Button Challenged??

So- I made this card last night while Hip-Hoppin' with the girls on the Unity Forum for Hip-Hop Thursday. One of the challenges was to make a button card. I had been jumpin' at the bit to ink up this cutie stamp called "So and So Loves," by none other than my fav, Unity. The "I {heart} U" stamp is from the Unity August KOTM called Remember Happiness. I also got some happy mail from Papertrey Ink, which was some nice new paper I used for this card. Card recipe: Paper: PTI White, Lemon Tart, Berry Sorbet, and Aqua Mist. Stamps: Unity: So and So Loves, Remember Happiness. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Copics for coloring images. Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, stickles, heart button. This card didn't come out exactly the way I had hoped it would, and then Hubby smudged the stickles when he checked it out. LOL. The card is growing on me now. I just {LOVE} this stamp! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stamping!!

Sketch 191

Here is my card for yesterday's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge #191. I really like this sketch, it was nice and simple and allowed me to add a lot of layers!! For some reason, I was in a pink mood last night and went a little crazy with a few different shades. I also got to ink up my new Unity Kit of the Month for August, called Remember Happiness. What a fun filled, awesome kit! Lots and lots of stamps in this one. If you want to get the kit, its only available until August 31st. There is a new kit each month, so join the club today!!
Card Recipe: Paper: Bazzill Textured CS Mauve ice and pink, SU Close to Cocoa, Whisper White and Basic Grey Sugared DSP. Stamps: Unity KOTM August: Remember Happiness. Ink: SU Regal Rose, Copics to color images, Pretty in Pink for sponging. Accessories: Pink pearls, SU Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, dimensionals. Dont forget to stop by the Unity foums for a full day of fun. It's Hip Hop Thursday...and that means lots of games and prizes to give away. Thanks for stopping by and have a HAPPY STAMPING day!!

Unity- Challenge Wednesday!!

Well, it's Wednesday!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS??? It's the start of Unity Challenge Day! A bunch of us Unity addicts in the Splitcoast forum thought it would be fun for the fans of Unity to have a weekly challenge. We're calling ourselves the Unity Hip Hop Challenge Girls. So starting today in the SCS Unity Forum there will be a weekly challenge posted on Wednesdays! Hop on over and join in the fun! Each week a different person will pick the challenge. Today, Tiffany picked our challenge which was to Case (Copy and Share with Everyone) a Design Team member's creation. This challenge is totally awesome, as Unity has a super cool DT! Check out the other Hip Hop Girls' blogs on the right side column of my blog....one of them will be giving away a free stamp set from Unity!! What a great way to kick off for Hip Hop Thursday in the Unity forums. I decided to CASE Jennifer Buck with this card.

Here is my card. It's a 6X6 square tri-fold card. I have been dying to ink up this Santa image. Isn't he adorable?? And, I can't believe I brought myself to stamp a winter image in the summer, but....for some reason, this summer, I am through with! Card Recipe: Paper: Bazzill Red, Hunter Green, SU Celery, SU Dashing DSP, Vanilla. Ink: SU Choc. Chip, Copics to color the image. Accessories: dew drops, white flocking powder to make Santa's suit fuzzy, Thank you for stopping by and have a HAPPY STAMPING day!!

Spooky Greetings....Already??

Yep....getting in the mood for Halloween already. I CANT help it....it's been a very long summer, but that is to be expected when you work in parks, I am sooooo ready for fall! I created this card for Creatively Yours, hop on over to the site to get this weeks sketch! Its a fun one!!
Recipe: Paper: Pumpkin Pie, SU Halloween DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun for sponging
Stamps: MFT Monster Squad
Accessories: Dew Drops, Velvet RicRac, Fabric flowers,
I had alot of fun making this card, first because it took my mind off summer and second, because I was able to ink up this adorable stamp set. Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!!

WOW!!

WOW. I cant believe it!! I was sooooo surprised and very very happy to receive this award from my girl GinaP!! Thanks so much sweetie!! I'm also very excited to be sharing it here for 7 amazing people!

Here are the rules for accepting this wonderful blog award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from (see the link above)

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.

So this is who I am awarding this "I {heart} Your Blog" to:

1. Jess

2. Jimmi

3. Stacey

4. Amanda

5. Amber

6. Christi

7. Maren

All you have to do is visit these ladies' blogs to see why I chose them. Their work is amazing, they are fresh, fun and totally my style! Ladies, you all ROCK!!! Check out these blogs and spread the love now!

