Happy Birthday

I really liked this weeks sketch at PaperWorks Co, so for my card today I decided to use that as my starting point.  

This week I chose to showcase one of the first stamps Rachelle Ann Miller designed for Paperworks Co, Birthday Parade.  You can't go wrong with this one as it is great for either a boy or a girl!  

I thought I would do something different and instead of going with the bright colors I had planned, I decided to go with a more monochromatic theme, using blue and white.  The image is colored with copics.  I added stickles to the star on the balloon and on the flower, but decided I wanted some more sparkle.  I took my spica clear pen and colored various parts of the image and didn't stop there, I colored each flower, the ribbon, the blue scalloped piece and the centers of all the dots on the DP and also outlined the image panel.  Unfortunately I can't quite pick up the shimmer on my camera, but I promise you, it is there!  Now for those rounded corners....my corner punch seems to be punching a bit strange, they look a little off.....maybe because I am using the same punch on both layers?

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
AI Factory ~ Anything Goes 
Easy Craft Projects ~ Use your old stash (DP, ribbon, flowers)
Stamp Something ~ Anything Goes
Mami Doodles ~ "Use mostly blue"
Allsorts ~ "Blue and Brown"
Catch the Bug ~ "Blue and White Birthday"
Craft Your Days Away ~ Anything Goes
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle ~ Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss ~ Cuddly
One Stitch at a Time ~ New (Stamp)
Pile It On ~ Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs ~ Free for All
The Crafty Pad- Something New (Stamp)
Copic Creations ~ Use anything new (Stamp)
Creative Inspirations ~ Celebrate
I Did it Creations ~ "Brrr, I'm Turning Blue" - use blue
The Crazy Challenge ~ Buttons
The Shabby Tea Room ~ "White and Bright"  - white and another color
My Time to Craft ~ Spots and Dots


Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Birthday Parade (PaperWorks Co)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Rich Cocoa; Copics (E31, E33, E35, E37, B0000, Booo, BG0000, B32, B34, N0, N1, 0); Spica Clear pen
Paper: Ballet Blue; Gina K Luxury White; DP - SU 
Embellishments:  Ribbon (Bluebird); Flowers (Bazzil & Prima); Button 
Tools:  Corner Rounder; Border Punch

Life is Too Short to Match Socks.....

...and besides, how can you match them when they disappear into thin air?  I will never figure that one out, seriously, where on earth do socks go???  I have a drawer in my laundry room with no less than 30 unmatched socks sitting in it right now.....and some have been there for over a year (because I think the minute the garbage men take them away the match will mysteriously appear and then I just wasted a perfectly good sock)......so yeah, I admit it, sometimes my kids wear unmatched socks (although the only difference is the color stitching of the logo).  I also admit that it drives me nuts that there are missing socks out there...somewhere......

Now onto the card that inspired this little discussion: 

I think this is just a really "fun" set to use.  I followed the Unity Hip Hop sketch on SCS for this card.  When I saw it I knew I wanted to play along because this is actually one of my favorite sketches and I have used many variations of it in the past.  Since my background paper is a bit on the busy side, I added a simple knotted ribbon to the corner and then some brads to the sentiment in place of the o's.

I do have one more card that I finished today, but I can't show you that until Thursday.  Now to type up and pre-schedule that post since I'm not sure when else I will have a chance to get to it.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
AI Factory ~ Anything GoesMeljen's ~ Square or Round Shaped Card
Easy Craft Projects ~ Use your old stash (DP, Cardstock, ribbon, brads)
Stamp Something ~ Anything Goes
Craft Your Days Away ~ Anything Goes
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle ~ Anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time ~ New (Stamp)
Pile It On ~ Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs ~ Free for All
The Crafty Pad- Something New (Stamp)
Copic Creations ~ Use anything new (Stamp)


Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Matching Socks(Unity)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (BG13, BG15 (I think ~ I put them away before I wrote them down), YG23, YG25, YR21, YR23, YR24) 
Paper: More Mustard; Gina K Luxury White; DP - unknown (from a Grab Bag at my LSS) 
Embellishments:  Ribbon (Mustard); Brads; Dimensionals 
Tools: None

All Geared Up for your Special Day!

Today I have a card to show you using the Tinheart Collection stamps from Paperworks.  The image is from the Jam Tinheart set and the sentiment is from the Alfy Tinheart set.  I will admit that this is another collection that I had to buy in it's entirety and I am glad I did because these robots are just so much fun to use (not to mention cute) and there are girl robots too.  

