OCL Challenge #107... Time for a color POP!

Ahhhh...it's finally Friday!  I had a great week, but I'm looking forward to spending time with my family this weekend.  My daughter had finals this week and today is the last day, so I know she will be a very happy girl this weekend.

So with Friday comes a new OCL Challenge.  This week it's a color challenge using Black and White with a POP of one other color {your choice}.

My color of choice this week is RED!  So I used the Big Thanks stamp set and used almost all the pieces in the sets to make my background paper.  I stamped them in white and them heat embossed the large "THANKS", so it would stand out.

I hope you can play along on the challenge this week!  It will be fun to see what everyone comes up with for their color choices.

Get Well Wishes...

Hope you're not feeling under the weather today.  It seems lots of people are passing around the icky stuff, so if the bug has hit you, then this card is just for you today.  And if you're not, then I'm sure you know someone you could give it to.  I used some of the images from the new Gourmet Rubber Stamps Diners Club set called Prescription for Spring.  This set has a great combination of images for both get well wishes and spring ~ which is how the title of the set came about.

Hope you have a marvelous Thursday ~ never fear, the weekend is near!  I'll see you tomorrow with a new creation.

Waiting for Daisy...

Hello Hello!  I hope your day is filled with sunshine today! 

Yesterday, I decided that after finishing 42 pages in my Alaska Project, I would take a break and scrapbook some photos that I've been wanting to work on since I took them last May. 

As you know, we have two dogs ~ Jazmine & Pico.  They love to go out in our backyard and play together.  Well last spring the little schnauzer mutt who lives behind us, saw our dogs playing and she little by little, she  inched her way closer and closer to our yard.  Before we knew it, Daisy was running around like crazy with our dogs and it's become a daily play date ever since.   Now if Daisy isn't out, our dogs will sit at the edge of the property and wait for her.  And if our dogs aren't out, Daisy will sit and wait for them.  It's so cute!  On this beautiful May day, Jazz was waiting & I'm so happy I captured it.

I used four different pattern papers from the October Afternoon collection called Modern Homemaker.   Since I only have an 8x8 pad of this paper & my page is 12x12, I decided to do a color block page.  I also used some chipboard flowers on my page from Maya Road because her name after all is DAISY!

Here is a close up of the smaller photos and the journaling.  I didn't have a decent photo of Pico and Daisy and wanted to make sure Pico was included in the layout, so I added her to the smaller yellow scallop circle.

The cool polka-dotted letters are from American Crafts & I think they are perfect for this page!  I can't believe I had them in my stash ~ AND...I can't believe I found & used them!  Usually I find things after the project is finished.

Here are Jazz and Daisy playing in the sprinkler ~ they are so funny!

So that's what I was up to yesterday ~ I hope you enjoyed my page.  I'll have some cards to share this week, but right now I'm having fun with my pages.

THE ALASKA PROJECT ...part 4

Good Monday morning!  Gosh...it's almost afternoon!  I was going to work on this post yesterday & I just didn't get around to it & one thing after another came up this morning...  but here I am with another post on my favorite "in process" project. 

So I was poking around on the internet last week and landed on the Simple Stories Blog ~ love that place!  They posted a layout sketch & I just had to stop what I was doing and give it a try.

For the title, I cut out the word VIEW with my Cricut machine & then added some of the little letters from the Simple Stories Destinations Kit.  I also added a big flourish sticker to the top of the photos which is also from the kit.  Then I took the ticket border sticker and trimmed them apart & popped up every other sticker for a little bit of texture. 

For the layered elements under the ticket border, I cut out pieces from one of the pieces of pattern paper & then edged them in a little bit of black ink to make them stand out.   This is the full sheet of pattern paper that I used ~ and I still have more elements I can use on other pages.  I used the full sheet as is on one of my earlier pages & now I've cut it apart ~ super fun options!

Here's a close up of the layered elements.

And then I popped up the airplane I cut out for a bit more texture.

Hope you enjoyed my latest page ~ I'll have more to share very soon!

Diner Club Preview...let's take a peek!

Happy Saturday!  I know I don't usually post on the weekends, but today I have a special reason ~ it's the 25th and that means it's time to show off the latest Diners Club set from Gourmet Rubber Stamps called Prescription for Spring.

For my project I used the spring postage stamp image and added just a little bit of color with my Copic Markers and Spica Glitter Pens.  The paper is new from My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline collection called Howdy Doody.  I also used the Weekly Recipe sketch for my card today.

I know you'll want to check out the full set on the GRS Blog & then make sure you hop around and see what the other DT girls came up with ~ I know you'll be blown away!

• Deb Felts
• Jeni Allen
• Joy Stagg
• Kendra Wietstock - You're Here
• Kelli Palmer
• Pam Hornschu
• Rose Ann Reynolds
• Taylor Usry

If you'd like more info on how to sign up for the Monthly Diners Club ~ take a look HERE. 

Have a great weekend!

OCL Challenge #106...Sketch Day

GOOD MORNING PEEPS!  So what season is it for you?  Today it's winter, but a few days ago it was spring.  Me thinks Mother Nature is confused...  I think I'm confused too with all the school days that my kids have had off this week, but yes, it is Friday & that means it's time for the OCL Challenge.  This week it's a sketch!

So the card I made this week uses the set called Under Lock & Key.  I really wanted to use my new pattern paper pack from My Mind's Eye & thought this wood grain paper would be fun to use with this great vintage set.  I also used some beautiful black velvet ribbon from May Arts.

I'd love to see what you make too ~ so take a look at the details on the OCL Blog and add your link when you've done a project.

I'll be back tomorrow for a rare Saturday appearance with a preview of the new Diners Club set for Gourmet Rubber Stamps.

THE ALASKA PROJECT ...part 3

WOW ~ I never post this late in the day!  I've been so busy getting ready for a class I have tomorrow night & haven't had the chance to get this post done.  I'm waiting to find out how many students I have in the class, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to post a few of the projects I've been working on for my ALASKA PROJECT.  

This album holds a very special place in my heart because it was THE BEST VACATION EVER.  As you know from reading my blog over the years, our family loves to travel ~ but this vacation was so special and we enjoyed it so much. Since it was so wonderful, I am savoring each and every picture and page I create.

This page includes some beautiful sepia photos I took of my kids.  The color photos are gorgeous & are also included in my album; however, for the first page of this particular day, I wanted the photos to coordinate perfectly with the page.  I haven't finished the other page just yet with the color photos, but I will when it is completed.

For the elements on this page, I stamped the map background (tone on tone) at the bottom of the page.  I've done this for most of the elements in this vacation album so the pages would coordinate.  Then I added stamped words from the Technique Tuesday Travel stamp set along the top and bottom of the page.  Once the initial stamping was done, I added pattern paper from the Simple Stories Destination kit that's I've been using on the entire album.  After printing and adding the perfect photos, I added some cardstock stickers from the Simple Stories kit to the page ~ (photo corners, a border, label stickers and a big accent sticker).  I stamped the date and location of the photos with my Hero Arts alphabet stamps, added a wooden button with twine & then added a "page title" of sorts at the bottom ~ "You are my most favorite memory".   I LOVE IT! 

Next up, I decided to make a quick card using the same Destination kit from Simple Stories but this time I added some great coordinating stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  The pretty ribbon is from May Arts.

The explosion in my creative space ~ and it's gotten worse since I took this photo, but I've also gotten a lot more pages done on my album.

Over the next few weeks I will have more fun pages to share for this project ~ creative pocket pages, more full-sized layouts & some creative ways display the brochures and memorabilia I picked up along our journey.

If you've missed out on the other posts I've done about my ALASKA PROJECT, check them out.  I can't wait to hear what you think of my project so far!

Sunny Monday = Happy Monday!

Hello Peeps ~ I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  We have an extended one, so I'm late getting a post done for this morning. 

Today I have a few cards to show you using the latest Gourmet Rubber Stamps Diners Club set called Abracadabra .  On the first card I used three of the whimsical images and sentiment in the set.  I cut out the rainbow and popped it up so it would really stand out. 

On my next card, I used the magic wand and sparkly dust to bring some magical wishes.  This card would be great for a guy, don't you think?

Later this week, we'll have the preview for the next Diner's Club set & I'm also planning on showing you part 3 of my Alaska Project.  I've been busy working away on it.

Have a delightful Monday!

OCL Challenge #105... Ruffles!

Finally Friday ~ I know everyone is looking forward to the weekend and in our case, it already started.  The kids have a long weekend from school for a winter break.  It's always nice to have a few days where the routine is put aside!

Today I have another OCL Challenge card to share for this week.  We are using ruffles on our cards ~ paper, ribbon, or fabric ~ whatever you find!

Now here is my card.  I'll admit that my ruffles didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but I do love the card.  I used two springy sets ~ Pretty Petals & Say it with Flowers.  The pattern paper is from October Afternoon's Sidewalk Chalk collection.

Now it's your turn to play along ~ you have until next Thursday to add your direct link to this fun challenge.

Thanks for buzzing by & have a great weekend!

Gourmet Rubber Stamps DT Challenge...Recipes!

Woohooo ~ I'm back again today & this time with a fun Design Team challenge from the Gourmet Rubber Stamps team.    Each month we have a new challenge and today's was to do a 6x6 recipe card. 

As I began looking through my stamps for ideas, I ran across this fun Sweets & Treats set from a few years ago.  Then I remembered that I had these adorable pictures of my son not only making the ice cream, but also eating it!  So I had to make the recipe card into a scrapbook page as well! 

I used the ice cream sprinkles around the edge of the page & then added some glitter to the sprinkles on the ice cream cone.  I also added the "cool treats" sentiment from the set as a recipe tab.  By the way, this ice cream is REALLY GOOD & it's totally fun to make with a group of kids.  It's our 4th of July tradition in our neighborhood.

Now it's time to hop along and see what other sweet treats are in store for you today! 

• GRS Blog
  Jeni Allen
• Joy Stagg
• Kelli Palmer
• Rose Ann Reynolds
• Taylor Usry

Happy {Heart} Day!

Ahhhh...it's the official day of LOVE!  This is one of my favorite days to create cards and cute projects ~ I'm all about hearts, flowers and chocolate {when I'm not dieting, that is}.

I have a surprise for you today!  But first I want to share a sweet little Valentine card with you.  It could actually be for any occasion since I didn't use the traditional Valentine colors of pink or red ~ but it still conveys the same message of love.    I used the Love in the Air set from Our Craft Lounge along with this fun paper by October Afternoon (the Sidewalk Chalk collection).

OK ~ now for the surprise.... would you like some Valentine Candy?  Well run right over to the OCL Blog and the OCL Facebook page and leave some love for your chances to win some AMAZING Valentine Blog Candy! 

OCL Challenge #104...Vintage Valentine

Good Monday morning crafty friends.  I'm so late today with getting a blog post up, but I still hadn't finished my OCL Challenge card for last Friday.  There's still plenty of time to play along because we don't put a new challenge up until Friday. Since I was hosting another challenge last week, I decided to wait until today to post my OCL card. 

So this week's challenge is to make a Vintage Love card.  I'm not really a vintage girl ~ so I do "fake" vintage.

I decided to use the pretty Vintage Traveler stamp set along with this great paper from My Minds Eye in the Lost and Found collection.  I'm pretty happy with the end result!

OK ~ get going on your challenge card because tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Once you post your project, add your direct link to the OCL Blog and you'll be entered to win a gift certificate!

GRS...my turn for the weekly recipe!

Here's another edition of the Weekly Recipe for Gourmet Rubber Stamps on this wonderful Friday morning. Today, it's my turn to host & I have a super fun and easy sketch for you to play with this week.

The card I came up with for the sketch uses some of the Lizzie Anne Singles ~ The Ship (which I stamped in a light ink on the bottom right side) & The River Bends (the sentiment I stamped directly on the pattern paper. I also used the script background image from the Sealed with a Kiss set on the die-cut flowers.

Your turn to play along! Just add your link this week to the GRS Facebook page. Can't wait to see what you make!

Just a little note of thanks...

The week is winding down now isn't it?  Well I'm back today with a card that I just sent to a friend of mine to say thank you for this adorable mustache pin she gave me.  It's a fun little joke for the Concord Band Mom Group from the marching band season.  We've had such a blast together and when we all went out to dinner last week, she handed these out to us.  Well I immediately knew I had to make a card for her using this fun paper from Echo Park!

Have a great day & we'll see you tomorrow!