Misc.

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2 Sketches 4 You- Laura’s Sketch #42


Hi-ya blog friends!

Bet you all are surprised to see another {card} blog post from me so quickly! I told you I would do my best to post more often…and I try to be a person of my word {when I remember}.

It’s been a while since I played along with a 2S4Y sketch. I love both Kazan & Laura- they are such dears and they have done a great job keeping up their sketch blog. I am in utter amazement at their creative sketches and of course, their beautiful creations. :) Today’s card is based of Laura’s sketch this week. Isn’t it a fun one?! It’s simple and yet you can totally go to town on it, if you wanted to. I chose to keep it simple- my mind can’t do anything difficult while I’m off of work. LOL

I hope you all got your week of to a great start. Today I had a training session @ the gym- I am DETERMINED to lose these unwanted pounds. I am cutting out all soda pop and I’m going to *try* to watch my calorie intake. Oh my word, it’s so hard when there are so many great cooks in my family! Somehow it seems like all the extra yummy food comes out when I’m trying to be on a diet….

I’ll be back tomorrow with another post. Oh yes, and before I forget, I’m working on my next blog candy giveaway. I have something in mind but I’m always up for suggestions. Let me know if there is something you have wanted. :)

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Signature Greetings
Paper: White, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss
Other: Moss rhinestones, EK Success scallop border punch

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Amazing, I’m posting a card!

Hello friends!

I’m sorry that I have been such a bad blogger lately. With the madness of Christmas shopping/ present wrapping and hosting of gatherings, I’m hoping that I’ll get to post a little more often. I miss reading comments and hearing from you all! :)

Did you all have a good Christmas? Ours was fairly low key, which was exactly what I needed. In years past things seemed chaotic and stressful- thankfully that was not the case this year. We had a HUGE feast with the extended family. With 5 little ones running about and 11 adults talking/ relaxing, there wasn’t a rush to open presents.We eventuallygot around to opening presents and then we called it a night around 9pm. Usually I am one of the first in line at Target for their after Christmas sale, but this year I didn’t feel the need to go. I wasn’t impressed with their wrapping paper or ornaments this year, so I opted to stay home and get some projects done. Did anyone do after Christmas shopping? If so, what did you get?

I’m getting super excited for Valentine’s this year.It might have to do with the fact that I love the color combos that go along with Valentine’s Day, and I’m also tired of making Christmas cards/ projects! I’m hoping to get some Valentine inspired items in my Etsy store soon….we’ll see how that goes. ;)

Well, that’s a wrap for tonight. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to leave a comment- it might motivate me to update a little more often. hehe

Stamps: Heart Prints
Paper: White, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Plum Pudding, Bitty Dots Basics
Ink: Imperial Purple, Vintage Sepia, Ripe Avocado, Lavender Moon
Other: Ripe Avocado grosgrain ribbon, heart punches, EK Success scallop border punch

Personalized Gifts

Happy Tuesday, sweet blog friends!
Hope all of your holiday plans are going smoothly. Today I had to run to the store to get some groceries….the store was a mad house! It took forever to find a parking spot, and then when I was about to pull in, someone drove into the spot! I was a little {er, a lot} peeved. Thankfully I found another good spot. :) I got the rest of my Christmas shopping done- SO happy to finally be finished!
Today I received a sweet gift in the mail from my friend, Wendy. The box was FULL of beautiful goodies. She made some personalized notecards, a bookmark, a notepad and some adorable clip its! I have seen them on a lot of blogs lately- I’m so excited that I can own some of my own! She also included two Stampendous storage containers. {Goodness knows that I need help in that area!} A HUGE thank you to Wendy for all of the sweet surprises. You are such a gem and I absolutely love working with you.
Has anyone else received some Christmas goodies this year? If so, I’d love to see pictures! It’s always fun to see others presents and join in on the excitement. :)

Hope you all had a great rest of the night. I’m off to warm up dinner then it’s off to a Christmas party!