I have quite a few robot themed papers to choose from but in the end decided to use these Scenic Route papers as I thought the gear paper was a good match for the sentiment.  I colored the image with copics and added some Crystal Effects to his eyes, clock and heart.  Since I don't have any gear type embellishments, I made my own.  I cut one out from the designer paper, covered it in Crystal Effects and then added a washer to the center.  I also placed a washer on each end of the sentiment.  My youngest son looked at this card and asked if it was for him because he really likes it.....so I guess he will be recipient of this one.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Tinheart Collection (Alfy Tinheart and Jam Tinheart) - Paperworks
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (BG000, BG72, BG75, YG23, YG25, YR21, YR23, YR24)
Paper: Confetti Cream; Gina K Luxury White; DP - Scenic Route (Hampton Collection)
Embellishments: Crystal Effects; Washers 
Tools: Nesties (Inverted Scallop Circle); Border Punch (Martha Stewart)

♥ All You Need is Love ♥

I was asked by Peggy at PaperWorks Co to be a Guest Designer for this month and since I love the stamps she carries I just had to say yes (the fact that she's so nice doesn't hurt either)!  


Here is my first project for the month using The First Date stamp from one of my favorite collections, the Little Loud Freckle Love Collection.  All of the Little Loud stamps are "retired" and currently on sale for 40% off! 

I used some of my leftover BoBunny papers from last year and paired them up with Pink Pirouette Cardstock.  After stamping the sentiment (which comes with the image stamp) I colored over the "love" with a pink copic marker and added a rhinestone for the o.  I also added a few rhinestones to the designer paper and some stickles to the flowers and the hearts on the girl because you can never have enough bling. 

As a side note, I can't believe I have been away from my blog for so long!  The last few months have been crazy busy for us and here I thought that by taking a break from Design Teams I would free up a bit of time but still get the chance to craft.....Well, unfortunately for me, "no commitments" translated to basically no crafting and the "free time" I gained was instead filled up with guests, all kinds of meetings, dr/ortho/dentist visits, school events/parties, getting ready for the holidays, and the major one.....trying to clean out the kids rooms and organize all their outgrown toys so we can get rid of them.  That is really hard for me ~ I still picture them playing with these things and it makes me sad that they are growing up so fast.  I think the hardest was the Little People sets ~ they all loved playing with these and would make a whole town in one of our downstairs rooms with all the sets.  I am still not completely done with sorting all these sets yet.  Most of them are retired so it makes locating a picture of the complete set online a bit more difficult especially when you don't remember the name of the set.  We also celebrated Ashley's 8th birthday on December 30th ~ where does the time go? 


Have a great day and thanks for visiting :)

Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: The First Date  - Little Loud Freckle Love Collection (Paperworks)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics
Paper:Pink Pirouette; Gina K Luxury White; DP - BoBunny
Embellishments: Sickles (Stardust); Ribbon (May Arts); Flowers (Prima); Rhinestones (Michael's)
Tools: Nesties (Petite and Petite Scallop Ovals, Circle and Petite Scallop Circle); Border Punches (Martha Stewart)

Christmas Wish

Back again to share a card I did earlier tonight while the kids were in the craft room drawing pictures, working on homework, and making something for Grandpa.  I decided to follow this weeks sketch over at Club Anya & Friends and I am also using The Greeting Farm challenge of tying something other than ribbon (linen thread).  Now I just need to decide which of the two to enter.  Since Christmas will be here before I know it, I decided to add to my meager stack of Christmas cards.  I took a picture of this card two different ways.  One with a tag, one without.....which way do you like it better?

Here is the sketch that I followed:

This was actually a pretty quick card to put together (especially since I had colored the image the other day) and that is a good thing....sometimes you need a break from those 2+ hour cards.



I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - "Glitter, Glamour, Girlie"
Little Red Wagon- "Use the color Red"
One Stitch at a Time - "Winter Wonderland"
Whoopsie Daisy - "It's Christmas"
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - "Use Glitter"
Crafty Cardmakers - "Embossing"
Pollycraft- "Doodling"
Meljen's - Use 3 different shapes (Recangle, Oval, Snowflake)
A Crafty Little Place - "Red, White and Green"
A Spoon Full of Sugar - "Snow or Snowflakes"
Scrap Creations - "Christmas"
Charisma Cardz - "Winter Love"
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - "Dry Embossing"
Crafty Catz - Spots and Stripes (my DP has blocks of spots and blocks of stripes))
Easy Craft Projects - "Red"
Crafty Calendar - "Winter" optional extra - snowflakes
Stamp and Create - "Tis the Season"
Catch the Bug - "Anything Goes" 
Oh Alice - "Use a ticket"
One Stop Craft Challenge - "Embossing"


Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Xmas Sweeties (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20, E35, E37, E57, R22, R24,, R27, R29); Marvy Silver Metallic Pen; Inksentials White Gel Pen
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive; Gina K Luxury White; DP - DCWV (older Christmas stack)
Embellishments: Sickles (Stardust); Button; Linen Thread; Tag (Tim Holtz)
Tools: Nesties (Petite and Petite Scallop Ovals, Snowflakes); Border Punch (EK Success); Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Polka Dots)


Have a wonderful day! 

Girly Notebook

I have a little bit of time toay, so thought I would share an altered notebook I made for one of my daughters.  I think the images in this newer Anya set are perfect for tween girls and can definitely see my daughter reaching for this set when making cards for her friends.

One thing I learned when making this, is that it really is very time consuming (at least it was for me) to take the covers off the spiral, put the DP on the covers (both inside and out), punch the holes and then put them back on the spiral.  Note to self....leave the spiral area DP free.......or maybe I just need a binding machine and then I don't have to worry about it ;)

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:
Creative Inspirations - "Glitter, Glamour, Girlie"
Ooh La La Creations - "Remember, Remember"
The Crafty Pad - "At least one circle (hope the circle pearls count) and 2 ribbons"
Stamptacular - I picked Carolyn's Recipe book, but since I don't have an appropriate book to alter for this (or a binding machine to make one) I chose a notebook instead
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - "Use Glitter"

Crafty Sentiments - "Make a Gift"
Meljen's - Use 3 different shapes (Recangle, Scalloped Oval, Flower)
Raise the Bar - "Let's See Those Curves" (scalloped oval, word window punch, border punch, flowers, ric-rac trim)
Copic Creations - "Browns" - hair and boots 


Now, I did have my recipe written down, but I'm afraid I may have accidently thrown it away, so I am going by memory here..... 


Recipe ~ all items SU unless indicated
Stamps: Lounge Time Anya & Sentiment (The Greeting Farm)
Ink/Coloring: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics (E00, E01, E11, R20......and others)
Paper: Cool Caribbean; Gina K Luxury White; DP -We R Memory Keepers
Embellishments: Ric Rac trim; Organdy Ribbon (Offray); Flowers (Prima); Pearls-colored with copics (Recollections); Sickles (Stardust)
Tools: Scallop Oval Punch; Word Window Punch; Border Punch (Martha Stewart); Notebook (Michael's)



Have a wonderful day! 

Destination Imagination and some Unity projects

On Thursday all 4 of my kids tried out for Destination Imagination (DI) at their school.  Ashley and Trevor are in the Rising Star age level and performed a poem the three of us worked on together about DI.  Alicia and Tyler are at the regular DI level and performed a skit about recycling that they wrote themselves. 

Ashley and Trevor made a Rising Star team and I am their co-coach.  I've never coached a DI team before so I'm not sure what I'm in for, but I know we will have a fun time (and I know quite a few of the coaches from last year, so I'm sure they will help me along the way).  

Now the older two, Alicia and Tyler, won't find out until Friday the 12th if they made a team or not.....that is such a long wait for me that I can't even begin to imagine how it feels to them!  Alicia was on a team last year that placed 1st in Regionals and 3rd at State, and would be absolutely heartbroken if she didn't make it on a team this year.  She was sad when DI was over for the year and has been counting the days until she could do this again.  Tyler has not been on a team before, but after watching his sisters last year, he had his heart set on this and I know he would be really hurt if he didn't make a team.  I do believe that they both have something special to offer and hope the judges saw that as well.  So now it's a waiting game and all I can do is hope and pray that they both make it!


Last month I finally got my first Unity Stamps.  They have been on my wish list for quite some time, but I'm sure you know how it is....a wish list a mile long with papers, stamps, embossing folders, nesties, punches, embellishments and more, but unfortunately no money tree to go along with it.  But, waiting turned out to be a good thing for me because I picked up on some awesome "Deals of the Day".

Here are a few of the fall themed cards I did:

This card is one of my favorites ~ and although not a fall card, I did incorporate fall colors.  I used one of the sayings in "The Artist in You" set:

This one is a mini card using the "Trick or Treat Peeps" Set:

These two use the "Harvest of Memories" set:

Note:  This is my attempt at a one layer card (I still don't like doing these!)

This one uses the 12/09 KOTM:

I have oh, about 18 more cards to get up yet....sooner or later they will be here ;)

Have a great day!