CrAzY for the Earth

We're going crazy for the earth and trees this week with the Crazy 4 Challenges girls! Silke is our hostess again this week and she is challenging us to create anything with trees in honor of the upcoming International Earth Day. I'm always a sucker for tree stamps, so the only hard part about this challenge was deciding what tree stamp to use! However, the decision came easier than I anticipated because I ran out of time to get a card done, so I'm using this one that I hadn't blogged before! LOL (Someone pass me the Easy Button... "That was easy!")

Stop over at the C4C blog for all the challenge details, and visit the other Crazies for more inspiration!

Barbara Anders

Cindy Haffner

Frances Byrne

Jessie Rone

Joanne Grzelak

Jocelyn Pelkey

Lynda Benden

Maria Bell

Silke Kittman

Silke Ledlow

Vicki Garrett

I hope you're having a FABULOUS weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Many Sparrows, Tree Birds, Cover-a-Card Music background (Impression Obsession)

Cardstock: Bazzill; Core'dinations; designer paper (Fancy Pants); white (Flourishes)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Barn Door, Tumbled Glass (Ranger)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars); ribbon (Creative Impressions); button (Fancy Pants).

Verses on Friday

It's Friday! That means my Verses Design Team sister Heather Stephens and I are ready to share Verses on Friday with you again today! Stop by Heather's blog and check out her beautiful creation and please leave her some love while you're there!

For my card today, I paired this beautiful Triple Cross image from DRS Designs with the He Is Risen stamp (#EA0260-C) from Verses Rubber Stamps.

Since this is post one of two for today, I'll keep it short and sweet! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: He is Risen (Verses Rubber Stamps #EA0260-C), Triple Cross (DRS Designs)

Cardstock: Black OP (Bazzill), Whisper White, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!)

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)

Accessories: Rolled Rose, Mini Rolled Rose Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), leafy branch punch (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), clear embossing powder.

Bellarific Friday

It's Bellarific Friday again, and this week the challenge is to make an Easter card. So of course, what else could I do but ink up Eva Bloom with her fancy egg and Easter beauty! I used some more of my new My Mind's Eye papers, and paper-pieced some of the egg with it, too.

Stop on over at Bloggabella and check out all the creations today! Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by today, and leavin' me some love! I appreciate it!

Stamps: Eva Bloom (Stamping Bella)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up!; designer paper (My Mind's Eye); white (Classic White for Copic from Flourishes)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)' markers (Copic)

Accessories: Little Open Scalloped Border Die-Namics (My Favorite Things); Nestabilities oval, tag (Spellbinders); bling (Zva), seam binding, button, string.

Color Throwdown #132

It's time for Color Throwdown #132 and this week Broni is our hostess with this cool color palette! We hope you'll be inspired to play along! Remember, if you don't have these exact colors, whatever you have that is similar is just fine!

I don't know why, but "duck" came to mind with these colors... maybe the two shades of blue made me think of water and the yellow a duck's bill? Whatever the case, I decided to pull out this adorable (and neglected!) cute duck stamp from Penny Black for my card. This poor guy hasn't seen ink in awhile, so using him for my card also works for the weekly challenge of my MINION Jessie with her Forgotten Stamp Friday challenge!
As you can see, the Labels 1 Nestabilities die cut is mounted on foam squares then I mounted the duck on some foam tape, and went further by mounting the bill, feet and one hand/wing on some more foam tape for some great dimension!

Stop and see what my Throwdown sisters have created for the challenge today... I know you're going to love their creations!

And thank YOU for stopping by today! I appreciate your visits and comments!

Stamps: Duckling (Penny Black), sentiment (Tag Lines by Flourishes)

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky designer paper (Stampin' Up!), Classic White Copic cardstock (Flourishes), yellow designer paper (A Walk in the Park by Echo Park)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Labels 1 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Little Open Scallop Strip Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), SU! ribbon, Divine Twine, button, white brads (craft supply).

Timeless Tuesday #108 - Stitch It Up

The past week has just flown by and here we are ready for another Timeless Tuesday challenge! This week Cindy Haffner is our hostess and her challenge is to add stitching to your creation... machine stitching, hand stitching, or faux stitching, whatever works for you!

