... JOY to the world ....

Well..... this card I made a month ago.... I was going through my Christmas/winter embellishments and found the snowflakes and the chipboard stickers. I need to get some square envelopes to put this in, because I definitely see me making more square cards.

Get keys to the house today! Yipppeeeeeeee!!!!! It won't be till this afternoon, so we will actually be moving our stuff tomorrow.

vintage ornaments!

The other morning, my friend, Amber, and I got together w/ some new friends here to make cards. These are the two I came up w/ to make at our gathering....
PTI's smokey shadow and lavender moon. Lovely combo - and I NEVER seem to use lavender moon. I also used their shimmery white paper - it's awesome - makes the colors softer (in my opinion) when they are stamped. I also used plum pudding as the darker purple accent.

Next I used sweet blush and hibiscus on SU!'s basic gray paper. For the glitter, I used a glue pen and sprinkled Martha Stewart glitter on top. On the longer ornament, I used stickles at first, but it looked goopy and not very glittery, so I added the Martha glitter while they were still wet and this is how it turned out.

Have a great day! Happy Monday - I'm taking my boys to the hourly care on base, so will have 3 whopping hours to myself! Actually - part of that time I will have Levi, but he's the easy one! =)

... pink & red stocking ...

Hi friends! Sorry for the "foggy" picture - my camera lens was a bit dirty when I took this, but I think you get the idea! I am smitten w/ red & pink this year! Since I doubt my hubby would want these for our Christmas cards, I used the sentiment "just a little Christmas note" from PTI's Signatuare Christmas set -my current favorite! I just love Dawn's handwriting and hope they release lots more from her!
Busy day cleaning here - gasp - story of my life! We get keys to our new house on base Tuesday and will be moving all day Wednesday. Fun fun. I think I'm most excited to have a washer & dryer at my disposal!
Hope you all have a fabulous day!

IHP Birthday Bash - challenge "Birthday Greetings"

Our challenge for you today is 'Birthday Greetings (a birthday card for any age or gender)' Remember, everything this week has to do with birthday celebrations...so be sure your creation is birthday related!

Here are the hosts for each day. Be sure to check their blogs on their scheduled day to find out that day’s challenge. You can also check the main IHP Birthday Bash page at the store. It will be updated daily.

Day 1(10/19): Kate(owner), Sarah Anderson, and Dee Jackson
Day 2 (10/20): Deb/Latisha Yoast
Day 3 (10/21): Gretchen/Lesa Smaligo and Lynn/Asela Hopkins
Day 4 (10/22): Cathleen/Kerri Michaud and Carolyn/Maria Fiscella
Day 5 (10/23): Megan/Chris Veneruso and Kendra/Debbie Fisher
Day 6 (10/24): Tracy/Heidi Van Laar and Amber/Kerry Davis
Day 7 (10/25): Sunday, day of rest (finish up your challenges!)
Day 8 (10/26): PARTY! GRAND PRIZE (winners are announced)

The card I made is a 5x5 square using the Hero Arts set Birthday. Totally cute and I love how big the sentiment is! It’s got loads of versatile images, so you have to check it out!

I stamped the cookies in chocolate chip ink from SU!, and the little flowers in vintage cream from PTI. I used my nestabilites to cut out the circle and scallop. The pink striped paper & ribbon are both from IHP. The ribbon is sooo pretty! It’s suede down the middle and has those scalloped edges – my fave!! Flowers are punched, and leaves are ribbon, too.

So do you want to play along!!??

Before you begin, PLEASE take a few minutes to review the challenge guidelines! You’ll want to follow these rules to maximize your points and qualify for the opportunity to WIN the prize for today’s challenge and the Grand Prize, all announced on the last day of our festivities!

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is upload your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. Today’s challenge tag is IHPBB6. The daily challenge winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week.

To qualify for the Grand Prize of being IHP Guest Designer for the month of November, here’s how it will work: Every challenge card/project you enter will earn you points (see below), and one with the most accumulated for the week the Grand Prize winner. So the more challenges you enter, more points you earn — and the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize (and the bigger the value of your Guest Designer box will be)!

You will have until October 25^th to post your work, and you can enter as many challenges as you like, but you CANNOT combine challenges in one project. All winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at the Birthday Bash on October 26^th.

Birthday Bash Points

For each project:

5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to SCS

5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to PCP

2 points for uploading to your blog and linking at least one IHP item used to the IHP website

One time points:

2 points for signing up to receive our newsletter*

2 points for joining our PCP group*

2 points for becoming our fan on Facebook*

10 points if you participate in all 6 IHP Birthday Bash challenges

*When you sign up, or if you are already signed up, a comment here so your points can be credited.

