My Final SFYTT(well, as guest designer)

Well, this is my last Saturday as Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try guest designer and I am super sad about it. I have had a ton of fun being Jen's GD, and I just want to say thanks to Jen and her FAB sketch team for being so sweet to me!! I really had fun with the sketch this week. When I first saw it, my eyes were as big as baseballs and I got knots in my stomach...I just knew I couldn't do it!! But I have to say, that out of all 4 weeks I was GD, the cards I made for this sketch are by far and away my FAVORITES(be sure to go to Jen's blog to see the other one...I am GIDDY over it!!)!!! For my card today I used some Summer Picnic DSP from SU-again...I pray it makes it to the catalog because I didn't buy any and I sure should have...it is amazing!! I stamped my Look Out World-Cooper stamp from Paper Pretties on some white cardstock(I think it may have been a scrap of Papertrey White) and colored it with my SU markers and aqua painter. I highlighted the sentiment(which I only used half of)with some stylized silver hardware and piercing. The stars were made with my SU star punches and have some brads from the SU Stylized Hardware kit. The rest is pretty self explanatory!! Be sure to blurf around and check out what the rest of the team( Amy R., Amy S., Carole , Susan and Shannan) has in store for you and thanks for stopping by!!

stamps-Look Out World by Paper Pretties

paper-Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, White, and Summer Picnic DSP

ink-Black Stazon

tools-silver hardware, striped ribbon, SU markers, star punches

Day Five Continued!!

Here is my card for the other two challenges posted in this weeks Dare to Get Dirty festivities. The main image was stamped in River Rock and Black Stazon....for some reason when I make cards like this, that is the color combo that I lean towards, it is so elegant. The layers were cut out with my rectangle Nestabilities. I added some black gingham and River Rock stitched ribbon to it and popped it up. The DP is from the SU Ginger Blossom DSP and it was HAND stitched onto the white layer underneath it. Yes, I know I am nuts. This card is pretty simple, so I won't bore you with the details!!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

stamps-Garden Silhouettes and All Holidays

paper- River Rock, Basic Black, Whisper White, and Ginger Blossom DSP

ink-Black Stazon and River Rock

tools- River Rock ribbon, black gingham, silver hardware, Cuttlebug, Nesties, black embroidery thread

Day Five-more challenges

So, here we are in day five of the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges and quite honestly, I am getting kind of exhausted......my brain is in overload...but I am having so much fun!!! Today, I combined Taylor's Cupcake challenge and the limited supplies challenge together for my first card. I used my My Favorite Things Cupcake set and paper pieced the tops and bottoms with some yummy Basic Grey cupcake paper. I then cut out the image and black layer with my Cuttlebug and Circle Nestabilities. Using my nifty piercing template that Jody sent me, I pierced a circle around the main image. The holes in the scallops were made using my handheld 1/8th punch. The background is Whisper White and some more Cupcake paper connected with some wide Red Grosgrain from SU. I tied the bow separate and attached it with a glue dot. The sentiment is from the MFT You Take the Cake set. I am off to work on the other two challenge...which I have a feeling I am going to combine...if my brain can ever figure out what to do...LOL!! Thanks for stopping by again and have a great day!!

stamps-What's Up Cupcake and You Take The Cake

paper- Whisper White, Basic Black and Basic Grey Cupcake

ink- Black Stazon

tools-red grosgrain, Cuttlebug, Circle Nesties, 1/8th punch

Did You Know...

that Paper Pretties has a weekly challenge? You didn't well now you do, and trust me, you don't wanna miss it!! Every week in the Paper Pretties challenge forum,Danielle(dlounds) hosts a fabulous challenge and out of all the entries a winner is picked. The winner gets a prize from our Prettie Mama Christie. If you want more info on these challenges, check out the home page of Paper Pretties for more details. Right now, Danielle's challenge is to use buttons on your project or card. My card features Flutter By Sophia and some yummy Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie DP. The main image was colored with my SU markers and then layered with Sage Shadow and Ruby Red. The buttons are from SU as well as the ribbon which was part of the Rustic Retreat ribbon originals. The scallops were made with my SU corner rounder....how happy am I that I don't have to do THAT anymore(LOVE my new SU scallop punch).
stamps-Flutter By
paper-Ruby Red, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, watercolor, and Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie
ink-Black Stazon
tools-buttons, ribbon, SU markers, corner rounder, white gel pen, glitter pen

And don't forget to get your entries for the Paper Pretties Cutie Pie contest into Christie before 8CST on Thursday July 31st...the winner receives all the new releases for FREE!! So, if you have some Pretties stamps, show them a little love and win some GOODIES!!! Also, the deadline to sign up for the Stamp Of The Month Club and get Howdy Girlfriend Sophia before it is released to the public in September is on Thursday at 11:59pm. Be sure to tell them I sent ya!!

Day Four-continued!!

So, when I saw Sharon(notimetostamp)'s challenge this afternoon, I got a little worried. I mean you saw my last card right, I don't know HOW to stamp simply!!LOL!! So instead of stamping simply, I really tried to use stuff I already had made up. The flower is from Bloomin Beautiful and I had watercolored it the other day to use and didn't so that was easy. The frame was already stamped with the Sanded background and already had the oval cut out, so that was easy-all I had to do was put in the brads, sponge, and attach. The rest was pretty simple, so I won't bore you with the details except to say that SU seriously needs to quit making me like stuff so much...I didn't buy any extra of this paper and I am going to go into a deep dark depression when it is all gone. This card also qualifies for the Ways to Use It Negative challenge. Thanks for stopping by again, and have a great day!! Don't forget, you have one week from today to sign up for the Paper Pretties Stamp Of The Month Club to get Howdy Girlfriend Sophia before she is released to the public, and to enter in the Paper Pretties Cutie Pie contest. The person chosen will win all this months new releases for FREE...what a deal!!

stamps-Bloomin Beautiful, Sanded and Short and Sweet

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

ink- Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi

tools-big silver brads, aqua painter, chocolate satin ribbon, Cuttlebug, Oval Nesties

SCS Non-Raffle and More Challenges(Day Four)

So, a month or so ago I got a private message through Spiltcoast Stampers asking me if I would be interested in making something to donate to the SCS Non Raffle fundraiser. Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I love to give, so of course my answer was a definite YES!! Only one problem...I hate to alter stuff....but for a good cause....I can do anything!! What's the cause?? Glad you asked....the non-raffle is being held to raise money for flood victims in the Midwest. Since I live in the Midwest, but thankfully experienced no flooding of my own(I live on a HUGE hill), this cause was near and dear to my heart and I would pretty much do anything to help out!! So some super sweet people at SCS-peggysue and Jenn Balcer being the ring leaders, organized a NON raffle to collect money to be donated to the Red Cross. The last time I looked there were 63 raffle prizes from the wonderful people and companies that are associated with SCS and I am so honored to be one of them!! The way it works is you go to this link....and then read all the info...hit the donate now button and chose your donation. Let's face it people, times are tough and if you can help out with a $5 donation, why not??!! So, you want me to shut up and show you the goodies....here they are!! My set includes an altered tin, some dividers to keep your stuff separated(I keep cards in one I own and the dividers separate out the happy birthday from the thinking of you, and so on), an altered notebook, and 6 cards made by me(2 HB, 2 ToY, and 2 TY) including envelopes. Before you all start to ask, the paper is 3 bugs in a Rug and I actually found some last night at Scrapbook.com thanks to some wonderful person on SCS, thanks again Tina!!

Okay, now onto some more fun stuff!! This is the card that I made for Holly's(Toy) sketch challenge today for the Dare to Get Dirty challenges. I used my Cuddle Me Sophia and paper pieced her dress with some Tangerine Tango cardstock that had been run through the Cuttlebug with my Swiss Dots Folder. I then colored the dots with my white gel pen...before you ask, yes I tried to do the dots by hand, but they just looked weird, so I had to do it this way!! I colored the rest of her with my SU markers. Just this morning I saw where Christie had colored Sophia's bear pink, and I LOVED it, so I decided to go outside my norm and color her pink...and I still love it!! Before you ask, yes, this card is as heavy as it looks!! I think it has been all these challenge this week that have limited my creativity, with a sketch I can do whatever I want, right, RIGHT!! The colors on this are Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette, and Pixie Pink. The Dp is from My Mind's Eye and the charm(is that what you call it) is from Queen&Co.. The rest is pretty easy to figure out I think!! I am off to try my hand at Sharon's(notimetostamp) stamp simply challenge....probably not gonna be easy!! Go figure(says the girl who just put 11 brads on one card)!!

stamps-Cuddle Me

paper-Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette, Pixie Pink, Whisper White and My Mind's Eye DP

ink- Black Stazon

tools-silver brads, pink satin ribbon, photo corners punch, Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots, Oval Nesties, SU markers, Primas, Queen&Co. brad charm

Finally, some RAK's

I have had some of these for a few days....so I think it is way past time to share them!! This first card came to me from Lesa(okcapitolgirl). She sent it along with a Studio G clear stamp set and some yummy ribbon. Thanks Lesa!!

This next card came from Cindy(onehappystamper)!! Isn't it gorgeous!! I love the bright colors and the hardware!! I am still kicking myself for not getting this set from the mini catalog!! Thanks Cindy, I love it!!