Thanks again Gina for my award!

Splitcoast Sketch Challenge SC190

Here it is...my interpretation of Sketch Challenge 190 over on Splitcoaststampers. This was a real fun sketch to do this week. Every Wednesday is a new sketch challenge, so stop on over and join the fun. The color scheme I used is: Blue Bayou (base layer) then Blush Blossom, Soft Sky and Whisper White. The Circles are Ruby Red, Blush Blossom and Whisper white. The card is a 5X5 square. The white layer of the squares are negative embossed with the cuttlebug. One half is using Blush Blossom ink on the Swiss Dots embossing folder. The other half uses Ruby Red ink on the Floral Fantasy embsossing folder. The big flower stamp is from Unity Stamps Spring has Sprung kit. The flower is stamped on the white circle, then stamped again on white CS and colored, glittered, cut out and popped up for dimension on top of the other stamped image. I used Copics to color the flower, and sprinkled glitter on the petals and center of the flower. I used a white opaque marker to put a dotted border on the Ruby Red circle. I finished the card with dew drops going down the diagonal seam of the card. The sentiment, "Life is Good," is from the Verve stamp set, Artful Elegance, which is one of their new releases. That's exactly how I feel at this very moment, Life is Good. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY STAMPING!!

A Tasty Treat Box

Check this out- Splitcoast Technique Challenge (TLC182). It an Acetate Treat Box. Think of all those times when you need a little gift, kids valentines, halloween treats, etc. This little box is PERFECT for times like that, not to mention, the reciepient gets a sweet handmade gift!! Click the link above for the directions....its super simple to make. I didnt go crazy on decorating this one, as it was my first of this kind. I will probably be making some more of these, because they are super easy, and turn out SUPER CUTE! And, those I will go crazy on decorating. LOL.

Recipe: SCS Technique Challenge #182 directions found here click on the PDF.

Paper: Wasabi, Acetate

Ink: Celery, Blue Bayou

Accessories: Black Sheer ribbon, white opaque marker, yellow glitter pen, scallop circle punch,

Stamps: Unity: Bitty Christmas Tags (AWESOME set!!!)

Check out all the other cute little treat boxes as well. Thanks for stopping by, HAPPY STAMPING!!

Splitcoast Challenges- I LOVE these Chicks!!

So, I started working on some Splitcoast Challenges this week. I always see them on the site, but never really took the time to sit down and work on them. And....since I'm so ooo addicted to challenges lately, well, I figured I would give it a try! There is a different challenge posted EVERY day of the week, so if you are looking for a challenge, stop on by and join the fun. The first challenge I completed was Sunday's, the Featured Stamper Challenge. For the Featured Stamper challenges, we are asked to check out a gallery of a fellow SCSer, pick out one of their cards and make a card of our own. While making a card of your own, you must change at least two things on the card, and you must list the changes when you upload it back onto SCS. Fun right?? This week's Featured Stamper is Jessica Rone (Knightrone on SCS) and her work is simply amazing. The card that I used for inspiration is here. I love the color combo that Jessie used for her card. It's Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Soft sky and white. Yummy. So, for my card, I used the same color combo, I changed the main image, embossed the white background layer with my cuttle bug, I used pearls instead of white brads, and my ribbons are slightly different. I also love how this card has lots and lots of layers! Card Recipe: Paper: Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and Whisper White
Stamps: Unity: Hey Chick
Ink: Wild Wasbi, Blue Bayou and Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou stitched ribbon
Accessories: glitter, pearls, copics to color the image, wasabi sponging around edges, cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder
The next card I worked on was Tuesday's Color Challenge (CC180). The challenge was to use the following colors: Close to cocoa, Ruby Red and Blush Blossom, which you see in my card. Every week, on Tuesday, a new color challege is posted. This is good for me, as I spend a lot of time picking out paper and colors for my projects, and now I will be able to save some VALUABLE stamping time. On this card, I "negative embossed" with Blush Blossom ink, on the white layer. Card Recipe: Paper: Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, Blush Blossom, and Whisper White.
Stamps: Unity: Hey Chick
Ink: Ruby Red, Blush Blossom and Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Glitter, Chocolate stitched ribbbon, pink grossgrain, copics for coloring image, cuttlebug embossing folder.
Thanks so much for stopping by, get on over to Splitcoast and join in the challenge fun. HAPPY STAMPING!!

