Fun Stamping Day with Jeanne S!!

I don't have time to post the project I made this morning because I am ready to go run my errands (delivering product, new catalogs to customers) and FUN stamp time (LONG overdue since it's been over a year since our last one) at Jeanne's house! I get to spend quality time with my friend who I haven't seen since last Oct because of all the moving & busyness life brought to me!! I also get to play with all her new loot!!! LUCKY ME!!!

Beach Blogger Bingo Round 4 (2 cards)

It's been a few days since I've posted for this fun game of BINGO Julee is hosting! The prizes have been fabulous! Check it out- it's been a LOT of fun! I made this card to send to the gal I'm secret sis for on SCS (hopefully she never sees my blog or else I'll be found out! Like me, she loves purple so this was an easy & fun card to do) I used my Baroque Motifs set (love it & THANK YOU Terry K. for blessing me with it for my BIRTHDAY!) and some chipboard & paper from a chipboard pack I got for real cheap at JoAnn's. They match the Elegant Eggplant so well. The center circles are chipboard I covered with the paper and used a dimensional for the center flower. I used craft ink for the background so it showed up well & the crop-a-dile for the brads.

My next card I used My Favorite Things Hot Stuff set as well as the sentiment from the Girlfriends set by Fiskars (word window punch used). I love these 3 colors together, looks great for coffee! It's River Rock (totally was not digging on it at first but LOVE it), Soft Sky & Chocolate Chip. I used my Copic Markers to color the image. This is a 4 x 4 inch card, real cute but the sentiment on the River Rock strip gets lost a little, which says 'coffee & friends the perfect blend'. How true! I used to LOVE hanging out at coffee shops with my friends growing up in CA. I don't do it often enough in TX, so I miss it. But I do LOVE the java!!!

Bella Storage!!

When I was re-arranging my stamp room & organizing, I was trying to figure a good way to store my Bellas and I had an small empty stamp case by SU! how perfect!! So, here's my first and maybe only tip I may ever share with y'all - I know, I need to get more bellas!!

HOW DO I SPELL RELIEF?!?!

C-A-T-A-L-O-G!!

I finally got my pre-ordered catalogs AND my comp copy in the same day! wOoHoO!!!

My Favorite Things Blog Candy with Jen & Taylor!!

I'm SO glad Jen and Taylor posted a My Favorite Things Blog Candy contest today!! It FORCED me to open my only set up I got for my birthday along with one set of the copic markers. I knew I'd LOVE this set the moment I saw it because I love Coffee & Most Teas!!! Actually DH is the BIG fan of teas but I am slowly getting there, I prefer cold teas over hot teas but with this set it could be both, right? My first project I incorporated a little Lipton Iced Tea packet that goes in a bottled water. I made my own little box, it's not perfect but it's what I could do after a VERY long day! I was SO upset though, because I lost one of the little cups already! I turned my desk upside down looking for it- ugh. Now I'll have to buy another set. I used River Rock, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red & Very Vanilla c/s. I got my chocolate brads at A*Muse on vacation but I can't remember who makes them! Used circle & oval punches, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, linen bg. This was fun!

My second project (because I want to enter BOTH of their contests) is a 5 inch card. I also used the Faux Ribbon Papertrey set as a little shelf for the cards as a border. I used the same colors as the other project and faux stitched a border around the main image. The corner coffee bean accents are popped up with dimensionals and she is colored in with Prismacolor pencils & Gamsol. I'm pretty happy with how this card turned out I just wish I could find that little polka dot coffee mug (which happens to be my favorite one!!)

Copic Markers - new use!

Trudee posted a tutorial to color your white grosgrain ribbon to match your project with Copic markers! How cool is that? Here's the link! No more mess with re-inkers! I can't wait to go home to try it!

Today's Round 3 Blogger Bingo Card

I'm running out of creative post titles for these blogger bingo contest cards on Julee's blog. This is my entry for the current sketch. I just got my new IN COLORS from SU! today! I waited to order to see what everyone thought and I wasn't really crazy about the pre-order sets except for Baroque Motifs (A sweet friend sent me $ so I could order it from her for my birthday, thank you, Terry!!) I will play with it tomorrow because I had a jam-packed weekend and I want to rest this evening. But I had to make a quick card to send as a Thank you to someone & this fit the bill. Used Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey Phoebe paper. Anyone notice the In Color cardstock is not quite the thickness of other SU! cardstock? I was surprised. Anyway, I only stamped the sentiment & stumbled upon the idea of creating a unique tag with the oval punch, punched both colors with the same oval punch & sliced off the sides of the top layer. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Faux Ribbon set, which I love!

Personalized Stationary

MIL needed a gift for her chiropractor & it was the perfect opportunity to use my Clearly Creative Card Boxes by Papertrey! At just $.60 each, it's the most practical solution for boxing up assorted cards for sale or as a gift! I printed "A Note From Patricia" from Word on my computer and stamped Mixed Bouquet (one of my go to sets that, although it's retiring from SU! current product line I will not stop using). Colors used: Ruby Red, Really Rust, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy. Accesories: Cranberry stitched ribbon (retiring, blended well with Ruby Red for this project), Copper Cord (also retiring), Color Spritzer Tool. Cardstock, envelopes used were Papertrey's Stamper's Select Cardstock which I LOVE - it's so sturdy for folded cards, unlike SU! thin Whisper White (which I still use for layering, just not if I want a white card base).

Redheaded Birthday!

I needed to make a birthday card for a pretty redhead whose birthday is soon, so I grabbed my already colored redheaded bella and paired her with some Basic Grey Phoebe paper & grabbed my Faux Ribbon set by Papertrey to mimic all the fun patterns in the paper for the background. I LOVE this set, it has SO many possibilities! This card was easy & fun to make - I bet this redhead will get a kick out of it!

Blogger Bingo Card - Sympathy

Here's a new card for Julee's contest of Beach Blogger Bingo We only started on the 20th and we've had 1 winners already! When we upload cards, Julee calls bingo numbers so the more cards we make, the faster we go! She's been giving out some awesome prizes too! This card is doubling as a sympathy card for Julia Stainton I've wanted to send her since her mom passed away.

ATC Swaps

Here are my 4 group swaps for Taylor's A*Muse ATC Swap. I can't believe how fun & easy these are to make & not so overwhelming as a card front or full card. O.k. with the little dog in the wagon - that one wasn't so easy - there was a LOT of work with masking & coloring with my Copics but I sure like how it turned out. You can't see the sky very well in the photo, though.

Blogger Bingo Cards 3 and 4

This set is the next prize for Julee's Beach Blogger Bingo! We already had one winner (Sarah) the other day!! I didn't make any cards to upload to get numbers drawn yesterday, so I made 2 for today with this sketch. I hope the bee border on the left of the 2nd card is o.k. because I did not have ANY bg paper to match the ATC bee (which is for Taylor's ATC Swap) this is the 2nd round (I was SO impressed with the 1st round I HAD to get in on the 2nd one-I never did post those pictures). But better than that - here's a link to the first ATC SWAP ALBUM Taylor uploaded. This way you see them ALL & not just the ones I got. I look forward to this next round!!!

Never be the first to let go of a hug...

I was surprised with a Thank You bouquet of the most fragrant pink roses in a bulb vase yesterday at work! By the gal who I made this gift for back in March. She came in to say thank you personally for blessing her. She also brought a bouquet to her best friend (my supervisor who has been a great support for her) and the receptionist here (who is also a Breast Cancer Survivor that can relate to what she is going through).

Wow - I was shocked at this gesture. When I shared this humble act with John he said now 'that is ture gratitude.' How often do we say Thank You in a bigger way for something someone did that meant so much to us? Sure we can send a card or a quick email...but how much more special is it to BLESS someone back for BLESSING you? I must have given her about 4 hugs...and they were real hugs, not the kind that are wimpy with a fake pat on the shoulder - I'm talking the kind that bridge the gap between casual acquaintances; connecting two souls, where you don't want to be the first to let go. The hugs were more than just just than you for the roses; they were also to let her know I'm glad she's doing better, beating this thing! She said there's only 3 more treatments. I meant it when I told her she looked so great because she does!! I actually saw her eyes well with tears at one point. I always think of the saying I read a long time ago, to "never be the first to let go of a hug". I know it sounds a little silly because if two people believe that, who's ever going to let go and get on with life? It's neat to think about though. There is power in a warm, meaningful hug.

The Card Castle: Stamping Tip: Punch Coloring

The Card Castle: Stamping Tip: Punch Coloring Check out this cool tip for multi-colored punch shapes!!

Beach Blogger Bingo Sketch #2

So here's my sketch card to catch up to Shadowcatcher's Beach Blogger Bingo fun! Check it out & play along with us!!

I love Whipper Snapper animals! This is a pup 'n bone I got from my sister & bil for my birthday - isn't he the cutest?! Totally reminds me of my Shelby when she has a bone (I'll have to get a picture soon & upload it to show you) I used my Copic Markers to color the pup 'n bone, my mega circle & giga circle scallop punches from Papertrey as well as my Faux Ribbon set how fun are those faux ribbons?? What's so cool about clear stamps is that you can SEE where you're stamping so there was no guess work or stamp-a-ma-jog involved with it!! The sentiment is from a Fiskars set (I also got for my b'day) and the paper is SU! Pallette O' Prints in Almost Amethyst.