Paybacks are a BLIPPPPP!!!

Ok, a little bit of a different post today and I need to sort of explain this first so you get the entire story. My baby sister, Jenny, is a horrible prankster, always has been. For instance she took my underwear once (while I was at work) put them in a big plastic bag and put water in it then stuck them in the freezer. So of course the next morning, no clean undies! She has also stolen my parents Christmas tree once and since she delivers mail she will routinely stuff all the extra sales flyers in my brothers mailbox so they explode at him when he opens it. You get the point. Well, my niece who is 4, loves to get mail. She even has her own little mailbox so I periodically make her a card and send it to her with stickers for her to use etc. She told my sister the other day she was "very disappointed" because she hasn't gotten any mail lately so my sister handed her an ad that looked like it had stickers in it and told her it was from me. So she opened it and it had one sticker with a cell phone on it. She promptly went and handed it to her brother and said she didn't want it because it wasn't "good mail". So now she thinks I sent her crummy mail. Now, me being the good sister I am, saw the challenge this week at Cupcake Craft Challenges was to alter something and I figured my niece needed something nice from her aunt.

So here is the little bucket I altered. It originally had flowers in it from the bridal section at Michaels. I took some dp and punched a border on it then made a couple of felt flowers to hide the seams. A cute kitty cat with some glitter around the edges and a bunch of ribbon across the handle. What 4 year old little girl wouldn't like this? Especially when filled with a bunch of whistles, stickers and anything else her aunt can find that will make noise and irritate her mother! Maybe some of those sugar sticks to get her good and wound up! Ahhh, the joys of payback...

Cute Card Thursday challenge

First off, before we get to my card I need to vent a little bit. I am trying to grow my hair out and it grows realllly slowly. Well, decided it really needed trimmed so went to a local salon a friend had recommended and now I have uneven layers and the right side is longer than the left! I guess you get what you pay for but now I am really peeved cause it will have to be cut again to make it look right. I tell ya, finding a good hairdresser is so difficult around here. My last one did a good job but it took her 2 hours just for a haircut! Okay, just needed to whine a bit..

My card today is a lotv image and I am entering it into the Cute Card Thursday challenge which is a sketch.

I am not wild about this card either so I guess my mood is rubbing off onto my work! Mostly I don't like the inking around the sentiment but I never seem to get that right, too much, too splotchy blech! The papers are from gcd called Cloisonne and I got them on sale at Michaels. Ok, hopefully tomorrow is a little better cause I really dislike (how many times have I said really?) being in a icky mood.

LCI Bloghop is just around the corner...

Just wanted to announce that next Tuesday, September 6th (September already?!), is the next Ladybugs Blog Hop. Please be sure to post this emblem on your blog for a chance to win and make sure you hop to everyones blog to see what they have designed. And if you are "getting older" like me, make sure to take some aspirin before hand...

Magnolia challenge at Paper Sundaes

Happy Sunday everyone and time for a new challenge at Paper Sundaes. This week we are being sponsored by Stamp and Create and the challenge is to use a Magnolia image on your project. Well, this was quite challenging for me as I don't own any Magnolia images but since one of my bestest buddies ever, Patty, was able to send me a few images I was able to participate.

Now I apologize cause I have no idea what the name of the stamp is but I went with some fall colors since temps here in the mornings are dropping into the 50's. Paper is by a company I just found called First Edition and the name of this stack is Summer Breeze. Half glitter paper and nice small designs for cardmaking. The flowers are WOC and the little flower border is a Memory Box die. Boy, do they cut nice!  Alright, that is it for me today, have to work but hopefully you can get started and join in this week!

I am entering this card into the following challenge
Pixie Dust studio use or make a tag

SFYTT challenge

I made another card for this months SFYTT and used a Kraftin Kimmie stamp because after their blog hop I really wanted to pull out my only Halloween stamp by her and get busy.

She is lightly layered but again, hard to tell in the picture. I only layered the hat and her skirt and the wings on the bat. For some reason it feels as if something is missing in the card, I think the fact I don't have glitter anywhere is throwing me off! Enjoy your weekend!

Time for a Sugar Bowl entry!

Well, Sunday evening and almost time for another week to start. We have been pretty slow at work so it has given me a little reprieve from being so busy and I have taken advantage of it and had a chance to make another card today. This image is from the last Sugar Nellie release and this is my second Christmas card of the season.

I have added a ton of glamour dust but unfortunately I just can't capture it well in the photo but it is on all of the hats and the stockings, very pretty irl. The poinsettia in the corner is by prima from a few years ago and the acrylic one is from Michaels. I am entering this into the Sugar Bowl challenge which is a sketch which was a lot of fun to use, not too many layers and the option of blue which I was able to squeeze a smidgen in! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great week!

Paper Sundaes Sundae bar challenge

Good morning everyone and time for another challenge from Paper Sundaes. This week our challenge is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. They have a ton of stuff there, just got some new papers this week from them as a matter of fact. Our challenge this week for our Sundae Bar is to use 2 or more of the following on your card, green, buttons, twine and a banner. I managed to get all 4 on mine but I think it might be a bit of overkill.

Papers are "For The Record" by Echo Park and I just punched out some circles, folded them in half and attached twine and decorative paper to them to make my banner. I should have gotten out my silhouette machine but it was late and I was just too brain dead to fiddle. Some stitching and some buttons and we are good to go. I just love the Nellie Snellen fairy image, which is also from Simon Says Stamp. Faye used it on one of her cards awhile back and I had to get them, just HAD to have them! Ok, time to sort thru your stash and make us a card to win a gift card from Simon Says Stamp!  I am entering this into the following challenges:
Flutterby Wednesdays punches or diecuts
SFYTT monthly sketch

Sparkle challenge card

Guess what? It is almost Friday so time to celebrate right! And I don't work this weekend so even better reason to celebrate! Okay, onto my card cause that is the real reason you are here. My mom asked me to make a card for her friend for her birthday and her friend was a schoolteacher so I got a chance to use one of my newer stamp purchases, Bookworm Ruby. I have loved this collection of stamps for awhile and when they had a sale a little while back I caved and bought a few.

Paper is by October Afternoon, colored with copics of course with some glossy accents on the glasses and I used a spica glitter pen in garnet to color her glasses. I mean, who wouldn't want red sparkly glasses? I am entering her into the Sparkle Creations challenge which is one of the best sketches I have ever used, it will definitely be used again. Ok, hope everyone enjoys their weekend and don't forget to come back on Sunday for my Paper Sundaes post.

Kraftin Kimmie Challenge!

Well, you guys know one of my all time favorite stamp lines is Moonlight Whispers by Kraftin Kimmie and so I have been trying to participate a bit more to try and win a few of the stamps I don't have. This week I have used Tallulahbelle which is one of her fairy releases from this spring and definitely one of my favorite releases evah! Of course I was also generously asked to be a guest designer for that month but I am not the least biased!

 The challenge this week is to use one flower, one ribbon, one piece of chipboard. My chipboard is a Maya road butterfly that I colored using some Viva Decor paint in purple, gold and a little black for the body. I added stickles to her wings but of course I can never capture that bling in my photo. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Don't forget about the Paper Sundaes DT call!

Hey everyone, just a reminder Paper Sundaes is looking for a few good women for the design team. The deets are here DT call. Or the link is on my sidebar. Look forward to playing with you!

65th Wedding Anniversary card

Two posts in one day, I am on a roll! My husbands Aunt and Uncle are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary at the end of the month so I made them a card using one of my lotv stamps and used some of the thousands of flowers I "had" to have.

The paper is Mariposa by DCWV, pearls and ribbon by Recollections and although you can't see it, I used a Marianne die (thanks Elaine) on the inside to write them a small note. And yes, I did remember to sign the back! Gonna go and see if there are any challenges I can enter this into!

Bunny Zoe easel card

Paper Sundaes sponsored by Pink Cat Studios

Good Morning my fellow bloggers! Paper Sundaes time again and today our sponsor is Pink Cat Studios! This week we would like for you "to just say Hi!" on your entries.  I have tried the layering technique again and guess what? I still really need to work on it! I couldn't even get a good picture for you to see it and the stickles I used but have a busy weekend so had to leave it as it is.

Poor girl, I manage to make a black mark across her arm at the last minute but I didn't have time (or desire) to do that section all over right then. I might color another one up and glue it over the arm, actually I just thought of that or might have done it last night! Duh! If you do try this I do recommend the Pinflair glue Elaine sent me, works much better than what I was trying to use but don't know if there is anything similar here in the states. Enjoy your week!  I am entering this into the following challenges:
Southern Girls black and white with a pop of color

Flourishes challenge

Three cards in two days, pretty sure that is a record for me! But when I saw that Flourishes was having a blog hop and a chance to win their new release I had to jump in. You need to go to each blog to collect a word and then make a card using all of the words.

I only own two Flourishes stamps (so far!) so this is the one I chose to use. I popped up and glittered the butterfly and added some liquid pearls to the edges of the sentiment. Paper was from my stash so sorry I don't know who it is by. I colored all three flowers with the same copics but each one a little differently. And of course I will be entering this into the challenge.

Flourishes Blog Hop

A solution for mailing bulky cards and another kraftin kimmie!

Happy Hump Day everyone! Woo Hoo! It is all downhill from now til the weekend! Ok, enough excitement but sometimes it doesn't take much to make me happy. First thing I wanted to show you was these neat little 6x6 pizza boxes I got to mail my bulky cards in. The card I have inside is actually 6x6 and I have plenty of space to put some tissue paper around it and it should be very well protected. I got them online from a company called Uline for .39 cents a piece but I believe there was a minimum order of 50. I did get them quickly though, 2 days and they were here. It will take me quite awhile to use all of them but I definitely think they were worth the money.

Next I have a card I did and I tried to see how many challenges I could incorporate cause I am really bad at doing multiple challenges.

Colored with copics, some stitching to the edges and I made the flower using a MFT die. The frog on her head and in the flower both have glossy accents applied and I tore the edges of the image then inked them with Vintage Photo DI to make it stand out a bit. I have used a brown ruffled and velvet ribbon along the edge but it just sort of blends in with the brown paper in the photo, prettier irl.  I am patting myself on the back cause I can enter this baby into 4 different challenges. Not a lot for some people but for me that is darn good. Hope everyone has a great next couple of days then weekend!!!

Kraftin Kimmie-distressing
Papertake Weekly-make your own flowers
Ribbon Carousel-getting edgy
Cupcake Craft-sewing

A couple of cards and my first commission

Well, Sunday evening and the weekend is almost over. But it was an enjoyable one so I won't complain, out loud anyways! If you guys only knew what I said in my head you would be shocked! Anyways, I managed to make a couple of cards today, not quite satisfied with them but they are what they are cause I am tired of fussing with them.

My first card is for the LOTV challenge which is to use roses on your card. I also had one of the girls where I work ask me to make a card for her mom's 85th birthday and she asked for an angel and flowers on the card. I have used one of the LOTV stamps and some flowers from WOC. My problem with the card is that when I try to mount images over lace the center either is higher than the rest if I put pop dots on the back of the entire thing or it looks saggy and not supported in the center if I only put them on the sides where there is no lace. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

My second card is for the Deconstructing Jen challenge which is a sketch. I have tried the layering technique again today but unfortunately the glue I used made the layers sort of buckle. My friend Elaine is sending me special glue so I may have to wait to try this again until it arrives. I tried to do some doodling along the edges too and am so-so about it so pretty sure this card is going to my 4 1/2 year old niece who doesn't care what it looks like, she is just happy to get mail. The image is from Pink Cat studio. I had bought a few of their images when I first started making cards then sort of forgot about them and then "rediscovered" them a week or so ago. Really whimsical and cute so you might see more of these appearing on my blog.

Ok, a long post from me today but since my husband was gone all weekend and I only had the cats to talk too you guys have had to suffer for it. But that is what friends are for right? Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Tickled Pink is sponsoring Paper Sundaes!

Good Morning everyone! Time for the next Paper Sundaes challenge and this time it is a sketch by Alica and is being sponsored by Tickled Pink Stamps! Yeah! I love Tickled Pink Stamps! And Alica came up with a great sketch for us to follow.

My card is using one of the newer releases called Lil Little Willow and I have used scraps of paper so can't really tell you who they are by. The sentiment is by LOTV and the butterflies are from a MS punch. I added a round pearl and a teardrop pearl to the center of each butterfly. I also took my white gel pen to add a few highlights as I have seen some other people doing this and really liked it but think I need to practice a bit more. Practice makes perfect!

Okay, time to play along for your chance to win some goodies from Tickled Pink!

There is nothing scarier than a wronged woman...

Good Morning everyone and I apologize in advance if my card makes you roll your eyes but it had to be done. One of my best friends has a boss who treated her family really badly lately and as her and I were emailing one another she joked about getting out my voodoo doll. Well, I haven't had nearly enough time lately to play with one of my favorite stamp lines ever, Kraftin Kimmie, and since this weeks challenge was no embellishments I was able to whip this card up pretty quickly.

Yes, her bosses name is Andy but since I am pretty darn sure he doesn't read my blog I don't think it will be a problem posting this. Paper is by Prima, colored with copics and the lettering is from a set of stamps from Michaels, one of those individual letter ones. I am entering my card into the Kraftin Kimmie Challenge with my apologies to Kimmie for not playing more since she and her crew were so nice to me when I was a guest designer for them in the spring. So now everyone knows what to do with those people in our life who are causing us to have a major headache...

My bad!

Isn't that the term for when someone makes a mistake now? I am so not into the new slang!  I forgot to remind everyone that the sale at Ladybug Crafts started this morning. Buy one get one of equal or lesser value and FREE SHIPPING!!!  Woo Hoo! Get those credit cards out and run, not walk, over to the store and take advantage of the sale cause it is only good until August 15th.

Ladybug Tuesday Challenge is back!

Happy Tuesday everyone! The ladybugs are back with a new challenge and this time Kerry is asking us to use our favorite stamp. Well that was tough for me cause I am a cat person and looove Magnum but Jack just makes me grin so I went with Jack.

This is Cheeky Jack and I used some October Afternoon papers, wooden buttons that I colored with some brown and red glaze, some scrap ribbon and a wooden tag I stamped on using a sentiment from Whimsy Stamps. He is mounted on kraft cardstock so I will be entering him into Jeannie's krafty chick challenge. Ok, get your stamps out and show us your faves for a chance to win  a free stamp. Oh, and don't forget about the special that started yesterday, buy one stamp and get one half off. Yep, definitely a good thing I have worked some overtime lately!

Guest designer for By The Cute and Girly!

Happy Monday guys! Is that an oxymoron or what? Today is my first post as an August guest designer for By the Cute and Girly and the challenge today is "At the Sea". Well, I knew exactly what image I wanted to use for this so off I went to my All That Scraps mermaids.

The paper is by Bo Bunny, colored with copics, some prima hydrangeas I have had for quite awhile and stickled to within an inch of her life. I have tried to paper piece and 3D the image but not quite sure it shows up very well. I need to find better glue and practice a bit more too but it is a bit more dimensional that it would normally be. I might give this to my bff Kathy who is in Hawaii as I am typing this. Or NOT since I am sitting on the couch while she is probably wearing a grass skirt and coconut bikini top! I am entering this into the Cute Card Thursday challenge as I used their sketch and I would love to win some more Kraftin Kimmie stamps!