Pretty Embossing...

I'm excited to share this pretty little card I made this weekend using one of my favorite new sets from Crafter's Companion.  The collection is called Everyday Sentimentals and I'm so thrilled with all of the wonderful sentiments in all four of the sets!  

I also used one of the new Darice embossing folders called Large Daisy.  I embossed it on a piece of kraft cardstock and then colored it with my Spectrum Noir Markers (CR6, DG2, EB3).   The last step was to add the pretty sentiment from the new Everyday Sentimentals set called Memories are Made.  I did a tutorial on this technique a few weeks ago ~ take a peek HERE.

All Tangled Up!

Hi Friends! I'm here today all tangled up in Christmas fun today with a fun little Hambo Stamps Digi image called Pig Tangle.  This was me yesterday decorating the house...oh my goodness, I never thought I'd get done!

I colored my cute image with my Spectrum Noir Markers ~ IG1, IG5, PP1, PP2, PP3, CR9, CR11, LG5, TB5, GB3.  Then I added some Glossy Accents to the light bulbs to make them pop a bit.  

Are you counting down the days until Christmas... 17 days.  OH MY!  

Have a great Sunday!

Celebrating 8 years!

Another year... a happy year with my husband, with my kids, my friends and family... I spent this year as a wife, a mother, a band mom, a crafter.  Another year ... without the big C ~ yes, that's right!  Today marks 8 years since I was diagnosed & I pray that this particular number keeps getting higher and higher without another diagnosis.  

As I hope and dream of that, I made this card to mark today's anniversary.  It's bright and happy... and not pink! LOL!  I made my card with the Flying Colors set by Crafter's Companion along with these gorgeous new Memento Luxe Inks (Pear Tart, Morocco, and Dandelion).  I also added the Lattice Embossalicious background and a sentiment the Memories Are Made stamp set.

Have a great weekend!

Sweet & Simple TY

Hi Friends ~ Happy Friday!   Today I made a quick Clean & Simple Thank You card to share.  For the main sentiment I used the Crafter's Companion set called Friends & Family.  I added a touch of color to the sentiment with my CR1 Spectrum Noir marker.  Then I stamped the Simply The Best along the bottom (from the Memories are Made set) in Toffee Crunch Memento Ink.  I also used my Petite Dots Embossalicious folder for the peach mat.

Have a great weekend!

Wish Big with the new Creative Cafe Kit

Hi Friends!  I'm here today to share a super fun birthday card that I made with the amazing new Creative Cafe Kit for December called Wish Big!  I know you are going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this kit as much as I do!!!  You want to know what I love about this kit?  Absolutely EVERYTHING!  All of the Bazzill card stock and Doodlebug (Flower Box) pattern papers, ribbons, pearls, and fabulous stamped images are included in the kit!

Here's how I made my card...

1. I cut a piece of Robin Egg blue Bazzill card stock 4 1/4" x 11" & scored it at 5 1/2".
2. Next, I cut the piece of pink woodgrain pattern paper 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" & attached it to a slightly larger piece of white cardstock for a mat and attached it to the blue card base.
3. Then I cut a piece of flower pattern paper 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" & wrapped a piece of stitched ribbon around it with a decorative knot to finish it.
4. I attached the flower pattern paper with 3D Foam Squares on top of the pink woodgrain paper. 

Next I trimmed a 2 1/4" square piece of yellow cardstock and stamped some of the swirls from the Wish Big Stamp Set using Memento Ink.  Then I added piece of brown woodgrain (3/4" x 2 1/4") and attach it to the bottom of the square.

Using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, I stamped two of the owl images on white cardstock and cut them out with my trimming scissors. One owl was from the Wish Big set and one was from the Birthday Wishes Add-On set.

Then I colored the owls with my Spectrum Noir Markers (PP3, PP4, PP5, BT3, BT4, LY3), trimmed out a few leaves from the green pattern paper and did an outline stitch around all of the pieces with a black fine tip marker.  I attached the owls to the tree branch with the 3D Foam Squares.

I also added some glitter to the owls using my Clear Wink of Stella Brush pen and added the stamped images to the center of the flower panel.

Next I wanted to add a sentiment to the card and love the happy birthday banner that is included in the Birthday Wishes Add-On set.  I decided I wanted it on a light pink background, so using the chisel tip of my marker, I colored the paper.

 After letting it dry for a few minutes, I stamped my sentiment using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then trimmed it with scissors.  I attached it to the top of the card using the  3D Foam Squares.

For the final touch on my card, I added some red Queen & Co Jellies (included in the kit).  Then I decided to make a matching envelop for my card because there were these adorable stamp stickers included in the kit & the pattern paper is just too gorgeous not to use!

Hope you enjoyed my first project for this month ~ more to come every day!

Supplies:
* Creative Cafe Kit ~ Wish Big (December 2013).  Contents I used: Wish Big Stamp Set; Bazzill Card Stock; Doodlebug Flower Box Pattern Paper; Ribbon; Queen & Co. Jellies; Doodlebug Cardstock Stickers.  Also used: Wish Big Add-On Stamp set ~ Birthday Wishes.
* Ink ~ Memento (Tuxedo Black, Dandelion)
* Scrapbook Adhesives ~ 3D Foam Squares
* Clear Wink of Stella Brush* Die Cut Shape - Spellbinder Square
* Alcohol Ink Markers
* Black Fine Tip Marker

Thanksgiving Fun in NYC!

OH MY GOODNESS! What a week we had in New York City!  The Concord Community High School Marching Minutemen had the honor of marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  There were a total of 365 band students, staff, directors, and family members that loaded into 8 charter buses, making the trip from Northern Indiana to New York City for 5 days of crazy busy fun!

I wanted to start out with one of my favorite photos of the trip ~ my daughter (and drum major), Megan.  I'm so proud of this gorgeous girl!

The buses pulled out of the high school on Monday evening and we traveled through the night.  We arrived at our hotel early on Tuesday morning with just enough time to freshen up and have some breakfast.   We headed out to NYC for a morning of guided sightseeing from our buses... we stopped in Central Park for a short visit and the kids from each bus climbed on the Alice In Wonderland statue for group pictures.

Next up ... Lunch in Midtown ~ 

so we walked over to Juniors for CHEESECAKE!

We all loved it!

Time Square

Rockefeller Center

In the afternoon, The Top of the Rock
It was rainy and foggy, but the views were still awesome!

Day #2: We awoke early (like usual) and headed to downtown to shop and lunch in the Macy's area.

and now it's time for the Christmas Spectacular
at Radio City Music Hall

On Thanksgiving Day, our kids woke up at 1:15am to start a very busy day.  They needed to be at their NBC rehearsal in front of Macy's at 3:20am.

FINALLY TIME FOR THE PARADE!!!

and I got to walk too (I'm pushing the student in the wheelchair)

Megan is on the right side of the Indiana banner. 

After the parade, we went on a Thanksgiving Dinner Cruise along the Hudson River.

It was a gorgeous day!

We were so fortunate that all 4 of us could go on this trip.  My son, Matt, is an 8th grader and will start Marching Band next summer.  Unfortunately, schools can only apply to march in the Macy's Parade every 5-7 years, so he won't get to participate as a band member.  So we thought it would be a great experience for him to be able to go on the trip!

Our final day in NYC... American Museum of Natural History

9.11 Memorial

and our final activity before the long trip home ... a Broadway show!

WHEW!  I'm tired just looking at the photos!
Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Chase Your Dreams...

This wonderful sentiment comes from the set called Memories are Made by Crafter's Companion.  These new sentiments sure make for some easy peasy cards!!!

Stitched Up Sentimentals

Another fun card using the new 4-set release that just came out from Crafter's Companion.  The collection is called Everyday Sentimentals and this is from the Friends & Family stamp set.  I also used a few other sets from the Sheena collections ~ Ageing Beautifully for the background on the sentiment & Ivy Borders from her Christmas collection for the top border.

We just got back from New York City and I can't wait to show you tons of pictures of our marching band kids in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  Stay tuned!