Thinking of you

When I received the new SU catalog and started flipping through the pages this set in particular really stood out to me. I knew I had to have it simply because of the turtle image. Turtles always make me think of my father and how he loves it when it stumbles upon one! I remember him finding them on fishing trips but mainly we would see them driving along on a country road.....trying to wobble across. He's pulled over on more than one occasion to save them from being squished ! LOL My dad always has such a gentle kind way about him.

So it's no surprise that the first card I made with this set focus's on the turtle image! I tried to keep it simple and rustic but added some Bermuda Bay to give it a pop of color.



I started out with a card base of soft suede CS. I created the BG by using the peacock feather stamp from the set and stamping it with soft sued ink randomly on some naturals ivory CS. I then cut that into 3 equal strips and distress it. Those were then matted with some bermuda bay CS and distressed too.

I adhered those to some dusty durango CS that I sponged all the way around with soft suede ink and distressed too. I also added some brown brads in the top corner. That was all adhered to the card base.

The turtle was simply stamped with soft suede ink onto some naturals ivory CS. I also stamped my greeting below him which is from my SU set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. That was sponged all the way around and matted with dusty durango and bermuda bay. Each layer was distressed.

Lastly I added some ribbon and twill int he corner then adhered the image with dimensional adhesive.

This was a super easy card to make and I'm sure Dad would approve!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}



Supplies: SU stamp set Nature's Nest and Teeny Tiny Wishes. SU CS in dusty durango, bermuda bay, natural ivory and soft suede. SU ink in soft suede. Ribbon, twine, staple, dimensional adhesive, distressor, sponges, brads.

Patriotic Birthday Wishes

I had a request this past week for two patriotic birthday cards and the main element she wanted was a Humvee to pop out when it opened. I thought..."what a fun card to make" and was more than happy to fill the request.

I've seen pop out cards made before but never have attempted it by myself so I was a little worried I would mess it up so I started out by making a mock up with some scrap paper. That way I wouldn't be too upset when I messed it up. {wink} I was surprised to find out that it was actually pretty easy to make and didn't take much for time than a regular card.



I used the layout from Jenn's sketch this past week although I didn't faithfully follow the sketch. I started out with a card base of basic black. I used some river rock CS for the BG then added a strip of basic black horizontal across that.

Next I took a piece of real red CS and pierced it all the way around. That was adhered to the card with dimensional adhesive.

The image, which is from my SU set called The Free & the Brave, was stamped with basic black craft ink onto watercolor CS then clear embossed. I used my ink pads and watercolor wonder crayons to color it in.

I used my ticket corner punch on the corners, matted that onto some basic black CS and added some silver brads. That was then adhered with some dimensional adhesive.

To finish off the front I stamped my greeting, from my SU set called Sincere Salutations, with black craft ink and clear embossed it. That was punched out with my key tag punch and matted by punch 2 black key tags and layering them underneath.



For the inside I used some river rock CS cut down so it had a 1/4 inch border all the way around. I created a template for my sand hills by taking a scrap piece of paper and freehand cutting it wavy to simulate hills. I then laid it across my CS and lightly sponged it some some creamy caramel ink. I repeated that process all the way down the length of the CS.

Next I used my paper cutter to cut two, 2 1/2 inch slits in the middle to create my pop out feature. I then stamped my Humvee image with black craft ink onto some river rock CS. That was also clear embossed. I adhered that to the card with some dimensionals.




This was such a fun style of card to make! I can't wait to make some more...the possibilities are endless!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp set The Free & The Brave and Sincere Salutations. SU CS in basic black, river rock, real red, watercolor. SU ink in creamy caramel, basic black craft. Key tag punch, clear EB powder, dimensional adhesive, ticket corner punch, silver brads, watercolor wonder crayons, aqua painter, sponges.

New Feature

Hi everyone...just a quick note to say I'm trying out a new feature on here. I've added to the left margin a link to a new Facebook page I've set up. I've been on facebook for a while now but I'm new to having a "fan page" so please bear with me.

Feel free to "Become a Fan" so you can follow me stumbling through the learning process! LOL...If anyone has any tips or input on anything to do with linking my blog post with my facebook I'd would greatly appreciate the information and hlep!

I antipate this being fun and can't wait to see what this brings!

Have a fabulous day and thanks for stopping by!

{SMILES}

Just in time for Mojo Monday Sketch!

I saw this sketch this week at Mojo Monday ...and I really wanted to participate but I was having a hard time deciding which set to use. I guess that's the downfall when you get too many new ones at once! LOL I ultimately decided to go with my new SU set called Autumn Harvest. Here is a picture of the sketch.....






I started out by stamping my foliage using crushed curry and soft suede onto some naturals white CS. I stamped off on some of the brown ones to they were lighter then then stippled a moon with some crushed curry ink. (I used a post it note and hole punch for the moon template). The image was sponged all the way around, distressed, then mated onto some soft suede CS.




The card base is done with soft suede too. I used some Kraft CS for the BG which was sponged with soft sued and distressed. I add a strip of soft sued CS and some soft ribbon around that.

Next I embossed a piece of crushed curry CS with my cuttlebug, sponged it with some soft sued ink then matted that with soft seude. I
stamped my pheasant with soft suede ink and then cut him out. He perches on a distressed and sponged circle of natural white and crushed curry.

