A Thursday Three-'fer!

Welcome back everyone!  If you are here looking for my 4 Crafty Chicks post, please scroll down (but feel free to peruse this post as you scroll... :)  So, I had some free time this afternoon before heading off to the gym and was itching to get inky...and what does that mean?  A new card for y'all to check out!  :)

I started out wanting to play along with Alma and the gals over at The Cat's Pajamas blog, Dancing in Pajamas, for the new TCP Tuesday challenge: "Use any stamps from The Cat's Pajamas to wish someone good luck or for St. Patrick's Day." Hmmmm... how am I going to make *that* work?  None of my TCP stamps really fit for this challenge so I had to get very *creative* with my "Got Love" set. 

Once I knew which stamps I was going to use, I went in search of a color combo and a sketch that I could use to make this little card come to life and found the perfect color combo over at Stampin' Royalty and the sketch is from the My Favorite Things forum at Splitcoast:

I wasn't able to use a sentiment from any of my TCP sets but the PERFECT one was in my 4-Leaf Clover Pure Innocence set from MFT... how special is that?  I tried to make the card a bit more St. Patrick's-y by attempting my own 4-leaf clover to cover up the flowers in his left hand but I'm not entirely thrilled with how it turned out...

Stamps: Got Love (TCP), 4-Leaf Clover (MFT)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Sahara Sand  Paper: Sahara Sand, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Whisper White, various SU! DSP  Accessories: Nesties, buttons, baker's twine, paper piercer, sponge dauber, clear embossing powder, Floral Fusion Sizzlit

So, there you have it!  Another fun card using a few of the amazing challenges out there in Blogland.  Thanks for stopping by today - tomorrow's FRIDAY!!!  WOOHOO!!!  Are you as excited as I am?  Hopefully I'll have some time to play tomorrow...stay tuned!  Later...

It's All About Stitching at The 4 Crafty Chicks!

Hi everyone!  How are you doing this fine Thursday?  I said it yesterday and I'm saying it again today... I'm TIRED of winter.  This cold and snowy weather can go far, far away.  *sigh*  There is a light at the end of the tunnel, right?

This week over at the 4 Crafty Chicks, Leanne has given us the challenge of stitching on our cards...either faux or real - you decide.  :)  I kind of {heart} stitching...have you noticed??  *wink*

I found this absolutely LOVELY photo inspiration over at the Curtain Call Color Challenge - it almost makes me feel warmer...almost.  :) 

All I needed was a super-fantastic sketch to get started and found the "Round or Square" sketches over at Mojo Monday (more fabulousness from Mary Fish).  I decided to go square:

There's another challenge over at the Verve Stamps Blog right now - the Verve Fan Blog Hop.  The rules are pretty simple: "Just make a new card using at least one Verve stamp, post it online somewhere (blog or public online gallery)..."  Well, here's the thing... I *did* use a Verve stamp but it's only the sentiment. Now, I'm the kind of gal who normally wouldn't enter this kind of challenge *just* using a sentiment but, gosh-darn-it, there are Verve prizes up for grabs!!!  So, I am reluctantly entering because I am jonesing for some new Verve and would LOVE to win!  HA!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!), Celebrating You (Verve)  Ink: More Mustard, So Saffron, Cherry Cobbler  Paper: More Mustard, Kraft, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, SU! DSP  Accessories: Sewing machine, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Lacey Circles & Circle Nesties, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, button, Scallop Edge border punch

I hope you will join us for our 4 Crafty Chicks stitching challenge - we love to visit and see what you create.  Don't forget to stop in at the other Chicks' blogs to see what marvellousness they've created.  :)  Enjoy the rest of your day!!

Another Good-Bye...

Welcome back!  It is a COLD one here in Central Alberta - winter really can go away any time now... *sigh*  I have had the kids home for two days now as yesterday school was canceled due to the cold and on Monday, our driveway was so drifted in I got stuck trying to get out!   Hopefully today will be a Happy Hump Day for all of us.  :)

It's time for me to say good-bye to another one of my amazing design teams - I can't believe that my six months with Riley over at the Color Dare are all done...*sniff*  I've had a fabulous time with all of the ladies and Riley's combos are always so much fun to work with.  So, thank you to ALL of you!  This week's combination is Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, and Basic Gray.

I dug out the Viva la Verve sketch again...and over on the Verve Stamps Blog there's a chance to win some more Verve-y goodness so go check it out:

Stamps: Sentiment from Verve  Ink: Cherry Cobbler  Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, SU! DSP  Accessories:Labels Fourteen Nesties, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, sewing machine, Marina Mist satin ribbon, adhesive pearl, Snow Cap embossing folder, sponge dauber

Thank you to all of you for popping in this morning - enjoy your Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow for a brand new 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge!

Fond Farewell to PPC...

