Warning: I’m very “chatty” this morning. Not sure why, maybe it’s the coffee :D 

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend. I’d love to hear what everyone has planned for the week. I like knowing I’m not the only one running like a chicken with her head cut off!!

Alexa returns to school tomorrow. I’m a bit terrified, but I can’t keep her home all winter. The rest of us haven’t gotten sick so that is promising.

Noah has his 3rd birthday party to attend this weekend. I will share the cards I made for those tomorrow. I need to brush up on my BOY themed skills! I’m always ALL GIRL.

Today we are going to get some pumpkins and stuff from our local farm, as I wonder HOW I can clone myself to be in THREE places at once on Friday at the children’s Harvest Parade! Each of my children has a party, and the older 2 participate in a town wide parade, while Amber is at the school in her first parade, that takes place THERE at the SAME time! I’m so torn!!!! I’m actually going to tell the afternoon K teacher about the time conflict and see if she can maybe begin the K parade a tiny bit earlier! I’m sure I’m not the only parent with a child in K and older ones in the school. Doesn’t hurt to ASK. If it can’t be changed I’ll go to Amber’s parade first, then FLY downtown and PRAY I make it to the END of the parade for the older two. Still have no idea HOW I’ll be at three parties. Each child is expecting me to be there. CRAZY!

Jay just got a Snowmobile, which he has to pick up today, as a late birthday gift from me :D, and it appears it is from the husband of one of my local area stampers name Monika!! Small world.

Amber also has her “induction” into Daisies. A younger form of Girl Scouts. That should be cute. She is very excited about it. She made me pick out a “fancy dress” and everything! LOL! I fear she may over-do it, so I’m trying to find something middle of the road. She actually wanted to wear her Sleeping Beauty gown! LOL! I had to say NO! on that for sure.

 Tuesday we are getting our family photos done. We are giving the Target Photo Studio a shot! Cross your fingers!

 I use to be SO good about getting regular professional photos done. Alexa, as a baby had photos every three months!! With Noah we went regularly too. Then poor Amber….getting THREE kids to the photo place and have them ALL look good proved to be too exhausting for me! So things tapered off.  Once Alexa got sick, I got busy, and before you know it, its been 2 years since we have been! THAT is terrible!! I got hardly no photos the first year Alexa was sick. I couldn’t stand reliving that time, and seeing her look the way she did. I’m not sure if I regret that or not. I don’t think I do. I just see there is over a year with LITTLE photos of my kids, and Amber was so young, so I feel like I missed a year of her life. I wanted that time to be put behind us with little “documentation” to relive that difficult time. Having photos of the other 2 shouldn’t have gotten away from us, but it did.

So all that being said, I do take a LOT of photos on my own, so that is good. We are due for a group photo. I hope everyone looks good at the same time! Seems like the more people in ONE photo, the bigger the chance someone isn’t going to look good when everyone else does! LOL! Alexa is shy and is so beyond the camera person waving a stuffed toy in her face to make her smile! She is 10, not 2. So if she won’t look at them or smile it cold be a LONG shoot. I really hope she participates without too much fuss. Noah is in the CHEESY smile phase. Oh and my dark hair! I’m still not use to it, and I’m not sure how I feel about long distance relatives getting a peek at it yet! LOL!

Last but not least, this morning I have been packing Etsy orders from my shop, to go out tomorrow morning! So if you ordered something, it is going postal then!

 I also have some SEWING projects I want to take on once I get my sewing machine back from Jay’s mom. The holiday’s are coming and everything I give will be HOME MADE! (in some way) They are simple projects, like my felt stocking and what not. I like QUICK sewing projects! Nothing too involved.

With the home-made theme going, here is a card I put in my Etsy shop, but had yet to post on my blog….

Home-made with love

When I saw this image from Stampavie called  Home Sweet Home by Helz Cuppleditch I just loved it! I LOVE hearts, and images that contain hearts, so this was SO me! I loved the heart topiary too. Just so cute.

I have issue’s deciding what COLOR I make any house image I create. I usually go with some sort of yellow! LOL!

I had fun coloring this, and while you cannot SEE it, there are stickles on the grass and topiary. Really nice sparkle. I added the same stickles to the flowers I created, along the bottom.

Since this is suppose to be like ‘From our house with love” I added the little rounded tab on the left side. The sentiment is only part of the image from Recipe Borders & Centers Set 1-3/16″  which actually reads “homemade with love”. I didn’t need the entire circle so I only used the 1/2 I wanted. I do that often with these images, and find it helps me maximize their use! I think we should all look at things that way.

