BZB Creates

This is Me Page

2012-02-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Thursday! I don't know about you but it has been a long week for me. I had to work late twice and then haven't been sleeping very well. I am so looking forward to the weekend and turning off my alarm for a couple of days! One of my goals was to create a page for my This is Me album project. I was off to a bumpy start because I didn't realize that the markers I had use bled through the page. I was so annoyed when I saw that! But I ended up making it work and am actually happier with the page than the idea I had originally planned.

I also completed a second page. But that one I am not thrilled with so it may gets some embellishing along the way.

I have also been working on my goal to take a picture and journal at least once each week. From when I was a preteen to college, I always kept a diary of sorts and could write and write but for some reason I am having a hard time now. It just feels like everything I have to say is so mundane. (One of the reasons, I chose the word sparkle this year.) I am hoping with time and practice I will get more into it. Although, I feel like one of the issues is I am using a planner with just 5 lines and it doesn't really lend itself to journaling. But I think I just need to change my mindset because I love the idea of the One Sentence Journal from the Happiness Project. Do you keep a journal or diary? If so, what do you like about doing it and what keeps it exciting?

I hope everyone has a great day!

52 lists in 52 Weeks: February Goals

2012-02-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

Here is my list for this week, inspired by Kellie at Get the Words Out. Later this month, I am off on a vacation so I don't have too many lofty goals but lots of fun ones.

February 2012-

1. Bring my camera with me everywhere on vacation and take LOTS of pictures.
2. Actually PRINT out my photos from my vacation, along with my summer vacation and hopefully my wedding pictures so that I can finally scrap them years later!
3. Forget about everything on my trip except for having fun!
4. Read 2 books.
5. Get back to exercising, even if it is just a few short walks each day.
6. Take photograph(s) and journal each week.
7. Complete another page in my 2012 This is Me journal.
8. Have a little bit of fun each and everyday!

So what are your goals for this month?

Currently....

2012-02-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

Time : 12:40pm
Place : Family room
Wearing : Yoga pants and a tank top
Drinking : Green tea
Watching : General Hospital
Reading : Dead Until Dark- The first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Not sure I will stick with it. Not loving it as much as the series based on the books, True Blood
Feeling : A little overwhelmed, my to do list this weekend is pretty epic
Thinking : How in the world am i going to get all these Valentine's Day bags done for the shelter and all the other bajillion things on my list
Creating : Valentine's treat bags
Hoping : For a snow day on Monday, doesn't look like it will happen but a girl can hope.
Needing : An extra set of arms
Wanting: Some new make up

Source

2012 Goals

2012-02-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! We have a pretty busy weekend at my house. I will be assembling 40 Valentine's bags for the children at my local shelter to be delivered by Sunday. We also need to pick up some items for our trip later this month as well as all the usual errands and possibly doing something for the Super Bowl. Should be lots of fun and a bit hectic.

Today, I thought I would share my 2012 Goals. Better late than never, right? I am using my Red Smash Book to keep track of my One Little Word - Sparkle as well as my goals for the year and a place to reflect on my year. I am thinking of it as one big vision board. While all of the goals are important to me, my favorite is getting a puppy this year. Not exactly a goal but something we plan to do by years end so I thought it would be fun to include it! Hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend!

Card Cupids February Challenge

2012-02-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I am off to a bit of a rocky start today because I didn't sleep to well last night. Unfortunately, I have nothing crafty to share today. I don't know how people fit in crafting at night. Lately, I feel like I am lucky to get dinner on the table, LOL. I need to come up with bite sized projects to work on because it really is an awesome stress relief for me.

Anyways, I do want to share Card Cupids monthly challenge with you all. The challenge is to make a motivational card for a child such as a "You can do it" card. I know my nieces and nephews love to get mail so this challenge is perfect. On top of brightening the day of a child, you also get a chance to win a prize from Fresh Brewed Designs. The challenge runs all month so plenty of time to get a card or two submitted. Below are some super cute cards from my fabulous Design Team. To enter the challenge, add your link to THIS POST. Hope everyone has a great day!

Karen

Nubia

Jade

Diane

Diane (Inside)

Month in Review

2012-02-01T09:31:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe it is February 1 already! Here is my January recap:

Source of Currently post

Listening: Good Feeling by Flo Rida

I absolutely love the chorus and it always puts me in a great mood: "Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah, I get a feeling that I never never never never had before, no no, I get a good feeling, yeah"

Eating: Lots of yummy vegan and vegetarian food. One month plant strong!

Drinking: Green Smoothies mixed in my brand new Vitamix. *LOVE*

Wearing: New Sneakers- hoped they would help with my ankle issues but so far it hasn't worked

Feeling: Excited, vacation is right around the corner!

Weather: Beautiful, yesterday we hit 66 in January! A record high. I hate the cold so this mild winter is awesome!

Wanting: A puppy and a Fuji Instax or some time of travel and print type camera for my soon to start PL.

Needing: a couple extra hours in the day to catch up on my to do list, exercise and have some fun!

Thinking: I can't wait for the weekend!

Enjoying: Working on my OLW project and planning out my PL. Although, I still can't decide when I should get started....leaning towards starting on my b-day in May!

Books Read:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Synopsis:
Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris-until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Rating: ***** - LOVED

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Synopsis:
Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.

Rating: ****

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Rating- ****

Movies I watched-

Dolphin Tale - Adorable! Feel good movie and great to watch with kids.
Something Borrowed- Good, but liked the book better. Soundtrack was really good!

January Highlights-

Newest niece was born!

Got my Vitamix.

Found some creative direction for 2012 with OLW and Project Life and feeling excited again about crafting.

I don't know about you but I definitely think 2012 is off to a sparkling start!

52 lists in 52 Weeks - People I would like to meet

2012-01-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be fun to join up with Get the Words Out 52 lists in 52 weeks. Of course. I am a little late to the party but I figure I will just go back to the beginning when they finish up. :) Today's list is-

People I would love to meet:

1. Anyone from General Hospital

I have been watching this show since High School and am a HUGE fan.

2. Bono

He seems like such an amazing human being not only uber talented musically but his amazing charitable work.

3. Judy Blume

Her books made me love reading.

4. Maya Angelou

I would love to chat with her and hear some of her amazing stories.

5. Julie Andrews

Who doesn't want to meet Marry Poppins? :)

This was actually a pretty hard list to come up with and there are tons of other people I could add. How about you? Who would you love to meet?

One Little Word - Sparkle

2012-01-30T09:28:00.001-05:00

appy Monday! I hope that everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend. We had a great weekend. Lots of relaxing, hanging out, movie watching and fun, although it was a bit hard to get up this morning. After my blog post last weekend and thanks to all of your input, I got started on my One Little Word project.

For those not familiar with the project, here is a brief summary by Ali Edwards. She offers an online class to go with it which I have not signed up for but hope to soon!

One Little Word 2012
A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp and biting or rich and soft and slow. From my own personal experience, it can be a catalyst for enriching your life.

In 2006, I began a tradition of choosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, meditate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. My words have included play, peace, vitality, nurture, light, and story. These words have each become a part of my life in one way or another. They've been imbedded into who I am, and into who I'm becoming. They've been what I've needed (and didn't know I needed). They've helped me to breathe deeper, to see clearer, and to grow.

I decided that my 2012 word will be SPARKLE.

Definition of SPARKLE

a : to throw out sparks b : to give off or reflect bright moving points of light c : to perform brilliantly

: effervesce

: to become lively or animated <the dialogue sparkles with wit> <eyes sparkling with anger>

transitive verb

: to cause to glitter or shine

I love this word because it can encompass so many things. For me, it is all about truly sparkling in 2012. To live my best life where I look good & feel good, am confident and happy. It is also my reminder to make sure that every day sparkles. To focus on the positive and to be grateful for all the blessings in my life.

I decided to use my Smash Book for my One Little Word Project. Here is the cover of my book. I didn't add much to it but really love it!

Hope your day is full of sparkle!

Looking for a Project

2012-01-26T09:26:00.002-05:00

Good Morning! I so miss blogging but feel like I haven't had much to blog about lately. I am in a bit of a creative rut and have been seeking out ideas for some kind of project to work on. Of course, I am always busy with making cards for Card Cupids. But lately I feel like the joy of making cards is gone because I am so busy with working on the management side of the Card Cupids project, plus I really miss scrapbooking!

My biggest challenge was/is figuring out what to scrapbook. I know that sounds crazy but without children, pets and just having the usual day to day go to work stuff, I feel like I have nothing to take pictures of! I love the idea of Project Life but wonder if it would get boring after awhile. So I am toying with some ideas, like a modified project life where I document what I am doing month to month instead of day to day as well as incorporating currently and maybe mixing in a little bit of One Little Word and 52 lists in 52 weeks that I read about on Get the Words Out. Although, I am late to the 52 list in 52 weeks and of course I cannot decide on a word and it is almost February. I have been thing a lot about the words joy, believe and sparkle (my personal favorite right now). I am looking for a word that encompasses creating my "best" life. I want to focus on eating healthy, challenging myself physically (still hoping to do my 5k despite injury), being happy and finding joy in the day to day without stressing about the small stuff. So what do you think? Any ideas for a word?

Well if you made it through my mini novel :) and have any ideas for me, I would love to hear them! Hopefully, once I work all this out, I will have LOTS to blog about! If you have done any projects similar, I would love to take a look if you would share your link.

With that, I wish you a great Thursday!

One of my favorites from pinterest at the moment.

