Happy Fall

Phewww!! I have had the most HECTIC weekend!!! I swear it feels like forever since I have got to blog!! My sister is sick, so my nephew Jared is spending his first night here!! How exciting-atleast, that is what I say now...ask me again at 4am!! Since I don't know how long it will be before he demands my undivided attention again, I will make this super short and sweet!! This is my card for today's Featured Stamper challenge over on SCS. The Featured Stamper is Niki E. and she is SUPAH talented!! I chose this card of hers to CASE...and let me tell you, if you are looking for some clean and simple layouts, her gallery is a MUST SEE!! I used the September stamp of the month from Paper Pretties, Falling For You. You have about 3hrs to get signed up to get her before she gets released officially in October. Be sure to sign up for the Paper Pretties Stamp of The Month club and please, TELL THEM I sent you!! Also, tomorrow night(Sept. 1st) is our monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party. We are releasing Howdy Girlfriend and having some fun challenges along with some prizes!! Be sure to stop by, and if you can't stamp, at least stop by and chat for a while!! The fun starts at 7pmCST. Back to my card!! I stamped Sophia on watercolor paper with Black Stazon. I colored her in with my SU markers and cut her and her layers out with my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities. The paper is Chocolate Chip and Really Rust. The DP is some retired from SU and the top Very Vanilla layer is embossed with my paisley folder. I added the sentiment panel at the bottom, which has had the corners punched with the SU ticket corner punch.

Well, that is it for me now!! Hope you all have a great night, pray I get some sleep!!

Yayy Me!!

So, I have a confession to make...and yes, I have been doing that a lot here lately...since at least December I have owned a set of 120 Prismacolor pencils. I bought them from a lady selling the entire set, with only about 10 sharpened, for $60...what a steal!! Anyway, I loved looking at them, I bought mineral spirits and blending stumps from Gina K., and there they sat.....and sat. Sad right?? I NEVER even sharpened a single one of them, much less colored with them. I think I was intimidated...and when I saw today's Ways To Use It challenge, I decided that today was the day and I was gonna color with those pencils no matter what!! The challenge, as you may have guessed, was to use colored pencils. So, yep you guessed it, my image was stamped with Black Stazon with colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. Now, I can't say that I am completely thrilled with this, and I can DEFINITELY say that I still LOVE my markers, but for my first time coloring anything with them..... it's NOT BAD!!! This card is also for Cindy Haffner's My Favorite Things sketch challenge. She changed the date from Monday to Thursday, so for once I am not late!! The main image and sentiment are from the super cute MFT set Monster Squad. I added some silver brads to the main image and popped it up. The DP(where I got my colors from) is from the K&Co. Halloween Glitter stack. I layered it with Basic Black and added the sentiment and piercing. The scallops were made with my SU scallop punch. The white layer is embossed with my Cuttlebug and swirls embossing folder. I am so proud of my first creation using these pencils, even if I never pull them out again!!LOL!! Plus, I now have 2 Halloween cards made...woohoo!!

That is it for me today, I need to get something stamped and posted for tomorrow. I am going to my sisters house to watch my nephew instead of staying here. He spent the last three days at my Mom's and got a tiny bit home/mommy sick. I figured it would be better for him if I went there instead of dragging him all over!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

stamps-Monster Squad

paper-Lovely Lilac, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, White, K&Co Halloween paper

ink-Black Stazon

tools-ribbons, silver brads, blending stumps, odorless mineral spirits, Cuttlebug, Swirls folder, scallop punch, Prismacolor pencils

Blessings

Hello again!! Here is my card for today's sketch challenge on SCS. I needed a card to go along with a gift I am sending to my friend, so I used the challenge to get it done!! Go me!!! The DP is by Crate Paper and is part of the Seaweed collection. I paired it with Chocolate Chip and Sage Shadow. The main image is from Papertrey Ink and is called Out on a Limb. I did a lot of sponging with Chocolate Chip ink and pierced a whole bunch too...I am obsessed, what can I say. All the hardware is from the SU retired Antique Brass hardware. The ribbon is all from SU too. That is it for me now..kind of short but sweet right??!! I REALLY need to get my google reader caught up, so gotta run. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
stamps-Out on a Limb by PTI
paper- Sage Shadow, White, Chocolate Chip, Crate Paper DSP
ink-Chocolate Chip
tools- hardware, ribbon, sage marker

