My Very First MFT Stamp! :D

And I love it! I just think that My Favorite Things has the cutest images! I have seen so many beautiful card with them and I knew I needed to break down and buy a few sets! I have only used it once and I am already addicted! For those of you who are wondering why I am straying away from the SU! world so much, I will tell you. I am ready for new stamps and SU! hasn't had any for a long time! Haha. I still love SU! They are awesome. I have just been longing to try new things and let me tell you, it has been a blast!

Anyway, for this card I decided to paper piece the girl's raincoat and I then decided that her cute dog needed a coat to match! :D

I used the MFT sketch challenge on this card too! I just love how this card turned out! The only thing I hate is the fact that my paper cutter stinks and leaves jagged edges on the paper. A new blade is definitely on my list of things to buy! I do need to take a better picture of this card too. It was cloudy and rainy here all day so the lighting wasn't the best. Well, that's it for tonight! My hubby came home today and his sister is on a date so we are going to spend some QT! We literally have not been alone for the past 5 weeks and my SIL will be here until next week! :( It's ok though. We love her and know she needs us right now!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a terrific night!

Recipe:

Stamps: My Favorite Things -- Rain or Shine

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp

Ink: Black StazOn

Accessories: SU! Markers, Dimensionals, Punches, Gel Pen, Brad, Ribbon

Holy Cow...I mean...Hippo! That's Bright!

Hehe. I just crack myself up. Not really. So, I don't like this card AT ALL l but I have been

 struggling to find my stamping mojo today and I needed to post SOMETHING! I just can't seem to come up with anything that I really love! I am not giving up though. I will keep at it though...BECAUSE...my new stamps came!!!! :D I was jumping for joy when I checked the mail! People probably thought I was a lunatic. I kind of am. I just don't want them to know that! Hehe. So anyway, I got some new MFT stamps and some new Riley stamps from Hanna stamps! You will be seeing lots of creations with them shortly! :D I was about to go into a stamping depression until I checked the mail! Now I am ready to go!

Well, I suppose I should give you the deets of this card.

 Besides the fact that I don't like it, I decided I wanted to try my hand at the paper tole technique. If you aren't familiar with the technique, it's where you layer an image to give it a 3-D effect. Here is a picture of what the image looks like from the side. Now obviously, if I were to go back and redo th

is card I would not color the hippo such a bright color, especially pink. I don't know what in the world I was thinking!!!! I was just trying to challenge myself to use some colors that have hardly been touched and it was harder than I thought! I would also add something else to the background if I could. It's a l

ittle plain. At least I think it is. It's just too busy in the middle and too plain on the outside. Do you agree? 

Haha. 

I guess that's all I have. 

I used MJ's lunchtime sketch challenge for this card so I will definitely be doing it again. I have to submit a desce

nt card...right? Ok, that's all for now. I promise I will be back with a much more lovely card! 

*I will not be responsible for any eye doctor bills that result from looking at this card too long.

**I am also sorry for the lameness of this post. I don't know what's wrong with me today!

Recipe:

Stamps: Pun Fun

Paper: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp

Ink: Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: SU! Markers, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Coluzzle, Eyelets

I'm Dragging Today!

Good afternoon everyone! I am sorry I am posting so late. After I got home from church I decided to eat lunch and watch a movie. I have been so exhausted lately from all of this running around I have had to do and I just needed to lay on the couch and relax. Well, after I finished watching the movie I decided to lay down for a short 30 min. nap. Well, a 30 min. nap turned into an hour and 30 min. nap! Haha. I was sound asleep too because Leanne stopped by and JOLTED me awake! I was so disoriented that I didn't even know where I was. Haha. So, I must apologize for slacking! :D

For this card I used Ashley's Brainwave challenge. Her sketch this week was a fun one! I love the 3 circle idea as the image! This card came along fairly quickly until I realized that it would fit this past week's Dutch Dare challenge. The challenge was to use 3 pieces of ribbon (already done) and 3 buttons. I had already planned on putting brads on both sides of the sentiment so I figured that buttons would look just as good. The problem I then faced was where to put the 3rd button. I tried every place imaginable until I finally had the idea to place it on top of the ribbon! I tried it and I liked it so that is where it stayed! I do want to mention that I used my SU! Markers to color in the images. I hurried so I am sure I could have done a better job, but overall I think it turned out pretty good! I paper pieced the cupcake cup again (I am so glad I discovered that technique). I think that sums up this card! Just in case you are curious, the cupcake image and sentiment are from Lizzie Anne and the adorable gift image is from a Studio G dollar stamp set that my secret sis sent me! Thanks so much sis! :D

Well, have a TERRIFIC Sunday afternoon! Later this evening I am going over to Leanne's to scrapbook! I have only ever made those 2 scrapbook pages so I hope things go well! Hehe. I am sure Leanne will teach me everything she knows and I will come home a pro because of it! She certainly is talented! I'm gushing, but I'm being honest! Take care!

Recipe:
Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs, Studio G
Paper: Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: Black StazOn, Timber Brown StazOn
Accessories: SU! Markers, Punches, Ribbon, Buttons, Dimensionals

Hey Cupcake!

I did it. I gave in. I am posting another card. Do you ever have that card that you just can't wait to post? Both this one and my Howdy card are cards I couldn't wait to share with you! :D This is another stamp that I ordered from Lizzie Anne. Isn't it cute??? I realized, once I joined Taylor's Cupcake Challenge team, that I did not have any cupcake stamps so I decided I needed this one! For $4.99 too! You can't get much better than that! I am just so excited that I found them! They have the most adorable stamps for a really good price!

For this card I used a Lizzie Anne sketch. Every Monday, one of the girls posts a sketch challenge on the Lizzie Anne forum. This week's sketch was a little tricky. I had to do a lot of thinking before I knew what I wanted my card to look like. I am loving the border on this card. At first I was just going to stamp the sentiment once but I didn't stamp it quite where I wanted so I decided to see what it would look like if I stamped it as a border. I LOVE how it turned out! I also added the paper piercing as a last touch. It's a little crooked, but I think it was a nice addition. Oh, I would also like to mention that I did my first paper piecing EVER on this card. I am not sure if you can tell but the cupcake cups are dp from the My Mind's Eye set that I bought this week. I love the look that paper piecing can give an image! It is easy to do too! Well, that's all I have for this card. I used my SU! Markers to color the cupcakes. Just in case you were wondering.

Have a fantastic night! I am going to go pick out a movie. Not sure what yet. It's not near as fun to watch a movie by yourself. I am so ready for my hubby to be home! :( I miss him like crazy! Thanks for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow after church!

Recipe:
Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs
Paper: Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: Black StazOn, Timber Brown StazOn
Accessories: SU! Markers, Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

Howdy Partner!

Hehe. Don't you just love this little guy? I do! This is another stamp that I got from Lizzie Anne Designs. I needed some little boy stamps and this guy is perfect! I made this card for Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. I kind of cheated and flipped the sketch. My little guy was just too tall! I also used Splitcoast's Inspiration Challenge. Here is the inspiration piece. I haven't done a Splitcoast challenge in weeks! I have really been missing them. Things just aren't the same when I don't get my daily challenge done. Hehe.

Alright, a few details on this card. Leanne and I were talking about trying some Copics because we have seen so many beautiful cards where the image was colored. In the past, I have not been very successful when it comes to coloring with my SU! markers. However, I decided to sit down and watch a few Copic tutorials to see what technique people use to get their images to look so gorgeous! Now, I did NOT use Copics on my image. I used my SU! Markers and I think it turned out pretty darn good. Especially for my first attempt. I am extremely relieved to discover this too, because those Copics are ExPenSive! :D If you want, I could try to cook up a little tutorial on how I colored this little guy in. I am working on improving and hopefully it starts to look even better! Any comments about Copics VS. SU! Markers would be greatly appreciated. I am still not sure what makes the Copics better but I would love to hear your thoughts!

That's all for now. I might possibly show up again with yet another card. I haven't decided yet. I sometimes like to save my cards just in case I have a day where I don't have time to be creative. We'll see what happens! :D Enjoy your evening everyone!

*Funny story, I just spent hours watering the yard because we haven't had rain in forever and low and behold, it just started to rain. Go figure. Hehe. *

Recipe:
Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: Black StazOn, Timber Brown StazOn, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: SU! Markers, DImensionals, Brads, Oval Punch, Sponge Dauber

My Mojoest Mojo Monday Card Yet!

