Last Card Patterns DT Card

Today is a sad day for me.  I have LOVED every minute of being on the Card Patterns Design Team, and wish that my husband wasn't deployed so that I could have stayed on for another term as Michelle so graciously offered.  Well, I guess I wish he weren't deployed for other reasons too ;)  I have to bring a little humor to a long, not fun, time without him.....

This is my take on the sketch this week from Card Patterns, which you can see HERE on the CP blog.  The Digi Shack is still the sponsor of the prizes for the winner of the drawing too, so don't miss out on that!

I hope you like my card and please continue to check out the CP sketches each week, I know I will!  I hope to be able to play along still, as time permits, I'll just have to wait like the rest of you to see the lovely sketches as they are posted instead of before-hand.

Don't forget that each week you can enter (by posting a link to your card using that weeks sketch) via Mr. Linky (or by leaving the link in the comments section if Mr. Linky is "down" as it has been very often of late) for a chance not only to win a great prize, but also a spot as a Guest Designer over at CP on a future sketch.

See you over there!

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Digital Image (Sentiment) from The Digi Shack
Paper:  Riding Hood Red and Whisper White DSP, Rockabilly Specialty Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Riding Hood Red Designer Buttons (Button Bouquet), Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Sizzlets "Stampin' Up! Lots of Tags", Big Shot, Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Clear Adhesive Rhinestones (Icon - at Michael's), White Twill (Papertrey Ink), Stampin' Dimensionals, Janome Sew Mini (stitching across white twill)

Flowers in Silhouette

I don't know how many of you have looked at the single stamps in the back of the Idea Book & Catalog, but this is one of the ones that SU! offers to purchase all by its lonesome.  It's a lovely stamp and I enjoyed using it on this card.  The other stamp (the sentiment) is a Papertrey Ink stamp from the set Mixed Messages.  This is another one of those cards that "looks better in real life" but I think it's still pretty in 2-D.  Hope you like it!!!

All items are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Flowers in Silhouette, Mixed Messages (PTI)
Paper:  Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White CS, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink:  Rose Red classic ink and marker and Kiwi Kiss classic ink
Accessories:  Rose Red brads, Blender Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

A Change of Color

I still have more Stamps in the Mail items to share with you, but I thought I would share these TWO cards with you today!!!  In TypePad I could tell you to click on a small picture to see it larger, but I just noticed today that in WordPress, if that's possible to do, I don't know how to enable that feature.  Clicking does nothing on smaller sized pictures in WordPress.  Anyone know how to make this possible so that people can see full-sized shots of smaller pictures?????

I wanted to give you more posts in a week so I was really tempted to make these cards two different posts, but I decided not to since they're so similar.  I was inspired by and CASED THIS card by Stamp'nScrap over at SCS.  I pretty much only changed the colors/papers, sentiment, and added some paper piercing (can't go without it!!!) to the one strip of CS in the middle. 

I really love the Upsy Daisy stamp set.  It's so versatile and I sure hope that SU! keeps it around for a long time.  It is one of my favorites and I really like the silhouette style of stamp.

Hope you like them!!!

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps:  Upsy Daisy
Paper:Whisper White DS (both), Urban Garden DSP, Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy CS (blue card); Raspberry Tart DSP, Cameo Coral and Rose Red CS (pink card)
Ink:  Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze classic ink (blue card); Rose Red and Cameo Coral classic ink (pink card)
Accessories:  Scallop Edge punch,  Breeze ribbon from Valet Ribbon Originals Assortment (blue card),  Whisper White Organza ribbon (pink card), paper piercing tool and template

The Final Countdown....

4, 3, 2, 1....Earth below us, drifting, falling....  I LOVE that song, and the countdown has begun for my final days on the Card Patterns Design Team. I have loved every minute, and I'm excited that my leaving gives someone else this awesome opportunity to grow and be challenged creatively.  Michelle has really amazing talent and an eye for good sketches.  So...this was my card for challenge #16, which you can check out HERE.  Toni, owner of  The Digi Shack is still the sponsor of all of the fun prizes that one lucky winner will receive.  Toni is actually the sponsor all the way through my last sketch, which is next week.  She offered to sponsor for 3 weeks in a row!!  How awesome is that?!?!?

This card was made at the last minute, but when I saw the sketch about a week before I had this idea in my head.  I didn't really want to use an image, I wanted to use a sentiment as the focal point.  This is because I don't own Copics and SU! markers make digital images smear.  I was not too enthusiastic about using my Prismacolor Pencils again - they take a lot of layers to get the colors nice and bright, so I did go with the sentiment instead of a line art image this time.  This card pretty much came together exactly as I imagined in my head, except for the fact that my sewing machine went a little wonky on me and messed up the zig zag stitches in about a 1-1/2" spot.  I hid it the best I could with my flower, but I'm not one to pretend I'm perfect and I'll usually point out my flaws to you so that you can learn from them.  Hide, hide, hide when you make a mistake and don't want to trash the card!! ;)  I'm feeling too lazy to post the recipe, so if you have any questions, please ask.  That's a Heidi Swapp ghost flower over some SU! Sweet Always DSP.  The other DSP I used was Raspberry Tart.

Anyway, I hope you like it and I hope that you're having a great Memorial Day weekend.  This year, this weekend is even more meaningful for me.  Not only am I a veteran of the US Air Force, my grandfather, father-in-law and grandfather-in-law and many other relatives in both my own and my husband's families are veterans, but my husband is currently deployed in service to our country.  He is a C-17 pilot for our great Air Force, and I am so proud of him and what he does day in and day out to help us to enjoy the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted in this fabulous country of ours. 

In the midst of shopping all the great sales that stores shove in our faces over this holiday, and during the picnics, pool time and parties with friends, I would encourage you to stop and thank someone who has served this country.  It is through them, and those that have fallen before them - sacrificing the most that one can possibly give, that we are able to go about our daily lives in pursuit of our dreams. 

Take care and Happy Memorial Day!!!

I haven't done one of these in a while....

It's late, I'm up and setting this to publish at 6:00 am, less than six hours from now.  My kids are sick, I don't feel too well, but I am so excited because a friend and fellow stamper took the plunge to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I'm just so excited for her!!  I still remember how fabulous it was when I first signed up - and it still is, I just have more on my plate now and don't get to enjoy it as much....  Anyway....  I thought I would do a Friday Fill-In:

1. Moving  sucks a lot - a whole lot.

2. Live free.

3. My best quality is my empathy.

4. Attention to details.  (Sorry, it's the Air Force Academy in me....)

5. In nearly 10 years, I have moved 10 times.

6. A husband at home is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe getting more than 6 hours of sleep one night, tomorrow my plans include getting my kids well and Sunday, I want to hopefully make it to church with germ-free kids!

CAS Friends 24-7

This is one of those cards that is a lot prettier in person.  It uses a favorite layout of mine, which you can see as a sketch HERE on SCS.  It's the "K-dub" layout.  For anyone who follows Kristina Werner's blog, you'll know that she's the one who made this LO all the rave, and I think it's one I've used more often than any other.  Anyway, there's nothing complicated to this card, so I'll just leave the "explanation" at that :)

All items used are SU! unless otherwise noted.

Stamps:  Friends 24-7
Paper:  Kraft and Very Vanilla CS, Bella Bleu DSP
Ink:  Chocolate Chip classic ink
Accessories:  Kraft Taffeta ribbon, paper piercing tool and template, Stampin' Dimensionals

Last Chance!!

Today by 8:00 pm is the last chance you have to sign up for Stamps in the Mail for June-August.  The information is all HERE, except I left out (and just added in to the original post) that you will make 4 projects each month, 2 of each (so you can keep one and give one away), for a total of EIGHT projects in each kit!!!  Just to give you an idea of some of the techniques that will be coming:  
 
- EMBOSSING (yes, you will get EVERYTHING you need to heat emboss along with a list of ideas for different ways to emboss)
- POPPIN' PASTELS (you'll get pastels and the little finger daubers needed to really make your projects "pop")
- "GLITTER-IZING" (I love everything glitter, and you will get what you need to start making your creations really sparkle)
 
...and so many more!!!! 
 
I can't wait for this go-around.  I have some GORGEOUS projects lined up, and you will be so glad you joined.  The NEW CATALOG will come out while we're doing this round, and I plan on including some of the new colors in some of the projects.  Don't miss out!!!  E-mail me at mariemc01@gmail.com