exalting christ

I am so blessed to get this award from Chris "The Exalting Christ Blog Award"
Thank you, Chris! What a blessing and encouragement.

This blog award is given to bloggers who consistently exalt the name of Christ on their blogs. What a joy to see crafters blend their passion for Christ and paper crafting. This award is given to bloggers who share Christ through their posts or through the design of their artwork. We are commanded in Scripture to be 'salt and light' sharing the Good News of Jesus no matter where we are (Matthew 5:13-16). This award is just a way members of Women to Women: Sharing Jesus can say thanks for exalting Christ with us!
Rules:Post the blog award in a regular post on your blog with the explanation, including the original link to WTW and the rules for passing the award along
1. Name five people to whom you want to offer this award and link to their blogs. The blogs need to obviously exalt Christ in some manner.
2. Contact the bloggers you have named to let them know they can pick up their blog award from you.
3. Invite them to permanently display the WTW blog badge and/or the award on their blogs. The badge can be obtained on the WTW site.

These are just a few of my Christian Blogging friends. A great, big, huge thank you to everyone who shows the light of Christ on their blog!

Kristine at Ink Something
Cristina Wright at The Wright Blessings
Mandy at limeLIGHT Papercrafts
Christi at Story About A Girl

Dawn from Dawn's Stampin' Thoughts

limeLIGHT FUN!

Be sure to check back here and Limelight Papercrafts on Monday, June 1st!

Mandy is celebrating her 1 year anniversary with her DT and some friends {that ME!!} with challenges, sketches. games and prizes on our blogs!

I'll have a list of who is participating in the activities on Monday so please come back for a peek!

oldies but goodies

Good morning and welcome to day 3 and the final day of the Sweet N Sassy Stamps Blog hop! Have you been enjoying your time with all the wonderful member of the design team? They are truly a talented bunch, huh? This month we are highlighting some Oldies but Goodies sets.

I had the pleasure of making this lovely card to show you today. It is funny because I intended on it looking a little different then it turned out but I have to say...I truly love this card. The blue background just totally sets off the fun birthday images! I used two SNSS set for this card...Birthday Fun and Birthday Greetings. I paired that with some Basic Grey Cupcake patterned paper along. I do not have the water threading punch but my friend (hi debby!) punched some pink and yellow strips so I could have a little something to play with...don't you think it matches so wonderfully? To add a little bit of dimension I popped up the cake square...added some glitter pen to the flames and around the squares. So much fun!

So, have you been hopping around and seeing everyone on this last day of hoppin'? In case you haven't started from the beginning here is all the blogs to see today...Teresa, Janette, Suzy, Me, SNSS Blog. Now, go...hop...have a SUPER time!

See ya tomorrow with some super fun news!

got your shades?

Morning everyone! It is another one of those bright card days so go grab your sunglasses!

Today's card is for the limeLIGHT Papercraft sketch and product challenge. I was excited to get to this challenge as it is a challenge with one of my favorite things...PATTERNED PAPER! Woot! Woot!

You do it. I do it. We ALL do it. And we all know it.

That's right... We ALL hoard our patterned paper! We are afraid of not having our papers once we use them! And we, therefore, all need that push to get us to share the patterned joy with others through our handmade cards! Today is another installment of the Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge, and we want you to USE that patterned paper! The lovely Lee Murphy has created another sketch for us, and what a perfect sketch it is for using your favorite papers!

Paper: PTI White, Old Olive, Summer Sun, and October Afternoon Cherry Hill (that's right...I got me some of these wonderful papers!!!)
Ink: SU! Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Old Olive grosgrain, Kaisercraft Pearls, Basic Grey White Chocolate Chip Letters(micro chip stickers...super fun everyone!)

The Details:
**Use the sketch provided and think PATTERNED PAPER!

**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC022.

**Post a comment with a link to your card right HERE by Sunday, May 31, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday a.m.).

