Fall Birthday

This week at Cooking It Up With Katie challenge #77 is to punch, include a pocket and a pair of something. 

This week our sponsor is Digital Delights. There's some really adorable Halloween images. If you like to stamp but don't like to color you're in luck, some of the images are already colored for you. For me, that's half the fun of making a card but it is time consuming. If I needed to make several cards (like Halloween party invitations) the already colored images would be a great help.

The pocket on my card was drawn freehand and is supposed to look like a pants pocket.  I'm not sure if I succeeded. 

The Stampin' Up library clip holds a bill sticking out of the top of the pocket. That the pocket is deep so the clip ensures the bill won't get lost.  .

The punches are Stampin' Up's oval and scalloped oval for the sentiment and there is a pair of buttons, one on each side of the sentiment, as well as a pair of brads on the pocket. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Digital Delights
ink - Bic Marker for sentiment, hp printer
paper - Paper Pizzazz leave print; Recollections Printed Scrapbook Paper (olive with polka dots); Nicole orange cs; the Paper Cut "Red Hot" cs
miscellaneous - copics; mini brads; Stampin' Up oval and scalloped oval punch; buttons; burlap twine; sewing machine; Stampin Up library clip

Here's the challenges:
Cooking It Up With Katie #77 - punch, pocket, pair of something
Corrosive #133 - Punches and/or dies
Stamps R Us -  Operation Write Home Birthday challenge (no glitter)
Paper Play week 38- Autumn Leaves
Paper Cutz #110 - Button Up for Fall
Crafty Sentiments - Happy Birthday

Thankf for stopping by, I can't put into words how grateful I am that you visit and leave comments.  I hope you'll take the time to play along with us at Cooking It Up With Katie.  We all love to see what you do with the recipe.

A Couple of Cuties

That's the name of the stamp set for this image.  It's a perfect name.  There's another stamp in the set I can't wait to get inky so if you like this stamp stop back.  Hopefully I'll use it soon.  Of course if you ever saw the list of stamps I want to use you'd be right to think I'll never get to them, the stinking problem is that all these stamp companies just keep making more and more must have stamps.  If there's ever a shortage of new and appealing goodies I just might catch up.  Sound familiar?

Here's the deets:

stamp - Crafty Secrets "A Couple of Cuties"

ink - Memento "Rich Cocoa"

paper - Bazzill "Pinecone", "Beeswax" and "Parakeet"; Jillibean Soup "Dutch Mustard" dp

miscellaneous - copics; silk ribbon, burlap twine; heart charm; Nesties oval and scalloped oval dies; brads

Here's the challenges:

Paper Players PP65 - sketch

One Stitch at a Time - Favorites (I love charms, they are  my favorite embellie)

the Squirrel and the Fox #1 - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz  #101 - Autumn

Sew Many #69 - Ovals

Really Reasonable Ribbon #32 - Autumn theme

Sugar Creek Hollow - Vintage Children (I know they're driving a car but they're little kids, they remind me of the Campbell soup kids - maybe they hot wired one of their parents cars)

Tuesday Throwdown #68 - Fall

Crafting for All Seasons #110 - Fall Colors

4 Crafty Chicks - Fall/Autumn

Delightful Challenges - Happy Fall Y'All

Digi Doodles #76 - Autumn Colors

Thanks for stopping by, I do hope you'll come back again.

Rip Roaring Good Time

the ticket Christmas sentiments and 25 printed on it

Seems like a lifetime ago when a rip roaring good time usually entailed too much liquor, dancing (on the bar?), meeting the most adorable guy (son of Frankenstein), pledging your never ending love to anyone within ear shot and ending with a hangover that made you swear you'd never drink again.  At least you thought that was where it ended till you went back to the bar and people start telling you things you did the last time they saw you and you have no idea who they are and no recollection of those exploits.  But I digress...

Making a beachy Christmas card is what's a rip roaring good time as you near the golden years...

Here's the deets:
stamp - My Favorite Things "The Beach"
ink - Memento "Rich Cocoa", Ranger "Tea Dye" and "Scattered Straw"
paper - Stampin' Up "Kraft" cs; Graphic 45 Christmas Past collection; Neenah Classic Crest Natural White card stock
miscellaneous - MFT ribbon; burlap twine; snowflake charm; Christmas ticket

Here's the challenges:
My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club MFTWSC38 - sketch
One Stitch at a Time #81 - Favorites (charm)
2 Sisters #58 - Gingham or Plaid
Polka Doodles #38 - Distress It

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back again.

Triangle Star Card

This is a fold I've wanted to try for a long time, ever since I saw it on Stamp Owl's (Frances Byrne's) blog.  So when the Pile It On Challenge called for a fancy fold it was time for me to make a triangle star card.  I used Frances' tutorial which you can find here.

It's actually pretty easy.

Because I put some ribbon rose on the inside the card didn't want to stay closed, so I stuck a piece of velcro to the bottom of the star. 

Here's the deets:

stamp - the Cat's Pajamas "Shine Brightly"

ink - Stampin' Up "Brocade Blue"

paper - Best Occasions light blue cardstock; Stampin' Up "Bella Bleu" dsp

miscellaneous - Nesties "circle and lacey circle" die; Stampin' Up oval and scalloped oval punches; the Cat's Pajamas "ocean" seam binding; Basic Grey pearls

Here's the challenges:

Pile It On #39 - Fancy Folds

the Cat's Pajamas TCPTUES177 - Create Roses with Seam Binding

Stampin' B #129 - Use 2 or more Spellbinders

Card Makin' Mamas #29- Get Punchy

Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes

Southern Girls #28 - Anything Goes

Simon Says - Use Dies and/or Punches

Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll play along with the Pile It On challenge and make a card with a fancy fold. 

Shaped Card

It's time for another fabulous Cupcake Inspiration.  Boy do I love this cake that's topped with a cupcake.  The colors are so soft and feminine.  It looks divine, another cake I couldn't bring myself to cut but I wonder what's under the fondant.  Is it a chocolate cake or a yellow cake?  Is there fruit or lemon between the layers.  Fortunately you don't need to know what's on the inside to be inspired and if you need a little jump start there's plenty to see on the Cupcake Inspiration challenge blog.  The design team has been busy making cards for your viewing pleasure. 

This week the challenge is sponsored by Stamp Fairy.  My card is made with one of the freebies on the site.  If you've never tried using a digi before, this is a great way to find out if you'd like it.  You can choose from 10 images.  



I was inspired by the top layer of the cake.  I made a card shaped like a cupcake and used the colors of the top layer when I made it.  A cupcake is a pretty simple shape to make.  I took a piece of plain paper and cut it the size of an A2 card, then rough sketched the shape of a cupcake, making sure to have a part of the icing area be on the card fold.  Trace it or affix your pattern to your card base with a removable tape then cut it out.  Then cut the "icing" portion off of the pattern and do the same thing to cut out a piece of white card stock. The "icing" was fancied up  with an embossing folder and glitter.

To make the card a little more interesting I used the paper tole technique and made three layers of the image.  The bottom layer is the entire image.  For the middle layer the heart and halo are cut off.  The top layer is the head.   The close up is supposed to show you the three layers but it isn't the best photo I've ever taken.

Here's the deets:
stamp - Stamp Fairy Freebie digi
ink - hp printer
paper - The Paper Cut "Sno Cone", "Sweet Tooth" and "Red Hot" card stock
miscellaneous - copics; Spellbinder's oval, scalloped oval and cherry dies; Kaisercraft pearls; embossing folder; glitzy glitter

Here's the challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations CIC129 - photo
Raise the Bar #76 - Things with Wings 
Stampin' B #129 - Use 2 or more Spellbinders
Speedy the Cat's Friends week 74 - Things with Wings
Top Tip #51 - For the Kids

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you'll play along with us at the Cupcake Inspiration challenge. 

Leftovers

It's time for another Cuddly Buddly challenge.  Have you been on pins and needles waiting for it.   Well, I have. The challenge is to add a big number or letter to your creation.  I've had this idea to make a gift bag racing through my brain for a couple weeks.  The planning, the gathering, the putting it together.  I don't think I put as much thought into planning my wedding.

The planning of this bag brings me to this next little story.  When you go out to restaurants are you at best an odd duck or worse an embarassment to your family and friends.  Crafters are always thinking about making things.  For me it's like a never ending ticker tape passing thru my head.  I'm always finding inspiration in weird places, always on the look out for materials.  So last weekend hubby and I are out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and we have leftovers.  Our waitress came to the table with the fun box and a brown paper bag.  Well, the bells are going off in my head, I needed one for this project so I asked the waitress if I could have another bag.  The way she looked at me I knew she was wondering if she was translating what I said correctly or what else I could have meant and my hubby is making the "what the heck do you want a second bag for" face.  I explained that I wanted to make something and I got another bag.  After we got home I found hubby had placed both the bags on my desk and I couldn't tell which one was the unused one.  Oh well, go figure, if I hadn't asked for a second one you know that toting bag would have had lots of grease spots on it.  But I digress...

For my project I used the "Eline's Digi Set - Baby Girl's Bath & Bedtime".  Talk about getting a lot of bang for your buck, well this is it.  There are 25 cute as pie images and five patterned papers.  If you're a pink kind of girl this set is worth it just for the papers.  You download them once and you can use them forever.  I can always use the gingham check and the polka dots.  If you've visited here often you know how much I use and love pink.  Oh, but you need to make a bag for a baby boy, no problem she's got little boy collections too and yes, there's a collection for when you don't know if it'll be a boy or girl.

The big letter on the bag is from a set of rub-ons.  After putting it on white card stock I cut it out and then mounted it ontolight pink cardstock cut it out and then repeated on dark pink cardstock.  It doesn't show that well in the photo but in real life all those layers look great. 

How about a couple tips?  If you decorate a bag when you set it out pay attention to which side the seam is on.  Don't ask me how I know and don't go taking any close looks at my photo.  It's not enough to ruin your work if you use the wrong side but a seamless side looks better.  In addition to the seam, there's usually a manufacturers mark on the bag which may or may not show when you fold the top down, so be prepared to cover it.  Also if the bag's edge isn't very nice you will want to use a die cut on it.  Border punches don't work so well, been there done that and had to die cut it afterwards.  The ribbon isn't just a decoration, it's attached by several glue dot to the back of the bag.  You could punch holes or slots to wind yiour ribbon through.  Whatever works for you.  The bag that inspired me used ribbon through slots.  You can see it in the July/August 2011 Papercrafts magazine on page 28.  But with that bag you have to put your gift inside and staple it closed, with the ribbon affixed to back you can open and close the bag over and over again which means the recipient can open it without ruining it and afterwards put it out on display and have it be functional. 

Here's the deets:
stamp and paper- Cuddly Buddly "Eline's digi set - Baby Girl's Bed & Bathtime"; scraps of pinks and white cs
ink - hp printer
miscellaneous - gingham brads; rub on letter; Doodlebug buttons; pink Candy Dots; pink glaze pen; MFT die-namincs "large scallop" and "large scallopey scallop" border dies, mini brads, ribbon

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly - Add a big letter or number to your project
Top Tip #51 - 1 for the kids
Simon Says - Dies to die for
Ruby's Rainbow C#12- For the girls
Creative Card Crew - Babies
Picture Perfect Creations Specialty Challenge  #10 - Use 3 designer papers

Thanks for stopping by, I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at the Cuddly Buddly challenge to add a big letter or number to your project.  You don't have to use Cuddly Buddly products to play along, but if you've got them we'd love to see what you create with them.  By the way, did you know there's some free digi images available, well, now you do.

What a Cutie!

What a Cutie!  How's that for a challenge theme?  The possiblilities are endless so you have no excuse to not play in this week's Stampin' for the Weekend #17 challenge.  This week we have a sponsor.  It's Wee Stamps
and boy oh boy are these cute.  You have to stop over to the SFTW blog to see what the rest of the design team has created.  Those ladies blow me away, they just get better and better. 

Sometimes less is more.  There's only one piece of dp on this card, one stamped image ,one mat, one big old bow and one flower.  There's four candy dots and four pieces of bling.  It's not a clean and simple card but there's not much to it.  The dp had nice big floral motifs in caty corners.  One is on the face and the other is on the inside.  To show off the design it made sense not to over layer papers and the big old bow is covering the plain area of the paper.  The color combination is one of my favorites, it works so well when you want a pretty feminine look. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Wee Stamps "Wee Suzi"
ink - hp printer
paper - Stampin' Up "Certainly Celery"; Crafty Secrets "Heartwarming Vintage Collection
miscellaneous - copics; candy dots; prima flower; ribbon; sewing machine

Here's the challenges:
Stampin' For the Weekend #17 - What a Cutie
the Pink Elephant TPE117 - photo inspiration
Digital Tuesday #129 - People Images


Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll find some time to play along with us at Stampin' for the Weekend.  You should pop over there to see what the rest of the design team made.  There are some real cuties there.

My Fall

I've been reading lots of posts about the cooler weather and the changing leaves but it was 95 degrees here today.  At the moment it's pouring and temp may have dropped about 10 degrees but an hour from now the sun will be back out and the temp will go back up.  So if you're the type who lives for the changing seasons and the cool crisp autumn air, well, Florida is just not for you.  The changing leaves is a glorious site but I'm happy to trade that for the palm trees.  There are so many different types it's amazing.  So these days I'm getting my doze of fall colors from crafts. 

Knickers are one of those fashion items that pop up once in a blue moon but never seem to catch on.  I've owned a couple pairs in my younger days but as I recall they weren't very flattering. But golfers are a different breed of people.  Golf attire is a bizarre mess.  There are things that people wear to play golf that could never be worn to any other function,  Who comes up with those golf outfits anyway.  I'd rather see golfers wearing these knickers than some of the wacky things Ive seen in the stores.  Since I haven't taken up the sport I don't make it onto the greens, but I do drive around here and see golf courses everywhere.   In these parts it's almost a crime if you don't play golf.  But I digress...

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - Crafty Secrets "Golf Time"
ink - Memento "Rich Cocoa" and Stampin' Up "Always Artichoke" marker for sentiment
paper - Recollections Kraft card base; We R Memory Keepers "Autumn Leaf" and "Tawny" dp; Bazzill "Tangelo", "Almond Cream" and "Parakeet" cs; Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cs
miscellaneous: copics; MFT "Solid Brackets" die-namics; Recollections leaf brads; regular and mini brads; button; golf bag charm; burlap twine; sewing machine

Here's the challenges:
Partytime Tuesday PTT#34 - sketch
Pile It On #38 - the Colors of Fall
Tuesday Throwdown #67 - Fall
Paper Pretties PWC172 - Use Fall as your Inspiration
Crazy CCH#85 - Men Only
Critter Challenge - recipe:  1 image, 2 dp, 3 embellishments (brads, button, charm) and 1 sentiment
Dream Valley #16- Buttons
the Kraft Journal Make It Monday - Welcome Fall
Kaboodle Doodle #85 - Lots of Layers
Raise the Bar #75 - Leave Summer
CES#5 - Embellish Me More (at least 4 different types of embellies)
Fairytale #24 - Sports
Friday Mash Up #24 - Autumn theme or Yellow and Orange or both
Sugar Creek Hollow - Fancy Borders

Well, I just piled on the challenges and if you like to do that too then play along with us at Pile It On.  But you don't have to find lots of challenges, just the Pile It On challenge (this week the Colors of Fall is the theme) and one other challenge and you're in like Flynn.  We'd love to see what you create and we're always looking to see what challenges you've found to add to our lists.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. 

Homecoming Dance

can you read the banner - it says "fall fling"

Do you swap?  If you're interested there's a forum on Splitcoast Stampers there's a forum for swaps.  This card is for Kate (celestial-stamper) annual Halloween swap.  This particular swap is closed, the cards are due any day now but Kate's usually got some swap going and there's usually a fun thread of yakking to follow with some fun trivia type quizzes. 

It was difficult to decide between a cutesy or a dark motif, and as you can see the dark side won out.  It's hard to see the dp on the card face since the image and embellies cover so much of it but in the pic of the inside you can see the graveyard easier. 

It struck me that these kiddies are all dressed up for a dance which put me in mind of a "fall fling".  So hopefully you're getting the idea that the graveyard is all tricked out for dance.



These kiddies (I think they're adorable, does that make me weird?) are Bowtie and Mink.  They're Daniel Torrence images.  When I colored them I used some pale greens, lavenders and grey on the face of Bowtie.  He doesn't strike me as the type to have a peaches and cream complexion.



