Sketch Cards

Wow! The weekend went by super fast! The crop that my club put together was a huge success and all went well, but it sure wiped me out.

So, my sketch cards are late, but I still really wanted to get them done. Here is Beate's Weekend sketch. This is one of my new Bellas that I just got - doesn't she look like she needs cheering up? Even though she is sick she is still super cute. I'm still practicing with my copics. I should be getting a bunch more very soon. This card is 5x5.

Cardstock: Buttercup, Vineyard Berry, Colonial White (CTMH), Blue (DCWV -textured), Printed Paper (Me and My Big Ideas), Ink: Archival Onyx Black (Versafine), Stamps: Sickabella (Stamping Bella), Other: Michaels Ribbon, Copics, paper piercer, prisma flowers, white opal liquid pearls, CTMH cutting mat

Here is Lauren Meader's sketch card. Another set that I haven't used much. This is my one and only coffee set and I love these colors. We are heading into spring, but I love the feel of these colors and I of course love my coffee! I did a little bit of ink distressing too. And I love this sketch. The circles really make it, simple to do, but cute to look at.
Cardstock: Barn Red, Chocolate, Black, Desert Sand (CTMH), Ink: Cocoa (CTMH), Stamps: Inkadinkadoo, Other: Cuttlebug and embossing folder, sanding block, sewing

Thanks for taking a peek!

A blast from the Past

I have a busy, busy day planned today, but I couldn't not post right?? I belong to a Mother's of Multiples group and we are hosting a 12 hour crop today. My friend (another twin Mom) and I spent hours last night setting up and I have to get going soon so we can finish up. We are having about 37 attendees so wish us luck!!!

But, one of the things I wanted to have was a display of some Close to my Heart things for people to see. So, I did a layout of all things yesterday and I picked out two leftover wedding pictures of Kevin and myself. Wow, its been almost 15 years ago since we got married. Did you check out that HAIR?? Wow!!! Don't laugh too hard. Barbara Streisands' song "Memories" is running through my head...

The layout is two 9x9 - these are going into my own personal album which I decided to do in 9x9. My goal is to keep it very focused on journaling and to make it very personal to me - we shall see if that happens. This is officially the first layout I've done for "my" album. The flowers are stamps that I stamped, and watercolored in with my water brush and the matching ink and cut out. I pop dotted all of them and I like how they look. There is a lot going on, but its all in the paper.

Cardstock: Black, Desert Sand (CTMH), Printed Paper: Silouette (CTMH), Ink: Desert Sand, Black (CTMH), Stamps: Simple Beauty - March Stamp of the Month (CTMH), Ribbon: (CTMH), Other: Cricut to cut out circles (Mini Monograms) and letters (Opposites Attract), Watercolor brush

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Another PTI Rack - Yahoo

So, my new friend Theresa sent me a cute little notebook that she altered just for me. What a sweetie. We literally connected over a heartfelt message that she wanted to share about her Dad on her blog and I felt like I wanted to say just a little "something", so now I have a great new friend. PLUS, she sent me a couple of extra goodies, but I want to know is how she read my mind. I believe they are dew drops or something similar to them and I literally had them in one of my virutal shopping carts and decided against getting them and here they are today in the mail. Thanks so much Theresa for thinking of me! Check out this cutie of a notebook.

The 3rd Eye...

I just had to share a tidbit about Nate and his "Bear Bear's" (we call them that, but it sure sounds like he is calling them "Babies"). Anyway as many of you know, Nate is a twin and has confiscated his brother's bear. That in itself is old news, but a bit ago, I realized that I could hear Nate rubbing his bear whenever he was holding them. When I looked at the bears, I noticed that one of them had a distinct bare spot between his eyes and that two small holes were beginning to form. Mind you, all four paws on both bears are bare. Most of that occurred from Will chewing all the fur off the paws.
So, here is the point of the story. Nate came up to me a couple of days ago and kept saying "eye, eye" and pointing at his bear. I checked the little guy out and sure enough, "Bear Bear" has a 3rd eye. Kevin and I thought it was pretty funny and luckily, Nate doesnt' seem to be bothered by the 3rd eye. We have subsequently bought a new "Bear Bear" or in the real world is know as Manni a Gund Bear. Time will tell if he will be accepted into the family. Hopefully, Nate won't insist on carrying all 3 bears around at once, or maybe we'll do the quick, silent switch a roo.

I'll definitely keep you posted!!!















Edited to Add : Got the new "Bear Bear"
-------------------------------------------------------

I didn't remember how soft the bears used to be and I did show Nate the new bear and yes he turned his head in disdain. :)

birthday wishes - Bella Card

Howdy friends! Here is a quick post of a card that I just finished. I love these bellas. Check them out -->HERE<--, I love them! This particular bella isn't in my possession, but was sent to me by a friend from the cricut message board. Isn't she cute? Her name is Imeldabella. I wish I had a cute pair of boots like these, but my calves are too fat - for real!!!

The card is sized to be a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" but it is a tri-fold. I love this look, but haven't ever made a card this size. I just used patterned paper and attached my bella off a bit so it looks centered on the front. Anyway, enjoy!

Cardstock: GP White, Pansy Purple - it has a light and dark side and I used both for the mats (CTMH), Patterned Paper: From Joann's, Ink: Staz on black, Pansy Purple (CTMH) Stamps: Bella, Limitless Labels (PTI), Other: Prisma Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, Hero Arts Rhinestones, Paper Flowers from Michaels's, EK Success Circle Punches

I love mail!

Wowza,

I got another surprise in the mail today!! Woohoo! Jodi sent me a beautiful card today. Check it out! And with just the right amount of sparkle in my new favorite colors and paper too!

Thank you Jodi - plus she's in the same state as me. She's the first person so far that I know of that lives in the same state :)

Papertrey Blog Hop Projects

Ok guys/gals, here is my project. This really was a difficult challenge. Ribbon makes great accents, but due to the texture and limitations of size, it was kind of hard to figure soemthing out unique that we haven't seen before (thanks Charlene and Penny).

So yes, I ended up with what I'm sure everyone else thought of first and that was a flower made out of ribbon which is very similar to the cute ribbon flowers that are on Penny's gorgeous card. But I also really wanted the stem and leaves to be from ribbons too, so what I ended up doing was folding up the moss green ribbon and then ironed the folds in. Then, because I didn't have the exact color match for thread, I took white thread and tapped it onto the moss green ink pad to color it. It worked fabulously and then I took the thread and hand sewed my stem onto my cardstock which a) kept it in place and b) added some texture to the stem. The leaves I just wrapped around and tacked together. The fraying is something that is a pain, but I was too lazy to use fray check so I was just careful.

I also wanted to do a little stamping so I used the Boxes, Bags, Tags stamp for the center of my flower. I really need a 1 3/8" punch, but I had to settle for my 1 1/2" punch which is just that "skosh" too big. I layered that onto the SU! scallop punch to finish up the center of the flower.

I also had to make the card big because my flower was so big. The card is a 5x7. If I ever make another one, I would move my sentiment up and put a photo corner on the right bottom (SU! photo corner punch).

I love the new paper, especially the patterned paper and Berry Sorbet! Something else I can't get enough of is the swiss dot cuttlebug folder. Its awesome!
(Everything is Papertrey ink) Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Pink Patterned Paper, Ink: Black palette, Berry Sorbet Palette, Stamps: Boxes, Bags and Tags, Women of Life, Ribbon: Berry Sorbet, Moss Green, Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, thread

I hope you guys like it!

Ok, here is another one that I did too. Again, I learned something. I was wanting the the ribbon to be raised off the card (like a frame), so I used pop dots, but the ribbon isn't sturdy enough and you can see the pop dots underneath the ribbon. Well, as many of you know, when you get pop dots on they are stuck and when I tried, the ribbon started really fraying so... Next time, I would either do 2 or more layers of ribbon, use some Stiffy or something equivalent, or just regular ole' tape runner.