Lastly I stamped my greeting from my SU set called Teeny Tiny Wishes. That was punched out using my word window punch and adhered with dimensional adhesive.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp set Autumn Blessings and Teeny Tiny Wishes. Su CS in soft suede, crushed curry, kraft, naturals white. SU ink in soft suede, crushed curry. Word window punch, circle punch, cuttlebug, distressor, ribbon, dimensional adhesive, stipple brush.

Thinking of you Willow Tree

I can't believe I forgot to post this several months ago. I made this back in ?January? for my MIL who was getting her hip replaced. We couldn't travel home to visit (my husband was away to Italy and Germany) but I made sure to send her a card to let her know we were thinking of her.



I used my SU set called Thoughts and Prayers for the main image and paired it with the retired paper called Candy Lane.

I started out by inking up my tree with chocolate chip craft ink and stamping it onto some natural white CS. I then clear embossed it. The edges were sponged with chocolate chip ink and distressed. That was then matted with some chocolate chip craft ink.



The card base is done with chocolate chip CS. I used strips of candy lane DP for the BG matted with riding hood red CS. Each strip is distressed.

I then adhered the tree image with some dimensional adhesive and added some very vanilla grosgrain ribbon too.

The greeting is from my Sincere Salutations set and punch out using my oval punch. That was matted with my designer label punch. I used my 3 flower punch to added a riding hood red flower to the greeting and one to the tree with glue dots.

The inside was finished up with a strip of candy lane DP.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp set Thoughts and Prayers, Sincere Salutations. SU CS in chocolate chip, naturals white, Candy Lane, Riding hood red. SU ink in chocolate chip craft and classic. Distressor, 3 flower punch, oval punch, designer label punch, brads, dimensional adhesive, ribbon, clear EB powder.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Kristie!!!!!


You have officially entered a blog hop today in honor of Kristie's Birthday! Her fabulous sister Madonna set this up to celebrate Kristie's Birthday! What a fabulous Birthday surprise! I hope your enjoying yourself Kristie!

I met Kristie through our blogs and she has been a wonderful blogging friend! I really have so much fun chatting with her and of course checking out her fabulosu creations on her own blog! I truly wish you, Kristie....a spectacular Birthday!




I worked all night long to bake this fabulous PINK birthday cake just for you! {Pink just happens to be one of her fav colros!} Through the marvels of modern technology I'm sure you can taste the yumminess right now! Go ahead...have a slice! I know you want to! {wink}



Of course no birthday would be complete without presents...so I painstakenly picked out the most perfect gift and wrapped it all up in this lovely PINK edible packageing! (Don't be surpised if it gets lost in the mail!)

No present wold be complete without a Birthday card and here is the one I created just for the occasion.! I used rich razzleberry for the card knowing that Kristie also loves purples! I hope you like it Kristie!







So please grab a hat and help us celebrate! Hop on over to Kristies blog and wish her a Happy Birthday...I'm sure she'll love the wishes!





The next blog to link up to for Birthday wishes is Kristy Young.

Happy Birthday Kristie! I hope you enjoy YOUR day!

{SMILES}

If you wold like to check out the rest of the celebration in order just follow the blogs below....

Madonna: http://www.madonnadunn.com.au/

Lauren: http://llaurenb.blogspot.com/

June: http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Leslie: http://thecrookedstamper.blogspot.com/

Me: http://militarywifestampinspot.blogspot.com/

Kristy: http://youngstamper.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}



Supplies: SU stamp set Bitty basics and Voila. Su CS in rich razzleberry, whsiper white, basic grey, razzleberry lemonade. SU ink in basic grey, rich razzleberry. White EB powder, Big bold cupcakes dies, Big Shot, Crystals, white gel pen, crystal effects (for small cupckaes), ribbon, dimensional adhesive, Scallop squre punch.

Trainwreck...or not?????.....

I can't decide if I like this card....I keep on going around and around in my head...I do...I don't...I do...I don't...I do....I don't....LOL! I like the birdie....love the dimension....not so sure I like the whole mix of colors though. It is definitely a busy card! I have a hard time with more than 3 bright colors and this card definitely has more than that! You'll have to settle this dispute within myself and tell me if it is as bad as I think! It's ok...I can take it!



I started out with a card base of chocolate chip then added some Tall Tales DP for the BG matted with so saffron. (this is where I think I errored) I then added a strip of old olive CS with some so saffron ribbon down the center.

The bird is from my SU set called Good Friend. I inked up the body with some night of navy craft ink then clear embossed it. I stamped it once more onto some rose red CS and cut out the wing. I then used my versamark pen to cover the wing and clear embossed that too. I added a black brad for the birds eye. The feet and beak were inked up with summer sun craft in and also clear embossed.

I assembled the birdie then attached it to a matte that I created with my nestabilities. The colors used are close to cocoa and so saffron. I also stamped a flower from the set with rose red craft ink and clear embossed that. A sparkle brad was added to the middle. That was all adhered to the card base using dimensional adhesive.


Lastly I stamped my greeting from my SU set called Teeny Tiny Wishes using chocolate chip ink.

I think this card will definitely into a box of "what was I thinking" cards! LOL...

Thanks for stopping by today!

