Hugs and Hearts

Oh my! I sure have missed card making and blogging! I have been called into work every day this week (substitute teacher). I know many of you work full time, but when you don't expect it, and there are many other things planned already (meetings, appointments, etc.), it sort of throws a me for a loop...lol!

I was determined to make a card when I came home today from those adorable, yet quite energetic, first graders! I was inspired by a mix of Becky Rusher's fun A Muse cards! I just *heart* this little Love Monster from A Muse! I picked him up last Thursday when I went shopping with my friend Clara. I inked him up in Black Stazon and colored him with a Crayola red marker (Yes, I know...I NEED to buy some markers!!!) and some Stampin' Up Cool Caribbean ink. He is layered on a square of Cool Caribbean and then onto a scalloped square (Marvy Mega Punch) of Stampin' Up Real Red. My card base is a wonderful 4 Bar Note in Maderia Blue from A Muse. My little scalloped oval is made with a punch from Punch Bunch. I used some Color Box Fluid Chalk Ink in Lipstick Red for the "Hugs and Hearts" sentiment from Hero Arts. The sweet red stitched ribbon is from my swap friend Tracy Clemente (*waving* hello). I thought that my card still needed a little bit of something, so I added some Real Red hearts that I punched out with an old punch from Marvy. A little bit of faux stitching on the hearts to pull it all together and there you go!

I'm so glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Sharon's Scalloped Edge!

The weekend always brings about such wonderful challenges from other bloggers. Oh, how I wish I could do them all! Last weekend, I was able to participate in Beate's Sketch Challenge. This weekend, I decided to do Sharon Johnson's Challenge. Her challenge is to use a scalloped edge on the card that you create.

Here's my card...yes, I know that I didn't use any of my new rubber...lol! I'm afraid that will have to wait until tomorrow! My Sassy Stems set was still out from the card I made a few days ago, so I was inspired to use it again. I started off with a card base of Barely Banana. My black scalloped edge is made with Stampin' Up's Slit Punch (guard removed). I added a strip of Cool Caribbean and then I decided that I needed a bit of black on the right side of the strip to balance everything. I paper pierced the other black piece before I attached it for a little bit of detail. I just love this May Arts ribbon with the swirls! I was going to go with polka dotted ribbon, but the swirls reminded me of the scallops. So I thought this ribbon would be a nice way to tie it all together!. My image is watercolored with Barely Banana and Cool Caribbean inks. Star Dust Stickles were added for a bit of sparkle. The sweet little "happy birthday" is from Stampin' Up's Little Hellos set (another retired favorite).

Enjoy your Saturday! So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Have a Splendiferous Day!

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope that you are having a "Splendiferous Day"! I certainly am! A little stamp shopping with a friend, lunch at Panera Bread, and a trip to Michaels would make any day Splendiferous!!! Now I am having the pleasure of making a few cards with my sweet 10 year old niece! She is working on a Valentine's Day card and I whipped up this little number with some pieces that were just waiting to be made into a card!

I wheeled Stampin' Up's Basics Outline onto a square of Papertrey Ink White Card Stock and colored it up with Regal Rose, So Saffron, and Certainly Celery inks. Layered that square onto a piece of black and added some gingham ribbon. My Certainly Celery card base has the Canvas background stamped in Versamark for just a little texture and then I added one of my favorite Amuse sentiments. I finished it off with some self-adhesive pearls from Kaiser Craft and just a tiny bit of Diamond Stickles.

I purchased a few stamping goodies today and my latest Stampin' Up order just arrived! I'll be back tomorrow with a new creation to share! So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

BLOG CANDY Winner!

Drumroll please!!! The winner of the Blog Candy is Chris from Mudmaven Designs! Congratulations Chris! Please send me your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies out to you. Thank you to all of you for participating. I really appreciate that you have taken the time to visit my blog and I hope you stop by again! :D

A Cheery Card!

After posting two sympathy cards in a row, I decided that I needed to have a happy, cheery card for today! Stampin' Up likes to retire all the things that I like...the Sassy Stems set, the Riveting set, and the Petals and Paisleys paper...lol! That's alright though. I just love to play with new stamps and paper too! The other set that is used on the card is Circle of Friendship. Along with the designer paper, I used Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink, and Old Olive. The ribbon is from American Crafts and I just love how it matches the Cool Caribbean! Added just a little bit of Star Dust Stickles to make this card extra happy.

