Cherish

Short and unique post.

This is a card I made this past week; pretty simple. I embossed 1/4" in on each side of the front panel, layered the Two Scoops DP; stamped the image from SU's Baroque Burgundy on more DP from Two Scoops, punched it out; sponged the edges and added a rhinestone to the middle of the image. Added the word "cherish" in the lower right-hand corner, added some glitter to the flowers of the DP (you'll probably need to click on the image to see the glitter) and ta-da, that's it.

AND that's all I have to say about the card; tell me what you think...then I'll come back later and tell you what I think. :)

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend; thanks for peeking in!!

The Old and The New!

Greetings~

How is everyone doing? I've found some time to stamp this week, but haven't had much time to post. First off, let's do some "new"!!

Our oldest is at a b-day slumber party tonight - for twins! One likes pink; one likes blue, that pretty much sums up these cards. LOL

I found these cards AGES ago at Target in the $1 spot. I never seem to have just the right colors to match; but I made them work. I pretty much stuck with the polka dot theme in the cupcakes, the layering, glitter dots, etc.

I used my Copic markers to color the cupcakes on both cards; this one I topped with dazzling diamonds all over. And aren't those green glitter dots adorable? They come in lots of different colors from Gina K Designs - check them out. I used SU's word window punch for the two embellishments at the top. All pretty simple.

Here's a close-up of the cupcake with dazzling diamonds...what's up with that pink-ish shade on my picture? Sorry about that.

The next is basically identical except for the colors...now really, doesn't that pink frosting look dee-lish??? Mmmm, Mmmm good! For this cupcake, I used the Spica glitter pens for the frosting and the polka dots.

The cupcakes are from the Hey There Cupcake set from Stampendous. I love the set; there are so many cupcakes, toppings, sentiments, candles, etc. to choose from.

For this card, I used dew drops from Ellen Hutson's store as the embellishments.

Our oldest was pleased with the cards - therefore I have succeeded. I thought about adding some shading and some sponging...but when you know the card is going to be ripped open and thrown away...I just couldn't put the extra 'umph' into it. Is that bad??

Okay, back we go to the old. Remember THIS post? Well, remember how I thought about adding something to the pink 'empty spot' to the left of the bunny? Well, I added some of those dew drops - go look at the old post and then look at this one; do you like it better with the dew drops? I do; just like the touch it gives the card.

OK, that's it for now; I have a rotten headache from crying too much today. :( Each day will be better though!

Thanks for stopping by; I'll have some more creations posted this weekend. And for those of you that stamp; check out THIS post by Melanie - come on, join the card shower, it's going to be such fun!

Hugs, ~M.

The Fountains @ Branson Landing

This was one of our MOST favorite things we did while on vacation. We visited Branson Landing 2 different times but never spent less than 3 hours there! These pix are from Friday evening - the fountains play to music every hour on the hour and then 3 times per day they add the National Anthem to the performance. Anyway, click THIS link to see a bit more about the fountains.

I have even more vacation pix to share and even some new card creations I've made since I've been home, but I'm still zapped! :) I stamped for about 1.5 hours last night which felt soooo good; but alas, I wanted to post these pix first.

There are fountains and then steel columns (different heights) that shoot fire into the air - the fire is what makes some of the slides soooo bright. If you watch closely, you'll see the moon in some of the pix - too cool. The fountains shoot as high as 40' throughout the performances. Too cool; I bet we saw 3 night performances and probably 5 or 6 daytime performances - we just never grew tired of it - the kids included. Branson Landing is an incredibly cool place.

Thanks for checking out our vacation pix; I promise to return to stamping soon. Hope you're having a great week! Hugs, ~M.

Another great tutorial by Paper Pleasing Ideas

This is a video for 2-step stamping - I always "eyeball it" which she usually does also; but in this video she shows you how to use the Stamp-ma-jig - pretty cool video, check it out and leave her some love!!

~M.

Paper Pleasing Ideas 2-Step Stamping

Big Cedar Lodge - Mini-Vacation

We're back!

We are back from vacation and had a great time. I think I'll skip the "major" problems we encountered on Wednesday - the day we left and instead, I'll stick to the positive (to keep myself smiling as much as anything), and post some pictures for you to view soon.

I'm looking to do a couple slide shows and post those as time permits. It's back to work Monday with ball practices beginning this week - in other words; insanity rules again. LOL

I hope you had a fabulous week and a joyous Easter!!!

Here's a couple pictures for the time being...note, the water was ONLY 57 degrees in the lazy river; so many people floated the river with only their rear touching the water through the intertubes and therefore we heard so many people say: "my butt is numb"... LOL!!

Chat with you soon!

Hugs, ~M.

Easter Card, new technique...and VACATION!

Hi there; I'm so glad you stopped by. We're leaving today for vacation; we're all so very excited. I made one last Easter card last night which I'll deliver today. I really stepped out and used a new technique, did a sketch challenge AND used a brand new embossing folder -WHEW, all that in one card. {{{big clap}}}

Let's see if I can remember all the details here...I'm getting old and I'm exhausted preparing to leave for vacation; work seems a bit stressful too when you're trying to get out the door! AH...don't you worry, it'll all be waiting for me when I return!

I used this fabulous tutorial from Paper Pleasing Ideas - it's called Cuttlebug Ink Embossing AND I used a new Cuttlebug embossing folder - this one is called Floral Fantasy, it's really pretty! I used Purely Pomegranate ink, but it's 2nd generation ink, which means I inked the embossing folder and embossed 1 piece of cardstock and then without re-inking, I inserted another piece of cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot. I like the softer color much better than the 1st generation!

The Cuttlebug Ink Embossing are the two panels layered onto Purely Pomegranate paper. These are then layered on SU's Berry Bliss DP, layered onto the base card which is Purely Pomegranate. The bunny is from SU's Miracle of Spring set and stamped on SU Whisper White. I colored the bunny and the grass with my Copic markers, then I used the Spica Clear Glitter Pen all over the bunny. You can't tell, but she's extra sparkly - love that!!

Sorry; I didn't realize I had such a shadow on my bunny, but you can still see the coloring and layering. she's layered onto Purely Pomegranate and again onto SU's Berry Bliss DP.

I tied it all off with the double-stitch Pomegranate ribbon, added the "Thinking of You" in the lower left-hand corner and stamped "Happy Easter" inside the card.

Take care, I'll see you when we return! Hugs, ~M.

Michele

Easter Treats

Happy Hump Day! How are all of you doing? Me? Oh, so glad you asked! Let's see if YOU'RE glad you asked...better yet; glad I'm controlling this conversation - I have a captive audience, if you didn't just click out. HA!

We leave today for vacation - seriously, have you ever noticed how much work it is to get ready to GO on vacation? Sheesh - I'm tired and we haven't left the house!! Packing for myself and 3 kids (thank goodness DH can handle himself) is torture...particularly when you have a pre-tweener. LOL

I've had these treats done since Sunday night, but I've had other orders that had to be done before we left, so I finished those up last night and am finally getting a chance to post these. Did I mention when I entered my craft room today I saw our youngest daughter had made a beautiful treat for me and glued it to my desk with my E*X*T*R*A sticky glue??? Nice!!!

Then I find embossing powder scattered here and there, but hey, the sign is great. THEN I begin using my copic markers on a card I'm doing and I uncap my colorless blending copic and the majority of the brush end is now BLUE...so much for colorless! Thank goodness, I was able to work the blue out...but man, oh man. Due to their extra creativity, we've set some limits in my craft room - we had limits, but I guess they decided an extra special treat (and a tiny bit of exploring) would be a nice thing for mom...NOT!!!

OK, seriously, I'm done whining; on to some fun pictures!! The little criss-cross treat basket is 2 inches wide and holds 3 Reese's Peanut Butter eggs - ooooo, YUMMY! The other treat opens up to a little window which shows 1 Reese's Peanut Butter egg peeking through.

The criss-cross basket is a tutorial from Paper Smiles, she does outstanding work; be sure to visit her blog and leave her some love.

The other item is a Peek-A-Boo treat by Beate at Splitcoaststampers; check it out too if you're looking for a neat little treat.

Isn't that little chick adorable? She's from Melanie Muenchinger's "Just So Hoppy" set; colored with Copics. I used the black Spica Glitter Pen for her lashes and her eyes; she's extra sparkly!

OK, on to my next post before I sign off for a week or so. Have a superb week and may your Easter be a special blessing to you and your loved ones.

Thanks for peeking in - you KNOW you're one of my favorite peeps!!! ~M.

Michele

2008 Planners

I made a couple 2008 planners for my BFF's daughter and her friend. Boy....planners that can be altered are hard to find. AND when I did find two that I loved, my typical alteration method - Hodge Podge - didn't work - the paper just peeled right off. So, it's safe to say there was a bit of pain with these planners; but I love the final results.

This is the planner I started with - now anyone that knows me, knows how much I **LOVE** my birthday - I promise you, I DID NOT realize I had turned this to July (month of my b-day) until I was altering the photos tonight. LOL I know, not a single one of you will believe me, but I'm being truthful - really I am!

I really liked these spiral planners, they're a great size; they have a 2-page layout for each month; a contacts section, note section, a zip lock pocket at the back and a business card page holder at the front. The very front page - opposite page of the patterned paper has all your contact and emergency information. These planners also have a clear, heavy duty cover to them..I didn't want to alter the clear piece for several reasons, but you can see a glare on each of the planners - sorry about that.

Anyway, here are pix of the two I did - one is done in stripes; one in polka dots.

And here's a close up of the saying:

"WORK like you don't need the money. LOVE like you've never been hurt. DANCE like nobody's watching."

Love the quote; love it!!

Each verse was sponged in Chocolate Chip and I added color to each of the "bold" words. Each verse was then layered on Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip. I used SU's ticket corner punch on each layer. Probably one of my favorite parts are those flowers. Only 1 flower out of all 6 used kept it's original color; all others were altered to the color I needed. Altering the color of flowers has to be one of my all-time favorite things to do with my Copics (my little ole collection)!!

This weekend, I'm making 20 baby shower invitations and I hope to make some Peek-a-Boo Easter treats, as well as a few Easter baskets filled with treasures.

We're taking a mini-vacation next week, so I have lots to get done before then. Why is it vacation always seems like a lot of work? Packing for 5 people; taking clothes for whatever kind of weather we might encounter and then all that laundry when you get home - URGH! OK, for now I'll ignore the "work" part and just enjoy our time away!

Hope you're having a great weekend; I'm glad you stopped by; I love when you visit!! And yes, I don't get many comments, but I read every single one of them and they mean so much to me.

Hugs, ~M.

Michele

Size Matters!

I used some brand new MFT stamps for this card and you see - size matters to this bunny - for his ears at least! LOL!

The inside of the card says "Size Matters" and it actually comes from MFT's Twisted Sentiments stamp set - obviously it has "other" meanings - we call those "big kid stamps". There are lots of great sayings in the Twisted Sentiments set; but for this card, I paired this particular sentiment with their Eggstra Special Easter set.

All papers are SU including the DP; the bunny is colored using Copic markers. Here's a close-up of the bunny:

Thanks for visiting; have a great week! Hugs, M.

Michele