{ CAS and JUGS card }

I combined a couple of sketches for today's card. I've been super busy with summer events and I've not been able to stamp for a couple of weeks. I had a reunion with my stamps and it was great! I was so glad that I took the time to clean up my stamp area a bit before I left for Vegas last week. So much better to sit down to a semi-organized stamp area.

On to the card for today. I decided to combine another FAB layout with a challenge over at JUGS which was to create a wedding card.

Here goes:

This is a close up of how I stamped the flower image 3 times in each color, piecing together different layers to incorporate all of the colors I used.  Hard to see from this image but the inside has a border stamped along the bottom, matching the stamped layer on the front of the card.

There we have it! Hoping to get some more stamping in today. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

{zero cost luggage zipper pull fix }

I have been away from my blog the last couple of weeks courtesy of jam-packed summer. Can you believe that it is going to be August this weekend? Where has the time gone??

I attended a work conference this past week in Las Vegas and when I packed my bags to leave, I discovered that the zipper pulls were missing from my luggage. Not sure how that happened but the Mister came up with something clever that didn't cost a dime, as we had the supplies in the workshop. Had I had the luxury of time, I would have decorated and modge podged the washers :)

Broken zipper pulls. All of them looked like this one.

A couple of cute washers and some pink zipties

The solution

Good as new

Vegas was awesome. And I had breakfast with Dr. Oz. Well, I ate with 300 other conference attendees and Dr. Oz spoke to us. Love his show.
I am hoping to catch up on some stamping this weekend. Oh, how I've missed my stamps!! How's your summer going?

{ clean and simple #100 }

Happy 100th CAS Challenges, Natasha!!

I am honored to present two cards using her sketch. I only hope my cards do it justice!  And, to see my name in the list of the other designers makes my heart skip a beat.


Here are two cards that I created using Natasha's sketch.

For my first card, I embraced the white, er yellow space. I found a piece of die-cut paper that I forgot I had, and with the scalloped edge, I thought it perfect for this sketch. I also grabbed an oldie but favorite stamp set and since the saying is about summertime, I thought bright and cheery was in order:

 For my next card, I used some patterned paper as the focal point.

I love how versatile, clean and simple Natasha's sketches always are.  

Thank you so much for stopping by!

To play along with the sketch yourself.... Clean and Simple: http://cleanandsimplestamping.blogspot.com/  to upload your creation.


Run, don't walk to the other gourgeos cards using Natasha's sketch by clicking on a link below:

Angie Tieman: http://schwooo.blogspot.com/
Becky Carafa: http://www.lakeshorestamper.com/
Harriet Skelly: http://allycatcards.blogspot.com/
Heather Pulvirenti: http://heatherpulvirenti.blogspot.com/
Iwona Palamountain: http://ipalamountain.blogspot.com/
Jen Carter: http://jensinkspot.blogspot.com
Julie Ebersole: http://papertrufflez.typepad.com/
Julie Lacey: http://stampsandtaxes.blogspot.com/
Kelly Jo http://kjsstamppad.blogspot.com/
Lea Lawson: http://leascupcakesandsunshine.blogspot.com/
Natasha Trupp: http://palmtreesandpogosticks.blogspot.com/

   Silke Ledlow: http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/
   Susan Raihala: http://simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com/

Card Recipe:

Summer Time and the Living is Easy
paper- Honey Textured CS- CTMH, die cut DP- Creative Imaginations
stamps- Free Spirit- CTMH
ink- watermelon- CTMH
other- ribbon- from my ribbon stash

Argyle Thank You
paper- patterned paper??, crystal blue textured CS, cream- CTMH
stamps- darcey collection- Anna Griffin
ink- crystal blue- CTMH
other: ribbon- American Crafts, button- CTMH, twine- Archivers

{ cool change }

I have some fun plans on tap for the evening...we're going to town nearby to hear the Little River Band...

Here's one of my favorite songs I hope to hear tonight:

{ ninety eight }

I used Natasha's sketch for a card that I needed for a friend over the weekend.

What a beautiful sketch, and I was so excited to give the card to somebody who appreciated the handmade card that I made for her! It's always nice to take time and make a card for somebody that appreciates it!

The picture isn't the greatest but I had to snap a quick one on the way out the door with this card!

Card Recipe:
stamps- congratulations- Penny Black, darcey collection- Anna Griffin, a year of violets- PTI
ink- grey wool, crem brule- CTMH
other- adhesive pearls- Michaels

{ tools are for women too link party }

If you haven't been introduced for Tools Are For Women Too then you are missing out!! Rory has the most amazing DIY projects and some pretty great link parties too. Rory is doing something pretty amazing for this weeks link party...allowing people who are selling their wares to link directly to some projects that are for sale- how kind is that??



Be sure and stop by. Grab a cool drink because you'll be there awhile :)

{ tuesday trigger: poppin off the page }

Cath has a BEAUTIFUL Tuesday Trigger going this week....



After a few trial and error cards that are now in the garbage, I couldn't be happier with how my card turned out.

I embossed the yellow cardstock in black, after using my round nestie... then I black embossed two more flowers in red and pink and mounted those on top of the yellow layer. In my mind, that is how I played off of the beautiful inspiration picture, as the flowers are overlapping each other.

I tried to incorporate all of the colors because I think that is part of what makes the inspiration picture so charming. Lastly, the scallops at the bottom of my card mirror a couple of the poppys in the inspiration photo.