Well I have much to do, so I better get running. I’ll be back tomorrow with my BOY cards

Till then

Boy am I wiped. Who would think that sitting at a computer could be exhausting? 

I just spent the entire morning FINALLY updating my Etsy Shop!  Many of you asked if I could do that, since some of you are looking for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holiday gifts! So I did that. I put 4 new pages worth of stuff, so be sure to scroll on through! I didn’t realize HOW MUCH I actually make! I still have SO much more to post, but need a break. So maybe in a few days, I’ll get to some of the older stuff.

When I opened up my Etsy Shop I meant to update it ANY time I posted here, but I have had a lot of “behind the scenes” stuff going on here and didn’t get to it as often as I wanted to, so I apologize! If you ever see anything here you want, and it isn’t listed, let me know and I can list it for you.

 All the being said here is one of the NEW! Items up in my shop 

Here comes Santa Claus

You can find it HERE

I used my NEWEST template Around Town Tote for this gift bag. Perfect for the holidays! This template s just the best for making a great size gift holder, fast and EASY.

I had some gorgeous patterned paper by K& Co. that I used to cover the front. Of course I went with the traditional holiday color scheme.

I fell in LOVE with this Noel Santa image from Stampavieby Sarah Kay. Her images generally scare me to DEATH, due to their vintagey feel and detail, but I am actually stepping out and using them more, and as I have success I begin to feel more comfortable with them.

I colored and cut him out, then put him into a sleigh that I created using my Cricut Expression Winder Woodland Cartridge! I have to say I’m in LOVE with my Cricut! Don’t know what I did without it. If you thought about getting one and have put it off……….add it to your Christmas WISHLIST!! Now keep in mind I’m in love and I don’t SCRAPBOOK! I can only image how much more I would use it if I did. It’s really fun.

 I also made my poinsettia with the cartridge as well. Too fun. I think it really adds to the detail too. I have to admit I’m not overly impressed with too many of the cartridges they have available :C I am loving the ability to use the Sure Cuts Alot 2.0 (<—this is the best price I have ever found) to download stuff from the web. Granted I haven’t had time to even do much of that, but knowing I can makes me happy.

Now for my tag detail I found this sentiment from Christmas Joy Borders & Centers Oval 1-3/4” x 2-5/16”.

I stamped it in versamark, then gold embossed it.

It added a really nice touch to the bag, and tied in with my Magic of Santa theme. Afterall for kids, Santa is magical!

My ribbon is a gold trimmed wired ribbon I got in the holiday section of Michael’s.

This was really just one of those projects where everything easily fell together.

This is definitely the type of bag that WON’T get tossed out after the gift has been opened! It will be passed along for many holidays to come.

 I’m excited that soon this will get a new home.

I hope you are getting into the spirit of the holiday season. Is it too early to say that? Sadly I’ve been doing Christmas stuff since AUGUST and the holidays aren’t even here, and I’m already SOOOOOOO OVER IT! LOL! I’m sure once its time to put up our tree I will get back in the spirit Don’t worry if you are just getting into it, I still have a bajillion holiday themed items to share as the days push on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until tomorrow….

I have to say you ALL know how to make a girl feel good

As for me taking a photo of the quadruple colors in my hair….ARE YOU KIDDING?! Do you think I wanted PHOTO documentation of that?! NO WAY!!!!!

I honestly didn’t expect to get anyone saying they liked the color! LOL! I figured you’d all say OH NO! What now! LOL!!! Its a very big adjustment, but ONE compliment for a WOMAN equal 100 from a man! Thank you all for such a warm response to my hair trauma story. Its been quite the adjustment for me. You all helped me feel better about it.

I’m getting the TRIPLE take from those I know. When people would say WOW! You totally changed your hair!”  I kept saying it was a dye job trauma, and I had no choice, then I quickly explained it to people!! Now I’m just smiling and saying “I needed a change”. So, thank you for letting my confidence build a bit. I guess no one needs to know WHAT really happened, if it looks OK now. You all definitely made me feel better about it.

A lot of people have been shocked that I didn’t BALL. Honestly, the MAIN reason I didn’t cry was because at least my hair didn’t break off, and I remember when Alexa lost her hair to Cancer. She had GORGEOUS, thick, dark hair, down to her waist. We cut it to her shoulders before it fell out, but it still came out it CHUNKS. THAT was one of the hardest things  for me to see. She would just sit on the couch and grab a handful, and look at me with tears in her eyes. Her expressive communication then was harder for her, but she was VERY upset about this. I just told her It is going to be OK. it will grow back. I’d say “You don’t need hair to be beautiful. ” So HOW could I cry after telling her all that?! I had my hair. Wasn’t my favorite color, but I wasn’t sick. I just made a crazy dye mistake. I had to repeat the same words I told her to myself. Granted I didn’t feel beautiful, but I didn’t have Cancer or anything like that.

 I kept wanting I change! LOL! Guess I got it.

Jay says he likes it, its just going to take time to get use to. He does like the style alot, despite the fact he about DIED when I cut my ahir. I told him this is exactly WHY we women get into hair RUTS! You men want us to look the same all the time!! When he came home after work yesterday he was still a little shocked when he saw me again! LOL! Its just SO different. For the 9 years he’s been with me, I’ve always had long blond hair. Granted in my early 20’s it was more healthy and curly.

My kids love it! LOL! Not sure WHY. Amber wants her hair “painted” too. Since THAT comment I have secretly HID all her paints! I know her too well.

 I LOVE the cut and style. In fact I did curl the ends yesterday and it looked REALLY nice I also have a “Cute” ponytail, and my hair is full of body. I haven’t had much “movement” to my hair in some time, so it feels REALLY good, and yes MODERN! For all that I’m really happy.

MANY people asked WHAT dye I used. I used Loreal. My PROBLEM most likely happened because I tried a different color, since last time I dyed it, it go TOO light on the bottom. I’m NOT blaming the company. I’m sure it was a number of issues, and like most problems USER ERROR!

So thank you again. I feel good about this NEW ME! LOL! Jay said as long as I don’t get a NEW man, he is fine with the NEW ME! LOL!

I’m off the the doctors with the kids today. Alexa will have her follow up to ensure she is recovering from her pneumonia. I’m happy to report (so far) Noah & Amber don’t seem to be sick, nor did they have any reaction to the H1N1 nasal spray, so THANK GOODNESS!!!

Now I promised some eye candy. Sorry I didn’t get to it yesterday! I worked on some eye candy for tomorrow’s post!

Without further delay…….

Don’t Peek!

I think I’m finally getting my card mojo back. It’s hard to go from one design mindset to another. When I’m on a roll designing NEW templates, or creating with the templates, it can be hard to switch to just a FLAT surface again! LOL!

Isn’t this lil guy so cute. Looks like he could be in big trouble too Not sure if he is wrapping or un-wrapping. Noah has 4 birthday parties over the next 2 weeks! So I needed to make some BOY cards. NO pink in this one This was Noah Approved! LOL!

When the girls have a party to attend I’m now off the hook, as they make their own cards Noah, well he is too busy playing with BOY stuff to care about crafting these days.

I got inspired by my patterned paper colors, and just colored away. I usually have my paper picked PRIOR to coloring my images. Makes life easier. When I just color first, it can be harder to complete a project when I try to match evrything up, after the fact.

The “Don’t Peek”sentiment comes from Tiny Words Borders & Centers Set 1-3/16″ . I just used markers to color each letter to match! So simple and CUTE!

This cut dog is named Ruffles: A Present for you! He is from Stampavie  the Helz Cuppleditch collection. I love her stuff.

The paper is a mini stack from Making Memories. I’ve had it forever, and use it often.

I think this came out pretty cute, and BOYISH. I know there is a BOW but go with the GIFT theme. I also made sure my bow matched the bow in my image. Its a little detail but I found it to be important.

Well once again, thanks for stopping by!! I’ll be back tomorrow with some NEW! Release images from PCS!

Until then

Hi everyone!

I want to say thanks for all the beading tip, links and emails. I still have so many to sort though-but thank you too, in advance. I purchased the hearts for my keychains (in prev. post) at A.C. Moore. As for the beading stuff…..WOW! Am I ever OVERWHELMED! LOL!!! I’m sure Ill sort through everything and figure it out…..eventually! So much to know. I guess that is how most people feel when they start stamping. I don’t remember feeling that, but I have heard so many others say that when I’ve been at the craft store, or at a stamping event. Maybe I will take a class at my local bead store! I like learning new things.

I have been SOOOOOO busy my head is spinning. The stress FINALLY caught up with me and gave me a 2 day migraine. NICE. I decided that I can’t let stress rule my life, so I got off the couch and down to my stamp cave Once I got stamping my migraine suddenly vanished!! Maybe it was my long computers hours that were KILLING my brain! I actually came up with a FAB project-I’m in LOVE! But, I am saving it for my PTI newsletter I think you will agree its worth the wait.

On a side note MANY emails asked IF and WHEN I would update my Etsy Shop! Yes, I have stuff from here for like the last 3 months! I’ve just been busy and need to take a few days of REST! Plus I like to ship ASAP so I need to make sure I’m free to pack and ship in a timely manner. I have a lot going on here (behind the scenes) and its just been GO! GO! GO! I will let you all know when I actually get stuff listed.

Anyway……I needed to just play for the day, so I reached for my UBER cute Greeting Farm Girl-Miss Anya

I have had this set for longer than I care to admit. It was time to ink’er up

I LOVE this unusual color combo with this image. You see typically I would go all GIRLY with my colors, but I went with this combo instead. Again, I needed and change.

Spring Rain, Enchanted Evening, and Pure Poppy-with touches of Smokey Shadow. Very cool.

I created my sidewalk —> check out my “how to” video for that, and used an OLD A Muse candy shop image as a store. I KNOW the store is tiny, and my “idea” was to have it be in the distance…….but now it just looks like a tiny store! LOL! OH WELL! Win some, lose some! I still loved the card.

Its kind of Sailor Girl isn’t it?

I used the sentiment “Its all about style” from Birthday Wishes Borders & Centers Set 2-3/8″ ! I loved the sentiment and the font.

Now, get this-for my project the curve of the size it us suppose to be was too big……………so…………… I took the rounded image and put it in their smaller round block ,of course it didn’t REALLY fit the whole thing, so I just made sure the part I wanted was locked in, and inked up! Then stamped it. I then punched it out with my circle punch. Now I can’t recall what size it was!(  Sorry! I Told you-migraine!! )But I loved that it worked.

SO that is all for me tonight.

Thank you for stopping by

WAHOO! In case you didn’t know-today and tomorrow……

JustRite Stampersis having a H-U-G-E Mega Font Blog Hop! 

They are even having a 30% OFF Promotion!! Check it out —>HERE! Perfect time to shop

I LOVE my font sets. So many options! What I *really* love is that any/all the font sets are perfect with ANY images you may have bought from other companies. Sometimes we hunt for the PERFECT sentiment, and are willing to spend the $$ for that perfect one, when you can now easily make your own! No more hunting!

This month we are trying to show you the MANY different things you can do using their font sets in ANY and ALL your creations! As you hop along you will see a HUGE variety of uses. It is SURE to get those wheels in your head turning! 

 ”I” of course will be doing a gift item

Now while I was posting the countdown peeks for my newest templates, I WARNED you, that you would see me using It’s on the House © A LOT!!!!!!! I’m over the moon for this template and ALL the possibilities. So I hope you don’t get sick of seeing all the ideas I have had for it.

So, that being said, I used it today, for the hop!

Sending Holiday Joy

I created this little “house box” to give some White Lindt Chocolates!

It reminds me of a vintage style gift box, given the image! I’m just in LOVE with it.

I’ll get to the “gifty” details in a minute, first let me share the sentiment story

I was inspired by the sentiment in Holiday Demi Phrases Round 2” -”SENDING HOLIDAY JOY”. I didn’t want a rounded sentiment, so I pulled out my Horizontal Wood Stamper Set  and used *just* the font from Wood Stamper 2-3/8″ with Bonus 25pt Font & Center to create my own! Now I have the exact sentiment I wanted, and in the same font too!

SEE! You don’t even have to be overly “creative” to come up with good sentiments! Just look into some you like, and copy them using your own font set! EASY PEASY!

I just stamped my sentiment in versamark ink, onto brushed gold cardstock, then embossed it with gold EP!

I then, punched it out with my label punch from SU! It was the PERFECT addition to my house gift box!

Now about the BOX!

When I received the NEW! Sarah Kay line, the image Noel Charity just stood out to me. I thought it was truly stunning! While my coloring leaves much to be desired, I knew she was perfect for this project I had in my head!

This image was *just* an adorable girl, knocking on the door, I had to give her a home with it!

I just scored the box to appear more “house-like”, and scalloped the flap for my “roof”. It is distressed a bit, but it didn’t show up well in photos.

As you can see they are the PERFECT union!

The girl is 3D, as is her little package of love. She truly appears to have just stumbled upon the doorstep.

Trust me when I tell you PHOTOS do this NO justice! It is a must see in person.

I used red, gold, green with hints of a pale blue. Her coat is flocked with red. There are touches of a gold pen here and there, and of course snowflakes of gold.

I added “snow” to the “ground” of the house. Just adds to the detail.

I feel the entire package convey my main message ” Sending Holiday Joy”!

Supplies:

Stamps:

Sarah Kay: Noel 2009 Charity

JustRite Stampers: Wood Stamper 2-3/8″ with Bonus 25pt Font & Center

Cardstock: Red, Gold, Kraft, White

My Timeless Template: It’s on the House ©

Ink: Momento Black, Tea Dye ink, Copic Markers, Versamark

Ribbon: Gold

Gold Embossing Powder, Gold pen, Chunky glitter, red fun flock, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, label punch, garland/berry from Michaels Craft store, scallop border punch

Now! I’ve done my part (I HOPE!), to show you some ideas using the FONT! Time to HOP ALONG!!

Here is a list of players:

JustRite Stampers Blog

Michelle Wooderson
Sankari Wegman
Heidi Blankenship
Eva Dobilas
Beate Johns
Sharon Harnist
Barbara Anders
Sharon Johnson
Deb Saaranen
Becca Feeken
Kazan Clark
Lauren Meader <–You are HERE!
Tammy Hershberger
Linda Beeson
Jenny Gropp
Lori Craig
Tanis Giesbrecht
Jenn Balcer
Lisa Somerville
Karen Maldonado
Pamela Smerker
Karen Taylor
Latisha Yoast
Julie Overby
Mary Pfaff

See you here tomorrow as I have a Newsletter Project to share (with a video) 

Well its Wednesday! We are half way through the week-WHEW!

Today JustRite Stampers is the  product focus on SCS. You can see that HERE!

They are reviewing-

 Merry Little Christmas Borders & Centers Round 1-5/8”

Holiday Demi Phrases Round 2”

and Wood Stamper 2″ with Bonus 15pt Font & Center

There is a video on how to use the 2″ stamper–>HERE!

So, I thought I’d share a sample with you too

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas……

I ended up singing that Christmas song to myself the entire time I was making this! LOL!

This was made to look like a hanging holly wreath.

I embossed my mistletoe with gold, then colored it in using my copic markers

I then embossed the sentiment, in gold, on gold cardstock, and punched with a 1 3/8 circle.

That was then layered onto a scallop circle from Marvy (pink punch). I added some red adhesive rhinestones for my “berries”

This was actually a quick and simple card. I think you could definitely mass produce this version for the holidays, or use it for a gift set

My paper and ribbon are all from Papertrey Ink.

Now you can see what some of the other girls did

Now for all you with a little  Princess in your life…..you may enjoy this post!

Amber and her invitation

Amber is an August birthday, so we always celebrate with a party Mid-September, since people are usually away on vacation and whatnot in August.

This year she wants a  Pretty Princess Costume Party! These are her invites from LAST YEAR—>HERE! You can also see the Disney Stamp set there too (used for flowers on invite this year)

We will use a My Timeless Template for the Princess party favors (not sure which one yet! Thinking something like —> THIS! <— BUT, she hasn’t decided-and I’m waiting for a head count-Ill share once they are done!). We have a Castle pinata, and I ma having a Castle cake made, with matching Lollipops.

We are making crowns, frames, and necklaces too for the party activities. I may also let them decorate their template box favors too!

She has a STUNNING Sleeping Beauty costume, complete with glittery shoes, crown, and light up wand.

She picked out everything for her party.

For the invites, they totally had to meet her approval, and she made many helpful suggestions

I blurred out the personal info-just so you know the invites are defective!

This is the invite in its entirely.

I used her fave color-Hibiscus Burst (Sleeping Beauty wears pink too!) She was totally into telling me what she HAD to have! She is quite the little paper crafter! I’ll share some stuff she made after this.

I cut the main layer using the Labels 8 nestability. What a pretty way to layer a girly invite

I printed the info on my computer, ensuring it would fit when die cut with the smaller layering Labels 8.

Amber chose this carriage byImaginisce as her focus. Really cute choice, and it was only $1!!

I colored it with Copic markers.

Amber said “It needs lots of glitter!” So I added the glitter. A definite nice touch!

She then said it needed “grass”, so I added the green layer.

She then said it needed jewels-so I put some on the wheels.

Lastly she wanted a fancy border-so we matted it with the black scallop layer.

Smart girl!

Then it was all layered.

Well, the thought the bottom was plain and wanted me to put flowers!

