October 31st

HAPPY...

HALLO-WIENER!

Love, Angela and Frank

(Yes, that's Frank in his very own hot dog costume.)

(Yes, I know he doesn't look that happy. He was done with the photo shoot by this point. If you know Frank, you'll know that look says,
"Yes. I'm looking at you. Are you happy NOW?)

I love you, Frankfurter. I'm glad you are my little wiener dog.

Sketch Frenzy Friday Merry Crittermas

It's Friday! I've been stamping a lot, getting ready for the Royal Blog Tour.

I'm almost all stamped out! I didn't know if that was even possible!

When you see my project, you'll understand.

But for today, here's my Sketch Frenzy Friday. I needed a cute little guy to smile at me while I colored him. This critter did the trick! Happy Stamping!

I made this card using the following Stampin' Up products:

Merry Crittermas Stamp Set

Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, and Soft Suede Classic Inks

Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Basic Black Card Stock

Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper

Modern Label and 3/16" Corner Punch

Punch Windows Magnetic Movers and Shapers Dies

Blender Pens

Now go see what Kim Innis has made next!

Make your own card and share it on

http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/

Life Happens. Love Helps. A Lot.

This is a card I made quite awhile ago, but just now am sharing.

It's not my regular style, but I like how it turned out.

I have always loved the stamp, "Life happens. Love helps." because it is so true.

I hope you enjoy it as well!
Happy Stamping!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

Vintage Vogue Stamp Set

Daffodil Delight and Always Artichoke Classic Inks

Very Vanilla, Daffodil Delight, Always Artichoke and Crumb Cake Card Stock

Scallop Trim Border Punch

1 1/4" Striped Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Brights Designer Buttons

Hemp Twine

TSSC145 A Flower For All Seasons

This card is based on the Techno Stampers Monday Lunchtime Challenge 145 that can be seen here.

I made a very simple card with it. It's not fancy, but if you've been watching my blog for very long, you'll know that's what I like! It's a nice card for someone special this fall.

My favorite part of the card is the little ladybug on the side of the flower pot. It's such a sweet touch added to the stamp. Good job, SU Designers!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

A Flower For All Seasons and Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Sets

Black Stazon Ink

Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, and Soft Suede Classic Inks

Whisper White, So Saffron, Cajun Craze, and Soft Suede Card Stock

Hemp Twine

Blender Pens

Sketch Frenzy Friday Delightful Decorations

This sketch was difficult for me. For some reason, I just couldn't "see" what to do with it.

Usually, I have a stamp set in mind or a color scheme that seems like it will work. However for this one, it just didn't come to me.

Until I turned it on it's side!

When I saw it on it's side, then this Christmas theme came to me. I like the non-traditional Real Red and Baja Breeze colors. They look happy together!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

Delightful Decorations Stamp Set

Real Red and Baja Breeze Classic Inks

Whisper White, Real Red, and Baja Breeze Card Stock

Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper

(see the glitter!)

Ornament and Circle Punches

1/8" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon

Stampin Dimensionals

Now go to Brenda Taylor's blog to see her creation with the same sketch. www.memoriesbybrenda.com.

SSS173 and CCM120 Fang-tastic!

Hello! Halloween is almost here, so I wanted to make another card with "Fang-tastic." The vampire and little witch couldn't be cuter if they tried!

The design of the card comes from the Stamping 411 Challenge SSS173.

This card also uses the color challenge on Create with Connie and Mary, CCM120.

Happy Halloween and Happy Stamping!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

Fang-tastic Stamp Set

Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Elegant Eggplant, and Basic Black Classic Inks

Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, and Elegant Eggplant Card Stock

1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval and Scallop Oval Punches

1/8" Pumpkin Pie Taffeta Ribbon

TSSC144 Stamping Reflections with the Jolliest Time of the Year

If you're looking at my blog and you're a stamper, have you ever had that feeling like you're in the sweet spot of stamping?

(I learned this in one of the children's lessons at church. The "sweet spot" comes from golfing. It is the perfect spot on the golf club where you should hit the ball. Right, Chris?)

Well, anyways, I feel like I'm in the sweet spot of stamping. I feel like the cards I've made lately match my style completely. There are some cards I've made that I like okay, but they're not "me" exactly.

The "Fang-tastic" card from last week is cute and happy.

The "Season of Friendship" cards from the weekend are my more serious style, but still pretty and happy.

Today's card, made with the "Jolliest Time of the Year" is simple and happy.

I want my cards to make people smile when they receive them.

I appreciate the serious, elegant or romantic, vintage cards that other stampers make and they are definitely needed. After all, you can't send a cute and happy sympathy card.

But, if it's possible, I want my cards to make you happy. For just a second, I want you to forget all the bad things you have to deal with and smile.

Happy Stamping!

May your cards bring joy to everyone who receives them.


I used the following Stampin Up products to make this card for the

Techno Stamper Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge found here:

Jolliest Time of the Year and Short & Sweet Stamp Sets

Black Stazon Ink

Real Red, Baja Breeze, Garden Green and Soft Suede Classic Inks

Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, and Crumb Cake Card Stock

Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper

Scallop Trim Border Punch

Stampin' Dimensionals

Blender Pens

SU Stars Blog Hop "Season of Friendship" Thank You Cards and PPA64

Welcome to the SU Stars blog hop! Thank you for stopping at my blog. You might have just visited Mary Campbell's blog. She has great Christmas Thank You cards on her blog. If you'd like to start at the very beginning of the blog tour, you can click here which will take you to the home page.

Here are my projects for this exciting weekend! Keep reading to find my blog candy being offered to those who comment on or subscribe to my blog!

I had signed up to make a "thank you" card instead of a "Thanksgiving" card for this blog hop.

The first one I made was the fall tree.

I colored the leaves with five different Stampin' Write Markers.

Then I stamped a couple of extra ones, cut them out, and put them on with Stampin' Dimensionals to give the leaves a 3D effect. I love Stampin' Dimensionals!

I was very happy with this card. However, with the fall leaves and the sentiment, it looked more like a "Thanksgiving" card than just a random "thank you" card.

So, I decided to make the same basic card, but with green leaves instead of the fall ones.

I colored those leaves with four different colors and also cut a few extras out to put on with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Now, I have two cards that I ended up being very happy with for the tour.
I hope you enjoy them both, too!

I used the following Stampin' Up Products for both cards:

Season of Friendship Stamp Set

Early Espresso Classic Ink for the tree

Very Vanilla Card Stock for the background of the tree and inside of the oval

Crumb Cake Card Stock for the background of the card

Scalloped Oval and 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punches

Stampin' Dimensionals

The fall tree card also used the following SU Products:

Grateful Greetings Stamp Set

Cherry Cobbler, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, and Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers

Tangerine Tango Card Stock

5/8" Early Espresso Satin Ribbon

The green tree card also used the following SU Products:
Thank You Kindly Stamp Set

Wild Wasabi, Old Olive, Garden Green, and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers

Wild Wasabi Card Stock

5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon

For blog candy, I am offering 2 feet of the 5/8" Early Espresso Satin Ribbon or 2 feet of the 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon. Leave a comment and a random number will be selected to identify the winner. If you are a subscriber to my blog and your number is selected, you'll win both!

Now, to see the next stop on the blog tour, go to Angie Valle-Peters blog to see the amazing projects she created! They are awesome!

The fall card also fits with the inspirational fall photo on Pals Paper Arts Challenge 64. You can see the photo and other beautiful cards here.

Happy Stamping!

Sketch Frenzy Friday, cQc54, st41 Fang-tastic!

It's October and Halloween is just around the corner!

So, it's finally time to make a Halloween card.

I love the set "Fang-tastic." It is so cute!

So I needed to feature it on this sketch.

