Brads & Butterflies...and happy 10-year anniversary!

Hi everyone, and TGIF!! First, I want to wish my awesome husband a very happy 10-year anniversary. Love ya, babe! I made him a very special card using his favorite image...but I can't share it with you yet because it's in the Fan Club Gallery awaiting the reveal on the 15th. I'll be able to share it with you here on my blog in a few months from now. I gave it to him this a.m., and he really liked it...whew!

Today's Limited Supplies Challenge is to use brads on a card as the only embellishment....no ribbon, stickles, other hardware, etc....oh, and you had to incorporate the brads into the stamped image somehow. I used mine as the trails for the butterflies. Sharon Johnson is also running a 10-minute card challenge, so I kept my card really simple today.....Just the black Verve butterflies (that are oh so adorable!), silver brads, and shades of black/white/gray. The inside has one little butterfly down in the lower left corner on a piece of white CS that is matted with a black panel.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Verve Fluttering By, Verve Petals & Stems
Paper: Basic Gray, Basic Black, White
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx
Accessories: Silver Brads, Ticket Corner Punch

Janice and I had a great time shopping yesterday. Thanks for the fun day, Janice!! She found a couple really awesome stores. Just in case you're in the Hershey, PA area, here's info on the stores. They're both definitely worth visiting. Neither store has a whole lot of stamps, but MAN OH MAN do they have paper and embellishments!!

Times to Remember (Premier Scrapbooking Store...big!)
The Hershey Outlets, 50 Outlet Square...right next to Hershey Park
www.hersheyscrapbook.com

Fancy That (Scrapbook and Craft Boutique...and oh so pink and diva-like!!)
139 South Hanover Street, Hummelstown, PA
www.fancythatscrapbook.com


Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Happy Thursday!

Hi everyone and Happy Thursday morning! I won't have anything crafty to show you today because I'm going SHOPPING with my friend Janice!! She found a couple new scrapbooking/stamping stores so we're going to go check them out, maybe grab some lunch, gab a bit.....so excited!

Don't forget to check the Our Creative Corner blog this Saturday for some exciting news to go along with our next challenge. Psssst, want a little hint? There could be someting in it for YOU!!...but that's all I'm sayin' {wink}

I want to send a big CONGRATS to my friend and fellow OCC girl, Dawn Easton (TreasureOiler)....she's been chosen to be the first Watch Out Wednesday Stamper for Unity Stamp Company! If you get a chance, stop by her blog and send her a big ole' congratulations!

And finally, Kim (from Stampin in the Rain), gave me the Arte y Pico award.

How sweet, thanks Kim!!

Have you seen Kim's blog? If not, please stop by and check her out. She has a really fun blog. she's super talented, and she's a real sweetie!

The rules of the Arte Y Pico are to pass it along to five people based on their creativity, design, and interesting material. Here are my five picks for this round:

My fellow OCC girls! ....okay there are six, but who's counting, right?? {smile}

1. Amy Sheffer (Pickled Paper Designs)
2. Cindy Haffner (Cindy Haffner's Corner)
3. Dawn Easton (TreasureOiler Designz)
4. Jennifer Meyer (Jennifer's Sweet Designs)
5. Laurie Schmidlin (Just Give Me Stamps)
6. Lynda Benden (Stamp Act)

Have an awesome day, and I'll check back with you soon.

Annie LaPoint

Here's a card for today's Sketch Challenge #SC182...using one of the new MFT Annie LaPoint stamps.

I stamped the white inchies (the white 1" x 1" squares that are in the "brady bunch formation"..tehe!) using the top part of the tub image in Lavender Lace. The overall card measures 4" x 4" square.

The main image was stamped twice in Versafine Black Onyx, colored with reinkers and Copic markers, and then the tub and flowers were cut out and popped up on dimensionals over the base layer.

The inside of the card includes a white panel with stamping along the bottom edge...using just the top part of the image. Click on the picture below and it'll give you a zoomed in close-up....actually, you can click on any of my pictures to get a close-up...but you probably already knew that. Okay, enough rambling...

Recipe ~
Stamps: MFT Annie LaPoint Take a Break
Paper: Textured Lavender Lace, Textured Mellow Moss, Basic Black, White
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Lavender Lace, Mellow Moss, Certainly Celery, Warm Grey #1 Copic Marker
Accessories: Lavender Organdy Polka Dot Ribbon, Dimensionals
Technique: Watercoloring with Reinkers
Card Size: 4" x 4" Square

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and don't forget about the Our Creative Corner challenge that's coming up this Saturday. It's gonna be good!

A tag!

I've been tagged by my blogging friend and fellow OCC girl, Jennifer (Jennifer's Sweet Designs).

Thanks, Jennifer!

Here are seven random things about me:

1. I love the add broken up potato chips in a ham & cheese sandwich...crunchy!

2. I have a collection of Boyd's Bear resin figurines.

3. I have a butterfly tattoo.

4. My husband says I have "ORD"....his own made-up acronym for Obsessive Rearranging Disorder. I apparently move stuff all the time without even realizing it, LOL!

5. My favorite creamer for coffee right now is International Delight Mocha Marshmallow...yummmmy!

6. LOST is my favorite TV show...and I miss it already!

7. I also love the show Moonlight...Mick St. James is a hottie!

Okay, so now I need to tag 7 people. Here goes:

~ Janette (Stamping with Style)
~ Silke (My Life)
~ Jackie (The Scalloped Edge)
~ Rose Ann (Paper Delightz)
~ Jen (Inky Pinky Inks)
~ Sandy (Got Stamps?)
~ Kim (Stampin' in the Rain)

...only play along if you want. No worries if you don't (I don't want anyone to feel pressured or anything). {smile}

Enjoy your evening! Tomorrow is sketch challenge Wednesday on SCS!!!

Lavender Mojo

Here's a card for Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #43 and the Technique Challenge on SCS, which is to color with reinkers.

I love these new Annie LaPoint stamps from MFT. I think they're really pretty! First time inking this one up too.

The main image was cut out with the Coluzzle up to where the image met the edge, then I cut around the part of the lavender stems that were outside the oval. The main panel is popped on a layer of dimensionals, the Amethyst scallop oval is on a second layer, as is the punched sentiment.

Using my Stampin' Spots, I stamped just the top of the lavender image to get the flowers along the bottom of the card front as well as the inside panel. They're stamped in Mellow Moss and Amethyst.

Have to give a shout out to Silke for sending me the Oval Nesties! Thanks, girl! {smile}

Recipe ~
Stamps: MFT Annie LaPoint Lavender, MFT Congrats All Around (sentiment)
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Textured Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss, Textured Mellow Moss, Basic Black, White
Ink: Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss, Versafine Black Onyx, Perfect Plum, Close to Cocoa, Basic Brown
Accessories: Black Brads (floral and plain), Nestabilities Scallop Oval, Coluzzle, Word Window Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Dimensionals
Technique: Watercoloring with Reinkers

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you're having a good day!

Featured Stamper - Lost in the 60's

Today's Featured Stamper on SCS is Diane (Lost in the 60's)....awesome stamper!! What a fantastic gallery to choose from. HERE'S her card that I chose to CASE.

I was totally inspired by the Inkadinkadoo stamp she used and the flight pattern of the birds in that stamp. I don't own that stamp (but I might just buy it because I like it so much) but when I saw it, I thought of my new Verve butterflies.

Speaking of Verve, did you see that I was one of the winners for the $15 in Verve Bucks.....WHOA!, YAY!, OMG--SO EXCITED!! I'm lovin' my new sets, and I can't wait to see the new sets that are being released this week. I was the 29th entry in the Project Parade, and that was the number picked by Random Generator.....funny, because Kevin Harvick (my fav Nascar guy) is #29. {smile}

So back to the challenge...here's what I kept the same and what I changed. I kept Diane's awesome layout, used some large primas and a brad in the corner, chose stamps that would mirror the *flight path* in her card, and kept the same sentiment placement. I changed the colors, stamps, omitted the vellum, and added gingham ribbon as well as two faux brads in the lower left corner (also stamps from the Petals & Stems set). I know you're probably saying, "Orchid Opulence??" Yeah, I don't think I've ever used it, but let's give it some love, shall we? {smile}

The inside of the card includes a Poison Ivory (shimmery CS) panel with two butterflies stamped in the lower right corner with some paper piercing for the *trails*.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Verve Petals & Stems, Verve Fluttering By
Paper: Textured Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Poison Ivory Shimmery CS
Ink: Orchid Opulence, Brilliance Graphite Black
Accessories: Black Brads, Primas (sprites), Black Gingham Ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool
Technique: Masking, Paper Piercing
Card Size: 5" x 5" Square

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you enjoy what's left of the weekend!

