Hi! Happy Monday to all of you! I hope you had a great weekend. I sure am ready for spring, how about you?! I can't believe tomorrow is March 1st....doesn't that mean Spring is a little bit closer?!?!?! Ah well...at least the sun is shining here today.

I have a cute little card to share for Paper Therapy's Sketch challenge. Paper Therapy is an online forum and gallery for paper crafters. It's a great group of women and a fun place to hang out to discuss stamping and scrapbooking! So, my friend Jen was kind enough to lend me her DeNami Design stamps for a couple weeks! She has such a great stash, so I've had fun looking through and picking out ones I want to use. These little turtles are just TOO CUTE, dontcha think?! They just make me smile :-) I paired the Mini Turtle and the Mine Side-view Turtle with the Medium Dot Circle Frame, made a striped background with the Three Line Border, and finished it off with a couple sentiments from Heartfelt Greetings Stamp Set, a rhinestone, and some striped ribbon. I hope I have inspired you today to either play along with the challenge, or make a cute 'kid' card! As always, I appreciate you visiting me today, and would love to hear your thoughts about my card! Be sure to visit again on Thursday -- I will have another card to show you!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Mini Turtle, Mine Side-view Turtle, Medium Dot Circle Frame, Three Line Border, Heartfelt Greetings Stamp Set

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: SU Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Versamark

Other: Nesties Circles, Ribbon-American Crafts, Rhinestone-Colorbok

Baby Tag

My mother-in-law asked me to make a Baby Tag for a shower gift. She sent me a picture of the gifts, and asked if I could match it. Of course I could....matching is one of my best talents, lol!! Pink and brown towels with multi-color polka dots. Well, I just so happened to have the perfect patterned paper for it! Tags are just so cute and so fun to make! I hope I get more requests like this in the future!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Fun and Fast Notes

Cardstock: SU - Very Vanilla

Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!

Ink: SU - Chocolate Chip

Other: Nesties Labels One and Circles, SU Ribbon, Creative Imaginations Rhinestones, Crop-o-Dile, Dimensionals

Paper Therapy Challenge #21 - Technique

Good morning and Happy President's Day! It's time for the next challenge over at Paper Therapy! This week it's a technique challenge. Use the Negative part of a die-cut on your project. There are many possibilities for this. I would love to see you get creative and join us!

My brother recently graduated from college, so I needed a Congrats card. I chose my color palette, decided to use an embossing folder, and then cut out the die-cut from that. So, first I cut the vertical strips of cardstock, arranged them, flipped it over, and taped them together using Scotch tape. Then I ran it thru the Spellbinder's Wizard to cut out the die shape in the center. After that, I ran it thru again using the Tiny Mosaic Embossing Folder! It was so fun to watch the background come together! A couple buttons and some Baker's Twine are the finishing touches to this masculine card. I would love to hear your feedback. Thanks for visiting me today!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Cap: Year After Year; congratulations: Hugs & Wishes

Cardstock: SU - Very Vanilla, Kraft, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue

Ink: Tsukineko VersaMagic - Jumbo Java

Other: Nesties Large Labels, Tiny Mosaic CB Emb. Folder, Buttons-SU, Twinery Twine, Dimensionals

CR84FN15 & DeNami Button Challenges

Good morning friends! I have a card to share today for two challenges: CR84FN15 and the DeNami Button Challenge. It's my first time participating in the CR84FN Color Challenge, and I just loved it! Color challenges are one of my favorite kinds. I will definitely keep an eye on this particular challenge blog! Looks like great stuff! I am also entering this in the DeNami Button Challenge. In case you missed it, last Sunday and Monday was the Beautiful Buttons Blog Hop, and they are doing something new this time. If you add a project using buttons to the inlinkz on their blog, you have a chance to win a spot in the next blog hop, AND you'll get to

choose a few stamps of your choice!! HOW COOL IS THAT?! :)

Ok on to my card. I used 2 DeNami stamps - Leafy Vine & Flower Vine Swirl, and the sentiment is Stampin' Up! I most likely NEVER would have come up with this color combo, but I think it's just stunning! They go SO well together! A prima flower, large DeNami button, and some lace is the perfect way to finish off this card! What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback...it's ALWAYS appreciated! Thanks so much for visiting today!

