I Love You Like a Sponge Loves ... Doing Spongy Things

'Cause that happens. Sponges. Doing spongy things, that is. Wellllllll.... it's obvious that the week is winding down and I'm not getting enough sleep, now isn't it? HA! I kid, I kid! I'm actually perfectly coherent when I write these things, which should probably concern you to an even deeper level, but it's all good. I'm okay with it. Just sayin'.


Sooo... what does love have to do with sponges and what do sponges have to do with Moxie Fabness? I am SO glad you asked! It all boils down to the Stamp With a Homemade Stamp Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. Yup. Cath asked us to create our own stamps. I had a bunch of ideas. This is one of them. If I get lucky, I shall execute yet another before the week end concludes, however, I make no promises to this effect, as I simply cannot be sure. For reals.

My stamp? A sponge. Yup. Like...the common kitchen kind. NO...it didn't come in a cool heart shape, but it's amazing what a pair of good, strong Fiskars can do, lemmetellya! (Yup. That's totally a word now. Go for it.)


Why a common kitchen sponge you ask? 'Cause, DUDE, check out that texture! That's why! It's kinda awesome, actually. And you can get different results if you use it mildly damp (like when they are fresh from the package.. isn't that kinda gross? It always grosses me out. I kinda hate it, but it did come in handy for this project... k... mini diversion concluded...) or you can use them dry to get a crisper feel to the texture. It's fun to play with the options.

I stamped it with ink and cut it out for this one. Then I added it to my layered card base with foam tape and used a fabulous SRM Sticker sentiment and three naked wood veneer hearts from Studio Calico. I don't often use them naked, but it seemed to work for this one, so I went with it. YAY!

K... well, I had better let you go, as it seems I might be in a rather chatty mood this morning and my fingers just KEEP TYPING! AAAAHHHH!!! THEY ARE TAKING OVER! SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!

Yeaaaaah.... k. That's done now.

Anyway... have a HAPPY!

Jingle Out!

Simon Says: Date Night?

It's ANYTHING GOES time over on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog and the design team is playing with fun goodies from Penny Black!

I think I cheated. LOL! No...not really, I just happened to use a Penny Black product that most people tend to forget about amongst all the cute stamps! STICKERS! I used a super cute little sticker along with a super FAB Kelly Purkey stamp set for my Anything Goes card today!


That little hedgie is just TOO CUTE!!! He is ready and waiting to hand you his flowers. Just sayin'. Tee-hee!


AND, as usual, the fabulous folks over at Simon Says Stamp want to give one lucky participant a $50 gift voucher to use at the Simon Says Stamp Superstore! (Yes...you can have some serious fun with that, folks!)

It's Anything Goes week, so go ahead and use that as an excuse to make something fabulous! Just be sure it is posted AFTER the challenge went live, otherwise it won't count! Now head on over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog to check out some awesome inspiration to get you started!

Have a Happy!!!

Oh...and... just in case you want a RETAIL happy... LOL! Check out the links below to find the fun supplies I used on today's card!

InLinkz.com

MUAH!

Hiya, folks!  Welcome to Tuesday!  So... I have a card to show you today... I KNOW, Shocking, right?  K.  Well, anyway... this one is kinda super crazy fun.  No, like for reals, though.  It just makes me smile.


ACK! She is too cute. TOO.STINKING.CUTE. Just sayin'. She comes from the Smirk Collection from PSA Essentials. Her little MUAH! sentiment comes from the new sentiments collection from PSA Essentials! Something for everything in that set! Love that! Sally the Cricut was kind enough to cut out the sweet little speech bubbles for me. LOVE that girl!

I thought she would be a perfect fit for the Make Your Mark challenge over at CAS-Fridays, as her bright and totally trendy outfit is totally colored with Tombow markers. Because obviously that's what all the cool kids are wearing.

Obviously.

HA!

To check out more fabulous PSA Essentials inspiration, be sure to pop on over to the PSA Stamp Camp blog. It's a rock'n good time, folks!

Well, that's all for today, kids! Have a HAPPY!!!!

Jingle Out!

Skipping Stones Design - A Thank You {Giveaway}

***This is my second post of the day! Be sure to check out my sneak peek below!***


Today, many of us who have been involved with Skipping Stones Design over the past few years as designers, sketch artists, and friends are showing off some cards using our favorite sets as a simple Thank You to Heather for all she has done.  Skipping Stones is taking a hiatus from releasing new sets, but many favorites will remain available in the store, so don't fret too much!  Heather has been designing GORGEOUS stamps and we love those SO much, but even more than that, we love Heather!  She is a friend and she is fabulous!  Heather, thank you for all you have done with SSD!  You rock!  Skipping Stones was one of my first Design Teams - you made me believe that I could do this!  And for that, I will be forever grateful!  Thank you!