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Be Mine


Yes, I realize that we haven’t even celebrated Christmas yet….I must admit, I’m a little tired of making Christmas cards and wrapping presents. Thought I would take a little break and make some Valentine’s cards to share. Don’t you just love the colors associated with Valentine’s Day? The pinks, reds, purples….all of the yummy colors put together! :)

This “Be Mine” card showcases my first time using Heart Prints from Papertrey. I recently placed an order and couldn’t resist adding this set to my shopping cart. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought it would be fun to start making some Valentine projects. When I ordered this set, I also couldn’t resist adding both of the punches that coordinate with this set. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t….who wants to cut a million hearts out?! I am such a lover of paper punches, it doesn’t matter if it’s shapes or borders, I love it all! I’m scared to count how many paper punches I own- the number is quite high!

Did you all have a good weekend? I got some Christmas shopping done when I had a “girls day out” with my mom and sisters on Friday. I still have quite a bit more shopping to do- most likely going to hit the mall tomorrow. With only a couple more people to buy for, I’m hoping it’s going to be painless and easy. {wishful thinking!}

Hope you all have a great week! Try not to stress about the holidays…remember what it’s all about. :)

Stamps: Heart Prints
Paper: White, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, Raspberry Fizz, Bitty Dots Basics, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, Cherry Pink
Other: brown grosgrain ribbon, heart punch

Christmas Presents

Hello my friends!

I must apologize for my absence- I have been extremely busy these last few days. In between doing some Christmas shopping, wrapping presents and make a gazillion cards, I haven’t had the energy to blog. Like I mentioned before, I’m going through some major Winter blues this year, so I’m dealing with that along with the busyness and also fighting a sickness bug. {yuck!}
Don’t have a card today, but I do have some of the presents I have wrapped lately. Oh my goodness, I just LOVE this wrapping paper! It has red, aqua, light green and olive green along with some white in there. Isn’t it amazing?! I’m so sad that I don’t have enough to wrap all of my presents. :( You may notice some of holly gift tags on the presents- I had so many leftover from the craft fair! I thought they added a nice touch….
I promised a list of what I brought to the craft fair and also what sold. Well, here is the list. {hopefully it’ll help those who plan to participate in future fairs}
  • decorated post it note covers- made 36, sold 10
  • decorated notepads- made 34, sold 22
  • gift tags- made 115, sold 60
  • decorated candy boxes- made 30, sold 4
  • decorated paperclip bookmarks- made 140, sold 70
  • cards- brought approximately 100, sold 25
Have any of you done a craft fair before? If so, what were your best sellers? I’m still debating on whether I want to do any in the future….if I did, I would definitely not spend so much time stressing and debating on what to make. :) 

In closing, here are the presents that my little brother wrapped and put under the tree for me. You’ll see that it’s Star Wars wrapping paper {both of my brothers are obsessed!}. Did you notice the light pink grosgrain ribbon on the top, and the little scalloped circle he used as a gift tag? Such a cutie pie….I love him to death!

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Guy Cards

Hello blog friends!

Can you believe there are only 9 days left before Christmas?! I am SO not ready- there are still lots and lots of presents to buy, presents to wrap, cards to make….I must stop before I panic!

The cards I have today are for my personal trainers. Both of these guys have been instrumental in getting me motivated to lose this extra weight. Since we talk while I train, they have learned that I stamp….a LOT! I promised I would make them a card, so I figured Christmas was a good time to do it. :) Can I just say that I have the HARDEST time making guy cards?! I still think this isn’t a “manly” card, but I think it’s as close as I can get. Hopefully they’ll like it!


Have you made a guy card recently? If so, I would love to see a pic! I need some tips and ideas for future guy cards….I know they’re bound to come up again soon!

Take care!

{Blue Dude, You Rock card supplies}
Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Signature Greetings
Paper: Enchanted Evening, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, White, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Majestic Blue, Fresh Snow
Other: brown grosgrain ribbon, EK Success scallop border punch

{Orange Dude, You Rock card supplies}
Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Signature Greetings
Paper: Terracota Tile, Dark Chocolate, Brown Kraft, White, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Habanero, Vintage Sepia
Other: brown grosgrain ribbon, EK Success scallop border punch

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Happy Monday


Hello dear friends!

I hope that you all had a super Monday! I’m saying this in a *very* chipper voice- today was a great day! Let me fill you in on the details…..

1) My sister got her first “real” job! Oh my goodness, it sounds like her job is going to be awesome! She will have full benefits + good pay + flex hours! I must admit I’m a tiny bit jealous, but I’m super happy for her.

2) I had a very productive day at work. Since this is the last week we are in until 2010, I wanted to be sure we get inventory taken care of, everything cleaned, paperwork filed, etc…. I packed an order that was only supposed to take 2 hours max. Well, it ended up taking FOUR hours. Let me tell ya, I was NOT happy about this. With so much to be done, I was wishing I could just throw the items in the last two boxes. However, I DID do it nice and neat, and everything ended up working out alright.

3) After being extremely frustrated, I quickly checked my email via my phone. I was shocked to see a large order from my Etsy shop! You have no idea how happy I was. I could have done a happy dance right there at work…don’t worry, I didn’t….Now that things are moving in my lil shop, I’ll need to add more soon. Guess that will mean I have to start creating NEW items for the blog and Etsy. Hope you all don’t mind. ;)

4) I got a pedicure and my nails done. I LOVE getting pedicures and getting my nails painted. I got a deep, sparkly red- so festive and Christmas-like! I would show you a picture but my nails are disgustingly dry from this winter weather. Is anyone else dealing with this problem?!

5) I came home to have my little brother tell me I had presents under the tree. I went and checked and saw that he wrapped two little gifts for me. Oh my goodness, he is just the sweetest thing ever! I knew right away what they were- let’s just say he knows his big sister well. :) I’ll post a pic of the wrappings another day….they are just too cute to not share….

Well, that about wraps up my day. Anything happen with you? I don’t have anything spectacular to share about the notepad I posted….just another thing that I sold at the craft fair. I made FIVE of these and they all sold! Would anyone be interested in purchasing one like it if I added it to my Etsy store? Let me know….I may swing by my “supplier” and get more notepads. ;)

Stamps: Take Note
Paper: Raspberry Fizz, True Black, Raspberry Fizz Mix
Ink: Onyx Black
Other: black grosgrain ribbon, SU! scallop border punch, hot pink rhinestones, notepad

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Embellish Snowflakes Color Challenge

Happy Friday, dear friends!

How are you all doing? Today I went to my Christmas lunch for work- that always seems to kick of the holiday season for me. After eating way too much, I hit the gym and then got around to making a few cards. What a perfect way to spend a Friday!

Tonight I have a card made for the Embellish Snowflakes Color Challenge. I thought this one was going to be a piece of cake….boy, was I wrong! I think it’s that creative slump getting to me. {That’s my excuse and I’m sticking by it!} I decided to go outside the regular card and make a pocket card. Isn’t it fun?? I can see sticking a gift card to the bottom of the removable panel- wouldn’t that be a great surprise? Hmmm….I think I’ll play with that idea….

How are your Christmas preparations going? Has the weather changed where you are at? I am *finally* starting to get Christmas presents together. I am finished with one brother, now onto the other five members of the family! {Oh yes, and ALL of my friends. Good grief, I’m now even close to being finished!} As far as the weather in Washington- it’s been freezing! There has been ice in some areas, and some snow in others. For those of you who don’t know, my stamp area is in my garage. Boy is it stinkin’ cold in there! I have a heater, but it really isn’t cutting it anymore. I was planning on making a couple more cards tonight but I just couldn’t stand the cold any longer. :(

As always, I would love to hear from you! Hope you have a great weekend!

Stamps: Signature Christmas, Holiday Treats
Paper: Brown Kraft, White, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Tea Dye Duo
Other: yellow twill ribbon, Martha Stewart snowflake punches, Quickie Glue Pen, Bronze glitter, SU! scallop border punch, corner rounder, white pen

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Raspberry Color Challenge #20


Greetings friends!

I have been such a bad blogger lately-I’m so sorry! I’ve been busy with design team cards and am feeling like I’m in a creative slump. I’m thinking it may be time to take a little break from stamping…..

Tonight I have a card that I created for the Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. When I saw the colors I just about laughed out loud. In the past two weeks, I have made three projects using these exact colors! Isn’t that funny?! Dawn and I must be in a similar mindset. {Okay, I wish…that girlie is SO creative!} This card is on the simple side- like I said before, I’m in a creative slump. :)

On a different note, I have listed quite a few of my craft fair “leftovers” in my Etsy shop. You girls are so incredible- thank you for your recent purchases! It’s been so exciting and also encouraging to see some movement in my little ‘ol Etsy shop. Sadly, that is yet another thing that has been neglected…..however, I think I’m starting to get motivated again….keep on checking back for new items!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Even though I haven’t been very active on the blog, you all are still in my thoughts! Here’s to hoping that I’ll get a little more motivation while I face these horrid “Winter blues”.

Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Signature Greetings
Paper: Cream, Brown Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Terracota Tile, Bitty Box Basics
Ink: Vintage Sepia, Habanero
Other: SU! scallop border punch, twine, rust button, brown grosgrain ribbon

Craft Fair Recap

Hello sweet friends!

I’m sorry that I have been MIA for the past few days. With the craft fair(s) behind me, I have already jumped head first into my next project {ie design team cards}.

Before we start, I need to forewarn you, this may be a long post….you can just look at the pics, if you’d like. :)

The craft fair started at 10AM on Friday- we started setting up around 8:45. The fair was at a upscale retirement home, in a nice area. {Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus were just around the corner} I was hoping that with this high-end stores nearby, my items would go over well and I would be left with just a few items. Unfortunately this was not the case.

The majority of the customers were residents at the retirement home. A few commented on my items, but quite a few just walked right past. Thankfully, Amy, Ginny and Cecelia came by and brought along some cheerful smiles and also some sales! {Thanks, girlies!}

Overall it was a good experience….however I don’t know if it was worth all of the time and effort. I was working overtime getting all the merchandise ready and purchasing supplies- I wish I knew that I didn’t need to put in that much effort. I didn’t make back my supply $ which was REALLY disappointing. I was hoping to at least make that back, if not more.


Since my sister and I had SO much merchandise left, my mom encouraged us to participate in another fair. I was so exhausted I didn’t even want to think of doing another one. Both my sister and I went to bed in a heartbeat- I don’t think we could have stayed awake another minute!

Come Saturday morning {8AM}….my mom wakes us up saying she found another local craft fair. I was so groggy I didn’t even get up. She asked if I wanted to participate if they had room- I told her to call if they did. Well, she ended up getting both of us a table. The fair was 10 minutes from our house, so that was nice and convenient. After scrambling to get my merchandise back in my car, I scurried off to the location. Fast forward 6 hours….I sold some more merchandise and made back my supply money. {yay!} Altogether my sister sold about 2/3 of her yummy goodies- oh wow, were they yummy! Yes, I’m supposed to be on a diet, but I just couldn’t resist! To see pics of ALL her goodies, visit her blog here. {Warning: don’t visit on an empty stomach!}


I’ll have another post with the breakdown of what sold…..hopefully that will help others who are thinking of doing craft fairs in the future.

Well, thanks for sticking around for the whole post. Hopefully you enjoyed the pics!