You Can't Look But You can Peek!!

Happy Wednesday everyone and a very happy New Years Eve!!

Guess what today is?!!!! It is my turn to offer a SUI sneak peek! I am so excited but nervous too! I don't know how I can possibly live up to all the fabulous creations that have been posted so far, but here I go.

For my card today, I used the new set Sweet Things which will be released tomorrow! It is such an awesome set and has a lot of little accessories to go with it. I really wanted to showcase those accessories, so for my card, I decided to "float" little chocolates around. Of course little chocolates floating around everywhere truly is my secret desire!!!

How cute is this set!!! Don't you just feel like you have to have it now! Well you only have to wait one more day because it is available tomorrow!!! I started off this card by stamping the candy box and little candy's from Sweet Things by Storage Units, Inks and More and coloring them in with my markers and copics. I added some glitter pen and a white gel pen to make them look glossy, just like chocolate. To make the layout I used my brand new pack of Core'dinations card stock!!! Oh my goodness how did I not know about this before!! It is so cool! You can rip it, emboss it, sand it or just leave it like it is, but the coolest part of all is that the core color is coordinated to go with the outer color! I can hardly wait to play with it some more!! Well, I digress! I layered on brown, pink and purple core'dinations card stock along with two kinds of Valentine's DP from K and Company. I added rick rack around the edges and through the middle. Using my nesties, I cut out all the circles and embossed the brown one with my swirls embossing folder to make it look like a chocolate. I finished the card off by stamping the sentiment, which I formed into a half circle and then mounted on my card!! I can't wait to use this set some more! It is really the perfect Valentine's day set!

Now, Alex also has a sneak peek for you today and it is awesome!!!! So please check it out!

Well today is also Pink Papery Studio's Wednesday Challenge. This week's challenge was to create a card with scraps. Since I have been feeling a little under the weather lately and completely unmotivated, this was a perfect idea for me. I always have tons of scrap pieces of paper lying around (in fact I have six shoe boxes full of them all divided by color!), so needless to say I have a few scraps to work with! lol!

I love how simple and easy this card was to create! I started it off by printing out the snowman, bunny and coffee cup from Be Merry by Pink Papery Studios on white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. I then cut them out with my nesties along with some scrap brown card stock and some white scraps. I mounted them on a piece of white card stock and a piece of winter DP that actually has a little spot on it, so I was happy to use it up! I then ran a strip of brown card stock through my snowflakes embossing folder and finished the card off by printing off the sentiment, making it into a tag, adding a piece of sheer ribbon and then three snowflake buttons. I think this only took me about 15 minutes to make and I used up some scraps!!! Double bonus!

Well, Izzy has been so excited! Grandma and Grandpa came to visit yesterday! She has read books with them and played kitchen with them and had a generally wonderful time. Tuxy on the other hand has been a complete nuisance! I don't know what I am going to do with him!

I hope all of you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a Very Happy New Year!! I promise I will get caught up on all my blog friends in the coming year! Thanks as always for stopping by!

Twinkle Twinkle!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

My goal in the coming year is to get up early and blog in the morning. We will see how it goes!

Well today is day three of the sneak peeks over at SUInk and More!! So far everybody's peeks have been fantastic!! Wow what a group of creative women! Today's peaks come from:

Leigh
Amber
Laura

Tomorrow is my turn so please stop by and see what I have in store!!!

Okay so Izzy is absolutely loving her new kitchen set. She made me muffins last night and maybe pasta sauce? Not quite sure! She used the pasta scoop so that is why I am guessing pasta sauce. She is so cute about it. I make all sorts of noises when I do things with her in the kitchen so she is imitating them! She is such a helper. Oh and she helped me clean yesterday! She got out her little broom and everything. Of course if she actually is able to get any dirt in her dust pan it is back on the floor before she even reaches the trash can!!!

So it is Tuesday and you know what that means!!!! It is Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday Challenge!!! This is week three of the challenge and boy was it another great sketch!!! We would love for you to play along! All we ask is that when you upload your card to SCS or PCP that you use the code MTTSC3 so that we can look at all the fantastic creations in one place!

I actually combined this with Friday's challenge at SCS in the Hanna Forum to use a Riley image with Hanna accessories. I received all of these images from my friend Kimmie! Thank you so much! So I love school (I wonder why? Maybe it has something do do with being a teacher?) and have been dying to make a school themed card! So when I saw this in my stamped stack I just had to use it!! I started off by coloring School Riley and the accessories from Teacher Hanna by Hanna stamps using only my copics!!!!! I then cut out my accessories and mounted them on a piece of DP. Following the sketch, I layered on yellow and green card stock along with school themed DP. I went ahead and got out my sewing machine and sewed around the edges to give a more kiddish feel (okay, so the real reason is I usually only sew on kids cards because I have a horrible time sewing a straight line!). I then added a red and green stitched ribbon across the middle and popped off my main image!!! I don't know who I will give it too, but it was so fun to make!! Please check out all of the rest of the DT's creations and then swing back by Jessica's blog for a chance at a treat!

Bonnie Sharp
Cassie Larson
Christi Thorsen
Danni Bindel
Debbie Lee
Jami Bova
Jennifer Greco
Jessica Diedrich
Kimmie Doktor
Rebecca Ednie
Sandra McLean
Taylor Usry

Now onto my second card for today and yes it is a Christmas card! I promise I am almost done! This is actually a card I created for my daughter to give to my husband. I used the sketch from Sketches by Tamara for the layout.

Is this image not drop dead gorgeous!!! I love it!!! I wish Christmas wasn't over so that I could color it up again! Oh well, I guess I will have to wait and pull it out again next year. I just love all the detail and the scene!! Yummy! Okay so I started this card off by stamping Partridge In a Pear Tree by Sugar Nellie on white card stock and colored it in using my markers and copics. I added touches of glitter pen to make certain areas sparkle. (Oh and partridges are really hard to find! And all the ones I found pictures of were ugly, so that is why mine looks completely unrealistic!!) Following the sketch, I then layered on green and red card stock which I punched with my Martha Stewart edge punch. The DP is Basic Grey's Wassail paper which I am sad to put away, also! I stamped the sentiment, also from Sugar Nellie, and layered it on green and red card stock. I finished the card off by cutting out the swirls using my cricut machine and then going over them with my glitter pen. Jason really loved it as it reminded him of Izzy.

Well, I better sign off for today! I have a busy stamping day ahead of me and my parents are coming in this afternoon! Have a wonderful day!! And thanks as always for stopping by!

My Cup Has Runneth Over With Good News!!!!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Well, today Jason is going back to work. It has been so nice to have him home for so long that it is going to be a really hard adjustment. I know Izzy is going to be upset not having her daddy around and I don't even want to think about how Tuxy is going to be.

Okay so onto my good news!!! I have been asked to be a DT member for Storage Units Inks and More!!!! I am so excited I can't even tell you! I have known for a little while and boy has it been hard keeping it a secret. I am joining a wonderful group of women:

Mary Jo Price Williams http://www.technostamper.blogspot.com/
Suzanne Dean http://www.scrapbitz.blogspot.com/
Tori Wild http://www.wildsprinkles.blogspot.com/
Chat Wszelaki http://www.memystampsandi.blogspot.com/ Junior DT member
Carolina Buchting http://www.creativepad.typepad.com/
Leigh Obrien http://www.sunflowerstudio.typepad.com/
Kristen Catalano http://www.scrap-creations1.blogspot.com/
Colleen Wold http://www.glitterink.blogspot.com/
Amber Kroening http://www.somanycolorssolittletime.blogspot.com/
Laura Leonard http://www.lu-lascorner.blogspot.com/
Janna Hull http://www.stampspaperglitterohmy.blogspot.com/
Alex Maldonado http://www.fairyblossoms.typepad.com/

January Guest Designer Corrina Farrar http://www.heartfulstamping.blogspot.com/

This is so exciting!!! And to top it all off, January's sneek peeks have started!!! Yesterday Mary Jo, Colleen and Suzanne each created fantastic projects and today is Tori, Kristen and Carolina's turn. These stamps sets are a must have for Valentine's day so check them out!!!

To commemorate my exciting news I have more Christmas cards!!!! Yeahh!!! Okay so they have nothing to do with my news, but like I said I still have a backlog of them so I have to share them sometime!

The first card I am going to show you is for the sketch challenge over at Paper Craft Planet from two Saturday's ago. Yikes, I am behind! It was such a fun sketch and I needed a card for the little boy our neighbor watches, that it worked out perfectly!

Isn't this image adorable!!! I don't have very many little boys in my life (I have two neices and a daughter) but since the addition of my nephew and the little boy next door, I have an increasing need for little boy stamps and boy does this one fit the bill!! So I started this card by stamping Pip With Presents by Sugar Nellie on white card stock and colored him in with my copics and markers. Following the sketch, I mounted him on blue DP and red card stock. I layered on several different DPs and then crisscrossed a blue ribbon in the background. I cut out presents using my cricut machine and mounted them in the corner. I finished the card by adding glitter pen and printing off the sentiment on my computer and popping it off the presents so that it looks like a piece of ribbon. It is so cute!!!

My second card for today illustrates my very twisted sense of humor. I just couldn't help myself. The first time I saw this set with the bear, I immediately thought of the movie A Christmas Story.

I actually gave this card to my dad and added some glasses to the little girl! A Christmas Story is our absolute favorite movie of all time so he loved it! Okay so I started this card by stamping Isabelle and the bear costume from Isabelle Paper Dolls by MFT on white card stock. I masked off the bear's ears before I stamped them and then drew in the bunny ears. I then colored her in with my markers and copics and adhered her to a background I drew in and colored. I cut her out along with a piece of blue, pink and green card stock using my nesties. Using my sewing machine I layered on two different kinds of DP and blue and green card stock. To complete the card I added green rhinestone stickers to the two corners. I am just so pleased with this card! It really brings back memories!

Well, I am off to get Izzy up and make her some breakfast. My parents are coming tomorrow so I really need to get the house cleaned up today! Thanks as always for stopping by and sharing in my good news!!

We're Back Home!!

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

Sorry I have been MIA for the past week. I intended to blog everyday this week, but we had so much fun in KC and were so busy everyday I was never able to. And shocker of shockers I was only able to color one image in the whole time we were gone. Are you gasping???? I feel like I am in withdrawal. I can't wait to get stamping again.

Well, I hope that everybody who celebrates Christmas had a very merry one!!! We certainly did. Santa visited Izzy and delivered a play house and some kitchen appliances for her. Daddy, "Aunt" Tracy and I set it up last night for her. She really likes it, except she doesn't understand why water doesn't come out of the faucet. She kept turning the handles and saying "water". Poor baby!

Oh and Tuxy had a wonderful Christmas also! He received a large bone and a bag of dog treats from Izzy. Of course, Izzy was way more interested in his gifts than in hers. She actually stopped opening her presents so she could play with his. The funniest thing of all is that her cousin, Patrick, (he is only a couple of months younger than her), grabbed Tuxy's bag of treats and wouldn't let go of them all Christmas day!!! I guess we should have just given them dog toys and they would have been content!!

