Twinshappy

HMF Blog Hop with Hearts

2012-01-30T00:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our Hippy Hop blog hop over at House Mouse and Friends Blog Challenge. If you just arrived from Paula's Blog you are in the right place. Just joining us, head back on over to the HMF blog to start hopping along with us today. In case you missed it we announced our new Design Team Members also! Very exciting to have this group of ladies join our wonderful mousie family. Be sure to wish them congrats!
We have some fabulous sponors for this Blog Hop!

House Mouse Designs- $25 Gift Certificate

JoAnna Sheen-Unmounted Gruffies set

Pink Gem Designs-Your choice of 3 digi's

Die Cut Dreams-a selection of shaped cards and stands-contact Susie

Priscilla Styles-$10 voucher for digi's only

Our hop theme is brought to use by Christine. She challenged us to use atleast 1 heart or more on our creation. I have several heart confetti on mine, hee hee You know I like to keep my creations simple and this was no exception. I adore this Valentine house mouse called Lovely Confetti. I added some red velvet ribbon to the back of the panel. Addes some brown wrinkled ribbon with a sparklers center. The hearts have some stickles added to them howeer hard to see in the photo. Framed the love birds up with Spellbinder Fleur De Lis Frame and voila a sweet Valentine today.
Your next hop is on over to Sue aka Scoopy's Blog. Have fun Hopping today!

Oldies but Goodies Friday

2012-01-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

Over at Flourishes, the design team is picking up one of our older sets to give it a little attention! With the season of love upon us, we thought Angelic Love should be in the spotlight! So, in addition to getting some fantastic ideas today from the design team on how to use this stamp set, we're having a one day only sale! Buy today and you get 15% off! Simply use the code ANGEL in the coupon code box at the time of checkout.

For my creation I stamped out the cherub and colored her using several copic collections. The main colors were

After the cherub was colored I cut her out and added dimensionals to the back. The new Tailor Made Classic Keyhole Die that Spellbinders makes for us was perfect for the framing so once that was layered down I added the Prima flourished pearls down. Popped the cherub up with the dimensionals so it looks like she is sitting on the sentiment panel. I really do like how this turned out and for me this is not standard. ha Yet I do have white space with the framing and die. ha! Be sure to check out what the girls created today using Angelic Love.
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

CTD 176 Happy Birthday

2012-01-25T01:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this weeks Color Throwdown 176. This is my last week with the CTD team and I want to say thank you for having me as a guest this month. The colors have been fun! I hope you get to play along with us this week. Check out the Blog for all the CTD Design Teams creations.

Crumb cake is not a color I have, however I tried to go with the closest color based on the photo. My balloon is not dirty I promise, it has some gel pen for sparkle on it. Yet it looks like dirt. gggrrr... So frustrating sometimes I tell ya. Such a fun image, this is from Sparkle Creations called Birthday Josh. Adorable boy image and makes for easy cards. The birthday sentiment I punched out on some Spellbinders shapes for fun. Thanks for stopping by.

Totally Stampalicious For the Men

2012-01-23T00:59:00.000-08:00

Well mine is for the little man. :0) Totally Stampalicious Monday here and our challenge is For the Men, create a masculine themed card. I have taken the little man route as I was in need of a baby card. Isn't this Occupation Bears just adorable? He makes me smile he is so sweet.

Very simple in design as I have used some designer paper from Hobby Lobby that I got months ago. Pierced around the edge, added some pearls and popped the main image up on dimensionals. My twine and ribbon combo has a little safety pin charm with a pearl center. Easy Peasy. I hope you get to play along with us this week.

On another note... The Giants are in the Super Bowl. I am so excited! I hope they WHOOP the Patriots once again in this SB! HA! Should make for a great game as the season has come to an end. Have a great day!

Winners in Vegas

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well these girls might not be winners in Vegas but they are winners of my blog candy. First is the winner of the Bugaboo and Totally Stampalicious Birthday Blog Hop. That winner is:
CTgirl said...
What a fun card! I like your colour combo an all the little details! Great!!

The winner of Clear Dollar Stamps I Heart U Monthly Blog hop is:
Dee in N.H. said...
Cute! I love that lamb and also the cool shape you made with the dies!

Please Email me at Twinshappy1 at yahoo dot com and I will mail or email out your prize to you accordingly. Thanks for joining the blog hops.

Now for the winners in Vegas! DH had a business trip last week in Vegas and I actually got to go on this trip. Very last minute, we rushed around trying to line up grandma and grandpa to watch the kids and Ranger. Let the school now we were going to be gone etc. Flew out to Vegas for the first time ever for both of us. So this was going to be a little bit of fun with business at the same time. We had a great time with the little bit we got to see. This is us on a very cold night looking out down the strip. It was about 30 degrees at night and we did not bring the warm enough jackets but this worked. Sorry for the blurry picture. I was cold trying to smile. ha!
While at Vegas the Shot Show as going on. This is a version of CHA for the gun and competition world which we compete in. More DH competiting than me. Anyways while at this show we got to meet up with the Top Shot contestants. If you watch this show on History you know what I am talking about. Several of the contestants on each season are competitive shooters and we have meet at matches before, but to meet the ones that are not is super cool. Such as George Reinas. Oh how adorable is he! :0) Very cool guy! We were able to chat with him quite as bit as not a lot of people were around. We thanked him first for his serving our country and keeping us safe. Also wanted to let him know that what he did on Season Two with the last challenge was a great teaching lesson for our boys. He was great to talk with and ofcourse I had to get a photo. My sisters are so jealous! hee hee Awwwweeee... loved it!

Then we meet at the Top Shot reunion booth Chris Reed the winner of Season Two. Chris is very genuine and made me feel like we had known each other for 30 years. Very funny guy and it was so loud that he had to talk in my ear so we were practically hugging. HA! Talk about coming back from some amazing injuries this is the guy. In the background you can see a few of the others from the season and the new one starting here in a few weeks.

For the last we have Dustin Ellermann. He is just as humble in person as he is on the show. What a down to earth guy. We got to talk a bit with him off to the side. Doesn't care much for the major attention as you would imagine. Talked about the camp and how the twins wanted to go to it this summer. ha He said might be a bit of a trip for us from way over here. They are doing good the family is just happy to have him home again. Very sweet man!

We chatted with a few of the others that we already know. Funny how in this sport you get to actually *talk* to the people where like Golf of Football you can't talk to the celebrate as much. If that makes sense. Anyways had a great time away in Vegas. It was not at all what I thought, very clean and our hotel was great. I don't gamble or drink (GASP I know sorry boring mom here) ha Taking in all the sights and cool stuff was great, wish we had more time during the day so we didn't cram it all into the evenings. Managed to get 25k steps aday though. Lots of walking! Well we now have to shovel snow off the driveway. Our plane was delayed because of the snow and freezing rain we got. I am just glad to finally be home! Have a great day!

Free for All Friday

2012-01-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! Today is Flourishes Free for all Friday and your last day to purchase our New Release Bundle at a discount. This includes all 3 stamp sets released last week.

For my creation I used Love, Sweet Love. My mom is a school teacher and is always in need of simple notecards she can use for any occasion. I made her a little bundle of these. Very simple in design but pretty all in one. Since I have some of the beautiful white butterfly trim under the Iridescent Fuchsia ribbon bow. Very easy peasy!
Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy

CTD175 Be Mine

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Color Throwdown challenge 175 today. This weeks colors are brought to us by Danielle and a very relaxing photo if I do say so myself. I almost went with an herbs and oils creation as these colors speak italian to me. However this little guy just arrived in the mail so I went with it. He is so super Cute! He is from Sparkle Creations called Valentine Oliver and I adore his hat. This kraft is a color I don't have so I found the closest thing in my papers. Added a few scallops to the edges and a circle sentiment tag that says Be Mine. Now how cute is that!!

Check out the Color Throwdown Blog for all the Design Teams Creations. Hope you get a chance to play along with us this week. Have a great day!

It's all Black and White at House Mouse and Friends

2012-01-16T00:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! House Mouse and Friends Blog Challenge #111 is all about Black and White. Yep America is challenging us to make creations that are all black and white. EEK... Hopefully you get a chance to play along with us this week. Our sponsor this week is Di's Digi Downloads and America herself. Prizes are $10 voucher to Di's Digi shop; From America 2 NEW HM&F STAMPS. Great prizes!
How about some black, white and fur? hee hee I have used the darling Gruffies Party Preperations for my card today. Perfect for an over the hill birthday as we have a few coming up with friends. ha ha The balloon has some sparkle added around the rim. My paper is from memory box little black dress that I sure am loving right now. Not to bad for no color don't ya think?
Thank you for stopping in with me today. Have a wonderful day!

I Heart U blog hop and Blog Candy

2012-01-15T00:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly blog hop. If you just came from Christi's Blog you are in the right place. Just joining us, then head back on over to Lori's Blog. The theme this month is I Heart U. Comment on each Designers blog post in the hop and you could be thelucky winner of a $25 Clear Dollar Stamps gift certificate for digital images! Winners are announced on Thursday Jan. 19th.
If you read my post on day one of our new release this month you know this is my last month with CDS. So why not go out in style with some blog candy. Just leave me a comment on this blog post and your name will be in the drawing. Entries will be closed on Saturday Jan 21st at 9 am EST. I will announce the winner that afternoon Saturday Jan 21st at 2pm EST. Good luck.
For my creation I have made a large pennent tag using Loving Critters. This adorable little lamb always melts my heart. Some stickles surrounds the heart the lamb is holding however hard to see in the photo. Several Spellbinders shapes were used for the tag. I really do love how this turned out and not a lot of fuss to make it. Your next hop is on over to Deanne's Blog! Have fun Hopping!

Bugaboo 2nd Birthday Blog Hop

2012-01-14T00:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Bugaboo !!! Tammy was kind enough to invite the Totally Stampalicious DT to participate in the Bugaboo 2nd Birthday Bash Blog Hop and we were thrilled to oblige! For those of you who don't know, Totally Stampalicious has the great privilege of turning Jodie Mackrell's incredible art into clear photopolymer stamp sets!
If you just came from Sandye Curry's blog you are in the right place.
Just joining us? Head on over to the first stop in Bugaboo's 2nd birthday blog hop at the Catch The Bug Challenge Blog.
My creation is using the adorable Gus Fishing over at Totally Stampalicious. Super fun sentiments in this set that will make you giggle. My sketch is from Sweet n Sassy's sketch saturday last week. Great and perfect for good ole gus here.
Be sure to leave a comment and you might be the lucky winner of this FAB image!! You have till Saturday Jan. 21st 9am EST to leave a comment. Winner will be announced Saturday Jan 21st 2 pm EST. Bugaboo is celebrating ALL week long with fun challenges, prizes and more so make sure you continue to check out the Catch the Bug Blog for all the exciting fun!

Now for the next stop in our birthday blog hop is over at Stepanie Serrano's blog. Have a great day hopping!

Flourishes Love, Sweet Love

2012-01-13T00:09:00.000-08:00

Today is Flourishes last day of sneak peeks with Love, Sweet Love. This set has several images and sentiment. The one that kept drawing me in was this beautiful basket of flowers. Very easy to color and so pretty. Ofcourse the white on white always makes anything look so crisp. A little bit of sheer ribbon tied this up into one simple note card.

Don't miss your chance at winning the set of the day by commenting on each of the Designers Blogs.

Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Heather
Beate
Cindy
Mona
Purchase all three stamp sets this release with the Release Bundle and save 10%. This is for a short time! You still have time to play in our New Years Challenge, check it out HERE. Hope you enjoyed all the sneak peeks! See you back here tomorrow.

