Hope

This card was made for a special lady named Lenora :) ! She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will be undergoing surgery soon. If you have time today, maybe you could say a little prayer for her, I'm sure she'd appreciate it! Her granddaughter is collecting cards to give her after surgery. Heather, I think you're absolutely wonderful to do such a sweet & thoughtful thing for your grandma and thank you for including me!! I hope this card brightens her day and reminds her that when we place our trust in God, there's always HOPE!

The stamps on the outside of the card are from Our Daily Bread Design's set, HOPE. You can see that stamp set along with some great breast cancer awareness accessories right HERE!

Here's the inside of Lenora's card along with a few pink treats! During Breast Cancer awareness month, you can find all kinds of candy with special touches of pink added. The scallop treats are peppermint patties and they have pink peppermint filling inside! A fun & simple way to show someone you care :) ! The scripture on the inside of the card is from the newest Our Daily Bread Designs stamp set, Flourished Christian Symbols. I love this scripture wanted to share it with Lenora. For the peppermint treats, I used the SU hostess set, Best Yet, for the sentiment, and the SU set "Sprinkles" for the pink hearts. I think it was Cami (Stamp a Little Love Baby) who I first saw do this peppermint treat idea last year. She's a genius, plain and simple. That round Scallop Punch is perfect for making peppermint patties extra special!

Since this is Breast Cancer awareness month, I want to take a moment to share some important information with you. We hear over and over again how important early detection is...and I can tell you from experience that it's absolutely true. My mom is a breast cancer survivor. A very small, early cancer was found on a routine mammogram. I worked for a surgeon for 13 years and we saw many, many breast cancer patients. The earlier a cancer is found, the more treatment options are available and your chances of surviving are much greater. Here are 3 simple guidelines from the American Breast Cancer Foundation~
1. Learn and Perform a Monthly Breast Self Exam
Beginning at age 20, it is most important for you to know your own breast. A regular monthly breast exam will familiarize you with what is normal for your breasts, making it easier to realize any changes that may be occurring. A monthly breast self exam is not a substitute for regular screening mammograms.
2. Have Clinical Breast Examinations
A clinical breast examination is very much like your monthly self-exam, except it is performed by a doctor or nurse. It is suggested that women under 40 have this done every two years, and women over 40, every year.
3. Have Annual Mammograms
We, at the American Breast Cancer Foundation, urgently encourage women to have their first (baseline) mammogram after age 35, and to consult their doctor for a personal mammogram schedule until the age of 40. Every woman 40 and over should get annual mammograms.
Email us at info@abcf.org to request "A Guide to Breast Health Care"

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day :)

Supplies for the Hope Card (size 4 1/2" square) ~ Stamps: Hope, Flourished Christian Symbols (ODBD) Paper: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Sweet Always, White Ink: Graphite Brilliance, Pink Pirouette Tools/ Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder/heat gun (for the word HOPE), Ticket corner punch, Round nesties/Cuttlebug, Kaiser self adhesive pink rhinestones, Dimensionals, Scallop Edge Punch

Supplies for the Peppermint Treats ~ Stamps: Best Yet, Sprinkes (SU) Paper: Regal Rose, White Ink: Black Stazon, Regal Rose Tools/Accessories: Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

October Divine Design

It's October 8th...that means it's time to post our Divine Design/Bible Verse challenge projects for the month : ) !!! Can you believe we're posting our 10th projects for the year? We got started in January and somehow it's October already. This has been one of those weeks that has been extra busy for me, the to-do list is long and the days seem too short. I've had to remind myself that God gives me just enough time each day to complete the tasks that HE wants completed. I selected 1 John 4:11 for my scripture. In the busyness of life, I have a tendency to get focused on tasks rather than people. This scripture card will be out where I can meditate on and memorize it. I hope it will remind me to express God's love to others, every time I'm given the opportunity. I think goals and lists are great, but ultimately, expressing God's love, is one of the most important thing I can accomplish today! Alrighty then...that's my scripture for the month. I hope you'll consider playing along with us. Here are the links to the other scripture chicks blogs and the projects they've created this month ~

Lori Craig ~ Make A Difference
Angel Wilde ~ Angelosity
Jami Sibley ~ More is More
Taylor Van Bruggen ~ Taylored Expressions

Anytime you want to play along, you can jump right in. Create a projet featuring scripture that will help you to memorize that scripture. You can find all the Divine Design details right HERE. I simply make a card each month that I set out in a prominent place where I'll see it several times a day. If you upload to SCS, be sure to use the keywords BVC08. It's a fun & inspiring gallery to look through for ideas too :) !