{SMILES}


Supplies: SU stamp set Good Friend and Teeny Tiny Wishes. SU CS in chocolate chip, old olive, so saffron, very vanilla, rose red, Tale Tales DP. SU ink in night of navy, rose red, summer sun craft. Versamark pen, clear eb powder, brad, ribbon, nestabilities, sparkle brad, dimensional adhesive.

Blogger Challenge...Patriotic!

Happy Friday everyone....time for another bloggers challenge. This week the challenge is very fitting seem how it's 4th of July weekend...we had to make something patriotic. I had so much fun with this challenge.

I decided to make two cards...one with an old set and one with a new one. My first card uses a SU set called Pun Fun. I love the coffee cup image in this set. I've seen the cups stacked before somewhere else and that idea stuck in my head so I decided to re-recreate it myself. I wish I could remember where I saw the idea so I could give that individual credit for inspiring me.



Anywhooo...I started out by stamping 4 cups on top of each other using black craft ink onto some watercolor CS. I then stamped 4 more and colored them in using my watercolor crayons and aqua painter. I then cut those out and adhered them to the main image with dimensional adhesive. I added a little bit of pearl-ex to the hearts to give them some shimmer. I matted that with some night of navy and cranberry crisp CS. I then added a strip of CS on the left margin that I used my spiral punch on.



The card base was done with night of navy CS. I added some doodlebug patriotic CS for the BG then adhered the main image with dimensional adhesive. I also added a strip of the DP to the inside.

Lastly I stamped my greeting. The "thanks" is from my set called Pocket Silhouettes and the "latte" is from Pun Fun. I used my circle punch to punch that out and added some matching ribbon at the top.

For my second card I used my new SU set called Circle Circus. This didn't come out quite like I envisioned it so I think I might go back and try again. This one will have to do for now.



I stamp my circles using ruby red, night of navy and whisper white craft ink onto some bashful blue CS. The ruby red was embossed with iridescent ice and the navy and white were clear embossed. I then matted that with some white CS.

The card base is done with white CS. I added some night of navy and ruby red panels for the BG that is matted with some bashful blue CS.



Next I adhered my circles with dimensional adhesive and then added some white ribbon around the top of that. My greeting is from my Papertrey set called Vintage Picnic Sentiments. I stamped that using night of navy craft ink then punched it out using my modern label punch. That is adhered with dimensional adhesive.

{SMILES}



Supplies: SU stamp set Pun Fun, Pocket Silhouettes, Circle Circus. SU CS in night of navy, cranberry crisp, ruby red, bashful blue. SU ink in night of navy, ruby red, black, whisper white craft. Ribbon, modern label punch, dimensional adhesive, watercolor CS, clear eb powder, iridescent ice, eyelet, circle punch, spiral punch.

2 Red Bananas

I recently saw this image on a card at SCS and I knew I had to have it. It is from 2 Red Bananas called Come Home Soon. I love how this image touched my heart...it really hits so close to home for me and my family. My husband has been deployed 2 times, has spent a year in Korea, and it seems like he's always gone on a TDY since we've been here in Ft Benning. Hello's and Goodbyes seem to be a constant in our lives. Which brings me to why I had to have this set!

I was a little worried when I first stamped this that I wasn't going to be able to color in the uniform and achieve the look I envisioned but when all was said and done I think I did okay with it. There definletly room for improvement but I'm happy with the results.



For this first card I stamped the image onto some watercolor CS with basic black craft ink then clear embossed. ( I like the nice dark crisp look craft ink and embossing gives the the outline....also the raised embossed edges aides with watercoloring.)

I used my ink pads and aqua pens to color it all in. The colors I used were river rock, always artichoke, creamy caramel, basic grey, so saffron, riding hood red, brocade blue, blush blossom and clsoe to cocoa. I then cut that out with my nestabilities and matted it with riding hood red and basic black CS.

The card base is done wtih buckaroo blue. I added a strip of patriotic CS matted with some black on top and bottom. The main image was then adhered with dimensionals.

Lastly the greeting was stamped with black craft and clear embossed. I punched that out with my circle punch and matted it with black CS.



For this next card I took a more earthy, manly approach. I stamped and colored in the image the same way above but this time I used river walk, always artichoke, creamy caramel, basic grey, close to cocoa, summer sun, real red and blush blossom.

I distressed and sponged the edges then matted that onto some basic black CS.

The card base is done with some always artichoke CS. I used a strip of creamy caramel CS matted with basic black for the BG. The CS is sponged and distressed and I added some paper piercings top and bottom using my mat pack as a guide.

I adhered the main image with dimensionals then stamped the greeting and punched that out using my key tag punch. The greeting is colored in using always artichoke ink.



My third and last card is fairly similar to the one above...the main differences being here dress which is color in with regal rose and bordering blue. I used my nestabilities to cut out and matte the image.

The card base is done with soft suede CS. I used always artichoke matted with river rock for the BG. The edges were sponged to create some depth. I also added some twine that I sponged with some creamy caramel ink. Black brads hold that in place.

The main image was then adhered with dimensional adhesive to the card. I stamped the greeting with black craft ink then punched it out using a square punch. That was matted with black CS that was punched out using my curly label punch.

