Triple Play

For all of you wondering, no, I am not talking about baseball!! For my card today, I tried to combine three different challenges. Don't know how well I did, but I like it!! First, I started with the color challenge on SCS this week which was to use Lovely Lilac, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery. Then I used the sketch challenge on SCS, which you can see here. Finally I decided to do today's ways to use it challenge to use chipboard. Since I hadn't ever used it before today, it was quite the adventure for me!! My flowers are by Maya Road and I bought them at the Paper Pretties store. I started by covering the flowers with some SU DSP from the Lovely Lilac pack and also the Prints Pack. After they had dried, I sanded and sponged the edges and added rhinestone brads for the flower centers. On the big flower, the center was too big for just the brad, so I added a large eyelet. The circles(which were part of the sketch) were cut out using my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities. To make the flower stems and add the bow at the bottom, I used celery grosgrain. I used my paper piercer(and new template-Thanks Jody!!) to make the holes in the corners of the card, main image panel, and sentiment panel. One of my holes ended up too big, so I added a small rhinestone brad to each corner. I also used my swiss dots folder on the main white panel too. Normally I don't combine challenges, but I was anxious to get stamping, but completely exhausted. I mean, if the colors, sketch, and embellishments are basically chosen for you, you don't have to use your brain!!LOL!!
stamps-All Holidays
paper-Certainly Celery DSP and CS, Lovely Lilac DSP and CS, Pretty in pink, Pearlescent White, and Prints Pack
ink-Black Stazon, Lovely Lilac and Pretty in Pink
tools-Maya Road Blossoms, rhinestone brads, big eyelets, celery grosgrain,
In all my excitement from this weekend, and exhaustion from this weekend, I forgot to share this super cute gift that was waiting for me on my pillow when I got to the hotel!! It is from Melanie(mel mel) and it was filled with the goodies you see here!! She used the set she designed for Gina K., What's In Your Tin? to decorate it!! Thanks Melanie for the super cute gift, I really appreciate it!! That's all for me now, thanks for looking and have a great day!!

The Final Tease!!

These are my two final teaser cards for the MFT release that happened today at 9:30cst. I made the first one using the Goin' Places set, isn't it adorable!!! I love the colors on this, even though they were a STRETCH for me! The paper that I used was my inspiration and I got my colors from there. It is some retired SU paper(Dots and Dashes) that I didn't even know that I had!! The airplane and the banner are two separate stamps, and the sentiment is also from the set that I curved on my block to fit inside the banner(I practiced on scratch paper). That is one of the things that I love about clear stamps, you can arrange them any way you want on your block so that they stamp the way you want them too. I don't remember who I saw do this first, but they are a genius because honestly, I never would have thought of it myself!! I colored the image in with my SU markers and outlined it with my gray marker. I added the brads in the top and bottom corner(relatively) and then added a spiral clip with some yummy grosgrain ribbon. Hope you like it!!

stamps-Goin' Somewhere

ink-Black Stazon

paper-Green Galore, Only Orange, Ballet Blue, Whisper White and Dots and Dashes SU DSP

tools- spiral clip, grosgrain ribbon, brads, markers, aquapainter

My second card is from the set Friends Furever, and I have to say, it is my favorite set from the new release!! I used my SU markers to color it in and my spots were added with my Creamy Caramel marker. The paper is from SU(East Coast Prep) and I cut it into 4 equal pieces and added silver brads to the corners. I made my sentiment circle using several SU punches and some more silver brads. I pulled my colors from the paper. Again, the colors were a stretch for me, but I got them from the paper!! That is all for me now, I am worn out and need sleep!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!! I am going to leave you with a few more pictures from my trip to Arlington-don't worry, I am about done!! The first one is of my roommates Vanessa(Loubella) and Melanie(mel mel), the second is me with Bev(TexasGrammy), The third is with Carolyn King(Cammie) and the last one is me with Christy(cpine)-the wannabe door prize stealer!!LOL

stamps-Friends Furever

paper-More Mustard, Taken with Teal, Wild Wasabi, Ruby Red, Whisper White, and East Coast Prep

