TECC40: Merry & Bright Cuppie Rudolph

Well Happy Halloween everyone ~ when you read this, I will most likely be making Halloween cupcakes with my niece, which she has been looking forward to for a few weeks already! I don't have a Halloween card to share since I already moved on from that holiday so here is a card for another fun sketch to celebrate Taylor's Cupcake Friday using the new Stamp a Sweet Impression stamps 'Season's Sweetings' and the Christmas Key Ingredients. Both of which are now available at Taylored Expressions! I sponged around Rudolph & the tag for extra texture. I am in love with the stamps from this release as well as the patterned paper in the key ingredients!!

Here is Taylor’s sketch so you can play along too!! You can be eligible to win Cupcake Sampler Honors & be featured on Taylor’s blog using the next Cupcake Friday Sketch! You’re not required to use cupcakes on your sketch, but if you got ‘em why not use ‘em?? You can create something other than a card but try to keep as close to the sketch as possible. If you’re uploading to Splitcoast, please use keyword TECC40. Leave a comment on Taylor’s post with a link to your blogpost or gallery link so she can check it out! You must have your creation uploaded by Monday, November 3 at 8:00 a.m. PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler honors. Lastly, be sure to have FUN creating!

Be sure to check out the other Cupcake Crew’s Creations:

Taylor VanBruggen
Ana Wohlfahrt
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
Stephanie Hargis
Vicki Chrisman

This week's Cupcake Sampler is: Mary Fish - Stampin' Pretty

Have a Fun & Safe Halloween!!

It's not too late to make a card & make a difference!!

Have you participated in Gina K's cards for the troops yet?  If not, the deadline has been extended! It is such a great idea - send cards to Gina's store (see details here) and be entered to win some awesome stuff in the process!  You know it's difficult for the troops to be away from their families each day, but if we can make a small difference by giving them some handmade cards to send to their loved ones this holiday, how much more can we feel good about what we love to do??  

So hurry!  The deadline is next Wednesday and the winners will be announced then - maybe it will be YOU!!

Q & A about the promotion 

Blog Candy Just Because

It's been such a long time since I gave away some goodies here so I have been gathering them up here & there - and now I present them to you, maybe YOU will win them!! There's a brand new unmounted SU! set Along the Same Lines (hostess set from last year, I believe), a brand new See-D's Inque Boutique set (can't find a link of the set but just discovered that Inque Boutique was sold *sad*) it's a real nice set and it's never been used, pretty flowers), Falling For You Sophia by Paper Pretties, a 2x stamper by JustRite I won in my goodie basket that was duplicated, assortment of ribbons, some felt snowflakes, ribbon, embellishments & dp from the current holiday mini. How can you win? Leave a comment on this post by Tuesday, Nov. 4

1. Tell me one thing you're looking forward to on Halloween this year for one entry

2. Spread the news of my blog candy on your blog for a 2nd entry (but please be sure to post the link in the comments section with a link to your blog entry)

I will shoot for announcing a winner Friday Nov. 7-once I get back from vacation & check all the entries. Good Luck!

Edited to add 11/05/08: Closing post to tally up entries & will post winner soon!

Scripture Card Holder Template

Several commenters on my guest designer spot Day 2 with Gina K requested a template for the Scripture card holder & it is finally done! I drew 2 on one sheet of cardstock to scale but when I sampled to print it, it shrunk. So your best bet is to make it based on the measurements I marked & create your own (that way you won't have the printed lines on the inside of the holder). If you make one, I'd love to see it {and please link me as where you got your inspiration for it}. Please leave me a comment on my blog or email me so I can see what you made!

Have fun creating!

A handmade gift for Baby Anna

I'm excited to be going to CA to visit my family on Thursday; I will be taking a break from blogging during that time so I can give all my attention to my niece, nephew & the rest of my family & friends.  I do have a few posts scheduled while I'm away but I sure will have my Google Reader build up on me (like it is right now since I'm preparing for my trip).  One person I am excited to meet for the first time is Baby Anna who I made this gift for - she was born at the end of August I believe (time has gotten away from me so I can't remember the date) but I'm sure she's precious!  When Gabby went to see her for the first time, my sister said she kept saying, 'look how cute, she's so tiny' - I think she was a few weeks before her due date and my sister said mommy Ann was barely showing with the pregnancy! I can't wait to see her & give her this gift. I stamped flight of the butterfly with pretty in pink & regal rose craft inks & heat set on the onesies.    

Then I stamped a coffee bag to put all the goodies in - here is a close-up of a set I picked up at Hobby Lobby last month for - get this - $1.05!!  It is by My Sentiments Exactly and has a ton of baby images & sentiments and full price was $27.99!!  I could hardly believe my eyes!!  I love this quote - it's so true.  
Here is a picture of the decorated bag - I will have pics from my trip to share when I return.  

Dove Ornament Tutorial & winner of challenge announced!

Here is a tutorial for the challenge from Gina K's Land Cruise party on Thursday night - Erika challenged us to use chipboard on our cards. Well - I didn't make a card, I made an ornament but that's o.k. since my name wouldn't be put in the drawing. I had difficulty uploading the correct sized one in the forum so I promised to post on my blog. Since the holidays are upon us and we are on a limited budget with saving to build our house - I make it a point to make as many handmade gifts to give as possible. This is definitely one I want to make more of if I find the time because I love how it turned out.

I had a full sheet of chipboard that came with some cardstock so I cut down a square to use with my scallop oval nestability. I adhered my Basic Grey Fruitcake designer paper to it & ran it like 4 times through my cuttlebug.

After I cut out the main image, I colored it with Peerless Transparent Watercolors and used my Holiday metallic rub-on paste (silver) all over for texture and finished it off with the sheer white ribbon that comes in the Pure Luxury Ribbon-Holiday assortment. My DMIL fell in love with it so I gave it to her, it's about time she has new ornaments for the fake tree she puts up every year (as for me, I am fond of real ones so look forward to that once we build our house & I have things my way *wink*).

***The winner of my Easy as 1,2,3 challenge from the Land Cruise is Lingaling with her pretty card using Asela's Botanical Dreams set. Congratulations!!***

TECC39: Lots & Lots of Cuppies

Yet another fun sketch from Taylor (not sure how she does it week after week coming up with a new one even better than the last)! I used 3 images from Sweet Celebration for my circles (top ice cream, cuppie licking his lips and the cake). All supplies used are available in Taylor's store - the birthday girl key ingredients. The swirls on the orange layer is the balloon from Stampin' Up!'s Crazy for Cupcakes set (which happens to be on sale for their Birthday Celebration-20 years-20% off!)
I just had to do a second card using the new SASI set Season's Sweetings (sentiment) and Home Sweet Home (mini cupcakes) which are now available to purchase! I also used the Christmas key ingredients. I just adore the mini cupcakes in this set, so I put them inside 3 1-inch circles for the sketch and made the icing liquid pearls and topped them with pink rhinestones. I just love that sentiment!

Here is Taylor’s sketch so you can play along too!! You can be eligible to win Cupcake Sampler Honors & be featured on Taylor’s blog using the next Cupcake Friday Sketch! You’re not required to use cupcakes on your sketch, but if you got ‘em why not use ‘em?? You can create something other than a card but try to keep as close to the sketch as possible. If you’re uploading to Splitcoast, please use keyword TECC39. Leave a comment on Taylor’s post with a link to your blogpost or gallery link so she can check it out! You must have your creation uploaded by Monday, October 27 at 8:00 a.m. PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler honors. Lastly, be sure to have FUN creating!

