Cuttlebug Challenge: "Sweets for my Sweet"

{heart} you!

Good morning girls!! I'm sooo thrilled you've stopped by today! Are you having fun hopping around? You should have reached me today from Meda's blog. Isn't she amazingly talented!?! If that's not how you arrived here, go to the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to get started - it's important that you go in order for this hop! Aren't all the sweets just so yummy?


I wanted to make a little treat holder for all the workers at my little man's Mother's Day Out. They are the sweetest bunch of ladies and I am so grateful that he has a loving, Christian environment to go to. It's good for him to socialize with other kids and it's a really great break for me!

I just wanted to show you what I use to score sometimes. I do own a Scor-Pal but before I got it this is what I used. I still reach for it a lot when I don't want to drag out the big Scor-Pal. I just took the guard off my old Fiskars paper cutter when I got my new Cutterpede for cutting.

1. For my treat holder, I used a 3 1/8 x 6 1/4 inch piece of textured cardstock.

2. Score at 2 5/8 and 3 5/8.

3. I used my hearts embossing folder to add depth and dimension to the front. You can see how I

lined it up in my folder so that only the front panel was embossed.

4. After embossing the front, I sprayed it with Pearl Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) and

allowed it to dry.

5. Add Whisper White Craft Ink (SU!) to the front, using the Direct-to-Paper method to

highlight the raised areas.

6. Adhere 3 Hershey's Kisses to the inside using glue dots.

7. Use Terrifically Tacky Tape to close the top of the treat holder.

8. For the flower, ink the bottom of the Swiss Dots folder with Riding Hood Red Classic Ink

(SU!).

9. Place flowers inside folder and run through the Cuttlebug so that the logo faces down.
10. Stamp or handwrite sentiment on Pink Pirouette cardstock (SU!) and punch out using the

Word Window punch (SU!)

11. Attach heart shaped gemstone to tag. Adhere flower to tag and place a gemstone over the

center.

12. Take about 12" of Whisper White Taffeta ribbon (SU!) and wrap around top of treat holder.

Secure off the edge using white embroidery floss.

13. Adhere flower and sentiment as shown.

Thanks for stopping by today (you know I love it when you do)! You are off now to BettyBee's blog - have fun!! Before you go, don't forget your next word for the quote! My word for you is "WITH". You'll end up with a really neat quote by the time you are done. {you'll get the author's name too! 22 words in all} If you get stuck and need a hint, you can get one at Eva's blog!

Email your completed quote to cuttlebugcontest@gmail.com A random winner will be chosen to win the awesome prize below from our sponsors: K & Co, Marvy Uchida, and Krylon plus some other goodies.

As a bonus, check out Sue's blog to find out how you could win your choice of a Stampin Up set ($25 value).

Don't forget to visit the Cuttlebug Challenge blog often throughout the weekend for all the projects/tutorials/spotlights/giveaways!

200th Post

Wow! 200 posts - that's amazing! And hubby didn't think I'd stick with this! I think it's pretty cool that coincides with a new award I got from a fellow team member from The Cuttlebug Challenge - BettyBee

It's the Lemonade Award and I hadn't seen it before she gave it to me. But what an awesome one to get and it really touched my heart! You see, it it to recognize someone who shows a great attitude or gratitude. Awww - thanks girl! I know that each of you that visit certainly lift me up and I hope I do the same for you! I'm supposed to share this with 5 other bloggers and it can be sooo hard to narrow the list, can't it? I hate the thought that I'm leaving someone out and that you might think I don't appreciate you if I don't name you. {maybe that's why so many girls don't "do" awards anymore}. I do {do} them though, because I think it's so important that we lift each other up, we encourage each other, we let other people know how great I think YOU are!! So today, I'm going to pass this along to 5 new girls that I adore and appreciate. I hope you'll stop by their blog if they aren't on your regular "rounds" and see what they've been up to!!

1. Heather - Heather's Heavenly Stamptations - such a sweet girl. I'm just barely getting to know her but she is friends with lots of my friends and has such a sweet, kind spirit. Her comments are always so thoughtful and heartfelt - and I am just blessed beyond words that she's started bestowing them on me too! Plus, she's a Kansas girl, and they rock!!

2. Vicki - Stamped Smiles - so talented and always has a kind, encouraging word for me. Thanks Vicki! And I know I haven't been by all week - I'm so behind, but I will be soon and I'll get all caught up!

3. Sandra - Paper Funtastics - so talented and so funny! Her comments always make me smile - and usually make me float too!

4. Janna - Stamps, Paper, Glitter - OH My! - I knew I would like Janna when I read her blog title. I mean, she digs glitter? Come on - gotta love any girl that loves glitter!! She has the soul of an angel and always an encouraging word for me.

5. Jami - Stamp Happy with Sgt Stamper - so amazingly talented. She was one of the first people to follow my blog and I was so flattered. Over time, we've gotten to know each other better. She always knows just what to say to cheer me up! If you've never been to her blog, go check it out as this week she's previewing some of her NEW stamps that SHE DESIGNED for 2RedBananas. In fact, I won the very first one and it arrived today. I can't wait to play with it!!

Each of these girls are super talented and to know that they think I'm talented too - it does my spirit good! I hope each of you know that your belief in me is a boost every single day! Please feel free to post on your blog or your sidebar. Or not all. Pass it on. Or don't. The important thing to me is that you know that I love you and appreciate you.

