On Twinkle Tuesday's We Love to Read and Fish!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Seems like this week is going by at a more sedate pace, thank goodness. I like to enjoy things and not rush through them so it is nice to finally have a week that is going by at a normally! LOL!

Izzy and I had a pretty nice day yesterday. For some reason I was really tired and didn't hardly want to do anything. I actually took a little nap! It felt so good I have to admit. Might just have to do that more often. I am really hoping the temperature is a little warmer today so we can at least go outside for a few minutes. Cross your fingers!

Well, alright. Down to the good stuff! It is Tuesday which means it is Twinkling Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!! I so love to see what Madelynn has come up with. She truly is a sketch genius!!! I dont' know how she does it. Ohhh and guess what? I have the honor of being this week's featured Twinkie!!! How cool is that! Thank you so much Madelynn! So without further ado, here is the this week's Twinkling Tuesday Sketch Challenge and my card!

Isn't it amazing!!! I just love the double panels for your image. And such a clean simple sketch to boot!! Although I have been told that putting an image in the middle is acceptable, I kind of went with the double panel image and created a little scene. I did however move my sentiment so I really hope that is okay Madelynn! Awesome sketch for a scene card! I hope you didn't doubt me! Remember I am the Sketch Queen so I should know about this! LOL! Anywhoo, I started this card by stamping Hanna, the lamp, books and table from Bookworm Hanna by Hanna stamps on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. I drew in the design on the lamp along with the picture using my copic multiliner pen, copics and SU! markers. Following the sketch, I layered on pink, orange and brown card stock along with some paper from American Craft. I stamped the sentiment, mounted it on pink and orange card stock, bent it and popped it off in the corner. To finish off the card I added faux stitching to everything basically because I like it!! LOL! I think it is a fun and girly card for anyone who enjoys reading!

Well, if you liked my card you should just see all of the amazing creations the DT has come up with this week! They will really knock your socks off so be sure to visit and give them some love. And as always make sure you come out and play this week! All you need to do is type in the keyword MTTSC10 when uploading to SCS or PCP.

Twinkies Links:

Bonnie
Cassie
Christi
Danni
Debbie
Heather
Jacquie
Jami
Jen
Jessica
Kim
Kimmie
Rebecca
Sandra
Taylor

So for my second project today, I really wanted to use my new Rock the Farm set from The Greeting Farm. I have had it for a week and a half and haven't used it yet!!! Gasp!!! I know, I know!! I just have been having so much fun with all my other TGF stamps that poor little Ian was sitting neglected. So Sunday I sat down and started this card. Of course I couldn't find my buttons so I had to wait until yesterday to finish it, but it is finally complete. I used this week's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge for the layout.

Could this little Ian be any cuter? Seriously!!! I just love the hat and the fish!!! Awesome!!! So I started this card by stamping Ian from Rock the Farm by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. I then cut him out using my nesties and mounted him on green and blue paper. Following the sketch, I layered on kraft card stock, red card stock that I ran through my spots and dots embossing folder and some DP from Basic Grey's Two Scoops. I went ahead and popped off my main image to give it some depth. To create the bobber sentiment, I cut out kraft, red and white card stock using my nesites and then layered them on. I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the white circle and added a black eyelet and twine to the top. To complete the fishing look, I made a little fishing net out of twine, attached it to the corner of my card and then glued on some fishing buttons. I went ahead and sponged chocolate chip around he edges to dirty them up. I really like how this card turned out. Close to what I had in my head!

Now for my quick Izzy story! So Izzy has decided that she likes to wear Mommy's shoes and socks. Every once in awhile she will disappear into our bedroom and then I will hear, "Click, Click, Click." She is trying to walk in one of my heels. It is so, so cute!! Never mind, I can hardly walk in some of the heels she tries to wear! LOL! Maybe she is going to be a fashion model some day! I mean she is already trying to bring back leg warmers! So here is my future beauty queen with her dog, Tuxy, standing in as her body guard!

Ahh, the joys of motherhood! LOL!!! Well thanks everyone for stopping by today! It has been fun! Lots of smiles!

Gotta Love Those Sketches!

Happy Monday everyone!

