Birthday Wishes

Hey you guys! Thanks for stopping in. I know I had a card for the Retro Sketches already today, but here I am again with another. I love the sketch. I love sketch challenges! I'm also playing along with this week's Curtain Call challenge and this week's Color Throwdown. Take a look at these colors for Curtain Cal and then for Color Throwdown.

Aren't they beautiful ?This card is for a very good friend whose birthday totally slipped my mind. It was the day Ava and I went to the Ed Sheeran concert, but that's no excuse, right? So, I'm ending the card along with a Starbucks gift card as a peace offering. Maybe I'll get invited out for coffee! haha.

So, here is the card and then the sketch: 

I finally got some of the little sequins from Stampin' Up! and used some of those: 

Aren't they just adorable? I must get more of these. 

Anyway, so here is the sketch:

Well, that's all I have for today. Thanks for stopping in!

Blessed to have You

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday. :)

Short post today...sorry.  I'm sure you were waiting with baited breath for one of my long drawn out posts....not. :)


Today's card uses this week's Curtain Call Challenge colors:

Aren't they rich and warm? I love it. Here is my card:

This card was so fun to make. At first,I wasn't sure about the mustard and saffron going together, but the paper from Cosmo Cricket made it flow so easily. I just love this paper! Well, gotta go. Have a wonderful day today!


Stamps: Just for You (Verve)
Card Stock: More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake (SU); dsp (Cosmo Cricket - Circa 1934)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron (SU)
Extras: pearls - Pizzazz-A-Plenty; Mat Stack 5 die and twine (papertrey)

My Girls..

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you're having a great day. I'm still feeling poorly, but I wanted to make some little treats for my Awana girls to give out tonight. If you're not familiar with Awana, I like to cal lit a cross between Girl Scouts and Bible Drill. The girls (and boys) ages 3 - 6th grade come and learn Bible Verses, play games, have group time...it's just a really great time. Ava is in her last year (womp womp) and she's thoroughly enjoyed it. I've taught her class - the same group of girls - since they were in first grade. It'll be hard next year and I haven't decided whether I am going to follow them to the Youth Group or not. :)


Anyway, so I saw what Debby made today and thought that would be perfect for the girls. Hers are fancier than mine, but I like the way mine came out. ;)


I used this week's Curtain Call Challenge colors:

Here are my treat bags:

And a close up of my favorite 3:

If you look closely, you'll see that some of them have "flaps". I decided to not to cut the card stock down to 9 inches on those and just scored it again at 2 inches to make that part. I thought it made a kinda different look that I liked. :) I also used lots of Stampin' Up Rub-on's that I got from my Secret Sister over on Splitcoaststampers. I had absolutely no rub ons before and let me tell you -  I adore them! They are so easy to put on and look just as sweet as pie! The rub ons are the balloons, clouds, "love you", and "xoxo"...aren't they neat?


Well, that's all for me. I'm going back to sleep. Thanks for stopping by. Laters!



Stamps: Love Birds (papertrey)
Card Stock: Kraft, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler(su); Vanilla,White (papertrey)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (su); Vintage Vanilla (papertrey)
Extras: Twine (The Twinery); Buttons, ricrac die, twine, grosgrain ribbon, eyelet border die (papertrey); Rub On's (su)

Wonderful Self...

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting today! :)

I hope you guys are all having a good week. It's only Monday, but so far so good I suppose. We're having some Middle School issues, but I am trying to NOT focus too hard on it. I know that kids will be kids, but they're just SO different from when I grew up. Do you guys feel that way?

