The Road Less Travelled

I'm squeezing in my last sketch before the kids and I head over the border for some shopping today.

I combined this week's sketch with a very old Stamping Royalty challenge from March 2nd!!  I loved the colour combo and have finally been able to use it - waaaay late, but worth the wait :)

I needed a masculine card and these colours worked wonderfully well, and a touch of distressing added the extra "roughness" I needed for the card.  Banking on the button being okay LOL!

We had a big wind and rain storm last night and lost power for six hours last night.  That means the smoke detectors were beeping and as a result our son and the cat migrated to our bed.  The former slept just fine, but hubby and I not so much.  Thankfully our daughter slept through it all.  It was definitely a night where we wished we had purchased a king sized bed and not a queen LOL!  I think some caffeinated coffee is in store for me (I usually drink decaf) so I can make it through the day as this old body doesn't do well (and never has) on low amounts of sleep - never mind the grouch factor ;)

Have a fabulous day!




What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Beautiful You

Paper:  Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Sahara Sand DSP
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Crimper, SU Distressing Tool, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, Button, Baker's Twine, Glue Dot, Half Pearls

Purrrrfecting My Mojo

I just love this Cattitude set by There She Goes, all the more because we own a cat and have seen the sentiments in this set come to life before our eyes :)

I chose this snooty kitty as my focal image and coloured her with Twinkling H2Os so it qualifies for this week's There She Goes challenge of using no Copics or tombows etc..  Had to add some bling to go with the attitude and the horizontal panels looked a bit plain so I added some punched flowers.  I think my daughter (cat and pink lover extraordinaire) will be high jacking this card LOL!

The kids' baptism on Sunday was amazing. I had tears of joy streaming down my face the whole time, which made the filming rather blurry to say the least!  Their heartfelt testimonies of their lives in Christ, and wonderful affirmations by our Children and Youth Pastors were enough to wipe me out emotionally for the rest of the day.  We got e-mails, calls and comments from many affirming their words and baptism.  Thankfully I brought my make up with me as I had to reapply it before teaching the Grade 5/6 Sunday school class right afterward as there wasn't much left on my face LOL!  A very, very special day which I will treasure in my heart forever.  I am truly blessed to have such wonderful children :)

Gotta run, we are off to go Laser Tagging this afternoon - kids beware, mommy has a mean shot LOL! 




What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Cattitude

Paper: Making Memories DP, Black, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling H2Os, SU Scalloped Border Punch, Bling, Half Pearls, $1.50 Flower Punch, Dimensinoals

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #63 A La Purple

Today sketch screams designer paper, but alas, I didn't use any...little odd creative gene was kaput today so took the easy way out and embossed the panels in white - yes, I wimped out big time - sorry!

This card was made with a good friend in mind.  She absolutely loves purple.  She actually had her apartment painted in purple (in a periwinkle shade) and managed to make it look fabulous.  Thus the overload on purple on this card - sorry for all you non-purple lovers.  I know she will love it though, and that's what counts :)

I pulled out Buckets of Love from There She Goes.  This is such a fun set!  Lots of different images you can put in the bucket and some great sentiments to go with it.  I masked the flowers and stamped the bucket over top and got to continue practicing my colouring with Twinkling H2Os.  A big purple button from a dollar store find and this card is on its way.  Nothing too fancy, but it does scream spring which I, as I'm sure many of you, are very ready for it!!

Check out what the Design Team has in store for your inspiration.  

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

In addition, each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to have you come and play along :).

Have a fabulous weekend everyone  :)  This weekend will be a very special one for our family as my son and daughter are both getting baptized (i.e. dunked) on Sunday.  Their precious faith in Christ being boldly proclaimed to all who are in attendance.  Lots of Kleenex needed for this one as the tears of joy will be streaming down my face, and then I have to pull myself together to go and teach the grade 5/6 Sunday School class - oh my!! Will be an exhausting morning but my heart will be full to overflowing :)

What's In It?

