Sending Quick Birthday Wishes

Taking a break from scrapbook pages today for a birthday card for my "niece" Leyla. It was her birthday last week and I needed to get a quick birthday card done. Quick card--ha! I had not made a card for a while when I sat down to work on this one and it took some time to get the creative juices flowing on this, and I'm still not too happy with the end result. I do love the stamp set--PTI's Everyday Button Bits. I was not a fan of this one when it came out this summer but I have seen so many cute samples with it, I figured it was time to give it a try (I can't wait until I have some free time to make some fall cards with the tree image using some fall colored buttons!). I'm hoping that my intermittent mojo comes back in full force once Little Shop is over next week. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits (PTI), Plaid Background (Unity)

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Memento Tuxedo Black, Garden Green

Paper: Garden Green, Tangerine Tango, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, MME DSP

Accessories: Autumn Leaves Buttons, Linen Thread, Sewing Machine, Nesties, Regal Brads, Apron Lace Punch

Crunch Time

We had such a fun Halloween, well, once I got home from crew work on Saturday. We actually took the girls on the neighborhood rounds on Sunday in their costumes . It was so much easier making their costumes this year with the Janome in the house. Who knew? You could use a sewing machine for fabric too and not just cards! Ha ha. I knew that last week at crew while making huge vines to hang from the ceiling and somehow I ended up stitching my finger....yes, you read that right, I had a sewing machine needle go through my finger...on an angle, not through the nail. Given my track record this school year with things getting stuck in my finger (I had the metal shard stuck in my finger for 3 weeks before a doctor finally figured that one out!), this recent turn of events does not surprise me in the least.

Well, here's your Little Shop update for the day--set is up, and we still have lots of finishing touches to add to it, but there is still a week and a half to get it done (yikes!)....we'll be all good. I'm such a Positive Polly :)

I have another scrapbook page for you....can you guess what month this one goes with? Ha ha ha. This one gave me fits for a long time. It just looked so plain! I went digging in my stash to see if there was anything I could dress it up with, and I ran across some Dew Drops, which made a nice border on the bottom, but it was still too plain. Then voila! I got the wise idea to put Sadie's name underneath her pic in hearts. It turned out just the way it looked in my head, and it's adorable. I can't wait until my husband sees this and realizes it is going to sit on his desk at work for the entire month of February :) Not quite something too manly to look at.

ETA: I wonder if this one counts for the Stamp Something challenge for the week....it is to make a project using something cute and fuzzy. I have to say that my girl Sadie is pretty cute and fuzzy, so although she is not an animal stamp, or something with fun flock (although she has worn that around from time to time), I think she fits the bill :) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Fresh Alphabet (PTI)

Ink: Melon Berry

Paper: Bazzil Basics, Cosmo Cricket Chemistry, Melon Berry

Accessories: Chipboard shapes, Sewing Machine, Heart Trio Punch (SU), Melon Berry ribbon, Dew Drops

Whatta Sunday!

It's a rare Sunday post for me today....what a busy weekend! We got a lot of work done on the set yesterday, but there is still lots left to go, so we were meeting at school today to get some work done. I couldn't meet up with the group today because Stella has yet another bladder infection (why can't she get these during regular office hours at the vet's office?). She took her Halloween costume from yesterday to heart (she was the Pea to Sadie's Princess....the pea costume didn't quite work out as I had planned, but she was still cute regardless) and is now doing that....a lot. At least she still feels fine and is her usual self, so when we were cleaning up leaves today we had some fun with her having to jump over a massive pile going off the deck. She did fine going down, but when we make the pile bigger, she stopped and stalled out, as evidence in the pic above :) But what you're really here for is today's card. I used Limelight Papercrafts's sketch challenge for this week as my inspiration. I needed to make a sympathy card, and I integrated the butterflies the challenge required from a Martha Stewart punch into the floral landscape I made using PTI's Life set (which has become my go-to for sympathy cards these days). I got the color combo (Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry and Chocolate Chip) from Basic Grey's Indian Summer line, which you can grab at Limelight if you get inspired to do so :) Nothing else to really add here.....we TiVoed the Bears game while we worked on leaves and we have it up and going right now....which means I need to get in the stamp room and get some crafting done :) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Life (PTI)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry, Dusty Durango, Palette Burnt Umber

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry, Dusty Durango, PTI Rustic Cream, Basic Grey Indian Summer DSP

Accessories: Nesties, Vintage Brads, SU Embossing Folder, Sewing Machine, Linen Thread, PTI Button, Chocolate Wide Grosgrain, MS Butterfly Punch, Pearls

TGIF!

