My Favorite Things Stamps Product Launch

Guess what?

All of the My Favorite Things stamps, dies, ink, cardstock, etc. that you have seen on my blog over the last week are now available!!  And if you haven't quite decided, the entire design team is participating with Product Launch posts.  If you head over to the My Favorite Things blog, you can click through to each blog and see even more inspiration!

I want to thank all of the fine people at My Favorite Things for asking me be part of December's release.  It has been a fabulous experience - there are great people running MFT and there's such a variety of fun products!  I will have one more post on Thursday of this week as part of the Release Rewind, but that won't be the last that you see of MFT on my blog.  I used MFT regularly before my guest spot and you'll see more after (you won't believe the Christmas stamps that I have in my NBUS stash!)

I went with congrats and celebration theme for my Product Launch cards.  The first card uses the Celebratory Greetings Die-namics, the Polka Dot Cover Die-namics from today's release.  I also used DC Party Balloons and Party Balloons Die-namics.  The colors on this card are Natural, Berrylicious and Wild Cherry.


This next card uses a set that I have not yet shown you on my blog - Celebrate Big.  It's one of those versatile sets that includes large and small sentiments, plain and script fonts - and they all work together.  

I used a die set that I have had for awhile. The Flower Medley Die-namic includes a nice variety of flowers that all layer nicely.  The leaves come from the Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namic (although I did cut and re-adjust a couple of tendrils to fit my card.)  The scallop is the Open Scallop Edge.  I also used the Woodgrain Background stamp in white on the blue.
This card went in a different direction than I had originally planned. I have been telling you that I wanted to show you the MFT colors, so I sat down to review what I had used.  I missed quite a few!  So I tucked a four of them in this card - Hot Fudge, Paver Red, Olive and Sno Cone. It's a different combination for me - but I like it!
I used the current Sweet Sunday sketch for this card.

Be sure to check out the Product Launch posts by the rest of the design team and be very sure to head over to the My Favorite Things blog to see if you were one of the prize winners from this past week!

My Favorite Things Stamps Day 6: Best Friends and Calenders

It's Day 6 of the Release Countdown at My Favorite Things Stamps and there is quite a variety of stamps today - from cute to office-style.

I started with cute.  This is the new Wendy Burns Design set Best Friends. This card came together far more quickly than any other card I have done for this release.  Living in a houseful of men and teenage boys, I crave sweet and cute.  I also immediately knew that I wasn't going to color her.  Have you seen the coloring work of the rest of the design team?  Mad coloring skills!!  I knew I couldn't show her off well enough - but I am really happy with the look of just a couple of splashes of color.


When I first agreed to guest designing for My Favorite Things, I knew there was sure to be something by Wendy Burns or a Pure Innocence set - so I went shopping for fun and cute dsp.  I haven't used much dsp yet in this release - I'm having fun showing off the MFT color palette.  But this paper from the Teresa Collins You Are My Happy pad was made for this stamp set!!    The button is from My Favorite Things - it's Bubble Gum.
Now I am going to do something not-so-smart.  I am going out of my comfort zone.  My original plan was just to do the cute card today, but the other set was on my desk, right next to a free pad of paper that had come in an order.  The possibilities hit me over the head.  It's really not generally bad to go out of one's comfort zone.  However, as a guest designer, presumably I was asked because MFT liked my style and body of work.  And...my CAS style is comfortable for me - that's probably because I am not good at other styles no matter how much I admire them when I see what others have designed.  So jumping out of the box is probably not smart on a guest post!  Anyway...here's my leap...

It's busier and more collage-ish than my usual style - although some of you are laughing because it's not really a big leap. It's still just a few layers; however, it is missing my beloved white space!  It does allow me to show off a few things.  This is Lainie Lamb Design's Journal It - Pocket Calendar. Obviously it's intended for journaling or scrapbooking - but it makes a nice masculine birthday card too.  (If you get this set, be sure to check out the 3x4 Insert die as it is a perfect fit. Then be sure to check out all Lainie Lamb Designs stamps and Die-namics because there is an entire series of stamps and dies that go with "Journal It".)
I also used the new Blueprints 10 which was previewed on Day 1.  Other stamps and dies that I used are the DC Party Balloons, Party Balloons Die-namics and the Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics.  Colors from My Favorite Things are Electric Red, Fuse Green and Chocolate Brown.  The image is stamped on Primitive White.  (The dsp is 7 gypsies Postale.)
I used the deconstructed sketch.

