Hello Friend...

I recently won an AMAZING prize box full of travel-themed crafty goodies from my blog friend, Glenda! The "Get Outta Town" stamp set from Paper Smooches was included in the stash, and I just HAD to ink it up right away!!!

I combined the color combo from the current SPARKS Challenge with the sketch from Retro Sketches 48... 

 

and here's what I came up with:

I can see this becoming a "go-to" layout for me! I'm really digging it!

Hope you're having a FABULOUS weekend! I'm tackling several cleaning/organizational projects that have been on my to-do list for far too long. Planning to sneak in some inky time later on tonight though *wink*!!!

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Supplies:

Stamps: flowers from "Get Outta Town," hello from "Friendly Flowers," and friend from "Forest Whimsy" (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko), Eucalyptus (Amuse Studio), Aqua Color Box (Clearsnap)

Cardstock: Rustic White (Papertrey Ink), Gray (The Paper Company)

Patterned Paper: Quilting Bee (My Mind's Eye), Bitty Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)

Dies: Large Classic Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Adhesive Tape Runner: (Therm-o-web)

Scor-Tape: (Scor-Pal)

Pop Dots: (Plaid Enterprises)       

 

Genius

It's official! My husband was awarded tenure at the Colorado School of Mines!!! If you've ever known a tenure-track university professor then you know what a grueling process it is! He's worked SO HARD, and I am SOOOO proud of him!!!

Part of our celebration (because...trust me...we will be celebrating this achievement for a LOOOONNNNGGG time...HA!) was breakfast at one of Tony's favorite places, Devil's Food, in Denver on Saturday. It was super yummy!

And here's the card I made for my handsome GENIUS:

He LOVED it!

And since this card uses the ADORABLE professor from Smarty Pants (Paper Smooches), I'm going to enter it into their May Guest Designer Search.

Did you have a nice Easter? It was a GORGEOUS day here in the mountains, so we went hiking in the State Park that borders our neighborhood! Here are a few photos:

(What do you think??? Does he look like the little professor on the card??? HA!)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Supplies:
Stamps: Smarty Pants (Paper Smooches), squiggle from Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink), Smitty's ABCs (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko), Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko), Smokey Gray Versafine (Tsukineko), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Embossing Powder: Opaque White Zing! (American Crafts)
Cardstock: Stampers' Select White (Papertrey Ink), Cherry Splash (Bazzill Basics), Charcoal (DeNami Design)
Patterned Paper: Basics White Paper Pad (Basic Grey), Miss Caroline (My Mind's Eye)
Copic Sketch Markers
Punch: Round Binding Edge Punch (EK Success)
Embellishments: Sprocket Gear (Tim Holtz), Brad (from my stash)
Baker's Twine: Caribbean (The Twinery)

Brighter

Hey there! Popping in really quickly to share I card I made just for the fun of it!

When I was looking at my new DeNami Design stamps, I caught a glimpse of the cupcake holder (from Ice Cream Shoppe 1) upside down and thought it looked like a lampshade. So...I paired it up with the Pedestal and made my own lamp! The chevron background was handstamped using the newly released Modern Borders 1 stamp set (DeNami Design). LOVE it!!! And the sentiment is from Paper Smooches! FUN!

I hope you like my creation for today!!! Thanks for stopping by!

I've been fighting a nasty cold for the past few days. Ugh. I think my poor husband is ready to boot me to the couch because I've been keeping him up all night with my cough. Fingers crossed that I kick this little bug soon and that Tony doesn't get it.

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Supplies:

Stamps: cupcake holder from Ice Cream Shoppe 1 CL-CB003, chevron from Modern Borders 1 CL-BD005, and Pedestal G123 (DeNami Design); sentiment from Giddy Bugs (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko); Smokey Gray Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: White, Sky Blue (DeNami Design); Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Everyday Moments (Teresa Collins)

Ribbon: White 3/8" Grosgrain (DeNami Design)

Baker's Twine: Buttercream (The Twinery)

Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper: (We R Memory Keepers)

Bee Mine!

