Go Green!

Today's card celebrates the greenest of holidays - St. Patrick's Day! :) I demonstrated this card at Tuesday's downline meeting. I made the shamrock using my Full Heart punch - I stamped some scraps of Certainly Celery cardstock with my Dot, Dot, Dot stamp (in Bermuda Bay ink) and punched out three hearts. I gave the "leaves" a bit of dimension by pulling the heart over my bone folder, causing the cardstock to curl slightly.

I cut out the stem, added the heart-shaped leaves and used a Build-a-Brad for the center of the shamrock. The Build-a-Brad is covered with a 1/2" Bermuda Bay circle with some Dazzling Diamonds for a little shine. And don't forget that fun Go Green stamp! First, I stamped it in Certainly Celery ink and colored in the clover with my Bermuda Bay marker.

I hope you enjoyed today's project - see you back here soon!

Stamps: Go Green; Dot, Dot, Dot
Paper: Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Full Heart punch, Build-a-Brad, 1/2" circle punch, Dazzling Diamonds, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, Bermuda Bay polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Crop-a-Dile, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Corner Rounder

Cute Lil' Boxes

Hello! I'm back today with some adorable lil' boxes, which I made as trades for last night's downline meeting. I found the instructions for these cuties, along with a video, at Chic'n Scratch Live. The fun thing about these baskets, is that once you have done all of the scoring, you can assemble them in two different ways!

These are the baskets I traded last night. I put some chocolate nummies in each one, and it seems that the peanut-butter-filled Dove chocolates were by far the most popular. :)


Here you can see the different ways the boxes can be assembled. So cute! Wouldn't these make fun little May Day baskets? I made one for each of my kids and my son put a handful of crayons in his basket. The possibilities are endless!

That's all for today - I'll be back soon with a new card to share. 'Bye for now!

Stamps: Whimsical Words
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade dsp, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry and Crushed Curry polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Flower Fusion felt flowers, 5/8" Jumbo Brads, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Vintage Brads

February Stamp-A-Stack Cards

We made these cards at this month's stamp-a-stack, and every single one of them is cased from another fabulous demonstrator. ;) Can you tell I've been running short on inspiration lately? LOL! This first card is based on one I made at our last demo shoebox swap and the original card was designed by Suzanne Askey. She did her card in purples, and I needed something a little more gender-neutral, so I went with blues.

Stamps: Boho Blooms, Vintage Labels
Paper: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Shimmery White
Ink: Versamark, Night of Navy
Accessories: Wide Oval punch, Whisper White organza ribbon, Big Shot, SU! Backgrounds I texture plate

Card #2 is cased from an adorable trade I received at Leadership from Winnie Lee. This card was a BIG hit! I changed a couple of things on the card for my stamp-a-stack - the original card had a panel of Old Olive dsp, which I switched out for the Old Olive panel embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I also used Real Read for the accent color, instead of Rose Red on the original trade. So stinkin' cute!

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Modern Label punch, Small Heart punch, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon

This card was also inspired by a trade I received at Leadership from Lisa Schmid. I changed up the colors and I added the ribbon and sentiment, but I loved how Lisa used the Large Oval punch to make a vase - so clever! This is a great all-purpose card and could be used for just about any occasion.

Stamps: Happy Moments
Paper: Soft Suede, Rose Red, Confetti Cream, Thoroughly Modern dsp
Ink: Basic Brown, Rose Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Trim corner punch, Large Oval punch, Small Oval punch, Crop-a-Dile, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, hemp twine

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you back here next week - 'bye for now!

A Little Taste of Spring!

I don't know about you, but I am SO ready for spring! I have been a bit of a funk the last few days, and I think the weather has a lot to do with it. The bright sunshine this morning lifted my spirits considerably, as did working on this week's CAS challenge,which is to create a card with a spring theme.

This is a pretty straightforward card - no special techniques. I stamped the tree trunks onto the Whisper White card panel and then I stamped the trunks and foliage onto scrap paper and punched out the top of the tree. I used Dimensionals to add the tree tops to the card front. I cut a narrow strip of Certainly Celery textured cs and cut some fringe for the grass, adhering this piece to the bottom of the white panel. Next, I stamped my sentiment, added the piercing and butterflies. The taffeta ribbon adds that pretty, delicate touch I was looking for. Hope you enjoy today's creation - I'll be back tomorrow with some new goodies to share. Have a great day!

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Well Scripted
Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Regal Rose
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Crop-a-Dile, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, 1" circle punch, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Valentine's Day Goodies for the Kiddos

I hope you all had a "love"ly weekend - wink, wink! :) I had a wonderful time on Saturday with my hubby - we went out for an extended date since my parents came to watch our little ones. We don't get out much, so it's always a special treat. LOL!

I wanted to give my kiddos a little something special for Valentine's Day, so I whipped up a couple of these coaster boxes on Saturday night (there's a tutorial on Splitcoast, just in case you want to make some of your own). I covered the coasters with Sending Love Specialty dsp. I added the Jumbo Eyelets and put the boxes together with taffeta ribbon. I made the little tag using my new Extra Large Fancy Flower punch and some pieces of the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt. Cute, huh? The kids LOVED their boxes, and their treats inside. I had to wrestle them away from their sticky little hands, just long enough to take pictures, since I didn't get a chance to on Saturday evening. I made this first box for my son and the second box is my daughter's.


I also made some special "fauxstess" Valentine's Day cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. I put frosting inside the cupcakes, chocolate ganache on top, and then piped the pink hearts onto the ganache.
Let's just say I am NOT an expert cake decorator! My first attempt was pretty ugly, and looked nothing like a heart, so I decided to just put a big pile of frosting on top. I like to call this masterpiece "cupid poop". I told my husband that I made especially for him - LOL!

Have great day - see you soon. 'Bye for now!

Jazz It Up: Happy Moments

It's Friday - can I get a yippee? I am SO ready for the weekend, plus I get to have a date with my hubby tomorrow - what could be better? Anyway, I thought I would try something a little different today. I have two versions of the same card, using the Sale-A-Bration set Happy Moments. The first card is a tad bit simpler and the other card is what I like to call "jazzed up."

I don't know if any of you have this problem, but sometimes I just don't know when to stop! I was inspired by a card I saw on the SU! demo web site and I decided to make one similar to it. After I made it, I thought, "This would look really great with a button." And then I thought, "Ooooh! What if I added Crystal Effects to the flowers?" And of course my next thought was, "But there's no piercing! Gasp! This must be corrected immediately!" So, that's how the 2nd card came about. LOL!

Hope you enjoy them both and have a great Valentine's Day weekend. 'Bye for now!

Stamps: Happy Moments
Paper: Taken with Teal, Old Olive, Shimmery White, Sweet Pea dsp
Ink: Basic Black, Taken with Teal, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Crystal Effects, Old Olive satin ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, Playground designer buttons, Pretties Kit, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

CAS Challenge + Sneak Peek

This week's Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast is an inspiration challenge, using the Candy Crate's Retro Candy Store to tickle one's designing fancy. As soon as I saw the challenge, I knew I wanted to use my brand spankin' new sneak peek set - Sweet Scoops. This set will be available in a future catalog, but I was itching to break it out. I even found something called Yum Yum Marshmallow Cones in the Retro Candy Store. How fun!

I had lots of fun layering all of my scoops and you may notice that they are a little lopsided - that is one purpose! LOL! Have you ever eaten a triple-dipped cone and had it stay in pristine condition? Didn't think so. :) I also added a little Dazzling Diamonds to each of my scoops, just to give it that little somethin' somethin'. Love it!

I hope your week is off to a good start. I'm hoping mine begins improving quickly! My kids seem to have had some kind of relapse and both were complaining of not feeling good yesterday. Plus we supposedly have a snow storm headed our way? Lovely! Good stamping weather, huh? Hope to see you back here soon - 'bye for now!

Stamps: Sweet Scoops; Dot, Dot, Dot
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Hugs Love Notes, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Sherbet and Playground designer buttons, Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon

Beautiful Wings

I'm back today with a card from last Saturday's stamp-a-stack. I love how quick and easy this card is to make, using the pre-cut Hugs Love Notes. They are so sweet!

I also used my new Beautiful Wings Embosslit to create my butterflies - the texture on these beauties is fabulous! I stamped a quick background using the damask stamp from the Friends 24-7 set, added my ribbon, stamped my sentiment with the Whimsical Words SAB set and added my butterflies with a couple of mini glue dots. Gotta love it!

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Whimsical Words
Paper: Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Hugs Love Notes, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Crop-a-Dile

I {heart} Hearts Easel Card

Today's project is an easel card, which is a fun way for the card recipient to display his or her card all by itself. You can find a wonderful tutorial, complete with measurements on Splitcoast. We made this card at last week's Valentine's Day stamp camp.

This card uses the I {heart} Hearts and Well Scripted sets from the Occasions Mini catalog. I combined Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry for a fun Valentine's Day color combo. Here is a view from the side:

The button holding the "easel" part of the card in place is clear, backed with a pieced of Razzleberry Lemonade dsp, which coordinates with the dsp on the top portion of the card. I love the bright, happy feel of this card! And don't forget - from now until February 28, when you purchase the I {heart} Hearts set, $2 will go to American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Visit my demo web site to find out more.

Thanks for stopping by today - things may be kind of quiet around here this week. I have one sick kiddo and another who seems to be coming down with the same thing. Sigh. Anyone else ready for spring? :) I'll post any projects that I complete, but it may take me longer than usual. Bye for now!

Stamps: I {heart} Hearts, Well Scripted
Paper: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade dsp
Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Clear Buttons, 3/4" circle punch, Melon Mambo polka-dot grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool