Gratitude

Yep, gratitude is sometimes elusive.  On days when my five year old really brings it me, it's tough to achieve.  Right now, the darling is standing in time out for running out of the house and hiding from Mommy.  I guess I thought that I wouldn't have to keep my eye on her for every second of the day like when she was two or three.  Guess again!  So in reaching for gratitude, I will hearken back to three and a half hours ago when we went to the local public library for story time.  She was marvelous.  She sat quietly and remained quiet while most of the other children blurted out and interrupted the librarian who was reading.  She raised her hand when she wanted to talk and waited for the librarian to call on her.  She even put her hand down when the librarian asked her to wait.  I guess the lesson here is that she can do it, just not for Mom and Dad!

But you probably came for the card, not my parenting woes and triumphs.  Today's card uses the 4th and final sketch from the June Viva La Verve sketches.  Teresa hostessed this challenge.  I decided I need to work up a few thank you cards as one of the teachers at school had a hard time finding thank you cards in my stash last week.  I saw Laurie Schmidlin use this sentiment and wanted to use it too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Details- Stamps:  Kind Words, Thankful Accents (Verve); Paper: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Springtime Vintage dsp; Ink: Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke; Accessories: Tasteful Trim XL Bigz die, Nestabilities, small oval punch, large oval punch, vanilla seam binding, SU pearls, stampin' dimensionals.

Guitars and Rhinestones

That is about all there is folks!  This card showcases one guitar and seven rhinestones.  Now, I did color those rhinestones with a turquoise sharpie for a little more pop.  I would also love to say that I came up with this little gem all by myself, but I did not.  I played along with a Stamp TV challenge to case AJ Otto.  I took this card and made it my own. 

In other news, today marks the first day of no daycare.  My daughter finished daycare Friday and now has to stay home with Mommy for the rest of the summer.  I took the little peanut on a 40 minute walk and I am afraid I wore her out.  She had a major tantrum after lunch.  I just put her down for a nap, as I am thinking she will feel much better (an be willing to cooperate) after she rests.  Me?  I am getting on up to my craft room to take advantage of  a little free time! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Details - Stamp: Live Life Loud (GKD); Paper: Whisper White, Welcome Neighbor dsp; Ink: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay; Accessories: Nestabilities, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals, M's rhinestones, turquoise Sharpie.

Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

Happy Saturday!  It's a gray and overcast day here.  You know, the kind that is perfect for stamping.  My daughter is still in her pajamas and happy to be coloring at the dining room table while Mommy crafts away. 

I saw the Papertrey Ink announcement about June's blog hop yesterday and planned to participate.  After I gave the challenge some thought, I remembered that I would need a birthday card for my Great Aunt's 90th birthday celebration tomorrow.  Instantly, I knew where I was going with this one!

I found a good sketch to use for my wreath and went to town!  This month's inspiration challenge comes from a photograph with a gorgeous gradient colored wall.  I pulled the kiwi and coral colors from the wall as my inspiration for my card. 

I hope you like it and I hope Aunt Irene likes it too!  We'll see tomorrow.  Have a joyful Saturday!

Details - Stamps: A Wreath For All Seasons (PTI); Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, SEI Mimosa dsp; Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Colorbox Coral Rose; Accessories: Nestabilities, May Arts Burlap String, white twill tape, M's silver pearls, corner chomper, stamping dimensionals, glue dot.  



No White, No Problems

Here we are again, on a beloved Thursday!  That means it's time for another Ways to Use It challenge and this week, Collette is our fabulous hostess.  Collette has challenged us crafter's to NOT use white.  Boy, was that hard to contemplate.  I finally got around it with a little help from Sunday's Featured stamper, Tami Mayberry.  I saw a bunch of cards that were cased and stamped on patterned paper.  I'll tell you...a little light bulb went off for me.  I went in search of some light colored patterned paper and found this aged graph paper by Cosmo Cricket!  I grabbed another pattern from the same pack and went to town.  I used black ink and then repeated the polka dot pattern in my ribbon.  I also chose Blush Blossom for my card base because it matched the pattern paper pretty well. 

It's my first day on summer vacation and it's raining!  Hello, didn't the weather get the memo.....SUMMER vacation!  Oh well, I guess I will be making some more of my own sunshine later today, right after I make a pink card for National Pink Day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Details: Stamps: It's A Good Day (Unity); Paper: Blush Blossom, Basic Black, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday dsp; Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Basic Black ; Accessories: black/white polka dot organdy ribbon, random button, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals.



More Bunny Love and One More Day

One more day of school left and all I can say is "yahoo"!  I cannot wait for 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday.  I'm seriously very excited about my summer off and more time with my daughter.  It's been unusually quiet at school these last few days and I am hoping nothing big is around the bend.  But you didn't come for the school report, you wanted to see another altered bunny!  I morphed Emery and Somebunny again and this time backed him/her with the Verve Jotted Die heart.  It was looking a little plain, so I took my white gel pen and drew a border inside the heart.  Fun stuff!  I have a couple more bunny themed items to make.  Perhaps I can get to it tonight after my daughter heads for bed.  I heard that there may be some band practice tonight and that is always a good night for crafting.

Thanks for stopping by!

Details: Stamps: Somebunny (Verve), Emery PJ (Verve), sentiment (Rubber Stampede), Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Baroque Motifs; Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall dsp; Ink: Basic Black, Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry; Accessories: Jotted Heart die (Verve), white organza ribbon, MAMBI rhinestones, TE tiny twinkles, quickie glue pen, stampin' sponge, two step owl xl punch, white gel pen, stampin' dimensionals, scor-tape.

Bunny Love

I just recently got a request to make a couple of covered junior legal pads from my boss.  She wanted them to be pink and purple with a bunny theme.  I noticed then that I have a shortage of bunnies at my disposal.  I modified this little guy to increase my cute factor.  I took it to work today and my boss loved it so much that she asked me to make 2 more.  Uh-oh, what am I going to do now?  I'll have to find a couple more sketches and really dig through my stamps tonight!  I used Sankari's Viva La Verve sketch to flesh this out.  Her sketches are always so intricate that I hesitate each time I attempt one.  Maybe it's not so much her sketches, but her style in so detailed that gives me pause.  Kelly, from the Stamp 2 Spend challenge asked crafter's to alter something.  This is a junior legal pad that I made a cover for.  It's nice and decorated and has a flap inside for keeping loose notes.  I learned to do this at a VSN gone by. 

After today, I have two more days of work until I can be off for the summer.  I hope for a restful summer with nice weather and lots of good times for my daughter and I.  Thanks for stopping by!

Details - Stamps: Somebunny (Verve), Emery PJ (Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, SEI Madelin; Ink: Basic Black; Acessories: Nestabilities, Gray organdy ribbon, Bigz Scallop Envelope, MS Arch Lattice punch, Two Step Owl XL punch, stampin' dimensionals, scor-tape, junior legal pad.  

More Sunshine...

because it is raining again!  Whew, I had a serious talk with my husband yesterday about moving.  I don't want to move at all, but I would go anywhere he went.  He is not tolerating this weather well at all.  He needs some sunshine.  Good thing he is going to Eastern Washington with the band next weekend and then with us the weekend following.  But you didn't come here for my woes!  My card today follows the Fall To Layout from the clean&simple stamping blog!  Easy peasy and dimensions were given too.  I altered it a bit to fit my focal image.  I also use a wheel on my background.  I totally forgot how easy those things are to use!  I have had this little flower for about three years.  I took it off a baby shower favor.  Keri's sister threw her the most amazing baby shower with a bee theme.  The favors were tiny jars of honey that she decorated with cute dimensional stickers and labels she made herself!  Now, the honey is long gone, but I just couldn't throw out that cute flower sticker.  Today, it has new life "just because I care"!

Thanks for stopping by!

Details:  Stamps: Leaf Prints wheel, Best Yet; Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight; Ink: Daffodil Delight, Basic Black; Accessories: gingham ribbon, salvaged flower, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals.

Making My Own Sunshine

because there is no sunshine to be had here today!  The rain is good to water the garden.  I wish however it would only rain overnight.  We have had such an abundance of rain that I would like our fair share of sunshine. 

Yes, I realize that I live in Washington and for the most part rain doesn't bother me.  I have lived here my whole entire life and rarely use umbrellas.  But this record-breaking season (I think) has tested me.

So when Laurie called for a project inspired by Summer, Sunshine or Blue Skies, I focused in on the sunshine!  After seeing the weather today and this card, I think I will be spending a bit more time with some the bright colors in my craft room!

Here's to sunshine for you today!  Thanks for coming by ;)

Details - Stamps: Enjoy Today PJ (Verve); Paper: Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Pawsitively Prints dsp; Ink: Basic Black; Accessories: paper snips, white twill tape, TE tiny twinkles, quickie glue pen, stampin' dimensionals. 

One more down, three to go!

Everything will be "just ducky" in about five more days.  The end of the school year is just a bear for me and I am wiped out, so no chit chat for this girl tonight!  Just enjoy a little Verve in some out of characteristic brights for me!

Details: Stamps:To The Moon (Verve), Lucky Ducky ( Verve); Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Afternoon Tea dsp, Pawsitively Prints dsp; Ink: Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Versamark; Accessories: white ep, heat tool, 1 3/8" square punch, Nestabilities, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals, two way glue pen.

Using It!

It's Thursday again and time for a new Ways To Use It challenge.  Today, I am the hostess and I challenged crafters to use vellum!  I first fell in love with vellum and the elegant look it can create via Laurie Schmidlin.  

I followed a Card Patterns Sketch to make this one.  The panels are little difficult to see because they are vellum, but I think you can see the lines of the stitching that follow the edge of the papers.  I doubled up the vellum under the sentiment so that the sentiment would be easier to read and not so distracted by the cool floral paper underneath. 

After I finished my ribbon treatment, my card still looked a little plain, so I spiced it up with some clear rhinestones that I colored pink with a Sharpie.

On a personal note, I took my daughter to her first track meet yesterday.  She had so much fun competing and there were swarms of other children.  She did the long jump, the 50 meter hurdles, the 50 meter dash and the 100 meter dash.  She held her own for her very first time.  The most important part...

she got a ribbon.  Well, she got three ribbons.  Every child got a ribbon and every child was made to feel good about their participation.  The local parks and recreation department put it all together with local business sponsors.  She loved it so much that she wants to compete again next week.

Card details: Stamps: Watercolor Trio; Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Prima Annalee dp, vellum; Ink: Versamark; Accessories:white ep, heat tool, white satin ribbon, M's rhinestones, pink sharpie, scor-tape, stampin' dimensionals, large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, needle and thread. 

Sandy Thoughts

So I decided to play along with last week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge!  I loved the sketch, but just couldn't get it to look like I wanted it to.  I even made two attempts with different patterns that I sanded and brayered.  I made the effort, so you will see it here.  I used some Coredinations card stock and cut it into to strips.  Then I embossed and sanded or brayered, depending on the color I needed to contrast with.    Sorry for the poor quality photo.  I had sunshine streaming in my window behind my infinity board and my photo looks a little washed out.  Sunshine has been a stranger lately in these parts.  The weird thing is that it is here again today!  Catch you later friends, I'm going to go out and enjoy it!

Details: Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve; Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Going Gray, Coredinations; Ink: Basic Black; Accessories: sanding block, All My Love embossing folders, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, TE tiny twinkles, quickie glue pen, scallop border punch, M's black satin ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, glue dots, brayer. 

Happy Sunny Day!

Yes, that's right!  The sun is shining and it is beautiful outside!  I will be doing some laundry and hanging it outside as soon as the hubby awakens.  He had a show last night and didn't return until very late.  That means that I had some stamping time last night and decided to play along with Lee's recipe challenge on StampTV from Friday.  It was a little bit of a bugger.  I hope I covered all elements of the challenge appropriately.  I'm just a wee bit concerned about whether I used 2 embellishments with all the rhinestones I used, but I did only use two types of rhinestones.  I also only use 3 images, but I used one of the images three times!

I hope you have a beautiful day!

Details:  Stamps: Branching Out (GKD); Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz; Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade; Accessories: Nestabilities, MS Arch Lattice border punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, Moroccan Screen ef, white organza ribbon, M's rhinestones, stampin' dimensionals, scor-tape, Chat Room rub-ons.  

Using It...A Couple Days Late

Thursday has come and passed again and that means that there was another Ways to Use It challenge.  This week Teresa has challenged crafters to use paper piercing on their card!  I brainstormed 7 or 8 ways that I might creatively do some piercing and then I did this!  Oh well, I like it.  The piercing around the border kind of seals it off and cleans up the too much space issue!  I also modified last week's Fall To Layout from the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog.  I figured I would bust out a couple more Father's Day cards in case someone asks (people at work always ask late in the game!).  Speaking of which, I need to run off and look for bunny images.  I got a bunny request from the boss!  Thanks for stopping by!

Details: Stamps: Gratitude=Joy (Unity); Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Neutrals dsp; Ink: River Rock, Soft Suede, Old Olive; Accessories: Scallop edge punch, mat pack, piercing tool, stampin' dimensionals, Chat Room rub-ons.

Mermaid Bling

Hey there!  I just wanted to share a little number that I made during this past VSN.  This card was for Wendy's challenge called Pirate Booty.  The crafter's task was to add some bling to your card. 

This fun image is a digital image from the Stamping Boutique.  It's called Paisley Mermaid.  I had a ball coloring it.  I used colored pencils as I have not yet made the conversion to Copics yet!  I then loaded up this sweetie with pearls.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Details: Stamps: Paisley Mermaid (The Stamping Boutique; Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay; Ink: colored pencils; Accessories:  D'vine swirls ef, M's self-adhesive pearls, moonlight smooch, Sakura glaze pen, canvas/linen impression plate (PTI), stampin' dimensional.

Precious Baby Boy

Oh my gosh, this turned out sweet!  I tore into an unused pack of patterned paper to flesh out this Verve Sketch from last month hostessed by Diva Amy.  I also worked in Kelly's Stamp 2 Spend challenge to make a baby card.  I opted to go with a baby boy card as I use a lot of pink on a regular basis!  This paper is supposed to be elegant, wedding type paper, but I think it converted nicely to baby boy love.  I couldn't resist adding some pearls and seam binding to it.  After all, it's most likely that this little boy's momma is going to open and read this card ;)                                          To totally change gears on you, I only have 12 days of school left before I am off for the summer and I couldn't be more excited.  Only two more detentions and one more day of the after school reading program!  Look out summer, here I come!  I should also give fair warning to my daughter as it's the end of daycare as she knows it...now she gets her mommy full time and I am planning some fun times and lots of kindergarten prep!  We got all signed up for the summer reading program yesterday and she has logged 60 minutes of reading already (being read to)!

Details: Stamps: To The Moon (Verve); Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Elegant Soiree dsp; Ink: Basic Brown, Crumb Cake; Accessories: M's pearls, Baja Breeze seam binding, 1 3/4" circle punch, WCC, blender pen, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals.

 

Birthday Flowers

This is a card that I made for the most recent VSN.  It was for Tami's challenge, called Cabin Fever.  She asked folks to try the cracked glass technique.  I really do love this technique, but don't use it so often.   I don't know why???  As it turns out, my hubby needed a birthday card for his mother and went thumbing through my stash.  He picked this one out.  It's a great card for my mother-in-law.  It suits her just right.  She's a gardener at heart and she could grow beauties like this.  I can only stamp them.  Ha!  Thanks for stopping by!

Details: Stamps: Fast & Fabulous, Well Scripted; Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz, Razzleberry Lemonade dsp; Ink: Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Versamark; Accessories: Nestabilities, UTEE, heat tool, Vanilla seam binding, scallop edge punch, Finial press ef, glue dots, stampin' dimensionals, corner chomper.

A Little Secret!

I have been keeping a little secret for a while now, but I can let it out!  I'm part of a new team of crafters that will take over the Ways To Use It challenge on Splitcoaststampers.  Isn't that exciting?  Our team starts today with Michelle hostessing a challenge all about die cuts!  I love die cuts and so I whipped out my Verve Sweet Scallop Tag die for this little number!  I followed Maureen's Viva La Verve sketch from couple of weeks ago and cranked this baby out.  My hearts aren't die cuts, but fussy cut instead.  I'm not sure what made me use that hot pink, but I really like the way it goes with the green.  I hope you will play along with us!  Catch you in the gallery and thanks for stopping by.

Details - Stamps: Text Objects, Bloom & Grow, Sweet Scallop Tag (Verve); Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, In Color dsp, Ice Cream Parlor dsp; Ink: Versamark; Accessories: Doily, sweet scallop tag die (Verve), white eyelet, white ep, heat tool, MAMBI rhinestone, magenta sharpie, white organza ribbon, MM fuchsia ribbon, scor-tape, stampin' dimensionals, glue dots, white satin ribbon, needle and thread.