Happy New Year's Eve!

Are you ready for 2011? Do you have any fun plans to ring in the New Year? We are having Chinese food and spending the evening with some wonderful family friends. I can't wait! Before all of the festivities begin though, I have my recycled project for this week's Blogger's Challenge to share with you.

This is what I started off with. I picked up a few of these little, plastic, photo album at Big Lots for $1.oo each. My first thought was to put flash cards in all of the sleeves for my little Kindergartners at school. They could take the flash card books back to their seats and work with a friend. However, a little while back, I saw someone take one of these photo albums and turn it into something crafty, like this... I didn't save the picture of the sketch book that I saw so I'm not sure who came up with this fun idea. If you know who thought of it or if it's you, please let me know so I can give credit to the right person. Here are some of the details of my little sketch book for you. The patterned paper is from DCWV and the solid pink cardstock is from Core'dinations. I sewed the papers to the original cover. I used my Coolvetica Alphabet stamps from The Cat's Pajamas for the word, "Sketches" and then I added some rhinestones from my stash. The die cut is made from the Die-namics Framed Greetings set from My Favorite Things. For the pages of of the photo album, I printed out some of my favorite sketched from Jen Del Muro's Sketch for You to Try. They fit perfectly and then when I need a great sketch, I'll have a bunch right at my fingertips! I snapped a picture of the inside for you.
For more ideas with today's recycling theme, please click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. I hope that you have a safe and Happy New Year's Eve! Thank you so much for visiting with me today...Toodles! :D

One More to Share!

I hope that you and yours had a very Merry Christmas. By now, I know that everyone is probably tired of seeing Christmas cards. But...I really wanted to try out the new camera that Santa left for us, so I have one more to share. I hope that you don't mind!

This is the card I made for my little one. The main image is called King of the Candy Canes and it is from Stamping Bella. The sentiment is from the Pure Innocence Something Special Just For You set from My Favorite Things. The patterned papers are from the Tinsel and Twig collection from The Girls Paperie. The Real Red and Old Olive cardstock are from Stampin' Up along with the Real Red grosgrain ribbon. I used Joanne's "Buttony Bow" treatment again. The button and the Baker's Twine are from Papertrey Ink. This little guy is colored up with Copic Markers (C3, E01, E11, E35, E37, R20, R29, Y35, YG63, YG67, and Colorless Blender) and then I cut him out. The circle is made with my Nesties and the embossed snowflakes are from the Snowflake Cuttlebug Embossing Folder.

I'm hoping to head into Boston tomorrow for some ice skating on the Frog Pond. I'd also like to go over to The Paper Source for a little bit of shopping. Let's hope that the weather cooperates and we get to fit it all in. I hope that you have some fun plans for yourself tomorrow too! Thanks for visiting with me...Toodles! :D

Merry Christmas Eve!

Good Morning All! I have this week's Blogger's Challenge card to share with you today. It's a fairly easy one because I've been making many Christmas cards lately and that just happens to be the theme for today. I used the sketch over on Alma's blog (from The Cat's Pajamas) to create this one. You can find the sketch and more details here.

My main image and sentiment are from the Big Bear set by TCP. He's paired up with some Core'dinations cardstock and some patterned papers from the Mitten Weather collection from Cosmo Cricket. I added some ribbon from Michaels and I used Joanne Basile's button and twine treatment for the top.

I'm keeping things short and sweet today because I still have a few things to finish up before this evening. I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Thanks so much for stopping by today...Toodles! :D

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Sunday Friends! I have a Christmas card to share with you tonight. It uses one of my new sets from The Cat's Pajamas. These little penguins are so fun. The name of the set is called Round the Chimney. One of the challenges for this month over on Alma's blog, is to use any of the new TCP stamps and make a Christmas card. You can find all of the details here. I used my Copic Multi-liner to draw in the bricks on the fireplace and then I colored in the image with Copic Markers (C1, C3, C5, E21, E35, E37, R37, YG63, YG67, and YR16.) The sketch is this week's Blogger's Challenge. I'm late posting because I've been under the weather all week. I finished up my antibiotics yesterday and I'm still taking prescription cough syrup. Hopefully, I'll be well in time for Santa!

Lisa's wonderful sketch is above and the other details of the card include a layer of gingham paper with some red grosgrain ribbon, sparkles for each corner, a bright red button from my stash, and some Baker's Twine. The white circle was cut with my Nesties. I had to cut the main image out from my original circle because it was too large for the sketch. Cutting it out worked out perfectly though because it gave the card some added dimension. I finished it off with some Star Dust Stickles.

I hope that all of your holiday plans are coming along wonderfully! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a visit tonight...Toodles! :D

A Winter Wonderland

Happy Monday Bloggers! After three days in the making, I have finally had the chance today to finish up this card. Our house has been sick all weekend...ugh! The good news is that if we are sick this week, then we should all be better for next week. Right? Let's hope so!

I started off with the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club theme...A Winter Wonderland. You can find all of the details for here if you'd like to join in as well. Then I headed over to Jen Del Muro's blog for one of her terrific sketches. She is changing things up a little bit for her weekly Sketch For You To Try. You can find all of the details about that right here. This week, we could pick any sketch from the past. I've been going through her blog and I'm trying to catch up on any sketches that I've missed. So here is the sketch from November 6th.
My card base is white and then I added a kraft layer that I sewed some Tinsel & Twig paper to the top and bottom portions. Red grosgrain ribbon connects the two panels. My main image is My Favorite Things Fred Bear - Snow Bear. Isn't he sweet!?!?! I colored him up with Copic Markers (BG10, E25, E35, E37, R20, R27, and R29) and then I added Star Dust Stickles to all of the snowflakes. I added some felt snowflakes as well. They were made with the My Favorite Things Snowflake Trio Die-namics. I dressed up the felt snowflakes with some Papertrey Ink buttons and some Baker's Twine. The sentiment is from the same Fred Bear set and I stamped that onto a scrap of kraft cardstock that I cut it out with the My Favorite Things Textile Rectangle Die-namic. Then I added a few pearls to dress up that piece.

