My First Magnolia and Another Digi Image!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

I hope you are having a good day! Today has been really gloomy and icky. The temperature has dropped all day and it has rained non-stop. I was hoping that Izzy would be able to get out and play, but it was a no go. I heard tomorrow is supposed to be pretty cold so I don't think we will be going out tomorrow either.

Izzy has been a busy little bee today. She has helped me all day with laundry. She loves to separate the clothes and pull them out of the dryer. She even retrieves hangers for me. She really is a good helper. The older she gets the more she actually helps instead of making things worse. Lol!!!

Her and Tuxy have been quite a pair today! Earlier she was chasing him around with her mouth wide open so that Tuxy could lick her. It was so gross, but the two of them loved, loved, loved it. The only way I could get her to stop was to bribe her with some grapes!!

Here is a picture of her with a little bit of milk on her chin!

Well I only have two projects to post today. I actually completed more, but the very idea of going outside to take pictures was too overwhelming. It is just too nasty out. So you only get two today!

My first project is actually a gift tag I created with my very first Magnolia stamp!!!! Yeah! I have been seeing all the completely awesome creations that everybody makes with them and have been adding them to my wish list. Well I finally broke down and bought some! This tag was created for this week's Magnolia Vs. Stampavie challenge (I was finally able to use something beside a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp for the challenge! Go me!!)

Don't you love this image!!! Okay so I started this tag by cutting out a piece of green card stock and two pieces of Christmas DP in the shape of a Christmas ornament using my Cricut machine. I created the scallop on the lighter DP using my nesties. I then stamped Decorate Christmas Tree by Magnolia stamps onto white card stock and colored her in with my markers, copics and pencils. I added touches of gold with my gold glitter pen, cut her out and popped her off the tag with some dimensionals. I then printed the sentiment off on my computer and cut it out along with a piece of green card stock with my nesties and popped it off the background. To finish the tag off I attached a piece of white organdy ribbon to the top. I am so pleased with the way this turned out!! Of course I will have to put it on one gigantic gift but that is okay!! Or I can put it on a small gift and it will completely cover it so I don't have to wrap it!!

My second project for today uses the new digi images I discovered over at Lauren Meader's blog!! I love my digis and am always looking for places to buy them. Anywhoo, this is a card I made with one of the new images from Squigglefly. I used the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge at Poetic Artistry for the layout.

I love that you can resize your image to anything you want! Okay so I started this card by printing off Pigtail Cutie by Squigglefly on white card stock and coloring her in with my markers and copics. I went ahead and drew in a pattern on her dress so that it would match the DP. I then layered her on some DP and some brown card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on several sheets of DP and some brown card stock. I used by Martha Stewart edge punch to create the decorative pattern and finished it off with three orange brads in the corner. I just love this cute little girl!! She has such a sweet face!!

Thank you to everyone who stops by! I have been remiss lately in checking up on all my favorite blogs, but I am going to try to get around to it tonight!! Have a nice evening everyone!

Bags, Mice and Packages!

Happy Wednesday!

It has been a super busy day for me today! I actually cleaned! Vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed the floors, did a load of laundry! Boy does it feel good to get some of the housework done. Izzy loves to help me! I think she mainly likes to play with the paper towels, but if I limit her to one per room, then I don't have a trail of them through the house!!

Well, today, Izzy was able to get out and play a little bit outside!!! I am so glad. Tomorrow it is going to be a little bit chillier so I don't know if we will be able to. We also need to go pick up a birthday gift for my neighbors' son, tomorrow. His birthday is on Sat. He is so sweet! I asked him the other day what kind of lego sets he was interested in. (He is addicted to legos and is always building something with them.) Well he gave me a long list of the different types he likes and even explained how to get to the online catalog on Lego.com. But then he says, they have really cheep ones that are only 3.99 and those would be nice to have. Isn't he cute! How many 10 almost 11 year olds would be so thoughtful. The only problem with him is that he isn't too enthusiastic about waiting 20 years to get married so that Izzy will be of age. I don't know what he is thinking! Lol!

So, today I was able to get a lot of stamping done. I have found that if I color on the floor with Izzy she is less inclined to ask me to read a different book every 5 minutes. I guess she figures that I am super handy and not as interesting. I don't know! We will see if this strategy works tomorrow! Anywhoo, I was out searching the web for my usual Wed. challenges when I came across the SUInk blog. I started off with this week's Whatchadoin' Wednesday Challenge over at SUInk and More, which was to create a holiday bag. I am pretty sure they meant a Christmas Bag, but I decided to create a Thanksgiving bag. We are going over to my cousin's house for dinner, so it would be nice to bring a little thank you!

I just love the fall colors on this. This bag is not one I created but a candy bag I picked up at Michaels a couple of months ago. They are pretty inexpensive. Any ways, I started this project off by stamping the pilgrim girl and sentiment from Bountiful Harvest and the little Native American dog from Giving Thanks, both by SUInk and More. I colored them in using my copics and stampin' write markers. I then adhered a piece of brown card stock and a piece of DP to the front of the treat bag, cutting out a hole with my nestabilities. Next I cut out a green oval, a DP oval and a brown oval with my nesties. I put my sentiment into a metal tag holder and braded it(is that a word?) to the ovals. I ran a piece of decorative ribbon around the bag and adhered the oval tags. I finished off the bag by adding a decorative bow and filling it up with some candy pumpkins. I think it is so cute! I just know Cindy will love it!!!

My second card for today is a card I created for this week's What's Up Wednesday Challenge over at MFT. The challenge was to use a white gel pen on your card. Well, since I just recently received Farm Friends in the mail and hadn't had a chance to ink it up, I knew what stamp set I was using. I just love the little mouse and couldn't wait to use him.

I decided that I wanted a Christmas card and no I don't feel guilty about it, so I had to create my own background. I started off by stamping the mouse image twice and stamping the holly leaf from Hare for the Holidays several times to create a background. I then colored them in, added some faux stitching with my gel pen and cut out the mouse, the frame and background and popped them off each other to make a little diorama. I then alternated layers of blue card stock, green card stock, dark rose card stock and Christmas DP to create the layout. I added faux stitching with my gel pen and a pink marker. I then threaded through a small blue ribbon, adhered a metal swirl and added three blue stickers. I printed off the sentiment on my computer and attached it with some metal hardware. I am so proud of myself that I was able to come up with the layout all by myself! Yeah me!!!

My final card for today is a very special card. Cassie, my friend and fellow sister over at Pink Papery Studios, issued a very personal and important challenge this week. Her challenge was to create a card using gray and red, the colors of the American Diabetes Association. The gray represents the daily drudgery of diabetes and the red signifies the daily blood testing that is required. I think this is an excellent idea and also hits home with me. While I was pregnant with Izzy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This was quite a shock to me since I had no history of diabetes in my family and did not have any of the typical precursors for this disorder. I was required to test my blood three times a day and was put on a restrictive diet. Fortunately, I was not required to take insulin but was able to control it with diet and exercise. My experience ended when I gave birth, but I know individuals that are diagnosed with either Type I or Type II Diabetes are not so fortunate. Theirs lasts a lifetime. If you would like more information about either the challenge or Cassie's personal story, please head over to her blog.

I decided to create a card that used the challenge colors but also had a happy message. I used All Wrapped Up form Pink Papery Studios and printed it off on my computer. I colored in the picture with my copics and stampin' write markers. I then followed today's sketch challenge over at SCS for the layout, layering gray and red card stock, as well as Christmas DP. I added two small pictures from the original image to the corners and added some metal swirl clips and pearl stickers to the opposite corners. I threaded through some red ribbon, tied a bow and popped of the main image in the center. I think this makes a really beautiful Christmas card.

Well, I am out of here for tonight! I am baking a cake and need to go pull it out of the oven. Have a wonderful evening and thanks as always for stopping by!!!

Birthdays, Cowgirls and Moose, Quite the Combination!

Happy Monday y'all! I am trying to get you in the mood for one of my cards.

Thanks for coming back to visit me. Well this morning started off somewhat pleasant, weather wise and has completely deteriorated. Man is it cold. I am hoping that Jason will light a fire tonight. The first one of the season!

Izzy was able to have a little playtime with the little boy next door this afternoon. I think it is so good for her. She seems to be in awe of him! She just follows him around and watches everything he does. The good thing is she shares! Now if I could just get her to do that with kids her own age we would be in business! Hopefully this week I can schedule a little play date with one of her friends!

Well November is definitely the month for birthdays. My cousin's birthday was last week, two of my other cousins birthdays are next week and my neighbor's son turns 11 (how the time flies) this Saturday. So I really need to get moving. That is why I created this card, (sorry I missed your birthday Holly) for this week's Magnolia Vs. Stampavie challenge. This week's challenge was a sketch!

I know that you are not a little girl anymore Holly, but I know you'll enjoy this anyway! I started this card off by stamping Lily - Teddy Travels by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie on a piece of white card stock. I then colored her in using my copic markers and my stampin' write markers. Next, I layered her on a piece of green card stock and a piece of orange card stock that I scalloped one edge with using my Martha Stewart edge punch. I then layered her on a piece of DP and a piece of green card stock. I tied some pink organdy ribbon around the card and added three green brads to the corner of the image. I finished the card off by cutting out the sentiment "Birthday" in both green and orange, using my Cricut machine. I went ahead and popped it off to give the card some dimension. I really think she will like all the bright colors.

Okay, my second card for today has a little bit of a story to go with it. This card actually started out as a congratulatory card for my neighbor's son Caleb. He received a one at State for his piano playing two weekends ago! I am so proud of him. Well I have really been contemplating what kind of card to make. He is 12 and a boy, and I really don't have any 12 year old boy stamps. So, when I received this stamp set in the mail last week, the old noodle got to work and came up with the perfect card. I was going to stamp this little cowboy (I know he is a little juvenile, but you have to work with what you have) and then put "Congratulations" on the outside and "For wrangling up a one at state!" on the inside. Cute huh? Well, while I was coloring up the cowboy, I realized he is actually a cowGIRL!!!! Shoot! I can't believe this. So I decided to change it into my cousins birthday card. She is a tomboy so she will really like it. I figured Caleb might be a little insulted if I went ahead and gave it to him.

I used this week's MojoMonday Sketch Challenge for the layout and the idea for the buttons came from this week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge to use buttons on your card. I started off by stamping Giddy Up! by Sugar Nellies on a piece of white card stock and coloring her in with my copics and markers. I then layered her on two pieces of DP and a piece of blue card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on DP, red card stock and blue card stock. I looped a piece of brown ribbon across the top and used my Martha Stewart edge punch to create the border on the bottom. I stamped the sentiment "Howdy" from MFT's Ride'em Cowgirl on a piece of whisper white and punched it with edge punch. I then mounted it on a piece of blue card stock and popped it off the card. I finished it off by adding three star buttons to the top. The inside of the card will say "Birthday! I hope you were able to rustle up tons of fun!" I just know she will love it!!

My final card I made for my neighbor to give to their friends at Thanksgiving. Beth said that she wanted a card for Thanksgiving that include a moose. Well of course I grabbed my Turkey Mosse Riley by Hanna Stamps. I used last week's Hanna Sketch challenge for the layout.

