No Time!!

Hi peeps! Just thought I would post real quick to let you guys know that you can now subscribe to my blog! I know you guys are TOTALLY excited, right?? :) I personally use Google Reader but I know some people like to get email updates so there ya go. It's on my sidebar so go sign up! Oh and stay tuned tomorrow because I am going to have some 4th of July blog candy!! Till then! :)

Bella Wednesday

Sorry for the late post ladies but when you've got four boys under the age of four destroying your house it does not leave a lot of time to do much of anything. LOL My morning started at 6am (which is WAY early for me. I'm usually up by 8:30am) so I am totally dragging and of course all the boys are just bursting with energy. :) OK, onto the card...

As you all know I have been making a catalog of all my stamps and last night I did all of my Bella stamps. I didn't realize how many I DON'T have. LOL I thought I had quite a few but I think I only have 10 actual Bella stamps and about 6 from some of her other lines. And I call myself a Bellaholic! LOL :) I bought Springtini a few months ago and this little beauty has never seen ink...until last night!!
Isn't it gorgeous?? The layout is this weeks Bella sketch challenge (great one Jamie!!). I am trying to love my In Colors before they are replaced (the new In Colors are coming to me any day now!!!). I need to buy packs of all the paper before it is gone. I am going to miss all of them but hope I will love the new In Colors just as much. I colored my Springtini using my Niji Waterbrush and reinkers. I think I am getting this technique down better and love the rich color. I added my Star Dust Stickles to give my drink some shimmer and put a little diamond in the flower (I was thinking of you Lee!!). I then matted my image on Wild Wasibi and then Purely Pomegranate. I used my Swiss Dots embossing folder and embossed my Groovy Guava and matted it onto Wild Wasibi and Purely Pomegranate as well. The DSP is from the retired Darling Doodles DSP from Stampin' Up! I used Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon on the slanted panel and didn't realize until I glued it down that I did not put that extra panel like in the sketch so I added a small row of diamonds to make up for it. The sentiment is from one of my new Verve sets All About You (did you hear about them being the newest SCS Member Company! Awesome!!!) which I am totally in love with.

I am really loving this card and cannot figure out exactly why. Is it the yummy colors? The bling? All of the above? :) It makes me happy looking at it and trust me, I need that today.

Did any of you go to the Paper Pretties pajama party last night? We crashed the server twice!! The new releases are adorable. I signed up last week to be in their Stamp of the Month club and am so ecstatic. I have been debating joining them for almost a year now (since I started stamping) and with every new release I fall more and more in love with this company so I took the plunge.

OK, enough jabbering. I'll be back tomorrow to show off some more Cuddles & Hugs!!

Sassiness

Is in da house today!! I am feeling a tad bit better and have some Sweetness to show you guys today. Have you been to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps blog lately?? Korin just released 7 new sets today! There is elephants, birds, ice cream, and another Olivia set!! There is also another gorgeous Scripture set that will make sharing your faith easy peasy. :) Korin is also discontinuing some of her older sets and is having a SALE!! Go check them out!!

Today is July 1st which means another SNSS Design Team Round Up! This month my set was the adorable Pond Pals. I have been in love with this set for awhile so when it arrived in my mailbox I was ecstatic!! In 18 days my baby Dylan will be two years old. *sniffle* I am so not ready for my baby to go through the terrible twos but he's already showing the tell-tell signs so I am bracing myself (imagine throwing himself down on the floor and screaming at the top of his lungs because Mommy won't let him have any of her coffee). One of Dylan's favorite times of the day is bath time. I have several little rubber duckies that he loves so I thought I would buy him a few more bath toys to play with and would make him a little tin to put them in.

Isn't it adorable? I got this clear tin from All That Scraps and loved how easily it was to alter. Many of you know how petrified I am of altering things but with no paint involved I conquered my fear. I sponged the "water" using Brocade Blue ink and added sparkling waves with my Waterfall Stickles. I stamped my duckies, cut them out, and popped them up on dimensionals to give it depth. I also stamped some dragonflies flying in the sky so the duckies would have something to look at and made them sparkle by outlining them with my Spica glitter pen. I punched out a scalloped circle and sponged it with Bordering Blue and stamped this adorable little sentiment. I attached it with silver cord and added different blue ribbons to the handle to give a little extra oomph.

I hope my little boy loves it as much as I do! I had a whole other idea in my head for this set and I still plan on trying it out but this one was totally inspired by my baby. I can't wait to see him carrying it around and playing with his new duckies. It's so pretty I think I might have to let him play with it for a few minutes and then it's going on a shelf somewhere! LOL Go check out what the other design team members did this month here. Awesome job ladies!!

I also want to say a big congratulations to Sweet 'n Sassys July Guest Designer Sue Culotti. You can check out her beautiful work on her blog Random On Purpose. I can't wait to see what you make this month Sue!!

