Quickie CAS Cards-The DOLLAR spot!

stamped sentiments are from The Stamps Of Life sets-Thanks2you and Youare2kind

Hello!  I told you I would be back with more CAS card tips!  I would like to say a word about "dollar spots".  I know it is easy to get sucked into dollar items, and buy a bunch of stuff you don't need.  Been there, done that!  I have become a much more savvy shopper when it comes to my paper crafts!  My favorite dollar spot is Michael's.  I no longer buy all of the little clear stamps that don't stamp worth a darn (although they have some really cute rubber stamps that stamp great).  I usually look for rhinestone embellishments and die cut stickers.  They have quite a selection and seem to change it often.

Just last month I found these pear and apple die cuts.  I bought two packs and knew they would make for some fabulous CAS cards.  I only photographed 3 of the 6 I made.  I used cardstock that I already had in my stash, so these cards were SUPER CHEAP to make and FAST.  I whipped these babies out in 5 minutes, no lie!  I added some stamped sentiments to the bottoms of a few,  and had quite a variety to send out or give as a set for a gift. 

Next time you are scoping out the dollar bins, look for some WOW type die cut stickers that you can quickly make some CAS cards with!

Have a great day!

Emily

New UNITY at Paper Maniac and Re-Stocks!

Scroll down for my Hippity Hop post!

Paper Maniac has LOTS of new product in stock, including UNITY!  Re-stock of itty bitty's and Suzi Blu!  They also have some fabby new Melody Ross that I MUST HAVE!

All Melody Ross kits are $19.00 and Suzi Blue are $9.49!  Check them out before they are gone!

H{ippity} Hop-Welcome to the neighborhood...

Hello H{ippity} Hoppers!  Today I made a card with the set, House & Home.  I am very excited that we will be getting new neighbors on September 15!!!  I won't go into details, but let's just say I am VERY HAPPY that the old neighbors are moving out!!!
We actually know the family who is moving in (one of our babysitters-HOORAY!) and they will be a PERFECT fit for our friendly neighborhood!  I plan on making lasagna, salad, homemade bread and a dessert the night they move in and taking it over to them.  This little card will accompany it!
Here's to GREAT neighbors and GREAT stamps!  If you would like to add a little ippity to your collection, check out my ippity sales page HERE.  Free shipping!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Snowy trees...

Hi there!  Today I have one more card using The Stamps Of Life, trees2build set.  I am a sucker for tree stamps, so this set is a perfect addition to my collection!  I like that you can use these trees for any season.  I know several people (including me!) with December birthdays, so I made a couple of these cards.  The inside says, "it's your birthday!" 
Make sure you check out all of the wonderful benefits of being a club member with TSOL!  First and foremost, you get a fabulous stamp set mailed out the first of every month for only $11.95 and that includes the shipping!!!!!  You also get lots of freebies from Stephanie, along with great discounts on all of the other fab stamps that TSOL has to offer!

Thanks for stopping in!

Emily

EIC103-Go Bananas with Your Next Stamp!

Hello!  It's Saturday so that means it is time for another Etsy Inspired Challenge!  This week the shop for your inspiration is The Caged Fairy.  They have some really cool vintage looking and eclectic jewelry pieces to spark your imagination!  I was inspired by the monkey necklace and earrings below.

I used some stamps from our wonderful sponsor this week, Your Next Stamp!  They have some really cute stamps in their shop.  Being the mother of 3 boys, I had to have that monkey set!  Somedays I feel like I live in a zoo and am going bananas! 
As always, make sure you link your project on the EIC blog HERE.  Ashley will pick 3 random winners next Friday from the links.  One person will win any piece of jewelry of their choice from The Caged Fairy etsy shop.  Another winner will win the Happy Halloween Fhiona set, and yet another winner will win the Skateboard Dude set.

That is THREE chances at a prize this week so go get busy and have fun!

Emily

HUGE sales at PAPER MANIAC!

Scroll down for my FWF post!



If you haven't already, check out the clearance section at Paper Maniac!  every day the percentage off increases!  A lot of these items were already discounted so you are getting a pretty steep discont.  All to make room for the fabulous new releases moving into the store daily!

Don't miss out!  Lots of great papers on sale from Echo Park, Jillibean Soup, Basic Grey, Making Memories and so many more!

FWF-An oldie but goodie set!

Hello friends!  Today's card uses an oldie but goodie set from Unity!  I think this was part of my second big order once I had discovered Unity stamps!  gratitude=joy.  A beautiful botanical set that I always love to layer the images!  I used my scor-pal to score the background lines.   I actually made this for last week's color challenge on SCS, but never put on my blog!!!  I guess that's a good thing that I am creating so much lately, I am forgetting to post some of my projects! LOL!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!   Ours will be filled with football games!  Have I ever mentioned that I  LOVE football?  I do!  LOVE it!  I tease my hubby and tell him that's the only reason he ever married me! LOL!

Emily

celebrate today!

I finally inked up a stamp set I bought from Crescendoh a while back.  I just love paper piecing these vintage little dresses.  Too much fun!  You need to check out the yummy goodies in the Crescendoh shop.  Very different quirky kind of stamps and art kits.
My card base is Baja Breeze.  I paper pieced the dress with some DP from The Little Yellow Bicycle Laundry Line collection.  I used my baja breeze reinker and a spray bottle to make my hand dyed seam binding (so much fun to make!).  I added a pearl accent to the center of the bow and the dress sash.  The sentiment is from PTI's Mixed Messages set. 

I am so happy you stopped by!

Emily

Happy Fall from Paper Maniac!

Stamps:  Imaginisce Snag 'Em Apple Cider

Paper:  Imaginisce Apple Cider; Neenah Solar White CS; kiwi kiss (SU)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:  May Arts brown burlap string, Copic markers; Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type in brown; vintage button from my stash

This is the final week of summer sales at Paper Maniac and we are going out with a big bang!  Everything in the clearance section is already discounted but each day this week, they will be discounted more, and more, and more...You get the idea!  You can take a gamble and see if what you want will still be there when the 40% hits, or you can grab what you want now!  Once it is gone, it is gone forever!  Paper Maniac is making room for all of those new release goodies!

The theme this week is "Back To School".  My boys do not go back to school for 2 more weeks!  I am ready and so are they!  We have had a wonderful summer, but it is time.  Back to school to me means fall is coming soon!  My favorite season!  I just love the new Apple Cider line by imaginisce.  Too CA-UUUTE!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life

Here is another card I made with The Stamps Of Life Sweet4baby set!  I layered a piece of kraft CS that I ran through my swiss dot CB folder and then inked it with brown ink to make it look old.  I also rubbed my brown ink across the white eyelet border panel and my ruffled ribbon.  I sewed my buttons onto the ribbon and also inked the thread to make it look old too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

H{ippity} Hop-Little White Flower...

Hi there!  Happy H{ippity} Hop!  Today I have a card that I made for the CAS challenge over on SCS.  The challenge was to use the colors turquoise, white and kraft.  I used some Echo Park DP and just cut out around the circles to make scallops.  I stamped the flowers from YOU Deserve set and cut out the larger of the two.  I stamped my sentiment from the Bitty Pixie Paisley set and then added some Kaiser pearls.  Very CAS, but I am happy with the way it turned out!

I am still offering FREE shipping on all of my ippity! Click HERE for my ippity page!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

EIC102-Birds and trees

Hello!  This week's Etsy shop for your inspiration is Global Child Collection.  They have some fabulous prints for you inspiration this week.  I used stamps from The Stamps Of Life August club set, Trees2build.  I was inspired by the prints below.

If you would like to participate in the challenge, make sure you link your creation to the EIC blog HERE.  Our sponsor this week is Digi Doodle Shop.  As always, we have prizes!  One lucky winner will win an 8x10 print of their choice from Global Child Collection and another person will win a $10.00 gift certificate to the Digi Doodle Shop.

I hope you are inspired to make something fabulous!

Emily

FWF- A little ippity love!

Happy Friday!  HOORAY!  Today I have a card made with some ippity goodness.  I used stamps from the set, A Moment In Time.  I used a masking technique to stack my rectangles on the side in different colors.  I made this for one of the ippity new release challenges last week.

If you would like to add any ippity stamps to you collection you can check out my ippity sales page HERE.  I am offering FREE SHIPPING in the US!  I also offer reasonable prices on my sets.  Please email me at emmielouwhostamps@yahoo.com if you are interested!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

{ippity} new release reminder!

Hey there!  Just wanted to give a shout out about the new {ippity} release!  TONS of fabulous stamps!  I am still offering FREE SHIPPING on any and all orders in the US! 

I am selling the ENTIRE new release for $125 and my single set prices are competitive and reasonable!

Make sure you check out the new ippity stamps HERE on my ippity page.  If you would like to purchase anything make sure you email me at emmielouwhostamps@yahoo.com!

Sea glass Inspired card!

Hello!  Having trouble sleeping, so I decided to give the EAD Designs color challenge a try!  This color challenge had me stumped, but I really wanted to use these colors.  I decided to use some elements from one of my Caffinated Cropper kits.  I pulled out some of the Pink Paislee glitter alphas, and the little flourish squiggles are EAD vinyl rub ons from the same kit-The beez kneez.  I think it is sold out, but her kits are fab, as are EAD vinyl rub ons!  LOVE em!  I have one in my family room, and Emily custom made some for my little boys room to match their bed spreads!  Here is my card:

It's kind of crazy and bright, but I like how it turned out!  I added some bling to the black vinyl rub-ons and the ribbon is from Mark's Finest Papers.  The stamp up in the corner is from Scrollworks, and I honestly don't remember what it is called.  It looked kind of fishing nettish (this is so NOT a word), so I slapped it on!
LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

EMILY

Tim Holtz Fragment Frame!

 Paper:  Memory Box-Gliteratti

Accessories:  Tim Holtz Fragments, Glossy Accents, Snow Cap paint dauber, unfinished wood frame

 Hello!  This week the theme at Paper Maniac is "shapes".  I figured a lot of people would be showcasing Nestabilities, so I wanted to show you what you could do with Tim Holtz Fragments.  I bought an unfinished wood frame at a craft store and painted it with my snow cap paint dauber.  When dry, it gives it a nice white wash look.  I decided to use different papers from Memory Box's Gliteratti collection.  I wanted to make a frame that was bright and funky for a teenage girl.  Applying your paper to the fragments is easy to do with Glossy Accents.  Tim Holtz has a tutorial on it found HERE.  I just randomly placed my finished fragments all over the frame.  I adhered them with Tombow adhesive glue. 

Make sure you check out all of the sale items in the store and also all of the brand new product coming in!  TONS of great stuff!

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!

Emily

TSOLDT16-The Stamps Of Life Challenge-RED!

Hello!  Time for another TSOL challenge.  For this challenge we were to focus on the color RED.  I just love this newly released stamp set.  That dog is the cutest, and a tribute to Stephanie's dog Cookie. I also love the the other birthday images that come with this adorable set!  Make sure you take a peek at what the rest of the DT did for this challenge below!

Stephanie Barnard
Beverly Sizemore
Jeanne Streiff
Joana Studer
Tami Mayberry

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Quickie CAS Cards-A word on embellishments and borders!

Hello!  I have had several people ask me about making CAS (Clean And Simple) cards, so I am going to try to talk about it once a week and give you some tips.  I would say that my style is mostly CAS, but I do still like to make cards with lots of layers, texture, and patterns too.

CAS is very subjective.  You CAN make a CAS card with embellishments, it just can't be busy.  My card above is an example.  I used several rhinestones on this card, but the overall style is clean and uncluttered, so it still fits into a CAS category.

I know I have talked about pre-packaged die cut borders before, but I will give them a holler out again!  THEY ARE FABULOUS to have on hand for your CAS cards.  They are also great for making LOTS of the same card when you are pressed for time.

A couple of my favorites:

Doodlebug Desgins Paper Frills-I buy them in Lily White so that I can color them with my markers and make them whatever color I want.  You get lots of different styles in one package.  I buy mine at Hobby Lobby for $3.99 a package.

K&Co.-They are have TONS of beautiful self adhesive packaged borders!  LOVE them!  I buy mine at JoAnn's because they seem to have the biggest selection.  I always wait until they are 40% off, but they usually retail for $3.99 a package.  They are also great for 12 x 12 scrapbook pages.

Sassafrass Lass Flag Banners- LOVE these.  These are also self adhesive die cuts.  I love the beautiful colors and patterns.  I have several sheets on hand, and they are also great for scrapbook pages along with your cards.  I buy mine at Paper Maniac for only $2.39 a sheet!

I hope this answers some questions for you!  If you have any other questions about CAS cards, or want me to show you something in a blog post, let me know!  emmielouwhostamps@yahoo.com

Trees2build-The Stamps Of Life!

Hello!

Here is a quick little CAS card I made with the August club set from The Stamps Of Life.  I added some burlap string and rhinestones to jazz it up a bit.  Remember...it is easy to become a club member at TSOL, and affordable too!  When you are a monthly club member, you get a set delivered to you every month for 11.95 and that includes the shipping!  As a member, you will be able to purchase past club sets and all of the other monthly sets for a discount!

SHIPPING IS ONLY $1 PER SET!

You can't beat the prices or the quality!

Hope you give the club a try!  You will be glad you did!

EIC101-Cherry Up!

Hello!  Welcome to another Etsy Inspired Challenge!  This week our shop is Lover Dovers with tons of vintage looking aprons to inspire you!  I was inspired by the two aprons below for my "cherry up" card.  All products used on my card except the white CS base are from Caffinated Cropper's With A Cherry On Top kit.  I think she still has a couple of these left, so grab yours up!  SOOOOO much fun, and a ton of product!  I have been using mine for months!

Our sponsor this week is Sassy Studio Designs .  They have some fabulous digi images in their store!  Check them out!
Make sure that you use EIC101 when uploading to online galleries.  You also want to make sure that you link your fabulous creation on the EIC blog found HERE.

OOPS! Almost forgot!  The winner from last week of the Unity "She" stamp set on my blog is
CARLEY!!!! 

A great big thank you to all of you who participated in our 100th challenge last week!  Congratulations to all of the lucky winners!  Speaking of winners...want to know what the prizes are for this week?  One random winner will win THIS cutie apron from Lover Dovers.  Another random winner will win 4 digi images of their choice from Sassy Studio Designs.  Two chances to win this week so get busy!

Emily

FWF-Pocket Full Of Sunshine!

Hi there! Happy Friday!  I decided to post a scrapbook page I made recently.  I have the hardest time photographing SB pages, so I rarely put them on my blog, but I have been scrapping a lot more lately!  I used Sasafrass Lass paper and flag banners on this layout.  The stamps are from Unity's July 2009 KOTM.  This is one of my favorite kits EVER!  The pocket, clouds and sun are from this kit.  The sentiment is a vinyl decal from EAD designs. 

Inside the pocket is a little note to my oldest son.  He is 2 in this photo. I so LOVE this boy I remember taking it in our old house as he was sitting at the dining room table.  He kept hiding underneath the table and chairs and then yelling, "Come find me mommy!"  I remember it like it was yesterday...Can't believe he will be in 4th grade!  Makes me want to cry!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I will be back tomorrow with a card for the Etsy Inspired Challenge! :)

Emily

Happy Fall and NEW IPPITY RELEASE!

Hello! Today is the official release day of the new ippity stamps!  I am working on my pay pal buttons still! Ugggghhh!  They always give me fits!  Hopefully I will have them up and running soon.  I love that this release has new lower prices, and the images are just fabulous! :)  The card above is for the make a shaped card challenge over on the ippity forum on SCS.  I can't wait for fall!  My favorite season!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Sweet Summertime Pinwheels!

Stamps:  Flourishes Taglines set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:  Neenah Cardstock; Echo Park Sweet Summertime DP

Accessories:  Echo Park Sweet Summertime sticker elements; Yellow satin ribbon; stick pin; archival pen for doodling

Hello!  This week I decided to pull out my Sweet Summertime Echo Park papers to make a birthday card for a friend.  I love having the sticker element sheet that matches the papers.  It is easy to pull a card together without a lot of effort.  The taglines set from Flourishes is my go to set when it comes to sentiments on the fronts of my cards.  I love the font, and they are the PERFECT size!  I have been doodling a lot on my cards lately.  I like the look of it and it gives it a fun look!

Make sure you stop in the Paper Maniac store to see all of the fab sales they have going on!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

So Tweet Tag!

I am tidying and re-organizing my craft studio, and have found all kinds of cards and projects that haven't made it to my blog!  Here is a little tag I made while scrapping with some neighbors a few weeks ago.  I cut out the birdhouse from some Jillibean Soup DP.  The letters are Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type.  The stick pin is Jenni Bowlin and the stamp is from Scrollworks.  The ribbon is from my stash!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Two Peas In A Pod!

Hello!  Today I have a OLC I made for this week's CAS challenge over on SCS.  The theme this week is Gardens.  Hope you get a chance to play along with us!

I used a newly released set called sweet4babies from The Stamps Of Life.  This is by far, going to be my "go to"  baby set.  I wish I had this set back when my twins were born!

Some of the many benefits of being a TSOL club member, are that you get 15% off the price of stamp sets, and you are able to purchase the monthly special release sets earlier than everyone else!  Great stamps at a great price.  Shipping is always $1 per set!  There isn't a stamp company out there that can beat those shipping prices!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Back From Vacation!

Hello!  So some of you may have wondered where in the world I have been!  I went up to my parent's cottage in Michigan's UP for the week.  We had a fabulous time and I had a couple of tearful boys when it was time to leave.  My hubby couldn't go with us (big sad face), so I was anxious to get back to see him!  I scheduled all of my posts for the week, but unfortunately you can't get internet access on the island!  My dad is trying to fix that for me, so maybe next year!

I hope you are all well, and can't wait to get caught up on looking at all of your blogs!

Great big hugs and glad to be back!

Emily

EIC100-LOTS OF PRIZES! HUGE GRAND PRIZE!!!

HOORAY! It's Etsy Inspired's 100th challenge! We are so happy you have joined us! There are a ton of fabulous prize giveaways, that you will not want to miss out on!

This week Cathy Walters is our shop for you inspiration.  She has some fabulous pendants to spark your creativity this week.  I was inspired by the monogram pendant below.  I used stamps from Unity's July 2010 KOTM for my card!  This is a OLC (one layer card).  I added some bling to the damask stamped pattern.

Here is a list of our fabulous sponsors this week:

Softpencil Designs
Limelight Papercrafts
Lawn Fawn
Unity Stamp Co.
May Art

Make sure you leave a comment on each of the DT's blogs for a chance to win fabulous prizes on each blog! I will be giving away the fabulous store exclusive "She" Unity set to one lucky winner!  There will also be two giveaways on the EIC blog.  The fabulous grand prize of 100 different paper crafting items and a $10 gift certificate to Soft Pencil!

Make sure you link your project to the EIC blog HERE.  Use keyword EIC100 when uploading to online galleries!

This is going to be so much fun!  Good luck!  

Emily 

Christmas in August!

Hi there!  Today's card features the newest release from The Stamps Of Life, Trees2build set.  I decided to make a Christmas card with it.  I call this my Charlie Brown tree!  I stamped the big tree branch in brown ink and then used the various sized leaves and stamped them vertically to look like ornaments.  I added some details with my Sakura Stardust gellyroll pen.  I did some sponging and distressing and added some jute twine to give this card a primitive look.  I really like how it turned out!  You can see this wonderful set below!

Thanks A Bunch! Paper Maniac

Stamps:  Garden Variety-Unity

Ink:  Memento

Paper:  Bazzill CS; Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety DP

Accessories:  May Arts red burlap string, button, scallop border punch

Hello!  This week Paper Maniac's theme is thank you cards.  I decided to use some Garden Variety paper and stamps for my card.  I love that Cosmo Cricket and Unity have teamed up to coordinate papers and matching stamps!  Heaven, I tell ya!

Make sure you check out the weekly sales in the store!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Hippity Hop-Music Of My Heart...

Happy Hippity Hop!  Is everyone excited for the new release?  I know I am!  Some fabulous stamps in this release!  I used an oldie today to make a card with some seam binding I hand dyed.  Love that stuff!  I used the set, Music Of My Heart for this card.

I hope you get inspired by all of the wonderful projects on the hop today!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life-Tress2build August club set!

 SCROLL DOWN FOR MY VERVE POST!

Hello! It is the first of August so you know what that means!  A new club set from The Stamps Of Life!  I LOVE this set!  It is so versatile, and you can do a lot with the tree/branches!  Today I made a fun, bright summery card with this set, but stay tuned for some great winter themed cards with this set, too!  I used paper from myFriendly Forest collection by Colorbok!  Those of you who have been following me for awhile will remember my obsession with this paper! LOL!  I paper pieced the tree and the sun (the sun is from summer4fun set).  The little squirrel at the bottom is actually part of the paper.  I lined him up so it looks like he is looking up at the tree!

If you are not familiar with the monthly club, let me fill you in.  Each month, you will receive a new stamp set shipped out the first of the month.  The cost of this set for club members is $10.95 and ships for only $1!!! Who can beat that price?  Every month The Stamps Of Life also releases three other sets that you will get a discount on if you are a club member.  Buy one or buy them all!

Have a great day!

Emily

Verve Anni- VERVE-sary Blog Hop!

Hello!  You should be arriving from Mercy's blog. If you just discovered the Verve Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop, then you will want to start at the beginning at Julee's blog and hop on through!

I will keep this short and sweet, since there are soooooo many participants!

Your next stop on the hop is the wonderful MARTHA!  Have fun!