Well it is a winter wonderland here! It is in the teens and everything is covered in a couple inches of snow. Supposedly we are going to be hit by another winter storm tonight so Izzy and I are going to try to get all of our errands run today. I hate to get her out in this, but I think it is going to be even worse tomorrow!

Speaking of Izzy she of course had an awesome time with Daddy this weekend. She cooked for him and read on his lap a ton. She had a spring in her step all weekend. It is so cute! I know she is going to be sad that he is gone today, but it is nice to know that they have such a special bond with one another! Of course Daddy does almost anything she asks him to, which leaves mommy to be the mean one. Yesterday morning we went in to wake Daddy up like we do every weekend and Izzy was rolling all over the bed on top of us. She kept laying on Jason's back and snuggling up next to him. Finally Jason was awake enough to get up, so Izzy instructed him on what to do. When the two of them had gotten up, I asked Izzy if she was hungry. She said yes and then turned to her Daddy and said, "Waffles". That is her absolute favorite breakfast meal and Daddy is the only one who makes it. And of course he did!! He wouldn't want his daughter to go without her favorite breakfast! LOL!

Yesterday I was also able to get a lot of stamping done. I have a pretty busy week coming up. This week starts some Sneak Peeks for Storage Units, Ink and More, I going to be issuing a challenge for Pink Cat Studio and on the Sunday, Club Anya is going to be opening! It is going to be one awesome week!

Well, two of the projects I completed yesterday were for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge Extravaganza!! Taylor is celebrating a year of cupcake challenges with 9 different sketches provided by herself and the DT. Of course I am in sketch heaven!! You know how much I love my sketches, so to receive 9 in one day!!! I almost fainted! I was so excited!

My first card used Jami Sibley's sketch challenge. When I saw the sketch I immediately though of an inverted gate card. (Probably not the right name, but that is what I am calling it! LOL!) I also incorporated this week's Cute Card Thursday Challenge into my card which was to create a scene.

See how perfect the card is for a gate card!! I just loved the concept. I am not so sure about the card itself. It isn't that I don't like it, it is just that I am not 100% happy with it. So if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them! So I started this card off by stamping Winter Sadie and Pepper by Stampin' Spot Studio for All That Scraps on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. Then, using my copic multiliner pen, I drew in the grass, snowman, tree and birdbath. I colored all of them in with my copics. Following the sketch, I layered on teal and pink card stock along with some DP from DCWV. I used my nesties to cut out the circles behind Sadie and finished the card off by stamping the sentiment on some white card stock, placing it in some pewter hardware and attaching it to the card with a fuchsia ribbon. I really wanted to create a card that had a winter theme, but also gave the feel of one of those rare nice winter days where the sun is shining and it is a pleasure to be outside! Basically the opposite of what today is going to be like! LOL!

Well, my second card has a completely different kind of feel. It is another valentine for my husband. Poor Jason is going to be inundated with Valentine cards this year. Drastic change from last year, where I ran to Walgreen's Valentine's night, grabbed a bag of conversation hearts and presented it to him 5 minutes after I got home! LOL! Anywhoo, for this card, I decided to use Donna Baker's Cupcake Sketch for this card.

See, pretty romantic huh!! Of course that is what I look like in real life, so Jason will definitely know it is me!! I am just getting so tired of all of these stamp companies using my body as a model for their stamps! LOL!! Yeah right, I wish!! Maybe that would be my body with a ton of airbrushing! ROFL!!! Alright, back to business! I started this card off by stamping Hanna and two heart sets from Sweet Celebrations by Hanna Stamps on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. I mounted Hanna on some red card stock and black card stock, cut out the hearts and popped them off opposing corners. Following the sketch, I layered on red card stock, black card stock and 5 different kinds of DP from K and Company. To finish the card off, I attached two black satin ribbons and tied some bows! I just love this card and all the romantic colors!

That is it for me today! Don't be surprised if more of Taylor's sketches pop up this week! I just love them! And don't forget to come back tomorrow for my Pink Cat Challenge and of course Twinkling Tuesday!! Have a great rest of the day!! And thanks as always for stopping by!

A Little Bit of Winter and Some Muffins to Warm You Up!

