Happy New Year!

To start the new year off, I just thought I'd try to share a funny with you.

I absolutely love this little eTrade baby... I think he is adorable and hilarious.

I'm not affiliated. I just think he's cute.

Thanks for visiting!

A Fond Farewell to 2008

I've been a bad blogger lately, but it's been a busy time around here, getting ready for the big
M-O-V-E.

We've also had 3 birthdays, 2 big holidays, and a few illnesses to speak of, but who's counting, right? :)

Without further ado, here's my (brief) photo review of 2008...

Family Photo

View of Diamondhead & Waikiki:

Plumeria:
Victoria:

Graduation Day!

Catherine:

Did you ever see "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler? Great movie!

White Hibiscus:

Family!

Ft. Eustis, VA

Fire Thrower:

Awesome big brother & his beautiful wife:

3 Doors Down (GREAT concert!)

Bayfest Fireworks 4th of July

4th of July

Plumeria

My honor roll kid:

North Shore, Hawaii

White Hibiscus:

Surfer at North Shore (>30' waves):

All of this along with floods, a visiting President-elect, an island-wide power outage, and an ailing economy.

I'm considering our upcoming move a big blessing from above. We "get" to take a vacation of sorts when others can't even consider it. I know we are blessed to still have all that we do and I'm thankful.

Please bear with me through this move as I may not be able to post much. The movers arrive in a couple of weeks and we are frantically preparing for that.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that your 2009 is healthy and prosperous!

Thanks for visiting!

Crash

Sorry for the lack of posts!

I had some software/driver issues with my computer and had to wipe my hard drive. Of course that puts me WAY behind the curve, and not at a good time.

Today is my daughter's birthday and I've been busy preparing for that. I've been stamping a bit, so hopefully I'll get to share some of that later.

I've also been preparing for the big M-O-V-E. It's just amazing how much work that is.

I hope you're all enjoying a great late autumn where you are! It is still pretty rainy here most days. But the temperatures stay around 80 degrees, so the a/c stays on day and night. It will be a shock for us to return to a full-blown winter in progress with temperatures in the 20's when we hit the mainland! But I'm looking forward to it!

Have a great Aloha Friday!

Thanks for visiting!

Operation Quiet Comfort

Splitcoast Stamper's Cards for a Cause Challenge this month is Operation Quiet Comfort.

EXCELLENT cause! I'm honored to participate again this month.

Here's one of the cards I made for this challenge:



This is a smaller card, about 4"x 4" square, with sort of an unconventional opening... The score is on the left side of the star and opens on the opposite point.

Stamps:

Verve Swirly Stars

Paper:

Silver Cardstock, unknown; Close To My Heart Black Cardstock
Ink:

Versamark
Accessories:
Silver Eyelets, Clear Embossing Powder, Spellbinders Star Nestabilities, Silver Gel Pen

No matter who you voted for yesterday... No matter your political stance... No matter how you feel about the results of the election, locally or nationally... We should always, ALWAYS support our troops (and our Veterans) - at home and at war.

Send a note, a letter, a card. A thank-you. A "we support you." Something.

Let them know we have not forgotten them.


It means so much.


Thanks for visiting!

Pocket Silhouettes

I hope you all exercised your right to vote today!

Here's a card I made with one of my favorite new Stampin' Up! sets, Pocket Silhouettes:
Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Pocket Silhouettes
Paper:
Bazzill Blue, Bazzill Brown Bling, Basic Grey Granola, Georgia-Pacific White
Ink:
Stampin' Up! Night of Navy
Accessories:
Stampin' Up! 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Circle Scallop Punch, Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Ribbon Unknown

Now, gotta run!

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately!

I hope you have a great hump day!

Thanks for visiting!

VOTE!

I also stamped!

But I'll share that with you later, because I don't want to spoil the surprise for the recipient. ;)

(Sorry!)

I hope to post more later today!

I hope you're all out voting!

Thanks for visiting!

Neat! Sweet! Petite!

My youngest daughter has a very creative imagination. At 13 years old, she came up with the idea for this Halloween costume all by herself.

Mind you... She had never seen an episode of The Addams Family before! I had to find an episode on YouTube so she could see how Cousin Itt "walks and talks!"

She was quite a hit in the neighborhood with the parents. Many stopped her and asked if they could take her picture. :) Most of the younger kids didn't quite "get it." LOL!

The costume took 6 skeins of yarn for us to make and she wore it for about 2 1/2 hours before she couldn't take the heat anymore. Literally. It was about 75 degrees outside, but under that carpet, I'm sure it felt more like 105 degrees! She did good, though! And she had a great time!

This week, I received two Halloween RAKs.
Mary Ann sent me this:

Aren't those dry embossed trick-or-treaters just adorable? She added chalk to make them pop and inside she used her Cricut to cut letters to spell "BOO." It's just too cute!! Thank you, Mary Ann!

Bonnie S. sent me this little jack-o-lantern:

I just love how she colored it! She stamped some spooky ghosts, too. Very nice, Bonnie! Thanks!

I hope you all had a great Halloween and enjoyed lots of treats and no tricks! :) We had lots of little princesses and Spidermen! We saw one "Obama" and several witches and Elmos.

Have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

Because Someone You Know

There are signs posted around here on post campaigning for donations for CFC (Combined Federal Campaign, an annual thing they do get people to donate to various charities). The signs say something like,

"CFC...

BECAUSE SOMEONE YOU KNOW...

NEEDS YOUR HELP"

It's an LED sign that flashes the words in those increments and it always kind of creeps me out when I read it like that.

This month on Splitcoast Stampers, the Cards for a Cause Challenge is to send cards to Chemo Angels. In fact, the whole theme over at Splitcoast Stampers this month, is "Pink," for Breast Cancer Awareness.

I believe most of us are touched in some way by cancer, whether it is breast cancer or some other kind of cancer... and whether we have battled the cancer ourselves, or it was someone very close to us.

Eight years ago today, I lost one of my very best friends to cancer. He also happened to be my big brother. I don't have a digital photo to share right now, but I'll find one soon. He was an amazing person that is still very much with us today. I see him and hear him everywhere we go and I miss him very much. He was a very loving Dad to five children, a great best friend, so smart, so funny, and just so much fun to be around. He considered himself to be a blacksheep of sorts, though I disagreed with him wholeheartedly.

I could not figure out why I've lost my mojo, but I guess this is it...I haven't been feeling well, I've got the stress of this big move coming up, and I miss my big brother.

Here's to you, "Kaki"... I know you're up there & I know you're looking out for me. I miss you Every.Single.Day.

My sheep is not black (it's pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month), but you get the idea. ;)

Stamps: Saltbox Studio
Paper: Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey, Bazzill
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Robin's Nest Dew Drops, May Arts Double Sided Ribbon, Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

To those of you warriors who have fought and won the war against cancer, I salute you!

To those of you warriors who are fighting the war against cancer, keep up the fight! We are praying for you!

I thank you for visiting and hanging in there with me!

I hope you're having a great week!

Birthday RAKs

Can you believe it's almost November already?! I mean, really! Where does the time go?! Halloween is Friday! That means Election Day is next Tuesday, a week later is Veteran's Day, a couple of weeks after that will be THANKSGIVING!!! And then, of course, we are ALL ready for Christmas, right?... 59 more shopping days to go!!

Hello? Is this thing on?... Tap! Tap! Tap!

