flower power

Hello! I've been shoveling out my craft area and getting rid of lots and lots of stuff. I have got to get organized! In my cleaning, I found an idea folder and inside was this cute little scrapbook page from a magazine (probably Simple Scrapbooks) with this adorable hardware flower on it. So true to form, I copied it for a card. Isn't this a fun way to use those oblong clips in the SU hodgepodge kits that were retired? Love this!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

recipe -

stamps: to risk (verve stamps)

ink: chocolate chip

paper: sahara sand, soft sky, old olive, very vanilla card stock, fall flowers dsp

accessories: circle nestabilities (spellbinders), pewter & antique brass hodgepodge hardware, stylized vanilla hodgepodge hardware, scallop edge punch, stampin' dimensionals, paper piercing tool

more trendy trees

I SO love this set. I think it is one of my absolute favorites and I know I'll be holding onto this one for a very long time. I CASE'd this card out of our demonstrator magazing Stampin' Success (page 25 of the June issue) and I absolutely love how it turned out. I changed the colors and ribbon treatment and I didn't have the wheel that coordinates with Trendy Trees, so I just stamped the trees all in a row with my stamp-a-ma-jig. Love that tool! I think this is the first time I've used these cute little clips too! So fun! Oh, and how do you like how my watermark matches Trendy Trees? Just noticed that! haha!

Have a fabulous day!

Karen

recipe -

stamps: trendy trees

ink: chocolate chip, certainly celery, old olive

paper: certainly celery, not quite navy, whisper white cardstock, maine blueberry dsp

accessories: 1/2" library clips, latte buttons, certainly celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

a sweet case

Hello! I got my June issue of Stampin' Success (a SU demo magazine) and right on the cover is this sweet little card that I immediately CASE'd and I just love how it turned out. I think what caught my eye on the SS cover was the ribbon with the brad cinching the ribbon together, so I copied it by using a Latte button. I also used a felt flower and large white brad for the focal point. The original card had layered flowers which were cut out. There isn't ANY stamping on here! What??? Just paper and embellishments, gotta love that. There are a couple other card I want to CASE from this issue too, so stay tuned!

Happy stamping!
Karen



recipe -
paper: old olive, not quite navy, whisper white cardstock, maine blueberry dsp
accessories: flower fusion, large brads, old olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, latte buttons, square nestabilities (spellbinders), stampin' dimensionals, mini glue dots

sharing in your sorrow

I'm typing today's post with an extremely heavy heart. My friend and upline, Beckie, lost her husband suddenly and unexpectedly this past Sunday. Beckie is one of those people who is always encouraging and supportive and looking out for everyone in her life. Beckie and Brad were best friends and have been together for 20 years and have 6 children. You can read more in her blog post here.

We are starting a Thank You card drive for Beckie so she can use those thank you notes to send out to all the friends and family who are helping her out in this time of need. If you would be interested in donating a blank thank you card and envelope, please email me for information. I'll be sending the donated cards April 30th.

Thank you all so much.
Karen



recipe -
stamps: trendy trees, thoughts & prayers
ink: not quite navy, bashful blue, old olive, chocolate chip
paper: bashful blue, whisper white cardstock, maine blueberry dsp
accessories: bashful blue striped grosgrain ribbon

a warm welcome

Howdy! Today I drew inspiration from Jodi Collins (yet again, ha!) - I had to CASE this wonderful card. Don't you just love this layout? It's right up my alley with all the scallops and ribbon and brads, yum. For this card, I paper-pieced the onesie and then added a little flower and brad through all the layers. The paper is Candy Lane and I just can't get enough of it!

Have a wonderful Wednesday - see you back soon!
Karen


recipe -
stamps: by ones & by twos
ink: staz-on black
paper: regal rose, pink pirouette, very vanilla cardstock, candy lane dsp
accessories: regal rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, flower punch (ek success), vintage brads, scallop edge punch, circle/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders)

color inspiration 43

It's Friday - I'm doing the happy dance right now! Kristina has posted a new color inspiration challenge this week and I'm so happy to be able to get the chance to participate again. It's been 4 weeks!! I love her challenges. Lots of colors to use - Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Old Olive, and Brocade Blue (with a splash of white, hehe). I already had my Pumpkin Pie Patterns paper out on the desk, so I just jumped right back into the pack. And eyelets!! Do you know how long it's been since I've used eyelets??? They look so cute with this stamp too. To make the button fit properly on the card, I punched out a little space for it with the 3/4 circle punch. If you look really closely you can see how the button nests right in there.

That's it for now - enjoy your Friday,
Karen



recipe -
stamps: say it with scallops
ink: pumpkin pie
paper: ruby red, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip, whisper white cardstock, pumpkin pie patterns dsp
accessories: latte buttons, fresh favorites II eyelets, old olive 5/ 8" grosgrain ribbon, scallop square punch, 3/4" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals

birdie silhouettes

I just can't stop using this set! Maybe because it's the only new set I have that isn't full of Valentines, or maybe it's SO stinkin' cute! I picked up some American Crafts Thickers from Hobby Lobby today for only $2.50 (I know!!) and had to use them on a card. Usually I use them in my scrapbooks, but since I haven't made a page in months I needed another outlet for them.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day -

Karen

recipe -

stamps: cheep talk

ink: chocolate chip

paper: chocolate chip cardstock, maine blueberry dsp, pumpkin pie patterns dsp

accessories: pumpkin pie striped grosgrain ribbon, fresh favorites I buttons, scallop edge punch, daiquiri thickers (american crafts)

on your birthday

I hope you are enjoying your day so far. I'm back with a quick card based on a card I found on the back of Stampin' Success, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator magazine. It came in the mail today and I couldn't resist casing from it this afternoon! I added the 3 little flowers to the side of the image panel because I thought it looked just a little too naked. I love that flower trio punch!!

Well, I'm off to do some neglected cleaning, so enjoy your afternoon and I'll see you back soon.

Karen

recipe -

stamps: flight of the butterfly, on your birthday

ink: so saffron, bravo burgundy, pumpkin pie

paper: so saffron, bravo burgundy, pumpkin pie, old olive, whisper white cardstock, pumpkin pie patterns dsp

accessories: scallop edge punch, flower trio punch, so saffron 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, so saffron brads, paper-piercing tool, stampin' dimensionals, mini glue dots

mojo monday

Julee has another great sketch over at her Mojo Monday blog - go on over and try it out! It was pretty funny when I chose to use Flight of the Butterfly for this card because inside the stamp box, there was a card, all ready to go and believe it or not, all of these little pieces were already cut out and ready to go. The only thing I had to cut out was the circle on the bottom - weird, huh? Sometimes when I'm working on a card and it's just not working out at the moment, I'll pack it all up inside the stamp set box to come back to later and this time, it just happened to match the sketch. Chills!

Oh, a reader had a question on if I use the Big Shot for my Nestabilities - I don't, I use my Cuttlebug. I'm sure you can use Nestabilities in the Big Shot since it's a roller machine though. I don't have a Big Shot just yet, but maybe someday.... someday indeed...

Go on over and try out Julee's sketches, they are always fantastic! See you back soon -

Karen

recipe -

stamps: flight of the butterfly, best yet

ink: close to cocoa (classic & craft), bashful blue

paper: bashful blue, close to cocoa, stampers select white (papertrey, ink) cardstock, banbury dsp

accessories: bashful blue striped grosgrain ribbon, circle/scallop nestabilities, birds & swirls embossing folder, clear embossing powder, stampin dimensionals

hello there

Most of you know I'm a huge fan of sketch challenges and will use a sketch most days to inspire me, so I was extremely excited to try out Taylor's Cupcake Challenge this weekend - it's one of those sketches that lets me use scraps! This is why I hang on to those little pieces that are just too big to toss. I had some Maine Blueberry paper scraps just sitting on my desk, left over from yesterday's card - so now you get to see a familiar stamp set and paper! I'm using Cheep Talk again - love those birdies! Kind of look like my little birdie in my blog header, no?

Thanks so much for stopping by today - see you back soon.

