double pocket card

Look what I made for my mom! This was a really fun and easy card to make. The bookmarks took the most time. This double pocket card could be used for so many things...seed packets, tea, bible verses...I need to try out a few more ideas. I've had this ribbon for a while now, so I was excited when I noticed that it matched the colors I was using. I used two scallop punches to make the background behind the key tag punch and I covered them with dazzling diamonds. Too fun! Thanks for stopping by.

{ingredients}

stamps: heartfelt thanks, event full

paper: bali breeze dsp, tempting turquoise, old olive, whisper white

ink: tempting turquoise, old olive, chocolate chip

more: scallop punch, dazzling diamonds, ribbon, eyelets, key tag punch, markers, sticky strip

a little birdie

Isn't this bird too cute? The inside of the card says "you're under the weather." You never know when you will need a card to cheer up someone who is feeling sick :) It had been awhile since I used my spiral punch, so I decided to play with it. It is a little hard to see on the patterned paper though. Well, I hope this post finds you well! I just returned from a fabulous weekend of celebrating birthdays with my mom and sister, a yummy birthday dinner and great conversation with my bf, and having a blast at my sister's lingerie shower. It was a weekend full of girls, fun, and lots of presents:)

{ingredients}

stamps: a little birdie told me

ink: black

paper: taken with teal, more mustard, old olive, petals dsp

more: spiral punch, ribbon, brads

fun layout

This was a fun layout to try. I got the idea from the creating keepsakes magazine. I am a little behind on my scrapbooking since we have been married almost four years and these are our engagement pics! Fun memories, it was great to look through all these pictures. I wasn't sure how to combine the color pics with the black and white, but I like how this turned out. I loved the paper, and I liked how this layout didn't cover too much of it up, but I could still use a lot of pictures.

brainwave challenge

Hi friends. Ashyley from ashley's creative corner has started a challenge called Brainwave Wednesday. Every Wednesday she is going to post a different challenge for us to try. Last week's was a sketch challenge, and I am just getting around to doing it. Isn't this red and brown fun? Can you believe this has no stamping?? I finally opened my rub-ons and they are so fun to play with! This card came together really quickly. I just went to ashley's blog to get the sketch and I realized that my card is a little similar to hers...same patterned paper. I must have had it on my mind when I sat down to create. (brainwaves or what:) Hugs!

{ingredients}

paper: real red dsp, real red, chocolate chip, white

more: chocolate chip twill ribbon, rub-ons, oval punches, circle punches, scallop punch

still celebrating!

I love that I get to celebrate my birthday all month long! I got two fun cards when I checked the mail and they totally made me smile! The first one is from my dear friend Holly. I love the green (of course) and I really like how she cut out all those flowers. Very fun. And the ribbon is perfect :) Check out her new blog here. Thanks for thinking of me.

The second one is a brak from amy which was a fun surprise. The layout is really fun, I like the four squares and the scallop punch in the corner. These really made my day!

jellyfish and an award :)

Good morning! Here is a fun jellyfish card (at least I think it is a jellyfish??) I love these bright colors for fun summer cards, and this fishy friends stamp set is perfect (I'm a little bummed that it retired!) I chalked around the edges of the image and paper pierced the corners. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I am ready for summer after spending the last two days soaking up the sun at the hot springs in Buena Vista. Woohoo!

Also, I receiced this award from Wendy over at inkling of love. Here is the deal: The award was originally designed by Eseya at arte y pico . You pick five blogs that you think earned this award based on their creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community. List the names on your blog and link to their blogs. Leave a comment on one of their posts to let them know of the award! Each winner has to show the award and put the name of the person who gave them the award with a link to their blog. Also show the link to arte y pico. Here are some great blogs that I am nominating:

mindy vintage plum

stephanie steph's stampin' stuff

beth stamp me a rainbow

giovana a place to praise and craft

dawn my favorite things

Thanks so much Wendy for thinking of me!

{card ingredients}

stamps: circle wheel, simply circles, fishy friends, lots of thoughts

ink: orchid opulence, tempting turquoise

paper: tempting turquoise, green galore, orchid opulence, white

more: paper piercer, chalks, scallop punch, circle punches

WSC44~moose

It's Friday! Time for another of beate's sketch challenges! I received these Yukon images from Susan in Wish-Rak and I decided this would be a good time to use them. I love this moose! I have been looking for this retired set for a looong time and Ryan surprised me with it for my birthday! So cool! I finally inked up my flannal background stamp and had a lot of fun with these colors. Enjoy!

{ingredients}

stamps: yukon, flannal bg

paper: not quite navy, close to cocoa, bashful blue, chocolate chip, white, bashful blue dsp

ink: close to cocoa

more: markers, eyelets, aquapainter

Two Challenges

Good Morning everyone! This was such a fun card to make for someone special (no peeking sister:) I followed two challenges from SCS. The first one was a Way To Use It Challenge (#162) where we had to use something acrylic. I have had these cute little circles for soooo long (at least two years) and am just now using them. That is one of the reasons I like to do these challenges, because I get to try new things (and use up some of my stash!) The second challenge was a Limited Supply Challenge (#164) to make a card that was at least 4x8 with no patterned paper and limited layers. I hope I didn't add too much, I was trying to keep it simple. I didn't have the black ribbon at first, but it just looked like something was missing, so I tore everything off and added it. I'm glad I did, even if my bow is a little funky. I have never made a card this size before and it was really fun. I definitely need to work on my watercoloring skills, but I think it turned out pretty. Thanks for looking and enjoy your Friday:)

{ingredients}

stamps: mixed boquet, all holidays

ink: stazon black, pixie pink

paper: whisper white, black, pixie pink

more: markers, aquapainter, acrylic circles, ribbon

Color Challenge #162

This week's color challenge was to use groovy guava, basic grey, and blush blossom. The blush blossom seemed a little too pale, so I used my paisley background on it for the first panel. And I got out my silver cord because I have not used it in so long and I thought it would be a nice touch for this card. I didn't have basic gray or groovy guava ink so I had to use going gray and cameo coral. I put glitter on the cupcake and the flower for a little sparkle. This was a color combo that I probably would never come up with on my own, but it was really fun to try!

{ingredients}

stamps: wild about you, figures of speech, paisley background

ink: cameo coral, going grey

paper: blush blossom, basic grey, groovy guava, very vanilla

more: notched corner punch, silver cord, scallop punch, circle punches, markers, dazzling diamonds

Fun Surprise!

I am very delayed in posting this super fun birthday gift because I received it at school, and I just now brought it all home. My awesome friend and teaching partner, Stephanie gave me these goodies for my birthday. I love this stamp set and paper and she did such nice work with it! The box was full of yummy starbursts and the cool post-it note keychain you see in the corner. I am so glad I introduced her to stamping because we have been having so much fun with our creations, and as you can see, she inspires me in many ways with her creativity!

She also made me these, a long time ago (sorry!). A card and matching candy holder. She put some yummy candy inside! Aren't the colors great? Don't forget to check out her blog, she has amazing stuff! Thanks Steph for totally making my day.

lots of cards!

I have been busy making lots of cards for a friend. I like to do these, because once I get going it is really easy to get them done. I stamp all the images, cut all the paper, and then just put them together. Ta da! I love these springy cards and am anxious for some spring weather here:) I love the Loads of Love stamp set because there are so many images you can put in the back of the truck! And the Sketch It set is fun too. I used the wreath for my Christmas cards this year, and then JoAnn contacted me and asked if I could make her some cards using that wreath, but to make it a spring wreath. This is what I came up with! It is fun to see all the different ways to use one stamp set.

beate's wsc #43

It's time for another of beate's weekend sketch challenges! These are really fun to do. I'm not really sure that I like how this card turned out. I love the pear image, but I need to work on my watercoloring skills! I added glitter to outline the pear because I wanted to participate in Sharon's challenge. This challenge to use glitter came at the perfect time because I was just enjoying the glitter on the cards that Mindy posted here and was vowing to use glitter more often! Well, maybe I will try this layout again and have better results! Thanks for looking :)

{ingredients}

stamps: infinite goodness

paper: so saffron, old olive, patterned paper (me and my big ideas)

ink: black

more: eyelets, watercolor wonder crayons, blender pens, ribbon, dazzling diamonds

sweet cards

Aren't these cards just the sweetest? They are from my best friend and her mom. Her mom wrote such a sweet message that went straight to my heart. She made the card on the right. Her cards are always great. The pink/orange one on the left is from my bf. Can you believe we have been friends for almost 13 years? We are both starting this blogging adventure together, so be sure to check out her blog vintageplum. She is so creative in many areas and really inspires me in many ways. I am so very blessed by her friendship over the years and years and years.:) She is one of a kind. Thanks for thinking of me on my birthday.

more rak's

Isn't this fun? It was a nice surprise from Amy G. I love the colors. I really like how she made the scallop image into a flower with the stem. And the two little flowers in the corner are so fun. I will have to remember that one. :) If you get the chance, check out her blog here. She does amazing work!
This next card I received from Sandy. I love the bright colors and the ladybugs... can you see the sparkles on them? But, my favorite part is the inside. Check out the little pop-up guy!
Isn't that great? Check this out for more of her fun creations! Thanks for taking the time to send me a little something. It sure made me smile!

more fun mail!