We made it back yesterday afternoon uneventfully. Izzy is a little under the weather though, so she was pretty lethargic last night. Tracy stopped by to visit and we had pizza and watched a movie and just hung out. It was so nice to see her. I hadn't seen her in a week so it felt so good to catch up. Of course, Izzy was in hog heaven. She cuddled on Tracy for 40 minutes. Completely wouldn't move!!! When "Aunt" Tracy's around she only has eyes for her!!

Okay so onto a few cards. You are going to have to bear with me for a couple of more days. I made a whole bunch of Christmas cards to post while I was gone and then did not post them. So you will still be getting some for awhile yet.

My first card for today is a card I created for last Saturday's Sketch Saturday Challenge. OMG it was such a fun sketch! Lots of layers and rectangles so I was able to use a whole bunch of DP and colored paper. Because of the whimsical feel to the sketch, I decided to create a more fun and whimsical card!

Isn't it fun!!! So I started this card by stamping the elf riding the reindeer from CC Designs Sugarplums North Pole by All That Scraps on white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. Following the sketch, I layered on green, blue and orange card stock along with three different kinds of DP. I stamped the sentiment using an alphabet set I bought in the dollar bin at Michaels and mounted it on the side. To finish the card off, I added a piece of green rick rack down the middle. I just love the fun feel and non-traditional Christmas colors. It could almost be a birthday card for a kid in December!!

Now onto a DT project. Of course it was actually supposed to be posted on Tuesday, whoops!! So sorry! I actually had it done on Sat. and had it to Jessica, I just didn't get it published on my blog. So here goes. This is a card I created for the magnificent Madelynn's Twinkling Tuesday Sketch Challenge.

How awesome and creative is this sketch!!! AMAZING!!! And please check out the other DT member's work. I can't believe how creative these women are!!! Anywhoo, I was so in love with his sketch when I saw it. I actually thought about crisscrossing ribbon but then I received this beautiful paper in the mail and just had to use it!!! So I started this card by stamping Snowflake by Sugar Nellie (my brand new stamp!!!!) on white card stock and colored her in using my copics and markers. I then added some glitter gel pen to add some sparkle. To created the background, I followed the sketch and cut two different kinds of DP into wedges and mounted them on the diagonal to my paper. I then cut half inch strips of DP and adhered them from corner to corner on my card. (At this point I read the sketch wrong and only added a ribbon to one side!) I finished the card off by adding some glitter snowflakes to the corner and printing off and adhering the sentiment to the middle. I love the chilly colors and the layout rocks!!! Oh and don't forget you are welcome to play along each week too!

Well, I need to get ready to head to our neighbor's son's baptism this morning. We are so proud of him. He is such a responsible and sweet young man! I promise I will have pictures to share and lots more projects later!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! It is always nice to take a vacation, but it feels so good to be back home!!!

Queen of The Sketches!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!

This is my new title and I reign with pride! Lol! Jessica aka The Whimisical Butterfly has crowned me with this wonderful nickname. It is so true, sketch challenges are my absolute favorite!!! It is actually because I need them. I have a really hard time coming up with layouts on my own. I don't know what my deal is. It is just one of those things I struggle with.

Alright, so I was going to complain about the weather, but Jessica has me beat. She said it is -6 where she lives. However, it did get up to 12 here today, so I guess it could be worse. I however was fortunate enough not to have to get out in it. I did venture out into the garage, which was suitably cold, so I deserve something right!!

Izzy is having a great time with Daddy at home. She has basically made him read every book she owns at least ten times. She has also made him show her the tree and sit on his lap while he plays on the computer. Oh and I almost forgot, she also conned him into making waffles this morning. That his her favorite breakfast and only Daddy is allowed to make it!

Well, we will be heading for KC tomorrow. It is going to be so nice to see all the family. I just hope tomorrow will be warmer than today. The good thing is, since Jason has tomorrow off and we don't have anything else going on tomorrow, we can take our time getting everything around and ready. I always hate being rushed on traveling days. It seems like you always wind up in a bad mood.

So, like I said earlier, since I am Queen of the Sketches now and I plan to reign supreme, (little quote from Iron Chef! Love that show!!) I of course have two cards today and both of them are for sketch challenges.

My first card is for this week's MFT sketch challenge. I have been dying to use my E-Girl set again and since I just received a whole stash of beautiful DP, I wanted to give paper piecing a go. The paper piecing aspect fell nicely into place with the challenge over at Secret Crafter. Here she is!

Okay, so how much are you in love with this DP!!! OMG! I don't even like yellow, but I was drooling over this paper when I found it! Alright, so I started this card by stamping the main image from Who's That E-Girl by MFT stamps on white card stock and three different kinds of DP. I colored the image in with my markers and copics and then paper pieced the rest. Following the sketch I layered on brown and yellow card stock along with DP. I popped off the main image as well as the sentiment I printed off on the computer. I finished the card by placing three brown brads down the side. I really like how this turned out. I would love to share the sentiment on the inside, but I am actually sending this card to a friend who reads my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

My second card for today is actually a very traditional Christmas card created for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge. I received this Riley image in the mail from a swap I participated in on SCS. I think I am going to have to get it for next Christmas, he is so cute!!!

