An AWESOME Announcement

***PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MY CSAYL CREATION FOR TODAY - I HAVE TWO POSTS TODAY***

Happy Friday to you!! I'm so excited to finally be able to announce that I'm a new member of Softpencil's Design Team! Not familiar with Softpencil? Well then you'll want to check them out HERE - it's a digital stamp company with CA-UTE images! What does this DT position mean for me? Starting in March, I'll be posting at least ONE Softpencil creation a week - on Thursday's. I'm so excited to be a part of this team - Elizabeth is so nice and her images are so cute and fun to use!! I decided to go ahead and post a card today using the image LITTLE COW

The sentiment is from The Angel Company's AN'UDDER BIRTHDAY set. I colored the image using my colored pencils and OMS. I added a little Crystal Stickles to the butterfly.

I also used the Crazy 4 Challenges sketch (C4C25) for my card. So whatcha think?

Don't forget to check out my Christmas card below...it was a fun color challenge this week!

CSAYL Challenge #42 - Shades of Pink

Time for another Christmas creation! I know it may seem early to start working on Christmas cards but really it's a perfect time! I know I'm trying to get a head start so I'll have more cards to sell at my craft shows this year. PLUS new this year we are doing gift sets. So even if you aren't ready to start making your own holiday creations, I hope you'll still check out the blog for some awesome inspiration!

The challenge this week is to create a holiday card using shades of PINK. Pink probably isn't the first color that pops into your head when talking about holiday cards. For me, when I received the challenge I instantly thought snowmen!


For my card I used a new stamp I received a couple weeks ago from Penny Black. I colored it with my pencils and OMS and added some pink fun flock to the snowman's hat and scarf. The sentiment and pattern paper are from Doodlebug both of which I've had for quite some time. I have a bad habit of buying and never using (who doesn't right?) Here is a close up of the image:

I'm very pleased with how this turned out. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card but I did decorate it too. So whatcha think?

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you'll visit the CSAYL blog and participate this week. You can link your creation there using Mr. Linky.

Open Flutter By Challenge

Hi! Today is another Flutter By Wednesday and this week our challenge is an OPEN one! This means you can do/make ANYTHING as long as it has a BUTTERFLY, FAIRY or ANGEL on it!!

My card would be perfect to use scraps on. The pattern papers measure 1 1/4" x 4". The butterfly was cut using my Cricut and then embossed in my Cuttlebug. I took my New Canvas Palette pad and swiped the top of the butterfly to bring out the swirls. I, like so many of you out there, are just hoping and waiting for Spring to come. This is my happy spring card - pinks, greens, yellows; butterflies and flowers; Screams Spring to me!!

I hope you get a chance to play along this week. We've had so many awesome participants! The creations are amazing!! If you decide to join us, just visit the Flutter By Wednesday Blog for all the details. Don't forget - you can find more inspiration from the wonderful and talented DT...their links are on my sidebar!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I know I've mentioned quite a few times about being sick and you can stop reading now if you want. I just have to say that the other Preschool teachers warned me that I'd have a tough year being around so many kids. Boy were they right! I just got off another round of antibiotics and today my ear was hurting. To put more fuel on the fire, three children threw up (or was about to) one of which was in my classroom. Usually within 24 hours I'll know my verdict - I'm hoping this time it will be good cause I can honestly say I'm SICK of being SICK!! Ok you may returned to your regularly scheduled program - and thanks for listening :o)

Bluebird

Hello and welcome to another week! I hope your Monday is a good one. We got another snow storm this weekend so everything is white and cold again :( Positive note though - the SUN is SHINING!! That always seems to help. I really need to be going outside and shoveling the sidewalks - for some reason my husband didn't do that?!? I don't own any snow boots though - just my running shoes and those won't keep my feet dry for very long! So...guess that means I'm going to pass. Hubby's off work tomorrow anyway - and he'll need something to do, LOL!

This weekend was a good one though. I had a FUNShop scheduled for yesterday but with the nasty weather the ladies cancelled it. Don't blame them at all as some of them drive from Abilene and Eudora! I did get some more projects done for upcoming challenges. I also sorted through pictures and helped Jay pick some out for a frame. Made me want to scrapbook!! I miss it so much - I find that creating a card is just easier to do. Less time and I'm all about finishing things. With a scrapbook page, especially since it's been awhile, just seems to take me a LONG time to complete. I'm trying to get ahead in my DT requirements though so I can make time for scrapbooking. I know a couple of my friends (Liz, Ellen and Jody) who would love to see me scrapbooking again - right girls?

For today though I thought I'd share a card I made using my CRICUT - yes, folks I finally used it. I love that thing!! I can't believe all it can do and how nice is it for the Cricut to do all the work, LOL!