Prettie Wednesday- Shaker Card

Hey everyone, so sorry this is late! I usually try to get my Prettie Wednesday cards made early and posted ahead of time so I don't have to worry about them, but I have been super tired all week and just never got around to it. That and the fact that I really have a hard time making shaker cards! I decided that since the only color of beads that I have were blue, they were gonna have to represent water.LOL! So I dug out my Beach Bum image and got to work. Cooper was stamped with Black Stazon on White and colored with my SU markers, Pacific Point ink pad and aqua painter. The frame was cut out of PP CS and Bashful Blue using my Cuttlebug and Nesties. The PP part was also embossed with my swirls embossing folder as well as the white in the back ground. This card is BASED on Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch, but I couldn't get it to work with the two skinny panels, so I ended up with this. Hilariously, this card is on it's way(tomorrow) to my BSF Jodi. What is hysterical about this you ask.......I spent the better part of last night begging her to make one for me and let me post it today!!! ROFLMBO!!! This weeks challenge is the SUPER talented Julie Masse!! Can't wait to see what she has in store for us!! Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!! Don't forget-We are having our monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party at 7pmCST over at the Paper Pretties forum on September 1st. Howdy Girlfriend will be released as well as all the normal festivities-you know-challenges, chatter, prizes, site crashing....LOL!!! Be sure to be there for all the fun!! Also, the 31st is the last day to submit your work for our Cutie Pie contest!!! Just upload as many cards as you want to the Cutie Pie Submissions gallery before 8PMCST on the August 31st to be considered. Not only do you get the title of Cutie Pie, you also get a gift certificate to the store...WOOHOOO!! And finally, don't forget that the 31st is also the last day to sign up for the Stamp of the Month Club to get Falling For You a month before it is released to the public. Be sure to tell them I sent ya!!

Don't forget to check out the other Pretties creations, since they were probably all on time!!LOL!!

Julie Masse

Charmaine Ikach

Jana Weaver

Danielle Lounds

Jodi Collins

Jackie Rakoski

Joni Stringfield

Carolina Buchting

Some News and the Color Challenge

Here is my card for today's color challenge over on SCS. The challenge was to use Kraft, Rose Red and Basic Black. I used my Howdy Girlfriend image that is being released on the first by Paper Pretties. We are having our monthly Stampin In Your Jammies party at 7pmCST over at the Paper Pretties forum. Howdy Girlfriend will be released as well as all the normal festivities-you know-challenges, chatter, prizes, site crashing....LOL!!! Be sure to be there for all the fun!! Also, the 31st is the last day to submit your work for our Cutie Pie contest!!! Just upload as many cards as you want to the Cutie Pie Submissions gallery before 8PMCST on the August 31st to be considered. Not only do you get the title of Cutie Pie, you also get a gift certificate to the store...WOOHOOO!! And finally, don't forget that the 31st is also the last day to sign up for the Stamp of the Month Club to get Falling For You a month before it is released to the public. Be sure to tell them I sent ya!!

Okay, NOW onto my card!! I stamped my Howdy Girlfriend Sophia on White with Black Stazon. She was paper pieced with Rose Red DSP and colored in with markers. I used a ton of silver brads, some more ribbon, paper piercing and it was done. On the bottom, I used one of the already released sentiments that go along with my Howdy image, isn't it CUTE!! This card was made using Danielle's Paper Pretties weekly challenge. This week's challenge is a sketch, and it is fabulous!! Mine isn't EXACTLY like the sketch, but it is pretty darn close!!

Well, lots to do da day, so I am outta here!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

stamps-Howdy Girlfriend and sentiment

paper-Rose Red, Basic Black, Kraft, Whisper White, Rose Red DSP

ink- Black Stazon

tools-silver brads, spiral clips, black gingham, kraft taffeta, SU markers

A Faux Embossed Diva Challenge

Yep you heard me right, this is my SCS technique lovers challenge-to faux emboss, and Julee's Meet the Verve Divas challenge for this week. I don't USUALLY participate in the technique lovers challenge, but this was a FABULOUS technique, so I wanted to try it!! You can find the directions here. I messed it up a tiny bit, but I loved the way it looked, so I decided to keep it. I used white Stazon and Baja Breeze to stamp the ferns from my SU set Petal Prints on a piece of Baja Breeze CS. I layered it with White and Chocolate Chip. The diva challenge for this week was a sketch challenge, so that is what I used for this card. The sentiment is from the Verve Stamps set Uplifting phrases. The rest of this is pretty simple to figure out, but as always, if you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to ask!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