I love moose, so I don't know why I don't have more of them. And to be honest, Riley is one of the cutest moose images I have seen. I just love how he does all sorts of different things!!! Okay, enough about my secret love affair with moose. I started this card off by coloring in Santa Chimney Riley by Hanna Stamps using my copics and markers. I added some glitter pen to the snow for some shimmer and some liquid applique to his beard and hat. Following the sketch, I layered on red and green card stock along with some Christmas DP. I used my nesties to cut out the circles and popped them off the background. To finish the card, I stamped the sentiment from Deer Ol Santa by SUInk and More and then added three red brads beneath it. I love the traditional Christmas feel to it.

That's it for me tonight. Off to finish packing and then heading off to bed!!! Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!

Are You Ready For Some Football and a Little Bit of Pink Christmas!!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

I hope your Saturday has been a good one. It was actually quite pleasant here today, but since about 5 o'clock this evening the temperature has been dropping and the wind has really picked up. I am sad to say that tomorrow sounds like it is pretty much going to be a miserable day. Super cold and really windy. I am so glad we aren't leaving till Monday. Tomorrow would be a terrible day to travel.

Well, I am almost caught up on all my challenges for the week. Just one more to do and I will be up to date. Of course, I won't be posting them on time, but at least I can say that they were completed on time!

Since it has been so chilly at night, Izzy has been taking two baths, once with me and then once by herself. Well two nights in a row now, she has decided that Tuxy should be included in our bathtime fun. (As a side note, Tuxy is completely terrified of the water. I am talking hates it with a passion.) Izzy sits in the bath the whole time and says, "Tuxy. Bath. Please." Poor Tuxy, he now stands as far away from the bathtub as he can get. It is like he knows. I think that he figures at some point she is going to get strong enough to actually pick him up and put him in the bath. He knows he will be in trouble then!!! Lol!!

My first card for today is actually for my husband and was created using this week's Watchadoin' Wednesday Challenge over SUInk and More. This week's challenge was to create a card that could hold a gift. Well, my husband loves football. He watches it every weekend and well, pretty much anytime I don't have the remote. I on the other hand do not like football, I don't want to say hate, because I do occasionally watch it for him. I do however hate going to any sporting event. So for this Christmas, I have decided to give him a coupon for him and I to attend a sporting event of his choice. This is a pretty big deal, because I am such a fair weather fan. And I mean that literally, I only want to go to the game if the weather is perfect. I am talking upper 70's, low 80's, slight breeze, no rain, not too sunny though, because I don't want to get burnt either. Because of these guidelines, I almost never go. So see, I do love him so!!

Isn't it cute!!! I started this card by stamping the boy, helmet and football from First and Goal by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored them in using my copics and markers. I then cut out the helmet and football and popped them off my image. I mounted my image on a piece of blue card stock that I punched with my Martha Stewart edge punch and then placed it on a piece of red card stock. For the background I layered, red and blue card stock along with two different kinds of DP. I ran the blue card stock through my houndstooth cuttlebug embossing folder to give it some texture. I added a stitched ribbon to the corner and stamped the sentiment on a piece of white card stock and cut it into the shape of a banner, again using my Martha Stewart punch. For the inside of the card, I attached some more DP and added a blue band across the bottom to hold my coupon. I stamped the tickets three times, cut them out and adhered them around the bottom. I completed the card by stamping the sentiment, "Merry Christmas", from Sugar Nellie. I just know that he is going to love it. However, now I am thinking about adding in my fair weather clause! Lol!

My second card for today is all about having a pink Christmas. I love the color combo of pink and brown together, and really wanted to create a Christmas card with that color combination and since I was running behind on this week's Magnolia Vs. Stampavie Challenge, I decided to use my favorite color combo for the challenge.

This sketch was actually really difficult for me. Probably the reason it took me so long to participate. I don't have any Stampavie or Magnolia stamps that are small enough to fit in the squares and I wasn't too keen about breaking an image up, so I decided to switch the images and the text. It worked out perfectly. I started this card by coloring in Tilda in Dalecarlia Coat by Magnolia with my copics and markers. I actually just received this wonderful image from my friend Kimmie. Thank you so much!!! Following the sketch, I layered on brown and pink card stock along with two kinds of DP. I printed off the sentiments on my computer and mounted them on brown card stock. I added a brown gross grain ribbon and three white flowers with brads in the center. Like I said this was a difficult challenge and I am just so glad that I was able to come up with something.

Well, I am outta here for tonight. Hubby and I are going to sit and relax together on the couch as today was his first day of vacation!! Have a wonderful evening and thanks for stopping by!

I Made a Card that Wasn't about Christmas and Something Else!

Happy Friday everyone!!

The time is just flying by this year!! I can hardly believe it!! I was able to get a little bit more shopping done today, so now I only have one more person to buy for! It feels so good to be almost done. I really am not that highly organized but since we have to travel for the holiday it almost forces you to get things done in advance.

Izzy was such a sweetie today. We were gone all morning shopping and she never once complained. I was kind of surprised, since it was so crowded and hot at the mall, but she didn't seem to mind. She even helped me pick out a few things and carried around a bag. Lol!

Well, I have some exciting news!! I have been asked to be on a really fun and exciting DT!! Yeah!!! It is a challenge DT created by Jessica aka The Whimsical Butterfly's eight year old daughter, Madelynn. Every Tuesday, she will be issuing a new sketch for everyone to try. Can you believe it?!!!! I have the hardest time coming up with a sketch and Jessica's amazing daughter is going to be coming up with one every week!!! This is just too awesome! If you have a chance please come out and join us! I know Madelynn will be ecstatic to see what you create!

Here is Madelynn's first sketch (It was actually issued on Tuesday, I told you I am behind!). And here is my card for it!

