One of My Firsts!

I've had some extra time to do some Blog Hopping this weekend. In my travels, I found a new challenge to try. Karen Giron has these wonderful sketches on her blog and has a sketch challenge each Sunday. They are on #39 of the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. (Yes, I've been apparently living under a rock...lol!) It was such a fun sketch that I had to give it a try. I went through my stamps and found my retired Halloween Hedgehogs. It was one of my very first sets from Stampin' Up! I so {heart} these hedgehogs! They are one of the reasons that I started stamping. After all, you can pretty them up and they are so cute...lol!

Along with my sweet, little hedgehogs, I used Stampin' Up's Real Red, Kraft, and a piece of retired Bashful Blue designer paper. The ovals are cut out with my Nesties and the ribbon is from May Arts. I've added a little bit of faux stitching, some Star Dust Stickles on the water, and a few brads to complete this creation. Thanks so much for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of your day...Toodles! :D

Happy Friday!

This week's Blogger's Challenge is a fantastic sketch from our challenge Mom, Lisa Somerville. I was able to use one of my new Stampavie stamps. This is a Helz Cuppleditch image. The original image has three little chicks with this cute pup, but I didn't ink them up for this creation. He's colored up with Prismacolor Pencils and then I used my Nesties for the classic circle and the Chocolate Chip scallop circle. My card base is Stampin' Up's Old Olive. I layered on a panel of Old Olive Designer Series Paper that's layered on a piece of Always Artichoke. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's Blooming with Love set. I added some faux stitching in the corners and along the top and bottom of the Artichoke panel and a little bit of Star Dust Stickles to finish this one off.

Would you like to see some more creations with this sketch? Just click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right side bar. Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope that you enjoy the long weekend...Toodles! :D

I Love You the Most!

This week's Blogger's Challenge theme is LOVE! Yes, I know I'm a day late for Blogger's Challenge, but you see, I'm not lovin' all of the new gadgets that go with this new computer! I think that I figure out how to do something and then I try to do it again and I get nothin'! Then when what I want to happen actually does, and I have no idea how I did it...ugh! I'm still trying though, and I'm sure the more I tinker with it, the more I'll understand, but for now it is extremely frustrating!

Are you ready for all of the details about my card? Well, here goes! Kerry Donovan Casey sent me this adorable Magnolia stamp last week along with one of her GORGEOUS cards (I won a little drawing that she had on her blog). The image reminded me of when you hold out your arms and say, "I love you this much!" So, I thought that it would be perfect for the "Love Challenge". I have to say that I have never been so intimidated to color before...lol! Everytime I see one of these Magnolia images colored, they are so beautiful. My coloring just isn't there yet, but hopefully some day it will be. I used my Prismacolor Pencils for this one and I paired it up with a Stampin' Up sentiment (from the retired set, Love Matters) and some of my favorite Stampin' Up colors (Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, and So Saffron). I also used my Stampin' Up punches and white grosgrain ribbon. The little pearls are from Martha Stewart, and the oval was cut with my Nesties and then embossed in my 'Bug. So, there you have it...my very first Magnolia creation. I hope I you like it Kerry! Be sure to check out what all of the other Ladies in the Blogger's Challenge group have come up with. (Just click on the logo in my right sidebar.) Thanks so much for taking a moment to visit today...Toodles! :D

I'm Still Here!!!

Happy Friday everyone! I've missed you all! We had to get a new computer and along with that, we had to buy a new photo editing program, and along with that I had to learn how to run the whole thing...ugh! So here I am...three weeks later! The good news is that with the new editing program, I am able to use my watermark...yippee! So now, I am up and running again! :D

This week's Blogger's Challenge is to use Designer Paper. I went with some retired favorites in So Saffron and Certainly Celery from Stampin' Up! I paired them up with one of my Tina Wenke images from Stampavie. Very simple design, but I love the way that it turned out. I'm off to check out all of the other creations from the ladies in the Blogger's Challenge group. If you'd like to join me, just click on the logo in my right sidebar. Thanks so much for hanging in there with me. I'm so glad that you stopped by tonight...Toodles! :D

"Labor Day!"

I couldn't seem to upload yesterday. Not quite sure what the problem was, but things are back to working today so here is my contribution to this week's Blogger's Challenge. The theme is baby and that's where the "Labor Day" title of this post came from (plus it's Labor Day weekend here in the States). It has been an incredibly busy week for me. I started a new full-time teaching job on Monday (Yippee!) It is in our district, so my little one can take the bus to and from my building to the other elementary school and that makes life oh, so much easier! However, the start of school has left me very little stamping time, so when you need to get a project done quickly, you look to the pros. In this case, Lauren Meader's fantastic Baby Onesie pattern. All of her details are here. I paired up this baby boyish, argyle, Bo Bunny paper with Stampin' Up's Certainly Celery. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's Nursery Necessities, and those sweet, little buttons are from Making Memories. For more baby ideas, be sure to check out what the other Ladies in the Blogger's Challenge group came up with (link is in my right sidebar). Have a Happy Labor Day weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

It's the Little Things...

Happy Friday! Here it is...this week's Blogger's Challenge...a wonderful sketch from our fabulous "Challenge Mom" Lisa! I wanted to showcase another one of my new Stampavie stamps from the Tina Wenke Collection. I have one more new one to share, but that will have to wait for another day.

I paired up my image with a sentiment from A Muse Artstamps and a piece of their stitched, grosgrain ribbon. All of the papers are from Stampin' Up, and I just had to add some Star Dust Stickles to finish the whole thing off. For more inspiration with this sketch, just click on the Blogger's Challenge logo in my right sidebar. Thanks so much for visiting today! I'm off to vacuum...what fun! Toodles! :D

Too Dark, Too Bright...ugh!

The card that I made yesterday was difficult to photograph. It looks great if you click on it for the enlarged version, but it looks too light to me in the regular blog post. This card has been giving me the same trouble. I have taken photographs of it inside in two different areas and outside in two different areas for a grand total of 43 different shots...ugh!! Unfortunately, this is the best one...lol! Maybe if you click and get the larger version, it will look even better. Okay, enough of my photography woes...onto the card.

I made this one for this week's Blogger's Challenge...use dies or punches. I went with both. My Stampin' Up sentiment is punched out with my small oval punch and then mounted with dimensionals to a larger oval of Pacific Point card stock. My little mouse from Stampavie is back and this time he's resting on a cupcake instead of a flower. Still cute as can be though! I used my rectangle dies from Nestabilities to cut him out along with the scalloped rectangle die for the Pacific Point layer. The buttons are from Making Memories and the fun papers are from Debbie Mums' Baby Boy pack. I used Anna Wight's sewing wheel trick around the edge of the card and then added Star Dust Stickles for some sparkle.

I'm sure the Ladies from the Blogger's Challenge group have some wonderful ideas with dies and punches. You can check out what they've all come up with right here. Have a fabulous Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by...Toodles! :D

I Stamped!!!

I haven't been able to find a lot of stamping time lately. It seems like this Summer has given me just enough time to complete my Blogger's Challenges and that's about all. I'm thrilled that I had the chance to stamp today just for fun!!! Do you like my sweet, new image from Stampavie? Is this little mouse a cutie-pa-tootie or what? I fell in love with him over at All That Scraps. I picked up a few of his friends for some future projects too! I chose to use him today because he fits so well with the Summer Fun Challenge over on the Stampavie blog.

My main image is colored with my Prima Colored Pencils and the designer papers are Nana's Nursery from DCWV. The card base is Stampin' Up's So Saffron with some Certainly Celery layers added in. I finished this one off with a large blue button, some green gingham ribbon, and a touch of Star Dust Stickles. I'll be back tomorrow with another card for this week's Blogger's Challenge. Thanks so much for visiting today...Toodles! :D

Happy Friday!!!

Friday means Blogger's Challenge and this week's challenge is Birthday creations. When I think about birthday celebrations, I think about all of the yummy treats, and then I immediately think about this Tiers of Treats stamp from Stampendous! I combined it with a sentiment from Stampin' Up's Short and Sweet set and some retired papers from Stampin' Up. These colors (Pacific Point, patterned So Saffron, and patterned Kiwi Kiss) remind me of summertime, and we'll be celebrating a few more birthdays around here before it comes to a close. The American Craft brads match Pacific Point perfectly, so I added them as well. A little bit of faux stitching in the corner completes my card.

For more birthday inspiration, be sure to stop by here to check out what the other Ladies from the group have created. Hope you have a Happy Friday! Thanks so much for visiting today...Toodles! :D