Thursday, July 30, 2009

COLORFUL flowers

*Note: I am away on vacation. This is an auto-post!

COLORS make me happy (and so does the beach!)---so today...I should be ECSTATIC! lol!

You can find a great selection of May Arts ribbon and Cosmo Cricket at Stamper's Dream!

Materials used: Designer paper-Early Bird (Cosmo Cricket); ric rak (May Arts); rhinestone-Brenda Walton (K & Company); ribbon - SU!; Sewing machine.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

You are a Classic

*Note: I am away on vacation. This is an auto-post!

I used the truck from The Journey (Gina K Designs) to create this father's day card. I wanted the front to resemble a cork board with important notes on it.....

The sentiment is from Special Fathers (Gina K Designs).

(Tip: Just leave off the "Happy Father's Day" sentiment on the front for a great birthday card for DAD!)


Here is a look at the inside of the card:

Stamps- Car-The Journey; sentiment-Special Fathers (Gina K Designs);Memento tuxedo black ink; cardstock-blue, white Pure Luxury (Gina K Designs); Cork alphabet stickers (Made for Retail.inc $1 Spot Target); Copic Markers; heart punch (Stampin' Up!); Thin cork sheet; hemp (Hobby Lobby); Metal dots stickers (JoAnn's); Dymo Label buddy; Designer paper-Frenzy-Glee; White Out Collection (We R Memory Keepers).
Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Tag Ornament

*Note: I am away on vacation. This is an auto-post!

I love gifts that are meaningful. I thought the new Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendant would make a great holiday gift tag that you can then use as an ornament!

I added some texture by using the Spellbinders Impressabilities Flowers to create a pattern on the ornament and then added some adhesive pearls around it.

The words are created using JustRite Small Letters set.


I finished the project by adding piece of ribbon so that you can hang it from the tree (or a package) and a little bow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Flopsey

*Note: I am away on vacation. This is an auto-post!


Just a colorful happy birthday card using Birthday Flopsey from My Favorite Things. I just love this guy--and I can never make enough birthday cards so this one is a favorite of mine! (My favorite part of this card is the little twinkling crystals placed randomly in some of the background circles!)

Materials used: Stamps-Birthday Flopsey (My Favorite Things); Designer paper-Snorkel (Cosmo Cricket); ribbon-Snorkel (Cosmo Cricket); crystals-Brenda Walton (K & Company); label punch (SU); Copic Markers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Eclectic Get Well

*Note: I am away on vacation. This is an auto-post*

Hello! Today, I have a fun get well card to share. I recently purchased some designer paper from Sassafras---it is so funky and fun. I used it with some designer paper from We R Memory Keepers and October Afternoon for a truly eclectic card.

The ambulance is from my Nurse Feelgood set (Gina K Designs).
It is hard to see in the photo...but the scallops around the sentiment have little red crystals all around it.

Hope your week is GREAT!!

Materials used: Stamps-Nurse Feelgood (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Copic markers; circle/scallop circle punches (SU!); gemstones (a muse); ribbon-Spring Moss (Papertrey); Designer paper-Whale of a Tale (Sassafras), Flower Frills-Grandma's Kitchen (We R Memory Keepers), Norm's News (October Afternoon); brad (American Crafts); rub on sentiment (Making Memories); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Blog Candy and checkin' in!

Hi everyone! We got to Pennsylvania and had a great night last night....so nice to feel some cooler weather!

Just wanted to pop in and announce the JustRite blog candy winner. Random.Cara picked number 118. Congratulations to Sharon who said, "Even though I have yet to purchase any just rite stamps or sets, I have been eyebaling 2 sets. The Tiny words borders & Centers set 1 - 3/16 and:Big Occasions Centers & Borders Set 1 - 5/8I plan on buying one of the two by Sunday - hehe Winning any "candy" would be a definite bonus as I am very excited about learning how to use these stampers!"

Sharon, please email me (link on the sidebar) with your address and I will get that set right out to you!

While I am on vacation I have my sketchbook and my idea journal---just in case!!! (And.....I am working on something very close to my heart....more details about that SOON!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Vacation: All I ever wanted

My two littlest and I are heading to PA today to collect my oldest daughter (who has been visiting her father), visit my family---head to the beach (NJ!) and then go to Corolla, NC for a trip with ALL of my brothers and sisters (yep....all 8 of us AND our kids) and my parents! My husband will be joining us when we get to North Carolina.

I cannot wait!

I have scheduled some posts....but I will mostly be away from my computer for the next three weeks! I will have email access so if you email me, I will return your message.

[YES...I will be posting the blog candy winner tomorrow morning too!]

But mostly......I am taking the time to just ENJOY.....REST.....and be with family!

Have a great few weeks!

Thought I should have a nice beachy card to accompany this post!

Materials used: Stamps-Inkadinkado; Memento tuxedo black ink; Cardstock-white (Gina K Designs), Island Mist Medium (Prism); Copic markers; designer paper-Everafter (Cosmo Cricket), Black and Cream Script (The Paper Studio); Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies; Charm-(K& Company); Tulle.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A Tree-mendous Surprise

Just a nut-y card created with Whimsical Autumn, Eclectic Summer Sayings and So Grateful from Gina K Designs. I LOVE combining different sets!Materials used: Stamps-Whimsical Autumn, Eclectic Summer Sayings, So Grateful (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; designer paper-Frenzy Glee (We R Memory Keepers), Crunching leaves (October Afternoon); cardstock-green (SU!); white -Pure Luxury (Gina K Designs); Copic markers; hemp (SU!); metal rimmed tag (SU!); paper piercing tool; ribbon (Offray).

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Mixing and Matching Stamps with JustRite and Blog Candy

Hello! Today is the last day of Stamper's Dream JustRite week. It is always fun playing around with these stamps and I am sure you will be getting a lot more glimpses of these sets in the coming weeks.

Today I have a simple card using the JustRite Friendship Borders & Centers Round. (This set is currently sold out at Stamper's Dream but should be back in stock soon!)
I wanted to show you how you can combine portions of the stamps in any of these sets to create a whole new look (making them even more versatile!)

I stamped just the tree two times, inking up the tree with markers so I could leave out the sentiment next to it. Then, I cut out and popped up the top part of the tree over the first image (which was cut out using a circle Spellbinders die).
I used half of the sentiment ring from the set "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." I thought this went so well with the tree (cause you know they take a LONG time to grow too!) I added a tiny heart into the tree as a finishing touch.

The "Friend" sentiment at the top is from a stamp in the set that has a pot and says "Friends"...I just inked up the part I wanted to use, stamped it and then punched it out.

I went with minimal for this design and chose to just add a few squares of designer paper by Kaiser Craft along the side.

Materials used: Stamps-Friendship Centers & Borders (JustRite); Olive, chocolate chip markers (SU!); cardstock-olive, vanilla, red (SU!); ribbon (SU!); designer paper-Kaiser Craft; oval punch (SU!); Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle nestabilities; Wizard (Spellbinders); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).

Hope you like it!

Blog Candy (is now closed!): It has been awhile since I gave away some blog candy. Want to win of my favorite JustRite sets---Girl Time Borders & Centers? *Click link to see set* Just leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite JustRite set is! (Subscribers can post twice!) Random.Cara will select a winner on Sunday night at 8 p.m. central time. I will post the winner Monday morning. The winner will have 3 days to email me to claim their prize before another entry is drawn. Special thanks to JustRite for this set donation.

Now head on over to these Dream Team-ers for some more JustRite inspiration: Kimberly, Charmaine and Michelle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

JustRite Week Continues...

Good morning! How are you enjoying all the JustRite projects on the Stamper's Dream team blogs this week? I am so inspired by those gals---just wish I had more time to stamp!!!

Today, I am using the new Preserves Borders & Centers set from JustRite! I used the salsa stamp and border to create the lid for the salsa jar---and easy and tasty gift idea! Since my husband loves chips and salsa, I added a little chip bag--just a cute touch when giving salsa and I used the JustRite Harmony Rectangular stamper to add the letters to the bag in Brayton font.

I also created a little recipe card (which is kind of difficult to see in this picture). It is always fun to tuck a recipe in when giving a homemade treat--in case the person who receives it wants to make some more!

Here is a closer look at the salsa jar:
Very easy. I designed this so that you can remove the outer rim of the lid and the decoration all comes off with it. What is left is the jar with the sealed lid. This keeps the decorative lid beautiful and untouched by the salsa.

The little gift tag was created using Birthday Wishes & Borders set. I just stamped the sentiment and punched it with a tag punch. Simple!
The main image is stamped and colored with Copic markers. I stamped the border and raised the center up on foam mounting tape.
Would you like to see some more Justrite Inspiration? Head on over to these fabulous blogs:
......And then head on over to Stamper's Dream to find all the JustRite products (and hundreds of other products)!
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to stop by tomorrow *wink!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

JustRite Week Continues with Stamper's Dream

Hello! Happy Tuesday and Happy Day Two of JustRite Week with Stamper's Dream.

Today I wanted to focus on one of my favorite things about JustRite: I love circle sentiments and JustRite enables you to use the adorable ones they make OR create your own, making personalization a snap! For this card, I coupled a border from the Friendship set with a Sarah Kay image.
REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION

As you can see, I inked only half of the circle sentiment using markers and then, using my Spellbinders circle dies, cut the sentiment out to perfectly frame it. I clipped the ends with some scissors. This is the PERFECT sentiment for this image!!!

I colored the Best Friends Forever Sarah Kay image with Copic markers and framed her on a piece of designer paper cut with the Labels Four die (Spellbinders). The designer paper is from Cosmo Cricket-Early Bird Collection. I added a strip of the felt ribbon from the Snorkel line to add some texture and then topped it with a crocheted flower (which was made by Chris Kirkpatrick, Just email me if you want the details!)

Materials used: Stamps-Friendship Set (JustRite Stampers), Best Friends Forever (Sarah Kay/Stampavie); ink-Memento tuxedo black; markers-red, black (SU!); Copic markers; designer paper-EarlyBird: Brunch, Farmers Market (Cosmo Cricket), Homegrown: Big Polka (Three Bugs in a Rug); Spellbinders Labels Four dies and circle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug (Provocraft); ribbon-Snorkel (Cosmo Cricket); crochet flower (Chris Kirkpatrick); button; sewing machine.

You can find all the new JustRite release in the Stamper's Dream Store.

To see some more JustRite goodness, check out these Stamper's Dream team blogs:
Charmaine, Tosh, Laurie and Michelle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 13, 2009

JustRite Week at Stamper's Dream

Hello! Happy Monday!
This week Stamper's Dream is featuring the newest JustRite stamps on their blogs. Today, I am showing you a card I created with Thinking of You Borders & Centers Oval, a set filled with beautiful, heartfelt sentiments.
I stamped the sentiment on white cardstock (Prism) and then instead of using an oval shape to cut it out...I used a scalloped circle die (Spellbinders) to punch out the sentiment.
I layered it over one of the new Spellbinders pendant die--Fleur de Lis. The top design was created with the Arch Lattice Edge Punch by Martha Stewart.

The designer paper is from Kaiser Craft and the blue cardstock is from Island Mist from Prism.

If you would to see some more JustRite goodness....head on over to these blogs: Amy, Michelle.

And then head on over to Stamper's Dream to check out all the new JustRite products in the store.

Have a great day!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

New Chick in the House

My sweet friend Charmaine is scheduled to have her little baby girl tomorrow. The girls at Stamper's Dream are celebrating her today on our blogs!!

Since I didn't have any "baby" stamps from Stamper's Dream to use for this card---I chose instead to use this cute chick from the Pink Paislee set Spring Fling. The images in this set are fun and trendy....they work well for any occasion. This card totally reminds me of Charmaine!!

Here is the card I am sending to Charmaine to help welcome the New Chick in the House:
To help show the versatility of these images/set---here is the same card with a few alterations--as a Thank You:

Materials used: Stamps-Spring Fling (Pink Paislee); Memento tuxedo black ink; Heart punch-Marvy Uchida; Designer paper-Morning Glory-Ally's Wonderland (SEI), How's It Going-Everyday (American Crafts), Frenzy Glee-White Out (We R Memory Keepers); paper piercing tool; rhinestones (Brenda Walton-K& Company); ribbon (SU!); Card Sayings rub ons (Making Memories).

Huge Congratulations Charmaine---cannot wait to see pictures of that beautiful baby girl! Head on over to these blogs to see more cards for Charmaine:
Laurie
This week the Stamper's Dream team will be showcasing all the newest JustRite products--Michelle has them in the store NOW...and the team has lots of projects planned this to inspire you!
Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Spreading the word....

I have a soft spot for any company or organization who tries to make the world a better place...in whatever way they can.

Today, I found out that Cosmo Cricket is donating $1 for every comment they receive on this POST to their local food bank. They are doing their part to help out families who really need our help. So, drop a comment on THIS POST and then drop off a can off food at your local food bank....

Just because....together we can make a difference.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Feeling Lucky?

Lucky Seven Sale Event: NOW Through Monday!

Gina K Designs is having a special sale for 4 days only!!! Read all the funtastic details below!!!

Here are two cards created with one of the Lucky Seven sets---How Sweet it Is! This set is so versatile....it includes many images suitable to make so many different cards or scrapbook pages.

My first card uses this adorable stork image (one of my favorite images to make baby cards with!):

Materials used: How Sweet it is (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Copic markers; White pure luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); designer paper (My Mind's Eye), paper piercing tool; sponge; blue ink (SU!); buttons (PTI); circle punch (SU!); sewing machine.


Another favorite image in the set is this funky heart!!! I just love it and I love how it looks stamped in multiples. The two hearts on the ends are stamped and then I used a Quickie Glue pen to fill them in and then added some glitter, so they are really sparkly in real life!

Materials used: Stamps-How Sweet it is! (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Pure luxury white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Quickie Glue Pen; Doodlebug glitter; sewing machine; button; hemp; word window punch (SU!); designer paper (Everyday-How's It Going? American Crafts).

Here are the details of the BIG SALE:
Buy any three of these seven stamp sets (regularly priced at $23.95 each) for $49.95
Lucky Seven Stamp sets available for this sale event:
and you can choose from one of these normally priced $19.95 stamp sets for free! (A total value of $91.80)

OR
for an even more amazing deal: Buy them all for $125! Purchase all of the Lucky Seven stamp sets and you will receive all 4 of the free stamp set choices for free! (A total value of $247.55)


To take advantage of these sale prices, look for the Lucky Seven Button on GinaK's Online Store that will go live tonight!

And for some inspiration using the seven Lucky Stamp sets......Check out these GinaK Designs Senior Design Team blogs tonight:

Many Happy Returns: Joanne and Lynn
How Sweet it Is: Gina and Carolyn
Jumping for Joy: Cathy and Lee
Zoo Animals: Asela and Donna
Christmas Blessings: Kurtis and Emily
Whatever Floats Your Boat: Erika and Jessica
Cuddles and Hugs: Melanie and Theresa

The Lucky Seven Sale event will starts NOW and runs thru Monday night at midnight!

Happy Shopping!
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Forever Friends...

Ahhh!!! Here are those kiddos again. (I cannot help using them as they remind me of my kids!)

For this card I combined the children The Journey with the background from Happy Camper ,both from Gina K Designs. This card reminds me of the trip we took with our kids to the Grand Canyon and Utah this past spring break.
I stamped the background and colored the mountains and trees with Copics on Pure Luxury white cardstock and sponged the sky. I used the sentiment from The Journey. I stamped the children and colored them with Copics and then raised them a bit over the scene to help create some dimension. The card is created on rocket red cardstock and I added some chocolate kiss to offset the image on one side.

The ribbon is from Gina K Pure Luxury holiday collection. I added some new self-adhesive nail heads on the sides of the sentiment.

These sets really work well with each other.

Materials used: Stamps-The Journey, Happy Camper (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Copic markers; sponge; mustard, bashful blue stamp pads (SU!); Cardstock-rocket red, white, chocolate kiss Pure Luxury (Gina K Designs); ribbon - Gina K designs; Spellbinders circle/scalloped circle dies; metal nail heads (Gina K Designs; oval punch (Stampin' Up!); dimensionals.

Stay tuned: Something FUN is coming to Gina K Designs on FRIDAY!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Holly Berry Mission Bell

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend!!! Thanks for all your sweet comments about the race. It was fun and it is nice to be running in them again.

Today, I wanted to share a special project with you. This is made from a stamp!
When Michelle (Stamper's Dream) sent an email out to the design team to have us look over a site for stamp suggestions...I was mesmerized by these Holly Berry House Mission Bells. They are gorgeous. I used the Chesapeake Bell for this project.
Basically, the stamp is a panel. You stamp it on cardstock or paper and color as you wish and then assemble.

Here is the bell I created:

I really had this hair brained idea to paper piece the bell and was not going to rest until I finished it the way I had envisioned. I stamped the bell panel five times and embossed it in gold. I cut out each panel and it looked like this:

<----This is one panel embossed on red paper. As you can see, it looks beautiful left alone....but I already had this idea in my head and had to try out piecing the bell! So, I embossed the image five more times on each: yellow, light green, dark green. Yes, crazy! But it went much faster than I thought and I took breaks!


<---Here is the same panel with the paper piecing. I cut out each section of the bell and applied the sections I wanted to the main panel. Then, I went back with a Zig Painty gold pen to fill in some gold accents.

After I assembled the bell, I added the bow and small jingle bell. I then applied a thin coat of acrylic spray (because I paper pieced the bell and didn't want to take the chance that any section would come loose!)

But...You can do many things with this stamp:
You can use the bell stamp to create a bell card....just stamp the image and cut it out (cut off the tabs) and cut out a back panel (the same size as the front) and tie a bow at the top.
On the Holly Berry House site, they have the bells AND a description on how to assemble them (EASY!) They embossed the bells in gold and then painted them with Twinkling H2Os.
These would also be stunning hanging from a Christmas tree or you can create a beautiful Wedding bell for a shower!

I just love this unique idea. You can find a nice selection of these bells at Stamper's Dream! They are VERY cool!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Running again...

A while back, I mentioned that my husband and I are going to start entering a few road races again. (Road races= running races on the road/concrete) We used to race A LOT before the two youngest were born and both of us stopped because we didn't have to time to train and compete. We kept running...but training and "going for a run" are very different things.

Yesterday, we ran our first 5K (3.1 miles) together in about 7 years. We both didn't get anywhere near our old best times (minutes off!) but it was fun.
The temperature at race start was just hitting the 90s and it was humid but the course was flat and it was through our neighborhood so we knew the roads well.

I finished with a time of 23:53 (a full 4 minutes slower than my best time from years ago) but I was happy with it. I finished first in my age group (35-39) and won a medal that my son has now taken ownership of: Overall, I finished 14/111 women. My husband did well too...finished ahead of me but just missed placing in his age group (men are faster than women.)

Anyway, thanks for letting me share! I am glad that I am getting moving again. Competing is fun (before and after the race--anyway!)

Have a great day! I will have something crafty to share tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July!!!!! (since I won't be posting tomorrow, this is early!)

Special thanks to all those who have family members who are serving (who have served) our country here and overseas! Your sacrifices are greatly appreciated!

I used the newest set by Asela for Gina K Designs called The Journey to create this patriotic tribute. It reminded me of kids going to see a parade. (I just need to find a tiny flag for their hands!)

I used some ribbon from the newest Stamp TV kit -Eclectic Summer and some Pure Luxury rocket red and white cardstock.

The star is created using the stars from Lazy Days of Summer (also from Gina K Designs).

Materials used: Stamps-The Journey, Lazy Days of Summer (Gina K Designs); cardstock-red, white (Gina K Designs), blue (SU!); Memento black ink; copic markers; rub-on (Making Memories); ribbon (Gina K Designs); paper piercing tool; red marker (SU!); slit punch (SU!).

Wishing you a happy holiday weekend!!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

If Tomorrow Never Comes...

Check out the lovely note my son, Ben (6), left for me on my bed:

In case you are having trouble reading the scan it says:
If
Tomro
neve
came
wold
you
No
how
much
I love you

Be still my heart! That boy has a way of melting my heart just when he needs me to be melted. (And for those of you who think I should get him under a song writing contract--just thank Garth Brooks, these are lyrics to his song "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Apparently, I play that song a lot....!)

Just wanted to share! Remember to let the ones you love know how much YOU love them :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

(Bee) Happy Announcements

Hi everyone! It is overcast here and I am (silently) rejoicing!! We have had so much sun/pool already this summer...it is nice to just have a break!

I spent a little while this morning making this: I used Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday borders and elements to create this....no stamping involved! I layered some of the designer paper and then I saw the little Bee happy on one section of the paper and knew just what I wanted to do. I used the little bee in the center of the stitched flower, added some ric rak for the stem and cut another piece of dp for the leaf. The velvet ribbon along the bottom is also from Cosmo Cricket-Fleuriste.

Materials used: Designer paper-Girl Friday, borders and elements (Cosmo Cricket); In Stitchz template and thread (Bazzill); cardstock-(SU!); ribbon-Fleuriste (Cosmo Cricket); ricrak (May Arts).

Did you know??? You can find Cosmo Cricket at Stamper's Dream store! Yep, you can! Also, I wanted to take a minute to welcome Amy to the Stamper's Dream design team! Woohoo Amy!!

Did you know x2??? There is still time to apply to be on the Cosmo Cricket design team! You can find all the information HERE! Good luck to all of those who apply!

Have a GREAT day. BEE happy!

Thanks for stopping by!