lily and candy winner

Saturday is here! It is an busy day all the way around that is for sure. Today, on my blog, I get to give away the silver Kaisercraft Rhinestones...more on that later in the post. Personally, today is the Princess Party at my church that I've been planning for a couple of months. It will be a fun morning for 30 girls of our community to learn about being God's princess. It should be lots of fun!

Onto the card. This cutie is called Enchanted Lily and you can find her at limeLIGHT Papercrafts. You can also find the fun Rhinestones and Pearls there too! You can see that I got a little anxious when I went to color Lily's smile as it smeared a little. Oops! I did quite a bit of piercing on this card along with some white gel pen dots. The Angel Wings Shimmerz on the wings of Lily just really add great fun to Lily! The layout is from CPS this week. Ack...I just really think this card is cute!

So...wanna know who wins the Silver Kaisercraft Rhinestones from limeLIGHT? Oh....Okay...It is Verda! Verda you have until Monday night to contact me with your mailing information.

Well, that is it for today. I hope you have a super Saturday...I'm off to play princess for a couple of hours. See you tomorrow for the Page Plans sketch!

easter blessings

Woohoo! It is Friday and that makes it...Jon's 17th Birthday! Jon...I love you and I'm so proud of the young man you've turned into!

Today's card is another sneak peak of a new release set from Sweet N Sassy stamps. This set is illustrated by Courtney Fowler and is called Easter Blessings. My second favorite flower is the Stargazer Lily and I've yet to figure out how to color one but I'm going to keep trying! There are several sentiments in this set that are perfect for many different occasions. The paper that I used is from the Basic Grey Bittersweet collection. All it took to finish this card was a sentiment and a lovely satin ribbon bow.

Aren't the releases you've seen so far beautiful?! What a wonderful selection you will have tonight...oh, and guess what? The fabulous Korin has some WONDERFUL surprises for you during the release party so make sure you are there!

Alright...have a super Friday! I'll see you tomorrow when I will announce the winner of the blog candy I have up for grabs (see three posts down)! See you then!

My final note for today...if you've been around my blog for long you know that today is also the day my mom died 11 years ago. Such a bittersweet day. So...what should you do today? Hug your kids, call your mom and never forget that there may not be a tomorrow.

day two

Good morning! Is this week going by slowly or is it just me? Tomorrow is Jon's birthday and he's been counting it down all week talking about how slow it is going...I bet that didn't help much!

Since today is day two of Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog hop I thought I'd give you another peak of one of the sets being released called Elegant Blessings. I have not even come close to tapping the potential with this set as it has many greetings and another image in addition to the one you see here.

The card size here is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4". The paper that I used is from the retired SU! DP called Holiday Harmony. And, although you can't see it well, there are several silver rhinestones on the cross that really give it some sparkle.

Now...if you'd like to check out all the ladies on today's blog hop just check out my sidebar for the links. You'll be starting with Cindy's blog today! Have fun!

blog hop day

Woohoo! It is a Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog hop! Today, tomorrow, and Friday you will get to hop around from one blog to another to see some AWESOME artwork!

Today you came here from Courtney's blog. What? You didn't? Well, then...head on back to the Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog to get started!

Today I get to show you the brand new, super cute set called I'd Pick You. Along with this cute image and sentiment, with the full set, you will find many fun way to use this set! Today I used some Basic Grey Urban Prairie patterned paper and some white twill. I added some dots around the image and the outside border of the card to carry through the dots in both papers. Really this is such an easy card to make but I really think it is cute!

So...are you ready to hop on over to another blog? How about you head over to the fabulous Faith's blog and check out what she has to show you! Then on Friday night how about you join us for the New Release Party that will be held in the Sweet N Sassy Stamps community HERE. It will be going on from 9:00 p.m to Midnight. I will not, unfortunately, be able to be there for the entire release as Friday is Jon's 17th birthday. I know you will just have a fabulous time though!

Please know that all of the blog hop information is listed in my sidebar so make sure you check it out tomorrow and Friday too!

Oh, and don't forget to comment to win some blog candy HERE. Read the entire post so that you know how to qualify!

shield your eyes

Okay, seriously...just what was I thinking? Is this card super loud or what? LOL! Don't you think that this flamboyant bird deserves something bright and out there though?

Today I got an e-mail from Mandy from limeLIGHT Papercrafts! She told me that I could give away a package of Silver Kaisercraft Rhinestones! With that information I decided I should probably make a card that has some of those super fun rhinestones on it...so, tahdah! This fun card is made with the Unity Stamp set called Hey Chick, some Urban Prairie paper from Basic Grey, and then of course the fun Kaisercraft Rhinestones! (could you please ignore the one stinkin' rhinestone that moved before I could get the picture...thank you much!)

While you are over at limeLIGHT checking out the fun stuff I linked you to you should check out the sale that is being run right now, yep...a sale! Between now and March 1 you can get FREE paper! For every three individual sheets of cardstock you purchase, you get to choose one more for free! For every three individual sheets of patterned paper you purchase, you get to choose one more for free! Just let them know what you'd like for free in the comments section of your order! Whew! That is a lot of free stuff for you!

Wanna know how to win the Rhinestones? Well, what I want you to do is go to limeLIGHT and tell me at least three of the wonderful paper companies that limeLIGHT carries. Just list them in the comments section and you'll be all set to go! You have until Friday night (5 p.m. Pacific) to go check out limeLIGHT and come back here to post. Only one comment per person and please leave me a way to get a hold of you if you win! I'll announce the winner on Saturday!

Alright...see you tomorrow! I am going to try a new workout today and I have this feeling I will be very sore tomorrow...wish me luck!

page plans

It's Sunday! Woohoo...that means it is Page Plans day!

Today's sketch lends itself to so many different things that you can do with it. I decided to play with my new Unity Stamp set called Be Owl Mine. I paired it with a sentiment from PTI called Handwritten Notes. The paper is from Basic Grey and is the Blush series. I love the blue/brown combination. You can find many Unity stamps and Basic Grey papers at limeLIGHT Papercrafts and with 10% off your order (ends today so hurry) how could you not go shopping? Use the code PRESIDENT to receive your 10% off.

So..what do ya think? I bet you have some fun things you could make with this sketch! Want some more inspiration? Check out the Page Plans blog HERE and see what the other design team members made.

Gotta run...have a super day!

sassy cute

Ahhh...we are officially into the weekend. Yay! Even though it is cloudy right now I'm sure it will be a wonderful day!

Some time ago my friend, Janel, stopped by my house and dropped off a card kit to me. it has a couple of different images, paper (card stock and patterned), and embellishments in two different colors schemes. I love it when she does this as I get to make a card for the sheer joy of it...fun! Anyway, this image lent itself SO well to Kerry's first challenge, a sketch, that I just had to go with it! I would love to tell you all the deets for this card but I can't. I can tell you the solid colors are SU!, and I wish I knew who the image is from but....if you do will you comment and tell me please?

Tonight is the auction fundraiser at Kyler's school so I'll be off to that later but in the meantime guess what I get to do? Oh, yeah...laundry and exercise! Woohoo! Teehee!

Go enjoy your day...whatever it may bring!

dino-mite

Yay...it is Friday! Is everyone else ready for the weekend? Woot! Woot!

I have seen some super cute Dino cards recently that made me want to pull out my Dino-Mite Sweet N Sassy Stamp set. I got to use the SCS sketch...it was perfect for this card!

Anywho...I used the Dino-Mite set, Basic Grey Archaic paper and rub-ons, as well as my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. SO fun! I tied the sentiment "you rock" around the Dino's tail with some linen thread. I am hoping it looks like the bird is getting a ride on the back of the Dino, yes? The bricks are also from the Archaic rub-on sheet. I am totally going to use this cards when one of my boys does something that I want to say...you rock, to. FUN!

Don't forget the big stamp sale SNSS is having. Also, SNSS has just release brand new Digital Stamps! Yep, all you have to do is pay, download, print and you are all set. You can check them out HERE.