That about covers it for this one. I'm off to get some more rest because this cold is hitting me hard. Thanks for visiting with me today...Toodles! :D

Blogger's Challenge...Birthdays!

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope that you had a great week. As always, things have been quite busy here, but we tend to like it that way. Good thing...lol! We are going to the tree farm for our Christmas tree tomorrow and then we are going to celebrate the season with a little ice skating. I'm really looking forward to putting all of the finishing touches on our home for the holidays.

Our Blogger's Challenge theme today is Birthdays! I have been making a lot of birthday cards lately. My sister-in-law wants to give her boss a package of handmade birthday cards for Christmas. This is one that I created for her to put in the package. I used one of my Totally Stampalicious sets called Sweet Birthday Kids. I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate from Jen Del Muro for this site. In fact, I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try from a couple of week's ago for this card. You can find it here. I just turned the sketch on it's side and then I went from there.

My little birthday boy is stamped on Papertrey Ink White Cardstock with Memento ink. He's colored up with Copic Markers (BG11, BG13, E000, E11, E25, E29, E40, G21, G24, R27, R29, YR16, YR18, and the Colorless Blender.) I picked these colors to go with my new True Blue Fine and Dandy paper from My Mind's Eye. I also used Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip and the orange polka dotted paper is from Bo Bunny. The stars were made with the My Favorite Things Stacking Stars Die-namics and then I added some Papertrey Ink buttons with some orange twine. The circles were made with my Nesties and then the chocolate circle was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. I kept the embellishments on the simple side because this card is for a little boy.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today. If you have a chance, please stop by the blogs of the other players from the Blogger's Challenge group. You can find their links here. Have a wonderful weekend...Toodles! :D

My Favorite Things Sketch!

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope that your start of the week was good for you. I just came home from Literacy Night at my school. It was such a fun time! Children and books are always a great combination!

Here is my contribution to the My Favorite Thing Wednesday Stamp Club. This time around we were to follow a sketch. A picture of the sketch and all of the other details can be found here. I ended up turning the sketch and I actually made a card with a masculine feel to it. I'm never good at those, but with this Textile Rectangles Die-namics set from My Favorite Things, it came together well. These Basic Grey papers helped too. I went shopping with my friend Linda last week, and she thought that these papers would lend themselves to making a masculine card. I'm so glad that she was right! I added a lot of stitching to this one. Let's hope that it is still manly enough...lol!

I'm keeping it short and sweet tonight. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! Enjoy the rest of your evening...Toodles! :D

A Special Christmas Ornament!

Happy Sunday Friends! I'm running a couple of days late for Friday's Blogger's Challenge, but here it is. This is one of my many attempts at our Christmas Ornament challenge. You see, at first, I wasn't sure what I was going to do and then our family got a very special surprise! My sister in law was due to have her baby in late December, but we were blessed with an early and healthy little bundle of sweetness this past week! I immediately thought to make an ornament for my new little niece. I started making her a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, but nothing seemed to work out right. So, I decided to put that project on hold and I moved onto this one.

I started with a paper mache ornament from Michaels. It's covered with red cardstock and then I added some pom pom trim around the side. The gingham ribbon on the top is also from Michaels. This delightful snowman image is a digital one from Heather Ellis. She is the illustrator of the Pure Innocence stamp line that My Favorite Things carries. I always love her sweet images, and this one is no exception! You can find Heather's Etsy shop here. I colored up my snowman with my Copic Markers (BG000, C7, C9, E29, R37, R39, YG63, YG67, YR16, YR18, and the Colorless Blender) and then I added some Star Dust Stickles to the snow for some sparkle.

So this isn't what I had in mind when I started out doing this challenge, but I'm happy with the end result. If you would like to see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with, you can find the links to their blogs in my right side bar. I'll be back soon with some more crafty things to share. Enjoy the rest of your evening! Thank you for stopping by for a visit...Toodles! :D

Stitching the Day Away!

Happy Saturday to you! I've had a fun day in between my regular Saturday cleaning chores and stamping away. When I went over to the My Favorite Things blog this morning, I noticed that not only did the Teasers for their upcoming release begin, but they have also posted the details for their December Guest Designer Contest. You can find all of the information here. This month, the challenge is called, "Stitch It Up!" You can stitch by hand or use a sewing machine or even do faux stitching with a gel pen. The choice is yours. I have been using my sewing machine on my cards a lot lately, but I wanted to make something a little bit more special. My thoughts immediately went to Christmas stockings. My teenage niece would like money for Christmas because she is saving up for an iPod touch. I just didn't want to put some money in a card for her, so I decided to make her a stocking. She loves to stamp and make crafty things with me so I know that this will get hung up in her room or even placed on the family Christmas tree.

I started by tracing a stocking pattern onto two sheets of Core'dinations red card stock. They were sewed together with a straight stitch. Then I added the cuff, toe, and heel with a zigzag stitch. I used some Tinsel & Twig paper for those pieces. I finally got my hands on some of this beautiful paper thanks to my friend Linda and her dh that is nice enough to stop and pick up stamping goodies for us on his way home from work! I hand stitched the ribbon loop and button on with some Baker's Twine. My image is from the My Favorite Things a'la mode set called Candy Cane Kisses. She is colored up with Copic Markers (B95, B97,C1, C3, E000, E11, E27, E29, E35, E37, E40, R20 R27, R29, YG93, YG95, YG97, and the Colorless Blender.) I used a zigzag stitch to connect my image panel and a panel of olive colored card stock. The sentiment is from the same set and it is cut out with oval and scallop oval Nesties. I added three little red gems to sparkle things up a bit. Then some Star Dust Stickles were added to her hat and jacket buttons because those needed a little sparkle too...lol! I wanted a little something to actually put in the stocking to hold the money, so I made a little pocket with some more Tinsel & Twig paper and a piece of Kraft card stock. The sheet music paper was a perfect match because she'll be listening away to music with her new iPod touch. I'm so happy with how the whole thing came together.