Lots of other things going on too! Like the Luv Bug Event!! Starts tomorrow at 7 am EST on the Cuttlebug Challenge. You'll be collecting a WORD at each blog along the way while seeing lots of "sweet" ideas. Each word forms a quote (author's name included) and there is an awesome prize being given away. In fact, I know that you have 2 chances to win!

First is this awesome prize being given away for the blog hop on the Cuttlebug Challenge site.

The photo above is just for the blog hop - there are OTHER PRIZES too!

The second prize is by one of the design team girls and I hear it involved your choice of a Stampin Up Set -so be sure to watch for that as you are hopping around tomorrow!!

Speaking of the Luv Bug Event, there will be projects and spotlights and all kinds of things Friday to Sunday! I've seen some sneaks of them and they are incredible!! Seriously. You don't want to miss it!!

Thinking of You brings me joy!

Time for my second post today! Make sure to keep scrolling to see my Cuttlebug Challenge card - I love how it turned out!! Now, Thinking of YOU brings me joy everyday! It does! I'm so thankful for each of you that stops by my little corner of blogland! Your friendship and encouragement means so much to me! If I could send this to each of you I would!! The Pink Papery Studios challenge this week was to channel the Power of 3: create a card using 3 of something: brads, buttons, ribbons, etc. I chose pearls (and they really are straight despite looking uneven in the photo). I chose this image from the Trafalgarssquare Line - one of my favorites. Those cute little chubby faces just hit my heart, you know? I stamped my image in Memento Brown - sometimes stamping in brown gives a softer look for an image and I really like that look much of the time over black. I colored it in using my prismacolor pencils and baby oil. I discovered a new trick last night - at least for me, but I don't think I've ever seen it referenced anywhere. For the bubbles, I wanted a soft, soft blue, so I just scribbled the turquoise I used on the cup on a scrap piece of paper and picked up my color from there - kinda like using an aquapainter brush. Love how it turned out. I painted the dress, the teacup and the bubbles with some Pixie Shimmer It paint. I think you can just see how it subtly sparkles. The rest of my card is crafted from some scraps on my desk. I again used a piece of kraft from another card so this one ended up being 4 1/4" square. You probably recognize the patterned paper from my card yesterday. It was headed for the trash bin but it was the perfect size scrap!

Stop by the other girls blogs today too! Kimmie (Crafting for Sanity) has blog candy up for grabs today! We'd also love to see YOUR card that shows the Power of 3! You don't have to use a PPS image if you don't have one. Be sure to stop by the group over on PCP and let us know where to find your creation!

Crafting for Sanity
Diva For A Day
Glitter In My Hair
Jaspere's Little Corner
Pixie Dreams
Simply Sista's & Card Scents...
So Cal LinZ

And don't forget that this coming weekend kicks off the Cuttlebug Challenge LUV BUG EVENT!! It is going to be jam packed with awesome projects featuring step-by-step tutorials and PRIZES!! On my - we got the list the other day and WOWZA!! You don't want to miss it! It all starts on Friday with a Blog Hop! You can see more details over on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog!

And finally, but certainly not least, is I wanted to shout out that Danni asked me to be part of her Flutter By Wednesday's group. Danni loves butterflies and so every Wednesday she creates a card that has a butterfly on it. When she emailed me yesterday asking me to join I was just speechless! And sooo honored!! So starting next week I'll have another treat for you on Wednesday! Be sure to visit her blog Danni's Dreams to see what she and the rest of the team came up with for this week!

Oh - and one last thing - PROMISE!! I don't know how many of you click onto my blog each day, but at the beginning of the year I added a "mommy" widget and it updates everyday with a little thought on being a good mommy. My little man was the best surprise I ever got! Turns out he is exaclty what I never knew I wanted --- and so, I want to be the best mommy for him. Anyway, {HEART} the one that popped up today! Here it is: Take opportunities to hug your children often, to hold their hands, or to rest an assuring hand on their shoulder. Oh, yes, I want my child(ren) to always know how much I love him and affection is a great way to convey that! And I so treasure all the moments right now when he asks to sit in my lap or rock the baby and holds my hand. If you have little ones I hope you have that moment today and if yours are grown and beyond the holding stage, my the memory give you a special boost today!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired Challenge 16: Distressing

Happy Wednesday Girls!! I hope today finds you healthy, happy and warm!! Today is another Be Inspired challenge over at the Cuttlebug Challenge blog. We were asked to make a distressed card! Well, those of you who read me regularly know I've been on a real "distressing" kick lately!!

I decided to make a card for my hubby for Valentine's Day next week. I'm so ahead of the game - yea me!! I also wanted to do something other than distress my edges. So I took an empty oatmeal box and painted it with some red metallic acrylic paint. After it dried, I ran it through my cuttlebug with the Heart Blocks embossing folder. I've never been a huge fan of hearts, but have really been digging them more and more lately! Then I took a sanding block and lightly sanded, to remove the paint on the raised portions; love how some of the kraft shows through in parts and how the paint loses it's metallic finish in others. I did distress the edges but decided I liked the crisp, clean sides better so I cut all that off. the hammer (Museum of Modern Rubber) is stamped in Chocolate Chip on my Kraft paper and trimmed out. I just hand wrote the sentiment, trimmed it and used a corner punch for the end. The hammer and the heart panel are popped up on dimensionals. This card is done. I think my hubby will get a kick out of it!

