Spooky Magnets & Bookmarks!

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you all enjoyed my last video tutorial! I apologize for not getting this one up sooner. I have been having some technical difficulties! I think I got the bugs worked out now though and should have more videos to post this week! :)

For today's video I wanted to share with you how I made these fun magnets and bookmarks for my nieces and nephew for Halloween this year. I just love making things for them and I figured maybe you would enjoy it as well!



I apologize for not having a picture of the finished projects. I actually gave them away before I had a chance to take any pictures. At least they are getting used and enjoyed now! :)

P.S. I just found the name of the alphabet stamp set! It is called Tenley Alphabet by Stampabilities.

I'm Nuts About You Valentine!

Isn't he CUTE??? I just love this stamp set called "You're So Punny" by There She Goes!  I wanted to create a fun Valentine's Day card for my husband and knew this little squirrel would be perfect! However, Nick saw the card and said "Did you make this for me??" Haha! Of course he was excited about it but obviously he knows me way too well! Anyway, I colored the squirrel with my copics and did quite a bit of sponging on this card. I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch from last week and combined it with more of my BasicGrey Bittersweet dp. 

This is going to be a short post for today because I am getting ready to head out for our hotel so that we can be at my c-section bright and early tomorrow morning! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we enter into these next few days! I'm not going to lie and say I'm not a little nervous about it! :) 

Also, stay tuned for some BLOG CANDY!

A TSG Reunion!

This week There She Goes is celebrating their one year anniversary and to help them celebrate they have asked me and my fellow TSG alumni Denise and Wendy to join them for a little reunion on the TSG blog! If you check out the TSG Reunion blog post and leave a comment you will even have the opportunity to WIN 3 MINI SETS! :D Exciting huh? I know this week has been quite busy for the current Trendsetters because they have been sharing sneak peeks f from TONS of new sets! My card was created with one of the new mini sets called "Polka Dot Blooms" and it will be released TONIGHT! This stamp set was a little scary for me at first because it's so many little pieces but once I sat down and started creating, I seriously couldn't stop! I had this idea in my head and couldn't get it out! :D Want to hear the best part? This set will be SUPER CHEAP! A whoppin' $5! Anyway, for my card I paired the stamps with some fun Crate Paper that I picked up at the Jacksonbelle store. I loved the colors in it and was amazed at how closely they matched some of the new SU! In Colors! I sponged the edges of my card and added some ribbon for a final look!

Thanks so much for checking out my blog today! I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday! I am off to my classroom now so that I can play with my brand new SMART board! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an interactive white board and it is AMAZING! I will try to get a video showing you how it works! Anyway, take care!

Bad News...

I was not able to get my Jacksonbelle Challenge card done for today. Am I horrible or what? To be honest, Sunday night was awful and so the rest of Monday was ruined as well. Nick and I went to bed at a decent time Sunday and I am not kidding when I say it took me well over 4 hours to fall asleep! Talk about frustrating! I have a feeling part of the reason I was so restless was the fact that I knew school was starting the next morning and I needed to get plenty of sleep. Apparently I was so aware of it, my body couldn't focus enough! Grrr! Let's just say that I was pretty exhausted by the time school got out and I couldn't concentrate on ANYTHING once I got home. I hardly had the energy to make supper, let alone sit down and get crafty. Ok, so now that I am done with my excuses, do you forgive me? I sure hope so! :)

This card is one that I created a week ago for the There She Goes sketch challenge. I used the "Tea For Two" set and paired it with my Cosmo Cricket Everafter paper. I paper pieced the teapot and teacups and then popped the teapot up on dimensionals. The card stock used was Really Rust and Very Vanilla and the sentiment was embossed using Basic Gray ink!

Well, that's it for today's post! I'm off to my second day of school. Yesterday went very well and I am hoping that today will be even smoother! So far I am pretty excited about this group of kiddos. They seem to be a fun and energetic group. I just hope I can keep my own excitement up for them!

Until later, take care!

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger.

Good evening! I have had one hectic week! I spent the weekend in Ft. Collins chaperoning a choir trip. We went to a dinner theater where we had the most amazing meal (with dessert) and watched an absolutely terrific performance of the movie "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers". If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It's a great movie! Anyway, the actors and actresses did such a phenomenal job! It was a great remake of the movie! I wish we could have taken pictures but we obviously weren't allowed to. The main character Adam looked almost identical to the one in the movie!

