The Stamping Scrapbooker

Hey! Remember me?

2012-02-17T10:51:00.002-07:00

I have been quite the busy girl lately, getting settled with my new job, new city, all that fun stuff...and then last week my momma came to visit me! Billy had to go play war games for awhile, so mom wanted to keep me company:) She left yesterday though (so sad!) and I have a three day weekend, so I did some stamping this morning to catch up on some deadlines I missed, lol!

*******************************************************

First up is this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge! Laurie is our sketch artist this week and I sure love her sketch!

I thought all those vertical strips would be PERFECT for using some of those old scraps I have stuck in my 6x6 paper pads. For my card, I used scraps from Crate Paper's "Paper Hearts" collection and "Wings of Love" by Verve!

I was also able to use my fabulous "Wavy Hearts die set" to cut those hearts out. I really love this sketch, hope you guys can play along! Visit our forums for the details and to share your cards!

********************************************************

Next up is my late card for this week's Deconstructed Sketch!

Here's my card, using an old favorite from The Craft's Meow:)

I stamped the little butterfly/angel from "Butterfly Kisses" in gray Fresh Ink and then added some stickles to her wings! The sentiment was stamped on a tag created with the Grommet Tags from Spellbinders and TCM's coordinating "Timeless Tags" set. The papers are from OA's Farmhouse. I really love the shabby theme lately, can you tell? LOL!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch challenge team's cards!

Thanks for stopping by today, I'll be around more often now that I'm getting all settled!

Sparkle Creations Sneak Peeks! Easter Bunny Ruby

2012-02-11T11:11:00.001-07:00

Good morning!! I'm here this morning with a peek at a new stamp, now available, from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps!

All new stamps are now available to buy from the SCRS store! Click here or above on the Buy Stamps link to start shopping now. We are also previewing the darling 'Easter Bunny Ruby' stamp today - isn't she the cutest?

This is Easter Bunny Ruby-

She is simply ADORABLE in her little bunny shrug:) The papers are from OA Sidewalks (Love this paper!) If you like the layout, you can thank Jen D for that;) This is the February SFYTT!

Be sure to visit our fabulous SCRS designers for more peeks of Easter Bunny Ruby. Sparkle will be giving away a Easter Bunny Ruby rubber stamp to one lucky person! For a chance to WIN, you need to visit and comment on all of the designers' Easter Bunny Ruby blog posts (listed below) and then leave a comment under this very post here on the SCRS blog. You have until midnight EST tonight to comment.

Alice Wertz
Amber Hight
Danielle Lounds
Kerri Michaud
Kim Yu
Margie Cortina
Pam Varnell {February Guest Designer}
Savannah O'Gwynn
Shaela Odd
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft

And the rest of the SFYTT team to see some more samples with this sketch---

Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Iwona Palamountain
Becky Carafa
Megan Lock

Jen Del Muro

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend:)

Sparkle Creations Sneak Peeks: Leprechaun Oliver!

2012-02-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

Is anybody ready for a new release from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps? Sparkle has the most ADORABLE stamps coming out this Saturday, you just don't want to miss this release!

Today, the team is previewing an adorable new Oliver stamp, meet Leprechaun Oliver!

The green paper is from OA's Sidewalks collections and I colored Oliver in to match:) Isn't his little suit *SO* adorable??

You like the sketch? This is this weeks Deconstructed Sketch Challenge! You simply MUST play along, it's a really fabulous sketch:) I will be keeping this one in my stash for sure!

See the Deconstructed Sketch Blog for more samples from the rest of the team:)

Also be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Leprechaun Oliver. Sparkle will be giving away Leprechaun Oliver to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Oliver post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day!

Kim Yu

Pam Varnell -

February Guest Designer Savannah O'Gwynn

Shaela Odd

Simonne Clay

Sparkle Smith

SFYTT February 2012

2012-02-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's the first Saturday of the month, and that means we have a new Sketch For You to Try (SFYTT!) Our fabulous sponsor this month is

They have so many adorable stamps, I'm sure you'll find something you can't live without;)

Here's our sketch for this month, it's another awesome one!

Here's my card using Kali from Hawaii

I used papers from BG and the sentiment stamp is from PTI.

I colored Kali in with Copics to match the papers:)

Wanna play along this month? Here are the details!

Just head on over to Jen's blog and link your cards up on THIS POST.

Now Check out what all the SFYTT Sisters came up with, too!…

Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Becky Carafa
Carole Burrage
Iwona Palamountain
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Susan Liles

and… Jen Roach and Veronica Zalis from the YNS DT

Thanks for stopping by, we can't wait to see your creations!

SCRS #72 - Superbowl time!!!

2012-01-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Who's ready for another Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps challenge??? This week, we're talking FOOTBALL!

Now, I'm not a HUGE football fan, but I do watch it if my husband has it on.

Our favorite team is the Oakland Raiders so I went with Raiders colors for my card! Black, Gray/silver, and I had to add a pop of color in there too, lol! Here's my card using Lantern Rin--

Rin is stamped on Neenah cardstock and colored with Copics.

The papers are from Bazzill and the flowers are by Prima. The vines coming out either side of the flower bundle is the Leafy Sprigs die set Sunny Days stamp set by Verve.

Make sure to head over to the SCRS challenge blog for details! If you want to play along, just create a card and link it up on the linky tool on the blog! Can't wait to see your creations:) Now go visit these sweet ladies and leave them some love!!

Sparkle Creations Blog

Alice Wertz

Amber Hight

Danielle Lounds

Debbie Carriere

Kim Yu

Shaela Odd

The Crafts Meow January Sketch Challenge

2012-01-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Ahoy out there! Okay I don't know why I chose to open with "Ahoy" other than I always seem to flounder when I'm trying to decide how to open my post, lol! Oh well, mission accomplished...my blog post has been opened;)

I had some time today to play with The Crafts Meow's January sketch!

Here's my card using "Fly Free" by TCM...

The papers are from MME, as usual, I forgot which line, lol. All my paper pads are all over my stamp room right now, it's a disaster! I used some Prima flowers, some lace, and Buttercream twine from The Twinery!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend:)

SFYTT, the January deadline is almost here!!!

2012-01-28T08:15:00.002-07:00

The January SFYTT deadline is upon us, you have until Tuesday night at 11:59 to get your cards done and linked up on Jen's blog post HERE! So if you haven't got a chance to play with this sketch yet, carve some time out for yourself this weekend;)

January SFYTT

Here's my card using a sweet stamp from Taylored Expressions

This stamp set is "Capture my Heart", don't you love that penguin? I used some papers by Bazzill and the cardstock is from PTI.

I hope you can play with us! Here are some details for you...

Thanks for coming by!

Viva la Verve!

2012-01-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

I've got a quick card to share today using Diva Teresa's VLV sketch for this week! It's a really fun one, so give it a try and link it up for us over in our forums on Splitcoast!

Here's my card using some stamps from Wings of Love, the Happy Valentine's Day PJ, and a fun heart die from the new Wavy Hearts die set!

The papers are from the Paper Heart Collection by Crate Paper. I did alot of distressing, and even got my pink Shimmerz spray out for this card! I have tons of that stuff and never use it, lol! The little heart stamps, "my angel" stamp, and wings are from Wings of Love and the "Happy Valentine's Day" is one of our newest Plain Janes and a real steal at only $3!

I cut a heart out of kraft cardstock with the largest of the two heart dies, layered a button and twine on top, and then stamped and cut out the wings. I think I'll be using those wings alot, I love them!

Have you heard about the Purge hop? Well some crafty friends of mine went through their stashes and found stuff they were willing to give away! I was supposed to be joining them but waited until the last minute to start my purge so I had to back out. Dang! Oh well, we'll be doing it again and I'll be ready for it then because lord knows I have plenty I need to purge! If you haven't seen the blogs yet, visit these girls and leave a comment for a chance to win some goodies!!

1. Tosh 6. Julee

2. Andrea 7.Janelle

3. Maureen 8. Betty

4. Sonja 9. Jen

5. Laurie 10. Teresa

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Deconstructed Sketch 35~Owl Always Love You!

2012-01-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Heyo! Anyone out there want to play in our Deconstructed Sketch challenge this week? Check out this amazing sketch and I bet you WILL!

Here's my card using a fun Itty Bitty from Unity!

I was able to check out a new stamp store close by and then had a bunch of Unity and I just LOVED this one so I grabbed it up (last one, oh yeah!) They also had MFT, Stamping Bella, CC Designs, La La Land, and Whipper Snapper! I'm SO happy I found this place, I'm sure I'll be back a ton! The papers are from MME Love Me.

So I got a new job this week! I'm at the dentist office, my dentist giving me a couple fillings, and she starts asking me if I live close by, am I working, etc...and then says "Oh well I really like you and your personality, I want you to work here in my front office!" Ummm...can you say SHOCKED??? I adore my dentist, she is the sweetest lady so of course I snapped that job up in a heart beat! I start on Monday and I'm so excited:) This one HAS to be better than my last job *shudders*

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today! Check out the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls' blogs!

SCRS Challenge #71--Sketch time!

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for another Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps challenge! This week, we have a fun sketch to play with, check it out!

Here's my sample using the newly released Fashion Karber set!

I colored the image up with my Copics and then cut it out with a spellbinders oval die. I couldn't get the sentiment I wanted to use to work on that sentiment panel in the sketch, so I cut it out with an oval punch from SU! instead. It's still pretty true to the sketch! The papers are from BG's Picadilly line, which I LOVE!

You ready for more inspiration? Check out with the other girls came up with!

Sparkle Creations Blog

Alice Wertz

Amber Hight

Danielle Lounds

Debbie Carriere

Kim Yu

Shaela Odd

Thanks for stopping by today!!

SFYTT Twitterpated!

2012-01-15T12:04:00.002-07:00

Have you had a chance to play in the SFYTT yet this month? If not, you really must give this sketch a try!

Here's another card from me using the newly released Twitterpated from Verve!

I kinda *love* these two characters, they remind me of Kokeshi dolls from Japan, lol! I colored them with Copics and then cut them out and situated them on the circle die cut. The papers are from Miss Nelly by Kaiser Kraft! Instead of having my ribbon run horizontally like the sketch, I ran it vertically so my card looks a little different from the sketch. I just thought the ribbon would look better this way on my card:) I also love the short, sweet sentiments. Love ya. Simple as that:)

Here's a list of a few of the SFYTT sisters that are posting more inspiration this week!

Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Iwona Palamountain
Becky Carafa
Megan Lock

Thanks for stopping by today, hoping you're having a wonderful, crafty weekend!

After Party Blog Hop!

2012-01-14T14:40:00.003-07:00

Goodness, if this next couple days gets me as backed up as the last few days have, I'm in trouble, lol! So sorry to be blogging late again! Today, the Verve divas are having an after part blog hop! Did you see the new stamps and dies that were released yesterday? Oh you will LOVE THEM!

I decided to ink up my Wings of Love set again today, I just love the fonts in these new sets.

I cut the butterflies out with the new All A Flutter die set and then stamped them with Fresh inks. I stamped the sentiment on a label that I cut out with my Classy Label die.

I used Andrea's sketch for this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge!

Thanks for stopping by today! Now go check out what the rest of the Diva's have for you today!

*January 14, 2012*

1. Amy	8. Tosha
2. Maureen	9. Laurie
3. Sankari	10. Julee
4. Andrea	11. Janelle
5. Teresa	12. Betty
6. Amber	13. Shannan
7. Charmaine	14. Jackie

SCRS January Preview: Karber Fashion

2012-01-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm quite late so I do apologize to anyone looking for my Sparkle Creations blog post!

Today, we're previewing an AMAZING new set from Karber. I'm so in love with these lil fashionistas:) Cute, aren't they?

Here's my sample!

In keeping with my "Less is More" theme this week, I kept it simple, choosing instead to focus on the image and a couple embellishments to add a little flair:) These are really fun images to color, and quite large! This card measures 5"x5" so you can see how big that image is.

Be sure to visit our fabulous designers for more peeks of Karber Fashion. Sparkle will be giving away a Karber Fashion stamp set to one lucky person! For a chance to WIN, you need to visit and comment on all of the designers' Karber Fashion blog posts (links listed below) and then leave a comment under this very post here on the SCRS blog. You have until midnight EST tonight to comment.

Amber Hight
Danielle Lounds
Kerri Michaud
Margie Cortina
Savannah O'Gwynn
Sparkle Smith

Verve Spotlights Day 3-Twitterpated!

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm just TWITTERPAITED today! This stamp set is SO dang cute, you will love it! For my card, I used the frame and a sentiment from the set, but I'm sure you'll see OTHER really adorable pieces of this stamp set floating around today;)

I cut the frame out with the matching die, called "Hearts and Swirls"! The coordinating stamp found in Twitterpated, it pretty amazing, don't you think?

All the papers are from MME's Love Me collection!

*edited to add*

I forgot to mention that this card uses this week's new Deconstructed Sketch from Jen!! This was such a fun sketch so if you're looking for a good challenge, head on over to her blog HERE!

I'm keeping this post quick tonite, as I've been sooooo busy unpacking boxes! PLUS there are soooo many other beautiful blogs to visit! Go check 'em out! Hop along with the Divas over the next few days as we share our first looks at a few of the new products releasing from Verve this Friday night! One lucky commenter from each day's hop will win the sets and dies featured that day, so be sure and leave a little love in the Divasphere! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize details and deadlines

*January 13, 2012*

1. Amber	7. Amy
2. Teresa	8. Laurie
3. Charmaine	9. Maureen
4. Andrea	10. Julee
5. Tosha	11. Sankari
6. Janelle

January Spotlights Day 2-Wings of Love

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to day 2 of our January release spotlights! Today, we're shining that light on a GORGEOUS new valentine's set called Wings of Love. There is also a matching die set that coordinates with this set, which is totally amazing!

I have to apologize for the quality of this picture. I waited until the last minute to get my picture and now I can't get the right light! Drat. Well...imagine this is a WHITE card, lol! I wanted to go clean and simple on this card because layers and lots of detail are not my friend this week! Trust me, I don't know how many of my cards went in the trash this week, until I just went simple. Then I started to love them:) I wanted this one to be as masculine as possible, as I plan on giving it to my manly-man honey! He doesn't mind a little sparkle though, thank goodness for that! I cut the hearts out with the two hearts from the Wavy Hearts die set and then stamped the coordinating stamps on the die cut hearts.

One lucky commenter from each day's hop will win the sets and dies featured that day, so be sure and leave a little love in the Divasphere! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize details and deadlines.

*January 12, 2012*

1. Janelle	7. Teresa
2. Julee	8. Andrea
3. Laurie	9. Sankari
4. Tosha	10. Maureen
5. Charmaine	11. Amy
6. Amber

SCRS Sneak Peeks-Nurse Lucy!

2012-01-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to day 1 of the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps January Release sneak peeks! Whew, that was a mouthful, lol!

Today, the SCRS team is previewing a new Lucy stamp set! This is Nurse Lucy and she is soooo sweet!

I kept this card really simple, as I wanted to focus on Lucy. The papers are from BG's Picadilly line and the ribbon is May Arts I think.

Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Nurse Lucy. Sparkle will be giving away Nurse Lucy to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Lucy post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day! We'll be back tomorrow with another sneak peek!

Kim Yu

Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog

New Verve Release, THIS FRIDAY!

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Does new Verve make everyone else as happy as it makes me? I don't know what Julee does to the these stamps, but something in the way they smell when you take them out of the package that first time really makes me happy *grin* So the sneak peeks start today! Are you ready for it??? The Diva's have all been hard at work on this release and I can tell you they've pulled out all the stops, be prepared to be amazed as you hop along to all their beautiful blogs!

Today, we're peeking THREE new sets. One full set, Lucky You, and two new Scripture Plain Janes! But we're not stopping there, we also have a new die set to share with you today:)

I've used the new set "Lucky You" for this card and as you can see, Julee added her signature whimsy into this adorable clover leaf! There are 4 different sized clovers and the matching die set has dies for the three largest! I didn't use the dies for my card here, but that's just because I used the CPS sketch 250 for this card and that's just how it turned out, lol! I stamped the clovers on the squares and added a rhinestone to three of them, and a button and the sentiment onto the last one. The sentiment is stamped on the smallest tag made from the Tiny Sweet Scallops die set. I felt that my card needed an extra "something" and lace always seems to do the trick:) I really love this fun set and can't wait to make more cards with the clover dies!

The next card I'm sharing uses one of the two new scripture Plain Janes! I really do love this verse:

This is Psalm 63:3-4. I went a little shabby again on this card and really love the turquoise and gray combo! The papers are from Lily Bee Designs. I stamped the sentiment on the orignal Sweet Scallop Tag die and added some flowers to the top. If this layout looks familiar, it's because I'm using the January SFYTT sketch again! It's such a fun one and very versatile!

*January 11, 2012*

1. Amy	7. Charmaine
2. Maureen	8. Tosha
3. Sankari	9. Laurie
4. Andrea	10. Julee
5. Teresa	11. Janelle
6. Amber

I hope you come back again tomorrow for more sneak peeks! I can't wait to see you:) Now go visit all my favorite girls and see what magic they have for you!

January SFYTT--The Cats Pajama's!!

2012-01-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

It’s the first Saturday of the month and that means that it is time for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {aka SFYTT}. This year brings 12 new sketches, new and returning sponsors and a whole lotta fun stamping inspiration!

You may have already noticed the new post time…11am EST. Also there will be more uniform posting throughout the month. I will be posting the {monthly} sketch each Saturday along with links to the SFYTT Sisters that are posting that day. Just so you know how it will work…All of the Sisters will post on the first Saturday of the month, then 1/2 will post on the 2nd Saturday and the other 1/2 will post on the 3rd Saturday and then we all come together again during the last week {not necessarily the last Saturday for all of the designers} of the month. Clear as mud? LOL! Hopefully, this will help SFYTT Fans know when and where to seek and find inspiration and samples.

Starting last year we introduced a monthly sketch along with monthly sponsors. Same thing goes this year! And, to kick off the new year in super swanky style, The Cat’s Pajamas is the January SFYTT sponsor {YAY!}…

The January 2012 SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY…

Here's my sample using the AdORAbLe set "Ewe Complete Me", I just love these sheep!

Again, I still can't find my dang camera charger, so I'm rockin the iphone camera, lol! I've GOT to find that thing today!

The papers are from Authentique's Free Bird "Blush and Delight" collection. I love the gray and pink combo's in this pack! I didn't have to do much coloring on this image, which is good because it's been a busy day;) I cut some hearts with Verve's "From the Heart" die set.

Okay, well there are lots more cards to see from the rest of my SFYTT sisters so off you go! Thanks for stopping by today:)

Jen Del Muro and January Guest Christyne Kane

Amy Rohl {posting Sunday}

SCRS #70, and hello from the USA!!!

2012-01-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

So I guess if you visit my blog every now and then, you know I've been missing for a couple months! My husband, I, and our two furr-babies moved back to the US! We're living in Phoenix now and the weather has been AMAZING! I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune in 5 or 6 months;)

So we got all moved in to our new house, and even though my house is buried in boxes, I got my craft room set up and organized, lol! I couldn't wait another DAY to get my fingers on something inky! I'm happy to be back with my teams and my first card back happens to be for this weeks Sparkle Creations challenge!

Here's my card using Chef Oliver

I couldn't find my camera charger (gimme a break, my house is FILLED with boxes, lol!) so I had to take a picture on my iPhone, haha! Good thing that baby has a good camera, I don't think the picture turned out half bad!

It was SO nice to get my hands on my Copics again, I sure missed them! As you may have noticed, the challenge this couple weeks is "Use Something New". Well, my new crafty purchases should be arriving in my mail box any day, so I had to convince myself that since it's been so long since I've seen my things, it's all new, lol! Totally justified, right?;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you come back and visit more often now that you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth:) Check out the rest of the team to see what new goodies they're playing with!

Sparkle Creations Blog

Alice Wertz

Amber Hight

Danielle Lounds

Debbie Carriere

Kim Yu

Shaela Odd

Deconstructed Sketch #25-Nicest Thoughts

2011-10-27T04:16:00.003-07:00

Hello out there! I've been a very bad blogger lately, haven't I? Well hopefully once we're all moved, I can establish my schedule again! My house is in upheaval right now and I have a week until the packers come to take my house away! Doesn't bode well for my creative muse;)

Today is Thursday and Jen has another fabulous sketch for you! Check it out!

This is a really fun sketch that you can really make your own! I changed the shape of the circle panel just so I could use my new PTI dies:)

This is an interesting color combo, I pulled it from that paper from Authentique's Splendid line:)

The stamp is a Plain Jane from Verve called "Nicest Thoughts". These Plain Janes are a real bargain at only $3 a piece! Love them:) The butterfly is a stamp from Chicks Rule and is cut out with the coordinating Flutterby die.

Now go check out what the rest of the team has done with this sketch! Also, a HUGE welcome to our two Guest Designers, Andrea and Tracey!

Thanks for stopping by today:)

Deconstructed Sketch #24 - Happy Birthday, Grandma!

2011-10-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's Thursday, which brings us a new sketch from Jen at the Deconstructed Sketch blog! Yesterday was my grandma's birthday, so I made a card for her using this weeks sketch (yes, this card is going to be a week late by the time it gets to her, lol!)

For my card, I flipped this sketch horizontally:)

I've been cleaning my stamp room and found this GinaK Designs set that I've had but NEVER took it out of the packaging, *gasp*! This set is too pretty to not see ink so I set about creating my DS24 sample with the Lovely Labels 3 set! Since it's my Grandma's (83rd) birthday today, I thought I'd make the card for her:) The label (stamped in Pink Lemonade Fresh Ink) coordinates with Spellbidners Labels 18 dies. The sentiment was stamped on the ribbon tags die.

The circle pattern paper is from MME's Lost and Found line, but I forget which pack it came from.

The twine is from The Twinery and the buttons are from PTI.

Be sure to hop around and check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch Design Team has made!

Thanks for stopping by today!

BOO to YOU!!

2011-10-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Do you like surprises? Julee is releasing a new Halloween set TODAY! This sweet and spooky little set is just in time to create a fun card or gift for a friend!

We have a limited supply of Boo to You available on the website today with more arriving in the coming weeks, but we can’t guarantee the re-stocking will be here in time for Halloween. So if you’ve got to have it, grab it fast!

Here's my card...

I have been purging my craft room for the past day or so and found a ton of older 12x12 patterned papers that haven't seen the light of day in quite awhile, so I decided to use some:) I think this argyle pattern is from MME's Fine and Dandy collection.

For the ghosts, I stamped them and then outlined them with my T2 Copic marker, and then went over that with Ice Stickles. Nothing scary about a sparkly ghost, right?;)

Don't you loooove the font combinations in this set? I'm crazy about them! And please, look away from the crooked line of buttons, lol! I attached them with glue dots, and the glue dots appear to be running away in different directions with my buttons, lol, doh!

If you think you've seen this layout before, you're RIGHT! It's our SFYTT layout for the month of October!

Click HERE to go to Jen Del Muro's blog to see the sketch post and details on how you can win a whole bunch of crafty fun this December!

Thanks for stopping by today:)

Deconstructed Sketch #23-Holly Jolly Christmas!

2011-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Time for another Deconstructed Sketch Challenge! I have another Christmas card to share with you today:) I don't know why, but I've really been in the mood to create Christmas cards lately. Not much sense in it for me since my home will be on a boat on it's way to the US and I won't have any way to mail them out, unless I want to mail them out by November 5th, which I don't. LOL! Anyhoo, sorry to ramble! Here's our sketch for this week--

Some sketches just work, kwim? You can just visualize what you want and it works! Almost all of Jen's sketches work like that for me. This one is one of those sketches:)

I bought a few Tiddly Inks last week, and colored them all up at once so all I had to do for this card was throw it together. This is "Lillie Claire-Sweet Christmas Dreams" How sweet is she? I colored her with Copics and then, after spending quite awhile coloring the candy cane *just right*, I covered it with Stickles, lol! Oh well, I love a shiny candy cane! The sentiment is from PTI and the papers are from Basic Grey's Nordic Christmas line.

So, I think I mentioned {a few times} that I'm getting ready to move back to the US! We're moving to Phoenix and we'll be leaving Okinawa on November 12th. So, all of our house will be packed up and shipped to the states on November 7th. Since my stuff will be somewhere on the Pacific Ocean until mid-to late January, I will be taking a short break from the Deconstructed Sketch team. I'll be back as soon as I get my new house all set up and have a scrapbook room again! I will still be here for the rest of October, but starting November, you won't see much from me. In the mean time, check this out:

**Do you love sketches? Would you like to be a guest designer for The Deconstructed Sketch? Jen is holding a contest using this week's sketch to find a VERY SPECIAL designer to guest with us from November 3, 2011 to January 26, 2012. That's THREE months designing with the Deconstructed Sketch Girls! If you are interested all you need to do is make a card using this week's sketch and add your card to InLinkz on Jen's blog by October 19, 2011 at 8 pm CST and add GUEST to the end of your name when linking up. If you are selected Jen will contact you regarding the specific duties for the three month term.**

Be sure to hop around and check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch Design Team has made!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Deconstructed Sketch #22--Happy Holidays

2011-10-06T04:50:00.001-07:00

It's time for another Deconstructed Sketch Challenge!! We are sponsored this week by the FANTASTIC Christy Croll of Tiddly Inks. Tiddly Inks digital stamps range from adorable and cute to funky and dark. There is something for everyone to love at Tiddly Inks. All of the images are hand drawn by Christy Croll and are high resolution digital images. You can find Christy's images at the Tiddly Inks store and the Tiddly Inks Basement, discount store. As our sponsor this week Christy is offering a $10 gift certificate to one lucky sketch participant!

Here is our sketch for this week:

And here is my card using Minnie's Christmas Lights!

My card base is Kraft and the patterned papers are from BG's Nordic Holiday line The sentiment is from a PTI stamp set.

Minnie was printed out on Neenah Smooth cardstock and I colored her in with Copics to match the papers.

If you’d like to join us this week all you need to do is create a project using the above sketch as inspiration. There are no specific image requirements for this challenge. Upload your project to your blog or to an online gallery and link it back Jen's blog to Inlinkz by Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 8 pm CST. We are playing for a $10 Tiddly Inks Gift Certificate this week so make sure to get your entry in! (If you miss the deadline please leave a link to your card in a comment on Jen's blog… we’d still love to see it!!)

Be sure to hop around and check out what the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch Design Team has made!

MFT Sketch #39

2011-10-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I have a super quick post today. I'm trying to keep up with my blogging/card making so I'm just gonna make this quick and painless, lol!

I made this card for MFT's sketch challenge this week!

Here's my card, using the butterfly from Inspired by Butterflies and the sentiment from Just My Type...

The card base is Gray and the orange is Terracotta Tile, both by PTI. The patterned paper is from MME. I just adore that big butterfly stamp, the Inspired by Butterflies set is my absolute FAVORITE MFT set ever. I love how this actually looks like a monarch butterfly stamped on that orange polka dot paper! The twine is from The Twinery.

Thanks for stopping by today:)

HIP HIP HOORAY! October SFYTT!!!

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there! So can you believe it's October already? It's insane! After Billy got home from the desert in September, the days are just cruising by. We have 42 more days left in Okinawa and we'll be moving to Phoenix Arizona!! Woohoo! We're super excited:) Going from a HUMID hot place to a DRY hot place, lol!

Okay, well I know why you're here, so lets get on with it, shall we? The first Saturday of the month brings us a new sketch from Jen!

Fun one, right?

Our sponsor this month is the wonderful Waltzingmouse Stamps!

Claire is just the sweetest person you could ever meet and has the most wonderful selection of stamps! I love to shop in her store:)

For my card, I used one of my favorite WMS sets, Vintage Banners!

I just LOOOOVE aqua and red together, so when I saw the background paper in the MME pack, I knew that was my color combo. I thought a littlel pop of green would be fun in there too:) The banners in this set coordinate with the Spellbinders Nestabilites. I stamped the banner in Island ink (Fresh Ink) and then matted the banner with the lacy pennant in Aqua Mist. The sentiment is included in the Vintage Banners set and was stamped in Rhubarb ink (Memento) and cut out with a 1 1/4" circle punch. I inked all the layers in Wheat Chalk ink and then sewed and glued everything down:)

1. The SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {SFYTT} will be posted on the first Saturday of each month on www.iheart2stamp.com at 8am EST and will stay open to participants until the last day of the month, unless otherwise noted.2. This is for fun! Interpret the sketch as you wish and embellish as desired. There areno vendor restrictions, but we would love to see you use the sponsor’s stamps!3. Each month we will have a Designer of the Month that will be chosen from past month’s participants.4. Come and play with us on each and every sketch! On Christmas Day 2011 a prize package worth over $200 will be given away to one very lucky and loyal SFYTT stamper that participates in EVERY sketch for the year.5. To be eligible for the prize package, you must complete ALL of the sketches by each of the deadlines AND link your creation to the link system on that month’s sketch post (the first Saturday of the month). Everyone except for SFYTT Sisters are eligible for the prize package, including Designer of the Month and international players.

6. When posting your sketch creation on your blog, please post the sketch and link back to the sketch post on www.iheart2stamp.com. When posting to online galleries, please use the keyword “SFYTT.”

Check out what my SFYTT sisters have created with this sketch!!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa!)

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa!)

Deconstructed Sketch #21

2011-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Remember me? I've been a very bad blogger this week, I know! I'm having a hard time finding the time/motivation to stamp lately, grrr! Once I saw this week's Deconstructed Sketch though, I knew I had to find time! Check it out!

There are so many possibilities with this sweet little sketch! Here's my take on it, using a bunch of Verve!

I still had my Portabello Road paper (MME) on my desk so I decided I'd go with those again:) I love the colors in this pack. The "Life is Good" is a Plain Jane stamp and the "a day to remember" and leaf sprigs are from "Sunny Days". I used the Leafy Sprigs dies to cut out the leaves and then stamped on them after they were cut out. I used my Classy Label die for the sentiment panel. You can see the coordinating stamp from Love Notes stamped very lightly under the sentiment:)

Well that's it from me today, head on over to the Deconstructing Jen blog to see the sketch, details, and a link of my participating team mates! Thanks for stopping by today, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet;)

September Diva Dare--XOXO

2011-09-20T04:26:00.002-07:00

The September Diva Dare over at the Verve Blog is goin' down! This month, the Diva's are CASE'ing (copy and steal everything!) each other:) These are some of my favorite challenges, outside of sketches!

Andrea had the task of matching all of us Diva's up to the talented girl we'd be case'ing. No matter who we got paired up with was going to be a challenge because every single one of these Diva's is full of talent. I happened to get Laurie! OMG, right? Nothing like a little pressure to get your mojo going, haha! I always love her elegant, distressed, shabby style. I was MUCHO intimidated, but as I started going through Laurie's gallery, I was also MUCHO inspired:) After alot of "hmmmm'ing" and "haw'ing" I decided on THIS beauty! I loved the diagonal panel and wanted to see what I could do with it!

I knew I had to have distressing, inked edges, and fabulous sewing to even come CLOSE to making Laurie proud! The sentiment is from "Making a Statement" and the leaves are from "Sunny Days" and cut out with the "Leafy Springs Die Set". The heart behind the sentiment is cut out using the Jotted Heart die. The diagonal panel is paper from MME's Lost and Found Two line. I also used some fabulous SU! ribbon and a Recollections rose!

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would LOVE to see ‘em!
For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Case-a-Diva creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

Deconstructed Sketch #19

2011-09-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hello there! I'm here today with a card using this week's Deconstructed Sketch (#19). I love all the layers on this one!

For sketches that use alot of layers, I only focus on getting those layers together before I begin embellishing. I won't necessarily glue everything down, but I have all my layers cut and inked and distressed, or whatever! That way I ensure followed the sketch, hahah! Then the FUN begins;)

All the papers I used are from the "Rosy" line by MME. I love these feminine colors, so beautiful:)

Like I mentioned, before I did any stamping or embellishing, I picked out my papers, matted them, and sewed them. I then added all the scalloped edges.