ink-Black Stazon

tools-circle punches, word window punch, silver brads, SU markers, aquapainter

Another Teaser

This is my last teaser before the party, and then afterwards(if I am still conscious)I will post some more!! I am really loving these new sets and am dying to get back to stamping!! I think tomorrow(as if I haven't drove enough) I will go shopping for some much needed stamping stuff!! I was so good on my trip and didn't buy much, so now that I am home and have all the bills paid, I know what I got, and it is burning a hole in my pocket!! This is from the new set being released at the My Favorite Things release party being held in the SCS member forum! The fun starts at 9est(8cst) and the new sets will be available at 10:30est(9:30cst), and trust me when I say that you need them!! My card is from the set Goin' Places and it is a fabulous set for anyone who travels. I used some paper from the Basic Gray Two Scoops collection to paper piece her dress and add a panel on the lower half. I colored the rest in with markers, and besides that, the rest is pretty easy, but if you have questions, be sure to shoot me an email!! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you at the party!!
stamps-Goin' Places
paper-Brocade Blue, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, and Two Scoops by Basic Grey
ink-Black Stazon and Wild Wasabi
tools-cuttlebug, swiss dots folder, wasabi ribbon, silver brads, SU markers, blender pen, word windo punch

Prettie Wednesday

Two weeks ago Danielle(dlounds) challenged all the Prettie girls to make a masculine card, make it hard on us why don't ya!!! I tried every Paper Pretties stamp I own, but I just couldn't get anything to work for my "guys". If you haven't figured it out, all the men in my family are a little rugged. Hunters, fishers, retired military, you know, guys guys. I finally gave up and made this card, which I also used for my shoebox swap in Arlington. I need to apologize to Joni, because this hasn't even made it to the post office yet, but I promise it will tomorrow( I have a job interview there anyway)!! I used the SU set, Bronc Buster for the main image and Weathered on the bottom panel. For the shoebox swap, you had to have a 10 minute card, so this is pretty easy to make, but I did do a lot of distressing and sponging. Julie posted out challenge this week which is to Be Inspired by a website or blog and make a card or project based on that. We would love it if you would play along, just be sure to post a link to your card so that we can all see it!! Last week Christie challenged us to make a card using acetate(I guess I need to get started)!! That is all for this post, I need to get some of my MFT stuff posted, so I will see you soon!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great night!!
stamps-Bronc Buster, All Holidays, and Weathered
paper-Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Confetti Cream
ink- Chocolate Chip
tools-sponge, brads, distressing tool and chocolate ribbon

Whoops!!

I almost forgot to post my second card and I really wanted to share some more pictures of the fabulous people that I met!! I just recently got a huge package of Paper Pretties stamps and Wade E. Bug was in it! Ever since I saw this set, I just knew that I had to have it! That little bug has got such a great personality and he is so super cute!! I colored Wade in with my markers and paired him with some super glittery paper from DCWV. My ribbon came from Embellish Online and I love it! The ribbon is actually double layered with some of the wide grosgrain from SU. I love me some brads, so of course they were put in each corner to anchor the image. For some odd reason, mainly because I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off before I left, but I forgot to put a sentiment on this one. Oh well, I will add something when I get home. Ahhh home, I can't wait. I have had an awesome time and below you will see some of the wonderful people that I met, but I am exhausted and I miss my dog(okay, I kinda miss Travis too). Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps-Wade E. Bug

paper-Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, DCWV

ink-Black Stazon

tools-red grosgrain, red organdy, black brads, markers

Here are a few more pictures from my trip to Arlington. Yep that's me, hanging out with some VERY cool people! The first picture is with my girl Laura(lov'n life n vegas), who is now a My Favorite Things Design Team member. YOU GO GIRL!!! The second picture is with Kendra(scrapstampindiva), she is so sweet!! The third one is me with Carole(trucarma) who is just as funny in person, not to mention super sweet! And finally, that is me hanging out with Kim(The MFT lady) and Susan(susiestampalot). How stinkin lucky am I!!!!