On a personal note, I am working at the Post Office this week, so my nephew is staying with my Mom. WAHHHHH!!! I miss him already, so Mom, if you are reading this, give him a big hug and kiss for me!!

stamps-Petal Prints by SU and Uplifting Phrases(Verve Visual)

paper-Chocolate Chip, Close To Cocoa, Baja Breeze, White

ink- Brown Stazon, White Stazon, and Baja Breeze

tools-spiral clips, white brads, stamp a ma jig, circle punches, white and chocolate taffeta, cocoa grosgrain, chocolate wide grosgrain, Cuttlebug, textile folder

Kiwi Kisses for Kokirose

So, I know I didn't keep it a secret...but when the new colors came out for SU this catty, I wasn't all that impressed. Truth be told, I was kind of angry that they thought that THESE colors could replace my beloved in-colors from last year. Well, here I sit, eating my words....not only are they not that bad...they are downright wonderful!! Anyway....when I saw who today's featured stamper was, I just had to play. It is Patricia Rose aka Kokirose, and she is just super sweet. She leaves tons of comments and does some beautiful work. I chose this card of hers to CASE. I changed the colors, images, and embellishments. Basically, I kept the layout and changed the rest!! As a personal challenge to myself, I am not allowing myself to purchase any new stamps until I use some of my new ones that remain un-inked. This one, I HAVE used before, but it has been ages. I stamped the branches from Serenity(Verve Stamps) with Black Stazon and Kiwi Kiss on GP white paper. I then added the sentiment and pierced a border around the circle and under the sentiment. I layered it with Kiwi Kiss and Basic Black. A ton of layers, and brads, and ribbon, and it was done!!

stamps-Serenity by Verve Stamps

paper-Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, White

ink-Black Stazon and Kiwi Kiss

tools-silver brads and clip, black organdy, white taffeta, black gingham, Cuttlebug, circle nestabilities, swiss dots folder, circle punches

My Butterfly SFYTT

Okay, so let me preface this by saying that I LOVE Verve Stamps!! I love all the beautiful sentiments, the gorgeous fonts they are written in, and the fact there is one for just about everything you need to say. My biggest problem is the fact that I don't feel like I am WORTHY of these stamps....do you know what I mean?? They are so elegant and beautiful, and the design team is SO amazing, and Julee Tilman....I mean seriously, can she GET any more talented and SWEET??? So, when I saw Jen's Sketch For You To Try today, I knew that that oval would be perfect for a sentiment, and the placement of the embellishments would work beautifully for the butterflies from my Fluttering By set. Now, I have had this set for a couple of weeks and I have totally tried to use it, but just couldn't get it to work out the way I wanted....truth be told, they all ended up in the garbage. So, today, since I had plenty of time to work with it, I brought out my set and went to work. As I sat at my table, I tried to channel my inner diva(thanks for the inspiration girls) and amazingly, this card practically made itself. I wanted to make a card to send to a friend who just had surgery and loves the color purple. I stamped my butterflies with Black Stazon and colored them in with my SU markers. I then cut them out and added some crystal effects. The DP is from the retired Lovely Lilac DSP and is layered with Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac, and Basic Black. The sentiment was stamped with Black Stazon as well and was cut out with my Cuttlebug and Oval Nestabilities. For my third embellishment, I added a spiral clip with some purple polka dotted shear ribbon. I added black brads to the corners and some black organdy ribbon around the DP panel. The white panel was run through my Cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder and layered with my cs colors. In the end, I am SUPER excited about this card....I love it, YAYYY!!! Finally!!!

That is all for me now...off to play some more!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

ETA: the light is totally reflecting off my top butterfly, I swear it matches!!

stamps-Fluttering By

ink-Black Stazon

paper-Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Basic Black, and Whisper White

tools-Su markers, black brads, silver brads, ribbons, Cuttlebug, swiss dots folder, Nesties

Beate's Back!!

