In the Spotlight

Jason is out of town, Jordan is staying over at a friends, Max & Calvin are sleeping....so what am I doing? STAMPING! A perfect way to ring in the New Year! I had a really hard time with this card. It started completely different! Crazy how cards have a mind of their own sometime! This card is for the Color Challenge on SCS . Certainly celery, real red & taken with teal....what a combo! I don't own any teal ink but had some paper on hand to play with.
Recipe:
Stamps: In the Spotlight, short & sweet
Paper: taken with teal, whisper white, real red, certainly celery
Ink: real read, certainly celery
Accessories: ice rhinestone brads, oval punch, scallop punch, 3/4" circle punch, red 5/8" ribbon, 1/4" celery ribbon

Future Hostess Set

I am up late again!! Really, this stamping thing is so so addictive! Today's technique challenge on SCS was to do a split image. It is like a split negative card but in color! Boy, did this one evolve into something complete different than I had planned. Not a favorite but post worthy!
Stamps: Time Well Spent (Hostess level 3 in the NEW catalog!)
Ink: stazon black, certainly celery, soft sky
Paper: wintergreen dp, certainly celery, soft sky, very vanilla, river rock
Accessories: certainly celery 5/8" ribbon, soft sky double stitch ribbon, ice brads, stickles (diamond), aquapainter, prismacolor pencils, corner rounder

Koolia Update

So our newest addition, Koolia, has come out of hiding to join the boys! She is surviving Calvin's "loving" embraces! She even got Jordan to smile for the camera!! :-) I also uploaded a picture of Maxwell. Notice anything different?? The tooth fairy kindly paid him for that one! The last picture is of the boys watching the Seahawks lose today! Their father is out of town but would be so proud to see his fans-in-training!

Sending Warm Thoughts

I just love this template! It is the perfect time of year to make a little tea holder! This card is for a makeup challenge, Technique Lovers Challenge 143. I found it on mirkwooddesigns after seeing it in the Jan. Cards magazine. Instead of cutting out the handle, I used my large oval punch. I stuck some green tea bags in it for the photo. I stamped the flower from the Embrace Life set in chocolate on cameo coral & then colored it in with a variety of prismacolor pencils. I added a cameo coral heart in the center with a brad from my pewter hodgepodge set. A bit of fruit punch stickle was added too! The little hearts on the bottom are from the short & sweet set. I colored them in with the prismacolor pencils & then added a bit of white from my gel pen. I also used my chocolate marker & sponge dauber around the edges of the card. The dp is from stella ruby BasicGrey pad. Isn't that paper gorgeous??
Recipe:
Stamps: Like it a Latte, Embrace Life, Short & Sweet
Paper: wild wasabi, chocolate chip, whisper white, stella ruby (basicgrey)
Ink: cameo coral, chocolate chip
Accessories: fruit punch stickles, chocolate chip marker, sponge dauber, pewter hodgpodge, chocolate taffeta, white gel pen, prismcolor pencils, blender stick

Celebrate Friendship

Today's Featured Stamper on SCS is dlounds. She has an amazing gallery! What beautiful SU creations! I chose to CASE this card: Friends & Flowers. This was a quick one! At first, I was bothered by all the white but that basicgrey dp is so amazing that I think it works!
Recipe:
Stamps: Celebrate Everything, fabulous flowers
Paper: close to cocoa, very vanilla, infuse (BG)
Ink: regal rose, rose red
Accessories: chocolate chip marker, antique build a brad, regal rose 5/8" grosgrain, 1/2"circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, 2 way glue pen, earth elements brads

Stampless Hi!

Tomorrow's Inspirational Challenge is an amazing cocktail dress! I pushed myself a bit & tried something new. I added a rub on to the taffeta ribbon. I am so excited that it worked!! Simple layout for a simply gorgeous dress!!
Recipe:
Stamps: none
Paper: river rock textured, ginger blossom dp, home again scrappin paper, river rock
Ink: chocolate chip
Accessories: On Board Lots of Letters chipboard, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, eastern elegance rub on, versa mark, scallop punch

Photo Update

I took these snow pictures when we were stuck on Snoqualmie Pass for 2 hours coming home from grandma's on Wednesday.











Here is the boys' Santa photo! The real photo is being sent to grandma. We got this taken on Christmas Eve. Amazingly, the lines were not too long!





Meet Koolia! She is Calvin's Christmas present! He really wanted to call her Cool but I finally convinced him that she needed a girl name.

Inspired by Sticky Notes

Still plugging away at last weeks challenges.....I am almost a week late on the IC107.
This was a real quick one. I finally mounted & inked up my Oh, So Lovely hostess 1 set....just in time for it to retire! I used white craft & then colored the image in with my prismacolor pencils.
Recipe:
Stamp: Oh, So Lovely
Paper: tempting turquoise
Ink: whisper white craft
Accessories: prismacolor pencils, white taffeta, apricot appeal 1/4" ribbon

Expressiomistic Latte

Monday's TLC148 creates such a soft image that I thought it was perfect for steam. The expressiomistic technique is to ink a stamp in a color (I choose regal rose), spritz it with water, stamp image and leave it on the card stock for a few seconds so the ink runs, let it dry, and them stamp the image again (I used chocolate chip) over the first image. I will definitely have to use this technique again!!
Recipe:
Stamps: Like It a Latte
Paper: wild wasabi, apple cider dp, chocolate chip, regal rose, whisper white
Ink: chocolate chip, regal rose
Accessories: sponge dauber, cuttlebug, satin ribbon, regal rose ribbon, oval punch, stampin dimensionals

Simplified Happy Heart Day

Last week's Limited Supplies Challenge was to simplify a card. I knew right away that I wanted to change my original Happy Heart Day card. I took away some layers, the satin ribbon, brads and some other details. I like the second one SO MUCH better!
Second attempt recipe:
Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: chocolate chip, whisper white, regal rose, rose red, rose red dp, creamy caramel
Ink: chocolate chip, regal rose
Accessories: scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, regal rose 5/8" ribbon, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, white gel pen, stampin dimensionals, brad

Limited Embrace

Today's limited supplies challenge is a CHALLENGE!
I had to follow the list below:
Stamps one stamped image that can be colored optional: sentiment optional: an image to ground the main image like an oval, grass, etc. Paper any shade of white 2-3 patterns of designer paper NO other colored cardstock
Tools NO specialty tools (No punches, No CB, No Piercer, etc) any coloring tools sponges OK
Embellishments one piece of ribbon

My recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: fall flowers dp, whisper white
Ink: black stazon
Accessories: chocolate chip satin ribbon, prismacolor pencils, stampin dimensionals

Monkey Buisness

The featured stamper on SCS this last Sunday was #1artist4highhopes. She has an absolutely adorable gallery and does an amazing job embellishing her cards! I choose to case this card: This End Up. I am sad to see this monkey set retire so I just had to put some more ink on it. I changed the stamp set & colors but kept the basic layout & tried to keep most of the embellishments.
Recipe:
Stamps: Monkey Business
Paper: Sage Shadow, Barely Banana, Close to Cocoa, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White
Ink: sage shadow, pretty in pink, close to cocoa, barely banana
Accessories: hodgepodge hardware, fire rhinestones, 1/4" pink ribbon, 1/2" circle punch, oval punch, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, corner punch, bone, acrylic ruler, sponge dauber, stampin pastels, clear embossing powder, brayer

Bold Happiness

I haven't used this Happiness background stamp as much as I thought I would. I really loved it in the catalog last July but can't figure out how to use it. Tuesday's color challenge on SCS was real red, glorious green and green galore. Although I have plenty of paper, I don't have much in the way of SU bold bright ink, only tempting turquoise, real red, and gable green. So I had to use the real red & whisper white. I stamped the Happiness background on all three cardstock colors and then layered a bit. It is hard to see the flowers in the picture but I love how the red brads look with them. I was pleasantly suprised how it all came together!
Stamps: Happiness
Paper: real red, whisper white, green galore, glorious green
Ink: real red, whisper white craft
Accessories: red brads, green eyelets, 1/2" circle punch, cropadile, stampin dimensionals, real red 5/8" ribbon

A Colorful & Beautiful Thing

I finally am back to my craft table! Boy, did I have trouble getting those creative juices flowing again. This card is for SCS Sketch Challenge 156. I wanted to play around with some of the preview sets so I choose A Beautiful Thing. The colors are so bright...bringing some cheer to a dreary winter day.
Recipe:
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: Rose red, Bali breeze dp, so saffron, old olive, whisper white
Ink: rose red, pumpkin pie, old olive, so saffron
Accessories: cuttlebug, coluzzle, oval punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, 1/16" circle punch, paper piercing, old olive 5/8" ribbon, brads, stampin dimensionals

Merry Christmas

We are leaving town for 5 days so I won't be posting till next week! I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas!

More of A Beautiful Thing

I just love this new set from SU! The catalog coming out in January is so amazing!!!
Today's sketch challenge was so much fun! I was trying to expand my color combinations & added a bit of apricot appeal! I also used some of the new SU rubons but ended up covering them up...just not enough room on the card!
Recipe:
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: chocolate chip, soft sky, blue bayou dp, whisper white, purely pomegranate
Ink: apricot appeal, blue bayou, purely pomegranate
Accessories: pomegranate satin ribbon, blue bayou ribbon, rhinestone brads, stampin dimensionals, eastern elegance rubons, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, cropadile

Make A Wish

Sorry I have been a bit absent...busy time of year! I have been fighting an awful cold! Perfect timing, right? :-) I also have been busy making Christmas cards. Looks like they will be a bit late this year!
This card is for yesterday's SCS color challenge: wild wasabi, elegant eggplant, so saffron. Santa came early here & I got exactly what I wanted.....a cuttlebug!
Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Paper: wild wasabi, elegant eggplant, so saffron, whisper white
Ink: wild wasabi, so saffron
Accessories: versa mark, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, silver cord, cuttlebug, ticket corner punch, oval punch, round tab punch, stamp-a-ma-jig, yellow jewels, silver brads, stampin dimensionals, 2 way glue pen, wasabi ribbon, striped ribbon

Featured Stamper Challenge Card

This week's featured stamper is lzappa. She has an absolutely marvelous gallery on SCS. I choose to case this card: Have A Delicious Birthday!
I did the best with what I had! I substituted the turquoise with old olive & changed the stamp set.
Recipe:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, light bulb (Lockhart)
Paper: old olive, real red, very vanilla
Ink: stazon black
Accessories: stampin up markers, prismacolor pencil, pop up dot, red gingham ribbon, green button

Inspired Life

SCS Inspirational Challenges always bring out such fun color palettes! I challenged myself to doing something new with this one. I stamped the Time Well Spent Images in black stazon & then colored them in with the prismacolors. I then used my brayer & some apricot appeal over the entire card. I just loved the colors & how they popped with the apricot. The sentiment is a rub on from SU eastern elegance.

Recipe:
Stamps: Time Well Spent
Paper: pumpkin pie, apricot appeal, tempting turquoise, very vanilla
Ink: apricot appeal, stazon black
Accessories: prismacolor pencils, apricot ribbon, stampin dimensionals, 3/4" circle punch, brayer, Eastern Elegance rub ons

Simple Love

Today's Limited Supply Challenge on SCS was to use white as a base. I cheated a bit & used very vanilla. I absolutely love how this turned out!! I used my coluzzle to cut a circle in the center of the vanilla & then made the same size circle and a bit larger circle on the pomegranate to frame my little butterfly window. The image is stamped on the inside. My aqua painter was inked with regal rose & purely pomegranate for both the butterfly & flowers.
Recipe:
stamps: Happy Heart Day
paper: very vanilla, purely pomegranate
ink: stazon black, regal rose, purely pomegranate
accessories: purely pomegranate satin ribbon, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, coluzzle, stampin dimensionals, aqua painter.

Celebrating the Cookie Goddess

My marvelous friends helped me make my cookies for a cookie exchange last week. I am cooker not a baker! The cookie expert of our Coffee Friday group was the head chef so I needed to replenish her cookie supplies! I thought holiday treat box was the perfect container (Beate provide the tutorial on SCS)! Not all of the supplies fit in the box but I think it works okay! I love the real red with the regal rose! I choose the cerise dp from SU! that is retiring soon.....much to my disapproval! The card is a case from the kwernerdesign blog. She always has such fabulous yet simple cards! I still need to dust off some of the glitter. I stamped the In the Spotlight "thank you" in versa mark on the white. I hope she likes it!
Recipe:
Stamps: Celebrate everything, In the Spotlight
Paper: cerise dp, regal rose, whisper white
Ink: regal rose, real red
Accessories: chipboard, 2 way glue pen, romantic red glitter, regal rose ribbon, jumbo eyelets, fire circle brads, versa mark, 5 in 1 template, 3/4" circle punch, stampin dimensionals