I decided to ink up my new From the Desk of... stamp set for my card today and added a row of zig-zag stitching down the panel of pink designer paper on the right side. The designer papers I used are from My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose collections, and my layout comes from this week's sketch #208 at Card Positioning Systems. My wonderful Mom is having a birthday in a few weeks, so this is her birthday card.

Stop over at the Flourishes blog for all the challenge details, and visit the other Timeless Tuesday designers for inspiration...

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Makiko Jones

Silke Ledlow (no card today, but she's got blog candy!)

Amanda Havon, March Guest Designer

So, let's see what you can stitch up! Happy stamping!

Soothe My Soul - TSG97

It's my first full week as a Trendsetter for There She Goes Clear Stamps, so I'm excited to be sharing the challenge for this week with you! This week Jodi Collins is the Trendsetter of the Week and she is challenging us to do something that actually comes pretty easily to me.... use KRAFT cardstock! :) I love to use Kraft because it's such a great neutral color that will compliment any color combo. Check out the challenge on the TSG blog, and you could be the randomly chosen winner of the challenge!

I decided to use The Journey stamp set for my card today. This is such a beautiful stamp set with a lovely Asian theme, and it's full of images! I paired up my Kraft cardstock with some So Saffron and Perfect Plum, with designer papers from Cosmo Cricket and My Mind's Eye. Then a splash of green from the ribbon finished it off.

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that showcases a creation using Kraft cardstock, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of the challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Mar 14th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)
You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG97 so we can check out your beautiful work!

I hope you had a GREAT weekend, and I appreciate you stopping by today! Happy stamping!

CrAzY Sketch

It's Saturday so that means it's time for another challenge with my Crazy Sisters on the Crazy 4 Challenges team. For the month of March, Silke Ledlow is our challenge hostess and today she's got a great sketch for you to try! Check out all the challenge details by visiting the C4C blog.

For my card, I didn't even try to resist the urge and automatically searched through my new My Mind's Eye papers to create my card, along with the bicycle image from Papertrey Ink's "Everyday Button Bits" stamp set. I have a good friend who just got a big promotion she's been hoping for, so this card is for her as a little "way to go!" and to help her enjoy her big step up.

Check out what my crazy sisters have created today, too!

Barbara Anders

Cindy Haffner

Frances Byrne

Jessie Rone

Joanne Grzelak

Jocelyn Pelkey

Lynda Benden

Maria Bell

Silke Kittman

Silke Ledlow

I hope you have a great weekend! Happy stamping!

An Aquamarine Bellarific Friday

The Bellarific Friday challenge for this week was to create a card inspired by March's birthstone, the aquamarine. Well, having a March birthday I have always known that aquamarine represents March and I have always loved that my month has such a pretty birthstone, so I just HAD to make time to create a card for the challenge.

A few weeks ago I was the lucky winner of a gift certificate to the Stamping Bella store (Did you KNOW Emily gives away a couple of gift certificates every week? I {heart} generous companies like that! It's actually the second time I've won!) and with my winnings I picked up some new (to me!) Mavis stamps, 'cause she's just so stinkin' cute! So I used Mavis for my card today along with some new My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose papers from the Gertie 6x6 paper pad.

Originally I just wanted some touches of pink in my design, but the pink cardstock for the background put it a little over the edge in the pink department, I guess! LOL This card also qualifies for Jeanie's "That's Krafty Thursday" challenge this week too, to use Kraft cardstock in your creation. Hello? When don't I use Kraft cardstock? I'm a shoe-in for that challenge! :) I used Kraft for my card base and also for the tab under the ribbon.

Thanks again for visiting my blog today... I appreciate it so much!

Verses on Friday

Happy Friday everyone! My fellow Verses Rubber Stamps Design Team sister Heather Stephens and I are back again today with another edition of Verses on Friday. Stop over at Heather's blog... she's got a Spring beauty to share with you today! Don't forget to leave her some love, too!

For my card, I went with a Spring theme too, because I'm so anxious for it to GET here! Plus I just could NOT pass up using these new My Mind's Eye papers that I got this week! The stamp I have used here is Celebrate Spring (#MC0334-D) from Verses, and I stamped it in Shabby Shutters ink, then sponged Dried Marigold ink around the edges while the cardstock was still in the die.

My rolled roses are Die-Namics from My Favorite Things, as well as the Jumbo Ric-Rac border. If you look real close, you can see I spritzed the whole card front with Perfect Pearls for a nice shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by! Now, shout it out loud with me....... TGIF!!!

Happy stamping!

TCP148 - Get Lucky!

Anyone feelin' lucky? If so, you ought to join in the TCP Tuesday challenge this week from The Cat's Pajamas! The challenge is to create a card for St. Patrick's Day or to wish someone good luck! I kinda' did both with my card!

I got new papers today from Cosmo Cricket, and while flipping through the Social Club Mini-Deck, I noticed the very first page was this awesome green plaid! So I knew it'd be perfect for a card to meet this challenge. I added in some papers from October Afternoon, because... well, because you can NEVER have too much paper, right? I used PJ the Bear from the Honey Bear stamp set, but when I inked him up, I left off the heart on the left side. Then, for a shamrock I used a white Petaloo hydrangea flower, colored it with Copics and secured it with a new gold SU! Glimmer Brad (a little birthday gift from my sweet friend, LeAnne!) Some of that fabulous plaid to paper-piece his belly was also definitely in order!

I used a "good luck" sentiment from another stamp set on a Nestabilities tag, and did my usual ribbon/button/Divine Twine combo to tie it on. Just below the ribbon is the Big Scallop Cut-Ups die.

I hope you like my "lucky" card today! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #131

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday again which means time for another Color Throwdown! This week, LeAnne is back from a vacation (that she didn't invite me on!) and is challenging us to these pretty pastels! We'd love to see what you can do with them! Visit the Color Throwdown blog for all the details!

Did you catch my awesome announcement yesterday that I was asked to join the design team at There She Goes? I'm so excited to be working alongside some really amazing designers, and especially excited for the next release which you are going to LOVE! In honor of my new gig, I pulled out the Act of Kindness stamp set to use for my card today. I combined the challenge today with the Mojo Monday sketch, too.And check out my seam binding flower! The uber-talented Broni Holcombe had something similar on her blog the other day and I begged her to tell me how to make it! This is my version, and I LOVE how it turned out! And my sentiment is stamped on my never-leaves-my-side Sentiment Flag die from Lil' Inker Designs!

See what my Throwdown sisters have created today for more inspiration, including our new March Guest Designer....

Many, MANY thanks to everyone for the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! And a HUGE, EXTRA SPECIAL thank you to my bestest friend ever, Barbara Anders for organizing that surprise birthday blog hop for me, and to all my fabulous stamping friends who joined in! It was the most amazing day! Y'all make turning 43 not so bad!

Happy stamping!

My Favorite Things March Blog Hop and Shop

The fantastic magic carpet ride of being the Guest Designer for My Favorite Things this past week has come to an end, but not before I show you one more card using some of the new stamps you're hopefully shopping for right now! If you've been following along with the teasers since last Friday you know there are some pretty awesome stamp sets and Die-Namics available right now, so rush on over to the MFT store when you're done! If you came to my blog from the blog of the awesome Arlene, then you're on the right track and at the end of the hop! If not, hop back to the beginning so you don't miss anything! Hopefully you didn't forget to leave comments along the way... somewhere there is blog candy hidden and one lucky person will win a $15 voucher to spend!

For my card tonight I have used a sentiment and the treble clef from the Who's that Musical Girl? stamp set. I printed out some music manuscript paper and adhered the words to sentiment in pieces on the bars to resemble musical notes! I also have a pile of old organ music that I don't play anymore so I used a piece of that to dress up my card as well as some stitching, bling, brads and seam binding. The red and cream paper, and sage green paper is new Stella & Rose from My Mind's Eye, and the black print is October Afternoon. Along the bottom edge I used the Jumbo Scallop Die-Namics in a double-layer.

