Like Mother, Like Daughter

This morning while Arwen, my 10-month old napped, I thought I'd stamp a little bit. All of the sudden, I thought Savannah, my 3 year old was a little TOO quiet, so I went to check on her and this is what I found! Do you think she watches her mother too closely? She has her own stamps and stamp pads and everything and has been stamping for quite a while. (Can't you tell by how WELL USED the yellow Stampin' Up kids stamp pad looks on her table?) LOL I never actually taught her to color her stamps with markers, though. Notice, she has one of her BIG OL' Disney Princess markers? This picture was just too darn cute, I had to run and quietly get my camera before she noticed I was watching her! Right out of bed and still in her pajamas. . .just like a true stamper! :)

Super Sketch Sunday #13

Another wonderful sketch from Amy over at Heartfelt Greetings! I am addicted! I look forward to every Sunday. Even if I don't have time to actually do them on Sunday, I at least HAVE to check to see if it's there! LOL I didn't have any sentiments that were big enough to fit in the "sentiment block" on the sketch, so I decided to fill the sentiment block with a cut out flower from Big Blooms with the sentiment as the center of the flower. I think it worked well. If you have the Big Blooms set, you know that the largest flower's center isn't perfectly round, so when I punched out a large circle to fit over the center, there were a few white spots showing on a couple of the edges, so I used Purple Stickles to "cover them up", and add a nice bit of sparkle to the flower. The large flower grommets are part of a new toy I just got! The Making Memories Grommet Set! I have seen this in different scrapbooking magazines and have LOVED it! I was browsing through Michael's one day and there it was! You can imagine how happy I was. . .especially when I had a 40% off coupon! :) I got the grommet setting kit and an extra pack with these flower grommets in it. If you can believe it, these are the "smaller" grommets of the bunch! There are HUGE circles that I haven't used yet! I thought this sketch was the perfect time to use these flower grommets though! To finish the card off, I did some faux stitching around the edges of the layers. . .bet you can't tell I LOVE faux stitching, can you?!! I'm really happy with how the card turned out! Thank you, Amy, for another WONDERFUL sketch! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- In My Thoughts, Big Blooms; Paper- DCWV Glitter Stack, Light Blue, Certainly Celery; Ink- Regal Rose, Basic Black; Accessories- Paper piercer, white gel pen, Purple Stickles, large circle punch, Making Memories Glower Grommets and Grommet Setting kit.

Simple Shower Invitations

I finally finished my sister's shower invitations. I had to go VERY simple because they had to be finished yesterday, and since that's when I started them. . .well, you get the picture! :) I started out coloring them in with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol, but that was taking entirely too long, so I switched to pastels and a blender pen. I wish I had more time to work on them because they look rather plain to me, but my sister liked them and that's what's important. She knows she's having a boy, so that's why the colors are blues and yellows. I colored the bow on her belly in with a Gelly Roll sparkly pen, but you can't really see it in the picture. In real life, it adds just the right amount of sparkle. I thought about using lime Stickles, but thought of the drying time and didn't want all of these invitations ruined by wet stickles! So, now all my "must stamp" projects are finished! My husband has his thank you gifts, and my sister has her invitations. Now I can breathe a little and stamp for fun! I really want to do a little scrapbooking! I have some REALLY cute pictures of the girls from this past week that are screaming to be put on a page! Not to mention I should really start thinking about what to do for Mother's Day! Any suggestions for someone who is short on time? I've seen a few mini scrapbooks lately that are REALLY cute. Maybe I'll make some of those if they don't take too long! Thanks for visiting! Hope you are enjoying some beautiful weather today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Teddybella, Michael's $1 stamp; Paper- DCWV; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Polka Dot Organdy ribbon from Doodliedoo, Prismacolor pencils, gamsol, stump, pastels, blender pen, Gelly Roll sparkly pen.