Okay, so once I stamped him, all I kept thinking about was, wouldn't it be hilarious if he was asked to bring the Turkey for dinner and he actually brought a Turkey? (Sick, I know) but I just couldn't stop thinking about it! So, I started off by stamping Riley on a piece of white card stock and coloring him in with my copics and markers. I then hand drew the background scene, so that it would look like he was standing on some one's front porch and colored it in. Next, following the sketch, I layered on red card stock, brown card stock and DP. I printed off the sentiment and cut it out, along with a piece of red card stock and a piece of brown card stock using my nesties. I popped it off the background along with the main image. I already gave it to Beth and she loved it! I am so glad, I wasn't sure if anyone else would get it.

Well today has been a great day! I hope that all of you had as wonderful of a day has I did! Thanks for stopping by!

Giving Thanks and Dashing Through the Snow!

Happy, Happy Saturday everyone!

Sorry I am posting so late this evening, it has been one crazy day! It is so cold here that it actually spit snow!!! I guess that makes it official, today was the first day of winter!!!! Okay, I am not really all that excited. I actually hate cold weather, but it also means that Thanksgiving is just around the bend and then Christmas!!!!

So last night I had my rehearsal and then today was my performance at my neighbor's church. I really wasn't too nervous, which is surprising. I didn't play all that well, but everyone was so gracious and supportive that I felt like a star. I wasn't too awful, although on one of the hymns, I got lost every single time we played it and it was the easiest one of all!! I just couldn't seem to find the beat! So I just pretended to play so that no one would notice! I used to do a lot of that in school. Oh and I would like you to know my mother yelled at me for not practicing! I thought that was supposed to stop after you moved out. I mean I am almost thirty years old and live 3 1/2 hours away, shouldn't there be some sort of buffer zone or time limit on nagging me to practice?!

We ran to Target tonight to get Izzy a winter coat. Poor thing has had to wear her bee costume jacket the last week. I would have just run and gotten her one of her own, but when I did that last month with her Christmas dress, I got a pouty face from Jason. He wants to be involved in picking out her clothes, which is really sweet, but in this case made it more difficult since we had to wait for him to have some free time to go shopping.

Well, I have so many wonderful blessings to be thankful for this holiday season. I have a wonderful daughter, a loving husband, a fantastic little doggie (okay, most of the time, just don't ask me how thankful I am after he has gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom) and a wonderful extended family. I am also grateful for all of my friends who support me in my stamping and all the wonderful comments and support I receive from all of you. I just found out today that one of my cards is featured on Pink Cat Studios blog! I am simply amazed and humbled! Thank you! (tearing up here!)

Okay, enough mushy gushy stuff, my first card for tonight is a Thanksgiving card. I feel that Thanksgiving is the forgotten holiday. We were just talking about this the other night, how it seems like once Halloween is over all the Christmas stuff comes out in full force. Jason is actually on a Christmas boycott right now. He wants nothing to do with it if it is Christmas related. So in honor of him, I created a Thanksgiving card. I used Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try challenge for the layout.

I just love the Thanksgiving sets from SUInk and More! I started this card off by stamping the boy and sentiment from Giving Thanks and the turkey and cornucopia from Bountiful Harvest on a piece of white card stock and colored them in with my copics and stampin write markers. To create the scene around the boy, I masked him off and drew a table and some grass, then stamped the cooked turkey and cornstalks from Bountiful Harvest. I colored all of them in and cut the image out. I cut out the sentiment, turkey and cornucopia using my nesties and following the sketch, layered on brown card stock, goldenrod card stock and DP. I think it really turned out sweet. Okay, I will admit though that I have a spacial reasoning problem. This always happens to me! I go to assemble a card and the elements are too big! Pretty soon I am going to wind up with a 20' X 20' card, at the rate I am going! lol!

Alright, so did I get another Christmas song stuck in your head? I love Christmas songs and anything Christmas, so I don't mind it coming early! (Don't tell Jason!!!) I just couldn't resist making another Christmas card! I was so fortunate because one of my new Christmas stamps just arrived yesterday and this week's Sketch Saturday challenge is just so creative and fun, I had to give it a go!

Isn't it cute?!!! The stamp is from Elisabeth Bell who designs the Whiff of Joy stamps. This stamp is offered through Funky Kits and is part of the Sugar Nellies stamp line! I am so glad I found it. I started this card off by stamping Jingle Bells by Sugar Nellies on a piece of white card stock and colored it in using my copics and markers. I then added touches of gold with my gold glitter pen to give it some sparkle. Then, following the sketch, I layered, red, green and blue card stock along with some Christmas DP. I stamped the sentiment, which I received free with purchase, thank you!!!, on a piece of light blue card stock. I popped the side rectangle and the main image off the card and added three snowflake buttons to the bottom corner. To give them a little more color, I added a few blue rhinestones to the center. I just love the layered look with the rounded corners. This sketch is definitely going in my resources file.

Sorry about the picture quality on these cards. I usually take them in full daylight, but it got dark on me too quickly tonight. Jason has promised me a light box sometime (hopefully) in the near future, so I shouldn't have this problem again.

Well, this is it for me tonight! Thank you so much again for all the wonderful comments and the encouraging words! I read each and every one! Have a great weekend!!

Thangiving Greetings and Christmas Treats!

Happy Thursday!

Just one more day until Friday! I can't believe how quickly this week has gone by! It is crazy. Tomorrow, Jason, Izzy, Tuxy and I are going into Kansas City to visit my in laws. Every year Jason's mother's side of the family hosts a Christmas party and this year it is my mother-in-laws turn. I can hear your question now in my head (everybody has been asking it when I tell them), but they used to try to have it in December and then it got pushed back to just before Thanksgiving and now it has gotten pushed back even further. November and December and just crazy busy! I think from now on they are just calling it a family get together!

The nice thing is Jason has the day off tomorrow, so we can take our time driving in. It is supposed to be chillier tomorrow and Saturday, which is a shame, but it will be really neat to see all the fall colors. It really doesn't truly feel like fall until the air is crisp and there is that cold air smell. Who knows what I am talking about?

