memento Black, Island Indigo, Copics
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Island Indigo
Others:  PPRS-D042 Scallop Oval Nesting Dies, Island Indigo 1/4 cotton ribbon

Be sure to stop by the blog and see all the inspiration from the rest of the team!

Sometimes your Hello Kitties need to ride in the Hello Kitty car.  :)

Happy 2015

One of my Christmas gifts were some cool number dies from Lawn Fawn.   I have always wanted some numbers but in all the years I've been stamping, I've never owned any.  Crazy.  Jason fixed that though and I was able to make this super cool card!  It was so fun to do too.   Now I need to try it with my alphabet dies.  Because I used something new, I'd like to enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week.  :)

Hope you have a great weekend!  Stay warm.  :)

My serious stamper.  lol

Always Here For You

I thought I'd share another card I made for the Winnie & Walter birthday celebration.  Vanessa's challenge was to use a gradient (or ombre) for your card.   I stamped my leaves in 3 different colors, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, and Pool Party.   I cut out and popped the middle one up to add a little dimension.

Stamps: Winnie & Walter A Tree for All Seasons
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Other:  Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangle dies, SU Doilies, misc sequins

We are off to Laila's checkup and I'm dreading it.  She's so scared of people, so we are anticipating a lot of freaking out and screaming.  We've tried prepping her and getting her excited about seeing Dr. Lloren, but we'll see how it goes.  Wish us luck!

Freshly Made Sketches Winter

Time for Freshly Made Sketches to return!   Yay!   We start the year with a fantastic sketch from our oh so talented Amy.   I didn't get that many Christmas cards mailed out, so my plan is to eventually get some winter cards sent.  Yeah.    (remind of that, okay?)  

Stamps:  MFT Pure Innocence Holiday Hugs Snowman, Simon Says Stamp Hand Lettered Winter Wishes

Ink:  Pool Party, Smoky Slate (both Stampin' Up!)

Paper:  SU Whisper White, SU Winter Frost

Accessories:  Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangle dies, Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch, sequins, SU Basics Glimmer Brad, SU Pool Party Baker's Twine

Now my laptop is about to die so I'd better sign off!   lol  

Two Paper Divas Inspiration

Today is my first post showing off the awesome stamps at Two Paper Divas!   I'm so excited as they have some really cute images.   To start though I wanted to use this fabulous sentiment.   It has a great message for all us crafty, creative people and I have so many friends that I can use it to make cards for.   For this one I tried to be a bit artsy and pulled out some gesso and then watercolored with some distress inks.   I love how it turned out!  I would definitely recommend adding this one to your stamp collection.  The font is just gorgeous!

Stamps:   Love With Your Heart
Ink: VersaFine Ink, Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Inks,
Paper:  SU Basic Black, Ranger Distress Watercolor Cardstock, Miscellaneous cardstock
Other:  SU Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Pretty Pink Posh sequins, White Gesso, MFT Blueprints 20, Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles

Have a great day!