Enjoy Today!

Hi there! I'm thrilled to be a Guest Sweetie at the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge this week! I was equally thrilled when I saw this awesome inspiration photo...it's no secret I love, love, love pink and green!!!

For my card, I used this beautiful butterfly image called Daisy Butterfly by Crissy Armstrong at Whimsy Stamps! I colored it with Copics and cut it out with a Spellbinders die...(I wish I had a nickel for every time I typed that!) The sentiment is from Verve and I cut it out with the banner Spellbinders dies. I added some black gem flourishes and some clear gems in the corners!

Stop by the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge to see what the other Sweeties have made! Play along for your chance to win a prize too!

Challenges:
Stamptacular Sunday 129 - Just Sayin'

Saying Goodbye at Stamp Something

Today, we're saying Goodbye to the Stamp Something Challenge. That's right, Stamp Something is hosting it's final challenge as it's taking a creative hiatus! So make us happy and play along for your last chance to win a prize at Stamp Something! Our theme is Anything Goes or Something to Say Goodbye...of course! We have several sponsors offering up great prizes too...

I have had such a great time creating cards and projects at Stamp Something for the past year. I will certainly miss Denise and Erin and all the DT girls...but let's not be sad about it, let's celebrate the good times we have had! Here' what I made for the challenge...and I really do mean this...Always look on the bright side of life!

I used four...count 'em, four Verve sets to create this one! There's the stems with leaves from Petals & Stems, the largest flower is the Elegant Flower, the small and medium flowers are from the Because of You set, and the sentiment is from Fluttering By! And...let me tell you...that was no easy task to get a two line sentiment into one line without getting any ink where it shouldn't be! But, I always want something my way and I'll keep trying until I get it just right...btw, a piece of scotch tape over the parts you don't want worked best! It's cut out with the PTI banner die. I'm also a huge fan of fussy cutting these days too and those little flowers are tiny...especially the cut on the tip of the petals!

I just love these MME papers from the Lost and Found collection. I used six different patterned papers on this card...two for the background, one on the scalloped edge and each flower has it's own dp! I cut the circle from Spellbinders dies and the scalloped edge is a Fiskars punch. I added a pearl to each flower center, a sheer ribbon and bow topped with a watering can brad and a few pearls in the corner! I'm definitely going to use up my brads this way...it just might take 100 years!

Stop by the Stamp Something Challenge blog and check out what the Design Team has to share with you too and maybe even leave a comment to let Denise and Erin know how much fun you had playing along with us!

Challenges:
Verve's August Diva Dare - Sending Some Sunshine!
Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge - SSSC133

You've Got Style!

Hi there! I am so excited to share this little project with you today! Who doesn't love a pretty pair of shoes?! Well, our new sponsor at The Shabby Tea Room Challenge is Creations by AR and I have made this adorable shoe using their Elegant Sole template!

This week's theme is Polka Dots...how easy is that! I used some BoBunny Double Dot cardstock as my polka dots...you can find it on the lining of the shoe and on the front of my card. This little template is so easy to assemble too...and I used the PDF version!

These sweet papers are from Basic Grey's Two Scoops Collection. The sentiment is from Verve's Express Yourself stamp set. I just added a paper rose with a pearl in it to the shoe and kept it very simple! On the card, I added a seam binding ribbon and bow topped with a matching BG brad and a pearl flourish!

I hope you'll join us for this fun challenge!

Be sure to visit the rest of The Shabby Tea Room Design Team blogs:

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Charlene Crundy

Danielle Greenwood
Melissa Bove
Sheri Holt

Thanks for stopping by today!

It's the little things...

...that matter most! I just love that sentiment! Here's a sweet and shabby card I made for the Verve July Diva Dare called Sentimental About Paper! You just need to use decorative paper and a sentiment! I'm still trying to play along with some of my faves and I always seem to run out of time to play along with this challenge...well, not this month!

This verse is from Verve's set called Relax! I paired it up with these pretty papers, some seam binding ribbon I tied in a double bow, a beautiful vintage lace, pearl flourish and topped it off with a pink flower!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing You A Very Special Mother's Day!

Hi there and Happy Mother's Day to you! And for that matter...Happy Aunt's, Grandmother's and 'Every Woman That Makes a Difference in our Lives' Day!


This very special Mother's Day card is for my Mom. She is an inspiration to me and my love and respect for her knows no bounds. This picture of us was taken a few months ago at a bridal shower for the beautiful lady my step-brother is going to marry next week.


I began with this bright, beautiful dp by Harmonie and chose all the cardstock colors to match the dp. The decorative edge is cut with a Spellbinders die as well as the circle, scalloped circle and decorative tabs at the top and bottom of the sentiment.

There are so many layers of love that went into this card. The sentiments are from Verve and the flower image is from the Sweet Peas set by Flourishes. It's colored with Copics on the front and stamped on the inside as well.

I added lots of stitching, pearls and a beautiful triple bow topped with a beaded center.



Here's a look at the details on this card.

Challenges:
Flourishes FLLCMAY11- Word to Your Mother Challenge
Flourishes BBB10 - The Beauty of a Flower
Stamptacular Sunday - Mum's the Word
PaperCrafts Magazine - May 2011 Gallery Challenge - Mom

Once again, Happy Mother's Day to you and thanks for stopping by today!

Tiffany Doodles New Release for Japan Relief

It's a very special day today at Tiffany Doodles! The first set in a series called "Granny's Yard" is being released! It is inspired by Tiffany's very own photographs of images from her grandmother's yard! How sweet!

In honor of the relief efforts after the tragic events in Japan, Tiffany Doodles is having a release of a very special image...the Japanese Magnolia. This digi set has five images and will come in both black and white and for the first time ever, Tiffany Doodles is releasing a pre-colored version! Here's the most important part...100%...again, that's 100% of the sales of the pre-colored version will go to the Red Cross to help with Japan relief efforts.

Here's my card using two of the images from the set...

I sized and arranged the bud to peek out from the opening blossom and colored them with pale pink Copics like the Magnolias that used to grow in my backyard when I was growing up! I got out some of my favorite BG papers and embossed a small panel with the Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers folder, added a bow and a few pearls. My sentiment is from Verve and I think it really hits home for this cause...it really is the little things that mean the most!

Head over to the Tiffany Doodles store and take a look at the new Japanese Magnolia release images...I'm sure you will love them...the possibilities are endless! Thanks for taking a moment to help us help Japan too!

By LORi Designs...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Of course, what St. Patty's Day Celebration would be complete without a little green...or how about a whole lotta green! This week's By LORi Designs Challenge is all about green...Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery and White! I hope you'll get your green on and join us this week!

Here's Lollipop Ethan all colored with Copics and hanging out with his skateboard! I like to keep the boy cards Clean and Simple, so I just added my Verve sentiment and a few black dots!

Be sure to stop by the By LORi Designs Challenge blog for all the details and to see all the GREEN the Design Team has in store for you! Play along with us while you're there!

A Tickled Pink Happy Birthday!

Good Morning and Happy Sunday! It's time again for the Sundae Bar at the Paper Sundaes Challenge! What's the Sundae Bar, you ask? It's when you get to pick your Sundae Toppings for your project! You have your choice of any two or all of them from Pink, Lace, Flowers and Distressing!

Our fabulous sponsor this week is the one and only Tickled Pink Stamps! If you play along, you could win TWO Tickled Pink digis of your choice! So what are you waiting for...check this out!

I chose this oh so sweet image called Lil Birthday - Kellita (designed especially for Kelly, the owner of Tickled Pink stamps!) She's colored with Copics and her long shaped allows her to be placed perfectly into this layout which is the sketch from the Mojo Monday challenge this week!

These are also some of my favorite colors...and this BoBunny line is still hanging around in my stash! I added some pink in my flowers and attached them with a Basic Grey brad atop a BoBunny sticker. There's two of the Sundae Toppings - pink and flowers! I added some little pink and brown pearls and a another pink BG brad holding on my sentiment by Verve Stamps! The sentiment is cut using a Spellbinders labels die set. All of my edges are inked with brown for a bit of distressing!

Be sure to stop by the Paper Sundaes Challenge to see what the rest of the Design Team has to share with you! And play along for your chance to win a great prize!

Challenges:
Mojo Monday #177 - Sketch!
Tickled Pink Challenge #6 - Birthday Wishes

Circle of Friends Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Circle of Friends Blog Hop. If you have arrived from Vanja's blog, you are in the right place! If not, you may want to start at Crystal's Blog so you don't miss anything along the way.

Our Circle of Friends hop is to show our dear friend Annika Ryan that her Whimsy Family is here for her during this difficult time. Everyone needs a circle of friends, and sometimes, during those hard moments, you need to be placed in the center of that circle and be given a big group hug. Though we may be miles away, our hearts are with her along with our support.

Today we all have made her a creation to show her how much we care! Please hop along with us to support our wonderful teammate and friend Annika. Here is the creation I made for my DT Sister.......

I used this oh so cute Cupcake Mouse image from Whimsy Stamps. It's colored with Copics and highlighted with lots of Diamond Stickles! The sentiment is from Verve and I thought it was perfect for this card! Cupcakes DO make everything better! A few pretty flowers and some gems give it the finishing touches!

If you know Annika and would like to make a creation for her, please go to the end of the hop (Denise's Blog) and link a card, then email Crystal at crystalkbk30@gmail.com and she will privately give you her address.

This hop will end on February 5, Noon Eastern Time so you have enough time to create a card for our friend!!

Thanks so much for hopping along with us today!!! Your next stop on the hop is Vicki's blog!

Just Because...

Hi there! Today is my last post as a Guest Designer for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! I just love the ladies there and Korin is so sweet and so very talented! Thanks to everyone at Sweet 'n Sassy for asking me to join them...I had so much fun!

Today, I am sharing a card that's "Just Because"! And 'just because' I think he's so cute, I got this little Benjamin Bunny digi stamp this week! He's colored with Copics (of course) and surrounded by some pretty pink pearls! I kept the layout pretty simple for this one...a sweet gingham bow and a strip of cardstock that coordinates with my background paper! The sentiment is from Verve.

Be sure to stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy store to see all the new release coming out soon!

Winter Wishes...

Hi there! It's Monday and time for a new Shabby Tea Room Challenge! This week, Cathy has chosen a beautiful, wintery photo as our inspiration...and you can use it to make a Winter Themed card or project! Here is the inspiration photo...

And, our fabulous sponsor this week is by LORi designs! You could win a $10 credit to her store!


For my card, I used this adorable Winter Dana Puddle Jumper image which you can find on the Puddle Jumper page of her website...HERE! I colored her with Copics and cut her out. I am loving this wintery collection of papers by WRMK. They are just what I needed for this project! I paper-pieced her jacket and popped her up on top of these yummy layers of papers and pearl swirls! Lots of wintery goodness here including some of Deb's vintage seam binding, a snowflake die cut, a felt snowflake and a little felt flower topped by another pearl! My sweet little sentiment is from Verve.

Be sure to stop by and visit the rest of The Shabby Tea Room Design Team blogs:

Debbie Marcinkiewicz
Cathy Clark - Santie
Clare Buswell
Melissa Bove
Nicole Segnere

A Card for My Mom...

Hi there! It's time for another Stamptacular Sunday! This week's Stamptacular Sunday Challenge theme is 3's NOT a Crowd! You must use 3 designer papers, 3 ribbons and 3 flowers on your project! It sounds like a lot, but it's actually pretty easy!

I was in a vintage mood when I created this beauty for my Mom. She's coming to dinner tonight and I wanted to give it to her along with her new calendar I created for her!

I used this pretty circle fromt he new You Inspire Me cling set from JustRite Stampers and the word 'Mom" is from a Verve set called One Person. All three of my designer papers are from Memory Box and my roses are from Prima and Recollections. I colored the purple flower with a Copic marker to match perfectly! See my three ribbons? There's velvet, lace and vintage seam binding! There's even three dots on the top of the pin!

Be sure to stop by the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge to see what their Design Team has to inspire you with today!

Tiffany Doodles December Challenge and Blog Hop!

Wanna play along with a fun monthly challenge? Then take a look at the Tiffany Doodles Challenge! You can win some great prizes including digital images of your choice to use on your projects! Today we are introducing our December Challenge theme of Christmas! The challenge runs from today until December 31st, so you have plenty of time and I'm sure you will be making a Christmas card or two this month (wink)! I have so much to share with you today!

We're having a Blog Hop to introduce you to the new Tiffany Doodles Design Team! You should have made it here from Lisa's blog, and if so, you are on the right track! The Blog Hop runs for three days! Be sure to leave a comment on every blog for a chance to win at each stop and in order to win one of three grand prizes on the Tiffany Doodles blog. Each member of the Design Team is giving away one digi image or set! I will choose one commenter to win the Christmas Ornaments set I used in my card! There are five images in this set...there are so many possibilities with this set and the images are perfect for paper-piecing too (in my opinion)!


One of the great things about using digital images is that you can combine them easily right on your computer screen and print them out without any cutting or masking! My design uses three different Tiffany Doodles images...Christmas Ornaments which comes as five separate images so you can use one, two or any number of them, Christmas Holly which has four images to use and size to your needs, and Birdies & Housework which has five images and two sentiments!

My little birdie, holly and ornament are all colored with Copics and the ornament is covered with a layer of Glossy Accents for a lot of shine! I layered it with several brands of Christmas papers from My Mind's Eye, BoBunny and Fancy Pants. The Spellbinders Eyelet Circles dies gave me the perfect shape for my Verve sentiment and I added pearls for a little lustre. A matching silk bow and ribbon give it the finishing touch!

Be sure to stop over at the Tiffany Doodles blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created for the December Challenge using our great digital images! You do not need to use Tiffany Doodles images to enter the monthly challenge, but if you do, that's great too! Join in the fun and submit your card or project!

Your next stop on the hop is Peet's blog...go check it out and don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win at each stop!

Plus, Tiffany Doodles is having a SALE - Buy 3 - Get One FREE!

And, the new Tiffany Doodles store will be opening soon for easier shopping!

Would you like Tiffany Doodles to sponsor one of your challenges? Click HERE for more info.
Please join Tiffany Doodles on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are the Design Team links just in case! Don't forget to stop by and leave a comment...you could win at each stop as well as one of the three grand prizes on the main blog!

Tiffany Doodles
Tiffany Richards
Cammy Wall
Collette Landwer
Donna Mikasa
Jeannie DeGruccio
Jill Foster
Jodi Ann Lee
Karen Baker
Kim Schofield
Lindsay Amrhein
Lisa Summerhays
Pattie Goldman
Peet Roeven
Shannon Neparko
Simone Naoum
Sue McRae
Willemien Katerberg

Thanks for stopping by!

Edit: Blog Hop Winner: Lori Hairston!!!

Enjoy Today!

If you are looking for my Shabby Tea Room post...go HERE!

Hi there! Just getting a chance to post a few things I have been holding on to...don't want to miss the deadlines! And I have a big post for tomorrow's Tiffany Doodles Hop, so check back tomorrow for that!

There's a new challenge blog in town and it's hosted by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. What's even better than that is...it's all about Cocoa! Cocoa the Mouse that is! It's called the Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge and there is a new challenge every Tuesday. This week's challenge is to make a card using Cocoa for someone you love...I made this one for my grandfather who just turned 91 last month!

I met up with Korin, the owner of Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, along with a few other blogland friends for some stamping fun a few weeks ago and we had a great time! I also got to use some of Korin's stamps to stock up on some images for my stash! This is one of them...it's called Cocoa's Mittens! Isn't it sooo cute!?! I had this great Jillibean Soup paper too, so I knew I had to use this image with it!

He's colored with Copics and I followed the Sweet Sunday Sketch this week too! I added a strip of cardstock cut with the Martha Stewart snowflake edge punch, snowflakes using the ODBD dies, a Heidi Swapp clear snowflake that I have had forever and a mitten cut with the Spellbinders dies that LeAnne had with her that day! A little of Deb's shabby seam binding to tie it on and a few pearls bling it up just enough! My sentiment is from Verve's Balck Tie Birdies set!

Challenges:
Crazy 4 Cocoa Challenge #1 - for someone you love!
Sweet Sunday Sketch #95 - sketch (flipped)
Sundays With Crissy #12 - Winter is Here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank You...

Hi there! It's Friday and that means it's time for another Stamp Something challenge! With Thanksgiving right around the corner (for those of us in the US), we are celebrating our Thankful Somethings this week. Our fabulous sponsor is Simon Says Stamp and we are so very thankful for that too!

My oh so feminine Thank You card is for someone very special...my MOM! I am very thankful for her every day of my life! I added a white Prima flower and leaves and a few pearls to this oh so pretty paper layered up with dies cuts and stitching! The sentiment is from Verve's Because of You stamp set. This set has so many great sentiments, but this one seemed perfect for my card!

Be sure to stop by the Stamp Something Challenge Blog and check out all the great Design Team inspiration too!

Thanks for stopping by!

...how much I love you...

Hi there - just a quick post tonight to share a card with some of my favorite things. I just love pink and green together and when I saw Mona's color challenge this week, I couldn't wait to join in...and I just got these new Verve stamps and I am in love with these flowers. I cannot wait to use them on a grander scale...so versatile and perfect for any occasion!


I used the Mojo Monday sketch...which I am just making it under the wire on the deadline, but I was trying to find time all week to play with it and when I have my long week at work, time is the hardest thing to find! So, here we have some Little Yellow Bicycle papers in my favorite colors with a rich green grosgrain ribbon tied up in a bow and a great flower dotted with pink pearls in the center for a fresh and pretty card for someone I love!

Challenges:
Mojo Monday #163 - sketch
CR84FN 3 - color combination - pretty in pink and green

Thanks for stopping by!