Floral Frenzy! :)

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Good Morning!  If you haven't guessed already, I am here this morning participating in the Fresh Florals Blog Hop for DeNami Designs!  I am sooo excited about this hop because florals are just right up my alley!  (is that a Southern term?  Or does it translate where you are?? :)  Regardless, I love working with florals -- stamps, patterned papers, embellishments -- you name it!! 

Hopefully, you have arrived here from the very fun blog of Tina Milbourn, who always has such fun things to share -- no doubt she did it again today!  :)  If not, or you want to catch the hop from the beginning, head on over to the DeNami website...

One of my favorite floral images from DeNami is this little cutie called Garden Bunch.  Seriously, how cute is this???  :)

I hope you like my card…  I had a really good time putting this one together!  (If you've been here before, you probably know I kind of have a *thing* for patterned papers -- I never met a 6x6 pad I didn't like…  ok, that may be an over-statement, but you get the idea! ;)

Before I send you off to see what kind of fabulousness Wendy Elliott has in store for you (can't wait to see myself!), I just want to remind you that DeNami Designs will be giving away two mini shopping sprees to people who comment throughout the hop…  You have until 11:59 pm PST on Monday, May 20th to leave your comments to be eligible for one of the prizes!  :) 

Hope you enjoy the hop!  Have a super-fab Sunday!  :)

Got a minute?? :)

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Hello, and Happy Friday!  I am excited for several reasons today…  First, my beloved Spurs won last night and are advancing to the NBA Conference finals…  (whew!).  Second, I am officially beginning my countdown to vacation -- one week from tomorrow, I will be starting a 10-day vacation (only seven work days to go!!!).

And, finally, I have several projects to share with you today that I am super-excited about!  :)

All of these have been inspired by the PaperSmooches Sparks Challenges -- a couple are from sketches and one from am inspiration photo…  Sooooo…  without further ado…  Here we go!

PaperSmooches:  Get Outta Town & My Guy

This card (which I LOVE!) was based on the sketch above (translated quite literally, I might add!).  I think it's a super-fun take on our "need to get away" every now and then!  {Side note: The last time I thought I would be super-swanky and cool and rent a convertible on my vacation, we were in Florida. In August.  It was 140 degrees with 98% humidity.  The top never came down, not even once.  True story.}

PaperSmooches:  Spring Groves,  My Guy,  &  Word Salad

Photo credit here

This card was inspired by this adorable picture (who doesn't love burlap and buttons??).  I loved the look of the stacked buttons and wanted to play with that on my card.  Pretty fun, no??  :)

PaperSmooches:  Word Salad &  Get Outta Town

This card was inspired by the sketch above.  It's a bit of a departure for me -- I wanted to keep it pretty simple -- and just let the stamps speak for themselves!  I love those little cocktails!  :)  (In fact, I might need one…  ;)

Hope you get your weekend off to a rockin' great start!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Case-ing Perfection! :)

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Hi!  Quick post this evening to share a card I made for this week's Case Study with muse Maile Belles.

True story:  when I first started looking at card blogs, a little over a year ago, I came across this card and it was the very first card I ever saved to my "favorites" file…  So when I saw that this card was to be our inspiration card, to say I was intimidated would be an understatement.  I have been steadying myself for the better part of a week trying to decide how to CASE what, in my mind, is perfection….

Here is Maile's card…

I love everything about this card.  Everything.  My challenge was that I didn't want to be too literal in my interpretation, so I chose to emulate the elements that most "spoke" to me:  the background stamping (I clear embossed so I could distress to give my kraft cardstock a more vintage feel) and the color scheme (neutrals are always outside my comfort zone).

Here's my take:

Thanks for stopping by…  Hope you're off to a great week!  Gotta go, got a Spurs game to watch!  :)

For Mom, With Love :)

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Hello!  I am going to slip this one in under the wire -- and for very good reason!

When I first saw this delicious Tuesday Trigger a while back over at Moxie Fab World,  I instantly knew I wanted this to be the inspiration for the card I would make for my mother for Mother's Day.  The problem was that I wouldn't be giving my mother her card until Mother's Day, and I didn't want to blast it for the whole world to see before I gave it to her!  ;)

So, here I am with the card I have *just* given my mother (who, btw, is one of the best people I know in the world.  I am a lucky, lucky girl to have been given the Mom I was…  I don't tell her nearly as often as I should how much she means to me, but that doesn't change how thankful and blessed I am to have her in my life.  :)

I hope you were able to celebrate the women in your life today, and that you moms out there were celebrated (and maybe even spoiled a bit!) and reminded how loved you are…  :)

Black, White and Red All-Over!

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*** This is my second post today!  For my first post (which you won't want to miss ;) click here or continue to scroll on down! ***

Hello!  I'm back with a quick post to share a card inspired by Laurie Willison.  Her card is a too-cute thank you for a teacher…  Check it here.

I don't have kids -- the only kiddos in my life are my out-of-this-world (literally.) nieces and my babies of the four-legged furry variety.  Since it's not common for a teacher to receive a thank you note from one their student's aunts (at least I wouldn't think it would be…  hmmmm….), I drew my inspiration from Laurie's colors rather than her theme…

I really picked up on the boldness of her colors, particularly the black, white, and red…  So here it is:

Oh my gosh, how cute is that elephant?!?  He comes from a set called "Jungle Out There" by There She Goes Stamps which I am in LOVE with!  (You'll see more from this set in the days ahead!!!  :)

Here's a pic of Laurie's inspiration for the Muse Card Club: 

Ok, so this really does wrap up my posts for today…  can't remember the last time I did two in one day!  Hope you have a great start to your weekend!  And all you moms out there -- I hope there is lots of pampering in your futures!  Soak it all up!  :)

Pretty in Purple!

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Good mornin'!  And happy Friday!  I mentioned a couple of posts back that I have really just been in the mood to color recently… and it's true.  I have found myself in each of my last several projects intentionally looking for stamp sets that would allow me to pull out my Copics -- and today's post is no exception…

This one took me awhile (like, a couple of nights), which at the time was just what I needed -- pure distraction! :)

I have mentioned here before (like on this card) that some of my favorite images to color are actually pieces of art by the fabulously talented Hannah Lynn (I first heard of her from a lady I sat next to in one of my Copics certification classes).  Hannah sells digi stamps (like I used here) and other coloring goodies in her etsy store.

Anyway, she does a lot of things I'm not normally into (like fairies and dragons and things like that), but I can't resist her faces and eyes and hair -- crazy fun to color!!!

I based this card on the sketch over at RetroSketches this week (or, at least, an inverted version of it!).

Hope you like it -- I think she's kinda purty…  I wish I had hair like that -- can you say "straight as a board?!?!"  ;)

Have a fabulous Friday -- I know I plan to!  :)

Late Night Dash!

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Good morning!  So I was up REALLY late last night -- my beloved Spurs went to double OT in a playoff game and I wasn't gonna miss a moment of it!  Don't know if any of you are basketball fans, but this one was one for the ages…  And we won!!!  :)

Anyway, I was cleaning/organizing/straightening up my craft room while I was watching, and because the game went so long, I was able to get it done!  :)

After the game was over, I was too jazzed to go to bed, and wanted to take advantage of my newly cleaned/organized/straightened up space, so I decided to put something together for this week's 10 Minute Craft Dash.  (Not 100% sure attempting this at 2:00am is the brightest idea I've ever had…).

But here you go:

I finished in 9:51.7.  It was too close for comfort, and I had to scrap some of my original plans to make it.  (I forgot to get my ruler out before I started the time, and it wasn't within reach, so my faux stitching is a bit wonky… oh well…)  Please don't judge me for the way I tied my ribbon…  I really wanted a bow, but I wouldn't have made it…  I also wanted to add some stickles, but that just wasn't in the cards, either.  

           

 It was a lot of fun and I'm happy enough with it, though!  And even better, my craft room is clean/organized/straightened up!!!  Can't wait to get back in it!  :)

Have a great day!

Make a Splash!

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Good morning!

So super-excited to share with you today!  :)  I got home from work last night and couldn't wait to start crafting!  I had had this idea in my head all day for a project and was literally chomping at the bit to get started!

I have been wanting to join in the Wonder of Watercolor Challenge over at Moxie Fab World, and I suddenly realized I had the perfect set to do it with!

I'm not sure what made me decide to do a shaped card, but the "flow" of the creative process just led me there.  The idea just kinda "floated" to the top…  Seemed like it would make more of a "splash…"  ha!

Isn't she adorable?  The stamps are from a set by Darcie's called Oceans of Joy --  Love!  :)

Hope your Monday is going "swimmingly!"  Ha! :)  

"Sea" you soon!  (Ok.  I'm done now.  Promise.)

Making a Case for Neutrals...

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Hello!  Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous day it is here!  We had a couple of very non-Spring-like days earlier this week, but the sunshine is out today (without it being like 140 degrees like it often gets around here! :)

So, today I have something that's a little different for me…  You may know that this month's Muse at Case Study is Maile Belles, whose work is always stunning…  This week's inspiration is nothing short of spectacular, and I had to jump in!  :)

First, her original:

I love the use of tone on tone (white on white) and the way the whole card has a real "neutral" feel to it.  And I love that her flower hangs off the edge of her flat panel.  

So here's my take using those same elements: 

I kinda like the subtlety of the colors (in fact, the Melon Berry and Aqua Mist were always stamped 3rd generation to intentionally keep them light!) and the "neutral" feel of the card (that's a departure for me, ya know!)…

{Funny story -- I'm always changing up the way I photograph my cards because I can never figure out how to get them to look on here the way they do in real life…  :-/  (it doesn't help that I'm usually taking my pics late at night, after I've finished my projects…)  So, this morning, I'm walking thru my house, trying to figure out where the best natural light is…  and wouldn't you know -- 9,000 windows in this house and the best light is from the one above my bathtub!!!  So, this pic was taken with me (fully clothed -- not trying to give you THAT visual!) sitting inside my (dry!) bathtub!!!  Geez!!  LOL!}

Anyway, hoping you have sunny skies and a great weekend!  :)

Happy Days Ahead!

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Hello.  I hope you are having a great week.  Mine has been a little rough -- you know… work stuff  :(

So that's why I thought I'd pop in with something cheery!  I actually made this card last Friday when I was really just in the mood to color something (ever happen to you?)…

{sidenote:  I have been coloring a lot this week -- I find it very therapeutic and calming…  I can just put aside all thoughts of The-Job-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named (any Harry Potter fans???) and just be in the moment.  It's so nice and I highly recommend it -- it's gotta be sooo much cheaper than therapy --- or at least it is after you make the initial investment in your Copics!  ha!}

So, anyway, I pulled out one of my favorite sets from Flourishes and turned on the DVR (I had the 2nd half of The Other Boleyn Girl to finish…  good flick!  (Although, I've done a little research and the real Henry VIII wasn't nearly as hot as Eric Bana was -- plus, he had that nasty habit of beheading his wives...  :)

I'm linking this up to the Happy Mail Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp!

I did some 3rd generation stamping of just the zinnia bloom to create my background and then set out to color my main image…  And then on to the fussy cutting :)

I also got to utilize one of my tried and true techniques on his card -- dying my ribbon to match…  I love to do this and it never fails me!  In this case, my ribbon was a light, pale yellow, so I colored up and down the length of it with the same yellows (and yellow-reds!) I had used on my zinnias, spritzed it with Colorless Blending Solution, put it in a baggie and smushed it around, and then took it out and blew it dry!  Voila!!!

Anyhow, I love how it turned out and I know just who I'm gonna send it to!  :)

Have a great Friday!

A Sunny Hello :)

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Hello!  Happy Monday!  There is a DT search going on over at Case Study right now and I thought I would {gulp!} throw my hat in the ring!  This is among my very favorite challenges because each month, one of the best among us is invited to serve as "muse" and provides a different card each week for inspiration.  I love that there are no limits and that all styles are welcome and embraced!

The challenge was to select my own personal "Muse" and draw inspiration from their work -- someone whose style is different from my own, so that you'll be able to see where I drew my inspiration, but still be able to see me in it…

I chose as my "muse" Melissa Phillips of Lilybean's Paperie.  I love her vintage, often shabby chic, style.  Here embellishments are usually handmade and always fabulous.  She usually includes way more detail than I am ever comfortable with, but she always makes it work!  (hello, Tim Gunn  :)

The card I selected of hers is one of my all-time favorites.  It's amazing.  Seriously.  Check it here.

Here's my take:

Here's Melissa's masterpiece:

Melissa Phillips, Lilybean's Paperie

I was inspired by a number of things with Melissa's card -- I loved her color palette (she went with cool tones, so I went with warm! :) and her circle background, and her handmade flower embellishment…  Lots of good stuff!  :)

I'm super-pleased with the results and hope you like it too….  It's just a happy card, no?  :)

Have a great Tuesday…  be back soon with a card I made when I just had the urge to color something!

Papertrey April Blog Hop!

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Hello!  I am so super-excited today because it's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Day!  (One of my favorite days of the month!)  I am always so excited to see what everyone has created -- and these hops always get such a good turn-out so there is plenty to see!  Something inspiring is always just another "click" away!  :)

This month's theme is Tilted… Design on an Angle.  Check it out:

I love that inspiration board -- lots of good eye candy!  :)

Confession:  I have a serious patterned paper addiction.  I love it and use it on almost every card…  It is just what I do…   So I futzed with this card for hours, until I got it just the way I wanted it…  I love these colors (the papers are from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection by American Crafts)…  the muted pastels are so dreamy!  

I don't know if you can see it in the pic, but I used the PTI Linen Impression Plate for added texture (adds sooo much in real life!)…  I used the sentiment from Natural Beauties, Limitless Layers for my "flower," and Rosie Posie for the leaves…

I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out and hope you are, too…  :)

Thank you so much for stopping by…  Hope you are enjoying the Hop!  

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #179