Blah Bunny for a Friend

Are you feeling Monday??  Whew! I stayed up way too late reading, so I look like this bunny right now. lol I started a new book yesterday and I just couldn't sleep until I knew how it ended. Of course the ending wasn't so great, so I'm tired AND grumpy. I did manage to make a card today. Laila has a little space in my room now, so we both stamped and created today. I wanted to enter a few challenges which I have been so bad about doing. I've made cards for them, but never managed to get them posted.

Stamps: Blah Bunny and Blah Blah Blah by Honey Bee Stamps
Die: Wonky Stitched Rectangles by Avery Elle

Playing along with:

Paper Players

Creative with Stamps

2 Crafty Critter Crazies

Before I go, I'll share a picture of one of our Black Swallowtail caterpillars. We aren't seeing any Monarchs, but the swallowtails are keeping us busy. 

Have a great week!

Rita

Monster Mash

It's Wednesday and I'm here with a card for Kim's great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   I just love this layout and will be using it again for sure!   A sketch that makes you do a bit of math is always good for the brain!  :o)   I decided to play along with The Paper Players again this week and their challenge was a Halloween theme.   I love these little Lawn Fawn monsters so I thought they'd be fun.  I started off wanting to make a monochromatic card but I couldn't resist a bit of green to break up all the black and gray.  

Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Monster Mash

Ink:  Memento Black, Copics

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Green Galore, MFT Black Licorice, misc. Stampin' Up! retired Halloween DSP 

Better Weather Days Ahead

Yay for October!  This is my favorite stamping month because of the Hope You Can Cling To challenges on Splitcoaststampers.   If you haven't heard about them, go over and check them out.   The first challenge is from Lydia and she asked us to make a card inspired by our least favorite weather.  Living in Texas, I hate being hot.  The sun is not my friend at all and neither is the humidity!   I thought I'd use my Lawn Fawn dies and make a card that would be useful for someone going through a tough time.   The layout is based on the current sketch at The Paper Players.

Stamps:  Papertrey Ink Hello Sunshine

Ink:  Versafine Black Onyx

Paper:  Stampin' Up! Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Tools/Embellishments:  My Favorite Things Blueprints 20, Lawn Fawn Spring Showers dies, Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles dies, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry Baker's Twine, Stampin' Up! Neutrals Buttons

We were so excited to find that we had caterpillars in our butterfly garden!!   They will be Monarch butterflies, so that's even more exciting.  It is so fun to just watch them eat and crawl.   

Golden Butterflies

I made it back to my Freshly Made Sketches team this week.  Yay!   Jen M. has a great sketch this week and there's so much you can do with it.  I was going to try some embossing paste for the rectangle, but I didn't have a stencil that would work for what I had in mind.   I am not usually a gold person, but I wanted to play along with the challenge at The Paper Players this week.   I had all this shiny glitter paper that needed to be used for something!  lol   The music paper tie it in with Susie's HYCCT challenge.

   

I hope my card is simple enough?   It's clean for sure.  lol    I have to say a big thanks to my awesome ladies on the design team who talked me through this one.   It involved a lot of taking apart and trying different things.  It's still not really my style, but hopefully all the glitter is distracting enough to hide the craziness.

Some pictures really don't need writing.  

Coffee Lovers Bloghop!

Today is National Coffee Day!    It could be my new favorite day of the year!  lol   Chaitali is hosting a fun coffee-themed blog hop on her blog and I just had to join in!   If you have time, you can whip up a coffee card and go join in as well!   The linky is open until midnight and there are prizes to be won!

I used a new Lawn Fawn set for my card.  I love all the little cups and mugs that come with that set!  So, so cute.  They gave me a great opportunity to get some practice with my Copics.  I used the current sketch at The Paper Players for my layout. I also want to enter it in the MarkerPOP Anything Goes challenge.

    

As part of the hop, we were asked to answer a few questions, so here goes:

1.  When did you start drinking coffee?  For me, it was back in college.   I worked almost full-time and took a full classload, so I needed all the help I could get staying awake.  It really started to be an addiction when I got my first real job and had to wake up before 6am! 

2. What is your favorite brand?  I'm a huge Starbucks fan and love their Vanilla Macchiato, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Peppermint Mocha, and White Mocha.   For home coffee, I love Green Mountain brands in my Keurig. 

3.  What is the most amazing coffee that you had?  Remember when and where?  Strangely enough, at a friend's house!  Her husband is VERY into coffee and they have their own espresso machine.   He buys the beans at peak time and grinds them fresh for each cup.   I love going to visit, but even more so if they offer up a cup of that deliciousness!  

5. If I don't drink my needed coffee, I will....     Kill someone?  lol  Just kidding...kinda.   With a toddler in the house, I need it to wake up and keep up with her.  If I don't have it, I will be fighting a headache and fall over of exhaustion (probably before 9am).   

Speaking of the toddler, I love this shot from our zoo trip!   It's always fun to look through and find that one really awesome picture that you managed to snap.  :)

Oh, and before I forget, I made a new Facebook page for my cards.  I'd love for you to come by and say hi!

Bring on the Fall

Happy Thursday!   I hope your week has been a good one and you are ready for the weekend. We are supposed to get a "cold front" here in Texas tomorrow, so it might acutally NOT be 90 this weekend.   Woo Hoo!   I think rain is in the forecast with it, but oh well.  I'll take the cooler temperatures.   I went and stamped a little after dinner tonight and this was my card. I made it for the Fall challenge at The Paper Players.   I tried to use the sketch from Mojo Monday but I was dealing with Laila trying to take my chair and I missed part of the sketch.    I used the new Winnie & Walter set that I won last week and I love it.  The sentiments are just so beautiful.

