Christmas Card Challenges #7

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our challenge is always to make a Christmas or holiday card, and we offer up an optional challenge if you need a little inspiration. This week our optional challenge is a color challenge.

I pulled a few different light grey papers from a couple of different 6x6 paper pads and then added in a bit of the red. Looking at this card now, I kind of wish I would have inked the edges of all of the papers and the sentiment to help them stand out a bit more. 

Be sure to stop by Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along and getting a head start on those holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Lasting Memories #333

Hello and good Sunday morning to you! I hope that you have had a good weekend.

We have a new challenge for you today over at Lasting Memories. For the month of March DT member Sandy is providing our challenges. Our theme is "Birthday" and our first challenge is to create a birthday layout using this sketch by the talented Laura Whitaker.

I have already scrapped the birthday cake photos of Ada's 3rd birthday, so I thought I would scrap the photos of her opening up her presents. This was her actual birthday - I still have all of the photos from her big birthday party to scrap. Maybe you will see some of those later on this month!

Since I used Pebbles' Birthday Wishes papers for the birthday cake layout, I decided to use them on this layout as well. The colors are a great match and I wanted to get some more of this collection used up!

Head on over to Lasting Memories to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. Sandy is offering up a prize to one lucky winner, so be sure and play along!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

Paper Play Sketches #36

Hello and Happy Wednesday! Already the middle of the week. The weekend will be here before we know it!

We have a new sketch today at Paper Play Sketches. It's another great sketch to be used for greeting cards, or even a project life style card, which is what I have made for today. Here's a look at the sketch:

This card is going in my Week 1 layout for 2017. I hope to be sharing the full layout a little later this week.

I thought that  the lined paper would be a good place for a bit of journaling if I need some extra space.

I used Echo Park's "Just Be You" 6x6 paper pad, which I will be using throughout the Week 1 layout, and the sentiment is from Close To My Heart - It's Your Day (CC1020) and stamped in Outdoor Denim ink. The heart really does match better than it appears in the photo!

Head on over to Paper Play Sketches to see the cards from the rest of the design team. Remember, you don't have to use the sketch for just a card, it can be used for a layout or any paper crafting project, as long as we can see the sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday #310

Good Tuesday morning! I hope that your day is off to a good start! We are supposed to have another 70 degree day in February, so I cannot complain!

We have a new sketch for you today at Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday. This fun sketch is courtesy of Vicki, and the optional theme for this week is "Sweet Thoughts".

I have used the oh-so-pretty "Just Be You" 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park. The sentiment is from Close To My Heart (CC1041) Hello Life - card making. Another quick and easy card ready to brighten someone's day.

Head on over to the Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. You have 2 weeks to play along, and you can enter either on the Try Stampin' blog or on our Facebook page here. I hope you have some time to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #200

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge has their 200th sketch posted today! 200 sketches - that is quite an accomplishment! Here is a look at this week's sketch:

I love the simplicity of this sketch! It has so many possibilities!

For my card I have used Jen Hadfield's "DIY Home" 6x6 paper pad. There are so many pretty papers in this collection! The sentiment is a stamp from BoBunny's  - Captured stamp set.

A super quick card and I love the way this one turned out.

The full design team reveal and the top 3 will be up on the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog on Wednesday. We can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Stick It Down February Card Reveal

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll down or go here.

Today is the full design team reveal for the card sketch team at Stick It Down. Here's a reminder of the fabulous sketch that was posted on the first:

For my card I started out with a pink ombre paper. It's hard to tell that it is ombre in the photo, but it is! I then used a heart stencil from Momenta and some texture paste to add the hearts all over the background. I outlined the edges of the card with a white gel pen. The heart is die cut using a Lawn Fawn heart die, and I stamped and embossed the sentiment and popped it up with some foam tape.

I love the way this card turned out - I acutally had a hard time giving it away as a Valentine!

Stop by the Stick It Down blog to see how the rest of the design team interpreted this sketch. We hope to see you playing along with us! You have until the end of the month to play along.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap #92

Hello, hello! Good Monday morning to you! I hope that you had a good weekend and are ready for the new week!