Because I am actually using Verve stamps! :D I am falling in love with Verve's stamps! They are fantastic! Julee posted a great sketch Monday so I decided to play! For my card I stamped the butterfly on some polka dot paper from My Mind's Eye. Can you believe that this is the first time I have ever stamped on dp? It is! I am definitely a big fan of it! I also added some crystal effects to the butterflies so that they would shine. I really like how it turned out. I just can't get enough of this new My Mind's Eye dp either. I have a feeling you are going to be seeing it A LOT! The same is true with my new stamps too! Hehe. Hopefully you don't mine TOO much. I have to get my money's worth out of them! Well, I have another new card or two to post so I will be back later with that. Until then, have a wonderful day!

Recipe:
Stamps: Verve Stamps
Paper: More Mustard, Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, More Mustard
Accessories: Punches, Coluzzle, Brads, Crystal Effects, Ribbon, Dimensionals

New Lizzie Anne Stamps!

Along with my new Verve stamps I also got some new Lizzie Anne stamps! I ordered 4 different stamps from Lizzie Anne Designs so I will be showing you more cards with my new stamps later too. For this card I used Jen's del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. I used my new My Mind's Eye paper too. I inked the image up with my markers and put crystal effects in the center of the flowers to add some dimension. Overall I really like this card. I am still not sure about the brads. I think they are ok.

Thanks for stopping by this evening! I am home alone this week because my hubby is in PA on a youth trip. I couldn't go on this one because I had my teaching conference. I miss him like crazy! Well, that's all for now! Have a great night!

Recipe:
Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs
Paper: Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: None
Accessories: SU! Markers, Ribbon, Brads, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #22 & My New Stamps!

ETA: I'm going to try and get a better picture a little later. The lighting is not good yet.

Yay! Leanne and I got home from our conference yesterday evening and when I went to get the mail I discovered that some of my new stamps had arrived! :D My order from Verve Visual and Lizzie Anne Designs had both come so I couldn't wait to ink them up! Now, Taylor's sketch this week requires an awning so I wanted to create a pretty card. It was hard to choose which stamps to use but I finally decided on my new Fluttering By set along with a sentiment from the Uplifting Phrases set (which happened to be on sale)! I also had to use my new dp that I got from Hobby Lobby this afternoon. I just love the colors in it! To add a little bit of color and dimension I included some fun buttons that I had and covered the butterflies with glitter! I absolutely loved this sketch and had so much fun playing with my new stuff! Make sure that you swing by Taylor's blog so that you can play along. Check out her gorgeous card along with this week's fabulous guest designer, Sharon Harnist!

You should also check out the other girls' cards as well! You won't want to miss them!

Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme
Vicki Chrisman: This Art that makes me Happy
Jami Sibley: More is More
Mary Jo Albright: Beauty Lies Within
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Ana Wohlfahrt: Ink A Stamp

Well, I am excited that I was able to get the card posted on time today! I was so bummed last week when I couldn't find my camera. Friday just isn't the same without the Cupcake Challenge! I hope you enjoy this week's sketch as much as I did! The idea of an awning on a card is fantastic (in my opinion). Enjoy the rest of your morning. I will be back later with another card!

Recipe:
Stamps: Fluttering By, Uplifting Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Sage Shadow, Naturals Ivory, More Mustard, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Buttons, Punches, Brad, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Glitter

Two More GinaK Challenge Cards!

I made a total of 4 cards for this challenge. I just loved the sketch! :D Another short post today. I promise that tomorrow's post will be longer! Get ready for Taylor's new sketch challenge! :D I am excited about it!

A Gina K Challenge!

I made this card for Gina K's Release Party sketch challenge! It was a lot of fun! Stay tuned because I made quite a few cards using this sketch! I hope I win! :D I LOVE her stamps! Sorry for the short post today! I will be back tomorrow with another card!

Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Basic Black, Ruby Red, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Mellow Moss
Accessories: Ribbon, Dimensionals, Blender Pens

All My Mail!

I have recieved a ton of mail over the past week and now that I have my camera I can finally post it! :D

I got this beautiful card and stamps from my wonderful secret sis!

I received these from Nicole! Nicole is in my Blogger's RAK Pen Pal group. I was shocked that she sent such amazing items! The purple card is actually a gift card holder. Isn't it terrific? I just love it! The post-it note holder is gorgeous too! Thanks so much Nicole! You made my day! :D Make sure you check out her blog!

