Mom's Day (SSS55)

Good morning and happy weekend!! It's time for the Saturday Sketch from The Sweet Stop and since tomorrow is Mother's Day I used the sketch to make a card for my MIL. 

The stamps are from Gina K Designs, Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments.  I love love love this giant doily image! I wasn't sure how to use it at first, but then I started playing around and it is just so beautiful when stamped out!  I used some old SU! patterned paper that I discovered this week when I was digging around for another project.  I stamped the image directly on the patterned paper and used a pretty pearl for the center  The ivory piece behind it was stamped with the same image multiple times.

This set has so many beautiful images, I'm looking forward to playing some more!

Take a few minutes to visit The Sweet Stop and see what the other Sugar Babies have made for today.  Then go ahead and try the sketch for yourself, be sure to leave us a link when you do! 

 Korin Sutherland
Audrey Gonzales
Andrea Vernagus
Candace Mitchell
Renata Elenbaas
Nancy Brown
Kathy Paige
Dana White
Kelli Caslow
May Guest Sugar Baby Debbie Standard
 
Come back tomorrow for the first of my Flourishes Limelight posts!! :)

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Black (SU!), Ivory (Gina K Designs), Stamps: Nana's Needlework, Nana's Needlework Sentiments (Gina K Designs), Ink: Memento, Accessories:  Swiss Dot embossing folder (Provo Craft), Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Pearls (Kaiser), vintage lace trim

Some CAS Cards

You probably already know that I love the Monday CAS challenges over on SCS.  I was super excited to be a guest of the design team last week and this week! Last week the challenge was to use orange on your card.  The dt coordinator, Jen, aka Miss Boo was having a birthday and orange is her favorite color.  Well you know me, orange wasn't hard for me at all - I love it!!  I pulled out Delightful Dahlias from Papertrey Ink to make a colorful birthday card.  Having the matching dies from Papertrey made this card a snap!  I cut out the flowers first and then stamped the flower in place adding a few rhinestones for some shine!

I just love these colors together too - Hawwaiin Shores is such a pretty color and the Summer Sun dotted flower I think is my favorite!  I used the Medium Scalloped edge die for the orange scallops down the side of the card which I sewed on with my sewing machine!

All supplies Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock: Kraft, Orange Zest, Hawaiian Shores, White, Kiwi Kiss (SU!), Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot collection - Summer Sunrise, Stamps: Delightful Dahlias, Ink: Orange Zest, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sun, Accessories: Medium Scallop die, Dahlia dies, Tin Type Impression plate, rhinestones (Kaiser), sewing machine, foam adhesive

This week's challenge is to make a Mother's Day card or a May Day card.  I used 2 new sets I picked up from Gina K Designs, Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments.  My mom is an avid knitter - she doesn't go anywhere without her knitting! - so I knew I had to get this set.  Plus it has a beautiful quilt image and several others that are so pretty!  I used FTL87 for the layout of this card and I love how it really lets you focus on the main image.  The card is 5"x3.5" which I really enjoy making. 

I stamped the image in Rich Cocoa ink and colored it with my Copic markers. The dp is from October Afternoon.  To finish it up I added a line of paper piercing down the side which I think ties in well with the whole "stitching theme" and I rounded one corner.

I'd encourage you to give the CAS challenges a try, they're so much fun!! Thanks so much for stopping by - have a wonderful day!!

Cardstock: Ivory (Gina K Designs), Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Stamps: Nana's Needlework, Nana's Needlework Sentiments (Gina K Designs), Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Accessories: foam adhesive, Nestabilities, Copic Markers, paper piercer

Weekend Recap

I thought you might be interested in seeing a few pictures of our fun Stamping Around weekend in Vermont! Kim did a fabulous wrap-up on the Stamping Around website, so check that out or me pics but here are a few of mine.

Welcome to Stamping Around Vermont! By the end of the day the sides of the sign had started to relax - lol!

This is the teacher's table (this was when Cindy was teaching her class sponsored by Our Craft Lounge and eclectic Paperie - cardstock was provided by Gina K Designs)

Jenn Shurkus taught a wonderful class sponsored by AMuse!

Our stampers are hard at work.

Our first class Friday night was so much fun! Erika Martin had us complete an 8x8 canvas board using paint and patterned paper scraps! Each person's came out so unique and beautiful! See the Stamping Around site for a picture of several of them lined up together. My canvas turned out very bright and colorful as I used lots of fun scraps from October Afternoon.

