I Am Honored And Humbled . . . .

I have received my very first Blog Awards and am absolutely thrilled, honored, and humbled. The first award came from Maria over at The Inky Stamper. Maria is one of the fun ladies that I've gotten to know through the Splitcoast Stampers Blogger Group #7. She's uber talented, and inspires me every time I visit her blog. Thank you so much, Maria.

I also received this award from Felicia, another one of my Blogger Group #7 friends. Felicia's blog is Stamp Happy Felicia - she is also very kind and generous with her comments, and is a fabulously talented papercrafter. I joined this blogger group a few short weeks ago, and have enjoyed every minute of getting to know these fun ladies. Thank you, Felicia, for granting me this award.

So, I guess I'm supposed to pass these awards on, and list my five addictions. My five addictions are:

1. Stamping (DUH!);

2. Designer Paper (DUH, again!);

3. BINGO (Woohoo!);

4. Buttons (Oh yeah . . . these are my newest addiction!); and

5. Reality TV - The Batchelor (Jason & Jillian, all the way, Baby!!), Sober House (rehab and celebrities - what more could you ask for?!!), True Confessions of a Former Teen Idol (celebrities . . . again), Real World, The City . . . the list goes on and on!!

I'd like to pass these awards on to my friends Erin, Michelle, Terri, Justine and Shelley - all fabulous bloggers, papercrafters, and well-deserving of any award that they receive!!

Thanks for stopping by!

One True Friend

This is my very first project using my new Shirley's 2 Girls stamps!! When I saw this darling little sheep, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. We live in a somewhat rural part of Chandler, and we are surrounded by numerous farms, some of which have sheep. I love how sheep look - I love their sweet faces, I love their fluffy fur, and I love their adorable little baa baa. I totally feel like I could be friends with a little sheep, if I were a farm animal . . . and that's the theme of this sweet image - TRUE FRIENDS. I wanted to emphasize some dimension in her (she's got a pink face - DUH!!) wool. So I ran some 1/8" strips through my Xyron and rolled them into little spirals. I paper-pieced the little hill top that she's standing on, and I popped up her face and her cute little blue bird friend on dimensionals. Of course, I had to add some bling to her wool, as well as those fluffy clouds. These images are just so darling and imaginative - really fun to color, too!

So what do you think? Go check out these fun and sassy stamps for yourself - I'm tellin' ya they have some great stuff!!

Stamps: Sheep & Friend (Shirley's 2 Girls)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper: Spring Fling DP (Making Memories); Lemon Tart CS (PTI); Pretty In Pink CS, Wild Wasabi CS, Stamper's Select White CS (PTI)

Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Square Classic and Scalloped Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Wild Wasabi and Pretty In Pink Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Buttons, Stampin Dimensionals, Diamond Glaze, Xyron, Copic Markers, Glue Dots

Thanks for stopping by!

HOLY MOLY!! I'm a Lady With Attitude!!

People - you are NOT going to believe what I found out last night!! I was doing my usual late-night blurfing and came across THIS! I am absolutely FLOORED!! And did you see who the other amazing Ladies With Attitude are? Shirley's 2 Girls put out a call for Design Team members on SCS. I submitted an application a few weeks ago, and really hoped to get it but wasn't holding my breath. I know there are so many incredibily talented ladies out there. But I really wanted this DT because I really LIKE their images. They're fun and sassy, and look like they'll be a blast to color and create with. I don't have any of the stamps yet - my order should be here any day. But I already have ideas swirling around in my head for what I'm going to do with them once they arrive. Thank you, Kristine and Deidre, for picking me. I promise you won't regret it!! And thanks to you all for letting me blather on. hehehe

Thanks for stopping by!!

Mardi Gras WishRAK Secret Sister Exchange

I had so much fun making this!! A while back, Nichole Heady posted on her blog about how she stores her ribbon. Since then, I've seen some really cool stamping spaces that include these fun little ribbon jars. I'm participating in another WishRAK Secret Sister Exchange, and the theme for this one is Mardi Gras. There are several things that we are required to include in our Secret Sister package, and one of them is something altered using the traditional Mardi Gras colors - purple, green and gold (or any shade thereof). Not exactly my favorite colors, but I tried to use shades of those colors that I could live with. I thought it would be fun to make one of these ribbon jars for my secret sister, and include inside the jar several different ribbons in the Mardi Gras colors (or shades thereof). Believe it or not, there are over 20 spools of ribbon in this jar, and most of the spools have at least 5 yds. of ribbon on them. That's a LOT of ribbon in a pretty small space, don't you think? I could have put more inside, but figured that my Secret Sister would want to put some of her own ribbon in there, too. I liked this idea so much, I've decided that I'm going to make myself two of my own - one for ribbon, and one for buttons. Fun, huh? I got the jar at Hobby Lobby ($2.50 w/40% off coupon - woohoo!) and the wooden clothes pins at The Dollar Tree (20/pkg. for $1.00 - woohoo!!). I picked up some of the ribbon at Hobby Lobby and some at Michael's. I printed the words on the lid cover on my computer, and used an SU rubon for the center flower.

I've accumulated a few more fun goodies for my Secret Sister - I hope she likes it all! We reveal who each other is on February 28th at midnight (or for us West Coaster's, 9:00 p.m. PST). I've really enjoyed these exchanges, and have "met" some really sweet ladies in the process. The chat thread is pretty spirited and fun, especially when Bottomphish (waving "hi" Debi!), Tackertwosome (waving "hi" Lena!), and Pattyb (waving "hi" Patty!) get going. They're all a hoot and quite entertaining!!

Stamps: None

Paper: Barely Banana CS, Wild Wasabi CS, Plum Pudding CS (PTI)

Ink: None

Accessories: Circle Classic and Scalloped Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Ribbon, Buttons, Scrapper's Floss (Karen Foster), Glue Dots, Sticky Strip, SU Rubons, Jar (Hobby Lobby), Wooden Clothespins (The Dollar Tree)

Thanks for stopping by!

GO CARDINALS!

I'm not a huge football fan . . . in fact, I'm pretty fair weather for sure. And since the Seahawks SUCK, I figure I should root for my other "home" team, huh? And since it's worked for my friend, Terri, I'm hoping a double dose of superstition will work here, too. So, GO CARDINALS!

VSN Treat Holders - YUM-O!!

Here are a few more of my VSN challenge submissions.

The first one was a challenge to create a treat topper. I've noticed these in the gallery and have always wanted to make one. This was my chance! I used Cosmo Cricket's Honey Pie DP, my Long Rectangle Scalloped Nestabilities to create the topper (I folded the Sweet Blush CS in half and placed the die on the very edge of the fold so that it would fold over the gusseted treat bag), and my Heart Classic Nestabilities to create the two hearts. The letters were from the Polka Dot Alphabet from AMuse. The red gingham ribbon is American Crafts, and the buttons were in my stash. Fun little project, huh?

The second challenge was to make another treat holder. I saw a really cute little pocket card on Nichole Heady's blog the other day, and decided to alter it a bit to fit this challenge. The challenge was inspired by the Cupid Poop Poem that I've seen around. I wanted my treat holder to include the poem - the pocket from Nichole's card was perfect for that. Then I pretty much winged the rest of the treat holder, scoring a gussett on the bottom, and using a little velcro to make a closure. Yeah . . . the velcro really doesn't work too great - I think I'd figure something else out to keep it closed if I do this again. Cupid's arrow is from Impression Obsession's Sweet Hearts Set, and the tag is from PTI's Limitless Labels; the polka dots are the Cornish Heritage Farm's Polka Dot Scrap Block. The rhinestones are by Jolee's Boutique - something new that Mike's is carrying now.

There aren't too many of the other VSN challenges that I felt inspired by, so I think this will be it for this round. There's another round in February that I'll check out. Actually, this is the first time in the past several VSN's that I haven't hostessed a challenge. It's kinda weird being a participant again and not knowing ahead of time what the challenges are. But it's also nice to kinda pick and choose which challenges I want to do.

Thanks for stopping by!

FEB09VSN3 Bee Mine & Blogger Group #7 January Challenge!!

I'm baaack!! It feels like forever since I've been able to craft. My friend, Joni, was here for a week, and we did a LOT of running around. So there wasn't much time for stamping and crafting.

I created this little Valentine in response to two challenges. The first challege was posed by LaToya, who is a member of the SCS Blogger Group #7 that I belong to. LaToya challenged us to create a Valentine card without using the typical Valentine colors: no pink, red, or white. Yikes!! I recently received the Itty Bitty Bumble Bee from Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and knew that I wanted it to be what inspired my design. The little polka dot heart is from the Hero Arts So Sweet set, and the sentiment is from The Birds and the Bees set from Cornish Heritage Farms. I am in love with the Urban Prairie line of DP from Basic Grey. The colors just make me happy. I especially like the patterns from the 6x6 pad because the images are smaller than the 12 x 12 patterns. Perfect for little cards like this 4.25 x 4.25 card. The second challenge that this card fits is the challenge posed by Julie Masse for one of the Virtual Stamp Night challenges - which was to create a card using something soft like felt, velvet, etc. I found this velvet scalloped ribbon (Doodlebug Designs) in my stash, and knew it would be perfect!! I killed two birds with one stone - LOVE THAT!!

This is my very first Valentine that I've made this year. I've gotten a ton of Valentine Happy Mail (code for lots of darling Valentine themed stamps and goodies) over the last few weeks, so I need to get my bootie in gear and start making some cute stuff!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Altered Berry Basket!!

So, you all probably don't know this about me, but I have a recently acquired altered project addiction. As much as I love stamping and cardmaking, altering things is one of my new favorite obsessions (I'm kinda sick that way). So, when I was browsing the Pink Persimmon website the other day, I found these adorable berry baskets and quickly added them to my virtual "shopping cart." I feel like these little baskets have so many uses - buttons (you'd probably have to line the basket first, though), Primas, treat holders - endless ideas, I tell ya!!

I painted this one with some Making Memories acrylic paint that was in my stash - I used the color Spotlight. I painted the entire outside, and then the inside bottom up to the top of the slits, being careful to paint the entire inside of each slit. Patiently (NOT!) waiting for the paint to dry, I started designing the little flaps. I grabbed the Sabrina (Making Memories . . . there's a theme here) paper pack that I had just picked up at Mike's and selected three of the coordinating patterns. I took a few measurements, did a little bit of scoring, edge punching (Martha Stewart's edge punch - love those!), added some sticky strip, this luscious ribbon ric rac (http://www.emmaspaperie.com/), a few coordinating paper flowers and buttons (also from Mike's), and more of my favorite Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss, and VOILA!!! Isn't it just too cute?!!

For the berries, I found this darling strawberry pattern on SCS and printed it out on cardstock. I traced the patterns onto two more of the coordinating Sabrina pattern papers, did some more scoring, added some more sticky strip, assembled the berries according to the instructions (so easy!), and added the pink and black gingham ribbon that I had in my stash. I'm not kidding when I tell you that these were sooo dang easy and have endless possibilities for holding little treats (a Hershey's kiss, some M & M's) or surprise messages (like the kind you find in fortune cookies, huh?!) for Valentine's Day or all year round!!

I had so much fun making this project, and have a few more fun ideas to alter more (you get 10 in the package) of them. I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions for how you would alter them. Or better yet, I'd love to see pictures of what you come up with!!

My best friend Joni is here visiting, and we're off soon for a day of shopping and lunching. Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!!

It's A Girl!!

No, not me (for crying out loud - I'd have to poke my eyes out if it was me! LOL). Some really good friends ({{waving}} Hi Dorian & Melissa!) found out this week that they're having a baby girl. After two boys, this was fabulous news for them!! I knew this would be a perfect occasion to get my new Karen Lockhart Baby Carriage stamp inky. I got it from Susana's Custom Art & Card Design - she has an amazing selection of Karen Lockhart images, and will have some brand new ones in her store on January 5th. Woohoo! I also used more of the Scrapper's Floss (Karen Foster) that I got there, too. Fun stuff - you really gotta try it. (Sorry for the weird angle of the picture - I was trying to capture the glitter on the carriage. It's so hard to get that to show up in a picture, KWIM?)

Thanks for stopping by!