A teacher gift!

Lauren has this freebie Timeless Template download (thru PaperTrey Ink) for a stocking, and a while back when she was looking for a new Saturday challenge team, asked that we try one of her templates too. Then, for her recent Template Challenge, she wanted something that had purple and/or a butterfly. She also wanted it to be a birthday gift, but I didn't have a way to make that work.

I've had this idea floating in my head for a while now. I was going to do it for the DT portion, but again, had no one to give it to or way to use it at that time. I had considered using it as a teacher gift.....and it was a darn good thing that the other night I realized "tomorrow" was the last day of school!!!! The kids and I rushed to the store almost at bedtime, to finally pick out a flower and I came home and put this together!

What do you think?! I wanted it to be like a rain boot, and a flower gift, which seem to go hand-in-hand. Is late May ok for the whole "April showers bring May Flowers" thing?? lol

Here it is with the card we gave her. I used really bright colors because I wanted a bright yellow rain boot. I'm not used to so much bright, but I think it worked out well. His teacher was impressed and hey, that's the part that counts!!! haha! Here's a close up of some of that detail. I LOVE how that butterfly turned out. (its just vellum stamped with classic ink and then colored on the back side with a Saffron marker and then a Blender Pen dipped in Orchid ink) And, when my son went up for a teacher hug/photo, she pointed to it and said "see, you're all my little butterflies!" She also said something about that in the letter she sent home with him. Who knew Lauren's challenge directly applied to his school teacher?! Yeay for a happy coincidence!!!

(and a shot of what it looked like inside...tho I did line it with plastic wrap! LOL)

Supplies: Rain Boot: Stamps: God's Beauty Ink: Basic Black, Orchid Opulence Paper: Yoyo Yellow, Green Galore, Vellum card stocks Accessories: Chunky Sprinkles Glitter, 2-way glue pen, 1/2 inch circle punch, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, retired green ribbon, lots of glue dots!

Card: Stamps: Fresh Cuts Ink: So Saffron, Orchid Opulence Paper: Fresh Cuts note card, Green Galore card stock Accessories: Bold Brights buttons, retired green & purple grosgrain ribbon

Too Busy

In case I don't get anything stamped tonight or tomorrow (pretty likely!!) I'll post this card. I think this was a PCP sketch too and it never made it on my blog.

Supplies: Stamps: Fresh Cuts, Rose's Garden (Sarah Kay stamps) Ink: Black, Buckaroo Blue (retired) Paper: More Mustard, Buckaroo Blue, White card stock, Real Red Prints DP Accessories: Blender Pens, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch

A pink page!

This one is JUST for fun! lol! Yeay! My daughter and her friend were playing dress-up. Always fun!

Supplies: Stamps: Letterpress ABC, Its a Girl Thing, Girlfriends, Girlfriend Accessories (ALL retired) Ink: Pink Passion, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black

Paper: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Pink Passion card stock

Accessories: 1 3/8 square punch, Blender Pens, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, misc ribbon

Counting Years

Happy Memorial Day! Today I have a card using Jen's SSFYTT and the OCC challenge to use a phrase as the focal point (I think it was supposed to be your favorite phrase and I use this one a LOT)- both from this weekend. I have a lot of masculine card events coming up...not just Father's day, but my husband and son's birthdays, and my dad and brother's birthday (which is not as close as one might think til you look at what my life will be like between then and now, lol!) I think this card would be best as a birthday card...and here it is! I am loving this Sense of time stamp set for masculine cards!! Jen wanted some kind of detail on the side so I did piercing, and here's a close-up. Supplies: Stamps: Sense of Time, Its Your Birthday (retired) Ink: Basic Gray Paper: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Whisper White card stocks Accessories: Clear Buttons, Baja Breeze double stitched ribbon, Mat Pack, Silver Cord (retired)

Final DT Pages

Here are the last two pages I did for the DT call. This one was supposed to be about Special Moments. That was a hard theme for me....most of what we scrap IS a special moment, in one way or another. We're capturing a moment we'll never return to but want to keep and remember. A reeally Special EVENT to me, would be like a wedding or a birth...but I've done those pages! lol! I had these pictures ready to be scrapped and it was certainly special to HIM, so that's what I did! Supplies: Stamps: ABC Alphabets- Upper and Lower, My ABC's Wheel Ink: Brilliant Blue, Basic Gray, Real Red, More Mustard, Glorious Green, Orchid Opulence, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black Paper: Brilliant Blue, More Mustard & Whisper White card stock Accessories: Spiral Punch, Earth Elements Brads, Mustard Ribbon, brights buttons (retired), Staples This last page was supposed to be a 12x12 layout about me. My daughter is the one with the 12x12 books so I decided to do an About Mommy page. Now of course, I have to do one for my son, and do one about Daddy for each of them too! :) But its ok, once I thought of it, I think it's a great idea to capture what their parents are like at a given time in their lives. Supplies: Stamps: Taffy ABC, Boho backgrounds Ink: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red marker Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink & White card stock, Berry Bliss DP (retired) Accessories: Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon, Jumbo Brads, Button latte, Fairy Tale Ribbon Originals (retired) The journaling says:

I love to go shopping with my mom- especially to the mall! My mommy likes to take us to fun, new places- and take pictures while we're there! My mommy likes to take walks My mom loves to scrapbook and stamp cards. She also likes to blog! My mom is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and a cub scout leader. Sometimes she has to work hard! My mom likes to be silly with us. My mom likes to find new old-movies for us to watch together! My mom likes to read- especially to us! My mom likes to sing to us and makes up funny songs! My mom likes daisies and frogs and lighthouses. My mom's favorite game is "Who can fall asleep the fastest?" She likes it when I win.

And there's a bit of a closeup of the stamping.

Double Challenge Page!

Yeay! This page puts me at my month's goal for scrap pages, AND it uses up two challenges from last weekend! I used the sketch from Jennifer Buck's Clean & Simple #8 and the colors come from the OCC color challenge! Its a super simple page and that's ok. My daughter was thrilled that I did it. It is her and my parents exchange student who lived with them for a year. My daughter doesn't understand why she went home and still asks regularly when she'll be back. uhh..... So it was good to get this one done for her. ETA: I'm still undecided for a title. I have a few thoughts that just don't quite 'capture' it. And I think it might end up with quite a bit of journaling too, beneath the flowers. Hmmmmm...... Supplies: Stamps: God's Beauty Ink: Regal Rose Paper: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White Accessories: Mat Pack, Soft Subtles Brads, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Fairy Tale ribbon originals (retired)

"Do-Over!"

Ever feel like that? Well, yesterday was a day I just needed a nap. Husband up extra early...I went back to bed...one kid up too early...I brought said child to bed with me. Second child up too early, ok FINE, we'll go watch tv and I'LL sleep on the couch! ....yeeeah, that part didn't happen. But then the rest of the day comes and you just gotta keep plugging along....

I wanted to make a card and thought I'd combine some challenges. I liked kwerner's color challenge and I liked the WOJ sketch- easy combo right? Nope. I really didn't like having to color a cute WOJ image while restricted to certain colors. Hmm... So here was my first card attempt, and basically, I hated it. So I took it apart to see how to salvage the parts I did like.......

and HERE is the card I settled on. So I am missing the kwerner challenge (again) but I got my WOJ card done. LOL

Hmm. Its okay and definitely better than the first one. So, there you have it. And then I got slammed with allergies so lets NOT do the whole day over...just the card. *wink*

Delayed pages

So I submitted pages for a new design team, for a new challenge blog! We had to do scrapbook pages with assigned themes and also feature stamping on each project. I wasn't chosen for the team but that's ok because I *did* get some blog candy... haha! And now I can show the pages I worked hard on, and kept hinting at, lol!! This one was for a monochromatic theme, and the page that will coordinate with THIS one from before. Supplies: Stamps: Taffy ABC, Sense of Time Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip Paper: Kraft, Vellum, Chocolate Chip card stock Accessories: Chocolate taffeta Ribbon, Chocolate Corduroy Buttons, Linen Thread, Hodgepodge Hardware (retired), chipboard And this one was for a vacation theme!
Supplies: Stamps: Whimsical Lower ABC, unknown firework stamp Ink: Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow Paper: Not Quite Navy, Real Red, Green Galore & Whisper White card stock Accessories: Red striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1 3/8 inch circle punch

Slacker!

Not really! I worked really hard on major stampy things last week and now I've got to focus on house and family, lol! Plus summer has all but started and that means my family is nuts... I will stamp something in the next few days, but I decided to use my stash of cards for events right now so I haven't done anything. I've checked the usual challenges and I like them...I just have to pay attention to my kiddos. So here is a card I did a few months back and never posted on my blog...! Fun huh? It was for a challenge on PCP...possibly in February? Anyway, Pretty simple...!

Supplies: Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Ink: Black Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Chocolate Chip & White card stock, Pretty in Pink Prints DP (retired) Accessories: Watercolor Wonder crayons, blender Pens, Red Hemp, 1/8 inch circle punch

Cards!

I told you I've been busy...well, I got the big project done so last night while the kids were enjoying a video from the library, I got a few cards made! I have a lot going on this month, in terms of birthdays, weddings and other card-giving events. So whether I use these or just put these in my stock in place of what I give...I needed some cards! LOL!

This first one uses two challenges I haven't gotten to play with in a LONG time! The Whiff of Joy Wednesday challenge was to make a friendship card. I used Taylor's Cupcake Challenge for the card sketch. And discovered a really cute way to make a punched tulip! aww...!

Supplies: Stamps: Willow with Hot Chocolate (WOJ), Pocket Silhouettes Ink: Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, black Paper: Certainly Celery, Banbury DP (retired) Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Blender Pens, Stamping Sponge, Celery Grosgrain Ribbon

This one uses Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try from *last week*... because it took til Friday night to get it done! haha! its a very simple card, but I like it.

Wanna know a secret? I scuffed the edges with ink because the clock stamp picked up ink on the parts that are supposed to stay white! Its the first time that happened and I am pretty sure its because I used a Stampin' Spot instead of a full size pad. Thank goodness for easy fixes!

Supplies:

Stamps: Sense of Time Ink: Night of Navy Paper: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

It was fun to make some cards! Lots more challenges are posted today...!

Oh, and be sure to check Debbies blog, she has more fabulous blog candy!

Simple Scrap

Ooo ooo ooo! Another Whiff of Joy huge giveaway...go check the artist's blog!
And I found this fabulous blog candy, and she's inviting you to be an inspiring blog! Fun!
I stole a little more time to put this page together... I wanted the photos to be the focus so I didn't add very much at all.

Supplies: Stamps: Sugar Nellie- Daisy, ABC Upper Alphabet Ink: Black, Pixie Pink, Glorious Green Paper: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Glorious Green & White card stocks Accessories: Blender Pens, Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Daisy, Daisy

Ya know, sometimes you just have so many things to do that you just HAVE to take a break and make a card! At least, that's where I am at! So there! haha!

I liked the OCC Saturday challenge sketch this week, so that's what I played with. Plus I just got this sweetest girly stamp image ever, thru WishRAK, and I had to use her! She is named Daisy and I used daisy printed paper! FUN! haha! And to top it all off, I was so happy to have nice, new blender pens that I FINALLY got to play with! Yeay!

Supplies:

Stamps: Sugar Nellie-Daisy

Ink: Black, Chocolate Chip

Paper: So Saffron & White card stock, Summer Showers DP (retired)

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Blender Pens, Soft Subtles Brads, Mat Pack

I am working on things, but I have many other things I've got to complete as well...and summers are always more than a little nutty around here... and I'm not ready yet! LOL!

A few cards...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day, either celebrating the mothers in your life, or people celebrating you! :) We had a mini-vacation so I haven't gotten much done, but here's some things from a week or so ago....! I was at my mom's recently and she needed a baptism card...

Supplies: Stamps: Pun Fun, All god's Children Ink: Basic Black, Lavender Lace, Barely Banana Marker, Sage Shadow Marker, Pretty in Pink Marker Paper: Barely Banana, Sage Shadow & Whisper White card stock

a wedding card...Supplies: Stamps: Congrats (retired), Artfully Asian (retired) Ink: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Sage Shadow markers Paper: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White Accessories: N/EE Buttons (retired)

and a graduation card! Supplies: Stamps: Little Layers Plus (retired), (...something about thoughts, that is also retired) Ink: Lovely Lilac Paper: Lovely Lilac, Basic Black, Whisper White card stocks Accessories: eyelet Edge Punch, White Grosgrain

Double the Bugs!

Ok, a couple quick blog candy pointers (and a new DT call!) and then on with today's projects! lol! Go HERE for Ila's blog candy and go HERE for and HERE blog candy, info on a new site and a DT call...!!! I wonder if I honestly have time...because I am VERY interested...!!! Seriously, joining that scrapbook goal group was the best thing for me! Check my page stats at the bottom of the side bar! I am so excited! I am getting pages done!!! YEAY! I printed off these pictures for both my kids' books, so you get to see double! lol! Supplies: Stamps: Bugs & Kisses Ink: Real Red, Certainly Celery Paper: Certainly Celery, Real Red, Whisper White card stocks Accessories: Red Hemp, Double circle punch Supplies: Stamps: Bugs & Kisses Ink: Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue Paper: Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White card stocks

Some things!

Sherri (over at Roses in my Heart) awarded me this fabulous award… The Lemonade Stand award is for being a blogger who shows great attitude and gratitude! (I definitely try to be positive, but I never know how successful I am!) Sherri is so sweet, she’s given me awards a few times!

So here’s how this one works: To pick up the Lemonade Stand Award: - Comment on this blog. - Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog. - Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude. - Link to your nominees within your blog post. - Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award. - Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

From my stamping friends, I pick... Chelle (Painter Girl)

Eve (This is Bliss)

Heather (Heather’s Heavinly Stampations)

Susan (Rainy Day Creations)

Andrea (Just because I love to play)

These talented women leave such sweet comments for me, and brighten my day! They seem to always be looking for the bright side and I love to see what they’ve created! Those –to me- say good attitude and gratitude! THANKS LADIES!

But the person I think most deserves this award is my real-life friend Melissa. You can read her blog HERE. She goes thru way more than anyone I know (including 'virtual' friends) and she is constantly looking for the bright side. And she takes time out of her own life to uplift and help others! I truly admire her and think she personifies this award. So there! LOL!

Then, today’s stamp art (I use the term loosely right now, lol!) is this project…

I figure if I’m going to all the trouble to make 40 of these, someone better see! haha! I thought it would be quick and simple til I realized I used LINE stamps that need colored…oy! And I had about a day to do it...not the smartest plan ever.... haha!

Clean And Simple!

I have stamped things to show, I've just been too busy to blog! Crazy!

Here's another scrapbook page, *inspired* by Jennifer's CAS sketch! I actually have three photos I want to ultimately use this sketch for, but you know how that goes... lol! So here's today's!

(here's the secret about this photo vs the scrapping....it was taken on a Christmas Day! LOL!)

Supplies: Stamps: Letterpress ABC Ink: Rose Red Paper: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Cutie Pie DP (retired) Accessories: So Saffron, Fresh Fav buttons, Scallop Edge Punch

A mini book!

So to kick off National Scrapbook month, I'm going to share a little family album...! I actually won this from Andrea. She made this for me more than a month ago (!!!) and it is fabulous and I feel bad that its taken me so long to get photos in it!!! THANK YOU ANDREA!!!!! Its an accordion style 6x6 book, with photos on both sides of almost every page. I decided to find pictures of us as a family and then print them all black & white. then I realized that if there is a family photo, there is usually a Christmas tree behind us! LOL! So take a peek...

May Stamp News & Roses!

May is National Scrapbook Month, so Stampin' Up! has some really great things going on! I've attached the flyer, but here's the run down on the three great deals!

• Did you ever want to be a demonstrator?? Well, if you love scrapbooking, you can sign up for ONLY $75!!!! You'll get less of the basic stamp supplies, but you'll be set for scrapbooking, and you'll get all the business supplies you need! Awesome!
• Even if you don't scrapbook, if you just love using patterned paper, this next promo is for you! During May, for every three packages of patterned paper or textured 12x12 card stock, you get a fourth package free!
• Want a sneak peek to the new Catalog coming in July? Here's an attachment for the new Jumble Alphabet set! You can buy it (during May only) for 20% off! Yeay!!! There are a lot of fun possibilities with this set!

Since its National Scrapbook Month, I have to do something fun too, right? So later in May I will be having a mini-scrapbook class! I'll send out more details when I have dates set and everything!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, isn't THIS one pretty?! Yes it is! The watercolored roses were 100% inspired by Patty's fabulous blog and her impressive (and easy!) techniques! The card layout is inspired by a sketch on PCP.

Supplies: Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral Ink: Real Red, Ruby Red, Versamark, Basic Gray Paper: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray card stocks, Watercolor Paper Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Aquapainter, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon