Shamrocks and Seashells

Motivation

2010-06-25T23:07:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking a lot over the past week about what motivates me. I've always been the type to need a big goal or event or something along those lines to work toward when it comes to being healthy. For example, many months ago, I had planned to go to Myrtle Beach with some friends the week of July 4th. A beach vacation would involve wearing bathing suits in front of many people all week long, and so I had that date in mind as the end zone for my goal weight. But a couple of months ago, those vacation plans changed and I suddenly was without that motivation, without the pressure of a bathing suit looming over my head. And that's when I fell off the health wagon.

I've realized just how foolish that is. Why do I need a major thing like a trip to motivate me? Why isn't just looking and feeling better enough? It should be. Finding an outfit that I feel good in is an everyday challenge, one that I often fail. Feeling confident and energetic is something I want every day. So why has that not been enough to motivate me? Why is a one-time trip more important than being the best me I can be every single day?

That mindset has got to stop. I need to view this as an ongoing process to help me live life to the fullest every day, not just for a few days on vacation. If I had just kept up with the changes I'd made to my lifestyle even after the Myrtle Beach trip was canceled, I'd be just about at my goal weight by now. I'm not sure where my head was, because it's not as if I live in a place where I don't get summer weather. I still need to wear a bathing suit and still need to wear summer clothing that provides less coverage than the pants and sweaters that I can hide behind in winter. Canceling the beach trip didn't make those realities go away. So, when I stop to think about it, I could kick myself, because we're now in the throes of hot weather, and this body is just not ready for it!

I'm moving past that though. Beating myself up won't do any good. So now my focus won't be on a trip that I'm taking or some other goal down the road. My focus will be on today and tomorrow. It will be about translating how I'm feeling now into daily motivation and short term wins. When I'm tempted to skip a workout or have an extra cupcake, I'll think about how I want to feel good about myself at the cookout tomorrow or at work on Monday, or the baseball game next week. Not about how I'll feel months from now. I deserve to feel and look my best every day, and it's on me to make that happen.

Frest Start

2010-06-19T09:14:00.003-04:00

To anyone who might still be subscribed to this blog as a stamping fan, I think this is where I'll lose you. I have stamped exactly two cards since my last post almost 6 months ago, and both were stamped under duress at the request of co-workers when we needed retirement cards for two of our colleagues. I just don't have it in me anymore. I've sold off a lot of my stuff and am in the process of selling more. In my free time these days, stamping is the last thing I feel like doing. I'm keeping some basics and a few of my favorite supplies, so maybe someday I'll get back to it. But not any time soon.

So, this blog is going to turn into a blog about whatever I want it to be. Life, cooking, random observations, etc. Today it's a post to vent and I guess maybe to hold myself accountable a little. I want to write about my struggle with weight loss. As for so many people, it's an ongoing battle. I hit my all-time high weight in January 2009. I was about 45 pounds above my goal weight. I decided I'd had it and things were going to change. I would lose a few, then gain a couple, and it was a slow process. Slow is the only way I know how to do this. I am not now and will never be someone who can eliminate an entire food group and I will never be someone who enjoys boot camp type exercise. The only way I've been successful is to not prohibit myself from eating anything, but to just be careful about portion sizes and enjoy treats in moderation. My kind of exercise is going for a walk on the beach or getting on the treadmill for an hour at a moderate pace and read a good book while I'm on there. My method means slow weight loss, but that's ok. By the start of 2010, I was down 20 lbs, which isn't a lot for a year, but at only 5'3", 20 lbs made a big difference in how I looked, felt, and how my clothes fit.

In January, I lost another 7 lbs, which is a lot for one month for me, and I wasn't even trying. Unfortunately, it was due to a complete loss of appetite after some unexpected boy-related heartache. Which meant that once I started feeling better, my appetite returned, and so did the weight. And, because I had wasted the first month or so of this year feeling sad, I decided I needed to bounce back in a major way and throw my social life into overdrive. Which is a great thing, but the downside is that nearly all social activities, at least in the area I live and with the friends I have, include eating and drinking. Lunches, dinners, happy hours...sign me up! And it's been a blast, but my waistline has paid for it. Some of my friends and I had started a Biggest Loser competition at the start of the year, and it ended Memorial Day weekend. How much did I lose? Nothing. In fact, I gained about 3 lb. Which, since I had lost those 7 lbs. in January, actually meant I gained 10. Disturbing.

Instead of this serving as the motivation I needed to get back on track, I just stopped weighing myself for a few weeks. I went on vacation, where our plans mainly centered around what awesome (and likely unhealthy) thing we would eat for our next meal. I continued to go to lunches and dinner and happy hours, including my latest happy hour just this past week, which lasted 7 hours, and included three different bars, 4 martinis, I'm-not-sure-how-many pints of beer, taquitos, chips and guacamole, fries, and wings. Ooops. I've sure been having fun, but I feel awful. I have no energy, and I'm starting to notice that clothes that I was so excited to fit back into are getting snug again. It's becoming a problem for sure. But still, I've slacked off on exercising and have paid no attention to what I shove in my mouth.

Today a new round of Biggest Loser started and I stepped on the scale for the first time in three weeks to find I have gained three more pounds since Memorial Day. Gross. So I think something has finally clicked and today is my fresh start. I can't keep going like this. I'm too young and have too many things I want to do to let this hold me back anymore. I'm not a confident person as it is, so I need all the help I can get to feel good about myself. And tight waistbands are not going to do that. So today I become accountable again. I'm going to pay more attention to what I eat. I'm still going to enjoy myself, but in moderation. There's no way I'm passing on happy hour, but if I behave the majority of the time, then I know I can splurge a little and be just fine. I need to get back to exercising regularly too. I'm going to do something, anything, even if it is just a slow stroll along the beach, for at least 30 minutes, at least 5 days a week. That's not too much to ask of myself. I've done it before, and I can do it again.

I'm not sure if anyone will even see or read this post, but I feel good for having put it out there. I think journaling and putting my feelings into words is a really healthy process, so I guess that's what I'm doing, though why I decided it needs to be published for the world to read, I'm not sure. Maybe there is someone who will read this who is going through the same struggles and it'll be helpful for them to know that someone else relates. Regardless, today is the first day to a new me. I've got about 34 lbs to lose to get to what I have always had in my head as a reasonable goal weight. I'll never be skinny, and I know that. I'm just not built that way. But the last time I was at my goal weight, I looked and felt good, and I know I can get there again, one baby step at a time.

Hope Stamps Eternal

2010-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm writing with some bittersweet news today. My term with the Hope Stamps Eternal Design Team has ended and I've made the decision not to renew for another term. I have so loved being a part of this team, and I truly couldn't ask for a better "boss" than Rachel - she is the best! However, my life seems to have gotten in the way of stamping lately and cutting back on my obligations is just the best move for me right now.

I do love Hope Stamps Eternal and all the products offered, and the customer service seriously is spectacular! And, the design team really is so much fun, so I encourage you to apply! Rachel is accepting applications through this Friday, January 15th - check out all the details here.

While I don't have a card to share with you today, I hope to be able to continue playing along with the Cupcake Inspiration Challenges when I can, and I encourage you to do the same! I've included this week's photo for you here - now go play! And don't forget to link your creation to Rachel's post by next Saturday night for a chance to be featured in next Sunday's Top 5 collage!

Hope Stamps Eternal Design Team Call

2010-01-03T09:36:00.001-05:00

Hope Stamps Eternal Design Team Call

Do you love to play with Paper, Ink, Stamps and embellishments? Do you have a blog that you update regularly? Do you want to be a part of a fun group of creative people? If the answer is yes, then this is the call for you!

We are looking for bloggers who update regularly and can show our product

in a good light. Does this mean you have to be the best stamper in the industry??? Absolutely Not! What it does mean is that applicants need

to be willing to link all HSE product on all projects they blog, if we carry it,

we expect a link…in exchange you will receive an ongoing 25%
discount and free products throughout your term

What you will receive ~

1. 25% off ALL purchases at Hope Stamps Eternal.

2. Free product throughout your term.

3. A $25 Welcome Credit to the store

4. Camaraderie and a good time!!

What we require of you ~

1. Participate in the weekly Sunday Challenge (Cupcake Inspiration Challenge)

2. Use product carried by Hope Stamps Eternal as often as possible,

linked to the product or category each time.

3. A minimum of 6 projects a month should feature Hope Stamps

Eternal product, this can include the Sunday Challenge and

any Blog Hops or Spotlights we schedule

4. Special Spotlights and Blog Hops may be scheduled,

the timing will be worked out among the entire group

Term ~

Design team term ~ Feb 1^st, 2010 to July 31^st, 2010

What do you need to do now? Simple email links to 2-3 of your favorite projects tohopestampseternal@hotmail.com (please make sure you send Direct links to your Project, not a general blog link!) Submissions will accepted thru Jan 15th and the Design Team Members chosen will be notified by Jan 20th

CIC #39

2009-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Today's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal features such festive cupcakes - perfect for New Year's, or, in my case, a birthday card!

I chose to feature the Flower Patch and Alleyway papers from the Bella Blvd Honey I'm Home Collection. I love all the bright colors and thought they went so well with this week's inspiration photo! I dressed up the top portion of the card a little by adding Stardust Stickles to the centers of the flowers and to the little dots scattered throughout the paper. It's tough to see in the picture, but adds some nice sparkle in real life!

This simple card was finished off with a little birthday sentiment and some clear crystal flowers from the Zva Creative Crystal Flower Wheel. I like how those tie in the flower theme from the Bella Blvd paper and add a nice finishing touch.

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits (for sentiment)
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow
Paper: Flower Patch and Alleyway from the Bella Blvd Honey I'm Home Collection
Other: Stardust Stickles, Zva Creative Crystal Flower Wheel

CIC #38!

2009-12-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the 38th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

I need to start out by apologizing for my even-worse-than-usual photo! I swear, I have got to somehow invest in proper lighting and a light tent!

Anyway, aren't these cupcakes so fun and holidayish?! I took my inspiration from the hearts, the candy canes, the holly, and the colors, right down to the black accents!

I punched hearts out of paper from the Imaginisce Polar Bear Expressions collection and the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly pack to reflect the candy cane and holly motifs on some of the cupcakes. I then traced around the edges of the hearts with some Stardust Stickles. The larger center heart is raised up with a 2mm adhesive dot from Zva Creative, while the smaller hearts are on 1mm adhesive dots. In between the hearts I put different sizes of Zva Creative Crystal Dots.

Some silver ribbon from PTI sort of sets the top portion apart, and then the sentiment is from Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm. More crystal dots in the smallest size appear on either side of the sentiment.

I've taken photos of all of the different Christmas cards I'm sending out this year, but I don't know if I'll have time to blog about them before Christmas. So in case this is my last post this week, I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday!

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, Imaginisce Polar Bear Expressions, PTI white
Other: Stardust Stickles, 2mm adhesive dot from Zva Creative, Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot, Zva Creative clear crystal dots

Hope Stamps Eternal Secret Sweetie Blog Hop

2009-12-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to a very Sweetie Christmas Hop! The Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties have a big reveal to share with you today. A few weeks back we were each assigned a secret sweetie who in turn made us gifts and sent them to us to ring in the holidays. During this hop you will see what each of the sweeties put together for their recipient and reveal who they made it for.

Make sure to comment on each blog because one lucky person will be the winner of blog candy! If you didn't arrive here from Kelli's blog, be sure to go back to the beginning at Rachel's blog where you will be able to see a photo of the blog candy and then just follow along to the next blog from there.

I was very excited to be assigned to the fabulous Hope Stamps Eternal owner herself, Rachel! She is one of my dearest friends, and I was thrilled to have an excuse to send her a little Christmas cheer! I know that one of her favorite candies at this time of year are the Candy Cane Kisses, so my ensemble had to include some of those! I took my color inspiration from those, choosing products from the HSE store that fit in the silver/red/white theme.

First off is the bag of Kisses. I just put those in a clear cellophane bag and tied it off with some white polka dot ribbon from May Arts. It looks like she's just run out of the white ribbon, but check out the ribbon selection in the store for a variety of other colors. I then made a little tag for the bag using some paper from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions collection and a Making Memories snowflake blossom with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot in the middle.

I also made a little 3" x 3" card to match the set, using white and silver cardstock along with more of the Polar Expressions paper, white polka dot ribbon, and Making Memories snowflake blossoms. In the center of this snowflake, I used one of the gemstone brads that comes with the snowflakes.

Next up I embellished one of the 4 oz. round clear top tins, again using the same paper, ribbon, and snowflakes. I just love making a set of things that match - it appeals to the OCD side of me I think! I was trying to figure out what to put inside the tin and decide to make some magnets using dominoes. I used the snowflake stamp from Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm and stamped two dominoes with red ink and two with silver. I then adhered small clear gemstones from the Zva Creative crystal wheel to the center of each of the snowflakes. To turn the dominoes into magnets, I cut up some self-stick business card magnets and stuck them right on the backs of the dominoes. Sorry for the less than stellar picture of the dominoes - I was taking these photos at night and could not for the life of me get a photo that wasn't too full of flash or too dark!

I had so much fun creating this set for Rachel and I hope she liked it! Now it's time to go to the next stop, Colleen at Glitter Ink. Don't forget - you'll want to leave a comment at each stop on the hop to have a chance at winning the blog candy!

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, Encore silver
Paper: Imaginisce Polar Expressions, PTI white, SU Brushed Silver
Other: May Arts ribbon, Making Memories snowflake blossoms, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, 4 oz. round clear top tin

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #37

2009-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

How sweet are the cupcakes for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal?! Adorable!

I obviously went with a snowman theme for my card this week, and also drew my color inspiration from the photo as well. My main image is from The Greeting Farm set Keep Cozy and I colored him with Copic markers. His hat is cut out and popped up with a Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot for a little dimension and his hat and scarf are accented with Stardust Stickles. The final finishing touches on the image are 3 Zva Creative black crystal dots.

The snowman is punched out with a Marvy mega circle punch and matted on a Marvy giga scalloped circle. On each scallop I adhered a Zva Creative white pearl using a Quickie glue pen. The circle is then adhered to the base using more Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dots.

Speaking of the background, that gorgeous paper is more from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection. I know I've been using it a lot, but there are just sooo many awesome designs in that pack! The little snowflake embellisment at the bottom was created with a small punch and finished off with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot.

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm, sentiment from PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white, Spring Rain
Other: Stardust Stickles, Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot, Zva Creative black crystal dots, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, Zva Creative white pearl

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #36

2009-12-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello and welcome to the 36th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

With Christmas less than three weeks away, this week's inspiration photo is just perfect! Holly is one of my favorite motifs for the holidays, and I knew right away that I wanted to use some of the paper from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly pack. Both the large piece of background paper and the small strip across the center are from that collection.

