Stampin' Up! Sweet Essentials

I wanted to do a bit of fun stamping today, so I looked over the current challenges and fell in love with the sketch at Create with Connie and Mary.  They always have great challenges over there and I love when I get time to actually play along! I felt like using my elegant color combo of black, red, and vanilla.   I love adding the Fun Flowers die in with them too.   Pretty simple card, but fun to make and I like how it turned out. :)

Now on to important things...  Laila!  lol  I didn't realize that my picture didn't add to my post yesterday until I saw a few comments that people had missed Laila.  Sorry guys!   

We've been playing a lot outside lately.  She says shoes on, outside.  She definitely knows what she wants these days!  We had a run in with some fire ants the other day which wasn't so good, but I did a quick online search and dabbed apple cider vinegar on them.  It seems to have helped because she didn't complain much about the bites.  She had quite a few on her hand/arm and leg/foot.   Poor dear.  I'm just glad she was able to come tell me that something was bothering her before it was worse than it was.  We had a great day today.  Bed time was a bit rough, but Jason made it home in time to help out.  It's always nice when that happens. 

Stampin' Up! Wetlands

A simple card using the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch and the colors from Create with Connie and Mary.  I was having a rough day yesterday, so I decided to try to stamp my blues away.  I didn't have a lot of time, so I went for simple, yet elegant.   

Stamps:  Wetlands

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Cherry Cobbler Coredinations, Silver Glimmer paper, Whisper White

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Faceted buttons, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

Wednesday was Jason's birthday and yesterday was mine.  To celebrate, we took Laila and my mom to the zoo on Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure Mom had the most fun of us all, but Laila enjoyed her first trip there too.  She and daddy fed the giraffe and played some bongo drums! 

Stampin' Up! Happy Hour

I forgot to share the card I made last Friday.  It was a quick one that I put together using the sketch at Create with Connie and Mary and the colors at Dynamic Duos.  Simple, but I enjoyed using this much neglected set.  

  

Stamps:  Happy Hour

Ink:  Pacific Point, Old Olive

Paper:  Whisper White, Old Olive, Brights DSP stack

Accessories:  Pacific Point ribbon (retired)

Miss Laila loves her peek-a-boo.  This was yesterday after a VERY rough night.   I had posted on Sunday that she had a fever.  Well, at midnight that night she ended up having a febrile seizure.  It was so terrifying for us.  I called 911 and we had the nicest EMTs from our volunteer fire department respond.  It did involve an ambulance ride and a few hours in the ER, but she was fine after that minus the fever.  No ear infection and no UTI, so we aren't sure what's causing the issue.  They said maybe a virus, maybe teething. Ugh.  Not helpful, right?!  We kept it down yesterday by alternating medicines and while she seems okay today, we are keeping a close eye on her.   We even bought a video monitor for her room.  I can't say we slept well last night, but I'm hoping tonight will be easier.   

Stampin' Up! Truly Grateful and Gently Falling

I managed to stamp something today!  It's a miracle!  It has been quite a week to say the least.  I needed a bit of a break, so I skipped lunch today and stamped instead.  When you know you only have an hour, you do what you gotta do to get inky.  ;)   I played along with the colors at Create with Connie and Mary and the sketch at Sketch Frenzy Friday.  

   

I used an set from the annual catalog, Gently Falling, with a great new set, Truly Grateful.  They pair well together I think.  I wish I had some of the Sweater Weather DSP but I haven't purchased it.  I am out of room for anymore paper.  Isn't that sad?   Not sure if it's sad because I can't buy any or sad because I've bought too much.  lol

I don't know what's going on with Laila, but after throwing up on Tuesday morning, she was fine.  We left out to go to Target yesterday morning and it started again.  That was "fun".  It was my first experience having to take the car seat apart and figure out if I could clean it up enough to save it.  It needed a bath and so did both of us.  I sure missed Jason being here to help, but we made it through it all and I managed to wash everything and everyone.  Laundry is never ending this week! Anyway, look how tall she is! Crazy how fast they grow.  

Stampin' Up! Another Thank You

I decided to try stamping again during nap time today and almost got a card made before she woke up.   It was another trying morning and it definitely helped to give my brain a break to create!   I played along with the sketch challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary for this one.

