Can I Have a Bite???

Did you miss me? I realized yesterday that I hadn't stamped since Monday or posted since Wednesday. Yikes! How did that happen? I guess it's because it's been busy at work (I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go)... which tends to leave me exhausted at the end of the day, and I had my monthly stamp club ladies over on Wednesday night (which I love!). I'll be on a roll this week, though ...something special is going on every single day, so I hope you'll stop back by!

Today is blessed Sunday, and so time for another scripture-inspired challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Our challenge hostess this week is the sweet Helen Phelps, and she chose as her scripture inspiration Matthew 18:4 "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." The challenge is to make a card or project with an image of a child or childlike things on it (such as toys or a saying about children), but not a baby card.

Humility. That's a tough one, isn't it? I know I often struggle with it. But I tell you, when I finally get off my high horse and humble myself, I find peace. Self-righteousness is emotionally exhausting and separates us from others. It can ruin relationships. And it creates anxiety and a sick spirit. Let us instead heed our Lord's words and humble ourselves. In doing so, we will reap great rewards, both here on earth and in the kingdom of heaven.

Our challenge sponsor this week is the fabulous Mo's Digital Pencil. I love love love Mo's images, and I'm certainly not alone! Hers are some of the most popular digis out there. They are so detailed and fanciful and fun, and many are of children. Naturally I grabbed one for my card. This is called Bronte and Louis and you can get it for free on the Mo's Digital Pencil Group Page at Papercraft Planet.

The DP is Jack's World by Cosmo Cricket. Do you like that cool button embellishment? That was one of the make-and-takes at CHA. I can't remember where, though. Isn't that awful!? I'm going to dig around in my bag of "stuff" until I figure it out. I can tell you they were over in the new exhibitor section, I had never heard of them before, and it was part of a set of coordinating 12" strips which are like book binding tape... it tears easily and has a sticky back. Very cool!

I'm slowly but surely making my way around to visit blogs and see what y'all have been up to. I'm so glad you take the time to visit me. I hope you'll come back tomorrow for another very special post. In the meantime, have a blessed day!

Lotus

Happy Wednesday!!! This week is flying by for me. I'm still trying to catch my breath after all the fun of CHA. I promise I'll get pictures up this weekend... I just haven't had time this week with one thing and another. It was definitely a dream come true, and one I hope to repeat again next year, with certain people along with me, eh Debbie, Michelle, Kristine, Patti and Des...and anyone else who wants to join us! The more the merrier!

This week, our hostess for La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge is my friend Kim Yu (love her!), and she challenged us to make a gift card holder. When Kim and I were at the Super Show on Saturday, we did a make-and-take at Our Craft Lounge that was...ta-da...a gift card holder. I told Kim right then that would be the pattern I'd use for my challenge card, and indeed I did!

Don't you just adore Lotus? She is one of the new releases from La-La Land Crafts this month. She appears to be sitting on the band that wraps around the gift card holder. I just couldn't resist placing that butterfly at her hand.

Here's a view of the inside, where you can see a Starbucks gift card peeking out of the slot. Fun!


I'm sorry I can't tell you what DP this is because it was a gift. But it sure goes perfectly with Lotus, don't you think?

I hope you'll play along in La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge this week... and click on over there to see all the great inspiration from our very talented design team. You can use any stamps of your choice, and there's always a prize up for grabs. There's no better time to start (or add to) your La-La Land Crafts stamp collection because it's buy three get one free through Saturday, so HURRY!

Thanks for stopping by, my friends. Have a blessed day!

The Greeting Farm Relay

Hey y'all! I'm jumping in for a quick post of Relay cards 2 and 3 for the CHA Digi Relay at Splendid Stamping With The Greeting Farm. Both cards were posted in time in the TGF gallery, but are just now making it to my blog.

First up is Charlotte! Isn't she sassy? And a little hectic... sorry about that. I guess I got carried away with the SEI Petals and Paisleys DP. (*grin*)

This is a double dip because it follows Sketch 2 for Sketchy Saturdays at Club Anya & Friends.

Next up is Toby Cub. Avery said he wanted to scoop him up and hug him! Who wouldn't!?






