We Grow Great by Dreams

Hello! This is for the SCS Sketch Challenge today. The stamps are SU! Dreams du Jour and the paper is from K&Co. the ancestry.com stack. I stamped the image 2 times so that I could cut an extra flower for dimension.

The vellum die cut is from My Favorite Things and the hardware is SU! hodgepodge.
Thanks so much for stamping by today!
Laura~

THANK YOU!!!

Now I remember why I love the stamping and crafting community so much and how much I missed it. You guys are the best, I have heard from so many who are sending well wishes and welcome backs. Thank you, it means so much to me.
Well, the story for today is this. I really liked playing with the It's Academic set from SU! I also had a PILE of scraps that I was trying to decide what to do with. I ran across some mini envelopes and thought, hmmm. I could make little notecards....that have little envelopes....

Voila! Adorable, easy to make mini notecards. I don't think I even need to spell out what went on here. I did use Tim Holtz walnut stain Distress Ink and the direct to paper method of inking to really distess the cards. Really the bonus is using up all those small scraps of paper. The notecards are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2.

Want your own mini envelopes. Well, lucky for you I have some in my Esty shop.

Thanks so much for stamping by today!

Laura

Back to School...

I am so excited for school to start again! I love my kids, but I love it when they are doing their thing, kwim? I am playing with my library card templates and with stamps from SU! that rarely see the light of day :)
I printed the set of cards, stamped the images, and did a little coloring with my copic markers. Easy! Now I have notes to leave the kids in their lunch boxes, send a note to the teacher or add to an album.

Want to make your own? Head on over to my Etsy shop and you can print your own or pick this set up! Want to win a download, just leave some love on the previous post by Monday.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thanks for stamping by,

Laura

Hello?!!!

Well it has been awhile... do you remember me? It has been nearly 2 1/2 years since my last post. I had some life things to take care of. I am sure that nearly all of you can relate. You know when you just have to take a step back and decide what is truly important and focus on that? That is what I did and I wish I could express how amazing the journey has been.

But enough of that for now, I know you are here to see some paper stuff. So here you are, a journal I have made that goes with the challenge at SCS today, to use a frame.

I started the journal with thick chipboard and used Paper Mod Podge to adhere all the paper to the chipboard and then used it as a protective top coating for the rest of the paper elements. The images are from Stampin Up (I Like Your Style). I have been going through my stash to clear some room and remembered how much I heart this set. By the way if you are interested in some retired SU! sets check out my Etsy shop. I will be adding more sets in the next few weeks so check back often :0

For this library pocket I made my own. I have also added this to my Etsy shop so that you can use it too if you would like. I have a digital version, so you can be using it by this afternoon! The journey sentiment is from the Tim Holtz collection of stamps called Visual Artistry, gorgeous!

I finished the journal by binding it with my Bind-it-All.

To kick off my return to stamping and blogging land I am giving away a free download for the library pockets. Just leave some love (comments) and I will pick a random winner on Monday, August 15!

Thanks so much for stamping by!

Laura

Friends

I have had this stamp (SU! A Little Bit of Happiness) for awhile and decided today was the day to use it. I used today's sketch challenge at SCS. I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used ink pads and a blender pen to color. I did stamp and extra dragonfly and cut out just his wings. I added a little bit of Crystal Effects to the wings and bodies of the butterflies. With my sewing machine so handy now, I think you are going to be seeing a lot of stitching on my cards. So I think that it. I am working on another post to share about Little Monkeys. See you in a little bit.

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

Park Bench

Happy Sunday! I went MIA and I have not explanation for it, but I do have a few things to share since last post; 1 card and some other ramblings. First the card...this started out as Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. As you can see it clearly is not the sketch. I really wanted to use the bench and have had this image in my head since I got the set (Time for You, SU!) I didn't have a tree stamp that was the right size so I ended up drawing one. If you remember from a few posts back, I do have an aversion to drawing from a trama I suffered in 6th grade, which involved a sketch of a dog. I really can't talk about it... deep breaths...ok I'm better now.... I drew the tree and colored the whole thing with watercolor pencils and an aquapen. I didn't want to take away from the image with a lot of embellishments so I kept just a few layers and the ribbon. The sentiment is from one of those little $1 stamps from Michaels, perfect! Please be kind with your comments and the whole drawing thing....

As you might remember, I went to see Elton John on Wednesday night. If you are an Elton John fan I would suggest you stop reading right now, if you continue reading please accept my apologies. At best, his concert was boring and unimaginative; at worst it was base and crude. There I said it and I feel free. I am not going to spend a ton of energy on this, I just expected more from an iconic singer/songwriter who commented on and help shape an era. If we had not been at the concert as guests of a person my husband does business with, I would have walked out. I had lunch with a wonderful friend of mine (hi Justine!) on Thursday and she has run into people that felt the same way about the show, too bad I hadn't talked to them before I said yes to the tickets:(

This as nothing to do with anything, except that I had an almost religious experience at lunch on Friday and thought I would share. A new shopping district has opened in Las Vegas call Town Square right on Las Vegas Blvd. It is an outdoor venue with shops and restaurants and a park for the kids to play in and a movie theater. A Tommy Bahama cafe opened there and I went with my little redhead to try it out on Friday. I ordered the Saba Steak Salad. This was the description for it: Marinated and char-grilled tenderloin medallions served over a bed of fresh mixed greens tossed with tamarind vinagarette. Garnished with grilled potatoes, vine-ripened roma tomatoes, shiitake chips and garlic ailoli. mmmmmmmm, give me a minute please. Thanks. I think that this might very well be a written description of heaven. If you are ever in Vegas, I will meet you at Tommy Bahama's:) Till then my friends, have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

The quality of the day...

I was blurfing yesterday and stopped by Lauren's blog My Time. Her challenge this week is to do a one layer card. I really like the idea of toning my cards down a little. I can add layers just as well as the next stamper, but I will confess, it takes me a really long time to put cards like that together. Some days I feel a bit more productive if I can get several really nice cards done than one outta control card. I find also that these less embellished card are more my style. I really get caught up sometimes in the whole game of I need to add more to a card so it will get noticed. I know I addressed this a couple of posts back, but I really don't think I am the only one that feels this way. Don't worry I am not going to go to only one layer cards, I have way too much stuff to do this all the time:)

I used the stamps from Artfully Asian (SU!) for this card. I stamped the leaves in close to cocoa on watercolor paper and used my blender pen and close to cocoa ink and mellow moss ink pad to color them in. I stamped the flowering branch in choc chip and colored the flowers with ruby red and a blender pen. For the leaves I used old olive. I used Ranger Distress Ink to lightly ink the edges of the card and I distressed the bottom edge. The sentiment is from The Art of Life (SU!)

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~

Retro Pick-up

Hi! I wanted to play some more with my K&Co. paper. I thought the little pick-up from Loads of Love would be kinda cute with this flower pattern...what do think? I colored the truck with colored pencils and a blender pen. I distressed the whole thing with Ranger Ink brushed corduroy including the flower. The twine frame was a last minute addition. I put the eyelets in because I thought the main image needed a little something and then thought it would be cute if there was a little twine, so there you go!

Thanks for stamping by!

Laura~