Love Birds...

Hi and happy FRIDAY!!! I'm so thankful that this week is over and I don't have to think about my job for a little while!! Why didn't I marry a rich guy??? I settled for handsome, caring and funny instead...dang it! ;)

Today I wanted to show you 3 older stamps along with 2 from last year. I just LOVE the cute little Tweety bird and couldn't wait to use him again. I came up with the idea for this card and when I went to look for the stamp I wanted to use, realized I DID NOT own it...gasp!!!!! I know, I'm as shocked as you are...it's practically shameful to be honest. ;)

Well, I didn't let not owning the little Tweety Birds with the heart stamp stop me from making my intended card, I simply improvised! I used the single Tweety Bird along with one bird from the Tweety Bird Border and the teeny heart to make my own....yes, it was doing things the hard way and I would have rather had the stamp I wanted to use, but this worked out in the end and got me thinking outside of the box. I think they look too adorable perched up there on the Winter Branch (I masked off several limbs before stamping). And how perfect is that sentiment...one of my faves :)

Well that's it for me today, hope you liked this little creation and I'll see y'all on Monday!!



Sending you love...

Hi everyone!! I know that I've been kinda quiet here on the blog and seriously quiet on Facebook over the last couple of weeks. Let me fill you in just a bit....I started off this year with great hopes, but unfortunately 2014 has not been too kind!! I ended up with a horrible bug that was going around. It was mostly like a bad sinus infection that no over the counter or prescription meds would help clear up. After that little bundle of fun was mostly cleared I had a little abdominal surgery. The surgery went off without a hitch but unlike previous abdominal surgeries I've had in the past, I had a LOT of trouble with the after effects! Not sure if y'all are familiar with the procedures or not, but anytime they go into your abdomen they pump it full of gas. This helps distend your tummy and move things apart so that they have room to work. Normally over the course of a few days after the surgery you've expelled all that gas in a most un-lady like fashion. ;)  However this time the gas traveled up into my chest and behind my shoulder blades causing extreme pain and pressure and according to the doctors, this sometimes happens and is completely normal. My lungs still had a bit of gunk from the sinus junk I had had going on and this did not help in the least...uggg! It's taken almost 2 weeks, but the pain and pressure from all that gas is just about all gone....WOO-HOO! I'm feeling really good and getting back on track. I hope to be able to get back into my crafty groove right away too. I received my order for all the new DeNami images (boy are they awesome!!!) and haven't been able to even play at all! I'm soooo sorry that I'm behind and haven't been able to show you any pretty little things using the new release. It's something I plan on working on this weekend...promise!!!

Until then, how about a little cutie I made before all this junk got started?? I had this large flower in my stash for a while now. Normally I don't use large embellishments but this flower is soooo pretty in real life and I've been trying to find a way to incorporate it on something. Since the petals are like little hearts I thought it was perfect for a little Valentine. Since it's so large I knew it had to take center stage. After MUCH thought and trial & errors galore, I came up with this....

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you liked my little Valentine and I'll talk with y'all soon!!



The Shabby Tea Room - warm & cozy #203

Hi everyone :) and welcome back!!

Are you ready for a new challenge...

This weeks rules: WHITE/CREAM WITH CUPS AND/OR TEAPOTS!

Have you ever had a card that you weren't sure of, but then the more you looked at it the more you liked it??  Today's card for the new challenge at The Shabby Tea Room is one of those cards....

I seemed to be having trouble with the over all balance and couldn't decide weather (and where) to add a sentiment or not. But ya know, the more I look at it, the more I realize it's fine as is!!


This week our sponsor is Digital Papers By Janet. She has a little shop on Etsy and offers some seriously beautiful patterned paper and printables like my little Alice In Wonderland and the pink/black harlequin paper from the Antique Paper 2 colleges.

Hope you enjoyed Alice :) and have a great day!!

Creations By AR Jan 2014 Blog Hop - Lovely Cart

Hello everyone and welcome to my first assignment since joining the wonderfully talented ladies at Creations By AR!! I'm so blessed and excited to be able to join these ladies!! 

Once a month I'll be bringing you a fun new template from Creations By AR along with a fun little blog hop where a random commenter will be picked to win the new template :) 

Let's get started with today's hop shall we? This month we are featuring a darling new template called Lovely Cart. I was really excited about this one because of all the different options available...you can change the awning and the wheels!!

I have to tell you about my little boo-boo right off. I didn't notice until I was uploading the picture into blogger that I totally forgot to add my little maroon rhinestone to the center of the wheels like I had planned!!! Unfortunately I've been under the weather so I just didn't have the energy to add them, re-take the pictures, re-edit pictures and re-upload pictures...all I wanted was my nice warm & toasty bed :( soooo, PLEASE imagine how cute this would look with a little rhinestone in the center of my wheels ;)

This little cart is too darling and can be filled with just about anything. I chose some little paper roses and yummy conversation hearts. I wanted it to resemble a little flower cart so I twisted green wire onto the "posts" then added roses and ribbon as leaves.

