... RANDOM STUFF ...

I've been a bad blogger lately and today is not even going to be stamping related... Sorry! Well, not really, but if you want stamping stuff - you can stop now. ;-)

I just finished reading a book last night called, "Remember Me" by Sophie Kinsella - it was a good chick lit kind of book. Easy reading and it was pretty good (in my opinion). She writes the "shopaholic" books and I've read all of those, too.

Oooh, my friend, Amber, told me about this website to get make-up for $1 - it's got awesome stuff. It's called eyes, lips, face. Very neat stuff. I seem to be into make-up lately. My husband isn't so crazy about the way I've been doing my eyeliner (loads of it). I also just got some (more) eyeliner at Walmart that's sparkly brown, AND new mascara that's supposed to highlight hazel eyes. It's nice, but I don't really think it affects my eye color at all.

Let's chat about exercise now... Last week I started this program called crossfit. Wow... it's intense and amazing. Today was exactly one week and I'm already seeing results. Now, my hubby can't, but I am sore pretty much every day - but a GOOD sore, not awful - I have to stretch before I get out of bed everyday. There's a site for the stuff we do if you want to check it out: http://www.crossfitcherrypoint.com/. Yesterday's workout was the hardest yet.

Um, I guess that's it. I have several card to share, but have to snap their pictures. I'm doing a lot of Christmas cards for my girlfriends this year.

Ciao!

... fall birthday bellas ...

I tried coloring on watercolor paper for the first time last week and really liked it. I made two birthday cards (I stamped happy birthday AFTER I took the picture).
The paper is really rust (old olive on 2nd card) and the patterned paper is from Basic Grey.
Thanks for looking!

... twins birtday invite ...

My twins are turning 2 next month and I wanted to come up with a cute idea for their invitations. My friend, Amber, suggested using the Just Rite stamper w/ their names on the outside and a '2' in the middle. Since there was plenty of room, I put "Happy Birthday" in front on each name above and below the 2. I used ripe avocado from PTI and their new polkda dot parade paper.

... HAPPY HALLOWEEN ...

Hey friends and stampers - happy halloween! I made these a little while ago and just took their picture yesterday before giving them away to Levi's teachers. These are frappaccino bottles that I altered w/ some cute halloween paper and PTI stamps to make the tags. I made loads of these last year at Christmas and filled them w/ Hershey kisses or M&M's. They are great gifts for teachers, neighbors, etc.

... case from pine ...

I saw *this* card on Pine's blog a couple weeks ago and fell in love with it. I had to get that set as soon as I saw the first peeks of it. Anyhoo - I changed the coordinating color from avocado to ocean tides (my new favorite color) and made up a little set of them. I was going to give them to my sister who loves coffee, but I ended up using most of them myself to send notes b/c I loved them that much!

... more pink & craft ...

I made this card a little while ago and never got around to taking a picture of it. I had done 2 versions of it - the first one did not have the pink liquid pearls in the center of the flowers. At first I thought it was too much, but now I like it on there. The daisy b/g stamps are from stamping bella and the sentiment was sent to me from a friend, so I don't know where it's from. Ribbon and cardstock are from paper trey.

... pink Christmas card ...

I am totally in love with this Christmas card! I used the swirly trees stamp from Stamping Bella - it's soo cute and whimsical... I went a bit crazy w/ my quickie glue pen and traced over the "snow" and sprinkled w/ rose quartz glitter from Martha Stewart. I then decided it needed a little something *more* so drew a frame around the scene - also w/ the quickie glue pen and more glitter. The pink & brown are from PTI. The pink & gold ribbon I got from Michaels and it's what inspired this color-scheme. I went back to get more and they had only ONE SPOOL LEFT! Yikes -- maybe I'll get my sister to check her store for me... I ran half the card base through the cuttlebug w/ the dots folder... This didn't really leave me any room for a sentiment, so I have the "Merry Christmas" on the inside along w/ various other sentiments (I couldn't pick just one).

Anyhoo - I've got to run to dance class. I've got 2 more cards to share either later today or tomorrow!

Oooh - we had our first frost this morning, too! =)

... owl thank you's ...

I mentioned yesterday that my family gave me some owl gifts for my birthday, so I had to make owl thank you cards (of course!). Here they are...

The patterned paper is from a pack my friend, Amber, got at Target. I used my quickie glue pen to trace some of the owl and sprinkled rose quartz coarse glitter on top from Martha Stewart. It looks so cool - I am using this glitter on my Christmas cards, too!
Here is a fall-colored one. The paper is from basic grey "mellow" - and I used stickles for the glitter on this guy. Ribbon is from PTI (spring moss).
Another fallish colored one. I only glittered his eyes. I'm not sure where this patterned paper is from - it's been in my collection a while... The ribbon is from PTI - I am nearly out of this - I love it so much!

... bella thank you ...

The color is dark on this - SORRY! I got this bella on a whim and never have a chance to use her, so a few weeks ago, I got my hair cut and highlighted, and made this card for my stylist....

Also, I just celebrated my birthday this past weekend and had the BEST time w/ my mom and sisters. I've got pictures to share from that... and loads of thank you cards to make! For some crazy reason, my family has decided I love owls. Well, I like them, but from the looks of my presents, you'd think I'm a BIG collector of them! ;-) I got owl pajamas, an owl shirt, an owl ornament, lotion holder shaped like and owl, and a hand towel for my kitchen! Craziness... Anyhoo, my friend, Amber, has the owl set from PTI, so I borrowed it to make thank you cards for my mom & sisters. I'll post those pictures tomorrow...
Have a great night!

... little boy fishing ...

The lighting isn't the best, but the card is gone, so it's all I've got. My husband has been taking the boys fishing lately, and when I saw this set on Storage Units, Ink and More, I HAD to get it...


Last night, I was trying to jazz up a shirt for Levi and thought I'd find some stamps to use, and remembered I had this , so that's what's on his shirt. I then made one for Kyle. I used the palette noir ink pad and it showed up just fine.

... a good guy card ....

What? Did you read that right - a GUY card? Gasp - I know - they do exist in my craft room ~ on occasion... =)

I often see cards w/ lots of layers of patterned paper before their "main" image, so I was going for that look here. I even threaded that button w/ linen thread from SU!. The b/g papers are from Basic Grey.

... halloween bellas ...

So, I had some time to stamp this weekend and here are two of the cards I made. I got these images from my friend, Amber.... The owl & cat are embellishments I got at Target - so is most of the b/g paper. Baubles are from stamping bella - super cute - I think I love baubles more than brads and eyelets b/c you don't have to worry about punching holes and the prongs showing on the back. I found this glue that I LOVE, too. It's by Tombo - it's mono METAL liquid glue. It looks just like the mono-mult, but is gray and bluish-purple, and the glue is much thicker, so the baubles just stick right to it. There's my two-cents for the day... Enjoy looking!

... eloise greengrass ...

It seems that I sure do love my bellas, huh? This gal is actually from the chichiboulie line and I love them like crazy! It took me forever to make this card -- not that it looks like it! I paper pieced her clothes and flower and boy was it time-consuming! It looks like a solid orange dress, but really the paper had a speckly pattern to it and I thought it'd look more Halloweenish. Oh well - she still turned out super cute...

... quick monogrammed gift ...

My son left a shirt here when he visited earlier this summer and I wanted to mail it back to him along w/ a little snack. These pretzels came in a big container (Archer Farms - smores pretzels) and I didn't want to mail the whole thing because it was big (and, really, I wanted to alter the container for something else - and try a pretzel while I was in there).
So, I wrapped up most of them with some ribbon and made this quick monogram using my Just Rite stamper & curls alphabet. Would you believe when he called to thank me, he said I messed up his initials??? I guess an 18 year old boy has no idea how a monogram is supposed to look... Anyhoo - this could be a great idea for a teacher or thank you gift and you could put words instead of initials in the center.

... amy's birthday card ...

My friend, Amy, doesn't read my blog (yet), so I'm posting the card I made for her birthday which is this Saturday. I used the quickie glue pen and lots of pink glitter on the big daisy, her shirt, hair bow and the sentiment. After I ran it through the cuttlebug, I punched all those little holes around the border for a little something extra. I can't believe there is NO RIBBON on this card - so unusual for me! Hope you like it.

... my favorite baby card ....

I found a good picture of my favorite baby card that I made for that set of 10...

... jay's birthday card ...