I hope that you had a wonderful Saturday too! Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. I'll see you soon...Toodles! :D

Blogger's Challenge...Blue, Rust, Mustard

Happy Friday Stampers! Have you been shopping today? Did you get any great Black Friday deals? I hope so! We are home today and that is just fine with me. Maybe we'll brave the elements and the crowds after lunch and see what we can find.

As I promised in yesterday's post, I'm back today with my creation for this week's Blogger's Challenge. We are to use the colors Blue, Rust, and Mustard. Now I realize that my card doesn't scream, "Winter is coming!", but I thought that this image would be perfect for these colors so I went in that direction. When Elzybells Rubber Stamps was going out of business this past summer, I treated myself to as many goodies as I could. This delightful image and sentiment were part of my package. The image is colored up with Copic Markers (B21, B24, E08, E15, Y21, Y26, YG63, YG67, and YR18). I used some retired Stampin' Up patterned papers and the large panel was sewed onto the rust card stock with my Janome Sew Mini. I added a blue button with some twine to finish off the sentiment flag. Now, if you are wondering where I used the mustard color, well, that would be the little flowers in the image. It's there...I promise...lol! I started off using Mercy Kerin's sketch, but the vertical panel didn't look quite right with my image, so I'll have to try again. I hope that you'll have a chance to see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with. You can find their blogs here. Thanks so much for visiting with me today...Toodles! :D

Being Thankful

Happy Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving Day to all of you! I hope that you had a day filled with everything that you are thankful for!

This is the card that I made for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club challenge. The theme this week is about what you are thankful for. I am a blessed girl and I certainly know it. One thing that I'm quite thankful for are my parents. This is the card that I gave them today for Thanksgiving. I am thankful to have both of them in my life and I'm grateful for all that they do for me and my family.

My card base is Papertrey Ink white cardstock. I used my Janome Sew Mini to sew the Chocolate Chip panel and the DCWV plaid piece together. I also sewed on the Chocolate Chip strip and the opened scallop piece that I made using the MFT Open Scallop Border Die-namic. The sentiment and die are from the MFT Framed Greetings Stamp Set and Die-namic. I added a button to each side of the sentiment and then a few more on the botton to dress up this simple creation.

Thank you for visiting today. I'll be back tomorrow with a Blogger's Challenge card to share with you. Enjoy the rest of your evening...Toodles! :D

"Brown Paper Packages...

tied up with strings...These are a few of My Favorite Things." Now that you can all hear Julie Andrews singing in your head, I'll explain why. The My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club challenge is to use the song from The Sound of Music to inspire a creation. My very first thought was to use the Pure Innocence stamp of the sweet little girl carrying all of her packages. However, the very talented Jodi Collins was apparently thinking the same thing...lol! You can find her beautiful kraft and pink creation here. I didn't want to copy Jodi, so I pulled out my "Sending You a Little Christmas" set and thought of the warm, woolen mittens part of the song. Then, I had a little idea! I already had the packages stamped and colored from the other image, so why not add them to her sled and she could pull them along with her tree! It's not often that things actually work out the way I plan it in my head...lol, but I'm just tickled that it did this time around!

I used Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try as my starting point. All of the patterned papers are from the Mitten Weather collection by Cosmo Cricket and I used my Janome Sew Mini for the stitching. My sweet little girl is paper pieced and colored up with Copic Markers (BG000, C3, E000, E11, E21, E31, E33, E35, E40, R20, R29, YG03, YG63, YR12 and the Colorless Blender). I also used Papertrey Ink Kraft and Stampin' Up Real Red. The MFT Snowflake Trio Die-namics were part of my latest purchase and I accented them with a PTI Holiday Button and Baker's Twine. I used the Beautiful Garden Felt from My Favorite Things for the snowflakes and then I added some Star Dust Stickles to give them a little bit of sparkle. The ribbon is from the Holiday section at Michaels. Thank you so much for visiting with me. Have a Happy Sunday...Toodles! :D

Give Thanks!

Happy Friday! I hope that everyone had a terrific week! The Joanne Basile class that I was SO looking forward to last Saturday was as WONDERFUL as I hoped it would be! If you are lucky enough to take one of her classes, I highly recommend it! You can see her class listings here and I know that she has more things planned for after the holidays.

My card for today combines Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try from last week and this week's Blogger's Challenge (Give Thanks theme). I didn't go with a Thanksgiving card because I needed a Thank You card for a sweet friend of mine. I did keep with an Autumn theme though. This adorable image is from the Pure Innocence line from My Favorite Things. She is colored up with Copic Markers (E000, E11, E21, E33, E35, E40, YG01, YG03, YG13, YR16, and the Colorless Blender) and her ginormous pumpkin is paper pieced with some fun polka dotted paper from Bo-Bunny. This particular stamp is out of stock at the moment, but I'm sure Kim will have it back in very soon! The sentiment is from a different Pure Innocence set called Bunch of Blooms. That one is in stock and you can find it here. All of my October Afternoon papers are sewed onto a cream panel and then mounted onto a Kraft card base. I added a few buttons from my stash to finish this one up.

Now it's time to see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with. You can find their blogs right here. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit...Toodles! :D

I Whipped This Up Just for You!