Hey there! Winter Simms is hosting a HUGE Valentine's Day card drive for St. Jude, Texas Children's Hospital, Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, and St. Louis Children's Hospital (Click HERE for all of the details)!!! This is such a wonderful event, and I always enjoy participating in it each year!!! Here's a cute little number I created using Jen Del Muro's January 2012 "Sketch For You To Try"!

Here's the sketch:

And here's my take:

Winter still needs LOTS of cards!! So, if you have some time to get inky, please consider making some sweet little Valentines for these brave little kiddos!!!! Just imagine the BIG SMILES on their faces when they receive all of this SUPER FUN snail mail!!! All cards must be received by Winter no later than January 31, 2012, so we need to act quickly!!!

Enjoy your weekend!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Giddy Bugs (Paper Smooches), Smitty's ABCs (Lawn Fawn), Teeny Heart A91 (DeNami Design)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko), Cherry (American Crafts)

Cardstock: Cream and Black (DeNami Design), Vintage Cream and Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Paper Reverie Noir (Making Memories), True Blue "Daydream" Paper from Fine and Dandy Collection (My Mind's Eye), Lost and Found Two: Rosy (My Mind's Eye)

Dies: Heart (Ellis---cut at Archiver's), Small Standard Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Pop Dots: (Plaid Enterprises)

Scor-Tape: (Scor-Pal)

Adhesive Tape Gun: Scotch ATG 700

Love Bug

Hey there! Today I'm sharing a card I made using the SUPER FUN layout at the most recent Card Patterns Sketch Challenge AND the GORGEOUS color combo at Jay Gee's Nook!

Here's my creation:

This cute little baby card features an ADORABLE image and sentiment from "Giddy Bugs" by Paper Smooches! I was SO EXCITED to find this stamp set in my prize box from the World Card Making Day Contest!!! And that beautiful border??? That's the Abstract Flower Edger Punch (EK Success)---also part of the same prize box!!! AND...the patterned papers I used to create the background are from the Farmhouse Collection by October Afternoon, which I was LUCKY enough to win from their blog!!! WOOHOO!!!!! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of these AMAZING companies for their incredible generosity!!! I am having SO MUCH FUN crafting with your products!!

I hope you're having a GREAT week, blog friends!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Giddy Bugs (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Brown Kraft (DeNami Design), Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Yellow (?)

Patterned Paper: Farmhouse (October Afternoon), Lost and Found Two: Rosy (My Mind's Eye)

Die: Doily Details Collection (Papertrey Ink)

Punch: Abstract Flower Edger Punch (EK Success)

Buttons: Wood (Simplicity Creative Group)

Twine: Caramel (American Crafts)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Pop Dots: (Plaid Enterprises)

Glue: Scrap Fusion Adhesive (Ivy Scraps)

Adhesive Tape Runner: (Tombow)

Adhesive Tape Gun: Scotch ATG 700

Zots: (Therm-o-web)

Hey Gill-Friend

Super duper quick post to share a card I made for the most recent Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge!

Here's the inspiration photo (LOVE IT!!!):

And here's my creation:

I was inspired by the clean/graphic style and bright colors of the inspiration photo! The ADORABLE little fishy and sentiment are from "Surf and Turf" (Paper Smooches)!!! I simply stamped the fishy repeatedly to form a whole school of fish and then colored them with Copic Sketch Markers! FUN!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Fleas Navidad

Hey there! Super quick post to share the Christmas card I made for my six year-old nephew this year! He adopted a wiener dog not too long ago, so I thought this would be perfect!

Here's what it looks like when it's closed:

And here's a view of it opened up (HA!):

That ADORABLE wiener dog, his hat, the punny sentiment, and the bones are from "Santa Paws" by Paper Smooches! (Thanks to my inky buddy, Michele, for letting me borrow that set!!) I'm going to enter this card into the Paper Smooches January Guest Designer Contest! 

Using the fold of the card as a guideline, I stamped the front of the dog (masking the tail end). Then I stamped the tail end and masked off the front. Then, I used a black Sharpie marker to connect the two and did some paper piecing to dress him up!

