Tales from Alaska...

I decided to have a little fun last night with some of my pictures from our Alaska trip.  I always want to share a ton of photos, but I don't want do a big 'ole boring post.  Sooooo.... I decided to make some fast and easy digi pages on Photo Shop Elements to share with you.  I'm also going to print them out as a gift for my in-laws (who were also on the trip).  I hope you can see the photos well enough ~ some may be a bit small.

So here we go... with our first day in the Anchorage Street Market.  What a fun place to visit!

I just have to add a little note here ~ I'm not a fur person, we didn't purchase any! 
I just thought the photos were funny.

The sweet little polar bear was abandoned by mama and was rescued
by officials from the State of Alaska.

Such a fun train trip with lots of YUMMY food & the most AMAZING desserts ~
even for breakfast!

Exercising the dog on the summer sleds ~ what a blast!  I had a front row seat!

AMAZING VIEWS from Mt. Alyeska!

The animals here are all rescued and rehabilitated.  

Some are released; however, most are not because they would not survive on their own.

One of our very favorite day trips!  The weather was GORGEOUS and we saw tons of wildlife.  BTW ~ I didn't even use a zoom on the sea otter picture in the top row.  He was THAT close!

Time to board the ship in Seward, Alaska.  It was a gorgeous day filled with sunshine. 
The first day at sea was spectacular viewing the Hubbard Glacier from the ship.

Another favorite day trip in Juneau. 
BTW ~ I did NOT use a zoom on the two whale tale pictures at the bottom. 
AND...the bottom center picture is the head of the humpback!  Our guide said she had never actually seen that in real life!  What a treat!  It was amazing!

Fantastic views during this fun train trip & we saw our first bear in the wild.

Trying to strike it rich so we wouldn't have to go home! 
We ended up with $27 total ~ guess we'll need to go back to work.

Tim and I were able to do this 4 years ago; however,
the kids didn't get to go that time.  They LOVED it! 
Uncle Richard took a video as we were going down the zipline ~ 

you can see it on my Facebook page.

I'll have lots more pictures to share from this trip! 
OMW!  Another highlight from our vacation!

Well that's my slide show of our Alaska trip.  I hope you enjoyed the views.  You'll be seeing lots more photos in upcoming scrapbook pages and projects I'm sure.

Get Well Wishes...

This cute little turtle is from a new set from Our Craft Lounge called Slow & Steady.  I made several store sample display boards for OCL this month and this was one of the cute cards included on the board. 

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps: Slow & Steady
Sparkly Fluff: Our Craft Lounge (Appletini Green)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Pattern Paper: Echo Park
Ink: Palette; Copics (C1, YG11, YG13, YG17, YG25; YR04, YR07, YR09; YR21, YR21)
Misc Ric Rac (May Arts) & Button
Edge Punch: EK Success; Nestabilities

A fun little birthday card...

Well I'm slowly getting back to the right time zone... SLOWLY!  I was fine the first few days, but it has really caught up to me.  I'm just glad I stamped like crazy before I left for vacation and have some projects to share with you...

My card today uses a fun new image from Whimsy & Stars Studios called Ballerina Teddy.  Isn't she sweet?

I have ten new images from Whimsy that I'm just dying to color & make into cards, but just haven't had a chance yet.  But you can see all the new images below and they are for sale on Mabelle's Etsy store.

Supplies:
Digi Image ~ Whimsy & Stars Studios (Ballerina Teddy)
Pattern Paper ~ My Minds Eye (Life of the Party)
Copics ~ E13, E23, YG11, YG13, R22, R24, R27, R43
Ink ~ Palette (Burnt Umber)
Glitter ~ Our Craft Lounge (Sugar Crafty Sparkles)
Nestabilites ~ Rectangle
Edge Punch ~ EK Success

Back to the Real World...

WOW... that's about the best word I have to describe the last two weeks.  Our family just returned from a two week trip to Alaska and it was AMAZING!  This was actually our second trip to this wonderful state and I didn't think it was possible, but it was probably even better this time around. 

