Trick or Treat!

Since treats are by far the best part of Halloween, I made this quick little treat bag featuring Whiskers, the new Sophia that was just released! I really wanted to find some cheetah print paper for her leotard but couldn't find ANY for the life of me. So....when you can't buy it, make it! I chopped off the top of the treat bag so that it was card size and ran it through my cuttlebug using white craft ink and the spider web folder. It actually embosses the entire bag so it looks really cute on all sides! Her ears, bowtie, shoes & tail are all glittah'd with Martha's black glitter, it was on sale last week so I stocked up on black, orange, green & red. You'd think the holidays were close or something ;)

Want to get your hands on Whiskers? Submit your entry for the Cutie Pie contest before Sept 30th at 8pmEST to get your shot at winning Whiskers AND Falling for You AND Howdy Girlfriend Sophia!! Then mark your calendar and plan to join us for Stampin In Your Jammies on Oct 1st at 7pm CST.

Stamps - Whiskars Sophia, Karen Foster Snap Stamps
Cardstock - White, Black
Ink - Memento
Accessories - Kraft bag, Tissue, Cuttlebug Spiderweb, Copics

Seriously?!

How amazing are these?? I was absolutely stunned when I got my mail yesterday. Joni, the artist who creates all of the Paper Pretties stamps drew this for little ol' me. And she sent me all of these cards!! What's funny is when we met her last February she had never even stamped before. The Pretties got to witness her first card making at our SIYJ night at the hotel, now look at her creations!!! Joni is beautiful, talented and just an amazing person and I can't thank her enough for this wonderful work of art (Thanks Joni!!!). I even went to IKEA last night to get a spotlight for it! I obviously had free time to run errands since my cable froze up 10 minutes into the Grey's premiere!! Seriously?...seriously. So don't anyone tell me what happened!!!

Touched by an angel

There are angels all around us each and every day, some of them we see and some just linger above us making sure we're ok. Sweet little Sophia is one of these angels, she's next month's SOTM over at Paper Pretties so if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on her then head over there and sign up. I just love coloring her...there's something calming about it. Ok, I'm a whack job, I know. I used my copics (as always) and my new Scor-Pal to make the embossed lines above & below the ribbon. At first I just made one score line but it was just kinda blah....so I put the kraft cardstock back on my Scor-pal and moved it just slightly off from the first line and scored it again. LOVED IT! You might have to click the photo to enlarge it to see what I mean.

I really like the look of faux embossed greetings so I stamped "blessings" first in Sahara Sand and then again in White Craft. Soft Sky is still one of my favorite colors ever, so naturally I used it for my little Angel. ;)

And if you haven't heard by now, Cammie's Heart to Heart blog candy is just amazing....so head over there to check it out. It's for an amazing cause!!!

Mine's the cutest!

Ok so maybe not, but I think so! Kinda like how parents think that THEIR child is always way more adorable than any other child out there.....well, that's how I feel about my Frankie. Sure, he's just about everywhere lately but each one comes to life a little differently *heh, comes to life...get it?* ;) So I took my favorite treat bag template and switched it up a bit to make Frank-n-Treat. That's MISTER Frank-n-Treat to you!! Just flip up his hair to reveal the treats inside! Mmmmm tasty treats. Can you tell that I started my diet last Monday? 4 pounds down but cravings are at an all time high. And why must Halloween candy be SO tempting?!?! Is it because they are bite-size so we don't feel as guilty by eating a few? It's not a full size candy bar so it must be ok?! NOT!!!

I WANT CANDY!!! *breathe Jill, breathe*

Last two SOTM projects

Arrrrrrrg!!! You'll have to forgive my horrible pictures, I still can't seem to get perfect lighting in the new house. Plus I have yet to unpack my good lamps and photo cube (hmm, weekend project perhaps?). So here are the final 2 projects we did for my Stamp of the Month class, the top one is quite pretty in person. I stamped the flower image in Pretty in Pink craft ink onto Pink Pirouette paper and then embossed them with clear embossing powder. The greeting was embossed with white powder to tie in the white trim. The Kiwi Kiss card base was stamped with the sanded background stamp using Always Artichoke ink, ya can't even see it in the photo. :( White textured paper (cause it's my fav) for the scallop trim along the bottom and then finally I used the ticket corner punch on the top corners to add some white brads.

This has got to be one of my favs. I just love dry embossing a frame around my main images, keeps things simple but elegant in my opinion. I used markers for the flowers and then misted with water to re-moisten and stamped onto Baja Breeze card stock. Add a sentiment, border & brads and I was done!

This weekend we're working on the master bathroom, closets & hallway. We set the date for our house warming so now we have to make sure we stick to our weekend projects so it's presentable in time. 4 weeks...which sounds like a long time but really, it's only 8 days since we only have free time on the weekends. Anyone wanna put on your paint smocks and come help? ;)

XOXO

p.s. did you notice my "Arrrrg"?? Today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day! My co-workers are ready to throw me out the window! LMBO

Happy Mail Day!!!

I love having a rough day at work and then coming home to a big package of goodies!!! I got all of this from Polka Dot Plaza, they have the new JustRite stamps and they were about 50 cents cheaper than everywhere else, so I stocked up!! I got the new Christmas set, the rectangle stamper (so cool!), some new Inkadinkado snowflake stamps, two brass templates (I figured the gift could be used for Xmas cards and birthdays and I couldn't resist the high heel, too cute!). I also got a pack of the Basic Gray magnetic snaps I've been seeing on various blogs, the Scor Pal (which I ripped open and LOVE), some colored fun flock and Basic Gray pretty paper! And this is just the beginning....my PTI, Bella and Paper Pretties orders are all scheduled to be here this week too!!! It's like Xmas!!!! Do you have any idea how hard it was NOT to call in to work sick today?!?! I can't wait to come home and play!!! Perhaps I'll have a new creation to share tomorrow.....check back!

Stella quick card

So when you need a card in literally seconds, here's what ya do. Get your stash of pre-stamped images (you should always have a small stack, if anyone needs some just let me know!), give it a quick color with some Copics, throw it onto some scrap cardstock and find a fun piece of patterned paper for a background. Cut, layer done!

I completely forgot my girlfriends birthday and she was stopping by to pick up her stamp order and I only had 10 minutes until she was there. So I grabbed Stella, some pieces of left over cardstock and paper from my last stamp night with the girls and threw this together. I love how fun Stella is....Margaret can't stand Stella but just you wait, once my new Stella stamps arrive she'll be begging to borrow her!!!

Stamps - Stella w/Olive, Here's to You sentiment
Cardstock - Regal Rose, Rose Red
Ink - Memento
Accessories - Copics, Ribbon

Another SOTM card

Yes, as with everyone else on the planet that got this new SU set, I too am addicted to it. This Upsy Daisy was the featured set this month for my SOTM (stamp of the month) class and here is another one of the cards we made. I love how this set can be the focus or just an accent, just depends where it's stamped. For this card I used Apricot Appeal for my main card, I don't seem to use that color enough and I just adore it. I wanted to use the grass from Inspired by Nature but didn't want it to take over the card so I stamped it first onto the Apricot and then layered vellum cardstock on top of it with the daisies stamped in Pumpkin Pie & So Saffron. I hid the adhesive with some white taffeta ribbon and then added the greeting to the top right corner.

I'm almost at 60,000 hits so keep checking back for some tasty treats once I hit that big number!!! xoxo

Stamps - Upsy Daisy, Pocket Silhouettes sentiment
Cardstock - Apricot Appeal, Vellum cardstock, Pumpkin Pie
Ink - Apricot Appeal, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories - Paper Piercer, Oval Punches, Taffeta Ribbon

Saffron Daisies **LINK ADDED**

Here is a sneak peek at one of the projects for my SOTM class this Saturday. I just adore using textured white for my card bases, they add a very clean yet elegant feel to the card. The main image is faux embossed using craft White and More Mustard. I used my pal Joanne's trick (the link works now) with the slot punch for the ribbon. Funny thing about this card is that when I showed my hubby he said "I think it needs a small strip of yellow on the bottom"....so there you have it, pigs are officially flying because my hubby is now helping to design my cards!!! You shoulda seen the monkey that flew outta my.........well, you get the idea.

So I went to use my Crop-A-Dile last night to set some eyelets and I kept flipping the top knob around to find the setter for 1/8" eyelets. Hmmm where is it? I know I'm supposed to use a certain one (can you tell I don't use it much for eyelets?). As I looked closer to side "C" I saw a white mark in the center of the hole....hole?!?! Um shouldn't there be a small rod thingy on the C side?!?! Well yes, it's officially broken and I have no idea when or how it broke. Do you think Memory Keepers has a warranty on these?? It's metal! I'm pretty sure it's NOT supposed to pop off, eh? So there's my tragedy of the week. Poor little crop-a-dile... such a short, unfulfilled life.

Stamps - Upsy Daisy, All Holidays
Cardstock - Textured White, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron
Ink - Whisper White craft, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip
Accessories - Chocolate Ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch,

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

How amazing are all these goodies?!?! The Prettie Girls sent me a package filled with handmade love!!! I just sat in awe as I opened each special item made just for our new home, I even got all teary. And everything was made with my all time favorite paper (Crate Paper, Seaweed collection) and it matches our house perfectly!! I'm guessing you weren't actually painting your house and needing color suggestions, eh Prettie Mama?? ;)

Charlie embroidered the adorable tea towels with our initials (Scott & Jillian Winters), Jules made the precious little house that has the date we officially owned our home, Danielle stamped some fantastic tiles (always wanted a set of those!) and the phrases she picked were SO us!!! Jana made a super cute photo frame with matching journal (which I can't wait to use) and Jesse gave us two big coffee mugs with my fav rub-ons on them (even the hubby said "sweet!") and an amazing 'welcome' sign that just took my breath away. Even my hubster said to tell you all thank you, he was extremely surprised and impressed with such thoughtful and tasteful goodies. I can't wait to hang them up and put them all to use! THANK YOU GUYS SO VERY MUCH!!!! XOXOXOXO to the Prettiest Girls in the world!

Sweet Angel

It's rather hard to think about Christmas when it's 106 outside but when I saw this stamp I just had to ink her up. This is Angel Sophia, she is the October SOTM over at Paper Pretties, so if you've signed up for the club then this will be in your mailbox soon!!! For those that aren't part of the club, sadly you'll have to wait until November to purchase her so you might want to think about signing up (you'll FLIP when you see the Nov Sophia OMG)!! I just adore her and of course I had to use my new fabulous Doodlebug Flock that I just got.
Does it get better? Why yes it does!! Paper Pretties is extending their sale for one more week!!! 45 % off EVERYTHING, how fantastic is that?!?! I got some fabulous paper, ribbon, brads and of course some stamps I've been wanting to add to my collection. $100 worth of craft goodies for $55!!! Use the coupon code "Labor Day" when you checkout, sale ends Sept 13th.

Inspired by Nichole...

I was catching up on my blog surfing the other day and I found myself reading all the old posts on Nichole Heady's blog, I just love her simple and elegant creations. She made an adorable card using fabric and the flower cuttlebug die and I really liked it, so I altered it a bit and used items I had. The flowers were punched using the SU scallop circle punch and textured white cardstock and then I popped them up with dimensionals. I made a ton of these with various sentiments so I'll have them ready when I need them. I've really been trying to make duplicates when I make a card, Michelle Wooderson always says to create in bulk, that way you're not so hesitant to give away your precious card. ;)

Stamps - Polka Dot BG, Heard from the Heart
Cardstock - Textured White, textured Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Kraft
Ink - Craft White
Accessories - Brad, Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop circle punch, 3/4 circle punch

The good and the bad

How was everyones 3-day weekend?? I had a fantastic Friday & Saturday. Friday night was a BLAST!! 14 ladies scattered in my living room, family room and dining room. We had a taco bar and everyone brought one ingredient. YUM! Then we had ice cream sundaes for our treats with brownies & cookies on top. DOUBLE YUM!! We stamped, laughed and socialized until 2am!!!! Then I was up early to let the cable guy in, that took all day. I had some gal pals over for lunch and stamping and next thing I knew I had cable!! Sadly, the internet wouldn't connect so I still don't have internet at home. Hopefully they'll get the problem fixed sometime this week....I was ready to throw the computer out the window. LOL

Monday I spent the day baking cookies for my neighbors. I hadn't gone over to say hello yet and we've lived there for nearly 2 months already. So I whipped up a few dozen Chocolate Chip & also my favorite Coconut Oatmeal cookies and went to say hello.

The card is quite cute but didn't photograph well. I used textured white cardstock for the card base and then added a little paper piercing on the Saffron and used my Scor-pal for some dry embossing around the edges of the stamped image layer...

Ok now the fun stuff.....Paper Pretties is having a huge sale!! I mean GINORMOUS!!!! Everything in the Boutique is 45% off!!! And some items were already on sale so they are now almost 80% off!! HOLY COW that's practically FREE!!!! So get your tails over there quickly, it's only while supplies last and at this sale price, my guess is they won't last long!!! Enter coupon code "Labor Day" when you checkout to get the discount.....what are you still doing here?!?! ;)

Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes
Cardstock - Textured White, So Saffron, Old Olive
Ink - So Saffron, Old Olive
Accessories - Scor-Pal, Paper Piercing Tool, Brads, Word Window punch