Valentine's Card

2012-01-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year. I am looking forward to a great 2012. My goals are to focus on eating healthy, exercising, not sweating the small stuff and being happy. What are your goals for 2012? I already have a cruise planned with my family and we are planning to adopt a puppy! So we are off to a fantastic start. Also, I have decided to finally pull out my Smash Book and create a 2012 journal. I would love ideas on how to organize it, what to record it, etc.

With the New Year, Card Cupids is hosting their first monthly challenge. Our challenge is Valentines Cards because we are creating Valentine Treat Bags for the children at the local homeless shelter. There will be 3 opportunities to win prizes! The first opportunity is simple, just create a Valentines Card and post it to the link and get a chance to with the prize from The Stamping Boutique. Here is the card I created with one of their adorable images. I hope you will play along!

Winter Wishes

2011-12-05T09:17:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been super busy between work, Card Cupids and family life. I am about a quarter through my 5k training. It is super hard but feels great each time I complete one of the work outs. I even registered for my first 5k on March 25!

At Card Cupids we are working on our Winter Wishes Drive to help provide cards and gifts for the holidays. Unfortunately, with the economy, I think a lot of people don't have extra to give. We are still hopeful that we will be able to come up with something for each of the children, 39!

I created a Winter themed card for the Card Cupids challenge this week sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs. It is a simple card because I didn't have much time to create. Although, I am still happy with the way it came out. I hope that everyone has been well! Here's hoping I will get to post before next month. :)

Cards with Bling

2011-11-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. My weekend was great, although much too short. I started couch to 5k on Friday night and completed my first two workouts. While they were tough, it felt great! My goal is to be able to run a 5k by my next birthday, a little over 6 months from now. I really like having a goal because it keeps me motivated to go to the gym. I saw this on pinterest and it is so true!

Now for my card, over at Card Cupids, we are hosting a cards with bling challenge sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps, a favorite of mine! Card Cupids is working to provide 40 holiday gifts to a homeless shelter. It is a HUGE task. This card will be used for one of the birthdays which we also help to celebrate each month. While the card is simple, I love the bling sprinkles. They make the card lots of fun, I think. Hope everyone has a great day!

Currently....

2011-11-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

I saw a post about microjournaling and LOVED the idea. I think I am going to use my smash book for this. Not sure how often I will do the journaling but being that it is the beginning of a new month I thought today was a great day to start! Would love for you to play along with me and share your "currently" list.

Listening: Adele 21- I adore this album and have been listening to it on repeat for weeks now.

Watching (this wasn't on the list but I thought it would be fun to add): Homeland- I think this is the one new show this season that I actually like. It is so intriguing.

Eating: Butternut Squash - My favorite winter food.

Drinking: Hibiscus Tea

Wearing: Black... lots of black in my wardrobe, maybe this weekend I will add some pops of color. My husband would be shocked. :)

Feeling: Great! I have been working on daily affirmations and when I remember to do them it really does lead to a great day. I would definitely recommend it.

Weather: Cold! But the weather reports are for warmer weather (60!) later this week.

Wanting: a Tablet!

Needing: A Vacation... I would love to have some fun in the sun!

Thinking: Today is off to a great start and it will only get better!

Enjoying: The music playing on my amazon cloud, the sunny day and a glass of iced Hibiscus tea.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Bugaboo Challenge Feature

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

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Mine was great despite that nagging feeling that I am coming down with something. I spent Saturday buying and wrapping 3 birthday gifts for the homeless shelter that Card Cupids supports and putting together 40 treat bags for all the children at the shelter. I had planned to take pictures but then totally forgot. They were cute though! Last week, I was invited to be featured on the Bugaboo Challenge blog for their Animal Antics challenge as a shout out to Card Cupids. Here is the card that was posted. I just love that cool cat. Great for a card for one of the kids at the shelter.

Orange Card

2011-10-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope that everyone had a lovely week and weekend. I am busy working on Halloween bundles for the local shelter that Card Cupids supports. There are about 40 children so it is a lot to organize but I know how excited the children are when they receive something so it is definitely worth it! To help fill up those bundles, Card Cupids is having an Orange Card challenge in hopes of bringing in lots of Halloween cards! The challenge is sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps which is one of my favorites! They have digital images for everyone and every occasion on your list. Be sure to check it out and play along for you chance at 7 free images. Hope everyone has a great day!

Card using a punch

2011-10-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a good weekend. My weekend went by so fast but it always seems to do that, especially when it seems like most everyone is off today and I have to go to work. My husband and I started working out together a couple of months back. It has been really great because we help to keep each other on track. We managed 3 good workouts (Fri/Sat/Sun) and I am finally starting to be able to run for longer amount of times. Wahoo! Unfortunately the weather is starting to get colder so we will need to look for some new options because I hate to lose the momentum.

This week, I have a card using one of my favorite Some Odd Girl stamps. The challenge at Card Cupids is to make a card using a punch. Super easy. I, of course, made a birthday card for the shelter that Card Cupids supports. The kids love getting their birthday packages!

World Card Making Day

2011-10-03T09:34:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope that everyone had a great weekend. I did a little crafting over the weekend for World Card Making Day and the Card Cupids challenge this week. The challenge is sponsored by Whimsie Doodle who was kind enough to let the team play with a couple of their images. They are also giving a $10 gift certificate to one lucky person who enters the challenge. I plan to use my two cards for the Birthday Card Drive for the shelter Card Cupids is working with. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Fall Themed Card

2011-09-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Today, I have a card I made for the Fall Themed Card Challenge at Card Cupids. The challenge is sponsored by The Stamping Boutique and one person will win 4 of their adorable digital stamps. For my Fall themed card challenge, I chose to make a Halloween Card which now that I look at it looks a little Christmas like. Oh well, I still like it! I am putting this aside to mail to my niece and nephew for Halloween. Other than this card, I didn't do much crafting some coloring but none of the images actually made it onto a card yet. Hope everyone has a great week!

Birthday Card

2011-09-19T09:14:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a great weekend! It was very relaxing. Saturday night, we went to my home town for dinner with family to one our favorite restaurants. Most of my family has moved away so it has been quite sometime since I was home. The area has changed so much! It was so weird. I also got to do some cooking and baking with some Tastefully Simple products. Made some yummy spinach and herb tofu along with some lightened up Almond Pound cake. So delicious and easy! You can check out my website if you want to snag some of these goodies for yourself. I also donate 15% of my commission to help cover some of the expenses for Card Cupids.

Today, I have a card to share with you that I made for the Card Cupids Anything Goes challenge sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. Bugaboo is giving one random person 7 free digis from their store. An awesome prize! I made a birthday card for the challenge because Card Cupids will be helping to celebrate birthdays with a local homeless shelter later this month. We are also bringing a gift for each birthday kid! I can't wait to help them celebrate especially after they have been through so much.

Still not crafting much but busy doing lots of other fun things. So I hope everyone has a great day or week!

Butterfly Award and Back to School Card.

2011-09-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

Hi! Life has been a little hectic and I haven't been in the crafting mood lately which is why I have been absent. Not sure what that is about but hopefully soon I will get back in the groove. I signed up to be a Tastefully Simple Independent Consultant. After much thought and review, I felt like this was the best fit for me now since I love their products and love to cook. Plus I hate to be limited to one line of crafting materials as a consultant. If you are interested in checking out Tastefully Simple products, hosting a catalog party or fundraiser, please let me know. My website is: www.tastefullysimple.com/web/sbusby1.

I also want to thank my blog buddies Becky and Tracy for passing along the Butterfly Award. IF you are not familiar with their blogs definitely check them out. Tracy and Becky both make beautiful and unique cards.

Along with the award I have to share some info about myself:

Q1) Name your favorite colour

This is a hard one but my favorite color combo is chocolate brown and pink.

Q2) Name your favorite song?

Anything Adele

Q3) Name your favorite dessert?
I am not a big sweets fan so it really depends on my mood.

Q4) What wizzes you off at the moment?
I can't think of anything at the moment but probably in general inconsiderate or selfish people.

Q5) Your favorite pet?
My family dog, Lucky. He is a sheltie and the sweetest dog I have ever met.

Q6) Black or White?
Black

Q7) Your biggest fear?
Something happening to my hubby.

Q8) Best Feature?
My husband would say my eyes

Q9) Everyday attitude?
I tend to be a worrier but I am working on it so ask me again in a few months. :)

Q10) What is perfection?
Cruising in the middle of the ocean with a big frosty alcoholic drink and all my family having a great time.

Q11) Guilty Pleasure?
French Fries

Q12) When you're upset you?
Call or text my husband.

Now to pass on the award. This will be tough since alot of the blogs I would have chosen have been selected already.

1. Jenn
2. Karen
3. Nubia
4. Saskia

I do have a card to share from the Card Cupids Back to School Challenge. The card uses one of the adorable images from Fresh Brewed Designs. I would love for you to play along.

Birthday Star

2011-09-01T09:10:00.000-04:00

Morning! The weekend is just around the corner and my brain is already starting to go to vacation mode. Unfortunately, I have lots to do so I need to get focused for the next two days. I think it is not helping that the weather is gorgeous, finally! Sadly they are predicting rain for 2 out of the 3 day weekend. Here's hoping they are wrong.

Today, I have a birthday card for the homeless shelter. The image is from Some Odd Girl Stamps. One of my favorites. I love how expressive and fun the images are. Perfect for sending Birthday Wishes to someone special.

Get Well Card

2011-08-31T09:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday! Quick post today as I am running late.

