{Vintage} Heartfelt Thanks

This card was created with a very special friend in mind.  She *loves* floral images and the vintage style so I think she'll really like this card.  ; )  You'll notice I didn't stamp any sentiment on it yet, but I can picture a little tag hanging from the bow and there is plenty of room on the inside for a personal message too.

The flowers are from a two-step Stampin' Up! set ~ Heartfelt Thanks.  It has been my "go-to" set for floral images recently.  Love it!   The beautiful vintage designer papers are from K & Company.  I've used scalloped Spellbinder dies for both the oval and the rectangle and sponged inside the die frame before removing the cardstock.    Antique brass brads, circular clip and satin ribbon to finish it off!

Heartfelt thanks to all of you for all the kind comments you've been leaving me lately!  It is such a blessing to know you enjoy seeing my creations as much as I enjoy making them!  : )

Thanks for stopping by and do come back again soon! 
Smiles!  : )



"How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it." ~George Elliston

Love You ~ Forever and Always!

This is the first time in forever that I've created a card without any sort of color challenge or sketch challenge for inspiration.   One of my friends at work ~ a young sales engineer asked me if I would create a card for him to give his wife for their 5th anniversary this weekend.  This is the third time I've created a card for him to give her, the last one was on Valentine's Day and the other was her birthday last year.  He's quite a character so the other cards were more on the humorous/cute side.   This time he asked me to go with a more romantic theme so hopefully this is what he's looking for. ;)

The card is 5-1/4" square of basic black cardstock.  I've layered on Stampin' Up! Night and Day Specialty Designer Paper with a strip of black cardstock punched with the new Scallop Trim Border Punch.  This punch is one of the items you can get FREE with any purchase of $50 during Stampin' Up's Sale-a-Bration promotion through March 31st.  

The hearts are from the I {Heart} Hearts set from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I've stamped them in black and clear embossed to give a nice glossy shine.  The love you sentiment is from Short and Sweet and the inside sentiment is from the Mixed Greetings set.  The white flower button is also from Stampin' Up! - Button Latte.  On the bottom right corner of the inside, I used the small heart punch on the white cardstock so the black base would show through.  If you click on the photos to enlarge, you'll see I did a little zig zag stitching too.  

Well, that's all for tonight my friends!  We dvr'd American Idol last night and I'm anxious to watch it.  The gals at work were talking about it today so I do have some idea what happened and who they think should be voted off tonight.  ; )  

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your sweet comments on my cards this week.  It motivates me and makes me *smile*.   

Two more days to the WEEKEND!   : )  Smiles 2 U!

"Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." ~Michael Leunig

{CTD85} Happiness & Harmony

This is the first week since Tammy Hershberger asked me to be the Color Throwdown Guest Designer for March that I can actually say "I Can Handle This!"  I *love* this color combination! 

Once again, you would probably laugh if you knew the process that went into creating this card.  I started out thinking I was going to combine the Color Throwdown Challenge with the MoJo Monday Sketch Challenge.  That's why my card is a long and narrow 3-1/4 x 6-1/2".   I had a sheet of cardstock for each of these colors ~ baja breeze, garden green and certainly celery ~ and then went to my designer paper stash to see if I had anything that would coordinate.  I selected this old favorite of mine from Basic Grey.  The Gandhi quote stamp is from a retired Stampin' Up! set ~ Happy Harmony.  I used a rectangle die cut and sponged inside the die before removing it.  All the outside edges have been sponged too with Versafine Vintage Sepia.

Back to the sketch...I didn't want to hide this pretty floral paper so made it the entire background instead of a smaller rectangle like the Mojo sketch.  I simply added sentiment, ribbon and fancy clip and called it good!   What do you think?  Have you ever thought to use Garden Green with Certainly Celery?   I'm amazed how well they go together!  And oh so SPRINGY!

It has been a real pleasure to create alongside these

*super talented*  ladies on the Color Throwdown Team!

Kristin Bueter - Mindless Creativity

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Danielle Kennedy ~ Wild Dragonfly Designs

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

The "rules" to play are simple...you don't have to match the colors exactly, just use the closest colors you have. Use keyword CTD85 in any online galleries, add the direct link to your project using InLinkz on the Color Throwdown blog.

I hope you're having a wonderful week so far!  Thank you for stopping by and do come back again soon!
Have a Happy Day & Smile! 

"I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love and abundance. Then, whenever doubt, anxiety or fear try to call me, they keep getting a busy signal - and soon they'll forget my number."  ~Edith Armstrong

{MTSC66} Live with Passion

Today's card was created especially for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!   Mercy's sketches always inspire me to think outside the box and try something new and different.

Can you tell I was in a SPRINGY mood yesterday when I created this?  I've used this stamp set ~ Inspired by Nature ~ several times but never thought to color it in this way before.   This is a 5-1/4" square card and the base is pretty in pink cardstock.  On top of that, I've stitched together certainly celery cardstock and designer paper.   The flower stamp was inked up with my Stampin' Write Markers and stamped on the Big Shot Top Note die cut of natural ivory cardstock.   The pink satin ribbon and sherbet designer button finish it off.

The photo below of the inside of my card isn't the best, but I wanted you to see how I layered the Top Note die cut.

And without further delay, Here is Mercy's sketch!

{all I did differently was turn my image the other direction

 so I could fit the sentiment on the left}

You are all encouraged to play along with us!
If you need a bit of inspiration to get started,
please surf on over and see what Mercy's Muses have created:

Cindy Haffner ~ Cindy Haffner's Corner

Jackie Pedro ~ The Scalloped Edge

Pam Varnell ~ The Stamping Addict

Julie Lacey ~ Stamps and Taxes!

Crystal Birr ~ The Messy Stamper

Jessica Diedrich ~ The Whimsical Butterfly
Shannan Teubner ~ Shannan Teubner Designs (YaY, she's back!)

Mercy Kerin ~ Lord Have Mercy {our Queen Muse}
and our Guest Muse for March . . .
Dawn Easton
Treasure Oiler Designz

Simply create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Be sure to use the keyword MTSC66 when uploading to a public gallery.

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!



"Follow your passion, and success will follow you." ~Terri Guillemets

{SSSC61} Sweet Sunday Chocolate Easter Bunny!

Do you like CHOCOLATE?  Silly question!  Well, if you like chocolate, you should like this card that is loaded with chocolate!  It's got chocolate chip, close to cocoa and even a chocolate Easter Bunny!  : )

All the products on this card are from STAMPIN' UP!  This cute little chocolate bunny is a single stamp from the Occasions Mini Catalog and sells for only $7.95 (116980).  I've stamped it with chocolate chip onto close to cocoa cardstock and clear embossed to give it that nice fresh chocolate sheen!  Yummy!

The designer paper is from a retired designer paper ~ Berry Bliss and I've layered it on Pretty in Pink cardstock.  The bottom edge is punched with the scalloped edge punch and that is a chocolate chip corduroy brad to add to all the chocolate goodness!    My sweet friend in Texas surprised me with a box of polka dot ribbon this week and this one was PERFECT with it's combination of pink and brown! 

Above is a photo of the inside of the card.  I decided to go with this sentiment from the Stampin' Up All Holidays set, but I really wish I had something a little more FUN and not so fancy.  Any ideas?  I could print it off on the computer if I don't have the stamp.  Something that relates to chocolate?  I *know* you gals are much more creative in that department than I am.  Let me have your ideas and I'll post the results, ok?? 

Good grief, I got so carried away thinking about chocolate, that I almost forgot to tell you this card was created especially for Karen Giron's SWEET SUNDAY SKETCH CHALLENGE # 61!   I always look forward to this challenge and love seeing what her talented group of Sweet Sunday Stampers create!  Be sure to check it out!   You'll be inspired!

Are you having a good weekend so far?  I hope you're finding time to do something that makes you *smile*!   Thanks so much for stopping by and triple chocolate thanks if you take the time to leave a comment.  As always, I *love* hearing from you! 

Have a Happy Day!

"Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate." ~Author Unknown