Everything…..

I had some time today to play with Beate’s weekend sketch, hooray! And I have found another new favorite color combo……artichoke, basic grey and PTI’s aqua mist! It is oh, so lovely together!

*Sigh*

I am LOVING the 2 PTI colors I got, sweet blush and aqua mist. They are so pretty with such a number of SU colors, Nichole really did a great job!

Today my mom is coming over to watch the girls and Sean and I are heading down to Ikea. That’s about a 50 minute drive from us, I do wish one was closer. But since we don’t go that often it’s not too terrible. I’m looking for some new bookcases and storage items for my craft room! It’s time to decorate it and make it my own space! How exciting!!! I’ve been in it for almost a year but I have yet to paint it and truly make it mine! I’ll be sure to share all the exciting detail of it’s progress with you. (That is said in a completely sarcastic tone as since I can’t imagine too many of you are on the edge of your seat about this!)

I know I’ll squeeze in some more time this weekend for something crafty. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

The DEETS:

Stamps: Always-SU  Pretty Pattern BG-CHF
Ink: Aqua Mist-PTI   basic grey-SU
CS: artichoke, basic grey-SU  aqua mist-PT
Accessories: CB folder, aqua mist ribbon, dimensionals, sponge, 1/2 punch, slot punch, dew drops, liquid pearls

Easter Wishes!

Well here it is, the day before Easter and here is my first “official” Easter card of the year! Oh, that is so super sad! What’s even more sad is that I bought this set, “Bunny Hugs” from SU last year to make Easter cards with…..but that didn’t happen either! Well in my defense, last year we were living with my mom while our house was being built and all my craft supplies were packed into storage. Oh well.

But when I saw Beate’s weekend sketch I just knew I had to use it!

Oh, this is just the ultimate in Springtime and Easter cuteness! If I don’t sound like I’m tooting my own horn too much, lol! I just got the new CB swiss dots folder in the mail yesterday and it seemed perfect for a sweet little card. I absolutely adore this bunny and chick, and the set was $12 or $15 nice and inexpensive.

It was all colored with my copics, naturally. And the basket and eggs were stamped on another sheet and cut out and adhered with dimensionals. The little tail is a puff of liquid applique.

So I will wish you all a happy Easter! However you are spending it I hope you are doing something fun and relaxing! Sean and I are taking the girls to Grandma’s house to have our Easter brunch. I know that the Grandma Bunny got them some special markers and paper for Easter.

Stamps: Bunny Hugs-SU
Ink: adirondack black, pretty in pink
CS: pink, moss, banana-SU white-Papertrey
Accessories: Nesties, CB folder, punches, dimensionals, liquid applique, paper piercer

Inspired weekend sketch

Beate has recently started inspiration challenges during the week and I decided to start playing along. For this week I decided to combine it with her weekend sketch.

There are a lot of stamps and ink on this card. I stamped the large flourish from ‘Baroque motifs’ first in caramel and then in stamped off chocolate chip onto the DP, then I ran my antique linen distress ink pad over the whole thing and sponge the edges in chocolate ink. The vanilla CS that is under it had the distress ink pad run over it and then chocolate ink sponged on its edges.

For the main panel I stamped ‘French script’ first in river rock, then I inked up another section of it with the distress ink and stamped on top of it and sponged more distress ink on it and chocolate on the edges. I wanted the effect of the written words without really being able to read them, even if you know how to read french! (I don’t, although I want to and I am trying to teach Ava although I’m probably not the best teacher, lol!)

And the berry branch was in chocolate and stamped over and over. The design behind the sentiment are the small flower stamps from the ‘Always’ set stamped off 3 or 4 times in chocoalte ink. And more chocolate around the edges of everything.

Sean and I have had a busy weekend of cleaning and reorganizing the house, toys and getting the carpets cleaned. And today I ran some errands with Ava. I was just able to squeeze in some time to make this card before we head over to my mom’s house for dinner.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and had some time for yourself!

One of a kind!

Oh how it was so hard to wait until two weeks ago to place an order from the new SU catalog! I had circled and highlighted so many things when it first came out but there was Christmas and the girls birthdays to take care of first. So I finally got to order the stuff I’ve been seeing so many others make beautiful creations with!

This card was for todays SCS sketch challenge:

One of the things I ordered were the build a brads! Every time I would put my order in I would always forget to add them. So silly how such a little thing could make me so happy. I LOVE these little brads! I hope they don’t discontinue them any time soon.