RAK's from Alison and Lori...and Tagging!

Hi all! I want to share two cards I received today from a couple really great friends.


The first is from Alison (newstampaddict).

Alison, I just L-O-V-E the coloring on this sandcastle...WOW, girl!! When I opened it, I let out a "ooooh" out loud. Gorgeous! The sentiment is so sweet, as is your note inside. Thank you so much for thinking of me and sending me this precious card. {HUGS}


The next is from Lori (LMcAree).

Lori, thanks doll! You know I commented on this adorable card, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive it in real life! Thanks for taking the time to stamp off the quilt images for me, and for the very sweet note inside!! {HUGS}


Now...I've been tagged THREE times over the past few weeks. I know, I know....I'm a total slacker with getting this posted. The tags are from:

Renee (my life's inky escape and more...and sweetheart)
Dawn (TreasureOiler Designz...and fellow OCC girl)
Jodi (Stamping a Latte...and fellow dirty girl!).

So, here we go with the questions I've been asked and my answers:

1. Ten Years Ago:
DH and I got married

2. Five Things on My To-Do List Today:
- Make a card for the Verve Project Parade
- Get these tags posted (LOL!)
- Work
- Mail thank you card to mom and dad
- Stamp some PIF's and a RAK

3. Snacks I Enjoy:
Chocolate covered pretzels, kettle corn, tortilla chips with melted cheese

4. Things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Buy a house at the beach, maybe buy a newer/bigger RV, share with family (parents, brother and SIL), donate, and buy more stamps!! {smile}

5. Places I have lived: I've lived in PA all my life

....and, the rules are that I have to forward the tag onto five people. They are:

Alison (Stamper's Ramblings)
Jen (Jen's Designs)
Lori (Smiling While Stamping)
Michelle (Stop and Stamp the Roses...and fellow dirty girl)
Michelle (Just Painting Around)

Enjoy your night!

Verve Project Parade

The Verve Visual team is running an inspiration challenge using this piece from Pottery Barn. They're even offering a a chance to win $15 in Verve Bucks!! You just have to upload by noon TODAY!....I know, nothing like my last minute upload, huh?

Here's my card for the challenge.

I just got the Petals & Stems and Fluttering By sets...I've been ooohing and ahhhing over them since I was away at the beach in May. I don't know what took me so long to order them....they're FABO! Love, Love, LOVE them!!! I especially love the butterflies in each set.

I stamped up a sheet of the small swirl from the SU Priceless set in Real Red on white CS, stamped the one butterfly from the Fluttering By set in Brilliance Black over top of the swirls (three times), cut them out, and popped them up on dimensionals over the base layer. I got the red swirl primas at Michael's.

The inside of the card includes a white panel with a black mat. I stamped the small butterfly from the Petals & Stems set in the corner in Brilliance Black, then paper pierced a *trail* for the butterfly.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Verve Petals & Stems, Verve Fluttering By, SU Priceless
Paper: Papertrey White, Real Red, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black
Ink: Brilliance Black, Real Red
Accessories: Primas, Black Brads, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool
Card Size: 5" x 5" Square

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and don't forget to check out Our Creative Corner for today's Buttons & Brads Challenge. We'd love for you to play along too!

Our Creative Corner - Challenge #2

Today on the Our Creative Corner blog, Cindy Haffner has challenged us to make a card using buttons and brads. Here's my card for the challenge.

I followed SCS Sketch Challenge #181 that was posted this past Wednesday.

