Bellarina

I have had the Bellarina stamp for quite a while, but never used her. Yesterday, I got the DCWV Glitter Stack! Everytime I went to Joann's, they were all sold out, but my dear friend Kathy was awesome enough to pick up an extra one when she found them! She didn't even know that I'd been searching. . .how cool is that? She called yesterday and asked if I'd be interested in one! Once I saw this black striped patterned paper in the stack, I immediately thought of a stage curtain. So, I thought I'd use my Bellarina and put her "on the stage". The "curtain" is mounted on dimensionals to give the card some dimension. I found this sentiment in my box of RARELY used stamps and thought I'd use it. I believe it's Penny Black. I'm afraid I ruined the card by trying to put a "splash" of color behind the words. . .well, maybe ruined is going a bit too far, but I'm not sure I like the colors. Maybe if they were a lighter wash of color, like just watercolored on. I don't know. For "live", I just used Stardust Stickles as a "splash" of glitter. Bellarina's dress is paper pieced. I stamped Bellarina on a pink piece of paper, cut out the dress and then ran it through my Xyron upside down so that the front would be sticky and dunked it in glitter. I LOVE how the dress turned out. It looks like a REAL ballerina's costume, all sparkly! Hopefully you can see the sparkliness of this card. I'm not sure it showed up in the picture. Thanks for visiting today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Bellarina, Penny Black sentiment; Ink- Basic Black; Paper- DCWV Glitter Stack, pink, Whisper White; Accessories- Xyron, glitter, Stardust Stickles, light pink organdy polka dot ribbon, various SU markers.

My First Scrap Stash

I have been wanting to try Amy's Scrap Stash Saturday Challenge for a while. I just think it's great for using up some scraps rather than always cutting into new paper to make a card. Mind you, I would have to do at least a year's worth of Scrap Stash Saturdays to use up my scraps! LOL Amy always does such a nice job with the scraps she chooses. So, I had a little time yesterday and thought I'd give it a try. It was tough! Hopefully you think this card goes together alright. I wasn't sure about that cream/mauve patterned paper fitting in, but I used just a tad of it and I think it worked. It was a fun challenge, and I'm so glad I tried it. Hopefully it will get easier the more I do it! Thanks for visiting today and I hope you're having as beautiful weather as we are here! Finally, the sun's out again! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Edgy Eloquence; Paper- DCWV, Oriental Trading, The Paper Company; Ink- Lovely Lilac, Ruby Red, VersaMagic Dusted Mauve; Accessories- round tab punch, double rectangle hole punch, Making Memories brads.

Polka Dotted Boots

Today is rainy and chilly. What better day for rain boots that can cheer you up? I've seen some garden shoes at Joann's that are just the cutest, but never ended up getting them. These boots kind of reminded me of them. They're not the same colors, but I took the color combo from the patterned paper I used. This card made me happy on this dreary day! I hope it will make you smile too! I'm hoping to get lots done today, but that all depends on my girls. Right now, the 10 month old is napping. . .for more than 30 minutes, and THAT'S a record! LOL I'd love to get more stamping done, but I think I'll wait until my husband gets home for that. He's asked me to make a few cards sets for him to give as thank you's, but I haven't been able to work on that. Hopefully I'll be able to show you those later?! Thanks for visiting! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb; Paper- DCWV Spring Stack, Whisper White, Basic Black; Ink- VersaMagic in Black Midnight, Red Magic, Tea Leaves and Turquoise Gem; Accessories- hole punch, Giga scallop circle punch, Mega circle punch, black grosgrain ribbon.