 On the other hand Mink is partial to pink so there's just a very slight undertone of green which barely shows except on her eyelids where I used a darker shade because Mink thinks that the green eyeshadow really plays up her hair.  I think she's right

. 
Mink wore her best skirt for the dance.  It's purple, her second favorite color, which goes so well with her favorite pink.  The skirt has lots of bling on it, because the fall fling is a semi-formal dance.

The banners are dressed up with red stickles in the hopes of looking like blood and there's a spider hanging of the banner just because.  I couldn't resist adding the cockroach ribbon once again - just because.

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamps - Stampotique Daniel Torrence "Bowtie" and "Mink"; Taylored Expressions "Pennat a la Carte"; Crafty Secrets (spider web) "Halloween Fun"  unknown alphabet stamps for banner
ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"; Studio G red, green and lavender for banner
paper - Recollections Neutrals card base; Bazzil "tangelo" cs; Moxxie "Midnight Dreary - Tomb It May Concern" dp
miscellaneous - copics, Taylored Expressions tiny twinkles and pennant die; twine, ribbon, stickles; stapler; EK Success "Graveyard" border punch

Here's the challenges:
Creatalicious #26 - Anything Goes
Really Reasonable Ribbon - #32 - Autumn theme (cockroach ribbon)
Catch the Bug - Let's Create a Scene
CES #5 - Embellish Me More (at least three different types)
Corrosive #133 - punches and/or dies
Sew Many #68 - Halloween
Fab 'N' Funky #90 - bingo (embellie, ribbon and die cut)

Cupcake Inspiration Time

CIC128

Could you eat something this pretty?  Well I'm more of a butter cream fan so I could probably just marvel at how pretty this one is but give me a birthday cake with those big old fluffy roses on the corner and I'm in trouble.  I don't think it would last long enough to give me any inspiration.  But this lovely cuppie which just happens to be this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge put me in the mind of a cute Mo Manning stamp I happened to have just waiting for a chance to get inky.

can you see the butterfly charm?  click on the photo
to enlarge it

This week our sponsor is Amber Ink (because your brilliant, not patient).  Lots of fun stuff to be had there and some of it is digital for those of us who are not patient. 
Stop over at the Cupcake Inspirations challenge blog to see how the rest of the design team has been inspired, to find out what the prize is, check out the rules and most importantly to link up your creation.  You can find it all by clicking here.


Here's the deets:
stamp - Mo Manning "Birthday Fairy Lee"
ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
paper - the Paper Cut "Pink Lemonade" cs; Stampin' Up "Kraft" cs;
S.E.I. "Chocolat" dp 
miscellaneous - copics; ribbon, pink burlap twine; butterfly charm; brads; pink pearls; stickles; glaze pen; stickles; sewing machine





Here's the challenges:

don't forget the inside

Cupcake Inspirations CIC128 - photo
Crafty Cutz #100 - sketch
Moving Along With The Times #116 - Sparkle
Delightful - Girly Girl
Cute Card Thursday #182 - Anything Goes
Truly Scrumptious #65 - decorate the inside
Paper Shelter #31 - Fairy and Elves
Fab 'n' Funky #90 - bingo (stamp, 3 dp, die cut)
Crafting for All Seasons #9 - Birthday
Ruby's Rainbow #12 - For the Girls
Papertake Weekly - Things with Wings
Magical Monday - Anything Goes
Kraft Journal - Use a Sketch
Top Tip #51 - Birthday Time

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  No go get busy making a card inspired by that beautiful cupcake.  Don't forget to link it up on the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge blog.

Better Late

Than never.  I'm not quite myself the last couple days.  Hopefully things are getting back on track.

This card is for Wednesday's Cooking It Up With Katie challenge.#75 "A Group of Green Girls".  Are you new to Katie's challenge?  Well every week Katie gives you a recipe, this week it's:
Start with a Girl (or something Girlie)
Add a little (or a lot) of Green
Include a Group (more than 2 of the same thing).
This week the challenge is sponsored by Sassy Studio Designs.

