Blog Award

I was so honored today with this amazing blog award from Emily. I feel so incredibly honored to be nominated by this amazing lady and card-maker. I had just arrived home from June Lake (a 5 1/2 drive), had a doctor's appointment and was feeling a bit like a pin cushion, and then this was waiting for me! What a fantastic high note to end the week on. Thank you, Emily!

Now it's time to pass this award on to another five lovely blogger friends. I love visiting each of their blogs each day (some old, some new) and looking at what they've created, and feeling just a little bit like I'm a part of their lives. Each of them have such a distinctive and different style and I am constantly inspired by them!

Kelley- My Front Porch

Tricia- Simply Stamping

Maureen- Buttons and Bling

Purple D- Purple on Paper

Rachel- Bucket Full of Cards

Thanks again, Emily for bringing some sunshine to the end of the week.

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #13

Oooh, I like these colors together. Though, I'm beginning to think that Dawn has a love of red and pink/corral together. I do think they go nicely together, but I have to really minimize one of the colors for them to work for me. Especially with the green in this card, I was really scared the red would take over and make it look Christmas-y.

So how do you avoid red and green looking like Christmas? Well, with flowers, buttons, and ribbon of course! I thought this color combo was the perfect opportunity to pull out my Everyday Button Bits set again and play with the flower image. I pulled buttons from my Spring Moss, Vintage White/Cream, and Berry Sorbet buttons.

I stamped polka dots in Versamark on the Spring Moss and heat embossed with clear ep again. Dawn, I think you have me addicted to this now... It just looks so good on every card! And the fact that I love polka dots doesn't hurt.

I did finish the entire card without a sentiment, but it really felt like it needed something. So I snuck a little one beneath the flower stems and called it a day.

Well, tomorrow is the Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop to celebrate two years of Verve! It's also my very first blog hop! Make sure to stop by and check out the project I created... I'm seriously in love with it!! And I'm sure there are going to be some amazing creations along the hop as well!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics

Paper- Whisper White, Spring Moss, Pure Poppy

Ink- Certainly Celery, Berry Sorbet, Versamark

Accessories- clear ep, Berry Sorbet ribbon, buttons, twine, dimensionals

Mojo Monday

Still catching up on challenges that flew by with my week. I whipped up this card using all my new in-colors goodies that just arrived. I'm still thinking they are all just a little bright for my taste, but I think I need to play with them some more and see what works for me and what does not. This is actually last week's Mojo Monday sketch.

This is a pretty simple card today. Mostly self-explanatory. I tell ya though, I worked on that circle forever! Circles and me just don't get along. I think I changed the sizes and the color combos about four times. I have a ton of circles lying around on my desk now. Grrr... I think I might try this sketch again, but change the circle to a square or rectangle, lol. We get along a lot better.

Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Forever In Our Hearts, Thanks So Much
Paper- Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Raspberry Fiz dp
Ink- Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories- nestabilities, sponge, dimensionals, ribbon

Sweet Sunday Sketch #28

Happy Wednesday! For a week with nothing planned, this one is turning out to be a bit busy. I ended up going to Disneyland with one of my teammates from work yesterday. A bit hot again, but it keeps the crowds down. One nice thing about living so close to D-land is getting annual passes. You never feel bad if it is crowded, and there's no rush to run through the park like a mad person trying to get on all the rides. Line's too long? Eh, we'll get it another day.

I did manage to have a few free minutes this week to stamp, often times several cards a day... The mojo is flowing! Plus, I'll be on vacation next week, and no card making will take place. :( Gotta squeeze it in while I can.

I used Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch to help whip up this card. Well, whip may not be the right word. This was definitely an hour+ card. Darn circles. But I was determined to conquer this sketch! I knew what stamp I wanted to use (Everyday Button Bits), but the colors took me a little while. I stared at my SU catty, I stared at my dp, I stared at blogs.... Finally, I settled on this combo: Kraft, Lemon Tart, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. Not too bad! I think it works really well for that little birdie.

I stamped the Lemon tart with Versamark and heat embossed some clear ep. Some strips of my Bitty Dots dp served as the two horizontal lines. And I threw an extra button in for that third little circle. Phew! Done! You definitely stretched me this week, Karen! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics

Paper- Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Kraft (SU), Lemon Tart, Bitty Dots dp (PTI)

Ink- Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories- SU scallop edge punch, nestabilities, buttons, twine, clear ep

Verve Project Parade

Good morning! I have a very simple card to share with you today. This month's Project Parade Challenge over on the Verve blog was "Divine Details." Put simply, it was the opportunity to create a card or project and pay attention to how you get inspired to get crafty. So fun!

