Tuesday Stampin' on Friday

Isn't this a cool sketch?  When I saw it pop up on the Try Stampin' on Tuesday website I just knew I had to play along!   I can see myself using this one a lot as it has so many possibilities!  My idea didn't totally work out, but I still had a fun time with it.  You might see another card with it as I try to get the idea in my head to come to life!   (This is another of my Dare to Get Dirty cards for the Splitcoast challenges as well.)

Purple with green is a favorite color combination of mine.  I would really have liked to do an all purple card, but I didn't have the Wisteria ribbon that I'd need to do it.  :(   Don't you hate when that happens?  I went with the green but I'm not totally sold on it.   I am glad that I did a bit more stamping today though.  It's been a bad week emotionally and I needed my therapy!  

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature

Ink:  Versamark

Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, 2011-2013 In Color DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Lucky Limeade ribbon, Basic Pearls

We took the beautiful quilt that my Mom's friend made to Laila's photo shoot.  I think Jason did a great job picking out the fabric and pattern for it!  It's GORGEOUS!

Retro Gratitude

I really loved the sketch at retro sketches this week and wanted to make a card with it even though I knew I wouldn't make the deadline to submit it.   I've been having some serious creativity issues lately so just getting a card completed has been a huge challenge for me.   Eli's birthday was yesterday and Laila has been super fussy for over a week, so I think I'm just mentally exhausted.  It's hard to stamp when your brain is tired and overloaded with other stuff.  :(  But anyway... I DID make something!   I don't know why I wanted to play with fall colors, but that's what I grabbed.   Maybe the hot weather just has me wishing for cooler weather and leaves and all that good stuff.   :)   Fall is by far my favorite season of the year!

I pulled out some of my favorite retired designer paper, Autumn Spice, and the stamp set I got at my first Stampin' Up! event, Day of Gratitude.   It's been ages since I played with this one and I thought it deserved some love.   I love the colors and love the layers.  At first I just had a flat, one color image but decided it needed a little something to make it POP.  I think bringing in the other colors added much more interest and made me like it a bit more.  :)

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude

Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso

Paper:  Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Autumn Spice DSP (retired)

Tools/Accessories:  1 3/4 circle punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Brights brads, Regals buttons, Linen Thread

And as always, Miss Laila:

We had her picture taken with Eli's crab and picture.  It was a bit heartbreaking, but I want her to grow up knowing him and continuing the fight to find a cure for SMA.   August is SMA Awareness Month, so if you don't know anything about it, please take a minute to get informed.  

Happy August!

The Holiday Catalog is LIVE!   This catalog is amazing to say the least!   You can check out the .pdf version here.    I can't stop making wishlists and wanting so many of the products in it!    We'll be using some of the new products in my upcoming Christmas card class later this month and I know they are going to be a hit with the stampers!  

Another great thing about today is the release of My Digital Studio 2!   If you already have MDS, you can upgrade for only $19.95.  For those of you who don't have the awesomeness already, you can purchase the program for $39.95 or $79.95 (this one includes over $500 in digital content).   You can also download a free trial if you'd like to try it before you buy it!  :)    More details on the different options can be found here.  

There's also a great sale 31% off on select MDS downloads and print products!  To see the downloads, visit my online store.  All cards, photobooks, individual pages, and tags are on sale for the entire month when you get them printed through Stampin' Up!   It's a great time to get an early start on Christmas gifts!  :) 

And last, but most certainly NOT least, if you sign up as a demonstrator during the month of August, you get this super cool project, plus $125 worth of products of your choice, and all the business supplies you need to get started all for $99!   What a deal!  Can I sign up again?!  Contact me today or head on over to my online store to sign up!  

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!  

Christmas in August Class

So yeah, I missed the Christmas in July thing.  It just wasn't happening with a new baby.   I still wanted to get an early start though, so next month I'm offering a class where we will be making 12 Christmas cards to get the holidays started!   It will be held on August 17th at 6:30pm at my home. We'll be making 3 each of 4 different designs.   If you are interested in attending or would like to purchase a finished set, please email me or see my demonstrator website for more details and to RSVP.

