Sale-A-Bration Ends.....

Yep, another season has come and gone. Today is THE last day to place an order and earn FREE Sale-A-Bration products. I definitely didn't get to play with mine enough...did you?? So today I have a Sale-A-Bration feature, and an explanation...

First up, you're here for the stamping!
This card shows off the first Sale-A-Bration item I got this year, the Botanicals for You stamp set, but I mixed it up this time. It also shows off a cute print in the Sale-A-Bration exclusive DP, Wildflower Fields!
The card is also based off the latest Mojo Monday sketch, but it isn't exact... I think you can still see all the pieces and parts, even if I kept it with a lot of literal white space.

Supplies:
Stamps: Botanicals For You
Ink: Pear Pizazz marker, Blackberry Bliss marker
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Wildflower Fields DP
Accessories: Hexagon Punch (flagged end)

Second of all....where have I gone? haha...
I was working so hard on my goals to post each week day, and to do calendar pages and to do Christmas cards.... but two major things happened...

We found out that in the fall, I'll be having another baby! We are SO excited about this, and since I'm sure you'll be wondering, I believe my husband's words were that it is a planned surprise. And I am a lot older than I was, and it has worn. me. out. At one point I was taking five hours worth of naps a day, plus sleeping from 10ish-7 every night.
And then... my babysitting job, and my temporary office job both needed me back the same week. So I've been working 2-5 days a week!
And in case this isn't clear, between work and sleep and the rest of my life, that leaves literally no time for stamping anything at all.

The good news is, my office job should only be a few more weeks, and, I am finally getting thru the super duper exhausted phase... That means I think I can get back to some stamping very, very soon! So keep an eye out for lots of inspiration to get you creating too!

Christmas at Easter

Last month was so crazy I never managed to get my planned Christmas cards made, much less posted on the 25th as planned. And today, the day after Easter, you get a dose of Christmas cards! haha!  

On Feb 27th, I was at my mom's and got four Christmas cards done for her stash! 

The pictures are weird because I only had my phone. Funny how the close-ups turned out looking dry embossed with stamping on top... I kept it simple- it really is just stamping, and only the card front for a layer!
This card I made first- and discovered I really need to re-ink two of my ink pads!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Peaceful Wishes?
Ink: Mossy Meadow (pine), Soft Suede (pinecones), Wild Wasabi (holly), Real Red
Paper: Real Red & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details

So I used different ink pads for the others:

Supplies:

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes

Ink: Real Red, Tip Top Taupe, Mossy Meadow, Cucumber Crush

Paper: Real Red, Very Vanilla card stocks

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details

And then I put forth effort (....Friday night!!!) to make sure I added to my stash too!
I made four very similar cards, but I stamped the trees a little differently, and I used a different greeting for each card.
I started to use the TGIF color challenge, but then I had to modify the colors, lol, so you get a touch of Easter-y-ness today after all!

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Scenes
Ink: Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Soft Sky
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Mint Macaron Lace Ribbon, Dimensionals

Very slowly but surely, I'm making a dent in the cards we'll need for Christmas! And that means no (less?) holiday burn out!!! 

Paper Pumpkin Birthdays!

My friend had a birthday and I needed an excuse to create!!! I'm going thru withdrawals here, people! I really have not had time for making anything at all, but I got my newest Paper Pumpkin kit- and realized I'd never touched the previous one! And! It was absolutely perfect for my friend's card! In under ten minutes I had these three cards to choose from!
(it was a very snowy day so the pictures aren't great but I had to get one of them in the mail!)

This is by far the simplest of the cards- you stamp the words, attach the banners and sequins and bam! that's it!
However...it is also very busy for my taste.

These two are much more my style. I couldn't even choose a favorite!  

The flowers and leaves are stickers, and then again you add the stamped banner and the sequins and that's it!

And if you're curious, this is the one I chose for my friend. hee hee...

There are other pretty greetings in this kit, I just needed birthday cards so I stuck with that. And you can of course make them any way you want. I was going for fast so I pretty much followed the picture with the kit. And both are good options! *grin

This refill kit is currently available HERE, but only current subscribers can order past kits!
So here's what you need to know!

• A 3-month subscription to Paper Pumpkin is on sale right now, til March 31! It's only $55 right now, and! it earns you a FREE Sale-A-Bration item too! 
• March was Paper Pumpkin's 3 year anniversary AND they shipped their 1 millionth kit! And so they are shipping an exclusive and free stamp set with next months' kit, on top of the stamp set that comes with the kit!!! 
• If you subscribe, you can choose a monthly billed subscription or prepay for a 3month, 6month or 12month option. And then you can order any available past kits and past kit refills you see HERE.
• As a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you'll get a thin box, full of ready-to-create stamp supplies, an ink spot, and an exclusive stamp set - ready for you to create whenever you have a minute! Once you use up the papers, you still have the stamps and inks, which fit nicely inside just one or two boxes for storage! 

What's not to love?? 

Now I just need a minute to play with my newest kit...

March Calendar Page

Wow- it has been for EV ER since I got to stamp anything at all! I have definitely missed it!

Today's post is honestly only because I committed to have a calendar page done every month and post it on the 20th- which is today. So I got the March page done for my inlaws!
I used THIS challenge to focus on welcoming spring.
I also used THIS sketch I found on Pinterest.
...I dunno, I might make the photos bigger to take up more space... but for now, here's my page, haha!

Supplies:
MDS: Torn Edge stamp, Good Friend stamp, Ink Splatters, White Brads, Pistachio Pudding card stock.
Colors: Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow

I would really, really love to keep stamping, but there are so, so many things going on in my life right now, that I can't make any promises...
So you get some stamp time in for me, okay? ha....

Cards In The Mail!

I've gotten several of these pretty cards in the mail lately, and two arrived on my birthday so that was kind of extra fun, haha! I've shared the photos with the creators names on them, so they have proper credit.
There are lots of Sale-A-Bration products shown too, so if you love what you see, place an order very soon!

A Paper Page!

I got a little scrapbooking done the other day! Just one of the many pages I had planned but this one has been spinning in my head the longest so I'll take it! haha... And it is a traditional page, on a sheet of card stock and everything! So that was extra exciting!

Supplies:
Ink: Calypso Coral marker
Paper: Whisper White, Calypso Coral & Hello Honey card stock, Wildflower Fields DP
Accessories: Petite Petals Punch, Subtles Candy Dots, Neutrals Candy Dots, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware (retired!), White stitched grosgrain ribbon (retired!) Large Fancy Flower Punch (retired!)

As soon as I saw the dandelion fluff in this Sale-A-Bration DP, I knew exactly which photos to put with it! There are two prints of the floating-away dandelion fluff, and then a print of puff balls that also look like dandelions, so of course I used all three!
I also used three different challenges for this layout!
1. THIS sketch for how I put it together (tho I swapped the photos based on the directions she was looking)
2. A Virtual-Scrapbooking-Night Challenge to use a quote as your inspiration and/or title. The quote may not be exact, but I decided it was close enough.
3. A Stash-busters Challenge where I chose to use the color pink as an accent, add flowers, a paper clip and brads....altho really they are Candy Dots....and the idea is to use products that are at least 6m old and I definitely got that!

And here's a close up of the DP!

Pink Birthday Swaps!

I really do love being a part of the Cards In The Mail swap and getting all the pretty cards from everyone else. This round, it literally took me til the very deadline before I got my cards out...but I got them in the mail on time!

I used the TGIF Remix for my card. I picked their sketch and color combo.
This is my original design...

Supplies:

Stamps: Party Wishes

Ink: Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo marker, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White card stocks, Love Blossoms DP

Accessories: Paper Doilies, Love Blossoms Embellishment Kit (ribbon), Dimensionals

Annnd then I ran out of DP! So I substituted this floral print instead... 

And then on the very last one, I ran out of ribbon!!! ACK! So someone gets a unique card with white organza ribbon instead!

But I'm enjoying the birthday card revival and I like the card I sent out this month. I hope they do too! haha.....

News!

Lots of exciting things happening right now with Stampin' Up! - so much so that I had to do a whole blog post just for all the news!

1. I've been telling you all about #imbringingbirthdaysback. Well check this out!
This is a brand new item in our store! Want it?? I know I do! It's a wood mount stamp, for $12 US (before tax and shipping) It was made available at midnight of Feb 29/March 1 and it was sold out in FOUR HOURS, so you can't order it yet, but they took off the limited-time part and they're just going to carry it now! YEAY!!!

2. Sale-A-Bration is still running strong, and don't forget the three new items HERE!

3. The Weekly Deals aren't something I post terribly often, but this week has some really good ones I wanted to be sure you saw!

Fun Frames embossing folders
Regularly $8.50 / Discounted to $6.38

Ornate Tag Topper Punch
Regularly $23.00 / Discounted to $17.25

Tin of Cards Project Kit
Regularly $27.00 / Discounted to $20.25

Metallics Sequin Assortment
Regularly $5.00 / Discounted to $3.75

Red Foil Sheets
Regularly $4.00 / Discounted to $3.00

I will be putting an order in on Thursday (tomorrow!!!) if you want anything! Don't forget that a $50 order earns you a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!

Blog Hop: Step It Up Occasions Style!

Welcome to a new month, and a new Blog Hop!!

This month I decided to play with the Going Global stamp set in the Occasions Mini. I love this set and have since the minute I saw it!
By now you know we do a Step-It-Up blog hop, where we design a project, then show you a stepped up version. Well, all this time I have been making multiple cards to show you. However, I learned that other stampers are making one creation, then adding and taking apart to make their final project! ha! Smart!!!
In today's case, I wanted this card to be special, and not have a duplicate. My husband has been a tremendous support thru a wild few weeks and has been definitely pulling more than his share of the work in all aspects around here. I wanted to make this card for him. I'll stick it in his lunch box later this week.
So I was all over the idea of just one card! But...that means the light changed between me taking pictures, and I didn't realize how different the shot was, so I apologize in advance for that.

This card is kept pretty basic. I did stamp the compass image on a post it to mask part of it and make it look like it was on top of the globe.

Supplies:
Stamps: Going Global
Ink: Bermuda Bay marker, Mossy Meadow, Real Red marker
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Bermuda Bay stitched ribbon

Then I added some DP, a strip of card stock, actually cut out the compass, and actually popped it up over the stamped globe. I also made the greeting a strip with flagged ends. And yes, the globe was also die-cut with a circle die, and then glued back down on the vanilla base, haha...
Best of all, I am very happy with how this card turned out and I know my husband will like it too!

Supplies:
Stamps: Going Global
Ink: Bermuda Bay marker, Mossy Meadow, Real Red marker
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla card stock, Going Places DP
Accessories: Bermuda Bay stitched ribbon, Hexagon Punch, Dimensionals

And since I used Occasions Mini products, I get to link up with the Nacho Average Challenge blog again!

That's it for me! Now hop along and see what Cheryl has created to inspire us! Then be sure and hop along to everyone else and leave your thoughts- we all love comments!!