Sweet Thank You

So sorry to be posting my card for Two Paper Divas a bit late.  I ended up in bed with a migraine yesterday and couldn't drag myself out to edit my photo and blog.   I'm all better today, so I'm sharing this sweet little card using Mason Jar Accessories #4.   It is the cutest set and can easily be used with or without the mason jar.  :)  

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  We are hoping for a dry Sunday here in Texas.  The storms have been scaring Laila and we are all just exhausted.   We've been spared from the flooding, but not the scared toddler.  

Any goals for June for you?  I am hoping to stamp EVERY SINGLE DAY!   I don't know if I'll get to blog every day, but I want to make something.  A great way to do that is to join Kathy of The Daily Marker for a daily coloring challenge!   I hope to do it every day this time around.  I got close last time.  :)

Take care and have a great day to end this month of May!
Rita

Masked Animals

This week I got lucky and won a spot in the newest Online Card Classes class called Mask-erade.  I was super excited as it is something I've wanted to learn to do for ages.   It's not something that I try much because I feel pretty clueless about it.   I've learned a lot so far and this is my first attempt.   I love how it turned out.  :)

If you haven't taken any of the classes over there, I totally recommend them.  I've enjoyed the Stenciled and Copics for Cardmakers classes that I took before and this masking class is great as well.  

Stamps:  Mama Elephant Carnival Cupcakes, Altenew Super Script
Ink:  Memento Black, Melon Mambo, Copics
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SU Pixie Pink Textured, misc pink scraps
Other:  Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangle dies

Love You Sew!

Sorry for posting again today.   I just realized the deadline for colourQ was tonight and I wanted to get my card entered.  I haven't played along there in a while and am happy that I actually did!   This one is also for the Paper Smooches SPARKS Designer Drafts challenge.   I love this cute set for making cards for Mom.  I need to get another sewing set or quilting set so I can mix and match some stamps!  :)

Stamps: Paper Smooches Needle Little Love
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SU Daffodil Delight
Ink:  Memento Black, Copics
Others:  SU Doilies, SU Brights Candy Dots

   

All of the rain is making our butterfly garden very happy!  :)

Double the Challenge with SSS and MFT

I actually managed to play around a little this week and do some challenges!  It seems like it's been forever since I did that and I enjoyed it so much.   This one is for the MFT Card Challenges sketch and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge to use a stencil.

Stamps:  MFT Geek is Chic
Ink:  MFT Grout Gray, Versafine black
Paper:  MFT Grout Gray, MFT Sno Cone, MFT Blu Raspberry, MFT Black Licorice
Other:  MFT Geek is Chic Glasses dies, MFT Scattered Bars stencil, Glossy Accents, Recollections Enamel Dots

 

Curtain Call with Newton's Nook

I loved the challenge at Curtain Call and since the sponsor is Newton's Nook, I knew I just had to use my Flirty Flamingo stamps.   I ended up making two cards as I was in a total mojo-less crafting spell this week.  I like them a bit better now that I'm in a better frame of mind, but they almost had me in tears earlier this week.  

Similar cards, just a bit of a different look.  :)  

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.   We are hoping to do some grilling on Monday, but it looks like we might be rained out.  Bummer!  

Pinwheels for the Divas

Before I show you my card, I have to tell you that this is post 1000 on my blog!  What a milestone!   I might have to get a little giveaway in the works to celebrate, so be sure to check back soon! :) 

Are you ready for summer?  This adorable set from Two Paper Divas called Summer Chillin' is perfect to celebrate those summer birthdays!   I love the little pinwheel image and used it to make card this week.   Simple, but bright and fun!

We are already getting some HUMID days here in Texas, so I'd rather not see the true summer come along.   Our spring season has been rain, rain, rain, so we haven't enjoyed much outside time at all lately.   Laila is going a bit stir crazy, so here's the attempt for today to keep her occupied.  :)

Rain, rain, rain...

It's Wednesday, which means a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!   I'm totally admitting that this week was a struggle for me.  I haven't been in a creative mood in what feels like ages now.   I have been sitting at my desk watching Sons of Anarchy and working on organizing my stamps and dies.  That's about it.   I tried a few things with the sketch before ending up with this.  I don't know how I feel about it, but I was happy to at least get a card made.   Cindy's sketch is fabulous as are the other designers' cards, so I think you'll have a great time playing along.   I plan to pin it and try again later when my mojo returns!  I'm totally blaming it on the never-ending rain we are having lately.   I need some sunshine!

Isn't that fabulous?  I need to pull out my butterfly dies and try it with that.  It looks so perfect on the sketch!

Yesterday was a Hello Kitty day!   I know the picture is blurry, but I love her face.  She's just too cute sometimes.  :)  

TPD Paper Elements #2

Ack!  I could have sworn I posted this already!  I think my brain needs more coffee this week.  It's been such a crazy one!   Anyway...  This is my card for Two Paper Divas this week.  I love the new set that came out this month called Paper Elements #2.  It has a notebook paper stamp and a library card stamp.  Here I used the notebook paper with another TPD stamp, Love with Your Heart.

     

We haven't seen the sun here in Texas for a while, so I think that influenced my choice of all neutrals!  I'm seeing some sun today, so I might be up for some bright colors if I stamp today.  :)

Laila has been getting sick in car every now and then and a friend suggested it might be car sickness.  To combat that, we decided to finally flip her to forward-facing.  She was getting close to maxing out the rear-facing capacity of her seat anyway, so it was almost to that point anyway.  I'm a bit sad about it, but I'm happy we made it to almost 3 years.  She is LOVING being able to see through the windshield and keeps asking to go for rides.  It's a constant chatter of what she sees and questions about things during the drive.   She doesn't miss much! 

Freshly Made Butterfly

Happy Wednesday! I'm still trying to wake up as I stayed up WAY too late last night reading.  I just had to finish my book (The Girl on the Train).   Anyway... today is Freshly Made Sketches day and we have an awesome new sketch from Jen Brum.  I am still in a bit of shock that she used a circle as she hates those, but remember you can use any shape.   :)

I kept my card super simple and in a favorite color combo of black, gray, and yellow.   These butterfly thinlits really make a statement, so you don't need much to make them shine! 

LOL  She asked me to take her picture and then gave me this crazy look!  I'm a bit scared! 

Tag You're It! Coffee

One challenge I've been meaning to play for ages is the Tag You're It Challenge. I'm not really so sure I like this tag, but I tried.  I don't usually make stand alone tags, but I am putting together a package for a friend and thought this might be a fun way to decorate it.

I'm not the best at these type of challenges, but I went with it.  I pulled elements like the theme (coffee), burlap, wooden element, embossing paste, etc and put them together in a different way.   The stamps are from Create a Smile Stamps and I love it.  I'm so addicted to coffee and coffee stamps! :) 

I worked in my stamp room cleaning all day on Sunday.  Laila came in to "help" several times.  This round she found some of our old college textbooks and was reading them. I think she was disappointed that they didn't have more pictures.  :)

Flowers for a Friend

Looks like I was in a fussy-cutting flower mood this weekend!  lol  I saw that the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge was to use a sentiment and I love this one.  I used the flowers that also come with that stamp set too.  I have been trying to send more just because cards to friends, so this one will work perfectly for that!  :)

We had a nice lunch at Jason's Deli last week.  I'm a bit nervous about taking Laila out these days because she can be a bit unpredictable, but she did great.  Well, minus eating this pickle that Jason gave her.  Yuck!  lol

Two Paper Divas Sweet Notions

This week has been release week at Two Paper Divas so I hope you've been over to check out all the fun new stamps!   I'm showcasing one of them today called Sweet Notions.  I'm so excited about it as it is perfect for those people who love sewing.  I am always on the lookout for stamps like that so I can make cards for my mom!

I will be sending this one to her, so I used red which is a color she just loves.  I kept it simple, but I thought the ad/newspaper print paper was a perfect backdrop for my button card.  

