So....

I should have went to bed, but I decided to do today's sketch first..ya, that was my first mistake. Then I got ink on the bottom of my card, so I had to alter the sketch by adding some ribbon. THEN I stamped my sentiment and it was a tad crooked, so then I had to punch out the sentiment and place it over my booo booo....are you getting where this is going. Yep, this card is full of mistakes(we don't even want to TALK about the brads), but I still {heart} it. I used my Sweet Stems set and paired it with my Raspberry Tart DSP. The images were colored with my SU markers, punched with my square punches from SU, and then popped up. The sentiment is from the SU Really Retro set and all the embellishments came from SU. Ya, now I am TOTALLY going to bed....

A BIG Announcement!!

Back in September of last year, I got asked to be a part of Jessica Knutsen's very first design team for her SUPAH CUTE new stamp line, There She Goes. Due to getting asked to be on the Dirty Dozen for SCS and My Favorite Things...so I had to quit. But guess what??!! Being the SUPER SWEET and AWESOME person that she is, she has allowed me to come back as a Trendsetter(that's what her DT is called ya know)!!! YAYYY!! My last month of the Dirty Dozen is this month, but I was SO anxious to get started, I went ahead and signed back up this month!! I am SUPER excited about the rest of the team too, I will list them all later. Seriously though, TONS of talent!! Starting Wednesday we will start giving peeks at the new sets being released on the 1st, so stay tuned for that, you won't want to miss them!!

This month's TSG challenge is to BLING IT OUT! So bring out your rhinestones, glitter, sparkle pens, stickles and everything else that you can use to bling out your card. Use TSG stamps and you will be entered to win a free NEW RELEASE stamp set! You have until Saturday 12:00 AM Est. to get those challenge projects in! Please use the keyword TSG04 and be sure to go to Jessica's blog and put your link in her Mr. Linky thingie!!hehe

Over the weekend, the current DT members asked all their blog readers to tell them what questions they would ask if they could ask a DT member anything. Here are the top 10 questions along with my answers......enjoy(which is the theme of my card...clever aren't I, LOL)

1. What do you typically start a project with? What's picked first: stamps, embellishments, DP, colors.....?
Normally for me, I start with the stamps and then paper, the rest works itself out from there!!

2. Do you give away your cards, sell them, send them or hoard them? Or all of the above?? I have recently sold a few, but that is DEFINITELY not the normal. I have quite a few here that REALLY need to be mailed out..but normally I send them all out or give them to family…I like to share the love!!

3. If you could design your own stamp or stamp set, what would it be?
Yikes, well in that area, I am pretty much a loss, but if I had the skills to do that, it would be a dog set that would include a Miniature Pekingese. That is what my dog Sophie is and she is just SO CUTE!! IMHO.

4. Where do you get your inspiration?
What usually gets me going is a good sketch or color challenge.

5. How do you balance your stamping time with your personal time/work/kids/etc.?
Ya, if you figure that out, let me know because right now I am a total loser at that,LOL!!

6. What is your favorite embellishment?
Asking me to pick ONE favorite embellishment would be like asking me to pick which one of my nieces or nephews is my favorite….impossible decision so it is never gonna happen!!

7. What is something that not a lot of people know about you?
If I told you, I would have to kill you….


8. On average how long does it take to create one of these fabulous cards we see each week??
An hour is about the average, sometimes more, RARELY less…..

9. What is your favorite coloring medium?
At the moment, I am enjoying my copics, but up until a month or two ago, I would have DEFINITELY said my SU markers. I am still more comfortable with those, but I love the variety of colors that you can get with the Copics.

10. What time of day do you prefer to do your creating?
I am DEFINITELY a night time stamper…which can be a problem because I tend to stay up WAY to late!!






















Well, there you have it...more than you really wanted to know right!! Anywho, here is a quick card that I made using the Let's Get Together set....LOVE it!! I paired it with my Good Morning Sunshine DSP from SU, as well as Pacific Point and Chocolate Chip. I used the Mojo Monday sketch for my card too. All the accessories are from SU, except the spiral clips. I colored the cup with Copics and then paper pieced the band. Well, that is it for me now...check out the rest of the team's blogs to see how they answered the questions...you know you want to!!
Angela http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
Becky http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Bev http://bevithia.blogspot.com/
Christi http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Denise http://thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/
Faith http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Holly http://toyzhaven.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jessica (owner) http://jessica-thereshegoes.blogspot.com/
Jessie http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/
Joanne http://inkyoceangazer.blogspot.com/
Jodi http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/ <---yep, that's my girl!! Julie http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Maki http://makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Silke http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
Stephanie http://stephsstampinstuff.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

Retro WOOOW!!

