Challenge #32 - Traditional Colors

What a weekend - I didn't even get NEAR enough stuff done! Isn't that always the case though! Today is Monday and what does that mean - well a Christmas card of course! BUT it also means the first day of my new job!! I'm excited and nervous but I think this will be a good thing. Today the kids aren't actually there. It's just the teachers as it's our staff retreat where we get ready. Next Tuesday is when I actually meet the kids (and parents, yikes!) so you can bet that my stomach will be in knots on that day!

Because I was so busy this weekend, I didn't even get a chance to blog surf. Plus being gone all day today won't leave me much time again - SO don't think I'm ignoring you...I promise I'll be by in the next couple of days and will catch up!!

Today, Vicki issued us the challenge to use traditional Christmas colors. You know, red and green plus a little silver and gold. Well I used red, green, silver and black - hey it's a neutral color so it's gotta be okay! I've been wanting to try the Mojo Monday anniversary sketches so I used one of those for my card.

Now the challenge didn't say just one shade of green :o) This is paper left over from my Christmas cards a few years back. I used my square punch so the card came together really fast. I was going to stamp and color a Santa but I just didn't have the energy! I think this 3d sticker is just fine though.

That's it for me today - be sure to check out the blog to see the other members creations and to upload yours! Hope you have a great Monday (as great as they can be anyway!) Thanks for stopping by!!

Winter Wonderland

no not here. Not yet anyway! Today I have a 2 page layout to share with you. These pictures are one of my favorites - I love the color, the pictures and the paper. I got quite a few photos on here only leaving two pictures off. That's okay because one is smaller version of one already on here and the other one was blurry.

The paper is KI Memories - one of my favorite companies!! It's up there with Doodlebug. I have a 12x12 paper holder that my dad built with custom drawers and the Doodlebug & KI Memories drawers are so full I can't close them!!! I'm sure I've mentioned before how I have trouble using what I have cause it's so pretty or I'm afraid that when I want it I won't have it. Well I think the paper looks much better here on the page then in a drawer!! Guess I better be using it!

Not sure if you can see but the alphabet stickers are glittered (from Doodlebug). I got them 1/2 off at HL - love those sales!! The snowflakes are Jolee's. Most of this stuff I've had for quite a while so not even sure you can still get it - man, that's just sad, isn't it? I hope you can click on the pictures to see them larger...I never know with blogger though!

So my weekend is pretty packed - Saturday I'm attending a seminar to get some teacher credits for my new job at the preschool. It should be fun. Saturday night the family is getting together for dinner to celebrate my sister and dad's birthday. Then Sunday I have a FUNShop with a new group of ladies. So as you can tell my weekend is going to be busy but fun! I'll be back on Monday with a new Christmas card to show you! Hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!!

As promised

Good morning! I've got a quick post for you as I'm knee deep in projects that I need to finish - I have a Scor-Pal class tonight that I'm teaching and a FUNShop on Sunday so there is lots to be done!

Yesterday, I promised to share a scrapbook page that I completed. It was so fun to change things up a bit and scrapbook instead of just making cards. While making cards is one of my favorite things to do I find that scrapbooking is just as rewarding - it just takes me longer, lol! With Abby in school full time, I'm really missing her and scrapbooking "our" times has really helped me. It's hard to believe that she was so small at one time!!

Anyway, the page today actually isn't documenting a "fun" time. As moms we see the good and bad. With Abby her frustrations really came when she didn't get to stay up or if I told her no - boy did she hate that! Come to think of it she still doesn't like it (lol) but at least I don't have the little tantrums - now I have the grunting and sassing! When I first starting scrapbooking, I documented a lot of holidays and such. But now I enjoy scrappin the everyday moments so more.

I think it's important to document some of those tears - I mean Abby needs to realize she wasn't perfect! The title for me is the best part of the page - "Life with a 3 yr old isn't always a bowl of cherries". Titles aren't my strong point and I love how the paper gave me my title!

Well there you have it - a quick single page for you. Tomorrow I'll share a 2 page spread. I'd like to say I'd share at least one page a week but I don't want to put that kind of pressure on me! I mean it's supposed to be fun and I don't want to feel obligated to do it...especially when I have so much going on with TAC and my new job starting. I'm sure you all understand!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Quote Time - FBW Style

Happy Wednesday to you! Thanks so much for stopping by! Today, as you know is Flutter By Wednesday, and fellow DT member Kim issued us the challenge of using our favorite quote along with a butterfly or fairy on our creations this week! I love Kim's cards with all her fabulous quotes so hopefully I did her justice with the challenge!

I had this paper that I got at HL for awhile and was waiting for the right moment to use it. I am loving the whole blue and brown color combo! The quote is from Paper Makeup Stamps and is one I hold true to my heart!

Stop by Danni's blog to see her fabulous creation and leave a link to yours! You know you want to play!! I'm looking forward to seeing all my wonderful DT's creations - why not stop by their blogs and check them out. You can see them on the right hand side.

Now before you go I have to tell you that September is going to be the party month for us here at FBW. Danni will be turning the big 40 on September 4th and what better way to celebrate then to have a month long party?!?!?! That's right each week we'll have a fabulous challenge, an awesome guest designer and blog candy!! If you've been following along but haven't played yet you'll definitely want to jump in come September!!

Hope you'll visit me tomorrow where I'll be sharing a scrapbook page - yep I actually have one for tomorrow and Friday!! Until then...

Sunflowers

Today I'm going to share a card I made for my Create-A-Card group. I've had some people ask about this group and how to join. It's a Yahoo group that you can request to join. You should be able to find the group by doing a search in Yahoo groups. If you have questions, let me know. This week we were given this sketch from PageMaps to use:

and here is my interpretation:

I used a retired Angel Company (TAC) stamp set that I bought from a fellow Angel, Carol a few weeks back. I just love large flower stamps like this! The papers are also from TAC - the Penelope soar with it collection. I have been enjoying this cool weather and it's got me thinking about Fall so I wanted to make a nice Fall card. Here is a close up of the sunflowers:

I colored the sunflowers using pencils and OMS. I then cut out the image and adhered it to the front of my card using pop dots. I didn't want to try and sew so I used my piercer and template to make the holes around the purple cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm a demonstrator for The Angel Company. If you are interested in purchasing product or have any questions, feel free to email me!

Snow Globe

Hello to you! If you've visited by blog before you know that today is Christmas Monday and I'm so excited about sharing my card! I had this idea on what I wanted to do but wasn't sure if I'd get it to look the way I wanted when I actually tried it - but it worked and it's AWESOME!!

The challenge issued this week by Sankari is to create a non A2 Christmas card. That means the card can be anything but the traditional size of 4.25 x 5.50. I decided to try and do a snow globe (since I love them!) and to use a new set of stamps that I received.

I used my large circle Coluzzle for the globe and cut the base to go along with it. I then cut another circle on white cardstock and stamped my image on it. Next I glued diamond dust all over the white cardstock. While that was drying I cut another circle this time using acetate. The acetate goes over the top and back of the card (it's adhered on the back and under the red strip of cardstock). Below is a close up of the globe.

So whatcha think? Is it a thumbs up or thumbs down? I'm thinking it's two thumbs up but I'm the creator so I think I'm a little biased :o)

Stop by the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long blog to see what the other design team members have created. While you are there leave a link to your creation - come on it's time to start playing along. Christmas will be here before you know it!!

This weekend I was able to get some projects done so I'm happy to say I have a post for everyday this week ready to go. Now I'm working on finishing up my Scor-Pal Class - if you are near Topeka and want to come it's Thursday night at 6:30 and costs $15. You'll make 4 wonderful projects that are sure to please. Email me for directions and details!!

Thanks so much for stopping by - hope your Monday is a good one!

A Peaceful Heart

Thanks for stopping by for another Flutter By Wednesday! Today, team member Cassie, gave us the challenge to CASE (copy and steal everything) another team members creations. Of course, the card needs to have a butterfly or fairy on it as well. I have to tell you it was hard to CASE just one card. So I changed it up a bit and actually drew my inspiration from THREE different team members!


I think it would be easier to see my card first and then tell you who and what I CASED.

First things first - WHATCHA THINK? I think it turned out cute - probably has something to do with the cute little image but I just smile when I look at this card. So I CASEd Chris by using red & brown (see the original project here). Next I CASEd Ann by using her sketch and the punched out butterflies (see the original project here). Last I CASEd Danni by using a hedgehog (see the original project here).

Like I mentioned it was hard to choose just one team member to CASE as ALL of them do such a wonderful job - I enjoy visiting their blogs to see what they come up with. The links to all the blogs are on the right hand side so take a moment and visit them. I hope you decide to play along this week. If you do just visit Danni's blog and leave a link to your creation. Poor Danni has hurt her thumb and is not able to create - she's TOTALLY bummed so be sure to send her some get well wishes to help that healing time some!!

Little update about me - I did get the teaching job at Abby's old preschool. I'll be teaching Tues/Thurs mornings to the 2.5 yr olds. I will also be helping out at the school on Wednesdays over the lunch hour and then subbing whenever possible. It's a change for me and one that I'm really looking forward to. I get such a joy seeing the kids learn and grow and to be a part of that just warms my heart. It's a win-win for me too because I also get to work around Abby's school schedule and will still have free time to create and volunteer at her school.

Today I'm off to work out all the details for Abby's birthday party. Thanks to my friend Liz, I think we are doing a carnival in our backyard. Abby LOVES playing Wii carnival games and after reading Liz's post I realized that with a little creativity I could make some games possible. We were going to see about renting an inflatable (slide or moon bounce) but they were $175 to $225 for ONE for like 4 hours. I thought it was crazy to spend that amount of money on ONE thing when we could do a lot of other cool stuff! Now we just have to pray for no rain cause I have NO idea what I'd do with 20 kids if it rains...

Thanks for stopping by - have a great one!!

Thinking of You

For the Create-A-Card Yahoo group we were given an awesome sketch to use this week. I think that it's a simple card to do and has a WOW factor. Also, I like the fact that it's a different shape rather then the A2 card that I always seem to do. So here is the sketch from PageMaps


and here is my card:

The card is a 4x6 card. All the papers are from The Angel Company (TAC) - the Toodle Loo collection. I really enjoy the colors. The sentiment is from Thinking of You hostess C set from TAC and is stamped on a tag. Each of the Soar With It Collections from TAC include a full sheet of matching tags. Makes it REALLY easy to coordinate and journal on your cards or scrapbook pages.

So do you likey likey? Hope your week is going good so far - today I'm off to an interview at Abby's preschool for a possible teaching position. It would be part-time and would work beautifully around Abby's school schedule. I didn't really plan on this - it just sort of happened and sometimes those are the best things! I'm keeping an open mind and we'll see. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Papers: Toodle Loo Soar With It Collection and Cardstock pack from TAC

Other: Pinking shears, Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch, Prima Flower, Bazzill Brad, Memento Black Ink, Ribbon, 1" circle punch

Stamps: Thinking of You Hostess Level C Stamp Set

I am an independent demonstrator for The Angel Company. If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing product, feel free to email me!

Maria's Sketch Challenge & School Pics

Good Morning! Today on the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Blog, Maria gave us the challenge to use one of her wonderful sketches. I had colored this image awhile ago and decided that it was time to finally use it.

I'm not sure where the paper is from (thinking Hobby Lobby). The image was a RAK which I colored with pencils and OMS and added Stickles around the leaves and to the berries. Instead of putting a sentiment at the bottom I used ribbon and a bow.

So have you decided to start working on those Christmas cards yet? I'm glad I've been doing this all year because I've signed up for some craft shows. All these cards will be perfect for the booth! I hope you join in this week and share what you create - we'd all love to see it!!

Last Thursday, as you know, Abby started Kindergarten. I took a ton of pictures but decided to share a few of my favorites today. It was so sunny out that day I had a hard time getting a good picture of her. I like to take one in the same spot each year to show how much she's grown. I take a full shot and a head shot of her by our front door.

Once she got to school (after riding the bus) I went inside to get a quick picture of her and her new teacher, Mrs. McKinley.

I have pictures of her getting on and off the bus but this is my favorite. As she was coming down the bus she yelled "Momma!" and ran to me. Of course, I was kneeling so I could get one of those big hugs that I love!

She had a super duper time and is really enjoying herself. Getting her to bed has been so much easier - one because we are on a routine and she sticks with it and two because she knows she's got a full day of school the next day and needs to be rested up!

That's it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by!! It means so very much to me...

So Squirrely

I was asked to do some samples for the Stamp of the Month, So Squirrely, this month for The Angel Company. Today I thought I'd share my submissions with you.

First up is a little goodie for someone's birthday that I might of forgotten (and believe me that could happen with me!). I used Catelynne paper collection along with ribbon. The box didn't have a window but I just used my Coluzzle oval cutter and then adhered a piece of acetate to it. The peanuts are in a food safe baggie inside the box. I only tied ribbon on one part of the handle so it can easily be opened and closed by the recipient.
The little 3x3 fits in the band along the back of the box...an all in one kind of gift.

Next I used the Penelope paper collection along with my Copics for this card. I added eyelets to make it a little more masculine so that I could give it to my hubby as a just because kind of thing. I know he'd appreciate it!

The next card is a little far fetched I mean how many pink squirrels have YOU seen? BUT I just love the Mimi paper collection and I was kind of tired of coloring the image the same. This one I thought would be perfect for that special girlfriend that is always there for you. What a great way to let her know you care!

The last two cards use the Willoughby paper collection which happens to be one of my favorite! It's so funny to because about a year or so ago I hated BROWN and now I can't get enough of it!! On the first card I VersaMark "nuts" on the brown cardstock and embossed it using clear embossing powder. I also used VersaMark on the green cardstock but did not emboss it. I used my pencils and OMS for the image.

I just LOVE the sketch of this card! Just a sweet simple card perfect for that missed birthday - come on I KNOW I'm not the only one who forgets birthdays!

So there you have it! I hope you've enjoyed them. I tried to also include a picture of the complete stamp set that is available this month for just $9.75 (after a $30 purchase) but blogger was being difficult. You can see it on my sidebar though on the right hand side.

Just email me if you are interested in placing an order or getting this stamp set for yourself. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

August Specials from TAC

There are some awesome specials going on right now that I want to make sure you are aware of. On the right side of my blog you will find a picture and information regarding the Stamp of the Month and the Vintage set for August. Both are just perfect for all those upcoming projects you'll be doing between now and Christmas!

Also right now, we have Double the Fun promo. If you've thought about hosting your own party NOW is the time - double hostess sets and double half-price items!!

Do you like surprises? If so this next special is for you! We have TAC surprise boxes for sale. Each box is guaranteed to have at least $150 of retail value in them. Some may contain rubber - yes, that's right STAMPS!! Some may also contained gift certificates ranging in value from $50 to $100!!! How cool is that?! These sell out quickly so make sure you act fast!

Do you live in the Topeka area? Why not try attending one of my classes?

• Thursday, August 27th at 6:30pm $15 Scor-it! Cards using your Scor-Pal (RSVP by Monday, August 24th)
• Saturday, Sept 25th - Christmas Card Stack $15 &/or Christmas Planner $15 - times and more information coming soon!
• Please note: reservations are required for classes. Payment is due at time of reservation.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these specials just email me today and I'll get that ordered for you! I accept most major credit cards as well as Paypal. If you live near Topeka, KS and would like to host your very own FUNShop! for you and some friends why not contact me to schedule something.

Fairy Flutter By

ETA: Danni is without Internet service at this time. She will have the post along with Mr. Linky up just as soon as her service returns. She is very sorry for this inconvenience.

Before I get started with Flutter By Wednesday, I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words on my winning the TAC contest. It means a lot to me to have such a wonderful support system here in blogland!


Today is an open challenge which means anything goes as long as you have a fairy or a butterfly on your card. We also have a guest designer this week - please stop by Sandra McLean's blog to see her wonderful creation!


So this week I have two cards to share - no I'm not an overachiever. If anything I'm a slacker. See I decided to use a card that I had already started and add a butterfly to it and call it quits. I think it's cute enough to share so here it is.



But after I got done, I saw a sketch at Mercy's blog that I just had to try. Plus I got a few new TAC stamp sets and that fairy was just calling my name. SO I made another card.



Now it's after 2am and I'm trying to finish everything up so I can go to bed...so in the future, this won't be happening again. LOL. I really like how my fairy card turned out. The DP is actually cards I found on clearance at Micheal's. They are by Chatterbox and each set came with 15 cards, envelopes and stickers. They were marked down to $1.99!! I couldn't pass that up so I got one box of each color. The cards are 5x7 in size and are double sided with a window cut out on the front. I felt that I was limited in what I could do they way they were so I decided to cut them up and use them as individual sheets to make my card. I then attached the card front to a white card base. I paper pieced the fairy's dress and crown. Added Stickles to her wings and rhinestones to her crown. I colored her in with my Copics. I didn't "ground" her as I like to think of her fluttering there...watching over you.



I hope you decide to play along this week. Just stop by Danni's blog and link your creation using Mr. Linky. While you are there check out her fabulous creation. You can visit the other uber talented DT's my going to their blogs which are located on the right side of my blog.


I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday! Tomorrow Abby starts Kindergarten - I have such mix feelings. Happy for a little mommy break but sad to have her go. I've stayed home with her since she turned one (Jay stayed home with her the first year) so I've grown used to OUR time. Plus we lived in a state where we didn't know many people or have any family so our bond was even more important for me. I know I will still have special times just for the two of us just not as often. arggghhh it's so hard for me to put this into words - just send me a little extra love as my baby leaves me, okay?! Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Oh My Goodness...

I'm so freakin' excited!!! I just found out that I won a contest that I entered at The Angel Company! I'm on cloud 9 and totally doing the happy dance! Like a dorko I forgot to take pictures of my creation but you can see it here.