I'll be back later on tonight to announce the BLOG CANDY winner. If you'd like a chance to win, it is a few posts down. So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Another Sympathy Card

Well this is the third sympathy card that I have needed to make this month. This is for a wonderful friend of mine. Her father-in-law passed away. I find sympathy cards and masculine cards challenging so I hope this design works. I made a card very similar to this a couple of years ago, but with a more feminine feel.

I stamped the MSE sentiment first and then made a mask with a Post-It note. Then I stamped Stampin' Up's Canvas background over the entire Old Olive panel. The beautiful maple tree image is from the Lovely as a Tree set and it is stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with watercolor crayons. Added some Making Memories brads, Chocolate grosgrain ribbon from Sweet Miss Daisy, and some gold cording to put the whole thing together.

Tomorrow, I will be sure to post a happy and cheerful card! I'll also be choosing the BLOG CANDY winner. If you would like to check it out, it's a few posts down. So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge!

Beate posted a fantastic sketch for this weekend for us! I unfortunately need a sympathy card for a good friend of mine. Her mother and father were in a horrible automobile accident just before Christmas. Her mother passed away this past Wednesday. The services will be this upcoming week. Her father is stable, but he could certainly use your thoughts and prayers. My friend is also a card maker, so I really wanted to make something special for her and her family. This sketch was perfect for this retired set (Heartspeak) that I just got from Trudee. I also used my new Mixed Messages from Papertrey Ink with a tiny scallop punch from Punch Bunch. The card base is Certainly Celery and the Pretty in Pink panel has Stampin' Up's Floral background stamped in Brilliance Moonlight White Ink. The celery patterned paper scrap was left over from the card that I posted the other day. It is from the Just Delightful Simply Scrappin' pack. The pearls are made by Kaiser Craft. I thought that they'd add a little bit of elegance on the Pretty in Pink circles. The flower basket is colored with watercolor crayons and then some Star Dust Stickles were added. Let's hope this brings a little bit of comfort to my friend and her family.

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

BLOG CANDY!!!

Another trip to Mike's brought me a little bit of luck, so I thought that I'd share and give away some more BLOG CANDY!!! These clear plastic packages are a bugga' to photograph though...lol! If you can't tell, the sets include birthday, thank you, congratulations, love, a cute little cupcake on one set and the last set has a lovely expectant mother...very cute! The ribbon will work perfectly on all those Valentine's Day cards that you'll soon be making! Just leave me a comment on this blog post by Tuesday, January 22nd. I'll draw a name sometime around 8:00 pm. That's it!!! Easy peasy!! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Happy Saturday!

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a crop at Lauren Salzberg's Stamping and Scraping Group. It was wonderful to spend time with some close friends and to make a few things just for fun. Here is one of the cards that we made. Lauren designed an absolutely darling, horizontal card with the sweet little mouse from the Stampin' Up Happy Heart Day set, and I basically flip-flopped the card and asked if I could use the adorable elephant from the set instead. She was sweet enough to indulge my little burst of creativity (Thanks Lauren!) and this is what I came up with!

I have this set on order and I simply cannot wait for it to get here! Elbert (yes...I felt the need to name him...lol!) is stamped on watercolor paper with Black Stazon. I then used Stampin' Up watercolor crayons to bring him to life! When I got home, I added some Christmas Red Stickles (yes...I have another color besides Star Dust Stickles...lol) on the little hearts because after all, it is going to be Valentine's Day and you NEED sparkle on Valentine's Day...right?!?! We made the little Regal Rose scallops with the Stampin' Up Slit Punch and a hole punch. It was so nice to use the Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon too. The card that we made started off as a Regal Rose card base, but I actually cut my card front down when I got home and then adhered it to a Real Red card base. Thanks so much for inspiring me Lauren!

So glad that you could stop by...I'll be back with a little BLOG CANDY later on...Toodles! :D

Second Time Around!

The other day I made a card for Sharon Johnson's Tall and Thin Challenge (two posts down). Every time I looked at it, it seemed like something was missing. So...after looking at for about the one hundredth time, I decided to do something about it! I didn't want to start from scratch and I didn't want to ruin the original one by trying to take it apart, so I added to it. Here it is with another flower blossom. I'm much happier with it! It seems to be a bit more balanced (at least to me...lol!) What do you think?