Now, be sure to stop by the rest of the girls blogs and see what they came up with! This team is full of the most amazing girls who do the most incredible things!! Follow the blog or add it to your reader - do something because you DO NOT want to miss a single post!



Mark you calendars for the Luv Bug weekend! You do not want to miss it!
We have the most exciting projects planned and a really fun blog hop too! Tons of inspiration plus some prizes!! It's the place to be this weekend!!



I'm so glad you stopped by today! I can't wait to see how you add distressing to your card this week. Be sure to link it up over at Cuttlebug Challenge so I can check it out! I'll have another post for today as well so don't hop away too far!!

A Twinkle for You!

Happy Tuesday girls! I hope you are warm wherever you are. Winter arrived yesterday here with a vengeance! A little bit of snow, which quickly froze into slick ice. Still bitterly cold today too. I'm so happy that the little man and I are able to hang out here at home!

It's Tuesday and time for another of Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday sketches. She's only 8 but already so talented. Every week she gives us a sketch and this week was a doozy! I've had it for days, but blocked it out of my mind as I was totally flummoxed by the 3 main panels.

When I finally sat down at my stamp desk this morning, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I considered a baby card since they are my favorite to make. Then I remembered that I had picked up a piece of Basic Grey paper a few weeks ago to use sometime on a Twinkling Sketch. So I pulled that out. It's not exactly what I envisioned, but you know, I've decided that I really like it. Hopefully the little bling ties each of the elements together!! Hopefully Madelynn forgives my "liberties" that I took with her sketch. My card today is an odd size: 2 3/4 x 8 1/2. I had a piece of So Saffron left over from last weeks card still on my desk. Using it up sounded like a good thing to do!

Be sure to stop by the rest of the Twinklettes this week. I've already made the rounds this morning and they are STUNNING!! You won't find a nicer bunch of girls around in blogland!! And they are super talented to boot! We also have 2 new Twinklettes this week: Jacquie and Kim! Welcome girls!!

Bonnie Sharp
Christi Thorsen
Danni Bindel
Debbie Lee
Jacquie Peifer
Jami Bova
Janna Hull
Jennifer Greco
Jessica Diedrich
Kim
Kimmie Doktor
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra McLean
Taylor Usry

We'd love for you to play along too! Use the keyword MTTSC7 when you upload at PCP or SCS so we can view your creation! Feel free to come join our group over on PCP too - we're a chatty bunch and would love to have you join us!!

Thanks for coming by today! I love it when you come to visit. Your sweet comments are a bright spot in my day!! I can't wait for you to see my Cuttlebug Challenge card tomorrow - I so totally love how it turned out!! I'll also have my Pink Papery Studios card too.

Have a beautiful day!!

Shoe Collection? Obsession? Affinity?

I have a serious affinity for shoes*. Cute shoes, sexy shoes, comfy shoes. I joined a Shoe Fetish ATC swap over on SCS. When I signed up I wanted to use my marabou shoe stamp. I can't find it. So I had to re-think my plan. I recently got that polka dotted paper (I totally love polka dots!!) and it makes me think of all things vintage and retro. So I wanted to use it for this project! And red goes so beautifully with cream and black. And I have 2 pairs of red shoes that give me an extra spring in my step when I wear them. I feel incredibly trendy in one pair and totally sexy in the other. If I had red polka dot shoes I'd probably swoon!!

Of course I had to dry emboss the base layer. I used my Swiss Dots cbug folder and then ran my craft white ink pad over them to really make them pop! By this point, I decided to just get carried away with the polka dots. I used a stamp to give my flowers some polka dots and a little touch of ribbon. This is just one of the shoes that I cut out for my ATCs. There was a whole row of 5 all lined up! I just picked my favorite one!! A little torn edge, some inking and overstamping for a slight distressed look! And yes, if I saw a pair of shoes like this I would totally buy them!! ** I hope the rest of the girls in the swap enjoy this ATC as much as I enjoyed making it! I can't wait to see what I get back!!

**Assuming that it came in a size 11. Yes, that's my shoe size. Causes me much grief and angst often I can tell you. I can still clearly see a fabulous pair of shoes that I wanted to buy a few years ago in Chicago. They only went up to a size 10. And trust me, I've tried to wear a 10 - but it's not pretty - so I don't do that anymore! Why, oh why, don't the shoe manufacturers realize that girls with big feet like pretty shoes too? And that we don't all have wide feet? Or want 4" stiletto heels?

*I got a kick out of everyone's comments regarding the various "collections" in my stamp room. I also have a serious shoe collection going on. When I was teaching, it didn't seem to be a problem but now that I'm a work-at-home-mom who lives in bare feet (yes, I prefer to be barefooted in my home) and flip flops these days it seems a little ridiculous. I have gone through them and gotten rid of lots of pairs. But I still have tons. And can't quite bring myself to get rid of them yet. I'm looking for new storage solutions for my vast collection - I'd love to hear how you store your shoes!!

Distressed Edges

I had several comments regarding my distressed edges you've been seeing a lot of lately. I thought I would show you what I use to create them 99% of the time. I use one by Heidi Swapp but I know that there are others out there as well. Tim Holtz has one and Stampin Up has one as well. I bet there are others but these are the 3 that I'm aware of.

