It's Been A Long Time

Last week was such a hectic week - the combination of school and commitments after work left little stamp time and left me exhausted!! It was great to get together with the Greensburg SCS group on Saturday - I made some cute bunny nuggets that I'll try to post one day this week.

Getting together with other stampers is great - except for one thing...my need (ahem..wish) list gets BIGGER and BIGGER. Mandy and Shayla created adorable cards using the Funny Farm $1 stamps from Michaels. I was beside myself when our Michaels was sold out. Luckily, I found some at a Michaels in Pittsburgh today and created this card for the Shirleys2Girls Twisted Thursday challenge using the cow. Special thanks to Mandy and Shayla for the inspiration!!



This week's twist was to add piercing to the provided sketch, which I add to the top and bottom of one layer. I used Prismacolor watercolor pencils and a blender pen to create the background of the cow. The cow's head is also popped out.


Details:
Stamps - Studio G Cow (Michaels $1 Bin), Raindrop Backgroung (Hero Arts)
Paper - DCWV DP (Grade School stack); SU Real Red, Basic Black, Yoyo Yellow, white
Ink - SU Real Red, black
Accessories - Pop dots, Prismacolor watercolor pencils, paper piercer, black gingham ribbon


Thanks for stopping by!!

Whew!!

It's been a busy past few days. I went to Harrisburg on Friday with my student who advanced in the state finals at MathCounts, a national problem-solving competition. We had a nice time, especially when he was able to watch Pitt in the first round of NCAA basketball that night during dinner. My ankle is still hurting, but the swelling has significantly reduced. The 3 1/2 hour trip to Harrisburg didn't help, but I made sure to ice and elevate it every night.

I also finally got my taxes done - this has been my goal the past three weekends. With my mom in the hospital and my ankle sprain, I had to put them on the back burner. I filled out the forms, and they're ready to mail. I tried e-filing them, but the H&R Block site was being a pain and wouldn't allow me to create an account :( ...you know, the sooner I get my refund means the sooner I get stamping goodies.

Okay enough small talk....I got my Shirley's 2 Girls Twisted Thursday challenge done just in time. You can check out the challenge over at Karolyn's site - Paper Therapy. This week's challenge provided a FREE image to print out and use!!! WAHOO!! To twist it up, players needed to add hardware to their cards (that followed the provided sketch).

Here's my card. Isn't the mouse so cute!! I can't wait to get my S2G stamps!! I used my new EK Success border punch (lines & dots) on the Real Red paper. I think this is going to become one of my favorites. The great DP is from a new DCWV stack (The Green Stack) that I picked up last weekend at JoAnn's. I added some eyelets as my hardware to the mousie's flowers.



Here's the inside of the card. I printed out a sweet saying that I found on Denny's Poems and Quotes site and embellished it with coordinating paper from the front of the card.


Details:
Image - Shirley's 2 Girls
Paper - Real Red, Old Olive, DP (DCWV Green Stack), white
Accessories - SU markers, Brushables markers, eyelets, ribbon, EK Success border punch (lines & dots), SU punch (Photo Corners)


Thanks for stopping by!!!

Happy Day and Sketch Gone Awry

Yahoo!!! I won the 222 Challenge over at Shirley's 2 Girls!! Be sure to check out their Twisted Thursday challenge and the 222 challenge for next month (which will be posted on the 2nd Tuesday). I'm so excited to pick out $22 worth of stamps as my prize. I have a feeling I'll be adding to my order because there are a bunch that I *need* :)

While watching Role Models (<- racy, but hysterical), I started working on this week's SCS sketch challenge. I wanted to use these carrot images in the background, but I wasn't happy with how it looked. So...I scrapped the sketch idea and went with my own, and I'm pretty pleased with how the card turned out.



I was excited to use this new DP from the DCWV grade school mat stack - there are so many cute designs!!

Details:
Stamps - Michael's $1 stamps
Paper - DCWV DP & blue, Pumpkin Pie, white
Ink - black
Accessories - Brushables markers, snaps, ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Celebrate - MFT Style

Going on right now over at SCS is the MFT Idol competition. Even though I didn't make the top 10, I'm participating with the other 'losers' with the weekly elimination challenges. This week's challenge was to create a card based on the theme of celebration. What better way to celebrate than to pop open a great bottle of (insert your fav beverage here). So, I created a bottle-shaped card and used the 'Time for the Bubbly' image for the label. There's lots of paper piecing going on - I love the DP I used for the wallpaper. It reminds me of a Victorian bathroom. I attached sentiment with copper wire.



