I'm still here!

Hey, everyone! I just wanted to drop in here to let you know that life has just been getting in the way of my blog this month. So unfair, lol!  I knew coming into February that things were going to be extremely crazy, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

We have company this weekend, so I'm busy playing hostess and doubt any stamping will get to take place. :(  But I'll enjoy the company, for sure!  March should definitely be a whole lot calmer and allow for some quality stamp time. Yay! 

See you back here next week!

Sweet Sunday Sketch #56

Good evening! I had a few minutes this evening to sit down and make a card. I've had a baby card stuck in my head for the last few days. My cousin Timmy called the other day to announce that he and his wife are expecting their first kiddo! WOW! Timmy is my age and we literally grew up more as brother and sister than cousins, so this feels so extremely special. Plus, I absolutely love Erin, his wife. They're due in October, so we've got a little wait... And this most definitely needed to be a gender neutral card. :) This card's going out in the mail tomorrow.

I used Karen's Sweet Sunday sketch for my layout. I love the square background panels. I fiddled a bit with making them two different colors, but settled with just the one to keep things a bit more simple. I paper pieced the baby carriage from the same Pretty Pastels dp. Some tiny dollops of stardust stickles to the polka dots and heart added just a little bit of sparkle.

Can I just say I am soooo glad it will be Friday tomorrow? Weeks back at work after a vacation always are tiring. Those four days off were wonderful, but they sure throw my everyday routine out of whack. Especially my sleep schedule. And having the Olympics to watch each night really isn't helping in that department.... But I can't miss the Olympics! I usually give in around 10:15 and push record. The tricky part is finding time the next day to watch the tape before the new coverage comes on for the night, lol. On top of all of that, we had two late nights at work- Science Fair and Talent Show. It's so fun to be there and witness my kids' creativity, but it sure makes for looooong work days!

I'm off to Disneyland again this Saturday to hear my roomie play. One of her chamber groups will be playing in Carnation Plaza late morning. Fun! It's supposed to be raining again, so maybe that will keep the crowds down.

Thanks for stopping by! Supplies-
Stamps- SU: Fun & Fast Notes
Paper- Spring Rain, Summer Sunrise, Whisper White, Bitty Dots dp, Pretty Pastels dp
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories- ribbon, button, twine, nestabilities, tea dye inks, stickles, copics

Viva la Verve!

Good evening! I'm back after such a wonderful, long, holiday weekend. I ended up running up to my parent's house in the mountains for the weekend... And this was all decided at the last minute.

I feel like this card is a little rough around the edges. I feel slightly out of practice after not making a card for one solid week. After breaks, doesn't it just feel like the mojo takes a day or two to kick back in? It'll come.

This is a quick Viva la Verve sketch. I loved the colors in the third inspiration picture. Though, looking back at this, I'm wondering if I should have gone more Groovy Guava and less Terracotta Tile.... Too late now! I did stamp the Terracotta Tile with Giga Guide Lines in Versamark to add a layer of design. Some little jewels from Taylor's Tiny Twinkles added a bit of finishing touch. I'm moving on from this one and hoping the mojo kicks back in tomorrow, hehe.

I'm off to go watch some more Olympics! Hooray! Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Psalm 46:10, PTI: Giga Guide Lines
Paper- Rustic Cream, Dark Chocolate, Terracotta Tile (PTI), Wild Wasabi (SU)
Ink- Wild Wasabi, Versamark
Accessories- ribbon, jewels

Viva la Verve!

I'm back with my first Viva la Verve card for the month of February. I'm slightly behind on these (eek!)... It's definitely time to catch up. I noticed that week 2's sketch and inspiration pictures lined up perfect with another Papertrey color challenge! Yay for killing two birds with one stone!

For this month's Viva la Verve, we're walking through dining rooms. And I tell ya, the inspiration pictures that Amber finds for use are absolutely stunning! I think I'm going to use another one of the pictures for this week as my week one inspiration picture. I loved the colors in it!

I really needed some craft buttons, lol. But I had to make due with Aqua Mist... which wasn't too bad since I found these really neat buttons in my Aqua Mist stash: shapes, glitter, and texture! I'm working some more on my tying bows with one single piece of ribbon... I think I'm getting the hang of it. This is my first one that actually resembles one from Dawn's tutorial, hehe. I originally had my sentiment on a little tag to hang off of the bow, but it just didn't feel right there. I chopped off the "tag" portion and turned it into a little rectangle and stuck it in the bottom corner.

Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies- Stamps- PTI: Blooming Button Bits, Giga Guide Lines, Mega Mixed Messages
Paper- Very Vanilla, Kraft, Bitty Dots dp
Ink- Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Aqua Mist
Accessories- buttons, ribbon, nestabilities

Sweet Sunday Sketch #55

Good evening! Sorry for the long silence. I took a little trip up to Portland, Oregon to do some wedding dress shopping with my sister. She's getting married this summer and the shopping had to be done as soon as possible... Which was this last weekend.

What a blast the weekend was! It was so incredible to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. My mom and Sue (mom-in-law) were also there for the shopping. We actually found her dress at the first store, but did the dutiful other store shopping just to make sure she had really found "the one." It's gorgeous and I so wish I could post a picture! Let's just say it is absolutely perfect for my sister. :)

I've so missed my stamping! I haven't made a card in almost a week. Sitting at the Delong's house in Washington yesterday, I promised myself I would make one today. Thank goodness there were tons of inspiration launching points out there just waiting for me! I began with a fun color challenge from Nichole Heady over on her Papertrey Ink blog. I chose her color combo as it really struck me as visually interesting, a challenge, but doable. hehe I think I'm definitely going to play around with this one a bit more! I love the richness of it!
Secondly, I headed on over to Karen Giron's blog to check out this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch. Love it! And so perfect for a color challenge. Just the right amount of panels. Since this was a PTI challenge, I pulled out some PTI stamps (yes, more button bits!), and stamped away. The polka dots and raspberry leaves were done using Versamark.

Thanks so much for stopping by and putting up with my mini vacation!
Supplies- Stamps- PTI: Turning a New Leaf, Polka Dot Basics, Blooming Button Bits, Mega Mixed Messages
Paper- Scarlett Jewel, Raspberry Fizz, Terracotta Tile, Dark Chocolate, Very Vanilla
Ink- Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Crisp
Accessories- ribbon, buttons, nestabilities, dimensionals, EK Success edge punch

Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #59

Good evening! I'm back tonight with my card for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch. I really wanted to break into some of my new Papertrey dp and for some reason pictured this purple pattern on a monochromatic card. So, voila! Monochromatic card!

I love how this turned out. I tea dye stained the edges of the big square and the sentiment (which had yet to be inked, eek!) to give it a little less "bright" look. I'm really enjoying my tea dye inks. I can't believe I took so long to order them. I'm usually not an "antique-y" card makers, so I was convinced I would never use them. But, once again, after seeing them used around the blog-o-sphere, inspiration finally struck. Maybe I really can use these without having to convert to the antique look. hehe

I am so excited that tomorrow is Thursday. This has just been a rough week... One of those unexpected emotional ones that I'm ready to come to an end. I think my little escape this weekend will help.

Wasn't Lost amazing last night?! I love that show. I love that I can't figure it out, but spend tons of time trying to do just that. I love that it doesn't follow the typical show format; that every episode is unpredictable. And the smoke monster reveal! AH! :)

Thanks for stopping by tonight!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Anais Nin PJ
Paper- Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding, Whisper White, Pretty Pastels dp
Ink- Perfect Plum
Accessories- ribbon, button, twine, dimensionals, pearls, tea dye ink

Sweet Sunday Sketch #54

Good evening! I'm literally popping in here just to show this card to you all. How did the week become so crazy busy? It sure didn't set out to be that way. But, c'est la vie?!

I really wanted to play with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch this week and had to get it up here before the expiration date passes. I pulled out my trusty Turning a New Leaf dp (still in love with this stuff) and a white ribbon to shake things up a bit. When I got the whole thing cut and placed, I realized that my image circle wasn't too large... Enter a sentiment!

I just booked a plane ticket to fly back up to Portland, OR for the weekend. My mom is flying up as well, and we're going wedding dress shopping with my sister! I'm so excited! I really wanted to be there for this once-in-a-lifetime event, and for a little while there it was looking like they were going to do it mid-week when I could not come. So a HUGE thanks to my amazing sister for working with the three of us (mom, myself, and future mother-in-law) to find a time when we were all available.

All right, I'm bringing this story back around. Since I'm heading back up to Portland, I'll be staying with Sharon's future in-laws once again. Therefore, I turned this little card into a thank you card. It will be a nice little treat to leave behind for their kindness once again.

I'm off to hopefully make another card, start some laundry, and watch Lost!! Yay! Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Say it with Style, Turning a New Leaf
Paper- Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, Whisper White, Turning a New Leaf dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories- tea dye ink, ribbon, nestabilities, dimensionals, scallop edge punch