Be sure to check out the other Cupcake Crew’s Creations:

Taylor VanBruggen
Ana Wohlfahrt
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Monika Davis
Sherrie Siemens
Stephanie Hargis
Vicki Chrisman

This week's Cupcake Sampler is: Kathie - Just an Inkling. Don't miss her card that got Taylor's attention last week-it is a riot (Flaunt It)

One more Sweet Thing on the Stamp A Sweet Impression Blog:

"We’re introducing our Campaign to Spread the Sweetness! If you’d like to help spread the word about Stamp a Sweet Impression and our newest Holiday release, please post a link on your own blog to Taylored Expressions (the Blog) where your readers can get all the deets (here’s the link you need to post: http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/) and say something sweet about TE or SASI. And for helping us Spread the Sweetness we’ll hold another drawing on Sunday October 26. Simply leave a comment before 8am PST Sunday on this post to let us know you Spread the Sweetness and you’ll be entered into the drawing! And what sweet prize do we have for you this time? How about the brand new Christmas Key Ingredients Kit? Yep! One lucky Sweetness Spreader will win this luscious kit!"

With Love from my Kitchen

I'd like to inroduce you to a sneak peek of 'Tag Treats' by Taylored Expressions which will be available for purchase NOW along with Season's Sweetings & Home Sweet Home. I chose to make a Jen del Muro mini pizza box - I thought it would be the perfect size to present some homemade toffee bars I made. I used the Christmas Key Ingredients, which includes 5 sweet designs of designer paper 'Be Merry Collection' by My Mind's Eye, Fire Engine Red glitter, 5 yards of yummy ribbon, Kaiser Craft adhesive pearls (red) and Kaiser Craft adhesive rhinestones (light pink & light blue).

Recipe reads:

Easy Toffee Bars
1 C. Butter
1 C. Packed Brown Sugar
1 (12 oz) Pkg. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
12 Graham Crackers
Chopped Pecans

Pre-Heat oven to 400°. Melt butter & brown sugar until it boils then remove from heat. Lay graham crackers on shallow 13” bar pan. Pour mixture on top & spread. Bake for 5 mins. Sprinkle chocolate chips over & heat for additional 5 mins. Then spread chocolate. Sprinkle pecans evenly and refrigerate to harden.

A link to the original recipe Easy Toffee Bars - mine was adapted to suit my tastes (graham crackers instead of saltine crackers - makes them more solid to me).

Happy Shopping & Creating!

Edited to Add:
On the Stamp A Sweet Impression Blog: "We’re introducing our Campaign to Spread the Sweetness! If you’d like to help spread the word about Stamp a Sweet Impression and our newest Holiday release, please post a link on your own blog to Taylored Expressions (the Blog) where your readers can get all the deets (here’s the link you need to post: http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/) and say something sweet about TE or SASI. And for helping us Spread the Sweetness we’ll hold another drawing on Sunday October 26. Simply leave a comment before 8am PST Sunday on this post to let us know you Spread the Sweetness and you’ll be entered into the drawing! And what sweet prize do we have for you this time? How about the brand new Christmas Key Ingredients Kit? Yep! One lucky Sweetness Spreader will win this luscious kit!"

Stamp a Sweet Impression Christmas Sneak Peek!

When shopping at the dollar tree a while back, I saw these cute tins with cookies inside (I had no idea the cookie would be in the shape of the Gingerbread man - and it looks quite delicious too). I thought it would be perfect to showcase a sneak peek of Taylored Expressions' new Christmas set coming out this Friday Oct. 24th at Midnight EST.

Here is the cookie tin all dressed up & ready to gift! I wrapped the whole thing (adding bubble wrap to cover up the impression of the gingerbread man on the front) with craft paper stamped with the Cornish Heritage Farms canvas backgrounder. I used the Gingerbread house in this new set along with the 'let it snow' sentiment to coordinate with the stardust stickled icing on the house & snow under the house. I stamped the snowflake with bashful blue ink, star with metallic silver & house with palette burnt umber on vanilla cardstock and popped up my cut out house with dimensionals. The ribbon is part of the Christmas Key Ingredients which will be available after the release - be sure to check out Taylor's blog for details on the release. The sentiment is stamped on SU! tab punch and the blue & green crystals are by ZVA Creative, which you can now purchase at the Taylored Expressions store, in fact Taylor added a BUNCH of new stuff already for purchase but you may want to wait until the release to be sure to get the new stamps too because I know you'll want them all *wink*

Be sure to check out the other 'sweet' creations posted by Taylor & other Baker's Dozen Design Team members:  

Taylor
Carol
Jen
Laurie
Sharon
Terri

Be sure to check back later - the Baker's Dozen Design Team will have the 3rd stamp set to sneak peek at 11:00 CST and the release of new stamps will be available to purchase!  