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Another Card to Share!

Being snowed in means more stamping time...yippee! This card was originally designed as part of a gift set that I gave away. I was very happy with this design and today presented the opportunity to make a few more of these to keep on hand!

When Trudee decided to sell some of her older Stampin' Up sets, I was thrilled, and I immediately snatched up this retired set called On Gossamer Wings! She still has some terrific sets for sale if you are looking for a bargin, check out her "For Sale" page on the upper right side her blog...Follow Your Bliss! I stamped the main image onto watercolor paper with Black Stazon Ink and then I used my Stampin' Up watercolor crayons to color it in. Just had to add some Star Dust Stickles for the sparkle on the blossoms! Then I layered the image onto Elegant Eggplant card stock and used my Ticket Corner Punch on each corner. The card base is also Elegant Eggplant. It is hard to tell in the photograph, but I stamped the Linen background on the Eggplant for some texture. The Certainly Celery panel is faux stitched on each side with "Happy Birthday" (Warmest Regards set) stamped in Eggplant ink just under the main image.

Perfect card for me to have on hand for all those upcoming birthdays! Thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

Tall and Thin!

Well...not ME...the card! LOL! I only wish! I'm working on the thin part, but the tall part...ain't ever happenin'!!! I am definitely vertically challenged (almost five feet tall...), but that's alright, I married tall!!!

This is another card for one of Sharon's Challenges...make a tall and thin card. My Bashful Blue card base is 4" x 8". The patterned paper is from last year's Sale-A-Bration Simply Scrappin' kit called Just Delightful, and it is just that...DELIGHTFUL! I love the celery color and the pattern so it was a must have and I'm so glad that I got it! I added some Regal Rose stripes and did a little bit of faux stitching on one of them. The pretty blue grosgrain is from Sweet Miss Daisy's shop. It matches perfectly! The sentiment is from one of the retired All Year Cheer sets. I love these flower blossoms! They are from the Delight in Life set, which was also from last year's Sale-A-Bration. I inked them up in Black Stazon and stamped them on watercolor paper. Regal Rose and Certainly Celery inks were used to watercolor them, and them I cut them out. This set doesn't have a leaf stamp, so I just stamped an extra blossom and cut it apart to make the leaf. Then I added the smaller blossom to the middle and added a little pearl (Hero Arts) for the center. The flowers have adhesive dots underneath to add a little bit of dimension.

We are having a SNOW day here today (about a foot of the fluffy, fun stuff) so hopefully, I will be able to tackle another card for today! So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Sharon's Challenge!

Last weekend, Sharon Johnson posted a challenge on her blog to create a "Low and Long" card. I didn't have the opportunity to play then, but I did last night!!! I just love this card design!

Here is my "Low and Long" card. The Cool Caribbean card base measures 8" x 4" and it actually fits in one of the left over envelopes from our Christmas photograph. I started off by wheeling Stampin' Up's "Lily Pad" onto my white panel. I have had this wheel since it first came out and this is the first time I've used it!!! What a great feeling to finally use it! The lily pads and flowers were colored with watercolor pencils. I then added some Star Dust Stickles for some shimmer on the flowers. My froggies were stamped on some Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select Card Stock scraps, also colored with watercolor pencils, and cut out. I then sponged on some Cool Caribbean ink for the water and layered the imaged panel onto a Regal Rose panel. Some May Arts Polka Dotted Ribbon and a little piece of Stampin' Up Rose Ribbon were added, but something was missing...so, I used one of the hearts from Stampin' Up's Love Matters set for a little charm like embellishment.

There you have it...my "Low and Long" card. Thanks so much for the challenge Sharon! Now to get started on her "Tall and Thin" Challenge for this week!

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

I'm back!

It is so nice to be able to stamp again! Between migraine headaches (Ugh!), dining room furniture shopping (Yippee!), and substitute teaching...it has been one heck of a week!

My dh needed a sympathy card for a co-worker. I don't usually have many sympathy cards on hand, so this is what I came up with. I try to keep sympathy cards free from a lot of embellishments and on the lighter side with soft and subtle colors. My Certainly Celery card base has the Stampin' Up Linen background stamped with VersaMark for softness. I added some faux stitching as well. The Lavender Lace strip has Leaves a la Carte wheeled with Brilliance Ink in Moonlight White. The single flower is from Stampin' Up's Heartfelt Thanks set. It is layered on ovals made with my Spellbinder's Nestabilities Dies. Then, I sponged some Lavender Lace ink on the scallops for some depth. The My Sentiments Exactly sentiment is stamped with Lavender Lace ink. I added some Star Dust Stickles to the flower petals and leaves for a little bit of elegance.

