Thankful Silhouettes

I was really happy when the color challenge on SCS today - CC212 - was a combo I have already used a BUNCH and LOVE. It is the same color combo that SU used on the "Candy Lane" dsp - Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red.

I think I will need to go to "Butterflies Anonymous" once my son returns from Germany . . . I seem to be drawn to all things butterfly-ish . . . this is another butterfly card that isn't even linked to my challenge! I still need to do a card for my son this week, but since I have already used this particular butterfly and sent it to him, I have to come up with something else!! Back to the drawing board (er, um STAMPIN' table!!)!

Have a great day!!

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, PInk Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Candy Lane dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: EK Success Fluer-de-Lys border punch, 5-petal flower punch, boho blossoms punch, scalloped oval and large and small oval punches, chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, pop-up glue dots

Funny What Ya Find . . .

I have spent a TON of time today adding labels to every single post on my blog. (You know labels? Those links that categorize specific topics . . . i.e. Stampin' Up, Cuttlebug, etc. They are on the sidebar to the right.)?

My daughter's dance company is performing today in Southern Utah and I came along as a chaperone. I have a bunch of time to kill, so I decided to catch up on the label thing. In the process I have found a TON of errors. I also found that I had forgotten to post this card that I did a couple of weeks ago as a combo deal . . . FS108 and TLC210. First of all the featured stamper for FS108 was my uber-cool and super neato friend, Kelly (hey-ya Kellybella!). Her official name on SCS is Kelly H. Anywho, here is the card I chose to case from her awesome gallery:

Kelly's Card

I LOVE the color combo of using True Thyme and River Rock! Boy, oh boy am I missin' those colors!! Good thing I have a happy supply on hand!

I also incorporated TLC210. The instructions for that can be found here:

Crimped Envelope Tutorial

So there ya have it!! A card lost and found!! I definitely plan on using this technique again. It's super fun and the results are awesome!!

Stamps: About Me by Innovative Stamp Creations (ISC), Victorian Lace bg by SU
Paper: True Thyme, River Rock, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: True Thyme, Rose Red
Accessories: Spellbinders Pinking Circles (small - S4-172) and Pinking Circles (Large - S4-170), pearl stickers, 3/8" white organza ribbon, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, 1/2 circle punch, notched corner punch, MS Lattice Arch border punch

BIg Ol' Flower

I made this card a while back with my the amazingly AWESOME Sunflowers Set Two dies by Spellbinders. Isn't the dimension just AWESOME (okay, I used that word TWICE in the last two sentences!!)??? I ended up taking it to the hospital and giving it to my aunt who was there for a few days (she is doing quite well now). I also used the Labels Two dies ("two" by "two", I guess!)

I am headed out of town for a couple of days with my daughter and her dance company. We are all headed to southern Utah for a dance concert that they are putting on there. It will be infinitely warmer AND sunny there, so I can't wait (yes, it DID snow in SLC AGAIN last night . . . sigh . . .)

Stamps: Rustic Rooster
Paper: Basic Black, Ruby Red, So Saffron, Naturals Ivory
Ink: More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Spellbinders Sunflowers Set Two (S4-158) and Labels Two (S4-162), black gingham ribbon (SU), Cuttlebug Forest Branches embossing folder, glue dots, sponge

Cherry Blossoms & Butterflies

I am losing track . . . each week I have to keep going back and checking to see what number I am on for my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (what's that, you ask? Check the link AND the slideshow on the sidebar to the right if you want to know!). I am actually up to card #83 . . . I cannot believe that! I only have 21 more to go!!! The time has just flown right on by!

My computer is still getting a face lift, but I started this post and attached the photo to it yesterday, BEFORE I took my computer in, so I knew I could access blogger from another computer and it would already have what I needed in it!! I amaze even myself sometimes!

I absolutely LOVE Washington, DC. I have never had the opportunity to be there in the spring, though. What I wouldn't give to be able to see all of the cherry blossoms on the mall in person . . . wow!! That is what inspired this little card. I guess peak cherry blossom time this year is expected to be April 1 - 4 . . . I will probably still be ankle-deep in snow . . . again . . . sigh . . .