99% everything PTI - Cardstock: Stamper's select white, Berry Sorbet, Ink: Moss Green, Berry Sorbet, Cocoa (CTMH), Stamps: Out on a Limb, Shapes by Design, Ribbon: Moss Green, Other: Flower Punch, White Brads

Hope you Likey :)





Ok, one more idea that I didn't get time to figure out, but the ribbon gathers very nicely. It's rather bulky, but still looks pretty.

Candy Sliders

Good morning everyone! My BIG post is coming this evening, but I did want to share these candy bar sliders that I finally got around to making and trust me, I will be making more. These are so fun and easy to make and have such a WOW component to them. Over the past months, I have seen lots a versions of them and different measurements etc based on the type of candy that you want to make "slide", but I really like Andrea Walford's pattern. During her Easter Tutorial Blitz, she provided a template and a pattern that is adaptable to any side candy. WARNING - there is a little bit of math (hahha), just make sure you aren't doing these at 1 am in the morning :) Here is her tutuorial --> CLICK HERE <--. She always has such amazing work on her blog and lots of great tutorials.

I used plain cardstock and then random stamped my design, but these also look really pretty when you add printed paper or make them out of printed cardstock. For the Twilight bar, I also stamped my image, cut the circle out, and then used pop dots to adhere them. It made for a nice dimensional bar. These are also so easy to adapt for a specific holiday, but I wanted these to be generic so all I did was add some tags and you have a great little gift.

Cardstock: Twilight, Chocolate Vanilla Cream, Cranberry (CTMH), Ink: Chocolate, Twilight, Cranberry (CTMH), Stamps: Shapes by Design, Limitless Labels (Papertrey ink), Ribbon: Misc. Red Check, Chocolate (CTMH), Other: SU! Small and Large tag punch

Come back later for my Papertrey ink project. They have started a "blog hop" for those who want to participate. Click --> HERE <-- for the details. This hop's theme is a ribbon based one. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody's projects. Have a great day!

Extra, Extra, Read all about it ! Papertrey RAK

I got another fabulous surprise in the mail today! I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to Erin Bigler who sent me the most beautiful card and... a new COPIC PEN too!

For those that don't know, PTI has a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) group where we exchange cards for no reason or for any reason that we want to. There is no pressure and there are no guidelines other than you want to when you want to. Lynn, our fearless leader, helps us by posting a RAK challenge every Monday to get the juices flowing if you wish.

Anyway here is the card sent to me by again Erin who lives in a town that I have never heard of and am not sure how to pronounce as of right now. :)
Click --> HERE <-- to see all her fab work.

I love this card because a) its gorgeous, b) I get to see a stamp set in action that I don't have and c) she checked my info and realized my birthday is coming up pretty soon and sent a little gift inside (copic marker, which I don't have this color) Did you realize that I covet all copics right now???

Here is a close up of the beautiful work on the cake. I like this no calorie version.

Thanks again Erin!

Pretty in Pink

Good morning! Its dreary and wet again in the Pacific Northwest... hmmm... big surprise huh? Nah, I'm not being negative I love it here :)

I got the newest products from Papertrey ink that I ordered and its gorgeous. The pinks are wonderful, but I have to say that I love, love, love the Berry Sorbet Collection. It is such a rich color and the the pink patterned paper is to die for.

So, without further ado, here is the card that I made with this yummy paper.

Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Berry Bliss, Pink Pattern Paper(PTI), GP white, Ink: Sweet Blush, Berry Bliss, Moss Green (PTI), Stamps: Women of Life, Beautiful Blooms (PTI), Embellishments: Berry Bliss ribbon (PTI), Other: SU! ticket punch

Thanks as always for stopping by :)

Happy Easter! Sketch Card

Good morning! I hope everyone who celebrates Easter is having a great day and weekend. I don't do huge Easter baskets for the kids or anything, but I did want them to have a little something so I made these uber cute boxes for them with the little Hershey Eggs in them (I do have the rest of the bag too). Qbee over at Splitcoast has a template for these boxes. She has a lot of fantastic creations over there, plus she takes all the work out for you. All you have to do is click, print and cut. How amazing is that!

I cut out my boxes, random stamped the boxes with a variety of stamps and put together. I colored the chickies with the few copics that I have and am still working on the coloring thing, but the boxes turned out very cute anyway. The 2 year olds won't care, but Nate's and Will's eyes will glisten when they see what's inside. Hunter will appreciate the box, but he will also be more interested in what's inside.

I just got my new stamps by Melanie Muenchinger from Gina K Designs called "Just so Hoppy" and had to use the little chick from the set. I was so tempted by that cute chick in the egg that is all over the place from Stampin Up!, but I'm trying to limit my acquisition of wood mounted stamps, but I think this little chick is just as cute - just eggless :)

Anyway, don't eat too many deviled eggs today :) and have a great day!

Cardstock: Kiwi, Breeze (CTMH), Ink: Kiwi, Breeze (CTMH, Black (Palette), Stamps: Just So Hoppy (Gina K), Flowers wood mounted (distributed by Greenbrier International - all info that I could find on the stamp), Floral Delights, Sans Small Caps (CTMH), Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey ink), Embellishments: Ribbon (CTMH), Other: Copics, SU! Scallop punch


Here is another great sketch from Lauren Meader. Check it out --> HERE <-- Its always nice to have somebody nudge you in a different direction here and there. I just used this same stamp and design, but it turned out really cool following Lauren's sketch. I added a little pop to it by cutting my bird image and layering it.

Cardstock: GP White (that's it!), Ink: Cocoa, Cranberry (CTMH), Stamps: Free Spirit, The Good Life (CTMH)





Ok,,here's one more. These were really fun yet simple to do. I wish I had the copic spica for the little dotted trail. It would have been perfect, but I don't so... and a close up of the butterfly. It turned out very nicely.

Cardstock: GP White, Ink: Black Versa Mark, Stamps: Studio G, Other: Computer generated sentiment, Twinkling H20's, Clear with sparkles embossing powder

You're a Star - Sketch

Good morning! I love how this card turned it. Its just one of those cards that came together just the way I was thinking. Beate's sketch is a nice easy one to follow - I think I like those ;). I think I had stars on the brain due to the card that I did a couple of days ago.

I random stamped my main image, matted it, cut the star out with my cricut, ran it through my, xyron X, sprinkled it with sparkling clear embossing powder, wrapped hemp around my star and attached my sentiment (computer generated), added photo corners and voila - card!
Cardstock: Colonial White, Twilight, Chocolate, Buttercup (CTMH), Printed Paper: Good Times (CTMH), Ink: Twilight, Chocolate, Buttercup (CTMH), Stamps: Starstruck, Playful Flourishes, It's a Party! (CTMH), Embellishments: Joann's eyelets, Hemp, embossing powder, Other: SU! photo corner punch, SU! Word Window Punch, Cricut Celebrations Cartridge, Computer, Xyron

Have a great day!

Poo Happens!

I was an Joann's tonight and was really excited about seeing a better selection of clear stamps. Unfortunately, a lot of them were sold out considering they were 40% off, but I saw this set and loved this little stamp. I do have to say that I don't really like the way the Inkadinkado clear stamps feel. They are really stiff compared to other clear sets that I have such as CTMH, Papertrey, and Hero Arts. I like the better pliability. Either way, this was still a cute stamp and at 40% I couldn't resist.

You know how life is - poo happens! It was like that for me the other night!!

Cardstock: GP white, Dutch Blue textured, Chocolate (CTMH), Ink: Black (Palette), Dutch Blue (CTMH), Stamps: Little Tyke (Inkadinkado), Embellishments: Ribbon (BasicBasic - Michaels), Chocolate Grosgrain (CTMH), Buttons (CTMH), Edge Anchors (CTMH), Other: Copics, Prisma Watercolor Pencils, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Here are set of onsie cards that I totally and completely copied from Lauren Meader. She did the most awesome tutorial for these cards. Aren't they absolutely the cutest ever!!! Check it out -->HERE<-- The only different thing I did was use a 1 1/2" punch because I didn't have the 1 3/8, but it worked out just fine. Cardstock: GP White, Heavenly Blue, Baby Pink (CTMH), Ink: Heavenly Blue, Baby Pink (CTMH) Stamps: Mixed Messages, Faux Ribbon (Papertrey ink), Baby Handprints (Hero Arts), Embellishments: Brads (from Joann's), Other: EK Success 1 1/2" circle punch, SU scallop punch, Scor Pal

And finally, back to being tagged! I was tagged by a fellow CTMHer Leslie(not a real label I know), but this tag is to list 7 random and/or weird facts about thy self. So here they are in no particular order.