Make It Masculine

This was for today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS, Make It Masculine. . .to make a masculine card using stamps that you wouldn't normally consider masculine. I haven't used my Sweet Shapes set in a while and I thought it would do the trick. The slit/fold down on the patterned paper was an attempt to give the impression of a collar. I was trying to embellish in a manly way. LOL This patterned paper, by the way, is the Prints Sampler from Stampin' Up! In May, for every $35 you spend, you can order this Prints Sampler for $9.95. It's called the Palette O'Prints promotion. It's a 6x6 pad of double-sided Designer Series paper that will be in the Fall/Winter Collection 2007! I love it so far! It has patterns in four different colors. I thought the green would work best for this masculine card. Hope you have a wonderful Friday! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Sweet Shapes, Rough Edges Alphabet; Ink- Certainly Celery, Old Olive, VersaMagic Tea Leaves; Paper- DCWV card base, Whisper White, Basic Black, Palette O'Prints Prints Sampler; Accessories- small circle punch, Making Memories brads, paper piercer, black grosgrain ribbon.

A Tough Kind of Purple

This was for today's Ways To Use It Challenge on SCS, to use Orchid Opulence on your card. It's weird, but I LOVE purple! It's my favorite color, but honestly, I NEVER use THIS particular purple. If I use purple I grab either Lovely Lilac or Lavender Lace, but never Orchid Opulence. So, I thought I'd use some of my DCWV Pocket Full of Posies paper to compliment Orchid Opulence. This card is a lot like the one I posted yesterday with the butterflies and Basic Grey paper. I was in a patterned paper kind of mood again and the layout from yesterday was on my brain. I really need to get my creative juices flowing again. I think I've been so wrapped up in choreographing this show that my brain just doesn't work creatively for anything else! Maybe it's time to switch my stamp sets! LOL I think I told you at some point that I have a "makeshift" craft room in the back part of my kitchen. Since I can't get up to my 3rd floor craft room with the kids, I brought about 10 stamp sets downstairs and various supplies and embellishments. Well, maybe my brain needs some new stamp sets to work with! I say new because a lot of my sets that are up in my craft room (and there are A LOT) haven't been used in a long time, so they would be NEW again! :) Thanks for visiting today and I hope you have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Remembering You; Ink- Orchid Opulence, VersaMagic Eggplant; Paper- DCWV Pocket Full of Posies, Red; Accessories- Large oval punch, ribbon from Walmart, paper piercer, purple gel pen, purple Stickles.

Blush Butterflies

This was for today's Sketch Challenge on SCS.

I wasn't able to upload until this evening. I used my Polka Dots & Petals set for the very first time, if you can believe that! I stamped it on top of the striped paper in VersaMagic Red Brick and Jumbo Java. All of the patterned paper is Basic Grey Blush. . .I just LOVE it! I've tried to use more patterned paper recently, mainly because I have a lot of it. . .especially scraps! I really like stamping line art images on patterned paper for a "quick fix" since you don't have to color it in or line up the "filler" stamp. I added ribbon and "bling" to the butterflies to give them some dimension, as well as mounting them with dimensionals. I used the small oval punch and extended the oval by cutting a strip of paper to fit through the punch so that only ONE end gets punched. The other end is through the "hole" of the punch, if that makes sense. On a side note, I was browsing some of my favorite blogs while waiting for this to upload and saw that Allison stamped these butterflies on the SAME patterned paper! Isn't it uncanny how that happens? I guess it's not THAT uncanny if you have the same stamps and the same papers, but the chances of picking two of the same supplies and combining them in the same way! Maybe I'm just easily amazed! LOL You can check out her gorgeous card here. Allison was using an ad as inspiration for the card she made. Thanks for visiting and have a good night! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Butterfly Kisses, Polka Dots and Petals; Ink- VersaMagic in Red Brick and Jumbo Java; Paper- Basic Grey Blush; Accessories- grosgrain ribbon, small oval punch, paper piercer, bling from Walmart.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Julie (Stampin with Julie)and Rita (L8ybug Stamper). In this game, I tell you 7 things about myself that you might not know and then I tag 7 other bloggers who can play if they want to! Let's see:

1. I come from a very large family. I am the oldest of 6, and my parents are each one of 10 children.
2. I have spent most of my life as a musical theatre performer having graduated from Point Park University with a B.F.A. in Musical Theater. I traveled A LOT from national tours to regional theaters to working on a cruise ship.
3. I am now pregnant with baby #3!
4. When my very good friend Kathy approached me the first time about stamping or having a stamping party I said "Me? No, I don't stamp. Crafts are not my thing." She got me to try it ONCE and I was at Michael's that night buying stuff! LOL Now she is my upline!
5. My husband and I met in a Big Band show we were doing together. He was the MC (or bandleader) and I was one of the U.S.O. girls (think Andrews Sisters).
6. I strongly dislike mushrooms!!
7. My favorite type of food is Mexican.