I won this blog candy from the fabulous Jenn! :D I have already used the stamps too! I will be posting that card soon! Aren't her cards fantastic though? I was shocked at how much she sent me! I was just expecting the stamps! Thanks girl!

I won this amazing blog candy a couple of weeks ago on Brenda's blog! I was completely shocked because this is probably some of the best blog candy that I have ever seen! :D Thanks so much Brenda!

Finally, I got this gorgeous card in the mail from Kelly through the SCS Blogger's RAK Pen Pal group. Make sure you check out her fantastic blog!

FINALLY! My Card For Taylor's Cupcake Challenge!

I FINALLY found my camera! I decided that since I couldn't find it, it was time I did some reorganizing and cleaning so our office and closets got cleaned! It was quite the project, let me tell you, but it was something that Nick and I have been wanting to do for quite some time now. Losing my camera gave us a reason! We started this huge project Saturday (when Nick was still here) and I (Nick is now gone) finished working on it yesterday and today! You can't believe the huge amount of stuff that we threw away! It was unbelievable. The dumpster is right across the street and I had to load it all into my Rav4 (it was packed too), and drive across the street because I would have had to make that many trips. Haha. Anyway, so I am finishing the cleaning/reorganizing process and had given up on finding it until I picked up, what should have been, an empty box. Now, this was a box that used to have a game in it but that game has since been stolen (that's another long story). Since I was surprised at the weight of the box, I decided to open it and low and behold, there was my camera and all of it's accessories! Haha. I never would have dreamed to find it in there. Apparently, when my parents were helping us move in, my mom thought that would be a good spot for it. I am not sure why she thought that though. She must have thought that since we have another one (the one that Nick has with him), we wouldn't need it. Either way, I found it! :D

So...here is the card that I couldn't get posted on Friday! Be sure to stop by Taylor's blog and check out this week's sketch challenge and her fantastic card! I know that the cards needed to be submitted by today if you wanted a chance to win but you can still have fun making a card! This week's guest designer was Tammy from Stamp Happy and you should check out her card! It is fantastic! You should also check out the other girls' cards as well! You won't want to miss them!

Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme
Vicki Chrisman: This Art that makes me Happy
Jami Sibley: More is More
Mary Jo Albright: Beauty Lies Within
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Ana Wohlfahrt: Ink A Stamp

Thanks for stopping by and for putting up with my absence of cards. I will hopefully be back to my normal programming now! :D Plan on the next 3 posts to be short though because I will be in Denver for a teaching conference! Have a terrific evening!

Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life, All Holidays
Paper: Basic Blac,, Naturals Ivory, Ruby Red, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: Black StazOn, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red
Accessories: Punches, Dimensionals, Ribbon, Brads, Coluzzle, Blender Pens

We Have A Winner!!!!

Wow! I am overwhelmed by the number of response I had for my blog candy! Thank you so much for each and every one of your comments! I loved reading them! Sadly, I can only pick one winner and since Nick is out of town I relied on random.org to choose the winner. Drum roll please (my second graders give me a drum roll every Thursday when we do our own drawings)... and the winner is......

Post #3: Jaime B.!

Jaime said...

Congrats on your big "mark" (10,000) - I love seeing all of your new work ea. day... so creative. Glad to see you got such a large box of supplies out to your friend Jamie.
Keep up the great work!

Jaime B.

Congratulations Jaime! Email me your address and I will ship the goodies out ASAP! :D My email address is: stephsstampinstuff@gmail.com

Grrr!

This is not a good way to start my morning! I have tore the house apart looking for my camera so that I can take a picture of the card I made for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge and I can't find it! Hopefully I can find it or at least get my stupid scanner to work for once! I'll be back in a little bit!

I Don't Have My Camera!

And I have tons of cards to share today! I have received tons and tons of RAKs in the mail and I need to take pictures of the cards that I have made. However, Nick has my camera. I hopefully get it back by tomorrow! Until then, I guess I am going to post two cards that I made forever ago and haven't shared. I am not sure why I didn't share them. I think it was because they aren't my favorites. I know, I am breaking my own rule. I guess better late than never though....right? I know I used one of Tamara's sketches on the circle card and a Splitcoast sketch on the tall card but I can't find the layouts on my computer and I am really short on time this morning so I will have to post them later.
I am so sorry for another short post. Hopefully, starting Saturday, my posts will be a little bit more interesting. Until then, I think you are going to have to deal with boring posts! Sorry! Have a terrific day!