Happy Friday Stampers! I'm playing double duty again! I really wanted to participate in a few sketch challenges last week (MFT, Jen's SFYTT), but things didn't go as I had hoped with everything that is going on here. So, I combined this week's Blogger's Challenge (a sketch) along with the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club challenge (Cooking Up Some Love). For today's creation, I turned the sketch and then went from there. The patterned papers are from the Material Girl pack by Cosmo Cricket and the other papers are Choice Buttercream card stock and Stampin' Up's Not Quite Navy. This delightful image is from the My Favorite Things a'la mode set called, "What's Cooking?" (They seem to be sold out of this one at the moment, but I'm sure that Kim will have it in stock again very soon.) My sweet, little mixing girl is colored up with Copic Markers (BG000, BG72, BG75 C1, E000, E11, E25, E29, R20, R81, R85, Y26, Y32, and the Colorless Blender) and her apron is paper pieced with some of the same Cosmo Cricket paper. The ovals are made with my Nesties. I used the MFT Die-Namics Jumbo Scallop Die for the two rows of scallops, and then I wrapped some Hero Arts crocheted lace around them. To finish this creation off, I added a button with some twine.

It looks like many of the Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group are playing this week. If you would like to see what they have come up with for this wonderful sketch from Lisa Somerville (Thanks Lisa!), just click here. I hope that you have a terrific weekend! Tomorrow, I'm having the pleasure of attending one of Joanne Basile's MFT card classes! How exciting! I'll also get to spend some time with some friends of mine which will make it even better! Thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

Being Patriotic!

Good Friday afternoon to you! I hope that you all had a wonderful week. It's been raining here for a couple of days (hence, the dark photograph), but all is GOOD!

This week's Blogger's Challenge is a Patriotic theme. I do not have too many stamps for that category, but I still wanted to play, so I headed over to Designed 2 Delight and found just what I was looking for. Faith has some adorable digital images and I really loved this wonderful birdhouse that she created. (Faith, I apologize for cutting off your copyright mark. I didn't realize it until it was too late. Please forgive me.) I colored it up with Copic Markers (B0000, B21, B23, B26, C1, E25, E29, E31, E33, R27, R29, Y21, Y32, YG67, YR18, and the Colorless Blender), and actually mounted it to an old card from my stash that I created about two years ago. I hadn't used the card and decided to recycle the image and make it into something that I thought would be a bit more useful. If I remember correctly, this was one of Mary Jo's Lunchtime Sketches. The papers are retired ones from Stampin' Up with some Bashful Blue and Real Red. The button is from Doodlebug Designs and the ribbons are from May Arts. I also used my Nesties for the circles.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar to see what the other Ladies have come up with. Toodles! :D

Double Duty!

Happy Friday Stampers! This is third time that I've tried to type this post...ugh! It keeps erasing on me and I have no idea why! So I'm going to try and keep this short. Our Blogger's Challenge theme this week is Halloween and I've combined that with Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. Hence, my title for this post.

I have a lot of polka dots on this card...lol! They are all from different companies too! The lime green paper is Cosmo Cricket, the orange is Bo Bunny, and the yellow paper is from October Afternoon. My Tina Wenke image from Stampavie is colored up with Copic Markers (B21, B23, C1, C3, E30, E33, E35, R20, R27, R29, V15, Y21, Y32, Y38, YG01, YG03, YG13, YR18, and the Colorless Blender). I used the Open Scallop Border Die-namic from My Favorite Things and then I added an American Crafts button with some Baker's Twine from Niki Estes' Etsy shop.

You can see what the other Ladies have come up with by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Thanks so much for visiting today! Happy Trick or Treating to you and yours...Toodles! :D

Recycling Is In the Bag!!

Happy Friday Stampers! Did you have a good week? It was crazy busy here, but it was all GOOD!

I have wanted to participate in the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club since they first posted this week's task. The theme for the week is, "It's In the Bag!" You can find all of the details here. My first thought was the little gift bags that I made last year for Christmas. You can see what I'm talking about by going here. I thought that it would be perfect for a little birthday bag.

I also wanted to participate in this week's Blogger's Challenge. Our theme this week is Reuse/Recycle. Then I thought, why not combine the two. I was lucky enough to have an extra one of my Christmas gift bags in my stash, so I pulled it out and decided to recycle it. I removed the Santa image and the snowflakes and then I added some completely different details so that I could make one item and still play in both challenges.

The Eggplant die cut was made with the MFT Polka Dot Greetings Frame Die-Namic. I added a few white pearls to the corners. My image and sentiment are from the MFT a' la modes set called Time to Celebrate. She's colored up with Copic Markers (C1, C3, E000, E11, E37, R20, V12, V17 and YR15). The cake is paper pieced with some purple polka dotted paper from my stash and then I added some Star Dust Stickles to the frosting. The sentiment is punched out with some oval punches from Stampin' Up. I added some flowered ribbon to the bottom and some organdy ribbon to the top to finish it up.

I'm off to see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have recycled. You can find their blogs here. Thanks so much for visiting! Have a wonderful weekend...Toodles! :D

My First Cat's Pajamas Card!

Happy Tuesday! If you stopped by yesterday, I mentioned that I picked up some new stamps on Sunday. My new stamps are my very first set from The Cat's Pajamas!! This won't be my last set either! I love this trio of penguins and all of their fun antics. This set is called, Ship Happens. Along with these penguins, the set includes three fun and sassy sentiments. I stuck with just the image for this card though. My design is based on Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. You can find it here to play along too.

All of the patterned papers are from Jillibean Soup including the sweet flowered print that I paper pieced onto the tea cup. The ribbon and buttons are from American Crafts. The Basic Black card base and Cool Caribbean layer are from Stampin' Up. I needed to use a few Copic Markers (BG000, C1, C3, E31, E35, Y21, Y32, YG11, YG13, and YR16) for some of the little details on these guys and then I cut them out with my circle and scalloped Nesties. Nothing too fancy or fabulous, but I'm happy with how it all turned out! I'm looking forward to playing with this set a bit more.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! I'll see you soon...Toodles! :D

This One's For the Boys!

Happy Monday Stampers! I hope that you all had a great weekend! We had a ball yesterday...the weather was just beautiful! My family and I went to Old Sturbridge Village (If you aren't from the area, OSV is similar to Colonial Williamsburg, but set in the 1830's and not quite as grand.) It was harvest weekend and we were able to help out with all types of farm duties. Our favorite of the day was learning about and helping to make Apple Cider.

