Sunday, March 30, 2008

MIA for A Few More Days and Blog Candy

I just want to check in and say I'll be back on Thursday with a post. I'm on a mini-vacation now with DH. YES, our first without DS since he was born 4+ years ago. He is doing fantastically at his grandparents' house. We are having fun in Vegas.

Since I'm in Vegas, I thought I would post a little blog candy contest. I have had some luck in this department over the last few days, so it's time to share the wealth...

To be eligible to win, take a guess at what game I like to play here in Sin City. I will randomly draw a winner when I return home and finish laundry. That will most likely be Friday, April 4. I'll leave comments open till Thursday midnight.

Thanks for looking!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Scallopped Monogram Challenge

Sadly, today is the last day of Denise's Spring Fever Challenge. It has been a great mojo-motivator for me. I have actually stamped and completed at least one card every day this week! What a sense of accomplishment, since I also got a lot done at work, and got DS packed up and off on his adventure with DH.

Today's challenge had to incorporate scallops, our favorite color, a monogram, and ribbon. Here's my cute little monogram card, cut out with my Nestabilities Scallop Circle die. The dp is Miss Elizabeth's (from the dollar store!) and the monogram is a rub-on from Marcella K at Target. Flowers are Primas and small holographic flowers I got in a RAK, along with the chipboard sticker that the monogram is on.

Well, since I've been up since 4:30, I'm HUNGRY! Time to go start getting ready for work. I might even have time to run to Starbuck's before I have to be there! Woohoo! But don't be fooled - getting up at 4:30 am will NEVER become a regular habit for me, no matter how much I accomplish.

Have a happy Friday, everyone! Thanks for looking!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Spring Fever Continues!

This card layout began as Jen's Sketch For You To Try, but I changed it up a tiny bit. I lowered the circle tag so that the small images wouldn't be covered up. I used only 2 brads on the lower left corner. But it is a great sketch and you should go check it out. She posts a new one each Saturday.Denise's Spring Fever Challenge also continues at All Things Stamped. This is my entry for Day 4. Today we had to have a tag, some bling and the color red in our cards. My tag is the scalloped circle with the sentiment, which is from Studio G. The circle frame and the images are Lizzie Anne Designs, Celebration Frames and Celebrations. The paper is from my stash and was given to me, so I don't know the name. It might be CTMH. The base card is SU! Certainly Celery. My bling is the Stickles on the package ribbons and the pom pom of the hat, as well as the shiny red brads in the lower left corner. Originally, I had grand plans to make a pocket card with a beautiful tag inside, but I am so tired I couldn't execute it tonight. I still like this one, though, and think it would make a good masculine birthday card.

Can you believe that tomorrow is Friday already? Yikes! I have to get up super early to bring DH and DS to the airport. But that means I'll have time to play before going into work in the morning. How happy does that make me??????

Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Allison's Suggestive Sunday - BUGS

Each week I want to play along with Allison's Suggestive Sunday, and this is only the second time I have gotten the chance. Her theme this week is bugs - but no butterflies! I used SCS Sketch 169 as my layout. The stamps are Kim Hughes Collection for Cornish Heritage Farms, Hugs and Kisses. It is such a cute set, I have to remember to use it more (don't we say that of all our stamps?).
The DP is Making Memories, Scroll Dark Deep Red from the Heritage Collection. I edged all the layers in Ruby Red ink, which is also the color for the images. Except the sentiment, which is stamped in Pretty in Pink and traced over with Cotton Candy Stickles. The heart brads are from Queen and Company.

Now I'm really off to bed. This is late for me to be up on a work night. I'm not quite the night own that I used to be. Thanks for looking!

Spring Fever Challenge - Day 3!

Yeah! I made it to Day 3 of Denise's Spring Fever Challenge, and have completed each one so far! Granted, tonight I neglected to cook dinner for DS, but DH was able to prepare something quick for him. I've had this card brewing in my mind all day, and I just had to come home from work and tackle it. Today we had to use a funky fold, polka dots, and decorate the inside of the card. We also had to spell out something with alpha stamps, or stickers. Here it is:
It is a triangle tri-fold, which is a little tricky for me to make. I always feel like my score lines are going in the wrong direction. The DP is Hot Off the Press, Winter Dots on a Vintage Violet base. The image panel is mounted on lilac scrap, and Soft Sky. The stamps for the front image are Stampendous Hey Cupcake from Eclectic Paperie. I just love that phrase, so made a frame with it. All parts of the cupcake are cut out and attached for dimension. Candle is colored with gel pens.