This card follows Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #53, turned upside down.

Both cards are made with cardstock, DP and embellies found in the Taylored Expressions Petals & Paisley Key Ingredients kit.

Gotta run for now. It feels a bit like I'm chasing my tail this week, as Debbie would say. The week is flying by. I'm sure glad you stopped in for a visit. I love hearing from you! It makes my day!

Stay tuned for La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge, coming up next...

Happy Birthday Claire!

Happy Birthday Dear Claire!!!

Today is Claire Brennan's birthday, and the Waltzingmouse Stamps Design Team is holding its inaugural blog hop in her honor! We LOVE Claire, and we LOVE Waltzingmouse Stamps, so we are thrilled for this chance to pour some love on Claire and showcase some of her awesome designs.

The hop started at Anya Schrier's blog. Be sure to start there and hop all the way through... you won't want to miss all the loveliness to behold!

In case you get lost along the way, the blog hop links are:

Anya Schrier

Belinda Chang Langner

Bonnie Sharp

Jennifer Holmes

Julia Aston

Laurie Schmidlin

Lisa Hjulberg (me)

Lynn Mercurio

My card features Irish Blessings. I love this set because it reminds me of Claire. I remember the post when she first drew this "wee cottage" because she was short on stamps suitable for a St. Patrick's day card. That post was dated nearly a year ago, January 23, 2009, and gave us a glimpse of Claire's dream to design stamps.

Lo and behold, she used the same drawing for the card she posted on her birthday last year. I honestly had no idea until I went looking for the original post. I'm more pleased than ever that I chose to use this stamp set.

Claire, the Irish blessing on this card is just what I wish for you, today and always! You are very dear to me, and I can't tell you how much it means to call you my friend and to have the distinct honor of representing Waltzingmouse Stamps. I'd better stop now before I start blubbering!

Now on you go to Lynn Mercurio's blog. She has a special message for you.

Enjoy your day, Claire!

Mer-Ian

Hey there! This wasn't exactly the card I had planned to post today. I sorta made a card for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps a couple of days ago. When I got home from CHA this evening, I grabbed this FREE digi image at Splendid Stamping With The Greeting Farm and whipped up a card so that I could upload it in time to win the next free digi in the relay they've got going this week. (If you read this in time and want to get in on the action, click right over to the TGF blog for the deets. If nothing else, you can get Mer-Ian for free!!!)

Anyway, I finished my card and then picked up the one I had made for SNSS to go take pictures. Something seemed to be missing; I just couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about the SNSS card I hadn't liked from the start and still didn't. So I sat down to try to fix it. Needless to say, it's now in the bin. No dice. Just can't post it. I'm not going to make that mistake again. I promise to come back later this week with something worthy.

But at least I have this cutie to share! It follows Sweet Sketch Wednesday #33. The DP is Snorkel by Cosmo Cricket. I put some sparkle to Mer-Ian's fins with my atYou Spica pens. I sure wish that sparkle showed up in pictures.

Today was my first day at the CHA trade show. Wowser! It's overwhelming to say the least. I'm interested in so many different crafts, that it's hard for me not to get distracted and look at things like... yarn. And I do mean YARN! Wait until I have time to upload some pictures. You won't believe the Lion Brand display! Oh, and I made a pink pig puppet at a scissors vendor. Fun!

I spent the first few hours looking around at the "new" exhibitors and doing some make-and-takes. Some were truly brand new, but others aren't new to us, but new to CHA. I spent a lot of time at Stampavie... colored the cutest darned image and made a gift bag. Hold onto your hats because Stampavie has some new artists, two of whom I'm in love with, and they are releasing the new stamps in March. I got to stamp a couple of them and bring them home, so I'll share those with you soon.

On my way from the "new" exhibitor area to the main paper crafting vendor area, I found Marie at her booth for The Greeting Farm. She is adorable! Just as cute as can be, and so petite. That girl has amazing talent. I'm a HUGE fan. And wait until you see the new stamps releasing February 15th. OMWord!!! I'd better not say more lest I blow the surprise, but let me just say that Marie doesn't disappoint... things keep getting better and better at The Farm.

I need to get off the computer and get to bed, but before I go I'll give you the list of who I saw today.

Besides Marie, I met and chatted with Randi Wall, Rachel Sztonyk, Sherrie Siemens, Cami Turnbow, Beth Silaika, Joy Kennedy (and some of the other girls at Our Craft Lounge), Sankari Wegman (who I forgot to mention I met yesterday at the TE Booth), Deb Felts and Jessica Diedrich! Woo hoo, we finally met in person!! I also ran into Lynn Mercurio again, and she introduced me to a couple of people, but darned if my brain isn't already asleep. Oh, and I also ran into Julie Johnson from Paisleys & Polka Dots (love her!), and the owner of my LSS Tami (sp?) and one of the girls who works there, Shelley, who I know from crop nights. It was good to see them again since I haven't been out there in a couple of months. Hey Des, Tami says she LOVES your house. Wish you were here, girlfriend!

Some of the people I also spotted today were Amy Sheffer, Tosha Leyendekker, Michelle (who owns A Stampers Dream), Marianne Walker, Lisa Johnson, and Jennifer McGuire. It doesn't sound like many, but that's mainly because I didn't spend as much time in the main paper crafting area. I plan to do that tomorrow. I saw soooo much today, but I still have tons to go.

I promise pictures will come later this week!

And, yes, the new products releasing from everyone are AMAZING!!! All must-haves, of course!!! We crafters are certainly doing our part to stimulate the economy, don't you agree?

Okay, as my friend Michelle would say, my jammies are calling me. Enjoy your day. And I mean it when I say, WISH YOU WERE HERE!

May All Your Wishes Come True

Happy Sunday! I'm sorry my post is going up late, but I was EXHAUSTED when I got home from the CHA Super Show last night. My feet were barking! I don't think I've slept that well in a long time. I hate to admit it, but exercise is good for you. (*grin*)

Today's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ is Peggysue Turner, who has a crazy sense of humor that I LOVE. Peggysue has become a good friend to me, and for that, I feel blessed. She chose as the inspiration scripture 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV) "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." Her challenge: "since most seeds come up as tiny green shoots, use the color green somewhere in your creation, not all over green, just a touch somewhere." I definitely violated the "touch of green," but so did she, so I don't feel so bad! {LOL} All you had to say to me was "green," and I was off and running since green is my favorite color.

I have to say that my card was a double dip for me... I've been wanting to use this adorable stamp set called Fairy Dust is a Must, which I won ages ago in a blog hop for the Our Craft Lounge release. I knew I'd be seeing one of the owners, Cami Turnbow, at CHA and wanted to bring her a card made with that set to thank her. I haven't seen her yet, but the card is in my bag.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that my card follows Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge 57. The DP is from the Sugar Rush collection by Basic Grey. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I paper toled the fairy's wings and put lots of sparkle here and there with my atYou Spica pens.

Attending CHA is definitely one of my wishes come true...

I'm headed out soon for the first day of the CHA Trade Show. Last night, I helped break down and move the Crafty Secrets booth from the Super Show floor (that's where some retailers set up for two days... Friday and Saturday...to flog their wares to the public) to the Showroom floor. I honestly believe they were about a quarter mile apart. No kidding. You have never seen anything like it! So I got a bit of a preview of what's to come today, and let me just say, it's crafting NIRVANA... but overwhelming at the same time. Every single craft is represented, so it's ginormous and there is no way you could possibly see and experience every single thing... unless, perhaps, you stayed for all four days. Me, I only have two, so I'll have to narrow things down. Of course, I will definitely spend most of my time in the paper crafting area. EVERYONE you can imagine is there.

So far I've met and chatted with: Taylor VanBruggen and her husband Jon, Jodi Collins, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Debbie Olson, Bev Gerard, Joan Ervin, Kathy Landers, Eva Dobilas, Ryan Broman (Unity Bachelor) and Cath Edvalson. And, of course, I toured around with my friend and LLLC teammate Kim Yu. I also spotted the rest of the Unity girls, SCS'rs Daven, Beate Johns, and Lori Craig, Karen Giron, Tim Holtz, Heidi Swapp and (I think) Anna Wight. It's funny seeing people in person when all you've ever seen is a photo on their blogs that is rarely updated (ha!), but I'm getting pretty good at it!

No doubt, I'll meet and see more folks today. I'm especially jazzed to meet Marie from The Greeting Farm and Jessica... and hopefully Cami Turnbow. And so many others. I'd best get going. I will try to take more pictures today than I did yesterday. Everyone was so busy with the sales and make-and-takes, it was hard to take time out for pix.

Oh, and the most interesting new release I saw yesterday is Cricut has come up with Cake... yes, my friends, you can cut fondant with the Cake machine (similar to the Expressions) to decorate your cakes (and cupcakes). Now I've seen everything!

Have a great day! May all YOUR wishes come true!

So Sweet of You

Happy Wednesday! It's time for more fun with La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge!

The sweet Elena Joldersma is our hostess this week, and she challenges us to make a "fancy fold" card. There are lots of different kinds out there... you need only pop over to the La-La Land Crafts Blog to see several used by our Design Team. Elena has also included links to instructions for various fancy fold tutorials, which is very handy.

I chose the Free Standing Pop Up Card. I'd never done this one before... it's really easy and fun! My card features sweet Cupcake Rosie, which goes perfectly with the Taylored Expressions January Key Ingredients Kit papers and embellishments.


Speaking of Cupcake Rosie, she and all the other wonderfully whimsical stamps from La La Land Crafts, including 8 new releases, are on sale!!! Yep, it's buy three, get one free! If you've wanted to jump start your collection of La-La Land Crafts stamps, now is the time!


Thanks so much for stopping by today. It's pouring rain here in So Cal this week...good for the drought conditions, bad for those who live in the burn areas. But I LOVE the rain. It's so rare that it's a treat. For all of you who are coming out for CHA, I understand it's supposed to clear up starting this weekend. Besides, we'll all be inside, so who cares! We'll be having fun fun fun!

Take care, and have a ROSIE day!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Today is sweet Kathy Stack-Page's birthday, and the La-La Land Crafts DT is holding a special blog hop in her honor. We each chose one of Kathy's lovely creations to CASE. Wow, was it ever hard to pick... everything she does is beautiful. No way can I come close to emulating her watercoloring. She also does the most amazing work with distress inks.

I chose to CASE this beautiful card from Kathy's November 22, 2009 post. My image was a bit too large to include a sentiment, but I stayed pretty true to her design, right down to daubing the edges with white acrylic paint.

I used the new Sugar Rush DP from Basic Grey, and this adorable Tea Party digi image from Mo Manning. It struck me as an image Kathy would like. I hope so!

Happy Birthday dear Kathy! I wish you all the best today and always!

I hope you'll jump over to the La-La Land Crafts Blog to see who else is hopping today for Kathy's birthday. No doubt, there's lots of great eye candy in store!

Have a wonderful day!

I've a Song in My Heart

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my card for this week's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.

A double feature today! As I mentioned in my last post, I was inspired by all the wonderful things I saw at the Road To California quilt show. One thing I love to do is needlework. It's been a long time since I've tried my hand, but I couldn't resist any longer and bought some patterns and materials to create a small redwork quilt.

Enabler alert: if you love stitching and/or felt work, check out Bird Brain Designs. They were at the show, and from whom I purchased my stitching goodies. Lovely ladies, and such wonderful patterns and good prices! Note the freebie patterns on their website.

When I was looking at all the many redwork patterns, I thought of this adorable design from Melody of Love by Rachel Zimmerman for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps... it's perfect for redwork, don't you think? So my card is a nod to the beautiful redwork women have enjoyed making for ages.

Gotta run. I've got a MOUNTAIN of laundry calling my name and several other things I must get done, especially since I'll be at CHA all next weekend. Yay!!!

Thanks for stopping by, my friends. I hope you enjoy a day full of all the things you love to do!

Home Sweet Home

Pretend it's Sunday. I'm a day late with my card for this week's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Instead of stamping on Saturday, I went to the Road To California quilt show. AWESOME! Can you say EYE CANDY? I think I gained weight. Actually, I know I gained fabric, quilting and stitching patterns, ribbons and other goodies... and that my purse is lighter. Ha! I just wonder in what lifetime I think I can tackle all those projects! I live in hope... or perhaps denial.

I have a few pictures to share, and will get those up as soon as I can.

Back to the challenge! Our hostess this week is our Sweet Southern Belle Candace Mitchell, and she chose the much-loved scripture Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The challenge is to create a card or project focused on the "home"; i.e., a housewarming card, or decor for the home.

You'll definitely want to participate in this week's challenge... our sponsor is Layers of Color. The stamp set up for grabs is beautiful! Be sure to stop by and see all the wonderful creations by my Stampin' Sisters in Christ.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the "Sewing Box" stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps. My card features the Sewing Box - Hugs set. Cute! And so many fun images and greetings to choose from!! I think what I like best is how easy it is to put a terrific card together in no time.

The DP is from Report Card by October Afternoon. Can you see the "smoke" swirling from the chimney?

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back sooner than you think with yet another post, inspired by redwork. I got so much inspiration at the quilt show... my mind is swirling with ideas!

Lesson Learned!

Hi everyone! Just popping in for a moment to say I swapped out the pictures in my last two posts (see below). The recipe project is still much the same, but I think the picture quality is slightly better. The card project is revised... I just wasn't happy with the way it turned out the first time.

Lesson learned: when you're racing the clock, trying to catch up after being sick or out of town or otherwise diverted from crafting for awhile, DON'T rush a post, just beg off. That's what happened with my last two projects... too tired, too late, and NO MOJO!

Also, if anyone happens to know how to photograph white cards better, please share! I'm not a great photographer to begin with, and am always trying to improve my skills. I'd be grateful for any tips!

Okay, I'm off and running for the day... I'm going to nearby Ontario to check out Road to California, a ginormous quilt show. It's always a stunning feast for the eyes, and who knows what I'll come home with! (*wink*) Let me just say, fabric jazzes me up just as much as designer paper... they aren't that different!

Have a great day!

You're an Absolute Sweetheart!

Edited to add: I wasn't happy with the way my card turned out the first time, so I "fixed" it. I think this is MUCH better, don't you? I learned how to make those flowers at Wendy Smedley's blog. They are so easy and so fun to make!

Happy Friday! Yay, it's Friday! I'm looking forward to a really productive weekend, with lots of crafting included. I've been frustrated artistically this week... no time to really create the projects I had in mind. But that's over, and tomorrow is another day!

Another reason I love Fridays is the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! I did a clean and simple interpretation this time, which I thought was the best way to showcase one of the new stamp sets at Waltzingmouse Stamps... Sweethearts! Once you have this stamp set, you've got all the basics you need for cards of love and friendship! I'll be back soon with more fun projects using Waltzingmouse Stamps... I just LOVE their sweet simplicity and charm!

I hope you'll play with us this week! Because of CHA, this is the last TE Sketch Challenge until February 5th. To get you started, check out what the rest of the Sketch Crew has created:

Jami Sibley: More is More (posting late)
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity (unable to post this week)
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode
Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery (posting Saturday)
Alice Lihsuan-Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland
and of course Taylor herself: Taylored Expressions

Before I go, I want to wish my friend Marianne a Happy Birthday!!!


Thanks for stopping by my friends! Have a SWEET day!

Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Blog Hop!

Edited to add: I've switched out the pictures of my project since the original post. They are still not the best, but better than before. This is definitely one of those projects that looks better in real life!

When Taylor asked if I'd like to participate in a special blog hop featuring the latest Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Subscription Kit, I didn't have to think twice. Of course I would! As any of you who visit me know, I'm HUGE fan of TE Key Ingredients kits. They are my "secret weapon" when it comes to creating cards... everything I need to get started is right there, perfectly color coordinated and ready to go. I love Taylor's eye for design. She extends that to her kits, pulling together the most fabulous papers, ribbons and embellishments around!

The theme of our blog hop is the kitchen... anything to do with cooking or food. I must confess that I'm not much of a cook. The best thing I make for dinner is reservations (and I'm darn good at calling for take-out). In fact, my first thought was to make a decorative folder for all our take-out menus! Ha!

But I happen to have a friend who is as wild about cooking as I am about paper crafting. Her name is Laureen Pittman, and she has won many awards and prizes for cooking. Some of the highlights include being a finalist last year in the Pillsbury Bake-Off (and she is again this year), a contestant in the Ultimate Recipe Showdown on Food Network, and most recently a finalist in the Ocean Spray Ultimate Cranberry Recipe contest.

Laureen and I have been friends for nearly 20 years and I've long wanted to make something special for her. The blog hop theme got me thinking, and here's what I came up with... a recipe holder (of sorts) that features all of Laureen's award-winning recipes!

The vertical stand and page protectors were purchased from Taylored Expressions. Of course, this is still a work in progress... there was no way I could finish all of the pages in time for the blog hop... did I mention that Laureen has won MANY awards?... but you can definitely see where I'm going with this.

"Home for Dinner" is the name Laureen picked for her one-time catering business, and she told me that's what she'd name her cookbook.

This is one of the recipe cards...for Killer Baja Chili Rellenos Mariscos... one of the dishes Laureen cooked on the Ultimate Recipe Showdown. It's a rather long recipe, so continues on the reverse. I found a picture of a poblano chili on the web, printed it out in two sizes, cut them out and voila...a proper embellishment!


I plan to include photographs of Laureen at the various cooking events where her recipes were featured. This is more of a scrapbooking type of project, but it goes to show how versatile KI kits are... easily adaptable to either scrapbooking or card making... or any other papercrafting projects!

For my project, I'm mainly using ingredients from the January Key Ingredients Subscription Kit, which you can see on the BRAND NEW Key Ingredients website! Isn't it fun!? I LOVE the Gallery feature. What a great place to go for inspiration and a lot of great eye candy!

I've gotta tell ya, there's no better time to subscribe than now. You'll learn more on Taylor's blog, but highlights include:

* Limited Time Subscription Special. Purchase (or renew) a 6 month subscription on or before January 17th and receive a FREE Key Ingredients kit upon the completion of your 6 month subscription. This kit (a $23.95 value including shipping) will be an exclusive kit that will never be available in the TE Store!

* Beat the Price Increase. Increased shipping costs on both our shipments to you and the products we receive from manufacturers have forced us to increase the cost of our subscription. Prices will increase as of January 18th, to $23.95 per month for 6 month subscriptions and $25.95 per month for 3 month subscriptions. However, if you subscribe or renew by January 17th you’ll receive the current pricing of $21.95 per month for 6 months or $22.95 per month for 3 months. You can renew your subscription no matter how many months you have remaining on your current subscription. Your renewal will simply add 3 or 6 additional months. Remember you only get the FREE EXCLUSIVE KI with the 6 month option.

Another thing I LOVE about being a subscriber is that you get a chance to purchase extra items at a 10% discount (Hello!) AND have them sent with your kit at no extra shipping cost! I believe that links to other products in the store that coordinate well with that month's kit will appear on the new KI website. How cool is that?

Be sure to hop around and see all the other DELICIOUS things have been cooked up for your viewing pleasure:

Laura Leonard
Lisa Hjulberg (that's me!)
Lynn Mercurio
Randi Barrett
Sunghee Chon
Candace Mitchell
Kathie Bailey
Taylor VanBruggen
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melissa Sauls
Donna Baker
Charmaine Ikach
Jeanie Witmer

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow for the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge. Have a YUMMY day!

Love, Rosie

Woo hoo! I'm back!!! Boy, did it feel good to finally get back to my craft room and stamp! Thank goodness stamping IS like riding a bicycle... you never forget how. Ha!

The last time I stamped was my card for the La-La Land Crafts New Release Blog Hop, so it seems fitting that I make my return with a card for this week's La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge. Our very own Hawaiian Girl Maureen Wong is the hostess this week, and she challenged us to make a shaped card... anything except a rectangle or a square.

I'm loving pink and red and white... the colors of Valentine's Day...and the new Love Note Rosie, so I jumped at the chance to put the two together with this cool LOVE template from Papertrey Ink. I first printed the template on white base-weight cardstock, and then printed again on the patterned paper (front only), also by Papertrey Ink. After cutting everything out and adhering the patterned paper to the front of the card, I painted the edges with white acrylic paint to disguise any irregularities in the edges. (I'm pretty good at cutting, but it's still hard to achieve perfection when hand cutting a template like this, and I'm not so good with a craft knife.)

For the finishing touches, I love love love Zva swirls... and crunched up paper flowers (*wink*). And who says redheads can't wear red or pink? This one's for you Kris!

I hope you'll join us for this week's La-La's Weekly Wednesday Challenge. You can use any stamps you want, and there's always a prize up for grabs!

Speaking of the La-La Land Crafts New Release Blog Hop, I have a winner to announce for my blog candy, Birthday Cake Maya. The lucky girl is #9 BECKY!!!! Congratulations Becky! Please email me your snail mail address, and Irina will mail Birthday Cake Maya to you on or about January 20th. Enjoy!

That's it for now, my friends. Thank you again, ever so much, for all your kind comments, good wishes, prayers and good cheer while I was ill. My heart is full. You bless me beyond measure.


I'll be back tomorrow with something fun, so be sure to stop by. Have a LOVE-ly day!

Give Me One More Day...

I'm writing this Saturday evening around 7:00. I'm happy to say I've had a shower, and am sitting upright in a chair, so progress is being made on the road to recovery! But not soon enough for me to make a card for this week's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. I hope you'll pop over there and see what my Design Team Sisters have created to delight and inspire you.

Our hostess this week is Pamela Young, and she chose as the scripture: Hosea 6:1 "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds." The challenge is to make the broken look beautiful... create a mosiac, or tear apart and stitch back together. In some way have your image look broken. Some of the DT have used the cracked glass technique, and others have done the paper tearing technique with or without stitching. Be sure to check it out!

I hope to get back in my craft room today, and thank you most sincerely for bearing with me... and for all the well wishes...this past week. I'm afraid my youngest Avery may be coming down with the bug... he's come home from a basketball game with his dad feeling sick to his stomach and has a headache. I'm heartsick over the idea of him experiencing that wretched illness, so I'm praying for a miracle.

Hugs to you all!

Postcards from My Sickbed

Hello my wonderful friends! I'm finally rising again from my sickbed... I relapsed yesterday (ugh)...so I'm hoping it sticks this time. I've received so many kind emails and comments... and prayers... which I want to thank you for, very sincerely. I've been a miserable wreck this week, and it helps so much to know I have friends who care!

I'm hoping to make it back into my craft room later today. Wish me luck! And I pray that none of you are hit with this stomach flu bug. It's a very painful one and not quick to kick.

I'll be back in the saddle again soon. Thanks for caring!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 97

I hate to say it, but I'm still not quite over the stomach bug that hit me right out of the blue this week. I do feel better, but not quite recovered. All of which means I've spent most of my time the past couple of days in bed and not in my craft room, so no card (yet) from me for this week's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge. I hope to play eventually because, as always, I LOVE Taylor's sketches!

In the meantime, why don't you play along? And while you're at it, check out what the rest of the Sketch Crew has come up with:

Jami Sibley: More is More
Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity
Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper
Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode
Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery
Alice Lihsuan-Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland
and of course Taylor herself: Taylored Expressions

And if you haven't already, I'd check out what's Fresh Out of the Oven at Taylored Expressions if I were you. Valentine goodness abounds!

Thanks for all your well wishes! I hope to be back in my craft room ... and blog surfing... soon!

ENABLER ALERT... ENABLER ALERT!

Feast your eyes on these wonderful images!!! Run, don't walk, to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and take advantage of an amazing opportunity to buy all six sets (each has one image and one or more greetings)... everything you see above...for $40!!!!!! Of course, they are all available individually, and the three flowers of the month are available as a bundle for only $12, but I'd go for the package deal myself if I were you! (hee)

I'm sorry I don't have a card to share with you right now. I'm afraid I've caught a nasty flu... body aches from head to toe, and can't keep anything down. I'm hoping I start feeling better today and can not only make a card or two, but visit many of your blogs and answer a few emails. Please bear with me!

Gotta run. Happy shopping! I can't wait to see what you come up with using these adorable images!!!