For this card, I cut out the tree and leaves using my Cricut Serenade cartridge which is one I got with my machine. I stamped the blue bird and then cut him out and adhered him in the tree using a pop dot. For the ribbon, it's just ribbon scraps glued down with a button on top of them. A new way to adhere them for me. Another thing I did different was my card base - it's not that the size is different just where the fold is. Instead of cutting a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 piece, I cut a 4 1/4 x 11 piece of cardstock and folded it at 5 1/2. Love how the fold is at the top. It's a little change but does so much for my creativity...

Well that's all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by! I want to start sharing more photos of family and such - really there hasn't been much going on though. Hubby's birthday is Sunday and the circus is in town this weekend. Both events will produce some more photos. I did realize though going through my pictures that I took lots of photos "just because" - I miss doing that. You know the ones we took "just because" Abby's hair was funny/different/crazy or "just because" of a face she was making. I need to look at our day to day and try and capture it. Abby will only be 6 once and it's going WAY to fast...I need to capture what are the things she does and says that make her HER. I should start with tonight - DAISY meeting and I don't have any pictures. I think I just made a new goal...

CSAYL Challenge #41 - Recipe Challenge

We're Back!! Yep, the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Blog (CSAYL) is back in business! And let me tell you I'm ready!! For those of you familiar with CSAYL - it's a blog dedicated to all things Christmas. Last year we posted every Monday...now we'll be on Friday's. Also, we'll have three weeks of card creations and one week of gift sets. I hope you'll decide to play along - go over to the CSAYL to see all the DT's creations as well as link your creation.

So for this week our challenge is a recipe one - you are supposed to use 2 layers, 3 buttons and glitter. I took it as that's ALL you should use. So this card doesn't have lots of layers like I'm used to or ribbon {insert gasp here}...however, I am pleased with myself for following the challenge and creating a cool card :o)

I decided to go a little vintage...I didn't even color {insert another gasp here} anything! I think it captures the holiday feeling and would be a great card to mass produce and send...thinking about using something other than buttons to cut down on the cost of mailing though. So where is the glitter you ask?

The score line under the dotted line has glitter on it as do the snowflakes around Santa. I just used my Stardust Clear Gelly pen so it's a subtle effect. Hard to really capture it but trust me IRL it's pretty :)

So there you have it my first creation for CSAYL for 2010. Whew it feels good to have a Christmas card done - only 100 more to go, LOL! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies used: Olive Cardstock, Scor-pal & Scor-Bug Embosser, Vintage Santa Stamp Set, Memento Brown Ink, Cosmetic Sponge, Stardust Clear Gelly pen, Buttons, Brown Scrapper's Floss.

I'm an Independent Demonstrator for The Angel Company. By clicking on the product link you will be directed to my secure online shopping site. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Hearts for Flutter By Wednesday

Welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday! This week we have the wonderful Susana from Susana's Custom Art and Card Design as our sponsor. What's that mean for you? BLOG CANDY!!! Yep, you read that right. So how do you enter? Create a card that contains a FAIRY, BUTTERFLY or ANGEL on it as well as HEARTS! Then go to the Flutter By Wednesday blog and DIRECT link your creation by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd! That's it! So come on and join the fun!

For my card I decided to use my favorite Faerie Song Art Stamp, Bryony, that I got at Susana's store. I paired her with some beautiful BG Bittersweet paper and embellishments to make one pretty fabulous card :)

Usually I post a close up but I have to admit this didn't turn out quite like I imagine. Now don't get me wrong - I love the colors it's just.. well, I got a little carried away with my white gel pen. No going back after that..I mean it's the last thing I had done. So rather than advertise it I'll just show the card as a whole so you can see how wonderful the whole thing is, lol!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy my FBW card and decide to play along. We've had such a fabulous turnout with our challenges and I just love looking at the wonderful creations! Be sure to stop by the other DT blogs and check out what they've come up with as well.

A Little Bit of This and That

Happy Monday to you! Sorry I've been away. This was my weekend away with hubby and even though I had a sinus infection it was still a nice little getaway. Then the weather got all funky on Sunday so we didn't actually make it home till almost 6pm. So needless to say, I haven't had much time to create.

I meant to show these Valentine projects on Friday - you know BEFORE Valentine's Day. But that didn't happen...too many other things going on and when you are sick something that normally takes 5 minutes takes an hour! So I'm sharing AFTER the fact but the projects could be altered for an anniversary or birthday for a loved one as well. These were the projects I taught at the Shabbi Shack in January. First up is the scrapbook page:

The photo sizes are 4x6 and two 2x3's. Next is a treat container. I used the Rounded Wrap Up template from PTI.

"Sweets for my sweet" is from the I HEART YOU stamp set by The Angel Company. Last is a card.