I'll be making Megan's bookmark a little later this month. She's still deciding about the scripture and things were just too rushed. I'll just show you that when it's done :) ... and thanks Angel for asking!! So....what's YOUR scripture for this month? Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to leave a comment and say HI :) !!!

Supplies for my card (size 4 1/4" square) Stamps: none, computer generated scripture Paper: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White Ink: Computer Red Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Paper piercing tool, heart brads, 1/2 & 3/4" circle punches, Stitched brown ribbon (Amuse), Dimensionals

Crazy for Birthday Cards

A couple of birthday cards to show you today, made with the Crazy for Cupcakes set :) ! This first one goes out to a very special birthday girl...Becca Feeken (Amazing Paper Grace)! She recently joined the ODBD design team and she is such a sweetheart, not to mention a bundle of creativity, talent & inspiration. Happy Birthday Becca, hope you have a super-duper day :) !! The card was colored with Copics (R43, R46, C1 & C3) and yes, those cupcakes were topped off with Crystal Effects and Chunky Sprinkles!!! You can see that shine and sparkle up close right here ~ This card was made with the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge Sketch #36. It turned out, ummm, well...different than I expected (that's my nice way of saying I think there's something wrong with the card, can't decide what, it's a bit irritating, but I've spent enough time on it...so it's done!). While the jury's still out about the card, the sketch IS really fun and I'm grateful to Taylor for posting these each week. Sketches are a fun way to experiment and try new layouts that maybe you haven't tried before. This was a first for me. I used more of my favorite new Haiku DP and the sentiment is from a level-1 hostess set called Best Yet. More Crystal Effects and Chunky Sprinkles give those balloons some great dimension, shine & sparkle!

That'll do it for today : ) ... thanks for stopping by & you have yourself an awesome day!!!

Supplies for the first card~ Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Paper: Paper Trey White, Prism Aluminum, Real Red Ink: Palette Noir, Copics Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Paper piercing tool, Crystal Effect, Chunky Sprinkles, Red gingham ribbon

Supplies for the second card ~ Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Paper: Chocolate Chip, Paper Trey White, Haiku DP Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango Tools/Accessories: 1 1/4 & 1 3/8" circle punches, 1/2 & 1/4" circle punches, Scallop Edge Punch, Paper piercing tool, Clear Dew Drops

Splendid Fleurs

Happy World Cardmaking Day! I hope this card makes you SMILE :) & I hope you get a chance to make a card today (or this weekend!). Creating a card is only half the fun, giving it away is still my favorite part! I used to have a hard time giving away the cards I made, but now, a card's not really complete until it's given away. For my friends and customers who have a hard time giving their cards away, I usually share these 2 tips ~ 1) Make a twin for your card, then mail one and keep the other as an example, or 2) take digital photographs of your cards so you can remember what you liked about them. Both of those tips really helped me and I hope they help you too :) !!

I made these cards yesterday with my brand new Splendid Little Company (Pink Poison) set called Fancy Fleurs. I love the beauty and versatility Marie put together in these images and sentiments. You can see the entire set right HERE :) ! The first card includes one of my favorite new Designer Papers... Haiku from SU. I've been really enjoying working with those papers and the color palette...So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive & More Mustard ( I added a little Chocolate Chip just for contrast and didn't use Tangerine with this card).

This card uses the same stamp set, Fancy Fleurs (see what I mean about the versatility?). Sympathy cards are among the most difficult cards for me to make. And, I have to admit, these aren't my favorite cards to send (for obvious reasons)...but if someone is going through a difficult time, I still think a thoughtful, handmade card can go a long ways toward brightening their day. This set is going to really help me in making sympathy cards in the future. The sentiments and images are simply beautiful. I used my Copics to color these images, but I think the flowers would be also be beautiful watercolored...maybe I'll try that next. I used Copic R43 & 46 for the roses, and mostly YG95 for the leaves, with a few other greens thrown in here and there for variation...I was doing a little experimenting! That whole process led to an order for a few more Copics...I'm telling you, those things are addicting, lol! That small strip of DP is Haiku again...see....isn't that great stuff? Here, it adds just the right amount of pattern and a touch of contrasting color when combined with Real Red and White to create a card with clean, crisp lines.