I hope you enjoyed my cards for today and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

{SMILES}

Kind & Caring Thoughts

I recently joined this "new to me" craft website called Paper Craft Planet. I discovered it last week and I'm quickly becoming addicted the more I discover. They have lots of great sketches and challenges to participate in each week not to mention tutorials and Q&A forums.

I decided to participate in this weeks sketch labeled SKO62009. Here is a picture of the sketch...............




I decided to finally ink up my new hostess set from SU's new catalog (available July 1) called Kind & Caring Thoughts.




I started out by stamping my flower images with the new in colors, rich razzleberry, dusty durango and crushed curry. I then punched them out with my curly label punch. The greeting is from my retired set called Best Yet and stamped with soft suede ink. Those were then adhered with dimensional adhesive to a matte of soft suede and dusty durango.

The card base is done with soft suede CS with a BG of DP from my Razzleberry Lemonade pack. I matted that with some dusty durango too.



Next I added a strip of soft suede along the bottom with a bottom edge of dusty durango that I used my eyelet border punch on. The seam was covered with matching ribbon. That was adhered to the card.

Lastly I adhered my main image with some dimensional adhesive.

I had so much fun playing with this set that I created one more card wit the same DP. This card used last weeks sketch from I {heart} to Stamp. Here is a picture of the sketch....



I used crushed curry for the base of this card and added panels of Razzleberry lemonade DP matted with soft sued for the BG.



The main image on this card also used the Kind & Caring Thoughts stamp set. I inked up my flower with versamark ink then soft suede and stamped it twice on some barely banana CS. I then embossed it with iridescent ice powder. I stamped it again on some scrap barely banana CS and cut the top out then adhered it to the main image with a dimensional. The image was then matted with some soft sued CS. I added a piece of ribbon on the top and adhered the image with some dimensional adhesive.




Lastly I stamped my greeting from my SU set called Sweet Little Sentiments and punched that out using my modern label punch. I matted that with some soft sued CS. I also added 2 yellow crystals at the top corner.


I also have to mention that the lovely Kristy awarded to me for showing great attitude and gratitude! Thanks you soooooo much Kristy! :)



Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp sets in Kind & Caring Thoughts, Best Yet, Sweet Little Sentiments. SU ink in soft sued, versamark, crushed curry, rich razzleberry, dusty durango. SU CS in crushed curry, soft suede, dusty durango, very vanilla, razzleberry lemonade. Ribbon, eyelet border punch, curly label punch, modern label punch, dimensional adhesive, crystals.

You Rock

I hope you all are enjoying your Father's Day weekend! We've had a blast so far! Last night we went with some friends to a local pizza buffet and stuffed ourselves then we went to a local dirt race track and enjoyed some races. It was my first time going to a race and I have to say I LOVED it! All the kids had fun...and we were literally covered in a layer of dirt by the time we left. I can't wait to go back!

Today we went to the pool here on post and cooled off...we are having a heat index of 106 today here in GA...crazy hot! The pool is a much needed relief! I did manage to get some crafting in today...{wink}...I can always find time for that!

I decided to make a card for the challenge this week at Stamp Something. The challenge was to use Black and White...and one color. I chose my one color to be the new in color called Melon Mambo. Out of all the new in colors Melon Mambo is the one I'm having the most difficulties with this one. It's really bright for me...but I'm really liking it with the black and white combo!



I used my SU Just Jawing . I inked up the main image with black craft ink and stamped that on white CS. I then clear embossed it and cut that out. I matted that with dimensionals on circles of basic black and white CS that I created using my nestabilities. I adhered those together then matted those with a scalloped circle of Melon Mambo CS created with my nestabilities.

I stamped the skull image once more on Melon Mambo CS and cut the eyes out then adhered them with some glue dots. The flower was stamped using versamark ink then melon mambo ink so I could emboss it with clear EB powder and make it glossy. I then cut that out and adhered it to the skull with a glue dot.



The card base is done with white CS. I used basic black matted with melon mambo for the BG. Paper piercings were added down the right edge.

Lastly I stamped my greeting onto some white grosgrain ribbon with black craft ink and carefully embossed it with clear EB powder. I added a flower brad to finish it all up.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp set Just Jawing. SU CS in white, basic black, melon mambo. SU ink in basic black craft. and versamark. Clear EB powder, flower brad, ribbon, nestabilities, dimensional adhesive, paper piercer, mat pack.

Two challenges in one!

I'm a day late for my weekly blogger challenge but I figure later is better than never. This weeks challenge was to make a masculine card. I also combined it with Kristina's color challenge over at Kwernerdesign. I've only played along once before...I just never can seem to find the time. This week though I loved the colors and couldn't let it pass me by! Here is a picture of the color inspiration....



I decided to pull out an old favorite of mine from SU called Classic Pickups. I inked up my image using basic grey class ink and stamped it onto some very vanilla CS. I used my chalks and blender pen to color it in. I then distressed the edges and lightly sponged them with basic grey ink. That was then mounted on some basic grey and really rust CS. Each layer was distressed.

The card base is done with basic grey CS. I used some more mustard matted top and bottom with really rust CS. I also distressed each of those layers too. I then added some paper piercings along the top and bottom. Some twill was added across the center and that was adhered to the card base.



Next I cut out some circles using my CM circle cutting system in really rust and basic grey CS. I added paper piercings around the really rust layer and adhered those to the card with dimensional adhesive.

Lastly I stamped my greeting from my SU retired set called Lots of Thoughts using my really rust marker onto some very vanilla CS. I crinkled it up a bit then attached it to the main image using a silver eyelet and twine.

The main image was adhered with dimensional adhesive.

Thanks for stopping by today...now I"m off to celebrate Father's Day with Pizza and a race at a local dirt track! It should be fun!

{SMILES}





Supplies: SU stamp sets in Classic Pickups and Lots of Thoughts. SU CS in basic grey, very vanilla, really rust, more mustard. SU ink in basic grey. Chalks, blender pen, Circle cutter, distressor, paper piercer and mat pack, dimensional adhesive, silver eyelets, crop-o-dile, twine.

Razzleberry Birthday Elephant

When I saw this new set called Animal Stories in the SU sneak peak I knew right away I had to have it! I love that they are solid stamps that I can just ink up and no coloring needed and the fact that I can make kids cards, baby cards or even some adult cards with this set! I have so many ideas floating around!

For my first card with this set I decided to make a girlie Birthday card. I loved the sketch this week at Stamp Something and thought it would be perfect for the card I had in mind. Here is a photo of the sketch I used....


I started out with a card base of rich razzleberry. I then used some razzleberry lemonade DP for the BG matted with Melon Mambo. These colors are a bit of a stretch for me but I'm loving how they work together. ( I really seem to have a hard time with the brighter colors!)


Next I added a strip of rich razzleberry CS with a crushed curry scalloped border along one side. That was adhered to the base with some dimensional adhesive.

I stamped the elephant image using some versamark and rich razzleberry ink then clear embossed it. That was cut out and adhered to a piece of pink pirouette CS matted with rich razzleberry using dimensional adhesive.



The balloons I used are from my SU set called Owl Together. They were stamped with black craft ink and clear embossed. I colored in the balloons using my ink pads and aqua painter then cut those out and adhered them to the image with dimensionals.

Lastly I stamped my greeting, which is from my SU set called Birthdays Count, using versamark and rich razzleberry ink.

Even though these colors are a shock to my system I'm still loving how this turned out....who knows, maybe these colors will help me get over my bright color fear! LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}






Supplies: SU stamp sets in Animal Stories, Owl Together and Birthdays Count. SU CS in rich razzleberry, crushed curry, melon mambo, pink pirouette. SU ink in versamark, rich razzleberry, melon mambo, black craft. Dimensional adhesive, clear EB powder, scallop edge punch, stamp-a-majig.

Scrapbook pages

Today I'm going to share some scrapbook pages I've made recently. I love my Cricut...it really makes scrapbooking quick and easy and now that I have one I don't know how I ever survived without it before! I also have been pulling a lot of inspiration off of the hero art blog and various other blogs I frequent to help get my scrapbooking juices flowing. I'm not sure why but coming up with card ideas seems to come so much easier to me...I really need to dig deep for scrapbooking. :(

Anyways...here is one of the pages I created...

These photos were taken at Christmas 2004...my kids look so much smaller in these photos! My oldest daughter always felt so intimidated about sitting on Santa's lap and Mrs. Clause really clued in on this and made her feel very comfortable. They had a nice little chat. I was very impressed with the pair!

I used my cricut for the greeting and some riding hood red textured CS for the BG. The photos are matted in black and then again in cream CS. I used my eyelet border punch along one side.

I finished up the page with some matching ribbon and buttons.



These next photos were taken on Christmas Eve. My husband and I had all of Santa's gifts hidden in our shed...floor to ceiling and of course a lock on the outside so they couldn't be discovered. Well...unfortunately we got an awful ice storm that day (not a norm in Ft Campbell KY) and it froze the door/lock shut. He had to use a blow torch to melt the ice on the lock to free the presents! I was trying so hard not to laugh!

On this page I used some SU DP from last Christmas on the top and DCWV DP on the bottom half. The seam was covered with rick rack ribbon.

I used my cricut for the greeting and then inked up a snowflake chipboard with chocolate chip craft ink and embossed it with iridescent ice.
The love the subtle shimmer iridescent ice gives!







This next page features a photo of my children on Christmas morning. Do I even have to explain the smiles....Santa spoiled them as usual!

I used my cricut yet again for the title and some SU DP called Holiday Treasures for the BG. the seam is covered with some white twill. I used my computer to type out the journaling.




The flowers were created with my SU Season of Joy stamp set using versamark, riding hood red ink and clear embossing powder for the flowers and old olive ink for the leaves. They were adhered with glue dots.





These photos shows the snow and ice we woke up to on Christmas morning. It has been many years since I can claim to have a white Christmas! The military has had us in the south...which usually translates to warm Christmas's.

I used my SU Holiday Treasure DP for the BG and baja breeze for the panel down the left. Each piece was matted with basic black CS.



The snowflakes were created with my snowflakes sizzlits and big shot. Each snowflake is lightly dusted with Martha Stewart clear glitter and adhered with a glue dot.

The title was created with my Cricut.





Now your looking at photos of my children romping around in the snow on Christmas day. They promptly ditched everything Santa gave them...put on their snow suits that I conveniently saved from when we lived in NY an ran as fast as they could outside! They were the warmest kids on the block! LOL



I used my retired set called Bundle up for the mittens. Each was stamped with groovy guava then with basic grey. I then cut those out and attached some linen thread so they could hang from loopy brads on the page.