Okay, now to tag 7 people. Hmmmm. . . .Jami Speidel, Pam Speidel, Barb, Beate, Ally, Jeanine, and Michelle. I don't think these people have been tagged yet. Check out their blogs if you'd like to see their answers! Have a great day!

VT Color Challenge

This is for today's Color Challenge on SCS, VT Sympathy, cards for families of the Virginia Tech victims. If you'd like to make a card to send, please check out the color challenge at the link above. There is an address that you can send your cards to. I cannot imagine what those families are going through. I know how I was affected, and I didn't personally know anyone involved in this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families who have experienced this firsthand. If you'd like to offer your support, please make a card and send it to the address listed within the VT Sympathy link. Thank you! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Doodle This, Faux Ribbon; Paper- Pumpkin Pie, Bravo Burgundy, Glossy White; Ink- Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black; Accessories- Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder, large and small oval punches, grosgrain ribbon.

Flower Faux Ribbon

Well, I've concluded that if I think of the Faux Ribbon set less for making "ribbons" and more for making patterns, it's much easier for me to create something I like with it. I don't know if any of you find this to be true, but that's what works for me! :) This is my favorite card I've made with this set so far. Hopefully I'll continue to make things I like and it will come easier! :) Hope you have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Faux Ribbon, Butterfly Kisses; Ink- VersaMagic in Midnight Black, Purple Hydrangea, Spanish Olive and Perfect Plumeria; Paper- DCWV; Accessories- Prima flowers, circle punches.

More Faux Ribbon

I'm still trying to make the Faux Ribbon set work for me. I like it a lot, but I can't seem to make the "ribbons" work for me. The sentiments are wonderful. I decided to make a "manly" birthday card. I used the Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder on the card base and then pierced the insides of the blocks for some added visual interest. I thought the card turned out really well for a male card. . .not too frilly. Hopefully I'll get to stamp a little more today and have more to share with you! Thanks for stopping by! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Faux Ribbon; Ink- VersaMagic Dew Drops in Midnight Black, Pumpkin Pie, Hint of Pesto and Eggplant; Paper- DCWV, Whisper White; Accessories- Cuttlebug Traffic Jam embossing folder, paper piercer, Making Memories brads, Ticket corner punch.

Fruity Faux Ribbon

I got my Faux Ribbon set in the mail from Papertrey Ink last Wednesday, but this is the first I've had time to play with it. Not to mention the fact that I really don't have any acrylic blocks that are long enough for the "ribbon" stamps. I had to improvise with a clear pencil case-type box. I have to say that creating with this set doesn't come as easy to me as Butterfly Kisses or Green Thumb did. I think it's because the images you're creating with this set (other than the sentiments, of course) are the "embellishments", and not the focal point, if that makes sense. I have to play a little more and see, but I have to totally think differently to use this set. Anyone else get this set and find that you have "stamper's block"? LOL I used what I call my "fruity" VersaMagic Dewdrops. . .Mango, Persimmon, Key Lime and Pink Grapefruit. They look like a real fruit salad! Adding the Jumbo Java (dark brown) made it look less edible! :) I'm going to keep plugging away with this set and see what I come up with! Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Faux Ribbon; Ink- VersaMagic Dew Drops in Mango, Persimmon, Key Lime, Pink Grapefruit and Jumbo Java; Paper- DCWV white, grapefruit and dark brown, SU Gable Green; Accessories- circle punches, paper piercer, Making Memories brads.

A RAK!

