Busy Busy

So, I have been busy busy working on my cards for this months Dirty Dozen gallery and haven't had a chance to stamp anything for me, so I am going to show you the last of my Taylored Expressions Cupcake sketch cards. I made this card for one of the nine sketches that Taylor and her crew posted for the TECC anniversary. It was the last card that I did, and the hardest for me....I was just lost!! This sketch was posted by Sherrie Siemens. I used my favorite cupcake set, It's a Cupcake Kind of Day from My Favorite Things. I used the new Stephanie Fizer Summer Digital Paper Pack. I printed the paper straight from my computer onto SU Whisper White cardstock. I then stamped the cupcake on Whisper White and some of the yummy DP. I then cut it and the layers out with my Cuttlebug and circle Nesties. I added some piercing, crystal effects and liquid applique to the cupcake to make it more yummy, LOL!! The colors on this are Riding Hood Red and Regal Rose. I did a ton of piercing, added some Riding Hood Red ribbon and white taffeta, along with a spiral clip. The sentiment is from the Cupcake Flopsey set. The base of the card is PTI White. Well, I need to get back to it!! Thanks for looking!!

FS105 K Dunbrook

This week's featured stamper is Karen(K Dunbrook) and I can honestly say that I have never been to Karen's gallery, but I LOVE her style!! All her work is fabulous, so it was hard to pick just one. I settled on this card here. When SU had the Love You Much bundle on sale, I of course, was unable to resist, and I bought it. Ya, what was I thinking??? I don't know if you have ever noticed, but there is a DISTINCT LACK of Very Vanilla on my blog...it appears occasionally, on other peoples cards they send me, for a color challenge, sometimes out of necessity, but RARELY out of choice...why is that you ask, well...I really hate it. There you have it, I said it. Well, anyway, I HAD to use the stuff, cause I bought it, so I FORCED myself to use it on my card today....grrrr. I have been fighting this stinking thing since 11am....and I finally am sorta satisfied. I stamped the birds on Very Vanilla with Basic Black ink, and then paper pieced them with some Candy Lane DSP. I used the Heart to Heart punch for the heart between the birds. I had to use my Cuttlebug and Circle Nesties to cut and emboss the image. I added a shadow with my Copic Cool Grey No.3 marker. The button is from SU, and since Jody says I can't leave the holes empty, I put a piece of vanilla taffeta through the holes. For the base, I used Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, and some more Candy Lane DSP. The DSP was run through my Cuttlebug with the Textile folder. I then added another piece of Candy Lane DSP that was run through my dusty crusty crimper....seriously, how long has THAT been collecting dust. For the corners, I used the ticket corner punch and I added the sentiment that I punched out with my word window punch. The DSP under the image was cut out with my Label One dies and my Cuttlebug. I then cut off one side, used the spiral edge punch, and added some Riding Hood Red taffeta. Hopefully, you like it!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Some RAK's

I have said it before, and I will say it again..but I am HORRIBLE about posting RAK's that I receive, atleast right when they get here. I leave them by my computer so I can see them, and not forget to blog them, but I still forget. So, anyway, here are some of the fabulous RAK's I have received in the past couple of weeks.

This first card is from my friend, Brandi Parshley. Brandi has a FABULOUS blog and is super talented! When you hear me talk about My Little Ribbon Shop, it is Brandi I am speaking of. It is her store and she has a ton of YUMMY ribbon and other goodies for sale!! Thanks Brandi, I love it!!

This next card is from the RIDICULOUSLY talented Christina Fischer. Christina and I are on the MFT design team together, and it is no WONDER she was asked to be a part of the group..this card is UNREAL!! I am still mad that the post office mangled the top of it a little, but it doesn't make me love it any less!! Thanks Christina!!

When I received this card in the mail, I was completely surprised. I don't honestly know Gloria(gm2785), but she sent me this card to tell me that she watches my gallery and loves my work. How SWEET is that??!! Thank you SO much!!

