Happy Birthday Lion

Hello!

Happy Tuesday to you, hope it's been a good day so far. It's a rainy day here, so in my book that means a good day for crafting. I hope to have some time for that later, but first we have to take our Bella to the vet to have her stitches and bandages removed. I know she will be happy about that! Thanks for all the well wishes from my friends out there, they mean a lot to me!

I do have a card to share, one which I created as a birthday card for someone who is celebrating today! I used the Whimsy Lion on this one. I think he makes a grrrr-eat birthday image! HA!

I used the sketch from this week's Sketch Saturday with some fun Lime Rickey papers. I went with aqua and orange for the color combo. My image was colored with Copics. I've embellished simply with eyelets, a tab of ribbon, and some buttons. This card needed to be more masculine and I think buttons are a perfect accent on masculine cards. The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps set Snippets 1 and was punched with the word window punch.

This card also fits the challenges at:
One Stop Craft: Metals
Stamp with Us: Birthday
The Pink Elephant: Aqua

Today is also my day to post over on the Whimsy Inspirations Blog, so if you hop over there you will see this card as well as a couple others I've created over the year.  They are "wildly" fun! And I would also like to welcome you to visit our brand new Whimsy Stamps Gallery! Anyone can register and share Whimsy creations, find ideas using our products, and see lots of inspiration with a touch of Whimsy! We hope you'll stop by and check it out!

Happy Stamping,

Long Over Due Thanks....

Hi All!

Happy 4th of July to everyone, hope you are having a great weekend! Be safe and have fun!

I have just a quick post today, one I should have made a while ago! I received a few much appreciated blog awards over the last few weeks and I've been meaning to share them, but time as gotten away from me. I am so sorry to have taken so long, apologies to the wonderful ladies who shared these with me. I do VERY much feel honored to have received these from each of you! Thank you!

First, is this lovely award which I received from both Janis and Vikki! Thank you both, you are too too kind! And, right back at you too! :) It's always really nice when you're blog and work are recognized by fellow crafters. Both of these ladies also have "lovely" blogs with lots of great inspiration!

I also received this next award from Sue and would like to say thank you to her! Sue has a fabulous blog with new creations posting all the time! Sue is a friend and fellow DT member at Whimsy Challenges! Thanks for this fun award Sue!

I'm not sure on the rules for these awards, but if you have never received them, you have now! I would like to present these to the fabulous friends that take time each day to visit and leave me such sweet comments. They are always great to read and mean so much!

Enjoy your weekend! Happy Stamping! :)

Some Challenges and Awards

Happy Sunday!

Hope you're weekend is going well! We had dinner out with friends last night and are now enjoying a relaxing day inside out of the rain.

I decided to make good use of this rainy day and catch up on some blog challenges. I made one card using the challenges from Cute Card Thursday, which was "A Family Affair" then I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday and the color combo from Copic Color Challenge.

Seeing as it is a rainy day out there, what better stamp to use for this card than Rainy Day Emma from Whimsy Stamps! I colored her with Copics in the colors Brick Beige and different pinks and browns. Brick Beige was one of the Copic Color Challenge colors along with Blush and Shock Pink. Well I didn't have all those colors in Copics but I did use some Blush Blossom and Sarah Sand cardstock and then some Porcelain BasicGrey paper which has a pink color. The flowers are also a blush and pink with some pink and clear rhinestone brads. The sentiment was hand written in black ink. I plan to give this card to my aunt who kindly took care of the kids last night so my hubby and I could do dinner with our friends!

I've also received a couple awards over the last week and I'd like to also share those and thank the lovely ladies that gave them to me. First is this award, which I received from Erin! Thank you so much, it means a great deal coming from you! It's always an honor to receive such nice awards from such wonderfully talented crafters and friends!

This next award is from Michele! This award made me smile Michele, thank you so much for thinking of me. I will display it with honor as well.

The rules for these awards include displaying them on your blog with links to those who gave them out. Also displaying them on your sidebar and then passing them along to other bloggers who inspire you. So I would like to share both of these awards with all of the fabulous friends who take the time to visit me each day and leave such thoughtful comments. You all are amazing and I love that I have such truly special friends all around the world! Thank you!

