Marie Antoinette Award

The lovely Rita honored me with this award. Please take some time to go visit her blog. She creates such beautiful things!

The rules for this award are:

1. Put the picture of Marie Antoinette on your blog

2. Link to the person who you received the award from

3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs

4. Link to those blogs from yours

5. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know you've shared the award with them.

I am in the middle of writing an article and doing samples at the moment, so I will come back soon and list the 7 bloggers I want to bestow this award upon. Thanks again Rita! You are such a sweet person!!

Have a creatively wonderful day!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired #16

Here is my card for this week's Cuttlebug Challenge Be Inspired challenge. We were to create a card with distressing.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I distress most of my cards to some point. I ink something or tear it or rough it up a bit. lol So, this was an easy challenge for me!!

I embossed the Doublemates cardstock with the Textile folder. Then, I used my thread cutter to really rough up the edges. I love to do this with DM cardstock because you get the opposite side's color to show up around the edges. I then inked the raised areas with Denim ink. Layered ito onto a piece of Treasures cardstock that was inked with Vintage Photo ink. I embossed a strip of the dark side of DM with the Allegro folder and attached it to panel. Stamped the images with Denim ink on Treasures cardstock and inked the edges of each piece. Layered onto card as shown. colored some Dew Drops with a navy Sharpie and glued to corner.

Materials: Doublemates-Ocean Blue, Treasures-Crafty Brown (WorldWin Papers), Emsossing folders-Textile, Allegro (ProvoCraft), Bluebird Stamps (Artistic Outpost), Adirondack Pigment Ink-Denim (Ranger), Distress Ink-Vintage Photo (Ranger), Thread Cutter (Tonic), Dew Drops (Robin's Nest), Sharpie-navy, Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo), Paper Trimmer (Fiskars)

Have a creatively wonderful day!

Luv Bug Weekend

Mark your calendars! Cuttlebug Challenge is having a Luv Bug Weekend this weekend. The fun starts on Friday, Jan. 30th at 10 am and wraps up on Sunday, Feb. 1st at 2 pm. There will be some fabulous Valentine themed tutorials along with wonderful prizes for participants. We are also having a blog hop!! So, don't forget to check out the Cuttlebug Challenge blog this weekend!! I am not participating, but many of my fellow dt members are and they have some fabulous things in store for you!!

I have some things to share tomorrow...so tune in again! Have a creatively wonderful evening!

BLOG CANDY!!!!!!

Oh how I love blog candy!! I love winning it and I love giving it!! I haven't had one for awhile, but to celebrate CHA this weekend, I thought it would be a fab time to have one. Karen at Art Declassified just released 18 new sets of stamps this weekend at CHA!! I was lucky enough to be able to create samples for her using them. If you didn't see these, you can check out this post to see the ATCs I created. They are some wonderful stamps!!

Now, I am offering up some of the new sets to YOU!! Karen sent me some extras to share with my blog readers and I am very excited to do so.

I have the following sets to give away:

Born To Shop

The Cameo

Swirls & Twirls

Punched!

Fashion Plate

You can see all of the new sets by going to Art Declassified or going to the Art Declassified blog and looking at the post made on the 20th.

Okay, so I know you want to win one of these fabulous sets!! I will be giving them to 5 lucky people who do the following:

1. Post this giveaway on your blog with links to my blog and to Art Declassified (if you don't have a blog, you can post it to a group you are on....just post it somewhere so people will know about the giveaway and about the new releases available)

2. Post a comment on THIS post telling me that you shared the candy with others (leave a link to the blog post if applicable) and what your favorite of the 5 sets is. Also include a way for me to contact you.

I will choose the winners on Feb. 1st using random.org. I will announce them here on my blog that day. I will also try to contact the winners if I am able to. You will then have 48 hrs to contact me with your mailing info. So, what are you waiting for? Share the blog candy and get a chance at winning some great stamps!!!

