Tart and Tangy Two-fer!!

I don't think that is a word, but I despise making titles, so you get the first thing that pops in my head!! I completely forgot about the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS yesterday and wanted to participate. This weeks FS is Michelle(Sf9erfan) and she has a fabulous gallery!! I chose the first card she had posted in her gallery and changed a few things around. I started with a white base and then layered it with Real Red and some paper from the Summer Picnic DSP. The bigger circles were cut out with nesties and the smaller were cut out using my SU punches. I used markers to color the image and put some xmas red Stickles on the cherries. Instead of using the photo corners punch, I decided to use a couple of brads from the Stylized Silver Hardware from SU. The sentiment is from Sweet Serendipity and it was also colored with markers and then stamped. When I first saw this set and paper, I had to have it, so I am happy to finally get to use it a little!! Since I wanted to participate in the Technique Lover's Challenge today too, I decided to use what was already out on my table to make it. Today's challenge was a double open card(I think that's what they called it) and was super easy. Here is a link to the original, but I used the amended version that was posted with the challenge so that I could use 8 1/2x11 paper instead of 12x12. All the supplies were the same, except for the hardware. I decided to use white brads instead. That is all for me right now!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!
stamps-Sweet Serendipity and Tart&Tangy
paper-Real Red, Whisper White, Old Olive and Summer Picnic DSP
tools-markers, red striped ribbon, hardware, white brads, xmas stickles

Great Swaps Challenge

This weeks Great Swaps Girls challenge is posted over on the GSG blog and guess who this week's hostess is, ME!!!! This challenge is open to anyone who wants to play and I sure hope that you do! It may come as a surprise to some of you, and some of you definitely know better, but I am somewhat computer challenged. I don't know as much about computers as I should or need to. I wanted to do a sketch challenge for this week, because I love sketches, but I didn't know how to design and "model" of one. I was going to make a mock up with black, white and grey paper and decided to get brave and try making one in my paint program(just the standard one that comes with the computer) and I shocked even me. It is a little rough, but I did it!!

I don't think there is a whole lot to explain with this card, but what you don't really see is that there are crystal effects all over the pot, and all the flower petals are outlined with glitter pen. I used my markers and ink pads and an aquapainter to color this. Thanks for looking and don't forget to head over to the GSG blog to play along!!

stamps-Bloomin Beautiful and Circle of Friendship

paper-Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Whisper White and Afternoon Tea DSP

ink-Black Stazon

tools-page pebbles, crystal effects, aquapainter, SU markers, circle punches, guava ribbon, chocolate ribbon, gold brads, white gel pen

Brace Yourselves!!

I am about to tell you a story that is going to outrage a lot of you(hopefully, because everyone should be). I am not going to get into the gory details of the events of last night, but as you all know(if you have been reading my blog daily) my cousin in law Brandi got married this weekend. Since about 4pm on Thursday, I have spent every waking minute with the bride to be, and her family decorating, preparing, making flowers, rehearsing, you name it!! It was a gorgeous wedding(and that is why I have been gone so long, btw), and everything from the dress to the dessert was amazing. All day long I could feel a bad headache(what I call a migraine) coming on, and by the end of the toast(and my first glass of champagne), I couldn't hold out any longer. I finally got so sick, and my head hurt so bad that I had to leave the reception(crying about not wanting to leave the whole way to the car which does WONDERS for a headache-NOT!!)and go home and go to bed and I told Travis to stay at the reception. When he got home, finally, he woke me up and told me a story that had me sick to my stomach. During the reception, one of the guests found an opened wedding card on the floor in the lobby, from there, it went very wrong. To make a VERY long story short, one of the guests(and YES we do know who it was) got into the card box(mine I had loaned Brandi from my wedding) and stole the cash out of the cards. She was taking them to the bathroom, opening them, taking out the money, leaving checks and gift cards behind, and then putting them in the trash with paper towels over them. To top it all off, when confronted, she accused someone else, and they ended up questioning him(and a couple of others she pointed fingers at). Eventually, she finally gave in and gave back some of the cards she hadn't opened and all(or at least what she said was all) the cash she had stolen. Now yesterday and today, which should have been joyous days, have been completely overshadowed by one sick persons actions. I can't for one minute begin to imagine the kind of person it would take to do something like this nor do I want to. What's worse is the fact that today the bride and her parents had to spend the day calling around to people trying to find out how much money was in their cards so that they will know what to report(and what to get back from her). Honestly, I don't believe we will ever know how much she stole, and it's not even about the money. It's about the fact that she did this, and now it is like a black cloud over the whole day. Believe it or not, she WAS a close family friend, and someone that in the past, when she needed help, had come to the brides parents for it. In the process of her stealing all of these, she broke the church that my Mom had made for my wedding. I have kept it out in my house as a decoration since the day I moved in because it was gorgeous, and it really meant a lot to me. I cried when I had to tell my Mom what had happened, and she offered to fix it, but I refused, somehow it's not the same anymore. I had planned on keeping that forever, to use at my children(when I have them) and my nieces weddings and now I can't. If I know my mom, she will make a new one, but it will never be the same.
Sorry for that, but if you can't tell, I am still really upset. I stamped this morning as therapy, and I am getting ready to stamp some more. I made this card to give to Brandi today and for the the first challenge posted in the new Paper Pretties challenge forum by Danielle. She challenged us to make a trifold card, so I made one using this tutorial on SCS. I started with a Basic Black base and then layered it with Purely Pomegranate and some DP from the DCWV All Dressed Up stack. The main image is Cuddle Me from Paper Pretties. Her name is Sophia, and if you can't tell, I just love her. She is colored with markers and the dress and bow are covered with a Sakura glitter pen. I will be back later with whatever else I can come up with, I need some therapy!!
stamps-Cuddle Me and All Holidays
paper-Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, and DCWV DP
ink- Black Stazon
tools- oval punches, black organdy, pomegranate satin, white brads, corner rounder, SU markers, aquapainter, glitter pen

