FM47: Kissing!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Kissing Technique".
2. Or Make a "Round" project.
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Round project featuring the Kissing Technique".

Didn't Holly pick the cutest graphic for her challenge this week?  I love it!   At The Friday Mashup, we are all about kissing this week!   Now you should have done a lot of real kissing last week on Valentine's Day, so perhaps you need a break this week?  Let those stamps do all the kissing!  :)   That's what I did.  (Sorry, sweetie!)

I didn't have a lot of solid image stamps to pick from, so I decided I should make another card with my favorite new set, Send Me Soaring!  My first attempts at kissing created some cool faux snakeskin kites, but I finally found some other stamps that worked better for more normal looking kites.  I know, I know...you want to see what snakeskin kites look like.  Maybe I'll put them on a card next week.   What fashionable diva wouldn't want a purple snakeskin kite birthday card, right?  

Lots of stamping and lots of fun colors on this one!  I hope you enjoy it.  :)   Be sure to stop by the Friday Mashup blog and vote for the Fan Favorite challenge!

Stamps:  Send Me Soaring, Paisley Prints, Fresh Vintage, Dot Dot Dot

Ink:  Pool Party, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Baja Breeze, Welcome Neighbor DSP stack (retired), Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, circle punches, blender pen, paper snips

March Stamp Club

My next round of stamp club starts next week and I thought I'd get ahead a bit and work on the projects for it  in advance.  :)   I've found it is much easier to create without the pressure of a looming deadline.  I wanted to use some of the beautiful Sale-a-Bration projects and thought this would be a good start.  I think I'll remake it and leave the sentiment off the bottom as it is annoying me.   

Stamps:  Kindness Matters (SAB), Teeny Tiny Wishes 

Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Poppy Parade

Paper:  Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Everyday Enchantment (SAB), Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack (SAB), Basic Pearls, sponges, paper snips, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Just a few random things...  I'm not the only paper crafter in our house now!   Jason decided he liked origami, so I got him a kit to play around with.  This flower was one he made me for Valentine's Day.   Wasn't that sweet?  It came with a beautiful poem he wrote as well.   It was awesome to get something so special.  I got my real gift last month in the form of an iPhone 4s, so it was great to still get a little something on the actual day.  

Finally, here's another cute outfit that we bought for Laila on Monday.  I am totally IN LOVE with this one.  I think I even jumped up and down in Kohl's when we found it.   I'm not a big dress person, but I love little sailor dresses and wanted one small enough for her first professional pictures.  I'm not sure about that headband and bow, but we'll see.  :)

FMS23: Soaring Kites

Check out this sketch from the super talented Tui Nathan.   It's a fun week at Freshly Made Sketches for sure.  I hope you'll find time to join us and share your beautiful work with us.  

My card was very much inspired by my sweet friend, Mindy.   She uses Calypso Coral quite a bit and I thought I'd try it as well.   I paired it with Poppy Parade and I do like the result.   I'll just say that I LOVE Send Me Soaring.   In fact, I've tried to talk all my demo friends into getting it ever since we used it at the Regional event last month.   It is just SO FUN!  Who doesn't love kites?  :)   

Stamps: Send Me Soaring

Ink: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade

Paper:  Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Hostess DSP stack (2011, retired)

Tools/Accessories:  Boho Blossoms punch, Itty Bitty Punch pack, blender pen, Brights brads

On another note, look at this adorable outfit I found for Laila!  I love it.  Now I know it has pink in it, but I've decided that I like Melon Mambo pinks, just not a lot of Pretty in Pink pinks. Plus, who can resist brown and pink together, especially when it involves a cute giraffe.  :)   It was nice to take a day off from worrying about something being wrong and just enjoy buying her some cute things.  Our big ultrasound is on Monday, so I hope that will be all good news and we can really start working on her room and relax a little about her being okay.  It is tough being pregnant after a loss like we had.  We are halfway there though and so far, so good.  

Lovely Tree

In my last post I mentioned wanting to make a card of my own that was inspired by the cased card that I posted.  Well, here it is!  :)  I am having fun playing with my background stamps, sponges, and cutter kit.  For this one I added in an old favorite, Lovely as a Tree.   I'm pretty sure that's one of the best stamp sets EVER!   You can really use it for just about every occasion.   I didn't put a sentiment on this one, so it will go in my stash and get one once I find myself needing a certain kind of card.   

I actually had to break out Chocolate Chip for this one.  Believe it or not, I ran out of Early Espresso!   That's my favorite color and I guess I have been using it way more than I thought lately.   Do you remember the days when we all loved Chocolate Chip and thought it was the best color?   Poor thing.  I know here at my house it  started being neglected once Early Espresso showed up.  

Stamps:  Woodgrain, En Francais, Lovely as a Tree

Ink:  Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Naturals White, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Cutter Kit, sponges, Twine, Always Artichoke buttons (retired)

Donation and a Card

What do you think?  Would that be a tote of goodies you'd like to own?  One of my friends, another mom who lost her first child to SMA, was working on silent auction items for an upcoming fundraiser gala and I wanted to help out again this year.   My contribution last year was much smaller, so it makes me happy to see how much more I was able to do this time.  I hope it goes over well!  If you are near Denver, you can click here to find out more information on the event.  

Now on to the my card...  One of the comments I hear a lot about my work is simple.  Simple is a bit hurtful when I think about how much time/effort goes into a design, so I've decided to work on stepping up my game a little.  To do that, I decided to pick a card that I loved, but felt was outside my ability/skills and attempt to recreate it.  I chose this beauty by Laurie and sat down to work on it.  (To be honest, I'm not a big fan of copying ideas, so this was difficult for me in more ways than one.)   I will say that it was fun to work on and I hope I can take what I learned making it and apply it to another card that I design myself.   Keep your eye out for that one as I already have some ideas!  :)  Note to self:  BUY the Neutrals buttons ASAP!

FM46: Vintage Flowers

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using the "Sketch".
2. Or Make a "Shabby Chic / Vintage" project.
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Shabby Chic/Vintage project using the Sketch".

The challenge at the Friday Mashup was quite a challenge for me.   While I love the look of shabby chic, I have no idea how to pull off that style.  I try my hand at it every now and then, but I'm just not a frilly kind of girl and struggle to make it work.   

As I was looking for an idea, I remembered the one stamp from Apothecary Art that I said I'd probably never use.  Flowers are vintage, right?   I also pulled out my stash of retired DSP and found one that I thought looked like wallpaper (which I always equate with vintage!).   I think it is from a pack called Porcelain Prints.  No idea what year that's from, but it is old (aka vintage!).   :)  It took me forever to color the image, but I think it turned out okay.   I stamped the sentiment crooked after all that work, so there's a nice cover-up layer...or two...on there.  

I hope you'll come play along with us this week!  Don't forget that we also have the Fan Favorite challenge going on as well.   You can submit your idea for a mashup challenge and maybe we'll be playing your challenge soon!

FMS22: Elephant Birthday

This week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches is a fun, yet challenging one.  The design team did a fabulous job showing off some beautiful ways to use it, so be sure you check the blog to see them all.   

For my card, I kept things pretty simple.   I am always in need of children's birthday cards at the local shop that sells my cards, so I have been trying to focus on making up some for that.   I pulled out some retired designer paper and my favorite retired stamp set for this one.  It came together pretty quickly and I think it would be just perfect for a little girl.  

I hope you'll find time to join us this week!  

Double the Challenge

Today I decided to work on the idea for Just Add Ink that I didn't have time to finish on Saturday.  After seeing this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I did change up things a bit.   I thought it was a neat sketch and lent itself to a more clean-and-simple card which is what I had time to make.  :)  

I chose primary colors for my card since it is meant for a teacher thank you card.  I added in a few other elements like the School Lines stamp and the spiral order punch.  Those both work perfectly with the school boy from Greeting Card Kids.   I stamped him on a scrap of Whisper White and then colored and cut him out.   He is popped up on dimensionals and stands out quite nicely.   :)    I will say that it is not a card that I'd normally make, but working outside our comfort zones is what makes us better stampers, right? 

Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Greeting Card Kids, School Lines
Ink:  Real Red, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Blush Blossom
Paper:  Real Red, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Brights DSP stack, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Stripes and Houndstooth embossing folders, Labels framelits, scallop circle punch, spiral border punch, blender pen