Monday, December 10, 2007

My dream come true


I decided to do a quick digi page tonight while watching TV. I decided on this picture from Alice's wedding in September. I went looking for a digital kit that had the colors I wanted. I found All Aflutter and decided it was perfect not only because of the colors, but because of the saying that was included in the kit. 'You are my dream come true' is very appropriate for how I feel about my children. I always knew I wanted to be a mom (hadn't necessarily planned on three times over, though! LOL!). I could not have asked for more beautiful, brilliant, and healthy children. We are truly lucky.

Papertrey Joy!



I finally got to play with my Snowflake Serenade set and this is what I came up with. I think it will be my Christmas card this year. I am so in love with Papertrey sets and Figgy Pudding paper. Love them together!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

I stamped!!!

I finally got a chance to stamp this long weekend! I put together 2 cute little cards.



This one is for the Limited Supply Challenge over on Splitcoast. We were to make a card with snowflakes, mostly neutral colors, and a touch of color. I just love how this came out. It is one of those cards that just happen naturally...not to much laboring over ideas.

You can't really see it in the picture, but the snowflakes (stamped and chipboard) are all embossed with irridecent ice powder. Very glitzy!

Recipe:
Stamps: Snowbursts, Michaels $1 stamp
Cardstock: Kraft, Real Red
Ink: White Craft
Accessories: Snowflake chipboard, Glitter Embossing powder, sponge dauber, paper piercing tool and mat, Stamp-A-Majig, Crop-A-Dile, Crystal brad


This is just a simple design. This stamp set is so much fun. I love having the sentiment and main image all in one stamp...makes it so quick! A little color, a background stamp, and a ribbon made this a really quick card.

Recipe:
Stamps: Big on Christmas, Flannel
Paper: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Black Stazon, markers, Soft Sky
Accessories: Old Olive wide grosgrain, waterbrush, silver pen

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Cub Scouts


We have a Cub Scout in the house! After much begging and debate in the house, I finally agreed to let Slayton sign up. He was so proud to be all dressed up this morning as he got ready for the Chuck Wagon Derby. The den had a great time and they won a blue ribbon for their wagon.

I think this will be a great learning experience for the boys and Riley has already started asking when he can sign up!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Some Challange cards


I will never stop using these Best of Cluck chickens. They crack me up every time I use them! This card was for the Featured Stamper Challenge. Sweet Miss Daisy was the person to CASE and since I just love her gallery, I had a blast going thru it again and picking a card to make.

I didn't realize until I was all done and ready for the ribbon that I didn't have any black...so I guess I have no other choice than to go to Michael's this weekend!!! hehehehe.


This card was for the Inspiration Challenge. The colors are not even close to the inspiration piece, but I still love how this came out. I bought these Prima flowers at Target ages ago and just now am using them. I thought they were so pretty for Spring. I wanted to add some sparkle to the card, so I sugared the flowers by covering them with Crystal Effects and then dumping Dazzling Diamonds glitter on them. SO pretty!


Here is a close up of the flowers...


I got some new toys on Wednesday and just had to play with them immediately. I wasn't so sure about the Big on Christmas set when I first saw it, but I am SO glad I got it! Just adorable.

The wide grosgrain ribbon is fabulous! So rich and striking. I will definitely need to save my pennies and get some more!

The focal image is stamped on Shimmer White and colored with markers. I stole the brad frame idea from Trudee. I was going to do the old standard 'punch the first layer and put the brad on the blue layer' approach, but I remembered a card she did where she put the brads right on the card. Sometimes it pays to stalk the stamping royalty!

Friday, October 05, 2007

Sketch Challenge 144


I needed a sympathy card, so I used the sketch for this week as a jumping off point. I am totally in love with the colors in the Fall Flowers papers, so I used those. Once I have colors and a layout decided, things usually go pretty quickly from there, so this card only took about 30 minutes!

Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Harmony, Warmest Regards
Papers: Kraft, whisper White, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, Fall Flowers
Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, Taffeta ribbon, SAMJ

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Big News!!!

Kiki went poopy in the potty today! LOL! She went in the bathroom and I called to her and asked what she was doing. She say 'goin' poopy in ta pody!, Mama!'. Sure enough...I went in there and she was on the toilet and I heard a 'plop'! Hehehehe!

I am so proud of her. Not even 2 and a half and usin' the potty!

Good Girl, Kiki! We love you!

3 Cards

I stayed up probably a little too late last night because the stamping bug hit me hard! LOL! Too bad I am paying for it this morning...those kids sure do get up early!


This is my first criss cross card. It was incredibly fun to make. Totally adorable! I hadn't pulled out Kraft card stock for a while and it gives the card a warm autumnal feel. Love the Fall Flowers printed paper... and the taffeta ribbon gives a little air of elegance!