And last, but DEFINITELY not least, this super cute card came from my friend Lesa Smaligo. Lesa and I go WAY back and don't get to talk NEARLY as much as I wish we did. She works a TON this time of year and it is really hard to keep in touch, but she is still my girl!! Thanks Lesa, MWAHHH!!!

Thanks girls, I LOVE them!!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

that someone AWFULLY special is having a birthday, and soon!!! In fact, I BELIEVE it is Sunday, so obviously, if she is reading this, sorry your card is late, LOL!! I know she will understand....right?

Anyway, this is my card for today's Inspiration challenge. I chose this lampshade from the Hunkydory Home site to be my inspiration. I also used Taylor's Cupcake Sketch from today!! I used Chocolate Chip, Rose Red and Pretty in Pink for this card. The DP is from the Chocolate Chip Patterns pack. I colored the bird with my SU markers and added a shadow with my Copic Cool Grey No3. Honestly, if you are wanting a grey shadow, which I prefer, there really is no SU alternative...going gray is WAY to dark!! I added some 4 different ribbons from SU as well as some silver brads. The only thing that ISN'T from SU is the spiral clip, but I can't help myself!! This card is kinda plain, but everything I tried just junked it up, so I left it alone. I did layer my ribbons, so it TECHNICALLY fits the Ways To Use It challenge from this week...yayy me!!

Well, that is it for me now, I am EXHAUSTED and I have to work in the morning and then afterwards, I am locking myself in my stamp room until I get SOMETHING done!! Thanks for stopping by!!

It is time to share another picture of my nephew Jared, but today you get a treat, you get BOTH my favorite men!! This is my DH with Jared yesterday morning...can you see Jared's little fauxhawk...it WILL NOT lay down!! Cracks me up every time I see it!!

I Love Valentine's Day

Can I tell you how much I LOVE Valentine's Day?? I truly do, and now that I am speaking about it, I think MAYBE I need to get my cards ready to send...in all honesty, I don't even know how many I have made, YIKES!! Better add that to the To Do list, LOL! I am not one of those girls that wants flowers though(at least I don't in theory)...don't get me wrong, I love them and they are gorgeous, but seriously?? Give me the $75, I can put it to MUCH better use, LOL!! For today's post, I am going to show you a couple more of the Taylored Expression Sketch cards that I made. The first one was made using my girl Jackie's sketch. I started with the new Flirty Fortunes set and stamped it on Gina K. White. I left the box white, cause lets face it, most of them are, and then added a shadow with my Copic Cool Grey No.3 marker. I decided to make it a box full of love, so I stamped some of the hearts from the Sealed With A Kiss set(also from Paper Pretties) colored them with my copics, and glued them on. The image and it's layers were cut out using my Cuttlebug and Circle Nesties. I then paired it with some Washington Apple DSP from SU. The sentiment was cut out and added on top of a Heidi Swapp ghost heart. For this card, I used Riding Hood Red, and So Saffron plus Gina K. white. I ran the white layer through the Cuttlebug with my Swiss Dots folder. The two different DP's are connected using some So Saffron Poly Twill ribbon and then a piece of Riding Hood Red striped ribbon. Of course I HAD to do some piercing, and add some brads, and it was done!!

For this next card, I used the Sealed With a Kiss set again. I stamped Luke and Lexi on Gina K. White and colored them in using my Copics. I then layered them with Pink Pirouette, So Saffron and Bravo Burgundy...yes, I know I am over using this and TOTALLY eating my words about the whole Blavo Burgundy thing, but I AM a girl and TOTALLY entitled to change my mind, hehe!! I used some Parisian Summer DSP, the white layer was run through my Cuttlebug with the Textiles folder. The sentiment was stamped and then cut out with my Su Oval punches. I added some pearl stickers to the scallops and to the top, some piercing, YUMMY May Arts and SU ribbon and it was done. That is it for me now..gotta run!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Another Cupcake Sketch