We were home early enough for me to squeeze in a little bit of stamping time. I actually bought some new stamps yesterday, but I'll have to show you what I created with them tomorrow. I wanted to post my contribution to the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club before it was too late! This week's theme is, "It's All About the Boys!" You can find all of the details here if you would like to play along too. I started off with Jen's Sketch for You to Try and paired that up with my little Pure Innocence friend from My Favorite Things. This little guy is from the Tree Swing set, and he's colored up with Copic Markers (B93, B95, B97, C1, E000, E11, E21, E25, E29, E40, E44, YG63, YG67, YG93, and YG95). The sentiment is from the same set and it's stamped onto a cloud from the My Favorite Things Cloud Trio Die-namic. The patterned papers are from Chatter Box and the Chocolate Chip panel is embossed with Stampin' Up's Square Lattice embossing folder. The little buttons are made with the button die from Sizzlits and tied with white twine to finish them off.

Thanks so much for visiting. I'll be back tomorrow! Hope to see you then...Toodles! :D

You Make My World Happy

Good Morning Stampers! I'm a little late with my Blogger's Challenge, but as they say better late than never! Lisa's challenge for yesterday was to use Black, White, and Orange (I threw in a touch of green as well.) This card turned out exactly the way I wanted it to, and best of all it is all scraps! The only problem with using scraps is that I'm not sure of the name of the designer paper...lol! I think it is from Doodlebug Designs, but please don't quote me on that. The two shades of orange that I used to make my blossoms from are Tangerine Tango and Pumpkin Pie, and the little touch of green is Certainly Celery (all from Stampin' Up!) The grosgrain ribbon is also Pumpkin Pie. These wonderful blossoms are made with Die-namics from My Favorite Things. This one is called Flower Trio and Leaf Trio. I just received this die set and I simply love it! I finished off the flower centers with some American Crafts buttons and a little bit of white twine. The sentiment is also from My Favorite Things. This one comes from the same sweet Pure Innocence set that I used the other day. The name of the set is called, Being Cute Is What I Do. A little piercing on the top finishes up this creation.

If you would like to see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with for this fun color challenge, just click here and it will take you to their blogs. Thanks so much for dropping by for a visit today...Toodles! :D

Being Cute Is What I Do

Happy Monday Stampers! How many of you had to head off to work today? I was fortunate enough to have today off from school thanks to good 'ole Christopher Columbus! I put my little bit of extra time to good use and created a card to share. Last week, I wanted to participate in the My Favorite Things Guest Designer Challenge, but unfortunately that did not happen. Jen and Susan's challenge was to use Raspberry, Lime Green, and Aqua. I love these colors together so I decided to combine them with this past Wednesday's Stamp Club Sketch. You can find all of the details about the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club here. You still have time to play too!
As you can see, I gave the sketch a little turn! The card base and the scalloped rectangle from my Nesties are Stampin' Up's Regal Rose. I sewed the My Mind's Eye layer to some Coredinations Lime Green. The gingham squares are from A*Muse and they are layered onto some SU Cool Caribbean. The Caribbean colored grosgrain ribbon is from American Crafts. The star of this creation is a Pure Innocence sweetie from My Favorite Things. The set is called, "Being Cute Is What I Do." She is colored up with my Copic Markers (BG000, BG45, C1, E000, E11, E21, E25, E27, R20, and R85.) I paper pieced her little shirt with some of the A*Muse gingham paper. So fun!


Thanks so much for stopping by tonight! Have a terrific Tuesday...Toodles! :D

More Of The Same!

Happy Sunday Friends! I told you in my last post how much I liked the sketch that Lisa Somerville gave us on Friday. Well, as you can see, I have used it again. My sister-in-law is expecting her first child, and today was the baby shower. I needed to make a card to go with my gift and one for my dh's grandmother to give. As usual, I wait to the last minute, but I can honestly say that I was able to complete these two in less than hour! That's a record for me! I made my card front to go along with Lisa's sketch and then I added the image. Quick and easy! The first card uses some A*Muse gingham and the other papers are from DCWV. The image and sentiment are from Papertrey Ink's Baby Button Bits. I also added some PTI buttons.

Edited on February 5, 2011: As part of Papertrey Ink's 4th Anniversary Celebration, Nichole has asked us to link our favorite PTI project we've made during 2010 for a chance to win a huge prize. If you've ever stopped by my blog before, then you know I ADORE buttons! So, it wasn't very hard for me to choose this darling baby card. The PTI stamp set is adorabe and I get to add BUTTONS! Papertrey Ink buttons are my favorites! The assortment and the colors are just fabulous! Happy Anniversary Papertrey Ink! :D

My next card is also based on Lisa's sketch. The only differences are that I made the vertical piece go all the way from the top to the bottom and then I added a few buttons. The papers are also from DCWV with some Regal Rose accents. The stamps and the sentiment are from Stampin' Up and the buttons are from Doodlebug Designs.


So there you go...two more cards to go with Lisa's wonderful sketch! I hope that you had a beautiful weekend. I'm off from school tomorrow because of Columbus Day. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a little more stamping time. Thanks so very much for stopping by tonight...Toodles! :D

Blogger's Challenge Sketch!

Happy Blogger's Challenge Day Friends! This week, we were given another fantastic sketch from Lisa Somerville to inspire us. Thanks so much Lisa! I know I'll definitely be using this one again!

My Stampendous stamps haven't received much ink lately, so I pulled out this sweet owl and sunflower image, and I colored it up with Copic Markers (BG10, C1, C3, E31, E33, E55, E57, E59, Y21, Y26, Y32, YG03, and YR16). My polka dot strip is some retired Stampin' Up paper and all of the other papers are from October Afternoon. My card base is Papertrey Ink's Kraft. A quick and easy card! If you give Lisa's sketch a try, please let me know so I can see your work too!

