{A Simple Gift of Love}

Wow,  I did not think I would be back to post so quickly but here I am! Although I am not sure how often I will be able to post I will try to check in as often as I can. Today's card is a card I made before Connor was born using an SCAL file that I found on the web. I love the simplicity of this card and the sweet, simple sentiment. We have much to celebrate this Christmas Season, the birth of our Saviour, and the birth of our second son Connor. We welcomed him into this world on Wed. Dec 15th at 6:36 PM. He weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz. He is such a great baby, he is a wonderful nurser, and he loves to sleep! Now I know the sleep patterns will change but I am enjoying it while I can! Here is a pic of Connor:             

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and prayers, and for visiting my blog and sharing the last 9  months with me.  Connor is a joy, and is as adorable as his big brother! Thank you for visiting my blog and have a Merry Christmas!

{Ok, I Couldn't Resist...}

 I had to make another Christmas card! Actually, because I will be having a baby in the next 6 days I am on strict Husband orders to take it easy. Now taking it easy with a 3 year old isn't that "easy", but when I do have down time and have forced myself to sit down I would rather be sitting in my craft room then sitting in front of the TV! So, I decided to play along with a few challenges today! For my card I used an adorable image from Bugaboo Stamp Co . That reindeer makes me smile! I colored  him with Pro-Markers and accented his nose, belt, and the star with glassy glaze. The DSP is from Stampin' Up! and I machine stitched around the layers. It is tough to tell from the picture but I used a snowflake Cuttlebug folder on the Crumb Cake layer. I used my SU Scallop Ribbon border punch, and Making Memories holly leaves with Wal-Mart holiday buttons I bought on clearance last year. I love this colorful card! I am playing along with the following challenges today:

Card Patterns Weekly Sketch Blog - Sketch 93

Bugaboo Catch The Bug Blog Challenge - Anything Goes

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge # 88 -

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{Baby It's Cold Outside!}

Oh my gosh it has been way too long since my last post, but life has been busy! I am 38 weeks pregnant, and have been in full force nesting mode. I have enough Christmas cards to last this year, and next, so I won't be making too many more of those. Instead, I have been working on Baby Announcements! I picked up this adorable set  "Baby Love" by Inkadinkado last week at Michael's and knew it would be perfect for my Baby announcements. I used DSP from the Martha Stewart Baby Boy stack. I stamped the images on white card stock, and again on DSP. I colored the images using Pro-Markers, and then cut out the pieces stamped on DSP with paper snips and adhered them to the main image. I love this stamp set because they are perfect for paper piecing! I used SU Crumb Cake card stock, and GP White for the card bases.  I love the way my announcements turned out, and can't wait to fill them out! Thank you for visiting my blog, and have a great day!

{A First For Me}

Hello and welcome to my little place in blogging land! Today I am thrilled to be a Guest Designer for the very cool sketch blog "Card Patterns".  We were asked to create a card using this sketch:

For my card I used Holiday DSP from KC and Co featuring non traditional colors. I embossed the DSP with a Cuttlebug snowflake folder, and machine stitched around the card. The Christmas tree was made using the Stampin' Up! scallop ribbon punch and two shades of green card stock. I added buttons as ornaments, and finished off the card with the sentiment, and ribbon. I loved this sketch, and invite you to play along with the sketch this week! Thanks to the designers at Card Patterns for inviting me to be a Guest Designer! Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{Friday at Last}

This has been a VERY long week, and I am so happy Friday is finally here! I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week, and getting one week closer to delivery! Ok, for my card today I used the Stampin' Up! set "Welcome Christmas". I stamped the wreath, and accented the berries with candy cane Stickles. The Christmas sentiment was stamped in 2 colors of ink and paper pieced together. I used my SU Mat Stack to pierce holes around the tag , and the SU embossing folder "Petals a Plenty" on the corners.  The DSP is from the SU as well. Finally the button are BasicGrey. Today I am playing along with a few challenges:

The Paper Players - Color Challenge 

Card Patterns Weekly Sketch Blog -

Paper Pal Arts - Clean and Simple

  Thank you for visiting my blog today and have a GREAT weekend!

{Winter Wishes}

Oh my gosh what a week this has been. My son and I picked up a stomach bug over the weekend and today I am finally feeling better. Yesterday I had my 35 week check up and baby is still breech, not good, but hopefully he will turn in the next two weeks. Thankfully I am feeling better today. For my card today I used an adorable stamp by Elzybells. I am sad that they are no longer making or selling stamps, but happy that the creator and owner will be designing stamps for Penny Black. Love those cute images! I colored the image with Pro-Markers, and added a light blue "aura" around the image using SU Bashful Blue chalks and a make-up spunge. The DSP is from KC and Company and the snowflakes by Making Memories. The snowflake ribbon is by American Crafts. I love the simplicity of this card, and I hope you enjoy it to! Today I am playing along with the following challenges:

Etsy Inspired Challenge:

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{Pretty Poinsettia}

Do you ever have one of those days when no matter what you do to your card, it just doesn't look exactly right? Well, this is one of those days for me! After all the changes and add ons I made to this card I knew I just had to post it! For my card I used my Cricut, and SCAL software to die-cut the layered poinsettia. I sprayed the flowers with water, crumpled them up and set them out to dry over night. I sponged them with Bravo Burgundy ink, and added shimmer paint to the edges. The music note ribbon is from Michael's and the vintage lace from an estate sale I went to. The music note paper is from another page of actual piano sheet music, and the sentiment is from the SU set "Curly Cute".  I hope that you like my card today, it went thru a lot to get here. LOL  Here are some of the challenges I am playing along with today!

 2 Sketches4You Weekly Challenge :

Caardvarks - Holiday Die Cuts

Paper Play Challenges - Ribbon Lace and Flowers

Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes

As always thank you for visiting my blog today!

{Holiday Spirit}

This weekend I was able to work on my Christmas card stash, and I'm happy to report that I finished 6 cards. I know, it doesn't seem like much, but my back has been killing me, and I can't sit down and work on cards for more then 10 minutes at a time. 6 cards is a big accomplishment for me! The card I am posting today is a special card that I made for a few weekly challenges. The stamp set featured on my card is "Patterned Pines" from Stampin' Up. The red brocade DSP is from last years SU Holiday Mini. It is so pretty I have a hard time using it! The music note DSP is from an old piano book I picked up at a yard sale a couple of years ago. I just can't see buying music DSP when I have stacks of piano books so this worked out perfectly! I used my SU ribbon scallop punch to accent the piano music. And finally I finished off the card with a Foo-Fa-La button and linen thread bow. I am playing along with the following challenges:

Christmas Card Challenges - inspiration picture

Cupcake Craft Sketch Challenge

Card Patterns Sketch 88

Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge 22

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

A cutie for Friday!}

Hello, and welcome to my little part of the world! Today my card features a super cute image from "Bugaboo Stamps". I just happened to come across these images from checking out someones blog post and boy oh boy I am hooked! I love the "cutsie" look and can't  help but smile when I look at them. For my card I used DSP and ribbon from Cosmo Cricket. I colored the image with Pro-Markers, and the felt flowers are from Zva Creative. For once I got a  great picture of the glossy accents I added to the heart, bow, and cute little bear nose. I finished off the card with machine stitching around all of the layers. Today I am playing along with a few challenges:

2 Sketches 4 You weekly challenge - Kazan's Sketch#65

Paper Play Challenges - Circles!

Raise The Bar Challenge# 43- Let's see those curves!

City Crafter Challenge Week 29 - Get your Digi on!

I am also joining in for a Design Team call at Bugaboo Stamps because I love these cute images SO much! I have never been on a DT, but hey, its worth a try! The card above featuring the adorable baby girl is my "1st" submission, and here are 2 of my favorite cards:

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{Just One More..!}

I rarely, if ever have two posts in one day but I wanted to share another Christmas card that I created for the Caardvark Weekly Challenge. For this card I used the SU set "Welcome Christmas". I cut out the layered shape with my Cricut Expression and stamped the main image in SU  Early Espresso ink. The outside edge of the shape was sponged using the same color of ink. The DSP is from Stampin' Up! I used a Hero Arts stamp for the stitching on the dsp layer. The ribbon is from SU, and Hobby Lobby, and finally the poinsettia is by Making Memories.

The Caardvark challenge this week was to create a card decorated on the outside, and inside. I used the same shape, only smaller to stamp the sentiment, and the embossed background is Petals-a-plenty by SU. I accented the card with another Making Memories flower only in a different shade. I LOVE this card, and enjoyed making it. Thank you so much for visiting my blog....again. *smiles*

{It isn't too early...}

It isn't too early to start working on Christmas cards! I wanted to wait till at least Nov. 1st and now that November is here I am giving myself the green light.  I am having a baby the 2 week of December, so I want to get my cards made, and ready to be mailed so that I won't have to worry about it after our bundle of joy gets here. Anyways, the card I made today features a large Unity stamp called "Harmonious Sprigs". The stamp has a lot of detail and I wanted the smoothest stamping surface possible so I stamped the image on glossy photo paper I picked up at Staples last year. I am SO pleased with the end result! Using my SU markers I colored the pine branches on the main image, and paper pieced the pine cones to add a 3-d effect.  I used a sponge, and SU So Saffron ink to distress the image. I punched 2 strips of SU Ridinghood Red paper with a SU punch, and accented the card with pretty red ribbon from Michael's. I LOVE the classic feel of this card, and now I just have to decide who to send it to! Today I am playing along with a couple of challenges:

Unity Hip Hop Sketch #31

The Paper Players Challenge #22 - Anything goes

Thank you for visiting my blog today, and have a great day!