YAYYY!! Beate is back with her weekend sketch challenge and I am THRILLED!! She actually used a sketch that was drawn up by Jenn Balcer this week, and it is super fabulous!! I decided to combine her sketch challenge with today's Inspiration challenge on SCS. The challenge was to use these Marimekko Umbrellas. Now, personally, I would never pay that much for an umbrella, but that is coming from a girl whose umbrella is in the trunk which proves to be virtually useless when it rans. By the time I get out to get it out of the trunk, I am wet already and figure what the heck, right!! Anyway, I chose this umbrella here. I was inspired by the colors on it, so I used those, and an umbrella stamp, scratch that, my FAVORITE umbrella stamp, to make my card. The colors are Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, and Rose Red....can you say GORGEOUS!! I stamped my Rainy Day Friends Sophia on Whisper White and colored it with my SU markers. The dress was paper pieced using some yummy(retired, boohoo) Rose Red paper. I colored in the big flowers on the paper piecing with my Regal Rose marker. In hind sight, I would have left them alone, but I wasn't cutting it out again!! I cut the image and layers out using my Cuttlebug and Nesties. The sentiment is from the Rainy Day Friends set and I layered it with my colors and then added a spiral clip with some American crafts ribbon and some silver brads. The DP is more of the SU Rose Red DSP and some Bali Breeze DSP. I added various ribbons from SU and some piercing on each edge. I usually prefer that my main image face the center of the card, but I made an exception for this card. Isn't is SUPER CUTE! Look at all the brads, and ribbon, and layers...yuuuummm!!hehehe

That is it for me now, off to stamp some more!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

stamps-Rainy Day Friends

paper-Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Whisper White, and Bali Breeze DSP

ink- Black Stazon

tools-SU ribbons, SU markers, spiral clip, silver brads, Cuttlebug, Nesties

Some RAK's

I have recieved several RAK's in the mail recently that I haven't got around to posting!! Here are a few of them!!


This first one is from Gwen(tturtle)!! Gwen is super sweet and always leaves the nicest comments on my cards in the SCS gallery. When She heard that I had been chosen for the Featured Stamper, she PM'd me and asked me for my address. This is the card that she made for the challenge!! Thank you so much Gwen, I just LOVE it!!

My next RAK was from Denise Marzec(peanutbee).......WOOT!! She is one of my FAVORITE stampers and I adore everything that she creates. She is so super talented and was recently invited to be on the There She Goes design team along with me. I am so excited to work with someone so talented!! This is the card that she made for the Featured Stamper challenge too, so thank you for honoring me!!

My last card is from Michelle Woerner(sf9erfan), WOOHOO!! Michelle is not only a super sweet person, but she is MAJORLY talented. This is the card that she made for the Featured Stamper challenge and I LOVE IT!! It has 10 layers....YAYYY!! LOL!! You know how I feel about layers right? It was so funny yesterday, my good friend Laura was saying that she had to be near the limit of embellishments that one person could put on a Limited Supplies challenge card without having the challenge police called. I promptly replied that we could share a cell because my limited card had 10 layers......hmmm, me thinks that may be stretching the word LIMITED a little too far!! Anyway, thank you so much Michelle, I love it...and I am feeling very enabled right now...I have been on the fence about that Verve set, and now can feel myself falling off the edge!! LOL!!

I Have Been Keeping a Secret....

So, I have been keeping a little secret from all of my loyal blog readers. If you have been paying attention lately, I have been promoting a friend of mine(Jessica)'s new stamp company, There She Goes. Wanna know why? She has invited me to be a part of her design team!! How awesome is that!! Be sure to check out the announcement on Jessica's Blog and see the SUPER talented group of ladies that I will have the pleasure of working with. I really am over the top excited.

Now, my card!! This card was made for today's Limited Supplies Challenge. The challenge was to take out some of your old dusty sets and paper and use them on a card. I used my only inked once Celebrate in Style set from SU that I just HAD to have. I have had it for over two years and have never inked a single stamp in it but the giraffe. Sad right??!! The image was stamped with Black Stazon, and although she asked that we use a long forgotten method of coloring, I just couldn't do it....what can I say, I love my markers!! As part of the challenge we were to use colors that we rarely ever use, so I picked Apricot Appeal(only used if in a color challenge, but I don't know why, I kind of love it), Garden Green(can't even remember that last time THAT color got busted out) and Brocade Blue(another never use, but don't know why cause it is pretty). The DSP is also some retired SU paper that I am hoarding called Sarah. The colors were perfect, so I cut into my last sheet of this paper but as you can see, could not bring myself to use more than a small strip. I added some white mini brads to each end of it then attached it to the base, which was my three colors and a piece of GP white that had been run through the Cuttlebug with my spots and dots folder. The sentiment is also from the Celebrate in Style set and I punched it out and layered it with AA and BB. Some piercing around the whole card, and to accent the image, and my card was finished.

