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