Do you have a big weekend planned? I have a few plans here and there but overall it should be pretty laid back. Whatever you do...do it to the best of your ability and have a SUPER weekend!

limeLIGHT sketch and product focus

Happy Thursday! Only one more day until Friday...yay! As you know today is limeLIGHT sketch challenge and product focus day. Here is the info for ya...

Wishing for Spring??
It may be snowy and icy but we can still 'think' Spring!
Bring on the flowers!
Use the provided sketch and use FLOWERS!
They can be Primas, stamped flowers, flowered DP, etc...anything floral!

Upload your fabulous creation with the keyword LLPC015 and then link back to Mandy's blog HERE by midnight on Sunday for your chance to win some Prima flowers!

My card uses the wonderful Basic Grey paper called Sugared as well as a Unity Stamp. limeLIGHT carries tons of Unity Stamps, too! The pink Primas are called Sprites and are in the color Fuchsia. I then layered with a darker Prima and added a flower brad. I think this is a fun, funky way to let someone know that you are thinking of them.

Need a little more inspiration? Well, go check out the rest of the design team. I've even linked them up for you following...

JenMarie, Becky, Lisa, Jennifer (Guest Designer), Lee, Kristen (Guest Designer), and Ryann.

Also, don't forget you still have time to take advantage of 10% off your entire order (until Feb 22nd) over at limeLIGHT. Just go shopping and enter the code PRESIDENT and you'll be all set to go!

I hope you all have a fantastic day. Now...go...make a card for this fun challenge and upload it for a chance to win some Prima's!

more cupcakes

Good Wednesday morning. It is weird how it works sometimes, isn't it? Yesterday I had a hard time remembering it was Tuesday and not Monday and today...it is only Wednesday. My brain works so weird sometimes (no smart remarks, Ms. Sarah!...lol!).

Anyway, today I'm wanted to show you the cards that I received from Debby when we did our cupcake card swap. All three of us had the same images but we all made distinctly different cards. I'll show you Stephanie's cards in a couple of days. Anyway, aren't these adorable? The button features and the brads for the cherries? WAY cute! I'm loving having these cards as they will be great to give to Todd when I want to leave him a little something.

I was going to show you a Sweet N Sassy Stamps card today but I realized...I can't it has to wait for the new release blog hop and party next week. Which you are going to love by the way! See my sidebar for the schedule of events.

Alright...make sure you stop back tomorrow to see the limeLIGHT sketch and product focus (which is flowers...shhh...I didn't tell you!). I haven't made my card yet but I've had a vision floating around in my head for the last couple of days so hopefully it will come together quickly and magnificently!

Have a super day everyone!

with sympathy

Good morning everyone! So, is anyone else having a hard time remembering that it is actually Tuesday...not Monday? I'll get it into my brain eventually!

Each and every month I totally stalk the PaperTrey Ink release party. I love PTI's products...all of them. I have been able to control myself the last couple of month with not purchasing a lot but when I saw this set last month I had to have it. It is a beautiful set called With Sympathy. I know sympathy cards are something no one likes to make or think about but in reality...we have to. I was at PEO last week and we were told that an acquaintance's mom was not doing well and was in the last days of her life here on earth. I really like this woman and I know the feeling of loosing a parent so I came home and prepared a card for her using the With Sympathy set. This card is heavily influenced by Lauren Meader with some Lorie twists.

All but the filigree brad is from PTI. The Aqua Mist color is one of my favorites from PTI and I love how the card stock, patterned paper, ink, and ribbon all match so perfectly! I also decided to decorate the inside a little as the sentiment I chose would be a little lonely looking without it.

So...while I don't enjoy making sympathy cards, I do enjoy making one that I feel will comfort and let the person who is receiving it know that I really do care. I think this card fits that description well.

On my friend Pat's blog she is having a fun "blog giveaway." I thought it would be really neat to do it here as it is a pass it along kinda thing and you all know I love that! So...here you go!

The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me. It will be my choice what I send to you. But...there is a catch...ready?

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year!
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. I have tons of ideas, but who knows what it will be? Not you, that's for sure!
5-The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog! (then come here and post, I WILL check your blog *wink*)

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

So....who will be the first 5 people?????

Oh, and I can't leave you yet without letting you know that limeLIGHT Papercrafts is having a 10% off your entire order sale from NOW until Sunday, February 22nd. Just enter in the code PRESIDENT at checkout and you are all set! Go...order and have no fear...Mandy ships super fast!

what I made...

It's Monday! What do you have planned for this week? We have the day off today...like many of you I'm sure. I'm hoping to get some good crafting time in today but we'll see.

Today I thought I'd show you what I made Todd for Valentine's Day. When Todd was on his last nights rotation we would often write each other notes just filling each other in on what was going on or saying I love you. We fell out of that habit when he went to days so since he's on nights again I thought I'd make a new notebook. For this notebook I used my Bind-it-All, some fantabulous paper (unfortunately I don't remember the manufacturer), some of my Just Rite stamps, and Beate's layout for this week. I wanted it to more guyish than girlish and I think I definitely managed that one. I was particular with what words in the patterned paper showed as I wanted to express our relationship...joy, unique, home, journey...all those things are part of our relationship (and did ya see the word "escape"? yep, I feel like that sometimes, too! lol!). The solid card stock colors are Always Artichoke and Not Quite Navy and the hearts and birds are from the SU! set Love You Much.

So? Whatcha think? I'm excited to get back into the habit of using a notebook. What about you? What did you do or make for your honey?

Stay tuned for some more Sweet N Sassy Stamp cards and a new limeLIGHT sketch and product focus is coming up later this week too! So exciting!

Alright...go...have a stamp happy day! See ya later!

page plans and round-up...woohoo!

Good morning friends! Did you all have a fantastic Valentine's Day? I enjoyed my time with my kids and husband!

I have two cards to show you today! First...it is Sunday so it is Page Plans day! Woohoo! The sketch today is a wonderful one. I'm going to direct you to the Page Plans blog to see the sketch. My card is made with the set America the Beautiful by Kim Hughes which is available at Cornish Heritage Farms (and I see is on sale right now). I made this card because one of Jon's friends was promoted to Eagle Scout a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to give him a card (we know the entire family...as a matter of fact they were our first friends in this town). This was truly a fun card to make...so upbeat!

The other card for today is Sweet N Sassy Stamps Round Up. We get to preview one of the NEW sets that SNSS will be revealing during the blog hop...see my sidebar for more information about the blog hop. The set I'm preview is called His Eye Is On The Sparrow and is illustrated by Chris Dickinson. You will seriously love this set. I have always enjoyed the scripture that the name of the stamp set refers to. As a matter of fact I'm going to link you to Sandi Patty singing this song. I saw her perform this song at a a Women of Faith conference. Wonderful!

For this card I stamp the image on the card (4" x 4") then stamped it on about three other pieces of card stock, colored them, and then popped up the birds and full flowers. I really is completely lovely in real life. I then used my two favorite sentiments on the inside.

Now...head on over to the Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog and check out all the other design team members round up cards...you are going to be wow'd for sure!

On a personal note...if you didn't get a chance to watch the video in THIS post named Cardboard Testimonies I wish you would take just a moment and do that today.

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

another cupcake

Good morning friends! Time is really winding down to Valentine's Day. For all affective reasons today is the last day to get your gifts finished up. How did you do? Get 'em all done? Today is the day I will be making Todd's gift...hopefully he will sleep a long time today!

This card is the second card for the swap that I told you about HERE. I really do love these images and the fun things that can be done with them. I thought this image in particular would be fun to give to a school aged child. And...being that there are girl and boy colors in it you could use it for either. Score!

The patterned paper is from SU! last year. It is still some of my favorite paper (still have a full, unopened pack in fact!). I love the XOXO paper you see here. I didn't make both of the cards with this image the same way. The XOXO paper you see here is "he love me he loves me not" paper on the other card. Too cute! I just colored my cupcake with Copics and used a little glaze on the heart and cherry. The "with love" sentiment is from the SAB Yummy set. I also got the chance to use the Sizzix Buttons #5 die for my button feature. You like? Think my swappin' sisters will be happy with it? I hope so!

