So Grateful!

   Today I'm so grateful for all the things my paper crafting hobby has given me! Who would think that a few art supplies would provide such a  great creative outlet to share with others, beautiful artwork, relaxation and enjoyment, and best of all, the wonderful friends I've met and grown to love? 

     Our monthly Stampin' Club meeting was fabulous last night! All the projects were absolutely stunning! We worked on a mother of pearl card technique and painted some fabulous roses. These cards truly were individual works of art!

     Jae Lynn joined us for the first time last night and did an AMAZING job! Look at the hang tag on her card that she hand cut! Totally awesome!

     Two of my very bestest homies, Erika and Jennifer. Their projects are almost as gorgeous as their amazing hearts. Erika introduced me to paper crafting a few years back, so you can all blame her. :) Love you girls!

     My darling and amazingly talented sister, Gia, and another awesome new member, Melinda! Welcome Melinda! You do amazing work, and we're so excited to have you in our group. You are truly a kindred spirit!

     My darling friend Cassandra came and created beautiful art with us as well! She has an awesome creative spirit, and I love watching her shine! Amazing job! Love you, C!

     Here's a photo of the project we did last night. The Elements of Style set is my favorite set of the month :), and I can't wait to experiment with all the amazing watercolor effects these roses can produce. 

     I hope your weekend is as full of fun and friends as mine has been! If you have a crafty group of friends, I would love to add more clubs to my schedule. Email or comment with questions! Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used (all supplies from Stampin' Up):

Elements of Style Stamp Set

Staz on Ink

Aqua Painters

Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Basic Black, and Whisper White Card Stock

Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzaz, and Old Olive Classic Ink

Frost White Shimmer Paint

Sponges

Color Spritzing Tool

Chocolate Chip Marker

Tulip Frame Embossing Folder

1" and 1 3/8" circle punches

Linen Thread

Vintage Trinkets

Whisper White Satin Ribbon (hand-dyed)

Flower Pot Thanks!

      After a huge snowstorm last week, we're finally seeing grass and birds in beautiful Montana! I can't wait to get my flower pots planted, and since I'll have to wait a few more months, I thought an indoor version might make me smile!

     This card was inspired by Beate at Split Coast Stampers (thank you, Beate!) and features a cute pull-out tag for writing messages. I increased the measurements a bit to accommodate a full-size manilla luggage tag.

     With a few minor alterations (the butterfly punch, border punch, and red rhinestone) this is a Stampin' Up demonstrator workshop-friendly card as well. I hope spring has sprung wherever you are today!

Materials used:

Crumb Cake Cardstock*

Whisper White Cardstock*

Red Scraps from my Stash

Real Red Classic Ink*

Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink*

Old Olive Classic Ink*

Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink*

Daffodil Delight Marker*

Crumb Cake Classic Ink*

Decorative Label Punch*

Dot, Dot, Dot Background Stamp*

Petal Pizzazz Stamp Set*

Scallop Border Punch, Fiskars

Ribbon, Joann Fabrics

Sticky Strip*

Tiny Pearl*

Red Rhinestone

Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Dimensionals*

Life's a Picnic Stamp Set*

Manilla Luggage Tag

CPS 209 Butterfly and Branches Silhouette

Spring Break is winding down already, but how I've enjoyed spending time with the family, crafting almost every day, and cleaning very little!! I get to wrap up my week with a card class taught by my favorite crafting mentor, sweet Kristii Lockart. What fun!

My inspiration for this week's sketch at CPS came from a quick look through my Storybook Cricut cartridge. The designs are oh-so-fancy, and this branch image stuck out for me. I love how the silhouette effect turned out!

Here's the CPS sketch this week. I love it!! 

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Materials used:
Whisper White Cardstock*
Basic Black Cardstock*
Scraps of velvet black and rusty red cardstock from my stash
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
White Pearls*
Square Lattice Embossing Folder*
Storybook Cricut Cartridge
Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Joann Fabrics
Leftover button from my sewing stash
Of the Earth Hostess Stamp Set* (inside)


*Stampin' Up products

Five Minute Card Challenge!

     Getting things done can be a bit of a challenge for me, I'll admit. I'm a procrastinator, a daydreamer, and a downright forgetter! If you've ever received a birthday card from me on time (or in some cases at all) you are among very select group. I don't mean to be this way, but I am no matter how hard I try.

     
     Do you ever have an "Oh my goodness, that wedding is today!" or a "It's your birthday, isn't it?" moment? I have them a lot, so here's a quick and easy example of what can be done in five minutes when it just has to be!  

     I've been wanting this medallion stamp forever, and I think it's my new favorite. It goes with absolutely everything, and when combined with a little sponge dauber action, something truly artistic happens. Sure, these cards are plain and could be fancied up with a little more time, but when you only have five minutes ...

Post your blog in the comment section with your own five-minute creation. What can you come up with? I can't wait to see!


Materials used: 
Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Black Classic Ink Pads*
Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla Cardstock*
Medallion Background Stamp*
Sponge Daubers*
Occasional Quotes Hostess Stamp Set*
Pearls from Gia's Stash :)


*Stampin' Up Product

Simply the Best

     I spent this week working on a simple page about the girls' first grade teacher, Deb Persons. What an AWESOME person! By the end of the year we became good friends, and Mrs. Persons is still encouraging and supporting them even though they've moved on to second grade. What a precious gift she has been to our family!

Goodies used:
Play Date Designer Series Paper *
Play Date Quick Accents*
Top Note Die*
Banner Stamp from Party This Way Set*
Hemp Twine*
Heart Mask, Tim Holtz
Real Red Classic Ink*
Thickers Black Glitter Alphas
Misc. Scraps, Buttons and Rubs from my stash
*Stampin' Up Product


Have you thanked a teacher in your life lately who's Simply the Best?

CPS 207 Get Well Penguin

     Hi everyone! I finished this cute little penguin card for a dear piano student of mine who had surgery recently. She loves penguins, so this little guy from the Cricut "Winter Frolic" cartridge seemed perfect! I based the layout on Card Positioning System's Sketch #207.

Supplies:

DCWV Card Base

Card Stock in Black*, White*, Melon Mambo*

Daffodil Delight Marker*, Designer Series Paper*

Paper Scraps from my Stash

Cricut Cartridge "Winter Frolic"

Stamp, Joann Crafts

Black Classic Ink*

Melon Mambo Classic Ink*

*Available from Stampin' Up!

     A new week is looming already! I hope it's a good one!

CPS 206 Love

    I'm so glad vintage is in right now since I'm a lover of all things fancy, lacy, and girly! I recently got my "Baby Blossoms" stamp set from Stampin' Up's spring mini catalog, and I've been dying to use it on a project. The matching paper is gorgeous too. So fun!!

Here's the sketch this card is based on:

Supplies Used:

Baby Blossoms Stamp Set*

Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper*

Baja Breeze Card Stock*

Antique White Card Stock

Baja Breeze Classic Ink*

Not Quite Navy Classic Ink*

Pear Pizazz Classic Ink*

Versamark Pad*

Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Clear Embossing Powder

Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

Martha Stewart French Doily Edge Punch

Dresden Trim

Antique White Velvet Ribbon, Maya Road

White Seam Binding, Joann Fabrics

Rhinestone Bling, K & Company

Tim Holtz Grungeboard Key

Tim Holtz Fragments

Ranger Glossy Accents

Diamond Stickles

*Available from Stampin' Up

It's Friday! Hooray! I hope your weekend is full of family, relaxation, and tons of crafting!

CPS 205 Queen Bee

Snow! What a morning!

I do get tired of it after a while, but when I slow down and actually appreciate how beautiful falling snow is I feel a great sense of peace. Imagine never seeing a landscape covered in glittering diamonds! How lucky I am!

I barely made the deadline for CPS this week, but I was in the mood for inking last night. I'm fighting off a cold and needed to engage in a little scrap therapy! I'm usually a procrastinator, but I think I've got my mom's Mother's Day card done well ahead of time for a change. Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on the sketch:

Supplies:

Crumb Cake Card Stock*

Black Card Stock*

Script Stamp, Cornish Heritage Farms

Queen Bee Clear Stamps, Pink Paislee

Versamark Pad*

Barn Door, Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Tattered Angels Gold Glimmer Mist

Hero Arts Gold Embossing Powder

Patterned paper scraps

Manilla Tag

Lots of Tags Sizzlits Die*

Maya Road Hat Pin

Prima Florals

Embroidered Rose, Devonshire Embellishments Pack

K & Company Dresden Trim

Twill Tape*

Cream Pearl

Linen Thread*

*Available from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for stopping by! Have an extra mug of hot chocolate for me!

Notably Ornate: CPS #200

I just received a new stamp set from Stampin' Up and was anxious to try it out with this week's CPS sketch. The set is called "Notably Ornate," and it's been on my wish list for a long time!

Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on the sketch:

I used the following supplies:

October Afternoon scraps from my scrap box

Crumb Cake Cardstock*

Very Vanilla Cardstock*

Basic Gray ink*

Not Quite Navy ink*

Antique Brads*

Notably Ornate Stamp Set*

Trendy Trees Stamp Set (sentiment)*

Crochet Trim

Martha Stewart French Lace Punch

Random Blingies from my box :)

(*Stampin' Up supplies)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Positioning Systems and Stamp a Stack!

Hello, friends!!

The snow is falling in beautiful Montana, which means it's the season for Christmas crafts!

This week I've been playing with my new Stampin' Up toys, and I just love the vintage themes from the Holiday Mini. I also saw a preview of the spring Occasions Mini this week, and the vintage trend carries on with some absolutely gorgeous shabby chic products! I can't wait to share them!

I decided to get in on the fun at Card Positioning Systems this week. Here's my interpretation of sketch #193:

I've also been busy designing a couple of cards for the "Stamp a Stack" I'll be hosting on December 4th from 1-4 pm! The projects are simple and beautiful so you can come and get all your Christmas cards done in one afternoon! (Sorry for the picture quality; the house is very dark this morning!)

Design #1

Design #2

The cost will be $6 for each set of 5 cards completed if you bring your own adhesive or $8 if you opt to use mine. I will have all of the card elements cut and ready to assemble so you can focus on socializing and getting covered in glitter!!!

Please RSVP by Wednesday, December 1 with the number of sets of each design you would like to create so I can have all the materials ready. I can't wait to craft with all of you!