Flourishes Noon 2012 Challenge

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Yea! It is time for Flourishes Noon Time Challenge. As we ring in the new year, let's be inspired by the numbers we'll use for the next 300 plus days! It's a limited supply challenge that revolves around 2012! So, here's your recipe: You can only use 2 colors. You can use 0 bling. You must use at least 1 embellishment and you can only have 2 layers (not including the card base)! Let's see that creativity shine! If you upload to a gallery, please use the key word FLLCJAN12. Entries must be in before Friday, January 13th at 5PM EST.
I have two layers and two colors red and white, I have ribbon as my embelishment and lets not talk about the bling okay. So I messed up... Didn't even think about it when I put the sparklers on. Since I worked so hard on cutting the inside of the heart out for the window on the gift bag I wasn't about to start over. ha ha This is from the set From the Heart. The treat bag is full of truffles for a friend of mine that is going to love them!
Check out what
Julie
Sharon
Cindy
Danielle
created with the challenge. Sure hope you get to play along with us this week! See you back here tomorrow!

Flourishes Heart Lines

2012-01-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

Flourishes Day two of the January release is very sweet with Heart Lines. This is a sentiment set that surely will make anyone feel loved. I adore this sentiment as you can dress it up as I have with this card, or its perfect with those little guys in your life. Had some of the lace paper sitting on the desk so went with that for some background paper. Added a bunch of sparkle to the heart designer paper, hard to see in the photo. Finished it off with a few red sparklers and a wrinkled red ribbon bow.
Don't forget about our Mystery Blogger. Comment on each of the Design Teams blogs and you could win the set of the day.

Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Heather
Beate
Cindy
Mona
See you back here at noon for Flourishes Noon Time Challenge. Have a great day.

Flourishes From the Heart

2012-01-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

***2nd Post today. Color Throwdown Post below this post***
Happy Wednesday again! ha ha Flourishes is unveiling the new set called From the Heart. This gorgeous Valentine set will surely warm your heart. This set penned by Becky Fleck offers an antique flavor for Valentine's Day! An ornate heart stands as a focal point and is a perfect companion to Spellbinders Classic Heart Nestabilities die (S4-136) and Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Heart Nestabilities Dies (S4-137). A curled banner is the perfect accent -- allowing a few of the sentiments to be stamped inside!

For my creation using From the Heart I was thinking chocolates and eating a few at the time. ha This is pretty straight foward in design. My sentiment banner is popped up seperate from the heart on dimensionals. Some chocolate wrinkled ribbon for a bow and a few flourished jewels to add some glam and voila!
Be sure to stop on over at all the Design Teams Blog and leave a comment, you never know who will be the...

Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Jan Marie
Mona
Cindy
Heather
DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE? Have you checked out our A New Years Challenge? Just click HERE to find out how to play!
You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges this week! To do that, all you need to do is check in -- right here on the Flourishes blog Wednesday and Thursday at noon! These fast-paced challenges are designed to spark creativity and give you another chance to win some wonderful goodies! All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!
Can’t wait until all of our sets are revealed Friday morning? Well, you can pre-order them now if you like what you see on our designers’ blogs! Just click HERE. You’ll also see that we are offering our special New Release Bundle again – 10% off if you purchase all three stamp sets in one bundle!

Color Throwdown 174 Sentiment

2012-01-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday! The Color Throwdown colors today are brought to us by Broni and they are Soft Suede, River Rock, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky. Don't they seem very soothing and calming? I thought they did and went with a sentiment focus for my creation. This is using Flourishes New set called Heart Lines. I used a few Spellbinders shapes and some sheer ribbon for the extra softness. This is an easy peasy creation today.
Hope you get to play along with us this week! Be sure to check out the creations from the Color Throwdown team! Have a great day!

Sweet n Sassy Stamps Inspiration Challenge

2012-01-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to show you my creation today as I am the Guest Designer for Sweet n Sassy stamps Inspiration challenge this week. YEA! Now this is a cool living room set even with the orange. ha ha The backround design really spoke to me in this photo and this SU dp really seemed to match pretty good. My sentiment is from the set Rose Blossom. The rose is lightly stamped in the background and colored with copics g0000 and rv000. For a bit of sparkle (which I can not photo for nothing but it is there) the rose petals are all traced with stickles for sparkle. This turned out pretty even with the orange I think.
Be sure to link your creations over on SCS in the Sweet n Sassy Stamps Forum HERE. If you load to SCS please use keyword SNSSIC22. I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week! Have a great day!

Product Parade Day 3

2012-01-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

I hope you have enjoyed all the sneak peeks from Clear Dollar Stamps the last few days. Today wraps up my sneak peeks for January. Remember all the stamps you have seen are available now at the Clear Dollar Stamps Store. Now for my creations. This first one is using Eternity along with John 3:16. Springy feeling with the soft pinks and blue. Got to use one of my new sizzix folders I got at Christmas. Makes for a great background and it is not the swiss dots I always use. ha ha
Next is a super fun stamp (and not because I have twins hee hee) called Ark of faith. I also used the sentiment God is Love stamped out on the circle tag. These animals look so cute and sweet.
My last one is one I forgot to show on day 1. LOL Hey I am human and forgot it. This is single scripture Psalm 116:1 that I used with Tulip wreath. The sparkle on the flowers is not showing very well but it is there.

Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

Product Parade Day 2

2012-01-08T00:50:00.000-08:00

Welcome to day 2 of Clear Dollar stamps Product Parade. All the stamps you see are available now at the CDS Store. First up is Dahlia and single scripture Luke 12:34. Very fresh and springy with this one today. The primas button combo has sparkles on the petals a few jewels around the border and voila!

This pretty pink one is from Dahlia as well. The framing is using the Fleur De Lis from Spellbinders and some sparkle for the stems to finish it off.

Fun layout with this one I thought I would try out as I don't do a lot of circles on cards it seems. this is the flower Josephine Clematis. Very dramatic with the blue and black I thought. Never can have too many thank you cards!

Be sure to check out the creations from the DT:
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

Product Parade Day 1

2012-01-07T00:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to day 1 of Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade. All the stamps you see are available now over at Clear Dollar Stamps Store. Before we get to my creations I wanted to share that this is my last release and month with CDS. This is something that has been very hard. I joined the CDS team a few years ago and it has been a wonderful journey and time with these ladies. I love each of them and will miss them truly. Life calls me in a different direction as the kids are in sports and things at home are getting busier. I really had to pray about what I needed to do, stepping down from CDS was one thing that I had to do as hard as it was. However that just means positive things on the horizon for CDS and a new member for them to love on in my place. Lori thank you so much for the wonderful friendship and generosity you have given me over the years! Hugs....

This first one is a single stamp Romans 5:8. I was in the pink and chocolate mood when I created this. The gingham paper was fun along with a few pearls. Very easy peasy.

Next up is the single scripture Deuteronomy 6:5. Very valentine feeling and I did not intend for that to happen. The textured bg panel is using one of my new sizzix folders I got last month. Its kinda cool huh.

Yes this was intentional making a valentine with this stamp Valentine John 3:16. A few hearts and gingham ribbon bow are all you need.

My favorite one of the day is these adorable birds from Toucan's of Love. I paired it with the single sentiment Tou-can pray. Isn't this super cute idea? Vibrant colors were the theme here. I have a bit of sparkle on the leaves and a shine on the eyes with liquid glass. Hope you can check out the creations from the DT today:
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

Flourishes New Year Challenge

2012-01-06T00:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Flourishes! We are getting ready for our first release of 2012 and talk about excited! This is going to be an awesome year! The pre-challenge is your chance to win our entire release coming out next week. The challenge is: Ring in the new year with “Father Time” or “Baby New Year” – this challenge is a fight between new and old! Create a card that showcases an image of time (i.e. one of our calendars, the Moments in Time set) or one that showcases little baby new year (i.e. a baby card). Be sure to link your creations over on Flourishes Blog.
Baby cards are something that I usually don't have a stash of so why not start one with this sweetie. The bassinet is from Baby Love as I leaned more towards a baby girl for this one. I adore this paper that I got at the LSS its so sweet. Simple layers using Spellbinders Classic Circles and Scallop Circles. Tied the sentiment tag off with a button and twine bow. A little piercing around the edges with some sparkle on the ribbon and the bassinet fringe for the final touch.
Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

TS New Release and 2012 Bog Hop

2012-01-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Totally Stampalicious!!! If you just came from Joanne's Blog you are in the right place. If you are just joining us, head back to the Totally Stampalicious Blog to start your hopping!
Welcome to the FIRST RELEASE of 2012 BLOG HOP! We have FIVE BRAND NEW STAMP SETS from our fabulous Bugaboo line by artist
Jodie Mackerell!! AVAILABLE NOW at Totally Stampalicious!
As always we'll be giving away PRIZES as well to THREE lucky Hoppers!!!
1st Prize - All 5 New Sets
2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certficate
3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate
All you have to do is Hop along with us and leave your comments along the way and maybe YOU could be a WINNER!!!!We also have an incredible promotion going on...so even if you don't get a prize you can still be a WINNER!!Stampalicious Dessert Menu
Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

I needed a few masculine cards so I used Gus Fishing. This set is so funny and has some very fun sentiments. My dad alone would laugh at these. Very simple card for the guys with some fishy paper from Kaiser Krafts Hunt and Gather pack, so it looks like he is actually fishing. ha! I added some sparkles to the water however again me and photo's with sparkle do not get along well. The design team have some great sneaks for you with the new sets so I hope you hop along. Speaking of hopping its your turn to head on over to Angel's Blog for her sneaks! Wish her a belated Happy Birthday why you are there! ;0) Have a great day!

Color Throwdown Challenge 173

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday! I am excited to announce that I am the Guest Designer for the Color Throwdown team for the month of January. Yea! Looking forward to a fun month of colors and creations with you. Today is color throwdown #173. They screamed elegant Christmas card to me so here you go.

I am loving the Poinsettia and Boxwood stamp lately if you hadn't noticed. ha ha Doesn't it just look gorgeous all layered and sparkly? I really do like it all layered up. How about that, another Christmas card done for 2012. Now you can't beat that! My sentiment is stamped out on Spellbinders Fancy Tags then popped up on dimensionals. The paper is from Basic Grey's Little Black Dress pack that I just got right before Christmas. This paper pack is going to be my new favorite. Be sure to stop in at the CTD blog and see all the girls creations and hope you get a chance to play along with us! Have a great day!

House Mouse and Friends New 2012

2012-01-02T00:36:00.000-08:00

Hello! Welcome to the new year with House Mouse and Friends Blog challenge. A new year of challenges, games and fun! Today's challenge is brought to use by America and its all about New. I thought how about my new house mouse stamps called You Can Light the Way and went with that for my new. This adorable guy is fun. The candy cane has some liquid glass for the shiny look. A bit of ribbon and some sparkle and voila another Christmas card done for the new year! I am on a roll! :0)

Be sure to check out the other girls creations! Hope you get a chance to play with us. Have a wonderful day!

The New Year 2012

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

So how are you first couple hours of the New Year treating you? Hopefully you had a great evening and today is starting off wonderful. We stayed home snuggled on the couch watching TV and a movie. Yep it was a great night if you ask me!
Wondering why is she making a Christmas card? Never a better time to work on your cards for next year. Some of us dirty girls are working ahead with a little challenge each month. This month our challenge is *something new* new stamps, new paper, ribbons or even a new technique. If you would like to play along just use the keyword SCSCCJAN12 for us to find your Christmas creations. For mine I used the new stamp set I got last week called Christmas Joy from SweetnSassy Stamps. Cardinals are traditionally red however these creamy browns and burgundy was talking to me today. I added a little toasted almond sheer ribbon and some gold cord. The circle Spellbinders tag was too big so I made my own with the smaller circle and cut the square design in half and adhered it to the edges. hee hee easy peasy! The sparkle is not showing much however there is some on the pine branches.

Thanks for stopping in today. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the day!

Delight in the unexpected

2011-12-30T00:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! The boys go back to school next week. sniff.... sniff.... It has been a wonderful little vacation with Christmas. We will be taking down our decorations and our tree this weekend. Always sad to take it all down, however just means in 11 months we get to put it all back up. :0) DH went back to work on Tuesday, I think he was ready to go back after 6 straight days at home with us. He gets 4 days off with New Years! hee hee Gotta love it.