The sentiment is from CHEERY THOUGHTS and the swirls are from FANCY CURLS both by The Angel Company. I made this little set as a gift to give your hubby or child to show them how much they mean to you. I'm waiting on some pictures I ordered of Abby to put in the page. Then I'm going to narrow down the list of things she does that makes me smile to 5. She's a pretty funny girl. She says so many things that make me giggle. I need to start having a little book with me at all times again because just today in the car she said like 3 different things I don't want to forget!

These past few weeks, I've shared some creations using Softpencil digital images. They have there own group on PCP where I've gotten to know some of the girls as well as Elizabeth who is the illustrator for Softpencil. She's super nice and today she surprised me with this award!

Thank you Elizabeth! You are so sweet! I'm supposed to say 10 things that make me happy and pass it along to 10 people. Here are 10 things that make me happy:

*my family

*my sweet cat, Jasmine

*coffee with cream (french vanilla) and splenda

*shopping for my addiction of stamping, scrapbooking and paper crafting!

*great friends

*laughter

*my favorite music and tv shows

*a good book

*Nature - the changing of seasons

*birds - EVERY bird...they just amaze me

Now I'm supposed to give this award to 10 people. I hate this part as there are so many of you out there that have touched me one way or another. I don't like to think I could hurt someones feelings so instead I'm giving it to all of YOU....ENJOY and THANK YOU for blessing me in so many ways!!

Softpencil Challenge #18

Before I show you my creation for Softpencil's newest challenge I just have to tell you the good news!! Do you remember this card from last week? Well I was lucky enough to win the challenge!! Woohoo!! I received $10 to use in Elizabeth's store. You can see my card and details about purchasing her images on the Softpencil blog!

Ok so enough tooting my own horn - on to this week's challenge. Kerry challenged the Softpencil Group to a recipe challenge. We could use 1 of this, 2 of that and 3 of those - all your choice! Of course, you need to use a Softpencil image as well.

I used I'll Keep you Safe - Michu as the image. My recipe consists of 1 tag, 2 embellishments and 3 pattern papers. The sentiment is from the Oh How stamp set which is now retired from TAC. It's perfect though because Michu is thanking God for a flower to keep him covered & safe for whatever may come his way. Wouldn't that be nice to have?

Isn't Michu adorable? I colored the image using my pencils and OMS...taking a little break from the Copics. So whatcha think? Do you likey? I know I do!

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday - I know I'm so glad the weekend is almost here! Ready to slow down and take it easy! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Love Theme for Flutter By Wednesday

Good Morning! Welcome to another Flutter By Wednesday! With Valentine's Day right around the corner we decided to have a LOVE theme for our challenge this week. Your creations should have a LOVE theme and include a fairy, butterfly or angel. I hope you find some time to join in. We've had a tremendous turnout for our weekly challenges and I have to tell you the creations are AMAZING! I love seeing all the different styles, images and cool creations that YOU have to offer! So THANK YOU for joining us - and if you haven't WHY NOT?!?! I hope you'll decide to join us this week. After you've created your card, just go to the Flutter By Wednesday blog and leave a direct link to your creation using Mr. Linky.

For my card I used my SCRAPS again from the weekend challenge that Danni had for a few of us. I LOVE how this turned out - it's so CA-UTE!

Yes, that's Fluffles - the cutest cat ever! Now your thinking "Michelle, Fluffles isn't a butterfly, fairy or angel" at which point I'd say - oh you are so right...but look at the flower center...

It's a butterfly rhinestone :) ha, ha - gotcha ya! With this card I can also enter it in the following challenges:

Crazy 4 Challenges - #C4C23, Valentine Theme

PMS - #15, Pink & Bling

Cute Card Thursday - #98, Spots & Dots

Diecut Dreams - #34, Have a Heart

The sketch is from Sweet Sketch Sunday #54, which has already passed but I really liked the sketch. So can you believe I entered that many challenges with one card - it's a record for me!! Woohoo - I'm getting better :)

Well I hope you've enjoyed my card today! I so appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog and leave me comments. Believe me I know how busy life can be so THANK YOU! Please stop by the other DT's blogs when you get some time and see their beautiful creations as well - I'm telling you between the DT and the participants there is a TON of inspiration to be had here!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Clean & Simple

Quick post for today. I filled in for the music teacher on Friday morning and then a preK class in the afternoon and I'm pretty sure I picked something up. I haven't felt very good most of the weekend and now I have a horrible sore throat and head congestion!

Here is another scrap card from the weekend challenge. I like the clean and simple look but have a hard time with "white space". When I saw sketch #77 at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog, I knew I wanted to give it a try!

Sorry for the horrible picture. Not sure what's going on there! I used scrap paper from my bins. The blue paper is actually the reverse side of the dot pattern paper. Easy peasy for sure! The swirl is from Butterfly Swirls by The Angel Company. I added a few rhinestones to the center of the flowers. So what do you think? I made this for a friend that is going through a rough time right now. She's been in the hospital since the 20th of January. I keep praying for her and her family and hope that she is on the road to recovery!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I'm an Independent Demonstrator for The Angel Company. By clicking on the product you will be directed to my secure online shopping site. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Weekend Full of Scraps!