Happy, Happy Friday everyone!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend planned. We should be having a nice one. I get to go to the stamping store again tomorrow and have lunch with Jason. He has to go into work tomorrow for about an hour so we are going to meet him and have lunch once he's done. We haven't done that in forever so I am really looking forward to it. Speaking of Jason's work, he just received an offer for a new job and he is going to accept it!!! I am so excited for him. He really likes the place he works at now, but in the computer field you always have to stay on top of your game so every once in awhile he looks for a new opportunity somewhere. I am really proud of him. He is so smart and talented. The best part for Izzy and I is that he will be a little closer to home! That means more Daddy time at night!

I have to say, I am so proud of Izzy too!! Yesterday when we went to the stamp store, she wanted to walk with me. I have taught her not to touch things, but you know how it is when there are cool things sitting out everywhere. Well, I am proud to say, she did not touch anything!!! She simply followed me around, holding the little basket with my stuff in it, pretending it was a purse. I really lucked out with her! She is such a good girl.

Well, I have some older projects to share today. I made these a couple of weeks ago and forgot that I had them until last night, so I decided to share them instead of the projects I created yesterday. My first card is a card I created following one of Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try's. I just loved how she used the circles in her sketch and wanted to give it a try!

I am loving my Cricut machine again. I went through a stage where I hardly ever used it and now I am back into using it almost every day!!! I don't know what my deal is. So, I started this card by coloring in Cross Stitch Tilda by Magnolia with my markers and copics. This was another image I received from my wonderful friend Kimmie. I then mounted her on maroon and blue card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on maroon and blue card stock along with some winter DP. I cut out circles with snowflakes in the middle using my Cricut machine and mounted them in the corner. To finish the card off, I added three brads down the side. I love this color combo for winter, it is cool and warm at the same time!

My second project for today is a fun and quick tag I made for my neighbor. She was making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins for Christmas and wanted little tags to put on the packages. (Don't worry, I am still trying to get her to give me the recipe!). Well, I was kind of Christmas colored out, and you know about my orange kick, so I decided to use more of a pumpkin, chocolate theme.

Don't you love Riley and Sophie?!!! They are both so cute!!! I know I need more of them, but explaining that you need more, rubber moose to your husband is a difficult task. So I started this tag out by stamping Baking Riley by Hanna Stamps on white card stock and colored him in using my copics and markers. I then layered on brown and orange card stock along with some Basic Grey DP. I used my nesties to cut out the scalloped rectangles and the computer to type my sentiment. This tag was so quick and easy to make, once I get the recipe I think I am going to give the muffins and tags away as gifts!

I am off to check out some more blogs and get caught up. Don't forget about the Pink Cat Studio Contest that is running until the 13th at 9pm EST. A Pink Cat stamp set is up for grabs! Have a great day and thanks as always for stopping by!

I Know I Have Been MIA and I am So Sorry!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I know it has been almost a week since I last posted, I am so sorry. Not only have I been neglecting my blogging duties, but I have also not been posting and visiting all of my wonderful blogging friends. Please forgive me. I had some sort of mild stomach virus last week and was so exhausted that I wasn't even able to stamp. Sunday was the first time I inked up something in almost a week. But boy did it feel good to get back into the swing of things. I actually completed six cards yesterday. Most of them I can't share yet, but boy was it nice to put ink to paper again!!!

Enough about me, onto Izzy!!! She had such a wonderful visit with my parents. She really missed my dad when he left. She actually keeps asking where he is, it is so cute!!! She is still loving her little kitchen set and actually made me dinner last night while I was taking pictures. It surprises me all the time how much she picks up on things. It is truly amazing. Oh and she is really jealous of Tuxy now. She absolutely does not want him to have anything of hers and does not want to share with him. It is kind of nice for me, because we can practice sharing, without having to have playdates all the time. I always knew there was a reason why I had a dog! lol!

Well, today is Tuesday and you know what that means!!! It is Twinkle Tuesday! Madelynn has created an awesome sketch again this week and so have all the Twinkling Girls!! I can't believe all the talent there is on this team. Of course, we would love to see how you used your awesome talents with this sketch also. All you need to do is when you upload you card to PCP or SCS to use the keyword, MTTSC4, so that we can see your beautiful creations all in one place!