The scary vampire is put on the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. That's why you can see his shadow in the picture.

The bats are stamped in the same Old Olive ink to match the card stock. This gives the paper a pattern that goes along with the theme.

I just wrapped the ribbon around the brad on the tag.

The vampire's vest is cut out of the In Color Hostess Level One Paper Pack. It's hard to see the Concord Crush in the picture, but it is there.

I used the following Stampin Up products to make this card:

Fang-tastic Clear Mount Stamp Set

Old Olive and Basic Black Classic Ink

Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Concord Crush, Basic Black Card Stock

Designer Series Paper Pack- In Color

1/8" Pumpkin Pie Taffeta Ribbon

1/2" Stitched-Poly Concord Crush Ribbon

Regals and Neutrals Brads

Stampin Dimensionals

Check out Brenda Taylor's blog next to see the card she made with this Sketch Frenzy Friday pattern. You can make your own card and upload it to http://www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com/.

My Halloween colors just happened to match the colors on Color Q's website for this week's color challenge. You can see more cards made with these colors by clicking here.

It also is a Halloween project which is what Stampin' Royalty is featuring on their blog this week. You can see more great projects on their blog by clicking here.

Friends Fur-ever When Life is Ruff

You had to know that when Stampin Up made this cute dog set, I would need to have it. That's right. Need.

I love my wiener dog the most, but I like all dogs. I like a dog that you can tell is happy by the look on his or her face. Dogs make the world a better place.

Fur-ever Friends has a lot of "accessories" that come with it. There is a dog bone, a dog dish, a flower, a chair, a wagon, the heart on this card, and the list goes on. I like them all, but I really liked the sentiment, "sorry life's ruff right now."

We all face rough times and we all know people who are in the middle of them right now. So, I thought this would be a cute, simple card just to keep on hand for someone who would need it. I made it with scraps I had laying on the table after making other creations, but I like the simple nature of it and the different colors that I wouldn't usually put together.

I used the following Stampin' Up supplies to make this card:

Friends Fur-ever Stamp Set

Basic Black Classic Ink

Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, and Bravo Burgundy Stampin' Write Markers

Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, and Bravo Burgundy Card Stock

Word Window Punch

Gold Brad

Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

TSSC154 and PPA63 Aviary Challenges

I am so happy to announce that I will be playing along with the Technostamper Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge each Monday. I love a good sketch and Mary Jo always delivers! Please join in with her sketches each week as well! You can find them right here.

I had also seen this color challenge on Pals Paper Arts that I really liked. I love the happy look this combination gives.

After combining both challenges, here is the card I created. I hope you enjoy it.
To give the Pear Pizzazz a little texture, I punched circles out of the same color paper and glued them to my original card stock background.

Happy Stamping!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

Aviary and Tiny Tags Clear Mount Stamp Sets

Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, and Basic Black Classic Inks

Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, and Pear Pizzazz Card Stock
Brights Pattern Designer Series Paper Stack

Circle Punch and Jewelry Tag Medium Punch

Circle Scissors Plus
Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Sketch Frenzy Friday Paisley Prints

It's time for another Sketch Frenzy Friday post.

This week's sketch was particularly versatile. I decided to use it to make an elegant fall card. I'm addicted to fall cards right now, in case you haven't noticed. I'm going to have fall in Arizona one way or another!

I stamped the "Paisley Prints" leaf after I used sponge daubers to apply Pumpkin Pie and Early Espresso Classic Ink. To give the leaf a little more color, I used So Saffron to color over the leaf. Then I used the sponge daubers again to apply More Mustard and Cajun Craze around the leaf. It is actually more subtle looking in person than it does on the card. The picture makes the whole thing look a little brighter than it actually is.

I hope you like it! Happy Fall!