This past weekend, my friend Danni challenged a few of us to use our scraps on our creation this weekend. I was more than happy to play along with that challenge as I have quite a few scraps. Realize that I'm a little organized - I like everything to have a place. No, this doesn't mean I don't make a mess - cause I make a HUGE mess when I'm creating. BUT most of the time, I have to clean up my area BEFORE I can start on another project. It just gives me a little peace, lol! So I thought I'd show how I store my scraps. This first picture is where my newer scraps go...usually there are groups of coordinating papers & cardstock together.

I also have a similar bin beside my desk where a lot of cardstock goes that I use regularly. My next picture shows how I store my cardstock and pattern paper. I have a friend, Ellen who is a HUGE ROYGBIV fan - she kind of got me hooked on it so I store my papers that way too :)

They are in Iris bins and three fit nicely in my Yaffa blocks. The top block has my colored cardstock. The second one has pattern paper and neutral cardstock. Usually there is a bin there as well with any current class projects - I put all my supplies there so they are all together when I go to create for the class. I also have a milk crate full of my TAC papers - they are just in 12x12 clear envelopes by each paper line. How do you store your scraps? How do you use them? Leave a comment so we can all benefit with your ideas!!

I made a total of FIVE cards this weekend and will be sharing them this week. PLUS I was able to participate in a lot of challenges. LOVE that!! I'm doing so much better at participating in them. I still don't know how people can do like 10 challenges on one card - I'm just not that good!

First up is a birthday card I made for my hubby. His birthday is at the end of the month which means I'm AHEAD of schedule - yes, it's a miracle folks! I used ICSketches #52 for my card. So excited to play along with them this week. They have some fantastic sketches!

The scrap paper is Scenic Route. The image is from the Everyday Events stamp set by The Angel Company. I colored him using my colored pencils and OMS. I colored the water portion with my B00 Copic marker and then applied Diamond Glaze over it. Here's a close up

The design on the orange cardstock was done using my Scor-pal and Scor-bug. So whatcha think? Masculine cards are a struggle for me but I think this one turned out great. The colors are perfect!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you'll come by tomorrow to see another "scrappy" creation!

I'm an Independent Demonstrator for The Angel Company. By clicking on the product you will be directed to my secure online shopping site. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Happy Heart

Hello to you! I sure hope I wake up to some sunshine today but pretty sure that's not going to happen! Supposedly another winter storm is on the way which means we could see some more snow! Since things are still cold around here I decided to combine Valentine's Day and winter in my card. I made this card for three different challenges. First, CardPatterns #49 sketch - been wanting to play along but haven't had a chance so this is my first time! Second, the Softpencil Challenge #17 which was to use bling, brads or both. Third, Paper Sundaes which is a new challenge site (check it out...very cool) need to have a Valentine theme.

The image is a digi from Softpencil called A Lovely Couple. I colored them with my Copics and added some Flower Soft Polar White for snow. The sentiment is from a retired set, Heart Twinz by The Angel Company. The paper is from KI Memories and I think it works PERFECTLY with this image! Here's a close up of the cute couple:

So whatcha think? I'll be giving this one to my hubby. He has an eye conference in Kansas City the 12th & 13th so I'll be going with him and Abby will be staying with Grandma & Papa. I'm looking forward to some quality time with hubby as well as some shopping, dinner and dancing!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Delightful Day - Flutter By Wednesday

Good Morning! Sorry for the small blog break - Abby's been sick since last Friday so my schedule had to change a little. Plus I haven't been feeling the best so there has been a lot of lounging around and taking naps. BUT last night I had a little creative energy and decided to put it to some good use. Even got TWO cards done!!

It's Wednesday so time for another Flutter By Challenge! It's an OPEN one - anything goes AS LONG AS YOU INCLUDE A BUTTERFLY, FAIRY or ANGEL on it! Be sure to stop by the Flutter By Wednesday blog to link your creation. While you are there check out the fabulous creations by our guest designers - We've got three new ones! Please welcome Alex, Brandi and Randi to the team!

For my card I used The Sweet Stop sketch SSS41 and also used flowers on my card so I'm entering it into the Cute Card Thursday Challenge 97 as well!!

The image is from the Dear Friend stamp set and the sentiment is from Brighten Your Day stamp set both from The Angel Company. I decided to change it up a bit and used my pencils and OMS. The small butterflies are from a punch by Martha Stewart and I added small rhinestones to the centers. Here's a close up:

I think this set is so adorable - what a cutie! What do you think? Don't forget about the other DT's blogs - they'll have wonderful creations to share as well. You can find their links on the sidebar.

I hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by!