Well Izzy is getting bigger and bigger by the day. Today I was making her breakfast and had the fridge door open. The little stinker went over, pulled out the cheese and strawberries (I don't know how well those go together, especially since it was taco cheese) and put them on the table. I couldn't believe it. I have never seen her do that before. And this morning while I was stamping, she opened up my stamping scrub pad and scrubbed one of my stamps clean. (Tearing up). She is a big girl!!!!! OOOOOOHHHH, I just had an epiphany! Since she is obviously stamping now, Jason will have to buy her some stamp sets of her own, that mommy can borrow! I am a genius!!!

On to the cards! Late yesterday afternoon, I went outside to get the mail and guess what little goody was in the mailbox? Not chocolate, not a million dollars; it was stamps from SUInk and More! I was so excited. They came just in time for me to participate in this week's Watchadoin' Wednesday Challenge. This week's challenge was to create a scene with your stamps. Well since we are basically going to a Thanksgiving party this weekend, I knew that I wanted to use my brand new Thanksgiving sets.

Isn't it sweet! I seriously used almost every color of yellow, brown and blue ink that Stampin' Up makes to create the background. My hands are stained from all the ink! Lol! To start this card I stamped the boat and pilgrim girl from Bountiful Harvest by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored them in with my copics and stampin' write markers. I then stamped the Native American girl from Giving Thanks and colored her in with my copics and stampin write markers. To create the waves/ocean, I used a sponge and (here goes) almost amethyst, ballet blue, bashful blue, bordering blue, night of navy, and tempting turquoise. I then ripped the paper in strips and added it to another sheet of paper, overlapping as I went. I then adhered the ship to the top wave. Next I created the sand and rocks using the same technique as I did the water except I used summer sun, so saffron, apricot appeal, caramel, close to cocoa and chocolate chip. I cut out rock shapes and adhered them around the sand. I then added some shading with my copics and filled in the sky. I popped of the two girls and the scene was complete. I then layered the image on a piece of brown card stock and a piece of DP. I repeated this layering in the background adding some blue paper. I created a banner with the sentiment I stamped from Bountiful Harvest and added two brads. I can't wait to give it to my mother-in-law!

My second project for today uses another set from SUInk and More called Kiss the Cook. I love this set. I couldn't wait to use it. I actually combined two different challenges to make this project. I used today's Ways to Use it challenge over at SCS, which was to use corner punches and Tamara's Sketch Challenge over on her blog.

I decided to create a gingerbread house kit. I used to be an elementary school teacher and the 5th grade team at the school I taught at used to have the kids make gingerbread houses out of grahmn crackers, royal icing and candy. Even my kindergartners couldn't wait to get to fifth grade to be able to do the project! Actually I just saw one of my old coworkers who told me that one of my former kindergartners (who is now in fifth grade!!! What! I can't be that old, can I?) asked about this the first day of school. lol. Anywhoo, I got to thinking about that and decided what a wonderful little gift this would be. I had an extra little bakery box that I picked up at Michaels some time ago and knew that I would be the perfect size for my kit. I started off by stamping the girl, stove, bowls, utensils and gingerbread house from the Kiss the Cook set on white paper and some DP. I colored them and paper pieced the images. I then used Tamara's sketch and my slot punch to layer on the images to pieces of burgundy card stock, teal card stock and DP. I stamped the sentiment on the middle rectangle and popped off the three mini tags. I attached the images to the top of the box, filled it up with my food and tied a white ribbon around it. Lastly I popped off the little girl chef. I can't wait to give it out!! It is such a fun and easy project although in my experience, most of the houses don't actually get made because the ingredients get eaten up!

Well that is it for me today! I am off to do some more stamping and to get packed! Have a great rest of the day, I know I will! Thanks as always for all the wonderful, encouraging comments! They really inspire me!

MFTapalooza and Where is my Mojo?

Happy Tuesday everybody!!

It is just beautiful here today! Although it was only thirty degrees when I woke up this morning, it is now around fifty and not a cloud in the sky. Izzy and I are going to try to get out a little this afternoon. I am feeling a little under the weather with a tickle in my throat. I just can't seem to get enough energy up to really do anything. I am excited about stamping, but I can't seem to actually get started on anything or motivated enough to really get my projects the way I want them to. I am hoping I will feel better tomorrow and my mojo will return.

Well I went to Curves last night and used my smart tag for the first time. Usually I just go and do the circle twice and I am done. Well I haven't been happy lately with how much weight I have been losing, namely none, so I went ahead and signed up for the smart tag last week, which acts as a personal trainer. Can you say almost died!!!! My friend Beth was there with me and I told her she was no longer my friend since she did not accurately prepare me for the torture that is the smart tag. I did feel better after I finished but I am going to continue to play the victim card so I can get some sympathy.

Last week I was so busy that I didn't get to really play in any of the challenges I wanted to so this week I am doing my darndest to stay on target. It just so happens that all the cards I have made so far this week have used my MFT sets. I don't know why, I guess I am just in an MFT mood. I am actually going to share two of them today.

The first card is a card for Monday's Who's that Girl Challenge. This week the challenge was to use the set Falling for You along with something you found outside in nature. Here is what I came up with.

This is actually an ATC shaker card. It didn't start out this way. I did have the idea at first to make a shaker card, but I actually stamped the main image in the set. I colored it in and was working on the background when I decided that it just wasn't right. I couldn't get the colors the way I wanted them and I just didn't have the heart to restamp it and try again, so I grabbed the tree from the set and colored it in. I then folded a piece of acetate in half glued around the outside edges and slipped the colored image inside. I then got out my $1 leaf punch that I found at Target (last time I was there they still had a few; I use mine all the time), and punched out several leaves out of red, orange and yellow card stock. I then slipped them inside my acetate pouch to make them appear as though they are falling from the tree. I then took a piece of card stock and cut out an opening to make a frame around my shaker. I attached the whole thing to a piece of brown card stock and added the photo corners I made out of brown and plaid card stock. I then went out into the freezing cold last night and picked up a few sticks and glued them to the side to make them look like a tree. I finished the card off by adding a few more punched leaves and three pumpkins I stamped and colored from the Falling for You set. I do like how it turned out. There was a few minutes there where I was sweating, but overall I am pleased.

The second card I made for today is a sketch challenge card for the website I {heart} 2 Stamp. I really like this sketch. It is unusual. Below is the sketch.

Isn't it fun and different? Well when I saw it I new I needed some sort of small square or rectangular image. Well I just picked up the new Christmas Owls set over at MFT and hadn't inked it up yet. It was perfect!

I am so happy I picked up this Christmas paper at Archiver's, it has a little bit different twist on traditional Christmas. Well I first started by stamping the main image from Christmas Owls and colored it in using my stampin' write markers and copics. I then added diamond stickles to the wire to make it look like icicles and liquid applique to the hats to give them some poofy texture. I mounted the image on a piece of green card stock and then a piece of red card stock. Following the above sketch, I layered different pieces of Christmas DP and card stock. For the main background I used my swiss dots embossing folder to create the texture. I then stamped the sentiment three times on some circles of card stock I cut out with my nesties and popped it off the page. For a finishing touch I added an ornament charm I had left over from last year. I am pretty pleased with the way this came out. I think I might do a few things differently coloring wise next time though.

Well that is it for me today. I am going to go rest for awhile if Izzy lets me. I get to watch Melaina again tomorrow so I should have some new pictures to share. As always thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughtful comments. Thanks!

Who is up for a Challenge?

Happy Thursday!

It was a perfect fall day here today. The sky was clear, the air was crisp and it just smelled like fall. I still can't believe that it is already October! It feels like it should still be June, where does the time go?

Well today was pretty busy for me. I did three challenges today, one for SCS, one for MFT and one for Simply Sista's. It is so much fun to stretch your imagination to fit the requirements. Izzy even helped me today. She colored on all my cards with markers (the caps were still on) and helped me throw all my scraps away. It is her new favorite thing to put stuff in the trash. I sometimes have to dig through the cans when I am missing something because she has thrown it away.

This evening we went over to Tracy's for dinner. Izzy of course did not want to leave. She just has such a good time with her. I am glad, it is nice to have such a good friend who is close to your children. Izzy of course loves it too because she is constantly spoiled by Aunt Tracy. In fact she will only eat Craisins at Aunt Tracy's if Aunt Tracy hand feeds her. On the tray isn't good enough for my girl. Can you believe it!!!!!

Well here is my first challenge. It was this weeks What's Up Wednesday Challenge for MFT. The challenge this week was to create a box using an MFT stamp set. Well since I missed the pizza box challenge last week over at SCS I decided I wanted to give it a try. I think we might use this as one of our door prizes for our Halloween party.

Isn't it cute. I just love my goo punch. I started this box off by scoring, cutting and folding my box using the directions for last weeks SCS challenge. I then stamped the main image from How Sweet It Is by MFT on a piece of whisper white, two pieces of Halloween DP and a piece of dark purple. I then colored in the witch's body, candy and background with my stampin' write markers and paper pieced the rest. I then mounted it on a piece of black DP. I cut a square piece of DP and used my goo punch around all four edges. I adhered it to a piece of Halloween DP at an angle and popped off the stamped image. I next added a brad to each of the four corners, tied a Halloween ribbon around the lid, added a witch's hat button and filled the box with candy. For a final touch, I printed off the sentiment on my computer, added Halloween DP and black card stock behind it and drew in some cobwebs. It really turned out great! I am sure everyone will be fighting over it!

For my next challenge card I used the Ways to Use it Challenge over at SCS which was to use plaid in your card. Well I knew that I had the absolute most beautiful, fall piece of card stock (it came from a pet themed pack), and I couldn't wait to use it. I have also been dying to use a new digi stamp from Simply Sista's and Card Scents that will soon be released, so it worked out perfect for me.

Doesn't it just make you want to go driving through the park? I started by printing off Girl on a Scooter on a piece of white card stock and colored her in using my markers and silver gel pen. I then drew in the sidewalk, grass and sky and punched out little leaves from colored card stock with my dollar punch I found at Target!! Next I placed my gorgeous piece of plaid DP as the background, off set two pieces of rectangular card stock in the left corner (one brown and one turquoise), added faux stitching and popped off the stamped image. I added a skinny rectangular piece of brown card stock to the bottom, punched out some more leaves on a piece of orange and tied a piece of brown organdy ribbon across them. I finished the card off by adding three yellow brads and scenting it with "Autumn". I just love all the rich colors and texture!

My final card is a card for the Simply Sista's and Card Scents Wednesday Design Team Challenge. This week's challenge was to create a project using the colors pink and black. Love the pink. I immediately thought of my digi bubblegum machine stamp from Simply Sista's.

This was kind of a difficult card for me. I printed off the image, colored it in with my marker's and then got stuck on the paper. I played around a lot with different DP and finally settled on some really cool fuchsia and pink vellum that I have. I cut out a bunch of different size circles using my nesties and then adhered them so that they looked like they were coming out of the bubblegum machine. I then printed off the sentiment, added a piece of black card stock behind it and threaded through some fuchsia organdy ribbon. To finish the card off I added crystal effects to the globe on the bubblegum machine and scented it with "sugar cookies". (I need to get some more scents, this was the only sweet one I had!) I love this card. It is just so fun and whimsical!

Well that is it for me! I am signing off! Thank you as always for stopping by! Your support is appreciated!!

Three, Count them Three, Posts Today and an Izzy Bonus!

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

Boy has it been a busy one here so far. I have been stamping staining and pretty soon we will be partying. I have been trying to compete in more and more challenges over at SCS, the sketch challenges are my favorite. Actually all three of my cards I am sharing today are challenge cards. It is so much fun to stretch yourself to meet the requirements. I think that is my favorite part. We have also been staining our deck. Whoever thought having lots of decks and fencing was a good thing is crazy!!! Oh wait it was us, never mind. Tonight we are going to a Halloween party (not a costume party) over at Izzy's friend Lucy's house. I think it will be lots of fun. They are getting to that age where they will play with one another by insisting that they have the toy the other is playing with and then tossing it when they get it. Ahh, what an enjoyable age!

Okay so here is project number one, it is an apple picking invitation. I wanted to try the Watchadoin' Wednesday Challenge over at SUInk and More. (I know it is Saturday, but who is counting). This weeks challenge was to create an invitation of some sort. I immediately thought of apple picking since I have always wanted to go. But when I made up my invitation I thought it wasn't special enough soooo, I created a little favor to go with it.

Isn't it cute. Guess what the best part is? It smells like apple pie!!!!! Isn't that fantastic! I started off by stamping the boy from Leaf it to Me by SUInk and More on a piece of white card stock. I also stamped a basket, some apples and the sentiment on white card stock. I colored them all in using my stampin' write markers and cut out the basket, the boy and the apples. Next I printed out my invitation on a piece of white card stock, and mounted it to a piece of fall DP and a piece of dark red card stock. I then popped off the boy and placed the colored apples in the lower corners. I cut out the stamped apples using my circle nesties and adhered the basket on top. Next I cut out a piece of fall DP and a piece of dark red card stock using my nesties and popped it off the top. Quick and easy invite. For the favor, I used a bucket I picked up at Target, two for a dollar and filled it with a stick, apple and caramel cup. Then I used my nesties to cut out the sentiment, fall DP and dark red card stock. I adhered it using dimensionals to a long piece of fall DP and dark red card stock. Instant favor. Doesn't it just put you in the mood for fall. No? Well this will, I finished up by putting a little "apple pie" smell from Simply Sista's and Card Scents around the edges. It smells so good, I could eat it.

My second card if for the little girl whose party we are going to tonight. A couple of weeks ago she gave Izzy a little purse that Izzy had been eyeing. It is so cute, it looks almost like a Burberry pattern. Izzy carries it everywhere. She has it hooked onto the back of her Izzy stroller and pushes it across the deck filling up her purse with all sorts of odds and ends she finds. I wanted to give her a card that was both kiddy and glamorous, so of course I reached for my Lilly set from Pink Cat Studio.

Isn't she darling!!! I decided to use this weeks Taylored Expressions Cup Cake Challenge for the layout. I started off by using some glitter paper for my background (the more bling the better). Next I Stamped Lilly and Tweet on a piece of white card stock and colored them in with my markers. I cut her out using my nesties and added some liquid applique to the scarf along with some glitter. Next I cut out three different pieces of DP and cut them out with my nesties. I mounted them on green paper and added them to the card. I faux stitched all around the circles and added pearls and rhinestones everywhere!!! I finished her off by stamping the sentiment on a piece of white card stock, mounted it on DP, put eyelets at the ends and threaded through a piece of green ribbon. I couldn't resist and added one more rhinestone. The best part is she also smells. Vanilla this time. I think Lucy will love her!

My final card is actually a combination of two challenges. See I told you I was busy! This card was created for the Hanna Stamps Friday Challenge and also for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I have to say this was a little bit difficult for me. I wanted a pumpkin in my card, but Riley in a circle above it looked kind of funny so I changed him into an apple. It is a loose interpretation of Beate's Sketch, but I think it still works.

I call it "Fall Riley". Pretty creative, huh? I know, I know I should be a writer or something. So here is how he was made, minus all the fiddling to make it right. I started off by stamping Pumpkin Patch Riley by Hanna Stamps on a piece of vanilla card stock. I colored him in with my prisma color pencils and cut him into an apple shape. I then cut a piece of green card stock slightly larger, mounted it behind Riley and stuck on a stem and leaf. I then cut out a pumpkin shape out of orange DP, added some shading with my pencils, cut out a leaf, stem and spiral to the top and finished it off by stamping "Happy Fall Y'All" in the middle. I added the pumpkin to the bottom, popped off Riley at the top, and finished the card with three orange brads down the side. Take a wild guess what this card will smell like. "Autumn". See, how appropriate.

Well I am off to get ready for the party, but first the Izzy picture!

Isn't she silly! What a cutie!

Thanks again for stopping by, I always enjoy reading every ones comments. Have a great rest of the weekend!!

Treats, Treats and More Treats!

Happy Monday!


I hope that everybody had a good day. Izzy and I had a wonderful day. I am so excited I am the new ambassador for My Favorite Things Stamps for the month of November! Can you believe it. I can't. I kept rereading the e-mail, positive that they sent it to the wrong person. It is such an honor to be include in such a wonderfully talented group of people. The ideas that these women come up with and then implement is mind boggling. So that is my good news today. I have basically been floating around the house. I called everyone I knew and shared the news, but can you believe it, Jason was in a meeting when I tried to call him. It was the middle of the afternoon before I was able to tell him. It was torture I tell you torture.


Oh, a quick Izzy story to share. This evening, Izzy decided to empty out her toy box in the middle of the living room and found a pair of Izzy sized sunglasses. Now, in the past I have tried to get her to wear these approximately, ohhhh, 60 million times and it was always a no go. Well tonight she came up to me, handed them to me, said please and waited patiently for me to put them on her. Once I did she paraded around the house posing and giggling at herself. I am telling she is bound for stardom in her eyes. She just loves the attention!


Okay so here is my first project for the day. This Hot Chocolate Ornament I created in honor of my new position as ambassador.



Isn't it so sweet. This ideas was inspired by a treat bag I saw over at Lauren Meader's blog. I started off my stamping the image A Scarf for Three by MFT stamps on whisper white, red card stock, light green card stock and dark green card stock. I then stamped the image on three kinds of Christmas DP. I paper pieced the snowmen and colored the scarf, border and background in using my Stampin' write markers. I colored their faces in using my prisma color pencils. I then added liquid applique to their hats and crystal effects to the border. I finished the image off by adding star brads to their shirts. I layered the image on a piece of silver card stock and then on a piece of Christmas DP I scallop punched. I wove a piece of ribbon through the holes and tied bows in each corner. In the lower right corner I left the ribbon tails long and added two snowflake buttons. I finished off the image by adding a snowflake button to the upper right hand corner. I filled a pastry bag with premium hot chocolate and added the image to the top. I threaded through a piece of white ribbon to make a hanger. It would be perfect on any ones Christmas tree.


The next project I created using the new Halloween Digi stamps over at Simply Sista's. This is the candy apple treat bag.



I originally saw the premise for this idea over at Bethany Paull's blog. When I saw these new stamps I was so excited because I new they were perfect. I started off by printing the three caramel apples from the Halloween Pkg 1 set over at Simply Sista's. I colored them in using my prisma pencils and my stampin' write markers. I then stamped the sentiment "yum, yum" from Tasty Sweet by Stampin' Up above and below my image. I cut the image out and layered it on top of a piece of fall DP. Next I round punched each corner of the DP and adhered it to a piece of pumpkin pie card stock. I added green brads to each corner and added a brown organdy ribbon to the top. Next I filled a bag with an apple, a mini caramel cup and a stick, stapled it up and stuck on my tag. Voila instant kids treat. Wouldn't these be great for a kid's school party? Festive and fun!


Well that is it for me today. Thanks for sharing in my joyful news!

I Am On Fire!

Happy Monday!

It was such an icky day here, that both Izzy and I slept in this morning. It was so hard to roll out of bed since it was so dark. Where has the summer gone? That is the only thing that I don't like about the coming fall, the days get shorter and shorter. I hate not being able to take walks at night. It puts me in a bad mood.

Well, Izzy is pretty much down to just a runny nose. She is running around the house again terrorizing Tuxy. I swear it is like they really are brother and sister. They both just can't stand to not be picking on the other one.

Izzy had a wonderful time yesterday with Jason aka Daddy. They played out in the yard together, read lots of stories and even went on a walk. Jason took care of her all day. It was so nice, I was really able to get my stamp on! And boy did I.

Here is the first card I wanted to share with you. It is for our neighbor's son who just recieved a 1 at districts in piano. That means that he will now be going on to state. Yeah Caleb, we are so proud of you!!!!

I wanted to incorporate music in this card, obviously, so I used this music themed paper. Then I wanted to stamp something that a 12 year old boy would like. I went through all my stamps (no to hearts, no to shoes, no to purses, no to flowers). I was running out of ideas (I am very low on 12 year old boy themed stamp sets), until I came across this adorable set by Stampin' Up called Under the Stars and bam! it was perfect. I stamped the bear on very vanilla cardstock and colored him in using my prisma colored pencils. Next I stamped the stars and s'mores and colored them in adding a touch of glitter to the edges of the stars. I mounted them on some black inchies and added them down the side. I stamped the sentiment and mounted it and the bear on black card stock adding a little DP to the bear. To tie the colors together I stuck on a piece of brown organdy ribbon and then a piece of black grossgrain on top. It is so cool and turned out just the way I wanted it!

The next card was of course a Halloween card. I told you, I am no longer holding back.

I love this layout. I was on Splitcoast this weekend and saw tons of card with this similar layout and wanted to try it out. I used black card stock as my base and then pieced two different Halloween papers to create the three windows. Then I stamped Trickortreatabella by Stamping Bella. I colored her in using my Prisma color pencils (I love how she turned out). Then I popped her off the card. I threaded black and orange ribbon around the card and tied 4 pieces of ribbon around it to resemble a spider. Then I glued a sparkle spider button I got at Michaels to the center. Finally, I attached a "Halloween" button to a piece of Halloween DP, then to black cardstock and popped it out in the corner. Perfect! I am so in the mood for Halloween!

Finally, I wanted to publish the drawing that my neighbor did of Izzy! It is so beautiful.

Well thanks for stopping by! Have a great rest of the day!

It is On!!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Jason is finally home! Yeah!!! Both Izzy and I are thrilled, we have really missed him this week.

Izzy is feeling better. Still a little stuffed up, but definitely back to her stinky self. Now I have to contend with our dog. He is driving me crazy!!! (If anyone who wants a 5 year old Boston Terrier who is completely insane, contact me). I do love him, but for some reason the last two nights he has been getting up in the middle of the night to go potty. Not just once, not just twice but three or four times! He is worse than I was when I was pregnant. The strange thing is he doesn't go that often during the day and we aren't giving him lots of fluids before bedtime. I think he is secretly punishing us for Jason being gone the last three days. He's cunning I tell you, cunning.

I wanted to share some more good news, at least to us. My wonderful neighbor, Beth, last week called and asked me for a picture of Isabella; she wanted to try drawing again. I gave her my favorite picture of Izzy and on Thursday she gave me her picture that she had drawn (I will be sharing the drawing tomorrow). It is the most beautiful drawing I have ever seen! I almost cried when I saw it. It looks exactly like her and it is extra special because Beth created it with love. I don't know what we did to deserve such great neighbors, but I feel incredibly lucky.

Okay, so enough sappy stuff and onto my project for today. I figure it is close enough to October to start posting Halloween nonstop. I am no longer holding myself back. From here on out it will be Halloween 24/7 out our house! Yeah!!!!! I am so excited. So to mark the first day of the Halloween extravaganza, I am posting a bag I made for the giveaway at our Halloween party!

Isn't this cute! We are going to fill it with candy. I created the bag out of a 11 1/2 in. tall X 8 1/2 in. wide piece of lavender card stock. I scored the piece of paper horizontally at 2 in. and 8 in. Next, I scored vertically at 1/2 in., 4 1/2 in., 6 in., 10 in., and 11 1/2 in. I then folded the bag up and glued it together. Next I used my Martha Stewart fence punch to punch out the fence in black. I then stamped the house from Monster Squad by MFT stamps on several pieces of Halloween paper by Stampin' Up and cut them out. I decided to pop out the roof to give it a three dimensional look. Next I colored in the windows and door and added a purple brad to the doorknob. I tacked on some more fence to the top of the roof and punched out some goo, using my Martha Stewart Goo punch, and added it to the bottom of the roof. To finish out the scene at the bottom of the bag, I stamped the stack of jack-o-lanterns from The Witching Hour by SUInks and More, colored them in using my Prisma color pencils and adhered them to the side of the house. To seal the bag, I punched through all layers with my rectangle punch and threaded through an orange ribbon. Next I cut out a tag shape from Halloween paper and a slightly smaller shape out of whisper white and stamped the sentiment "I Want Candy" from Monster Squad by MFT and attached it with the ribbon. Finally, I glued on a bat button I picked up from Michaels and voila, a totally cute and adorable Halloween treat bag.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

It is Officially Autumn Here in the Lou and Izzy Pictures!

Good Sunday evening everyone!

Sorry I was unable to post yesterday. I was busy finishing up some door prizes for our Halloween party and hangin' out with my husband and daughter. It was such a nice day but a little warm; it was in the nineties and super humid. We even considered getting in the pool. What a difference a day makes. It started raining about four in the morning and didn't stop until noon. Buy then the pool was overflowing and we couldn't pump the water out because the electricity was off. If finally came back on a couple of hours later. However it was only sixty-eight degrees today and really windy. You never know what is going to happen from day to day here!

The card I wanted to share today is a card I made for my husband's grandparents. They are two of the most wonderful, caring and nurturing people you will ever meet. Every time I see Jason's grandmother I feel like hugging her. She is so cute!!!! I am so glad that Izzy is able to have them in her life. So back to the card. I was completely inspired by some punches I recently bought at the Target Dollar Spot (love, love, love that place!). They had a whole bunch of scrapbooking items in the bins and I found an apple punch, a pumpkin punch and an oak leaf punch. I knew I want to use them for a fall leaf card so I created this:

I first stamped Mimi's Pumpkin Patch by Denami on a sheet of Whisper White card stock. I then colored her in using my prisma color pencils. I stamped her again and cut her out to pop her off the surface of the card. Next I used my new oak leaf punch to create a border on a piece of old olive card stock. I mounted this on a piece of pumpkin pie card stock and attached the whole lot to the card. I punched holes in all four corners and used some mini pumpkin brads I bought at Archiver's. It is so cute. I can't wait till they receive it!

Now what you have all been waiting for ... Izzy pictures!

This picture was taken last week on one of those beautiful end of Summer days. She was having such a great time running around the backyard and carrying her noodle around. Her favorite thing though was running up to mommy just when she was about to take the picture. I couldn't get her to stop putting her cute little mug up against the lens. lol.

This picture Jason took last weekend. Izzy was sitting in Jason's garden next to some of the largest and most beautiful zinnias you have ever seen. (I had to ask Jason what they were). Isn't she so sweet?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

A Special Thank You and a Gratuitous Grandma Posting

Happy Thursday!

It is pretty gloomy and icky here in St. Louis today. It is a little bit of a downer seeing as how beautiful the past couple of days have been. Izzy has really been enjoying it. She wonders around the back yard chasing Tuxy and then stares longingly at the pool. It will be so sad when we have to close it up in a couple of weeks.

Which reminds me Fall has officially started in the Loo. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. There is Back to School time (being a former teacher this does conjure up mixed feelings), Halloween and of course Thanksgiving. I just love seeing all the leaves changing and all the crisp weather that comes rolling in. I guess that is what inspired me to create this thank you card.


So here is the back story. I went to a stamping class last Saturday where we made the most adorable Halloween candy boxes. I will probably be posting it this weekend. Maggie the instructor used a new Martha Stewart punch from Michaels called Fence. Oh my goodness I fell in love. It is the cutest little fence, it can be all scary when punched out of black or cute when punched out of white, or fallish when punched out of brown. I repeat I am in love. Maggie informed us that she had bought the last one in St. Louis (of course she was too smart to actually bring the punch with her to the class because I am sure someone would have "borrowed" it, lol). So when I got home I immediately went online to order it. OUT OF STOCK! What!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I immediately called my mother to complain about the horrible injustice of it all when she said, that maybe she could call our family friend June back in Kansas City to see if she could track one down. Well June (who I will be nominating for sainthood) was able to fine one in Kansas and.......... she got if for 25% off. I am telling you it was meant to be. So I now have it in my hot little hands and cannot wait to begin using it.

Okay so back to the card. I made this card for her as a thank you to tell her how much I appreciated it. The card stock is Stampin' Up: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. The patterned paper is from a holiday stack I got a Michaels last year. I created the circles using my circle nestabilities and the the stamps sets are Falling For You by MFT and a thank you set I bought at Archivers, I believe it is Hero Arts. Don't you just love the leaves and the the tree. She really reflects how you feel when you dive into that first pile of leaves in the Fall. I then used my prismacolor pencils to color her and added a little ivory grosgrain ribbon. She came out perfect if I do say so myself.

Now for my Gratuitous Grandma Posting!

This is my daughter Izzy sitting underneath our gazebo on Sunday in her Rams jersey. Although It didn't help much. The Rams lost!

And herE she is yesterday. It was so beautiful I could hardly keep her inside. She as chasing our dog around the yard as usual, enjoying the sunny weather.

I hope you have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by!