Emmie-Lou Who...Stamps & You!

FWF-Bicycle Birthday Wishes...

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello. Happy Friday!! Today I am sharing a bicycle birthday card I made with a Unity itty bitty (bicycle image) and the sentiment is actually from the July 2010 KOTM. I use the type font sentiments from that kit a lot. I am getting an arsenal of birthday cards ready for the spring. We have a ton of spring birthday's in our family, including all of my boys. My birthday card stash has dwindled, so time to restock! The strip of DP is from Basic Grey's Life of The Party collection. I added some baker's twine from The Twinery to the top and to the button on the pennant.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We are off to buy a new TV. Our TV is mounted over our fireplace in the family room. About a month ago, my oldest was throwing a tube of chapstick at the wall (why he was doing that, I have no clue)! It ended up hitting right smack dab in the middle of the TV screen and shattered something inside, so now we have two lovely, bright pink lines going through the middle of the screen! We decided to wait forl all of the Super Bowl TV sales to replace it. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

In my prayers...

2012-01-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share another card I made with the hope4us stamps set from The Stamps Of Life. I stamped the main image three times with chocolate ink by Stephanie Barnard. I then went back with green inks and a sponge, to fill in the leaves. This is a really quick and easy, one layer card (OLC) to make if you are pressed for time. I think I will make sets of note cards with this same design, just using the other images for little gift sets. I like to have those type of gifts on hand for teachers, friends and family.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Love is Patient...

2012-01-23T19:33:00.000-05:00

I just love this big scripture stamp from The Stamps Of Life set, quote2love. I thought it would be pretty with some embossing in just black and white. I will put it in my wedding card stash for a later date. We haven't been to a wedding in a while. It seemed like for many years we were going to weddings ALL OF THE TIME! LOL! I used the Sizzix starry night embossing folder and added some bling in the corner. I stamped the sentiment and inked the edges in Stephanie Barnard's Licorice ink.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Emily

Wish....

2012-01-21T09:06:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a very CAS, one layer card for you. I used an image from The Stamps Of Life new set, hope4us. I love the different bold, images in this set. Perfect for CAS cards. I also used a sentiment from the set, daisies2garden. I added some baker's twine to the top. I used inks by Stephanie Barnard in Licorice and Guava. Stephanie's inks match PERFECTLY with The Twinery baker's twine! Love that.

Today we awoke to everything being coated with ice. BLECH! No thanks...I really just want at least one beautiful SNOW! Not happening as our temperatures are supposed to climb to 50 tomorrow. Crazy weather!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Emily

Monthly Maniacs Debut!

2012-01-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

Hello! It is time for the very first Monthly Maniac Challenge. The Monthly Maniacs are a group of gals who formerly designed for Paper Maniac. We decided a fun way to keep in touch, was to participate in a monthly challenge. Every month someone new will provide a challenge to the rest of the group.

This month’s challenge is SNOW. Below you will find links to everyone’s blogs. We hope you like what you see and come back again to see what we have been up to!

The snowglobe stamps are from The Stamps of Life set joy2Christmas, and the sentiment is from the robot2build set. I paper pieced the snowglobe with white cardstock, and paper from Authentique. The card base is a grey/blue and I have no clue who the manufacturer is. Trying to use my stash!

Here are the other gals who have made something for today:
Emily
Tenia
Ceal
Ashley
Patti

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Baby Invites....

2012-01-18T16:11:00.002-05:00

Hello! My mom called me yesterday and asked if I could whip up some invites for my sister, who is expecting. My sister lives out of state, and is coming home the first week of February, so the invites had to be made and mailed in short order!

I used two stamps sets from The Stamps Of Life. The sentiment is from the sweet4babies set and the inside was made with the invites2create set. I used some older Almost Amethyst DP for the punched baby carriage. I ran a panel of white cardstock through the CB with my swiss dots embossing folder and added some sheer white dotted ribbon to match.

My sis is a bit of a diva (don't worry, I would say this to her face and I love her gobs), and.... she is very specific about what she doesn't want for her baby girl. No pink. No hearts. No bows. Uhhhhh, yeah...

No pink...check.
No hearts...check.
No bows...well....How could this card NOT have a bow? It is for a baby girl, and I decided it, along with the flower border on the maybe blue/maybe lavender colored baby carriage, would clue those in who didn't know. So, what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Sending Warm Thoughts....

2012-01-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I am sharing a card I made with a sentiment from MFT and the little penguin from morepenguins2love by The Stamps Of Life. The paper is from Pink Paislee. I used the CB snowflake embossing folder for the background panel and added some faux stitching around my heart. I created a baker's twine scarf for my penguin and added some more baker's twine at the bottom.

Today I will be tackling my craft studio. It is time to reorganize and purge my supplies. Stay tuned as I will probably be adding items to my "for sale" section on my blog. I will let you all know when I do!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Agapanthus Thank You...

2012-01-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! Today I have a card I made for the CAS challenge over on SCS. I used different sized acrylic blocks inked with three different shades of green. I find I get the best results if I stamp over a spongy surface such as an old mouse pad. The stamps are from The Stamps Of Life set called thanks2you. I love the agapanthus in this set. You can also turn it into a dandelion! Fun stuff!

It is cold, windy and bleh here in SW Ohio. I am trying to keep three boys who are off of school today "occupied". Oh, how easily they get bored with a house full of toys, games, movies, books....you get the picture. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Go Fish Challenge #9 and Moxie Fab Map To Your Heart Challenge!

2012-01-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

Hi there! Today's card features stamps from The Stamps Of Life. I used list2write and phrases2say sets for this one. I also pulled out some very old map DP by K&Company. I stamped the notebook paper on white cardstock with Stephanie Barnard inks in sky and strawberry. The sentiment is stamped in Licorice. I used some butcher's twine to create a loopy bow, and added some black pebbles under the sentiment.
This card is for two different challenges. I used the sketch on Go Fish challenge to create this card and it also works for the Moxie Fab "Map To Your Heart" challenge.

For the Go Fish Challenge I decided to use the sketch for a card instead of a scrapbook layout.

We hope you can play along with us in the Go fish challenge!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Love You So Very Much!

2012-01-14T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today's card features a new release from The Stamps Of Life called quote2love. I stamped the scripture onto the white panel with Antique Linen distress ink. The sentiment is stamped with Stephanie Barnard's Licorice ink. I inked the edges of all of the paper with distress ink. The large heart is DP by My Mind's Eye-Lost & Found collection.

It has been super cold around here. We had a mere dusting of snow, but not enough to have fun with! Bummer. I say, if it isn't going to REALLY snow this year, then bring on spring. I don't mind the cold if it looks pretty outside and there is snow (real snow) to talk about. Of course, everyone in the Cincy area FREAKS OUT at the mere mention of the S word. It is ridiculous, to say the least. There were actually school closings the other day. For what, you ask? Not even 1/2 inch of snow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

FWF-Shine!

2012-01-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hi, there! Happy Friday. I am excited to be participating in a Unity Friends With Flair. It has been too long! I inked up the ippity set Shine, Shine, Shine. I bought it months ago and it has sat unloved in my craft studio. I inked the lamp in black and red ink. I then went back and added some highlights with grey copic markers. I also added some rhinestones to the lamp. I used this week's sketch over on SCS (367). LOVE this sketch. Super CAS, just how I like them! The paper used is from echo park's "For The Record" collection.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Emily

my heart is yours....

2012-01-11T10:36:00.001-05:00

Here is a very CAS Valentine for you! The sentiment is from a Unity itty bitty. I colored the heart with some copic markers. The strip of blue heart DP is from Pink Paislee. I have had that paper for a few years and I pull it out whenever Valentine's Day is near. I added a felt heart and some baker's twine from The Twinery. Easy peasy!

I am still trying to squeeze out the last 5 days of my December Daily album. I am so over Christmas! LOL! I think that is why I am "stuck". It is just sitting on my studio table glaring at me. Sigh.....5 days in nothing, right? I can do it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

i love you because....

2012-01-10T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have another card using the wonderful list2write set from The Stamps Of Life. This will be the perfect Valentine for hubby or one of my boys. I also used stamps from the love2hug set. I added soem baker's twine and some felt die cut hearts. I used Stephanie's inks in Licorice and Strawberry. The blue paper is Bazzill, I believe.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Remember....