As a fun bonus, this month Creations by AR is giving away a free heart shaped card template called XO Heart Card (available for single purchase also) with the purchase of the Lovely Cart template!! 

Here's all the deets on the hop:

HOW TO QUALIFY TO WIN:

Leave comments 

• On each DT blog

• AR FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824

Comments accepted until Friday, January 24, 12:00 noon Eastern

One random winner will be announced on Jan 25 here:

AR FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824

AR Website:  http://creationsbyar.com

• Adela:   http://cbyar.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-love-ly-january-blog-hop.html
• Doris Molina:  http://dorismolina.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-new-realise-hop-lovely.html
• Jak Heath: Not Participating
• Julia Aston:  http://createwithjulia.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-january-blog-hop-lovely.html
• Lisa Eisner:  http://craftingwithprincesslisa.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-january-release-and.html
• Lisa Somerville: http://www.lisasomerville.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-january-blog-hop-lovely.html
• Lori Brown:  http://savingmine.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-january-new-release.html
• Lyn Bernatovich: http://www.lynspaperpetunia.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-new-release-hop.html 
• Monica Soto:  http://moni-myway.blogspot.com/2014/01/january-creations-by-ar-blog-hop.html
• Patti J Gilliam:  http://cherisheachpreciousday.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-blog-hop-new-release.html
• Penny Duncan:  http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-lovely-cart.html
• Sue Kment:http://suesstampingstuff.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-lovely-january-new.html  
• ME: http://denamiaddict.blogspot.com/2014/01/creations-by-ar-jan-2014-blog-hop.html

Now remember to leave comments along the way for you chance to win the template for this adorable little cart. 

TSTR - Baby It's Cold Outside!!!

I recently got a new punch from The Stamp Pad...the little boutique where I teach card making classes. I love border punches but I don't normally use "shaped" punches because they take up to much space in my crafty area (other than circles & squares) but I fell in love with it the second I saw it and couldn't wait to put it to use!

This week The Shabby Tea Room challenge is PERFECT for my darling little punch :)

Challenge rules: use white, green, silver and a red bow

With my darling new little punch and the most perfectly matching image from Bugaboo, I easily re-created this little scene :)

I wanted the image and swag to take center stage so I decided to go with white on white. I scored the card base to ad texture and not only popped up the square panel but also popped up the Bugaboo image that I punched out using a scallop circle punch. My new little leafy sprig punch made the perfect little holiday greenery swag when I added several under the little red bow.

Have you ever browsed the Bugaboo web site? They have darling images for everything and are soooo easy to use. The image downloads directly into "my pictures" on my computer and I print it out (I put normal white cardstock in my printers paper tray) in whatever size I want just like I'd do with a regular picture. You color the image with markers or pencils just as you would a stamped image...easy peasy!!

The Shabby Tea Room - fun with sketches

Happy Monday everyone :)  If you're looking for my DeNami Valentine Blog Hop post, it's just one down...thanks!!!

Are you ready for a new The Shabby Tea Room challenge?? This week I was in charge of picking the theme and I thought I'd change it up a bit by having a little sketch versus an inspiration picture. Have fun with it, change it up, use hearts instead of flowers, use ribbon instead of a punched edge paper strip...sketches can be unlimited fun :)

I wish I could take credit for such a great sketch, but I can't, I Google Image'd "card sketches". There are tons and tons and tons to browse through...swoon!!!

Well, here's my little creation...

This week our fab sponsor is the Ribbon Carousel!  The Ribbon carousel is the perfect solution for organizing all of those scraps of ribbons, lace, seam binding and twine...

Stop in and take a peek and see what's going on on their blog :)

DeNami Valentine Blog Hop - Jan 2014

Are y'all ready for the very first DeNami blog hop of the year?!?! I know I am and can't wait to hop along for some serious eye candy!! lets get off and running....

When: The blog hop starts on January 12, 2014 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until January 13th, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

You should have arrived here from the super talented DeNami DT, Deb and her adorable cutie patootie daughter, Leah's blog!! (I think we need to start a petition to get Leah her own personal blog to display her beautiful art work...) If you didn't arrive from there, no worries, just head over to the DeNami blog for a full list of participants and you can easily get back on track :)

Ready to see what I came up with? My first creation is a cute little card that can easily be changed up to fit just about any occasion...

 

DeNami Items: sending you love, teeny heart

The other creation I have to show you is a large (6") tag that I made...

DeNami Items: clear gusseted bags, teeny heart background, Love Flourish, elegant oval frame,

Well that's it for me today, I hope you liked my card and tag now off you go to visit with the talented  Jennifer!! Have a great day :)

 

Project Corner - Folder Organizer

Hi everyone! I know that with the holidays and everything leading up to it that I've been slacking on keeping up with things around here. I'm trying my best to get everything back on track and am open to suggestions if y'all are wanting to see something in particular. ;)

Before we get to today's post, I have some fun news to tell you, I've been accepted to another design team!! I just can't believe it...I'm over the top excited! Now this isn't like The Shabby Tea Room, it's not a challenge blog with random sponsors. I'm on the design team for an actual company...Creations By AR. I was introduced to this company through The Shabby Tea Room and quickly fell in love with creating projects using Adela's easy to use templates. When she put out a call for design team members I was quick to apply!! My official first post will be on January 21st, 2014, but I thought I'd whip up a fun little project to introduce y'all to Creations By AR and to tell you about my good news.

With the new year starting many of us are trying to organize our lives and our junk so I thought a little organizational help was in order! If you're like me, you have a TON of the little dry embossing folders. They're pretty inexpensive and adorable so I end up picking a new one up quite often...then when I get home I have to find a place for it, sigh!! Problem solved - It's called a "Folder Organizer" and will hold a total of 30 dry embossing folders!!!

Cute, right? Recognize those polka dots?? Yup, my all time favorite DeNami stamp...polka dot background! After cutting my pieces I used a Versa Mark stamp pad to add yummy polka dots! The patterned paper trim pieces are all optional. There are also a few options for the base...including a darling little banner!! The skys the limit in detailing this set out, you can dress this little set up any way you want! The pink on the spines and the punched edge on the base along with all the ribbon trim are my ideas.

Now don't go thinking this is complicated, it's really not, I promise!! When you download the file it will have several versions; SVG, PDF & STUDIO along with detailed instructions in a PDF....

 

The instructions are pretty detailed and even have the number of sheets of paper you'll need along with the finished dimensions. If you don't have a cutting machine then you simply print out the PDF version and use the template to cut your patterned paper/cardstock. If you're using a cutting machine the instructions give you the measurements that you'll need to cut each piece. I really love that there are plenty of pictures along the way so that I can compare mine to theirs!!

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you enjoyed my little project and seriously, it was EASY. I'll see you back here on Sunday for the DeNami Design Valentine blog hop!!! :)

Are you in the mood for love....

Ohh my goodness, have you looked at the calendar lately?? We are well into January already and do you know what that means??? That means DeNami's spring 2014 release sneak peeks are underway AND Valentines day is right around the corner!

Let's get to DeNami's sneak peek first. Starting this past Monday Paulina and the design team have showcased some of the DARLING new images on the DeNami blog. Follow along and leave comments to be entered into random drawings to win some of the new release...how fun is that?!? As soon as I finish up here I'm headed over to DeNami to do just that!! Don't forget, the new release will be available in the shop on Friday!

Now then, let's discuss valentines day. I haven't made any new DeNami Valentines day cards yet because I'm waiting to get my new images. But just in case you want to get a head start, I've pulled a couple of my faves from the archives. 

This is a little easy to make card that I did a start to finish video on :)

 

love flourish, teeny heart, teeny heart background

I just puffy heart the rosevine heart, here's a couple of easy to make cards featuring it...

 

Rosevine heart, love flourish,  rosevine cluster

How about a classic Valentine...

heartfelt greetings, solid decorative crest 

Well I hope these gave you a little inspiration to kick start your Valentines day cards. February 14th isn't that far off...ohh my, and here I still haven't recovered from the Holiday card season quite yet, lol!!  As soon as I get my little hands on the new DeNami images I'll have a little more valentine inspiration to share :)

The Shabby Tea Room - So Romantic

Hello everyone and welcome to another fun challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room!! While I dearly love all of  the glitz and glamor of the holiday season, I'm kinda glad it's over. I'm ready to break out some other color combos and visit the softer side of card making like this little creation....

Our inspiration for this weeks challenge is such a soft pretty little scene. I wanted to do something equally as soft so I pulled out some pretty water colored floral paper along with matching patterns from a 6 X 6 paper pack and just went from there. Paper Sweeties items: Happy Summer & You Make Me Smile

Here's our inspiration:

 Challenge rules: use roses

This week we are being sponsored by one of my fave stamp companies, Paper Sweeties!!

While I didn't use the signature "paper dolls" and dress them up, I did use something that is equally adorable and you probably didn't know they had...WONDERFUL sentiments!! Paper Sweeties carries the most darling little images and a ton of sentiments...a perfect little something for everyone. Head on over for a little visit, browse the shop and see all the wonderful eye candy on the blog! :)