Enjoy the rest of your day! Hope it's dry and warm where you are. Happy Stamping!! :)

Awards and Other Stuff...

Hi All!

Hope your weekend is off to a nice start. It's pretty chilly here, but the sun is shining so I guess I can't complain too much. Not much planned this weekend either, maybe some stamping! :)

I don't typically post on the weekends however, I've received some awards and a tag and I thought I would share. First is the award...

I received this one twice. Once from Hanne and once from Erin. Both of these girls are talented stampers and it means a lot coming from them! I hope you'll visit their blogs to see what I mean, you'll surely be inspired! :)

The rules of this Award are as follows:
1) Post a link of the person who gave you this award.
2) Nominate 5 other people and give a link to their site.
3) Let the people who you have nominated know.
4) Put a logo of the award on your blog.

Now it's my turn to pass this award on, which is no easy feat as I know many, many, many talented and encouraging crafters who's work inspires me everyday. I'm not much for rules so this may count for more than 5 other people...

First, to my British blogging friends and stampers Bev, Jacqui, and Rach. Each of these ladies is incredibly talented and create the most fabulous card designs. They are a huge inspiration to me and I know to many others as well. Thanks for all you share girls! And then, I'd also like to pass this award on to my Whimsy Design Team, these ladies are fabulously talented and super hardworking. I am so lucky to have each of them! Thanks for all you do girls! And lastly, to the Stamp Something DT, your artwork helps to encourage stampers each and every week to join us in the challenges. You are all amazing and fun to work with each week!

Now, I was also tagged by Bev with a rather unique tag I must say! If you don't visit Bev's blog, you best be on your way there now, her work is always most impressive, you'll be very happy you popped over!

The rules for this tag are...
1: pick the 6th folder, and select the 6th piccy
2: post the piccy and an explanation on your blog about the piccy
3: select 6 others to do the same and let them know

See what I mean about unique, so I had to play along. Here's my photo...

I thought this was pretty funny, I certainly didn't expect this one. This is a photo of a box I made when I first became a Stampin' Up! demo. I had a workshop and wanted to make sure I had lots of different samples to share and what better than a box. I'd like to think I've become much more creative since then! Thanks for the tag Bev, this was fun! Now to tag 6 more people to play along with this interesting exercise!

Andrea
Denise
Erin
Lynn
Rina
Samantha

OK girls, have fun with this one!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back on Monday with some stamping to share, I hope! :) Until then, have a fabulous weekend.

Oh and if you need a stamping challenge, head over to Stamp Something and join in our Recipe Somethings, or visit the Whimsy Group on PCP and join our Blackness challenge, or even try out for the Whimsy guest spot for February, using a sketch. There's still time to enter all of these challenges.

Happy Stamping!! :)

Blog Award

Good Saturday Morning!

I wanted to make a quick post today to share an award I received a while back from my friend Jeanette of Happy Thoughts and Inkspots. Shame on me for taking so long to post this Jeanette, I'm very sorry.

It's an honor to receive this from Jeanette, she is a super fabulously talented stamper and I only hope to one day be able to color as well as she does! Maybe she'll teach me ;)! Thanks so much Jeanette, it means a lot coming from you!

I don't remember the rules for this one, so I'd like to pass it on to all of the wonderful friends I've made in this little blogging land! Thanks for visiting and leaving such lovely comments for me, it's always wonderful to ready them!

Enjoy the weekend! Happy Stamping!! :)

An Award

Hi All!

I just wanted to make a quick post to share an award I received from a great blogging friend of mine, Vicki of Stamped Smiles! This award is an honor to receive from her, she is a fabulously talented stamper. It really made my day, thanks Vicki! I will display it with pride! I'd also like to say, right back at you Vicki! :)

I'd like to pass this award on to a few blogs that I find lots of inspiration from, they also happen to be good blogging friends. First to Lynn of LW Designs, she always has lovely creations with perfectly colored images, and she leaves the nicest comments. Next, to Catherine of Inksomnia, who is super talented and always has lots of variety on her blog, plus she always takes time to visit and comment. And, lastly to Erin of Scrap Stamp and Be Merry, who has been a wonderful friend, for a long time now. She's a great partner on STAMP SOMETHING too. Check out her blog, she's got some great stuff to share.

