Cheers for Unscripted Sketches!

Happy Saturday everyone, which means it's time for another Unscripted Sketch! In a time crunch this week I grabbed an empty Altoid tin and discovered that small projects come together quickly....at least with this fabulous sketch it did!

The tin and ribbon caught my eye amid my craft mess, so choosing the other colors was a no brainer. I'll need to be eating many more Altoids to create more of these....or looking for people who already have them on a regular basis. Like I told the rest of the Unscripted DT, either way it will be a quick creation and super minty breath!

Here's the inside of the tin:

I loved this sketch and my gift card holder so much that I had to make a matching card to go with it. On this card I used 3 buttons because of the Button, Button challenge over at Stampin' Out Alzheimers, a fundraiser near and dear to my heart.

Check out what the rest of the DT did by clicking on their links on my side bar. Be sure to check out all the sketch and fabulous inspiration over at Unscripted Sketches, and I hope you find time to play along this week.

Smiles,

Tin details
Paper: Pacific Point, Only Orange, Very Vanilla
Ink: Tempting Turquoise
Stamps(SU!): Lots of Thoughts (front of tin), On Your Birthday (inside of tin)
Other: Altoids tin, ribbon, Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder, scallop square punch, 1 1/4" square punch, button, corner rounder

Card details:
Paper: Pacific Point, Only Orange, Very Vanilla, unknown green
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Black stazon
Stamps (SU!): Tag Time
Other: stamp n write markers (green galore, pumpkin pie), scallop border punch, buttons, blender pen, ribbon, Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder, corner rounder

Celebration!

I've got another card to share tonight, that I made for a challenge at Stampin' Out Alzheimers. Linda asked me if I make a card everyday, and when I sleep. This week I'm working on making a card every night but I know I won't keep up with that! I am giving myself a bit of a time limit in creating so I can spend time with DH. There are just so many great challenges to work on and like Cinderella at the ball it will end at midnight on May 31st...so I'm working hard to do as many as I can. It's all for a great cause and a whole lot of fun!



Anyway, the sketch is from Taylored Expressions and the colors are this week's Jewelry Color Inspiration from Stacey: Real Red, Whisper White and Brilliant Blue. Here's my card:

I can't wait until the rain stops! My picture will look much better outside in the daylight....of course I'd need to finish my card the night before I want to post it!

It would've made a wonderful masculine birthday card if I hadn't put the bow on it. But all the ribbon I used was found ribbon and the bow was already tied. So it nicely hid where my other ribbon began and ended! Now I'm off to watch a bit of the basketball game and to bed by 10...I do make sure I get almost 8 hours of sleep each night. I can't survive otherwise, and I'm jealous of those who can!

Smiles,


Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Brilliant Blue
Ink: Black Stazon, Real Red
Stamps (SU): Tag Time, On Your Birthday
Other: 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, blue Making Memory Brads, red ribbon, blender pens, blue crayola marker

If the Halo fits.....

I don't know why I haven't played along with more Verve sketches, Julee has a great eye for design and I love all my cards I make with her sketches. Here's one I made to play along with a challenge over at Stampin' Out Alzheimers. You can click on the box to the right to make a donation, and join in on the fun this week!



I found the ribbon and ran with it. It came off an invitation to a wedding shower last year--the girl's dresses were pink and they wore green shoes, or the other way around. I went to the shower, but didn't make it to the wedding! And I managed to find a green to match in my pile of unknowns. How fun! Off to watch the Yankees a bit before bed...g'night!

Smiles,

Paper: Very Vanilla, unknown green, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink

Ink: Rose Red, Green Galore, Black Stazon

Stamps: SU If the Halo Fits

Other: ribbons, scallop border punch, oval punch, pink half back pearls

Hope is.....mojo

I love Mojo Monday and somehow didn't play yesterday even though I had it off!!! I was too busy finishing the Cards for Heroes bloghop and checking out the Stampin' Out Alzheimers awesome site. There are tons of challenges, contests and giveaways, including this Mojo sketch. I joined in because of my grandparents--I'm lucky enough to have memories of them from an early age but my younger cousins aren't as lucky. Anyway, this evening I had a chance to head to my basement and work on it. I morphed the sketch a bit, but basically stuck with the inspiration.

This also is for this week's Our Creative Corner Challenge to have the sentiment as the focal point. I love this quote from Emily Dickinson, and haven't inked up the set in awhile. Susan used it recently HERE and inspired me to dig it out. I'll try to use the images soon, the quote just jumped out at me for this particular sketch. Be sure to check out all the other creations with this sketch. I'm sure to be back daily with creations for SOA!