1. I hate slugs
2. I love Marshmallow Pinwheel Cookies (cookie crust, marshmallow, then covered in chocolate)
3. My hair didn't use to be naturally curly - it used to be super straight albeit very coarse
4. I don't enjoy large animals (farm) - I stay away from them at fairs
5. I've only worked 5 jobs my entire adult life
6. I love (eat only every couple of years at the most) corned beef hash, creamed corn, with over easy eggs
7. I have a tendency to get car sick

Ok, that was hard and I guess you all will have to tell me if those are weird or interesting. Anyway, here are the 7 people I'm going to tag:

My home town friend Stephani and Becky, Enfys, Emily, Lauren, Krysta, and Heather.


Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Thankful for the little things...

Good morning all! Today, I'm thankful for having an empty bed, no dog barf, and getting a good night's sleep! I think everyone is feeling better with a few wobbles here and there.

I'll be back with my "tag" info and something else more fun to look at than writing :)

What a night and day so far... and happy spring

Yikes! What a night last night. First, I stayed up way too late (seems par for the course recently), then as soon as I was ready for bed, the twins decided to wake up and want in bed with us. We are the proud owners of a queen size bed so add TWO 2 year olds to the mix and it gets a bit crowded. So, after I get settled in some weird awkward position with no pillow and fall asleep, I wake up to the sounds of the dog hurling. I groggily get up and of course as I walk in the hallway, what would I step in? Of course the dog barf!!! Nice huh!!! So, I clean that up, let the dog out, and get back in bed. Then at some later point, I wake up to a finger jabbing me and its my 8 year old saying that he doesn't feel well and that he thinks he has to throw up. Well, hello dear, go to the bathroom and barf. So off he goes.

Suffice it to say that I didn't get much sleep after that and today has been just one of those days. Hunter has continued his vomiting ways and the twins are just doing their thing.

The card is one I did a while ago. I hope I haven't already posted it (haha). I think the first day of spring was either yesterday, is today, or will be tomorrow. Did I cover it all? Close to my Heart came out with this really cool shimmery paint. I'm not big into painting anything, but this was fun. I stamped my flowers, then painted, let dry, and cut out. Lots of sanding on this card and of course, all the flowers are pop dotted!

Cardstock:White Daisy, Lilac Mist, Pansy Purple, Sweet Leaf (CTMH), Ink: Lilac Mist, Sweet Leaf, Grey Wool (CTMH), Stamps: Eastertime (CTMH), Other: Scor Pal, Sanding, Paint a Shade (CTMH)

I hope everyone else is having a perfectly lovely day!

Spacey Birthday Card

Alrighty then! Today is essentially gone, but I did do a card and am quite pleased with the way it turned out. It would be perfect for that little boy who is all about space, ships, aliens, etc.

The whole concept is a revisit of one of Lauren Meader's Saturday sketches. Here is my first version -->HERE<--, but this is much better. The paper has been in my stash for a while, but I still see it on Joann's shelves. I used it to scrapbook Hunter's birthday party pictures when his theme was Jimmy Neutron. It was perfect back then and its perfect for this card. The purple cardstock was embossed and then sanded, the yellow circle and stars were cut with my cricut (I cut several stars and layered for a thicker feel) and pop dotted off the card. The stars were also run through my xyron X then sprinkled with what I was thinking was glitter, but instead turned out to be clear, glittery embossing powder. But it all worked out, I just had to heat emboss to get the glittery effect. The spaceship is a cuttlekids die cut run through my cuttlebug. Cardstock: GP White, Pansy Purple Textured, Honey, Dutch Blue (CTMH), Ink: Dutch Blue, G Clover Meadow (CTMH), Stamps: Happy Birthday, Its a Party (CTMH), Other: Spaceship Die (Cuttlekids), Cricut, Embossing Powder, Signo White Uniball Pen, Scor Pal

Thanks for visiting,

Pop Dots Deserve their Due

This is my card for today. Do you notice anything? Not really huh? Well, this is as easy as it gets for a card don't you think?