In my last order from The Angel Company, I picked up a bunch of everyday stamps. One of those stamps was this cute little get well bear. I was looking through my stash and realized that I don't have any get well cards so it seemed like a great opportunity to put this stamp to use. I wanted the card to be bright and cheery so I used bright color backgrounds. The pill bottle and the bear are actually slightly different colors but the picture doesn't show that. Hope everyone has a great day!

Text Me Art Journal

2011-08-30T09:29:00.000-04:00

Morning. I hope everyone had a good Monday. Mine was busy busy so it went by pretty quickly. Hopefully the week will do the same because I can't wait for the upcoming 3 day weekend. I feel like I haven't had a day off in forever!

Today, I have my week 6 Art Journal page. This page was easy and fun to do which was perfect because lately I have been feeling like my cards are all looking the same and aren't very exciting. I think the only way to cure this will be a shopping trip which will hopefully happen soon! Nothing like some new supplies. Hope everyone has a great day!

WEEK 6 - Text Me! (using lots of text)

Assignment: Create a spread or a page using mainly text and lettering! This includes numbers, symbols, handwritten or typed, phrases, etc.

Card Cupids Challenge

2011-08-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Ours was not nearly as bad as they predicted. We got heavy rain off and on and some high winds but nothing major. Thank goodness! We even managed to keep our power, just some flickering occasionally.

Ever since hearing about The Angel Company closing, I have been in a little bit of a slump. I have all these stamps from TAC and feel so sad when I use them. As most of you know, I joined TAC to help support Card Cupids which makes the closing even more disappointing. So now I am looking for a new opportunity to help with those costs. I have something in mind, not in the crafting world but my other favorite hobby that I have been thinking about so we shall see. Decisions! Decisions!

Anyways, I do have a card to share with you today. We are hosting a Cards with Stitching challenge at Card Cupids. The sponsor is The Stamping Boutique who are a HUGE supporter of Card Cupids. Plus they have lots of adorable images! I don't have any tools for real stitching so I faux stitched with my copic spica. Although, it is really hard to see in this picture. I would love for you to play along with me over at Card Cupids. Plus you get a chance to win 5 free digital stamps. You can't beat that! Here is a link to the challenge. Have a great Monday!

Howdy

2011-08-26T08:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! It has been quite a week. This weekend looks to be pretty bad weather here. I think we are far enough in from the coast that we should only get heavy rain, high winds and probably power outages. Our area is pretty notorious for power outages. It seems like with just the slightest rain we lose power for hours. With that in mind, I have a couple of books from the library to hopefully keep me entertained.

Today, I have a card that I made to keep on hand for Card Cupids. I think it will work well for a boy's birthday card or just a generic card. I used one of Bugaboo Stamps digital images and some paper from my stash.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Birthday Card Drive

2011-08-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Morning. I hope everyone had a good Wednesday. I was able to get a bit caught up yesterday which I am really happy about. This will mean I don't have to stress as much. I also formed an amazing partnership through Card Cupids, this week with a shelter in my area to help make sure the children living there (over 40!) get celebrated on their birthday. Giving back to my community is such an important thing to me and this will allow me to have a local impact. If you would be interested in helping, I am hoping to collect handmade Birthday Cards from all over the country to bring to the children on their special day along with a goodie bag. You can find more details HERE.

I have a card I made with an image I colored months ago. The image is from Heather Ellis Co. She has lots of adorable images. All other products came from my stash. Have a great day!

Update and Art Journal Page

2011-08-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

Hello! It has been a crazy weekend and week and looks like it will not be getting better. Yesterday as I am sure everyone heard, I experienced my first earthquake which I have to say was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. Living in Northern Virginia, we don't expect earthquakes and have no clue what to do. The building shook for about a minute. Afterwards, we were evacuated from our building to make sure that everything was ok and luckily it was. Although, other places in my area were not as lucky.

I was also notified that The Angel Company is closing. I have only been with the company for about 5 months but have enjoyed it so much! I am sad to see it go as I loved so many of their exclusive stamps. It was a great business and friendship opportunity for me as well and The Angel Company was a great support for Card Cupids.

But I do have my Week 5 Heart Journal Page to share today. The assignment was to create a spread or a page using layering and paper piecing techniques. I am not sure that it meets the requirements but it was the best I could come up with and I am pretty happy with it. I free hand cut out the ME and used homemade mists for the background.

Hope everyone is having a great week and was not too rattled by the earthquake.

Hugs and Kisses

2011-08-19T08:40:00.000-04:00

Happy Happy Friday! I don't know about you but I am SO ready for the weekend. It has been an exhausting week and next week will be even crazier.

My niece starts Kindergarten next week so I wanted to make her a card. One of the stamp sets that I received is Hedgehog Happiness. A really fun set! So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to put it to use. I am planning to make a card for my nephew who will be starting third grade but that one will be a little more challenging. Hopefully, I will have something to share on Monday with you.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Smile, It's your Day

2011-08-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hello! Despite feeling like I had two Wednesday this week, the week has been flying by. I think it is because work is super busy. Not a bad thing, I like to be busy at work. Today, I have a mostly finished card to share. I want to stamp "Smile" on the front but couldn't find my stamp last night so I will have to add it this weekend. I was excited to try out my first nestability. I think I am in love and will now have to get a bunch more. They are so quick and easy to use.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Fairy Wishes

2011-08-17T09:11:00.000-04:00

Morning! I hope everyone had a good day yesterday. I spent the whole day thinking it was Wednesday. Don't you hate when that happens!

Today, I have a card to share with you using one of Nina B's new sets for The Angel Company. This stamp set is very different from the other sets I have in my stash but I loved it so I had to have it. I don't think the picture does the card justice because there was weird lighting but hopefully you will get the idea. To see other sets by Nina B, please visit my website.

Art Journal Week 4

2011-08-16T09:08:00.000-04:00

Morning! Yesterday was a crazy stressful busy day. Unfortunately, I think that will be the trend for the next couple of weeks so I am going to try and enjoy every little bit of crafting I can squeeze in. This week's assignment for the Heart Journal class is The Girl in Me. To create a spread or a page using the concept of hand-drawn girls.

I think this is the first week that I have actually enjoyed art journaling and like my page! It's not perfect but I think it finally made me get into the spirit of art journaling which for me is focusing more on the creating process not necessarily having to come up with a perfect masterpiece. For the page, I drew the girl and then cut her out. I sprayed the background with my home made mist and then wrote words that I try to focus on being.

Hope

Card Cupids

2011-08-15T10:39:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. Ours was very rainy! Today I have information on the Card Cupids Design Team call and a bookmark to share for the weekly challenge. I have never made a bookmark before but I think it turned out pretty well!

Also, Card Cupids is hosting a Design Team Call for new members. We are looking for talented card makers to help inspire our card makers and spread the word about Card Cupids mission. We will be accepting applications through August 21 with the Design Team term of September through February

Design Team Requirements:
1. Submit 1 new project per week. No more than 1 project in a month can be missed and no more than 3 projects within a term.
2. Have an active blog with at least one new post per week.
3. Leave comments on the blogs of Card Cupids followers that participate in our challenges.
4. Participate on the Card Cupids Facebook Page.
5. Participate in Card Cupids events when given sufficient notice of at least one week.
6. Promote Card Cupids on relevant sites and on your blog.
7. Check in weekly on the Design Team website/Google group for news and updates.
As part of the Design Team, you will be given the Card Cupids exclusive digital stamps as well as samples from sponsors to create cards with when available. Also, we will promote you and your blog.

To apply, please email info@cardcupids.org the following:
1. A short bio including why you would like to be a Card Cupids Design Team member what you can add to the Design Team.
2. Attach pictures of two cards that you created for children with at least one card using a digital image, the cards do not have to be new projects.
3. A link to your blog.
4. A post with a tutorial, tip or trick. The post does not have to be new.
Remember all applications must be in by August 21.

Elephant Card

2011-08-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I am finally starting to feel a little bit better just in time for the weekend. I was reading yesterday about how you can create your own mists with acrylic paints. I am still on the fence about mists so I thought this would be a great way to try it out. I used crimson acrylic paint and it worked perfectly. It came out in a really pretty pink color. I tried to take a picture to share but without any sunlight couldn't get a good one. I can see why people love them now. Although, I am still not sure how I would use them outside of in my art journal. If you use mists, how do you use them?

I do have a card to share with you today. I had this cute patterned paper from my Toodle Loo paper and a matching stamp from Everyday Events that seemed to work perfectly together. I think the card is cute but I am not sure what sentiment to use. What do you think?

Week 3 Heart Journal

2011-08-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

Morning! I have a quick post today because I am running a little late. First off, I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes. Here's hoping it will be cleared up by the weekend.

Today, I have my week 3 assignment for my Heart Journal.

Assignment: Create a spread or a page using the concept of Gratitude, appreciation, and thanks.

I was short on time so I didn't end up trying any new techniques. The page looks more like a card to me but that is probably why I like it better than the other weeks. Hope everyone has a great day!

Forever Friends

2011-08-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

Hello! I am a little under the weather today with a summer cold. Of course, it comes at the worst time when I am so busy at work. Hopefully with some extra vitamin C, I can fight my way through it.

Today, I have a mini card to share. I have a big bag of scraps that I am trying to put to good use and a mini card was perfect for this scrap. Although this is a retired stamp from The Angel Company, if you like it, I would recommend Simply Sweet as a great alternative. I have this set on order and can't wait to make some cards with it. Hopefully, in the next week or so. Have a great day!