Okay, so when I saw the CRAZY color challenge that Emily(with the help of Jenn Balcer) came up with, I was skeeerrrred. It is so BRIGHT and SCREAMS 70's kitchen to me...total Tupperware colors, am I wrong?? I know I am a TAD young to REALLY remember, but I remember the Tupperware!!LOL!! Anywho, when I saw the combo, I automatically thought of my new Good Friend set. I stamped the bird three times with Summer Sun and cut two of them out. One I just glued on, the other I popped up. I added the beak and legs with Pumpkin Pie. I layered it with those two colors and Kiwi Kiss....yeaoooooW!! Since it felt retro, I used a sentiment from my new Really Retro sentiment set from SU. I paired it with some Good Morning Sunshine DP and Kiwi and Pumpkin ribbons. The buttons are from SU and are Summer Sun....finally, I know why I bought them!! Welp, better go, the boy is getting restless and I didn't get to see him very much yesterday so I have missed him!! See you around!!

Oh, and by the way.....this card IS SUO!!!!WAHOOO!! Go me...I refrained from the normal spiral clips and embossing that throw me off...yayy me!!

Rubber Band Stamping

So, I didn't read all the directions on today's Technique Lover's Challenge, and I did it wrong, but I did it and that's all that matters right. I got the general idea of it...you wrap rubber bands around an acrylic block, ink them up, stamp them on CS and then add ink with a sponge dauber around them(I believe you have to emboss it first...so an embossing ink is recommended). I just saw about wrapping the rubber bands, so I did that and stamped it on a piece of my Bella Birds DSP to add something to it....and I actually liked it, so I decided to use it anyway!! I used Chocolate Chip ink to stamp the rubber bands and to sponge the edges. The main image is from Eastern Influences and was stamped on Whisper White and colored with my SU markers. I then cut it, and it's layers out with my Cuttlebug and Oval Nesties....SU REALLY needs to make some sort of oval die cut, but anyway. I then sponged the edges and of that too. The flower was colored and stamped twice and then popped up. The card stock colors are So Saffron and Chocolate Chip. All my accessories are from SU, except the spiral clips, or course!! I almost forgot....the sketch is Jen's Sketch For You To Try from this weekend too!! That is it for me now...Jared is here and demanding my attention!! Have a great day!!

FS SgtStamper...yayyy!!

So, I don't really know her all that well, but when I saw that Jami(SgtStamper) was the Featured Stamper this weekend, I was so excited!! She is so talented and is SO SWEET!! She always leaves the nicest comments on my, and so many others work!! I chose this card of Jami's to CASE. I changed the main image, but kept it a Bella, the colors, embellishments, and sentiment. I changed a lot, but I think you can still see the similarities between the two cards. For my main image, Matilda Muffinbread, I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Gina K. 120lb white card stock. I then colored it with my Copics and added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to her wings with my two way glue pen. All of my embellishments are from SU, except the white organdy, which is from SU, but retired. The DP is from Sassafrass Lass and I paired it with Cool Caribbean and Regal Rose. Isn't this such a CUTE image!! Love it!! Well, that is it for me now, have a great day!!

True Friend...

Is it just me or is this card a little bright???LOL!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, I really do, I am just always SHOCKED by the BRIGHTNESS of Pacific Point. I will be honest, I really tried to add another color to this..Pumpkin Pie to be specific, but it was fighting with me, so I gave up. The combo is gorgeous, I just couldn't get it to work with this stamp set. I am still pretty excited about all my new SU goodies, so when I saw today's Inspiration challenge, I knew I wanted to use this set. I love the butterfly in it, and I thought it would work perfect for this challenge. I chose one of the samples that she gave us to look at from the Flutter website, but I went a tiny bit brighter. I stamped the butterfly from Simple Friendship with Rose Red ink and cut it out. I then cut it out and added it to my sentiment panel. Sadly, this panel was cut out with my Oval Nesties, so it makes it NOT an SUO card..but it is close!! I then layered it with my two colors, added some piercing, and a spiral clip with ribbon on it. For this card, I followed Taylor's Cupcake Sketch from today. The DP is from the Raspberry Tart and Good Morning Sunshine DSP. All the accessories, with the exception of the spiral clip, are from SU. Well, that is it for me now...gotta get to bed!! Thanks for stopping by!!

The Gambler

When I saw this months Dirty Dozen/Dirty Dozen Alumni challenge, I had to laugh. My DH is a huge country fan, and he mostly only listens to the old stuff. One of his favorite songs is The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. I decided I would be nice and put that song on my iPod for the next time we were in the car together....he made me listen to it about 25 times in a row...it got deleted as soon as I got home. Not that there is anything wrong with the song, but after 25times I was DONE. Anywho, you probably want to know why I am babbling about that, right? Well, here are the directions that Jami set forth for us this month:

Know When to Fold 'em!

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,Know when to walk away and know when to run.You never count your money when youre sittin' at the table.There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Challenge Focus: Cards/Poker/Games/Gambling/Luck - anything loosely related - just tell us how it relates.

Required Element: A card made with other than a standard fold (think joy fold, z-fold, tri-fold, accordion, hinge card, etc.)

Restricted Element: No buttons. (Yes we know buttons are *hot* right now.)

So, now I guess is the part where I try to convince you that it is related, right? Well, personally, I don't think it was THAT far a stretch, so here goes. Gambling, if you win, you are fortunate-fortune cookie....get it. Plus they have lucky numbers on the back right?? There are also other reasons why I think this will fit, but lets keep it PG, kay?!! Easy enough, right, one would think so, but I had my card COMPLETELY done and forgot to do a fancy fold so I had to scrap the base and start over. Luckily, I only had to do the main image panel once. I used Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch for my card along with the Paper Pretties stamp set, Flirty Fortunes. I colored my fortune cookie twice, cut one out and glued it on for a tiny bit of dimension. I used two different DP's, both from the SU Patterns Pack from last catalog, and some of the yummy new silver brads. The embossing was done with my Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots folder...and just in case you can't tell, this card is a gatefold. Well, that is it for me now!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

Dear Friend

I was up late, way way way too late, and I decided that I would knock out a card for today's Limited Supplies Challenge. The challenge was to make a card using Green, 3 or less layers and only 2 embellishments. You also got "bonus" points if you used DP. Done, done, done, and DONE!! I used Corduroy Buttons from SU and some of the Valet Ribbon Originals as my two embellishments. I stuck to three layers( the white and DP layer is technically only one because I cut them in half and connected them with the ribbon) too!! I used one of my FAVORITE color combos, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Black along with Whisper White. The stamp set is the new Central Park set and the Dp is from the Urban Oasis pack. Okay, now I HAVE to get to bed!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!! I will be back later with my DD/DDA monthly challenge!!

Praying For You

I know I have seen this set all over the place, but seriously, it is SO gorgeous I could look at it all day. I know that I have said it recently, but SU REALLY knocked it out of the park with this catalog. I have NEVER(since 2002) been more pleased with the selection of stamp sets, paper and embellishments. I just wish I didn't like it all so much...makes me broke, LOL!! Good thing I have kept up with my monthly minimums so I at least get a discount, right??!! Anyway, I was stalking the Ways to Use It challenge waiting for my nephew to get here, and when I saw it was to use stripes, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. In fact, I was going to make this exact card today, no matter what the challenge was because I couldn't stand to have it trapped in my head any longer. I stamped the tree from Thoughts and Prayers with Chocolate Chip ink along with the sentiment, and then layered it with Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip. I added some piercing and buttons from the Button Latte and Bouquet collections. I did add some hemp to the holes, so Miss Jody wouldn't yell at me..hehe. The white ribbon is from the Dress Up Ribbon Originals and the Chocolate is just the wide grosgrain. I paired it with Kiwi Kiss DSP as well as Chocolate Chip. I saw a card with this sketch on Cindy's blog yesterday, and even though I had used the sketch before, I knew it was PERFECT for the card I had seen in my head...believe it or not, the card I had in my head would have only been two layers...we can't have that, LOL!! Well, Jared is here now and demanding my attention. In the last two weeks he has decided to crawl(more of an Army crawl but still), become VERY good with his walker, and sit up on his own.....MAKE HIM SLOW DOWN!!

Have a great day!!

Prettie Wednesday- A Color Challenge

So, two weeks ago I challenge the Prettie Girls to make a card using one of my new FAVORITE color combo's: Rose Red, Cameo Coral and Kiwi Kiss. I wanted to use March's Stamp of the Month, Sophia Ballerina before we have to put her away for a month...which may kill me. I colored her with my Copic makers, added some Perfect Pearls to her skirt and then layered her with the challenge colors. I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try from this weekend for my card too. The DP is from SU's Raspberry Tart pack, as are all the embellishements. I did have to add the sentiment panel...but I think Jen will forgive me. Seriously, this is my FAVORITE Sophia...no really, she is(for now...hehe). Wanna play along? Just make a card using this GORGEOUS color combo and leave a link on this post showing us what you made!!
Also, we are getting ready for our next release on March 1st, so that means it is time for another Cutie Pie contest. This month's contest is open until February 28th at 8pmCST. Just be sure to post your card using Paper Pretties stamps in the Paper Pretties Cutie Pie Contest gallery at the Paper Pretties website. The winner will not only take over the Cutie Pie title, but will receive ALL the new release stamps for FREE!! WAHOO!!

Okay, that is it for me now...go check out the other girls to see what they have done with my challenge!! Should be amazing if I know my girls!!

Julie Masse
Charmaine Ikach
Jana Weaver
Jillian Winters
Danielle Lounds
Jodi Collins
Jackie Rakoski
Jackie Pedro
Jessica Diedrich
Christi Thorsen
Frances Byrne