Ok so... My daughter's birthday is November 21st and Karen B. sent her this cute pink & purple (her FAYYYvorite color!!!!) polka dot card:


It took 5 or 10 minutes of pleading with her to convince her to let me borrow it to take this photo! She did not want to let go of it - she just loved those colors so much! :)

Karen also sent my hubby a birthday card... Hubs also has a birthday in November (it's quite a festive month for us!). I just love this truck image! Our pastor up in Alaska had a truck like this that was restored and so nice...

Inside the card, here's what she wrote...

I just thought this was SO FUNNY I darn near lost it!

Thank you, Karen!!

Now... I still haven't gotten to stamp or do a single creative thing. :( Yeah. I know, right?! SO... do me a favor, wouldja'?... Please?

Go forth... And be creative... for me.

I've got cleaning and such to do. (sad, I know)

90 DAYS!!

That's IT! I only have 90 DAYS LEFT!

SO much to do... SO little time...

Got to make time to stamp, right? Must.

Thanks for visiting!

Autumn Colors

Here in Hawaii, we don't get many chances to see Autumn colors in the form of Nature's work. The weather pretty much stays the same year-round, with the exception of the rainy season up here in what they call the "Mauka" or mountainside area of the island.

Holly sent me this beautiful Halloween RAK this week with all of the beautiful colors of the holiday. I just love that brayered background! She's a very talented stamper - with a blog... go on over and visit! :) No stamping for me this week yet... Maybe today. I've been busy cleaning and sorting... Listing things on eBay and Craig's List to lighten our household goods shipment. I've been putting this off because I hate to part with any of these things! :'( But we just can't go over our weight limit!

I've listed several auctions for stamps, alterable items, Sizzix, Stampin' Up!, Close To My Heart, Punches, Dies, Ink Pads, etc. Many of these items are new. Click here to go to my "About Me" page. to see all of these auctions.

Anyway! I've got a sinus infection so bear with me for a few days until I get past this, please! Thanks for your patience! And thanks for visiting!

I hope you're having a great hump day!

Joom (Challenge)

Good morning! :)

This past Saturday's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS came from this Etsy store called Joom (what a neat name!). When I clicked over to check it out... I just fell in love with her stuff! Those colors are SO pretty! It wasn't too difficult to find inspiration there!

So here's the photo I chose for my inspiration: (Go figure on the colors, right? LOL)And here's my card: Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Always (I think this will be one of my long-time standing favorites for a very, very long time!)
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze, Bazzill Bling Brown, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
Accessories:
Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, May Arts Ribbon, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals (THANK YOU, TERI!)

Well, I hope your week is off to a fantastic start wherever you are! Find time to stamp this week and send a card to someone you've been thinking of but maybe just haven't had a chance to call or write in a while. It'll brighten your day AND theirs! :)

Thanks for visiting!

Mojo Monday

Aloha!

As promised, here's the card I finally got around to making with Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch (56) yesterday.
Here's her sketch:

And here's what I came up with: (Isn't that Bazzill Bling gorgeous?!) A close-up view of the dimension on the front of the card:

I just adore that Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

Stamps:
Verve Blacktie Birdies
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Basic Black, Bazzill Bling, Georgia-Pacific White, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Meadow
Ink:
Paper Trey Ink Perfect Match Aqua Mist
Accessories:
Circle Nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Bling, Bella Bling, Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen

Well, I hope your weekend was a good one. I can't believe mine went by so fast! I got a lot done as far as organizing and sorting goes. I'm not finished by any means, but I'm really close. And that's good enough for me for now. :) Hey! I've gotta pace myself, right? ;)

Well, it's Sunday, so that means Army Wives & Desperate Housewives are on tonight!

Thanks for visiting!

Ribbit!

That means "Thank You!" in Frog. I think.

Teri sent me this ADORABLE RAK this week and her timing could not have been more perfect.

I'd had the worst day with a horrible night's sleep, dealing with bad drivers, long lines at the gas pump and everywhere I went, then had to go to the doctor at Tripler (the big Army Hospital here), which is always great fun, and finding parking up there is always like riding a carousel at the fair.... just driving around and around until someone decides to leave so you can take their spot. Of course, waiting an hour and a half to get a prescription filled (or I should say, waiting an hour and a half to be told that they don't have the meds to fill your prescription!), well that was a BLAST! And then there was the traffic coming home, which I always say feels more like being in a Mardi Gras parade. I feel like I should be doing my "princess wave" and throwing beads out the windows to the other cars because we're moving SO S.L.O.W.!

Boy! Talk about a tangent! Let's just say it was a bad day and I was a real grump when I got home! Everyone just loved being around me. But she turned all that around!! She sent me some really happy mail! Not only did she send me this lovely card, but I had mentioned (whined) to her that I was running out of dimensionals LOL! and she sent me some! What a sweetheart! I'm so lucky to have her! Thank you, Teri! You really made my day!
So, sorry I haven't been around much this week, but my lack of sleep and grumpiness haven't made me very creative... nor have they made me very good company as you can see. :)

I'm coming around, though. I Promise! I have been cleaning and sorting my stamping stuff... weeding through stuff I want to sell and throw out before the big M.O.V.E. and just trying to re-organize the neglected things. This process is always good for my creative side. I got to stamp a little bit tonight... just long enough to create something for this week's Mojo Monday. (Late, don'tcha' think? LOL!) I'll post that tomorrow after I've uploaded the photo and gotten a chance to edit it a little.

Well, I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing weekend where you are. It's another wet weekend here in Hawaii, but we're getting caught up on some household tasks that we've been putting off, so that's good.

Thanks for visiting!

EEK! and another Cupcake!

Do not be fooled by the cute, innocent look of this creature.
Though this is not the ACTUAL creature that has been heard around our house, I'm sure he looks something like this one. All of the cats in the neighborhood (there are six or seven last time I checked) and mouse traps (four) and exterminators (two) cannot catch this little fella'... And boy, does he like to party once everyone has called it a night! I sure wish he'd find it in his heart to move on so we could get a little peace and quiet around here. We haven't had a good night sleep in ages!

Anyway! I mustered up a little mojo to give Taylor's Sketch my best try. Here's her sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

The different sized circles were a bit of a challenge for me, but I don't know if that's just because I was so sleep-deprived or because I was trying to watch a movie and stay awake at the same time. LOL! Well, I think the colors coordinate anyway. I hope they do.

Stamps:
Maya Road Cupcakes
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Two Scoops
Ink:
Paper Trey Ink Perfect Match Dark Chocolate, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Embossing Folders Swirl & Swiss Dots, Circle Nestabilities

Thanks for visiting!

Lovely Labels

I had a little time to try my hand at Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge:
Here's my card:
I apologize for the lighting in my photos. I have a great camera and I always wait until mid-morning to take my shots, with natural light, but this is what I've been getting lately. It's winter here in Hawaii (LOL!) so it's been cloudy and rainy for days on end. On a good note, SURF'S UP out at North Shore if anyone's planning on heading up this way... (just thought I'd mention that...)

Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Lovely Labels
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Sultry
Accessories:
1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Punch, Cuttlebug Textiles Embossing Folder, Circle Nestabilities, Paper Trey Ink Sweet Blush Ribbon

Thanks for visiting!

It's A Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Ya' know, I was just about to post that it was a great football weekend (Georgia beat Tennessee, Texas beat Oklahoma, Florida beat LSU, Hawaii beat Louisiana Tech... Leilehua High School, my daughter's alma mater and defending state champion, won the division title...)
AND THEN!....
OMG...
I could not believe it.
In overtime no less.
The boys.
The Cowboys lost.
In overtime.
:'-(

In other news...
Here's my little paper pumpkin patch! :D
I got the idea from another very talented stamper's blog... who I would love to give credit to, but I can't remember where....
I'll find it and edit this post. I promise.

ETA:
The Paper Pumpkin creator has been found! :-D
I found them at Stamp Happy's site. Thanks, Jami!


All made with scraps and neglected paper from the hoards and stash...
Leaves were cut with Oval Nestabilities and run through the crimper.

Sugar coated brads are from Doodlebug... Fiber is from my stash - remember when fiber was all the rage a few years ago? Gosh - I almost threw a giant bag of fiber out... several times. In fact, I think I've probably gotten rid of yards and yards of it. Anyhoo... (sorry - I got off track there!) I'm glad I kept this little bit of brown for my pumpkin "vine!"

Ok. I've got to run and get dinner started. Baked ziti! Yum!

I hope y'all had a great weekend! Ours was especially long - the military got a four-day weekend so I get to enjoy the hubs extra! :) I'd like to thank Mr. Christopher Columbus for that. :)

Thanks for visiting!

Mini Pizza Box Fun

On Monday, there was a Challenge (sometimes I just can't resist those) posted over at Split Coast Stampers to created these adorable Mini Pizza Boxes. Jen Del Muro created the original one for Scor-Pal using a template you can get from this site.
I had an idea to create one of these to get a head start on Teacher gifts for Christmas. (I've got teachers on the brain this week for a couple of reasons... it being INTERCESSION, plus a friend of mine, who is a teacher, had a rough week, so I've just had her on my mind.)

Anyhoooooo...

What I created was this...
Cornish Heritage Farms Owl wearing his cute little Santa hat. (I love that sleepy little look on his face! I feel like that too right now.)

When you open it up, this is what you see...
I made 3 scalloped note cards with my scalloped circle nestabilities (3 3/4" x 3 3/4") and the smaller CHF Owl stamp.
I also made a little gift card holder...

Here's a better look at the note cards. You can see the texture from the Cuttlebug embossed front layer. I cut a slit in the center of the card to run the American Crafts ribbon through so I could tie it.
I ran that whole gift card holder through the Cuttlebug Embossing folder to get that look.
Yum-Oh! (As Rachel Ray would say)

Stamps:
Cornish Heritage Farms "U R A Hoot", Paper Trey Ink Polka Dot Basics
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy, Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip, Georgia-Pacific White
Ink:
Ranger Distress Ink Black Soot, Copic Markers, Chocolate Chip Craft
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Swirl Embossing Folder, Clear Embossing Powder, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Nestabilities, American Crafts Ribbon, Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Dimensionals

Well, gotta run... Literally! I hope you're having a fab-O day!

Get some stamping done already, will ya'! :-D

Thanks for visiting!

Gift Box in a Bag

Diana Gibbs is a master at making these adorable Gift Boxes in a Bag. She made up a tutorial so that even people like me (who need three tries to make a Stationery Box) can make one. :)

I think I shoulda' left the Prima flower off the front of the bag, though. I covered up the cute little Penguin!!! Ugh!

Then I made a matching card with a sketch from Jen Del Muro's site:

Here's my card:

Stamps:
Imaginisce Surfer Penguin
Paper:
Imaginisce, Cardstock from Die Cuts With A View & Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers, Close To My Heart Topiary

All I have to say is... Thank GOD it's Friday! I can't understand why this week has seemed so long... Maybe because it's been INTERCESSION? I dearly love my children... I really, really do...

According to Wikipedia, "intercession" means "prayer for the living" or "prayer for the departed." I'm not sure which I am right now. HA HA! Kidding! It also means "prayer for the Saints" which I'd like to think all of the teachers up at the Middle School are for putting up with all of those students on a daily basis are! LOL! But, "intercession" also means "break between sessions." So, take your pick.

So, friends, that wraps up the lesson for today! :) I hope you're having a fabulous Aloha Friday and have great plans for the weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Stationery Box

Well, I blame it on the medication (LOL!) JUST KIDDING! But I tried like three times before I finally got it right. (Third time's a charm, right?) Well, it was for me this time, anyway!
I know everyone has been making these.
And I know a lot of people were even using the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (which I *Lurve*!) but I just had to be a copycat and do it, too. Sorry! I had a very little bit left and had to do it. It's a gift for my mom, who loves every little thing I make for her and keeps and uses everything. I swear!

I used the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, which I think went well with the paper here.
I also used the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, the Scallop circle punch, and a Sizzix Tag die. The organza ribbon is from Really Reasonable ribbon and the Dark Chocolate Swiss Dots ribbon is from Paper Trey Ink.

Off to pick up the hubs for lunch...

I hope you're having a great day!

Thanks for visiting!

Cupcakes

I found this adorable set of stamps by Impression Obsession. I love cupcakes (real and otherwise). Thankfully the stamps are calorie-free. :)

Stamps:
Impression Obsession Cupcakes
Paper:

Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Paper Trey Ink, Sweet Blush
Ink:
Palette Noir Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots & Swirl Embossing Folders, Paper Trey Ink Swiss Dots Ribbon (Sweet Blush), Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, Circle Nestabilities

Well, I spent most of yesterday up to my eyeballs trying to organize my craft area. My craft area is currently one-third of my living room. Ugh. I totally hate this arrangement and I miss the days of having my own craft room. I have way too much stuff to work this way and end up having to store things in three different rooms. Not fun. I didn't get much done yesterday at all. I'm so not looking forward to the actual moving portion of this move.

Yes, we have movers who come and pack it all up and move it for us, but the thought of them touching my stamps and papers and stuff and having all of that in transit and storage for weeks on end just makes me go into a panic attack.

I actually ship my scrapbooks myself at our personal expense. The movers never touch those. I've heard too many horror stories of wedding and baby scrapbooks being packed and lost to allow ours to disappear. My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I just give him THE LOOK and tell him, "Our babies are in there!" and he'll usually relent.

Postage has gone up quite a bit since our last move, though, so we'll see what his reaction is this time. Also, we were able to carry more luggage with us on the airplane. Now they are limiting you to one suitcase, I believe, per person. We'll see what it's like when we actually fly. We've got some time before we have to start worrying about it.

I hope you're having a great day! We're halfway through Intercession here in Hawaii! :-D Wii Fit is giving our girls a great workout!

Thanks for visiting!

Challenge

The Challenge, if I chose to accept it, was to create a card using the following sketch.

I rotated the sketch 90 degrees to the left and accepted the challenge.
Here's my card:

Whaddaya' think?

Stamps:
Verve Abundant Blessings
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Palette Noir Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Ribbon from Reasonable Ribbon

Very fun sketch!!

Thanks for visiting!

Gotta Get It

I love Nicholas Sparks... And I'm a sucker for a man in uniform... A particular man in uniform... But still.

Nicholas Sparks has a new book out "The Lucky One" and I've got to get it. It looks like it's going to be a good one! It's about a Marine! I'm torn between waiting for the local library to get it and saving my money... Or rushing out and buying it! Ugh! I'm so impatient!

We have a big move coming up (or in our house that's a four-letter word so I should maybe I shouldn't say it, but spell it...) M-O-V-E {sigh!} So I really should be saving our pennies for that.