Stamps:   (There She Goes) Buckets of Love
Paper: Lovely Lilac, Lavender Lace

Ink: Black

Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Twinkling H2Os, Scalloped Square and Square Nesties, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

There She Goes Release Previews - Day 3

Today is the third and final day of April's There She Goes release previews.  Torinco is the designer of this totally fun set and the clean designs and adorable images that characterize her style have come out in full force once again!  Gnomes are all the rage right now with Gnomio and Juliet in the theaters and this set had 31 stamps that will allow you to have loads of fun coordinating gnome images and sentiments.

If you have come here from Kim's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go back to the There She Goes Blog and start from the beginning.

Isn't this little guy cute!!  Just look at that face :)   There are so many fabulous images in this set I had a hard time choosing which one to use!  You can't go wrong with any of them.  This little guy stole my heart for now so I coloured him with Twinkling H2Os and grounded him with a little grass.  

I decided to use Jen's March Sketch For You To Try as I haven't used this month's sketch yet, and as fate would have it, it is another skewed panel LOL!!  As fate was having a fun with me, it hit again with this week's Off The Wall color challenge, but this time is was a wonderful twist of fate :)  The colours are absolutely perfect for gnomes!!  So, one great twist of fate and one skewed twist of fate made their way on to this card.


I outlined my nestie to form the frame around the image and added three half pearls to the top right corner as that spaced needed a little something.  Never know whether to put the sentiment panel straight or skewed on these types of sketches so went with skewed, but am beginning to think straight would have been better?!  What do you "skewed panel experts" do?  I'd love to know!

Do you want to win this set?  All you need to do is go to each of the blogs in the Hop and leave a comment on their My Little Friend post.  Once you have left some love on each of the blogs in the Hop, head on over to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post.  A winner will be randomly chosen to receive their very own My Little Friend stamp set.

The full release party will be held on Saturday, March 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time over on the There She Goes Forum.  Winners of the release preview Blog Hops will also be announced at the Release Party.

Now it's time to hop on over to Melyssa's blog to see what kind of wonderful gnome goodness she has prepared for you.





What's In It?
Stamps: There She Goes - My Little Friends (set of 31 images for $24)
Paper:  Making Memories DP, Real red, Wild Wasabi 
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling  H2Os, Circle and Labels 17 Nesties, Half  Pearls, Dimensionals,

There She Goes Previews - Day 2

Today is day two of the There She Goes April Release Previews.  If you have come from Kim's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.

Chris Dark is the illustrator of the first preview set called Tulip.  I was beyond thrilled when I saw this set because tulips are my favorite flower!!  Her image is wonderfully realistic and I know I'll be using it many times over :)

I coloured my tulip with Twinkling H2Os and used the Just Add Ink sketch from a few week's ago.  Since tulips are a true sign of spring, I decided to go with some lovely pastels.  I scored the white background panel to give it a little something, and though you can't see it in the picture, the saffron panel is some SU DSP with a very subtle pattern on it. 

The rectangle is made from placing two lacy nestie squares together (think Spellbinders needs to put out a lacy rectangle set next!).  I'm happy with the soft feel to this card and can't wait to send it to a friend. Maybe a fellow tulip lover at that :) 

Today we also get to preview a set designed by none other than Jessica Knutsen, owner of There She Goes Stamps herself!!  Jessica has come up with a very fun set called Technology Bytes.  She has covered her bases too!  From cell phones to PCs, and lots of  hilarious sentiments to go with the images in this set.   You'll definitely get a good laugh when you read them.

I used this week's Sweet and Sassy sketch for my second card.  Yes, I know it has a skewed panel....eeeek, what is happening to me LOL!   It had the right size and shape panel I needed to fit the image I wanted to use so I went for it.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it :)

Since I use a PC (though I do dream of owning a laptop some day...),  I opted for this image and just had to use this sentiment because it hits close to home LOL!  The TSG on the screen stands for There She Goes of course :)   Couldn't resist adding that with a little heart next to it.  There are lots of other sentiments that I could have used and can't wait to make another card with this set so I can use some more of them!

Want to win these sets?  All you need to do is leave some love on every blog in the Hop and then go to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of the Technolgy Bytes and Tulip Blog Hop post.  A winner will be randomly chosen.  If you need the master hop list, just pop on over to the There She Goes blog and get it so you don't miss your chance at winning these great sets.

