Another Vintage Card ~ Just Because!

Last night I was busy creating some "vintage" cards for my extra special ETSY customer!  This one and 5 others are already on their merry way to Texas!   : )

This lovely designer paper is from a K & Company 8.5 x 8.5 pad {Brenda Walton~Madeline}  Each double sided design is prettier than the the next and perfect for the vintage look!  Love it and have already made several cards from this one pad.

The sentiment Just Because is from a retired Stampin' Up! set ~ Simple Sayings II.    The card is a 5-1/4" square of retired SU In-color Purely Pomegranate and that is also what I've used for the scalloped edge strip between the two designer papers.  Do you like this scallop edge?  You can get this punch FREE with any order of $50 or more between now and the end of March!   You can order direct through my blog or email me and I would be HAPPY  to help you!

The felt flower is from Stampin' Up's Flower Fusion and I've stitched on a pink  flower designer button from the Sherbet set.  The two-toned polka dot green ribbon was sent to me all the way from Texas!  (Thank you Vicki J!) 

Now, I best get a few things accomplished today so I can do more stamping and cardmaking later!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Wishing you a very HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!! 


No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb

{MoJo Monday #130} Yippeeee! It's FRIDAY!

I just love the quote I've used on today's card.  In fact, I've even got a plaque on the wall in our bedroom with this quote.  This stamp is from an awesome Verve Stamps set designed by Julee Tilman.  I won it a couple years ago participating in her blog sketch challenge.    I haven't used it for awhile, nor have I played along with her MoJo Monday Sketch Challenge for awhile either.  This was one of the first challenges I fell in love with and now there are *so* many I don't find time for them all!

 

Isn't this a unique layout?  It intrigued me for some reason and I've been wanting to give it a try all week.  My first decision was what to do with the square and whether to use a floral image or text of some sort.  This stamp set came to mind because it has several great quotes.  Beautiful You is the name, if you're wondering.   The base cardstock is Stampin' Up! ruby red and the designer paper is from a little 6 x 6 scrapbook pad from K&Company.

 My scalloped circle is a Stampin' Up! cameo coral cardstock and I've stamped it with the Very Vintage jumbo roller and ruby red ink.  All the edges have been sponged with Versafine vintage sepia and I added some zig zag stitching too!  I'm not happy with the way I did the ribbon, but now that's it's sewn down, there is no turning back.  : /  Actually, I think the photo makes the ribbon look a different color and it looks better in real life.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it!  :)

The inside was finished off with a piece of the natural cardstock and a strip of the cameo coral that had been "vintage-ized".   

Yesterday was a lovely day here in Nebraska and had me believing that SPRING was going to arrive this weekend right on schedule!  Today we woke up to *snow* flurries with wind and cold temps!   Ugh!  Enough is enough and we've have enough of winter this year, that's for sure!  Do I hear an AMEN from my Nebraska readers?? !  Oh, I know it hasn't only been here in our state...this has been an unusally brutal winter all over the country!    On a happy note...I saw my first robin in the backyard yesterday.  That's a sure sign of good things to come!   :)

Earlier this week I worked extra hours so I was able to leave at noon today.  It's nice to get a head start on the weekend chores and I've been doing some laundry while making this card.   For the third time, the wash machine has stopped and not finished the cycle unless I open the lid and close it again.  Now I'm getting a little nervous that it's going to completely quit on me.  This washer is so old - probably more than 20 years - so it's served the cause well and probably time.   I sure don't like the thought of having to buy a new one though.  Any suggestions?  If you have one you *love* and want to recommend (that doesn't cost a small fortune), please let me know! 

I'm happy you stopped by and wish you a warm and wonderful weekend to do as you please!  EnJOY!

Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~Elwyn Brooks White

ReLay for Life Cropping & Cardmaking for a Cure {Photos!}

Finally, I am getting a chance to share a few photos with you of the wonderful ReLay for Life *Cropping for a Cure* 2 Day Scrapbook Retreat last weekend!  What an EVENT!   The above photo was taken during my class on creating a "Winter Wonderland" scrapbook page.  Pictured is one of the event organizers ~ Jen Carlisle (right) and one of the smiling participants ~ Barb Gubbels (left).  They were so creative and we had a fantastic time! 

Originally, I was asked to do a 6 x 6 layout and below is a photo of my example.  As it was, most of the ladies prefer 12 x 12 pages so we went with that and modified my original idea.   I think I learned more than they did!  :)

Below is a photo of the other event organizer ~ Kim Hoffman.   Here she is holding a 2-page layout of her youngest daughter Brooklyn ~ nicknamed Baby Bird.  Kim used the Stampin' Up! 2-Step Bird punch in a coordinating designer paper to embellish her page.  You wouldn't believe how many fabulous scrapbook pages she created over the weekend and I really wish I could show you all of them!   If Kimmy looks a wee bit tired, she probably is, as this photo was taken late on the second day and I think she only had about 4 hours sleep the night before!

My other class was called "Cardmaking with your Scrapbooking Scraps" and each participant created two cards like the ones below.  I showed them a variety of ways to use their scraps of designer paper and cardstock to create some quick and simple greeting cards.

This was such a great fundraiser for a worthwhile cause and everyone attending had a fabulous time!  I was a little nervous about doing this, but I met so many sweet ladies and was inspired by their creativity!  Now I'm hoping they'll ask me back again next time! 

That's all for tonight folks!  I need to catch up on visiting a few of my favorite bloggers!  Take care and do come back again soon, ok?!

Smiles 2 U ~

Quote for Today ~

I could keep on scrappin'
or I could go to bed,
but then what would I do
with all these layouts in my head?
~Author Unknown

{CTD#84 & SSSC60} It Takes Two to Tango!

Today's card was created for another COLOR THROWDOWN Challenge that took me *way* out of my comfort zone!   I really love the taken with teal and soft sky with black, but adding the tangerine tango into the mix really threw me a curve ball! 

In the information Tammy Hershberger gave me when inviting me to be the Color Throwdown Guest Designer for March, she mentioned that this color combination was inspired by Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk".   Since I had no idea what that looked like, I googled it and have to say once I saw it, I really liked the combination.  It would have been perfect to have a vintage stamp like they used in their designs. 

The base of my card is taken with teal and I've layered on black and soft sky with a coordinating designer paper remnant from my stash.  The big bold tangerine gerbera daisy is from Bazill Basics.  I've used the polka dot background stamp from Stampin' Up! on the soft sky piece. 

Do you recognize my layout? 

It's the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge,

hosted by Karen Giron at The Sweetest Thing

If you're up for a challenge, these are two of my favorites! 

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 CTD84 in any online galleries, add the direct link to your project using InLinkz on the Color Throwdown blog, and be sure to credit the Color Throwdown Challenge as your color inspiration.

 Are you having a good week so far?  Have you adjusted to daylights savings time yet?  Thanks for stopping by and do come back again soon, ok?! 

Smiles 2 U!



Quote for Today ~
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne

{MTSC65} Two Scoops of Spumoni Please!

You're probably thinking by the title of my post that you're going to see a card with an ice cream cone today! :)  Actually, "Two Scoops" is the name of this designer paper by Basic Grey.  I didn't realize it until just now or I would have looked for an ice cream and cake stamp to use instead of this floral image from Stampin' Up!'s Close as a Memory set.  : )   My sweet DIL Jami & son Andrew gave me a big goodie bag of cardmaking supplies for my birthday and this beautiful paper was included.  Isn't it pretty?  I just love it...and all the other things as well!!

This fabulous sketch is by Mercy Kerin of Lord Have Mercy fame and today is THE DAY to play along with Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!!

The base of my card is Stampin' Up's pretty in pink cardstock and I've actually zig zag stitched the designer paper before adherring to the base.  The "thank you" sentiment is from the All Holidays set and I've punched it out with the Word Window punch from Stampin' Up! and used silver brads on the ends before attaching with dimensionals.  No distressing on this card, can you believe it?!  ;)

If you're wondering where I've been this past week, I'll tell you it was a busy one...some GOOD, some not so good!!  First of all, the GOOD...I volunteered to participate and "teach" a couple classes at a ReLay for Life Cropping for a Cure scrapbook event this past weekend and needed to prepare for that.  What FUN!!  I had never done anything like this before and it was incredible to see what these gals could create in a weekend of scrapbooking!   {photos and more about that in another post!}  Secondly, because of all the snow this year, our deck collapsed, damaging the sump pump line; we got water in the basement and had to take out the carpet.  Ugh!  What a mess!   Anyway, I hope to be back to stamping and cardmaking and posting more regularly this week.  : ) 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 
Remember, you're all invited to join us for
Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!

If you need a bit of inspiration to get started,
please blog 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

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 MTSC65 when uploading to a public gallery.

Happy Stampin & Smiles 2 U!



Quote for Today ~

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart. ~Erma Bombeck