Phew! We've got Audrey II under control (and man--is she huge--my crew has their hands full moving her around) and tomorrow is the big day....we are putting the set together. We couldn't put it together until now due to space constraints (we only have one auditorium and too many groups that use it), so we have all the parts, it's just a matter of assembling and taking the next two Saturdays to put the finishing touches on it. So exciting! It seems like auditions were so long ago, but now the show opens in less than two weeks! On to the craft project du jour...another scrapbook page. Stella is the pin up pup for January. I just love this picture, as it is how you usually find her sleeping--that is, unless it's how she's sleeping now, which is curled up next to me as I type sawing logs :) I put some My Mind's Eye paper to use that I picked up at a scrap expo a few months ago....these snowmen are so cute! There's another snowflake feature on there as well because I can't get enough of felt snowflakes :) Hope you have a great weekend planned with all sorts of fun Halloween festivities....thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Simple Alphabet, Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Versamark, Kiwi Kiss, Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, MME DSP, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories: Nesties, SU Snowflakes, Linen Thread, Sewing Machine, Earth Brads, Making Memories Ribbon, Autumn Leaves Button

Start of Scrapping Season

If you have been following my blog long enough, you know that I make a scrapbook calendar for my immediate family of my girls. I had so much fun making the calendar last year as it was the first year I had started stretching my stamping wings a bit. Now that I'm a free agent and not a SU demo anymore, I can go even more nuts. This page actually is the December page for this year. I waited too long to start the calendars last year, and I was burned out by Christmas, so I left one blank. I got sick of people blowing me crap about it not being done (hey, December is still a month away, folks!) so I got it done first thing. I get all the inspiration for layouts from Becky Fleck's Page Maps. She has a section of mini maps for smaller scrapbook pages, which is what I like to make, and what you will be seeing whenever a scrap page is posted. I'm going to keep this one short.....it was a crazy day yesterday, and today is shaping up to be busy....Audrey II made it to school yesterday, and today is the first rehearsal where we're using the plant. So where we had been making great strides forward, now it's time to take steps back as we integrate props and the ginormous plant (which is supposed to be 6 feet tall and I don't know how wide by the end of the show), and by the time we get all used to that, we add in lights and sound next week. It's getting closer to show time......which means closer to free time to me when it's over :) Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Hero Arts, Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive

Paper: Jillibean Soup and Making Memories DSP, PTI Vintage Cream, Old Olive

Accessories: Nesties, Felt Flurries, PTI Buttons, Cricut Letters, Sewing Machine, Alpine Ribbon Originals

I'm Back!

Phew! Was last week busy or what? I usually get my blog posts (and stuff to post on my blog) done on Sundays, but since I was in Wisconsin for that car touring event with Pat, I was gone all day on Sunday last week and by the time we made it home, I was exhausted and fell into bed. Since the end of the quarter is coming up at school, I spent all my free time at home last week getting papers graded so they wouldn't overwhelm me, and no stamping got done. Even though I spent all day Saturday at school, I was able to speed through my to-do list today and I got all sorts of half finished projects done and ready to post on the blog :) It helps that we TiVoed the Bears game today (although there definately was nothing to see there.....if I hear Chad Ochocinco or Cedric Benson or Jay Cutler interception ONE MORE TIME I am going to explode), which is my guaranteed stamping time every week. Thank goodness we got the bye week out of the way already! So here is my last Halloween card, layout courtesy of the Clean and Simple Stamping blog. I am going to have to stop by there after I am done posting as I have a few cards I need to crank out quickly. I figured that this one could go to a boy as it has the skulls on it....it's not too girly, is it? Thanks for stopping by (and sticking with me....the blogaroonie is all set and updated through Wednesday of next week!)!!

Stamp: Hero Arts

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Basic Grey Eerie, Ripe Avocado, Plum Pudding, Spring Moss

Accessories: Spook Alley accessory pack, Black crochet thread, Black wide grosgrain, Avocado Button, Black rhinestones, EK Success border punch

Hooray for Friday?

Well, I'd say I'm glad it is the weekend, but man, my weekend is jam packed this time around. I have crew on Saturday from 9 til 5, then on Sunday my husband wanted to go to this car criterium thing in Wisconsin, and his dad refused to go along again, and his uncle would weigh the car down, slowing how quick he could go, and his brother is taking his own car, so somehow I am going along on this journey, which involves waking up really early. I will have time to grade papers in the car at least. I think by the time Monday rolls around, I'm going to need a weekend from my weekend :) Well, on to the card. This was the second card I made for the Taylored Expressions sketch from last week in hopes of finding my way onto the design team, which would be kinda cool. It didn't turn out exactly how I pictured in my head, but I think it still looks decent. The button border was the fun part for me. I stitched each of them on so they wouldn't pop off :) I'm going to keep this one short today....hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Hero Arts (sentiment), Lil' Witchy (Stamping Bella)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Basic Grey Eerie DSP, Orange Zest, Kiwi Kiss, Plum Pudding, Rustic White
Accessories: MS Bat Punch, Small Star Punch, Black Stickles, Nesties, Copics, PTI Buttons, Black Crochet Thread, Sewing Machine