Spring Has Sprung

Spring may not officially be here and Southern California may have gotten snow this weekend but I surrounded myself making nothing but Springy colored cards to fight the winter chill. I hadn't used my Silhouette but once so I thought I'd take it out for another round of "What Can Jennifer Make Today". I honestly didn't even pay attention to what images came already downloaded but this awesome bannery one was on there =) Everywhere you turn you can almost definitely see some sort of banner/pennant on a card. It must be the new "in" thing to do.


The thing about the Silhouette that I love is that I can resize the image to whatever size I want. I can also add text to cut out of the selected shape. At first I was going to just stamp the word SPRING with an alphabet set but thought hey if the Silhouette can do it for me I'm all for it!



I attached the banner over just some DMC floss and set it on the card. I couldn't leave just well enough alone so I added the butterfly punch complete with Dazzling Diamonds =)



Hope you enjoy.....Happy Monday!





Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, Sunny Garden DSP
{Extras} DMC Floss, SU! Butterfly punch, Silhouette, Heat & Stick Powder, SU! Dazzling Diamonds

No Sleep and a Card

I woke up entirely too early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So what does one do when they can't sleep? Make cards of course! I have a lot of sketches on my bucket list to do but I decided to do the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge over at Karen Giron's site and upload it so I don't forget (like I do every week)



There aren't too many different colors for St. Patty's day, there's green and um yeah green. In order to mix things up I sponged the scalloped border around the circle to make it just a tad darker. I made the shamrock with the lg. heart punch. Not too much to this one but not bad for early morning =)


Happy Sunday!




Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Old Olive, Whisper White, Brights DSP, Playdate DSP
{Ink} Old Olive
{Stamp} $1 bin at Michaels
{Extras} SU! Lg. heart punch, scallop circle nestabilities die, circle cutter, eyelets

So Super Awesome!

I did it, I got hooked on some other new obsession. First pop-dots, now Crystal Effects...maybe I have a dimensional disorder..haha. I had heard about this stuff but didn't think I'd really use it. WRONG was I. Crystal Effects took this plain card and added a dimension to it. I couldn't get a great picture of how cool it looks in person but if you click on the pic and enlarge it you get a good idea =) It's not perfect so don't look at all the places I went outside of the lines. Now I need to find lots of other images to do this too. Guess what I'll be doing over the weekend? Hehe



Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Old Olive, Whisper White, Play Date DSP
{Ink} SU! Old Olive
{Stamp} SU! Got Treats
{Extras} Crystal Effects, Swirls embossing plate

Why I Am Such a Fan of Stampin' UP!

I know a lot of people might think "sure your a demonstrator and you get a discount, that's why you like SU! products". Actually that's part of it =) the other part is I am so incredibly impressed with the quality of the SU! products. This card is a prime example of my loyalty.



All the paper is SU! and great quality, thick, colorful and best of all the paper colors match the ink colors...no guess work! The stamp image however is non-SU! I bought this image long before I became a demo and just hadn't used it. I had a nudge to make a card with a monkey on it and said this one will work. From far away the image looks ok, but on closer look the image lines are beaded up and just not pretty. I used my blender pens to try to make it look better but the leaves especially look awful. My point here.....Stampin' UP! stamps R-O-C-K! I have never had an image bead up and look like this.



Now my next mission is to look through the Idea Book and find a monkey stamp. Who woulda guessed I needed a monkey stamp?! I'm off my soapbox now =)



Have a great Thursday y'all! C-ya!





Ingredients:
{Paper} Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Play Date DSP
{Ink} Chocolate Chip, Old Olive,

Owl on a Branch

I am determined to use the owl punch. I forever was seeing it in every post I looked at but now that I have it, I don't see it that much. I still think he's a cutie but he always looks so lonely just by himself. I used a branch stamp from an old retired set {Spring Solitude} and pop dotted the leaves so it looked a little 3-Dish.




I've also been seeing twine all over blogland. I cannot find it in sunny Southern California, partly because all our local craft stores are yucky and don't carry a lot of cool new stuff. I made do with braiding twine. I got some ok colors and hopefully I can use it in a few new cards.



Happy Hump Day Everyone! C-Ya!





Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Old Olive, Real Red, Play Date DSP, Ice Cream Parlor DSP
{Stamp} SU! Spring Solitude
{Ink} SU! Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
{Extras} SU! Owl Punch, braiding twine, brads

Holy Moly!!

Look what I found in my comments!



Part of the award is to do the following:
When you receive this award you are to:

1) Thank the person who gave this award to me and link it back to their blog

2) Share 8 things about myself

3) Pass this award to 8 other individuals that I have recently discovered

4) Leave a comment so that they can pass along the recognition!

I must say this is so awesome! It means "other people" read my blog =)

So here goes......

Thank you to Tonya Vander Slice for the award....please check out her super cool blog!

8 Things About Me:

1) I married the most amazing man, he is my best friend and also 22 years older than I am. No one thought we'd make it but we are incredibly happy!

2) I work for the Postal Service in Consumer Affairs. Think of it as the "lost luggage" department of the Post Office....we don't get too many happy customers, but I can't complain because I learn something new everyday.

3) My friend Kristin got me into cardmaking 9 years ago. Her first Christmas card after she got married was handmade....I wanted to do it too......now I'm hooked!

4) I grew up on the Westside of the Central Valley in California. The town I grew up in only had 5,000 people and everyone knew everyone and everything. I left and haven't looked back.

5) My husband's daughter is into cardmaking, I love when she calls because I get to "talk shop" with her. She is very talented and wished she lived closer than 3000 miles away =(

6) We have never lived in the same place longer than 2 years. In the 9 years we've lived together we've lived in 6 different places. I'm very good at We've Moved postcards. Currently we are in Southern California and I'm not a fan of living down here.

7) I love being a mom. I told everyone I knew the second we found out we were going to be parents!

8) I'm a Twi-hard (fan of the Twilight Saga) My coworker got me hooked and I am so Team Edward! The love story is so amazing. The movies don't do the books justice.



So now to pass this award onto:

Vanessa--Vanessa's Card Studio
Terri--Terristamps4U
Tara--Stamp-a-licious
Andrea--Just Because I Love To Play
April--April's Stamping Zone
Naomi--A Stampers Paradise
Alexandra--California Stampin'
Crystal--Crystal's Crafty Creations

The Flu Sucks the Life Outta You

It seems like every blog I follow/stalk, everyone has the flu. I have finally managed to unhinge myself from my bed and got my mojo for cardmaking back =) I think next year I'll be the first in line for the flu shot....



This card sketch is from the Create With Connie and Mary Challenge #138. I used the color scheme from here and I love it! It looked more difficult than what it really became. I didn't do as many layers as usual but a nice way to get back into the groove of things. This cupcake punch is really becoming my favorite thing. I didn't buy the stamp set that went with the punch and I still manage to find cute ways to use it.





Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Tempting Turquoise, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Sunny Garden DSP, Brights DSP
{Ink} SU! Poppy Parade
{Stamps} SU! Afterthoughts
{Extras} SU! Cupcake punch, scallop scissors

Kite, take 2

No post yesterday because I was out having fun. Wanna know what I was doing? I was at the First Day Issue stamp event at the Ronald Regan Presidential Library! I was part of the event, I helped with the cancellation of the stamps....right up my alley =) It was actually a little stressful trying to line up a stamp without a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I sure could've used it!

So onto my card-o-the-day. I just couldn't leave my kite alone. My first try didn't make me happy but this version is much higher on my "I like it" list. Notice the clouds? Those are from the cupcake punch in the Occasions Mini....cute huh?!

It is Friday so I'm off for the last day of the work week and then it's a Hot Wheel event this weekend....my boys are excited so that makes me excited! Have a great weekend....C-ya!


Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Temptine Turquoise, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Ice Cream Parlor DSP, Brights DSP
{Extras} Cupcake punch, Scallop die (Spellbinders), ribbon, dots embossing folder

Simple Tree

I am having a hard time using some of my stamp images in my Valentine Defined set. This tree image and then there's the image of what kinda looks like a branch with hearts...know which one I'm talking about? For the life of me I can't figure out what to do with them.

This card could be used for just about anything. After doing it in pink I thought it would make a simple sympathy card with the right sentiment. For the subtle pink color I sponged Pink Pirouette around the frame causing the tree to be the focus of the card. Since I'm lagging and don't have the Top Note die from SU! I improvised with an image off my Silhouette machine although it really doesn't compare to the Top Note =)

Hope everyone has a Happy Hump Day! C-ya!


Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Whisper White, Pink Pirouette
{Ink} SU! Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip
{Stamp} SU! Valentine Defined
{Extras} Silhouette

Favorite Colors

I think I may have a new favorite color combination. The way Pear Pizzazz can match just about anything is awesome! My new combo is Pink Pirouette and Pear Pizzazz. The two colors are just calming to me. I also love me some flamingos. I paired the Sale-A-Bration Ice Cream Parlor DSP with colors that aren't even in the color scheme. The dots are so subtle that you never know. Have a great Tuesday!



Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette, Ice Cream Parlor DSP
{Ink} SU! Pink Pirouette, Real Red
{Stamp} SU! Love Defined, Soft Swirls (retired)
{Extras} Ribbon, Dots embossing folder

Showing Off My Sewing Skills....

....or lack thereof. The flu is in full effect in our house so no card making happened this weekend but luckily I have a stash of cards I haven't showed yet =)



You know I love the flamingo out of the Love Defined set so be prepared in the next few days to see them =) This card shows of my utter lack of sewing skills. My grandma was a master seamstress but apparently the sewing gene was not passed down to me as you can see. I really did try to make a straight line, after a second of trying I gave up and let the sewing machine have at it. I now believe my sewing machine knows it won't be getting a lot of use.



Ingredients
{Paper} SU! Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Love Impressions DSP
{Ink} SU! Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey
{Stamp} SU! Love Defined
{Extras} SU! Lg Heart Punch, paper sewing machine....helpful if you know how to use it =), Hearts embossing folder

A Whole Lotta Love

Whew it's Friday....finally! Today's card was inspired by one that I saw during Christmas. I helped out with Operation Santa in my department for USPS and this card came in like this but when you opened it there were tons of tiny snowmen....{lightbulb}! I figured this would be cute with a ton of hearts and I was right =) It's one easy peasy card too, just scoring and punching, nothing hard at all. Best thing is it's still an A2 (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) card.

Have a great weekend everyone! C-ya!


Ingredients:
{Paper} SU! Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
{Stamps} Filled With Love, Soft Swirls (retired)
{Ink} Real Red, Pink Pirouette
{Accessories} SU! Lg and Sm Heart punch

Go Fly a Kite

With the wind kicking up here in California, I thought a kite was very appropriate for today's post. I saw a similar card but the kite was made with a die. I heart to stamp dot com with Jen del Muro is where my inspiration really came from. I love her cards but I knew I could make the kite by just looking and configuring a few things, well that and I'm cheap and don't want to buy a die =)

It's not perfect but it's a first attempt. I'll have to try it again and make some adjustments. I do like the colors though....nice and springy bright! Have a great Thursday everyone....the weekend is almost here!!!!! C-ya!

Ingredients:
{Stamp} SU! Fancy Flexible Phrases (Retired)
{Paper} SU! Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Sunny Garden DSP, Brights DSP
{Ink} SU! Tempting Turquoise
{Extras} Cuttlebug, Spellbinders scallop die, ribbon, white gel pen, corner rounder

LEGO cake & Another Sweet Birthday

As promised here is the picture of the LEGO cake.....much better than the cupcake/tree/gumdrop cake. This time it actually looks like a LEGO. The boy was happy too, he has the flu so there is a standstill on eating it, but he loved it and the card too!


Today is another birthday card for an amazing young lady. She turns 18 today and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. She is full of spunk so I thought a little color would be perfect. I love this set but I haven't used it a lot. Have sets like that? Think your going to use them a lot and then don't? I love these colors though, so bright and fun....screams teenager!

Alright everyone have a Happy Hump Day.....C-ya!


Ingredients:
{Stamps} SU! Got Treats
{Paper} SU! Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
{Ink} SU! Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
{Extras} Versamark Pen, Pink Embossing Powder, Cricut (circles), ribbon, eyelets

Time Flies

7 years ago today I became a mom for the first time...my baby boy was born at 5:36pm. I haven't slept the same since =) Today is his day so I'm making a LEGO cake (hopefully it will turn out better than my cupcake wanna be) and this is the card I made for him. I'm really starting to like my owl punch although he does take some time. I hope he likes it....he's like his dad, he'll say he loves it to spare my feelings....I love my boys! I'm off to make a cake, have a great Tuesday!!!

C-Ya!

No Ingredients today...special card =)