It's So Fluffy!

It's my turn to host a 7 Kids College Fund Challenge and I've chosen...

~ It's So FLUFFY!! ~

So lets see all those soft and fluffy elements like Felt, Suede, Flowersoft, etc...

I chose this challenge because Brooke and Nathan's (okay...mine too) favorite movie is Despicable Me.  (However, Brooke pronounces it...Pickle and Me - LOL) and our very favorite quote from the movie is when the little girl sees the giant stuffed unicorn and squeals/growls..."It's so FLUFFY, I'm gonna DIE"   I've even made it my phone's ring tone.  LOL

I chose to use Kraftin' Kimmie's Goldilocks since she's holding some sweet fluffy bears.  I kept the card fairly simple with a lattice border, chocolate pearls and a felt rose.  The DP is My Mind's Eye, Hattie.  Her hair was sooo much fun to color and I couldn't quit adding color so it ended up being a darker blonde than I had originally intended.  For sparkle on her dress and hairbows I used a clear Spica pen.

Challenges:

I apologize to everyone for not visiting your blogs and leaving some love.  I know how much your comments mean to me, so I feel bad when I haven't returned the favor.  Any resemblance to a schedule has simply gone out the window since summer has begun.  I've been doing things with the kids that I've been putting off and my husband and I are painting the exterior of our 2 story home ourselves!!  So I've just been plain exhausted and honestly a little burned out lately.  I plan to be reducing my DT commitments in the coming weeks and taking a much needed break.  I hope you all understand.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

I Dig My Dad

Happy Father's Day!!

I created this fun tent card for the kids to give to their Daddy today.  I wish I had remembered to take a photo from the side, but I completely forgot.  :(  The image is Digger from Your Next Stamp.  The sentiment is computer generated and printed on kraft cardstock.  I then used a woodgrain embossing folder to give it texture.  The DP is Basic Grey's - Max & Whiskers.

The kids and I made Daddy breakfast in bed (Belgium Waffles w/strawberries and whip cream) gave him lots of gifts and now we are about to take a dip in the pool and grill out steaks later today.  Lot's of relaxing fun!!   

We think our Daddy is pretty AWESOME!!!  :)  :)

I love you Honey!!  xoxoxo

I'm lucky to have some really amazing men in my life and I want to wish them all a Happy Father's Day.

I Love you Eddie, Dad and JT  xoxox

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Copic Doodles

CLICK HERE to take a peek at the Your Next Stamp Surprise release...you don't want to miss it!!  

It's a new Copic Creations challenge and we'd love to see your 

~ DOODLES ~

There are lots of fun things you can create and doodle using your Copic markers, multi-liners, etc.  Sounds like a tough challenge but really it isn't.  You will find lost of tutorial links for techniques and ideas to use for this challenge on the Copic Creations blog.  

Our sponsor this week is Penny Black, and I received this adorable image called Good Game to play with.  I decided to try something new and used my markers and Colorless blender to create a pebbled groundscape and tufts of grass.  I lightly brushed E50 as a base ground cover and then used various Earth & Warm Greys markers as pebbles.  Not sure it makes the safest area for playing Badminton, one of these guys is sure to stub their toe, LOL but it was a lot of create.

I've created a fun easel type card (not sure what's called) but here you can see the card closed.  It's a simple 5x5 square card, but the card front is scored at the grass and fence line so that when opened it folds just like an easel card but the image pops up.  

I want to say a BIG thank you to everyone for their sweet comments and congratulations on my Copic Creations DT spot.  I have the best friends, thank you all so much!!

  And now the winner of my blog candy from last week is...

Kim O'Connell

Congrats girlie, be sure to email me your mailing address !!

I hope you will scroll down to take a peek at the Your Next Stamp Surprise release...you don't want to miss it!!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Surprise! New Stamps Released Today!

Hi Everyone!  I don't normal post this late in the evening, but Karen decided to surprise everyone and release the June images a day early!!

This sweet thing is called Geek But Unique and I totally LOVE him!!  xoxo  

I know that school is out now, but I thought he'd make a great card for that special Student of the Month.  I've popped him and his books up with foam tape and added Glossy Accents to his glasses.  :) The fun button and DP are both from October Afternoon- Schoolhouse.  And my very favorite...CORK was used for the border and arrow.  The sentiment was computer generated and then cut using a banner die.

Release Info:  Karen is offering a 10% Discount with the code YNSJUNENR through Monday June 20th.  And if you head over to the YNS Blog, you'll find more fun samples from the DT using the new release images.  You could also win this new image by entering your name into the linky widget.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Congrats Girlie

It's a Girlie Girl kind of day over at Paper Sundaes.  

I was so excited to create a DT sample for Paper Sundaes this week when I heard that the sponsor was My Favorite Things.  I'm a huge fan of their Die-namic dies and adorable images. 

The image that I've used is Cheers from MFT's a'la modes collection.  I added a scalloped border with  with MFT's Die-namic - Scalloped Scallop. The DP used for the card as well as her paper pieced dress is from My Mind's Eye - Hattie.  The image panel was cut to have her champagne glass come "out of the box" and was given a thick coat of Glossy Accents for shine.  The pearls were all colored with a Copic YR24 to match and finished off with a pretty little yellow gold bow.

Challenges:

Our Craft Lounge = #69 Color Challenge (Yellow, Blue & Neutral)

Dutch Dare Card = #116 Recipe (3 papers, 2 embellish, 1 image)

Pals Paper Arts = #97 Signature Style (Non Fussy Simple Layers(

Crafts & Me = #38 Stamp Something

The Paper Shelter = #17 Celebrate

Clear it Out = Paper Piecing

Paper Take Weekly = Anything Goes

I hope you'll check out the other Sundae Girls "Girlie Girl" creations and then submit your own.

**This card is my 1st entry into Open Auditions for Paper Craft's Gallery Idol 2011 Competition :)  Wish me Luck!!**

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Happy Father's Day

Are you ready for another sketch from The Sweet Stop?  

 I used this week's sketch for showcasing & embellishing my image, Deckchair Dreaming from LOTV. The DP is from MME - Good Day Sunshine Boy {love this paper!!} and I used the same tiny dotted paper for paper piecing the fabric on the chair.  The sentiment I used is from Your Next Stamps - Scene Sentiments.  I double stamped the little bird, glass of lemonade and the newspaper and popped them up for dimension.  Oh, and the glass of lemonade was also given a thick coat of Glossy Accents.  But my favorite part is the real sand!!  I have been wanting to try using sand on my beachy cards forever and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out!!  :)   To create the "shadowed" sand under his chair I dyed it with a Copic!!  It was super easy... Using white craft sand, I put a small spoonful in a ziplock bag and used 2-3 drops of E35 from my refill bottle.  I then just smooshed it all together until the ink had soaked into all of the sand.  I wish you could all see and feel it in real life...the texture is just so much fun!!  Be sure to use a good quality glue (such as what you would use to apply ultra fine glitter), to prevent the sand from rubbing off - 'cause you're gonna want to touch it!!  :)   

Challenges:

Fussy & Fancy = Man Cards

Patties Creations = #23 Wedding or Father's Day

Outlawz Challenges = Create a Summer Background

Totally Papercrafts = #70 Summer

Wags 'n Whiskers = #56 One for the Boys

C.R.A.F.T. = #106 Father's Day

Craft Us Crazy = #10 Father's Day

Lili of the Valley = #100 Anything Goes

Paper Play Challenges = #23 Father's Day

The House that Stamps Built = #66 Father's Day + Texture

Little Darlings = #1 Summer Theme

My fellow Sugar Babies have gorgeous sketch samples to share with you today, so stop by and check them out.

Korin Sutherland
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Shelby Goolsby
Janice Melton
Jennipher Lowery
Monika Davis

Thanks so much for stopping by!

What a Hottie!

It's challenge day at 7 Kids College Fund and it's

 ~ HOT~

We want to see all of your Hot, Summery cards but this challenge has a twist...

NO Magnolia images...we want you to share the love!!  7 Kids College Fund offers a huge selection of stamp from lots of companies and we'd like to see entries using some of those different lines.

I have a girl crush on all of the stamps in the Cheeky Cherry Collection from The Greeting Farm.  They are all such sexy little things!!  LOL  And coloring them is so much fun...especially their make-up.  I wasn't too sure about doing a blonde after I had already colored her suit a yellow but she just HAD to be blonde.  (Do your images ever "speak" to you like that?!?!)  I've used my favorite beach papers from October Afternoon - Seaside.  I fell in love with the vintage advertisement paper in the pad and promised myself to find a way to use it.   I think Cheeky Beach was MADE to be used with that paper don't you?

Challenges:

A Spoonfull of Sugar = #155 Here comes Summer!

Paper Take Weekly = Anything Goes

The Outlawz = Summer Party

Sweet Stampin = Playing in the Summer Sun

I hope you will pop over to the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog and check out what my DT sisters have created for you today!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!

King of Our Jungle

It's Saturday and time for another sketch from The Sweet Stop.

This was such a fun sketch and it came together in a snap too.  It's been a crazy last few weeks for me and I haven't had much time at all for creating or blogging.  :(    Thank goodness my husband isn't a regular reader of my blog because this is his Father's Day card from me.  The image is Whipper Snapper Designs, The King of the Jungle and was the very 1st stamp I ever bought....and can you believe this is the first time it's seen ink? (shame shame, I know)  It was super fun to color, but I'm not sure I'm lovin' how his mane turned out.  Like I said, I didn't have much time and it was a bit of a rush job....wish I could have spent more time on it.  Brooke also touched it while her hand was WET (OMG!!) and smeared this paw.  The DP is from the MME Mabel paper pad, I just love the warms rich colors.  The image panel and the crown were both popped up with foam tape for added dimension.  And normally I wouldn't add bling to a masculine card...but in this case I think it works!!  :)

Challenges:

Aud Sentiments = #29 For a Male + sentiment

Cute Card Thursday = #167 Embellish Image

Some Odd Girl = Manly

The Paper Shelter = #16 Glad for Dad

Simon Says Stamp = Father's Day

Truly Scrumptious = #58 Summer Sparkle

Shopping Our Stash = #2 Oldie but Goodie (My 1st stamp)

Lexi Creations = #41 Father's Day

The Sugar Babies have gorgeous sketch samples to share with you today, so stop by and check them out.

Korin Sutherland
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Shelby Goolsby
Janice Melton
   Jennipher Lowery

Thanks so much for stopping by...hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

It's a Big Day!

A few weeks ago I was asked by Mary Giemza to join her and design for...

When I finally quit squealing, I jumped at the chance and said, "YES!!"  I've been a huge fan of Mary's and the entire DT at Copic Creations before I even had Copic's of my own. 

About 2 years ago, I was doing a online search for invitation ideas for Brooke's 1st birthday and stumbled upon a card that took my breath away.  The creator (Mary) said she colored the image with something called Copic markers?!?!  I started doing a little research and I came across the Copic Creations Blog.  So After 10 years of absolutely REFUSING to get involved with stamping, I broke down and bought $300 worth of markers, a few stamps and the rest is history.  Believe me when I say this is an amazing honor to be asked to design for her and her team.  If you aren't familiar with Copic Creations then you must check them out...It is a wealth of information on all things Copic.  

But today is not only a big day for me...

It's Copic Creations 2nd Blogoversary!!  And you can find all the info and how to join in and win some AMAZING prizes for yourself HERE.

The challenge...Vintage or Distressed Copic Coloring

And since EVERY first card I have ever done for any DT has been WAY out of my comfort zone...today is no exception.  LOL  :)  I stared at the gorgeous vintage stamps I was geneously given by Crafty Secrets to work with for DAYS having NO idea what to do with them!!  Finally I decided I had better get to work and just do something!!  I was lucky and the card just seemed to make itself  :)   I was thrilled to discover that one of the fairies in the Fairy Set fit perfectly inside the arch from the Art Studio set.  Masking the two images, I "sat" her on the inside and sponged Antique Linen distressing ink while the image was still in the Labels 8 die.  I then stamped another image and layered her wings for dimension; which I lightly sparkled with Shimmerz Pixie Dust.  I was going to machine stitch the paper panels too but thought it was best not to tempt fate!!  LOL  

If you leave me a comment on this post you will be entered to win this stamp set from me.

Your Next Stamp - Pierre from France

And don't forget to pop over to the Copic Creations Challenge Blog to win big prizes and hop to the DT's blogs too 'cause most of us are giving something away today...you don't want to miss it!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!