You're "Reel" Great!

This week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog is:  "Anything Goes with Twine or String".  I actually came up with the idea for my card when I saw last week's challenge "Let's Have a Laugh" but ran out of time to actually sit down and make it:

I'm still plugging away at February family birthday cards and thought my BIL who is an avid fisherman would appreciate this one:)  Sentiment, fishing pole and fishies are from Paper Smooches.  Used the flower and matching die from Hero Arts Bold Pop Design set for the "sun", Hero Arts Envie Pattern for the "grass" and Hero Arts Magical Background for the "waves".  And I tied a little bit of Doodlebug Doodle Twine together with some black thread to make my fishing fly!
Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs and cloud die, Stampin' Up daffodil delight ink and cs, old olive ink and cs, marina mist ink and cs, various markers, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder

I also wanted to share another card I came up with for last week's challenge but didn't complete in time:(  So many cards, so little time.....*Sigh*

I computer generated the sentiment and then die cut it using a MFT die.  Used Hero Arts For You Gifts - I think this is a great stamp for girly birthday cards.  Lately I've been lovin' using enamel dots - these are from teresa collins.

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up strawberry slush marker, cs and coastal cabana marker and paper piercing tool, Echo Park dots and stripes dotted pp and Everyday Eclectic pp, Papertrey ink white cs, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder, copic markers

One good thing about this awful winter we've been having is the time I've had to "reintroduce" myself to my craft room:)  My hubby has been busy in the basement working on making me an L-shaped work station complete with drawers - when you see my before and after pics of my work station you'll see why it's been desperately needed! - and I'm looking forward to giving the whole room an overhaul:)  As I start to weed out my supplies I'm finding things I forgot I owned or haven't even used and it feels good to put them to use!

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment - I really appreciate the input!

Dynamic Duos #87 Black and Melon Mambo

When I saw the current challenge at Dynamic Duos I knew exactly which combination of stamps I wanted to use:

I pulled out an Outlines Rubber Stamp Co vase stamp that hasn't seen ink in ages and my fave rose images and dies from the Papertrey Ink set The Sweet Life to create another birthday card:

The vase was embossed in black on black cs.  The roses were stamped with both Stampin' Up pretty in pink(for lightest shade) and melon mambo.  Sentiment (from Papertrey Ink Delightful Dahlias Additions set) was black embossed on Stampin' Up melon mambo pp.  Difficult to see in the pic but the black panel was embossed using a Stampin' Up/Sizzix Stylish Stripes embossing folder.  After adding the Doodlebug Designs enamel dots I still thought it was lacking some "pizzaz" so I added a strip of black and white houndstooth pp underneath the sentiment banner.

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Stampin' Up black cs, Spellbinders circle Nestie, MFT banner die

Thanks for all the encouraging comments!  

Freshly Made Sketches #120

February means lots of family birthdays so I decided to take a crack at the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge to make a birthday card:

I wanted to use a cluster of flowers from the Papertrey Ink Delightful Dahlia set so I turned the sketch on its side:

The flowers and leaves were die cut using the matching dies and then stamped using Stampin' Up pretty in pink, melon mambo and old olive inks.  Sentiment is from the same set and was embossed on a banner die cut using a MFT die.  At first I was going to use a panel of white embossed cs on the card base but I really liked the combination of this polka dot paper with melon mambo.  Plus I really, really like polka dots:) 

Other Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up melon mambo cs and pp, Papertrey ink white cs, Echo Park Dots & Stripes pp, paper doily and buttons from my stash.

Wanted to share a pic of how I spent part of my weekend:

I've really struggled this past year with trying to give the time I spend card making more meaning soooooo I finally went on the Operation Write Home website and ordered one of their stamps!  I got together with my stampin' sis (I've really got some camera shy buddies otherwise I would have shown you some selfies!) and we got 53 cards that fell under the 5 year-round themes ready and mailed out:) 

Thanks for taking the time to comment and have a wonderful week!