Monkey Business

Today's limited supplies challenge over on SCS was to make a card following a list. The list was
1. Make a square card. (Any size)2. Use only scrap pieces of paper. (The base card doesn't have to be a scrap.)3. Use ribbon or fiber scraps.4. Use only ONE other embellishment.5. Use any colors, stamps, and tools. Easy enough, I thought!!! I had just got done making some cards for a color wheel swap, and I got called by my CIL, the one that is getting married this weekend, and she wanted to know if I could come help them get some stuff ready for this weekend, so I dropped everything and went to the rescue. I took us about two hours, and 16 ziploc baggies(I had to cut veggies for trays) but we got it all done, yayyy!! When I saw this challenge, I decided to use what I had out on the table. My card base is even one that I had cut for another project and decided not to use. The colors are Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana, and Sage Shadow(it's all your fault Carole) and the main image is from Zoofari. I glued it all together and the paper pierced around the edges. I really try not to waste my ribbon, so all my scraps were little, so I decided to do ribbon tabs. What was cool is that I had already colored the main image for the swaps, but had too many, so this card literally took 5 minutes. Now that's fast(especially for me)!!! Hope you like it and I hope you have a great day!!
stamps-Zoofari
paper-Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana, Sage Shadow, Whisper White, and Close to Cocoa DSP
ink-Black Stazon and Close To Cocoa
tools-maize and white grosgrain, white brads, markers, paper piercer and mat pack

Our First Featured Swapper

ETA: The date of the Paper Pretties release has been changes, so sorry for the false alarm!!! I will let you know when it is rescheduled!!!
Okay, back to the card!! As I said yesterday, I was asked to join a group called Great Swaps Girls. We have started a blog and are hosting challenges twice a week. One challenge will be posted every Monday, and it will change each time(ie. this week it was color, next week, who knows!!). On Wednesday we will have a featured swapper challenge, kinda like the SCS featured stamper challenge, where we chose one of the wonderfully talented ladies from our group to spotlight! This week it was none other than Miss Strappystamper, Miss Scalloped Edge herself, Jackie Pedro!! She has a fantastic gallery and a wonderful blog, and it was an honor to get to CASE her. I picked this card for a few reasons, one was the fact that I need a wedding card for my cousin in law this weekend, and two, I needed to make something for the ways to use it challenge over on SCS(which was to use scissors). I will go ahead and lay it out there that this is not my idea of a fabulous color combo(Brilliant Blue, ack!!), but it is the colors of the wedding, so I had to use them. I stamped the hearts from Always(SU) in Versamark and embossed them in white. I loved how Jackie had the ribbon slide with the half pearl on hers, but I don't have any(double ack!!), so I used a crystal brad from Making Memories. The rest is pretty easy to get, I think, but as always, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask!! I had to change a few things on the card so, besides the brad, I changed the colors, heart positions, sentiment, ribbon and placement, added layers, changed embossing folder, and changed my back ground stamp.
stamps-Always, Sweet Serendipity, and Filigree
paper- Basic Grey, Brilliant Blue,Whisper White
ink-Versamark and Basic Gray
tools-stylized silver hardware, blue organdy, grey taffeta, silver cord, designer label punch, crystal brads, cuttlebug, swirls folder, white EP
Also, I would like to thank my pal Donna over at Serenity in Stamping. She has been on a winning streak as of late, and I made a comment about it. She sent an email back to me saying that I had won something from Kim Hughes' birthday celebration. WHAT!!!! Say it ain't so!!! I had no clue I had won, and quite frankly had forgotten I had even signed up!! I won a May new release stamp set!!!YAYYY!! Thanks Donna for having my back, hehe, and as I told her, if you ever see I won anything, let me know, I probably forgot to check(cause I never win anything!!). Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Do You Wanna Know....