Was that enough info for you guys?? LOL Tomorrow begins my very long babysitting days so I'm sure I will get mucho stamping time. I am also flying along on my cataloging and am seeing the end in sight. I also realized that I do not have as many sets as I thought...I guess I need to buy more! LOL Have a great Tuesday, happy July, and go be sassy!

Migraines!!!!

Sorry about being MIA yesterday but I got hit with the worst migraine and I am still battling it today. It's one of those that makes you sick to your stomach and hurts when you even think. I didn't get off my couch at all yesterday. It was such a ***** weekend. I've never been so happy for Monday to come. The kids are calm today so I am resting up as much as I can because I am taking care of the nephews Thursday and Friday so that means craziness for 12 hours two days in a row!!!

I still haven't taken a picture of my SU card (but I will I promise!!) but I thought I would tell you guys about two awesome blog candies going on right now. The first is over at Bunny-Zoes Blog for her hitting 10,000 hits. Wait until you see what is up for grabs!! The second blog candy is at Stamps, Paper, Scissors, and Donkey Smiles (don't you love that name!!). Michelleo has a whole stack of goodies so go check her out as well. While you're there check out some of the adorable cards on both blogs. Man is there some awesome talent out there!

OH! I also got my Verve Visual order in today (woohoo!!) so I am praying this headick goes away so I can get my stamp on! Have a great Monday!!

Getting Organized

Sorry peeps but the organizing bug bit me today and I have decided to catalog all of my stamps. I am going to stamp them all (one stamp set/sheet) with all the information on the paper, put them in sheet protectors, and put them in a binder. Right now I am on my Gina K sets (I didn't realize how many I had already!). When I get my binder done I will take pictures to show you all. My goal is to have this done by the end of the week. I also plan on getting rid of sets that I do not absolutely love. I'm going to post some for sale and I just might throw in a little blog candy. Sound good?

I have a sweet little Stampin' Up! card that I wanted to show you guys but on top of my organizing bug I am taking care of my nephews for my sister so that puts a damper on stamping and photography! :)

I really want to start utilizing my stamp sets more and since I have quite a few new sets coming this next week (I took advantage of the Verve Visual special as well as the Inque Botique sale-my first Inque stamps!! Woohoo!!) I want to make sure that my old sets still get some love and if they're not that they will find homes where they are loved. I also ordered the Little Monkeys starter kit from All That Scraps so I'm sure that's another reason for my organization surge. :)

I'm sure when I get in my scrap closets (yes, I have two) I will find some other un-loved items as well so check out my Freebie Friday post and get your hands on some deals! :)

I will be back tomorrow with my SU card that I was supposed to show you guys today. We're supposed to have some terrible storms tonight so I am hoping that I will even have power to continue my cataloging. Have a fantastic Saturday!!

Cuddles & Hugs Friday

That's right! My Cuddles & Hugs set that I won from Gina K came yesterday and I could not wait to ink it up! My dad and his fiancee had their anniversary on Wednesday and had agreed to no presents or cards. Well, my dad being the romantic that he is bought a card from me as well as some flowers and surprised her. So she calls me last night and asked if I could make a quick card to give to him. LOL Why am I laughing? Because (1) they are a crazy couple and (2) me make a quick card?? LOL :)Isn't it sweet?!! My dad has always been into lions so I know he is going to love this image. The sketch is from Sketches! {by Tamara} but I strayed a little from the sketch (sorry-I hope it still counts!). I really wanted the lion couple to stand out so I used my Coluzzle to make an oval that they could rest on and sponged it with Sage Shadow to highlight it. I colored my lions with my Koh-i-noor pencils, cut them out, and popped them up on dimensionals to give it a little depth.

The paper is from Basic Grey's Archaic pad(the perfect "man" paper IMO). I had to add a little something so I did a simple Chocolate Chip bow and clear Baubles. I have "You make my heart sing" stamped on the inside. My dad is HUGE into music so I know he'll appreciate the sentiment.

I am so excited! My sister and me are swapping kids this weekend. She is taking mine for the night tonight and I am taking hers for the afternoon tomorrow. So that means that Todd and me get a night alone!! I can't tell you the last time we got a night alone.... Don't get any ideas!! My phone is dying so we're going to go buy me a new phone (hopefully a Blackberry) and Todd wants a new video game. I'm sure we'll squeeze in dinner somewhere but since he has to work tomorrow it's going to be an early night. Ah well...at least we can have a fuss free time! :) Oh and I just found out that one of my long time best friends Melissa is moving!!! I am so sad! *sniffle* I am so happy for the opportunity that has came for her and her family and I know that she will still be there for me when I need her. :) Love you Meli!!!

Gina K Thursday

Man there were some bad storms last night! The power went out several times and the lightning was craziness. I just love me some Texas weather! LOL As long as there is no tornado's I'm cool...unless a lightning bolt hits the house and starts a fire...but that's a whole other story! :) Yes, today is Gina K Thursday and no I do not have my Cuddles & Hugs set yet *sniffle* but I did rock my Hip Hop Accessories set though.

The sketch was Jen's Sketch For You To Try this past Saturday and I loved how simple it was. I used some DCWV stripped paper and pretty much based the colors of my card off of that. I sponged my "sky" using Bordering Blue ink and my "water" using Ballet Blue Ink. I added a few little waves from my Jumping For Joy set, stamped my froggies from Hip Hop Accessories, and colored them with Copics. For embellies I used my Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon and clear Baubles.

I'm still kind of eh about this card and I can't place my finger on why...don't you hate that? I just want to say a special shout out to my girl Courtney who is celebrating 9 years of wedded bliss today. Head over to her blog and show some love! :) Have a fabulous Thursday!!

Verve Tuesday on Wednesday

OK, I don't know what was up with Blogger today but I tried to get on here several times to show you guys my Verve Tuesday card and it wouldn't let me. :( So now it is a Verve Wednesday!! :) I LOVED this week's sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You so I thought I would give it a try.

Isn't is yummy? I have SEVERAL anniversaries coming up within the next week so I've got to get busy! The paper is S.E.I. Chocolat that I got from my Bella sistah last round Melissa. I died when I saw this paper in one of the packages that she sent me. I had been eyeing it for awhile so when she sent it to me I totally hoarded it. LOL When I saw this sketch and knowing I needed to make an anniversary card I thought this paper would be perfect. I mounted it first on Chocolate Chip and then on Regal Rose.

The flower and chipboard hearts are Heidi Swapp. I used the swirl from Easter Elegance to make the pattern on the chipboard and then sponged both the hearts with Regal Rose.

I mounted the sentiment (from Anniversary Birds)on Chocolate Chip and tied it to my Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon using some silver cord. The three baubles just came in the mail from my Bella sistah Carrie. She sent me an awesome package today that totally made my day and couldn't resist using these gorgeous embellies on my card.

I am totally in love with this card! When I asked Todd what he thought the first thing he says is, "Ew! Pink!" (BTW-He HATES pink) I had a feeling I was going to have that reaction but I still thought I would try to get something out of him. He finally ended up saying it was nice but I needed to change the colors. Whatever!! The recipient of this card happens to really like pink so it doesn't matter what he thinks, right?? :)

I hope you enjoyed my Vervalicious Wednesday and if you haven't already check out their new sets that were just released today click -->HERE<-- to check them out!!

Quick Hello!!

Sorry for the MIA yesterday but I was not feeling the greatest despite the fact that I am still freaking out about winning Melanie's new set Cuddles & Hugs from Gina K on Friday!! I am in total shock! When that rubber gets in my hands I am going to totally rock it!! I LOVE this set!! Mwah to Gina K for being SOOO awesome and Melanie for giving us another fantastic set! Did you guys see the new releases? All I can say is wow and oh my pocketbook! LOL Verve Visual is also starting to show off their sneak peeks so I am in trouble! :)

Oh and did you see Kristina's Round Up this week? I made the top ten for the first time!!! I have been a random pick before but never in Kristina's Top 10. Man does God want to put a smile on my face or what?! :) (If you want to see the card look at the previous post.)

I don't have anything to show you guys today because I am picking up my mom from the airport. Her and my step-dad have been in Panama the last week (my step dad grew up there...military family) and are coming home today. I am SO glad. I have missed them like crazy. I am hoping to get some stamping time later but I probably won't have anything to post until tomorrow unless I have enough time to take a picture of this awesome RAK from my new Bella sistah Carrie that I have to show off.

Have a fantastic Monday!!

An Inspirational SU Saturday

Happy Saturday!! I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend. I am bummed that I didn't make it into two of the design teams that I tried out for but I know that there is a reason for everything and am putting the whole thing in God's hands so it's all good. I haven't participated in Kristina's Color Inspiration challenges in awhile so I thought I would play along this week.

Isn't this the coolest place mat? The colors freaked me out to be honest with you but that's the fun of a challenge so I thought I'd go along with it. I love the circles and decided to go with that theme but wanted something subtle so I pulled out my All In A Row set from SU that is soon-to-be retired and made my own patterned paper. A simple strip of So Saffron grosgrain ribbon with a cute little bow and naked Heidi Swapp Alphabet Chipboard (that is almost the exact color of Sahara Sand) and ta-da! I put the chipboard and the main panel both on dimensionals so they would really stand out. This is so not my style but I love the crisp, clean feel. I want so bad to put some bling or more layers on it but I think it's perfect just the way it is.

I will be featuring a few other SU sets and the In-Colors that are soon-to-be retired in the next few weeks. I am so bummed about this set going....I just bought it about a month ago!! LOL Thus is the life of a demo I guess.... I also have a few sets that I WISH they would retire so I can get them off my hands. What do you think about gently used sets for a giveaway? ;)

I hope everyone has a fantastic Saturday and thanks to everyone who commented on my sister's blog. It meant more to her than you know.