I cut out my Rounded Scalloped Frame die and stamped the sentiment from Words of Wisdom on the inside piece of the die (the frame and rectangle inside come out in two pieces) and stamped the scalloped frame (from Making a Statement) in Calypso Coral ink. Once I had my sentiment panel figured out, I began glueing everything down. The flowers are from Making a Statement and cut out using my Loopy Blooms dies. The brads are from SU! and the twine is from PTI.

Well that's it from me today:) Make sure to swing by the Deconstructed blog to see Jen's sample, challenge details, and the rest of the DT's cards!

Thanks for stopping by today:)

SCRSC60 - Case the DT!

2011-09-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there! This week's SCRS challenge is a fun one, you get to hop around and see all the DT's cards, pick one you like, and CASE it! CASE'ing is always fun, and if you're in a bit of a rut and can't find your mojo, CASEing someone's card always helps to get the juices going.

Here's my card, using Shopping Millie!

I colored Millie up to match the papers from MME and then drew in a sidwalk around her. I wanted to ground her a bit, and find that drawing a sidewalk or grass really helps bring the image to life. All I did was draw some lines and then color them with my gray Copics. I cut out the picket fence (from MFT) and glued it down behind Millie, again, creating a scene that really pops out at you. The sentiment comes with Shopping Millie, and I stamped it on cardstock cut with my Charming Banner dies from Verve.

I used this week's Deconstructed Sketch for the layout...

Well that's it from me today, make sure you check out the rest of the DT's samples and CASE one! Can't wait to see what ya'll do with this weeks challenge:)

Karber Team:

Amber Hight
Elena Joldersma
Kadie Ensley
Mary Johnson
Peggy Toole - Sponsorship Coordinator
Piali Biswas
Suzanne Bier - Newsletter Coordinator
Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog

SCRS Team:

Alice Wertz
Jessica Diedrich - September Guest Designer
Kim Yu
Shaela Odd
Simonne Clay
Sparkle Smith
Stephanie Kraft

Viva la Verve! September Week 2--Thank You!

2011-09-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I'm here today with a quick card for this week's VLV challenge! Amy is our hostess this month and came up with this BEAUTIFUL sketch!

Here's my card!

This card started out with me just playing with my Distress Stains. I was rubbing them on paper, just playing and havin' fun. Then I thought, "Hey! What if I clear emboss some leaves and do a little Distress Stain resist? So that's kinda where this card came from, haha! I cut a piece of white cardstock to 3.25x4.5 and stamped and clear embossed the leaves from Bloom and Grow. Then I used my Shabby Shutters Distress Stain and just rubbed it over the whole piece of cardstock, using tissue to wipe excess stain off of the leaves.

I think the Distress Stain is my new favorite technique, there are so many fun ways to use this product. I bet this technique would look awesome with a gradient color combo using different colored stains. I think I'll try that tomorrow!

In this picture, you can see the turqouise flower from Bloom and Grow (cut out using the Floral Circles dies) sticking out from behind the bow. The sentiment is from You and I and the tags are the Tiny Sweet Scalloped Tag dies. The paper is from Portabello Road by MME:)

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back later this week...

August Diva Dare

2011-09-09T04:08:00.003-07:00

Hello! This is my 2nd post today, so if you're looking for my Sparkle Creations preview card, please click HERE or scroll down a bit, thanks!!

*******************************************

Just wanted to post real quick to let you know I have a project up on the Verve blog! This month's Diva Dare is "Sending some Sunshine":) Here's a peek, click here to go to the blog to see the post in full. Thanks for stopping by today!

Sparkle Creations September Previews--Fairy Millie

2011-09-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

So how have you been liking the previews so far? Aren't you loving the fun halloween images being previewed? I can't wait to get Mummy Oliver, he is so stinking adorable, lol!

Today, the Karber team from Sparkle Creations is previewing a new Karber image, called Fairy Millie!

I love coloring fairy images because you can really get crazy and add lots of glitter and just really girl it up.I didn't get TOO crazy on mine though, I wanted it pretty simple. I colored the image with Copics (image stamped on Cryogen white paper, the sparkly kind, I forget what it's called, lol) The chocolate label behind the image is actually my Curvy Label die from Verve, cut in half. Then I glued it onto the back of the oval image, so it gives the illusion of one big label die. The beautiful flower is a die from PTI called Blossoms #3. I am going to use the heck out of that die, haha! I painted some Glimmer Glaze on the flower, so it's sparkly, it just didn't come through in the picture. The sentiment is from PTI's Butterfly Dreams, and is pretty much my favorite PTI set ever! Niki Estes, you're a genius, woman;) The papers are from MME's Lost and Found line called Portabello Road. Have you ever seen that movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"? There is a song called Portabello Road in the movie and was totally singing it while making this card, haha!

Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Fairy Millie. Sparkle will be giving away a Fairy Millie to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Millie post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day!

Amber Hight
Elena Joldersma
Kadie Ensley
Mary Johnson
Peggy Toole - Sponsorship Coordinator
Piali Biswas
Suzanne Bier - Newsletter Coordinator
Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog

Sparkle Creations September Sneak Peeks-Witch Millie!

2011-09-07T02:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Today, the Karber team from Sparkle Creations is kicking off the sneak peeks for the September SCRS release! We're sharing a new Karber image today, she's called Witch Millie and I think you'll love her!!

Isn't she the sweetest lil witch? I sure think so:) I colored her up with Copics and the papers are all from Matilda by Cosmo Cricket:)

The sentiment comes with this image, awesome right? Love the funky font:)

Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Witch Millie. Sparkle will be giving away a Witch Millie to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Millie post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day!

Amber Hight
Elena Joldersma
Kadie Ensley
Mary Johnson
Peggy Toole - Sponsorship Coordinator
Piali Biswas
Suzanne Bier - Newsletter Coordinator
Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog

SCRSC 59-Broomstick Lucy

2011-09-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! Today I have a fun card to share for this week's Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps challenge! This week we have a sketch to play with!

Today, the ENTIRE SCRS team is playing with Broomstick Lucy! She is SOOO cute, I think you'll agree;)

Don't you love her? I've never seen a sweeter witch:) All the papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Matilda line. I thought it was perfect for this image!

Here's a bigger picture of the sketch...

Check out the SCRS blog for details on how to play and to see all the other girls cards! Come back tomorrow for Day 1 of the September SCRS release sneak peeks!

Tuesday Trigger: Nice and Neutral

2011-09-04T04:21:00.001-07:00

Between quizzes and research papers, I carved a bit of crafty time out today! When I'm looking for a fun challenge, I always head to the Moxie Fab blog and see what kind of fun Cath has for me! As soon as I saw the Tuesday Trigger for this week, I was inspired to pull out some of my new Papertrey Ink goodies!

I recently received my August release order and was most excited for my Modern Woodgrain stamps! I just love the patterns and how they coordinate with the previously released mat stacks. I stamped the Rustic Cream background with Background Basics: Text Style, in kind of a random order, in Espresso ink. I stamped one of the woodgrain mats in Espresso ink on kraft cardstock, cut with the corrisponding mat stack (can't remember which one this is, two I think?). The pennants and alpha stamps (Wendy Alpha) are both by MFT! I finsihed the card off with some twine and roses.

That's it from me today folks! Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend:)

SFYTT sponsored by Skipping Stones!

2011-09-03T01:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's the first Saturday of the month and that means a brand new Sketch for you to try! Yay! I think you are going to LOVE the sketch this month, it was sooo fun to play with!

This month, our sketch is being sponsored by Skipping Stones Designs! I love this company's stamps! I unfortunately do not have any stamps by SSD so I'll be using some Verve, but you gotta check the SSD site out, fabulous stuff in there!

I used some new MME papers, I believe it's the Sunshine collection! I love the colors in this pad and will definately keep it on my desk for a day or 12, lol! The sentiment is a new Plain Jane from Verve, it's called "Nicest Thoughts". I stamped the bird right on the circle element and then stamped it again on the blue polka dot paper and cut out the wing to paper-piece it. The flowers are from Making a Statement. I stamped them on flowers I die-cut using my Loopy Blooms dies. I added some roses to the flower centers and wrapped some twine around the card front.

Check out the rest of the SFYTT sistah's to see what they have up their sleeves!

Jen Del Muro and Guest Alyssa

We also have two NEW sistah's to welcome! YAY!

Becky Carafa

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa!)

1. The SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {SFYTT} will be posted on the first Saturday of each month on www.iheart2stamp.com at 8am EST and will stay open to participants until the last day of the month, unless otherwise noted.
2. This is for fun! Interpret the sketch as you wish and embellish as desired. There are no vendor restrictions, but we would love to see you use the sponsor’s stamps!
3. Each month we will have a Designer of the Month that will be chosen from past month’s participants.
4. Come and play with us on each and every sketch! On Christmas Day 2011 a prize package worth over $200 will be given away to one very lucky and loyal SFYTT stamper that participates in EVERY sketch for the year.
5. To be eligible for the prize package, you must complete ALL of the sketches by each of the deadlines AND link your creation to the link system on that month’s sketch post (the first Saturday of the month). Everyone except for SFYTT Sisters are eligible for the prize package, including Designer of the Month and international players.
6. When posting your sketch creation on your blog, please post the sketch and link back to the sketch post on www.iheart2stamp.com. When posting to online galleries, please use the keyword “SFYTT.”

Viva la Verve! September Week 1--Big Hello

2011-09-02T04:24:00.002-07:00

Hi there! It's FRIDAY! WhhheeEEEEEeeeEE!!! Friday's mean VLV sketches! Today is the first sketch of September so I hope you can play along with us!

This weeks' sketch is a tall and skinny card! The measurements for my card are 3.5x6.5 (cut cardstock to 7"x6.5" and score the 7" side at 3.5")

I used the flowers from Sunny Days and the tag stamp and sentiment from Tag Time! The flowers are mounted on dimensionals on cardstock cut using my Vintage Oval die! I cut out a tag using the smallest die from the Tiny Sweet Scallop Tag die collection and then stamped the coordinating tag stamp from Tag Time. I added some ribbon and buttons to complete the card...

Check out the Verve Forums for details on how to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by:)

Deconstructed Sketch #17--Happy Halloween!

2011-09-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hello! So...I'm trying out the new Blogger interface...it's weird and very modern, lol! Hopefully I don't mess this up!

This Week’s Sponsor

Today we are sponsored by Simply Betty Stamps here at the Deconstructed Sketch. Simply Betty Stamps is stamp company dedicated to producing stamps that are FUN, FUNKY and just a little bit DIFFERENT than your everyday stamps. Betty offers stamps in deeply etched red rubber, clear and digital formats. You are sure to find something to love!
Our prize for one lucky sketch participant this week is THREE stamps from Betty’s new Sweet Gothic Kids Halloween line of clear stamps and this week I am picking the stamps and I’ve chosen Pumpkin Carvin’ Alex, Witch Wednesday and Tily Vampire!

Here's my card, using Rag Doll Sally!

I colored her with Copics and used papers from Authentiques "Glowing" collection! The sentiment is from Verve's "Happy Fall"

Be sure to check out what the other Deconstructed Sketch Girls have made using this fantastic line from Simple Betty!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sparkle Creations Challenge #58-ABC's!

2011-08-29T21:00:00.006-07:00

Hey there! It's time for another SCRS challenge:) This week's SCRSC challenge is a fun one, but really pushes me out of my comfort zone!

Anything but a card. I'm SOOOO not good at altering projects so I decided to make a bookmark! I'm currently reading a book on my Nook so my bookmark is doing me no good right now, but the next book in my TBR pile is a paperback and I'll be using this!!

Reading Millie was the perfect choice for this project, I just LOVE her expression in this image! She must be reading a good paranormal romance;)

I stamped her on PTI's white cardstock and colored her in with Copics. I cut her out with a Spellbinders circle die. The bookmark base is a tag die from PTI, which I used to cut paper from MME's Lost and Found line. I added some lace under the sentiment and then tied some twine around the top of the bookmark.

Head on over to the Sparkle Creations blog for details on our weekly challenge and to play along with us! You'll also see the list of DT members playing along, I can't wait to see how everyone else interpreted this challenge:)

Viva la Verve! August Week 5--Sip and Savor

2011-08-29T01:45:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I have a quick card to share with this weeks VLV sketch challenge. Did you know it's the LAST week of the month? That means you need to get all your sketch cards submitted by Thursday at midnight in order to be enterered into the random drawing, winning you the ENTIRE next months Verve release! Just ask any of the previous winners if it's worth it;)

This week, Teresa is our hostess and has come up with a really fun sketch, so pull out your new Tag Dies and play along with us...

Here's my card using quite a few of the new goodies just released last week!

I used some of my brand new MME Lost and Found papers on this card, I just love the chocolatey richness of this collection!

You'll notice that my card has a few differences from the sketch, but I tried to remain as true to it as my muse would allow;) The stamps are all from Sip and Savor, the companion set to Better with You.

I used the Rounded Scalloped Frame die for the two rectangle panels and the largest tag from the Tiny Sweet Scallop Tags collection. I tied a multi-loop bow using SU!'s new seam binding (see my bow tying tutorials to the left!) and added a button. The button and twine are from PTI.

The last thing I added was the rhinestone flourish, from Recollections. I love all the recollections embellishments and when I was back in the states last month, I kinda went crazy in Michaels, lol!

Head on over to the Verve Forums for details on how to play along!

Click on the banner below for a little sale info;)

Oh, and guess what I found out? My husband is coming home two weeks early! He's been gone since MARCH and it feels like it's been 5 years since I've seen him:) He'll be home in a little under two weeks:) I'm simply beside myself with excitement! The time is drawing near to our impending move to Phoenix, we can hardly stand the wait. We've been pre-approved for a home loan and are busy scouring the internet for amazing homes. I made him promise me a house with my very own pool so I'm quite excited;) To have a pool in my own backyard will make the pain of leaving the ocean much easier to handle;) Thanks for stopping by!

Viva la Verve! Week 4 - I {heart} You!

2011-08-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have a fun little card to share with you today! I created it for this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge! Charmaine is our hostess this week and she came up with one sweet sketch!

Fun, right? I decided to pull out my I Heart You A Cut Above dies for this card! NO STAMPING! EEEKS! THis card came together in about 15 minutes, love that!

I used the new "A Beautiful Life" paper by MME for this card, don't you love those new papers? Speaking of new papers, check out the load I got in today from Eclectic Paperie!

THAT was a fun box to open;) I got most (if not all) of the new MME pads (six by six and Lost and Found 2 collections), the new Authentique collections, and the two new Basic Gray stacks! I also got a few of the new Distress Stains, some Glimmer Glam, and Glimmer Glaze! I just have to tell you how impressed I am, every single time I order from them, how quickly I get my orders! Keep in mind, I live in Okinawa Japan. I put my order in last Tuesday. Got it this Tuesday, that's Monday in the states, so that's like 6 days! Subtract Sunday from the equation, I got my box in 5 days. From the day I ordered, to the day I got it, a half a world away. Amazing. I PUFFY {HEART} YOU, Daisy!!!

Back to the card, lol! Like I said, I used the I Heart You die set for this card, and really all I had to do was add some ribbon and Copper Distress Stickles (to the heart) and this baby was done! I love it when they come together quick like that. I have a mountain of homework due but when the creative muse calls, you don't make her wait, kwim?;)

You want to play along in the VLV challenge this week? Click HERE to go to the challenge thread! A new sketch will be live on Friday so get caught up while you can! This Friday is our LAST VLV sketch of the month so get in while you can:)

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll leave you with a picture of my handsome pup, Luke...isn't he the cutest doggy you ever did see???

Sparkle Creations Challenge #57-Soooo Cool!