This is a CASE of a Jenn Balcer card for Featured Stamper 34 challenge. She has a really nice gallery and it was hard to pick a favorite to copy.

I changed the colors, paper, and ribbon from her original.


Here is a card for CC134; Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, and River Rock. I wasn't so sure about these colors when I started, but as I got going they grew on me. I decided to pull out my sorely neglected chicken and let her see ink again. I added polka dots to the chicken and the Primas with a white gel pen to reflect the dots in the paper. I wanted her to have a elegant-country feel...an Uptown Chicken kinda thing goin' on! LOL!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Family Fun Day!!

So, every-so-often, we have Family Fun Day. Just a day for all of us to go out and have a great time. Riley has been begging to go Bowling and Slayton wanted to go pick apples. I wanted to get some pumpkins (my all time favorite thing to do in the fall...). So, we headed to the orchard and picked a bushel of Honey Crisp apples and picked 3 small pumpkins. Peale and I picked up a bottle of Apple wine with Maple Syrup. YUMMY!

Then, we had lunch at Wendy's and headed over to the bowling alley. The kids had a great time.

Cheap and entertaining family fun!





Sketch Challenge 140


This is my favorite card I made last night. I just absolutely adore this sketch and the card came together so easily. I was planning to use Chocolate chip grosgrain but I found this brown and ivory gingham in my stash and I really liked the unexpectedness of it.

All the panels are sponged with Creamy Caramel just because everything looked too new if it wasn't.

The jumbo eyelets are great fun. They add a great rustic touch to the layout.

Sketch Challenge 143




I was showering the other day and I noticed this color combination on my Pantene bottle. I thought it would be perfect for this set.

There is lots of sparkly bling on this card! The brads were embossed with clear embossing powder and then dipped in Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The snowflake has Crystal Effects with glitter, and the stamped snowflakes panel has embossed Irridecent Ice images.

I was going to use this design for an upcoming swap, but it was a little more time consuming than I want to devote too! LOL!

Sketch Challenge 142


I am finally catching up on some challenges over at SCS. This was a great layout to play with and I am sure I will use it again.

Frank was watercolored with reinkers and an aquabrush, but I decided I wanted a littel stronger color, so I went over him again with Prismacolors and OMS. It really made him pop.

The brads are actually sparkly with Martha black glitter. I just heated the brads under my heat gun, dipped them in clear embossing powder, heated them again for a second and then dipped right into the glitter. They are super cute.

ICASEd the ribbon idea from Lauraly over on SCS. I love how it looks like it is kinda floating there.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Cute little card for today


I had a little bit of Mommy Time while DH watched the monsters so I threw this together! I am just lovin' this set. It is perfect for so many styles. You can dress it up and make it elegant or play up the funky Boho vibe it's got and get something totally fun. I definitely gravitate towards earthy colors when I stamp with it, I think they compliment the images nicely.

This was pretty simple to put together. I added the flower sprig at the last second. I thought it need a little sumpthin'. I couldn't find my dimentionals, so I would definitely change that if I hadn't glued it down permanently! LOL!

I am going to a SU! demo stamping day on 10/13 so I need to get busy designing 2 swaps and some cards to go into the 'To Stampin' Up!' basket. One of my coworkers, Crystal, just signed up to be a demo, so she is now my 'sister' and we are having a blast playing together and talking 'business' when we should be working. :) Anyway, we are going together and I know we are going to have a blast. I can't wait!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Paper Crafts World Card Making Day site

I just got an email that Paper Crafts has used one of my cards they published on their WCMD site. I just love seeing myself on the web! LOL!

This is one of my favorite cards I ever made. I was so simple but took forever to make. I made like 5 before I had it perfect.

Click here to see the card!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Inspired by Lynn's pocketbook!



This card was totally inspired by my coworker Lynne. She is a fabulous woman in her 70s and always has the best stories! Anyway, she has a Vera Bradley bag with these colors...Cranberry Crisp, Artichoke, and So Saffron. I knew I had to use those colors for a card.

When I first saw True Friend in the mini, I wasn't impressed but, as usual, the ladies over on Splitcoast started whipping out gorgeous creations and I finally saw the massive amounts of unleashed potential in the set! LOL!

I gave this card to Lynn, since I kept telling her I was going to use her purse as inspiration. I think she was surprised I actually finally did it!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Happy Birthday, Riley!!!

My middle baby turned 5 today! I can't believe it. Just yesterday I was waiting to meet him and now he is a big kid who loves robots and his Gameboy!

Daddy really worked hard to make Riley's birthday special. He made Riley's favorite dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and made a strawberry birthday cake from SCRATCH! I didn't know men could do that! LOL!

Can you tell Daddy doesn't have a lot of icing experience?! LOL! I think it is just gawgeous!

A sale, plus a sale, plus a rebate!


