Hambo Garden Signs

Over the holiday weekend, the kids and I made signs for our organic vegetable garden. This is a fun tradition that the kids look forward to each Spring. This year we decided to use this cute new digi from Hambo Stamps. Who doesn't love a little garden gnome?

I hope you're all enjoying your holiday weekend and traditions with your families. A huge thank you to all of the military familes out there. I'll be back tomorrow with a fun little announcement!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Chocolate and roses.....a combination any girl would love right?

Well this week, were using chocolate and roses as our color inspiration over at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.

For this challenge, I decided to to bust out an old favorite by Stampin Up called "Like it a Latte". Here's what I came up with...
I split up the sentiment onto two mini banners.
And did lots of faux stitching.

I hope you join us this week! If you hate mass production like I do, then these weekly challenges are perfect for you. I had over 70 Christmas cards last year from various challenges and no two were alike!
All you need to do is one card a week and Christmas mass production will be a thing of the past! You'll actually have time to enjoy the holidays this year - imagine that! Be sure to hop on over to the CSAYL blog to get more inspiration and to leave a link to your creation. Thanks for stopping by. Have a fantastic holiday weekend!

Pink Cat Digi Release Day!

Melissa is back this week another stunning digital release from Pink Cat Studio!Aren't they beautiful?
And did you notice that little one in the middle?
It's a freebie!

Last year we got my father-in-law a beautiful bird feeder for his backyard. For Father's Day, we'll be restocking his wild bird seed supply. Instead of giving him a plastic bag full of seed, I thought I'd package it up nice and pretty.
Each week during the PCS release, my daughter requests a t-shirt. If it were up to her, she'd have 200 Pink Cat Studio shirts in her closet! This week I indulged her, because the bird image that Melissa made was perfect for a custom tee.

I enlarged the image, printed it onto transfer paper and ironed it on. Easy - Peasy!

I colored in the image with my Copic markers...

and then hand-stitched on some felt flowers and embellishments.

Here's a close up of the embellishments on the collar.

Fun, simple and cute enough to make a 7 year old squeal with delight! Hop on over to the PCS digi store to get your hands on these new beauties and to claim your freebie! Oh, and don't forget about all of the FREE sentiments that Melissa has available to her customers! Isn't she the best?
Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

I scream, you scream...

I finally got my hands on this cute new set by Stampin Up.I forgot how fast a card can come together when you use solid images! Twenty minutes after my new rubber was mounted, I had this all finished!
I used Jen's sketch for the layout and some retired SU patterns that I've been hoarding for longer than I care to admit.

I love me some white polka dots, and thought this ribbon was the perfect embellishment. I even found a cute heart sticker that matched my crazy color scheme. To finish off the bottom panel, I cut skinny strips of Wild Wasabi cardstock and threaded them through the buttons. Such a fun little stamp set to play with and perfect for all of those summer birthdays on my calendar.

Thanks SO much for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the world today. I'll be back tomorrow with a new release from Pink Cat Studio!

A sketch and a cutie

As most of you probably know, Little C's is clearing out their entire stamp inventory. There are lots of great deals to be had plus some low priced grab bags full of cuteness! Use promo code "GoodBuy40" to receive 40% off of your entire rubber stamp order! (grab bags not included in this promo because of their already reduced price)

Okay, enough business talk, let's get to stampin!
Today the Little C's divas have a sketch challenge for you courtesy of Jen. Here's what I came up with using an image by The Greeting Farm...I used papers from the BasicGrey "Kioshi" collection and some yummy green ribbon by May Arts. The polka dots across the top and the sentiment are rub-ons.

This is "Lottie".
She's part of the Twinkle Tot Collection and I'm totally smitten.
Just look at that face - what a sweetie!
I added some tiny purple pearls to her hair bows for a little dimension...

and popped up the ribbon ends to finish it off

I hope you'll play along with Maria, Jen and I. This sketch is super simple and leaves loads of room for creativity. Be sure to check out what Little C's has left in their Greeting Farm inventory!

Oh, Alice

I can not believe how fast this month is flying by! Only 15 more sleeps until I'm in Japan!

So have any of you joined the twisted tea party over at the Oh Alice challenge blog? They post a new challenge every weekend, and I finally had a chance to play along again. This week they had a sketch to play with. You know me and sketches....

Here's what I came up with... I picked up this adorable set by The Greeting Farm on my girls only road trip last week. I've already used every stamp in the set!
This cutie reminded me of Alice...

Well...Daddy is out working hard today, so I'm off to join my daughters class for "Donuts with Dad". Hmmm.....are donuts vegan?

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Have you started your Christmas cards yet? I have a whole basket that is filling up quite nicely. This week the Christmas Stampin All Year Long gals have a technique challenge for you.

Paper piecing - my most favorite technique in all the land!
I thought this image by My Favorite Things would be a good one to use for this challenge. Here's a close up of the chair that I paper pieced.
I drew in a wood floor again, because I was so happy with the way my other one turned out. It's really simple to do. You can check out my tutorial here if you're interested in trying it.

Well, I guess that's it for me today. I hope you make some time to play along with us this week. You can leave a link to your creation on the CSAYL blog. If you're looking for more challenges, be sure to check out the Hambo sketch challenge for May and the Little C's embossing challenge too!

Pink Cat Digital Release Day!

Introducing....Something new and different from Pink Cat Studio!
Aren't these images just beautiful and girly?!
I used some beautiful BasicGrey patterns for this one and had fun with the blue and purple color scheme.

Loads of jewels and a pretty Prima rose finished it off.

For my next sample, I went with a totally different look.

Shabby chic?
For a girl who loves her Copics, this was a challenge for me, but I really like how it came out.

Lots of flowers and leaves for a very feminine card.

You can see what the rest of the design team came up with by going to the PCS blog. Then hop on over to the digi shop and pick up some beauties of your own!
Thanks for stopping by today.

A bit of sunshine

This is "Rainy Day Emma" by CC Designs. I decided to use up the scraps on my table and ended up with this...And yes.....I love polka dots.

Isn't little Emma adorable?
In order to make her rain gear look realistic, I colored over it with a Sakura glaze pen. It gives the same exact look of clear embossing powder without the messy powder and heat tool. This technique is perfect for todays challenge over on the Little C's blog.

This week we want you to use embossing on your project. Any kind of embossing will do - heat embossing, dry embossing, embossing folders, embossing pens....anything!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by today!

I'm on a much needed road trip with the girls today - yay!
See ya tomorrow :-)