Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Hello to all of my fabulous readers!  Where the heck have I been?  Well...between not feeling so hot, having the kiddos out of school this week, hosting my daughters birthday party, and being knee deep in the middle of a kitchen remodel....need I say more?! 

I'm SO happy that Friday is finally here and I have a new challenge posted over on the CSAYL blog.  I'd love for you to play along this week!

Our sponsor this week is...

A Perfect Presentation offers fantastic templates in a variety of formats, that are easy to use and make a perfect presentation every time! The design team and I have fallen in love with these products and I know you will too. Leigh Ann, the owner, has generously offered a template of choice to our winner this week!

And the best part?

Leigh Ann has two FREE pdf templates for you to download and play with for our challenge!  Hop on over to the challenge blog for the links.

Let's get to it, shall we? 
Our challenge this week is a warm and fuzzy one. Who doesn't like warm and fuzzy?!

Use felt on your holiday card or package this week.

Here's what I came up with using a great template from PP called "It's A Keeper".

Has anyone else seen these JUMBO marshmallows?!  I saw them at the store and couldn't resist.  Seriously, I can only fit ONE in the palm of my hand - genius!  The kids and I like to dip marshmallows in chocolate and add sprinkles for a super easy and tasty treat.

I added an insert to the box to hold my tasty little treat.

Then I finished it off with a cute sentiment and some red pearls.

Where is the felt, you ask?

I decorated the back of the box with a self-adhesive felt border.  If you're up for the challenge and want to play along, leave a link over at the CSAYL blog for your chance to win a template of your choice!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long!

The new challenge today over at CSAYL is to put down those Copics and watercolor your image instead.  I think some of my design team members may have shed a tear or two.  Putting down those markers seemed to be a true challenge for many of us!  But hey, that's why we call it a challenge, right?

Our generous sponsor this week is InStyle Stamps and they have offered 4 digis to the winner!

My preferred method of water coloring is to use my Stampin Up ink pads and an aqua-painter.

I squeeze the ink pads while the lid is closed and then slide em' open.  Then I just dip the tip of the aqua-painter into the ink on the lid.

I used an image called "Mr. Ludwig".

Here's a close up of my frosty little friend.

I'd love for you to play along with us!  Only 36 more weeks until Christmas - yes, I counted.  Just think, 1 card a week for 36 weeks and you'll be all set!  Have a fantastic weekend and be sure to leave a link to your project over at the CSAYL blog.

Pink Cat Digital Release Day

Well, it doesn't get much cuter than fairies...

Up until today, these cuties were only available in rubber.  But now all you digi lovers can order them and have instant gratification!  PLUS....you'll get a Fairy Lily image for FREE with any purchase today only!

My baby girl turns 8 years old today.  I guess she's not a baby anymore, but all you mommy's out there get it.  One of her favorite memories was being in the "Frog Class" for her first year of school.  I became dear friends with her teacher, so froggies have a special place in our heart.

Here's the birthday card I made for my favorite birthday girl.

Here's a close up of the cute froggie fairy.

I colored his wings pale blue and then covered them with some Doodlebug Sugar Coating.

I even finished the inside too!

Two cards in a row - look out, I'm on a roll people!

Be sure to hop on over to the PCS blog and check out all of the cute samples that Melissa has to share with you.  Then click on over to the PCS digi store to purchase your images and claim your FREEBIE!

InStyle Color Challenge

I've been busy working on my daughter's birthday party, so I've been MIA this week.  I just wanted to pop in today to post the new color challenge over at InStyle Stamps.

This month they're going to spice it up and not only give the winner a digi or 2 but also a goodie bag filled with Basic Grey papers, Copics and some Glitter pens!!!

The deadline to enter is May 10th by 11:59 pm PST. All you have to do is use the color palette above and create away. If you have an InStyle image, why not flaunt it? :)

I'll be back tomorrow with a 'magical' new release!

Organic is the New Sexy

I finally had a chance to play with Jen's latest SFYTT.  I think this is my first one of the year!  Can you believe that we're already half way through April? 

I busted out my "WTG Goes Green" set by My Favorite Things and came up with this...

The patterns are from BasicGrey's "Green At Heart" collection.

I paper pieced the shopping bags with the same pattern that I used on the background and then paper pieced her pants with some textured cardstock.  Then I popped up the front bag with dimensionals and drew in a path for her to walk on.

And in an effort to be a little more thorough with my cards, I finished the inside as well.  It really completes the card and doesn't take any time at all.  I just used a border punch and the scraps that were left over from the front of the card.  Easy-peasy!

Good luck with the sketch if you give it a try.  I'll definitely be using it again.  Be sure to check out my new challenge over at CSAYL.  The winner gets to be a guest designer next month!

Christmas Stampin All Year Long

Can you believe that it's already time for a new challenge at CSAYL?!

This week our designers got to play with any Christmas image they wanted to. The only requirement was to use the paper piecing technique. And that's my challenge for you today.

Chose your favorite holiday image or maybe one that hasn't seen ink in way too long. We all have those, right? Use the paper piecing technique on your holiday card and leave us a link!

One winner will be chosen next Thursday to be a guest designer next month!

For my card, I decided to use one of the new images from the Creepin Kit by The Greeting Farm.  This is Sasha.

I don't think she was designed as a Christmas image, but I have a friend who loves her cowboy boots.  Not a look that works for everyone, but she totally rocks it.  This will be her Christmas card.

I paper pieced the red layer of her dress.  Such an easy-peasy technique, but it really pulls a card together!

I did some hand stitching on a couple of the paper strips,

and then finished it off with this sassy little sentiment by My Favorite Things.

Be sure to hop on over to the CSAYL challenge blog to see what the design team made this week.  We'd love for you to play along!  I know it's only April, but when December rolls around, you'll be SO glad you did! 

New from InStyle Stamps

InStyle Stamps has a brand new set featuring Patty.

They also have a brand new sketch for April.

Here's what I came up with using an image called "Sitting Patty".

This is one of those images that can be used for a variety of occasions: thank you, friendship, Mother's Day. 

I used some papers by BasicGrey and paired them up with Crushed Curry cardstock and polka dot ribbon.

Be sure to hop on over to the InStyle blog for more sketch samples and challenge details.  I'll be back tomorrow with a new challenge for CSAYL!

A Class Act & A Sketch

Is anyone else hooked on the MFT sketches?!
I'm not sure who creates the sketches each week, but they're ALL fabulous!  I just got some new MFT goodies in the mail and had to put them to use right away.
Here's what I came up with for the week 12 challenge...

This is from an a' la mode set called "You Rule".  I've been wanting a teacher set for so long and this one was just perfect.  I'm hoping to make some card sets for Teacher Appreciation Week next month.

The crazy pattern is by BasicGrey, and I paper pieced her skirt to tie everything together.  When I was digging in my drawer looking for embellishments, I totally scored when I came across this A+ chipboard.  And it even matched my card - bonus!

Thanks for hoppin' by today.  It's a beautiful day and I'm off to the Farmer's Market.

In With the New

Lots of new things going on at The Greeting Farm and they're kicking it off with a challenge called "In With the New". 

Here's what I made using Tyler from the brand new Creeper set. 

It's the boy version of a card I made last week and I just love how it came out.

I paper pieced his shirt with the same crazy pattern I used on the background.  Then I did some piercing and finished it off with some bright yellow jewels.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

Happy Friday stampers!  I've got a new challenge posted over at CSAYL and I'd love for you to play along!  Our sponsor this week is Pink Cat Studio and five, count em', FIVE, free digis are up for grabs!

The challenge this week is "Inside Outside". 

See if you can keep that mojo flowin' all the way to the inside of your card.  I'm terrible about decorating the inside of my cards and really want to get better about that.

Here's what I came up with using a great image called "Three Christmas Trees".

This is a simple one that could easily be mass produced.
Here's a shot at the inside.

If you play along this week, be sure to leave a link over on the CSAYL challenge post, so I can come visit your blog and choose a winner! 
Have a super weekend!