Stampin' Up! Lacy & Lovely

One more playing around card.  I love this Lacy & Lovely set and I haven't inked it up in ages.  I found a pretty distress ink combination that I thought would be fun with it.  It didn't turn out that great, but it was more my design than the colors or stamps.  I just can't find my mojo.  :/  If you see it, send it home!

It's been a rough parenting day.  So much defiance.  Yesterday was amazing and awesome, but today has been something else.  We did have three Monarchs eclose and releasing them was at least one highlight for the day.  She starts play therapy on Thursday, so I'm hoping that will help.  I am so nervous about her starting kindergarten.  I just don't think it is going to go well.  She's already asking what happens if she doesn't listen to the teacher.  Sigh.  We are meeting with the principal on Friday to talk about her and her needs.  I hate to get in and sound negative about her, but I do want to be honest.  She is going to be a challenge.  She is also so smart and will be an amazing student if we can get her issues under control.  I hope they can see that.  She gets labeled "that kid" a lot already and I'm probably guilty of doing it myself on the exhausting days like today.  She's way more than that and I just want people to see that.  To see the amazing parts.  

Stampin' Up! Spiral Flower Die

My techniques class is tomorrow and I'm still working on getting ready for it.  That trip out of town really threw a wrench in my plans and I'm a bit behind.   We've been working on catching up the lawn and getting Laila set up with a sandbox, but I finally found some stamping time last night.   I pulled out my gesso and here's what I came up with.  The Naturals Composition DSP (sadly, retiring) is perfect to use with gesso as it resists it and you get this awesome look with little effort!  I finally ordered the Spiral Flower die and I LOVE it!  You can't really mail this card easily, but it's perfect to add in a gift bag with a gift!

We don't have a home phone anymore, but Laila had fun with an old one at my parents during our visit.  :)   She's so funny.

Lacy and BRIGHT!

        

I finally found a little time to stamp last night and today.  Laila has been taking some decent naps so I've had a bit of free time.  I'm sure I could have been folding laundry, but that just didn't seem as fun.  ;)   I combined two challenges for this project, the inspiration photo at Stampin' Celebration and the sketch from the Paper Players.  I finished it too late to link with the sketch challenge, but I wanted to note that I used it anyway.

Kinda bright there, huh?  I hope I didn't hurt your eyes.  I needed some cheery colors this week, so that's why the inspiration picture was so perfect for me.   The Brights collection is my favorite by far; they are just so happy.   I made this for a special friend in Maryland who I haven't talked to nearly enough lately.   She's been going through a lot of tough times, so I'm hoping it will cheer her up.   My card was very inspired by a sample in the upcoming annual catalog.  ;)   There's some fun new stuff in there but also some great samples to make the carried over products fresh and fun.  

I want to thank all of you who emailed about my mom.  I don't think they've even thought about going to the post office yet, but I can't wait to hear from her when your cards begin arriving.   This month will be so hard for her as Granny's birthday is the day after Mother's Day. I have been talking with her every day to make sure she's hanging in there and we already booked a flight for her to come down next month to see Laila.  I don't really know what else I can do from 18 hours away, but I'm trying...  Granny will surely be missed.  My mom is one of sixteen kids, so there's a lot of family out there missing her.  

Jason's co-worker got this cute outfit for Laila so I had to snap some pictures of her in it this week so he could show her off wearing it.  

Simply Lovely

I wanted to teach masking at club this month but ended up changing my mind and will use this lovely creation for another event later.   I just love this stamp set!   I started out doing clear block stamping but decided I wanted a cleaner look and made a mask instead.  I think it looks much nicer/cleaner this way.

I've been getting so many emails lately asking about how to make certain cards and what supplies I used.  I don't always have time to answer back, so I'm going to try to find the time to list the supplies again on my blog.  It might not always happen, but I'll try.   I'm glad you guys enjoy my work so much.  :)

Stamps:  Lacy & Lovely
Ink: Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones, Large Rhinestones, Stampin' Sponges

Rough day yesterday.   Laila is teething, but I think she also picked up a cold.  Long day for all of us as she wouldn't nap and didn't sleep well the night before either.  This always seems to happen on my stamp club weeks and I end up so tired trying to stamp with my ladies.   Thankfully they are super understanding and roll with the punches.   We all enjoy eating as much as stamping, so it all works out.  Anyway, here's Laila in her ugly pajamas.  Twelve months pajamas are a bit strange and ugly.  These were on clearance as they should have been.  lol

Hello? I'm still here...