Over on the Flourishes Blog today we are focusing on tins. They make great little gifts for friends and not a lot of cost for something unexpected. Here is my tin that I decorated. A few weeks ago I made a matching card for the tin that I will show you below also. The paper is from Kaiser Krafts Miss Nelly pack, very feminine and girlie feeling. I stamped out the sentiment from Life Lines set on the Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three and popped it up on Dimensionals.For the flower shadow on the sentiment I used the single flower in Lace and trim. Some white lace trim around the hinged lid, then for a bit of flair I added some prima swirls and pearls to the back panel.
Here is the card that I made to match. The details on the card are found on this post.

Be sure to check out the creations the Design Team made with tins today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

From the heart

2011-12-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over can you believe it? Seems to go by faster and faster every year. Hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends. We had a wonderful time and the dinner was excellent. I say that because we tried all new recipes for the Christmas dinner this year. Yep we risked having either a great one or a questionable one and luckily it turned out YUMO!
Made this Christmas card last week using Poinsettia and Boxwood from Flourishes. The petals are layered up a few times as I did with the pink gift tier set I made last month. You can see that HERE if you are a Fan Club Member on SCS. These center pearls are actually Prima's Crystals that are really cool. A few silver cord loops finish this off. The person this was for LOVED it thankfully. ;0)

Flourishes is having a Christmas Sale! So, if you have Christmas money to spend, we’ve got a great deal you won’t want to miss! From now through Friday, everything in the store is 25% off. Even the goodies on our sale page that have already been reduced for quick sale are 25% off the sale price!
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SALE….. Simply use XMAS11 in the coupon code box at the time of checkout.
Be sure to hit the recalculate button on the page so that your total adjusts to the sale price. Keep in mind, there are no rain checks or back orders. Once some of these items are gone, they will be gone for good! So, shop early for the best selection!

Christmas Competition

2011-12-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

You girls that are on Facebook can you do me a favor? DH is in a friendly competition with a friend on their FaceBook page. DH posted a very COOL photo that is of a 2 soliders and it says HONOR at the bottom. It is the 3rd photo down. Can you LIKE his photo for me? Read the photo and actually look at it because it will make you proud and cry, well I did but you know I am sappy. ha!
BUT you can't like the Ralphy photo. That is his friends, but you can look at it. hee hee
Search under FB pages for practical edge shooting That is where the page is.
Off to finish my baking and cleaning for tonight.

Merry Christmas!

Sharing Warm Thoughts

2011-12-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Squeel!!!! Christmas is just 2 days away I am so excited. I think I am worse than the kids. Ha! We have been enjoying the time with family and I don't want it to end. I have some pictures of the kids and cousins that I will post later. Today is a free for all over on Flourishes Blog.

We just wrapped up our December release so I thought I would show you another creation I made with Snow Wonderful. The release bundle ends today with the extra discount don't forget to get the savings while you can. This is a bit country and cozy with the rustic colors I thought. My sentiment panel with the new Tailor Made Classic Keyhole die is popped up on dimensionals and a few pearls added below. Easy peasy but oh so pretty don't you think? Be sure to check out the creations from the DT today:
Christine
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

Poinsettia Wreath

2011-12-21T00:11:00.000-08:00

Now doesn't this look like a wonderful wreath? I know its oval but hey it works. Ha! This little poinsettia is from the set Holiday Nutcracker. They are all cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The textured background is a sizzix folder and a bit of sparkle and pearls finish this off.
Clear Dollar Stamps is having a wonderful Christmas sale through December 24th. Be sure to check it out.

Kids are home on Christmas break and DH even has the next 6 days off. Whohoo We have a few things planned with family and friends. I can't believe that Christmas is Sunday. YIPPEE!!!! Okay need to get some groceries and errands done today. See you back here Friday for Flourishes Free for All. Merry Christmas!

Friends Warm the Heart and Soul

2011-12-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! House Mouse and Friends blog challenge is running the Warm and Coxy challenge all month long. Here is another one of the challenge. Tea and friends warm the heart and soul don't they? This is the adorable Chamomile Tea from House Mouse Designs. Very simple as this is going in the mail and I did not want it to be really bulky. I paid a lot of extra postage this year with my Christmas cards because of the bulkyness. Hope you get a chance to stamp this week! Have a wonderful day!

White as Snow Blog Hop

2011-12-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! If you just arrived from Lori's Blog you are in the right place. Today is Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly Blog hop White as Snow!The prize this month is $25 Clear Dollar Stamps gift certificate for digital images!

I used the Stamp of the Month Christmas Deer for my card today. The snowflake background is using a sizzix folder and I added sparkles to snowflakes but you can't see it in the photo very well. The frame is using the Elegant Accents Die. Some ribbon and silver cord to tie it off with my button. Easy Peasy! Now head on over to your next stop Jerusha's Blog! Have a wonderful day!

Flourishes 1,2,3 Create Kits

2011-12-16T00:32:00.000-08:00

Since I had a the December 25th kit and needed another Christmas card I created with that today. This is about as masculine as I can get on a Christmas card. This wreath is still one of my all time favorite Flourishes sets. Unfortunately it is retired, sorry! I know teasing and tempting you with a retired set! Several copic collections were used to color this. Added a bit of sparkle at the very end.

Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Barbara Anders
Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Release Reminders:
**10% savings when you purchase the New Release Bundle.
**Mystery Blogger. Comment on each Design Team members Blog post for the day you could be our Mystery Blogger and win the set of the day.
**Pre-Release Challenge Feminine Flair, your chance to win our entire release

Pears anyone?

2011-12-15T00:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to day 2 of Flourishes December release. Today we are going to show you another fabulous new fruit set called Pears! I am very excited to see a pears set. This is a simple summer feeling creation today and with the fridged cold weather I have I could use it. I colored the pears with copic collections Sunflower and Spring Greens. Finished it off with a little bit of yellow gingham ribbon and a button twine combo. Easy Peasy!
Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Barbara Anders
Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Beate Johns
Jan Marie

Release Reminders:
**10% savings when you purchase the New Release Bundle.
**Mystery Blogger. Comment on each Design Team members Blog post for the day you could be our Mystery Blogger and win the set of the day.
**Head on over to Flourishes Blog at NOON for the noon challenge and your chance to win the entire release.
**Pre-Release Challenge Feminine Flair, your chance to win our entire release

Snow Wonderful

2011-12-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

Today is day 1 of Flourishes December release with the new set called Snow Wonderful. The creations with this set are outstanding! Another fabulous set that goes perfectly with our Tailor-Made Classic Keyhole die from Spellbinders. My creation is cozy and sweet today. The birds were calling out to me for this card and some felt snowflakes. The copic collections I used for coloring are the Sky Collection, Creamy Collection, and Fields Collection. My ribbon has some white lace trim along with the soft blue wrinkled ribbon tied off with some felt snowflakes. There is glitter on the snowflakes and the pine needles, however hard to see in the photo.

Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:

Barbara Anders
Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Beate Johns

Feminine Flair Challenge

2011-12-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! Can you believe we are already into December 9 days? Holy smokes this month sure is going fast. Flourishes is getting ready for the December release and today is your chance to win our entire release by playing in our Feminine Flair Challenge. Head on over to the FLLC Blog to see all the details and linking your creations!

I went super feminine and girlie with my pearls, pink, and lace. This card has a matching little gift tin that I will be showing you later this month. My card is using the beautiful feminine Lace and Trim set. I have cut it out and then cut around the edges to make it look like actual lace. The sentiment is from Tag Lines stamped out on Spellbinders tag and popped up on dimensionals. I hope you get a chance to play along with us! Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

Invites for Christmas Party

2011-12-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

This year we are hosting a Christmas party at our house for the group at my husbands work. Here is what the invites look like. Now the sparkle does nto show up much and its really too bad as they are gorgeous with the sparkle. I used the Gelly Roll Stardust Pen around the Spellbinders frame, on mistletoe in the sentiment from Meet Me Under The Mistletoe stamp set and all over the holly leaves. Really does look cool IRL. All the panels are up on dimensionals to really add to the invites. Several mentioned how cool it was that I made the invites and they looked awesome. Makes me feel good and I know that hubby appreciates the compliments for me. hee hee We have our menu figured out, house cleaned and all the food bought. Now to relax and enjoy the party. Hope you have a wonderful day!

TS Monday White Christmas

2011-12-05T00:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! Today on the Totally Stampalicious Monday challenge its a White Christmas. Let's see some snow on your creations. This adorable Winter Bird Snowman was perfect for the challenge. The snowman has sparkle all around his frame and then on the ground, hard to see in my photo. Added the sentiment using an oval punch and tied it off with some silver cord. Easy Peasy today. Hope you get a chance to play along with us. Don't forget:
Stampalicious Dessert Menu
Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

Flourishes Free for all Friday

2011-12-02T00:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! It is December 2nd if you can believe it. How are you on your Christmas cards? Got mine just about finished, next is to address and mail them all out. Oh boy that will require a cup of hot cocoa and an hour to fill out. ha! Today is Flourishes free for all Friday. We are focusing on the 2012 calendar download that we are offering for $2 this year. It makes wonderful little gifts. This is for a coworker of DH's that has a cubical and not much desk space. I took our new Tailor-Made Classic Keyhole die and I punched out the center of the top and added the paper in between the two for a nice little hanger. The mittens are from Warm Winter Wishes set, with a bit of super fine flower soft added to the tops. Be sure to check out what the girls created today with the calendar download:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

Ho Ho Ho... Merry Christmas

2011-12-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

Happy December! Yes I am still alive everyone just overly busy at the moment. Recovering the dining room chairs for a week although it is gorgeous, I sure do have a lot of things to catch up on. Kids have half days of school so that throws a wrench into all my to do lists also. I do promise to get around to bloggin again very soon.
Right now it is Flourishes Christmas Spirit Challenge 20, Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas. Create a christmas card with Santa in mind. Use St. Nicholas image, presents anything he would bring Christmas eve. Be sure to link your creations back over at the Flourishes Blog!

This is the best Santa image ever, I am telling you. This is Santa, I Believe and finally found out how to stamp him in brown and have it look right. I am thrilled with this card. Pulled out my Stampin Up chalks from ages ago and colored in the cheeks, holly and his eyes. Added some super fine flower soft to the hat and a bit of Gelly Roll Stardust pen to the wire rimmed glasses. For a last minute touch added the sentiment from the set Christmas Sentiments. Be sure to check out Sharon's Blog today as she made a card for the Christmas challenge also. Have a great day!

Sending Sunshine and Black Friday Deals

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Flourishes Shoppers! Before stores even opened on Friday morning, the “elves” behind the scenes at Flourishes were busy adding new items to the store’s sale page. EVERYTHING today and tomorrow is 25% off, which means anything on the sale page is being offered up at an additional discount for even bigger savings! Keep in mind, this sale is only 48 hours long – so shop early for the best selection! All you need to do is use the code BLACKFRI11 to get 25% off your entire order!

I made a card in the craziness of the week using Sweet Nature for you. A vibrant and cheerful looking card. This Spellbinders Picot Edges circles is awesome and in white even more so. There is some stickles on the flowers for a bit of sparkle yet its hard to see in the photo. The copic collections I used today for coloring are Poppy Collection and Evergreen. Hope you have a wonderful day creating and shopping!

New Dining Set.... Sorta

2011-11-23T17:03:00.001-08:00

I promised I would post pictures of my latest project and here it is. DH's uncle bought some gorgeous material in Egypt for me a few years ago for my dining room chairs. And I am just now getting around to re-upholstering them, right before a major holiday I know crazy. However it only took me a week. This is what the chairs looked like before. See Ranger peeking out of the corner? hee hee
Below is a picture of the chairs with the panels removed. The material is stapled along the sides, top and bottom. Material is cut and wrapped around front and back of the back panel, and on the top of the seat. We counted about 250 staples per chair. EEK! When I said my hands hurt I was not kidding. These staples were really hard to take out. I had a baby ice pick to dig up under it, then a small screw driver to loosen it more then needle nose pliers to pull it out. I started that all on Monday, by Saturday morning when my mom showed up I had one panel left to do.
We started at 8 am with the first panel. Trying to figure out a routine and how you want to add this new material was a little tricky. We took a gamble on not cutting the material down the sides and instead wrapping it around (still stapling it) just not cutting and it paid off. Lot less cutting and seem to go a bit faster. Now the silly staple gun we rented was not the best however it worked and we got done with everything that evening. The only thing left to do was redrill holes for the seat and attach it back to the bottom. I had new cushions cut at the local foam shop, what a GREAT idea as now you don't sink down like you are sitting in a hole. ha ha Early Christmas present to me. My mom was awesome help and did all the stapling since I took them out. Thanks mom, and please don't edit my grammer. Yep she read my blog again and said I need to edit my posts better. Ha....

Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving

CDS New Lantern and Secret Bench

2011-11-23T14:18:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Well today has been crazy as I was at the school today helping with the last of the Colonial days celebrations. I completely forgot to get my post pre-set for me and just now remembered. Clear Dollar Stamps new Templates are available today! You can see all the templates HERE or HERE.
This first one is called Secret Bench. The top of the seat lifts up and you can put candies or notes inside if you wish. The little pillow is made out of some chocolate squares with a scripture on the front.

Next is the template Lantern. This can be made either open if you have a baggie of goodies you want to put inside such as I have. Or you can added vellum or clear cardstock and add loose candy that way. The tag is from Antique ornaments with a bit of ribbon and silver cord.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and Friends. Thanks for stopping in.

House Mouse Warm and Cozy Challenge

2011-11-21T00:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome to House Mouse and Friends Blog Challenge 109 Warm Fuzzies. This challenge was brought to us by Vicki. Our sponsors this week (2 Prizes/2 Winners)DDD-3 Digi Downloads /Pizzazz Aplenty-$10 Gift Pkg Embellishments. Hope you get a chance to play along with us.
With all the cold weather and snow lately the hot chocolate has been in mugs across the table a lot lately. Infact we have gone through a whole deal of cocoa and it wasn't even the second week in November yet. ha! This house mouse is a new one for me and a gift from the twins. It is called Hot Cocoa Social. hee hee perfect! Used my MFT dienamics snowflake and added it to my ribbon bow with some silver cord and a button. This card speaks for itself on the warm fuzzies in more was than one. ha!

On another note finished re-upholstering the dining room chairs. My hands are hurting so bad from removing the staples but its worth the gorgeous dining chairs now. I will have photos for you later this week of before, during and after. Thanks for stopping in. Have a creative day!

CDS Thankful Blog Hop

2011-11-20T01:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly Blog Hop, this month is Thankful. If you just arrived here from Shell's Blog you are in the right place. If you are just joining us head back on over to the CDS Blog and start at the beginning. For hopping along with us one lucky winner will receive a $25 Clear Dollar Stamps gift certificate for digital images! winners will be announced on Wed. Nov 23rd on the CDS Blog.

Simple card today as time is crazy at my house. I like how the sentiment is the focus though. I used Leaf Hellos for my card today. Added a bit of stickles to the leaf for fun. A button twine combo to tie it all together. Your next hopping place is over onto Jerusha's Blog. Have a creative day!

Birthday Surprise hop

2011-11-19T00:08:00.000-08:00

Flourishes has a very special birthday today as it is Julie's birthday. What better way to celebrate with everyone from a far than with a blog hop of birthday cards for you. So head on over and wish Julie a happy birthday and see what everyone has created for Julie!

For my card the beautiful Orchids were talking to me so I colored them up in some girlie pinks from the Lenton Rose Copic Collection. These Orchids fit beautifully in our new Tailor-Made Classic Keyhole Die which is too cool! What card is complete without some pearls and lace to finish it off. This card is going out late to Julie however I know she will forgive me. :0) I hope you have a minute to wish Julie a happy birthday!
Be sure to stop by and see all the other birthday creations from everyone for Julie:

Jan Marie Caruso
Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Sharon Doolittle
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Beate Johns
Cindy Haffner
Heather Jensen
Maki Jones
Silke Ledlow
Heather Jensen
Iwona Palmountain
Kathy Jones
Mona Pendleton
Yvonne Hagane
Laura Fredrickson

Snowglobe Gift Tag

2011-11-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday! Flourishes is showing you a few last minute creations with the new sets from November. Don't forget the new release bundle ends today with the extra discount of 10% off the bundle pack.

This is a large picture so you can see the tag up close. Today I made a gift tag to show you with the Joy is in the Air set. I stamped the globe out on classic white paper then adhered that to some more paper to make the tag. Colored with a variety of the Copic Collections as you can see. The rim of the globe has liquid glass to make it shine and the snow has stickles for sparkle and yes again neither show in my photo. Sorry! Check out the fabulous creations from the DT today:

Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

See you back here tomorrow as it looks like I have a post everday for the next week. Have a wonderful day.

Flourishes Mini Blog Hop

2011-11-16T01:40:00.000-08:00

Over on the Flourishes blog we are doing a little mini blog hop with alterables. This summer at CHA a few of us fell in love with the Kaiser booth and the fabulous new alterables they came out with. This dress form below called Mannequin Die Cut had to be the favorite of all I believe. So we all decided to dress up and show you what we made.
For my dress form I have painted it in just some basic craft white paint front and back. Once this was dry I added scor pal tape to the back and actually layed it over my designer paper with all the edges left hanging out. I then took a knife and cut along the frame so that it was an exact fit for the wood frame. These gorgeous roses are actually not lavendar they are a caramel stone, however I sponged just the tips of them with some lavendar ink so you get the best of both worlds on color. Now you can add flowers in all colors just look at the variety! Here is a close up of the mid-section to see the lace and flowers closer. I just adore how this turned out. The wrinkled lavendar ribbon is perfect width as it doesn't hide the cotton ecru trim that I added at the waist and the same at the bottom. No dress is complete with out a few pearls.

This is a gift for a friend of ours teenage daughter and I know she is going to love it. Now hop on over to the girls and see what they came up with today! Miss Christine --- BLOG CANDY and Miss Cindy. Have a wonderful day!

Totally Stampalicious is going 3D

2011-11-14T01:21:00.000-08:00

Totally Stampalicious is going 3D today with the challenge. This is the time of year when we're making little gifts for those special people in our lives so let's see what YOU'RE giving away this year. I used the adorable Poppi Cocoa for this darling stocking. It comes in red and green for a dollar at hobby Lobby. So I picked up a few as they make quick little gifts for friends children and it looks like I went to a lot of fuss. These will hold hot chocolate packages and a bookmark that I still have to make. The stocking is flet and really soft feeling which I like. There is liquid applique on the marshmallows and stickles on the penguins hat, however hard to see in the photo. Some ribbon and a few tiny bells added to the loop top and voila and easy peasy gift! Hope you get a chance to play along with us this week. Don't forget about our:
Stampalicious Dessert Menu
Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free

Day 12, The First Noel

2011-11-11T00:55:00.000-08:00

Today wraps up Flourishes November Sneak Peeks and my 12 days of Christmas. Can you believe I still have more stuff to show you? Well it will have to wait as I am all tuckered out from all this. ha ha Flourishes new release is available NOW and don't forget about the New Release Bundle at the discount as that is for a short time. Great time to mention to hubby and friends your wish list from Flourishes!
This beautiful scene is The First Noel. I choose to emboss it in silver on brilliant blue cardstock. This fabulous cream blue stripped ribbon has been sitting here asking me to use it for a few months so here it is.

Be sure to check out the beautiful creations from the DT:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Some important release details:
**Your chance at winning the set of the day over on Flourishes Blog.
**Your chance to win the ENTIRE release by playing in our Snowy Delights Challenge.
**Don't forget about the Mystery Blogger, comment on each DT blog for your chance at the set of the day.

Day 11, Joy in the Air

2011-11-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

Just about finished with my 12 days of Christmas. Today you get to see some new goodies from Flourishes called Joy is in the Air and our new 1,2,3 Create Kit called December 25th.
Santa's beard has some super fine flower soft that I was able to adhere without a huge mess by using the cool quickie glue pen (thanks for the tip Christine) then some sparkle is added using stickles to the chimney and snow. Is this not super cute? Dear Santa sentiment is from the new set Sentimental Christmas. Which is becoming a favorite sentiment set now.

Check out the gorgeous creations from the design team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Heather
Beate
Cindy
Some important release details:
**Your chance at winning the set of the day over on Flourishes Blog.
**Your cahnce to win the ENTIRE release by playing in our Snowy Delights Challenge.
**Don't forget about the Mystery Blogger, comment on each DT blog for your chance at the set of the day.
**Your chance at the set of the day in our Noon 12 Central Challenge on Flourishes Blog.

Day 10 part 2, Petals and Peace Gift Tag

2011-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Flourishes noon time challenge and day 10 of my 12 days of Christmas. Today our challenge is tag your it. Create a gift tag for those beautiful gifts you are giving. I used the new set called Petals and Peace and our new Classic Keyhole Custom die! This is so exciting as this die is fabulous and so many options. Of course it makes for the easiest gift tags and perfect as I need more tags.

I took this photo with the tag laying down as that was the best photo without it looking all sideways. Ofcourse it is tilted in the photo so who knows what I am doing. LOL Anyways the sentiment panel is popped up on dimensionals for you. A few jewels and ribbon to finish it off. Hope you get to play along with us today!

Day 10, Petals and Peace

2011-11-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday and day 10 of my 12 days of Christmas. Today is full of surprises as Flourishes unveils the November Sneak Peeks. Our SURPRISE? Flourishes Tailor-made Dies! This custom die creation manufactured by Spellbinders Paper Arts is sold as single die sets. The result is a tailormade die that coordinates perfectly with Flourishes’ stamped images. Classic Keyhole Template Die coordinates perfectly with our new Petals & Peace set, creating a beautiful cut and embossed shape every time!
For my creation using Petals and Peace with the Classic Keyhole die, I made a swag to hang or put on the front of a gift as I can't decide what I like more. It will probably go on the front of a gift as the tag as this would be so COOL! Each panel is attatched with the beautful Cream Iridescent ribbon that has a great shimmer feel to it. This center panel has the roses cut out and popped up on dimensionals, as does teh sentiment tag on the third panel. The roses were colored with Copic collections Lenton Rose, the background was using Creamy Collection, Bells and foliage colored with Sunflower and Evergreen. The foliage does have sparkles on them however not very easy to see in my photo.

Gorgeous creations from the Design Team Today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Heather
Beate
Cindy
Jan Marie
Some important release details:
**The New Release Bundle is available for an extra 10% off the entire release.
**Your chance at winning the set of the day over on Flourishes Blog.
**Your chance to win the ENTIRE release by playing in our Snowy Delights Challenge.
**Don't forget about the Mystery Blogger, comment on each DT blog for your chance at the set of the day.
**Your chance at the set of the day in our Noon 12 Central Challenge on Flourishes Blog.

Day 9, Candy Cane treat box

2011-11-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Day 9 in my 12 days of Christmas, brings you to a project that my boys were sure I could make. They have been on me to make a candy cane shaped treat box for a few weeks so I went ahead and gave it a shot. Basically hand drew a 2 inch thick candy cane shape on scratch paper and cut it out on some classic white card stock. Then took a strip of card stock 11 inches long and scored 1/2 inch down one side adhered my score pal tape to the back, then began to wrap around the shape base. Cutting little slits in that 1/2 inch as it was curved around the cane. The 11 inch piece was not long enough to cover the whole shape, so I needed another little piece to wrap around and close off the candy cane. Then I cut out a few red stripes of paper to add to the side for the stripes. Some gingham red ruffled ribbon around the border at the top, add a few pearls and you now have a candy cane shaped treat box. Sheeshhh... the things I do for these boys. :0) ofcourse they then proceeded to tell me "See, we told you that you could make one" ha ha

This sentiment is from a new set at Flourishes called Petals and Peace that you will be seeing tomorrow! Today you have the chance to see a new set called Sentimental Christmas, so head on over to Flourishes Blog. Have a wonderful day!

