{Birdy Birthday}

Good Morning! Well, today has started out to be a beautiful day. I have a DR appt this afternoon (my 30 week check up) but hopefully that will go ok. I always get stressed before my appts, so card making really helps to lower my anxiety levels. For today's card I am participating in a couple of challenges. First the Waltzing Mouse Weekly Sketch Challenge. Our challenge was to use this sketch:

I immediately thought of the Stampin' Up! set "Aviary", and thought the cute birdcages from the set would be perfect for this layout. The second challenge I am playing along with is the weekly color challenge at "The Paper Players". The challenge was to use Real Red, Black, and White on a card. For my card I used the SU "Aviary" stamp set, and SU's "Curly Cute" sentiment set. I wasn't crazy about Curly Cute when I first received it, but after using it several times it has grown on me. The DSP is from the BasicGrey Ambrosia 6x6 paper pad. I cut three different patterns of paper and adhered them to a piece of white card stock. I then used my corner rounder punch on the corners, and then distressed the edges with a sanding block. I then machine stitched around the entire cardbase. The ribbon bows are plain back ribbon from Oriental Trading.  The bling is from SU. I really like the look of my card, it reminds me of those super trendy stores that I go into, but never buy anything from. lol  As always I really do appreciate you stopping by to visit my blog, and I hope you  have a wonderful day!

{C.A.S Wednesday}

I have decided to start a weekly tradition on my blog by posting a CAS card every Wednesday! If you are not familiar with the card making term CAS it means "Clean and Simple". To me CAS is a card with 1-2 layers, limited embellishments, and most of all EASY to make! Today inspiration for my card came from the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger.

I love how the flowers in the DSP have shades of blue, and the pattern on the background of the DSP remind me of the Tuesday Trigger Picture. Beautiful!  I used DSP from BasicGrey's JuneBug collection and I used my scallop punches to accent the bottom of the card. The stamp set is "Cute and Curly" by Stampin' Up! I used the Sizzix SU Movers and Shapers Die to cut out the window on my card. I love the neat stitching the die leaves around the punched shape! The button is also from BasicGrey, and the bow was made using SU's Linen Thread. I love linen thread.  I hope that your week is going well for ya, and I really do appreciate your visit to my blog today!

{Thinking Of You}

Another weekend has come and gone and Monday is here once again. I hope you had a nice weekend, mine went by much too fast!  Alrighty, today I am playing along with the Paper Pal Arts Weekly Color Challenge and the challenge this week was to use this color combination:

It's a pretty one isn't it? For my card I used a set from Technique Tuesday called "Spiro Garden" and the sentiment is from the SU set "Curly Cute".  The card stock and inks are all Stampin' Up! The ribbon is by Cosmo Cricket, and the pearls are by Martha Stewart. I used the SU scallop ribbon punch to add the borders, and the DSP is also by SU. I enjoyed working with this color combo and I will definitely use it again! Thank you for visiting my blog today and play along with this weeks challenge at Paper Pal Arts!

{House Mouse School Time}

Happy Saturday Friends! I hope that the weather is as beautiful  where you are as it is here in Southeast Oklahoma! Today I am playing along with the House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge . I used a super cute House Mouse stamp , and an apple from the an old Stampin' Up! set I have had for a long time. The sentiment is from the SU set "Greetings Galore". I accented the apple with Crystal Effects, and used a pop dot to make it jump out, along with the cute little mouse doing a happy dance.  The theme of this weeks House Mouse challenge was to make a "school themed" card. My card is a teacher thank you card! The DSP is by DCWV, and Cosmo Cricket. The buttons are from SU . The ribbon is by American Crafts. I am super happy with the way my card turned out! There is still time for you to play along with the challenge so join us if you can! Thank you for visiting my blog today and have a great weekend!

{A Perfect Pear}

Happy Friday! I am so happy it is finally Friday, this week has really gone by slowly. Anyways, today I am playing along with the Etsy Inspired Challenge. The challenge was to pick out your inspiration at the Two Eggplants Shop, and make a project inspired by the item you chose. I chose these super cute pear soaps:

They look good enough to eat don't they? For my card I used DSP from KI Memories, and the new Cuttlebug embossing folder collection "Preserves". The only pear stamp I have is from the Stampin' Up! set "Picture This" so that is what I went with.  I stitched around the square, and cut out a pear from the DSP and added a pop dot.  The ribbon is SU White Taffeta. 

I hope that you are having a good Friday, and thank you for visiting my blog!

{Choo Choo on over to the Stampin' Up! Clearance Section!}

I agree, the title of my post is corny, but I just had to let you know that Stampin' Up! has added some amazing items to the Clearance Rack . This may be my last month as a SU demo if I don't meet my minimums so I am offering an extra 10% off on ALL Clearance Rack orders placed thru me! If your order is over $50 I will give you 20% off of the order! Also your order  will ship directly to your house! I put in an order of my own this morning so I recommend looking and getting your order back to me as soon as possible because I have a feeling some of the items will go FAST! You can email me at  alwaysctr@ yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Now onto today's card.  I used the super cute Stampim' Up! set "Choo Choo". I stamped the train cars on Whisper White, cut them out, and laid them on the track that I made using the matching wheel.  I made the cloudy sky with a scallop punch and Whisper White craft ink, SO easy! I used the pile of hearts, and sentiment from the SU set "Loads of Love". I really had fun making this card! Again, take a look at the Clearance Rack  and get back to me ASAP!  Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{A Honey of a Day}

Another weekend came and went. I hope this week goes by as quickly as last week! For today's card I used the Stampin' Up! set " Just Buzzin' By". This is such a cute set that hasn't seen the light of day for awhile now so I'm happy I decided to use it today! Everything I used to make this card is from SU except for the button that is by Cosmo Cricket. I am playing along with two challenges, the first being a color challenge from the talented  folks at The Paper Players . The challenge was to use  a  monochromatic color scheme. I chose shades of yellow for my card! The other challenge I am playing along with is the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #17. Here is the sketch:

If you have the time I totally recommend playing along! As always thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

{World CardMaking Day!}

Happy World Card Making Day to all of you! Today went by so quickly, and I didn't get to spend the amount of time I would have liked in my craftroom, but I was able to get one card finished! For this card I used DSP from BasicGrey, and the Stampin' Up! Owl Punch. Isn't it cute?! I thought it would be perfect for this weeks Cupcake Inspirations challenge as well.  The orange solid dsp was embossed using one of my new Cuttlebug embossing Folders from the "Preserves" collection. I machine stitched around the edges of the layers of card stock, and distressed the edges with SU Soft Suede ink. The ribbon is from Heidi Grace, and buttons by Making Memories.  The sentiment is from the SU Hostess set "Picture Perfect". I hope that you had a fun day of making cards, and as always thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

{Three Cheers For Friday!}

Wow, Friday is already here! This week really did fly by!  I think for me that is mostly because I am feeling better this week, and my mobility has improved  a lot. If you don't already know this I am 29 weeks pregnant, and have had very painful sciatica in both hips and legs since  Labor Day weekend. It stinks, but I'm learning to deal with it.  The end is in site! Now, onto my card. For today's card I used the adorable PTI set "Everyday Button Bits". I love this set so much! Buttons are one of the craft supplies I can't seem to get enough of, so it's great to have a stamp set devoted to the use of buttons! I am also playing along with the "Paper Pal Arts Weekly Challenge" asking for the use of buttons, on a C.A.S.  (clean and simple) card. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, the weather is going to be fab here so I am really looking forward to it! Thank you so much for visiting my blog today and have a wonderful day!

{These Are a Few of my Favorite Things!}

     Cuttlebug embossing folders are most definitely in my top 5 for papercrafting supplies. They add so much to a card, and the folders get better every year! Now I can't continue without giving a shout out to one of  my besties  Rebecha from "I Play With Paper" for letting me now about the newest CB embossing folder release. Thank you sweet friend!

     The cards I made today feature the newest folders from the adorable "Once Upon a Princess" 4 piece Cuttlebug folder set.  I love seeing the embossing folder used on actual cards before I buy them but I couldn't find any online so maybe this will help you decide if you want them or not!

    For the first card I used an adorable butterfly trail embossing folder. I embossed 4 different pieces of DSP, which are all from Stampin' Up!, cut them out, then adhered them to the card using foam squares that I cut in half. The sentiment if from PTI, and the polka dot ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  I am also entering this card into the weekly challenge at "Flutterby Wednesday". You should play along if you get a chance!

  

   For the second card I used the super cute layered cake embossing folder. I added Prima flowers in 2 colors to cover the flowers that come already embossed on the folder. I accented the centers with sticky back pearls. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up, as well as the ribbon and card stock.  This week I plan on featuring two more cards from the Once Upon A Princess Set to show you just how cute they are! Yes, I am an enabler.  As always thank you for visiting my blog today and have a wonderful day!