So because I was gone, I haven't been able to get much stamping in so I decided tonight would be the perfect opportunity to play along with the There She Goes challenge. This month's challenge was to pick one of our first cards ever created and compare it to one of our recent favorites (preferable from There She Goes). Well, here we go!

This is the first card that I ever created without any assistance from a workshop. I made this card in February of last year. Looking back I realize it wasn't too bad for having no experience on my own!

Now here is a picture of my favorite card that I made THIS February!

I must admit that I am amazed at how much improvement I have made in a year! I know that I couldn't have done it without all of the inspiration that I find from Splitcoast and other bloggers! I have been influenced by so many talented stampers and they have helped shape who I am as a stamper!

Well, that's it for me tonight! I hope to share a new card with you tomorrow! :) Have a great evening!

What a sad day.

Good evening everyone. I just want you all to know that I will probably be MIA the rest of the week. Nick received a phone call this morning saying that his grandma had died suddenly. She did not have any huge health problems at all, her heart just stopped working properly. Anyway, we are headed home to Iowa for the funeral tomorrow and if you could just say a prayer for Nick and his family that would be great. He is taking it really hard and I know his mom is struggling with it a lot as well. His grandma was an amazing woman. She bore 17 children (only 2 of which were twins) and has been taking care of her husband who is battling Alzheimers.

Anyway, I made this card over the weekend not realizing how soon I would need it. This card will be going to Nick's mom.

As far as details on the card, I made it for this week's featured stamper on SCS. This week was Judy aka StampingQueenJar. She is fabulously talented! I choose to case this card of hers. For my version I used my "Here For You" set from There She Goes along with my BasicGrey Porcelein paper. I embossed the bird and cut him out with my nestabilities. I added some ribbon behind the main panel and popped up some pretty little flowers. The whole card was also given a distressed look with my Tim Holtz distress inks and sponge daubers. My last and final touch was to paper pierce around the corners of the card.

Well, I hope that you like this card. Again, I apologize if I am not able to post much this week. We will see how things turn out. Take care and enjoy your evening!

TSG Sneak Peek: Nature of Friendship & Holidays Galore

Well, as much as I really love this new There She Goes stamp set called "Nature of Friendship" (it's actually my favorite), I actually do not like my card at all! Anyway, I tried and am giving up. Both Nick and I are sick tonight and we need some serious together time so I am just posting it as is. I hope you all feel differently about it than me! Haha! As far as the Happy Birthday portion of my card, that sentiment is also from a soon to be releases mini set called "Holidays Galore!" The sketch that I used is from the new Stamps and Smiles blog. I used my gorgeous BasicGrey Porcelein dp as the background and some Kaiser Craft pearls. Anyway, if you want some amazing inspiration (which I am sorry I can't really provide) check out the rest of the dt blogs because I know they have showcased this gorgeous set better than I have! :) Make sure you leave a comment on all of their blogs again today for a chance to win a free stamp set! Once you have done that, stop by Jessica's blog and leave your name on Mr. Linky!

Jessica (owner) http://jessica-thereshegoes.blogspot.com/
Angela http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
Becky http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Bev http://bevithia.blogspot.com/
Christi http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Denise http://thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/
Faith http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Holly http://toyzhaven.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jessie http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/
Joanne http://inkyoceangazer.blogspot.com/
Jodi http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/
Julie http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Maki http://makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Silke http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

TSG Sneak Peek: Slow and Steady

Ok...I must admit that I absolutely LOVE this little dragonfly from the new There She Goes set called "Slow and Steady"! Now, I must say that the entire set is really cute but for some reason this dragonfly just stole my heart! Haha! I don't know what it is about it, it's just so adorable and innocent looking! :) Anyway, when I saw today's sketch challenge on SCS I knew right away what I was going to do...I was going to use this little guy (or gal)! Now, I did struggle a bit with the color scheme that I wanted to pull off because of the fact that I wanted to keep the card really simple. I wanted the focus to be on these adorable little dragonflies and not on anything else so I went with these bright and earthy colors that were included in Tuesday's color challenge! I used this piece of dp from the BasicGrey Urban Prairie pack (yes I am obsessed with BG) as the main panel. I then layered it on Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie. The next thing I did was to use a piece of dp from the retired Hawaii Papaya set and layere it on some Pumpkin Pie for my horizontal strip. I stamped my dragonflies, colored them in using my SU! Markers (Pumkin Pie & Summer Sun) and Kiwi Kiss ink pad with my blender pen. I then added some crystal stickles over their wings so that this card would be eligable for the "Bling It Out" challenge that There She Goes has going on this week. Anyway, the images were then punched with my 1" square punch and layered on some more Pumpkin Pie pieces that were punched with my bigger square punch. I popped all three squares up on dimensionals, tied some ribbon, stamped the sentiment, and added the crystals for the final look! It was an easy card that shouldn't have took me very long but did because of my little case of OCD! Haha!