I just hold my paper in one hand and the distresser in the other, pulling quickly along the edges. You do want to make sure that you pull in the same direction on all edges so that it looks the same. Or not if you want to shake it up a bit. I like that I get really rough yet soft edges with this tool. OH - and try to do it over your trash can or you'll have paper fuzz everywhere!! LOL!! You can get a much less distressed look if you use your fingernail or if you don't pull as hard on the tool. Sometimes I go over an area again to "tear" the paper slightly so it'll fold up in spots.

Anyway, hope that answers the questions that some of you had!! Hope you have a beautiful Friday planned!!

Do You Know Me?

It's a new year for my local stamp group. Every month we meet and swap ATC's. It's hard to believe that I've been back meeting with them for a year. A year ago was my first month back that we made ATC's. It was a "bag swap" - we each brought a bag of goodies and had 2 hours (really less) to make 12 ATC's to swap that night. What an introduction, huh? I remember that I totally hated what I created. It was such a struggle to go from making a card to an itty bitty ATC. Now, I love making them. I don't usually make them except for club, but that's okay. You may remember THIS CARD where I mentioned that I used scraps to create my background panel. This is the ATC that I designed resulting in all those scraps. I used Fresh Cuts again, a wonderful set in my opinion. I think the image is "technically" upside down on my ATC but you can't really tell and I think that's pretty cool! I also used Cameo Coral and Basic Gray as my color combo and fell in love with it!! My base is embossed with the cbug Divine Swirls folder**.

Since it was a new year, we needed new challenges for our ATC group. I suggested a "secret" kind of swap so we all hid our creations in an envelope. Our fearless leader pulled out one and numbered them all. Then we passed them around and tried to guess who's was who. I think everyone knew this was mine. That's because I played by the rules and made an ATC like I normally would. Some of the gals thought the idea was to "trick" us so they made cards that were not their usual style. It was a ton of fun!!! And one that I hope we repeat at some point in the future. **I think it was my embossed base that gave me away. Or it might have been the use of dimensionals. Or the ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by today!! I hope you have a beautiful one! Hubby is off today so we will be spending some quality family time together!!

Another Blog Award

Taylor from Musings of an Addict gave me the sweetest award on Sunday. It just really touched my heart and gave me that warm, cozy feeling all day - really, all week! And that's a priceless feeling! Taylor is one of my new friends that I've been blessed with. We are both on Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday team and I am so thankful to God for bringing her and the rest of the Twinklette's into my life. While I treasure this award, what is really priceless to me is the friendship that it symbolizes!

Here are the guidelines for receiving this award:
Rules of this award:
1. Add the logo to your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received this award.
3. Nominate 7 or more blogs.
4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they are “One Lovely Blog”

I could go on and on with the nominations, but the time just isn't there so I'm sharing some MORE of my favorites with you!

1. Kimmie at Crafting for Sanity - this gal does it all I tell you! She has been such an encouragement to me over the last several months. Yesterday was a great day for her - stop by her blog and leave her some "blog fives" - that's a new term I'm coining, by the way. It's like a high five, but you'd look silly hitting your monitor, so it's all mental and verbal!!!

2. Danni at Danni's Dreams - another girl that gets tons done. She is also a super encourager and is really, really good about helping people out. Word in cyberspace is that there is a big announcement coming Monday from her. I'm jittery with excitement and anticipation!! Be sure to stop by her blog today - she has her first tutorial; let her know how good she did!

3. Dawn at Daily Scrappin Inspiration - She's one of my SBS3 sisters and I love her blog b/c she posts lots of scrapbook layouts. It's funny to me that I was in first introduced to stamping b/c I wanted to get some SU scrapbook paper for free. I am soooo NOT a scrapper. I try, but it really just gives me a mental block! So I love all the inspiration from her and have tons of her layout posts starred in my reader to case - at some point when I sit down and scrap! LOL!! She's also starting a sketch blog, which you can find HERE.

4. Cindy at Stamps, Paper, and Ink - she's one of my must reads every day! She creates the most gorgeous of cards and is sooo helpful!! She's also organizing a buy for those new yummy SU buttons. I'm going to have to get into that I think!!

5. Kim at Scrapping on the Edge - a recent discovery from checking out the Cuttlebug Challenge participants. Oh she makes the most yummy,scrummy stuff! If you love that collage-y, vintage-y, layered-y look then you'll {heart} her.

6. Creative Journey - I don't know her name as she is another CC find this week. She had one of my favorite cards from the week and her style is more of that layered, lace, flower, yummy goodness!

7. Danni at DannisDoodles - I first discovered her on ebay and was so excited when she started her blog! Her blog always uplifts me every day and is another on my must read list!!

8. Suzanne at One Busy Mom - she's on of my "local" friends and when I get to see her it's always like a ray of sunshine! Suzanne - you looked so beautiful the other night! I'm sorry I couldn't give you more attention...but we'll get together soon!

9. Tara at Our Life Through My Eyes - another local friend and owner of my LSS. She's got a great sense of humor (we both tend to be sarcastic so I love that she "gets me") and always makes me smile! And I have to nominate someone who loves Dr Pepper as much as I do!!

10. Jessica at The Whimsical Butterfly - this girl is a super sweetie!! I can't think of her without smiling and am thankful for all the lifting of my spirits she does. Due to her fabulous artistic talents I have fallen in love with Anya -- and Jess is the Club Anya VP - a new blog debuting Feb 2nd Can't wait!!

11. Nikki at Project: Domestic Bliss - another recent discovery. She's one of those girls who is homemaker extraordinaire. And since I tend to be lacking in this arena at times, I love reading her blog. Inspires me to be better and enjoy the fact that I have laundry to fold. KWIM? It hasn't rubbed off yet, but I figure it's bound to. My mom always told me that who you surround yourself with rubs off on you ---- so ---- that's what I'm hoping for, some uber homemaker skills to cosmically transfer to me!

Okay, I'm forcing myself to stop. I could keep going as there are sooo many blogs that I enjoy visiting. I'd love to add yours to the list, so if you tend to just lurk, leave a comment!!

AND Have A BeautifuL Day!!

Catch a Falling Star

Hi again! How is your day shaping up? I have had a great day! Spent some time at Hobby Lobby and Michael's this morning and scored some good deals. Bought more ribbon; really don't NEED any more ribbon, but this ribbon was just begging to be taken home with me, where it would be loved and cherished!

This week's Pink Papery Studios challenge was to use flowers. Even though it is the middle of winter, I think we (meaning those of you in the frigid, snowy parts of the country as it is gorgeous here where I'm at) are all anxious for spring to be here. I used the sketch from SCS for today, although I modified it quite a bit. Be sure to stop by the rest of the girls and see what they've created. I've also gotten some sneaks at their cards for today and they are BeautifuL!!

Crafting for Sanity
Diva For A Day
Glitter In My Hair
Jaspere's Little Corner
Pixie Dreams
Simply Sista's & Card Scents...
So Cal LinZ

Enjoy the rest of your day. I am finished with my "have-to" cards for the moment so I think I'll be spending the next few days trying to finish my stamp space. I do have some projects I haven't shared yet that are scheduled to post throughout the rest of this week. I'll also be visiting each of you, so take a moment to say "hi!".
Have a beautiful day girls!!

Valentine Butterflies

Hey girls! It's Wednesday and time for another Be Inspired challenge. #15 this week was to use a sketch provided by our very special GUEST. Make sure you stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge blog to see who it is find out the prize (well, I'll tell you the prize - PAGEMAPS by Becky Fleck) isn't that awesome? I've also gotten to see sneak peaks of the rest of the teams cards and they are SMOKIN' HOT!!

I really struggled with this sketch - I should've asked Janna for some sketch vibes to help me out. It wasn't until I just HAD TO GET IT DONE that it finally came together. I punched out several circles in variety of papers and then ran them through some of my favorite folders. The butterflys are from the die cut/embossing duo set. I am in total love with them!! I used them as my three focal points and then added some flowers, buttons and pearls.

This sketch is so outside of my comfort zone. It's very edgy, graphic and trendy. I wanted to put a little sweet, soft touch on it and I hope I achieved that! Thanks for stopping by today! I'll have another post later today so don't forget to check back this afternoon! And then tomorrow I have an award to post. I'm so honored to have received it that I didn't want to bury it in my dt work...I wanted it to have a post of its very own!

Twinkle Tuesday's Rose is Just So Sweet

Are you twinkling today? No, well, get your shine on girls! Yes, AWESOME!! The sketch that Madelynn provided this week is Divine!! I love it and will totally refer to it over and over again. Can you believe she is only 8?? And she comes up with these all on her own. I know Jessica loves having her close by, sketching away as she stamps in the evening.

I started my card about 4 times before I finally settled on my color scheme and stamp. I just love this bella rose image. I don't tend to gravitate to yellow as it is a color I think looks horrible on me so I just don't use it much. However, I think So Saffron is such a pretty, soft yellow. And I love it paired with the Baja Breeze. I have a few more images of this rose in these colors already stamped, so don't be surprised if you see something similar turn up in the next week or so here on the blog.

I love how collag-y (is that a word? it is now!) this card is. It's always amazing to me how just overstamping an image can completely change the feel of a card. This might be my NEW Favorite.Card.Ever.

I do hope you'll join us this week. Be sure to link up your card over on Jessica's blog so we can all take a peek. And then come check us out on PCP...HERE. All the Twinklette's are just the best bunch of women out there. I am so incredibly blessed to have met them and now to call them friends. We chat almost - well, every day over there and we'd love to have you jump in!
Be sure to make the rounds to the rest of the blogs as well! Danni is the featured stamper this week and boy, is her card CUTE!!

Bonnie Sharp

Cassie Larson

Christi Thorsen

Danni Bindel

Debbie Lee

Jami Bova

Janna Hull

Jennifer Greco

Jessica Diedrich

Kimmie Doktor

Rebecca Ednie

Sandra McLean

Taylor Usry

And finally, I wanted to share something I am so excited about! I was blurfing around one day and saw children's books stored in rain gutters. I immediately thought it might work for my stamps. Hubby took me to Lowe's on Saturday, bought them and put them up on Sunday for me. We of course made the most AWESOME race track/ramp with them first off the couch and the little man thought it was the coolest thing ever. He was very confused after nap time though when the "tracks" just didn't work the same!

I am finally working on getting some of my much beloved stamps out of boxes and up where I can see them. I just won't dig to the bottom of a box for a stamp. While I am planning on unmounting many of my stamps, there are some that I just can't do that to. My PSX, Postmodern Design, all those great companies that are no more. It's so sad. Anyway, perhaps this might help some of you. I figure I could fit 4 more sections of gutters on this wall; hubby told me not to use that as an excuse to buy more stamps. WHAT???!?!?!? He doesn't even know what he's saying!!!