2012-01-06T22:50:00.001-05:00

Hi, there! Today I have a very CAS card using the list2write set from The Stamps Of Life. I paper pieced the flower with paper from MME Lost and Found Two collection. I left the inside blank so that I can add to the sentiment for whatever occasion when it arises. Easy peasy!

I plan on FINALLY finishing my December Daily album this weekend. I will post some photos in the next several days. Only five more pages! It was fun and I will probably do it again next year. I started to stress right before Christmas because it was just to busy to scrap, but no worries. I will actually have a complete album and it is only the beginning of January. I think next year, I will do more prep work ahead of time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Just A Note....

2012-01-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have another card using list2write from The Stamps Of Life. I decided to participate in the sketch challenge over on SCS to get my mojo moving! I needed a bright and cheery card, and this fit the bill! The designer paper is from echo park's Playground collection. I stamped the notebook paper with sky and strawberry from Stephanie Barnard inks. I love her licorice ink to. A nice bold, true black ink. The centers of the daisies are stamped with banana ink. I cut the flowers out and just layered them across to create a border. I couldn't forget some baker's twine at the bottom!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life: List2write new release!

2012-01-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

Hello! Long time no blog. I am trying to get caught up after the holidays and back into a routine. My mojo has hit a brick wall, too. I haven't been in my craft room in a while. Luckily, I have some cards that I made for this release last month. The new set from The Stamps Of Life is fabulous! List2write can be used for cards, scrapbooking, mini albums and more. I decided to make a card for my hubby for our upcoming anniversary. I paired it with an older set, love2hug. This would be cute for Valentine's day, too.

Remember...you do not have to be a club member to get this set. As a club member you will enjoy great perks such as 15% discount on all stamps, freebies from Stephanie like mini stamp sets and storage sheets for your stamps. Stamps sets are always shipped for $1 in the US, and $1.50 in Canada. You can not beat that shipping rate!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Go Fish Challenge: White on White

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! It is the first of the month, and that means a new Go Fish challenge. Even though the TFD store has closed, we will still have bi-monthly challenges on the first and fifteenth of every month. We hope you can join us! This month the challenge is "white on white". I used an older Cuttlebug folder and the tattered florals die from Tim Holtz and Sizzix. I added some glitter to the flowers and also to the greenery. I added a rhinestone to the middle of the flower and some silver twine to the top of the card.

Hope you can play along in the challenge!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Birthday Balloons!

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using Tradefish Designs set, Another Year. I stamped the sentiment, balloons, and confetti in Memento Tuxedo Black. I then colored the balloons with copic markers. I added some stickles to the confetti and drew the strings with a black archival pen. I tied a little bow on the balloon bouquet. I was running low on birthday cards, so I need to replenish my stash!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

I Miss You....

2011-12-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We are trying to recover! LOL! Finding a place for the ridiculous amount of toys that the boys got, is a challenge. I think I may just put some up on a shelf and get them out a month from now. It will be like Christmas all over again!

I made this card using a new release from The Stamps Of Life called, phrases2say. LOVE this set and you will definitely be seeing it more on my blog! I also used some older MME papers from Beloved and Fine & Dandy collections. The card is super tall! It was a pack of kraft cards and envies I have had for a long time, so I decided to make use of them.

I am going to try to get caught up on my December Daily over the course of the next several days! We will see how that goes with three boys home!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Hugs and blessings,

Emily

December Daily-Day 19

2011-12-23T22:29:00.000-05:00

Not much to talk about this day. Luke found my old Game Boy. Yes...it was mine and I was obsessed with it about ten years ago! LOL! He has had a lot of fun trying to defeat Frogger's Journey. I was never able to beat this game, so it has been fun helping him with it. I love to watch his face when he is playing. Cracks me up!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Emily

December Daily-Day 18

2011-12-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

Today was all about football. Will made the playoffs in fantasy football so we were keeping track of scores all day on the computer. The Bengals even pulled off a win! Bonus!!!!

I thought this striped paper from MME, was cute for a football layout! I also love these football stamps from Our Craft Lounge. It is probably my favorite football themed stamp set.

I am working like crazy to try to get this album caught up! I know I will get behind again after this weekend with all of the festivities.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Merry Mint!

2011-12-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! So...I need to play some catch up with my December Daily. I think it will be harder to get pages done now that boys are home all day, but I plan on cranking out at least three days today. This is a card I made with this months club release from The Stamps Of Life called candy2share. Love the different things you can do with the candy. I used a sentiment from the penguins4Christmas set. I stamped the peppermint with glue from a MS glue pad and then added some red micro glitter from PK glitz. The background label is stamped in spearmint by Stephanie Barnard with a stamp from the stamps4fancylabels. I also used Stephanie's fancy labels Sizzix Framelits that go with this set. This card was pretty easy to put together. I am sure I will be using this layout for more cards in the future.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-You Are Just My Type!

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I thought I would throw in a theme other than Christmas, so I pulled out the set You Are Noteworthy from Tradefish Designs. I stamped the typewriter on text from an old book. The red notebook paper is from Authentique's Wonder collection. Pretty simple and perfect for a Valentine card. So sad to tell you that C has decided to close up shop at Tradefish Designs. She will still have the blog and the Go Fish challenge, but will only be selling her stamps until the end of the month. Everything is marked down 50% off, so if you had your eye on something, now would be the time to buy it. She will shut the shop down on December 31st. Sniffling and pouting here!

Are you all ready for Christmas? I know I am! I have to throw a pre-school holiday party today, and then I am ready to kick back and relax with my guys. Today is their last day of school! I actually went shopping yesterday-for me! I rarely shop for clothes anymore, but I had some "free" money coupons (you know, buy $10 worth of stuff get $10 off, so I bought a couple shirts that were on super sale at JC Penny. I also had some Old Navy cash, so I bought some cute lounge pants and a shirt to hang out around the house in. Only $3.82 after the crazy mark down plus my Old Navy bucks! Love a good deal, and it was kind of fun buying something for me!

Have a great day!

Emily

Mason Jar Christmas decor

2011-12-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I am sharing a home decor project I made. I love the mason jar dioramas or snow globes that are popping up this holiday. I used some odds and ends from my scrap room and some leftover berry picks from my mantle garland. This jar is not actually a mason jar but a jar that used to hold spaghetti sauce! I decided to practice with this recycled jar before purchasing Mason jars. My 5 year old boys thought this was the most incredible thing EVER, so I plan on letting them make their very own to put on their dresser in their bedroom. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I may have them make a winter scene that can be displayed longer.
With a real Mason jar, because the jar is wider, I would create my snow scene on the inside of the lid first and then screw the jar onto the top. The jar would be standing on it's lid, but this would be much easier for younger kids.

First I fluffed about three or four cotton balls. I dripped some Tombow glue into the bottom and then squished the cotton balls on the bottom with a long skinny wood spoon. Next, I dumped a generous amount of snow glitter on top of that. I twisted the jar around so it would also fall into the crevices where the cotton did not quite meet the side of the jar.
Next I printed out that vintage Santa from The Graphic Fairy. This site is fabulous for vintage images. LOVE it! I placed my Santa onto music paper from Donna Salazar with pop dots. I then pushed it down into the jar propping it up in between the glass and the cotton "snow". Next, I took my berry pick and with glossy accents, added some glitter snow to the berries and leaves. Using ZOT adhesives, I attached my punched bird to the front of the berry pick once the glitter and glue dried. The bird was punched from old text and inked up with distress inks. I then took a bottle cap from one of my oldest son's fanta sodas and punched a DP circle to adhere to the inside. I then took some black Tiny Type Cosmo Cricket stickers to spell out "joy" on the inside and, adhered it next to the bird with another ZOT. It was easy to just adhere the bird and bottle cap to one of the berries.
Next, I carefully stuck the pick down into the jar with the stem facing up. This gives you kind of a handle to maneuver it down in the jar, and it looks nice sticking up next to Santa. This particular pick has a very real looking stem, but if your stem looked unsightly you could dress it up with a ribbon or just cut it off.
The lid was painted with white acyclic paint and I added a baker's twine bow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily-Day 17

2011-12-19T19:33:00.000-05:00

On this day, we braved the crowds at Bass Pro Shop, and went to see Santa! For the past several years, this is something that Bill has done with the boys on whatever weekend I was scheduled to work in December. This year, I was able to go with them, since I have cut my hours at the hospital. I am not a crowd kind of girl, and it was mayhem, but it was also fun to see the boys talking with Santa. This is the first year that Max has walked right up to Santa with NO reservations. Since birth, he has always been scared and crying in every photograph. Not this year! Will was a super good sport and got his photo with Santa and even told Santa something he wanted when Luke asked him why he wasn't talking! Grandma came along with us and finished up some shopping. A fun crazy day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Victorian Chrismtas Spools

2011-12-19T13:41:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I am sharing some more of my homemade Christmas decor with you. I made these spools from recycled paper towel holders. I covered them with text and designer papers. The tops and bottom are die cut from recycled cereal boxes and then painted with white acrylic paint. I added the angel and Santa images from The Graphic Fairy. I just love her images! I added some glitter to the angel wings, some tinsel ribbon, silver twine and jingle bell, and flowers on the tops of the spools.
Super fun to make and they look perfect in my shabby chic dining room!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 16

2011-12-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

On the sixteenth, we went to visit a live nativity at a local funeral home. They have been doing it for as long as I can remember, and the boys love to visit the sheep and donkeys. Last year there was a lot of snow on the ground. This year, it was just cold!

