Cupcake's Creations

Have Fun...another Fashionista

2012-02-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day with your loved ones if you celebrated! This past weekend, we celebrated both my son Jerry's birthday along with his girlfriend April's :) I made April a mini fashionista wall hanging inspired by Julie Nutting.

April is such a fun and kind hearted sole. She works nearly full-time as a bank teller while attending University full-time. I'm so happy Jerry met such a sweet girl :)

On the back, I've attached a small envelope that holds a gift card hence the Have Fun sentiment :)

Here's a photo of Jerry and April:

In case you are curious about the creative process on how I made this project, here is a video tutorial sharing steps along the way:

Thanks so much visiting ~ hope you have a great day! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Tailored Suit, My Mind's Eye
Dies: Spellbinders Grand Large Labels, Grand Calibur
Paint: various colored Ranger and Liquitex

A Valentine mini...FTTC156

2012-02-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you are all having a great day with your loved one (s) ~ anything fun planned? Scott and I will be enjoying each others company tonight while dining at one of our favorite restaurants ;)

Since it is Tuesday, that means it is time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge!

This week, Beate is our lovely hostess and she is challenging us to create a Valentine's Day card/project while incorporating the color RED. Keeping this theme in mind, I made a mini Valentine's Day book, (referring to Tim Holtz's tutorial), for my DH using a variety of wonderful Flourishes stamps. Lots of photos, so I hope you sit back and enjoy :)

The cover features a beautiful blossoming heart is from Hearts and Flowers that was sponged using Memento Rhubard Stalk ink and a sweet Tailor-Made Classic Tags Die with a fun sentiment from Tiny Flowers and Tags:

Pages 1 & 2: The sentiments are from Love Sweet Love and the beautiful rose blossom heart is from Hearts and Flowers that was sponged using Ranger Distress Spun Sugar ink:

Page 3: The sentiment is from From the Heart and the pretty daisy blooming heart is from Hearts and Flowers. Page 4: The sentiment is from Love Sweet Love:

Page 5: The sentiment is from From the Heart. Page 6: The beautiful blossoming heart and sentiment are from Hearts and Flowers. The flowery heart was sponged using Ranger Distress Spun Sugar ink:

Page 7: The sentiment is from Hearts and Flowers. Page 8: The beautiful rose blossom heart is from Hearts and Flowers and the sweet tag was cut using a die from the Tailor-Made Classic Tags Die set and the sentiment is from Tiny Flowers and Tags:

Page 9 & 10: The sentiments are from Angelic Love and the pretty daisy blooming heart is from Hearts and Flowers:

Page 11: The sentiment is from From the Heart and the pretty daisy blooming heart is from Hearts and Flowers. Page 12: The sentiment is from Hearts and Flowers:

Tucked in the three pockets are tags featuring wonderful words from various sets. From top to bottom,
the sentiments are from the following stamp sets: Angelic Love, Hearts and Flowers and Angelic Love:

Shown below is the beautiful bouquet of roses that Scott had delivered for me for Valentine's Day. I sure wish I could share their sweet fragrance with all of you :)

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for COMPLETE challenge details and for some wonderful inspiration visit the entire DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Tera Fujan (Guest Designer)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Angelic Love, Love Sweet Love, From the Heart, Hearts and Flowers, Tiny Flowers and Tags
Die Templates: Flourishes Tailor-Made Classic Tags Die Set

Love...CR84FN48

2012-02-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great weekend! I'm here today with an all CR84FN Color Challenge. Thanks to all who joined along ~ so many beautiful projects! For the next two weeks, we will be playing with the following pretty color combination shown below. The beautiful photos used to create the graphic are courtesy of Leslie at a creative mint.

I made one more Valentine's Day card for a special someone ;)

I combined pretty papers from Donna Salazar's Antiquities and Spring in Bloom collections along with a few Spellbinders dies. The shimmery layered bloom was made using various size dies from Rose Creations paired with leaves that were made using Nested Leaves.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current sketch at Cardabilities:

Thanks so much for visiting! For COMPLETE details, please visit the CR84FN site and for some fab inspiration, please be sure to visit: Suzanne Czosek, Lisa Somerville, Stephanie Kraft, Sue Lelli, Deborah Frings, Heather Jensen, Andrea Mathews and Monika (Guest Designer)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Celtic Heritage
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders Rose Creations, Nested Leaves, Floral Doily Motifs, Nested Lacey Pennants, Grand Calibur

Patterned Paper: Donna Salazar's Antiquities, Spring in Bloom

Happy Birthday Jerry!

2012-02-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Today we are celebrating my dear son, Jerry's 24th birthday! Yahoooo!!! I really struggle with making masculine cards so I kept things quite simple.

I'm so proud of Jerry. He has really come along way and is becoming quite a fine young man. Jerry didn't take high school seriously and barely graduated. After graduation, he was living in New York at the time and worked construction with his Dad for about a year and realized that was not for him. He came to Arizona on vacation to visit Scott and I, we offered him a place to live and encouraged him to attend college. Thankfully, he took us up on our offer and has been working his tail off ever since. He is now in his Senior year at Arizona State University, majoring in Computer Information Systems at the W.P. Carey School of Business and I am proud to say he has made the Dean's List :) I tease Jerry and call him "my little investment" :) Seriously, if you don't help your children, who will? Opening a 529 account years ago and pinching pennies to save for his college fund was one of the best things I could have ever done.

Here are a few pictures of Jerry enjoying his free time. He used to compete in BMX racing since he was 10 years old and now, rides for fun :)

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you have a great day! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse
Dies: Spellbinders
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye

A sweet friendship...FTTC155

2012-02-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! It's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! This week Mikiko is our lovely hostess and the theme of her challenge is "Fly Away With Me" ~ use a bird image and/or elements for your creation.

I inked up the sweet sentiment from Flourishes Gerber Daisies

and used various dies from Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary:

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for COMPLETE challenge details and for some wonderful inspiration visit the entire DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Tera Fujan (Guest Designer)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Gerber Daisies
Dies: Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary, Grand Calibur

Hugs & kisses...CR84FN47 week 2

2012-02-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! I'm here today to share a card that I made for my dear son, Jerry for Valentine's Day using the CR84FN47 color combination.

I kept things on the simple side, nothing too frilly or feminine IMO. I broke out PTI Friendship jar spring fillers, Friendship jar and coordinating die. I filled the jar with candy hearts, an image that has never kissed an ink pad then colored it using a few shades of Copic markers.

Here is a photo of my sweet friend Stephanie Kraft and I that was taken by our waitress while dining at Roy's in Anaheim last weekend. Stephanie and I shared a hotel room together, we would part our ways after enjoying breakfast together around 7:30 am each day then meet up again around 7:00 pm, after the CHA show floor closed. Stephanie worked at the Sparkle Creations booth which is a rubber stamp company that sells some really darling images.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the very first iSpy Sketch Challenge:

Thanks so much for looking! For COMPLETE details, please visit the CR84FN site and for some fab inspiration, please be sure to visit the CR84FN designers: Suzanne Czosek, Lisa Somerville, Stephanie Kraft, Sue Lelli, Deborah Frings, Heather Jensen

Supplies Used:
PTI Friendship jar spring fillers stamps, Friendship jar and coordinating die, Spellbinders Labels Four, Vagabond, Copic Markers, My Mind's Eye DP

love you...WMSC83

2012-02-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there dear blogging friends! I'm here today with an all new Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge! Speaking of Waltzingmouse, Claire will be releasing NINE new sets this month and peeks will begin on February 26th. Lots to see, so I hope you stop by :)

I made a Valentine's Day for someone near and dear ;)

I applied Ranger's Tattered Rose Crackle Paint to a heart die cut made using a Spellbinders Hearts Punch Templates for Presto Punch and I was quite pleased with the results:

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to see what the Mischief Makers and other DT members have created ~ surely you will be inspired! Be Sweet :)

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Teeny Trees
Dies and Machine: Spellbinders Grand Calibur, Grand Big Scalloped Circles, Hearts Punch Templates for Presto Punch, Grand Calibur, Lacey Pennants

sing YOUR SONG...my 1st Fashionista

2012-02-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great week! CHA was quite an experience to say the least! In the past, I walked the show floor for fun this time around, I worked on the show floor for fun. BIG difference! We had lots of laughs and I had a great time :) Met up with some "old" friends and made some new.

The day before I left for CHA, I stopped at a Joann Fabric & Craft store to purchase a Cricut cartridge (that still remains in the box) but when I was in the check out line, I spotted this AMAZING book: COLLAGE COUTURE by Julie Nutting. Oh my! I thought I died and went to Heaven! This book is FULL of Julie's inspiration and she shares some easy to follow instructions.

I GOOGLED Julie and found her blog: Julie Nutting Designs only to discover she too was going to be at CHA! Yahoo! She made some BEAUTIFUL artwork for her publishing company and Prima. I took my book along with me in hopes Julie would sign it and she most certainly did! She is such a sweet soul and an AMAZING artist! If you have a moment, please don't hesitate to visit her blog, leave her some love and let her know I sent you :)

I made my first Fashionista for my sweet sister, Tina using the new Pink Paislee indigo BLEU collection which has a 70's vibe.

Thanks so much for looking! Be Sweet :)

You're an angel...FTTC154

2012-01-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! It's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge.

Silke is our lovely hostess this week and she is challenging us all to create using the sketch shown below.

I made a Valentine's Day card for a dear friend using the pretty angel and sweet sentiment from Angelic Love along with beautiful patterned paper from the Pink Paislee London Market collection:

After embossing the beautiful angel, I carefully cut her out, sponged a little pink ink for her cheeks and rubbed Distress ink around the edges:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Flourishes Angelic Love

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee London Market

Dreams Can Take You Anywhere...CR84FN47

2012-01-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great weekend! It's time for an all new CR84FN! Thanks to all who joined along for CR84FN46 and thanks to those who leave such kind comments :) For the next two weeks, we will be playing with the pretty color combo shown below. Heather chose this pretty color combo and found the beautiful inspiration photos courtesy of magnoliarouge.com

I made a She Art style canvas hanging for my sweet blogging friend and WMS DT mate Kelly.

When I asked Kelly what color combo she would prefer, she told me her kitchen decor was red and blue so that worked out perfect for me :)

I tried to coordinate my girls hair color with Kelly's which is a dirty blonde but failed miserably! Sorry Kelly, I'll have to work at that!

I love to use Pink Paislee's Vintage Vogue ~ Tailored Suit to create my girl's "parts" that are to be flesh tones. I think the book paper print adds character :)

A publication...

2012-01-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Are you all ready for the weekend ~ I know I am! It's 7:00 in the morning here and I am on my way to the airport, headed to CHA! I'm really excited to be working at the Pink Paislee booth and to meet up with some crafty friends and hopefully make some new ones :) I'm rooming with my dear sweet friend IRL, Stephanie so I know I will have a great time day and night! If you have seen my last five posts, you can see all the fun and exciting products Pink Paislee are introducing to the papercrafting world!

Quite some time ago, my favorite die cutting manufacturer, Spellbinders invited me to submit a project for their book, Spellbinders: Quick & Easy Crafts for Entertaining, an offer I couldn't refuse! Well, my Mother's Day ensemble was chosen for publication! YAHOOO!! It even made the back cover :) This book is on sale at Annie's Attic (click HERE).

Thanks for looking! I hope you have a great weekend! I will be back tomorrow with a new CR84FN Color Challenge and maybe some photos to share! Be Sweet :)

Pink Paislee sneak peeks Day #5

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Welcome to Day #5 of the Pink Paislee sneak peeks! In case you've missed my last four posts, Pink Paislee is releasing FIVE new fun and fabulous collections. Today the pretty, PRAIRIE hill collection is being introduced:

Prairie Hill / 12 x 12 Paper Pack

Prairie Hill / 6 x 6 Paper Pack

I have a layout to share featuring a photo from years ago of Connor, Angie and Meredith, taking a break at Connor's soccer game:

I made a layered die cut butterfly using a combination of two pretty patterned papers from the Prairie Hill collection:

This collection is one of Rebecca's personal favorite paper lines of this release. She had a lot of fun creating “quilt like” patterns with this range and don't you just adore all the references to being outdoors with the family and creating happy moments in the sun! Those prize stickers….totally the perfect size for any card or layout too!

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog for more inspiration and for a chance to win the ENTIRE RELEASE FOR FREE! Good Luck :)

Pink Paislee's sneak peeks Day #4

2012-01-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Welcome to Day #4 of the Pink Paislee sneak peeks! In case you have missed my last few posts, Pink Paislee is releasing FIVE new fun and fabulous collections! Today, the fun indigo BLEU collection is being introduced:

indigo BLEU / 12 x 12 Paper Pack

indigo BLEU / 6 x 6 Paper Pack

I have a layout to share featuring a photo of Meredith walking her favorite horse, Sheree, back to the barn after her lesson:

I white washed several of the buttons then stitched them on the butterflies that were made using pretty patterned paper from the indio BLEU collection:

Edited 3:00 AM 01/27/12: If you are interested in the creative process involved in making this layout, here is a little video that might just be helpful! Enjoy!

Don’t you just love a good pair of denim jeans? We were inspired by rugged denim, earthy wood tones and florals this season and we love how these products are both feminine and masculine! Don’t be afraid to “sing the blues” in your scrap studio!

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog for more inspiration and for a chance to win the ENTIRE COLLECTION FOR FREE! GOOD LUCK!

Pink Paislee sneak peeks Day #3

2012-01-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Welcome to Day #3 of the Pink Paislee sneak peeks! In case you've missed my last few posts, Pink Paislee is releasing FIVE new fun and fabulous collections! Today, the gorgeous London Market collection is being introduced:

London Market / 12 x 12 Paper Pack (2 each of 12 designs)

London Market / 6 x 6 Petite Paper Pack (2 each of 12 designs - single sided)

I have several samples showcasing various supplies from the gorgeous London Market and Mistables collection. On this card, I used several beautiful elements from the Ephemera pack

Such an elegant crown:

I had to adorn it with silver Stickles:

Here's a few cards featuring pretty patterned paper and more beautiful elements from the Ephemera pack:

I sprinkled the beautiful bird with a touch of glitter:

Another fabulous collection from Collage Press Studios! This vintage inspired collection is perfect for weddings, mother’s day, love themed projects and just about anything else you can think of! The new Collage Sheets are so A-mazing!
Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog for more inspiration and for a chance to win the ENTIRE COLLECTION FOR FREE! GOOD LUCK!

Pink Paislee Sneak Peeks Day #2

2012-01-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

*** I have two posts today, if you are looking for my Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge post, please click HERE :) Thank you! ***
Hi there! Welcome to Day #2 of the Pink Paislee sneak peeks! In case you missed yesterday's post, Pink Paislee is introducing FIVE NEW collections and you surely will be WOWED with them ALL! I nearly did a back flip when I saw these beautiful products because you may notice that my blog header was created using the digital elements from the spring jubilee collection and now it is in print! How fun is that?

spring jubilee 12 x 12 paper pack

spring jubilee 6 x 6 paper pack

I made a card using the spring jubilee stamp set:

Here's a look at my stamped background:

and the beautiful bird that I stamped for the focal point:

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog for more inspiration and for a chance to win the ENTIRE COLLECTION FOR FREE! GOOD LUCK!

Thanks a bunch...FTTC153

2012-01-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

*** I have two posts today, if you are looking for my Pink Paislee sneak peeks Day #2, please click HERE :) Thank you! ***

Hi there! It's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge. Cindy is our wonderful hostess and she is challenging us all to create a Center Step Card. If you are like me and need a tutorial, there is a fab one on SCS ~ click HERE.

I made this Thank You card for my sweet sister Tina who will be taking care of my dear furry four legged friends, Gretchen and Griffin while I am away. I must admit, I was a bit intimidated to give the Center Step Card a try but once I got started, it all fell in line.

I took a break from color and went quite neutral with this one. I made a cluster of rolled roses and stamped the Thanks a bunch sentiment from Flourishes Zinnias. Lots of dimension, but it will be hand delivered with love :)

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Deconstructed Sketch challenge:

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for COMPLETE challenge details and for some wonderful inspiration visit the entire DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Cheryl Lea (January Guest Designer).

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Zinnias
Patterned Paper:, My Mind's Eye
Dies:Spellbinders Eyelet Squares, My Favorite Things, Sizzix Vagabond

Let the Pink Paislee CHA sneak peeks begin!

2012-01-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you all had an AMAZING weekend! Today, the Pink Paislee CHA sneak peeks begin! There will be FIVE new collections introduced and I am sure you will be WOWED with them ALL! The first sneak is She Art, created by one of my personal favorite mixed media artist, Christy Tomlinson! You can imagine how thrilled I was when I heard this exciting news!!! Right up my creative alley! :)

Christy Tomlinson has been working with Pink Paislee to develop a paper collection that includes products she uses over and over again while creating her adored SHE ART canvas designs. Now you can get her favorite items all in one place: Rub ons, tissue paper, patterned papers, masks and of course paper bits and pieces.

I made a few cards using a variety of products from the She Art collection. This card was made using a combination of gorgeous patterned paper and collage paper:

More fun patterned paper and rub ons:

and lastly, a mix of pretty patterned paper:

Love these products? Whether you are a mixed media artist or a paper crafter these patterns are a must have item. So bold, So daring and So full of inspiration, just like Christy herself!

Thanks so much for looking! Be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog for more inspiration and for a chance to win THE ENTIRE COLLECTION FOR FREE! Good luck!

BE MINE...CR84FN46#2

2012-01-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great weekend! Maybe doing something crafty? Thanks for all the well wishes for my sweet little girl, Gretchen. I will spare you the details! Basically it is recommended that she have a "nip and tuck" to reduce redundant skin that allows for a breeding ground for bacteria which can then travel into her bladder, causing issues for her! Poor little girl :(

On to my CR84FN project~The beautiful photos used to create the graphic are courtesy of beccarillo photography.

I've been having lots of fun creating with paints lately and since I had all my mixed media supplies spread out, I made my first mixed media card:

The background is painted with many layers of stenciled paint, then finished off with a few rub ons. The heart was made by layering various pieces of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, cut using a Spellbinders Classic Hearts die and finished off with rub ons as well. I stamped the BE MINE sentiment from Waltzingmouse Sweethearts set and lastly, added a homemade Chiffon flower.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Sweethearts
Die Templates: Spellbinders Classic Hearts, Classic Scalloped Hearts, Grand Calibur, Classic Standard Circles Large, Standard Circles SM
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye
Rub ons: Kaisercraft

An Imagination Girl...

2012-01-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great week! I would like to give a special thanks to those of you who left such kind and encouraging comments on my blog as well as the Pink Paislee blog :) I really appreciate the support. I have off from work today and I will be spending the rest of the morning at an Internal Medicine Veterinarian with my sweet little girl Gretchen. She has had an on going UTI for nearly 8 - 10 months now and I am very frustrated with my Veterinarian, so time to move on. I've been more than patient and feel as though she may be suffering. I am praying it is not some funky renal disease :( She is only 5 years young.

I took a little break from my DT projects and painted a girl to hang in my "studio" aka kitchen ;)

I am embracing bright and bold colors these days! They are definitely challenging for me but hey, nothing like a good creative challenge right?

She's made with a mix of stamps, paint, ink, patterned paper and rub ons. I dusted off and pulled out the Vintage angel wings and crown rub ons from Melissa Frances:

Recently, the local craft store, Michael's, had their brand of resin flowers on sale for 50% off so needless to say, you will be seeing lots of these on my projects! :) LOL

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you have a great day! Be Sweet :)

Come Say Hi!

2012-01-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

***Hi there! I apologize in advance! I have multiple posts today ~ so if you are looking for my FTTC post, please click HERE, if you are looking for my WMS Blog Party post, please click HERE***

Hi there, again! Today I am being introduced on the Pink Paislee Blog and I would be delighted if you would come say Hi to me click HERE :) I'm very excited, needless to say, to be designing for Pink Paislee and to be part of such a talented Creative Team!

As many of you know, CHA is less than two weeks away and that is when NEW product is unveiled! SQUEAL! Samples need to be made, so I will be quite busy creating so if it's a little quiet around here, you will know that is what I am up to! If you are attending the show, you know where I will be so lets meet :)

I made a card to share with you today using beautiful papers from the new digital Pink Paislee Spellbound Paper Pack along with "old" stamps that debuted in 2009 from the Cupid collection! Still lovin' them!

I stamped the gorgeous Vintage Cupid image, did some fussy cutting, as my sweet friend Stephanie would say, added some glittery goodness then, adhered Cupid to a note card. See the sweet XOXO ~ that is from a teensy weensy stamp as well as the S.W.A.K. sentiment on the tag!

Thanks so much for visiting and thanks for your support! Hope you find a second to visit not only me but the rest of the Pink Paislee Creative Team! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Pink Paislee retired Cupid collection

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Digital Spellbound Paper Pack
Dies: PTI Envelope and Tiny Tag

Sweet Treats...WMS January Blog Party

2012-01-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

***Hi there! I apologize in advance! I have multiple posts today, so if you are looking for my Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge post, please click HERE or scroll down and if you are looking for my Pink Paislee post, please click HERE or continue to scroll up :)***

It's the 17th so that means it is usually the Friends of WMS Blog Waltz but Claire is shaking things up a bit this year and it is now referred to as the Walzingmouse Blog Party and the link list will be posted on her blog rather than in a thread within the forum. January's theme is SWEET TREATS! So I made a Sweet Treats gift set for someone special ;)

I made a sweet treat container using the FREE Waltzingmouse Three Kings Box template. I stamped little hearts all over using a heart stamp from Sweethearts and the tag was made using the Sweet TREATS sentiment from Candy Jar Christmas. I love that Claire's stamps are so versatile, they can be used for multiple occasions!

I stamped the sentiment in a die cut heart made using a Spellbinders Heart Punch Template then while leaving the template in place, I sponged some Ranger Spun Sugar Distress Ink all around:

The coordinating card was made using the same Spellbinders dies and Tim Holtz rosette with the exception of the BE MINE sentiment which is from Sweethearts:

Love the white border created when you use the die as a stencil:

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge which by the way there is more time to play, so ink up your Waltzingmouse Stamps and join in the fun!

Thanks so much for visiting! Off to party Waltzingmouse style!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Sweethearts, Candy Jar Christmas
Die Templates: Spellbinders Heart Circles, Heart Punch Templates, Classic Petal, Grand Calibur, Sizzix Tim Holtz Paper Rosette
Treat Template: FREE Waltzingmouse Three Kings Boxes

Bee my Honey...FTTC152

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

***Hi there! I apologize in advance! I have multiple blog posts today. If you are looking for my WM Blog Party post, please click HERE, if you are looking for my Pink Paislee post, please click HERE OR scroll up. Thank You :)***

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Thanks to all who played along last week! This week, Heather is our lovely hostess and she chose: Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More! Otherwise, create ANYTHING other than a card!

I opted to make a few mini Valentine decorations ~ one for my dear husband, Scott and one for my sweet sister, Tina.

Truth be told, I only planned on making one ~ the neutral one but when I asked Scott for his 2 cents, he thought it looked naked and suggested I add color so this one is for you baby ;) I merely swapped out the flower, buttons, ribbon, added a hint of color to the stamped image and decorative trim and used a piece of Kraft colored cs instead of upcycled corrugated cardboard.

Here's a close up of the pretty image:

To make these minis, I used a Classic Heart die to cut a piece of canvas, stamped the beautiful floral image and a few bees from Bee My Honey. Stitched it on to a corrugated scalloped heart that was cut using a Classic Scalloped Heart die, added bits and pieces of various trim and a ribbon hanger.

Each were finished it off with a sweet tag:

This set contains a variety of both honey bees and sentiments.

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for COMPLETE challenge details and for some wonderful inspiration visit the entire DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Cheryl Lea (January Guest Designer).

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Bee My Honey
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Classic Heart, Classic Scalloped Heart, Grand Calibur
Copic Markers: Y19, B000, YG0000

dare to Dream...CR84FN46

2012-01-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great weekend! Maybe doing something crafty? It's time for a new CR84FN Color Challenge! Thanks to all who shared their creativity with us, playing along with CR84FN45. For nearly the next two weeks, we will be playing with the pretty pastel color combo consisting of Light Pink, Yellow and Neutrals. The beautiful photos used to create the graphic are courtesy of beccarillo photography.

I made this girl for my dear blogging friend and Design Team-mate, Heather upon request :) I can share it with you because she's already in Heather's home!

Heather told me she would like one to her craft room so with that in mind, I thought the "dare to Dream" sentiment would be appropriate for a crafty girls room. Again, I pulled out and inked up some SU stamps that are at least 10 years old and combined lots of paint, stencils, rub ons. The dress was made using some My Mind's Eye patterned paper. I used the wing shaped dies from the Spellbinders Fallen Angel set to make a stencil then using molding paste, made dimensional wings.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: SU

Ink: Liquitex, Faber Castell

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue, My Mind's Eye

Dies: Spellbinders Fallen Angel , PTI border

Other: Various rub ons

hugs to you..Something exciting

2012-01-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Hello there dear blogging friends! Hope you are all having an amazing weekend! We're just hanging out around home this holiday weekend. Scott's looking forward to watching the 49ers play today and I'm looking forward to some crafty me time :) The weather is suppose to be beautiful so I'm definitely getting a bike ride in. A win / win for all!

I'm beyond excited to share with you that a card I made is featured on the cover of the February issue of CARDS Magazine!!! Thank you CARDS! If you are not one who likes to wait for the magazine to hit the shelves, did you know you can purchase an on line subscription? Check it out HERE!

As I was rummaging through some vertical filing bins of patterned paper, I rediscovered some pretty patterned paper from The Girl's Paperie.

I combined various die cuts including Spellbinders Heart Punch templates along with PTI and MFT dies. IMO a crafty girl can't have too many dies! ;)

Thanks so much for looking ~ hope you enjoy the weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with an all new CR84FN! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Sweethearts
Die Templates: Spellbinders Hearts Punch Templates, MFT and PTI

YOU & Me forever...

2012-01-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all and welcome to the final day of Flourishes' Release Week! And, guess what? If you like what you've seen on our designers' blogs, I'm happy to report that all three of Flourishes' new sets for January are in the Flourishes store!! Just click HERE to see for yourself! On to today's special treat! This next set is just that --- a sweet treat for those you love! Want to see what I mean??
Introducing:

Here's my sample featuring a few images from this sweet stamp set:

Here's a close up:

and here are the Copic markers used to color this darling image:

Love, Sweet Love offers a sweet way to honor your Valentine! From a cookie bouquet to a beautiful box of chocolates, to a basket of flowers complete with a darling, heart-adorned love note, this set illustrated by Marcella Hawley is sure to warm your heart. This 4 by 6" set even comes with 3 beautifully scripted sentiments to tell your love how you feel! The Flourishes DT has been busy at work trying to sweeten up some Valentine creations with this set!

Would you like to win the Love, Sweet Love set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win!

Mona Pendleton (that's me)

Jan Marie Caruso

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE? Have you checked out our New Year Challenge? Just click HERE to find out how to play! You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges! The Year of the Dragon Challenge. Or, how about the 2-0-1-2 Challenge HERE? All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

A WISH from the HEART...

2012-01-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

It’s day two of the sneak peeks for Flourishes' January Release and we hope that you’ve enjoyed the offerings so far! This next set is about creating a note or two for those friends that you truly care about -- both near and far! The good news is, while these sentiments are from the heart, their messages are good not only for Valentine's Day, but the whole year through!

Introducing:

Here's my sample using one of the four wonderful sentiments:

This 4 by 3" set -- called Heartlines, is a perfect addition to any of Flourishes images to send some love this Valentine's Day! Four artistically scripted sentiments perfect for friends and Valentines! This set even offers a darling row of hearts to add as a border, box or accent! Flourishes' ever-so-talented design team has showed off this set in true creative form! Would you like to win this set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

Mona Pendleton (that's me)

Jan Marie Caruso

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE? Have you checked out our New Year Challenge? Just click HERE. You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges! Check out yesterday’s noon time challenge: The Year of the Dragon Challenge. Or, you could check back today at noon for another special, fast-paced challenge designed to spark creativity and give you another chance to win some wonderful goodies! All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

Can’t wait until all of our sets are revealed Friday morning? Well, you can pre-order them now if you like what you see on our designers’ blogs! Just click HERE. You’ll also see that we are offering our special New Release Bundle again – 10% off if you purchase all of our stamp sets in one bundle!

Sweetheart...Flourishes January Release Day #1

2012-01-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to day one of Flourishes' fabulous sneak peeks for January! We have three new sets coming your way designed to deliver a little love to someone else's life! The calendar might say winter but we're sure these Valentine sets will WARM your heart!

Introducing:

Here's my sample using a few images from this gorgeous stamp set:

Here's a close up:

This classic set -- called From the Heart -- penned by Becky Fleck offers an antique flavor for Valentine's Day! An ornate heart stands as a focal point and is a perfect companion to Spellbinders Classic Heart Nestabilities die (S4-136) and Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Heart Nestabilities Dies (S4-137). A curled banner is the perfect accent -- allowing a few of the sentiments to be stamped inside! Would you like to win this set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

Mona Pendleton (that's me)

Cindy Haffner

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE? Have you checked out our A New Year Challenge? Just click HERE to find out how to play! You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges this week! To do that, all you need to do is check in -- right here on the Flourishes blog Wednesday and Thursday at noon! These fast-paced challenges are designed to spark creativity and give you another chance to win some wonderful goodies! All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

Thanks all for stopping by! We’ll see you here back here a noon!

With Love...FTTC151

2012-01-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Welcome to an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge!

Thanks to all who played along with last weeks trifold challenge ~ such beautiful entries! This week Tammy is our lovely hostess and she is challenging us all to create our project based upon the fun and vibrant photo below. Be inspired by the colors, the textures, the patterns, the topiary, etc...anything in the photo that jump starts your crafty mojo!

I challenged myself to create with the bold and bright pink and orange color combination. Here's my take:

I stamped the beautiful flourish heart image from the Fanciful Flourishes set then cut the image using a Classic Heart die template, layered on top of a paper rosette / Classic Petal doily embellishment. I added a coat of glitter for a layer of sugary goodness ;)

Thanks so much for visiting ~ hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for COMPLETE challenge details and for some wonderful inspiration visit the entire DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Cheryl Lea (January Guest Designer).

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Flourishes Fanciful Flourishes

Dies: Spellbinders Tear Drop Circles, Classic Triple Scallop, Classic Petal, Classic Heart, Classic Scalloped Heart, Sizzix Tim Holtz Paper Rosette, Vagabond

Grown with LOVE...CR84FN45 #2

2012-01-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are having an awesome weekend! I am doing the happy dance because I passed my ACLS recertification course! YAHOOO! Good for another two years :) Before I get to today's CR84FN post, I need to share with you the recipient of My Girl give away: Commenter #6 Wendy ten Hove. Thanks so much to all who left such kind comments! I'm having lots of fun playing with paint, canvas, etc.. so I'm sure you will be seeing more sooner than later.

I made a card for this week's challenge using a combination of PTI stamps and Pink Paislee patterned paper.

I stamped the little flower bouquets then hand cut the watering can out and adhered it on used a 3D foam square for added dimension:

Live out loud!

2012-01-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hi there dear blogging friends! Are you ready for the weekend? I sure am! I've been busy studying for the ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) recertification exam that I am taking Saturday morning. UGH!!! Makes my brain hurt but it is a necessary evil for my job. To be brutally honest with you, some patients cardiac or respiratory arrest while in the Operating Room on the table and that is where ACLS comes in handy. Anyways, I took a break and made a little something.

While I had my mixed media supplies out, I made a canvas project. I have learned soooo much valuable information and techniques from taking Christy Tomlinson's online She Art Workshops. I can't stress how much you will walk away knowing when you have completed the courses! I'm trying to process it all, while working out my own style. So here's the first girl I made using my very own patterns. I have to give credit to my sweet DH Scott for finding the word rub ons used on this project. Thank you baby for ALWAYS thinking of me ;)

I recently cleaned out my stamp closet, boxing up all of my "old" stamps that haven't kissed an ink pad in years if at all!, making room for new supplies. They were sitting in the garage for several months waiting to make their way to a new home. Guess what, I brought the boxes back in the house and put the stamps to good use! Scott thinks I have lost my mind or I have been inhaling too much paint these days!

The blossom shown below is not one from the garage ~ it's a Ranger foam stamp from the Claudine Hellmuth line that has only been neglected for 2-3 months rather than years! :) LOL

For color inspiration, I played along with the current ColourQ challenge:

I'm VERY flattered and blown away with a few requests asking if I sold my creations! It's something I am considering but before I think I am ready for that, I need a bit more practice so I made this girl to give away. If you would like to have My Girl to hang in your craft room, please leave a comment on THIS post telling me how you are living YOUR life out loud in 2012 :) You have until Saturday, January 7th, 6PM Eastern. I will announce the winner on Sunday, January 8th on my CR84FN post and you will have until Monday, January 9th 9PM Eastern to contact me via email to claim her.

Thanks for visiting! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue, Daily Junque

Other: Too many inks, paints, rub ons, stamps to list

Be still and know...FTTC150

2012-01-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's celebration! Scott and I just relaxed and spent the evening at home :) It's time for the first Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge of 2012 and I'm the hostess for this week's challenge. I'm challenging you to create a Trifold card. There are various ways to create a trifold card ~ if you are in need of a tutorial, there are some awesome ones on Splitcoaststampers ~ click HERE.

Here's my sample of a trifold card and coordinating trifold envelope using primarily the beautiful Flourishes Lenten Rose set along with pretty patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Nantucket collection:

Shown here on the very front of the card, I stamped an image in the the lower left corner and using a Spellbinders Labels Fourteen die, I cut a window to reveal the sentiment displayed on fold two:

Shown below is side 2. I randomly stamped the single Lenten Rose image on the card base, stamped the lovely Be still and know sentiment then using a Labels Fourteen die to cut the image.

The inside of the card, displays a beautiful sprig of Lenten Roses and a wonderful sentiment.

Here's a close up:

One thing I love about Flourishes stamps is that they are so easy to color, even for the less experienced like myself!

I couldn't help myself ~ I made a coordinating trifold envelope using a mix of pretty patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Nantucket collection and Core'dinations Modern Prints:

I finished off the envelope with a pretty single Lenten Rose and tag. The tag sentiment is from the Butterflies & Blossoms set. So fun to mix and match stamp sets!

Here's a pic of the Copic markers used:

Thank you kindly for visiting ~ hope you are able to join along! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for complete details and for some awesome inspiration the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Cheryl Lea (January Guest Designer).

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Lenten Rose, Butterflies & Blossoms
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Nantucket collection, Core'dinations Modern Prints
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Fourteen, Grand Calibur

Let's Celebrate!...CR84FN45

2011-12-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! So much going on around here in my little crafty world! Before I get to today's post, I have some SUPER exciting news to share ~ I am thrilled to pieces to announce that Rebecca Cross, Owner of Pink Paislee has given me the awesome opportunity to be a part of the Pink Paislee 2012 Creative Team!!! YAHOOOO!!! If you would like to see the complete list of talented designers, please click here.

Today kicks off an all new CR84FN Color Challenge AND it is our ONE year anniversary celebration as an official Color Challenge site! I can't thank the entire CR84FN DT gals enough for all their hard work over the past year, all the talented designers who play along and all of you who take the time to leave such encouraging comments :) I am looking forward to another AMAZING creative year with all of you! For the next two weeks, we will be playing with the vibrant color combination shown in the graphic below. The beautiful photos were provided courtesy of CR84FN's DT Member very own Deborah Frings. Thanks so much Deborah!

Using a combination of stamps, inks, paints, rub ons and various die cuts, I made my first She Art canvas project which I learned how to make in Christy Tomlinson's She Art workshops. If you are looking to learn some fun and fabulous techniques, I highly recommend taking her workshops! They are AWESOME!

These vibrant colors are just what I needed to get me going with this project! Thanks Deb ;)

I made her dress combining fun patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Phantom and Parisian Anthology collections. The little flowery and heart detail on her dress are Stampin' Up rub-ons that I had in my stash for nearly 8-10 years! EEEKS!

The little dimensional flowers were made using fun patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Nantucket and Phantom collections along with the PTI Beautiful Blooms dies and more Stampin' Up rubons:

The pennant banner was stamped using a pretty flowery image from Flourishes Birthday Pennants and the numbers are from the MFT Typewriter set. Notice the pretty stamped rose border across the top? That was stamped using images from Flourishes Birthday Pennants set:

Thanks so much for visiting! For COMPLETE details, please visit the CR84FN site and for some fab inspiration, please be sure to visit the CR84FN designers: Suzanne Czosek, Lisa Somerville, Stephanie Kraft, Sue Lelli, Deborah Frings, Heather Jensen

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Birthday Pennants, Butterflies and Blossoms, MFT Typewriter Alphabet
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue, Phantom, Parisian Anthology, Nantucket
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders Nested Lacey Pennants, Grand Calibur, PTI Beautiful Blooms

Other: Ranger colorwash sprays, PTI ink, Liquitex paints and inks, Gesso, Memento

a little Rain...

2011-12-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Any big plans for ringing in the New Year? We are just going to hang out around home ~ hopefully see a movie or two this weekend :) I really want to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the new Sherlock Holmes. We went to see The Adventures of Tintin with Connor and Meredith during the week and it was really good family entertainment. What awesome animation! Have you seen any good flicks lately?

I love the various cute umbrellas in the PTI Scattered Showers stamp set. It was one of my very first sets! I was in stampers Heaven when they released the coordinating die set! Such a time saver and the cut is perfect every time ~ gotta LOVE that!

I wanted to share this photo with you of a coyote that patrols/stalks our neighborhood! This photo was taken by Scott overlooking the wrought iron fence that runs along our back yard. I live near a mountain preserve and we have lots of desert wildlife running around. There has been a pack of four hanging out looking for food, I'm sure. I now carry a big walking stick when walking my fur babies to the mail box. Scott says to forget the stick and take a gun but I don't think the neighbors would appreciate that!

Thanks so much for visiting. Hope you have a safe and wonderful weekend! I'll be back Sunday, January 1st with an all new CR84FN! Be Sweet ;)

Stamps: PTI Scattered Showers, Scattered Showers Additions
Dies: Spellbinders Tear Drop Circles, Classic Circles, Classic Petal, PTI Umbrella, Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Tailored Suit

Thank You x2

2011-12-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Things have been a little hectic around here. Connor and Meredith are off from school for three weeks for Winter break so that means keeping two teenagers busy for me :) I think I drove over 100 miles today! Seriously! Meredith is volunteering at the younger children's horse riding camp and I am so proud of her for doing so. Unfortunately the stables are at least 45 miles away from our home. sigh... Connor is playing Varsity soccer and he has practice for 3 hours everyday, much closer to home. Thank goodness :) It's all good, just a lot of driving around town. Are you busy chauffeuring children around town as well?

I had time to sit down later in the evening and make a few much needed Thank You cards. I combined some pretty fun patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue collection along with a few of my favorite stamps from Waltzingmouse. One of the very first reasons why I fell in love with Claire's stamps is that she has designed many to coordinate flawlessly with Spellbinders dies.

For this card, I stamped the pretty label image from Very Vintage Labels No. 1, used a Labels One die template to cut the image, stamped a sentiment from Rescue Remedies Additions then finished it off with a fun Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Chipboard Pops embellishment:

Here's another Thank You card using the same Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue collection, just a different pattern:

For this card, I used a fun polka dot label from Holiday Labels No. 14, used a Labels Fourteen die to cut the image then added a fun Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Chipboard Pops embellishment:

That's all I have for today ~ thanks so much for visiting! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Holiday Labels No. 14, Very Vintage Labels No. 1, Rescue Remedies Additions
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Fourteen, Labels One, Classic Scallop, Classic Triple Scallop, Grand Calibur, PTI doily
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue collection
Embellishments: Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Chipboard Pops

Sew Special

2011-12-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hi there dear blogging friends! I'm hoping you all had an amazing weekend and wonderful Christmas celebration if you observed the holiday! We had a great day at my home and spent some quality time together but I must admit, I am happy to sit down and kick my feet up for the rest of the evening :) I made this project several days ago but couldn't share it with you because it was for my sweet sister Tina who visits my blog regularly.

I upcycled a jewelry box that Meredith passed on to me using a combination of pretty patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Retired Sweetness collection along with an elegant stamped / die cut dress form from My Favorite Things. I finished off the project with a big blossom that was made using the MFT/ Die-namics Large Rolled Rose die:

Shown in the photo below is a photo of the original box before I got a hold of it :)

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club:

I think both this photo of my sweet little girl Gretchen pretty much says it all about our hectic Christmas day:

and this photo of my snow globe is how both Scott and I are feeling today :) Surely, many of you can relate! ;)

Thanks so much for visiting today! Hope you have a great day! Be Sweet ;) Mona

Supplies Used:
Stamps: My Favorite Things /Die-namics Well Worn Greetings & Die Set, Sew Nifty Stamp & Die Set, Large Rolled Rose, Faux Crocheted Border
Additional Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Fifteen, Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Retired Sweetness

adore you

2011-12-24T03:11:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are having an awesome weekend thus far! I scrapped a photo of Meredith at a horse riding lesson. I bought one of those 12" x 12" memorabilia photo frames to house it in. I am going to wrap it up and give it to her as a gift. I sure hope she is excited to hang it in her bedroom!

I used a variety of flower embellishments including once again one of Tina's hand made crocheted blossoms along with several fabric Prima flowers. The little tag features a sentiment from Technique Tuesday Hearts by Ali Edwards. My dear sweet friend Stephanie Kraft is responsible for this new addiction ;) I'm lovin' Ali's stamps so much, I even joined her monthly kit club!

Thanks so much for looking :) Hope you have a great weekend and Merry Christmas (if you observe!).
Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
"be" sentiments: Pink Paislee Retired Daily Junque Ephemera,
Stamps: Technique Tuesday Hearts by Ali Edwards
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Grand Circles, PTI tag, Grand Calibur
Patterned paper: Glitz Design
Other: word sentiment strips from Pink Paislee Ephemera

Christmas Greetings

2011-12-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

T.G.I.F. and I have the day off from work! Yahooo! This IS my last Christmas card for 2011 and it's for my dear husband Scott :)

I stamped the background using a combination of Waltzingmouse Text-It, Festive Foliage, and Compliments of the Season. I finished it off with a bow, button, twine and some home made pine cones using the Tim Holtz pine cone die that was given to me by my sweet friend, Sue Lelli. Thanks so much Sue ~ I LOVE it!!! I added a bit of Ranger Acrylic paint to the tips to make them look like they were kissed with snow :)

Thanks for visiting! Hope you have a great day! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Text-It, Festive Foliage, Compliments of the Season
Dies: Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small, Sizzix Tim Holtz Pine Cone die, Sizzix Vagabond

Beauty and Love

2011-12-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a great day! I have an unexpected day off from work so I decided to create a few things before heading out the door to run some last minute errands. I'm trying to scrap a layout at least once a week so I pulled out some photos featuring Scott and I in front of The Louvre, Paris, France and some artwork showcased inside. I'm lovin' the beautiful papers in the Webster's Pages Western Romance collection and the coordinating accessories.

I adhered a pretty pink floral silhouette to the center of a beautiful hand crocheted blossom that my sweet sister Tina made for me:

For sketch inspiration, I played along with My Creative Sketches ~ Sketch #3:

If scrappin' is not your thing, you may like the card I made using scraps from my layout along with a journaling card, a die cut foil heart and a pretty resin heart:

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you liked my projects :) Be Sweet!

Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages Western Romance collection, Journaling Cards
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Creative Book Pages, Labels Eighteen, Rose Creations, Grand Calibur
Other: Webster's Pages Pink Floral Silhouette, Webster's Pages Sparklers

Grand Gerber Daisies...FTTC149

2011-12-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday! It's time again for a new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Thanks to all who joined in last week's fun! This week Beate is our wonderful hostess and she is challenging us all to create using the Telescoping Image technique. It's rather quite simple, merely stamp your image of choice two or three times, cutting it smaller each time for a layered look. NOTE: This will be the last FTTC of 2011, we will resume, Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012. If you are in need of a visual tutorial, please be sure to see the Flourishes Blog.

Shown below is my sample using the Telescoping Image technique. This card is quite Grand! :) LOL The finished card measures approximately 6.25" x 6.25". This baby will definitely be hand delivered to my sweet sister Tina :)

To create my card, I inked up the larger image from Flourishes Gerber Daisies set then using various sized Spellbinders circle die templates to cut the image, colored using Copic Markers listed below. For a little added dimension, I paper pieced the very center Daisy and added glitter to each of the centers.

Here's a photo of the various sized increments of die templates and the coordinating image:

Many thanks for visiting ~ hope you are able to join in the fun! Please be sure to visit the Flourishes blog for complete details and for some incredible inspiration the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday DT: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Theresa Pollack (December Guest Designer).

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Gerber Daisies
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Digital Family Matters Paper Pack
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Standard Circles LG, Standard Circles SM, Grand Circles, Grand Labels One, Grand Big Scalloped Circles, Grand Calibur
Markers: Copic Y11, Y21, G21, G28, BG11, BG13

Home Made with LOVE

2011-12-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having an awesome Sunday! Scott and I are both feeling a bit under the weather :( Nothing like coming down with a cold during one of the busiest times of the year. OK, enough whining for now and on to some crafty projects. One of my New Year's resolutions is not to hoard papercrafting goodies so starting early, I pulled out some beautiful Webster's Pages patterned paper that I purchased nearly a year ago! EEKS! I KNOW I'm not alone with this addiction am I? ;)

What really motivated me to get these tags completed is the treat I baked for my sweet sister Tina who has been traveling out of town with work for the past 3 weeks and returned home yesterday. As a welcome home treat, I baked her a loaf of pumpkin/gingerbread/pecan bread and made a tag to accompany it:

To make this tag, I combined pretty patterned paper from Webster's Pages Sweet Season collection with the Home Made WITH LOVE sentiment from the Waltzingmouse A Cottage Christmas stamp set:

The tag shown below was made using pretty paper from Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa collection with a beautiful embossed ornament and sentiment from Waltzingmouse 2011 Holiday Ornaments:

The following three tags were all made using pretty patterned paper from Webster's Pages Sweet Season collection and a variety of Waltzingmouse Stamps. The sentiment shown below is from Seasons of Love - Tags and the gorgeous ornament is from 2011 Holiday Ornaments:

The MERRY CHRISTMAS sentiment used on the tag shown below is from Seasons of Love - Tags:

and last but not least, another tag made using a stamped sentiment from Seasons of Love - Tags.

Thanks so much for visiting! Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse 2011 Holiday Ornaments, A Cottage Christmas, Seasons of Love - Tags
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa, Sweet Season
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Seventeen, 2011 Heirloom Ornaments, Classic Hearts, Classic Scalloped Hearts, MFT Mini Rolled Roses, PTI Vintage Ornaments, Sizzix Vegabond

BE Merry...WMSC78

2011-12-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Hope you are all having an amazing weekend! If we have anything in common, you are probably doing the same as I am, scampering about, taking care of last minute holiday preparations?! I joined along with this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge 78 which will be the last for 2011. The WMSC will resume Saturday, January 7th, 2012.

Here's my interpretation of this fun sketch:

The Webster's Pages patterned paper was simply too beautiful to cut so I made an oversized (6.5" x 6.5") card for my sweet sister Tina which will be hand delivered. Using VersaMark ink, I stamped the gorgeous ornate star image from Seasons of Love - Tags, embossed using fine white embossing powder revealing the gorgeous ornate image, then cut using a Spellbinders Stars Five die template.

I've been having lots of fun lately making my own blossoms using Spellbinders Rose Creations die templates:

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you enjoyed my card today and perhaps you may join in the fun! For complete details and awesome inspiration, please be sure to the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge site (click HERE) to see what the Mischief Makers and other DT members have created. Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Seasons of Love - Tags
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Stars Five, Rose Creations, Standard Circles Large, Grand Scalloped Squares, Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper & Lace trim: Webster's Pages

LOVE

2011-12-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! It finally stopped raining here and we are back to blue, sunny skies for awhile :) The roofers showed up and basically put a BIG BAND-AID over the leaky area. They are scheduled to return in two weeks to complete the job :) While waiting for the repairmen to do their thing, I had a chance to play and made both a layout and card.

Before I get to today's projects, I wanted to let you in on something a little fun & exciting ~ Waltzingmouse Stamps is a little bit Moxie Fab today! If you have made your way to my blog via Cath Edvalson's MoxieFabWorld blog today - Welcome! Take a peek around my crafty world :) We at Waltzingmouse Stamps are delighted to be mentioned in the Moxie Fab Stamp of Approval feature!

First up, is a layout featuring photos of Scott and I while vacationing in Paris:

I combined fun patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Love Me collection along with a few Waltzingmouse Stamps. I pulled out the Rose Creations die templates that I have neglected far too long and created some lovely flowers.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the My Mind's Eye Sketch Challenge #30:

If scrapbooking is not your thing, here is a card I made featuring fun patterned paper from the 6" x 6" paper pack! It's been awhile since I have made my own flowers so I dusted off my Rose Creations die templates and made a few flowers for both projects.

Lovin' all the dimension and layers!

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the My Mind's Eye Sketch Challenge #30:

That's all I have for today. Thanks so much for stopping by ~ hope you are inspired to create! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:

Layout
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Season of Love - Tags
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye Love Me collection
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders Classic Scallop Edgibilities, Classic Scalloped Heart, Classic Scalloped Heart, Rose Creations, Grand Calibur

Card
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Season of Love - Tags
Die Templates: Spellbinders Rose Creations, Nested Lacey Pennants, Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye Love Me collection

Warm Wishes

2011-12-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! It's been raining cats and dogs here for several days now with an occasional break. Our roof unfortunately sprung a leak over Scott's office closet. While I'm waiting for the roof repairman to arrive, I plan on working on some fun projects :) I made this CAS layout featuring Connor's girlfriend, Emily enjoying the snowfall while on a recent trip to NYC.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Creative Scrappers sketch challenge:

If scrapbooking is not your thing, I also made a card to share using scraps from my layout. The pretty polka dot and snowflake patterned paper are from Webster's Pages, the trim and snowflake were made using fun patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue collection:

Hope you have a warm and dry day ;) Thanks so much for visiting ~ Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: LO ~ Waltzingmouse Say It Loud - Winter Holiday CARD ~ Very Vintage Christmas
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages, Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue
Die Templates: PTI Damask snowflake, Sizzix snowflakes, Sizzix tag, Spellbinders Eyelet Circle, Sizzix Vagabond

Make A Wish...FTTC148

2011-12-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! It's time for a new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! This week, Makiko is our wonderful hostess and the theme of her challenge is "Opposites Attract". Use the SAME image and make TWO cards/projects with two totally different looks, style theme or colors. For example, you can make a CAS and one with lots of layers, a feminine and a masculine, a monochromatic and a colorful one, one for a child and one for an adult, a birthday and a sympathy, etc. The possibilities are endless. Anyway you think they are totally different or opposite.

I decided to ink up the sweet girl image from Kids Play, (a stamp set that contains various darling silhouette images and endearing sentiments). I thought it would be great to go black and white :)

Here's what she looks like inked up with VersaMark ink and embossed using fine white embossing powder:

and here she is stamped using black ink:

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Sweet Stop sketch challenge:

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you take on the challenge and for some awesome inspiration, please be sure to see what the following designers have created: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Theresa Pollack (December Guest Designer). Please be sure to visit the Flourishes site for COMPLETE details on how to join in on the fun!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Kids Play
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Four, Grand Calibur, MFT
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye

Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event Day #12

2011-12-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Today is Day #12 of the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event. In case you missed days 1 -11, be sure to visit the Pink Paislee blog.

For the Winter Wonderland Blog Event Day #12, I was assigned ORNAMENTS. The fun, cozy patterns included in the Snow Day collection made me think of how nice it is to have a pair of warm mittens to wear on a cold wintery day! I ran with that thought and made a few mitten ornaments :)

The first two ~ "His/Her" sets of mittens and all three tags were made using Cozy Sweater patterned paper. The mittens feature the pretty Chevron pattern and the tags feature a grid-like pattern. All tag sentiments were made using letters from the Bitty Blocks which is jam packed full of letters made from various fonts! How fun is that? The cuffs on the "His" mittens shown below were made using the pretty powder blue Warm Mittens patterned paper:

and the cuffs on the "Hers" mittens shown below were made using the gorgeous pink damask designed Hot Cocoa patterned paper:

Last but not least is a pair of mittens made using cozy plaid Frosty patterned paper and again the cuffs were made using the gorgeous pink damask designed Hot Cocoa patterned paper:

Thanks so much for visiting ~ I hope you liked my mitten ornaments! Please be sure to visit the Pink Paislee Blog (click HERE) for COMPLETE details and for a mini tutorial on how I made this darling ornaments :) Be Sweet and Good Luck!

Pink Paislee Supplies Used:
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Bitty Blocks 00580
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Cozy Sweater 00584
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Warm Mittens 00586
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Hot Cocoa 00582
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Frosty 00581

Dies and Machine: Spellbinders Nested Mittens, Nested Lacey Pennants, Grand Calibur
Other: generic silver cord and jingle bells

a snow day mini

2011-12-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having an amazing weekend! It's been a bit hectic in my household, celebrating my honey's 50th and preparing for the holidays. What do you give a guy for Christmas who has all he wants already? hmmmm.... You make him a mini album capturing the moments spent with family :) I really wanted to make this for Scott's birthday but I just couldn't get it done. To make this mini album of our ski trip to Aspen '05, I combined MANY of my favorite products starting with the digital Pink Paislee Snow Day Paper Pack, lots of doo dads from the Pink Paislee Ephemera pack, various die cuts, and PTI stamped images.
On the cover: Scott, Meredith, Connor and I taking a break to capture a shot of all of us together:

Little PTI snowflakes captured in a jar:

Connor and Meredith all bundled up ready to hit the slopes:

A PTI Frosty in a jar:

Connor and Meredith at ski school:

A PTI button snowflake :)

Snow angels Meredith and Connor catching a ride on the gondola:

Another sweet little PTI snow peep in a jar:

Connor and Meredith snow happy ;)

Hope you liked my mini! I will be back tomorrow to share a project that wraps up the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event! Have a great day! Be Sweet :)

MY Star

2011-12-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Happy Wednesday! I have a bit of exciting news to share ~ today, I have a few of my projects being shared on THE Melissa Frances blog! Pinch me please! I would be tickled pink if you took a peek ~ click HERE. Well, I think I'm nearly finished with making Christmas cards for 2011, believe it or not. Other than a few that need to be hand delivered, I think I made what I actually need NOW I just need to get them off in the mail! (which for most card makers whom I know, seems to be the most difficult part of the process!)
Several months ago, I bought this beautiful metallic star home decor piece at Jo~Ann's Fabric and Craft store. I spotted it amongst the clearanced items for $5.00 , originally $29.99! I grabbed two, one for my home and one for my sweet sister Tina :)

I finally had a chance to take the time to decorate it so with Scott in mind, I sat down and went to work. He could not envision what is was going to look like after I got my hands on it and now, I can't wait to see look on his face when he sees it completed! I combined beautiful patterned paper from the Melissa Frances Deck The Halls 6x6 paper pack along with Waltzingmouse Stamps:

In support of Claire's, (Owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps), current tag challenge, I completed my project with a fun tag. I stamped the beautiful tag image from Very Vintage Christmas and the sentiment from Season of Love - Tags then using a Spellbinders Small Labels die template to cut the image. I attached a few jingle bells that I white washed using Gesso and finished it off the tag with shimmery pretty patterned paper die cut star.

Thanks so much for visiting ~ hope you liked my project! Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Very Vintage Christmas, Season of Love - Tags
Patterned Paper: Melissa Frances Deck The Halls
Dies: Spellbinders Stars Five, Small Labels, Grand Calibur

Joy...FTTC147

2011-12-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are off to a great start of a new week! I spent nearly ALL day Monday enduring the juror selection process for a 3 week open ended trial and was thankfully dismissed! It has been 18 months since I last had to serve on a 3 day trial so I was skipping out the door, feeling quite lucky to have not been chosen! Just being honest... Just curious, does anyone ENJOY jury duty??? I LOVE my job and would rather go to work ANY day over attending jury duty!

On to crafty matters ~ it's Tuesday and that means it's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge and time to welcome Theresa Pollack who will be sharing her awesome creativity with us as December's Guest Designer! This week, Silke is our wonderful hostess and she is challenging us all to create a project based on the sketch shown below:

My card features the darling scene from Joy Is In The Air as the focal point framed using a circle die cut then layered on top of a doily. I stamped the Joy sentiment from A Gift For You then stamped the cluster of snowflakes from Joy Is In The Air. I colored the sweet image to coordinate with pretty patterned paper from the digital Pink Paislee digital Holiday Magic paper pack:

I adhered a layer a glitter to give it a winter wonderland look ;)

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope you take on the challenge and for some awesome inspiration, please be sure to see what the following designers have created: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Theresa Pollack (December Guest Designer). Please be sure to visit the Flourishes site for COMPLETE details on how to join in on the fun!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Flourishes Joy Is In The Air, A Gift For You
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders Labels Eleven, Eyelet Circles, Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee digital Holiday Magic
Markers: Copic

Oh Christmas Tree...CR84FN44

2011-12-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Are you all ready for the Holidays or are you scurrying about like me, tidying up loose edges??? So much to do, so little time! It's time for an all new CR84FN Color Challenge which will wrap up 2011 for the CR84FN DT! We will resume Sunday, January 1st ringing in 2012! I would like to thank Mackie Robertson for sharing her awesome creativity with all of us! For the next week, we will be playing with the pretty color combo shown below. The beautiful photos used to create the color graphic are courtesy of Leslie at a creative mint.

Using various pretty patterned paper from the Pink Paislee digital Holiday Magic paper pack, I made a Christmas tree decoration which may also be used as a gift box for that special someone!

I think the most time consuming step was making all the Poinsettias but I love the soft look so it's worth the extra effort.

I topped the tree off with a glittery star made from Vintage Vogue ~ Tailored Suit patterned paper. After die cutting the paper using a Stars Five die template, I adhered a mini dowel between the layered star, outlined with sparkly Stickles followed with a coat of glitter:

In case you are curious about how I made my Christmas tree, here are a few easy steps to follow to get you going. First you will need a styrofoam cone, a wooden spool, a paper mache box, patterned paper and Mod Podge (not shown).

For the tree, tear printed paper into random size pieces, adhere to styrofoam cone using Mod Podge. Allow to dry then decorate as desired. For the paper mache box, paint edges with white acrylic paint, cut and adhere patterned paper to box bottom and lid. Ink edges with Distress ink and adhere glitter to lid.

Thanks so much for visiting! Hope you liked my project and if you make one, please feel free to email a photo to me :) For COMPLETE details, please visit the CR84FN site and for some fab inspiration, please be sure to visit the CR84FN designers and our current guest designer: Mackie Robertson (Guest Designer), Suzanne Czosek, Lisa Somerville, Stephanie Kraft, Sue Lelli, Deborah Frings, Andrea Mathews, Heather Jensen

*NOTE: Due to the holiday hustle and bustle for all, the CR84FN44 Color Challenge will only run for ONE week.

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee digital Holiday Magic, Pink Paislee Vintage Vogue ~ Tailored Suit
Cardstock: PTI Sweet Blush
Die Templates and Machine: Spellbinders Poinsettia, Classic Circles SM, Stars Five, Grand Calibur
Other: MS glitter, Mod Podge, PTI ribbon, Pink Paislee Sweetness metallic cord, wooden spool, styrofoam tree, paper mache box

Happy 50th Birthday Scott!

2011-12-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I'm a week early but I wanted to make sure I had my sweet husband Scott's Birthday card made. As the saying goes, life happens while we are busy making plans so I wanted to be sure to have this one done plenty ahead of time! As I've said before, making masculine cards is not my forte but this one came together rather easily. Gotta LOVE when that happens!

I combined lovely patterned papers from the Pink Paislee Nantucket collection and the Pink Paislee Digital Family Matters paper pack. The plaid label is from the MFT Textile Rectangles set and was cut using the coordinating die. I used the 5 & 0 number dies from By the Numbers set to cut cardboard numbers which cut like butter!

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current My Favorite Things Weekly Sketch Challenge:

I've been quite busy decorating my home over the past few days both inside as well as outside. A sweet friend of mine gave me the beautiful jars in the photo below several months ago. I put them to good use and filled them up with some pretty ornaments.

Some of these ornaments are actually made of terracotta!

I LOVE ornaments, can you tell? :)

Thanks so much for visiting ~ hope you have a great weekend! ***Don't forget to check out the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Event, click here, featuring awesome inspiration and DAILY GIVEAWAYS! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: MFT By the Numbers Stamp and die set
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Nantucket, Pink Paislee Digital Family Matters

Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event Day #1

2011-12-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Happy December 1st! Today kicks off the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event which runs for 12 days ending on December 12th. That means 12 FULL days of awesome inspiration and DAILY GIVEAWAYS!

For my project today, I made a home decor project to share that features a beautiful cone wreath ornament made using fun and fabulous patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Snow Day collection! To create the cone ornament, I referred to a tutorial that may be found here.

Love the pretty double sided Snowball Fight patterned paper! The inside of the cones reveal the pretty red and pink polka dot pattern and the front of the cones reveal the pretty heart snowflakes. Nestled in the center is a silvery snowflake from Dimensional Stickers.

The "peace" sentiment was made by painting and adhering glitter to letters from Wood Shop Alphabets ~ Timber.

Thanks so much for visiting ~ I hope you liked my project! Please be sure to visit the Pink Paislee Blog (click HERE) for COMPLETE details and for a mini tutorial on how I made this pretty wall hanging :) Be Sweet and Good Luck!

Pink Paislee Supplies Used:
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Snowball Fight 00583
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Warm Mittens 00586
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Hot Cocoa 00582
Pink Paislee Snow Day ~ Dimensional Stickers 00578

Pink Paislee Wood Shop Alphabets ~ Timber 00567

Other:
Dies & Machine: Spellbinders Classic Triple Scallop Edgeabilites, Grand Calibur
Martha Stewart glitter, Prima Canvas page, ribbon from stash

let it Snow Pink Paislee style!

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you are all having a wonderful week thus far! I have the day off from work today with a to do list a mile long... The next few weeks will surely fly by for all of us I am sure as the holidays are rapidly approaching! Thursday, December 1st kicks off the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event and will run through December 12th! An event surely you won't want to miss with DAILY GIVEAWAYS! Click HERE for further details.

I made a fun little card, 4.25" x 4.25", showcasing various patterned paper from the Pink Paislee Snow Day collection combined with a sweet snowman image and sentiment from PTI.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current MOJO Monday sketch challenge:

Thanks so much for visiting! I will be back tomorrow, December 1st sharing a project I made to kick off the Pink Paislee Winter Wonderland Blog Event! Hope to see you then! Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar Fillers
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Snow Day collection
Die and Machine: Spellbinders Labels Four, Classic Petal, Grand Calibur

Celebrate your day...FTTC146

2011-11-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hello dear blogging friends! It's time for an all new Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Thanks to all who played along with FTTC145 ~ so many pretty projects! This week, Cindy is a dear hostess and she has chosen a recipe of sorts for us all to play with. All you have to do is pull out one of your favorite Flourishes images and use the following recipe to create your project: a Flourishes image, a flower, a tag and a ribbon.

I used this week's challenge to make one of my dear sisters a Birthday card. She will be celebrating her 48th birthday on December 10th :)

I stamped the sweet hummingbird image from Spring Is Sprung, colored with various Copic markers then cut using a Spellbinders Labels Ten die template. For coloring inspiration, I referred to a card shared by Linda Duke (click here). The sentiment is from Fanciful Flourishes. I love how easily Flourishes stamp sets may be so easily mixed and matched!

We have a few hummingbirds that visit our backyard quite frequently. Here's a few photos of the sweet little one that Scott was able to snap a few shots of feasting on one of my potted succulents on the patio:

Look at how fast his little wings beat. I read that hummingbirds can beat their wings 70 times per second! Wish I could run that fast! Pretty amazing creatures ~ don't you think?

For sketch inspiration, I played along with The Paper Players challenge:

Many thanks for visiting today! I hope you take on the challenge and for some awesome inspiration, please be sure to see what the following designers have created: Tammy, Heather, Silke, Makiko, Cindy, Beate, Mona (that's me), Miriam Napler (November Guest Designer). Please be sure to visit the Flourishes site for COMPLETE details on how to join in on the fun!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Flourishes Fanciful Flourishes, Spring Is Sprung

Die: Spellbinders Labels Ten, Grand Calibur

Markers: Copic
Patterned Paper: Melissa Frances

Joy...CR84FN43 Week #2

2011-11-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Here we are already into week #2 of the CR84FN43 Color Challenge! EEKS! Time is flying by! We will be celebrating Scott's 50th birthday in a few weeks! :) He doesn't look a day over 40 and doesn't act a day over 20! :) LOL

I made another Christmas card using this "earthly" color combo.

I pulled out the Waltzingmouse Vintage Ornaments set, inked up the beautiful polka dot ornament, stamped the Joy sentiment in the center then cut using a Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments die template. Finished it off with some sugary glitter:

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Inkspirations Challenge:

Thanks for visiting! For COMPLETE details, please visit the CR84FN site and for some fab inspiration, please be sure to visit the CR84FN designers and our current guest designer: Mackie Robertson (Guest Designer), Suzanne Czosek, Lisa Somerville, Stephanie Kraft, Sue Lelli, Deborah Frings, Andrea Mathews, Heather Jensen

Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Vintage Ornaments

Die Templates: Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments, Classic Bracket, Grand Calibur

Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye

My Beautiful Girl

2011-11-26T01:50:00.000-07:00

Hi there! We are still experiencing beautiful weather here in Phoenix so I've been out hiking and biking. I really don't care for the cold especially when it makes my toes and fingertips go numb when riding. Anyways, I had some time to play so I made a layout and a card to share. I've been having fun, playing with the new digital Pink Paislee Family Matters Paper Pack. For the layout, I kept the original 12" x 12" size and printed on 8 1/5" x 11" paper. That is my sweet sister Tina in the photo and the photo was taken about 52 years ago! Time sure flies! I am going to put this layout in a shadowbox type frame and give it to my sister as a gift :) She looks so sweet!

A crafty girl can NEVER have TOO many butterflies, right? I'm lovin' the Spellbinders Wonderful Wings set that comes with FIVE sets of gorgeous butterflies:

For sketch inspiration, I referred to a fun sketch from My Creative Sketches:

For those of you who prefer card making, I made a card using the same patterned paper EXCEPT, I reduced the size to 50% before printing.

Those beautiful stamped flower image on the left hand side is from the Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden ~ Impressions Clear Stamps and the sentiment is from the Waltzingmouse Blessed by You set:

Thank you very much for visiting today! I hope you may feel inspired to create! Be Sweet!

'tis the Season

2011-11-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day celebration! It's been way too long since I've had the opportunity to play along with the PTI Blog Hop. Since I had the day off from work and I'm not a Black Friday shopper, I joined in the fun!

This month, Nichole is challenging all to refer to the gorgeous photo shown below for inspiration:

I pulled out Vintage Ornaments and made this card:

I stamped the beautiful ornament using red ink first followed with the pretty decorative trim using VersaMark, embossed with fine white embossing powder then finished it off with a coat of glitter. The coordinating dies are on my wish list so not having them, I hand cut the ornament then layered on top of a doily from the Doily Details Collection:

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Card Patterns Sketch challenge:

Thanks so much for visiting today! Off to hop along for some Holiday inspiration! Be Sweet!

thankful for you

2011-11-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate ~ I hope you have a wonderful holiday and hopefully get to spend time with your loved ones, enjoying a yummy meal! Scott and I will be serving up dinner for my sweet sister Tina, my DS, Jerry and his sweet GF, April. I am so blessed to have such a loving family and I have many things to be grateful for. Without rambling on, I simply wanted to say I am also thankful for all of you who take the time to visit my little spot here in blogosphere :)

I am the first to admit, creating masculine cards is not my specialty but I needed to make a Thanksgiving Day card for Scott. (although he does appreciate beautiful flowers and bows! ;)

The pretty patterned paper is from the NEW Digital Pink Paislee Family Matters Paper Pack which is available in digital format only and exclusively sold at JessicaSprague.com. I've never used a lot of digital paper and had no idea what I had been missing! I combined images from four different PTI stamp sets ~ two of which I've admittedly never used before.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the current Freshly Made Sketch challenge:

That's it for today ~ thanks so much for looking and I hope you enjoy your day :) Be Sweet!