So Little Time!

I can't believe it has been so long since I was able to stamp!! I seem to have very little free time and this month I have been very tired. I haven't laid down during the day to nap since my 4 year old was about 6 months old and I found myself laying on the couch several days this past week and a couple days the week before! But, I got happy mail last week! Some new release sets from C.C. Designs!! I have prepared one project so far but I can't show you until tomorrow. If you head over to the All That Scraps blog you can see some sneak peeks of one of the sets there! http://www.atsblog.typepad.com/ We were at the Toledo Zoo today. When our 4 year old potty trained (in September) we promised her a trip to see the elephants. No Zoo's in Michigan have elephants any longer so a trip to Toledo was in order. It isn't a bad drive, just 2 hours and as long as you aren't cringing at the amount of gas it takes to get there it is quite leisurely. So they saw the elephants and the polar bears (our 6 year old's favorite animal). We met some friends down there and had a wonderful day. Check back tomorrow for a sneak of a new set from CC Designs!

Just Celebrate Invitation

These are the birthday party invitations for my youngest daughter's party. She will be turning 4 later this week. Last year we did Curious George and when asked what kind of party she wanted this year she said she wanted Curious George again. But her favorite animal is the elephant so when I got the adorable set "Just Celebrate" from the mini catalog, I knew I had to use it on her invites. She ended up telling me a jungle party was fine. The funny thing is that we never do a ton of decorations when we do a themed party. Usually it is just the ivites, thank-you's and a banner. Plus, we almost always do her party outside since usually the weather in Michigan is nice enough to do that by the end of May/begining of June...who needs decorations when you are outside?

So, this is the invite and I think it turned out super cute. I love doing simple invites mainly because I don't really like doing a bunch of cards exactly the same anyway, so the more simple the better! Plus, the 3 and 4 year olds who are getting them will appreciate it no matter how fancy it is.

I colored the elephant in with Prismacolor pencils and a blending stump. My friend Lori was over this past Friday and she brought hers for me to try. I liked them but it seemed like alot of work - the blending part. I may just need more practice too! I used both the Mega and Giga Scallop punches from Marvy. In addition I used my new toy - the Punches Plus Brass Template from Stampin' Up! It is an embossing template that has images of most of our punches (including the ovals) and around the image is the PERFECT paper piercing template to mimic the punch. So, I just used the "you're invited" stamp from my Family Phrases set and punched it out with the large oval. The I used dimensionals to pop it up on the front of the card, laid the template down and paper pierced the oval around it. The perfect touch!

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Old Olive cs, Rose Red cs, ink, Whisper White cs, Black Staz On, Punches Plus template, White Signo Gel Pen, Slit Punch, Simply Said set, Family Phrases set, Just Celebrate set.

Lily and Milo

Last night my girlfriends came over to stamp (hi Lorien and Lori!!) Lorien's parents did a great job and she is an amazing sharer of all things rubber related so she came not only to work on a few projects but with some stamps she said "I thought you might like to stamp some images." When I saw this little girl with the bird I couldn't resist and I almost couldn't stop coloring her. I did quit and went to bed around midnight and finished the coloring and card this afternoon. Isn't it adorable? These are apparently a new line of stamps and you can find out more about them and look at some beautiful artwork on the Rachelle Ann Miller blog...check it out http://rachelleannemiller.com/. Supplies Used: Certainly Celery cs, ink, Rose Red cs, ink, Bashful Blue cs, ink, Black Staz On, So Saffron ink, Close to Cocoa ink, Cutie Pie Designer Paper (SU!), Double Stitched Pomegranate Ribbon (SU!), Regal brads (SU!), Dimensionals, Slit punch, Just Celebrate set (SU!), Lily and Milo stamp).

Lulu Loves Presents

This card was done for a challenge that Christine issued to the All That Scraps Designers for this weekend. We were to create a card using pink cardstock and some brown only. We were allowed to use any other colors for the main image but the cardstock had to be pink or brown. Both my middle and youngest daughters have birthdays coming up so I think I'll give this one to my soon to be 6 year old. She loves cats and pink is her favorite color so I think she'll like it. Plus, what 6 year old doesn't think that "it's all about the presents"? Check out the All That Scraps Blog on Monday to see what the other gals came up with! http://www.atsblog.typepad.com/

Supplies Used: Close to Cocoa ink, cs, Regal Rose cs, ink, Pretty in Pink cs, ink, Old Olive ink, Whisper White cs, Paper Piercer, Signo White Gel Pen, It's My Birthday set.