With everything going on around here, I unfortunately did not get to any of those wonderful challenges that I wanted to. Let's hope for some wonderful stamping time this weekend!!! I'm so glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Too Many Challenges!!??

Happy Sunday Everyone! I'm afraid that I don't have anything for your viewing pleasure at the moment. I've had a migraine headache most of the day...ugh! I am starting to feel a little better and can't wait to start stamping this evening.

I say "Too Many Challenges" because there are a few that I'd really like to do tonight and I'm just not sure how many I can actually complete. I know that I definitely want to do Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Challenge #16 - Long and Low because I *love* this style card! If not tonight, there's always tomorrow. Then there is Jen del Muro's Sketch For You to Try. It really looks amazing! And...I must not forget the Featured Stamper Challenge over on Splitcoast. Today's Featured Stamper is Nancy Riley aka Stampinat6213. Her gallery is just filled with wonderful creations!

So hopefully this migraine will be outta here in the near future and I can get some ink to paper and get things started...lol! So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

A Challenge from Beate!

Each weekend, Beate posts a Sketch Challenge over on her blog. I have always wanted to give it a try, so this weekend I took advantage of the fact that I have a little bit of extra time for stamping and went with her sketch.

Starting off with a card base of Certainly Celery, I then added a layer of Bashful Blue and some more of that fun Cutie Pie Designer Paper from Stampin' Up! My stamp sets are also from Stampin' Up...Sassy Stems (retired), the little flower from Riveting (retired) and Circle of Friendship. A little bit of paper piercing here and there, and there you have it!

Thanks for the fun sketch Beate! I definitely need to try more. Enjoy your weekend everyone! I'm so glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

Spring Time Colors and FeedBlitz?

This is another one of the cards that I made to go in one of the gift sets that I gave out at Christmas time. These are some of my favorite colors...Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, and Lavender Lace. Very Springy! Don't ya think!!?? Even though these two sets (Stampin' Up!'s Basket Full of Fun and Small Sayings) are retired, I still love them, and don't think that I'll ever part with them! The flowers and basket are stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with watercolored crayons...very soft and pretty in person. I added just a tiny bit of Star Dust Stickles for that sparkle that I love so much! I know that the brads are made by Making Memories, but I haven't a clue as to where this grosgrain ribbon came from...ain't that a kick in the head...lol! I wish I had more of it!

I wanted to let you know that I added a Feedblitz link to my blog. If you would like to subscribe, it is located at the upper, right corner. Thanks to Robin and Anne for all of their help with it. I couldn't have done it with you terrific Ladies! (I better thank hubby...he helped as well!)

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D

We Have a Winner!

Well my blogging friends, the winner of the Blog Candy is Kelly from Kelly's Artistic Journaling. Congratulations Kelly! Please send me your snail mail address and I'll get your goodies out to you. Thank you to all of you for participating. I really appreciate that you have taken the time to visit my blog. Happy New Year! :D

A Birthday Card For Now and the Blog Candy Winner...

will be announced at 9:00 PM (EST). So be sure to check back here later on tonight or first thing tomorrow! If you'd like a chance to win, there is still time. It was posted on Saturday. Just scroll down! :D

I made this card for a friend's upcoming birthday. I was inspired by many things today...the SCS Color Challenge, the SCS Featured Stamper Challenge, and then the very talented Jen del Muro (Genie1314 on SCS). She posted a card with this same stamp. I have had this sweet little chick for so long and the poor thing has never been inked up! After seeing Jen's card, I deceide that I had to use this stamp today. After spending some time commenting over on SCS, I really started loving this Color Challenge (Certainly Celery, Taken with Teal, and Real Red). I also saw a few cards made with this layout for the Sunday's Featured Stamper Challenge, and that is how this card came to be. I used some of my favorite polka dotted ribbon from May Arts and a wonderful sentiment from A Muse to finish off this special little card!

So glad that you could stop by...Toodles! :D I'll be back at 9:00 pm! :D