The first class on Saturday morning was taught by Joanne Basile and sponsored by Stamping Bella (patterned paper provided by eclectic Paperie, cardstock by Gina K Designs and die cut box by Jody Morrow). Seriously, how cute are those cards??!!

The second class was taught by Cindy Lawrence and sponsored by Our Craft Lounge (again, patterned paper was from eclectic Paperie and cardstock from Gina K Designs). Cindy made these adorable, uniquely-sized cards with a wonderful box to put them in an envelopes with patterned paper flaps! We had lots of great coloring therapy with these first two classes! :)

Next up, Jenn Shurkus and her wonderful AMuse halloween cards - 5 in all! Yes, 5!! Jenn was ultra organized and the nice, clean style of AMuse made them quick and fun to complete!

Finally, it was my turn! It had been a long, busy day of stamping but we needed to complete this cute, clear box filled with wax pumpkin tarts and a votive candle. My class was sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps and we used a brand new set that will be released on September 25 (how fun that we got a sneak peek!!). This project will also be my Project of the Month for KSS so watch my blog for complete details and instructions next week!

I hope you've enjoyed the quick review and pics . . . if are anywhere close to Allentown, PA check out the details or our next event, Stamping Around Philly, taking place Nov. 6 & 7!

Salt Challenge - Easter

Today's Salt Challenge was from Esther. She challenged us to reflect on the "real meaning of Easter." We are often urged in December to think of the "true meaning of Christmas," to and that is definitely important! But how much of Easter has become so commercialized that we don't even think twice about it?

As I think about it, I am guilty of it myself - buying the bunnies and chicks, eggs & chocolates, jellybeans and grass, dying eggs, putting out the decorations, making the baskets and all the rest (not that any of those are bad things!) But do I spend as much time and effort making sure my children understand that that is not Easter?!!

My card today celebrates the resurrection of Christ, Easter Sunday!

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Matthew 28:5-6

The stamps are He is Risen from Gina K Designs and although the photo makes the accent color look black, it really is brown.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today!! Please visit the Salt blog to see everyone's creations and leave us a link if you decide to play along!

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Vanilla (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: SU!, Stamps: He is Risen (Gina K Designs), Ink: Bali Breeze (SU!), Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Accessories: Chocolate ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Nestabilities, Dimensionals, brads (Pink Hedgehog Crafts), Ticket Corner Punch (SU!)

VSN Cards

Happy Saturday!! Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday . . . we had lots to do and it continues today! The girls and I are going (with my SIL & nieces, and my mom) to see the Nutcracker this afternoon for Anna's birthday. I can't wait to see their faces when the ballet starts!!

Two quick cards to post . . . I made these cards for VSN at SCS a couple of weeks ago and never posted them here. This first one was for the Chorus Line Challenge. You had to use 1 image 3 or more times. I used one of the carolers from Gina K's set Funky Christmas and some new holiday dp from SU! I really love this card - I love the funky colors and dp that go so well with this image!

Cardstock: White (GP)
Patterned Paper: SU!
Stamps: Funky Christmas (Gina K), sentiment from Take a Bough (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss ribbon (SU!), Nestabilities, Dazzling Diamond Glitter, Copic markers, Snowflake sticker (Target)

I made this next card for a challenge to make a masculine card but include 2 traditionally girly items. I see a lot of trees used for masculine cards but I prettied it up with some lace and glitter on the tree. I used another Gina K set called Tree Silhouettes - both sets were part of our cruise goodies! This card (and my Spotlight card) made it to the VSN Stars of the Cabaret Gallery - wooo hooo!! :)

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Red Riding Hood, Shimmer White (SU!)
Patterned Paper: Ski Slope (SU!)
Stamps: Tree Silhouettes (Gina K), sentiment from Men of Life (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Nestabilities, Dimensionals, Lace (Melissa Frances), buttons, Antique Copper Brads, glitter (MS)

Thanks for stopping by today - hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

The Nativity

Have you seen the new sets from Paper Pretties yet? We had such a fun Stamping In Your Jammies/Release party on Saturday night . . . the party goers had me laughing out loud most of the night, poor hubby! :)

Just in case you weren't there and haven't seen yet, here is one of my cards. Our first challenge from Charmaine was to create a gate-fold card - yippy!! I got to use my new Scor-Pal (one of the goodies we received on the cruise - thank you Scor-Pal!!!).

