Friday, December 31, 2010

The Stamp Man 2nd Annual Award Event


For the Ippity 
Clearance 
Sale
CLICK HERE



This may be a re-visit of a project for many
of you.  It was a design team contribution at
The Play Date Cafe back in July.
The reason I am sharing it with you once again
is because one of my favorite UK blogs is hosting
their Second Annual Blog Hop & Awards Event.


It such a fantastic idea!
My friend Jill Tuck has a terrific a store over there
appropriately named 'The Stamp Man' and she is
offering this award to any who participate.

My bestie Sarah is on the DT their and has
featured one of her projects here.
(how she chose a favorite is beyond me!)

All of the details are over at The Stamp Man blog,
but the idea is to choose your favorite project from
the past year and share it on their challenge blog.
When you do so, you can grab the awards badge
and it gives others a chance to see your work.

So here is the rest of mine....


For the details on what I used for this card,

If you'd like to see what my favorite(s)
project was for 2009 when Jill first started
this idea, just click here!
I cheated just a bit and shared my favorite post
rather than a project, but you'll get to know me 
a little more, too!

It's a great way to end 2010....
to share with you something meaningful...

Happy New Year to all of you!
2011 is looking creatively wonderful for me.

I would love for you to share what your creative
goals are as you head in to the new year, so please
leave a comment below...I'd love to hear from you!


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sending my Love Play Date-Style...



Gosh...it seems so CrAzY to be putting away the
holiday-themed stamps for now, but I guess it's time!
The color story over at
is just the ticket to get me going in the right direction.


Nothing like this fabulous color story to get me
in the mood for a little Valentine greeting.
I love this shade of 'taupe' with just about
any color combo and I really did enjoy
working on this card.


I recently received a lovely gift package from
Sarah and if there is one thing I LoVe about
paper crafting things from the UK, it's the beautiful
array of decorative papers...and this is one of them.
It was the perfect shade for this challenge.
I then added the beautiful gemstone hearts to the
top.  To give it added dimension, I left it on the
acetate backing sheet, so it really pops off the page.
They're from KandCompany and get this....
I paid a whopping $1 for the package!


I love silk ribbon and thought it was the
finishing touch.
The sentiment is from 
Ippity's 'How You Doin' set,
which of course, is available for purchase
from me on my Ippity page here.

I hope you will have a few minutes to play
along with us this week at

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Just Because I {Heart} You...



I really love this printed twill ribbon...you know why?
Because it came in a beautiful care-package
all the way from the UK.
Yep...my bestie Sarah purchased it from
one of my favorite stores, John Lewis'
and I have been waiting for just the right time
to play with it.


Coincidentally, Sarah is our host for 
this week's challenge.
I love this vintage print that she chose for
this week's color story, don't you?!


It's been a CrAzY busy week in my house,
as I am sure it has been in yours, so I went
CAS all the way!!!

The ornament was created using my
Sizzix/BasicGrey Die and then embossed
with my brand, new Cuttlebug EF.
I absolutely love the design it makes.
I then heat embossed the top with
silver and edged the ornament sides with
Tim Holtz Distress Ink in 'Frayed Burlap'.
The rest is just layering and adhering.
The beautiful heart center is from Prima.

It's been quite a week over in The Cafe.

Have you checked out the new line-up of
designers over there?  Phenomenal!!!
It's going to be an all-star 2011
and we are excited for you to be a part of it!



Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Here Are Your New Play Date Cafe Designers!

What an exciting week over at
The Play Date Cafe!

The new Designers who are joining
our fabulous team have been revealed.

You must pop over and check out each of
the posts as the designers have shared a bit
about who they are and their passions.

Introducing the newest additions to
The Play Date Cafe Design Team...

Jaclyn Miller

Michele Gross

Tracey Kuzniak

Jinny Newlin

Libby Hickson

Fiona Shultz


and our next 'Private Blend Designer' is....

Colleen Dietrich


We are also excited to share that...

 Andrea Ewen

will be joining us as a first-term designer
after being our most recent 'Private Blend Designer'

and more good news....

Savannah O'Gwynn

and

Ruby 2 Shoes

will be joining Sarah Anderson and
myself as Senior Designers.

