Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day!


Happy Memorial Day to my American friends! I am so proud to be an American, and I am proud of my husband, father, and brother for the time they served!  Patrick was an aviation maintenance officer, Dad a hospital corpman in WWII, and Tom an F-14 pilot, all three in the U.S. Navy.

Patrick was just out of Aviation Officer Candidate School when we met in 1982...in the time since we have known each other he served in nearly every major conflict, from Grenada way back then to more recently Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  He retired in December 2007.

My card for today was an easy peasy design made super simple by the multiple designs on this single sheet of Creative Imaginations paper.  I stamped a sentiment from The {stamps} of Life set, stars4You, directly onto the patterned paper, tied on a gold bow, and added a button-studded star. 

I hope you're doing something special today with the people you love!  I am missing my extended family today...it's Tom's birthday!  Happy birthday, bro!  God bless America!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Take Care of Yourself!


Poor Matthew woke up sick on Friday morning, so it's been a rough weekend so far in our household. I felt so awful for him...he was so pale and weak.  Friday night was not much better, but thankfully yesterday he was able to eat a bit and had some color again in his cheeks.  Patrick stayed home with him so that I could take my young friend Keri to the LSS.  We have been planning to go but for various reasons kept having to delay the outing and Keri was running out of time for making a birthday card for a friend.  I needed to work on a design team assignment, but ended up stamping something else instead.  I fell in love with some pretty patterned paper and had a particular stamp in mind to go with it, and just couldn't stamp anything else until that card was "on paper."  KWIM?! 

Today's card was "born" like.  Sometimes they don't turn out exactly the way I envision, but this one did and I love it...warm and with a bit of rustic country charm!  Homemade chicken soup makes everything better, right?!

I cut the bowl with an oval nestie, then trimmed out the top with scissors and shaded the edges with Tim Holtz tea-dye and vintage photo distress inks.  I stamped the flower from The {Stamps} of Life set, getwell2You, colored and shaded it with Copic markers and added a few white accent dots with a white gel pen.  Depending on one's perspective the opposite rim of the bowl might have been visible, but I just couldn't stand to cover up any more of those cute Cosmo Cricket chickies so I opted not to add it.  A short, narrow strip of card stock forms the bowl's foot.

The design was kept simple with only some polka dot ribbon and a button for embellishments.  LOVE that the holes in the Cosmo Cricket button are teeny hearts!  So CUTE!

I hope that Matthew has a better day today! 

Friday, May 28, 2010

Life is Good!


Life is good!  I am so happy to be looking forward to a long weekend.  We have so much to be thankful for, and on this Memorial Day weekend we will be doing simple things to celebrate and remember!

Being the wife a retired USN guy definitely makes this holiday a special one...we survived!  I say that genuinely, and I hope, if you have lost a loved one, that you will know that I say that without any disrespect.  I remember being terrified about Patrick being on the deck of the carrier, praying that he would escape any mishap and safely return home.  He served in many conflicts, and the most fearful I ever was was probably during Operation Desert Storm.  I'm very grateful that he made it through those more than 26 years to his retirement.

Remembering fallen heroes is a personal thing for most military families.  Just a week or so ago I ran into a friend who lost her husband back in the early 90's when we were young military wives...all these years and she has never found another love with whom to share her life.  Her husband is one of several that I personally knew and will honor and she is one of many that I'll be lifting up in prayer this weekend, along with all the rest whose names and faces I do not know.  Thank you for your sacrifice for our freedom.

Lizzie Anne Designs is having a huge Memorial Day sale in celebration of the holiday and the official start of summer.  Everything in the store other than our Monthly Mix Sets are 20% - 50% off. Speaking of our Monthly Mix sets, if you join the club you are entitled to an ongoing 20% discount which you can use *on top* of sale items. Anyone who signs up for the club over the weekend will be emailed our exclusive Mix Member discount code immediately so you can use it during our big sale. (So for example, any stamp set that is on sale 30% off will be 50% off with your club discount code, and Retired stamp sets will be 70% off!)

We can't stop there. We must sweeten your weekend by throwing in a FREE surprise stamp with every order, just because we love ya. ;)   Now through Memorial Day, May 31st! Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

You Made My Day!


Happy Thursday!  Hope you've had a great week, and that you're looking forward to an even better weekend! 

Here's a cute Lizzie Anne Designs flower from the monthly mix, Dream Big!  When I first saw it, I immediately thought of Green at Heart, and I think they look great together, don't you?!

Meridith ("Anne" from Lizzie Anne) really DID make my day!  She sent me the sweetest email!  Love ya, girlie!  Thank you!  :)

Notes:
Dream Big from Lizzie Anne Designs
Basic Grey Green at Heart
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic markers
two-toned satin ribbon
Kaiser rhinestones

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

CGD and Color Throwdown!


How about a Color Throwdown?! i {heart} papers...specifically Chicken Girl Design at ihp...is sponsoring this week's challenge.  If you visit the Color Throwdown Website and our CGD design team you will see some adorable cards made with CGD digital images.

The more colors, the greater the degree of difficulty, so this week was a real challenge!  I chose some Basic Grey Kioshi designer paper which has every single one of these colors in the design!  Yay! It's a good thing!  My stash of some of these colors is getting quite low!  These are some of my favorites!

This is the first time this newly released OCL set, Whale of a Tale, has seen ink!  I was hoping that the Kioshi paper would look sorta like a kelp forest behind this adorable mermaid!  This layout is Mojo Sketch #140.

Notes: all from i {heart} papers
Our Craft Lounge Whale of a Tale
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
Copic markers
Nestabilities Ovals
Basic Grey button
dotted Swiss ribbon
round tab punch
leftovers from cut apart Zva Creative Crystals swirlies

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Pair of Butterflies!


I am hoping that you will *see* this week's sketch in the card that I made!  Honestly, I really did use it as a starting point.  I loved last week's sketch and already had another card made using Healing Wings, a few scraps of Chocolat and this rich brown butterfly-flocked paper, so I wanted to make another for a matching pair.  As it ended up, I did not have enough of the brown ribbon or pearls to make them that matchy-matchy, and substituted pink ribbon and some Zva swirls instead.  Here's the first one that I made last week...


It was fun to experiment with different looks for the butterflies from this beautiful set!  I stamped the full butterfly in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored it with Copic warm grays and a few pale pinks, then added a bit of Stickles sparkle to the rosettes. 

For today's card, I stamped the butterfly directly onto the designer paper in Memento ink...it worked fine even on the iridescent metallic finish of the paper, and is as soft and shimmery as the first, although in a different way.

There are many lovely sentiments in this set, but since I would like to send a sympathy card to a friend, I chose this one.  I love having butterflies on sympathy cards...the symbolism is so beautiful!

These are the kind of cards that are much prettier in person than in a photo...the photo really does not represent the soft shimmer and sparkle that you can see IRL, and the texture begs to be touched.  I hope you like them! I have LOVED working with Skipping Stones Design's stamps, and hope to see you again soon!

Be sure to visit the rest of our designers' blogs!

Jen Del Muro
Peggy Russell
Kandi Phillips
Michelle Giraud
Angela Thomas
Chelsea Van Wyke
Amanda Sewell

Smile!


Haha!  As I typed that title, my first thought was "You're on Candid Camera!"  What a blast from the past!  I guess I'm showing my age...you may be too young to remember it!  ;)

It's challenge day for our team from The {Stamps} of Life, and today's challenge is "Feeling Punchy!"  Use punches on your project.  Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site —HERE— with the keyword TSOLD11. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

I use my nesties diecuts and border punches on nearly every card, so I decided to grab some older punches and see what I could come up with. I also took a good look at my stamp sets to see if I could think of something different to do with them...and this is what resulted. The red flower is a scalloped circle punch snipped to make petals.  I used a five petal flower punch and a smaller flower to add contrast to the layers. The smilie-faced center is a circle image from Back to Basics stamped in yellow with the smilie (in Memento Tuxedo Black) from banners4All, punched with a small circle punch and given a little Copic marker blush.

The leaves are the hearts and "feathers" from the arrow in love2Hug, on a banner string "stem" with a scallop edge punched border atop a layer of snipped grass.

I doodled a few lines and dots here and there with either a black multiliner or white gel-pen.  The black mat, brads and gingham bow seem to brighten the black of the smilie and the sentiment.

Hope you like it!  It was a lot of fun, and has a sort of happy, kiddie-card charm, dontcha think?!

Here are links to more inspiration from our team!

Beverly
Jen G
Joana
Jeanne
Laura
Vicki

Sunday, May 23, 2010

CPS Sketch #168


This week the {stamps} of life is sponsoring Card Positioning Systems sketch #168...we actually have a special release set, hip2be, that is full of square images that would be perfect for this week, but I thought it might be a go-to set for our designers*, so I thought I would try something a little different!

My card is an *Old Glory* style card that reminds me of calico quilts and Americana dolls...it is a hybrid card made with both clear stamps and digital brushes using one of this month's special release sets, stars4You.  The card base is made with clear stamps and stamped-off gold ink on ivory card stock.  The focal images are made with the digital brushes.  I used nestabilities squares to cut and emboss the mats for the stars, and gave everything a light sponging with Tim Holtz tea-dye distress ink.  Couldn't resist adding a red bow tied with a sparkly gold button.

Aren't you glad it's almost summer?!


*eta:  How funny that the three cards I've seen from our team so far all used stars4You!  I decided to also share a Father's Day card made with hip2be and all4Dads.  Even though I made this back in April, it could almost fit as a flipped version of today's sketch...what do you think?!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Little Monster!


Don't you just LOVE this adorable Little Monster from Lizzie Anne Designs?! This image just cracks me up, and I don't think I could have had more fun making this card!  I love the mix of girlie-girl colors and frilliness with just enough distress ink and scariness to give this card a Tom-boy feel! Definitely quirky! ;)

Lizzie Anne Designs has an exciting promotion going on TODAY ONLY! We are listing four of our Monthly Mix sets at the club price of $25.00 today (Saturday, May 22nd!)! If you aren't a Mix Member and you would like to try out our stamp sets before deciding to join the club, now is your chance! The following stamp sets are $25.00 today:

It's Good to Be Queen
Singing in the Rain
Celebrate
Christmas Wishes

The retail price for these sets is $39.99 so get them today while you can... we know you'll love our Mix sets. They are a tremendous value.

Also, when you sign up for the club you can choose an additional Mix set for only $10.00! This is 75% off the retail cost. For more information, visit the Monthly Mix Club page HERE!

Visit the Couture Cardstock blog for the step-by-step instructions for the making of this quirky card.  Here's a list with links to the products I used from Lizzie Anne Designs, i {heart} papers, and Couture Cardstock.

Notes:
Little Monsters
Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Tim Holtz tea-dye distress ink
Copic markers
Basic Grey Kioshi designer paper, buttons
Couture Cardstock (Detail Blending Paper, Artistry, Charcoal)
Circles, Labels 3, and Double-ended Tag Nestabilities
Sheer pink ruffle edge ribbon
Tiny pearls (colored w/ Copics), black brads

Friday, May 21, 2010

Artistic Grapes


I'm so excited that today is my first *official* post on Couture Cardstock's blog!  My assignment was to work with the monochromatic family A Rose by Any Other Name, which was a perfect fit for me since pink is one of my favorite colors!

The rich colors of tuber and coppelia inspired me to stamp this image from Hero Arts' Artistic Grapes.  I stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black on detail blending paper cut and embossed with a nestabilities label 10 die, and colored the grapes with a combination of Copic markers and a white Prisma color pencil for highlights.  A vertical strip of Applejack was edged with a MS edge punch and some strips of gorgeous two-toned satin ribbon.  All of the papers were distressed and sponged with Tim Holtz tea-dye ink.  I finished with a bow easy two-loop bow, and a few sparkling jewels.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Don't pop a button!


Just a quick post as I'm on my way to meet some friends!  This is for today's Dirty Dozen/Dirty Dozen Alumni challenge, hosted by Bev!  You KNOW how black really makes colors pop?!  Well, today, we can't use ANY!  Not ink, paper, or anything...and the required element is buttons since last month we were not allowed to use them.

My card uses Kaisercraft papers, and Lizzie Anne's cute little bird from Dream Big, along with BoBunny and Basic Grey buttons, jute thread and some delicious orange velvet corduroy ribbon.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

World's Greatest Hooker!


Hehe!  Did that title get your attention? Before your mind goes to the depths, let me tell you my story! Some of you may have seen it already! ;) But first, a little official business so you know where you are and where you should be...just in case!

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design’s Blog Hop to celebrate the release of two new stamp sets, Holy Carp, and Home of the Brave. If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. You should have arrived from Kandi's blog.

Combined with the blog hop today, it's also Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday which means the Design Team is showcasing another great creation from Jen del Muro. We'd love for you to play along with the sketch. Just remember to use the keywords SSD025 if you are uploading to any online galleries or link your card at the Skipping Stones Blog. We'll be looking soon for Guest Designers so you never know....

OK...back to my story!

On the day before MY BIRTHDAY in 2006, my husband and I were fishing on his parents' pontoon boat on the lake near their home just outside of Iron Mountain, Michigan. He cast, and I heard this whiz of a sound, and OUCH!  This big six hook lure was stuck in the top of my head! Umm...happy birthday? Yeah! It was really stuck, so we had to boat through the lake back to the cottage, and I ended up in ER with two stitches!

The funny thing was that I had had this song *stuck in my head* (okay, silly pun not intended!) for almost a week (I'm thinking, *okay Lord, can we puleeeze change channels?*), and even with this hook stuck in the top of my head, I had to bite my tongue not to sing it out loud! And here's part of the 2nd verse!
Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering,
though there's pain in the offering,
Blessed be Your name.....
and as SOON as the ER doctor got the hook out, the song went away! Poof! Isn't that funny?!

After that we were all making goofy jokes about my husband....he hooked me, he lured me, he reeled me in....LOL. Poor guy, he felt so awful. I'm never gonna let him live it down ;) and couldn't help but giggle and scheme when I very first saw the images and sentiments from this soon-to-be-released Skipping Stones Design stamp set! Perfect! The Golden Hooker Award! Ha! It is a good thing he is such a great sport!

Not long after that a friend made a fishing card with a real live hook on it for a challenge, and I commented about my experience with those dangerous *fly thingys*...Cindy Motherway saw my comment, and she took it and ran, and made me this card so we have really milked the story for all it was worth! This stamp set made it worth the revisit for another laugh!

Honestly, I forgave Patrick a long time ago, but it still makes me nervous to stand next to him when he's got a rod and reel in his hand!

Just a little about my card. I've had the paper forever...my mom bought it for me at Michael's literally years ago. I'm gradually workin' through the stash! I stamped the fish with Memento Rich Cocoa, colored him with Copics (warm gray 1, 3, and 5), and added some gold spica glitter to his harp and halo. Kept it super simple because my guy is definitely no frills. I did add some distress ink, and a little green bow that hopefully looks sorta like an award ribbon!



Well, this is a very long post, but I couldn't resist making another card with today's other new release, especially since Patrick is retired USN after serving over 26 years!  I hope you will say a prayer for those who serve our country, and tell them thanks every chance you get!  I can tell you first-hand what a sacrifice it is for the whole family...the military life requires frequent moves, lots of time apart, and the willingness to risk life and limb to protect the freedom so many of us take for granted.  That's why I really love this sentiment!    

This card uses a scrap of some of my favorite patriotic stars, along with a stripe which is the flip side of some Little Yellow Bicycle St. Patrick's Day paper!  The airplane (which Patrick tells me is probably an F-16, an Air Force plane), was stamped in Versamark, and the sentiment overstamped with tapped off Night of Navy.  There's just a light touch of more distress ink, some Prima bling, and one teeny tiny Basic Grey red button.

Hope you had fun while you were here, and that you'll come back!  I'd be thrilled if you'd become a follower!  I really loved this sketch, and have another card made using it (thanks, Jen!) but this post is way too long already!  I'll have to share it another day!  And yes!  I am definitely trying to lure you back (Sorry!  Couldn't resist another corny fishing pun)!

I'm so glad you hopped by for today's Skipping Stones Design sketch and new release preview!  Next stop for you is Peggy's!  Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

ihp Design Team Challenge

Today our i {heart} papers design team is CASEing cards made by our new stamp designer, Kimberly Crawford. Kimberly recently started her own stamp line, Mint Motif, and her first two sets are a big hit!

Very Square and Very Square Sentiments are designed to work with one another so that the sentiments of one set fit inside the patterned prints of the other.  Cool, huh!  Well, I don't have either set...YET!  I still wanted to CASE Kimberly's first card using her very first stamp sets, so I came up with this design using some tulle and nestabilities squares of card stock.  I used a sentiment from the Hero Arts set, Huge Hugs, and some black rhinestones to dress up this long card design of pink accented with black.


My second card uses another Hero Arts set, What's Perking?, and CASEs another one of Kimberly's adorable cards.  I loved her subtle polkadot background, so I chose a dotted print from Basic Grey's Green at Heart for mine.

The sentiment from this set is rather large, so to keep to Kimberly's sketch I stamped it on shrinky dink punched with a nesties tag.  Here you can see it stamped its original size and how it looks scaled to size for the card.  LOVE that pop of bright orange ribbon!

Visit the other ihp design team members to see what they've created for today's challenge!

Monday, May 17, 2010

A Playful Package


The Lizzie Anne Designs girls were issued a challenge to use our stamps to design or decorate some packaging, so I grabbed Playful Pals and some Basic Grey 12 x 12 Max and Whiskers to make a little doggie bag.  I used matching buttons, some jute, and a big American Crafts bow to decorate the flap, which includes a magnetic closure.

This soaring doggie with his ears floating on air just makes me grin from the inside out and he's sure to make a dog lovin' pet owner happy!

Links to the rest of our designers and their creations are on the Lizzie Anne blog!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Fun Classes!


Yesterday was such a fun Saturday! I spent the day in Ocala at Priceless Scrapbooks teaching two classes on cards with fancy folds and Our Craft Lounge stamps.  For each two hour class we made two cards, and the ladies got a fun stamp set to take home too...we had such a great time!

For the morning class we used my fav set from the new release, Life is a Picnic, to make an easel card and a gift card wallet.  I adore this BoBunny Jasmyne paper!  The colors are so warm and lovely, and the pinks were perfect for this sweet watermelon image.  The ant was colored with warm grays which blended great with the tones of the paper.  What do you think of the little flower on the inside of the card?  Instead of using it as a mound of grass with a flower the way it was intended, I decided to turn it on its side so it would look like a flower with little fern-like leaves...do you think it worked?  I just wanted to try to get my students to look at their stamps and begin to think about different ways to use them instead of being bound by convention.

The drive from Fleming Island to Ocala is a beautiful one along small state roads and one larger divided highway, transitioning from our wide, majestic St. John's river and flat marshlands to the rolling hills of Florida's horse country...miles of white fences, pastures of cattle and horses, stands of oaks, orange and pecan trees.  While the days are long and I can go and come during daylight hours, it is a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  :)

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!  Blessed Sunday!

Notes:
Life's a Picnic 
Copic markers
small and large nestabilities circles
crepe ribbon, jute thread
Tim Holtz distress ink
EK border punch

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Mix it Up!


It's the 15th, which means several things!
  1. It's time for Lizzie Anne Design's Monthly Mix preview!
  2. Two new dirty girls are introduced and a new SCS Dirty Dozen gallery opens
  3. There is a new Copic Creations challenge. 
I spent the morning yesterday at the LSS with Asela and Latisha working on design team projects.  We had so much fun!  Asela and I agreed that since we each live in testosterone-dominant households that we really need a regular dose of pink and frilly, so here's mine!  ;)

Of course, with a blog named With a Stamp and a Song, it should be no surprise that the first image that would catch my eye from this month's mix, Life is Good, would be this sweet little singing birdie!  Doesn't this delightful Imaginisce Daisy May patterned paper make a perfect match?!  If you look closely you'll notice that it even has a little birdie amongst all those flowers, and the flip side is pink stripes!  LOVE those BoBunny dots in PINK too!  All on a dark brown Bazill textured background. 

I stamped the birdie with Memento Rich Cocoa, colored her with Copics, and then added a few girlie pink buttons and some light pink crinkled crepe ribbon...simple and sweet!  Hope you like it!

Visit the Lizzie Anne blog to find links to more peeks at this month's new mix, along with information about our new monthly mix blog hop!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Mint Motif Release!

Today's a big day for Kimberly Crawford and i {heart} papers as the first two sets from Mint Motif, Kimberly's new stamp line, are released for sale!

Very Square
Very Square Sentiments

Take a peek at what Kimberly and her design team have got goin' on today!  And have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

Kimberly Crawford – designer
Charlene Austin
Latisha Yoast
Geny Cassady
Kazan Clark
Julie Overby
Kate - owner

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tweet Thang!


I am so happy that I actually got to play today's SCS sketch!  I am really lovin' my new Our Craft Lounge sets, and this little birdie is a real cutie!  This set, Tweet Thang, has lots of adorable images and fun sentiments.

This particular image was one that I had colored as I was preparing for a class I'm teaching this weekend at Priceless Scrapbooks in Ocala.  I had colored two using my Copics, and for the card I'm teaching I preferred the brighter look without the background shading...so this one got set aside and gave me a head start on today's card.  To fit the sketch I added a nesties square panel stamped with a sentiment and a little butterfly.  Love the colors of this Basic Grey Kioshi designer paper, and that olive herringbone ribbon!  I clipped some Zva swirlies apart to make 'em fit the way I wanted for a little butterfly trail.  I'm tempted to take my multiliner and draw in a few little birdie song notes!

This was a fun sketch and I am sure I'll try it again!

What's Perking?


I guess I've really been in a coffee kind of mood lately! ;) This dainty cup is from Hero Arts' set, What's Perking, available at i {heart} papers. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Couture Cardstock's "one sheet wonder," a 150lb white cardstock perfectly suited for one layer cards using Copic markers.  Oh, let me tell you, this stuff is a dream!  Nice, saturated color and NO bleed through!

This clean and simple layout uses Blessings (CCPK08) cardstock from the monochromatic family, A Rose By Any Other Name, punctuated by a lighter weight layer of charcoal card stock (CGBK05), a few black rhinestones and a sheer pink blossom.  The flowers on the cup were given a layer of Glossy Accents to mimic glazed enamel, along with rhinestone centers for more dimension.  The green of the cup and the ribbon ties the whole design together.

I don't know about you, but some hot coffee in a pretty cup just makes me happy!  ;)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Skipping Stones Sketch


Here's another fun sketch from Jen del Muro for Skipping Stones Design with Funny Coffee Volume I! I used some brand new Basic Grey Capella designer paper, Tim Holtz distress ink, a few pearls and an ivory satin bow-easy double bow.  I haven't stamped the sentiment inside yet, so it could become either a birthday or thank you!

Lots more inspiration here!

Jen Del Muro
Peggy Russell
Kandi Phillips
Michelle Giraud
Angela Thomas
Chelsea Van Wyke
Amanda Sewell

Tempting Textures



The DT girls at The {Stamps}of Life decided to throw out a bi- monthly challenge to each other. Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site – HERE — with the keyword TSOLD10. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

Our challenge this week is “Tempting Textures!” (TSOLD10). Use textures on your card. They could be faux or real textures. Get creative!  I used my new stars cuttlebug embossing folder along with one of our new special release sets, Stars4You, and then kept the card very simple, masculine and rustic with the exception of some sparkly bling!  I may have to go back and ink up that ribbon just a bit! ;)

Check out what Jeanne, Joana, Stephanie and Vicki have created, and then get busy on your own!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!


For all of you who are mothers, I wish you the happiest Mother's Day ever! May you have love, peace, and rest!

My mom loves gardening, so today I am sharing with you a card featuring a flower that was made with the new banners4all set from the {stamps} of life. It was really fun working with this set, especially trying to think of something different to do with it...and you should see the cool things our amazing design team came up with!

For my card, I stamped the triangular shape on striped designer paper, cut out the triangles and arranged them one overlapping the other in a circle, adding a punched five-petal flower and a Jolie's sequined flower center.  I love the way it turned out!  The rest of the card is dainty and delicate with all of the open white space, scalloped edges, Swiss dot texture, and the frayed *leaves*.

Mom, I love you!  I'll be thinking of you all day long!  Talk to you soon!  :)

And for all of you...I hope that you enjoy your day with your family, and that you get to do something that makes you feel special, 'cause you are!

Friday, May 7, 2010

ihp news!

I was hoping to have a card to share with you this afternoon...lots of stamping behind-the-scenes, but nothing that I can show yet!  I have made over a dozen cards in the last few days...


Stamping is not the only thing that's been keeping me busy!  Since this shiny new pair of appliances arrived, they've been running non-stop.  I've washed a week's worth of laundry, all of the sheets, comforters, even our down pillows!  The steam-fresh cycle (no water) is wonderful!  Being without the dryer for a week certainly made me appreciate this small luxury!  I am so grateful to have them, and for how smoothly the installation went!  Woohooo Home Depot!  ;)

I'm still working on the studio...it's coming along!  I just haven't had much time to dedicate toward getting moved in!

Heheh...all that may not be so exciting to the rest of you, but here's some news that is exciting indeed!  ihp is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of a brand new stamp line by Kimberly Crawford called Mint Motif.  Take a look at the veritable Who's Who on her design team!  I'm so happy to welcome my IRL local friend, Latisha!  Be sure to stop by their blogs to see peeks of the two coordinating sets, Very Square and Very Square Sentiments, which will be released on the 14th.







Kimberly Crawford – designer
Charlene Austin
Latisha Yoast
Geny Cassady
Kazan Clark
Julie Overby
Kate - owner

Happy weekend!  Hope to see you again soon!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

SSD Sketch Tuesday


I'm very excited to finally share with you that I am guest designing this month for Skipping Stone Design. Heather has invited me to participate in some of their previous blog hops, and every time I have thoroughly enjoyed working with their stamps! So much fun! In fact, I really had trouble narrowing choices for which stamps I wanted to work with and Heather was very generous! I have plenty to keep my busy, and Heather will have a few extra cards for her display boards! That's a win-win situation!  So excited to be sharing this month of guest designing with the fabulous SSD team and two other guest designers, Jennifer Ingle and sketch artist Jen del Muro!  Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it!

Today's card is for Skipping Stones' Sketch Tuesday, and this sketch from Jen was a blast!  I love this Material Girl paper from Cosmo Cricket, and thought it would be fun teamed with some linen-textured Coredinations card stock and the lovely hats from Well-Behaved special edition. I colored them with my Copics, keeping the colors light and transparent. The papers were sponged with Tim Holtz distress ink to warm the colors just a bit.  A few buttons and some cotton cording are in keeping with the tailors' and haberdashery theme.

I love the way this turned out!  The whole thing just makes me smile because it reminds me of learning to sew...my mom taught me when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and for most of my high school years I made all of my own clothes.  I even made my own wedding dress!  I continued to sew almost everything until Matthew was born...and now I sew on some of my cards! I didn't sew on this one (would have loved to, because it really would have made it a lot cuter) since my sewing machine is currently inaccessible. If you've been reading my blog, you know that I'm in the process of converting the spare bedroom into a studio...but the dryer went out this past weekend, so all our time and energy was diverted into finding a new one. I am thrilled to say that our mission was accomplished today, and that hopefully by tomorrow I'll be tackling the mountain of laundry that has accumulated in the meantime!

Many of you *just* missed the PMS sale that Skipping Stones Design held recently. Well, you are in luck!  Beginning today, and ending Friday, May 7th at midnight, the sale has been extended!

P.M.S. stands for Purchase More Stamps: the more you buy, the more you save!
Buy 1 stamp sets save 5% enter Coupon code PMS1 at checkout
Buy 2 stamp sets save 10% enter Coupon code PMS2 at checkout
Buy 3 stamp sets save 15% enter Coupon Code PMS3 at checkout
Buy 4 stamp sets save 20% enter Coupon code PMS4 at checkout
Buy 5 stamp sets save 25% enter Coupon Code PMS5 at checkout

I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the SSD team has done with the sketch!  Be sure to visit the Skipping Stones Design website to find links to their creations and to take advantage of the extended sale!

Monday, May 3, 2010

May Flowers for Mom


Here's a card for today's SCS Clean and Simple challenge...May Flowers/Mother's Day. The only stamping on it is the Lizzie Anne sentiment (from It's Good to be Queen). LOVE the colors in this KaiserCraft Peachy Keen 6 x 6 designer paper and punch-out elements. I don't typically work with kits like this, but I did have a good time with this quick card, which is based on Joslyn's LAD sketch for the week.

Can't wait to get to actually stamp in my new studio (especially since evidently the light in the dining room must not be so fabulous!  I promise that this ribbon matched until I walked away from the table)!  I am making slow progress getting all of my stuff put away and the desktop cleared so that I can finally move in because I've had lots of deadlines along with the major distraction of the dryer finally dying.  That means we've been appliance shopping...ugh, makes my head hurt!  Certainly makes one appreciate everyday conveniences!  Ha, never thought I'd ever say I wish I could do laundry!  ;)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

tsol release


There's a new gallery open at the {stamps} of life featuring a brand new set, banners4all. What a fun, versatile set this is! Our design team had a fun time thinking of different ways to use the triangular banner shapes...you have GOTTA go see their fabulous cards!

This set has lots of little sentiments that fit inside the banners, or you can use them on their own. I paired the "welcome" from this set with "precious one" from a club exclusive to make this hybrid baby boy card using the banners the traditional way.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!  Happy Sunday!