... moving bella ....

Well, since we got our new address today, I thought it only appropriate that I post this card! I doubt I will be using her on ALL my *just moved* cards b/c she takes a while to color, but I sure do adore her!
Okay - lots to do, so this is super short. Card deets: sweet blus c/s & ribbon, mellow moss c/s,m swiss dot folder, nesties. Sentiment is from PTI.

IHP Birthday Bash and A Special Gift

Get ready for the i {heart} papers Birthday Bash! That’s right, IHP is turning 1 year old this month, and a whopper of a party is planned! There's also a special gift planned to help others celebrate more birthdays. You’ll read more about that at the end of this post.

First, let’s talk about the party! There will be prizes galore (free stuff – you like free stuff, don’t you?), and a Grand Prize winner will be chosen at the end to be the IHP Guest Designer for the month of November!

There will be 6 birthday party themed challenges, one posted each day starting on Monday, October 19th. Each challenge will be hosted (and posted) by one of the IHP Design Team members. It will also be posted on the IHP Blog and on the store site HERE. Some special invited guests will be posting throughout the week, too! Each challenge will have its own prize.

To qualify for the prize of the day, all you have to do is post your challenge card/project to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) and/or Paper Craft Planet (PCP) with the appropriate tag so we can find it. The tag (and the prize) for that day’s challenge will be posted on that day. You will have the full week (until October 25^th) to post your work, and you can enter as many challenges as you like, but you can’t combine challenges in one project. The daily challenge winners will be selected at random at the end of the week.

To qualify for the Grand Prize of being IHP Guest Designer for the month of November, here’s how it will work: Every challenge card/project you enter will give you points (see the list below), and the one with the most points accumulated for the week will be the Grand Prize winner. So the more challenges you enter, the more points you earn — and the better your chances of winning the Grand Prize (and the bigger the value of your Guest Designer box will be)!

All winners, including the Grand Prize winner, will be announced at the Birthday Bash on October 26^th.

So get ready to PARTY!!!! You won’t want to miss the fun!

Birthday Bash Points

For each project:

5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to SCS

5 points for each challenge card/project you make, upload and tag to PCP

2 points for uploading to your blog and linking at least one IHP item used to the IHP website

One time points:

2 points for signing up to receive our newsletter*

2 points for joining our PCP group*

2 points for becoming our fan on Facebook*

10 points if you participate in all 6 IHP Birthday Bash challenges

*When you sign up, or if you are already signed up, leave us a comment on the IHP blog during Birthday Bash week so your points can be credited.

A Special Gift

Because i {heart} papers loves birthdays so much, they’ve decided to contribute 10% of sales, beginning on October 19^th and through the end of October, to Hope Lodge New York City. Hope Lodge, run by the American Cancer Society, “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays,” offers free, temporary housing for cancer patients and their families who are undergoing treatment. The nurturing, comfortable environment at Hope Lodge allows patients to focus on what is most important - fighting cancer. What better way to celebrate a birthday than to help those who are helping more birthdays happen!

... card for a Marine ...

I got an e-mail from my hubby a week ago about a Marine who'd been wounded 3 years ago in Iraq and they are amazed he is alive today. They are hoping to send him 1000 cards to celebrate that he survived.
Here is the card I made.

If you would like to particpate, here is the address:

Colin Smith

PO Box 646

Amherst, OH 40001-0646

a few projects....

I got this cute letter N at Hobby Lobby in Houston back in August and got a chance to jazz it up recently. I covered it w/ paper and used mod podge to glue it down and covered the top so it's sealed all nice. I added some blue and brown buttons, too. I have a little collection of N's for the twins room.
Next, I have Mishie-style note pads to show off. I made these a couple weeks ago, and since PTI is coming out w/ a whole set dedicated to making these adorable little suckers, I thought I'd share my versions....

Not very chatty tonight - had a long-ish seeming day. Gotta tuck the kiddos in...

... just because cherries ...

Oh, I've been slacking! I meant to be a super good blogger, but well.... I forget. I ought to have a day that I schedule blog posts for the week, but then I wouldn't be able to ramble on about whatever is going on w/ me that day.

So, about the card: raspberry fizz and spring moss paper, sheer white ribbon, raspberry fizz buttons. Easy peasey! Oh - the scallop punch is from SU. Although, the more I see the other fancy scallop punches, it makes me want more than just this one.

