Stampin' Up! Ornament Keepsakes

Man.  It's been a rough week here. I don't think I slept much Thursday or Friday nights and was so worn out. I have been trying to sleep every time Laila naps so that means NO stamping.  :-/    Thankfully the diaper rash that's kept us up is almost all healed and I slept great last night and took a nap today!  That means I was able to stamp some today.  I decided to play along with CAS(E) this Sketch and Dynamic Duos.  

   
I wasn't sure about black and gray for a Christmas cared, but I figured I'd give it a shot.   I think it turned out so elegant!  I love it.  I had originally intended to use a tree image, so I embossed the black in the woodgrain folder.  I hope it doesn't look bad with the ornament.  I still liked it and left it.

Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Pennant Parade
Ink:  Basic Black, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Whisper White
Accessories:  Basic Black Chevron ribbon, Large Rhinestones
Tools:  Big Shot, Woodgrain EF, Ornament Framelits

We had French toast for dinner tonight and let Laila try a bit of maple syrup.  It makes an excellent hair product.  ;)

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! Zoo Babies & Dictionary

While Mom and Jason assembled playroom furniture last night, I ran off to my craft room to stamp.  It feels like it had been ages since I made anything and I needed the break!   I decided to combine Dynamic Duos and Retro Sketches and here's the result.  I think it's kinda cute.  :)

Stamps:  Zoo Babies, Dictionary

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate

Paper:  Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight

Accessories:  White Baker's Twine, Neutrals buttons (retired)

Tools:  Big Shot, Alphabet Press TIEF, 2 1/2 inch circle punch

     

Laila's party went great.  It was a lot of work, but she seemed to have fun.   Now we are doing some serious work on getting her a playroom set up.   My favorite "decoration" was a timeline of photos from birth to 12 months.  I saw one on Rochelle's blog a while back and immediately pinned it.  Mine didn't turn out as cute as hers, but it was so great to look at her development.  ;)  

FMS91: Sweet Essentials Butterflies

Cindy has a fantastic sketch for everyone this week at Freshly Made Sketches!   I decided to make a clean-and-simple card for mine, but added a bit of a twist by using black instead of the more traditional white.  I wanted to play along with Dynamic Duos, so the color choice came straight from there.  There's not much too it, but I kinda like it.  :)

Stamps:  Sweet Essentials

Ink:  Basic Black

Paper:  Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Gingham Garden DSP

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones

Tools:  Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, butterfly punches, scallop border punch

    

Laila had her birthday pictures yesterday and I'm curious to see how they will turn out.  She was making some weird faces and kept crawling away every time we tried to get her to pose.  I snapped this one with my phone as she was digging into her smash cake.   It's the first time she's really had any sugar, so she was sucking the icing off her fingers.  Thankfully she didn't get too much! 

Duo Sketchy Flower

     

Howdy!  Finally checking back in with a little stamping.  I've had this card on my desk for a few days and never really got it to work out.  I finally gave up today, but wanted to share it anyway.   It combines the colors from Dynamic Duos with the sketch at Sketch Frenzy Friday.

Stamps:  NONE

Ink:  NONE

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, Brights DSP stack, Greenhouse Gala DSP (ret)

Accessories:  Subtles glimmer brads, Basic Pearls

Tools:  Big Shot, Fancy Fan EF, Fun Flowers die, Boho Blossoms punch, Scallop Edge border punch

Someone moved into their big girl car seat today.  Sigh.  She's just growing up too darn fast.  She hasn't been sleeping well for the past few days and it is getting quite exhausting for all of us.   Her legs and arms just want to keep moving and she is waking herself up a lot.  I hope it settles down fast because not even Starbucks can keep me going much longer!

My mom wanted me to be sure to thank all of you who sent cards her way.  She received 7 of them on Saturday.  They came at the perfect time too.  She got them as she was on the way to granny's to help clean up the house.  When things got overwhelming and she needed a break, she went out to the car and opened them all and read them.  She was so touched by your kindness and thoughtfulness.  I don't think they went by the post office today and she has no idea that even more are coming.   So thank you.   And thank you to those who sent cards to me too.  I got several in the mail today and was very surprised. 

Mustache Duo

I decided to get in a little stamping today before bed.  Now I should have went to bed as I am hoping to get up around 1am to check out the retiring lists and see the new catalog!   We'll see how that all goes.   :)   Now back to my card...  I wanted to use the black/gray combo from Dynamic Duos this week and I thought it would be perfect with the sketch at Retro Sketches.

It's a pretty simple card, but I like it.  :)  I don't use contraband (aka non-SU) stuff that often, but I got this stamp set and die for free last year when I won a prize during Hope You Can Cling To.  It was a great reward just to make cards for such a great cause, but I got a few prizes as well.  Can't beat that, right?!  

