Happy Birthday!

So I had every intention of posting this card last week Friday since it was my birthday but it seems that life always gets in the way! :) That morning, instead of making a give-away video (stay tuned for that), I ended up cleaning my house like a mad woman because we had a surprise showing! Sadly, nothing came of it and no one made any offers but it was still good to know someone was interested in it! Anyway, I plan on making it up to you in the near future so you will have to continue to stop by. Until then, have a great day! I have to keep this short so I can run my errands for the day!

My First Spotlight!

One of the VSN challenges over on Splitcoast last night was to use the spotlight technique! I can honestly say that I've never even thought to try this technique so it was quite a fun challenge for me! It is definitely much faster when you don't have to color an entire image though! :)

I also wanted to make this card for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge which was to ink and distress the edges of your card! This part of the challenge was a piece of cake for me since I do that to many of my cards already! I decided to pull out my Flourishes set called Peaches and Cherries! I just LOVE this set and don't use it near enough! To keep with the distressed look I added some twine and vintage pearls! I still kind of feel like the card is a little plain because of the uncolored image but overall I'm pretty pleased with it! :D

For those of you who are interested, here is a picture of me at 26 weeks pregnant! I can't believe how big I'm getting! :)

That is about it for today! Enjoy your Saturday! Nick and I are headed to town so that we can get some groceries and get started on our measly Christmas shopping. I really hope our family isn't expecting much because we can't afford a whole lot this year. :( Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Give Thanks!

Can you believe October is almost over? Time seems to be flying lately and it's starting to freak me out a little! My baby girl is going to be here in about 14 weeks! Woah! It's super exciting yet kind of scary at the same time!

So one thing I AM loving about time flying is the fact that this hot weather seems to have run out! I am quickly learning how NOT fun it is to be pregnant in warm weather! These fall temperatures have me feeling SO wonderful! I have always loved fall but I seem to love it even more now! I have really enjoyed watching the leaves change colors and snow has already started to cover the mountain tops! Beautiful!

I am also really looking forward to Thanksgiving because that will be the last trip Nick and I will be able to take to Iowa for quite a while! I have really missed my family and it's going to be so neat to see their reactions to my growing belly! Thanksgiving is such a joyous time for our family and to top it off, I will be having baby showers while I'm visiting! Woohoo!

Ok, enough rambling, on to today's card! In the spirit of fall, I decided to post a Thanksgiving card that I made for the GinaK sketch challenge last week! I used Theresa Momber's fall set! I just love her designs because of how realistic they look! I used the wheelbarrow and instead of leaving it empty, I cut out some pumpkins and stuck them in there! I also stamped the little vine in the corner and stamped some leaves and the sentiment for my circle piece. As a finishing touch I added a little bit of twine that reminded me of fall in Iowa (hay bales)!

Well, I hope you are all enjoying your Friday! I am SO excited for Saturday because that means spending time with my sweet husband!

Patterned Pines Joy!

So does anyone else agree that my sporadic posting needs to come to an end? This pregnancy has just stolen all of my mojo from me! I'm 26 weeks pregnant and finally feel as if my creativity is coming back! I made 5 cards this week! Woohoo! I went downstairs and showed them to my husband and he said "Look! You've still got it!" Haha! That definitely made my day!

Anyway, this is a card that I made for Tuesday's SCS color challenge and Julee's Mojo Monday sketch challenge! The color challenge was to use Pink Pirouette, Real Red, and Pear Pizazz. Well I don't have Pear Pizazz so I went with Old Olive instead and I really like the finished look! I used the Patterned Pines set (for the first time) that I got out of last year's SU! Holiday Mini catalog! I couldn't believe it had never seen ink and then I remembered that my stamping kind of died off right after I had received it. :( I plan on using it A LOT more this winter though!

My friend Christine sent me the newest SU! catalog a couple of weeks ago (Thanks so much Christine!) and I have LOVED looking at all of the new stuff they have out! Sadly, we are VERY short on cash this winter since I lost my job and my husband doesn't have much work lined up until spring so I will have to be patient with my wish list. I suppose I have plenty to use here anyway!

