Distressed Butterflies

Laila took a long nap today so I was able to get in my room and stamp!  I figured that was okay since I had both the washer and the dishwasher going, right?   ;)   I decided to work on this fun sketch from Stampin' Celebration.  

I ended up going down a distressed vintage road for some reason.  Not my norm, but the doily seems make me want to do that.  Did you notice the green?  PEAR PIZZAZZ!  I'm so, so excited about it's return.  Now if they'd replaced Old Olive with Lucky Limeade I'd be even more excited.  Lots of retired stuff on this one, so don't shoot me.  I have so much stuff in my room and I need to use it.   

Stamps:  Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink: Early Espresso, Soft Suede

Paper:  Early Espresso, Whisper White, Early Espresso Coredinations (retired), Neutrals DSP stack. In Color Hostess stack (retired)

Accessories:  Paper Doilies, Basic Pearls

Tools:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Distressing Tool, Color Spritzing Tool, Sanding Tool, sponges, stapler

This was on one of our rough days this week.  We'd been up a lot at night and were all so tired.  I had finally crashed out for a nap and when I woke up, this was what I found.   Aren't they sweet?   She is one lucky little girl to have such an amazing dad.   She finally settled down and slept great last night, but her naps yesterday were short.  I am hoping that she'll sleep again tonight, but you just never know lately.   She's been asleep for over an hour and a half now so I don't know what's going on with her.  

Serenity Now!

I'm still trying to catch up on my Hope You Can Cling To cards.  Making a card a day is tough for me, but I'm trying my best!    I am glad we have the first week in November to play catch-up.  I can already see that I'm going to need it.  Today's card is a challenge by Jennifer, a breast cancer survivor.  Here's her description:  So my challenge for you is to create a card that evokes peace, calm, and serenity with a touch (or splash!) of pink. no pressures, no requirements other than to just enjoy, embrace, and have fun while you are making it! Don't forget you can play along too!   A discussion with all the challenges can be found here.

I started off in a different direction, but it didn't work out and I decided to try again with the clear block background.  My first one looked amazing and then I dropped an inked stamp on it.  I figure that goes along with the rest of my day where I went grocery shopping with no purse, somehow double loaded my Starbucks card, and left the grocery store without buying any meat for our dinners this week.   It's definitely one of THOSE days.  Yuck.   Anyway, I I like how this turned out once I finally got it together.   I think it evokes serenity.  It does to me after my day.  :)

Stamps:  Just Believe, Petite Pairs

Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso

Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, clear block, Early Espresso stitched ribbon, Basic Pearls

Just playing a little dress-up for our trip to Target last week.  :)

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

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

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.

FM46: Vintage Flowers

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a "Shabby Chic / Vintage" project.
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Shabby Chic/Vintage project using the Sketch".

The challenge at the Friday Mashup was quite a challenge for me.   While I love the look of shabby chic, I have no idea how to pull off that style.  I try my hand at it every now and then, but I'm just not a frilly kind of girl and struggle to make it work.   

As I was looking for an idea, I remembered the one stamp from Apothecary Art that I said I'd probably never use.  Flowers are vintage, right?   I also pulled out my stash of retired DSP and found one that I thought looked like wallpaper (which I always equate with vintage!).   I think it is from a pack called Porcelain Prints.  No idea what year that's from, but it is old (aka vintage!).   :)  It took me forever to color the image, but I think it turned out okay.   I stamped the sentiment crooked after all that work, so there's a nice cover-up layer...or two...on there.  

I hope you'll come play along with us this week!  Don't forget that we also have the Fan Favorite challenge going on as well.   You can submit your idea for a mashup challenge and maybe we'll be playing your challenge soon!

Another Double Challenge

I had planned on making a card for the Inkspirations Color Challenge last night but time got away from me and I didn't get to make it.   As I was waking up this morning, I had an idea for a card and woke up ready to create.    As luck would have, my idea was a perfect match for the Paper Players Clean & Simple Sketch this week, so I have another double challenge card!

You can't really see it in the picture, but I colored in an h and an i with Melon Mambo to add a little hidden sentiment in the A to Z background stamp.  

Stamps:  Apple Blossoms, A to Z

Ink:  Basic Gray, Melon Mambo

Paper:  Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Whisper White

Accessories:  Basic Pearls, Old Olive 5/8 grosgrain ribbon

Tools:  Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit

Sketchy Butterflies

This card is made for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast Stampers.

You can find it at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/card-sketches-f41/sketch-challenge-324-3-16-11-a-t523013.html

Stamps: Four Frames (sneak peek!)
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Paisley Petals designer paper (another sneak peek!)
Tools: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Designer Label Punch
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding

We got out of the house today and went to the local arboretum.   Here are a few pictures that I took while we were walking around.   I love playing with my camera almost as much as I love stamping.  :)