Hot Air Balloon Love

Hello there!
Today I have a fun project to share featuring Look Up and Look Up Additions. I recently bought a lot of these tins and thought it’d be fun to decorate them. On the front, I used the new hot air balloons and paired them up with the banner and birds from Look Up. To add some dimension, I used some liquid pearls (thanks to my friend Wendy) on the background. Then, I added a bow using this yummy Pink Twill.
Don’t you just love the designs on the hot air balloons? I made 5 projects in one night- I just couldn’t stop using them! Pulled out my beloved Copics and went to town…..
On the inside, I created a little envelope and decorated it with the banner image and the “Happy” and “Birthday” from You’re the Man. You know me, I can’t have a plain background, so I once again pulled out the houndstooth from Retro Christmas Backgrounds.
I plan on making lots of these tins for Christmas presents this year. I can customize them for each person + who doesn’t love getting a gift card to their favorite place? For me, those are the best kinds of gifts!
Hope you enjoyed this post! Be sure to visit Courtney’s blog for samples from the other DT!

PCD December Peek #2

Hello there!
Wasn’t yesterday’s sneak peek fun? From the response that I saw from all the DT posts, it sounds like lots of others enjoy hot air balloons too! Well, Courtney has another fun set releasing this month….I’m excited to show you Nature’s Wonder.
This set is so amazing, I had the best time playing with it. Once again, I couldn’t help but pair up a few Practicing Creativity sets for this card. Here’s the breakdown:
Solid Sprigs, Butterfly, “so much” – Nature’s Wonder
“Thank You”- Chatterbox
Houndstooth Background- Retro Christmas Backgrounds
I hope you’re getting excited about this set, because you should! For more inspiration on this fabulous set, visit the the following links:
Practicing Creativity DT
visit for a chance to win the set!
Guest Designers

I will be back tomorrow with a fun project using Look Up and Look Up Additions. Can’t wait to see you then! Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

PCD December Peek #1

Happy 1st of December to you! 
I am beyond excited to share today’s sneak peek with you. As most of you know, I absolutely love Look Up from Practicing Creativity. The banner image is a ton of fun, and I can’t get enough of these hot air balloons. Well……Courtney is releasing Look Up Additions this month! Oh my goodness, I had so much fun with this set- seriously, a new favorite.
Courtney challenged each of us PCD DT girls to re-create a card that used Look Up and do it with Look Up Additions. I decided to go the CAS route (trying to do this more) and create this simple thanks cards. I love the large hot air balloon from Look Up, but I’m telling ya, the new balloon takes the cake. I love the lines so much! 
 
For the background, I pulled out my well loved Retro Christmas Backgrounds set. Honestly, when I saw this particular design, I didn’t know how to use it. Now, I can’t get enough! :) Isn’t it funny how that happens sometimes?  
Be sure to visit Courtney’s blog for more details of the set, links to all the girls’ blogs and a chance to win this GREAT set!
I will see you tomorrow for a peek at the other new set releasing this month. Yes, there are TWO! Can’t wait to see you then!

Clean and Simple Christmas

Hello there!
Can you believe that we are just a day away from December?! I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel ready for it this year. Thankfully, most of my Christmas cards are finished- thanks to Courtney’s stamp sets!  This time around, I thought CAS (clean and simple) was the way to go for a lot of people. You can’t beat a one layer card that is CUTE but also fun. :) 
I got out the Retro Christmas Backgrounds set and created three rows of lights. Chose some nice, bold colors and started coloring to my hearts delight. Yes, I’m one of the people that LOVE to color. After I finished coloring, I used the “Merry Christmas” sentiment from Retro Christmas.
 
