WELL - I really struggled with this one :)

Hi All!

I have been pondering the sketch challenge presented over at Create with Connie and Mary all week.....I don't usually do that to be honest.  It is such a sweet sketch.....and a clean lined sketch....which is where my struggle came in, I guess.  lol!  wanna see it?

See?  I told you it was a sweet, clean lined sketch.  I guess I do piles of stuff better than clean....like my housekeeping - just ask my hubby - HAHA!!!!!  Well - here is what I came up with

I must confess - this is my second card for this challenge.  My original idea of a sympathy sentiment and cut out flowers flanking that with sponging and wrinkly texture in the flowers didn't make the cut.  I looked at it and said - boy that is U.G.L.Y.  If I ever get the courage - I will share that with you...but don;t hold your breath, if you know what I mean.

I do like how this one turned out.  I have a hard time with too much open space....are there any shrinks out there can decifer all of this?  lol!!!  It is all tying together as I type it out :)  hehehehe.......

The designer series paper is from Playdate - love it!  The sentiment, from play on words (??),  was inked up with stampin write markers and stamped onto shimmer white card stock.  I flanked the sentiment with designer label punches - also from playdate.  I adorned that with two tempting turquoise buttons from the brights button collection and chocolate chip thread.

 WHAT????? 

Did I say "chocolate chip thread?"  Yep - but I didn't mean it....I was seeing if you were paying attention to me...lol!  I took two slivers of chocolate chip card stock and threaded them through the buttons and secured it with mini glue dots.  See?

Well....after all of the screaming and stomping on the card that is in the crap pile - I sure could use soem lovin' from all you fellow stampers.....we have all been "there" - right?  lol!  Maybe it is only me .......

GUESS WHAT!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

Connie and Mary picked my card again this week as a winner for the "going green" challenge!!!

What a great surprise to see - here is the card:

Scroll down for the post for more info on it.
off to celebrate.....whooooohooooooo............

A dress for any occassion

HI All! 

Sorry I didn't come up with anything catchy today......I just don't have it in  me.....lol!!!  But hey - I do have some eye candy for you......  I was able to squeak out a little beauty this morning, but didn't have time to photograph, edit or post it then.....so here I am rushing before swimming lessons and after switching laundry loads.  Anyone have an extra maid on hand that I could use.....I think I could get soem more stampin' done if everyoen around here didn't want to eat or have clean clothes....how anoying....right????

Anyway - I started with the Mojo Monday sketch. 

This ended up TOTALLY different than what I had in my little mind.  I started out flowers, concord crush and the like.....but ended up here instead:

How did I do?

I have been wanting to dress up that little dress form from the sew suite collection for quite sometime now...."sew" I decided to dress up three of them. hehe!!  Get it??  Sew.....so.....sew.......so......
I'm grasping at straws for humor here, huh?  lol!

The card base is cherry cobbler - {luv} it!  The desigenr series paper is from newsprint and love letters.  Did you get a look at that upper corner?????  Well......the words "Stampin' Up!" was printed in that corner......argh!!!!....So i ripped the corner off, rolled the designer series paper and adhered a scrap of newsprint behind it.  I did that same technique on two different places on the main image panel to kinda balance it out.  See?

All the destressed edges were inked with the tea stain ink pad in the ditressing kit....please Stampin' Up!, sell ink refills for these babies....pretty please.......

Oh....my dresses!!!!

I dressed up each of my ladies with their own style.....wanna see?

A simple rhinestone, a punched flower from thebitty punch pack accented with a rhinestone and a lace skirt with a rhinestone waist.  That is a great use for your victoria lace ribbon scraps!!!!  oh - one more thing I just realized in this picture......I also stamped the french filligree stamp on this panel with sahara sand that had been stamped off.  lol

I could really use some love today....what do you think of this baby? 

Erin go Braugh???????

Naw!!!!!  

LOL!!

Are you wondering where this is going?  You probably should be....hehehe!!
This week's challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary is a theme challenge.....to go green.  There are many ways to interpret "go green," and it was a a challenge posted on St. Patty's day.......But - I didn't go the St. Patty's day route - since it is the 19th of March.....lol

I went with the obvious - green.  When I checked out this week's challenge - I immediately thought to use the hostess level one, "Because I Care."  I absolutely love hydrangeas.  And I think the white ones that have a tinge of green are so delicate looking....so what did I pair it with in color????  BLACK!  Do  you think I pulled it off?????

The designer series paper is from greenhouse gala - ironic to use "green"house paper on a "green" themed floral card.....get it greenhouse-flower......"green"house-go "green".  I am pulling at strings here people......lol!  And I just had to add a cluster of buttons....i {luv} the new buttons Stampin' Up! has brought out this year - sooooo pretty.  I colored the flowers with a blender pen and ink refills.  I also stamped the single flower stamp several times and colored them as well.  I cut them all out....can  you see the dimension here????

Some of the single blooms were adhered straight onto the cluster flower....and some were adhered with stampin dimensionals to give a third layer of blooming goodness.  The flower cluster as well as the single flowers were stamped onto watercolor paper with black staz on ink.

And......I couldn't leave the inside just plain old olive.......

I would love to know what you think about this goodness......did I pull off an delicate flowery Easter card with black accents?

I WON!!! I WON!!!!!

I can't believe they picked my card!!!

Create with Connie and Mary chose my card below as a winner for that week's challenge......check it out.

Singin' in the rain........

i'm just a singin' in the rain!

I don't know about you - but I am tired of rain!!!  So I have whipped up a little sping goodness for you this morning.  I have been working on my studio move this week......but tool some time this morning to stamp some petals out.  I came across some challenges I thought I might incorporate.  The first one was Create with Connie and Mary - they proposed a color challenge for today.

And then I came across the PPA challenge - spring bonnet- perfect!!!

Do you wnat to see what I whipped up this morning???

I can't hear you.........

that's better!

The flower petals were stamped by inking them up in so saffron and then using a sponge dauber to put real red where the flower center will be.  Then they were punched out with the build a blossom punch - amking this flower easy peasy to put together!!  The flower center was stamped in chocolate chip and then punched with the boho blossom punch - cute, huh?  lol!  Wanna see a little closer?

You know I couldn't just put that flower on my card all flat like, right?????  So look at the dimension -

This one will have to be hand delivered, that is for sure :)

Well....what do you think?

A place for everything

HI stampers!!!!!  Do you remember me telling you I was going to set up a small sewing corner in my room????  Well, one thing I can never keep track of at home when I am sewing is little scissors.....so I put on my thinking cap and went to work on an idea.  lol!

Wanna see what I came up with?

Picture this with a brand new pair of paper snips....just for my sewing area.  They are on the way :)  real shocker, huh?  hehehehe!!!

I cut coordinating pieces of fabric - SO easy with our Designer Fabric packages!!!  Of sourse I had to use Sweet Stitches :)  Oh yeah!  I didn't say how I cut it, did I?  I used the petal cone die and my big shot!  Sweet, huh?  I put two pieces together and sewed them up, creating a little place for my new snips.  Don't you just LOVE that pom pom trim?????  I absolutely do - I sure hope it continues in the next cattie.

I used a piece of dafffodil delight satin ribbon to create a hanger and tacked it on the back.....but I don't like to see "stuff".......so I sewed a pumpkin pie button over the stitches - viola!  No sewing stitches!  lol!!!

Now, you know I couldn't adorn the back and not add some sweetness to the front.  So I decided to push a fabric designer brad through.  Well - I actually didn't just "push" it through, per say......I used a hand held punch and punched a hole and then put my brad in it.  I then stitched two bright buttons around that and tracked the front flap down to the cone.

I haven't received any love here in a while - leave me a comment letting me know what you think.  I don't bite ;)

From the archives.......

Hi All!  I have pulled out a little goodness from my archives......lol!!  I made a stack of these for my daughter's dance instructor for Christmas this year.  The stamp set is really retired.....but I will hang onto it as long as my little one dances her Wednesday nights away.  I must confess....this post is really directed for my club ladies.....we did a bleaching technique last month and I was explaining different types of stamp sets that worked well with that technique and I was telling them about these cards.  I don't usually post anything that is retired.....but the stamp set is the only thing retired here....the rest is current goodness.

Here is a picture of the card I made:

I sewed on the blushing bride ribbon in a random, zig zaggy like fashion.  Want a  closer look at the dancer?  I colored her with stampin write markers - pretty in pink, regal rose, and blush blossom.

Oops!  My bad!!!  The buttons were just out of my stash.....just random buttons - so I guess everything wasn't current goodness after all......


Well....I better run - life is chomping at my heels, again ;)