We have our last card sketch for February posted today at Sketch N Scrap today. This fabulous sketch is courtesy of Lisa, and I love it!

For my card I have used Pink Paislee's "Switchboard" 6x6 paper pad and ephemera pack.  I love all of the layers on this sketch, and that made it perfect to use up some of those scraps that I've been saving from this paper pad. Since the reds in this collection are more on the red-orange side, and the only enamel hearts or dots that I have are real red, I opted to go with the light pink in this collection.

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the team. You have until the end of the month to play along with our challenges.

Just a reminder - our "Love Is In The Air" online crop is still going on. You have until tomorrow, February 21st to play along over on our Facebook Events page here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'll be back soon with another project to share with you!

Lasting Memories #332 - Color/Photo Inspiration Challenge

Hello and Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a fabulous weekend! We, once again, are experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures and I love it!

We have a new challenge for you today at Lasting Memories. I can't believe that this is our final challenge of the month! I know February is a short month, but wow, has it gone by fast! Anyway, our theme for February has been "All In The Name Of LOVE" and our final challenge of the month is a color/photo inspiration challenge. Use the photo below for inspiration for your layout.

I went with the black, white, and red colors, and I added in a few hearts, too!

For the top and bottom border pieces I had originally started with just plain white cardstock, and that was too plain for me, so I have a little stamp from Close To My Heart called "On The Plus Side" (M1135) and I stamped the top and bottom borders with it. I love the way it turned out and I know I will be using it again and again!

I also pulled out a bunch of my roller style stamps to stamp the random phrases on this layout. I used stamps from October Afternoon, Shimelle, Maggie Holmes, Dear Lizzy, and Close To My Heart. I love these little phrase stamps and need to make it a point to use them more often.

In our 100 Pattern Paper Facebook group I posted a challenge to go to your scrap bin and pull at least 5 scraps off of the top and use those scraps up in some projects. They don't have to all be used on one thing, but try to use them up before the end of the month. Here is a photo of the scraps that I pulled to get used up before the end of February:

I am happy to say that I used up all of the red chevron piece and most of the red cardstock. I think I had a piece that is about a 4x4 size left. I am always needing red cardstock, so I know it will get used up before the end of the month.

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along with us! Our February challenges are due by February 24th, so time is running out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!

Stay Awesome With Paper Play Sketches #35

Hello again! I am back with my third project of the day. If you are looking for my Christmas Cards All Year Round reveal, please scroll down or go here. If you are looking for my Love To Scrap Challenge Blog reveal, please scroll down or go here.

I am back to share my take on the latest sketch from Paper Play Sketches. It is another great sketch to work with!

For my card I have used Dear Lizzy's Fine and Dandy collection. That cute "Stay Awesome" flamingo card is actually one of the 3x4 cards from the Fine and Dandy Project Life core kit. This sketch is a great one to use up some of those Project Life Style cards!

Be sure to stop by Paper Play Sketches to see the projects from the rest of the design team.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Love To Scrap Challenge Blog #94 - Who Loves You Baby

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Christmas Cards All Year Round reveal, please scroll down or go here.

I am back to share my card for the mid month inspiration at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog. Our theme for February is "Who Loves You Baby", and this time around I got to work with digital stamps from Gracielle Design. I am working with the super cute Love Ya! digital stamp set.

I changed the color of the digital stamp to red and printed it off on a piece of vellum. I then backed the vellum with white cardstock to help it stand out against the red background. I kept this card pretty simple because I wanted that stamp to really be the focus.

Be sure to stop by the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog to see the beautiful projects from the rest of the design team. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Christmas Cards All Year Round - February Mid Month Inspiration

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am so happy that you have stopped by today!

It's the middle of the month and time for the mid month inspiration from the Christmas Belles at Christmas Cards All Year Round. Our challenge for February is to add red and/or pink, and add a heart to your project.

I have used Pebbles' " Holly Jolly" paper for my card. The sentiment is a sticker from Echo Park that I have had out on my desk since the holidays and thought it was time to get it used. The enamel hearts are from Recollections.

This was a pretty quick and easy card, and one of my most recent favorites!

Stop by the Christmas Cards All Year Round blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the Christmas Belles. We hope to see you playing along and getting a head start on those holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with another project to share with you!

Make It Monday #82 At The Memory Nest

Hello scrappy friends! Here we are back at Monday already! Those weekends go by way too fast!

At least this Monday is a little better because it is Make It Monday #82 at The Memory Nest, and we have a brand new sketch for you to try!

I love to use circles on my layouts, and this sketch is pretty clean and simple, so it is right up my alley!

I have used Fancy Pants' Sweet Nothings collection for this layout. I am in love with those puffy alphas and hearts! Such cuteness!

I kept my layout pretty simple - just adding in a few paint splatters and a tag for a tiny bit of journaling. I guess with Valentine's Day right around the corner I had "love" on my mind! I can't believe we have been married for 27 years!

Be sure to stop by The Memory Nest blog to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you get a chance to try out this sketch! I would love to see what you do with it!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap's Love Is In The Air Crop

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a good day!

Sketch N Scrap's "Love Is In The Air" crop is in full swing! We will have challenges posted every day through Valentine's Day, and you will have until  February 21st to play along.

Here is the layout that I made for today's challenges. Challenge #2 was to use sketch #101, some hearts, at least one tag, the word love, and something round.

For this layout I have mostly used papers from Dear Lizzy's Happy Place collection. The pink is from my scrap pile and I have no idea where it was from, and the green is a really old piece from Cosmo Cricket. I love it when I can mix in some old stash with some new!

For the title I used alpha stickers from Amy Tangerine, and stamped the arrows using a stamp set from Close To My Heart (Sightseer C1534).

One of the requirements was to use the word "love", so I stamped this "love this" stamp in a light pink. It really shows up better in person, but it is light!

The arrow is a die from an Art C stamp and die set,  and I fussy cut the camera from one of the pattern papers.

My journaling is on the tag hidden behind the photos.

Head on over to the Sketch N Scrap events page to check it out! 

Christmas Card Challenges #6

Hello, hello! I hope that your are having a good weekend. We enjoyed a beautiful day yesterday, and were able to spend a lot of time outside enjoying it! I've pretty much given up hope on having any snow this year, so just keep the warmer temperatures coming!

We have a new challenge for you today at Christmas Card Challenges. As always - you need to make a Christmas/holiday card, and we provide an optional challenge for you, in case you need some added inspiration.

This week we have an inspiration photo for you. I was inspired by the horses and the brown in the photo.

I found this project life style card in my stash and knew I wanted to use it on a card. I tried adding more things to it, like sequins and bling, but it just wasn't working for me, so I kept it simple.

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see how the design team was inspired this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

PDE Linky Party #159 - Cards Or Project Life Style Cards

Hello and happy Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Are you ready for the weekend? It's supposed to be close to 80 around here, so I am sure we will be spending some time outside!

We have a new challenge up at PDE Linky Party today, and since it is the second Friday of the month that means our challenge is:

Ch #159 - Cards or Project Life Cards

I have made a birthday card to add to my stash. We have several birthdays coming up over the next couple of months, so I figured it would be a good idea to get them made ahead of time instead waiting to make them the day before, like I usually do!

I kept this card pretty plain and simple, but I do like how it turned out. I used Crate Paper's Wonder collection, and Close To My Heart's Joyful Birthday (B1419) for the sentiment.

One of my goals for 2017 is to send out more of the cards that I have made. I didn't do too well with that in January, but I have already mailed out a few in February, and I have a few more ready to mail out this weekend! It always makes me feel happy to think I might be bringing a smile to someone's face when they receive a little happy mail! I definitely need to keep this up!

Head on over to PDE Linky Party to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Paper Play Sketches #34

Hello, hello! I hope your day is off to a good start!

Paper Play Sketches has a new sketch posted today, and it is, of course, a fun one to work with!

I had a few scraps laying on my desk from a layout that I will be sharing a little later in the month, so I thought I would put them to use on a card instead of putting them in my scrap pile! The papers are from Pebbles' "Birthday Wishes" collection, and the sentiment is my go-to birthday sentiment from Close To My Heart - B1419 Joyful Birthday.

This sketch would be perfect for a project life style card, too, something I plan on doing soon!