So, when I took my break from stamping (I thought I could go without it! LOL!), I gave away my Prismacolor pencils to a friend. Well, since I got stamping again, I quickly learned I NEED Prismas! So, I headed to Mike's. I had a 10% off coupon. Well, I got there and they were 25% off already and my coupon was good on sale items! Yippee!! Then, I was standing there trying to figure out which set to get (24 or 48) and I saw a rebate form for $15.00 off the set of 48! YIPPEE!! So, off I went with my new pencils, mineral spirits, stumps, and little double sided jar!

So, I made this tall crab card to celebrate my pencils. This is my first tall card and it certainly won't be my last!

Saturday, September 01, 2007


OK, I know...I need to make something other than Halloween cards! I just LOVE them so much!!! This guy is my all time favorite Halloween image. He just wants to find someone to love...

The image is watercolored with refills and an aquapainter. The Primas are embossed with glitter EP and have black stickles in the centers.

Alright...I promise to do a non-Halloween card tonight...if I am not asleep by 7...DH decided to have a yard sale today!

Friday, August 31, 2007



Haunting Halloween was one of my very first sets out of the new catty. I just LOVE it! Even though working overtime really stinks, the one advantage is you don't have to scrounge and feel guilty when you buy yourself a few presents! LOl!

I stayed up until 1:30 am last night putting these two cards together. Just as I finished the first, the idea for the second one came to me and I had to get it down on paper.

I will add more here tonight...but I have to jump in the shower right now and go to work...:(
Please stand by! LOL!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Sweet Pea



Here is just a cute little non-traditional colored baby card. I like to deviate from the pink/blue colors for new little bundle of joy.

I was really happy with how the circles in the embossing are reflected in the image and ribbon...one of those things you didn't mean, but is a happy surprise when you notice it...wait...scratch that! My creative and super detailed mind totally planned that and it was not at all an accident! LOL! ;)

Recipe:
Stamps: Event Full
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Black Stazon, Going Gray marker
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Dots embossing folder, ribbon, dimentionals, aquapainter























Here are a few cards I've been working on.

This one is for Color Combo 129 over on Splitcoast. These colors are super yummy together and I really had fun putting this together. Even though it is not a super exciting layout, I like the clean lines of it.

The flower panel is Faux Diamonds. It is always hard to photograph that and have it look good in the picture, but trust me, it is very glittery in person!

The flowers are watercolored with reinkers and an aquapainter and then a few highlights were added with markers.











This card was SO hard to get a decent picture of...and I still didn't even succeed! The colors look SO funny and off. Sigh.

The 'goop' around the main image is Crystal Effects with Dazzling Diamonds...this is NOT the look I was going for...it came out gloppy. :(

Cest La Vie!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Two quick cards for tonight

OK, I think Booglie Eyes is my new official favorite set. How cute are these little guys?!? I stamped and colored the image and pondered the layout all day at work...(I hope I booked the right flights for people since I was day dreaming all day!)

I thought the little clip and the ribbon were the perfect touches for this card. Faux stitching is still one of my old standards...







This card just came out of nowhere...I wanted to make some glittery butterflies and just started playing around with images. I just bought some Martha Stuart black glitter and was trying to figure out how to use that, but I have no Heat and Stick Powder...so I stamped the buttlerflies in black and then used the SAMJ and stamped them again in Versamark and added Irr. Ice EP. They are very sparkly in person.

Crystal, one of my coworkers, has already laid claim to this card! I took it in to work today (she is a demo, too) and she loved the glitter.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

I LOVE Halloween!

I can't say that I love spiders, but how can you not think this little guy is just the cutest thing ever!

I used an SU! black journaling marker to color the spiders, I used it kinda like a Prismacolor pencil in that I added color to the edges of the image and then blended and moved the color with an aquapainter. I am really happy with the result. It was a more mottled color than I expected...perfect for bumpy, hairy spiders! I also used a black glitter pen and did the same thing on top of the already colored spiders just to add a little shimmer.

An Old Olive wash was a perfect spooky background. Of course, no card is complete without Primas and ribbon, so I added those, too!

I am a little sad about this card, though. I had to use a WHOLE quarter sheet of my retired Halloween paper!! ACK! lol! I think these little guys are worth it, though!

This was the first time I used my purty new Spiral punch. That sucker is AWESOME! It took me a minute to figure out exactly how the heck it worked, but after the initial 'Duh' moment, I was all set. I showed it to my DH and all he had to say was 'you bought a punch to make that edge on your paper? Don't most people cut that part off to make the paper look nice?!' Sigh. Men. I guess I'll keep him, though...he watched the kids while I stamp! :)

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Alice's Shower card


Kiki and I are headed to Alice's Wedding Shower today. I had to make a card (cuz what self respecting stamper buys a card for a special occasion...). Anyway, this is the perfect set for a wedding and I just love the richness of this Cuttlebug folder.

