Tiny (and Timely!!) :)

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Hi, all!  About to head off to work, so thought I'd pop in for a quick (and I mean QUICK!) share!

I created this card for the current Ten Minute Craft Dash -- I find these so fun…  I'm kinda a little hooked  ;)  The colors this go-round were a buttery yellow, red, and light blue…  Gotta admit that this one was a bit of a challenge for me….

So, I thought of the sage advice of my crafty friend, Melissa Shea, and channeled the words I've seen from her so many times: when stumped, go small!

So, here it is, my little 4" square 10-minute card!  :)

     

Anyway, hope you like it!  Have a great Friday!  :)

DeNami Blog Hop -- Patterned Paper! :)

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Good morning!  Welcome to another DeNami Design Blog Hop!!  This month's theme is Patterned Paper -- which I am totally stoked about!!  (You know I love me some patterned papers!  :)

If you are hopping in order, you should be arriving here from Annette's fabby blog -- I'm sure she had something really fun to share!  Remember if you get lost along the way or just want to start over from the beginning, you can always go to the DeNami blog for a full list of participants!

So I mentioned I might have a teensy-weensy thing for patterned paper…  I just love it -- and rarely do a project where there isn't some little morsel of it included somewhere…  So, for this blog hop, I definitely included some patterned paper, but I also wanted to create some using my very favorite DeNami stamp -- the Garden Bunch!

Can you see why I love this stamp so much??  It's super-fun to color (and you can make it match any color scheme you're working with!) and it's just so sweet!  And I also really love it on this printed patterned paper from Simple Stories -- stamping on printed cardstock has totally become one of my go-to techniques lately, too!  ;)

I paired it all with this little sentiment stamp from the Everyday Greetings Petit Fours set and finished it all off with some sweet sequins from Neat & Tangled...

Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope you like my card!  I'm about to send you on your way to one of my favorite bloggers, Emily Keaton, but before I do, I wanted to remind you that DeNami Design will be giving away two mini shopping sprees to two lucky people just for commenting along the hop!  :)  You have until 11:59 pm PST on Monday, June 10th to get your comments in!  :)  Good luck!

Thanks again for visiting!  Have a great day!

Flying High!!

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Good morning!  TGIF!  :)

Normally, Fridays are work days for me -- and busy ones, at that! -- but today, I am off!  :)  There's a stamping/scrapbooking convention in town, and I'm planning a big day of rummaging through all kinds of crafty fun!  I always have to be careful about these things to remind myself there is actually a difference between "I want!" and "I need!" (and I have found through past experience that that difference has a dollar amount!  It can be the difference between my spending a little today or WAY TOO FREAKIN' MUCH!  ha!  Wish me luck!!  :)

But before I head out, I wanted to stop in to share a card I made for a sweet young man I know who just had a super-great week at school!

I was inspired by two challenges in making this card, the Coloring challenge over at Lawnscaping and the It's a Man's Man's Man's World challenge over at A Blog Named Hero.

             

The clouds and the airplane are from Lawn Fawn's Bon Voyage set.  The die cut is Hero Arts' Heart Frame, the background stamp is from Four Hearts, and the sentiment is from Everyday Sayings.

I was super-happy with the way this one turned out and I know it'll be a hit with my little neighbor!

Hope you have a great day!!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Scootin' By the Milestones!

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Hello!  Just popping in tonight with a quick post to share a card I made (with the help of my mom -- who is the world's least fussy fussy-cutter!) for my sweet niece Kenzie.

Kenzie is graduating from the 5th grade tomorrow!  I can't believe she's old enough for this already -- I know people say that all the time, but it's so true.  She is my oldest niece, and therefore the first to reach this milestone… and, though she's certainly ready, I'm not sure I am… :)

Kenzie has the sweetest personality -- she is kind and caring and generous with her affection.  She is a good friend and a great big sister.  She has a wild imagination and can spin a yarn, to be sure…  She has a flair for the dramatic and has never been one to shy away from the spotlight (some of my favorite memories are of her and her younger sister standing on my hearth like it was a stage belting out {all the romantic} songs from their favorite Disney movies, or spinning each other around and attempting actual lifts like they were on Dancing with the Stars, or filming videos of themselves acting like weather reporters on my iPhone…).  She gives the best hugs and still lets me kiss that sweet spot on the bridge of her nose that I have loved since she was a baby…

I know the day is coming when she will be too cool to be playful and silly, and probably too hip for me or her parents or her Grammie (I think my sister and I already embarrass her more than we would want to admit!)  But that day isn't here yet!!  :)  Today, even as a soon-to-be middle-schooler, she is still our sweet girl.  And we love her to pieces!!!  :)

There She Goes Clear Stamps:  Scootin' By & Scootin' By Accessories

 Love you, Kenzie!  So proud of you!!!  :)

They Call Me Mellow Yellow!

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Hello!  Hope your week is kicking off with a bang!  :)

I am officially on my last day of vacation, but I can honestly say I'm ok with that!  I have had lots of time to rest, to just do *fun* things, whatever!  This obviously means I have spent many hours in my craft room this week…  Lots of fun!  :)

I wanted to pop in today with a card I made because I had this color scheme in my head and just had to do something with it!  It's an aqua, buttercream, and a gold yellow.  (incidentally, I used PTI's Aqua Mist and Harvest Gold, and HA's Butter Bar)

{Sidenote:  Last weekend, I was finally able to convince my mom to spend a little crafty time with me (this just isn't really her thing usually…).  I talked her into making a card and even let her ink up a brand new stamp set I hadn't even had a chance to play with yet (you stampers understand…)!  In this process, we spent quite a while trying to pick a color scheme she liked and I stumbled into this one -- which I loved, but she didn't!  lol. }  

The layout of this card is inspired by this week's sketch over at (CAS)E This Sketch! 

Hope you like it…  I'll be back soon -- like I said, I've got lots to share over the next several days!  ;)

Donkey Dash -- Caught on Camera! :)

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Hello!  Happy Thursday!  :)  

I have been on vacation this week (despite having to work yesterday -- boo!) and have thoroughly enjoyed my time…  I have been able to spend some time with some family, do a little work around the house, work on organizing my stamps (!), and even get a little inky!

But yesterday was a new kind of crafty for me -- techno-crafty!  :)

I decided to film a video of my 10 Minute Craft Dash (have you participated in the 10MCD yet?  I am loving this challenge hosted by Paulina of Pretty Pink Posh…  Frantic, Frazzled, Fun -- and a completed project in under 10 minutes!! :)

I am playing along with a past color scheme, just to hone my skills, so this isn't for an active challenge…

Please remember this is my first-ever video…  be kind!!  :)  I filmed it with my iPhone and edited on my Mac…  Would love any little bit of advice you might have if these things are "in your wheel-house…"  :)

{ETA:  I have had a couple of reports that the video isn't working here on the blog -- not sure why not…  It is, however, working on YouTube if you click that option on the video…  Gonna have to keep tinkering on my new skills, apparently! }

Here's my completed card:

And proof of my finished time -- think that's the closest I've ever cut it!!

Hope you liked my video -- I would love to hear from you!  Thanks for stopping by!

I'm off to enjoy what looks to be a beautiful day here…  Hope you're having a great week, too!  :) 

Hexed by CAS!

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Hello!  I know it's been a few days since my last post, but I have good reasons -- I promise!  ;)

First, let me start by saying I am officially on vacation.  Finally!  So last week was a little crazy at work trying to make sure I had all my loose ends wrapped up before I left…  It was a lot of long hours and very little sleep, which made for one super-crabby me…  :-/

But we had a terrific weekend, how about you?  We had some good family time celebrating my aunt's big birthday (we went to place called Painting With a Twist -- a little bit of painting and a little bit of wine! -- and had a great time…  Let me tell you…  I am no painter -- and no amount of wine could turn me into one!  My "masterpiece" may find itself gifted in a White Elephant exchange this Christmas!!!  ;)

But in the midst of all of that, I did find time for some late-night crafting…  and here's what I came up with…

I love these soft colors and think they'd be perfect for a baby card, too…  I tried to keep it as CAS as I could, because the challenge this week over at A Blog Named Hero is to Clean Up Your Act :)  And, I have to tell you, this is about as CAS as I get…  (and it's darn near the flattest card I've ever done…  not a lick of dimensional adhesive on this one!)

Thanks for stopping by…  Hope you have a stellar week!  :)

Floral Frenzy! :)

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Good Morning!  If you haven't guessed already, I am here this morning participating in the Fresh Florals Blog Hop for DeNami Designs!  I am sooo excited about this hop because florals are just right up my alley!  (is that a Southern term?  Or does it translate where you are?? :)  Regardless, I love working with florals -- stamps, patterned papers, embellishments -- you name it!! 

Hopefully, you have arrived here from the very fun blog of Tina Milbourn, who always has such fun things to share -- no doubt she did it again today!  :)  If not, or you want to catch the hop from the beginning, head on over to the DeNami website...

One of my favorite floral images from DeNami is this little cutie called Garden Bunch.  Seriously, how cute is this???  :)

I hope you like my card…  I had a really good time putting this one together!  (If you've been here before, you probably know I kind of have a *thing* for patterned papers -- I never met a 6x6 pad I didn't like…  ok, that may be an over-statement, but you get the idea! ;)

Before I send you off to see what kind of fabulousness Wendy Elliott has in store for you (can't wait to see myself!), I just want to remind you that DeNami Designs will be giving away two mini shopping sprees to people who comment throughout the hop…  You have until 11:59 pm PST on Monday, May 20th to leave your comments to be eligible for one of the prizes!  :) 

Hope you enjoy the hop!  Have a super-fab Sunday!  :)

Got a minute?? :)

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Hello, and Happy Friday!  I am excited for several reasons today…  First, my beloved Spurs won last night and are advancing to the NBA Conference finals…  (whew!).  Second, I am officially beginning my countdown to vacation -- one week from tomorrow, I will be starting a 10-day vacation (only seven work days to go!!!).

And, finally, I have several projects to share with you today that I am super-excited about!  :)

All of these have been inspired by the PaperSmooches Sparks Challenges -- a couple are from sketches and one from am inspiration photo…  Sooooo…  without further ado…  Here we go!

PaperSmooches:  Get Outta Town & My Guy

This card (which I LOVE!) was based on the sketch above (translated quite literally, I might add!).  I think it's a super-fun take on our "need to get away" every now and then!  {Side note: The last time I thought I would be super-swanky and cool and rent a convertible on my vacation, we were in Florida. In August.  It was 140 degrees with 98% humidity.  The top never came down, not even once.  True story.}

PaperSmooches:  Spring Groves,  My Guy,  &  Word Salad

Photo credit here

This card was inspired by this adorable picture (who doesn't love burlap and buttons??).  I loved the look of the stacked buttons and wanted to play with that on my card.  Pretty fun, no??  :)

PaperSmooches:  Word Salad &  Get Outta Town

This card was inspired by the sketch above.  It's a bit of a departure for me -- I wanted to keep it pretty simple -- and just let the stamps speak for themselves!  I love those little cocktails!  :)  (In fact, I might need one…  ;)

Hope you get your weekend off to a rockin' great start!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

For Mom, With Love :)

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Hello!  I am going to slip this one in under the wire -- and for very good reason!

When I first saw this delicious Tuesday Trigger a while back over at Moxie Fab World,  I instantly knew I wanted this to be the inspiration for the card I would make for my mother for Mother's Day.  The problem was that I wouldn't be giving my mother her card until Mother's Day, and I didn't want to blast it for the whole world to see before I gave it to her!  ;)

So, here I am with the card I have *just* given my mother (who, btw, is one of the best people I know in the world.  I am a lucky, lucky girl to have been given the Mom I was…  I don't tell her nearly as often as I should how much she means to me, but that doesn't change how thankful and blessed I am to have her in my life.  :)

I hope you were able to celebrate the women in your life today, and that you moms out there were celebrated (and maybe even spoiled a bit!) and reminded how loved you are…  :)

Black, White and Red All-Over!

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*** This is my second post today!  For my first post (which you won't want to miss ;) click here or continue to scroll on down! ***

Hello!  I'm back with a quick post to share a card inspired by Laurie Willison.  Her card is a too-cute thank you for a teacher…  Check it here.

I don't have kids -- the only kiddos in my life are my out-of-this-world (literally.) nieces and my babies of the four-legged furry variety.  Since it's not common for a teacher to receive a thank you note from one their student's aunts (at least I wouldn't think it would be…  hmmmm….), I drew my inspiration from Laurie's colors rather than her theme…

I really picked up on the boldness of her colors, particularly the black, white, and red…  So here it is:

Oh my gosh, how cute is that elephant?!?  He comes from a set called "Jungle Out There" by There She Goes Stamps which I am in LOVE with!  (You'll see more from this set in the days ahead!!!  :)

Here's a pic of Laurie's inspiration for the Muse Card Club: 

Ok, so this really does wrap up my posts for today…  can't remember the last time I did two in one day!  Hope you have a great start to your weekend!  And all you moms out there -- I hope there is lots of pampering in your futures!  Soak it all up!  :)

Pretty in Purple!

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Good mornin'!  And happy Friday!  I mentioned a couple of posts back that I have really just been in the mood to color recently… and it's true.  I have found myself in each of my last several projects intentionally looking for stamp sets that would allow me to pull out my Copics -- and today's post is no exception…

This one took me awhile (like, a couple of nights), which at the time was just what I needed -- pure distraction! :)

I have mentioned here before (like on this card) that some of my favorite images to color are actually pieces of art by the fabulously talented Hannah Lynn (I first heard of her from a lady I sat next to in one of my Copics certification classes).  Hannah sells digi stamps (like I used here) and other coloring goodies in her etsy store.

Anyway, she does a lot of things I'm not normally into (like fairies and dragons and things like that), but I can't resist her faces and eyes and hair -- crazy fun to color!!!

I based this card on the sketch over at RetroSketches this week (or, at least, an inverted version of it!).

Hope you like it -- I think she's kinda purty…  I wish I had hair like that -- can you say "straight as a board?!?!"  ;)

Have a fabulous Friday -- I know I plan to!  :)