It's TORTURE, I tell ya'! Hmmph!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge

I know it's Monday.



It's the first day of "Intercession" or Fall Break. (What is "Intercession" anyway?) That means there is a house full of 12 year old girls here and I'm lucky to be posting. And my husband is lucky to be at work. Right? LOL!

So here's my version of Beate's Weekend Sketch...




Wait. Here's the sketch. (I never said I was in my right mind. Sheesh!)





And HERE is my version of the sketch... I'm rockin' it Christmas style heh!:

Stamps:
C.C. Designs Rubber Stamps Lucky's Christmas Wish
Paper:
Stampin' Up! Chocolate, Soft Sky, Basic Grey Offbeat, Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Palette Noir Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Swirl Embossing Folder

I just love that little puppy! 'Cause he doesn't chew shoes! LOL! Actually my puppy doesn't chew shoes (or carpet) anymore. She learned REAL quick that was a no-go in our house. And my puppy isn't really a "puppy" anymore. She still acts like a puppy most of the time, chasing the broom when we're trying to sweep (that's funny stuff right there - I don't care who ya' are!).

ANYway! It just got really quiet so I better go check things out and make sure everything's okay with the girls. Oops! I spoke too soon! :) All is well again! :)

I hope you're having a great week of INTERCESSION wherever you are! And I mean that in the most sincere way. Really.

Thanks for visiting!

World Cardmaking Day

In the South, they say you can say anything about a person as long as it's prefaced by "Bless his heart!"

Well, my husband... "Bless his heart!" supports my stamping addiction completely (for the most part anyway).

When I mentioned to him that yesterday was "World Card Making Day" he made the typical nods and grunts that would be expected of a man. ;)

Later, referring to yesterday, he called it first, "World Federation Stamping Day," then, "National Scrapbook Stamping Day," and then, "City, County, National, World Federation Stamping, Scrapping, Card Making Day."

What a joker.

When I woke up, there was a card waiting on my desk for me... made by him, with scrap paper from my trash can. I couldn't believe it.

DH: I made it for you! For National World Card Making Day!

Me: Wow! That's great!

DH: (Big Grin)

Me: How many tools did you use?

DH: Four!

Me: Four?! Really? Which four?

DH: Scissors, my thumb nail to score like you use that Scor-Pal thingy, Scotch tape, and a pen!

Me: I'm so proud of you!

DH: Me, too! I got all of the paper from your trash can!

How can I not love this man? :-D

I spent a few hours making cards for deployed troops. Gina K hosted a promotion on her blog and it is very near and dear to my heart. I know this means a lot to those guys over there to receive these cards in the mail and I'm honored to participate. I created this stack of 20 Christmas cards to send out.

Stamps:
Cornish Heritage Farms Heart Warmers
Paper:
Prism Green, Gold unknown, Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Palette Noir Black, Close To My Heart Markers, Topiary, Holiday Red, Chocolate
Handmade Envelopes

And thennn...

(Because 20 cards was not enough ya' know!)

I had to create something using this Unity stamp. I bought it weeks ago and had yet to use it. You know how that goes... HAD to have it... Anyway! I LOVE this quote! It is painted on the wall at Leilehua High School and I think it just means SO much. Really. I love it. And that paper! I cannot get enough of that paper. Basic Grey Offbeat. Seriously. I think I need a 12-step program.

Stamps:
Unity, Be the Change
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Dark Chocolate, Stampin' Up! Soft Sky, Georgia Pacific White, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Stampin' Up! Chocolate, Stampin' Up! Blue Bayou
Accessories:
Bling, Circle Nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Corner Punch, Paper Piercer

And if the fact that yesterday was WORLD Card Making Day was not enough... I mean come on! Like we need an event or occasion to stamp? Teri, a local gal who helps me with my SU! addiction {wink!} , sent me this CUTE!! card, which I got yesterday.

Thank you, Teri!!

So, now it's Sunday and the kids on the island are all out of school for Fall Break for the next week and a half. YAY!!!!

I hope you're having a great day!

Thanks for visiting!

Aloha Friday & a little Mojo

Well it's already Aloha Friday here and I'm just getting around to sharing my Mojo Monday card with you! Where does the time go?!

I really liked this sketch! I had some new Stampin' Up! stamps to play with this week, so it was a lot of fun! Here's Julee's sketch: And here's what I created with it:

A close-up look at the dimension on the front of the card:

Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Pocket Silhouettes
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy, Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy
Accessories:
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Gelly Gems Bling, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch

I hope you're having a great Friday with great plans for the weekend! No huge plans for us... Maybe a trip to the beach if we're lucky and the weather holds out. If not, maybe I'll get lucky and get more stamping time in! ;)

Thanks for visiting!

It's Your Birthday!

I saw this card from Shannan Teubner's and had to CASE it. Here's my version of it:


Stamps:
The Cat's Pajamas
Paper:
Close To My Heart, Paper Trey Ink, Georgia Pacific White, American Crafts Pattern Paper
Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Square Nestabilities, American Crafts Ribbon

I hope you're having a great Thursday!
Thanks for visiting!

Going Places

So I have had this stamp for months it seems, and it was just sitting there un-inked! {Gasp!} I Know! Right?!

My ribbon is a little screwy, but it was the best I could do. Sorry!

Stamps:
My Favorite Things, Going Places
Paper:
Prism Island Mist, Stampin' Up! Western Sky Designer Series Paper, Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Cuttlebug "Swirls" Embossing Folder, Ribbon unknown

Thanks for visiting!

Bella Halloween

When I saw this image, I couldn't resist snagging her right up!
I think she's adorable in her little Pumpkin costume, don't you?

Stamps:
Bella Trickortreatabella, Stampin' Up! Stitched Exotics, Imaginisce Happy Halloween Snag 'Em Stamp
Paper:
Close To My Heart Black Cardstock, Bazzill Orange, Georgia Pacific White
Ink:
Tim Holz Black Soot Distress Ink, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Bella's Baubles, Ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon (monthly ribbon club!)

Thanks for visiting!

TECC35 Bella Cupcake

I recently received an order from Stamping Bella and I just love this little cupcake girl! The name of the stamp is "Is that a cupcake on your head?" LOL!
Anyway! I thought I would try my hand at Taylor's Cupcake Challenge again. Here's the sketch:
And here's what I came up with:

Isn't she adorable?!

Stamps:
Stamping Bella "Is That A Cupcake On Your Head?"
Paper:
Prism Nautical Blue, Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy, Georgia-Pacific White, American Crafts Patterned Paper
Ink:
Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Square Nestabilities, Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder, American Crafts Ribbon

Thanks for visiting!

Army Families - Army Strong!

This is not stamping related but I found this video very moving and wanted to share...






Hats off to all of our Army Families!
Thanks for visiting!

Verve Birthday

Hi!

I wanted to make some birthday cards with this set using darker, more masculine colors.

Stamps:

Verve Birthday Surprise

Paper:

Stampin' Up! Navy & Olive, Basic Grey Two Scoops, Georgia Pacific White

Ink:

Versafine Onyx Black, Copic Markers, Sakura Glaze Pen, Sakura Stardust Pen

Accessories:

Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch, Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder, Offray Ribbon, Robin's Nest Dew Drops

Thanks for visiting!

White Ink Comparison

I'm always on the lookout for the whitest white and blackest black inks. Below is a comparison of the white inks that were recommended to me.
This is a Cornish Heritage Farms rubber stamp, stamped on Close To My Heart Black cardstock.