Okay, now it is time to go and check out the fabulous sneak peeks Melyssa has in store for you on her blog.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the last sneak peek - it's adorable!




Tulip Card
What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Tulips (set of 8 stamps for $7)
Paper: Pretty In Pink, Cool Caribbean, So Saffron DSP
Ink: Black
Accessories: Lacey Nestie Squares, SU Scalloped Oval and Large Oval Punches, Scor-Pal, Twinkling H2Os, 5/8" Blue Satin Ribbon, Button, Glue Dot, Bling, Dimensinoals


Computer Card
What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Technology Bytes(set of 20 stamps for $18)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, DSP
Ink: Black
Accessories:  SU Scalloped Border Punch, Scalloped Square and Square Nesties, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8" Satin Saffron Ribbon, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals, Mini Heart Punch, Stickles, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

There She Goes Previews - Day 1

Today is the first day of April's There She Goes release sneak peaks.  I am so excited to be a part of April's release and blog  hop as a There She Goes Guest Trendie :)    

If you have come here from Tobi's blog you are right on track.  If you have tripped across the hop by visiting my blog, you can go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.  If you visit each blog and leave a little love on each one, you could possibly win this set.  

Today's set is called Out of This World and is designed by Melyssa Connolly.  I absolutely fell in love with this totally adorable little space creature the moment I saw him (or her if you like).  I mean who can resist the cuteness of that face!!

I used this week's Flourishes sketch, flipped it, and combined it with the Just Add Ink colour challenge as the colours were perfect for this little alien :)

I coloured him with my Twinkling H2O's -- where are Copics when you need them!! -- and had great
fun pulling out my Spots and Dots embossing folder (which I haven't used forever) as it reminded me of the moon's terrain.  A few half pearls to make his eyes stand out a bit more as well as a few black accents and this little guy is ready to worm his way into somebody's heart.

Do you want to win this set?  Simply go to each of the blogs on the hop and leave them some love under the Out of This World post.  Once you have commented on every blog in the Hop, simply go to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post.  If you need the master Hop List, simply go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.  The winner will be announced Saturday, March 26th, during the Release Party.

Thanks for popping in today :)  Be sure to come back tomorrow, as I'll be previewing not one, but two new sets!




What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Out of This World (set of  19 stamps for $18)
Paper:  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Kraft, Black
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling H2Os, Crimper, Dots and Spots Embossing Folder, Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Scor-Pal, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Getting My Diva On

March's Get Your Diva On challenge on SCS is being sponsored by Verve Diva Tosh.  Her challenge is to use neutrals on your card (white, ivory, gray, black, brown) and a splash of colour.  The winner of the challenge gets the wonderful honor of being a Guest Diva at the next Verve release.   

I pulled out some black and cream DP from of my slowly dwindling Costco DP stash and went to work using the first Verve sketch for March.  The sentiment just seemed to fit the card and I could use two colours on it so it was a perfect fit.  The flower is a tissue flower I made using a scalloped circle punch and eight layers of red tissue paper.  Thankfully I had some in my stash as the DP called for a "soft" embellishment.  All you need to do to make the flower is layer all the punched scallops, put a brad in the middle, scrunch each layer of tissue toward the middle one layer at a time, and then unfold the layers until you get your desired "poofiness".  A few half pearls finished things off  nicely. 

Spring Break has now begun so kids and I get to hang out together for two weeks.  Our school district is waaaaay over crowded so they are taking a two week Spring Break to save money.  Off to visit friends, go swimming, have a jammie day or two , visit the Aquarium and Science World and do a Spring Clean (kids are going to groan when they hear that last one LOL!).

Feels wonderful to get inky and be able to post a bit more again.  Therapy for the soul :)  Have a fabulous day and thanks for sharing a part of yours with me today.