The Dirty Dozen and Dirty Dozen Alumni were also challenged by Diane (cookiestamper) to create a card using patriotic colors or a patriotic image, and focus on stamping the inside of the card as well as the envelope. The only restriction to the challenge....no ribbon. I know, yikes! {smile}

This card will be donated to the Cards for Heroes organization.

Please join us in our OCC challenge today to use buttons and brads on a card (at least one button AND one brad). If you upload to SCS, be sure to enter OCCC in the keywords so we can see your work!

Recipe ~
Stamps: Verve Visual Petals & Stems
Paper: Papertrey White, Night of Navy, Textured Real Red
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: White Brads, Blue Buttons
Technique: Out-of-the-Box

Enjoy your Saturday!

Sweet LeAnne and Sweet Janette

I just received two AWESOME congratulatory cards in the mail today that are just SOOOOOOO PRETTY! I took pictures right away so I could share them with you. If you get a chance, hop on over to these blogs. LeAnne and Janette are both very talented stampers with really fun blogs...and they're both sweethearts too!

The first, the mouse in the teacup card, is from Janette (blessingsx3).

Janette, I love this mouse and how you colored him, the pearls in the corner are just beautiful, and the sentiment as well as what you wrote inside is just the sweetest!! You picked really pretty (and sparkly) DP too! Thank you so much. I love all the images you stamped for me too and I'll be sure to put them to use. {BIG HUGS}

The second, butterfly card, is from LeAnne (LeAnne Pugliese).

LeAnne, wowza! You hit it right on the money. Afternoon Tea is my favorite DP and I love bling...especially blingy butterflies!! I hope I caught the sparkle in the picture. I love the seashore images...I'm so excited to have them in real life!! {BIG HUGS}


Don't forget to check Our Creative Corner tomorrow morning....a new challenge from Cindy Haffner will be posted. We hope you'll stop by and play along!

Later!

Ice Cream Sundae

Taylor's sketch challenge for today looked really fun, so here's a card following that sketch.

I got the cute Whipper Snapper Ice Cream Sundae image from my friend Lori (LMcAree) through the PIF thread. Thanks, Lori!...finally got to coloring this one.

The Chocolate Chip circle is up on dimensionals, and the white sentiment circle is up on a second layer.

The image was colored with a combination of Prisma Pencils (blended with Gamsol) and Copic markers.

The Celery half circle on the right was cut with my coluzzle.

The inside of the card includes a white panel with cupcakes (from the SU Short & Sweet set) stamped in Basic Brown along the bottom edge.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Whipper Snapper Ice Cream Sundae, SU Circle of Friendship, SU Short & Sweet
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, White, Provo Craft Soft Serenity Mauve Stripe DP
Ink: Perm Black, Basic Brown, Warm Grey Copic #1, Warm Grey Copic #3, Prisma Pencils
Accessories: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Slot Punch, Brown Polka Dot Organdy Ribbon, Brown Sparkle Brads, Gamsol and Stumps, Coluzzle, Dimensionals
Technique: Gamsol Magic
Card Size: 4.75" x 4.75" Square

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and please come back again!

We're back from Knoebels

We're back from our camping trip to Knoebels. Have you ever been to Knoebels Amusement Park and/or the campground??....AWESOME place! If you've never been there but are looking for something to do in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend it! It's like stepping back in time...quaint little amusement park with fun rides (TONS of toddler rides), FREE admission so you can walk in and out as often as you like, great water park, cheap prices, and you can even take the dog right into the park (provided the dog is on a leash). It's one of our favorite places.

We had a great time, but it's nice to be back home. The weather was kind of funny this week. It's usually very hot while we're there so we hang at the pool a lot. This year was really cool, and it rained off and on throughout the day most of Tuesday and Wednesday.

There was one MAJOR thing missing this year....my oldest daughter. She's 19 now and had other plans for this week, so this was the first trip to Knoebels that she missed. :(

Peanut, we missed ya! It wasn't the same without you!

Here are some more pics from the week...

Who's Dirty?

Have you seen the latest dirty girl news on Splitcoast??????????

I was asked to join the design team!!

OMG!..the Dirty Dozen...little ole' me. Wow, huh??