Inside I added the WTG (I just LOVE that she's in a circle... so many new fun ways to add her to your designs!) and another sentiment from the set.
So, in the words of Porky Pig... "That's all folks!" It's been freaking amazing to be a part of the MFT team this week, and I SOOOO appreciate all the wonderful comments! Thanks too for all the birthday wishes today! I had the best birthday ever! Super special thanks to my BFF Barbara Anders, and fabulous new friend Jessie Rone my Minion for choosing me last month to be Guest Designer, and to Kim Van der Sanden and Jody Morrow from My Favorite Things for their generosity and support!

Thanks bunches!!! Have a great evening!

My Favorite Things Day 5 Teaser

It's the fifth and final day of Teasers for the new releases from My Favorite Things, and my last (*sniff, sniff*) day as the Guest Designer! I guess it's only fitting that it's also my birthday, so I can celebrate the awesome ride I just took with the fabulous gals from MFT on my special day! (And for the record.... 29!)

Just to remind you of those new release details...

• Release party is from 8-10pm TONIGHT, at the Member Company Forum on SCS.

• The April Guest Designer Contest ended on Monday, February 28 at 10 PM EST. The winner will be announced at the release party. Get the deets here.

• Teasers began Friday and will be daily through Tuesday, March 1st. Head on over to the MFT blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with for today's teasers. Every day there will be a prize hidden on two of the Creative Team's blog posts. Leaving a comment on every designer's blog post will give you the best chance of winning every day :) Check the MFT blog daily for the winners.

• The March Hop and Shop will begin at 10:00pm March 1st, with the hop also starting at the MFT Blog.

For my card today, I have a very clean and simple design to share.... kinda' outside the box for me, because that's not my usual style. I usually work something to the death! For this card I used a sentiment from the Clearly Sentimental about Music stamp set, added some Die-Namics (which are BACK IN STOCK in the MFT store... didja' get that news flash last night?) in the form of the Mini Rolled Roses, and the Simply Scallops border.
I'll keep it short and sweet on this post, because I have a lot to share with you today, as well as later tonight with the blog hop that begins at 10:00 p.m. EST!

Thanks for stopping!

Exciting News!

I know I'm hitting you, my sweet readers, with a LOT of information today but I hope you'll bear with me! Remember... today is my birthday! NO ONE is allowed to unsubscribe today just because I've got 3 posts in one day! LOL Don't break my heart on my birthday, OK? :)

Today I get to share with you some fun news! I was recently asked by Jessica Knutsen at There She Goes Clear Stamps to join her fabulous design team! I was so honored to hear from her, and quickly said YES! Please stop by the TSG blog for all the details today and see the other phenomenal girls I'll have the honor of working with!

If I were better organized this week, I would have a brand new There She Goes card to share with you today! However, I've had a lot on my plate and am barely stayin' afloat (literally, as our area was hit with a lot of flooding yesterday, too!) So I'm sharing with you a TSG card I made awhile back when Jessica sponsored The Color Throwdown challenge! This cute whale comes from the You're So Punny stamp set.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for sharing in this awesome news with me, and for stopping by again today! I appreciate it so very much!

Happy stamping!

Timeless Tuesday #107 - Go Green

Hi all! It's time for another Timeless Tuesday challenge, and this week Dee is our hostess and she's challenging us to create something for St. Patrick's Day, or to simply incorporate green into your project!

So for my card, I couldn't resist using the Irish Blessings stamp set, and coloring this bouquet of shamrocks. I added some green paper from My Mind's Eye, and accented with aqua and black.
Check out what the other Timeless Tuesday designers have created today, including an outstanding creation from our March Guest Designer, Amanda Havon!

Dee Jackson

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Makiko Jones

Silke Ledlow

Amanda Havon, March Guest Designer

At the present time, the Flourishes website and blog are down so I can't refer you to the blog for all the challenge details! :( As soon as things are up and running again, we'll have the post up for you! In the meantime, the challenge is posted in our Member Company Forum on SCS, and you can upload there using FTTC107 for your keywords, and then link your creation to the challenge thread HERE.

Thanks for stopping by again today!

