ahhhh..the weekend

It's been quite a stressful week at school. I wanted to quickly post these photos of some items I created for a friend's Stampin' Up fundraiser. I was using the Top Note die....definitely a favorite!

We had a fun day & she raised some money for her kids' music school. I needed a day out with these gals after my week. Now I'm going to relax the rest of the night, and I'm planning a day filled with cleaning, laundry, card making, and visiting blogs tomorrow :)


Have a great night!

(I'm being lazy right now and not posting details. If you'd like to know anything, please shoot me an email & I'd be happy to share!)

Heartfelt Thanks

I needed to create a few thank you's for students who gave me some Valentine goodies - including the cutest shoe charm bracelet! I had everything except the stitching finished when I finally got off my lazy tush and broke out the sewing machine.

Simple, but cute & effective...perfect for a thank you in my book!

So who else watched ladies figure skating tonight? My heart just broke for the Canadian skater that just lost her mom. What courage that young girl has! I was truly touched as I have been many times over these Olympics games.


Details:
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (SU!); Mixed Messages (PTI)
Ink - Real Red (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper - white, Real Red, Ruby Red, Pink Pirouette (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI)
Accessories - sewing machine, dimensionals

I'm Snowed In!!

Within the past 24 hours, we've had at least 24 inches of snow fall in my area. 24 inches of snow!!! We're under a state of emergency, meaning no one should be out on the roads....um, duh - there's 24 inches of snow out there!! Thank heavens for my wonderful neighbors who shoveled out from around my car as I shoveled my sidewalk and then my neighbor with a Bobcat plowed out my parking area....otherwise, I might still be out there!

I'll be snowed in again tomorrow (and maybe Monday...I don't know how promising school will be), so I'm hoping to get some cards made. I spent some time writing personal notes in cards and addressing envelopes, so I can mail them on Monday. I did make one new card tonight based on this AMAZING card by my blog buddy Siobhan. Be sure to stop by Siobhan's blog & give her some love - she's oozing with talent & is just so darn sweet!!

I just loved Siobhan's layout & knew that I had to CASE the card as soon as I saw it!! I'm quite happy with how it turned out!


Details:
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (SU!); Hearts (Inkadinkado)
Ink - Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry (SU!); Melon Berry (PTI); Versamark
Paper - kraft, So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (all SU!); white
Accessories - love sticker (Kelly Panacci for Creating Keepsakes), Rich Razzleberry ribbon, button (PTI), dimensionals

Na-cho Ordinary Card :)

The theme of this VSN is Paper Chefs - so all of the challenges are 'food' related. Today's mini challenge focuses around snacks. The 8pm challenge deals with one of my favorite snacks - nachos!! Here are the clever details of the challenge:

• Must have an earthly yellow (like So Saffron) to represent the corn chips
• Must include a red to represent the salsa
• Choose at least two of the following ingredients - refried beans (kraft or brown), cheese (orange or vanilla), guacamole, jalapenos, or cilantro (green), black olives (black), sour cream (white), red onions (purple)
• You must heat your nachos, so you must use an technique that involves heat.

Here's what I came up with:

I guess according to the recipe, my nachos would have corn chips, salsa, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, and olives....hmmmm, I wouldn't make them that way in real life - they'd have to have cheese!! I did add heat by embossing my sentiment. I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of heat embossing....I typically get the powder everywhere and it's never 'perfect'...too bad because I love the look & feel of it!!

I do love how the card turned out! This is such a wonderful set from My Cute Stamps - I didn't get it with my first order and it was the first thing I added to my cart during my second order :) It's so versatile, so I bet you'll be seeing lots more cards made with it!!


Details:
Stamps - Spunky Nature (My Cute Stamps), sentiment from Trendy Trees (SU)
Paper - white, kraft, black
Ink - Real Red, Fresh Snow & New Leaf (PTI), Versamark
Accessories - buttons (Foof-a-La), black gingham ribbon, black embossing powder, white embroidery floss

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!!

Bugs & Kisses

Couldn't resist making another Valentine when I came across another SCS member's Bugs & Kisses card. What great inspiration for this week's sketch challenge. I included the sentiment on the inside of this card for my aunt. She sent me a great card today about shoes. I'll have to post a photo - it's hilarious!

I love the black, white, and red. I think I could use black in almost every card. I love how it adds crispness and makes everything pop. Ribbon is from Michaels.

Where has the time gone?

So. Here I am. Finally finding some time to care for my blog. I was so excited when I started this journey. Then life has pulled me in other directions. Luckily, all has calmed down for now (except for my battle with a pesky cold) and I've been papercrafting once again.


Now for sharing. I have a few things, and I anticipate some more in the next few days.


First is my card for SCS Card Sketch Challenge from two weeks ago. I used SU Stew Pot Pals - I love this set, but I find it difficult to use. I started the card two weeks ago, but just finished it yesterday. I think I lost some of my inspiration along the way, but I'm still pleased with it.




Now on to another card that I actually finished two weeks ago, but finally got around to photographing and uploading it yesterday. It uses Changito from Stampendous. I purchased the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Changito set this summer to make welcome back cards for my students, and I fell in love with him in the process. Expect more cards featuring him in upcoming posts.




Ingredients:
Stamps: Stampendous Perfectly Clear Changito the Monkey
Paper: SU Really Rust, Old Olive, More Mustard
Ink: SU Basic Black & Old Olive
Accessories: Buttons, Green Raffia, Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils, Cricut Mini Monograms cartridge

VSN Challenge

Sometimes I think I need hit over the head before something registers. I've been on SCS a few times this week, and I kept seeing 'Girls Night Out.' I had no clue. The stamping shorthand (VSN - Virtual Stamp Night for those of you shorthand illiterate like me) is like a whole other language to me. Luckily, I figured it out this morning. Unfortunately, I had plans for the majority of the day. I got home at 8:55, logged in, and started on 'The Eyes Have It" challenge. I picked out my paper, my stamps, and my eyelets - and the phone rings. It's my BF, so there went meeting the deadline. We could talk for hours. Amazingly, I submitted my work 20 minutes after the 10pm deadline.



So here's my card. I used the Snow Angels set. I've always loved it, and the cold weather definitely inspired me. I colored the image with my prismacolors and watercolored them. I added some glitter to the snow and eyelets down the side of the DP (<- Yep, I'm going to try to use the shorthand too!).

I didn't attempt the next VSN challenge since I was already behind, so I'm looking forward to the last. Who knows, maybe I'll have another post in a little while!