Well, that is it for me now...Jared is cooperating right now, but I can see the look on his face that tells me that it won't last long, LOL!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Dont' forget, last day to pre-order your very own There She Goes stamp sets!!

Celebrating MFT

So, on the 20th of every month, My Favorite Things has Celebrating MFT Day. They figure by this point, we have our new stamps from the release and we are ready to play with them....they would be right, LOL!! Now, I know, today is not the 20th, but by the time I got my fairy card done last night, I was to tired to stamp, so I did it tonight...that is of course after my DH and I spent an hour driving around in the country looking for deer...yes...that is totally(not) as fun(boring) as it sounds!!hehe!! I decided to use my new Monster Squad set from MFT for my celebration card. Being the clever girl that I can sometimes be, although I have been in a bit of an unclever funk here lately, I decided to combine my celebration card with Cindy Haffner's MFT sketch. Cindy posts the most awesome sketches on Sunday's and I always try, note the word TRY, to participate. I stamped my main image with Black Stazon on GP white and colored it in with my SU markers. I did use my aqua painter, but only a little to lift some color. I then added some silver brads to the four corners after layering it with Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore, and Orchid Opulence. I added some spiral clips with some fun ribbon as well as a big black organdy bow with some black gingham tied around it. The paper is from K&Co.'s Halloween stack...AWESOME stuff!! The sentiment was stamped on GP white and cut out with my scalloped oval nesties. I am super excited about this card, not only because I got to use my new set, but because I am one card close to having my Halloween cards ready...woohoo!! Well, I better get to bed...if Jared is anything like what he was today, I am TOTALLY gonna need the rest!!


Don't forget- tomorrow is the last day to pre-order sets from There She Goes!! Be sure to check out these GORGEOUS sets and discounted prices!!

Thinking of You

After fighting the good fight, I finally broke down and ordered this GORGEOUS stamp from Stamping Bella. I had seen it on a lot of the blogs that I love, and tried to resist it, but it is just too stinkin cute!! So, this Bellas name is Eloise GreenGrass and she is part of the ChiChibouile line-doesn't that name just scream CUTE AND FUN. I stamped her with Black Stazon on White paper and colored her in with my SU markers. I then blended the image a little with my aqua painter and added some glitter to her wings...SUPAH SPARKLY. I cut her and the layers out with my Nesties. The colors on this card are Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Bordering Blue. The sketch is from today's SCS sketch challenge. It was guest hosted by WendyBell'sGirl, Amelia. She is so CUTE!! I used some Pretty In Pink paper from the retired Hostess Prints Pack for the triangle patterns and put some white brads in the top and bottom corner. All the ribbon around the middle is from SU. The sentiment is a rub-on from the retired SU Love and Happiness rub-ons.

Well, that is it for me now...gotta get to bed!!Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

PS. Don't forget, my pal Jessica over at There She Goes.... is starting her own new stamp company!! She is taking pre-orders at a discounted price until Friday so run on over and check her out!!

Happy Birthday Jackie...

sorry we are late!!! Jackie, one of my fellow Prettie Girls had a birthday this past Friday, and we are just now celebrating it!! Bet you thought we forgot you!!! My job for this shin-dig was to bring the cake, so here it is!! A couple of parties ago, Julie used a cake from The Pink Cake Box website as her inspiration, so it is where I went first for my inspiration...I swear to you, I could look at their stuff ALL DAY LONG...but I get incredibly hungry for cake while I am there!!LOL!! I chose this gorgeous cake they made for a contest. Isn't it fantastic!! I used the colors and the flowers as inspiration. I stamped Flutter By Sophia with Black Stazon on Whisper White and colored her with my SU markers. I stamped the flower a few extra times and cut them out and glued them on. For the belt, I cut a slit on either side and used some narrow white organdy ribbon. The paper is from SU and from DCWV Nana's Nursery. I added some white taffeta, silver brad, confetti flowers, and pink rhinestones. The sentiment is from a Papertrey set. The colros are Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery.