 

Stamps:  Another Thank You (photopolymer)

Ink:  Melon Mambo

Paper:  So Saffron, Melon Mambo, Gingham Garden DSP, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Accessories:  Subtles glimmer brads 

Tools:  Big Shot, Stylish Stripes EF, Fun Flowers die, Boho Blossoms punch, oval punch

She was so tired at lunch.   She finally went to sleep not long after this, but she would not earlier when I tried.  We are down to just an hour nap each day if we are lucky and it's not really enough.   She's been working on walking more so I am hoping it's just that and things will sort themselves out soon.   

Stampin' Up! Oh Hello

I'm doing this post without my glasses, so forgive any typos, misspellings, or anything that doesn't make sense.  I took them off to get Laila to sleep and then forgot them in her room.   No way was I going back for them and taking a chance on waking her up!  lol   This card took three nap times to make, but I finally managed to finish it this morning.   It is for a couple challenges, the sketch at Create with Connie and Mary and the colors at Stampin' Royalty.   

   

Stamps:  Oh Hello

Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay, Brights DSP stack

Accessories:  Brights Designer buttons, White Baker's Twine, Basic Pearls

Tools:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Circle Framelits, Chevron embossing folder

Laila is OBSESSED with peek-a-boo.   She seems to always have her hands or a toy covering her face these days.  I had to run to the craft store the other day for some wood letters and she tried to play with everyone we crossed paths with.   It's hilarious...and exhausting.  Silly girl.   

Stampin' Up! Sunshine

When I saw the sketch at Create with Connie & Mary, I immediately had the idea for this card.  I have been struggling with my mojo so to even had an idea for a card was a HUGE plus.  I have spent the past few days just reorganizing my scraps and looking around my room in hopes of recapturing my creativity.  It's not totally back, but I made a card at least!  

Stamps:  Sunshine (single)

Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight

Paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Brights DSP stacks (current and retired), Brights Coredinations 

Tools:  Big Shot, Cloudy Day EF, Sanding Block

Speaking of sunshine, my little sunshine is enjoying her birthday presents!   Well, she is when there's not a cat enjoying them.  :)

Crazy Mixed Up Light Bulb

I wanted to play along with the sketch at Create with Connie and Mary this week but Jason got called out to work today and my stamping time was limited to naps.   Of course that meant that Laila took short naps.  ;)   I did run in and stamp once he got home and here's what I came up with.  I just had to have this stamp set and I love funny and cute stamps!  

Stamps:  Crazy Mixed-Up Love
Ink:  Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray
Paper:  Basic Gray, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Brights Coredinations and DSP stack
Accessories:  Brights button, White Baker's Twine
Tools:  Big Shot, 2 1/2 circle punch, Perfect Pennants die, sanding block, Stripes embossing folder

Laila's new favorite thing?  High Fives!!  :)  

Club Card and a Funny!

With Laila being sick, I'm running a bit behind on preparing for club.  I finally designed a card to go along with our ornaments today and got it all ready to go.   I'm not sure we'll have time to do both, but we'll see how the night goes.   I saw a fun sketch at Create with Connie and Mary and while I wasn't able to stamp and enter it, I still had a great time with it.

My Happy Hour set seemed neglected so I thought I'd pull it out and make something fun. With the way this week has been going, I could use a cocktail.  lol   Maybe I can treat myself on my birthday next week!  :)

I'm pretty sure my Old Olive went into shock when I pulled it out to use it today. I remember back in the day when it was THE green to use.  I think both it and Chocolate Chip are probably a bit depressed these days.  

Now on to the funny...  

Jason and I were cleaning out some drawers and found this "gorgeous" Valentine that I made him back when I first started stamping.    It's very special that's for sure.  I tried right?   It's good to look back and see how far I've come with my hobby and how much using Stampin' Up! almost exclusively has helped as well.

My sweet girl isn't throwing up today but she is pretty tired.  She fell asleep playing in her bouncy seat today.  I think her tooth is starting to push through the gums a bit more so she has been pretty fussy today.  I am not a fan of teething so far that's for sure.

A week?

I can't believe it has been a week since I last stamped and posted!   I did make a Christmas card earlier this week for an upcoming class, but that's it!   Yikes.  My little girl will be a month old tomorrow and I'm amazed at how fast time can go by.  Anyway, I saw this sketch at Create with Connie & Mary and decided to try and fit in some stamping time while Miss Laila napped.  It took me all morning working in little spurts, but I did manage to finish it!  