Well, I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to stop by all the fabulous DT blogs and leave them some love! I know their creations will stun you! :) Take care and have a fabulous night (or morning, depending on where you live)!


Jessica (owner) http://jessica-thereshegoes.blogspot.com/
Angela http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
Becky http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Bev http://bevithia.blogspot.com/
Christi http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Denise http://thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/
Faith http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Holly http://toyzhaven.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jessie http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/
Joanne http://inkyoceangazer.blogspot.com/
Jodi http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/
Julie http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Maki http://makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Silke http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

TSG Sneak Peek: Blessings!

Isn't that cross just gorgeous? It is my very favorite stamp in this new There She Goes set called "Blessings". I just think it looks so ornate! Anyway, I am pretty sure this is an Irish set so I know that the symbol in the middle must mean something, I am just not sure what. I actually think it is some version of a Celtic knot! Anyway, if you do know, fill me in because I am curious! :D Well, since it was Irish I decided I needed to pull out some of my green paper! Hehe! I used my fabulous (and much loved) Basic Grey paper called "Archaic". I thought it went very well with this stamp set. For the sketch I used Mary Jo's Monday Lunchtime Sketch. I was so thankful that I was finally able to participate in her challenge again! I have really missed them! :) Anyway, for the cross, I embossed the image with clear embossing powder, cut it out, and then popped it up on dimensionals. To add a little more dimension I also stamped the cross with my Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink (which I didn't realize I could emboss with until this weekend) and embossed it as well. I then cut out the center symbol and popped it up on top! The sentiment was embossed with my Walnut Stain ink, punched out, and popped up. I sponged all of the edges with my ink as well and I then added some ribbon for a final touch!

I hope you enjoy today's card! Make sure you visit Jessica's blog as well as the rest of the dt blogs to see their gorgeous creations and more sneak peeks! There is a challenge for you called the Blog Hop Challenge too! Over the next three days, you'll have a chance to win the stamp set featured each day. All you have to do is hop around to all the blogs of the DT, leave a comment on EACH sneak peek post, then go back to Jessica's blog and enter your name in the Mr. Linky box. You have until 12 a.m. Saturday to enter.

Jessica (owner) http://jessica-thereshegoes.blogspot.com/
Angela http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
Becky http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Bev http://bevithia.blogspot.com/
Christi http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Denise http://thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/
Faith http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Holly http://toyzhaven.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jessie http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/
Joanne http://inkyoceangazer.blogspot.com/
Jodi http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/
Julie http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Maki http://makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Silke http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

TSG Announcements

So remember when I asked for all of those questions about the There She Goes design Team? Well, the dt gals all picked their favorite questions and we are each taking the time to answer them!

1. What do you typically start a project with? What's picked first: stamps, embellishments, DP, colors.....?

I typically start my project with the stamp set that I want to use. I will then reach for a piece of designer paper that I feel fits that image well and pull my colors from it!

2. Do you give away your cards, sell them, send them or hoard them? Or all of the above??

Ok! I admit it...I am a horder! Haha! I am actually doing much better about giving them out though. Since I have this card ministry starting I am giving them out much more often! :)

3. If you could design your own stamp or stamp set, what would it be?"

Definately a God based set! I love whimsical images (solid especially) that have Bible verses to accompany them.

4. Where do you get your inspiration?

My biggest inspiration originally came from other bloggers/stampers but I am finally discovering what my own style is and am creating from that! I also love to use sketch challenges (which I am sure you have noticed) to get me started.

5. How do you balance your stamping time with your personal time/work/kids/etc.?

I devote a lot of my Friday's to stamping (since we don't have school on Fridays). I don't actually find a lot of time to stamp after work because of commitments to our youth group and I want to spend my evenings with my wonderful hubby!

6. What is your favorite embellishment?

RIBBON! :D I am also a huge fan of pearls, brads, and dew drops as well!

