FM40: Happy Birthday!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a "Birthday" project.
2. Or Make a project using "Pastels".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Birthday project using Pastels" .

Time for a fresh opportunity to mash it up with The Friday Mashup!    A great way to start off the new year is to get that supply of birthday cards restocked, so this one is a great one to play along with!  We have two new guest designers and some great samples from all to get you inspired!

I used the sketch from this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch for the layout of my card this week.   I thought it worked well to showcase all those lovely designer papers that I just can't use enough!  I can't wait for Sale-a-bration to begin so that you can get some of it as well!  I hope you'll join us this week and create a birthday card!   If you are more skilled than I am, perhaps you can even mash it up and use your pastels!

Stamps:  Fresh Vintage (SAB), Watercolor Trio (retired)

Ink:  Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Paper:  Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment (SAB)

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die, 3 inch circle die, sponges, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, color spritzer, basic pearls

Stamp Club Valentine

I hope you hadn't given up on me for today!  I'm still hanging in there with my goal to create something daily.  Toady I didn't manage to do a challenge, but I did make a card for my stamp club that meets tomorrow.  I loved the card I made last week using the envelope full of hearts, so I thought I'd try another version of it today.   It just makes me happy to see all that LOVE flowing out of that bitty envelope.  I have a feeling I'll be making a lot of these.  :)    

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Real Red

Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Brights & Subtles DSP stacks

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Framed Tulips embossing folder, Scallop Envelope die, Tasteful Trim die, Full Heart punch, Heart to Heart punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, basic rhinestones

*Inspired by Darlene's card that you can find here. 

Special Request

As a maker of cards, I know how much one of them can mean to someone going through a rough patch.   Today I'll be sending out a birthday card to an amazing lady who does so much for others.   If you are a frequent reader or friend, you probably know that we lost our only child almost 3 years ago to a disease called spinal muscular atrophy.  MJ is a survivor of SMA and will turn 24 on the 8th of this month.   She and her caregiver Brenda are absolutely amazing.  They coordinate many fundraisers for various SMA organizations and also make and send out blankets to newly diagnosed families.   MJ is currently in the hospital and will be spending her birthday there. To make her day a bit brighter, she would love lots and lots of cards.   I'm getting ready to put mine in the mail and I thought I'd see if some of my readers might also send one for her.   If you have an extra one you've made on hand, that would be awesome, but any type of card would bring a smile.  

Here is the address of the hospital if you have a moment to do this:
Nationwide Children's Hospital
c/o MJ Purk
700 Children's Dr. 5 Tower Room #5121
Columbus, OH 43205


Thanks so much!
Rita

FMS 16: Owl Valentine

It is time for Freshly Made Sketches to start up again for the year!  Yay!   Tui has a fun sketch this week that should have your imagination going wild!   There are so many possibilities for this one as you can see from the design team.   We also have two new guest designers with us, so there are lots of fabulous examples to get you started.

Right now I'm trying to do as many Valentine's Day cards as I can to get my display stocked up at a local shop.   I hope you won't get too sick of the red/pink before I meet my goal!  For this one I pulled out a retired Simply Scrappin' Kit to use up some of the stuff I hoard have stored away.   I thought it would work well with my cute little owl and new heart punch.   

I hope you will find some time to come play along with us!  Maybe you can make a Valentine for your sweetheart.  :)   

Valentine Hearts

Tonight I decided to play along with the stampers over at Try Stampin' On Tuesday.   I figured since I WAS trying to stamp on Tuesday, it was the perfect challenge!  I love their sketch this week.  So many possibilities!

In an effort to use up some of my retired things, I've been making some Valentine's Day cards with it.   If there is ever a time to use up red and pink, it is this month, right? :o)   This paper comes from an old Simply Scrappin' Kit that I LOVE.  I'm a bit sad to use it, but I have SO MUCH STUFF and it really needs to get used.   I did  use some of my new heart punches, so it's not all old stuff AND I managed to sneak a few pearls on there too! 

Bookmarks!

In addition to creating something every day this month, my other goal is to get my area in a local shop well stocked.   Today I made up two bookmarks to take over.  This was my first time making them with the Fun Flowers die and I really like them!    

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade

Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Fun Flowers die, Boho Blossoms punch, Subtles glimmer brads, crimper, giant paper clips (Target)

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.   

Year in Review pt. 2

Let's finish off those favorites from last year so that we can get to some new stuff soon!

August:  This card is now known as the million dollar card.   I made it for a birthday blog hop for my sweet friend Lesley and thought it turned out so awesome.  Well, others did too apparently!  It has been copied without credit a few times that I've found and someone even went as far as taking my picture and posting it as their own. I joking said it is obviously the best card ever made and for sale for a million bucks.  :)  

September:  August and September were good stamping months for me. I guess I must stamp better when I'm feeling sad?   I had quite a few cards during these months that I really like.   This next card was one I made for a Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I love the colors so much and the snowmen from Snow Much Fun are some of my absolute favorite stamps!

October:  My other favorite Christmas stamp set and one I just might cry about in a few days when the Mini expires is Bright Hopes.  My favorite card for this month uses it and I love it!   It was another Freshly Made Sketches card that turned out way better than I could have hoped.

November:  This card was actually a card I made for a class.  I love the colors; I think purple and green look gorgeous together!   It was actually inspired by a card from the Idea Book and Catalog.  If you ever need a bit of inspiration, that's a great place to look!

December:  I didn't find much time to stamp in December, but I did make one card that I adore.  Again, it is using the chubby snowman from Snow Much Fun.   I combined him with some of the new designer paper that will be available later this month for free during Sale-A-Bration!   I wasn't sure about a distressed Christmas card, but I love it!

I hope you enjoyed my look back!   I hope this year will be filled with a lot of good surprises and much happiness!  Happy New Year!