Hello Fabulous Followers! A special hello and WELCOME goes out to all of you who are new to my blog!

I have finally reached my 100th blog post and to celebrate, I am giving away the goodies you see below to a very lucky winner! (See the itemized list below the picture)

IF I REACH 200 FOLLOWERS by the end of the giveaway, there will be a SECOND winner of a special mystery blog candy! Make sure to spread the word to all your crafty friends! :)

(Only US residents are eligible)

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eleven Die
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Wild Honey
Pearl Stickers
Inkadinkado Beach theme clear stamps
K&Company "Roam" Tag Pad
K&Company Adhesive Chipboard Alphabet
K&Company Die-cut Alphabet Stickers
DCWV Mariposa Alphabet Stickers
Cloud9 Glitter Stickers

HOW TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment on THIS post for EACH of the following that applies to you*

1) You must be a follower (new followers are welcome! US residents only, please)

2) Post about this giveaway on your blog, linking back here. It can be a post or in your sidebar.

3) Take a look around and tell me which of my cards is your favorite!

This means you have up to 3 entries to win!

The giveaway will run through Wednesday, August 31st. I will randomly choose a winner (two winners if I reach 200 followers), and post the results here on my blog by Thursday evening, Sept 1st! Make sure to check back to see if you are a winner! :)

CAS Birthday Card

Hello all! I have a clean and simple card to share with you today. I've combined the following challenges....


Horizontal Sketch Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

CR84FN37 Color Challenge

Papertrey's Make it Monday #30: Colored Pencils

....to come up with this! The flower is handmade out of PTI Satin Ribbon using this Tutorial. I colored in the butterfly with 3 different Prismacolor pencils for a graphic, striped look. What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback! Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Modern Basics, Borders and Corners Monogram Edition (sentiment)

Cardstock: PTI - White

Ink: SU: Bashful Blue, Sage Shadow; StazOn: Black
Ribbon: PTI - Hawaiian Shores Satin

Other: Prismacolor Pencils; Pearl Brad - the Paper Studio; Other pearl stickers - Recollections

DeNami Product Spotlight - Solid Polka Dot Border

Good morning! It's time for the next Product Spotlight over at the DeNami Design blog! This is my last post as a Guest Designer. It's been a fun month being a part of all the fun, and now I'll show you my project featuring the Solid Polka Dot Border stamp.

This is a very simple card to make, and you can change up the color scheme in a heartbeat. The background pattern was created using the Mini Starlet. The dark purple cardstock was embossed using a Tim Holtz Texture Fades folder. I stamped the Solid Polka Dot Border twice on white cardstock, and cut them out. A hole was poked near the end on each one, and I threaded Baker's Twine through to create the bow. Lastly, the congrats tag from the Thoughtful Greetings Petit Fours set is the finishing touch!

I hope you enjoyed my card, and thanks for stopping by!
My blog candy giveaway ends in one week, so make sure to check it out --------> HERE

Cardstock Organization and Storage

A few months ago, I finally got all my cardstock labels printed and assigned to the correct folder! You see, the cardstock was organized into separate file folders, but I didn't have labels on them for the longest time! What good are separate folders if you don't know what is inside them?!?!

Here's what I did...

• Typed the name of every color of cardstock I have, and put either "SU" or "PTI" for Stampin' Up! or Papertrey Ink after the name. I printed on regular white printer paper, then used my paper cutter to cut them out quickly
• Left some blank space to the left of the name to place a small circle punch shape for a sample of the color!
• Placed the label inside the clear tab, then attached the color swatch to the outside of the tab with a little dab of adhesive
• Alternated each tab in a different position so it's easy to read the labels
• Opted to organize it by color, not alphabetically or by color family

Edited 11/8/11: I've had a few questions about the size of the file box I use.
It's about 14" x 23" x 10". Here is a link to a box just like it. Hope this helps! 

I LOVE THIS SYSTEM!! Makes finding the color I need SO easy! It is also a good reminder to use colors I don't use that often. The pieces you see right in front are half sheets that are already cut. It's easy to quickly check that spot if I need a specific color. I hope this guide was helpful and gave you some ideas on how to organize your stash of cardstock! If you have any questions, just leave a comment on this post! :-)

PTI Make it Monday AND CAS-ual Fridays/Clean and Simple Stamping...

I'm so excited to have a chance to do a card for a few challenges!  It feels like AGES since I made a challenge card, LOL!

I've combined Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday #28: Glitter Die Borders, and CAS-ual Fridays CFC#15, who have teamed up with Clean and Simple Stamping for a sketch! WOW...that's a mouthful, HUH?!?

I really love the look of the glitter border around the die-cut shape. I would have never thought to do something like this! I used the Mat Stack 2 PTI die to trace around with a glue pen, and then sprinkled it with glitter. The stamped die-cut shape is popped up with foam adhesive for that added touch of dimension.

The flower is a 'sparkly' white Prima flower. I inked the edges with a bit of ink to give it character and to match the dark pink in the sentiment and twine. The photo just doesn't do all that glitter and sparkle justice!!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!!!

Supplies:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink - Background Basics: Diamonds, Mat Stack 2 Collection, Signature Greetings

Cardstock: SU - Close to Cocoa; PTI - Rustic Cream

Ink: SU: Mellow Moss, Purely Pomegranate; Tsukineko - VersaMagic: Jumbo Java

Other: Twinery Twine: Pink Sorbet; Prima Flower; PK Glitz Glitter - Sand; SU Brad; Dimensionals

DeNami Mini Cards Blog Hop

* TO SEE MY BLOG CANDY POST ----> GO HERE *

Hello and welcome to the next stop on the DeNami Mini Cards Blog Hop! If you came from Carol's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, be sure to head over to the DeNami Blog to start from the beginning! You will definitely want to visit each blog and leave a comment for every participant because there are TWO $20 DeNami Design gift certificates up for grabs!!

I chose some bright, summery colors for these mini cards. They all coordinate, so it would be a cute little gift to package up and give to someone special.

The patterned paper was created using stamps from the latest DeNami release: 
Ornamental Flowers
Leaf Accents
Ornamental Vine

The sentiments are from the Thoughtful Greetings stamp set. I stamped them on a piece of vellum, scored a line along the top and bottom edge, and added a couple of matching buttons!

If you haven't heard, I am having a special giveaway to celebrate 100 posts!
Check it out HERE!

Your next stop is Shirley Chang.

DeNami Product Spotlight - Rainbow

* TO SEE MY BLOG CANDY POST ----> GO HERE *

Good morning! It's time for the next Product Spotlight over at the DeNami Design blog! Since I am the Guest Designer this month, I get to show you my project featuring the Rainbow stamp.

I stamped the Rainbow, and instead of coloring it in, I stamped a bunch of the Mini Hearts, and then filled them with a colorful mix of Stickles.

*TIP* - I didn't have ALL the different colors of Stickles, so I colored a few with ink and a blender pen, and then used clear Stickles on top of them! :)

The Heart Chickie sits perfectly underneath the Rainbow, don't you think?! I added a pink rhinestone to that heart, and then 2 small red rhinestones in the other two hearts. The background pattern was created using one of my favorites, Curly Garland Border.

I hope you enjoyed my card, and thanks for stopping by!
If you haven't entered my blog candy giveaway yet, check it out --------> HERE

Hint. Hint. (and a Card!)

I know I haven't been posting a lot of cards lately. My July was a VERY busy month, and things have settled down a bit now. I look forward to squeezing more crafty time in!

Something I've mentioned a few times before is that I will be doing a BLOG CANDY giveaway for my 100th post. Well....this post is number 99! So that means VERY VERY SOON you will get to see what goodies I have for you! If you are a stamper/card maker, I think you will be pleased ;-)

Take a look at my card below. This was my first application for the Spellbinders Design Team earlier this year. I love how it turned out, and I was absolutely shocked to hear that I made it through the first round. Unfortunately, I didn't make it past the second round, but was so happy to be included among so many other talented people in round one.

Spellbinders is one of my favorite manufacturers. Their dies are just plain AWESOME! Do you have any Spellbinders dies?? Which is your favorite? How many do you have?

*Like I said before, you will love the blog candy*

**hint**hint**

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
Patterned Paper: The Paper Studio - Poteeka Souffle

Spellbinder Dies: Classic Squares LG, Labels Nine
Other: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Textile; Prima Flower; DeNami Button, Dimensionals

DeNami Sketch Challenge #9 - I'm a Guest Designer!!

Today is a very special day for me! It's my debut as the August Guest Designer for DeNami Design Rubber Stamps! They are one of my favorite stamp companies, with the cutest, most elegant, and whimsical stamps! Some of you may be familiar with them, but if not, I encourage you to go check them out! The blog is also full of lots of ideas! I am positive you will find SOMETHING you like ;)

Today begins the next challenge, a Sketch Challenge by owner and stamp creator, Nami. You have until Sunday, August 28 at 11:59 PM PST to have your card uploaded to your blog or photo gallery, and linked to the sketch challenge thread on the DeNami blog. We would LOVE for you to participate in the challenge and see what awesome things you do with this sketch! The winner will receive a gift certificate to the DeNami online store!

I used some of my favorite stamps from the new collection for this card. The Water Lily takes center stage on a Spellbinders Fancy Tag, and I created some patterned paper with one of the stamps from the Ornamental Flowers Stamp Set. Of course, I had to add a little bling to each of the leaves---such a fun finishing touch! I also added a dab of clear Stickles on each leaf of the Water Lily.

Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by for a visit today! It would mean the world to me if you took a minute to leave me some feedback on my FIRST card as a Guest Designer!! :) I'll be back with another post or two this week!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Water Lily , Ornamental Flowers Stamp Set

Cardstock: PTI - White; SU - Basic Black, Cool Caribbean
Ink: SU - Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry

Other: Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three, Stickles, White Pearl Stickers, Dimensionals