Day 8, Christmas Thanks

2011-11-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday and day 8 of my 12 days of Christmas. Today I have two Christmas posts for you, the first post is below with Totally Stampalicious challenge. House Mouse and Friends blog challenge today is brought to us by me personally. We get so caught up in the holidays that we forget to make thank you cards. So today's challenge is to make a thankful card, as simple as a sentiment saying Thank You on the front or inside. A couple of sponsors this week from: Simon Says Stamp and Pizzazz Aplenty (2prizes/2winners) SSS-$15 Gift Card to Simon Says & Pizzazz Aplenty-$10 Gift Pkg Embellishments. Be sure to check out the blog for linking your creations and the other DT creations.

Christmas cards are always nice however you also need to make sure you have enough thank you ones on hand. So I was going through my stamps of Christmas ones and the Swiss Ribbon always makes me giggle. Look at them wrapping that cheese, how stinkin cute is that? A little sparkle on the ribbon to match the sparkle on the snowflake that I made using MFT dienamics snowflake and voila, an adorable Christmas thanks. Hope you get to play along with us this week! Check below for the Totally Stampalicious post today!

Day 8, TS Anything Goes

2011-11-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! I have two posts today for Day 8 in my 12 days of Christmas. Today over on the Totally Stampalicious Blog it's anything goes Monday! Whohoo.... So I get to show you the adorable gift card I made. The boys thought it would be fun to make a card look like a gift and the sweet Deacon Elf be the gift tag. So here he is in all the sparkle and cuteness. hee hee And an easy peasy Christmas card to boot.
Don't forget about our delicious Dessert Menu that is going on. Haven't heard about it yet? Well let me fill you in on the details:
Stampalicious Dessert Menu
Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free
Added bonus: That's right our 4X6 stamp sets are now only $8.95! Happy Shopping!

Day 7, Christmas tags

2011-11-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

Well I made the mistake of making my own gift tags at Christmas a few years ago and now that is all everyone wants. Never can I show up with a gift and a non hand made tag. So either I give less gifts.... or start early every year on my gift tags. ha ha This little one is easy peasy as the Joy is stamped out using Clear Dollar stamps Christmas Inchies. I cut it out and then popped it up on dimensionals using the Spellbinders Classic Oval small that is layered on Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two. Added a few jewels and some sparkle finished. Made about 10 of these since they were easy peasy ones to make! Thanks for stopping in, see you back here tomorrow.

Day 6, Wintry Welcome

2011-11-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 6! This was suppose to be a flat rate mailer atleast it started that way. Darling little bunny isn't it? This is Snow Friends from Clear Dollar Stamps. Stamped it out on a circle, layered him on another circle. Added some sparkle to my swiss dots piece and was doing fine for flat rate postage. However then I go and decide to add this sentiment tag with some felt snowflakes from my stash. Well that threw the whole single stamp postage aka flat rate mailer out the window. ha ha Oh well atleast I did try with this one. The sentiment tag has some piercing around the edges also.

See you back tomorrow, have a great day!

Day 5, Snowy Delights

2011-11-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Day 5 of my 12 days of Christmas, which fits perfectly with Flourishes Pre-Challenge called Snowy Delights. This challenge is your chance at winning the Entire new release coming out next week from Flourishes. Check out the blog for all the details and linking your creations. Some fun was made with this card as I got to pull out a set with my favorite little tree scene from Cottage home. Just so sweet and such a simple scene with the path. I have colored them using Copics Sky collection and the single copic BG70. My sentiment is from Meet me Under the Mistletoe and the panel is cut out using Spellbinders Classic Rectangles small. Then framed with some beautiful sparkle all around. the lace and ribbon are hidden behind the panel a bit, however I do like how it came out. And yes you can see all my sparkle as I dumped a ton of the dazzling diamond dust on it to show up. ha You can see it though! Be sure to check out the fabulous snowy delights from the design team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
See you back here tomorrow for another day of Christmas.

Day 4, O Little town of Bethlehem

2011-11-03T01:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 4 of my 12 days of Christmas showing. This vibrant and pretty scene is using the set from Clear Dollar Stamps called Little Bethlehem. I have to say that I have loved just about any nativity set or Bethlehem set I have seen. They are always a must have in my stamp collection, this was no exception. Kept this simple and let the color do a lot of the showcasing. I have framed it by cutting out the inside of my squares and layered them over the image. Finished it off with the bow at the top using Hot Cocoa sheer ribbon. My sentiment is stamped on the Spellbinders Nested Pennants with a single chocolate pearl to the top. Hope you enjoyed day 4, see you back here tomorrow!

Day 3 The Best Gift of All

2011-11-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

Today is day 3 in my 12 days of Christmas showing. Have you gotten into the Christmas mood yet? hee hee This little beauty is using the wonderful Poinsettia Joy from Clear Dollar Stamps. I have yet to color it in anything but pink so far as I just love it with pink. The sentiment is a single stamp that is Jesus is the best gift of all. In cleaning the stamp room a few months ago this wonderful paper lace was found. It is in the shape of a large oval so I cut it in half and added it to the side of my base layer. Then some lace trim and twine was ran down the side to adhere my prima's to. A few pearls and some sparkle to the flower petals calls it good.
See you tomorrow!

Day 2 Christmas Spirit Challenge

2011-11-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 2 of my 12 days of Christmas. Today is Flourishes Christmas Spirit challenge 19 Round like a Wreath. We are moving this challenge to the Flourishes Blog, you can read about the challenge and changes HERE. We also have a surprise this month so be sure to check it out.

Making a round card is fun and I forgot how much fun till I started this one. These round shapes are using Spellbinders Standard Classic circles Large and Big Scalloped circles large. You know what is so cool about acrylic stamps? You can bend them into just about any shape you would like. Meaning this mistletoe border is from the set Meet me Under the Mistletoe and it is actually a long 3 inch piece. However when you wrap it around your acrylic block you can form a border like this. Just one of the benefits of acrylic stamps I think. The sparkle is not showing well, however it is all over the mistletoe leaves. The sentiment is from the set as well and I stamped it up on the Spellbinders Classic ovals small and then layered it on top of the Spellbinders Fancy tags two. I have to say that I love how this turned out and so simple! Now to just be able to photo it without it tilting to the side would be great. ha ha See you back here tomorrow and have a wonderful day!

Day 1 of my 12 days of Christmas

2011-10-31T01:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! Today is day one of my Twelve Days of Christmas. I have been working on some cards and projects for Christmas and I can't wait to share them with you. So for the next 12 days we can be holly jolly with Christmas goodies. ;0) Maybe the next 12 days will sparke some creativity with you as well. Be sure to let me know in your comment if you have a Christmas creation you would like to share with me. I would be happy to look at your creations.

This adorable image is from Totally Stampalicious called Deacon and Ava HoHo. Is this just not the most adorable image? They are all spruced up and ready to make someone smile this Christmas. The snow is with liquid applique and then some stickles on top for the sparkle of the snow. This designer paper is from the Echo Park series called Season's greetings. This gorgeous shimmery dark green ribbon was the perfect touch to finish this off. Totally Stampalicious has a fabulous special running right now, here is how it works:
Stampalicious Dessert Menu
Level 1 - Vanilla Ice Cream - Buy 5 Get 1 Free
Level 2 - Strawberry Shortcake - Buy 8 Get 2 Free
Level 3 - Triple Layer Chocolate Cake - Buy 11 Get 3 Free
What better time to start your Christmas shopping early! See you back here tomorrow for my 12 days of Christmas! Have a wonderful day.

How about some Christmas cards?

2011-10-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

Yes I have been working on Christmas cards and gifts lately so you will see more in the coming weeks. Today on Flourishes blog some of us are playing around with ink and paper. This card is using the new Christmas set A Season of Celebrations. The image is stamped in blue bliss ink, then I have added stickles all over the tree and some pearls for the garland the kids are haning. The frame is using Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares and I used the Classic Circles to cut out the center for a beautiful frame. I wrapped some ribbon around the top and bottom, added sparkle to the frame all around and voila a blue Christmas. Be sure to check out the beautiful creations from the design team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

Christmas Stocking and Catalog

2011-10-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

It’s hot off the presses and offers some fabulous ideas for your Christmas creations! This 20-page full color catalog offers a look at not only every Flourishes Christmas set that is available, but a handful of tutorials showcasing projects that are perfect for the Christmas gift giving season. It even offers a sneak peek at some of our Christmas sets for November! At just $6, this catalog is a must have! You can check it out HERE!
Need a head start on some Christmas gift ideas? There are 6 different tutorial ideas that are perfect just for the occasion. Here is one of them that I made Canvas Stocking. The full tutorial on how to color with copics on canvas is in my tutorial. This is going to be filled with some bagged cookies and candies that I made and given to some friends of ours. A wonderful gift idea and a beautiful keepsake once the goodies are gone. Thanks for stopping in today!

House Mouse Fall Challenge

2011-10-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! It is House Mouse and Friends Blog challenge today brought to us by Sue K. She wants us to make a Fall creation. There are a few Prizes this week:1. Creative Classroom - Offering one free class 2. KnK Designs - Offering 3 Digi Stamp Sets 3. Pizzazz Aplenty - Offering $10 Embellies Gift Pkg

If you can believe it I do not have a single fall house mouse stamp. Gasp! I know.... however this is what I did come up with. I turned my sunflower into a darker fall turning sunflower, added a few leaves and some twine. Not the greatest fall creation but what can you do? lol Hope you get to play along with us this week! Have a great day.

Winner and New Templates available

2011-10-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

Before I show you the new templates available at Clear Dollar Stamps I want to announce the winner of my Dirty Blog Candy. That winner is Naomi, who said "Oh my GOODNESS! What FABULOUS news! Congratulations. You will DEFINITELY do The Dirt Pile justice since your cards are AMAZING! Awesome blog candy, too, thank you for the chance to win, you're SUPER generous!" I contacted Naomi and will have her package off Monday. Thank you all for the warm congrats on the Dirt Pile everyone!
Now for the New Templates over at Clear Dollar Stamps! You can see all the templates so far HERE and HERE! So the first one up is called the Beverage Caddy. However some of the girls have turned it into more fun ideas, so this really can be a lot of things caddy. ha ha Check out the fun other ways to use this template HERE.

This has to be my favorite or one of my favorite so far, its called Choo Choo Train. I adore this train and what it is for. This is a table decoration for a friend who asked me to make something to hold candies on her table for the kids. Something fun yet pretty so that it wasn't out of the element of her designs. Isn't this adorable? The flowers are from the set Holiday Nutcrackers set colored with copics and a pearl added to the center. I have stickles all over the flowers also, yet hard to see in the photo.
Another version of this can be seen on the CDS post that is a birthday train with banners and it is holding the waterballoons for a birthday party we attended. A fun and easy gift for kids that they will enjoy. Thanks for looking and Happy Shopping!

Free for all Friday

2011-10-21T01:36:00.000-07:00

Today on the Flourishes blog its a free for all Friday. Christmas Candles is a new set that came out last week and I thought I would use that set today. I made a quick little 4x4 card with a shaped frame. I have stamped the candles in the background and colored them with the Copic Pastels colors. Added a few pearls and ribbon, voila. Easy Peasy today.
Check out the creations from the Design Team:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Don't forget Flourishes New Release Bundle at 10% off all 4 sets ends today!
Check back in tomorrow for the winner of my Dirty Blog Candy and the New Templates from Clear Dollar Stamps!

TS Christmas Blog Hop and New Release

2011-10-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Totally Stampalicious Christmas Release and Blog Hop!!!We are so excited to share SEVEN NEW SETS with you all tonight and they are AVAILABLE NOW at TOTALLY STAMPALICIOUS!!
As always we have some FABULOUS PRIZES to give away including:
1st Prize - All 7 New Sets
2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certficate
3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate
All you have to do is Hop along with us and leave your comments along the way and maybe YOU could be a WINNER!!!! So now, without further ado.....
HERE IS THE CHRISTMAS RELEASE from the Totally Stampalicious Bugaboo Line by amazing artist Jodie Mackerell! They are ALL must-haves for this year's Holiday Cards!!!
Now it's time to hop on over to Angel's Blog to see what Awesome Christmas Confection she has for us!
Here is the entire Blog Hop Line Up in case there are any glitches along the way!
Totally Stampalicious
Angel
Jessica
Kendra
Dawn
Lori
Julie
Jessie
Laurie
Lynda
Becky
Joycelyn
Vicki
Sue

Girlfriend Gift Set

2011-10-20T11:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Thursday! The kids have today and tomorrow off from school so time is limited on stamping. However I did get this finished last night and photo'd this morning.
One of the girls at DH work wanted a gift set of cards and matching box for a friend. Feminine Charm is a perfect girlfriend set so I went with it. The paper is using Kaiser Krafts Miss Nelly pack. Along with the beautiful Spellbinders Die Picot Edge Circles and some fabulous pink wrinkled ribbon you can't go wrong with a gift set. The box is using the tutorial from Beate found HERE. Be sure to check back at 6pm as Totally Stampalicious has a blog hop and new release for you. Thanks for stopping in today!

Flourishes Christmas Mini Catalog

2011-10-19T06:50:00.001-07:00

It’s hot off the presses and offers some fabulous ideas for your Christmas creations! This 20-page full color catalog offers a look at not only every Flourishes Christmas set that is available, but a handful of tutorials showcasing projects that are perfect for the Christmas gift giving season. It even offers a sneak peek at some of our Christmas sets for November! At just $6, this catalog is a must have! You can check it out HERE!
Need a head start on some Christmas gift ideas? There are 6 different tutorial ideas that are perfect just for the occasion. You don't want to miss your chance at a great catalog!
Tomorrow is Totally Stampalicious Blog Hop and New Release at 6pm. Be sure to check back in!

Happy Fall Blog Hop

2011-10-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly Blog Hop. This month's hop is Happy Fall. If you just came from Jerusha Blog you are in the right spot. If you are just joining us head back on over to Lori's Blog to start hopping.
For my card I used Charlie Harvest. I have masked the stalked of wheat behind him on both sides. Added a few pearls to each of the corners and the hay stalks. Took a bit of yellow twine and added a sentiment using Spellbinders Lacey Pennants. The panel is using Spellbinders Labels Eight.

Some Blog Hopping Details
PRIZES: One lucky winner will receive a $25 Clear Dollar Stamps gift certificate for digital images!
WINNERS: Winner will be randomly chosen from comments received on a DT member's blog. The winner will be announced on the CDS blog Thursday, October 20th.
Your next hopping spot is over to Sarah's Blog.
Don't forget about my Blog Candy and Dirty Little Secret. Have a wonderful day!

The Dirty little Secret is OUT! SQUEEELL.....

2011-10-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness! I am the new Dirty Dozen girl! Squeeel..... Talk about keeping the hardest secret ever. And I am horrible at keeping secrets but I did this one. So overwhelming and honoring all at the same time. I have wanted and dreamed about being on the Dirty Dozen ever since joining SCS. This is so totally COOL! I am completely over joyed right now to finally share my news. The last month has been such a joy and so fun. The girls are wonderful and encouraging in every way. My Dirty Sister is Lisa and I am thrilled to work along side her not only on the CDS Design team but now the Dirt Pile! WHOHOOO!!! I sure hope that I do the Dirt Pile justice. Thanks Lydia for this awesome journey!

So excited that I have this fabulous Blog Candy up for grabs. This includes some NEW RELEASES from Flourishes and Clear Dollar Stamps. I will list out the details below. This Blog Candy will run through Friday October 21st at 8pm Central time. I will announce the winner on Saturday October 22nd! Good Luck!
Blog Candy includes: Flourishes Stamps Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, Christmas Candles, Warm Winter Wishes, Christmas Borders. Clear Dollar Stamps Poinsettia Joy, Antique Ornaments, Little Bethlehem. Assortment of ribbons and trims, Echo Park dp Holly Jolly Christmas, BoBunny dp Blitzen, Spellbinders Holiday Tags, Pearls, flourishes jewels.

Christmas Candles

2011-10-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the last of our October Sneak Peeks with Christmas Candles. I went with a simple and fairly flat rate mailer for this one. The gorgeous red scalloped lace trim was still on my table and well I just love it so I used it again. hee hee A little bit of white lace and pearls to finish this off. The sparkle on the leaves is not showing but there is a hint of it on them.

The Design team has some beautiful creations for you today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Important New Release information you might be interested in:
**Flourishes is decking the halls to get ready for the Christmas season and we’ve stocked the shelves with a brand new 2011 Flourishes Christmas Catalog. This 20 page full color catalog offers a look at not only every Flourishes Christmas set that is available, but a handful of tutorials showcasing projects that are perfect for the Christmas gift giving season. It even offers a sneak peek at some of our Christmas sets for November! At just $6, this catalog is a must have!
**We have the Mystery Blogger for the day by commenting on each of the DT blogs.
**Your chance to win our entire release is by playing in our Heavy Metal Challenge found HERE.
**Don't forget the New Release Bundle that includes all 4 new sets at a 10% discount for a short time.
**Our new 1,2,3 Create Kit is available called Sunshine.

Season of Celebrations Ornament

2011-10-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love that graphic above? These kids are darling and the set today is A Season of Celebrations. Fun project today as I embossed the kids sledding image in white powder. I then cut out the shape using Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments to make a tag or ornament for the tree. Haven't decided which idea I like best as I love how this turned out. Now I don't want to use it as a tag and give it away, I want it for the tree. ha ha The top is tied off with a button using some silver cord and red solid wrinkled ribbon. Stamped the sentiment on Spellbinders Fancy Tags One with a few jewels on each end.

The Design team has some beautiful creations for you today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Some New Release Details you might be interested in:
**We have the Mystery Blogger for the day by commenting on each of the DT blogs.
**Your chance to win our entire release is by playing in our Heavy Metal Challenge found HERE.
**Don't forget the New Release Bundle that includes all 4 new sets at a discount for a short time.
**Check back at 12 Noon Central for the noon challenge and your chance at winning the set of the day!
See you back here tomorrow for more sneaks and goodies!

Noon Challenge Monograms

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Flourishes Noon Challenge today is our Customer Suggestions Challenge.
Last release, we challenged players to come up with a fun and unique twist on a challenge, suggest it and they could win a chance to be in the Flourishes spotlight – not only would their challenge be picked, they would be the superstar of the day ushering the challenge as well! Our first challenge hostess this noon is the talented Suzanne Czosek! We loved her challenge to use your own name in a creative way!
How to Play: Simply use your monogram as the inspiration for your creation! So, if your name starts with an “J” – add jewels! What about “B” –add a bow! How about a “P” – use a punch! Just that simple! Just make sure you share your initials and the things you used on your creation that were name inspired! When you are done, link your creation back up here using our inlinkz widget. You need to do that in order to be in the running. If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCORW1. You have until Friday, October 14th at 5PM EST to enter! Let’s get that name game started and get creative!

My initials are SLM so I have Silk ribbon, Lace ribbon and using the new set Meet Me Under the Mistletoe for my monogram. My button and twine combo were sitting on my desk from another idea that didn't work out but it worked out perfect for this card. This makes for a flat postage rate mailer this year too! Check out the creations from:
Makiko Jones
Christine Okken
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Suzanne Czosek

Mistletoe tissue box

2011-10-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 2 of Floourishes Christmas release. I am so excited whenever we get to work on the new sets, especially Christmas ones. This new one is called Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. Sorta different for a mistletoe idea but I wanted to make a festive new tissue holder. This tutorial can be found on SCS HERE. they make great gifts and are really simple to make. All the mistletoe is cut out and adhered to the four sides. The sparkle is yet to show up in the photo however they do have sparkle all around the leaves on each one. The designer paper is from My Minds Eye called Lost and Found. Ofcourse who could resist the new Red Scalloped Lace trim for the border. Have you seen the new trim Laces that Flourishes has in stock? Check it out HERE.

The Design team has some beautiful creations for you today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Jan Marie

Some New Release Details you might be interested in:
**We have the Mystery Blogger for the day by commenting on each of the DT blogs.
**Your chance to win our entire release is by playing in our Heavy Metal Challenge found HERE.
**Don't forget the New Release Bundle that includes all 4 new sets at a discount for a short time.
**Check back at 12 Noon Central for the noon challenge and your chance at winning the set of the day!
See you back here at noon for more sneaks and goodies!

Flourishes Holiday Sparkle FTTC139

2011-10-11T00:29:00.000-07:00

Yes it is that time for Flourishes October Sneak peeks. This week is sure to put you in the Christmas mood and make you feel like a kid again. I combined my card today with the Timeless Tuesday Challenge FTTC139 create or use an ornament. I went with the new release called Holiday Sparkle. I cut out the santa ornament and have him hanging from the Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three that I gut out using my Grand Calibur. Tied the twine off with a button bow combo. I sponged around the tag before I took it off the shape. Added a little bit or sparkle to santa and the tag and voila! The Design team has some beautiful creations for you today:
Beate
Cindy
Heather
Makiko
Rosemary
Silke
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon
Jan Marie
Some New Release Details you might be interested in:
**Your chance to win our entire release is by playing in our Heavy Metal Challenge found HERE.
**Don't forget the New Release Bundle that includes all 4 new sets at a discount for a short time.
See you back here tomorrow for more sneaks and goodies!

Swimming for Katie Blog Hop

2011-10-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

From October 10-12 some of the best stampers are joining together to support and encourage our friend and fellow stamper, Katie Renz, who is currently battling inoperable gastric cancer. If you're not familiar with her, Katie’s cancer story started just before Christmas last year. This young, beautiful, healthy, vibrant mother of 3 with her infectious smile was suddenly diagnosed with an inoperable cancer, virtually overnight. A few tummy aches and then stage 4 gastric cancer. Her first post about it is here. The idea of “Swimming for Katie” came from her recent post here.
This exclusive stamp used in my sample, designed by Becky Oehlers is available as a clear stamp, as well as a digis or a dig and SVG cut file. 100% of the profits go to Katie's fund to help her and her young family. Her husband Kevin and her three young children need our help and support. In addition to the Keep Swimming Octopus, Marianne Walker and True =D Doodle Designs both also donated digis that are for sale. Direct donations are also being accepted. Information central is HERE.

This is such a darling stamp and an even better reason to purchase it. I added stickles to the crown and the legs. hee hee Simple but cute. Katie should get this in the mail today if I planned it right. Be sure to stop by the other stampers today:
AJ Otto
Beate
Carolyn Mustopa
Dawn Burnworth
Deb Felts
Gretchen Belknap
Heather Jensen
Jen del Muro
Julie Ranae
Kate - i {heart} papers
Kendra Wietstock
Lisa Johnson
Loretta Lock
Lori Tecler
Lynn Mercurio
Marianne Walker
Michele Gross
Stacy aka Twinshappy
Tracy Schultz
Debbie Olson
Cindy Lawrence
Cindy Haffner
Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Tammy Hershberger
Danielle Kennedy
Barbara Anders
Makiko Jones
Ashley N Newell
Shannan Teubner
Taylor Usry
Jen Tapler
Jenn Balcer
Jenny Chesnick
Jess Larsen
Jessica Knutsen
Jimmi Mayo
Joan Bardee
Joan Ervin
Julia Aston
Julie Day
Julie Ebersole

Hemmed Prayer

2011-10-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

This is my last sneak peek of the October sets for Clear Dollar Stamps. They have one more day of sneaks so don't miss out check the design teams blogs.
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

This set is called Build a Quilt. Very fun set and interesting if you make quilts. I am not gifted in this area at all and couldn't put together a quilt to save myself. ha ha So I went with one of the sentiment and I faux stitched the border on my card. Yep can't sew either, my mom can and she said she would show me how to put a pattern together. yea right. :0) Check in tomorrow as I am participating in a very special post! See you tomorrow. Have a great day!

CDS Sneak Peeks day 2

2011-10-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 2 of Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade. Remember all the stamps you see are available on October 11th. This one is called Window Box Wishes. I went with a springy one and used the daisies in the set. I like the CAS feel to this as well. Is this bunny not adorable? Oh he just makes me smile.This is Snow Friends and such a darling set. I added stickles to all the snow flakes and some soft pinks and greys for color.

Next is the set called Christian Friendship. I went simple as pie with this one. These butterflies are using the butterflies die CDS has. Added a few jewels to the center and voila!
Be sure to check out the design teams creations today:
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

Heavy Metal and Make is Shine challenges

2011-10-07T01:30:00.000-07:00

***Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peeks below this post***

Welcome to Flourishes Heavy Metal Challenge. This is our pre-release challenge and your chance to win our entire new release coming out next week. We have some fabulous new sets in store for you. Check out the Flourishes Blog for all the details!
I used the single stamp Rejoice and embossed it in silver. The shiny silver cardstock really messes with the camera when I try to photo it. But it looks really cool. This is my Christmas card for Flourishes Noel challenge Shiny like a piece of candy. Added a poinsettia flower and some silver cord to finish it off. Easy Peasy!

Be sure to check out the Design Teams creations in Heavy Metal today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

Very busy at the Morgan house the last few weeks and time seems to be slipping through my fingers. I am almost ready for soccer to be over and we are at the half way point. EEK! I do have a post everyday for the next 2 weeks. Even bigger EEK! However its all worth it you will come to see. :0) I will be catching up on blogs here shortly I promise. Till then hope you have a wonderful weekend!

CDS Sneak Peeks

2011-10-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade. We have some beautiful sneak peeks to show you the next four days. A reminder that all the sets you see will be available on October 11th. I hope you enjoy the sneaks.
This first card is showing the single sentiment Jesus is the best gift of all. I paired it with the set A Season of Wonder. Mary's robe is paper pieced with some scrap paper from my bin. Some crochet lace and primas were added to the background.

I love this card as its so clean and crisp. This is called Poinsettia Joy. I have popped up the flower on dimensionals and added stickles to make it sparkle. A little bit of some white pleated ribbon layered over white crochet ribbon then tied it off with some twine and a button.

This is using the new Little Bethlehem set. I kept this fairly simple with just a bit of velvet crochet ribbon in the background. The trim is using Elegant Accents Die along the top and bottom. This will be a great flat rate mailer this Christmas.

My friend has two trees in her house one for the kids and one for the family heirlooms. This card is sure to make her happy when I send her this for Christmas. This is Antique Ornaments and they are wonderful. I have cut out my ornament after coloring and popped it up on dimensionals. Finished it off with a bit of silver cord and sparkle.

Lastly is Christmas Inchies. They are so cute! I stamped out three of the Noel and colored them up. Added a jewel to the top of each frame and tied it off with some red gingham ribbon.

Be sure to check out the sneak peeks from the Design Team Today:
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Shell
Lisa
Sarah

Happy Anniversary

2011-10-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! My weekend was a blurr of soccer games, dinner with friends and my dad's 60th birthday. Hope you had a great weekend also. Just a quick card to show you today. Christine has really been encouraging me at trying publication calls and I really appreciate it. This is one I entered and they turned down. I love how it turned out personally. I used Medallion Motif stamped in night of navy on kraft paper. I then cut out the medallion and popped it up on dimensionals. I used two Spellbinders Classic Circles and cut out the center ring and popped it up on dimesionals as well. Then used the Spellbinders Nested Pennants for the sentiment tag. Added some pearls around the medallion and finished it off with a twine and button combo. What is really handy was using the Grand Calibur to cut out all the pieces needed at one time, it is great!
Lots coming in the next week or so. Flourishes Pre-challenge for the October release next week. Clear Dollar Stamps October release starts Friday. Totally Stampalicious has a October release and blog hop. I have a lot to get done and less time to do it in. Hope you have a great day, see you back here Friday for sure!

World Card Making Day

2011-09-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

In honor of World Card Making Day on Saturday, October 1st, we're kicking things off one day early in a wild and wacky fashion! Have we got a challenge for you! It's all about that inner kid and why we love card making in general - we get to be creative! So, think like a kid and share your favorite animated character. Find a picture of that character and then, be inspired by the colors for one fun-filled color challenge! We'll take entries through next Thursday, October 6th at 5PM EST. The winner of this challenge gets a fun-filled prize pack with 5 Flourishes stamp sets of our choice. Once you're done with your creation, simply link up on this post using our Inlinkz widget. If you upload to Splitcoaststampers, please use the keyword FLLCWCMD11. Th-th-tha-that's all folks!

I have to tell you that Chip n Dale was and is still my favorite cartoon to watch. They are so adorable and fun, love them. I will tell you a little secret too.... when we saw them at Disney World a few years ago... gulp... I almost pushed the boys out of the way to get to them for a photo.Yep! I admit it and not ashamed either. ha ha I love these guys and so do my boys which makes it all the better. Anyways, on to my card. Not what I had planned. Infact didn't turn out like I had it pictured in my head either. However time was away from me this week as I have a few things going on here at home with grandma's and filling in for my mom at the college. So needless to say this is what I got and nothing more today. Sorry! I am really tired if you can't tell from my post. Easy peasy info as I used the darling Country Charm Labels set for my card. Colored the flowers with R29, added some of the new Iridescent cream ribbon and a few pearls. Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Sharon

House Mouse Christmas Sparkle

2011-09-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

This weeks House Mouse and Friends Blog challenge is brought to use by Sue C. We have a few prizes for you this week so be sure to check out the blog for the details and linking your creations.

This is one of my favorite Christmas images, they are so darn cute decorating their tree. hee hee I can never seem to get sparkle to show in my photo's but its there. All around the frame, on the tree, the ornaments and the ground. It is all there trust me. Hope you get a chance to play along with us! Have a great day.

Flourishes Free for all Friday

2011-09-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! This week sure has gone by fast and the weekend will probably go by even faster at the rate I am going. Today is Flourishes Free for All Friday. Plan on showing you a few things however I wanted to remind you about the New Release Bundle savings, as that is ending shortly. This is your chance to save a few dollars and recieve the entire new release.
For my creation I used A Season of Thanks and pulled the corn image out to color up. We have some yummy new ribbons and trims in at the store if you haven't checked it out lately. I have to use what I have before I order more, or atleast till I can't hold out any longer. hee hee Hey I even used yellow, more like a currant color I would say however I like how it turned out even so. LOL

Next Is a gift set that I made using our latest 1,2,3 Create kit called Garden Girl. There are only a few left so make sure you get it before its gone. The colors in this set are awesome!
Here is the bag with all the contents inside. I used Tag lines for the sentiment on the front.

This is the altered $1 notepad that I bought. They are easy peasy, just remove the magnet off the back and adhere it to some cardstock that you measure to fold and make a little book like cover. Then decorate and I added some little flowers to this that are not included in the kit. The sentiment on the journal is from the set Life Lines.

This is the tote and two of the cards in the bag. Makes for a beautiful gift and yes this was given out already to someone at DH work that was retiring. She bought my cards every month, so this was a going away gift for her.

Be sure to check out the beautiful creations from the DT:

Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Jan Marie
We have a fun filled weekend planned with soccer games and football games. Hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping in today.

Totally Stampalicious September Blog Hop

2011-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Totally Stampalicious September New Release and Blog Hop! If you jsut arrived from Joanne's blog you are in the right spot. If you are just joining us head back on over to the TS Blog and start at the beginning!
We have FIVE NEW STAMP SETS to share with you tonight and they are available NOW at Totally Stampalicious!!! As always we want to give some stuff away and all YOU need to do to be eligible to WIN is comment on all of the Design Team's AWESOME creations!!!
Here's what's up for grabs:
1st Prize - All 5 New Stamp Sets
2nd Prize - $15 Gift Certificate
3rd Prize - $5 Gift Certificate
So are you READY?!!!
Here are the latest additions to the Totally Stampalicious Collection from the Bugaboo Line by Jodie Mackerell. This is Ava Fairy , isn't she just adorable! I have to say I think this is one of my favorite girl images. She is super sweet sitting there smiling at you. hee hee The springy feeling hit me with this paper so I went with that. Added a little lace and ribbon and voila!

Now head on over to Sue's SCS Gallery to check out her Sneak Peek for you! Happy Shopping!

New Templates Windmill and Barrell

2011-09-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

Clear Dollar Stamps is releasing the new templates and SVG files for September today. Some fun ideas, with Christmas coming it's never too early to start thinking ahead. You can see all the templates Clear Dollar Stamps offers HERE and HERE!
This month there are two and one of them offers up a few different versions. This is the Windmill or you could make a Pinwheel goodie box. I made a Windmill to hold the pencils for the boys teacher. This was a gift that she recieved last week. Now isn't this a cool pencil holder? The sentiment on the front is from the Words of Gratitude set. Just a little thank you for all her hard work she is doing so far this year.

Next is a get well gift I made for a friend. This is the Barrel that I turned into a flower holder. You can fill this barrel with candies or even some hot chocolate and make it a wintry theme. Lots of options for fun gift giving. The stamp set is Loving Lamb that I used for my get well sentiment and image. I adore this lamb set.
This is what it looked like when I put the flowers in it. Now when she takes them out she will have a darling little container to put things in. I added a pearl to the bell on the lambs collar.

Thanks for stopping in and seeing the new templates! Happy Shopping!
Don't forget tomorrow at 9pm EST is Totally Stampalicious New Release and Blog hop!

Totally Stampalicious Sneak Day 2

2011-09-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Today over on the Totally Stampalicious blog we are showing you another sneak peek of the new sets coming out on Thursday 22nd at our Blog Hop and New Release. Be sure to check out the TS Blog for the other sneaks today!
Isn't she just so sweet? This is Storybook Elizabeth by artist Sylvia Zet. She is such a darling image, and the bunny is super cute to boot. Very simple card today with some SU dp for the background. Tied off my ribbon bow with a button and twine combo. Easy Peasy!
Hope you have a wonderful day!

Totally Stampalicious Sneak Peek

2011-09-19T00:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! Today over on the Totally Stampalicious Blog our Monday challenge is make a Childs Birthday card. A few of us are showing off a sneak peek of the new sets coming out Thursday. Yes another month means another fresh batch of rubber. Our blop hop is on Thursday at 9pm Central, we have some fabulous prizes as always so don't forget to join us. In the meantime between now and then we are going to show you some sneaks of the new sets.
This is Fairy Ava by artist Jodie Mackrell. Is she just not adorable? I had this layout sitting around on some scratch paper from gosh knows when so I went with it for the sketch. Easy peasy all around as you can see. See yu back here tomorrow for more sneak peeks.
Some exciting news! I was published in Crafting Ireland Magazine issue 4. You can see the new issue TODAY! I am on page 29. Thanks for stopping in today. Have a great day!

CDS Tangy Trio Color Blog Hop

2011-09-18T01:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Football Sunday! Today is Clear Dollar Stamps monthly blog hop. If you just arrived from Linda's Blog you are in the right spot. If you are just joining us head back on over to the CDS Blog to start hopping! The theme this month is Tangy Trio of colors. Yep we are going to show you the new colors today. For hopping along and commenting on each of the DT Blog you could win these prizes: We're changing up the prize a little bit! One lucky winner will receive a $25 Clear Dollar Stamps gift certificate for digital images! The winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on a DT member's blog. The winner will be announced on the CDS blog Thursday, September 22nd.

Who can resist the Beautiful Butterflies? They are so easy to cut out and I just love the fact that you can fan the wings out. All these colors are vibrant and cheerful so I used all three. The matching ribbons for the paper are awesome as well, be sure to check those out when you get the papers! Made a long and tall card today and left it sentiment free. The trail of jewels was a last minute idea and I sure do like how it turned out. Now it is time to hop on over the Jerusha Blog.
Don't forget Clear Dollar Stamps New Templates (SVG and PDF) files come out on Thursday the 22nd. You are going to love what we have new! Have a wonderful day!