My main image is from the Greeting Farm Rain, Snow, Shine set and I colored her with Copics. As you can see in the inspiration photo, the holly leaves are dusted with glitter, so I knew I needed to have some glitter on my project as well! I used Stardust Stickles on all the trim on her outfit, as well as on her earmuffs. I also used the Stickles to create a border around the image. My picture came out crummy due to the rainy/snowy weather we had yesterday, but it's really pretty and sparkly in real life! The image panel is attached to the card with 2mm adhesive dots from Zva Creative. The last little details are the snowflake embellishments from Jolee's by You adhered on either side of the image.

I hope you'll participate in this week's challenge and knock another Christmas card off your to-do list! If you play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now before I send you off to check out the other Sweeties, I want to introduce you to our December Guest Sweetie, Elena at The Red Haired Girl. She's insanely talented, so be sure to stop by and see her take on this week's challenge. Once you've done that, go ahead and visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Rain, Snow, Shine by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white
Other: Stardust Stickles, Jolee's by You Snowflake collection, 2mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative

Cyber Monday Sale!!

2009-11-30T02:01:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Getting back into the normal work and life routine after a nice long holiday weekend is never fun, but I've got something to make your Monday a little better!

Hope Stamps Eternal is having a Cyber Monday sale - EVERYTHING in the store is 30% off!! Now is the perfect time to stock up on supplies for your holiday cards - check out all the Christmas items from Cuttlebug, Basic Grey, Inkadinkado and more! This is also a great chance to cross some craft-loving family and friends off your gift list - there's sure to be lots of goodies for any stamper or scrapbooker in your life!

Don't miss out on this one day sale - shop now!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #35

2009-11-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe it, but the season for leaves and pumpkins and all things fall is over and now it's time to think winter and Christmas! I LOVE this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal. There are SO many products in the HSE store that work for this challenge, so my creative juices were immediately flowing.

As soon as I saw the little snowman perched atop those gorgeous cupcakes, I knew I wanted to use one of the adorable stamps from the Keep Cozy set by The Greeting Farm. I love this little guy and think he's a perfect match for the one in the photo. I colored him with Copics, using the hat and scarf for my color inspiration, and then accented his hat, scarf, and mittens with Stardust Stickles. My frosty image was punched out with a Marvy scallop punch and then matted on a larger scalloped oval. I added a white pearl sticker from Memory Box to each of the scallops, using a Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, to mimic the pearl ornaments and embellishments in the photo.

The patterned paper is a gorgeous sheet from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection. The color scheme and swirling snowflakes are absolutely perfect for this week's challenge! The sentiment, one of four included in the Keep Cozy set, was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, as was my image. That ink is still by far my favorite ink to use when coloring with Copics!

Across the top of the paper I used some ribbon from the Art Blanche Arctic Ribbon Pack. Again, the color is just perfect for this project and adds some nice detail to the card. Both the large snowflake embellishment at the top and the small one by the sentiment are from the Jolee's by You Snowflake collection - the big one is pre-glittered and both come with the gemstones already adhered to the center. Such pretty, yet simple, embellishments!

To adhere the snowman panel, I used the 1mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative and then, because I wanted it to pop up a little higher, I used a 2mm adhesive dot for the large snowflake. I love the different depths and sizes offered in those packs! I used the Sakura Quickie Glue Pen again to adhere the smaller snowflake at the bottom.

I'm so excited to have my first holiday card done for this year! In years past, I've been so efficient with my Christmas cards, and sometimes have even had them done by Thanksgiving, but clearly things have changed. I have a feeling I'll still be finishing my cards right up until Christmas Eve!

I hope you'll participate in this week's challenge and get yourself in the holiday spirit. If you play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for loads of inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy set by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white and Aqua Mist
Other: Memory Box white pearl stickers, Stardust Stickles, Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Art Blanche Arctic Ribbon Pack, Jolee's by You Snowflake collection, 1mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative, 2mm adhesive dot

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #34

2009-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #34 from Hope Stamps Eternal!

For my card today I chose to sort of pull from the colors in the inspiration photo. I swear my colors in real life are a little closer - I could not get a good photo today for the life of me!

I wanted to use one of the Blooms-a-Bella flowers from Bella Blvd. They're such a great focal point and make for a quick and easy card- gotta love that! It's tricky to tell because of the lighting, but both the green paper and the red paper it's matted on are from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions Collection. I love when paper packs like that have patterns that are specifically for Christmas, but also include reverse sides that are more neutral patterns. It really extends your stamping buck when you have that kind of flexibility.

The designer papers are matted on a brown 4.25" square base (yes, it's brown, not purple!) The sentiment is from Sentiments by The Greeting Farm, and the finishing touch on the card is the lines of Memory Box white pearl stickers.
If you would like to play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for loads of inspiration!

Bonnie (out this week)
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: Imaginisce Polar Expressions Collection, PTI Dark Chocolate
Other: Blooms-a-Bella flowers from Bella Blvd, Memory Box white pearl stickers

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #33

2009-11-15T07:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Sunday! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away?? Where has this year gone?? I think this week's cupcake inspiration photo is perfect for this time of year - it just screams fall and yumminess!

For my card, I used a sheet of Waffles paper from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection. Check out that line of paper - talk about yumminess!! I then stacked three of the flowers from the Imaginisce First Class paper flowers collection. I just love the mix of shapes and sizes and colors included in that package! The embellishment was held together with Diamond Glaze and finished off with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot in the center. Emerging from under the flower embellishment is a Zva Creative crystal flourish. Once I adhered it, I realized the bling gets a little lost in the pattern of the paper, but if the light catches it right, it looks fabulous in person! The sentiment is from the Bella Blvd Plastino stamp collection.

If you would like to play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Before I send you off to check out the rest of the Sweeties, I wanted to mention a few things. First, if you haven't yet, hurry up and enter to win Rachel's blog sweets - you have until 10pm MST tonight! Second, be sure to check out all the NEW stuff in the Hope Stamps Eternal store! TONS of amazing goodies from The Greeting Farm, Basic Grey, Cuttlebug, Inkadinkado and more!! And finally, if you love Martha Stewart (who doesn't??) go and scoop up some fabulous punches - all Martha Stewart items are 40% off!!

Ok, now go and visit the Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen (out this week)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Bella Blvd Plastino stamp collection
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: Waffles paper from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection, PTI Pure Poppy
Other: Imaginisce First Class paper flowers, Diamond Glaze, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, Zva Creative crystal flourish

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #31

2009-11-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the 31st Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

These cupcakes are so pretty and spring-like, right? Well leave it to me to make a winter card out of it! The inspiration I took from this week's photo are the colors - the red, pale aqua, yellow, and green. I thought the Jolly by Golly paper from Cosmo Cricket pulled variations of those colors in really nicely, so that's what I used on my card today.

When trying to decide what stamp to use, I noticed the striped scarf on one of the Anyas in the Rain, Snow, Shine set from The Greeting Farm and thought it would be fun to use my Copics to color her scarf to match the paper. I like it! Sort of a faux paper piecing in a way. Anya's trim (earmuff band, buttons, etc.) are touched up with a clear Sakura Stardust pen for some nice sparkle, and to add some extra bling, I added a clear Zva Creative crystal dot to the center of my snowflake embellishment (created with two sizes of snowflake punches).

For the final touch, the edge of the cake plate in the photo made me think of dew drops, so I added a bunch of those to the border of my card using a Sakura Quickie glue pen.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by 9pm MST next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's just about time to go and visit the other Sweeties, but I first wanted to mention that this is Tammy's last week with the HSE design team. She has been a great addition to our team and will be missed! But every cloud has a silver lining, so I'd like to give a big welcome to Teresa Kline, who will be taking Tammy's place as a Sweetie for the next couple of months. Check her out!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Rain, Snow, Shine set from The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: Jolly by Golly from Cosmo Cricket, PTI Aqua Mist, white, and Pure Poppy
Other: clear Sakura Stardust pen, clear Zva Creative crystal dot, dew drops, Sakura Quickie glue pen

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #30

2009-10-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to the latest Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

My card this week is modeled fairly loosely after the cupcake photo - I mainly drew from the bright colors for my inspiration. I just love the colors in the Bella Blvd Plastino collection, so I wanted to really spotlight a few of those papers. The striped paper, the paper I used to punch the scalloped circle, and the main image are all from Plastino papers. I needed no stamping for that main image - cool, huh? I just used a Marvy mega circle punch and it was the perfect fit for one of the flower clusters on the patterned paper. I added some Stardust Stickles to the center of the flowers for a touch of bling on my super easy focal point! The entire main image is raised up with foam adhesive dots. Oh, and the ribbon wrapped around the large panel is May Arts sheer polka dot ribbon. You can never go wrong with polka dots, right?

I'm a little bummed about the background. When I made the card a few nights ago, I stamped the 'happy day' sentiment from The Greeting Farm set Sentiments repeatedly across the card base to create a fun little background. However, when I finally had a little bit of natural light to take a photo a few days later, the sentiments had faded so they were barely visible. I stamped the sentiment again just before I took the photo, but now it looks a little jumbled with the faint trace of the stamping I had previously done behind it. :-(

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by 9pm MST next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Lemon Tart
Paper: Bella Blvd Plastino Collection, PTI Lemon Tart
Other: Stardust Stickles, adhesive dots, May Arts red sheer polka dot ribbon

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #29

2009-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge! These little witches are so sweet perched on top of those yummy looking cupcakes!

My card kind of took on a mind of its own as I was making it, and I don't know that I'm really pleased with the final result, but you win some and you lose some, right?!

My main inspiration came mainly from the colors, though the overcast weather we've been having didn't exactly allow me to get the best photo of my card to showcase the colors I used! The top panel is black cardstock embossed with the Perfectly Paisley cuttlebug folder. I then outlined the embossed shapes with a Sakura Stardust pen to really make them pop. The kraft panel on the bottom was stamped with a greeting from the Greeting Farm set called Sentiments, embellished with a Zva Creative crystal f lourish, and punched along the bottom with a Martha Stewart Scallop Dot edge punch. Finally, to finish off the card, I added a strip of brown cardstock along where the black and kraft panels meet and covered that with a strip of sheer white polka dot May Arts ribbon.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI Dark Chocolate, True Black, Kraft
Other: Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart, Perfectly Paisley cuttlebug folder, Sakura Stardust pen, Zva Creative crystal f lourish, sheer white polka dot May Arts ribbon

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #28

2009-10-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Sunday! It's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

I am out of town this weekend and so did not get a chance to participate in the challenge, but I wanted to make sure I put the inspiration photo up in case you want to play along! Aren't these cupcakes pretty?!?

If you do, be sure to add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for some fabulous inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #27

2009-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Believe it or not, it's October, so that means Halloween is just around the corner! Isn't today's cupcake inspiration photo a lot of fun?

I chose to focus on the pumpkins and used the Pumpkin Harvest cuttlebug folder on some Imaginisce Bestitched paper, showing the debossed side instead of the embossing. I kept the rest of the top of the card plain to really show off that cuttlebug folder.

The two strips of patterned paper are both from the Basic Grey Eerie paper pack. I just love how all the different papers from that collection mix and match so well together!

The sentiment is from Scary Words, one of the Inkadinkado mini clear sets. I traced over the sentiment with a black spica pen to give it some fun sparkle.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Now before I send you off to check out the other HSE Sweeties' creations, I want to extend a warm welcome to the latest Guest Sweetie, Ida from Faith Artistry. Be sure to visit her fabulous blog to see her interpretation of this week's challenge.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Scary Words from Imaginisce
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, black spica glitter pen
Paper: Imaginisce Bestitched, Basic Grey Eerie, PTI white, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado
Other: Pumpkin Harvest cuttlebug folder, paper piercing tool, foam adhesive dots (for popping up the sentiment panel)

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #26

2009-09-27T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hello and welcome to the 26th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Before I get into this week's challenge, I want to remind you about the HSE Halloween Blog Hop - if you have not yet checked out the Sweeties' blogs to comment for a chance to win blog candy and to collect the "hidden" promo code letters, check out my post here.

Now, onto today's business! This is the first CIC we've had since fall officially started, and I think the cupcakes this week are perfect for fall - just look at those gorgeous colors! The colors are what I drew my inspiration from today.

I used one of the Anyas (stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink) from the Rain Snow Shine set by The Greeting Farm. This set is no longer available, but check out the new Dressy Anya set - so cute, and so much fun to color! I can't wait to buy that one myself! I used my Copics to color Anya in and to give her some cute striped knee socks! The umbrella is paper pieced using the Bestitched paper from Imaginisce.

The punch along the side is the Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart. I coated Anya's buttons with Stardust Stickles and then the whole main image panel is popped up with foam adhesiv e dots.

I stamped the background with PTI's Polka Dot Basics to match the polka dotted umbrella and added a Zva Creative pearl swirl flourish along the bottom left corner. To finish off the card, I punched an oval out of the card front, and then stamped "My Friend" from the Greeting Farm set Sentiments on a white panel layered on the inside of the card.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Rain Snow Shine and Sentiments sets by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Ripe Avocado, Copic markers
Paper: Bestitched paper from Imaginisce, PTI's Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry, and white
Other: Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart, Stardust Stickles, adhesiv e dots, Zva Creative pearl swirl flourish

HSE Halloween Blog Hop

2009-09-24T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Hope Stamps Eternal Halloween Blog Hop! There is a TON of fabulous Halloween stuff available in the HSE store, and the HSE Sweeties wanted to showcase these goodies for you today, giving you plenty of time to plan your own Halloween cards and gifts!

Now, if you didn't arrive here through Tammy's blog, go back to the beginning and start on Rachel's post so you don't miss out on a thing! As you travel through the blogs, be sure to comment on each one by Sunday at 11pm EST, because one of us is the Secret Sweet Stop. One of the commenters on the Secret Sweet Stop blog will be randomly selected to win some amazing blog candy (shown on Rachel's post), but you don't know which one of us has it!

And, as you travel through the blogs, take note of a special letter highLighted in each blog post. Put those letters together in order and you'll get a Promo Code for 25% off EVERYTHING in the store from now through this Sunday, September 27! This includes all new and clearance items (though does not include pre-orders). Once you have put together the Promo Code, just enter it at checkout (use ALL CAPS when you enter it) to automatically receive the 25% discount.

Ok, now on to my cards! The first one uses lots of fun stuff from the HSE store! The main image is from the Inkadinkado mini clear set called Witches Brew and is heat embossed to really make her pop. The sentiment is from another Inka mini clear set called Scary Words. I first stamped it in Plum Pudding ink and then stamped it using Memento Tuxedo Black ink to create a shadowed look. I then traced over it with a black Spica glitter pen for some sparkle. The scalloped mat for the main image is punched out of the back of the Imaginisce Bestitched paper and all of the other fabulous patterned papers featured are from the Basic Grey Eerie pad. On each of the scallops is a small black stone from the Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel and along the side and top of the card you'll see larger black stones from the Zva Creative Jet Crystal Lines. The last thing I want to mention about this one is that the main image panel is popped up with foam adhesive dots.

Now for the second card, I started with a 4.25" square base and really wanted to showcase some of the same Basic Grey Eerie paper that I used above. I then added a little topper using Happy Halloween, yet another fabulous Inka mini clear set. This sentiment fit perfectly inside the pink Marvy circle punch, and then I matted it onto a larger black scalloped circle. On each of the scallops here, I adhered a yellowish teardrop shaped gemstone, also from the Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel. Sorry for the glare on the embellishment toward the bottom - that's an orange button with a big clear Zva Creative Crystal Dot.

I hope you like what you've seen! To continue on your Blog Hop journey, please visit Carolina at her Creative Pad!

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: Witches Brew, Scary Words
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Plum Pudding
Paper: Imaginisce Bestitched, Basic Grey Eerie, PTI Plum Pudding
Other: Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel, Zva Creative Jet Crystal Lines, adhesive dots, Marvy mega oval and giga scalloped oval punches

Card 2
Stamps: Happy Halloween
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Basic Grey Eerie, PTI Ripe Avocado and Lavendar Moon
Other: Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel, Zva Creative Crystal Dot, PTI Orange Zest button, Marvy mega circle and giga scalloped circle punches

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #25

2009-09-19T21:43:00.007-04:00

Welcome to Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #25 from Hope Stamps Eternal! These cupcakes are perfect for this week, as it's really starting to feel like fall. And to me, nothing says "fall is coming!" like the start of football season. So Quarterback Ian from The Greeting Farm is the star of my card today!

Ian is colored with Copics and I added some Diamond Glaze to make his helmet nice and shiny. It's too early in the season for it to be scuffed and dirty yet! The orange paper is the Imaginisce paper Bestitched from the Spooky Town line and I used the star cluster from the Inkadinkado set Angels to add a little interest. The sentiment is from The Greeting Farm set called Sentiments. To finish off the card, I add some Stitchin Button Brads from Imaginisce. The brown ones I used are sold out, but there are some adorable white and pink ones still available!

I wanted to mention the tons of NEW stuff just in at Hope Stamps Eternal. Lots of stuff from Basic Grey, Bella Blvd, Cosmo Cricket, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders...the list goes on! And one more thing...be sure to check back on Thursday for a very special Hope Stamps Eternal Blog Hop!

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 cards entered by next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Now go and check out what the rest of the Sweeties have done with today's cupcake!

Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments and Quarterback Ian from The Greeting Farm, Angels from Inkadinkado
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Really Rust and Close to Cocoa from SU
Paper: Bestitched from Imaginisce, PTI white and Summer Sunrise, SU Close to Cocoa
Other: Diamond Glaze, Stitchin Button Brads from Imaginisce

Ahoy Matey! It's CIC #24!

2009-09-13T08:00:00.003-04:00

Arrrr! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day on Saturday, September 19, so this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal is a nod to the celebration!

I just love these fun cupcakes with pirate motiffs, and I thought this image from the Matey set by The Greeting Farm would be the perfect image for my card. Incidentally, this set is ON SALE, so I advise you to add it to your collection right now!

I colored in my image with Copic markers, then embellished the hat with Stardust Stickles and added black gemstones from the Zva Creative Crystal Wheel to the eyes on the skull belt. The image is popped up with Zva Creative Adhesive Dots.

The papers are both from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions line. The striped paper is pre-glittered, and then I used the Herringbone Cuttlebug folder on the green paper. The really cool thing is that with the white core of the paper, it gets a sort of aged/sanded look along where the embossed lines are. I love it!

If you want to play along, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post.
The top 5 entries linked by next Saturday night will be featured in the collage next Sunday.

Now before you go off to create, be sure to check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for more fantastic inspiration! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Bonnie
Carolina
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Matey from The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI white, Pure Poppy, Imaginisce Polar Expressions
Other: Stardust Stickles, Crystal Wheel, Adhesive Dots, Herringbone Cuttlebug folder

Not Just for Picnic Baskets

2009-09-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

My card today, another from Texas, uses the PTI set Vintage Picnic, but rather than using the flower image with any of the baskets included in the set, I decided to think outside the box a little. I really love how this turned out, I just wish I had stamped the flowers a little lower, because there's too much white space and it's a little off balance. But I didn't realize it until I'd finished the card and it had taken me way too long to try and redo it!

It may not look like much, but the reason it took me so long is that I stamped and colored the image again on a scrap and cut out all of those little flowers. I popped them up with the smallest of the Zva Creative adhesive dots. Take a look at the small picture for a close up of the popped up flowers.

The ribbon is PTI white twill colored with a Copic marker. I swear, that's the best trick ever! With the PTI Copic color matches, I'll never need to buy colored twill again! To finish off the card, I stamped one of the sentiments from the With Sympathy set.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Vintage Picnic and With Sympathy
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Paper: PTI white
Other: PTI white twill, Zva Creative adhesive dots

The Joys of Summer

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I realized I still have a few cards left to share that I made during my trip to Texas in July. Since summer is pretty much over at this point, I figured I should hurry up and show this one!

This was just a quick and easy card, but I liked how it turned out. My apologies for the less than great photo!

All supplies are from PTI except for the Stardust Stickles from Hope Stamps Eternal and SU ink I used for the cones. I stamped the ice creams from Love Songs in Berry Sorbet and Dark Chocolate and the cones in Creamy Caramel. The sentiment is from A Day at the Beach and then I added a strip from Polka Dot Basics along the left side.

Enjoy these last few days before it officially becomes fall!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Polka Dot Basics, Love Songs, A Day at the Beach
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate
Paper: Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate, white
Other: Stardust Stickles

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #23

2009-09-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #23 from Hope Stamps Eternal!

Isn't this week's photo so beautiful?? I just love how elegant it is! The card I made to go along with it is pretty much not something I ever make - I have no reason to send lovey dovey cards like this, so it may sit in my stash for a while! But I do like how it turned out, so let's go over the details.

I used Nestabilities to cut out the scalloped card base and the white circle. The flowers are the Sweet Blossoms from Zva Creative, which I colored with a red Copic to match the red rose on the cupcake. The flowers were adhered with Judikins Diamond Glaze. The white circle was embossed with the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is from The Greeting Farm set called Sentiments. I used some hardware from a SU hodge podge set to frame the sentiment. To finish the card off, I lined all of the scallops with Stardust Stickles for lots of lovely sparkle.

If you want to play along, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post.
The top 5 entries linked by next Saturday night will be featured in the collage next Sunday.

Now before you go off to create, be sure to check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for more fantastic inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments from The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy
Paper: PTI Pure Poppy, white
Other: Sweet Blossoms from Zva Creative, Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, Stardust Stickles, Judikins Diamond Glaze, SU hardware

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #16

2009-09-05T09:06:00.005-04:00

Good morning! It's a beautiful Saturday here in Connecticut, and before I head to the beach, I wanted to share my creation for the latest Raspberry Suite Color Challenge from Dawn McVey.

This challenge has a lot more neutral colors than I usually use together, but I thought it was a great combination that speaks to the fall weather that's been creeping in at night! All of the products I used are from PTI, with the exception of the clear crystal dots and the Stardust Stickles, both from Hope Stamps Eternal. Oh, and the adhesive foam dots used to pop up the umbrella are from HSE too.

It's a little tricky to see in the photo, but the Summer Sunrise background is stamped with one of the images from the Background Basics: Retro set. The umbrella and sentiment are of course from Dawn's Scattered Showers set. After I completed the card, I was wishing I had put the umbrella straight instead of at an angle, because I think it disrupts an otherwise very symmetrical card, but then maybe that's a good thing. Who knows!

Everything else is pretty straightforward, I just wanted to mention one other thing the camera didn't really pick up. The flowers on the umbrella are all covered with Stardust Stickles, so there's some nice sparkle to the card in real life.

All in all, a quick and easy card that challenged me to combine colors I never had before, which is the whole point of the challenge!

Thanks for looking - be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest Cupcake Inspiration Challenge!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Scattered Showers, Background Basics: Retro
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate
Paper: Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, Kraft
Other: Stardust Stickles, Crystal Dots, Adhesive Foam Dots

Fall-To Layout #57

2009-08-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today's card is a clean & simple one using Fall-to Layout #57. The Clean & Simple blog has become one of my absolute favorite blogs - their sketch style just really speaks to me and is so much less overwhelming than sketches with lots of layers and embellishments.

I cut a 3 3/8" square of PTI white cardstock and then randomly stamped a flower from PTI's In Bloom in Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate and Aqua Mist. By the way, in case anyone was wondering, I am SO happy with the new Aqua Mist formula! With the old style, I hardly ever used the ink because it would fade so much and just didn't look right. But this new stuff is awesome!!

When I was satisfied with the stamping, I cut it into nine 1 1/8" squares, which I then mounted on 1 1/4" Aqua Mist squares. I stamped a sentiment from PTI's Mixed Messages on the center square in Dark Chocolate and then adhered all the squares to the card base, which is a 4 1/4" square. Quick and easy!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #22

2009-08-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

The cupcakes this week had a mysterious and elegant feel to them, and the color scheme made me think of the Twilight book covers. So, I popped in my Twilight DVD and decided to be inspired by it!

For the main image, I of course had to use The Greeting Farm's Edward, everyone's favorite vampire! I used Copics to color him in, then painted his face and arms with Opal Shimmerz. The photo didn't pick it up, but he is perfectly sparkly, as if he were standing in the sun! I finished off the main image panel with a frame of black stones from the Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel.

Now for the background - I know spiderwebs have nothing to do with vampires, but because of the embossing on the cupcake, I knew I wanted to do some embossing on the card and I thought the Cuttlebug Spiderweb folder added to the spooky and mysterious theme! I flipped the embossed piece over, so the debossed side is actually facing out, and then traced all of the lines with a clear Sakura Stardust pen. I thought the card still needed a little something, so I just added some white SU grosgrain and a SU buckle to finish it off.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Now before I send you off to check out the other HSE Sweeties' creations, I want to extend a warm welcome to the latest Guest Sweetie, Anna Fiebelkorn. Be sure to visit her fabulous blog to see her interpretation of this week's challenge.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: The Greeting Farm's Edward
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: SU Basic Black, PTI white and Pure Poppy
Other: Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel, Cuttlebug Spiderweb folder, clear Sakura Stardust pen, Opal Shimmerz

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #21

2009-08-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

For this week's Hope Stamps Eternal's cupcake inspiration challenge, I sort of took a little creative liberty with interpreting the inspiration photo! I didn't really have any stamps that went with the theme (I was wishing I had the Fly Away set from The Greeting Farm - that would have been perfect!) so I decided to choose a few of the colors to work with instead - namely white, the aqua-ish color, and silver.

Today is my parents' 34th wedding anniversary, so I wanted to combine this challenge with a card for them. I started by using a Martha Stewart punch along the bottom of a sheet of aqua-ish paper from the Basic Grey Lemonade pack. I stuck this down on a PTI white cardstock base. The silver dragees on the "cloud" cupcakes made me think of a bunch of rhinestones, so I then adhered a Zva Creative large clear gemstone flourish on top of that. It's adhered a little higher on the card than I had planned, but I accidentally dropped it onto the card front and didn't want to run the risk of ruining that pretty paper by pulling it up to reposition it. In the top left corner, I added two white flowers from the SU pretties kit and adhered a clear gemstone from the Zva Creative Crystal Dots pack in the center. The flower embellishment was then stuck to the card front with a foam adhesive dot. To finish it off, I stamped a sentiment from PTI's Mega Mixed Messages using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

If you would like to play along, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries submitted by Saturday night will be featured on next Sunday's collage.

And don't forget to check out what the rest of the HSE Sweeties have done with this week's challenge!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI white, Basic Grey Lemonade
Other: Martha Stewart edge punch, foam adhesive dot, Zva Creative Crystal Dots, Zva Creative large clear gemstone flourish

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-08-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today is my 28th birthday. Somehow 28 seems so much older than 27, but then I say that about every year! I'm glad to be an even-numbered age though. For some reason, I just like even numbers better - just a weird quirk I guess!

Sorry about the very strange angle on this photo. I'm not quite sure what was going on when I took this photo. Maybe I thought I was being artistic or something.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite cards that I made in Texas. I've always loved brown and pink together, and I just loved both of these sets from PTI - Fancy Flourishes and the anniversary set Everyday Classics. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but I used two different sizes of flourishes here - a larger one on the Hibiscus Burst top portion and a smaller one on the Dark Chocolate lower part.

The flower, which you can see a close up of to the left, was stamped three times - twice in brown and once in pink - and different parts of the flowers were cut out and layered with foam adhesive dots. To finish the flower embellishment off, I lined all of the edges with Stardust Stickles.

Have a wonderful day!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Fancy Flourishes, Everyday Classics
Ink: Hibiscus Burst, Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI white, Hibiscus Burst, Dark Chocolate
Other: PTI Hibiscus Burst Bitty Dot ribbon, foam adhesive dots, Stardust Stickles

Life's A Beach

2009-08-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is another card from Texas that is a CASE of another card I made months ago. I just love these three ladies from the Beach Fun set by Impression Obsession. They're so cute in their big hats! I love the font in the sentiment too, also from the Beach Fun set.

The buttons are all from PTI - I just love how many different shapes, sizes, and shades come in each color pack!

Supplies
Stamps: Beach Fun by Impression Obsession
Ink: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white
Other: PTI vintage buttons in Lemon Tart, Spring Rain, and Hibiscus Burst

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #20

2009-08-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Sunday everyone!

Before I talk about this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge, I wanted to let you know about lots of fun new stuff now available in the Hope Stamps Eternal store! There are a whole bunch of new stamps from The Greeting Farm - lots of fun coloring opportunities! And you MUST check out the new stuff from Cosmo Cricket! I am in love with that Jolly by Golly paper, and that's just one of 3 new collections in the HSE store. Go check it out now!

Ok, now onto this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge. How beautiful is this cupcake?? It's a work of art! I LOVE cupcakes and I think even I would have a hard time eating this one!

I took inspiration from a few elements here - the purple, which is not a color I use often, and the butterflies. And the fondant almost looks like it's embossed, so that inspired me to use a Cuttlebug folder on the base of my card.

The butterflies were made with the Martha Stewart 3-in-1 butterfly punch and then I put two small clear gemstones from the Zva Creative Crystal Wheel along the "body" of each butterfly. Only the center of each butterfly was adhered to the card, allowing the wings to sort of float freely.

The medallion was created using paper from the English Garden collection by Marks Paper Co. I used a 1 1/4" punch to punch out a circle from one of the sheets of paper. Then I cut out the flower shape from the center of another one of the circles and mounted it slightly offset using foam adhesive dots. I curled up the edge of the flower to give it some more dimension and finished it off with a clear crystal dot from the Zva Ceative Crystal Dot multi-pack. I love the variety of sizes you get with that pack!

The last thing to note is that the main panel was stamped with the PTI set Background Basics: Text Style using silver Encore ink. I debated with myself for quite a while whether or not I should leave the panel blank or add the text, and I think I like my final decision!

If you would like to play along with this week's challenge, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage!

Now before I send you off to check out the beautiful creations from the other HSE Sweeties, I want to extend a warm welcome to Maureen Wong. She is the very first Guest Sweetie playing along with us, and I encourage you to go check out her amazing work!

Ok, now you can go and see what the rest of the team has done with this week's challenge. Enjoy!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Text Style
Ink: Silver Encore
Paper: PTI white, SU Elegant Eggplant, English Garden collection by Marks Paper Co.
Other: Zva Creative Crystal Wheel, foam adhesive dots, Martha Stewart 3-in-1 butterfly punch, Stylized Flowers Cuttlebug folder, Zva Ceative Crystal Dot, 1 1/4" circle punch

Belated Birthday

2009-08-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

My sweet friend Debbie brought me this stamp set in Texas and I couldn't wait to ink it up! One of the things I love most about PTI stamps is how so many of the images are assembly style, allowing you to stamp different parts of an image in different colors without needing to use markers. This turtle is actually 6 different stamps, but he came together so quickly.

The spots and stripe on his shell are covered with Stardust Stickles and a small black gemstone from the Zva Creative crystal wheel acts as his eye.
The strip on the background was done using the PTI set Background Basics: Retro and the circles were filled in with a white gel pen, which also was used to dot around the scallops of the oval. Since I am famously late with sending out birthday cards, this one has already gotten some use!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Pond Life, Pond Life Sentiments, Background Basics: Retro
Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado
Paper: PTI Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, white
Other: white gel pen, Zva Creative crystal wheel, Stardust Stickles, Marvy oval and scalloped oval punches, foam adhesive dots

Birthday Balloons

2009-08-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today I've got another card that I made during my trip to Texas using the PTI set Everyday Button Bits. I just love this balloon image and the pretty buttons that are acting as balloons!

The other thing I love on this card is that new SU scallop oval punch. I haven't bought anything from SU in close to a year, but I got to play with my friend Suzanne's punch in TX and I love how it layers so well with the oval punch that I already own.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits, Birthday Basics
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Ripe Avocado
Paper: PTI white, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Polka Dot Parade
Other: PTI Sweet Blush and New Leaf buttons, SU oval and scallop oval punch

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #19

2009-08-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

Sorry for the bad photo of my card this week - it took me soooo long to add all of those gemstones on and I lost most of my daylight! I'm not all that thrilled with how the card turned out, which is unfortunate, because I think I have a permanent crick in my neck from making it!

As soon as I saw this week's cupcakes, the idea of doing a gemstone rainbow came to me right away. The idea just didn't quite translate on paper the way I wanted it to! Most of the gemstones in the rainbow are from the Zva Creative crystal wheel. The variety of colors in the wheel made it so easy to create the rainbow. And even though I used a lot of each color, you get so many in the wheel, plus it's so affordable, so I didn't even hesitate to use up so many of them. The light blue and light pink were the easy part of this - they're Memory Box jewel stickers and come in an adhesive strip, so those were just pulled off the backing and stuck right on the card. SO much easier than sticking on the small ones one by one with my Quickie glue pen!

The cloud is the Marvy super jumbo scalloped oval punch and I stamped a sentiment from The Greeting Farm set called Sentiments. That was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then traced with a black Spica glitter pen. The Swiss Dots Cuttlebug background finishes it off.

If you would like to play along, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries will be featured in next week's spotlight collage. Be sure to check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for more inspiration using this challenge:

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments from The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI white, Spring Rain, SU Basic Black
Other: Memory Box jewel stickers, Zva Creative crystal wheel, Marvy super jumbo scalloped oval punch, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder

Cheers to you!

2009-08-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I just love these two cards together and am debating about making more to create a set to give to someone. I'm not sure I've ever paired Berry Sorbet with Ripe Avocado before, but I like it!

These are pretty straightforward - the only things I wanted to mention are 1. that the ribbon on the second card is more of that white twill colored with Copics and 2. that it's tough to tell in the photos, but the margaritas are rimmed with Stardust Stickles.

Supplies
Stamps: A Day at the Beach, Polka Dot Basics, Fruitful (all from PTI)
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white, Berry Sorbet, Ripe Avocado
Other: Stardust Stickles, SU scallop edge punch, 1 1/2", 1 3/4" circle punches, white twill ribbon, clear gemstones, Adhesive dots

Purple?

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

I very rarely reach for purple in my card making, but I was trying to use my trip to Texas to bust out of the rut I was in and I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out. It actually is not at all what I planned, but when I was stamping the pattern down the side, I didn't get a clear impression in the center, so that's why I need the horizontal strip to cover it up!
Supplies
Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Retro, PTI Birthday Basics
Ink: Plum Pudding
Paper: PTI white, Lavendar Moon, Plum Pudding
Other: SU scallop edge punch, paper piercing tool, flower gems from Kaiser crafts

Buttons!

2009-08-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I went to Texas for the annual LOSTie gathering and my stamping mojo was kicked into high gear! I made 20 cards in total throughout the weekend, which was highly productive for me! I'll be sharing the cards over the next week or two when I have nothing else new to share and these two cards are the first of them. I had a hard time getting going at first, but then once I started playing with the Everyday Button Bits set from PTI, the creativity just started flowing! I think this flower stem image is my favorite in the set - so fun!

All products on both of these cards are from PTI with the exception of the embroidery floss on the card below. The ribbon is PTI white twill, which I colored with Copics to match. I don't think I will ever need to buy colored twill again because the marker trick works so well!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Plum Pudding, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white, Ripe Avocado, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Plum Pudding, Polka Dot Parade
Other: PTI buttons, embroidery floss from JoAnn's, PTI white twill

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #18

2009-08-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Sunday! Before I get into the details of this week's cupcake inspiration challenge, I just wanted to remind you that today is the last day of the Hope Stamps Eternal sale. EVERY item in the store is 20% off until the end of the day, so if you haven't yet, make sure you take advantage of this fabulous bargain!

Now, onto the challenge! Isn't the cake/cupcake platter this week so cute?? I used the colors as the inspiration for my card, pulling in the light blue, green, brown, and melon. My main image is the very sweet Hello Ian from The Greeting Farm, which I colored with Copics. I also colored and cut out a second flower from the image and popped it up with an adhesive dot in the middle of my sentiment circle.

The patterned papers are both from the Daisy D's Snowflakes and Holly paper pack. Despite the name, the pack is not just for Christmas-y cards, as you can see here. So scoop up that pretty paper right now while it's on sale!

The buttons along the right are actually button brads from Imaginisce. Since I was putting them directly on the card base and didn't want the prongs to show through on the inside of the card, I just cut the prongs off with scissors and stuck them on with mini glue dots.

I think that's about it from me! If you want to play along, add a direct link to your project to Rachel's post by Saturday night using the Mr. Linky widget. She'll choose the top 5 entries to feature in next Sunday's collage. Now, before you try your hand at the challenge, make sure you check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for more amazing inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Hello Ian from The Greeting Farm, Around and About Sentiments from PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: Daisy D's Snowflakes and Holly paper pack, PTI white and Spring Rain, SU Certainly Celery
Other: adhesive dot, button brads from Imaginisce, mini glue dots, 1 14/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches

Exciting News - SALE!!!!

2009-07-31T10:46:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday everyone!! As if the fact that the weekend is upon us wasn't exciting enough, I have some awesome Hope Stamps Eternal news!

For this weekend only, starting RIGHT NOW and running through Sunday, August 2nd, ALL items, both regular and clearance, are ON SALE!!! Yup, EVERY item is 20% off!!! Who doesn't love saving money???

There is a ton of fun new stuff on the way fresh from Summer CHA, so HSE needs to make some room!! Love to color? Put those Copics or colored pencils to work with some stamps from The Greeting Farm. Want to have the latest and greatest new products? Check out what's new from Basic Grey and Inkadinako! If you've been following my blog for any time at all, you know I love to add some bling to nearly every card - check out the variety available! There are also plenty of punches (gotta love that Martha Stewart), floral embellishments, fun alterables, and lots more!

There is no code necessary, just add items to your cart as usual and the discount will automatically be calculated. And, don't forget that whenever you place an order of $100 or more (very easy to do!) you receive FREE SHIPPING!

Happy shopping!!!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #17

2009-07-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to the 17th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! The cupcakes this week just scream summer to me - aren't they fun??

My card was sort of an evolving work in progress as I made it. For quite some time I had been wanting to create some patterned paper using the Blossom Snag 'Em stamp from Imaginisce and my Copic markers. So that's what I did for this card, taking my color inspiration from the bright summery colors in the photo. I was going to use it as a background paper, but then spotted a piece of white cardstock with a hole cut out of it from another project just lying on my worktable. I thought it would be fun to have the paper I created showing through the hole and I think I like how it turned out!

I used the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder on the white piece for some fun texture and then created the border with the Martha Stewart Scallop Dot Edge Punch. Green Galore and Raspberry Fizz cardstock match the Copic colors I used and the ribbon across the pink strip is May Arts Sheer Polka Dot ribbon. The card is finished off with some bridal flowers from Michael's which were colored with Copics and embellished with Memory Box Pearl Stickers.

If you want to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post by Saturday night and she'll select the top 5 to be featured in next week's collage. Thanks for looking! Now go check out how the rest of the HSE Sweeties were inspired by this challenge:

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Blossom Snag 'Em stamp from Imaginisce
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white and Raspberry Fizz, SU Green Galore
Other: Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, May Arts Sheer Polka Dot ribbon, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot Edge Punch, Memory Box Pearl Stickers, Michael's bridal flowers

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #16

2009-07-19T09:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the 16th cupcake inspiration challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Isn't this week's inspiration photo fun??

My main source of inspiration this week was the colors in the photo, which, to me, translated to Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, and Dark Chocolate. I started off by stamping my background to sort of match the backdrop for the cupcake by stamping a few sizes of open polka dots from PTI's Polka Dot Basics to create the bullseye look. My image, from The Greeting Farm Miss Anya set, was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, which is definitely the best black ink I know of when coloring with Copics. Once Anya was all colored in, I added some Stardust Stickles to her hair bow, because every card needs some sparkle!

For the other embellishments, I colored a white Prima flower with a brown Copic and then filled in the center with White Opal Liquid Pearls. The three brads along the side are Gumdrop Glitter Brads - love those things! The sentiment strip is raised up with adhesive dots and then is paper pierced and faux-stitched with a white gel pen.

If you want to play along, make sure you add your blog or gallery link to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. Please enter the link that goes directly to your CIC project, not your blog or gallery in general. The top 5 entries will be displayed in next week's collage!

Be sure to check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for some awesome inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Anya from The Greeting Farm, PTI's Polka Dot Basics and Mixed Messages
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Fresh Snow and Dark Chocolate, Copics markers, white gel pen
Paper: PTI white, Berry Sorbet, and Aqua Mist
Other: Stardust Stickles, White Opal Liquid Pearls, Gumdrop Glitter Brads, adhesive dots

The Next Level Challenge

2009-07-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hope Stamps Eternal is very excited to be one of the sponsors for this week's challenge on The Next Level blog. I encourage you to check it out and play along, because one participant will be randomly selected to win a $25 shopping spree at the Hope Stamps Eternal store!

I'm not often one to toot my own horn, but this is one of my favorite cards that I've made in a very long time! I don't think the picture quite does it justice (for one thing, the color of the flowers look different in the photo - I swear they're a better match in real life!) but I am in love with how it looks in person!

This was a tricky challenge because it incorporated not only a sketch, but also needed to contain a 3-D element as part of the main image. I chose to use Hula Anya and popped up the flowers in her hair as my 3-D element. Take a look at this second photo to see what I did. First I colored and cut out the entire floral wreath and popped that up with pieces of foam adhesive. Then I colored and cut out another of the center flowers and popped that up as well, so in the center of the hairpiece, there are actually three layers of flowers. I love how this technique looks and how much interest it gives to a card!

Anya was colored with Copic markers and then Stardust Stickles were added to her hula skirt and to the centers of the flowers in her hair. The patterned paper is from an old SU scrapbooking kit and, using a Quickie glue pen, I adhered small clear crystals from my crystal wheel to the center of all the larger white flowers on the paper. The background paper was created using one of the small flower stamps from the Basic Grey Teapot set, which I stamped repeatedly in Versamark on Melon Berry cardstock. The flowers are from a set I got at Target ages ago, and I stuck little Memory Box pearls into the centers. The sentiment is from the Greeting Farm set called Sentiments, and the ribbon is SU white taffeta. Clear crystal dots from Zva Creative finish off the corners of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today! If you decide to try out this challenge, let me know so I can check out your creation!

Supplies
Stamps: Hula Anya, Basic Grey Teapot set, Sentiments
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, PTI Melon Berry, Versamark
Paper: PTI white and Melon Berry, SU Cool Caribbean and patterned paper
Other: foam adhesive, Stardust Stickles, Quickie glue pen, crystal wheel, Memory Box pearls, crystal dots from Zva Creative, circle Nestabilities die, SU white taffeta ribbon, SU slot punch

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #15

2009-07-12T09:15:00.001-04:00

Welcome to this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Doesn't that cupcake look delicious?? I have to admit that my finished card is not what I had pictured in my mind when I started out. I knew I wanted to use the new Lemonade paper from Basic Grey because the colors are just so delightfully summery, just like this cupcake. And I knew I wanted to use the paper with the cherries on it to go with the cherry on top of this cupcake. But then I was stuck. There are SO many fantastic papers in this collection, I couldn't decide which others I wanted to use! I was going to use one that coordinated better with the color of the cupcake wrapper, but then I decided I also wanted to use my new teapot stamp, also from Basic Grey, so I ended up choosing the other piece of paper to go with the floral design on the teapot.

The teapot was stamped with SU Cool Caribbean ink, and then I used Copic markers to color in the flowers and other elements of the teapot to match the colors in the patterned paper. Then I used a paper piercer to poke holes around the entire image and finished it off by adding small green crystals from the Zva Creative crystal wheel to each of the corners. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but I love to use the Sakura Quickie Glue Pen to adhere these small crystals. It allows me to place some glue just in the tiny spot where I need it, and it holds really well once dry.