This first card I didn't actually get in the mail because I got to go out to eat with my dear friend Clara. She brought me this amazing card (isn't the green just the best?) and a bag full of patterned paper packs and different colored cards and envelopes! So much fun stuff! I can't wait until I can get together with her and make cards. We always have such a nice time.

The next card was a fun surpise! I recieved it from Stacy, a BRAK (birthday random act of kindness, a group on Splitcoaststampers). I don't have any of these Bella stamps and they were fun to see in real life! The image is all shimmery and the little cupcake is just too cute. You can see more of her work here. She has lots of fun cards. I am still working on getting all my cards posted. I have a few more to share. Plus, I am planning on getting together with a friend this weekend to stamp, so hopefully I can share some more of my creations. I hope you are all having a great week!

fun mail

I was very surprised to receive two rak's in the mail a couple days ago! This first one is from Kitty (OregonStamper on scs). Isn't it pretty? I love the colors and the single flower. Check out more of her great work here. This card is just so sweet!

The next card was from Bonnie (raduse on scs). I was so surprised when I saw this little penguin, because I love penguins! The turquoise and gray colors are really fun too. To see more of her great work, check this out. These two ladies totally made my day! I have more cards to post from today. Hopefully I will get to that soon. I received many fun birthday cards over the past few days. Stay tuned!

use those scraps!

I was trying to use up some scraps I have had around for awhile! I don't know if you can tell, but on the rectangle, I just put three strips of patterned paper together for the background. Then I popped up the friends image with a dimensional. I don't know about you, but when I set out to use some scraps, it seems as if I only use a little piece here and there and don't really make a "dent" in my pile like I want to. So, for this card I put scraps everywhere! It was really fun and I like the colors.

{ingredients}

paper: certainly celery, elegant eggplant, pattern paper

ink: certainly celery, elegant eggplant

stamps: simply the best, all holidays

more: flower punch, circle punces, scallop punch, dimensionals

biscotti and tea

There's nothing better than some yummy biscotti and a good cup of tea. Two of my favorite things! I made some honey apricot biscotti yesterday. The picture is not the greatest, but they sure taste good. A little bit of brown sugar and anise extract give the perfect spice! Any other biscotti recipes to pass along? I would love to try some other kinds.









{recipe}
3 egg whites
1/4 c + 2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp anise extract
2 c flour
2/3 c brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
2/3 c finely chopped dried apricots

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites, honey and extract. In another bowl combine remaining ingredients, except apricots. Make a well in the center and pour in egg mixture and stir until moistened. Fold in apricots.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; dust with flour. Divide the dough in half and form two 12"x2" rectangles on the baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes.

Cut each diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2" slices. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes; turn over and bake 7 minutes longer or until golden brown. Store in an airtight container.

{from Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2006}

And here's a card for you to enjoy! The image says " moose you so much." Invite someone you miss to tea and biscotti :) Enjoy your weekend!

{ingredients}
stamps: moose you
ink: chocolate chip, cameo coral
paper: chocolate chip, cameo coral, old olive
more: spiral punch, old olive ribbon

weekend sketch challenge

This is my card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge, which you can view here. My circle is a little large :) The only bigger circle thing I had was from the SU On Board chipboard. So, I covered it with wild wasibi dsp (I finally am using my stash!) and sanded the edges. The owl image is from the $1 bin at Michaels and I've been waiting to use it, and this just seemed like the perfect time! Happy Friday to you!

{ingredients}

stamps: owl, so many sayings

paper: wild wasibi dsp, chocolate chip, wild wasibi, whisper white

ink: chocolate chip

other: on board circle, sanding block, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, flower fusion, brad, markers, white gel pen, word window punch

mr. giraffe

This was a fun color combo to play with. I wasn't sure about it at first. After I wheeled my circle background, I was stuck on what to do next. But after I found my tempting turquoise dsp, it all started to come together. I thought the circles on the giraffe would be fun with all the other circles! The scallop is up on dimensionals. Very fun! I want to do some more with other color combos! Thanks for checking it out.




{ingredients}
stamps: circle jumbo wheel, wild about you
paper: white, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie
ink: tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie
turquoise dsp, scallop punch, circle punches (1 3/8, 1 1/4), ribbon, white gel pen