2011-08-22T21:00:00.004-07:00

Hello there! I'm here today with a card for this weeks' new SCRS challenge. This week, we have COLORS to work with, yay! I love color challenges, they really get you out of your comfort zone if you're working with colors you wouldn't normally place together...like today's challenge:

I would never think to pair three primary colors together, but I actually really like how they look together. Here's my card using the newly released Karber image, Soda Jenny:

I stamped Soda Jenny on Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored her in with Copics. I wish I'd done a little darker color in her hair, it just looks gray, and Jenny is not that old of a lady, lol! Oh well, it's supposed to be black...just pretend:)

The yellow striped paper is from one of SU!'s new paper packs but I can't remember the name of it. The red paper is from PTI's Bitty Box collection. The sentiment "So Cool" comes with the Soda Jenny image.

I added some twine, buttons, and pearls to it as well, I can't seem to make a card without at least two of these showing up, haha!
I used this months SFYTT for the sketch!

We'd love it if you'd play along with us! Just visit the Sparkle Creations blog for details. You'll also find my fellow DT ladies' cards. Thanks for stopping by today!

Deconstructed Sketch #15 ~ Life doesn't have to be perfect...

2011-08-18T03:56:00.001-07:00

Well hello there! Have I lost my readers? I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I'm going to try to get back into the habit of every day or every other day at the longest!

Today, I'm here with the new Deconstructed Sketch! I think you're going to love this one, Jen just has a way with sketches, doncha think?:)

I love the little tag peaking out from behind the main panel. It instantly reminded me of the newly released set by Verve called Tag Time! So...off I went!

Another newly released set that I can't get enough of is Words of Wisdom. Don't you love the quotes and fonts in this set? I stamped the sentiment in Espresso ink on Vintage Cream cardstock. The green polka dots and the pink polka dots of the flower are from October Afternoon. The flowers and leaves (OMG don't you love them???) are from Sunny Days.

The tag stamp is from Tag Time and was cut out with the coordinated Tagged Rectangle die. I can't get enough of my Verve dies. I tell you, every day I thank Julee for introducing the dies into her inventory! There is something about coordinating stamps and dies that I can't get enough of:)

You may see my beloved Curvy Bookplate die peeking out from behind the sentiment as well. Don't blame me if you see this on every card in the future. Blame Julee and her muse:)

Now. Would you like to see more cards with this amazing sketch?

I'm happy to oblige!

Arielle Gordon
Lori Boyd
Kadie Ensley
Sheri Gilson
Donna Wardle
Emma Eads
Jessica Diedrich
Anna Maria Nilsson
Angela Sowell
Jen Shults

Stop by The Deconstructed Blog for more details on our sketch challenge, we'd love for you to play along with us:)

Verve New Release Projects

2011-08-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hiya! I'm slowly but surely working to get my crafty back on, lol! How can you NOT find your mojo with these fabulous new releases from Verve? Here are a couple I made today using the releases...

First up is this bright, sunshiney card I made with Sunny Days! I just randomly stamped the background with the button flower in orange and yellow ink and then stamped a couple buttons in turquoise ink and stuck them on top of the flowers. The sentiment was stamped on one of the Tiny Sweet Scallop die set, which is layered onto the new Curvy Book Plate die!

This was just a fun little quick card I was playing with. I used some scraps of PTI paper to paper-piece the cups from Better with You. The sentiment is from the same set. I cut a Curvy Bookplate out of the Rustic White cardstock and then stamped the sentiment through the negative.

This last card is the one I had the most fun making! I just love the fun bright colors from this MME Lime Twist paper pack. Purple, teal, green, LOVE!

The sentiment is from Words of Wisdom. I can't talk this set up ENOUGH! Check out that font combination! Isn't it fun and different? I love it:) I went around each piece of paper with a black copic for some contrast. Sometimes, adding a whole layer of cardstock adds more weight than I want, so by just running a copic along the edge, it gives the illusion of a black cardstock mat, without the added bulk:)

The loopy flowers are from Making a Statement and cut out with the coordinating Loopy Blooms die. You can also see a bit of the Curvy Bookplate Die peeking out from behind the sentiment. This is pretty much my favorite way to use this die, it makes the perfect little finishing touch!

I also used the Viva la Verve sketch for this week, see the sketch challenge HERE!

Check out the Anni-VERVE-sary sale going on now through August 31st! Just click on the banner:)

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back tomorrow with the new Deconstructed Sketch for this week, using...you guessed it...MORE NEW VERVE, lol!

SCRS #56-Shopping Millie

2011-08-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm here today with a quick card I created for this weeks Sparkle Creations challenge! This week, we have a sketch to play with, and it's a really fun one! Here's a full-sized picture...

Here's my card, created using one of the new Karber by Sparkle Creations stamps, Shopping Millie...

I gotta admit, I'm having a hard time finding my mojo! I just couldn't color today to save my life, lol! After being away from my stuff for three weeks, I feel like I'm learning all over again, haha! Well, I guess only lots of crafting will cure that problem, right?

Don't you love this new Millie image? She's a shopper too, just my kinda girl:)

SCRS will be sponsoring a Paper Craft's giveaway on Facebook tomorrow! Be sure to check it out for a chance to win Karber Reading Millie, Karber Breakfast Leslie, Cafe Lucy and Bookworm Ruby! Here's a link to the Paper Craft's fan page: http://www.facebook.com/papercraftsmagazine.

Now head on over to the SCRS store blog to see the cards that the rest of the team made with this sketch! Thanks for stopping by today:) I'll be back tomorrow!

2011-08-14T22:00:00.004-07:00

It's gonna be a BRIGHT and SUNSHINY day for sure at The Greeting Farm! Hooray!

Today is the day- two new sets are available for purchase as we are proud to debut our new line of CLEAR stamps!

Bantastic

And My Fairy Princess

Here is my project using Bantastic!

I wanted to use the triangle polka-dot banner and kind of hang them across the card. I also couldn't decide on which sentiment to use, so I used them all, lol!!! I colored Twirl Anya with Copics and set her right in the middle of the card:) I really love how simple this card is, it was so fun to create!

We are SO excited to begin today's hop combining some TGF 'alum' with our Farmers! Be sure to check out the TGF BLOG for a complete list of links, as one lucky winner will receive BOTH sets just for commenting and participating in the hop! And just in case you get lost along the way in all of the excitement that is CLEARLY mounting...here is the list:

and our Farmers!

That's it for me today, but be sure to head over to the TGF BLOG, where it's ALL beginning! HAPPY RELEASE DAY, everyone!

2011-08-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone!

I am back to fully reveal what may have been just a cloudy snippet yesterday... did you see through our little surprise or are you CLEARLY stumped?

Well, wonder no more because some of the cherished members of the TGF alum along with the Farmers are thrilled to bring you a BRAND NEW line by TGF:

CLEAR STAMPS!!!!

Before we go any further, these stamps are not replacing our rubber line. We are testing the waters to bring you some fun new designs, and most of all QUALITY stamps! To add to the fun, we also have the opportunity to bring you some RE-RELEASES, in addition to NEW releases and we are excited to get started with our first two sets!

INTRODUCING.....

BANTASTIC

and MY FAIRY PRINCESS

For my card, I used the fun new "Bantastic" set!

You can see the triangle banners, right in the center, but did you notice the rounded banners I used as scallops? I love it! This is such a fun set and I'm sure you're going to love it as much as I do. The quality of these new clear stamps are AMAZING! They're trimmed close, nice and sturdy, and have that lovely clear stamp smell, lol!

So, what do you think? Are you CLEARLY stunned or could you see RIGHT THROUGH our snippet yesterday? Anxious to try the new line? Well, be sure to leave a comment here and on the TGF BLOG to see who ELSE is previewing the FUN today...you'll see some familiar faces in addition to our Farmers and there's a SET OR TWO UP FOR GRABS there, too!

See you tomorrow for the official release of our first two CLEAR stamp sets, Bantastic and Fairy Princess. Thanks for stopping by!

Something delightfully different is coming...

2011-08-12T22:00:00.003-07:00

...to THE GREETING FARM!

Can you guess what it is? I'm thrilled to be a part of an exciting preview to be revealed TOMORROW, August 14th!

Some of our dearest TGF alum are back along with the Farmers and we have a surprise for you coming... so be sure to tune into the TGF BLOG today and leave your guess as to what that might be! Are we too transparent? ANY idea as to what this special, mid-month release could be? Well, stay tuned and I'll see you back here tomorrow to see if you're still stumped or if you've seen RIGHT THROUGH to what we're about to reveal!

Clearly excited,

~Amber~

Verve Spotlights - Day 6, Making a Statement

2011-08-12T06:00:00.004-07:00

Welcome to Day 6 of our Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hop series! Hop along with the Divas all week long as we share our first looks at a few of the new products releasing from Verve on Friday night! One lucky commenter along today's hop will win today's featured sets and dies. So be sure and leave a little comment love as you hop around the Divasphere! Check the Verve Blog for prize details and deadlines.

Our spotlight for today is shining on a new set called Making a Statement, and its coordinating dies...Rounded Scallop Frame and Loopy Blooms. My card features Making a Statement and the Rounded Scallop Frame as well as a couple of other sets and dies we previewed earlier this week.

I cut the Rounded Scallop Frame and stamped the coordinating scallop frame in Espresso ink and adhered it to the patterned paper circle. I stamped the sentiment in the negative of the frame and ran some ribbon through middle of the frame.

I couldn't resist added some of the Leafy Sprigs dies, because they're pretty much my new favorite die:) I also stamped a couple birds randomly around the card front and added some metal photo corners.

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Diva's have prepared for you! Your next stop should be Amy!

1. Julee	10. Laurie
2. Charmaine	11. Maureen
3. Tosha	12. Amber
4. Andrea	13. Amy
5. Sankari	14. Jen d.
6. Teresa	15. Betty
7. Jackie	16. Lynda
8. Sarah {Guest}	17. Susan
9. Marisa {Guest}

See you at the release party tonite!

Verve Spotlights - Day 5, Tag Time!

2011-08-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! Long time, no see:) I just got home last night from a lovely 3 week vacation in Montana. I miss it already! The weather was absolutely PERFECT the whole trip! I went to family camp with my parents, brother, and their church for four days and it was amazing! We camped just outside of Glacier Park and floated the river, and did all the other stuff camping entails (including taking a bath in the 40 degree glacier water, lol!) Anyway, now I'm back in Okinawa with the blistering heat and ridiculous humidity. Home sweet home!

Welcome to Day 5 of our Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hop series! Hop along with the Divas all week long as we share our first looks at a few of the new products releasing from Verve on Friday night! One lucky commenter along the hop will win today's featured sets and dies. So be sure and leave a little love as you hop around the Divasphere! Check the Verve Blog for prize details and deadlines.

Today, we're previewing an amazing new set called "Tag Time" and a few more dies! There are two coordinating tag dies to match this set and some tiny Sweet Scallop Tag dies as well! You will love these dies and this set:)

So I went to the PO today to pick up all the mail I got while I was gone, and the most amazing package from Verve was in there! FULL of ALL the wonderful stamps and dies being released...it was like CHRISTMASx1000!!! I had so many ideas that I just grabbed all the stamps and dies and started playing...this is what came out, lol! I knew I wanted a black and green color combo, with some turquoise thrown in for good measure!

The bookplate stamp and "love" are from the new Tag Time set, the I, U, and heart are from You and I, and the leaves are from Sunny Days! I am positive that you're going to ~~want~~ need every. single. item released, lol!

I used the Deconstructed Sketch #14 for the layout of my card, make sure you check out the DS blog to play along with our sketch this week!

Next up on the hop is the amazing AMY! Enjoy the rest of the cards, I'm off to do some hopping myself:)

1. Julee	9. Marisa {Guest}
2. Charmaine	10. Laurie
3. Tosha	11. Amber
4. Andrea	12. Amy
5. Sankari	13. Lynda
6. Teresa	14. Susan
7. Jackie	15. Maureen
8. Sarah {Guest}

Verve Spotlights have begun!

2011-08-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! Remember me? I use to blog here? LOL! I've been on vacation in Montana for the past few weeks enjoying some time with my mom and dad! I head back home on Tuesday and will be jumping in on the last couple days of the new Verve release spotlights. There are a TON of sweet new stamps coming out so go check out day 1!

1. Julee	8. Marisa {Guest}
2. Charmaine	9. Laurie
3. Tosha	10. Maureen
4. Andrea	11. Amy
5. Teresa	12. Shannan
6. Jackie	13. Lynda
7. Sarah {Guest}

I can't wait to get back home and get to stampin' with these new stamps! See you in a few days:)

SCRSC #51-Sweet Holiday Wishes

2011-07-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

Good morning! It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS! At Sparkle Creations, we're bringing Christmas to July! I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to Christmas, because I'll be living back in the good 'ole USA!

Anyway, before I get carried away in excitement (LOL!) here's my card for this challenge!

This little cutie is Sweet Treats Emily! And as you can see, she's not technically a "Christmas" image, but just by coloring her in Christmas'y colors and using Christmas'y papers, VIOLA! A Christmas card! LOL!

The patterned papers are from BG's Jovial line, one of my favorite Christmas lines ever! I used my new solid lines embossing folder from SU! for the Cherry Cobbler cardstock:) The sentiment is from Holiday Button Bits by PTI.

Our challenge is open to all players. Each week a random winner will be chosen, and this week's winner will receive the adorable Christmas Tree Ruby rubber stamp. In order to qualify for a prize, you must use a Sparkle Creations image on your creation. Most importantly, have fun! We can't wait to see your creations! See THIS POST to link up your projects!

Now go see what kind of Christmas'y fun the rest of the DT came up with!

All things Unity-Twine!

2011-07-09T22:41:00.001-07:00

Hey there! Thanks so much for all your sweet comments this week on my blog, I know it's been a BUSY week here, but I love to share what I've been up to:)

Sarah Henton emailed and asked if I'd be a July Guest Designer for her All things Unity challenge blog so OF COURSE I said YES! Some of you may remember that I used to be on the Unity DT so you KNOW I love them:)

Check out the sponsor for this week's challenge!

If you play along in the challenge for the next two weeks, you could win ourJULY Prize Package {below}! You can check out their fabulous site HERE!

Unless you've NEVER been to my blog before, you KNOW how much I love my twine! And I get all my twine from The Twinery, they have such a huge collection of colors and I just love the quality of this stuff!

Here's my card for this fun challenge...

I wanted to do something really special with the twine, so I glued all the colors down on a heart and nested it inside a bigger heart (Nestabilities). I absolutely ADORE how this card came out, exactly how I'd envisioned it! The sentiment is from one of my Unity Kit of the Months. I can't remember which month, or even which year, but I looked for a sentiment about love or hearts and this one was PERFECT!

Make sure to stop by the All things Unity Blog and link up your projects using TWINE!

Thanks for stopping by today:)

Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps 1 Year Anniversary Blog Hop!

2011-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I think that wins for longest blog post title, ha!

Hello and Welcome to the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps 1st Anniversary Hop! Not only are we here to help Sparkle celebrate a year of SCRS, but we are also officially releasing 4 new SCRS images this month -- Backpack Oliver, Bookworm Ruby, Hula Lucy and Ukulele Josh.. But wait, there's more.. we are also releasing 2 new Karber Rubber Stamps -- Rainbow Leslie and Reading Millie! They are ALL available in the

store now!

We have assembled an all-star lineup consisting of our Current Design Team, DT Alumni and past/present Guest Designers. If you happened here by chance and would like to start from the beginning, the hop begins at the SCRS blog -- please see the complete list below. What's a hop without prizes? We've hidden TEN single stamp prizes along the way and one lucky winner will win the ENTIRE July release! All you need to do is leave some love at every stop along the hop.. You have until 11:59 PM EST on Sunday to leave comments for a chance to win! Winners will be announced on the SCRS blog on Monday. Good luck to all and Happy Hopping! Thanks SO much for joining us!

I decided to ink up Reading Millie again! I love any stamps that have to do with reading so this one has earned itself a spot in my "frequently used stamps" basket, haha! I did some paper-piecing on her book this time, I think it's a fun book cover, kind of like what I used to do to my books in junior high:)

The papers are from Fly a Kite by OA.

Here's the hop list, you're next stop is the wonderful Cindy Haffner! Thanks for stopping by today!