button bits and my boxy banner...

Happy Friday!!

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend??  Tonight Mike and I are having dinner with some friends from church, Saturday we are going to a birthday party, and Sunday is our {rescheduled} Family Christmas Photo shoot (rain or shine!!  I am taking photos!).  It should be a fun and busy weekend!!

Here is a quick card I whipped up last week.  Recently I have really been evaluating my purchases, since I have been on an organizing and purging kick!!  I am really trying to "think" about what I buy.  Of course I always want to hit the "I want it all button" on each PTI release, LOL!! 

Recently, I was admiring a card made using the Boxy Banner's Die, and the light bulb went on...I can do that with my cuttlebug and Nestabilities!!  

Check it out...

So here is my card with my homemade Boxy Banner :)

Enjoy your Weekend!!!

supplies used:

InLinkz.com

spring moss smile...

Hi friends!

I hope you had a Fantastic weekend!!  I was a little bummed that it rained on Sunday (we were supposed to do our family Christmas photo), we hardly ever get rain in AZ, can you believe that it rained on Sunday??  Oh well~we rescheduled to next Sunday.

I have been on an organizing kick lately, which is probably due to the fact that I am trying to get my "ducks in a row" before I start my new job in a couple of weeks. On the agenda today...I am going through my closet after work. I recently downloaded THIS book onto my Kindle App for my iPhone, which is really inspiring me to get rid of stuff!!  I also ordered THIS book over the weekend (my hubby always gets nervous when I am on an organizing kick, LOL!).

Since I am in a simplifying mood~I have a clean and simple card for you (no shocker there, right??).  I pulled out and dusted off my Cuttlebug embossing folders, I think it adds just enough detail to the card base.

Supplies used...

InLinkz.com

Enjoy Today!!

masculine BDay...

Hi all...
Today is super quick!!
Mike and I are taking a very short trip to Connecticut. We will be back on Wednesday (so my post will be a little late on Wed, LOL!).

I whipped up this card for my brother in law last week. I made the center image in Adobe Illustrator and just jazzed it up with a few buttons.



Enjoy Today!!

Im baaaack!!

Hi'ya Friends! Made it back safe and sound from my trip to CT~had a wonderful time, and even brought some yummy Woodstock apples home with me~yum!

It may take a few days for my body to get back to the correct time zone~I was dead tired last night at 7pm LOL! And can you believe I had 342 emails~that is crazy!!

Here is a quick birthday card I whipped up last week...I really love the new tag sale #1 die from PTI, and since I am on a spending freeze...I decided to be resourceful, and made my own version with my corner rounder and small circle punch.



Enjoy Today!

beautiful blooms~thank you...

Hi all...
I hope your week is going great~the LONG weekend is almost here~woot woot!!! Do you have any exciting plans? Fireworks (Forth of July for USA)? Crafting? Of course I have my list started, and as usual it is a little unrealistic...but, since I am a list maker I like to write down all the things I would like to accomplish so I don't forget *wink* I even added a few things for my hubby (which I am sure he will appreciate, LOL!).

Mike and I are getting ready to go through this program at our church in the fall (which I am pretty excited to start...I think)~so we decided that instead of going away for a few days~we would save some $$ and have a stay~cation (maybe a day trip), which is fine with me, since I really do like being at home (I am such a home~body). I may even do some digi scrapping, which I have not done in ages!!!

I pulled out my cuttlebug and went to town with my die's for this card (I just love my Cuttlebug!!). And for the color scheme I used this list from PTI, I used Nichole's suggested colors (except I left out Summer Sunrise and added Dark Chocolate and Kraft).




Enjoy Today!!!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Delightful Dahlia stamp set; Kraft/Lemon Tart/Spring Moss/Melon Berry/White/Dark Chocolate cardstock; Choc Chip (SU!) ink; Beautiful Blooms 2/Delightful Dahlia/Label (Nestabilities) Dies; Fiskars Edge Punch; Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon; Dark Chocolate Button; Twine

praying for you...

Happy Wednesday!
I am just popping in for a quick post~will be glad when this week is over, and hopefully things will slow down a bit. Can you believe I have not even had a chance to check out the June PTI release??? Now that is busy, LOL!!

Did you happen to read on Nichole's blog that they are discontinuing the current ink pads~gasp!!! So if you {heart} PTI as much as I do you will Def want to stock up on refills of your fav's!!! (I am excited for the new ones that will be coming out in October!!).

And here is a cute idea for Father's Day!!! I think we may give them a try for Mike on Sunday ;)




Have a super Wednesday!!!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Beautiful Blooms 2/Scattered Showers stamp sets; Berry Sorbet/Dark Chocolate/White cardstock; Choc Chip (SU!)/Berry Sorbet ink; Berry Sorbet Satin Dotted Ribbon; Dark Chocolate Button; Twine; Beautiful Blooms Die; Cuttlebug Dotted Embossing Folder

one more challenge card...

TGIF!!! are you ready for a LONG weekend??? *woot woot* I am!!!! Not that I am doing anything exciting~just hoping to finish up our yardwork from last weekend, and a few home improvement projects. We will most likley have a small cookout with Ashley, Nate, Josh and Jess on Monday~maybe even swim (Arizonans like the water nice and warm~at least around 78 degrees, LOL!!!).

I decided to do another sketch challenge~because I liked it so much. I have to say that the Clean & Simple sketch challenge is right up my alley. Cannot wait for next weeks to be posted ;)



I have been trying to get used to my new light tent, and yesterday went out to pick up some flood lights (needed some more powerful ones). I was reading Carly's blog on how she takes her pictures and decided to give the cutting board base a try~it really warmed up my photo and reflected the light, but I am having a severe problem with my white balance (even did a custom WB reading), so I am still in the trial and error stage of this new light tent.

Have a terrific holiday weekend~and don't forget to remember those who have/still serve(d) to keep us safe ;)

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Blooming Button Bits stamp set; White/Dark Chocolate cardstock; Choc Chip ink (SU!); Cuttlebug Embossing Folder~Dots; Designer Series Paper (Retired SU!); EK Success Edge Punch; Satin Dark Chocolate Dotted Ribbon; Dark Chocolate Button; twine; Delightful Dahlia Dies

just because...

Hi Friends...
Hope you had a fabulous weekend!!! I have been busy getting things prepared for my vacation, which starts this Wednesday *so excited* Mike and I have not been on vacation in quite some time~so I am really looking forward to spending some time together with no emails, phone calls, church stuff, etc...just some time relaxing by the pool and sight seeing (and people watching~I love to do that).

We had a Family, Friends and Fun day at church yesterday...it was a lot of fun...cookout...bouncy houses...dunking tank...cotton candy...popcorn...fun times!!! I do have to say that being outside all afternoon in the 90 degree temps really wiped me out!!


Here is a quick card I whipped up with some of my new Nestabilities dies. I actually had to find a different spot for my Cuttlebug in my craft room, so I could have better access to it (now that my die collection is growing!!).


Thanks for visiting!!!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Remember/Mini Mixed Messages stamp sets; Ocean Tide/Dark Chocolate/White cardstock; Choc Chip (SU!)/Ocean Tide/Fresh Snow ink; Dark Chocolate Button; Twine; Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities Die

a little lady...

Happy Friday!!!
I am so ready for the weekend!!! I have lots of vacation prep to take care of this weekend *happy face* some shopping/groceries for Josh/list making (love lists!!), plus I hope to get lots of stamping done so I have things to post while I am relaxing with my hubby in Mexico.

I have been fascinated with Bento lunches for a while now...I really love to eat and I especially love when food is presented in a pretty way~I have been getting kind of sick of my usual lunch choices, and wanted to start taking something to work a little more appealing. I wanted to get one of these, but just could not justify spending that kind of $$ on a lunch box if I don't follow through with this bento phase. So I ended up getting this one to give it a try...unfortunately it is no longer available for purchase (from Tupperware), but you can find them on Ebay (that is where I purchased mine). I have to say that the containers were a really nice size for portion control (which I sometimes get carried away with, so I think it will be very helpful for my WW maintenance plan). I have been researching some new and exciting recipes, and hope to start bringing a more exciting lunch to work when I get home from my vacation~I will keep you posted on my progress, LOL!

Okay enough rambling!
I got some new Nestabilities Dies with my birthday $$, so of course I had to break out my Cuttlebug to try them out, I used Label One for today's card. I then pulled out my PTI Little Lady set (which I have not used in ages), and whipped up a quick card. For some reason I am really going for bright colors lately (loving Raspberry Fizz).




Thanks for stopping by~Have a Happy Weekend!!!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Little Lady/Scattered Showers stamp sets; Raspberry Fizz/Choc Chip (SU!) ink; White/Dark Chocolate/Raspberry Fizz Cardstock; Raspberry Fizz Grosgrain Ribbon; White Buttons; Labels One Die (Nestabilities)

punched...

Happy Wednesday!
How is your week going? I hope it is off to a great start. I am starting to get excited about my little vacation coming up next week *woot woot* Mike and I are going on a cruise to Mexico (this is our first time cruising~and I have heard really great things). Of course I will be bringing my camera~and I hope to take LOTS of photos!!

Today's card is pretty clean and simple (right up my alley). I didn't even add a sentiment to the card, because it just seemed to say to me "less is more" So I left it alone. I used my 5 Petal Flower Punch from SU! on a piece of white cardstock, then ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dot embossing folder, then popped it up with some pop dots onto Raspberry Fizz/New Leaf and Lemon Tart cardstock, added some ribbon a button and Viola!!!



Thanks for visiting!!!
Enjoy Today!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): 5 Petal Flower Punch (SU!); Lemon Tart/New Leaf/Raspberry Fizz/White Cardstock; Raspberry Fizz Grosgrain Ribbon; Lemon Tart Button; Green Embroidery Floss; Polka Dot Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)

wedding simplified...

Happy Wednesday...
Are you having a good week?? I hope so. I had planned on some serious stamping time on Monday...and can you believe it~no stamping mojo!!!! argh!!! It is kinda like on your day off when you wake up at 6am.

Mike is doing a wedding ceremony for a couple in our church this Saturday...so I decided to get a jump start on the card (usually I wait until the last minute to put one together, LOL!). I wanted to incorporate her color scheme into the card, I used the less is more theme for this one :)



I am hoping to finish up my Christmas shopping this week...I am taking off Thursday, Friday, and Monday (trying to use my hoarded vacation days), Although everytime I go into a store, I find a gread deal on something for me, LOL!!! I try to remember what my hubby always tells me~"just because it is on sale, does not mean you have to participate"~I don't know about you...but I just love a good sale!!!

Enjoy today!!!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Wedding Day stamp set; Scarlett Jewel/White/Basic Black (SU!) cardstock; Black ink; Nestabilities Oval Dies; Satin Scarlett Jewel Dotted Ribbon; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Textile; Vintage Button; Twine

more HBB...

Happy TGIF!!
It was a short week for me (had Monday off), but so glad that the weekend is here!!!

I have been in charge of Operation Christmas Child at our church for the past 3 years...and today I am excited to report that I am dropping off 83 shoe boxes at our local OCC drop-off location (pic's to come next week). It is such an awesome ministry, and I love being a part of it!!! I guess since my Love Language is gifts, it kinda fits *smile*

I know I've said it already, but I am LOVING my new stamp set (Holiday Button Bits), I have been seeing a lot of these colors used for Christmas and I have to say~it is really a pretty combo.



And for some total randomness...I LOVE Paradise Bakery Chocolate Chip cookies (they are delish!!!). Yesterday we had some brought to our office (by the drug reps~I work for Doctors)...I have started doing Weight Watchers again, not to loose a lot of weight, but to help me get back on track, since I fell off the wagon while planning Ashley's wedding last year. I love WW...such a great program to keep you motivated and accountable. Anyway, back to the cookie...Ashley and I decided to calculate the points value of one of those delish rounds of yumminess and can you believe it.....7 points *gasp* considering my point limit for the day is 20....that is a third of my points. Luckily we decided to split it and eat it slowly, LOL!!! I enjoyed every single bite of the 3.5 pt's. How's that for Random, LOL!!!

Enjoy your weekend!!!


Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Holiday Button Bits stamp set; Hibiscus Burst/Aqua Mist/White/Certainly Celery (SU!) cardstock; Choc Chip (SU!) ink; Hibiscus Burst Satin Dotted Ribbon; Vintage Buttons Holiday mix; twine; Cuttlebug embossing template polka dots; Scallop Punch (SU!)

monogrammed cards...part 2

Happy Friday Friends...



Have you heard of Flick? I finally caved and opened an account and have been uploading my photos.

What I like about Flick is...
It is another type of backup for your photos in case of a computer crash, You can set your account to private or public, There are tons of photos to browse (I have wasted so much time doing that), and you can copy the HTML code and make your blog photos bigger than what Blogger allows you to (I am digging that!). I tried it in today's post, and I think I like it!



Here are my monogrammed cards (part 2). I had a lot of fun making these for my dear friend Sue, who celebrated her birthday last week.
I wanted to keep the same color scheme, so they would be tied together someway.


I am hopefully getting my Papertrey order today~I love when the brown truck makes a stop at my house...just makes me happy!!! I hope to get creative with my new stuff this weekend!!

Enjoy the weekend!!!

Supplies Used: Fresh Alphabet (PTI) Stamp set (Michael's)/B&C Mini (PTI);Ocean Tide (PTI)/Whisper White (SU!)/Basic Black (SU!) cardstock; Black (PTI)/Ocean Tide (PTI ink; Black Satin Dotted Ribbon (PTI); Ocean Tide Grosgrain Ribbon (PTI); Circle/Scallop Punch (SU!); Cuttlebug Embossing Folders (JoAnn's); Martha Stewart Lace Doily Punch (Michael's)

monogrammed cards part 1

Hi all...
Today I have some monogrammed cards to share with you.
My friend Sue celebrated her birthday (29 right Sue?) on Saturday. I wanted to make her some cards to go along with her gift. I had planned on making all one design, but I guess I must have been in a creative mood.
Here are 3 of the 6 I made (will post the other 3 on Friday). I used the same color scheme so they would coordinate, but changed up the layouts.


They were a lot of fun to create! Hope she likes them:)

Have a terrific Day!!

Supplies Used: Martha Stewart Monogram Stamp set (Michael's)/Polka Dot Background (SU!)/B&C Mini (PTI);Ocean Tide (PTI)/Whisper White (SU!)/Basic Black (SU!) cardstock; Black (PTI)/Ocean Tide (PTI)/Fresh Snow (PTI) ink; Black Satin Dotted Ribbon (PTI); White Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!); Square Punch (SU!); Scall oped Nestabilities Die (JoAnn's Online); Cuttlebug Polka dot/Flower Embossing Folders (JoAnn's)

(floral frenzy) black-eyed susan...

Hi ya!

Happy Wednesday:D

I was editing photos last night and found this card that I forgot to post. So decided to post it for ya today. I used my very favorite set by Papertrey, Floral Frenzy. Did you get to check out the new releases on the 15th? Wish I had tons of $$ to spend, but I am going to have to narrow my wish list down from the past few releases, LOL!

I came across this site a few weeks back and wanted to pass it along...It has really made my meal planning so much easier!!! And the meals I have made were pretty yummy! I signed up for the WW points menu for a family, and I have to say, I always have leftovers, since Josh is never home. You get 7 meals, and since I always have leftovers I have only been choosing 4-5. I really like the fact that the planning and list making is already done for me, and it is really cheap, 1.25 per week (and they use the weekly sales to plan the menu)!!! I figure after about 6 months I can just cancel and rotate the menus...they don't repeat:D

Enjoy Today!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Floral Frenzy stamp set; Summer Sunrise/Choc Chip (SU!)/Whisper White (SU!) cardstock; Choc Chip (SU!)/More Mustard (SU!) ink; Brown Satin dotted ribbon; Button (unknown); Twine (SU!); Tag Die (Nestabilities)

happy day...

Happy Day!!! That is a perfect title for a Friday...don't ya think??

Here is the card I made Josh for his birthday...I used my INKADINKADO Humorous birthday stamp set and paper pieced this little gecko guy (not to be confused with Geico, LOL! I crack myself up sometimes).

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?? Not sure what we will be doing, but the weekend is always great, IMO!

Enjoy your day!

Supplies used (SU! unless noted): Humorous Birthday (INKADINKADO)/Tags & Words (Heidi Grace) stamp set; Certainly Celery/Not Quite Navy/Basic Black/Whisper White cardstock; Basic Black ink; Olive Grosgrain ribbon; Petals & Paisleys Designer Paper; Dotted Cuttlebug embossing template

got birthday cake?

Howdy...

Do you ever feel like you can never get caught up with life??? I have been so busy with work, my photography class, and everyday life...I sometimes feel like I am like a hamster in a wheel!!!

Okay enough complaining, LOL!

We celebrated a birthday at work on Monday, and I needed a masculine card (always a struggle for me!). I really like this image from the INKADINKADO (Humorous Birthday set). This little guy looks so cute paper pieced. I also popped the cupcake up with a glue dot. Too cute!!

Enjoy your day!!!!

Supplies used (SU! unless noted): Humorous Birthday (INKADINKADO) stamp set; Whisper White/Certainly Celery/Tempting Turquoise cardstock; Black ink; Summer Picnic Designer Paper; Orange Striped Ribbon; Cuttlebug dotted embossing folder

got cake???

Happy Monday!

Are you ready for another week? Boy the weekend just seemed to fly right by me! It is definitely heating up here in Arizona...Tuesday we may hit the triple digits. Ashley and I went for a walk yesterday, and it was 97 degrees (not too hot for Phoenix standards), but when you live in paradise from October thru April, that first HOT day really makes you remember what the summer is like. I always tell myself when I am sweating...it is better than snow!!!!

I am still plugging away at birthday cards. I really liked this one (probably because I love cake!!!). I paper pieced that little guy (not sure what he is, LOL!) and popped the cupcake with a dimensional.

Enjoy today!

Supplies used (PTI unless noted): Humorous Birthday (Inkadinkadoo); Raspberry Fizz/Aqua Mist/Whisper White (SU!)/Basic Black (SU!) cardstock; Black Palette ink; Petals & Paisley's Designer Paper; Raspberry Fizz Grosgrain Ribbon/Teal Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!); Button (Unknown); Cuttlebug Polka dot embossing template; Scallop Punch

happy cupcake day...

TGIF!!! So glad the weekend is here! Last weekend I was so busy with Easter stuff (since I procrastinated), that I hope to have some serious crafting time this weekend!!!

April is "the" birthday month in my family...6 of them (do you have one of those months?). I made this card from my brother, who's birthday was on the 14th. I really struggle with boy cards!!! I hope he didn't think this was too girly, LOL!!! But I have to add ribbon to every card!!! It just looks naked without it.

Enjoy the weekend!!!

Supplie used (PTI unless noted): Cupcakes (the paper company) stamp set; New Leaf ink; New Leaf/Aqua Mist/Whisper White (SU!) cardstock; New Leaf Double Stitched ribbon; Polka Dot Cuttlebug Embosing Folder

paper pieced birdies...

Happy TGIF!!!!

I am so glad to have today off! It has been one crazy week for me. I don't think I got to bed before midnight all week (and for me that is late! VERY LATE!!). I get up for work at 4:45 am, so by the end of the week I was pretty tired (surprisingly not grouchy though, LOL!).

Here is another creation with my Birthday (JoAnn's) shopping spree stamps *smile* this set is called Tags and Words (Heidi Grace Designs). I thought the birds were so cute!!! The were just asking to be paper pieced!!! I used one of my favorite color combos...Aqua Mist, Black and White (I still love it even though it was all I saw while planning Ashley's wedding 6 month ago (wow time flies), LOL!). I also embossed the base with my new Cuttebug folder (polka dots).

Supplies used (SU! unless noted): Words and Tags (HG) stamp set; Aqua Mist (PTI)/Whisper White/Basic Black Cardstock; Basic Black ink; Papertrey Patterned paper (Aqua Mist); Aqua Mist Grosgrain Ribbon; Cuttlebug (polka dot) Embossing Folder