TSSC162 for the Troops

Today's cards are modeled after the Techno Stamper Lunchtime Sketch, TSSC162. I am making a bunch of cards to send to OWH for the troops, and am trying to use up my supplies in the process! This batch uses a few sheets of Pretty In Pink cs, almost the last of my Marigold Morning cs (how many of you remember that color?), and some DCWV Spring Stack patterned paper. I swear, those stacks NEVER end!



The stamps are from Hero Arts - my mom picked them up at a crafty yard sale for me and I always forget about them. However, this week Carter emptied the basket that has all my loose stamps, so I was reacquainted with this cute set. They are colored with SU! markers and a few of the vases are paper pieced. The sentiments are CHF. The twill ribbon and brads (I never use gold ones, but like them here) are from the stash.



I will post more cards this week, I promise! DH has been out of town more than in and when the kids go to bed, I just collapse in front of the tv. The good news this week is that I had a weigh-in at the gym. In the last 5 weeks, I have lost 6 pounds and reduced my body fat percentage from 25.8 to 17.4. I am VERY excited to be in shape by this summer! There's still work to be done, and this weekend I am hungry, but I'm motivated to keep it up.

I hope you are having a good weekend. Thanks for looking! Here is a list of the other cards entered for the sketch:

Playing With Markers

This card is for the Moxie Fab World Stamp It! Techniques week marker challenge. I don't have the budget for Copics, but I did get the SU! markers for Christmas. I love the brush tip, and the ability to color a stamp without worrying about masking and using the stamp-a-ma-jig! The base of this card is Very Vanilla, the frame and one mat is So Saffron, and the butterflies and smaller mat are Tempting Turquoise. I colored the floral silhouette stamp from Just Believe with Garden Green, So Saffron and Tempting Turquoise, then stamped it on vellum. I cut the window with the Deckled Rectangle Nesties and punched the butterflies with the Martha Stewart butterfly punch. If you can see on the background, I also stamped the same image in Versamark on the Vanilla. The sentiment is an epoxy sticker I found in a box of embellishments.



Our weather has turned from winter to summer, and we are enjoying 70-80 degree days here. It's time to get the garden planted! I hope you are all enjoying some good weather. Have a great weekend, and Thanks for looking!

Beautiful Old People

I bought this sentiment from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps years ago, and never got to ink it up until today. I love it, but had to use it on the right person. My grandmother is having a birthday soon, and I thought it would be perfect for her. She is mother to 8 children, grandmother to 20 (21?) and great-grandmother to a bunch, too. Everyone loves her and I hope she has a fabulous day!

For the layout, I took the sketch from Card Patterns (#102). The papers are Soft Sky, and Paper Salon Enamored in Swiss Dot and Blue Scrolls. I think I picked up the papers at the LSS where I used to live, but can't be sure. The flower is made with the gorgeous tissue paper that Verve stamp orders come wrapped in. I cut out a bunch of scalloped circles with the Nesties, layered them and scrunched them up. The center brad and the brads in the upper left corner are from my stash. See, I'm using up stuff!

I'm in the process of reorganizing stuff in my craft room. It's getting there, but it's never going to be perfect, is it? But thank goodness for IKEA!! I hope you are enjoying the tail end of the weekend. Thanks for looking!

Floating Hearts

Another super-simple card. Some pretty paper, a gorgeous ribbon, and a sentiment panel. There you have it! I hope you like it :)

Thanks for looking!

Why Did I Buy This Swap Card

I joined a swap recently on SCS. The theme was to use products that you had in your stash for more than one year and had never touched. I have plenty of those! I found this Imagination Station paper in Cayenne, Pic-nicky and Tomato Soup and paired it with some Kiwi Kiss cs. Ok, I have used the Kiwi Kiss before, but I have never inked up this stamp or used these embroidery floss colors. The eyelets were also deep in the stash, and I found the little Thank You stamp in a binder I have of dollar stamps.

The layout is from OWH Stars and Stamps blog. I was skeptical about this card as I was putting it together, but in the end I like it! Thanks for looking!

Super Simple Hugs and Kisses

I realized this morning that I'm running out of time to post all the Valentine's Day cards I made this year. They mostly went to the troops, but I haven't shared them yet! I tend to forget when Valentine's Day is approaching, except for the fact that DH is going on a business trip next week. Whomever plans this yearly conference ALWAYS plans it so that it happens over Valentine's Day. At least I get great European chocolates when he returns :)

Nothing much to chat about today. I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for looking!

Raindrop Kisses

Lately, I've been jotting down a bunch of sketches from the blogland to get me started when I finally have time to sit at my craft desk. This one is from Unscripted Sketches (#92). I love how simple it is, although I'm sure it could be dressed up much more if you wanted to. I always have trouble knowing how much more is too much more, so I always stop. One of these days, I'll make a shabby, vintage, busy card. Not today, though :)

The image is from Elzybells (I got a bunch of stuff when they were going out of business). I paper pieced her dress and the umbrella. DP is from a Spring Stack by DCWV that I've been chipping away at for about 3 or 4 years now. It NEVER ends!! Base is Pure Poppy. I even decorated the inside a tiny bit:

Sentiment is Elzybells again, and the hearts are from the SU! punch. Thanks for looking!

Clean and Simple Valentine

I made this Valentine using the Fall To Layout 121 from Clean and Simple Stamping. I covered the double-sided sticky heart with red flocking and used the Cuttlebug heart embossing folder. The sentiment is SU!

This was in the batch of Valentines I sent to OWH for the troops. I found a bunch of drafted posts in my Blogger account, so I will maybe get those finished up and scheduled for the rest of this week. Tonight and tomorrow we are supposed to get more snow and ice and I suspect tomorrow will be another snow day for Justin. Which translates into no stamping time for me!

I hope you are all staying warm during this crazy winter. Thank goodness for blogs to surf through during these housebound days :)

Thanks for looking!

I ♥ naptime: Sundae Scoop- Link Party! Craft Blog

Have you all seen this fun crafty blog?

I ♥ naptime: Sundae Scoop- Link Party! Craft Blog

Hugs from Edwin

The Edwin stamps from Magnolia remind me of my boys, and I love coloring or paper piecing their outfits. Here, Edwin's outfit is covered up with the big heart, but it was still fun to color! The stamp is Edwin Wants a Hug, and I recently got it from All That Scraps. The color combo is from this week's Color Throwdown: Early Espresso, So Saffron, Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake. The dp is from an old pack I had from Target.

The Saffron panel is stamped with the French Script backgrounder (SU!) in Crumb Cake. Edwin is colored with SU! markers and the large heart is a die from the SU! Sizzlit. It is embossed with tiny hearts and has a sweet scalloped border. The Saffron hearts are punched with the SU! Heart punch. "Hugs" is from a CHF set of sentiments. The ribbon is from my stash!

I discovered the coolest upcoming online learning experience coming up, starting Monday!! I read a lot of blogs, but there are a few that are my crafty favorites. Polka Dot Cottage is one of those, maintained by Lisa Clarke. She dabbles in lots of crafts, but her "main" craft is making jewelry, buttons, and other fun things from polymer clay. She is running a 5 week FREE online Beginner Button Class. How cute would these look on a card? AND, you can customize the color combos! How fun is that?? If you want to check it out, the details are HERE.

I hope you are all doing well. We've had a quite a weather week here in North Texas and are happy to see the sun shining and temps rising above freezing here today! Thanks for looking!