The strings of lights are from "Retro Christmas Backgrounds" by Practicing Creativity Designs and the patterned paper is "Dots and Stripes: Christmas Collection" by Echo Park!

I hope you like my creation!!! I had SO MUCH FUN making this card!! I hope my nephew gets a kick out of it!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

Warm Wishes

Hey there! Just popping in for a quick post to share a card I created for the most recent CAS-ual Fridays Challenge! I always LOVE Laura's sketches!!! Check this one out:

And here's my take on it:

I couldn't resist paper piecing the sweet little cup of cocoa from "Hot Concoctions" by Paper Smooches! And I found that adorable flower button in my bag of Harvest Boutique Buttons from DeNami Design! How lucky was that?!?! YAY!

The inside of the card says "Warm Wishes." CUTE! I'm going to send this to one of my Pittsburgh friends for her birthday! Hope she likes it!

***THANK YOU to all of you for your congratulatory comments and e-mails about my card being chosen as one of Paper Crafts Magazine's WCMD winners!!! You are SOOOO super sweet! I still can't believe the news! I keep going back and checking the Paper Crafts blog post to make sure it's for real! HA!

I am a bit behind in blogland because my computer died on Saturday morning. Lovely...right?!?! So, I'm in limbo right now working from a borrowed computer. I promise to get back into the swing of things and catch up with you all as soon as possible!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a FABULOUS day!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Hot Concoctions (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Brown Kraft (DeNami Design), Fudge Cover (The Paper Company), Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Embossed Dots (Bazzill Basics)

Patterned Paper: Apple Cheddar Soup: Apple Cider, Apple Cheddar Soup: Milk (Jillibean Soup)

Twine: (Jillibean Soup)

Buttons: Espresso Boutique Buttons and Harvest Boutique Buttons (DeNami Design)

Copic Sketch Marker Y21

White Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen

Clear "At You" Spica Pen

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Adhesive Tape Runner and Zots: (Therm-o-web)

Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

Fun With Paper Smooches!

Hi there! Today I'm sharing a couple of cards I made for the most recent SPARKS Challenge over at Paper Smooches!!! Here's the DARLING inspiration photo:

Here's card #1 using Chubby Chums (Paper Smooches):

I LOVE that ADORABLE little birdie and couldn't resist paper piecing her in the challenge colors! The banner was created using the Banner Builder Collection Dies from Papertrey Ink, some fun patterned paper, and letters from Smitty's ABCs (Lawn Fawn). Here's a closer look:

Here's card #2 using Perpetual Bliss (Paper Smooches) and a tiny piece of one of the sentiments from Surf and Turf (Paper Smooches):

I ruffled my ribbon to capture the ruffles in the inspiration photo. Super easy---just lay down a strip of adhesive (I used Scor-Tape). Then, starting at the left edge, stick down bits of the ribbon making loops in between! The buttons were added to the clothespin at the last minute----just felt like it needed a "little something"...what do you think????

Here's a close-up:

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope your week is off to a FABULOUS start! The SPARKS Challenge ends tomorrow, so there's still time to play along! Click HERE for all of the deets!!!

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Supplies:

"Baby" Card:

Stamps: Chubby Chums (Paper Smooches), Smitty's ABCs (Lawn Fawn)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Copic Black Multiliner Pen

Copic Sketch Markers

Cardstock: Stampers' Select White, Harvest Gold, New Leaf (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Indie Bloom (Basic Grey), Picket Fence (Lily Bee Design)

Dies: Banner Builder Collection (Papertrey Ink)

Punches: Grass Border Punch (Fiskars)

Embroidery Floss: (Janlynn)

Buttons: White Boutique Buttons (DeNami Design)

Clothespins: (Canvas Corp)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Adhesive Tape Runner: (Therm-o-web)

Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

"Love You" Card:

Stamps: Perpetual Bliss (Paper Smooches), "You" from "You're Swell" in Surf and Turf set (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Rose Bud Memento (Tsukineko), Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Kraft, Stampers' Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Picket Fence (Lily Bee Design), Dots and Stripes (Echo Park)

Dies: Doily Details, Fillable Frames #9, Medium Scallop Border (Papertrey Ink); Large Classic Rectangles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Ribbon: Hot Pink 3/8" Grosgrain (DeNami Design)

Clothespin: (Amuse)

Buttons: Green and White (SEI), Pink (Papertrey Ink)

Black Copic Multiliner Pen

Scor-Tape: (Scor-Pal)

Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

Adhesive Tape Runner: (Therm-o-web)

Hey Chickie!

Hey there! I had some time to get inky yesterday, so I created another entry for the Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge!!!

Here's the inspiration photo:

And here's my creation:

I LOVE that little birdie from Chubby Chums!! Isn't she ADORABLE?? And of course I just HAD to paper piece her!

I embossed some kraft cardstock with a woodgrain embossing folder, cut it into strips and attached the strips to a piece of woodgrain patterned paper to "build" a little birdhouse! FUN! Then I die cut some circles and added some raffia and my paper pieced birdie inside!

Have you played along in the SPARKS Challenge yet?? Head on over to the Paper Smooches Blog for all of the details!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

***REMINDER***

Don't forget to enter my BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!! Click HERE for the deets!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Chubby Chums (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Stampers' Select White, Harvest Gold, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Indie Bloom (Basic Grey), Picket Fence (Lily Bee Design)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Embossing Folder: Woodgrain (Tim Holtz)

Circle Nestabilities: (Spellbinders)

Ribbon: (DeNami Design)

Rustic Twine: (Papertrey Ink)

Raffia: (from a package I received in the mail)

Hello

Hi there! I couldn't resist inking up some of my Paper Smooches stamps again to participate in the most recent SPARKS Challenge!!! Have you SEEN the prizes that are up for grabs?!?! Oh my word!! Who wouldn't LOVE to get their hands on all of that Paper Smooches goodness!!! I know I sure would!!

Here's the inspiration photo:

And here's my creation:

I did a lot of stamping and paper piecing on this card and I think it turned out kinda funky and fun! I tried to pull in many of the elements from the inspiration photo---the color palette, flowers, rustic touch of wood, ribbon, pearls, rhinestones. Here's a closer peek:

I hope you like my creation and feel inspired to get inky!! There's still plenty of time to play along in the PS SPARKS Challenge! Click HERE to learn more!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by my blog! If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out my BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!! Click HERE for the details!!

Have an AMAZING weekend!

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Supplies:
Stamps: flowers and stitching from Friendly Flowers (Paper Smooches), Background Basics: Woodgrain (Papertrey Ink), Big Swirls (Autumn Leaves) 
Ink: Dune Color Box (Clearsnap), Aqua Color Box (Clearsnap), Timber Brown StazOn (Tsukineko), Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)
Copic Sketch Marker
Cardstock: Vintage Cream and Kraft (Papertrey Ink), Brown (Archivers)
Patterned Paper: Indie Bloom (Basic Grey)
Ribbon: (DeNami Design)
Pearls: (Mark Richards)
Gemstones: (Hero Arts)
Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)
Permanent Adhesive: (Recollections)
Adhesive Tape Runner: (Therm-o-web)
Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

You're Purrr-fect!

*This is my second post for today! Scroll down to see my earlier post! Thanks!

As soon as I saw "Chubby Chums" from Paper Smooches, I knew I HAD to buy it!!! The chubby little creatures in this set are SO STINKIN' CUTE!!! Plus, I thought it would be "purrr-fect" for creating a card for our awesome cat-sitter!!!

HA! Do you like it???? I just used a masking technique to create a cluster of cats, and then paper pieced (of course *wink*) one of them!!! It's a one-layer card and it's super simple, but I think it's pretty adorable!

What are you up to today? We're heading to the farmers' market and then we're going to hit the trails for a good hike!

Couple of reminders:

1. The DeNami Design Mini Cards Blog Hop starts tomorrow morning! Be sure to check out all of the FABULOUS inspiration and leave comments for a chance to win a PRIZE!!!!

2. Remember to enter my BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!! Click HERE for all of the details!!! It's SUPER EASY (and who doesn't like to win FREE stamps?!?!?!)