Look at this beautiful RAK I got in the mail today! It's from Kim Howard (khoward on SCS)! It is so much more beautiful in real life. . .the butterfly is on glossy carstock as is the "U". Thank you so much Kim! What a nice surprise. . .I didn't think my day could get any better after the weather being so nice, and you proved me wrong! I even got a new blog to visit! Go check out Kim's blog, Basement Stamper! I'm heading over right now!

Waiting for Summer

Today was such a beautiful day here in Pittsburgh that I just can't wait for summer to come! I made the base of this card about a year ago, when I was out of town and had very limited supplies with me. I put it away and forgot I had it, so I found it and added some things to it. I'm not crazy about it, but at least it's not as plain as it was before. The card base is from one of those DCWV Cards in a Box. All of the cards had different patterns on them. I thought they were neat. Well, I hope you enjoyed a beautiful day as well! The weekend is supposed to be just as nice, if not nicer! Yeah! Enjoy your weekend! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Shore Thing, Sweet Shapes; Ink- More Mustard, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip; Paper- DCWV brown, yellow, Whisper White; Accessories- Polka Dot Organdy Ribbon from Doodliedoo, Chocolate/Brown ribbon from Oriental Trading, Word Window punch, horizontal slot punch, Making Memories brad.

A RAK

Yesterday I received this BEAUTIFUL RAK from Donna Baker! Isn't it just wonderful? Donna was the winner of my last set of Oodagoodies and sent me this beautiful card as a thank you. Donna you really made me smile! Check out Donna's blog, Serenity in Stamping, and see some of her other wonderful creations! She's even giving away some blog candy now too! Go say hello to Donna and sign up to win! Thanks again, Donna!

5 in 1 Template Box

I have been dying to make this box since Beate "previewed" it on her blog! The tutorial went up yesterday on SCS. So, today I wanted to do that AND the Ways to Use It Challenge, Heavy Metal, but unfortunately my 9 month old won't nap so I had to make a choice. Then after talking to Beate, she said "you should make a box with metal on it!", so that's exactly what I did! Two challenges in one! The box is a little time consuming with the tracing and cutting, but definitely worth it! I used Karen Foster metal sheets with my Cuttlebug Vintage die to make the corners of the lid, and then used my large oval punch to punch out a "bookplate" and put it in one of my small Cuttlebug embossing folders to emboss a heart on it. The metal sheets already have adhesive on the back which made this part VERY easy. Thanks for visiting and have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Paper- Oriental Trading patterned paper, DCWV tan and brown; Accessories- Karen Foster Metal sheets in copper, SU 5 in 1 Template, large oval punch, Cuttlebug Vintage die and To/From Embossing set, ribbon from Walmart.

I've Been Tagged!

Wow! I am absolutely flattered that I've been tagged by fellow bloggers Barb Kaszuba, Julie Masse, Michelle, Paris Otremba and Beate! I'm not exactly sure how this works. . .if I'm allowed to tag the people who tagged me or not, so we'll assume that I have to pick people other than who tagged me. (besides, it's so hard to choose!!!) I have to say though, that Paris' blog is one that I just found through her tagging me. . .and I'm so glad I did! I love to visit Barb's blog for her creations and because she has a great sense of humor and really makes me laugh! Julie makes such beautiful cards and is just a sweetheart! Michelle makes beautiful Bella cards (and other cards as well). She is one of the first people I met through blogging. Paris, as I said, I can't wait to continue visiting her blog! And Beate, she is just an awesome person. When I first starting my blog she really helped me out and has been VERY encouraging and full of support. . .and I just love EVERYTHING she makes! :)

Now to choose my 5 blogs to tag:

1. Jami Speidel- Crazy Daisy Creations. She makes the cutest cards and is just TOO CUTE herself! I think we both started our blogs at the same time and supported each other! I found her blog through her mother-in-law's blog and make next choice. . .
2. Pam Speidel- Stamping with {Serendipity}. Pam does a WONDERFUL job of coloring and doodling! I LOVE everything she does, but her coloring and doodling is my fave!
3. Angie Z- Quacking Creations. She is one of the people I envy because she can make those heavily embellished BEAUTIES that my brain can't handle! :) Her cards are just gorgeous!
4. Julee Tilman- Poetic Artistry. Another person I envy because she makes the kind of cards I just can't, but LOVE to admire! She also has fun sketch challenges and things like that too!
5. Julie Brooks- Julie. She makes a lot of wonderful cards and even has a wonderful store,
Doodliedoo,to sell some of the stuff she uses on her cards!