Stamps: Branch Out, Oval All
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky
Accessories: Spellbinders Large Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities (S4-202), Cuttlebug Just My Type border embossing folder, scalloped oval and large oval punches, brown polka dot organza ribbon by May Arts, dimensionals, sponge dauber

Celebrate Spring

I pulled this card together the other day for LSC212. The challenge was to use colors from the "soft subtles" family, as well as using a flower and/or bulb as the central image. I do NOT know what has come over me lately, as I seem to be able to pull my cards together in less than half an hour (I am thinking it is leftover from the LSC we did a few weeks ago where we were REQUIRED to make a card in 30 minutes or less!).

Anyhow . . . I am thinking that one of my new favorite color combos is Mellow Moss, Blush Blossom, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla. I seem to have been using it a lot lately! It's great for weddings, sympathy, or as in this case, a fresh breath of spring!

I need to take my computer in for a little bit of maintenance this morning and I may not get it back for a few days (YIKES!), so I am not sure when I will be posting again. I may actually have to break down and get back on the desktop PC that my kids use for homework (again, YIKES!)! Send good kharma my way so that my computer will be back home sooner rather than later!!

Hugs for a happy week!

And by the way . . . it's snowing here in SLC . . . again . . . Happy Spring!!

Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Matchbox Messages
Paper: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla
Ink: Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers embossing folder, Matchbox Messages diecut, moss organza ribbon

Blog Hop for a Sale at There She Goes!

Everyone loves a sale, and starting this month There She Goes will be having a Changing Of The Seasons sale! The sale will be from Friday, March 20 (the first day of spring!) through Tuesday, March 24. There are FOUR stamp sets that are each 15% off! This season's sale sets are-

Crafty Taglines $12.75 (reg. $15.00)
LOL Taglines $18.70 (reg. $22.00)
Welcome Home $18.70 (reg. $22.00)
Special Delivery $12.75 (reg. $15.00)

Wouldn't ya LOVE to see some samples with these fantastic stamps???? Be sure to visit the blogs of each of the participating TSG Trendsetters!

Angela
Becky
Bev
Christi
Denise
Faith
Holly
Jessica
Joanne
Jodi
Julie
Maki
Silke

Ready to shop?? Here is the link to the There She Goes Store

Have fun!!

Stamps: Crafty Taglines and Polka Dot Hello by There She Goes
Paper: Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, black gingham ribbon by Offray, black/white polka dot brads by Paper Studio, scalloped oval and wide oval punches

Out of My Mind???

I must be delirious . . . or delusional . . . or a little bit of both!! I have actually made a few cards in the past week using this "Great Friend" stamp set . . . which means I have made EXTRA butterfly cards that have NOTHING to do with my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (as I would NOT want to send the same butterfly to my son twice, would I????) I can't help it, though. I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this set!! It's awesome and so are the matching dsp and rub-ons. I am DEFINITELY voting for this set to make the new SU catalog when it comes out this summer!!

This was for SC220 over on SCS . . . I think I have mentioned before that the sketch challenges are my personal favorite because they help keep me from creating the same card over and over again!! If you haven't ever done any of the challenges on SCS, I strongly urge ya to give it a try (you don't have to upload what you create or anything). It's just a great way to stir up those creative juices!!

TTFN!

Stamps: Great Friend
Paper: Cameo Coral, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Walk in the Park dsp
Ink: Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray
Accessories: Summer Love rub-ons, basic gray taffeta ribbon, wide oval and scalloped oval punches, dimensionals

FS110 - Here for You

One of my friends, Stacy (aka Twinshappy) was picked as the Featured Stamper on SCS yesterday! I was very excited for her. She has a HUGE amazing gallery. You should check it out!

Stacy's Gallery

I think I went a little off on a tangent with this card. I hadn't planned to turn Stacy's card on its side, but I did, which changed the layout quite a bit. All in all, though, I do like how this turned out! I like the little layers under the bird panel. I never would have thought of doing this if I hadn't seen this card of Stacy's:

Brown Pearls

Stamps: Here for You by There She Goes
Paper: Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Blush Blossom
Ink: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Rectangle - Small (S4-131) and Labels Trio (S3-147), Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy embossing folder, moss organza ribbon, dimensionals

Dollar Find Friday for There She Goes!