Smiles,

Paper: Baja Breeze, Creamy Caramel, Garden Green DSP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Timber Brown stazon
Stamp: SU Feathered Hope
Other: Making Memories antique brass brads, blue ribbon

Happy Birthday Bro!

My brother's birthday was last week and I got to see him yesterday and help paint my nephew's big boy room. I managed to paint the walls more than myself and had some pound cake and strawberries after lunch. Plus I had many kisses from the cutest 2 year old on the block. If only he could say my name. What a delicious day!

As soon as my brother opened the envelope he says "I haven't seen this on your blog." I didn't realize he looked at it regularly enough to notice, and am glad I didn't put it up Friday when I had it finished!

I used Julee's sketch from Verve's may release. I love all her sketches and this one will be used many times in the future! It came together quickly and easily...I just had to do some angling and offsetting to make it a bit less structured. I'm also working on my outdoor picture taking skills. Once the flowers grow a bit I'm sure they'll look even more fabulous...if I don't kill them.

Smiles,

Paper: Very Vanilla, Black, Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, Garden Green DSP
Ink: Midnight Blue Stazon
Stamps: Tag Time, Birthday Greetings
Other: square silver brads (Making Memories)

Red, White & Blue

In honor of this Memorial Day weekend I have three cards to share, all using red white and blue.

The first card is for the Stamp Simply challenge to use these colors, but not necessarily a patriotic theme. Recently I've been coming up with sample anouncement cards for my nephew (who will be here in August) and this was a possibility. It's not the one my SIL chose, but will make a great baby card to add to the stash.

I saw the sailboat idea on Mary's blog HERE, and again on Patti's blog HERE. Be sure to go check out their work, they both are inspirations for me!

I also thought I'd create a patriotic themed card to send to Card for Heroes as a hero card, in addition to some others I'm sending for soldiers to use themselves. I found this bit of ribbon and figured I could use it to make two cards. I also used up some stars that I had cut out (using my Big Kick) for my dad's retirement scrapbook.

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend and take time to remember all those who serve so we can be free, and those who have died for that freedom.

Smiles,

New challenge and candy

I'm sure you've seen this, because I've seen it everywhere

There's a new challenge site, The Next Level, which is launching on June 1st and offering up some great blog candy as well. Go check it out!

Smiles,

Live, Laugh & Love

Another Saturday morning, another Unscripted Sketch to play with!
I went for a funky card today, and love the look--hard to photograph though since it won't stand up! The scallops look great when it's held shut....

The finished size is 4 1/4 x 6 1/4. I took an 11 x 4 1/4 piece of cardstock and scored it at 5 1/4 to get the different sizes within the card. I really went away from my norm and put a panel on the inside too...

What do you think? Be sure to check out all the rest of the DTs creations by clicking on their links on my sidebar.

I hope you have a chance this long weekend (between bbq's, fireworks and gardening) to play along with us at Unscripted Sketches. Can't wait to see what you create!

Smiles,

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive stazon
Stamps (SU!): Sunflower, Birthday Greetings
Other: Scallop Border Punch (SU!), dimensionals

Wedding Invites

After arriving home from work I went to create, but apparently all I've created lately is a mess. So I worked on cleaning it and lost any desire to stamp that I went downstairs with!!! But it's a bit cleaner now, so that's always good. I thought I'd share some invitations I recently finished for a friend. She and her fiance are doing the wedding mostly on their own so my gift to them is invitations. I did that for my best friend this past fall too, and enjoyed the mass production--only 75 this time.

The happy couple moved here from Florida this summer and love the snow. I love it, just not shoveling it! But a cold winter in New Hampshire still has them staying and getting married....in DECEMBER. So after printing the invites out on Whisper White, I embossed the snowflake (old SU) in silver. It's mounted on Night of Navy and has velum layered over the top. I used a ribbon punch to punch two holes and thread the ribbon (from Michael's) through. I'll be sure to make some matching thank you's this summer.

And if you look closely it isn't a typo...they're getting married on a Tuesday! Both have families all over the country and all over the globe so traveling and time off will be necessary anyway. It will also be the first Christmas the bride spends with all of her brothers and sisters in almost 6 years.

Hope your day was mess free, and full of happy creating!

Smiles,

106 days of birthday fun!