P.S. I know they aren't full - but I've only unpacked half a box. The other half I'll umount and there are another 3, maybe 4 boxes to go.

The Big Drawing

I am sorry I didn't post this last night. I really should've thought about what my Thursday looked like. I hosted Keno at my house last night and after the last gal left at 9:30 it was time to pick up, give the little man a quick kiss and put him to bed, pay bills and then of course, we wanted to watch The Office. We watched Bush's farewell address, fast forwarded through Earl and then....NOTHING! I guess the recorder was set up wrong so I still don't know what happened. Maybe we'll watch it online when hubby comes home for lunch later. After that, he wanted to go to bed early and when I remembered about drawing, he was snoozing away and none of the puppies were any help either.

So as soon as we finished eating breakfast it was time for Sesame Street and our drawing. I got all the slips ready and had the little man draw one.

I asked my little guy to draw "just one". He wanted all of you to win apparently as he took a whole handful!

And finally, "just one".

The winner! I'll get this out either today or tomorrow Valerie!
I hope each of you has a beautiful day! The little man and I are going to get dressed and go play for a bit. I'll be back visiting each of you later in the day!

Thanks to all who entered; it was so nice to see some familiar faces and some new faces.

You're an Angel

Hi again! It's Wednesday so that means it's time for another Pink Papery Studios challenge. This week Kimmie issues our challenge - to alter something! Oh - what a good idea!! Amy, the owner of PPS, gave us some new images to use this month. I think this angel food cake is darling!! It's such a clever idea! And there is a matching Devil's Food Cake to go with it. They are part of the Whimsy Studios collection.

I originally had another idea that used an actual angel food cake container. But I need a Big Bite Crop A Dile to make it work like I envisioned. Don't you know that the year I finally decided I needed one and requested it for Christmas is when they announce 1 month later they are coming out with the Big Bite. I haven't made the plunge yet on that tool. But hey, I collect tools too so it probably won't be long! LOL

I switched gears and used an empty peanut butter container instead. Just simple paper decorations where the label used to be. I colored my angel cake with my prismacolor pencils and used my blending pencil to smooth it out and add shading. One tip: this is a digi image I have and the ink can smear even with the pencils. Don't you LOVE the cake stand? Who could resist a pink polka dotted cake stand? I know I couldn't!!

I recommend using images that you've printed on a toner machine instead of an ink jet machine as you don't have to worry about the smearing then. I painted some Shimmer It on her wings and lacy edging, cut her out and popped her up with dimensionals. A quick ribbon treatment with layered buttons hid the red lid that did not match my color scheme. Here's another tip: lots of red sticky tape to hold these layers in place!

Now, be sure to stop by the other girls blogs today too! I've seen some of the creations on the DT blog and they are too, too cute!! Links are over in my sidebar!!

ETA: Testing adding links

Crafting for Sanity
Diva For A Day
Glitter In My Hair
Jaspere's Little Corner
Musings of an Addict
Pixie Dreams
Simply Sista's & Card Scents...
So Cal LinZ
Stamp Happy!
The Best in Life...
The Whimsical Butterfly

If you've read this far, you deserve a treat!! Lori is the illustrator of the Whimsy Studios collection. Stop by her blog as she has blog candy to giveaway - and it's stamps!! Cool thing is there are 3 - yes 3 - winners that she'll be giving prizes too! And don't forget that I also have a sweet treat to giveaway - see THIS POST!

SWISS DOTS ROCK!

Hey girls! Today will be a multi-post day, so just get ready! First, I want to say thanks for the sweet comments you sent me way regarding my Fabulous post. I truly treasure each one of you that take the time to stop by my blog. And if you didn't make the list, I hope you know that I think you are Fabulous too!

I'm excited to be able to share this sweet little card with you. My first "official" assignment on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog isn't until next week, but we were invited to play along this week if we wanted. My cbug (that's my name for my cuttlebug machine {gosh, did that just sound like Rachel Ray or what? evoo??} has had a lot of love lately. For the past few weeks, he's been under my desk, super handy - much more convenient than 2 feet away on a shelf. Some days I am able to stamp in little snippets of the day and when that happens, my little man always finds me. He loves to help me turn the crank and then he'll sit there forever (at least in 2 year old time) and try to put the plates in and out and around.

This week's challenge, Cuttlebug Be Inspired #14, was to use your favorite embossing folder. Normally I have a hard time picking a favorite - it's so final you know, and what about the other ones, I don't want them to feel less important. But this was an easy, no-brainer decision. I made it in .009 seconds. SWISS DOTS!! Hands down my favorite folder. It's so versatile! Last weeks challenge was to make an all-white card and I wanted to combine that one with this weeks.

I created my card leaving the un-embossed section by only running my folder part-way through my machine. The score lines were added with my Scor-Pal and the star was embossed and cut out. I hand wrote my sentiment and added a button for an accent. I love. LOVE how this card turned out. It looks incredible done all in white. Please check out the rest of the team too - you can find all the links in my sidebar!

Also, don't forget my sweet treat on THIS POST. I've really been enjoying your responses - ya'll have some good eyes!! I bet your mom made you eat your carrots when you were younger! Aren't you glad you did now? You have until Thursday night to enter!!

Don't go too far as I'll have my Pink Papery Studios challenge to post today as well. And I might even get my Twinkling Tuesday sketch challenge posted. It should've been up today but well, it's not!

Stamping and Fabulous?

