In My Beautiful Balloon....A Moxie Fab World Challenge

I don't know why I am crafting right now. The baby didn't sleep at all last night, and Dylan came home from school mid morning not feeling well, but when I saw this challenge over at the Moxie Fab World, I just couldn't resist playing along. It's all about hot air balloons, and there are some mighty cute cards along with some super fun images....so go check it out!

I only had one problem. I do not own one hot air balloon stamp. Not one. I know this might come as a shock to many of you who know of my stamp collection, but there ya have it; and item I do not own. How in the world was I going to play along with this challenge?So as you can see, I had to get a little creative. Or inventive, as Cath said on the challenge post! Usually when I have to get inventive with something, it takes me a while to come up with what I want to do, but this time around, I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish.

Over the past couple of days, I have been really into stamping in a rainbow spectrum of colors. I have seen this tactic many different times on various blogs and in magazines, but never really thought of it as my style. But the other day I tried it, and I loved the result that I had (I have several 'rainbow' cards to post over the next number of days~!) so I thought I would give it a try for this challenge with the balloons. I love how it turned out!

I even braved the POURING rain to take the picture outside.....I only will o that for cards that I really love! Otherwise they have to wait for a nicer day!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Supplies:

Circle Circus Stamp Set by Stampin UP

Sentiment by Rosie's Roadshow

Cherry Cobler, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Certainly Celery, and Tempting Turquoise Ink by Stampin Up

Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

Whisper White and Basic Black Card Stock by Stampin UP

Black Divine Twine by Wisker Graphics, Rhinestones by Stampin Up, Corner Chomp, Dimensionals, Two Way Glue Pen

Just to Share

My messy craftiness!

Oh, goodness, me! I came down to attempt to put some clear PTI stamps away tonight, but the problem was they were sitting on my computer desk, as you can see in the first picture,(usually I try to keep my craft stuff off my computer desk, but it just so happened not to be the case today) and then I decided to check my email. After responding to some PTA emails that had to be attended to, I decided to blog hop a bit and ended up over at Kristina Werner's blog. I am so happy I landed there tonight! She is a crafter after my own heart! I'm not the only one!

Let me tell you folks, I love to paper craft, and it seems like it is only as I am creating something that my mind thinks of ideas for the next card or project! Sometimes I even begin making a new card before the one I'm working on is finished....just so I don't lose the idea! I know, it's crazy, but what's a girl to do.

After reading Kristina's post, I decided that I would snap a few pics of my craft room, just as it is. Yes, folks, even the cupboard doors were open. The only things I changed or moved were a couple of card that are needing to be sent in for publication, so I had to move/hide them so that they would not be in the pictures....and wouldn't break my contracts! But besides that, this is exactly how things look!

The saddest part about all of this, is that this past weekend I spent hours cleaning out my craft cubbies(you can see them in the following pic), but mostly I was just going through paper. I got rid of a bunch, recycled a ton of scraps, and have a stack of brand new, never opened packets of card stock that I am going to be either selling for super cheap or giving away at my next card class!Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Happy Easter - A SPCC Color Challenge

Here's an Easter card I made a few days ago. I used this color combo from the SPCC Color Challenge Blog.

I just love these little birds....and I have tons of fun ideas for them! I thought they would make a cute Easter card. They are quite versatile, I think!

I've been waiting for a nice day to snap a picture of it outside, but it seems that Spring just doesn't want to let me do that! It's been rainy and cold for the past number of days......not at all like it was towards the end of last week when we had temps in the mid 60's! So I finally caved and took the pic inside just so I could get the card up on the blog!

I've been doing a bit of stamping here and there over the past few days.....I've been going back and forth between making holiday and Christmas Cards, (because I know that the next PC call will be for those).....and spring card cards, because, well it's SPRING!

Hoping to get a bit more stamping in tomorrow, because as of Friday the kiddos are on Spring Break, so I know I won't get much accomplished while they are home....but we'll have fun, and that's what counts!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Supplies:

River Rock and Whisper White Card Stock by Stampin UP

Perfect Plum and Melon Mambo Dye Ink by Stampin UP

Bird Image Stamps from Togetherness Icons stamp set by Unity Stamp Company

Happy Easter by Savvystamps

Melon Mambo Polka Dot Ribbon by Stampin Up

Grass Edge Punch by Martha Stewart Crafts

Hello Flower

Happy Saturday Morning!

Usually I don't post on weekends.....at least I don't think I do. Too much going on with the family......but all the boys, Kerry included have been a bit obsessed with a particular video game, and have been down here playing it all together, and Kellan has been occupied as well, so I decided to come down and stamp a bit.

I tried making a Christmas Card today, knowing that the next Paper Crafts Call will most likely be for Holiday cards. I don't know if I am in the mood for Christmas at the moment. It seems like in the past few days, Spring has finally hit us; the trees are just beginning to bud out with flowers and all the spring bulbs are making an appearance as well.

The card I posted here today, was yet another reject from the Stamp It PC call.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Stamping On Inchies

Hello there-

Happy Friday to y'all!

Here is a card I wanted to share that I sort of CASE'd from a local stamp store in my area. The little white squares are called Inchies. They are little one inch squares of of mat board, and are so much fun to stamp on and use on cards.

Gonna keep this short.....I'm trying to get a lot done today, as I'm helping out with a baby shower for a friend, and I need to make the dessert, wrap up some prizes, and I wanted to see if I could get a set of thank you cards done for the guest of honor to add to her gift!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

A Card To Post

Hi!

I know I haven't' posted in quite a few days. Just been busy with life, and trying to get my cards ready for the Paper Crafts Stamping Royalty Contest. Got them in the mail yesterday, so it's out of my hands now! Whew!

This card was one that I was going to submit for the Stamping Royalty Contest, but didn't, because at the last minute, I went on FB and saw a post on Paper Crafts page about some rules for the contest that I was not aware of. The rule that I didn't know about had to do with any of the cards submitted for the contest could not have been submitted at any time for publication submissions. I had about 10 cards that I was going to submit to the contest that indeed had been submitted for publication, but were rejected. That really narrowed down the cards that I sent in....but it saved me a little on postage!!!

I have been stamping a lot over the past month getting ready for this contest, and for publication calls as well. I have a bunch of cards that I either did not submit, or were rejected, so come stop back by, as I will be posting them like crazy over the next couple of weeks!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

More Party Hats

Since I have started submitting cards for publication....I have become quite disorganized. I don't know how this has happened. Most likely due to the fact that my craft room has never quite been cleaned out and re-organized from taking out my HUGE stamping cabinet last summer.

I'm desperately trying to keep everything straight. I have piles of cards for submissions, cards that are going to be published that I need to send in, cards that were not picked up that I want to submit to other publications, cards to post here on my blog, cards that have been posted on my blog that I want to teach/use for my card class, and finally my boxes of cards that once they have been around everywhere else, find thier resting place in the 'cards to send out' box. Whew!

That was long winded. I made this card some time ago, when I was really getting into the party had thing. I think I was going to use this card for some PTI challenge, but then never got around to submitting it in time. So here it is!

Just finished card class for the night, and I'm going to go try to spend a little time with the boys before they get into bed.....they don't have school tomorrow, so at least we can have a lazy morning!

Anyone out there have any great ideas for organizing all their cards? I'm thinking there has to be a better way.......the thing is, I believe the answer is that I need to stop creating for a bit and focus on getting organized.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Twice Rejected!

This poor card!

I know it's not the most exciting card in the world....masculine cards are a true challenge for me! I submitted it for publication two times, and it did not get picked up either time, so I figured it was time to post it here!

Apparently this one did not have the Luck 'O the Irish! I did however find out today that one of my Halloween cards was picked up by Paper Crafts for their Sept/Oct Issue. So excited!

Hope you all are having a great St. Patty's Day!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Moxie Fab The Cityscapes Are On the Rise Challenge

Oh what a fun challenge! I just had to play along with this Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World. You should check it out, as Cath has put together a delightful array of cityscapes to look at for inspiration. Also, be sure to see what other creative minds have come up with for this challenge. I took a look myself this afternoon, and there are some REALLY cute cards out there, folks!

Well, here's my card for the challenge!

I had a lot of fun with this card. I knew as soon as I first saw the challenge that I wanted to use these houses from Memory Box. They are so fun and cute! I made a little scene using them along with the little tree and fence....so fun! I colored it all in with Copics and a couple of Stampin' Write Markers too, and then put it on dimensionals and stuck it over the top of the city buildings I created with textured card stock in various blue colors, making the windows on the skyscrapers with a blender pen in some Marina Mist ink. I added some clouds to the card base, threw everything else on, and lastly added the little banner between the two taller houses using some Divine Twine and some Pumpkin Pie and Pear Pizzaz card stock!

I have to say I had a ton of fun making this card.....it is totally what I needed to get me back into the swing of stamping for fun since I have been so busy with stamping for publication submissions......

Gonna run....the baby just woke up and needs to get back to sleep. Someone forgot to give Kellan the memo about daylight savings time. Needless to say he's had a bit of a rough day with waking up and napping.

Can I just say I am SO NOT a fan of daylight savings time? This has to be my least favorite day of the entire year. Don't get me wrong, I love having it be lighter out later, but do we have to switch back and forth every six months? Maybe I just need to move to Arizona. Oh well!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Colorful Lanterns

Okay, here is the last of the rejects from the Go To Sketches submissions. I only submitted 5 cards total, and two of them I am going to submit elsewhere, so I can't show them here....at least not yet.

I liked this card with all the colorful lanterns, but I now realize that it is really tough to see the sentiment on the patterned paper....oh well!

I am pre-posting this, so it's going to be real short. I've been working a bunch on Halloween cards, which seems CRAZY with spring quickly approaching, but I've managed to make a few cute spring cards as well. Hopefully I'll get to share those with you real soon!

Hope you are having a fabulous day.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Another Sketches Reject

I can't believe it's been a week since I have posted.
It's just been a super busy week, and I haven't been feeling that great to top things off.
Here is another card I made for the Paper Crafts Go To Sketches call, that didn't get picked up.

I have to laugh at myself sometimes. I thought this card was really great when I made it. And then I submitted it and it didn't get picked up, and now that I look at it again, I can see why. It's a nice card, but not one of my favorites, and there's really nothing about it that stands out.

I have a few others that were rejected from this call, that I think I am going to submit to some other publications and/or contests....and it they don't get picked up, then I shall share them here on the good ol' blog.

Gonna keep this short as I came down to do a bit of cleaning in my craft room. I made some cards for the Sep/Oct Paper Crafts call last night, and I was literally trying to stamp and craft in about a 3 inch square area of table. I'm not real good at putting things away when I'm done, due to either the fact that while I am currently working on a particular card, an idea for another card pops into my head and I want to create it before it leaves me, or that the baby woke up, or is awake and is now attempting to get into all things crafty, which is not good. So I told myself that before I make anything else, that I need to do a bit of housekeeping in craft land!

Hope you all are having a fabulous Friday, and have a great weekend as well!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

A 'Go-to-Sketches' Reject and a confession

Where do I begin?

I was so excited a month ago, when 3 of my cards were picked up by Paper Crafts for their Stamp It Cards publication. I thought I had finally hit the mark. I had finally arrived. My first attempt at submitting for publication, and I was picked up. I must be an amazing crafter.

Well, God, by way of Paper Crafts, sure has a way of knocking me back to reality. I think I got a bit of a big head about myself, and thought that from now on, if I kept submitting, that each time at least something of mine would get chosen.

Well, I was wrong. None of the cards I submitted to the 'Go to Sketches' call were chosen. I was really bummed about it yesterday, but today I have a new perspective on the situation. I think that it is so easy for me to forget the main reason why I make cards: I love to do it. It brings me such joy, and is a huge stress reliever for me. I needed to be reminded of this. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Thank you, God for helping me to remember.

With all that said, I wanted to share one of the cards that got rejected. It's funny how my perspective has changes in the past day about the cards I submitted. I thought this card in particular was so AMAZING! And now that I look at it, I think it's a nice card, but nothing extraordinary. I'm just exited to have found a place to share it.

Also, I now have a new 'label' or category for my posts.......'publication rejects', and that's kinda exciting!

A final thought, if you all will indulge me....submitting cards for publication is a lot like life. There are ups and downs. You win some and you lose some. But in the end the race is with yourself. Does what you do make you happy? Does it encourage, inspire and lift up those around you? Do you try to do better than you did before? If you can answer yes to these questions, I think you are on the right track.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day.

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trgger in Yellow

Hi all-

Gonna keep this short, it's Friday night, and we spent the evening playing games with the boys. They are all now in their pajamas watching Spongebob, trying to wind down, and I came down to pay some bills online, and realized that I had not yet posted the card that I had made a few days ago, for the Tuesday Trigger Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World. (Mostly because when I looked at the card to photograph it, there were some changes I wanted to make to it, but I just haven't found the time. Anyway.

Here's the Trigger Pic,

And here's the card:

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Moxie Fabin' It With Decorative Tape

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

I actually got some time to stamp yesterday, and was able to make a few cards for a couple of Moxie Fab Challenges that are going on right now.

This card is for the 'Get Daring with Decorative Tape' Challenge.

I found this decorative tape deep in one of my drawers of ribbon, and thought that I would use it. It's from Martha Stewart Crafts. I like the sky blue with the poppy color. I think they work well together. I started out making a card that looked a bit different in my mind, but this is what it turned out to be like. Sometimes I guess cards just take on a life of their own!

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Supplies:
Poppy Parade Card Stock by Stampin Up
Whisper White Craft Ink by Stampin Up
Decorative Tape from Martha Stewart Crafts
Flower and Thanks stamps by Impress
Rhinestones by Stampin' UP

Moxie Fab World Paper Piecing Challenge

Hi all!

Happy March to everyone! It doesn't feel much like March here, we just got finished with about a week of below freezing temps and snow, but it's supposed to be in the 40's now......oohhh, balmy!

Here's the card I made for the Moxie Fab World Paper Piecing Challenge.

I made this card last night while submitting my entries for the Paper Crafts Go to Sketches call. I only submitted 5 cards, so we'll see if any of them get picked up! If not, I will have some fun stuff to share in the coming days!

I've been having so much fun with these little poofy flowers from Martha Stewart Crafts. And I just can't get enough of this Memory Box Paper either. I used it about a week ago or so to make my niece's birthday card, and just love the pink and green combo, so I thought it would make a cute pieced cake as well.

Gonna keep this short.....the kids all went back to school yesterday after having a week off for mid-winter break, and now I finally feel like I am able to get my house clean! But who knows, if the baby goes down for a good nap, I might have to stamp! Spoken like a true craft addict, eh?

Hope the beginning of March is treating all of you well.

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Supplies:

Whisper White Card Stock by Stampin' UP

Whisper White Textured Card Stock by Stampin' UP

Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

Bake Me a Cake Clear Stamp Set by Lawn Fawn Stamps

Happy Birthday stamp from Handwritten notes by Papertrey ink

Memory Box Patterned Paper from the Pixie Collection

Rhinestones by Kaiser

Flower Stickers by Martha Stewart Crafts

Dimensionals by Stampin UP