7. What is something that not a lot of people know about you?

Hmm...this one is tough. I guess for those of you who may have never met me or do not know me personally, you may not realize is that I tend to be EXTREMELY shy! :)

8. On average how long does it take to create one of these fabulous cards we see each week??

Actually, I have a little OCD problem and want my cards to always look perfect so it usually takes me 30 min-2 hours! It depends a lot on how complicated the image is and if I am submitting the card for a contest.

9. What is your favorite coloring medium?

Well, I go back and forth between two. I really love watercoloring with my blender pens but I also enjoy using my Prismacolor/Crayola colored pencils!

10. What time of day do you prefer to do your creating?

If it's Friday then I usually love to make a card in the afternoon, if it's a weekday then obviously I love to create at night...usually late!

Well, I hope you learned a lot about me through this fun survey!

Before I go I want you to make sure you check out the rest of the girls' answers so that you can get to know them as well! I also want to let you know that this will be my last month with There She Goes. It has been one terrific experience and I have absolutely loved working with these fabulous women! Jessica has so much talent and I will continue to use her stamps! I would love to welcome the new faces to the dt though! Check out Jessica's blog to see her announcement as well as the details on this month's challenge which is called "Bling It Out!" You also won't want to miss the sneak peeks for this month! They start tomorrow!

Check out these girls!
Angela http://aninkandasmile.blogspot.com/
Becky http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Bev http://bevithia.blogspot.com/
Christi http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Denise http://thepaperlandscaper.blogspot.com/
Faith http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/
Holly http://toyzhaven.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jessica (owner) http://jessica-thereshegoes.blogspot.com/
Jessie http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/
Joanne http://inkyoceangazer.blogspot.com/
Jodi http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com/
Julie http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Maki http://makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Silke http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

You Have Reached The End! :D

The end of the There She Goes blog hop that is! :D Congratulations for making it this far! If this was your first stop, make sure you start at Jessica's blog so that you don't miss out on all of the fabulous creations from the rest of the talented design team!

If you haven't heard about the hop yet, I will fill you in! Holly had this great idea that we should hold our very first There She Goes blog hop but of course she threw in a challenge! The challenge for this hop was to pick a famous quote that went along with the set we were assigned to. That meant that we had to use our printers to print out the quote! Yikes! :D Well, Holly assigned me to the beautiful Tea for Two set and so of course I had to use this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt! It is so true!!!! ;) Don't you agree? Haha! To create the card I used my new BasicGrey Porcelain dp and I can't tell you how fabulous it is! :D I picked it up at Archiver's on Valentine's Day and finally got a chance to use it! It is so unique and beautiful! Anyway, I used it to paper piece the teapot and tea bags. I also added some new SU! cordoruy brads and ribbon for extra embellishment! I think, other than that, this card is pretty self-explanatory!

I hope you enjoyed today's hop! Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow with another sketch challenge card!

My Deepest Sympathy

I apologize for not posting these past few days. I have actually not had much time to stamp. We have been continuing (finally) the work on my desk and spent a lot of time doing that yesterday. Anyway, I was able to make a card today but I won't share it with you until tomorrow. However, I do have this card that I posted on SCS and forgot to post on here! Yikes!

I made this card for last week's SCS sketch challenge. I just love this set from There She Goes. It is definitely one of my all-time favorites! :D I paired it with my BasicGrey paper and created a beautiful monochromatic color scheme. I heat embossed both the image and the sentiment. I then added a touch of red by punching out a butterfly, tying on some red ribbon, and adding three small red brads to the corner. I am actually surprised at how much I like this card. I was afraid it would be one that I would dislike after it was finished but I guess I was wrong because I actually kind of like it.

Well, thanks so much for stopping by! I love the fact that you wonderful ladies take the time to visit my blog and listen to my ramblings. It really means a lot to me.

P.S. (I'm going to get a little mopy on ya...sorry.)

Ok...honesty time. Amy Westerman is someone who I absolutely adore! She is not only a fabulous stamper but a genuinly sincere and wonderful woman. I just love her heart. Anyway, I bring her up because she is someone who can't cover her feelings. She wears her heart on her sleeve, like me. Amy has inspired me to post this. Now, my heartaches are nothing when compared to what she has been going through (bless her heart) but I feel that I need to express them anyway. I have really been struggling with something and am kind of tired of just dealing with it. I hope you don't mind that I share it with you. Ok...here goes. I guess what has been bothering me lately is that I have been struggling with my abilities as a stamper. I have had a few let-downs occur recently and it's just starting to take a toll on my attitude. I have definately been feeling quite inadequate as a stamper. I am not sure why I let these things get to me, but I tend to take them very personally. I have promised myself over and over that I will just let it roll off the shoulders but my heart just does not work that way. Have any of you ever dealt with these kinds of feelings? I mean, how can something I enjoy so much, tear me down at the same time? Do you know what I mean? If you have experienced this, what did you do to pull yourself back up? I guess I just need some stamping advice here. So...any thoughts from my fabulous readers? My husband tries to help, but he honestly does not understand what I am fully feeling (and how could he). Ok...I am sorry to be such a downer tonight but I had to get it off my chest. I just can't stop the tears tonight (stinkin' PMS)!

ETA: I just found this post from Cammie and it has actually helped quite a bit. I am not necessarily dealing with rejection but it definately feels similar.

TECC53 With a There She Goes Sneak Peek!

Good morning everyone! First of all I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who played in last week's challenges! It was so fun looking at all of your creations! I have posted the winner farther down in this post! I hope you are all having a wonderful morning so far! Today has been so much better than yesterday and I'm technically only 3 hours into my morning! I am full of hope that the rest of the day will just continue to be better! :) Anyway, today is Friday (yippee!) so that means it's time for another one of Taylor's fabulous Cupcake Challenges! This week's sketch was fabulous! I seriously don't know how she comes up with all of these sketches! I used a soon-to-be released set from There She Goes called "Flowers of Happiness". I can't tell you how incredibly beautiful the stamps in this set are! I think this is probably my new favorite set from There She Goes and that is saying a lot! :D Jessica just really outdid herself with this one! I stamped the flower twice on watercolor paper, water colored them with my SU! markers and blender pen, cut them out, and layered them with dimensionals. I just love the 3D effect that this layered flower has! The designer paper I used is from My Mind's Eye and I paired it with Very Vanilla and Rose Red card stock! I tried to keep this card fairly simple and elegant so I added some Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon as well as some Vanilla pearls. Overall, I am really pleased with how this card turned out! It was one that turned out just how I had envisioned it! :)

ETA: I forgot to post my random winner from last week's sketch challenge! The winner was post #79 who was ariellehemp with this card! Congratulations Arielle!

Make sure you stop by Taylor's blog to see her card as well as the other Cupcake Sampler blogs!

Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions
Jami Sibley: More is More
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Jackie Pedro: The Scalloped Edge
Donna Baker: Serenity in Stamping
Ana Wohlfahrt: Ink a Stamp
Vicki Chrisman: This Art That Makes Me Happy

You should also check out more of the sneak peeks from the rest of the There She Goes design team!

Jessica

Angela

Bev

Denise

Holly

Faith

Maki

Silke

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance at some blog candy! Also, make sure you stop by the There She Goes forum over at Paper Craft Planet on Saturday (7-9 Pacific) to see the sets revealed as well as find out who the stamp winners are!

TSG Sneak Peak: You're So Punny...AND MORE BLOG CANDY!

Ok, I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVE this soon to be released set from There She Goes! It is called "You're So Punny" and it has the cutest images and sentiments! This set was one that was inspired by the very talented Holly McMillen (aka: Toy on SCS)! Isn't Mr. Squirrel just adorable? I think he would work perfectly on a masculine or little boy card! In fact, I made this card for my husband for Valentine's Day! I just love how versatile it really is! :D Anyway, this set will be released on Sunday, along with two others, and to kick off this new release we will be having a rockin' party over at Paper Craft Planet in the There She Goes forum from 7-9 p.m. Pacific Time. At that time, Jessica will reveal all three sets and announce the winner for the challenge that she has going on this week. What is the challenge you ask? Well let me tell you! :D This month's challenge is all about GOING DIMENSIONAL! That means you need to include dimensionals on your card in some form or another! Make sure you use your There She Goes stamps in order to be eligible though! Stop by Jessica's blog to get all of the details! Now of course this was not difficult for me since I can hardly make a card WITHOUT them! Haha! In fact, I used 3 different sizes of dimensionals on this card (got the idea from Jessica)! Make sure when you complete the challenge, that you upload it to SCS with the keyword TSG03. If your name is picked, you will then win one of the newly released sets! How cool is that??? :) But wait! There is more! Leave me a comment on this post and I will randomly select a winner who will receive a There She Goes mini set! The winner will be announced at the release party at Paper Craft Planet on Saturday night! So...two chances at blog candy! Can't beat that! :D Well, before I get to the details of the card, I also want to give a shout out to Julie Lacey who is this month's There She Goes guest designer! Welcome Julie! :D You will also want to stop by the other TSG Design Team members' blogs so that you can see some more sneak peeks!

