Congrats on Your New Home

As this is my first post for 2013 you are all probably wondering what has happened to me.  I’m still around and made a few cards but life and a new hobby has kept me away from my craft room.  I realized I didn’t even post pictures of my Christmas cards so I will have to get those up sometime soon.

This is the first card I have had time to photograph before sending it out.  A family at my church recently purchased a new home and I made this card for a group of us to give to them with a house warming present.  I used images from a retired SU designer paper pack and cut out the large house then attached it with dimensional dots to help it to stand out.  The background was embossed with the new Cloudy Day Big Shot folders.

Recipe:

Stamps:  Beautiful Borders

Paper:  WW, Marigold Morning, Bermuda Bay, DP

Ink:  Marigold Morning, Tangerine Tango

Accessories: Sizzix Folder, Cuttlebug, Labels punch, Stick on Gems

Flutter-By Birthday

These colors have been staring at me from the scrap file for over a week.  It is like they were just pleading with me to use them together to make something.  So this is the card I came up with.  I think these colors go very well together especially with this design.  I made it a birthday card as my stash is getting low.  This card also qualifies for the Flutter By Wednesday #201 Challenge.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes
Paper:  WW, Calypso Coral, Riding Hood Red, Concord Crush, Lovely Lilac
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder
Accessories:  Beautiful Wings Embossilit, Cuttlebug

Punch Bunch Posies

This is another card for the Split Coast Stampers Dare To Get Dirty 2012 challenges.  It also qualifies for SCS Color Challenge 386 using Primrose Petals, Baja Breeze and Summer Starfruit, and the SCS Clean and Simple 180 challenge.  SCS Fan Club members may click on the codes below to see the details for the DTGD12 challenge details.
DTGD12lisalara
dtgd12texasgrammy

Recipe:
Stamps:  Posy Punch, Punch Bunch
Paper:  VV, Summer Starfruit, Baja Breeze
Ink:  Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals
Accessories:  SU 5 Petal Punch, Circle Punches, Big Shot, SU Embossing Folder

Butterfly Thankfulness

In my craft room I have a box of images that I stamped, colored, punched, or whatever that I have not mounted on a card or other paper craft.  The butterfly image in this card is one of them.  I colored this image about 4 years ago with water color crayons.  Today I spritz the image with a little Smooch spray.  The sketch is the current Deconstructed Sketch #59.  The flowers I made from punches.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Measure of Life, Pocket Silhouettes
Paper:  WW, Pink Pirouette, Midnight Muse, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, DP
Ink:  Stazon Black, Midnight Muse
Accessories:  Small Flower Punches, Scallop Boarder Punch, SU Watercolor Crayons, Smooch Spray, SU Embossing Folder, Ribbon

No Coffee = Sleep

I love coffee so I am happy to have finally played with this SU stamp set called Morning Cup!  I have posted about my love (okay its an addiction!) of coffee previously.  The sentiment could easily be my motto!

I colored the image with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.  The SU DP in the background is partially distressed so I went a little crazy and distressed the rest of it and all the other papers.  I did something whimsical by wrapping bakers twine around the ribbon in an X pattern.  I used Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #104.  I don't have any WM stamps so I hope that my card will not be disqualified.  It's not that I care if I win the challenge or not, but I love the sketch and it fit well with my image that I had stamped and colored.

Recipe:

Stamps:  Morning Cup

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, WW, DP

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Walnut Stain and Tea Dye Distress Inks, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories:  Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers, Sizzix Embossing Folder, Corner Rounder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Ribbon, Nestabilities, Bakers Twine, Stick on Gem

Build-A-Bear Birthday

My youngest niece, Little Munchkin, turned 2 early this month and this is the birthday card I made for her.  I'm late posting this because I have not given it to her yet.  I left for a mission trip to Honduras on her birthday and returned last week.  I have not seen Little Munchkin yet so I still have her gifts and card.  I feel like a terrible aunt.  Fortunately because she is 2 she won't understand that I am late.

The background is the negative from hearts that I cut out with my Cricut.  I used my retiring SU Build-A-Bear dies for the main image.  The heart is one from the Cricut that I covered with red stickles.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Occasions Alphabet
Paper:  WW, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, and Close to Cocoa
Ink:  Real Red, Early Espresso
Accessories:  Big Shot, Build-A-Bear dies, MS Punch, Cricut, Twine, SU Markers, Nestabilities

Cherish

A friend recently got married and I made this card for her.  I used mostly SU products except that I used Nestabilities for the shape of the card.  It is hard to tell in this picture but I used Shimmer White as the front panel.  It really has a nice subtle glow to it.  I sponged the leaves and the flowers to give a little depth to the die cuts.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Baroque Motifs - SU
Paper:  Shimmer White, Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride
Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride
Accessories:  Nestabilities, Simple Flower Embosselit, Leaf Sizzlet, Cuttlebug, Pearl

It's Your Day

My cousin's birthday is coming up and so I made this card from her.  The inspiration for the design and colors came from several different places.

Recipe:


Stamps:  Grateful Elegance - Verve, Happiest Birthday Wishes - SU
Paper:  Lucky Limeade, WW, Bermuda Bay, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Gold EP, SU Embossing Folder, Corner Rounder, MS Punch, Ribbon

Birthday Silhouette

So I finally made a birthday card with colors that are Lyssa worthy. She and her family are headed to the beach so this will be a nice surprise for her when she returns.

A lot of what I used on this card is new or stuff I had and never used. The gorgeous DCWV papers I bought about 2 weeks ago because they were half off at one of the local craft stores. These papers have butterfly themes. If you look closely on the green DP you can see a butterfly peeking out. The main image is from a set that I have used previously but this is the first time using this particular stamp. The leaves are from an Embosselit that I forgot I had and never used. The blue mulberry flower I purchased in a pack a couple of months ago and this is the first time using them. The Spellbinders Borderability I just got and the Dew Drops I had for a couple of years but haven't used until now. The sentiment I cut out with my new set of petite oval Nestabilities. This card fits with the Just Add Inc challenge to use stuff from your stash that has been long forgotten.

Recipe:

Stamps: Birthday Surprise - Verve, Garden Silhouettes - SU

Paper: VV, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, DP-DCWV

Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Dew Drops, Nestabilities, Pearls, Borderabilities, Embosselit, Mulberry Paper Flower

Cherry Sunshine

This card was made using SCS Sketch Challenge 345 and Color Challenge 335. It also fits with the Our Creative Corner Challenge for this week Fun with Fruit. The color challenge was to use kraft, any yellow, and any red. I used Summer Sun as my yellow and Cherry Cobbler as my red. To create a highlight effect I first stamped the sentiment in Summer Sun and then stamped it again in Cherry Cobbler. The band has piercing which is hard to see in this photo.

Recipe:

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Friend to Friend

Paper: WW, Cherry Cobbler, Kraft, Summer Sun

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Summer Sun, Green Galore

Accessories: Cuttlebug, Sizzix, Paper Piercer

Serenity

This card is a combination of SCS Color Challenge 334 and SCS Sketch Challenge 344. At first I wasn't sure how the colors would go together but the combination worked very well with this sketch.

Recipe:

Stamps: Serenity - Verve

Ink: Tempting Turquoise

Paper: WW, Tempting Turquoise, Going Gray

Accessories: Border punch, Butterfly Sizzlet, Butterfly Sizzix Die, Ribbon, Stick on Gems

Bright Butterfly

This is a combination of 2 challenges on SCS. One is Color Challenge 333 using Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, and Tangerine Tango. I don't have Island Indigo so I subbed Pacific Point. The other challenge is Featured Stamper 234. My inspiration was this card by AmylovesNormaJean. I used butterflies instead of bees, changed the sketch a little and used different colors.

I had a lot of fun with this card because of the colors and the butterflies.

Recipe

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Very Versatile
Paper: WW, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Early Espresso, SU DP
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso
Accessory: Nestabilities, Sizzix Butterflies, Ribbon, Silver Beads, Border Punch

Just for You

This card I made for the Mojo Week 93 Sketch Challenge and the colors are from SCS Color Challenge 225. I have been busy studying for the NCLEX exam and making myself sick over it that I needed a break to just have fun. I made few other cards this weekend and will post them later.

Recipe:

Stamps: Soft Summer, Teeny Tiny Wishes - SU

Ink: Night of Navy, So Saffron

Paper: WW, Night of Navy, Craft, So Saffron, DP

Accessories: Cuttlebug, Embossing Folder, Nestabilities, Sizzix Die, Brads, Twine, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Venting but trusting

I seem to be in a holding place right now. I am still at my current job and cannot start working as a nurse until I get my RN license. I cannot get my RN license until I take and pass the NCLEX. I cannot take the NCLEX until I get my Authorization To Test (ATT) from my state's Board of Nursing. The Board of Nursing can't send me my ATT until they get a letter from the college's Director of Nursing that I have fulfilled all of the requirements of the nursing program. The DON can't send the letter until she gets to okay from the Registrar's office. And why can't the Registrar's office give the okay? I have no clue. It is not just me who is in this holding place but my all of my fellow Graduate Nurses too. It is a very frustrating place to be in. But that is the way life is sometimes.

All I can do right now is just trust in the Lord as Proverbs 3:5 says. It all out of my hands as there is nothing I can do to make the process go any faster. I guess the good thing about this delay is that I am getting more time to study and prepare for the NCLEX.

More about this card. This is a combination of 2 challenges: The sketch is from the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge 5 that I found on Chris Olsen's blog (I just LOVE her cards!), and the second is the Treehouse Stamps Color Challenge that I found out about on Crystal's blog (she does such wonderful work!). I don't have any stamps by Treehouse, but I liked the color combo.

Recipe:

Stamps: Proverbs 3:5 - Verve

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Chocolate chip & Soft Sky DSPs

Accessories: Cuttlebug, Embossing Folder, Nestabilities, Sizzix Die, Piercing Tool, Brads