Be sure to head over to the My Favorite Things blog and leave your comment for today!

My Favorite Things Stamps Day 3: Doodles and Dots

It's now Day 3 of the Release Countdown from My Favorite Things Stamps.  Only a few more days to go until the full release on the evening of December 10th!

I had a great time getting cards ready for today.  The stamps are by Sunny Day Doodles and are called Be Your Best Self.  For some unknown reason, I don't have any of the previous Doodles in my collection.  I'm glad to have this set and I'm sure more will find their way into my collection!  My first card leaves the sentiment mainly black and white and shows that the stamps work well in a very clean and simple setting.


Also on this card are the Layered Hearts Border Die, a "button" and background from Blueprints 6, and a tag from the Pierced Traditional Tag STAX. (BTW - if you ever decide to get the pierced tags, know that the non-pierced Traditional Tag STAX is just slightly bigger so are perfect for layering behind the pierced tags.)  The colors on this card are Electric Red and Steel Grey.
I also want to show you another stamps from Sunny Day Doodles Be Your Best Self because it is one of my very favorite quotes.  This card also shows off the new Polka Dot Cover Up Die-namics.  This card is a little bit fussier than the first card. I didn't color the entire sentiment - just gave it some pops of color.

The little flags are from Blueprints 10 which was introduced on Day 1 of the Release Countdown.  The button is Lemon Drop.  The cardstock colors are Grape Jelly (the darker purple), Grapesicle, Sour Apple and Lemon Drop.  I used the Pierced Rectangle STAX for the sentiment, but I cut it down a little bit.  It's easy with the pierced markings because they kind of lock into place.  Just slide the die up and down or side to side until it "clicks" into place and you have a perfect re-sized cut.

My card uses the current sketch from Mojo Monday.

One last card for today.  The other item being previewed today is a full alphabet and full set of numbers - in the round.  They are the Negative Dot Alphabet Die-namics and the Negative Dot Numbers Die-namics.  We have a big birthday coming up in my house in less than a month - and the numbers worked perfectly!

The sentiment is from Birthday Sentiments and the background is the Woodgrain Background.  The tag is the from the Pierced Traditional Tag STAX.  I needed something to top it off under the twine - so I used one of the pierced circle from Blueprints 10 and folded it in half.  The star in the circle is also from Blueprints 10.  The twine is Natural Hemp Cord.

I have said that one of my goals during my time as a guest for My Favorite Things is to show off colors. Since this card is for a teenage boy, I looked through my color ring and decided to show off Safety Orange. I have to admit that I thought that was a funny name since I would have expected something with that name to be an almost neon orange.  But this is a rich brown mustard color.  I really like blues with oranges so added Blu Raspberry which is the darkest of the aqua colors available at My Favorite Things.  Black seemed too dark so I finished it off with Steel Grey.

Be sure to head over (or back) to the My Favorite Things blog.  There is lots of great inspiration from the design team and be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a gift certificate!

See you tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Anne Marie!!

It's a birthday linky party for Anne Marie at Stampin' Anne.  We worked together when Dynamic Duos opened so I HAD to play along.  The linky is at the Dynamic Duos blog so you can see all of the birthday fun!

If you haven't spent time on her blog - you must check it out.  She does wonderful things with patterned paper.  Each element on her cards is exactly right.  They are all works of art!

Anne Marie likes pink and girly - but I didn't go that direction.  {Sorry!}  She designs for The Paper Players and for Dynamic Duos.  I wanted to honor her long-term participation in these challenges, but neither one was very girly this week.  The current Paper Players challenge at least had colors that I could use for flowers.  I also wanted to reflect her love of Stampin' Up.

Happy Birthday Anne Marie!!  I hope it's a good one!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Five-Way Flower (a single), Banner Greetings
• Paper: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip
• Ink: Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Scalloped Circle punches in 2 3/8", 1 3/4" and 1 1/4" (I love how this flower layers up with the punches.  There's even one more smaller punch at 7/8" that I could have used for the center), Hemptique white twine, Clearly Beloved Sequins (my favorite for totally clear sequins - at Simon Says Stamp)

Pals Paper Arts: Happy Birthday Feathers

It's a big birthday month for the Curtain Call design team.  We had two birthdays last week, and this week's birthday is Christina from SeaGlass Papercrafts.

Happy Birthday Christina!!!


I challenged myself with the colors on this card.  They are from Pals Paper Arts and uses one of the colors that taunts me - it just sits there and whispers "I bet you can't use me"!!!  Summer Starfruit - my nemesis!  I'm OK with this card - but I think Summer Starfruit still beat me!

The sequins are Iridescent Chocolate from Ellen Hutson. The iridescence makes it really hard to take pictures.  I loved them during Halloween because my lighting set-up would cause them to flash purples and greens and blues - so fabulous for Halloween cards!  They don't flash quite that much under normal lighting.

It is funny how things work out.  Just this past week, I've been studying my paper collection.  I have a shelf that houses all of the current Stampin' Up and Papertrey Ink cardstock.

I use Poly Project View Folders to keep my cardstock (I get mine at Office Depot). They are heavy weight folders that are open on two sides - so it's very easy to keep the cardstock and all of the scraps in one place.  I arrange them in a rainbow, then I can easily find and grab the colors that I want.

The problem is that I am bringing another brand into my collection and I do not have room!!!!  I have been loving the colors and inks (and buttons and felt and ribbon) available through My Favorite Things and have slowly started to add to my collection each time that I order stamps or dies from them. So I was studying my shelf and trying to figure out what to do.  One of my thoughts was that I would put colors that I simply never use on a shelf that's a little further away and out of reach. I started pulling colors and figuring out how many there were.  There actually weren't as many as I thought so that idea failed - but I did realize that I have some colors that I need to conquer - and Summer Starfruit was high on my list of colors that fill me with dread!

So what's so funny about this?  As a total coincidence, there are TWO current challenges using Summer Starfruit.  The Pals Paper Arts challenge above and Stampin' Royalty which I am using on a card tomorrow.  And as an added bonus, today's card uses Crisp Cantaloupe which I had never even opened. (That wasn't so much out of fear of the color, rather just the season - I would hope to use more in the spring!)

Now if a challenge would use SU Pistachio Pudding or PTI's Ocean Tides and Spring Moss - I would be in great shape!

• Stamps: WPlus9 Fanciful Feathers, Simon Says Stamp Happy Sentiments
• Ink: Stampin' Up Crisp Cantaloupe, Early Espresso
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crisp Cantaloupe, Summer Starfruit
• Accessories: Ellen Hutson Iridescent Chocolate sequins, Simon Says Stamp Happy die

Special Birthday Wishes and Big Annoucements

I'm sending big birthday wishes to two design teammates of mine at Curtain Call!!

Happy Birthday to both Jessica Kephart and to Tracey McNeeley.  Be sure to check them out and send your own birthday wishes!

My other big event today is that I get to tell you that I will be part of the Fresh Squeezed Stamps for the next four months!!  I am thrilled to be showing you what they have to offer.  With my busy family schedule and college course schedule, I really do limit the design teams on which I participate.  I have very much admired Fresh Squeezed because they have a different look than any other stamp on the market. If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I am equal opportunity stamp user - I like a lot of companies.  But have you noticed that they start to look alike?  I understand that there are trends - and it certainly doesn't stop me from adding any of them to my collection.  However, Fresh Squeezed is "fresh"!



One of the birthday girls today, Tracey McNeeley, just ended her term with Fresh Squeezed Stamps and she turned me on to so many of their fun stamps.  Obviously I had to use Fresh Squeezed today.  I decided not to go very fancy, but rather to show you two of the first sets that I got.


As silly as it sounds, I got an entire set for that four-sided sparkle stamp (although if you check it out, it's got SO much more in it).  It's called On Trend 2013 and has a birthday word bubble, a fun Polaroid frame, a city skyline and so much more.  It's a great fundamental set for your collection.  The stripes on the side are from Background Check which also has a woodgrain strip, a checkered strip and more. The sentiment is from Everyday Expressions - I love the mix of fonts!

I'm scheduled to show you a little Fresh Squeezed every Friday.  This coming Friday is a special day because of a special holiday blog hop!!  Wait until you see the fun holiday sentiments that I get to work with - and I'm thinking my favorite four-sided sparkle is going to make another appearance!

• Stamps: Fresh Squeezed Stamps On Trend 2013, Background Check, Everyday Expressions
• Paper: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana
• Ink: Stampin' Up Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Barely Banana, Coast Cabana
• Accessories: October Afternoon button, pearlescent crochet thread, Ranger Glossy Accents (on the stamped sequins!), Wink of Stella clear pen

Happy 1st Birthday to Fresh Squeezed Stamps!!

Happy 1st Birthday Fresh Squeezed Stamps!!


May you keep moving forward to many, many more!!