It's my turn to hostess Jessica's "Dollar Find Friday" for There She Goes! Here is what I came up with!!

I can't believe how fast the seasons have changed from Christmas to Easter. It seems that EVERYTHING at my local dollar store (aka Dollar Tree) is screaming Easter and Spring!! (Of course there is that whole darn aisle full of potato chips and chocolate, but I am not even gonna go there right now!)

As I was perusing this frame aisle (one of my favorite spots!) this little green heart frame just called out to me . . . I heard it! I really did!! I have always been a lover of any/everything heart shaped, so I knew I had found my "dollar treasure!"

The instructions for this are pretty basic. I took out my lovely "Flowers of Happiness" set and set off to work! After stamping the sentiment in the bottom/center of the frame using Basic Black craft ink, I then proceeded to follow the frame with an assortment of lovely flowers . . . blue, orange, green, turquoise . . . it would have been easy to get too carried away! At this point you will want to spray the frame with some sort of sealant to make sure the colors don't run. Krylon makes a TON of stuff, depending on whether you want shiny or matte, pearly or sparkly . . . many to choose from!

After trying about a ZILLION different embellishments (everything from Liquid Pearls to plain ol' grosgrain ribbon), I opened my "embellishment" drawer and these buttons spoke to me as well (they have been speaking to me for quite some time, as that is what made me buy them in the first place)!!

I easily popped them onto the frame using glue dots. So, as you can see, this is a quick, easy and FRUGAL project that would be fun to give as a "grandma gift!" (Although I may be keeping this one for myself!!)

Here is a list of supplies:

Flowers of Happiness Stamp Set by There She Goes
Basic Black Craft Ink by Stampin' Up
Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Garden Green and Tempting Turquoise ink by Stampin' Up
Miscellaneous buttons (manufacturer unknown)
Krylon Sealant
Glue Dots
$1 Heart-Shaped Frame

That's it!! Now I need to go buy some more buttons, as I seem to have used up most of mine! :)

Good Morning Butterflies!!

I can scarcely believe that I have created 82 butterfly cards for my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge! And each one uses a different butterfly (okay, well . . . I have to admit that I discovered a couple of months ago that I DID accidentally use one of 'em twice . . . I was bummed, but I think I may make a challenge out of this some time soon for all of YOU . . . find the two with the same butterfly!!) I need to come up with some cool blog candy prize first . . . :) I have more butterfly stamps, embellishments and what-not than anyone I know!!! Sheesh!!

I LOVE this butterfly image! I preordered it from the Occasions Mini and stuck it on this card, which I did yesterday for SC219 . . . the "Good Morning Sunshine" dsp is DIVINE!! And I am also really loving the little labels on the Matchbox die . . . it's going to be fun figuring out which sentiments we can fit on each of the labels!!

I'm still trying to WILL Spring to show up!! It's currently 28 degrees and I am STILL freezing (which I have been doing steadily since October!!). Why did that darn ground hog have to see his stinkin' shadow anyway???

Happy stampin' and creatin'!!

Stamps: Great Friend
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun
Accessories: Matchbox Bigz die, scallop border punch, chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, pop-up glue dots

PS - Be sure to come back tomorrow and see what I have created for TSG's Dollar Find Friday!!!

Thoughts and Prayers

I had fun playing in the color challenge on SCS yesterday . . . CC209 - Basic Black, Rose Red and Always Artichoke. What a fun combo!! I'm not sure if I have ever used them together before!!!

Not only did I discover that the sentiment fits VERY nicely into the little curvy label piece from the Matchbox Bigz die, but I also used the little "corner bite" technique that I used last week on another card by taking the scallop circle punch and taking a "bite" out of each of the corners. I like to think I'm the one who made that up, but probably not!!

This is such a lovely stamp set, too! I know it is going to get lots of use at my house (not that I hope to have to do a bunch of sympathy-type cards, but I DO love the images!)!