Be sure to blurf around and check out what the other Pretties have brought to the party!! Also, don't forget to stop by and show Jackie some love!!
Christie Ortman
Julie Masse
Charmaine Ikach
Jana Weaver
Danielle Lounds
Jodi Collins

Prettie Wednesday- Mini Album

Two Weeks ago Joni challenged all the Pretties to make a mini album...who knew she could be so mean...LOL!!! Okay, so she is so FAR from mean, but seriously...this was really hard. What makes it worse is the fact that MY album has to be sent to Joni, so she is gonna SEE it!!LOL!! Joni just recently got engaged and I just got done looking at some GORGEOUS pictures from her engagement party on her blog. Since this ablum is for her, I wanted her to be able to use it for pictures of her and her fiance, Laddu. I followed this super easy tutorial over on SplitcoastStampers. I used some Paper Studio paper to cover the back and front, textured white for the binding and inside covers, and black cardstock for the flaps. I have to be honest, I didn't do anything inside of it, because I want Joni to be able to do with it what she wants. I used the Sealed With A Kiss set from Paper Pretties and colored it with my SU markers. I then cut it and the black layer out with my nesties. I added some black organdy, white taffeta and some Michael's Bride Confetti flowers.

This weeks challenger is Jackie and I can't WAIT to see what she comes up with!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Be sure to go around and check out the other Prettie Blogs and see what they have been up to!!Julie Masse
Charmaine Ikach
Jana Weaver
Danielle Lounds
Jodi Collins
Jackie Rakoski
Joni Stringfield
Carolina Buchting

Have You Heard??

My pal Jessica over at There She Goes.... is starting her own new stamp company!! She is taking pre-orders at a discounted price until Friday so run on over and check her out!!

Baby Eye Candy!!

Need I say more!!

Falling For You

So, yesterday I was talking about the Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month Club right? Well, this is the Falling For You stamp that I was talking about. It is the September SOTM and you have until August 31st to sign up and receive her a MONTH before she gets released to the public!! Christie has already released some alternate sayings to go with her...so while you are there signing up, you should check them out!! Don't forget to tell them I sent ya!!

For my card today, I used the SCS color challenge. The colors were Ruby Red, Blush Blossom and Close to Cocoa. PERFECT colors for this super cute Fall image if you ask me. I colored Sophia with my SU markers and cut her and the layers out with my Oval Nesties. I then layered them on another panel using some Close to Cocoa DSP and the other challenge colors. The scallops were made with my SU scallop punch and I added some ruby brads to each end too. (this is where my nephew started crying....now I am back an hour later...) The ribbon is from a share I participated in with Jody Morrow. I couldn't decide on where to put the sentiment, so I decided I would put it on the inside. That is all for me now...Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a fabulous day!!

stamps-Falling For You-Paper Pretties

paper- Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa CS and DSP, Blush Blossom, and Whisper White

ink-Black Stazon

tools- SU markers, ruby brads, satin ribbon, Cuttlebug, Nesties, scallop punch

A Tease and a MFT Sketch

So, Jared is fully co-operating this morning and is allowing me to stamp!! YAYY!! He is taking a nap right now, so I am frantically trying to get this posted. Wish me luck!! I actually got TWO cards made, but one of them you will only be able to see if you are a member of the Paper Pretties Stamp of the Month club!! Great reason to join right?!!LOL!! For all of you members out there..did you know that once a week one of the Prettie girls posts a card to the special Stamp Of The Month club gallery for you all to see!! Cool right!! These cards can not be viewed anywhere else, not even on our blog..they are for your eyes only..don't you feel special now!! Don't forget, you have until August 31st to get signed up for the stamp of the month club and get Falling For You Sophia a month before she gets released to the public!! Don't forget to tell them I sent you!!
Now, onto the card you CAN see!! I made this card for today's My Favorite Things sketch challenge. It was made using my super cute new Flopsey stamp," What's The Story?". Flopsey is a new character for My Favorite Things that debuted last month and is so cute!! I stamped him/her?? with Black Stazon on Whisper White. I then colored him/her in with my SU markers and layered it with Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink. The DP on this is from the DCVW Nana's Nursery Baby Girl Stack. The green piece was ran through the cuttlebug with my Swiss Dots folder. The scallops were cut with my Nesties and Cuttlebug(seriously, how did I survive before these) and I added some white dots with my gel pen and some super cute pink button brads from Making Memories. The ribbon is white and pink taffeta from SU.

