Stamps, Paper, and Glitter -- Oh My!: April 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Rainy Day Flowers!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

Izzy is on the mend today! Yay!!! She pretty much slept all day yesterday, but today she is bright eyed and bushy tailed. Of course she is super duper cranky because she doesn't feel 100% but hey it is progress! LOL! She has been coloring and harassing Tuxy pretty much all day. She is going through a stage where she doesn't want Tuxy to be anywhere near her. She shuts the doors so he can't come in and then tries to get him to move wherever he is laying down. Poor dog can't get any rest.

Well since today is Wednesday that means it is Watchadoin' Wednesday over at Storage Units, Inks and More! We have a great challenge for you this week, Flowers!

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The weather is so up and down these days around here. One day it is 82 the next it is 32! I am so ready for warm weather. That is where the inspiration for this week's challenge comes from. Help brighten my day by creating cards with a flower theme! I am so ready to do some gardening and see some green grass and smell some sweet flowers. I hope this will hold me over, lol.
Thanks everyone, have fun with this one. When uploading to an on line gallery please use the keywords SUINKWWC38. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Don't forget to leave a comment so we can check out your fabulous ideas and ohhhh and ahhhhh. And be on the look out for the DT samples. They are always fabulous, don't you think?
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So with that being said I decided to make a flower pot card! And here it is!

Closed

Open

I just love these cards! They are so fun and easy to make! Directions can be found here. Following the pot directions, I made my pot out of a piece of Making Memories double sided DP and punched it with my scalloped edge punch from EK Success. I then made my insert from a piece of blue card stock and some white card stock. For the flowers themselves I used my shapeabilites and punched out blue card stock flowers and DP flowers along with green leaves from green card stock. I added buttons to the centers to give them some character. To complete my card, I stamped the first part of the sentiment from Rain, Rain, Go Away by Storage Units Inks and More on white card stock and mounted it on a piece of green. I then punched a hole in the end and ran a piece of green stitched ribbon through it. I completed the card by stamping the rest of the sentiment on the inside. A quick and fun "thinking of you" card.

Now it is time to check out the rest of the DT's creations!

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you have collected your letter today for the Club Anya giveaway! Smiles!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Twinkle, Ribbit! Twinkle, Ribbit!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Well we are house full of sickies. I am starting to feel better, I think mine is just allergies, but poor Jason and Izzy have colds. Izzy had a bad fever yesterday and was pretty grouchy but her fever has broken and now she is just exhausted. Poor baby. Jason has aches and a sore throat so he might be staying home tomorrow if he isn't better! Aww the role of a mom never ends! LOL!

Izzy did feel well enough yesterday to go to her first ever gymnastics class!! She had so much fun! I was really worried because she is usually super shy around other kids but she got along really well with them and even cried at the end when we had to leave! Of course now we have to work on leaving won't change just because you cry! LOL! She did walk on the balance beam and even stayed on. I was so surprised. Of course it is only an inch and a half off the floor and made out of thick foam but beggars can't be choosers right! The best thing was that they get little bee stamps on their hands when the class is over! Can I tell you how excited Izzy was! Now all she wants to do is go to gymnastics. Try explaining to a two year old that gymnastics is only once a week! LOL!

So today is Tuesday and you know what that means it is Twinkling Tuesday!! Miss Madelynn is such a great big sister, that she has graciously stepped aside this week to allow her brother Nick to issue our challenge! He had quite a fun one in store for us, Frogs!!!! You must use frogs (or any other critter) on your card. I guess that Nick adores anything frogs and wanted to see tons of cards made with them. So this week I brought out my trusty Greeting Farm images and whipped up a little something for him!

What do you think? Aren't the eyes on the frog too cute and the adorable way he is smiling just cracks me up! Love it!!! I started this card by first stamping the frog and fish from Down By The Pond by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. Following a Mojo Monday sketch from a couple of weeks ago, I then tore strips of blue paper and adhered them to a base of white to create water. I did the same thing again on another piece, cut it out with my nesties and placed my fish on top. I mounted them on blue and green card stock to give them some depth. For my frog, I cut out a rock shape using some DP from K and Company, mounted it on some more K and Co. DP and placed my frog on top. To finish the layers of the card, I followed the sketch, layering on blue and green card stock along with the rest of the DP from K and Co. I tied a bow across the cloud paper using brown ribbon and added three green brads down the side. To complete the card I simply went out into the yard, picked up a tiny stick and tied on a little fish button so that it would look like he was fishing. The sentiment I stamped from Down By The Pond, just to add a little character. I hope Nick likes it!

Now it is time for you to participate! All you need to do is leave a comment on Madelynn's blog and type in the keyword MTTSC20 when uploading to SCS or PCP. Cassie is this week's featured stamper and her creation will amaze you as will all the other awesomely talented girls on the DT!

Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me. I am slowly (and I mean very slowly) trying to get caught up on all your wonderful creations! And don't forget the challenge running right now over at Club Anya!!! You don't want to miss your chance to win the new Miss Anyas! Smiles!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Singing In The Rain!

Happy Monday everyone!

Boy am I tired. Not that I am complaining but it has been one crazy week last week and I just got back yesterday. My aunt just had her 30th anniversary celebration and my mom, dad, sister and I threw her a huge bash at my parents. There was a ton of laughing and eating overall good times but now I am tuckered out! It was all I could do not to fall asleep at 7 o'clock last night! LOL!

Jason and Izzy decided to stay home since the house was going to be really crowded and people were staying up so late. It actually worked out for the best but I sure did miss my baby! I haven't ever been away from her for two nights in a row so it was a little tough. Izzy and Jason had a great time though. They gardened and went to the plant store and even had a little dinner date with Izzy's friend Melaina!

Now with some important news from Club Anya!!!!!!

I have a VERY special sneak peek for you today from Club Anya and The Greeting Farm...a BRAND NEW Miss Anya set is going to be released on the 15th of this month! How exciting is that???

Even better? ONE lucky winner is going to receive this stamp set when the contest ends on Thursday evening. The WINNER will be announced THIS Friday, May 1st..that's almost TWO whole weeks before the actual release by the time the mailman delivers it!!!

All you have to do is play along with our little game this week! Head on over to the Club Anya blog to THIS post to start the game and to go over the official rules:

You will need to stop by certain Team Member's blogs on certain days to be given a series of clues. The official schedule is posted on the Club Anya blog. Each team member will be giving you a special sneak peek of this ADORABLE new set, and a clue for you, in the form of a letter in the alphabet.

Once you have collected ALL FOUR clues, you will have to DESCRAMBLE the letters to form a word. Once you guess what the word is, you will have until Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 8pm CST to email Jessica with your guess. At that time, all of the correct guesses will be entered into a contest to WIN the BRAND NEW MISS ANYA SET!!!

Ready to play!!!!!

Here is my sneak peek of the new set!!!!

IsN't she the cutest!!!! I mean how could you resist her! I started my card by stamping one of the new Miss Anya's from The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I then mounted her on some coral and brown paper and following a sketch from Taylored Expressions (The one our fearless leader Jessica used this week seeing as how she was the featured stamper!!!!!!), I layered on brown, green and coral card stock along with DP from Basic Grey's porcelain line. I finished up my card by embossing my circle with swiss dots, tied on a brown ribbon and added lots of crystal effects and sparkle to resemble rain drops! Hope you like it!

Did you get your clue!! Make sure you collect them all!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Smiles!!!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Fun in the Sun with Pink Cat!!!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!!!!

Gosh this week has flown by in a whirlwind of activity!!! Izzy and I went to Michaels and Archivers yesterday, and today we will be going out to lunch with Jason and then to Target and Hobby Lobby. My mom is throwing a party for my aunt this weekend and needs a ton of stuff picked up for her! It has been crazy trying to get everything she wants, but Izzy has been in hog heaven! She loves to ride in the car and it was the first thing she asked about when she woke up yesterday. It was so crazy!

We went out to the park yesterday and walked around, too. (Thank goodness there was no bunnies around! Lol!) We walked her around and the poor thing was so sad when we got back in the car she was crying! I guess she just loves the outdoors!

Well today is the day everyone!!!! Are you excited! It is the release of the new Lily At The Beach set from Pink Cat Studio! This set is so much fun and all the images and sentiments are fantastic! I know I will be using it all summer long! So without further ado I introduce you to Lily At The Beach!

And here is my card to honor her introduction!

Outside

Inside

Don't you love her in the towel! Reminds me of when I was a kid and would rush out of the lake, completely blue claiming that the water was warm as I shivered uncontrollably! LOL! I can attest that laying in the sun, wrapped in your towel was the best feeling in the world after a dip in the cold lake! Anywhoo, I started my card by first finding an image of a pair of sunglasses on the internet, blowing it up and printing it off to use as a template. I then traced it and cut it out of black card stock and some DP from Stampin' Up! I made sure to leave some uncut at the top fold so that it would fold in half. I then used my nesties to cut out flowers for the corners using a matching DP. I finished off the front by drawing some white sun lines on the glasses and stamping my sentiment from Lily At The Beach, coloring it in and creating a tag with some blue paper and some string. For the inside, I started by stamping Lily wrapped in a towel from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I then cut her out and put her on one side of my glasses. I cut another piece of white paper and placed it on the other side. I completed the card by stamping my sentiment on the left side and drawing in some sand and beach debris! A fun and fanciful card!

Now it is time once again to check out the DT girls wonderful creations!!! They are so talented and creative! And thanks once again to Tori for joining us this month!

Now go get your stamps! LOL! Thanks everyone for stopping by! Smiles!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I See A Mermaid at Pink Cat!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Hope your week is going well! Man the time is just flying by this week isn't it! Looks like today is going to be absolutely stunning so I am very excited!!!! Finally some nice outdoor weather!!!

So what did you think of yesterday's creations? Didn't the DT girls rock!!! I swear they get better and better every day!! I am so excited to see what they have in store today! (And I am convinced this new Lily At The Beach set is bringing in the summer weather! I mean look at today it is going to be beautiful!)

Well yesterday I offered up two sneak peeks but today I have only one. I have to say though that I am in love with Miss Lily in this one! She is a mermaid!!! I just adore mermaids! In fact The Little Mermaid was my all time favorite movie. I would watch it over and over as a kid. I just adored her long flowing hair! But I digress. Melissa's Lily as a mermaid is just as glam and gorgeous and here she is!

See what I mean! I love the way her hair is blowing in the wind and the way Melissa has drawn her sitting on the rock! I mean the possibilities are endless! And then to top it all off she has included the most adorable sentiments! I am telling you I am in stamping heaven! Anywhoo, I started this card by first stamping Mermaid Lily from the new Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. Using Mojo Monday Sketch 81, I layered on brown and blue card stock along with some DP from Penny Lane. I ran a piece of ribbon across the bottom and then added some buttons to the top. I then mounted my image on brown and blue and popped it off at an angle. I decided to sparkle her up a bit so I added pearls to her hair and lots of glitter with my glitter pen. I finished my card by stamping the sentiment, also from Lily At The Beach and colored it in with my copics. I then cut it out with my pinking circles nesties along with some brown and blue and popped it off as well!! All in all a pretty cheerful card!

Now it is time once again to check out the other DT girls!!! I am so excited to see what they have in store!

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! This is actually my second post for today, the first is right below this one! And tomorrow is release day!!!!!! How excited are you!!!! I am brimming over truly! Can hardly wait!! Smiles!

Twinkling Tuesday is Magical!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

Sorry my post is late. I had my card done but yesterday turned into one crazy day and I wound up falling asleep pretty early last night. I feel energized today so hopefully I will be able to get a whole lot done!

Izzy had Melaina over all day yesterday. They had a good time, but are now in the stage where they take toys from each other. Melaina is more assertive than Izzy so she is the one that usually does the taking (she is also 6 months younger). So it was a day spent putting out little fires. It was funny though at one point. Melaina had taken some ribbon from Izzy and Izzy looked up at me and said, "Lainy night, night!". Lol! So I had to explain that it was not Lainy's night night time and that putting Lainy down for a nap wasn't the best solution!

Now to the task at hand! It is Twinkling Tuesday everyone! (A Day Late!) Madelynn has graciously asked her brother Jack to step in this week and give us a sketch. And it is so nice and clean and simple. I have learned though that for some reason the simple ones always trip me up! But hopefully I created a project that Jack will like!

It's a bookmark!!! When I saw the long rectangles on the sketch all I could think about was a book mark! I started my bookmark by first stamping Peter from the Never Ever set by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored him in with my copics. Next, following Jack's sketch, I layered on brown and green card stock along with DP from Stampin' Up. I stamped my sentiment, also from Never Ever on white card stock and cut it out with my labels 4 nesties. I mounted it on green and brown card stock as well. Brads were added to the bands I created and I popped off my Peter image using dimensionals. To complete my bookmark, I punched a hole in the top and threaded through a brown stitched ribbon!!! Hope it is okay Jack!

Now it is time to check out all the other Twinkling Girls!!! This week's featured stamper and now Dirty Dozen Girl is Bonnie!!!! And as always we would love you to participate this week, simply type in the keyword, MTTSC19 when uploading your creation to PCP or SCS and leave a comment on the Twinkling blog so we know where to find you! Here are the twinkies!

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! I really have to apologize for not being by your blogs! My google reader is insane right now and it is going to take me awhile to get through it! I just hate missing everyone's incredible creations! Lots of smiles!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Life's A Beach!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

I hope your week started off well! It rained on and off here yesterday, but we were able to get some good outdoor time in anyway. And boy do I have an Izzy story for you! Wow! That will be at the end of my post because I want to get down to business! Today is the first day of the sneak peeks of the new Lily at the Beach set available this Thursday from Pink Cat Studio!

I don't know about you guys but I am so in the mood for some sunshine and some warm weather. Since summer is fast approaching, this set is perfect for all of those upcoming summer events!

My first project for today features the beautiful Miss Lily holding an innertube. I can not tell you how many times I walked around the lake like this and then jumped in the water! We even used to have contests to see who could get the wettest while still in their tube! Aww to be a kid again! LOL! So I present to you, Lily in an Innertube!

I seriously want to head for the water now! Doesn't she look so happy and warm! Summer come please!!! I started this card by stamping the beautiful innertube Lily from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I stamped the innertube again, colored it, cut it out and popped it off. For the scene behind her, I drew in some sand, pebbles and sea life then colored them in with my copics. Following TECC62 by Taylored Expressions, I layered on dark pink, light pink and olive card stock along with some DP from K and Company. For the sentiment, I stamped it from the new Lily At The Beach set, colored it in and cut it out with my nesties. Hopefully this card will put a smile on the face of the person I send it to.

The second stamp I would like to sneak today is little Lily riding on a turtle! I have to tell you I adore turtles and this one is no exception! He is uber cute and little Lily with her hat just melted me when I saw it!

Tote Front

Tote Side View

Close up

Aren't they the cutest!!! Melissa really outdid herself with this one! And for some reason I just desperately wanted to create a little tote for her! When I found these little dollar ceramic planters at Target, I knew what I wanted to do! I started this tote out by first cutting two pieces of card stock 4" X 10.5" and a third piece to 4" X 11". On my 10.5" long pieces, I scored vertically at 5.5 and 7.5. For the 11" long pieces I scored horizontally at 3 and 7 and vertically at .5 and 3.5. I then folded it up and adhered it to the front and back panels I created. (A more detailed tutorial will be posted later in the week). To create the circle at the top, I ran my pieces through my cuttlebug with my nesties! And you have a simple little tote! For the decorated front, I started off by stamping Lily on the turtle from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. Following this week's sketch for you to try over at Jen Del Muro's I layered on blue, yellow and green card stock along with DP from Stampin' Up. I tied a piece of ribbon around the middle to give it some character, filled it up with my ceramic pot and put in some confetti! I think it would be nice for a little garden party favor.

Now it is time for you to check out the rest of the DT's awesome creations and please help us welcome Tori Wild as our Guest DT this month!!! She really truly is an amazing talent!

Now for my quick Izzy story! Yesterday we went to the park with my neighbor and her kids. It was a nice little break in between the storms but unfortunately the equipment was all wet. Izzy and I were having a wonderful time just walking around when it happened! The worst thing that can possibly ever happen to a kid! SHE SAW A BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you screaming in terror? Um, yes for some reason my daughter is terrified of bunnies! She literally threw herself on me and wouldn't unbury her face until we left the park! She even had her little hand over one eye so she wouldn't have to see it!! I felt so bad for her, but really it is pretty funny! LOL!

Well thanks for stopping by today! I will have my Twinkling post up later this afternoon! And tomorrow is another day of sneak peeks! Smiles!

Monday, April 20, 2009

I Jinxed Her and Some Flutterings!

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a really great weekend! It has been incredibly nasty here! Basically raining all weekend and doing not much else! Poor Izzy keeps wanting to go outside or to the park but it definitely didn't happen this weekend. It pretty much rained the whole time and Jason even had to get out the pump to pump off the water from the cover of the pool since it had rained so much! Of course the minute he stepped outside, Izzy was putting on her shoes to go with him! LOL!

And speaking of Izzy, I painted her fingernails for the first time on Saturday! My baby is becoming a little girl! It was actually quite amusing. She loves when I clip her fingernails but will only let me clip one at a time. I can't seem to get her to stand still long enough. Well yesterday evening she came up to me and asked me for the clippers. Since it had only been a couple of days since I last clipped them, I really didn't have anything to do. I asked her if she wanted me to paint them instead. She of course said please and I was off to hunt down the one bottle of nail polish I own. Because I have never painted her fingernails, I decided to show her what would happen on one of mine. I painted my index finger then told her to give me her hand. The second I pulled the wand out to paint hers, she says, "Ketchup! Ketchup!" It was all I could do not to laugh. Then I painted all her nails and we blew on them until they dried. She was beaming from ear to ear so I told her to go show Daddy. Of course Daddy smiled and ohhed and ahhed over them (it was only later I found out that he was sad because she looked so big, lol!). Then she turns to me and says, "Paper towel? Wash your hands?" Uh, she obviously didn't get the concept that the nail polish stays on. I had to do the rest of my fingers in order to convince her the polish was okay, but she still walked around with her hands out in front of her for the rest of the evening! LOL!!! Ahhh, girls!