And my restrain is caving and I think I may be ordering my first ever Bella’s this week. I’ve also been eyeing those cute High Hopes possums……they are so cute! Oh yeah, and some TCP stamps too. Hmmmm……I don’t suppose anybody wants to celebrate my un-birthday?

Off to watch “7th Heaven”……I do watch other shows than ‘Golden Girls’!

Stamps: One of a kind-SU
Ink: graphite black, purely pom
CS: chocolate, cocoa, pink, berry bliss DSP-SU  white-papertrey
Accessories: copics, dimensionals, punches, HPH, velvet ribbon from M’s, build a brad

Happy flower

Last night I got around to playing in the sketch challenge before my nyquil kicked in. I just got some new goodies in the mail yesterday so I was itching to use them!

When I first saw the sets in the SAB catalog I wasn’t really thrilled. None of them called out to me. But since I HAD to choose some, I decided I would play with them. I really like this flower! It has such a nice space for coloring, and I love to color!

And the new silver hodgepodge hardware is just yummy! I am hoping and crossing my fingers that they keep it! I love all the extra decorative brads that are in the case instead of the scrolling wire pieces, or whatever their “real” name is.

Ok, it’s time to sleep. My 2nd dose of nyquil for the day is kicking in and making me extra loopy! I hope you all are having a great week!

Super ultra quick post!

This is for todays color challenge; orchid opulence, certainly celery and pumpkin pie……………………….you’ve got to be kidding me! I have never used orchid opulence until today, my ink pad was fresh as a baby and I had every single sheet still in the “don’t use pile” next to glorious green and yo yo yellow!

Anyway, I started the card this morning before taking Audrey to her OT and speech, I only got the flower and butterfly complete. Then I came back to it this afternoon and finished it. I decided to play a game called; ‘What would Faith do?’ (also known as markiesmom on SCS) She has been using a white gel pen lately making meticulous little dots all over her card which is gorgeous but I think my hand would fall off if I did it as often as her! And she always adds some hardware and lots of layers, so I did my version of what she uses. I had a hard time using 2 pieces of hardware on a single card……I’m stingy with that stuff even though there is NO POINT TO SAVE IT!!!!!

Eh……………….

Now I have to run, Audrey didn’t take an afternoon nap and I think she has caught Ava’s stomache bug. Not fun! But I’ll be off to work out soon and let my mom deal with cranky kids! Love you mom!!!!!

A flower for you

The sketch challenge on SCS was posted early so I decided to play along. The sketch challenge is my favorite challenge each week, I always look forward to it.

I decided to ink up ‘En Francais’ tonight. I’ve had it for a couple months and haven’t used it until now. I just love the way it looks, so pretty and soft. And of course I cut out the flower and popped it on dimensionals a couple times.

I added the hardware and sentiment at the last minute. I didn’t think that it needed one, especially because of the script on the middle panel. But I went ahead anyway and added it. I’m not sure I like it there. Whenever I use this flower I never want to use a sentiment. The flower is so bold and I like the focus on it. Hmmm, stamp and learn I guess.

Tomorrow my oldest, Ava turns 4 years old. I have mixed feelings about it. I have been in denial the past 4 years that she is actually growing up. I kept telling myself she would grow up when she did different things; when she crawls, when she walks, when she talks in sentences, when she didnt nap, and finally when she was potty trained. She has mastered all of these things and now I realize she is growing up and that makes me a little sad. We have a picture of her from when she is a few days old in a frame on her bookcase next to her bed. And she was so little and peaceful and pretty in that picture. It’s odd to look at it and then see the little girl sleeping in a full sized bed. Ok, enough sappy mommy talk.

Ava requested macaroni and cheese and a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for her birthday. I made the cake tonight and it’s frosted and ready for eating! She helped me make sure the frosting was good enough, lot’s of yummy sounds and sticky hands. Tomorrow I’ll make the 5 cheese macaroni and cheese! It’s a bit adult with the 5 cheeses and wine, but the girls like it, and so do I!

I’m not sure if I’ll have anything crafty tomorrow, maybe just birthday girl pictures!

One sketch, one set, 3 looks!

First I have to say Hooooooooooooooooooooooooray!!!! Beate is back with her weekend sketch! I have greatly missed her sketches because they have always had the magical combination to inspire me. And inspire they did……

To celebrate Beate’s return to weekend sketching, I decided to make 3 cards. All using the same set, same layout with slight differences. I hope you enjoy taking a peek at what subtle differences and changing the main color can do to a stamp set.

