It's a Jungle Out There !

I am so happy to be back with the EAD Design Team after taking

a few weeks off during my recent dental surgery.

I've missed Mondays with the girls!

If you've reached my blog by way of our May Guest Designer

Anita from Happy Paper Craft Happenings

then you are in the right spot to continue the hop.

If not, then pop back just a few blogs to the

EAD Designs Blog

and get started there.

There's always a terrific prize when you visit & comment

each blog on the hop and there is SO much inspiration.

How fun is this set of Stickerz from EAD Designs ? ! !

It's called 'Elephant Friends' and I just love it !

The background paper is from Echo Park and I thought the patterns

worked well with the colors of the Stickerz.

Because they are transparent, I placed them on white cardstock first,

then cut out the images before adhering to the card.

The border and 'corner sunshine' punches are by Martha Stewart.

I placed an actual rhinestone heart on top of the heart in the sentiment.

Here is the set as it comes . . .

You can order from the EAD store HERE

and remember  . . .

 I hope you enjoyed your visit !

Don't forget to leave a quick note before you leave.

Your next stop on the hop is my creative friend

 Lauren from Lauren's Creative

Have a great day !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: This & That Boy by Echo Park

Embellishments: Elephant Friends Stickerz by EAD Designs

heart gem from K&Company

Tools: Sunburst border & deep edge punch by Martha Stewart

Happy Earth Day !

I am pretty sure this is a first for me in the 16+ years I've been

a paper crafter....I'm celebrating with a card for...

As soon as I got the newest stamps from Paper Smooches, I just

new I was headed for an Earth Day card, no question!

This design is ala my dear friend, Savannah O'Gwynn.

Doesn't this look like something Savvy would put together ?

I am a huge fan of everything she does but she IS the master of whimsy !

I've been collecting sheets of alphabets for about six months now and decided

it was time to start using them and I managed to do that with this card!

'Happy' is from Authentique

'Earth' is from Prima

'Day' is from Echo Park

The base paper is from MME's Fine & Dandy 'Girl' 6x6 pad.

I thought it worked perfectly with these stamps.

I used a little Stickles around the cloud for some additional texture.

How about those tall trees from Paper Smooches ?!

All the paper-piecing was done with a variety of papers 

{ see recipe below }

I also pulled out the 'Forest Whimsy' set from PS as well because no 

little forest is complete with a a tree stump and a squirrel to join the party!

So happy you stopped by today!

Thank you as always, for all your kind comments

left along the way....

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper:  Fine & Dandy & Honeycake from My Mind's Eye

Portrait by Crate Paper & Blossom by Jillibean Soup

Stamps:  Forest Whimsy & Spring Groves by Paper Smooches

Embellishments: Alphas by: Prima, Authentique & Echo Parks
pearls by Recollections, Stickles in stardust by Ranger

May the Force be With You

It's the start of a new week and that's means ....

If you've come by way of the

EAD Designs Blog

you are in the right place to get started.

If not, it's just one stop back to get on the right

track to be eligible for this week's prize.

Today is my oldest grandson CJ's 9th birthday and he

loves Legos & Star Wars, so imagine how excited I got

when I learned that EAD has a set created for just such an occasion!

Sunday was CJ's party and he seemed quite happy to get a handmade card from
Mema Julie.

He loves to make art himself and is such a creative guy.

The paper is from Echo Park's This & That collection called 'Charming'.

I used two different designs for my background and punched both with

the Radiant Circles punch from EK Success.

I used Lemondrop baker's twine from The Twinery for the seam

and layered the 'Galaxy Warriors' & 'Birthday Sentiments' Stickerz 

from EAD Designs.

Here are the sets I used today...

Galaxy Warriors

Birthday Sentiments

Before I send you on your way, I'd like to share a few 

of the party photos with you.

CJ loves to roller skate, so we spent the afternoon at Skateland.

One of the many, MANY Lego Star Wars sets he has now added

to his collection.

Saving the best....for last!

So glad you came by today.

I'd love to see YOU win our prize this week, so make

sure you hop along, leave a comment on each designer's blog

and enjoy!

Time to head over to our March Guest Designer's blog

Jenny at PaperCut Creations.

Project Recipe: 

Cardstock:  American Crafts

Patterned Paper:  Charming by Echo Park

Embellishments:  Lemondrop baker's twine from The Twinery

Galaxy Warriors, Birthday Sentiments Stickerz by EAD Designs

Ink: Old Paper Distress by Ranger

Tools:  Radiant Circles by EK Success

Oh Sew Happy Life

Another Monday is here and the start of a great week!

It's blog hop time with the creative designers over at

If you came by way of 

Judith's blog, Jay Gee's Nook

then you are in the perfect spot!

If not, head on over to the

EAD Designs Blog

and get started there.  Stop by each blog on the hop,

leave a sweet note for each designer and

YOU could win!

We all know how trendy the 'Keep Calm' sentiment 

has become and EAD Designs

has come up with a great set of Stickerz with varying themes.

I paired this one with the colorful paper & embellishment kit 

'Graceful' by Lori Whitlock from Echo Park.

To quote my husband, there is "a lot going on with this card!"

From left to right....

The laid what I call the 'wallpaper' base and then went to work.

{all products used are in the project recipe below}

I cut the fun EP banners and hung them from Flax baker's twine.

Die cut the flowers and centered them with bright brads.

I placed the sentiment on a journal card and continued the banner on the right.

 I bought these fab decorative floss bobbins to use on projects

{not for floss, of course}

and wrapped this one with Blossom baker's twine.

The stick pins finish it off.

As I created this card, I began thinking of my grandma.  She taught herself to

sew when she was determined to make Barbie Doll clothes for me as a child.

I know that as she continued on making school clothes for me and eventually

Cabbage Patch & American Girl Doll clothes that she had a

'VERY HAPPY LIFE' because she enjoyed it 'sew' much.

Here's the set I used...

Don't forget....

I hope you enjoyed your visit today.

I am the last stop on the blog hop train!

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper & Journal Spot:  
This & That Graceful by Echo Park
Embellishments: Stickerz in Keep Calm Set 1 EAD Designs
Flax & Blossom baker's twine from The Twinery,
brads from American Crafts, stick pins by KandCompany
Floss Bobbins from Sew-ology 
Tools: Tattered Florals die by Sizzix, Big Shot

From the Heart

Welcome back to The Open Window!

It's time for another fabulous color challenge from

and look at these beautiful colors....

Mojito....Peony....Sand

This card is a 'quilted' pattern....

I took a little color license with the subtlety and went a smidge deeper

in my shades.  I used the fabulous new collection by Lori Whitlock

for Echo Park as my featured paper and showcased the beautiful

Lovely Labels 18 & Sew Lovely by NinaB Designs from The Craft's Meow.

I love everything Nina Brackett designs and these polka dot frames are

one of my favorites for sure!

I used the brocade embossing folder from Cuttlebug over the design on the patterned paper

for a little more texture to the quilt and on the other side are

the large 'dots' also from Cuttlebug.

I thought I would share this with the folks over at CARDS/Create

as they are having a challenge for 'quilt-style' cards.

I hope you will plan to join us in The Cafe for this great challenge.

Our design team have created a collection of very inspirational projects

to help get your creative juices flowing.

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper: Graceful by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park
Stamps:  Sew Lovely & Lovely Labels 18 from The Craft's Meow  
Embellishments: Element Stickers in Graceful by Echo Park
brads & lace by The Paper Studio
Inks:  Latte & Slate by A Muse Studio

Tools: Brocade & Large Dots EF by Cuttlebug, Big Shot

Happy Fall from The Craft's Meow

For the

Sizzix Fresh Vintage

Blog Hop Post

Click HERE

It is Day #2 of the New Release Previews from

and today we feature the lovely designs of

Maree Truelove, one of our newest stamp designers.

This sweet set is called 'Happy Fall'

I thought it would be fun to use the solid design

of the pumpkin and create some texture by

using houndstooth paper and the Swiss Dot

EF from Cuttlebug.  I also accented the clouds

the same way.  Check out that tiny acorn!  Ca-ute!

Make sure you visit The Craft's Meow blog

and check out the rest of the design team's

projects.  You will get a real taste for this set

by the time it is released on Saturday! 