Easy as 1,2,3

How many of you got aboard the Land Cruise party in the Gina K Forum with our sweet Cruise Director Joanne?! I believe we had a great turnout and it was a lot of fun (barring my difficulties correctly sizing & attaching my sample cards which frustrated me to the point I jumped off the boat temporarily *giggle*). With John's help I was finally able to figure it out so I'll be good to go for my first official release party next month as Sr. Design Team member for Gina K. - yea!

This is my first challenge issued for a chance to win a stamp set of your choice valued at $19.95 - must be uploaded by midnight CST Friday to be eligible to win. Details can be found here
there is a 24-hr Land Cruiser special & other goodies to be had - go check it out!!

Link to Gallery of Entries

My challenge is Easy as 1,2,3 - create a card using 1 piece of ribbon, 2 layers (that’s only one plus your cardbase) and 3 embellishments of the same type (on mine I used 3 rhinestones). So far the samples by the DT are awesome and I can't wait to see all the entries and draw a winner on Saturday morning!

On my card, I stamped Rupa's sleigh from Magic of Chrismas & masked ornaments to go inside it. It is colored with Prismacolor pencils blended with stumps & baby oil. Holiday metallic rub-on paste is the green border around the scallop nestability frame and the ribbon is part of Gina K's Pure Luxury Holiday Ribbon, now available-so pretty!

Hope you can play along! I will share my other 2 sample cards for the other challenges later (only had time to upload this one first)

A few Christmas cards, a RAK & a reminder

Here is a simple yet nice Christmas card I made using leftovers from my World Card-making event earlier this month {just realizing I never shared the cards yet-oops} since I over-cut supplies & had a few cancellations, I can now make more cards for my stash-all was not lost. I used Asela's Christmas Blessings set by Gina K Designs which has this precious little church in the country complete with Christmas tree & snowman in the yard. I chose to keep the design real simple and color very little for a big impact on the card. The church, trees & snow are outlined in stardust stickles (hard to capture in the photo). I used the mega rhinestones from Gina's store for the ribbon on the bottom of the top note die (hole punch) and dp is Ski Slope by SU! (available in the holiday mini catalog).

This next card uses the cute wooden deer in her set (but just his face, how cute) I watercolored with the Peerless Transparent Watercolors which are totally portable & easy to use! I love to stamp images & take them to the bedroom & watercolor while watching t.v. can you tell I like to multi-task? They really are awesome & have a great selection of colors. The ribbon is Alpine ribbon originals by SU! also in the mini catalog (love the colors & texture of it).

this sweet RAK is from Dawn Easton (sorry I'm so late to post it-ugh) - isn't it pretty? I just love her clean, crisp style of cards with just the right amount of layering. She's a sweetheart - Thanks again, Dawn!!

Lastly a reminder:
Tonight at 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. CST there is a Land Cruise happening in the Gina K forum on SCS! Don't miss out on the contests, challenges, prizes, and land-cruise special announcement! All the details are on this thread. See ya there!!

We're in this together-Pink Week

Since the 20th is Celebrate MFT day on SCS, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month (it's Pink Week on SCS too) and Monday's challenge Try a New Technique (TLC191) encouraged me to break out my neglected twinkling h20's - I incorporated all 3 elements in my card to share today! I used my Think Pink set, which I hadn't used in a long while.

Here is a close-up shot of the h2o's {hard to capture in the photo of the full card}.  I made pearl necklaces for the trio of ladies with liquid pearls.  All the paper (except pink pirouette card base) & embellishments are a few of the awesome goodies I got in a RAK from Lee Murphy.

Everything I got is included in this photo - isn't she the most thoughtful, sweet friend?  She sent this to me to encourage me with my health scare recently and I know she chose pink & brown for it all because just like her, I am crazy about the 2 colors together!  What was most special with this package was the pretty card she made me - she said she thought of me when she got this stamp because it reminded her of me.  That touched my heart, Lee!  I love you & appreciate your friendship too!!

Hook 'em Horns!!

I realize I am a week late posting this card (or rather SEVERAL weeks) since this card was made for a sketch challenge by Carolyn at the release in August but also because I should have posted it last week in celebration of the Longhorns whipping the pants off the Boomer Sooners! HA~actually I am not really that much of a college football fan - but John is and he usually watches all the games but since I do live in the area I can pretend that I care.  It was real fun making this card, though!  I love the spellbinders die that Ellen Hutson sent me with an order last year, it was perfect for this sketch!  The reason I never uploaded it was because I missed the deadline to be entered in the contest and then forgot about posting it altogether!  Since UT won again yesterday and remain undefeated - here you go!!!

I made my own patterned paper by stamping Big Fan from the Just so Sporty set by Gina K Designs and looked on-line for UT jerseys & paper-pieced it to look like a real one (tried to find it, but can't).  I used my small alpha set by JustRite Stampers for the 'TEXAS' stamped in craft white on the really rust shirt.   

Don't forget the Land-Cruise Party in the Gina K Forum on Weds Oct 22 7:00-10:00 p.m. CST!! It will be loads of fun with a land-cruise specials, challenges & contests!

Prayer Request for Marcus

Melanie discovered this young man's struggle with brain cancer late one night when Nancy(his aunt) posted on her blog - this is Marcus who is facing such a tremendous hardship with this disease.  Melanie is asking everyone to reach out to Marcus by saying a prayer, sending a RAK and/or sharing Marcus' picture across the blogosphere.  Read Melanie's post for more details.  I pray that they all find comfort in God's omnipotence, grace & peace as He guides them through this terrible trial.  

I Made it Through Another Day

Address for RAKs
Karen Russell or Marcus Russell

100 W. 500 S
Providence, UT 84332

SASI Sweet Treats!!

Taylor is having a sweet giveaway on the Stamp a Sweet Impression (SASI) Blog - go check it out to have a chance at winning!!

Also -how would you like to be Our Friday Friend? Starting on Halloween, Taylor is going to start a new Friday feature on the SASI Blog that features a Stamp A Sweet Impression (SASI) Stamper! You could be the featured!  How's that sound? Check out the post to learn how!!

Don't forget - sneak peeks start on Wednesday for the next Taylored Expressions release, which will be on Friday!!  

Flowers for a Friend (long good post)

I know I am like many womem out there that appreciate a beautiful flower and was so excited when Melanie drew a Year of Flowers for Gina K Designs because of their beauty, variety & versatility.  Here are a few offerings from my craft studio (albeit messy) that I have made since I got her set.  The card is off in the mail to a special friend and even though I don't know what her favorite flower is, I decided to send her mine.  I love the double delight hybrid roses, which commonly come in pinks and reds but here is a picture of an orange one I used for inspiration for coloring my rose.   I used a combination of Prismacolor & Koh-I-Noor pencils blended with baby oil/stumps and then rubbed a gold metallic rub-on paste around it to make the oval frame stand out.  
This next card I made for DH's co-worker who is dealing with the sudden death of her dad, which brings up sad memories of the death of mine when I was just 9 yrs old.  One thing I don't like to say to someone whose loved one dies is, "I'm sorry" - an apology in my opinion is unnecessary although I understand the feeling you want to convey.  However, usually one is at a loss for words during this time and it's common for flowers to speak for you.  That's why this sentiment in Melanie's Say it With Flowers set is perfect for a 'sympathy' card which is also another sentiment I don't care to use.  

