Thoughts and Prayers Daisy

Ok...I must admit that I am completely in love with this card and I wish I could get a better picture of it! It was so simple to make too! There is absolutely no stamping on this card! Anyway, I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try for the layout and paired it with a bunch of my new Sizzix dies for my Big Shot! I used the new Stampin' Up! Little Leaves sizzlet and the Sizzix Daisies #2 bigz die! To make the flower I just ran a couple of pieces of card stock through with the bigz die and then layered them up! I bent the top layers of petals up to give it a little more dimension and then added a new Stampin' Up! cordorouy brad. The paper I used is from the new Stampin' Up! Parisian Breeze Specialty dsp pack. I just love the texture that this paper has! It's fabulous and the colors are so yummy! To finish up this card I used some of my Stampin' Up! Chit Chat rub-ons and punched them out with my circle punches! Easy peasy! :D

Well, that's all for today! Sorry I do not have a Valentine's card to share with you. I am actually getting kind of tired of making them! Hehe! I am so thankful that after today this holiday will be over. Does that sound bad? I am not against the holiday, I just think it is overdone. It's all a matter of opinion though and that is only mine! :) Now, I am not saying that I don't like to be pampered, I just want it more than one day a year! Hehe. However, after saying that, I do want to tell you that my hubby is spoiling me this weekend. I know, I sound like a walking contradiction! :D Anyway, he knows that I have always wanted to go to the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver so we are headed up there for the weekend. It should be a good time! He also spent most of yesterday SCRUBBING the house while I was at my in-service (which definately didn't get over at noon like I had hoped)! It's been a pretty great weekend so far! I hope that the rest of you have a great weekend as well! I am looking forward to coming back home and stamping! Enjoy

Wednesday's Sketch Card!

I was finally able to take a picture of the card I made for Wednesday's SCS sketch challenge! It was a tough challenge but I am really satisfied with how my card turned out! I made it while Leanne was here and she was definitely a big help! Sometimes I have these serious brain farts and I just get stuck so having her there was a blessing! :D Anyway, when I first saw the sketch with the huge image panel I panicked because I don't deal well with big images! However, I then realized that I could use a beautiful piece of dp as my main image so I started digging around my paper and pulled out this GORGEOUS piece from s.e.i! I LOVE having it be the focus of the card because it is just fabulous. I am not sure if you can see the glitter on it but each butterfly is covered in glitter along with the outlining on the flowers. I layered the dp on a piece of pink pirouette cardstock and then the chocolate chip card base. For some finishing touches I added this beautiful 1" grosgrain ribbon along with the three dew drops. However, once I got the card finished I realized I didn't have a sentiment and I really felt like it needed one so Leanne reminded me of my rub-ons and I added it to the ribbon! It was the perfect place and I have Leanne to thank for that! :D I hope that you enjoy this card as much as I do! Have a great rest of the day. Hopefully it is warmer there than it is here. It has been a whopping 55 degrees all day long with some gusty winds and rain. However, I actually don't mind the cool air because it means I get to throw my comfy sweatshirt and jeans on! :D Alright, until tomorrow, take care!

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, s.e.i. dp
Ink: None
Accessories: SU! Rub-ons, Ribbon, Dew Drops

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 1 year anniversary! I can't believe it! The time has flown by so fast. We have definitely had a great year, that's for sure! Here are a few pictures from our wedding!

I just love this last picture! It is CLASSIC! :D

Well, in order to celebrate, we decided to just get away. We ended up going to Elitch Gardens/Six Flags in Denver along with the aquarium and the zoo! :D It was a lot of fun and a much needed get away. Here are some of the funny animal pictures that we took!