I hope you will stop by each designers blog
when you have an opportunity and encourage
them on their new journey.

Then plan to check out our 'Christmas edition'
challenge which will be posted tonight
at Midnight, EST at

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Very Happy Christmas Gift!


What a terRIFfic Christmas gift!

Many of you know Savannah O'Gwynn from her wonderful
and creative blog, Savannahland2.  You may also know her
as one of my fellow designers over at The Play Date Cafe.

I was super excited to get the call that Sav & her husband Travis,
would be traveling through Chicago on their way to O'Hare airport
and I jumped at the chance to go spend some time with them.

Because we have been design-team-mates for nearly a year,
(which we only just realized tonight)
and because we Skype all the time, recognizing the really
tall girl at the door of The Longhorn Steak House
was no problem!


Travis was a great sport as Savvy and I spent a good portion
of the two and a half hours talking blogging, stamping, etc...
Paul was supposed to make the trip with me, but he had to
work a couple of extra hours today at B&N
(no rest for the retailer at Christmas...)

What a great couple!

I highly recommend spending time with fellow bloggers
when you have the opportunity.
Now I am working on the idea of a reunion of the designers 
from The Play Date Cafe...how fun would that be??!!!

So here's a question for you....

Who have you had an opportunity to meet 
since you've been blogging?

I'd love for you to share by leaving a comment.

OH!  Before I forget, I want to thank Susanna over at
Paper Craft Planet for
the Holiday Blog Post they featured today.
You can view it here.... 
I loved making that collection of cards and was
happy to be asked to share them with you once again.


Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Bird on a Wire Cage in The Play Date Cafe


I spy with my little eye black and white with a
splash of color!

You know what that means....
It's 'Color Splash' time in The Cafe!


Now I know we are all knee-deep in
Christmas creations, but why not spice it up
a bit with a non-traditional color??!!!


Yes I know...my card is hardly Christmas-themed
but it sure could be.  I could have added white poinsettias
and a sweet holiday sentiment.
But I chose to use these sweet little blossoms by
Making Memories that my friend Mona Pendleton
sent to me in a lovely gift package awhile back.
They were just calling my name!
The MM set came with tiny silver brads, but I 
switched them for tiny yellow ones.


How about that little yellow bird in a cage?!!
We have Jolee's Boutique to thank for that
lovely acetate embellishment.
The beautiful flourish circle frame is from 
Mark's Finest Papers, a recent sponsor
over in The Cafe.

So how about it?
I would love to see your creativity using
black, white and a splash of yellow!
Go check out the rest of the fabby creations
by our fabby design team
and then get your thinking cap on and play!


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Inspired by Others


Over on Facebook, I have been fussing about the fact 
that I have had a hard time transitioning out of
Christmas creations to what's next, whether that be
just general winter-themed card or even, dare I
say it....Valentine's?

I found terrific inspiration by way of two
different challenges.



and the
in which I CASED one of my favorite designers...




I absolutely love the colors from both photos. The softness
of the cakes and cookies were reflected in the sweet
wreath from Heidi Grace.
The sentiment is from Paper Inspirations
and my favorite baker's twine from The Twinery 
wraps it up so sweetly.
The beautiful pink rhinestones in Sav's card came alive
in mine with the pink rhinestone hearts and of
course the 'themes' mesh as well.

Before I forget, Jenny over at Wee Memories
(host of Scrappy Saturday Challenge)
is having a giveaway of this fabulous storage 
cubby from Studio 3 Solutions.


If I were you, I'd go check it out!
What a great little Christmas pressie this would be!
Fingers crossed : )

Thanks again for stopping by!
I LoVe hearing from you!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Wishing you Peace...


Today is a suPREMEly busy day, but I really wanted
to share this little creation with you.


You know me...I LoVe glitter!
I have been pretty conservative with it this holiday season,
so I thought I would create something that although it
is *sparkly* it's still subtle.

Thought I would enter this for the
 
Here's what I used...
The ornament was created using my
Sizzix/BasicGrey die cut.  I topped it with a
beautiful acetate greeting from Little Yellow Bicycle.
Underneath, you find another acetate lovely in the
form of snowflakes, also from LYB.
The glitter comes in with the silver swirls which were
created with fun chunky glitter.
The ornament is adorned with silver micro-beads
& a huge rhinestone from Martha Stewart
vintage ribbon and soft pearl embellishments. 
All of the shading was done using Tim Holtz's
Distress Ink in 'Frayed Burlap'.

All right....I hope you enjoyed that little
glimpse into my projects for now.
Why so busy?  Well, the final designers
have been chosen for the newest team
at The Play Date Cafe, so there are 
eight acceptance emails and
110 'we're so sorry' messages to send.
I know that typically, just acceptance emails
are sent but it is my feeling that if you took the time 
to honor us with a submission, then the least
we can do is personally thank you.
 
I also have tomorrow night's project for
the PDCC to finish up!  I'm hosting this week's
challenge, so I can't be late!  haha
Hope you have a great night...thanks for stopping by!

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Little Birdie Told Me it's H{ippity} Hop Monday!


Happy Monday.....
Happy H{ippity} Hop Monday, that is!


This is the day the Ippity Chicks & fans share
their inspirational creations with you.
Stop over at The Ippity blog and check out
all the fabby girls you can visit on the hop!


I thought I would do a little
paper-piecing for this card using
a fun set from Ippity


Of course you know this set is available to 
purchase from my Ippity page here
along with the entire Ippity line.


I featured the fabulous baker's twine from The Twinery.
I am LoViNg being a part of their Design Team and am
always looking for new ways to use this twine.

You may recognize the Martha punch.
I love unique border punches and this certainly
works with the theme.


The 'tummies' of the little birds are courtesy of
BasicGrey's 'Jovial' DP.

I thought this would be a good entry for
Moxie Fab's Card Creation's Favorite Occasions
Week 'All Occasion' Cards Challenge HERE

If you need your very own
'Ippity Chick'
then I'm your girl!
Make sure you visit my Ippity page to
see the newest and classic collections.
All sets are discounted and you receive a
free Ippity image with any $65 order.

So glad you could stop by today!
I hope my little corner of creativity gives you
an idea or two for your next project.
I would LoVe to know what you are working
on right now....please share.


Thursday, December 9, 2010

Joyeux Noel


OK...so not only am I on the
'Christmas card designing' track, but
apparently I am loving all the bling that
can be used to really take it to another level!


When I saw the finale challenge for EBTKS,
I knew I had to put my newest acquisition to use.


TEXTURES!!!

I love the new 'Snowflake Impressabilities' from
Spellbinders.  I used it with Coordinations cardstock, so when
I sanded it, I got this great teal-y green affect.

Kind of reminds me of a velvet embossed sofa!

 I then took my terrific Prima Poinsettias and sprayed
them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in
Bazzill Navajo, which I believe was a limited edition color.
The beautiful top card is from Fancy Pants Design.
I embellished with teardrop rhinestones and a
gigantic pearl center.  The black diamond
rhinestone flourish is from Prima as well.
The simple sentiment is from The Paper Company.

I am also offering this card over at 


Simon Says Stamp & Show ~ Holiday Greeting
There She Goes Challenge ~ Bring on the Bling

Well...I am off to make a few more things.
I am feeling a bit 'crafty' tonight.


Wishing you Joy...The Play Date Cafe Challenge



I love this time of year with all the bold & bright
colors that are all around.
This week, we are challenging you to play
with this fabulous color combo from


Sarah is our challenge host this week and she is
the voice in my head that is always saying
'come on...just smoosh all the colors together!'
Well....that isn't quite what I did, but I did make these
beautiful colors work and of course, I am
still
on my Christmas card-kick!


Whenever I struggle with colors that are not easy for me
to put together, I automatically call on my stash of
embellishments and they did not fail me!

I used my Sizzix/BasicGrey Ornament Die to create
that fabby focal point and layered a wonderful purple
rhinestone flourish and a beaded flower brad from
KandCompany.
The sentiment was just the right shade of
blue rhinestones and is from Studio18 
and I know you know
my favorite baker's twine from
The Twinery in lilac.

We would love to have you join us this week!
We have such fun meeting and greeting all of
our players and the design team's inspiration...
well...forget about it!  
It's off the chain!

See you in The Cafe!