My new fave...

Wow. Ok, so I missed the PTI Blog Hop this month, but I do believe I have found a color combo that rocks my world. I got the inspiration from the buttons (more of those stackable buttons I mentioned in my last post. Love 'em! Anywho, here's the card.

I'm just in love with Smokey Shadow. I just really love that color. So sexy, right? hee hee The dsp is from an older SU one called Urban Oasis and the blue is baja breeze (I just found that out - thanks SCS!). I have got to stock up on some baja breeze paper, ink, etc tomorrow when the new SU catalog goes into effect! Can't wait. They also have a cute stamp called Aviary that I just have to have. :o)

Ok, well I gotta go! I have family in town until Tuesday (argh$#%&*...lol), so I have to get back to the fun! Ha ha...hope you're having a great week!


Stamps: Inside Out: Thank You (papertrey); Lilly of the Valley (papertrey)
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, SS White (papertrey); Urban Oasis dsp[ (stampin up)
Ink: Basic Grey; Gable Green
Extras: White grosgrain (papertrey); Buttons (LaMode)

Buttons Rule the day...

Do you guys wonder where I come up with these titles? I have no clue. I just look at the card and bam! There it is..lol. I made this little ditty because I always seem to need a Thank you card, but don't always have the time to really sit and create on. I can MAKE one, but we all know that's different from CREATING one...right? ;)

Anyway, on Saturday I happened upon a little craft store called The Sassy Scrapper in Murfreesboro, TN..just about 30 minutes from my home. We never venture far from home, but we needed to go to a specific store that was ONLY in the mall out there. Ugh. So, on the way back we made a couple of wrong turns and before I knew it, I saw this store. It was so lovely. Turns out this was the second store and the main store (also in Murfreesboro) was a few miles away. I bought a PCD stamp set and also these little buttons that "stack" on top of each other. I only bought two little packs (3 buttons to a pack), but I already wish I had bought more. I love how they just stack on top of each other.



Here is a closeup of the buttons:

 When I started this card, I wanted the buttons to be the main feature and I think they still show well, but the Top Note panel took over..lol...poor little buttons. hee hee

Anyway, so I tried to do extra little details like the glitter line, the cuttlebug'd orange, and the rickrack bottom on the green. I think it turned out really cute, though. I'll definitely use this color scheme again. It totally works for me!

Have a great Monday!

Stamps: Through the Trees (papertrey)
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, Orange Fizz (papertrey); Certainly Celery, Vanilla (stampin up)
Inks: Basic Grey, Only Orange (stampin up)
Extras: Top Note die, scortape, glitter; Buttons - Coordinates by LaMode

Birthday...again?

Hi everyone! What a week it's been. Not the best of them, but what can you do? Anyway, here is a card I made for my Boss' birthday that's coming up. I know I said no more birthday cards, but it was necessary..heehee

I've had this SU stamp for a long while now and have never used it. I thought it would be fun for him. Oh, yeah.... I DID get my iPhone 4 via FedEx on the 24th as "promised" by Apple/ AT&T (unlike thousands of others who also pre-ordered very early on the 15th!! What a mess!!!), and I absolutely love it. It's so much faster, has a great camera and video, lots of cool new little features and Facetime which is like Skype (i've heard) on a phone. Neat stuff..loving it. Ok, well have a great weekend. I hope not too let too long go by without posting, but it's been busy and a little chaotic around these parts....


Stamps: Voila (stampin up); Birthday Basics (papertrey)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Kraft (stampin up); Vanilla (papertrey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Brown, Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red (stampin up); Patterned paper on pants (DCWV)
Extras: Grosgrain and button (papertrey); Cuttlebug dots folder; Top Note die (stampin up)

Peek - a - Boo Baby...