Karen

recipe -

stamps: cheep talk

paper: bashful blue, not quite navy, old olive, stampers select white (papertrey, ink) cardstock, maine blueberry dsp

ink: old olive, bashful blue, not quite navy

accessories: old olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, not quite navy stitched grosgrain ribbon, circle/scallop nestabilities, stampin dimensionals

cheep talk

I am absolutely in love with this new set, Cheep Talk - isn't the little bird cute? I really like the sentiments that come with it - they all curl under or over the branch, very fun. I used this week's Fall To Layout from Clean & Simple Stamping for this card and added some felt ribbon, tied together around a Latte button. This is the first time I've inked up this new set, so I'm very excited to try out different things with it. Just warning you, you might see this set a few times in the near future, hehe.

Have a wonderful day!
Karen

recipe -
stamps: cheep talk
ink: chocolate chip, sage shadow, really rust
paper: chocolate chip, sage shadow, whisper white, autumn vine dsp
accessories: rectangle/scallop nestabilities, alpine ribbon originals, latte buttons, stampin dimensionals

cupcake anniversary card #5

This card uses Vicki Chrisman's sketch for Taylor's cupcake anniversay challenge and it was fun to do, although I'm not crazy about this card - maybe because it make my eyes go a little crazy! So much going on with all the patterns I guess... Alright - on to the next one!!

Karen


recipe -
stamps: party hearty
ink: bashful blue, pumpkin pie, brilliant blue
paper: pumpkin pie, wild wasabi, whisper white cardstock, jersey shore dsp
accessories: heidi swapp borders bling, scallop edge punch, stampin' dimensionals

cupcake anniversary card #4

Have you seen this sketch over at Sherrie Siemens' blog? This was so much fun to do - very unique! This sketch is part of Taylor's cupcake challenge for the week and I'm thinking the door is about to swing closed for me here - I've done 4 cards and have 5 more to do!! It's been so much fun trying all of these sketches - you know me, I'm a sketch girl. Hopefully I can get a few more done before the deadline...

Karen

recipe -

stamps: love you much

ink: riding hood red

paper: pink pirouette, riding hood red, very vanilla cardstock, candy lane dsp

accessories: scallop circle punch, circle nestabilities, mini twinkle dots (a.muse)

cupcake anniversary card #3

This is another card for the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge anniversary contest using Jackie Pedro's sketch, which was so much fun to play with. Here again is more retired paper I'm still working through. I can't believe how long these paper packs last! This is Eastcoast Prep paper, fun huh?

Ok, off to try to squeeze in time for another card before dinner - thanks for stopping by!
Karen


recipe -
stamps: party hearty, short & sweet
ink: real red, tempting turquoise
paper: real red, tempting turquoise, whisper white cardstock, eastcoast prep dsp
accessories: real red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, circle nestabilities, large/small oval punches, 3/4" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals

cupcake anniversary card #2

Well, it seems like my free time has been sucked out of this house lately and this is the first time I've been able to sit down and work on Taylor's Cupcake Challenge anniversary sketches. I'm starting off with Stephanie Hargis' sketch right now, which is very much my style! I just love Stephanie's blog - her cards are amazing and simple and perfect. Love them! So I'll try to get some more time to make the rest of the 9 sketches and post them - Thursday is the deadline!

Have a great day!
Karen


recipe -
stamps: it's your birthday
ink: versamark
paper: pumpkin pie cardstock, party pieces simply scrappin' kit
accessories: old olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, white embossing powder

love you

Hello! Well, we've had quite the round of sickness come rolling though our house. I've been fighting an awful cold since New Year's Day and then over the weekend I somehow got strep throat. Isn't strep throat for elementary school kids??? I haven't had it since I was a kid and it's awful. My hubby also has a horrible cold and I think we should buy stock in cough drops! So needless to say, I haven't been able to create anything for a few days and last night after the kids were in bed I jumped at the chance to make a quick card. I found a cute little card in the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Collection 2007 that was perfect to finish in a relatively short time. It's on page 105 if anyone is wondering what card I CASE'd - oh, and if you still have the old catalog.

Alright, well I'm off to finish up "house" stuff that's piled up over my weekend in bed. I'll be back soon though - you just can't keep me away too long!

Karen

recipe -

stamps: simply said, short & sweet, polka dot

ink: close to cocoa, rose red, regal rose, brocade blue

paper: regal rose, whisper white, brocade blue cardstock

accessories: flower fusion felt flowers, fresh favorites II buttons, stampin' dimensionals, mini glue dots, staples

color inspiration 38

Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY!! I am so ready for the weekend - we've been so busy, and sick, busy this week and I'm ready for a rest. It's time for Kristina's color inspiration and this week she's chosen Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Pretty In Pink and Whisper White. I would have never thought to put these colors together, but I love the way they work! For this card, I stamped my own background using the heart and sparkle images from Sweet Shapes (retired). I haven't used this set in a LONG time, but I love it still. I also used chipboard letters from Loads Of Letters and glued Pretty In Pink cardstock to the front of each letter and then filed the edges to smooth them out. I bought a set of 6 precision files from Basic Grey that are (in my opinion) a must have for chipboard. You can really get in the little grooves and crannies of the chipboard. The Pumpkin Pie heart is cut from the Sizzlits die template, Hearts Set.

That's it for today - don't forget to enter the drawing for my blogoversary candy!
Karen


recipe -
stamps: sweet shapes (retired)
ink: pretty in pink, ruby red, pumpkin pie
paper: pretty in pink, ruby red, stampers select white (papertrey, ink) cardstock, pumpkin pie patterns dsp
accessories: on board loads of letters (chipboard), pumpkin pie striped grosgrain ribbon, hearts set sizzlits die template, tombo multi adhesive, stampin' dimensionals

big milestone

Yes! Today is my blogoversary, 1 fantastic year!! I think we need some blog candy, so come back later today to sneak a peek at some goodies to grab!

It's also my mom's birthday today and here is the card I made her using Julee's Mojo Monday sketch. Isn't this sketch fun?! It's been cold and snowy here the past couple of days, so I wanted something fun and flowery and springy (is that a word??) to brighten up her day.

Be sure to come back later for some fun freebies!

Karen


recipe -
stamps: on your birthday
ink: certainly celery
paper: so saffron, whisper white cardstock, spring fling dsp (retired)
accessories: 5 petal punch (ek success), filigree brads, regal rose grosgrain ribbon, circle/scallop nestabilities die templates, 3/4" circle punch, soft subtle brads, stampin dimensionals

fall to layout 23

Hi! I found this card sitting on my desk after I had cleaned off the clutter and realized I had never photographed it to post for you! That never happens, mostly because I'm creating cards the same day I post them. Clean & Simple Stamping had a new Fall To Layout to try and this is the card I came up with using the sketch - do you like it? I thought I'd try using Kraft cardstock and some Blue Bayou paper and make a man card. I pasted the paper, put on the ribbon (without a bow, no less) and then I needed something circular to put in the top corner and see what happened? Yes! Another scallop with scallop doodle art. That's not going to a man, I can tell you that. So the quest continues...


Karen


recipe -
paper: kraft, bayou blue cardstock
accessories: love & happiness rub-ons, blue bayou double stitched grosgrain ribbon, vintage brads, scallop punch, stampin' dimensionals

color inspiration 37

Wow, I am really excited to show you today's card - it turned out SO much better than I was picturing in my head. I love it when that happens! I'm still using up my Love & Happiness rub-ons from last year's Sale-A-Bration - that's my resolution this year: Stop Hoarding Supplies!!! Sheesh... I used Kristina's color challenge for inspiration today; Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White. Now leave it to me to take perfectly good masculine colors and girl it all up! I did substitute Soft Sky for Baja Breeze because I don't have Baja Breeze yet.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Karen

recipe -

paper: chocolate chip, soft sky, old olive cardstock, pumpkin pie patterns dsp

accessories: pewter hodgepodge hardware, vintage brads, pumpkin pie striped grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge punch, trio flower punch, mini glue dots