First we have a card done in a chocolate background and the paper piercing is along the bottom:

The next is done with a pink background and the paper piercing is framing the main layer:

And finally, with a soft sky background and the paper piercing done on the middle layer:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The DEETS:

Stamps: Baroque motifs-SU
Ink: chocolate chip, old olive (all) pretty in pink, soft sky-SU
CS: chocolate chip, river rock, old olive, soft sky, pretty in pink-SU
Accessories: sponge, distress tool, paper piercer, chocolate ribbon, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch

Last minute gift

Not surprisingly there are lots of last minute gifts. And my hands have been busy today making gifts for my family here in Washington. Lots of sanding, measuring and thinking. Then I had a brainstorm and had to put it into reality.

Stampin Up demos were able to purchase some new sets out of the Spring/Summer preview catalog. I ordered 2, ‘A beautiful thing’ and ‘Mark the date’, which is a blank calendar with 6 different stamps for events and then different announcements or sentiments to go along. I bought it because it was an awesome idea, a nice convenient calendar. But then when it came home I was all “What am I gonna DO with it? I cant just look at it thinking it’s neat.”

So I decided to whip out my bind it all and make a day planner. I cut the chipboard and outer DSP (my favorite petals and paisley’s, so sad it’s not in the Spring/Summer catalog) to 4 1/4 squared. Then I cut out 60 pieces of white CS at 4 inch squared. I wanted 1 page for the calendar for each month and then 4 additional pages for notes for each month.

I stamped the calendar in black and wrote each month. I didn’t number the days but kept it all blank, in case they don’t get to using it this year or they start late. I wanted them to have some flexibility with it.

Then on the blank pages, I stamped some random images for a little surprise. I originally thought this could be a date book or planner, but then realized it could also be used as a journal. So it really is up to the recipient on how to use it.

This was pretty quick to put together, the longest part was cutting the 60 pages of CS. I used 1 inch O-wires and this book is really full! Usually my O-wires have lots of room left, but this one is jam packed with calendar goodness!

I really like the idea of using it for a day planner or journal. This set makes really easy gifts like this and the images and fonts they used are really classic.

One more day of gift making and I am DONE! I hope your nearing the end of yours! Happy Friday!

The DEETS:

Stamps: Petals and paisleys, mark the date-SU
Ink: palette noir, tempting turquoise, old olive, cameo coral-SU
CS: petals and paisleys DSP, old olive-SU   white-Papertrey
Accessories: ice rhinestone brads, photo corner punch, distressor tool, dimensionals, bind it all, 1 inch coffee O-wires, stampin write markers in colors mentioned above, sponge.

Wild and elegant, for you!

I needed, or wanted to make a card to go inside a gift. It probably wasnt necessary but it gave me an excuse to make a card! And I decided to use todays color challenge; wild wasabi, so saffron and elegant eggplant. To be honest, I had made a soldered glass pendant today but goofed with the colors using handsome hunter instead of wasabi. As I was about to upload it I realized my mistake and kept it to myself.

I am FINALLY using this ‘A beautiful thing’ set from SU. I’ve had it for almost 2 weeks now and it’s just now seeing some ink. I really like it and hope to use it some more. I also used a technique that I saw Mary Jo Albright use with the scallop circle punch. It makes look almost like a sunflower with these colors and I REALLY like that! Thanks Mary Jo!!!!

I cut out the smallest flower and popped them up on dimensionals. And the scalloped sunflower has a layer of eggplant underneath that gives it a little more depth.

I have all of my out of state presents wrapped, and soon Sean will take them out to the post office. WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! I am finally seeing the end of the Christmas gifts!

I need to clean one of my molds for resin and I want to make a few things for different projects. I also REALLY want to organize my craft space. I feel like it’s exploded down there, and it has. I havent really cleaned in the past month since I’d just have to keep bringing it all back out.  Hopefully after this weekend when I finish my last gifts I can get it all clean.

Only 7 days left and then this craziness will be over. I really feel like a bit of a Grinch this year. So hopefully that means my heart is going to grow 3 sizes soon!

The DEETS:

Stamps: A beautiful thing-SU
Ink: wild wasabi, so saffron, elegant eggplant-SU
CS: wild wasabi, so saffron, elegant eggplant-SU   white-Papertrey
Accessories: Punches; 1 3/8, 1 1/4, scallop circle, tag-SU  dimensionals