Maybe I'm Biased...

I  happen to think that all of the sketches that Michelle comes up with over at Card Patterns are fabulous.  I feel so honored to be on the very first Design Team over at Card Patterns and am sad that the term is drawing to a close.  Michelle, ever gracious, offered to us that we could extend our terms, but with my husband deployed I plan on doing some traveling so I just wouldn't be able to guarantee that I could get around to stamping.  I wouldn't want to hold up the posting each week!!  I am terribly sad that I won't be able to stay on past May, but you do what you have to do as a military spouse, and traveling is one way of keeping some sanity.

Anyway, the point of this post is to let you know that you really should check out this week's sketch.  As usual, it's terrific!  If you don't believe me, 100 other people have already played along and can tell you how much they enjoyed it.  So...what are you waiting for?!?!  Saturday a new sketch will be released, so make sure to stop back by then too!!!

Bows, Bows, Bows....

A long time ago I made a post that shared a link to Sherri Barron's blog where she showed how she ties her bows.  I shared it because it's the same way I do mine, and she was gracious enough to create a tutorial on it and thus I didn't have to.  So, here's the link to her tutorial.  Lately, after seeing THIS post on Nichole's blog about tying a button to a bow, I have modified the method a tiny bit, but thought I would share her short tutorial with you and you can modify it to fit your needs as well.  Basically, I kind of do the tying backwards so that the tied part ends up on the back of the bow rather than the front.  You could even modify it further and tie the button as you want it to look, cinch the ribbon together without the button, but threading around the ribbon as it says, and then attach the two (the button and bunny-ear ribbon).  There are several different ways you can get this look, but a picture is worth a thousand words.  Check out the links and let them know I sent ya and that you love their post!!! :)  Several of you have asked about my bows recently.  Ask, and ye shall receive!!!!

The inside....

So, I thought I would give you a teaser post with the inside of the card I made for this Saturday's Card Patterns sketch challenge.  I'm doing this to cheat and end up with two (creative) posts this week ;)  It's only the 2nd or 3rd time that I've ever done the inside of a card too.  I love it when people do that.  Beate is doing it most of the time now, and many other blogs I subscribe to have cards with gorgeous insides as well, but I can't think of exactly who at the moment.  It's a nice touch but usually I don't have the time to do it - getting to sit down and stamp at all has been extremely rare so I would rather make 2 cards than spend time on the inside of one.  This card was for a friend who was retiring from the US Air Force today, after 20 years of dedicated service and sacrifice (both his own and that of his family).  So, needless to say, I kept things CAS (clean and simple) because "boys" don't really like glitter and bling, or "complicated", do they?  ;)  LOL

So, I hope you'll check back on Saturday to see what I did with the CP sketch and that you'll play along with me and the rest of the CP Design Team.  We would love to have you and all of the CP sketches created by Michelle are fabulous!!!!

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Congrats (SAB 2009)
Paper: Kraft and Very Vanilla CS, Patterns DSP Pack I (retired Level I Hostess item) in Not Quite Navy and Always Artichoke
Ink:  Not Quite Navy and Always Artichoke classic ink
Accessories:  Piercing Tool and Template

I'm Pathetic...

Peter, my husband, deployed for at least 4 months for the US Air Force this past Sunday.  Today, the first full-day he has been gone I have already had one fiasco.  My home phone says that there is a line in use and I have unplugged each and every phone, left them off for a while, and re-plugged them all back in (both the phone jacks and power sources) and they don't work.  I'm so glad that this is such a little thing, but find it pretty funny that something is already going "wrong" the very first day (of 130 more days to go, at least - not that we're counting....actually, the kids are, but in a fun way....they get a "hug" or a "kiss" from a jar each day he's gone and will get to watch those hugs and kisses slowly dwindle down until Daddy gets home).  So....as you can expect I'm here to pathetically plead with you to please not desert me - I love my little blog and the friends I have made through it - but you are most definitely going to want to add me to your Google Reader or use one of the e-mail subscription methods in my left-hand sidebar.  I aim to post AT LEAST twice a week, but can't promise more than that.  So....thanks for everything and please bear with me as we count down the days until my wonderful husband gets back home and sanity once returns to my house (if it ever was there in the first place!!).  :)

WINNER and Card Patterns Sketch #12

First, drum-roll please..................

Random.org gave me number 23 and that is LaRee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats on winning the Boot Loot that I am offering in honor of my DD's 6th birthday.  I am excited to say that LaRee is one of my dear friends, so I know where you live and obviously you won't have to e-mail me.  I think in my Boot Loot contests I've only had a person I actually know outside of blog-land win more than once or twice.  I must admit it's fun to see someone I know win!!!

Now, on to Card Patterns Sketch #12, which you can see HERE.  Card Patterns has the pleasure of letting you know that our sponsor this week is Unity Stamp Company!!!  They have some incredible stamps, kits and other stamping supplies that you can check out on their site and you can enter your sketch on the CP blog using Mr. Linky for your chance to win a great prize from them.  Swing on over to the CP blog to check out the sketch and the amazing cards by the rest of the DT and our Guest DT member.  Don't forget that entering your sketch also puts you in the running for being selected as a Guest DT member with one of CP's future sketches!!!

I hope you like my card - it's for my daughter's teacher.  Teacher appreciation week is coming up, so I thought another apple card was in need to start the little bundle of gifts we're going to be giving my DD's teacher.  I had fun making it and using my Prismacolor pencils again.  It's been a LONG time!!!  The card-base is 6-1/2" x 3-1/4" when folded, so it's a little bit abnormal in size.  I don't really like the 6" x 3" size, so I made it a half inch bigger and started with a 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" square.  Just FYI....

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  ABC Images, Teacher's Apple
Paper:  Kraft, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White CS, Chocolate Chip Textured CS, Washington Apple DSP
Ink:  Black StazOn
Accessories:  Prismacolor Pencils, Baby Oil, Blending Stump, Scallop Square punch, 1-1/4" punch (I trimmed a tiny bit off of the squares to get them to look a little better on top of the scalloped squares), Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, 5/16" White Brads, Vintage White Button (PTI), Linen thread, Paper Piercing Tool and Template, Stampin' Dimensionals, mini glue dots

Boot Loot and a BIRTHDAY!!!

THIS POST TO REMAIN AT TOP UNTIL CONTEST IS OVER

So, today is my oldest daughter's sixth birthday!!!  I can't believe how the time has flown by, and now I have a child that is six years old!!!!!  I just love her so, so , so much!!   We are so blessed to have her as part of our family.  She is sweet and cares so much about the feelings of others.  She tries so hard to please everyone and she is just so smart.  She is such a beautiful little girl who makes my heart melt when she runs around the house making up songs and dancing like a princess or writing sweet things about others in her "book" and draws such adorable pictures of them too.  I love her!!! 

In honor of her birthday I thought I would post my boot loot (aka BLOG CANDY, PRIZES, FREE STUFF, MY EXCUSE TO PURGE SOME STAMPING SUPPLIES/ITEMS) drawing today.  The contest will end Friday night April 24th at 11:59:59 Eastern Standard Time.  I will announce the winner with my post for that week's Card Patterns Sketch.  It will be posted at 9:00 am. 

Here's how the contest will go.  I took a picture of the beginning 3 items in the Boot Loot and that's what you see above (sorry, it's not the greatest picture).  They are:
1.  Thickers stickers
2.  Yummy SU! Sale-a-Bration '09 new, unmounted stamp set
3.  Patterns II paper pack from SU! - new and unopened 

For every 10 people that enter the Boot Loot drawing, I will add another prize and will start adding them below here with a picture (if possible).  I will tell you that I will be cutting any paper packs I add as prizes into 6x6 pieces for shipping purposes.

Added prizes so far - 1 for every 10 people that leave a comment:

Epoxy Buttons (for hitting 10 comments), 16 4x4 Alterable Coasters (for hitting 20 comments) and not pictured - a package of SU! Rub-Ons (for hitting 30 comments):


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The RULES:  Only one entry per person, please - just leave a comment here telling my DD (Emma) happy birthday, and you're "entered" to win.  Obviously, you are encouraged to share the link to my (new) blog with your friends via e-mail and your own blog so that the entries will go up and the prize will get bigger.  You must enter before 11:59:59 pm EST on Friday, April 24th in order to have your name go in the drawing (random.org will be used) to be the winner of the prize.  I will announce the winner at 9:00 am on Saturday, April 25th.   My purpose for this Boot Loot is two-fold.  I hope that people will see that my blog is moved, and will now come visit me here at my new blog instead, and I also thought it would be a super fun way to celebrate my DD's birthday, with YOU!!!! 

Good luck!!! 

PS - At the end of each day I will check the # of posts to select items and photograph them and I will update this post with pictures of the added prizes the next day.

Boot Loot Coming.....

For those of you who have followed me to this blog, you'll know that Boot Loot is also known as Blog Candy, or a PRIZE throughout the rest of blog-land.  So....keep your eyes peeled and the Boot Loot will get bigger the more people that enter.  I thought this would be a fun way to get people to change their links to my blog and such since I recently moved.  I'll post the Boot Loot on Tuesday.  Until then....

Sketch #11 and The Paper Pixie

What is The Paper Pixie, you might be asking?  Well, if you haven't been to this fun Etsy shop, then it's a must-see for you!!!  If you'll look at my card, you'll see an adorable dotted-line journaling card, and it's from the GET FUNKY Journaling Spots and Cards assortment that you can find HERE on The Paper Pixie site.  I trimmed mine out, but you could use it as it comes, on a square sheet of CS, or you could cut it in half to use...there are so many possibilities for these great little journaling cards!!!

If you hadn't guessed it, The Paper Pixie is the sponsor for this week's sketch over at Card Patterns, which you will find HERE.  It's a wonderful sketch and it worked so well with the little journaling card.  You'll just have to head on over to CP to see what the prize from them is!!  ;)

I had fun making this a "boy" card.  Originally I was going to make it for my eldest daughter who is having her birthday party today to celebrate her 6th birthday (her birthday isn't today, but this is the last weekend to do the party with her daddy in the same country!) but I envisioned a card with Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point shortly after I grabbed for that specific journaling card and it morphed into a more boy-ish looking one.  As is my style, I kept it pretty clean and simple, but I think that the sketch is a great one for that, or it could absolutely be "dressed-up" into a more elaborate card.

To see some beautiful cards by the rest of the DT and to check out the sketch, the prize and to add your link via Mr. Linky to be in the running for the prize AND a chance to be selected as a Guest Designer for CP, don't forget to head on over there!!!  I can't wait to see what you create.

Have a great day and a lovely weekend!!

 

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Big Deal Alphabet, A Little Birthday Cheer
Paper:  Pacific Point and Kraft CS
Ink:  Basic Black and Tangerine Tango classic ink
Accessories:  GET FUNKY Journaling Spots and Cards (The Paper Pixie), Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Vintage Button (Papertrey Ink), Linen Thread, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, fingers - to smudge very corner of sentiment (aack!!!  Now we'll know who reads the ingredients, he he he... LOL)

I'm Alive....

Sorry to be so absent lately.  I hope that my lovely friends out there in blog-land have followed me over here.  I will be sad to lose even one of you.  I have been super busy  and we were out of town until Wednesday night anyway, so no posts from me.  If I had cards made previously I would have pre-scheduled posts with them, but with my husband's deployment to a vast, hot, sandy place for the US Air Force in the VERY near future we've been getting in as much family time as possible.  I do have a card for you tomorrow for the Card Patterns weekly sketch, so check back after about 9:00 am to see it.  I hope you all have a LOVELY weekend!!!

Card Patterns Sketch #10

 

This card is exactly how you ruin a great sketch and a fabulous stamp set!!!  I don't know what it is - perhaps that I was in a rush to get it done so that I could head out of town the next day and my week had been crazy busy so I only had about an hour to sit down, create the card, photograph it, edit the photo and get it posted on my blog and over on the site where we upload our pics for the CP creator to snag it and get it on the CP blog. 

Anyway....I LOVE the Papertrey Ink stamp set Teacher's Apple, and finally got to ink it up.  Michelle came up with a fantastic sketch for Card Patterns for Sketch #10.  You can see it HERE.  I had this great idea in my head of making the left-side element that runs vertically with punched pieces of apples so that the pattern would be the same, but they would be circles.  Not sure how that worked out...or anything else on the card really.  BUT - hopefully it will inspire you to NOT do these things, but to GO CHECK OUT the sketch and the AWESOME prize from Scrapbook News & Review.  That is an awesome site with a really cool forum that you can join for card-making.  I'm a member of it.  It's called Card Universe.  SNR is offering up a GREAT prize and of course you can submit your card for a chance to not only win the prize, but also to be chosen as a Guest Designer for Card Patterns. 

So - what are you waiting for!?!?  Stop looking at my card and go see the lovely ones from the rest of the DT and get stamping!!!  I'd love for you to join us this week. 

Lastly - please bookmark my NEW blog and change any links you have to me on yours or in your subscription services to http://frombootstostamps.wordpress.com/

Take care!!

All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Teacher's Apple (PTI)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Kraft and Whisper White CS, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip classic ink
Accessories:  1/4" and 1/2" circle punches, Scallop Oval punch, Ruby Red brads, Oval cutting system (Creative Memories), Big Shot, Labels Two Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Paper Piercing Tool and Template, fingernail (for distressing - LOL), Stampin' Dimensionals

Test

I needed something to insert as a picture to do a test post and don't have anything stamped. This is something my middle daughter did in Primary at Church (like Sunday School). They were supposed to draw themselves happy in different situations where they are obedient to their parents. I saw this and almost died laughing!!!

Then....I looked a little closer and was like, "what's on the chins?" Well, I asked her and she said that the blue on the chins were lips, and the thing that looks like a smiling mouth was actually a nose. So she isn't so upset at having to be obedient afterall!! ;)

PS - I won't officially be moving my blog here until August 2009.  Until then, please see me at www.bootstostamps.typepad.com

We're going to Kentucky...

We're going to the fair....Well, maybe not really, but we ARE going to Kentucky and I have to get the van loaded by myself today to get us on the road tomorrow as soon as my daughter gets out of Kindergarten at lunch time.  So....no posts from me for a while.  Please look at my question for you - below.  I'll schedule my post to occur on Saturday with my reveal for my take on Sketch #10 for Card Patterns.

I want to take a POLL though.  If you would, please leave me a comment letting me know if you would prefer me to move my blog back to blogger (personally, I had problems with blogger which is why I moved to TypePad) or over to WordPress.  If you know pros/cons about either, let me know that too.  I will be moving it by August and maybe even sooner.  Can't afford to keep a TypePad blog if I'm not getting the income from SU! anymore.  Thanks in advance for your input and ideas.

Gift Bag Inspired

 

 My daughter had a birthday party to go to this weekend and I forgot to pick up a card for her.  YES, I did say buy a card.  I have so little time to stamp now that I'm not going to spend it making a card for a six-year old that we don't hardly even know, just so that she can throw it away.  BUT, I ended up making her one anyway so I tried to keep it simple.  I based it on the bag you see to the right.  In real life, that wavy line is Kiwi Kiss on the bag - it runs along the pink top of the bag.  The "yellow" on the bag is more of a lime too - I couldn't get the colors to look right even after editing.  So, my card really does coordinate perfectly with the bag in real life ;)  Hope you like it!!!  We'll see you back here in a few days!!

All supplies used are SU! unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps:  Petal , Hugs & Wishes    
Paper:  Kiwi Kiss, Pink Passion and Whisper White CS
Ink: Kiwi Kiss and Pink Passion classic ink, Black StazOn, VersaMark
Accessories:  Clear Rhinestone Sticker (Me & My Big Ideas - Michael's), Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Paper Piercing Tool and Template, Stampin' Dimensionals, White ep, heat tool

Beautiful Butterfly CP Sketch #9

This week's Card Patterns sketch can be found HERE and CP is pleased to let you know that we are being sponsored by Created with Paper who is offering a SUPER prize that you can check out by following the link to the Card Patterns blog I listed above referencing the sketch.  At Created with Paper you can find all kinds of items that you would use in paper crafting, so go check them out!!

Above is my take on the sketch.  I must say that this is the most loosely I have used a CP sketch so far.  Usually my "take" is very similar to the sketch.  This time I kept the element of having 3 strips of paper on the bottom, but I overlapped them and extended them the entire width of the card. 

I had fun using my SU! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die.  It's on the 2nd time I've pulled it out to use it and I need to do so more often.  The Walk in the Park DSP that's in the current Occasions Mini Catalog from SU! is just such pretty paper!!!  I love the combo of Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Basic Gray and Whisper White.  Don't you?!?!?

I made the scalloped circle the "old fashioned" way.  I used my Circle ScissorPlus and Glass Cutting mat that SU! sells to cut two circles - one smaller in Whisper White and one larger in Cameo Coral.  Next, I took off the guard on my slit punch (from SU!) and punched around the edges creating scallops on my circle.  The bulk of the DSP is from the Walk in the Park DSP pack as I mentioned above, but the Baja Breeze DSP making up the butterfly is actually from the Urban Garden DSP pack.

Have a lovely weekend!!!

All supplies used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes
Paper:  Cameo Coral, Baja Breeze and Whisper White CS, Walk in the Park and Urban Garden DSP
Ink:  Baja Breeze classic ink
Accessories:  Blue Twinkle stickers (by Amuse), Clear Rhinestone stickers (by Me & My Big Ideas, from Michael's), Basic Gray and Whisper White taffeta ribbons, Scallop Edge punch, Beautiful Butterflies Bigzdie, Big Shot, paper piercing tool and guide, Stampin' Dimensionals

Two cards in one day!!!

That's right - believe your eyes!!  This is the 2nd post from me today with a card in it.  I don't think I'll get to post again until Saturday for the Card Patterns sketch reveal, so have a great weekend if I don't e-ya before then!!!

Details on the card....I took a Heidi Swapp ghost flower and laid it over some Raspberry Tart DSP and trimmed a flower out with my hobby blade.  I attached a Whisper White Designer Button with a Clear Rhinestone Brad through the middle (something I started doing recently and I really like the effect - see my first card where I did this HERE) on top of the Ghost Flower and Raspberry Tart flower and presto!  This was a simple card to make - some quick dry embossing and paper piercing (I CAN'T leave that off of a card!!!) and I was done.  Hardly any stamping - just the sentiment.  These new Clean and Simple (CAS) challenges over at SCS are right up my alley.  I'm sure many of you have noticed that that's definitely my style of stamping.  Anyway, go HERE to see the current list of CAS challenges over at SCS.  HERE is CAS08, the one that I followed for making this card.  It was a sketch challenge.

Take care!!!

All supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Short & Sweet
Paper:  Whisper White CS, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink:  Black StazOn
Accessories:  Heidi Swapp Ghost Flower, hobby blade and cutting mat, Whisper White Designer Button (from the Latte assortment), Clear Rhinestone Brad, Stampin' Dimensional, Dots Classy Brass embossing template, embossing stylus, window (instead of a light table for the embossing - I was too lazy to go grab mine :P LOL)

Thank You!

I just wanted to tell each of you thank you so much for your visits and comments on my blog.  I appreciate each and every one of you, and I read each and every comment.  The last week has been crazy and I don't see things slowing down much, so those of you who regularly comment may have noticed that I haven't been replying to every comment you leave.  I will not have the time to do that anymore.  I will reply back ASAP if you ask something in your comment, but I just don't have the time to do what I need to on my computer along with what I "want" to, and also reply back to all of your lovely comments.  It's a something that I really enjoyed doing for each of my visitors, and I'm sad to have to stop, but a girl has got to prioritize ;)  I'm sure you'll all understand, and again, THANK YOU for taking the time to visit and leave me encouraging and supportive words. I greatly appreciate them!!!

Tree Swap Card

A couple of months ago I hosted a swap that originally started out as a "use a stamp set from pages 90-91 in the new SU! IB&C" and it morphed into including those sets and any tree set in the IB&C.  I made this card using the instructions for doing so from Stampin' Success (a magazine that demonstrators receive free each month from SU!).  It was a fun card to make and would make a GREAT workshop card.  It's pretty easy to make and it has a little fun surprise of the top panel "swinging" open on the brad that is used as a swivel point.  Anyway, hope you like it!  I do love my little Trendy Trees!!

 

All supplies used are SU!

Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Thank You Kindly
Paper:  Kraft, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White CS, Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip Textured CS
Ink:  Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip classic ink
Accessories:  Stamp-a-Ma-Jig (a MUST with the Trendy Tree set in my opinion!), Kiwi 5/8" Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Silver Brad, Scallop Edge punch, piercing tool and template