And that's all the chatter you get from me today.  I need to get ready to pick up a friend from the airport!!  A great friend whom I've never met in person.  Stacey Schafer's plane is taking off as I type! I'm not quite sure what we are going to do today because the weather is truly miserable.  She had wanted to see the mountains but the snow is coming down hard and she wouldn't see anything besides the interstate.  But tomorrow...fifteen Colorado blogger/crafters are getting together for World Card Making Day!!!  I am still pinching myself over the group that I get to mingle with (including Stacey, our Coloradan-for-a-day).  We've already gotten hints that one stamp company owner is bringing surprises and that another big name designer is bringing product to play with.  We also have gummi bears and Oreos!!  Such a day we are going to have!

• Stamps: Fresh Squeezed Stamps String Me Along (the sneaker), You Said It Sister (dots and sentiment)
• Paper: black and white
• Ink: Hero Arts Soft Sand, Stampin' Up Poppy Parade
• Accessories: May Arts twine, misc sequins

CAS(E) this Sketch! Happy Birthday Chevrons

This is my second post today.

It's just a short scroll down for the Avery Elle blog hop!!

There's a great sketch today at CAS(E) this Sketch that will allow you to bring out your favorite border stamps or dies.

I settled on my new Peek-a-Boo Chevrons from My Favorite Things.

I was recently commenting on another blog about the difficulty of graphic cards.  My comment was about the need to be perfect on a graphic card - everything has to be lined up or it's noticeable.  Sure enough - there's something not perfectly straight on this and it bugs me (not quite enough to go to the work of cutting all of these again - although I do have the new magnetic Sizzix platform and it's awesome!!)  The yellow strip is leaning ever so slightly to the right.  I think if I took a ruler, I wouldn't have increments small enough to measure it - but my eye sees it!I sure hope you have fun with this one!!  I look forward to seeing what you create!
I'm also submitting this to Simon Says Anything Goes.

• Stamps: My Favorite Things Birthday Greetings
• Paper: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Summer Sun, Coastal Cabana
• Ink: Memento black
• Accessories: My Favorite Things Peek-a-Boo Chevrons, misc MME enamel dots

Curtain Call: Sunflower Surprise!

It's time for another inspiration photo from Curtain Call!  It's Sunflower Surprise!

photo credit: poshtotevents.com

The sponsor for our Sunflower Surprise is Clearly Besotted Stamps.  

Clearly Besotted Stamps has generously provided Blooming Marvellous Stamps and Die Collection for each design team member!  And the LEAD that is selected from all of the entries will also win the set and the dies for themselves!

My card was obviously inspired by the bright sunflowers in the inspiration photo but also by the hint of bright blue near the center of the photo and by the wood planking.

The sentiment on this card comes from a different Clearly Besotted set You Said It, and the butterfly is from Butterfly Additions with the coordinating die.

I also made a bonus card today.  I had to make two birthday cards for two special friends.  I had made the sunflower card but the other flower in the set was calling my name too!  I decided that I would use the same layout and create a second card with the bold rose.


The butterfly on this card is from Butterfly Additions.  (The sentiment is not from Clearly Besotted.)
I have to tell you that since I got this set and have been playing with it - I have paid extra attention to other sets offered by Clearly Besotted and have ordered more!  I used their beautiful feather set here.  I have used two of their butterflies on today's cards.  The sentiment on the first card comes with word bubbles!   Just yesterday in their mail, I got their Halloween set, Fright Night, and their Signature Christmas and Addition collections - so you'll be seeing even more.  The company is based in the United Kingdom but shipping is very reasonably priced and very fast.  They are also available in the U.S. at Simon Says Stamp.

Now, it's your turn!  You have until September 25th, 8 a.m. CDT to create a new paper project inspired by the photo.  The LEAD and Show Stoppers will be chosen by the crew and announced on September 30th at 8:00 AM CDT.  I hope to see you play along!

Happy Birthday Lil' Inkers: Bunches of Birthday Wishes

Lil' Inkers Designs is hosting a third birthday celebration!  Happy Birthday Lil' Inkers!!  There are lots of prizes just for creating a birthday card from an inspiration photo.

I have used some of my favorite Lil' Inkers products - the Stitched Circle dies and the Balloon Builders stamp sets and dies.  The balloons are really cute - different shapes and patterns - they make it so easy to make a cheerful birthday card!  Lil' Inkers has so many great products that would work for birthdays - really cute party hat dies and stitched bow dies - ALL on my wishlist!