My next card came from Charmaine(charmwarm). Isn't it awesome!! She does such beautiful work, and I love the scene she created here. I can remember loving this card when I first saw it, so I am super excited to get to keep it forever!!LOL!!

And last but not least I recieved not one but TWO sets from my dear friend Carolina!! Carolina is not only a great friend, but she is a FABULOUS person. Not only did she send both of these sets to me, she also sent a DVD that she used to use with her nephew Gaven and she sent my new nephew Jared some onsies, sock and this GORGEOUS tin that I TOTALLY need to get a picture of. It is amazing!! Thanks for being such a good friend to me Carolina!!

Some Tags and Awards

Okay, so I am probably the worst person in the world to tag or give an award too!! I just spent the last 20mins going through my blog posts looking for all the awards I have been given so that I can post them!! I only found a few, so if you tagged me, and I didn't get to it, I am so sorry(don't think I don't appreciate it, I am just an airhead)!! The first award was given to me by Joan. It is the Stempel award. I am so honored that she would think of me for this award!! Thanks so much Joan, sorry it took me so long to post!!


The next award I received from Jackie Pedro and Vickie Waugh. It is the Brillante Award. The rules for this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.
Thanks so much girls...truly you both rock!!
The last was actually a tag from Donna, and it was to list 7 random things about myself. I have done this twice, so I am gonna try to come up with 7 new things...

1. I have two tattoos-people are usually shocked to hear this, but I feel it is just another way to express yourself artistically. For those of you that are curious, I have a frog on my shoulder blade and a sun and moon on my hip.
2. My ears are pierced-4 on one ear, 2 on the other. My mom got my ears pierced the first time when I was 4, she says you could hear me screaming from one end of the mall to the other!!
3. My husband and I have 9 dogs.....I have one the rest are his for hunting.
4. I got married the day before my birthday because I was terrified of turning 26 and not being married...weird right??
5. I love to send out RAK's(maybe not random, but totally true). In the last week or two I have sent out 30+.
6. I am terrified of all bugs....all of them....
7. I can't read the same book twice...I can watch the same movie 100 times, but never once have I been able to read a book for the second time.
Okay, so here's the deal...I am supposed to nominate people for all of these awards, but knowing me, I will forget to tell them so I am going to nominate EVERYONE.....you all are the reason I keep coming back and posting so it is appropriate!! If it weren't for all your encouragement, I would have hung it up a long time ago, so thank you!!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!! I will be back in a few with a post of all the FAB RAK's I have received!!

Day Three

Day Three of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges are underway and the first one I did was for Lauren's monochromatic challenge. I also used the SCS sketch for today. I colored my Inky Antics turtle with my SU markers and added then colored and cut out the cupcakes separate. I popped them up for a little dimension too. My colors are Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery. The white panel was run through my Cuttlebug with the Spots and Dots folder. The paper is from SU and the ribbon is some I got from a share with Jody Morrow. Can you tell I am loving my new scallop punch!! That thing makes it so easy to scallop EVERYTHING!!
stamps-Inky Antics
paper-Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
ink-Black Stazon
tools-Oval Punch, spiral clips, ribbon, scallop punch, SU markers

My next card was for Jenn's inspiration challenge. I stamped my branch from Garden Silhouettes in Celery and then went over the stems with a black marker. The ribbon is more that I got from a share with Jody. I ran the black piece through my Cuttlebug with the Textile folder to give it some drama!!
That is all for me now, I will be back later to add links and details, I am running late!!
stamps-Garden Silhouettes
paper-Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
ink-Certainly Celery and Black Stazon
tools-celery ribbon, textile folder, Cuttlebug, SU markers, scallop punch

Prettie Wednesday-One Embellishment

When I saw Charmaine's challenge two weeks ago, something inside of me cringed...ONLY ONE EMBELLISHMENT...say it ain't so Charmaine!!! Okay, so I am dying to add some brads or spiral clips to this, but I picked the prettiest, shiniest ribbon I could out of my stash to make myself fell better...it is a sickness. I used Danielles sketch challenge from last week and my never before used set, Sweets For the Sweet from Paper Pretties. I love this set, so I can't quite figure out why I haven't used it, but I have now so all is good. I stamped the pie on Very Vanilla and colored it with my SU markers. I then put crystal effects on the pie pan AFTER I cut it out with my nesties(along with the layers). The paper is some from SU Apple Cider paper. This is on it's way to Charmaine so I hope she likes it. Jodi is today's challenger and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!! Don't forget to enter the Paper Pretties Cutie Pie contest!!

stamps-Sweets For The Sweet

paper-Very Vanilla, Apple Cider DSP,Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, and Chocolate Chip

ink-Black Stazon and Chocolate Chip

tools-Cuttlebug, oval punch, nesties, satin ribbon, SU markers