I'm sure if you visit any of the blogs above(both my pics and the ones who tagged me), you won't be disappointed!

Sketch Challenge

I haven't been able to do the challenges on SCS for a little while, but I was able to do the Sketch Challenge today! Don't you wish there was just more time in the day?! I know I do, all the time! :) I used my Green Thumb set and added some black glitter glue in the centers of the flowers for a little sparkle, and to carry the black through the card. I have to tell you that I was so glad to finish this card. This was the 4th try on this one! I kept smudging the ink or getting a finger print here or there because I was in a hurry and couldn't wait for the ink to dry! Ever have one of those days? Well, I hope this day gets better. I have to go to rehearsal tonight and teach more choreography. . .and that is not always the most fun thing to do. Some steps don't work, others don't look good on the people dancing, so you kind of have to go with what you choreographed and be prepared to modify things on the spot. Hopefully things will run smoothly tonight! Have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb; Paper- Whisper White, Basic Black, DCWV Teal; Ink- VersaMagic in Midnight Black, Ocean Depth, Oasis Green and Aspen Mist; Accessories- pewter brad, small oval punch, slit punch, Offray ribbon.

Card Box Tutorial

I've had a few requests for the measurements, etc. for the baby card box I made in this post. The box was featured in the Spring 2007 Issue of Stamp It! Magazine. I only saw it because my very good friend Kathy made me one as a gift! I ran right out to get the magazine only to find out there were no measurements. . .just a pattern in the back of the magazine. Kathy, however, had figured out the measurements and gave them to me, so I thought I'd write up and share this tutorial with you! Big thanks to Kathy! :)

Supplies Needed:

-paper trimmer with scoring blade

-scissors

-sticky tape

-4.25"x8" piece of cardstock for the lid

-8.5"x11" piece of cardstock for the box

-embellishments or stamps of your choice to decorate the box

Step 1

Take 4.25"x8" piece of cardstock (lid) and score at 1 1/16" on all four sides. (the second picture shows what the score lines should look like when finished) NOTE: Stamp this piece now if you choose.

Step 2

Cut into the score lines (on the long side) to create tabs that you can fold up and attach to the sides of the lid.

Step 3

After you fold up the tabs you've made, attach sticky strip to them.

Step 4

Remove backing of sticky strip and attach tabs to the inside of the lid sides.

Step 5

Score 8.5"x11" piece of cardstock at 1 3/8" on the 11" sides, and at 4.5" on the 8.5" sides. (the second picture shows what the score lines should look like when finished) NOTE: Stamp this piece now if you choose

Step 6

Cut into the score lines at the center to create little tabs to attach the sides to when you fold them up.

Step 7

Fold up tabs and attach sticky strip there, and to the ends of one side of the box as shown in picture.

Step 8

Remove backing of sticky strip on the tabs and attach the "non-sticky stripped" ends to the tabs.

Step 9
Remove backing of sticky strip on the final ends and attach them to the ends that you just attached to the tabs, finishing the box.

Step 10

Put on lid and add embellishments and a ribbon or belly band for your completed box!

Birthday Wishes

I had to make a birthday card recently, and the person whose birthday it was just happened to LOVE butterflies! I really love using my VersaMagic inks on Kraft cardstock. They show up so well and it makes for a different look than the focal point always being on white or vanilla cardstock. I used my embossing punch that I found at Target for the bottom border of the card, and attached a piece of aqua carstock behind it to bring out the little aqua butterflies on the card. Thanks for visiting! Hope you're having good weather wherever you are! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Butterfly Kisses; Ink- VersaMagic in Sea Breeze, Aloe Vera, Cloud White and Spanish Olive; Paper- Kraft, Certainly Celery, DCWV Aqua; Accessories- May Arts ribbon, Fiskars embossing border punch.

