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

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #60

Absolutely love this colour combination and will definitely be using it again!  As time was  limited this week and my mojo wondered off to play in the sunshine, I literally "cased" last week's Stamping 411 sketch, image and all....almost crimped the bottom panel too LOL!

I just love this image from Thoughts and Prayers, even though I have to ink it up with my spots as I don't have markers.  Despite the fussiness of the inking up, the final image always brings a smile to my face as it has such a wonderful feel and flow to it.

I used my scalloped square nesties for the rectangle.  Just punched out two squares and joined them together to make a rectangle.  Hoping a lacy rectangle is in the works for a future release as I would snap that one up in an instant.  A bit of ruffled ribbon, my Swiss Dots crutch, and some butterflies to balance off the saffron and I was good to go :)

The rest of the Design Team has some great inspiration to get you going on this week's sketch.

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.  These colours look fabulous together so I hope you can squeeze in a bit of time to join us this week.

Have a fabulous weekend :)

What's In It?

Stamps: (Stampin' Up!) Thoughts and Prayers, My Sentiments Exactly

Paper: Rose Red, Wild Wasabi

Ink: Garden Green, Rose Red

Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Lacey Square Nesties, 5/8" Satin Saffron Ribbon, Black Half Pearls, Dimensinoals

Mojo Monday Gets Trendie

I combined this week's Mojo Monday sketch and the CR84FN inspiration challenge.  I just love the colour combination of the inspiration picture, and it is perfect for turning one's thoughts to Spring, especially after the 3 inches of snow we got this past weekend.  It came and went in a day - one of the benefits of living on the West Coast near the water - so it was short lived.  However, I must say it was nice to have the frozen version of water rather than the liquid one for a change LOL! 

I opted for the square version of the sketch this time as I wanted to use this gorgeous sweet pea image from There She Goes.  I coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and used a heart in lieu of the circle in the sketch.  Due to the lovely soft feel of the inspiration pictures, sheer ribbon was my ribbon of choice.  Not totally sold on the button by the sentiment, but something was needed near the sentiment panel and after multiple attempts at what should go there, I settled on the button.  Darn decision making process on the placement and type of embellishments took me longer than the actual card!  It was just one of those indecisive days I guess.

It was great fun to get inky again and a wonderful little break from working for hubby, though I can definitely tell I'm not in my craft room as much as I usually am because the old mojo is harder to start up.  Or maybe it's simply due to my still recovering from skewed panelitis LOL!

Have a wonderful day :)






What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Sweet Peas
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Magenta, Girl's Paperie DP
Ink: Black
Accessories: 5/8" Pink Sheer Ribbon, Scalloped Heart Nesties, SU Border Punch, Twinkling H2Os, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Color Dare 99

Color Dare 99

Marina Mist

Cherry Cobbler

Basic Grey

This is my last Color Dare Design Team card.  My six month term has come to an end all to quickly.  I wish to thank Riley for this wonderful opportunity.  I have truly enjoyed myself and accumulated some wonderful colour combinations :)   

This week's colours are no exception.  Riley came up with another wonderful masculine colour combination, but I decided not to go that route as I did a masculine card with last week's colours.  My card is not overly feminine and a bit on the dramatic side, but a lovely colour combination none-the-less.  

I used last week's Clean and Simple layout and cheated a bit by adding black as an accent colour as it gave the bit of punch I needed.  Basically kept to the sketch and pulled out the matching nestie, one I got a while back and have not used much yet.  The sentiment, Phillipians 4:13, is from Verve, and I framed it with some flowers.  My ribbon came from a Michaels' ribbon bin diving adventure and isn't as dark as Basic Grey (I'm being a real rebel on my last card LOL!), but it still works nicely with the colours.


The rest of the Team has lots of inspiration for you.  You can check out their creations here:

• Glenda Wyatt at Paper, Scissors, Rocks 
• Heater Prince at Princess Scrapper Stamper
• Joan Jeffery at JJ's Creations
• Melissa Hubert at My Paper Obsession
• Nance Lempinen-Leedy at Canopy Crafts
• Riley Fitzgerald at Stampin' With Riley  (our leader)

We'd love you to join us!  Simply create a card using this week's colours and add your card to InLinkz on the The Colour Dare Blog.  If  you are uploading to a public gallery, please make sure to use the keyword CD99.   Each week, Riley will select a Featured Stamper and showcase your card on her blog.

Thanks for stopping by and joining me in these challenges. It has been a delight to see your creations.  Though I won't be on the Design Team after this week's Dare, I'm sure I'll be popping in and enjoying a few of the challenges along the way.  Have a fabulous day :)






What's In It?
Stamps: (Verve) Plain Jane Phillipians 3:14
Paper: Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
Ink: Black
Accessories: Nesties Label 10, Marvy Flower Punch, Grey Striped Ribbon, Black Half Pearls, SU Scalloped Border Punch

I'm Getting Trendie

I have had to keep this news under my hat for way too long and it feels good to finally be able to spill the beans! 

I have the wonderful privilege of being a Guest Trendie for There She Goes Stamps for the months of March and April!  I am so excited to have this opportunity, and quite honestly a little intimidated, to be working alongside such an amazing group of talented ladies.  Check out the There She Goes blog for a peek at all the wonderful stampers on Jessica's team.

I'll be back with more information on challenges etc. as they come up. Until then, happy stamping :)

Inkspirations Sketch Challnege

I had a lot of fun with this sketch.  Most likely due to the fact that there were  no skewed panels to deal with LOL.  Some nice straight lines, just the way I like it, and thus the card came together quickly.  

I combined the sketch with last week's Color Throwdown as I had the perfect piece of DP I could use (another bit of my Costco pack used up - yeah!!).  I also pulled out Verve's Petals and Stems, the very first Verve flower set I bought a few years back.  It's such a fun image, the flowers are easy to cut out and I still love using it to this day :)

My crimper was calling my name again, so I crimped the horizontal panels, added some ruffled ribbon at the base of the flowers as "grass" with a bit of a punched border and some buttons to finish things off.  Another card to remind me Spring is on its way, and reminding I need!  We are in a deep freeze here on the West Coast (well for us anyway!).  Hitting -12C to -15C tonite with the wind chill - brrr!!!  I will no doubt lose a few of the plants in my garden with those temps.  Haven't gone anywhere without a warm drink in my hands the last few days as I am a total wimp in the cold!  Even the cat won't go outside LOL!

The rest of the Design Team has some great inspiration to get you going on this week's sketch.

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 featured, so please do come and join us this week so we can see your take on the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you neck of the woods is warmer than mine!

What's In It?

Stamps: (Verve) Petals and Stems

Paper: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Costco DP

Ink: Old Olive, Ballet Blue

Accessories: Threading Water Border Punch, Crimper, 1/8" Olive Satin Ribbon, Double Sided Sticky Tape, Buttons, Glue Dots, Twine, Dimensionals