Well, I think that's all I have for you today! Thanks so much for stopping by and to all of you subscribers that have stuck with me so far, YOU ROCK! I appreciate you all SO much!

A Mouse on a Cupcake?

It may seem unsanitary but at least it's cute! :D I just love this sweet Whipper Snapper image! I colored it with my Copics and paired it with some fun Cosmo Cricket dp! They aren't your traditional birthday colors but I still like it! Anyway, the sketch I used is actually Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch! If you haven't checked out her sketches before, you should! Not only are her sketches great but she makes the most beautiful cards! :) She is one talented lady!

Well, that's really all I have to say for this post. I guess I have been at a loss for words lately! :D It probably has something to do with this pregnancy. Today was a rough day. Not only was I sick but I was dizzy too. YUCK! I am so ready for 2nd tri to be here! Anyway, enjoy your Thursday! We have our church small group tonight, something I always look forward too! Hopefully I start feeling better so that I can actually enjoy it! Bye, bye for now!

A Clean and Simple Picnic!

Isn't this Sarah Kay image from Stampavie just the sweetest? I decided to pull her out for this week's Clean and Simple challenge over on Splitcoast. This week's challenge was a fun sketch so I pulled out my Cosmo Cricket paper to use as the background strips. I colored the image with my Copic markers and sponged all of the edges with some Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink. After I popped the image up on dimensionals I then added some fun brads to the corners for a final look. Quick and easy! :)

Well, I had better keep this post short today. I am feeling kind of ill (dang morning sickness) and need to grab a bite to eat before it gets too bad! :D I hope everyone enjoys their Wednesday! I am officially 10 weeks along today and I couldn't be more thrilled about it!

Technique Lover's Challenge: Magic Marquee Card!

Today's card was a BIG challenge for me but I was determined to finish it! Yesterday's Splitcoast challenge was to make a Magic Marquee Card. They are crazy fun but difficult to make if you decide you want to try to adjust the size of the opening like I did! I knew before I started that I wanted to use this adorable SU! set called Lots of Bots and of course my mind couldn't be changed! Haha!

Here is the card when it is shut. Don't you just love that sentiment? It definitely cracked my husband up! Haha! (Edited to add: I just realized it's hard to read. It says "Happy Birthday Human!")
And here is the card when it is opened. The magical part of the card is that little window opens up and the "yellow curtains" separate to reveal the little robot! SO FUN! If you want to make your own, you can follow Jan Tink's instructions here.

As for the rest of this card, the paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel line. I think this paper is PERFECT for a little boy so I knew it would look wonderful on this card! The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory but if you do have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! :D

I hope that you are all enjoying your Tuesday! It's a cloudy, cool day here and I am really hoping that it rains. We haven't had rain in weeks and numerous forest fires have started around us. We live only a short while from the National Sand Dunes and the smoke is really billowing from that fire! There is also a large fire just north of us by the Royal Gorge. SCARY! Let's do a rain dance shall we? :) Have a good one!

Thinking of You Flowers

Here's another card for you! This card was made for Saturday's SCS Inspiration Challenge. I can't remember the last time I participated in the inspiration challenges over there and, let me tell you, it was so much fun! I pulled my inspiration from this wall hanging.

I used the Embrace Life stamp set from SU! and colored the flowers in with my Copic markers. I then cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals. The sentiment is from the Watercolor Flowers stamp set. I then used a variety of patterns with my background (all from the same Crate Paper collection) and added a few brads! It's quite busy, but I think I like it! :D

That's it for today, I plan on getting a few more made this morning and I am SUPER excited! :D Enjoy your Monday!

Prepare to be amazed...

I am posting a card today! WHAT??? I know, I know! It's a miracle! :D Anyway, here it is!This is the very first card I have made since...well...November! I can't believe it took me this long to get back into the swing of things. I had some things come up...some BIG things...and I am just super excited about them!

Want a hint???

This card was sort of inspired by these recent events.

Ok....

I'M PREGNANT! :D

Woah! Crazy huh? I lose my job and end up getting pregnant! Haha! Talk about timing? We are so thrilled though. This has been a long awaited moment, that's for sure. With this new development, we are also seriously considering moving...again! This time, we will probably move back to our home state of Iowa so that we can be near our family. I would obviously miss Colorado but our hearts are just not here anymore.

Anyway, back to the card! I made this card tonight using the Splitcoast Sketch Challenge from Wednesday. I decided to finally ink up this adorable Penny Black set that I bought way back in September! These cute little frogs just look so adorable together and I knew they would be perfect for the sketch! The paper is some retired SU! paper as is the ribbon. I colored the frogs with my Copics (I am so glad I decided not to sell them!) and then popped them up on dimensionals! All in all, I think it turned out pretty stinkin' cute considering I have been a little rusty at this card making business! :D What do you think?

Ok, that's enough for tonight! Guess what...I made TWO cards tonight which means I will have another one to show you very soon! Yippee! Until then, have a great night!

My Other Crafting Loves

So since I haven't been paper crafting, I will show you what I HAVE been creating lately. As I mentioned earlier, I have been doing LOTS of knitting, sewing, and jewelry making. Here are a few of the things I have made and posted into my Etsy shop.

I think I'm back! :)

Holy smokes? Has it been long enough since my last post? Sorry for the long hiatus. I took a break from the stamping world in order to get my priorities straightened out and with a change of events this past month, I think I may be able to come back. :)

A lot has happened since I posted last. First of all, back in November we bought a house and moved into it a little after Thanksgiving. For Christmas my parents got us a puppy and he is just TOO cute! I have also started an Etsy store and begun adding things to it daily (I'll share more about it later). The last, and maybe biggest thing that has happened is that I just recently lost my teaching job due to budget cuts.

I'll spend this blog post explaining my job loss. First of all, I want everyone to know that I am at peace about it now. It was a very difficult time for me at first. I was feeling a lot of hurt and betrayal but the Lord is good and has really brought comfort into my life. I do not know how I would have gotten through this month without Him and my VERY supportive husband. I am still unsure of quite a few factors that I really don't want to get into but I know that this is going to be for the best and, to be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to the future!

My husband and I have done some budgeting and we have decided that we can easily make it with his two salaries and have no difficulties. I am probably going to take at least a year off from teaching and there are a couple of reasons why. First of all, there are no local job openings because every district is in the same situation that mine is. Second of all, we are in the process of trying to start a family and we are praying that God's timing is right in this. If it is, I am going to be a stay at home mom and I couldn't be more thrilled about that! It was always something that we dreamed about but we were never sure how to go about it with me having a job. Now that I don't have one, we feel like maybe this is in God's plan. Something else I have always wanted to do is homeschooling. I really feel strongly about homeschooling as does my husband, especially since I have a degree in teaching anyway! We are thrilled to be able to raise Godly children and I am so looking forward to having the freedom to teach what I want in my own home!

As of now, we are not planning on moving back to our home state of Iowa but of course that option is never completely thrown out. We are going to put our land and possibly even our house on the market to see if they will sell (since Nick says EVERYTHING is for sale at the right price, haha) but we are not too concerned if they don't sell right away. We aren't too hopeful with the economy as it is, but I guess we never know until we try! Nick is hopeful that if we can sell our house, we may be able to begin building our own home!

Anyway, all that said, I guess not having a job (and currently no children) means that I am going to have a lot more free time. I am already really excited about being able to keep a clean house and organizing the rooms I haven't had time to touch since we moved in. Besides that though, I really look forward to enjoying all things crafty! I have been knitting, making jewelry, and sewing a lot lately and really look forward to jumping back into the paper crafting world!

In other good news, there are currently 20 days of school left and I LITERALLY have 14 1/2 personal days left that I need to use! I was saving them for a possible maternity leave and now that I won't be coming back, I somehow have to figure out a way to use them! Haha! I plan on taking off MOST of them but I really don't feel right using all of them because that would mean I only have 5 1/2 days of school left this year! I couldn't abandon my kiddos like that. However, I am taking at least one day a week off and and will see what else comes up!

Ok, now that I have written a book, I will leave you with a picture! This is a picture of Nick and I with our puppy, Trip! He's obviously a lot bigger now but you get the idea! :) We took this picture in our new home in front of the wood stove in the kitchen. I will give more details on both Trip and the house later! Until then, feel free to check out my other blog at 320 Days of Sunshine!
I will be back soon!

Jacksonbelle Tuesday: Inspirational Dresses

Weird title huh? Well this week's Jacksonbelle challenge is to be inspired by a little girl dress on this fantastic website called Hanna Andersson! I wanted to go with a Christmas theme so I chose this sweet little dress here. For my card I decided to use this sweet Gina K image and pair it with some AMAZING My Mind's Eye paper called "Merry Days of Christmas". I also pulled out some fun Basic Grey ribbon and tied it around the top of the card! The image was colored with my Copic markers and the edges were sponged with some Antique Linen distress ink!

Well, that's it for today's project! Make sure to check out this week's challenge details on the Jacksonbelle blog as well as the other Jacksonbelle girls!

Tobi Crawford ~ Tobi’s Place

Jimmi Mayo ~ Stamping & Shopping

Bethany Paull ~ It’s Not All Black & White

Michelle Philippi ~ Inside My Own Private Idaho

Carly Robertson ~ Paper in Bloom

Shemaine Smith ~ Scraptastic

Lynda Benden: Stamp Act

Jill Dunn: Ink Genious

Heather Lee-Reppen: Ink on my Ear

Lindsey Botkin: Embellished

Trudee Sauer: Follow Your Bliss...

Keri Lee Sereika: Pink Lemonade

Almighty God

Today's post is going to be short and sweet! :) It's getting late, I'm still sick, and I need to start heading for bed! I know you have all been there before. Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far! Nick and I were able to pack and move one load to our new house but I must admit that I was pretty much worthless to him. He did most of the work. I was just there for moral support I guess! Haha!

As for tonight's card, this stamp is the one that Patter Cross designed for Unity Stamp Co. I just love it! I used some Cosmo Cricket "Happy Camper" patterned paper. I embellished the card by sewing along the edges, tying on some ribbon, and adding some pretty pearls! The edges have all been sponged with Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink too!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a fabulous evening!

I had to share this...

This is my second post today but I just really felt the need to share this amazing video with you tonight. My husband and I are youth pastors so we sometimes get free music video dvds that we are able to share with our youth. Well we received one recently and had not been able to watch it lately due to our busy schedules so Nick decided that with me being sick and stuck on the couch, it would be the perfect opportunity to pop it in and watch. Woah. Who knew a song could impact this sick girl so much! The group is called Mikeschair and the lead singer is definitely not your "average" lead singer! In fact, he actually looks like a normal guy! :) He really knows how to worship his Jesus! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Scroll down if you want to see my card!

Silver...er...Blue Bells! :)

Good afternoon! It's a cloudy, dreary day here in Westcliffe which pretty much matches how I am feeling perfectly. I am obviously not recovered from my illness yet, in fact, I'm feeling quite a bit worse. Yesterday was a pretty good day and I woke up feeling much better with the hopes that it was just a short lived virus. Well, I guess I was wrong because I woke up to discover that it was attacking me with full steam ahead! :( Anyway, I took some Advil and seem to be doing a little bit better now. Let's just hope it stays this way!

Ok, so about today's card. Isn't that image just fantastic? I just adore this Gina K set which was designed by Theresa Momber (she's so talented)! I decided to pair it with this fantastic My Mind's Eye paper called "Merry Days of Christmas". It's a fantastic collection of papers and you can find it on the Jacksonbelle Embellishments site! The ribbon I used is from Basic Grey and I adorned the card with some fun pearls too!

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's card! I certainly love how it turned out! Take care and enjoy your Friday!