Isn't this another great sketch!!! I really love the versatility of it! And I got to use my new set from Hanna Stamps!!! It just came in last week! It is so cute!! I can't wait to use it some more. I know a certain little girl, my niece Kelsey, who will be having a sleepover party coming up!! I wonder what her invitations will look like? lol! Okay so I started this card by stamping the long john girl from Slumber Party Hanna by Hanna Stamps on white card stock and colored her in using my copics and markers. I then mounted her on a piece of lavender and orange card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on DP, orange and purple card stock along with two pieces of green stitched ribbon. I angled the image and instead of the circle, I decided to stamp the throw pillows from the set and then punched out a "pillow" using my labels die from spellbinders. I stamped the sentiment in the middle and colored around the edge! Isn't it fun! I love this DP!

Well, be sure to check out all the rest of the DT's creations to see what they have created!

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

Okay, so the other thing I have really been trying to do is catch up on all my sketch challenges. You know how I love a sketch. Well, as hard as it was for me, I had to skip some because there just isn't enough time to complete them all. This sketch though was one I just couldn't put aside. This was the last Friday in December's Taylored Expression's Cupcake Challenge. The Button in the sketch just spoke to me and I couldn't resist giving it a try!

I guess I am into orange right now. I keep reaching for it. It is so weird because I usually can't stand orange, but it seems like that is the only color I am creating with right now. Anywhoo, I started this card by stamping the boy and girl from Will You Be My Valentine by SUInk and More (don't forget this set is now available for purchase!) on white card stock and colored it in using my markers and copics. I cut them out and mounted them on red and orange card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on two kinds of DP and added an orange ribbon with a large flower button. I completed the card by stamping the sentiment, mounting it on red card stock and adding three red brads down the side. Jason really loved this card when I showed it to him. I think he liked the simple design of the card.

Well, that is it for me today. Thanks for hanging in there with me over the past week. I apologize again for being such a bad blogger. I feel better now though and am slowly getting back in the game!

Twinkle Twinkle!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

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

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

Leigh
Amber
Laura

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Queen of The Sketches!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It Doesn't All Have to Be About Christmas...

and then sometimes it does!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Well the weather tricked me today!! It was icy this morning when I woke up, but by mid morning it was all gone and the sun has been shining ever sense. Well imagine my surprise when I went outside to take my pictures and about froze my you know what off. Man was it cold! My hands were like ice when I came back inside and I had only been out there a couple of minutes!! Poor Izzy was so excited about getting to go outside again, but even she was ready to come in after a few minutes!

Well, Izzy had quite the potty incident last night. I was finishing up my blog posting in the den while Jason was cooking dinner. (Yes, Jason does all the cooking and Yes, it is wonderful and No I don't feel guilty at all about it!! Lol!!) All the sudden Izzy is beside me and she is saying, "Potty, potty." So I look down to take her and she has manged to completely pull off her diaper. I guess she wanted to go, but it was too dark to go by herself. So I turned on the light and let her have at it. She didn't actually go, but it is a start. The next time I passed by the bathroom I went ahead and turned out the light. A couple of minutes latter I hear little feet and the door closing. I think she was in there in the dark for like ten minutes until I heard a little knock at the door for me to let her out. She is so silly!!

I have a couple of projects to share today! I am still slowly playing catch up from over the weekend, and to top it off my mom asked me to make some gift tags for her cookie exchange this weekend. I have been diligently trying to get them done so that they could get in the mail. I am proud to say I am finished! I will be sharing them a little closer to Christmas.

My first card is for today's Watchadoin' Wednesday Challenge over at SUInk and More. The challenge this week was to use a holiday stamp set for a non-holiday card. Well I can't tell you how much my hands have been itching to use my SUInk sets. I feel like it has been forever. Oh, how I have missed you my old friends! Lol! I used today's Sketch Challenge over at SCS for the layout!

The sentiment on the inside will read, "You are Such a Deer!" Get it, huh, huh? They are reindeer! I know pretty bad, huh? Okay, so I started this card by stamping a few reindeer from Deer Ol Santa by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored them in with my copics and markers. Following the sketch, I layered on brown card stock and three different kinds of card stock. (Isn't the paper yummy! It is from Basic Grey!! Love it!!) I then added some brown and pink stitched ribbon to the bottom, popped off my reindeer that I cut out with my nesties and added three pink brads to the top right!! I think it is so pretty and feminine. The perfect girl card!!

