Almost December!

Wow, It is so amazing how the time can slip right by me. I guess when you work full time, have 3 kids and other activities it can happen. I meant to post this card a while ago but I had so much going on in November. I had a craft fair, then an unexpected trip back home for a funeral and then Thanksgiving. So my apologies but here is a new favorite stamp of mine. I think I have become addicted to some of the Stamping Bella stamps. An addiction may be an understatement. One day at work I did some casual shopping and $100 later I have about the whole collection! I hate when I have free time on my hands at work. It is only badness that follows!! They are so darn cute tho. This is the Christmatini stamp. I did this card for my card class this year. I have several friends that will be getting this card for the holidays too!
I used SU bashful blue, always artichoke and silver paper, markers and some SU ribbon. I painted the glass with crystal effects for that shimmery look! Hopefully, I will get some time to play with my new SU digital studio. I have a goal of making calendars for everyone for Christmas. I really wish that my photos were well organized. It would be a whole lot easier!! If I have time to show those before I send it off, I upload a month or two!

Sweet Sunday challenge #42

Yippee, I'm getting to participate in Karen's challenge this week! I was excited that I could sneak a few moments this morning to make a card for her challenge. The only downfall for the extra time was that I missed the gym because Logan had a fever when she got up! Now I need to force myself to workout at home. I might do a few minutes but it definitely won't be the great hour that I would have had. Oh well. I have a craft fair that I need to get ready for too! UGH. I really need to quit waiting until the last moment for stuff. I getting a bunch of card packs ready. I'll be posting a sample of that later in the week.



I really like making cards that are the long note version. Since, the great sample used the "Very Thankful" set, I thought I'd pull it out and ink it up! It is such a adorable set too. The proceeds go to a great cause, the Ronald McDonald House Charities. I really like using the Taken with Teal and Chocolate Chip combo too. I know the pic doesn't look like teal. One of these days, I will be become a better photogragher! Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy.

santa stamp

Good morning! Here is a little card that I created for christmas. I cased this card from a swap that I got at convention 2 years ago! The original card used Dreams du jour stamp set and the In colors. I copied the idea using the Christmas punch set. I was trying to stay with greens and red. I really like how it turned out except for the edge that I caught on the saying. I hate when I do that!

It is way more fun to post a new blog instead of cleaning up my stamp room! I really need to clean and purge and organize. Why does it take so long to clean and organize and then one session of stamping it is a disaster area? Then my kids get in the room and it really falls apart. I need to start getting ready for the yearly craft fair at work. Gotta start making some cards. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!

christmas already?

Can you believe that christmas is just around the corner? I'm still trying to adjust to back to school. Anyway, I made this card for our school's silent auction. I always make christmas cards b/c they are a big hit. I just love the medallion stamp. It is Stampin' Up's best seller. You can see why, it is so darn versatile. I copied the design from a card that I got at convention. I just changed the colors and made it a holiday card. I love how elegant it looks. I embossed the stamp with silver embossing powder and pulled out an old favorite color, riding hood red for the base and ribbon. I used the always artichoke for the green. I love the artichoke and riding hood red together. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy.

birthday bella

I just love the bellas! They are so darn sassy. This card was for one of my friend's birthday that was yesterday. At least, I remembered to snap a picture before I ran out the door for an evening out. Yippee for me!! It was nice to sneak out with friends and have a cocktail or two. Maybe that explains why I'm so darned tired right now. Or it could be that I had to work all day and then run too soccer with the 2 older ones. (Which I'm coaching the 4 year old team) and then she is having a friend spend the night. So much for sleep tonight. HUH? The first games are tomorrow. I am guessing that it will be humorous. Enough blabbing, right? Besides, Logan is hollering that I need to paint the fingernails! Enjoy cosmo bella. Thanks for stopping by.

sweet challenge

I actually fund some time to participate in Karen's challenge this week! I'm sooooo excited especially since I got to play with new toys! I dug out the sweet centers set and treat cups that I have been jonesing to play with since my order came weeks ago. I saw her sketch and new this would work great. I also am going to demonstrate this card at my workshops next week!! Who hoo. I hate to post and run but my friends just showed up for dinner. Thanks for stopping by. see ya soon.

Baby News

No it's not me!! (You thought it might be me..Ha Ha) Three is enough for me. I have so many friends that are pregnant and thankfully I'm not on the bandwagon this go around. Here is a card that I made for a friend back in St. Louis that is having her 1st baby. I love how this image looks when it is embossed. Sorry, I can't remember which set this is from. I don't know if you can tell but I was having a little static issue with the embossing powder. There are some black flecks on my card. I hate when that happens. I even used my embossing buddy! I thought I'd try out some new color combos. What do you think? my husband didn't think that is was very cheery! What does he know about color?! (Oh yeah... a lot, he's a graghic designer!)
Well, I still like it. Enough rambling for now. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

sweet sunday challenge

woo hoo! I am finally participating in one of Karen's challenges. I look at it every week and that I will make a card this week. Well, I finally did it. I guess that I'm still in the swing of things since returning from convention. I'm totally tired and ready to pass out but I made a card. I thought that I'd pull out a favorite set, Eastern Blooms. I am so tired I can't even think of what I want to say tonight. I've been trying to unpack and do laundry so I can go out of town again this weekend. We're off to Buffalo to visit the in-laws and hang out. Here is my card. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

flower power

Good morning all! I don't think I have ever posted early in the morning. I was just hanging out waiting for my kids to wake up so I can get them ready for daycare. I had a few moments, so I thought I'd share a card that I'm doing for a shoebox swap at convention. It took me forever to think of an idea for this swap. I just did feel the mojo for a while. But saturday I started to play around and I came up with this card. I saw an old sample using "Wow Flowers" and I thought how simple. You know, I've had this set for a while and I don't think that I've ever inked it up! Nothing like waiting until the last minute to start a swap when you need 49 cards! The punching is making my hand hurt!! Oh Well. Have a good day and enjoy my card. Thanks for stopping by.
Oh, I'm so bummed that my picture is a little blurry!

versamark techniques

Here are some samples that I made for my stamp club. I was demonstrating the versatility of the the versamark pad. I love versamark. There are so many things that you can do with it. I showed the emboss resist technique and dazzling diamond dust. I love emboss resist, I love everyone's faces as you brayer over the image! I kinda cheated when I did the dazzling diamond technique. Instead of using the heat and stick powder then the dd glitter, I just use iridescence ice EP. You get the same effect without the hassle! For the emboss resist card I used the thoughts and prayers set. The other card is Flight of the Butterfly with some new SU "In Colors". I used the Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry. I will have to say that the colors had to grow on me. I wasn't really fond of them the first time I saw them. Now I love them! I'm off to come up some with swap ideas for convention! I just have been putting off making anything b/c I've had no mojo. I better find it soon or I'll be in trouble. I'll show off my ideas over the weekend sometime. I have to work all weekend too. Hopefully, I won't be too tired on Sunday! Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Good bye to Kindergarten

I can't believe that my little Karl has finished his first year of school! Gosh, I can't believe how fast that year flew by! Today was his "continuation" ceremony. From the picture, he needs to learn not to pull his pants up so high! He kept on yanking past his belly! It was so cute. This card is one of several that I made for his teachers. I was trying to go with some of the "apple" theme! I just love the Tart and Tangy set. It makes me want to go out and celebrate summer. I just love the yummy dsp paper, washington apple. Too bad it is retired.
I used some crystal effects to give the apple some "pop". I also added this embellishment to the gift bag and card that I used. I love simple cards. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy.

It's been too long!

You know you've been away too long when you can't remember your password! Gosh, isn't that sad. Hopefully, I will get better about posting. I know I say that all the time. I wish that I had more time in the day or maybe less time at work! HA HA! At night, I'm so pooped that I'm usually heading off to bed at the same time as my kids. Isn't that depressing? I wish I had the energy to stay up late and get time to scrap or stamp or something. I held a scrapbook camp last weekend and we made 4 2- 12x12 page layouts. If I get some pictures on those pages, I'll post them! Hopefully this weekend I can sneak a few minutes. I have a 4-day weekend!! YEAH! and no baseball! I do need to go and give my backyard some more love. I did get a garden planted last weekend. Hopefully, I'll have some yummy veggies this summer, unless my 2 yo digs them up! I already caught him digging. Here is my card that I made for a birthday party that my daughter went to on Saturday. I love my Big Shot and what a better way to use Hello Kitty! This is such a fun die! My little Logan thinks that Hello Kitty is her toy!!! Not so much.

I need a beer!

Well at least for a card! I sure could use a cold one now but it's too late for me to start drinking. I would rather go to sleep tonight. My kids were super crabby tonight b/c they were up late last night and were up early today! I wanted to make a card tonight to post. So I headed over to Splitcoaststampers to check out the latest challenge. Here is my version for this challenge. I love just the "Sarah" paper from SU. Too bad it is retired. I think it is so sweet. I can't believe that this was the end of my stash too. What a bummer. Oh well, it's not like I don't have a ton of other paper to choose from for another project. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy.

Sunday Challenge

I finally have started to get back in the swing of things again. I'm so excited that I can do a challenge card this week. I gotta make this post quick b/c I'm sneaking in a few spare moments before the troops come rumbling inside and need a bath! I'm already hearing a basketball bouncing inside my house! I found some scraps of the Wild Wasabi paper and went from there. I was dying to try my new texture plate. I don't know if you can see it. I love those texturized plates.I apologize for not listing everything but it was all scraps I found in more drawer! As I was posting I realized that I have no saying on my card. Well, I'll have to figure out what kind of greeting it needs! Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy. It's off to bath time!

I'm finished!