My Favorite Things Day 4 Teaser

I have another Teaser to share with you today from My Favorite Things! There are actually two stamp sets being debuted today... Inspired by Flowers (the first set in a 4-part, year-long series) and Bee Yourself, which I'm showing you today. But first...

• Release party is from 8-10pm on March 1st, at the Member Company Forum on SCS.

• The April Guest Designer Contest ends on Monday, February 28 at 10 PM EST. The winner will be announced at the release party. Get the deets here.

• Teasers began Friday and will be daily through Tuesday, March 1st. Head on over to the MFT blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with for today's teasers. Every day there will be a prize hidden on two of the Creative Team's blog posts. Leaving a comment on every designer's blog post will give you the best chance of winning every day :) Check the MFT blog daily for the winners.

• The March Hop and Shop will begin at 10:00pm March 1st, with the hop also starting at theMFT Blog.

I think this darling little bee is one of my most favorite cards yet for this week! She's so fun to color, and really versatile too...you could use this for a cute Halloween card next fall, as well! I created my card with a variety of October Afternoon papers, and a couple of Die-Namics... the Simply Scallops border and the Flower Trio. The layout is from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch #106 for this week.
I kept the inside kinda' simple...
I hope you like my card today! Again... I thank you so much for stopping by!

My Favorite Things Day 3 Teaser

It's day #3 of Teasers from My Favorite Things, and it's my favorite day because we're showing you all the new Pure Innocence stamp sets available this month! Every stamp set in the line is so darling, and these are no exception! You'll see 5 new sets today... Daffodil (the next one in the Flower of the Month line), Warm Fuzzies, One Sweet Chick, Girl Scout and Boy Scout. Here are a few other details you'll want to know regarding the new releases...

• Release party is from 8-10pm on March 1st, at the Member Company Forum on SCS.

• The April Guest Designer Contest begins today and ends on Monday, February 28 at 10 PM EST. The winner will be announced at the release party. Get the deets here.

• Teasers began Friday and will be daily through Tuesday, March 1st. Head on over to the MFT blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with for today's teasers. Every day there will be a prize hidden on two of the Creative Team's blog posts. Leaving a comment on every designer's blog post will give you the best chance of winning every day :) Check the MFT blog daily for the winners.

• The March Hop and Shop will begin at 10:00pm March 1st, with the hop also starting at theMFT Blog.

Now, you would think that someone as anxious for Spring to arrive as I am (especially given the fact that I lost control on an cold, icy road yesterday and took out a pair of mailboxes with my Trail Blazer!) would have used one of the Spring/Easter-themed sets for my card today. However, I just couldn't resist the Girl Scout. I have such fond memories of being in Girl Scouts! I think a lot of those wonderful memories are because my Mom was such a devoted leader of my troop for so long, but I also remember fun times at meetings and at camp, and working on projects for badges. And selling cookies was the BEST part! I still remember being so amazed at one of my aunts ordering 10 boxes of Thin Mints one year!

So I got this cute little Scout inky for my card today, but instead of the traditional green we usually think of for Girl Scouts, I chose to go with the blue and brown of the Brownie uniform. (Must be a craving for chocolate?)
I came across this light blue houndstooth paper in my stash from Teresa Collins, and knew it would go perfectly with my cute little Brownie girl. My layout comes from the Fan Club sketch challenge for this month from Splitcoaststampers. The top two strips of cardstock were embossed with the Candy Cane Stripes Cuttlebug folder to mimic the angle of her sash. The bottom strip was cut with the Simply Scallops Die-Namics border, and I added Got Cookies? on a Sentiment Flag die from Lil' Inker Designs.
I cut out an extra sash and bow tie also, and added them with foam tape for extra dimension. Doesn't she look so proud of her badges? :) I still have my sash from Scouts! I should go dig it out. My girls would be so fascinated by what their momma used to do as a little girl! LOL

On the inside I added a quote from Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, and the Dainty Dots Die-Namics border to echo the circle mentioned in the quote.

Thanks so much for all your visits this week! I know it's a lot and I appreciate those of you that keep coming back each day! Your comments make me smile!