What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Love's Flower
Paper: Costco DP, Real Red, Vanilla
Ink: Black, Real Red
Accessories: Scalloped Circle Punch, Red Tissue Paper, Brad, SU Border Punch, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Mustang Sarah's Birthday and Blogaversary Blog Hop

Today, I have the great pleasure of helping Sarah (aka Mojo Maker and MustangSarah on SCS) celebrate her birthday and blog anniversary.   Happy Birthday, Sarah!!  Hoping you get spoiled rotten on your special day :)

As part of her celebrations, Sarah is hosting a challenge on her blog and there are prizes to be won -- Verve prizes!!  It doesn't get any better than that in my books!

Simply create a card using this sketch and link it back to Sarah's blog for a chance to win.  In addition, one comment will be randomly selected from somewhere along the blog hop to win a prize.  Check out Sarah's blog for all the details.

Noted below is the Birthday and Blogaversary Hop List.  Lots of wonderful ladies paying tribute to Sarah's special weekend.  Ready to hop??!!  Here we go!!

1. Sarah
2. Teresa
3. Wanda 
4. Debbie
5. Tosha
6. Stephanie
7. Julee
8. Betty
9. Marisa  (you are here)
10. Andrea
11. Lynda
12. Charmaine
13. Keva
14. Amy

Thanks for joining in our celebrations for Sarah.  Have a fabulous weekend everyone, especially you, Sarah (((hugs)))!!

What's In It?
Stamps: (Verve) Wishing You, (PTI) Turning a New Leaf
Paper: Regal Rose, Early Espresso, So Saffron, American Crafts DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Romance
Accessories: Martha Stewart Butterfly Punches, SU Scalloped Border Punch, Mike's $1.50 Flower Punch, 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Button, Blue Dot, Half Pearls

Inkspriations Colour Challenge #62

Another fabulous colour combination by Keesh this week for us to play with.  Just love the way the espresso pops against the other colours.  That being said, I don't have any Daffodil Delight so I had to substitute with So Saffron, but I think it worked out wonderfully.

I combined this week's colours with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.  It was such a fun sketch with the circle inside the square so I just had to try it.  I had the perfect American Crafts Enchanted DP with all the right colours, but it ended up being mostly covered up with only a few flowers showing  :(

The flower was a nightmare, as I made it myself, and have consequently vowed to never do that again without the proper die and quilling tool.  Lesson learned!!

As I slowly crawl back into my stamping saddle after six weeks of limited stamping, my ever trusty Swiss Dots crutch was there to help me.  It's like putting on an old pair of jeans that fit just right LOL!  A bit of foliage for the flower, a few half pearls (which I will be hoarding as Michael's is no longer carrying them - eeeek!!) and I was good to go.

Enough about my woes!  The Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.  

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

In addition, each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card spotlighted so come and play along :)

Thanks for stopping in today and I hope to be back sooner than later, but Spring Break with the kids home 24/7 may spoil with my plans.  Have a fabulous weekend!

What's In It?

Stamps:  (Verve) Big Wish, (SU) French Script Background 
Paper:  Regal Rose, So Saffron, Early Espresso, American Crafts Enchanted DP

Ink: VersaMark

Accessories:  Lacey Circle, Circle and Labels 4 Nesties, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Marvy Flower Punch, Martha Stewart Punch, Brown Ribbon, Double Sided Sticky Tape, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!  I am far from Irish, but have several Irish friends and three friends with birthdays on St. Patrick's Day!  Makes me wonder what was in the water nine months prior LOL!

This card is my blogging buddy Maureen's birthday card.  Happy Birthday, Maureen (((hugs)).   Since I was late in getting the card made and in the mail, I'm giving it to you via cyber world first :)   You'll be able to extend your birthday celebrations a little longer as it won't get to you for a few days - or however long Canada Post decides to take!

I used this week's Verve sketch for Maureen's card as it is her sketch :)  After I forgave her for adding a skewed panel to the sketch (her birthday card was in serious jeopardy LOL!), and began working with the sketch, I actually found it rather easy to work with...gasp!  Maybe it is because I basically cased her sketch ;o) 

My shamrock is made from three hearts with French Script stamped over them, and the olive paper has a Studio G shamrock stamped all over it.  Absolutely love the polka dotted Pebbles DP I found at a local scrapbooking store.  Will go back for another few sheets I think!

Speaking of shamrocks, the darn bunny that chewed my crocuses down to dirt level better have a lucky four leaf clover somewhere on hand or he will be on the dinner table shortly!!  I love crocuses and to not have any blooming in my garden this year makes me M-A-D mad!!!   Maybe the kids have it right, feed him carrots so he isn't hungry and won't eat your flowers.

Sorry....I regressed!  Many happy returns to Maureen, Colleen and Heather on your birthday (and anybody else who pops in here whose birthday is today).  Hope you have a fabulous day getting spoiled by family and friends :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Amuse, Studio G, (SU) French Script Background
Paper:  Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, Black, Pebbles DP
Ink: VersaMark, Black
Accessories:  PTI Medium Scallop Die, Marvy Heart Punch, Button, Twine, 5/8" White Satin Ribbon, Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Flowers and Polka Dots Oh My!!

Yeah!!!! I've finally finished my work for hubby so I get to play in my craft area again!!  It feels wonderful and yet a bit strange at the same time.  However, I'm thinking I can alleviate that issue pretty quickly LOL!

That being said, it has been a sloooow go getting the old mojo back up and running.  Kind of like when you turn on the car and all you hear is whaaaaow, whaaaow, whaaaow and then silence.  So, what better place to rev up the old mojo than a sketch challenge, and this week's There She Goes sketch is where I'm starting off this week. 

I combined the sketch with last week's Color Q challenge (late again...).  Some pretty bright colours, but I just love orange and blue together so gave it a whirl.  With flowers never far from my  mind, I used the There She Goes Polka Dot Blooms set.  Needless to say, I was doing a happy dance when I first saw this set because I love flowers and polka dots and this set has them both :) 


As an aside, TSG has a giveaway for this challenge.  All you need to do is create a card that uses the sketch, and add it to the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post.  If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG98.  The challenge is open until the winner has been announced on Monday (Mar 21st). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store! TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)   By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday.  


Thanks for your patience with my minimal posting the past six weeks :)   I'm going to be stamping up a storm this week and hopefully getting my mojo back in full swing so I can post daily.  That being said, the kids are off for a two week Spring Break as of next Monday (21st) so that may derail my best laid plans once again, but I'll do my best to post as often as I can over those two weeks. 

Have a wonderful day (((hugs)))!







What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Polka Dot Blooms
Paper: Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, Blue, Black
Ink: Bliss Blue
Accessories: Circle Punches, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder, Crimper, SU Scalloped Border Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Crimper, Polka Dotted Ribbon, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #61

Keesh has designed and other wonderful sketch this week and I combined it with a Color Throwdown challenge from a few weeks back that I had wanted to play along with but didn't have the time to.  Love both of these challenges and think I'll use them both again in the future :)

My longing for Spring continues so out came my SU butterfly die - still love it as much as I did when I first got it!  I paired it with the Martha Stewart Daisy border punch - flowers and butterflies just go together LOL!

The brown panel has French Script VersaMarked on it but doesn't show up too well in the picture, sorry!  Added lots of half pearls, maybe even a few too many... but I couldn't come up with anything else in lieu of the white ones on the brown panel.  Any comments and/or ideas are welcome : )   In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have done some piercing around the scalloped circle to add a little something to all that white. Think I"ll go back and give it a try.  Sorry to not have had the time to do it and rephotograph and post it for today...life is still crazy busy

Enough of my woes LOL!  The Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.  

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

In addition, each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to have you come and play along :).

Hoping...fingers, toes, arms, legs and eyes crossed...that I'll have my job for hubby all finished up this weekend so I can play, play, play in my stamp room next week, especially in lieu of the fact that the last two weeks of March the kids have their Spring Break, which means we are out and about doing things.  Maybe I should just aim for April...NOT!!

Take care and hope to be back very soon :)

What's In It?

Stamps:  (SU) French Script
Paper: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Early Espresso,  Kraft

Ink: VersaMark

Accessories: Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Stampin' Up Sizzex Butterfly Die, Martha Stewart Daisy Border Punch, Crimper, Half Pearls, DImensionals