I can't wait to see what the other Ladies from the BC group have come up with. You can see their work by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful weekend...Toodles! :D

Let's Play Dress Up!

The theme for this past Wednesday's Stamp Club, sponsored by My Favorite Things, is called, "Let's Play Dress Up!" I immediately thought of this sweet Little Loveosaurus. One of the preschoolers at my school would come and pick up his older brother every day last year in a different costume. It was so adorable! One day he would be Spider Man and then the next day he would show up as Buzz Lightyear! Naturally, I thought of him while I was creating this card because it is intended for a little guy right around his age. I used one of my card fronts that I made on World Card Making Day (see my last post for details). All of the patterned papers are from October Afternoon and the lime and red were scraps from stash. I used some more of the lime to paper piece my Little Loveosaurus and I colored up the other parts with my Copic Markers (Eoo, E11, E21, E57, R27, R29, and BG10). I finished it off with a button to dress up the corners, and now this card is ready for delivery.

There is still time to play in the My Favorite Things - Wednesday Stamp Club. Just click here for the details. Please let me know if you do. I'd love to see your work as well. Thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

A Sketch For You To Try and a Revelation!

Happy Sunday Bloggy Land! It is a beautiful autumn weekend here in New England! The air is FINALLY cool and crisp!

Did you get to make anything yesterday in honor of World Card Making day? I can happily say that I sent Mr. Migraine Headache packing and I got a little crafty...lol! I didn't make many cards, but I tried something new for me. I pulled out a bunch of different papers and some card stock, cut some different layers, glued it all together, and I basically made a bunch of cards with out images and sentiments. It was fun and productive! Then I got to thinking...what steps do other card makers use to actually create their cards? I'm sure that the process I described above is probably a way many card makers go about creating. But for some reason, I have always created the opposite way. Normally, I pick my image, color it up, find my papers and bellies, and then go about putting the whole thing together. Even if I already have a sketch, that seems to be my process. Sometimes that just does not work out. I spend oodles of time hunting for the things to match my image, then I make changes, and before you know it, I end up creating something that I'm not happy with. I think I'm going to like trying the new way better, at least I hope so...lol! So...what is your process for creating? Please share...I'd love to know!

Now that I have a new method to my madness, I decided to tackle Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try from yesterday. I love the way that it turned out and things came together quite quickly. I did all of the layers first and then I found the perfect image (Stampin' Up!) and sentiment (Papertrey Ink) to finish the whole thing off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for listening to all of my rambling...lol! Enjoy the rest of your day...Toodles! :D

Not My Best Work!

Happy Friday Everyone! Apparently the migraine that I've had for the past five days has also stolen all of my creativity!! I'm not in love with the way that this card turned out, but I didn't want to miss two week's of Blogger's Challenge, so here is my attempt with this week's anniversary theme. I pulled out two stamps from my Penny Black collection. I've had them since I first started stamping and they are my old standby whenever I'm in need of a quick anniversary card.

There isn't anything too fancy here. I did some zig-zag sewing around my layer of retired Stampin' Up patterned paper. The green polka dotted strip is from Bo-Bunny papers. I'm anxious to see what the other Ladies from the group have come up with. I'm sure that they will inspire me (they always do!) You can see their work by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by...Toodles! :D

Blue, Green, and Brown!

Good Evening everyone! I'm a little late posting my card for this week's Blogger's Challenge, but technically...it's still Friday, so I'm still on time! Our challenge this week is to use the colors Blue, Green, and Brown. I went with Stampin' Up's Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, and Chocolate Chip. I also went with an older Stampin' Up set called Delight in Life. The blossom is one of my favorites! A very simple card...some faux stitching, polka dots on the scallops, Stardust Stickles on the flower, and some VersaMark stamping on the Celery strip and the card base.

I'm off to check out what the other Ladies have come up with for these colors. You can find their blogs by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! Have a fun weekend...Toodles! :D

Using Up My Scraps!

Happy Friday Stampers! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? I plan on stamping with some wonderful friends of mine on Sunday. That's always something to look forward to!

We have finally had a break in the heat and humidity here in New England and it is starting to feel like Autumn! Yippee! I simply adore the fall season and I'm thrilled that it's on its' way! Just in time for this week's Blogger's Challenge too. If you haven't already guessed...our theme this week is Fall/Autumn. My card started off with Jen's terrific Sketch For You to Try from last Saturday. Then I pulled out one of my favorite Stampin' Up sets...Trendy Trees. The little trees are inked up with Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Chocolate Chip. Next, I went through all of my scraps of patterned paper and found all of these pieces. One of my goals this summer was to "Tame the Scrap Piles"...lol! I have the solids organized by color families in file folders and then I have one file folder for Stampin' Up patterned pieces. I bought a great basket at Mikes and it sits on the floor right next to my chair and holds all of these file folders. When I need a color or a piece of patterned paper, I head over there first. It's really helping me stay organized and it's keeping my area quite clean at the same time.

I'm off to snuggle up with a cup of tea and check out what all of the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with. You can see their blogs by clicking here. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit...Toodles! :D

Sending You Lots of Hugs!

Good Morning Stampers! Over my summer break, I really enjoyed playing in two extra weekly challenges...Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try and the Wednesday Stamp Club challenge that My Favorite Things sponsors. Even though I'm back to school, I was able to squeeze in some stamping time last night. This past Wednesday's Stamp Club is a terrific sketch challenge. If you would like to play along, click here for all of the details. Please let me know what you've created so that I can check out your work too.

I used one of my new Pure Innocence sets from My Favorite Things. This one is called Bunch of Blooms. The sentiment is from the same stamp set. Last weekend, I was lucky enough to come across some Cosmo Cricket Pixie-licious paper. The butterflies in the paper were a great match to the one floating around her pretty bunch of flowers. This sweet little girl is colored up with Copic Markers (C1, E000, E11, E21, E31, E33, E37, R20, G21, YG67, V000, V01, V12, V15, V17, Y21, and YR12) and her dress is paper pieced with some more Pixie-licious paper. All of the panels are layered with Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry and the buttons are from Doodlebug Designs.

