For Cath (Sans CHA) With Love Blog Hop AND a Brand New Skipping Stones Sketch!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I have TWO events to share with you! I am participating in the Blog Hop for Cath,the Trends Editor for Paper Crafts Magazine and writer of the amazing Moxie Fab World Blog! You see, due to an injury, Cath was unable to attend CHA and that is just cruddy, so she needs some cheering up! We are hear to do that! Cath...consider yourself officially CHEERED!!!! YAY! You can find the entire list of participants at Virginia's blog!

AND...because we are also releasing sketch #113 over at Skipping Stones Design this week, I thought I would combine the two and make a cheer up card for Cath using this fabulous sketch!



I used the Grunge set and the Always Here set for my fun card! Pam's sketch ROCKED, so I had a lot of fun with this one!



While Grunge is a great set for masculine cards, it can TOTALLY go girly, too! I love that!



So...check out the sketch challenge and play along for a chance to win some free Skipping Stones stamps!

Cath, I'm SO SO SO sorry you missed out on CHA! I actually had really hoped to go for the first time EVER this year and that didn't pan out, but I'm sure your disappointment is far greater as you know what you are missing AND it happened rather unexpectedly! I hope you are doing something FABULOUS for YOU this week! We love you!!! Get better quick, now, will ya?! :-)

Jingle Out.

I've Gone Rogue!

I'm so excited to be Guest Designing for Rogue Redhead Designs for their January release! When Shar asked me to do some design work this month, she seemed to have something up her sleeve... for some reason she thought this fabulous release would suit me.



I have no idea WHY she was under the impression that THIS release of all the fabulous Rogue Redhead releases would be of special interest to me, or really have anything to do with me.... I mean really....



HA!!! For REALS! Not only is that stamp IN this fabulous new plate, BUT, it is actually the NAME of the plate! Just Sayin' is comin' at ya! Hee-hee. That might have had something to do with why she thought it suited me. Just sayin'.



Seriously, though...this set has SO many fun elements! I will be showing it off over the course of the next month or so here and there along with other great designs from Rogue Redhead! Here is the whole plate...

I KNOW! RIGHT?!!! Totally fabulously fun! I used the cat stamp, the flower, and the Just Sayin' sentiment on this particular card. All I had to add was a bit of sparkly fiber from May Arts!

Soo....check out Rogue Redhead Designs if you haven't yet because they really do have some gorgeous stamps! A wonderful variety of styles, too, which is always a lot of fun. Have a happy Monday!

Just sayin'.

Jingle Out.

A Treat To Cheer You - Stampendous! Saturday Challenge - Bling IT!

Another Saturday means another chance to get your bling on with the fabulous
ladies at Stampendous .  That's right, this month we are all
about bringing in the New Year with some BLING!  Glitter,
rhinestones, sparkly stickers...you name it.  Just make it shiny
and get it on your project!

For today, I created a super fun little Valentine's Day treat bag using the Amore Perfectly Clear Stamps from Stampendous!



To create this topper I simply folded the October Afternoon cardstock and stamped the large frame on cardstock. I cut the frame out and adhere it over the May Arts mesh. I added a bit of tea stained Mica Fragments with a bit of burlap string tied into a pretty bow! YAY for pretty things!



Now...go check out what the other Stampendous! girls have created and don't forget to link up your fabulous Blinged out creation!

Janelle Stollfus

Kristine Reynolds

Cyndi Bundy

Pam Hornschu

Jennifer Ingle

Melinda Gleissner

Suzanne Czosek

Taylor Usry

We want YOU to play along with us!  Just add you direct link to your card
(make sure you've loaded it up with tons of BLING) to the linky tool below my
signature (or on the Stampendous blog) no later than February 2, 2012 at
11:00 PM EST.  You don't have to use Stampendous products to play
along, but we sure love it when you do!  And as an extra incentive for
playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive
this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp
Set:

Due to shipping restrictions, the winner must have a US address.  We hope
you get a chance to play along with us - happy stamping!

Ya Wanna Cookie?

It's Friday!!!! Wooo-Hoooooo!!!!! Yup. That's an extra long 'hooo' with extra exclamation points. Just say'n.

I have some fun stuff to share with you today! As per usual, I'm playing along with some friends for Friends With Flair Friday and I decided to pull out my Ornate Artisan Stackers set and go to town!



What's that you are saying? Oooohhh....you thought THIS card was going to use that set. WELLLLLLLLL...see, this is how it went. Last night I got home from my hair appointment and had a few minutes to play before The Hubbums returned from suffering through seeing the 8th Grade play at the school where he taught last year and we would run to dinner. So...I DID, indeed, grab my Ornate Artisan Stacker set and went to town. Only...I REALLY liked the concept, so I decided to hold it for submission purposes. LOL! Actually, the stamping isn't lined up quite right, so I have to restamp it, but I REALLY love this one, so it's worth it. SO...that meant I had to make another card to post today. Yup. Totally running out of time at this point. BUT, alas, I grabbed my Samantha Walker Especially For You Itty Bitty and made this fun little card! I colored it in pale purple, light pink, and a darker pink with watercolor crayons. That amazingly gorgeous gingham ribbon is from May Arts! YAY!

AND...in other news.... It will be a mild 50 degrees here in Massachusetts...

Oh.

Wait.

This blog isn't actually for that kind of news is it? Oopsies! So... Have you SEEN the new Scrapbook Circle kit?

Umm...Yup. Amazing Much? TOTALLY!!!! It's called Remember This and you can find it HERE! It is the brand new February kit and it is available NOW NOW NOW!!!! Go...run... get one!

AND...that's not even all, folks! There is an AMAZING mini kit to go along with this one! You can purchase it as an add-on or by itself if you like!

If you are a card maker, this add-on is amazing! The 6x6 pad is fabulous and just look at all the yumminess in that kit! Check it out!

So...I hope you have a super stupendous Friday with lots to laugh about even if it makes your abs hurt when you laugh because your Jillian Micheal's Ripped in 30 Week 2 Workout is so awesome and you are going to look like an all star in like pretty much no time so it's all totally worth it.

Oh...maybe that's just me. But STILL!!!! Happy Friday, folks! See ya tommorrow! Smiles!

Jingle Out.

A Little Fairy in a Jar and a Card that Didn't Make the Cut

Hello! I'm tired. I would like to take a nap. For like the entire day-ish. Just Say'n. But, alas, this is not in my future, therefore, I shall share with you a little piece I created for Retro Cafe Art, instead. YAY!



This is my little dolly fairy in a jar! The dolly is one of the fabulous Retro Cafe Art collage sheets that you can get in either printed or digital form! I also used the little bird from the same Hello Dollie Valentine sheet. I love it!



The bottom of the jar is just SPARKLING with bright pink Martha Stewart glitter happiness!!!! I love glitter. A lot. Have I mentioned that? Less than a hundred times? Not sure...but...leave it to say...I love glitter. Just say'n.

I also glittered up her wings a bit with some Stickles to give her more sparkle! I just love that little white picket fence wrapped around the jar! You can get that in lengths of 18" so it is great for projects like this or even on scrapbook pages and stuff!



I wrapped the lid with a fabric tape from Love My Tapes and then added a die cut flower cut from my Art Philosophy cartridge (by Sally the Cricut). A bit of May Arts beaded wire is wound as the center of the flower.



...AND....if you look REALLY closely, you can see the pretty little paper flower adorning the fairy's hair! I love it! It's happy making!!!

And...I wanted to show you this fun little card I made! I submitted this one, but it wasn't chosen, so now I get to show it to all of YOU! YAY!!!! It's a shaped card I created with my Hello, Kitty Greetings cartridge and My Mind's Eye papers. It's happy making, too!!!



The sentiment is Lawn Fawn. I particularly like the inked edges on the cloud on this one. For some reason that just made me smile!

So...that's all for today. Basically, just happy stuff. 'Cause happy is a good thing. So is candy, but it appears I'm out of candy, so I'm going to have to rely on happy for today. *sigh* HA! Later, dudes!

Jingle Out.

The Cheshire Cat in all his Shimmering Glory!

It's Wednesday. I'm ready for it to be Friday, but I guess I will wait a day or two if you are going to make me. Just say'n. Things are a bit crazy around my life right now...I'm not really sure why...maybe I'M just crazy. I don't know, but things feel a bit crazy.

SPEAKING of crazy...have you seen my Cheshire Cat? Oh...yes...I made one. And oh, yes...I love HIM!!!!!



Tee-Hee! He's kind of crazy! I sculpted him from Creative Paperclay® over a foam and foil base that I created. He is painted with Luminarte Twinkly H2O's and a white paint pen. He shimmers!!!!!! That part makes me happy. Just say'n.



His tail is supported by a piece of wire inside the clay. I really love how he turned out!!



AND...he looks so cute sitting with the Mad Hatter I created a long time ago!!!



I suppose I should get on to creating an Alice to go with them...but I think perhaps a certain set of twins may come first. They are SO FUN! I am submitting this Cheshire Cat to the Altered Alice Stripes Challenge! You can see the full tutorial on how I made him over on the Creative Paperclay® blog! Feel free to leave comment there, as well! We love your comments!

And...because it's Wednesday....



Yup. This is the State of My Desk address. LOL! You can see the results of some pretty fun projects that are no longer on said desk. And...if you look closely...you will see a little sneak of the Skipping Stones Design stamps being released in February! It's a fun one! If you would like to see more desks and their current states and such, head on over to Julia's blog! And feel free to join in the WOYWW fun, too!

Have a Happy Wednesday and don't forget to eat some candy today. It's good for you. Just trust me on this one. I'm an expert on the subject. Just say'n.

Jingle Out.

A new sketch from Skipping Stones and some fun with Scrapbook Circle ALL in one LOVEY card!

It's just too much fun to combine fabulous with more fabulous!!! This week we have a brand new sketch over at Skipping Stones Design for you to play along and possibly win a FREE set of stamps! I rotated the sketch to create a vertical card and had some fun with my Grunge 2 stamp set!



The patterned papers, die cuts, doily, border sticker, and printable tag are ALL from the You + Me kit from Scrapbook Circle. This kit goes SUCH A LONG WAY!!! I so love it!



I stamped directly on the doily to give it a bit of background pattern. I do hope that you will make your way on over to the Skipping Stones Blog to to check out the sketch, see what the design team has created, and jump right in with your own card!!! You don't even have to use SSD stamps to participate, so there is NO excuse! Come play!



As for me...sorry for being so boring today. Just not quite feeling the whole talking thing at the moment. Not sure what that's about, as I pretty much don't experience that. Like ever. Just say'n. Annnnyway....see ya on the 'morrow, folks! Happy Tuesday!

OH!!! I did start week 2 of Jillian's Ripped in 30 this morning and I'm feeling pretty good about that. I am LOVING this workout! Just say'n.

Jingle Out!

I am SO Lucky!

Why? Well, because I figured out how to make a Valentine's Day card for a man. At least, I think I did. You see, butterflies are bugs and boys like bugs, so I figure it works. Just say'n.



This card was initially inspired by the Cutting & Trimming Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. My Purple Cows trimmer has a guillotine side that I use most often, but it also has a rotary cutter side that I use on occasion. What I often forget, is that it has some pretty fun extra blades for that rotary side and this challenge reminded me to pop one of those suckers in! I LOVE the wavy cut details on this card!



The other cutting tool that got some action for this one is my tried and true trusty pair of Cutterbee scissors! I LOVE those things! I use them to do my detail cutting, like cutting this butterfly from the patterned paper it was stamped on.

>

And, of course, my straight cutter did a bit of work for this one, too. It's funny how something so subtle can add SO MUCH to a card! I can't tell you how much I LOVE those wavy cuts! I'll be using that blade more often! Oh...and the patterned paper and stickers are Echo Park (*LOVE!*) and the butterfly is one of my favorites from Skipping Stones Design!

As for today...well, it's Monday. Let's make it a good one! Have a Happy Day and don't forget to smile!

Jingle out!

Stamendous! Saturday - in FRANCE!

Another Saturday means another chance to get your bling on with the fabulous
ladies at Stampendous .  That's right, this month we are all
about bringing in the New Year with some BLING!  Glitter,
rhinestones, sparkly stickers...you name it.  Just make it shiny
and get it on your project!

Here is my project for today!




I used the Charm Collection Perfectly Clear set along with a bit of spray ink, some fabulous Shabby Blue Emossing Enamel, and a bit 'ole May Arts ribbon!

Take a look at what these Stampendous team members have created to dazzle you
today:

Stampendous Impressions Blog

Janelle Stollfus 

Cyndi Bundy

Wendy Price

Wendy Jordan

Taylor Usry

Suzanne Czosek

Kristine Reynolds

Pam Hornschu

Melinda Gleissner

Jennifer Ingle 

Steph Lee

We want YOU to play along with us!  Just add you direct link to your card
(make sure you've loaded it up with tons of BLING) to the linky tool below my
signature (or on the Stampendous blog) no later than February 2, 2012 at
11:00 PM EST.  You don't have to use Stampendous products to play
along, but we sure love it when you do!  And as an extra incentive for
playing, one lucky person (drawn at random from all the entries) will receive
this gorgeous Cherub Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamp
Set:

Due to shipping restrictions, the winner must have a US address.  We hope
you get a chance to play along with us - happy stamping!