Hello and I hope you're enjoying a wonderful Sunday. Tell me what's going on at your house? Hanging out with hubby? Dad? Stepdad? Brother? Here at our house, I'm watching the U.S. Open with hubby. The girls are gone with my mom and so we're just quietly watching. I really love golf and I love that it is something that we both enjoy watching. He and Ava play, also...me not so much. I am NOT an athlete by any means. Watching, though, is good. Jim Furyk is my guy and hubby has been a Lefty (Phil Mickelson) fan since before we met. It's fun! I've got to get back to that, too, so let me move on. :o)

Today's card is for no one in particular. I just really like baby cards and it was also a part of the challenge (along with the colors) over at the Embellish magazine blog for this week. Love the colors together! They look a bit brighter here than in real life...they're much more pastel, but i could not get it to look that way on camera. Ugh! I wanted to use more of the peach, but it just came together better this way. Hope you like it. I think this is my favorite ribbon technique EVER! It's just so much fun to do and it reminds me of a baby blanket..you know, after they've settled into it and then you take them out..you know? How it's all ruffled and crazy? Hmm..maybe that's just our kids. Haha! The actual design for the card I got from a card I did seen here that I did eons ago when I first started stamping.

Ok, well take care and hope you have a wonderful rest of the day!


Stamps: Baby Button Bits (papertrey)
Cardstock: Peach Parfait (stampin up); Vanilla (papertrey)
Ink: Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa (stampin up)
Extras: Ribbon: Lemon Tart from papertrey. Button: New Leaf from papertrey; Cuttlebug embossing folder

Last of the birthday series...

Goodness, I don't know that I want to make another birthday card for a while! Insanity! I tried to make this one a little different.

I used a color scheme that I don't normally go for and also used a new stamp I received. It's called Henna Petals and is by Fiskars. I saw this card from Kara and IMMEDIATELY went and bought the set..lol. I just love it. I used the largest flower on this card, but i'll definitely be getting to the rest of the set soon enough. Will somebody please stop me with this frazzled ribbon look that I cannot seem to stop using!?? I love it, but I can't seem to do anything else with ribbon. heehee

I've scheduled this post because as you guys read this, I am at a military reintegration weekend with hubby. We're just a few miles from home, but I'm hoping a nice little weekend away all expenses paid at a really nice hotel will be a fun time for us both ! We rarely get away just the two of us, so I was/am excited about it. Ok, well, that's it from me. I hope you guys have a great weekend!


Stamps: Henna Petals (Fiskars); Star Prints sentiment (papertrey)
Cardstock: Pure Poppy and patterned paper (stampin up); True black (papertrey)
Ink: Basic Black (stampin up); Fresh Snow (papertrey)
Extras: Ribbon and rickrack die (papertrey)

Big Barney Birthday!

When I look at this card, the only thing I can think of is Barney...lol. I love this new purple (Concord Crush) from Stampin Up, but it SO reminds me of that big purple dinosaur! This is the next in the "series" of cards for my cousin, Hana. I again used the glitter along the borders of the printed panel. Ever since I saw Nichole Heady do it, I have been hooked! :o)

I again used that cool patterned paper from Hobby Lobby. It's called Poteeka Souffle by The Paper Studio. I just love it. Hey,did I mention that today is MY birthday? Yep, I am officially 37 at 5:47pm tonight. Yeehaw! My boss took me to Urban Flats today. Um...YUM is all I can say! Tonight we're having cake and I cannot wait. I love cake! Birthday cake from Sam's is my absolute favorite! Cotton Candy is also always a part of my day because I love that stuff. A few years ago, my mom bought me a cotton candy maker..lol..good times. If someone came out with a cotton candy cake, i'd be done. 500lbs here I come, if that happened. Ok, well I've gotta go. Have a great rest of the day!


Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes, Fillable Frames 4 and die (papertrey)
Cardstock: Concord Crush (stampin up); Poteeka Souffle (The Paper Studio); White (papertrey)
Ink: Concord Crush, Old Olive (stampin up)
Extras: Scortape, Glitter, and button (papertrey); Ribbon (stampin up)

It's a birthday..Mercy Style.

Happy Wednesday to you! I took a half day off from work today and MAN was it good to be home with nothing to do but stamp. I made three cards for my cousins birthday (I am the official card maker in the family so I have to make cards from every subsection of the family..uggh...lol), bringing my grand total to 5 so far. I'll show you the first one today and then the other two later in the week. Hubby and I have a military thing this weekend, so my posts after tomorrow will be scheduled all weekend. Yippee! Anyway, so this card is both a birthday card AND my entry into Mercy's sketch challenge.

 This is the first time i've participated and it was fun! I wanted this card to have a retro feel. I love the paper that I got at Hobby Lobby..so fun! It's a whole little retro pack! Cute! You'll be seeing more of it in the coming weeks/months for sure! Ok, well that's it from me today. I'm going to finish enjoying the rest of the day with a glass of something...maybe papaya juice. I'm such a wild girl, can't you tell? Haha!!!


Stamps: Enjoy the Ride, Say it with Style (papertrey)
Cardstock: New Leaf, Vanilla (papertrey), Peach Parfait (stampin up); patterned paper (hobby lobby)
Ink: Peach Parfait, Basic Brown, Green Galore (stampin up)
Extras: Ribbon, button, and felt (papertrey); Stickles

First Posse Challenge!

Well, Hello everyone! Today's card is extra special for two reasons. One is because a dear friend/co - worker of mine is the recipient. He got really sick about a month ago and was in and out of ICU at a local hospital with pneumonia. It did NOT look good for a few weeks, but he is pretty much all better and he came back to work yesterday!!! I made this card for him and brought him his favorite snacks from Panera and Krispy Kreme. He was missed at work and his wife (who happens to work with MY husband in the other building..lol), has really been taking on a lot at home. She's a great lady! The other reason it's special is because it is my entry into the first group Papertrey Posse Challenge! This month was a sketch challenge. I loved the sketch. It's such a simple, but detailed sketch. The little curve at the top, the panel across the middle, the buttons..so many little things that bring the sketch to life! Thanks, Jessica!! It's so exciting. Our little group is a great bunch of ladies! So much talent and so sweet to boot! If you have time and would like to play along with any of our challenges (1 big one per month and 2 smaller ones on the 1st and 3rd Fridays), please do. We'd love to have you!

Oh, guess what? I'm ordering my new baby today. Yep, I finally bit the bullet and will upgrad my first gen iPhone to this new iPhone 4! Today is pre-order day and the little bundle of joy will come next Thursday! Actually, I am getting two. One for me (birthday) and one for hubby (Father's Day). A black one and a white one...we're so happy! We're nerds!

Ok, well have a great day!


Stamps: Chair - rished (papertrey)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kraft (stampin up); Vanilla (papertrey); patterned paper (dcwv)
Ink: Really Rust and Choclate Chip (stampin up)
Extras: Buttons (papertrey)

For baby...

Happy Sunday! Today is busy busy busy! We've got church, then a meeting after church, then a birthday party at Nashville Shores (that I am going to try and skip..lol), so really quickly..here is a card I made for a friend of my moms. Do you guys ever feel imprisoned with a card or project? That's how I felt on this card:

It's needed to match a bag that mom brought over, but I hated the bag. It was just odd and the colors were weird. This was the best I could do with it..lol My favorite part is the glitter on either side of the yellow panel. The more I look at it, the more it grows on me, though..Ha!

Have a great Sunday!


Stamps: Baby Button Bits (papertrey)
Cardstock: Gable Green, Barely Banana, Almost Amythest (stampin up); white (papertrey)
Ink: Basic Black, Creamy Caramel (stampin up)
Extras: Dots folder for Cuttlebug, Scortape, ribbon, and glitter (papertrey); Button (stampin up)

Embellish(ed) Get Well wishes...

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope your weekends are all going well. Today, I am FINALLY playing along with the Embellish Magazine color challenge. I love everything about this magazine and Ashley's blog. It's just all so fresh and trendy - but not in a neon leg warmers way! LOL I really like the colors we were to use, too!

My stamp table  was borrowed for a yard sale and so I decided that the kitchen table would have to work. Well, it took my forever to get this card made! I don't start stamping with a clear idea. I just kinda look at my stuff and think. and think.and think. Then something comes to me and I do it. Well, I couldn't look at my stuff today since it was upstairs in the craft room and I was downstairs in the kitchen. It was nuts, but I do think that I like what resulted. I made it with a sick friend in mind. We're taking her family dinner tonight, so I wanted a little card to go along with it. Since I can't seem to make an A2 card to save my life, this is another 51/4 by 5 1/4 card. I just love this size. hee hee.

OK, well i'm off to clean the kitchen table up before the family gets home. Alex had a riding lesson today, so they're all at the stables. Have a great one!


Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes (papertrey)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Vanilla (stampin up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral
Extras: Grosgrain ribbon - vanilla (papertrey); Top Note die (stampin up)

Celebrate with style...and new colors

Hello good people and happy Thursday! Ok, does this make me a nerd?: Today I took an Advanced Excel class and, at some points, I was just filled with glee cause it is so cool and fun. I love Excel. I was up helping other classmates and asking questions and giving scenarios...does that make me a nerd? Everyone has said yes - not that I care - but I just thought it was funny how excited I was about spreadsheets. :o)

Ok, so I got my box from SU yesterday with the new catty AND the new InColors for the next two years. From the moment I saw the purple and green, I was in love! The colors are actually Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz (I think!!), but I keep forgetting that so I've been saying purple and green...lol. I was thinking the pear was close to Certainly Celery, but no..it's more um...more pear colored..hee hee. I am not at all ecstatic about this card, but I like it enough. I'm not sure if I like the colors together or if I just don't have the mojo tonight to be satisfied with anything I make. Whatevs. Ugh.

Oh, ok..back to the card.

 I used the Sasya sketch #14. I have seen Dana use the sketches (see here) and this week I decided that I would play along. I do love sketch challenges, but sometimes they really constrict me and I don't like what results. This time, though, the best thing about this card is the layout in my opinion. So fun and unexpected! Not just panel layered upon panel...really cool! I also had a neat little idea when I got to the guitar on this card.

(Sorry for the bad picture..my macro setting is annoying me tonight!)

I used the tree grouping type stamp from Through the Trees to ink the guitar so it would make a grain pattern like wood has..does that make sense? It was a good idea, but I'm not sure how it was realized. Maybe with more practice - and a bigger guitar..lol - I would do better.

All in all, the card will do. Have a great evening!

Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes, Through the Trees (papertrey); Strumabella (stamping bella)
Cardstock: Concord Crush, Pear Pizazz, Poppy Parade (stampin up); White, black (papertrey)
Ink: Concord Cruch, Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade, black, Close to Cocoa (stampin up)
Extras: Felt, button, Rickrack die, Fillable Frames 4 die (papertrey); Cuttlebug dots folder

More (forced) Mojo Fun!

Ok, so I obviously got a little ahead of myself last night when I worked on the mojo monday sketch. I decided that I would use that same sketch and stamp set and make it into a masculine card. It was sortof like a challenge to myself. Well, I am not sure it worked. It feels like I forced the card into masculinity. The buttons throw me off. I knew I couldn't use scallops (lol), but nothing else really worked except the buttons. What do y'all think? I'm going to use this one for my Dad on Father's day! :o)

Stamps: Through the Trees (papertrey); Whimsical Words (stampin up)
Cardstock: Smoky Shadow, Vanilla (papertrey); Patterned paper (stampin up)
Ink: Vanilla (papertrey); Real Red and Basic Black (stampin up)
Extras: Red ribbon (stampin up); buttons (papertrey); Cuttlebug folder - Morrocan Screen

Mojo Monday..on a Monday!

Ok, so it's been a hectic few weeks. I just realized that this is the first time I've done the Mojo Monday challenge ON a Monday. It only happened because my husband took the girls to the driving range to hit some balls. We had planned to go to a local carnival, but we got there and they were closed for maintenance. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to see when I go to one of these fly by night carnivals is workers on top of the rides doing things to them. It makes me think something is wrong and I do NOT want to go back tomorrow..lol..but I know i'll have to! :o)

Anyway, here's my card.

 I did love it until I photographed it and I thought to myself, " That vanilla panel needs something". Does it? Should I have used the Cuttlebug and given it some texture? That's what I feel like it needs cause it looks so boring even though I am really happy with the rest of the card. The color scheme I got from a card that Geny did here. Isn't it just gorgeous? I love love love her card!

Ok, well that's it. I've got the house to myself and I think I am going to watch some TV and eat in peace. Take care and have a great week! Oh, and for those of you who asked...No, the light tent thing is still sitting on the floor on the craft room. I haven't even bothered to ask hubby about it. Maybe this weekend!


Stamps: Birthday Basics and Through the Trees (papertrey)
Cardstock: Vanilla, Lemon Tart, Kraft, Dark chocolate and dotti biscotti patterened paper (papertrey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (stampin up)
Extras: Ribbon and buttons and Beautiful Blooms 2 dies (papertrey); 1/4 inch ribbon (stampin up)

Saturday Morning Frustration..and a Posse challenge!

Happy Saturday to you! I have been sick all week and I am still not better. I think it's just a summer cold, but it's kicking my tail! I hate to be sick, but even moreso on the weekends. It just stinks!

Well, as some of you know, I joined a new blog group called the Papertrey Posse. I am so excited to be a part of a group. It should be so much fun. We have split the hostess duties amongst ourselves and Jessica  has June. We have to post one big challenge and then two (optional) smaller ones. Jessica chose to do a color challenge with Enchanted Evening, Summer Sunrise, and Terracotta Tile for the first small one and let me just tell you - these colors were almost the death of me. I guess that's what makes them *challenges*. Ha! I just could not wrap my head around them..they're not colors I would normally put together and I did not have ANY of the colors in PTI ink. I ended up using SU inks as replacements, but the paper and stamps are all papertrey. I also decided to use a set that I rarely use even though I love it - Chairished. It's a cute little set, but I don't ever seem to reach for it. It's kinda like Scattered Showers in that way. It was the first set I wanted, but I don't think I have used it even once on a card. At least with Chairished, I have used it..lol. Oh well! Anyway, so here is the card:

It was a super fun card once I got started. I love the *retro* look I achieved by offsetting the circles. It makes me think of the 70's. Ok, well..I hope you'll take a look at our master blog and play along with some of our challenges!

Oh, and you're probably wondering why I titled this post the way I did. Let me tell you about that. A couple of weeks ago I was reading a post from Jessica about this photo light tent thing that she had bought on Amazon. I've always wanted one, and she got hers at a great price, so I decided to buy it. It showed up a couple of days ago and this morning after I finished my card I decided to set it up. One thing, though - there were no instructions. Ugh! There is a little card inside that says to go to the website and/or YouTube to see directions, but I never found any for this particular product. Now, maybe it's because i'm sick but I got so ultra mad trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I just about threw the whole thing across the room..lol...um, ok actually there was no "lol" when I was setting the dang thing up! So eventually, I decided to go back to my normal "formal dining room table" set up that I usually do. Maybe i'll try again later. Better yet, maybe i'll wait till hubby gets home from drill and make HIM set it up! :o)

Stamps: Chairished (papertrey)
Cardstock: Vanilla, Enchanted Evening, Summer Sunrise, Terracotta Tile (papertrey)
Ink: More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip (stampin up)
Extras: Ribbon, twine, and button (papertrey)

Inky Challenge Blog Hop!

Good Tuesday to you! Goodness, I had one of the best weekends I have had in a long time this past few days. We had family in town and just did so much in the short 4 days! We ate, laughed, went to a comedy show (and got to go backstage like groupies..lol), shopped, talked, had a cookout, just any and everything and it was so much fun!  We're real homebodies and rarely do anything, so this was really out of our comfort zone, but oh so much fun! Ok, so anyway, there was a challenge posted on the papertrey forum by Jamie. The challenge was to use any uninked papertrey stamp sets that we have! Well, the only uninked sets that I had were Outline Alphabet, Inside Out: Thank You, and Everyday Blessings. (Ok, I have more but I didn't have time to use them...LOL)

OK, well let's get started....

Here is a card using Everyday Blessings that was surprisingly easy to use:

Up next is my card using Outline Alphabet. It was REALLY tough for me and I'm not too happy with it, but a few more times using it and I should be good..lol

And last but not least (and my favorite of the bunch) is my card using Inside Out: Thank You. I love love love inside out sentiments...they're just what I need since I love lots of words on the outside of cards. This set WILL be seeing more action soon!

Stamps: Everyday Blessings, Outline Alphabet, and Inside Out: Thank You (papertrey)
Cardstock: Orange Zest, Rasberry Fizz, SS White, Dotti Biscotti (papertrey); dsp - stampin up
Ink: Black, Chocolate Chip, Pink Passion, Barely Banana (stampin up)
Extras: Stickles; Ribbon and buttons- all papertrey