Now, I hoping to squeeze in a little bit more stamping time tonight so that I can complete Jen's sketch too. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! Have a Happy Sunday...Toodles! :D

Blogger's Challenge Sketch!

Happy Friday Stampers! It has been a great first week back to school for us here, but it's also been a long week! I squeezed in a little stamping time when I got home from school today and came up with the card below to go with this week's Blogger's Sketch Challenge. We received this wonderful sketch to work with from Lisa Somerville. I ended up flipping the sketch, but I think that it's great in either direction. Thanks Lisa! I started off with Stampin' Up's Because I Care set. (Thanks for letting me borrow it Clara!) I used Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive for the blossom. The Rich Razzleberry card base is stamped with Stampin' Up's Floral background (retired) and I added a few faux stitches in the corners. The patterned paper is also from Stampin' Up. It's from the Cottage Wall collection (retired). I added some layers of Old Olive and some pearl accents in each corner of the main image. The sentiment was punched with my oval punches from Stampin' Up. It's been a LONG time since I've made a card with just Stampin' Up products! After all, it was Stampin' Up that caused me to fall in love with stamping and I'm quite grateful to them for that! Here's my card for today's challenge. I hope that you like it!


I'm off to check out what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with for this sketch. You can find all of their blogs by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. I hope that you have a wonderful, long weekend...Toodles! :D

Get Well Soon!

Good Friday Morning! I hope that you enjoyed your week. It rained for four straight days here, but it was still a fun week! After all, we go back to school on Monday, so we made the best of it no matter what the weather!

This week's Blogger's Challenge is to use the colors green, red, and yellow and I combined that with Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You to Try. I started off with this adorable dragon and sentiment from High Hopes Rubber Stamps. Poor thing! I must say...I love his ice bag, but it doesn't seem to be doing a thing for his fever! My image is colored up with my Copic Markers (C1, E17, E35, R24, R27, R29, Y11, Y21, YG13, YG17, and the Colorless Blender) and I added some Stardust Stickles to the little guy's wings and ears. My green card stock is from Coordinations, the red patterned paper is from Stampin' Up, and the yellow polka dotted paper is from Bo Bunny. A bit of sewing and a few American Crafts buttons finish this one off. I did run into one small problem though. It seems that I left off the half circle on the bottom of the sketch...ugh! I can't do too much about that right now. Let's hope that Jen doesn't mind...lol!

To see what the other Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with, click here, and if you'd like to play along with Jen's sketch, you can find that here. I hope that you have a fantastic Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

Color Throwdown!!!

Good Monday Morning to you! I'm getting ready to head over to school for a little bit to get some more organizing accomplished in the classroom, but I wanted to share a quick post before I head out the door. I'm in need of some quick thank you cards, so I took my inspiration from Color Throwdown #106. I needed to change Soft Sky to Baja Breeze. Other than that, all of the colors are the same from the challenge and I'm happy with the results.

The Kraft card base and the sentiment are from Papertrey Ink. I used Stampin' Up's Certainly Celery for the grass which was made with my Die-namic from My Favorite Things. I also used Certainly Celery ink for the leaves of the tree and Chocolate Chip for the trunk. The stamp set is called Season of Friendship and it is available through Stampin' Up. I stamped the little bird in Baja Breeze onto a scrap to match the ribbon. Then I cut him out and popped him up with a dimensional. A little stitching on the bottom completes this card.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a beautiful day...Toodles! :D

Time to Hit the Books!

Good Morning Stamping Friends! It is a very raining Sunday here, but hopefully you are still having a wonderful day! This week's Blogger's Challenge theme is Back to School and the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club theme is Hit the Books, so I combined the two and came up with this creation.

I was a lucky girl this month because I actually WON this set from one of the My Favorite Things Blog Hops! It is called Emma and Her Backpack. Now you know that backpack is just filled with heavy books! Poor girl! She is also carrying around the dreaded, "Blue Book". You know the ones I'm talking about. Our exams were always in blue books that we'd have to turn in after writing for hours in them...ugh! Although high school and college seems so long ago now, blue books probably don't exist anymore...lol! I also stayed with the book theme and made a Matchbook Card. I haven't done that in ages! I used my Jumbo Scallop Die-namic from MFT for the bottom fold of the matchbook. Emma is colored up with Copic Markers ( B12, C7, C9, E000, E00, E01, E35, E57, RV10, RV11, YG13, and YG25) and her skirt is paper pieced with some polka dotted paper from the Nana's Nursery collection from DCWV. All of the other patterned papers are from the same collection. I added a few pearl accents and some American Crafts ribbon and one of their buttons. Some real sewing and a little bit of faux stitching finish this one off.

For more Back to School projects, just click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar, and to play along with the My Favorite Things challenge, just click on the Wednesday Stamp Club link above. Please let me know if you play along so that I can sneak a peek at your work too! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the rest of the weekend...Toodles! :D

Cupcakes!!!

Happy Sunday! Are you surprised that I'm posting on a Sunday? I am...lol! Aside from Church this morning and a quick trip to the grocery store, we've spent the day at home together, and that is always a good thing!