Isn't he so cute??? It was definitely a whopping 95 degrees that day so I am sure he was not too pleased!This little guy just wanted out so bad! He tried and tried. I think it looks like he's waving though! :D

Hehe. I had to throw this picture in there! Yes, I have a goofy husband who sometimes reminds me of a crazy, wild animal! :D

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! You didn't think I was going to leave you without a card though did you??? :D This was a quick and easy card! It took me 10 min. TOPS! I just used some of my favorite dp, added the ribbon, the rub-ons, and the polka dot brad. To finish the card I corner rounded the bottom and paper pierced under the sentiment. That's it!

Well, that's all I have for you tonight! Sorry for the late post! I hope everyone has a terrific night! Make sure you remember to say "I love you!" to those you love. Life is short.

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Very Vanilla, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: None
Accessories: Rub-ons, Paper Piercer, Ribbon, Brad, Corner Rounder Punch

Kristina's Color Challenge and Mercy's Sketch Challenge!

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope that you are all enjoying this wonderful day that the Lord has made! :D It is so great to have Nick's family here. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful in-laws. They are fantastic! I am looking forward to spending the week with them. We are leaving this afternoon. Anyway, I made this card for Kristina's fun color inspiration challenge and Mercy's great sketch challenge! I love the simplicity of the sketch and the colors are so fun and summery. I just thought the colors and sketch are perfect together! Nick thinks this card may be TOO simple. I am hoping not. He is the one to told me to add the paper piercing. Hehe. I don't give my hubby enough credit. He really does have great ideas! I was going to round the bottom corners until I realized that I couldn't round the bottom right corner because the navy piece was too low. I discovered this AFTER I had rounded the other corner so I decided to round the opposite corner. It looks kind of cool. Again I didn't do any stamping on this card. I was trying to make a quick card so I did.

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, So Saffron
Ink: None
Accessories: Ribbon, Rub-ons, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Paper Piercer

I Was Totally Inspired! :D

Nicole challenged us to be inspired by this amazing picture. I just love the bedding! The colors are fantastic! I wanted to keep this card simple and Wednesday's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge was perfect! I used rub-ons for the image and sentiment on this card. I had forgotten that there was a butterfly in the pack of rub-ons that I had and it was perfect for this inspiration piece! I really like how this card turned out. I think I am going to use vanilla cardstock more often! Well, we are leaving again tomorrow to go on vacation with Nick's mom, dad, and sister! We are going to travel around Utah and Arizona. It is going to be a lot of fun! Thanks for stopping by again! I will try to continue posting throughout the week!


Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Vanilla, Old Olive, Summer Picnic dsp, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: None
Accessories: Rub-ons, Dimensionals, Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch

A Card That Took Too Long

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch challenge for this card. I tried using a circle for this sketch but just couldn't get it to look right so I decided to use this almost circular stamped flower image instead. I really love these colors together! They make such a sweet card! I also had to add the sentiment where it is because I had made a boo-boo and needed to cover it up! Haha. Oh the joys of stamping! Overall I am pleased with this card. I will admit that it took me much too long for as simple as it is. I just couldn't get it right. Oh well. That happens from time to time. I hope you enjoy! Also, my posts will be sporadic over the next week because I am doing follow up in a van behind my husband and a bunch of other men as they make their 250 mile trek on a road bike! I will hopefully have some neat pictures to show you when I get back though! Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone! :D

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched Exotics
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Fall Flowers dsp, Print Packs dsp
Ink: Always Artichoke
Accessories: Build-a-brads, Punches, Dimensionals, Ribbon, Rub-ons, Paper Piercer

I Almost Forgot This One!

And there is probably a reason for that. I don't really like it. I tried so hard to get this card right and I just couldn't, so I gave up. This was a card I made for one of Tamara's sketch challenges. Her sketch was great, my card, wasn't. I also almost forgot about it because we sent it to Nick's grandma since we won't see her when we are home next weekend. So yeah, I don't like this card. I suppose I am going to have a few of those. In fact, I usually have at least one a week. I have two more from a couple of weeks ago that I still need to share but I am scared to. They aren't that great. I suppose I need to. It's good for me. Especially after I mentioned earlier that I want to start showing you ALL of my cards. Wow. Who knew it could be so tough? Haha. I guess that will give you something to look forward to, or not. Alright, enough rambling. I am out. I will be back later! Thanks for putting up with my randomness!

Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Sage Shadow, Certainly Celery, More Mustard, K-I Memories dp
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Rub-ons, Ribbon, Stickles, Dimensionals, Ticket Corner Punch, Brads, Paper Piercer

Fall Flowers Inspiration

I made this card for today's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS. I also used another one of Jen's SOA challenges on this card. This was such a fun sketch to work with. I loved it! This paper is just gorgeous too. Sorry for the short post today. I am making supper and my hubby wants me to himself! :D

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched Exotics
Paper: Really Rust, Old Olive, Whisper White, Fall Flowers dsp
Ink: Really Rust
Accessories: Rub-ons, Coluzzle, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Brads, Punches

Beate's Weekend Sketch with 3 Pieces of Ribbon!

Good evening everyone! Happy Saturday to all of you. It was a beautiful day here. Nick and I had a great day! It was so nice to get the house cleaned yesterday. That meant that today we didn't have much to do! I got LOTS of stamping time in. I was trying really hard to get all of Jen Tapler's Stampin' Out Alzheimers challenges finished. I actually didn't do all of them though because she had quite a few scrapbook challenges and, I can honestly say I have never tried scrapbooking. However, I did do one! I will show it to you next week sometime. It was scary, and it's not the prettiest, but it is a two spreader! :D For all of you scrapbook fans out thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifre. I respect you! I really want to get into it now though. Jen has me hooked. Haha! I love how much easier it is to envision a scrapbook page than a card. The pictures are the perfect source of inspiration! Anyway, I made this card using and Jen's challenge to use 3 different pieces of ribbon. For some reason I really struggled with this card. I wasn't sure how to work with the layout and getting three pieces of ribbon on a card is HARD! I still don't know how I feel about this card. It's growing on me. Maybe you could offer some insight! Thanks for checking in!

Recipe:
Stamps: Friendship Blooms
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Fall Flowers dsp
Ink: Really Rust
Accessories: Ribbon, Brads, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Rub-ons

No Stamping on a White Card!

For today's Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS we were not allowed to use stamps! Now, that sounds scary, but really it is awesome because it makes for a fast card! Also, I wanted to use another one of Jen's SOA challenge so I chose to do the challenge that required 50% of the card to be white! I also added a jewel to my card for the Cute Card Thursday challenge. What fun this card was to make! It came together in less than 10 min.! Now that's an all-time record for me. If you want a fast and easy card, I suggest trying one like this! Thanks for stopping by! I will be back in a few hours. I have been given an award that I will share later and I have TONS of cards that I need to squeeze in.

Recipe:
Stamps: None!
Paper: Whisper White, Always Artichoke, Fall Leaves dsp
Ink: None!
Accessories: Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch, Pretties Kit, Rub-ons

A Card and a Trip to the Zoo!

Hello again! Guess what. My honey just got home! Yay! I will try to keep this post quick so that I can spend some qt with him. I did want to share this card and the zoo pics with you though. This is another card that I made for Jen Tapler's Stampin' Out Alzhemiers Challenge. This was an inspiration challenge. The colors for this challenge were bashful blue, so saffron, and chocolate chip. I also used Mercy's Sketch Challenge from this week. I really think this card is super cute. I love the colors (although I realized my chocolate chip ink is really needing a refill). I used my new SU! Stitched Exotics set, Prints Pack dsp, chocolate chip ribbon, and paper scissors! It was really exciting! :D

Now on to the zoo. When we first arrived at the zoo we had the kids ride the carnival rides. They all had a blast except for the few that rode the twirly ride one too many times and got sick. Here are a few pictures of the kids at the ride park.









This is a picture of my teaching partner Leanne and me. I look horrible but she looks amazing, as always. I am so ready to get those contacts back. These glasses are getting old.