You can also win a set, 

so make sure to leave

a comment before you leave.  
TCM will be drawing a name 
each day

and you never know 
it could be YOURS!

Project Recipe: 

Designer Paper: 'Kay Autumn' by MAMBI,
Dots & Stripes Candy Shoppe by Echo Park Papers
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento, 
Stamps:  'Happy Fall' by The Craft's Meow

Tools: Cloud die by Lil' Inker Designs
Swiss Dot EF from Cuttlebug, Distrezz-it-All by Zutter,
Notebook border punch by EK Success
Embellishments:  Bakers twine in Mandarin from The Twinery

Hello Sunshine..it's The Craft's Meow

Scroll down for the new

challenge from

The Play Date Cafe

It is Day Four of the previews for the new release from

 Each day this week, you will see a new set

revealed and have a chance to win a set each day!

These sweet stamps are from the brand new

'Baggin Some Rays'

set designed by the fabulous Nina Brackett.

This set has versatile stamps that works

well on it's own or with some of the previous sets by TCM.

It also has tremendous possibilities with our

upcoming sets as well ; )

 Make sure you pop by

 The Craft's Meow Blog

and check out the fabulous-ness

from all of the designers.

TCM is giving away 3 stamp sets

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on my blog for a chance to win!

I am so glad you stopped by today and I hope

you will plan to come by each day this week

so you don't miss a thing!

Today's Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Dots & Stripes' by Echo Park
Stamps: 'Baggin Some Rays' by The Craft's Meow 
Tools: 'Lacey Squares' die by Spellbinders, Big Shot
Embellishments:  Baker's Twine in 'Mandarin' by The Twinery

The Play Date Cafe Challenge

Look at this stunning color story from our girl Jax

at The Play Date Cafe!!!

I unfortunately was over-extended this week.

(I'll share why at the end of this post)

So I was unable to create something for this challenge,

but I know a fabulous Design Team who did and here are

just a few of the beautiful creations you'll find in

The Cafe to inspire you...

CAS beauty by the aforementioned Jaclyn Miller

CAS elegance by the one and only Andrea Ewen

Fab creativity from the artistic mind of Fiona Schultz

I hope you will play along this week.

We have a tremendous new sponsor with us...

Now...here is what has taken up much of my

attention in the past week....

Many of you know my 8 yr old grandson, CJ.

Last week, we were called to the hospital because

CJ had fallen from the top of the slide on the playground

and had an ambulance ride to the hospital.

His left arm was indeed broken.

That is NOT his elbow you are looking at...enough said!

It was a long day of waiting for surgery, but he had

to have a couple of pins put in because the

break was so bad.  He stayed overnight in the hospital

and received his brand new blue cast yesterday.

I've been on babysitting duty all this week and it's

cut in to my creative time...but I know you understand

and I couldn't imagine doing anything else but

taking care of that little man.

Do me a favor...get over to The Cafe...and play!

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge is Live!!!

The time has finally arrived!!!

is officially live online and ready to issue 

the first challenge!

What a story behind this little challenge....

I've spent a great deal of time thinking about

the genres of challenges out there and so many

have come and gone.

After spending lots of creative time with

Michele Gross on another 'little' challenge I created,

I felt she was the *perfect* person to approach

about creating a new challenge.

I confess, I figured once I asked her if she would be

interested in partnering up with me, it might be a

a month or two before we would start the process.

But lo and behold, within 30 minutes of that

first email, the challenge concept was designed

and five days later a DT call was issued!

I hope you plan to play along with our amazing

'Girl Fridays'

They are one talented group of women!

Oh...here's the rest of my project featuring 'text'...

Clean & Simple indeed!

I love this little 'shirt' image from A Muse Studio

and with their sentiment to match, well...

I now have a Father's Day card for my Father-in-Law!

Of course, A Muse Studio can be found in 

my web store here

I hope you will plan to join us for this week's

challenge!  Head on over to the

CAS-ual Fridays Break Room,

get one of our fab badges for your blog

 

and join in the fun!

Today's Project Recipe:

Designer Paper:  Echo Park 'On the Record'
Stamps: 'Brief Notes' & 'Essential Elements' by A Muse Studio
Ink: Memento in black

Tools: Fiskars Corner Rounder punch