A Clean and Simple Garage Sale

Is there seriously such a thing? LOL In the sense of this post, there is! The clean and simple challenge over at Splitcoast was to make a card sparkle. Ooooh, and I love me some sparkle! I wanted my angel wings to really pop, so I added microbeads to the wings and then smothered them with Stardust Stickles. I swear, this really sparkles! To get the full effect, you'll probably need to click on the image. :)


I also wanted to do one last sparkle card...a 3" x 3" gift card. Seriously...I always seem to need a small gift card in a pinch, don't you? This was quick and easy and uses the set from H&M Stamps Cupcake Wishes.


Today is also the last day of the Garage Sale over at H&M Stamps so be sure to get it before it's gone!

Thanks for stopping in...hope you have a great one!

Stamping Mode Supplies

Angel card
Stamps: Angelic Moments by H&M Stamps
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Cool Caribbean, Perfect Plum, Basic Grey Wisteria
Accessories: Celery twill ribbon, microbeads, Stardust Stickles

Cupcake gift card
Stamps: Cupcake Wishes by H&M Stamps
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink
Paper: Bazzil white
Accessories: Pink glitter sugar coating by Doodlebug

Happy Birthday Rosie

My BFF celebrated her 21st *giggle* birthday today!! Shhh...don't tell anyone she's celebrated the same 21st birthday for a while now. :)

And with all the cards I make, I always neglect to make ones for my friends... I KNOW!! Bad me! I was able to make one for her today (rushing to get it done before my stamp a stack).


Behind the card is the gift bag that I got my inspiration from. It has cupcakes on it, so I knew I wanted to use my new For the Love of Cupcakes set from Taylored Expressions. The layout was inspired from the sketch challenge #234 over at Splitcoast. I was excited to use my new Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo cardstock and designer paper to match the bag. :) I just love this card!! I should have made a 2nd, hehe.

Anyway, happy birthday to my dear friend Rosie. I hope you had a WONDERFUL day!! <3

Scrapbook for Ava

So two weeks ago tonight, my good friend had her precious baby Ava (who I got to see today!) I've forgotten how teeny tiny newborns are and I just miss that so much! She's just a beautiful little girl and I wanted to make a nice little "first" scrapbook for her since mommy is now busy with a newborn and just-turned 3 yr old!

I was inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch to create the cover (I told you I'd do a Mojo sketch!!). And here's the cover.

My friend really likes the vintage-y type things so this was my poor attempt at it, lol. My vintage needs more practice. With that said, I did love it! Yes, the thought crossed my mind to take out the Ava letters and put in my own daughter's, LOL. Is that so wrong?!? Ok, so I didn't keep it for myself, but vowed to make my own...YARIGHT!


There are about 12 embellished pages inside, and I really didn't get any shots of them, because you know I work at the last minute and wasn't able to spend some good quality time taking photos. During the few photos I DID take, my 22 month old was happily working the ins and outs of my copics...YIKES! (She's been wearing green copic marker on her leg for about 3 days now)

Here's a decent shot of some flowers I die cut and sprayed with Shimmerz Spritz Bed of Roses though!


Hope you have a great weekend! I have a stamp a stack this Sunday to finish preparing for. I hope to play with more stamps this weekend at some point though!

Until then.....

Clean and Simple #20

It's a miracle!! I stamped TWO...count 'em, TWO cards today! They are clean and simple, but hey, I made some time!!! With how my day went today (bad to worse) I needed some valuable stamp time. But let's not dwell on that...let's focus on the CAS challenge over on Splitcoast PAPER PIECING!!!

And then this!

For the Birthday Blessings card, I stamped the flower from Petals of Friendship by H&M Stamps on a piece of Citrus DCWV stack. I actually stamped it twice and cut them both out. For one of them, I focused on cutting out the main petals so that I could run my stylus on the backside to create some dimension. I then stuck a black rhinestone in the middle and painted over the dimensionalized (is that even a word?!) petals with Mello Yellow Shimmerz Blingz. The inspiration for my layout came from the Clean and Simple's blog, Fall to Layout #47.