Map Your Heart Out in Massachusetts

Yes. It's true. I can spell Massachusetts without spell check. It's a rather rare skill, I've discovered. Actually, upon moving to Oklahoma for college many moons ago, I discovered that many people actually have no clue where our little state is even located on a map. Granted, when I mention Boston that had some familiarity...you know... because everyone knows our sports teams crush everyone else, but when I dared use the beloved 'New England' I actually had more than one person tell me it was cool that I was from over seas. True story. Sad story. But true story.

All this really brings me to tell you that I kind of love this silly little state. Don't get me wrong, I fall in love with states fairly easily. I mean, Oklahoma will always hold a special place in my heart and Colorado, well, *sigh*, yes...I will always love Colorado...maybe even live there again some day. What I CAN tell you is that once I got to about the Cape (That's Cape Cod for you non-locals) on this card...I was sort of wishing we DID still live in Colorado. You see, it's square. Just say'n.



Squeeee!!!! I know....maybe too excited about a simple card, but I REALLY love this one! It makes my heart happy. I am actually thinking about framing it to hang in our house. It suits us. I stitched the state map outline onto the white cardstock with red floss. The heart is stamped right over our little city of Worcester that we love so much! You see, when I read about the Map You HEART out challenge in the Moxie Fab World, I took that as more than just USING maps...I wanted to make something that really expressed the idea of mapping my HEART out! So that is exactly what I did!



I layered the stitched panel over some map printed map paper and layered that over the bold, simple black cardstock card base.



I clustered a pretty black cabochon rose from Making Memories along with some black rhinestones (also MM), and some gorgeous Webster's pages ribbon with Maya Road trinket pins to add a bit of flare. I created the 'flower around the flower' by adding the black trim in scallops behind the cabochon. I love it!

The sentiment is from the Unity Heartfelt Sentiments set.



And there you have it, a little piece of my heart and one of my favorite cards EVER. I love it. I really, really love it. You see, some times a little challenge REALLY CAN lead to something totally MOXIE FAB!!!

Jingle Out!

Let them eat Cake...and other such whimsies!

***This is my second post of the day! Please check out my Die Cut Challenge Card, too! There's GLITTER involved! YAY!***

Have you SEEN the new collage sheets over at Retro Cafe Art Gallery? Holy FUN, BATMAN!!! They are designed by Cassandra Vancuren and they are fabulous!!! I got to play with a couple of them and couldn't resist diving into the Marie Antoinette sheet and the ABSOLUTELY adorable borders sheet! I created a little Spoolie!!!



You do know she was a horrible woman, right? That whole 'Let them eat cake' thing was actually attributed to Marie when she was told that the people had no bread. She was actually referring to brioche, an enriched bread, and...for that matter, she probably never even actually uttered those words. They were included in a book written about her, but not likely actually uttered by Marie, herself. She was completely and utterly out of touch with her people and had not understanding whatsoever of how a person could be without bread. Interesting, huh? Anyway...enough history lessons for today...



I wrapped one of the borders from the collage sheet around the spool, added some May Arts burlap string in PINK! YAY! and accented it with glitter glue and pearls!



The little trinket pin is a Tim Holtz gem (which you can find at RCA!)

AND...you can WIN one of the new digital collage sheets! Just hop on over to the blog and comment with your favorite! There are Alice sheets, Marie sheets, pretty sheets, cute sheets, word sheets...I could go on and on! HA! Also, while you are there, check out the awesome Valentine's Day Contest! And...there are more giveaways, so just keep your eyes peeled!

Jingle Out!

Die Cutting in the Moxie Fab World. And Orange Glitter. Because I like Orange Glitter.

Particularly THIS orange glitter! I mean, REALLY, here folks! This stuff is seriously fabulous! It's Iridescent Sorbet from Martha Stewart and I think I'm in love. Can one fall in love with a glitter color? Well, I did. Anyway.... this card is actually about the die cutting, as I created it to participate in the Die Cutting Challenge in the Moxie Fab World! YAY! Really, Sally the Cricut did all the work for this baby...I just made the choices!



Sally and her Art Philosophy Cartridge went to TOWN for this baby! I began by die cutting the card from super cute patterned paper (Echo Park, Victoria Garden Collection). I used a Tombow glue pen to add the glitter (oh, glorious sorbet glitter) to the scallops. I REALLY love that part!