Thanks for stopping by...be sure to leave a comment and say hi :) !

Supplies for the Smile card (size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Fancy Fleurs Paper: Chocolate Chip, Paper Trey White, Haiku DP Ink: Palette Noir, Chocolate Chip & Copics Tools/Accessories: Small & Large Oval Punches, Paper piercing tool/Mat pack, 1/4" Mustard gg ribbon, Mustard eyelets (retired SU), Dimensionals, Spica clear glitter pen, Sakura clear glaze pen

Supplies for the Sympathy card (size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Fancy Fleurs Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Paper Trey white, Haiku DP Ink: Palette Noir & Copics Tools/Accessories: Small & Large Oval punches, White Taffeta ribbon (love that stuff), Spica clear glitter pen, Sakura clear glaze pen

Crazy For Cupcakes!

Mmmmm....how about a cupcake? Okay, if we can't REALLY have cupcakes, then how about a couple Crazy For Cupcakes cards? What's your favorite kind of cupcake/cake? Mine changes from time to time, but today, it's chocolate cake with fluffy chocolate frosting!! Yum!!! I'm excited to share these delicious cards with you, including 2 of my SWAP cards. These are made entirely with Stampin Up supplies. For me, it's always fun to do SU swaps, because I LOVE my SU supplies, I really do! I have to tell you, the star of these projects are Crystal Effects and Chunky Sprinkles (chunky glitter). I'm always looking for new ways to add shine, dimension and sparkle to my images and these two products really take the cake (excuse the pun!), lol!!

I made 10 of those cards for my Ink For Brains, new catalog swap (plus I made a few extras...I never seem to have enough birthday cards). Here are a few of the supplies I used ~ And here's a close-up of that image so you can see some of the sparkly, shiny details ~To get this effect, it does take several steps, but the steps are all really easy and the end result is so worth a little patience. I colored the image with SU Markers...the cherries are Real Red, the frosting is Regal Rose & Pretty in Pink, and the cupcake bases are Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel & Chocolate Chip. The tray is Bashful Blue & Brocade Blue. After coloring the cupcakes, I applied Crystal Effects to the frosting, then sprinkled on some clear (white) Chunky Sprinkles. The Crystal Effects adds Dimension along with shine, so it's just perfect for the frosting. After that dried (about 30 minutes), I carefully added Crystal Effects to the cherries, to make them shiny :) !

And the inside of the card...the perfect finishing touche for a birthday card ~And here is my Great Swaps Girls 2, new catalog swap card! I selected the Heard From the Heart set for my swap card, and I used Crazy for Cupcakes for the image. I kept the same color palette for both swap cards, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pirouette Pink & Whisper White, along with the Sweet Always Designer Paper.I made 14 of these cards (plus a few extras for my birthday card stash)! This was my first GSG2 swap and it was so fun to receive those swaps in the mail last week!! My GSG2 girls did an awesome job on their swaps and I'd love for you to see every single card. I think they've been uploaded to SCS, but I'm having a little trouble locating the gallery (sorry!)...as soon as I find it, I'll be sure to pass that along to you so you can check out all those super swap cards!

And...how cool is this? During the month of October, while Stampin Up celebrates their 20th birthday , you can get this Crazy For Cupcakes set along with a selection of Birthday sets at 20% off! You can check out those sets and all the details right HERE! Wooo-hooo!! Great discount on some great stamp sets!!!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the cupcake cards! I sure enjoyed sharing them with you...I also enjoy hearing from you. For those of you who faithfully leave comments...THANK YOU very much :) !!! I appreciate the encouragement! For the rest of you, don't be shy...I really would love to hear from you!! I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of starting my blog and I've been thinking about what to do with my blog for this coming year...goals, ideas, etc. These posts, the links, and listing the supplies all take quite a bit of time and I can tell by the counter that lots of you stop by everyday, so I'm guessing you like what you see? If so, then it's worth it. But honestly, I can't be sure if you don't leave comments. Soooo, you'll have to leave a comment now & then...tell me what you like, tell me what don't you like (be gentle, lol!). Or just say hi... You'll make my day ;) !!!

Supplies for the first card (size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Paper: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Sweet Always DP Ink: Black Stazon & Chocolate Chip SU Markers: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue Tools/Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig, Crystal Effects, Chunky Sprinkles, 1/4" pretty in pink grosgrain ribbon

Supplies for the second card (size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Paper: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Sweet Always DP Ink: Chocolate Chip SU Markers: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip Tools/Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, , Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig, Crystal Effects, Chunky Sprinkles, 1/4" pretty in pink grosgrain ribbon, Paper snips, Paper piercing tool/mat pack

Splendid new Stamps!

Quick post to show you a couple of cards made with one of Pink Poison's (Splendid Little Company) brand new stamp sets :) ! These sets are being released today...October 1st! This one's called "Cup O Stuff" and it's so darn sweet! You can see the entire set right HERE. I used Sketch #4, from the Splendid Little Blog, for the layout. I used Copics E13, E15, E08, YR24, YG03, YG06 & C1 to color the image. That fun Designer Paper is from SU and is called Haiku! The coordinating cardstock is So Saffron, Tangerine Tango & Chocolate Chip :)

Here's the inside, I didn't use any ribbon on the outside of my cards today {{gasp!}} so I snuck a little on the inside ~ And here's a card that I made for today' SCS color challenge (CC186), to use Really Rust, Chocolate Chip & Baja Breeze! Love that color combo!! Love the image!!! The card is a little plain, I keep wondering if it still needs something...but after re-making it 3 times tonight...I'm done with it, lol! Does that ever happen to you? Everytime I got a little frustrated with the card, I'd look at the sweet little mouse smiling up at me, and I just couldn't get too upset :) !!! Thanks Marie, for drawing such sweet images. They are a blast to color!!

Speaking of coloring, I used a combination of Copics and SU Inks & Blender pens to color the mouse & the cup. I wanted to play the color challenge, but didn't have the Copic for Baja Breeze (BG72), so I just grabbed my Baja Breeze & Kiwi Kiss Ink Pads, and a Blender Pen and used those to color the cup, flower & leaves, and you know what...it worked just fine! The Copics I used for the Mouse were E00, E13, E15, E95 and the rust on the cup was E08 & E09. I did a little shading with C1.

I'll have more to show you from these and other new Pink Poison sets...so stay tuned and thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Supplies for the first card (4 1/4" square) ~ Stamps: Cup O Stuff Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, White & Haiku DP Ink: Palette Noir, Chocolate Chip & Copics Tools/Accessories: Photo corner punch, clear dew drops, Spica clear glitter pen, Sakura clear glaze pen, 1/4" chocolate chip twill ribbon (retired SU)

Supplies for the second card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Cup O Stuff Paper: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Really Rust, Paper Trey White, Ski Slopes DP (SU holiday mini) Ink: Palette Noir, Chocolate Chip, & Copics Tools/Accessories: Blender pens with Baja Breeze & Kiwi Kiss classic ink, Square Scallop punch (that's actually 4 little punches pushed up together behind the image), Paper piercing tool, Sakura clear glaze pen, Spica clear glitter pen, Tiny copper brads (non-SU), Cuttlebug with Circle Nesties

We Three Kings sneak peek

One last sneak peek at some of the newest Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps :)! They'll all be available this Wednesday, October 1st! The set I'm using today is We Three Kings. This first card uses some of my favorite, traditional Christmas colors, Real Red & Old Olive. For some reason, the sentiment looks blurry in the photo, but is completely crisp irl...not sure what happened there, one of those digital camera mysteries...it looks great till I upload it...weird, huh?! Also used my brand spankin new Top Note Bigz Die, one of the exclusive dies made by SU for the Big Shot :) ! It makes those little perforation/paper pierced details for you...it's so easy...I love that machine!! Plus the Top Note die is a great size for an image piece (it's about 3 3/4 x 4 3/4", point to point).

Here are the Copics I used for the image. I kept the coloring fairly simple and created shading with the red and green by coloring on layers and using a Red, Gold & Clear Spica glitter pen and Sakura clear glaze pen. This card has some nice, clean simple lines, made with Night of Navy, Silver & White. I used my Scor-Pal to create dry embossing lines around the image piece and around and under the sentiment. This was my first time trying this technique with the Scor-pal and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Because of the simplicity, this is a style of card that could be mass produced for Christmas cards. I always save some of my extra special, more detailed cards for our closest friends and family, but the other 50-60 cards that get mailed out need to be much simpler...like this one!

This last card uses some non-traditional Christmas colors (Pacific Point & More Mustard)...I was experimenting a bit with color, but I think its works? I'm sure I can find someone on my Christams card list who won't mind non-traditional colors...infact, I can probably find someone who would prefer that ;)

Thanks for stopping by :) ... Hope you enjoyed the ODBD sneak peeks over the past few days. I have more to show you from Pink Poison coming up later this week, a few simple tutorials, and some fantastic GSG2 new catty swaps and fun new SU stamps too!!!

Supplies for the first card (size 5 1/2 x 5) ~ Stamps: We Three Kings Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, Old Olive, Ski Slope DP (SU holiday mini), Papertrey white Ink: Palette Noir, Copics Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Bigz die, Sakura clear glaze pen, Spica glitter pens (red, gold & clear), dimensionals

Supplies for the second card (size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: We Three Kings Paper: Night of Navy, non-SU reflective silver, Papertrey white Ink: Night of Navy Tools/Accessories: Scor-pal (for embossing), Dazzling diamonds glitter, Sakura Quickie glue pen, rhinestone, dimensionals

Supplies for the third card (size 4 1/4 square) ~ Stamps: We Three Kings Paper: Pacific Point, More Mustard, Papertrey white Ink: Palette Noir, Copics Tools/Accessories: Su round & square rhinestone brads, Spica clear, red & green glitter pens, Sakura clear glaze pen, dimensinoals

Something Yummy!

This time of year I always start thinking about baking, especially zucchini & pumpkin bread! Here's a quick & easy way to brighten someone's day :) ! That great sentiment is from the soon to be released ODBD set, Flourished Christian Symbols! I'm excited to share this recipe with you because it's one of my very favorites!! I think the vanilla is the key, plus it's really moist, I just love it...you'll have to let me know what you think :) ... I'll get back to that recipe in just a jiffy, but for now, onto a coordinating card, made with the same stamp set. This started with a completely different layout, but at one point I had the pieces laid out and saw that they made a cross, so I went with it! This next one was made with ODBD's soon to be released We Three Kings set (ODBD) and Taylored Expressions cupcake challenge #35 sketch!

and the inside of the card...using a couple more pieces from the We Three Kings set!

....and now, that yummy recipe :)

Yummy Zucchini Bread
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups shredded zucchini
2/3 cup water
2 Tbsp vanilla
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp cloves

Optional add-ins:

1/3 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup golden raisins and/or craisins
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of loaf pans (2 pans 9x5x3 in. or 3 pans 8 ½ x4 ½ x2 ½).
Mix oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add in eggs, zucchini, and water. Mix dry ingredients together and blend into zucchini mixture. Stir in nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips if desired.
Bake 60-70 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean from center of the loaf. Cool slightly. Loosen sides of loaves from pans and remove the loaves to a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

*For Pumpkin bread:
Substitute 15oz can of pumpkin for zucchini and increase bake time by about 10minutes.

Hope you enjoy that recipe and your weekend too :) ... thanks for stopping by!

Supplies for the Zucchini bread belly band~ Stamps: Flourished Christian Symbols Ink: Chocolate Chip Paper: White, Textured Red, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze & Ski Slope DP (SU holiday mini) Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Dew Drops

Supplies for the Cross Card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Flourished Christian Symbols Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, White, Ski Slope DP (SU holiday mini) Ink: Chocolate Chip Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge PUnch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip gg ribbon

Supplies for the We Three Kings card (size 5 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: We Three Kings Paper: Chocolate Chip, White, Ski Slope DP Ink: Chocolate Chip, Palette Noir, Copic Markers Tools/Accessories: Clear rhinetones, Kaiser self-adhesive olive rhinestones, 1/4" Chocolate Chip & Olive gg ribbon

More ODBD Sneak Peeks and FREE shipping!

When I saw these new stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs ... designed by our very own Dina Kowal :) , I knew I'd be using them to make Pastor Appreciation cards and gifts! This set, called Flourished Christian Symbols, will be released on October 1st and contains some really great sentiments, images and scriptures, it's the perfect set to make encouragement cards & fun gifts all year round!! I made this card last night, isn't that scripture & sentiment awesome? Dina did a great job designing this set...it's one that I will be using often. My projects today also feature the new SU DP, Hawaii Papaya...it's great for fall, with Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip & Kiwi Kiss! You can click HERE to see all the patterns that come with that paper!

Here's the inside of my card...isn't that just perfect for remembering those special people in the ministry?I used my Scor-Pal and this new stamp set to make a simple Coffee/Card gift combo. Here's a side view of my coffee/card gift all packaged up together. I'll eventually add a tag to the top ... when it's ready to be given away :)October is Clergy appreciation month. Our Pastors and their families work tirelessly and I appreciation them more than words could ever express. And while I appreciate them all year long, I love having the opportunity to recognize them in an extra special way! This is coffee/card gift is one idea I had. You could easily tuck some candy or a gift card in with the coffee...lots of possibilities : )! I will show you how I made this simple coffee box along with some other projects, over the next few days. We have 6 Pastors at our church, so when I make projects like these, they need to be fairly simple, so I can make them in multiples.

Here's a look at the inside of that card...

More exciting news from Our Daily Bread Designs...a very special coupon for YOU, so you can help Kelley Celebrate ODBD's 1/2 year birthday this weekend with FREE shipping on all orders .... but only till September 28th! That's FREE shipping, no minimum purchase!! Woo-hoo, now that's a fun way to celebrate : )!!!!

October is a good time to get started on Thanksgiving cards & projects (that's what I've been telling myself all week!). Click HERE to see a previous post made with an ODBD's Thanksgiving set! October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month, and Kelley has some great stamps and products to help you with that too. Click HERE to check ou the HOPE set, DPs and accessories!! She's got it all and you don't pay a penny for shipping between now & Sept 28th!!! Thanks for stopping by :) !!!

Supplies for the Coffee/Card project (finished size of card is 3 1/2 x 6, finished size of coffee project is 7 x 3 1/2 x 3 1/2)~ Stamps: Flourished Christian Symbols (ODBD, released on 10/1) Paper: Chocolate Chip, Textured Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Hawaii Papaya DP, White & Shimmery White Ink: Chocolate Chip Tools/Accessories: Striped Kiwi Kiss gg ribbon, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets/Cropadile, Scallop Edge Punch, Photo Corner Punch, Tiny (non-su) copper brads, Cuttlebug/Scalloped Oval Nesties, 1/4" brown gg ribbon

Supplies for the 1st card (finished size 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Flourished Christian Symbols Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, White, Hawaii Papaya DP Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss Tools/Accessories: Striped Kiwi gg ribbon, Boho Blossoms flower punch, 1/4" circle punch, Pewer brad, Scallop Edge Punch, Paper piercing tool, Stamp-a-majig, CUttlebug/Long Rectangle Nesties, Dimensionals

Footprints in the Sand

It was a beautiful day on the Oregon Coast and we took a quick trip out to the beach (it's a 10 minutes drive). Muffin had a blast, really likes the sand and she burnt up a ton of puppy energy! I came home and got inspired to make some Footprints in the Sand cards with this beautiful new set from Our Daily Bread Designs! This set, along with 4 others will be released on October 1st. I'll have a few more sneak peeks to show you soon :)

I love this Footsteps stamp...and the story it tells. Such a beautiful reminder of God's never ending, always present love & faithfulness. If you double click on any of the cards today, you can get a close look at the poem (is it just me or are those tiny little letters on the computer screen getting harder to see everyday, lol!). Here's the inside of the first card ...
This card started out for today's color challenge at SCS, but it just really "needed" chocolate chip, so I had to put the color challenge on hold (rats...I hate it when that happens!). I do like how the Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze & Very Vanilla look together. Very "beachy' ;) And here's my 3rd card...using Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla ...

and the inside ...

And here is Meg & Muffin at the beach : ) ... and yes, Muffin is wearing a visor, pink with a purple flower! It protects her little nose from getting sunburned , and it looks super cute!
Be sure to pop on over to ODBD and see what's new. Kelley has a ton of great stamping supplies available and she's offering FREE shipping for all orders over $50! Now that's a good deal :) !! And remember to check out all the new stamps on October 1st! Hooray for new stamps!!!

Supplies for the 1st card (size 4 1/2 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Footprints in the Sand Paper: Textured Baja Breeze, Basic Black, White, Ski Slopes DP (from the upcoming SU holiday mini) Ink: Graphite Brilliance Tools/Accessories: 3/16 corner rounder punch, Scallop edge punch, 1/4" circle punch, black brads, black gingham ribbon, Cropadile (embossing on scallops), Dimensionals

Supplies for the 2nd card (size 4 1/2 x 5 1/2) ~ Stamps: Footprints in the Sand Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla Ink: Chocolate Chip Tools/Accessories: Photo Corner punch, Hemp Thread, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig

Supplies for the 3rd card (size 5 x 6) ~ Stamps: Footprints in the Sand Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Haiku DP Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Timber Brown Stazon Tools/Accessories: 3/4 & 1" circle punches, 3/16 corner rounder punch, Photo corner punch (inside), Hemp Twine, Pewter eyelets, Cropadile, Dimensionals, Sakura clear glaze pen, Spica clear glitter pen

Thanks for stopping by ;) ... have an wonderful day!

A Flower For All Seasons

Happy first day of Fall! Starting things off this week with a few cards featuring A Flower For All Seasons & All Holidays sets. For those of you who know of my ribbon addiction, I'd like it noted, for the record, my cards today don't have ANY ribbon on them! I have no idea how that happened (it's a little shocking, even to me), but it's true. So that just goes to prove, I can indeed make a card without ribbon, lol ;) !!! These first 2 cards are both from the "fall" season stamp~

Don't you love this set? The fall stamp has to be my favorite, because of those little sunflowers and that tiny little ladybug, but the others images are super fun too :) !

Winter...

Spring...

Summer ... What do you think of this color combo? Basic Gray, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Brushed Silver :) ... it's different, but I think it works.

This also seems like the perfect time to share a RAK with you...this one from the fabulous Cami (Stamp a little Love baby)!!! She's got details about some extra special BLOG CANDY on her blog today...you'll want to be sure & check that out (just click on her name). Cami sent me this card for my birthday last month. You can click HERE for recipe for this fantastic card! Her husband & I not only share the same birthday, but the exact same year too! Isn't that cool? We were actually born on the SAME day! What are the chances of that? Anyway, Cami is the sweetest person in the world, love her cards, love her blog, I just love every single thing about her... she's simply AMAZING!! Thanks again Cami...YOU're the BEST {{{hugs}}}!!!

Wishing you a FABULOUS first day of FALL : ) !!! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies for the 1st fall card (4 1/4 square)~ Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons (image), All Holidays (sentiment) Paper: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Really Rust, Autum Vine DP (from the upcoming Holiday Mini) Ink: Palette Noir & Chocolate Chip Copics: Y19 & 35, E13 & 15, YR24, BG93, C1, R46 Tools/Accessories: Filigree Assortment brads, More Mustard brads, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/4" circle punch, Small & Large Oval punches, Paper piercing tool, Dimensinoals, Sakura Clear Glaze Pen

Supplies for the 2nd fall card (4 1/4 x 4) ~ Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons (image), All Holidays (sentiment) Paper: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Papertrey Ink White for cardbase Ink: Palette Noir & Chocolate Chip Copics: Y19, E13 & 15, YR24, G12 & 14, C1, R46 Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Sakura Clear Glaze Pen

Supplies for the winter card (4 1/4 square) ~ Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons (image), All Holidays (sentiment) Paper: Real Red, White, Textured Old Olive Ink: Palette Noir Copic: E13 & 15, R43 & 46, YG95 & 03, C1 Tools/Accessories: Paper piercing tool, Spica clear glitter pen, Sakura clear glaze pen

Supplies for the spring card (4 1/4 x 4) ~ Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons (image), All Holidays (sentiment) Paper: Rose Red, Papertrey White for cardbase Ink: Palette Noir, Rose Red Copic: E13 & 15, R17, RV02, BG000, BG05, G14 Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Sakura clear glaze pen, Spica clear & pink glitter pens, Dimensionals

Supplies for the summer card (4 1/4 square) ~ Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons (image), Flight of the Butterfly (sentiment) Paper: Basic Gray, Green Galore, Whisper White, Brushed Silver, Summer Sun Ink: Palette Noir, Basic Gray Copic: YG06, C1 & 3, Y17 & 19, E15 Tools/Accessories: Silver Brads, 1/4" circle punch, Spica silver & clear glaze pens, Sakura clear glaze pen

Happy Friday

Muffin was wondering why the cards always get posted first and her photos come at the end...so today, she gets her picture up first ; ) !
Okay, now that you've seen Muffin in her tutu, we can move on to a couple stamping projects. Both feature Not Quite Navy cardstock & Designer series paper (from the hostess pack). It's a color I tend to reach for more often in the fall. I've been working on some fun swap cards with the Crazy for Cupcakes set, using pinks, browns, pumpkin...but thought it would be fun to try and make a "man" cupcake birthday card...so this is it.

And next, a little Pillow Box, made with the Big shot. I really like that die...it's perfect for a quick, easy little treat. This time Not Quite Navy is combined with Bravo Burgundy, another favorite fall color. Also used my new Wide Scallop Punch & Define Your Life set.

In case you haven't seen the Big Shot yet...here it is ~

That's it for now... my daughter, Katie, & her husband are coming for to visit for the weekend, so this will be it from me for a couple days : ) ! Have a super weekend & I'll have some fun NEW things to show you next week!!

Supplies for the cupcake card (size 4 1/4" square) ~ Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes Paper: Not Quite Navy, Close to Cocoa (textured), White, Not Quite Navy Hostess pack DSP Ink: Pallete Noir Tools/Accessories: Copic Markers, Crystal Effects, Chunky Sprinkles, White Taffeta Ribbon, Paper piercing tool/mat pack, Dimensionals, Photo Corner Punch, Not Quite Navy Brads

Supplies for the pillow box ~ Stamps: Define Your Life, Easter Blooms (background on the Burgundy) Paper: Not Bravo Burgundy, Not Quite Navy, White, DSP hostess pack Ink: Bravo Burgundy Tools/Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box die, Wide Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms Punch, 1/4" circle punch, Silver brad, Sticky Strip, Burgundy & Blue 1/4" gg ribbon

Flight of the Butterfly

My friend Tonya was nice enough to let me borrow her Flight of the Butterfly set this week (thanks Tonya)! These are 2 very simple little cards I made yesterday. The first card is 4 1/4" square. I like the clean, simplicity of it. It's funny, but I thought I would like the larger butterflies and swirly sentiments, but so far, I'm just loving that little butterfly and the simple thank you sentiment.

Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss & Bella Rose DP just seemed like the perfect companions for this stamp set. Do you ever look at a particular stamp set and instantly think of a color combo? I do. For this set, I could only see the butterfly in Riding Hood Red. Which reminds me...what did we ever do without those new in-colors? I love them...every single one of them, but Riding Hood Red & Pink Pirouette are my 2 favorites (this week anyway!).

Here's the other card I made, it's note card sized, 3 3/4 x 4" ~

Seems like I can always use a thank you note. Since these were so quick and simple, I may make a few more... just to keep on hand. thanks Tonya for letting me play with the set, always fun to try something new :) !!!

That's it for today...hope you're having a good week, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies for the first card (4 1/4" square) ~ Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, White, Bella Rose DP Ink: Riding Hood Red Tools/Accessories: Square scallop punch, 1" circle punch, Paper piercing tool/mat pack, Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Dimensinoals, Stamp-a-majig

Supplies for the 2nd card (3 3/4 x 4") ~ Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly Paper: Riding Hood REd, Kiwi Kiss, White, Bella ROse DP Ink: Riding Hood Red Tools/Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Square scallop punch, 1/4" twill olive ribbon (retired), Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig

Color & Sketch Challenges

I colored these images while watching a movie with my family last night. For me, coloring is a great way to relax... it's just too hard to sit still and watch a movie without having something in my hands. My family, a little popcorn, my Scor-Pal/Scor-mat in my lap and a few Copics nearby...now that's one great way to spend an evening :) !!! I checked this week's color challenge before getting started & pulled out a few Copics that fit the challenge, to use Riding Hood Red, Artichoke & Basic Gray (CC184). I used R37 for Riding Hood Red, G85 & G99 for Artichoke & N3, N6 & C1 for the Gray. The branches are E13 & E15. I used R32 for their cheeks & other highlights. My grays aren't an exact match for Basic Gray, but it's what I have, so I made it work :) . Oh, and there's a touch of B000 around the eyes. I used one of my favorite newly released stamps, Christmas Birds, by Pink Poison/Splendid Little Stamps! I absolutely love those little birds, they are just precious!

This next one technically also qualifies for the color challenge (she does have artichoke in her dress), but it's really for the Sketch challenge (CC194). I used my new Princess Anya stamp for this one...love those Anyas & I heard we can expect to see more Anyas in the near future...woo-hoo!! Great layout, it was fun to try. More Riding Hood Red & Basic Gray with a little Prism Aluminum cardstock, embossed with the Cuttlebug Textiles embossing folder. I Used the same colors of Copics with the addition of E00 & G40 for her skin & eyeshadow. Oh, I almost forgot...I used C1 for shadowing around the images. It's almos