Thanks for taking a peek!

Emily

Poinsettia card...

2011-12-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

Hello! Trying to do a little catch up on my December Daily album. Hopefully some pages to post soon! This is a card I made for the Sizzix blog. My poinsettia is made with the Tattered Florals die, and the sentiment is from The Stamps Of Life. You can find all of the details over at Sizzix.
I have officially finished all of my baking. Tomorrow I will start boxing and packaging things up to give as gifts. My boys have had fun "testing" the goods! They also helped me cut all of the sugar cookies and gingerbread men last night. If anyone has a great, spreadable icing recipe (easy for kids) I would love for you to share. Royal icing just seems hard for little hands to use in the bags, and we always end up with a 3" pile of noodle looking icing on top of the cookies when Max or Luke are decorating! LOL! I am looking for something that they can spread and then add sprinkles and candies on top that will harden enough to store easily on top of one another. Maybe I am dreaming!

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

Emily

December Daily-Day 15

2011-12-17T19:02:00.000-05:00

So...I actually got called into work this night. Of course, it was on a night when hubby had to work super late, so I packed the boys up and headed to Nana and Boo-Boo (my dad) house! My nieces were there, so they had fun playing together. I wanted to get a photo of them in front of mom's tree. I wonder if her tree still looks that beautiful after grandchildren x 5?

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 14

2011-12-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

So....not every day in December has a "magical" moment, which is what I like about the concept of this album. Today was one of those days. The highlight of the day between Tae Kwon Do and basketball practices-pizza! Everyone was so hungry that before I could think to grab my camera, only two slices remained! It is funny how quickly we went from being a one pizza family, to a two pizza family!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Vintage bottlecap ornaments

2011-12-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Today I am sharing some ornaments I made for my dining room tree. I cut strips of text from an old book to create a "snowflake". I sprinkled some snow glitter on top, and added some bottlecaps to the center with vintage santa images. I got the Santa images from The Graphic Fairy. Love her stuff! I looped some baker's twine from The Twinery through the top of one of the loops to hang on the tree. These are super easy to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily-Day 13

2011-12-14T20:38:00.000-05:00

The thirteenth was a day of baking. I got a start of some of my cookies and candies while the boys were at school. I always let them help with the cut out sugar cookies and the gingerbread men, but everything else I like to do myself. I crank up the Christmas tunes, and bake away! On this particular day, I made wreath and tree spritz cookies, shortbread cookies with Ghiradelli chocolates on top, chocolate cherry cordial cookies, and my Grandma's recipe-Forgotten Meringue cookies. YUM!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Joy To The World

2011-12-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello! I made this card for Will's homeroom teacher, who also happens to be his Social Studies teacher! I used two sets from Tradefish Designs. Sentiments of The Season for the sentiment, and Back 2 School for the globe. I colored the globe with copic markers and added some green baker's twine at the bottom from The Twinery. This was a super quick and easy one layer card to make. Make sure you check out the huge inventory sale going on at TFD. All stamps are 50% off right now!!!

This is also for the Moxie Fab Get Inspired by Home Decor Challenge!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 12

2011-12-13T20:23:00.000-05:00

Day 12 is all about Luke! He had his kindergarten Christmas concert and was FABULOUS! For weeks he has been practicing his songs. They sang 10 songs! I was super impressed. Luke's favorite song is Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. The tag behind the photo of Luke and I, will have journaling on it about the concert. I used several ippity stamps on these pages, too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Pumpkin Spice DT call

2011-12-12T15:43:00.001-05:00

Hello! I made this card duo for the Pumpkin Spice DT call. Pumpkin Spice is a great on-line shop that offers amazing discounts on products (30% off, to be exact)! They carry all of the trendy popular paper lines in 6x6 sizes for us cardmakers, which makes me smile!
For the call, we had to showcase a project that we made using things they carry in their store. I decided to make this card set with My Mind's Eye "Sunshine" Lost & Found Two collection. I adore the yellows and blues. I made one card that is more clean and simple and one that is more shabby chic-both styles that I love!
One thing I love about MME paper collections, is that the paper is so versatile, and you can let it be the showstopper on your card-not necessarily the stamps. I loved the collage look of the sewing machine, doily, postage stamp and music score-all part of the paper. I just added the circle with a stamped sentiment, some baker's twine from The Twinery, ribbon and a die cut dress form. VOILA!
The second card, that is more CAS in style-I cut the paper so that the "adore you" on the DP is the sentiment for my card. The only stamping is the flourishes. I used Tim Holtz distress inks in walnut stain and antique linen to distress the edges of the paper, along with the stamped flourishes and "love".

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!

Emily

December Daily-Day 11

2011-12-12T13:37:00.000-05:00

After visiting the train show on the tenth, I decided to pull out my old HO train set that I received way back in 1980!!! I don't know who was more excited-the boys or my husband. After a trip to Lowe's for a plywood board and a gallon of green paint; then a trip to our local hobby shop for special nails for the track, oil for the engine and bands for the engine's wheels-we were ready to go! We set it up on top of the boys air hockey table in their toy room for now. I think we will add pieces to it and build our own little train town!

Thanks for stopping by for another peek at my album!

Emily

December Dailly-Day 10

2011-12-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

Day 10 is all about a train show that we took the boys to. Our oldest went to a train show with one of his friend's already this year, but this was a first for Max and Luke. They were super excited, and especially loved the Christmas train and the towns that had interactive buttons. One button made a fire truck come out of the station when you pushed it, and Max would have stayed there all night, had we let him.I am 1/3 of the way done with my December Daily album. Having fun. No stress. Super excited to think I will actually have a scrapbook that will be complete for this year!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 9

2011-12-11T16:25:00.000-05:00

This day is dedicated to a sleepover with cousins. My SIL took some photos during the big event at her house. They kept the boys so that Bill and I could go out to dinner. We were also able to finish Christmas shopping and I got almost all of the boys gifts wrapped for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 8

2011-12-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

This page is all about my birthday. My parents came over for dinner and took a family photo of me and the boys. A perfect day with my favorite peeps!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

A Christmas Card For You!

2011-12-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

Hello! I apologize to all of my cardmaking followers for my lack of cards this week! The December Daily is something that I really wanted to do this year, so you are going to have to deal with some scrapbook stuff, too! Here is a card I made using the Birds & Swirls and Houndstooth Cuttlebug folders. I inked the raised images with green ink and then ran it through the CB. I then went back with a red copic marker and added the berry color. I inked all of the edges of my cardstock with distress inks and of course had to have some baker's twine from The Twinery! The sentiment is from Verve's Santa's Helper set. I used one of my Spellbinder's Labels dies. Don't ask me which one, because I rip them open, and stick them in my die bin with no labeling! I also added some red kaiser pearls to each side of the sentiment.

