Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I know I should be posting one last Halloween card, but I just couldn't resist making this one instead. A friend of mine, (hi Tracey) gave me this gnome stamp from Queen Kat Designs. She said that she didn't have anything to do with it and if anyone could make something with it, I could........hmmmmmm is that a compliment or do I just have a warped sense of card making??? :) Anyway, I took that as a challenge and I went with it. This is what I came up with.

My mind just started racing as I started into this card. I knew I wanted to use Sassafrass Lass paper and I just ended up using 1 piece, I just used the back and the front of the double-sided paper (I LOVE double sided papers). Then I looked at the pinked bottom of the paper that has mushrooms on it and thought of my Quickutz mushrooms die. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I got them, but I do think they are cute so................ This was an easy card to make and I love how fun and funky it turned out. What do you think? Oh, I'm on a white flocking roll too. The last few cards I've made have had white flocking on them, this one included :)

Our quote for the day: "Love is the only thing you get more of by giving it away." -Tom Wilson

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Let It Snow........just not yet :)

Good Morning! How's the weather where you are? Here, it's kind of cold especially in the mornings and evenings, but no snow yet. Our oldest two girls, Erin and Amy are coming to visit with our grandson Tyler soon. Last time they came it was also in November and it SNOWED! So, I'm getting ready for an early snow :) Tyler is almost 2 1/2 now and we can't wait to see him... (the girls too :)

Okay, onto the card:

I made this card for the SplitCoastStampers sketch challenge. You can see it here. It's a fun sketch and for this card, I really didn't stamp too much. I did however get to use my shimmery/glittery sticker paper that I have trouble using. You can't tell as well in the picture, but it's paper that looks like it is made with glitter, it's REALLY sparkly. The dp is from the DCWV Christmas stack, the ribbon from May Arts, the tag from Quickutz. I used Brillance Moonlight white to edge both of the patterned pieces before attaching them and I stamped the stampendous "let it snow" in Brillance Pearlescent sky blue. Nestabilities cut the scalloped squares that the snowflakes are on and the snowflakes are 3D embellies that I'm not sure who made. Easy as pie, and I will be making more of these, I just want to stamp more on some. Oh, there are some awesome ones in the gallery for this challenge, but I want to show you this one, because I think it is so eye-catching, I really love it. Do you love it?

I'm hoping to get some stamping done today. Our varsity volleyball team starts playoffs tonight so I think we're going to watch them. It's so cool to watch them play.

Our quote of the day: "Belief always precedes action. " - James Allen

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

ATS Wednesday Challenge

Good Morning! It's Wednesday and that means All That Scraps Challenge. As you can see below our challenge is a technique challenge, making a pizza box. You can go here for the tutorial.

This was so much fun to make. I used CC Designs "LuLu's Sweet Delights" stamp set, red cardstock and some Christmas dp, my nestabilities, Copics, a white souffle pen, some ric rac, some gems and some spica glitter pens. I'm pretty sure that's it!

I decorated all the sides of mine as well as the inside :) Ooops, I did use the McGill window punch for the sentiment.

I will be using mine for a gift card this Christmas and I'm pretty sure I will be making some more to use for gift cards. What a fun way to 'wrap' a gift card! I just used my paper shredder from our office to make the red shredded paper on the inside.

This was an easy project and you could decorate them anyway you wanted.

Oh, I did use my Scor-Pal and once again I will tell you how much I LOVE it!!!! It made scoring these lines so easy without having to move my paper. Definitely a MUST-HAVE product in my book :)

Okay, I have to go get dressed now. I will leave you with a quote. And a public service annoucement: try the challenge, it's fun! Be sure to post it to the All That Scraps Gallery so we can see what you came up with too :)

Our quote: "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." — Thornton Wilder

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a GREAT day!!!

I'm back again - this time for a while :)

Good Morning! I'm home from my trip to Houston. I had so much fun with my friends scrapbooking for lots of hours with a bit of shopping thrown it :) And then I went to my sister's house and got to see my nieces and nephews and I even got to see my youngest nephew play football (he's the kicker and he did a GREAT job!)

Now I'm back home and have lots of catching up to do. Yesterday Amy R released her Christmas stamp sets and they are fabulous! You can see them here. This card uses two of the sets! The ornaments were made with the Build a Holiday set and if you go to the All That Scraps Gallery you will see that the pieces can be used to make lots of different things :)

I made ornaments with mine and used Basic Grey's Wassail paper. I love this set. The colors in my picture came out a little bit bright, sometimes greens are hard for me to get right in pictures, so think of the card with a little subtler color :) The Joy sentiment is from Amy's set Christmas sentiments and there is also a set with Christmas verses so you'll have something to stamp on the inside of your cards. She has covered everything :)

All That Scraps will be starting sneak peeks for the November releases soon, so I will be busy working on those for a while. There are fabulous new sets coming so check back to see what's coming. You can also blog hop on the DT blogs listed on the left.

I got my scrapbooking room somewhat cleaned up (not completely, but definitely better than it was) so I can happily go in there and work now. I was 'misplacing' things and getting frustrated because my desk was so messy, so I'm a happy girl now.

The All That Scraps challenge is tomorrow too, so be sure to check back to see that and try out the challenge, it's a fun one!

See, it's going to be busy for a while, although I did start my Christmas shopping while I was gone and now I have lots of ideas for other things because I had lots of time on the planes to think :)

Okay, I'll stop just rattling now and share our quote for the day, have a fabulous day!!!

Our quote: "We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams. " - Jeremy Irons

Another sketch challenge

Good Morning! This morning's cards comes from a sketch from SplitCoastStampers. I'm having trouble getting on the site this morning so I can't link you to the gallery or the original post, but I'll try later and if I'm successful, I'll edit this post :) You know how much I love challenges and this one was no exception. My great aunt is turning 90 this year and her family is asking everyone to send her a birthday card, so I made this one for her. I spent the summers with my grandparents and Aunt Othel lived beside them, so I have spent alot of time with her. She's really special to me.

There isn't alot of stamping on this card: I used the abstract leaves backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms (I really love their backgrounders, very easy to use) and I stamped them in my new Versamark Dazzle - champagne :) There is a little bit of sparkle to the background, not a lot, I actually wish it was a little bit more......but......
I used Chatterbox dp, the flowers and the green (back and front of the same sheet) and some chili colored cardstock. I added ribbon, and Imaginisce flower and a Daisy D's button with some DMC thread. The inside is stamped with a My Sentiments Exactly stamp that says, "May God bless your birthday, With blessings from above. Fill it full of sunshine, And wrap it up in love!" I think it's perfect for Aunt Othel.

Here's my soapbox speech: if you haven't tried a challenge yet, jump in and try some, they're FUN!! And you can find them everywhere.

I'm leaving for Texas tomorrow to go scrapbook with some friends and then I'm staying a few days with my Sister. Today, I'm trying to schedule as least a couple posts for when I'm gone, but I'm not sure how far I will get with that, I haven't even started packing and Sara has a volleyball game this evening. So if you don't hear from me for a week, I'm really sorry, but I will be back and maybe have something new to show you :)

Our quote for the day: "I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision. " — Eleanor Roosevelt

Have a wonderful day and if you have a few extra minutes, find a challenge that peaks your interest and try it!

All That Scraps Wednesday Challenge

Good Morning! It's time for another ATS Wednesday Challenge. As you see below, this week's is a product challenge using ribbon. Do you have ribbons in your stash that you LOVE but you never seem to use. They just don't 'go' with the colors or the designs you've been using? Well this is the challenge for you! Base your project on your ribbon!!!!! I LOVE ribbon so I have lots of it and I love adding it to my cards and pages, but some of my ribbon doesn't get much love, so for today's cards I used one of those ribbons.

I also used my Annabelle stamp set by Cookie Crumbs. She's so cute! I used some fun things on this card. Of course primas and dew drops and my Copics. But my latest discovery is Shimmerz. This stuff is cool!!! It's sparkly paint, but not like acrylic paint, it's easier to use than that. If you click on the picture you'll be able to see it better. I have the Candle Light color (it's a very light yellow) and after I colored the background of Annabelle, I painted the Shimmerz over it. It REALLY shimmers. In the picture it kind of looks dirty but that "dirt" is actually sparkly stuff! I will be getting some other colors, like angel wings and maybe rustic red too. But you don't want to hear me debating with myself :)

Be sure to go to the ATS gallery to see other samples and use ribbon to inspire you. Then be sure to post it to the gallery so we can see too! :)

Our quote for the day: "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. "
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

A bit of my childhood.....along with a card :)

Good Morning! It's pretty chilly here today, I actually turned on the fireplace for a few minutes this morning while I was getting the kids ready for school. The leaves are BEAUTIFUL right now and I'm trying to enjoy them because I know that by the time I get back from Texas, they will be gone :(

This morning's card is simple, but uses some things I have been wanting to use for a while. My elephant die is from Sizzix and is one of the smaller originals. I wanted to make her felt, but I didn't have any grey felt so she's shimmery instead with Doodlebug sugar-coated pink toe nails :) White card base, pink background paper that was in my scrap drawer which I stamped with the heart from Autumn Leaves Scribbled Scripted set in pink. The pink cardstock in the middle (also from my scrap drawer) was embossed with cuttlebug swiss dots and then inked on the top of the dots with the same pink ink. I tied the ribbons on and stamped "welcome to the world" from Fiskars baby set.

Oh, the part about my childhood, the backdrop in the photo is my baby blanket, yes, I still have it. I don't sleep with it anymore, but I'm sure not getting rid of it. My grandmother who just passed away last year made it for me :) It's REALLY soft because of how much it's been loved (and washed :)

Remember to stop by tomorrow, because it's ATS Challenge Wednesday and it's a fun one!

Our quote for the day: "What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. "
— Aristotle

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Good Morning! I didn't get a chance to participate in the ATS Review Preview on Friday because that's when I was learning how to color ;) So, I will review Sadie today! She is the cutest little thing and is designed by Jen Ofiana. Remember there are three Sadie's right now and you can purchase them here. $7.50 for Sadie and a sentiment!!!

This one is obviously for Christmas. I used cardstock and dp from the DCWV Christmas stacks. The candy cane one is sparkly irl. I colored Sadie with Copics and my newly learned blending technique (color the lighter red completely over the area, then add the darker red just where you want the darker color to be and then go back over the darker color with the lighter red and it will blend then nicely together.....see no blender pen :) Sadie's candy cane also sparkles irl because I used spicas on it. Maybe you can see the sparkles better if you make the picture bigger, I don't know yet, haven't tried it :) I used liquid applique for all the white furry parts of Sadie's outfit and added some glitter to that before I heated it. Cut the image and matting with my nesties and added the ribbon. My hubby like this one alot, because I didn't add a ton of stuff to it (mainly dew drops) and he likes that Sadie takes center stage, she's sure cute enough to!

Hopefully I'll get ahead on my posts because I'm going to Texas next week to scrapbook with some friends and to see my sister and her family. I'm going to ATTEMPT to pre-schedule some posts. We'll see how that goes :)

Our quote for the day: "Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. " — Gloria Steinem

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fun filled day!

I'm back.....

....not that you knew I was gone, because I didn't even have time before I left to post that I was leaving. Anyway, I went to Kansas City to the Copic Certification class, so now I am Copic Certified and will have one of those fun little buttons on my blog saying so :)

The class was great! Marianne Walker - I Like Markers - the instructor and Copic Extraordinaire is a hoot! She was so much fun and made the class fun as well as informative! I met lots of great ladies there and learned many things about blending and using the blender marker, which really isn't so much for blending and about the airbrush system, which is on my Christmas list!! I had a great time!!

The image on this card is one of the ones I colored while I was there. I used some of the blending techniques that I learned! These markers are amazing when you really learn what they can do and I still have a LOT of practicing to do. But, if you get the chance to go to one of Marianne's classes I encourage you to do it. You will have fun and learn to color better :) Oh, she is an AMAZING artist. I watched her draw a giraffe in about 2 minutes with nothing to even look at, and it wasn't small either so there was a lot of detail in the drawing. WOW....just wow!!

About my card....Bazzill Basics card base, some older SEI designer paper, nesties, quickutz tag, focal image from Karen Lockhart and sentiment from StampingBella.

Our quote for the day: "Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them." - W. Clement Stone

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Remember October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Good afternoon! I know I'm late again :) October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I wanted to make a card reminding everyone to get their Mammogram if they haven't done so this year. I've already been squished this year, have you? :)

This is a great stamp set from My Favorite Things, called "Think Pink". I stamped, colored with Copics, and paper pieced with this set! I used some old dp I had from All MY Memories and chalked the edges with chestnut roan chalk ink. I used my nestabilities scallops to cut the Bazzill Bling layer and then added pink hero arts gems to the scallops. The pink ribbon heart is stamped on the back side of one of the dp's and then colored with a twinklette glitter pen and inked and doodled :) I also added ribbon from American Crafts.

This is such a worthy cause to support, please take a moment to click here to go to the site where you can click to help fund mammograms for underpriviledged women. You can click once a day!

Our quote of the day: "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous day!

I'm back again :)

I told you I would be back with another post today......okay, I'm really glad I was able to come through with it :) Not that I lie, I despise lying, but I had Mount Laundry that had to be started and I didn't really feel great this morning, so I took a little nap in between making this card and working on the laundry. I feel a little bit better now, just still tired :( Oh well.



This is from the soon to be released "Eric and Chrissy - Go Prehistoric" set from CC Designs! It's so cute!! I knew I had to make a fairly simple card so I only used a few of the stamps from the set. You will have to go to the ATS blog to see Eric and Chrissy. Cute, cute, cute!!

My card uses plain cardstock for the base and Basic Grey Archaic for the dp. I cut the one with dinosaurs on it in the shape of a big diamond and then cut that in half and put the inside half toward the outside of the card....clear as mud??? Next, I wrapped the ribbon around the middle and tied a square knot. The rusty colored paper is from a DCWV card stack and I cut it with my quickutz diamond die and then embossed it with the swiss dots from cuttlebug, then I took chestnut roan ink and rubbed it along the outside of the diamond as well as lightly on the top of all the little dots. I stamped the dinosaur and bones in versafine black and colored them with Copics. I stamped the sentiment in versafine sepia and punched it out with my McGill window punch. Oh, I almost forgot that I added dew drops....but then again I'm sure you're surprised at that. :)

Our quote for the day: "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." - Jim Rohn

Thanks so much for stopping by again. Have a fabulous day!

Why I use my Inspiration Box.....

Good Morning! I hope to be posting twice today. This one and my sneak peek for CC Designs "Eric & Chrissy go Prehistoric" :) I'm still working on that one though! So we'll start with this one.

When I make cards, I try to make at least 2 of the same card. That way I can send one to someone special and still have one to use 'in case of emergency - like my daughter has a friend's birthday the very next day and needs a card to take to school :) or I like to use them as inspiration when my mojo is missing. Sometimes I just like a card and come up with other ideas to use the layout or pieces for. That was the case with the Autumn Splendor card.
Below is the original Autumn Splendor card and I really liked how simple yet pretty it turned out so I thought about my "Flowers for Daisy" stamps by Asela Hopkins manufactured by Gina K. These are beautiful stamps and I just knew they would work well with this card. So that's what I did. I did stamp the sentiment before embossing the swiss dots and I tied a know instead of a bow. Other than that, these cards are basically the same. So, when you're feeling lost for ideas, go to your inspiration box and there will be SOMETHING that you love about one of your cards, maybe the colors, maybe the layout, maybe the simplicity, maybe the mood it evokes. Use it!! You can mix and match different things about different cards and your new card will look completely new! It's kind of fun to do that.

Okay, I'm off to finish my Prehistoric card. I'll put our quote of the day on that post. Just wanted to share this while I was thinking of it!

Christmas is on it's way :)

and no, I have not started counting down the days :)

Good Morning! Another sneak peek at the CC Designs sets that will be released on Tuesday, October 7th at 10:00 et, party begins at 8:00 :)

Olivia and Christopher are back - YEAH!!!!! They are just adorable in their little footie pajamas! Olivia and Christopher will be sold individually and the scenery set which you can see has lots of fun things included will be just that, a Sugarplum scenery set! Christopher and Olivia's name do NOT come on the stockings, I wrote them in. I couldn't fit Christopher so he had to be Chris for this card. The tags on the presents just say "To " so you can make them to whomever you would like to. Okay, onto the deets:

I actually made this card backwards because I wasn't sure how big I was going to need the card base to be, so I started with the pieces and stamped everything is versafine black. I colored the fireplace and fire with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits, everything else was colored with Copics and Christopher and Olivia's pajamas were paper pieced with some fun Christmas paper from a DCWV stack. I glittered the toes and heels of the stockings and added them to the mantle with tiny brads, I used glitter pens on the bows of the presents and used orange stickles on the fire, so there is lots of bling on this one :) The background paper is from Making Memories and it's poinsettias that are flocked so it's really soft looking. I pop-dotted Christopher and Olivia so they could stand in front of the fireplace and just look darling!

This is an incredibly fun set to play with and as usual Olivia and Christopher are adorable!!
Go to the All That Scraps blog to see more samples made with this set.

Our quote for the day: "Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him." - James Allen

Thanks so much for stopping by - have a fabulous fall day!!!

A Surprise Designer from All That Scraps!

Good Morning! Well, I'm a little later in getting this posted than I intended! We have another new illustrator at All That Scraps. The talented Jen Ofiana ! She has come up with a darling little girl named Sadie and some fun things for Sadie to be doing! Today, I have used two of the three Sadie illustrations, but if you go to Jen's blog you will see all three of them :)

My first card is made with Sadie dressed up as an Indian for Thanksgiving. Each set comes with a Sadie and a sentiment to use with her. I love Thanksgiving, so I'm sure this Sadie will be used quite often at my house. I used Cosmo Cricket dp as my background and then a cuttlbug embossing folder to emboss the brown layer above that. I color Sadie with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits and then cut her out with my nesties and sponged the edges. Then I used a scallop nestie to cut the orangy color bazzill to mat the image on and of course I pierced the scallops :) The Happy Thanksgiving is sized so you can you the SU window punch as well as the McGill window punch which is the one I have. I inked the sentiment added some gems and pop dotted it onto the card. Oh I can't forget the dew drops and ribbon that I added :) Such a fun stamp to play with.

This one is Sadie dressed up to go to a birthday party with balloons in hand. She's just adorable! I used my Fiskars slot punch to punch holes on the back side of the card and then cut the front so the ribbon would show. Then I added the dp by Fancy Pants and stamped Sadie in Versafine black (cause I'm having trouble finding my Memento ink on my messy desk :) I colored her with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits and then colored the balloons with glaze pens. If you've never used glaze pens, you should give them a try when you have a chance. They are bright colors and roll so smoothly and they're shiny when they dry. They give kind of a embossed effect because they stick up just a bit. The do take a few minutes to dry so you have to be careful of that. Anyway I inked around the Sadie piece and did some doodling then matted her on red and let the balloons hang above the matting. I cut the nameplate with my quickutz and then stamped Happy Birthday on it. The Happy Birthday comes in one line, so I inked the Happy and stamped it and then I inked the Birthday and stamped it. It was really easy to do. The red dots are sparkly stickers from Stampendous and I pop-dotted the sentiment up again.

These are such fun stamps to play with and I'm sure mine will be used many, many times!! They will be released at All That Scraps on Tuesday, October 7th at 10:00 et and the release party starts at 8:00. Join us for some fun!

Jen is giving away a set of the Sadie's so be sure to jump over to her blog to comment! Stampin' Spot Studio. You can also visit the ATS blog to see more samples made with the Sadie's.

Our quote for the day: "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. " — Thich Nhat Hanh

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous Saturday!

A Surprise from All That Scraps :)

Good Morning!! It's a great morning and we have something very special to share with you today. Two of our team members will be releasing their very own stamp sets this month. The previews begin today and go through October 7th, when they will be released. Be sure to stop by the ATS blog to see lots of samples made with these very creative stamps!!!

Today, we are previewing Annabelle designed by our own Diane Zechman.

The Annabelle set is so much fun to play with. It has two cows, lots of accessories for her and tons of fun cow sentiments :) I made my card very simply because I LOVE the sentiment that I used. I started with Bazzill Basics cardstock and add some dp that I have had for a while. I stamped the images and the sentiment in Versafine Black and colored with Copics and glitter pens. I paper pieced Annabelles shoes and purse cause she's a stylin' heifer :) Some ribbon, glitter brads and a prima flower round out the card. This month is going to be a great release, yes I know I say that every time, but they just keep getting better :)

Okay, our quote for the day: "The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. " — Bertrand Russell

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

It's a Love an Unloved Stamp Day :)

Good Morning! Today is a Love an Unloved Stamp Day. I've had these stamps for about a year and they haven't seen ink until last night. I love them. I'm really into tree stamps right now and this one is just so sweet! So......

I started with Bazzill Basics both the brown and the salmony color. Then I used some dp from a MAMBI stack that I found at Michaels. I'm really beginning to like these 'stacks' especially for making cards. I inked the edges of all those pieces with chestnut roan chalk ink. I stamped my images (from Inkadinkado) in versafine black and colored the tree with copics and the flowers on the 'thinking of you' in glitter pens. I sponged around the tree with bliss blue and mellow moss and then did a little doodling too :) I cut the image and the scalloped green with my nesties and then added some ribbon and some dew drops (couldn't leave those out :) That's it. Easy, easy card!!

Our quote for today: "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

It's Wednesday - Time for the ATS Challenge

Good Morning! It feels good to be getting back to my regular schedule of posting in the mornings :) It's cool outside today and really feels like fall. My post yesterday gave you a change from my fall colors that I've been working with lately, but today's is more of the fall stuff :) The ATS Challenge for this week is a sketch challenge and the sketch is below:

My card uses some of the new Basic Grey paper "Ambrosia" - you can get the 6X6 pack and the individual 12X12 sheets here. Very cool colors, different from their 'norm'. I also used AmyR's stamps Amy's Boutique and Boutique Sentiments. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder on the strips under the image and added buttons from Daisy D's and some ribbon, oh yeah, and a dew drop :) This is a great sketch so please play along and upload your creation to the gallery for us to see.

Our quote for the day: "The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. " — Allan K. Chalmers

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fantabulous day!