Well, I better wrap this up...I think I am pushing my luck this morning, and as soon as I get distracted he will wake up and require my undivided attention!! Thanks for stopping by, and thank you all again for all the well wishes for Jared and for me being the Featured Stamper!! I had such an amazing day yesterday, but I still have a ton of commenting to do!! Speaking of that...I have over 400 posts in my Google reader...so if I fail to comment on your blog, just know that I came, I saw, I ran like you know what to the next one.......hehehehe!!

ETA: Just went to the MFT forum and this is LAST weeks sketch...geezzzz...still behind...

Having A Moment...

Okay, so guess what????? I am today's featured stamper on SCS...WOOHOOO!!! I woke up this morning and got in my email and there was a message from my friend Silke telling me the fabulous news!! Luckily, I have all of you to share my excitement with, because trying to explain to my DH what that meant in our world didn't go over so hot...the most I got out of him was "that was the year I was born"-his reply to when I told him I was FS80 and "so people basically steal your work?"-his response to my explanation of CASEing. Men....don't they know that CASEing someones work is the best form of stamping flattery you can get??? Oh well, back to my card... I used this super cute swimsuit as my inspiration for this card. Yes I realize they don't look a thing alike, but that is why it is an inspiration challenge, right? I started by stamping my tee shirt from Melanie Muenchingers new Little Tees set. I stamped the flowers from the Gina K. set Framed Flowers(by Carolyn King) in Perfect Plum, and then kept stamping till the ink was faded(basically only inked the flowers once). I then took the Mom stamp from Gina's set, Spring Blooms and stamped it in Perfect Plum. The tee was cut out and popped up on a panel of Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black. The Plum and the White were run through my Cuttlebug with my script folder and the scalloped circles were also cut with my Cuttlebug. I then used some REALLY OLD SU paper on the bottom and wrapped some black organdy and white taffeta around the middle to hide the seam. I stamped my sentiment from the SU Holidays and Wishes set with Black Stazon on the paper and pierced a line around it. In hindsight, I would have totally left that out, but you know what they say about hind sight...its 20/20. I also pierced and faux stitched a border around the whole card.

Well, that is it for me now!! My nephew will be back for a full week tomorrow, so hopefully he is feeling a lot better so I can spend some time stamping and in the gallery...I got a lot of commenting done in my FS gallery, but got kicked off of SCS, boohoo! Thanks for stopping by and for all the well wishes I have received from all of you...It really means so much to me!! Have a great day!!!

A Sale and a Sketch

So, since my last post a TON has happened, so I will try to keep this brief(HAVE to get to bed!!)!!! On Thursday, my sister and I took my nephew to get his 2month immunizations. He cried a lot, as most babies do, and then he passed out. When I left, about and hour after they were done, he was fine. Within the next hour his poor little leg swelled up and he started screaming like nothing my sister had ever heard before. She rushed him to the ER, where my mom was working(thank goodness), and they decided that he must have either had an allergy to one of the shots or an injection site reaction to them. Needless to say, we were all scared to death. I don't think a single one of us got a good nights sleep that night!! I saw him today, and he is doing much better, but boy did he give us a scare. My sister informed me that I had NOT heard his pain cry yet, and if I could help it, I should never have to!!

Okay, enough babble, here is my card!! I made this card for three reasons. The first being that it was made using Jen del Muro's Sketch for you to try. The second was to announce the special back to school sale at Paper Pretties. Here are the details!!

.....If you spend $25 you get a free sentiment.

.....If you spend $50 you get a free sentiment and a free roll of American Crafts ribbon

.....If you spend $100 you get a free sentiment, a free roll of ribbon and FREE SHIPPING!!Wahooo!

The sale will run from Friday the 15th all the way until the 30th!

There is no coupon code or anything like that you just need to enter your choice of free

merchandise in the comments box when you check out!

Awesome right!!

