Feel Better..

Hello! When I saw the Play date Cafe challenge colors for this week, I fell in love. My first thought was a baby card (which I may still create), but it wound up being  card for a friend recovering from back surgery. Here are this week's colors:

And here is the card I created:

I just love these colors together and this patterned paper is one that got shuffled in behind all of my Basic Grey, MME, and Cosmo Cricket!! Poor lonely paper..but aren't the colors just perfect for this challenge? I also love scallops, so those just had to be a part of the design. The ribbon is actually PTI saddle stitch ribbon, but I removed the white stitching because the card has no true white on it, so that part stuck out too much.

Well, that's it. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Follow Your Own Star..

This is my second post for the day. Be sure and check out my MIM card from earlier! :)


This afternoon, I have a dual challenge card. I am really trying hard to get into these CAS cards. It gets easier every time actually - especially if I make one CAS and then one OTT (over the top..lol) in the same session.


This is a graduation card for the CAS-ual Fridays Graduation challenge 

as well as for this weeks Play Date Cafe challenge:

We were to use the colors black and white with a splash of green. 

This card is much more sparkly in real life. I used duct tape behind the starts to add the glitter. 1. because the duct tape happened to be sitting there and 2. because I am almost out of Scor-tape...lol.

This was a fun card to make. I am loving my MS glitter. So many pretty colors!

Well, that's it. Enjoy your day!

Quick Recovery

Hello there! Quick card for you today. A friend of mine had surgery and so I made this card to give her along with flowers and dinner that I am making (read: picking up from Famous Dave's..lol).

I used this week's Play Date Cafe colors which I thought were just lovely. 

I am not a huge "white space" person and y'all know how I am about my patterned paper, but I thought this card looked best simple like this and with a lot of white space. Of course, you know that there had to be a teensy bit of me there, so the buttons made an appearance.  I also used my new MFT dies (Well Worn) again. I really really love them. On this car, I used all three of the dies included in the package. Don't they look so perfect together?

Well, that's it.  Thank you for stopping by! Have a lovely day!

Little Rocker Girl

Hi everyone! Wow, Monday already huh? Sheesh, they come around fast!

Today, I am here with my card for this week's Play Date Cafe color challenge.

Here are this week's colors:

And my card:

I had so much fun making this card.  I used the SU paper that I have been hoarding for over a year now..lol. I think it's called Rockabilly and it is SO much fun to use. I thought it went perfectly with the Papertrey sentiment and MFT image.


Well, that's all I have for today. Have a wonderful day! Laters!

Hello, Friend....

Good morning! Well, when you're reading this I should be in sunny California hopefully sleeping in, at the beach, whale watching, or celebrity stalking.., er watching! :)

I received my release order from Papertrey on Friday and the first thing I had to play with is Maile Belle's new set, Modern Basics. Oh my gosh do I love this set. It's so easy to line up and stamp...just complete bliss!

I'm using the colors from this week's Play Date Cafe:

Aren't the pretty? I decided to make a general "hello" card.

I love that long line of leaves. It's just so cool. The whole really rocks. You should check it out. I really like how you can make a simple and modern card with just one or two images from the set. What a timesaver - especially since as I am posting this, I should be packing. :)


Well, have a great day. Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Modern Basics (Papertrey)
Card Stock: Pale Plum, Apricot Appeal, Ruby Red (SU); Vanilla (Papertrey)
Ink: Ruby Red, Apricot Appeal, Pale Plum (SU)
Extras: Photo corner punch (SU)

Joy..

Hello everyone! Today's card is for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge. The challenge this week was to use black & white...and a pop of Lilac or Purple.

Am I the only person (I know I am not) who peruses blogs and then HAS to have what you see? Ugh..this happens so often, but this week was the worst. I bought from Papertrey, Stampin Up, My Cute Stamps, Market Street Stamps, and Kim Wilson Designs. It is a sickness I tell you. This particular stamp I bought is from My Cute Stamps. I fell HARD for this image..it's just so so lovely. Here is my card:

Isn't that a lovely image? Ooh, I just adore it and as soon as I saw the challenge I knew exactly which stamp I was going to use. I made this card 5 times before I got it right. My embossing powder kept sticking to the shimmer card stock.  Finally, Ava was frustrated because she was waiting on me to watch Harry Potter, so I had to go with the last one I made. Not totally happy with the sentiment embossing, but it's fine. Just don't look too closely at it...lol.

