Beary Happy Birthday...

Hello! We have an enormous amount of spring birthdays in my family, so I will be doing a lot of birthday cards in the next month.  I need to start buying for my boys, because my oldest and the twins birthdays are about two weeks apart.  Between birthday gifts and the expense of throwing two big parties...it's like Christmas in spring!

I used my new Rhubarb's Birthday Wish set from Sweet N' Sassy Stamps.  This card will go to my niece who has a May birthday. I colored him with copic markers.  I sponged antique linen distress ink on the edges of the papers and added some glitter to the cupcake and some baker's twine to the side panel. 

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you are having a fab weekend!

Emily

FWF-Joy...

Happy Friday! A couple of weeks ago I was a FWF winner and got a big ol' bag of random Unity stamps! It was super fun to go through them all. I pulled out these two stamps and decided to create. I stamped the kite image onto water color paper. I haven't watercolored in a long time, so it was fun to revisit. I kept my card super simple.  I think this card would be perfect for several different occasions: birthdays, new baby, graduation...

My boys are just dying to go camping. We have had some great weather here in Ohio, but the last couple of weekends have been rainy.  Unfortunately, we are supposed to get some severe weather today and this evening, so bummer!!! Even though it would be a lot of work for just one day, I would love to go just for Saturday if the weather is good.  We store the camper in my parent's big garage, so the other day they wanted to go in and just sit inside of it. So cute!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

CPS Sketch...

Hello!  This week, The Stamps Of Life is sponsoring CPS sketch.  If you would like a chance to win some free TSOL stamps, go check it out! I love the very CAS sketch they for this week.  I used two different sets on my card-friends4ever and type4background.  I pulled out some of my mellow moss cardstock and ink from SU.  I stamped the type background in antique linen distress ink. I also inked the edges of the white panel. I then stamped the leaf and the sentiment over the type background.  You can see the sketch below:


Hope you can play along!

Emily

Beary Happy Day...

Hi there! Today I am sharing a card I made with some newly purchased stamps from Sweet & Sassy.  I just loved their March release so I ended up buying the entire bundle along with some dies!!! I haven't had that big of a splurge in a long time.  I colored Rhubarb the bear with copics.  I added a large scallop border and some orchid baker's twine from The Twinery.
My boys are on spring break this week so my stamping time may be limited.  They have an agenda! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Welcome, Theo chipboard album....

Hi there!  Today I would like to share a mini album I made last summer for my blog friend, Tenia.  I never shared it last year, because I didn't want to spoil her surprise and then forgot to post it after I mailed it off!  I made this so she could add her own photos and journaling.  I used some My Mind's Eye DP, baker's twine from The Twinery and stamps from The Stamps Of Life and Unity.

I love using dies and recycled chipboard boxes for mini albums.  I used Spellbinders dies to cut both the chipboard and DP.  I use Tombow Multi glue to adhere the DP to the chipboard.  The dies make it so nice because you have a perfect fit!

I think mini books are a great gift for new moms and grandmas.  They can easily add their own photos and stick this in their purse to show off that new bundle of joy!

Another thing that I love about making mini books-using a variety of stamps and elements.  It is fun to find just the right stamp for each page from several different collections.  I made the sun in the photo above from scraps of DP. I just drew the faux stitching on.

When I make pre-made albums of any sort, I always make sure to not adhere the embellishments down all the way, so they can slip the photo in easily.  If it is someone who is not a paper crafter, I offer to do it for them, or offer them adhesive so they can tack it down once the photo is in place.  If they are a paper crafter, I just add a note about making sure to stick the edge of the embellishment down over the photo with their adhesive of choice!

Soooooo....save some cereal boxes and pull out some of your favorite die shapes and create an album of your own.  They are so much fun to make, and always a big hit as gifts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

FWF-Orange You Glad It's Friday?

Hello! I know I am glad it's Friday! We have had some gorgeous weather this week. My boys have been falling asleep the moment their head hits the pillow after playing outside until dark with friends.
I took advantage of the $2 Unity itty bitty sale last week and just had to have these stamps!  I knew that orange would be perfect paired with some older K&Company DP called Citronella.  I paper pieced the orange and the leaves.  So much fun to use some old and new things at the same time!  Using the old helps to justify the new purchases, right?

I was lucky enough to be a semi-finalist for the Heartfelt Creations DT, so if you get a chance, I would really appreciate your vote.  If you already voted, thank you so much! Click HERE to vote.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Emily

Heartfelt Creations Semi-Finalist! Vote for Me, Please!

Hello!  I have some exciting news. I have been selected as one of the Heartfelt Creations DT semi-finalists.  Below you will see the three cards I submitted in my application.

 Vote for your favorite Semi-finalists! Heartfelt Creations would love to have you participate and vote for your 5 favorite semi-finalists.  You will find the list of semi-finalists here.   When you vote, you will also be entered into a drawing to be eligible to win a $50 HC Gift Certificate. You can only vote one time and you have to select 5 or more to be eligible to participate. Voting ends on April 13th, 2012.  I would LOVE it if you would vote for me!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

Be Reasonable...

Hello!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Today I have a card using two sets from The Stamps Of Life.  Birthday4Cookie (dog) and humor4women (sentiment).  I just love Cookie! She is Stephanie's (owner of TSOL) dog and oh so cute! You can see her in Stephanie's video on the TSOL blog from time to time.  I stamped Cookie in black ink and then used grey Copics to highlight her fur.  I also stamped her a second time and cut out just her head and used foam dots behind to add dimension.  The sentiment just seemed perfect for a dog that is queen of her household! I used a scrap of DP to piece her bow and added some red, gingham ribbon.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

Luck O' The Irish...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I am of Irish heritage, so this has always been a big day in my family.  We will be off to my parent's house to celebrate with corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, green treats, and a shot of Irish whiskey in remembrance of my grandfather.  I made this card for mom and dad with two sets. The shamrocks are from Kitchen Sink Stamps and the sentiment is from Flourishes.  I added some green baker's twine, too!

The weather here in Ohio has been fabulous! We spend yesterday evening outside with neighbors and had a backyard campfire with S'mores for the kids.  I love having all of my windows open, and the smell of fresh cut grass. Hmmmmmm....I am ready for spring.

I had talked about redecorating our bedroom.  Tomorrow I will make the final decision on paint and get started.  Next, will be the master bathroom and then on to the kitchen.  Our house is only 8 years old, but I think a new tile floor, and granite countertops will make our kitchen shine!  I am so over the linoleum that looks like tile, that my boys have beat to death!!!  I also need to do some major reorganizing when it comes to my cabinets.  I think I just need to get rid of a bunch of stuff that doesn't get used on a regular basis, or at least put those serving pieces in storage, so that I have them when needed. They definitely do not need to be taking up space anymore!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Emily

Butterfly2build...

Hello! Today I would like to share a card I made using  The Stamps Of Life stamps.  I used two sets for my card. The sentiment is from the eggs4Easter set and the butterfly and matching dies are the butterfly2build set.  I used some of my older Cosmo Cricket "Togetherness" DP for this one.  I sponged distress ink over all of the paper edges.


Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Go Fish Challenge #13-Something Easter!

Hello! Time for another Go Fish Challenge. The challenge...to make something related to Easter.  I chose to make a card with The Stamps Of Life set,  Easter4Him   .  I stamped the scripture in antique linen distress ink for the background.  The DP used is from My Mind's Eye.  I added some ivory twine and a paper rose.
One random winner will be picked to win a Making Memories album kit.


Hope you can play along with the challenge!

Emily