Have a creatively wonderful day!!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired for the week....

Cuttlebug Challenges Has made some major changes to their blog. They are sharing a tutorial or challenge every day of the week now!! The Wednesday challenges have now been named "Cuttlebug Be Inspired". This week, we worked with a sketch from pagemaps.com
It is a very cool sketch and I had lots of fun playing with circles, different folders and some die cuts.
Here is the card I created:Materials:
Colormates-Medium Pretty Pink, Medium Berry Red, Heritage White (WorldWin Papers)
Cuttlebug embossing folders-Swiss Dots, Heart Blocks, Script, D'vine Swirls (ProvoCraft)
Cuttlebug (ProvoCraft)
Sizzix die-Buttons #5 (Ellison)
Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink-Lipstick Red (Clearsnap)
Valentine Stamp (Hero Arts)
Pink embroidery floss
Top Score Board (Crafter's Companion)
Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo)
Paper Trimmer, Scissors (Fiskars)

So, head on over to the blog and create something using this sketch to enter the challenge!!
Have a creatively wonderful day!

Art Declassified CHA samples

I get to share some CHA work I did for Karen at Art Declassified. She sent me the new stamps that are being released this weekend and I created some ATCs for her. They are decorating their whole booth with ATCs and these new stamps all seem to work GREAT on them. Do check out the new stamps...she has them up on the website now! Art Declassified has such a great mix of stamps!! I had so much fun working with all them.

Be sure to check back in a few days. I am going to have a monster blog candy where you could win some of the new releases from Art Declassified!!! What fun!

Okay, today is my dh's 41st birthday. We went out to lunch today and I bought him the new Saw V movie. I am going to spend the rest of the day with him and we are going to just veg and watch movies. No more work for today!!

Have a creatively wonderful day!

Happy Birthday

I made this card a little while ago and forgot to share it. I was really happy with how this turned out! Just a quick and simple card, but sometimes I need to do these!! The mindless creating is good for my muse! lol

Materials:
Cascata-Salmon (WorldWin)
Doublemates-Glorious Green both sides (WorldWin)
Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft)
Wedding #2 Sizzix folder (Ellison)
Happy Birthday stamp (Melissa Frances)
Palette Hybrid Ink-Jardin Moss (Stewart Superior)
Satin ribbon

Have a creatively wonderful day!

One World, One Heart Giveaway

Winner Announcement!!! See Below!








I am so very excited to be taking part in the One World, One Heart Giveaway again this year. I have been busy making my giveaway this evening. I haven't even had a chance to check out all of the other giveaways yet. There are over 200 participants already! This is such a wonderful event and a great way to meet other bloggers. Please do check it out here

Here is what I am offering for the giveaway:


I challenged myself to make a one of a kind series of 4 ATCs using only two shades of olive cardstock and Artistic Outpost stamps. I had so much fun doing these and they could be YOURS. One person will take the whole series.

To enter to win my giveaway, all you need to do is comment on THIS post and you will have a chance. I do have a couple rules though. You have to leave a way for me to contact you if you win, so please put your email address in your comment. Also, I would LOVE to know where you live, so could you also include your state/country? It is just fun for me to see how many people from around the world are stopping by.
You can leave a comment until midnight est on February 11th. I will then choose a winner using random.org on the 12th.
Edited 2/12....
The winner of my OWOH giveway, drawn by Random.org is number 48:
sewfunky said...
Please enter me in the draw and don't forget to come on over to enter the OWOH giveaway on my blog... (I'm #144 on the gypsy caravan!)

I will be contacting Sewfunky right now. Congratulations!! Thank you to everyone who took the time to come visit my blog and see my giveaway. I really appreciate it and hope to see you all back again soon!!
Good luck and thanks for joining in on such a wonderful event!
Have a creatively wonderful evening!

Home is where the heart is...

I had a GREAT time today making this box/album from Maya Road!!


Here, it looks like a cute little house all decorated with love but wait...