I used the following Stampin Up! supplies to make this card:

Paisley Prints Clear Mount Stamp Set

Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Early Espresso Classic Inks

So Saffron Stampin' Write Marker

Naturals Ivory, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede, and Early Espresso Card Stock

Early Espresso 5/8" Satin Ribbon

Neutrals Brads

Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Big Shot

Now go to Brenda Taylor's blog, www.memoriesbybrenda.com, to see her card made with this sketch. Then upload your own card at www.sketchfrenzyfriday.blogspot.com.

Frankfurter's Photo Shoot

Poor Frank.

I admit that most of the pictures on my phone that aren't cards are Frank.

Unfortunately, Frank does not always appreciate being the subject of the photos.

He knows to look away and ignore me.

I thought he looked particularly cute laying in the big chair covered with a cream colored blanket.

But, alas, Frankfurter would not allow a good picture to be taken.

However, sometimes I am smarter than Frank. (Yes. I know I said sometimes. That is, unfortunately for me, accurate.)

I got his attention with six little words. "Frank, do you want a treat?"

He looked at me so quickly his ear flew up and got stuck there for a couple seconds.

You see, I already knew the answer to that question and already knew what his response would be, which would end in a cute picture.

That's my wiener dog.

Frank- will work (or look at the camera) for treats.

CPS187 Pun Fun Whale

I was making a list of challenges on my computer because I really enjoy doing them and it would be a quick reference tool. While I was going through them, I found this sketch challenge on "Card Positioning Systems" blog. I loved the circles and that this card would be something totally different than anything I had ever made before.

I also found another challenge to make a monochromatic card. This means that there are various shades of the same color.

In a matter of minutes, "Get Whale Soon" was born!

It's cute and simple. It's appropriate for anyone of any age.

It features lots of circles that I made with my new Circle Scissor Plus. It's awesome and available to purchase through me from Stampin' Up. If you don't already have one, put it on your list!

I used the following Stampin' Up supplies to make this card:

Pun Fun Stamp Set

Night of Navy Classic Ink

Bashful Blue and Marina Mist Stampin' Write Markers

Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Maring Mist, and Night of Navy Card Stock

Circle Punches and 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Extra Large Punch

Circle Scissor Plus

Glass Mat

C4C57 and SSC #171 Fall "Forest Friends"

Fall "Forest Friends"

I don't have a lot of fall and autumn stamps but I knew they would be perfect for the October Color Challenge on Crazy For Challenges #57.

So I looked through my Stampin' Up catalog where I have all of the stamp sets marked that I own. I realized the tree from Forest Friends would be perfect for an autumn card.

Then I started looking for a sketch challenge. I love using sketches to come up with new designs.

Sure enough, on Stamping 411 Challenge #171, there was a perfect fit.

I am so pleased with how this card turned out! There are no leaves turning colors where I live in Arizona, so I'm going to pretend these are right ouside my door.
Happy Fall and Happy Stamping!

I used the following Stampin' Up products to make this card:

Forest Friends Stamp Set

Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, and Wild Wasabi Classic Inks

Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker

Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wassabi, Crumb Cake, and Basic Black Card Stock

Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

Big Shot

Regals Brads

1/8" Pumpkin Pie Taffeta Ribbon

Sponge Daubers

Happy Together on Sketch Frenzy Friday

Sketch Frenzy Friday's Happy (Together) Days are here again!

Today's sketch was my design. The last one I did featured a tough diagonal!

Hopefully this was much easier on the sketch team!

"Happy Days" could easily be overlooked in the catalog, but I love it.

It's one of my favorites. So cute and... well, happy!

I hope you enjoy my card featuring it.

Happy Stamping, Everyone!

I used the following Stampin Up products to make this card:

Happy Together Stamp Set

Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, and Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Write Markers

Whisper White, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Pear Pizzaz, and Tempting Turquoise Card Stock

Build-A-Bear Workshop Pawsitively Prints 2 Designer Series Paper

Brights Designer Series Buttons

Now, check out Brenda Taylor's blog with a card based on the same sketch.

Then make your own and upload it on the Sketch Frenzy Friday blog here!