Wow! Lee DeWyze's hometown visit last Friday was so crazy!!!  His day was filled with so many stops, and finally ended the day with a concert at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, IL. Like I mentioned in my last post, Dave & I had VIP tickets to see him. The view was great and we got some pictures and a few videos. Lee showed so much emotion and was so humble, it made me like him even more! Hearing him sing live was also incredible. He sang about 9 songs, but was originally only supposed to sing 3! He was so grateful for all the support, and he has touched so many people, I think that's one of the reasons he's doing so well on American Idol. His performances tonight were PHENOMENAL!! I am such a huge fan. When the show is over, I will really miss seeing him on TV every week! Check out the videos below! I will post some pictures soon.

American Idol Hometown Visit!

WOW! It's been an exciting week around here. One of American Idol's final 3 contestants, Lee DeWyze, has come back to the Chicago area for the show's annual hometown visit. Lee grew up in the town right next to where I grew up and lived for years!! My husband Dave and I have been fans of AI for quite awhile, and we've been rooting for Lee since the beginning of the season! He has such a unique voice and seems like such a nice, down to earth guy.

All season I've been telling Dave that if Lee makes it to the top 3, I so want to go see him during the home town visit. Well, my wish came true! Not only do we have tickets to see him play a mini concert at Arlington Park racetrack, but I WON VIP tickets! We get to be in the section closest to the stage for a great view! Luckily the weather has cleared up, the sun is out and it's warmed up a little bit. I am so excited!!! What a cool thing to experience.  I will be sure to post again after the event, and hopefully get some good pictures to share with you all!

Challenge: Color Throwdown #91

I found a great challenge site called The Color Throwdown and they have challenges based on different color combinations. I needed to make a birthday card for a very good stamping friend of mine, so I decided to incorporate the colors for the current challenge, and I'm very pleased with what I came up with!  Hope you had a great birthday, Jen!!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Paisley Background, Simple Friendship

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery

Ink: Stampin' Up - Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean

Ribbon: Stampin' Up - Certainly Celery

Buttons: Masterpiece Studios, Inc.
Other: Marvy Uchida 2" Round Scallop Punch, Spica Marker - Mint, Dimensionals, Sponge

Celebrating Moms

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I wish all of the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! My husband and I will be taking our moms and families out for lunch to a local Italian restaurant to celebrate. Mmmmm...can't wait!

I needed to make 4 Mother's Day cards, and instead of making 4 different ones like I usually do, I designed one layout, then used different colors and stamps to keep it interesting. I added some PK Glitz glitter to a couple of them, and it just gives it that extra oomph! I also like the Pearl stickers I added for dimension. I LOVE how these cards turned out, and sure hope all the moms enjoy them! Have a great Mother's Day!!!  (tip: click on the image to get a larger view)

Supplies: Yellow/Teal Card

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Circle Cirus, Frames with a Flourish;  Close to My Heart - Alphabet

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Taken with Teal, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White

Ink: Stampin' Up - Taken with Teal, Apricot Appeal

Other: Recollections - Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals

Supplies: Green/Pink Card

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Baroque Motifs, Frames with a Flourish;  Close to My Heart - "Mother's Day"

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Mellow Moss, Pixie Pink, Very Vanilla

Ink: Stampin' Up - Mellow Moss, Pixie Pink

Other: Recollections - Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals

Supplies: Red/Green Card

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Carte Postale, Frames with a Flourish;  Close to My Heart - Alphabet

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Ruby Red, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla

Ink: Stampin' Up - Ruby Red, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip

Glitter: PK Glitz Glitter Glitz - Sand

Other: Recollections - Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals 

Supplies: Purple Card

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Carte Postale, Frames with a Flourish;  Close to My Heart - "Mother's Day"

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Stampin' Up - Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant

Glitter: PK Glitz Glitter Glitz - Orchid

Other: Recollections - Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals

A Chance For Free Stuff!

Ok, so I got your attention right?! Good! DeNami Designs Rubber Stamps is having a Giveaway for a $25 Gift Certificate! It's so easy to enter. Just leave a comment on their giveaway post here. Once there, read more to see how you can be eligible for additional comments! Two winners will be chosen. So don't delay, Thursday May 6 is the last day to leave a comment!

Be sure to visit again soon. I will be posting some Mother's Day cards that have some sparkle ;-)

DeNami Theme Challenge #1: Spring

Over at the DeNami Designs blog, today is the last day to submit an entry for the Spring Theme Challenge. After a busy week, I'm glad that I had a chance to make a card for this challenge. The color combination is quite brighter than I usually pick, but I really wanted this card to scream Spring! I am really enjoying these challenges because they are expanding my creativity and I'm loving the end results!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Scallop Tulip Circle, Medium Double Circle; Stampin' Up! - Simple Friendship

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Very Vanilla

Ink: Stampin' Up - Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst

Ribbon: Joann's Papercrafting Ribbon: Bluebird

Other: SU Corner Rounder Punch, Marvy Uchida 2" Round Scallop Punch, SU 1 1/4" Circle Punch, SU 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Blender Pen, Stickles-Star Dust

Birthday Butterfly

Birthday cards are what I seem to make the most! This card is for my step-mom. Happy Birthday, Carol! I bought some heavy vellum, white dye ink and embossing powder, and Spica markers from a company called Sweet Stamps not too long ago at a Rubber Stamp show. They had some beautiful samples of parchment crafting and I wanted the supplies to try it myself. Although mine looks quite different than their samples, I'm still enjoying the way this butterfly turned out. I used the white dye ink and embossing powder to create the butterfly. Then, I used the Spica markers to color in the butterfly on the front side of the vellum because I wanted the 'twinkles' to show up! If you color on the back of the vellum, you get a much softer, lighter look than what I have done here. I will have to play around more with these tools to see what I can come up with. In the meantime, enjoy the Birthday Butterfly!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Time Well Spent (butterfly), Warmest Regards (Happy Birthday),

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron

Ink: Stampin' Up -Bravo Burgundy; Sweet Stamps - White Dye Ink and White Embossing Powder

Punches: Stampin' Up - Photo Corners, Modern Label, Circle

Ribbon: Offray

Other: Sizzix Big Shot: Perfect Polka Dots Stampin' Up! Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Heavy Vellum, Spica Markers: Garnet, Baby Blue, Sand, Buttermilk

Masculine Birthday - Stripes

I love making feminine/flowery cards, so when I have to make a masculine card it can sometimes be a challenge for me. I feel like there is a limited amount of manly colors (and stamps) to choose from! I used basic stamping on this card. The paper piercer tool was used to add a little bit of detail around the present. I also added a touch of color to the present with the Mint Spica Marker. Enjoy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Year After Year (present), Eat Cake (happy birthday)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Kraft, Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow. DCWV - Brown.
Patterned Paper: Cloud9Design - Travel Stripe

Ink: Stampin' Up - Chocolate Chip craft ink

Other: Stampin' Up Twill Tape, Paper Piercer, Spica Marker - Mint