For me, the start to almost every single project is finding a layout. Like so many others, I am addicted to sketch challenges. Somehow having a sketch already figured out for me and a deadline for submittal gets me really motivated! I don't know how or why, but usually as soon as I see a sketch, I know pretty quickly which stamps I want to use. After fishing those out, my next stop is usually my designer paper. I like to pull my solid cardstock colors from the dp. After that, it just flows together. As I create the card, I always see if there is an opportunity for some ribbon (simply because I'm addicted), or some other embellishment. I do like to keep my cards simple and clean. I like open space, so that is always something I watch out for when creating.

For this card, I pulled out this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge layout. That oval in the middle really screamed "large sentiment" to me. I immediately went to my Verve stash and pulled out my Feel Better Soon PJ. I love this little stamp! After stamping it in Old Olive and framing it in craft, it still felt a little empty. Sponge to the rescue! I sponged some Not Quite Navy around the perimeter.

Time for some ebellishments. I wanted to keep it really simple and ribbon just didn't feel right on this card. So, in come the flowers. I stamped the large and small flowers from Because of You, cut them out, placed brads in the center, popped them up, and the stickled the outsides for some shimmer. I stepped back for a second from the card, and then decided to add some brads to the bottom. Voila!

At this point I usually walk away from the card and call it done. I hate to overembellish my cards. I like the colors and words to do the talking. Though, I always do admire all those gorgeous vintage looking cards, but when I attempt them it's a little scary, lol.

So, quick review of my "divine details."

1. Find a sketch.
2. Pick the stamps.
3. Raid the dp.
4. Choose cardstock colors from the dp.
5. Create card. Search for ribbon opportunities. :)

Phew! It's kind of fun to step back and really analyze my creative process. I don't think I realized too clearly before that I really do have a pattern to my creating. But it's definitely there!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Feel Better Soon, Because of You

Paper- Enchanted Evening (PTI), Old Olive, Whisper White, Urban Garden dp

Ink- Old Olive, Not Quite Navy

Accessories- brads, stickles, nestabilities, sponge, dimensionals

Romping Around Disneyland

Thought I'd throw a few pictures on here from our day at Disneyland last Thursday. Our friend Beth was out here in CA for a few weeks before she deploys to Iraq as a nurse in the Army. We had a crazy two days, one at Disneyland. It was definitely a hot, sweaty day, and we made sure to slather ourselves several times with sunscreen. But it was really fun! The crowds were down since it was midweek and so hot. Needless to say, we got fast passes for the the water rides and made sure to get soaked. :)

Armed and ready to take on Toy Story Mania! (Me, Beth, Amy)

Beth and Amy show off their amazing artistic skills at the Animation Academy.

I'm really good at following instructions.

Cruella DeVille.

Small World. My roomie Amy thinks the new boats look like Lego's. I think I agree. :)

Nothing like a quick trip through Hell on a hot day. (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride)

From Me to You

Good morning!

I have a random card to show you today that I made a few days back. I absolutely loved this card by Winter and wanted to try something similar. I loved the big, simple squares of patterned paper on her card and thought it was a fantastic layout.

Out came some of my Raspberry Fizz dp and new in colors. I am loving this Rich Razzleberry color. Definitely could become a favorite of mine.... I popped up the four squares (backed onto Crushed Curry) and then tied a pretty bow around the bottom. I tried the curry ribbon there, but it just seemed to bright for the card. Guess I'm in a monochromatic mood. I also popped up the sentiment and added a few pearls to highlight the words. It's such a sweet, simple card, but I really like how it turned out!

I'm off to go turn in another application today... the one for the job I think I already have. I've been assured the classroom is mine, but I don't think it will feel real enough to relax until I've turned in the actual application and done something to earn the position. Then, tonight, I'm off to have dinner with two of my old co-workers to Lucille's. Yummy barbeque! I think I can hear the shreaded pork sandwhich calling my name already, lol!

Hope your day is going well! Thanks for stopping by!




Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Everyday Button Bits
Paper- Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Raspberry Fizz dp
Ink- Vintage Cream
Accessories- ribbon, pearls, dimensionals

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #75

Can I just begin by saying how much I love Taylor's sketch this week?! I will definitely be using this one over and over again in the future! It's so simple, and yet packs a big punch.

I stuck with a very simple color scheme since I wanted to make this more of a wedding card. No, I don't have any weddings coming up, but I was going through my collection of cards and realized I had no more wedding cards! Ah! Definitely time to whip a few for the reserves.