Welcome back everyone!  This last Monday of February is a bittersweet one for me as it is my last week as a member of the DT over at Picture Perfect Creations...*sniff*  I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to Megan and the rest of the gals over at PPC - you are all AMAZING and I am very honored to have been a part of the team for the past eleven months.  Here's this week's color combo:

I found this great sketch over at the My Favorite Things forum over at Splitcoast and decided to use it and dig out my new Die-namics set I bought a few weeks ago:

Stamps: Textile Rectangles with coordinating die (MFT)  Ink: Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Peach Parfait  Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, SU! DSP  Accessories: Apron die (TCP), Pretty in Pink satin ribbon, twine, button, paper piercer

I hope you will come and join the fun over at PPC - I hear there might be prizes up for grabs to celebrate our 50th combo.  Enjoy your Monday!

Anything Goes at Sentimental Sundays!

Hi everyone - are you enjoying your weekend?  It has been a snowy, blowy weekend here so I've been hunkering down and enjoying not having to go anywhere.  I did manage to get some crafting done, though...  :)  This week's challenge over at Sentimental Sundays is one EVERYONE can participate in - "Anything Goes!"  Just make a card (or two) and don't forget your sentiment!! 

I combined this challenge with the Play Date Cafe's color combo - a bright, springy one this week...I love it!

I also used the Stampin' Royalty sketch as my jumping off point but as my card evolved, it ended up being *slightly* different than the sketch:

Stamps: Ewe Complete Me (TCP)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black  Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, various DSP scraps  Accessories: Buttons, sheer ribbon, scallop oval punch, oval punch, sewing machine, Seeing Spots embossing folder

As always, thanks for stopping by - it's always so much fun to read your comments and see where you're all visiting from.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend - see you tomorrow!

I {heart} Fridays!!

Hi everyone!  Are you as glad as I am that it's Friday?  This week has just seemed to d-r-a-g so when the alarm went off this morning, I hit the snooze button and rolled over to enjoy a few more minutes of yummy sleep.  After getting the boys off to school I came home to start the ever-growing-and-multiplying piles of laundry and then sat down to make a card.  Earlier in the week, I tried to make a card using The Cat's Pajamas color combo but I just wasn't *feeling* it so I put the papers off to the side to revisit it later and this morning they were calling me...

Another reason to {heart} Fridays is because that means it's time for new Viva la Verve Sketch.  This week Amber has given us a fun one to work with:

I have been using soooo much Verve lately that I thought I'd better be an equal opportunity stamper and give some of my other stamps some love and attention...I got this new set a few weeks ago from The Cat's Pajamas but haven't inked it up -- what better time than now?

Stamps: Ewe Complete Me (The Cat's Pajamas)  Paper: Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip, Taken With Teal, SU! DSP, Whisper White  Ink: Taken With Teal, Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories: Nesties (Rectangles and Scalloped Rectangles), Copics, paper piercer, adhesive pearls, Apron Border Die & Flower Buttons Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Pretty in Pink satin ribbon, button, twine, heart brad

I hope you are enjoying your Friday - any big plans for the weekend?  I think we are going to take it easy and enjoy some family *togetherness*... DH just called and said he bought "Megamind" so I think we'll probably pop some popcorn and curl up in the couch to watch that tonight.  Have a great weekend everyone - see you on Sunday for a new Sentimental Sundays challenge!

An Inspiration Challenge at the 4 Crafty Chicks!

Hello again everyone!  I'm back with another fantabulous challenge from the 4 Crafty Chicks!  We had an amazing number of participants last week so let's see if we can top it this week.  This week's hostess with the mostest is Lori (who hasn't been feeling well so if you have time, pop over and leave her some love) and she has given us this yummy picture from Bed, Bath and Beyond... look at all those awesome colors:

Of course, color isn't the only inspiration you could get from this photo - the floral design, the clean lines, maybe you could get a sketch out of it??   I decided to go with the colors (are you surprised?) but went with the softer side of the colors - I was also inspired by the floral pattern. 

This is my final week as the Guest Designer over at Paperworks Co. and I wanted to use a RAM stamp I haven't used yet...Sugar and Spice.  It's a super-cute image so off I went to find some DSP that would work.  HA!!!  Easier said than done.  Eventually I decided on Basic Grey's Curio collection... it is a bit "flowery" for the image but I'm OK with how it turned out.  I also used Jen's February Sketch for You to Try:

Stamp: Sugar and Spice (PWCO)  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Early Espresso  Paper: Early Espresso, Whisper White, Groovy Guava, Curio DSP (Basic Grey)  Accessories: Button, baker’s twine, Nestabilities (Lacy Circles & Circles), Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder  Copics: Colorless blender, E00, E11, E31, E33, E35, E37, E47, YR02, YR18, YR21,YG63, YG67, YG95,Y32, BG01

Thanks for peeking today - have fun with this inspiration challenge!  I'm excited to see what you all come up with.  Later, gators!