RI SOTW - Shade of the Elm

It's time for another STAMP OF THE WEEK from Repeat Impressions - visit The House That Stamps Built to learn how YOU can purchase this stamp at 50% off this week and see all the fabulous creations!

See that red Adirondack chair? I need one - just like it! I love the pop of color; the sentiment I added says "Find beauty in the little things".

I stitched on some DP to create the hills and mounted the white panel with dimensionals onto Kraft cardstock.

I also made another incredibly CAS card; it's tough to see, but there are several embossed lines at the bottom of the card. The inside of this one says "Be Still and Know That I Am God. Psalms 46:10". Don't we all forget to do that?

Sorry, super short post today as I'm running a bit behind AND life threw us a huge curve ball Friday afternoon; working to recoup and refocus. :D

Due to this curve ball - all my pictures were taken with my phone rather than my camera, so I apologize for the poor picture quality!

Hope your week is great; thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out The House That Stamps Built!

Hugs, ~M.

Another Little Secret up my Sleeve!

I have been selected for a new Design Team and I am SO excited! These girls are so much fun; we've been chatting it up and I cannot wait to get started.

Please join me in introducing The Lovely Ladybugs!


We'll be designing for Ladybug Crafts Ink, Kerry the owner is QUITE a handful. Somehow she's already been crowned "Head Ladybug" AND "Miss Whiplash"...hmmm..that last part is a bit alarming.

Anywho - check out all the design team members packed full of international flair - we hail from: USA, Canada/Scotland, France, South Africa & England - now how's THAT for royalty?

Pop on over and visit my other friend's at their blogs and give them a big warm welcome!!

Kerry - Ladybug Crafts Ink
Tams - Droplets in a Rusty Bucket (what a cool blog name eh?
Hayley - Funky Farm Scrapbook Barn (well, now that's another cool name)
Pinky - Pinky-Pinkysworld
Mary J - Mary J Designs
Gaelle - Fait Main... par theCook (she's getting married today too - CONGRATULATIONS GAELLE)
Michele - Whimsical Creations (<---- hey, I know this one!) Sue - Sue's Assorted Ramblings
Lisa - Mess 2 Magic
Anita - Anita's Designs

And don't forget to visit our online store where you can shop till you drop - yeah baby! Ladybug Crafts Ink Online Store.

Hope your Saturday is fabulous!! Hugs, ~M.

RI What If? Wednesday

Hello friends, how are you?

Today is What If? Wednesday at The House That Stamps Built - hop on over and check out all the fabulous creations made with Wendy's incredible sketch.

This week...well, I'm a bit of a slacker, I don't have a creation with the sketch provided by Wendy, BUT I do have another card to show you! This is a recent sympathy card I made; I loved coloring in the flowers with my Copics. I added a strip of vellum with the sentiment stamped directly onto it, then added two buttons and mounted it with a bit of an arch - tough to see in the pictures, but so cool IRL.

I also used PTI's envelope liner and created a matching liner for the card - gives it such a fabulous touch.

Meanwhile, in my "other" life, the kids have started school and if things weren't busy enough - they are even CRAZIER now! Ah, I so know why I like the 'lazy days of summer'; even though I work full-time outside the home, just not having somewhere to go every single night is nice!

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a few peeks into some recent fun...and not so fun times we've had.

Let's start with the fun stuff...but ONLY if you promise me you hopped over to The House That Stamps Built and checked out those amazing creations!

OK, first up is a spa day with the girls...well, we started with the girls getting their nails painted - this is them while drying their nails with "the teen" being her silly self. She chose yellow and "the bug" chose a bright blue color. "The bug" loves lime green and had chosen a green, but it just didn't show up, so she switched to this blue.

Then the fun really began - "the teen" got her braces off - after 2 1/2 L-O-N-G Y-E-A-R-S and lots of pain (think roof of mouth lasered open, chain attached to tooth, etc.). I was much more excited than she was! LOL

I have cried, been disappointed when it took so much longer than we thought it would, but nothing compares to the pure joy I experienced when they came off and her glorious smile was revealed! AND the picture of she and her orthodontist is just as amazing. There are some doctors I "love" and some that I tolerate..I love this guy; he does amazing work!

Alyssa NEVER, EVER, EVER shed a tear through the entire process. Even though after her mouth was lasered open, she couldn't eat for 2 weeks without drinking something that would freeze the roof of her mouth allowing her to sneak in some food while it was numb! I'm a wimp - she is amazingly strong! She got her braces off the day before she started high school; therefore I can no longer joke "you're going to graduate with those braces on your teeth!".

We then had a fabulous lunch, did some back to school shopping then "the bug" endured an hour long vision test. THAT was one of the not so fun parts; she must undergo vision therapy - we define it as "THIS IS GOING TO COST US MEGA"...

Anyway, this past weekend, we had a bit more fun. "The son" is playing tackle football - he LOVES it (think, sleeps in his football pants WITH the pads in them) - oh he makes me laugh. Anyway, I dropped him at practice & "the teen" and her friend wanted to go to the high school football scrimmage so I dropped them off too. I was gone about 45 minutes & received a call from "the teen" asking me to come and get her right away, she was covered in a rash. THIS is what I found when I picked her up:

Both legs, both arms, her neck & face were covered, so we jetted to Wal-mart for some Benadryl gel & tablets. They quickly took care of the problem, we got her rinsed off and changed her clothes and on with life she went. Thankfully she didn't leave claw marks on herself, it was itching so bad.

Thanks for journeying along with me; it's crazy but fun and I wouldn't change it for the world! Love ya "the teen", "the bug", and "the son"; you're one of the best gifts God ever gave me.

Another SFYTT TCP Style

So...how do you like THOSE acronyms? Isn't the world horrible about using acronyms - I sure think so (me included).

I loved Jen's Sketch For You To Try layout again this week and found some time to play along. In fact, I got to make a card Saturday & Sunday - ahhhh, felt so good! All too soon football & volleyball games will start and insanity will be in full force again! AND I'm certain you realize this is a TRIFECTA for participating in Jen's sketches...pretty close to being as cool & monumental as KB's TRIFECTA last night (right, uh huh, just shake your head)! Did you watch? Are you a NASCAR nut - or is it just me? (no answer needed!)

This is another little stamp set I purchased from The Cat's Pajamas - Birthday Bunny. Look at the sparkle, can you see it? Oh yeah, I loooooovvveeeee presents; I love birthdays too!!! I think this sentiment is so funny "hope your birthday is as fabulous as me"...oh, I live by that sentiment. HA!

Thanks for stopping by; hope you have a GREAT week! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: TCP Birthday Bunny
Papers: PTI Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy, DP by Junkitz
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: nesties, Copics, misc. brads

My First Time...Yours?

Oh my - I have TWO FIRSTS with this card; how cool is that?? First up, I used my very first stamp set from TCP (The Cat's Pajamas Rubber Stamps); the set is called "Forget the Cake" AND for the first time ever, I left a portion of the image (tops of his little ears outside the nestability circle I cut). Oooo, so proud of ME!!

:D

Trust me, there were plenty of other things that went wrong with this card, so I have to brag about what I can. LOL

The layout is Mercy's current sketch (found HERE); great layout and I knew I wanted to use my brand new stamps. Let me say, the TCP stamps stamp very vivid, clean and clear - LOVE THAT!!! I used my Copics to color the image and then I added the scrumptious Dimensional Pearls in Espresso - L@@K, doesn't that look like real frosting? You know, the kind you lump on a little extra so you can lick it off? Hmph, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about...I'm smarter than that!

The inside says "Go Forth and Eat Cake!" Oh yeah! The envelope says "Forget about the cake, go for the icing"...see, that's why I had to lump a little extra icing on there!

Mercy's sketch called for a ribbon across the middle, but I had to make that little felt flower in the corner because the sewing machine ATE MY PAPER AND TORE IT. :( So wrong, so very wrong. The ribbon just seemed like too much busy-ness, so I left that part off.

K, I'm kinda hungry and looking at this cake is only making it worse....so that's it for tonight. Have a great weekend friends! Hugs, ~M.




WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: TCP Forget the Cake
Papers: PTI Hawaiian Shores, Smokey Shadow, DP by Junkzit (really old)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: nesties, Copics, Janome, PTI Felt, PTI Dies

SFYTT - on time AGAIN

Bingo, bingo, bingo - I'm a winnah!!! This makes 2 weeks in a row I have completed Jen's sketch ON TIME - ahhh..do you believe in miracles? Yeah, my bingo card only has 2 squares and I'm the "winner, winner of a chicken dinner"! bwahahahaha

Anyway, I wanted to make one more back-to-school card for our daughter to give to her teacher, even though I make cards, I rarely use them myself AND I'm horrible about giving the teacher's things at the beginning of the school year. Well, this year we're starting off right (um, some may call it bribery...it's not, I promise)!

I loved the layout and I love this school paper by Imaginisce, it's so stinking cute, double-sided and is perfect for elementary school (IMHO). Doesn't that little notebook paper look like it was ripped right out of the notebook? It's a die from Papertreyink, so very cute! I curled the top and the lower left-hand corner as well as edging it in tea dye ink (also from PTI) so it looked a little aged. So cute!

The sentiment is also from PTI's Teacher's Apple set (it says "When the love and skill of a Teacher work together, expect a masterpiece") - such a handy set for gifts! Thanks for stopping by; I hope you're having a fabulous week! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: PTI Teacher's Apple
Papers: PTI Pure Poppy & Spring Rain, DP by Imaginisce
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, PTI Pure Poppy
Accessories: PTI buttons & die, hemp

Get your blog hoppin' shoes on!

Yeah you friend - got your blog hoppin' shoes on? Well, you better, because Repeat Impressions is hosting another INCREDIBLE blog hop with their NEW Snow Globe & Ornaments stamps, you are going to be amazed. And YOU, yes YOU, have a chance to win this entire wonderful sheet of stamps!

Be sure to start at The House That Stamps Built for details of all the fun; all the Rock Stars are featured in the hop and you don't want to miss a single one as they each have a word for you to capture! Turn the captured words into a wonderful phrase and e-mail Wendy (wendy@repeatimpressions.com) for your chance to win! We like to keep it fun ya know!

If you've ventured here from the wonderful Makiko's blog, then you're on the right path!

I used the "empty" globe and stamped my "party penguin" (that's what I've named him - no clue what Wendy named him - LOL) inside the globe. Can you see he's sitting on the glitter? Yep, shake it up and watch the glitter settle - isn't that soooo fun to do?

I paper-pieced the bottom of the globe with some BG designer paper - same paper the image is layered onto. I also added glitter to the outer edge of the circle nestability - love all that bling! I thought I would do a fun, circle scalloped card - by golly; half the Rock Stars did a round, scalloped card - man, do great minds think alike or what?

Thanks for joining us on our journey, your next stop is the wonderful and delightful Robin!

And just in case; here's the link to all the wonderful RI Rock Stars:

• Ayana Posadas
• Dana Joy
• Darsie Bruno
• Harriet Skelly
• Joy Hadden
• Julie Smith
• Lynette Neus
• Makiko Jones
• Michele Greenwood (<----- YOU ARE HERE)
• Robin Kirkpatrick

Thanks for popping in; hope you have a GREAT day! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Repeat Impressions Snow Globe & Ornaments
Papers: PTI Pure Poppy, GKD White, DP by Basic Grey
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: 2-way glue pen, SU! Dazzling Diamonds, nesties, copics

RI SOTW - Chickadee at Rest

It's time for another SOTW (Stamp of the Week) from Repeat Impressions and this time we have a beautiful chickadee for you! Be sure to visit The House That Stamps Built to see how YOU can purchase this exact stamp for 50% off.

For at least 24 hours I had been thinking about the card I was going to create, I was going to make a little note set and I had rolled some ideas over and over in my head. When I finally got some time to stamp, I found this stamp MUCH larger than my mind had imagined. HA! Therefore, nothing that I had rolled around in my head worked - HA HA!

But alas, I still love my little chickadee; I went for another CAS card using PTI Kraft & Dark Chocolate. I stamped the image with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored it with Watercolor Pencils & OMS. Added some snow and some sand sparkle to my little birdy (can't see the sparkle in these pictures - bummer) and adhered it all to a base of Kraft.

Check out the additional eye candy created by the other Rock Stars:

• Ayana Posadas
• Darsie Bruno
• Joy Hadden
• Lynette Neus

Thanks for stopping by; I {heart} when you visit! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Repeat Impressions Chickadee at Rest
Papers: PTI Kraft, Dark Chocolate
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: PTI Chocolate Baker's Twine, Watercolor Pencils, OMS, white gel pen

Another Little Christmas Penguin from RI

Did you get a chance to participate in Repeat Impression's FIRST ever blog hop? There's still time - don't miss out as Wendy is giving away the ENTIRE sheet of Penguin Christmas stamps and they are so very, very cute! You can get the "deets" of the hop HERE (The House That Stamps Built).

As you can see, I used this cute little "do not open til Christmas" stamp layered onto a lacey blossom; this is a CAS (Clean & Simple) card; I embossed the upper portion, layered on the blossom and pure poppy saddle stitch ribbon and added the quote "Merry Christmas from one flake to another!".

I added some puff paint to the penguins little santa hat - so cute IRL.

Thanks for popping in; I hope you have a GREAT weekend. Ours will be VERY busy AND school starts next week - YIKES, that means our oldest enters high school. Oh goodness! Take care; hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Repeat Impressions Penguins
Papers: Neenah White, PTI Pure Poppy
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: nesties, PTI Pure Poppy ribbon, white lace, white puff paint, cuttlebug embossing folder

Awwwwww Shucks!

Three posts in a row...PUH-LEASE don't pass out - I never have that many in a row huh? :]

I'm tryin', I'm really tryin'! Actually it's worked out great this week to sneak in some extra stamping time each evening, it's been delightful!

Today I have a fun little girl from Stampingbella called Henrietta - she's a southern chick, can'tcha tell? Ah, she looks so shy and innocent - JUST LIKE ME!!! *gasp* - stop it, I heard that you know!

The inside says "awwwww shucks you shouldn't have". The challenge this week at the Bloggabella was all about BLING, look at that bling on her dress, in her hair? And can you see her sparkly dress? I colored over the black portion with a black spica glitter pen; so simple and adds such great sparkle.

The layout is Jen's (current - oh lordy, lordy, help me) Sketch For You To Try. I should get a prize just for being timely eh? HA!

I made the cute little flower from a nestie scalloped die and an old paperback book - LOVE flowers like this! I edged it with PTI's Chamomile Tea Dye ink and then touched the edges with PTI's Pure Poppy, so pretty IRL. I added a big red gem to the center of the flower, then added some Pure Poppy saddle stitch ribbon too, but changed the white stitching to tan using my Copics - SCORE!

Thanks for stopping by; I'm glad you did. Have a great Friday and fabulous weekend!! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Stampingbella Henrietta
Papers: PTI Kraft, Pure Poppy, GKD Cream, MME Quite Contrary
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: nesties, PTI Pure Poppy ribbon, misc. red gems, copics, EK Success border punch (inside)

RI Penguin Parade

Oh my, we are having some serious fun starting today! Repeat Impression's is introducing one of their new Christmas Series - Penguins; oh my, my, there are some amazing stamps in this release! And who wants a regular ole blog hop? Nah, we KNEW you'd want to have some fun, so here it is:

Start at The House That Stamps Built and visit each Rock Star's blog and gather their "key word" which will in turn create a phrase. Once you believe you have the phrase put together, you must e-mail Wendy at wendy@repeatimpressions.com with your answer. But hurry, don't waste any time - you only have until Monday, 8/16 to get your answer in. And trust me, the candy for this blog hop is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

So, if you arrived here from Maki's blog, then you're on the right path. If not, start at Ayana's blog so you don't miss a single "key word"!

I just love the penguins in this release; this one is so easy to use to make a quick and easily mass produced Christmas card! The penguins and the word "Christmas" are all one stamp. I actually stamped the image on GKD's white 80 lb. card stock and then embossed two lines directly underneath the word "Christmas"; I mounted the panel with dimensionals onto another piece of white card stock and then adhered all of that to PTI's Pure Poppy card stock.

It's hard to see in the pictures, but the stars have been colored with a clear spica glitter pen for lots of sparkle. I decorated the inside of the card (last picture) and added another penguin from the serious to the inside. This same penguin was stamped & colored on the envelope. Oh so cute, just wanna give 'em a little squeeze!

We hope you've enjoyed some peeks into this new release, enjoy the rest of the hop and in case you get lost; here's the line up:

• Ayana Posadas
• Dana Joy
• Darsie Bruno
• Harriet Skelly
• Joy Hadden
• Julie Smith
• Lynette Neus
• Makiko Jones
• Michele Greenwood (<---- you are here)
• Robin Kirkpatrick

You can always visit The House That Stamps Built for the full low-down on this new release! :] Have a great week; hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Repeat Impression's Christmas Penguins
Papers: PTI Pure Poppy, GKD 80 lb. white
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: clear spica glitter pen, scor-pal, MS punch

A1110 - Repeat Impressions What If? Wednesday

It's another WIW at Repeat Impressions; you can see all the fabulous creations and get the deets at The House That Stamps Built - and don't forget, each week there is a stamp offered at 50% off AND if you play along with our sketch, you have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Repeat Impressions. Ah...all the ways to win!

L@@K at these cute little penguins (ssshhh......don't tell, I'm sneak peeking these) - aren't they so happy looking? I decided to not be "so precise" with my stamping and have a bit of fun; they look like they are peeking in windows to me! LOL I just love them; their faces look so happy!

Hope you join us in the sketch AND be sure to stop back tomorrow, Thursday, as we're going to have some serious fun the Wendy Way!!

Have a great week! Hugs, ~M.



WHAT'S IT TAKE?
Stamps: Repeat Impressions Penguins
Papers: PTI Simply Chaurtreuse, Sweet Blush, DP by Basic Grey
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: nesties, PTI Simply Chartreuse ribbon, copics, EK Success punch (inside)