Super Sketch #11

It's Sunday again, and time for Amy's Super Sketch Sunday Challenge! Again, another super sketch challenge. I don't make a lot of square cards, so it was a good challenge for me especially! The sentiment was supposed to be in an oval, and I didn't have any oval punches that fit the whole sentiment, so I had to use my oval Coluzzle and trim it a bit. It ended up being kind of an oblong shape. :) Thanks for the FUN sketch, Amy! Have I mentioned how much I look forward to Amy's sketches on Sundays? On Saturdays, she does something called Scrap Stash Saturday where she uses up her scraps! I really need to start doing that one since my scraps just keep accumulating! I'll get on that bandwagon soon enough. Thanks for visiting, and have a super day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb; Ink- VersaMagic in Red Brick and Hint of Pesto; Paper- DCWV; Accessories- Giga Scallop Oval punch, Mega Oval punch, May Arts ribbon, Oval Coluzzle

New Bella

When I got home today, my Cruisabella had arrived! I just HAD to make a quick card with her. It's not my favorite card, but I used paper that was handy and tried to make it all work together. I colored in Cruisabella with my Prismacolor markers and added some Lime and Stardust Stickles for some sparkle. The sentiment is from a Studio G clear stamp set that was in the $1 bin at Michael's. I can't wait to play some more with this fun Bella! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Cruisabella, $1 Studio G stamp; Ink- VersaMagic in Midnight Black; Paper- Gable Green, Pixie Pink, DCWV Black and Turquoise; Accessories- Making Memories brads, ribbon from Michael's, Lime and Stardust Stickles, Prismacolor Markers, Cuttlebug Spots and Dots A2 folder.

A RAK!!!

Look at this absolutely GORGEOUS RAK I received from Amy at Heartfelt Greetings! What a beautiful card! I love the patterned paper, the watercoloring. . .everything about it! If you haven't checked out Amy's blog before, you will LOVE it! She has a lot of themed days going on over there! One of my favorites is Super Sketch Sunday, as you've heard me mention before. Every Sunday she has a new sketch to challenge you! I love to do them because they give me great ideas. Thank you, Amy, for the beautiful card. . .you really made my LONG day yesterday! :)

Love It!

I am just addicted to these boxes! LOL I've had the Love It brass template for a while, but never had the coordinating stamp set. Well, on Easter, my very good friend Kathy gave the stamp set to me as a gift! I was SO EXCITED! I couldn't believe it! Thank you, Kathy! I really don't think you know how surprised and grateful I am for my wonderful gift! I had to use it right away! :) If you don't have (or haven't seen) the Love It brass template, it is also a paper piercing template. So, all of those pierced holes you see around the big flowers are from the template! Very cool, huh? I thought it would look neat to make a box and not only dry emboss the flowers using the template, but use the pierced holes for faux stitching so that it looks like each flower is stitched on. I don't think the picture really does the box justice, but in real life it's very pretty with lots of dimension! If you haven't tried one of these boxes yet, I warn you that you will become addicted too! :) Have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Love It, Paper Tray; Ink- VersaMagic in Pixie Dust, Sea Breeze, Aloe Vera and Sahara Sand; Paper- Kraft, Certainly Celery; Accessories- Love It brass template, paper piercer, small and large oval punches, May Arts ribbon.

The Cutest Box

Have you tried Beate's tutorial on the One Sheet Box yet? You really should! It is the cutest box! It has sides so you can actually put something in it that won't fall out! The folding is a little tricky, but once you TRY it, you get the hang of it real fast. These would make cute little gift boxes for any occasion. My brain is already thinking of birthdays and holidays that are coming up! :) If you haven't made one, I challenge you to go do it! Post a link with your comment. . .I'd LOVE to see what you all come up with! Hope you have a great day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Parisbella, Green Thumb; Ink- Charcoal Fluid Chalk ink; Paper- DCWV; Accessories- ribbon from Walmart, round tab punch, Prismacolor pencils, gamsol and a stump.

Blush Flowers

This was for today's Sketch Challenge on SCS. I thought it was a very neat layout! I got my inspiration for color and stamps from the Basic Grey Blush paper that I used. I tried to mimic the flowers on the patterned paper by using Green Thumb and Butterfly Kisses sets from Papertrey Ink. I used a variety of my VersaMagic Dewdrops to match the colors in the paper. It's funny because this style isn't a usual for me. . .that "dirty" look. I went from bold, bright and dramatic yesterday to soft and dirty today! :) Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb, Butterfly Kisses and Paper Tray from Papertrey Ink; Ink- VersaMagic in Gingerbread, Jumbo Java, Red Brick, Pixie Dust, Malted Mauve, Pink Petunia, and Oasis Green; Paper- Basic Grey Blush; Accessories- May Arts ribbon, ribbon from Walmart, word window punch, sponge.

One quick note for Mar2: On the Lovebugs stamp from Stamps by Judith, the number on my stamp is R-50HK. They don't provide a picture on their website since it's an older stamp, but you can still order it! I hope that's what you were looking for!

Bold Bright Green Thumb

If you visit my blog regularly, you know that bold and bright colors are not my usual combo of choice. I've been working on choreography for a show all day today, and my brain is fried. (Is there such a thing as "dancer's block"?) Anyway, I needed to stamp to just forget about it for a while, and I couldn't even think of what colors I wanted to use for the card. These few pieces of Bold Brights paper were on top of the stack, so I thought I'd make them work. The other thing I knew I wanted to use was my new Spots and Dots Cuttlebug folder that I got from Eclectic Paperie. I thought the one stamp in Green Thumb went very well with the embossing folder! I wish the sentiment would have shown up better on the black cardstock. Maybe next time I'll use embossing powder. I do like the card, but it's pretty dramatic for my usual taste. . .maybe it's more of what some of YOU like! :) Thank you for stopping by and have a great night! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink; Ink- Pixie Pink, Gable Green, White and Midnight Black VersaMagic; Paper- Pixie Pink, Gable Green, Basic Black; Accessories- Offray ribbon, word window punch, Making Memories brad, Spots and Dots Cuttlebug A2 folder.

And the Winner Is. . .

Donna B. who said ...
I like somewhere in between, like you; I tend to do at least 2 embellishments like ribbon and brads mostly since they're my favorite. But I have a hard time doing heavily embellished. I do like a clean & simple occasionally! Fun blog candy! Thanks for the opportunity - I enjoy your blog, it's on my daily list of readers in google so I can be organized!!

Congratulations Donna! Be sure and email me your address so that I can get these Oodagoodies out to you! Thank you all for your comments! It seems that I'm not alone in the "I love heavily embellished cards, but just can't do them myself" category! So to all of you who make the heavily embellished cards, we admire you! :) We love to look at them!

On another note, I received some questions in comments, so I thought I'd post the answers here since there was no email contact for those people. Someone asked who made the ladybug stamp in my last set of Oodagoodies, and that is Great Impressions. The number on the stamp is E452. The other question was "does Stamps by Judith have a website", and YES they do! It's http://www.stampsbyjudith.com/, and the stamp the person was talking about was the Lovebugs on this card. Hopefully those people will see this post and find what they're looking for! Thanks again for playing along everyone, and have a great day!

Candy Box

I came across this box I made a year ago or so. It was supposed to be for favors for my sister's wedding shower, but when we realized just how LONG they took to make (and oh, the cutting!), we went with something much simpler. I thought I'd share this with you, though. I found a stamp for the box at a rubber stamp show that was in town at the time and I just HAD to have it. It's by Inky Antics! They actually still sell the stamp, and you can find it here. (Edited to add: The link doesn't take you to the actual stamp for whatever reason, so if you want to order it or see it, put the number X2-2940 in the search box, and it will bring it up.) It's a really neat box, and makes a GREAT little gift to put candies in, but I wouldn't advise it if you're making a large number of them because it just takes a bit of time. I've taken pictures to show you what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to stamp the image three times. . .one is the full image (I've actually stamped the image so you could see the full image), the second time you stamp, you should mask out the window, and the third time, you only need the bottom two sections of the stamp to make the flap cover. I tried to get a close up of those pictures that are on the top of the stamp (see last picture). Anyway, I forgot I even made this and that I had the stamp, so when I came across it, it was a nice refresher of some other kind of gift item I could make. . .almost like having NEW stuff! :) Thanks for visiting and have a GREAT day!

Super Sketch Sunday #10

Well, Amy's done it again! Another great sketch challenge on her blog! I wasn't going to do it until tomorrow since we got home late and I'm just tired from all of the running around we did today, but I just couldn't stop myself! LOL I do have to say that this was a little tough for me. I think it's because I really am tired and my brain just wasn't being creative! Maybe I'll try another one tomorrow. . .who knows? Thank you, Amy, for another inspiring sketch challenge! Hope you all had a very Happy Easter! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- That's Nice; Paper- Basic Grey Pheobe, DCWV brown, pink, turquoise; Ink- VersaMagic Jumbo Java; Accessories- small oval punch, Making Memories brad, May Arts ribbon, spiral binding punch, letter "pebbles" (from Beate's blog candy that I won!)

Giant Paper Clips

I finally got to make a couple of these Paperclip Bookmarks. I have wanted to do one since Beth's tutorial for them on SCS. I bought the paperclips at Walmart a WHILE ago. . one of those hoarding moments when I found them! LOL I just got the new Cuttlebug two-step dies, Scribble Flower and Paisley, so I thought I'd use them! I think they turned out really well! I used the Basic Grey Pheobe paper which makes the two-step work much better since all the paper coordinates. I'd like to make some more, but I'm out of time today. If you're looking for them, I bought these die sets at CrazyScraps. They are REALLY cute. . .and I'm not really a "die-cut" kind of person. :) The embossing folders. . . well that's another story! :) I got a few of them from Eclectic Paperie and I CANNOT WAIT to use them! :)

More RAKs!

Today was a wonderful day when I opened my mailbox! I got TWO RAKS! I was so excited. The first one is from Julee Tilman. I saw this card on Julee's blog a couple of days ago and couldn't believe this GORGEOUS card ended up in MY mailbox! Julee, thank you so much! I LOVE the sparkle! You couldn't really see it in the picture on your blog, but in real life, the card is just beautiful! Make sure you follow the link above to Julee's blog and see her other beautiful stuff! Julee is one of the people I envy because she can create wonderful heavily embellished cards! She says that this particular card is out of her norm because it's simple. Well, I think she does simple just beautifully! The second card is from Jeanine! Look at that wonderful patterned paper! I found Jeanine's blog a little while ago after she emailed me, and I'm so glad I did! She has a lot of beautiful cards on her blog as well as projects! She even has the patience to sit and cut out millions of flowers to make wonderful cards like this! Jeanine, thank you for thinking of me! You put such a smile on my face today! I just LOVE your card! So check out Jeanine's blog for her beautiful cards and CUTE CUTE CUTE kids!

Coaster Accordian Frame

I think I told you before that I don't usually make "home decor", so I'm trying to branch out a little bit. I started making this with the intention of my husband putting it on his desk at school, but I'm afraid it ended up looking a little too "girly", so I think we'll just display it here at home! :) I used my different Papertrey Ink stamp sets to decorate this. I LOVE how the VersaMagic Ink shows up so well on the black and white photos. If you haven't tried the VersaMagic inks, you will LOVE them! Have a wonderful Easter and thank you for visiting today! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Butterfly Kisses, Paper Tray and Green Thumb stamp sets from Papertrey Ink; Ink- VersaMagic in Pink Petunia, Aquatic Splash and Jumbo Java; Paper- Basic Grey Pheobe; Accessories- May Arts ribbon, paper piercer, white gel pen, small oval punch, Crop-a-dile.