Stamps:  Winner & Walter A Tree for All Seasons
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke
Paper: Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Accessories:   SU Neutrals buttons, SU Regals Candy Dots, SU Crushed Curry Baker's Twine
Tools:  Big Shot, Tim Holtz embossing folder

I don't know how many of you read the Simon Says Stamp blog, but go check this out!  I was so excited today!

We got our Hope Calendar pictures this week and I love this one so, so much.   I can't wait to send off for prints so I can send it out to our family.   Today was an eventful day.  She's been crawling under the last gate we have up so we decided to go ahead and take it down.  Oh my!  She doesn't want to leave my craft room now and she insists that my chair is hers.  lol   I might be sitting in a folding chair stamping for a while.  ;-)   She also (out of nowhere) knows how to open doors.   I knew that would happen soon, but man!   We've been working to make sure any and all chemicals are put away in every room now because she can go anywhere really.   Crazy how fast they grow and learn new stuff.

Stampin' Up! Fox & Friends

It's been a tough mommy day today, so after my nap was spoiled by the cats I decided to go try stamping something.   Laila took a nice long nap so I was able to finish a card.  :)  I haven't stamped just for fun in ages!  I played along with the colors at colourQ and the theme at The Paper Players.  

   

I used some of the stack of retired DSP that my former demo had given me ages ago along with some of the awesome Core'dinations cardstock.  I just had to use my fox stamp from Fox & Friends.  He's so popular right now, huh?! 

My mom had my uncle fix up my old rocking chair that my papaw had given me when I was little.  It is so neat to see Laila sitting in it.  :)   She started climbing on the furniture today and oh my heavens am I a nervous wreck!   She needs a helmet and bubble wrap! 

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.  

Topsy-Turvy Color Celebration

  

I attempted to stamp again tonight to try to help get myself back in the creating mode.  My mojo and creativity are kinda still in the crapper, but I figure if I stamp enough maybe they'll improve.  One can only hope, right?   Anyway, I played along with two of my favorite challenges, the Paper Players and the Friday Mashup.

I love Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry, so I decided to combine some favorite colors with a stamp set that I love just as much.   I'm a huge fan of cakes, both looking at them and eating them, so Topsy-Turvy Celebration was one of the first sets I bought last year from the new catalog.  I'm not sure other people love it quite as much, so I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't hit the retirement list that's coming out soon.  

Stamps:  Topsy-Turvy Celebration

Ink: Island Indigo, Baja Breeze (sad face), Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Brights DSP stack, Island Indigo DSP scrap 

Accessories:  Brights buttons, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones

Tools:  Scallop Border Punch, Paper Snips

We went to our local arboretum today and walked around for a bit.  It's was such a gorgeous day here.  I think we are going to be enjoying a few days in the mid to high 80's this week before some storms and cooler weather hit.   I'm not sure what else we'll find to do, but I hope we get to enjoy it! 

FMS77: Dreaming Birds

It's Freshly Made Sketches Day!   It also happens to be my ninth wedding anniversary. Jason should get some kind of award for putting up with me for that long!   Anyway, our new sketch is from the awesome Jen Timko.   I love the sketch, but I just could not decide on a stamp set this week. I kept looking and looking over my shelf and nothing was popping out at me.  I decided to make the rest of the card first and then focus on the stamped panel.  

I'm not sure where I was going with the cages and the birds.  I thought I'd use the colors from the Paper Players this week and this is what happened.   Maybe green owls will be all the rage soon.  ;)   I'm not sure if my little bird is dreaming of being in a cage or the other birds are dreaming of being out, but somebody is hopefully dreaming of something. 

Stamps:  Aviary, Fabulous Phrases

Ink: Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Regal Rose, Pool Party

Paper:  Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Regal Rose, Pool Party, In Color, Neutrals, and Brights stacks

Tool/Accessories:  Pool Party baker's twine, Neutrals buttons

We got a little sneak peek of Laila's Easter pictures and I thought I'd share.  This must have been taken during the five seconds she wasn't grabbing the props.  :)  

Paper Players Bunnies

I had a rough day today, so I tried to find a little time to stamp to take my mind off some things.  I wanted to play along with LeAnne's sketch at The Paper Players, so I grabbed some new goodies and got to work!  Now my brain must have been half working because I stamped one of the bunnies and cut the layers in Calypso Coral and didn't realize it should be Tangerine Tango until I went to put the ribbon on.  Duh!   I fixed it and I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

Aren't those bunnies CUTE?!  As soon as I saw them I had to have them.  I don't get to order a lot these days, but that was one stamp that I just couldn't pass up.   The designer paper and ribbon are two of the awesome choices for Sale-a-bration, so you could earn those for free.  I love free!  It's easy on the budget.  ;)   I know it's early for Easter, but I just had to use that stamp.  

Still no crawling, but she's a rolling champion.   I think we have some serious teething going on right now as the drooling is so out of control!   She hasn't been too fussy, but we can definitely tell that something is a bit off.   I hope she's feeling good tomorrow because we've started going to the infant program at the library on Thursdays and I love it.  I've met a few nice moms already and enjoy talking a bit with them.  

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. 

Paper Players in Orange

It has been way too long since I had time to play along with my buddies over at The Paper Players.  I loved Jaydee's sketch this week and thought I could make it work for a young girl type card.   I was in the mood for some Pumpkin Pie (not the dessert as I think that's gross) so I used that and white for my card.  It's rare to just use one color and a neutral, but it happens every now and then.  :)

I really like how this one turned out.  I love the mix of patterns, the bit of bling, and the ORANGE.  Finally a bit of my retired DSP got used too.  I am running out of room, so I am trying to make myself use up some of it and NOT allowing myself to buy any more until I clear out some.  

The Christmas tree was just too bright for her.  :)