May 25, 2011
I won again!
I must have been a very girl this month because I’ve won my second blog candy. This one is from Katie at Both Sides of the Paper, and I am SO excited. Thank you Katie!
May 23, 2011
Kathy at “The Daily Marker” is the best!
Kathy Racoosin at The Daily Marker had a blog candy contest where she didn’t post the winner right away (or, I had the wrong date). I e-mailed her to make sure I hadn’t missed the winner announcement, you know, just in case it was ME! Well, it wasn’t me, but I was floored when Kathy replied, because I had specifically told her not to bother if I weren’t the winner. I did this because I am aware people like Kathy get not only a lot of frivolous e-mails, but some rude ones as well and because I knew she is very busy. So, I didn’t want her to waste her time writing back to me if I wasn’t the winner.
Well, Kathy took the time out of her busy day to write me back. And then she kindly offered some extra encouragement which was completely unexpected. I was really moved.
So, this is a shout-out to Kathy who’s kindness made my day. You’re amazing!
May 21, 2011
Lindy’s Maid Wid Luv blog candy
I wanted to show this wonderful blog candy offered at Lindy’s Maid Wid Luv. I’ve been very lucky to win a few candies, but nothing very big. Here’s hoping this one will be THAT big one!
May 20, 2011
Amanda’s birthday
My lovely niece, Amanda, has a birthday coming up so I made this tri-shutter card for her. Purple is her favorite color as well as mine, so that makes it extra fun for me to make her something. She has actually come over and made cards with me a few times, so she recognizes what goes into those extra-special touches, and thus, she truly appreciates the effort I put into cards I give her.
Recipe:
My Mind’s Eye 29th Street Market papers
Recollections Boutique Fleur gemstone butterflies
Sizzix architecture die
Sizzix leaf vine die
Cuttlebug alphabet die (Sorry, I don’t know what it’s called. It came with the Cuttlebug I purchased used from a private party.)
McGills Petite Petals punch
Spellbinders Labels Four die
Spellbinders Scalloped Circles small die
Cuttlebug “happy birthday” small folder
Stampendous dark blue pearlescent embossing powder
Colorbox chalk inks
Distress Ink Tea Dye
floral pins
pink ricrac from stash
regular computer paper to make flowers
Challenges:
Prairie Fairy Fridays–more than one fold
Joyful Stamper–anything goes
CCEE Stampers–flowers placed around main image
Divas by Design–for the girls
Truly Scrummptious–anything goes
May 16, 2011
I won!
I won 15 of the crocheted flowers from Dorcas Designs, and I’m so excited. I LOVE crocheted flowers, and have even tried to learn how to crochet but could never get the hang of it, so I am ecstatic that I won them. Thank you Dorcas!
May 13, 2011
It worked!
I have wanted to make a “drawer” card for a while now, but for some reason it took me forever to find instructions, and then when I did I had to change the dimensions to fit the notecards I’ve been making for a present. I wasted a lot of paper because of little mathematical errors here and there, but FINALLY, it all came together and I couldn’t be happier. I do think this is my newest all-time favorite card I’ve ever made. Ever! 🙂
Recipe:
My Mind’s Eye “29th Street Market” papers
C’ordinations dark blue pearlescent paper
Sizzix “Architectural Accent #3”
Sizzix leafy vine die
chipboard butterfly
Prima pearls
Stampin’ Up stamp from “Bliss” collection
Colorbox green, purple and magenta pigment inks
Tsukineko Brilliance Ink Orchid
Distress Inks: Dusty Concord, Tea Dye
Stampendous Kaleidoscope embossing powder
Spellbinders Fancy Tags die
Spellbinders Nestabilities Label Four die
EK Success butterfly punch
Martha Stewart small butterfly punch
Martha Stewart border punch
Maya Road pin
floral pins
mulberry paper flowers
ribbon and pearl brads from stash
Challenges:
Creative Inspirations Challenge–glitzy and bling
Emerald Fairies–anything goes
Scrappy Frogs–anything goes
May 9, 2011
Sketch N Stash Act II
This is the second card I’ve made from a Sketch N Stash Challenge Blog sketch. I flipped and rotated it, and think it turned out very pretty. This is the third of a set of blank notecards I’m making, and I’m finally starting to feel like I’m really making progress on finishing them. I’ve had this trim since forever and love how it coordinated so well with the scalloped border stamp. I am also loving the stamp from Stampin’ Up’s Bliss collection, which I recently purchased, and think I may just use it on every card to maintain consistency.
Recipe:
My Mind’s Eye “29th Street Market” papers
C’ordination dark blue pearl paper
Stampin’ Up stamp from the Bliss collection
Stampendous purple pearlescent embossing powder
Martha Stewart lavender flat-back pearls
Martha Stewart border punch
EK Success butterfly punch
Spellbinders Label Four die
ribbon from stash
Challenges:
Scrappy Frogs Challenge Blog–anything goes
Sparkles Forum Challenge–two papers, one ribbon, two embellishments
Wee Memories Challenge Blog–ribbon, color, stamps
May 8, 2011
Midnight Madness Awesome Blog Candy
Priscillastyles/Midnight Madness is giving away this Cricut Personal Cutter! I actually had one but it broke, so I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win this one. Thanks so much to Priscillastyles for the chance to do so.
May 7, 2011
Sketch N Stash Challenge
I’ve just discovered the Sketch N Stash blog and am loving all their sketches. In this challenge you get to choose a former sketch to follow, and I loved the one above. I didn’t add the sentiment because I’m including this in a set of blank notecards. I hope that doesn’t disqualify me.
Anyway, you can enter as many times as you like, and given I’m making a set, I plan on using some of those other sketches as well. I really struggle with coming up with different positionings on my own, and frankly, while I always find a sketch I like, I don’t often find a lot of them at one blog. So, I am psyched to have found so many at one blog!
Sketch N Stash does require you use either new or neglected items, be it paper, embellishments, etc. The ribbon and brads (in the flowers) are things I’ve had in my stash for a very long time. I never had any paper that would match the ribbon until I purchased the ones I used on this card. I’ve loved the color forever and was so excited to it matched these papers I’d just purchased at Michael’s perfectly.
Recipe:
My Mind’s Eye 29th Street Market papers
Stampin’Up stamp from the Bliss collection
Spellbinders Label Number Four
Stampendous purple pearlescent embossing powder
McGill’s Petite Flowers punch
Sizzix leafy vine die
C’ordinations dark blue pearlescent paper
ribbon and brads from stash
Challenges:
Sketch N Stash–choose a sketch from among those previously listed
Pearl Tree Designs–Free for all
Papertake Weekly–anything goes, and optional use something round (I’ve used brads).
Phindy’s Place–embossing
Raise the Bar–flower power
Totally Paper Crafts–one image, two papers, three embellishments
Wags ‘n Whiskers–use a die or punch
May 6, 2011
Case Study Challenge
I made this card for the CASE Study Challenge Blog. I’ve never cased a card before, and I’m honestly not real happy with this one, but all my efforts to add a little more pizazz to it just make it look too jumbled. I think part of the problem is the card I’m casing is so gorgeous it’s hard to be satisfied with this one. But, I tried. 🙂
I am absolutely in love with My Mind’s Eye’s “Lush” collection, which I’ve used here. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to photograph the pale pink papers. It comes out looking beige, but it really is a very soft and lovely pink in real life.
Recipe:
My Mind’s Eye “Lush” paper
Stampin’ Up’s “Bliss” stamps, medallion and butterfly
Spellbinder’s “In Spades” Pendant die
Martha Stewart border punch
Stampendous Kaleidoscope embossing powder
ribbon, pearls and pink pearl brad from stash
Challenges
Case Study Challenge Blog–case the card
The ABC Challenge–two or more images
Southern Girls Challenge–Let’s Hear it for the Girls
paperluvver 