Over the next few weeks I will be adding some pictures and journaling about our trip, but today I thought I'd share a few pictures and say a quick hello.  I know you didn't even know I was gone since I pre-scheduled my blog posts; however, I feel like I've been away from all of you for months!

Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska

Sign post in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

Welcome aboard photo

My favorite family photo!

That's it for now with the trip photos, but I'll have more later this week once everything is uploaded.  I also wanted to share another project from the super cute set by Lizzie Anne Designs called In the Parlor.

 

I'm so sad today because while I was on vacation, Lizzie Anne announced they were closing their doors.  I'm so proud to have been on their wonderful design team for the last 4 years!  I just love their stamps, the owners (Tricia & Meridith) and the DT girls.  I always told the girls they would have to kick me off before I would leave...I will miss LAD very, very much!

Everything on the LAD website is on sale, get the sets while you can!

Just Because {5}...

we all need SOMEONE to believe in...

Let's Hula!

A little more hula time from Lizzie Anne's Hula Girl single! 

Supplies:
Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Hula Girl)

Sparkly Fluff ~ Brown Sugar (Our Craft Lounge)
Copic Markers ~ Y17, YG13, R81, R83, R85, E51
Palette Ink
Nestabilities
Pattern Paper ~ Fancy Pants (Beach Babe)

OCL Challenge #71... Another Sketch

Time for the weekly challenge from Our Craft Lounge & this week it's a sketch!  I paired up this great 4th of July set called Let Freedom Ring with pattern paper from My Mind's Eye called American Made.  I love these two products together!

Now it's your turn to play along on the challenge.  Go take a look at the OCL Blog for the sketch and all the details and then leave your link so you have a chance to win a great stamp set of your choice!

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Let Freedom Ring)
Pattern Paper ~ My Mind's Eye (American Made)
Ink ~ Palette
Copic Markers ~ B95, B99, E25, E31, E35, R27, R89
Nestabilities ~ Classic Oval, Big Scallop Oval
Twine ~ May Arts

Monkey Around...and Around

I wanted to share this fun little card with you today using the new Monkey Around set by Our Craft Lounge.  Isn't he an adorable little guy?

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Monkey Around)
Pattern Paper ~ Echo Park (Little Boy)
Palette Ink (Noir)
Copic Markers ~ E25, E27, E29, E23, E33, E35, YG11, YG13, YG17
Nestabilities ~ Classic Rectangle, Scallop Rectangle, Tag
Sparkly Fluff ~ Brown Sugar, Appletini Green
Ribbon ~ May Arts

Whimsy's Birthday Boy...

Just a quick & simple card to show you today using one of Mabelle's new images from her latest Whimsy & Stars Studios release.  This little guy is called Alex Present ~ and he's just so cute!

And some fun news today!  Mabelle from Whimsy & Stars Studios just released some fun new summer images ~ go check out her blog and her Etsy store for all the fun!  I'll have some cards soon with these fun new images!

Supplies:
Digital Image: Whimsy & Stars Studio (Alex Present)
Copic Markers: C1, E23, E25, E27, B91, B93, B95, B97, YG13, YG17, E00, E51
Pattern Paper: My Mind's Eye (Out of the Blue)
Nestabilities: Oblong Oval, Oblong Scallop Oval
Brads ~ Bazzill
Edge Punch ~ EK Success

Sensational Summer Challenge for i{heart}papers...

It's time for a Sensational Summertime Challenge from the i{heart}papers designers & I think we should celebrate with a picnic! 

I actually didn't stamp at all on my project today ~ can you believe it?  Instead, I used the great die cuts and pattern papers from the My Mind's Eye kit called American Made.  I think I'm going to need to get another kit so I can do more projects and scrapbooking for the 4th of July!

Here's a close up of my little centerpiece ~ I love it!  I hung the die cut tags on the star candles using some Red Divine Twine

Now it's time to see what the other girls have made ~ don't forget to leave some love!

