A Beautiful RAK!

Look at this beautiful RAK I got today from Allison! You all know Allison over at Stampin' When I Can, don't you?! She is the blog information queen, keeping us all informed of what's happening on everyone's blog. . .and STILL finds time to stamp beautiful things herself, comment on everyone's blog and send RAKs!!!! Isn't she amazing? I feel so lucky to have received this wonderful card from her! Look at all the "bling" on those flowers! WOW! And that ribbon is just gorgeous! Allison, you absolutely made my day! Thank you SO much for thinking of me and sending this card! If you haven't yet visited Allison's blog, you will LOVE it! You will always be "in the know" about everything that's going on, complete with links to get you there! When she posts creations, they are just awesome! You will definitely add her to your list of daily blogs to visit!

Morning Warm Up

This was for today's Try a New Technique Challenge on SCS, Let's Warm Up. Valerie's challenge was to make a 3x3 card that took no longer than 15 minutes to make. It was a lot of fun! Her purpose was to get your juices flowing by doing this every morning, even if you don't really have time to stamp! You can read all about it on her blog. I think it's a great idea! I will definitely be doing this more often! What a great way to use up smaller scraps AND have little notecards ready to attach to a gift? Not to mention just getting your creative juices flowing! Give the challenge a try! It really is a lot of fun! I stamped "A Little Something" from Fancy Flexible Phrases on a white Great Big Brad from Hot Off the Press. I just kept my fingers crossed that it worked because the sentiment JUST fit with no room for error! I really wanted to use THAT particular sentiment because of the size of the card! I thought it would be cute. Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Fancy Flexible Phrases; Paper- DCWV green, Wild Asparagus patterned paper; Ink- StazOn Jet Black; Accessories- Great Big Brad by Hot Off the Press, Prima flower, May Arts ric rac, word window punch, paper piercer.

Happy Mother's Day

Here's what I ended up making for my mother and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I think they really liked them! I used Beate's Jacob's Ladder Tutorial. I filled them all up with pictures, so the only real "embellishing" was on the cover. The patterned paper is my new Wild Asparagus paper with "Happy Mother's Day" embossed in gold. I added the corners and then faux stitched around the cover and used a gold gel pen for the "thread". The Jacob's Ladder is a pretty quick project and is VERY neat! I could watch the pictures "roll down" all day! :) If you haven't tried the tutorial, give it a try. . .I really think you'll like it! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

A Poetically Artistic Sketch

Julee over at Poetic Artistry is having a card contest. She's posted a sketch for you to use. I thought my new Ladybug Topper stamp would work perfectly! It's a little bigger of a circle than I would probably use if I had used another stamp, but I think it still works! Again, I used some of my new Wild Asparagus patterned papers. . .I really like them a lot! I added some brads to the centers of the circles at the bottom left of the card, and paper piercing around the green patterned paper. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, I think. Hope you like it! Now I've got to finish my Mother's Day gifts! Won't be able to show those until after tomorrow just in case my mother or mother-in-law read my blog before they receive their gifts! Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Ladybug Topper by Stampendous; Paper- Wild Asparagus, Whisper White, True Thyme; Ink- Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, So Saffron; Accessories- Paper piercer, antique brads, small circle punch, artichoke grosgrain ribbon, Aquapainter, Coluzzle.

A Fresh and Fun Sketch

I finally had a little time to stamp a couple of cards today! If you've visited Beate's blog lately, you'll know that she's posted a sketch for you make a card from in order to qualify to win Fresh and Fun Freebies! I enjoy doing sketch challenges, so I really wanted to give this one a try. I got some new paper from My Mind's Eye Wild Aspargus. I was really attracted to this orange patterned paper, and I'm not usually an "orange" kind of person. I also thought this deep shade of blue went well with the orange. That's how I came up with the color combo. . .by just looking at colors of paper together. The watercoloring was taken from there. I especially LOVE how this new May Arts ribbon I got in my "package" the other day, matches the blue cardstock! What a fun sketch! Thanks, Beate, for the challenge! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Polka Dots & Paisley, Doodle This, Doodle That; Paper- DCWV Blue, brown, Wild Asparagus patterned paper; Ink- VersaMagic in Ocean Depth, Basic Brown, Pumpkin Pie; Accessories- May Arts ribbon, large oval punch, paper piercer, blue glitter glue, Aquapainter, blue bling.

A RAK!

Look at what I received in the mail yesterday! How sweet is this? It's from Angie over at Quacking Creations. Some of you may know her as Duckwaddlequack on SCS. I can't believe I got an Angie original! :) I've always admired Angie's work because she does a lot of the "heavily embellished" stuff that is just gorgeous and I envy because I can't pull it off myself! This was such a nice surprise. As if the card wasn't enough, there was this Rhonna Farrer stamp inside! That is just too sweet! Thank you so much, Angie, for making my day! If you haven't visited Angie's blog, you really should! She makes the most wonderful cards and even shares beautiful pictures of nature! Go and check her out!

For those of you who responded to my "how do you keep your little children busy" post. . .THANK YOU! I was beginning to feel as if I was the only mother whose daily routine was getting boring to both me, and my girls! It's nice to know I'm not alone! If any of you come up with new and exciting ideas, please be sure and let me know! Have a great day!

Limited Supplies

Another Challenge! This was for today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS, Wide Open Spaces. The challenge was to leave wide open spaces on your card and not fill them up with patterned paper, background stamps, dry embossing or embellishments. I didn't realize how much I always want to add to a card until I'm not allowed to! LOL I do like the clean simplicity of the finished product, though! I haven't used this stamp set in a LONG time either! Had to dust it off! Well, thank you for visiting today! Have a wonderful Friday! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Haute Couture; Paper- Green Galore, Yo Yo Yellow, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- paper piercer, horizontal slot punch, Gingham ribbon, pastels, slit punch.

Four Squares

This card was for this past Wednesday's Sketch Challenge on SCS. I don't think I've ever used this layout for a card. I really had to think about it. I also didn't know what to do with the fourth cow. I'm not crazy about the coloring, but it will work. It also has some sparkle thanks to my Stardust Gel pen! All in all a simple layout, but when you're not used to it, it really becomes a challenge!

Hope your Friday is going well. We're not exactly sure what we're going to do today. "Daddy's" gone for the whole day, so it's just me and the girls. For those of you with real little ones, do you ever find it a real challenge to keep the kids occupied when they don't yet go to school and spend the entire day with you? Do you find it a real challenge not to go crazy yourself? I was just wondering if I was the only one! :) Have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Very Punny; Paper- DCWV Pink, Black, Whisper White; Ink- Basic Black; Accessories- Offray ribbon, Pretty in Pink and Basic Black markers, Stardust Gel pen.

Just For You

Now that you've seen that wonderful package I received from Beate, you can imagine how eager I was to make something with my new stamp! The Bee card that was in the package was a Joy Fold card. (click on the link for Beate's wonderful tutorial!) Since, the stamp is a circle, I modified the card a little and made the "inside" part a circle card! I used my Circle Coluzzle on a piece of folded black cardstock, and made sure that the circle template went over the one edge so that the one side would still be connected.

The "full ladybug" that the circle card "latches" under was made by stamping and coloring the ladybugs you see on the stamp, and then putting them together "belly to belly" to make a full round ladybug. I had to color in the dots with a black marker so that they would line up better. I added wire for the round ladybug's antennae. "Just For You" is traced over in Stardust Stickles. The flower has yellow stickles over top and some bling added to the center. I'm so happy with how this card turned out. . .and I LOVE my new stamp! Oh the things I can make with it! Thanks for visiting today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Stampendous Ladybug Topper, Dot from Green Thumb; Ink- Basic Black; Paper- DCWV Glitter Stack Black with White Dots, Red, Green and Black, Whisper White; Accessories- Circle Coluzzle, Basic Black marker, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, stump, Stardust and Yellow Stickles, wire, bling from Walmart, circle punch.

Beautiful Beate!

Can you believe this package? I could not! I got this yesterday (after getting home very late) and just could not sleep from being so excited and in awe! Beate found this ladybug stamp and thought of me, but couldn't wait for my birthday in July to send it! LOL I just cannot believe she did this! The Bee card is just adorable! The extra bee images she stamped for me may have started another addiction! LOL All of this gorgeous ribbon and the Blog Friends book! I just cannot get over how generous and thoughtful she is! What a wonderful way to end a day! Thank you, Beate, for being the wonderfully thoughtful person you are! I am so touched, you have no idea! BIG HUGS!!!