A SuperSTAR??

Ally did it again and threw me a real challenge for a sketch this week. Check out So Sketchy for the Star card sketch. At first glance, I thought, now how am I going to make a Star card? How? First I had to find a template or something, because, my freehand, well, its not that great. I would never be able to draw a star on my own. LOL. So this is a 4 1/2" Star cut from a traced star. The star is tempting turquoise paper, the smaller circles are Martha Stewart DSP and cut with the SU 1 3/8" circle punch, the larger circle is whisper white cardstock sponged with turquoise ink around the edges and cut with the Marvy mega circle punch. I outlined the circles with a white Martha Stewart opaque pen. The points of the star are dotted with sky blue pearls. I used Verve stamps: Starlight Starbright for the sentiment. The sentiment reads "Reaching for the Stars, We find our greatest self." This is one of my favorite all-time quotes. It reminds me to always strive to do my best, reach for the stars, and in that, we truly find ourselves. In the end, I really enjoyed making this card and I thank Ally for the challenge. Hop on over to So Sketchy and join in the fun. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY STAMPING!

I MOOSE YOU

I love this saying....I Moose You. For some reason me and DH are always saying this to each other. This is one of my new favorite stamp sets from MFT (My Favorite Things) and its called "Nature Calls." The Sentiment is from the MFT set called "Whats your sign?" Simply adorable!! This is a tall card. It measures 3.5 X7" (basically a 7X7 folded in half). I used Blue Bayou as the base layer, followed by Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla and DSP from My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus collection. Lots of Dew Drops adorne this card. Those are turning into my new favorite embellishment! I used the SU scallop circle punch, the word window punch for the sentiment and the threading water border punch for the bottom layer. I faux stitched around the entire card and finished it off with Wasabi stitched ribbon. I will be making alot more cards with this set and also use it on my scrapping pages. Its got a cute hiker image, the moose you see here, a bear, squirrel, fox, coyote, racoon, tent and pine tree. Awesome for those outdoor pages or masculine cards. Thanks for stopping by, and HAPPY STAMPING!!

The last of Anni-VERVE-sary sketches LATE

Well, its been a hectic few days, and I just realized that I totally forgot to post the last of my Anni-VERVE-sary cards from the Verve celebration this week. Thier new release party was August 12th...if you havent checked VERVE out yet, please do so. The new stamp sets are awesome!!! These cards are created from Sketches 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. If you want to link up to the Sketch master list, available on PDF, click here.

Sketch #8: "Two hearts, One Lifetime"

Paper: Close to Cocoa, My Minds Eye Wild Asparagus Collection, Whisper White

Stamps: Verve: Fluttering By, Anniversary Birds

Ink: Tempting Turquiose

Accessories: Scallop Oval Punches, White souffle pen, Rhinestones, Pearl Dew Drops, Sheer Chocolate Ribbon,

Sketch #9: "Romantic"

Paper: SU Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, MME Wild Asparagus Collection DSP

Stamps: Unity: Growing in Unity

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Dew Drops, Scallop Corner Punch

Sketch #10: "You're Amazing"

Paper: Cool Caribbean, Navy, Gable Green, MME Wild Asparagus Collection DSP, Whisper White

Stamps: Verve: Thankful Blossoms

Ink: Night of Navy

Accessories: Turquoise paper flowers (Walmart), dew drops, white souflle pen

Sketch #11: "Smile"

Paper: Cool Caribbean, Basic Grey Euphoria DSP, Gable green

Stamps: Verve: Thankful Blossoms, All about You

Ink: Pure Pomegranate

Accessories: Pomegranate Ribbon, Circle punch, dew drops, white souffle pen, Martha Stewart glitter markers

Sketch #12: "Simply the Best"

Paper: Pixie Pink, Cool Caribbean, Basic Grey Euphoria DSP,

Stamps: StampingBella: Eloise Greengrass, Verve: Feeling Groovy

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence,

Accessories: dew drops, white souffle pen, scallop circle punch, circle punch, glitter, copics, sponging,

Thanks for stopping by, and HAPPY

STAMPING!!

