I couldn't pick just one!

I have 3 cards to share today...I loved all of them and kind of felt bad for wanting to choose one over the other. (Is it bad that I am getting emotionally attached to my cards?)

OK, so the first card is this little baby kitten one. My mom got me that adorable Baby Kitty stamp for Christmas this year, and I just love it...it makes me want to go get another kitten.



As always, I inked the edges with Colorbox Chalk Ink. Seriously, if they ever stop making that ink, I don't know what I'll do with my paper edges!

Stamp: Penny Black
Patterned Paper: DCWV
Ribbon: Offray
Markers: Close to My Heart "Spring Blossom"
Ink: ColorBox Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink (edging), VersaFine Jet Black (stamped image)

And this next card is another little bitty one...it's a lot of fun to challenge yourself to make something big out of something so small. It measures in at 4"x4". I used my crystal Stickles on each of the middle parts of the BasicGrey flowers, it's much sparklier in real life.


Stamps: Hero Arts ( f4899, cl182)
Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie "Ladybug"
Ink: ColorBox Amber Clay Chalk Ink (edging), VersaFine Jet Black (stamped images)
Ribbon: Offray
Crystal Stickles

And to hopefully convince Spring to get here sooner, I made this Happy Spring card. (If I make spring cards, it has to be spring, right?) Inkadinkado's Patterned Bugs stamps set is beautiful! (Thank you Mom for getting it for me!) I used my Cuttlebug embossing folder "Perfectly Paisley" on the Basic Grey Paper. (And sorry for the crooked scan...it didn't want to cooperate, and after 5 tries I gave up!)



Stamps: Inkadinkado "Patterned Bugs"
Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie "Bluebird", "Morning Glory", and "Straw"
Flowers: Prima Marketing "Limeade"
Embossing Folder: CuttleBug Perfectly Paisley
Ink: ColorBox Charcoal Chalk Ink (edging), VersaFine Jet Black (stamped image)
Markers: Close to my Heart "Spring Blossom"
Black Rhinestones, Crystal Stickles

Thanks for looking at all 3! I'm sure they all feel better about themselves since none of them have been left out! :)

Have a good day!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Card

I am making chocolate chip cookies to send to two friends of mine, and I just wanted to share the cute little chocolate chip cookie cards I made to put on top of the containers! I colored the chocolate chips in, and I love how it makes the cookies just pop!



Cardstock: DCWV
Stamps: Hero Arts, Inque

Thanks for looking!

A Spring Winter "Hybrid"...

You know that feeling when it is towards the end of January, it is still freezing out, and you are making a winter themed card, but can't stand to see any more blue and white? I had that feeling when I made this next card. SO, I decided to change it up a little.

Hero Arts has that adorable Christmas Owls stamp set, and while I didn't end up using them for my Christmas cards (like I thought I would), they have become indispensable for winter cards. How can anyone resist these adorable owls bundled up in cute little sweaters? I sure couldn't!!!



I took my Basic Grey Urban Prairie Corn Husk paper, ran it through my Cuttlebug (I love that thing!) with the Snow Dots embossing folder, and then used some ColorBox Chestnut Roan chalk ink to bring the embossing out...just a few strokes here and there and what was originally an optical illusion type embossing turned out quite well instead!

Oh, and then I took my Prima flowers (they are the Autumn Green ones) and used Crystal stickles on four of the flowers and I used the small snowflake stamp that comes with the Christmas owls on the other three. Didn't those turn out adorable!

And of course the final touch is that adorable little owl in his warm little sweater! Too cute!

Stamps: Hero Arts (cl238) Owl Christmas
Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Corn Husk
Flowers: Prima Flowers Autumn Green
Stickles, Crystal; Brown Rhinestones

I've really got to stay on top of posting this stuff!

So, as I sat there making a card today, I realized that I haven't been posting any of my projects on here! Yikes! I am pretty far behind!

Today, I am posting a layout of my little sister's karaoke concert that she put on for Christmas...she is such an entertainer, and it is always funny to watch these karaoke shows she puts on. This year, she stood on my dad's legs as he sat there and then later went off into another room of the basement (thank goodness for wireless microphones!) to bring a broom in to walk around with! See, I told you she is quite the entertainer!

Supplies: Patterned paper: BasicGrey Urban Prairie, Flowers: Prima Marketing; Title letters: Cuttlebug die (Olivia), Circle Punch (1"): Fiskars

Thanks for looking!

I've been tagged!

Anne over at Gaal Creative tagged me, so now it's my turn.



First off, the rules are:


1. Link to the person who tagged you (as I did above).
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell 6 things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.
5. Go to each person's blog and leave them a comment to let them know they've been tagged.



So, 6 things about myself are:



1. My husband and I have recently "transplanted" our roots to Iowa. We are from Montana, lived in the Twin Cities, MN for a few years, and are back in the country. And so happy to be here. And surprised at how quickly I am acclimating to life here!

2. If I was stranded on a desert island (assuming my hubby was there with me), all I would need to really pass the time would be my iPod...I could listen to music for hours. Especially music I can sing along to!

3. I try to convince myself that I am not as "addicted" to the internet as I think I am...but when I have to go a day without it, I realize how much I rely on it! For everything...checking bank account balances, talking to friends, getting great ideas from all those talented people out there who have craft blogs, and getting my daily chuckle from my Get Fuzzy daily email and icanhascheezburger.com.

4. I love to cook. And I love to try new recipes, but I inevitably always end up prefering comfort food.

5. I love to learn...give me the remote, and I will most likely end up watching a documentary. Give me a book, and if I want to actually have it be a worthwhile read, it will be a classic or non-fiction. (But that's not to say I don't enjoy my quilty pleasures of watching a little E! or reading a good fiction novel!)

6. I am in love with Paris, but way too scared to get on a plane to go there. I know it is somewhat of an irrational fear (somewhat) but it's just one of those fears that I can't quite get past. So, I'll make up for it by listening to French music, decorating my bedroom in Parisian decor and photos, relearning the French language, and watching travel shows that visit Paris. And maybe someday, maybe, I'll get the courage up to go there.

SO, there are my six things about me...and the bad thing is that I don't have 6 people to tag. But, I do have a few, and they are:

My friend Julia
My friend Jen
Jamie at "Stamp This"
Susan at "Susan's Day Off Creations"

So, have fun visiting the blogs I tagged! I love the friends I've made through blogging, and really look forward to "meeting" more!

Love Birds

My parents celebrated their anniversary this past week, and I just wanted to share the "Love Birds" card that I made for them.




I used Hero Arts Happy Everything stamps that I picked up on sale at Joann's (can't beat $6!). I also used some self adhesive patterned paper I had picked up at Target a year or two ago. I can't remember the name of it though...

And, I got to use my new Cuttlebug that my parents got me for Christmas!!!! I used the Olivia alphabet to cut out the "LOVE" and adhered it onto cream cardstock. Then I inked the edges with ColorBox Chocolate and Blueberries Ink Queue. I cut out a 2 1/2 circle out of brown cardstock, inked the edges, stamped the birds, and colored them with plain old Crayola colored pencils.



Thanks for stopping by!

Wintertime Centerpiece

At my husband's work, they like to have a centerpiece on the breakroom table. Since he is the new store manager, I am very happy that the responsibility fell on me. After all...it gives me a crafty reason to go get supplies and have a little fun each season! So, in preparation for the holiday party tomorrow night and for the long, cold Iowa winter ahead of us, I made this cute little centerpiece full of winter delight!

First, I started with the supplies: Pine garland (9ft. on clearance at Target), a winterey basket, some cinnamon scented pine cones, some crystal glitter, and that old trustworth Elmer's Glue.

OK. I took the garland and arranged it in the basket like I wanted it, and then trimmed off the rest. I probably used about 4 feet, which amazes me since the basket seemed really small! After I got all the branches looking the way I though was most natural looking, I grabbed an old paintbrush and the glue. I couldn't get a very good picture of it, but I just "painted" the tips of the branches, one at a time, with the glue. After each branch, I sprinkled some crystal glitter on it (I'm sure there is a bunch in the bottom of the basket, but that's ok!). I repeated with all the branches and let it dry.

While it dried, I worked on the pine cones. I watered down the glue a little in a foil lined pie pan, then did one of two methods to "glue up" the pine cones. Remember when you were little and made ornaments out of pine cones by rolling them in glue and then in glitter. I did that, as well as painting the glue on the smaller ones. Then I covered evenly with glitter and let them dry.

So, here is the final centerpiece. A snow covered wintery wonderland!!!

Thanks for looking! (It's much sparklier in person...I couldn't quite capture it on camera!)