Hello From Arkansas!!

Well, I made it halfway home today, but just couldn't do another 6hrs, so here I sit in my hotel room watching Idol!! Wouldn't you know it is supposed to get ugly here tomorrow night, so I plan on going to bed early and leaving as soon as I can drag myself out of bed. I don't know about you all, but I have had enough of the crazy weather! I am so sad to have to be heading home, due to work issues(darn that military), I really didn't get to see my brother as much as I would like. We did eat at some of the coolest places and we saw Ironman(awesome). I again apologize for the rough picture, but I am trying to take photos in a hotel room, and the light, well, it sucks!! This is another My Favorite Things teaser, but it is from the set Gone to the Dogs. It is definitely a MUST HAVE for any dog lover!! MFT will be releasing 3 new stamp sets at the release party in the SCS member forum on Wednesday from 9est to 11est. We hope you will join us for more fun, chatting and a new guest designer challenge!! Anyway, back to my card!! Isn't this poodle super cute!! I automatically thought of pink and black polka dots when I saw it. The paper is from one of my DCWV stacks(but I don't remember which one, I will add it when I get home!!) and is layered with Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White. This is a pretty basic card, but it is so super cute(in my opinion). I put liquid applique on the poodle to make her puffy!! The setiment is from the Friends Furever set that will be released on Wednesday too. That's all for me now!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps- Gone to the Dogs and Friends Furever

paper-Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White and DCWV

ink-Black Stazon

tools-liquid applique, markers, circle punches, cuttlebug, swiss dots, pink organdy, word window punch, pink brads

It's Time For a Teaser!!

It is time for another My Favorite Things release, and I am so honored to be their guest designer for this month. There will by three new sets released by My Favorite Things on Wednesday night (right after the release party on Splitcoast Stampers from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m). Join us for fun, contests, MFTeasers and your chance to be the next My Favorite Guest Designer). This card was made using the new mini set, Friends Furever- isn't it the cutest!! I also made this using this weeks Inspiration challenge over on the Great Swaps Girls blog. This weeks challenge was posted by Kristin and it is this awesome bedding! Honestly, it just worked out kinda fabulous for this because I actually made this card BEFORE seeing the inspiration challenge, but it fits perfectly( at least I think it does). The paper on this is from the DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy stack and is so yummy. I apologize for the picture-it was the best I could do, but seriously, my brother has no light(or clean towels) in his apartment!! I was gonna take the photo outside, but of course it was raining!.

Well, that is it for now! I am waiting for my brother to come home from work and take me to lunch somewhere fabulous! We ate at a place called Rudy's BBQ(near Sea World) and the food was AWESOME!! I am enjoying relaxing AND using his super fast Internet, although I do have fears that when I get home I am gonna have to do some upgrading!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps-MFT Friends Furever

paper-Ballet Blue, Sage Shadow, Barely Banana,Whisper White and DCWV

ink-Black Stazon

tools- white brads, markers, thread, gray marker

My Trip To Arlington

I want to start this out by saying that my trip to Arlington was fabulous, and NO MATTER WHAT, I don't regret going! First of all, I met some of the most amazing people and got to make some pretty awesome cards. My trip down was rather eventful so I will give you a few of the highlights! First of all, I was so frantically busy this week trying to get everything done for the trip that I almost had a melt down. On top of my swap, and my door prize, I had to work on cards for the My Favorite Things release since I am the guest designer for this month. I didn't want to drag all of my stamp stuff with me(and boy am I glad I didn't), so I had to have all of my stuff done ahead of time. Then my sister calls and wants to send out her invites for her baby shower BEFORE I left so I had to make 70 of those in two days(and of course I had to pick the most involved card ever) plus I had all my design team stuff for Paper Pretties, which I am ashamed to say may never be posted because it is just that bad!!LOL