My last reason was so that I would have a card to send to my niece for her first day back to school. I decided that my Off To School Sophia was the perfect image to use to send to her. I colored my Sophia with my SU markers(which qualifies it for the ways to use it challenge for this week too) and blended it with my aqua painter. I added some silver brads to the top corners of the main image panel and also the top and side panel that were made with some Summer Picnic DSP and Old Olive card stock. I tied some white taffeta and some ruby ribbon from one of my SU Ribbon Original packs around the top too. The apple is from my SU Tart and Tangy set and was stamped twice, once in Old Olive and once in Ruby Red. I then cut out the red apple, popped it up, layered all my circle panels and then added crystal effects to make it shiny.

Well, that is it for me now...I hope to get to stamp a lot tomorrow, but we will see!!LOL!!

Yayyy, I Stamped!!

Since I started taking care of my nephew Jared, my stamping time has seen a DRAMATIC downslide. Unfortunately, by the time he leaves I am pooped and ready for a nap. LOL!! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way( by that I mean him being here), but I just need to figure out how I am going to do what I love all day, and STILL be able to do what I love at night.

Since today was a sorta STRESSFUL day, I decided that no matter what, I was stamping. I sat down to do two cards, one for my nephew's birthday and one for the SCS color and sketch challenges. I started by TRYING to combine the two challenges, but that was a no go. I really dislike this color combo(Old Olive, Taken With Teal and Eggplant Envy), so I decided to do it separately. Why do you ask, because I love a challenge, and I miss doing them daily! The other day I was looking at my friend Silke's blog and my DH came in the room. He asked me who had made the card on the screen and I told him who and asked why...and he said, bravely, I knew it wasn't you....!! I asked him why he said that, and he said, your cards have more stuff on them...LOL!!! Who knew he was even paying attention!! So, in an effort to prove him wrong(and to use as little of this color combo), I decided to do a Silke inspired card. My main image was colored with my SU markers and then stamped. The sentiment is from the Verve Stamps set All About You. I pierced a border around it, added some wide grosgrain olive ribbon, and some silver brads, and it was done. Not my usually style, but I love it!!! I APOLOGIZE for the awful picture...just can't get the lighting right tonight!!

This next card was made using the SCS sketch challenge. I stamped my main image from the retired SU set Cowboy Kid. I colored him in with my SU markers and layered him with Real Red and Night of Navy(after distressing some of the edges). The DP is from the SU Prints Pack. I tied some hemp twine around the top and then added the sentiment. It is from the SU set Birthday Banter, and was cut out with my Word Window punch. I added some aged copper brads to it too. The star was stamped, colored and cut out. Since it is for my cousin Brody(he will be 4), I added a B to it with my SU Black marker.

Well, that is it for me now!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Prettie Wednesday-3 embellishments!!

Two weeks ago I challenged the Prettie Girls to make a card using three embellishments, which is normally not a problem for me, but hard for most other people. Truth be told, this is just my rebellion against Charmaines one embellishment challenge from a couple of weeks ago!!LOL!!!

I wanted to use my super cute Falling For You image from Paper Pretties for this challenge. This super cute Sophia is part of our Stamp of the Month Club, and you have until August 31st at midnight to sign up to receive her a MONTH before anyone else can even buy her...how cool is that!! Be sure to tell them I sent you!!!

It is no secret, I love my Sophia stamps, and this on is no exception!! I can remember when I was a nanny, I would rake the leaves into a huge pile and let the little girl I took care of jump in it....of course then her dad would come home and take them all away, but we had fun while it lasted!! Sophia was stamped with Black Stazon on white paper and colored with my SU markers and aqua painter. I then layered her with Chocolate Chip and Really Rust. The paper is from the Fall Flowers SU DSP pack. I used some yummy satin ribbon to separate my layers and added a spiral clip with some chocolate taffeta to it. The chipboard heart is from Making Memories and was also covered with some Fall Flowers DSP. In the center of the heart, I put a gold brad as well as some at the bottom. This card is on its way to Danielle. Hope she likes it!!

Be sure to go around and check out the other Prettie Girls and see what they have done for this challenge!!

Christie Ortman
Julie Masse
Charmaine Ikach
Jana Weaver
Jillian Winters
Danielle Lounds
Jodi Collins
Jackie Rakoski
Joni Stringfield

Donna Baker

Carolina Buchting

This weeks challenger is Danielle, and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!