2Sketches4U - Laura's sketch #17

Laura's sketch this week really got me excited! I stretched my

creativity

this week more than ever before.

One of my "goals" for 2009 (not a resolution!) is to branch out a little more and include more "stash" on my cards. I'm trying to come out of my "simple" shell and just let the creativeness flow more, adding a little more pizazz. So, I started with this weeks sketch. I have used Basic Grey papers which I absolutely LOVE! The flowers are Prima, the ribbons, button and pearls are some I picked up at HL and M's. The butterfly is cut with the Cricut using the new Tinkerbell & Friends cart. (LOVE it!). The border punch is MS lace. I took a 12" piece of cardstock and cut it to 5" wide. Then, score it at 5" which gave me a 7" card back and a 5" card front. Then, I made the front square and went from there. This was too much fun! Laura, thank you so much for helping me to branch out a little and get more creative this week! You, Kazan and the DT are the best!! Everyone needs to go on over to the 2S4U site and check out all the absolutely beautiful cards. TFL!

Basic Grey - Chipboard Challenge

This is my first time to participate in a challenge at Basic Grey and I am so excited! This week, the challenge is to use chipboard. My "U" is a chipboard letter. My patterned paper is from the Basic Grey Sultry collection. I LOVE this collection!! Thought I would use it on a tag this time. TFL!

More Stamping......

This time, I used alcohol inks on some slick white paper. Then, I stamped the image (flower) on top. I matted the stamped image and the sentiment and put it all on a white card. I decided that if I used any patterned paper it would take away from the inked image. TFL!

Stamping technique...

So, I've been working on the stamping technique using leadless colored pencils (Koh-I-Noor) and baby oil. Most people that do this technique use Gamsol (odorless mineral spirits), but I have an allergy to that. So, I use baby oil. I love this technique! So, I've made some random cards this weekend in order to use the stamps that I have. One is a Thank You card and the other is for a birthday. TFL!!

Cuttlebug "Sketch Hour" and Favorite Folder Challenge

So, my very talented friend Aymee has begun the Saturday Sketch Hour over at Cuttlebug Challenges. The sketch this Saturday was too cool, so I HAD to try it. The swirl is from a kit that I ordered from Oriental Trading some time ago. I just painted it black. The paper is from The Dollar Tree (this was a tip I got from Aymee some time back!). I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on the copper paper, added a little "bling" and there you have it! The Swiss Dots is my fav folder, so this worked out well for the "Favorite Folder" challenge. Well, thanks for stopping by!

More Valentines........

So, I was off work for a few days and worked on some Valentine's day cards. Thought I would share a few. Most of the items on each card were cut with my Cricut. I used George, Accent Essentials, Graphically Speaking, Animal Kingdom and TBBM. The hearts on the Me&You card were done with the Martha Stewart heart punch. I have several more cards to make and hope to get several done this weekend. TFL!!

2Sketches4U - Kazan's Sketch #17

Loved the sketch this week that Kazan gave us.

Her cards and those of the DT are just beautiful.

Since I am working on my Valentines cards this

week, thought I would use this sketch to help me

along. PP is Paper Studio, chipboard is some I

purchased online at Oriental Trading. I dotted

up the brads and I think they turned out cute.

The scalloped edge is cut with my trusty Cricut

using the Accent Essentials cartridge.

Anyway, TFL!!

2Sketches4U - Laura's sketch #16

Shhhh! It's the DH's bday and this is his card. His birthday is tomorrow and I don't want him to see his card yet, but I had to post it for Laura's sketch this week. I feel like you don't see too many "guy" cards so I thought I would use this one for the sketch this week. TFL!! (and shhhhhh......don't let the cat out of the bag!).

He Loves Me........

Here we go...........starting my Valentines Day cards. This one is for Kazan's sketch #16 over at 2Sketches4u. I thought I would kill 2 birds at a time by participating in some challenges while getting my cards done. The hearts are punched from the Martha Stewart punch. The scalloped circle is cut with the Cricut, using the Mini Monograms cartridge. TFL!

It's over............

Well, Christmas has come and gone and what a great Christmas it was! I got to spend 5 entire days with Maggie! She was so sweet and fun and she loved all her gifts from Grammy and Pops. She especially likes her Dora the Explorer ride on toy. Her parents push her around the house and she loves it! My DH got me 3 new Cricut carts for Christmas.........YEA!! I also got some new scissors (sticky free!), some new craft storage boxes and a few gift cards to buy MORE scrappy things!! Don't you just love Christmas?!! Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I look forward to seeing all of your great designs in the coming year. I hope to be a part of more challenges in 2009. I've got my scrappy room pretty organized now, so I should be able to work a little better. Well, now it's on to Valentines Day cards. It never ends does it? Thank goodness!!
Happy New Year everyone!!

Yet another birthday...........

WOW! I think I may have one more bday card after this one. December has been a busy month for birthday's!! This one is for a friend. I used the Cricut Celebrations cart for the hat. I used the Fiskars threadingwater punch for the trim and the paper is My Minds Eye. TFL!!

Another birthday...........

Seems there are so many birthday's in December. March must be a very cold month every year :)

This is another birthday card for a friend to give to her sister. The paper is Making Memories, the arrow is October Afternoon from a free kit I got at a LSS. The little embellies (called Skittles by my scrappy sisters) and black ribbon are from Michael's.

The wording is rub ons. Don't you just love rub ons? TFL!

Birthday's are a HOOT!!

This card is for a friend's mom. The owl is a Stampabilities stamp. My stamp didn't work real well on the patterned paper, (it's textured) so I used my Kor-I-Nol black pencil to fill it in. The branch is from the Cricut Storybook cart. Paper is from some stash and I used the Fiskars threading water punch on the top. The branch and punched edge may look black on the pic, but they are brown. TFL!!

Dixie's Birthday...........(Yes, it's a dog!)

So, a friend asked me if I could make her some invitations for her dog's birthday party. Well, of course I said yes! So, Dixie is going to be one year old next month and I made 12 invitations for her party.

I used Paper Pups Cricut cartridge (borrowed from my BFF Julie), a paw punch and a few little embellies. The inside has the party info and a cute little bone at the bottom. Happy Birthday, Dixie! TFL!

Happy Birthday to you.......

This is a birthday card for a friend.

The pattern papers are from My Mind's Eye.

The ribbon and embellie were picked up at HL.

I scrap lifted this idea from the new "Cards"

magazine. I love that mag!! TFL!