Jay's birthday was a few weeks ago and I forgot to post the card I made him. Fortunately, he doesn't mind that I do the pink and black thing for him b/c he knows I've got to get my girl fixes any chance I can. ;-)

I glued the b/g paper on upside down! Rats.... I used stickles for the eyes and crossbones. The sentiment is a rub-on.

... baby cards ...

I was asked to make a set of 10 baby cards for a friend of mine; she wanted them to be neutral b/c she just wanted them on hand... Well, I had to do one girl and one boy card, because I figured there was bound to be at least one of each at some point. ;-) There are 2 more designs that turned out blurry and I already gave her the cards, so you'll have to make do with these samples.
I got this patterned paper from JoAnn's when I went to Maryland in August. The sentiment is from SU! and you can hardly see, but I embossed some swirly stuff along the bottom also from SU!

Next, I used apricot paper and ink w/ summer sun ribbon from PTI. The footprint & rattle stamps are from The Angel Company, and the 'baby' stamp is SU!, lastly, the welcome baby is from PTI. Oh - baubles are "goldfish" from Stamping Bella
Stamps from TAC. Embossed w/ hologram EP, swiss dot cuttlebug folder, used silver liquid pearls on the "blanket" and colored w/ various markers....

Ducks & sentiment from PTI - don't remember where that paper is from (other than my LSS). This one is not my fave, but was trying to do something different.
Thanks for looking!

... susan's blog challenge ...

Happy World Card Making Day!!! I made this card for my friend, Susan's blog-iversary and sketch challenge. It uses her favorite color combo (which is tough for me, b/c I love using pinks and girlie colors). You have till next week to make a card and enter her blog candy... Good luck!

... birdhouses ...

I colored these birdhouses at my friend, Amber's, house last week. She got them from a wish rak, so I don't know who makes them... My sister, Tammy, collects birdhouses, so I sent this her way...

... a new-ish blog ...

My friend, Susan, started a blog back in August and I keep forgetting to add her link to my side bar. So, while I'm remembering, I wanted to mention her blog address in case you want to drop in and say hello... http://www.susansdayoffcreations.blogspot.com/
Some of my Maryland friends will remember her from my workshops. ;-)

Oh - and probably most everyone in blogland was aware of that HUGE blog candy that Cammie had up for grabs last week...well, my good friend, Amber, won it! How amazing is that? Thankfully, she lives down the street, so it'll almost be as good as if I won b/c I'll get to see and touch all her goodies!!

Have a great night....

... doctor thank you ...

Hello - sorry it's been so long... I got a new card reader since I lost my last one - now I can upload pictures again...

My dear friend had surgery a few weeks ago and asked me to make a thank you card for her to give to her doctor for being so wonderful. Here's what I came up with.

I used pure poppy paper - gorgeous stuff! Basic Grey patterned paper, nesties, PTI white and chocolate c/s, pti satin ribbon, and buttons. Stamps are from Stamping Bella and SU! Oh - and to get those speckles, I used the inkworx air tool - it's been discontinued, but SU! has something that works and looks exactly the same.

... pierrette pointytoes ...

Another chichiboulie gal - I made this card for my friend, Amber. She was nice enough to photograph it for me since I gave it to her before I got a chance.



The sentiment is from TAC
Images are from Stamping Bella (even the flower background)
Paper is from Stampin Up!
ink: gable green & canvas white for b/g, noir black
assorted markers, prima, baubles, ribbon.

... tiny tina teacup ...

I was in a Christmasy mood last week and had this paper leftover from last year, so decided to make a card w/ my newest chichiboulie gal... I'm sending this to my sister b/c her name is Tina and it was only right. ;)

... not stamping related ...

Hey friends! My hubby's squadron had a "gown swap" this past Friday night where lots of gowns/dresses were donated by gals who'd worn them and weren't ever going to wear them again... some still had tags on them, so they probably got them at a great deal, and either they didn't fit, or whatever.... Anyhoo - I was volunteering to "work" the swap, so all the volunteers got first dibs. I really didn't expect to find a dress I liked, much less one I'd consider wearing to the Marine Corps Ball (in November); I'd been wanting to wear a white dress for several years now, and decided this was the year - finally - so I was pretty sure there'd be no white dresses to choose from, let alone one that would fit. But guess what? I was wrong! Look at this beauty I got... did I mention it was only $1 to attend the swap and leave with a dress?????
So - this first picture is the whole dress.Next, is a close-up of the top....

Lastly, a close-up of the embroidery on the sheer bottom half.

Now, I've got to get Jay's birthday card done - he turns 18 on Thursday!! Also, Levi is working on his birthday party favors, so I gotta help him w/ that...

... you rock ...

I finally made a card with the set from the new SU! catty that I *HAD* to have!

I think I'm going to use this to make Jay's 18th birthday card, too. Isn't that ribbon the best? I got it a while ago at either Ribbons & Bows, Oh My, or The Ribbon Retreat... The cardstock is the new pink pirouette from SU!. For some reason, I was remembering it being a "pinker" shade - it's more blushy (in fact, it's very much like the PTI sweet blush color).

Well, I have been exhausted lately...I hope it's a phase and I snap out of it soon!

... school treats ...

I made these little treats for Kyle to take to school today and give to the people who make his day extra special. He really loves kindergarten and it means a lot to me that there are so many people that make him feel that way.

Levi really liked them, too, so this weekend, we'll make something for him to take to his teachers.

It's margarita night and I really need it today! Hope your day is going better than mine. =)

... satin ribbon ...

Is there anyone out there (besides Amber) who doesn't like satin ribbon? I didn't think so.

The other day, Amber confessed to me that she doesn't like satin ribbon and I can't stop thinking about it. I LOVE satin ribbon -- especially the stuff from PTI. It's so soft and shiny and yummy....

Oh - and another thing... there are certain bloggers that I consider to be celebrities and Amber also thinks this is weird. Come on - seriously??? So - just to prove her wrong, I'm going to mention a few first names and you leave a comment telling me their last name. Got it?

Anna

Michelle

Nichole

Taylor

Lauren

AND - the first person who gets all FIVE of them right will get some SATIN RIBBON from me. Sound good?

Now a little card so you've got something to look at while you're thinking. I used my EE craft spots and embossed this fella in clear. Another something simple for my mass of September birthdays.

... monkey birthday invites ...

My middle child turns 4 in a few weeks and I made up some simple invites for his party. He wants to have a monkey party (whatever that means!). Anyhoo - here is the invite I made... I've got to come up with games and other fun stuff to do and have at the party... I'll keep you posted as I find and create stuff.

... miss betty bombshell ...

I am a slight obsession with the Chichiboulie line at Stamping Bella. They are just the most adorable little images I've ever seen... Here is my newest gal: Betty Bombshell. I just love the retroness of her swimsuit and glasses. It makes me think of my grandma and what she might've worn 40 years ago..

Since my grandma is no longer with us, I'm sending this card to my mom. She loves the "sistah" expression, so I added that to the bottom. The paper is the new pink pirouette from SU!, and the background stamp is from stamping bella - it's called fluffies and is in the "border" section if you want to find it..

I've been cleaning like crazy so far this morning. I'm trying to get my stamp room back in order... wish me luck! ;-)

... vintage birdie ...

I don't think I've shared this little birdie card yet. I made it for my mom a few weeks ago and she LOVED it. I guess it was right up her alley. ;0)

... super boy ...

My brother-in-law has a birthday in a couple weeks and he thinks he's pretty super, so I thought this would be the perfect image to use for his card. I added googlie eyes to Billy and his super dog -- I thought it was a cute effect - my hubby thought it was creepy. Oh well - too late now.

I've been stamping all day (so far), so will share more stuff as the weekend wears on. Hope everyone is staying dry. I'm near the coast of NC and there hasn't been a drop of rain since I got up at 6am this morning... funny.

... stamped onesies ...

I stamped this onesie using acrylic paint and an older SU! alphabet (I think it's quirky, but am not positive). My friends daughter had a shirt like this from Gymboree that was printed in red - I love Mommy (on the front) and Mommy Loves Me (on the back). This is my version... I've since added some glitter to the hearts to jazz it up a bit.

Here is another onesie I stamped and am thinking of adding a couple little ladybugs to the backside for a little something *extra*. I used acrylic paint on this one, too.

... happy anniversary ...

The month of September seems to be the busiest month in terms of cardmaking for me. I've got several anniversaries, and tons of birthdays. I made several of this same card for all the anniversaries this month. This set is a SOTM from CTMH from a year or so ago?? This was the first time it saw ink -- so very sad. Anyhoo, I used Positively Pink ink and cardstock. The sentiment is from Stamping Bella.

... Pink Cat Studio ...

I ordered from Pink Cat studio a few weeks ago for the first time. I'd seen her stuff and thought it was cute, but when I actually went to her site, I really loved the stuff and had to have a few things.... Here are two cards I made with my order. I have a lot of September birthdays, so I had to go the easy route...

... javabellas ...

As I was coloring these gals in the other day, I thought, wouldn't it be cool if they were drinking margarita's??? For about 2 months now, I've been doing a weekly margarita night w/ the girls. It started out just me and Amber and has grown to be me, Amber, Nicki, Jessica, and Amy. We have a blast. Tonight is margarita night! Whew hoo!
So, about this card... I wished for pink paisley embossed paper on SCS and got lots of it, so here is the first time I actually created with it. Also, on the white piece, I used my scor-pal to put an embossed frame around the image (since I don't have nestabilities - YET).
Okay - gotta run...

... preggo congrats ...

While I was in Maryland, Tom called to tell me that his buddy, Dan called to say his wife was expecting their first baby in the Spring. I'd been meaning to make her a card ever since I got home and it took me till yesterday to get one done...

This stamp is from a TAC set that I've had for a while, but still love, love, love it.



Cardstock & ribbon are from PTI - patterned paper I've had forever and don't know where it's from...

... i love the internet. ...

Yes, I really do. I am always browsing this or that. Today I found a little store called "Lily Cait," and I was amazed at the prices of the bows and clippies she has on there. I've mentioned that my friend, Amber, makes these, so I sent her the link right away to show her these clips.

So, today I'm working on like 5 different things. One is a set of birthday invitations for a 1st birthday. Next, I have some back-to-school cards I want to make -- my sisters kids all start school this week ~ I was going to send them each a card, but that'd be 7 cards, so instead I'm thinking a "family" card will suffice. Then, my little Tucker Bucker is turning 4 next month, so I need to whip up some invites for that. He wants a monkey party. We saw some cute cupcakes in a magazine and are making those for it....

Since I'm not finished any of my cards to even photograph them, I'll share a card I made last week...

I also happen to love Bellas (surprise, surprise). =) I got Daisy Bella in a WISH RAK and am debating on if I need to own her or not..... I sent this card to my baby sis for helping out w/ the kids during my visit to Maryland...

Well, I need to scoot and get stuff done. Tomorrow is Kyle's kindergarten orientation -- his first official first day will be Tuesday. Riding the bus and everything!!! We can't wait. ;-)

... very glittery bella ...

Wow - let's just say I went a teensy bit overboard with the stickles on this card....


My friend, Nichole, asked me to make a card for her cousin who just bought a house and I'd started this one, so she is getting it. I've been into jazzing up the inside of cards, so this one has a white quarter sheet w/ those little flowers stamped all around the edges in brown.

... I'm back ...

Hey friends and fellow bloggers...

I'm back from my trip. I'm super tired, I can barely keep my eyes open and should be in bed. BUT, I've missed my computer and my stamping room, so while everyone is snoozing, I'm in here... I altered some crayon boxes a couple weeks ago after seeing it on someones blog (I think Lauren from mytime...) - anyhoo, she used a box of markers and said what a neat idea it'd be for halloween treats instead of candy. I agree, but even on sale, I didn't want to buy up a bunch of packs of markers, so I opted for 17¢ crayons from Rose Art. Last year my friend, Jessica, had a Halloween party and we are talking about doing it again, so I want to make these as favors for all the kids. The pumpkin face is from PaperTrey, Ink's Spooky Sweets set. I barely used this last year, so want to get lots of use out of it this year... =)


Oh - I'm also trying to think up my Christmas card for this year... Yes, I realize it's a bit early, but I am feeling more inspired lately by all the new stamps that are out there! I am thinking I want to do red and white, but can't think of much more than that. I also think I'm going to make different cards for all my girlfriends this year like I did last year... So that'll be fun.

Have you all seen the new releases at Stamping Bella? Very cute stuff!

Oh - and a BIG thank you to AMBER for fancying up my blog while I was gone... Do you love it or what?????