It also opens up to hold a treasure!! lol A cute little accordian album ready to add family memories to.

Materials: Cascata-Salmon, Ruche-Brown, Colormates-Md. Glorious Green, Heritage White, Vellum-Pastel Blue (WorldWin Papers), Special Occasion font, rectangle stamper (JustRiteStampers), Threading Water Punch, Scissors, Trimmer (Fiskars)Cuttlebug folders-Mesh, D'vine Swirl (ProvoCraft), Fresco-Mediterranean Tide (StampaRosa), Colorbox Fluid Chalk-Peach Pastel (Clearsnap), Versafine-Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko), Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo)

For complete instructions, please visit the Paper Crazy blog. It isn't posted yet, but it will be soon! Thanks for stopping by!

EDITED 1/22: The project is now on the blog, so you can get the instructions now!

Have a creatively wonderful evening!

Organizational Sunday....

hah! Thought you were gonna get some good tips because of the title. Well, I have NONE. I am terrible at organization. Nothing ever seems to work for me. I try and try to make things easier to find and work with and it eventually ends up being a big ole mess again. So, today, I am organizing so I can get some work done in here. I simply can't work in this chaos any longer!! Any tips?
One thing I do have a tip for. It will help me and you (the commenter) out tremendously. If you post a comment to my blog, please check the box next to 'post follow up comments to your email'. This will allow me to answer any questions you have easily. I will just email you back. Otherwise, when your post comes to my email, I get no email address to answer you or thank you for your comments. I have no way to contact you unless I post a comment myself. And I doubt that you come back to the comments later to read them.
So, now you all know where I will be for the rest of the day. Trying to organize my studio AGAIN!! Wish me luck!!
Have a creatively wonderful day!

Some boxes from Debbie's Die Cuts

Oh, I had so much fun yesterday and this morning!! Even though I have the cold that never goes away, I wanted to create something...anything!! Debbie sent me some boxes to decorate awhile ago and my muse apparently was on vacation, because I couldn't come up with anything to do with them!! Finally, yesterday, I just started playing around with coloring them and the ideas flowed!! First, I decided to make one for Valentine's Day. I thought this one would be great to give to someone you love. Maybe fill it with some chocolates!
I first stamped the unmade box with a swirl heart stamp. Then, I sprayed both sides of the box with Memories mist. Assembled the box and added the bow around it with two Valentine pins. I stamped the sentiment on the top and embossed in clear. Attached it along with some printed flowers that I inked. Punched a circle and a heart and added those to the center. Finally I cut two strips with decorative scissors to make the borders on the top.

Materials: Box Die Cut (Debbie's Die Cuts ), Colormates-Deep Berry Red, High Gloss-Gold Smooth (WorldWin Papers)Memories Chalk Ink- Delicate Rose, Memories Mist-Strawberry Daquiri (Stewart Superior), Swirl Heart Stamp (Magenta), Sentiment (Hero Arts), Printed Flowers (Heidi Grace), Heartstrings scissors (Fiskars), Heart Punch, Circle Punch, Gold Ribbon, Pins, Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo)

Next, I decided to make one for birthdays. I thought these could make cute table favors or a gift box with some cash in it. Everyone loves cash!! lol

For this one, I stamped the present randomly in blue and the Happy Birthday randomly in green. Assembled the box and inked all the edges with blue ink. Stamped Happy Birthday again on white cardstock and cut out, leaving a tab along the bottom. Cut a slit in the box lid and slid the tab through and secured on the underside with tape. Cut out a matching piece of orange that is slightly larger and set aside. Stamp the present and a balloon on orange and one balloon on green. Cut out. Attach present to front of box and both balloons to wires. Glue wires to the back of "happy birthday' piece and cover with the piece of orange cardstock. Add Stickles to the present and the balloons. Tie ribbon around the box lid and add bow. Cut pieces of ribbon to attach down each side of the box to add continuity.