The CS used for the BG was basic grey with some SU DP called Frosty Day.

The title was created with my cricut.



My last page shows photos of my biggest kid of all....my husband! LOL...He had a blast pulling the kids around in the field behind our house in their sleds. The snow was prime for sliding too...under the thin layer of snow was a nice sheet of ice..perfect for sliding! (A fun fact....the sleds our kids are using are actually the same sleds my husband and I owned together while we were dating in high school)!

I cased this page from Hero arts blog. It was just too perfect to change up!

I used chocolate chip CS for the BG and a piece of Holiday treasure DP in the middle. A piece of white twill was added across the middle and I added some buttons too. The journaling was typed out and then cut up before adhering it to the page.

Lastly I added a chipboard snowflake that I inked up with whisper white ink and clear embossed.

I hope you enjoyed my little walk down memory lane today and maybe get inspired to pull your photos out and scrap yourselves!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}

A shimmery butterfly and an award!

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I had a nice quiet family one...we didn't do too much but it's always nice to just hang out all weekend with the family.

I was pleasantly surprised this weekend to be nominated for a bloggers award by Jenna over at Jenna's Ink Link. This is such a fun award....I love it!

With this award comes some stipulations...I have to reveal 10 things about myself and pass it on to seven other people who's blogs I love.

My 10 "things"....

1. I graduated high school at age 17....(I barely made the age cut-off then I entered school)
2. I married my high school sweetheart at the age of 19...and we're still married 14 1/2 years later. (Ohhh no...did I just reveal my age?!)
3. I have 3 kids....ages 12, 9 1/2, and 6....my 2 oldest (girls) are now practically as tall as me and wear the same shoe size as me)...{SCARY}
4. Deep or dark water terrifies me...I avoid it at all cost!
5. I hate speaking in front of a group of people..which makes demonstrating challenging!
6. I'm definitely an early riser...even if I go to sleep way past my bedtime my "internal" alarm clock always wakes me promptly at or before 7 a.m.
7. I have lived in 5 states in my lifetime, NY,NC,TN,KY,& GA.
8. As nutty as it might be...i thoroughly enjoy exercising...if I miss more than a day or 2 I have withdrawals.
9. My fav all time drink is...drum roll please....plain old water. (so exciting!)
10. I'm totally addicted to blog surfing....I really need to put a cap on my time on here!

So those were the ten random boring facts about myself I could think of....now I will nominate 7 of my blgoging buddies more than worthy...

Alex
Claudia
Kristie
Kristy
Dawn's
Keri
Andrea


Now onto my card for today....I actually made this card 2 weeks ago for SCS weekly sketch challenge and I'm just getting around to posting it now. Here is a photo of the sketch...



For this card I used my SU hostess set called God's Beauty.

I started out with a card base of not quite navy CS. I used some baja breeze for the BG and lightly sponged the edges.

I then took a piece of gable green CS and stamped it with my BG stamp called Tres Chic using not quite navy ink. I then cut that into 3 panels and sponged the edges of each one. Those were then matted with not quite navy CS and adhered to the card with dimensional adhesive.



Next I used my nestabilities to cut out a square and matching scallop square and adhered that to the card using dimensionals. The edges of the square are also sponged.

Lastly I stamped 2 butterfly images using not quite navy craft ink and embossed them with iridescent ice. I adhered the bottom one with glue dots and the top layer with dimesionals and slightly bent back the wings to give the illusion of it flying off the card. I added 2 blue crystals to the top right corner to finish it up.




I love the way the iridescent ice makes the butterfly shimmer...it looks so much better IRL.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! :)

{SMILES}



Supplies: SU stamp set God's Beauty, Tres Chic. SU CS in not quite navy, gable green, baja breeze. SU ink in not quite navy, classic and craft. Iridescent ice, nestabilities, crystals, dimensionals, glue dots.

Blogger challenge.....It's a sketch!

Whooo hooo it's Christmas in the Bond household! Well...at least for me! I finally received my Stampin' Up! sneak peak purchases and I'm in heaven! I love the new sets I purchased and the new in colors are fabulous! Not to mention the new catalog!....drool!!!!! My bank account is soooooo in trouble! {hehehehe}

I couldn't wait to ink up my new sets and what is better than starting off with a blogger challenge! This week the challenge was a sketch. Here is a picture of the sketch....



I decided to use my new hostess set called Wings of Friendship. I inked it up first with soft suede on shimmery white. I then inked up the bird with Dusty Durango and the flowers with Crushed Curry. Those were cut out and reapplied to the main image with dimensional adhesive. I used my ticket corner punch and matted that with some soft suede CS.



The card base is done with soft suede CS. I used some dusty durango for the BG which is stamped with a swirl from the same set using dusty durango ink. I matted that with some crushed curry CS. Each layer is lightly sponged on the edges.

Next I took a small strip of crushed curry CS and added some soft suede ribbon down the center then adhered that to the card. I added another strip of crushed curry horizontally with some brown sued ribbon too.



The main image was then adhered using dimensional adhesive. I added some glitter to the center of the flower with my quick drying glue pen.

Lastly I stamped my greeting from the same set with brown suede ink onto some shimmery white CS. That was punched out wtih my oval punch and matted with a dusty durango scallop oval.

I Love how these new colors work so well together...I can't wait to play some more!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a fabulous weekend!

{SMILES}




Supplies: SU stamp set Wings of Friendship. SU CS in dusty durango, soft suede, crushed curry, shimmery white. SU ink in dusty durango, crushed curry, soft suede. Oval punch, ovla scallop punch, ticket corner punch, ribbon, dimensional adhesive, dazzling dieamonds, quick drying glue.

SSS Summer Sketch Challenge

I'm so excited that Scrap and Stamp is "finally open for business"! If you have no clue what I'm talking about run on over there and check it out. Alex and Melissa created this blog to inspire creativity for stamping and scrapbooking.

I started scrapbooking about 11 years ago but when I discovered stamping, scrapbooking has regretfully taken a back seat. I really think I overwhelmed myself with all my photos and not really liking what I was designing.... and making a card is so much easier to me than figuring out how I want my photos to be presented.

Well....my wonderful husband purchased the Cricut for me for Mother's Day and I've been back to scrapping ever since! I think I've knocked out 12 pages in the past few weeks....which is a huge amount for me since I've probably done a handful in the past year.

Anyways....back to the subject...when I saw that Scrap and Stamp was up for business I knew I had to participate in the first sketch. I hope I did it justice!

Here is a photo of the sketch....















and here is the page I created....

I started out with a sheet of 12x12 kraft CS. I then added some Parisian Breeze DP to the center matted top and bottom with some whisper white CS. The bottom part was punched out using my eyelet border punch. I added some whisper white grosgrain ribbon along the top border.

Next I added my pictures...which just happens to be my 3 little ones (not so little anymore) decorating Easter Eggs wayyyyyy back in 2005 {snickering} (I know...I'm BEHIND). Those are matted together on a piece of whisper white CS and I used 2 matching brads on the bottom corners.

Next I used my Cricut to create a greeting and journaled with a white gel pen along the top of the photos.

Lastly I used some chipboard from SU called On Board So Tweet along the top. I inked it up with some chocolate chip, old olive, brocade blue, cameo coral and summer sun craft ink then clear embossed it all. I added a black brad to the birds eye and adhered that to the page with some glue dots.

I hope you enjoyed my page and hopefully I'll be posting more soon.! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

{SMILES}




Supplies: CM 12x12 page. SU CS in kraft, Parisian breeze and whisper white. SU ink in chocolate chip, old olive, brocade blue, cameo coral, summer sun. Clear EB powder, brads, eyelet border punch, ribbon, Cricut, white gel pen, glue dots, distressor.

Blogger challenge...and a sketch challenge

Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is here....not that it really matters here...kids are off of school for the summer and my hubby is gone on this Normandy trip so my days are really melding together!

Speaking of my husband...a little update. He's having so much fun on his trip and doing well. He's been lucky enough to be able to call every day and let me in on his activities. He's already visited the beach and collected some sand for his dad. He enjoyed a guided tour of the area which included visiting many historical sites. He's also participated in a traditional meal with some of the locals and really enjoyed that. His days also consist of attending ceremonies for celebrate the Anniversary.



He's super excited today for a night jump he'll do in a "historic" aircraft. I don't know if I like the idea of going up in a historic aircraft but I figure he'll be wearing a parachute so all should be well. {WINK} I'm excited for his return this Monday though...I can't wait to see the photos he has taken!

Anyways..it is Friday which means time for another bloggers challenge. This week the challenge was to "THINK SUMMER" Well that's easy enough being here in GA....we've had 90's now for a few weeks. I decided to use this weeks sketch challenge at SCS. I thought it wold be perfect for the smaller images I planned on using for these cards.

Here is a photo of the sketch I used....

(I apologize for the grainy photos...my hubby has the better camera with him on his trip)

I decided to use my SU set called Tart & Tangy for the first card. What screams summer louder than fresh fruit?!?!



I started out by inking up my strawberries with some ruby red craft ink and stamping them onto some pink pirouette CS. I then embossed them with iridescent ice powder and cut those out. I stamped another set of berries with garden green and embossed those too. I cut the tops off of those and adhered them to the berries with dimensionals.



Those were then added to a square of pink pirouette CS that is matted with basic black CS. I added some ribbon on the side with a large black brad that I dipped in my iridescent ice EB powder to give it some sparkle.

The card base is done wtih riding hood red CS. I used pink pirouette matted with basic black for the BG and strips of Bella Rose DP matted with basic black on top. The strip are each adhered with dimensional adhesive.


To finish it all up I adhered the berry image with dimensional adhesive and added some DP to and pink pirouette CS to the inside.

For my second card I used my SU set called Cheep Talk.



I inked up the pear image, first with old olive craft ink then with certainly celery craft ink and clear embossed them. I did the tops with some chocolate chip craft ink. Those were cut out and adhered to a square of very vanilla CS. I used my color spritzer tool with my cocoalte chip marker on the very vanilla to break up the color a bit. That was matted with some cocoalte chip CS. I then attached a piece of ribbon with a large brown brad on the side. The pears were adhered with dimensional adhesive.



The card base is done with chocolate chip CS. I used certainly celery for the BG that I also used my color spritzer tool on. Then strip of Good Morning Sunshine DP matted with chocolate chip were added with dimensionals.



Lastly I adhered the main image with dimensional adhesive. The inside of this card was finished off with some certainly celery CS that I spritzed with my chocolate chip marker.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a fabulous weekend!

{SMILES}





Supplies: SU stamp sets in Tart & Tangy and Cheep Talk. SU CS in riding hood red, basic black, pink pirouette, bella rose, certainly celery, chocolate chip, very vanilla, and Good Morning Sunshine. SU ink in ruby red, garden green, certainly celery, old olive and chocolate chip...all craft. Iridescent ice and clear EB powder. Brads, Ribbon, dimensional adhesive, color spritzer tool, marker.

SAS cards and a gift

This past Sunday I hosted a SAS (Stamp-a-Stack) at my house and we had a wonderful time. I had 9 ladies in attendance and it made for a fabulous afternoon! We had so much fun stamping and chatting...I really need to do this more often! Stamping is wonderful "therapy"! LOL

I had 4 designs to complete...all of which the sentiment choice was left up to my customers.

The first one uses the set called Cheep Talk. We used pacific point, baja breeze and always artichoke ink for the images on white CS. That was punched out with my 1/2 inch circle and matted with coordinate scalloped circles.

The card base is done with white CS and I used a strip of Blueberry Maine DP and not quite navy CS along the bottom with some certainly celery ribbon along the seam.

Each image was adhered with dimensionals and the greeting used here is from my set called Sincere Salutations.

This next card used the set called Pocket Silhouettes. I stamped the foliage using garden green and mellow moss ink onto some very vanilla CS. I then lightly sponged the edges, distressed them and matted that onto some basic black CS. I added some paper piercings along the bottom.

The card base is done with garden green CS. I used a strip of mellow moss that is stamped with my Paisley BG stamp and has a strip of barely banana CS along the bottom.

I then attached some punched out circles to the right top corner and added some ribbon as well. The main image was adhered with dimensional adhesive.


The third card uses the set called Friends 24/7. I started with a card base of night quite navy. I added some tangerine tango CS matted with strips of very vanilla on top and bottom. (I used my eyelet borders punch for the bottom piece) The tangerine CS was stamped with the flourish stamp from the set using tangerine tango ink. I added some ribbon along the bottom and adhered that to the card base.

The bird image was stamped on some very vanilla CS and matted with not quite navy. I then stamped the bird once more on some scrap paper and cut that out, then adhered it to the main image with a dimensional.

Lastly I stamped my greeting from my set called Best Yet and punched that out using my Curly Label punch.




The last card of the day used the set called Fifth Avenue Floral. I used riding hood red, close to cocoa and pink pirouette to stamp the flowers then matted that with some riding hood red CS. The corners were rounded on each layer.

The card base is done with close to cocoa CS. I added some Bella Rose DP matted with pink pirouette along the bottom then adhered the main image with dimensionals. I also added sparkle brad and matching ribbon on the bottom.

The greeting (from my set called Sincere Salutations) was stamped and punched out with my oval punch. That was matted with my scalloped oval using riding hood red CS.

Lastly I added a touch of dazzling diamonds to the centers of the flowers.

And lastly.......here is the gift I made for the drawing. I purchased this card box from There She Goes . I covered it with some close to cocoa and Candy Lane DP then used some of my chipboard letters and bird for the front.

The bird was inked up using chocolate chip, ruby red and summer sun craft ink. I then embossed it with clear EB powder. The letters were inked up with chocolate chip ink and clear embossed.

The inside dividers were created with close to cocoa CS and some tabs of pink pirouette CS.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!!! {SMILES}

Blogger challenge....Graduation

Happy Friday everyone. This weeks bloggers challenge was to make a Graduation card. I have a dear friend who I was stationed with in Ft Campbell KY 6 years ago who's daughter just graduated this past week. I can't believe she is old enough to graduate! The last time I saw her she was 12 years old....time seriously flies when you don't pay attention!

For my card I used a sketch from last week TCPTUES challenge here. I also used the sketch below for my challenge card last week!...I intentionally saved this card just for this challenge. Here is the photo of the sketch....


I decided my color palette off of her school colors and pulled out my SU set called Independence Day.

First I stamped my star image using versamark ink onto cranberry crisp CS and then embossed it with silver EB powder. That was then cut out and set aside.

The card base was done with basic grey CS. I used my DCWV Old World paper pack for the DP. That was cut into strips and matted with some sahara sand CS. The bottom half is one long strip, always matted with sahara sand. I added some silver cord too.



Next I cut out a circle with basic black CS and adhered that to the card base using dimensional adhesive. the star was also added using dimensionals.

Lastly I stamped my greeting which is from my SU set called Warmest Regards using black craft ink and clear embossing it. That was then adhered with some dimensionals.

I also put some DP in the inside to finish that off.

Now I just have to be disciplined enough to get this out in the mail this week! {wink}

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have a great weekend!

{SMILES}





Supplies: SU stamp set Independence Day and Warmest Regards. SU CS in cranberry crisp, basic black, sahara sand and basic grey. SU ink in black craft and versamark. Silver cord, CM circle cutter, dimensional adhesive, silver and clear EB powder.