I just got the Cosmo Cricket Everafter paper pack and am loving it! I've seen quite a few cards out there made with this dp and I've loved everything I've seen. It was definitely time to grab some of the paper for myself. :)

I combined two stamp sets to create this card. The first is Hearts of Fire from Verve and the sentiment is from SU's Short & Sweet. Love that little set. After stamping and popping up the hearts, I covered all three of them in glossy accents and sprinkled some glitter over the middle orange heart for some sparkle. A quick bow/twine/button combo added a fun little accent (and I'm addicted to the technique). Some pearls from Michael's line the sentiment.

I really love how this card turned out! Such a clean, elegant feel to it...

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Hearts on Fire, SU: Short & Sweet

Paper- Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Cosmo Cricket Everafter dp

Ink- Basic Black, Tangerine Tango

Accessories- Black ribbon, button, twine, pearls, glossy accents, glitter, dimensionals

Viva la Verve!

All right. We're going backwards in time to last Friday since I am a week behind on my VLV sketches. And this is the last week to submit for the monthly champions!

Amber's twist last week was to use velum somewhere on our cards. I hereby admit that this one gave me a lot more trouble than I thought it would. I have never used a single piece of velum on my cards before. Not a one. I really wanted to use my new butterfly die on this card again, so I started with cutting a velum butterfly. Yeah, didn't dig it so much. It was too white against the rest of this card. So I relegated it to a background piece. So long velum! I'm done with you! heee

I used more of my Washington Apple dp, added a few yellow brads to that lonely corner, completely left off ribbon and buttons (gasp!), and added some pearls. I also stamped the sentiment in Red Riding Hood, wiped off "fly" and sponged So Saffron onto it to give it a little pop.

Enjoy your weekend! I'm off to make a few more cards... It's so nice to sit and stamp again after that unexpected break.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supples-

Stamps- Verve: Beauitful Kindness

Paper- Red Riding Hood, Whisper White, So Saffron, Washington Apple dp

Ink- Red Riding Hood, So Saffron

Accessories- SU Butterfly die, pearls, sponge, brads, nestabilities, dimensionals

Viva la Verve!

All right! I can feel those creative juices flowing again! It felt soooo good to sit down and stamp today. I really missed it! There's just something therapeutic about it... Know what I mean?

I'm one week behind on my Viva la Verve sketches! Eek! This card is actually for today's Viva la Verve. I am going to have to get crafty quickly to finish last week's and get it submitted in time to be a sketch champion for this month! :)

Amber's twist this week was to use texture on our cards. It didn't matter what kind, but it had to be there! Easy peasy! I quickly whipped out some bright, summery colors, my polka dot background stamps, and one of my favorite Verve sets and got down to business. I stamped the polka dots in Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder to give the background some texture. Some ribbon and twine added other textures to the card. Some quick jewels and stamping and this baby was done! 20 minutes flat! Woohoo!

I need to run to the grocery store, but I can't wait to make another card! The mojo is flowing and you've gotta use it while it's there. lol

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Miracles Blossom, PTI: Polka Dot Basics
Paper- Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Whisper White
Ink- Versamark, Berry Sorbet
Accessories- clear ep, jewels, scallop edge punch, nestabilities, ribbon, twine, button

We Interrupt This Program...

I am so sorry for the delay in postings this week! Things have definitely not gone as anticipated. To begin with, I ended spending a good two days and night helping care for my grandmother. Then, I got a call offering me a teaching position! I spent most of Tuesday running to the school to fill out applications, etc. Thursday was Disneyland day with Beth, whom is visiting for a few days before deploying to Iraq with the Army. Crazy!

I do have some more work to do today, but I am fully planning on taking a break to stamp. I miss it! I think it's a little "home-sickness" for cards. Got to get that mojo flowing again.

Thanks for your patience! See you back here soon (hopefully later today!).

Sweet Sunday Sketch #27

Good evening! Sorry for the long wait. I accidentally left my camera over at a friends house and have been in a dilemma as to how to take pictures for the last few days. Oops! I'm planning on driving over there tomorrow to grab it and then we'll be back to our normal posting schedule, such as it may be. :)

This was a quickie card for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch. My new box of Papertrey goodies came in the mail today and I just had to ink them up right away. And then Karen provided me with the perfect sketch to feature this gorgeous flower! So excited. I stamped the flower three times, cut it, and layered it to make it pop a little more. I think I might have a serious button addiction forming as well. It completely took the place of ribbon on this card! Ha!

Well, this is a quick post from me. I just got a call from my aunt and I'm on grandma duty tonight. Guess she hurt her back, had an epidural today, and just needs someone around tonight to make sure she gets everything she needs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- In Bloom, Polka Dot Basics, Everyday Button Bits
Paper- Enchanted Evening, Lemon Tart, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink- Vintage Cream, Enchanted Evening, Barely Banana
Accessories- Buttons, dimentionals

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #12

Happy Friday! I think this is the first day this week that I have absolutely nothing planned. Not that my days are horribly busy to begin with, being summer break, but it's nice to know that I'm not obligated to go anywhere. I can sit at home, stamp, watch the tour, and read. Not a bad day.

I was excited when Dawn posted her new color challenge over on her blog yesterday. When I first looked at the colors last night, I admit I was a little scared and wasn't sure what to do. But I awoke this morning with a plan and decided to sit down and conquer it.

I began this sketch using this week's Sketch for You to Try... but I altered it some half-way through. I just couldn't get that little final embellishment (where the star is) to work for me. So I cheated and removed it. Sorry! I did take a note from Dawn and decided to try adding a random row of buttons along the bottom of my card. I love the look of it! Definitely going to try this one out more often!

I pulled out my Scattered Showers and Text Style sets to create the umbrella. The text is in Certainly Celery and the frame in Cranberry Crisp. Some ribbon, twine, and one more button finished off the card! Though, I did create the card originally without a sentiment, but felt it really needed one. Since that whole umbrella panel is up on dimensionals, it didn't come out quite even, but I'll go back with marker and fill it in before mailing this card. :)

I have to admit, this is the first time I've used Raspberry Fizz and actually liked it. Ha! It must be growing on me... That or it's surrounded by more muted colors that I like and it makes the pink look less neon. I'm definitely going to play with this color combo some more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Scattered Showers, Text Style

Paper- Spring Moss, Scarlet Jewel, Very Vanilla, Bitty Box dp

Ink- Cranberry Crisp, Certainly Celery

Accessories- Buttons (PTI), Spring Moss twill ribbon, twine, dimensionals

Sweet Sunday Sketch #26

Do you ever just wake up in the mood to conquer something? That was me today. I've had this paper by My Mind's Eye sitting around for a few months now. I was really attracted to it in the store, got it home and freaked out a little at how graphic and bright it is. It's been sitting in the "I'm too scared to use it" pile for a while now.

For Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge this week I was inspired by my cousin's upcoming birthday this Friday. I was going through my birthday card stash and realized it was severely depleted and needed to be restocked. So, I made a birthday card.

I though the long panel lent itself really well to a triple stamp of something and I immediately reached for my cupcakes. Of course, the card couldn't be complete without some ribbon, buttons, and twine. :)

I colored the cupcakes with my copic markers and added some Stardust Stickles to the polka dot wrappers and sprinkles for a little shine. I really felt like it needed a sentiment, so I snuck it under the rectangular panel. The green button is from Basic Grey and the yellow ones are from PTI.

I actually have absolutely nothing planned for today. I don't have to be anywhere. I'm done with physical therapy, which frees up my afternoons, and there are no errands I need to run. Such freedom! I think I might make another card, watch the Tour (no radios today... should be interesting!), and read for a while. It's too darn hot to do anything outside. Definitely barbecuing tonight. The thought of turning the oven on is icky. Oh, I do plan on stopping by the PTI forum this evening for the release party! I'm so excited for a few of the sets being released this month! Be still my beating heart.... and the credit card had better run and hide, lol.

Hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by!Supplies-
Stamps- Hero Arts: Cupcakes

Paper- Taken with Teal, Barely Banana, Whisper White, My Mind's Eye- Penny Lane

Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories- copics, stickles, ribbon, buttons, twine, dimensionals, jewels

Viva la Verve!

Wow, I guess I took a little stamping break. It really was unintentional. I think the mojo just left for a little while... But with so many fun sketches this week, I can feel it sneaking on back.

This week's sketch from Amber over on the Verve forum was fun! I love the squared corners! The twist, however, actually proved a little more tricky than I anticipated. We had to use scoring somewhere, somehow on our cards. Not owning a ScorePal, this jumped into the "how am I gonna do that" category. I ended up just using my cutter and being rather creative with the slicer. But I think it worked! I went with a simple checkered pattern on the Kraft panel.

I used a bunch of Kraft taffeta ribbon on this card and a few flower shaped buttons to add some dimension. I also popped up the sentiment panel on dimensionals. I was almost sad using some of my dwindling stack of Baja Breeze paper, but I promised myself this weekend that I wouldn't hoard it, but use it lovingly instead. I also pulled out some of my Parisian Breeze dp from SU.

I'm off to Book Club tonight. It's my month to pick the book... kind of intimidating. There are about six or seven of us girls that meet once each month and talk about the collective book we read. Last month was "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants." So easy and fun... especially after doing some heavier, harder books. I think we're going to watch the movie tonight and I was ordered to bring chocolate chip cookies. I have a baking addiction and they're catching on to it. Oh, the book we're going to read this month is "The Red Scarf," by Kate Furnivall. It was recommended to me by one of my co-workers and it sounds really good.

I absolutely love to read and make it a point to read every day... During work days, that means at night before bed. During the summer, any hour (or many hours) is game. I've probably read 15 books in the last month, lol. So, if you have any book recommendations, I would love to hear them! I'm always looking for new ones to try and new authors to discover.

Well, enough out of me for today. I'm going to go sit in the dark and try not to melt from the heat today. Bleh!

Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Because of You, Feel Better Soon
Paper- Baja Breeze, Kraft, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze
Ink- Creamy Caramel, Baja Breeze
Accessories- ribbon, twine, buttons, dimensionals

Sweet Sunday Sketch #25

Happy Thursday to everyone! During the school year, this was my favorite day because we got out at 1:45 instead of 2:45 and we always went out to lunch for Mexican food. I had a fantastic team and it was always great to have these days to enjoy each other not only as co-workers, but as friends. I think that's part of what made us such a great team: we are all genuinely friends.

Being summer, there's no Mexican food run happening today, but we are talking about getting together in the near future just to catch up on what's been happening during the last month. Can't wait!

I'm off to the Orange County Performing Arts Center this evening to see the touring Broadway show of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." Should be fun! I've been singing the songs in my head (eh, who am I kidding, out loud) all day. My roommate, Amy, and I bought the tickets about a month ago just for fun. Do I have the greatest roomie or what?!

I did manage to stop singing for long enough to make card for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch this week. I love simple sketches, and this was no exception. I decided to keep it super simple, only scoring a frame in the Kraft background, and framing the image in a few colors. I stole this color combo straight out of the SU catty again. I'm tellin' ya... I love their colors this year!

I stamped the bottom in Old Olive and the tulips in Bashful Blue. Then I stamped them again, cut them out, and popped them up. I felt like a it needed a little ribbon, so I snuck that in, but controlled myself. No buttons, no twine. :)

Have a fantastic rest of your day! Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies- Stamps- Verve: Circular Sayings, Miracle Blossom
Paper- Kraft, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink- Bashful Blue, Old Olive
Accessories- Ribbon, dimensionals, circle punches, bone folder

Mojo Monday

Good afternoon! It's been a good day so far here is So Cal. I had Bible study this morning and we began the second half on Daniel- all the prophecy and eschatology. I've done this Beth Moore study before and it's been fantastic just sitting and soaking her teaching in once again. I don't think I have any more room for notes in the margins of my homework book! She (Beth Moore) has such a gift for teaching and just has the ability to take something that I've read through a million times and never understood and put it into perspective. Plus, I love studying history and it's relevance to structuring today's world and this book of the Bible definitely fulfills that!

I had a blast at my cousin's Pampered Chef party last night. My aunt and another cousin were there, so it added up to a bunch a laughing and good times. I couldn't sample any of the food prepared due to my food allergies, but it sure smelled good! And I got some fun kitchen goodies that I can't wait to use! This evening, I'm off to the local farmer's market. There's nothing quite like fresh fruits and veggies... especially during the summer! I like to stock up on white nectarines, plums, asparagus, and any other fruit that just looks particularly scrumptious that trip. I have tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, green beans, and jalapeno growing like crazy in my back yard, so I just buy the things I don't have. :)

I sat down this afternoon determined to crank out this week's Mojo Monday sketch. There were a bunch of layers this week that were slightly intimidating, but not overwhelming. Plus, I just got my new SU catty and I love the color combinations they have going in their samples! Totally up my alley! I stole this combo straight out of the catty and will definitely play with it some more in the future.

I stamped the branch Plain Jane from Verve in Versamark all over the background purple. If you know me at all as a card-maker, you know that circles are the bain of my existence. lol So, I quickly jumped into "what else can I do with that circle" mode. Enter my favorite combo- bow, button, twine! It always saves the day!

Overall, a simple card today, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Branch Plain Jane, Proverbs 3:5

Paper- Very Vanilla, Kraft (SU), Plum Pudding, Bitty Box dp (PTI)

Ink- Versamark, Old Olive

Accessories- Cream ribbon, twine, button