Tomorrow I am venturing to a scrapbook store in Palm Desert - Wootens. Anybody ever heard of it? I found their website and it looks pretty cool. The hubby and kids are off school, so I am getting a day ALL TO MYSELF. How lucky for me.

Anyhoo - that's it for today. I've been working on Christmas gifts already for my sisters' kiddos... I'll show you them soon.

PUMPKIN EMMA

Morning blog friends! I seem to be stamping much more than usual lately! Shhh, don't tell my hubby. ;-)
Anyhoo - I think I am going to give this as a birthday card.... Pretty simple and to the point. I've really been digging digi images lately - this one is from CC Designs. Colored w/ tombow markers, avocado paper from PTI, polka dotted paper is from cosmo cricket. I think I love Cosmo Cricket more than Basic Grey now. I can use ALL the sheets in teh stack, and w/ BG, I tend to only use a third of them???
Okay - gotta take Kyle to school. Have a super day!

head start on the moving cards

Hello blog friends! In 22 days I will be moving into a new house (not brand new, just new to me). We've been in temporary housing since early August, so I am really ready to get cozy in a place that will be mine for three years! Hence, I used the sentiment "home sweet home" rather than we've moved....

On this card, I was playing around mixing up some colors to get a different look. I also made a few that are more halloween themed since we move right before then...

It's finally feeling like fall out here in southern California. I sent the boys to school in long sleeves yesterday. At night we need jackets. Love it!

WCMD Challenge #2: Mexico

I actually am pretty happy w/ how this card came out -- it definitely made me stretch my imagination. In case you can't tell, I was attempting to make the card resemble one of those famous Mexican blankets....
I used the stripes from retro background and colored some of them in for variety, cut strips and mounted them on black cardstock. Sentiment is printed.
BRB w/ my India challenge card....l

WCMD Challenge 1: Japan

I made a few cards to submit to Nichole's WCMD blog challenge. First up is a Japanese themed card. I *finally* got to use this little set from SU! - oh golly, I forget the name. I knew I wanted to use RED and then decided to add some gold (but really, the gold didn't look gold, so I used metallic copper color instead. That fancy button I dug out of my scarlet jewel collection. So cute.

... BFF cherries ...

Wow... isn't this a lovely card? I think it looks especially pretty because I didn't take the picture! My BFF, Amber, stamped me some of these cherry stems from everyday button bits and I just LOVE them, so I had to make her a little card out of them. ;-)
I used spring moss, avocado twill (to save on ribbon, I tied the knot, and just adhered it to the front of the card rather than all the way around. That paper is from basic grey -- lemonade, I think??? Sentiment is from TAC - it's a mix of tons of words that you put together to write whatever you want.

We are planning to take the kiddos to see the Toy Story movies today - wish us luck!!!

... i heart owls ...

Oh, it looks like this pic is a tad dark, but you still get the gist of it. I *had* to have this paper, and was stumped on what to make with it. I'd gotten the heart nesties a few months ago and never used them (gasp), so it just kinda flowed from there. I'm sending it to my mom because everytime I'm *in* to something, she bombards me with gift items and trinkets of whatever it happens to be.
Today is World Card Making Day - I've been playing around w/ my stamps. Nichole is having a neat blog contest w/ great prizes. Be sure to stop by.

...loving the Christmas cards...

I made these two adorable cards like a day after I got my PTI order. I don't know what took me so long! ;-) I just love them.... AND, I'm completely and totally gaga for the Signature Christmas set. I want PTI to release lots more stuff using Dawn's handwriting!

Sorry this is short - I'm just glad to be uploading again!

...goodies for mom...

Here I am trying to make up for lost time blogging, huh! My mom's birthday was in July, and I wanted to make her something unique that she couldn't BUY. I think that was the month that Lauren's picnic template was released, so that's the one I used.

Here is the basket- I used an old set I had from TAC. Not sure what it's called anymore. . . Can you tell I was going through a yellow phase??? =)

hi cute paper!

I love this Cosmo Cricket paper I've been seeing everywhere! I needed to make a card for my father in law to send a family picture, so I didn't want it to look to girlie.

The velvet rick rack I got from ebay, buttons are probably PTI, *HI* is done w/ stickers I've had forever...

Hope you like! I've got more... be back soon.

...four little elves...

I have had Christmas cards on the brain since JULY! Yes, really... I have been trying to think of the perfect card to make and send out (we send about 90 cards out). There are so many cute sets out there and images that I wanted, it was hard to decide. I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but I don't have to make all 90 cards the same! Duh - so, this year I'm going to play and make as many different cards as I want!
First up is this card w/ four little elves to represent my four little boys (I have 5 boys, but one is far from little at 19 years old).
Pink Cat Studio had this digi image (along with a ton of other cute ones) that I couldn't pass up. I've also printed it small and put "to/from" next to him and will be making tags for Christmas gifts! I feel like this card is still missing *something* but I'm not sure if I ought to add buttons, or ribbon, or both. . .

sweet cherries!

Hello dear friends! I've been on a stamping frenzy now that I actually have my STUFF again! Still waiting for a house, but at least I've got my goodies to play with.
My sweet friend, Amber, stamped me some of these PTI cherries from Everyday Button Bits, and I'm smitten with them!

The patterned paper is Basic Grey -- not sure which line, sorry! The sentiment is one I've had for ages that I got free from TAC. Spring moss cardstock and ribbon is from Michaels... Oh - the swirly thing my friend sent me and I threw out the packaging, so have no clue where it came from!

I added some stickles to the cherry leaves and I love the sparklyness!

...an update...

I see it's been TWO MONTHS since I've blogged. Yikes... I'm in California now - love it so far. We are waiting for housing on base, so I have none of my stamping "stuff" for who-knows-how-much-longer!
I do have some pictures I can share, albeit non-stamping related....

This was our view driving through New Mexico and Arizona....

Almost to our destination... I took this out the front window driving throught Joshua Tree National Park.

We made it to Twentynine Palms, CA on Aug. 13th. We stayed at a temporary lodging facility on base and every time I left the parking lot there, this is the stop sign I saw. It amazed me that a) it had gotten that faded by the sun, and b) that it hadn't been replaced yet!

Hopefully, it won't be long till we hear something. We started as #2 on the list and have been #3, and almost #1, but today we are #4! Ugh... so frustrating! Apparently, there are empty houses on base, but those are reserved for "Officers" -- so we wait!

THANK YOU DAD

Geez, I never blog anymore. . . It's not that I'm not stamping, it's just time-consuming to upload & edit pictures, then plop 'em in here for a handful of people to look at. . . Not to mention, I'm 3 weeks away from moving! There's still tons to do....

Anyhoo - my dad bought me a TomTom for when we're in California trying to figure our way around, so I made this card to thank him.

I absolutely LOVE Star Prints. I think it's my current favorite set! The fonts she used on the sentiments are perfect! I used spring rain cardstock - I used SU! bliss or bashful blue ink. I've had that vellum star paper for a long time, so I have no clue where it's from.

one more thing!

I keep forgetting to mention my BLOG MAKEOVER. My BFF, Amber, is a web guru who created my new header & background. For some reason, I've been liking all things YELLOW lately...

Hope you like!

has this ever happened to you????

I just finished making a card for my dear friend, Nichole, who needed a "congrats you're preggers" card. I thought I'd make a square card since I hadn't in eons. So, as I was getting an envelope to fit the card, Noah thought he'd spiff it up a bit more.... Ahhhh! Dang kids... Anyhoo - it was probably a blessing, because the second card I whipped up, I liked a lot more! Too bad I am lazy and didn't take a picture of it.

... teacher lunch box...

Hello dear friends. . . Happy Father's Day. 'Course I don't have a Father's Day card to show you. I made several, but was so late getting them mailed, I didn't stop to take thier little pictures! My theme was red, white and blue. Turned out pretty cute!
So, today I'm going to share a lunch box (PTI template) that I made weeks ago for Levi's teacher. He picked out the paper and insisted on being in the photo.

Behind that button, I used a little piece of velcro that was sticky. Perfect!

And the side view, just 'cuz Levi's so adorable!

...hooray schools out!

I wanted to make a card for my neices & nephews to celebrate summer vacation! Well - I have 7 that just finished school, and I really didn't want to make SEVEN cards! So, I made two - one for each "family" of kids (my one sister has 4 kids and the other 3).
This first card is square because I messed up the right edge and I didn't like it, so I chopped it off and centered the sentiment on what was left.

I shoulda just made 'em both like this. Oh well. The star paper I got on clearance at Michaels, and the red is PTI's pure poppy. I used my karen foster snap together stamps to spell out the sentiment. I love those! Too bad they're discontinued.... I have to be extra careful not to mess up the ones I have.

Anyhoo - that's about it. We are in the process of packing and stuff for our move to California, so I don't have all my stamp stuff out. Plus, I am trying to keep my stamp room TIDY! Quite a challenge for me. . .

Hope you all are having an awesome day!!!

another digi day...

Well, I was messing around again today and made the following "page." It's still pretty simple and took a while to finish - I'll get faster & better w/ time (I hope!). Anyhoo - I'm thinking I'll try to do a page for each of the kids for the month of June & send them to family....
Click on the image to see it REALLY BIG!

my first digi - anything!!

Okay, so I bet most bloggers have been doing digital stuff forever now... I got a quickie lesson from my dear friend, Amber - and today have been messing around w/ it. There are loads of free stuff out there, so go explore! My dad likes lighthouses, and I saw this beach kit, so thought I'd play around w/ it. I'm probably going to print it and put it on the front of a card. . . I'm not sure yet, but I was so excited I wanted to share ASAP!
Have a great day!

... little gray box ...

I was trying to create something less girlie when I made this. I got inspired by my stack of ABC scrapbook paper that's all black and gray and white. I think the glitter makes it less masculine, but I still love it. I don't know what I'm doing w/ it yet. I already made one for the hubs to put on his desk. It's boring though... I did put some pics of the kids on the front. . .

... twin girls ...

So... my friend, Erin, is due to have twin girls next month. She told me she's liking pink & orange for their room decor.... I'm supposed to be making cute name frames for them, but have been a bit lazy thus far. Anyhoo... I did make her shower card in pink & melon berry and I love how it turned out! She e-mailed me last night and asked if I'd make her announcements that looked like this! Yippee --- I totally will!!!! Um... details - the footprints are an old TAC set I've had forever. The b/g words and rattle are TAC and PTI. I thought it needed softening, so I stamped the little white dots and then added really tiny white dots using my white sharpie. I also spruced up the rattles w/ the sharpie. I think that's it. Ribbon is from The Ribbon Retreat - it's satin on BOTH sides.

sweet little image. . .

I got this RachelleAnneMiller image from my friend, Amber. I forget the name of her, but I LOVE these stamps.
I'm running out the door to pick up Levi from school. Hope you all have a great weekend!

... bella time ...

Has it been a while since I've made or posted a bella card? Seems like it has. . . So, I've got two for you today!
This first one uses Daisybella - she's so cute! I added some glitter to her flowers... The polka-dotted strip is actually sticky fabric tape? Something like that -- it's been in my drawer forever.
Next, is bikerbabeabella. Sorry for the bad coloring. I tried to brighten it up, and it probably looks worse now than before. Oh well. Super simple - I didn't even add a sentiment to it.

Cowboy Birthday

Hi friends! Okay, I'm sure you don't need this many pictures of my latest project. But since I took 'em you'll get to see 'em!
My dear friend, Nichole, called to see if I could whip up some first birthday invites for her nephew, Landon. They were planning a COWBOY themed party - eeeeeep! I couldn't wait to make them! I knew I'd be using my PCS Billy set. . .
I didn't have enough of the background paper to make them all, so I found some coordinating colors that would work...

I think I like the plaid a bit better than the stripes....

And. . . I couldn't NOT make a card for Nichole to give the birthday boy! =)

Hope you loved them!

... baby box ...

Hello friends! Have I mentioned that I love Lauren's templates? I really do. I've gotten quite a few of them. I think my favorite thing about them is the samples they show you that you can't see anywhere else!
So - today, I'm sharing a little box I made using "from the desk of" - yes, again! I probably already blabbed about the samples, too, so sorry 'bout that.
Anyhoo - this could be for a baby girl or boy. I've since gotten some baby wash & lotion and put inside (after wrapping it w/ cute polka dotted paper & a ribbon). Two of the regular sized bottles fit *perfectly* in here.

First is a view of the inside. I'm a wee bit bummed that you can see the dotted score lines, but I probably could've covered those if I made my liner paper a bit wider... This is the stuff you tweak along the way.

I love adding these little feet charms to stuff. I got them at the baby shower section of Walmart - I think you get like 20 of them for $1.99. Good deal!

... little girlie cards ...

So, it takes me forever to take pictures off my memory stick. I'm just such a procrastinator about it! Then *editing* the pictures so they look cute before putting 'em on here. I dunno - I guess I'm busy or lazy, or both?
Lately, I've been taking the kids to an hourly drop-in daycare on Mondays. Well, I used to take them so I could workout, but I've totally fallen off that wagon. So, now I take them every Monday so I can have a little ME time.
Anyhoo - I've got stuff to share... Hope you like!

I used Lily and Tweet for both of these cards. I actually had FOUR little girl birthdays to make cards for during the month of April - the other two are similar, but I didn't get a picture before popping them in the mail.

I went a little glitter-crazy on this last one. I love outlining stuff w/ my quickie glue pen and sprinkling on the Martha Stewart glitter. It's super duper easy and looks pretty, too.