Anyway, for the details on my card, I saw Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge yesterday and decided to play with it! I am really starting to enjoy making square cards! I paired Mr. Squirrel with some My Mind's Eye dp. I just love the soft colors in this piece of paper. I think the pattern is just fantastic too. I layered it on Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa card stock. I also popped up Mr. Squirrel on a piece of Sage Shadow card stock. I colored him with my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS. I sponged down all of my sides with my Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink and sponge daubers. For my final touch I added 6 vintage brads to the top and side of my card!

I really hope that you enjoyed today's post! Make sure you stop by tomorrow morning for another sneak peek! I really love tomorrow's set too! :D

Also, don't forget about the sketch challenge and blog candy opportunity from this post!

Another Valentine!

Sorry this post is so late this evening. I have spent the entire day reorganizing my craft room! I decided to sort through my stuff and do a little bit of purging. Well, I guess I did a lot of purging! The only problem I am facing is...what to do with it? ;) I have a lot of fabulous things that would work well for scrapbooking but I am facing a delima because I don't ever scrapbook! Haha! Hmmm...what oh what could I do with it??? You may just hear the answer in the near future so stay tuned!

Anyway, I saw the OCC sketch challenge this morning and couldn't wait to play so I pulled a couple of my There She Goes sets and got to work! The sets I used were "Special Delivery" and "Year Round Sentiments". My original idea was to put the heart inside one of the round sentiments from the "Year Round Sentiments" set (since that's what it is made for" but after I had finished it, I thought it looked funny so I just kept the heart! I am still not sure exactly how I feel about this card but it is definitely growing on me! I for some reason feel like something is missing.

My card base is Very Vanilla and I layered on a piece of Close to Cocoa and a piece of Riding Hood Red. I ran the Riding Hood Red piece through my Big Shot with the Swiss Dots embossing folder because I felt like it needed some texture. I then pulled out a scrap piece of dsp from the SU! "Candy Lane" pack and layered it on another piece of Close to Cocoa card stock. I glued down a piece of Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon on top of the strip as well. Also, do you see those adorable little rhinestones in the corners of the dsp? Those are from the fabulous Taylor's Tiny Twinkles set that you can purchase from Taylored Expressions! I mentioned yesterday that there was a special on them! Here it is:

Also, in honor of CHA, Taylor has some fantastic specials going on over at Taylored Expressions! These specials will be going on from now until Wednesday, January 28th.

• Taylor's Tiny Twinkles - over 400 multi-colored tiny rhinestones in a spin top carousel for just $3.99 - CHA Special is Buy 2, get 1 FREE!!!!

• Free shipping on orders over $40 with coupon code FREESHIP0109 (all caps, no spaces)

Pretty sweet deal huh? Well make sure you stop by the store so that you can pick them up! They are amazing! I guess that is all for me tonight. I need to finish up my craft room before I go to bed. I will not feel complete until it's done! :D Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Home is Where the Heart is

Good evening everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your Tuesday! Mine was exhausting. My students were very rambunctious today. I don't even know why! Anyway, Tuesday evenings are our free nights so we are just hanging out in the office/stamp room. I am making cards and Nick is watching some videos on our big computer screen! Hehe! Anyway, before we got too involved, I wanted to take time to show you this card I made.

For this card I used last week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge. I haven't been able to participate in one of these for what seems like ages so it was a nice change! For the image I pulled the newest set from There She Goes called "Welcome Home". I just love this set! It is so versatile and has the most gorgeous images! Make sure you check it out here! I can't wait to play with the front door image. It is seriously just beautiful! Ok, have I ranted and raved enough? Hehe! To color my image I dusted off my much neglected SU! markers. I haven't used them much since I started using my colored pencils and I am not sure why. They really are fantastic! Anyway, I paired the image up with this SU! Haiku dsp as well. It will be retiring soon so make sure you get your hands on it! :D I then added a little touch of ribbon above the sentiment to finish this card up!

That's all I have for tonight! Make sure you take some time to relax! It is amazing how good it can feel. :D I am off to participate in some more fun stamping challenges! I will be back tomorrow with another new creation!