Laila got a new swimming pool and bathing suit, so she got to try them out yesterday.   She had a blast!   Today a friend came over to play with her and they splashed, laughed, and had a great time.  It was cute.  :)

Freshly Made Sketches for Mom

I got myself together and am back with my Freshly Made Sketches crew this week!   Cindy has a great sketch this week that worked so perfectly for the card I wanted to make my mom!   I wanted to make a card with a quilt feel to it and the MFT Blueprints 20 die helped me do that!   I added a favorite SU sentiment from my retired stash and called it done!  I love the color combination of Smokey Slate, Pool Party, and Pear Pizzazz!

I'm off to get more coffee.  It's a dark, rainy day here and I stayed up too late last night watching the series finale of Dexter.   It had me in tears, so it took me a bit to calm down and sleep.   What a show!  I don't know what we'll watch now that we finished it.  

She made me breakfast the other day.   Chicken and a cinnamon roll.  Yum???  lol She loves to help cook, but rarely plays with her kitchen set.  She prefers the real kitchen! 

Stampin' Up! Indescribable Gift

Here's another card I made over the weekend.  I was in a stamping mood and cranked out quite a few!  I made this one for a friend and it's already in the mail.  :)   It was inspired by the catalog sample for this set.   It's such a pretty flower stamp and I recommend it if you haven't purchased it yet.  I love coloring it!

Stamps:  And Many More, Indescribable Gift, Endless Birthday Wishes
Paper:  Wisteria Wonder, Neenah Solar White 80lb, Typeset DSP
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Memento Black, Copics
Accessories:  scrap of lace

Use Your Stuff Monday: Die Edition

Today I'm joining my friends Lisa and Holly as we attempt to use up some things we've bought and haven't used.   For this one, we are using a die from our stash.  I had purchased this coffee cup die a while back and while I love the look of it, I found it a bit intimidating and put it away.   I pulled it out for this challenge and while it did take a bit of work to piece it together, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  :)  Yay!  I went with some bright, cheerful colors in hopes of it brightening someone's day when they get it in the mail.

Stamps:  NONE
Ink:  NONE
Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight
Other:  Misc twine, Pretty Pink Posh sequins
Dies:   Poppy Stamps Teacup Stack die, MFT Blueprints 20, MFT Stitched Scallop Edges Dies, MFT Stitched Traditional Tags STAX

Stampin' Up! Apothecary Art

Today I thought I'd share one of the cards we made at my event last Sunday.  I wanted everyone to have cards for their parents for Mother's and Father's Day, so we made those along with a teacher appreciation card.  This is the card for the moms.   I also had a birthday option because several of my ladies have lost their moms already.  :(

We used the retiring Apothecary Art set and colored it with stamp pads and blender pens.  They really enjoyed that.  I'll be sending my sample off to my mom who is for sure the best mother ever.  :)

Laila got to plant her own little pot of flowers yesterday.  We had some flower seeds and got her some dirt and a pot.  I hope they will grow!   She likes to dig in it and keeps wanting to water them, so we'll see.  lol

Stampin' Up! Butterfly Basics

I haven't been feeling very inspired lately, so I decided to try looking through my Stampin' Up! catalog for inspiration.  I loved the card on page 10 of the Occasions catalog and worked on making my own version of it.   I used some of the retiring in colors to play along with Fab Friday.   The Butterfly Basics set and Buterfly dies are so gorgeous!   I wasn't sure I could really use the big butterfly, but I love how it turned out on this card.  :)

The challenge is to use as many of the colors as you wish.  I used Pistachio Pudding and Baked Brown Sugar for my card.   

We had quite the bad adventure yesterday.   We tried to go to a new park to feed some turtles and ended up being swarmed by mosquitoes before we even go to the pond.   We quickly made our way back to the car and went to the duck pond to feed the ducks.   Those guys weren't hungry, so it was a bit of a letdown too.   Laila did insist on throwing some food to EVERY SINGLE DUCK of course.  We can't have anyone go hungry.  lol  

Seeing these sweet little guys made the trip out all worth it.  So much cuteness!