The bottom two images (Palette and Versamagic) are close, but I think the Brilliance is the whitest. What do you think?

I know the results can vary depending on the type of cardstock I'm using, so I may try a different kind to see how that looks.

Well, I've got to run and feed the family. (No matter how many times a day I feed them, they keep coming back and asking me "What's for dinner??" What's up with that?!) ;)

Thanks for visiting!

Just Celebrate

Not celebrating too much here in our house... My daughter's high school alma mater (State Champions last year!) had their Homecoming game tonight... and lost to their archrival team by 6 points. :(

I love this little owl in this set!

Here's a close-up shot of the front of the card:
I love how well the Paper Trey Ink coordinates with this paper!
Stamps:
Stampin' Up! Just Celebrate
Paper:
Paper Trey Ink Spring Moss & Sweet Blush, Prism Brown, Georgia-Pacific White, Basic Grey Offbeat
Ink:
Tim Holz Black Soot Distress Ink, Copic Markers
Accessories:
Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Leafy Branch, Copper Brads (unknown)

Thanks for visiting! I hope you have a great weekend!

TCP Tuesday Challenge

I know it's not Tuesday, but it took me this long to get the challenge for The Cat's Pajamas finished! ;)

This challenge was pretty simple. Just use "Sprinkle" the cat in a creation. Easy Peasy, right?

I made this birthday card for a Stamping Friend. (Sorry the picture is a little wonky! It's cloudy here and I haven't been able to get good lighting for my photos lately! The colors are a little brighter in the photo than in real life.)

Stamps: The Cat's Pajamas

Paper: Bazzill Pink & Teal Cardstock, Georgia Pacific White Cardstock, Stampin' Up! Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Close To My Heart Markers, Breeze & Bubblegum

Accessories: Oval Nestabilities, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, Pink Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Creative Memories 12" Decorative Trimmer

I love the sentiment, "Happy 29th Birthday. Again" LOL! I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday (again) this year. Hubby wants to throw a party, but I'm not really up for much celebrating this year. I'd prefer a nice, quiet dinner out and maybe a movie or something. We'll see. I have some time to think about it!

I hope you're having a great Thursday! I can't believe it's almost the end of another week!

Thank you for visiting!

3 Sketches

I decided to use a few different sketches to create my Halloween cards this year.

First up... Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC58). Here's her sketch:And here's what I came up with. Not sure I like how it turned out, but the hubby liked it.

Next up, Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge (TECC34):

Here are the two cards I came up with:A close up:And finally, I used Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Sketch (54) to create a couple more. Here's her sketch:And this is what I came up with: Here's a close up of the first card:


Stamps: Imaginisce Snag 'em Stamps

Paper: Black Cardstock from Close To My Heart, Purple & Green cardstock from Bazzill, Patterned Paper from Bo Bunny Press
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Accessories: Ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon (LOVE her monthly ribbon club!), Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch, Sakura Glaze Pen, Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll Pen, Brads by Queen & Co, Letter stickers from American Crafts Thickers (Felt), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Skeleton Scroll

I used less than one sheet each of the patterned paper, plus one sheet each of the green & purple cardstocks, and two sheets of the black cardstock. Not bad, I think! I'm still trying to use up all of the scraps on my desk - or at least not add much more to the pile!

I just got my first Stampin' Up! order out of the new catalog today and I can't wait to play! I love the die cut stamps - it took me about 10 minutes to have all my stamps mounted and indexed! Gotta love that! I'm dying to play, but I have a couple of other projects I need to finish up first!

I hope you're having a great week! It's been cloudy here in Hawaii, but hopefully the weather will clear enough for us to enjoy some beach time this week!

Thank you for visiting!

Gettin' Krafty with more Verve!

New Verve Stamps in the house!! Woot Woot! ;)

I had some time over the weekend to play and this is what I came up with for this challenge:


I used a Kraft base, layered Basic Black cardstock over that, ran a piece of Soft Sky cardstock through my Cuttlebug Embossing folder (Textiles). I used the "Abundant Blessings" stamp set and my Nestabilities to make the shapes. I also added black eyelets to the corner with my crop-a-dile. (Haven't used eyelets in ages!)

I hope you had a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Spellbinders Storage

My original storage for my Spellbinders Nestabilities was a lunchbox tin, like the ones sold by Provo Craft. I outgrew it when I purchased the Long Rectangle Nestabilities, which would not fit in there. :(
So, I remembered I had this alterable Recipe Box in my stash. I was actually planning on altering it for it's original purpose (to hold recipes) and give it as a gift.
I used a lot of various cupcake stamps to decorate the front on top of Close To Cocoa and Soft Sky Designer Series Paper.
Inside, I have the Nestabilities dies stored on pieces of cardstock that I added magnetic tape to. They file away nicely in here.

Now I'm using that lunchbox tin to store my Cuttlebug Embossing folders! They fit perfectly!

Thanks for visiting!

Pink Pop-Up

Here is the other pop up card I made using the same pattern: I used Sweet Blush & Berry Sorbet cardstock from Paper Trey Ink and Georgia Pacific White cardstock for the image on the tag. I stamped the flower from Spiral Bouquet using Spring Moss & Berry Sorbet Perfect Match Ink (Paper Trey Ink). And I used the dots from the Polka Dot Basics (Paper Trey Ink) stamp set to make the dots on the card base with Berry Sorbet Perfect Match Ink.
Here's the card folded. You can see the Spring Moss ribbon I used at the top matches the ink perfectly. (Thus, the name, "Perfect Match Ink?") Duh, Christina...
Anyway! After another week of fighting with my computer (and it usually winning), we spent the day at the beach. Isn't it beautiful here? I sure wish I could take some of this with me when we go!
Be sure to visit tomorrow! I'll show you my Spellbinders Storage Idea! :)

I hope you are having a fantastic weekend!
Thanks for visiting!

Free Standing Pop Up Card

I saw this tutorial over at Splitcoaststampers and had to give it a shot!
It's a Free-Standing Pop-Up card and it folds flat & fits into a standard A-2 Envelope for mailing.
I used American Crafts patterned paper for the bottom, even though the instructions call for a cardstock base. I thought that since this paper was a little thicker than most patterned paper, it would be okay... which it is for the most part. It's a little bit flimsy, but it still holds up well.
For the tag portion, I used Prism Blue cardstock, Close To My Heart Olive and Georgia Pacific White.
The stamps are Paper Trey Ink Spiral Bouquet.
Inks are Close To My Heart Sunflower and Olive.
I used a We R Memory Keepers Jumbo Eyelet with a scrap of blue ribbon at the top.

Here's a side view:

And here's what it looks like folded flat.
This was really super easy to make! I made another version in different colors that I'll show you later. I made these to send to friends on the Gulf Coast who were hit by Ike.

Hurricanes and all, I still miss Texas & Pensacola! Hawaii is beautiful and I'll miss the gorgeous beaches, but I can't wait to get back to the mainland!

I hope you're having a fantastic Friday! I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully my hubby won't have to work again and we can enjoy some time together!

Paula RAK

Isn't it beautiful?! Paula sent me this card and I just love it!
Thanks, Paula!

Verve Swirl Stars

I took the Color Challenge 10 over at Color Throwdown (Late, I know!) But I thought these colors would make great cards for the Cards for Heroes cards I've been making!

I used Prism Navy Blue Cardstock for the base, layered Georgia Pacific White cardstock over that. I stamped Verve's Swirly Stars in Palette New Canvas ink on Pure Poppy cardstock from Paper Trey Ink. I ran that through my Big Shot with the Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder.