Stop by Paper Play Sketches to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope you join us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a wonderful day!

"16"

Hello everyone! Happy Wednesday to you! We are slapped back into the realization that it is indeed still winter around here! After having a couple of close to 70 degree days, we are back to 30's and 40s today. At least by Friday we are supposed to back to 70 and almost 80 for a few days! It's no wonder that my youngest son is home sick today with a cold!

I have a birthday card to share with you today. My niece is turning 16 on Friday, so I thought I'd better hurry and get her card in the mail! One of the Birthday Bash challenges at Soul Scrappers is to add numbers to your birthday card, and here is what I came up with:

I used Crate Paper's Cute Girl 6x6 paper pad for this card. You can't go wrong with turquoise and pink for a girly card!

Be sure to check out Soul Scrappers for a wide variety of challenges and fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I'll be back soon with another project to share with you!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #198

Hello everyone! I hope that you have had a good day! We had an almost 70 degree day with lots of sunshine - unreal for February around here! Ada and I took advantage of it and took a nice long walk!

I am popping in really quick to share this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge with you. Here is the fabulous sketch, created by Michelle and digitized by Brandi:

For this card I have used an older 6x6 paper pad from Pebbles called Seen and Noted. Since the background was a little busy for me, I decided not to add another strip of paper, or a ribbon, etc. at the bottom. I felt it would just get lost in the busyness of the background. I also added in another banner piece.

The sentiment is from Close To My Heart - B1462 Lovely Birthday.

Head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to see the sketch and read the rules. The design team reveal will be tomorrow along with last week's Top 3. We would love it if you joined us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a good night!

Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday #308

Hello! Good Tuesday morning! I hope that your week is off to a good start. We have had a couple of springlike days with the highs in the 60's and 70's - unreal for this time of year around here- and I'll take all of these type of days that I can get in February!

We have a new sketch for you today at Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday. This sketch is courtesy of Donna, and our optional theme for this week is "Hugs and Kisses".

For my card I have used Simple Stories "Love and Adore" 6x6 paper pad, and the heart sticker is from the sticker sheet. The white with black dots paper is from Fancy Pants' "Sweet Nothings" paper pad, and the sentiment is from Close To My Heart - D1458 Whoo's Your Valentine. Instead of a bow I have added in a couple of rows of black gems that I picked up at Target's $1 spot a few months ago.

Once I finally decided on what papers to use this card came together very quickly!

Head on over to Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team.You have two weeks to play along, and you can link up on the blog or on our Facebook page here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope that you have a great day!

Make It Monday #81 At The Memory Nest

Good Monday morning! I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend! Ours went by way too fast, but they always seem to!

Today is Make It Monday at The Memory Nest, and we have another great sketch for you to work with.

For my layout I have used a couple of papers from the Dear Lizzy "Fine and Dandy" collection (the pink and the flamingo paper), and the green paper is from Amy Tangerine's "Rise and Shine" collection. I loved all of the layers that were on this sketch, and I even thought about adding in a few more papers, but in the end I just decided to go with these. 

I love these photos of Ada from this last summer. She was outside playing like the maple tree was her drive thru window and she would hand us out our "food" through it. (Notice in the one picture that our food is grass!) Her little cheeks were so red, and not because of a sunburn, but because it was so hot outside! She was hot, her hair was a mess, but she was having so much fun!

Be sure to stop by The Memory Nest to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us this month!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Lasting Memories #330 - Hearts or Arrows

Hello, hello! It's Superbowl Sunday - do you have any big plans? Are you going to a Superbowl party? Staying home and watching something else (or scrapping)? Our daughter and her family will be coming over for a little while to watch some of the game, so that will be fun.

We have another fun challenge this week at Lasting Memories. Our theme for February is "All in the name of love" and this week's challenge is to "Use Heart or Arrows on your layout". You can use one or the other, or use both!

I have used just hearts on my layout.

The photos aren't nearly this dark in person...

This layout is of Abby's 22nd birthday. When it came time to open her presents, Shane sat down right beside her and was ready to help. She let him unwrap every single one of her presents. He didn't care about what was inside them, he just wanted to unwrap them, and Abby graciously, and happily, let him. She has turned into a beautiful young woman, inside and out!

For my layout I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation's "The Whole Picture" sketch book. I used papers from Imaginisce's "Welcome Spring" collection. The colors were a great match to the colors in the photos. I die cut a few hearts and added in a few puffy heart stickers, as well. I kept it pretty clean and simple to focus more on the story and the photos.

Head over to Lasting Memories to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team.We hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

PDE Linky Party #158 Anything Goes

Hello and Happy Friday! Here we are at the weekend once again. And not just any weekend, but Superbowl weekend here in the States! Are you all ready for the game? Any big party plans? I know we'll have the game on - mostly for the commercials - but not sure how much I will be paying attention to it!

Friday means we have a new challenge posted over at PDE Linky Party today, and this week's challenge is:

Ch #158 - Anything Goes

This week I have decided to make a few embellishments to have on hand for upcoming projects. In our 100 Pattern Paper group we had a challenge to use up 30 sticker sheets in January. Well, I didn't get anywhere close, and will be carrying that over to February, but I did decide to take two of the heart sticker sheets and make these embellishments. I still have about half of both sticker sheets left, and I'm sure I will be using them up soon - with Valentine's Day right around the corner!

I kept these pretty plain - for now. Since I'm not sure exactly what they will be going on yet, I haven't fully embellished them - that will come when they get used! I do find that I use these embellishments more when I have them made ahead of time. It's just so nice to grab one and add it instead of making each one as I go!

Head on over to PDE Linky Party to see the beautiful creations from the rest of the design team. We would love it if you played along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope that you have a great day!

Paper Play Sketches #33

Hello, hello! I am back with my third post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll down or go here. For my Love To Craft Challenge Blog reveal, go here.

We have a great new sketch posted over at Paper Play Sketches today! Here is a look at the sketch:

I have once again used Simple Stories "Love and Adore" collection for this card. I already had the paper pad out on my desk from my last card and thought I would get some more use out of it! The "XO" strip is from one of the cut apart papers from the pad, and the hearts are from the bits and pieces pack. I hadn't planned on adding anything extra, but once I got my card made I felt like it needed a little something extra, so I pulled out those heart die cuts and I think they are the perfect touch!

Stop by the Paper Play Sketches blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope that you can find some time to play along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Love To Craft Challenge Blog Challenge #7

Hello again!

I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge starting at Love To Craft Challenge Blog today. Our challenges are always "Anything Goes" and you can link up any type of crafty project that you like!

For my project I have created a Valentine's Day card using Simple Stories "Love and Adore" 6x6 paper pad and sticker sheet.

This was a very quick and easy card! I cut the "Be Mine" panel from one of the cut apart sheets out  of the paper pad and added one of the heart stickers from the sticker sheet. The white enamel heart is from a package that I picked up from Target's $1 spot.

Head on over to the Love To Craft Challenge Blog to see the wonderful projects from the rest of the design team. I hope you have some time to play along with us! We'd love to see your projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I have one more project to share with you today, so stay tuned!

Sketch N Scrap #122 - Daddy & Ada

Hello scrappy friends! Welcome to my blog! I am so happy that you are here! It's the first of the month and that means I have a few projects to share with you today, so let's get started.

We have the first sketch of the month posted at Sketch N Scrap today. Lisa has created a fun sketch for us, and I already have plans to use it again!

I have used Bella Blvd's Valentina collection for this layout. All of the papers are so cute and I had a hard time cutting into them - I just want to hoard them a little longer! - but the urge to use them won over and I love the results! The "adorable" envelope was fussy cut from one of the papers - I thought it was a cute embellishment to add to the layout! The enamel hearts are from Target's $1 spot. I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of packages of these cute hearts.

These photos are of Ada and her Daddy when she was almost 7 months old. They were sitting on the couch spending some quality time together, and Ada was just looking too cute!

Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. You'll have until the end of the month to play along with us!

Don't forget - we are getting ready for our "Love Is In The Air" Facebook Online Crop. Be sure to stop by our Facebook Events page and check it out. While you're there, go ahead and join us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with another project to share with you!