Details:
Stamps - MFT Time for the Bubbly
Paper - black, white, Pretty in Pink, green and hot pink (Archivers)
Ink - black
Accessories - Brushables markers, Gelly Roll glitter pen, copper wire, circle punch


Thanks for stopping by!!

222 Challenge

Finally...here's my little spring purse for the Shirley's 2 Girls 222 monthly challenge. Be sure to check out the challenge here and their adorable stamps. Living about 1 hour from Punxytawney, PA (home of Phil), I love the Groundhog's Day images!! The ladies were thinking spring and requested a spring creation through the use of their adorable purse template.



When I think of spring, I definitely think of critters. Even though I find frog images so cute, I can't stand the real thing!! I swear I have a crazy phobia toward frogs - the slime, the bulging eyes and throat, the possibility of a jumping frog landing on my foot...ugh!!

I created this little purse for the guidance counselor at my school who's workin like a mad woman this week - it's state standardized testing week in PA (double ugh!!). It's a lot to manage, so I tucked in a few pieces of chocolate to help her get through the tough moments.

I was worried that I wasn't going to get it completed in time. I fell late Saturday night - a moment of gracefulness :) - and according to the ER on Sunday morning, I sprained my ankle. Luckily, I'm doing much better and I put a chair in the craft room to elevate my foot while I worked on this little number.



The template was incredibly easy to use. I printed mine out on white cardstock, cut it out, and then covered it with DP. Since I'm not a talented Xacto Knife user, I cut out the handles on my BigKick using the circle Nestabilities. They worked out beautifully. The sentiment I added was printed from Microsoft Word - the font was Mia's Scribblings. In case you're wondering, I love fonts and I find most of mine at dafont.com. Feel free to drop me a line if you need help downloaded new fonts on your computer.

Details:
Stamps: Colorbok Friendly Forest
Paper: DP, Real Red, white
Ink: Glorious Green
Accessories: buttons, ribbon, Nestabilities, Word Window punch

Twisted Thursday

Shirleys2Girls is hosting their first Twisted Thursday challenge. For now, the challenges will be sketch challenges with a 'twist' - this week's was to add scallops to the sketch. They're even offering up yummy goodies to one randomly chosen participant!!!

Here's the sketch:



and my card:



I wanted to make a St. Patrick's Day card that didn't scream leprechauns and four-leaf clovers. I'm SOOO happy with how this turned out!! I found this Irish wish online:

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

-then printed it on cardstock. There are so many beautiful blessings or wishes that would work wonderfully, but I really liked this one. I may even make a few of these because I can't decide who I will send it to :)


Details:
Paper - DP (Signature Suite by Jen Wilson - Earthtone Stripes), Old Olive, Groovy Guava, River Rock, white
Ink - Old Olive
Accessories - felt heart (JoAnn's), ribbon (Michael's), Cuttlebug embossing folder (Swiss Dots), copper brads, button, Fiskars border punch (Treading Water), thread/sewing machine, computer generated saying (Bookworm font), Nestabilities


Thanks for stopping by!!

Note Tote

I put together this NoteTote with a set of 8 all occasion cards - I needed a template for the tote, but I didn't have time to search. I came up with this one on my own - which was fine until I realized the envelopes don't fit. Ugh!!!

Here's a photo of the tote and the notecards in four different colors.

Details:

Stamps - SU Lots of Thoughts

Ink - StazOn black

Paper - DP, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Archiver's purple (can't remember exact color), white

Accessories - Nesties, ribbon, buttons, Prima flowers, buttons, Fiskars border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Thanks for stopping by!!

CC209 - An Apple A Day?

Today's color challenge over at SCS was Black Rose Artichoke. I had to substitute Ruby Red for Rose Red in my card - a birthday card for my mom's neighbor Mary who turns 87 tomorrow. I've known Mary for almost 20 years now, and I can't believe she's even in her 80s! The woman is unbelievable - she walks a few miles every day (regardless of the weather), maintains her house and yard, travels, visits her family, and spends time with her boyfriend (<- which is too cute to see!!). She's been going through a rough couple of months learning that she has congestive heart failure and that two of her sisters have cancer, so I wanted her card to be really upbeat.

Here's my creation:


The inside reads:
Some birthday wisdom:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
An onion should take care of everyone else.



Details:
Stamps: SU Stew Pot Pals (yep, I know it's an oldie - I'm trying to see what stamps I may want to part with)
Ink: StazOn black
Paper: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Ruby Red
Accessories: ribbon, Brushables markers, brads


Thanks for stopping by!!

Ocean's 11 Challenge - The Sky's the Limit

Each week a member of my blogger group hosts a challenge. This week's challenge is being hosted by Elisabeth (aka Lilsisbet at SCS). Be sure to stop by her blog (you can see some photos of her birthday trip to NYC where she had breakfast at Tiffany's).

