New Colors!

Can I say that I LOVE, LOVE the new SU In-Colors! These are my favorite by far. I was worried that the blue would be too close to Brilliant Blue but it is a totally different shade. For this card I used the new colors Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, and Tangerine Tango. I love that they matched paper I already had by AMM. I used my scallop punch, Fiskars shape cutter, and swiss dots Cb folder. I think this is a really fun card! The stamps I used are from Inkadinkado, and SU. Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Is Summer Over Yet?

I am hoping that by making "fall" themed cards, summer will be over faster! Ok, I know it won't make a difference at all but I am going to be making more Fall cards, and then I will have to start on my Christmas cards! For this card I used a CTMH set called "Autumn Splendor". I had never used any CTMH acrylic stamps before and I have to say I love them! I think they stamp very well and it is nice being able to see exactly where I am stamping. I would be happy if SU started carrying acyrlic stamps. Speaking of SU I received my pre-order yesterday and I am IN-LOVE with the new In-Colors! They are beautiful, and I can already see sooo many color combo possibilities. I am so excited for the new SU catty to come out!





Yesterday I had a few visitors in my front yard, and luckily was able to take a few quick pictures.

We have a family of White Tail Deer that have been visiting us for the past few days. A Doe, and twin fawns. They are absolutely adorable. I love living in the Shenandoah Mountains!

I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough...

and dog-gone it I "think" I am a pretty good card maker! If you are an old school SNL fan, you will know the skit I am talking about. Lately I have really been thinking about why I blog, and what my ultimate card making goals are. I have applied for, and been turned down on 3 different design team calls and ya know, it really does take a toll on the ol' ego. I hate feeling like I have no talent, and second guessing myself on the cards I have been making. My primary objective in making cards is to brighten someones day, and to have a creative outlet that helps me to relax, and unwind in a day filled with diapers, naps, and lost binkies! So, from here on out I am going to just do what makes me happy, make cards for the "fun" of it. Ok, I will step down from my soap box.

Now onto your regular scheduled program... I made this very simple card today that I am totally happy with! I used some of my scraps of DP, and CS both from DCWV. I used my 1 3/8 square punch to punch out the DP squares, and I then matted them with choco brown CS. The "friends" sentiment is from the soon to be retired SU Hostess Level 1 sets. The flower was punched using my SU spring flowers punch, and the button accenting the center is from Foo-Fa-La. If you have made it this far on this post, thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I truly appreciate each and every comment that I receive. Have a wonderful week!

Cupcakes!

I ordered the Cupcakes set by Inkadinkado when Joann's was having their 40% off sale and today I finally made a card using one of the cupcake stamps! Everything except for the stamps, and brads are from Stampin Up. I received my box of 72 count Prismacolor Pencils today and I must say, I am in love! I had the set of 24 Prisma's but there just aren't enough colors to really achieve the color effect I wanted. Since my 72 pc set has the same colors as the 24 pc set I am thinking about offering the set of 24 as blog candy when I reach 5,000 hits! I am so happy that tomorrow is Friday!! Have a wonderful day!

Happy Anniversary!

This time last year I was 4 1/2 months pregnant and we were getting ready to drive 1,000 + miles for my little sisters wedding in TX. The wedding was beautiful, but the TX heat just about killed me! Aside from the oppressive heat, it was a very nice trip. I made this card today for my little Sis and her Hubby as they are getting ready to celebrate one year of marital bliss. For this card I used a flower from Inkadinkado, and the stem, and sentiment from SU. The patterned paper is something I picked up recently from S.E.I. called "Winnie's Walls". Isn't it the cutest?! The cute little brad die cuts (don't know what they are called) are from SU. You can't tell from the picture, but the flower was heat embossed with clear ep. After my card problems yesterday I was able to breath a sigh of relief. I don't think I lost my card "mojo" after all. Cam has a DR appt tomorrow to get a shot. This is a little off topic, but Joe and I decided to space out Cameron's vaccinations. I see no need to get 6 - 8 different immunizations in one visit, so, we go every other month to get his shots. Anywho, I hope everyone is having a nice Tuesday! I am excited because today's flavor of the day is pistachio at our fav custard stand. Wahoo! LOL

A Creative Block

I am having one of those days where you have an idea, but you just can't make it work like you imagined it would. That's a Monday for ya! Well, for this card I was "going" for a cute framed picture on a wall. I am not happy with the sentiment, but I just couldn't think of anything else to do and I didn't want the throw away the cute background so I did the best I could. I think I need to add ribbon to the scalloped oval. I think I may add a few extra details and will see if it helps, or totally ruins the card. LOL. I hope all of you are having a better Monday than me.

Ok, here is my second try. I added ribbon and a bow. I think it helped alot. I hope I don't have such a tough time with my card today! Here is what I used to make this card! SU Summer Picnic DP, Photo Frame Corner Punch to make the frame, Petite Oval Nesties, SU Linen Thread, Joann's brads, SU Real Red C/S and Ink, SU Bashful Blue C/S, and GP White C/S. It is amazing what a little ribbon will do for a card! Thank you for checking out my blog!

Time Goes By Too Fast!

My gosh I can't believe it has been so long since my last post! I am so sorry that my blog has been so boring. LOL Cam kept me pretty busy this week. As far as any news goes I got a fantastic deal at the flea market today on 6 CTMH acrylic stamps sets today so I am super happy about that. Today was a very nice day. We went to the flea market, and then had lunch at Cracker Barrel. (One of my fav places to eat). Cam did great all day even though it was freakin hot. I am ready for fall to get here, that's for sure! Anyways, for this card I used another one of my Rachael A. Miller stamps. I really do love them, and I am putting in a preorder this week for the new releases do out in early August. I used my Prismas and OMS to color this cutie. I used four different punches for this card, SU Slot punch, SU Photo Corner Punch, Fiskars Threading Water, and my Nesties Petite Ovals. I can't wait to get my hands on the new SU scallop punch. Anywho, I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Thank you for visiting my blog!!

Pretty Butterfly!

I think this is one of my favorite cards yet! For this card I again used my Inkadinkado set "Garden Delight". I stamped the butterfly on white card stock and heat embossed it with black powder. I then used my sponges and 3 ink colors to sponge the butterfly. The background image was stamped with a flower stamp from the same set and then I heat embossed the same flower stamp with clear powder to add texture to the background. The sentiment is from the SU set "Butterfly of Happiness". The peach card stock base is the shimmer collection by Bazzil. I LOVE it! I hope all of you are having a good week so far! It is going to be HOT here today so Cam and I are homebound for the day. Stay cool!

Man Cards..

I was talking to my friend Tonya the other day and she asked me if I had any "manly" stamps. I thought about it for a second, and decided that no, I really didn't have any man stamps. I've always liked SU's set Lovely As a Tree, and have seen several very pretty masculine cards made with that set but I don't have it. So, last weekend I was ordering a few things from Joann.com (they had a 40% off sale on all of their acrylic stamps) and I found a pretty set by Inkadinkado called "Garden Delight". I really like it, and I like it even because I bought it for $5.99! Anyways, this is my somewhat masculine card. I used SU's Apricot Appeal, and Chocolate Chip ink, and card stock. For the background I used the same stamp as the main image, and just stamped it several times on the background. I love the simplicity of this card, and I can't wait to try out the other stamps in my new set. Thanks for checking out my blog and have a Happy Monday!

Say Hello To My Little Friend...

I love these adorable Rachelle Anne Miller stamps! Korin at Sweet n Sassy stamps sent this stamped image with my order a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it just the cutest!? I have really been into "coloring" lately, and these stamps are perfect for that. I feel like a little girl with a big box of crayons when I color these stamps. This card is pretty much self explanatory. I used Prismacolor Pencils and OMS (Oderless Mineral Spirits) to color the image, and the DP is from the Prints pack from Stampin Up. Today we are going to our most favorite summertime place, a fruit Orchard in Charlestown West Virginia that has a bakery also. Let me tell you....the apple pie is HEAVEN. I have been looking forward to their opening since last December. (They are open July-Oct. My tummy is growling just thinking about it. I will take my camera and post a few pictures of our adventure today. I hope all of you have a nice relaxing Sunday!

SC52 In Full Bloom

For today's card I used Sketch Challenge 52 from Tamera's Challenge Blog: http://www.sketchesbytamara.blogspot.com/ I love doing sketch challenges sometimes because it is nice to have a layout already sketched and it is easier for me to concentrate on the creative elements of the card. For this card I used the retired SU set "In Full Bloom". I used choco chip ink to stamp the flower and my aqua painters and ink to add color. Again I was surprised that the SU chocolate chip ink did not smear, especially with all of the water from my aqua painters! The cute pink papers are from Paper Trey Ink. They are very nice papers and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more DP from PTI. Today is quite hot here in Northern Va so we will be spending a good part of the day inside. Today is also Cameron's 7 month with us, and on a much different note it also marks the 8th year since my Mother's passing. I miss, and think about her everyday. I hope all of you are having a nice, cool, weekend.

The Best Things in Life!

The sentiment on this card is so true isn't it? The stamp is part of a line of several stamps with funny, clever sayings for only 1.00 by Inkadinkado. They can be found at Joann's and online at several different stores. Anyways, for this card I used my prisma's and OMS to color the image. Since I am still waiting for my Staz-on ink to get here I used SU's Choco Chip ink to stamp the images and I was surprised to find that they worked great! No smearing at all. I used my stickles to decorate the treats, and as usual you can't tell from the pic but the treats are 3-d. The white brads are from Joann's, and the ribbon was from the Offray ribbon outlet in Hagerstown MD. This was a fun cad to make, and I think it will help to brighten someones day. I like having cards like this on hand to send to a friend. I can't believe it is already Thursday! I know I say this all the time but man time goes by so fast. I also wanted to mention that my baby boy Cam said his very first word yesterday...."Hi". It was so cute!! he is also cutting his first tooth, AND he can almost pull himself up into the standing position. My little pumpkin is growing so fast, but it is a joy watching him learn, and grow. Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Another Sarah Kay Card

Did I already say that I LOVE my new Sarah Kay stamps? Well, I'm pretty sure that I did but I have to say it again anyways! These stamps are so darn cute! I am still without any staz-on so I used my regular SU black ink pad and my aqua painter to color the image. I was very careful with the amount of water on my brush to prevent the ink from running. I used another simple layout for this card to showcase the stamped image. The DP is from the SU Prints Pack, and the ribbon is by American Crafts. I've been trying to use a lot of my Hodge Podge hardware since it is retiring, and because SU is having an awesome special on it this month! All HP kits in the catty are 20.96. That is an amazing deal! If you don't have any of the HPH I totally recommend buying some because it would cost a fortune to buy the pieces separately, and no-one even comes close to offering the same quality of metal hardware. (Believe me, I have checked everywhere.) I hope you are having a great week!
Supplies:
Ink - Pretty in Pink, Apricot Appeal, Choco Chip, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black
Stamps - Sarah Kay, Paper Trey
Paper - SU Prints Pack DP, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, DCWV Brown
Embellies - HP Hardware, American Crafts Ribbon
Tools - Petite Ovals nestabilities, Word Window Punch

My Sarah Kay Stamps are Here!

Oh my goodness I was so happy when I checked my mail yesteday! The Sarah Kay, and Rachelle Anne Miller stamps that I ordered from Korin at Sweet n' Sassy Stamps came in! There is going to be a lot of coloring here in the next few days. These stamps are adorable and the quality is awesome! Unfortunately my black staz on ink pad died yesterday so I had a heck of a time getting the stamp juicy enough to stamp all of the detail. I am going to Joann's today to pick up another black pad of some kind. For this card I used my aqua painters and inks to color the adorable image.and the DP is from the SU hostess paper pad. This layout is extremely simple, but I didn't want to add too much and take away from the image. I have several more stamps to play with so be on the look out for more examples of these super cute stamps!

I Will Miss You Wild Rose

Wild Rose has been one of my favorite SU stamp sets of all time and I am sad to see it go. But, just because it is on the "retired" list that doesn't mean I won't use it anymore. I love it! I made this card for a friend of mine to give to her Mother for her Birthday. Her Mother likes roses so I thought Wild Rose would be the perfect set to use. This card has many details to it. I used my Linen BG stamped in Mellow Moss on the Vanilla card base. I then stamped the rose, and flowers and cut them out. Thank goodness for my Stamp-a-ma-jig! The rose centerpiece is raised with 3-d squares, and the dark outline of the flower and leaves were accented using Crystal Effects. I also used my Hodgepodge hardware to fasten the ribbon to the card. I hope that her Mother likes this card!
Supplies:
Stamps- Wild Rose, Sincere Salutations
Ink- Cranberry Crisp, Mellow Moss
Paper - Very Vanilla, Cranberry Crisp, Mellow Moss
Embellies- Hodge Podge Hardware, SU Stitched Ribbon
Tools- Oval Nestabilities, Ticket corner punch

Happy News!

Well, I have happy news, but it isn't "my" news. My dear friend LeAnn in Utah had a baby boy on Thursday! She was not due until July 12th but baby Alex was ready to get out of there a little early! Momma and baby are fine. I am so very happy for them because I know now what an amazing blessing it is to have a baby. It makes me think about the day Cam was born. We could not stop looking at him, and his Dad and I couldn't stop crying! *starting to tear up* Ahhh...memories. Well, back to business..lol. I made this card for LeAnn and her husband and I bought an adorable Carters outfit today to. This card is a very simple layout, but I love, love how it turned out! I used the "kissing" technique with the giraffe using my Linen BG stamp. Thank you for visiting my blog and have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Stamps- Wild About You, For a Friend, Linen BG Stamp
Ink - Buckaroo Blue, More Mustard
Paper - SU Prints Pack, Whisper White CS, Bashful Blue CS
Embellies: SU Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon, Joanns baby buttons
Tools - Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Folder, Oval Nestabilities

Happy Everything!

This past weekend I went to a stamp store in Culpeper, Va that I had never been to. The shop owner happened to be working that day so we were able to talk about stamping. I love talking "shop"! I didn't buy any stamps *gasp* (saving my stamp $'s for the SU preview pre-order) but I did buy some pretty papers. The DP for this card is the "Fanci-ful" line from Junkitz. I loved the flowers and colors so of course I had to have it! I also used some of the Bazzil brads I bought for $1. The chipboad flower was covered with paper from the DCWV "Baby Girl" DP. I love the way this card turned out, so girly, and fun!
On a side note SU released the preview catalog to Demos today and I can't wait to put in an order! The new stamp sets will all be die-cut! Sa-weet! I love the in-colors also. So bright and fun. I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!