Bird of Thanks

The days after Christmas are all about the thank you cards around here. I like to get cards made and sent out as soon as possible, so our friends and family know how thankful we are for them, and for any gifts that we received. My kids have had it drilled into their heads since they were little "thank you cards, thank you cards, thank you cards" LOL.

This particular one is going to be sent to my step mom, who lives down in FL, so I wanted it to have a spring-look to it, as she really isn't a fan of winter. It made me giggle thinking about that, as I stood outside in a temperature of negative 9, surrounded by snow, taking the picture :)

I played along with 2 challenges for this card. The first one was Stamping 411 and their sketch challenge, and the 2nd one was Shopping Our Stash, who wants us to use ribbon, twine, etc on our project. Go check out both blogs if you haven't already!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Language of Friendship, Petite Pairs

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Watercolor Paper, Springtime Vintage DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Certainly Celery Ribbon, Oval Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Aquapainter, dimensionals, sponge

Christmas Tree with Stamping 411

I saw this weeks sketch over at Stamping 411 and was intrigued but I have to admit, when I sat down to actually work with it I had some trouble! I think it was the circle in the bottom left that kept throwing me off, I couldnt find anything I liked to go there. I finally went with some Old Olive embossed with the Snow Burst folder and I think going simple was the right balance against the tree!

I love this tree from the Christmas Lodge set. It makes me want to put up my Christmas tree right this second but we get a real Christmas tree, so it will be a while yet before I can get mine up. I'll just enjoy this stamp until then :)

I used Dazzling Details on the tree for a snow in the sun look, and the 2nd photo of the card I tried to get a good shot of the sparkle. This time of year though in my neck of the woods I dont get a whole lot of bright sunlight but I think I got enough of an angle and sun to show the pretty sparkle of the card!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Naturals White, Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Always Artichoke

Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Paper Piercer, Dazzling Details, Snowburst Embossing Folder, sponge, dimensionals

From Santa

I've been wanting to use my new From Santa stamp and when I saw this weeks sketch over at Stamping 411 I knew the Santa image was perfect for it.

I used Early Espresso for my base and added a layer of Frostwood Lodge DSP. I love this paper so much, going to have to seriously stock up on it! I embossed some Whisper White with the SnowBurst embossing folder and then I layered that onto some Marina Mist. I stamped the image first in all Cherry Cobbler, then I stamped it a second time using Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Marina Mist and I punched out the inner circle, layering it on the first image I stamped. Added some Marina Mist ribbon and thats it, nice and easy Christmas card! (After I took the photo I remembered I had wanted to use Dazzling Diamonds, so some of that was added to Santas hat. I was too lazy to take photos again after I added it though, LOL).

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: From Santa

Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist

Accessories: SnowBurst Embossing Folder, Marina Mist ribbon, 1 3/4" circle punch, sponge, dimensionals

Birthday Yummy

Wow, 2 cards in 1 day? I must be sick!

This card was made for 2 challenges....the first is this weeks Clean and Simple challenge over at Splitcoast, where you are to use a sand color, a chocolate color, a light blue and a neutral. I went with Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and Whisper White.

Next I used the sketch from Stamping 411. If you didnt know,  Stamping 411 is now strictly Stampin'Up products only for their challenges.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps:Birthday Bakery
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Cutie Pie DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: SU Watercolor Crayons, Bashul Blue Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Brads

Zoo Baby

I combined 2 great challenges on todays card. The first is this weeks challenge from the Friday Mashup blog and we are supposed to create a card using "zoo animals". I went through my stash, trying to find something that would work, and I came across the set 'Zoofari'. My daughter has a friend that is expecting a little boy and her baby shower is coming up, so I thought the little rhino would make a cute image for a baby card.
I added some silver Stickles to the horn to give it a little pop, and the square the rhino is stamped on is popped up with dimensionals. When my daughter got home I showed her the card and she told me her friends theme for the baby is jungle animals so it worked out perfectly!


The sketch is this weeks challenge over at the Stamping 411:Saturday Sketch Challenge. Love this clean and simple sketch!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Zoofari, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, sentiment from Greetings Galore
Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Bashul Blue, Cutie Pie DSP
Ink: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Going Gray, Black StazOn
Accessories: Silver Stickles, Bashful Blue/Certainly Celery/Whisper White ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Spring Colors

If you go back to this Santa card you'll see that I had submitted it over at the Friday Mashup blog for the sketch challenge and WOW, my card was chosen as that weeks favorite and I was named a Mashup Maven! How awesome is that? I love that blog and those ladies so it meant a lot to me! It also meant that I was going to be a guest designer for the Mashup Challenge #32. I got a sneak peek at what Holly came up with and its an inspiration challenge. As soon as I saw the colors I instantly thought of spring and flowers.

To help me along I also used this weeks sketch over at Stamping 411, combining 2 great challenges!

Go check out the Friday Mashup blog to see all the great cards for this challenge and please, join in! Its a great trio of gals that runs the blog and they really have some amazingly creative minds!



Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Apple Blossoms
Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Tea Party DSP
Ink: Pretty In Pink, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery
Accessories: CB Bloom Dots embossing folder, SU brads, Pretty In Pink ribbon, dimensionals

Be Happy

As I was sitting at my desk making this card today I had Bobby McFerrins song "Dont Worry Be Happy" in my head the entire time! Remember that tune?

Anyway, todays card combines 2 challenges. The first is from the Friday Mashup blog and this week was Holly's turn, and she chose a color challenge. I wasnt too sure about the Peach Parfait but in the end I think it all came together well.

The sketch is from this weeks challenge over at the Stamping 411 blog. I ended up spacing out the brads above the image because my daughter(the toughest critic you'll ever meet,geez) didnt like them all together. She was home sick today and let me tell you, dont even try and bother arguing with a sick 15 year old girl! LOL

 Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps-Darling Dots, Quick Thinking
Paper- River Rock, Pink Pirouette, Peach Parfait, Whisper White
Ink- River Rock, Pink Pirouette, Peach Parfait

Accessories- Scallop Trim punch, brads, XL Modern Label punch, dimensionals

Hello Birdie

With this card I am combining 2 challenges....the first one is from Friday Mashup and the theme is "birds". I love birds!! I have feeders all over my yard and love to watch the birds eat and interact. Here at my place I get a lot of black capped chickadees, nuthatches and hairy and downy woodpeckers. I could spend the entire day outside just watching the birds and taking photos of them, and I have, 'cause thats how I roll :P

The second challenge is a sketch challenge from the Stamping 411 blog. I love this sketch...simple, classic and easy to work with!

My stepmom loves birds and since my dad died I try and send her cards as often as I can. Shortly after my dads funeral she left to spend some time with her mom in FL and I just like to let her know that I love her and miss her, and that I appreciate everything she did for my dad. Taking care of a person with cancer day in and day out is a hard, tiring job but she was there for my dad everyday, and she needs to know how much that means to me, and how much she means to me! Therefore this card was made specifically with her in mind and will be in the mail for FL tomorrow!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps- Cheep Talk
Paper- Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Ink- Early Espresso, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight
Accessories- Scallop border punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, CB Birds and Swirls Embossing Folder, dimensionals,sponge