So I used the Disney Princess set from last year  (linked above) masked each one, since it was already adhered with dimensionals, and added the flowers.

She was right! A real WOW!

If THAT wasn’t enough, she wanted a REAL flower on them too!

SO I got out my Prima’s and called it a day!

Finally!!!

Amber was SOOOOO happy. She kept telling me how beautiful they were, and she knows how hard I worked on them. It was REALLY sweet. Her teacher said that each one she handed out, she would say “My mom made these special for the party, and worked really hard, so you can never throw it in the trash” She said it was HILARIOUS!! Can you tell she listens to my EVERY word

I was then asked my 3 teachers to do party planning for them. Um, NO thank you! I have all I can do to get my own kids party stuff done! LOL!

The last week of September Alexa will be 10!!

I was going to have a party, but 10 is HUGE! I REALLY want to get her tickets to the Miley Cyrus concert instead, that comes Nov. 9th to Boston MA but tickets are STARTING at over $200, for BALCONY and most are sold out :C So I’m crossing my fingers I can find something before her b-day. It would be a dream come true for her, and a GREAT way to celebrate 10! Wish me luck on that! I don’t have $500 for 2 tickets!!

OK now time for some things Amber had made on her own

This was for her teachers at the end of the year in Pre-K. I’m not sure WHY the main layer is at the lower rigth-but it was HER project!

Mrs Slater

then Mrs Bartlett

She then wrote their names going around the heart! So cute

She even picked what she wanted to write inside herself!

Then when we had our friends daughter’s first birthday party, Amber wanted to make her own tag for the gift

She did the whole thing herself

Yes, she LOVES the images from The Greeting Farm

She always likes to pick out her own images.

She colored it herself in colors of her choice, added her own glitter, and cut it out too! I helped her punch the flowers and tag, but that was it!

Then this past weekend we had a boy’s double birthday to go to. She totally took the pressure off me to have a card made, by making ot for me :D  (WHEW! Off the hook! LOL!)

She stamped them and colored them herself-asking for help with the sentiment, so it was straight

This stamp set is by Lizzie Anne-Gizmos and Gears

I think she will take my job some day! LOL!

I’m so happy to see how much she enjoys something I enjoy too. All my kids love crafts, but she loves the stamping. Alexa LOVE writing and just coloring, and Noah, well he prefers video games, but I’d say he mostly enjoys the cooking craft stuff we do most.

OK signing off now! I have my Papertrey Ink peeks to prepare for  TOMORROW! SO excited.

See you then!

OK I gotta make it quick today Lots to do on the last day of a LONG weekend

Tonight is the official release for C.C. Designs!! Stamps go LIVE 10pm EST!

Winner of the HOP to be announced SOON!

How did you all like the hop? Was it fun? Lots of eye candy to go around.

 Well now that you all got to hop along and see what the entire team created with the Fall Kit, and now I have 2 more samples to share with you (Boy I was a creating machine huh?! LOL!)

First up

Pretty Petal Pumkin Patch

How cute is this?!

The My Timeless Template: Pretty Petal Pocket © makes THE perfect pumpkin!!

I know many people have already discovered that How cute would this be for classmates to use as a Trick or Treat holder, OR give to the teacher?!

This image is Pixie Pippi (releasing tonight)

I have been sitting on this sample for about a month or so!!! Its so hard to have to wait to share stuff sometimes! I filled it up with a grab bag of candy! WOW! This template holds MORE than enough for all the “little” people to eat! They truly don’t need more than that!

I hand cut the stem and layered on some OLD SU! patterned paper. Made my pumpkin easy peasy.

The sentiment on the tag is AmyR’s Spooky Sentiments. Again perfect for the gift!

Now I have ONE more……

Witch Way to the Treat!

This one used the Witch from the Fall Kit

I LOVED the sentiment from JustRite Stampers:Witch Way to the Treats Centers & Borders Round 1-3/16”

This template was the Pretty Petite version of the Fold n ‘Go! A great one for making a bunch of homemade treat holders

OK that does it for me.

 Stay tuned because I have a month full of gift-giving inspiration to come!

Post #2 for today-

Well Its been a few days since I shared some creative eye candy!

I have lots of fun things I have made, just little time to share lately, because I have even MORE to make. It can be a crazy cycle! LOL! Posting can take FOREVER! Oh and photographing and editing-that takes me forever too! I often find myself creating so much that I forget what I made and if/when I shared it! LOL!

Case in point.

The card I have to share today I made over a month ago! I just got caught up on other things and it was in the forgotten archives of my projects!

Party Animals

This is the card I made for Amber’s 5th birthday. She was just in love with this image when she saw it, so I had to use it for her.

This image is by Tina Wenke-Mose-Bird-Ladybug-Cucpake from Stampavie.

Amber loved the little ladybug in this the most. I loved the Chickie So we picked out our paper, and got started. She also helped dictate what colors I should use for it, since it was for her. She cracks me up sometimes.

I think she has a good eye She basically chose the colors and I just colored it for her. The ONLY thing I didn’t color what she asked was she wanted the mouse purple. We compromised and did the SHIRT purple instead.

The sentiment is from JustRite Stampers Celebrations Demi Phrases Set 2″  It was perfect to put atop my Animal Party cupcake! I had fun with the way the mail layer was cut, and normally finding a sentiment to accentuate that would have been difficult. I really LOVE the Demi Phrases they have. I find I often don’t need a full circle sentiment, so they are super.

The paper is by Making Memories. One of my FAVE stacks! On the ribbon I added a pretty flower brad. Easy peasy.

OK Sorry, I wasted all my chit chat for my family post! I have to get Amber ready for school and then have a million TO DO’s!

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Till tomorrow

Yes! You read it correctly! A Christmas Blog Hop!

We have a grand total of 35 players too So once you are done here, scroll on down for WHO else has eye candy!

JustRite Stampers is having an AMAZING Christmas Release! You can view ALL the NEW! Release items —>HERE<—!

I’m totally head over heels with the images/sentiment combos this release has. I totally love the turn this company has taken with the variety they are offering! Not only can I get FAB alphabets sets (for CHEAP $-excellent quaility :D) in various sizes with ONE purchase, I can now get great bordering sentiments WITH co-ordinating images too.

So let me get to my project so YOU can get hopping!

In case you didn’t know, another FAB NEW! item that JustRite Stampers carries (for a LIMITED TIME!) is Storage Box with Drawer . I love this new item, and found a way to make it a decorative, fun and functional item for your home during the holiday season!

Christmas Card Cardinal Box

My Holiday Idea: I designed this box so that it can be used to hold last year’s Christmas cards!

Each year we receive photos with updates from our families. I just can’t bare to throw away the cards after the season is over, but I also cannot leave them up all year! This box allows me to keep them, and display the decorative box during the holidays, so that we can open it up and reflect on how everyone has grown and changed from one year to the next! People love to go through the cards and compare :D Now I can cherish them, and keep each year organized.

OR it can just be a great box to give something in

 I chose the Cardinal from the Christmas Treasures Borders & Centers Round 3-1/4”set as my main focus.

I thought it was so pretty, and perfect for the occasion. Stamped on a vintage cream cardstock, it was colored with Copic Markers.

I used some Poinsettia themed patterned paper by K& Co. to cover the top of my box. I then used some tree pattern from the same paper stack to cover the front drawer of this box. I used Zip Dry for ALL my projects that involve “covering” something. Its clear, quick to dry and easy to remove from areas you DON’T want it on, after it dries. For example-sometimes glue leaks out from under the paper and onto the “pretty” parts of the project where you DON’T want them! Just rub off-and you never knew it was there. It doesn’t even ruin your project I love that.

For my tag I used *just* the Cardinal center image.

I also used a Labels 3 Nestability for my tag

Some of the image was omitted when I cut the circle tag, but I love that the main focus is on the bird and holly berries.

I added the tag to the center of my Dual Sided Satin Ribbon from My Little Ribbon Shop, which was tied in a quad bow. I love the elegance the ribbon added to the project, and how it pulled out even more of the richness of the colors, out of my project!

Now in case you cannot tell-

My bird is 3 D

My holly berries are covered with a clear glaze pen for a 3D pop.

Then both of my tag edges are traced with a Gold marker!

This box was completed in UNDER a 1/2 hour!

My post took longer to type up

OK Now it is time for you to hop along to anyone you may not have seen samples from yet!

Here is the list

*JustRite Stampers-Blog

*Becca Feeken

*Sankari Wegman

*Sharon Johnson

*Kazan Clark

*Sharon Harnist

*Laura Davis

*Debbie Olson

*Michelle Woerner

*Taylor Van Bruggen

*Jenn BalcerMichelle Wooderson

*Lori Craig

*Beate Johns

*Barb Schram

*Kimberly Crawford

*Michele Kovack

*Jami Bova

*Kellie Fortin

*Jennifer Buck

*Heidi Blankenship

*Angela Barkhouse

*Lisa Somerville

*Gerrie Johnnic

*Kathy Jones

*Debbie Seyer

*Kim Sonksen

*Terre Frye

*Sheryl Dickinson

*Bonnie Sharp

*Mary Pfaff

*Holly Simoni

*Angela Robledo

WHEW! That is an amazing list of crazy talented players! So I hope you hop along to see what each one has done for the HOP!!

Thank YOU for stopping by here. I hope I gave you a fun idea for how to store those Christmas cards year after year, in style!

I hope everyone is enjoying what is left of Summer! I know we are here.

We have been busy here, with all next week being FULL of appointments :C Between back to school check ups, Alexa’s bazillion appointments on Wednesday, Jay’s stuff and play dates, call me insane by weeks end! PLUS I’m wrapping up my newest My Timeless Template samples for ya!

Jay is recovering from his back surgery quite well He has a follow up on Monday.  He still can’t drive or sit upright. He has to either stand, or lay down. He is getting antsy, and I have to keep reminding him what NOT to do. At least he can COOK! LOL! That is all I care about for this stent of time, not being able to do much I loathe cooking.

On another personal note, so many asked to see my girls bedroom with the bedding from Target Its a REALLY cute set.

Here you go!

Girls beds with stick on wall decals (Amber and I placed each one in very specific areas! LOL!)

Amber’s Corner (sorry for dark icky photos)

Alexa’s Corner

I HAD to get the matching owl pillow! Its the perfect addition for their beds.

The lamp was like $10, and I stuck a decal on that so it matched the room! LOL! Cheap & easy, and it peels right off later

This is another wall of their room

Another view-with animals peeking out from everywhere! LOL!

Then one more-

So basically 2 okgs of decals covered their room

Once Jay’s back is healed we are getting new carpeting and stuff-so YEAH! That will be nice.

OK sorry for the detour! Back to the regular scheduled post-

Anyway-the weekend is here, and it is time for an Inspiration Challenge!

Seeing these little skirts (or aprons-no sure! LOL!) Hanging on a line really called out Summer to me!

 So this is the challenge today.

Link your creations HERE!

Next week I will pick the top 5 entries, and link their blog/gallery here

Here is card #1 I did

I loved the stripes and colors in this inspiration piece, so I went with that! What a FAB color combo this is too

Lately its been ALL work, no play, so I took advantage of the challenge, to pull out some fun stamps I have yet to get ink on

This one is from The Greeting Farm! This is Miss Anya I so love all their stuff Really cutesy, which is SO me! I find I buy it all, but don’t USE it! So I’m trying to USE what I have. Then I can justify buying the latest & greatest! LOL!

I used my NEW! Labels 9 die cut for this one too, along with some OLD SU! rub on’s to complete the look

Then I had so much fun I had to do ONE more

I want my Mummy

OMG! I have had this uber cute monster Argus with Teddy-from Paper Make Up, for an eternity! I thought the image was so cute, that I had to get it immediately. So, I did, then never got to using it. Don’t you hate that? Or you get to use something like ONCE then never again, or you forget about it! LOL! I hope I’m not alone on that one, or I have serious explaining to do to Jay! LOL! I’ve been getting better about impulse shopping when it comes to STAMPS, but accessories and paper/ribbon/embellishments/tools, and other stuff like that is my COMPLETE downfall! Can’t help it.

Anywho, the apron with the pink base and aqua polka dots REALLY caught my eye, so I used this lil monster, with dots, and them made my own paper to match! Now THAT is fun inspiration I colored the teddy all freaky-since its like a monster teddy. I also added Googley Eyes to Argus teh monster. I think its cute like that

Since the monster LOOKED scared, I used the sentiment “I want my mummy” fromWitch Way to the Treats Centers & Borders Round 1-3/16” , mixed with the Spider BOO! image to give him/her something to LOOK scared about :D 

I thought it was cute

So now I will feature the TOP 5 choices, from last weeks Saturday Sketch, from those who joined in our challenge Check them out OK!

This feature will be called My Time to Shine

Here are a links to the My Time to Shine-Top 5 people featured!

Alicia

Georgia

Kathryn

Nicki

Jay_Bee

Thanks to all who played along I cannot wait to see what everyone does this week!

Now for samples of inspiration from the team, hop along ……..

So that is all for me today! I hope you’re inspired to get creative this week!

Thanks for stopping by