I cut two small banner pieces and frames for each of those in green and pink. It's actually the same sheet of paper, I just used the two sides for the contrast! *LOVE THAT!*



*TAKES HUGE BREATH* AND THEN.... I cut two different scalloped circles to layer, one in patterned paper and the other in white cardstock...AND THEN...I stamped the sentiment (CTMH) that just so happens to have been made EXACTLY for this Cricut Cartridge (Sally is a big fan of these stamps. Just say'n.)...AND THEN...I added that with foam tape! YAY!!!!! *And the crowd goes wild!*

....(okay...maybe there is no crowd and nobody is going wild. But I do have a banana, so that makes me happy. Just say'n.)

Jingle Out.

Embossed, Debossed, and just plain BOSSY! Oh...wait....

I'm kind of bossy, actually. At least, I was. I probably still am, but it doesn't really come up as much when your a grown up. HOWEVER...today we are talking about getting EMbossy and DEbossy!

Yup. Made both of those words up and pretty darned happy about it if I do say so myself. Just say'n. I'm playing along with the Moxie Fab World Embossing and Debossing challenge. This was a little tricky for me simply because I don't have one of those fancy little embossing machines like a Cuttlebug or a Spellbinders Grand Calibur (which I think I want, but that' another story...). Nope. I don't own anything of the sort. SO...that being the case, I had to use what I had on hand. I DO have a Martha Stewart Scoring board, so I pulled that out along with a Martha Stewart embossing/debossing punch. Apparently Martha came to the rescue for me on this one. Great. Does that mean I owe her one? That CAN'T be good!!!!



I had a bit of fun with this one and decided to go cutesy! I kind of love it, actually. It's a fun little Hello Kitty Valentine's Day card full of color and happy things! The papers are all Echo Park. The sticker is from the Target dollar bin...thanks to my sister for that little Christmas gift! Love them! And the punch is the Martha Stewart embossing punch of which I spoke earlier. It does the embossing/debossing at the same time as punching! FUN! I used my score board to do the embossed frame and then sanded the punched pieces and the frame to make them pop! The ribbon is just a fun one I found buried in my stash...I thought it went perfectly with this playful card!



I just love how cute it is! Sometimes cute is just plain fun! Just say'n.



And...it is Wednesday and that means it's time to showcase our workspaces with Julia over at WOYWW!

My desk is showing the aftermath of four cards that I created yesterday along with some rubber that I need to get cut and mounted (but I'm out of foam, so mounting may not happen...we shall see...). The Hubbums gave me that little bag yesterday. I love it! I'm going to make it even CUTER!!! So...there you have it! Oh...and yes, my Hello Kitty Be Mine card was, indeed, one of the ones I created in all that fun!

Happy Wednesday!

Jingle Out!

ETA: Check out this fabulous giveaway that Melissa is holding for her birthday!

Skipping Stones Sketch #111 AND a FABULOUS Sale!!!!

Yup! You heard that right! Skipping Stones Design a brand new sketch from our fabulous Sketch Artist, Pam, today. We have inspiration from our amazing guest artists AND our fabulous design team. AND, that's not all, folks! No, my friends, TODAY we have the one and only PMS Sale!!!! **crowd cheers wildly!**

Let's start with my card for this week's sketch, shall we? It's a wonderful sketch that allows you to go simple or go all out! I, naturally, chose simple.



I chose to use the zig zag from the BRAND NEW Grunge 2 set! The circle comes from the Uplifting set, and the sentiment is from Grunge (the original!). Seriously. How much fun is it to mix up sets and use them in fun new ways? LOTS. That's how much. Just say'n.



AND...not only do we have this great sketch to work with and TONS of inspiration from the Guest Artists and the Design team (all of which you can check out here), but you also have a chance to get a GREAT deal on the Skipping Stones Design stamps you have had your eye on! Here's how the PMS Sale (Purchase More Stamps! :-) Cute, right?) works:

Buy 1 set and save 5% Enter PMS1 at checkout
Buy 2 sets and save 10% Enter PMS2 at checkout
Buy 3 sets and save 15% Enter PMS3 at checkout
Buy 4 sets and save 20% Enter PMS4 at checkout
Buy 5 sets and save 25% Enter PMS5 at checkout
Buy 6 sets OR MORE and SAVE 30% on every set you buy-no limit!!!
Enter PMS6 at checkout
If you have ANY troubles getting the coupon codes to work just email Heather (madebyme33@hotmail.com) your order and she will turn around and send you a paypal invoice that reflects your savings.

AWESOME sale, right?! I KNOW!!! So go pick up those sets you've been DIEING for and get inky with this week's challenge! If you participate in the challenge you could win a FREE stamp set. You don't have to use SSD stamps to participate, but we love when you do! Just please remember to limit the number of challenges you combine to five including the Skipping Stones Challenge. THANKS!!!!

Jingle Out!