Cowabunga, Dude - I found some inspiration!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their weekends!! Today was a big day for my youngest DS - he's 4 - and he had his very first soccer game this morning!! He did awesome - a little hesitant at first - but by the end of the game he had gotten some good kicks in. It's a fun age I think - they aren't into the competitiveness of it yet and they're just having fun - plus they're all just too cute to boot too!! :) I did do some stamping when we got home - participated in my very first Inspiration Challenge in SCS. I was perusing the Creative Wall Coverings site that is today's inspiration and came across this wallpaper border...
...and I knew exactly what I wanted to do!! I didn't have any images of dogs surfing - but I do have images of turtles surfing - so I went with that. The set I used is OCL's Hangin' Loose with Kona (an Eclectic Paperie exclusive set) - the sentiment is from this set as well. I've had this set forever and I need kicked in the behind for not inkin' it up yet because it's just too darn cute. I think I made up for it though by using every turtle in the set to create this scene - hee hee...the matching wall paper that goes with this border on the inspiration site was striped - so I drew inspiration from that too by adding some striped paper behind my image panel. I colored the image with Copics and sponged my sky on like I did on my card yesterday. I added a few flower brads for accents and even got to play with my new Nesties too - the inverted scallop circle set. Thanks so much for stopping by - hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Bubbles Happen

TGIF!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their Friday! With my preschooler on summer break already - I am finding that I am really enjoying these mornings where we don't have anywhere we have to be - it's been nice to start my mornings with a bit of stamping! I made a card for today's Limited Supplies challenge over on SCS. Today's challenge was to use circles on your card and to use only ONE stamp set. Well - I immediately reached for one of my Our Craft Lounge sets - I LOVE OCL sets - not only are the main images wonderful - but the sentiments are always SO clever and you get lots of fun borders and accessories. The sentiment, main image and border image at the bottom of this card are all from the OCL "Bubbles" set - the turtle is cute enough - but that sentiment - OMG - it's SO flippin' cute!! LOL!! I started by stamping my turtle and then coloring him in with Copics. I cut him out using my circle nesties in keeping with the challenge and then cut some smaller circles as well so I could make a row of bubbles with them. To make them look like bubbles - I shaded around the edges of my circles with a BG10 (Cool Shadow) Copic marker and edged them with a BG13 (Mint Green) Copic. To really give them a faded out look - I went around the edges where the BG10 meets the white with my Colorless Blender. The border image was colored with Copics as well. I embossed the light purple background with more circles - using the Cuttlebug "Spots and Dots" embossing folder. The sentiment is accented with a Hero Arts gemstone. Thanks so much for stopping by!! I know a lot of my friends in the States are having a nice long holiday weekend and if you are planning on travelling this weekend - I wish you safe travels!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Eight ladies bathing...

Hee hee...sounds like a line from a naughty version of "Twelve Days of Christmas" - LMBO!! I made this card for today's Ways to Use It challenge - you can view the challenge here. Today's challenge were ways to stamp an image over and over again and this is what I came up with. I used part of the main label image from the new MFT "Time for the Bubbly" label set for my images in the circles. When I first saw the label - I kept thinking about how cute the little miniature Who's That Girl? image was in the corner - so I decided to just stamp that part of the label onto small circles (of MFT Perfect Paper panels) for this card. (And BTW - how cute would some Who's That Girl? mini images or maybe even inchies be??? **hint, hint Kim** LOL!!!) Anywho - I colored my images in with Copics and even drew a mini hardwood floor on all of them - hee hee...the DP is 1 1/4 in. squares of the 6X6 Chocolate Kiss paper by MFT and the sentiment is from the new label set as well. I finished off the card by accenting the circle with the sentimet with some pink gemstones. This was such a fun card to make and I hope I've given you yet another idea on what you can do with the new label sets by MFT - thanks so much for stopping by!!

Shop 'Till You Drop!