There we have it! Thanks for looking at my card!

Card Recipe:
stamps- Poppy Background- Hero Arts
paper- twilight, buttercup, black and blush- CTMH
other- nestabilities, cuttlebug, embossing powder- CTMH, Versamark

{ woodgrain congratulations }

So glad that tomorrow is already Wednesday!!! Why can't we have more 4 day weekends in the summertime?

here is a card I made a few weeks back for some friends that bought their first home.

Pretty simple. I stamped the woodgrain image in the two different colors and then used my circle punch so I had 3 of each color.

I layered grey on grey and for the top layer I used the apron lace border punch.

For the sentiment layer, I cut it like a little banner and popped it on the card.


Card Recipe:
stamps- For Every Occasion- CTMH, Woodgrain- PTI
ink- breeze, honey- CTMH
paper- grey wool, whit daisy- CTMH
other- apron lace border punch, 1 inch circle punch - EK Success

{color chef challenge #58 }

Happy Monday to you! I am lucky enough to have the day off from work and have had a relaxing, yet productive day so far!

Here is the colors for this week:

White Yellow Red Blue

For my card, I used the combination of a soft yellow (CTMH Creme Brule) along with a favorite fluid chalk inkpad that I've had for years and works so beautifully (Prussian Blue). And I topped it off with a popped up thank you in one of my all time favorite ink colors Cranberry (CTMH)

I love when I see other people's cards and they've decorated both inside and out. I took the time to do so on this card, so here is what the inside looks like!

Well, I hope you'll have some time to play along. I really enjoy seeing what you come up with for these color challenges!

{ color chef challenge #57 winner }

There were some really cool entries for the CCC #57 last week....Cindy's card was drawn to win this week!

Thanks to everybody who played along! I hope you are enjoying a day of rest today from the holiday.

Cindy, here is the winner badge if you would like to display it on your blog!

{ OFTC and CPS }

Did I lose you with that blog title? Ha! I am combining the CPS layout challenge with the OTWC color challenge for this card, which incorporated a set of stamps I picked up today at Michaels on 40% off

Here's the sketch:

here's the color combo:


Here's my card:

I used CTMH textured cardstock. Then I randomly stamped some of the images on the white cardstock and attached that to the vineyard berry cardstock at an angle and cut off the "excess" from the angle of the layers.

I took a circle punch to create both the sentiment layers. For the white layer I used my MS Score Board to create a border then I trimmed on the outside of that.
For the inside, since the textured stock has a lighter side, I thought it would be fun to incorporate the same colors and repeat a few of the images which you can see below.



Card Recipe:
stamps- organic fabric flourish- inkadinkado, say it in style- CTMH
paper- outdoor denim textured card stock, vineyard berry and white daisy- CTMH
ink- vineyard berry and outdoor denim- CTMH
other- circle punch- EK Success, MS Score Pad

Hope you have a fun weekend planned! We're off to a party tomorrow and then some R & R on Monday. LOVE long weekends!!

{ card and a tip }

Laura has a great sketch going and not only did I enter my card just in time before the deadline but it also gave me a chance to use a new stamp set that I purchased. I think it might be my new favorite.


Here is my card:

For the 4 squares, that is a border stamp that I repeatedly stamped and then cut down to 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 and rounded two of the corners then finally inked the edges.


I also stamped a border stamp on the card base (in the red) repeating the image upright and upside down, leaving a little white space in between.... Then on a separate piece of card stock, I stamped the flower (my new fave) and mounted it onto the squares.





Now for the tip.... sometimes when I use border stamps, I have a hard time getting it straight onto the card so I had an idea to use my Martha Stewart Score Board for the job.... I lined up the top edge of the stamp onto a line on the board...

Then I stuck it to my acrylic block, also matching it up to a flat line so that it's as straight as I can get it.


Finally, I make sure that the left edge of the stamp is flush with the side of the cardstock.. Whew....that's a lot of lining up but it is very simple to do!!


Card Recipe:
stamps- organic fabric flourish- Inkadinkado, boutique borders- CTMH
paper- white daisy- CTMH
ink- cranberry, ocean, honey- CTMH
other- Martha Stewart Score Board, foam dots- Hobby Lobby

{ born to rock iron-on transfers }

I read a TON of DIY blogs and I have so many ideas running around in my head. I started out wanting to make THESE adorable little burlap dresses for my nieces, only there were 2 problems.

1. I don't have a sewing machine
2. Even if I had a sewing machine
I wouldn't even know what to do with it

Sooooooo...... I my friend who is and *uber* talented graphic designer whipped these images up for me faster than I could have figured out how to thread a sewing machine. Here is the image that is already "mirrored" so that it will transfer the right way. *The first mistake I made was not printing them as a "mirror" which meant I ruined the first pack of iron-on transfers $6.73


Step 1: print the images onto transfer paper- be sure to print them as a mirror image so they transfer the right way onto the t-shirt.

Step 2: After you wash and dry your t-shirt, iron the area where the transfer will adhere just to be sure it's nice and flat as well as dry- very important.

3. Trim the image and lay it onto the desired area and then iron according to the package directions.

Here is the finished product!!
The fronts say Born To Rock (their dad plays bass guitar)

The back says God Bless America and it has the same flourish image from the front. My sister (the girls' mom) bought little blue skirts for them to wear to the party they are hosting tomorrow.

P.S. The image is available for purchase in my Etsy shop if you are interested, although it is not personalized with their names.