Thoughts of Purple

I've recently come across The Simple Wife's blog though a friend and have been lost in thoughts and prayer for Joanne and her family ever since reading about her stroke on January 11th. She has two young daughters and a wonderful adoring husband who has been keeping up with her blog and posting updates about Joanne's progress. Their strength and trust in God's will at this time is unwavering, uplifting and beautiful. 

Today's card I wanted to dedicate to Joanne. May you have Peace as you wake, Hope in the days ahead and Love surround you always. God Bless!

I started off using the above sketch from Get Sketchy and added the simple color pallet from The Play Date Cafe of black/white with a splash of PURPLE.

 I chose Elegant Eggplant as my purple, rolling out a scalloped circle with my SU! Sizzix scallop circle #2, using my Big Shot. After randomly scattering a background of circles from one of the small stamps from Circle Circus in black and one in Elegant Eggplant, I layered two strips of 3/4"X5-1/2" black cardstock, fancied up with a bit of 5/8" White Organza Ribbon, to my canvas. I embossed my bird with Craft Ink and Black Embossing Powder and then punched my little guy out with the 2-1/2" Circle Punch (note: I'm giving one away during Sale-A-Bration!!) I found this lovely little sentiment in my stash of RETIRED SU! rub-ons and it fit perfectly on the 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch. I added a bit of purple bling for added texture and of course the bird was in need of an eye as well.

Happy Sunday!

Hot Stuff

I never did used to be a fan of pink but grew to love the color after high school. There are just so many possibilities with pink; cupcake frosting, shoes, hair bows, scarves, a tiny sweater for your Yorkie, cute cute Kaaute! I gathered inspiration for this card from two sources, first this sketch from Card Patterns

and second, the 3 Musketeers Color Challenge from Our Creative Corner

otherwise known as an analogous color scheme, where you are to choose any 3 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. I whipped out my handy dandy (for all of you Blue's Clues fans) SU! Color Coach and choose a VERY pink theme with Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose & Melon Mambo. I found some RETIRED Regal Rose DSP in my ever growing paper stash. Added a bit of detail to my sassy little lady with her pearl earring, sparkily fluffy scarf & Crystal Effects eyewear. The SU! Sizzix Circles, Scallop #2 had the PERFECT sized scallop to help my little lady stand out even more. I used a bit of 3/8" Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon and tied it onto the Melon Mambo Trim Pompom. This is the first time I've worked with the pompom trim and I wasn't really sure how I was going to adhere it to my card but after folding a piece of Sticky Strip in half, lengthwise, it was the PERFECT size to stick it to! (Hooray for late night creative thinking!)

(sorry for the early morning sunlight tint to the photos, I wanted to get as much sparkle as possible and figured the hue would just "go" with the whole pink theme!)

Punches Used: 1" & 2-1/2" Circle

B is for BOY

Using this weeks Color Throwdown colors of Early Espresso, Kiwi Kiss, Marina Mist & Old Olive and this fab sketch from The Paper Players, I pulled together this cutie patootie card. 

PP31

 One of my all time favorite baby themed sets from SU! is of course

RETIRED but I just love the detail of this little foot from the I'm Here Stamp set. I stamped my little piggies in Early Espresso as well as the sentiment. After a bit of edging with the Cutter Kit tool on two of my circles, a few Stampin' Dimensionals and a scrap of 1/8" Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon tied through my button and viola'!

Punches used: 2-1/2", 1-3/4" & 1-3/8" Circle

Give-A-Way

The FIRST person to place a $200 SU! order during Sale-A-Bration (through me), I will promptly ship or hand deliver a BRAND NEW UNOPENED 2-1/2 XL Circle Punch from SU! 

Sale-A-Bration is HERE!!

It's one of my FAVORITE times of the year with Stampin' Up!® There are not 1, not 2 BUT 3 easy ways to earn FREE products starting TODAY!! 

(click HERE to view catalog)

1. Spend $50* and earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product of your choice

(did I mention it was FREE??)

2. Host a workshop of at least $300* and earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product in addition to the generous hostess benefits.

(note the FREE part??)

3. Join Stampin' Up!® by becoming a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration

 and get 15% off your starter kit. Plus, get a bonus bundle filled with over $50 in FREE products.

(ummm...need I say more??)

*net sales before s/h & tax

Sale-A-Bration isn't here for long, it starts today, January 25th-March 31st, 2011

contact me today to learn more about this AWESOME once a year event!

Sweet Valentine

SSSC101

This weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch inspired me to make a manly Valentine for my DH. I've been chomping at the bit to ink up my new "Be My Valentine" solo stamp and Basic Black was the color of choice. Didn't really think my man would be too fond of pink on his card, so I kept it simple with black and red with a touch of glitter...okay, maybe a tad more than a touch with the Red Glimmer Paper from the Occasions Mini but I don't think he'll mind too much!

Hard to believe there's any green with all the snow everyone has been having everywhere...but in Texas, surprisingly enough, the plants in the front of our house are still green! Hooray for slightly warmer temps.

I drew the sketch on a piece of paper and didn't realize I had goofed where I had drawn my ribbon till my card was already put together, oops! I used a piece of Glossy White card stock to stamp my image onto in Basic Black Craft Ink, which I then heat embossed with Black Embossing Powder. I felt like the white was just too sharp so I used my Brayer and layered on Riding Hood Red till I got the desired color and then touched up a few spots with a sponge. To get your glossy paper glossy again, it's best to wipe or buff it with a clean, dry Swiffer wipe or a kleenex. I love using odd ribbon and pulled this big red beauty out of my Christmas wrapping basket. So a manly card with girly flair, LOVE it!

NEW MINI!

It's here, it's HERE!! The new Occasions Mini Catalog..filled to the brim with loads of fun new colorful goodies!! Red Glimmer Paper, Lovey stamp sets-in time for your Valentine, new Seam Binding colors, Buttons, Rosettes, Punches galore and terrifically yummy DSP packs, not to mention new STAMPS! You'll be able to order from this mini January 4th-April 30th, 2011.  

Check out the virtual Occasions Mini HERE or shoot me a comment or email and I'll mail you one.

Hope you all had a terrific holiday season and Happy New Year!!

Feel Good FELT

I've recently fallen in LOVE with stiff felt, didn't even know there was such a thing till my friend Kelli introduced me to it. We made these little felt mittens at our November MOPS meeting (Kelli and I are the craft committee) and the ladies loved them. I did too and promised my daughter we'd make some of our own for our holiday gifts. Well, today was the day, the kids and I had fun making our mittens fancy (or just black, those were my sons) and set them aside to dry before attaching the little clothespins. You can attach these little mittens to gifts, goodies, as an ornament on the Christmas tree or even a magnet for the fridge, soooo many options, aren't they FUN?!

When I was browsing this weeks card challenges on line, I stumbled across this cozy pile of fleece at the Shabby Tea Room and knew right away what I wanted to do for my card. The theme is "warm and snuggly" and we are to use either fleece or felt and since I just purchased a plethora of felt, well...felt it is!

(week #40)

I wanted my little mitten to stand out so didn't use any red or green on my card and kept it very simple this week. Simple is good, simple is easy, simple is FABULOUS!! (if I do say so myself) I first drew a mitten on a piece of card board and then cut it out to use as my template. Tracing onto the felt, I cut just inside my marker line and viola', a cute little mitten! 

My background is Chocolate Chip, layered with Kraft, which I fancied up a bit with my new SU! textured impressions framed tulips embossing folder. I punched a bit of the Kraft out with the Word Window punch and then White Heat Embossed my Merry Christmas sentiment (from Teeny Tiny Wishes) inside. After beautifying my mitten, I popped it off the card with large Glue Dots. You could also attach a magnet to the back, so your recipient would have a nice little bit of holiday cheer to display after they open your hand made card.

Filled with LOVE promo

This Valentine's Day, give your loved ones a beautiful handmade gift using products from Stampin' Up!® December 17-January 24, get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons when you purchase a Filled with Love Bundle, including the Filled with Love Stamp Set and exclusive Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack-only available through this special promotion!

ITEM	DESCRIPTION	PRICE
124380	Filled with Love Bundle Includes Filled with Love Wood-Mount Set* and exclusive Love Patterns Designer Series Paper	$32.90
124381	Filled with Love Bundle Includes Filled with Love Clear-Mount Set and exclusive Love Patterns Designer Series Paper	$26.90
124156	Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack 12 sheets total: three 12” x 12” sheets of two double-sided designs in Real Red and Pretty in Pink	$9.95

 *The Filled with Love Stamp Set is available in the Holiday Mini Catalog through January 3, 2011, after which it will only be available through this promotion.

*You MUST use the promotional bundle item number to receive the free buttons.

*Order deadline: Monday January 24th 11:50PM (MT)  

To view the color flyer CLICK HERE or email me if you have questions!

Color Combo

 It felt soooo good to sit down and create something special for a very special lady in my life, my MIL, whose  Birthday lands just shy of Christmas day. Since her birthday and Christmas have more than likely been mixed together for years (as my brothers has), I wanted to make something that wasn't Christmasy at all and have always been fond of purple and green together. The best part is my MIL loves purple too! 

This weeks Paper Players challenge is to use your favorite color combo, with so many to choose from, it's a hard task BUT this is by far my favorite! I've declared purple to be my favorite color since I was 8, not to mention is was our accent color in our black/white wedding AND lilacs (my favorite flowers) even made it into the bouquet! Mmmm, the smell makes me long for Spring again...

I pulled out some Always Artichoke & Concord Crush and got to work...after coloring my sassy little lady, I just couldn't resist glamming up her shoes a bit with some fine glitter and purple bling for even more sas. I would love to slip my feet into a pair of these fur lined flats, just screaming for a good heal tap to take me home for the holidays! The cake looks so yummy with sparkly chocolate fluff, I almost licked it but then thought it was probably best not to have fuzz shavings on my tongue. A piece of Concord Crush DSP for a pretty wallpapered background and I used both the white oval & Concord Crush frame from my new SU! Sizzix Scallop Oval Frame die.

 A perfect sentiment from the Hostess Birthday Bakery set and a bit of Always Artichoke ink dabbed onto the Modern Label XL Punch(ed) out and popped up to separate the whites from blending together.

 almost good enough to eat

there's no place like home, there's no place like HOME!!

Birthday Bling

Made this bright little birthday card for a pretty little one year old (back in October) and am playing catch up AGAIN, the story of my life, Happy Birthday H!

Mellow Yellow

My friend Pia recently married her fiance' Chris at a lovely ceremony in Austin, TX. I was lucky enough to stand up near the bride and witness their amazing love firsthand as one of the bridesmaids. I don't think a dry eye was found as Pia walked smiling toward her groom. A few weekends before the wedding, we whipped up these table place cards & table names. Thought they turned out pretty cute!!

  

The Wedding Party

10-24-10