Is this not the best sketch?!! Madelynn you rock girl!!! I had the best time creating this card. It actually started the other day with my Pink Papery card. I told my neighbor that my husband was a little carded out, I usually give him all my leftover cards, and since I had already made him a Christmas card, I wanted to know if she wanted it. I told her it was a little risque so she said she would look at. Well, her husband is a pastor, so when she saw it, she thought it might be a little too much for him! I can't imagine why, lol, so I decided to create her another, more conservative card. This image, Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie's Christmas Love, was actually stamped by my friend and fellow Pink Papery DT member Shelly, aka Jaspere. I colored it in using my copics and markers and then added touches of glitter pen to make it sparkle. Using Madelynn's awesome sketch, I layered on green card stock with DP, and using my new labels nesties I cut out my image and popped it off the background. I then tied on a brown ribbon that I picked up today at Archivers. A whole spool for two bucks!!! It has 15 yards on the spool!! You have to go get some! I digress, I then stamped the sentiment from Home for the Holidays by MFT on white card stock and mounted it on a piece of green card stock I cut out with my nesties. To finish the card off, I popped off the sentiment and added a metal swirl. Isn't it so sweet and romantic? All made possible by Madelynn's incredible sketch!

I want you all to know that my second card for today is not a Christmas card but a Valentine's day card!!! Yeah!!! See , I can make other things!! This card was created for my friend Carolyn Bound's Pink Cat Studio challenge over at PCP. The challenge is to create something for Valentine's day. Let me tell you, it was a little difficult to switch out of Christmas mode, but it felt good. So here is mine! I used this week's Sketch Challenge at SCS for the layout.

The sentiment on the inside will say, "You stole my heart!". I started this card by stamping pirate Billy from Billy Plate 1 by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics and markers. I added touches of glitter pen and silver pen to add some sparkle and drew in little hearts. I also drew a little heart, cut it out and popped it off the bag. Turning the sketch on it's side, I layered on maroon card stock, pink card stock and two different kinds of DP. I stamped the sentiment on white card stock and cut it out along with a piece of pink, maroon and black card stock using my nesties. I finished the card by popping it off in the corner. I just love this card!! I can't wait to give it to Jason so he can give it back to me, LOL!!!

Well, I am outta here for tonight! I hope you have had a wonderful evening and thanks as always for stopping by!

I'm Late, Late, Late!!!

Happy Thursday everybody!!

I can't believe tomorrow is Friday!! I don't think I am quite ready for it!! Yikes! I am still trying to get a whole bunch of crafting done since we will be out of town for almost a week, finish up Christmas shopping and get everyone packed. AHHHHHH!!! It is overwhelming! And of course the weather is not cooperating at all! Today the ice and snow partially melted, but then the temp dropped this evening to just below freezing and now the rain has started. Our driveway has become an ice rink. I had to take a second try at it to make it into the garage. Thankfully it is supposed to be in the upper forties tomorrow!! Boy am I ready for some warmer temps!

Well, Izzy has been my little helper again today! She has helped me color, clean up and just pick up in general. She is such a cutie!! I can't believe how much her vocab is expanding. It seems like she is saying more and more things and stringing more words together. I have to say it is nice that she can tell me some of the things she wants. I am sure though that in a couple of months I am going to be saying, "Please be quiet". Lol!!

Like I said I have been coloring and stamping like mad so that I will have stuff to prepost while we,re out of town. And guess what?!!! My Sugar Nellie stamps came in the mail today!!! Yeah!! OMG, if you don't have any you have to get some! They are fantastic images and color up beautifully!

So, like I said above, I am really late this week. I am late posting tonight, I am late on my challenges and even late on visiting all my favorite blogs and leaving comments. I am so sorry, just bare with me, I should be caught up sometime before 2020! Lol!

My first card for today is actually for two challenges both of them issued on Monday!! The first challenge was for Papertake Weekly and was to create a card that is monochromatic and the second challenge was the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge at Poetic Artistry. Let me tell you, creating a monochromatic card was extremely hard for me. I cannot tell you how many times I reached for a second color. I literally had to put the markers away so I wouldn't use them.

See, I did it!!! Yeah me!!! I started this card by stamping the boy sledding from Snow Day by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored him in with my markers and copics. I then mounted him on a piece of DP and a piece of blue card stock. Following the sketch, I tied a piece of ribbon across the top backed by some more blue card stock and layered on blue card stock and DP. I printed off the sentiment on the computer and mounted it in the corner on a piece of light blue card stock and a piece of blue card stock. I added a little glitter snowflake to add some sparkle. This was really difficult for me, not only because of the monochrome theme but because of the simple layout, but I really think it works.

So my second card for today is actually for yesterday's Pink Papery Studios Challenge. I am so sorry. I actually had it finished, but with the blog hop, and picking a winner, I was too busy to actually get it posted. This week's challenge was issued by Jami and was to create a card that had DP made from stamps. I was actually a little worried at first as to how I was going to do this since all I have is digi images, but it was surprisingly easy! And let me tell you picture editing is not my strong suit!

I call this my Sexy Santa Card!!! Jason really likes it!!! Lol! This card actually incorporates two different sets from Pink Papery Studios. I used the first set, Catch a Falling Snowflake, to create the background paper. I simply resized the different snowflakes and arranged them quite artfully around the page, if I do say so myself. I then printed it off on green card stock and added a little certainly celery to highlight different snowflakes. For the main image, I printed off the girl kissing Santa from Simply Santa and colored them in using my copics and markers. Next, I layered on green card stock, red card stock, Christmas DP and my own DP to create the base of the card. I popped off the main image and punched out snowflakes in green and red with my Martha Stewart punch. To finish the card off, I added some green rhinestone stickers to the center. I really enjoyed making my own DP. I know I am going to try it again!

Well, I am outta here for today! Gonna try to catch up on blog hopping! Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!

MFT Treat Winner!!

Happy Wednesday again everbody!!

Thank you to all of you who participated in the amazing MFT blog hop and left such sweet comments!!! They were very much appreciated.

And here it is what you have been waiting for! The winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:10

Timestamp: 2008-12-18 02:10:51 UTC

Betty aka ZacksNana said...
What a wonderfully creative idea! Beautiful journal!
December 16, 2008 10:37 PM

Congratulations Betty!!! Please e-mail me your address and info and I will forward it to Kim at MFT stamps who will be sending out your MFT treat!

Let's All Do The Hop!! The MFT Blog Hop That is!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!


Welcome to your last stop of today's MFT blog hop! If you would like to start at the beginning, go here: Kim's Blog


As most of you know, Kim has revamped the What's Up Wednesday and has been picking a MFT Hot to Trot Designer that is featured in the Forum on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. I cannot tell you what a complete shock and honor it was to be chosen!!! Have you seen the MFT gallery on SCS???? There is some serious talent out there ladies!!!


When I received the new stamp set for BC Dzyns called Day Dreamer, I was so excited, because I immediately imagined a journal. I think it was the speech bubble. I mean who doesn't have tons of thoughts running through their head all the time that they need to jot down. I actually keep a little notebook in my car for those random card ideas that pop up when I am headed to the store or taking Izzy to the library. And of course it needs to be cute! I mean, you can't have an ugly journal. So I decided to make a journal cover.

Here is a picture of the inside!



I started this project by stamping the girl, speech bubble and sentiment from the new BC Dzyns stamp set Day Dreamer by MFT on white card stock and several different kinds of DP. I colored them in using my copics and markers and then paper pieced the images together. To create the journal cover itself. I took three pieces of chipboard cut to 6 1/2 long, with 2 of the chipboard pieces cut to 5 inches wide and the third cut to 1 in. wide. I laid them out on a piece of brown card stock that was cut to 12 in. by 7 1/2 in. I folded up the edges, using book corners and then cut a second piece of brown card stock, cut to 11 in. by 6 1/4 in to cover the inside. Before I adhered it to the inside of my journal, I wrapped two pieces of brown card stock on each end to hold the book in place. This was done by cutting brown strips to 7 1/4 in long and 2 inches wide and then adhering the excess to the back. With this step completed, I attached the card stock to the inside of my journal cover. To decorate the front, I layered on brown card stock, blue card stock and DP from Basic Grey's Offbeat Collection. The numbers and letters were cut out of DP and brown card stock with my Cricut machine and adhered to the front using my Xyron machine. I finished the journal by popping off my speech bubble and image. I can't wait to wrap my journal in it and place it in the car!!


I hope that you enjoyed the blog hop as much as I have and a huge thanks to Kim at MFT and the wonderful Guest DT members for their amazing creations!


Don't forget to leave a comment in order to be placed in the drawing to win a MFTreat!!! I will be picking the winner at random later tonight!! Thanks again for stopping by!!!

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This contest is now closed! Thank you to all of those who left comments and participated in the blog hop!! A winner will be chosen randomly and posted shortly!

Christmas is near! Christmas is near!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Today has been even worse than yesterday weather wise. It has basically lightly snowed all day, enough to make getting anywhere in your car difficult and the second big wave is hitting right now, during rush hour!! Ugh! That means Jason won't be home for quite awhile!

Well, I have some exciting news!!! I have a new baby cousin! I am so excited. Jason's cousin Heather gave birth to a healthy baby boy last night. It is so wonderful and exciting!! Heather has always wanted children and after years of trying, finally adopted a beautiful little girl named Libby from China!!! She is so wonderful and sweet and then this spring she found out she was pregnant!! It is truly a miracle for her family! I know too that Libby is super excited to have a little brother!! Can you tell I am happy?!

Alright, so I forgot to tell this story about Izzy last night. It is pretty funny although Jason was upset when he heard about it. It all started yesterday afternoon when I was cleaning up my scrapbooking stuff off the dining room table. Izzy had asked me to put her on the couch, presumably to sit next to Tuxy. The last time I looked in on them, Tuxy was at one end in a ball and Izzy was sitting right next to him holding her bee. Well, all the sudden I heard a little growl, then another little growl, that is usually what Tuxy does when Izzy touches him. He keeps it up typically until he gets tired of her and then jumps down. Since he just kept doing it, I yelled in from the dining room for him to just jump down if he didn't like it. Well, he kept on and I finally peeked in to see what was the matter. Guess what?!!! Izzy was sitting on him!! I don't think that Tuxy was hurt, just irritated since he wasn't really trying to get up! So I got onto Izzy how we don't sit on our "brother", she of course looked properly chastised. I think Tuxy though was more upset that I got onto Izzy about it, than the actual sitting incident itself! He kept following her around everywhere after that with a sad little look on his face! Lol!

Well, today has been kind of a mixed bag for me. I had some cards that turned out really well and one for an upcoming DT release that I just couldn't seem to make come out right. I think I need to sleep on it and try to pick some different DP. I really think that is the major problem! Gosh, I hate when that happens!

Well my first card for today is, da, da, da, dum!!! A Christmas Card!!! And actually both of my cards today use last week's sketches from 2 Sketches 4 You. This was my first time participating in this sketch challenge. I just had to make these designs after I saw them!! They were so original! So here goes the card for the first sketch.

See, I told you it was awesome!! I really channelled my friend Michelle, aka "Queen of the Scene", over at Just Painting Around. I love how she continues her scenes onto all her layers!! It is really cool! Anywhoo, I started this card by stamping Tilda with Hood by Magnolia on white card stock and colored her in with markers and copics. I added touches of silver gel pen and my glitter pen to really make her pop. I then sponged night of navy around the edges to continue the scene. Following the sketch, I layered white card stock, kraft paper and Christmas DP. I added a piece of wide, white ribbon and three white snowflakes. I think it kind of has a primitive look, I guess it is the kraft paper! Anyways, I am really happy with the way this came out.

My second card today, follows the second sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You. This one I decided to use an entirely different theme. Something that was more whimsical and fun!!

Isn't it a happy, jolly kind of card!! I just love pink and green for Christmas! Alrighty, so I started this card by stamping the elf and stars from CC Designs Sugarplums North Pole by All that Scraps on white card stock and colored him in with copics and markers. Following the sketch, I layered on pink and green card stock along with several different kinds of Christmas DP. The scallop on the bottom was created with a decorative pair of scissors. I cut out a white and green circle with my nesties and stamped the sentiment in the center. I finished the card off by adding three pink rhinestone stickers down each side of the main image!! I think I might give this to one of my nieces. Last I heard they were fighting over a pink card I had given them!!

Well, I am outta here for tonight. Don't forget that the MFT Blog Hop starts tonight at midnight (EST) over at the MFT blog! So put on your bunny slippers, curl up with your computer and hop around with us!! Have a great evening!! Thanks for stopping by!

My Present and My Buddy!!

Happy Monday!!

Man was it a miserable night last night and I don't think tonight is going to be any better! It sleeted all night and poor Jason this morning had to break the ice around the front door to open it!! I needed to get to the post office to drop off some images I stamped for a friend, but I didn't want to risk driving on the ice. I am not sure if I will be able to get there tomorrow either, if what they are predicting happens, but hopefully on Wednesday.

Well, Izzy was back to her usual grumpy self for a Monday. She got to spend a lot of time with Jason this weekend so that is why. She really misses her Daddy. It is funny, when she was younger, all she wanted was me and as she gets older all she wants is her daddy!! What a Daddy's girl!!

This is her dancing!!!

I talked to my friend Tracy tonight. We were trying to plan a time to get together to exchange gifts and bake Holiday Cookies. Well, it looks like it is going to have to be after Christmas before we get it done. That is okay, that will give me time to make up cute tags and holders for everything. Like my mom said, people kind of get all cookied out before Christmas and then run out, so we are just trying to fill a void!! lol!

Alright, so I have two cards to share tonight. I probably won't have three cards per day again until the beginning of the new year. I am trying to save some cards to post while I am on vacation since I won't be able to actually make any while we are in KC. I am going to bring my stamps and colors though so I can color. I mean a girl can't go cold turkey for a whole week now can she?!!!

My first card for tonight is for this week's Sketch Challenge on Paper Craft Planet. I got this stamp in the mail a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a chance to ink it up yet. I just thought she was so cute sitting there on her little present. I can hear her saying, "This one is mine!" Here it is!

I love this paper from SEI! It has such a rich quality too it! The paper actually glistens!! Okay, so I started this card by stamping Milly On Present by Spiral Whisper on white card stock and a piece of DP. I colored Milly and the ribbon in with my copics and markers and then paper pieced the present together. Using the sketch as a guide, I layered green card stock, red card stock and several kinds of Christmas DP. I decided to tie a ribbon in the corner to mimic the present! I am not sure who I will give this one to for Christmas, maybe I will sit on it and keep it for myself!! lol!

My second card for today, is a cute, whimsical kind of card. I have really been admiring the gorgeous snowflakes on everybody's cards lately and when I saw these glitter ones at Michaels yesterday, I knew I had to have them. I decided to use Mary Jo's aka Technostamper's Monday's Lunchtime Sketch Challenge for the layout. I have to admit though, I really took liberties with this sketch, because I so wanted to use this stamp. First I flipped the sketch on its side, changed the rectangle into snowflakes and moved them over to the side. Hope this still counts!!

I started this card off by stamping Mimi and Snowman by Pink Gem Designs on white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. I then scalloped the edge with my decorative scissors and mounted it on a piece of decorative DP and red card stock. Following the sketch, I layered red card stock, and Christmas DP. I added three glitter snowflakes in the corner, popping them off with dimensionals. To finish the card, I added a piece of red ribbon around the middle!

Well, I am off!! I want to spend a little quiet time with my hubby before the crazyness that is Christmas gets into full swing! Have a great evening and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Quick Post for Today!

Happy Sunday everyone!!

Hope your Sunday is going well so far! Today, the temperature was actually pretty nice outside, a little windy, but nice. The unfortunate news is, it is suppose to start raining, and then turning into freezing rain later tonight. I heard that tomorrow's high is only going to be in the twenties!!! Yikes! Not looking forward to that.

Well, I didn't get a whole lot of stamping in today, but that is okay, I was able to get a lot more shopping done and was even able to visit with our neighbors. It was really nice. Izzy had a blast shopping because we went to the bookstore. That is her second favorite place to go, following the library. Do you see a pattern here? It is only in second place because at the bookstore, there isn't a special shelf that she can take books on and off of. Lol!

Like, I said, today's post is relatively short. I have just a real quick and simple gift idea to share today. My neighbor Beth and her two sons, helped and we created these adorable cookies in a jar. I know this is an old gift idea, but I still think it is a good one, especially when you decorate it up all cute!

Isn't it cute!!! And the best part is the boys did most of the work after I came up with the initial design!! Alright, so we started off by filling a quart canning jar with the ingredients. The recipe can be found here. We found though that you probably need the wide mouth jars, otherwise, not all the chocolate chips will fit inside! And nobody wants less chocolate, am I right!! Next we created the "cookie" on the front by cutting out a piece of kraft card stock with my nesties and stamping the chocolate chips from the SU! set Oh So Sweet! I then rubbed close to cocoa around all the edges to make the cookie look done!! I stamped the letters with a letter set I picked up at the dollar spot at Michaels. The cookie is mounted on a piece of red card stock I cut out with my nesties and accented with a white gel pen. I created the belly band around the jar by printing off the sentiment, "Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Somethin' From the Oven" and adhered it to a piece of red card stock. To continue the cookie theme, I stamped some cookies using my Cookie Stubby from Stamps by Judith. To complete the jar, I cut out fabric circles with my pinking shears and tied a pretty holiday ribbon around the top! It was so much fun and the boys had a really good time!!

Well, I am outta here. Need to get to the grocery store before the big storm hits!! Hope you have had a great weekend!! Thanks as always for stopping by!

Is Anybody As Freaked Out as Me That Christmas is Right Around the Corner?!!!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

Boy have we had a busy one! I did a whole lot of stamping this morning, this afternoon we braved the toy store to buy Christmas presents, and this evening we had a wonderful dinner over at "Aunt" Tracy's new apartment! Man was that fun! Izzy has been really missing her. I can't even count how many times she said Tracy's name on the car ride over. Needless to say, it was a lot.

Well, I can't panic too much that Christmas is so close. I have actually been doing really well with my shopping. I just need to buy books for all the kids, stocking stuffers for Izzy, a few small items for Jason and Tracy's gift. See not too bad. The only thing is we are leaving for Kansas City next Saturday, so that means I need to get it all completed this week. Izzy is definitely going to be going on lots of field trips to the mall!

I don't know what I will do when Izzy gets old enough to actually know that we are buying presents for her. Right now it is so nice to all go out together and pick something out. I guess next year we will have to figure out some way to buy the presents in secret and get them to grandma and grandpa's without her knowing. I think the mailman might have to be my secret helper.

I had a lot of fun today making my cards. There are some days when you feel like all the coloring that you have done and the papers you have chosen work really well together and today was that day. Sometimes, I pick papers and start coloring and for some reason they just don't work, but today everything seemed to come out just like I pictured it.

For my first card, I used my brand new Magnolia stamp, only the second one I have ever colored, to make a nice traditional Christmas card. I love my new Basic Grey Wassail paper. I don't know why I held out for so long to buy it. Anywhoo, I used the fabulous sketch over at Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge for the layout.

Isn't she lovely!! I just love these stamps!! I don't know why I don't own more of them. (Hint, hint honey!). Okay, so I started this card by stamping Tilda with Christmas Presents by Magnolia on white card stock and colored her in with my markers and copics. Using my gold glitter pen, I added some embellishments to the present and to the four corners. Following the sketch, I layered on red and green card stock, along with several different kinds of Christmas DP. I used my Martha Stewart edge punch to create the triangle border and added three brads down the side. I finished the card off by stamping the sentiment from Deer Ol Santa by SUInk and More on white card stock, cutting it out along with a piece of green card stock using my nesties, added some gold details and popped it off the card. I just love the combo of colors, they seem to scream Christmas!!

My second card for today is a funky take on Christmas. I was out collecting all of the challenges I wanted to participate in this weekend when I came across Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. I just loved the simplicity of the sketch this week and wanted to use a simple, not too complicated image for the card. Here it is!

Don't you just love this sketch!! It is so simple yet concise!! It was a lot of fun to work with! Okay, so I started this card by stamping the three potted Christmas trees from Santa's Little Helpers by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. I then mounted them on some pink glitter paper and popped them off the background. Following the sketch, I layered on green card stock and three different kinds of glittered Christmas card stock. I added some pink and green stitched ribbon for the final touch. Don't you just love it?! And the best part is, it was so quick to make! I honestly think it took me only 10 minutes to stamp, color and assemble after I had the papers chosen. The most difficult part was cutting the double angle in the ribbon! LOL!! Thanks Jen for your wonderful sketch!

For my final card I decided to not only follow a challenge but to also challenge myself while I was at it. I know I have talked in the past about how difficult it is for me to use white in cards, but the only other color that truly gives me fits is yellow. I love when other people use yellow in their cards, but for some reason, I usually hate it when I do. (That is why you rarely see any of my people with blonde hair!) Following today's Sketch Saturday Challenge for the layout, I decided to use some yellow!

I am so proud of this card!! I used tons of yellow in it and even made the little girl a blonde!!! Go me! So I started this card by stamping Cuddling by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie on white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. Following the sketch, I used multiple layers of SU! DP and yellow card stock. For the scallops, I used my Fiskars, threaded scallops punch and for the flowers, I used my cricut machine. I added three blue brads to the centers of my flowers to complete the look. When I showed this card to my husband, he said he really like it because it looked so different from what I usually create!! I was so proud.

Well that is it for me tonight!! I hope you all have had a wonderful Saturday and have a great rest of the weekend! Thanks as always for stopping by!