Blogging Fun!

Debbie tagged me for this fun game. The idea is to go to the sixth file in your Pictures folder, and post the sixth picture in that file. For me that was this picture of my youngest boy, Avery, on Halloween 2005 (age 9 at the time). He was (obviously?) dressed as Captain Hook. This was a hand-me-down from his eldest brother Ian, who wore the same costume about 10 or so years earlier! I wish I had that photo electronically, because you'd see how much alike these two are. We often call them Dr. Evil and Mini Me. {LOL} They are 12 years apart, which means Avery is exactly half Ian's age at the moment (12 and 24).

The best memory about this picture is that Avery won second prize in the local shopping center coloring contest that year, and received his award (a gift certificate) a few days earlier on his 9th birthday.
Avery loves to color. He often spends time with me in my craft room, stamping and coloring. He doesn't make cards (not yet anyway!), but does love my stamps and coloring with markers. I'm teaching him a bit about Copics and how to blend. The boys tease him that he's "Mommy's girl," but I tell them to be quiet (in so many words - LOL), that many great artists are men! Fortunately, Avery is not deterred. I love that he spends time with me crafting.

Okay, I believe the idea is to tag other bloggers, so I'm going to say that if you are reading this post, you are TAGGED! Please leave a comment and let me know that you've posted your picture on your blog so that I can take a look!

Well, that was a nice break from the chores of the day, especially since I've been going through mail and paying bills all morning, which is so NOT fun. But I'm done with that now and can move onto to other things. I'll be back soon with an actual card to post!

Thanks for stopping by.

A Very Special Blog Award

Where has the time gone? My goodness, I just realized that this awesome blog award was presented to me by my dear friend Michelle Yungbauer ten days ago. Yikes! I wish I could say I'd been taking an exotic vacation or doing something truly exciting, but no. I've just been living my ordinary life. Well, except for Copic Certification class, of course. And my Stamp Club... we started up again Wednesday night and had fun, fun, fun!

Anyhoo, I'm extra touched by this award because of its meaning, which I'm reprinting here:

"This is called The Proximity Award. These blogs believe and invest in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their awards”.

You see, to me, that is exactly what blogging is about... sharing and reaching out and making friends all over the world. Unless you're a world traveler, how else could you do that? And we all share a love for papercrafting, which makes us kindred spirits and natural friends right out the gate.

Without a doubt, I'd give this award to Michelle (my friend from Minnesota) because she is one of the most awesome, outgoing, friendly bloggers I know. But she was the one who sent this award to me (thanks again Michelle!). And I'd give one to Debbie (my friend from Australia), because she's all those things, too. But she already has this award. So, here are five others to whom I'm passing the torch:

Kristine Breach - Ink Something - Oregon
Claire Brennan - Waltzingmouse Makes - Ireland
Anna Wight - Sassy & Sweet Notes - Texas
Vicki Garrett - Summerthyme Studio - Canada
Tracy Simon - Tracy's Card Closet - Ohio

The best part of blogging to me is getting to know so many wonderful people... along with the awesome eye candy and inspiration, of course! I'm supposed to pick 8, but I checked a couple of others I had in mind and they already have this award, so I'm going to leave it as is for now. If I think of anyone else, I'll post it later.

Thanks for stopping by! There's more to come, so stay tuned.

The Ultimate Recipe Showdown and a Gina K Challenge

Hey y'all. (That's what my kin folk say in Mississippi.) Before I post my card for the day, I have to give a plug to my BFF Laureen, who is going to be on TV tonight as a finalist in Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown! (Click that link to see a video clip of Laureen.) I previously mentioned that she was a finalist in this post. Anyway, tonight (Sunday) is the night! Out here in So Cal, the show is on at 9:00 pm PST. If you miss it tonight, it will repeat a couple of times this week. Just check the program guide for Food Network. I'm soooo excited for Laureen, and so proud of her. I'm also happy to say I've been a happy guest at her table many times. I've told her I'm looking forward to tasting her show recipes!




















On to the card of the day! I actually colored this image a couple of weeks ago. I attended my first Gina K Release Party last Thursday night, and there were a couple of challenges posted. One was this sketch. As of right this moment, Framed Friends is the only Gina K set I own, so I did my best to adapt one of the images to this sketch. (Happily, I have more Gina K stamps coming as I loved the sets she released that night!) To make the mat, I simply ran red cardstock through my Wizard using the Labels One dies and then ran it through again with the embossing mat so that I could easily trim off the edge by following the line created by the embossing. I then ran black cardstock through with the same die, matted it with the red, and voila! I used the paper tole technique on the corner flower.

For some reason, the photo quality is bad on this. I think I messed up the settings Collin set for me on my camera. I'll have to ask him again, and this time write it down!

There is still a bit of time to participate in this sketch challenge for a chance to win a Gina K stamp set! Just click here for the 4-1-1.

I had a wonderful time at the Copics Certification class yesterday (note the new badge on my blog!). I'll write more about it in another post, as I must sign off for now and get a few things done before Laureen's program is on. After that, it's beddy bye since tomorrow is a work day. (waaah)

One last note... Ian (my eldest) and I have decided that for the first time ever, we are going to see all the Academy Award nominated movies before the Academy Awards show. We started out this afternoon with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's really quite long, and there were times when I was thinking that I liked it but wasn't loving it, but then I bawled at the end. It's a really excellent movie in many ways, but I'm not a big fan of loooooong movies... this one is 2 hrs 40-some mins. But it's worth seeing if you haven't already.

Okay, off I go! Thanks for stopping by. Have a good night.

A Fabulous Blog Award!

Another big huge thank-you to Kristine Breach, one of my cyber buddies (who happens to have a fabulous blog herself), for yet another fun blog award. This was comes with a requirement to list five of your addictions. Only five? {LOL} Okay, here are mine, in no particular order:

Paper Crafting - Hello!
Buying stuff for Paper Crafting (stamps, paper, embellishments, ribbon, gizmos and gadgets... this is definitely an addiction! I probably need an intervention.)
Blog Surfing (the number of blogs to which I subscribe in my Google Reader is evidence of this mighty addiction, and I nearly always surf on from those.)
Spa Days - the addiction is really to massages. What bliss! I wish I could feed this addiction more often.
Chocolate - I hate to admit it, but I crave a bite of chocolate every day, usually more than once!

I am passing this blog award on to these 5 Fabulous bloggers:

Michelle Yungbauer - Stamp and Smile
Debbie Pamment - Debbie P's Place
Gina K - A Day in the Life
Melissa Philips - Lilybean Paperie
Charmane Ikach - Oodabug Alley

There are so many more...

Thanks again Kristine, and to all of you other bloggers out there who I enjoy visiting every day!

P.S. I scheduled this to post at just the time that Marianne's Copic class starts. Hee hee hee

I'm Off to CHA!

Just kidding. Actually, I sorta am off to CHA. My friend Susan and I were lucky enough to get into Marianne Walker's Copic Certification class tomorrow. She had a few spots open to the public, so we pounced on the opportunity. Anaheim is only about 40 miles from where I live (that's how close I am to the Happiest (and Most Expensive) Place on Earth... Disneyland!).

Not only have I been dying to take Marianne's class, but what a bonus that it's at the same time as many of you, who I "know" through blogger world and SCS, will be there! I'll be the one whose nose is pressed to the glass, wishing I could actually get into the big show...but maybe next time. My dream is to be a designer and teacher (or maybe even involved in retail) some day. In the meantime, I can't wait to learn more about coloring with Copics and experience at least part of the CHA excitment.

The card I'm sharing today is another featuring the ribbon tying technique in my last post. This shows the technique using a narrower bow...a nice, taylored look. And I love that velvet ribbon, which I bought from Taylored Expressions.
I absolutely LOVE this image from Paper Pretties... the Stamp of the Month for December. It reminds me of when I was a kid. I've always loved crafts of all kinds, but I most especially have fond memories of making valentines and valentine boxes at school for the exchange. Those were the good old days before mass produced cartoon Valentines and candy candy candy. *sigh*

The paper is digital from Memory Mixer, but notice that I accidentally put the paper in the wrong way in my CB Swiss Dots embossing folder and ended up debossing instead of embossing. It looked kinda cool, so I left it that way.

Consider this a "before" Copic class example. I'll try this image again after tomorrow with my newly acquired skills.

Speaking of Susan, I wanted to post this lovely card, which she sent for my birthday. Be sure to visit Susan's gallery... coffeeforme on SCS. She's my #1 stamping and scrapbooking buddy. I'm always talking her into crafting adventures. She has never tried Copics before, so she's in for a treat! Of course, she says hanging out with me costs too much money and she made me promise not to tempt her anymore this year because she's put herself on a strict budget (she's waaaay more disciplined than me). We'll just see about that...*grin*

Thanks for stopping by!

Ribbon Tying Tutorial

There was some interest shown in how I tied the bow in this post, so I thought I'd try to put together a tutorial (my first!) since it's hard to explain in words. So here we go!

First, cut a piece of ribbon longer than the card you want to wrap around. Here, I could have made it shorter, and in fact trimmed some later, but I wanted to emphasize what's going on.
Next, cut another piece of ribbon after folding it into thirds to the length you want your bow to be.This next is an optional step and depends on the width of your ribbon. Since mine is pretty wide, I chose to cut a piece in half. Ordinarily, you won't have to do this.
Next, use your strip of ribbon to tie the bow onto the ribbon and tie it securely on the back. Because I cut this ribbon in half to make my strip, I had to trim a bunch of threads that came loose. Like I said, you won't ordinarily have this problem because you'll just be using a length of the original ribbon to tie the bow onto the main ribbon. Be sure to cut a long enough piece so that you have room to tie it and pull it snug. You can then trim off any excess. I've found that you don't need to tie it in a knot, which saves bulk. (The second picture below shows the back, as I'm tying the bow to the main ribbon.)
Finally, you flip it around, slide the bow a bit to make any necessary adjustments, and then attach it to your card by tacking the ends of the ribbon underneath a cardstock mat or around the edges of your card (I use my tape runner). Voila you have a beautiful bow!I pulled this card together pretty quickly to showcase the bow I made for this tutorial. I don't know what it is about me and monochromatic lately. I can't decide if I like it or if it's too dull.

The designer papers and stamps are from the Stampin Up Love You Much bundle (still available until January 31st at a 20% savings!). The card base is Riding Hood Red, with Very Vanilla for one of the mats and for the stamped hearts. I used a Build-a-Brad for the little birdie, which is punched from one of the stamped images in the set. The "lace" on either side of my center piece was made using my Martha Stewart edge punch. The scalloped hearts and the stamped hearts were punched out using Marvy Uchida punches. That gorgeous ribbon is no longer available, but it was good for demonstrating this technique, so forgive me for tempting you with something you can no longer buy.

I'm having trouble getting all the links to the new catalog and sampler, but I'll get those up as soon as the website calms down. I think there's a frenzy of orders going in today for items in the new catty. Mine won't be far behind!

Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Happy Purr-Day!

This will be a quick post because I know I NEED to be doing something else. I'm having one of those days when I've accomplished absolutely nothing, and I'm feeling really guilty about it. I did get up early this morning to attend a 3-hour Bible Study at my church on the book "The Shack." Have you read that book? You should!

I got home a little after noon, and I can't name one constructive thing I've accomplished since. Why does that make me feel so guilty? My husband and kids have no problem with laying on the couch watching golf all day and telling me to relax. I try to tell myself it's okay, but I can't shake this feeling of guilt and panic about all the things I should have done but didn't. I think it's a holdover from being a kid and having to do chores every Saturday and being told I was lazy if I was caught laying around. I hate that "L" word! But there you have it... I've been lazy all day long. I even took a really long nap. Maybe I should change my blog name to Confessions of a Big Time Napper!

Anyhoo, I wanted to share this card I made the other night for my BFF Marianne. Her birthday was Thursday (Happy Birthday again, Marianne!), and of course I waited until Wednesday night to make a card (I must have been napping when I should have been stamping... ha!). Fortunately, this card came together quickly because the DP is really the star... from the Basic Grey Urban Prairie collection. In fact, it was so predominant, that I could not figure out what to do with the empty space to the right of the image. I finally gave up fiddling around at about 11:00 pm and called it good.

I do really like the brad treatment though... that sort of happened by accident. I used an SU Build A Brad, and punched circles to back it. It fit Purrfectly in line with the DP. The image, by the way, is by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps from the Purr-fect Day collection. Of course I had to have this set because it has the sentiment "You're the Cat's Meow."

I also used my Martha Stewart edge punch (don't you love those Michael's 40% coupons!), and then finished it off with a piece of ribbon from Taylored Expressions. Taylor carries some of the most fantastic ribbon at great prices... you should really check it out.

Okay, I'm going to drag my sorry butt off this chair and do something, even if it's wrong! {LOL} Thanks for stopping by!

A Blog Award!

Wow! I am so excited to receive another blog award, this time passed along to me by Kristine (Ink Something)! She actually sent me two awards, but I'm going to pass them along one at a time,

I don't know that I deserve an award for being "kreativ," since I'm truly a left-brained person. But my fondest wish is to be more creative, so I soak up like a sponge all the great stuff I see out there in blogger world. Here are five who constantly blow me away with their creations and artistic talent:

1. Nichole Heady - Capture the Moment
2. Lauren Meader - My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence
3. Lisa Johnson - Poppy Paperie
4. Heather Nichols - pine is here
5. Michelle Yungbauer - Stamp and Smile

Thank you, ladies, for all the wonderful inspiration and fun projects to try. Your talent is something to which I aspire!

Make A Wish!

Wow, am I on a posting roll, or what? Seems like it's feast or famine! {LOL}

Isn't this image adorable? Melissa Roger at Pink Cat Studio is hosting a Lily the Fairy Contest. All you have to do is download this image from her blog and make a card. The contest ends on Tuesday, January 13th at 9:00 pm EST, but there's still time if you hurry!

Once again, I used that delicious My Mind's Eye paper from The Laundry Line collection, with SU Cranberry Crisp and Pirouette Pink cardstock for the base and mats. Who knew laundry could be so wonderful! Certainly not me, who does 50 loads a week (okay, maybe not that many, but close!). I got the idea for double matting from Gina K (don't you love her blog?). I colored Lily the Fairy with my Copics and added some glitter to her wings, plus touches here and there with my atyouSpica pens. She needed some major bling, so I used LOTS of pink rhinestones. I punched out one flower from the paper to pop up over the edge of the main image. The card is finished off with the sentiment "Make a wish.." from a Hanna Stamps set called "Things Hanna Would Say," which I stamped over another flower in the paper, cut out, and mounted behind SU's vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware.

This card is going to Dallas Baptist University for Jen del Muro's Blog Tart Giveaway. Goodness gracious, that's a lot of "tart"! What a lucky person that will be who wins all those goodies! If you haven't already, you need to jump over there and enter the contest. It will feel good to send a card for a good cause. The cards will go to international students. I work at a major university myself, and I know students, especially those far away from home, would definitely enjoy receiving cards! Let's show them some USA hospitality at its finest!

You're In My Heart

When I was selecting cards to send for Cards4Kids (see post below), I came across this one, which I never posted. This is my first Magnolia stamp. I just love those stamps! You can't tell from this view, but I sparkled up her cookies and wings with my atyouSpica clear pen. I think I had set this aside to add something to it to make it more interesting, but forgot about it. Hopefully it will brighten someone's day just as it is.

This was for the Mojo Monday Sketch #67. Better late than never, eh?

The paper is SU's Riding Hood Red, as is the DP from the Hostess Level 1 Patterns Pack. The image is colored with Copics. The hearts were punched using the new 3-heart punch that is part of the Love You Much bundle. The greeting is from the Gina K/Asela Hopkins stamp set called Framed Friends.

My son Collin set the camera settings for me, so the picture turned out much better. I guess I get some perks for a very expensive education! {LOL} (Collin is studying for his BA in Graphic Design at The Art Institute and was required to take two photography classes. I wish he was capable of designing the sort of graphics that we women crafters like, but his style is pretty "different.")

Thanks for stopping by, and do give some thought to sending some cards to kids.

Cards4Kids

I honestly can't think of a more worthy cause than anything that benefits kids. They are such innocents... pure of heart and dependent on others to guide and help them. I know my kids are the lights of my lives, and any gesture towards them makes my heart happy. I'm truly blessed that my kids are healthy and safe and sound, but many others aren't so lucky. So I'm very pleased to support the efforts of Pat Adam in her Cards4Kids campaign. Pat is trying to get 1000 Valentine cards rounded up, so please help if you can! Pat is also giving away some blog candy, as is her daughter Julie Koerber and friend Jennifer Buck. Blog candy is nice, but I'd send cards anyway, wouldn't you?

Yowser, My First Blog Award!

When I first got into the stampers blogger realm, I was definitely a newcomer. But it didn't take long for me to get to know many of you out there in the blogger and SCS worlds. And I'm happy to say I've made some cyber friends along the way. One that tops the list is Michelle Yungbauer. She is the sweetest person, and a relatively new blogger like me. Michelle has honored me with the Butterfly Award. Yowser! Thanks Michelle! You are the best cyber friend a girl could have!!! I am truly honored!

I am, in turn, supposed to nominate 10 more bloggers for this award. I had to sleep on it because there are so many that I enjoy and follow (don't you LOVE Google Reader... or should I say, RSS feeds?). But these are definitely some of my very favorite (in no particular order):

• Laurie Schmidlin - Just Give Me Stamps
• Michelle Wooderson - Mish Mash
• Kim Teasdale - Paper In The Works
• Amy Sheffer - Pickled Paper Designs
• Anna Wight - Sassy & Sweet
• Cambria Turnbow - Stamp a Little Love Baby
• Mary Fish - Stampin' Pretty
• Cindy Lawrence - The Creative Closet
• Debbie Olson - Thinking & Inking
• Jodi Collins - Stamping a Latte

Thank you, ladies, for the awesome inspiration and fun. I always enjoy your creations and your blog entries. They often make my day!

If you are so inclined, the idea is to pass this award along to 10 others, as follows:

1. Post the award logo on your blog
2. Add the link to the person who nominated you
3. Nominate 10 other blogs and post their links as well
4. Let those people know that they received the award

Thanks so much again, Michelle! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for visiting my humble blog.

Verve Looking For Love Release Challenge #4

Whew, I made it! I whipped this card together tonight because I just know I won't have an ounce of energy to do it in the morning before I leave for work. Truth is, I'm feeling a bit punky... I'm coming down with another cold (dang!), so I pretty much raced through this one.

This was yet another wonderful sketch challenge:





















The funny thing about this card is that I did the card foundation (i.e., the card base, DP, lace, Nesties and glitter) BEFORE I even knew which stamps I was going to use! After it was done, I opted for Papertrey Ink's Heart Prints. The "pearls" finished it off.

If I could do it over, I'd emboss the pink card base and the rose colored strip because I think it looks too plain. I'd also add a sentiment somewhere along the bottom. I just couldn't do anymore tonight because I really need to go crawl into my bed. Maybe I'll try it again this weekend.

Anyhoo, the card base is Stampin Up's Pink Pirouette, which is also the outer part of the image frame, which I glittered (can you see the sparkle?). The contrasting cardstock is SU's Regal Rose, and the DP is My Minds Eye from The Laundry Line collection. I LOVE that paper. It comes glitterfied (is that a word?). The middle "strip" is some lace, which really doesn't show enough to be appreciated. I stamped the hearts with Regal Rose ink and punched them out. There is a heart punch that perfectly matches the large hearts in the Heart Prints stamp set. So cool!

Okay, I need to go get my jammies on now and take some cough medicine. Thanks for stopping by, and wish me luck! I'm hoping to win one of the prizes at the Verve release party tomorrow night! There are some fantastic stamps being released. I'm especially interested in some of the scripture verses.

Verve Looking For Love Release Challenge #3

For this card, I pulled out my SASI Sweet Celebration stamp set from Taylored Expressions.Is it my glasses or are my pictures too dark and the color off? I really need to take some photography classes!

This was also a sketch challenge:

As I did for Challenge #2, I used the Valentine Key Ingredients. You can't go wrong when you have a kit full of coordinating papers and embellishments as cool as this! I used the colors in the paper to color the image with my Copic markers. I had a hard time figuring out what to use for my corner embellishment, and finally settled on three "pearls."

Tip: use your Stamp-a-ma-jig when you really want your text to be straight! I was really tired by the time I got to that point and thought I could wing it. Bad decision!

Okay, there is one more challenge and I'm determined to do it, so stay tuned. If I'm not too tired, I'll post it tonight. If not, I'll be sure to do it in the morning before the deadline.

Have a great evening, and thanks for stopping by!

Verve Looking For Love Release Challenge #2

Do you remember this oldie but goodie from Stampin Up? It's from Animal Valentines, and I believe it's one of the first stamp sets I ever bought, so that's gotta be more than 8 years ago! I was going to sell it on eBay, but my son Avery wouldn't let me. He said he wanted to keep it. I'm glad he did!

This was the sketch challenge:





















First, I stamped the doggy and colored him with my Copic marker. Then I covered him with Caramel Latte Tan Fun Flock by Stampendous. The flock tends to cover the detail of the stamped image, so I took a fine point black pen and traced those lines back in. I couldn't resist adding some sparkle with my new favorite atyouSpica clear pen! You can see the flock and sparkle better in this picture:

This card came together pretty quickly because I used the new Valentine Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions. I love how it turned out. And when was the last time you gave your old eyelets some love? {LOL}

Now, onto #3...

Verve Looking For Love Release Challenge #1

Hi there! I'm going to make this quick because I have three posts tonight (maybe four) to catch up with the Verve Looking for Love Release Challenges.

The first, for Day 1, was a color challenge:















I know it doesn't look like those were the colors I used, but I did. It's probably my poor photography skills. Even with a light tent, my pictures aren't coming out right. I need help!

Anyway, this color combo was challenging for me, that's for sure. I had to look around at some other cards to get my juices flowing, and it was Jodi's card to the rescue!

The image is part of the new Stampin Up! Love You Bunches stamp set, and the greeting is a rub-on from the upcoming Hostess Level 3 bundle. I placed the red heart brad over the stamped image of a heart that is positioned above the birds' heads. The ribbon is from SU's Holiday Mini Catalog, and the striped DP is from the current Hostess Level 1 Patterns Pack. It's Kraft, so it meets the challenge!

Now onto Challenge #2...

Shazzzzaaaammm!

Isn't this image so stinkin' cute!!!! I was on the fence about this set from Our Craft Lounge called Love Bug until I saw all the super cute cards Cami has made using this set (be sure to scroll through her recent blog postings for lots of great samples of this and other OCL sets). I fell in love with those bugs! My set came in the mail yesterday, so I had to sit right down after dinner to play.

This week's featured stamper on SCS is Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR). I had seen this card in her gallery, which reminded me a tad bit of Love Bug. So that's the one I CASED. I especially love the cut out edge of the mushrooms, which makes them appear to be popped up, and the hand drawn border effects. I will have to try that again.

Also, in the grand tradition of Cami, I added a little sparkle with my new atyouSpica clear pen. How have I lived this long without one of those pens! I can see why Cami finds them (and shimmerz, which I will have to try next) so addicting! It's hard to see in the main pictures, so I took a close-up shot so you can see the sparkle better. (I apologize for the quality of the photos, but I took them tonight after work, and it's dark. Even in my light tent, it's not as good as taking the photos during the day.)

While I was at it, I made a second version using the I Love You stamp that comes with the set.

The card base is Stampin Up's Natural Ivory. The DP is My Minds Eye from The Laundry Line collection. Yummy papers. I found them at Michaels... ours has recently been remodeled and ramped up into a new concept, with new products and everything organized differently. I think it's part of a test market. So cool. If you haven't already had your Michaels converted, just wait... you're in for a treat!

The images are colored with Copics. The ribbon is SU's black gingham.

I'm really getting into Valentine cards and colors, so let me skip off to my craft room now and get busy. Thanks for stopping by!

More Stamping Fun!

I finally had a chance to do one of Jen del Muro's weekly sketch challenges. I love Jen's blog... one of my fave's... so I'm glad I got to play this week.

I had this image of Lily & Milo sitting on my craft table, all colored up and ready to go, so I adapted it to the sketch. I think I stayed pretty true to the sketch except my embellishment had to go on the right rather than the left because of the orientation of the stamped image. I love how this card turned out!

The image is, of course, one of the Lily & Milo stamps by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie. Her designs are just so sweet they are hard to resist! Of course, I'm having a hard time finding a stamp I don't like these days. {LOL} The card is 5.25" square, with the base Natural Ivory by Stampin Up, which goes perfectly with the SEI Dill Blossom paper. I fashioned the "frame" around the image using the reverse of the SEI paper. The hearts are courtesy of my Creative Memories heart punches (I sure am getting a lot of use out of those lately... love the chubby shape!). The button seemed to finish it off just right.

Well, I had to go back to work today (sob), but it wasn't too bad... pretty quiet, actually... hardly anyone there. I suppose it will make it easier going back for real on Monday since I'm already back up to speed. I shouldn't complain because (a) I have a job and (b) for work, it's not a bad gig. It just interferes with my crafting time!

Enough of my whining. I shall go back and play with some more of my new stamps now to console myself. See you back here soon!

Happy New Year!

It's 2009! Happy New Year! I pray this is a good year for all of us. I'm going to keep a positive attitude and count on it!

I stayed up until midnight last night, trying to do a few of the SCS New Year's Eve Challenges. I only managed to get two and part of another card done. This is the one I like the best... Ashley's glitter and bling challenge.

The image is by Stamping Bella called Eloise Greengrass. After coloring her with Copics, I highlighted her skirt and wings with glitter. The cardstock is Stampin Up Lovely Lilac, as are the rhinestone brads, and the DP is Basic Grey Euphoria. The ribbon is something I bought at a quilt show from a wonderful vendor called Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods. She has the BEST selection of buttons and ribbon I've ever seen! Talk about eye candy.

We're watching the Rose Parade on TV. Out here in California, we can watch it over and over again all day on KTLA. Of course, it's another gorgeous, sunny day here in So Cal. I'd love to see the floats in person, but I'm just not up to fighting the huge crowds and traffic. I've actually seen the Parade twice in person, and it is definitely a wonder, but a completely different experience than seeing it on TV.

Have a great New Year's Day and remember... like my mom always said... however you act today is how you will act all year! (I don't think we ever believed her, but we did have to eat black eyed peas... yuck!).