After we had ridden the rides and eaten lunch, we then headed over to the zoo. I took a few pictures of the animals but I am going to focus on my favorite part, the lions. Now, if you have ever read the Chronicals of Narnia and watched the movie then you will know what I am talking about when I say that this king of the beasts gives me goose bumps. Just looking at him and his awesome power reminds me so much of our God and the awesome power that He has. More awesome than any power we can ever imagine. This lion was such an incredible reminder for me. I just couldn't stop staring at him.


Can you see what I mean? He is such a powerful sight. Just knowing what he could do to you is enough to make you shake. Thank you Lord for the amazing reminders You send us.


This is a picture of the lion with a lioness. There were two lionesses. The other one was a little psychotic. Two of my girls were standing in the viewing room and this lioness was crouched down. They didn't think anything of it but their leader who was standing somewhere else, could see that she was about to pounce. All of a sudden, this lioness jumped up and ran full bore at the girls behind the window. She then ran head on into it. She would have killed them if she would have had the opportunity. It scared the girls so incredibly bad. They came running out screaming at the top of their lungs. They immediately didn't like the lions anymore. Poor things. Thank the Lord that plexi glass was there and didn't give way.


Here's a picture of all three of them on the rock! They really loved laying up there.

Thanks for sticking with me through this post. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I am going to love on my hubby now. I will talk to you all tomorrow!


Card Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched Exotics
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Chocolate Chip, So Safron, Prints Pack dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Safron
Accessories: Ribbon, Build-a-brad, Dimensionals, Rub-ons

Sweet MyTime Sketch

Good morning everyone! Here is the card I made for Lauren's Saturday Sketch Challenge. This sketch was a lot of fun. I love how it turned out. The circles are just so much fun! Well, today is a day of cleaning and laundry so hopefully I will find time to stamp this morning! I will be back later with another card so be sure to check back! Have a great Friday!

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, So Many Scallops
Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White, Summer Picnic
Ink: None
Accessories: SU! Markers, Circle Punches, Paper Piercer, Ribbon, Brads, Rub-ons, Dimensionals

Just Because...

Here is a card that I made for the Great Swap Girls sketch challenge. It was such a fun sketch and I really like how this card turned out! I can definitely tell that I am becoming a much better stamper. However, I know I am far from amazing. I signed up to be on a sketch design team and got turned down. I was pretty bummed for awhile but I have decided that it's ok. I may not be the best stamper in the world, but I try really hard. I know I will get better! I sometimes forget that I haven't been stamping very long. One of my biggest downfalls is that I think I need to be awesome at something immediately. It drives my husband crazy! I guess it's good for me though. If anything, it's a humbling experience. I just know I will have to keep pushing myself. Thanks for all of your support! I truly appreciate each and every one of my readers. Enjoy your Thursday evening. My hubby and I are just going to relax and enjoy each other.

Recipe:
Stamps: Merci
Paper: Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Watercolor, Summer Picnic dsp
Ink: Black StazOn
Accessories: Brads, Ribbon, Punches, Dimensionals, SU! Markers, Blender Pens, Gel Pen, Rub-Ons

Another Featured Stamper Challenge

So, if you have noticed, I have been doing LOTS of challenges lately. They are just the push I need to get into the stamping mode. I love having somewhere to start and then having something to really make me think. Here is a card that I made for this week's SCS Featured Stamper challenge. The Featured Stamper this week is Heather aka: sf9erfan. Her gallery is FANTASTIC! It was almost impossible to pick a card but I had limited time on Sunday so I chose to CASE a card that looked simple. I picked the perfect card too! Here is her card. The thing I love the most about rub-ons is how quick, easy, and CLEAN they are! There is hardly any thing to clean when you are done. I, obviously, didn't change a lot about this card. I picked a different sentiment and made sure it was a rub-on, I used regal rose as a top layer and made it smaller, I changed the paper piercing up a little, and I used different ribbon. Other than that, it's pretty much identical! :D Thanks so much Heather for the inspiration!