I don't have much time today to post, but I wanted to have SOMETHING to share with you all. I am having a Signature Homestyles party at my house tonight so I am busy cooking, cleaning, and all that ON TOP of taking care of Jared, so I am running behind!! So, I am showing some more of the cards I made for the Taylored Expressions Anniversary sketches,this sketch was Ana Wohlfahrt's. This card was made using the new Anna Wight(Whipper Snapper)set, Hello Neighbor. I stamped the tree twice, colored it in with my copics, and then cut one out and popped it up(just the top of the tree). I added the grass(as stamp from her Spring Has Sprung set) and the flowers. They were all colored with copics too. The colors on this card are Rose Red, Regal Rose, and Always Artichoke. The DP is retired SU Always Artichoke as well. I used all SU punches to make my sentiment panel, added some Mark Richards bling to the centers of the flowers and then some spiral clips with ribbon from My Little Ribbon Shop. Super cute little store run by my pal Brandy with some YUMMY ribbon!!

That is it for me now, thanks for looking!!

Prettie Wednesday- Texture and a Sketch

Hello again everyone, it is time for another Prettie Wednesday challenge!! Two weeks ago, Danielle challenged the Pretties to put some texture onto their cards, but it couldn't be ribbon or primas...well, I hope mine counts, cause it wasn't a prima, but I KINDA made it look like a flower. First of all, I followed the SCS sketch, and cut out all my panels. I used some Old Olive DSP and CS as well as some Pink Pirouette DSP and CS. I stamped my image from Simply Special on Whisper White and then colored it with my Copics. The pink ribbon is from May Arts and the white is some that I got at My Little Ribbon Shop. For my texture, not only is the base embossed with my Argyle folder, but I took some pink felt and cut it out using my small scalloped circle nesties. I then took my scissors and cut up towards the center of the "flower" in between each scallop. On top of that, I added a Heidi Swapp ghost flower and a build a brad. Well, that is it for me now, go check out what my other Pretties have done!! Thanks for stopping by!!
ETA: One should NOT write blog posts at 1:30AM, you always forget something. It is my week to challenge my girls, so here is my challenge to you...to make a card using my new favorite color combo..Rose Red, Cameo Coral, and Kiwi Kiss(you can substitute Old Olive for this). Yayyy, I love a good color challenge!!


Julie Masse


Charmaine Ikach


Jana Weaver


Jillian Winters


Danielle Lounds


Jodi Collins


Jackie Rakoski


Jackie Pedro


Jessica Diedrich


Christi Thorsen


Frances Byrne

Welcome to the February Hop!!

Welcome to the February My Favorite Things Blog Hop. If you are just now joining the hop, be sure to go to Kim's Blog to get started. If you are here now, you should have come from Holly's blog!! I am sure you have seen some MAJOR eye candy before me, so hopefully I don't disappoint!! Today I am going to show you TWO cards that I made using the Tea For Two set by Stephanie Fizer...here are the details for the release!!

My Favorite Things (http://www.mftstamps.com/) is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, Februray 4th from 9-10 p.m. EST. This month there are THREE new sets being released including a Who's that Girl set that is GOING DIGITAL!Head over to the MFT forum on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night.

For my first card, I used some of the super cute Twitterpated paper from Imaginisce. I colored the cup and mouse in with my Copic markers after stamping it on Gina K White 120lb. paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I paired it with Real Red and Mellow Moss card stock. The ribbons are all from SU, as well as the punches that were used to create the sentiment panel. The white brads are from Doodlebug and the Spiral clip is from Spare Parts(Hobby Lobby). I did stamp the cup twice and popped the bunny butt up. I then added some white liquid applique to his tail to make it poofy.


My second card I actually made for the How'd They Do That tutorial over in the MFT member forum. I am demonstrating the Paper Tole technique, which I think REALLY adds a lot to these images. For more details on this technique, you can check out my tutorial on SCS. As far as the supplies for this card, it is all SU except for the spiral clips, which are also Spare Parts. The DP on the cup and the background are from the now retired(wahhhh) Parisian Summer DSP.

That is it for me now..the next stop is the ever talented Joanne Basile!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Season of Love

So, I REALLY wanted to play in today's color challenge, but I was having the HARDEST time coming up with a plan for a card. Finally after stopping and starting about one hundred times, I finally got all the pieces to come together to make my tree of LOVE!! Isn't it CUTE!! I stamped the tree trunk from Season of Friendship with Creamy Carmel and then stamped the leaves with Old Olive. I then cut it and it's layers(Cameo Coral, Old Olive, and Creamy Carmel) out with my Oval Nesties and Cuttlebug. I then pierced a border in the open spaces and added some hearts I punched out of Cameo Coral CS and Raspberry Tart DSP. I used my Heart to Heart punch from SU to punch out the hearts...love that punch!! The background is another strip of Raspberry Tart DSP layered with Cameo Coral which was then layered on some Old Olive DSP and the other challenge colors. I added some white taffeta and silver brads, and then stamped my sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The base on the card is Gina K. 120lb white. I am now VERY happy with this card, but I can no longer find the top of my stamp table...it is amazing to me that one card can create such CHAOS!! That is it for me now!! I will be back in about an hour and a half with this month's My Favorite Things blog hop, so stay tuned!!

Bling Bet Bounce

Welcome to the Bling Bet Bounce!! For this month's My Favorite Things release, we are having TWO hops!! One is this one, obviously, so if you are just not seeing this, head on over to Kim's Blog to get the party started!! You back from Jen's blog? GOOD!! Okay, before I get into the gory details, here is what you need to know about the release!!

My Favorite Things (http://www.mftstamps.com/) is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, February 4th from 9-10 p.m. EST. This month there are THREE new sets being released including a Who's that Girl set that is GOING DIGITAL!Head over to the MFT forum on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ to find out all the details and to find out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. We hope to see you there on Wednesday night.

Alright, now onto my projects....I don't know about you all, but I LOVE it when people LOVE what I do, kwim? I love it when my family opens my cards and gifts and ooh and ahh over how cool they are and how talented I am....seriously, I think we all need a little reassurance. For my sister's last birthday, I made her a personalized notebook...I don't if she likes it, I don't know if she uses it, but I KNOW she thought it looked cool. She called me not to long ago and told me that my nieces friend, who is appropriately named Jessica(awesome name), is in LOVE with the notebook I had made for my sister. She kept hinting that she wanted one, so my sister asked if I would make one for her for her birthday that is coming up soon. She goes by Jess, so when I saw the Bling Bet being released this month, I KNEW I wanted to use it!! I stamped the letters with Chocolate Chip ink and then added some Icicle Stickles to the holes. Be sure when you use the stickles with this alphabet, which was specifically made so that you could do whatever you want in the holes(in fact, I think Kim will have an awesome tip sheet available the night it is released), you don't squeeze to hard-a little goes a LONG way!! I took my composition notebook and covered it with some 3 Bugs in a Rug Cocoa collection paper. I added some yummy ribbon, a tag that came with the kit, some buttons from SU and a punched butterfly(Martha Stewart). I REALLY hope she likes it!!

For this next project, I wanted to show how it could be incorporated into a card, so I stamped the letters in Versamark and heat embossed them with Black EP. I then cut them out and colored the holes in with my Kiwi Kiss reinker and a blender pen. This card is VERY simple, but I LOVE the colors and you GOTTA love that ribbon!! The black is got AMAZING texture to it, it is from May Arts(thanks AGAIN Julie!!) The Kiwi Ribbon, buttons and paper are from SU. I scalloped the edge with my SU scalloped edge punch. The big button has white taffeta from SU through it and the two smaller have black brads. Like I said, super simple, but I am LOVING it!!

So, you ready to see some more EYE CANDY??? I thought so, BOUNCE on over to JOANNE'S blog for the next stop!! Thanks and have a great day, see you tonight(technically tomorrow night right now, but you get the idea) for the MFT release hop...I am a hopping/bouncing fool!!hehe