I remember after my dad died & I returned to school no one said anything to me; they didn't know what to say, finally I asked my bf how come she didn't say anything to me about what happened and she told me our teacher told everyone to NOT say anything about it because it would upset me.  Little did she know it was more upsetting to not talk about it.  Although I understand, sometimes the way to walk through the healing process you do need to talk about it. I wanted to talk about my dad because I was hurting and I wanted to remember all the fun times I had with him & how much I loved him to anyone who would listen!  9 yrs is NOT enough time to have a parent and I felt robbed.  I'm glad John's co-workers had her dad for much longer but I know it's still going to be difficult for her to deal with because it's just plain hard to have to & get on with life because there are going to be so many times she will want/need her dad to talk to, laugh with hold her and tell her everything's going to be o.k.  Edited to add: this card was made by stamping the images with white craft ink on vellum cardstock (which is thick) and on the outline the images with your stylus on top of the soft mat pack (or a mouse pad) being very careful not to push too hard or you can poke through the cardstock, which is what I did underneath the bow (you'd never know that unless I told you though).  

Now it's time to talk about what personal issue I was going through that I mentioned recently, because it's time to rejoice!  A month ago a routine mammogram showed a mass on my left breast.  I went to have an ultrasound & they discovered there were 3, a general surgeon could not feel them so he didn't subject me to the biopsy - he said it could be a recurrence of a phyllodes (benign) tumor which I had removed from the same breast 10 yrs ago OR Cancer - whoa that was weird to hear but of course my God is bigger than that so I refused to think or dwell on that.  I just knew I needed to tell people to pray and agree everything would be o.k. all the while dreading having to go through this process of the unknown and the possibility of it slowing me down {I have a big To Do list, after all} and the inconvenience of it all.  

My spiritual mom Pam is the beautiful blond woman behind me (who brought me the gorgeous mixed bouquet of flowers on the left on Wednesday after my procedure, in the vase that Carolina's white daisies came in on Oct 1 after my appt with the general surgeon).  Pam is a prayer warrior who John and I have been blessed with her friendship since meeting her at a church we both attended about 5 yrs ago - she is old enough to be our mom too and treats us like one!  Well she heard from God early on that everything was going to be o.k. and this was just a distraction.  Vanessa is on the right she looks so pretty with her hair pulled back, she brought me the gorgeous orange roses on the right on Thursday evening at stamp club.  Geez, this story is long - sorry.  She was so sweet to do my stamping (thanks again Vanessa) for me since I was still hurting from the procedure on Weds.  

The procedure was an ultrasound guided breast biopsy (well 3) which was about 20 mins long {but about 2 that John had to wait for me with pre-op and post-op stuff).  He ws so sweet to take the whole day off work and take me and I'm glad because my legs were weak after the procedure - won't go into the details, those of you who are afraid of needles will get queasy. Afterward (since I was a big girl & didn't cry) he took me to get my favorite donuts at Mrs. Johnson's bakery-yum then went to the store to get tylenol & an ice pack.  He took care of me the rest of the day & evening - even sorting my stamp club orders.  DMIL & he also got dinner that evening so I could rest.  Thank you, Honey...I appreciate you taking care of me, holding me & telling me everything was going to be o.k. when I got the call something was found.  

On Thursday afternoon I got a call from the radiologist & the results were negative for malignancy!  woo - hoo! Yesterday morning the Dr. called to tell me they are fibroadenomas, and I would not have to have additional surgery!  Praise God!!  I am relieved and now I have to get to work on 2 new releases - Taylored Expressions & Gina K Designs so I will be BUSY for a while but still posting, no worries.  

However my most important thing now is that I can visit my family in CA without stress - 12 more days until I go and can really enjoy my visit.  Gabby is so excited, we are going to bake cupcakes & play oh how fun!!  Thank you to everyone for their support during this time and even to the ladies who commented they were going to pray & have me in their thoughts even when they didn't know what I was going through.  That touches my heart and now you know - thank you everyone for your concern & friendship!  

P.S. One more thing and I promise I will go away for a little while - Gina K, Emily from Stamping Bella & Nichole with Papertrey are heading out to cruise tomorrow (lucky) along with hundreds of other lucky women to stamp all week.  However, for those of us stuck on dry land - Gina K is going to be having a Land-Cruise party in their forum complete with challenges (I'm going to issue one too) prizes, and specials announced that evening!  If you can join us, I'm sure you will have fun & NOT regret it!  It's this Wednesday October 22 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. CST.  All the details are on this thread 

But wait - one lucky person could win the WHOLE LOT of new GINA K stamps specifically desgined for the water-cruise.  Details are here - good luck!!

I scream - You scream -

we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Here is my card for Taylor's Cupcake Friday Challenge. I used the double scoop ice cream image from Sweet Celebration. I just love ice cream! My mom ate it every day when she was pregnant with me {which also explains why I don't particularly care for black cherry ice cream -that's what she ate, guess I had enough}. I bought the wooden stand paper clip stand before I got the stamp set, I thought it would be fun to announce my cupcake challenge on top and am just now showing you since I thought it had to go with the birthday girl key ingredients Taylor sells in her store. Lastly, a few weeks ago I got the idea to make a scissor/cell phone charm & send to Taylor as a gift (surprise T). Hopefully I will get it in the mail soon *wink*

Here is the sketch so you can play along too! You can have a chance at winning Featured Sampler Honors & be featured on Taylor's blog next week! You're not required to use cupcakes for the challenge, but if you got 'em why not use 'em!? You're welcome to create something other than a card, just stick as closely to the sketch as possible. If you're uploading to Splitcoast usekeyword TECC38. Leave a comment on Taylor's post with a link to your blog post or gallery upload so she can check it out! You must have your cards uploaded by Monday, October 20th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler honors.

Be sure to check out the creations made by the Cupcake Crew!

Taylor VanBruggen

Ana Wohlfahrt

Jackie Pedro

Jami Sibley

Monika Davis

Sherrie Siemens

Stephanie Hargis

Vicki Chrisman

This week's featured sampler is Tori Wild - check out her creation Wild Sprinkles

An even BIGGER SECRET revealed

My final day as guest designer with Gina K has come to an end not all good things come to an end - sometimes they get BETTER! Check out my Day 3 project for Gina K Designs but wait, not quite yet...I have another secret to reveal. Then - you can go check out my stuff!

I'm so proud to announce that I am the newest Sr. Design Team Member for Gina K Designs!!! Woohoo!!

My dream/goal of serving on a stamping design team came true since the beginning of July with my guest spot at Paper Pretties, then at the end of July with Starving Artistamps then again in August with Taylored Expressions - all the while I knew my Guest Designer spot was secured with Gina K for October (still a long way off). I have had so much fun during this time working with all the ladies on the teams and really felt I grew as a stamper over the months.

I will never forget a sweet email I got from Gina before I sent my guest spot projects where she said, "I'm so proud of all you've accomplished over the last year." I realize Gina may not even be old enough to be my mom, but as a mom she knew exactly the right words to speak to my heart.
Some of you know my mom Fina died before I got involved with stamping so she is not around to appreciate what I do or even benefit from it with my homemade gifts. But my sisters are and they are proud, in fact my oldest sister Val commented on my post from Wednesday that I must share: 'Donna, If you could see me now, tears of joy and pride are streaming down my cheeks and I say with a mother's heart that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mama is so proud of her baby girl, as she smiles down from heaven. Your creativity is truly a gift from the Lord and I am so thankful that you share it with us, especially my children, Gabriella and Joseph. Your projects continue to amaze me and I look forward to each one. Your family in CA looks forward to seeing you soon! Love, Hugs & Kisses - Your sister, Val'.

In addition to my sisters being proud of me so are my DMIL and other dear friends who are like mother figures to me with their support, caring and sharing of my craft. Just like Gina, they tug at my heartstrings with comments of being proud of me because I believe all of us, whether we admit or not, long for approval from our mothers/mother figures. In fact, the realm of validation comes from everyone who shares our love for the craft (whatever it may be) through our encouraging comments, no matter how many words they are...they impact us in a big way & inspire us to go above & beyond in what we do.

I know without a doubt my mom Fina would be so proud of me and how much I make it a goal to make a difference in other's lives; whether it be with a homecooked meal, a kind word, a hug when it's needed, a thoughtful gift or a handmade card in the mail or just time spent with someone I care for. She was the same way and left a lasting impression on everyone she met because she was so loved & cared for...just like me!

note: I wrote this blog post before my sister commented - I just edited to add it to share it with y'all.

For the sweet birthday girl

Did you know the Taylored Expressions Design Team has their own blog for inspiration called Stamp a Sweet Impression?  Go check it out so you can see all the details of the above teaser.  

You can sign up for updates so you don't miss any posts.  Did you see she announced on her blog the next release of stamps will be next Friday, October 24th?  I'm so excited about it!  Sneak peeks will start on Weds. Oct. 22!  

Night Table Inspiration

Go check out my Day 2 projects as guest designer for Gina K Designs.

Edited to Add: I didn't have time to make a template for the Scripture card holder before I sent this off to Gina but can easily re-create it. The cards are ATC size. I will post soon.

A Secret Revealed...

How many of y'all who follow my blog remember me winning Melanie's Just so Hoppy contest back in March? I remember like it was yesterday, it was so exciting and I remember getting tears in my eyes reading all the sweet things she said about me in it and it immediately got the attention of Gina Krupsky of Gina K Designs (who Melanie illustrates for and is also on her Sr. Design Team) - well much to my delight I woke up the next morning to an email from Gina K!

In the subject line it said, 'uh we need to talk' and after a few days of playing phone tag she let me know she was impressed with the work on my blog & wanted to extend an invitation to be her Guest Designer - get this, in OCTOBER! Boy, talk about a long 7-month secret to keep!

So now the secret is revealed! Please go check out Day 1 of my Guest Designer spot with Gina K and be sure to check back tomorrow & Friday for all 3 days so you don't miss anything!!!

Altered Birthday Cupcake Messages!!

My co-worker Linda got these cool dry erase boards at work from our office supply for free & asked me if I wanted them for my stamping, of course I said! The neatest thing about these is the fact that the whole back is magnet so it's real strong!!

So this is what I made them into by covering them with the Sweet Celebration stamps {charms using polyshrink} & birthday girl key ingredients {designer paper, ribbons} Taylored Expressions. I covered the pen that came with it with the designer paper & clear microbeads using stamper's magic tape from Starving Artistamps.

And now for something fun...What Kind of Cupcake Are You?

The Dozen Cupcakes Quiz

Copacabana! Cupcake "Pineapple vanilla cake, mango buttercream, rolled in coconut and topped with a pineapple wedge. always in fashion!" You are the life of the party, the belle of the ball... the frosting on the cupcake! You love to party, to socialize, and you are not afraid to make your own fun. People are drawn to your amiable nature and sense of humor, and you have never been known to badmouth a friend because you like everybody. The epitome of an optimist, you keep spirits up in dark times and your smile is infectious.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by

Stamp Club - Part 4b (Techniques)

Spotlighting - one of my favorite color combinations, Rose Red, Certainly Celery & Basic Black. Used Fresh Notes set.


Reverse Spotlighting - first time I tried it, lots of fun and another favorite In Color Color Combinations: Baja Breeze, Pacific Point & Kiwi Kiss. Used Eastern Blooms.

Stamp Club - Part 4a (Techniques)

Here are the technique cards my stamp club is going to be collecting during their club months - 4 per session. I print up the techniques ahead of time and prepare the supplies for everyone to make their own card to keep. At the end, we will bind them together for a booklet. Techniques are found on SCS resources and (demo forum).

Masked Wheeling - the hostess will get to keep all the full cards I make as a sample for each technique.

Dazzling Diamond Dust