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”

~Winnie the Pooh

My great-great-aunt Greta (Marguerite) will be 106 this August. When she came upon 100 (living in her own room at an assisted living home) we thought it would be fun to celebrate the 100 days leading up to her 100th birthday. And she loved it so much we've done it each day since. "We" are led by my father who organizes everything through e-mail to her hundreds of neices and nephews scattered up and down the east coast and across the country. The Woodbury women always outlive the men, but she may have lived the longest by never having gotten married or having children!!! But she says the children, grandchildren and so on, of her brothers and sisters (8 or 9????) are like her kids. So here is my first card to her to celebrate the 8th day of celebrations:

I used the layout for this Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge, and the colors are from Stacey's fabulous Jewelry Color Inspiration Challenge. Boy was it a challenge for me! A few weeks ago I was seeing these cute littel crocheted flowers everywhere, and I wanted some. Too bad I could only find them to win, or for sale. So I sat down with some yarn from my stash and a small crochet hook and gave it a shot without a pattern. I'm not loving all the ones I came up with but wanted to use one on a card anyway. I'll probably give it a try again and see how they turn out with a bit of tweeking. If you do have a pattern to share, please do!

My card is larger than I normally do (just under 5 x 6 1/2) because at 105+ Aunt Greta's eyesight isn't the best (she's in a nursing home now) and I write large so she can read it without waiting for someone to come by and read the mail to her. I've been writing to her for almost ten years now, since I was a freshman in college and discovered there's nothing worse than an empty mailbox! Since them I've tried to write a weekly or biweekly letter and it's a good outlet to send off many of the cards I've made. So here's to birthday celebrations and family...enjoy!


Smiles,

Paper: Baja Breeze, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White, Chcolate Chip, Washington Apple DSP
Ink: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip
Stamps(SU!): Love you Much (heart), Friendship Blooms (bg flourishes)
Other: crocheted flower, white ribbon, Blackbird Brads

Happiness is....Mojo Monday!!!

After only three tries with this sketch I finished my Mojo Monday card on Monday...what a novel idea.

That little square was my nemesis tonight so I moved it and took control of the situation! Rather than the scallop, I did a torn edge of white. I haven't done a torn edge in a while and I think it gives the card a more earthy feel.

Smiles,

Paper: Washington Apple DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Stamps(SU!): Happy Harmony (sentiment), Ageless Adornment (butterfly)

Sweet Stuff

The colors that Stacey chose for this week's Jewelry Color Inspiration challenge sent me in a Willy Wonka direction. Combine that with Mojo Monday's sketch and I've got a very sweet card:


I love how each piece turned out when double (and triple!) mounted. Plus, being wild and wacky they just couldn't sit straight either. This will be a nice card to stick away for whenever and I can add a birthday, thinking of you or just because sentiment. Hope your weekend is going well...don't forget to check out Sketch it Saturday over at Unscripted Sketches.

Smiles,


Paper: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Lavendar Lace
Ink: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Black Stazon
Stamps: Very Punny (SU!)
Other: Cuttlebug folder spots and dots, circle punch, scallop border punch (SU)

Memories For the Bride

Happy Saturday morning! Time for another Unscripted Sketch, and this week I thought I'd try my hand at a scrapbook page.

As you can see by the date, this has been waiting for me for a LONG time! Three years ago I was a bridesmaid with many aspirations....one being to make this memory book of Aimee's shower. No pictures yet, just the invitation for the first page--one of my first card making projects actually! So there are sure to be more scrapbook pages in my future now that I've begun, and especially now that she's back in NH and I'll see her more often. Guilt is the ultimate motivator!

Be sure to head over to Unscripted Sketches to see the sketch for yourself and play along. Check out all the other DT's fabulous work too. You can click on their names on my sidebar to go directly to their pages. Thanks for stopping by, have an unscripted weekend!

Smiles,

Paper: Delicate Dots DSP, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla

Ink: Brocade Blue, unknown red, Certainly Celery

Stamps: Hero Arts fancy shoes, Mini Mates (SU!), unknown SU purses

Other: ribbon, tag punch, blue gems

Mom is...LOVE!

When I came upstairs with this card for my mom, my husband thought it was for his mother. So I went with a similar idea for her Mother's Day card using this week's Our Creative Corner sketch.

I flipped the sketch to suit my stamped sentiment, but love the simplicity of this layout. I'll be sure to use it in the future. And it was a hit with my MIL!

Smiles,

Paper: So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Delicate Dots DSP

Ink: Ballet Blue

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps from AC Moore

Other: Making Memories antique copper brads

Quilt Quips

I haven't had much to share lately since I worked on Mother's Day (to give a mom the day off) and seem to have something to do everyday after school. Now that I've given my mom her card and gift I can share the fruits of my labor. And since my mom gave me her talent for crafting, an eye for design, and taught me the basics (and let me hot glue anything), she is the woman in my live I am celebrating for Verve's project parade!

She saw this card, posted here, and guessed it was hers before I could give it to her! But she didn't know what was coming with it....

As soon as I saw Quilt Quips in the Stampin Up catalog a project was born! My mom is the quilter, I'm the card maker. Once upon a time this was a nice tin of Russell Stove chocolates. When they don't sell by the sell by date we open them up for employees to eat (they're still good for me, yum!) and I asked if I could keep the box with this project in mind.

Then I (secretly) looked at different DSP with my mom to see what she liked. Washington Apple it was! Using this Unscripted Sketch I covered the top (front sentiment: May your sorrows be patched and your joys quilted). And what's a nice box without some nice cards........

In addition to some cards I posted previously here(card 2) and here, these are a few of the selection my mom got in her box of goodies:

(inside sentiment: I'm glad you're in my block of friends!)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Smiles,

All the cards were made with Quilt Quips (except May your day bloom...), Washington Apple DSP, Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand. If you want any specific card details just ask.

Lemonade Stand Award from Stacey

Wow, I'm feeling blessed lately! Stacey from Stacey's Stamping Stage has honored me with this award. The Lemonade Stand Award is given to bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude.

Now I'll pass it on to some others who visit me and show great attitude and gratitude.

Steph from Where'd All My Money Go?

Chris from Cats on My Quilts (my mom!)

Linda at Scrapcat Cards by Linda

Karen at Time Crafted

Jeryn at Mango Island

B-RT at Inky Fingers Rule

Terri at ...Just What I Do...

I'd nominate Susan, but Stacey already did!


Go check out all of theses ladies blogs, they all have great ideas and great blogs!

The rules of the award (To pick up the Lemonade Stand Award):
- Comment on this blog.
- Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog.
- Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
- Link to your nominees within your blog post.
- Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.
- Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

It's like when you see kids selling lemonade.....how can you not stop and buy a cup? Even if they sell it for $1 these days?!?

Smiles,

Mom is...

This is my card for Stacey's Jewelry Color Inspiration #35. As usual I forgot to play along until the last minute, but got it in under the wire. I didn't have Cameo Coral but found this ribbon that seemed close. The other colors were Ballet Blue, Kiwi Kiss and Very Vanilla.

I don't have any Mother's Day stamps but picked up a $1 pack of clear stamps that included 'Mom is..." and ran with that. I inked up bits and pieces of sentiments from throughout my collection in Ballet Blue and tried to say what Mom is. Love how it turned out...if you want to know where any of those sentiments came from just ask--it was late and I wasn't in an organized state of stamping!
Here's the inside:

Hope all you moms out there have a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!

Smiles,

A Delicious Sketch it Saturday!

It's Saturday and that means time for another Unscripted Sketch!

Play along, and feel free to rotate or flip the image--whatever it inspires you to do. I was inspired to dive into my project, but passed it onto a good friend when she got hired to be a first grade teacher with me!!!

(Since I've met her I've also become a chocolate snob.
And since the good stuff is more expensive
than Hershey's, I find I eat less of it!)

I stuck with primary colors on this one, and just wanted to make it fun for a great occassion! To adhere my congratulations to the treats I used some glue strips along the top of the bag, front and back, finishing it off with a bow.

Be sure to play along this week and check out all the other inspiration from the Design Team! Steph, Sharon, Jeryn, Jenny, BR-T, and April.

Smiles,


Paper: Whisper White, YoYo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Stamps (SU!): Everyday Greetings, Mini Mates, background stamp might be Beyond Basics (?)
Other: Scallop border punch (SU!), ribbon, brads (Making Memories)

Sweetness

Holy cow! This blog hop for parade of papers is awesome!

Check out Amy's candy HERE.


Goodnight!

Stamp & Smiles sneak peak challenge cards

Over at Stamps and Smiles they've been having four days of sneak peaks for new releases. There's also a sketch challenge for each day! I've been sneaking downstairs a bit each night to work on them and have all four cards to share today. Many were made from scraps so I've shared the details I have. Click on each day to see the set that was previewed, samples and the sketch I used for my cards. I don't have any Stamps and Smiles stamps (or any cupcakes for that matter!) so I'd love to win some!

Day 1 - SASMR1:

All from scraps and image stamped long ago. Pale Plum card base.

Day 2 - SASMR2:

Paper: Whisper White, Temptimg Turquoise, Washington Apple DSP
Ink: Tempting Turquoise
Stamp: On Your Birthday (SU!)
Other: Blackbird brads, paper piercer

Day 3 - SASMR3:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Green Galore

Ink: Perfect Plum, Green Galore

Stamp: Happy Harmony (SU!)

Day 4 - SASMR4:

All from project leftovers!

I'll be back Saturday with an Unscripted Sketch, if I'm not able to make something tomorrow!

Smiles,