Stay tuned for more December Daily pages and I will have my usual cards, too! I also have some home decor projects coming up, so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 7

2011-12-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

On this evening, hubby and I stayed up and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. This movie always makes me LOL no matter how many times I see it. It makes me LOL even though I know what is coming next. I included some photos from the movie along with the big monologue Chevy Chase says about his boss not giving him a bonus. That one is tucked inside the pocket, as I wouldn't want to offend anyone because of some of the language. Do you remember? "Hallelujah! Holy @#&%! Where's the Tylenol?"
I also think of this movie every year when I am putting lights either on our trees or outside! So funny.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

December Daily-Day 6

2011-12-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

Day 6 of my December Daily is dedicated to St. Nicholas. We always celebrated when I was a young girl, as did my husband and his family. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and the poor (among many others). He was known for giving to those in need, especially families of children. It is said that he would leave small gifts, fruit, nuts and candies in the shoes of children at night. My husband actually would sit his shoes out and St. Nicholas would leave things in he and his sister's shoes. As a girl, St. Nicholas would always leave things in our stockings, which is what I do with my boys. One small gift (DVD or LEGO set) candy and fruit. I always go and pick out the biggest and best apples and oranges for St. Nicholas Day. My oldest son was always most impressed with the fruit, and not the candy or gift. Even though he no longer believes, he still marvels at the yummy fruit when he peeks in his stocking!
More photos below. That old Santa image is one of my favorites. I think it epitomizes Santa Clause and St. Nick.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Happy Birthday to me....

2011-12-08T10:51:00.001-05:00

Hello! Today is my birthday. I am 37 years young! LOL! To celebrate, I am sharing a card with one of my favorite things-candy! The stamps are from The Stamps Of Life set, candy2share. I pieced the lollipops with papers from echo park and added some glitter and baker's twine to the lollipops for fun.

No big plans for today, but to hang out with my guys. I think they are planning a big dinner for me tonight, and even my five year olds are being quiet about it and keeping it a secret! I may work on some more of my December Daily album pages, but I may just curl up with a book and relax.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 5

2011-12-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Pulled this book out the other day to read to the boys. My favorite. I was able to go to Bing and grab these images of the book cover and an actual illustration from the book. More photos below!

Thanks for checking out my December daily!

Emily

December Daily-Day 4

2011-12-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! For day 4 of my album, I decided to talk about George, our elf on the shelf. He appeared in our home this day for the year, but this will be the third year that George has come to visit. Max and Luke were so crazy excited. They love waking up each morning to try and find where George is hiding. Max woke up at 4 am last night and woke everyone up to tell us he had found George's new hiding place! LOL! Below, you will find photos of each page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Let It Snow!

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using the fabulous set, Sentiments of The Season from Tradefish Designs. I pulled out some of my 25 Days of Christmas paper from Simple Stories. I added some glitter to the paper designs and some burgundy crepe paper at the bottom with some green satin ribbon to finish it off. I distressed the edges of my paper with some scissors. Remember...all stamps are 50% off at Tradefish Designs!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

December Daily-Day 3

2011-12-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

Day 3 complete! This was all about my oldest Will and his FLL competition. The little clothespins will not be there when the album is complete. They are holding journal boxes and tags and photos for upcoming pages. You can see the individual pages for day 3 below.

I will be back tomorrow with days 4,5, and 6!

Emily

December Daily-Day 2

2011-12-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

Day 2 is done! Since that was the day of Max's surgeries, I wrote a little blurb about it on the left and then a photo of him on the right. I printed the photo onto SU Whisper White cardstock, so that I would get a good stamped impression for the "Joy". Below are photos of each individual page.

Love this sweet boy!

Now on to day 3.....

Emily

December Daily-I took the plunge!

2011-12-06T09:22:00.002-05:00

Hello! I decided to challenge myself this year to complete a December Daily album. I did not get the scrapbooking done that I wanted to this year, so this will be my consolation prize! I also think it is an amazing idea and project. The concept of a December Daily journal or book was developed by Ali Edwards. You can read more about it and see her fab album HERE. I made my album out of recycled cereal boxes covered with cardstock and inked up. The album cover and back are 6.5 x 6.5 ". The pages inside will be 6 x 6". I like the idea of using double sided 6 x 6 pages to maximize the patterns on both the fronts and back. I decided I will stick extra envelopes and things in as I complete the days.

This is the inside of the album cover. I created a large tag with journaling about why I decided to create this album.

For day one I created a page dedicated to the many advent calendars we have in our house. From chains, to chocolate to Star Wars Lego-we have a bunch! The kraft envelope will hold more small photos of our advents along with some journaling about every one's favorite.

As I complete my December Daily pages I will blog them! I will create a separate blog post for each day even if I complete a bunch in one day! I am going to play "catch up" today! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Peace On Earth and some family stuff!

2011-12-04T12:08:00.002-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using a sentiment from Tradefish Designs set, Sentiments of The Season. I used a punch from SU for my bird and branch. I sponged green ink on the "text" paper limb. I stamped the sentiment in the lower corner of my white panel first and then ran it through my Cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder. I then adhered that to my white card base and added my bird and limb to the side. I added some red baker's twine from The Twinery to the top.
Make sure you check out the newest GO Fish challenge! You can find the details HERE.
Busy few days at my house. Max had surgery on Friday-adnoidectomy, ET tubes placed, and bilateral inguinal hernia repairs. He is feeling much better, but cries when I have to give him ear drops. Ear drops and eye drops for kids suck. No other way to put it.
Yesterday, Will participated in a First Lego League competition. It is a program that is based on science and technology. He and his teammates had to come up with a research project based on food safety, which was the them this year. They had to provide research evidence and a prototype invention that they developed to help make food safer to eat. They also had to build a robot to perform certain tasks for points. They had 2.5 minutes to get as many points with their robot as they could. They acquired the most points so they won the top award for robot performance. We were so happy and excited. Here are some photos from the event, so humor a proud mama! :)

This is Will with the robot that he and his team built and programmed.

This is Will, team and coaches during the first round of robot competition.

It was hard to get good photos because we were not allowed in certain areas during the competition, but this is Will, coaches and team when they won the award for Best Robot Performance. Will is in the middle!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life New Release

2011-12-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

The first of the month means a new club set from The Stamps Of Life!!! Club members get 15% discounts ALWAYS! You can still purchase any of the stamp sets even if you are not a club member. Another awesome thing about TSOL...all stamp sets ship for $1.00 in the states!!!! You can't beat it.

I love all of the fun candies in this set and how you can change them up. I paired this sweet sentiment and candy image with some paper from My Mind's Eye Lime Twist collection. I added a baker's twine bow with some fab twine from The Twinery, too! The round candies and the suckers all work perfectly with a 1" circle punch. It was easy to layer that candy and it looks like it was paper pieced!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Merry & Bright

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! Today's card is a bit non traditional. I used a pink pirouette base and some papers from Fancy Pants that I bought years ago. I cut the trees from the DP. The blue sky background is also DP from this collection. I cut and layered some white cardstock and added some glitter for my snow.
The sentiment is stamped in Licorice ink by Stephanie Barnanrd. The sentiment is from Tradefish Designs set, Sentiments of The Season. I have gotten so much use from this set this holiday season. It has been a wonderful addition to my stamp collection. Lucky for you, it is on sale for half off! All stamps at Tradefish are 50% off so go check them out! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Sorry! I Frog-got!

2011-11-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using The Stamps Of Life set sayings4froggy. I stamped the frog in kiwi kiss ink and the sentiment in chocolate chip ink. The bottom panel is kiwi kiss cardstock that was run through the Cuttlebug with the tiny bubbles embossing folder. It made me think of bumpy skin on a frog or toad! I added a loopy baker's twine bow from the The Twinery.

I am happy to report that my Christmas shopping is almost complete! I got a much later start on my shopping this year, but the only people left to buy for are my parents and my MIL. Unfortunately, they are the most difficult to buy for! I always leave some room to buy one more present for the boys in case something comes up that they HAVE to have. I don't think that will happen this year, as their lists were smaller and it has been difficult coming up with ideas for family members. I feel good as a parent that my children are content and do not need or want a bunch of things, but on the other hand it IS Christmas!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Emily

'Tis the Season...

2011-11-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

Hello! Did you all have a great weekend? Sure hope so. Today's card has NO stamping. I used some fab Authentique Wonder paper and a die cut sentiment from that same collection. I also used my Sugared embossing folder on the red panel. Added some burlap twine, a paper rose and some holly on the doily. I like the vintage look. I love my CAS cards, but I have been having lots of fun with vintage themed cards and projects. You will be seeing more of that from me mixed in with my usual CAS.

I cooked a big, fat turkey last night! I have never had to do a big turkey dinner, as my mom has always done Thanksgiving dinner for as long as I can remember for our family. I decided it was something that I should do, so we cooked a 10 pound turkey with all of the fixings for just the five of us. I put out the good china, crystal, and candles in our formal dining room for the boys. They thought it was fun to be eating another fancy turkey dinner! I was surprised at how easy it really was, and it was super yummy! Good news...I won't have to cook a bunch this week! Lots of yummy leftovers to make sandwiches, turkey dumplings, turkey noodle soup and turkey tetrazini!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Glad Tidings...

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

For the card above, I used this week's sketch on SCS found HERE. I pulled out my Trendy Trees SU set, that had never been used! I think it was one of the last sets I bought when I was still a demo. I created a winter scene and just stamped the trees in black and added some red kaiser pearls to a couple of the trees. I used the Sizzix Sugared embossing folder for the red panel. The sentiment is from Verve. I used circle punches to punch out the circles on the sides of the red and black carstock panels.
So did you all eat way to much turkey and yummy desserts on Thursday? I know I did, and I was LAZY on Friday. Didn't do a thing but hang out and watch Christmas movies with my boys in our jammies all day! It was fun, but we decided to put some clothes on before dinner and enjoy the nice weather.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Happpy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Turkey Day! Hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends. My card above uses some older DP from Daisy D's. Do you remember that company? I used to love all of their vintage designs. The vintage turkey image is a free digi from Red Lead. I added some seam binding and a paper flower. The sentiment on the vintage digi reads:

Thanksgiving Joys

For love and better living,

For the knack of finer giving,

For the day we call Thanksgiving,

Father we give Thee thanks.

Wishing you blessings on this day and always,

Emily

Tradefish Designs-All Twisted Up!

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! I needed a break from Christmas and Thanksgiving cards, so how about a Valentine's card? I used stamps from the Tradefish Designs set, Snack Time. I stamped my pretzel several times in soft suede ink (SU) onto my card base for the background. I also stamped my sentiment in soft suede ink and matted it with a strip of soft suede cardstock. I layered some felt hearts, and added a baker's twine bow!
You can see this fab stamp set below:

This set is on sale for $7.50 along with lots of other great sets! Go check out the TFD site for more fun stamp sets on sale today!

Emily

Jingle....

2011-11-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card in honor of my sweet friend, Tenia! She is the featured stamper over on SCS today. I chose THIS card in her gallery to be inspired by. I really loved the layout of this card. I centered my vertical banner, changed the colors and papers, but kept the general layout of her card. I used some DP from Simple Stories 25 Days Of Christmas collection. I used the Sugared embossing folder from Sizzix. I then sponged distress inks over the raised pattern. I added some green burlap twine from May Arts and a rusty jingle bell.

Are you all ready for the holidays? I don't have to do anything for Thanksgiving. My mom always puts on a wonderful Thanksgiving spread every year. I show up with my side dish and enjoy the day. So nice when you have kids to not have to worry about a big shin dig for lots of people. As far as Christmas...totally not ready! My kids haven't really given me a lot of ideas this year. Usually, I am almost done with shopping by now! I am going to start my decorating tomorrow! LOVE decorating the house for Christmas. I usually clean each room really good and then put out the decorations for each room. Tomorrow, I will start with my dining room. My dining room is shabby chic in decor and so is the tree. Fun, frilly and girly! I am going to make some new vintage ornaments for the tree this year. Will try to post some photos this week of my holiday decor!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Circle of Snowflakes...

2011-11-19T12:29:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using my snowflakes embossing folder. I used silver ink to rub across the raised snowflakes and added some rhinestones to the centers of some of the snowflakes. The circle is Pacific Point and so is the ink used to stamp my sentiment. The sentiment is from The Stamps Of Life set, Christmas2build. I added some silver cording to finish it off.

It has a been a crazy, busy week of kids activities every night. We have a family birthday and friend birthday this weekend still to go! I am ready to put my jammies on and curl up on the couch and watch football. Sometimes the simplest of things are oh, so comforting!

My boys birthdays are not until spring, but at what age do you stop having big, huge birthday extravaganzas? Just curious, as to what you all do. Obviously, I still have quite a few years for the twins, but not sure about Will. He will be eleven. I can't even remember when I stopped having big birthday parties as a child. I guess I should keep having them until he says no, right?

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

What's Up?

2011-11-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

What's Up? Today I have a card using a new set from The Stamps Of Life called morepenguins2love. This sets coordinates beautifully with the penguins4Christmas set. I used some Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride patterned papers for this card. I love the arrows pointing up on the paper to go along with the sentiment. I stamped my penguin guy in black and then pieced his beak and feet with bits of the orange DP I used. I created a "sign" for him to hold with the sentiment with some more coordinating DP. Of course, I had to add a baker's twine "loopy" bow.

I have had several folks email me about how I make my baker's twine loopy bows and I plan on doing a photo tutorial soon! It is really very easy. Can't wait to show you. I may attempt a video tutorial, but I don't know if I am that savvy yet! LOL! I may need a little help from my techie friends on that one.

I had another boy home sick yesterday with the stomach crud! YUCK! I am hoping everyone is well for turkey day next week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Happy Blessings

2011-11-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello! Today I have a card using Got Leaves set from Tradefish Designs. I colored and cut out the two pumpkins from this set. I used some My Mind's Eye Blackbird DP along with some text pages from an old book. I inked the edges of everything with walnut stain and antique linen distress inks. The sentiment is stamped with walnut stain ink. I love that you can miss and match the sentiments in this set. You can see the entire set below:

Thanks for stopping by today! Off to mail off some Thanksgiving cards to family and friends.

Emily

Hop on over to my pad!

2011-11-14T11:42:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! Today I am sharing a card I made with The Stamps Of Life set, sayings4froggy. This set is a smaller set that works perfectly with the set froggy2love. The lily and pad are from the frogy2love set and the sentiment is from the sayings4froggy set.
I stamped the lily in black onto patterned paper from Crate Paper's Random collection. The lily pad is stamped in certainly celery and cut out. I used foam dots to pop the lily up over the lily pad.

I plan on hosting a stamping party at my house soon for some girlfriends. I plan on sending out these invites with the time and date stamped and written on the inside. I used to host many classes at my house and kind of miss getting together with those ladies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

FWF-JOY...

2011-11-11T07:46:00.000-05:00

Hello! Happy Friday, everyone. Today I have a card for Friends With Flair using the ippity set, Gingham Christmas Greetings. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this set. I added a green, felt snowflake and some red, burlap twine to finish off the card.
I buy my ippity from the fabulous Noelle. She has the best deals, free shipping and free twine with every order. You gotta love that!
I am hoping to get some crafty time in this afternoon. I have had a couple of sick boys home with stomach viruses, so not a lot of stamping in my house this past week! I am off to disinfect bathrooms, kitchen and tidy the house. Fun stuff...

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

The Stamps Of Life and The Twinery Blog Hop!

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for some fun?

The {Stamps} of Life and The Twinery Design Teams are playing together for this hop!

About The Twinery:

Our twine is made from 100% cotton, it’s eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you’re gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, our baker’s twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! Our baker’s twine comes in 14 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! Our twine has lots of color which lends to a fun, candy-striped look. For creative ideas & more…visit OUR BLOG!

About The {Stamps} of Life:

We feature high quality, made in the USA, clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. Feel free to browse our gallery with more than 2500 samples using our stamps, watch our free how-to videos and join our club!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 2 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs:

One winner will win 2 stamp sets (winners choice) valued at $12.95 -total retail value: $26.90 per prize! from The {Stamps} of Life.

One winner will win the Ultimate Color Sampler Pack ($25 value!) from The Twinery!!!

The prize winners will be announced on The {Stamps}of Life and The Twinery Blogs on Wednesday November 16th.

I used two different sets from TSOL for my card. The stocking is from the Christmas2build set and the sentiment is from the Penguins4Christmas set. I stamped my stocking on white cardstock and then cut it out. I applied a moderate coating of Tombow multi all over the stocking and let it dry for about 30 minutes. I then used some red and green baker's twine to fill in the parts of the stocking. I like how the twine gives it a "knit" kind of look! I hung my stocking from some more baker's twine and added a couple bows on the end.

Your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Emily Leiphart. If you get lost along the way, check out the entire list of blogs below.

The hop list:
The Twinery Blog
The {Stamps}of Life Blog
Jeanne Streiff
Julie Ranae
Deb Felts
Monique Hansen
Vicki Garrett
Monika Wright
Emily Niehaus
Emily Leiphart
Beverly Sizemore

Kim Pargeter
Joana Studer
Katrina Hunt
Laura Williams
Jen Carter
Kim Howard
Jenny Suchin
Sheri Twing

Tradefish Designs-Out of This World!

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! I pulled out my Tradefish Designs Out of This World set and paired it up with some October Afternoon Rocket Age DP. I stamped the planet image on patterned paper and then used a copic to color in the ring. I stamped my sentiment on cardstock and then cut out each word. I used a brown marker to create the faux stitching and used some baker's twine from The Twinery for my loopy bow.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

RIBBIT!

2011-11-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hello! Today I have a couple of cards I made using the new froggy2love set from The Stamps Of Life. I used patterned paper from Crate Paper's Random collection. The frog is paper pieced and I used a beaded circle nestie to frame my frog. I love the little fly you can stamp with the frog! Too cute!

On the card above, I used some Copic markers to color the frog. Patterned papers are same as above. I added a loopy bow made with baker's twine from The Twinery and a paper rose from Prima. The word bubble is from the TSOL talk2me set.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

Little Pro Super Bowl WINNERS!

2011-11-05T18:40:00.000-04:00

WHOOT! WHOOT! My oldest won his 5th grade super bowl game! It was a beautiful day for football, and the boys were so excited after being runner up in the super bowl the past 2 years. GO RAMS!

Love You To The Moon and Back....

2011-11-04T16:56:00.000-04:00

Hi, there! Today I have a cute little treat box to share with you. This was for the Free 4 All challenge over on SCS. You can find the instructions and a lot more examples HERE. I am going to stuff some money into this for my oldest son. I just went to his first Middle School conference, and his teachers had nothing but good things to say. He also has all A's and B's, so I am one proud mama. I was worried about middle school being a big adjustment for him, with his ADHD. He has been so busy with football and his First Lego League, and still managed to get wonderful grades. I am beyond happy!

Onto the treat box....I used stamps from Tradefish Designs set, Out of This World. It goes perfectly with October Afternoon's Rocket Age collection. The moon is paper pieced and the UFO on the inside is stamped on patterned paper and also colored with some copic markers. I added a little velcro for the closure. These are so easy to make, and all you need is a 6x6 piece of patterned paper and a scoring tool! You will find what the box looks like opened below:

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Have a "Hoppy" Good Day!

2011-11-03T08:49:00.001-04:00

Hello! Today I am sharing a card I made with the new release from The Stamps Of Life, froggy2love set. I decided to make a OLC. I stamped the frog in Spearmint ink and the flies and sentiment in Licorice ink. I love Stephanie's new inks. They are super juicy, and stamp a fabulous impression every time. I colored in the centers of the frog's eyes with a black pen, and created the border with a black pen. You will be seeing more of this set in the week's to come!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Emily

Birthday Butterfly....

2011-11-02T13:08:00.001-04:00

Hi, there! I played along in the sketch challenge over on SCS today. If you would like to play along click HERE. It will take you to the sketch and thread. For this card I used my My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two-Sunshine DP. Love the yellows, blues, and browns in this one. The butterfly is from ippity's Thankful for You set. I stamped it in brown on some aqua, polka dot DP. I distressed all of the edges of my paper with distress inks in Walnut Stain and Antique Linen. I popped the butterfly image with foam dots and added a baker's twine loopy bow.

I am trying to get caught up on some household chores that have gone by the wayside the past week. I feel like my mojo is in the toilet. Sigh...difficult week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Go Fish Challenge #4-A Sketch!

2011-11-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today I am sharing a card I made for the Go Fish challenge. I just love the sketch and will definitely be using it again. I pulled out my Sentiments Of The Season set from Tradefish Designs. I love this set! I decided to use some of my Authentique Christmas paper. Love that stuff, too. I was able to find the perfect sentiment for that vintage Santa image. The kraft strip was run through my CB with the swiss dots folder, and I tied some baker's twine around it and made a loopy bow. I used distress inks on the edges of all of the papers.

Hope you can play along in the challenge!

Emily

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! Here is a card I made using the Thanks2fall set from The Stamps Of Life. I also used some papers from echo park's, Happy Halloween collection and some baker's twine from The Twinery.

Busy, busy day with Halloween school parties and then Trick Or Treat tonight. I always hate when Halloween falls on a school night (especially Monday). I feel oh, so sorry for the teachers at school the next day! LOL! Here are some photos of the boys and my hubs from pumpkin carving on Friday night. I also have a photo of my boys and my nieces from a Halloween party at Nana's house.

Hope you have a great evening!

Emily

Mischievious, Little Pumpkins....

2011-10-30T10:27:00.002-04:00

Hello! Can I just start out by saying, "GO BUCKS!" They beat Wisconsin in a barn burner of a game last night. I was squealing and jumping off the couch with excitement! HOORAY!
Okay...now to my card. I cased Michelle's layout on her card HERE. I pulled out my Little Trick Or Treat stamps from Unity for this one and my My Mind's Eye Mischievous patterned papers. I love the blacks, orange, and blues. Very vintage and fun! I paper pieced the pumpkins and the little square "trick or treat" sign. I distressed the edges of my DP and used distress inks around the edges. I created a loopy, burlap, twine bow and added some blue scallops to the upper and bottom panels to pull the blue in from the background DP and the little blue sign. I just love Halloween! I have already sent out my cards, so this one may have to go into my card vault until next year!

Hope you weekend was wonderful! Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

FWF-All Things Are Possible...

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I am soooooo ready for the weekend. It has been one heck of a week! Today's card uses the sentiment from the ippity set, All Things Are Possible. I bought mine from Noelle. She ships super fast, for FREE and gives you twine with every order. Can't beat that deal.
I layered some scrunched up, texty, scallop circles after inking them with pink ink. I added some glossy accents to the center and sprinkled on some pink glitter. The leaves are also cut from text and sponged with green inks. The strip of DP is from Memory Box Pixie collection. I added some bling around the verse. I created the flourish with glossy accents and sprinkled that with pink glitter, too.
I have been having fun with my glitter. I have oodles but never really use it because of the mess, but I decided what the heck...mess or no mess, I want to do something fun and different!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-From The Bottom of My Heart

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello, there! Today I have a post that was supposed to post yesterday, but I scheduled it for the wrong time. This set was made with a sentiment from Tradefish Designs set, Attitude of Gratitude. So many wonderful sentiments in this set. I love the different fonts, too. I ran the red horizontal strip through my Cuttlebug with the swiss dots embossing folder. The die cut is from PTI. I added a little rhinestone to the center of each heart and stamped my sentiment in black. You can see the set in it's entirety below:

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Emily

Thanksgiving Pumpkins and a sketch....

2011-10-26T00:45:00.000-04:00

Hello! I made the card above for the sketch challenge over on SCS HERE. I used a set from Kitchen Sink Stamps called Turkey Trot. This set is so much fun to layer all of the images. I love the look you get. I decided to emboss the green panel with a Sizzix folder that mimics the vine swirls behind my pumpkins. You can see the sketch below:

Hope you can play along with the sketch over on SCS!
Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Eye of Newt, Toe of Frog....

2011-10-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today I have a Halloween card for you. I wasn't going to make anymore, but I decided I needed a few more for goodie bags for the neighbors. I used a sketch from the CAS challenge over on SCS. You can find the deets HERE. The strips of paper are from echo park's Halloween collection from last year. The die cut is K&Company. I stamped the sentiment(The Stamps Of Life) in black. It is from the solids4Halloween collection. I used orange and green copic markers to add a couple strokes of color under the sentiment. I added some rhinestone "bubbles" over the cauldron.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Get Well Penguin....

2011-10-22T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi! Today I am sharing a card I made for my cousin's little boy. He recently spent a week or so at Children's Hospital for osteomyelitis of his arm (nasty infection of the bone). He is at home now, but will receive several weeks of IV antibiotic infusions. He loves penguins, so I thought this might cheer him up. I used the sets search4words and penguins4Christmas from The Stamps Of Life. I just highlighted the "how are you" with the same copic marker I used to color his beak and feet. I love that word search background and the fact that there are so many sentiments hidden in there for all occasions.

My boys football playoffs start today, so we will be traveling back and forth to games. My oldest son's team is super good and have a great chance to win it all. Luke (age 5) is glad the season is coming to an end. LOL! He has decided that he would rather watch football on TV, and not be part of the game. We made him tough it out since it is his first team sport, but man...it has been a battle! Quote: "Mommy, I would really love football if those guys just would quit knocking me down". Yeah. It hasn't been pretty!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Emily

FWF-A Christmas goodie bag and tag....

2011-10-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hi there! Happy Friday. Last night, it was a cold, rainy, blustery kind of fall night, so I busted out some of my ippity stamps and came up with the goodie bag and matching tag above. I love to have lots of little things like this ready to go for the holidays. It is perfect for adding a small gift or some homemade cookies and candies.

I know I have shown my little goodie bags before, but for those who may be new, I just used an oval punch to punch a handle into the paper sack. Easy peasy!!! I stamped the large and small snowflake from Gingham Christmas Greetings in Fired Brick distress ink onto the front and back of the paper sack. I used the same snowflakes and the emboss resist technique on my tag. After the clear embossing cooled, I sponged some Antique Linen distress ink over the entire tag. The edges are inked with Walnut Stain ink for contrast. I used two of the little pennants from The Best set, and on the smaller pennant added some clear Tiny Type Cosmo letters. The felt star and the vintage button are from my stash and I used some glossy accents to draw my flourish and added some copper micro glitter from PK Glitz. I hung my tag with some seam binding and a burlap string bow.

If you are loving the ippity I used on this project, you can buy some from my friend Noelle. She has great prices, free shipping and free twine with every order!!!!!

edit: I buy these mini lunch bags at Hobby Lobby. They come 10 to a pack and are found in the aisle with all of the envelopes, tags, ATC's and what nots. HTH!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Holiday Mix

2011-10-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi, there! I have another wreath card for you. Today's card uses stamps from Tradefish Designs set, Holiday Mix. I heat embossed the wreath image and then colored it with copics. I stamped the sentiment in black and added a baker's twine bow toward the bottom. Not sure what my base is, but I think it is Garden Green cardstock from Stampin Up.

Make sure you check out the sale going on at Tradefish!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Lots of Wreaths....

2011-10-16T10:12:00.001-04:00

Hello! I have several cards with wreaths for your viewing pleasure today. All of them a bit different. The above card uses the wreath and a sentiment from The Stamps Of Life set, Wreath4me. I stamped the wreath and sentiment in black and colored it with copics. I added a bit of read border on the bottom to anchor it.

This next card uses stamps from the Wreath4me set, too. I went with more of a vintage look on this card. It looks much better IRL! I colored the wreath with dye inks and a blender pen. I carefully coated it with Rock Candy Crackle paint. After it dried, I sponged distress inks over the entire thing so that they got down into the crackled parts. It really makes it look like it has been sitting in a box in an attic for the past 70 years! I added some green burlap string to finish it off.

This next card uses a sentiment from penguins4Christmas and the large spiros from spiros2stamp. I simply added red rhinestones in various sizes for the berries and a bow on top. More of a modern looking wreath, with classic Christmas colors.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

Labels in Pink...

2011-10-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Today I have a card using the stamps4fancylabels set from The Stamps Of Life. This stamps cooridnates with the Sizzix Fancy Label dies created by Stephanie. I didn't use the dies on this set, but simply stamped one of the fancy label frames twice in Bubble Gum pink and then once in the center in Guava. I stamped the starburst design in the center in Licorice ink and added a black half pearl to the center. The sentiment is from the garden4daisies set. There are lots of cool sentiments that fit in the labels. You will see some of those in action in the days to come!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Frosty Wishes

2011-10-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today I wanted to share a card I made with a new set from Tradefish Designs called, Frosty Wishes. I stamped, colored and cut out the snowman and layered an embossed piece of white paper over for the "snow". I stamped a sentiment and punched out with a circle punch. I also stamped a snowflake from this set in the background. The patterned paper is from Authentique. You can view this fab set below:

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Apple Cheddar Soup...

2011-10-10T13:14:00.001-04:00

Hi, there! Today I have a card for the CAS challenge over on SCS. It is based on the inspiration photo below. I used a sentiment from Unity's Apple Cheddar Soup collection for this one. I LOVE Unity. LOVE. With that being said, don't flame me for what I am about to say. I fell head over heels in love with the sentiments and images in this set. That is why I had to make it mine! But...I must say that I have a hard time using this set, because all of the images and sentiments are super tiny. Maybe just because I am used to the larger images Unity has, that I have a hard time with this one. The sentiment I used above is probably one of the larger fonts in the set. My card is 4x4, so that kinda gives you an idea of how little they are.

Anyway, I still crack up every time I read the sentiments. Especially the doctor one-"An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor is cute-forget the fruit!" LOVE that-just wish it was BIGGER.

Ok...that's my card and review for the day. For the next four days I will have post for the Mark's Finest Papers October release and blog hop. Hope you can hop along with us for a chance at some free stamp sets!

Emily

FWF-Birthday Quilt

2011-10-06T23:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! Happy Friday. I decided to create a little paper quilt with some of my Stella & Rose scraps from My Mind's Eye. After laying them all out and adhering them to my cardstock base, I paper pierced around every single square. I then used an archival pen to make a faux zig-zag stitch around the squares. I used several distress inks to ink up the edges of all of the papers. I used a nestie to die cut the frame and the sentiment is from Unity. I made a rolled paper rose and punched some leaves from other scraps of paper in this collection. I pleated some eyelet lace on the bottom and tied some pink, burlap string around it and made a loopy bow. An antique stick pin seemed to be the perfect embellishment to finish it off.

The clothes pins at the top actually hold on some thick butcher's twine to hang this from something. I plan on hanging it in my formal dining room on my antique pot cubbard.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily

Tradefish Designs-Holiday Mix

2011-10-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today's card showcase the new set, Holiday Mix from Tradefish Designs. I have been pulling out my embossing powders lately. I can't remember the last time I heat embossed, but it is fun to revisit techniques that have been hidden away in a storage bin for awhile. I decided to emboss the ornaments and the sentiment in gold. I then filled in parts of the ornaments with red copic markers. I really like the clean lines of this card. This set is definitely going to be one of my favorite's for Christmas, so you will be seeing more cards with it! You can see the whole set below:

This set sells for $10.00, but remember-big sale at Tradefish this week!

10% discount on entire order during release week “NEWRELEASE10”

Free shipping on purchase of 2 or more stamp sets “2STAMPSETS"

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life October Release-Penguins4Christmas

2011-10-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Today I am sharing two cards I made with the new release from The Stamps Of Life, penguins4Christmas. So many cute images in this set and I love the font for the sentiments! The first card I simply colored in parts of my penguin and the present and cut him out and stuck him on the white horizontal strip after stamping my sentiment. I ran the green panel through my Cuttlebug and added a baker's twine bow to the corner.
On the second card I created a snowy backdrop for my penguin. I added the Santa hat and candy cane to jazz him up a bit. I also put some glitter on my snow mounds and on the Santa hat.

I also have been having lots of fun using Stephanie's new ink pads. The colors are so bold. The stamp pads are super juicy, so no need to press hard, but they dry super quick. The pad itself is raised, which I like so that you can drag it across the edges of your paper if needed for distressing.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Tradefish Designs October Blog Hop

2011-10-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Tradefish Designs October blog hop. There are four, new, fabulous sets this month. Today I made a card using the set, Attitude of Gratitude. I LOVE a good sentiment set, and this one is full of wonderful stamps to thank those important people in our lives. On my card above, I used patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket's Odds & Ends collection. I was in the mood for vintage and shabby, so I coffee stained a coffee filter, and created some fringe for the bottom of my card and then die cut a doily shape to put behind my framed sentiment. The sentiment is stamped on a small journal block from this Cosmo Cricket collection. I added some cream, burlap string and a vintage button to finish it off.

You can check out this stamp set below:

For a chance to win a TFD Stamp of your choice, you must be a follower of TFD and leave a comment on each DT Blog. BTW you also get bonus entry points by liking us on Facebook. Winners will be announced on October 10.

TFD is also offering a 10 % discount on your entire order or free shipping on any purchase of 2 or more stamp sets from October 3^th through October 9^th.

10% discount on entire order during release week “NEWRELEASE10”

Free shipping on purchase of 2 or more stamp sets “2STAMPSETS”

Next up is Amy. Go see what she has created for you. Just in case you get lost here is the line-up.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the hop and good luck,

Emily

Go Fish Challenge #2!

2011-10-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you, but I would LOVE for that to be my driveway!!! Tradefish Designs newest challenge is to create a card based on the above inspiration photo. Below you will find the card I made based on the photo. I used the set, Got Leaves? for this one. I paper pieced the trees with patterned paper from Imaginesce Apple Cider collection. I love how you can make many different sentiments with the different words in this set. I love versatility!

You have until Friday, October 14th 12am est. to post your challenge entry. A winner will be selected and announced on Saturday, October 15th. The prize for this challenge is a free TradeFish Designs stamp set! Click HERE to go to the Go Fish! challenge blog.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you can play along with us!

Emily

FWF-Super Sweet!

2011-09-30T09:22:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Today is a great day not only because it is Friday, but also, it is my hubby's birthday. So glad he was born!!!
My card today uses stamps from an older store kit, called Super Sweet. These two stamps had not seen ink yet (gasp)! I paper pieced the lollipop with DP from echo park's Summer Days collection. I stamped the sentiment in licorice ink by Stephanie Barnard (my new fav black ink) and added some rhinestones underneath to tie it all together. Simple and sweet! I don't know why I haven't used that sentiment before because I say "that's super sweet" A LOT! LOL!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Emily

Scary cute...

2011-09-29T09:31:00.001-04:00

Hello! Today's card uses papers from Sassafras Lass's Monstrosity collection. I love the quirky little monsters and decided to pull this collection out for the sketch challenge on SCS. The monster in the scallop circle is actually a die-cut from this line of papers. I made a big loopy bow from some baker's twine to wrap around the bottom.

That is all for me today. I am going to try to run a bazillion errands today and try to sneak in a little nap later. I have not been sleeping well. Don't really know why, but it is catching up with me!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Tradefish Designs-'Tis The Season!

2011-09-28T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! It is hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner. I wanted to share with you today, a card using a new release from Tradefish Designs called Sentiments of The Season. I LOVE a good sentiment only set, and this one is a must have for the holidays! I used papers from echo park's Merry Christmas line, along with some papers from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found collection. I love making accordion flowers, but they are a bit bulky to mail. During the holidays, many times I hand a card and gift to someone, so I love to use bigger embellishments for Christmas!
When you use bigger, more elaborate embellishments on a card, it is nice to have the perfect sentiment to stamp with it. Sometimes that is all it needs! I used some green burlap string to tie an antiqued jingle bell on. You can get a closer look at this fab set below:

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

A Vintage Hello for the IC....

2011-09-24T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! Stephanie, the hostess extraordinaire of the Inspiration Challenge over on SCS, asked me to create a sample for this week's challenge. I was completely blown away by this week's site-Creative Comforts Daily Inspiration. Every day they pick a photo collage AND give you the colors underneath! Perfect to get those creative juices flowing. I have bookmarked this site and plan on visiting it often.
I recently picked up a 6x6 pad of My Mind's Eye Lost and Found for only $3.00! The colors were perfect for my inspiration photo. I made my rosette by sponging walnut stain ink on some white cardstock (a 1" x 8.5" strip). I scored every 1/2". I have found that a hot glue gun is the best to keep these things from coming apart. My bow is made from some cream burlap string and I added a vintage button from my stash to the center. The lacey border is actually a die cut from K&Company-their Handmade collection, I believe. I distressed the edges of my paper and used distress inks to ink everything up.

Thanks for stopping by. Make sure you check out this awesome site! You will be blown away by the inspiration. If you would like to play along with the IC challenge click HERE.

Treats For You!

2011-09-23T08:44:00.000-04:00

Hi, there! Today will be a great day to get some stamping done. Cold and rainy here! I am always looking at fun, quick and easy treat bag ideas. I also like to make tags, as opposed to cards sometimes. They are just cute, and little and take up less space! LOL!
All you need is a small, brown lunch bag. I used an oval punch to punch the handle. Decorate your tag anyway you like. I chose to do a brayered/sponged sky for this one. The stamps are from The Stamps Of Life set, solids4Halloween. So many super cute silhouette images in this set. I used some baker's twine from The Twinery to tie my tag to the bag handle. I think these will be perfect for classroom party treat bags. I also would like to try a regular size lunch sack and make treat bags to "Boo" our neighbors! Does anyone else do that in their neighborhood? Fun stuff. I will try to make one of the larger bags up and show you that version soon!

Thanks for stopping by. I cleaned out some of my kitchen cabinets yesterday. I am on a roll, baby!

Emily

More owls2love cards!

2011-09-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello! I wanted to share a few more cards made with the owls2love and moreowls2love stamp sets from The Stamps Of Life. Both of these sets coordinate beautifully together! And check it out...the branch on my second card is from the last month set, branches4flowers set!

What have I been up to besides card making? Cleaning closets! I know, I know...so much fun. I have so far, de-cluttered the toy room by removing broken and unloved toys while boys are at school. I also have removed three garbage bags of old clothes from my closet! I probably could get rid of a couple more, but hey...baby steps, right? Next stop-going through my boys closets and getting rid of those summer clothes that I know will not fit next year. Organization and redecorating are priorities for me right now too. Max and Luke are old enough that I can start decorating the way I used to, knowing that they will not conquer and destroy whatever it is I choose to put out! LOL! I am also ready for some change. It's fun to shake things up a bit with decor, don't you think? Definitely ready for some change...

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Tradefish Desings-Nuts About You

2011-09-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi! Today I want to share a card using a fab new set from Tradefish Designs called Got Leaves? I love all of the images and matching sentiments in this set. My favorite, has got to be the acorns and this sentiment. I remember collecting acorns when I was little and thinking that they looked like a little head with a hat on top. Me and my husband's old house had a HUGE oak tree in the front. One year we literally had acorns EVERYWHERE! The squirrels were sure happy, but I only wish they would have taken more for themselves! They were a real pain to try and pick up out of the yard, flower beds, and the gutters.

Okay...on to the card. I colored the acorns and oak leaves with copic markers and then cut them out. I had an idea for a circle card, so I just played with the placement and curve of the sentiment on my acrylic block until I got just right. I colored a rhinestone to match the acorns (copic marker). The strip of patterned paper was from my scrap bin. I have been trying to use up some of my old supplies (including scraps). I sponged distress ink around the edge of the inner circle and the scallop front and back is cut with my nesties.

Here is a closer look at this fab set:

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you check out Tradefish Designs new challenge blog HERE. We would love to have you participate!

Emily

Pumpkin and Turquoise flowers...

2011-09-20T11:58:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I made a quick little OLC today for the color challenge on SCS-pumpkin, olive and turquoise. I pulled out my branches4flowers set from The Stamps Of Life. I made a very similiar card a month ago in just green and blue with a different sentiment. This literally took minutes to make. The hardest part was adhering the rhinestones to the flower centers! I am going to try to get out all of my fall decorations today so the house is decorated when boys get home from school. I LOVE fall! I have lots of ideas brewing in my head but not enough time to do them in. LOL!

Have a great day,

Emily

Garden Silhouette Sympathy

2011-09-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Today I am sharing a card I made using the old chalkboard technique. I hadn't done that technique since my days of being a SU demo, so I thought it fitting to pull out some of my old SU stamps. Garden Silhouettes is probably one of my all time favorites. I stamped the floral image in white on night of navy cardstock and then sponged more mustard chalk over that. I pulled out some of my My Mind's Eye "Hattie" DP and added some twine and a button. The sentiment is actually from The Stamps Of Life set, branches4flowers.
What is your favorite "older" technique? I think it is fun to revisit techniques of the past and put a modern or trendy spin on them. I would love to hear your favorites!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Spiros in Blue!

2011-09-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! Today's card features stamps from the spiros2stamp set from The Stamps Of Life. Do you remember those little spirograph machines when we were younger? I know my sisters and I sure got a kick out of creating beautiful shapes in different colors when we were little. I think they also take on a doily look in white, or snowflakes-as I was going for this look on my card! I know several people with December birthdays so I wanted it to have an icy, snowy look to it.
First, I stamped my large spiros in Versamark ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. To create the background I brayered and sponged several different blues. The smaller spiros, are stamped in Pacific Point and then I just stamped them without reinking to get the lighter color. The sentiment is stamped in Licorice (black). I am LOVING Stephanie's new ink pads. They are super juicy and stamp like a dream. They also dry quickly, too. You will definitely see me using these more!
I finished the card off with a MS punch border and some denim twine from The Twinery. I love my twine!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Emily