Just Celebrate!

This ADORABLE elephant image is from a set in the Stampin' Up! mini catalog and is available until the end of June. My youngest LOVES elephants and the artwork in this set is just adorable. Each stamp in the set has a word that is attached to it. Originally the elephant was attached to the saying "new baby" but there is enough room on most of the stamps to cut the words off and mount them on the end of your block and use them with anything you like. So this elephant is celebrating! The printed paper is from "Summer Picnic" which is one of my favorites. I love the bright summer feel of these papers. I water colored the elephant with Bashful Blue ink and did some zig-zag stitching with my paper piercer along the top and bottom of the Real Red panel. You can't really tell in the photo but I used my Crop-o-dile to put three embossed circles along the bottom of the Pumpkin Pie matt. Did you notice there are no embellishments on this one?!?! That doesn't happen often when I am creating a project but I thought it was cute even without any ribbon, bling or glitter!

Supplies Used: Bashful Blue cs, ink, Pumpkin Pie cs, SW Marker, Real Red cs, Black Staz On, White Craft Ink, Paper Piercer, Signo White Gel Pen, Summer Picnic DSP, Just Celebrate set.

Quick Mother's Day Card

Here is a quick card for Mother's Day but really cute! This was made with the Punches Plus Classy Brass template from Stampin' Up! A really simple to use template that incorporates paper piercing templates that fit PERFECTLY around the geometric shapes that you can emboss. This is one product I glanced over until another demonstrator showed it to us at the SCS Birch Run weekend this past March. It also uses the set Blooming with Love - which I love! Simply stamp the single flower in Timber Brown Staz On and color the petals with your White Signo Gel Pen and emboss the square using the classy brass template, pierce using the same template, stamp your greeting, add some new Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon and you are all done!

Supplies Used: Chocolate Chip cs, Poly Twill Ribbon, Soft Sky cs, Timber Brown Staz On, White Signo Gel Pen, Punches Plus Classy Brass template, Blooming With Love.

Princess Birthday

One of my daughters is a huge girly-girl and for my birthday my secret sister for a SCS get together sent me a $15 gift certificate for some Lizzie Anne Designs stamps. I chose the set I used to create this girly card. My 5 year old had a birthday party to go to on Friday and this is the card I made. Unfortunately she didn't end up going because she got croup AGAIN. She gets it several times a year and this time she had a fever for a couple days so she missed 2 days of school and the party. She was a trooper though. I watercolored the images with my Aquapainter and SU ink. After it was all done I used my Stardust Gel Pen to add some sparkle on the castle shingles and parts of the princesses dress. I had to do the masking technique to get her hat to sit on her head...it took me awhile get it right but I finally did. If you haven't ever checked out Lizzie Anne Designs stamps, you have to because they are simply adorable stamps! http://www.lizzieannedesigns.com/

Supplies Used: Pretty in Pink cs, SW Marker, Close to Cocoa cs, ink, Creamy Caramel ink, Orchid Opulence ink, So Saffron SW Marker, Black Staz On ink, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, White Grosgrain ribbon, pink bling, Aqua Painter, Stardust Gel Pen, Once Upon a Time set.

Congrats Lorien!

My sweet stampin friend Lorien won the new CC Designs set A Hootin Good Time at the All that Scraps blog! http://atsblog.typepad.com/ats/2008/04/preview-day-1-.html If you check out the blog you can see the other DT members creations using Shari. You can also sign up to win yourself a set!

"I Want Fabulous!"

If you have girls you know that line is from a song in High School Musical 2. The girl who sings it is named Sharpay and although her character is a terrible snob the song is fun! "All things fabulous, bigger and better is best."

This gal reminds me of Sharpay to some degree. This is Shari from one of Christine's newest sets - Glam Girlz. This set has 3 adorable girls in it, words and a stamp that looks like sparkles.

I know you can't see it in this post but I used a Stardust sparkle pen on the glasses and the ring she is wearing. I love this printed paper but I'm not sure who it is by. If you check out the ATS blog Christine may have it listed there. She sent the DT members "mini kits" of goodies and we had to use what was in the kit and nothing more (except ink). So all the goodies you see on this card were straight from ATS. I love the color combo and it didn't take long for this card to come together at all. I love the hair on Shari but wait till you see Gwenny...she's my favorite and she carries a purse which is perfect for my upcoming weekend. You'll have to stop by tomorrow to check her out.