Sent With Love

Is that not the cutest mailbox EVER??? I love this newly released set called "Special Delivery" from There She Goes so much! It was just released this morning with a few other adorable sets so make sure you stop by the store! Jessica did such a fantastic job with this latest release! It is definitely one of my favorites! :D I wanted to make this a Valentine's Day card since it is surprisingly just around the corner so I put the hearts inside the mailbox. The wonderful thing about this set is that the stamps are designed to overlap! Anyway, I paired this set with my new dsp from the Stampin' Up! "Love You Much" bundle! This paper is amazing! I then water colored the image using my Crayola Pencils and OMS. Well, that's it for this post! I have another one that I will be posting tonight around 11! Stay tuned!

I'm Here For You

I just have to say that I am tired of battling with my camera and my computer just so I can get a decent picture! I am definitely requesting a photo tent for Christmas! I absolutely LOVE this card and hate how it looks in the picture! Grrr! Ok...I'm done whining! Thanks for letting me vent! I feel better now! Haha!

This card uses two of the There She Goes sets. The image is from the set Branching Out and the sentiment is from the set Here For You. Both of these sets are absolutely fabulous! I can't explain to you enough how talented Jessica (the designer) is! She has designed such gorgeous sets! :) Anyway, make sure you stop by her store to see what I am talking about!

The sketch I used is a remix of Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch. I loved the original sketch but forgot to make the image panel big enough for the three brads to be at the top of it. Instead of redoing it, I just decided to add them to the top of the card! I still like the look of it so I am not disappointed. The image panel was actually cut with my new Nestabilities! Can you tell that I am in love with them??? :) The designer paper on this card is by The Paper Studio! The collection is called Serendipity and it is absolutely beautiful! I love every single piece in it! I was shocked at how close the blue matched Stampin' Up!'s Baja Breeze! Woohoo!

Well, I guess that's all I've got for you today! I will be sure to post another creation tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Recipe:
Stamps: There She Goes
Paper: Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, The Paper Studio dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Nestabilities, Scallop Edge Punch, Blender Pen, Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Another Tea Bag Holder! :)

So check out this tea bag holder/card that I made! The front panel is the tea bag holder! Isn't that great??? I saw this week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and had this huge idea! :) Anyway, I used the There She Goes sets called Tea for Two and Tea for Two Special Blends! I can't tell you enough how amazing these stamps are!

Here is a side view of the card.

Here is a picture of the tea bag holder pulled off the card. I attached it with a magnet.

Anyway, this is going to be a short post because we are running errands today. I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday!

Recipe:
Stamps: There She Goes (Tea for Two, Tea for Two Special Blends)
Paper: Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Basic Gray dsp
Ink: Black StazOn, Close to Cocoa, SU! Markers
Accessories: Ribbon, Brads, Magnets

A Quick and Easy Christmas Gift

I made this adorable little gift set over the weekend and I couldn't wait to share it with you! I got my new There She Goes stamps in the mail and just had to make a tea bag holder with them! For those of you who love tea, you will LOVE the newest sets over at the There She Goes store! Jessica just released two adorable sets that are perfect for all you tea lovers (like me)! :) The first set is called Tea for Two and it includes some adorable images of a teapot and tea cups along with a fabulous template for making your own tea bag holders! The second set is called Tea for Two Special Blends and it has images and sentiments for all the different types of teas! If you have one, you must have the other...trust me! :) Anyway, I just wanted to share that little bit of information with you before I move on!

The card I made using my fabulous new Big Shot! I was skeptical about getting it at first but decided to just bite the bullet and do it...boy am I glad I did! This thing is absolutely amazing! I can't even begin to explain how fabulous it is! If you have tried one out...you will know exactly what I mean! Anyway, I bought the cute little snowflake sizzlets to go with it and decided to use some of those little snowflakes on my card! The layout is from this last week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge #200 and I couldn't be happier with it! I just love how everything is pushed to the side. Such a nice look! Anyway, I paired the snowflakes with my Stampin' Up! Hostess set Punches Three and added some Alpine ribbon for a finished look!

Well, I guess that's all I can say about this set! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday!

Recipe:
Stamps: Punches Three (SU! Hostess Set), There She Goes (Tea for Two, Tea for Two Special Blends)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Ski Slope dsp
Ink: Riding Hood Red,
Accessories: Big Shot, Snowflakes Sizzlets, Punches, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Brads