**IF YOU ARE HERE FOR THE HANNA STAMPS GOOD LUCK BLOG HOP - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ONE POST TO FIND MY BLOG HOP POST**

Happy Sunday!! Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! Did you enjoy the Hanna Stamps blog hop? I hope so - we had fun doing it and I hope we'll have more hopping opportunities for you in the future! :) I've been up since 6:30 this morning with a sick little one - Calvin (my 3 year old) seems to have a bit of a stomach bug and can't keep anything down :( - my poor little man - Daddy went to the store to get him some popsicles to see if that will perk him up a bit! I decided to play in the Featured Stamper challenge this morning on SCS between his vomiting spells - ick - and this card managed to come together quicker than I thought it would. You can view the challenge here along with TwinsHappy's gallery - Stacy has such a beautiful gallery - it was very tough to pick just one to case! I ended up choosing this card to case. And actually - Stacy's is more of a card holder/purse album - so the biggest change I made was to turn her card holder into an actual card. I turned it into a purse card. I kept the basic layout of her card and I LOVED the stacked coffee cups image on her project - I didn't have any stacked images like that so I made my own. I wanted a purse image - so I chose this adorable purse stamp from the Hanna Stamps "In Vogue" set - created a mask and then stamped my stack of purses. Wouldn't it be nice to have a purse like this - just spilling over with money??? LOL!! I chose a smaller sentiment for my card - this one is from the Hanna Stamps "Things Hanna Would Say" set. I also added a stacked flower to my card. To make the actual purse card - I started with a 4.25 in. sqaure base for my card - then made the little over hang with a seperated piece of cardstock and adhered the ribbon on between it and the base. I used the Fiskars Threading Water punch for the scalloped edge and a little Hero Arts gemstone flower for my "clasp". Thanks so much for stopping by - don't forget to scroll down for some BLOG CANDY!!!

DeNami Design **New Rubbah Alert**

Good morning!! Hope you all have been having a wonderful weekend! It's been unseasonably warm here - so we've been enjoying some outside time and yesterday my hubby watched the kiddos so I could go peruse the Heirloom Stamp Show here in downtown Indianapolis - yay!! I had a nice morning there - it's a small show - which is probably not a bad thing for my bank account ;) - I stocked up on some Copic re-inkers, found some fun new stamps and fell in love with one company in particular - DeNami Design. I had seen their stamps before - Cindy at Papertrix first introduced them to me this past Fall - she had gotten in some of their Christmas images in - but I was not prepared for the cuteness that I ran into at their booth - LOL!! Their stamps are just adorable - I was particular drawn to their Mimi line (but you guys know I love my people stamps - LOL) but they do have some adorable chicks and frogs and other little animals too. Here are the ones I picked up the booth - there were SO many more that I wanted - but my goal was to NOT come out of the show in debt - LOL - which - BTW - I managed to do - hee hee...

I used the Bride Mimi and the Mimi with Flowers stamps to make the card at the top of this post - it's also for today's Featured Stamper challenge over on SCS - today's featured stamper is the amazing StampingQueenJAR - you can view the challenge and a link to Judy's gallery here. I chose this card of Judy's to case. I was really drawn to the layout of this card and all the cool corner accents. So I kept the overall layout of the card - but changed the image and the color combo. I wanted to keep those corner accents on both square panels like on Judy's card - but changed them to match my image. I added eyelets in place of the stars and some Sizzix filigree die cut corner accents to my card to match my Bridal Party image. I had to do some masking to make my Mimis into a Bridal party - I started by stamping Bride Mimi first - masked her with some Eclipse Masking tape - then started stamping her Bridal party behind her - I had to make one mask of the Mimi with Flowers as well to do the Bridal party. Thanks so much for stopping by - I'll have more cards this coming week made with some of the other new stamps I bought at the show yesterday - one thing I do love about going to these shows are that you get exposed to all these great little compaies you never new existed! Have a great Sunday!

Peek-A-Boo!

So are you ready for the MFT Release Party tonight?? I thought I'd pop in on my blog for a minute to share this little "peek" at the new "Hooga Booga" set being released tonight by MFT (part of the MFT Presents line) - the little monsters in this set are SO adorable!! This is my card for today's sketch challenge - you can view today's sketch here. It's such a cool sketch - I had a lot of fun with this one. The little monsters in this set are so much fun to paper piece and I pulled out papers from one of my favorite My Mind's Eye stacks for this one. I wanted it to look like this little guy was playing "peek-a-boo" with you - so I stamped his arms off the edges - then pieced them back on and kinda curled them around to look like he was playing a game of peek a boo - hee hee...I added a nice big bow to accent and a couple of sparkly brads. OK - I'm off to watch the end of the "American Idol" results show - hope to see ya at the release party!!

I Pine 4 U **Riley Sneak Peek**

Good Morning!!! And what a beautiful Sunday it is - well - it's deceptively beautiful here - the sun is shining - but it is FREEZING outside - yikes - bring on Spring!!! I've got a peek at the 2nd new Riley being released this month from Hanna Stamps - this little cutie "Timber Riley" along with Spa Riley and 3 new Hanna sets will be released tomorrow night after the release party (9-11 PM EST on the Hanna forum at SCS). This card is also for today's Featured Stamper challenge over on SCS - yay! - I love getting up in the mornings and playing in the SCS challenges - such a fun start to the day. Today's featured stamper is the talented Kelly_H and I chose this card to case - such an adorable outdoor-sy card!! I knew I had to try to work in Timber Riley on that tree background somehow - so for my card - I kept the basic layout of the original card, the trees in the background and that big ol' sentiment - I LOVE how Kelly did the sentiment on this card! I used some old alphabet foam stamps that I bought at Hobby Lobby that I haven't used in ages!! OMG - I remember going thru that foam stamps and acrylic paint phase in scrapbooking - LOL - I have so many of those sets and never got rid of them - I'm glad I didn't and found another awesome use for them this morning!! So the "pine" was done with the foam stamps and the "i, 4, u" were done using Doodlebug Simply Sweet mini rub-on letter. I cut my Riley out with circle nesties and colored him with Copics. The changes I made to the original card were to change the image - I added some ribbon to the top and left off the brads on the bottom of the card since my base is just one layer. Can I also say I love doing "CAS" cards??!! I so want to get better at these - there is nothing more beautiful than a strinking CAS card, KWIM?? Thanks so much for stopping by today - hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and I hope to see you at the Hanna release party tomorrow night - what a fun way to cure those Monday blues!!!! "See" you then!!

There's No Place Like Home

Click your heels together three times and say it with me "There's no place like home..." - hee hee...I just love "The Wizard of Oz" and for some reason (don't ask me why) - this little shoe image from the Hanna Stamps "In Vogue" set reminds me of the ruby slippers - LOL!! So when I saw the sketch challenge this morning over on SCS - I thought those little shoes would fit perfect in those little squares! I had very limited time to stamp before getting the kiddos to school this morning - so I ended up making this fun and simple card for today's sketch challenge - you can view the challenge here. I just love this sketch - it's just perfect for inchie art!! I stamped and colored my "ruby slippers" with Copics - added a touch of red Stickles to the little jewel on them and accented them with a white gel pen to make them appear shiny. And then sticking with my Dorothy/Wizard of Oz theme for this card - I dug some blue gingham paper out of my stash for a similiar pattern that's on Dorothy's dress - again - did I mention I was a stickler for details? LMBO!! The sentiment is computer generated and I added a few red Hero Arts gemstones to accent my card. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

You're Busted!

Happy Thursday!! Hope everyone has been having a wonderful week! I have to apologize for my posts being a bit spotty this past week or so - I ended up sick and at the Dr. on Friday (all better now) and then I spent a couple of days preparing for the release and my tutorial yesterday - but I felt like I had a bit of mojo back this morning and now I've got all sorts of ideas swirling around in my brain - LOL!! So I put that creative energy to use this morning for a combination of today's SCS Ways to Use It challenge and the Hanna Stamps New Set Release challenge - today's Ways to Use it challenge is to use stripes and the new set release challenge is to make a black and white card using the new Hanna Stamps "Busted" set - well...black and white - stripes - a prison guard image - hmmm....it all just sort of fell together in this card - LOL!! Seriously - I read today's stripes challenge - that Johnny Cash song got stuck in my head and I immediately reached for my "Busted" set - hee hee...my mind is a bit warped sometimes! I stamped my image and then cut it out with my circle nesties - I colored it with Copics. I did my black and white prison stripes by piecing 1/2 in. black cardstock stripes onto a piece of white cardstock. And because I am a bit of a stickler for details - that is not a random prison number. It's my tribute to my favorite author - the king of horror himself - Stephen King. The number is the main character's prison number from "The Shawshank Redemption" - the BEST film adaptation of a Stephen King novella - EVER. Frank Darabont should really be given the rights to direct all of Stephen King's stories - seriously - "The Green Mile", "The Mist", "The Shawshank Redemption" - some of the best Stephen King films!! OK...OK...I'll get off my movie and book nerd kick - LMBO!! Anywho - I die cut the numbers using my Cricut - they are from the "Plantin Schoolbook" cart - cut at 3/4 in. I added some black brads to accent the turned square behind the image. The sentiment is computer generated. And don't forget - there is still time to play in the Hanna Stamps new set challenge - you could win 2 Hanna sets of your choice - WOW!!! Hanna Stamps is also having a fabulous sale - 25% off a ton of products including some stamps!!!! Be sure to check it out!!

Hey Buckaroo!

Happy Thursday!! OK - before I get into the deets on this card - I want you to know that no one in my household is walking around missing a pocket on their jeans - LOL!! This card is for today's Ways to Use It Challenge over on SCS - you can view the challenge here - today's challenge is ways to use fabric. I had grand plans to piece a fabulous pair of fabric pants onto one of my Hannas - but the thought of cutting up one of my favorite shirts for the sake of creativity -well - I reached for an old pair of my DS's jeans instead - LOL!! We recently cleaned out closets - and while we do donate most everything that my kids outgrow - there are a few things that have stains and holes in places you can't really explain - so those get thrown out - and if you have boys - you know what I mean - LMBO!! So how about salvaging the pockets from those jeans you're gonna throw out to make scrapbook or card embellies?? - you could tuck some journaling in there on a scrapbook page or a gift card on a card - the possiblities are endless. For this card - I just cut around the pocket to get it off the jeans and then adhered it to my card with glue dots. I went with a western feel to my card to match the denim - I colored and cut out Horseshoe Riley from Hanna Stamps and stamped a Cat's Pajamas senitment on my die cut stars. I did some distressing on the tan cardstock pieces with Cat's Eye Chesnut Roan ink. I added some hemp twine to some of the stars and a couple of star brads to the pocket. I did some machine stiching and edge distressing to the background cardstock as well. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Clean and Simple (and a little twisted)

Happy Friday!! YAY!! I am so glad Friday is here - it's been quite a week - with the snow storm and b-days and my in-laws are coming in for the weekend - so I am thankful that today's Limited Supplies challenge over on SCS was to make a CAS (clean and simple) card - something I can make quick - LOL!! (I've still got lots of tidy-ing up to do!) You can view today's challenge here. So this is probably my first ever true CAS card - if you follow my blog - you know I love my colors and layers and embellies - so this was an actual challenge for me! I am always so envious of those that can put a striking CAS card together - I think those are the most beautiful cards - and definitely a lot quicker than one with all the layers and such. So this is my attempt at a CAS card - I know - a bit twisted - but you know A LOT of boys would love this card for their birthday - LOL!! The original idea to hang the spiders off the card came from a STUNNING card made for our last release by the one and only Jeanne Streiff - you can view her card here. This card was SO quick to put together - I stamped all my bugs (from the Hanna Stamps "Backyard Dwellers" set) first - I colored them in with just a hint of color with my Copics. I then drew little dotted lines so that my poor little grasshoppers could quickly "hop" away from those advancing spiders - hee hee...then poked a small hole in the end of each of my spiders and threaded some white embrodiery floss thru for their "webs". I mixed up some Stampendous sentiments to get my sentiment the way I wanted it on my olive strip and then put a black brad on for an accent - and boom - all done - LOL!! I really do LOVE how this turned out - I've been having more fun with this Backyard Dwellers set than I thought I would - it's turning out to be one of my "go-to" sets - I would HIGHLY reccommend this set - it's fun!! Thanks so much for stopping by - hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I'll be back for release week on Monday - YAY!!!

Slow Down and Stamp!

Happy Wednesday!! Well - we are buried under about a foot of snow here in central Indiana - so I took that as a sign this morning that someone was telling me to "Slow Down and Stamp!" - LOL!! We've been SO busy these past few days - we left Friday for a weekend trip to Chicago and then spent the past couple of days trying to get caught up from being gone and preparing for my hubby's 35 b-day yesterday! I hadn't been able to stamp since Friday - so it felt good to do some stamping this morning! I made a card for today's SCS sketch challenge - you can view the sketch here. I used one of my most favorite MFT sets of all-time - the "Maid For You" set - I paper pieced the wallpaper on the image with some MFT digital paper from the new Stephanie Fizer line - it's the Spring paper pak. I used the paper toile technique on the rest of this image and colored it in with Copics as well. I wanted to showcase my little flowers on my card - here's a close-up of them...
I didn't have any yellow Primas in my stash to match my paper - so I decided to use some of my new Shimmerz to make some pretty little punched flowers to match!! Shimmerz are this week's featured product for MFT's Weekly Wow - and they are YUMMY!! Here's a link to all the shimmerz in the MFT store. I made my flowers by first punching them out of white cardstock - I then colored them with a pale yellow Copic marker - the reason I did this was because the Shimmerz are a bit transparent in their color and wanted my color to by more opaque. Once I had them colored - I brushed a wash of Golden Wheat Shimmerz over then - and wow - did that really make a difference - my little paper flowers turned into some little beauties!! I put some black brads in the center and then put them on my card. Want more fabulous Shimmerz ideas??? Check out Kimmie's HTDT? Tutorial over on SCS - here's a link - it is FABULOUS!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by - we're off to play in the snow!!

My Heart is Yours

So are you loving the new BC Dzyns chica as much as I am??? I just adore the Heartbreaker set - and do you know what else is cool about these images?? The images of our sweet gals are so defined and crisp - that the facial recognition on my camera is able to focus on the faces of the BC Dzyns girls - talk about great images! I went a little challenge happy with this card - it's for the MFT sketch challenge for today and also for today's Ways To Use It challenge - today's challenge was ways to "pizzazz" up your patterned paper. I took some of that adorable digital paper from MFT (from the Stephanie Fizer summer pak) - and added blue gemstones to the centers of all the white hearts to "jazz" up my paper. In the spirit of the challenge - I also spruced up some plain ol' white cardstock punched flowers with some of the same blue gemstones - kinda looks like the paper and the flowers came in a hit, doesn't it? I colored my entire image in with Copics and cut her out. The sentiment is from the new "Heartbreaker" set as well. Thanks so much for stopping by (again) - hee hee...!!!!

Bad to the Bone

Hee hee...OK - so Riley's really not that bad to the bone - but he sure likes to think he is on his motorcycle - LOL!! This is a card I did for yesterday's sketch challenge over on SCS - you can view the challenge and the sketch here. I wanted to do a nice clean masculine card with this Riley and I've been thinking about him with these colors for a long time - and metal of course - when you think of motorcycles - you definitely think metal. I colored my Riley in with Copics - then cut him out using my Labels1 Nesties - I really like this shape. My skinny gray panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug Skeleton Scroll embossing folder (from Halloween) and the paper on my bigger panel is from the DCWV Rock Star stack. I used a metal bookplate from my stash to display my sentiment (which was computer generated) and then accented my card with some brads. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

When Pigs Fly!

A card on a Sunday!? Am I on the right blog!? LOL!! Hee hee...yup - you aren't seeing things - I have something to share on a Sunday - woo hoo! I decided to take the leap and play in the SCS Featured Stamper challenge this morning - and what an awesome week to start playing in this challenge - this week's featured stamper is the very talented Lori Craig - you can view the challenge here. I chose this ADORABLE card from Lori's gallery to case - I changed the main image and the color combo. I also moved my ribbon to the bottom of the card - my little piggies weren't cooperating with it up by the mail panel - LOL!! I kept the layout of Lori's card and the overall sweet "punny" feel of her card. I didn't have a background stamp to match my piggies - so I did my background with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. The pig image is from the Hanna Stamps "Hay Hanna" set - I had to do some masking to get the wings on my pigs to make them fly - hee hee...I colored them in with Copics and added some Stickles to their wings. The sentiment is from the Hanna Stamps "Just What I Meant to Say" set. Thanks so much for stopping by - have a wonderful Sunday!!

My Funny Valentine

TGIF!! And OMG - I hope you are all staying warm - our school has been cancelled for the day on account of the fact that it's just too flippin' cold to be outside - we are just north of Indianapolis and I know those of you even further north and into Minnesota are REALLY feeling all of this - so PLEASE be careful in this arctic air - it's scary how fast frostbite can set in out in this. So we are bundled up inside today - my kiddos are having fun with new birthday toys and I was able to do some stamping this morning. There is the most fun limited supplies challenge on SCS today - it's such an adorable challenge - you can check it out here - but basically it's to make one of those little cheesy valentines we used to get in school when we were little - and it has to be simple enough to mass produce - so limit layers, embellies, etc. I modeled mine after those little valentines we use to get where you could slide the suckers into them, remember those? Well - this one is definitely NOT appropriate for a child's valentine - but how fun would it be to pass out to our friends, co-workers, etc.!! Hee hee...a little cheesy grown-up valentine...LOL!! I used the new "Backyard Dwellers" set from Hanna Stamps - I am LOVING this set by the way - I am started to really understand the fascination with insect sets - they are fun and versatile to boot. I stamped some white bugs from the set all over the black panel using Moonlight White Brilliance ink. I didn't have one of those heart lollipops - so I had to make my own using heart nesties and a candy stick. The mosquito is from the Hanna set as well - I stamped him and then just added a hint of shading with my Copics. The sentiment was done using Doodlebugs Simply Sweet rub-ons - but had I been mass producing these - I would have printed them out using my computer. To finish off my funny valentine - I added some ribbon to the bottom and cut some slits so I could slide my "sucker" thru. Thanks so much for stopping by - STAY WARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Running Nose??

Happy Wednesday!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week - it's cold and snow-y here in central Indiana and after trudging around all morning in the snow getting kids to school - it was so nice to sit in my warm studio and do some stamping - LOL! Which brings me to the card I have to share today...so last week I was in Archiver's - cruising around - drooling over all the new stamps when I spotted some familiar stamps out of the corner of my eye - and there - right on the front counter - with a big sign that said "New at Archiver's" was stamps by Our Craft Lounge!! OMG - I totally geeked out - I have been wanting some of these stamps ever since they were released and it's just so cool to know where they came from, kwim? (Our Craft Lounge is co-owned by Cami Turnbow, Marianne Walker and Joy Kennedy.) Soooooooooooo....I snagged a couple of sets and am so excited to finally get a chance to ink them up today and OMG - I am in love with this "Running Sick" set - the images and sentiments are SO funny and just right up my alley!! I made this card for today's sketch challenge - you can view the sketch here - I had a blast with this one. I flipped the sketch and made it longer to fit my image. For my image - I used the tissue box and nose from the OCL set - I did have to do some masking to get the tissue boxes chasing the poor nose. The entire image was colored in with Copics. The paper is from the My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy glitter stack. The stars are die cuts cut with my Cricut and the star brads are from JoAnn's. I accented the bottom star with some ribbon and a button. Thanks so much for stopping by - and the next time you are in Archiver's - check out the OCL stamps - they are AWESOME!!!

Riley's Getting "Pumped"!!

OK - so I was going to stagger my blog posts today a bit more - but after dragging one child out of bed for school this morning and chasing a 3 year old clad in nothing but a pull-up thru the house (it's been one of THOSE mornings) - I decided to use this few spare peaceful moments to go ahead and post this other card I did for today - LOL!! This is the other new Riley that will be released tonight along with motorcycle Riley and 4 Hanna Stamps sets. I did this card for today's Ways to Use It Challenge - today's challenge is to use stars - and I knew the EXACT paper I wanted to use - I am in love with this stack I got at Hobby Lobby called the "Just Dreamy" stack by My Mind's Eye - and it has fun bright glitter-y paper in it - this star paper is from the stack. I colored in Riley to match the colors in the paper and then used my circle nesties to cut him out. I used star brads for the corners of the top panel - I put a little orange Hero Arts gemstone in the center of each one - I think it jazzes those brads up a bit. The sentiment is from the previously released Hanna Stamps "Everyday Sentiments" set - I mounted it on star die cuts I cut with my Cricut machine. To finish off my card - I went nutso with my white gel pen and added all the dots - LOL!! The release party is tonight over on SCS - from 9-11 PM - I hope to see you there - there are LOTS of fun challenges tonight - with prizes for every one of them - fun chatting - and you know how Miss Kristi and Miss Vicki LOVE to ask those little "give-away" questions during the party ;) - so be on the lookout for those tonight as well!! SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Little Love Monkey and a Trip to the ER...

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It feels really good to be stamping again - I am excited to actually have something to share with you today - I've been working on some other stuff too - but well....those are some things I can't share with you until next week - you know - RELEASE week - hee hee...I'm such a tease - LOL!! I did get up though and make a card for today's SCS sketch challenge - here's today's sketch. The card I have for you today was made with a couple of Valentine Changito clear sets I found at Archiver's on Monday - they are just the CUTEST sets!! I started my stamping the heart frame and embossing it with red embossing tinsel by Ranger. I stamped and colored my Changito in the middle and then cut the whole image out. I finally got to use my Labels1 Nesties (LOVE these) and dug thru my stash for some Valentine papers - I believe these are from Hobby Lobby. I added some ribbon and heart brads too.

Oh - and did you see in my post title about a trip to the ER??? Yes - I spent 3 hours last night in an ER with my boys - keep in mind they are 6 years and 3 years old. It all started late yesterday afternoon when Calvin (my 3 year old) fessed up that Andrew (my 6 year old) had a sticker stuck in his ear!! Yikes!! How did the sticker get in his ear, you ask? Well - that story may actually never be known - their story about how they got the sticker stuck in his ear has changed about 10 times since last night - boys, huh? So anywho - I had to call the nurse help line at our pediatrician's office since it was after hours and she proceeded to tell me that we were gonna have to go to the ER because the sticker had to come out. Keep in mind this is a small sticker - about 1/4 inch big or so - I couldn't even see it with a flashlight which meant it was way down in his ear canal at this point. So about 6:00 last night - and since my husband was on a flight home from Boston - I had to pack 2 small kids into the van and head down to the local ER. Thank goodness there wasn't hardly a wait at all - we got right back and checked in with no problem - but once they started working on his ear - it took 2 doctors over an hour to get the darn sticker out!!! They tried everything - irrigation, tweezers, suction - it was quite the stubborn little sticker. Andrew was SUCH a trooper though - he was very brave and let them work on his without a single complaint. At some point - the word got out about the little boy in the ER with a sticker in his ear - we had firemen bringing my boys firehats, nurses with goodies bags - I kept telling them they weren't helping my case about NOT putting things in their ears - LOL! But they did get the sticker out - and needless to say - his ear is pretty sore from all the things they stuck in his little ear trying to get the sticker out. We were home by 9:00 last night and everyone went straight to bed - we were pooped!! Andrew is doing MUCH better this morning - the Dr. gave us some drops for his ear to use over the next couple of days. And the moral of the story?? Well - apparently - little boys will stick ANYTHING in their ears or noses - that should seriously be in a little boy instruction manual somewhere, right?? LOL!! Thanks so much for stopping by - hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve and if you are heading out tonight - please be safe!!

Let's Stay Warm Together

Happy Friday!! So did you guys have fun with all the new releases this week? I sure did!! I want to thank everyone for stopping by this week and leaving such wonderful comments on my blog - you guys are the best and make blogging fun - so ((HUGS)) to all my blogger friends! I wanted to share a project that I did yesterday with the new Snow Bunny Flopsey set from MFT - I combined Cindy's sketch challenge with yesterday's Ways to Use envelopes challenge to make my little Flopsey set here. I started with the card - I colored in my Fopsey with my Copics and added some liquid applique to his mittens, hat and scarf as well - then I cut him out. I cut some patterned paper with my rectangle nesties for a little snow-y background for him. I punched the edge of my white panel with the Martha Stewart lace doily edge punch and then embossed it with the Cuttlebug Snow Dots folder. I layered my snowflakes - the one at the top was first done with some embrodiery floss and Bazzill In Stitch'z template and then I added a punch from the Marth Stewart Alpine snowflake punch and a snowflake brad. The pink rick rack is from Hobby Lobby. Once I had the card done - I decorated my envelope to match. I stamped the top half of Flopsey on my envelope - and then before I colored him in - since the paper of the envelope is so thin - I put a scrap piece of cardstock inside my envelope so that my Copics wouldn't bleed thru the envelope. I then cut a strip of the same patterned paper I used on my card to accent the edge of my envelope. Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out with me this week - you all really do make blogging a blast!!