Easter Projects

Today I thought I'd share a few Easter baskets that I made using my Scor-Pal. That is one of the BEST inventions EVER! I use it all the time! Don't have one? Contact me to get yours!! The first basket is one of the projects that we made at my FUNShops (another word for home party) this month. I wanted something that was fast, easy and cute and this one fit the bill!

I should take a moment to apologize upfront. See I have an inspiration folder. In the past, if I were to see something that I'd like to try I'd print it out and put it in an accordion folder. Most of the stuff in there is from 2007 or so. Definitely a little dated but the still very useful. The reason I bring this up is back then I NEVER imagined I'd have a blog and be sharing my projects so I didn't keep information like who made it, what blog it's from, etc. Most of the time I'd just copy and past information into Word, print it out and delete the file. So PLEASE forgive me if this is your treat basket :)

I used VersaMark to stamp flowers (Spring Time from TAC) all over the basket and handle. The bunny is from No Bunny Like You set from TAC. The basket uses a 6x6 piece of paper so I was able to get 4 per 12x12 sheet. I'm planning on making these for Abby's preschool friends.

I like to give people other ideas/options as I know we all have different likes and dislikes. So I made a few baskets and goodies so people could get other ideas.
The pink box (with the single bunny) is something that I saw on Fat Cat Stamper blog. It was for a box but I just used a couple of eyelets and added a handle. It uses an 8 1/4 x 8 1/4 piece of cardstock. The green box (with multi bunnies) is something that I saw on My Blog By Cammie. Again, it was for a box but I added a handle using small brads. This one uses an 8 1/2 x 10 piece of cardstock. The plastic box is something I actually made last year (yes those jelly beans are a year old!! and no I don't plan on eating them, LOL!!) I know I got that idea from another wonderful Angel but just not sure which one.

So does that help you to get started on your Easter projects? I sure do hope so!! BUT if you still need more inspiration how about this:

Oh yeah, TAC is offering this one of a kind stamp set for the month of March only! Aren't they the CUTEST EVER?!?!? And not only do you get the stamp set but you get a pack of paper (36 sheets) and matching hardware for only (are you ready for this??) $19.95! I know it's AWESOME, right?!

So NOW what are you waiting for??? Contact me today to get this awesome deal! It's just too good to pass up!!

Remember I'm a demonstrator so if you are interested in purchasing any of the supplies I used in my projects or would like to purchase the special for March, just contact me. I'd be more than happy to help you!

Crop Opportunity

On Saturday, March 14th, KS Cropaholics will be having a 12 hour crop, "Crop 'Til You're Green", to benefit the Battered Women's Taskforce of Topeka. Register before Feb 28th and it's just $25 after that it goes to $30. Registration includes lunch, refreshments, goodie bags and chances to win awesome door prizes! There will be vendors as well one of which will be me! Be sure to stop by my booth to check out all the awesome product from The Angel Company, great samples, show specials and participate in my FREE make n take!

So if you are in the area why not join us! You can see all the details and register online at: http://www.kscropaholics.com/

Hope to see you there!

Pocket Full of Love

That was the contest name that The Angel Company held for demonstrators. I'm sad to report that I didn't win BUT there were three fantastic Angels who did win. You can see their beautiful creations here.

I thought I'd go ahead and show you my entries though because I, of course, think they are pretty cool! The first one, Love Notes, is a double pocket card front that has a magnetic strip on the back so it can go on my refrigerator. Abby really likes to get little notes from me so that is where I came up with the idea.


Each pocket holds little tags. One side of the tag is decorated using Kid Praises stamp set and the other side is blank. This way each morning when I'm making Abby's lunch, I can grab a tag, write a short note on the back and put it in her lunch box. Here is a close up of a few of the tags:

I used the Miss Moxie Collection and matching cardstock, hardware, ribbon and some Scrappers Floss & buttons to decorate everything. The colors are bright and cheery, perfect for kids!

My next entry is a special card that is perfect for your loved one. I used a template that I found at Nichole Heady's Blog quite awhile ago. The card looks like a tag and slides into a vellum pocket.

I used Rustic Chic papers, Basic Birds stamp set as well as some flowers, buttons & ribbon. The heart is from another stamp set, Sweet Goodies. I cut it out and placed it between the birds. Each bird is paper pieced using Rustic Chic papers. I decorated the inside and stamped one of my favorite quotes from the Life Thoughts stamp set.

So what do you think? Both projects were a lot of fun to make plus they make the recipient feel special which is always a good thing!

I hope you are having a great day! Thanks so much for looking!

Interested in purchasing any of the supplies I used for these two projects? I'd be happy to help you out! Just contact me to order!

Flutter By Wednesday #8

Happy Wednesday! First off, I'd like to thank everyone for the well wishes. I think I'm finally over the bug and am feeling alive again! Today I'm sharing two cards. I know shocker!! But there's more I didn't even use any pattern paper in either card!! HOLY COW, right? If you read my last post you know this is a pretty big thing for me! For the challenge this week, the Flutter By team was supposed to create something using orange and yellow. When I saw the sketch for CPS (#104) this week, I just knew what I wanted to do!


Everything is from The Angel Company except the butterflies. I used a Martha Stewart Punch for those and some scrap pink cardstock. The stamp sets are Simply Divine & Be Still. The colored flowers are paper posies. Here is a close up:

It's hard to tell but there is some Stickles too - turquoise, orange peel and crystal. I think it's a perfect SPRING card and that's what I need right now. Sunshine & warm weather; flowers blooming and butterflies fluttering!! BRING IT ON!! Anyone else with me???

Be sure to visit Danni's blog to see who the guest designer is this week! Also, instead of having a slide show of all the team's creations she will be having a featured designer. You can visit all the designers blogs by clicking on the links on the right. I'm anxious to see what everyone did! If you decide to play along be sure to leave a comment with a link to your creation. If you use an online gallery like SCS or PCP be sure to use keyword FBW46.

Now on to my second card. I have to tell you I'm not liking this one as much but wanted to share anyway. Be gentle with me though! I had left over cardstock so decided to use it. I kept having this idea of using an owl with a diecut of a branch. I also wanted to play with some Dingbats that I purchased and after talking to my friend Janna about digitals and coloring I decided to give it a try. I kept the sketch the same.

Ok I'm not TOTALLY happy with my colors for the owl but not sure what I should have done. I wanted to use Copics and I was really nervous to blend too many colors for fear my image might "bleed". Here's a close up of the owl & branch:

You know looking at it closeup, it doesn't look so bad, LOL!! I printed the owl off my computer and then colored him with my copics (the yellow/brownish part). Next I added some grey fun flock to the black part of the owl to give him some fuzziness and to "lighten" him some. The branch and leaves are a Quickutz die. The sentiment is another TAC stamp What a Hoot.

Well that's it for me today - Abby is at school all day and hubby has to work (he usually has Wednesday's off but not today) so I'm ALONE!!! Oh my gosh I don't know when the last time that happen (and I wasn't sick, LOL). I have a to do list a mile long and I'm hoping to get a lot of it done!!! Keep your fingers crossed!

I'm an Demonstrator for The Angel Company. If you are interested in any TAC product just contact me!

Christmas Card #5

Time for another Christmas Card for the Stampin' All Year Long Blog. This weeks challenge was to use another fabulous sketch from Maria plus we had to use the colors PINK, BLUE and PURPLE. When I received the challenge I instantly thought snowmen but I wanted to try and push myself out of my comfort zone so I came up with this:

The hardest part was finding pattern paper that would match. Almost all my cards have pattern paper on them! Maybe that should be another thing I try - move out of my comfort zone and create cards with no pattern paper! GASP!?!? I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Be sure to check out the Christmas Blog to see the sketch and all the wonderful creations from the other members! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Just to let you know the sickness train hit me HARD Friday. I have done nothing all weekend and to tell you the truth creating this card has totally wore me out! I'm praying I'm better tomorrow as I have much to do! Tuesday I have a FUNShop! for a new bunch of ladies and I'd hate for our first gathering to be with me at less than par. Sunday I was able to eat a little and drink some water so hopefully my headache will disappear which I'm sure is due to being dehydrated. I'm just thankful that the virus that attacked my stomach was only here for a couple of days - I just don't think I could handle any more!

Thanks so much for looking!

AMYRS58

I needed to make a thank you card to the young lady who gave me all those goodies. I was so excited to find AMY R's sketch as it worked with it perfectly!

I really am loving those hedgehogs. If you know the name of the set that this one is in from SU! will you please let me know. I like to label my stamps and I have no idea what this one is. The flowers are from Making Memories Embellishment jars and match the paper perfectly which rarely happens for me!

Well this week the sickness train has made its stop here. My Mom watched Abby last weekend while Jay & I were in KC and she got sick. We picked Abby up and Monday she didn't have school but that night she got sick. She missed school Tuesday and Wednesday. Then last night at about midnight, Jay got sick. He's home now trying to recover. I just HOPE I do not get it! I'm staying away but I was around Abby more than Jay was so what's that say?

I hope you have a great Thursday and thanks so much for looking!

Flutter By Wednesday #7

WOW, can you believe it's Wednesday already? Time for another Flutter By Card. This week are challenge was to make a card using the colors purple & blue.


and a close up

I used a stamp that Danni had sent me as a thank you for being on the Flutter By Team. I stamped the butterfly on purple cardstock using purple ink. I then used the same ink to stamp the butterfly on the sentiment circle. I just stamped off on scrap paper first so I'd get a lighter image. The sentiment is from a $1 stamp. Notice the punched border on the blue cardstock? That's one of the new Fiskar Border Punches I got last weekend. It's called Apron Lace. I really like it and I love how the ribbon fits right through it.

Well what do you think of my card? Just leave me a comment and let me know! Like what you see? You could always join as a "follower" on the right hand side and you'd constantly have updates from my blog - never miss a post again! How cool is that?

Remember to check out Danni's blog for the guest designer this week as well as the other team members creations. I'm excited to see what everyone did with this color challenge! Why not join in on the fun and make a Flutter By card of your own. If you do, be sure to share it either by leaving a link to your blog or by uploading to an online gallery. If you do upload to an online gallery, like SCS or PCP, be sure to use FBW45.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lily the Fairy

I finally got around to using the Lily the Fairy image that I downloaded from the PCS Blog. I really wanted to use my Copics on it but kept having some "bleeding" issues. I figured it was due to my printer (it's a photosmart). Sure enough, when I printed it using a laser printer I didn't have any "bleeding" problems at all!

I used paper scraps (I believe it's Scenic Route) for the card. I also used SCS Card Sketch #213 for the layout.

Also, wanted to share with you my kitty. It's funny because without fail she will join me in my craft room each night. I have an extra desk and chair in there and she always curls up in the chair next to me. For some reason last night she wanted some extra loving so everytime I got up from my chair she'd hop off hers and rub against me. She kept doing this as I was trying to take pictures of some cards. I finally had to stop and love on her because all my pictures kept coming out blurry! So without further ado, I'm happy to introduce you to our furry family member, Jasmine...

Awwwwww isn't she cute? We think so! Well that's it for me today! Tune in tomorrow for my Flutter By Creation (we had to use purple & blue). Thanks for stopping by!

Better Late...

than never! Hello Everyone! How is your Monday going? I'm a little behind. I was out of town for the weekend and then with Abby out of school I'm just trying to play catch up on everything.

Since it is Monday, I have my Christmas Card to show you. This week not only were we given a sketch to follow but we were supposed to use a snowman image. I received some new stamps and this image was in it so I just had to use him! The set is from SU! but I don't know what the set name is so if you know will you please let me know!

The sketch had a ribbon/paper strip going down the middle but I just left that off since I used stripe paper. I had chosen my paper before coloring my image. To me, it's easier. My creation process usually starts with a sketch and an image. Once I know what I want to use I'll then pick out papers. I build the card from there. Here is a close up of the snowman and hedgehog:

I'm anxious to check out the other designers creations as coloring snowmen can be tricky! I have added all the team members blogs to the right. You can also see all the creations along with the challenges at the Christmas Stampin All Year Blog

This weekend Abby stayed with Grandma & Papa while Jay and I stayed in KC at the Westin Crown Center. He had to attend a conference so I tagged along to do some shopping. Plus it was Valentine's Day so what better way then spending some alone time with hubby! Jay's boss is such a generous man (and fun to hang out with). He took us (as well as some other couples) to dinner & dancing on the Plaza. He rented a limo for all of us so we didn't have to worry about parking or driving. It was really fun but we didn't get back to the hotel until 3am! Jay & I are so old that yesterday we had to take a nap and go to bed early just to re cooperate from all the "partying", LOL. My Valentine's gift was to spend money at the Scrapbook Stores - don't worry I came home with a few things. TWO new Fiskars border punches made it into my sack as well as some new Hello Kitty dies, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Doodlebug paper & stickers. He didn't give me a $ limit but I know we need to pay the bills so I was a good girl - it was hard but I did it!

Thanks for looking!

New Stuff

Since I know you'll understand my excitement I just have to share my awesome new stuff. First up is lookie at what one of the wonderful ladies gave me from my hubby's office. She said her daughter was no longer interested in stamping and thought I'd like to have the stuff. huh, yep...

There are stamp sets, wheel stamps, ink & handles, ink pads & refills, and a stamp scrubber. I can't wait to create with them and I definitely will be doing a thank you card to send ASAP.

Next, is something that I think is pretty cool. See I love ribbon and I love looking at it. The problem is I wasn't sure how to store it. It's been in bins under my desk which was ok but I couldn't see it. A couple of weeks ago, I went to an antique shop near my parents house. While I was there I found something that I thought I'd hang on our wall to put little pictures on. My husband took one look at it and said "no way is that going on the wall". I said "fine. I really wanted it for my ribbon in my scrapbook room". He thought that was a good idea (gasp here as hubby doesn't like to invest anymore than he has to in my room). So without further ado, I give you my new ribbon holder...

Isn't it pretty - it's even sorted by ROYGBIV (Ellen, aren't you proud?). I think it's so pretty. It was a bargain (less than $15) and I have room to add MORE ribbon, WHOOOHOOO (hubby was not happy when I pointed that little fact out to him!) The ribbon in the middle was my last way of storing ribbon - wrapping them on chipboard and storing them in boxes. But I quickly grew out of that phase as I couldn't keep up with what I was purchasing!

Thanks for looking and listening to me ramble today! I was just so excited I had to share with others who get it!

Flutter By Wednesday #6

Happy Wednesday - time for another Flutter By Card! This week our challenge was to create a card using a butterfly, buttons and sparkle. I found an old set, Bug Me by TAC with a butterfly that was perfect for adding sparkle too. Next, I decided to use an AmyR Sketch that I never had a chance to use. Then I located this wonderful BasicGrey paper and TAADAA my flutter by card was born!! I was hesitant to use this saying as I usually only put general sentiments on my card. So I have a question for you card makers out there (and PLEASE leave a comment or email me your thoughts cause I REALLY want to know this) if you use quotes or sayings on your cards when do you give them/use them? I mean are they just general "how YOU doin" (said in my best Joey voice) cards? I tend to over think things so I really want feedback here.

Below is a close up of all the sparkle on the butterfly. I was going to use glitter but didn't feel like going to bed with it all over me. So I decided to use Stickles instead.


So whatcha think? You've gotta check out the other team members blogs to see their wonderful creations as well. (The links are on the right). Also, stop by Danni's Blog to see who the guest designer is for her Flutter By Team. Remember we'd love to see your Flutter By creations - so get busy and share it with us! I know I'd love to see it! If you upload to an online gallery like SCS or PCP, use the keyword FBW44!

Sweethearts

Well it's Tuesday so I should be showing you a CAC Sketch card but I tell you I'm just not happy with it - I'm my own worst critic and I don't want to subject you to it! So instead I finished an awesome card for a challenge on PCP in the Pink Cat Studio group that I'm going to share. Janna issued the first DT challenge which was to create a card with four elements and the four elements have to spell LOVE. I'm just in love with the Lily & Billy Sweetheart stamps! Here's my card:


My elements consist of the following:
L - Lily
O - Ovals
V - Violet
E - Embellishments

I used a sketch from Taylor Expressions. I've been wanting to use this sketch for quite some time and I thought it worked perfectly with the stamp I chose. I used my Copics to color in Lily & Billy. Here is a close up:


I wasn't sure where I wanted to put the sentiment so I decided to put it in the inside along with some hearts.
Don't Lily & Billy just make you go "awwwww". I think they are the cutest! Thanks for looking!

Supplies: SEI paper, Buttons & Scrapper's Floss, Martha Stewart Punch, Stampendous heart stickers, Ribbon, Copic Markers, Pink Cat Studio Stamps

My Golly It's Polly

Happy Monday! It's a rainy day here in Kansas perfect for staying in and stamping. Not sure I'll get much of that done but the thought makes me smile. Today I have another Christmas card to share. I used Polly Packages from Stamping Bella.

I just love her! Too bad I don't have her in my collection but at least I have friends that send me RAKS that contain cute stuff like this!!

This is one of my favorite sketches that Maria supplied for the Christmas Stampin Blog. Maria's blog is awesome for a couple of reasons. One, she does awesome work and two, she provides MANY many sketches!! IF you go check out the Christmas blog, you'll see tons of card samples from the team members! Why not play along? Just post a link to your creation so we can check it out. On the Christmas blog you'll see samples from people who've played along each week. There really is a lot of inspiration there so try and check it out if you get time!

I still need to update my blog with the team members and their blog links. I'm hoping to get that done today. Honestly, I have a lot to do. I haven't done much for the last 4 or 5 days and am hoping to get back to creating. I tried to create a card last night and although it's okay I am really not all that pleased with it. Oh well I guess we all go through peaks and valleys with our work - just wish the valleys didn't last very long as it's so much better being on a peak :)

Thanks for stopping by! If you have time, leave me a comment on what you think of Polly (or anything else for that matter, lol). I always read your comments and thoroughly enjoy them! Hope your Mondays a good one!

Blah

Well the week started off so good but has turned to yuck! I don't like to be negative but am very sad as I lost something that was very special to me. I've looked and looked but just can't find it! The item was very small to begin with (the size of a pea) but worth quite a bit of monetary value not to mention the sentimental value is out of this world! I'll spend the weekend trying to still find it (cause I can't think about anything else) and try to come to terms with never finding it!

Needless to say for the last few days I haven't even set foot in my craft room. My mojo went right out the door and in it's place as been one heck of an ongoing headache. There were so many wonderful challenges/sketches that I wanted to participate in but I just couldn't find the energy or creativity to do anything.

I have a Funshop on Sunday so I have to finish a couple things for that. We'll be doing an Easter basket and a card with a funky fold. I'll share them when I get them done.

I'm also excited that I will be creating a few projects that I won't be able to share yet. Those will have to come later (hopefully next month).

I probably won't be posting again until Sunday evening/Monday so please come back! I love to have you look at my blog!! I hope you have a great weekend! Mine has to get better, right???

Flutter By Wednesday #5

Yeah, it's Wednesday! I so enjoy Wednesday's. Why you ask? Well for one, Abby stays at Preschool ALL DAY so I get to play, play, play! And the second reason is for Danni's Flutter By Wednesday Team!! I'm telling you, I'm having so much fun coming up with cards using butterflies. So far I've just used stamps but I found stickers, rub-ons, and die cuts in my stash that I'll be using in the future! For this week, Danni asked us to use pink somewhere on the card. I don't know about you but color choices are always a challenge for me. Once I find something that works, I seem to use it over and over. I've been trying to do a little more experimenting though! Here's my springy/happy card :)

I was really hung up on using that DP and I had to play with several different layouts to get it to work. This one makes me smile though!

Thank you for your responses on what you like to see regarding supplies. Most of you said just a general list of supplies helps so never fear I'm here to please! Here's the goods on this one: DP is DCWV Butterfly (appropriate, huh?) & Blossoms Stack, Cardstock is all scraps from my bins (YEAH for me!) Stamps are from TAC both of which are retired. I used pencils & OMS for the butterfly.

The Flutter By Team has 3 new members this month!! YIPPEEE! More wonderful creations! You can see all of our wonderful creations at Danni's blog in a slide show. OR you can visit each members blog by clicking on their name listed on the right hand side of my blog. You may want to right click on their name & choose open in a new window so you don't lose my blog or the list :) I URGE you to check out their blogs as they all bring something different and unique to the team. I love that we all use butterflies but each of our cards is so different!

I'd love to see your Flutter By creations! If you create one be sure to leave me a comment so I can check it out. If you post it in a online gallery such as SCS or PCP be sure to use FBW43. I hope you have a terrific Wednesday! Thanks for looking!

CAC Sketch #11

The sketch I was given for this week made me work outside my comfort zone. I kept looking at the it trying to figure out what I'd do. Here's what I came up with.

The sketch is from PageMaps I think it turned out pretty good - of course, I love the colors/papers. MME is one of my favorites!

I'm not sure what you, my readers, would like to see. Do you like it when I list out supplies? Does it matter? What do you like to know? Leave me a comment so I can gear my posts towards that. I love to have people read my blog and leave me comments (who doesn't, lol!). I read every one of them! So if you ever have questions or want to know something - just leave me a comment (or email me) !

Thanks for looking!!

Monday Christmas #2

Happy Monday! In case you missed it last week, I am a part of a Christmas Blog that will help us make our Christmas cards all year. It provides great inspiration and there is a challenge each week. Every Monday a new post will occur with the sketch and the team member's card samples. So far they've been sketches which is just fine with me since I love SKETCHES! For some reason, I had a hard time with the sketch. Every stamp I looked at I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. I finally decided to turn the sketch and then everything fell into place.

Here is the sketch for this week:

And here is my card:

A lot of times when I need to create a card I try and use my scraps. I have a bin that has all my Christmas stuff in it - scrap paper, embellishments, rub-ons, etc. This way I have everything all together and I don't have to go looking through everything. The stamp I used is one of my FAVs from TAC - the snowmen are just so darn cute! The size of the card is 4x6. I've been doing better at making different size cards but those square cards are still tripping me up. I thought this sketch would work good for a square card but I couldn't figure out what to use in the main image :)

Be sure to check out the Christmas blog - there are tons of awesome cards there!! Have you made any Christmas cards? Let me know as I'd love to see them!!