**PRIZE ~ One 6x6 or 8x8 Paper Pad!(Winner is chosen randomly from all participants.)

Don't forget about our ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION on Monday! Be here for games, prizes, and sales!! Also, check out THIS POST to see how you can win a prize NOW! For additional inspiration be sure to check out my fellow DT members...Lisa, Amy, Ryann, Lee, 7th 6 Chick Amy, and JenMarie.

I'm SO excited to hosting a challenge for the Anniversary Celebration so be sure to look for that!

See you tomorrow for my Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog hop day!

lovin' it

Good morning everyone! Nope, I'm not thinking about McDonald's (remember the I'm Lovin' It theme song?) I'm thinking about the Textured Impression Die!

Remember the other day when I showed you THIS card and said I had one more to show you? Well, here it is! When, I first saw the roses cut around the detail of the rose I LOVED it. There is nothing like being able to show off your patterned paper on a card!

Anyway, I have some paper left from my Walk In The Park bulk buy pack and decided to try the cut out technique. I'm not sure why I chose the Basic Gray patterned paper but I think it is lovely! The vellum is called Linen Vellum Cardstock and I get it from PaperTrey Ink. I love the added texture it gave this card. I left off the sentiment not wanting to conflict with the prettiness of the card. I also completely love the ribbon that I used. It is from SU! and I SO hope they don't retire it! If they do...on June 1st I'll be purchasing myself several more rolls of it!

I know today is a short post but I have lots to do today. Kyler gets his Character Award today at school. The teacher chooses a positive character for each child in the class that best describes them. It is always a neat thing to see. I can't imagine finding 16 different character traits that would work for these kids. After that I help with pizza lunch at his school (last one...yay!) and then I'd like to get some work time in at church (but I'd also really like to stamp!).

I hope you'll stop back tomorrow to check out my limeLIGHT sketch and product challenge card. It is a great sketch and the challenge is to used patterned paper so how could you not like to do that one? Mandy, as always, has some wonderful sales going on in the store right now...something about color (teehee)...so go ahead and check it out! AND, starting June 1st limeLIGHT will be celebrating it's 1st birthday with games, sketches, and a store wide sale you won't want to miss! I'm excited to be joining in the fun, too! Oh, and I just noticed that if you post on your blog about the limeLIGHT Anniversary fun you'll be entered in a chance to win a bottle of Shimmerz Spritz. Check it out HERE!

Friday is my day for the Sweet N Sassy Stamps blog hop so stop on back then to check out a super fun card! The hop starts today, though so be sure to start your hopping by clicking on the links I have for you to follow along with in my right sidebar!

a year (or day) of sweets

Good Tuesday morning everyone! I am going to need to keep reminding myself that it is Tuesday or I'll think we are on Monday all day! It will sure make this week go fast!

Today I'm showing you a card I made for the Taylored Expressions sketch challenge. I was going to use it for the Key Ingredients challenge too but realized I didn't use any stitching. Bummer!

Anyway, I used the stamp from Year of Sweets 2 that I would consider for May, cut it out with Curved Rectangle Nestibilities and then colored it. These cupcakes are SO sweet! If you noticed I successfully made some clouds in my scene that I just love! The wonderful Kerry from Three Clovers Designs showed how she makes hers a while ago and I just had to try! The trick is oval Nestitibilites and then just sponging around your images for the perfect cloud look...pretty cool, huh?

If you've been blog hopping recently I'm sure you've seen everyone talking about the Stamp Out Alzheimer's group. I'm just here to tell you that if you haven't donated (only $5 but more if you'd like) to become a part of the SOA group...ya might want to! There are tons of challenges (WITH prizes) as well as daily giveaways, some wonderful stories being told, and just a lot of camaraderie going on over there. Jen Tapler started this wonderful group and week long group. You can go to her BLOG to donate and then within a small amount of time you'll be hooked up to get into the SOA site.

I have a couple of design team commitments this week but I'm going to try and roll them into some of the fun challenges they have on SOA so watch out everyone...here I come!

Have a super day everyone!

Memorial Day

The above picture is of the American flag that is flown at half mast everyday over the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I took this photo, which has no touch up, during our tour of the memorial. This was a sobering stop on our trip but one that definitely taught me about sacrifice.

And, here is my card that, to me, says what today is all about...Land of the free because of the brave. Please remember that today isn't just about a day off of school or work. It is a day to remember those that have fallen in war and to forever honor their memory.

a simple pledge

Good morning all! I know I don't normally post on Sunday but I have a card to show you and some information for ya too.

First, the card. I made this card for one of the mom's at Kyler's school. She recently became a citizen of the US and I had these two wonderful images by Our Daily Bread Designs so I had to make a card, right? Anyway, I wanted the flag and the pledge to be front and center hence the very simple layout and colors. Just a couple of red Tiny Twinkles in two corners and I was done. Whatcha think?

Two things to chat with you about. First, I want to tell you about is what Memorial Day is. I see lots of people thanking all the soldiers for their service. While that is a wonderful thing (and ya'll know my DH is retired Army so I appreciate that more than you know!) that is what Veteran's Day is for. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and was first to honor the fallen soldiers of the Union Army from the Civil War. That day was expanded after WWI to include all American casualties of any war or military action. So, Memorial Day is a day specifically to remember the fallen heroes of our country and give them the respect that they will forever deserve.

Second, I just want to encourage you to go to your town's Memorial Day ceremony. You say they don't have one? I bet they do...even our little town of 15,000 (and that includes the college population) has one. Just check your newspaper from the last couple of days. They don't typically last very long (the longest one I've been too has been 20 minutes or so), you don't have to do anything except take your hat off for the presentation of the flag and the playing of tap, and listen. If you are uncomfortable attending a service would you just consider taking a moment of silence at 3 p.m. EST to remember those that lost their lives serving our country? You might be surprised of how it makes you feel!

With that...I bid you a fantastic day! I'm off to do final prep for the BBQ tomorrow!

together forever

Morning everyone! It is going to be a beautiful Saturday here...up to 80 and full sun...woohoo!

At my stamp club every other month we do a card swap with a different theme. This month we made cards with a wedding/anniversary theme and this is my card. Since most of my stamp club ladies don't have a bunch of SU! wedding stuff I told them to use as much SU! as possible but it was okay to use other company's products as well.

I've been seeing beautiful cards made with the new SU! Textured Impressions Manhattan Flower die for the Big Shot. I just got it a couple of weeks ago and was really wanting to use it so I grabbed it out and used it to make this simple but pretty card. The only thing that isn't SU! on this card is the little Tiny Twinkle as the center of the flower in the sentiment.

I have another card I made with this die to show you next week that I think you are going to love. Speaking of next week...it is an exciting week with the Sweet N Sassy Blog Hop (info to come to my sidebar soon) as well as a limeLIGHT product and sketch challenge. Fun stuff!

Have a super day everyone!

Card Deets:
Stamps: Forever (SU! single)
Ink: Certainly Celery
Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Accessories: White Satin Ribbon, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Punch, Taylors Tiny Twinkles

bingobella

Morning everyone! I hope you are having a super week...can you believe tomorrow is Friday? Yay! Double yay for a long weekend!

When I saw the CPS sketch for this week and that Stamping Bella was hosting it I knew I just had to pull out my newest Bella. I call her Bingobella but her real name is Bingodabbabella. See? My version is much easier to remember! LOL! Anyway, I like to make cards for Todd's grandmother just as a way of staying connected and she does love her bingo so this is perfect!

I have to say that I'm in love with this card simply because of it's monochromatic color scheme. I was thinking of putting another color in this card but the colors that match the best with Brocade Blue just didn't sound appealing for a Bella card so I stuck with Brocade Blue and White.

I can't wait to get this sent out to her! I hope Todd stops home this morning so he can write a little note to her inside so it can go out in the mail today!

I just have to tell you what a dork I am. I thought it would be nice to have a Memorial Day BBQ with some of ours friends. Apparently, I wasn't thinking when I sent out the e-vites because we now have over 40 adults and 30 children coming to the BBQ. I'm not in the lest worried about the food and such as everyone is going to bring a little something but I am worried that it will be too windy to be outside...I can't have 30 children running around my home. Yikes! It was suggested to me that a couple of the older children take the younger kids to the school a half block away to play. That is a great idea and I just need to dig out my walkie talkies so we have communication with them. Wish me luck everyone!

Anyway, I'm off to start my day! I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and I'll see ya tomorrow!

SSS #4

Good morning friends! Can you believe it is Wednesday already?! It's been a pretty busy week here so it is flying right by for me!

As I'm sure you already know Sweet N Sassy Stamps has a new sketch challenge blog called The Sweet Stop. This weeks sketch is so fun that I had to just play along. The one thing I didn't do according to challenge rules was make mine a masculine card as I was looking for this type of card when I was creating.

I knew I wanted to use my Funny Farm stamp set so I pulled out some Basic Grey Marrakech paper (see all the great Basic Grey paper SNSS has HERE) to go with it. I think that the papers have somewhat of a hand sewn look to them so I thought they'd be fun with the chickens I wanted to use. I completely love the silliness of this card!

Wanna play along with the sketch challenge? Just create a card with the sketch I linked you to above, add a masculine theme, link it back to the Sweet Stop blog and you are in the drawing for a chance to win the stamp set Cool dude (I love this set for my boys!).

Now, go...have fun! I have to go exercise this morning even though my gluts still hurt from the ridge climb on Monday...LOL!

lovin' from the oven

Morning everyone! How was your Monday? I had a good time hiking the ridge yesterday. I was off on the time estimates though. It took about an hour to get up and 45 minutes or so to descend the ridge. Still not to bad really. Of course I thought I was going to die about 3/4 of the way up but I made it and it was SO worth it!

Onto today's card. So...I saw THIS card and knew I had to have Unity's Lovin' from the Oven set so I hopped right over to limeLIGHT Papercrafts and placed my order (along with a ton of other fun stuff!). I knew I had to do something along the same lines as Ryann so I got to work when I saw Jen's sketch for this week. All the patterned and solid color papers I used are from Basic Grey's Granola paper pack. So perfect for a guy card, huh? I love the animal print paper for the hearts...teehee!

Mandy is running some excellent specials just for her customers right now so head on over THERE to check them out. I've said it before and I'll say it again...Mandy is super fast with shipping and her prices are great! Go check it out!

Now, go...have a super Tuesday!

birthday lauren

Good morning everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! It sure was beautiful here this weekend and is supposed to be 84 degrees today, too! Lovin' it!

For today's card I decided to pull out my Birthday Lauren from Paper Makeup Stamps. I am not much of a fairy kind of gal but I love this images...they are fun to color, just the perfect size for my comfort zone! I added lots of shimmer and sparkle to this card which was difficult to see in the first picture so I tried again which gave me a blurry picture but at least you can see some of the sparkly stuff.

Monday is always the Paper Makeup Challenge day and this weeks challenge is a very pretty watermelon and apple which is basically a pink/green combination. You can see it HERE. You don't have to use their stamps to play along so if you like the color combo...go for it!

Todd and I are going to climb the ridge this morning. That link I gave you doesn't really do the hike or the view justice. Since I'm a big baby it will probably take us about 45 minutes up the ridge and 25 minutes down but the sense of accomplishment and the view when up there are SO worth it!

With that...I'm off to eat a little something and get hydrated without drinking too much...no bathrooms at the top ya know!

Card deets:
Stamps: Birthday Lauren:
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: PTI White and Spring Rain, SU! Purely Pomegranate, Scenic Route Surprise patterned paper
Accessories: PTI Black Grosgrain, Black Copic Glitter Pen, Angels Wings Shimmerz, Glaze Pen

punch owl graduation card

Good Saturday morning everyone! I got to sleep in a little...yay! Now, I'm going to post this card, exercise and get started on my day.

I just wanted to share this cute little punch owl graduation card that we made at stamp club on Wednesday night. I must say right off that this was not my idea. One of the great things about being a SU! demo is that you get a monthly magazine called Stampin' Success and it has all sorts of neat ideas in it...including this fun punch owl. The sample used different colors and a different focal stamp (a grad stamp) but I made it work with what I have and my ladies seemed to enjoy it. You can see the card I copied HERE.

This owl takes about seven different punches to put together. If you click on the link above you'll see the entire listing of punches. I, however, used the Celebrate stamp from the Under $10 page in the back of the IB&C. I figure in the offset part you could add someone's name or the year graduating or just leave it blank. Over all a super cute card...I think!

Alright...I'm off. We are supposed to have super nice temperatures today so I would like to get outside and weed a little. We are going to grill steak for dinner tonight too so I need to run to the store to get a couple of things so...have a super day everyone!

round up time!

Good morning friends! I have another fun card for ya today and being that it is the 15th of the month you know it is a Round Up Card for Sweet N Sassy Stamps.

This month we are featuring the fun stamps that SNSS has for summer. I have used two on my card. Summer Fun and Summer Sentiments. These two sets are made for each other and help you make such cute cards! Although you can't tell the piece of watermelon has glaze and sparkle on it...I mean really...who could leave it just plain? LOL! this will be a super fun card for me to send to my grandparents. We always have the best produce when we go to their house (which isn't very often ) so they will love this one too!

Make sure you check out all of the design team members blogs (links are in my sidebar) to see what other fun ideas everyone has for summer...trust me...you'll love them!

It is Friday...yay...that means my husband and youngest son are home from camp so I'm HAPPY! Have a super day everyone!

limeLIGHT sketch and product challenge

Good Thursday morning, everyone! It's time for another Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge! And this week, the focus is on TULLE! Tulle is not something that I use in card making often...as a matter of fact this is my first time using it! I have a ton of ideas rolling around in my head but I thought I'd share with you this silly card first! Mandy knows that many of you don't have any Tulle at all sooo...she wants to change that by giving away some tulle to one lucky winner! And for this challenge, if you don't have tulle, don't worry! Use another ribbon, lace, cloth....or even a tulle skirt image! OR...skip the tulle all together. We still want to see what you can do with this sketch!

The Details:
**Use the sketch provided on the limeLIGHT blog and think TULLE! You can CERTAINLY be flexible with your interpretation of tulle, and you may definitely skip it if you don't have any!! In fact, we hope you win if you do not have tulle....because we'll get to send you some! :)

**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC021.

**Post a comment with a link to your card on the limeLIGHT blog on THIS post by Sunday, May 17th, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday a.m.).

**PRIZE ~ Five yards of tulle of the winner's choice!(Winner is chosen randomly from all participants.)

On another note, ALL ORDERS of $35 or more will receive one jar of Shimmerz for FREE!! Now's the time to shop!

Be sure to hop around to the other DT members blogs...JenMarie, Amy, Ryann, Lisa, Lee and the 7th 6th chick for May Amy. Enjoy!!

Oh, and how would you like to win a Hobby Lobby gift card? Well, head on over to my friend Cristina's blog for a chance. Check it out HERE!

Card deets:
Stamps: Wild & Crazy Bunch
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber
Paper: PTI White, Basic Grey Lime Rickey
Accessories: Tulle, Lime Rickey Glazed Brads

thinking of you

Morning everyone. How was your Monday? I had a busy day but I got a lot accomplished so that is great!

Just a quick Stampin' Up! card for ya. I really like the Scene in a Garden set so I used it again today. I used last week's Mojo sketch and the stamps in this set are perfect for it! The paper is called Walk in the Park and is from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Hmmm...now that I'm looking at it again, I'm not sure the two images really match. Crud! Oh, well, I guess. I did go back and ground the boots with a little color.

I've got tons to get done today so I should start my day but I wish you a wonderful Tuesday. I'll see you soon!

Card deets:
Stamps: Scene in a Garden, Three Little Words
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Greeze, Basic Grey
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DP
Accessories: Blender Pen, White Satin Ribbon, White Gel Pen, Scallop Border Punch.

aren't they cute?

Morning everyone! I don't have any crafting for you today but I thought I'd show you a couple of the super fun Mother's Day gifts that I got. First, I have to tell you that Scott got me a very nice candle holder. It holds three tea lights and I've always looked at something like this one but never bought it for myself. What a good boy, huh?

First, the story about the boy garden figure. Last week Todd and I were at the nursery getting some rose plants. We saw these super cute garden figures and I just LOVED the boy. Being that I have three boys and I'm pretty patriotic he was perfect for me. Also, being they were a little more than I wanted to pay so I told Todd I'd like the boy for Mother's Day. So...it came home with us and we put it in my front little garden.

Well, I was chauffeured home this morning from church by Jon and when we turned the corner I immediately saw the girl figure. Aren't they just completely adorable!?!

I think I'm going to move them to the back rose garden as I would hate for them to be stolen by some not nice person. You just never know around here even though we have no less than five police officers in the surrounding about 4 block area.

Anyway, I hope you have a fantastic Monday and that your Mother's Day was just wonderful!

happy mother's day!

A quick good morning to all of my friends to say Happy Mother's Day!

We have invited some friends over for lunch today as their kids will not be visiting this Mother's Day so we invited them to our house. Of course, I thought having a card for her would be most appropriate and like I told you the other day I had to try one of those cute flower pot cards so...here it is!

I was really happy with how easy this was to make. HERE is a link to written and video instruction for you to make your own. My papers are from the Basic Grey paper pack called Wisteria and the flowers/bird are Sixxix dies. The scripture is from Sweet N Sassy Stamp's set called Love of a Friend.

Now, I'm off to enjoy my special caramel coffee and start my day!

last one

Good Saturday morning! Hope you all had a wonderful Friday and that your Mother's Day plans are all set to go!

This is the final sympathy card that I'm going to show you. I'd like to say that this is my own design but it is not. Of course I can't find the blog that I got this idea from but just know...it is not my original design.

Everything you see here is from PaperTrey Ink. I, again, used the With Sympathy set for this card. The card I copied just had two white panels but I wanted a little color so I added the Aqua Mist panel to my card. A little bit of Aqua Mist ribbon and the card was all done...whew!

I'm happy to be moving onto happier cards this weekend. I think today I will be sitting down to make a flower pot card...yep, just like (well not just like) the ones you've been seeing on different blogs. I do believe mine will be a little different as I'm going to try and add some scripture from my Sweet N Sassy sets. Hopefully it will all work out as I have it envisioned. I also need to exercise, dust, plant some rose bushes and pickup the house a little bit today so I should probably get started!

Have a super day everyone! If I get that flower pot card done today I'll be posting it tomorrow. If I don't post tomorrow...have a very Happy Mother's Day!

sympathy butterfly

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you have a fantastic day all planned out for yourself! I'm looking forward to the National Day of Prayer gathering in our downtown. I hurt one of my thigh muscles when exercising on Wednesday so I have to give it a little break today, too.

So do yo think you can stand another sympathy card? I know I'm having a hard time making them. This is just a real simple card (that honestly I'm not sure if I like or not) that I used PTI's Background Basics Spots and Dots and Everyday Classics as well as the SU!'s Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die on. I then made the antenna with some real thin wire and added a little body to it with pearls. The colors are PTI chocolate brown , spring moss, and then Palette Fresh Snow Ink. And the original idea for the layout came from a card that Nicki Estes made.

This is going to be short as I need to get moving with my day but I hope that your Thursday is wonderful!