My second card for today is actually an incorporation of two different challenges. The first challenge was from A Spoon Full of Sugar and was to create a New Year's Card. (I hate to admit it, but I have been so obsessed with Christmas that I haven't even thought about New Years, so thanks for the jump start!) The second challenge was a sketch challenge this week over at Papertake Weekly. Here it is my New Year's Resolution...

to never do laundry again!! Yeah right!! Okay, so I actually received this Riley image from my friend and fellow Pink Papery DT member Shelly and now I have decided that I must, must, must own it!! I love it!! Thank you so much Shelly for stamping this up for me. I started this card off by coloring in my Laundry Riley by Hanna Stamps with my copics, markers, pencils and silver gel pen. I went ahead and drew in the floor and colored it in. Following the sketch, which is so cute and different, I layered on teal card stock, blue card stock, white card stock that I embossed with my snowflakes embossing folder and two kinds of DP. I added a ribbon across the bottom and added three snowflakes in the corner. I love the colors on this card!! Do you think if I give this to Jason he will take the hint? Lol!!

My final project today is a tag. And, okay I admit it, it is for Christmas, but it is not in your typical Christmas colors, so that makes it a little better, right? The tag is created for Pink Papery Studios Wednesday challenge which was issued by, drum roll please, ME!!! My first ever challenge that I issued myself. I challenged the DT to create a gift tag that used blue, purple, white and silver! Here you go!!

I wish the picture was crisper. This is really pretty in person. Okay so I started this tag off by cutting out the tree shape in both purple and white using my Cricut machine. I then embossed the white with my swirls embossing folder, sponged on Lovely Lilac ink and then traced over it with my glitter pen. (Ohh, sparkly!) I then printed off the sentiment and girl from Simply Christmas by Pink Papery Studios and colored her in with my markers and copics. I cut her out and adhered her to the tree. I then cut out the sentiment and adhered it to a piece of purple card stock and a piece of blue card stock and popped it off the tree. I finished the tag off by tying on a blue piece of ribbon. I really like this tag!! I think I might make a few more!!

Well, that is it for me today!! I hope have had a great day and have a great evening! As always, thanks for stopping by!!

I Have a Theme and It is Blue and Green!!

Happy Friday everyone!!

I am so glad that it is finally here!! Jason has been working from home today which has been great but the bad news is he will be gone tonight playing tennis. Bummer! That is okay, at least Izzy has been able to see him for awhile. She will get to spend all day with him tomorrow since I will be over at "Aunt" Tracy's helping her move into her new house!!! Yeah! So excited about seeing the new place, not so much about the actual moving part.

Izzy was so cute last night, I just have to share. Jason was a little late getting home and of course she was waiting in the window for him. Well when she arrived,she ran up to him and then ran into the kitchen. Jason followed her and started making dinner. About two minutes later I hear little feet running in toward me and I hear "Snuggles, Snuggles". I was trying to blog so I put the laptop down and she climbed in my lap and snuggled in for a minute. Then she jumped down and ran into the kitchen and I heard, "Daddy snuggles, snuggles!". Isn't that adorable. She was doing it all night. She is such a love bunny!

Alright, so I guess my theme for today is green and blue. That is not what I started out doing, but somehow it just wound up that way. Isn't it funny how stuff like that happens?! Lol!!

Well my first card for today sort of kind of fits All That Scraps Wednesday Challenge. This week's challenge was a color challenge to use Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky. Well I don't have any of these specific colors so I decided to use two shades of blue, one close to aqua and brown. Here is what I came up with.

I have a little bit of a twisted since of humor, so sorry if it isn't funny to anyone else. When I was making up the card I just kept thinking it would be so funny if the kid was throwing snowballs at anybody that got near the bear! See, get it? Okay, not that funny, oh well! I started off this card by printing (digi stamp) the little girl from Winter Sweetpea and Tiger and the bear and snowman from Winter Bear both by All That Scraps on white card stock and colored them in with my copics and markers. I then layered them on brown card stock and popped them off two kinds of snowflake DP, some brown card stock and some white card stock I embossed with my snowflakes embossing folder. I cut out snowflake shapes using my Cricut machine and mounted them in each corner. I used the Nature Hike wheel from Stampin Up for the sign and colored it in with my copics. I added a touch of white gel pen to the top to make it look like it was snowed on. To finish the card I glued on some winter buttons I have been hording. I just love this card! It is so wintery and fun!

For my second card, I created a baby card. I actually have problems with baby cards (I know, I have lots of problems, lol!). I love to make them, but I never seem to be able to get them to people. So I am making one in advance so it will be on hand. This card actually incorporates two MFT challenges. The first challenge is another of this month's ambassador challenges which was to create a card that had at lease three buttons on it and used the color blue somewhere. I used this week's MFT Sketch Challenge for the layout.

I love this little card!! I have had this stamp set for forever and have never used it, what is wrong with me? Anywhoo, I started this card by stamping the postage stamp, boy phrase and onesie from Baby First by MFT Stamps on white card stock and colored them in using my markers and copics. I went ahead and restamped the onesie on some DP and popped it off the image to give it some more dimension. Following the sketch, I layered on green card stock, blue card stock, and two different kinds of DP. I added a green stitched ribbon and lots of faux white stitching with my white gel pen. For the bottom I stamped the sentiment and then added three buttons. I think this would be a wonderful baby card!

Alright, my final card is in honor of my great grandfather. He was one of those guys who could fix just about anything with duct tape, just not very well. lol! In fact growing up we always used to tease him because if your dress was getting too short or your pants or whatever, he would say, "Just give me a piece of black velvet ribbon and some duct tape and I'll fix it for you." So this one is for you grandpa!

The sentiment on the inside of the card will read, "If this doesn't fix it, I guess I will have to stitch it back together! Merry Christmas!" I used the Hanna Release Party Challenge for the main idea of the card which was to incorporate stitching. I started off by stamping Hanna, and the ladder from Tool Time Hanna by Hanna stamps on some white card stock and colored them in with my markers and copics. I then drew a tree on some white card stock, colored it in and cut it out. I created the floor and wallpaper (with stitching) on a separate sheet of white card stock and colored them in with my copics and markers. Next, I layered on my tree, the ladder and Hanna. To finish the image off, I added some ribbons and some dots so that it would look like garland and ornaments on the floor. I then layered on three different kinds of Christmas DP (one of them even has stitching on it) and green and blue card stock. To finish the card, I added stitched green ribbon to the sides and three brads to the bottom. I just know my family will get a kick out of this one.

Well, I better say goodbye to the hubby. He will be leaving shortly for tennis! Have a great rest of the evening and thanks as always for stopping by!

A Gift Card Holder, A Couple of Carolers and One Heck of A Challenge!!

Happy Thursday everyone! Just one more day until the weekend starts!!

Today has been beautiful but freezing!!! Brrrrr! It looked so warm before I went outside to take my pictures, but after only 5 minutes I had to come in and warm up my hands. I even had my big puffy coat on!! I couldn't believe it. I think it only got up to 30 degrees today.

Jason wants me to take Izzy to get a flu shot asap, so I am trying to track down a place that will give them to her. Our regular doctor's office is all booked up and the urgent care place isn't sure they will have any left tomorrow. I am going to call a pediatric after hours center soon to see if they have any left. I don't know how I feel about the flu shot. I have received them in the past and then actually gotten sick from them. But Jason is really concerned so I will do it to ease his mind, if I can ever track a place down. Lol!

Well Izzy hasn't gone in the potty today. She has practiced a lot, i.e. we have spent a ton of time in the bathroom, but I keep missing it. Poor baby. She really wants to do the right thing. She is such a good girl.

Jason is working from home tomorrow!!!!! Yeah!! I am so excited, that means I can go to Curves tomorrow instead of tonight and he will be here to help me with Izzy. I love it when he is around as does Izzy and Tuxy. I think they are even more excited than I am! Izzy is so cute when Jason is home, she sits on his lap and helps him program. Maybe she will be the next Microsoft genius!!!

How many of you were at the MFT party last night? It was super fun and the sets they released are amazing!!! I had so much fun and everyone is so sweet and supportive. I can't wait to get mine in the mail and start stamping! I am going to have a blast with them!

Well I have some fun cards in store for you today. My first card is actually a gift card holder. Last Friday's challenge in the Hanna Forum was to create a gift card holder. What a fab idea!! Who doesn't need gift card holders around Christmas time. While I was thinking about the Hanna sets I own that I could make a gift card holder out of, I started to think about how many people in my family love to cook. That then led to the idea of a cooking themed gift card holder and finally to this card.

I am really pleased with the way this turned out. I really wanted to use Kiss the Cook by Hanna Stamps for my card and I thought a card that was in the shape of a pot would be perfect!! I started this card off by creating a square gift card holder out of red card stock. I used the pop up gift card technique to assemble it. Using a bowl, I cut out the corners on the bottom. To create the lid, I used the same bowl to get the curved shape and attached it to the top. I then shaded in my lid and pot with my copics. For the handle on the top, I free handed a shape, cut it out of black card stock and attached it to the top. I then wrapped green stitched ribbon around the pot to make it look like a gift. I stamped and colored the girl from Kiss the Cook using white card stock, markers and copics. I cut her out and mounted her on a piece of green card stock that I popped off the holder. To finish the card, I printed off the sentiment using my computer, cut it out along with a piece of green and a piece of red card stock with my nesties and added a ribbon and button! Isn't it cute!!! Now all it needs is a gift certificate to finish it off!

My second card is a card for one of the ambassador challenges over at the MFT forum. The challenge was to create a card using at least three different kinds of ribbons. Now I love ribbon, but this was a little difficult for me. Luckily I found this great sketch over at Sketches! {by tamara} that seemed to shout, "use three ribbons on me". So of course I did! Lol!

Don't they look like they are caroling? I know snowmen don't usually carol, but these do!! Okay, so I started this card off by stamping A Scarf for Three by MFT Stamps on white card stock and coloring them in with my markers and copics. I cut them out and mounted them on green card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on green card stock, red card stock and two different kinds of Christmas DP. I wrapped the DP behind the image in white ribbon to give it the window appearance in the sketch. I then crisscrossed a green and red ribbon across the bottom and added an ornament charm with a metal swirl. To finish the card I added three green brads down the side. I really love this layout, it is so fun and funky.

Alright this last card is for the monster of all challenges. My friend Heather, who I love, issued this crazy challenge in the Pink Cat Studio forum over at PCP. I actually had to read through it five times and then print if off so that I could make sure I included all the elements. It is a 3 times 3, 6 by 6 and 1 of 3 challenge. You were required to make a 6 by 6 card using three items of three different elements, with one of the three color choices she listed. I incorporated today's Ways To Use it Challenge over at SCS which was to use envelopes in your creation. Here it is!!!

Here is a slightly higher version of the card so you can see the envelope better.

I did it, I did it and I really like it! So here goes the explanation. I made a 6 by 6 card with the Turquoise, Pink and Silver color combo. I used three brads, three stamps and three different kinds of DP. I even stamped an envelope to match! I started this card off by stamping the ice cream cone, banana split and sundae from Sweet Treats by Pink Cat Studio on a piece of white card stock and then colored them in with my markers and copics. (I was going to add liquid applique to the whipped cream but I forgot, oops!) I then mounted them on pink and silver/gray card stock. To make the back ground I layered, pink and silver/gray card stock with three different kinds of Christmas DP. I added a ribbon across the bottom and tied on strips of it to create a bow effect. I popped off all my images and added three turquoise brads in the corner. I printed off the sentiment on the computer and cut it out along with a piece of DP using my nesties and adhered it to the bow. For the coordinating envelope, I stamped two chocolate covered cherries in the right corner and small cherries down the side. I think it will make a nice thinking of you card for my sister who loves ice cream.

Well I am off to eat dinner! Have a great 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!

Birthdays, Birthdays everywhere!!!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Man is it cold and gloomy here today! I can't believe how quickly the weather has turned! I guess I am just spoiled. It has been so nice this Fall that it is hard to accept that it really is November and should be cold. Poor Jason is still feeling poorly and Izzy has a stopped up nose, so it is nothing but grouchville around here. The only saving grace is that I should have some new stamps coming in soon!!! Yeah I am so excited! And you know what they say, "if Momma's happy than everybody's happy!", or something like that. :)

Izzy has been excited to be at home. She jumped on Tuxy this morning who was sleeping under the blanket on the couch! He did not appreciate it, but it serves him right for being so lazy. After that they ran around together playing, i.e. Izzy tempting him with her stuffed animal and Tuxy growling at it and then licking Izzy in the face! I am so glad that Izzy has her own little playmate! I think Jason is a little jealous though. The other day I asked him what we are going to do whenever Tuxy prefers to sleep with Izzy instead of us and he said, we will have to buy her another dog because Tuxy is mine! It really is pathetic.

Well I have some really exciting news!!! I just found out from my cousin that she is expecting again!!! I am so excited! Her baby is due at the end of June. They don't know what they are having of course, so in honor of her exciting news I made a baby card. Luckily if fit right in with a challenge over at the Hanna Stamps forum on SCS to create a baby card using non-traditional baby colors. For the sketch I used this week's Sketch Saturday Challenge.

Isn't it cute?! I decided since I was using non-traditonal baby colors I would also use a non-traditional baby stamp. I started the card off by stamping Hanna from the Garden Set by Hanna Stamps. I colored her in using my copics and stampin' write markers. I then layered her on orange card stock, DP and brown card stock. Next I layered the card following the sketch using brown card stock, pink card stock and DP. I added a teal ribbon and printed off the sentiment using the computer. I popped it off along with the main image and wrote on the inside of the card "And now you are finally here! Welcome baby!" I just love all the colors! I guess I will just have to hold on to it for awhile though! Oh well!

My second card for today is actually for a Sketch Challenge over at the SCS forum for Hanna Stamps. I recently received a prestamped image of Fishing Riley from my friend Sharon and have been dying to stamp him up. And here he is!

I think it is the perfect man card, which I always seem to be in short supply of. I started off by coloring in Riley using my copics and stampin' write markers. I then drew in the background and colored it it. Luckily, when I cut him out with my circle nesties it cut off the part that I screwed up on! I was really sweating that one! I then mounted it on a piece of dark green card stock and a piece of red card stock. Next, following the sketch, I layered on red card stock, green card stock and DP. I popped of the main image and drew in some white dots. Lastly, I printed off the sentiment and layered it on to the bottom using red card stock and DP. I drew the little bobber on (no, it is not a Christmas ornament! lol!) and colored it in. On the inside I wrote, "I guess we were out fishing! Happy belated birthday!" I can't wait to give it to my uncle. He loves fishing and his birthday was on September 15th, whoops!

The last project for today was a really fun one to make. It is this week's Try a New Technique Challenge over at SCS. The challenge is to make a Christmas tree box. Full instructions can be found here.

I don't know what my deal is but when I saw the triangle box, I immediately thought "birthday hat." Doesn't it kind of remind you of one? So I started off this project by printing off the template on a piece of fuchsia card stock. (Thank you so much Brenda for the fabulous template! It worked out perfectly). I cut it out and assembled it following the tutorial. Next I cut out three teal triangles and three DP triangles. Before attaching them to the box, I looped teal ribbon across the bottom to make it look like fringe on a hat. I then attached the triangles. Next I printed off Birthday Girl, a soon to be released stamp set from Pink Papery Studios and colored her in with my copics. I actually chopped off her legs (I know horrible aren't I) and attached her to a piece of fuchsia card stock. I then popped her off the box. Next I cut out three teal circles using my nesties and placed a looped ribbon in between them. I added the sentiment "happy birthday" to the front circle and stuck it on top of the box to make it look like a pom pom. Lastly I cut out two small circles out of teal and fuchsia and popped them of the main image. I stuck an eight sticker in the middle for my niece's birthday. Her birthday isn't until February, but there isn't any reason not to get a head start. I mean I don't want what happened with my uncle's birthday to happen again! lol!

Well that is it for me today! I am off to Michaels and the Post Office. Have a great rest of the day! Thanks for stopping by!