Anyways, I was checking the weather the night before I left, something I never do, but was so proud of myself for doing, and saw that my whole entire path to Texas was in the red!! Severe thunderstorm warnings with the threat of tornadoes, YIKES! Something you need to know about me is that I hate storms, and I am the kind of person that when they hear about the storm warnings goes back inside and stays where it is relatively safe(definitely not the type to go out and drive in it). So I debated back and forth with myself and my husband and decided that I would just go and everything would be okay. I started driving at 6am and it was dreary, but I never saw any rain or anything. In fact, I got all the way to Memphis without that first raindrop and thought to myself-everything is gonna be alright. WWWWWRRRRROOONNNGGG!!! The closer I got to Little Rock, the worse the weather got. I found a radio station out of LR and started listening to their storm coverage. As they are announcing where the TORNADOES are at, I am starting to panic because I have no idea what county I am in. I am trying to drive in blinding rain, listen to the radio, and not cry. I kept thinking, I should pull over but I pushed on. As they announced that the T was by 167, I was still on I40. As I went on to 167, they said it was by I40.......I think I may have driven between two tornadoes!YIKES!! Thankfully, I wasn't hurt, and I made it to this big beautiful state of Texas, where surprisingly, the sky is bigger. I always thought people were full of it, but the sky is huge here! I did however arrive at Dallas at rush hour on a Friday night. Luckily for me, people were bumper to bumper, so it probably made it easier for me to drive through. The rest of the trip was awesome though! My roommates rocked, and the swap was AWESOME!! I even made a some new friends and actually got to meet someof my favorite stampers! I will be sharing pictures from the swap for awhile so bare with me!

While at the swap I met Becky(tggrfriend). She is super sweet and we got to stamp together a lot! She brought the most UNBELIEVABLE door prize, and guess who won it...ME!!! I had to guard it with my life, but we both made it out okay. All the little tins attached to the flowers are full of ribbon, buttons and primas! Am I not a lucky girl!!! When they went to hand it to me, Carolyn King(cammie) said that for all I went through to get there, I deserved it!! I don't know about all of that, but I certainly do appreciate it! Thanks again Becky!!

So to wrap things up, a few lessons I have learned since leaving Illinois. I am definitely tougher than I thought! When the weather is bad, stay home! SCS ROCKS( I already knew that, but I am just amazed by the people I met!!)! And last but not least, when staying with your little brother always remember to photograph any cards you want good pictures of BEFORE leaving home(what is it with men and dark rooms) and bring your own towels-enough said!!

Color Wheel Challenge Swap

My very first swap with the Great Swaps girls was to do a card using a combo found on the color wheel. I randomly spun my wheel(as well as it will spin) and landed on Close to Cocoa. I paired it with Barely Banana and Sage Shadow. I love this little monkey from Zoofari, so I stamped him and colored him in with markers. I used the SU Close To Cocoa DSP and color blocked the back and put brads in all the corners. I then popped them up and the monkeys. The sentiment is from Circle of Friendship and I used my SU punches to punch them out and layer them. I think it turned out super cute!! I forgot to take a picture of it before I left home, and my brother(who I am staying with in San Antonio) has the WORST lighting, so everything I brought with me to post will have to wait until morning(I took this off the GSG group album-thanks for posting it Becky)!! Thanks for stopping by and being super patient during my absence!! Have a great day and thanks for looking!!
stamps-Zoofari and Circle of Friendship
paper-Close to Cocoa CS and DSP, Barely Banana, Sage Shadow, and Whisper White
ink-Close to Cocoa and Black Stazon
tools-circle punches, brads, markers

Hello From Texas

Hello all my loyal blog readers. I am so sorry for the long absence but as I had posted before I had decided to travel to Arlington Texas for the 3rd annual Shoe Box Swap through the SCS Get It Together forum. I have been so busy getting ready for it and then being here that I am just now getting the chance to post anything!! I have had the most awesome time and met some of the coolest people ever! I am now in San Antonio visiting my brother so I will be back later after I hang out with him to show you some stuff!! Thanks for visiting and being patient during my absence!! This is me with my super fabulous roommates Melanie M.(melmel) and Vanessa. They were so sweet to let me stay with them and we had a great time together!! Hey girls!!!