Everyday Brings A Chance.....

...for you to draw in a breathe, kick off your shoes and DANCE! I love that quote!


Happy Soakin' Friday! Today it's supposed to be a "soaker " today. That is what the guy on the radio said twice yesterday to describe the weather for today. The good news.....that usually means a great day to craft in the basement:) I have several cards to show, but I decided to save the others for next week. I have a really busy couple of weeks coming up and I may need to have some "in reserve." I'm not sure how much stamping I will get to do next week.

For today, I'd like to share my Mojo Monday Sketch. If you are an SU demo you may recognize my inspiration from the cover of this month's Stampin Succuss. I was in love with the colors and the different designs they used to create the picture. If you want to play along there is still time AND you have a chance to win some Verve stamps this time. They have another release of brand new stamps coming out this month on the 17th.

I finally got to use the new Specialty paper by SU called Sweet Slumber Party. Very nice paper! I also created my own "background paper" by white embossing the design from Verve's Grateful Elegance. The flower is a painted and then white embossed chipboard flower from SU. The center of the flower is just a page pebble on some red textured cardstock that was cut to fit.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Grateful Elegance, Beautiful You, Hearts Afire (all Verve)
Ink: Versamark, Versafine Black Paper: Barely Banana, Old Olive, Basic Black, Sweet Slumber Party, Real red
Other: Filigree brads, Kaiser Pearls, Satin ribbon, Chipboard, Page Pebbles, Glue dots

Here is my son making his own birthday cake. He did almost the whole thing himself.

Here is is thinking really hard before making his wish.

It was a bit of a different birthday this year for him. We decided to take him to the store to get his gifts. We got him a new mitt and my mom got him a new bat. So he had to be there to try them on for size. My husband had to work til 6 and then he got a late call. So he wasn't able to join us until really late. That is the life of a fireman. While it was disappointing at first, we ended up having a fun time. I don't think any child has every ohhh'd and ahhh'd so much over Olive Garden's salad. He wants to work there so he can find out the "secret ingredient." I swear they should hire him for a commercial to promote how great of a salad they make. He kept saying he was "in heaven." Today we are going to play Laser Tag. Can't wait. Our kids are finally at the age where my husband and I can do all the things we used to do while we were dating. Life is Good!

Thanks for checking in today!

HOPPY BIRTHDAY!

This is a really late post today. It's just been somewhat busy and it took me FOR...EV...ER to complete this card. Want to talk about metamorphosis? This originally started out for the Mojo Monday sketch from last week. I just couldn't make it work. Then I decided to use it for Jen's SFYTT. Which is what it is....kinda. I had to change that a bit too. I just couldn't get all the squares to work for me. Plus that cute bunny is long and at an angle so, square would not do.

This card is for my beautiful daughter's birthday at the end of the month. My son turns 8 tomorrow...sniff...sniff. I can't believe how old my kids are getting. I remember when....never mind. Onto the details of the card. Let me point out that I used Liquid Applique for the cupcake. Jody Morrow did a wonderful tutorial about it HERE. I can't believe I never followed the directions. I'm a visual person...I really can't be bothered with READING for gosh sakes. Imagine if I would though how much better my life might be.... Ok, I'll stop. Mushy and philisophical are not what this card is about.


Here's the deets:

Stamps: Cupcake Flopsey (My Favorite Things), Grateful Elegance (Verve)
Ink: Black Brilliance, Orchid Opulence, Tempt. Turquoise
Paper: DCVW, Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Designer Paper from Michaels
Other: Blender Pen, Swiss Dots EF, cuttlebug, 3/4" circle punch, white taffetta ribbon, liquid applique, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, dimensionals, MS Lace doily punch


I know I've been really bad lately about doing a WIGW card. Will work on that. I actually just realized today that I haven't been posting them. Will try to be better starting next week. I will be MIA tomorrow for my son's bday. I'm hoping we will be baking his cake together and just hanging out til his birthday dinner at Olive Garden. His choice. He loves that "fancy" place. So have a great Thursday. I'll be back on Friday with a few things. See ya then!

Little Miracle Bear

I got to play just a bit today and make a card for Kristina's Color Challenge. Seems that I'm having a hard time getting things to fall into place today for most of my card attempts. However, I love this little guy. I only wish I had someone specific in mind to send this little bear. Loved these colors though.



Hope you are all having a great Monday. We are heading out this evening for acting class and a bit of shopping. Just an FYI....if you want to get some stamping done on Spring Break, let your child have a friend spend the night. The next day they are so tired all they want to do is lay on the couch and watch TV. Everyone wins! Tee hee;)

Basic Recipe: Stamps: Bundle of Love, Clear Impressions Oh baby set Ink: Basic Black, Craft Choc Chip Paper: Kiwi Kiss, DCVW text brown, Whisper white, Baja Breeze, Paper Studio DP Other: Grosgrain (Walmart), Buttons (The Paper Studio), Choc Embroidery Floss, Circle scalloped nesties, CM circle cutter, Prismacolor Pencils, blending stump, baby oil, dimensionals

Enjoy the Ride

I don't have a card for you yet today. I've been sick most of the weekend....bummer. But, my brother sent me this link in an email. I thought it was cool and wanted to share. Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the little things that matter most. This is only a little over 3 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. A BIG thanks to my bro for sending this my way! I hope you all take a little something from it.

Click HERE
I hope you "enjoy the ride" today!

The First Ever Stamptacular Sunday Challenge is Here!

Good Morning and Congratulations if you managed to get up at 6AM for the start of this Stamptacular Sunday Challenge!

If this is your first time visiting my blog....Welcome! I hope you like what you see and stop back often.

Priscilla has come up with some wonderful challenges over the next several months. I hope you can join in today and each week for a creative jump start. The challenge for today is to make something for a "New Beginning." This can be a variety of things. I chose to make a baby frame. I know several people right now who are pregnant. I hope this is a gift they can cherish for awhile.



This started out as a simple frame that I found on clearance for $2 at Hobby Lobby.


It's cute, but it had some scratches and was missing the ribbon. So I simply modge podged on some designer paper to start. Here are a few tips I learned along the way.

1. Trace the image on the wrong side of the paper and then cut in just inside the trace line.

2. Apply Modge Podge to the paper. This seems to prevent bubbles that can show up more if you apply directly to the frame.

3. Try to smooth out all the air bubbles as gently as possibly immediately after applying the paper.

4. Let the glue dry COMPLETELY before trimming away any excess.

5. Use a fine grit sandpaper or sanding block to smooth out any rough edges.

6. Remember...this is not a quick project. Allow the modge podge to dry overnight. Patience, though difficult, is your friend in this case")

I'd like to point out a few details on this project.

This is a close up of the bow and the stamping on the corner. I used White Embossing Enamel and versamark for the image. ANOTHER TIP: You should work quickly when stamping on a 3D project like this. Another thing I did was to emboss the image on a scrap of vellum and hold it on the frame in various places. That way I could get a feel for what the image would look like before I actually stamped.


This is a close up of the chipboard piece. My original idea didn't turn out like I wanted so I ended up covering the chipboard with a piece of white cardstock that was embossed with the Swiss Dots Embossing Folders and my cuttlebug. I layered the sentiment panel over it after faux stitching the edges. How did I get that ruffled edge??? The wonderful Jan Tink gave a great tutorial on this technique HERE. She used regular designer paper,but I used a colored vellum that I had in my stash.

Here is a list of supplies that I used:

Stamps: Clear Impressions (oh baby set), Barogue Motifs Ink: Pretty In Pink, Versamark Paper: Bella Rose (SU DP), Whisper White, Pink Vellum (retired SU) Other: White Satin Ribbon, Pink organdy ribbon, Embroidery thread, Buttons (the Paper Studio), White EP, embossing buddy, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, cuttlebug, swiss dots EF, trim, modge podge, fabric glue, sanding block, glue dots, chipboard circle

WOW! That was a long post. Don't worry. They shouldn't all be that long. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the other design teams' blogs. You can conveniently find them on the left side of my blog. Just click on their names and it will take you to all their great creations. I hope you can play along with the challenge. Would love to see what you all come up with as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Savory Square Card

That was the name of the sketch for this card. I had a really hard time putting this card together. It was just "one of those days." My sewing machine broke while I was sewing on the card. That ended up ruining my paper and my sewing machine. I am still hoping it will just be a minor repair .....for my sewing machine. It WAS just minor to repair the paper. I had another piece. I ended up faux stitching the corners using a choc chip marker and my mat pack. Personally, I think this card looks way better in real life and would have been even better with real stitching.

Let me tell you about a few special details to this card. The center panel was stamped on and then covered with a piece of vellum that has the sentiment stamped with CC craft ink. The brads hold the vellum in place. I have a piece of twill that peeks out from under the center panel. I wrapped the ends with twine for a different look. My flowers are layered and then I used a Build A Brad for the center. I punched a piece of choc chip cardstock and then brushed on Pearl Ex for the shimmery center. What I learned....the bubble that comes with the build a brad grabbed the pearl ex off the paper and then fell off the brad. So, I fixed this by putting some Crystal effects on the CC cardstock center and adhered the pearl ex'ed bubble that way. Worked well. I love the look of that brad. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Here is a recipe:

Stamps: Beautiful You, Abundant Blessings (Verve)
Ink: Choc Chip Craft, Really Rust, Tango Tangerine
Paper: Vanilla, Vellum Cardstock, My Mind's Eye
Other: Vintage brads, Build a Brad, Flowers, Twill, Twine, Mat Pack, Choc Chip Marker

Today is supposed to be beautiful! We will be hanging outside soaking in the sun...and getting our garden going. Then Monday it will be freezing! I wish Spring would just get here and STAY. This next week is Spring Break for us. My posting could be very random. We have a few fun things planned. I can't wait. I'm hoping this break will bring back my fun kids. They have been SOOOO crabby. Yikes!

See you tomorrow for the FIRST STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY CHALLENGE!

ONLY ONE MORE DAY

That's right! You heard it here. Only one more day til YOU can participate in our Stamptacular Sunday Challenge. Priscilla has a fun day in line for all of you. She will be hosting a few bonus challenges throughout the day filled with extra bonus goodies that YOU could win!!! Make sure you check out the blog throughout the day to participate as the bonus challenges will be issued throughout the day. All winners will be announced on MONDAY, APRIL 6th on the Stamptacular blog.

Make sure you stop by here to see my creation for the first challenge and then hop on over to visit all the Design Team's blogs and leave them a little love, ok? I hope you all can join in the fun. You have a chance to win a prize. If you participate in each challenge each week YOU could be a Guest Designer as well. Again, make sure you check out all the details on the blog.
See you on SUNDAY!