For the Happy Birthday card, I used the same Citrus DCWV pack with some Kraft cardstock. Oh! The clouds cardstock came from my stash and it is called Cloud Puff by Reminisce. It's very shimmery and sheeny in person, and of course, you can't see that! :) The tree from Season of Trees by H&M Stamps was paper pieced. I think this is such a fun and cute card!

**All the stamps I used are from H&M Stamps, and even though they are sold out, there are plenty more fantabulous stamp sets to be had!**

On another note, I've also been using a lot of Shimmerz...because I'm a sparkle and ribbon kind of girl. :) And Shimmerz is being reviewed on Craft Critique today!!! Wow!! I didn't even know this site existed and I'm sooo excited to have been introduced to it! Talk about some enabling! So, if there was any questions you had regarding Shimmerz, be sure to go on over and take a peek at the review.

For me...I hope to be able to do the Mojo Monday challenge next. I just Looooove me some mojo!!

Have a great day and thanks for getting "in stamping mode." :)

A Prehistoric Birthday Bash

I absolutely love this set, Prehistoric Birthday from H&M Stamps! The dinos and sentiments are just tooo cute to bear. I wanted to use some non-traditional dino colors on my card and I think it works!! I used, Not Quite navy, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, and Kiwi Kiss. I also put some Olive Shimmerz on the leaves that I cut out. Here's what they look like "shimmerized."


Just FYI, you can still get this set for only $6 over at H&M Stamps.

Making this post short and sweet. I LOVED watching The Proposal (with Sandra Bullock) tonight. I highly recommend it!!! After you go to H&M Stamps to buy this set, you should go see this movie now! :) No pressure or anything, tehee!

Until later! Oh, and hope you had a fabulous day celebrating the Dads out there!

I {heart} my dad

If you are here for the Shimmerz Birthday Blog Hop, please click HERE!!

When I saw this stamp from Hero Arts, I just HAD to have it! I think it's perfect for the kids to give to daddy this Sunday. I followed the CAS challenge from Splitcoast for sketch inspiration. :)

I was also busy this week playing with some new goodies from Stampin' Up! I wanted to do the sketch challenge over at Splitcoast and this is what I came up with.


I just love the luscious new colors!!! I used the new colors Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, and Crushed Curry with Old Olive. Now that we have markers for the In Colors, I was able to use them directly on the new stamp set, Razzle Dazzle. I also used the markers on my Polka Dot background stamp (where are you in the catalog my friend?!) for a custom background and I just looooove it!

FYI, I used my hubby's fancy dancy Canon Rebel to take this shot. I came to the conclusion that I suck at it and need a master's to figure it out. Any pointers will be GLADLY taken! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have an enjoyable weekend with the dad's in your life!

Shimmerz Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Shimmerz Birthday Blog Hop!!! I'm so excited that you are joining me today...whether you came directly here, or happened upon me from Melissa Bove's blog! So if you came directly here, you'll want to start at the beginning of the hop over at the Shimmerz Blog. Read the instructions carefully, and you could win THIS!!

Got your attention yet?? You might be wondering about the picture at the top of this post (or not!) Either way, I'm gonna tell ya what it's all about! I wanted a prop for my birthday project and just happened to have a couple of white roses laying around. Well, my project has a lot of pink, so what'd I do? Oh, I'm sure you know what I did! I sprayed them with my Bed of Roses Shimmerz Spritz! One is without the spritz (blaaaaaah) and the other is with. NICE, huh?!

Ok, so on to my project! What is a birthday without cake? Certainly not a celebration in my book. My preference is red velvet...but I digress. Anywho, are you thinking I baked a cake and sprayed it with Shimmerz?? Well, close, but not quite! Have you seen the Sizzix Bigz die that pops a cake when you open the card? Yes, that one!

This is the close-up of the cake and you can bet I sprayed that whole thing up with Shimmerz Spritz! The small chocolate flowers were sprayed with Mudpie Spritz. All the cardstock used was sprayed with Baby's Breath Spritz. I even sprayed the "ribbon" treatment with it.

Click on the above picture, and you can see just how pretty the shimmerz looks on the pale pink flower atop the cake. Soooo nice!

And here's the full card opened.


The Birthday greeting is from the Seeds of Love set from H&M Stamps. I hope you enjoyed the projects, and be sure to hop on over to Michelle's blog for more fantastic projects!

PS. My super-duper top secret word is THE.

Thanks for stopping in and getting..."in stamping mode." :)

Mojo Challenge and Upcoming Blog Hop

I have a couple of really quick announcements before I get to my mojo card.

First, my card from Mojo 89 was selected as a top 20 card!!! WOOOOOOT!! It's always so nice to know that someone out there enjoyed your creation...don't ya think??

Second, Shimmerz is celebrating a birthday this coming Tuesday, June 16th, 2009. There will be a blog hop with $80 worth of Shimmerz product as a prize!!! As a guest DT member, I get to participate, so be sure and come by on Tuesday to ogle over my project and then proceed to the beginning of the hop and continue on through so that you can win that fabulous prize! Wanna see a pic?


*hint* *hint* There is a fabulous rumor that some participants of the blog hop are also having blog candy in celebration....LOTS of things to win my friends!

So onto my Mojo #90 card for the week!

I used Verve's new set Up, Up and Away coupled with the greeting from Sweet on You. I just loved making this card! The dsp is the Pink Flamingo dsp from Stampin' Up! I first stamped the clouds from the stamp set all over my white cardstock. I then colored around the clouds with my copic markers and then added Liquid Applique onto the clouds. Let that dry over night and then heat for the best fluffy clouds. Don't believe me? Lookie!


Ok, I'm off to go and hop on the treadmill. I overindulged in my favorite meal of Tortellini with clog-your-arteries-on-the-spot Alfredo sauce. MMmmmmmm...

See you back here for the blog hop!

Catching up!

Wow has this week just been a whirlwind! I haven't had a spare moment to post, but I've had a bit of time (not much!) to stamp. :) The fam went to Sea World on Wednesday and we stayed in the water park trying to beat the heat. Fun times indeedy! So onto the cards!


This was a card I made for my dear friend, Anitra's birthday. As I write this, she is in the hospital laboring and ready to welcome her new baby daughter Ava any minute!!! I'm so excited for her and I can't wait to see baby Ava. This card was for the CAS challenge over on Splitcoast to use the colors pinks/corals, kraft, and one other color. This is also a Stampin' Up! only card. :)


This next card was created for the Sketch challenge over at Splitcoast and you can view the layout HERE. I tell you, no matter what I did I just couldn't capture the sparkle in this card. Right down to the specialty cardstocks behind the main image panel! So here's the full card...in it's bland-looking glory! *snicker* Just keep in mind it really looks faboo in person! :)


The Happy Anniversary image and greeting is from H&M Stamps and it is not sold out yet!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and getting, "in stamping mode." :)

Mojo Monday on a Sunday

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I wanted to participate in the latest MOJO Monday sketch for free stamps...because who doesn't love free stamps? And I LOOOOVE Verve Stamps!

I actually did a lot on this card. I've been buying masks like crazy lately because I thought they'd work soooo awesomely with the Shimmerz Spritz and they did not let me down! The bottom panel was sprayed with Bed of Roses Spritz with a small Tim Holtz mask on vanilla cardstock. Oh my goodness this just looks so beautiful in person! I then randomly stamped the flowers from H&M Stamps Seeds of Kindness. (Don't forget that the garage sale is still going on at H&M Stamps and some of the stamps are only $3!!!)

I also sprayed the large flower from the Pretties kit with the same Bed of Roses spritz and here's a closeup to prove it! :)


Ooooh...aahhhhhh. :)

Well I'm off to enjoy the last bit of the weekend that's left. Booohoo!

Until later....

Happy Friday!

I love Fridays!! And to celebrate, I made a card! Of course, this can also dual-purpose as a birthday card, but whatever! Let's just celebrate that it's Friday. :)


Now this card was just a ton of fun to make. I wanted to make the background interesting, but also match my little happy dino. I embossed a piece of old olive cardstock with a Cuttlebug folder (I can't remember the name) and then sprayed it with the new Shimmerz Spritz in Baby's Breath. SUPER cool effect! I also put some Crystal Effects randomly over the little bumps. This card just sparkles and shines...you gotta have that for a celebration, right?!

Here's a closeup to really see that shine!

The image is from H&M Stamps, and remember that you can still purchase all sets for only $8 and under!! This garage sale lasts through this month, but I hear sets are selling quick!

On an unrelated sidenote, I have begun counting Weight Watcher points again as I have been 5 pounds over my goal for a while now!! Anyone else out there with me? Weight Watchers has really worked for me and I'm already down this week. I just hope I can last through the weekend. Those weekend snacks/cocktails just blow it for me, LOL!

Happy Friday!!

PS...any tasty Weight Watchers recipes out there you can share? Once I hit my goal, they lock me out of all the nice online stuff (dumb move, in my opinion). How are we supposed to maintain our goal weight when they lock us out of all resources once we've hit it?! DUMB!

Simple Teachers Gifts

When Verve had it's newer release (last month actually) and I saw that there was a Plain Jain that had my son's teacher's favorite verse, I just HAD to have it! I got the idea to use it on a coaster from another blog I follow (I'm so sorry I can't remember whose!). This was a quick gift to put together because I am the queen of procrastination and did it the night before. I know...shock and awe. lol So here's the ensemble!

I used Damask Designs from PTI and added some rhinestones for bling. I stamped 2 with Pink Pirouette and the other 2 with Pink Passion with the verse in chocolate. I really hope that she liked the gift! I also embellished the coaster holder with a chocolate satin ribbon and Primas.

I also wanted to do a little something in appreciation to the other teachers behind the scene (former teachers, aides, PE, music, art, etc) I spent the day before baking these super yummy cookies with delectable chocolate filling topped with nuts. Are you salivating yet?? :)

I used the PTI stamp set, Teacher's Apple for this grouping. Yes, I even stamped all of the tissue paper inside! Instead of using buttons as a center embellishment on the bow (which seem to be all the rage!), I stamped the apples again on shrinky-dink wannabe paper and baked those in the oven. I thought they turned out cute!




I really hope they enjoyed the gifts and knowledge of how much we appreciate them for all they do. That's it! Quick, easy, and from the heart. :)

From Courtney's Closet Anniversary

So you all have probably seen me make a card in the past from inspiration from my friend Libby's daughter, in her From Courtney's Closet challenges. WHEW, that was a mouthful! Anywho, she is celebrating her one year anniversary of challenges with a bang!! Her daughter is such a cutie in her little outfits! I've actually been inspired to make my own cards based on my daughter, Catie's outfits. Perhaps we should put the two together for a From Courtney and Catie's closet challenge!! heehee :)

My card was inspired from her first month outfit...a luscious pink dress, and Libby added a bear...so there may have been a bear...either way, I went with it! I looove how this turned out.


This bear is just too stinkin' cute! I've been in love with his little face and cheeks since the day I saw it. Oh yeah!! I just got one of the latest sets from Verve called Sweet on You, and whattaya know?! One of the greetings just fit this card perfectly! I did a little happy dance inside. :)

Ok, I'm off to work on some teacher gifts for tomorrow. I can't believe my little baby boy will be starting kindergarten this year.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and getting, "in stamping mode."

H&M Stamps Garage Sale!!!

No, your eyes are not deceiving you!! H&M Stamps is having a HUGE garage sale and EVERYTHING MUST GO!!! Sets sell out fast, so you have to get it before it's gone!

All sets are priced no higher than $8!!!! Am I kidding you?? No!!!! HOLY COW this is a steal my friends!!! Have I overloaded you with the exclamation points?!?! Nooo!!!! :)




Need a little more inspiration? You can click HERE to view all projects I've made using H&M Stamps. Want a wee bit more? How about a shiny new Father's Day card, hmmm??


Would you believe that no sketch, color, inspiration AND/OR animals were injured or used on this card? Unbelievable, I KNOW!!! :) This is truly a first for me...I'm so proud! I've been enjoying coloring with my Copics lately and this was just awesome to color. For all you Copic users out there....do you constantly say to yourself..."DANGIT! I need ALL the colors!!!" Unless you are a lucky one that has all 300+...you just shush! I added a little bit of crystal effects on his boots (since they are rubber boots and all) and glitter on the fish (because fish are scaly!) Here's a better looksy.


Thanks for stopping by today. Look for a cutesy card tomorrow in celebration of Courtney's Closet Anniversary Celebration!

See you back here...same bat time, same bat channel. :)