 

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami Design - Leafy Vine, Flower Vine Swirl; Stampin' Up! - Hugs and Wishes

Cardstock: SU - Very Vanilla
Patterned Paper: The Paper Studio - Poteeka Souffle

Ink: SU - Taken With Teal, Certainly Celery, So Saffron

Other: Nesties Labels Eight, Prima Flower, DeNami Button (Aqua Boutique Buttons Pack), The Twinery - Twine, Lace - Joann's

Paper Therapy Challenge #20 - Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!

***If you're here for the DeNami Blog Hop, please scroll down to the previous post***

...HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!...

Whatever your day might bring, I hope you have some extra special time to spend with your Valentine and those you love. Dave and I celebrated on Saturday night and went to a new restaurant. It was great food and it was just nice to go out for a lovely dinner together since we haven't done that for awhile.

How appropriate is it that this week's Paper Therapy Challenge is to make a Valentine?! I put together this card last week right after I spent a few hours mosying through Hobby Lobby. I tend to forget to shop there! They really have some good stuff! I had a list of things I needed (ok ok....Wanted), and I was able to get a lot of it! So, this is my Valentine's card. I am so proud that I 'put aside' my perfectionistic ways on this one, and was able to layer some paper on an angle, in no specific, 'just straight on' way. Does that make ANY sense at all?!?! I really had so much fun making this card. I love trying out new techniques and supplies. :) I hope you enjoy it and have gotten some inspiration from it!

I am so glad you stopped by today! Let me know what you think!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - French Script

Cardstock: SU - Pink Passion
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!

Ink: SU - Whisper White. Tsukineko Versa Magic - Jumbo Java

Other: Hobby Lobby- Doily, Ribbon, Pearl Brad. Liquid Pearls - Platinum Pearl

DeNami Beautiful Buttons Blog Hop!

 Hello and welcome to your next stop on the DeNami Beautiful Buttons Blog Hop!

You should have come from Tenia Nelson's blog. If you are lost or want to start at the beginning,

just visit the DeNami Blog to get you started!

Buttons are definitely one of my favorite embellishments to use. For this card, I used the Decorative Crest and the Congratulations Script--which I think work SO well together! I decided I wanted one crest to be highlighted on one layer, showing through a die-cut circle. The top layer of cardstock was stamped 3 times at the top, and then the Congratulations at the bottom. I put a lot of dimensionals between the card base and the top piece of cardstock. To finish it off, the buttons were aligned horizontally, and some white lace added to the bottom. I really love this card! I think it's perfect for a wedding! I hope I've inspired you in some way! Leave me a comment letting me know what you think...you have a chance to win a DeNami gift certificate...you must leave a comment on EVERY blog on the hop in order to be eligible. Good luck and thanks for stopping by today! :)

  

Your next stop is Amy Smidebush!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami Design - Decorative Crest, Congratulations Script

Cardstock: SU - Whisper White

Ink: SU - Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise, Sage Shadow

Other: Nesties Circles, Green Buttons - DeNami, Dimensionals, White Lace - Maya Road

Paper Therapy Challenge #19 - Color

Good morning blog followers! I have another card to share with you today for the next Paper Therapy Challenge! It's a color challenge, and in my opinion, a GREAT combo of colors,

especially for this time of year!!

So of course I had to do a Valentine card. It's one of my favorite holidays to make cards for. I have

been on a clean and simple kick lately, and I am just loving this card! I stamped the heart three times, and cut them out. I die cut 3 squares using SB Nesties, and then ran them through the Wizard again with embossing folders. Then, I used a Tim Holtz Ink Blending Tool to apply ink to the raised part

of the embossed pieces. So fun! Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "from the bottom of my heart"

in a straight line across the middle of the card!

I really appreciate you taking the time to visit me today!

I would love to know what you think about my card! Any feedback is greatly appreciated ;-)

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Hearts: Love It; from the bottom of my heart: A Light Heart

Cardstock: SU - Whisper White

Ink: SU - Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace

Other: Nesties Squares, Just My Type CB Emb. Folder Border, Tiny Mosaic CB Emb. Folder, Ink Blending Tool, Button, Twine, Dimensionals

PTI Tag Download Challenge

Hi there! I have another quick post today. This is for Papertrey Ink's Tag Download Challenge.

"The randomly selected winner that is chosen from the entries in this contest will win the opportunity

to be our Guest Stamp Designer. This person will be able to help conceptualize a stamp set

with me (Nichole), allowing their "dream" stamp set to come to life!"