The Stars were cut from my Spellbinders Nestabilities. I made score lines through each point on my Scor-Pal. In the center of the star, I used a tiny silver star nailhead. I mounted this on the card front using dimensionals. I also used tiny silver star brads from Making Memories and tied it off with 1/4" white organza ribbon.

Inside, I added a layer of Georgia-Pacific white cardstock that I used a Martha Stewart border punch on. I also stamped a star along the edge in Stampin' Up! Night of Navy.

In all, I am mailing off over 20 cards for this project. I'm so glad I was able to participate in this! I know the soldiers receiving these cards will be very grateful!

When my husband was deployed "over there," I can't tell you how many times he told me that he was much more apt to write me a letter if he had one of these blank cards with envelope to use. I'm not sure why it was that much more difficult to put his pen to a blank piece of paper instead of a card, but he swore it was easier to write in a card. Either way, I know I was thrilled to get mail from him in my mailbox!

Anyhoo! I've been having computer issues lately and I'm just at my wits end. I'm going to have hubby call Dell tech support for me soon. (His long hours at work mean he is hardly ever home anymore!) Hopefully we can figure out what the problem is and get it fixed!

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Hump Day (Wednesday)!

Always

I was blog surfing (blurfing? that sounds kind of weird/gross) and came across this card by Kristina Werner (she's so cute & so talented!). Isn't it adorable? I had to CASE it right away! :)

I used Chocolate Chip cardstock for the base of the card and ran it through my Big Shot with the large Scallop Circle die.
Then I used my Circle Nestabilities to cut the circle from the front of the card and to cut out a slightly larger piece of vellum.
I ran the vellum back through the Big Shot with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing folder and attached this to the inside front of the card with mini glue dots.

I used my Circle Nestabilities to cut a circle from Prism Island Mist cardstock and attached that to the front of the card with mini Glue Dots.
I used a craft knife to cut a small slit in the center score of the card to run the Aqua Mist ribbon through and tied that in a bow on the front. The bird image from the Always set is stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I carefully cut that out and mounted it to the front of the card, added Bella's Baubles to the scallops and that's it!
I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

Thanks for visiting!

Scrap Paper Bookmarks

The pile of scrap paper on my desk is becoming a mountain of pretty colors! I decided I needed to USE more of these scraps instead of just letting them pile up here before they get moved to scrap paper folders.

So, to kill two birds with one stone, as they say, I decided to make a couple of bookmarks, since I am always losing them. I bet I have 50 bookmarks lost somewhere in this house. So I end up using whatever I can find quickly to mark my pages when I read (napkins, magazine inserts, post-it notes...)

Here's what I came up with:

Both bookmarks use Prism Brown cardstock.

I stamped a Technique Tuesday Owl on the first one and added an We R Memory Keepers Jumbo eyelet at the top. This was layered on a piece of Cloud 9 patterned paper.

The second one uses Prism Island Mist cardstock and I stamped the cupcake from Verve's Cupcake Affair (I love that stamp, can you tell?). I used another We R Memory Keepers Jumbo Eyelet and Offray brown satin ribbon.

I colored both images with Copics and then laminated them in my Xyron and that's it!

Easy Peasy! :)

I hope you're enjoying a great weekend! It's been raining here (though not as hard as it was on the Gulf Coast yesterday) and hubby has been working LONG hours, so that's kind of a bummer.

I'm so glad my family in Texas are okay with very little damage from Hurricane Ike. They were very blessed this time. They said it was the worst thing they'd ever been through! (And this is not their first major hurricane!) We'll continue to pray for those who have lost so much in this storm.

Thanks for visiting!

More Mojo

Here is the second card I created from the Mojo Monday 52 sketch:

And here's a better shot of the front of the card:

Paper: Prism cardstock, Cloud 9 patterned paper
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Palette/Paper Trey Ink Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Copic Markers
Ribbon gift with purchase (Yummy colors, aren't they?)

I made several of these cards to send for the challenge I mentioned yesterday.

I'm so worried about my family back in Texas. I know many are evacuating for Hurricane Ike, so they are really taking it seriously. I'm glad, because this is one big storm! My brother just built a new house and I'm so worried what this storm might do to it.

Please keep those folks who are living in the path of this storm in your thoughts & prayers!

Thanks for visiting!
Have a great day!

Mojo Monday 52

First, I have to share! I can't believe it! I actually won a prize at the Verve Release Party for the cards I made for the One Sheet Wonder Challenge!! I won a set of stamps called, "So Happy" and I am SO excited!!

And now I can't believe it, but I was actually able to participate in Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch challenge. I've been wanting to do it for so long! This time I made two different sets of cards for this sketch. I'll show you the first set tonight.

I used Prism cardstock (love that leathery-texture & the vibrant colors!); Verve Cupcake Affair; Cloud 9 Patterned paper; Ribbon in Aqua Mist & Dark Chocolate from Paper Trey Ink; Dark Chocolate Palette Ink from Paper Trey Ink; Oval Nestabilities; Copics; & Robin's Nest Dew Drops

I've been making lots of multiples of each card I create. I'm creating them for "Cards for a Cause" on SCS, who are sending these cards to Cards For Heroes. Cards For Heroes sends cards to troops serving overseas. As an Army wife myself, I can appreciate what this means to soldiers who are so far from home for an extended period of time. I am proud to be participating in this great project! Check it out! If you have an extra card or two, why don't you participate, too?

Thanks for visiting!
Have a great day!

VSSEP08 Verve OSW Challenge

Here are my cards for the Verve "One Sheet Wonder" (OSW) Challenge.


I had to use ONE piece of double-sided patterned paper to create all four cards.

Sketch 1: (Not sure I like the way this one turned out.)
(Stamps: Verve Beautiful You, Artful Elegance
Paper: Cardstock Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Die Cuts With a View Brown, Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Patterned Paper: Cloud 9
Ink: Palette / PTI Dark Chocolate)


Sketch 2:
(Stamps: Verve Cupcake Affair
Cardstock: Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Die Cuts With a View Brown, Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Close To My Heart Olive
Patterned Paper: Cloud 9
Ink: Palette/PTI Dark Chocolate, Close To My Heart Markers, Inkssentials White Gel Pen
Accessories: Spellbinders Square Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Making Memories Square Jewel Brad)
Close-up of Sketch 2:
Sketch 3:
(Stamps: Verve Beautiful You
Cardstock: Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Die Cuts With a View Brown, Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Close To My Heart Olive
Patterned Paper: Cloud 9
Ink: Palette/PTI Dark Chocolate, Inkssentials White Gel Pen
Accessories: Spellbinders Square Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch, Robin's Nest "Cowboy" Dew Drops)


Close-up of Sketch 3:

Sketch 4:
(Stamps: Verve Artful Elegance
Cardstock: Paper Trey Ink Aqua Mist, Die Cuts With a View Brown, Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Close To My Heart Olive
Patterned Paper: Cloud 9
Ink: Palette/PTI Dark Chocolate, Palette New Canvas
Accessories: Spellbinders Square Nestabilities, Stampin' Up! Ticket Corner Punch)

Close-up of Sketch 4:

This was so much fun - and it WAS a challenge for me! And I'm surprised that I actually finished in time! ;) But I had a blast playing with my new Verve stamps and I can't wait to see what the September New Releases will be!

I hope you're having a great week!