Laila LOVES to stand up now. Whether it is standing at this toy or standing at the couch trying to help me type, she's all about it!  

Blooming with Thanks

  

Believe it or not, I stamped AGAIN!   I'm trying to work on challenges and having fun again.   It seems to be working too.  Yay!  I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to leave encouraging comments or sent emails.  I appreciate it so, so much.   I also have some news to share! :)  I was chosen as a display stamper for Convention 2013.  I got the email yesterday evening and am so excited...and nervous.  I won't get to go to Convention to see them in person, but my friends are under strict orders to take lots of pictures.

Now on to the card... I combined the fun new sketch at Try Stampin' on Tuesday with the awesome colors at Dynamic Duos.  

I actually like this one.  :)   I don't normally say that, but I think the flower from Blooming with Kindness just makes me happy.  It's just so pretty!   I added a cute little butterfly from Papillion Potpourri and a sentiment from Fabulous Phrases.   Three great sets are bound to make a lovely card aren't they?  

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases, Blooming with Kindness, Papillion Potpourri

Ink: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie

Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Brights DSP stack, misc. retired Bashful Blue DSP

Accessories:  Bashful Blue 3/8 Taffeta ribbon, Basic Pearls

Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, 3 inch circle die, Scallop Border punch, Petite Butterfly punch

Someone has outgrown their mat.  lol  I don't know why she wanted to get on it yesterday, but it was cute.  We've had a much better day today thank goodness.  She was up crying for over an hour at 3am last night though.  I took her to the doctor today just to make sure nothing was wrong.   She's fine, so no clue what's causing her to be so fussy.  Hopefully it goes away and soon!!!! We are now on week two of cloth diapers and still learning by trial and error about those.  A few more kinks to work out and I'll be 100% in love.  I'm at about 93% now.  ;)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new card for Freshly Made Sketches! 

Paper Players and Dynamic Duos

  

After two days of twenty minute naps, Laila finally crashed for a bit today.   I was thankful for the break and headed to my room to try to stamp a bit.  I decided to combine the clean-and-simple sketch at The Paper Players with the colors at Dynamic Duos.

If you are like me, you have a tons of stamps that have a little (or in my case, a lot) of dust on them.  I decided to pull a couple of them out tonight to make a card.   I need to justify keeping them, right?   I did use current colors and lots of little flowers and pearls.  I was inspired by a lovely watercolor of cherry blossoms that a former colleague painted for me.  My card is not as lovely as her painting, but I kinda like it.  :)   

We've been doing a lot of floor time lately, but still no crawling.   She is learning to roll back and forth pretty good though.  I'm in no rush for her to become mobile because I know once it happens we are going to be chasing her all over the place!   That girl has some serious energy!  

I hope everyone has a great week. 

Dynamic Halloween

Woo Hoo!  I feel like I never have much time for stamping outside of my design teams and club/class cards, so today I took a bit and made a card that wasn't for either.  I love Dynamic Duos and really wanted to play with the colors this week.  I just love Lucky Limeade.  I was sad when Pear Pizzazz went away, but I'm happy with the two new greens we got as in colors.  

My card is pretty simple but hey, it's a card!  I used an old Mojo Monday sketch and my new Toxic Treats stamp set.  I got it for free this month when one of my friends signed up to be a demonstrator.  I can't wait to get together with her to make the super cool printer's tray that we both received in addition to the stamps.  I did heat emboss the cauldron in black and sponged the edges of the limeade layers just a bit.  It was fun to put together and I like it.  :)

Stamps:  Toxic Treats

Ink:  Versamarker, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray (sponging)

Paper:  Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack, In Colors DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Pennants die, 2 1/2 circle punch, heat tool, black embossing powder, Lucky Limeade baker's twine, sponges

We took Laila to feed/watch the ducks at a local park yesterday.  I think she found them pretty fascinating! 

Dynamic Dirty Cards

This week I'm trying to fit in some of the awesome Dare to Get Dirty challenges on Splitcoaststampers.   It's a fun set of challenges for people who are members of the Fan Club there.   I've been using that website since I first started making cards and LOVE it.  It's a great way to look at card samples sorted by the stamp sets you own!

Here's my card for the first challenge.  It was a tough one, but I kinda like how it turned out!

Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri, Butterfly Prints (retired)

Ink:  Staz On Black, Versamark

Paper:  Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Stripes embossing folder, Elegant Butterfly punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Heat Tool, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Simply Scored w/ diagonal insert, Basic Pearls

For my second card I combined two challenges, the second Dare to Get Dirty challenge with the colors from Dynamic Duos.   I was making this at midnight last night while my blueberry cheesecake bars (Pinterest recipe) were baking.  :)   It's a simple, but still gorgeous card I think. I love the new ink pads because it really gives some amazing coverage and color to the image! 