Here is a picture of two of the cards. However, there are lots more. ;) Can’t wait to start seeing more Christmas cards in blog land! If you need some more inspiration, be sure to head to the other PCD DT blogs- those girls have some fun things to share! 
Amy’s blog (Guest designer)
 Valerie’s blog (Guest designer)
Is anyone getting excited for the new Narnia movie coming out soon? My brothers are dying to see it. However, I like more “real” action- The Dark Knight (Batman 2) is my favorite movie. Speaking of which, I should pull that out again….  
 I will see you tomorrow for the first sneak peek of the December Practicing Creativity release! You are in for a SUPER fun surprise- I can’t wait to let you in on this one!
Paper: White
Ink: Jet Black
Other: Copics, corner rounder

Prancing Reindeer

Happy Monday to you! 
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Mine was very relaxing- in fact, maybe a little too much! I’m excited to head back to work today….lots of things to do!
Today I have a fun Christmas card to share with you. I recently won a giveaway on Lynnette’s blog, and had the opportunity to chose a Lawn Fawn set of my choice. I just had to get the Critters in the Snow set. I thought this little deer was darling, and I love all the other designs too!
I recently purchased this SU! embossing folder (thanks to Laurie!). Love the added texture it brings to a card. Lately I’ve been enjoying these nice, rich colors together- you’ll be seeing more of it on the blog!
Lastly, I want to let you know that Courtney has a great Cyber Monday sale going on. If there is a Practicing Creativity set you’ve been wishing you, this would be a great time to get it! 
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I truly value those who leave comments- it seems like the number has been dwindling lately. Guess I have to get more excitement on here!:)

Thanksgiving Banner

I had been meaning to post this earlier, but I just got around to taking pictures of my Thanksgiving banner. I made this about a month ago, when I was going through a creative slump. This was the perfect way to get my creativity going, plus I was able to use a lot of my scraps! Add the fact that this can be used as a decoration, and we have a win-win-win! 
 
Here is what the banner looks like on our mantel. Aren’t these colors scrumptious?  Since I didn’t have a specific banner die, I decided to use one of my Spellbinders- I LOVE the way this turned out! I have so many of these dies- I could literally create a banner for each holiday and still be using a different die.
 (Click picture to enlarge)
For the letters, I used my Cricut Expression. To add glitter, I used a Quickie Glue Pen and several DeNami Design glitters. I know there are some adhesive machines and such, but I just go the “old fashioned” way. :)
I’m going to wrap up this post. I hope you had a very blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We had a nice, quiet evening with our family. Tomorrow will be the day where the extended family comes over and we will have lots of little ones running about. Oh how I love times with family! 

Snow Days

Boy, is it chilly here in Washington! We are down to 23* and the temperature it supposed to get colder tonight. Thank goodness for heaters and lots of blankets! 
Here are a few snapshots that I took, since I couldn’t get to work today……
This was taken from our deck. Some of the snow had already melted when I took this picture, but you can see on the railing there is still lots!
I have to admit, LOOKING at snow isn’t bad. It’s the driving in the snow and ice that scares me. I was watching the news and there were accidents galore. Decided that even though I have a TON of work to do for the new release, it just wasn’t worth risking my life over it. 
 
Snow in trees is just so beautiful… I took many more of these types of pictures, but thought I’d spare you from having to scroll through them all. :) 
Our sad hydrangea bushes don’t know what hit them! Usually our walkway is filled with beautiful greenery and hydrangea blossoms- sadly, that’s a thing of the past now.
Our raspberries are a little bit more persistent. What a surprise to see a few berries still on the bushes! Those berries are like our family- stubborn and determined! LOL
I couldn’t help but have my sister take a few pictures of me in the snow. I don’t particularly like to go out in the snow, but I’m all for good photo ops! Just got this new jacket a few days ago- couldn’t have been a more perfect time!
Judging from my Twitter friends, it looks like there aren’t too many that have gotten snow in the other parts of the US. I have to say, I’m jealous of those who have sun right now! They say the snow will go away soon, which I’m counting on. I would love to still be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with the extended family AND hit some Black Friday sales. 
That’s all for today. Hope YOU are doing well! 

November Ramblings

It’s been two months since I did my last ramblings post. Boy, time sure does fly. I had fully intended on doing one last month, then I had a bunch of Halloween cards to share. This month, I vowed I would not forget. :) 
For those new to my blog, I like to do these rambling posts about once a month. It’s a little peek inside my personal life, plus you can see how random I truly am. I have LOVED that so many of my blog friends have taken this on….I hope it continues…it’s been a little while since I’ve seen one.
  • Lately I have been seeing a TON of movies. My most recent favorite: Morning Glory. Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard in this movie. Definitely a fun one to see with girlfriends!
  • I recently discovered the Creme Brulee Lattes at Starbucks. Bliss in a cup!
  • Still refusing to believe that Christmas is next month. Really need to get on my game and start planning what I’m going to buy! Black Friday IS only 4 days away. Anyone else going to be out there at 2AM?
  • Started to take on running in my workouts. I want sexy slender legs! Granted, I can only run a few minutes at a time (building up stamina), but I can already see progress. By summer of next year, hopefully I can sport some cute shorts!
  • If I were to change professions, I think I’d try to do something related to radio. Music is a huge passion of mine. That may be why I go to so many concerts. :) 
  • Have a spending problem and am trying hard to curb it. Vowing not to buy anything craft related until January. 
  • Really want to have someone teach me to do cool things with make-up. I love how people can change up their make-up often and look amazing. Anyone have tips?
  • Hoping to ween myself off fast foods and sugary items. Why must they be so addicting?!
  • Got black nail polish on my nails and toes. L.O.V.E! 
  • SUPER happy that my family is back. They were on the road for NINE weeks. So thankful they are home for a while. 
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love! If you happen to do a ramblings post, be sure to let me know ! I’d love to stop by your blog and get to know you better! ♥

    |

    DeNami Sketch Challenge #5

    Hi there!
    It’s time for a new challenge over on the DeNami blog, and it’s a fun one at that! The ever-so-talented Ayana created a sketch that is super unique sketch. The hardest part of the challenge? Choosing what stamps to use! Thankfully my little brother came to the rescue and said to do a chickie card.
    It’s been a little while since I pulled out the Princess Castle and coordinating stamps. Seriously, how adorable are those chicks? I know I’ve said it before, but they have so much personality! It’s so easy to understand why they have a big fan base! :) 
    Here you can see that I added some Citrone glitter to the windows of the castle and the chicks. Just a little bit really makes the card come to life. At the bottom of the sketch there are some criss cross lines. I was originally going to use twine, but I thought pearls might bring the card together a little better. I really like how it came together! The only thing I would change would be to line up the pearls a little better! *wink*
    I hope you’ll play along with the sketch challenge. It’s the last sketch of the year, plus you aren’t required to use DeNami stamps. (However, if you have them, we’d love it if you did use them!) Hop on over to the DeNami blog to see what the design team made. Super yummy cards!
    Have a great rest of you day. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!
    Paper: White, Smoky Shadow, Sweet Blush, Spring Rain (PTI)

    Elegant Floral Arch

    Good morning, dear friends!
    It’s time for a new DeNami Product Spotlight! I have to say, this is one of my favorite posts to do each month. I love how each of us have the exact same stamp, but do such different things. That’s the beauty of stamping- you can have the same stamp but create a million unique cards. :)
    This month, we are featuring the Elegant Floral Arch. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I’d do a Christmas colored card. However, you could easily switch these colors to pastels, blues or even purples! Anyhow, back to the card…. I wanted to take a different approach with the stamp and created a nice big wreath. I just love how this turned out! Makes me want to create one for my door! :)
    Here you can see that I added just a few Mossy Green rhinestones to the wreath. (Gotta have a little sparkle!)
    I hope today’s card inspired you to try something new with your stamps! Be sure to head over to the DeNami blog for links to the other DT blogs. I saw their cards, and they are BEAUTIFUL!
    Thanks for stopping by! Hope your Thursday is fabulous, just like you!
    Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet (PTI)
    Ink: Timber Brown
    Other: Red grosgrain, Mossy Green rhinestones, Copics, Spellbinder Labels 1 die