Well, i've got to go. The Chamber of Secrets is waiting for me. Laters!


Stamps: Ashley's Blossoms (My Cute Stamps); Out on a Limb sebtiments (papertrey)
Card Stock: Shimmer White (papertrey)
Ink: Versamark and black embossing powder, Lovely Lilac (su)
Extras: Black satin ribbon 

Thanks, Mum..

Monday again? Really? Wow..I swear they come quicker every week.

I made the card today for my mum. She is a SUPER sweet lady and as I grow older I understand the psyche of a mom and I realize everything she sacrificed to make sure I turned out perfectly (if I must say so myself..and it usually IS me saying so myself..lol). This card harkens back to all of the craziness of the weekend and I wanted to make a card for her to let HER know that she is certainly a blessing to me. Very much so.

The colors that I used are so so cool together. I am using the colors from this week's The Play Date Cafe challenge.

Here is the card I made:

I just LOVE the way the colors worked together and really like the way the tone on tone look of the sentiment looks. I just used Versamark and clear embossing powder, but I have not done that in so long, it feels new! :)

Well, that's it from me. I'm off to work now. I hope you guys have a lovely Monday! Thank you, always, for stopping by hownowbrownkow! It makes my heart happy. Laters!

Stamps: Inside Out: Thank You

Card Stock: Basic Grey, Only Orange (su)

Ink: Versamark, Clear Embossing powder (su)

Extras: Flower (Recollections); Old Olive ribbon and button (su); Cuttlebug embossing folder

Bottles & Booties...

Hi everyone. Happy Sunday to you! I hope you guys have had a great weekend. One more day to go. Yay! Are you guys off work tomorrow? I am, and I totally need that day! This has been a great weekend for me, but not for my diet. I have gone out to eat twice. I had appetizers, short ribs, potatoes, desserts, and anything in between! Ha! It was my mom's birthday, though, so it was worth it. I'll just have to get back on track Tuesday. Yes, I skipped Monday - what of it? lol

Anywho, so today's card is for two challenges! The first one is this weeks Play Date Cafe challenge. Here are the challenge colors:

Super sweet, right? I love the way they work together..really soft color combo!

The second challenge was this week's Verve Sketch. 

Is that not a great sketch? Wow..I love it. Now, when I put these two things together and combined it with my recent baby kick, I came up with this little beauty:

Do you love it? I sure do..lol. The colors were just perfect together and the sketch was so much fun to use. Look at little Emery elephant (from Verve). Is he not the cutest thing? I saw on Julee's blog last week, that she used something called "Flower Soft" on her card. I wasn't sure what it was so I googled and realized that it seemed kinda like furry stuff (don't you love my college educated descriptive phrases??LOL). Well, on Friday I was in Michael's and saw some Martha Stewart Flocking Powder! It was just what I needed. I bought the pewter and the brown in case some teddy bears needed a little loving..lol.It was so easy to apply and this little guy is soft and furry in person. :)

Well, that's it from me. Come back tomorrow for another creation! Thanks for stopping by!


Stamps: Emery Elephant plain jane (Verve); A New Little Someone (SU)
Card Stock: Kraft, grey, and dsp (SU); White (papertrey)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Going Grey (SU); Black (memento)
Extras: MS Flocking powder & Adhesive ribbon tape (Michael's); bling (want2scrap); Button (papertrey)

PDCC Peace...

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you've had a wonderful day. :)

Today's card uses the colors from this week's The Play Date Cafe Challenge. Here are the challenge colors:

Brown, grey, and silver. I was stumped on the silver part! I thought about everything from metal brads to Reynold's Wrap..lol. Finally, I decided to steal an ornament off of the tree and go with that. I give you my Robin Hood card (you know, steal from the tree that is "rich" with ornaments and give to my "poor" little card..lol...I crack myself up sometimes!!):

 And here is a closeup of the ornament:

It's really very glittery IRL. I really like the brown and grey combo. I don't think I have ever used it before today...isn't it a great combination??

I hope you'll head over to The Play Date Cafe and play along this week. I'm headed to the grocery store now. I never grocery shop (hubby does that), so I am armed with two whole coupons and a list...and i'm not hungry, so hopefully this goes well. :)  Laters!



Stamps: Snowflake Serenade (papertrey)
Card Stock: Basic Grey (stampin up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (stampin up)
Extras: Snowflake (ornament from Target), button (papertrey)

Frosty Friends

Hi everyone. I made this card last week for the Play Date Cafe challenge. Here are this weeks colors:

I was browsing the other cards on the challenge site and saw that mine wasn't there...I obviously forgot to post it, so here you go:

I'm still down in the dumps about hubby being gone, so i'm not too talkative, creative, or happy these days. I tried to stamp tonight and nothing...ugh. Please keep us in your thoughts. Hopefully, I will feel like stamping over the holiday weekend and will get my overall mojo back. Thx

Laters..



Stamps: Frosty Friends (Tweeny Tween from MFT)
Card Stock: White, Distressed dot pp (papertrey); Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive (stampin up)
Ink: Black, Tempting Turquoise, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive (stampin up)
Extras: Stickles; Twine (The Twinery); buttons (papertrey)

Be grateful . . .

Good morning! Thanks for dropping in! Today's card is one I TRULY struggled to create. I honestly wasn't thrilled with the result, but Ava said she loved it so I will post it. She rarely likes my cards (her style is different from mine), so for her to say that was a treat. A treat I will share with y'all.

I used the Play Date Cafe color challenge for this week. Here is the inspiration photo.

Thud. That was my first response. lol. I had no idea HOW to get this in one card, but here is my creation:

What are your thoughts on it? I heat embossed the background and then sponged the inks over it. It was a mess to create, but ah well.

Well, that's it...hope to see you back soon. I'm still in the mountains hopefully having fun! Laters!


Stamps: Henna Petals (Fiskars); Inside Out: Thank You (papertrey)
Card Stock: Bashful Blue, White (stampin up)
Ink: Ruby Red, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Brilliant Blue, Bravo Burgundy (stampin up)
Extras: Pearls, Versamark, white embossing powder (stampin up)

Play Date Wishes...

Hi there! Is it Sunday already?  Where oh where did the weekend go? At least we gained an hour this morning...i'll take extra hours whenever I can get them.


The card I made today is for the Play Date Cafe challenge. Here are this week's colors:

Are they not so pretty? I really love that kinda off color peachy orange..it's a very soothing color. I decided to focus most on the green and use my Great Friend set again.

I combined it with a sentiment from Waltzingmouse's Teeny Trees. The font in that set is soo cute. Almost like real handwriting. I also used my Square Lattice folder again. Gosh, I don't think my Cuttlebug has seen as much action as it has since I got that folder. It's just so perfect. I try to use others, but well...here we are again. :)

Well, I'm off to church. Hope you guys have a wonderful day! Laters..




Stamps: Great Friend (Verve); Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse)
Card Stock: White (Papertrey); Certainly Celery, dsp (stampin up)
Ink: Basic Brown, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie (stampin up)
Extras: Pearls (stampin up)

Super Star...

Hello! Thanks for dropping in! I do so appreciate all of you who come to my blog. I feel so happy every time I get a new comment. It's really very sweet!


Today's card is for my little cousin, Hana. She just got her first *real* job and I am so proud of her.  The colors I used were from this weeks The Play Date Cafe color challenge.

I had a REALLY difficult time with these colors and one would think they would be so easy, no? I could not get the right balance of black and white and then discovered I was out - completely out - of black card stock. Now, how the heck does THAT happen?? Anywho, after my mini meltdown (lol), I decided to go with this polka dot pattern. Such a fun paper, right? So, here is my card:

That's it from me...i'll be back tomorrow with my Waltzingmouse Sketch card. I hope your Friday is good. Since Hubby is leaving in less than a month, we are having a date night tonight! I cannot wait. I think we're doing dinner and a movie (any ideas for a movie to see? No chick flicks or romance, please...LOL). I'm looking forward to it all.



Stamps: Star Prints (papertrey)
Card Stock: White (papertrey); Bravo Burgundy and polka dot pp (stampin up)
Ink: Versamark
Extras: White embossing powder, Fiskars Star punch, black rhinestones

Girly, You Rock...

Hello all! I sure hope you have all had a great week. Mine has been good, so I cannot complain. Of course, even if I did who would really care? LOL

Today's card was SO much fun to make. My new MFT stamps came in the mail and I was so excited. I have been wanting this cute little chica for weeks, but just bought her. She reminds me SO much of my daughter, Ava. She is ALWAYS on her iPhone. Sometimes I think it is literally attached to the child. Always listening to either 80's music, Glee stuff, AC/DC, Taylor Swift, or her Avril Lavigne/ Adam Lambert compilation. She is such a musically all over the place child...just like her mama! :) So anyway, this card is for her. I just love that little girl.


The color scheme came from this weeks Play Date Cafe Challenge. They are celebrating their one year anniversary and they'll have posts each day through the 26th. You should check it out. Every week they have really great color combos to try. Here is this weeks color challenge:

So pretty, huh? Head on over there and see what's going on. It's always a blast!


In addition to using the PDCC for my colors, I also used the sketch from this week's  SFYTT. Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Isn't she the cutest little thing?? Just love that she is more of a preteen than my other PI stamps (which I also love...lol). This card also gave me a chance to use my Skipping Stones "Timeless Textures" set again. It is the musical background on the white paper. Yep, that's a stamp. I had totally forgotten there was a musical background in there! It's so great cause you can totally change up the look of a card with this stamp in various colors, you know? Cool beans. 

Well, that's it for today. Time to get ready for the weekend! Anyone got big plans?



Stamps: Tweeny Rock (My Favorite Things); Signature Greetings (papertrey); Timeless Textures (Skipping Stones)
Card Stock: Lemon Tart, White (papertrey); Peach Parfait, Cameo Coral (stampin up)
Ink: Peach Parfait, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa (stampin up); Memento Black
Extras: Buttons, ricrac die, twine,  and Lemon Tart grosgrain (papertrey); Labels 14

Friends Always..

Hello! Another weekend is here, right? Love it! We're headed out of town this weekend...visiting my grandmother again. :)

Today's card is a fave of mine. I love the colors and the set - Teeny Trees by Waltzingmouse - is fabulous!! I really see so many possibilities in this set. Everyone should own it! :)

I created this card for the Play Date Cafe challenge  this week. 

The Play Date Cafe colors/inspiration photo is here: 

Here is the card I made:

Aren't those trees so fun? And there are so many of them from which to choose! Really fab set..a staple, really.

Well, that's it for me. Time to head to work and then head out of town. I have some posts scheduled, so you don't have to miss me over the weekend..lol. ;)




Stamps: Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse)
Card Stock: Sage Shadow, Linen Closet pp (DCWV at Hobby Lobby)
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Baja Breeze (stampin up)
Extras: Twine, button (papertrey)

Old Bogie...

Hi everyone! It's finally Friday! I'm so glad. Today's card is for The Play Date Cafe challenge for this week. Here is the challenge pic:

And here is my card:

The button is really closer to the color of the card stock, but it doesn't show that way on here. I really love this image. I bought it a couple of months ago from I have no idea where. I bought it online, so if any of you know PLEASE tell me. Ugh..I can't believe I cannot remember where I got that stamp.  I also used the sketch from this week's Sketch For You To Try. This was my first time playing along, though I see the sketches a ton as I peruse other's sites. Here is this weeks sketch:

Anywho, so that's it from me. Play along with us over at The Play Date challenge - it is so much fun every week. I'm scheduling a couple of blog posts over the weekend because we're headed out of town to visit with my grandmother. They're saying it's just a matter of time because she has had mini strokes after the one earlier this week and she is not stabilized. :(  Please keep her in your prayers. Thanks y'all! Have a great weekend....

Stamps: unknown, You're Dandy (PCD) for the clouds

Card Stock: Night of Navy, White, Going Grey (stampin up); Kiwi Kiss dsp (stampin up)

Ink: Black, Night of Navy, Certainly Celery (stampin up)

Extras: button