Well almost. I have 1 more day at my rotation on Monday. I am in the process of finishing up my doctor of pharmacy degree (PharmD). I never would have thought that when I started in 2001 that it would have taken another 8 years to complete!! Of course I didn't know that I was going to have 3 children either! I should be graduating in May. I started my last rotation in March, that is why I have been absent. It is just to hard to do that and work a full-time job and have 3 kids. Hopefully I will get back to regular posts.
Today I took some time to enjoy our last (hopefully, keep your fingers crossed) day of winter! We made a snowman and the kids made snow angels. Then I got to sneak off to my stamp room and make a card for my mom's birthday on Friday. I'm sure that she won't be so amused by it but I love this new set.
It is "Golden Oldies" from the SU new mini catalog. I used some extra scraps laying around the long strip. I got the sketch from Clean and Simple. Check out that blog. It is so cool. The designs are so easy. I used Kiwi Kiss, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose and Rose Red. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!

Bleach it!

I was playing around today with the bleaching technique. I need to practice because I'm teaching a technique class in March and that is one technique that I'm going to be demonstrating. I love how my samples turned out. I will give you a bit of advice, use darker paper. I tried with Summer Sun and the results aren't the best! Also, do this in a well ventilated area. I was in my stamp room and I can tell! The fumes were getting potent! I used the Fifth Avenue Florals set, which I have been dying to test out! I used the Urban Garden DSP, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy paper. I think I'm addicted to the Fifth Ave floral set! I love it. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy.

sweet sunday challenge #3

Once again, Karen has a wonderful sketch. Where do they come up with the ideas? At least, I get to reap the rewards of someone else's creativity! I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone for this challenge. I needed to come up with some SAB samples so I used my new set, Yummy and the wonderful SAB DSP. Of course, I had to play with some of my new toys from the catty. Today, I was trying out my new embosslet, flower burst. I think I'm addicted. It is sooooo cool! I added a little DD glitter to the flower but I'm not sure if I like it. Maybe it will have to grow on me!
I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!

sweet sunday challenge #2

I was very excited when I saw this sketch for the challenge this week! I was anxiously awaiting my shipment from SU with my new catty goodies. I wanted to get my hands on the fabulous new punches!! I had to postpone my card until I had a few moments to spare to play with my toys! This is the card that I came up with. I don't know how Karen could squeeze 4 items across the bottom, I only could fit 3! I used the yummy new Raspberry Tart DSP and Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White CS. The words are "A Beautful Life" set and the flowers are from "Eastern Elegance" set. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

RAK!

I love when I get a fabulous card in the mail! Yesterday, I got this adorable bee card from my upline, Beckie. It is just so darn cute! I really want to get this set. Beckie always has great ideas. I love my upline! She isn't even my immediate upline but helps us anytime we need it and always sends encouragement.
I have also included some pictures of Logan's room I was using the SU! Decor Elements line with the flowers and butterflys. It totally matches her room. I think it turned out so cute! She loved helping me put them on the wall. What do you think? I know it is a little difficult to get a good perspective on these. I think I need a photo class!
thanks for stopping by!

sunday sketch challenge #1

Hats off to my fabulous sideline, Karen Giron! She has always been so creative and she is hosting weekly sketch challenges too. I'm so excited to be participating. Check out here awesome blog. She is constantly coming up with great ideas. I wish that I had an ounce of her creativity. Well, here is my card for her challenge. I was using scrap odds and ends to create this card. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Love you much!

I finally getting motivated to stamp again. I hate when I fall into a slump. The new catty has definitely given me that spark! You gotta check it out. It is so awesome!! Here is one of my samples that I'm working on for my class on Friday. I want to use so many ideas I don't know where to start! I thought I'd as least do a Valentine's day card. I'm using a stamp from the Love you much set and the yummy Candy Lane paper! I thought I throw in the new Heart to Heart punch too. Since it was lacking the wow factor, I added some pink chunky glitter. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

birthday diva!

I thought I would post a picture of what I got to do this weekend. Logan had her 4th birthday party. It was so cute to see a bunch of little girls getting all glammed up! Isn't she so darn cute! Well, I guess I am biased too. We had her party at Lollilocks, a hair salon that has birthday parties too.They all got their hair fixed and toes and fingernails painted! There were 6 little girls. They had so much fun! I promise I will post some cards later in the week. I just tired today after doing laundry!

the holidays are over!

I can't believe that I haven't posted since Thanksgiving! I'm such a slacker and I'm sorry. I don't where the time has gone. I was trying to get my christmas cards finished and shopping and all of those lame excuses. One good excuse is that I have become addicted to facebook! OMG! I can't believe how much time that I waste on that site. But I have reconnected with some lost friends and that is so much fun!
All hasn't been neglected. I did get to my friend, Kara's house, and got some scrapbooking finished. I was impressed how much I got done in a short time. I managed to complete 5 pages in about 3 hours! I love SU scraping kits. I used the "I'm Here" boy set. It was from a few cattys ago. I have included one of the more simple pages that I completed. I thought it was missing something but everyone there thought this page looked great without a lot of details. The pictures are a little hard to see but it is my DH, Karl, and 1st child Karl. I just had this pictures laying around. I thought it was a great daddy -son moment! I hope you enjoy. I promise it won't be 2 months before I post again!