Going Green

Today's Way To Use It Challenge at SCS was to use a monochromatic design. I am a green lover so I knew right away what colors to pick! Bali Breeze has some wonderful old olive prints that I incorporated. I haven't done a mojo sketch in awhile but knew I HAD to do this one! I just loved it! I layered the flowers on some felt flowers.
Stamps: Tres Chic, A Beautiful Thing
Paper: bali breeze dp, garden green, very vanilla, old olive textured, old olive
Ink: whisper white, garden green, old olive
Accessories: oval punch, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, ice circles, old olive wide grosgrain, stampin dimensionals, felt flowers, sponge daubers

Embracing My New Set

This card was so hard for me! I took it apart at least 2 times. I finally decided that it wasn't getting any better. Sometimes too much is TOO much. Anyways....early this week, I saw lauraly from SCS put crystal effects on these little flowers! I absolutely loved it so I thought I would give it a try. I also added stickles around the main flower after it was aqua painted. I do love how that all turned out! It was the rest of it that was a struggle. I really wanted this to be for the sketch challenge on SCS so I stuck with it but in hindsight this image would have been more stunning on a simple card. Oh, well! I do love this new dp that will make its way into SU! up and coming catalog! Can't wait to see it!!!
Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: ruby red, river rock, ginger blossom dp, very vanilla
Ink: ruby red, groovy guava, river rock, regal rose, basic black
Accessories: versa mark, ruby red brads, regal rose 5/8" ribbon, oval punch, ticket corner punch, crystal effects, fruit punch stickles, stampin dimensionals, corner rounder, stamp-a-ma-jig, aquapainter

Joy In All Colors

I loved the way this celery Glitter Joy Card turned out so I decided to try it in some other colors. The first one is in regal rose & the second one is real red. I think I might do chocolate chip & purely pomegranate later....

More Embraces

They posted tomorrow's color challenge on SCS early (or should I say late?) so I decided to whip a card out before bed. It was a fun color combo: rose red, pumpkin pie & certainly celery! I used the Embrace Life set again. I decided to color the image in with pastels. I then added glitter & sponged the edges. It was a very quick card.
Recipe:
Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: rose red dp, rose red, certainly celery, pumpkin pie, whisper white
Ink: pumpkin pie, certainly celery
Accessories: celery ribbon, coluzzle, stampin dimensionals, lg. oval punch, pastels, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, sponge dauber, brads

SNOW!! Tagged....

We actually had snow here again today! And since it didn't melt right away....NO SCHOOL! So the boys & I basically cuddled and watched movies! Jordan & Maxwell did get outside for a bit of football.

I have been tagged by Melanie over at Rubbapalooza.
So lets see.... 7 things about me...
1. We lived in Japan for 2 years.
2. We only have 1 tv in the house & no cable.
3. My 1st grader is learning Spanish for 1/2 of his school day.
4. My husband does almost all the grocery shopping.
5. I use to be a ski instructor but I HATE to drive in the snow!
6. I hate surprises...I use to unwrap & rewrap my Christmas presents and have given my husband his present early almost every year that we have been together.
7. I watch Gossip Girl.....

So now I am suppose to tag some other bloggers...
How about some of my blogging sisters??? Everyone has such creative creations....
Andrea
April
Annie
Denise

Piecing Together Some Happiness

I was so excited to see the technique challenge on SCS today! I love to paper piece. It reminds me of the paper dolls that I loved as a child! I actually did that with my mouse on the card yesterday. Since I am still playing with my new sets, I thought it would be fun to bring a little Christmas to the Happy Heart Day. Each imagine was stamped on multiple pieces of paper & then cut & glued into place.
Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Heart Day, Season of Joy, Fun & Fast Notes
Paper: soft sky, certainly celery, always artichoke, wintergreen dp, going gray, creamy caramel
Ink: Basic black
Accessories: stamp-a-ma-jig, white gel pen, 1/4" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, build a brad, chocolate chip marker, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, stampin dimensionals, corner rounder, artichoke & celery ribbon

Still Playing

This is another card for the Virtual Stamp Night Mini on SCS. It is a sketch challenge. I am still playing with new sets...Happy Heart Day is just too adorable. I actually stamped the image 3 times on 3 different papers (regal rose, rose red dp, and creamy caramel) and then cut them out. I added the white with my gel pen. I had a hard time cutting out the tail....oops!
Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: chocolate chip, whisper white, regal rose, rose red, rose red dp, creamy caramel
Ink: chocolate chip, regal rose
Accessories: scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, rose red brads, chocolate chip satin ribbon, regal rose 5/8" ribbon, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, cropadile, white gel pen, stampin dimensionals, ticket corner punch