First Creatively Yours Sketch

Hello- here is a card that I designed for Creatively Yours. The sketch can be found here. It was a real fun sketch to complete! The card uses a Close to Cocoa base layer, with Basic Grey Sugared DSP for the pink layer and the paisley layer. One circle is Old Olive and the smaller circle is Basic Grey DSP outlined with a white souffle pen. I used Unity's July stamp kit of the month, called "its about the little things..." I used alot of rhinestones on this one, but the butterfly so calls for it!! There is lots of room to decorate on this beauty. The sentiment, Friend, is also from the same Unity stamp set. I used white ric-rac ribbon by Basic Grey and hand dyed some lace, by sponging it with pink chalk ink. Thanks for looking, and Happy Stamping!!

More Anni-VERVE-sary!!

I'm still celebrating the Anni-VERVE-sary....are you??? Here are my cards for sketches 5, 6 and 7. Can't wait to see the rest of the sketches. Julee is giving the rest of the sketches today, so we can have the weekend to work on them!! Sketch #5 is a great sketch, and it requires the card to be TALL. Again, I was able to use some of my new Lizzie Anne Designs stamps. The set used here is "By The Sea." I {{LOVE}} the mermaid image in this set. It reminds me of my daughter when we go to the beach, she is a little mermaid, and never wants to get out of the water. I see myself using this stamp on a lot of scrapbook pages! So... my card is tall... very, very tall. I think I made the dimensions 4X9 for this card. Too tall?? I used SU Soft Sky as the base layer, along with Basic Grey Euphoria Designer Paper and SU Celery as the middle layer. Lots of green rhinestones and glitter were used to give this card some glam. The fish are popped up on dimensionals. I also used wasabi and bayou ribbons. For some reason, I had alot of trouble with sketch #6. I just couldn't visualize what I wanted to do with the sketch. The "richly blessed by you" card is my interpretation of the sketch...I went back and forth on this one for a while, and finally came up with what you see here. This card uses SU Soft Sky and Always Artichoke paper, along with Fall Flowers DSP. Stamps used were Verve's Thankful Blossoms. I used rhinestones for accents and a white souffle pen. Blue Bayou ribbon ties the circles together. I used the Giga Scallop Circle punch and then Mega Circle and Oval punches for the other layers. I have to say that Sketch 7 is one of my favorites so far. I really like what I came up with for this one too. I used SU Old Olive as the card base and then Basic Grey Sultry Designer paper (this is some really awesome paper, girls!!) I used the July Stamp of the Month Kit from Unity, called Its About the Little Things... for the pretty butterflies and the sentiment. The butterflies are stamped in Positively Pink ink. A few of them are popped up for dimension- again, I'm loving the "fly away at anytime" look. Of course, whats a card without rhinestones, and these cutie butterflies call for some stones!! I used green rhinestones to fill in the holes from the threading water border punch- love how we can do that....and to finish the card off, I used pink grossgrain ribbon. That's all for now. More cards to follow this weekend....... HAPPY STAMPING!!!

Happy Anni-VERVE-sary!!!

Its Anni-VERVE-sary time over at Verve Visual. Just last year Julee started up her stamp company and is now celebrating its anniversary! Yeah for Julee!!! Check out the Verve Forum at Splicoast for a weeks worth of fun. New sketches and contests are posted daily. The celebration started on August 1st and goes until August 12th, and the new release party is on the 13th!!! Get in on the FUN!