• Carolyn
• Deb
• Gretchen
• Kendra
• Loretta
• Lori
• Lynn
• Megan
• Tracy
• Kate

Even though new items are still arriving in the store (new Unity, OCL and Echo Park, to name a few), CHA is only a few weeks away!  Starting today, i{heart}papers is having a HUGE Pre-CHA Clearance sale to help make room for new things that will be purchased at the show.  Some highlights of the big sale:

• All Unity $12 or less, including store kits and co-brands 
• Unity Itty Bittys $3.25 
• Our Craft Lounge (except the latest releases) are all $11 or less 
• All open stock 12x12 only 25¢ per sheet 
• FlowerSoft only $4.50!  
• Stampavie only $6!

And lots more too!  Check out the sale page for all the details!  And, as always, free US shipping with your $50 order!

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Pattern Paper Pack & Die Cuts ~ My Mind's Eye (American Made)
Nestabilities ~ Circle, Big Scallop Circles (Lg)
Bakers Twine ~ Divine Twine (Red)

a chair is just a chair...

Now I'm signing the Glee tune in my head...{yes, I'm a total GLEEK}! 

Anyway... today I have a cool card to share using this great set (and one of my new favorites) called In the Parlor.  I just love this set and it's fabulous for paper pieced furniture! 

Supplies:
Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (In the Parlor)
Pattern Paper ~ My Mind's Eye (Hazel paper pad)
Copic Markers ~ YG93, YG95, BG72
Ink ~ Palette

Just Because {4}...

just for the dads out there...

happy father's day

OCL Challenge #70... Mask it!

I'm here...I didn't forget my OCL Challenge this week.  Since I had an assigned challenge post yesterday, I needed to wait to post this today.  This week on the OCL Challenge, we are masking images.

I used the Golfin' Gramps set to group my images together and make this cute little Father's Day card for my father-in-law.  Now it may not look like I did much masking, but the pin is in the hole, the golf balls are in front of the bag, and the bag is in front of the grass.  They are all little things, but it makes a difference. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Our Craft Lounge (Golfin’ Gramps)
Sparkly Fluff: Our Craft Lounge (Wicked Green)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Pattern Paper:  My Minds Eye (Quite Contrary)
Ink: Palette; Copics (E23, E25, E27, G40, G82, G85; T1, T3, T5)
Ribbon: May Arts; Spica Glitter Pen: Silver
Edge Punch: EK Success; Nestabilities
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dot)

What I did on Summer Vacation... LAD DT Challenge

Today is challenge day for the Lizzie Anne Design Team & it's all about what we'll be doing this summer.  Originally, I was going to do a project with a car on it because I'll be pretty busy driving my kids to their various activities; HOWEVER, when I saw the new Mix Club set called Summertime Celebrations, I knew I MUST use the cruise ship image!  We are heading off to Alaska for a wonderful family vacation ~ talk about great timing for this set!

I know you'll want to check out the projects that the other LAD designers have come up with ~ I know I can't wait to see what everyone has planned this summer!  You can see a list of everyone who is playing along today on the Lizzie Anne blog.

Supplies:
Stamps ~ Summertime Celebration Mix Club set (Lizzie Anne Designs)

Ink ~ Palette
Pattern Paper ~ Echo Park (Splash)
Nestabilties
Dolphin Charm (unknown)
Glossy Accents

Whimsy's Queen for the Day...

It's Cupcake Time!  I'm always ready for a cupcake ...I just LOVE THEM!  The way they look, how they taste....yum!  My card today uses a new summer image from Whimsy & Stars Studios called Birthday Wishes.  Mabelle's images are just fabulous & I've been having fun coloring and pairing them up with these fun My Mind's Eye papers (Happy Go Lucky) ~ isn't it yummy paper?

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Copic Markers: E00, E51, E25, E23, RV63, RV66, BG10, BG72, YG93, YG95
Pattern Papers: My Mind's Eye (Happy Go Lucky)
Nestabilities
Gems ~ Zva Creations (clear then colored with a RV66 Copic)

Lizzie Anne Summertime Celebration ... Mix Preview

Ohhhh....I love when the 15th rolls around and it's a new Mix Club sneak peek for Lizzie Anne!  Yup...it's time for a look at some fun projects for the new Summertime Celebration Mix Club set.  I know you're going to LOVE IT! 

I had a hard time picking which images to use on my project today, but finally decided on this fabulous turtle image and the border stamp at the bottom of my card ~ very tropical don't you think!  Such a simple card, but I just love how it turned out!

Make sure you go to the Lizzie Anne Blog today so you can see all the great images in the set and go take a look at the other designers blogs for lots more inspiration.

For the Handy Man...

Does this SCREAM Father's Day or what????  It's actually perfect for my husband because something is constantly breaking around the house {usually just after he goes out of town}.  This great guy set is called Nailed It!  from Our Craft Lounge and it's perfect for any occasion you need a card for the men in your life. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Our Craft Lounge (Nailed it!)
Cardstock & Brads: Bazzill
Pattern Paper:  My Minds Eye (Quite Contrary)
Ink: Palette; Copics (E23, E25, E27, G40, G82, G85; T1, T3, T5; YR23)
Ribbon: May Arts; Spica Glitter Pen: Silver

More from the Surfer Dude...

There's more surfin' to do with the little people Surfer Dude from Lizzie Anne Designs.  This time I think he's in Key West by the looks of the pattern paper.  I love this paper from My Mind's Eye called Good Day Sunshine.

Have an AWESOME DAY Dude!  {said in my most radical surfer voice}

Supplies:
Stamps ~ Surfer Dude & Garden Isle from Lizzie Anne Designs
Ink ~ Palette (Burnt Umber)
Copic Markers ~ Y17, R59, BG72, E51
Pattern Paper ~ My Minds Eye (Good Day Sunshine)
Nestabilities
Trim ~ SEI
Wooden Buttons ~ PTI

Just Because {3}...

the coolest bubble ever...

i hope you aren't tired of these

i think they are kind of cool...

Father's Day is coming...

Are your Father's Day cards ready yet?  Maybe you can use this card as a little inspiration for the fisherman in your life using the Our Craft Lounge set called Bear-ly Fishing.

I'll have more Father's Day cards to show you this week.

Supplies:
Stamps: Our Craft Lounge (Bear-ly Fishing)
Sparkly Fluff: Our Craft Lounge (Cotton Candy)
Cardstock & Brads: Bazzill
Pattern Paper:  My Minds Eye (Quite Contrary)
Ink: Palette; Copics (E31, E33, E35, E42, E23, E25, E27, E29; G40, G82, G85; T1, T3, T5, W7; R81, R83; BG10, BG72)
Ribbon: May Arts; Spica Glitter Pen: Clear, Lt Blue, Silver
Edge Punch: EK Success; Nestabilities

OCL Challenge #69... Time for some color!

First off today I have to say ~ Happy 12th Birthday Matt!  Wow ~ my boy is growing up quick!  Here he is on the last day of school {they had a fieldtrip to our neighborhood pond to fish}.

And... here is is a few days later ~ woohoo for the summer haircut! 

Well on with my Friday post & and time for the OCL Challenge.  This week is the color challenge & here is the photo inspiration for the challenge.

In honor of my son's birthday, I decided to make a bright and colorful birthday card using the Circus, Circus set along with the Little Boy pattern paper by Echo Park.  Once I colored my image, I also added some 24 kt Gold Sparkly Fluff to the lion's mane and tail.

Now it's your turn to play along on the OCL Color Challenge ~ you can find all the details on the OCL Blog!

Supplies used from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Circus, Circus)
Sparkly Fluff ~ OCL 24 Kt Gold
Pattern Paper ~ Echo Park (Little Boy)
Copic Markers ~ Y21, Y32, YG11, YG13, YR18, YR16, YR24, R27, Y35, R81, R83, C00, C1, C3
Nestabilities ~ Blossom, Classic Circles

Come have a seat...

...and let's relax for a nice chat!  Today, my project features a fun older set from Lizzie Anne Designs called In the Parlor.  It came out a few years ago, but I just got it & it's a blast to work with!

Supplies Used:
Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (In the Parlor, sentiment from Turn Toward the Sun (Mix Club Set)
Pattern Paper ~ Lily Bee Designs (This & That)
Trim ~ Maya Road
Nestabilites ~ Circle
Ink ~ Palette
Copic Markers ~ E08

Whimsy's Ballerina Bear

My Whimsy & Stars Studios post this week is probably one of my favorite cards I've made so far for them.  I just adore how this card turned out with the little ballerina bear called Rosie Ballerina.  She's just so cute & I love the colors.

Supplies Used:

Digital Image ~ Whimsy and Stars Studio (Rosie Ballerina)
Pattern Paper ~ My Minds Eye (Life of the Party)
Copic Markers ~ R22, R24, R27, YG13, YG17, E13, E23
Nestabilities ~ Classic Ovals, Big Scallop Oval
EK Success Edge Punch
PTI ~ Flower die cut, button

Hula Time...

Are you ready to do a little dance?  This month Lizzie Anne Designs has some cute new singles ~ Surfer Dude (shown last week) and Hula Girl.  Super Cute!  I paired up the image with some fantastic pattern paper by Fancy Pants called Beach Babe ~ perfect together!

Have you checked out the Lizzie Anne Sketchbook lately?  Lot's of great inspiration over there!

Shout it OUT!

It's time to SHOUT IT OUT!  Well that's the name of this new set by Our Craft Lounge anyway ~ LOL!  The cute little whale is from the new set & I paired it up with one of our older sets called Whale of a Tale (waves, fish & sentiment).    I just love these two sets together!  I also used some of the fun Echo Park paper called Summer Days.

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Shout it Out!) ~ this will be in stock this week.
Pattern Paper ~ Echo Park (Summer Days)
Copic Markers ~ BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18; T1, T3, T5)
Nestabilities
Ink ~ Palette (Noir)
Gems ~ Zva

Just Because {2}...

you'll love this one...

i'll bet that made you smile...

Slow it down...

It's the weekend ~ and the perfect day to show this new OCL set called Slow & Steady.

Have a great weekend!

OCL Blog Hop & Challenge Day!

Welcome to the OCL Blog Hop!  Are you coming here from Joy's Blog ?  If not and you would like to start at the beginning, go over to the OCL Blog!  I know you won't want to miss a thing since today we are show all 4 new sets.  These sets will be available next week at retail locations (click to see a list of stores who carry our products).

WOW ~ Lot's going on today here on my blog! Since it's Friday, that also means there's a challenge as well as the blog hop!  Today's challenge is to CASE (or copy) a card made by someone else.  I loved the card Stephanie posted yesterday with the new Slow & Steady set, so I really wanted to use the layout for my project. 

Today I have another new set to show you called Monkey Around & I paired it up with the cute baby buggy from Bundle of Joy {from the last release}.

Here's a look at the whole set ~ LOVE IT!!!!

Now it's time to hop along to the next blog ~ but don't forget to leave some love along the way so you have a chance to win one of the new sets!  Winners will be selected from all comments left on both the sneak peek and blog hop days.  There will be four random winners selected from ANY of the blogs participating.  The winners will be selected & posted on Monday, June 6th. You can find all the details out on the OCL Blog. 

Are you still with me????  Your next stop on the OCL Hop is ...Latrice Murphy

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Monkey Around) ~ this will be in stock next week.
Pattern Paper ~ My Mind's Eye (Lime Twist: Life of the Party)
Copic Markers ~ R83, R27, W7, E31, E33, E25
Sparkly Fluff ~ Our Craft Lounge (Brown Sugar)
Ink ~ Palette (Noir)