My Newest Stamp!

This past weekend I went to Hobby Lobby with a coupon and I bought another Changito stamp! :D I have absolutely fallen in love with these guys! Could they be any cuter??? This one is one of my favorites because of how the little one holding the sign is standing on the other one's head! Hehe. Too funny! Anyway, I made this card using the Great Swap Girls sketch challenge. The oval is a lot bigger than I thought it would be but that was the only way the image would fit. I think it's ok. I am glad that I put a scalloped edge around it though. It just adds so much to the card. That's all I have to say for now. I have a ton to do before I go back to where we are staying! I will talk to you all later!

Recipe:
Stamps: Changito by Stampenous!
Paper: So Saffron, Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, Whisper White, KI Memories
Ink: Black StazOn, Really Rust, So Saffron, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Blender Pens, Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Coluzzle

Merci = Thanks

Another quick post this morning! I am actually on my way to work but I wanted to post this cute card that I made Sunday! I used Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try. I will admit, I struggled with what to use as my image. I think I tried 4 different images before I finally found one that I liked. I also struggled with what colors to use and how to use them. Thank goodness I came up with something that I love. I used a rhinestone brad from the pretties kit to add a little bit of shine to the card. I also paper pierced the corners of the image so that it would look more balanced. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Nick and I are actually on a retreat with our youth group this week. I just happened to not get work off so I am coming in to town every morning. Oh well, I will at least have a couple afternoons and the evenings with them. Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!

Recipe:
Stamps: Merci
Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Bali Breeze dsp, Summer Picnic dsp
Ink: Black StazOn, Rose Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal
Accessories: Blender Pens, Punches, Paper Piecer, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Pretties Kit

Quick Post Today!

This has to be a quick post because I am getting ready to head out the door! I made this card for Ashley's Brainwave Sketch challenge, the Verve Visual Inspiration challenge, and last week's SCS color challenge. I am not super happy with how it turned out. I tried combining too many challenges! Either way, here it is! Have a great night everyone!





Again, don't forget about that blog candy! You still have time to post a comment!

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Paper: So Saffron, Real Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Prints Pack dsp
Ink: So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories: Gel Pen, Brads, Ribbon, Punches, DImensionals

I Stink You're Sweet!

I just loved Carrie's inspiration challenge for this month! The colors in it are just fantastic! I decided that it would be perfect paired with Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch from this past week. I had decided this afternoon that no matter what card I made, I was going to use an image from my Pun Fun set because I have hardly used those stamps at all! They are so cute too! I don't know what my problem is! Hehe. Well, I think that's all for now. Not much to say about this card. The picture isn't the greatest and I wish I would have used whisper white cardstock instead of the very vanilla. Oh well! Have a terrific evening!

Don't forget to sign up for my blog candy! I will draw a winner next week!

Recipe:
Stamps: Pun Fun
Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, KI Memories dp
Ink: Black StazOn, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Ribbon, Brads, Blender Pens, Dimensionals, Punches

I LOVE My Dad!

I can't believe it is Father's Day already! It seems like this summer is just flying by! I haven't had much time to relax yet either. Hopefully that time will come soon. Anyway, I want to tell you all just how much I love my dad. I called him today, it had been a while since I had talked to him, and let me tell you just how much I miss him! I didn't realize it until I heard his voice. I have the world's greatest father (imho)! He has been such a huge support system. I can't even imagine what it must be like to not have a father or to have a father who doesn't care. Wow, I don't know where I would be without mine. I talked to him for over an hour today and he let me vent! What dad does that? Haha. He just listened and listened! He knew the right things to say and the right time to say them too! I felt so much better after I hung up the phone, I just couldn't believe it! Let me tell you, I had been having a HORRIBLE day! Anyway, this card is for him. I used Taylor's sketch challenge from last week.

I hope you all have a terrific Sunday. Make sure you tell your husband, father, or grandfather Happy Father's Day! I wish I could spend today with my dad.

Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, Whisper White, KI Memories
Ink: None
Accessories: Scallop Punch, Ribbon, Gel Pen, Dimensionals, SU! Markers