The colors are just some of my favorites. I wanted a earthy but still feminine and these colors fit the bill. Peale and I are giving them a framed print of this picture and it was wrapped in Kraft paper and a Artichoke satin bow, so I wanted it to all tie together. I hope she likes it. After I got it all framed and ready to wrap, I told Peale that I wanted to keep it and go get her a spatula set! LOL! He wouldn't let me...:( giggle.

Recipe: Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, Almost Artichoke, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Ink: same as papers
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Textile embossing folder, Irr. Ice EP, ribbon

Thursday, August 09, 2007

'Very Artsy Fartsy!'


Stamps: Oh, So Lovely
Cardstock: Confetti White, Mellow Moss, Vintage Violet, Marigold Morning
Ink: Mellow Moss, Vintage Violet, Marigold Morning, Black Stazon
Accessories: markers, aquapainter, moss grosgrain, dimentionals

I got the image all watercolored for this card and I was so proud that I had to show my DH. His response was ' I like it! It's very artsy-fartsy!' Men! They will never understand!

My Dream Man

Stamps: Bronc Busters, Wanted
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Wanted Designer Series, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust
Accessories: Vintage brads, scalloped circle punch, chocolate grosgrain

I've always had a thing for cowboys, so I knew I needed this setthe minute I saw it. Must come from growing up at Rodeos and having horses. Nothing like a cowboy tush in tight jeans! :)

I made this card right before going to bed and am really happy with how it came out. These papers and images just make it so easy to make a fabulous creation.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Even working 50+ hours a week...


I managed to make a card! LOL! One of my favorite co-workers is moving away and I wanted to make her a special card. I thought the sentiment in this set was perfect for the occasion.

I mounted this set and got right to work. I used the color combo in SU! catty that this set is on. I just loved the contrast between the Pomegranate and the Soft Sky. Beautiful.

I bought the swirly embossed paper at Michael's this past weekend and I am really happy about how the embossed swirls mirror the sentiment and the swirl designs in the stamps.

Of course, once I got the card done, there are a few things I would have changed...for one, I would have put the stamped layer on dimentionals so that the ribbon didn't show thru the layer...and two, I would have left off the Liquid Pearls, they made the ink bleed a tad.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Slayton is famous!!


I went to the Close to my Heart website tonight and instantly recognized one of the photos on their main page...it was my 7 year old, Slayton! The picture was taken 2 years ago by my friend Bekki (who is a professional photographer). They must have lifted the picture from her site to use.

I'm sure they didn't ask for copyright rights, so I can't wait to her back from her...

Friday, June 29, 2007

I'm stamping again!!


So, I took a few months off from stamping and I have started up again! I think the excitement from the new SU! catty was more than I could take!

Here is one of my cards I made this week. It was for a challenge on SCS. The challenge was to use scallops, so I decided to make them into photo corners. I think they came out cute.

Supplies used are:
Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, More Mustard, and Whisper White card stock; giga scallop punch; SU! markers; mustard grosgrain ribbon; vintage brads; dimentionals; paper piercing tool.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Hermies!

My present to Slayton this year when he turned 7 was two hermit crabs. We went to Petco and got all the little food and a little bag of sand to put in the 1 gallon Kritter Keeper we bought. We brought them home and then I started to actually research what these little buggers needed! Well! Let me tell you! They need a lot! Humidity, deep sand, climb-y toys, extra shells, all kinds of special organic foods, salt water, etc. So, we hauled down the 29 gallon tank that we had in the attic. It has a crack in one of the corners, so it was perfect for the crabs. We have slowly upgraded the tank and now it is perfect!

I have to say, I think I like the hermies more than Slayton. I am a *tad* bit addicted. The number of hermies has now grown to 17! I have the hardest time passing by a pet store and not stopping in to see if they have any crabs...and a harder time leaving without at least one if they do!

Here is a picture of one of our medium crabs. This is Carrie. All of the crabs have King Of Queens names. Doug is our jumbo...;).

I'll post more about the hermies later. Just wanted to introduce them!

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

One Cute Kid!

If he is nothing else, Riley is a CUTE kid! He just makes me smile (when he is not totally frustrating me!). He comes up with the sweetest things to say and ask. Last summer, he started getting the sweetest freckles across his nose! Riley looks just like his Daddy and is special because he DIDN'T get the red hair like the others! People always ask 'what happened to him?!'. Well, I think it is special that he got fine, sandy brown hair instead of red! It makes him unique...and One Cute Kid!


Page credits: Luau papers, Stamped Alpha, Jewel Brads, stitching, and Can you Point Me in the Right Direction? metal arrow all designed by Sarah Peale and available at Digi Aisle.