A little hula ...

Look at this pretty paper from October Afternoon! It's from the Detours Collection that has been available this summer. I saw this company at CHA in Chicago last month and I fell in love with their fall line. You will love the new Nightlight line that will be out in September ~ too cute! It reminds me of the movie Monsters Inc. I'm sure I'll end up with the entire line of paper and stamps ~ it's just too much fun!

So back to my card ~ once again this is from the Garden Isle set by Lizzie Anne Designs. It has some shimmer on the grass skirt & flowers, but it didn't photograph. I think I need to go get some of that Shimmerz Paint that Cami is using ~ that should make it pop off the page.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Garden Isle); Cardstock ~ SU; Pattern Paper ~ October Afternoon; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Embossing Plate ~ Cuttlebug; Brads ~ Making Memories.

Yes ~ Another Robot...

He is so cute that I just kept going and going ~ I couldn't stop stamping!!! I think that this is my favorite set from the summer collection. But I do love the Garden Isle and Giddyup Girl ~ oh and Rockin' Christmas. Who am I kidding? They are stamps & Lizzie Anne Designs ~ so I love them all.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Gizmos and Gears); Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up!; Pattern Paper ~ Cosmo Cricket; Ink ~ Stampin' Up!; Brads ~ Karen Foster Designs; Nestabilities.

Little (or Big) things that make us happy...

Look at this adorable gift bag I found at Hobby Lobby! As soon as I saw it, it went into my shopping cart. See the pattern paper I used on my tag? It's the exact same pattern as the bag & they aren't even from the same company. It's the little things that make me happy ~ LOL! This adorable little hobby horse is from the Giddyup Girl set by Lizzie Anne Designs. This set also coordinates with the Howdy sentiment & the Cowboy (available as both a single or in the Little People set).

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Giddyup Girl); Cardstock ~ Stampin' Up! & Papertrey Ink; Pattern Paper ~ The Paper Studio; Ribbon & eyelet ~ Stampin' Up!; Nestabilities.

OK ~ so here is a BIG thing that made my daughter (and son) happy this weekend. My brother-in-law was able to get tickets to the Jonas Brothers Concert in Columbus, OH this weekend. My daughter was thrilled with being able to go see the concert; however, when she found out she would get a picture taken with them ~ I thought she was going to pass out!

When you're 9 & 11 years old ~ It just doesn't get any better than this!

A Lana Card...

These colors make me think of my sweet friend Lana (my quiet time buddy). Last weekend we shared a room at the retreat and we are both early risers. On Friday morning we both woke up at the same time and when we saw each other we waved like crazy to each other ~ it was funny. Then we got up and had a nice visit while we waited for the rest of the girls to get up. I always treasure that time in the morning whether it's quiet time at the retreat or here at home chatting online. I love you Lana Sue!

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Garden Isle); Cardstock ~ SU; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Ribbon ~ May Arts; Scallop Punch ~ SU; Nestabilities.

A little sticky situation...

Ha, Ha, Ha...I love how this card turned out! I have to thank my friend Michelle Yager for this brilliant sentiment! I colored the image and was really happy with how it turned out. I showed it to Michelle and said, "what in the world am I going to do with this image?". That's when she came up with this sentiment. PERFECT!!! It totally makes me laugh!

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Giddyup Girl); Sentiment (Word Art); Cardstock ~ Papertrey Ink, SU; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Nestabilities; Ribbon ~ SEI; Brads ~ SU; Embossing Folder ~ Cuddlebug.

Well Hello Mr. Robot...

This guy totally cracks me up! He looks like he's just popping in to say "Hello". I am loving the new Stampin' Up! In Colors and they match the new Cosmo Cricket pattern paper perfectly. I'll warn you know ~ my Gizmos and Gears cards all match because they were so fun to make. Look at the little brads on the card. My friend Robin went shopping this weekend during the retreat and picked them up just for me. She said that she thought they would be perfect for my little robot cards ~ isn't she sweet?

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Gizmos & Gears); Cardstock, Ink & Ribbon ~ SU; Pattern Paper ~ Cosmo Cricket; Brads ~ Karen Foster Designs; Punches ~ SU.

Color, color, color...

I colored all weekend long; however, I didn't put to many cards together. Instead, I saved that for when I got home. I decided to take a bunch of pattern paper in a 12x12 paper organizer to the retreat and then I matched up colors while I was coloring. I didn't want to take tons of cardstock or embellishments because I didn't know what I wanted to use so why take a bunch of stuff I may or may not use. This was a totally new approach for me & it worked pretty well.

Supplies Used: Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Garden Isle); Cardstock, Pattern Paper & Ribbon ~ SU; Ink ~ Palette & Copics; Charm ~ Charmz.

New Stamp-A-Stack Card

Well I changed my mind on one of my cards for this Friday's Stamp-A-Stack. I have some new goodies from Stampin' Up! and I HAD to use them! I love the new Curly Label Punch ~ it's so cool! I need to start preparing the supplies for my class, so I won't make too many more changes to my cards.

All Supplies Used are Stampin' Up!: Stamps ~ Pocket Silhouettes stamp set; Carstock ~ Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss; Pattern Paper ~ Urban Garden; Punches ~ Curley Label & 1 3/4" circle.

I'm home...

Yes, I'm home from the retreat! Actually, I got home Sunday afternoon, but I've been in a total fog. The retreat was tons of fun & we laughed A LOT! This is a wonderful, but very crazy group. We share such a special bond and I love them all dearly.

So here is one of the project I made while I was there. I ended up making several cards with this adorable sets - Gizmos and Gears from Lizzie Anne Designs. I also colored a bunch of images from other LAD sets ~ so I'll have lots more to share in the upcoming days.

OK ~ it's back to reality today because I need to get things ready for the start of school tomorrow.

Supplies Used ~ Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Gizmos & Gears); Cardstock~ SU; Pattern Paper and Twill ~ Cosmo Cricket; Ink ~ SU, Palette & Copics; Buttons ~ Foof-a-La; Nestabilities.

Bella's Galore...

I found these fun cards the other day & just had to share them. My friend, Lisa Zappa sent me a bunch of Bella images ~ they were fun to play with for a change of pace.

So pull out something you haven't played with before ~ sometimes it's nice to challenge your creativity.

A Fun Find ...

I was so excited when I went to Meijer the other day and found this cool little bag. Meijer is a super store chain here in the midwest ~ kinda like a Super Wal-mart (but better in my opinion). Anyway, every now and then, I look in the craft section because they will have random sales on things. I found this little bag for $6.00 ~ woohooo! It's the perfect travel case for my Copic Markers. I was so excited about the bag that I bought two of them so I could give one as a gift at my retreat this weekend.

Bone Jour...

You know what I remember about 10th grade French class? The phrase ~ Je ne comprends pas ~ I do not understand. LOL! That's because I used it A LOT! Not sure why I brought that up, but the sentiment on the card made me think of French class.

This was one of my rejected cards from a submission. However, 4 others were selected by Scrap and Stamp Arts, so I'm not sad at all.

I'm Happy Today...

I wrote this entry several days ago, but I know I'm happy today. I'm with a group of some of the most amazing women I've ever met this weekend and I know we are laughing, chatting non-stop, eating, laughing some more & probably shedding a few tears. Each year, many of the women from our group gather in Wisconsin for a retreat ~ and each time it has been THE BEST girlfriend weekend ever!

Far East Treasures...

Several months ago I made a bunch of these cards using this gorgeous Scenic Route paper and Lizzie Anne Designs Far East stamp set. I submitted several from this series for the Autumn issue of Take Ten and just received my advanced issue the other day. While these two cards didn't make the issue, one of my others did, so I was thrilled with that outcome.

I've been working hard lately on publication submissions and I've been so fortunate over the last few months to have several pieces picked up in Scrap & Stamp Arts (September & October) and Take Ten. Over the last two weeks, I've submitted almost 40 pieces to six different magazines ~ here's hoping for a good outcome!