It's me.  I thought I'd check in since my posting hasn't been so great lately.  I'm in a bit of a stamping slump I'm afraid. I've made 6 cards over the past few days to try to finalize my ideas for stamp club and none of them really turned out very well.  I decided to try to do a bit more with my business and it seems like less stamping for fun equates to less creativity for me.   I am hoping to find a balance to that soon though.  It just takes work and planning. (and more stamping and less time on the laptop!)

I thought I'd share a card I made where I attempted to CASE my super-talented friend Jenn.   She blows me away with her creativity and she was the reason I ended up buying this set.   My card is no where near as good as hers, but I had to work with what I had.  Jason thinks it needs a different ribbon, but it is what it is.   I may try to work on the idea a bit more and do it for an event later on.

I used the Tea for Two DSP that I'd purchased last month and the combination of Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, and So Saffron.   Like I said, not horrible, but most definitely NOT as good as Jenn's.   I am never good at copying ideas, so I really prefer to make my own designs.  Sometimes we need that boost of help though and that's going to be me this month for sure.   

Time is going by too fast.  I still can't believe she's 8 months old now.   I had to get her 12 months clothes out and wash them today as her 9 months stuff suddenly quit fitting this week.   We keep discussing what we want to do for her birthday and are going to have to get serious about that soon so that I can make decorations.  It feels like we have so much time, but I know how fast time is passing and it will be here before we know it.   I'm just so, so excited about the idea of a birthday party.  We never got that with our Eli so we'll be so thankful to get that with Laila.   I'm hoping to incorporate some crabs into her party (hence the beach theme) so that her brother can be a part of it as well.   

Now that I've made myself cry, I'm off to play with my family.  Have a great Sunday and stay tuned as I have two guest designer cards to share with you this week!   One will be featured tomorrow, so check back in the morning.  

Lovely and Simple

Still plugging away at my goal to master the art of clean-and-simple.  I had the idea for this card the other day but hadn't found the time to stamp it out until today.   It mimics my sketch from last week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I used a favorite color combination, Baja Breeze, Rich Razzleberry, and Island Indigo.  Lacy & Lovely was the set I used my awesome 25% discount from Stampin' Up! on.   I love the perks of being a demonstrator.  :)   It's a great set because it has shapes AND sentiments!   You can make simple cards like this one, or go all out and make a fancy one.  I added some bling because well, who doesn't like rhinestones?!  

I snapped this cool picture of Laila playing in her Exersaucer over the weekend.  She gets very fascinated by the baby in the mirror.

FMS70: Spiced Flower

Today at Freshly Made Sketches I am the hostess!   I created this fairly simple sketch with the idea that it would work with a wide range of styles.  Even though I'm in a bit of a clean-and-simple mode, I added in some layers and went more for just clean. 

This card is one of those special cards that was made with someone in mind.  :) A few months ago I received an email in the middle of the night from one of my readers, Andrea.   She noticed that Stampin' Up! had updated the Clearance Rack and that the Spice Cake DSP was on it.  She knew I was hoarding what I had left and wanted to make sure I was able to get some.   Sweet, right?   I wasn't able to order because of bills and holiday spending, but I soon got an email that she was sending a pack my way.  I'm pretty sure I cried a bit.  It's amazing when someone you've never met does something so nice for you and I feel lucky that my blog has brought her and other sweet people like her into my life.  

Andrea says I inspired her to purchase the Fun Flowers die, so I thought it was only fitting that I use it on the card I made for her.  :)   It is probably my favorite die and if you don't have it yet, I'd highly recommend it.  Now that Sale-a-Bration has started, it is the perfect time to get it too!   

And speaking of Sale-a-Bration, I thought I'd share another card made with the one set that I have on hand.  I wanted to have something to link up to still addINKtive's "Spot the Sale-a-Bration stamps".  I loved Annette's color scheme and used it for my card.  I think it is going to be a new favorite for sure.  :)

It's a little different than my sketch, but the idea is still there.  

I love how peaceful she looks in her sleep.  Lately it's the only time she's quiet!  lol