Are any of my readers PEO sisters? Well, if you are read on...if not...you probably will think this next part is boring. I became a part of PEO back in 2003 and attended meetins up until the time Todd was deployed and then stopped going. I was recently asked to demit to a different chapter and I'm so glad I did! I went to the first meeting with the new chapter tonight and I'm going to love this group. I have even offered to do a stamping demo for them at one meeting. I can just see all my PEO sisters stamping their cards! If you are in PEO I'd love to hear from you!

Well, I hope you all have a GREAT Friday! I have a couple of things to show you on Sunday but I probably won't be seeing you here on Saturday. I hope you have a super Valentine's Day with your loved ones!

Jesus Cares

Good Morning! I love it when you get the chance to make cards with things you absolutely love! Yesterday was one of those days for me. One of my friends suffers from depression and is going through a hard time right now. I knew I wanted to make her a card but was delaying it a bit because I just don't know what to say. I still don't know what to say but you know what? I made the card, I'm going to write her a note and send it out. Good intentions just don't count in this case...I must turn the intentions into action.

I have come to love limeLIGHT Papercrafts and the fun things I can find there to craft with as well as Mandy (she is just too sweet and kind!). The FABULOUS heart edge ribbon that you see here is from LLPC. I wanted to use it on this card to reflect my care for my friend. The stamp set is from another place that I love Sweet N Sassy Stamps (Korin is so forward thinking and kind, too). The stamp set is Jesus Cares and of course I used that sentiment to remind her how much her Heavenly Father cares for her. And I have to mention the patterned paper. It is from Basic Grey's Eva Pack. I chose this particular piece because my friend is a wonderful painter and I hope that she will love the graceful lines of the paper. The fact that it is pink and brown...well that just makes me love it even more! I must tell you that my friend Sarah really inspried this card as I first saw her use the bird image to its full potential See her card HERE.

So...are you all done with your Valentine's projects? I am almost there. I'll be working on one more thing today and then I should be all set to go...yay!

I hope you have a fantastic day today...make it all God has planned for you!

cupcake

Good morning everyone! I had said yesterday that I was going to have a Page Plans sketch card for you today but by the time I sat down to make it the cards were already posted on the Page Plans site so, while I will probably use that sketch later, this is not with the sketch for today. You can, however, see it HERE if you'd like!

Remember my friend that I made the image box for? Well, that same friend, Debby, sometimes challenges myself and the other stamper at my work, Stephanie, to use images that she supplies to make cards with. That is what this card is for. Debby gave Stephanie and me a couple of different Taylored Expressions cupcake images...they are so cute and I've long wanted to try them so it was exciting to get the images! This image is from the Love Is In the Air set and the sketch is from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge for this week. I didn't even realize that when I was making this. The smooch sentiment is from Unity and the hey handsome is from Odd Bird Planet both of which you can get from limeLIGHT Papercrafts. While you are there you should definitely check out the super cute heart edged ribbon that is on this card. (While you can't see it in the picture there are pink arrows in the patterned paper.) I do believe it is my civic duty to inform you that limeLIGHT Papercrafts is having a wonderful sale from Feb 9 - 15 which includes 10% off Unity Stamps and Handles (which I have and love!) as well as a selection of the Valentine's Day themed products are 15% off! You can see the details about the sale HERE. While you are on that page search for coffee ribbon...it is too cute! Yep, I'm an enabler!

Alright...I've given you a whole bunch of things to go and check out so you should have fun doing that. Have a super Wednesday!

thank you candy box

So??? Was Monday good to you? I had a good, albeit busy, day. I got LOTS done...including several stamping projects, one of which I'd like to show you today.

A little back story. First, I have the very smartest children you'll ever meet (just ask me!)! We got report cards home about a week and a half ago and one of Jon's grades was below the standard in our house. Jon is an excellent student and doesn't have to work hard for a "B" average so something less than a "B" is not okay with us. Jon's story is that the teacher didn't listen, just gave him the grade even though he did what was asked. So I called the teacher and talked with her. What was going on was that, indeed, he did finish the project but not to the potential that his teacher knew he had. The teacher was giving him the chance to finish it and get an updated (and hopefully better) grade on his report card. We gave Jon the choice...take the time to take care of the project correctly or accept the grade that he was given...with consequences. He chose to go ahead and work with the teacher to get a better grade. After about three hours of extra work with his teacher (this is a web page design class) he finished his project and has received an updated grade of "B+"...go Jon! Long story...sorry!

A couple of days ago Jon came to me and asked me if I would make a card or "something" for him to give to his teacher as a thank you for allowing him the chance to earn a better grade. Go ahead...awwww. What a good and nice boy, huh? I decided...who doesn't like chocolate (well, most people do anyway) so I thought I'd make one of the wonderful Ghiradelli holders that was on SCS a couple of weeks ago.

For this holder I used the wonderful Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, and PTI white card stock as well as Raspberry Tart DSP. The "Thank You" is a new single stamp that SU! has for sale this year. I just followed Beate's tutorial and voila! A wonderful Ghiradelli chocolate holder!

This literally only took me about 20 minutes to make so I'm sure you could whip a couple of them out for Valentine's day gifts if you wanted. If not...that is okay too, it is still such a cute idea! And if you guys have a preference for how I take my pictures let me know. Up close...a little back...with some props...what do you think?

Tomorrow I have a fun surprise...a Page Plans sketch in the middle of the week! Not sure what I'm doing with it yet but I'm pretty sure you'll like it!

So, go...have a spectacular Tuesday...get some stamping done and I'll see y'all again soon!

***A quick thank you to Susanna from Card of the Week for the shout out on her blog!!!***

yummy for your tummy

Good morning everyone! I know the weekend is over but what a fun week we are in...okay...maybe it is for our kids that get to have Valentine's Day parties and such at school.

Today the design team challenge on the Sweet N Sassy stamps blog is to create a Valentine treat holder. Interestingly I was going to show this to you today anyway so I thought that even if it doesn't include a SNS stamp the idea for the candy holder itself is pretty neat. In the case of this holder I have used SU! Candy Lane designer series paper, Riding Hood Red textured paper, the SU! Top Note Die for the Big Shot and some Riding Hood Red ribbon along with the cello bag and Ghiradelli chocolates. I would be so easy and so cute to use the SNSS Chocoholic set to make a super cute holder!

So...whatcha got for a treat holder? I'd love to see your creative holders with Sweet N Sassy stamps so go ahead make one and post the link to the SNSS blog (link above) so I can check it out!


I hope that you all will take today and make it the wonderful day that God intends for you!

page plans with a twist

Good Sunday morning everyone! Sorry I didn't post yesterday..I've been feeling a little under the weather the last couple of days so I took some time off.

Most of you know that today is Page Plans sketch day here on my blog and today is no exception. You can see the sketch we were to follow below and I did follow the sketch but I tweaked it a little bit. I wanted to make one of the neat origami boxes with cover that I saw on Lynn's blog, Stamperosity so I used the sketch to decorate the top. FUN!!

To put this together I used Lynn's directions with SU!'s Candy Lane DSP, Riding Hood Red textured card stock, a Tilda image (isn't she adorable?), a sentiment from Unity, some fabulous chocolate satin ribbon and Chocolate Pearls. Ahhh...this box just makes me happy! If you can't tell I made the heart old fashioned style...folded the card stock in half...started the cut in the folded corner and went up and around. Easy. I would guess it is about 5" across as the box is about 5 1/4". I'm not sure what I'm going to put in this box for the intended recipient (but maybe it should be something baked, huh?) but I'm pleased with this for the presentation.

Don't forget that if you entered into the contest to win The Slice from Page Plans that today is the day the winner is revealed so RUN over there right now to find out who the lucky crafter is!

On a personal note I wanted to let everyone know that I have stepped down from both the Belli Challenge Team and the Created by Courtney Challenge Chicks. I was getting to the point where I was saying...I have to stamp...instead of...I get to stamp...and I just decided to let a couple of things go off my plate. I love each of the ladies that I worked with and will miss them all!

So, you guys have a super Sunday and I'll see ya later!