Dynamic Duos #86: Subtly Yours (Soft Aqua & Pink)

Here in upstate NY we're back in the clutches of the dreaded polar vortex again - it was only minus 7 degrees when we woke up this morning:( :( :( 

I absolutely loooooove this week's color combination at Dynamic Duos :

Especially for a Valentine :)

I white embossed the flourish heart from a 2009 Hero Arts clear set Valentine Flourish (CL311) on a piece of musical notes pp from Echo Park Everyday Eclectic then panel was edged with a silver paint pen.  At first I was going to stamp Happy Valentine's Day in the banner on the pp panel but I opted to use the die cut word "love" and to shadow it with SU silver glimmer paper instead.  The cherub and arrow dies from Impression Obsession were cut from SU pink pirouette pp and shadowed in white.  The hearts were cut from SU pink pirouette cs using a SU/Sizzix Fashionable Hearts embosslit

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, silver sequins from stash, W R Memory Keepers corner rounder

I've got to share a current photo of my mom holding her great granddaughter (my grand niece!) Hadleigh- she's 4 weeks old today:)

I really appreciated all the constructive comments on my last post as I continue to struggle with sketches!  Keep warm and stamp on!!

Gettin' Sketchy!

I don't know why I find sketches so hard:(  I'm challenging myself this year to use them more and through one of my blogging buddies I found the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge:

Last weekend I picked up a few new stamping goodies to make Valentines including the Paper Smooches Bee Mine set:

And this is what I mean about struggling with sketches!  Was it okay to not go so literal and use a leafy branch instead of a horizontal banner in the design?!  I just couldn't make a banner work with my bee:(  But by using the branch is the design not so "clean" anymore??? *Sigh*

Other Materials Used:  Stampin' Up Baked Brown Sugar cs and Melon Mambo cs, Stampin' Up Fashionable Hearts embosslit, Stampin' Up Melon Mambo marker, Papertrey ink white cs, Papertrey ink Ruby Rose flower stamp and die, Memory Box leafy branch die, Pebbles Seen & Noted pp, Cuttlebug Honeycomb embossing folder, Queen & Co rhinestones, copic markers, glossy accents

And since I used an embossing folder in my design I'm also adding this to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Emboss It

Thanks for all your constructive comments!

CASology Week #78: Dots

The current challenge at CASology is:

I needed a birthday card for a co-worker and decided to use this whimsical image from Hero Arts called For You Gifts (G5596) along with some of my fave Echo Park dot pp.  I know, I know - not the most original use of dots and probably not the most CAS design either:)

Other Supplies Used:  Papertrey ink white cs, Hero Arts Wish Big (sentiment), MS score board, white sequins, copic markers

Thanks for all your comments and enjoy the rest of  the weekend! After being lulled into thinking Spring had come early here in upstate NY we woke up to 5 inches of snow - back to wearing my parka that makes me look like the Michelin tire man :(

Long Time, No Post!

It's been sooooo long since I last posted!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!  These past couple of months have been full of happy things for me and my family!  (I promise if you hang in there with me I have a card to share at the end!)
I became a great aunt twice :)  :)  First to Hadleigh Marie:

What a Christmas present!  This little cutie was born on Dec. 22 and weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz.

And most recently to Jackson Liam:

The proud first time dad hamming it up in the pic with Jackson is my nephew Scott Jr. :)

For part of December (including Christmas) my hubby and I spent time in Switzerland and on a Rhine river cruise seeing parts of the Alsace region of France and parts of Germany.  Seeing some of the outdoor European Christmas markets really was a dream come true for me:)  The atmosphere at the markets was so festive and we had a blast eating and drinking our way through them:

I really loved seeing all the decorations!  Some looked so tasty:

Some were so tasteful:

Some we thought were a bit "over the top":)

Some were really charming:

And at night some were downright magical!

And FINALLY my first card of 2014:

When I saw this adorable Penny Black stamp "for mimi" I HAD to break my rule of no more wood stamps! I'm still a novice with the few copic markers I own that I pretty much used the colored image on the stamp block as my guide:)

Other Supplies Used:  Doodlebug Design Sweetheart pp, Papertrey ink white cs, Paper Company pastel pink cs, Stampin' Up cherry cobbler cs, Cuttlebug Hugs & Kisses embossing folder, WPlus 9 heart and banner dies, Lawn Fawn My Silly Valentine clear set (sentiment)

Since it's a new year I decided to participate in a few new-to-me challenges.  So I'm definitely adding this to the current Penny Black Sending Hugs challenge:

and the current Seize the Sketch challenge:

Thanks for making it through this long post and for your thoughtful comments! I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs:)