Creating a Sweet Sunday Sketch For Fun

So nice to be able to play along with Karen's Sweet Sunday sketch this week.  I have been a fan of her sketches for a long time now and it is wonderful to have the time to play along this week :)

I combined her sketch with the CR84FN colour challenge and A La Card challenge to use nature on your card.  Just love the colour pallet Mona chose for this week - they make my heart sing :)   If you have been around my blog at all you know I love green and these neutrals are right up my alley too :)


I found this great Echo Park DP on clearance at an LSS (it is the flip side of some icky Halloween paper!) and paired it with Early Espresso and Kraft.  The colours scream nature to me and since leaves were the first thing that came to mind out came my Studio G leaf image again - love this image :)   A few embossed panels, buttons, cut out leaves and I was good to go.

It was so fun to sit and create all by my lonesome today.  The quiet was blissful LOL!  Kids are in school, job for hubby is done, and I have some time all to myself after two months of craziness.  Happy sigh :)

Thanks for joining me today.  Hope to be back tomorrow with another card.



What's In It?
Stamps: (Verve) Wishing You, Studio G

Paper: Kraft, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso
Ink: Garden Green, Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Modern Garland Punch, Swiss Dots and Distressed Stripes Embossing Folders, Scalloped Circle Nesties, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Limelight Sketch

This week's Limelight sketch challenge is to make a birthday card using this sketch. 

The sketch served as my card inspiration, and though it was a basic sketch, the juices were not flowing well today so it took a lot longer than I thought it would.  Hate days like that.  Think this mommy needs some serious mommy time after a very busy past few weeks.

I jumped at the chance to use my Verve Great Friend flowers as you can layer them so nicely.  I tried a few different DPs but it wasn't working for me so I kept the layers solid colours and just swiss dotted the layers.  I hand cut a few leaves and scored the backs of them with my stylus to create some veins.  I really wish I had some wider moss coloured ribbon but no such luck so I had to settle for the narrow version instead.  Everything is popped up on and the sentiment balanced things off nicely.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend and thanks for sharing a tiny bit of it with me today :)



What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Great Friend, (SU) Best Yet

Paper:  American Crafts DP, Early Espresso, Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
Ink: Rose Romance, Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  1/4" Moss Grosgrain Ribbon, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, SU Border Punch, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #64

I just love this colour combination.  Makes me think of Fall and since we haven't really had Spring yet that is fine by me LOL! 

I used this week's Techno Stamper Lunchtime Sketch since I wanted to use leaves and the circle was perfect for what I needed.  The leaf image is from a Studio G Stamp I got at Michael's last year and still love using.

I embossed the vanilla panel with the distressed stripes embossing folder, swiss dotted the mustard panel to go with the dots on the leaves (any excuse will do LOL!) and added French Script to the poppy panel - though it is hard to see in the picture.  A touch of brown ribbon as a neutral and a itsy bitsy cheat by using a piece of kraft for the sentiment panel.  

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 :).

Thanks for stopping in today.  Off to take my daughter and son to a birthday party at the pool so they will have load of fun and I get to chat up a storm with the moms - sounds like a good afternoon to me :)  Have a fabulous weekend!

What's In It?

Stamps:  Studio G, (SU)French Script Background Stamp
Paper: Poppy Parade, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Vanilla, Kraft

Ink:  More Mustard, Rudy Red

Accessories: Distressed Stripes and Swiss Dots Embossing Folders, Circle and Scalloped Circle Nesties,  Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Half Pearls, 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

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