Hope to be back later with a card post! :)

Look What I Got...

Just a quick post today to share a wonderful blog award that I received from my dear friend Jo! It's truly a wonderful honor to receive this award, and I must send it right back at you, Jo!

The hard part about receiving these fabulous blog awards is having to pass them on, but only being able to pass them on to a few people. There are so many great blogs out there, it's tough to choose just 7!

But if I have to pick, these are just a few of the blogs I love, in no particular order! Lynn, my SBS sister, who's blog is a huge inspiration, she's so creative and I love her style. Catherine of Inksomnia, she always has new stuff to share with super fun images. Beate, of Fresh and Fun, who is now back from her summer break! I can't wait to see all the terrific stuff she has to share! Vicki, another one of my SBS sisters, who's got super projects everyday with lots of variety in images and layouts, plus she's very sweet and always takes the time to visit. Maren, of Zany not Crazy, who's a card making machine, she puts in so much time! Also, my fellow Stamp Something girls, who give me inspiration each week and who I love working with. And lastly to YOU, for visiting and leaving comments all the time. It's so nice to hear what others think about my work! Thanks for inspiring me to create and share!

Look What I Received!!

Hi All, Happy Sunday!!

Hope your weekend is going well. We're having yet another terrible thunderstorm. It seems like that's all it does lately! So, it's the perfect time to catch up on some blogging business.

I wanted to share an award, which I received twice!

It's quite an honor!

The first person to give me this award was Jo, my super sweet and very talented friend! She always knows how to make my day! Thanks for this Jo, it means a lot! :)

I also received this from Pauline. Pauline is a regular visitor and player on our challenge blog STAMP SOMETHING! Thanks, Pauline! Love checking out your creations! :)

Now it's my turn to pass it on to four regular visitors of my blog and 1 new visitor from another part of the world. Hummm, let's see...Catherine, Diane, Lynn, and Samantha who are regular visitors and then Alison, who I met through STAMP SOMETHING challenges. All of these bloggers are fabulous artists, go check em' out! :)

An Award!

Hi All!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! The weather has been beautiful here so we spent a lot of time outside. We had a family cookout on the 4th to celebrate the holiday and then relaxed as a family for the past two days!

I wanted to share this award, which I received from my terrifically talented friend Jo! Thanks so much Jo, it means a lot coming from you. :) Please hop on over to Jo's blog and see all of her fantastic creations. She's also a member of the STAMP SOMETHING design team, we are very lucky to have her!

The rule for this award is to pass it on to seven people with brilliant blogs. Wow, that's a hard one...here goes...these are just a few of the ladies who inspire me to create!

Andrea, Cassie, Janna, Laura, Lauren, Lynn W, and Vicki

I hope you stop by and check these blogs out! Have a great Sunday night! Happy Stamping!! :)

Another Award!

Another award to share with you! I received this from my good friend and fellow STAMP SOMETHING design team member Jo! It's a beautiful award and I'm honored to receive it. It's always an honor to receive blog awards, especially when they are for inspiring others. It's nice to know that my work does inspire. I love stamping and being able to share my creativity with all of you.

I'd like to give this award to Beate. I'm sure she receives awards all the time, but I just have to pass this on to her. Her blog is one of my favorites! I love her creations and her tutorials. I always get lots on inspiration and motivation from her work. Thanks for sharing all your awesome talent with us, Beate!

Look-y What I Got...

I have a little something something to share today! My fabulously talented and super sweet friend Alex, of California Stampin', gave me this award! It was a true honor to receive it, especially coming from her! It's wonderful to know that someone thinks my blog has a purpose! I really love sharing my creativity and even more than that, I love all the wonderful friends I made though blogging! So thank you Alex! I'll display it with pride and have a fun passing it on! :)

Now for some fun...passing it on! This is going to be challenging too. There are so many great blogs and people out there that inspire and motivate me to stamp.

First, would have to be our new fantastic group of girls who make up the Design Team on Stamp Something! (You can find the links to their blogs there). All of you are wonderful individuals with crazy talent! You all give me purpose to stamp! :) It's been fun working with all of you and I look forward to many more challenges together!

Second, my friends Samantha and Tina, of Fun with Paper. Both of these girls are so generous with their comments and they always brighten my day. They just recently started a new business offering scrapping and stamping classes. They one day hope to open their very own store. Good luck girls, you deserve the best! :)

Next would have to be Desiree, of Stamp with Desiree. We recently stumbled onto one each others blogs. Boy, am I glad we did! Desiree is super creative and always has new stuff to share. I love stopping in on her and to see all the fun stuff she's posted.

Lastly, but by no means least, would have to be all of the people who have taken the time to play along in our weekly challenge. Our new challenge blog, Stamp Something, has become a success because of all of you. It's been fascinating to see all the positive response we have received and all the creative project ideas that you've all shared with us. Thank you for making our new blog a blog with purpose! Please take some time to check out all the great ideas that each participant has to share.

A Tag and An Award

Good Morning!

I wanted to share a wonderful award, which I received from my friend Jo. This is just the sweetest friendship poem/award. Jo and I met through blogging, one day she stumbled across my blog and decided to email me, I am so grateful for that. We became fast friends and I cherish that friendship with her. Thank you so much for everything, Jo! {{{HUGS}}}

I would like to share this friendship award with all of the friends I've made through blogging. I look forward to sharing our art and support and of course our conversations.

I also wanted to mention that I received a Tag from Jennifer, from The Buck Stamps Here. Jennifer is an awesomely talented crafter and I'm honored that she tagged my blog! This tag was to share 7 random/weird facts about you. I've already received this tag a couple times before so if you want to see my answers you can click this LINK. Thanks Jennifer, it was nice to learn about you, thanks for sharing your personal stories.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'll be back soon with a weekly tutorial. Happy Stamping!! :)

You Make My Day

I received this "You Make My Day" award from my bloggin' buddy Samantha of Fun with Paper. She's a super sweet blogging friend. Check out her blog for fun projects! Thanks Samantha, right back at you!

In order to display this "You Make My Day Award" proudly on your blog, you must present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on too. Beware, you may get the award several times yourself, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.

It's so hard to pick just 10 bloggers that inspire me, there are so many many talented stampers out there. There are a few friends that always make my day, just by knowing them! Jo, Erin, Samantha, and Tina. And I have some my new blogging friends, Alex, Diane, and Lauren. I'd also like to share one other blog that I just found yesterday, Stampin Kub. I feel like I must live under a rock to not have known about this fabulous stamper. Check out his blog for some really amazing stuff! He's also got a link posted to a sneak peek of upcoming Stampin' Up! products for the next catalog, including the new In Colors! And lastly, but certainly not least, to anyone else that visits my blog and takes the time to comment, YOU make my day too!

You Make MY Day...

Isn't this the cutest! I just received this award from my good friend Jo. It really put a smile on my face. How could it not with that sweet little bunny! Thanks for this Jo, right back at you. :)

I'd like to pass this on to some other blogging friends. First, too all the wonderful people who take the time to visit my blog and leave me comments, YOU ALL make my day! To Maren, my SBS3 sister, who posts tons of beautifully creative artwork and inspires me to post daily. She's always got something new to share. And to Cindy, another SBS3 sister who post gorgeous cards and great stamping tips. I've enjoyed getting to know both of you through our blogging sisterhood.

An Award

Happy Monday Morning,

I received this award from my good friend and very talented crafter Jo, over on Only Joking. It is the Arte Y Pico (Art & More) Award and is given to bloggers who share their art and creativity making their contribution to the blogging world. Thanks for this Jo! What an honor! I love sharing my creativity and I hope that it helps to inspire others to create.

The rules!
1. You have to pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

Now it's my turn to pass on this fabulous award! I visit many wonderful blogs each day so choosing only 5 is going to be difficult. The 5 that come to mind are Alex, Catherine, Samantha, Tina, and Erin. These girls have beautiful creations and their blogs are fun to read. They are also always supportive and super nice when they visit my blog.

Many Tags!

Happy Wednesday!

I have been tagged a few times this week, so I thought I would try to get to all of them in one post. Sorry about the length. Here goes...

The first tag I received was from Tina, on LUVCRAFTN. Her blog is relatively new, but she's already got great stuff posted. Her tag was for the questions that I already answered in the February 28th post about where were you ten years ago, etc. So scroll down for those.

The next tag was by Danyelle, of Hangnailz n' Papercutz. Danyelle is a very talented stamper and her posts are always good for a laugh, she should do stand up! Her tag was to share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, and then tag 7 random blogs.

Here are my 7 facts...
1. I'm married and have been for 8 years, today! My husband and I met in college and have been together ever since. That's going on 13 years! Love him!
2. I have 2 children. A four year old son and a 2 year old daughter. They are the highlight of our lives. Even the rough days are a gift.
3. I'm a total animal lover! We have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a fish. We might have more if I had my way.
4. I've been a Stampin' Up! demo for 1 year now and I'm still lovin' it!
5. I really enjoy blogging. It was one of those things that I just started up for fun and for customers, but it's taken on a life of it's own. I really enjoy the blogs I visit, I've met super nice people, and I get to share my passion for stamping with other passionate crafters.
6. I hate hate hate winter! We live in New England were it snows a lot and is cold for many months out of the year. Even with these super long months, I don't think I would want to live anywhere else.
7. I love interior design. Maybe someday I might even explore that as a new career.

Ok, I've tagged a lot of blogs recently so I'm not going to tag anyone else specifically. If you would like to tell 7 things about yourself, consider this your TAG!

Lastly, I was tagged by my SBS sister Lynn, on Craft and Waffle. I love Lynn's blog. She's the sweetest and she's super creative. She uses a lot of Magnolia stamps in her work. I'd never seen these stamps until I started blogging with my sisters. Really cute images. Lynn tagged me as one of her 10 favorite blogs. What an honor, thanks so much Lynn!

I can't possibly tag only 10 blogs, so I guess I'm breaking the rules. I LOVE all the ones I visit regularly. You are all so inspiring and creative. I love this world of blogging and stamping! Thanks for the the fun and motivation! :)

A Great Way To End the Day...

I just got home from a day of visiting with family. It was a nice day, somewhat relaxing. But I'm not feeling all that well, I think it's a cold coming on. Anyway, I decided to check out the blog scene as that always seems to make me smile. Much to my surprise and delight, I found that I received the "You Make My Day" award from my wonderfully talented friend Jo. Thank you so much Jo, what a nice way to end a long day!

Now it's my turn to nominate some friends that make my day. First would be to give this right back to Jo. I've enjoyed our new friendship. It brightens my day when I receive word from her. To Alex, she has a great blog, which I'm happy to have found. Plus, she leaves sweet comments when she visits blogs. To Lynn, my SBS sister that always takes time to visit me and chat. To Lynn W, another SBS sister with great creativity and inspiration. And to Erin, my super supportive upline and good friend!

E is for Excellent!

I was just given this award by Britta, check out her blog. She's got awesome projects posted and she's all Stampin' Up! Very talented stamper!

I'm very surprise and truly honored! I love blogging! It's fun to check out other blogs, meet new people, and gain lots of knowledge and motivation! So, thanks for this Britta!

Now it's my turn to nominate some of my favorite bloggers for their EXCELLENT blogs! Check them out, you won't be disappointed! :)

My SBS3 sisters... Erin, Maren, and Vicki (sorry but Vicki's link is not currently working) and my friend Jo. All these ladies have fabulous ideas and great projects posted. Truly inspirational and talented women!

Spread the Love Award

I've just been given this award by my blogging buddy Jo. Needless to say, I was very surprised and honored. It really made my day! Jo's blog is fantastic, if you have time, please check it out! She's very creative! Jo's currently got a great blog candy challenge too, you need to share your creative space. Very cool to see the different work areas we all have!

I'd like to share this award with some people that inspire me and have been so very supportive! To Jo, right back at you girl! Thank you for visiting my blog and ALWAYS leaving wonderfully kind words! To Erin, my friend and stamping pal. Thanks for getting me hooked on stampin'! Not so sure that the hubby would think that's such a great thing though! :) And to all of you who take the time to visit my blog and leave such great feedback!