Oh all right, enough with the questions especially since I can't see or hear you, but my point is that a pop dot or a few can make any really plain card not as plain and its amazing what a difference it makes to just pop dot!

My goal is to make dollar cards to sell at a crop that I'm going to and I think this definitely fits the bill.

Cardstock: GP White, Printed paper is ? (sorry) and that pink paper is ? too, Ink: Hollyhock (CTMH), Stamp: Stampin Up!, Other: Stampin Up! scallop punch

Happy St. Patricks Day and some Good News!

Oops, its St. Patrick's Day and I just remembered. I just realized that I sent my oldest off to school and I have no idea if he has any green on :0. Its not like it used to be though, I remember getting pinched for not having my green on; these days there is no pinching at school.

I have some good news to share with everyone. I have accepted a spot to be a staff reporter for this FAB website that I found a while ago. Craft Critique is a very cool place to read up on "crafty" sorts of things for reviews and opinions. Grab a cup of coffee or beverage of choice and spend some time browsing around.

I am very excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to sharing it with all of you!

Did you notice my new signature? Lauren Meader had a link to Katie Stilwater's blog where she had a link --> HERE <-- to where you can create a signature for your blog. So, I clicked away and here it is. This one is different than the one before so obviously, I haven't picked THE ONE, but I'm working on it :) Thanks ladies! Soon its not going to be 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, but rather 6 clicks of "fill in the blank". We are all only a click away... Have a great day and I'll be back to post something fun later!

Welcome Baby Sketch

Ohhh its late and this card was definitely a fun card to do, but it was also "one of those" cards too. I tell you everything that could go wrong went wrong and it took me forever to finish it. It really is an easy card to do and Lauren did a great job explaining it. I'm too embarrassed to tell you how long it really took me.... oh its almost 11:30 pm here...

Anyway, this is Lauren Meader's Saturday sketch card. Check out her gorgeous card (as always) --> HERE <--
I didn't have any wire or cording or anything. All I had was hemp so I braided the most neutral color I had - I'm not sure if it works, but hey, that's what I had -- I guess I'll have to go shopping huh? I stamped the background and then put a bow where the sentiment would have been, but since I used my sentiment as part of the background I used that gorgeous ribbon instead.

Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Moss Green, Stamper Select White, Everyday Blessings Printed Paper (PTI), Ink: Aqua Mist, Moss Green (PTI), Stamps: Borders and Corners Square, Limitless Labels (PTI), Ribbon (PTI), Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, SU scallop punch, Ek Success 1 1/2" punch.

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Hope you are all having a great Sunday morning!

~~~~~

Papertrey Collection

Good morning! This is a group of items that I made to submit to Papertrey ink's Guest Star Stamper contest. It didn't win, but I had fun putting it together and I love the color combo. The container was given to me by my friend Emily and I thought it would be perfect to alter. It originally contained a bag of chipboard letters, but it smells much better filled with mints :)

Along with the container, I made a matching circle card. I cut the circle card on my cricut and a larger scallop to attach to the front of the card. The small scallop was cut using SU! punch and the square was made by using two square punches.

Then envelope was also cut using my cricut and I decorated what would normally be the back as the front.

Cardstock: Moss Green, Aqua Mist (PTI), Cocoa (CTMH), Ink: Moss Green, Aqua Mist (PTI), Cocoa, White Daisy (CTMH), Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, Women of Life (PTI), Other: Ribbon (PTI), Cricut, Mint Candies, Corner Rounder

Thanks everyone!

~Katie