I never thought there would be an opportunity like this...how cool, and what an amazing experience it would be! For more of the details, check out the blog post HERE.

Here's the mini card I made with the downloadable tags!

A quick, cute card I will send to my friend that could use some cheering up!

Thanks for visiting me today!

...Fingers, Toes, Arms, & Legs are ALL crossed!...

Why, you ask?! Because I am hoping, wishing, and praying that I will be the winner of
THIS AMAZING ULTIMATE Card Kit from Papertrey Ink! Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC!?
What a dream come true for stampers and paper crafters!!

I just recently discovered PTI last July when I went to CHA in Chicago. I walked through their booth and immediately was sucked in by their coordinating cardstock, ribbon, buttons, and more!! I bought my first two stamp sets and some ribbon. They are the first clear stamps that I have owned, and I was a little hesitant to use them at first. But they are just WONDERFUL! I've been stalking the PTI website and Nichole's blog quite often. I love the style of their stamps, AND all the work the design team does with them. Such ENDLESS ideas and possibilities!
Be sure to check out the blog post to see how you can have a chance to win too!

One way to enter is to look through YOUR PTI projects from the past year, and pick your favorite
and post or re-post it to your blog, and add the direct link to the project to the Inlinkz list HERE.

My favorite is the tag I created for the November PTI Blog Hop.
It was the first tag I created in about 4 years, and it opened my eyes to the realization
that I can make much more than just cards with these supplies! Here is the tag.

Well, I'm off to do some crafting today! I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys time with friends and family at all those Superbowl parties! I will be rooting AGAINST those Packers, lol!

I'm actually looking forward to all the food tomorrow! I'm trying two new recipes: Guacamole Salad and Coconut Macaroons. MmmmmmmMmmmmmm!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Giga Guide Lines

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Confetti White, Purely Pomegranate

Embossing Powders: Sparkle N Sprinkle - Silver Pearl, PK Glitz - EP Max Burgundy

Other: Ribbon - PTI Raspberry Fizz, SU Silver Cord, Nesties - Standard Circles Small, Big Scalloped Circles Large, Labels Eight, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals, Crop-o-dile

Update and News

I have a quick post today with a few updates about what's happening with me.

Remember how I made it past the first round of the Spellbinders Design Team call? Well, unfortunately I didn't make it past the second round. My assignment was to create a 12x12 scrapbook layout. I have done minimal scrapbooking thus far....my passion is card making, but I REALLY want to get going on some albums because I have tons of pictures from 3 vacations that just need to be scrapped!
It just seems to be an overwhelming project, so I'm avoiding it :)
But after you read my next piece of news, maybe now is the time to do it!?!

After several months of waiting and wondering the fate of the company I work for, it has resulted in unemployment for me and several dear co-workers. A new agency was chosen to take over the account that I worked on, resulting in absolutely no other work for me and several others. Ironically, this also happened with my last job, almost exactly two years ago! It's been quite an emotionally and mentally exhausting few months, but I'm glad all the waiting and drama is over! I believe everything happens for a reason (although sometimes it's hard to understand WHY), and I truly believe there are better things to come! I'll be sure to update again if anything changes with my employment status. 

In the meantime, you just might see me posting creations more often!

Have a great rest of your week!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge - PDCC66

Hello! It's my first time playing along with The Play Date Cafe challenge...and WHEW,
I've only got a couple hours to spare before the deadline! I saw the colors and COULD NOT
pass this up! I LOVE purple, so I was very excited to make a card for this challenge.
You have to use black & white, and a SPLASH of lilac/purple. Just gorgeous!

This is what I created. I. LUV. IT. I'm such a sucker for girly, pretty, romantic-y designs.

This was a very simple card to make. The lilac part is one stamp from the Papertrey set Giga Guide Lines -- I stamped it twice right next to each other, and put a white pearl in the center.

The patterned paper is actually flocking, so it gives it some extra texture!

Thanks so much for visiting me today!
If you are new to my blog and like my work, I invite you to become a follower :)

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Giga Guide Lines

Cardstock: Stampin' Up -Whisper White, Basic Black
Patterned Paper: me & my Big ideas
Ink: SU - Almost Amethyst

Other: Nestabilities - Labels 9, White Pearl sticker, Dimensionals