Elizabeth challenge us to create a product that contained a sky in it. This was just perfect timing! My SU order arrived today with my Trendy Trees set. I've been so anxious for it to arrive! It will take a bit of playing around with to get the two-step stamping lined up the way I'd like it, but I'm certain that this set will become one of my favorites!



Details:
Stamps: SU Trendy Trees
Paper: Rose Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, White
Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, pigment white (on embossed cardstock), Soft Sky & Certainly Celery (sponged sky & grass)
Accessories: ribbon, button, wire, Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder, sponges


Thanks for stopping by!!

MFT Idol - Ewe Rock!!

I've been so excited all week about the MFT Idol contest! What a great idea!! With my mom still in the hospital, it's been difficult to find time (or energy) to create something. But I made a point to create my entry today using my favorite MFT stamp - the sheep from Punny Farm.



The entry consists of a small box that I created from a piece of 6.5" x 12" cardstock. Score at 1" around each side; and along the 12" side, score at 5.5" and 6.5". Cut at each score line along the 12" sides (top & bottom) up to the horizontal score line. Fold and form into box.

I created the curtains by pleated paper, and the spotlight was made from an oval and a ruler on the background. My little sheep, a member of Sheep Trick performing I Want Ewe to Want Me, is covered in Stickles. The mic is hand-drawn, and the sentiment is computer generated (Kim's Hand font).

What fun!!! Be sure to check out the other 'auditions' over at SCS.





Details:
Stamps - MFT Punny Farm
Ink - black
Paper - black, American Crafts Cat's Cradle DP (red & lined), Summer Sun
Accessories - Nestabilities, Prismacolor watercolors, Stickles, Scor-Pal, dimensionals


Thanks for stopping by!!

Weekend Sketch Challenge

Here's my card for this weekend's sketch challenge. You can see the sketch and others' cards over at PaperFections.

I really liked the simplicity of the sketch and needed it after a long week. My mom went into the hospital on Wednesday with pneumonia, so I've been doing double duty with work and visits to the hospital. She's doing much better, but I think she'll be there for a few more days to make sure her lungs are clear.



Details:
Stamps - Michael's Dollar Stamps
Paper - white, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Ink - black, Certainly Celery, Brushables markers
Accessories - white eyelets


Thanks for stopping by!!

Ocean's 11 Challenge - Spring in 3D

My blogger group has decided to run challenges, and this week's challenge is hosted by Chirleen. The theme was to create Spring related card with 3D elements. Here's what I came up with:



I've had this set from Stampendous since last year, and I think the bunnies look just like the marshmallow peep bunnies. I tried to color them in a similar manner. But I don't like peeps, so I had a hard time picturing the different colors. I think I needed a purple one.

I popped out the basket by stamping two copies, attaching one directly to the card base, adding some 'Easter grass' (shredded paper), and placing the second basket (no handle) on top with dimensionals. Then I went back and placed all the bunnies in the basket and finished it off with a bow.

Details:
Stamps - Stampendous Basket Topper
Ink - Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Paper - DCWV Pink, Chocolate Chip, White
Accessories - shredded paper, ribbon, dimensionals, pastels, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by!!

Everybody deserves some pampering

I've never received so many compliments in my life as I have over the past few days with my hair cut. So, it was a no-brainer that I needed to send my stylist a thank you. I really wished I had the Scissorbella (or even the Underthehoodybella), but I figured my Spabella would work just fine.

For this card, I used Jen's sketch (SFYTT). I played around with adding a sentiment, but I decided to leave it as is. Don't know if you can see the embossed dots on the light purple layer at the bottom. I loved how this played off the dots in the DP.



Details:
Stamps - Spabella
Ink - Black, Brushables markers
Paper - DP & purples (from Archivers, sorry can't remember the names)
Accessories - Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, prima flowers, button, ribbons


Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Birthday

Tomorrow is my dad's 60th birthday. Holy crap!! I can't believe my dad is 60 - I must be getting old too!! ;>)

He came over for dinner today, and I made some of his favorites - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and gob cake (<-- yummy!!). We had a nice time.

Here's the card that I made for him. I just love this owl stamp. He's so versatile. I added a teeny birthday hat to him from my Stampendous Changito the Monkey clear set. I love how the size makes the owl look even bigger!!

Details:

Stamps - Hero Arts Big Owl; Stampendous Changito the Monkey (clear set)

Paper - Soft Sky, DP (striped & red - double sided) - Cloud 9 Design by Fiskars, white, glossy black

Ink - Black, Brushables markers

Accessories - Pewter brads, curly clip, computer generated sentiment (Bookworm font)

Thanks for stopping by!