Simon Says Birthdays

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge was all about birthdays this time, so I decided to play along using my March card kit.  I am so in love with these colors and the pretty flower stamps!  I went ahead and made a belated birthday card because I am behind and need to get a few out in the mail.   Hopefully they won't be a month late like the last ones.  Yikes!

Another picture from our day at the park.   :o)

Two Paper Divas Pretty Posies

A happy little spring card for you today featuring some stamps from Two Paper Divas.   I went a little out of my style and used some floral paper and did a bit of sponging.   Gayla and Melissa must be rubbing off on me.  :o)  

Stamps:  Pretty Posies,  Banners #2

I am hoping to get some stamping and scrapbooking done while Mom is visiting and Jason is home.   We are planning some actual date nights which will be nice.  I can't remember the last time we went out!   I haven't watched a movie in ages and the new theater just got a fancy new screen, so that's on our list to check out.   I want to go to one of the museums as well, just have to decide between science and art.  

We had a nice day at the park yesterday.   Laila even had Grammy sliding on the slides.   They were both worn out last night.  It's so fun to watch them together.  

Stampin' Up! Indescribable Gift

It's Wednesday and time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   Jen T. is our hostess this week and she definitely challenged the team.   I am amazed at what everyone came up with, so now I'm really looking forward to the gallery!  

I'm a bit obsessed with coloring this image lately, so hopefully you aren't getting sick of seeing it.  Such a gorgeous flower stamp.   If you haven't purchased it yet, do it!   

My mom made it around dinner time yesterday and they are already having a blast.  :)   It's so fun to see.   

Happy Easter Flowers

Can you believe it's almost Easter?!   I wanted to get a few cards out in the mail tomorrow, so I'm trying to stamp up a few today.   I love this stamp set so much and it has been given my Copics quite a workout!   I found these funky rectangle dies in a box I had put away and thought they might be fun to use.   It's always fun to rediscover things you haven't seen in years.  lol

I'll be entering this in the MarkerPOP Easter challenge and the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.  :)

Now I'm off to rest and read for just a bit while Laila finishes her quiet time.   I'm worn out and there's still laundry to fold and dinner to cook.   Yawn!   Good thing I planned an easy dinner night, huh? 

Monday Inspiration from Prickley Pear

It's Monday.   Yay?  No?   It's time for some Prickley Pear inspiration, so hopefully that makes it a little better.  :)   I went super simple with my card to show off these crazy birds.  This weekend I felt like the one on the bottom, but my mom is coming tomorrow.  I'm feeling like the purple one today!  Shooting for the blue one tomorrow.    lol

Stamps: EE0207 Rockin Robin, JJ0090 Stacked Robins

I am off to finish up some cleaning!  Check out the blog for more inspiration.

Two Paper Divas Inspiration

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this one or not, but I'm going to go ahead and put it out there.   I love this stamp from Two Paper Divas (called End of Your Rope) and have so many ideas to use it.  When I sat down to work on one idea, I found that I didn't have the supplies to do what I had envisioned.   I tried, but I don't think my card does this amazing sentiment justice.  You'll be seeing it again once I pick up some better "rope" to really get my idea working.  :)

I hope your weekend is going well. We are working around the house preparing for my mom to get here on Tuesday.  We are all excited, but there's lots to do before then!  Laila wants to help do EVERYTHING right now and that makes it all take way longer. She actually went to lay on her playroom floor and cry today when I wouldn't let her do the dishes.  Crazy!  One day she'll be crying because she HAS to do them.   We've been letting her, but she waited until I was down to the heavy pots and pans to ask today.

I'm also struggling a bit mentally again.  I had went to seeing my counselor every three weeks, but I think I'm going to go back to every two.  I need the support right now.   Laila will be going to Mother's Day Out for two days a week this Fall, so I am hoping that having that little break each week will help my sanity and allow me to catch up with all that I feel I'm always behind on.   So like the stamp says, I'm trying to tie a knot and hang on!

I'll see you back tomorrow with some stamping I'm doing with my club ladies.  We are having an informal meet up to just work on whatever, but I did figure out a project or two I wanted to share with them.

Laila had a blast with edamame this week.   (and you can see the stool that she drags around the kitchen to 'help' there in the background.)  lol   Grammy doesn't know what she's in for this trip! 

PPRS Inlaid Die Cut Tutorial

Today I want to share a tutorial for inlaid die cuts.   If you mail a lot of cards, this can come in handy because it will decrease the bulk of your card while also creating a really cool look!  You'll need at least one die, but you can layer multiples if you like.

Supplies:
Die Cut
Die Cutting Machine
Adhesive
Card stock
Stamps/Embellishments to finish the card

For this technique, you need to have an idea of what you want your finished card to look like so that you cut your paper correctly.  I wanted to recreate a card I'd made before, so that part was quick for me.  When you are starting from scratch, it might take a little longer.  The first step here was to cut the die cut from the colored card stock and then cut my base and layer.  I used watercolor paper for my second layer; with intricate dies like this beautiful Circular Pendant, the heavier paper seems to make this technique easier. 

Now you need to decide where you want your die cut on the second layer and lay down the die.  I used a bit of Post-It tape to keep it where I wanted it and then ran it through my Big Shot.

At this point I have my base, the watercolor paper layer with the die cut out, and the extra die cut that I did in the first step.   I also have the little pieces left from cutting the die from the watercolor paper.  You want to save those as you'll use them to fill back in.

There are a lot of options for this step, but for me the easiest way is to cover a piece of copy paper with some adhesive and add it behind the watercolor paper layer.  I then added the purple die cut and the little pieces of watercolor paper.  

And here's the result.  The die cut is completely inlaid in the watercolor paper!   Less bulk, less weight and kind of a wow! 

I stamped and cut out one of the cute circles from Circle Sets-Sentiments and added a sentiment from that same set.  A bit of ribbon and I have a cute, simple card that I can quickly mail off to a friend. 

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and I hope you'll give it a try.  

Freshly Made Bunny

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!    The super sweet and talented Amy is our hostess this week.  I love the sketch she gave us.  The design team really came up with some fabulous ideas with it and I know you will as well.

Normally sketches with off-center things stress me out, but I enjoyed this one.   I think I've moved on to being stressed by tilted layers instead.  lol  

So much crazy in this one.