Materials: Box Die Cut (Debbie's Die Cuts), Colormates-Heritage White, Luscious Lime (WorldWin Papers), Kaschmir-Brown Orange Cotton (Gmund), Brilliance-Pearlescent Sky Blue (Tsukineko), Nick Bantock Ink-Chartruese Leaf (Ranger), India Ink Black (Stewart Superior), Ribbon (American Crafts), Stickles-Lime Green, Blue, Stardust (Ranger), white wire, Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo), Scissors (Fiskars), The Ultimate Glue (API)

Finally, I wanted to make one that could hold special little treasures. I instantly thought of a trunk of some sort. This is what I came up with...

I misted both sides of the die cut with Memories Mists. Then, I stamps swirls with the coordinating inks. Assembled the box. I had this suede like ribbon and I adhered the two strips starting at the bottom on the back and up over the top. I didn't add adhesive to the section that was on the front. I cut the ends to points. I cut two 1" strips and adhered them at the bottom on the front. Cut two 1" strips and cut them each in half lengthwise. I used one set to make handles on each side and the other set to make the fastening parts on the front. Finally, I stamped the word and slipped it into a label holder that I attached with brads.

Here is what it looks like when you open it. This may help the assembly make more sense!!

Materials: Box die cut (Debbie's Die Cuts), Memories Mists-Merlot, Margarita, Memories Chalk Inks-Hazy Mag, Iced Coffee, Dusty Lime (Stewart Superior), Stamps (Technique Tuesday), Label Holder, brads (Tim Holtz), Suede Heritate Ribbon (Karen Foster Designs), Zip Dry Glue, Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo), Scissors (Fiskars)

So, you can see that I did have fun!! If you want to make some of your own, head over to Debbie's blog, The Studio In Preston and see what she carries. Debbie also has a wonderful blog where she shares samples of things you can make with her die cuts and kits!

Thanks for stopping by and have a creatively wonderful day!!!

I was honored with another blog award!

Today, I woke up to see that the very talented Christina has given me this beautiful award! Please check out her blog and see her wonderful creations!! Thank you so much Christina!

When you receive this award, you must list 7 of your favorite things and 7 other bloggers to award it to.

Here are 7 of my favorite things:

1. my wonderful husband, John

2. my beautiful daughters, Shelby & Shanyn

3. my dear friends

4. Cuttlebug and folders/Spellbinders Nestabilities

5. Blog surfing

6. chocolate

7. creating art!!

Now to the 7 bloggers I am giving this award to:

Lori

Ching

Wendy

Donna

Donalda

Eva

Trudi

Stay tuned! Later today, I actually have some creations to share!!

Valentine Bookmark

Today, there is a post over at Paper Crazy with the bookmarks I made for my girls' for Valentine's Day. I decided that this tucked in a book would make a nice gift for them. I was really happy with how this turned out!
Want to make your own? Click here for complete instructions.

On a personal note, I have a horrendous cold that I have had for WAY too long. It is totally kicking my butt, but I have to prevail!! lol I am determined that today is the day that I get my rear in gear and get something done. I can't let this cold get me down. But, maybe I should take a power nap first? lol Just kidding....I am off to create!!

Have a creatively wonderful day!

this week's Cuttlebug Challenge

Well, it's time for another Cuttlebug Challenge. I know that I don't post much lately, but with CHA coming up, I have been busy doing art for that and I can't share that just yet. I do apologize and starting this week, I will be posting more things that I have done.

This week's challenge on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog was to use our favorite folder to create a card. Well, I have two, so I used two. lol My absolute favorite folders are Swiss Dots and D'vine Swirls. I have almost all of the folders, but these are the two I reach for the most often.

Here is the card I made using these two folders along with some Spellbinder's dies.

I am so enamoured with the turquoise and red color scheme lately. I have wanted to make a card with these colors for a long time and figured today was a perfect day to do that! This card is going to be for my dh for Valentine's Day, I think.

Materials: Berry Red, Heritage White, Terrific Teal (WorldWin Papers), Swiss Dots, D'vine Swirls (ProvoCraft), Curved Rectangles, Labels Trio (Spellbinders), Stamps (Technique Tuesday), Versafine-Onyx Black (Tsukineko), Clear EP, Twinkling H2Os (Luminarte, Inc), Waterbrush (Niji), Tape N Roller Plus (Kokuyo), Paper trimmer (Fiskars), White satin ribbon

Have a creatively wonderful day!

Sketch challenge on Paper Crazy!

The bi-monthly sketch challenge is up on the Paper Crazy blog. There are prizes to be won!!! If you want to check out the sketch challenge and possibly participate, click here for the details. Be sure to check out what the design team did with this sketch. It is wonderful inspiration!

Here is the card I made using the sketch:

The picture isn't the greatest because we are having snowstorms and the days are so overcast AND my camera is crappy. lol

I used WorldWin paper, Hero Arts stamps, Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink-Warm Red, Maya Road button flowers, Cuttlebug embossing folder-tiny bubbles, Spellbinders Nestabilities-Labels One, Stickles, Martha Stewart rhinestones, rub on stitching, rick rack and Valentine stick pins. There is alot going on on this card, but I love it. I am so in the Valentine mood right now....
Okay, I am heading back to my create-fest. I just wanted to take a break and share something with all of you!!

Have a creatively wonderful weekend!

One Lovely Blog Award

I was honored to received this award from not one, but two fellow bloggers. Right before Christmas, my dear friend Libby gave me this award. She creates the greatest Cuttlebugged creations and writes tutorials for every one on her blog. I didn't have much time on the computer, so I didn't post about it. I wanted to wait until I had time to come up with 7 other bloggers. I planned to acknowledge it this weekend. Then, I woke up this morning to see that another person had given me this award!! Betty is such a sweet lady and we are on the Cuttlebug Challenge design team together. She creates awesome work...be sure to check it out!
Thank you so much, you two, for giving me this honor!
Now, I have the difficult task of narrowing down a list of hundreds of deserving blogs into just 7. I wish I could just give it to every blogger that I 'stalk' and admire!! But, rulez is rulez, right?
Here are the 7 I am nominating for this award:
Nettie
Hilary
Jay at Indigo Inklings
Becca
Sue
Wendy
Jennifer McGuire

Okay, I am going to spend my day creating. I am going to do a bit of yucky housework and then my family better just fend for themselves for the rest of the day!! lol
Have a creatively wonderful weekend!

My word is LOVE....what's yours?

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people. Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love. You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love. And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's" Your Word?

How ironic that my word is 'love'? That is what my dh has called me since we started dating!! I found this site while blurfing today and thought I would share it with all of you!
Have a creatively wonderful weekend!

Cuttlebug Challenge for the week

I am starting to get back in the swing of things after the holidays and getting things done. I wanted to share this week's Cuttlebug Challenge with all of you. Our challenge was to create a card with white embossing. I have seen alot of people ink their embossing folders before running it through the Cuttlebug and I had an idea. I brayered Versamark on the side of the folder that presses in the background part of the embossing. Then, I sprinkled clear glitter ep on it after embossing. It is hard to see in the pictures, but it is really pretty irl. I did this twice and then cut out some of the flowers from one embossed piece and layered them at different heights on the front of the card. Then, I placed pearls in the centers of the flowers.I used Heritage White cardstock from WorldWin Papers, Floral Fantasy embossing folder, Thinking of You stamp Artistic Outpost, adhesive pearls, Versamark ink, Versafine Onyx Black ink, Ranger clear glitter embossing powder.
Today, we are in the middle of ANOTHER ice storm. School is cancelled and my routine is once again interrupted. But, I am glad that my girls aren't on the bus on their way to school with all the ice!!! Our school decision actually made a good decision for once! lol
Have a creatively wonderful day!