In the Spotlight - Vicki's challenge #29

On the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long blog, the challenge this week from Vicki is to use the spotlight technique. I've always wanted to try this but as usual it just got shoved to the bottom of my list of things to try. It's a fun technique and there is something refreshing about not having to color the WHOLE image.

A couple of weeks ago, I was suffering from migraines and was unable to do Sankari's challenge of using snowmen for a card. Snowmen can be challenge to me to color because they are white...how do you make them stand out? With the spotlight technique, I was able to do that in a pretty easy way.

Yes, my snowman has some blue to him - but come on folks, it has to be COLD for my snowman to survive so surely he's a little blue!! I colored him with my Copics and added a little Stickle to his hat band and scarf. The snowman image is another freebie from Dustin Pike. The paper is from My Mind's Eye and I added a few crystal brads and a little ribbon as well. The main focus is definitely my snowman so I didn't want to overdue the embellishments. Here's a close up of the spotlight technique.

You can find a good tutorial for the spotlight technique here. I hope you decide to give it a try. Be sure to share what you create. It's always fun looking at all the wonderful cards. To see more wonderful examples, go to the main Christmas blog or you can click on each DT's links over to the right.

Have a great Monday and thanks for stopping by!

The Butterfly Project

What is that you may ask? This week fellow DT member Harriett challenged all of us to participate in The Butterfly Project. I was more than happy to help out a wonderful cause and hope that you, too will decide to participate.

It's actually rather easy. I mean how simple is it to take your scraps of paper (I know you have them!) and diecut or cut out butterflies. I ended up cutting some from my Cuttlebug and Quickutz dies. I even added a little bling to a few.

Here are some of the butterflies that I made. I had to do a rainbow of butterflies. I love how they look all together. And of course the black and pink blingy one....let me tell you it's a pretty one!

Here are a few closeup shots of the butterflies:

This week feel free to link your creations if you choose by going to Danni's blog. That's not the important thing though - participating and sending your butterflies to The Butterfly Project is. You can find all the details here.

Don't forget to see what the other design team girls have come up with - I'm sure there's going to be a lot of fluttering on the blog-o-sphere today!! I hope you are one of them!

Black & White Card

Well I finished New Moon and WOW what a book! I really enjoyed it and thanks to my friend Liz I made sure to have some Kleenex nearby which was good because I used quite a few. Abby kept asking me why I was crying and why didn't I just think of something else. It was so funny! I haven't got the next book yet - I have too much other stuff to do but I'm sure I'll have it by the end of the week! Today Abby is going to an all day camp - I thought it would be a good way for me to test her leaving. She's riding a bus out to a farm for a fun filled day of activities and lunch. I won't see her till 5pm! I have a HUGE to-do list that I plan on working on so it should all be good!

Well it's time for another CAC sketch. There are no rules we are just supposed to use the sketch for our card. The sketch is square and I don't usually make square cards plus the layers were a little weird for me. Anyway, here is the sketch:

I decided to make a black and white card but after I got done I thought it was missing something. SO I added a little red for that POP appeal. I think I was having difficulty on this one because I couldn't figure out any way to use ribbon. Oh well - at least there isn't any bulk so it will be great for mailing!

Did I tell you I joined Facebook? I tell you I've been resisting it for so long and now I know why! It's addicting. Trying to see who you can find, chatting, posting and I know there is a lot of it I don't know about. I got two requests yesterday to join a mafia - I mean WHAT?? So I know there are games, lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by - as my card says, I'm so thankful for YOU my readers! Happy Tuesday and I'll see you tomorrow for Flutter By Wednesday!

Debbie's Sketch Challenge #28

So I'm busy reading New Moon and am going to make this short so I can get back to reading. Ok, honestly I'm still in bed as I have this post scheduled and I stayed up WAY too late reading, lol! We had company over all day Saturday and I had a FUNShop on Sunday so I haven't had a lot of time to read!!

For the Christmas Blog, we were issued a challenge by Debbie to use a sketch this week. It's a good one and was a lot of fun to do! So here is the sketch:

and here is my card:

The DP is Heidi Grace from a couple of years ago that I've been holding on to. I used my Cuttlebug swirl embossing folder for the top half of the card. The image is a digital image freebie from Dustin Pike. He has some really cool stuff. In July his images were Christmas theme so had to snag them since I'm making at least one Christmas card a week! I colored the bear with my Copics and added a little crystal Stickles to the candy cane to give it a little shine. Pretty simple card but oh so cute, right?

Well I hope you have a great day! If I don't make it by your blog today just realize that I'm deep in my book. I'll be done soon though - or I'll be going insane!! Thanks so much for stopping by...