All of the panels are mounted on SU Cool Caribbean cardstock and then the teapot panel is adhered to the card with foam adhesive dots. The twill ribbon is from Taylored Expressions.

I hope you decide to play along! If you do, make sure you add a link to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's CIC post on the Hope Stamps Eternal blog. Please make sure it's a direct link to your blog post or gallery item for this challenge, not to your blog or gallery in general. All posts received by 9pm MST next Saturday, July 18, will be entered for a chance to win the awesome HSE Sweets (aka blog candy!) pictured here. Rachel will also pick the Top 5 entries to be featured in her weekly collage. Now go and stamp, but before you do, don't forget to check out what the rest of the HSE Sweeties have done with this challenge:

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Thanks for looking - have a great day!

Supplies
Stamps: Teapot Gamma stamp (Basic Grey)
Ink: SU Cool Caribbean
Paper: PTI white, SU Cool Caribbean, Lemonade paper (Basic Grey)
Other: Zva Creative Crystal Wheel, Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Zva Creative Adhesive Dots, twill ribbon from Taylored Expressions

Slainte

2009-07-08T20:48:00.004-04:00

Today was a very exciting mail day! I got my first ever mail from Ireland! If you don't know me personally, you've probably figured out from my blog title that I LOVE anything Irish. So when Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps started previewing her newest stamp sets, release day couldn't come fast enough! If I had designed Irish/Celtic themed sets myself, I couldn't have done a better job of coming up with exactly what I wanted. I ordered the sets the very morning they went live and was so excited to see the package waiting when I got home from work today!

Here's the first card I made with my new toys, using FTL 49 from the Clean & Simple blog. The main shamrock image is from Celtic Heritage and the knotted border and the sentiment are both from Irish Blessings. Some PTI twine finished off this quick and easy card.

I've been working on going to bed early in the summer since there is no good TV on to keep me up late, so I'm off to bed. But you can bet you'll be seeing more of these new sets many many times!

Supplies
Stamps: Celtic Heritage and Irish Blessings from Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: SU Garden Green, PTI Spring Moss
Paper: PTI white and Spring Moss, SU Garden Green
Other: PTI twine

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #14

2009-07-05T07:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Aren't these cupcakes fun?! I just love the little hula penguins. While the Hula Anya stamp I used a few days ago would have worked well for this challenge, I've been itching to ink up and color my new HG Sing stamp, which I think works equally well for the challenge. She was just as much fun to color as I expected, and I took my color inspiration from the bright colors of some of the bikini tops and flowers and from the grass skirts.

I created the background papers with the Imaginisce Blossom acrylic stamp, stamping both the Berry Sorbet panel and the Spring Moss strip with corresponding inks for a slightly more subtle look. The centers of the flowers on the Spring Moss panel are dotted with Stardust Stickles. The clear stone on the center of the flower in her hair and the black stone in the flower on the circle are both from the crystal wheel that I can't seem to make a card without these days! I seriously love that thing!

I think the rest is self-explanatory, but I just wanted to note that the sentiment flag and the circle are raised up slightly on adhesive foam dots just for a little pop. Those are another item that I use on nearly every card! They are SO affordable and as I've said before, I love the flexibility of having 3 different sizes in the pack.

Want to play along? Link your creation to Rachel's post on the HSE blog before next Sunday to be included in her participant collage. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Supplies
Stamps: HG Sing, Imaginisce Blossom, PTI Around and About Sentiments
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Berry Sorbet and Spring Moss, Copic markers
Paper: SU Basic Black, PTI white, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss
Other: Stardust Stickles, Crystal wheel, foam dots, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T08:49:00.002-04:00

I don't think this photo does this card justice, but I love how it turned out in person! I completely CASE'd a card while creating this, which I don't normally do, but I knew I needed a card for the hostess of the BBQ I'm going to today, and when I saw the second card on this post by Geny Cassady, I knew it would be perfect.

I stamped the flourish in gold ink, and I love how it sort of looks like a firecracker bursting with stars exploding all around! All of the polka dot stars are popped up with foam dots (love how there are three different sizes in that one pack!) and the small punched out stars are adhered with a liquid glue pen. I added Stardust Stickles to the outlines of the polka dot stars and then scribbled the small stars with a clear Spica pen for some extra sparkle.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with the latest cupcake inspiration challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal which, incidentally, has lots of fabulous new Basic Grey products for sale, as well as Martha Stewart holiday punches available for pre-order! Go check it out!

I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday. God Bless America!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Fancy Flourishes, Everyday Classics, Vintage Picnic (for sentiment)
Ink: Encore Gold, PTI Pure Poppy, SU Brilliant Blue
Paper: PTI white, Pure Poppy, SU Brilliant Blue
Other: mini star punch, Stardust Stickles, clear Spica pen, foam dots

Hula Birthday

2009-07-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

Now that I've got a growing collection of Copic markers, I've really started to enjoy coloring again and this Hula Anya stamp was so much fun! I made this card last week though, and I'm afraid I didn't write down which Copics I used, so I won't be able to share that with you - sorry! In addition to having fun coloring Anya, I also had fun making her nice and sparkly! The picture doesn't show it, but I painted the flowers in Anya's hair with Opal Shimmerz, so they're really pretty in real life. And then of course there's the Stickles! I used Stardust Stickles on the centers of the flowers, on her bikini top, and on the yellow circle. And then I used Crystal Stickles on the lines of her hula skirt.

The strip of Spring Rain cardstock was stamped with the SU Canvas background stamp, which I haven't used in ages, but I knew I was saving it for a reason! The flower embellishment on the circle is a felt flower with a vintage button in the center, attached with embroidery floss.

Supplies
Stamps: Hula Anya, PTI Around and About Sentiments
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, PTI Hibiscus Burst
Paper: PTI white, Spring Rain, Lemon Tart, Hibiscus Burst
Other: Stardust Stickles, Crystal Stickles, Felt flower, PTI Hibiscus Burst vintage button, embroidery floss, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circles punches

Clear Cardstock

2009-06-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

I rarely use clear cardstock. No real reason, just don't think of it often. But I had the idea for this card a week or two ago and thought I'd try it out. Now, this finished card is not exactly what I had envisioned. In my mind, there were going to be white polka dots stamped on the clear base to make it stand out. In theory, this was a great idea. In reality, I made a HUGE mess!! The stamp kept slipping on the acetate so that it looked more like raindrops than polka dots. And the ink would NOT dry, even after being hit with a heat gun AND being left to sit overnight. One touch of my finger and white ink smeared everywhere. Needless to say, that was not the look I was going for, so that first base went in the trash and I was forced to keep it plain.

Other than that mishap, I like how this turned out, and it's pretty close to what I first pictured. I used PTI's new set Cupcake Collection to build the cupcake image and for the sentiment as well. I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder for the background (which would have looked nice against the white polka dots *sigh*) and adhered that to the clear base. I then stuck a plain piece of white cardstock cut to the same size to the inside of the card, so that the adhesive on the yellow didn't show through. The gemstones on the sentiment strip are from that crystal wheel I keep turning to. I used my Marvy punches to create a frame for the main image and poked holes in each scallop with a paper piercer. The star on the candle and the frosting on the cupcake are coated with yellow Stickles. To adhere the oval piece to the card, I used foam dimensionals to pop it up off the card base a bit.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Cupcake Collection
Ink: PTI Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart
Paper: PTI Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, white, clear cardstock
Other: Swiss Dots cb folder, Crystal wheel, Yellow Stickles, paper piercing tool, Marvy mega oval and giga scalloped oval punched

HSE Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #13

2009-06-28T16:52:00.006-04:00

Welcome to another Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration Challenge! Aren't these cupcakes gorgeous?? I just love those butterflies and the colors are so bright and happy.

Speaking of happy, after having cloudy, rainy weather for 22 out of the last 27 days, we finally had beautiful weather this weekend! I've been in such a good mood! Because I spent much of the last 2 days soaking in the sun, my card for this week's CIC is a quick clean & simple one, which suits me just fine anyway! I used the Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Butterfly Punch to punch 4 large butterflies out of Chocolate Chip cardstock and 4 smaller butterflies out of cardstock colors that coordinate with the butterflies on the cupcakes. I then adhered the smaller ones to the larger ones, dotted the edges with a white gel pen to mimic the non pereils on the candy butterflies, and then coated the smaller punchouts with Stardust Stickles.

It's a little tough to see in the photo, but I used the PTI set Background Basics: Text Style on the strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock before adhering the white squares and the butterflies on top of that. I used mini glue dots to adhere the butterflies, using one dot just in the middle of each butterfly, so that their wings are free and slightly lifted for some dimension.

If you want to play along, be sure to link your creation to Rachel's post for inclusion in next week's collage!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Text Style, Verve Stamps Petals & Stems (for sentiment)
Ink: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI white, Spring Rain, Hibiscus Burst, Melon Berry, and New Leaf, SU Chocolate Chip
Other: 3/4" square punch, Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Butterfly Punch, white gel pen, Stardust Stickles, mini glue dots

Exciting News!!!

2009-06-26T03:47:00.003-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join the Hope Stamps Eternal Design Team!! I'm so proud to be representing the HSE store. You'll find a fabulous variety of products there and the customer service couldn't be better. And I'm not just saying that as a DT member - I've been a customer since the store first opened!

Rachel, the owner of Hope Stamps Eternal, has assembled a very talented team of ladies who I am very humbled to be working with! Be sure to visit all of their blogs below:

Bonnie Sharp
Carolina Buchting
Colleen Wold
Kelli Caslow
Michelle Woerner - DT Coordinator
Natalie Dever
Tammy Hershberger

Thank you for joining me for this exciting news! I look forward to showcasing all that HSE has to offer!

PTI June Blog Hop

2009-06-25T18:52:00.007-04:00

It's time for another Papertrey Ink blog hop! The theme this month is summer - we were to draw inspiration from something that reminded us of summer - food, clothing patterns, photographs, etc. I chose to use this picture that I took a few weeks ago when I was visiting my parents in the town where I grew up. These beautiful dunes line the parking lot and the walkway to the beach and I just love the colors of those flowers (click the photo for a closer look). The day I took this photo, my mom and I went to the beach for a breakfast picnic, so I used two images from the new PTI set Vintage Picnic - the picnic basket, and one of the sets of flowers.

I had a terrible time trying to get a photo of this card, but just know that in real life, the color of the flowers, the polka dot paper, and the felt flower all match beautifully! The flowers and basket were colored with Copics and I cut out the basket and mounted it over the flowers for a little dimension. The entire scalloped circle was then popped up on foam adhesive dots for even more pop. For the flower embellishment, I thread some embroidery floss through a vintage button and the felt flower to tie in all the main colors.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Vintage Picnic (images and sentiment)
Ink: Palette Noir, PTI Raspberry Fizz, G14, G28, RV17, RV19, E55, and E57 Copic markers
Paper: PTI white and Aqua Mist cardstock, PTI Raspberry Fizz Bitty Dot Basics
Other: Marvy mega circle punch, giga scallop circle punch, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot Edge Punch, PTI Aqua Mist Swiss Dot ribbon, clear gemstones from crystal wheel, PTI vintage button (white & cream collection), DMC embroidery floss #964, felt floral embellishment

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #12

2009-06-21T16:17:00.003-04:00

Aren't the cupcakes for this week's Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration Challenge just beautiful?! I love the fancy wrappers!

As soon as I saw this week's inspiration photo, I immediately knew I wanted to use some of the bridal flowers from Michael's. I guess great minds think alike, because then I saw that Rachel had the same idea! I used Copics - Y11, R02, and RV93 - to color a few flowers and then left one white for the middle. I added white pearls to the center of the flowers because for some reason, I can't ever leave the centers of flowers alone! Plus I thought they went well since the flowers on the cupcakes had white centers too.

The cupcake wrappers immediately reminded me of the textile Cuttlebug folder, so I used that for the background and then used a scallop circle Nestabilities die to punch out a circle and create a frame for the flowers.

When I started off making the card, I didn't know what kind of card it would turn into, but I thought the pretty elegance might work nicely for a sympathy card and that's one type of card I never have enough of on hand. I don't know why, but to me butterflies seem to go so nicely on a sympathy card, so I added a tiny butterfly made with the Martha Stewart 3-in-1 butterfly punch and covered it with Stardust Stickles for some nice sparkle.

If you want to play along, make sure you add a link to your creation to Rachel's post to be included in next Sunday's collage. And there are still a few more days left to apply for the new Hope Stamps Eternal Design Team, so check out all the information on that here!

Got Margaritas?

2009-06-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is just a quick little card I made yesterday to help get me stamping again. I LOVE margaritas, so I was extremely excited when PTI came out with their Day at the Beach stamp set last month. It has the margarita outline with a separate stamp for the inside so you can customize your margaritas to be any flavor you want!

Not much to note here, just that I covered the rims with Dazzling Diamonds Stickles to give a sparkly salted look. Otherwise I kept it clean and simple because that's the style that seems to work best for me.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's A Day at the Beach, sentiment from Impression Obsession
Ink: Palette Noir, SU Certainly Celery, PTI Melon Berry and Hibiscus Burst
Paper: PTI white and Hibiscus Burst
Other: Dazzling Diamonds Stickles, Melon Berry Bitty Dot Ribbon, foam dimensionals

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #11

2009-06-14T16:43:00.006-04:00

I have finally gotten somewhat out of my slump and actually made two cards today! One was for the Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.

This is a different sort of cupcake from the soft, springy ones that Rachel often selects, so it took me a little bit of thinking to pull something together, but that's the purpose of a 'challenge' I guess!

As you can see, I actually did very little stamping on my card. I pulled out my crimper, which has not been used in years, to crimp some PTI Pure Poppy paper to mimic the cupcake liner. Then I used some of the gemstones from the Zva Creative crystal wheel from the Hope Stamps Eternal store to create a row of red, black, and clear bling. A strip of PTI Bitty Dot paper and a Greeting Farm sentiment from Hope Stamps Eternal finished off the card.

If you want to play along, make sure you link your card to Rachel's post to be included in her participant collage next Sunday.

Also, Rachel has put out a design team call for the HSE store. For more information, visit her post here, and visit here for a chance at an adorable cupcake set from Elzybells. The deadline is tomorrow night, so go enter now!

Flourished Birthday

2009-06-14T00:18:00.003-04:00

I spent a bunch of time today trying to slim down my stamping collection and pull things together to sell on ebay. You might have noticed that my blogging has been nonexistent, and that's because my stamping time has been nonexistent. I've been going through quite a creative slump, and I think it might be because I have too much stuff and get overwhelmed. So, while I was taking pictures of all the items to sell, I found this card that I have not yet shared sitting on my camera's memory card.

This was a quick and easy birthday card for a friend (though the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment is tough to see here). It's pretty self-explanatory, though I wanted to mention that the flourish and the flower are traced with a clear spica glitter pen, which never shows up in photos. Also, I stamped the flower image twice and cut out the center of one of them so I could layer it with a dimensional to give a bit of a 3D look to the flower.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Fancy Flourishes, Everyday Classics, Birthday Basics
Ink: PTI's Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist
Paper: PTI white, Aqua Mist
Other: foam dimensionals, clear spica glitter pen, clear gemstones from Hope Stamps Eternal, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot border punch, also from Hope Stamps Eternal

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #8

2009-05-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

With tomorrow being Memorial Day, this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge at Hope Stamps Eternal is just perfect!

90% of the time, I make the standard A2 size card. Occasionally I'll mix it up with a 4.25" square, but I tend to get stuck in a rut. So today I thought I'd do something different and I made this card that's 8.5" x 3.5". It fits in a standard #9 or #10 business envelope, so it's not difficult to mail.

I happened to have a bunch of leftover stars that I had stamped and cut out for another project, so this was the perfect chance to use them! The stars are from the PTI anniversary set Everyday Classics. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the red stars are popped up with dimensionals just to give the card a little something extra.

The ribbon is white twill that I colored with a copic marker (B29) and I tied some red embroidery floss through the ribbon to tie in the color scheme. The sentiment is from Verve and the little blue gems are from this awesome crystal wheel from Hope Stamps Eternal. I love having the right color gem for any project I'm working on, all stored in one little container!

If you want to play along, upload your creation to Rachel's post by next Saturday evening to be included in her collage on Sunday!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Classics, Verve Floral Whimsy
Ink: SU Brilliant Blue, PTI Pure Poppy, Copic Sketch B29
Paper: PTI white, Pure Poppy, SU Brilliant Blue
Other: foam dimensionals, Zva Creative crystals from Hope Stamps Eternal, PTI white button, PTI white twill ribbon, embroidery floss from Joann's

Gift Bag Inspiration

2009-05-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

One of my friends that recently had a baby has a jungle/safari theme for her son's nursery, so for her shower, I bought wooden jungle animal cut-outs for the walls. When he was born, I stuck with that theme and found the most adorable little outfit with a lion on the bib and on the back of the pants. So when I saw this gift bag in Target, I knew I had to get it. The colors are so fun and bright, plus the bag was glittered, though that doesn't show up in the photo.

Since I'm a big fan of themes and matching stuff, I wanted to make a card that fit the gift bag and what you see here is what I came up with. I used the colors from the bag as my color scheme for the card and used the only safari animal stamp I own - the elephant from Bitty Baby Blessings. Some of the animals on the bag are polka dotted, so I mimicked that with the background as well as the polka dot paper I used to paper piece the elephant. And of course I had to draw in the glitter somehow, so the edge of the turquoise circle framing the sentiment is covered with turquoise Stickles. I think the card and bag look so cute together and am really pleased with how it came out!

Here's a closeup of the card so you can see the paper piecing and sparkle a little better.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Bitty Baby Blessings, Polka Dot Basics
Ink: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Palette Noir
Paper: PTI white, SU Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive, SU Turquoise Prints patterned paper
Other: SU circle punches, foam dimensionals, turquoise Stickles, PTI Summer Sunrise twill ribbon

PTI Birthday Card

2009-05-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

I haven't been doing a whole lot of stamping lately, but I found this card stored on my camera and realized I never shared it. I made this for my friend Rachel's birthday and drew my color inspiration from two of her favorite colors - purple and green.

It's a little bit difficult to see in the photo, but the various flowers from PTI's Life set are heat embossed with a pale lavendar embossing powder from SU that I've had for years. When I first learned about heat embossing, I thought it was the greatest technique ever and stocked up on quite a pit of powder, but for some reason (probably laziness) I hardly ever heat emboss anymore.

Anyway, the circles along the side are punched out from SU Almost Amethyst cardstock and then I added the black dot embellishments to the centers. Then I traced around the black dots with Stardust Stickles for the obligatory sparkle! The circle at the top was done with a larger circle punch and then twill was threaded through a PTI True Black button.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Life, Birthday Basics
Ink: Versamark, Palette Noir
Paper: PTI white, Spring Moss, SU Almost Amethyst, Basic Black
Other: Stardust Stickles, SU circle punches, SU embossing powder, dot embellishments from Joann's, PTI True Black button, PTI Spring Moss twill

Lauren Meader-inspired card organizer

2009-05-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

I made this project a couple of weeks ago and am so happy with how it turned out, but for some reason I just kept forgetting to share it here! This card organizer was inspired by this project from Lauren Meader, creator of the My Timeless Templates I used here. Lauren is one of my stamping idols and I fell in love with her project right away. I knew I could never hope to make something quite as awesome as hers, but I had to try anyway!

This organizer uses two of Lauren's templates, available for only $5 each from PTI. The base is a portion of the Filed with Flair templates and the organizer boxes themselves are from All Boxed Up. I love making non-card creations but just don't have the creativity or patience to try and figure out something like this myself. So I'm thrilled to have the templates to play with and they really are so easy to put together and personalize however you want!

I really love this color combo - Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, and Spring Moss - and love how they look in the patterned paper I created with Guide Lines II. Each of the boxes are stamped along the binding with a sentiment that represents the category of cards I could store in there. I think this would also be a fun gift to give someone, filled with a bunch of cards they can send out as needed. The boxes admittedly don't fit very many embellished cards in each, but quite a few one or two layer cards without bulky ribbon or buttons could be presented or stored this way.

I took pictures from a few different angles so you could see what all of the sides look like. I was going to leave the back blank, but Lauren is always saying that you should make your project look good from all angles, so I added an extra strip of the patterned paper to the back. And she's right - much better that way!

I just love how fresh and springy this is! In retrospect, I probably should have chosen colors that go with the walls of my stamp room (a deep brick red) but oh well, I think it's so pretty anyway! Hope you like it!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Guide Lines II, Everyday Classics (for sentiments)
Ink: PTI's Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Pallette Noir
Paper: PTI's white, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet
Other: Berry Sorbet saddle stitched ribbon, Filed with Flair and All Boxed Up My Timeless Templates

My First Digital Image

2009-05-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

I've never ventured into the world of digital images before, but my evil enabler friend Colleen showed me this image from the Digi Shack and I had to have her! Partly because I want to be this girl right now, relaxing somewhere tropical with a pina colada in my hand! And partly because she just looked like she would be so much fun to color! When I was little my favorite coloring books were my Barbie ones, because I loved to color her outfits and hair in pretty, girly ways. So I had a blast with this image!

One of the nice things about digital images is that you can resize many of them to whatever size you need. I did decrease the size of this one before printing it, but didn't really make it quite small enough, so she rather overpowers this card. But, not one to waste cardstock and ink, I decided to use her anyway. I have a feeling I'll be coloring lots more of this image in the future. I just love her!

One cool thing I wanted to mention is that I custom-colored that twill ribbon to match the Cool Caribbean mat behind my image. I used a Copic marker, BG13, to color white twill and I am SO happy with how it turned out! It soaked up immediately, so I didn't have to wait any time at all for it to dry, and it really saturated the twill so nicely. I will definitely be doing this a lot more now that I've seen how well it works!

Supplies
Stamps: None! Image is Lani Palm Leaf from the Digi Shack
Ink: Copic markers - RV11, RV13, RV14, R20, YG63, YG67, BG13, E00, E55, E57
Paper: PTI white, SU Cool Caribbean, patterned paper from PTI Friends til the End collection
Other: PTI white twill ribbon, pink gemstones, dew drop, foam dimensionals

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #7

2009-05-17T12:02:00.005-04:00

It's Sunday, which means it's time for another Hope Stamps Eternal Cupcake Challenge!

That photo on the left was the inspiration for this week's challenge - aren't those cupcakes so much fun?! I'd love to eat a dozen of them!

Before I go into any explanation of my card, let me apologize for the shadowy photo. It's a gray cloudy day and after taking 8-10 pictures from all different angles, this was the best I could come up with!

My card did not at all end up how I had originally planned it. I was going to do a polka dot background. Then I added polka dots in these colors to bridal flowers and was going to use those. Then I remembered the PTI anniversary set has a polka dot cupcake in it, so I reached for that and my card sort of morphed into what you see here. One of the things I love most about PTI is that their stamps are so user friendly. This cupcake image comes in three parts - the wrapper, the cupcake top, and the cherry - which makes it so easy to customize your colors without needing to use markers or inking only part of the stamp. Not much else to note here, except look at that gorgeous textured button from PTI! I love their vintage button collections!

If you want to try out this challenge, link your creation to Rachel's post here to be included in next week's collage! Have fun!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Classics
Ink: SU Gable Green, PTI Aqua Mist and Pure Poppy
Paper: PTI white, Aqua Mist, SU Gable Green
Other: SU scallop edge punch, paper piercing tool, PTI Aqua Mist button, PTI Pure Poppy twill

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T17:36:00.003-04:00

This is the card I made for my mom for Mother's Day this year. I think it's pretty and girly, though I wish I'd cut the pink panel a little smaller so there wasn't so much empty space. I of course didn't come to that realization until everything was adhered, so too late!

I used my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder to emboss the card base and my SU scallop edge punch along the pink strip on the right. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, though I do want to add that the flourishy sentiment was traced with a black glitter pen, so it's nice and sparkly in person even though it doesn't show up here.

My parents come down today for a quick visit and it was so nice to have them here. The honeymoon period in my new condo has not worn off and I am still so happy to be here every day and so thrilled to finally have a place where I can have family and friends over. I love to cook and bake for people and to play hostess, so this has been a dream come true!

I planned a great menu if I do say so myself! When my parents arrived, I had a homemade spinach and artichoke dip and some cheese and crackers waiting for them. Then the first course was this delicious crab and avocado salad. It was so refreshing with such bright flavors. The main meal was a slightly healthified twist on my friend Suzanne's Imperial Chicken - a fabulous butter and garlic soaked chicken breast that is then dredged in parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and baked. Mmm! I served that with an orzo salad that my dad said was a definite keeper and some green beans sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. And for dessert I made Ina Garten's lemon cake, though I left off the glaze and drizzled each serving with a strawberry coulis (scroll to the bottom of that page for the coulis recipe) instead. Everything was fantastic!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #5

2009-05-09T10:37:00.005-04:00

It's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Isn't this week's cupcake gorgeous?! So pretty and elegant. I'm a little short on time today so I went with a quick little 4.25" x 4.25" card. I loved the script in the background behind the cupcake, so I used my SU French Script background stamp and heat embossed it in gold onto PTI white cardstock. The Certainly Celery strip was embossed with one of the cuttlebug border folders and the flower is just one that I had in my stash. Not quite the right kind of flower, but I thought the color was perfect! A black gemstone from Making Memories finished off the card and that's that! If you want to play along, link your creation back to Rachel's post by tonight to be included in her collage tomorrow!

And now I need to get busy - my parents are coming to visit tomorrow for Mother's Day, so my agenda today is packed with cleaning, grocery shopping, and cooking/baking!

Have a great day!

HSE Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #4

2009-05-02T17:34:00.003-04:00

This cupcake picture was the inspiration for Cupcake Challenge #4 over at the Hope Stamps Eternal blog. I love the fun bright colors, though they're a little outside of my normal color range. I used the scalloped fondant, as well as the colors, as my inspiration, cutting scalloped circles with my SU punch. Once I did that and arranged them on my card front, I got a little stuck on where to go next. I thought about adding letters or something like that to the scallops, but I didn't want it to turn into a kid card since I never make cards for kids and wouldn't have a use for it. So, when in doubt, bling is the answer! I didn't have gemstones in red or purple, so I used my copic markers to color clear gemstones. That worked fine, but I think I need to pick up some of these very soon - how awesome is that to have all the different colors in one convenient place?!

Rachel will be posting a new cupcake challenge tomorrow, but that doesn't mean you can't try this one too! If you try it tonight, add a link to Rachel's post for this challenge and you'll be included in her collage tomorrow. Or upload it to SCS or Paper Craft Planet using CIC4 any time!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Palette Noir, R29 and V17 copic markers
Paper: PTI white, SU Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, YoYo Yellow, Lovely Lilac, Green Galore, Real Red, Pixie Pink
Other: Memory Box jewel stickers in Petal Pink and Deep Lagoon, Kaiser Craft gemstones, K&Company gemstones

Mission Not Accomplished

2009-04-26T19:19:00.002-04:00

Well, I made it 25 days into the month of April without skipping a single day of posting a project. But today, April 26, I'm failing my mission. It has been the most perfect weekend with gorgeous weather and lots of relaxation outdoors, so I haven't stamped a thing. The Red Sox game is on in less than 45 minutes and I need to whip up something for dinner before it starts. So no card today, sorry! I'm a little disappointed not to have completed the full month of posting, but the wonderful weekend I've had has made it worth it!

Hope your weekend was equally great!

Go Red Sox!

You Make Me Happy

2009-04-25T14:04:00.003-04:00

My blog post today was supposed to be for the PTI Blog Hop, but the theme this month is to make something with one of Lauren Meader's My Timeless Templates. I bought one of the templates and planned to participate, but since that takes longer to do than a card, I never got a chance to make something this week. I was hoping to make something today, but quite frankly, it's just too nice out to be indoors! I've spent most of my morning and early afternoon outside and as soon as I'm done posting this, I'm heading back out!

So, all of that to say - this is another card from the archives that I made about two years ago. I thought the bright beachy theme is perfect for today!

Supplies
Stamps: ProvoCraft Summer Party, sentiment from SU, background from SU's Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Gable Green, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Real Red, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: umbrella brads

Enjoy Your Day!

2009-04-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday!! I thought this week would never end, but finally the weekend is just about here! I did stamp last night, but nothing I can share yet, so I've got another card from the archives to show you. I made this card a little over a year ago for a sketch challenge, though I couldn't for the life of me tell you where the challenge came from! I pretty much never make cards of this size and shape, but I think it was a fun departure from the normal A2 size and perhaps something I should try more often!

Supplies
Stamps: SU Riveting
Ink: SU Rose Red
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, SU Prints patterned paper in Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red
Other: SU circle punches and scallop circle punch, Marvy circle punch and scallop circle punch, foam dimensionals, gemstones

Ladybug Lily

2009-04-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Typically, this type of image is not my style. I don't own many stamps that require coloring and I'm not often drawn to "cute" stamps. But I think these Lily images by Pink Cat Studio are SO cute! And, now that I've amassed a collection of Copic markers, I enjoy coloring a whole lot more!

This little ladybug Lily is just too sweet and I love coloring her. The photo didn't really pick it up, but all of the black spots are colored with a black spica glitter pen and Lily's headband and earrings are colored with a clear spica pen so there's some nice sparkle to this!

I've colored a bunch of other Lily images as well, so you'll be seeing more of her in the next few weeks as I turn them into cards!

Supplies
Stamps: Enchanted Lily by Pink Cat Studio
Ink: Copic markers (sorry, I never remember to keep track of which ones I used!)
Paper: Pure Poppy, PTI white, Basic Black
Other: 3/4" circle punch, PTI True Black button, Pure Poppy twill, Pure Poppy and True Black swiss dot satin ribbon, spica glitter pens

Birthday Cupcakes

2009-04-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

While organizing some of my photos, I came across this card that I made a few months ago but never shared. It reminded me that I am seriously neglecting my cuttlebug border folders, as I think this card was the last one I used them on! Maybe my resolution for May should be to use a never-used or long-neglected item on every card I make...!

Supplies
Stamps: Inky Antics cupcake stamp for background, sentiment from PTI birthday basics
Ink: SU Rose Red, PTI Fresh Snow
Paper: Rose Red, PTI white
Other: word window punch, cuttlebug border folders, clear spica pen (the cherries are dotted with it)

From the Archives

2009-04-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

When I started this "post every day" resolution, the intention was to get me stamping a lot more. And so far, it's worked. Except today. I sat down to stamp last night and ended up playing with my Copics and some adorable Lily images from Pink Cat Studio that my friend Colleen sent to me. I apparently had too much fun coloring, so I never actually got a full card made! So off to my computer archives I went to find a card that's not new, but new to my blog.

I made this card about two years ago for my friend Jenn's birthday and she told me recently that it's her favorite card I've ever made for her. She has a beach day for her birthday every year, so this card was just perfect for the occasion!

Here in Connecticut we had a beautiful weekend, but then the temps dipped by about 30 degrees and it was a gray and rainy day. So I thought this was a fun card to brighten things up a bit! I pretty much live at the beach during the summer, so Beachabella remains one of my favorite stamps ever and I can't wait for beach season to arrive!

Supplies
Stamps: Beachabella image and birthday sentiment from Stamping Bella
Ink: Black Staz-on, SU Green Galore, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa
Paper: SU white, Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore, patterned paper from TAC
Other: SU grosgrain, white gel pen (for polka dots on bikini), ticket corner punch

Scattered Showers Birthday

2009-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's card is completely CASE'd from a card made by Nichole Heady during the most recent Papertrey Ink release countdown. I fell in love with her card (scroll down in that post to see it) and had to order the set so I could replicate the idea!

I stamped the umbrella in Fresh Snow ink and then heat embossed it with white embossing powder because I didn't want to wait for the white ink to dry. After attaching the ribbon, I adhered the Aqua Mist piece to the card base and used a craft knife and my paper snips to cut out the umbrella.

To do the peek-through sentiments (see the inside photo below) I arranged a number of the sentiments from Birthday Basics on an acrylic block. I traced through the umbrella window so I'd know where to put the sentiment and I also put post-its on either side of the stamping area so that I could have a neat sentiment block on the inside. With the sentiments being different lenths, had I not used the post-its there would have been a raggedy bunch of uneven
sentiment lines. I don't usually do anything on the insides of my cards, but since I have the sentiment block going on, I decided to add a strip of polka dotted patterned paper to finish it off. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out - just a fun and springy birthday card!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Scattered Showers and Birthday Basics
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Fresh Snow
Paper: PTI white, Aqua Mist, Bitty Dot Basics
Other: clear gemstones, white embossing powder, Berry Sorbet swiss dot satin ribbon, SU scallop border punch

HSE Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #3

2009-04-19T07:05:00.001-04:00

I haven't gotten a chance yet to do the second cupcake inspiration challenge over at the Hope Stamps Eternal blog, but couldn't resist diving in to challenge number 3! As soon as I saw these delicious cupcakes pictured on the left, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for my card. I decided to use my Nestabilities to make a clamshell card, mimicking the round shape of the cupcakes, and ended up with a card that measures 4" x 3.75".

As you can see, there's actually very little stamping on the card - I used two different SU flower punches to decorate my "cupcake" and embellished the centers with black gem stickers by Making Memories. The butterfly was created with a Martha Stewart punch and then covered with Stardust Stickles for lots of pretty sparkle. I seriously don't know what I did before I discovered Stickles - they're the best thing ever and I use them ALL the time!

The flowers were adhered with mini glue dots and to adhere the butterfly I cut off a small piece of a foam dimensional to make it pop up a little above the flowers. I finished off the card with a sentiment from the PTI set Mega Mixed Messages.

If you try out this challenge, be sure to link your creation to the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge post on Rachel's blog. If you link by next Sunday, you'll be included in the participant collage on her blog! And if you post your creation to SCS or Paper Craft Planet, please use keyword CIC3.

Have a great day!

Another Baby Card

2009-04-18T10:02:00.003-04:00

I guess I'm at that stage in my life where I better get used to everyone around me having babies! Right now I've got 5 friends who are either pregnant or who have had a baby in the last few weeks!

For today's card, I focused on the duck image from PTI's Bitty Baby Blessings. I stamped one large duck and seven small ducks onto PTI's Lemon Tart Bitty Dot paper using Palette Noir ink and then cut them all out. The large duck is popped up with dimensionals onto the punched out circles (punched with SU circle and scalloped circle punches) and PTI's Spring Rain swiss dot satin ribbon is the little backdrop for the scalloped piece. The sentiment is from the same stamp set. And that's about it!

I've run out of pre-posted projects for my blog, which means I better do some stamping this weekend so I can keep up with my "post every day" resolution! I'll be back tomorrow with something new to share!

Baby Shower Inspiration Challenge

2009-04-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

For the card I'm sharing today, I made my own little inspiration challenge. I needed to make a card to include with the gift for my friend's baby shower and I decided to use the invitation as the inspiration for my card. The result was something that I wouldn't typically come up with for a baby shower, but I think it works!

The first picture is the card, which of course uses almost exclusively PTI supplies! The "bow" is made with patterned paper because I wanted it to match the top of the baby carriage and my only black polka dot ribbon has much bigger dots and just wasn't working right.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Bitty Baby Blessings, Polka Dot Basics
Ink: Palette Noir, PTI Lemon Tart, SU Certainly Celery
Paper: PTI white, Bitty Dot Basics patterned paper
Other: clear gemstones

And now here's the original invitation that I based the card on. (It obviously did not arrive with the black stripes across it, I was just trying to protect the privacy of my friend and the shower hostess, so imagine it without the black lines!) I had wanted to try to mimic the shade of yellow with the polka dots over it that you see on the bottom of the invitation, but it just wasn't coming out right after a number of attempts. So I had to settle on the polka dots stamped directly on the white that you see in my card above.

Thanks for stopping by today!

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #13 - Stacy

2009-04-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

This card, which is the last of my spring kit creations, was made with the kit provided by Stacy.

Not much to explain about this one, so just check out my supply list for information. To see all the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK8 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Pretty Bird from Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Palette Noir, PTI Fresh Snow (for edges of sentiment panel)
Paper: patterned paper from 3 Bugs in a Rug Happy Bird-day collection
Other: Ocean Tides stitched ribbon from PTI, Marvy oval and scalloped oval punched, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #12 - Barb

2009-04-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's card was made with Barb's kit. You'd never guess based on its simplicity, but this card took me quite a while to finish. Once it was done though, I was pleased with how it turned out. I was also happy that I thought to use my much-neglected Nestabilities to cut and emboss the main image panels. Everything else is pretty straightforward, though I just wanted to mention the Sizzix swirl, which I coated with Stardust Stickles. That is such a great and easy way to add lots of sparkle to the card without the mess of loose glitter! Also, the bird and leaves are all traced with a clear spica glitter pen, which wasn't picked up by the camera.

To see all the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK12 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Birds Galore by Inkadinkadoo
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: from Bazzill, SU, and EK Success
Other: Vines die by Sizzix, Stardust Stickles, foam dimensionals, True Black twill ribbon by PTI, Nestabilities cutting and embossing dies, black self-adhesive dots from Joann's $1 spot

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #11 - Tammi

2009-04-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

This card was made with Tammi's kit. It's pretty straightforward, but I'm happy with how clean and simple it turned out. The two designs of patterned paper are shimmery in real life so that adds a little kick when you see it in person.

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK4 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Riley from Whipper Snapper
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: PTI white, SU Lavendar Lace, patterned paper from Reminisce
Other: dew drops, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #10 - Edie

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

This card was made with Edie's card kit. Sorry the picture's a little dark - it was a taken on a cloudy day and the weather really does affect how photos come out!

Overall I'm fairly happy with how this card came out, but there are two things I'm not thrilled with. The first is my apparent inability to paper pierce in a straight line, even with a template! My pierced lines started to slant up as I went across the card and I didn't notice it until I was almost at the end. Ooops! The second thing is the ribbon slide. I had what I thought was a great idea to create a faux ribbon using a very slim strip of New Leaf cardstock to cover up where the two papers meet and thought the ribbon slide would provide a nice compliment to the brad since they're both from the same Hodgepodge hardware kit. But, once everything was adhered and done, I decided it looks a little weird I think. Oh well!

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK2 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Tags for Spring, and Mixed Messages, both from PTI
Ink: Rouge Colorbox chalk ink, SU Garden Green
Paper: PTI white, New Leaf, patterned paper from Making Memories
Other: Stardust Stickles, foam dimensionals, Stylized Silver Hodgepodge hardware, paper piercing tool, Marvy circle and scalloped circle punches

Happy Easter wishes and Card Kit #9

2009-04-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter! I hope you and your families have a wonderful day!

My card today was made with the kit provided by Cindy, who was the hostess for this swap. I LOVE the paper that Cindy chose for her kit. The pattern is so fresh and springy and I just adore the color combo. So pretty! I love the little bunnies hanging out in the basket together too. I'm giving this card to my parents today.

I just wanted to mention that there is a flower stamped repeatedly in Versamark on the pink panel that wasn't picked up very well by the camera. I felt like that space really need something and in person, that flower is just the right touch.

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK1 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms, SU Simply Said (for pink panel)
Ink: Palette Noir, Copic markers, Versamark
Paper: Black, SU Cool Caribbean and Pretty in Pink, patterned paper is Alissa from BoBunny
Other: white gel pen, Marvy circle and scallop circles punches, PTI True Black buttons, embroidery floss, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #8 - Rachel

2009-04-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's card is from Rachel's kit. I really love this paper from Imaginisce and thought the images Rachel chose went perfectly with it.

I like how this card turned out, but I'm a little disappointed with the color of the gemstones I put on the little tabs. When I held them up next to the card it looked like they'd be a good match for the ribbon. However, once I adhered them I realized they're really a completely different shade, but by that point of course it was too late.

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK3 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: main image is made up of Chickie and Easter Basket stamps from Whiff of Joy, sentiment is from Elzybells
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: SU Apricot Appeal and Regal Rose, patterned paper is Tiptoe Thru the Tulips by Imaginisce
Other: SU Word Window punch, Kaiser gemstones, Hibiscus Burst twill ribbon from PTI, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #7 - Debbie

2009-04-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

This card was made with the kit provided by Debbie. With such a large main image, I struggled with how to do the layout of this card without completely covering the beautiful patterned paper she included, but I think I came up with a workable design in the end!

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK14 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: image is from Whipper Snapper, sentiment is from PTI's Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Brilliance black ink, Copic markers, SU Chocolate Chip
Paper: Georgia Pacific white, SU Always Artichoke and So Saffron, patterned paper from K&Co
Other: clear gemstones, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #6 - Jeannie

2009-04-09T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today I've got the card I made with Jeannie's card kit. This was probably the most difficult of the kits for me. I'm not sure why, I just really struggled with the layout and colors for some reason.

Not much to say about this one, except that I wanted to point out that the buttons are actually button brads! They've already got thread stitched through the holes and I like that since they're brads, they're very secure and I don't have to worry about any adhesive coming loose and the brads falling off of my card.

To see the rest of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK5 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Egg Craft by Penny Black
Ink: SU and Copic markers
Paper: SU Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, and Pink Pirouette, patterned paper is Bella Rose from SU
Other: Imaginisce Stitchin' Button Brads, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #5 - Laura

2009-04-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's card was made with Laura's kit. It took me a little while to pull this one together, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Laura had provided us with a few strips of cardstock stamped with different patterns - I used two (the Apricot Appeal and Perfect Plum strips) as is, and the third, the Blush Blossom strip, I decided to turn into a decorated egg shell. Laura sent more than one stamped image, so I cut the shell off of one of them, traced it onto the Blush Blossom strip, and cut it out and mounted it on the main image with foam dimensionals. The egg shell is finished off with a few adhesive pearls. The only other thing I wanted to mention was the white gel pen - I used that on the scallops, the flower centers on the Perfect Plum strip, and randomly on the background. I think those little touches add a lot and make the card pop a little more.

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK10 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: image andegg/strip patterns are from A Good Egg by SU, background was made using PTI's Background Basics: Retro
Ink: SU Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Sage Shadow, and Pretty in Pink
Paper: SU Sage Shadow, Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Other: PTI Ocean Tides twill ribbon, white gel pen, Marvy oval and scallop oval punches, Hero Arts adhesive pearls, foam dimensionals

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #4 - Suzanne

2009-04-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Next up is the card I made using Suzanne's card kit. I just have to say that I LOVE that PTI is now selling buttons! I love the variety of colors and shapes and sizes that come in each bag. So pretty!

To see all of the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK6 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: image is from Spring Gifts by SU, sentiment is A Muse, background was created with PTI's Background Basics: Retro
Ink: Pallette Noir, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, Copic markers
Paper: SU Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and Close to Cocoa, PTI white, patterned paper is Oopsie Daisy and Queen of the Crib from Baby Powder collection by Imaginisce
Other: SU corner rounder punch, SU flower punch, PTI Hibiscus Burst buttons

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #3 - Maggie

2009-04-06T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today I've got the card I made using the kit provided by Maggie. Not too much to note here other than that the vertical strip of patterned paper is so pretty and shimmery in real life! Also, the centers of all of the flowers - on the image, the background, and the patterned paper - are filled in with Stardust Stickles. Love the sparkle that provides!

To see all the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK9 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: image is Changito Spring from Stampendous, sentiment is from A Muse, flower on background is from PTI Beautiful Blooms
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip, Copic markers
Paper: SU Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, and Chocolate Chip, Reminisce Field of Daisies patterned paper
Other: Stardust Stickles, Marvy oval and scalloped oval punches, twill from Taylored Expressions

HSE Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #1

2009-04-05T17:26:00.006-04:00

This is my second post of the day, so be sure to scroll down and see the second of my LOSTie card kit creations!

Rachel over at Hope Stamps Eternal has started a fun new weekly challenge - a cupcake challenge! Every Sunday she will post a picture of a cupcake and we are to use that picture as a source of inspiration to make a card, scrapbook page, or whatever your heart desires. You do NOT need to use cupcake stamps, just take whatever you want from the photo - the colors, the theme, etc. and run with it!

Here is the photo for today's challenge:

I just love how pretty and springy these cupcakes are! I of course immediately thought of the PTI Little Lady set, so that served as my main image. As soon as I saw the "ruffles" of the frosting, I knew just what ribbon I wanted to use as well. I think the edges of the white ribbon are very similar to that delicious-looking piped frosting. The little punched out pink flowers were the finishing touch inspired by the photo. And of course no card is complete without some sort of bling, so I adhered pink jewel stickers to the centers of the flowers.

Now it's your turn! Create a card inspired by the photo and leave a comment on Rachel's post with a link to your blog or gallery entry (use keyword CIC1 on SCS or Paper Craft Planet). Link your creation before next Sunday, because one random participant this week will win $10 toward the Hope Stamps Eternal store!! What are you waiting for?? Go forth and stamp!!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Little Lady and Mixed Messages
Ink: PTI's Pure Poppy, Palette Noir
Paper: PTI white, Pure Poppy, SU Pink Pirouette
Other: Memory Box jewel stickers, May Arts ribbon, SU three flower punch, small oval punch, and large oval punch

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #2 - Colleen

2009-04-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

The card I'm sharing with you today is from Colleen's card kit. I had a lot of fun with this image and Colleen was sweet enough to stamp the image on some patterned paper so we had the option to paper piece a portion of the image if we wanted. I chose to do that, paper piecing Hanna's coat/outfit. I think the center part of her outfit is meant to be a dress, and therefore a different color, but I took the lazy way out and didn't want to do that extra cutting, so she's got a matching coat and outfit!

When I made this card, I did not have the right colors of Copic markers for the umbrella so I had to use my SU markers and you can really tell the difference in coloring quality. The marker lines are clearly visible with the SU markers, which of course meant I knew which Copic colors needed to be added to my shopping cart for next time!

The only other thing I wanted to mention is that Hanna's boots are coated with Diamond Glaze. I wanted the boots to be shiny like traditional plastic/rubber rain boots and I think that I achieved that look when you see the card in person.

To see all the cards made with this kit, use keyword SCK11 on SCS.

Supplies
Stamps: Rainy Day from Hanna Stamps
Ink: Pallette Noir, SU Certainly Celery and Regal Rose, Copics for hair and skin
Paper: SU Regal Rose and Certainly Celery, patterned paper from DCWV
Other: SU grosgrain, adhesive pearls from Hero Arts, Diamond Glaze

LOSTie Spring Card Kit #1

2009-04-04T15:49:00.005-04:00

The LOSTies participated in another card kit swap like the ones done for Christmas and Valentine's Day. The theme this time was Spring/Easter and I almost didn't sign up for this round because these kits tend to stress me out, but I'm really glad I did!

The first card I'm sharing is from the kit that I provided to the group. Once it was all together I felt like it was sort of more of a summery card with all the bright colors, but I think with the flowers it can squeak by as a spring card, right??

Not much to note as far as special touches or techniques, so I'll just leave you with the supply list. Check back tomorrow for Card # 2!

To see all the cards made with my kit, use keyword SCK13 on SCS. (You may need to check back later in the week because not everyone is finished with their kits yet!)

Supplies
Stamps: Memory Box, PTI's Polka Dot Basics
Ink: Palette Noir, PTI Raspberry Fizz, SU markers, Copic markers (sorry, I didn't write down which colors!)
Paper: SU Pink Passion, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Taken with Teal, PTI white, patterned paper from Junkitz Salsa Junk Pad
Other: clear gemstones, Marvy circle and scallop circle punches, foam dimensionals

Another Oldie

2009-04-03T21:02:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow I can start sharing the cards I've been working on with the LOSTie card kits, but for today I've got one more oldie to share. This one's really old, from before I even started this blog, but I still really like it!

The image and the sentiment (which is a little tough to see in the photo but says "Have your cupcake and eat it too") are both from Inkspirations. The base of the card is SU Rose Red, the top panel is PTI white embossed with the Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder and the bottom is SU Rose Red patterned paper. I covered up where the two panels meet with Pretty in Pink grosgrain from SU and traced some of the lines on the striped paper with a clear spica glitter pen.

The cupcake liners and cherries were colored with a Rose Red marker and the cupcakes are "frosted" with opal liquid pearls. I traced the base of the cupcake stand with a Sakura silver glitter gel pen and then filled in the plate part of each tier with Crystal Effects to make it look like a glass tiered tray. The corners of the image panel are punched with the SU ticket corner punch and there is a gemstone adhered to each corner for even more bling.

I'm laughing as I'm writing up all the supplies for this card - you can tell it's a really old one because there's not a single thing from Papertrey on there! I don't think I ever make any PTI-free cards anymore!

That's it for today - be back tomorrow with the first of the spring card kit creations!

Day Two

2009-04-02T20:56:00.002-04:00

Today's card is another one I made a little while back but never got around to sharing on here. It's a good thing I have a few of these projects stored or I'd have failed my "one post a day" mission already!

Note: All of the supplies used for this card are from Papertrey Ink except the butterfly punch (Martha Stewart) and the Stickles (available here). The base of this card is Raspberry Fizz with a layer of Spring Moss on top of that. The focal image is from the With Sympathy set and is stamped in Spring Moss with Raspberry Fizz accent flowers. Stardust Stickles were used on some of the leaves for some sparkle - I couldn't resist! The sentiment is from Around and About Sentiments and the ribbon is Raspberry Fizz twill. The butterfly is punched out of Raspberry Fizz cardstock and I glued only the body down so the wings look like they're fluttering off of the card.

And that's it - a clean and simple card - my favorite kind!

30 Days of Blogging

2009-04-01T22:41:00.004-04:00

Hmmm...I seem to remember mentioning that my goal was to post something on my blog every day in April. Well somehow April 1st has come and almost gone, but I've still got an hour and 18 minutes to get in my first post for the month! Everything I've been stamping lately can't be unveiled until this weekend when the LOSTies reveal their spring card kit creations, so I went back and found a card I stamped a few months ago but never shared.

I find that I very rarely use purple on my cards, but I'm thinking I should start more often! The purples here are Plum Pudding and Lavendar Moon from Papertrey Ink, and the green is Spring Moss, also from PTI. I pulled this color combo from the Polka Dot Parade patterned paper collection from, you guessed it, PTI! The main image is made up of two sizes of flowers from the Verve set called Meditations. I layered them with a dimensional in between and finished it off with Stardust Stickles in the center of the flower. The sentiment is from PTI's Mixed Messages, the ribbon is Lavendar Moon twill, and the background was created with PTI's Polka Dot Basics stamped in Plum Pudding and dotted with a white gel pen. That's about it!

See you tomorrow!

Spotlight on...Hope Stamps Eternal!

2009-03-30T03:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Hope Stamps Eternal Blog Hop! If you are just happening upon my blog, make sure to start at the beginning at Rachel's blog so you don't miss any of the projects! All of these super talented girls have used stamps from The Greeting Farm and I know you'll want to check them all out! Be sure to read through my entire post for information about Hope Stamps Eternal's grand re-opening sale and some blog candy too!!

Whenever discussions of favorite stamps/stamp sets come up, I immediately think of great sentiment sets with lots of versatility. So I was very excited to see the Sentiments set from The Greeting Farm! Just look at the options in that set - there are words and phrases for ANY occasion, and all the different fonts are just awesome! I've got two cards for you today using the Sentiments set and I loved playing with it!

(Side note: please excuse my less than stellar photography! It was rainy and cloudy all day yesterday so I could not get a good natural light photo and was forced to resort to the dreaded artificial lighting!)

For this first card I stamped the sentiment repeatedly to create a focal image, pulling my colors from the patterned paper, which is Tiptoe Thru the Tulips by Imaginisce. It's a double sided paper and I used both gorgeous sides for this card. The floral side is pre-glittered in some spots and I added some extra sparkle using yellow Stickles. The ribbon is White Sheer Polka Dot by May Arts and the brads in the corner are Fairy Dust brads by Imaginisce. The brads are iridescent and sparkly in person and really do look like they've been coated with fairy dust! This card turned out so soft and springy in real life, I just wish the photo did it justice!

For my second card I used the "My Friend" sentiment (love the font used on this one too!) to create a quick and easy 4.25" x 4.25" card. The paper is from the Brandywine pack by Memory Box and it is just so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to cover much of it up! It's amazing how the perfect paper and sentiment are all you need to pull together a little note card that any friend would
appreciate! I added some little punched out flowers to mimic the blossoms on the paper and adhered some Petal Pink jewel stickers from Memory Box to the center of each of the flowers.

The Hope Stamps Eternal store is running a grand re-opening sale that ends tomorrow, March 31st. Use code GRANDRE10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order. AND, as if that weren't cool enough, HSE is also offering FREE shipping on orders over $50. This special also ends on March 31st, so run and place a big order right now!!

And one final piece of awesome news - Rachel (the fabulous owner of HSE) will be randomly selecting one person who comments on one of the HSE Blog Hop posts to receive their choice of a Basic Grey 6x6 paper pack for FREE! It will be totally random as to whose blog the winner will be pulled from, so be sure to comment on ALL of the participating blogs!

Up next in the Hop is Colleen at Glitter Ink - she does fantastic work, so head on over and give her some love! Thanks for stopping by today!

March PTI Blog Hop

2009-03-25T18:25:00.008-04:00

I can't believe it's Blog Hop time again!! (Or that I've been so bad about blogging this month!) My goal for April is to post every single day - I'm stressed about it already!

Anyway, the theme for this month's blog hop was to use some of PTI's fabulous stamps to create a background and then turn that background into a finished project. I ordered Guide Lines II from the last release and have had so much fun playing with it! It's SO easy to use too! I've created almost a dozen different backgrounds, but have only turned one into a card so far and that's the one I'm sharing today.

I stamped the grid in Spring Moss and then stamped some of the decorative elements from the set using Aqua Mist and Melon Berry ink. I stamped two more of the Aqua Mist shapes and punched those out with a 3/4 inch square punch. The centers are dotted with the smallest dot from Polka Dot Basics using Melon Berry ink and then the squares are matted on Spring Moss cardstock. The main image is from the Anniversary set, Everyday Classics, which I am in love with! Thank you to Nichole and PTI for offering this free set to those of us who are hopelessly addicted to PTI and buy way too many stamps!! That image is stamped in Aqua Mist and the sentiment, also from the Anniversary set, is stamped over it in Spring Moss. The ribbon is Melon Berry bitty dot ribbon, which I think is just so beautiful, and the blue gemstones are from my local stamp store. The blue of the gemstones is a few shades darker than Aqua Mist, but I think it works and gives a nice sparkle! And you can't tell from the photo, but the main image and the two small images are traced with a clear spica glitter pen, so it's really pretty in person! The bottom of the background is trimmed with my scallop border punch from SU, revealing a little strip of Aqua Mist at the bottom.

Nichole asked that we also share a photo of what our backgrounds looked like before we cut them up and hid them with other elements on our cards, so here's mine! I cut sheets of PTI white cardstock into quarter sheets and used those to create the various backgrounds I've done so far. That way they're perfect to use as a whole card front, or cut up as I did on my card above.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to visit this thread for a list of everyone participating in tonight's hop!

Quick and Easy Notecards

2009-03-02T15:38:00.002-05:00

I signed up for a MS Walk in April, and as I've been fundraising from family and friends, I need some thank you cards on hand to thank everyone who is helping me reach my goal. So I made myself a set of thank you cards with matching envelopes that were super easy to do, but I love how they came out! I used one of the images from PTI's Retro Background Basics and used four different colors in the set - Ocean Tides, Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado, and Summer Sunrise. I did one horizontal and one vertical card in each color, and stamped envelopes to match! The sentiment is from A Muse and I used a clear spica glitter pen to trace both the sentiment and the images. The camera never seems to pick up that pen, but the cards are pretty sparkly in person. I think something like this would make a nice easy gift for teachers, brides/mothers to be, or anyone really, especially if you vary up the sentiments to include some with Happy Birthday, Thinking of You, etc.

If you're interested in sponsoring me for the MS Walk, please visit my website to donate online, or e-mail me if you'd like my address to send a check. Thanks!

PTI Birthday Card

2009-03-01T17:45:00.004-05:00

I haven't stamped anything in the last few days, but I've got a few card photos stored on my camera that I haven't shared yet. This card was for my friend Stacy's birthday a few weeks ago. Each of the strips - Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, and Dark Chocolate, were stamped with a different border from the new PTI Retro backgrounds and borders sets.

I stamped this card at night and waited until the next morning to take the photo when I had some good lighting. Well when I went to take the photo, I noticed the pattern I'd stamped on the Aqua Mist was pretty much invisible and the pattern on Ocean Tides was very pale too. Not sure what happened, but I was able to restamp the pattern on the Ocean Tides strip before I took this photo. With the ribbon in the way up top, I couldn't redo the stamping on the Aqua Mist, so that strip looks like I didn't stamp on it at all. :-(

I dotted the center circles on the brown strip pattern with a silver glitter gel pen for a little sparkle, stamped a sentiment from PTI's Birthday Basics, and finished it off with some Dark Chocolate satin polka dot ribbon. I've used the Aqua Mist/Ocean Tides/Dark Chocolate combo before, but I really like the addition of Lemon Tart for a little brightness!

Mojo Monday 75

2009-02-26T20:00:00.003-05:00

This card was for the Verve Mojo Monday sketch #75. I flipped the sketch vertically because I wanted it to fit the sentiment I chose, which is from Verve's Meditations stamp set. I made this for a co-worker whose brother unexpectedly passed away. Those who know me know how close I am with my brother, so to me that is one of the worst things I can imagine. There's not much I can do to comfort her, but hopefully this card brought a quick second of calm to her.

The main image panel features the butterfly and part of the large swirly vine from PTI's With Sympathy. I have to say, I'm loving this set! And not just for sympathy cards - I've made 3 or 4 cards with it just since it arrived last week, and this is the only one that's actually a sympathy card! The vine is stamped in Spring Moss and the butterfly is in Lemon Tart. I pulled my color scheme from the patterned paper, which is from PTI's Polka Dot Parade Collection. This card took me a while because it's more layers than I'm used to doing on layouts I design myself, but I liked stepping out of the box. Having so many components to a sketch forces me to use more of my supplies too! The 7 dots beneath the image are 1/4" circles punched out of Aqua Mist cardstock with a clear gemstone adhered to each of them. I pierced both pieces of Spring Moss cardstock to frame the image and the sentiment and stamped the scallops with my SU punch.