Have a great "hump" day!!

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers
Paper: Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Eyelet border punch, scallop circle punch, Matchbox Bigz die, gingham ribbon, pop-up glue dots

A Wreath for Judy

My good friend, Judy Rozema (aka StampingQueenJAR) was Featured Stamper #109 on SCS this past Sunday. I couldn't have been happier, as she is a talented and very deserving artist (and a very nice person, ta boot!)!

The card I created is a case of this card of Judy's:

Wreath of Wishes

I used my new "Nature of Friendship" stamps from TSG, too! Lovely, lovely images in there!!

It's freezing here (current temp is 24 degrees!), so I am hoping that this card with encourage spring to hurry itself along!!

Stamps: Nature of Friendship by TSG
Paper: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Garden Green
Ink: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Cameo Coral, Rose Red, Summer Sun
Accessories: Corner, keytag and round tab punches, Doodlebug jewel sticker (limeade), green gingham ribbon (Offray), Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder

They are TOOLS Not TOYS!!

I had a GREAT day last Friday! It was like Christmas AND my birthday! I got my order of fun new goodies (and they ARE tools, not toys!) from Stampin' Up (I had ordered a bunch of things to preview from the upcoming Occasions Mini catalog), I got two fun new Sizzix Bigz Pop-Up dies that I ordered from QVC (one of them is the pop-up ball that SU will be offering), a set of great vintage postmark stamps from Purple Onion, and a box of new dies (at least new to ME) from Spellbinders! Man, oh man . . . it was hard knowing where to start with everything as it was a bit overwhelming!!

The limited supply challenge on SCS Friday (LSC210) was to create a card, start to finish, in 30 minutes or less. WHAT??!!? I didn't even know that ANYone did this . . . EVER!! Seeing as I had so many new things to work with, I decided to accept the challenge. I actually accepted it THREE times!! I have NEVER done three cards on the same day for the same challenge! The first one was really hard to wrap my head around, but I just kept getting faster as the day went by!

This first one is also card #81 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (see sidebar to the right for more info on that . . . there is a link to the card that started it all AND a slideshow of all of the butterflies I have created thus far). I knew, of course, that this butterfly die that I got from SU was going to be mine the minute I laid eyes on it. And this patterned paper (Good Morning Sunshine). Holy cow!! The colors TOTALLY speak to me! I also used one of the new EK Success border punches I picked up at Mike's last week for 30% off. LOVE 'em!!!!! I pushed this one right up to 30 minutes! Almost didn't make it!

Stamps: Sanded, Fundamental Phrases
Paper: So Saffron, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Good Morning Sunshine dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Bigs Beautiful Butterflies, EK Success Parisien border punch, small oval punch, satin ribbon, pop-up glue dots

On to card #2 . . . since I already had the butterfly die out, I decided it worked GREAT with the new Textured Impressions Manhattan Flower folder I got from SU. AND I used the new scalloped oval punch AND Oval All stamps that coordinate with it! Like I said before, I have new tools, baby!! You will see I used a lot of similar supplies on all three cards, as I was on a roll and the stuff out on my table kept getting used!

Stamps: Oval All
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose dsp, Good Morning Sunshine dsp
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Bigs Beautiful Butterflies die, Textured Impressions Manhattan Flower, scalloped oval punch, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, pearl stickers, pop-up glue dots

And last, but certainly not least, was the quickest card of all. I think I did this baby in just over 10 minutes (that included the "think about it" part, too!)! I'm pretty proud of myself!! I think this one would be GREAT for a workshop or class. Super quick and easy, yet beautiful and eye-catching!!

Stamps: Beautiful Borders (sentiment)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Candy Lane dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions folder, 5/8" satin chocolate ribbon, pop-up glue dots, sanding block

Tiptoe Through the Tulipes!!

I was soooo happy when my Stampin' Up ordered arrived on Monday. I hadn't put an order in for quite some time, so was happy to get some new things to play with. This "Tulipe" die is totally fun! I have to admit that I didn't really like it when I first saw it. Or when I saw it again . . . it just didn't do anything for me . . . UNTIL I actually saw something made with it. YOU know how that is, right???? Then, of course, you are enabled by someone to purchase it because of what you have seen them create. It happens to me ALL the time (and I'm sure it has NEVER happened to you, right??).

I did this for the color challenge on Tuesday (CC208) . . . EXCEPT that the Challenge Police came charging after me, with sirens blaring (aka my good friend Karen - imastampin on SCS)!!! She called me and said, "I liked your card today, except you CHEATED!" "What??!!??? I did NOT!! What are you talking about???" She replied, "You used Pink Pirouette, NOT Pink Passion!" Again, I said, "What??!!???" I guess I just read the list of colors, came to the word "pink" and just filled in the rest!! It was SUPPOSED to be chocolate chip, kiwi kiss and pink passion . . . guess I could've gone back and redid it then rephotogrpahed it, but I just decided to leave it how it is. Sadly, I ended up in Challenge Prison with NO bail money!! Luckily, one of the girls on SCS offered me her "Get Out of Jail Free" card!! (Thanks, PebbleKraft!!)

Fun new tip . . . I used my scallop circle punch to take a little "bite" out of each of the corners on the chocolate chip layer. I'm sure someone else, SOMEwhere has done this, but I just kind of thought it up myself for this card. I definitely will be doing it again!

Stamps: Tres Chic
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Tulipe Bigz die, scallop circle punch, satin vanilla ribbon, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, dimensionals

Make Your Own Patterned Paper!

I always LOVE it when it is my turn to be a challenge hostess on SCS (I get to do the LSC about every 6 weeks). I actually think it is kind of funny that I host ANYthing with LIMITED supplies!! Like I am good at that??? NOT!! So I always find myself stretched every time I participate in or hostess one.

This past week I chose to challenge the participants to make their own patterned/designer paper. This is something I do ALL the time! I often have people comment on something I have made by saying, "Love the DP you used!" It always makes me smile! The REAL challenge was that I only allowed challengees to use ONE stamp set for their entire creation . . . including the sentiment. The trick is to use a variety of images and colors (sometimes harder than it would seem!). I limited them further by saying the only embellishments could be ribbon and/or brads. Additionally, the only punches/dies that were allowed had to be connected to the sentiment. And NO Cuttlebugging!! (AAAAaaack!! What WAS I THINKING???) There were some really great cards made. Here is a link to the gallery with all the challenge submissions

LSC209 on SCS

Stamps: Simple Friendship
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Ice (clear) rhinestone brads, black gingham ribbon, large oval punch, word window punch, pop-up glue dots

I was also particularly proud of myself that I also contained myself to Stampin' Up supplies ONLY on BOTH of the samples that I created!! Since acquiring so many other "tools" and "toys" over the years, this gets increasingly tricky!! Good for me!!

Stamps: Trendy Trees
Paper: Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, Cameo Coral
Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, large oval punch, pop-up glue dots

Missing Butterfly . . .

Okay, so here is butterfly #79 that I didn't get a chance to post last week due to all the fun and frenzied stuff I was posting for the TSG release.

I made my own patterned paper (something I LOVE to do) for this one. It turned out a bit more "tropical" than I had envisioned, but I like it anyway! I actually hosted the challenge on SCS last Friday and that is what I challenged people to do . . . make their own designer/patterned paper. I will be sharing those samples with ya tomorrow!!!

I actually had already included this card in the little slideshow on the right, but was pretty sure most of you wouldn't catch it . . . pretty sneaky, eh? My son (Devan - the one who is the recipient of all of the butterfly cards) just informed me in his weekly e-mail that he hasn't received ONE card since moving to his new area in Neuötting (he got there the first week of February and I have sent FOUR cards to him since then!) . . . one actually came back to me 'cause I forgot to put "Germany" on the last line of the address (just resent it on Friday), the middle two cards were sent rather close together in the past week and a half, but the first one I sent around February 7th (or maybe the 10th), so he should DEFINITELY have that one by now!! I hope that they show up!! Cross your fingers for me!!

Stamps: Simple Friendship
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, key tag punch, black gingham ribbon, pop-up glue dot