A Season of Thanks with mini box tutorial

2011-09-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the last of the sneaks from Flourishes September new releases. All the stamps are in the store available now! Don't forget about the discount on the New Release Bundle for extra savings. You still have a few chances to win! Don't forget about the Mystery Blogger on one of the DT Blog's! Your chance to win our ENTIRE release is by playing our Fall Fashion Challenge HERE.
I am thinking ahead for some teachers gifts so I created a little card using A Season of Thanks, along with a mini box using Spellbinders Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents. For my card I have added a little bit of white trim lace along the side. The paper is from the yummy My Minds Eye Paris and Co paper pack. Tied off my sentiment with some button and twine combo.
When I first saw the Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents set I saw a mini box with the large oval in the set so I ordered it. Here is how I made the mini box. Using the Grand Calibur I cut out 4 of the large die. Take two of the ovals and score right at the corner where the curved part meets the side curve as shown. Take the other two ovals and score one end the same way you did the others. Then also score along both sides at the same corner marks as shown. The top ones are facing down, the bottom two are what it looks like facing out.
Take both your ovals that have just the bottom scored and on the inside (leaving the embossed part out) place a piece of your tape on both bottom corners. Then take your other two ovals and place tape on the outside where it is embossed and add your tape.

Now to add one side I place the bottom part first as shown. Try to get close to the edge so that corner to corner meet. If its off a bit it is fine, it will cover later.

Now take your side and adhere it to the other side panel. Now the oval part will stick over a bit and that is okay. We will cover that later. Here is one side added and I am starting to add another side at the bottom as shown.

Here is three sides attached and now I am adding the last side piece. Don't worry about the hole you will make a piece for the bottom later to cover that and hold your goodies.

Once your last side panel is attached you will add your bottom piece of paper to coer the hole and hold your goodies inside.

Now you add your paper or any decorations to the outside of the base you would like. Leave the tops folded open while you decorate. This way you can make any adjustments needed if you didn't fold it quite perfect. Well that is how I do it anyways. ha ha I used the new Kaiser paper pack called Hunt and Gather for this box. Added the Spellbinders Floral Doily Accent to the top of the paper around the box.

Stamped and cut out the image from A Season of Thanks and popped it up on dimensionals. A few pearls around the box trim. Finished it off with a brown wrinkled ribbon bow.

Thanks for checking out my tutorial and hope you can make a few of these yourself. I now have about 8 more to go. :0)
Be sure to check out the creations from the Design Team:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Jan Marie
Sharon

Flourishes Medallion Motif

2011-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day two of Flourishes September new releases. A few Reminders:
Your chance to win the set of the day is over on Flourishes Blog!
Your chance to win our ENTIRE release is by playing our Fall Fashion Challenge HERE.
Check out our noon Sketch Challenge on Flourishes Blog!
Don't forget about the Mystery Blogger it could be you and your comment on the DT Blog!
Check back TODAY for another Noon Challenge and chance to win!

Today's set is Medallion Motif and I put a Christmas Spin on my creation for you using Flourishes Christmas Spirit Challenge 17 found HERE. This is where I fell off the wagon as my DH would say. I have white and lots of it. BUT.... it looks beautiful don't you think? I first stamped out the medallion on two sheets of paper and embossed them both. I cut one of the medallions out and when I cut it out I skipped every other spindle (is that what they are called?) anyways once that was cut out I popped it up on dimensionals to the one on my base layer.
Here is a view of the layers from the side. I added some kaiser red pearls to each of the top layers. The Christmas sentiment is from Christmas Music that is popped up on dimensionals. Tied it all off with a red sheer line edge ribbon bow. Now tell me the white doesn't look awesome! The gold layer of paper is from a sheet that I have had in my stash for ages and thought what better time to use it.
Be sure to check out the beautiful creations from the design team today:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Jan Marie
Sharon

How about some Feminine Charm...

2011-09-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yippee! It is time for Flourishes September new releases. This months sets are going to be a wonderful addition to your Flourishes collection. A few Reminders:
Your chance to win the set of the day is over on Flourishes Blog!

Comment on all the DT blog for your chance at our Mystery Blogger!
Your chance to win our ENTIRE release is by playing our Fall Fashion Challenge HERE.
Check back at noon for the Sketch Challenge on Flourishes Blog!

For my creation today using Feminine Charm I went Chic.... or as my DH would say no white! ha ha Yep sticking with his challenge of no white this month. Doing okay, but I fell off the wagon later you will see. ha ha Framed the beautiful hat with Spellbinders Fleur De Lis rectangles. Placed some of the gorgeous red velvet ribbon down the side with the black faux suede ruffled ribbon. Added a few kaiser pearls and popped the image up on dimensionals. I have to say for no white I do love how this turned out. The design team has some gorgeous creations for you today: Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy
Jan Marie
Sharon
See you back here tomorrow!

House Mouse and Friends 3 year Blog Hop

2011-09-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! If you just hopped here from Sue's Blog you are in the right place. If you just stopped in head back on over to the House Mouse and Friends Blog to start at the beginning.
We are celebrating over at House Mouse and Friends Blog Challenge our 3 year anniversary. Yep 3 years our little blog challenge has been running fun and games for us mousie lovers.
This weeks challenge is Happy Birthday with a bunch of flowers. Our prizes this week... Oh you have to hop on through each of the DT members blog to check out what you could win. Yep several of the design team have some FABULOUS prizes for you today. Also joining us is our new Design Team member Vicki and some past guest design team members. Lots of fun hopping today!

For my creation I used the Wishing Well Happy Hoppers that the boys got me for my birthday. My flowers are small and dainty in my designer paper in the background. Finished it off with a ribbon bow and birthday tag using Spellbinders Nested Pennants. Now your next hop is on over to Sally's Blog.

For those football fans out there let me say yesterday was rough. I didn't get the chance to watch my game as it wasn't televised here and honestly I am thankful. The stinkin replay's and the darn ticker tape update at the bottom of the Eagles game was bad enough to watch. Sheessh.... We seriously need to figure out a game plan as today they didn't have squat. However I did get my new Colts Pillow Pet in the mail Saturday so I did get to snuggle and weep into that during the games. ha ha Its super cute, yes a kid at heart I know. hee hee We got the twins Green Bay and Seahawks. Green Bay is already sold out and on back order, good thing I am a mom on the ball huh. ha ha Well I hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping in with me today!

Flourishes Color of Fall Challenge

2011-09-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is September already? The weather is still summer and honestly I am not ready to give it up yet. As we speak Flourishes is getting ready to show you the September release and all the goodies it contains. Our pre-challenge is all about the in fall colors you see above. Yep these are the fall colors this year and what a beautiful array of choices. Be sure to check out Flourishes blog for the details and linking your creation and your chance at winning our Entire Sept. Release.
For my creation I used the new beautiful Garden Girl 1,2,3 create Kit. Just look at those papers they are perfect for the fall in colors, I just think they are awesome. In sticking with my DH challenge this month and using no white I think I accomplished that easy peasy with this card. I have the beautiful Sweet Days of Summer as my stamp of choice. I am using the dickens out of the Spellbinders Fleur De Lis but can you blame me? It has to be one of my favorite dies from Spellbinders to date. Tied off the rich burgundy ribbon with one of the charms in the kit and voila! Be sure to check out the beautiful fall creations from the design team and hope you get a chance to play along with us:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Danielle
Barbara
Tammy

Better get your seatbelts fastened....

2011-09-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

It's going to be a long NFL season in the Morgan House....

Offical Release
As previously stated on Monday, Sept. 5th, Peyton Manning has undergone further testing and consultation with several specialists regarding his rehabilitation. The results of these tests and the consensus of the consultations was that further surgery was warranted. Peyton has undergone this surgery today by having a single level anterior fusion. The surgery was un-eventful.
This procedure is performed regularly throughout the country on persons from all walks of life, including professional football players. Two former Colts players had this same procedure last winter and have fully resumed their careers. Rehabilitation from such surgery is typically an involved process. Therefore, there will be no estimation of a return date at this time. We will keep Peyton on the active roster until we have a clearer picture of his recovery process.
Peyton will immediately begin the rehabilitation regimen mapped out by the surgeon. We anticipate no further updates or availabilities beyond those required by the NFL Media Policy for the immediate future.

Simple and sweet

2011-09-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Time sure does seem to go by when school starts. Helping out at the school again 3 days a week, both the boys are in soccer seperate teams and of course their practices can't be the same day to help me out any. ha ha Which means I haven't had much time for stamping.

So I have a simple and sweet card today using Elegant Accents and ofcourse one of my favorite new dies Elegant Accent die. My hubby challenged me for one month to use no white or very very little white and that is proving harder than I thought. However I am doing okay... I think. This seems like white but its really just soft pinks and creams over all. hee hee Added a pink roset with some crochet and pleated ribbon down the middle, easy peasy. Thanks for stopping in today!

CAS Christmas Card

2011-09-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hope you are having a nice extra long weekend. I sure like the lazy weekend here and the weather is beautiful. Made a quick CAS Christmas card using Seasonal Swags from Clear Dollar stamps. Used the new Elegant Accents Die for the shape. Layered with the Elegant Accents die trim with a piece of Cherry go round ribbon down the middle. I have a bit of sparkle on the holly however its hard to see in the photo. Easy Peasy today! Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Flourishes has a sad goodbye...

2011-09-02T00:37:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure how I was going to write this post honestly. Do you ever have trouble with saying the words you want and feel? Today is Leslie's last day with the Flourishes design team family, she is taking time to spend with her family, Wally, garden and in general take a break and focus on Leslie. This is bitter sweet from my end as I adore her so much. I type how I talk so bare with me on this. Instead of making this a sad post so much, I want to share with you the things I adore about Leslie and how I have come to know her.
I came across a card of Leslie's on SCS long ago and have been ever so grateful. Her style is simple yet has an elegance to it that makes you say "how did she do that" and I love that. Plus have you seen what she can do with white space.. ACK the women can do it all. When she became part of Flourishes she just exploded with her designs and her creations I thought. I started to follow her blog, really she probably thought who is this crazy lady always commenting. ha ha Then she probably really freaked when I came on the team about 3 year ago. :0) Thinking oh crap this lady is really stalking me... Kidding of course.
Anyways, I got the honor of meeting Leslie last year at CHA. She has such a fun outlook on life and had us laughing just about everywhere. The thing that was so real about it I guess is, she made you feel as if you knew her from long ago. I learned first hand how much she LOVES designer paper, I mean LOVES designer paper. You can tell from her work how much she loves paper. Leslie is very devoted to her family and puppy Wally. She shares pictures and stories of Wally often, that make you just smile. He is totally cute ya know. When we got Ranger I showed Leslie a picture first thing as I knew she would be just as excited as I was. She has prayed for me on several occasions when needed and didn't hesitate to check on how things were going. I have even emailed asking gardening advice as she has a gorgeous yard full of flowers that I can never seem to keep alive. ha ha Leslie is a great cheerleader and encourager when you need it, she knows just what to say and gives you the smile you need at the time. This is not an end to our friendship I know, just means we will be keeping in touch a different way. I hope you stop on over and give Leslie a hi and happy retirement as they say today.
Now for my creation... we all wanted to honor Leslie and her work she has done and all her time spent with Flourishes. Christine came up with the idea of taking one of Leslie's creations and casing it. How do you suppose I do that? Choosing one is not easy, but I did choose this one. Shows the simple yet elegance that she creates! I have often said how do you use the pearls like that and have it look like it is suppose to be? I kept the layout, shapes for the most part, stamp set and over all feel of the card the same. Changed the sentiment tag. I sent this to Leslie and she hopefully gets this in today's mail. I know her decision is from the heart as hard as it is. She is irreplaceable! I want her to know that we love her and that I truly am thankful to have designed with her at Flourishes.

Please check out the creations the girls have today as well:
Christine
Cindy
Julie
Dawn
Barbara
Sharon
Tammy">