what I have been working on!!! I keep saying how busy I am, and I have a list as long as my are right now of projects and things that I have to get done, and this was one of them!!! Yay, I can check something off my list!! My cousin-in-law Brandi is getting married this weekend and she asked me(on Sunday evening) if I would be willing to make some table numbers and reserved signs. I will go ahead and admit that I love Brilliant Blue, but these are kinda pretty!!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

I Am Blessed

I have recieved a few RAK's in the mail recently that I wanted to share!! The first is from Billie Rillo, the second is from Christie over at Paper Pretties, and the last one is from Debbie(dbdoodle). She also wrote the most beautiful note and she sent me a present to encourage me in my journey to become a mom! Aren't I lucky!!

Great Swaps Girls Challenges

Recently I was asked by Becky(beccabatgirl) to join a wonderful group of ladies called the Great Swaps Girls. If you click on the little badge in my sidebar it will take you to our new blog which I am helping run with a wonderful team of women!!! On Mondays we will be posting challenges of all kinds and on Wednesdays we will have a featured swapper where you will get a chance to CASE some of their fabulous work. You are more than welcome to join in our challenges, all you have to do is go to the blog, find out what it is, make your card, and post a comment with a link to your card to the challenge!! This weeks challenge was a color challenge to use Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, and So Saffron. I decided to combine it with the SCS sketch challenge. My card base is RR and it is layered with CC and then Whisper White that has been run through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder. The next layer is SS CS and DSP. The main image is from the SU set Garden Whimsy and I used my markers to color it. I then put some glitter and crystal effects on the bloom. The rest is pretty easy to figure out!! Be sure to check out the GSG blog and meet this week's featured swapper Jackie Pedro(strappystamper)!!
stamps -Garden Whimsy and All Holidays

paper- Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, So Saffron CS and DSP, and Whisper White

ink- Regal Rose

tools- Rose grosgrain, white brads, stylized silver hardware, SU markers, swiss dots folder

Prettie Wednesday!!!

Yayyyy!!! This is my first official Wednesday as a Prettie Girl and I couldn't be more excited!!! Actually last week was, but Jillian had challenged us to take the week off, so I didn't have to do anything for it!! Two weeks ago, Jana challenged us to make a card with polka dots, which I love!!! Sorry Christie, I know this hasn't got to you yet, but look what you have to look forward too!! I created the background by stamping the polka dots from Sassy Circles on Pretty in Pink with Regal Rose ink. The polka dots on the dress were hand drawn in, which is about as much as I can draw!! The panel under the main image is a piece of Whisper White which has been embossed with my Swiss Dots folder and then I wrapped a piece of Rose wide grosgrain and pink taffeta around it. My main image is Flutter By by Paper Pretties, isn't Sophia adorable!! What I love the most about these stamps is that you can make the hair color any color you want along with the dress, so you can make it look like the special little girl in your life!! I colored her with my SU markers and aquapainter. I put white brads that I got from the Prettie boutique in each corner and and added a little glitter to all of the jewlery. I need to run, but I will be back later with some more stuff!! Don't forget to stop by the other Prettie Girls blogs and see what they have been up to, and check out this weeks challenge by Danielle(they are all over there in my DT sidebar). Also, be sure to pick out the home page at Paper Pretties to see what all Christie and her amazing team have cooked up for all of us!!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!
stamps-Flutter By, Sassy Circles by Paper Pretties, All Holidays
paper-Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
ink-Black Stazon
tools-cuttlebug, white brads, ribbon, swiss dots folder, aquapainter, markers,glitter pen, grey marker

Simply Tuesday

I am up late trying to get some work done, and just happened to see the color challenge was posted. You know me, I had to play as soon as possible!! The colors for today were Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, and Chocolate Chip. I used my new favorite stamp from Paper Pretties, Simply Special, and colored it with my SU markers and aqua painter. Then I used my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities to cut it out along with two other scalloped layers. After all that was glued together, I put Crystal Effects all over the watering can and flower pot. I also wanted to use Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch, so that is where the sketch came from The rest is pretty self explanatory. I have a lot going on right now, so I need to get back to work!! Over on the Paper Pretties home page Christie has been working hard putting together all sorts of fun stuff for us all to participate in(with the help of the DT). As you know, I am obsessed with sending out RAK's(about 8 a week), so if you are looking for a great RAK group, go get registered and have yourself added to the list, it is super fun and I have recieved some of the cutest cards!! There are no requirements(besides registering) and nothing feels better than sending out some happy mail!!! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!!
stamps-Simply Special by Paper Pretties
paper-Certainly Celery CS and DSP, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White
ink-Black Stazon
tools-cuttlebug, nestabilities, crystal effects, soft subtle brads, oval punches, SU markers, aquapainter, white gel pen