Sorry, I don't have a photo of the inside and I don't know the who made the pirate map paper, it's been in my stash forever as if it were waiting for this image.  It's probably left over from years ago when my daughter was a pirate for Halloween.  The strips of dp on the crossbars are from Basic Grey's "Origins" and that great deep dark green cs is from Stampin' Up.  For the groups I used three bows, three crossbars and three pearls, it's always easy to ass three embellies to a card.  For the girl, I used the Sassy Pirate.  Here's what I like about the girls at Sassy.  They're fun to color, they're sassy and a little sexy without being thrashy.  There are also images of men, images of couples, and images of heroines from books ans movies.  Go take a look and then get busy making a card so you can have a chance to win a Sassy prize. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Sassy Studio Designs - Once Upon a Time - Pirate Penny
ink - hp printer
paper - pirate map (unknown); Stampin' Up "Handsome Hunter" and "Certainly Celery"; Basic Grey "Origins" dp
miscellaneous - copics; Queen and Co pearls; burlap twine; Blue Moon key charm

Here's the challenges:
Cooking It Up With Katie #75 - A Group of Green Girls
Partytime Tuesday PTT#33 - Ribbon, trim and fibers oh my
Tuesday Throwdown #66 - Pearls
L'il Red Wagon - Use Twine
Pile It On #37 - Layer It On

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  Now go visit Katie's challenge, check out what the rest of the DT has created, maybe even leave them a little love.  You can get all the challenge details and find the linky thingy there.

Layer It

Layer, layers and more layers. This week at Pile It On that's what we want to see, lots of layers. So combine this challenge with as many other challenges as you can and play along with us. Our sponsor this week is Stamp Fairy. The image on my card is Barry Halloween. He's a pretty cute little fellow all dressed up for the funnest of the holidays. If you're looking for images as cute as this rush over to Stamp Fairy, cause everything is this cute.

For this challenge I looked for a sketch (this is from the Sweet Stop) with lots of layers but for a little more interest I used a technique called paper tole. This is where you stamp more than one of the image and then you cut and paste pieces of the image on top of themselves (that's clear as mud, huh?). In real life you can see it, but not in the photo of the card face so I'm adding this close up of the face and arm with wand. Here you can see that the face is popped up on dimensionals. With the paper tole that makes 5 layers without counting the mats.


Here's the deets:
stamp - Stamp Fairy "Barry Halloween"

ink - hp printer

paper - Recollections naturals card base; Wausaw cs; K and Co "Tim Coffey Halloween Specialty" pad; Georgia Pacific white cs

miscellaneous - copics; stickles; brads; baker's twine' charm; sewing machine; Nesties circle dies



Here's the challenges:
Pile It On #29 - Layer It
the Sweet Stop SSS125 - sketch (thanks for a great sketch!)
Paper Cutz #108 - Going to the Pumpkin Patch
Jellypark Friends- Pass It On
CES #53 - Make It Magical or Spooky
Freshly Brewed - Something New
Truly Scrumptious #65 - Decorate the Inside of Your Card
the Crop Stop - #36 -Spellbinders (the circles)
Pals Paper Arts PPA110 - Halloween
Craft Us Crazy #16 - Autumn Colors/Favorite Embellie (charm)
Crafty Sentiments - Halloween
Stamp Something - Anything Goes
Southern Girls - Lots of Layers or Birthday
Do You Stack Up DYSU#36 - Texture (those wrangly bats have enough texture for me but there's also the sparkly swirls on the green dp)
Stamp with Fun #127 - Autumn
Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Ladybug Crafts Ink - Anything Goes
Critter Sketch #81 - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting, I hope you'll come back again.  Now go get busy making a card with lots of layers, then link it up at the Pile It On challenge blog.

Back to School

CIC127

Once again I find myself saying "Thank God, it's only a photo of those cupcakes".  I can't imagine what would happen if these were in my house.  This is the inspiration photo for this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge.  Lots of color and texture for your playing pleasure. 

Our sponsor this week is DTSart  and this image is "Student Desk and Back Pack."  There are two images, the other one is more suitable for a boy.  While this would be a cute image for a little girl going back to school, I had the mom of a child going off to school for her first day in mind.  Isn't it always more emotional for the mom, especially the stay at home mom who's accustomed to the company of a little one.  Well, hopefully a little cheery note in this card will help save the day.  That yummy pink silk ribbon bow would put a smile on my face.

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - DTSart "Back to School Student Desk and Backpack"
ink - hp printer
paper - Bazzill "Blossom";cs Stampin" Up "Certainly Celery" cs for card base;  Georgia Pacific white cs; K and Co "Susan Winget Spring Blossom" dp
miscellaneous - copics; glaze pen; Nesties "Peony" die; Kaisercraft pearls; Making Memories charm; pink burlap twine; pink silk ribbon




Here's the challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations CIC127 - photo
If the Shoe Fits - FF#90 - Back to School
Crafty Catz #99 - Ribbon
Fussy and Fancy - Back to School
Delightful Inspiration -  Back to School
Simply Create - Here Comes the Bus

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again. 

We can't wait to see what you create, so after you make your project inspired by the cupcakes don't forget to link it up to the Cupcake Inspirations challenge.

Pumpkin Day

Where penguins go trouble follows.  Do not leave them near your pumpkin.  They look innocent enough, but take my word for it, don't leave them alone with your pumpkin.

This week the challenge at the Cat's Pajamas is a sketch.  I've been a Halloween roll so the pennants just had to be turned into candy corn.  We're keeping that stuff out of the house this year, it's just too irresistable for me.  I'm especially fond of the assortment that comes with chocolate pieces in it.  Oh, yummy.  But I digress...

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - the Cat's Pajamas "Hello Pumpkin"
ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"; Versafine "Toffee"
paper - Bazzill "Tangelo" cs; Urban Oasis yellow cs; Cosmo Cricket "Nutmeg"
miscellaneous - copics; baker's twine; charm; brads SU and
unknown brand; Nesties circle die; TCP Cut Ups "Apron" and "Icing"; stitching; MFT banner die-namics; stick pin;  



Here's the challenges:
the Cat's Pajamas TCPTUES175 - sketch
Happileigh Scrappin HLSC38 - Autumn browns oranges and yellows

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.

More Halloween Cuppies

I don't know which I like more, the pumpkin
 charm, or the candy corm embellies

Yesterday I mentioned that it's time to start the Halloween cards in earnest and that card featured cupcakes decked out in costumes.  Today, the cupcake is dressed up with candy.  Maybe tomorrow you'll get to see another of my Halloween cupcake stamps.  Yes, there is another one, trouble is, I'm not sure where that one is hiding.  Might be more, but again, they are hiding.  It'll be nice to get to a place where I can have all my supplies in one place. 

Here's the deets:
stamp - Paper Pretties "Holiday Sweets I"
ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"
paper - Bazzill "Tangelo" cs; Warsau "Terra Green", :Planetary Purple" cs; K and Co "Tim Coffey Halloween Specialty" pad
miscellaneous - copics; stickles, baker's twine; lace ribbon; charm; Recollection candy corn adhesive embellishments; Taylored dies "Scallop eyelet border"; Nesties circle and inverted scallop circle; sewing machine



don't forget the inside

Here's the challenges:

Paper Pretties PWC170 - sketch

Paper Cutz #108 - Going to the Pumpkin Patch

Pals Paper Arts PPA110 - Halloween

Crafty Sentiments - Halloween

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  And a special thanks to all of you who leave comments.  Those comments make my day.

PS - do any of you have this problem.  Naughty boy (aka Shamus) just has to stick his face where it doesn't belong.   Bad enough he has the gall to jump onto the table but then he has to get in the photo.  What a ham. 

. 

Boo!

can you see the ghost charm, the twine bow is covering its face

I am so excited for lots of reasons.
The biggest reason is that this post is as Guest Designer for Taylored Expressions sketch challenge #146.  Yippee!!!  A big thanks for Taylor for this fun opportunity. 
Would you like to know why else?  Well, you know I'm going to tell you whether you want to know or not.  It's time to be making Halloween cards.  Of course if you go by the stores you could have been starting your Halloween decorating two months ago.  But Moi, I think September is the time to start your planning. 
And the last reason I'm excited is because I got to use that funky ribbon, there's not to many places you can use cockroaches as decoration.
Is it possible that you just aren't feeling Halloweenish yet?  Well, you can make any kind of card you'd like, just follow the sketch.  It's posted on Taylor's blog.  Need more inspiration?  Stop by the design team members blog, you'll find plenty of inspiration.
Here's a list of the team with links to their blogs:

Cassie Trask

Jami Sibley

Lisa Hjulberg

Lori Craig

Margie Cortina

Monika Davis

Taylor VanBruggen

Tracy Clemente

Guest Stamper: Jessica and Chris (that's me)
Stop by their blogs and leave them some love, you know how much you like to get comments.

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamps - Taylored Expressions "Trick or Sweet"

ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"

paper -Bazzill "Beeswax" and "Tangelo" cs; K and Co. "Halloween Specialty" pad

miscellaneous - copics; EK Success "Graveyard" border punch; Stampin' Up circle punch; cockroach ribbon, baker's twine; ghost charm; mini brads; stickles; sewing machine




Here's the challenges:
Taylored Expressions #146 - sketch
Freshly Brewed - Something New (cockroach ribbon)
Stamp With Fun #127 - Autumn

Aly's ASC46 - Add a bow
Paper Play week 36 - use 2 or more stamped images
Pals Paper Arts PPA110 - Halloween
Thanks for visiting, I hope you'll come back again.  Now go visit Taylored Expressions where you can find the great sketch for this week's challenge as well as all the things you need to know to play along.

AND again a great big thank you to Taylor for giving me this opportunity.  I had a blast. 

Tickled Pink

can you see the snowflake charm, click on the photo to enlarge

Okay girly girls, this one's for you.  This week's challenge #16 at Stampin' for the Weekend is "Tickled Pink".  That's right up my alley. 
I love using pink and took the opportunity to knock off another Christmas card but you can make any kind of project using the "Tickled Pink" theme.  I can't wait to see all your goodies so after you finish your creation don't forget to link it up here.
Stop over at the Stampin' for the Weekend challenge blog so you can gawk over the amazing creations made by the rest of the design team.  I was blown away by them.  It'd be real nice if you left the gals some love.  You know how much you like it when someone leaves you some.

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - My Favorite Things "CK Frosty Fun"
ink - Memento "Tuxedo Black"
paper - Recollections Kraft card base; Doodlebug "Sugar and Spice" dp; Stampin' Up "Regal Rose" and "Certainly Celery" cs; MFT the Paper Cut "Pink Lemonade" cs
miscellaneous - copics; mini brads; snowflake charm; pink lace; button; MFT die-namics "Dizzy Doily" and "Dizzy Border"; sewing machine


Here's the challenges:
Stampin' for the Weekend #16 - Tickled Pink


Thanks for stopping by, I hope you come back again.
Now go get busy making a card for the Stampin' for the Weekend "Tickled Pink" challenge

Call Me

don't you just love that phone charm,
click on the photo to enlarge it

Cuddly Buddly.  I love that name.  I find it popping into my head at odd times and it just makes me smile.   Doesn't it make you picture all kinds of cuteness?  It makes me think of this fluffy stuffed bunny I used to have, and that gives me the warm fuzzies.  That's it!  The Warm Fuzzies, that what Cuddly Buddly is.  Pop over to Cuddly Buddly and check it out.  Let me know what you think. 

Are you ready for another challenge?  This week at Cuddly Buddly challenge #11 is  "Add a Tag".  Tags are the perfect spot for placing a sentiment but you can do whatever you like with the tag.  This image is from the Lilyboo Design line "Long Time No Talk".  The old fashioned phone caught my attention and made me think of the Cosmo Cricket "Circa 1934" paper pad.  Add a couple flourishes and a charm and Voila!

don't forget the inside

Here's the deets:
stamp - Cuddly Buddly (Lilyboo Designs) - Long Time No Talk
ink - hp printer
paper - MFT the Paper Cut "Red Hot" cs; Cosmo Cricket "Circa 1934) dp
miscellaneous - copics; red burlap twine; phone charm; Martha Stewart tag punch; Sizzex flourishes die; nesties oval and scalloped oval dies

Here's the challenges:
Cuddly Buddly #11 - Add a Tag
My Time To Craft #156 - Just Between Friends
Stamps R Us - Friendship
One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi
Charisma #36 - Inspired by a Song (Call Me, Debbie Harry)
L'il Red Wagon #97 - Die Cuts
Your Next Stamp #50 - Song Inspiration (Call me, Debbie Harry)
Crop Stop #36 - Spellbinders

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you'll come back again.  I can't wait to see all your tags.  Don't forget to link you creations up at Cuddly Buddly.