Dressing Beautiful

The December Mini Virtual Stamping Night is going on right now. One of the challenges (I Feel Pretty) is to be inspired by a beautiful party dress. The dress is so feminine & elegant. I used A Beautiful Thing stamp set again, along with my build a brad and the Eastern Elegance rub ons. The swirls are from Season of Joy.
Recipe:
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing, Season of Joy
Paper: Sahara sand, whisper white, blue bayou, blue bayou designer prints
Ink: whisper white, river rock, blue bayou
Accessories: build a brad, lg. oval punch, round tab punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, stamp-a-ma-jig, white taffeta, stampin dimensionals, antique brass brads

Celebrate Preview

Still playing around with my preview sets. This is Celebrate Everything. I also used Eastern Elegance rub ons & Ginger Blossom designer paper from the preview catalog. Today's featured stamper on SCS is Lilluvsstampin. I choose to case this card. I changed the color scheme & stamp set but kept the basic layout.
Recipe:
Stamps: Celebrate Everything
Paper: rose red, regal rose, ginger blossom dp, whisper white
Ink: regal rose
Accessories: regal rose 5/8" ribbon, eastern elegance rub ons, rose red brads, coluzzle

Preview Embrace

What a beautiful set! This is the Embrace Life preview set. I also used the Ginger Blossom designer paper. I used primsacolor pencils to color them in & then the 2 way glue pen & dazzling diamonds. This card is for the Inspirational Challenge on SCS.
Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: Ginger blossom dp, purely pomegranate, whisper white
Ink: basic black
Accessories: 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, oval punch, stampin dimensionals, rhinestone brads, prismacolor pencils, purely pomegranate satin ribbon

Happy Preview

This Happy Heart Day is just adorable! Maxwell can't wait to use it for his Valentines! He already has plans for a practice card this afternoon. This card is for LSC145 3x3 Quickies.

Here were the rules of the challenge: 3x3 card, use any QUICK tools, limit the layers, one embellishment

Recipe:
Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: real red, regal rose, stazon black, basic gray
Paper: real red, basic gray, whisper white, regal rose
Accessories: real red brad, gray taffeta ribbon, stampin dimensionals, aqua painter, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch

Bold & Beautiful

Finally, I am back to stamping after a few days off! I have been busy baking for a cookie exchange tonight! My wonderful friends helped me whip out out 8 dozen cookies! I have the hardest time getting going after a break....

I am so excited to play around with the new preview sets! This one is called A Beautiful Thing. I also wanted to use the Bali Breeze designer paper. I just loved this paper in the preview catalog and knew that it was a necessity!
This card was also for SCS Way To Use It Challenge. I needed to incorporate tape. The green leaf along the bottom is ribbon tape that I loved when I bought it but haven't figured out how to incorporate it into a card! More preview stamping to come so check back later.....

Recipe:
Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: old olive, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, bali breeze dp
Ink: basic black, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie
Accessories: ribbon tape, brads, 1/4" circle punch

Christmas Countdown Day 6

Today is Calvin's day for the advent calendar. I can't believe that I almost forgot to leave him a little note! This card was so quick! It is a 3x3 card on Not Quite Navy card stock. He & I made a snowman the other day. He was so so excited about it and was sad to see it go. He actually said goodbye to it the other day when all the snow had finally melted. I am planning on taking him to the Children's Museum tomorrow and having some more mommy & me time!
The little snowman is a dollar stamp. I used the fun flock again....although you can't see it in the picture! I was prepared with the powder pal this time! It is basically little pieces of fiber that like to stick everywhere!

Wintery Bliss

So tomorrow AM is my hubby's day in our Christmas countdown. I wanted to make him a card that was masculine and winterly. I added fun flock to the snowflake & tree to soften it all. The picture isn't too good but I figured I would post it anyways. I don't have the patience to wait & take another picture tomorrow! Plus, tomorrow is Wednesday Card Date so I won't get to much but facilitate some creativity! This card is also for tomorrow's SCS sketch challenge.
Recipe:
Stamps: So Many Sayings, Season of Joy, In the Spotlight
Ink: Blue bayou, chocolate chip, river rock
Paper: blue bayou, blue bayou dp, river rock, chocolate chip, whisper white
Accessories: sponge daubers, stampin dimensionals, pewter hodgepodge hardware, chocolate chip taffeta, 2 way glue pen, fun flock