• Stamps: Lil' Inkers Balloon Builders
• Paper: Stampin' Up Island Indigo, Poppy Parade, My Mind's Eye Hip-Hooray Boy dsp
• Ink: Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Soft Sky, Distress Inks Broken China
• Accesories: Lil' Inkers Balloon Dies, Stitched Mats: Circles, MME Ginger Twine

Color Throwdown: Happy Birthday Feathers

I recently broke down and bought two different feather sets.  Then...even though I just purchased those...I had to get the truly cute feathers that just came out from WPlus9.  It's a truly fun set with great patterns and also coordinating dies!  The colors from color throwdown were just begging to be used on these funky feathers!


Plus, I had just organized my Stampin' Up inks (all 113 of them) and I knew that I still had the old color Pixie Pink so I couldn't miss this challenge!!

• Stamps: WPlus9 Fanciful Feathers, Strictly Sentiments 1
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Soft Stone
• Ink: Stampin' Up Turquoise, Melon, Pacific, Tangerine and Pixie, Distress Ink Pumice Stone
• Accessories: WPlus9 Fanciful Feathers die, The Twinery Pink Sorbet

Pantone Colors on Rockwell Designs: Nectarine

The latest color that is highlighted on Rockwell Designs as a Pantone Spring Fashion 2013 color is nectarine!  I thought it bore a remarkable resemblance to the new Stampin' Up Color Crisp Cantaloupe. Hmmm...nectarines and cantaloupe!!

But instead of going fruity, I decided to use feathers.  There are so many lovely feather sets out there and it's such a gorgeous look.  I went with the Clearly Besotted set Fancy Feathers. (FYI: in the U.S. Clearly Besotted is available at Simon Says Stamp.)  I hesitated to use this set mostly because I was inspired to get it based on two cards from one of my favorite designers: here and here.  Kara's cards are truly stunning and I knew nothing that I made would quite measure up.  It doesn't...but I'm still happy with it...it's hard to go wrong with these graceful feathers!!

(FYI: I took the wrapper off of the ink for this card and discovered

that the cantaloupe paper is more nectarine-ish than the ink is!

I hate it when that happens!)

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers
• Paper: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate
• Ink: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate and Crisp Cantaloupe
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feather dies, Avery Elle Citrus Blend sequins, Divine Twine Oyster Twine

CAS-ual Fridays: Count Me In

It's my husband's 55th birthday this weekend!!!  Of all of the cards that I make, cards for my husband are absolutely the hardest.  He is such a totally plain and basic kind of guy that any decoration is too much.  But..I'm a cardmaker...I have to add something.  I did want to use the number "55" to play along with CAS-ual Fridays Count Me In challenge.   Then I made two entirely different cards.

I think this looks like my husband - although those few little dots might put it over into the "too much" category for him!

I actually did this next card first.  I came up with the tag which I really liked - but then spent way too much time struggling with what to do with it.  I'm using a sketch from Lisa at dahlhouse designs but even with this fabulous layout, I'm still feeling like the background could be different/more/less/something...I don't know??  What do you think? (Keeping in mind my very basic husband for whom the three patterns is likely going to be too much!) 

Wowzers!

• Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Exlamations
• Paper: Stampin' Up Night of Navy, Real Red, Little Yellow Bicycle Just Because 6x6 pad
• Ink: Stampin' Up Night of Navy
• Accessories: WPlus9 tag die, Paper Smooches Numbers dies (the smaller ones), May Arts twine, Stampin' Up dots

Turning 55

• Stamps: Paper Smooches Digits
• Paper: Stampin' Up Riding Hood Red, More Mustard, Confetti Cream, Simple Stories Happy Day
• Ink: Stampin' Up Early Espresso
• Accessories: WPlus9 tag die, May Arts twine, Papertrey Ink Impression Plate

Dynamic Duos and CAS on Sunday: New SU Stash

I was a little late placing my first order out of the new Stampin' Up Catalog and I just picked it up from my demonstrator.  I can never decide if my first new catalog order is boring or not.  It seems like my entire stamping budget for the month is taken up with new colors - ink, refills, paper, etc.  I only ended up with a few stamps - one stamp/punch combo, one wheel, one single and one hostess set.  Three of the four are represented on these cards (so I could claim NBUS!! - Never Before Used Schtuff!)

The first card uses the colors from Dynamic Duos.  There is a butterfly option but I didn't have butterflies in my Stampin' Up NBUS!

Then I realized that I should have gone with new colors too.  I saw the challenge at CAS on Sunday which is Kraft and Twine and decided not only would it pair well with one of the new colors but it would be a nice look for the gingham wheel.

Now I can happily claim that these sets are "used" and I can put them away!!  (Sadly, with the size of my stash and the amount of new "schtuff" that finds its way into my house, I don't know when these stamps will see ink again!  Can you relate?)
Calypso Birthday:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Flower Shop, Gingham wheel, Banner Greetings
• Paper: white and black
• Ink: Stampin' Up Calypso Coral, black
• Accesories: Stampin' Up Pansy Punch, Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles, Hobby Lobby brand brad, misc twine

Strawberry Birthday:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Flower Shop, Gingham wheel, Banner Greetings
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, white
• Ink: Stampin' Up Strawberry Slush
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Pansy Punch, Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles, Papertrey Ink Kraft button, May Arts twine

CAS(E) this Sketch! Bundles of Birthday Wishes

It's Thursday!  And time for a new sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch!

My family has a favorite family iPad app called Show of Hands.  It asks a variety of questions - from current political issues to choosing between peanut butter and jelly - then it shows you the nationwide results grouped by state, age, income and political affiliation.  We think, we laugh, we have intense discussions.  Just this week, one of the questions was your favorite geometric shape.  You should have seen my family's faces (remember...all men and boys) when I started getting all excited and shouting "hexagon".

Having told that story - I didn't use hexagons on my card.  I had planned on it, I really did.  But every so often I get a strong mental image of a card and I just have to go for it (all the rest of the time, my cards are a lengthy series of trials and errors!)  This bouquet of balloons just called my name!


CAS(E) this Sketch is having a design team call.  Check it out!  Of course, your cards have to be CAS - the link has tips on that - but CAS sketches are so very flexible.  You aren't locked into a specific number of layers or sizes or colors.  This sketch had five elements and a sentiment - you can go a lot of directions!

• Stamps: Li'l Inkers Balloon Builders
• Paper: white
• Ink: Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Candy Dots, L'il Inkers Balloon dies

Stacey's Stamping Stage and Seize the Birthday: It's Your Day!

I put a badge on my sidebar awhile back about the birthday party at Stacey's Stamping Stage and then I never got my own card done to promote it.  There's just a few days left, but if you haven't checked it out - Stacey has a large number of great prizes as part of this party!!  All it takes is making a birthday card and linking it up!

As I was staring at my craft desk feeling a little uninspired - I also thought I'd add a challenge into the mix to give me a start and decided to use the sketch at Seize the Birthday.

For my regular readers - yes, I used the same stamp set yesterday and yes, I found the cupcake top that the cat stole!!  Isn't it a fun set?  Can you see why I didn't want to lose that stamp?

• Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Cupcake Party, Papertrey Ink Tag-Its 10 (sentiment)
• Paper: Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay, MME Hip-Hooray (it was buried really deep in my stash so could be very old!)
• Ink: a large variety!
• Accessories: Li'l Inkers Stitched Circle Mats, Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags die, misc twine, misc enamel dots, Ranger Glossy Accents

Operation Write Home: So Sweet Birthday

I so like playing along with the Operation Write Home sketch challenges.  First, they provide measurements - talk about making it easy!  And second, for me they are an extra challenge in that they tend to be layered and not in my CAS comfort zone.  It gives me a chance to pull out patterned papers and extra embellishments.  In this case, I decided to try to use a variety of elements from July's Simon Says Stamp kit.  I've been getting these kits for months, and I rarely venture beyond the stamp set and perhaps a scrap of paper.  In this case, I used two papers, a border strip and a sticker sentiment!!  (I didn't use the straws, nor the Washi, nor the buttons - so I wasn't entirely successful in utilizing the kit - but you gotta start somewhere!)


I love the cupcake layers in this stamp set - there's even a layer under the frosting for the actual cake!

Crafting was a challenge this morning!

And now I am crawling around my family room floor on hands and knees looking for the stamp for the top of the cupcake that she stole.  Luckily, I had today's card finished - but I really would like to use this set again!

• Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Cupcake Party (SSS July kit)
• Paper: Lily Bee 6x6, red CS (SSS July kit)
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist, Fine Linen, Harvest Gold, Stampin' Up Daffodil, Real Red and Old Olive
• Accessories: Lil Bee stickers, Queen & Co 12" border stickers (both from SSS July kit),  Ranger Glossy Accents, Divine Twine Cherry