I'm not a big Sex and the City watcher but I've seen one episode several times where Carrie's bit is all about a "Single and Fabulous" article - is it a question mark or an exclamation mark?

Imagine my delight to have a stamper that I have only recently discovered, but really admire, think I'M FABULOUS! Or at least my blog! And since every creation I make has a part of me in it....then I'm Fabulous?

I'm Fabulous!

You know what, so are you!!! Anyway, here's the award Sandra gave me. I don't know who designed this, but it is SOOOO my style!

First I have to name 5 things I'm addicted to! Hmmm - how to narrow the list down?

1. Dr. Pepper - preferably with really good soft, ice. Sonic is probably the best. And if you don't have Sonic where you live, then I feel really, really sorry for you.

2. Ribbon/Lace - you can't really see it in the picture I posted, but it's there. Lots and lots of it. And I always want more. And I always debate if I should use it when there is just a little left - I might need it later. Definitely something to work on

3. Hugs from my little man. Who just went and got his "laughtop" and is working beside me. Today's letter is M!! M!! M!! M!!

4. Ice Cream - what a glorious invention! I'd eat it every single day if I had a wonderful metabolism and/or didn't care of the repurcussions.

5. Blue Cheese stuffed olives. Wonderful!! Sometimes the grocery budget allows for them and sometimes not. But when it does, what a treat!! (I know, most of you are probably gasping - wondering where is the chocolate? But if you've been a reader for awhile, you know I'm not a big chocolate fan.

(hey did you know today's letter is M!!)

(you moms who have had a 2 year old totally get it))

Now, I get to pass on the FABULOUS award! This is tough because so many bloggers I know are choosing to no longer participate in these. So I'm passing it along and you can choose to play or not; I just want you to know I think you are FABULOUS (exclamation point!!!) I'm also going to try to pass it on to some new blogs to me that I think are wonderful and you should check out.

1. Eva - For the love of life super sweet and she makes the most beautiful, romantic projects. You have no idea how excited I am to be able to work with her on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog.

2. Jennifer - Glitter in my Hair such a sweet girl. Be sure to check out her Anya card on 1-12-09

3. Whitney - The King and I I found this blog through the NieNie Dialogues (they are re-posting reader's choices and I don't click on the link to the reader blog, but some reason I did when Whitney had her request up - totally believe it was a prompting from God - don't you love when he gives you little presents like that); it's not a stamping blog but i enjoy reading it. she is really hilarious and i always leave with a smile. Go check it out!!

4. Mikki - mik inks I just found this blog a few days ago. I decided to visit her blog after seeing the page she uploaded at SCS for the His Holy Name 2009 challenge. She's fabulously talented and I quickly added her to my favorites!

5. Elaine - Elaine's Creations oneof my SBS3 sisters; she is another one of my favorite SU demonstrators. All or almost all SU product that she uses to create wonderful cards and projects!

ETA: here's a sneak into my front bathroom - it's also the little man's bathroom which makes for a very interesting aesthetic!

The towels were the start of this bathroom. They were a gift from one of my lia sophia managers. LOOOOVE them! And no, they don't get used, they just get admired!!

Organization

Several years ago I hired a professional organizer to help me organize my office so my lia sophia business would run smoother. She was expensive but worth EVERY PENNY! When I hired her, I thought that being organized meant that things had a "BeautifuL" place and it looked like those magazine photos (or some craft rooms I drool over) and was perfectly neat. What I learned is that being organized has nothing to do with how it "looks"; it's all about being able to FIND STUFF! I also learned a lot about myself and how I work - I won't bore you with those details but one of the best tips I can share is that the things you use the most should be within easy reach - like you don't have to move very far to get it. This works GREAT in my office. Not so much at my stamp table as there is SO MUCH that I use often there's no way to have it all close! One of my to do's this week is to re-work my desk. I currently have lots of stamps right in front of me and want to switch those out for some other things. This is my desk; where the magic happens (I've always wanted to say that. Wouldn't that be a great show: Cribs: Stamper Stars). It may be messy, but since I know where things are, it's organized!!

I have great collections of lots of things (can you pick them out in the photo?). One of them happens to be stuff for my Cuttlebug. They are currently in a drawer but it's now full so I need a new solution. If you are looking for ideas on organizing all your accessories for your die cut machine, be sure to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenge today. There's an article up with lots of photo and ideas for inspiration (I'm also making a reference tag this week as I bought a duplicate folder last week - TWICE!! The one I exchanged for the duplicate also turned out to be a duplicate!)

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog sharing your system for a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to Crop Stop.

Besides my cuttlebug folders, tell me what one of my "collections" is; I'll draw one randomly and send you that duplicate embossing folder. Let's see, I'll draw on Thursday night!

Guess What!?!

I got a great bit of news earlier this week and have been dying to share it with all of you! GO HERE and see what I'll be up to for the next 6 months! We've already been chatting up a storm and making plans for some very exciting things to inspire you! Some of the sweetest, nicest, most talented girls on this team! I'm honored to be able to work with them!

Be sure to stop back by on Sunday as there will be lots of ideas on organizing all those dies and folders that you can use with the cbug as I call it!!

I probably won't be posting over the weekend. It's my little man's 2nd birthday on Sunday and we are having a family party tomorrow. My in-laws are in from out of town so we'll be hanging out with them too! I hope ya'll have a beautiful weekend!

Thankful for YOU!

This card is for each of you that stops by my blog and visits me each week. I am so truly appreciative of your friendship and support!!

I love the Live Your Dream set and had a hankering to use it this week. The layout was totally inspired by Jessica's layout that she used on last week's PPS challenge card. I'm sure I'll use it again and again! One of the NYE challenges was to create an easily mailable card - less than 3 layers and no lumpy embellishments.

1. Create standard size top-fold card base from Old Olive.

2. Cut patterned paper to size. Run narrow strip through scallop punch.

3. Color stamp with Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose markers. Overstamp lines in Going Gray. Stamp sentiment in Chocolate Chip. Mount on Chocolate Chip panel.

4. Add stickles to highlight flower centers and to mimic brads. My "brads" aren't very big...it seemed like my stickles were clogged and nothing I did enabled them to really "flow". I gave up and just used a small little bit.

Have a beautiful day girls!!

Make Music

Good morning girls!! It's time for another Pink Papery Studios challenge! This week marks our FIRST challenge of 2009 and Lindsay suggested that we use metallics as a great way to ring in the new year!

My metallic paper is the red paper. It's not a glossy finish, more matte and has a slight sparkle to it. I actually picked it up at Target in the Christmas stationary section. My chocolate chip base and the next layer as well are embossed with the music notes cuttlebug folder. Then I smeared some red glitter gloss over it. The image on the left is a new image we got from Amy. I'm not sure if it's a dress, or a slip or a cover-up. On this card, it's a little nightie. With Valentine's Day coming up I thought it would make a fun card for my hubby. {wink} The panel on the right is stamped with a music stamp in Memento Rich Cocoa? Some flowers and a handwritten tag finish it off.

Be sure to stop by all the rest of the design team's blogs too to see what they created! Several of us used the same image and OH MY!! Let me tell you, they are CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!

Jami

Jessica

Ami

Valerie

Shelly

Jennifer

Taylor

Kimmie

Janna

Amy

If you decide to play along this week, we'd love to see your creation! Link it up here so I can come check it out!

Happy Butterflies

It's Tuesday and time for another Twinkle Tuesday featuring a fabulous sketch by Madelynn!!
This week's sketch is wonderful - I think it can be interpreted in two different ways! I also looked up the Cuttlebug Challenge this week (did you know they have a whole blog devoted to using and loving your 'bug?) which was to sand your embossing. I used SU cardstock so it's really, I mean really hard to see the sanding. The color goes all the way through so it is slightly lighter IRL but I bet you can't see it here. The sentiment portion of the sketch gave me some problems. I tried several different things and it just looked 'funny'. I finally settled on just attaching them to the panel instead of "on" something like a tag, punch out, etc.... I've never been able to find those individual Making Memories letter stickers so I make my own. I guess it's more economical that way anyway! I also sponged the main image panel - I think this gives the look of another mat without the bulk. Wow - 2 ways to save money - I'll have to let hubby know that I'm working economically next time he seems surprised by the amount I spent at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc...

Be sure to check out the rest of the Twinkle Team (links over there --->) and see their take on this sketch. We all love the visits and the comments so be sure to let them know what you think!

We'd also love for you to join us this week! Link up your project over on Jessica's blog so we can all see it. You can also join us over on Paper Craft Planet; lots of chatter so come on over and join us!

Have a beautiful day girls!! Come back tomorrow for the Pink Papery Studios challenge; I've already seen several of the other gals work and they are super!!

I hope this card makes you smile. I think butterflies are such cool creatures! I can never look at one with out smiling.

Colors used: SU: Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery

Bluebird of Happiness

One of the NYE challenges on splitcoast was to create an Asian themed card. I combined it with challenge to create something using 'new' product (my first time using Pacific Point - not sure if I like it or not). I just got this stamp set in and as I was pondering what exactly to do with it, I remember a book I read long ago that talked about the bluebirds of happiness. I had also just finished reading "The Magic of Ordinary Days" (which is a great book and an even more wonderful Hallmark movie). In the book. there is descriptions of the Japanese American interns and the simple, but lovely life they lead. Asian is not really a stamping theme that I have a lot of supplies for (I have 1 stamp and wasn't interested in digging for it) so I decided to create a card that embodied the principles of Asian design: clean, graphic, nature elements and asymmetrical.

Even though this card is nothing like the cards with all the fluff, I am so proud of how it turned out!! First, for the tree, I knew I wanted some shading in it so I inked it with Close to Cocoa and then just randomly tapped my Chocolate Chip marker on it. I also used the marker and went along some of the edges of the image for shadowing. My bird (from Live Your Dream) is inked in Baja Breeze and then Pacific Point. I used the happy sentiment from Define Your life.

I hope that the Bluebirds of Happiness visit you often in this new year!! Thanks for stopping by - I love all the sweet things ya'll have had to say!! Have a beautiful week!

Some ATC's

Back before Christmas I joined a Vintage Christmas swap over on splitcoast. I do not mind mass-producing cards but a few years ago, my MIL put a pad of ATC images in my stocking that were all vintage images. I knew they would be perfect for this swap so I pulled them out. I added stickles to every image and then trimmed them and distressed them. Most of them had their base run through a cuttlebug folder for texture and I tried to use bits of lace and buttons or pearls on each one too. Once I was finished with them, they sat on my shelf for a day so I could admire them. I really loved each one and it was hard to pack them up and send them off. I hope that those who received them have enjoyed them as much as I did!