I have alot of cards to post here, as I have been catching up on the sketches on my days off this week. Sketch #1 can be found here, the card I made representing that sketch is the "Take Joy in the Little Things" card (above). I used the color scheme of Soft Sky, Old Olive and Pure Pomegranate, and Verve stamps: Petals and Stems (LOVE that set!!). I also used SU Desinger paper: Fall Flowers on each of the layers for this card. Accessories used: threading water border punch, rhinestones, pomegranate ribbon, and photo corners punch. I attached the butterflies and the flower only at their centers and curled up the edges to give the card some dimension. I like how the butterflies look like they could fly off the card at any moment. The "Thank You" card sketch can be found here. One of the requirements for this sketch is that the card should be square. My card is a 5X5 square. I totally wanted use up some of my Groovy Guava paper for this one, and I found some matching SU Ginger Blossom Designer paper to use as well!! I added an extra layer of River Rock, to bring out the color in the flowers. Of course, I had to use some more rhinestones and groovy guava ribbon to top it off. I used Verve stamps on this one too, the set Thankful Blossoms was a perfect fit. This was an easy sketch for a quick but elegant card. Sketch #3 was a bit more complicated, but still as much fun as the others. The "You Made me Smile Today" card is my interpretation of this sketch. I used SU Berry Bliss DSP along with Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, and Purely Pomegranate for the layers. The sentiment is stamped from the Verve set, Thankful Blossoms, and the flowers are stamped from the Verve set, Feeling Groovy. The flowers are stamped with pomegranate ink, glittered, and popped up on dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped with pomegranate ink as well, and has flowers stamped in pretty in pink in the background. I used the Martha Stewart scallop Border punch for the border along the top, and tied it with Pretty in Pink grossgrain ribbon. I used a white souffle pen for some detailing. (How did this happen.....there are no rhinestones on this card??? Say Whaaa?? Oh wait....there IS glitter though) Sketch #4 was another fun one to make. I used some of my new Lizzie Anne Designs stamps on this card. The stamp set is called Happy Harvest. Fall is right around the corner, which is, by far, my favorite season, and I couldn't wait to ink up this cute Scarecrow. (I'm a big scarecrow fan too...dont know why, I just find them so interesting! We even drive out to Lahaska, PA to check out the scarecrow festival each year.) Anyway, back to the card. I used SU Really Rust, River Rock and Apple Cider DSP for the layers. Black Rhinestones and white souffle pen for the detailing on the layers, and the SU Scallop circle punch. Mr. Scarecrow is colored in with colored pencils. That's pretty much it, on this card. It was another real easy sketch for a quick, elegant card. That's all I have for now. I will be posting the next few sketches tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, Happy Stamping!!

Who's da Princess....

I am sooooo lovin' this new stamp set, called Once Upon a Time, from Lizzie Anne Designs. Of course, having a daughter, I am drawn to anything princessy or girlie themed. I was just experimenting with this set, so this card doesn't really serve a purpose...although, I may just end up using it on one of Amanda's scrapbook pages in the long run. The Lizzie Anne stamp sets are so much fun because they allow you to color the very detailed images any way you want. So, if you {{LOVE}} to color....invest in some of these babies!!
For this card, I used the following: Paper: SU Lovely Lilac, Basic Grey Euphoria Designer paper, and SU Pixie Pink for the layers. Lace ribbon was used as a layer. Accessories: Pink and Clear rhinestones, pink grossgrain ribbon, GLITTER, circle punches, scallop corner punch, threading water border punch and Copics to color the images.
I look at this card and think about dress up and princess parties with my daughter...it's going to be so much fun!! Thanks for stopping by, HAPPY STAMPING!!

Circular Challenge on So Sketchy

Check out SO Sketchy for the latest sketch... its a Circular card. This was a lot of fun to make, and I originally thought I would not be able to do it. My cirlce is 4 1/2" and I used a circle cutter to make it perfectly round. If I cut it by hand, it simply would not be a circle. :)

So after cutting my 4 1/2" circle, it was time to decorate, and.....of course, I was feeling the purple groove again. The base layer is Stampin up Lovely Lilac. I used Basic Grey Euphoria designer paper for the layers. If you are a purple lover, get some Euphoria paper....its AMAZING!!! I used Unity stamps (of course)- Floral Fantastical, Tiny Trinity and Oh Happy Day. Ink: SU Almost Amethyst and Elegant Eggplant. Accessories used include: scallop corner punch by Marvy, White Souffle pen, Pink gingham ribbon, and Martha Stewart Rhinestones.

Now, go on over to So Sketchy and try this one out. Its a fun, fun, fun challenge. HAPPY STAMPING!!

Praying for a Friend....

This card was inspired by the first sketch I received from Ally, of So Sketchy. It happend that on that same day, I found out a friend's grandmother learned she has progressive lung cancer. Gram, as we call her, is a very special woman. Always very kind, caring and generous with her heart. We were very sad to hear this news and all we can do right now is pray. So, I am sending this card to Gram to let her know she is in our thoughts and prayers. I tried to use bright colors on this card, to brighten some tougher days ahead.

Paper: SU Vanilla (base), Tempting Turquoise, Basic Grey Designer Paper- Mellow series

Ink: SU Chocolate Chip

Stamps: Unity- Floral Fantastical

Accessories: SU Stitched ribbon- True Thyme, Extra Large Eyelets by We R Memory Keepers.

Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY STAMPING!!