WooHooooo

As you can tell from my odd centered formatting, I'm still getting used to the Blogger changes....grrrr....I'm not really partial to centered text, I'm a left justified kind of girl! **giggle**

But today's card is so much fun that I can't stay cranky for too long!  This is a card featuring totally fun images from Paper Smooches!  I love Paper Smooches!  Kim has designed some of the sweetest little creatures and all kinds of sentiments that are perfect for any occasion!  My card features a darling bird from the My Peeps set and sentiment from the Chubby Chums set.  My card was made especially for a dear friend of mine who is embarking on a personal journey to make some positive changes and I wanted to send her a little card to encourage her.





The base of my card was stamped with a background image from Hero Arts and then I just gently sponged the edges of the entire card 'cause I just can't help myself!  Then I added just a few layers of cardstock in red and yellow polka dots.  The red cardstock was cut with a scalloped die from My Favorite Things.  Then I used a branch die, from Tim Holtz, to create the branches and a cloud die from The Cat's Pajamas for the..umm...clouds.  (The clouds are in felt)  My sweet birdie was colored with Copics and I even stamped, colored, and cut out a second wing for a wee bit of dimension.  And now I'm off to get this in the mail with hopes that it will bring a smile to the face of my dear friend.

Enjoy!!

Mom

OK...Blogger has made all kinds of changes and...ummm...I'm not digging them!  Well, at least not at this point, it's very odd and formatting does not seem to be as easy as it was before.  Why do companies feel the need to change what isn't broken?  Sigh...I'm not good with changes, can you tell? LOL!  I am kind of digging that I can make my photos larger...although this size is huge, isn't it?  Is it too large??

Anyway...how about we get to today's project instead of my whinning!!  This is actually a page I created months ago for a customer who wanted a custom scrapbook created for their first child.  This would be why there are only placeholders for the photos, showing them where they could put their photos.  I used this great paper from Reminisce to create the pages.  The papers are covered with names for family members; Mom, Mother, Mama, etc. and then the back side of the paper has either coordinating stripes or polka dots.  The papers are combined with a neutral background, which is good for such a busy paper.  Then I used rub ons for all of the sentiments and some grungeboard letters to spell out "my" and "mom."  I also used some fun shipping tags, covered with cardstock, to showcase the quote. 

I also created a Dad page for this album but you'll have to wait until it's closer to Father's Day before I share that one!  Or until I hit another week when I don't have much else to share! LOL!  As it is typical during the last week of the month, I've been busy working on completing design team projects and not much time photographing and blogging but in a week...oh boy, there's gonna be lots to share!! :-)

Enjoy your day and call your mom and tell her you love her...don't wait for Mother's Day! 

Welcome Home

I have a fun scrapbook layout to share with you today! This is a layout I created for PSA Essentials and it was a "pick your own theme" assignment so I was excited to be able to finally scrapbook a few photos of my sweet boys from last year.

This is a two-page layout featuring photos from our small local airport as the boys waited for me to return from a trip to Ohio (for a Stamping Around event). I used darling paper from Echo Park on these pages since the colors and patterns were just perfect for little boys. The paper layout is fairly simple, just a large scallop border (die from Papertreyink), a large band of paper through the center of both pages, and a ticket die (from The Cat's Pajamas) on the bottom of the page.

I added a few brads here and there, like the addition of a hard, metal object on a mostly white page. Add a bit of "boy" to the pages! I stamped a few cute airplanes and a Business Trip sentiment, both from PSA Essentials for the pages. Both airplanes were attached with foam tape (I embossed both planes with clear embossing powder too for a little shine) and I added a dotted trail for both planes (the trail is from a PTI stamp set). Felt clouds were a sweet addition, the cloud die is from Sweet 'n Sassy and the EP paper pack came with some stickers so I was able to use those to create the date.

The second page features my journaling, which I typed on the computer and then cut out each line to attach individually. This is one of my favorite type of journaling! I added a few more clouds and brads to page two as well before putting gluing on the rest of my photos!

For more info on this page and/or PSA Essentials stamps, visit their blog and enjoy!

Playing with Shink Film and a SALE!

Hey, guess what? Korin's husband is turning the big 4-0 next week (welcome to the 40 and over club Dan!!) and so she's offering a store wide sale that will run from tomorrow, April 20, until April 25! Shop Sweet 'n Sassy to take advantage of these great savings!

As for my little, and I do mean little, project today check out this fun key chain charm I created using Shrink film! One of my fellow design team members found darling necklace charms and wondered if our Vintage Postcard stamp set would work to make something similar. The end result is a little too large to wear around one's neck but...

It's the perfect size for a key chain! To create this project I first sanded a piece of white shrink film. You'll want to sand the film in both directions. I then used a hybrid ink (a blend of dye and pigment ink) to stamp the images onto the film. (I used inks from Papertreyink) I used the Vintage Postcard and Friendship Script stamp sets. I then cut out the rectangle shape, punched a hole with a 1/8" hole punch, and got busy with the heat gun! Next time I think I'd use the oven for this large of a shape as it was a challenge to get the entire piece to flatten out as the heat gun isn't able to heat the entire surface at once. But with a little creative use of my piercing tool I was able to finish this piece. Once my piece was shrunk I added a bit of brown ink around the edges for my favorite vintage look!

Why not pull out some shrink film today and see what you can come up with!! Enjoy!

Technique Tuesday with Sweet 'n Sassy

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I'm hosting the Technique Tuesday challenge (I'll explain why I'm calling it a challenge in my SCS post) on the Sweet 'n Sassy's Splitcoast Forum today! Head on over to check out all of the details!

Here's a close up shot of the card I created for the challenge! I used the Stars Die Set to cut out all of the stars for my card and a sentiment from the Rose Collage stamp set.

Enjoy!

This Week's Contests

Have you seen the fantastic April Release from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps? SIX new stamp sets,and a super-versatile die set are now available in the store. Would YOU like a chance to WIN the set of your choice? All you have to do is take a look at the release, and leave a comment on this thread telling us which your favorite is (and why, if you want!). Leave your comment by Saturday, April 14th at 11:59 PM EST. We'll use random.org to draw a winner, and make an announcement on Sunday, April 15th! One comment per person, please! And feel free to spread the word! If there are over 150 entries to win, we'll draw two winners!

Head on over to the PSA Stamp Camp blog and guess the gender of Libby's soon-to-be here baby!! Enter to win a PSA Carriage Peel & Stick Pack by PSA Essentials by guessing boy or girl on the blog. We will randomly choose one winner from the correct responses when the baby is born.

Guess Hoo Is Pretty Special

Hey look...it's a fun sketch challenge and a darling little owl! Today, Taylor Usry is hosting the sketch challenge on Splitcoast and she's got a fabulous layout posted! Check out all those circles...what fun! Click here to check it out! For my card, I used the brand new Owl Be There set from Sweet 'n Sassy and some fun retro paper from Taylored Expressions. Oh, and that sweet heart scallop border is from Sweet 'n Sassy too! You can find it here! Enjoy and be sure to check out today's sketch!

Happy Easter

Greetings! Well it looks like this week is a week of posting DT projects! Yippee!! This is an Easter page that I created for PSA Essentials. We don't have any special celebrations for Easter, as each Sunday is a wonderful time to celebrate the resurrection of Christ! However, we do have fun coloring eggs (when you own seven chickens, you're always looking for something to do with all of the eggs!) and use the holiday as an excuse to eat chocolate!

This page was created using paper from Bo Bunny. I had a few Easter-themed papers hanging around but I really liked the idea of using something that had just a Spring theme. I really liked the green paper, the base of the layout, that had just a hint of flowers and butterflies running up one side of the page...so pretty! I then used an egg stamp from PSA Essentials to stamp four little eggs and color them with Copics. Once I cut out each egg, I attached each one to tiny banners from Spellbinders.

I used grunge letters to spell out Easter (I used Distress Ink to color the letters). The Bo Bunny paper pack included some stickers and I was able to use those to add the date and the sentiment, "the little things are not so little after all..."

I hope you enjoy today's layout and head on over to PSA Essentials to check out their many stamp options!

Wish You Were Here

I have a card posted on the Sweet 'n Sassy blog today...Hop on over to their site to check out all of the details!

PSA Essentials & Nikki Sivils Blog Hop

Welcome to the PSA Essentials & Nikki Sivils Blog Hop! Can you believe it? Three hops this week - WooHoo! It's been a fabulous party time! (You should have come from Angie's blog) I'm so excited about today's project and being able to share not only PSA's darling stamps but Nikki's fabulous designs. And this paper was all about boys, which is super special for me since I have two sweet little boys!

With boys in mind, I opted to create a welcome baby card and in a layout that would allow me to showcase a bunch of the papers that were included in the sweet Noah paper pack. The background of my card was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and my circles were all punched with a 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches (from Stampin' Up!). To highlight the PSA stamps, I used a Spellbinders die to create an area for the sentiment and the baby carriage, which was attached with foam tape. To finished off the card I used a star, from a star die from Sweet 'n Sassy, and a pearl swirl from Zva.

The little box was created following this tutorial...super easy! I then added a big 'ol bow, a sentiment from PSA, and a hand cut star from the Nikki Sivils paper! Fun stuff!! So...here are the details for the hop:

The Giveaway!! •2 Peel & Stick stamp sets & 1 PSA Stamper (MSRP - $55) •Nikki Sivils prize pack: find out details on Nikki’s blog! •Please use this HTML CODE for the giveaway. Code at the bottom of my post.

Interested in purchasing PSA Essentials stamps? They have an exclusive discount for blog hoppers at Cyber Savvy Shop. Receive 30% off all Peel & Stick packs and custom stamps are $26.50 (regularly $40.) Shipping is just $6.00 for orders over $50, and free for orders over $100.

From my blog, head to Vera's blog!

Check out the rest of the great ideas from the other designers!

Kim Moreno

Melyssa Conolly

Angie Holden

Kim Schofield - You're Here!

Vera Yates

Regina Mangum

Jeanne Streiff

Jamie Cripps

Mae Armstrong

PSA Stamp Camp

Nikki Sivils

Sweet 'n Sassy Release Day Blog Hop

If yesterday wasn't enough fun, now we're back with this month's new releases! This week just keeps getting better and better!!! So very excited about this month's Sweet 'n Sassy releases! I know I say that every month but seriously...the designs and creativity just keeps getting better! What a thrill to be part of such a wonderful team and be able to create with these amazing stamps!

This month I'm featuring the Flower Field (above) and Owl Be Here (below). And this month I tried some different techniques and styles...just 'cause you gotta keep things fresh...and fun!

On my Flower Field card I did some resist embossing by stamping the image on white cardstock and embossing with white embossing powder. I added color by using a blending tool and a number of Distress Inks. I then cut the panel in half before laying with coordinating cardstock. The background of the card, love that pale pink, has been embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and then I only needed to add some twine, tiny pearls, a sentiment (from the Gifts from Turtle set) and a butterfly...of course!

And owls...I love owls and this set is so cute!! I wanted to create a tag with my owl and opted for a kraft tag, which was first stamps with the Friendship Script stamp. Then I added some fun star-covered scallops by using the Heart and Star Scalllop Border die. And see those tiny stars on the tag? Those were the stars that were cut out from the border die! The large stars are from the Star die. I opted for a little paper piecing on the owl and after he was stamped on kraft, gave him a little texture with a polka dot embossing folder. The tummy and eyes were stamped again on cardstock and designer paper and then glued to the kraft owl. Sentiment was on a paper banner and all I needed was some lovely twine (I'm in love with twine lately!) to finish the tag. I hope you enjoyed my projects today and now get ready to check out the other lovely work by our talented design team!!

Here's the full list of Design Divas (and our special April Guest) sharing their creativity with you today:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog

Korin Sutherland

Jessica Fick

Mary Faus

DJ Rants

Dina Kowal

Kim Singdahlsen

Melisa Waldorf

Monika Davis

Cathy McCauley

Holly McMillen

Kim Schofield (You're Here!)

Giovana Smith

Bridget Finlay

Taylor Usry

Make plans to join us tonight over in our member company forums on Splitcoaststampers for our New Release Party! We'll have full reveals of each fabulous stamp set, fellowship and chatter with friends, fun challenges, and more! Also.....did you know today is Korin's birthday?! Isn't that fun? To celebrate, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps will be giving away a $34 gift certificate to the store. l you have to do is leave Korin some birthday wishes over on this photo on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Facebook page.

Happy Birthday Korin!!

I am so excited to be part of the surprise Birthday Blog Hop for Korin! Oh, I love surprises and I love that we have an opportunity to celebrate the birthday of a wonderful and talented person, who is also a sweet friend! Today we have an amazing line up for designers who have all hopped on the party train! Be sure to check out everyone's beautiful artwork by following the links below!!

My card features two new stamp sets; Friendship Script and Vintage Postcard (I ADORE this set!!) I used this lovely vintage designer paper from October Afternoon for a truly antique look that works perfectly with the design of the stamps. And now...check out the projects from the other designers! I can't wait to go hopping myself!! Enjoy!!

Taylor Usry

Beate Johns

Bridget Finlay

Holly McMillen

Lydia Fiedler

Chrissy Dickinson

Dina Kowal

Leslie Hanna

Lisa Hjulberg

Kim Schofield

Jessica Fick

Julie Ranae

Monika Davis

Jessica Diedrich

Cathy McCauley

Makiko Jones

Kim Singdahlsen

Mary Faus

Deb Felts

Lori Craig

Giovana Smith

Kim O'Connell

Wendy Jordan

Julie Smith

Michele Single

Jeanne Streiff

Lee Murphy

And feel free to stop by Korin's blog and show her some birthday love!!

Paper Box & Spellbinders Flower

This weekend I had my monthly Spellbinders class at Wholly Scrap! and this is what we made! Each Spellbinders project is something quick and easy that can be finished in an hour. This month we used the Anemone Flower die to create the flower. This is an amazing die that you can use to make these beautiful layered paper flowers. Very fun!

I used Core-di-nations paper to create the flower. This paper had a colored core, which is revealed once you sand the paper. It's a great paper to use when embossing. The box was created with fun paper from Reminisce. Love the New York words!! For directions on how to create this super easy box, follow this link to Nichole Heady's blog. Nichole posted a tutorial on creating these boxes years ago and I've been using this same technique every time I make a box! It's so easy!!

That's it for today! Enjoy!