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Netting background

Ink:  Early Espresso

Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Neutrals DSP stack

We had Laila's one month pictures made last week so I thought I'd share one of the sneak peeks we got to see.  Such a little cutie!  

DD10: Razzleberry Flower

Being a new mom is tough at times, so I keep trying to fit in some stamping time to give myself a bit of a mental break.  The evenings have been very challenging for sure; what is it that makes babies so fussy around that time? Anyway, tonight I worked on a card for one of my favorite challenges, Dynamic Duos.  I wanted to make a non-embellished card that I could easily mail off to my granny this week.   

I really love the Natural Composition DSP.   It's awesome that you can make it any color you want or leave it in its natural state.  :)   I paired it with the gorgeous Summer Silhouettes stamp set.  Just a simple card, but I hope my granny will like it.  I hear that she shows off and keeps anything I send her, so that makes me feel good that she enjoys my work. 

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Best Yet (retired)

Ink:  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White, Natural Composition DSP, Brights DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponges

Don't ask your husband how much he thinks the baby weighs. lol  I think we were pretty sleep deprived at this point.   :)

DD9: Crumb Cake Plus!

Good morning!   Up a little early this morning, so I thought I'd finish and post the card I started working on last night.   My parents left to go back home today so Mom had lots of Laila time yesterday.  I took advantage of that and headed into my craft room for some stamping time.    I had a pretty weepy day on Wednesday so I know it's important for me to try and get my "therapy" started back up.   :)   I wanted to play along with the challenge from Dynamic Duos this week.   I totally missed the deadline to submit it for the challenge, but it was fun to make anyway.   

I used a mix of old and new products on this one.   My sweet friend Marla was kind enough to gift me her Inspired by Nature stamp set and I just had to use it.   It was always a favorite of mine but I never did buy it for some reason.   I don't know why I love cone flowers so much, but I find myself drawn to this stamp set and the actual flowers themselves when we visit the local arboretum.  I also used a new stamp set, the gorgeous Papillon Potpourri.   I just love those butterflies!   What do you think about Crumb Cake paired with Island Indigo?   I like it, but Island Indigo is one of my favorite SU colors.   I also tried out the new piercing products and I have to say, GET IT!   I can see that quickly becoming a favorite set of tools.

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature (retired), Papillon Potpourri, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Whisper White, 2011-2013 In Color DSP stack, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die (retired), 3-inch circle die, Finishing Touches Edgelit, 2 1/2 circle punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Paper Piercing pack w/ mat, Basic Pearls

You know I can't post without sharing a picture of our new bundle of joy.  :)   

Melon Birthday Birds

  

Sunday mornings are a favorite of mine and I am up early enjoying the next to last one I have before Laila arrives.   I can't help but wonder if she'll be an early bird like me or sleep in like Jason.   Since I've craved all the foods that HE likes, I'm thinking she's going to be like her daddy.  :)    I had wanted to stamp last night but we started watching Game of Thrones and then I got caught up reading Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (I know!  What?!).  Thankfully I still remembered the card I wanted to make when I woke up this morning.   It combines the fun colors at Dynamic Duos with the bird challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.

Something I learned while making this... Staz-On before 8am is not necessarily a good idea, nor is fussy cutting.  :)   I powered through my issues and finished it though.   Aviary is one of those sets that had been on my wishlist for ages and ages and I finally got it on my last order.    I just love how cute it is!   I love it in these colors too!   Off topic, but does anyone else always want to call it Mambo Melon or is that just me?

Stamps:  Aviary, Something to Celebrate (retired)

Ink:  Staz-on Black, Melon Mambo

Paper:  Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Cheerful Treat DSP

Tool/Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Basic Pearls, Black satin ribbon (retired)

CAS Duo Circles

Today was one of those days, so I needed a little creative time to refresh my mind and relax.   My doctor's appointment went okay, but with my blood pressure still being high it looks like Miss Laila will be here a week earlier than we'd planned.   We should hear from them this week about changing our scheduled c-section to the week of the 25th instead of on July 2nd.   So...I gotta stamp while I can!    I wanted to play with the Dynamic Duos challenge this week and thought it might be fun paired with the Clean-and-Simple challenge on Splitcoast Stampers.    I'm determined to get this CAS thing down!   

My first instinct with those colors was flowers, but I really am a bit tired of flowers.   I decided to try something with Circle Circus instead.  I think I'm one of the few people who like this set.   :)   It works great paired with Perfectly Penned too!    I tried to do a bit of layering with the circles so that it wasn't so flat; a bit of dimension can add a lot!   I'm still a bit unsure of all that white space, but hey, I'm trying!

Stamps:  Circle Circus, Perfectly Penned

Ink:  Regal Rose, Basic Gray

Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Gray, Regal Rose

Tool/Accessories:   assorted circle punches, scallop circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Boho Blossoms punch, Basic Pearls