Better Late Than Never...

ETA: I just realized I missed the scalloped edge on the bottom of the sketch! Shoot!!

I whipped this up this evening in a race to beat the deadline for the Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. I don't know if I made it for inclusion in Mary Jo's recap, but here it is.

We spent the afternoon at the mall and I ducked into Janie and Jack for a few things. I'm addicted to that store and Carter has some cute outfits to show for it! BUT, I only buy from the sale racks!! Anyway, the floral paper and gingham paper on this card are from the bag. The number is a piece of a Grungeboard set that I painted with acrylic paint (pink then pearl), glittered and sprayed with sealer to set the glitter. The butterflies are from the SU! Embosslit and the ribbon is a scrap from my stash. The sentiment is from CHF, Birthday Centers. It's my go-to birthday sentiment set!

Now I'm off to clean up from dinner. It's just me and the boys for the next few days, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for looking!

Two Challenges Sunday

I was able to sneak in a tiny bit of stamp time this morning, and whipped up these two cards. They were super quick because I only stamped the sentiment on one, the rest is all dp and embellies.

The first card is for the CPS160 sketch, which is very nice and easy! I might try it again later in the week with a long card, too. I do have three birthday cards to make this week for sweet little girls we know! The papers are Deja Views Fresh Print in Plum Stripes and Plum Blossoms. Rick rack and brads are from my stash. The "hi" tag is from a pack of tags I bought at Target years ago! Love that I can use up this stuff finally! The layers under the tag are cut with the Blossom dies from Nestabilities.

The second card is for the EONAC10, in which the sentiment is to take center stage. I have other ideas for this challenge, too. Hopefully I'll get to those later this week, too! So many stamp ideas, so little time :(

I used some EK Success Stacy Claire Boyd papers, Timeless Teal (from the Tres Chic Peacock Collection) that I have had in my pile for a long time. It doesn't have a date on it, but it has to be at least 2 years old. I love the colors, but always thought it would conflict with any image I paired it with. Pairing it with just a sentiment works! The sentiment is from Verve.

I hope you are having a good Sunday. We are expecting 3-5 inches of rain over the next few days, so I'm hoping the basement stays dry again. DH is headed out of town tonight and I don't want to be home alone with any disasters!! Justin is on break this week, so a couple of rainy days are going to be a blast. Maybe he'll want to stamp with me :)

Thanks for looking!

Puffy Paint and Stickles!

This week's EONAC was to use something messy. I have included acrylic paint, puffy paint and Stickles on this project. Originally, I also included heat embossing, but that part of the project got trashed. I tried to emboss snow falling on the glass to this frame, but it smudged, and then didn't fit with the popped-up snowmen. And strangely, the frame came with slightly tinted glass and made the image look funky, so it's just as well.

The image is Flaky Friends by SU! and is also what I used for Tracy's Christmas Card challenge this month. I am entering this project as my 3-d project this month. It was a bit cuter in my head, but I like how it turned out overall. The snowflakes are from that never-ending stash of confetti I've been trying to use up. The ribbon is from Target after Christmas a couple years ago. The frame is from the craft store, or maybe even the dollar store. I've had it around that long!

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Justin is on Spring Break, so I don't know how much I'll be creating next week. Maybe I can sneak some time in this weekend while DH is in town (he leaves again Sunday). We'll see. I hope you all have some quality crafting time in your future! Thanks for looking!

More Fun Window Shopping

While these images and papers were on my desk last week, I made two more cards using the MFT Window Shopping set. This is such a fun set to piece! You can make yourself the perfect color shoes and boots :)

The papers are from BG Sultry and Perhaps pads. I think they are pretty self-explanatory - paper piecing on the dress and shoes, some Bella Dots and ribbon, and there you have it.

I hope you are all having a good week. Thanks for looking!

Lime and Cherry Snowmen

Parts of these cards have been sitting on my desk all week. Just today I took the time to put them all together. It's so nice to have 5 cards done in one sitting! This Flaky Friends group of snowmen is one of my all-time favorites, which is why I chose to use it for the March challenge in Tracy's Christmas Card Challenge. I will make my 3-d project this coming week - it's in my head, I just have to find the time to complete it. I hope it's as cute in reality as it is in my head!

The sketch for this batch of cards is the CSP 158 sketch from March 14. DP is from scraps of DCWV Holiday Slab. The red is Real Red from SU! and the green is from DCWV Spring Mat Stack. I used snowflakes from a pack of confetti (SO many snowflakes in that package!!), and some linen thread from SU!. I really like the rounded corners.

I'm off to run to the grocery store, such fun on a Saturday afternoon! I hope you are having a good weekend. Thanks for looking!

Flashback to Valentine's Day

Since I don't have anything new from the last few days, I found this Valentine card that I never loaded. I made it to send to one of our nieces in Arizona. The papers are from the DCWV Spring Stack that never ends, and the felt swirls are from Queen & Co. I have to say that they are very pretty swirls, but peeling the backing off and sticking them down without getting all twisted up proved to be a bit challenging! The sentiment is from a Studio G dollar set.

Hope you are enjoying sunshine! Thanks for looking!

Orchid Thoughts

You can tell a day that Carter naps well, because I not only get to create a card, but I get to blog about it, too! He is due to wake up any minute, so this will be quick. This card is for the SCS Color Challenge and also for the Monday Lunchtime Sketch. I love these colors together and got to play with my new Extra Large Flower Punch from SU! I embossed the Razzleberry and Vanilla panels, and the large layer of the flower with the Swirl folder and the Cuttlebug. The leaves are actually cut with another Cuttlebug die and are in Basic Grey Perhaps paper.

The Old Olive layer of dp is from the SU! SAB Welcome Friends paper pad. Love that paper!! I wish SU! had a sampler pack of In Color dsp, though. I know they sell each color separately with the Patterns packs, but a sampler would be nice, don't you think? Any demos reading with some influence?

The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain and the button is from my stash. Sentiment is from the SAB Whimsical Words set (yes, I got a ton of SAB stuff :)).

As predicted, Carter is waking up, so time to play. We finally have sunshine today and I hope you do, too! Thanks for looking!

EONAC: Coloring with Chalks

Here we are at Monday again, and the weekend is a distant memory. I did have some time to play in my stamp room yesterday, but Justin wanted to create with me and I spent most of my time helping him make his cards (he CASEd two of mine from last week!). I also had a killer headache most of the day and that cramped my mojo a little, too.

These little notes are all I managed to make this weekend - using the SU! hostess set, Of The Earth. I colored the images using the Chalkboard Technique, which satisfies the EONAC challenge to use a forgotten coloring too. My chalks were buried in the back of a drawer and it was fun to use them again with this cool technique! The papers are all from the scrap pile, with the exception of the Kraft card bases on the larger cards. The embossing is done with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The most used folder in my collection, how about yours?

We are drying out after a horrifically rainy weekend. So many of our friends have flooded basements, but somehow we managed to avoid that. We did move most of our things up from the basement just in case, though. I hope you are all doing well and are spared from any wicked weather. Bring on the sunshine! Thanks for looking!

Follow Your Heart...

UGH, what a day to try to photograph a card. I chased all over the house trying to get some decent lighting, and this is the best I could get. Time to learn how to use the Photoshop Elements I got for Christmas.

This card is for two challenges - the Techo Stamper Monday Lunchtime Sketch (#112) and the Color Throwdown for this week. The Color Throwdown includes Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi and Marigold Morning. Love them together, and wouldn't have thought of them myself :). It is a big card, 6 inches square! I used my new toys - I heart Hearts and Whimsical Words along with the new Welcome Neighbor paper pack. LOVE all my new SU! toys :) I also unwrapped my Bermuda Bay ink pad. Why haven't I played with the In Colors sooner than this week?

Here's hoping for a tiny spot of sunshine this weekend. We are expecting a few inches of rain over the next few days and that probably means water in the basement. Let's hope the sump pumps don't die this time!!Thanks for looking!

Shoe Sale!

I should be working on my list of challenges to complete this week, but instead I made this fun card. My mom needs a birthday card for a friend in April, and I was playing with ideas. This was really fun to paper piece!! I used the BG Sultry pad and MFT's Window Shopping. Who doesn't love a shoe sale? The sentiment is from the SAB set I just got, Happy Moments. The ink is Melon Mambo. I am loving that color this week after using it for the SCS Color Challenge lately.

Well, I'm off to lunch with friends, which means I actually have to get dressed in real clothes and get Carter ready to go. Thanks for looking!

Spring Tulips

Today's Color Challenge at SCS included my absolute favorite, Certainly Celery, combined with Melon Mambo and Bashful Blue. I had one last sheet of Delicate Dots dp from last year's Sale-a-Bration and used part of it to make the mat. That will be the first paper pack that I have used every bit of when this last sheet is gone. I may make a few more of this card to use it up. I love this stamp, an old one from PSX. I think it was one of my first stamp purchases and it just makes me happy. Usually, I color the tulips different colors, but today they are all Melon Mambo and they make me smile.

The ribbon is Melon Mambo also and the base is Certainly Celery. I left off a sentiment so that the focus is on the flowers. Have a great day and thanks for looking!

EONAC Delight

This EONAC challenge kicked my butt, because I decided to drag out the Stamp-a-ma-jig. It was an exercise in frustration, with the original idea ending up as a series of smudges. There's a reason that is a forgotten tool! I ruined one of the last pieces of Very Vanilla CS I had - my SU! order better arrive quickly :)

The card is inspired by a bra in the latest Kohl's ad that came in the mail. I cropped the image so you could still see the pattern, but so that it was not obvious I was posting a bra on my blog! I used Perfectly Plum, So Saffron and Regal Rose inks along with the Delight in Life stamp set (one of my oldies-but-goodies). I used the SAMJ to line up the flower centers with the flowers and also to make the background on the plum layer. The sentiment is stamped on Regal Rose on So Saffron cs, cut out with the Labels Three die. The ribbon is from my stash, along with the rhinestones.

Today is a beautiful day and Carter and I have already taken a walk. I've gotten 4 loads of laundry done and have started to dig out the playroom/den. Just a touch of spring fever has me wanting everything CLEAN! I hope you have a good day, too. Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday, DH!

I made this card for the Ways to Use It Challenge on Thursday over at SCS, but couldn't post it because DH actually looks at my blog! I had such fun making this card, using a website listed on my son's school site. It's Spelling City and you can make all kinds of word games using your own lists of words!

The papers are from my scrap pile, CTMH, maybe? The brads are Making Memories Antique Copper Squares and I used my star and circle punches. On the puzzle, I popped up the letters of Happy Birthday with foam dots. They just happened to be the exact size of the punched circles. Love when that happens!

Have a good day everyone! Thanks for looking!

Never Give Up

I'm still not sure if I like this card, even letting it sit over night. What's the problem? Maybe it's the yarn on the kite body that's rubbing me the wrong way. Maybe it's the bright yellow that is contrasting my cranky mood, making me almost smile when I don't feel like it? Who knows. Maybe it's the laundry that I know is waiting to be put away as I write this post!!

Anyway, this is for the EONAC this week - to use ribbon bits. I have TONS of ribbon bits because I'm too cheap to throw anything away! Seriously, you should see the tiny scraps of stuff I have in jars and bowls in my craft room :) You'd think I grew up in the Great Depression or something. The sentiment on this card is from Verve Stamps, Believe set. Julee donated $10 of each of these sets purchased to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. I love it - it has some beautiful flowers and of course the cancer ribbons that you can make in any color, along with Julee's great sentiments!

Well, I'm off to take advantage of nap time. Who knows how long it will last today. I hope you're all having a good day! Thanks for looking!

It's A Faux Party!

I made this for TLC262. The challenge was to make a shaped mat without using Nesties! Yikes! It has been AGES since I completed an SCS challenge, and posted something new to my gallery.

The image panel and mats are made with the Fiskars Upper Crest Border punch. I started with a 3.5" Kraft square, then a 3" green square, then a 2.5" white square. The cupcake is stamped with Soft Suede and Aquamarine (Cat's Eye). The sentiment is punched with the Word Window Punch, then mounted on a Modern Label punch, then mounted on a strip that was edged with the Fiskars punch again. I added Stickles to the cupcake top and candle flames. The Heidi Grace dp was on the top of my scrap pile from last week, so I grabbed that. It is from 2007 and probably not available any more, but is so pretty! I will get every last bit out of that one sheet - I have enough for one or two small cards left. Gift tags, maybe?

Have a good rest of the week! Thanks for looking!

Another Day Late...

I decided to do the Color Throwdown challenge this week, but lo and behold I didn't get it submitted by the Sunday deadline! Oh, to have my brain back would be nice. I failed to read that in their submission requirements. But I still like the card I made!

Mocha Chica supplies were still out on my desk, so I went with those, adding Old Olive ink and ribbon. The ladybug has two dots from Stamping Bella on her spots for some depth and the edges of the paper are punched, too. This card came together very quickly, and I love it!

Here's a question - have you submitted for a Paper Crafts contest? Should I, or is the competition too stiff? I'm itching to try a submission, but am holding back. Any advice is appreciated!!

Today is my day to catch up on laundry. Maybe I'll get to play later. I also have DH's birthday to prepare for on Sunday. Not enough time in the day!! Thanks for looking!

Mocha Chica Wishes

Each week, I make a list of the challenges I want to complete. Each week, I get to a small percentage of them. Today, I dove in with the CPS Sketch, #156 while Carter took a good morning nap. This stamp set and papers (both Kim Hughes for CHF) have been in my stash for over a year and I knew I wanted to use them today. Maybe it's the anticipation of getting the new bird punch from SU! that had me thinking of birds. They are everywhere right now, it seems.

The card size is 7 1/4 by 3 3/4 inches. I made this size because I have a stash of random envelopes, and it fit the 8x8 inch papers! The green embellies are from Stamping Bella, the swirl is stamped with Soft Suede, and the bird is cut from the green paper. The wing is paper pieced.

Well, I have been saying that I have not been to a craft store since before Christmas, but I just sent a HUGE SU! order in and can't wait for stuff to arrive. I took full advantage of the SAB and am getting 7 free items from the SAB catalog!! Woohoo! Now if only I had more time to play :))

Have a good Monday, and thanks for looking!