When I was away at the beach last month, I received a phone call...that's right a phone call...from Jenn Balcer asking me what I was "doing for the next six months." {holy cr*#!} Yeah, I was feeling pretty giddy...TRIED so hard to play it cool {how did I do, Jenn?}, but oh man, I was shaking!! LOL!

Two of my stamping friends were with me that weekend, right in the room with me while I was on the phone with Jenn, and promised us that they'd keep the secret. Lori and Janice, what a huge secret to have to keep for an entire month! Thank you, and I'm really glad you were both there to share the excitement.

I'm so glad the secret is out and I can finally TALK about it, LOL! I was so afraid I'd give it away and people would guess....actually some of you DID start making guesses. It was all I could do to avoid those questions too, LOL! So anyway, if I've "disappeared" from threads or if I've been more quiet and haven't been producing as many challenge cards, now you know why. {smile}

If you're a member of the SCS Fan Club, be sure to check out all the awesome projects the dirty girls have put together for this month's theme. You'll love them!

So...onto the card. I made this card for my awesome "roomie" Carole (TruCarMa), who was also introduced as a new dirty girl this month. Hi Carole, I hope you like the card.

I thought the Muddy Pup image from Whipper Snapper would be a cool image for a "dirty girl" card. Check out the pup's little face. Doesn't it just look like the pup is asking, "WHO?" hehe! The image was sent to me by my friend Janette (blessingsx3). Thanks, Janette! The puppy circle is up on a layer of dimensionals, and the Pretty in Pink circle behind it is up on a second layer of dimensionals. The star with the question mark was made on the computer, printed twice, cut out, and layered with dimensionals as well. The white panel at the top is sponged in Pretty in Pink around the edges, and the Who's Dirty sentiment was made on the computer. The inside of the card has a white panel with Close to Cocoa sponged around all four edges. Then I stamped the star stamp from the Background Basics set along the bottom in Pretty in Pink.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Whipper Snapper Muddy Pup, SU Background Basics
Paper: Kraft, White, Pretty in Pink, Sandylion Designs DP (from Michael's)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Prisma Pencils
Accessories: Berry Sorbet Ribbon, Brown Organdy Ribbon, Circle Nestabilities, Dimensionals, Pink Stickles, Pink Swarovski Crystals
Technique: Gamsol Magic

I'm going to be offline for a few days doing some camping at one of my favorite places here in PA! Thanks for stopping by today and I'll check back in with you later in the week....with camping pics!

Our Creative Corner - Challenge #1

We're having our first challenge today over on the Our Creative Corner blog.

It's a sketch challenge, hosted by Cindy Haffner!!

Come on over and play along in the challenge. Just be sure to leave a comment on the OCC challenge post with a link to your card on your blog or SCS gallery. If you upload to Splitcoast, use keyword OCCC so all the submissions are grouped in one place. :)

*ETA* ...please bear with us while we're working out some bugs. When uploading to SCS, please use keyword OCCC (with THREE c's). We found out today that there are already a bunch of uploads using keyword OCC that aren't part of the Our Creative Corner blog. Sorry for the inconvenience. {smile}

For my card, I used my new Great Impressions Lighthouse stamp that I bought last weekend while shopping with LeAnne, Jen and Wendy (hi girls!).

I stamped the lighthouse in Black Colorbox ink and then heat embossed it in clear EP. I watercolored the image using inkpads, masked the lighthouse, and then sponged Bashful Blue all around the sky. I also added highlights with my Sakura sparkle pen to the lighthouse and water. There's a close-up picture of the sparkle below.

The inside of the card includes a white panel with So Saffron sponged around all four sides. Then I stamped the rope and knot stamps from Crafty Secrets Seaside in Chocolate Chip to make a border around the entire panel.

Recipe ~
Stamps: Great Impressions Lighthouse, Gina K Kindred Sentiments for Her, Craft Secrets Seaside
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, White
Ink: Colorbox Black, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Real Red, Sakura Sparkle Pen
Accessories: Yellow Brads, Brown Satin Ribbon, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Clear Embossing Powder
Technique: Sponging, Heat Embossing

Thanks for visiting my blog today, and I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far