Anyway, so today's card is really neat, I think. As you more than likely know, February marks Papertrey Ink's 4th anniversary. This is my first time being a part of the celebration, but I will say it rocks! Check out Nichole's blog for more info on all of the happenings. Today through Monday, there is a contest to make a card that uses a combination of similar sentiments. They will have a contest every Monday..it's their Make It Monday Challenge. Read all about it here: Make it Monday

I am also using this week's Curtain Call Challenge colors, seen here:

Aren't they gorgeous together? Like a nice Spring bouquet. So, here is the card that was born of these two challenges:

I decided to use 1 stamp set - my favorite "Healing Touch" from Papertrey - but to take all of the shorter sentiments and stamp them repeatedly as a background of sorts. It came out just as I had imagined it. I stamped it in Versamark and then embossed it with white embossing powder. I added some pearls (of course!), a flower/leaf and a little shading on the circle. That reminds me. People have asked a few times how I shade my circles. Well, I don't use a Copic Airbrush system. I just keep the diecut shape in the nestie and take a sponge and circle around the edges with whatever ink I choose. Super simple! :)

Well, that's all I have today. Have a good one! Laters!



Stamps: Healing Touch (papertrey)
Card Stock: Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi (su); White (papertrey)
Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette (su)
Extras: Square Lattice embossing folder, White embossing powder, Pearls (su); Rolled Flower die (MFT)

Love Birds...

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend...well, and are still having one since there are still a few more hours left. Today's card is a card I made for my cousin and her husband. They are celebrating 1 year of marriage next week. I remember  those days..lol. Anyway, so I wanted to use some nice soft colors and what should pop up this morning but this week's Curtain Call Challenge. LOOK at these colors, y'all:

Ok, so they don't scream wedding..but once I started my card, I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. Using the Almost Amethyst as my base color was the best decision I made. It made such a difference in the way it came out. So here is my card:

What do you think? It's kinda busy, but I think I really like it. I love that you can color the new Stampin Up Rosettes. They come vanilla, but I used my Almost Amethyst marker and made it match..I have GOT to buy more of those!! :)

Well, I've got to get ready for Awana. Thank you for stopping by!



Stamps: Love Birds (papertrey); Holiday Labels 14 (waltzingmouse)
Card Stock: Almost Amethyst, Early Esprresso (su); White (papertrey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Versamark (su)
Extras: White & Clear embossing powders, Vanilla Rosettes (su); Floral ribbon (American Crafts); Birdcage die and heart die (papertrey); Pearls (su)

Baby Boy..

Hello! Well, we have another snow day in Nashville. I heard someone on the radio yesterday call it Snowpocalypse...LOL! I thought that was genius. ;)

So, the one good thing about staying home is that I get to catch up with my DVR stuff. Stamping has taken over and I now have to DVR the shows that I normally get to watch live. Its a sacrifice, but I am willing to do it. Ha! So, this morning I caught up on Human Target, The Big Bang Theory, and Criminal Minds. CM is my absolute favorite show. I just love Matthew Gray Gubler..so so much....

Ahem, anyway..back to crafting. {blush}

Today's card is made using this week's Curtain Call Color Challenge. Ok, here is a tidbit of honesty. I had very little of the newer SU colors in paper or ink, so when I saw this challenge I knew that I simply HAD to buy it. So, the reason this is so late in getting posted is because I had to wait for my SU order. heehee...I just could not bear to play along another week not using the "right" colors. It was driving me insane. So, now I have card stock...next up the newer inks!

Gosh, I am SO talkative and random today. Anyway, so here are Stacey's colors for this week:

I also used the last of this month's Verve sketches, seen here:

Check out the Verve forum for more info on all of the sketches for this month!

Ok, so finally here is the fun little baby boy card that I made:

Isn't it just the funnest?!? And yes, I know "funnest" is not a word..lol. I had such a great time making this card. I hope some folks start having babies soon cause I am building up a stash of baby cards with no recipients in mind. :)

Ok, well that's it for me. I guess it's time to take off the pj's and saunter out to the mailbox to see what goodies might await. Thanks for stopping by. Laters!


Stamps: Smallest Things plain jane & Text Objects (Verve); Polka Dot Basics & Night Night Moon (papertrey)
Card Stock: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red (su)
Ink: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Versamark, white embossing powder (su)
Extras: Old Olive grosgrain (su); Buttons & large scallop border die (papertrey); Twine (The Twinery); Cuttlebug dots folder

Do not give up...

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day. Tomorrow is back to work after an extended period off and I think I am actually looking forward to it! I love my boss and job, so it's easy to say that, though. :)

Today's card is for two challenges. The first is the Curtain Call Color Challenge. It challenges us to use these colors:

The second challenge is the Sketch for you to try for this week, seen here:

And here is what I came up with for these challenges:

It was kinda difficult to get the red in there, but I managed to. I hope you like it! Well, we start Awana back in 30 minutes, so I should probably get to church! Have a great rest of the day and I will see you tomorrow perhaps! :)  Thanks for stopping by!

A good friend..

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. Today I am playing along with the wonderful Curtain Call Challenge. I decided to use a bit of my Pretties kit from Stampin Up finally.I have seen people use the hat pins before, but I never really hat a card that I felt comfortable putting them on..until now. Here are the challenge colors:

And here is my card:

As you can see, the flourish is embossed with black embossing powder and the white card stock is actually Papertrey's shimmer card stock. The flower is another of the flowers I picked up in Gatlinburg at the scrapbook store. How do you think the hat pin looks there? Ok? I think I like it... :)

Well, I must get back to work! Thanks for stopping by!

Hi there!!

Hello! Gosh, I have missed blogging this week! :)

My husband left yesterday and I was SO sad for a while. It's really lonely when you're used to having another adult in the house. And when I say adult, I mean an actual adult, not a preteen who THINKS she's an adult...LOL.

Anywho, last night Ava and I went to the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and let me just say I could have sat there another 2.5 hours to see the rest of it (the second half comes out in June 2011). It was SO fabulous...my favorite of the series though Chamber of Secrets is VERY close...haha.  So, we got home at 4 this morning. Needless to say, there was no school or work for us today. I'm still kind of in a fog, but I did manage to get some stamping done.

I started with this weeks' Curtain Call challenge! Here are the colors:

I decided to go with a baby card on this one since I just got my Night, Night Moon set from Papertrey in this week. Here is my card:

The sentiment part of the card is actually a Verve Plain Jane, but the little duck is from Night, Night moon...don't they look so cute together? heehee

I also used this weeks' Mojo Monday sketch, seen here:

Well, that's it for me. I'll leave you with a family photo from the Smokies. I asked this guy to take it and try as he might, he could not get a good picture of us. This one is the best, but it's a tad weird looking..kinda off color or something. Anyway, here ya go:

Stamps: Night, Night Moon (papertrey); Little Star Plain Jane (Verve)
Card Stock: White, So Saffron, Orange, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, dsp (stampin up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Peach Parfait (stampin up)
Extras: Grosgrain and button (papertrey)

Many Blessings..

Well, Happy Monday to you all! I hope November has been good to you so far. We're on the countdown for hubby leaving. He leaves next Thursday at noon. A full 12 hours and 1 minute before Ava and I see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. :) I love midnight showings of movies..they're great! We'll see IF we go to work and school the next day (unlikely!).

Anyway, today's card uses this week Curtain Call Color Challenge (did you see I made Showstopper last week over there?!? So exciting..).

Ok, when I first saw these colors I was seriously thinking, 'Ok, um..yeah.No."...lol...but once I figured out HOW I would work the colors, it all fell into place for me.

Here is what I came up with for this challenge:

Ok, so I promise i'll stop using that SU folder as soon as I find something better..lol. I really did try to not use it on this card, but I think it's better to give in to yourself when it comes to stamping and cotton candy. ;)

I chose to make the black (the color I had the most issue with in this combo), the base color and let the other colors shine. I hope you guys like it. Head over to the Curtain Call blog and join us this week! Laters..



Stamps: Wreath for all Seasons (papertrey); Many Blessings (Verve)
Card Stock: Black, White (Papertrey); Cherry Cobbler (stampin up)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler (stampin up)
Extras: Buttons, twine (papertrey)

Refuge & Strength..

Hello there! Ahh, Wednesday. It's almost the weekend again, right? Gotta love that. I just love my stamping time, don't you? Do you guys stamp everyday? I do. I have to...it's my quiet time in some ways. I mean, I have the TV on or my iPhone playing music, but it's still kinda like MY time to just be in my own little world.Ava usually comes in with me and we talk and share and watch TV or whatever. It's just a part of my day that I SO look forward to.



Today's card is for two challenges. The Curtain Call color challenge and the Moxie Fab World Challenge "Diggin' on Damask".  In the Moxie Fab challenge, we were to incorporate Damask into our project somehow. I used patterned paper to bring in my damask (am I the only person who loves saying that word?). The Curtain Call challenge was to use these colors:

Here is my card for these challenges:

I must say that I absolutely LOVE these blossom nesties. They are just so dang cute, no? I'm also finally learning to shade these things! I've had the hardest time..it's definitely a learning curve. Some folks make it look SO easy! 

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! Laters...

Oh, one more thing.... did you see that I was a favorite this week on the Color Throwdown blog? Ack! I was so excited to see my name up there. :)

Stamps: Psalm 46:1 Plain Jane (Verve); Life (papertrey)

Card Stock: Vanilla, Terracotta Tile (papertrey); More Mustard (stampin up); damask paper (The Paper Studio - Mirabella pack)

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard (stampin up)

Extras: Twine & button (papertrey); Blossom Nestabilities

Bump in the night...

Hello all! This is my second post today. Scroll down to see my Papertrey Blog Hop post!



Hope your Monday went well. Mine was nuts! First we woke up late, then Ava's bus did not come so we had to take her to school (we found out later that it has started coming 26 minutes earlier..oh, so that was the "bus" sound we heard..lol). That little route change then made me 30 minutes late for work. I got to work in time for all sorts of craziness begin. Aaron and I decided that we would go to Outback for lunch and were so excited and starving. Neither one of us was smart enough to make sure they were actually OPEN for lunch (they are not...), so we were stuck eating beans and hot dogs (don't ask..lol). To say that I was happy to get home is a total understatement! :)

I decided that I would play along with two challenges this week. The first one is the Curtain Call color challenge. I made their Top 5 Showstopper last week! That is always so exciting to see your creations chosen as a favorite, isn't it? Anywho, here are today's colors:

The second challenge is the SFYYT challenge. Here is this week's sketch:

Both are great, right? So here is my card: 

For some reason the gray photographed really dark, but some of the stars are grey as well as the ricrac. :)  Hope you like it. The whole image kinda creeps me out..lol. 

Stamps: Heidi Swapp chandelier image; sentiment/bats - Rub on from the Target dollar spot

Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Black, Basic Grey, White

Ink: Basic Grey (stampin up); Memento Black, Versamark

Extras: Black embossing powder (chandelier); Button (papertrey)

Birthday Wishes...

Hello. Well, we made it back home last night safe and sound. My grandmother is still hanging in there, thankfully, and she looks a lot better than she did the last time we were there. Hopefully, she'll be able to leave the hospital to go to another facility (rehab, nursing home, etc) before the end of the month.

Anywho, today's card is for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge seen here:

And also this week's fabulous Curtain Call Challenge colors: 

I love those colors. They are so deep and pretty together. I did not have the tangerine ink (Yet!!), so I used that for my paper, but I am really happy with the results.  I used my new Waltzingmouse Holiday Labels No. 14 that came in the mail while we were away...yippee! So, here you go:

Isn't it huge?? LOL! When I first saw the sketch, my brain immediately thought of doing another long card like this. They take up a lot of paper, but they are really fun to make.  Not so much fun to photograph, though I did like it in front of the new faux flowers my mom bought at a yard sale this weekend for my dining room table. :) The Holiday labels are just so perfect and they take ink VERY well. I love how the chocolate brown just pops on there. I used a sentiment from (say it with me...) Teeny Trees and it fit perfectly.  I'm not sure what else this card "needs", if anything. I mean, it feels complete to me, but maybe something on the brown? I put the pearls that to add some interest, so I think I'm good with it. Well, that's all from me. Starting a new week isn't always fun, so I better get some coffee in me and battle the Nashville traffic...ok, so there really isn't much traffic in Nashville, but you know what I mean. Hope you all have a great day!