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Supplies:

Stamps: Chubby Chums (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Toffee Versafine (Tsukineko), Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko), Bluegrass (Martha Stewart Crafts)

Cardstock: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Stampers' Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Pasta Fagioli: Meatballs (Jillibean Soup), Indie Bloom (Basic Grey)

Copic Sketch Marker

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Permanent Adhesive Tape: (Recollections)

Hello Friend!

Hi there! I've been having TONS of FUN with my Paper Smooches stamps!!! Here's a card I created using "Friendly Flowers"!!!

I stamped the flowers directly onto a piece of patterned paper (Chiffon Journal by Bo Bunny) and then paper pieced them with a variety of papers from the new Indie Bloom collection by Basic Grey-----LOOOOVVVVEEEE this paper!!! And I think the mix of patterns really makes the flowers look ultra funky and fun!!! I totally want to make a bunch more of these and mix up different patterns on each one!!!

So...what do you think???

I'll be back in a little while with another Paper Smooches creation! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!

***REMINDER*** Don't forget to enter my BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!! Click HERE for the deets!!!! Thanks!!!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Friendly Flowers (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Indie Bloom (Basic Grey), Chiffon Journal (BoBunny)

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Edge Distresser Tool: (Heidi Swapp)

Apron Lace Border Punch: (Fiskars)

Button: Aqua Boutique Buttons (DeNami Design)

Wrinkle Ribbon: (Prairie Bird Boutique)

Rustic Twine: (Papertrey Ink)

Adhesive Tape Runner: (Therm-o-web)

Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

Glue Dots

Huge Thanks

Not too long ago I won the ADORABLE Surf and Turf stamp set from Paper Smooches!!! (I KNOW...SO LUCKY, right?!?! YAY!!!) Here's a little something I created with it:

I used one of the sketches from Paper Smooches' Designer Drafts 6 as a starting point!!! I LOVE that Kim makes these sketches available (for free) on the Paper Smooches Blog. If you haven't checked them out, you really should! LOTS of FUN layouts to play around with!

I had a GREAT time creating this little scene! And I thought the fish in the mouth was a fun detail! HA!

Paper Smooches is currently searching for their next Guest Designer, so I'm going to enter this card! The deadline for submissions is August 17th, so if you're interested in joining in, click HERE for all of the details!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Surf and Turf (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko), Ultramarine Vivid! (Clearsnap), Cyan and Sky Blue Color Box (Clearsnap), Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Stampers' Select White, Kraft, Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Soup Staples: Red Sugar (Jillibean Soup)

Baker's Twine: Red and White (Martha Stewart Crafts)

Copic Sketch Markers

Button: White Boutique Buttons (DeNami Design)

Permanent Adhesive Tape: (Recollections)

Pop Dots: (All Night Media)

Glue Dots

Hello Friend!

Hello, blog friends!!! A couple of weeks ago I was the lucky winner of the super cute "Friendly Flowers" stamp set from the Paper Smooches Blog Hop!!! A GIANT THANK YOU to Kim and her DT for that happy mail!!!

Here's a card I made using my new goodies:

Aren't those flowers so funky and fun?!?! I had a blast paper piecing them! I can't wait to make more cards using this set!!!

I hope you like my creation! I'm going to enter this card into the contest going on over at the Paper Smooches Blog---the prize is a Guest Designer spot for April!!! WOW!!!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy "Over The Hump Day"!

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Supplies:

Stamps: Friendly Flowers (Paper Smooches)

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)

Cardstock: Kraft and Stampers' Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper: Shabby Floral, Dilly Dally, Dainty Print, Vintage Stripes (from the Road Show Collection by Fancy Pants)

Die: Labels Three Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Shabby Wrinkled Ribbon: Past Beauties and Antique Lace (Prairie Bird Boutique)

Button: Vintage Holiday Mix (Papertrey Ink)

Rustic Twine: (Papertrey Ink)

Edge Distresser Tool: (Heidi Swapp)

Black Copic Multiliner Pen

Quickie Glue Pen: (Sakura)

Double-Sided Tape: (X-Press It)

Glue Dots