{Red, Red Rose}

Hello and welcome to my blog! I hope that wherever you are, your day is going well.  Today I felt like trying some of the paper and ribbon folds that seem to be all the rage these days. It isn't hard at all, and the great thing about the "shabby" look is that the folds don't have to be perfect. If you have not tried this technique yet I encourage you to give it a try! My card features a rose stamp from  Clearly Inspired clear stamps called "Brushed Florals", and a sentiment from the SU set "A Word For You". I used SU Cherry Cobbler as my card base, and Cherry Cobbler, and Old Olive ink for the rose. The DSP is from the BasicGrey "Ambrosia" collection. The stitching around the card was done with the new Hero Arts clear set "Sew Artsy". I think it looks great, and I love that I didn't have to get my sewing machine out! I used a Martha Stewart punch for the black accordion fold, and the ribbon is from Big Lots. Finally I accented the card with Hiedie Swap rhinestones, and BasicGrey buttons. This card is out of my comfort zone, but for the most part I am happy with the way it turned out! Today I am playing along with the following challenges:

Mojo Monday  Sketch163 -

Craft Cardmakers 33- stitching

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

{November is finally here!}

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the official start of November then by creating a Fall/Thanksgiving card. I love the sentiment because it is a reminder that we all have a lot to be thankful for! For my card today I used the SU set "Funky Four", and "Greetings Galore". I stamped the tree stamp in 4 different colors of SU ink, More Mustard, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, and Ruby Red. The DSP is from BasicGrey, and was embossed using one of my new Cuttlebug folders. The felt ribbon is from Michael's. I distressed the edges of the main image and added a strip of card stock punched with the SU Ribbon Scallop Punch. The card base is Crumb Cake. Today I am playing along with these challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #83 - Fall Theme

Card Patterns Sketch #88

Cupcake Craft Challenge #115 - Thank you with Autumn Colors

Crafty Creations Challenge#91 - Halloween/Autumn

Bugaboo Stamps Catch The Bug Challenge - Autumn

Easy Craft Projects Challenge #24 - Autumn

{MoxieFab Flowers!}

Wow, another weekend has come and gone. I wish they would last just a little bit longer! Today I am playing along with the Moxi Fab World Tuesday Trigger. Here is our inspiration this week:

For my card I used the Stampin' Up! set "Garden Greetings". I love the bold outlines of this set. I stamped the flowers in Crushed Currry, and the sentiment in Soft Suede. I used DSP from BasicGrey which I think is a PERFECT match to the main pattern of the sweater. I cut 2 strips of card stock again in Crushed Curry, and Soft Suede, distressed the edges, and adhered them to the DSP. I accented the center of the flowers with brads by Karen Foster, and a button from Making Memories.  I think my card matches the color, and design of the sweater in many ways, the DSP, the yellow buttons amd striped fringe on the collar. I am very pleased with my card! I am glad you stopped by to take a peek of my blog today, and hope you come back to visit!

{Halloween Sweetie}

I have never been a fan of scary Halloween like ghouls, goblins, and skeletons, but I LOVE cute Halloween! This image by Pink Cat Studios is so darn cute and I had to have it. For this card I used DSP from SU. The image was colored with Pro-Markers, with a few SU markers also. The ribbon is from a roll I picked up at a flea market, I have never used it on a card and thought it would be perfect for this card! I sanded the black dsp with a sanding block, and sponged the edges of the layers with red, and black ink. The sentiment is from a House Mouse Halloween set.  Finally I accented the card with a flower I made using the SU Scallop circle punch with a Making Memories fabric brad in the center. I know this card doesn't have the classic orange, black, purple or green Halloween colors, but I think it is a fun, light hearted alternative to the darker images of Halloween. I am playing along with 2 challenges today:

The Paper Players Challenge - Create a card using one DSP, something punched, and a sentiment.

PaperPlay Challenges - Make a Halloween card.

      Play along with these challenges if you get a chance! Thank you for visiting my blog today, and thank you in advance if you leave a comment! 

{A Spooktacular Halloween}

First let me say I think this is one of the cutest Halloween images I have ever seen! Secondly, this card is an especially special card because it is the FIRST digital stamp I have ever purchased, and used! This adorable image is by "Pink Cat Studios".  The DSP is "June Bug" by BasicGrey. I printed the image on Very Vanilla card stock with my laser printer, and colored using Prismacolor pencils, and OMS. (oderless mineral spirits) The sentiment is from the SU set "Greetings Galore, and the ribbon is a roll I picked up at the Offray Ribbon Outlet.  I machine stitched around the layers, and the card base is SU Crumb Cake. I am playing along with a few challenges today first Cupcake Inspirations. Here is this weeks inspiration picture:

 The second challenge is the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge, where we were supposed to create a card using these colors:

And the last challenge I am playing along with is the Dutch Dare Card Challenge. This weeks challenge is to create a Halloween card.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope you are having a great Monday!