Isn't that the most adorable spooky stamp???  It is from the upcoming holiday catalog and was the first thing on my list to get!    I just adore it!    I heat embossed it in black and added a bit of spritzing with my black marker.   My spider web embossing is sprayed with my homemade shimmer mist to give it a spooky look; I think you can kinda see it in the picture.   The little rhinestones are from an old holiday mini catalog; you just get so much that it's hard to use it all up before it's no longer current.  I thought they were perfect to accent my sentiment though!

Stamps:  Frightening Feline, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Versamark, Basic Black

Paper:  Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die (retired), 3-inch circle die, Tasteful Trim die, Spider Web embossing folder, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Black embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy, Black Rhinestones (retired), color spritzer

She's getting so big.  She was 9 pounds 14 ounces at the doctor yesterday and had grown 1.5 inches!  We just love her so much!!!!

Did you miss me? :)

What a week!  Jason went back to work on Thursday, so I got to experience my first days home alone with the baby.  It went great, but those 14-15 hour days are rough.  I was glad to have him back home today for sure.  I didn't find much time to stamp, but I started working on a card for the color challenge at Create with Connie & Mary last night and just finished it up tonight.  

A pretty simple card, but man it took me forever to make it.  My poor brain is just tired lately and to top that off, I fell last weekend and either bruised or broke my tailbone!   It hurts so bad to sit down so I've managed to get quite a bit of cleaning done around the house since that requires standing.  :)   First a rough pregnancy and now that...I'm most definitely feeling my age lately.   I'm going to need that Life Alert thing before you know it.  

Stamps:  Happy Hour

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, So Saffron

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Whisper White, 2011-2013 In Color DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Chevron embossing folder, 1 3/8 square punch

I am just so in love with this little girl.   Here she is in her swaddle blanket aka baby straight jacket.  :)  

FM49: Chocolate Bunny

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "colors Green & Yellow".
2. Or Make a "3-D project that's a Basket or a Treat Pouch".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Treat Basket/Pouch using the colors Green & Yellow".

I'm running behind this week, so I apologize for getting my post up so late today.   :(   It has been a week full of allergies, sinus headaches, and some sadness as I've worked on cleaning out Eli's room.   All that combined hasn't left me in the mood to stamp at all.   I did treat myself to some Starburst Jelly Beans and they helped me get my card made today.   

Kim is the hostess this week for a fun Mashup challenge.   I am out of room to store any 3-D type items, so I didn't go for the mashup this week.  Not having people to give those kind of projects to really makes them pile up pretty fast on my bookshelf!  Instead, I used the yellow and green to make a cute Easter card.  I got the Chocolate Bunny stamp from my friend Ann ages ago and finally inked him up today.   I love him just as much as I thought I would!  I can't wait to make more cards with him.  

I was inspired by this week's sketch at Create with Connie and Mary and modified it just a bit to work with my bunny.  I truly want to work on doing more clean-AND-simple cards but find them so difficult to pull off.  I'm hoping great sketches like that will assist me in my goal, so I am sure you will see this one again.   :)

Stamps:  Chocolate Bunny, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Versamark, Old Olive

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Brights DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 2 1/2 circle punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, heat tool, clear embossing powder, Basic Pearls

CCMC182: Vintage Valentine

Isn't this a fun sketch?!  I'm definitely pinning it so I can use it again later!   It is this week's fun challenge at Create with Connie and Mary.    One of my goals for this month is to stamp something every day.  It might be a card for a challenge, a project for stamp club, or something to sell in my little space at a local shop.    Today I wanted to do a challenge because I love them and I do miss doing them.  I have club this Friday, so you'll be seeing a few of those projects in the days to come!

If you've followed my blog for a while, you know how much I love my Stampin' Up! and blogging friends.   As I was emailing with my friend Kathy this weekend, she asked if I had gotten the new stamp set and ribbon/brad bundle that's coming up for Sale-a-bration.  Well, I had but hadn't used them yet.    She inspired me to pull those out tonight and try to make a card with them.   I can tell by the way it turned out that I'm a bit rusty, but hopefully I'll be churning out works of art with it by the end of the month!  

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage (Sale-a-bration), Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Paper:  Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment designer paper (Sale-a-bration)

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Tasteful Trim die, sponges, color spritzer, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad pack (Sale-a-bration)

Remember that Sale-a-bration begins on January 24th and runs until March 31st.   

Pink and Orange Friends

I'm having a fun play day today, so I was able to do a couple of fun challenges!   For this card, I combined the color challenge from Stampin' Royalty with the sketch challenge at Create with Connie and Mary.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  Those colors just screamed teen girl to me, so I tried to make a card appropriate for one.   After not liking this stamp set, I've managed to use it two days in a row!

Stamps:  Best Friends Forever
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride, In Color DSP stack (retired)
Tools/Accessories:  Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Paper Snips, Basic Rhinestones, Melon Mambo scallop dots ribbon

CCMC167: Color Challenge

The deadline for the Create with Connie & Mary challenge was looming, so I hurried into my room to see what I could come up with today.    I'm so excited because I won a free subscription to their 2011 Holiday Edition!  Isn't that cool?!

This was one of those cards that I had an idea for and it just didn't come together.   I kept messing with it, but it just wasn't happening.  I probably shouldn't even post it, but hey, I did make one!    I wanted my little owl critters to look like they were caught up in my spider web, but I don't like the web really.  I should have went with my first thought to use leaves.   Oh well...   Hope everyone survived their Monday!

Birthday Sketch

I wanted to play with a couple of my new stamp sets today and I thought they would be perfect for the sketch at Create with Connie & Mary.    I decided to focus on a birthday card so I could also play along with one of my favorite challenges, The Paper Players!   I've been in a more simple mode for my card making lately and I love the simple, clean lines of this one.  

Stamps:  Petite Pairs, Simply Soft
Ink:  Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo
Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Paisley Petals
Accessories:  Early Espresso satin ribbon (retired)
Tools:  blender pen

Where is my mojo???

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you work on a card for a bit, but just can't seem to get it to work?   Or maybe you've made one that just wasn't really that great?   Yeah, that's the kind of week I'm having.  :)    I'm hoping my new order that  is arriving any minute now will help get my mojo up and running again!   

This card was made for the clean&simple stamping sketch and the Pals Paper Arts Halloween challenge.  The colors came from last week's Create with Connie & Mary challenge that I didn't get to do in time to submit.   I seem to be good at missing deadlines lately!

Stamps:  Wicked Cool
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4 striped ribbon (retired)
Tools:  Big Shot, Spider Web embossing folder, circle punches, scallop circle punch

This card made my head hurt a bit.  I started it last night but didn't like the way it was working out.   I picked it back up today and changed out some of the colors...and then changed out some of the colors...and then...  Yeah, it was one of those!   I normally don't use a lot of white on my cards, but it seemed to balance out some of the stronger colors on this card.  I think the flower centers could use some bling and a few pearls beside my sentiment would help, right?    This was for the Splitcoast Weekly Sketch Challenge.

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder
Paper:  Whisper White, Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder
Tools:  Big Shot, Polka Dots embossing folder, scallop circle punch

I hope the next card is a bit less stressful and turns out much, much better!

Creative Sketches meets Connie & Mary

Please tell me I'm not the only messy crafter out there.   I didn't straighten up after my dinosaur card yesterday, so this was what I found when I went in my room to create today.   Oh my!   It's no surprise that I lose things a lot.   :)

Enough of my messy desk...what do you think about my card?   I combined the colors from the Creative Sketches challenge with the sketch from Create with Connie & Mary and here's what I came up with.   I love these clean and simple cards.   I used to be offended when someone called my card simple (well, I still am sometimes), but I'm learning to deal with it.  :)   It's probably fairly simple to recreate, but the concept and design part is not so simple.

I'm still not a big fan of Raining Flowers, but I have come to love the shape of the big flower.   I just stamp it, cut it out, and use the reverse side.  :)    Now I have fallen in love with Poppy Parade.  It was not a color that I was drawn to at first, but after buying the markers and a pack of the assorted card stock, I think I'm going to have to invest in the ink pad and full pack of it.  Now Peach Parfait is a whole other story...   :)  

I do need to buy some neutrals buttons; I had to pull a retired one out of my stash and it isn't nearly as pretty as the current ones.  

Stamps:  Tiny Tags, Raining Flowers, En Francais
Ink: Basic Black, Poppy Parade
Paper:  Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Neutrals DSP stack, Basic Gray
Accessories:  Basic Gray 3/8 taffeta ribbon (retired), Basic Black button (retired), White Baker's Twine
Tools:  Big Shot, Houndstooth embossing folder, jewelry tag punch, Blossom Petals punch

Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday!
Come again soon,
~Rita