Finished Gift Set

Well, I decided to go with the tote bag packaging. I thought it would be cute. So, these are what the gift sets will look like finished. Each set has 5 cards and envelopes inside. I think the people my husband is giving them to will really like them! I just hope they like the colors! Not everybody likes the whole brown/pink color combo! The ribbon I used for the handles is actually ribbon with an adhesive backing. It makes it REALLY quick to attach the handles instead of having to cut and apply sticky strip and then peel off the backing! The only thing you have to do is brush baby powder on the part of the handle that isn't attached to the bag. The baby powder makes the adhesive "unsticky". I picked some up at my local craft store a while ago and have only used it a couple of times. I keep forgetting I have it! :) On a side note, some of you have asked me what a One Sheet Wonder is and where to find one. A One Sheet Wonder is basically a pattern for cutting up a piece of cardstock so that you can use each of those pieces on a separate card. There are MANY different one sheet wonders, it just depends on who made it as to how many pieces it may have. This particular one I used was in the April Stampin' Success magazine and was for a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. The paper was cut into 16 different pieces. Each piece went on a different card. I added other cardstock to layer the patterned pieces and focal pieces, but you don't have to. There is a whole gallery on SCS dedicated to One Sheet Wonders. Here is a link to an actual pattern that was posted in the forums. I hope I've answered your questions! Have fun trying it out! Thanks for visiting today!

Gift Sets

Well, I finally finished those card sets that my husband asked for as thank yous. I used a One Sheet Wonder (OSW) template for a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper that makes 16 cards. Since my husband wanted 4 card sets, I wanted to put 5 cards in each set, so I had to add an extra four cards with an additional piece of the patterned paper to make 20 cards in all. I think they turned out pretty well. The card layouts for the OSW were a bit simple, so I added stamping on the background, or paper piercing to give them more interest. I had a lot of fun making them, but I have to say that I'm glad I'm finished! LOL Now I just have to decide on packaging. . .whether I want a stationery folder or tote bag packaging. When I finish those, I'll show you the whole finished project. These pictures show each card layout within the OSW. Hope you like them! More importantly, I hope the people who are receiving these like them! Thanks for stopping by today! SUPPLIES USED- Stamps- Green Thumb, Paper Tray, Butterfly Kisses; Paper- DCWV Glitter Stack, Orange, Pink, Dark Brown, Cream, and Whisper White; Ink- VersaMagic in Jumbo Java, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread, Tea Leaves, Pink Petunia, and Pixie Dust; Accessories- Paper piercer, grosgrain ribbon, horizontal slot punch, Making Memories brads.

Party Invitation

This wasn't what I had planned for my post today. I had planned to post the gift sets I made for my husband to give as thank yous, but I didn't get them all finished. I'm almost there, though, so maybe tomorrow! While I was looking through my card samples for an idea for my sister's shower invitations, I came across this card that I made for a swap quite a while ago. . .maybe over a year ago! It made me smile because I really liked the pinks, and the card always reminded me of bubbles blowing around with girls in pretty party dresses. Since Savannah was outside blowing bubbles today, I thought I would share this card with you and hope it would make you smile too. I'm not sure if this is the pattern I'll use for my sister's invitations, but it's a refreshing layout for me anyway! Hope you have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED- Stamps- Simply Sweet, Simply Circles, Pure and Simple Alphabet; Paper- Rose Romance, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink- Pretty in Pink, Rose Romance, Basic Black; Accessories- gingham ribbon, circle punches

Super Sketch Sunday on Thursday!

Well, I finally got to Amy's Super Sketch Sunday Challenge, and it's Thursday! Time just seems to be disappearing for me lately. This is one of my FAVORITE challenges to do every week, and I just can't believe it took me this long to get to it. I usually do it on Sunday, but this past Sunday was busy with rehearsal, and my husband was gone all day with choir concerts. . .so no break for mommy! I even had to take BOTH girls to rehearsal with me. Anyway, I LOVE to do Amy's sketches. If you haven't visited Amy's blog, you should. . .and try one of her challenges! I did my first Scrap Stash Saturday Challenge this past Saturday. It really makes for a lot of fun and inspiration. . .especially if you don't have TIME to think up a starting point for your card! LOL This card could actually be used for both challenges because I got the patterned paper out of my scrap stash! Trying to use up those scraps! Hopefully the next thing you'll see me post is some thank you sets for my husband or shower invites for my sister! I just have to be inspired to come up with something cute and creative. They may end up being very simple so I can just get them finished! Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Riveting, Faux Ribbon; Paper- DCWV Spring Stack, Basic Black, Certainly Celery; Ink- VersaMagic Midnight Black, Red Magic, SU Real Red; Accessories- small and large oval punch, red ric rak, circle punches, Cuttlebug Flower die, button from Making Memories, black grosgrain.