Like I said above there wasn't much to do outside this weekend so I was able to get a lot of stamping done inside!! Oh I was so excited!! In fact, I was even able to get a video tutorial completed and posted over at Club Anya!! It is my first copic tutorial and yes I do know I look like a big goober in the first frame! LOL! Now I present to you the finished creation of my tutorial piece. I decided to play along in this week's The Case of The Curious Card Contest over at The Greeting Farm blog! I mean how could I not. My wonderful friend and Club Anya leader, Jessica is the creator of the beautiful card being cased!!!!

I of course couldn't stop at just casing her card! I had to incorporate pink and butterflies, two of her favorite things!! I started my card by stamping Flutter Anya by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I added lots of sparkle gel pen to make her really shine!!! Following Jess's layout, I layered on brown, light pink and dark pink card stock along with DP from SEI and Bo Bunny. I added a pink and brown stripped ribbon to the top and popped off my image. To finish the card off, I added lots of rhinestone stickers in swirl patterns to make it look like fairy dust! I hope you like it Jess!!!!

My second project for today is to make up for the jinx I placed on my good friend Melissa. I posted a couple weeks ago a gift set I was making for her to give at her baby shower. I was just so, so sure she was going to have a girl so I made this set. Well, you all were right. I jinxed her. I just found out that they are having a boy!!! I am so sorry Melissa! LOL! Actually her and her husband are ecstatic, and can hardly wait for September! So to make up for my snafu, I present to you a thank you card set for a boy!

Gift Set

Card Box holder

Card

I liked the gift set idea so much that I decided to simply switch up the paper and images and stick with the basic concept and layout. I started the set by creating my card box out of brown and green card stock along with some DP from Basic Grey. A complete tutorial can be found here. I then stamped the baby, shirt, and bear hat from Dress Up Sweet Pea from Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. To change the bear hat into an owl (Melissa's theme for the nursery is owls), I simply masked off the ears then drew in the circles around the eyes, the feathers at the side and the mask on the face. For the tag on the box, I stamped, "Boy" from Sweet Pea Plate 2 on his shirt and "Thanks" from Kiki Kitty down the side. I then mounted it on brown and green card stock I cut out with my nesties and attached it to my box with a brown stitched ribbon. For the card, I followed the same procedure to create my little boy as I did for the tag and mounted it on brown and green card stock along with the same DP from Basic Grey. A cuttlebugged a piece of brown card stock with my herringbone embossing folder and then attached a brown and white polka dot ribbon across the middle. I completed the card with two brown buttons and a green one up in the corner. I can only hope this makes up for my jinx!

Well thanks everyone for hanging out with me today!! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the first day of Pink Cat sneak peeks! Smiles!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Planets Have All Aligned in My Coloring Favor Today!

Happy Saturday everyone!!!!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! Ours is going rather well! Izzy has been able to go outside and help Jason in the garden. I have discovered that the garden is her and Daddy's personal space and I am not welcome in it! LOL! And Tuxy is having a good ol' time just lounging around! Seriously I went outside to say hi to Jason and the first thing I hear is, "Hi Mommy!" Awww sweet right? Then I hear, "Bye, Mommy! Bye Mommy! Bye Mommy!" Goodness, do you think she wants me to leave or what! LOL!

Boy has she had some great outdoor time as well!! All she wants to do now is go to the park! We have a really nice park that is about a half mile away from our house (too far to walk, unfortunately) so we don't go there too often, but the playground has a rubber floor so it is great for little kids. Well, since it was such a nice day yesterday we decided to take Izzy when Jason got home. Of course when we got there it was brimming over with kids and there was a family there that had a little girl that was about a year older than Izzy. At first she wasn't too sure about the other little girl but pretty soon they were going down the slide together. And by together I mean, the other girl would wait for Izzy to sit down, Izzy to get about half way down Izzy's slide then start down her own! It was too cute! She even called Izzy her new friend about 100 times. Never mind it wasn't until we got into the car to go home that she asked what Izzy's name was! LOL! Ah, kids! Names are such an unimportant thing!

So, I am posting today because for some reason the planets all aligned in my favor today when I was coloring in this image! I mean don't get me wrong, I am usually happy with the way an image turns out but for some reason, today's coloring is as close to what I had in my head as you could get!!!! (Don't you love days like that!) I mean I am not even ashamed to brag about it!! That's right, I think this coloring job turned out good and I am not ashamed to toot my own horn! LOL!!! So that being said here is my card I created using the awesome sketch challenge over at the Stampavie Blog!

First of all isn't the sketch fun!! I love the different layers and elements. And the image! Can you say cuteness!!! I mean seriously!!! So I started this card by coloring up Margaux is Painting by Sarah Kay for Sampavie that I received from my wonderful friend Jessica, using my copics. I then cut her out along with some maroon and teal card stock using my nesties. Following the sketch, I layered on blue, green and maroon card stock along with some DP from SEI. I popped off my main image and added brown rick rack to the top and the bottom. To finish off the card itself, I added three buttons down the side! I am just so, so pleased with this image!!! I can't wait to try to color her up again!!!!