I love the gorgeous Breathtaking Butterflies set. And this sentiment certainly seemed apropos for the occasion.


So, with that, I say thank you, Heather. You rock! Just sayin'.

Oh...and the amazing Katie is also offering THREE stamp sets to some lucky hoppers! The sets are Heartsong, Grapeful, and Sassy Snow. The cut off for comments will be Sunday, February 3 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Winners will be randomly selected from the designer’s blogs and will be announced on Monday, February 4 on the Skipping Stones blog. Please make sure that your contact information (email address) is connected to you blog profile or leave it in the comments section so I have a way to get a hold of you if you are one of the lucky winners. I have also heard there may also be another set for grabs on a designer’s blog.

AND... I happen to have an extra set at home, as well, so one person who leaves a comment here on my blog will win Cheers!

For the rest of the hop (this is the FINAL STOP!) Check out the links below!

Skipping Stones Blog- http://skippingstonesdesign.com/

Katie Gehring- http://katiegehring.blogspot.com/

Wendy Price- http://paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com/

Glenda Wyatt- http://papersscissorsrocks.blogspot.com/

Rochelle Washington- http://twotearsinmybucket.blogspot.se/

Wendy Jordan- http://papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/

Karen Baker- http://thebalddragonfly.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Mino- http://stephaniemino.blogspot.com/

Amy Tsuruta- http://tsurutadesigns.blogspot.com/

Cyndi Bundy- http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.se/

Tesa Broman- http://tesasscrap.blogspot.com/

Vanessa Menhorn- http://wingsofabutterfly-vanessa.blogspot.com/

Lindsay Amrhein- http://lindsayamrhein.blogspot.com/

Judith Gowdy- http://jgsnook.blogspot.com/

JoAnn Valderama-http://joboogie.typepad.com/

Pamela Young- http://pamelasworldofscrap.blogspot.com/

Jingle- http://justjingle.blogspot.com/

Keep Calm and Sip On

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, my friends!  I had one of my rare unproductive weekends as far as crafting goes, but that's okay.  Sometimes that happens.  The good news is... I always keep a good, strong, healthy stock of tea in my house, and... well, my card over on the Fresh Squeezed Stamps blog today says it all!  Tea fixes everything.  (Okay...so in that case it's hot cocoa, but STILL!)  Just sayin'.  Head on over and check it out!  I'd love to read your comments, too!

I hope you have a stupendous Monday, my dear friends!!!  Have a HAPPY!!!!

Jingle Out!

I Will Never Forget You

An odd sentiment for a Valentine card, perhaps, but for some reason it is what landed on this one.  And I don't have any good reason why, but it is working for me.  For some reason... it's the right one.

I was inspired to create this card by the utterly breathtaking inspiration photo provided by the Avery Elle AEI♥U Challenge.  The colors are just amazing and I love the feeling of stillness, perhaps even a touch of sadness, and a great sense of hope that the image conveys.

Isn't that just beautiful? *sigh* So... I pulled out my Bright Days set from Avery Elle and got to work. My design idea actually changed a bit as I was working, but I am quite pleased with the end game on this one. I am also linking this up to the Make Your Own Background Paper Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.


Deep reds and multiple grey tones? Yes. Please. I so love these gorgeous hues! I used Cranberry ink from CTMH along with both London Fog and Grey Flannel from Tsukineko (Momento inks). I used first and second generation stamping to get multiple tones and also to create a sense of depth on a card that is mostly flat. I was also inspired by the lines in the photograph...I pulled them out in a more abstract form for my card.


I used a simple line of May Arts Grosgrain Ribbon and accented it with an inked wood veneer heart from Studio Calico. The word stickers are Authentique - and a perfect fit! I so love them!

And yes, a bit of a different sentiment, but those are needed sometimes. And sometimes... they are bittersweet....

Have a happy!

Jingle Out!

The Colors of Love

Hello, friends! We have a lovely new color challenge for you today over at Gourmet Rubber Stamps! It's really quite pretty!

Don't those soft colors just make it feel a little bit like Spring? *sigh* We are looking at another single digit day here in Mass, so I like the idea of thinking about Spring! LOL!

I was inspired by these colors, as well as the Make A Card With A Window Challenge in the Moxie Fab World for my card today.


I used the gorgeous Sealed With A Kiss stamp set along with some really pretty soft inks from the VersaMagic line by Tsukineko. I love these gorgeous tones!


The window is popped up and goes through to have a peek at what's inside the card!


The inside holds a larger heart along with another beautiful sentiment.


And this is what it looks like when it is closed.


So head on over to the Gourmet Rubber Stamps blog to check out the sneaks and then head to the designer blogs to see their gorgeous cards!!!

Jingle Out!

Be Mine! - Squeeze-A-Palooza Goodness!

***This is my second post of the day! Be sure to check out my Contenders Blog Hop post to see one of the cards I submitted (that was not chosen) to the most recent call for Paper Crafts Magazine!***


It's time for the Fresh Squeezed Stamps Squeeze-a-Palooza!!! (Yup. That's totally actually a thing. Just sayin'.) And a GREAT time it is! Here's how it works, Fresh Squeezed Stamps offers you an inspiration photo or two or three, along with a theme and then gives you a free digi stamp and tells you to go NUTS! You can use the free digi or you can use any FSS stamps you have at home! Just create a card and link it up!


This is the card I created using the fabulous Subway Series: Spring. I stamped the Valentine's subway art stamp a few times on pink and red cardstock, heat embossed them, and then Sally the Cricut die cut the hearts for me. (*Love her!*) This card was SUPER fun to create! I had a blast with it! The die cut is from Simon Says Stamp and the sentiment is a sticker from SRM Stickers.

Soooo...you should totally check out the challenge and join in! There will even be TWO winners! One is chosen as a 'Reader's Choice' (whichever card has the most 'likes'when the challenge closes) and the other is a random winner - both get a free set of stamps, so check it!

Have a Happy!

P.S. This is my second post of the day! Please check out my Contenders Blog Hop post below to see one of the cards I submitted (that wasn't chosen) to Paper Crafts Magazine most recent call.

The Contenders Blog Hop - You Amaze Me!

What is a Contenders Blog Hop, you ask? Well, you see, there is a large group of people who regularly (or not regularly... LOL!) submit work to Paper Crafts Magazine. They, obviously, can only accept so many submissions, but that doesn't mean that the others aren't fabulous! SO.... we are hopping today with the cards that didn't make the cut for the magazine, but we still kinda love. Just sayin'.


I submitted this card for one of the two sketch calls for the most recent issue, although, obviously I had sunshine on my brain from another category, as well! LOL! To create the base, I first scored the four quadrants and then scored the lines in each quadrant going in opposing directions. I love the texture and interest it adds, while remaining nice and white! I punched a circle and cut it half for the sun and added a few strands of twine for the sunrays.


I used the "you" die from Simon Says Stamp along with the coordinating stamp set for the sentiment. I just love the happy white, the bright yellow, and the strong contrast of the black! It makes me happy.

Sooo... there you have it! This one didn't make it into the magazine, but I'm so happy I got to share it with all of you today! If you submitted, you should totally join the hop! Just pop on over to Annette's blog and link up your Contender! If you haven't submitted, TRY IT! It's fun! I was fortunate to have another card chosen for this issue, so that was a happy day!!!

And with that, I wish you a HAPPY! Yes, my friends, have a happy.

Jingle Out!

InLinkz.com

Simon Says: Piece Out!

***This is my second post of the day! Be sure to visit my May Arts/CardMaker Magazine Blog Hop post below for your chance to win 4 spools of May Arts ribbon!***


No, I don't have a problem spelling.  HA!  We are Piecing Out with Simon Says this week over on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog!

This week's challenge is to do some PAPER PIECING! YAY! I love paper piecing! I really do. I don't do it nearly as often as I should because it just relaxes me and I love the results every single time! The Design Team is also featuring Lily Bee Designs this week, so, naturally, those are the papers that I chose for my paper piecing along with some SUPER CUTE Paper-Smooches stamps!!!


Umm... I am totally in love with that little dolly stamp. For reals. Just sayin'. I was a big Raggedy Ann fan when I was a kid... the closest thing I had to a 'blanky' - yup... totally has Raggedy Ann and Andy on it. I love that thing. And yes, it still sits beside my bed. LOL!


AND...one lucky participant will win a $50 Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Superstore! For reals!!!

So go ahead and join us this week! I can't WAIT to see what you come up with!!!  For more inspiration, don't forget to hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog to check out what the rest of the design team has pieced together!  (HAHAHAHA!  See what I did there?  Paper Piecing.  Pieced together.  HAHAHAHAHA!)  Wow.  I really need to get more sleep.  K.  Have a happy!!!

For more information about the products used in my card, please visit the links below!

InLinkz.com