I used The Nativity set for my card, along with the star and sentiment from Adore Him. The other 2 sets are Pa Rum Pa Pa Pum and Worship the King - oh and don't forget Angel Wings Sophia is not available for purchase! If you'd like the whole release from this month it's available here.

Making a gate-fold card was so easy with the Scor-Pal - it's already marked for it! I used an old SU! background stamp (Stripes) for the front of my card. While the sentiment circle was still in the Nestabilities die, I spritzed it with Gold Memories Mist (also a cruise goodie!) - it really gives it a beautiful golden glow!

On the inside, I added the star, which was also spritzed with Memories Mist, above the baby Jesus and used the sides of the card for Mary & Joseph (aka Sophia & Cooper).

I used yet another cruise goodie for this card - Koh-i-Noor Woodless Colour Pencils - thanks to Gina K (although I had use my Prismacolor pencils for the flesh tones and khaki color)! These pencils are so neat - I had heard it from others, but once you use them you will see - they really do blend beautifully!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember that today is the day you can purchase the 2 new release stamp sets from Kitchen Sink Stamps too - I have another sample to show you soon! :) Have a great day!

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, White (Papertrey Ink), Gold (SU!), Patterned Paper: Memory Box, Stamps: The Nativity, Worship Him (Paper Pretties), Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Accessories: Nestabilities, ribbon, Corner Rounder punch, Gold Memories Mist (Steward Superior), Dimensionals, Koh-i-Noor pencils, OMS

Mid-Week Sketch

Have you tried any of the great sketches over at Page Plans this month? Lots of fun - sketches always give you a great jumping off point! I've been showing you the card sketches but they also have fantastic layout sketches for scrappers each week that I'm hoping to try soon (my scrapbooks are soooooooo far behind!!).

Here is my card for the bonus mid-week sketch this week. When I saw this adorable Little Tees set designed by Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K I just thought it was so fun! My good buddie (hee hee) Joanne made some great cards with it and every time I saw one I just loved it! So . . . now it is mine! :)

I was very impressed with the great impression you get with these unmounted rubber stamps too - the quality is excellent. One other funny little thing, but I loved the way the t-shirt actually stamps. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture but the lines of the t-shirt are not straight and all the same width, it varies and changes which really adds to the realistic look of the t - so cool!!

From this picture it looks like the ric rac doesn't match . . . trust me it does!! If you know me at all, you know that I wouldn't use it if it did not match! :) The paper is some very pretty SEI Dill Blossom paper. I think the retro feel goes well with the t-shirt and it's retro butterfly (which has a bit of Lime Stickles added to it..

Go check out the sketch and give it a try, I'd love to see what you come up with! And go check out Melanie's set - there are tons of great images! I'll be back a little later with my Prettie Wednesday post - thanks for visiting!!

Cardstock: Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink), Patterned Paper: Dill Blossom (SEI), Stamps: Little Tees (Gina K), Ink: Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa (Memento), Accessories: Nestabilities, Dimensionals, Bella Baubles, felt ric rac, olive ric rac, Hodgepodge Hardware (SU!)

Another Dirty Challenge

Another day . . . another challenge! :) Today I played with JulieHRR's Dare to Get Dirty challenge, Embrace the White Space! I do love making clean, simply cards but they aren't always easy! I had an idea to use this great Gina K set that a good buddie of mine sent me ;) but it took a couple of tries (and some ruined cardstock) before I got it they way I wanted. I ended up embracing the off-white space! lol!

This is my first ever Gina K card! She has some really cute stamps and I don't really have a good excuse . . . but I did pop in over at the release party last night in their Member Company Forum at SCS to checkout the new sets . . . LOVE the new t-shirt set by Melanie Muenchinger!! I think that will eventually find it's way to Maine! :)

Ok, back to the card . . . I first embossed the large oval Nestabilities onto my cardstock, stamped the verse in red (thinking about Bibles with the "words of Christ in red) and then embossed the cross image using clear ep right over the verse. A small bit of scalloped dp and some ribbon finished it off.

I'm hoping to get another challenge or 2 done this weekend - along with some dt work (LOTS of wonderful stamp-y goodness in the next couple of weeks!!!!). Have a great day!!

Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), dp is Cerise (SU!), Stamps: He is Risen (Gina K Designs), Inks: Ladybug Red (Memento) Versamark, Accessories: Chocolate satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink), corner rounder punch, Nestabilities, Clear ep