Inside, I used some Prima-like flowers (I think they were from Target), and SU! Brush Stroke Alphabet for the sentiment. Ink is Vintage Violet. Brads are Pewter from Making Memories. The ribbon is from Ribbons and Bows Oh My.

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with Day 4. If you haven't already, go check out Denise's blog, All Things Stamped for some great inspiration. Have a good night, and thanks for looking!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Spring Fever Challenge Day 2

Today's challenge at the Spring Fever Challenge was to make a 4x4 card, NO patterned paper, and only black and white for colors. 4x4 is one of my favorite cards to make, so while I was at work, I sketched out this one. I finally got a chance to bring it to life after dinner, a massive temper trantrum from DS, and getting him to bed. UGH, tantrums are few and far between, but MAN does he have a temper!



Anyway, on to the card. The stamp is SU! Lexicon of Love. The polka dot ribbon is from Verve Visual (May Arts), and the flowers are a small punch I have had for a while. I think I got it in the dollar bin at Michael's. For the upper left corner, I punched the flowers in the black panel so the white base shows through. For the lower right corner, I used those punched flowers. I applied Hero Arts rhinestones to the centers. The only other thing I did was tear the black triangle to give a little texture. Easy Peasy! I think it took all of 10 minutes - a record for me.

Thanks for looking!

Monday, March 24, 2008

My First Flap Card!

Today's Try a New Technique at SCS is to make a flap fold card. I have never tried this before, and I will be making more of these! How cute are they? Have you looked in the gallery? Go here to check them all out!

Here's mine, which I am also entering into Denise's weeklong Blog Candy fesitival at All Things Stamped. Day One's challenge is to make a card with a bird, at least one layer and including some ribbon. You have to complete all challenges between Monday and Friday and post a link to her comments by midnight of the day the challenge is issued. I'll be hard pressed to complete a card each night this week, especially as we prepare for vacation next week. But I'm determined!


The main image and sentiment are from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. I love this folksy bird. I colored it with Prismacolor pencils, blended, then added some Spica glitter pen to the swirls on the wings and it's heart tattoo. The sentiment is stamped on white twill using Color Box Chalk ink in Tangerine. The button brad is Making Memories, and the purple ribbon is a piece of scrap I had in my pile. The scalloped circles are made with Nestabilities. The smooth cirlce was made with my Curvy Cutter. Inside, I stamped the flourishes from Rhonna Farrer and a sentiment from SU! All Year Cheer, using Elegant Eggplant ink. The card base is SU! EE cardstock, and the DP is from Miss Elizabeth's, found at the Dollar Store!

Ok, off to bed now. Traveling for Easter wore us all out and we have to get ready to travel again next week. It's going to be our first trip without DS, and I know I'll freak out more as the week progresses. He'll be in Phoenix, we'll be in Vegas. He'll probably be fine, and I'll be the worry wart.
Have a good night and thanks for looking!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Happy Easter!

Here's the only other Easter card I made this year. The images are High Hopes, sent to me by Bela at Bela's Creating Place. I hope everyone is having a very happy Easter! Here's a close up of the bunny's fuzzy tail, made with puffy paint. Thanks for looking!


Thursday, March 20, 2008

Out of This World

Ok, one more post before I have to run out and do a few errands. I always print off Julee's Mojo Monday sketches, and never get around to doing them in the appropriate week. BUT, here's my first Mojo Monday, done before the next one is posted!! This is Mojo Monday #29.

My first intinct was to drag out the flourishes and flowers again for this layout, but then I thought of all the little boy birthday cards that I need through the year. So instead of florals, I reached for SU! By Air. I love this set, which is similar to By Land, with obvious differences. It is the first time I have inked the spaceship. I used Versamark and clear embossed it on navy paper. The weathered brown panel is from CTMH, and the panels under the sentiment are from my stash. They were part of a RAK and I don't have the paper name. The sentiment is stamped freehand (can you tell?) with letter stamps from Target. You would never know that I really DID use the Stamp-a-ma-jig! Oh well, the letters look like they are floating in space, right?
The stars are eyelets from my stash, covering up a botched embossing job (I'll spare you the details). Now I just have to remember this is in my stash when the next birthday rolls around :)

OK, off to the post office, the bank, the pharmacy, and maybe to Target. Or maybe Barnes and Noble to treat myself to a Cafe Mocha? Decisions...

Thanks for looking!

Happy Spring!

Is it really here? You wouldn't know by the windy gray day we're having. My thoughts go out to all those in the midwest dealing with floods and more snow! After having lived in NH and AZ, I have to say that NJ is pretty mild, weather-wise. We are looking forward to getting our garden started soon. Can't wait till the first strawberries appear!Here's a card that uses Jen's Sketch For You to Try from last Saturday. I was in the mood for nice springy colors today, and had these scraps that fit the bill. The only stamping is the sentiment in the lower right corner. I used ColorBox Tangerine Chalk Ink, and Everyday Flexible Phrases. The flowers are stickers, and the flower in the circle panel is from the DP. I used a Bazzill Bling orange base for the card. Oh, and the three long panels are Cuttlebugged.

This will be one of a few posts today,as I check things off my to-create list. Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Techno Stamper Sketch/Technique Challenge Combo

If you haven't tried Mary Jo's (Techno Stamper) Monday Lunchtime Sketch yet, you are missing some great layouts! This week's sketch, #9, is HERE. This was a different card size for me - I made a gate fold last week of the same dimensions, but it was all pre-cut for me! This one involved a few measurements, but I like how it turned out overall. Except of course the upper right triangle on which the edge is not embossed perfectly!This card also uses the Splitcoast Stampers Technique Lover's Challenge, #160. It's called the Negative Effect and uses ink in the Cuttlebug embossing folder to give the paper extra dimension. I used Colorbox Frost White Pigment ink on black paper, in the Textile CB folder. This is such a cool effect, I can see trying it with a metallic ink next! The images and sentiment are from Baroque Motifs and are stamped in Baroque Burgundy. I find this to be a bit lighter than Bravo Burgundy, which I think is more brownish than red. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I added a rhinestone to the center of the main image just to give it a little more focus. I didn't want to add ribbons, though, because I like the clean design of the layout.

Well, I am off work tomorrow and we are taking off for the weekend, so I'll try to post what I get made tomorrow, and then won't be posting until Monday. Have a good night everyone! Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Will You Be My Tweetheart

I got this Love Ya Much stamp set from CC Designs mainly to make the Valentine cards for the kids in DS's preschool class. However, I just love these little lovebirds and brought them out again for the SCS challenge last week, SC167. The birds fit just right in the circle, and can be colored to match any color combo. Who cares if there are no real birds in these colors?
I also used this card as an entry into the CC Designs contest at All That Scraps. Voting opens on Friday, so please go and cast your vote for me! Seriously, there are a bunch of cute entries - go and check them out!..

The birds are colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended; I used liquid pearls inside the scallops. The DP is some that I won in a blog candy, along with the ribbon. I used the Curvy Cutter for the circle, and my Nestabilities for the scallop circle. Overall, I really like this card, and love the sketch! (although I think I say that about every sketch)
Well, a quick post tonight. I'm off to read for a bit before falling asleep. Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week - YEAH! That means I'll have Thursday to play in my stamp room before we leave town for Easter weekend. We're going to visit our best friends and then on to my parents' place. We are looking forward to a nice little getaway.
Have a great night, and Thanks for looking!

Blog Candy Alert

Have you seen this? Over at California Stampin, Alex is offering up some blog candy! Pay a visit and look at her pretty cards, then help spread the word and get an entry for the candy!

Back later with a card of my own. Thanks for looking!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope nobody is imbibing in green beer! Gosh, remember those college days? They seem so long ago...
Here's my one and only St. Pat's Day card.

I got some blog candy from Dianne at The Scrappin' Librarian, and included were some chipboard flowers and this YUMMY SU! Cosmo Glitter. It is so sparkly! Anyway, this particular flower just appeared to me as a 4 leaf clover, so there it is. I painted it with green acrylic paint, then layered on mod podge and glitter. I cut the stem from scrap and the sentiment is from that unknown set I have that I keep using! DP is from DCWV Mat Stack. Sentiment is embossed in detail white EP. The jeweled brad in the center is something I picked up online somewhere.

Hope you all enjoy the Luck O' the Irish today! Happy St. Patrick's Day and thanks for looking!

Beate's Weekend Sketch 39

Yeah! I actually completed a weekend sketch on the weekend it was posted! That's a small triumph for me, as I usually print them out Thursday and Friday and never get to them until the middle of the following week. But here's a card for Beate's WSC 39.Our neighbor has walking pneumonia, and we are very worried about her. She refuses to go to the hospital. So this card is for her. I will drop it off with more food for her DH tomorrow evening. I had DS make a card, too, but dummy me forgot to photograph it before sending it over! I used Loads of Love, which is still one of my favorite sets. I also have the Accessories, which are so fun (see the little dogs?). I put silver brads on the tires for hubcaps, and went over the windshield with my glaze pen. The dogs are cut and mounted on the sentiment panel. Have you ever tried to cut those little guys out? Not a fun task. I sponged earth and sky around the truck to ground it, and shaded a bit under the tires. Oh, and I paper pierced to give the background a little extra interest. Perhaps I should have added ribbon, but wasn't sure where to place it. The flower is a Prima and the flower brad is Making Memories. Coloring was done with Prismacolors and blended.

I hope you all have had a good weekend. Thanks for looking!

Friday, March 14, 2008

LSC159

Did you see today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS? NO TOOLS! Yikes! I decided to make it simple all the way with this card. The base is Bazzill Bling, cut to 4 1/4 by 5 1/2, but is a single layer, not a folded card. DP is Moxie Sweet & Sassy. The cream panel is actually a small notecard, and it is mounted on the other panels so that it opens a bit like a flap card. The notecards are in my stash and I'm trying to use stuff instead of hoarding! I stamped the Rhonna Farrer flourish in Certainly Celery, and the flower stamp from Baroque Motifs in Lavender Lace and Pretty in Pink. The butterfly is actually a Prima flower with one of the petals cut off. I saw it done here at Gleefully Done and copied the idea. The butterfly antennae are drawn with a black glaze pen. Inside I stamped Happy Easter. I think I overcorrected the brightness of the photo. So, if anyone is wondering why I have had so much time to post today (I think it's a record!), DS is home sick AGAIN!! When are all the germs going to be gone? He was sick all week, and went to school yesterday, but woke with a fever again this morning. Poor little guy. And poor us, paying for a full week of daycare when he only attended 2 days! Oh, well. This fuels my argument that I should quit my job, stay home and have another baby, get my school media certification and go back to work in a school library when the (hypothetical) baby is old enough for preschool.

I just had one of those weeks when I don't feel that I did anything well, because too many things are demanding my attention. My fix? Hide in my stamp room and play! Sorry for the ramble - thanks for looking!

A New SFYTT and A Re-Do

I've been thinking about how this card would come together all week, and finally had a chance last night to create it. I have two packs of these gate fold cards, in white and black, and broke into the white pack for this great sketch from Jen Del Muro. The only stamp on the whole card is the sentiment. I don't have the name of the set, but it contains a ton of great sentiments.
The DP is Making Memories, Maddi Paisley and Maddi Narr Stripe. The ribbon is from Ribbons and Bows, Oh My! Brads are from Queen & Co and the flowers are Primas. The flower vase is punched from the striped paper using the Convex Square SU! punch. I pierced the stems and drew in green, then stamped that little leaf stamp a few times (from Inkadinkadoo!).

The next card is the remix of another SFFTY that I made a few weeks ago. I added some layers and used the SU! Cosmo glitter in the flower centers. I also used the Cuttlebug to emboss the white panel and make it a little more interesting. I still feel there is too much white on this card, but I do like it better this time around.
Thanks for looking!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

TLC48 and Tagged!

Well, the week is not yet over, and I finally got to Monday's Technique Lover's Challenge last night. I subscribe to a ton of magazines, and found Metropolitan Home and Home magazines to have great pages for this technique!I used Delight in Life, which is still one of my favorite SU! sets. The paper is called French Poetry, but I don't know who made it. The red is from my scrap stash. Ink is Ruby Red. I used Versamark and gold EP with my heat gun for the embossing. This is my first time trying this technique and it will definitely be used again! Here's a close-up of one of the small flowers:

Also, Anna from Home Made Greetings tagged me. These are the rules:

• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here goes:

1. I cannot fall asleep if I have not read for at least 10 minutes in bed.
2. I HATE to dust - find it a completely thankless task that has to be done as soon as you are finished.
3. I grew up in NH and have NEVER skiied. Hate the cold and snow!
4. Even though I don't like football, nor understand it, I met my hubby at a Superbowl party (1997, Packers and Patriots).
5. I can't eat fruit when it's cold. Seriously, I take the fruit I plan to eat each day out of the fridge in the morning so it's room temp when I'm ready.
6. I'm too chicken to submit any cards for publication.
7. I can't leave my Google Reader if there are still unread posts. For this reason, I end up staying up too late and spending time at my job trying to get to 0 new posts!

Phew! That's it. Not too exciting, is it? I will leave it up to you if you want to consider yourself tagged. I don't know 7 blogger well enough to go and tag them, and I think lots have already been tagged with this game!

Have a Happy Friday, everyone! Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

If I Blog Surf Less...

Does that mean I would have more time to stamp? I don't think so - I'd spend as much time trying to get inspired. And what fun is it to stamp in a vacuum? Isn't all the feedback part of the reason to blog?

Anyway, here is a Bella card I made a while back that has been sitting on my desk. It is PMSabella, perfect for me today. I would LOVE to be sitting with chips and chocolate, but we are going on vacation in a few weeks and I'm afraid nothing is going to fit me as it is!

She is colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended, and look how well the chair came out. I shaded her with a cool grey marker. The flowers are from Target's $1.00 spot, the brad is Making Memories in silver. The ribbon is American Crafts and the DP is from Miss Elizabeth's, found at the dollar store. Sentiment is from Studio G. It is all mounted on kraft, and the green and purple layers are scraps. You wouldn't believe the size of my scrap pile, even though I try to use it up all the time! I think the scraps multiply while we are sleeping... The Bella panel is mounted on foam tape.

I have been tagged! My first time. I will post in response to that one later tonight.
Keep an eye out for candy soon - I'm slowly approaching 5000 hits! Thanks for looking!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Spring Thank You Times Two

Well, I never did get to re-working the previous card (Sorry to keep you waiting, Anna!) Maybe this week I'll get to it. We spent Saturday visiting with friends we have not seen in over a year, then Sunday I decided to rearrange my craft room. My desk was right under the window, which was great in theory, but not when the sun was shining directly down, glaring off the papers into my eyes. It was rough to work there in the direct sun! So now I am on the other side of the room, and the sun does shine in the afternoon, but no longer directly on my desktop. There is a great amount of natural light, without the glare :)

Also, DH went out yesterday and got himself (ok, us) a Wii. How fun! We played bowling and tennis last night for a good while. It was his birthday Friday, so he deserved it (especially since I am so lame with gifts that I didn't have a chance to get him anything).

Yesterday I did get a little time to create, in between playing "Target" with DS. When it was his turn to "shop" I colored some images, then cut them in stages. Here are the cards I put together because I had the images already stamped and felt like coloring. Then I realized I had the striped paper that matched the colors I chose for the tulips. Don't you love when coordination just happens and you don't have to work so hard for it? The dp is from Target, the card base is Marigold Morning, and the green layer is Certainly Celery. The pink layer is scrap. Ribbon is from Target also. Stamps are SU! Nice & Easy Notes.
I'll have more time to play tomorrow, I hope. I took the day off work, and DS came home from preschool today with a fever. So we'll be home all day, except to run to the doctor. Hopefully he'll get a good night's sleep and fight it off. It's only been about 3 weeks since he was sick last time!

I hope you all are enjoying the extra hour of sunshine in our days! Thanks for looking!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

My Take on SFYTT

Well, I'm happy to report the dizziness is subsiding! Yippee.

ALSO, when I got home from work today, what did I see in my craft room?????????? DAYLIGHT! So, after we change the clocks on Saturday night, I might be coming home to crafting without the glaring overhead lights :)

This past weekend I stole a little while to tackle Jen's Sketch For You To Try. Each week, I print off her sketches, and never get around to completing a card for them. I'm not thoroughly pleased with this card, but I think I know how to improve it. I might make a "take 2" this weekend...I used the new SAB Friendship Blooms (again!), and my new Nestabilities scallop circle dies. The tag is from Target, a long time ago. I colored the flowers in by watercoloring with the same ink - Cool Caribbean, Lavendar Lace and Pretty in Pink. I used my 2-way glue pen to add glitter to the flower centers. The background paper is randomly stamped with the flowers also. This is all mounted on a pink base. Again, don't love it, because the images don't pop enough. But there's hope!

Thanks for all the well wishes as I moan about my dizziness! I really am not a whiner and know that my troubles are nothing compared to what some other bloggers are going through right now.

Have a happy Friday and Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Color Challenge 156

I'm home again today - this dizziness is driving me crazy. Went to the doctor finally and he says it's probably the beginning of an ear infection. What fun. So he gave me antibiotics and medicine to stop the dizziness. Let's hope it works!!

But the silver lining is that I was home to tackle the color challenge over at SCS. I have no Wild Wasabi paper, and it was hard to find a replacement, but I like how it turned out. The dp is Marcella K from Target. The green strip has French Script background stamped in Wild Wasabi ink; the image and sentimet are from SU! Friendship Blooms from the SAB catalog. The flowers are primas, and the brads are Target $1 spot. The rhinestones are from Hero Arts.
Just this morning I happened to swing by Target and they had a BUNCH of clearance stuff in the scrapbook aisle. (BTW - Target when you feel like the store is spinning is a trip - not recommended. I think I bought more stuff because I didn't have the presence of mind to think twice!) It must be time for all the new spring stuff, because the aisle was wiped out. But I found this great pad of Marcella K papers, a 7/8" square punch, foam tape, and Fiskars texture plates for cheap! I found out how I can get the Fiskars texture plates to work in the Cuttlebug. Has anyone else tried this?
Well, I have a little more time before it's time to pick up DS. Thanks for looking!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

A Little Bird Told Me...

This is a new stamp set I got from Joann.com last week. It's from Inkadinkadoo. I love that it has a bunch of tree elements that can be assembled in endless ways. Today I got a chance to play with it after thinking about it for several days.
I used Garden Green, Glorious Green, Clost to Cocoa, Cameo Coral and Green Galore inks. I colored the bird and eggs with Prismacolors and blended them. I quite like how the bird turned out, but now she is telling me that I should have placed the flowers in the lower right corner of the card instead of under the tree. Do you think that would have balanced the card better? I don't want to add any embellishments because I wanted to keep it a simple one-layer card.

The sentiment is from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.

Well, off to watch Oprah's Big Give, try the banana blueberry muffins I made tonight and then hit the sack. I don't know if it's residual from being sick a few weeks ago, but I've been dizzy since Friday. I was even getting dizzy when I rolled over in bed last night. So as long as I don't make any sudden movements, I'm ok.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Thanks for looking!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Sheetload of Cards Giveaway

Have you seen this? Sheetload of Cards, a free e-zine, is having a celebration and you can win a bunch of Studio G stamps, for one thing! Go check it out HERE.

PHEW!

Well, I haven't stamped all week, and it took me a while to get my mojo back today. I spent some time cleaning up my stamp room, rearranging things. Didn't get to rearrange furniture, because that is a major undertaking, but cleaned off more shelves to house all my new toys. Each time DH comes home from a business trip, he is amazed at how much stuff I have. Luckily, he doesn't give me a hard time about it all. He's really very supportive of this new addiction...

Anyway, I was bound and determined to finish a card for Beate's Weekend Sketch. I have only done one or two others and each week it slips by me. So here it is, hours after I began:
The trickiest part for me was the mixing of 3 patterned papers. Yikes! After I got those sorted, it was a pretty quick card. The candles are SU! Fun With Shapes. I had this set for the longest time before I figured it out. Now I think it's a ton of fun. The papers are some I won from Candace at Crazy for Papercrafts, so I'm not sure of the brand. If you recognize it, let me know - I'm awful at identifying papers without labels :) I layered each panel with a burgundy panel to make them stand out. The brads are from my stash, and the candle flames are covered with yellow Stickles. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp. Love those! A tiny rhinestone from Hero Arts is above the i in "wish". Now that the card is together and complete, I really like it.

Now for a blog candy winnings summary of the last little bit:

A package of goodies from Candace. It was so nicely wrapped with satin ribbon! Thanks, Candace!

A Sale-a-Bration stamp set from Heather at Heather Rolin's Creations. I chose Friendship Blooms and played with it today! So fun! Thanks, Heather!

A stamp set from Lorie at Live, Love, Laugh, Create. She sent along Burst Into Bloom, which I can't wait to ink up. Thanks, Lorie!

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. If I did, I still send sincere thanks! Wishing you all a fun remainder of the weekend. Thanks for looking!