Thinking of You

2011-08-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

Hello! I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend. My weekend was very nice, although much too short. Today, I have a card I made with a retired set from The Angel Company. I picked this set up during the Final Farewell sale and haven't had the opportunity to use it until this past weekend. It is a great versatile set. The Angel Company does have another set that is similar called Simply Sweet. Both sets contain every day images and sentiments. To check out this set and others, please visit my online site: http://stephb.ismyangel.net.

Have a great day!

Just for you

2011-08-05T09:01:00.000-04:00

It's Friday and I don't know about you but I am so excited for the weekend. We don't have any exciting plans but I will be able to catch up on my to do list, craft and relax, hopefully. Another sign of getting old, when getting your to do list done makes you happy.

Today, I have the last set of cards I made for my brother to share with you. Another simple set that was super fast to put together. I don't usually use kraft paper but I think that I will be using it a lot more now. I love the way it came out. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Friday and weekend.

Enjoy Today

2011-08-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Thursday! I have a couple more simple cards to share with you today. I have seen Becky make lots of cute cards and tags with these little flags for the sentiments. I love the way it looks so I decided to try and make one on my own. It didn't come out nearly as good as her's do but I am happy with it. Hopefully, soon I will be able to get one of the dies that makes them so I won't have to, LOL.

I also made a second card using the Uptown Girl Paper Pad by The Angel Company which comes with 8 x 8 paper, 12 designs and three of each designs for only $5.95. The sentiment comes from a retired set called Toodles. I love stamping but am so new to it that I was really nervous about stamping directly on the card. I wasn't sure how to get it straight, amazingly it was but I think that was just luck. Hope everyone has a great day!

Art Journaling Week 2

2011-08-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Morning! So, I have completed week 2 of my art journaling group. It has only been two weeks but I really don't think art journaling is for me. I am going to try and stick with it and hope that I will get more comfortable with the process and create better pages. I think I am just more comfortable with my card making and scrapbooking tools. I can't believe I am going to share my pages because they are so bad but I said I would so here goes.

Assignment: Create a free-spirit spread (two-pages) using the concept of Sand, Sun, Beach, etc. This could be a tribute page to a past vacation, or some sort of paradise, beach-related.... Use any stamps you want, colors, etc.

I am not going to do a close up of the first page because really it is THAT bad. I tried using gesso for the first time which made the background really rough. Afterwards, I decided I wanted to watercolor the sky. Yeah, that didn't quite work. The quote says "Create your own sunshine".

For this page, I used acrylic paints. I have never painted to paper before at least not since I probably used finger paints as a child. I like this page better but still. For this page, the quote says "Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

Neither of these pages make me feel that sunny, LOL. Hope everyone has a great day!

You're the best

2011-08-02T09:22:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. For some reason, I didn't sleep well at all last night so I am dragging a bit today. I gave up sodas about a month ago but not sure if I will make it today without one. Yesterday, I was emailing with my mom and she told me that making cards looked like fund and she wanted to give it a try. She asked me to come up with a list of supplies from The Angel Company for her to get started for $100. So last night I was browsing through the new catalog trying to come up with items for her to start with. I know she needs the basics, paper trimmer, adhesive, cardstock but I am not sure what stamps to get her started with since I don't think she wants to get into coloring, at least not yet. So help me go shopping and tell me what you would get for someone just starting out at my store.

Today, I have a few more simple cards that I made for my brother. He asked that I make him some generic Thank You type cards for him to have on hand. His request was not too girly and simple. I think these fit the request really well. Except maybe the second one, it's a little girly. The paper for the top and bottom one are from my favorite paper pad, Rustic Chic. I love all the patterns and the distressed look to it.

I hope everyone has a great day!

You Can Do It

2011-08-01T09:12:00.000-04:00

Hello! I am not sure where the weekend went. I had a long list of things I hoped to accomplishment and yet barely made a dent. I am going to have to try and squeeze some of these items in this week after work which always seems to be a challenge.

I had a request to make some simple cards without images for a couple of people to have on hand. So, this week I will have a bunch of cards to share that are exactly that. For today's card, I used The Angel Company's white ultra smooth cardstock. I have never been too picky with my white cardstock but have found this paper to be the best I have ever used for making cards. I also used the Frutti Fusion designer paper pad which is sadly being discontinued and is on sale for only $1.25, an amazing price so you know I grabbed a few packs. Hope everyone has a great day!

Brave Girls

2011-07-31T15:12:00.000-04:00

A few months back, I came across this website, Brave Girls Club. The Brave Girls Club sends an email with their "Daily Truths" which are filled with those reminders to live your best and bravest life. I save many of them to read again later when I am having a bad day or need to refocus. Working on my Art Journal class, I find that I am reading them more and more. Especially this weekend, when I was stressing over my class assignment and wondering how to make it just right. I realized after awhile, that isn't the point of an art journal. It is my place to be creative, messy and not have to create perfect masterpieces. But one of my favorites is this one:

To me this is such an important message to live in the moment and make every day count. I tend to be an over-thinker and stress about yesterday and tomorrow this is such a great reminder for me.

If you haven't heard of the Brave Girl's Club, I would definitely recommend checking it out!

Birthday Card

2011-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I am so happy it is finally Friday. I have just been so exhausted all week. It makes me feel so old that it takes me a whole week to recover from one late night party. I am hoping for a mostly relaxing quiet weekend at home but we will see how that goes. I do need to get some crafting in. I was asked to make some Thank You cards for someone. I need to make them gender neutral adult cards so that will be a little bit of a challenge since I tend to have mostly girly papers and stamps and make mostly cards for kids. Hopefully, I will have some good things to share with you next week.

For today, I have a birthday card to share with you. This card uses one of the images from Cupcake Cuties one of Mabelle Ro's sets. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Popping in to say Hi

2011-07-27T09:06:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! We have finally reached midweek. I have been super tired all week so I am really looking forward to the weekend and catching on some zzz's. I am placing an order with The Angel Company (as soon as I narrow down my list) this week so if you are interested in ordering anything, let me know by Friday and I can tack it onto my order and you will get free shipping. There are so many cute stamps I can't decide what to get first! But I can't wait to show off some of these amazing sets to you all. You can check out the new sets HERE. I just love the sets by Phyllis Harris, Mabelle Ro and Nina B.

Today, I have a quick card using the set Wonder and Joy. This set comes with 4 images and 5 sentiments for just $21.95. Hope everyone has a great day!

Heart Journal- Week 1 Spread Your Wings

2011-07-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Today, I have my first Art Journal pages to share with you. As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this before. It is a bit scary to me to just create with not much guidelines. I like the way my first pages turned out but not quite as "artsy" as I would like. Hopefully, throughout the next 23 weeks I will become more comfortable with the process and be able to be more creative along the way.

The assignments for the class are very broad so you have lots of room to play and explore. Here is week 1:

Assignment: Create a free-spirit spread (two-pages) using the concept of wings. This could be butterflies, airplanes, angels, birds...etc. Use any stamps you want, colors, etc.

The first page I used a part of a poem that I recently found and love by Mary Oliver. The quote says:
"I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings."

The second page uses a quote by Kobi Yamada, "Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down."

For both pages, I used watercolor pencils for the background and some of the coloring. I have not used watercolor pencils before and think the cheap set I picked up at Michael's is probably not ideal but eventually, I hope to get some Prisma pencils. The second page also uses stamps from the sets Happily Grateful and Hoppy Everything. To see other stamps by The Angel Company, please visit my website.

Heart Journal

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, it is Monday already! I don't know about you but my weekend flew by. My husband and I went out of town to attend a wedding celebration for a family friend. The party was a lot of fun but outside so unbelievably hot with temperatures over 100 degrees and the worst humidity. Unfortunately with the weekend out of town, I didn't get much crafting in at all. Total bummer because I was so in the mood to craft. I did get one thing done this weekend to create the cover for my Heart Journal Class. The Greeting Farm is hosting a FREE 28 art journaling class. Art journaling is something I have always wanted to do so I figured this would be a great opportunity to get started. I am really excited about it. It is WAY outside my comfort zone but I think a great way to get those creative juices flowing.

I stopped by Michael's but was really disappointed in the options. So I ended up making my own which is the first time I have ever done this. I bought a couple of pads of watercolor paper and some watercolor pencils then got to work. Silly me, forgot to think about how I was going to bind it so to put it together I used trash bag twisty ties, LOL. I have upgraded from my twisty ties to binder rings a much needed improvement. (Becky at Fourth House on the Right can attest to that!) I also titled my journal "dream a little dream" because I hope to use this project as a place to store my dreams and motivation. I hope to share my pages over the next 28 weeks with you all as I dabble in Art Journaling. Hope everyone has a good Monday!

Miss You Card

2011-07-22T09:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! This week just flew by but I guess that is what happens when you are so busy you barely have a second to relax. Unfortunately, we have a really busy weekend too. It stinks because I am so in the mood to do some crafting and not sure if I will be able to squeeze any in. Don't you hate when that happens!

Today, I have a card using another image from Wonder and Joy. I just love each of the four images that comes in the set. It doesn't hurt that they are lots of fun to color. To see other sets that are similar to this set, click HERE and then contact me with any questions or if you are interested in placing an order.

Also, I am hoping to start a Card Club soon and would love to have you join me. As a part of the Card Club, you get the opportunity to earn free stamps from The Angel Company, send smiles to people in need and receive great cards through a swap with other members. If you would be interested, please email me at mizzbzb@gmail.com.

You are one of a kind

2011-07-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

This week is just cruising by! It is funny how every time I have a jam packed weekend the week before when I have a long to do list flies by. Does that happen to you to? Yesterday, a few people asked if I had distressed the Rustic Chic paper for the holder. Nope, it comes that way which is why one of the reasons I adore it. It comes beautifully distressed. I did come home to find the flower on the front of the holder had popped off. Lately anytime I use the flowers they seem to fall off 24 hours later. I have tried glue dots, pop dots, regular glue and nothing seems to work. Any ideas?

Today, I have a card using the set One of a Kind which consists of the image and sentiment below for $8.95. I made this card for my niece and used the fun hippie chic background paper because she is all about peace signs and hearts. I am having so much fun sending my niece and nephew cards every few weeks. I just love happy mail and know that they love receiving them too.Yesterday, I even got a note back from my nephew from camp. It totally made my day!

Accordion Card Holder

2011-07-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

Last night, I decided to try making an accordion card holder that I had seen a few times on the web. I did a search and it seems like there are a few different ways to make them so I ended up taking parts from different ones to come up with my holder. All in all I am happy with the way it turned out. I do need to find a better way to close them. The velcro tabs I have aren't great but it worked in a pinch at 9:30 last night. I used the Rustic Chic paper pad from The Angel Company. I adore the patterns in this stack. The stack consists of 12 8x8 designs with 3 pieces for each design at only $5.95. A total steal in my opinion. To see other paper stacks, click HERE and contact me if you are interested.

Here are a couple different views with the last one being the final product. Although, I may end up embellishing it a bit more. :)

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Mini Card

2011-07-19T09:17:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Yesterday seemed to just fly by for me which is always a good thing on a Monday. I even managed to get in a workout. Last night I came home to a package with some smash book goodies I had ordered. I got the smash stamps and some pockets and envelopes for my book. The funny things is I still can't get myself to use it. My plan was to use it to create a book of motivation with quotes I like, workout tips and songs and other fun stuff like that. But for some reason I am so afraid that I will start and mess it up or a week later decide that I should have used it for something else. Please tell me I am not the only one that does this!

Today, I have a mini card to share with you. I am not sure what I will use it for but wanted to try out a different size. It seems like the perfect size to pop a gift card in. The card features the stamp set Wonder and Joy which consists of 4 images, and 5 sentiments for $21.95. A great set and a personal favorite. If you are interested in ordering this set or anything else, let me know. I am happy to pool the orders together so that everyone can save on shipping.

Simple Pleasures

2011-07-18T10:14:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. My weekend was good and filled with simple pleasures. I did some crafting and watched movies with my husband. Then Sunday, my husband and I went shopping for a dressy casual outfit to wear to a wedding party we are attending. I searched my closet for something that would work but seemed to only have casual or dressy. I ended up finding an adorable black and white sundress for only $19.99 which I will pair with a short sleeved cardigan that I have at home. Score!

Today, I have a card made by my friend and upline, Karen, I wanted to show you a card with one of the new stamps from The Angel Company. The Angel Company has 3 new designers this year and one of them is Phyllis Harris who is a Children's Book Illustrator. Her designs are some of the cutest I have seen and I am so glad she is a part of The Angel Company so I can create with them. Today's card uses the adorable Enjoy the Ride stamp set which is ONLY $13.95, and comes with 3 additional sentiments. Purchasing stamps from my shop helps me to continue to support Card Cupids and send smiles to children in need. If you would be interested in placing an order or would like a catalog, please contact me and I am happy to help!

Have a super day!

2011-07-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

Friday! This week went by pretty quickly for me and I am so glad it is almost the weekend. After last weekend, I am in need of some relaxation. We don't have much on the agenda this weekend. My biggest plan is to find a gift for someone I don't really know that well. So far I am not coming up with anything. Do you have any go to, inexpensive but nice gifts you give when you don't know the recipient very well? I would love some suggestions!

As promised, today, I have a card with lots of coloring. I had to color this image a few times before I got one that I liked. I really love the image but some of the spaces are so tiny and the colors would bleed over. I guess that is why they say practice makes perfect, or in this case practice makes it better. I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend!!

Congratulations Card

2011-07-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. It was another funky day here. I am not sure what is going on but I am ready for our luck to change and things to get back to normal. We had a pretty bad thunderstorm which resulted in my apartment being flooded and losing power for a bit. Luckily, my husband was home and able to catch the flooding quickly so there is no real damage. Then due to the rain my commute home was a nightmare which resulted in a 2 hour trip home instead of my usual hour to hour and fifteen. But on a positive note, today is Thursday and the weather is beautiful, no humid and cooler temperatures. Here's hoping it will stick through the weekend.

I do have a card to share. A friend of the family recently got married and I made them a quick Congratulations card. This card is similar to yesterday's, again without any copics (yep, definitely going through withdrawal). So tomorrow expect a card with lots of coloring!

Birthday Card

2011-07-13T09:38:00.000-04:00

Morning! I have another birthday card to share today. I think my last one for a bit. I purchased Rustic Chic from The Angel Company awhile back and just love all the patterns. I really wanted to find a way to use the paper without hiding how pretty it was. I decided on a fairly simple design but really love the way it came out, very pretty and feminine. I think I will make some sets just changing up the sentiment to have on hand as a hostess gift for my non-crafty friends.

Birthday Card

2011-07-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

July is a busy month of birthdays for me and after seeing how much a store bought card costs, I have decided to make sure I had all my cards complete ahead of time. On this card, I tried a new technique with my Copics, transparent coloring. For the technique, they recommend using the lightest shade. The lightest shades I have are the 00 shades but it seemed to work out ok but I plan to retry it with the lighter shades once I get them. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Regular Virginia

2011-07-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

Well, it's Monday already. My weekend was a bit of an adventure and not in a good way. Every Friday, after work I have a "hot" date with the grocery store. My commute home was a nightmare with a number of delays and accidents but I decided that going Friday to the store and getting it over with would be ideal so I could relax the rest of the weekend. I did my shopping and was on my way home when I hear this loud noise. I live right next to an airport so I just thought maybe an airplane was overhead. After a few minutes, I notice the cars behind me are slowing down and trying to get away from my car and then I notice this smell of burnt rubber. I pull over and have a completely flat tire, like almost on the rim. Of course, I have no clue how to change a tire and have to call the auto service. The auto service is in Texas and I live in Virginia so you can imagine the call doesn't go to plan. The funniest part, well the only funny part, was when she said "You are in West Virginia?". My reply: "No! I am in regular Virginia." I can't remember the last time I heard someone laugh so hard. I wasn't trying to be funny at the time but of course once I realized what I said, I realized it was pretty funny. When I retold the story to my husband, he couldn't stop laughing either. Throughout the weekend, he would ask me if we are in "regular" Virginia, then what are they irregular Virginia. I won't bore you with the rest of the weekend and having to go to 2 dealerships and a tire center to get my tires changed and waiting for 5 hours in the process but needless to say I was NOT a happy person.

Despite it, I did get some crafting done! Wahoo! Today, I will share one of my favorite cards I made. This card features an image from Mo's Digital Pencil. The image is available for $1 and all of the proceeds go to Pet Orphans of Southern California, a charity that helps families in need pay for veterinary care. A pretty great cause in my opinion so I was happy to support. I love the way the card turned out and was pretty happy with my coloring too.

I hope everyone has a good Monday!

Friday Chit Chat

2011-07-08T10:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I made it to the gym last night so unfortunately there was no time for crafting. By the time I get home from the gym, shower, cook and eat dinner it is nearly time to go to sleep. When I go to the gym I always do cardio and had been bugging my husband to show me some exercises to help tone and build muscle. Well, I think he finally got sick of my whining because he sent me an article with 3 exercises and then showed me how to do them as well as one other upper arm weight exercise. When he showed me, I did my first rep and was like piece of cake. He laughed and said do another set. Um, I think he is trying to kill me but today, this morning walking down the stairs groaning with each step, I know he is.

If you would like to also ~~torture~~ or um, tone and build muscle, I definitely recommend taking a look at this article: 3 Exercises Every Woman Should Do

But I do think that the gym helped to sweat the "funk" out ( Thanks Becky, LOL!) so hopefully, you will see something crafty from me next week.

Have a great weekend!

Coloring

2011-07-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

Still not feeling very creative but I did sit down and color an image. I was able to find some of my "old" paper so this one didn't bleed. Thank goodness! I have been trying to get better at "highlights" with hair by experimenting with different shades and techniques. I think this one came out pretty good although weirdly the highlights look a little pink in the picture but not in real life.

Tonight is my gym night so there probably won't be any crafting to share tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get to sneak in a little bit of coloring though. Hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Birthday Card

2011-07-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

Hello. I hope everyone had a good weekend. My weekend was quiet. I have kind of been in a funk lately and am not sure how to get out of it as my usual tricks don't seem to be working. I think it is partly because I can't exactly put my finger on what it is, just lots of little things. Well, usually some crafty me time works to get me back on track but this weekend I picked up some new white card stock for coloring and I don't think it is good paper because all the colors were bleeding outside of the lines which is definitely not relaxing! So I would love to hear your favorite funk busting tricks.

I did get an adult birthday card done. I think it came out ok despite the bad photo. As simple as the card looks, it took me forever to come up with, I am talking hours. Not sure what that is about. Now, I just have to come up with one more adult birthday card by this weekend. Wish me luck! Hope everyone has a good day!

Back to School Card

2011-07-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

So last night I had to make a birthday card for an adult and was at a complete loss. You would think someone was asking me to do rocket science with the way I was staring at my supplies trying to come up with an idea. I have a few things as far as patterned paper, ribbons that would work for a female adult card but of course, I needed a card for a male. So I was a bad card maker and actually had to stop and buy a card this morning for almost $4~Yikes! This weekend, my goal is to make some adult birthday cards since I have 2 in a couple of weeks and I refuse to buy them. Those $4 could have gone towards a copic at Michaels, for goodness sake!

I do have a card to share today, of course for a child. This one is going into the Card Cupids Back to School Drive. The card uses a stamp from The Angel Company in the Rolling By set. The background paper is from my stash and I thought was super cute with the automobile backgrounds.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Working with Black Copics

2011-06-30T08:53:00.000-04:00

I love coloring with my Copic markers and really find that with more practice the coloring gets better. However, I still seem to struggle when coloring with black (c3, c5, c7, c9). To get more practice, I decided to color this Halloween image. Then of course once I colored it, I needed to make it into a card. It is definitely better than others but still not quite where I want it to be. I seem to either get too much grey or too much black. It is even worse when I try to color hair so there will definitely be more practice for me. Any tips?

Girly Card

2011-06-29T08:59:00.000-04:00

Well, we have reached midweek which lately has felt like an accomplishment. We are in my peak period at my work so I am busy busy during the day and then mentally exhausted by the time I get home. Coloring has been a great way for me to get out of my head and just relax. Today, I have the ultimate girly card. I just love the background paper. The stamp is from The Angel Company which just released the new catalog which I have to say is AWESOME!! They have added lots of great stamps sets including some great new designers, memento ink pads in tons of colors and individual sketch copics with refills, just to name a few. You will definitely want to check it out! To find all the new goodness, visit my shop: http://stephb.ismyangel.net. I am hoping to place an order soon and would be happy to add your order to it so that you can save on shipping. Bonus there are some great gifts with purchase too!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Thumbs Up

2011-06-28T09:35:00.000-04:00

First up, I want to thank, my blog buddy, Becky from Fourth House on the Right for selecting me for a blog award.

Here are the rules for this award

1) Send a thank you to the person who gave you the award.

2) Answer 7 random facts about yourself.

3) Pass this award out to 8 other blogs.

Now for my 7 random facts...
1. I love to read, especially chick lit.
2. I wish I could bake but its probably good that I can't because then I would end up eating it.
3. I hate to clean, but luckily my husband doesn't.
4. I don't like icing and will usually scrape most of it off.
5. Grape flavored candy tastes like medicine to me.
6. I love the smell of cinnamon.
7. I don't think there are many random facts about me. :)

Now to pass it along to:

Jade from The Scrap Yard Rose
Jenn from Scrap Happens- Embellish It
Made by Jacqueline
Sue from Life & Memories
Scrappnbee
Scrappin Ladybug

Today, I have a card that I made for the Card Cupids weekly challenge. The challenge is to make a card for a boy. Card Cupids is collecting back to school cards for a Title I school in Maryland and I will be donating this one for that. This school works with a large number of economically disadvantaged children, specifically work towards improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged children.

I'm Back

2011-06-27T08:47:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I am back from my vacation and finally a little bit caught up. The cruise was so much fun! But way too short. I am already brainstorming my next vacation. On the cruise, we visited Coco Cay and spent time on the beach and went on an eco tour where we got to see some other beautiful islands and sea life. At Nassau, I took my niece on the dolphin experience where we got to get in the water with the dolphins. She was so excited and smiling ear to ear the whole time. It was a blast!

Hope everyone had a good couple of weeks. I will hopefully have a card to share tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Toadally Awesome

2011-06-16T08:46:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! Today will be my last post for a couple of weeks while I get ready for vacation and then vacation. My vacation can't come soon enough. Yesterday was not a good day at all. It started with a 2 hour commute to work (normally it takes me about an hour to go my 23 miles), then finally receiving the news I was waiting for which was not what I hoped for and then ended with a 2 1/2 hour commute home. But today is a new day and I am determined to make it a good one!

Today, I have another card featuring a stamp and sentiment from Hoppy Everything. Its a pretty simple card but I wanted to use up some scraps. I am saving this card for the Card Cupids Back to School Card and School Supply Drive. It seems perfect for that.

Well I hope that everyone has a great day! Hopefully, I will have some fun pictures to share when I get back. See you in a couple weeks!

Doodling

2011-06-15T09:56:00.000-04:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a good evening. Yesterday, I was waiting for some news (which never came) that I was stressing about. So instead of checking my email every 5 minutes, yep, I am obsessive and inpatient like that, I decided to pull out a pencil and do some doodling. It has been YEARS but I find it relaxing. I don't usually share my "doodles" but since we are all friends I figured I would. Plus, I don't have anything else to share today.

The first one is a close up of my favorite and the other two are just a bunch of other people doodles. There are some serious bad hairstyles in the bunch, LOL. I think I might have to get sketch book and some pencils to keep around just for fun.

Toadally in Love

2011-06-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I finally finished up the covers of the scrapbooks for my niece and nephew with just a few days to spare. I plan on packing them along with a glue stick for them to be able to glue in their memorabilia while we are on our cruise. I really hope that they like them and that it will make the trip even more special.

Since my hubby isn't coming on the trip, I thought I would mail him a card to receive while I am gone and of course, I will send him a postcard or two. Although, with such a short trip the postcards might not make it in time. For this card, I used one of the sentiments from Hoppy Everything and the image comes from the sponsor of the weekly challenge at Card Cupids to make cards with an animal.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by.

Harry Potter Card

2011-06-13T09:21:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. I hope that everyone had a fabulous weekend. My weekend was so busy and despite my best effort I still didn't get everything I needed done. Unfortunately, that will make for a very busy week since I am off for vacation very soon. I think I have lists reminding me of lists at this point. :) With being so busy I didn't get too much creating done but I did get the opportunity to make a card for my nephew. He has just started to get into Harry Potter so I thought this card would be perfect. Having never read or seen any of the Harry Potter movies (crazy, I know!) I had to google to get an idea what he should look like. There were quite a few variations amazingly so I hope that the card is close enough and that he will like it.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Wishing you a hoppy everything

2011-06-09T09:24:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I don't know about you but this has felt like a really slow week. I think it is because my vacation is just around the corner. Of course, I have tons to do before I leave but my mind seems to want to jump ahead to vacation mode.

Today, I have a card from a different stamp set, Hoppy Everything. Unfortunately, this is also a discontinuing set so if you want it be sure to get your order in soon. The stamp set has 8 images and 8 sentiments and is on sale for $13.96. I hope to make a few more cards using the images and sentiments over the next week. The picture is a little dark because I took it with my cell phone this morning but hopefully you can get the idea. I am at a conference tomorrow and won't have access to the internet so I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Birthday Card

2011-06-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday! I decided to work some more on my stash building with a Birthday Card using another image from Toodles. As you have probably figured out, this is one of my favorite sets! So many cute teddy bear images and sentiments. I am also entering this card into a few challenges: Scrap Creations Birthday Challenge, Riley and Co Party theme card/project for a child's Birthday. and last but not least Tuesday Throwdown use an animal.

Hope everyone has a great day! Friday is just around the corner.

Best Friends

2011-06-07T09:53:00.000-04:00

Today, I have another card with the adorable Toodles Set. I am entering this card into a couple of different challenges: Catch the Bug's Anything Goes challenge for June and Frosted Design's Fabulous Friends Challenge. My niece plans to send a card or letter to her brother at sleep away camp everyday that he is gone so I thought this card would be perfect for her to use.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope everyone has a fabulous Tuesday.

Card for my Nephew

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I can't believe it is Monday already. I finished up the scrapbooks for both my niece and nephew this weekend except for the cover. I need to do the letter but didn't get a chance to drag out the cricut. My poor neglected cricut hasn't been used in months.

Today, I have a card I made for my nephew who is starting sleep away camp today. It is his first time at sleep away camp, a camp in town that he stays at Monday-Friday and is home for the weekends. He is pretty excited about it. But I keep shaking me head wondering where the time goes and how he got to be old enough to go to sleep away camp! The card I made is also for the challenge over at Card Cupids. Be sure to check it out! I love how it turned out and hope that he will like it too.

Toodles and a Sneak Peak

2011-06-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I have a bit of crafting to do this weekend as I need to finish up the scrapbooks for my niece and nephew because my cruise is just a couple of weeks away. My niece's is about 90% done but my nephew's is not even close. I don't know about you but it is a lot harder for me to create scrapbook type pages without pictures. I am keeping the pages pretty basic but plan to provide a few embellishments and things for them to add to it as they add pictures and memorabilia. Hopefully, that will work out!

Today, I have a card to share and a sneak peak from the upcoming catalog with The Angel Company. They have a few new designers that are amazing. I can't wait to see the catalog. The card uses another image and sentiment from Toodles, a retiring stamp set. I am not sure I am in love with the card but my creative juices were a little hazy with the nyquil. Below is the sneak peak with one of our new designers and a favorite that is back with some new releases. I absolutely adore the second stamp set and can't wait to get my hands on it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

New Stamp Set for June/July

2011-06-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

Today will be another quick post. I caught some terrible bug and was out of commission most of Tuesday and Wednesday. Today, I am finally feeling like I can function so hopefully, I will get to post a card tomorrow. However, I did want to share this adorable new stamp set available with The Angel Company. It is super cute and only available in June and July. For more info, visit my shop: http://stephb.ismyangel.net/Pages/Homepage.aspx

Card for my Niece

2011-05-31T11:58:00.000-04:00

Late posting today so it will be a quick post. It has been a very hectic morning and looks to be a hectic week but luckily a short week. I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. Today, I have a card that I made for my niece. I like to send her and my nephew cards every so often because I remember how excited I was when I would get mail at their age. The card features an image and sentiment from Toodles, one of the discontinuing stamp sets and a favorite.

Hope your day is joy filled

2011-05-27T09:28:00.000-04:00

It's Friday and time for another 3 day weekend. I could definitely get used to this!! This weekend I plan on doing a Keepsake Journal for my niece and nephew that they can take on the cruise and keep for the summer. My thinking is that it will be sort of like a smash book but for kids. I picked up 2 of these books so they would have lines to journal. My plan is to decorate the pages with background paper and minimal embellishments so that they can add in memorabilia and pictures. I also did some googling and found some quotes to add to the pages. Although not nearly enough so I need to look for some more. But of course, now that I have the supplies, I am not sure exactly what to do. I am hoping to get some inspiration online. Any suggestions?

Here are the quotes I have picked out

For my niece:
I'm fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world
Girls just wanna have fun.
Always wear your invisible crown.
To giggle is to have your heart smile out loud.
Dance then, wherever you may be
It's kinda fun to do the impossible
Oh the places you will go
A happy Life is made up of Little Things

For my nephew-
Today you are you that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than You.
Always find a reason to smile.
It's kinda fun to do the impossible
Oh the places you will go

A happy Life is made up of Little Things

Now on to my card, I have another card for the Schools Out Summer Drive using a stamp from Toodles. It is such a fun set. The sentiment is really blurry but it says "Hope your day is joy filled."

I hope everyone has a wonderful joy filled weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy Today

2011-05-26T09:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was kind of a crazy day here. We got some good news and some bad news. It ended up kind of evening out but also will require some serious thought and a plan B. Kind of vague, I know but I am sure you can relate. Part of the good news was I got a Smash Book yesterday. I not sure what I want to do with it. I have a hard time with just being creative in a free flowing way, if that makes sense. I worry that I am not artistic or creative enough. Although, I am hoping that in the end this book will just encourage me to be creative.

Now on to my card, this card uses an image from Rolling By and a sentiment from Toodles. The sentiments from Toodles are some of my favorites. I am sending this in for the Schools Out Summer Drive at Card Cupids. I think the card is perfect for some Summer fun! Well, I hope that everyone is able to enjoy today!

Cards for Katherine

2011-05-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I can't believe it is already Wednesday. I love short weeks. I don't know about you but I had a heck of a time with blogger yesterday. I tried all day long to leave comments for all my blog buddies but for some reason they wouldn't work for 90% of them. It kept showing my log in as anonymous and then wouldn't recognize the word that you have to type in. Not sure what is up with that! Fingers crossed it will be fixed today.

The image comes from Delightfully Spooky. I kept the card pretty basic and without a sentiment because I am not sure what I will use the card for yet. Although I like to have some "boy" cards on hand for the various card drives at Card Cupids so I am sure it will get put to good use soon.

Over at Card Cupids, we are collecting cards for Katherine.

Katherine, 4 years old, was just diagnosed with ALL Leukemia and has begun chemotherapy. She loves butterflies and flowers and watching movies. Her favorite colors are pink and purple. We will be collecting cards for Katherine through June 17. I would love your help to send her LOTS of happy mail.

If you would be interested in sending her a card, you can view the card guidelines HERE.

Please send cards to:
Card Cupids
C/O Stephanie
13203 Overcup Oak Court, Apt 201
Herndon, VA 20171

Hello you

2011-05-24T09:56:00.000-04:00

I'm back! My staycation was nice and relaxing but way too short. By the time I was getting adjusted to not having to get up early for work, it was time to go back to work. Luckily, it is a short week this week and another 3 day weekend. For my birthday, I got a few scrapbooking goodies, some paper pads and supplies to make scrapbooks with my niece and nephew on our cruise next month. My husband is also taking me shopping for clothes for my cruise. I decided to wait until this coming weekend because I figured there would be some good sales with Memorial Day. All in all it was a good 4 days off and I am SO ready to do it again!

Today, I have a card I made with two stamps from the Rolling By. This one will go to the School's Out Summer Drive Card Cupids is hosting.There is a great prize for someone who sends in some cards or items. As part of the prize I am giving some Angel Company goodies. If you would be interested in sending in a card or two for a chance at the prize, check HERE for details.

Make a wish

2011-05-19T08:54:00.000-04:00

Today is my Friday! Yippee!! I am hoping that the work day will go by very quickly so I can get to the business of relaxing and enjoying my weekend. Because I will be off for a couple of days, I was super busy at work and exhausted by the end of the day. BUT I still managed to get to the gym and hit my goal of 4 workouts this week. Outside of that, I didn't get much else done except to color a quick image for an upcoming challenge card. I had this image from Cupcake Cuties that I have been dying to use and finally got a chance to. I don't have an intended recipient but birthday cards always come in handy so it will go in my stash for later.

I hope everyone has a fabulous day and weekend! See you next week!!

Just Saying Hello

2011-05-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

Morning! The countdown is on to my mini staycation. Less than 48 hours to go and I cannot wait! I still have no clue what we are doing. My husband wants me to tell him what I want to do for my b-day but I am so indecisive I would rather him just plan it. Unfortunately, we are expecting rain all weekend so that will limit our plans too. Honestly, I think I would be happy curling up with a few good books and movies all weekend. We'll see.

I made this card just to build up my stash. Now looking at the picture, I am think the yellow paper is too much. The patterned paper does have yellow in it, it is just not showing really well. Once the card is are all put together, I worry about redoing it and tearing the pieces, but I think I will try with this one. The stamp is from the Rolling By stamp set which I love so many cute images.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Forever Friends

2011-05-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I woke up today feeling really energized. I beginning to think that there might be something to this working out thing. Hopefully, feeling great will keep me motivated to go to the gym. My sister told me about this Oprah episode "How to Look and Feel 20 Years Younger" and I read an article that summarized it. It has some great information and tips that I am going to try and implement. It looks like I will be adding a couple of more days to the gym! I would definitely recommend taking a look.

Now onto my card. One of my close friends has a birthday next week so I put together this card for her. I used the stamp set From the Heart for the image and a sentiment from Everyday Events. The card came together pretty quickly and I think the layering helps to make the second pattern stand out a bit more. I love this paper so pretty and feminine.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a great day!

Enjoy Today

2011-05-16T09:04:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I think this past weekend was one of the first weekends where I actually relaxed and enjoyed doing pretty much nothing but spending time with my hubby. What's even better is that I am off this Friday and the following Monday so I get to do it all again very soon while celebrating my birthday.

Today, I have a card using the Toodles set. This set is on the retiring list and is on sale until May 29 for $12.97. The set includes 5 bear images and 6 sentiments. I also used paper from the Toodle Loo paper pack which includes 4 patterned papers and 2 pages of embellishments and tags for $4.95. I adding this to the Card Cupids Schools Out Summer Drive where we are collecting cards and marble notebooks to encourage disadvantaged children to keep a journal this summer, a great cause! There is a pretty great prize that someone will win just for sending in cards and notebooks so take a look!

Birthday Card

2011-05-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

I have been working on a big Summer project for Card Cupids with a new organization for Summer and finally got all the details yesterday. I am pretty excited about it because it is a little different than what we have been doing but still helping children in need which is the whole purpose of Card Cupids. We are going to be working with a elementary school that serves predominately economically disadvantaged children to provide a Summer care package. The care package will consist of a card, (of course!) a journal for the kids to write in, a fun pen/pencil to write with and a bookmark. The projects goal is to encourage reading and writing this summer which I think is a pretty important goal! If you would be interested in making a card to wish them a happy summer, a bookmark or sending in a notebook, pen/pencil, check out the Card Cupids blog for details or send me an email. We are doing a give away to go along with it. Each card/bookmark earns one entry and each notebook or pen/pencil earns two. The deadline is June 8.

Now onto my card, I made another card for my stash using the Rolling By Stamp Set. I just love this stamp and the fun paper as the background. I think this set will be perfect for making some cards (with a different sentiment) for the children so I will get to play with this set some more over the next few weeks. Fun!

From the Heart

2011-05-11T09:30:00.000-04:00

Hello! So you know that commitment (just a week ago!) I made to work out at least 3 times per week. Yeah, not on target for this week. So tonight, I am going to the gym no matter what! I am also making it one of my birthday resolutions. My sister and I started making birthday resolutions a few years ago instead of New Years Resolution. Not sure why but it just seemed like it made more sense to make them on that day. Anyone else make Birthday Resolutions?

Last year, I made 3 and was successful with one (start doing charity again- Card Cupids!), partially successful with the other (start eating healthy) and a big (dare, I say FAT) fail for the last one (lose 35 pounds). Unfortunately with my birthday less than two weeks away, I don't see it changing. I think that this year I will work on being more specific, such as instead of saying to lose weight- I will put to go to the gym 3 times per week. We will see how that goes!

Now onto my card, I made another card with the From the Heart set. Both the sentiment and the image come from the set. I didn't do a lot of shading and highlighting on this card. It is sometimes hard for me to figure out where and how when the images are tiny. I am hoping to watch some more tutorials to see if that will help. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an in person Copic class that works with my schedule but hopefully soon. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Thank You Card

2011-05-10T09:21:00.000-04:00

Today, I have a card using one of my favorite stamp sets, From the Heart. This set is on the retiring list and I am sad to see it go because I think it is super cute and versatile. Luckily, I was able to grab the set before it is gone. This is a set that I would definitely recommend grabbing if you get the chance. It comes with 4 people images, a heart image and three sentiments on sale for $9.57 until May 15. I am going to try and show off a couple of other cards with the set over the next couple of weeks so you can see how adorable it is.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hit the Beach

2011-05-09T09:43:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. My weekend was nice and relaxing but way too short. I managed to get all my errands in, spend lots of time outside enjoying the mostly nice weather and did some crafting. I figured I would start the week with a Summer inspired or cruise inspired card. This stamp, Hit the Beach is one that is being retired and is on sale for $4.77

Thinking of you

2011-05-06T09:04:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I am super glad it is Friday. I just love the weekends, being able to relax with my hubby. We don't have too many plans, some errands including dropping off a bunch of cards, coloring books and crayons at our local Children's Hospital. Even though I don't get to deliver the cards to the kids, I just love dropping them off knowing that for even just a moment their day will be a little brighter. Outside of that, there will be some crafting and working out. I challenged myself to work out at least 3x per week and with my long commute getting two in on the weekend is ideal. I really wish I could enjoy going to the gym but it is just not my favorite thing. I keep hoping that if I get myself into a good routine that might change. Not holding my breath though, LOL.

Here is another stash building card. I wanted something really fun and cheery and the card turned out exactly that way. The stamp comes from the Everyday All Day Booking Set which is a really versatile stamp set for your every day needs. I hope everyone has a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Building a Stash

2011-05-05T09:31:00.000-04:00

I realized this past weekend that I am out of some of the generic cards that I usually have on hand so I decided that over the next couple of weeks I will try to get some Thank You, Thinking of You and Birthday Cards made up for those last minute needs. Today, I have a Thank You card that I made with the Dear Friend Stamp Set and the sentiment comes from my Brown Bag Special. It's another blurry picture. My husband hasn't decided on what camera he wants us to get. He is a researcher which is good and bad. Good because we are usually really happy with what we get but bad because it takes FOREVER for him to make a decision. Me, I would go to Best Buy and just grab the one the sales rep recommends.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thursday!

Have a Twinkly Day

2011-05-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! It is pouring and cold here, of course, just when I was getting used to the warmer weather. This morning the power in my apartment kept going off which made getting ready for work quite the adventure. Amazingly, I made it out the door almost on time and only arrived 15 minutes late with the terrible traffic. The first thing I did when I got in the car was make sure that my shoes matched, LOL. Just in case you were wondering, they did!

Today, I made a card with another of the stamps from Fairy Birthday. This is one of the sets that is retiring so if you like it, you may want to grab it now before they are all gone. The set comes with 4 images and 4 sentiments and is on sale for $10.17. When I made the card, I was worried that the black wouldn't work but I actually like the way it came out. I think it makes the colors pop more. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Birthday Card

2011-05-03T09:16:00.000-04:00

Today, I have a birthday card to share that I made for my brother. For the card, I used a stamp and sentiment from Rolling By. This set contains 5 images and a When I was making my card, I realized that I really don't have many stamps for to make cards for adults, especially men. So of course I will have to rectify this with some shopping in my near future! Do you have any stamps that you like for making cards for men? I would love some suggestions.

Thinking of You

2011-05-02T09:32:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! I had a pretty good weekend here. Started off early on Saturday at the post office to get my passport because my cruise is officially planned for mid June!! So excited. Then I realized, my cruise is officially planned for mid-June, freaked out and went to the gym. Of course, I pushed myself way too hard and then ended up feeling terrible on Sunday, not sore but dehydrated and head ache. So I used that as an opportunity to make some cards. I used another image from the Oh No She Didn't stamp set. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Mothers Day Card

2011-05-01T10:37:00.000-04:00

Where have I been? I am still here but mostly updating my Charming Paper Crafts blog. I would love for you to stop by there and take a look at all the cards I have been creating. I am trying to figure out a way to merge the two blogs together. Has anyone done that?

Over at Card Cupids, we are having a Mother's Day card challenge. I decided to make a card for a friend with a new baby. I used a stamp from the Fibi and Lilly set at The Angel Company. If you would like to join us in the challenge, please stop by the Card Cupids blog to post your Mother's Day Card by next Sunday at 11:59pm. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

You've got a friend in me

2011-04-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I think today is the first really nice day of spring we have had this year. It is absolutely beautiful outside. Unfortunately, I will spend most of my day inside at work but am determined to enjoy a bit of it at lunch. So far they are predicting more delightful weather this weekend so I hope that I will be able to take advantage of it. Saturday, I am going to get a passport. It will be my first one and I am pretty excited. Mostly excited about the reason I will need it, I will be going on a cruise with my mom, sister and my niece and nephew. I am super excited! It will be the first real vacation I have had in years.

In honor of our beautiful weather, I have a very girly springy card to share with you featuring a stamp from Oh No She Didn't. I just love all of the people stamps that The Angel Company has to offer. They are so much fun an so versatile. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

A special place in my heart

2011-04-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have a friend that has been having a rough time lately so I wanted to make her a card to cheer her up. I used an image from Dear Friend and the sentiment from Fibi and Lilly. For this card, I decided to round the corners as I had seen on Becky's blog which I think added a really nice finished look to the card. A technique that I will definitely be using again! Thanks Becky!

Again, I have a blurry photo but on a positive note, I think I have finally convinced my husband it is time to update the digital camera! Of course, he wants all this techie stuff that I have no clue about but if it gets me better pictures, I am all for it.

Butterfly Card

2011-04-27T09:38:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but this week and this year is flying by. I can't believe May is just a few days away. I tried another card with my Delightfully Spooky Stamp set. This stamp is definitely a favorite and will get lots of use. I am adding the card to the Card Cupids April Showers of Smile and Love Card Drive to hopefully brighten the day of one of the children in the hospital. I love knowing that something I made might make a day or even a few moments easier for someone. It really is my favorite part of craft making.

Recently, I had someone ask if Card Cupids only sends cards to children. While that is our focus, we are certainly happy to send well wishes to others such as someone in the hospital, undergoing treatment or a military personnel who is overseas. If you know of someone that could use some happy mail, please email info@cardcupids.org. We would love to brighten their day! Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Fathers Day Card

2011-04-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

Good Morning! I decided to get a head start on some cards because I am swamped at work and with life in general. So this weekend, I decided to use an image from the Good Things stamp set to make a Father's Day card. I absolutely adore this image.The picture really doesn't do the card or image justice but we had another cloudy rainy night. Hope everyone has a great day!

A Delightfully Spooky Day

2011-04-25T09:18:00.000-04:00

I ordered the adorable Delightfully Spooky set of stamps because I knew they would be perfect to send to children in need to brighten their day. Although, I didn't intend for this card to end up looking like a Halloween card, it definitely did in the end. I don't know about you but sometimes I feel like my cards create themselves despite my original plan. I will probably stash this away for Halloween and try again at making a card with the images that is more versatile. I had hoped to use a border punch that I picked up, one of the around the corner ones but despite studying the directions, I have yet to figure out how to get it to work correctly. So now I will need to search the web for a video unless someone here can give me some tips!

Don't forget to check out the Final Farewell sale! Selected stamps are 45% off until May 1. To view the stamps and place an order, check out my site.

Sorry for the blurry picture, the weather was so yucky, it was hard to get a decent shot!

A happy hello

2011-04-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Friday! Oh, how I have missed you!

Today, I have a fun card to share with you featuring an image from Oh No She Didn't. I love the images in this stamp set. The paper also comes from the Frutti Fusion Paper pack on sale for $1.25 that I told you about earlier this week. Lots of great designs for the spring and summer. On a side note, I think I finally found my go to skin tone combo with my beloved Copics, I used E50, E51 and YR00 and just LOVE the way it comes out. Of course, I switch it up quite often but this combo seems to be my favorite! Did you know that The Angel Company sells Copic sets? If you host a party or join our Hostess Club, you can get 40% off one of these sets which is a great deal! Let me know if you would like more info.

Thinking of You

2011-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Good Morning. The weekend is finally in sight, just a couple more days. It has been a long week for me, so busy at work I can hardly catch my breath and then when I get home I end up crashing and not getting much done.

Today, I have a card that uses a stamp from the Fibi and Lilly set. This set comes with 4 cute images and a bunch of sentiments. I have had this paper for quite some time and honestly have to say I am not too fond of it. I did think that it worked well with the image because the flowers look similar but still not my favorite. I have a stack of paper that is just not my style that I am not sure what to do with, toss it, donate it, keep it. What do you do with the paper that is just not your style? I read that someone did a swap where people added all their paper they didn't want and then mailed the box around and others would take what they liked. Sounds like a great idea to me! I will have to see if I can find one I can join or maybe if there is enough interest I can put one together so leave a comment if you want to swap some paper from your stash that is just taking up space and I will see what I can do. Don't forget to check out the fantastic Final Farewell Sale that is going on. All of the commission I use to mail Card Cupid packages. Also, we have 2 cuties that we are collecting cards for until April 29 as well as a card drive for two children's hospitals. They could really use some happy mail so if you have time to make a card or two, please check it out!