This card features a fun new stamp set from the upcoming Holiday Seasonal Catalog, Scentsational Season.   It's adorable and has matching framelits!   Love it!  

Stamps:  Scentsational Season, Tiny Tags

Ink: Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler

Paper:  Gumball Green, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Holiday Collection framelits,  Jewelry Tag punch, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones, Dazzling Diamonds

Snow Much Fun is my favorite set for the holidays as I just LOVE snowmen.   Living in Texas means we don't see very much snow and I sure miss it!    This simple card features some of my favorite colors too.  I was inspired by this lovely creation by Ann.  

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun, Petite Pairs

Ink:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Basic Gray

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Whisper White, 2011-2012 In Colors DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Blender Pens, Dazzling Details

Can you believe she's a month old already?  The time is just flying by!   I finally made a new family blog to share her and our life in Texas with family and friends.  I figure that's a great way to journal things until I find the time to scrapbook!  :)  She's currently sick with some serious congestion and sneezing, so I'm a bit sad as there's not much I can do to help her.   Hopefully she starts feeling better soon.  

A week?

I can't believe it has been a week since I last stamped and posted!   I did make a Christmas card earlier this week for an upcoming class, but that's it!   Yikes.  My little girl will be a month old tomorrow and I'm amazed at how fast time can go by.  Anyway, I saw this sketch at Create with Connie & Mary and decided to try and fit in some stamping time while Miss Laila napped.  It took me all morning working in little spurts, but I did manage to finish it!  

Isn't that the most adorable spooky stamp???  It is from the upcoming holiday catalog and was the first thing on my list to get!    I just adore it!    I heat embossed it in black and added a bit of spritzing with my black marker.   My spider web embossing is sprayed with my homemade shimmer mist to give it a spooky look; I think you can kinda see it in the picture.   The little rhinestones are from an old holiday mini catalog; you just get so much that it's hard to use it all up before it's no longer current.  I thought they were perfect to accent my sentiment though!

Stamps:  Frightening Feline, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Versamark, Basic Black

Paper:  Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Scallop Circles #2 die (retired), 3-inch circle die, Tasteful Trim die, Spider Web embossing folder, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Black embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy, Black Rhinestones (retired), color spritzer

She's getting so big.  She was 9 pounds 14 ounces at the doctor yesterday and had grown 1.5 inches!  We just love her so much!!!!

PP104: Evergreen Tree

What a fun challenge from LeAnne this week at The Paper Players!  When I saw it I immediately thought of this beautiful new stamp set from the holiday catalog, Evergreen.   It has the words from Silent Night in the shape of a tree and is just gorgeous.   I hope that counts as a verse?  :)   Shellie's challenge this month is to use products from a new catalog, so this definitely works for that one too!  

I'm not sure if you can see it very well in the picture, but there's a tree image embossed in Iridescent Ice on top of the words.  It gives a nice sparkle in person and also a bit more shape to the tree.   I am working on my bow skills and I like how this one turned out!   I'll keep practicing and maybe one of these days I'll be able to make some stunning ones like I see on other cards!  

Stamps:  Evergreen

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Versamark

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Cherry Cobbler seam binding

Just like pink, I'm not a big fan of bows.   She's been gifted with quite a few, so we tried one out yesterday so that she could be accessorized for her first trip out.  :)   

Gingerbread Men

So excited!  My little pre-order from the upcoming holiday catalog arrived today!   I have had zero creativity lately, but I tried to go make something anyway.   This card was inspired by a sample in the catalog; I just changed up things to use products that I actually had.   :)   I can't believe I made a Christmas card in July!

Stamps:  Scentsational Season, Happy Hour, Tiny Tags

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Lucky Limeade

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Labels Collection framelits, Holiday Collection framelits, Chevron embossing folder, Jewelry Tag punch, Neutrals buttons, Vintage Trinkets, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine