Peace on Earth

This is the card I made for DH to send his colleagues. I made 92 of them and they came together rather quickly. The globe stamps is from Avocado Arts and the sentiment is Technique Tuesday. The continents are stamped in Garden Green on Very Vanilla and there is a Garden Green layer under the Vanilla. I love this card. I hope it doesn't just end up in the trash!

I have all my holiday cards done and am finishing up teacher gifts and such. Should be done by the end of the weekend. I have to be done by then because next week is the last week of school for our kids until the new year! It's hard having them home the entire week before Christmas, because that's when I've usually done all my last-last-minute stuff. Instead, I have to keep them entertained.

I hope you are getting in the spirit! Thanks for looking!

Wreath with Nestabilities!

I am almost done with my Christmas cards for this year. The goal is always to have them mailed out by the end of the first week of December. I think I will make it! I only have about 15-20 more to make. This year, I didn't mass produce one design. Instead, I'm making 6-8 of various designs as I try to use every Christmas stamp set that I have. A few were still left out, and they are going to go in a giveaway pile. If I have not inked them up in 3+ years, I think it's time to say goodbye to them!

This card is very simple. I used my Scalloped Circle Nesties and the Inverted Scalloped Circle Nesties to make a wreath. Then I ran it through with the Evergreen embossing folder by Sizzix. I love how it turned out! The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday. The ribbon is from my pile - I really have to start using ribbon to get rid of my huge collection!

Here is a closer photo of the wreath:



I'm off to pick up Carter from school and run Justin to the doc for allergy tests. Let's hope for good results! I always get antsy before a testing appointment. So hard not to get my hopes up that the results will be negative at last. Maybe this year?? Probably not, though...

I hope you are all knocking things off your to-do lists in preparation for this crazy time of year! Thanks for looking!

Cutest Baby Favors

These are little favor boxes that I made for my cousin's baby shower back in the Spring. They are too cute and I wish I had a side view so you could see the little box compartment that is in the middle. The template was purchased from Creations by AR and had me wishing I owned a Cricut! I hand-cut a huge number of these, then assembled them and shipped them off to my mom for the shower. I didn't even get to attend :(

So I realize I might not even have any readers left out there after being gone for the entire month of November. BUT, there are a ton of Christmas cards waiting to be posted, and I will start them on December 1st. My shopping is almost complete, and my list is made for teachers and all the "extra" people we have to thank at this time of year. Lots of Ghirardelli squares and Nuggets are hiding in my craft room waiting to be put to use. Hopefully I don't eat more than a few of them and negate all the work I've put in at the gym this year!

I hope you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving season and are ready for the end of year marathon of celebrations. Thanks for looking!

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

Here are the other two cards I made while mulling over the Tuesday Trigger inspiration photo at Moxie Fab World. They just didn't thrill me in the end. The one is too literal an interpretation and the other is just "meh." I've been busy in the craft room lately, so that's huge progress! Since taking the Inspiration Showcase class with Jennifer McGuire, I'm in love with Distress Inks and have pieces all over my desk resulting from playing around. I have not embossed so much since I started stamping so many years ago!

Today, I have gotten a ton of kitchen work done. Made tomato sauce, non-dairy lasagne, bread, apple coffee cake muffins, roasted and pureed pumpkin and roasted pumpkin seeds. I am tired and ready for the yummy dinner! I hope you have had a great day, too! Thanks for looking!

SPARKS Challenge

The photo inspiration for the current SPARKS challenge was too cute to pass up. The VW van made me think of flower children and the 70's. I used some Crate Paper dp (love those lollipop trees) and More Mustard with a hint of brown from the scrap pile. The flowers are from my never-ending Prima stash and the brads are also from the stash. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches, Pretty Phrases, and is stamped with Soft Suede and clear embossed. The sentiment panel is also stamped in More Mustard with the SU! woodgrain background stamp.

My VW story is that when my best friend and I were 24, we decided to head west and bought a VW van for the trip. Well, the van broke down only 3 states away from home and we were forced to return with our tails between our legs. So much for our grand adventure! We moved a few months later anyway (via airplane this time) and ended up living in AZ for a few years. That's where I met my husband and my best friend actually ended up marrying my husband's best friend a few years later. Isn't that a happy story?

Hope you are having a good day. Oh, and should you decide to take the SPARKS challenge, it's up until November 2! Thanks for looking!

More Tuesday Trigger on Thursday!

Have you seen the latest Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab World? I wish I could figure out how to get the image of the dress to show up here, but click on the link to check it out. You have two weeks to create and post something!

I've made three cards already, and this is my favorite so far. I'll post the others tomorrow. The butterflies are punched from Ralph Lauren paint chips with a Martha Stewart punch. They have a great pearly, crackly finish to them. The pearls are a mix of stuff from my stash. The grey is from Bazzill and is textured and the white panel is Whisper White heat embossed with the French Script background and clear EP, then dry embossed with the SU! Elegant Bouquet folder. The small grey panel is punched with an EK success border punch. Here's a close-up of the butterflies.



Thanks for looking!

Lovely Trees

Wow, I found this card in my draft folder! I guess I never got around to writing the post. This is the holiday card I made for DH to give to his colleagues last year. I used Lovely as a Tree and a greeting from my stash. The base is Sahara Sand and the ink is probably Handsome Hunter? I recently designed a super-simple card for him to send this year, and I love it. I just have to order some more card stock and I can get them done in no time.

I have completed a bunch of holiday cards so far with the stuff in my stash this year, and will be sending a batch to OWH for the troops. Then I can work on my own cards to send! I hope you are having a great day. We are getting some much needed rain, the boys are both at school/kids' day out today and I am heading up to my craft room to watch trash tv and get crafty! Thanks for looking!

Thankful Hearts and a Non-Paper Craft

Finally, after 10 months, I got a chance to create a card with Jen's Sketch for You to Try. I had these papers in my "use it up" pile. See, Cindy sent me boatloads of stuff when I first started stamping and I am still working my way through it all! Thanks, Cindy!! I'm using it so I can order more stuff :)

The papers are from SU! and the sentiment is a MAMBI rub-on. It is part of a pack of Thanksgiving rub-ons that I'm slowly using up (do you see a theme here? I am earnestly trying to use what I have!). The hearts are cut from the Verve hearts die.

I've been busy in the craft room, just not always making cards the last few weeks. Carter started a Kids' Day Out program 2 days a week, and needed a nap mat. I first got one of the cheap vinyl ones at Target, but it's already starting to crack. Plus, so many kids have cute soft roll-up mats, I got a pattern from a friend and went at this one.

It took forever to finish because I kept making mistakes, then broke the spool pin on my sewing machine and had to order a replacement. Finally, two whole weeks and hours of work (but only 2 extra trips to the sewing store!) later, it is done! I was so happy when I stitched that last stitch on the buttons. He loves it and it's so cute! If I ever have to make another one, it will be so easy after all the mistakes I learned from with this one :) Not pictured is a pillow that attaches to the top that matches the fleece blanket. Yes, the pillow should be integrated, but that's one of the mistakes, LOL. Here is the tutorial should you want to make one of your own. Just remember - measure twice, cut once!

Lots more cards in the hopper to be posting. Can you believe we're getting into the holiday season here so soon! Hope you are enjoying some great fall weather wherever you are! Thanks for looking!

OWH Blog Hop

Welcome to the Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Bloghop! The theme is Christmas cards. Have you started making yours yet? Hopefully you will get a jumpstart on your mojo while cruising through the blogs on this hop!

I love that OWH sends card to troops to help them keep in touch with their loved ones. It makes me feel great that my craft has a purpose. There's no way I could send all the cards I make, and I love that they are going to good homes and spreading joy!

I should have titled my post "Ode to Cindy", since the papers were all passed on to me from my friend Cindy at Creating With the Heart. The sentiments are all from Verve, as well as the mittens, which are paper pieced. The bramble wreath (from Memory Box) is such a pretty stamp, I couldn't resist using it a couple of ways. The ornaments are Stampin Up! Colors are Sage Shadow and Cherry Cobbler. The embellishments are a mix of simple punched circles and red and white pearls.

Happy Hopping and Thanks for Looking!

Polka Dot Hearts

Guess what today brings! More Simply Scrappin' cards :) I don't even know what set this is from, but the colors are yummy! The stickers were just dotted squares, but I punched a heart from each of them and mixed them up. Then I mounted them all onto a larger Crumb Cake square and added the sentiment panel with some linen thread. So cheery, don't you think?

Thanks for looking!

More Old Simply Scrappin' Supplies

Here are two cards of a set I made using the Seaside Sketches stickers from an SU! Simply Scrappin pack. Again, the materials were from my stash of stuff that has been won through blog candy, etc. I will show the other cards later this week. These came together SO fast, needing only the script stamped on the background, the sticker layered on a bigger rectangle of card stock, and the border sticker cut down. I love these images!

Thanks for looking!

Using Up Some Pretty Paper!

In my recent on-going mission to clean up the craft room and organize all my STUFF, I came across this pretty floral paper. I think it's from the White Out collection from We R Memory Keepers? The scalloped edge and flower stickers are from an old SU! scrapping set. The stamps are the newest part, an SU! set that I can't remember the name of. It is upstairs and I am down and too lazy to go look it up ;)

I love that these old items came together so well and allowed me to make a small dent in the stash. I'm still working on the organizing and cleaning, but have made several sets like this with the fun old things I've found. How easy is it to make 3 or more cards if you already have the stuff out to make one?

School starts here next week, and I am looking forward to the routine that comes with it. Hopefully that means more crafty time! Enjoy the rest of your summer and thanks for looking!

CAS150

I loved this card made with FTL150 so much that I made 12 of them! Seriously, once I started, I just kept cutting pieces until I used up all the dp you see here! When I tried to stamp the sentiment in Crumb Cake, it was smudging on the shimmery Bazzill white paper. So I dug around in my stash and found a Creamy Brown Cat's Eye Chalk ink that was just right. Phew! I wish the shimmery paper showed up more in the photo! The snowflakes are made with a Cuttlebug die and the small flakes are from some snowflake confetti that I have had for about 5 years and can't seem to use up.

I hope you like this card as much as I do! Maybe I'm just excited to have created something after this whirlwind summer. Only 3 1/2 weeks left till school starts around here. I hope you are enjoying your summer! Thanks for looking!

Food Swap

I just participated in a food-themed swap at SCS. What a fun theme and a great set of cards that were made by participants! These are mine, using up more stuff from the stash :)

My goal for July was to post almost every day. Then, we went on vacation, I turned 40 (!) and now I'm trying to readjust to daily life. So that plan was foiled and I can't believe we are halfway through July! Only 5 weeks left before school starts. Not that I'm counting or anything... We had a great sitter for the first month of summer, but lost her to a full-time job. I am interviewing a few more sitters today and tomorrow and hope to find someone as wonderful. Wish me luck!

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer yourselves. Thanks for looking!

Not So Clean and Simple After All

I started this card with the Clean and Simple Stamping FTL 147, but it ended up being a little fancier than I intended. The papers are from an old Making Memories pad and Cherry Cobbler. I punched the fleur-de-lis with an EK Success punch and layered them on a Nestie circle. I searched for the right color ribbon in my stash and thought I was out of luck until I found this bit in my scrap box. It was the perfect length for ruffling (even if it is a little crooked) :). The sentiment is from a clear set that I got a long time ago and no longer have the name of.

Hope you are having a safe and happy holiday weekend! Thanks for looking!

A Little Something

This is the card I made for my cousin's baby shower. Yes, she had a boy and he was 23 1/2 inches long! That's a long baby :) I can't wait to meet him!

Images are from SU! Toy Box, and are colored by my son. I told him which colors to put where and he did the work. The papers are from the scrap pile, which I have been working diligently from lately. The sentiment is from So Many Sayings and punched with the word window punch. I just love the chocolate and blue together!

I hope the weather is fantastic wherever you are. This is our first full summer in TX and it's been bearable so far. More so if you are by the pool :)

Thanks for looking!

Hello Dragonfly

Wow, I made this card so long ago I forget exactly what I used! I think it's a Clear Artistic Stamp set. Stamped in Tangerine Tango and Crumb Cake. I made three little dots under the sentiment with the Tangerine marker. It's matted with Tangerine Tango and Crumb Cake and finished off with some linen thread.

Very simple, but quite pretty IRL. Do you have big plans for this 4th of July weekend? DH is going to be home, so we will be relaxing. We have a bbq to attend Sunday and I plan to sneak away to the craft room for some me time! Have a happy and safe weekend!

Just Ducky

I bought a bunch of punches from someone off Craigslist and this little duck punch was in the set. It's so cute! My cousin just had a baby, and the shower theme was ducks. I didn't have the punch before making the favors, but I used it here on this super-simple card. The sentiment is from a dollar stamp set and I masked it to stack the words. The papers are from a Making Memories pad, Sydney. It is old, but is full of yummy blues and greens!

I have been more productive than the blog shows lately. If only I had the time to write up posts! I hope you are all having a good summer. Thanks for looking!

Moxie Fab Trigger Butterfly

This week's Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World is a great rainbow of threads. I don't have any sewing-themed stamps, so I used the rainbow colors as my inspiration. The butterfly and sentiment stamps are from Unity Stamp Co's Be You (that I just got at their online warehouse sale!). The flourish is from an old clear set I got at Target a loooooong time ago.

I stamped the butterfly in Versamark on black card stock, then layered the rainbow colored embossing powders. I heat embossed then cut out the image. It is layered on Very Vanilla cs, with a black panel and a Vanilla base. The rhinestones on the butterfly and exclamation point are from my stash.

Thanks for looking!

Sending Love

For the record, when you are using the Square Lattice folder to emboss a piece of cardstock, be sure to alter your measurements a bit. Embossing made my layer by 1/8 inch smaller so now it doesn't perfectly cover the base card!

I used my new Unity Stamps Sending My Love set that I got during their warehouse sale last weekend. Such a fun set! This card is going into my June OWH pile. The dp is BG Junebug and the image is stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The mailbox was colored with a pale grey marker that smeared the ink, making it look pink. But that's fine because of the pink in the paper :)

I hope you are having a good weekend. DH is home for all of 36 hours so we are just hanging around at home. Thanks for looking!

You Say Zig Zag, I Say Chevron!

The May challenge from Moxie Fab World is to use chevrons. Here is my take on it. I got a new-to-me Zig Zag punch recently and used it to punch the black and red strips. The dotted paper underneath is Love Letter dsp from SU! The stamps are SU! Artistic Etchings stamped with black and Red Riding Hood on Vanilla cardstock. Ribbon is black May Arts silk.

I hired a babysitter today for mornings this summer! She starts Monday and I hope she is able to stay with us all summer. She is actively looking for a job post-college and is it bad if I hope she doesn't find one?

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend. We were busy Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today and the kids are wiped out. Tomorrow morning is going to be rough :) Thanks for looking!

Belated Mother's Day Post

I had this card made and mailed to my mother-in-law on time, and it has been sitting in the Blogger drafts folder since. I feel like I don't have enough brain power to write a post by the time Carter goes down for his nap in the afternoon! When Justin was this age, we were just moving back to the States from Ireland and I found myself going back to work full-time. So I missed a large part of his terrible twos! Carter just tests me every day.

Anyway, this paper was in my scrap box and the sentiment is from CTMH. The butterfly is SU! Bliss and the ruffled ribbon is the last bit from my ribbon bits box. I hope she liked it!

Tomorrow, I am walking in the Great Strides walk for Cystic Fibrosis research. Would you consider making a donation to this great cause? Thanks in advance, and thanks for looking!

Star Congrats

I was trying to use up some bits of things on my desk to avoid finding a new home to store them, and came up with this card. I had the stars from a previous project, popped them up on foam squares and stamped the sentiment. I added a little rhinestone to the "i" and sent it off! Yes, I sent it off in the mail! My cousin just got her Doctorate in Physical Therapy and her graduation ceremony was this past weekend. Congrats to her!!

There are several cards I've made lately that are this clean and simple. Trying to use what I have in anticipation of the new SU! Catalog coming soon :)

Thanks for looking!

New Challenge Blog! Check It Out!

Have you heard about Shopping Our Stash yet? It's a new challenge blog that will motivate us to use what we have (GASP)! But in reality, we all know that means making room for new stuff, right? I have been making a serious effort to use my older stuff and scraps lately, and have made a whole pile of Dad cards to send to OWH without cutting into new papers :)

The SOS challenge right now is to post pictures of your creative space. Mine is below, and there's nothing like a picture to show you how messy something really is! I wish I could do a panoramic view of the whole room, because it's not all this messy. But this is my main workspace and the stack of supplies I'm currently using to make those Dad cards...

My space is a mix of IKEA finds and random bookcases that didn't find a place in other parts of the house. I do have a paper rack (in the corner) from a craft store that was going out of business. That's one of the best things I got - otherwise the paper would all be hidden away and lost. The room is an extra bedroom in our house, and I also have a full-size walk in closet attached to it. If only there were more hours available to spend in it!

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

Love This New Punch!

Well, I had this post done yesterday, and it looks like it got wiped out in Blogger's fit. So here goes again. Our neighbors just had their second little boy and this card will be joined by a little gift for the new arrival! Their two boys now share the same birthday - what are the chances of having 2 kids on the same date, 3 years apart? I know it happens - my mom and aunt share a birthday, but it's strange.

This punch is from Martha Stewart, and because I'm a sucker for elephants, it had to join my stash. The papers are Bermuda Bay and prints from the Welcome Neighbor dsp pad from SU! Embossed with Swiss Dots, of course :)

Can anyone give me feedback on the Big Shot vs the Cuttlebug? I love my 'bug and don't want to abandon it, but have been looking at the Big Shot lately. Would it be redundant to have both? If I get the CB extended plates, can I do as much as the BS? Your thoughts are appreciated!

I hope you have a good weekend! DS is in town for a few days so I hope to sneak away for some much needed Mommy time. Thanks for looking!

Floral For You

Ugh, I don't even want to talk about how long it's been since I posted here! Can you believe we're in to May already? We've had a rough month behind us, with the death of a dear family member, illnesses all around, and more work changes for DH. But now we are settling back into routines and I can update some of these posts that have been in the draft folder!

I hope you enjoy this card - it's one of my favorite cards of the latest batch of creating I got done. Most recently, I have been on a VERY CAS kick, and will get those photographed and posted soon. I hope some of you are still out there reading!!

Happy Spring! Thanks for looking!

Rainbow Flowers

A while back there was a challenge to use rainbows on a card. I dug out a rainbow of Primas from my big ol' basket and came up with this. They are attached with brads and the sentiment is from Verve. The string is from something I recycled - can't even remember what it was. I have been in the bad habit of not getting into my craft room lately. It's been a busy travel year for DH, and I recently let the cleaners go, so I'm responsible for the house again. And, I've been hitting the gym for a couple hours 5 times a week since January. I've lost 10 lbs and several inches, but it's hard work!

Hopefully I'll get upstairs and get my mojo flowing soon. Till then, thanks for looking!

Where Have I Been???

I have been busy with house and family stuff, and went away for a crafty weekend with DH's cousins, and haven't made it up to my craft room in a looooooong time!

The crafty weekend with the girls was fabulous! DH's cousin, Julie, owns a lake house in Michigan and she rents it out for scrapping retreats. Even though I don't scrap, I went along and made some cards and baby favors for an upcoming family shower. I did get the scrapping bug, as you will see below! I'm inspired after spending the weekend watching them scrap, staying up till all hours of the night and watching girly movies.

I started with Carter's first birthday:

I haven't added the journaling yet, obviously. It took me hours to get this together as it is, and I don't want to screw up the whole thing with poorly thought out writing! The papers are from We R Memory Keepers, White Out Collection. The solids are from my stash - some Bazzill and some no-name from Michael's. The cupcake border is a Martha Stewart Punch - I knew I would use it someday! I know there are a lot of photos on the second page, but I wanted to use them all!

Next is a page for Justin, and maybe some Christmas layouts. I have the scrappy bug now, and am ready to tackle the photo albums!

I have a big project due for a volunteer gig at J's school tomorrow, so I'll be up late tonight finishing that. Then, more crafty time for me :) Thanks for looking!

OWH Bunny Hop!

Welcome to this stop on the OWH Bunny Hop! You should have come here from Jinny at Soaring. If you want to start at the beginning, go HERE.





My card is a cute little Easter card that troops can send home to their kids. I used some DCWV papers I have in a huge Spring Stack and added a cute chick and egg image from CHF. I added rhinestones to the eggs and colored them with SU! markers. The sentiment is from SU! Loads of Love Accessories. The blue and pink mats are cut with Nesties scalloped rectangles and the ribbon is some fun striped narrow grosgrain from my stash. I made this card in blue and pink as well as portrait and landscape orientation and I think there are more in my future. That little chick and egg image is too fun to color!




These cards, along with others I have made recently will be shipping off to OWH. I love that I can make more cards than I need and know that they will be put to great use. OWH helps troops keep in touch with home, and helps me fill my need to create.

If you would like to join in and send cards along to OWH, visit their site and learn all the ins and outs. Remember that the deadline for Easter cards to arrive to shippers at OWH is March 18, and the deadline for Mother's Day is March 31. Check out the Stars and Stamps blog for fun challenges, learn how to send cards to troops, and also for their fabulous new Saturday Seminar Series.

**Leave a comment here and you will be entered to win some fun little spring-y goodies! I will draw a random winner on Monday morning, March 7 at 10AM CST.**

Your next stop along this hop is Erica at Inked Up and Ready to Play. Make your way through all 125 stops along this hop and get your Spring mojo in action! It's a fun trip for a great cause. Thanks for stopping by, and have fun!

ETA: Comments are still welcome, but a winner has been chosen and will be posted shortly!

ETA: Winner is comment #53, which belongs to Rhonda Miller! I'll be contacting you shortly, Rhonda! Thanks for visiting :)

Island Blooms II

This card uses more of the Island Blooms Simply Scrappin' kit. The sketch is from Mary Jo at Techno Stamper. I was a little unsure of the sketch at first, simply because I rarely make cards in other sizes than A2. But this one is 3x6 and was fun to put together. The base is Pretty in Pink, run through the Polka Dot embossing folder in the Cuttlebug. The turquoise strip was punched with an edge punch, but I can't remember the name. I wish they would print the names on the side or something! The sentiment is Verve and I'm upset that there is a black ink smudge in the middle of it! The tiny brads on the small flowers are Sprinkles from Queen & Co.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the Bunny Hop, courtesy of OWH!! Have a good weekend and thanks for looking!

Here are the other TSSC163 sketchers: