Surprise Bridal Shower for Ren-Yi!

Today there is a surprise bridal shower going on over on the Uniko Studio's blog for one of their design team members! Ren-Yi is getting married this week and Bev thought it would be fun to throw a little shower for her! What fun!

I wanted to do something with chevrons, so pulled out some mini Heidi Swapp stencils & sprays (gold & teal) I have in my stash to create this card:

I combined Uniko Studio's All Occasions Sentiments #5 and A Gift for You sets to create this design.  The main panel was die cut using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Journaling Card die.

If you have some time, it would be great if you could join in the bridal shower fun!  Bev is leaving the linky open for two weeks to give everyone plenty of time!  I'm also joining in the current Special Occasions challenge over on the Uniko Studio blog!

I'm having fun doing all things zebra today.  It is DS3's birthday and his imaginary zebra is joining in the festivities too!  He's the first child to have an imaginary friend and it's a lot of fun to see what he comes up with sometimes!  This boy has a lovely sense of humor and provides our family with lots of laughter!

Have a wonderful Monday!

CASology #99: ANNIVERSARY

It's time for a new cue word over at CASology and we're starting to gear up for next week's milestone challenge!  We can hardly believe we're approaching our 100th challenge!  This week, we thought we'd focus on anniversary as our cue word!

It seems like I always think of love and married couples when this word pops up in front of me.  I suppose one could also think about work milestones such as retirement.  I went with a love theme for my take on the cue word.

I used a Lawn Fawn die to create the stitched circle and heart, filling the negative space with a little My Mind's Eye decorative paper.  I decided to keep the sentiment inside the circle, hoping to preserve a very clean look for the design.  Notice the white space is not necessarily white.  In this case, it is kraft!

This week, STAMPlorations is sponsoring us and is offering both our winner and a random participant a prize, so be sure and play along for your chance to win!  They're having a pre-release sale on their upcoming July stamps, so you'll want to go take a peek and grab some for your stash at 30% off!

Before you get started, be sure and visit the other design team members' blogs for explanations of their designs and to get to know them a bit more!  They are truly one-of-a-kind!

 

Ardyth Percy-Robb
Gillian Ross 
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kimberly Wiener
Meghan McMillan
Melissa Chipperfield (you are here)
Tracey McNeely 

Don't forget to link up your own creation on the challenge blog by Monday at NOON (CDT)!

Summer break is officially here in our household.  We're making a summer bucket list and I'm creating a flexible daily schedule to keep us all somewhat sane!  I usually inherit a couple more kids from around the neighborhood during the week, so things get even more lively!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Sweet Stamp Shop February Release

Exciting things are happening at the Sweet Stamp Shop! For one thing, today is the February Release (with a giveaway!) and you're going to love the four new stamp sets that are now within reach of your creative fingers!  You'll also notice that the Sweet Blog has moved over to a new site on Wordpress with a brand new, polished look, so be sure to go see it!

So what did I do with these wonderful, new stamps?!  Take a look...

Weddings are one category that I never seem to have on hand in my card stash when I need them.  Of course, most of my family, including cousins, happen to be happily married off, so it's more often I find myself making an anniversary or new baby card.  This card was so fun to make since I don't often get to play with wedding stamps!  I simply stamped the birds and banner, popping them up with foam dots for dimension after adding the sentiment.  The little pink heart was added at the end for a little color pop.

Stamps:  Sweet Stamp Shop (Announcing)

 

This next stamp set is just way too fun!  Who doesn't like bling?!  And an entire stamp set designated to the subject?  How fun is that?!  I kept this card very clean and simple to showcase what I hope reminds you just a little of a ruby.  I actually added glitter to the jewel image and then fussy cut it, popping it up for dimension!  The trio of sequins I pushed around on the card base for what seemed like forever until I found an arrangement I could live with.  Don't you love sequins these days?  These are from Pretty Pink Posh and you should see all the sequins (& other fun embellishments) they have!  I think I could just stay on their website all day gazing at all the pretty there!  Wow!

Stamps:  Sweet Stamp Shop (Sparkle and Shine)

Okay, who remembers that catchy song, "Can't Touch This!" by MC Hammer way back in the day?!  I promise you this next set will have you singing it again today!  This cute little cactus has some attitude, I tell ya!  I colored it with Copics & then stamped and fussy cut the little flower from decorative paper.  A little gemstone was added to the flower center for a little sparkly interest and then the entire flower was popped up for dimension.  I was going to stamp the sentiment as it comes in the set, clustered together, but then had a silly thought.  I'd actually stick the "stuck" on the cactus!  I cut it apart from the other two words, turned it into a little banner and did just that!

Stamps:  Sweet Stamp Shop (Stuck On You)

Finally, I revisited the Announcing set (see first stamp set in this post) and made a baby card.  Plenty of babies arriving this year by the sound of things, so this will be going into my stash!  I used the Numbers - Symbols set to personalize it a bit with the year.  I was thinking I'd put DD's birthdate on it to create a birth announcement, but the practical side of me took over and I just couldn't bring myself to stamp a card that I wasn't going to use!  You'll have to use your creative imagination to envision the idea!  The ribbon was stamped in gray and then the individual banner flags were stamped on decorative paper and fussy cut.  I simply stamped the "BABY" sentiment and cut the letters apart so I could use them individually on the flags.  I framed the entire main panel with the same decorative paper.

Stamps:  Sweet Stamp Shop (Announcing, Numbers - Symbols)

So there you have it!  I had so much fun creating with the stamp sets and this is just the tip of the inspirational iceberg that the Sweet Team has created!  There is still one more adorable set being released!  (Hint:  If you like hippos, you're going to love it!)  You can visit each of the team members' blogs by clicking on their names in the right hand column of the new blog!  They each have additional creations on their blogs besides what you see on the Sweet Blog so keep right on going and leave them some blog love!  You just might make someone's day!

ADDED NOTE:  Due to the popularity of the new release, many of the new stamp sets are already almost sold out!  Nicole wants you to know that a new shipment will be arriving soon (in a week or two) and she'll honor the new release sale when they are back in stock. The new release sale is 20% off the new releases!  Use coupon code NRF20.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

CASology #81: AND

 

And then she realized her calendar was full.  That's how I've been feeling recently, so please forgive me for a little silence now and then here on the blog!  I actually made this week's CASology card a few weeks ago, so that was a big help!  Such a little word, but lots came to mind for me.  With Valentine's Day just around the corner, hugs and kisses were one of the things that I thought of.  I ended up make a wedding/anniversary card.

This was such a simple design to put together!  The ampersand was stamped in black and then two little hearts were punched out of glitter cardstock and popped up with foam dots.  The entire main panel was popped up with foam dots also.

I hope you'll join us over at CASology this week as we explore what "and" brings to mind for everyone!  STAMPlorations is sponsoring us again this week and is offering a prize, so be sure and check it out and play along for your chance to win!  Before you start creating, be sure and visit the design team members' blogs as well as our guest designer's blog for inspiration!

 

Ardyth Percy-Robb
Gillian Ross 
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kimberly Wiener
 Maureen Merritt
May Park
Meghan McMillan
Melissa Chipperfield (you are here)
Tracey McNeely

Guest Designer:  Lorraine

Then, don't forget to link up your creation on the challenge blog by Sunday at 4:00 p.m. (CST)!

We spent the weekend with family as we attended our niece's one year birthday party.  Those are so much fun, aren't they?!  Made me realize all over again that DD will be reaching this milestone before we know it!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Monday Love

Well, hello there, Monday!  It's so nice to see you!  After a weekend full of sorting, decluttering and organizing in the kids' rooms (clothes sorting time of year...), it feels like we're off to a wonderfully fresh start!

With DH's help, I was able to get a couple cards created too!  Today, I'm sharing the card I made for this week's clean and simple border punch challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers.  I decided to use one of my favorite color combinations for a wedding/anniversary card.

Stamps:  Clearly Besotted
Paper:  Paper Trey cardstock (white), SU cardstock (Real Red, Tempting Turquoise), misc. red glitter cardstock
Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Accessories:  SU scalloped edge punch, SU heart punch, foam dots

I simply created a layered banner with scalloped lower edges and then stamped my design.  I added a glittery heart by popping it up with a foam dot.

It's a cloudy one here today, but the day is off to a roaring start!  Looking forward to a quiet end to the week, so I need to keep focused on the tasks at hand these first few days!  I tried out a new baby sling with DD for the first time over the weekend and may be using it some more this week if she continues her catnapping trend!  She seemed to like it okay, so that is good.  I need to get her used to it as I've always loved the idea, but none of the boys liked them!  This is a new one I found that is really simple to use and, with the help of some good luck, it was practically free!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Stenciled Congratulations

Stamps:  Uniko
Paper:  SU cardstock (Basic Black, Brushed Silver)
Ink:  Encore (Silver)
Accessories:  Balzar stencil, red pearl hearts, foam dots

Happy Labor Day!  No lengthy post from me today!  Just a quick card to share from over the weekend that I made for this week's CAS stencil challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers.  It's a beautiful day here and we're enjoying family time outdoors!  I'll be back tomorrow!

Enjoy your evening!

Use What You Have!

What do you know?!  I'm posting a second time today!  I had some quiet time this afternoon as DH took the three boys to town with a couple of their school friends!  DD slept quite a bit and I worked on a few of those projects that always seem to be on the ole to do list.  Nothing huge, but little things that seem to like to hang over your head, bugging you until you heave a big sigh and just get them over with!  After a while, I granted myself some craft room time as a little reward for my effort.

I discovered The Sweet Stamp Shop has a challenge called Use What You Have and thought, "I can handle that!"

Being a clean and simple kind of gal, I whipped a card together using some of their wonderful stamps and some scrap pieces of cardstock that are always so plentiful in my craft room.

My scraps are stored in clear envelopes that are labeled and filed alphabetically...

I used stamps from two different stamp sets because I found a sentiment that just seemed to go with the theme I was aiming for!

Stamps:  Sweet Stamp Shop (Color Wheel, Perfect Match)
Paper:  Paper Trey cardstock (white), SU cardstock scraps
Ink:  Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Accessories:  pearl heart, foam dots

The color swatch panel is popped up with foam dots for dimension.  I thought this would be a fun wedding card to give to a couple!

Now I'm off to enjoy the evening!  I'll be back tomorrow with the usual Wordless Wednesday!

Masculine Monday: Blue

After a busy company-filled ending to last week, it was so relaxing to spend a little time in my craft room Saturday afternoon!  Amazingly, my mojo actually agreed to cooperate!

A somewhat masculine card evolved when I was playing along with this week's photo inspiration challenge on Splitcoast Stampers' Clean & Simple thread.

Stamps:  Paper Trey (sentiment)
Paper:  Paper Trey cardstock (kraft), SU cardstock (Pacific Point)
Ink:  SU (Elegant Eggplant), Memento (Tuxedo Black)
Accessories:  Nestabilities (heart), Spica Copic marker (black), woodgrain embossing folder, foam dots, scoring tool

I embossed the woodgrain pattern on the center panel and then lightly scored two lines to divide the panel into thirds.  I then die cut the heart out of the center of the panel.  I die cut another heart out of blue cardstock and sponged purple ink onto it to give it a little character.  I stamped the sentiment and then traced over it with a black Spica pen to add a little sparkle.  I popped up the main panel and then glued the blue heart down to the card base to fill the negative space.

This week is the beginning of swimming lessons for DS1 and DS2.  We'll see how this goes!  DS1 is less than enthused even though he had them last year and survived.  DS2 is enthused as of now, but will see what he says after his first lesson this morning!  I never cared for swimming lessons as a girl (was even scared of the water), so feel myself dreading this, but being very careful not to show my feelings and crossing my fingers the two of them will have a positive experience!  Knowing how to swim is such an important life skill!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Masked

I am dragging today. Between late nights, overnight guests and grumpy little boys, I had to finally make myself take a mini nap this afternoon and am feeling a bit better. DH had a two-day business trip Monday and Tuesday to New Orleans which included a delayed/missed flight on his trip home.  He ended up having to get a rental car to drive three hours home, getting in around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning!  I can't sleep when worrying about him out there on the road at that hour of the night!  Since I get up at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday mornings for my one morning/week of dental work, I was in for it!  Overnight guests arrived in time for supper last night and once they'd headed out and the boys and I had eaten a quick lunch today, I was about to drop over!  But enough of the sighing. There is so much more to be thankful for! Like love.

This month, my two younger brothers & their spouses are celebrating wedding anniversaries! Doing the math, it's hard to believe the amount of time that has already passed! One has been married ten years now and the other is coming up on three years. My older brother and his wife have now been married sixteen years!  Then I remember our parents have now been married forty-three years!  Time really does fly!

I created a one-layer masked card for this week's Splitcoast Stampers Clean & Simple Challenge and it ended up being an anniversary card!  Putting this blog post together, I realized I forgot to share some exciting news with you!  I was selected to be on the Summer CAS Challenge Design Team last week!  I am so excited to be a part of such a great challenge and online community!  This is my first card as a DT member!

I masked the silver stripe with Post It Notes, keeping the heart separate with a heart shape I'd die cut with my Nestabilities.  I then used the negative of the die to sponge the red into the heart.  I stamped the silhouette image and sentiment last.  Very simple once I figured out what I wanted the final design to look like!  This would be so easily reproduced for a nice stash of wedding/anniversary cards!

I need to start making a school shopping list this month so we can get that done before my due date gets much closer!  I see school supplies beginning to make their debut in the stores, so realize school will be starting in just over a month!  Summer seems so short anymore, doesn't it?!

I hope you've had a wonderful Thursday!

A Fairytale Wedding

It's Tuesday and that means a brand new cue word is over at CASology!  This week?  Think happy, dreamy thoughts because we're thinking...

I couldn't get the phrase "happily ever after" out of my head and was lucky enough to discover a stamp set in my stash that contained that very sentiment!  How lucky is that?!

I went with a wedding theme for my card, keeping it as simple as ever!

 

The stamps are from two separate Inkadinkado sets and I inked them up with Encore Silver ink.  I added a clear heart-shaped gemstone (colored with a red Copic marker) to the very end of the flourish for a little pop of color and interest.  I love banner strips and, while I first thought this was going to be a one-layer card, I quickly changed my mind and layered some silver cardstock behind a strip of white.  Rounding the card corners was the finishing touch.

I hope you'll join us over at CASology this week!  There's nothing like a little fairytale fun for me!  I love thinking back on all those childhood stories that just make me smile and sigh a dreamy little sigh.  Then...I snap back to reality, realizing my own life story isn't so bad itself!  Yes, some days I admit I feel a bit like Cinderella, but with a handsome prince in the house, I think I can handle a few messes!

Don't forget to visit the talented design team members' blogs for even more inspiration and this week, we have Darnell as our guest designer...you will not regret paying her a visit!

Tracey McNeely

 

Rosemary Dennis

 

Meghan McMillan

 

Maureen Merritt

 

Judy Marino

 

Jen Wills

 

Ardyth Percy-Robb

 

Guest Designer:  Darnell

Remember to link up your own FAIRYTALE creation on the challenge blog by Sunday at 4 p.m. (CST)!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

Sparkle

It's time for a new cue word over at CASology and this week's word is sure to make you smile (as will the design team call that's going on until December 15)!

Everywhere I look lately there is an abundance of glitter and shine!  DS3 points everything out to me when we run errands.  I think he's quite taken with all the sparkle this time of year brings!

For my card, I couldn't get the image of an engagement/wedding ring out of my head, so I went digging through my stash, sure I had just the image.  I must have parted with the one I was thinking of.  No matter!  I found an image of two wedding bands and added a sparkly gemstone, hoping one would pass as a diamond ring!

This turned out to be a very simple card, but I'm okay with that!

Be sure to visit the rest of the team's blogs, including our talented guest designer, Birgit!  Then, don't forget to link up your own creation on the challenge blog by Sunday, December 9, at noon (CST)!  Hope to see you there!

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Jen Wills

Melissa Chipperfield

Rosemary Dennis

Tracey McNeely  

Guest Designer:  Birgit

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Always

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a good weekend and are ready for a new week of opportunity.  I spent my weekend deep cleaning the kitchen/dining floors and just plain tidying up!  It desparately needed done, but being gone on vacation for a week didn't help that!  It feels so good to have the fine drywall dust from our building project out of the corners and little unseen areas!  It was beginning to drive me crazy just knowing it was lurking there!  I've still got more things on my to do list, but that was one of the bigger tasks!  Now I've got a busy week ahead with creative projects, but that's a fun busy!  Stay tuned as there will be some new stamps making their appearance this week!  Get ready for Valentine's Day!

For today, I created a card using an image from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.  Be ready for a Prickley Pear Blog Hop this Thursday through Saturday!  :)

Supplies:

Stamps - Prickley Pear (Heart Key Crown Clear Stamps Set, I've Fallen in Love - sentiment)

Paper - SU Basic Gray, Whisper White CS, My Mind's Eye DP

Ink - SU Basic Gray

Accessories - gemstones, Nestabilities (circle, scalloped circle)

Heart to Heart

I actually found some time to create a card today!  DH is busy getting the taxes done and the boys are having fun playing outside together.  It's a decent day, so I may just open a few windows and tackle washing the floors with my lemon scented cleaner!  I'm on a lemon kick lately and love everything lemon!  :)

Here's my card for today:

Supplies:
Stamps - SU Sweet Little Sentiments
Paper - Paper Trey white CS, SU Brushed Silver & Basic Gray CS
Ink - Staz On Black
Accessories - Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder, SU heart and eyelet border punches, pearls, SU white ribbon

Challenge:  SCS Inspiration Challenge

 I'm leaving the inside blank for now as I can see this card being used as either a wedding or an anniversary card.

Love is in the Air

It's been a few years since I've been to a wedding, so naturally, I'm pretty excited we get to attend a wedding next week! My DH's cousin is getting married. I don't have any idea what their wedding colors are, so used what I consider some classic colors: red, black and white!

Stamps: Elzybells, sentiment by Stampabilities
Paper: DP by the Paper Studio, SU Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White cardstocks
Ink: SU Whisper White, StazOn Black, Blush Blossom (for skin)
Coloring: watercolor pencils, blender pen
Accessories: Diamond Stickles (around sentiment), Hero Arts gemstone (on girl's hand), white gel pen, Sizzix Bigz Scallop Circle die, CM circle cutting system, red brads, 1 1/4" circle punch

Measurements:
Finished card is 5.25 x 5.25 inches
Red square is 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 inches
DP square is 5 x 5 inches