Two of my favorite challenges this summer have been Jen Del Muro's weekly Sketch for You to Try and the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club. I started off with Jen's fabulous sketch from Friday and combined it with the MFT challenge. This week we are to use one of my favorite things...cupcakes! At first, that posed a little problem because I do not own any MFT stamps with cupcakes, so I had to get a little creative. I stamped up MFT Birthday Princess minus the cake and candles. In their place, I attached a cupcake brad from Doodlebug Designs. I'm very happy with the way that it turned out. What do you think? The sentiment is also from the same set. My little Birthday Princess is colored up with Copic Markers (BG10, C0, E000, E00, E01, E29, E30, E33, R20, RV11, RV34, Y21, Y32 and the Colorless Blender) and I used a white gel pen to give her crown some polka dots to match her cupcake frosting. The papers are from all different companies. I still don't know how I made it all seem to work, but I'm so glad that it turned out the way I envisioned it. The main layer is from Basic Grey and the vertical green polka dotted piece is from Scenic Route. The yellow polka dotted pieces are from Bo Bunny and the So Saffron and Rose Red accents are from Stampin' Up. I used my new Big Scalloped Rectangle Nesties on the Rose Red layer behind the main image. I just picked these Nesties up last night at AC Moore with a 50% off coupon!!! I really like the look of the bigger scallops. If you have a chance to play with Jen's sketch or the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club challenge, let me know. I'd love to hop by your blog too!

I hope you all like this creation as much as I do! Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a Happy Monday tomorrow....Toodles! :D

Sending You Birthday Wishes!

Good Morning Stamping Friends! What a fun, yet busy week we've had at our home and next week looks pretty much the same! Just a few more moments of summer and then BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

This week's Blogger's Challenge theme is Birthdays. Now, you may look at this card and notice that it doesn't exactly scream...Happy Birthday! However, there is a method to my madness...lol! I made this especially for the little girl that I have been tutoring this summer. Her birthday is just around the corner. We have spent the summer working on reading and writing skills. Each time we meet, we read from a series called The Cobble Street Cousins by Cynthia Rylant. If you have little girls (around ages 6-10), I highly recommend this series. The stories center around three cousins that live with their Aunt Lucy because their parents are touring the world with a ballet company. The girls are sweet and kind and have just good wholesome fun and delightful adventures. In fact, they have tea with their aunt every day. Hence the reason behind the card. Not only will it be a card to celebrate my little friend's birthday, but I know that she'll look at that teacup...think about our new friends from the stories and remember all of our fun times together this past summer. (So sorry for such a long-winded explanation...lol!)

Here are some details about my creation...I started off with Jen's Sketch For You To Try. (If you head over to Jen's blog, you'll see who won some new stamps!!!) I used Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink with Cool Caribbean accents. The yellow patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket and the red polka dotted paper is from Bo Bunny. My little critter in the teacup in from the Tina Wenke collection by Stampavie. He's colored up with Copic Markers (BG000, BG10, BV11, BV13, C0, C1, R20, R27, R29, Y21, YG63, YG67 and the Colorless Blender.) The birthday sentiment is from Stampin' Up's Circle of Friendship (retired). My Nesties made the Kraft circle and I used Cool Caribbean with my Ric-Rac Die-namic from My Favorite Things along with some twine and an American Crafts button for the accent on the bottom of the sketch. The other button is from Doodlebug Designs. Finally, I added some Stardust Stickles to the purple blossoms to give it some sparkle.

For some more birthday inspiration, just click here to see what the other Ladies in the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with. I hope that you have a beautiful day! Thank you so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

Blogger's Challenge Sketch!

Hello and Happy Friday! This week's Blogger's Challenge is a fantastic and quite versatile sketch from Lisa Somerville. I'm sure that I'll be using it again! Thanks Lisa!

I started off with a card base of PTI Kraft. The patterned paper is from October Afternoon and the Core'dination green layer is sewed on with my Janome Sew Mini machine. I added a few Foofala buttons to the upper left corner and then some mini pearls to each corner of the card. The Buttercream oval was cut with my Nesties and my sweet little critter is from Stampavie. He's from the Tina Wenke collection and I colored him up with my Copic Markers (B00, B12, B95, B97, B99, E15, E29, E30, E31, E33, E35, R20, YG63, YG67, YR00, YR15, YR18, and the Colorless Blender).

If you'd like some more ideas with this sketch, just click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. You'll be able to find all of the players there. Thanks a bunch for stopping by today! See you soon...Toodles! :D

Just For You!

I hope that you had a very happy Monday! I spent a good part of my day at Lego Camp with my little one and about 25 other children! We had such a blast, but I was thrilled to have some time to stamp when we got home. If you stop by my blog regularly, then you know the love affair I've been having with stamps and Die-Namics from My Favorite Things lately...lol! Each month they have a fantastic new release and a Guest Designer Challenge. Here is my submission for this month's challenge. I started off with Jen's fabulous SFYTT from Saturday. The theme for the challenge is "Floral Flair", so I went with MFT's Blooming Good Day set. See the sweet little flower that she is watering! I used my Copic Markers (BG10, C1, C3, C5, E000, E00, E01, E51, E55, E57, R20, R27, R29, YG93, and YG95) to color everything up. I also used some flowery paper from Jillibean for the background of my card and to paper piece her dress. That didn't seem like quite enough flowers so I was sure to add a couple flower shaped buttons to the sentiment and to the sun that I made with the MFT Sun Die-Namic. I used the MFT Jumbo Ric-Rac Die-Namic in Night of Navy for the vertical piece of the sketch. The red panel is some Polka Dotted Bo-Bunny paper and I used my Nesties for the circle and the scalloped circle. I hope that I ended up using enough flowers! Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit...Toodles! :D

Happiness Always

Happy Friday everyone! It has been a beautiful day here in New England...warm, but not too humid. A perfect, summer day! The card I have to share with you today is for this week's Blogger's Challenge...Black, White, and the color of your choice (in this case, Baja Breeze). This challenge came at just the right time. My in-laws have a wedding to go to soon and these are the colors from the invitation. My mother-in-law asked if I could come up with a card for her to give to the bride and groom, and here it is. I pulled out a set that I that I really like, but seldom seem to ink up...Stampin' Up's Baroque Motif. The sentiment comes from an older SU set, Happy Harmony (one of my favorites). I used my Nesties for the squares and I added a few pearls to give it an elegant look. Let's hope she likes what I came up with!

Be sure to stop by and see what the other Ladies from the BC group have come up with. The links to their blogs can be found here. Thanks so much for visiting with me...Toodles! :D