RAK Day!

Yesterday, I received two BEAUTIFUL RAKs in the mail! I was so surprised and very excited! The first one is by Michele Kovack over at Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker! Isn't it just the cutest? I LOVE how she used her Cuttlebug Script embossing folder on the big scalloped piece of cardstock behind the focal image. I just LOVE this Bella stamp too! Let's hope I can look like that when I'm THAT pregnant! LOL Thank you so much, Michele, for thinking of me and sending this card! What a nice surprise! If you haven't already checked out Michele's blog, I highly recommend it! She does a lot of wonderful things! She makes BEAUTIFUL scrapbook pages that I wish I could make!

The second card I received is from Natasha Trupp at Palmtrees and Pogosticks! I just LOVE this doggie! He is SO CUTE! I have admired Natasha's work for a very long time. I visited her blog regularly, long before I even thought of starting my own. She makes some of the most adorable cards ever! And she's quite an enabler! LOL I have ended up buying a lot of stamp sets simply because of the wonderful cards she's made with them! You must visit her blog. . . just remember, I warned you! :) Natasha, thank you so much for thinking of me! What a sweet, sweet card! I LOVE it!

Hopefully I can get a little stamping of my own done today! I still haven't made those thank you sets for my husband! I better get on that! Plus, my baby sister (who is due with her first baby in June) asked me to make invitations for her shower. I really need to get busy on these things! Where does the time go? Have a great day, and hopefully I'll post a little later!

Have a Great Day!

I am still loving my Basic Grey papers that I got from Doodliedoo! These papers are from the Pheobe series. The layout for this card came from today's Sketch Challenge on SCS. First I stamped the butterflies on the Whisper White cardstock and thought I was going to watercolor them. I decided at the last minute that it looked too dull, so I stamped them on a rust, pink and blue paper from the Pheobe stack and cut them out. Then I ran them through my Xyron upside down to make the fronts sticky and dipped them in glitter and adhered them over the original stamped butterflies. I added some bling for their "heads" too. You can't really tell from the picture, but the pink butterfly is raised on dimensionals. I wish the band of patterned paper that runs across the middle of the card was better seen. It's one of my favorite patterns in the stack and most of it is covered up by the focal image. Guess I"ll have to make another card to showcase that paper a little more, huh? Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Rhonna Ferrer Butterfly, Studio G sentiment; Paper- Basic Grey Pheobe, Whisper White; Ink- VersaMagic Black Midnight; Accessories- horizontal slot punch, May Arts ribbon, Xyron, glitter, bling from Walmart, paper piercer.

Think Pink

This was for today's Color Challenge on SCS, Think Pink. I wanted to use my Palette O'Prints again! I just LOVE the pink in the set. It's Rose Red, a color I hardly ever use. I haven't used my Think Big set in a while either, so I thought I'd combine that with Doodle This. I thought it worked well to have the "wish" as the flower center. Once I stamped "big" on the patterned paper, I thought it needed a little something to stand out, so I took my white gel pen and outlined the left sides of the letters. I think it gave it just the right amount of whatever it needed to stand out a little more. I'm really happy with how it turned out. The best part about it is that I was in a hurry because we have to get out the door, and everything came together in the first try. Usually I have to fiddle around with things until I get the card the way I like it. Don't you LOVE when it just comes together quickly? Especially when you're in a hurry? It is a gorgeous day here today, which is a nice surprise because it was supposed to thunderstorm. Maybe the storms are coming later? Well, I'm going to enjoy it while it's nice! Thanks for visiting today and have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Doodle This, Think Big; Ink- Basic Black, Rose Red; Paper- Palette O'Prints, Basic Black, Whisper White; Accessories- Offray ribbon, white gel pen, circle punch, hole punch, slit punch, stickles.