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Regal Rose
Ink: None
Accessories: Ribbon, Dimensionals, Rub-ons, Brads, Paper Piercer

Snip Snip!

I know the title of this sounds a little weird but that was the title of the Ways to Use it Challenge over on Splitcoast last week! The challenge was for us to use scissors on a card. Now, since I use scissors on almost every card it was no problem for me. For this card I just cut out my blossom and trimmed my ribbon. Not too difficult! :D You can barely read the sentiment but it says "For You" at the top. Nick said he wasn't sure how he felt about this card but I like it. He did, however, like the eyelets. He would tell me to put eyelets on every card! Haha! Thanks for stopping by tonight. I am sitting here listening to my husband and one of his friends talk about some pretty deep things. It's not something I want to get involved in so I am stamping the night away! :D I've made 4 cards already! I'll have to share them later this week!

Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Ink: Black StazOn
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Ginger Blossom dsp, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Watercolor
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Ribbon, Crop-a-dile, Eyelets, Dimensionals, Rub-ons, SU! Markers, Blender Pens

Another Scrap Card!

Here is another card that I made using all scraps! :D It was lots of fun. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me. Thanks for looking! I will be back later with another card!

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, K-I Memories dp
Ink: None
Accessories: Punches, Ribbon, Rub-ons, Dimensionals

Freshcut Challenge

Good evening everyone! I made this card for SCS's inspiration challenge -- Freshcut. For this challenge we were supposed to choose a fabric swatch from this website. I chose this sample to use as my inspiration. I used the colors and the lines to inspire me for this card. I really like how this card turned out. I was a little worried about this challenge at first because I wasn't too fond of some of the flowery fabrics but that is why it is called a challenge...right? :D However, this card came together so much easier than I had anticipated. In fact, it was probably the quickest card yet! For this card I used naturals ivory cardstock as the base, I rounded the bottom corners and added a layer of more mustard, sage shadow, and finally some more k-i memories dp. I then topped off all the layers with some chocolate ribbon. The sentiment is another rub-on (have I mentioned how much I love those?) and I watercolored the flower from the Doodle This set, added a brad to the center, and popped it up on a dimensional. It was easy peasy! :D I love how it turned out too! I hope you all enjoyed your day! I will be back tomorrow with another challenge card or two. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Recipe:
Stamps: Doodle This
Paper: Naturals Ivory, More Mustard, Sage Shadow, Watercolor, K-I Memories dp
Ink: Black StazOn
Accessories: Rub-ons, Ribbon, Brad, Dimensionals, Blender Pen, SU! Markers, Corner Rounder Punch

A Spirelli Long Card

Good evening everyone! I am back with another favorite card! This week's "Limited Supplies Challenge" on SCS was to make a long card that measured 4x8. We could not use dp and we had to limit our embellishments and layers! Yikes! I had never attempted a long card before so I was a little nervous. For the card I decided I was going to make it fairly simple. I knew I wanted the background to be white and I wanted bright springy colors to accent it. I had also seen a challenge earlier on the SU! demo portion of Splitcoast to try spirelli on a card, so I did! I really like how this card turned out! The ribbon is from the blog candy that I received last week and the brads are from Hobby Lobby. This card was really simple because of the fact that there was no stamping and not much layering involved. I used my rub-ons for the sentiment and some dimensionals to pop up the spirelli scallops. Other than that, this card is pretty straightforward! I am going to attempt to make a video tutorial on the spirelli scallops later. HOPEFULLY, sometime this week. If you have any questions on the card, just ask! :D I hope that everyone has a joyous evening. Nick and I are probably going to stay home and spend some QT together. We will probably eat some pizza and watch a movie. I am looking forward to it!

Recipe:
Stamps: None
Paper: Whisper White, Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Ink: None
Accessories: Rub-ons, Ribbon, Flower Brads, Dimensionals, String, Scallop Punch