Thanks for visiting!

JustRite Monogram Cards

I made a set of these monogram cards for a friend of mine who has moved away. That's one of the hardest parts of being an Army wife... having to say "goodbye" to friends you make at each duty station.

Anyway. I used the JustRite Monogram stamper with Chocolate Chip ink. I also used Paper Trey Ink cardstock (Aqua Mist & Dark Chocolate) and Whisper White cardstock. I used my Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, a Ranger white pen for the dots, and PTI dark chocolate ribbon.

Check back tomorrow! I'll be posting my entries for the Verve One Sheet Wonder Challenge.

Thanks for visiting!

Imaginisce Box

Sorry I don't have the photo to show you the monogram cards I made for my friend. The photo is still in the camera, waiting to be uploaded onto the computer, but my computer is acting very wonky, freezing up on me constantly and I have no clue why.



Anyhoo. I decided to share a 3x3" gift box I whipped up the other day. My daughter had a birthday party to go to and needed a small gift bag for the gift. Of course, it was the last minute, and the only gift bags I had on hand were way too big, so I made this little box in about 10 minutes! (Including the time it took for her to choose the patterned paper needed!)

Here's a better look at the top of the box. I stamped the penguin twice, once in black ink, and once in Close To My Heart Clover Meadow Green. I cut out the hula skirt and made little fringe cuts on the bottom before applying to the image with dimensionals.

The cardstock is by Bazzill (Doodlebug line), but I'm not sure where the Patterned paper comes from. It's in the ginormous stash that I am hoarding. :)

Very quick & easy to make!

Well I hope you all had a great weekend! We spent most of Saturday on the beach at North Shore. The rest of the time I've been fighting with this computer. (It keeps winning!) I have to call Dell tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting!

True Friend

I created this card for an "All Occasion" swap. I LOVE these colors!

Here are a couple of close-up shots of the layers:

As you can probably guess, I'm getting a lot of mileage out of that Martha Stewart butterfly punch! ;) It's precious!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! True Friend
Paper: Stampin' Up! Soft Sky & Blue Bayou & Whisper White; Patterned Paper unknown (sorry)
Ink: Stampin' Up! Blue Bayou
Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities (square), Robin's Nest Dew Drops (Cowboy), Ribbon from Offray & American Crafts, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Kaiser Craft Bling

I hope the other participants like these cards.

Now I'm off to work on some personalized note cards - a gift for a friend who just moved.

I can't believe it's Friday already! Where does the time go? I'm ready for the weekend, though! I hope to make it to the beach at some point.

"Yokohama Bay"
The beaches here are just amazing! I'm really going to miss them when we leave!

Thanks for visiting!

Beautiful You

I took the same layout and stamps from yesterday's card and changed up the colors a little bit.

Here's a closeup of the layers on the front of this card:

Stamps: Verve Beautiful You
Paper: SU! Chocolate Chip & Whisper White, CTMH Ocean
Ink: Paper Trey Ink Dark Chocolate, Brilliance Coffee Bean
Ribbon: Offray
Accessories: Circle Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder, Paisley Cuttlebug folder, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Kaiser Craft Bling, Inkssentials White Gel Pen, Sakura Clear Stardust Gelly Roll Pen

Thanks for visiting!

Verve Project Parade

I couldn't resist!
I love this color combo and I have been dying to play with my new Verve stamps.


Here's what I came up with:

I used the Beautiful You set with Papertrey Ink papers (dark chocolate & sweet blush) along with Very Vanilla cardstock.

I also used PTI dark chocolate brown Swiss dots ribbon, my Swiss dots & paisley cuttlebug folders, and my circle nestabilities. I love that Martha Stewart butterfly punch!

Here's a closeup of the front of the card (lots of layers!):

Here's the inside of the card:

Here's a closeup of the butterfly. I punched it out before I mounted the Very Vanilla to the inside of the card, then I colored it in with my Sakura Gelly Roll Clear Stardust pen.

Thanks for visiting!

Tart & Tangy

I made this card for a swap ("Forever Summer").

This set is so much fun!

The stamps are from Stampin' Up! (Tart & Tangy). The cardstock is by Bazzill - the Doodlebug line (Grasshopper). I also used some Doodlebug ribbon, my circle Nestabilities and a popsicle stick.

Thanks for visiting!

I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend!

Apron Strings

If you've never heard of it, Apron Strings is a company that sends out monthly scrapbooking and card-making kits. They come with the latest and greatest in paper & embellishments. They also come with full color instructions to make the samples for each month. There are three different kits you can subscribe to each month. There is the Bigger than a Breadbox kit, the Smaller than a Bread Box kit, and the All Year Cheer (card making) kit. I absolutely love Apron Strings! The pages and cards are fun to make and easy, too. I tend to use the card kits when my stamping mojo is low and it helps to kick start my creativity before moving on to a more challenging project.

Anyhoo! In my busy-ness this past month, I've not had a lot of time nor creativity to stamp as much or as often as I'd like. I still needed a batch of cards to keep on hand, though, and those All Year Cheer card kits sure came in handy.

*Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this company. I'm just a happy customer! :)

Here are a few cards I made.

Here's a close-up view of the texture on this one:

Here's another close-up shot of the side view:

Here's a close-up view of the adorable acrylic butterfly embellishments:

I used two All Year Cheer kits to make these cards and I still have enough paper and embellishments left over to make 4 or 5 more!

Now if I could just get off my tush and get crackin' on the scrapbooking!

I'd love to hear any feedback! Please post a comment or email me at christina.carl@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Bad Blogger!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

A combination of computer issues, back-to-school time, and family visiting has kept me away from blogging.

Meanwhile, my oldest daughter, Victoria, celebrated her 19th birthday this month and she received some gorgeous BRAKs I'd like to share.

From Holly:

From Darla:

The inside of Darla's card:

From Judi:

From Jamie:

From Mary Ann:
And I got this adorable RAK from Holly!

Thank you so much, ladies!

Tomorrow I'll be posting more photos of a few things I've been creating. It's late and I am exhausted.

12-Pocket Card Organizer

Here is a 12-pocket card organizer I made using the tutorial on Patty Bennett's Blog

I copied her almost exactly, except I added bows on my binding and my cover is a little different.

I used Afternoon Tea Designer Papers from Stampin' Up! and I created the "Special Days" cover on Photoshop.

Here you can see the organizer open. There are 12 pockets, 1 for each month, where you can store cards for special occasions.

Patty makes it so easy!

The yard sale went okay. I didn't sell as much as I would've liked, but then we never do, do we? At least I made a little more room in the closets, right?

I hope you had a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Circle Cards

Here are a couple of circle cards I made some time ago:

This first one uses a base of Bazzill Brown cardstock. The patterned paper is a long ago retired paper from Close To My Heart. The stamp images are from Close To My Heart and The Cat's Pajamas. Most of the ribbon is from a scrap ribbon jar. The sheer brown ribbon with white dots was from Wal-Mart (Offray).

This second card also uses Bazzill Brown cardstock. I believe the patterned paper is from Crate Paper, but I'm not positive (sorry!). The sentiment is from Close To My Heart. I added Primas on this card. And again, most of the ribbon is leftover scraps except for the sheer brown ribbon.

I used the Creative Memories Circle Cutter to cut the circles out. I love this tool! I also used a small circle punch for the small circles in the center. I believe it's a 1" circle punch.

The edges on both of these cards have been sponged with Chocolate Chip ink to add a little depth.

The first one was sent to a friend who'd just had a baby. The second card, of course, is just a "Thank You!" card.

Gotta get back to work! Yard sale tomorrow!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

RAK & Hannah at the Beach

I received this beautiful RAK from Beate Johns today. She is such a talented stamper!

Thanks, Beate!

Here's a simple card I made using Hannah Stamps. I was trying to create a beach scene and this is how it turned out:

This is a standard sized card with Soft Sky cardstock as a base. The teal cardstock is from Prism. I created the sand by tearing Very Vanilla cardstock and sponging with Ranger Distress Ink (Tea Stain). The waves were created by tearing Whisper White cardstock and sponging lightly with Close To My Heart Breeze Ink. Easy Peasy!

I haven't been very creative lately. We're getting ready for a yard sale this weekend. While I love the idea of making $$ for my old, unwanted stuff... It really is a lot of work and I've been procrastinating about it for way too long.

I have several items listed on eBay that I didn't think would sell well at a yard sale. If you're interested, please check them out here!

Thanks for visiting!

Have a great Thursday!

Verve Visual cards

Here are a couple of cards I made with Verve Visual stamps:

This first card is made using the Thankful Blossoms set, with Whisper White cardstock, Prism Teal cardstock, Close To Cocoa Designer Paper, Chocolate Chip Ink, and the image was colored with Close To My Heart Breeze Marker. I added some Bling to the corners of the card to dress it up a little.
This card was made with Old Olive cardstock, Real Red cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Bazzill Blue cardstock, American Crafts patterned paper, American Crafts Ribbon, Close To My Heart ink (Topiary), and (it's hard to see in the photo) I went over the stamped image with my Spica Glitter pen to make it pop.

Thanks for visiting!

Always

I hope you all enjoyed a great Independence Day! The fireworks here were awesome!

Here's a card I made for Mother's Day using the Stampin' Up! "Always" set. I used Soft Sky & Whisper White cardstock, Soft Sky Ink, Embossing Ink & White Embossing Powder, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder, Scallop Paper Edgers, White Organza Ribbon, and a White Circle Paper Clip.

I CASE'd this card from Jennifer Meyer.
She did a much better version of it, but I was so inspired!

Have a great day! Thanks for visiting!

Happy 4th of July!

Here's a super quick card I made with the Tart & Tangy set, Real Red & Whisper White cardstocks, my Circle Nestabilities, and a popsicle stick!

I hope you have a great 4th of July!

Thanks for visiting!

Friendship Blooms

My internet has been wonky lately and everytime I tried to upload photos here for the last few days, my browser has just shut down completely. Very frustrating!

This scalloped circle card turned out a bit differently than I had hoped. My nestabilities will not cut through more than one sheet of cardstock at a time when I use my Sizzix (Original) machine. So I had to cut two scallop circles of the same size (Soft Sky cardstock), score at the top, punch holes, and attach with ribbons. I also used Basic Black, Purely Pomegranite, and Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the flower from Friendship Blooms in Purely Pomegranite ink and the saying stamp (by AMuse Art Stamps) is stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black. I found a matching Prima flower in my stash and topped it off with a pearlized brad.

I CASE'd this card from the talented Beate Johns. (She is so inspiring!)

Thanks for visiting!

MFT Bundles of Bouquets

Here's an anniversary card I made.

I love my cuttlebug embossing folders!

I used Basic Black for the card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). The red cardstock is from Bazzill. I ran a piece of Whisper White cardstock through my Sizzix machine with the Paisley Cuttlebug Embossing folder and sponged the edges with Ranger Distress Ink (Black Soot). The images were stamped on Whisper White and cut using my Rectangle Nestabilities and colored with Copics. I sponged CTMH Red ink on the edges of these and layered them on a piece of Basic Black cardstock that was cut out using a scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities die. All of this is "tied" together using black grosgrain ribbon, red satin ribbon, and some yummy American Crafts red ribbon.

I don't use black cardstock very often, but I should. It adds a bit of an elegant touch to this card, I think.

Hope you had a great weekend!
Thanks for visiting!

OCCC: Verve Sympathy

The talented stampers over at Our Creative Corner are hosting a challenge this week. The challenge is to create a project using Basic Grey paper. The Design Team there is using old Basic Grey, but you can use any Basic Grey, really.

I liked this challenge because I am a Basic Grey HOARDER. (There! I admitted it!) So I wanted to use some of the gorgeous papers I bought a couple of years ago and never even opened.

I also wanted to participate in this challenge because Lindsey Botkin of Jacksonbelle Embellishments is giving away a $15 gift certificate for one winner! I love Jacksonbelle Embellishments! Lindsay carries all kinds of fun must-have things in her store and she has great customer service, too!

I needed to make a sympathy card for a dear friend whose mother-in-law just passed away. I find sympathy cards more challenging to make than masculine cards these days.

The card is 5"x6.5" and the base is Whisper White cardstock. I also used Bazzill cardstocks and the Basic Grey is from the "Oh Baby" Boy Collection. I also used Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot), Close To My Heart inks (Topiary & Crystal Blue), Making Memories crystal brads, Copics, & ribbon from Wal-Mart. The floral stamps are from Verve and the sympathy stamp is from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks for visiting!

Criss-Cross Card

This was a super fun card to make!

The base of the card is made from Bazzill cardstock. I'm not sure who makes the patterned paper (Sorry!) because it's been in my stash for a while.

The daisy stamp is a retired stamp from Close To My Heart.

The Hero Arts Swirl is stamped in CTMH Breeze ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then I went over it with a glitter pen.

I also used Gina K stamps for the insert.

Thanks for visiting!

Zoom! Zoom!

I made this card for my daughter, when she passed the written portion of the exam and got her Learner's Permit. (Stay off the sidewalks!) ;)

The cardstock is Bazzill and I used a scrap piece of patterned paper on top. I also used my circle Nestabilities dies, a Sizzix oval tag die, and Cuttlebug Embossing folder.

The stamp is a retired Close To My Heart stamp. I colored it with Copics and a silver gel pen and added Diamond Glaze on top to make the car nice and shiny.

It's pretty basic, but it was one of the first cards I made trying to get back into my stamping mode after being away from it for over a year.

Thanks for visiting!

Loving the Cupcakes!

I made this large 6x6" card using the Hero Arts Clear Stamps. I love those cupcakes!

The card base is Bazzill Brown, with a layer of teal Prism paper on top of that, and a layer of Berry Bliss Designer Series Paper as well.

The cupcakes are stamped and embossed in black on Whisper White cardstock and colored with Copics. I used the Sakura Souffle pens to bring out the sprinkles on two of the cupcakes and a Robin's Nest Dew Drop to top off the center cupcake.

I used my circle Nestabilities dies to cut out the circles & scallop circles.

This is topped off with a May Arts double sided ribbon.

Easy peasy! And fun!

Aloha

I'm making the plunge into blogging!

Bear with me while I learn my way around and how to personalize my new site!

This mini calendar was made with scrap papers! I think the cardstock was Bazzill, but I'm not sure who makes the patterned paper. I also used wooden scrabble tiles for the letters, pink wire (Making Memories?), pink eyelets, and scrap pieces of ribbon.

I hang this little calendar at my desk and it's a nice little daily reminder of my word for 2008, "Love."

I had been in a total creative slump for some time, and making this little calendar helped revive my stamping mojo.

Thanks for visiting!