Well thanks for checking in with me today! Don't' forget to grab your blinky over at Pink Cat Studio and gear up for the new release next week!!! Smiles!

Friday, April 17, 2009

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Mother's Day Basket!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

I hope you guys had a ton of fun at the Club Anya blog hop! Wow, I had the absolute best time! And can you say amazing creations!!! I was blown away! I just can't get over how much talent there is out there!

So yesterday Izzy was in total shopping mode! For the last couple of days she has been asking to go shopping and ride in the car. She asked Jason on Wednesday night to take her to the store and to Lowes (no idea why). Well yesterday we were going to meet Jason for lunch and I decided to run some errands as well! Can I tell you how many times she asked to go to Hobby Lobby and Target! OMGoodness it was non stop! LOL! I felt bad for Jason too! Poor thing, I accidentally told her we were going to her favorite place (Target) so I think she was a little disappointed that we went to eat first! LOL! But it worked out okay once she actually saw Jason!

Okay so I know it is Friday and the challenge is called Watchdoin Wednesday, but it took me awhile to figure out the tutorial part so I am posting it on my blog today! Well this week's challenge over at SUINK was to create a basket either for Easter, mother's day, may day or any special occasion. The one thing we ask is that you share the template you use! Well since I didn't use a template, I had to create a tutorial to describe how I made it! LOL! And since I thought my little basket looked awfully lonely I wanted to create a card to match, so I used this week's Sketch Challenge at SCS for the layout!

Gift Set

Basket

Card

I want to start by describing how I made the card first. I simply followed the SCS sketch using blue, dark blue and black card stock along with some DP from Basic Grey. I then punched out some black, blue and light blue card stock using my Labels 4 nesties and stamped the sentiment, dots and swirls from Thinking of Mother by SUINK and added blue rhinestones on top of the circles. I finished up the card with some twine from Jason's gardening stash. The basket itself is created out of blue and dark blue card stock that I distressed with a sponge and some taken with teal ink following the tutorial below. I then attached the handle with some jumbo eyelets and some more of Jason's twine. I filled the basket with some green confetti and added the little label with some black and dark blue card stock that I cut out with the labels four nesties and then stamped with one of the sentiments.

Basket Tutorial

Step 1: Cut a piece of paper to 9X9 and score vertically at 3" and 6" (I am using bright colors so you can see the steps better)

Step 2: Now score horizontally at 3" and 6".

Step 3: Cut out the four corner pieces you have created with your scoring

Step 4: Now cut the vertical projections into 1" strips. Make sure you do not cut into the center square.

Step 5: Repeat step four for the horizontal projections.

Step 6: Now fold all the score lines up leaving the center square as your base.

Step 7: Cut three strips of card stock 1" X 12" and score them each at 1.5", 4.5", 7.5", 10.5". (At this point you can distress the edges if you choose.)

Step 8: Now begins the weaving. Simply decide which side you would like to be your back and place your first strip in the middle of the back and weave around the sides making sure that if you have your strip in front that it is in the back for the next one. Then glue the back.

Step 9: Take your next strip and repeat step eight except alternating strips from the last time. (So if the first strip was in front then this strip needs to be in back). Glue to the back side again.

(inside view)

(front view)

Step 10: Repeat step 8 with your final strip

(inside view)

(front view)

Step 11: For the top cap, cut a strip of paper 3" X 12" and score vertically at .5", 1.5" and 2.5"

Step 12: Score horizontally at 1.5", 4.5", 7.5" and 10.5"

Step 13: Now glue your half inch strips toward the center to create a finished edge.

Step 14: Fold your strip in half and along the other score lines you created.

Step 15: Place your finishing edge over the top and glue to the top.

Step 16: Cut a strip of card stock to 1" X 12" and attach it to your basket with either glue or some eyelets or brads and your basket is complete!

Now it is your turn to try. Simply add the keyword SUINKWWWC36 when uploading your creations to SCS or PCP. And then check out the other awesome creations by the DT.

Speaking of awesomeness! Pink Cat studio has a great new contest going on right now at the blog! You can win the new Lily at the Beach release simply by attaching this adorable blinkie to your side bar! Complete details can be found here!

Thanks everyone for hanging out with me today! Have a great rest of the day! Smiles!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Club Anya's Hop is Pretty Hot!

Happy Wednesday night everyone!

And since things have gotten so hot at Club Anya and The Greeting Farm I invited Rescue Ian to put out the flames! The final sneak peek I am offering up for you tonight before the release is for Rescue Ian! He is seriously cute and a must have if you have any boys in your life!

For this project I really wanted to create a little gift that would be fun to give to the little boy my next door neighbor babysits. So I created a little treat box to hold some candy.

Top view

Side view

What do you think? Doesn't the hat look awesome! And I adore the way Ian is a member of The Greeting Farm Fire Department! Marie is amazing with all these little details! Well I started this box by simply making a generic 3 X1.5 in. box out of red card stock. I then cut out some backer board from the back of a paper pack using my nesties and then repeated the process with some Cosmo Cricket DT and some orange card stock. I used the backer board to give my box more stability. (To prevent the white board from bleeding through, I went around the edges with my red copic.) To complete the rest of the decorations on the box, I added bands of orange card stock around the middle with some more Cosmo Cricut DP and added red and card stock and DP to the top after cutting it out with my nesties. Next I stamped Rescue Ian, available tonight at The Greeting Farm, on white card stock and colored him in using my copics and a silver pen. I then cut him out and popped him off the top of my box. To complete the look, I stamped the word, "hot!" using some alphabet stamps from Michael's dollar spot and placed them on red card stock in each of the four corners. I plan on filling up the box with some Hot Tamales candy!

Now it is time to continue on the hop!!! The master list can be found on the Club Anya site! And don't forget the excellent prizes that are up for grabs tonight and all the great chatting and door prizes going on over at the PCP page! Smiles!

Do You Wanna Dance?

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far! The sun has finally made an appearance this morning. Yesterday was just another cold and dreary day and I think Izzy is feeling a little under the weather. I got her up yesterday morning and pretty much all she did was cry. Poor baby. Nothing seemed to make her happy. I finally asked her if she wanted to go back to bed and she said, "please". Then when I actually laid her down, she pretty much kicked me out! LOL! I was rubbing her head, telling her how much a loved her and that I hoped she felt better. That is when she started waving to me and saying, "Bye, bye mommy! Bye, bye mommy!" I guess she was tired huh? LOL!

Well today is the big day! It is the release of all the awesome new stamps from The Greeting Farm and if that wasn't exciting enough, tonight is also the awesome Club Anya Blog Hop! I mean seriously could it get any better! I am just so excited!

So to wet your appetite for tonight's festivities I decided to sneak peek another of the new Anyas, Wild West Anya! I just love the little expression on her face and for some reason the way she is holding her hands I just thought she was dancing! And when you are dancing you obviously need a partner so I couldn't leave poor Sheriff Ian out! LOL!! That being said, I introduce you to, Wild West Anya!

Isn't she the cutest thing ever!! I mean that heart shaped hat and the braids! I love, love, love her!!!! I started out this card by stamping Wild West Anya and Sheriff Ian from The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. I then cut them out, distressed the edges with chocolate chip ink and a pair of scissors and mounted them on brown and green card stock. I decided to put a couple of stitches in each picture using my paper piercing tool, ruler and an old shoelace Jason's grandma gave me to put in my stash! I then mounted them at angles on my card base of brown and green card stock along with some DP from Bo Bunny. For the sentiments I simply printed them on the computer, cut them out, mounted them on brown and black card stock, sponged on chocolate chip ink and adhered them to the page. To finish the card off, I added several star buttons I picked up at Michaels!

Now it is time to check out the other DT girls' creations!!! They have been absolutely amazing!!!

As I stated earlier tonight is the big blog hop for Club Anya! Official rules can be found here! And don't forget there are some awesome prizes as well! I am cutting and pasting them so you can see what is up for grabs!
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Also here is the "somewhat official" list of the AWARDS (each eligible for a prize that night!) to be given out for our BLOG HOPPIN' BASH on the 15th:

1.) "Best in Show". This will be given to the favorite Blog entry that night and will be voted on by YOU! All you have to do is email me the link to your favorite card, and yes you can vote for yourself if you choose. Just make sure you vote for your favorite...who you really think stole the show! Entries must be received via email by 9:45PM CST the night of the Blog Hop.

2.) "The Wild Child". This award will be given to the entry that is the wildest, most outrageous or creative use of Anya or Ian stamps and voted on by Marie, Jessica, and Team Anya.

3.) "Smokin' Hot". No, NOT Paris Hilton's "that's hot"....it's gotta be SMOKIN' hot! This award will be given out to the card or item that showcases a really hot trend in stamping or crafting. Uses a cool new technique, tool, embellishment, etc. We will throw all the entries that we think qualify for this award into a "hat" and draw one random winner that night!

4.) "A Change will do you Good". Go ahead, switch it up! This award will be given to the entry who best showcases the non- traditional. Whether you switch it up and turn Anya into Ian, Ian into Anya, Anya or Ian into WHOEVER...the morph-ier the better! Judged by Marie, Jess, and the fantabulous Team Anya and announced that night!

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Thanks everyone for stopping by and hanging out with me today! Hope to see you back here tonight where I will sneak peek the final stamp for this month's release! Smiles!

Monday, April 13, 2009

It's Showtime! And a Little Bit of Wild Twinkling!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Well yesterday was one of those horribly dreary days where all you want to do is sleep and lay around and do nothing! Seriously it was hard to get out of bed! It was either raining or simply cold and cloudy. Even Izzy was tired pretty much all day long! Poor baby, but good for me as we both cuddled for half an hour when she first woke up!

Well my sweet daughter has learned a new phrase (thanks Aunt Tracy) that she repeats constantly! Now every time I turn around she is looking and saying, "How 'bout that!" OMGoodness it is so hard to keep a straight face. Literally she was feeding Tuxy her crackers and apples yesterday afternoon, and when he accidentally dropped one on the floor she said, "How 'bout that?" It was too cute! Oh and she did the absolute sweetest thing yesterday! Usually she goes down for her afternoon nap around 2 and sleeps for a couple of hours. Well around 12:30 she came up and asked, "Daddy home soon?" So I looked at her and told her that he would be home after she woke up from her nap. So she looked at me for a minute and then said, "Izzy night, night." So I asked her if she wanted to go to bed and she said, "please!" How cute! She just loves her daddy so much!

As I said above, it is showtime at The Greeting Farm! Are you excited!!! Weren't yesterday's sneak peeks just amazing? I mean the DT girls rocked the sets! Well today it is time to sneak peek the newest Anya set called It's Showtime! And let me tell you it is the cutest set ever! Are your ready?!

Closed

Open

What did I tell you! Isn't Anya as the circus master the cutest! So, so adorable! And there are some great accessories and sentiments as well! I started this card by cutting out a popcorn container shape in red and white card stock. I then scalloped the edge with my fiskars punch and cut the red card stock into strips. I adhered the strips onto the front of the card so that it would look like the front of a popcorn container, then adhered my second sheet of white card stock to the back to create a pouch for my card to slide into. To decorate the front of my card, I stamped ringmaster Anya from It's Showtime by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored her in using my copics and a gold glitter pen. Next I cut her out and adhered her to the bottom. To create the whip in her hand, I cut out a small strip of black card stock and then attached some more black scrappers floss (Thanks Michelle!). The tickets were made by cutting out red strips of card stock, using my slot punch on the ends and adhering them to black card stock. I stamped the sentiment and stars from It's Showtime in blue and black ink then drew in the numbers. For the insert, I cut out pieces of white and black card stock slightly smaller than the inside of my container but longer so that I would have something to attach my popcorn too. I then punched out lots of yellow flowers with a flower punch I have had forever, placed them around the top and then added a lot of glitter. I just think this would make a really fun birthday card!

Now it is time to check out the rest of the DT girls amazing creations!

Today I have an extra special bonus for you! Since it is Tuesday and that means it is Twinkling Tuesday, I decided I couldn't resist using some more of my Greeting Farm images for this challenge! Madelynn has really come up with a doozy of a sketch for all of us and I couldn't resist playing along.

Sketch

Hidden

Peeking Out

As you can see I am really into these concept cards! LOL! I decided to fudge a little on the layout and use the branches of a tree for the bands and my Wild Things images for the stamps! I started this card by stamping the lion, the bear and the chicken from Wild Things by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. I then cut them out and placed them to the side. For my card base, I layered on green and brown card stock along with some DP from Stampin' UP. I then free handed a tree trunk shape, added some brown lines for bark and a hole, then sponged over everything with some chocolate chip ink to give it some distressing. I cut a slit in the bottom of my hole and place the lion inside. The branches were done the same way as the trunk with two of them being attached to the page and the other two left free so I could make them swing. For those two branches, I simply attached my Wild Things, punched a hole in them and then ran a brad through the center so that they could swing. I placed the tree trunk on pop dots so that the branches could swing freely. I then completed my tree by adding some extra thinner branches and leaves I cut out with my nesties. For the rest of the card, I simply added three brads in the corner, printed out a sentiment on the computer, cut it out with my nesties and then attached it to my card. I think I might give this to my mom for Mother's day! LOL!

We would love for you to play along with us this week! Simply add the keyword MTTSC18 when uploading to SCS or PCP and be sure to add a comment to Madelynn's blog as well! Now check out the rest of the DT's creations!

Well I guess I am pretty long winded today! Can you wait for the release tomorrow? I can't! I am so, so excited and the blog hop is going to be awesome!!! Thanks as always for stopping by! Smiles!